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diff --git a/old/38803-8.txt b/old/38803-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ba749f3 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/38803-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11856 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 3 +(of 12), by Robert G. Ingersoll + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 3 (of 12) + Dresden Edition--Lectures + +Author: Robert G. Ingersoll + +Release Date: February 9, 2012 [EBook #38803] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF INGERSOLL *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + + + +THE WORKS OF ROBERT G. INGERSOLL + +"GIVE ME THE STORM AND TEMPEST OF THOUGHT AND ACTION, RATHER THAN THE +DEAD CALM OF IGNORANCE AND FAITH. BANISH ME FROM EDEN WHEN YOU WILL; BUT +FIRST LET ME EAT OF THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE." + +IN TWELVE VOLUMES, VOLUME III. + +LECTURES + +1900 + +THE DRESDEN EDITION + + +CONTENTS OF VOLUME III. + + +SHAKESPEARE + +(1891.) + +I. The Greatest Genius of our World--Not of Supernatural Origin or +of Royal Blood--Illiteracy of his Parents--Education--His Father--His +Mother a Great Woman--Stratford Unconscious of the Immortal +Child--Social Position of Shakespeare--Of his Personal +Peculiarities--Birth, Marriage, and Death--What we Know of Him--No Line +written by him to be Found--The Absurd Epitaph--II. Contemporaries +by whom he was Mentioned--III. No direct Mention of any of his +Contemporaries in the Plays--Events and Personages of his Time--IV. +Position of the Actor in Shakespeare's Time--Fortunately he was Not +Educated at Oxford--An Idealist--His Indifference to Stage-carpentry +and Plot--He belonged to All Lands--Knew the Brain and Heart of Man--An +Intellectual Spendthrift--V. The Baconian Theory--VI. Dramatists before +and during the Time of Shakespeare--Dramatic Incidents Illustrated in +Passages from "Macbeth" and "Julius Cæsar"--VII. His Use of the Work of +Others--The Pontic Sea--A Passage from "Lear"--VIII. Extravagance that +touches the Infinite--The Greatest Compliment--"Let me not live after +my flame lacks oil"--Where Pathos almost Touches the Grotesque--IX. +An Innovator and Iconoclast--Disregard of the "Unities"--Nature +Forgets--Violation of the Classic Model--X. Types--The Secret of +Shakespeare--Characters who Act from Reason and Motive--What they Say +not the Opinion of Shakespeare--XI. The Procession that issued from +Shakespeare's Brain--His Great Women--Lovable Clowns--His Men--Talent +and Genius--XII. The Greatest of all Philosophers--Master of the +Human Heart--Love--XIII. In the Realm of Comparison--XIV. Definitions: +Suicide, Drama, Death, Memory, the Body, Life, Echo, the +World, Rumor--The Confidant of Nature--XV. Humor and +Pathos--Illustrations--XVI. Not a Physician, Lawyer, or Botanist--He was +a Man of Imagination--He lived the Life of All--The Imagination had a +Stage in Shakespeare's Brain. + + +ROBERT BURNS. + +(1878.) + +Poetry and Poets--Milton, Dante, Petrarch--Old-time Poetry in +Scotland--Influence of Scenery on Literature--Lives that are +Poems--Birth of Burns--Early Life and Education--Scotland Emerging from +the Gloom of Calvinism--A Metaphysical Peasantry--Power of the Scotch +Preacher--Famous Scotch Names--John Barleycorn vs. Calvinism--Why Robert +Burns is Loved--His Reading--Made Goddesses of Women--Poet of Love: His +"Vision," "Bonnie Doon," "To Mary in Heaven"--Poet of Home: +"Cotter's Saturday Night," "John Anderson, My Jo"--Friendship: "Auld +Lang-Syne"--Scotch Drink: "Willie brew'd a peck o' maut"--Burns the +Artist: The "Brook," "Tam O'Shanter"--A Real Democrat: "A man's a man +for a' that"--His Theology: The Dogma of Eternal Pain, "Morality," +"Hypocrisy," "Holy Willie's Prayer"--On the Bible--A Statement of his +Religion--Contrasted with Tennyson--From Cradle to Coffin--His Last +words--Lines on the Birth-place of Burns. + + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + +(1894.) + +I. Simultaneous Birth of Lincoln and Darwin--Heroes of Every +Generation--Slavery--Principle Sacrificed to Success--Lincoln's +Childhood--His first Speech--A Candidate for the Senate against +Douglass--II. A Crisis in the Affairs of the Republic--The South Not +Alone Responsible for Slavery--Lincoln's Prophetic Words--Nominated for +President and Elected in Spite of his Fitness--III. Secession and +Civil War--The Thought uppermost in his Mind--IV. A Crisis in the +North--Proposition to Purchase the Slaves--V. The Proclamation of +Emancipation--His Letter to Horace Greeley--Waited on by Clergymen--VI. +Surrounded by Enemies--Hostile Attitude of Gladstone, Salisbury, +Louis Napoleon, and the Vatican--VII. Slavery the Perpetual +Stumbling-block--Confiscation--VIII. His Letter to a Republican +Meeting in Illinois--Its Effect--IX. The Power of His Personality--The +Embodiment of Mercy--Use of the Pardoning Power--X. The Vallandigham +Affair--The Horace Greeley Incident--Triumphs of Humor--XI. Promotion of +General Hooker--A Prophecy and its Fulfillment--XII.--States Rights vs. +Territorial Integrity--XIII. His Military Genius--The Foremost Man in +all the World: and then the Horror Came--XIV. Strange Mingling of Mirth +and Tears--Deformation of Great Historic Characters--Washington now +only a Steel Engraving--Lincoln not a Type--Virtues Necessary in a +New Country--Laws of Cultivated Society--In the Country is the Idea +of Home--Lincoln always a Pupil--A Great Lawyer--Many-sided--Wit and +Humor--As an Orator--His Speech at Gettysburg contrasted with the +Oration of Edward Everett--Apologetic in his Kindness--No Official +Robes--The gentlest Memory of our World. + + +VOLTAIRE. + +(1894.) + +I. Changes wrought by Time--Throne and Altar Twin Vultures--The King and +the Priest--What is Greatness?--Effect of Voltaire's Name on Clergyman +and Priest--Born and Baptized--State of France in 1694--The Church +at the Head--Efficacy of Prayers and Dead Saints--Bells and Holy +Water--Prevalence of Belief in Witches, Devils, and Fiends--Seeds of +the Revolution Scattered by Noble and Priest--Condition in England--The +Inquisition in full Control in Spain--Portugal and Germany burning +Women--Italy Prostrate beneath the Priests, the Puritans in America +persecuting Quakers, and stealing Children--II. The Days of Youth--His +Education--Chooses Literature as a Profession and becomes a Diplomat--In +Love and Disinherited--Unsuccessful Poem Competition--Jansenists +and Molinists--The Bull Unigenitus--Exiled to Tulle--Sent to the +Bastile--Exiled to England--Acquaintances made there--III. The Morn +of Manhood--His Attention turned to the History of the Church--The +"Triumphant Beast" Attacked--Europe Filled with the Product of his +Brain--What he Mocked--The Weapon of Ridicule--His Theology--His +"Retractions"--What Goethe said of Voltaire--IV. The Scheme of +Nature--His belief in the Optimism of Pope Destroyed by the Lisbon +Earthquake--V. His Humanity--Case of Jean Calas--The Sirven Family--The +Espenasse Case--Case of Chevalier de la Barre and D'Etallonde--Voltaire +Abandons France--A Friend of Education--An Abolitionist--Not +a Saint--VI. The Return--His Reception--His Death--Burial at +Romilli-on-the-Seine--VII. The Death-bed Argument--Serene Demise of +the Infamous--God has no Time to defend the Good and protect the +Pure--Eloquence of the Clergy on the Death-bed Subject--The +Second Return--Throned upon the Bastile--The Grave Desecrated by +Priests--Voltaire. + +A Testimonial to Walt Whitman--Let us put Wreaths on the Brows of the +Living--Literary Ideals of the American People in 1855--"Leaves of +Grass"--Its reception by the Provincial Prudes--The Religion of the +Body--Appeal to Manhood and Womanhood--Books written for the +Market--The Index Expurgatorius--Whitman a believer in +Democracy--Individuality--Humanity--An Old-time Sea-fight--What is +Poetry?--Rhyme a Hindrance to Expression--Rhythm the Comrade of +the Poetic--Whitman's Attitude toward Religion--Philosophy--The Two +Poems--"A Word Out of the Sea"--"When Lilacs Last in the Door"--"A Chant +for Death"-- + +The History of Intellectual Progress is written in the Lives of +Infidels--The King and the Priest--The Origin of God and Heaven, of +the Devil and Hell--The Idea of Hell born of Ignorance, Brutality, +Cowardice, and Revenge--The Limitations of our Ancestors--The Devil +and God--Egotism of Barbarians--The Doctrine of Hell not an Exclusive +Possession of Christianity--The Appeal to the Cemetery--Religion and +Wealth, Christ and Poverty--The "Great" not on the Side of Christ and +his Disciples--Epitaphs as Battle-cries--Some Great Men in favor of +almost every Sect--Mistakes and Superstitions of Eminent Men--Sacred +Books--The Claim that all Moral Laws came from God through +the Jews--Fear--Martyrdom--God's Ways toward Men--The Emperor +Constantine--The Death Test--Theological Comity between Protestants and +Catholics--Julian--A childish Fable still Believed--Bruno--His Crime, +his Imprisonment and + + +LIBERTY IN LITERATURE. + +(1890.) + +"Old Age"--"Leaves of Grass" + + +THE GREAT INFIDELS. + +(1881.) + +Martyrdom--The First to die for Truth without Expectation of Reward--The +Church in the Time of Voltaire--Voltaire--Diderot--David Hume--Benedict +Spinoza--Our Infidels--Thomas Paine--Conclusion. + + +WHICH WAY? + +(1884.) + +I. The Natural and the Supernatural--Living for the Benefit of +your Fellow-Man and Living for Ghosts--The Beginning of Doubt--Two +Philosophies of Life--Two Theories of Government--II. Is our God +superior to the Gods of the Heathen?--What our God has done--III. Two +Theories about the Cause and Cure of Disease--The First Physician--The +Bones of St. Anne Exhibited in New York--Archbishop Corrigan and +Cardinal Gibbons Countenance a Theological Fraud--A Japanese Story--The +Monk and the Miraculous Cures performed by the Bones of a Donkey +represented as those of a Saint--IV.--Two Ways of accounting for Sacred +Books and Religions--V-Two Theories about Morals--Nothing Miraculous +about Morality--The Test of all Actions--VI. Search for the +Impossible--Alchemy--"Perpetual Motion"--Astrology--Fountain of Perpetual +Youth--VII. "Great Men" and the Superstitions in which they have +Believed--VIII. Follies and Imbecilities of Great Men--We do not know +what they Thought, only what they Said--Names of Great Unbelievers--Most +Men Controlled by their Surroundings--IX. Living for God in Switzerland, +Scotland, New England--In the Dark Ages--Let us Live for Man--X. The +Narrow Road of Superstition--The Wide and Ample Way--Let us Squeeze the +Orange Dry--This Was, This Is, This Shall Be. + + +ABOUT THE HOLY BIBLE. + +(1894.) + +The Truth about the Bible Ought to be Told--I. The Origin of the +Bible--Establishment of the Mosaic Code--Moses not the Author of the +Pentateuch--Some Old Testament Books of Unknown Origin--II. Is the Old +Testament Inspired?--What an Inspired Book Ought to Be--What the Bible +Is--Admission of Orthodox Christians that it is not Inspired as to +Science--The Enemy of Art--III. The Ten Commandments--Omissions and +Redundancies--The Story of Achan--The Story of Elisha--The Story of +Daniel--The Story of Joseph--IV. What is it all Worth?--Not True, and +Contradictory--Its Myths Older than the Pentateuch--Other Accounts +of the Creation, the Fall, etc.--Books of the Old Testament Named +and Characterized--V. Was Jehovah a God of Love?--VI. Jehovah's +Administration--VII. The New Testament--Many Other Gospels besides +our Four--Disagreements--Belief in Devils--Raising of the Dead--Other +Miracles--Would a real Miracle-worker have been Crucified?--VIII. +The Philosophy of Christ--Love of +Enemies--Improvidence--Self-Mutilation--The Earth as a +Footstool--Justice--A Bringer of War--Division of Families--IX. Is Christ +our Example?--X. Why should we place Christ at the Top and Summit of the +Human Race?--How did he surpass Other Teachers?--What he left Unsaid, +and Why--Inspiration--Rejected Books of the New Testament--The Bible and +the Crimes it has Caused. + + + + + + +SHAKESPEARE + +I. + +WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE was the greatest genius of our world. He left to +us the richest legacy of all the dead--the treasures of the rarest soul +that ever lived and loved and wrought of words the statues, pictures, +robes and gems of thought. + +It is hard to overstate the debt we owe to the men and women of genius. +Take from our world what they have given, and all the niches would be +empty, all the walls naked--meaning and connection would fall from words +of poetry and fiction, music would go back to common air, and all the +forms of subtle and enchanting Art would lose proportion and become the +unmeaning waste and shattered spoil of thoughtless Chance. + +Shakespeare is too great a theme. I feel as though endeavoring to grasp +a globe so large that the hand obtains no hold. He who would worthily +speak of the great dramatist should be inspired by "a muse of fire that +should ascend the brightest heaven of invention"--he should have "a +kingdom for a stage, and monarchs to behold the swelling scene." + +More than three centuries ago, the most intellectual of the human race +was born. He was not of supernatural origin. At his birth there were +no celestial pyrotechnics. His father and mother were both English, and +both had the cheerful habit of living in this world. The cradle in which +he was rocked was canopied by neither myth nor miracle, and in his veins +there was no drop of royal blood. + +This babe became the wonder of mankind. Neither of his parents could +read or write. He grew up in a small and ignorant village on the banks +of the Avon, in the midst of the common people of three hundred years +ago. There was nothing in the peaceful, quiet landscape on which he +looked, nothing in the low hills, the cultivated and undulating fields, +and nothing in the murmuring stream, to excite the imagination--nothing, +so far as we can see, calculated to sow the seeds of the subtlest and +sublimest thought. + +So there is nothing connected with his education, or his lack of +education, that in any way accounts for what he did. It is supposed that +he attended school in his native town--but of this we are not certain. +Many have tried to show that he was, after all, of gentle blood, but the +fact seems to be the other way. Some of his biographers have sought to +do him honor by showing that he was patronized by Queen Elizabeth, but +of this there is not the slightest proof. + +As a matter of fact, there never sat on any throne a king, queen, or +emperor who could have honored William Shakespeare. + +Ignorant people are apt to overrate the value of what is called +education. The sons of the poor, having suffered the privations of +poverty, think of wealth as the mother of joy. On the other hand, the +children of the rich, finding that gold does not produce happiness, are +apt to underrate the value of wealth. So the children of the educated +often care but little for books, and hold all culture in contempt. The +children of great authors do not, as a rule, become writers. + +Nature is filled with tendencies and obstructions. Extremes beget +limitations, even as a river by its own swiftness creates obstructions +for itself. + +Possibly, many generations of culture breed a desire for the rude joys +of savagery, and possibly generations of ignorance breed such a longing +for knowledge, that of this desire, of this hunger of the brain, Genius +is born. It may be that the mind, by lying fallow, by remaining idle for +generations, gathers strength. + +Shakespeare's father seems to have been an ordinary man of his time and +class. About the only thing we know of him is that he was officially +reported for not coming monthly to church. This is good as far as it +goes. We can hardly blame him, because at that time Richard Bifield +was the minister at Stratford, and an extreme Puritan, one who read the +Psalter by Sternhold and Hopkins. + +The church was at one time Catholic, but in John Shakespeare's day it +was Puritan, and in 1564, the year of Shakespeare's birth, they had the +images defaced. It is greatly to the honor of John Shakespeare that +he refused to listen to the "tidings of great joy" as delivered by the +Puritan Bifield. + +Nothing is known of his mother, except her beautiful name--Mary Arden. +In those days but little attention was given to the biographies of +women. They were born, married, had children, and died. No matter how +celebrated their sons became, the mothers were forgotten. In old times, +when a man achieved distinction, great pains were taken to find +out about the father and grandfather--the idea being that genius is +inherited from the father's side. The truth is, that all great men have +had great mothers. Great women have had, as a rule, great fathers. + +The mother of Shakespeare was, without doubt, one of the greatest of +women. She dowered her son with passion and imagination and the higher +qualities of the soul, beyond all other men. It has been said that a +man of genius should select his ancestors with great care--and yet +there does not seem to be as much in heredity as most people think. +The children of the great are often small. Pigmies are born in palaces, +while over the children of genius is the roof of straw. Most of the +great are like mountains, with the valley of ancestors on one side and +the depression of posterity on the other. + +In his day Shakespeare was of no particular importance. It may be that +his mother had some marvelous and prophetic dreams, but Stratford was +unconscious of the immortal child. He was never engaged in a reputable +business. Socially he occupied a position below servants. The law +described him as "a sturdy vagabond." He was neither a noble, a soldier, +nor a priest. Among the half-civilized people of England, he who amused +and instructed them was regarded as a menial. Kings had their clowns, +the people their actors and musicians. Shakespeare was scheduled as a +servant. It is thus that successful stupidity has always treated genius. +Mozart was patronized by an Archbishop--lived in the palace,--but was +compelled to eat with the scullions. + +The composer of divine melodies was not fit to sit by the side of the +theologian, who long ago would have been forgotten but for the fame of +the composer. + +We know but little of the personal peculiarities, of the daily life, or +of what may be called the outward Shakespeare, and it may be fortunate +that so little is known. He might have been belittled by friendly fools. +What silly stories, what idiotic personal reminiscences, would have +been remembered by those who scarcely saw him! We have his best--his +sublimest--and we have probably lost only the trivial and the worthless. +All that is known can be written on a page. + +We are tolerably certain of the date of his birth, of his marriage and +of his death. We think he went to London in 1586, when he was twenty-two +years old. We think that three years afterward he was part owner of +Blackfriars' Theatre. We have a few signatures, some of which are +supposed to be genuine. We know that he bought some land--that he had +two or three law-suits. We know the names of his children. We also know +that this incomparable man--so apart from, and so familiar with, all the +world--lived during his literary life in London--that he was an actor, +dramatist and manager--that he returned to Stratford, the place of his +birth,--that he gave his writings to negligence, deserted the children +of his brain--that he died on the anniversary of his birth at the age +of fifty-two, and that he was buried in the church where the images +had been defaced, and that on his tomb was chiseled a rude, absurd and +ignorant epitaph. + +No letter of his to any human being has been found, and no line written +by him can be shown. + +And here let me give my explanation of the epitaph. Shakespeare was an +actor--a disreputable business--but he made money--always reputable. He +came back from London a rich man. He bought land, and built houses. Some +of the supposed great probably treated him with deference. When he died +he was buried in the church. Then came a reaction. The pious thought the +church had been profaned. They did not feel that the ashes of an actor +were fit to lie in holy ground. The people began to say the body +ought to be removed. Then it was, as I believe, that Dr. John Hall, +Shakespeare's son-in-law, had this epitaph cut on the tomb: + + "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbeare + To digg the dust enclosed heare: + Blest be ye man yt spares thes stones, + And curst be he yt moves my bones." + +Certainly Shakespeare could have had no fear that his tomb would be +violated. How could it have entered his mind to have put a warning, a +threat and a blessing, upon his grave? But the ignorant people of that +day were no doubt convinced that the epitaph was the voice of the dead, +and so feeling they feared to invade the tomb. In this way the dust was +left in peace. + +This epitaph gave me great trouble for years. It puzzled me to explain +why he, who erected the intellectual pyramids,--great ranges of +mountains--should put such a pebble at his tomb. But when I stood beside +the grave and read the ignorant words, the explanation I have given +flashed upon me. + +II. + +IT has been said that Shakespeare was hardly mentioned by his +contemporaries, and that he was substantially unknown. This is a +mistake. In 1600 a book was published called _England's Parnassus_, +and it contained ninety extracts from Shakespeare. In the same year +was published the _Garden of the Muses_, containing several pieces from +Shakespeare, Chapman, Marston and Ben Jonson. _England's Helicon_ was +printed in the same year, and contained poems from Spenser, Greene, +Harvey and Shakespeare. + +In 1600 a play was acted at Cambridge, in which Shakespeare was alluded +to as follows: "Why, here's our fellow Shakespeare who puts them all +down." John Weaver published a book of poems in 1595, in which there +was a sonnet to Shakespeare. In 1598 Richard Bamfield wrote a poem +to Shakespeare. Francis Meres, "clergyman, master of arts in both +universities, compiler of school books," was the author of the _Wits +Treasury_. In this he compares the ancient and modern tragic poets, and +mentions Marlowe, Peele, Kyd and Shakespeare. So he compares the writers +of comedies, and mentions Lilly, Lodge, Greene and Shakespeare. He +speaks of elegiac poets, and names Surrey, Wyatt, Sidney, Raleigh and +Shakespeare. He compares the lyric poets, and names Spenser, Drayton, +Shakespeare and others. This same writer, speaking of Horace, says that +England has Sidney, Shakespeare and others, and that "as the soul of +Euphorbus was thought to live in Pythagoras, so the sweet-wittie soul +of Ovid lives in the mellifluous and honey-tongued Shakespeare." He +also says: "If the Muses could speak English, they would speak in +Shakespeare's phrase." This was in 1598. In 1607, John Davies alludes in +a poem to Shakespeare. + +Of course we are all familiar with what rare Ben Jonson wrote. Henry +Chettle took Shakespeare to task because he wrote nothing on the death +of Queen Elizabeth. + +It may be wonderful that he was not better known. But is it not +wonderful that he gained the reputation that he did in so short a time, +and that twelve years after he began to write he stood at least with the +first? + +III. + +BUT there is a wonderful fact connected with the writings of +Shakespeare: In the Plays there is no direct mention of any of his +contemporaries. We do not know of any poet, author, soldier, sailor, +statesman, priest, nobleman, king, or queen, that Shakespeare directly +mentioned. + +Is it not marvelous that he, living in an age of great deeds, of +adventures in far-off lands and unknown seas--in a time of religious +wars--in the days of the Armada--the massacre of St. Bartholomew--the +Edict of Nantes--the assassination of Henry III.--the victory of +Lepanto--the execution of Marie Stuart--did not mention the name of any +man or woman of his time? Some have insisted that the paragraph ending +with the lines: "The imperial votress passed on in maiden meditation +fancy-free," referred to Queen Elizabeth; but it is impossible for me +to believe that the daubed and wrinkled face, the small black eyes, +the cruel nose, the thin lips, the bad teeth, and the red wig of Queen +Elizabeth could by any possibility have inspired these marvelous lines. + +It is perfectly apparent from Shakespeare's writings that he knew but +little of the nobility, little of kings and queens. He gives to these +supposed great people great thoughts, and puts great words in their +mouths and makes them speak--not as they really did--but as Shakespeare +thought such people should. This demonstrates that he did not know them +personally. + +Some have insisted that Shakespeare mentions Queen Elizabeth in the +last scene of Henry VIII. The answer to this is that Shakespeare did not +write the last scene in that Play. The probability is that Fletcher was +the author. + +Shakespeare lived during the great awakening of the world, when Europe +emerged from the darkness of the Middle Ages, when the discovery of +America had made England, that blossom of the Gulf-Stream, the centre +of commerce, and during a period when some of the greatest writers, +thinkers, soldiers and discoverers were produced. + +Cervantes was born in 1547, dying on the same day that Shakespeare died. +He was undoubtedly the greatest writer that Spain has produced. Rubens +was born in 1577. Camoens, the Portuguese, the author of the _Lusiad_, +died in 1597. Giordano Bruno--greatest of martyrs--was born in +1548--visited London in Shakespeare's time--delivered lectures at +Oxford, and called that institution "the widow of learning." Drake +circled the globe in 1580. Galileo was born in 1564--the same year +with Shakespeare. Michael Angelo died in 1563. Kepler--he of the Three +Laws--born in 1571. Calderon, the Spanish dramatist, born in 1601. +Corneille, the French poet, in 1606. Rembrandt, greatest of painters, +1607. Shakespeare was born in 1564. In that year John Calvin died. What +a glorious exchange! + +Seventy-two years after the discovery of America Shakespeare was born, +and England was filled with the voyages and discoveries written by +Hakluyt, and the wonders that had been seen by Raleigh, by Drake, by +Frobisher and Hawkins. London had become the centre of the world, and +representatives from all known countries were in the new metropolis. The +world had been doubled. The imagination had been touched and kindled by +discovery. In the far horizon were unknown lands, strange shores beyond +untraversed seas. Toward every part of the world were turned the prows +of adventure. All these things fanned the imagination into flame, +and this had its effect upon the literary and dramatic world. And +yet Shakespeare--the master spirit of mankind--in the midst of these +discoveries, of these adventures, mentioned no navigator, no general, no +discoverer, no philosopher. + +Galileo was reading the open volume of the sky, but Shakespeare did not +mention him. This to me is the most marvelous thing connected with this +most marvelous man. + +At that time England was prosperous--was then laying the foundation of +her future greatness and power. + +When men are prosperous, they are in love with life. Nature grows +beautiful, the arts begin to flourish, there is work for painter and +sculptor, the poet is born, the stage is erected--and this life with +which men are in love, is represented in a thousand forms. + +Nature, or Fate, or Chance prepared a stage for Shakespeare, and +Shakespeare prepared a stage for Nature. + +Famine and faith go together. In disaster and want the gaze of man is +fixed upon another world. He that eats a crust has a creed. Hunger falls +upon its knees, and heaven, looked for through tears, is the mirage +of misery. But prosperity brings joy and wealth and leisure--and the +beautiful is born. + +One of the effects of the world's awakening was Shakespeare. We account +for this man as we do for the highest mountain, the greatest river, the +most perfect gem. We can only say: He was. + + "It hath been taught us from the primal state + That he which is was wished until he were." + +IV. + +IN Shakespeare's time the actor was a vagabond, the dramatist a +disreputable person--and yet the greatest dramas were then written. In +spite of law, and social ostracism, Shakespeare reared the many-colored +dome that fills and glorifies the intellectual heavens. + +Now the whole civilized world believes in the theatre--asks for some +great dramatist--is hungry for a play worthy of the century, is anxious +to give gold and fame to any one who can worthily put our age upon the +stage--and yet no great play has been written since Shakespeare died. + +Shakespeare pursued the highway of the right. He did not seek to put his +characters in a position where it was right to do wrong. He was sound +and healthy to the centre. It never occurred to him to write a play in +which a wife's lover should be jealous of her husband. + +There was in his blood the courage of his thought. He was true to +himself and enjoyed the perfect freedom of the highest art. He did not +write according to rules--but smaller men make rules from what he wrote. + +How fortunate that Shakespeare was not educated at Oxford--that the +winged god within him never knelt to the professor. How fortunate +that this giant was not captured, tied and tethered by the literary +Lilliputians of his time. + +He was an idealist. He did not--like most writers of our time--take +refuge in the real, hiding a lack of genius behind a pretended love of +truth. All realities are not poetic, or dramatic, or even worth knowing. +The real sustains the same relation to the ideal that a stone does to +a statue--or that paint does to a painting. Realism degrades and +impoverishes. In no event can a realist be more than an imitator and +copyist. According to the realist's philosophy, the wax that receives +and retains an image is an artist. + +Shakespeare did not rely on the stage-carpenter, or the scenic painter. +He put his scenery in his lines. There you will find mountains and +rivers and seas, valleys and cliffs, violets and clouds, and over all +"the firmament fretted with gold and fire." He cared little for plot, +little for surprise. He did not rely on stage effects, or red fire. The +plays grow before your eyes, and they come as the morning comes. Plot +surprises but once. There must be something in a play besides surprise. +Plot in an author is a kind of strategy--that is to say, a sort of +cunning, and cunning does not belong to the highest natures. + +There is in Shakespeare such a wealth of thought that the plot becomes +almost immaterial--and such is this wealth that you can hardly know the +play--there is too much. After you have heard it again and again, it +seems as pathless as an untrodden forest. + +He belonged to all lands. "Timon of Athens" is as Greek as any tragedy +of Eschylus. "Julius Cæsar" and "Coriolanus" are perfect Roman, and as +you read, the mighty ruins rise and the Eternal City once again becomes +the mistress of the world. No play is more Egyptian than "Antony and +Cleopatra"--the Nile runs through it, the shadows of the pyramids +fall upon it, and from its scenes the Sphinx gazes forever on the +outstretched sands. + +In "Lear" is the true pagan spirit. "Romeo and Juliet" is +Italian--everything is sudden, love bursts into immediate flower, and in +every scene is the climate of the land of poetry and passion. + +The reason of this is that Shakespeare dealt with elemental things, with +universal man. He knew that locality colors without changing, and that +in all surroundings the human heart is substantially the same. + +Not all the poetry written before his time would make his sum--not all +that has been written since, added to all that was written before, would +equal his. + +There was nothing within the range of human thought, within the horizon +of intellectual effort, that he did not touch. He knew the brain and +heart of man--the theories, customs, superstitions, hopes, fears, +hatreds, vices and virtues of the human race. + +He knew the thrills and ecstasies of love, the savage joys of hatred and +revenge. He heard the hiss of envy's snakes and watched the eagles of +ambition soar. There was no hope that did not put its star above his +head--no fear he had not felt--no joy that had not shed its sunshine +on his face. He experienced the emotions of mankind. He was the +intellectual spendthrift of the world. He gave with the generosity, the +extravagance, of madness. + +Read one play, and you are impressed with the idea that the wealth +of the brain of a god has been exhausted--that there are no more +comparisons, no more passions to be expressed, no more definitions, no +more philosophy, beauty, or sublimity to be put in words--and yet, the +next play opens as fresh as the dewy gates of another day. + +The outstretched wings of his imagination filled the sky. He was the +intellectual crown o' the earth. + +V. + +THE plays of Shakespeare show so much knowledge, thought and learning, +that many people--those who imagine that universities furnish +capacity--contend that Bacon must have been the author. + +We know Bacon. We know that he was a scheming politician, a courtier, +a time-server of church and king, and a corrupt judge. We know that he +never admitted the truth of the Copernican system--that he was +doubtful whether instruments were of any advantage in scientific +investigation--that he was ignorant of the higher branches of +mathematics, and that, as a matter of fact, he added but little to the +knowledge of the world. When he was more than sixty years of age he +turned his attention to poetry, and dedicated his verses to George +Herbert. + +If you will read these verses you will say that the author of "Lear" and +"Hamlet" did not write them. + +Bacon dedicated his work on the _Advancement of Learning, Divine and +Human_, to James I., and in his dedication he stated that there had not +been, since the time of Christ, any king or monarch so learned in all +erudition, divine or human. He placed James the First before Marcus +Aurelius and all other kings and emperors since Christ, and concluded +by saying that James the First had "the power and fortune of a king, +the illumination of a priest, the learning and universality of a +philosopher." This was written of James the First, described by Macaulay +as a "stammering, slobbering, trembling coward, whose writings were +deformed by the grossest and vilest superstitions--witches being the +special objects of his fear, his hatred, and his persecution." + +It seems to have been taken for granted that if Shakespeare was not the +author of the great dramas, Lord Bacon must have been. + +It has been claimed that Bacon was the greatest philosopher of his +time. And yet in reading his works we find that there was in his mind a +strange mingling of foolishness and philosophy. He takes pains to tell +us, and to write it down for the benefit of posterity, that "snow +is colder than water, because it hath more spirit in it, and that +quicksilver is the coldest of all metals, because it is the fullest of +spirit." + +He stated that he hardly believed that you could contract air by putting +opium on top of the weather glass, and gave the following reason: + +"I conceive that opium and the like make spirits fly rather by malignity +than by cold." + +This great philosopher gave the following recipe for staunching blood: + +"Thrust the part that bleedeth into the body of a capon, new ripped and +bleeding. This will staunch the blood. The blood, as it seemeth, sucking +and drawing up by similitude of substance the blood it meeteth with, and +so itself going back." + +The philosopher also records this important fact: "Divers witches among +heathen and Christians have fed upon man's flesh to aid, as it seemeth, +their imagination with high and foul vapors." + +Lord Bacon was not only a philosopher, but he was a biologist, as +appears from the following: + +"As for living creatures, it is certain that their vital spirits are a +substance compounded of an airy and flamy matter, and although air and +flame being free will not mingle, yet bound in by a body that hath some +fixing, will." + +Now and then the inventor of deduction reasons by analogy. He says: + +"As snow and ice holpen, and their cold activated by nitre or salt, will +turn water into ice, so it may be it will turn wood or stiff clay into +stone." + +Bacon seems to have been a believer in the transmutation of metals, and +solemnly gives a formula for changing silver or copper into gold. He +also believed in the transmutation of plants, and had arrived at such +a height in entomology that he informed the world that "insects have no +blood." + +It is claimed that he was a great observer, and as evidence of this +he recorded the wonderful fact that "tobacco cut and dried by the fire +loses weight" that "bears in the winter wax fat in sleep, though they eat +nothing" that "tortoises have no bones" that "there is a kind of stone, if +ground and put in water where cattle drink, the cows will give more milk" +that "it is hard to cure a hurt in a Frenchman's head, but easy in his +leg;" that "it is hard to cure a hurt in an Englishman's leg, but easy in +his head;" that "wounds made with brass weapons are easier to cure than +those made with iron;" that "lead will multiply and increase, as in +statues buried in the ground" and that "the rainbow touching anything +causeth a sweet smell." + +Bacon seems also to have turned his attention to ornithology, and says +that "eggs laid in the full of the moon breed better birds," and that +"you can make swallows white by putting ointment on the eggs before they +are hatched." + +He also informs us "that witches cannot hurt kings as easily as they can +common people" that "perfumes dry and strengthen the brain" that "any one +in the moment of triumph can be injured by another who casts an envious +eye, and the injury is greatest when the envious glance comes from the +oblique eye." + +Lord Bacon also turned his attention to medicine, and he states that +"bracelets made of snakes are good for curing cramps" that "the skin of +a wolf might cure the colic, because a wolf has great digestion" that +"eating the roasted brains of hens and hares strengthens the memory" +that "if a woman about to become a mother eats a good many quinces and +considerable coriander seed, the child will be ingenious," and that +"the moss which groweth on the skull of an unburied dead man is good for +staunching blood." + +He expresses doubt, however, "as to whether you can cure a wound by +putting ointment on the weapon that caused the wound, instead of on the +wound itself." + +It is claimed by the advocates of the Baconian theory that their hero +stood at the top of science; and yet "it is absolutely certain that he +was ignorant of the law of the acceleration of falling bodies, although +the law had been made known and printed by Galileo thirty years before +Bacon wrote upon the subject. Neither did this great man understand the +principle of the lever. He was not acquainted with the precession of +the equinoxes, and as a matter of fact was ill-read in those branches of +learning in which, in his time, the most rapid progress had been made." + +After Kepler discovered his third law, which was on the 15th of May, +1618, Bacon was more than ever opposed to the Copernican system. This +great man was far behind his own time, not only in astronomy, but in +mathematics. In the preface to the "De-scriptio Globi Intellectualis," +it is admitted either that Bacon had never heard of the correction of +the parallax, or was unable to understand it. He complained on account +of the want of some method for shortening mathematical calculations; and +yet "Napier's Logarithms" had been printed nine years before the date of +his complaint. + +He attempted to form a table of specific gravities by a rude process +of his own, a process that no one has ever followed; and he did this in +spite of the fact that a far better method existed. + +We have the right to compare what Bacon wrote with what it is claimed +Shakespeare produced. I call attention to one thing--to Bacon's opinion +of human love. It is this: + +"The stage is more beholding to love than the life of man. As to the +stage, love is ever matter of comedies and now and then of tragedies, +but in life it doth much mischief--sometimes like a siren, sometimes +like a fury. Amongst all the great and worthy persons there is not one +that hath been transported to the mad degree of love, which shows that +great spirits and great business do keep out this weak passion." + +The author of "Romeo and Juliet" never wrote that. + +It seems certain that the author of the wondrous Plays was one of the +noblest of men. + +Let us see what sense of honor Bacon had. + +In writing commentaries on certain passages of Scripture, Lord Bacon +tells a courtier, who has committed some offence, how to get back into +the graces of his prince or king. Among other things he tells him not to +appear too cheerful, but to assume a very grave and modest face; not to +bring the matter up himself; to be extremely industrious, so that the +prince will see that it is hard to get along without him; also to get +his friends to tell the prince or king how badly he, the courtier, +feels; and then he says, all these failing, "let him contrive to +transfer the fault to others." + +It is true that we know but little of Shakespeare, and consequently +do not positively know that he did not have the ability to write the +Plays--but we do know Bacon, and we know that he could not have +written these Plays--consequently, they must have been written by a +comparatively unknown man--that is to say, by a man who was known by no +other writings. The fact that we do not know Shakespeare, except through +the Plays and Sonnets, makes it possible for us to believe that he was +the author. + +Some people have imagined that the Plays were written by several--but +this only increases the wonder, and adds a useless burden to credulity. + +Bacon published in his time all the writings that he claimed. Naturally, +he would have claimed his best. Is it possible that Bacon left the +wondrous children of his brain on the door-step of Shakespeare, and kept +the deformed ones at home? Is it possible that he fathered the failures +and deserted the perfect? + +Of course, it is wonderful that so little has been found touching +Shakespeare--but is it not equally wonderful, if Bacon was the +author, that not a line has been found in all his papers, containing a +suggestion, or a hint, that he was the writer of these Plays? Is it +not wonderful that no fragment of any scene--no line--no word--has been +found? + +Some have insisted that Bacon kept the authorship secret because it +was disgraceful to write Plays. This argument does not cover the +Sonnets--and besides, one who had been stripped of the robes of office +for receiving bribes as a judge, could have borne the additional +disgrace of having written "Hamlet." The fact that Bacon did not claim +to be the author, demonstrates that he was not. Shakespeare claimed +to be the author, and no one in his time or day denied the claim. This +demonstrates that he was. + +Bacon published his works, and said to the world: This is what I have +done. + +Suppose you found in a cemetery a monument erected to John Smith, +inventor of the Smith-churn, and suppose you were told that Mr. +Smith provided for the monument in his will, and dictated the +inscription--would it be possible to convince you that Mr. Smith was +also the inventor of the locomotive and telegraph? + +Bacon's best can be compared with Shakespeare's common, but +Shakespeare's best rises above Bacon's best, like a domed temple above a +beggar's hut. + +VI. + +OF course it is admitted that there were many dramatists before and +during the time of Shakespeare--but they were only the foot hills of +that mighty peak the top of which the clouds and mists still hide. +Chapman and Marlowe, Heywood and Jonson, Webster, Beaumont and Fletcher +wrote some great lines, and in the monotony of declamation now and then +is found a strain of genuine music--but all of them together constituted +only a herald of Shakespeare. In all these Plays there is but a hint, +a prophecy, of the great drama destined to revolutionize the poetic +thought of the world. + +Shakespeare was the greatest of poets. What Greece and Rome produced was +great until his time. "Lions make leopards tame." + +The great poet is a great artist. He is painter and sculptor. The +greatest pictures and statues have been painted and chiseled with words. +They outlast all others. All the galleries of the world are poor and +cheap compared with the statues and pictures in Shakespeare's book. + +Language is made of pictures represented by sounds. The outer world is +a dictionary of the mind, and the artist called the soul uses this +dictionary of things to express what happens in the noiseless and +invisible world of thought. First a sound represents something in the +outer world, and afterwards something in the inner, and this sound at +last is represented by a mark, and this mark stands for a picture, +and every brain is a gallery, and the artists--that is to say, the +souls--exchange pictures and statues. + +All art is of the same parentage. The poet uses words--makes pictures +and statues of sounds. The sculptor expresses harmony, proportion, +passion, in marble; the composer, in music; the painter in form and +color. The dramatist expresses himself not only in words, not only +paints these pictures, but he expresses his thought in action. + +Shakespeare was not only a poet, but a dramatist, and expressed the +ideal, the poetic, not only in words, but in action. There are the +wit, the humor, the pathos, the tragedy of situation, of relation. The +dramatist speaks and acts through others--his personality is lost. +The poet lives in the world of thought and feeling, and to this the +dramatist adds the world of action. He creates characters that seem to +act in accordance with their own natures and independently of him. He +compresses lives into hours, tells us the secrets of the heart, shows us +the springs of action--how desire bribes the judgment and corrupts the +will--how weak the reason is when passion pleads, and how grand it is to +stand for right against the world. + +It is not enough to say fine things,--great things, dramatic things, +must be done. + +Let me give you an illustration of dramatic incident accompanying the +highest form of poetic expression: + +Macbeth having returned from the murder of Duncan says to his wife: + + "Methought I heard a voice cry: Sleep no more, + Macbeth does murder sleep; the innocent sleep; + Sleep, that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, + The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath, + Balm of hurt minds, great Nature's second course, + Chief nourisher in life's feast."... + + "Still it cried: Sleep no more, to all the house, + Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor + Shall sleep no more--Macbeth shall sleep no more." + +She exclaims: + + "Who was it that thus cried? + Why, worthy Thane, you do unbend your noble strength + To think so brain-sickly of things; get some water, + And wash this filthy witness from your hand. + Why did you bring the daggers from the place?" + +Macbeth was so overcome with horror at his own deed, that he not only +mistook his thoughts for the words of others, but was so carried away +and beyond himself that he brought with him the daggers--the evidence of +his guilt--the daggers that he should have left with the dead. This is +dramatic. + +In the same play, the difference of feeling before and after the +commission of a crime is illustrated to perfection. When Macbeth is +on his way to assassinate the king, the bell strikes, and he says, or +whispers: + + "Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell." + +Afterward, when the deed has been committed, and a knocking is heard at +the gate, he cries: + + "Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou couldst." + +Let me give one more instance of dramatic action. When Antony speaks +above the body of Cæsar he says: + + "You all do know this mantle: + I remember The first time ever Cæsar put it on-- + 'Twas on a summer's evening, in his tent, + That day he overcame the Nervii: + Look! In this place ran Cassius' dagger through: + See what a rent the envious Casca made! + Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabbed, + And as he plucked his cursed steel away, + Mark how the blood of Cæsar followed it." + + +VII. + +THERE are men, and many of them, who are always trying to show that +somebody else chiseled the statue or painted the picture,--that the poem +is attributed to the wrong man, and that the battle was really won by a +subordinate. + +Of course Shakespeare made use of the work of others--and, we might +almost say, of all others. Every writer must use the work of others. +The only question is, how the accomplishments of other minds are used, +whether as a foundation to build higher, or whether stolen to the end +that the thief may make a reputation for himself, without adding to the +great structure of literature. + +Thousands of people have stolen stones from the Coliseum to make huts +for themselves. So thousands of writers have taken the thoughts of +others with which to adorn themselves. These are plagiarists. But the +man who takes the thought of another, adds to it, gives it intensity and +poetic form, throb and life,--is in the highest sense original. + +Shakespeare found nearly all of his facts in the writings of others, +and was indebted to others for most of the stories of his plays. The +question is not: Who furnished the stone, or who owned the quarry, but +who chiseled the statue? + +We now know all the books that Shakespeare could have read, and +consequently know many of the sources of his information. We find in +Pliny's _Natural History_, published in 1601, the following: "The sea +Pontis evermore floweth and runneth out into the Propontis; but the sea +never retireth back again with the Impontis." This was the raw material, +and out of it Shakespeare made the following: + + "Like to the Pontic Sea, + Whose icy current and compulsive course + Ne'er feels retiring ebb, but keeps due on + To the Propontic and the Hellespont-- + Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace, + Shall ne'er turn back, ne'er ebb to humble love, + Till that a capable and wide revenge Swallow them up." + +Perhaps we can give an idea of the difference between Shakespeare and +other poets, by a passage from "Lear." When Cordelia places her hand +upon her father's head and speaks of the night and of the storm, an +ordinary poet might have said: + + "On such a night, a dog + Should have stood against my fire." + +A very great poet might have gone a step further and exclaimed: + + "On such a night, mine enemy's dog + Should have stood against my fire." + +But Shakespeare said: + + "Mine enemy's dog, though he had bit me, + Should have stood, that night, against my fire." + +Of all the poets--of all the writers--Shakespeare is the most original. +He is as original as Nature. + +It may truthfully be said that "Nature wants stuff to vie strange forms +with fancy, to make another." + +VIII. + +THERE is in the greatest poetry a kind of extravagance that touches the +infinite, and in this Shakespeare exceeds all others. + +You will remember the description given of the voyage of Paris in search +of Helen: + + "The seas and winds, old wranglers, made a truce, + And did him service; he touched the ports desired, + And for an old aunt, whom the Greeks held captive, + He brought a Grecian queen whose youth and freshness + Wrinkles Apollo, and makes stale the morning." + +So, in Pericles, when the father finds his daughter, he cries out: + + "O Helicanus! strike me, honored sir; + Give me a gash, put me to present pain, + Lest this great sea of joys, rushing upon me, + O'erbear the shores of my mortality." + +The greatest compliment that man has ever paid to the woman he adores is +this line: + + "Eyes that do mislead the morn." + +Nothing can be conceived more perfectly poetic. In that marvelous play, +the "Midsummer Night's Dream," is one of the most extravagant things in +literature: + + "Thou rememberest Since once I sat upon a promontory, + And heard a mermaid on a dolphin's back + Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath + That the rude sea grew civil at her song, + And certain stars shot madly from their spheres + To hear the sea-maid's music." + +This is so marvelously told that it almost seems probable. + +So the description of Mark Antony: + + "For his bounty + There was no winter in't--an autumn t'was + That grew the more by reaping. + + His delights + Were dolphin-like--they showed his back above + The element they lived in." + +Think of the astronomical scope and amplitude of this: + + "Her bed is India--there she lies a pearl." + +Is there anything more intense than these words of Cleopatra? + + "Rather on Nilus mud lay me stark naked + And let the water-flies blow me into abhorring." + +Or this of Isabella: + + "The impression of keen whips I'd wear as rubies, + And strip myself to death as to a bed + That longing I've been sick for, ere I yield + My body up to shame." + +Is there an intellectual man in the world who will not agree with this? + + "Let me not live + After my flame lacks oil, to be the snuff + Of younger spirits." + +Can anything exceed the words of Troilus when parting with Cressida: + + "We two, that with so many thousand sighs + Did buy each other, most poorly sell ourselves + With the rude brevity and discharge of one. + Injurious time now with a robber's haste + Crams his rich thievery up, he knows not how; + As many farewells as be stars in heaven, + With distinct breath and consigned kisses to them, + He fumbles up into a loos'e adieu, + And scants us with a single famished kiss, + Distasted with the salt of broken tears." + +Take this example, where pathos almost touches the grotesque. + + "O dear Juliet, why art thou yet so fair? + Shall I believe that unsubstantial death is amorous, + And that the lean, abhorred monster keeps thee here. + I' the dark, to be his paramour?" + +Often when reading the marvelous lines of Shakespeare, I feel that his +thoughts are "too subtle potent, tuned too sharp in sweetness, for the +capacity of my ruder powers." Sometimes I cry out, "O churl!--write all, +and leave no thoughts for those who follow after." + +IX. + +SHAKESPEARE was an innovator, an iconoclast. He cared nothing for the +authority of men or of schools. He violated the "unities," and cared +nothing for the models of the ancient world. + +The Greeks insisted that nothing should be in a play that did not tend +to the catastrophe. They did not believe in the episode--in the sudden +contrasts of light and shade--in mingling the comic and the tragic. +The sunlight never fell upon their tears, and darkness did not overtake +their laughter. They believed that nature sympathized or was in harmony +with the events of the play. When crime was about to be committed--some +horror to be perpetrated--the light grew dim, the wind sighed, the trees +shivered, and upon all was the shadow of the coming event. + +Shakespeare knew that the play had little to do with the tides and +currents of universal life--that Nature cares neither for smiles nor +tears, for life nor death, and that the sun shines as gladly on coffins +as on cradles. + +The first time I visited the Place de la Concorde, where during the +French Revolution stood the guillotine, and where now stands an +Egyptian obelisk--a bird, sitting on the top, was singing with all its +might.--Nature forgets. + +One of the most notable instances of the violation by Shakespeare of the +classic model, is found in the 6th scene of the I. Act of Macbeth. + +When the King and Banquo approach the castle in which the King is to be +murdered that night, no shadow falls athwart the threshold. So beautiful +is the scene that the King says: + + "This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air + Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself + Unto our gentle senses." + +And Banquo adds: + + "This guest of summer, + The temple-haunting martlet, does approve + By his loved mansionry that the heaven's breath + Smells wooingly here; no jutty, frieze, + Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird + Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle. + Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed + The air is delicate." + +Another notable instance is the porter scene immediately following +the murder. So, too, the dialogue with the clown who brings the asp to +Cleopatra just before the suicide, illustrates my meaning. + +I know of one paragraph in the Greek drama worthy of Shakespeare. This +is in "Medea." When Medea kills her children she curses Jason, using the +ordinary Billingsgate and papal curse, but at the conclusion says: "I +pray the gods to make him virtuous, that he may the more deeply feel the +pang that I inflict." + +Shakespeare dealt in lights and shadows. He was intense. He put noons +and midnights side by side. No other dramatist would have dreamed of +adding to the pathos--of increasing our appreciation of Lear's agony, +by supplementing the wail of the mad king with the mocking laughter of a +loving clown. + +X. + +THE ordinary dramatists--the men of talent--(and there is the same +difference between talent and genius that there is between a stone-mason +and a sculptor) create characters that become types. Types are +of necessity caricatures--actual men and women are to some extent +contradictory in their actions. Types are blown in the one direction by +the one wind--characters have pilots. + +In real people, good and evil mingle. Types are all one way, or all the +other--all good, or all bad, all wise, or all foolish. + +Pecksniff was a perfect type, a perfect hypocrite--and will remain a +type as long as language lives--a hypocrite that even drunkenness could +not change. Everybody understands Pecksniff, and compared with him +Tartuffe was an honest man. + +Hamlet is an individual, a person, an actual being--and for that +reason there is a difference of opinion as to his motives and as to +his character. We differ about Hamlet as we do about Cæsar, or about +Shakespeare himself. + +Hamlet saw the ghost of his father and heard again his fathers voice, +and yet, afterward, he speaks of "the undiscovered country from whose +bourne no traveler returns." + +In this there is no contradiction. The reason outweighs the senses. If +we should see a dead man rise from his grave, we would not, the next +day, believe that we did. No one can credit a miracle until it becomes +so common that it ceases to be miraculous. + +Types are puppets--controlled from without--characters act from within. +There is the same difference between characters and types that there +is between springs and water-works, between canals and rivers, between +wooden soldiers and heroes. + +In most plays and in most novels the characters are so shadowy that we +have to piece them out with the imagination. + +One waking in the morning sometimes sees at the foot of his bed a +strange figure--it may be of an ancient lady with cap and ruffles and +with the expression of garrulous and fussy old age--but when the light +gets stronger, the figure gradually changes and he sees a few clothes on +a chair. + +The dramatist lives the lives of others, and in order to delineate +character must not only have imagination but sympathy with the character +delineated. The great dramatist thinks of a character as an entirety, as +an individual. + +I once had a dream, and in this dream I was discussing a subject with +another man. It occurred to me that I was dreaming, and I then said +to myself: If this is a dream, I am doing the talking for both +sides--consequently I ought to know in advance what the other man is +going to say. In my dream I tried the experiment. I then asked the other +man a question, and before he answered made up my mind what the answer +was to be. To my surprise, the man did not say what I expected he would, +and so great was my astonishment that I awoke. + +It then occurred to me that I had discovered the secret of Shakespeare. +He did, when awake, what I did when asleep--that is, he threw off a +character so perfect that it acted independently of him. + +In the delineation of character Shakespeare has no rivals. He creates no +monsters. His characters do not act without reason, without motive. + +Iago had his reasons. In Caliban, nature was not destroyed--and Lady +Macbeth certifies that the woman still was in her heart, by saying: + + "Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done it." + +Shakespeare's characters act from within. They are centres of energy. +They are not pushed by unseen hands, or pulled by unseen strings. They +have objects, desires. They are persons--real, living beings. + +Few dramatists succeed in getting their characters loose from the +canvas--their backs stick to the wall--they do not have free and +independent action--they have no background, no unexpressed motives--no +untold desires. They lack the complexity of the real. + +Shakespeare makes the character true to itself. Christopher Sly, +surrounded by the luxuries of a lord, true to his station, calls for a +pot of the smallest ale. + +Take one expression by Lady Macbeth. You remember that after the murder +is discovered--after the alarm bell is rung--she appears upon the scene +wanting to know what has happened. Macduff refuses to tell her, saying +that the slightest word would murder as it fell. At this moment Banquo +comes upon the scene and Macduff cries out to him: + + "Our royal master's murdered." + +What does Lady Macbeth then say? She in fact makes a confession of +guilt. The weak point in the terrible tragedy is that Duncan was +murdered in Macbeth's castle. So when Lady Macbeth hears what they +suppose is news to her, she cries: + + "What! In our house!" + +Had she been innocent, her horror of the crime would have made her +forget the place--the venue. Banquo sees through this, and sees through +her. + +Her expression was a light, by which he saw her guilt--and he answers: + + "Too cruel anywhere." + +No matter whether Shakespeare delineated clown or king, warrior or +maiden--no matter whether his characters are taken from the gutter or +the throne--each is a work of consummate art, and when he is unnatural, +he is so splendid that the defect is forgotten. + +When Romeo is told of the death of Juliet, and thereupon makes up his +mind to die upon her grave, he gives a description of the shop where +poison could be purchased. He goes into particulars and tells of the +alligators stuffed, of the skins of ill-shaped fishes, of the beggarly +account of empty boxes, of the remnants of pack-thread, and old cakes +of roses--and while it is hardly possible to believe that under such +circumstances a man would take the trouble to make an inventory of a +strange kind of drug-store, yet the inventory is so perfect--the picture +is so marvelously drawn--that we forget to think whether it is natural +or not. + +In making the frame of a great picture--of a great scene--Shakespeare +was often careless, but the picture is perfect. In making the sides of +the arch he was negligent, but when he placed the keystone, it burst +into blossom. Of course there are many lines in Shakespeare that never +should have been written. In other words, there are imperfections in his +plays. But we must remember that Shakespeare furnished the torch that +enables us to see these imperfections. + +Shakespeare speaks through his characters, and we must not mistake what +the characters say, for the opinion of Shakespeare. No one can believe +that Shakespeare regarded life as "a tale told by an idiot, full of +sound and fury, signifying nothing." That was the opinion of a murderer, +surrounded by avengers, and whose wife--partner in his crimes--troubled +with thick-coming fancies--had gone down to her death. + +Most actors and writers seem to suppose that the lines called "The Seven +Ages" contain Shakespeare's view of human life. Nothing could be further +from the truth. The lines were uttered by a cynic, in contempt and scorn +of the human race. + +Shakespeare did not put his characters in the livery and uniform of +some weakness, peculiarity or passion. He did not use names as tags or +brands. He did not write under the picture, "This is a villain." His +characters need no suggestive names to tell us what they are--we see +them and we know them for ourselves. + +It may be that in the greatest utterances of the greatest characters in +the supreme moments, we have the real thoughts, opinions and convictions +of Shakespeare. + +Of all writers Shakespeare is the most impersonal. He speaks through +others, and the others seem to speak for themselves. The didactic is +lost in the dramatic. He does not use the stage as a pulpit to enforce +some maxim. He is as reticent as Nature. + +He idealizes the common and transfigures all he touches--but he does +not preach. He was interested in men and things as they were. He did not +seek to change them--but to portray. He was Natures mirror--and in that +mirror Nature saw herself. + +When I stood amid the great trees of California that lift their +spreading capitals against the clouds, looking like Nature's columns to +support the sky, I thought of the poetry of Shakespeare. + +IX. + +THAT a procession of men and women--statesmen and warriors--kings and +clowns--issued from Shakespeare's brain! What women! + +_Isabella_--in whose spotless life love and reason blended into perfect +truth. + +_Juliet_--within whose heart passion and purity met like white and red +within the bosom of a rose. + +_Cordelia_--who chose to suffer loss, rather than show her wealth of +love with those who gilded lies in hope of gain. + +_Hermione_--"tender as infancy and grace"--who bore with perfect hope +and faith the cross of shame, and who at last forgave with all her +heart. + +_Desdemona_--so innocent, so perfect, her love so pure, that she was +incapable of suspecting that another could suspect, and who with dying +words sought to hide her lover's crime--and with her last faint breath +uttered a loving lie that burst into a perfumed lily between her pallid +lips. + +_Perdita_--"a violet dim, and sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes"--"The +sweetest low-born lass that ever ran on the green sward." And + +_Helena_--who said: + + "I know I love in vain, strive against hope-- + Yet in this captious and intenable sieve + I still pour in the waters of my love, + And lack not to lose still, + Thus, Indian-like, + Religious in mine error, I adore + The sun that looks upon his worshiper, + But knows of him no more." + +_Miranda_--who told her love as gladly as a flower gives its bosom to +the kisses of the sun. And _Cordelia_--whose kisses cured and whose +tears restored. And stainless + +_Imogen_--who cried: "What is it to be false?" And here is the +description of the perfect woman: + + "To feed for aye her lamp and flames of love; + To keep her constancy in plight and youth-- + Outliving beauty's outward with a mind + That doth renew swifter than blood decays." + +Shakespeare has done more for woman than all the other dramatists of the +world. + +For my part, I love the Clowns. I love _Launce_ and his dog Crabb, and +_Gobbo_, whose conscience threw its arms around the neck of his heart, +and _Touchstone_, with his lie seven times removed; and dear old +_Dogberry_--a pretty piece of flesh, tedious as a king. And _Bottom_, +the very paramour for a sweet voice, longing to take the part to tear +a cat in; and _Autolycus_, the snapper-up of unconsidered trifles, +sleeping out the thought for the life to come. And great _Sir John_, +without conscience, and for that reason unblamed and enjoyed--and who +at the end babbles of green fields, and is almost loved. And ancient +_Pistol_, the world his oyster. And _Bardolph_, with the flea on his +blazing nose, putting beholders in mind of a damned soul in hell. And +the poor _Pool_, who followed the mad king, and went "to bed at +noon." And the clown who carried the worm of Nilus, whose "biting was +immortal." And _Corin_, the shepherd--who described the perfect man: +"I am a true laborer: I earn that I eat--get that I wear--owe no man +aught--envy no man's happiness--glad of other men's good--content." + +And mingling in this motley throng, Lear, within whose brain a tempest +raged until the depths were stirred, and the intellectual wealth of a +life was given back to memory?--and then by madness thrown to storm and +night--and when I read the living lines I feel as though I looked upon +the sea and saw it wrought by frenzied whirlwinds, until the buried +treasures and the sunken wrecks of all the years were cast upon the +shores. + +And _Othello_--who like the base Indian threw a pearl away richer than +all his tribe. + +And _Hamlet_--thought-entangled--hesitating between two worlds. + +And _Macbeth_--strange mingling of cruelty and conscience, reaping +the sure harvest of successful crime--"Curses not loud but +deep--mouth-honor--breath." + +And _Brutus_, falling on his sword that Cæsar might be still. + +And _Romeo_, dreaming of the white wonder of Juliet's hand. And +_Ferdinand_, the patient log-man for Miranda's sake. And _Florizel_, +who, "for all the sun sees, or the close earth wombs, or the +profound seas hide," would not be faithless to the low-born lass. And +_Constance_, weeping for her son, while grief "stuffs out his vacant +garments with his form." + +And in the midst of tragedies and tears, of love and laughter and crime, +we hear the voice of the good friar, who declares that in every human +heart, as in the smallest flower, there are encamped the opposed hosts +of good and evil--and our philosophy is interrupted by the garrulous old +nurse, whose talk is as busily useless as the babble of a stream that +hurries by a ruined mill. + +From every side the characters crowd upon us--the men and women born of +Shakespeare's brain. They utter with a thousand voices the thoughts of +the "myriad-minded" man, and impress themselves upon us as deeply and +vividly as though they really lived with us. + +Shakespeare alone has delineated love in every possible phase--has +ascended to the very top, and actually reached heights that no other has +imagined. I do not believe the human mind will ever produce or be in a +position to appreciate, a greater love-play than "Romeo and Juliet." It +is a symphony in which all music seems to blend. The heart bursts into +blossom, and he who reads feels the swooning intoxication of a divine +perfume. + +In the alembic of Shakespeare's brain the baser metals were turned to +gold--passions became virtues--weeds became exotics from some diviner +land--and common mortals made of ordinary clay outranked the Olympian +Gods. In his brain there was the touch of chaos that suggests +the infinite--that belongs to genius. Talent is measured and +mathematical--dominated by prudence and the thought of use. Genius is +tropical. The creative instinct runs riot, delights in extravagance and +waste, and overwhelms the mental beggars of the world with uncounted +gold and unnumbered gems. + +Some things are immortal: The plays of Shakespeare, the marbles of the +Greeks, and the music of Wagner. + +XII. + +SHAKESPEARE was the greatest of philosophers. He knew the conditions of +success--of happiness--the relations that men sustain to each other, +and the duties of all. He knew the tides and currents of the heart--the +cliffs and caverns of the brain. He knew the weakness of the will, the +sophistry of desire--and + + "That pleasure and revenge have ears more deaf than + Adders to the voice of any true decision." + +He knew that the soul lives in an invisible world--that flesh is but a +mask, and that + + "There is no art to find the mind's construction + In the face." + +He knew that courage should be the servant of judgment, and that + + "When valor preys on reason it eats the sword + It fights with." + +He knew that man is never master of the event, that he is to some extent +the sport or prey of the blind forces of the world, and that + + "In the reproof of chance lies the true proof of men." + +Feeling that the past is unchangeable, and that that which must happen +is as much beyond control as though it had happened, he says: + + "Let determined things to destiny + Hold unbewailed their way." + +Shakespeare was great enough to know that every human being prefers +happiness to misery, and that crimes are but mistakes. Looking in +pity upon the human race, upon the pain and poverty, the crimes and +cruelties, the limping travelers on the thorny paths, he was great and +good enough to say: + + "There is no darkness but ignorance." + +In all the philosophies there is no greater line. This great truth fills +the heart with pity. + +He knew that place and power do not give happiness--that the crowned are +subject as the lowest to fate and chance. + + "For within the hollow crown, + That rounds the mortal temples of a king, + Keeps death his court; and there the antick sits, + Scoffing his state, and grinning at his pomp; + Allowing him a breath, a little scene + To monarchize, be fear'd, and kill with looks; + Infusing him with self and vain conceit.-- + As if this flesh, which walls about our life, + Were brass impregnable; and, humour'd thus; + Comes at the last, and with a little pin + Bores through his castle wall, and--farewell king!" + +So, too, he knew that gold could not bring joy--that death and +misfortune come alike to rich and poor, because: + + "If thou art rich thou art poor; + For like an ass whose back with ingots bows + Thou bearest thy heavy riches but a journey, + And death unloads thee." + +In some of his philosophy there was a kind of scorn--a hidden meaning +that could not in his day and time have safely been expressed. You will +remember that Laertes was about to kill the king, and this king was the +murderer of his own brother, and sat upon the throne by reason of his +crime--and in the mouth of such a king Shakespeare puts these words: + + "There's such divinity doth hedge a king." + +So, in Macbeth: + + "How he solicits + Heaven himself best knows; but strangely visited people + All swollen and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye, + The mere despairs of surgery, he cures; + Hanging a golden stamp about their necks, + Put on with holy prayers; and 'tis spoken + To the succeeding royalty--he leaves + The healing benediction. + + With this strange virtue + He hath a heavenly gift of prophecy, + And sundry blessings hang about his throne, + That speak him full of grace." + +Shakespeare was the master of the human heart--knew all the hopes, +fears, ambitions and passions that sway the mind of man; and thus +knowing, he declared that + + "Love is not love that alters + When it alteration finds." + +This is the sublimest declaration in the literature of the world. + +Shakespeare seems to give the generalization--the result--without the +process of thought. He seems always to be at the conclusion--standing +where all truths meet. + +In one of the Sonnets is this fragment of a line that contains the +highest possible truth: + + "Conscience is born of love." + +If man were incapable of suffering, the words right and wrong never +could have been spoken. If man were destitute of imagination, the flower +of pity never could have blossomed in his heart. + +We suffer--we cause others to suffer--those that we love--and of this +fact conscience is born. + +Love is the many-colored flame that makes the fireside of the heart. It +is the mingled spring and autumn--the perfect climate of the soul. + +XIII. + +IN the realm of comparison Shakespeare seems to have exhausted the +relations, parallels and similitudes of things, He only could have said: + + "Tedious as a twice-told tale + Vexing the ears of a drowsy man." + "Duller than a great thaw. + Dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage." + +In the words of Ulysses, spoken to Achilles, we find the most wonderful +collection of pictures and comparisons ever compressed within the same +number of lines: + + "Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, + Wherein he puts alms for oblivion,-- + A great-sized monster of ingratitudes-- + Those scraps are good deeds past; which are devoured + As fast as they are made, forgot as soon + As done; perseverance, dear my lord, + Keeps honor bright: to have done is to hang + Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail + In monumental mockery. Take the instant way; + For honor travels in a strait so narrow + Where one but goes abreast; keep then the path; + For emulation hath a thousand sons + That one by one pursue; if you give way, + Or hedge aside from the direct forthright, + Like to an entered tide, they all rush by + And leave you hindmost: + Or, like a gallant horse fallen in first rank, + Lie there for pavement to the abject rear, + O'errun and trampled on: then what they do in present, + Tho' less than yours in past, must o'ertop yours; + For time is like a fashionable host + That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand, + And with his arms outstretched as he would fly, + Grasps in the comer: Welcome ever smiles, + And Farewell goes out sighing." + +So the words of Cleopatra, when Charmain speaks: + + "Peace, peace: + Dost thou not see my baby at my breast + That sucks the nurse asleep?" + +XIV. + +NOTHING is more difficult than a definition--a crystallization of +thought so perfect that it emits light. Shakespeare says of suicide: + + "It is great to do that thing + That ends all other deeds, + Which shackles accident, and bolts up change." + +He defines drama to be: + + "Turning the accomplishments of many years + Into an hour glass." + +Of death: + + "This sensible warm motion to become a kneaded clod, + To lie in cold obstruction and to rot." + +Of memory: + + "The warder of the brain." + +Of the body: + + "This muddy vesture of decay." + +And he declares that + + "Our little life is rounded with a sleep." + +He speaks of Echo as: + + "The babbling gossip of the air"-- + +Romeo, addressing the poison that he is about to take, says: + + "Come, bitter conduct, come unsavory guide, + Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on + The dashing rocks thy sea-sick, weary bark." + +He describes the world as + + "This bank and shoal of time." + +He says of rumor-- + + "That it doubles, like the voice and echo." + +It would take days to call attention to the perfect definitions, +comparisons and generalizations of Shakespeare. He gave us the deeper +meanings of our words--taught us the art of speech. He was the lord of +language--master of expression and compression. + +He put the greatest thoughts into the shortest words--made the poor rich +and the common royal. + +Production enriched his brain. Nothing exhausted him. The moment his +attention was called to any subject--comparisons, definitions, metaphors +and generalizations filled his mind and begged for utterance. His +thoughts like bees robbed every blossom in the world, and then with +"merry march" brought the rich booty home "to the tent royal of their +emperor." + +Shakespeare was the confidant of Nature. To him she opened her "infinite +book of secrecy," and in his brain were "the hatch and brood of time." + +XV. + +THERE is in Shakespeare the mingling of laughter and tears, humor and +pathos. Humor is the rose, wit the thorn. Wit is a crystallization, +humor an efflorescence. Wit comes from the brain, humor from the heart. +Wit is the lightning of the soul. + +In Shakespeare's nature was the climate of humor. He saw and felt the +sunny side even of the saddest things. You have seen sunshine and rain +at once. So Shakespeare's tears fell oft upon his smiles. In moments of +peril--on the very darkness of death--there comes a touch of humor that +falls like a fleck of sunshine. + +Gonzalo, when the ship is about to sink, having seen the boatswain, +exclaims: + + "I have great comfort from this fellow; + Methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him; + His complexion is perfect gallows." + +Shakespeare is filled with the strange contrasts of grief and laughter. +While poor Hero is supposed to be dead--wrapped in the shroud of +dishonor--Dogberry and Verges unconsciously put again the wedding wreath +upon her pure brow. + +The soliloquy of Launcelot--great as Hamlet's--offsets the bitter and +burning words of Shylock. + +There is only time to speak of Maria in "Twelfth Night," of Autolycus in +the "Winter's Tale," of the parallel drawn by Fluellen between Alexander +of Macedon and Harry of Monmouth, or of the marvelous humor of Falstaff, +who never had the faintest thought of right or wrong--or of Mercutio, +that embodiment of wit and humor--or of the gravediggers who lamented +that "great folk should have countenance in this world to drown and +hang themselves, more than their even Christian," and who reached the +generalization that "the gallows does well because it does well to those +who do ill." + +There is also an example of grim humor--an example without a parallel in +literature, so far as I know. Hamlet having killed Polonius is asked: + + "Where's Polonius?" + + "At supper." + + "At supper! where?" + + "Not where he eats, but where he is eaten." + +Above all others, Shakespeare appreciated the pathos of situation. + +Nothing is more pathetic than the last scene in "Lear." No one has +ever bent above his dead who did not feel the words uttered by the mad +king,--words born of a despair deeper than tears: + + "Oh, that a horse, a dog, a rat hath life + And thou no breath!" + +So Iago, after he has been wounded, says: + + "I bleed, sir; but not killed." + +And Othello answers from the wreck and shattered remnant of his life: + + "I would have thee live; + For in my sense it is happiness to die." + +When Troilus finds Cressida has been false, he cries: + + "Let it not be believed for womanhood; + Think! we had mothers." + +Ophelia, in her madness, "_the sweet bells jangled out o' tune,_" says +softly: + + "I would give you some violets; + But they withered all when my father died." + +When Macbeth has reaped the harvest, the seeds of which were sown by his +murderous hand, he exclaims,--and what could be more pitiful? + + "I 'gin to be aweary of the sun." + +Richard the Second feels how small a thing it is to be, or to have been, +a king, or to receive honors before or after power is lost; and so, of +those who stood uncovered before him, he asks this piteous question: + + "I live with bread, like you; feel want, + Taste grief, need friends; subjected thus, + How can you say to me I am a king?" + +Think of the salutation of Antony to the dead Cæsar: + + "Pardon me, thou piece of bleeding earth." + +When Pisanio informs Imogen that he had been ordered by Posthumus to +murder her, she bares her neck and cries: + + "The lamb entreats the butcher: + Where is thy knife? Thou art too slow + To do thy master's bidding when I desire it." + +Antony, as the last drops are falling from his self-inflicted wound, +utters with his dying breath to Cleopatra, this: + + "I here importune death awhile, until + Of many thousand kisses the poor last + I lay upon thy lips." + +To me, the last words of Hamlet are full of pathos: + + "I die, Horatio. + The potent poison quite o' er crows my spirit... + The rest is silence." + +XVI. + +SOME have insisted that Shakespeare must have been a physician, for +the reason that he shows such knowledge of medicine--of the symptoms of +disease and death--was so familiar with the brain, and with insanity in +all its forms. + +I do not think he was a physician. He knew too much--his generalizations +were too splendid. He had none of the prejudices of that profession +in his time. We might as well say that he was a musician, a composer, +because we find in "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" nearly every musical +term known in Shakespeare's time. + +Others maintain that he was a lawyer, perfectly acquainted with the +forms, with the expressions familiar to that profession--yet there is +nothing to show that he was a lawyer, or that he knew more about law +than any intelligent man should know. + +He was not a lawyer. His sense of justice was never dulled by reading +English law. + +Some think that he was a botanist, because he named nearly all known +plants. Others, that he was an astronomer, a naturalist, because he gave +hints and suggestions of nearly all discoveries. + +Some have thought that he must have been a sailor, for the reason that +the orders given in the opening of "The Tempest" were the best that +could, under the circumstances, have been given to save the ship. + +For my part, I think there is nothing in the plays to show that he was +a lawyer, doctor, botanist or scientist. He had the observant eyes +that really see, the ears that really hear, the brain that retains all +pictures, all thoughts, logic as unerring as light,-the imagination +that supplies defects and builds the perfect from a fragment. And these +faculties, these aptitudes, working together, account for what he did. + +He exceeded all the sons of men in the splendor of his imagination. To +him the whole world paid tribute, and nature poured her treasures at his +feet. In him all races lived again, and even those to be were pictured +in his brain. + +He was a man of imagination--that is to say, of genius, and having seen +a leaf, and a drop of water, he could construct the forests, the rivers, +and the seas--and in his presence all the cataracts would fall and foam, +the mists rise, the clouds form and float. + +If Shakespeare knew one fact, he knew its kindred and its neighbors. +Looking at a coat of mail, he instantly imagined the society, the +conditions, that produced it and what it, in turn, produced. He saw +the castle, the moat, the draw-bridge, the lady in the tower, and the +knightly lover spurring across the plain. He saw the bold baron and the +rude retainer, the trampled serf, and all the glory and the grief of +feudal life. + +He lived the life of all. + +He was a citizen of Athens in the days of Pericles. He listened to the +eager eloquence of the great orators, and sat upon the cliffs, and with +the tragic poet heard "the multitudinous laughter of the sea." He saw +Socrates thrust the spear of question through the shield and heart of +falsehood. He was present when the great man drank hemlock, and met the +night of death, tranquil as a star meets morning. He listened to the +peripatetic philosophers, and was unpuzzled by the sophists. He watched +Phidias as he chiseled shapeless stone to forms of love and awe. + +He lived by the mysterious Nile, amid the vast and monstrous. He knew +the very thought that wrought the form and features of the Sphinx. He +heard great Memnon's morning song when marble lips were smitten by +the sun. He laid him down with the embalmed and waiting dead, and felt +within their dust the expectation of another life, mingled with cold and +suffocating doubts--the children born of long delay. + +He walked the ways of mighty Rome, and saw great Cæsar with his legions +in the field. He stood with vast and motley throngs and watched the +triumphs given to victorious men, followed by uncrowned kings, the +captured hosts, and all the spoils of ruthless war. He heard the +shout that shook the Coliseum's roofless walls, when from the reeling +gladiator's hand the short sword fell, while from his bosom gushed the +stream of wasted life. + +He lived the life of savage men. He trod the forests' silent depths, and +in the desperate game of life or death he matched his thought against +the instinct of the beast. + +He knew all crimes and all regrets, all virtues and their rich rewards. +He was victim and victor, pursuer and pursued, outcast and king. He +heard the applause and curses of the world, and on his heart had fallen +all the nights and noons of failure and success. + +He knew the unspoken thoughts, the dumb desires, the wants and ways of +beasts. He felt the crouching tiger's thrill, the terror of the ambushed +prey, and with the eagles he had shared the ecstasy of flight and poise +and swoop, and he had lain with sluggish serpents on the barren rocks +uncoiling slowly in the heat of noon. + +He sat beneath the bo-tree's contemplative shade, wrapped in Buddha's +mighty thought, and dreamed all dreams that light, the alchemist, has +wrought from dust and dew, and stored within the slumbrous poppy's +subtle blood. + +He knelt with awe and dread at every shrine--he offered every sacrifice, +and every prayer--felt the consolation and the shuddering fear--mocked +and worshiped all the gods--enjoyed all heavens, and felt the pangs of +every hell. + +He lived all lives, and through his blood and brain there crept the +shadow and the chill of every death, and his soul, like Mazeppa, was +lashed naked to the wild horse of every fear and love and hate. + +The Imagination had a stage in. Shakespeare's brain, whereon were set +all scenes that lie between the morn of laughter and the night of tears, +and where his players bodied forth the false and true, the joys and +griefs, the careless shallows and the tragic deeps of universal life. + +From Shakespeare's brain there poured a Niagara of gems spanned by +Fancy's seven-hued arch. He was as many-sided as clouds are many-formed. +To him giving was hoarding--sowing was harvest--and waste itself the +source of wealth. Within his marvelous mind were the fruits of all +thought past, the seeds of all to be. As a drop of dew contains the +image of the earth and sky, so all there is of life was mirrored forth +in Shakespeare's brain. + +Shakespeare was an intellectual ocean, whose waves touched all the +shores of thought; within which were all the tides and waves of destiny +and will; over which swept all the storms of fate, ambition and revenge; +upon which fell the gloom and darkness of despair and death and all the +sunlight of content and love, and within which was the inverted sky lit +with the eternal stars--an intellectual ocean--towards which all rivers +ran, and from which now the isles and continents of thought receive +their dew and rain. + + + + +ROBERT BURNS.* + + * This lecture is printed from notes found among Colonel + Ingersoll's papers, but was not revised by him for + publication. + +A facsimile of the original manuscript as written by Colonel Ingersoll +in the Burns' cottage at Ayr, August 19, 1878. + +[Illustration: Burn's Manuscript] + +WE have met to-night to honor the memory of that has ever written in our +language. I would place one above him, and only one--Shakespeare. + +It may be well enough at the beginning to inquire, What is a poet? What +is poetry? + +Every one has some idea of the poetic, and this idea is born of his +experience--of his education--of his surroundings. + +There have been more nations than poets. + +Many people suppose that poetry is a kind of art depending upon certain +rules, and that it is only necessary to find out these rules to be a +poet. But these rules have never been found. The great poet follows them +unconsciously. The great poet seems as unconscious as Nature, and the +product of the highest art seems to have been felt instead of thought. + +The finest definition perhaps that has been given is this: a +poet--possibly the next to the greatest. + +"As nature unconsciously produces that which appears to be the result +of consciousness, so the greatest artist consciously produces that which +appears the unconscious result." + +Poetry must rest on the experience of men--the history of heart and +brain. It must sit by the fireside of the heart. It must have to do with +this world, with the place in which we live, with the men and women we +know, with their loves, their hopes, their fears and their joys. + +After all, we care nothing about gods and goddesses, or folks with +wings. + +The cloud-compelling Jupiters, the ox-eyed Junos, the feather-heeled +Mercurys, or the Minervas that leaped full-armed from the thick skull of +some imaginary god, are nothing to us. We know nothing of their fears or +loves, and for that reason, the poetry that deals with them, no matter +how ingenious it may be, can never touch the human heart. + +I was taught that Milton was a wonderful poet, and above all others +sublime. I have read Milton once. Few have read him twice. + +With splendid words, with magnificent mythological imagery, he musters +the heavenly militia--puts epaulets on the shoulders of God, and +describes the Devil as an artillery officer of the highest rank. + +Then he describes the battles in which immortals undertake the +impossible task of killing each other. + +Take this line: + + "Flying with indefatigable wings over the vast abrupt." + +This is called sublime, but what does it mean? + +We have been taught that Dante was a wonderful poet. + +He described with infinite minuteness the pangs and agonies endured by +the damned in the torture--dungeons of God. + +The vicious twins of superstition--malignity and solemnity--struggle for +the mastery in his revengeful lines. + +But there was one good thing about Dante: he had the courage, and what +might be called the religious democracy, to see a pope in hell. + +That is something to be thankful for. + +So, the sonnets of Petrarch are as unmeaning as the promises of +candidates. They are filled not with genuine passion, but with the +feelings that lovers are supposed to have. + +Poetry cannot be written by rule; it is nota trade, or a profession. Let +the critics lay down the laws, and the true poet will violate them all. + +By rule you can make skeletons, but you cannot clothe them with flesh, +put blood in their veins, thoughts in their eyes, and passions in their +hearts. + +This can be done only by following the impulses of the heart, the winged +fancies of the brain--by wandering from paths and roads, keeping step +with the rhythmic ebb and flow of the throbbing blood. + +In the olden time in Scotland, most of the so-called poetry was written +by pedagogues and parsons--gentlemen who found out what little they knew +of the living world by reading the dead languages--by studying epitaphs +in the cemeteries of literature. + +They knew nothing of any life that they thought poetic. They kept as far +from the common people as they could. They wrote countless verses, but +no poems. They tried to put metaphysics, that is to say, Calvinism, in +poetry. + +As a matter of fact, a Calvinist cannot be a poet. Calvinism takes all +the poetry out of the world. + +If the existence of the Calvinistic, the Christian, hell could be +demonstrated, another poem never could be written. . + +In those days they made poetry about geography, and the beauties of the +Scotch Kirk, and even about law. + +The critics have always been looking for mistakes, not beauties--not for +the perfection of expression and feeling. They would object to the lark +and nightingale because they do not sing by note--to the clouds because +they are not square. + +At one time it was thought that scenery, the grand in nature, made the +poet. We now know that the poet makes the scenery. Holland has produced +far more genius than the Alps. Where nature is prodigal--where the crags +tower above the clouds--man is overcome, or overawed. In England +and Scotland the hills are low, and there is nothing in the scenery +calculated to rouse poetic blood, and yet these countries have produced +the greatest literature of all time. + +The truth is that poets and heroes make the scenery. The place where +man has died for man is grander than all the snow-crowned summits of the +world. + +A poem is something like a mountain stream that flashes in light, then +lost in shadow, leaps with a kind of wild joy into the abyss, emerges +victorious, and winding runs amid meadows, lingers in quiet places, +holding within its breast the hills and vales and clouds--then running +by the cottage door, babbling of joy, and murmuring delight, then +sweeping on to join its old mother, the sea. + +Thousands, millions of men live poems, but do not write them; but every +great poem has been lived. + +I say to-night that every good and self-denying man, every one who lives +and labors for those he loves, for wife and child, is living a poem. The +loving mother rocking a cradle, singing the slumber song, lives a poem +pure and tender as the dawn; the man who bares his breast to shot and +shell lives a poem, and all the great men of the world, and all the +brave and loving women have been poets in action, whether they have +written one word or not. The poor woman of the tenement, sewing, blinded +by tears, lives a poem holier, it may be, than the fortunate can know. +The pioneers--the home builders, the heroes of toil, are all poets, and +their deeds are filled with the pathos and perfection of the highest +art. + +But to-night we are going to talk of a poet--one who poured out his soul +in song. How does a country become great? By producing great poets. Why +is it that Scotland, when the roll of nations is called, can stand up +and proudly answer "here"? Because Robert Burns has lived. It is Robert +Burns that put Scotland in the front rank. + +On the 25th of January, 1759, Robert Burns was born. William Burns, +a gardener, his father; Agnes Brown, his mother. He was born near the +little town of Ayr, in a little cottage made of mud and thatched +with straw. From the first, poverty was his portion,--"Poverty, the +half-sister of Death." The father struggled as best he could, but at +last overcome more by misfortunes than by disease, died in 1784, at the +age of 63. Robert attended school at Alloway Mill, and had been taught +a little by John Murdock, and some by his father. That was his +education--with this exception, that whenever nature produces a genius, +the old mother holds him close to her heart and whispers secrets to his +ears that others do not know. + +He had spent most of his time working on a farm, raising very poor +crops, getting deeper and deeper into debt, until finally the death of +his father left him to struggle as best he might for himself. + +In the year 1759, Scotland was emerging from the darkness and gloom of +Calvinism. The attention of the people had been drawn from the other +world, or rather from the other worlds, to the affairs of this. The +commercial spirit, the interests of trade, were winning men from the +discussion of predestination and the sacred decrees of God. Mechanics +and manufacturers were undermining theology. The influence of the clergy +was gradually diminishing, and the beggarly elements of this life were +beginning to attract the attention of the Scotch. The people at that +time were mostly poor. They had made but little progress in art and +science. They had been engaged for many years fighting for their +political or theological rights, or to destroy the rights of others. +They had great energy, great natural sense, and courage without limit, +and it may be well enough to add that they were as obstinate as brave. + +Several countries have had a metaphysical peasantry. It is true of parts +of Switzerland about the time of Calvin. In Holland, after the people +had suffered all the cruelties that Spain could inflict, they began to +discuss as to foreordination and free will, and upon these questions +destroyed each other. The same is true of New England, and peculiarly +true of Scotland--a metaphysical peasantry--men who lived in mud houses +thatched with straw and discussed the motives of God and the means by +which the Infinite Being was to accomplish his ends. + +For many years the Scotch had been ruled by the clergy. The power of +the Scotch preacher was unlimited. It so happened that the religion of +Scotland became synonymous with patriotism, and those who were fighting +Scotland were also fighting her religion. This drew priest and people +together; and the priest naturally took advantage of the situation. They +not only determined upon the policy to be pursued by the people, but +they went into every detail of life. And in this world there has +never been established a more odious tyranny or a more odious form of +government than that of the Scotch Kirk. + +A few men had made themselves famous--David Hume, Adam Smith, Doctor +Hugh Blair, he of the grave, Beattie and Ramsay, Reid and Robertson--but +the great body of the people were orthodox to the last drop of their +blood. Nothing seemed to please them like attending church, like hearing +sermons. Before Communion Sabbath they frequently met on Friday, having +two or three sermons on that day, three or four on Saturday, more if +possible on Sunday, and wound up with a kind of gospel spree on Monday. +They loved it. I think it was Heinrich Heine who said, "It is not true, +it is not true that the damned in hell are compelled to hear all the +sermons preached on earth." He says this is not true. This shows that +there is some mercy even in hell. They were infinitely interested in +these questions. + +And yet, the people were social, fond of games, of outdoor sports, +full of song and story, and no folks ever passed the cup with a happier +smile. + +Sometimes I have thought that they were saved from the gloom of +Calvinism by the use of intoxicating liquors. It may be that John +Barleycorn redeemed the Scotch and saved them from the divine dyspepsia +of the Calvinistic creed. So, too, it may be that the Puritan was saved +by rum, and the Hollander by schnapps. Yet, in spite of the gloom of +the creed, in spite of the climate of mists and fogs, and the maniac +winters, the songs of Scotland are the sweetest and the tenderest in all +the world. + +Robert Burns was a peasant--a ploughman--a poet. Why is it that millions +and millions of men and women love this man? He was a Scotchman, and all +the tendrils of his heart struck deep in Scotland's soil. He voiced the +ideals of the best and greatest of his race and blood. And yet he is +as dear to the citizens of this great Republic as to Scotia's sons and +daughters. + +All great poetry has a national flavor. It tastes of the soil. No matter +how great it is, how wide, how universal, the flavor of locality is +never lost. Burns made common life beautiful. He idealized the sun-burnt +girls who worked in the fields. He put honest labor above titled +idleness. He made a cottage far more poetic than a palace. He painted +the simple joys and ecstasies and raptures of sincere love. He put +native sense above the polish of schools. + +We love him because he was independent, sturdy, self-poised, social, +generous, susceptible, thrilled by a look, by a touch, full of pity, +carrying the sorrows of others in his heart, even those of +animals; hating to see anybody suffer, and lamenting the death of +everything--even of trees and flowers. We love him because he was a +natural democrat, and hated tyranny in every form. + +We love him because he was always on the side of the people, feeling the +throb of progress. + +Burns read but little, had but few books; had but a little of what +is called education; had only an outline of history, a little of +philosophy, in its highest sense. His library consisted of the _Life of +Hannibal_, the _History of Wallace_, Ray's _Wisdom of God_, Stackhouse's +_History of the Bible_; two or three plays of Shakespeare, Ferguson's +_Scottish Poems_, Pope's _Homer_, Shenstone, McKenzie's _Man of Feeling_ +and Ossian. + +Burns was a man of genius. He was like a spring--something that suggests +no labor. + +A spring seems to be a perpetual free gift of nature. There is no +thought of toil. The water comes whispering to the pebbles without +effort. There is no machinery, no pipes, no pumps, no engines, no +water-works, nothing that suggests expense or trouble. So a natural +poet is, when compared with the educated, with the polished, with the +industrious. + +Burns seems to have done everything without effort. His poems wrote +themselves. He was overflowing with sympathies, with suggestions, with +ideas, in every possible direction. There is no midnight oil. There is +nothing of the student--no suggestion of their having been re-written +or re-cast. There is in his heart a poetic April and May, and all the +poetic seeds burst into sudden life. In a moment the seed is a plant, +and the plant is in blossom, and the fruit is given to the world. + +He looks at everything from a natural point of view; and he writes of +the men and women with whom he was acquainted. He cares nothing for +mythology, nothing for the legends of the Greeks and Romans. He draws +but little from history. Everything that he uses is within his reach, +and he knows it from centre to circumference. All his figures and +comparisons are perfectly natural. He does not endeavor to make angels +of fine ladies. + +He takes the servant girls with whom he is acquainted, the dairy +maids that he knows. He puts wings upon them and makes the very angels +envious. + +And yet this man, so natural, keeping his cheek so close to the +breast of nature, strangely enough thought that Pope and Churchill and +Shenstone and Thomson and Lyttelton and Beattie were great poets. + +His first poem was addressed to Nellie Kilpatrick, daughter of the +blacksmith. He was in love with Ellison Begbie, offered her his heart +and was refused. She was a servant, working in a family and living on +the banks of the Cessnock. Jean Armour, his wife, was the daughter of a +tailor, and Highland Mary, a servant--a milk-maid. + +He did not make women of goddesses, but he made goddesses of women. + + +POET OF LOVE. + +Burns was the poet of love. To him woman was divine. In the light of +her eyes he stood transfigured. Love changed this peasant to a king; +the plaid became a robe of purple; the ploughman became a poet; the poor +laborer an inspired lover. + +In his "Vision" his native Muse tells the story of his verse: + + "When youthful Love, warm-blushing strong, + Keen-shivering shot thy nerves along, + Those accents, grateful to thy tongue, + Th' adored Name, + I taught thee how to pour in song, + To soothe thy flame." + +Ah, this light from heaven: how it has purified the heart of man! + +Was there ever a sweeter song than "Bonnie Doon"? + + "Thou'lt break my heart thou bonnie bird + That sings beside thy mate, + For sae I sat and sae I sang, + And wist na o' my fate." + +or, + + "O, my luve's like a red, red rose + That's newly sprung in June; + O, my luve's like the melodie + That's sweetly play'd in tune." + +It would consume days to give the intense and tender lines--lines wet +with the heart's blood, lines that throb and sigh and weep, lines that +glow like flames, lines that seem to clasp and kiss. + +But the most perfect love-poem that I know--pure the tear of +gratitude--is "To Mary in Heaven:" + + "Thou lingering star, with less'ning ray, + That lov'st to greet the early morn, + Again thou usher'st in the day + My Mary from my soul was torn. + O Mary! dear departed shade! + Where is thy place of blissful rest? + Seest thou thy lover lowly laid? + Hear'st thou the groans that rend his breast? + + "That sacred hour can I forget? + Can I forget the hallow'd grove + Where, by the winding Ayr, we met, + To live one day of parting love? + Eternity will not efface + Those records dear of transports past; + Thy image at our last embrace; + Ah! little thought we 'twas our last! + + "Ayr, gurgling, kiss'd his pebbled shore, + O'erhung with wild woods, thick'ning green; + The fragrant birch, and hawthorn hoar, + Twin'd am'rous round the raptur'd scene. + The flowers sprang wanton to be prest, + The birds sang love on ev'ry spray, + Till too, too soon, the glowing west + Proclaim'd the speed of wingèd day. + + "Still o'er these scenes my mem'ry wakes, + And fondly broods with miser care! + Time but the impression stronger makes, + As streams their channels deeper wear. + My Mary, dear departed shade! + Where is thy blissful place of rest? + Seest thou thy lover lowly laid? + Hear'st thou the groans that rend his breast?" + +Above all the daughters of luxury and wealth, above all of Scotland's +queens rises this pure and gentle girl made deathless by the love of +Robert Burns. + + +POET OF HOME + +He was the poet of the home--of father, mother, child--of the purest +wedded love. + +In the "Cotter's Saturday Night," one of the noblest and sweetest poems +in the literature of the world, is a description of the poor cotter +going from his labor to his home: + + "At length his lonely cot appears in view, + Beneath the shelter of an aged tree; + Th' expectant wee-things, toddlin', stacher through + To meet their Dad, wi' flichterin' noise and glee. + + His wee bit ingle, blinkin' bonnilie, + His clean hearth-stane, his thrifty wifie's smile, + The lisping infant prattling on his knee, + Does a' his weary carking cares beguile, + And makes him quite forget his labour an' his toil." + +And in the same poem, after having described the courtship, Burns bursts +into this perfect flower: + + "O happy love! where love like this is found! + O heart-felt raptures! bliss beyond compare! + I've pacèd much this weary, mortal round, + And sage experience bids me this declare: + If Heaven a draught of heavenly pleasure spare + One cordial in this melancholy vale, + 'Tis when a youthful, loving, modest pair, + In other's arms, breathe out the tender tale + Beneath the milk-white thorn that scents the ev'ning gale." + +Is there in the world a more beautiful--a more touching picture than the +old couple sitting by the ingleside with clasped hands, and the pure, +patient, loving old wife saying to the white-haired man who won her +heart when the world was young: + + "John Anderson, my jo, John, + When we were first acquent; + Your locks were like the raven, + Your bonnie brow was brent; + But now your brow is beld, John, + Your locks are like the snaw; + But blessings on your frosty pow, + John Anderson, my jo. + + "John Anderson, my jo, John, + We clamb the hill thegither; + And monie a canty day, John, + We've had wi' ane anither; + Now we maun totter down, John, + But hand in hand we'll go, + And sleep thegither at the foot, + John Anderson, my jo." + +Burns taught that the love of wife and children was the highest--that to +toil for them was the noblest. + + "The sacred lowe o' weel placed love, + Luxuriantly indulge it; + But never tempt the illicit rove, + Though naething should divulge it." + + "I waine the quantum of the sin, + The hazzard o'concealing; + But och! it hardens all within, + And petrifies the feeling." + + "To make a happy fireside clime + To weans and wife, + That's the true pathos, and sublime, + Of human life." + + +FRIENDSHIP. + +He was the poet of friendship: + + "Should auld acquaintance be forgot, + And never brought to min'? + Should auld acquaintance be forgot, + And days o' auld lang syne?" + +Wherever those who speak the English language assemble--wherever the +Anglo-Saxon people meet with clasp and smile--these words are given to +the air. + + +SCOTCH DRINK. + +The poet of good Scotch drink, of merry meetings, of the cup that +cheers, author of the best drinking song in the world: + + "O, Willie brew'd a peck o' maut, + And Rob and Allen came to see; + Three blyther hearts, that lee-lang night, + Ye wadna find in Christendie. + + Chorus. + + "We are na fou, we're no that fou, + But just a drappie in our ee; + The cock may craw, the day may daw, + And aye we'll taste the barley bree. + + + "Here are we met, three merry boys, + Three merry boys, I trow, are we; + And monie a night we've merry been, + And monie mae we hope to be! + + We are na fou, &c. + + "It is the moon, I ken her horn, + That's blinkin in the lift say hie; + She shines sae bright to wyle us hame, + But by my sooth she'll wait a wee! + + We are na fou, &c. + + "Wha first shall rise to gang awa, + A cuckold, coward loun is he! + Wha last beside his chair shall fa', + He is the King amang us three! + + We are na fou, &c." + + +POETS BORN, NOT MADE. + +He did not think the poet could be made--that colleges could furnish +feeling, capacity, genius. He gave his opinion of these manufactured +minstrels: + + "A set o' dull, conceited hashes, + Confuse their brains in college classes! + They gang in stirks, and come out asses, + Plain truth to speak; + An' syne they think to climb Parnassus + By dint o' Greek!" + + "Gie me ane spark o' Nature's fire, + That's a' the learning I desire; + Then tho' I drudge thro' dub an' mire + At pleugh or cart, + My Muse, though hamely in attire, + May touch the heart." + + +BURNS, THE ARTIST. + +He was an artist--a painter of pictures. + +This of the brook: + + "Whyles owre a linn the burnie plays, + As thro' the glen it wimpl't; + Whyles round a rocky scaur it strays; + Whyles in a wiel it dimpl't; + Whyles glitter's to the nightly rays, + Wi' bickering, dancing dazzle; + Whyles cookit underneath the braes, + Below the spreading hazel, + Unseen that night." + +Or this from Tam O'Shanter: + + "But pleasures are like poppies spread, + You seize the flow'r, its bloom is shed, + Or, like the snow falls in the river, + A moment white--then melts forever; + Or, like the borealis race, + That flit ere you can point their place; + Or, like the rainbow's lovely form, + Evanishing amid the storm." + +This: + + "As in the bosom of the stream + The moon-beam dwells at dewy e'en; + So, trembling, pure, was tender love, + Within the breast o' bonnie Jean." + + "The sun had clos'd the winter day, + The Curlers quat their roarin play, + An' hunger's Maukin ta'en her way + To kail-yards green, + While faithless snaws ilk step betray + Whare she had been." + + "O, sweet are Coila's haughs an' woods, + When lintwhites chant amang the buds, + And jinkin' hares, in amorous whids, + Their loves enjoy, + While thro' the braes the cushat croons + Wi' wailfu' cry!" + + "Ev'n winter bleak has charms to me + When winds rave thro' the naked tree; + Or frosts on hills of Ochiltree + Are hoary gray; + Or blinding drifts wild-furious flee, + Dark'ning the day!" + +This of the lark and daisy--the daintiest and nearest perfect in our +language: + + "Alas! it's no' thy neebor sweet, + The bonnie Lark, companion meet! + Bending thee 'mang the dewy weet! + Wi' spreckl'd breast, + When upward-springing, blythe, to greet + The purpling east." + + +A REAL DEMOCRAT. + +He was in every fibre of his being a sincere democrat. He was a believer +in the people--in the sacred rights of man. He believed that honest +peasants were superior to titled parasites. He knew the so-called +"gentrv" of his time. + +In one of his letters to Dr. Moore is this passage: "It takes a few +dashes into the world to give the young great man that proper, decent, +unnoticing disregard for the poor, insignificant, stupid devils--the +mechanics and peasantry around him--who were born in the same village." + +He knew the infinitely cruel spirit of caste--a spirit that despises the +useful--the children of toil--those who bear the burdens of the world. + + "If I'm design'd yon lordling's slave, + By nature's law design'd, + Why was an independent wish + E'er planted in my mind? + + If not, why am I subject to . + His cruelty, or scorn? + Or why has man the will and pow'r + To make his fellow mourn?" + +Against the political injustice of his time--against the artificial +distinctions among men by which the lowest were regarded as the +highest--he protested in the great poem, "A man's a man for a' that," +every line of which came like lava from his heart. + + "Is there, for honest poverty, + That hangs his head, and a' that? + The coward-slave, we pass him by, + We dare be poor for a' that! + For a' that, and a' that, + Our toils obscure, and a' that; + The rank is but the guinea stamp; + The man's the gowd for a' that." + + "What tho' on hamely fare we dine, + Wear hodden-gray, and a' that; + Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine, + A man's a man for a' that. + For a' that, and a' that, + Their tinsel show, and a' that; + The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor, + Is king o' men for a' that." + + "Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord, + Wha struts, and stares, and a' that; + Tho' hundreds worship at his word, + He's but a coof for a' that; + For a' that, and a' that, + His riband, star, and a' that, + The man' o' independent mind, + He looks and laughs at a' that." + + "A prince can mak' a belted knight, + A marquis, duke, and a' that; + But an honest man's aboon his might, + Guid faith he mauna fa' that! + For a' that, and a' that, + Their dignities, and a' that, + The pith o' sense, and pride o' worth, + Are higher ranks than a' that. + + "Then let us pray that come it may, + As come it will for a' that; + That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth, + May bear the gree and a' that. + For a' that, and a' that; + It's cornin' yet for a' that + That man to man, the warld o'er, + Shall brithers be for a' that." + +No grander declaration of independence was ever uttered. It stirs +the blood like a declaration of war. It is the apotheosis of honesty, +independence, sense and worth. And it is a prophecy of that better day +when men will be brothers the world over. + + +HIS THEOLOGY. + +Burns was superior in heart and brain to the theologians of his time. +He knew that the creed of Calvin was infinitely cruel and absurd, and he +attacked it with every weapon that his brain could forge. + +He was not awed by the clergy, and he cared nothing for what was called +"authority." He insisted on thinking for himself. Sometimes he faltered, +and now and then, fearing that some friend might take offence, he would +say or write a word in favor of the Bible, and sometimes he praised the +Scriptures in words of scorn. + +He laughed at the dogma of eternal pain--at hell as described by the +preacher: + + "A vast, unbottom'd, boundless pit, + Fill'd fou o' lowin' brunstane, + Wha's ragin' flame an' scorchin' heat + Wad melt the hardest whun-stane! + The half asleep start up wi' fear, + An' think they hear it roarin', + When presently it does appear, + 'Twas but some neebor snorin'. + Asleep that day." + +The dear old doctrine that man is totally depraved, that morality is a +snare--a flowery path leading to perdition--excited the indignation of +Burns. He put the doctrine in verse: + + "Morality, thou deadly bane, + Thy tens o' thousands thou hast slain! + Vain is his hope, whose stay and trust is + In moral mercy, truth and justice." + He understood the hypocrites of his day: + "Hypocrisy, in mercy spare it! + That holy robe, O dinna tear it! + Spare't for their sakes wha aften wear it, + The lads in black; + But your curst wit, when it comes near it, + Rives't aff their back." + + "Then orthodoxy yet may prance, + And Learning in a woody dance, + And that fell cur ca'd Common Sense, + That bites sae sair, + Be banish'd owre the seas to France; + Let him bark there." + + "They talk religion in their mouth; + They talk o' mercy, grace, an' truth, + For what? to gie their malice skouth On some puir wight, + An' hunt him down, o'er right an' ruth, + To ruin straight." + + "Doctor Mac, Doctor Mac, + Ye should stretch on a rack, + To strike evil doers wi' terror; + To join faith and sense Upon any pretence, + Was heretic damnable error, + Doctor Mac, + Was heretic damnable error." + +But the greatest, the sharpest, the deadliest, the keenest, the wittiest +thing ever said or written against Calvinism is Holy Willie's Prayer:-- + + "O Thou, wha in the Heavens dost dwell, + Wha, as it pleases best thysel', + Sends ane to heaven and ten to hell, + A' for thy glory, + And no for onie guid or ill + They've done afore thee! + + "I bless and praise thy matchless might, + When thousands thou has left in night, + That I am here afore thy sight + For gifts an' grace, + A burnin' an' a shinin' light, + To a' this place. + + "What was I, or my generation, + That I should get sic exaltation? + I, wha deserve sic just damnation, + For broken laws, + Five thousand years 'fore my creation, + Thro' Adam's cause? + + "When frae my mither's womb I fell, + Thou might hae plunged me into hell, + To gnash my gums, to weep and wail, + In burnin' lake, + Where damnèd devils roar and yell, + Chained to a stake. + + "Yet I am here a chosen sample, + To show Thy grace is great and ample; + I'm here a pillar in Thy temple, + Strong as a rock, + A guide, a buckler, an example + To a' Thy flock." + +In this poem you will find the creed stated just as it is--with +fairness and accuracy--and at the same time stated so perfectly that its +absurdity fills the mind with inextinguishable laughter. + +In this poem Burns nailed Calvinism to the cross, put it on the rack, +subjected it to every instrument of torture, flayed it alive, burned it +at the stake, and scattered its ashes to the winds. + +In 1787 Burns wrote this curious letter to Miss Chalmers: + +"I have taken tooth and nail to the Bible, and have got through the five +books of Moses and half way in Joshua. + +"It is really a glorious book." + +This must have been written in the spirit of Voltaire. + +Think of Burns, with his loving, tender heart, half way in Joshua, +standing in blood to his knees, surrounded by the mangled bodies of old +men, women and babes, the swords of the victors dripping with innocent +blood, shouting--"This is really a glorious sight." + +A letter written on the seventh of March, 1788, contains the clearest, +broadest and most philosophical statement of the religion of Burns to be +found in his works: + +"An honest man has nothing to fear. If we lie down in the grave, the +whole man a piece of broken machinery, to moulder with the clods of the +valley--be it so; at least there is an end of pain and care, woes +and wants. If that part of us called Mind does survive the apparent +destruction of the man, away with old-wife prejudices and tales! + +"Every age and every nation has a different set of stories; and, as the +many are always weak, of consequence they have often, perhaps always, +been deceived. + +"A man conscious of having acted an honest part among his fellow +creatures, even granting that he may have been the sport at times of +passions and instincts, he goes to a great Unknown Being, who could have +had no other end in giving him existence but to make him happy; who gave +him those passions and instincts and well knows their force. + +"These, my worthy friend, are my ideas. + +"It becomes a man of sense to think for himself, particularly in a case +where all men are equally interested, and where, indeed, all men are +equally in the dark." + +"Religious nonsense is the most nonsensical nonsense." + +"Why has a religious turn of mind always a tendency to narrow and harden +the heart?" + +"All my fears and cares are for this world." + +We have grown tired of gods and goddesses in art. Milton's heavenly +militia excites our laughter. Light-houses have driven sirens from the +dangerous coasts. We have found that we do not depend on the imagination +for wonders--there are millions of miracles under our feet. + +Nothing can be more marvelous than the common and everyday facts of +life. The phantoms have been cast aside. Men and women are enough for +men and women. In their lives is all the tragedy and all the comedy that +they can comprehend. + +The painter no longer crowds his canvas with the winged and +impossible--he paints life as he sees it, people as he knows them, and +in whom he is interested. "The Angelus," the perfection of pathos, is +nothing but two peasants bending their heads in thankfulness as they +hear the solemn sound of the distant bell--two peasants, who have +nothing to be thankful for--nothing but weariness and want, nothing but +the crusts that they soften with their tears--nothing. And yet as you +look at that picture you feel that they have something besides to be +thankful for--that they have life, love, and hope--and so the distant +bell makes music in their simple hearts. + +Let me give you the difference between culture and nature--between +educated talent and real genius. + +A little while ago one of the great poets died. I was reading some of +his volumes and during the same period was reading a little from Robert +Burns. And the difference between these two poets struck me forcibly. + +Tennyson was a piece of rare china decorated by the highest art. + +Burns was made of honest, human clay, moulded by sympathy and love. + +Tennyson dwelt in his fancy, for the most part, with kings and queens, +with lords and ladies, with knights and nobles. + +Burns lingered by the fireside of the poor and humble, in the thatched +cottage of the peasant, with the imprisoned and despised. He loved men +and women in spite of their titles, and without regard to the outward. +Through robes and rags he saw and loved the man. + +Tennyson was touched by place and power, the insignia given by chance or +birth. As he grew old he grew narrower, lost interest in the race, and +gave his heart to the class to which he had been lowered as a reward for +melodious flattery. + +Burns broadened and ripened with the flight of his few years. His +sympathies widened and increased to the last. + +Tennyson had the art born of intellectual taste, of the sense of mental +proportion, knowing the color of adjectives and the gradations of +emphasis. His pictures were born in his brain, exquisitely shaded by +details, carefully wrought by painful and conscious art. + +Burns's brain was the servant of his heart. His melody was a rhythm +taught by love. He was touched by the miseries, the injustice, the agony +of his time. While Tennyson wrote of the past--of kings long dead, of +ladies who had been dust for many centuries, Burns melted with his love +the walls of caste--the cruel walls that divide the rich and the poor. + +Tennyson celebrated the birth of royal babes, the death of the titled +useless; gave wings to degraded dust, wearing the laurels given by those +who lived upon the toil of men whom they despised. Burns poured poems +from his heart, filled with tears and sobs for the suffering poor; poems +that helped to break the chains of millions; poems that the enfranchised +love to repeat; poems that liberty loves to hear. + +Tennyson was the poet of the past, of the twilight, of the sunset, of +decorous regret, of the vanished glories of barbarous times, of the +age of chivalry in which great nobles clad in steel smote to death with +battle axe and sword the unarmed peasants of the field. + +Burns was the poet of the dawn, glad that the night was fading from +the east. He kept his face toward the sunrise, caring nothing for the +midnight of the past, but loved with all the depth and sincerity of his +nature the few great souls--the lustrous stars--that darkness cannot +quench. + +Tennyson was surrounded with what gold can give, touched with the +selfishness of wealth. He was educated at Oxford, and had what are +called the advantages of his time, and in maturer years was somewhat +swayed by the spirit of caste, by the descendants of the ancient +Pharisees, and at last became a lord. + +Burns had but little knowledge of the world. What he knew was taught +him by his sympathies. Being a genius, he absorbed the good and noble +of which he heard or dreamed, and thus he happily outgrew the smaller +things with which he came in contact, and journeyed toward the +great--the wider world, until he reached the end. + +Tennyson was what is called religious. He believed in the divinity of +decorum, not falling on his face before the Eternal King, but bowing +gracefully, as all lords should, while uttering thanks for favors partly +undeserved, and thanks more fervid still for those to come. + +Burns had the deepest and the tenderest feelings in his heart. The +winding stream, the flowering shrub, the shady vale--these were trysting +places where the real God met those he loved, and where his spirit +prompted thoughts and words of thankfulness and praise, took from their +hearts the dross of selfishness and hate, leaving the gold of love. + +In the religion of Burns, form was nothing, creed was nothing, feeling +was everything. He had the religious climate of the soul, the April that +receives the seed, the June of blossom, and the month of harvest. + +Burns was a real poet of nature. He put fields and woods in his lines. +There were principles like oaks, and there were thoughts, hints and +suggestions as shy as violets beneath the withered leaves. There were +the warmth of home, the social virtues born of equal state, that touched +the heart and softened grief; that make breaches in the cruel walls of +pride; that make the rich and poor clasp hands and feel like comrades, +warm and true. + +The house in which his spirit lived was not large. It enclosed only +space enough for common needs, built near the barren land of want; but +through the open door the sunlight streamed, and from its windows all +the stars were seen, while in the garden grew the common flowers--the +flowers that all the ages through have been the messengers of honest +love; and in the fields were heard the rustling corn, and reapers songs, +telling of well-requited toil; and there were trees whose branches rose +and fell and swayed while birds filled all the air with music born of +joy. He read with tear-filled eyes the human page, and found within his +breast the history of hearts. + +Tennyson's imagination lived in a palace ample, wondrous fair, with dome +and spire and galleries, where eyes of proud old pedigree grew dim with +gazing at the portraits of the worthless dead; and there were parks +and labyrinths of walks and ways and artificial lakes where sailed the +"double swans;" and there were flowers from far-off lands with strange +perfume, and men and women of the grander sort, telling of better days +and nobler deeds than men in these poor times of commerce, trade and +toil have hearts to do; and, yet, from this fair dwelling--too vast, +too finely wrought, to be a home--he uttered wondrous words, painting +pictures that will never fade, and told, with every aid of art, old +tales of love and war, sometimes beguiling men of tears, enchanting all +with melody of speech, and sometimes rousing blood and planting seeds +of high resolve and noble deeds; and sometimes thoughts were woven like +tapestries in patterns beautiful, involved and strange, where dreams and +fancies interlaced like tendrils of a vine, like harmonies that +wander and return to catch the music of the central theme, yet cold as +traceries in frost wrought on glass by winter's subtle art. + +Tennyson was ingenious--Burns ingenuous. One was exclusive, and in his +exclusiveness a little disdain. The other pressed the world against his +heart. + +Tennyson touched art on many sides, dealing with vast poetic themes, and +satisfied in many ways the intellectual tastes of cultured men. + +Tennyson is always perfectly self-possessed. He has poetic sympathy, but +not the fire and flame. No one thinks of him as having been excited, as +being borne away by passion's storm. His pulse never rises. In artistic +calm, he turns, polishes, perfects, embroiders and beautifies. In him +there is nothing of the storm and chaos, nothing of the creative genius, +no sea wrought to fury, filling the heavens with its shattered cry. + +Burns dwelt with simple things--with those that touch the heart; that +tell of joy; that spring from labor done; that lift the burdens of +despair from fainting souls; that soften hearts until the pearls of pity +fall from eyes unused to weep. + +To illustrate his thought, he used the things he knew--the things +familiar to the world--not caring for the vanished things--the legends +told by artful tongues to artless ears--but clinging to the common +things of life and love and death, adorning them with countless gems; +and, over all, he placed the bow of hope. + +With him the man was greater than the king, the woman than the queen. +The greatest were the noblest, and the noblest were those who loved +their fellow-men the best, the ones who filled their lives with generous +deeds. Men admire Tennyson. Men love Robert Burns. + +He was a believer in God, and had confidence that this God was sitting +at the loom weaving with warp and woof of cause and effect, of fear +and fancy, pain and hope, of dream and shadows, of despair and death, +mingled with the light of love, the tapestries in which at last all +souls will see that all was perfect from the first. He believed or hoped +that the spirit of infinite goodness, soft as the autumn air, filled all +of heaven's dome with love. + +Such a religion is easy to understand when it includes all races through +all times. It is consistent, if not with the highest thought, with the +deepest and the tenderest feelings of the heart. + + +FROM CRADLE TO COFFIN. + +There is no time to follow the steps of Burns from old Alloway, by the +Bonnie Doon in the clay-built hut, where the January wind blew hansel +in on Robin--to Mt. Oliphant, with its cold and stingy soil, the hard +factor, whose letters made the children weep--working in the fields, or +tired with "The thresher's weary flinging tree," where he was thrilled, +for the first time with love's sweet pain that set his heart to music. + +To Lochlea, still giving wings to thought--still working in the +unproductive fields, Lochlea where his father died, and reached the rest +that life denied. + +To Mossgiel, where Burns reached the top and summit of his art and wrote +like one enrapt, inspired. Here he met and loved and gave to immortality +his Highland Mary. + +To Edinburgh and fame, and back to Mauchline to Jean Armour and honor, +the noblest deed of all his life. + +To Ellisland, by the winding Nith. + +To Dumfries, a poor exciseman, wearing out his heart in the disgusting +details of degrading drudgery--suspected of treason because he +preferred Washington to Pitt--because he sympathized with the French +Revolution--because he was glad that the American colonies had become a +free nation. + +At a banquet once, being asked to drink the health of Pitt, Burns said: +"I will give you a better toast--George Washington." A little while +after, when they wanted him to drink to the success of the English arms, +Burns said: "No; I will drink this: May their success equal the justice +of their cause." He sent three or four little cannon to the French +Convention, because he sympathized with the French Revolution, and +because of these little things, his love of liberty, of freedom and +justice, at Dumfries he was suspected of being a traitor, and, as a +result of these trivial things, as a result of that suspicion, Burns was +obliged to join the Dumfries volunteers. + +How pitiful that the author of "Scots wha hae with Wallace bled," should +be thought an enemy of Scotland! + +Poor Burns! Old and broken before his time--surrounded by the walking +lumps of Dumfries' clay! + +To appease the anger of his fellow-citizens--to convince them that he +was a patriot, he actually joined the Dumfries volunteers,--bought his +uniform on credit--amount about seven pounds--was unable to pay--was +threatened with arrest and a jail by Matthew Penn. + +These threats embittered his last hours. + +A little while before his death, he said: "Do not let that awkward +squad--the Dumfries volunteers--fire over my grave." We have a true +insight into what his feelings were. But they fired. They were bound to +fire or die. + +The last words uttered by Robert Burns were these: "That damned +scoundrel Matthew Penn." + +Burns had another art, the art of ending--of stopping at the right +place. Nothing is more difficult than this. It is hard to end a play--to +get the right kind of roof on a house. Not one story-teller in a +thousand knows just the spot where the rocket should explode. They go on +talking after the stick has fallen. + +Burns wrote short poems, and why? All great poems are short. There +cannot be a long poem any more than there can be a long joke. I believe +the best example of an ending perfectly accomplished you will find in +his "Vision." + +There comes into his house, into that "auld clay biggin," his muse, the +spirit of a beautiful woman, and tells him what he can do, and what he +can't do, as a poet. He has a long talk with her and now the thing +is how to get her out of the house. You may think that it is an easy +thing. It is easy to get yourself into difficulty, but not to get out. + +I was struck with the beautiful manner in which Burns got that angel out +of the house. + +Nothing could be happier than the ending of the "Vision"--the +leave-taking of the Muse: + + "And wear thou this, she solemn said, + And bound the holly round my head: + The polished leaves and berries red + Did rustling play; + And, like a passing thought she fled. + In light away." + +How that man rose above all his fellows in death! Do you know, there is +something wonderful in death. What a repose! What a piece of sculpture! +The common man dead looks royal; a genius dead, sublime. + +When a few years ago I visited all the places where Burns had been, from +the little house of clay with one room where he was born, to the little +house with one room where he now sleeps, I thought of this. Yes, I +visited them all, all the places made immortal by his genius, the field +where love first touched his heart, the field where he ploughed up the +home of the Mouse. I saw the cottage where Robert and Jean first lived +as man and wife, and walked on "the banks and braes of Bonnie Doon." +And when I stood by his grave, I said: This man was a radical, a real +genuine man. This man believed in the dignity of labor, in the nobility +of the useful. This man believed in human love, in making a heaven here, +in judging men by their deeds instead of creeds and titles. This man +believed in the liberty of the soul, of thought and speech. This man +believed in the sacred rights of the individual; he sympathized with the +suffering and oppressed. This man had the genius to change suffering and +toil into song, to enrich poverty, to make a peasant feel like a prince +of the blood, to fill the lives of the lowly with love and light. This +man had the genius to make robes of glory out of squalid rags. This man +had the genius to make Cleopatras, and Sapphos and Helens out of the +freckled girls of the villages and fields--and he had the genius to make +Auld Ayr, and Bonnie Doon, and Sweet Afton and the Winding Nith murmur +the name of Robert Burns forever. + +This man left a legacy of glory to Scotland and the whole world; he +enriched our language, and with a generous hand scattered the gems of +thought. This man was the companion of poverty, and wept the tears of +grief, and yet he has caused millions to shed the happy tears of joy. + +His heart blossomed in a thousand songs--songs for all times and all +seasons--suited to every experience of the heart--songs for the dawn +of love--for the glance and clasp and kiss of courtship--for "favors +secret, sweet and precious"--for the glow and flame, the ecstasy and +rapture of wedded life--songs of parting and despair--songs of hope +and simple joy--songs for the vanished days--songs for birth and +burial--songs for wild war's deadly blast, and songs for gentle +peace--songs for the dying and the dead--songs for labor and +content--songs for the spinning wheel, the sickle and the plow--songs +for sunshine and for storm, for laughter and for tears--songs that will +be sung as long as language lives and passion sways the heart of man. + +And when I was at his birth-place, at that little clay house where he +was born, standing in that sacred place, I wrote these lines: + + Though Scotland boasts a thousand names, + Of patriot, king and peer, + The noblest, grandest of them all, + Was loved and cradled here. + Here lived the gentle peasant-prince, + The loving cotter-king, + Compared with whom the greatest lord + Is but a titled thing. + + 'Tis but a cot roofed in with straw, + A hovel made of clay; + One door shuts out the snow and storm, + One window greets the day; + And yet I stand within this room, + And hold all thrones in scorn; + For here beneath this lowly thatch, + Love's sweetest bard was born. + + Within this hallowed hut I feel + Like one who clasps a shrine, + When the glad lips at last have touched + The something deemed divine. + And here the world through all the years, + As long as day returns, + The tribute of its love and tears, + Will pay to Robert Burns. + + + + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN + +I. + +ON the 12th of February, 1809, two babes were born--one in the woods of +Kentucky, amid the hardships and poverty of pioneers; one in England, +surrounded by wealth and culture. One was educated in the University of +Nature, the other at Cambridge. + +One associated his name with the enfranchisement of labor, with the +emancipation of millions, with the salvation of the Republic. He is +known to us as Abraham Lincoln. + +The other broke the chains of superstition and filled the world with +intellectual light, and he is known as Charles Darwin. + +Nothing is grander than to break chains from the bodies of men--nothing +nobler than to destroy the phantoms of the soul. + +Because of these two men the nineteenth century is illustrious. + +A few men and women make a nation glorious--Shakespeare made England +immortal, Voltaire civilized and humanized France; Goethe, Schiller and +Humboldt lifted Germany into the light. Angelo, Raphael, Galileo and +Bruno crowned with fadeless laurel the Italian brow, and now the +most precious treasure of the Great Republic is the memory of Abraham +Lincoln. + +Every generation has its heroes, its iconoclasts, its pioneers, its +ideals. The people always have been and still are divided, at least into +classes--the many, who with their backs to the sunrise worship the past, +and the few, who keep their faces toward the dawn--the many, who are +satisfied with the world as it is; the few, who labor and suffer for +the future, for those to be, and who seek to rescue the oppressed, to +destroy the cruel distinctions of caste, and to civilize mankind. + +Yet it sometimes happens that the liberator of one age becomes the +oppressor of the next. His reputation becomes so great--he is so revered +and worshiped--that his followers, in his name, attack the hero who +endeavors to take another step in advance. + +The heroes of the Revolution, forgetting the justice for which they +fought, put chains upon the limbs of others, and in their names the +lovers of liberty were denounced as ingrates and traitors. + +During the Revolution our fathers to justify their rebellion dug down +to the bed-rock of human rights and planted their standard there. They +declared that all men were entitled to liberty and that government +derived its power from the consent of the governed. But when victory +came, the great principles were forgotten and chains were put upon the +limbs of men. Both of the great political parties were controlled +by greed and selfishness. Both were the defenders and protectors of +slavery. For nearly three-quarters of a century these parties had +control of the Republic. The principal object of both parties was the +protection of the infamous institution. Both were eager to secure the +Southern vote and both sacrificed principle and honor upon the altar of +success. + +At last the Whig party died and the Republican was born. This party was +opposed to the further extension of slavery. The Democratic party of the +South wished to make the "divine institution" national--while the +Democrats of the North wanted the question decided by each territory for +itself. + +Each of these parties had conservatives and extremists. The extremists +of the Democratic party were in the rear and wished to go back; the +extremists of the Republican party were in the front, and wished to go +forward. The extreme Democrat was willing to destroy the Union for the +sake of slavery, and the extreme Republican was willing to destroy the +Union for the sake of liberty. + +Neither party could succeed without the votes of its extremists. + +This was the condition in 1858-60. + +When Lincoln was a child his parents removed from Kentucky to Indiana. A +few trees were felled--a log hut open to the south, no floor, no window, +was built--a little land plowed and here the Lincolns lived. Here the +patient, thoughtful, silent, loving mother died--died in the wide forest +as a leaf dies, leaving nothing to her son but the memory of her love. + +In a few years the family moved to Illinois. Lincoln then almost grown, +clad in skins, with no woven stitch upon his body--walking and driving +the cattle. Another farm was opened--a few acres subdued and enough +raised to keep the wolf from the door. Lincoln quit the farm--went down +the Ohio and Mississippi as a hand on a flat-boat--afterward clerked +in a country store--then in partnership with another bought the +store--failed. Nothing left but a few debts--learned the art of +surveying--made about half a living and paid something on the +debts--read law--admitted to the bar--tried a few small cases--nominated +for the Legislature and made a speech. + +This speech was in favor of a tariff, not only for revenue, but to +encourage American manufacturers and to protect American workingmen. +Lincoln knew then as well as we do now, that everything, to the limits +of the possible, that Americans use should be produced by the energy, +skill and ingenuity of Americans. He knew that the more industries we +had, the greater variety of things we made, the greater would be the +development of the American brain. And he knew that great men and great +women are the best things that a nation can produce,--the finest crop a +country can possibly raise. + +He knew that a nation that sells raw material will grow ignorant and +poor, while the people who manufacture will grow intelligent and rich. +To dig, to chop, to plow, requires more muscle than mind, more strength +than thought. + +To invent, to manufacture, to take advantage of the forces of +nature--this requires thought, talent, genius. This develops the brain +and gives wings to the imagination. + +It is better for Americans to purchase from Americans, even if the +things purchased cost more. + +If we purchase a ton of steel rails from England for twenty dollars, +then we have the rails and England the money; But if we buy a ton of +steel rails from an American for twenty-five dollars, then America has +both the rails and the money. + +Judging from the present universal depression and the recent elections, +Lincoln, in his first speech, stood on solid rock and was absolutely +right. Lincoln was educated in the University of Nature--educated by +cloud and star--by field and winding stream--by billowed plains and +solemn forests--by morning's birth and death of day--by storm and +night--by the ever eager Spring--by Summer's wealth of leaf and vine and +flower--the sad and transient glories of the Autumn woods--and Winter, +builder of home and fireside, and whose storms without, create the +social warmth within. + +He was perfectly acquainted with the political questions of the +day--heard them discussed at taverns and country stores, at voting +places and courts and on the stump. He knew all the arguments for and +against, and no man of his time was better equipped for intellectual +conflict. He knew the average mind--the thoughts of the people, the +hopes and prejudices of his fellow-men. He had the power of accurate +statement. He was logical, candid and sincere. In addition, he had the +"touch of nature that makes the whole world kin." + +In 1858 he was a candidate for the Senate against Stephen A. Douglas. + +The extreme Democrats would not vote for Douglas, but the extreme +Republicans did vote for Lincoln. Lincoln occupied the middle ground, +and was the compromise candidate of his own party. He had lived for +many years in the intellectual territory of compromise--in a part of +our country settled by Northern and Southern men--where Northern and +Southern ideas met, and the ideas of the two sections were brought +together and compared. + +The sympathies of Lincoln, his ties of kindred, were with the South. His +convictions, his sense of justice, and his ideals, were with the North. +He knew the horrors of slavery, and he felt the unspeakable ecstasies +and glories of freedom. He had the kindness, the gentleness, of true +greatness, and he could not have been a master; he had the manhood and +independence of true greatness, and he could not have been a slave. +He was just, and was incapable of putting a burden upon others that he +himself would not willingly bear. + +He was merciful and profound, and it was not necessary for him to read +the history of the world to know that liberty and slavery could not live +in the same nation, or in the same brain. Lincoln was a statesman.. +And there is this difference between a politician and a statesman. +A politician schemes and works in every way to make the people do +something for him. A statesman wishes to do something for the people. +With him place and power are means to an end, and the end is the good of +his country. + +In this campaign Lincoln demonstrated three things--first, that he was +the intellectual superior of his opponent; second, that he was right; +and third, that a majority of the voters of Illinois were on his side. + +II. + +IN 1860 the Republic reached a crisis. The conflict between liberty and +slavery could no longer be delayed. For three-quarters of a century the +forces had been gathering for the battle. + +After the Revolution, principle was sacrificed for the sake of gain. The +Constitution contradicted the Declaration. Liberty as a principle was +held in contempt. Slavery took possession of the Government. Slavery +made the laws, corrupted courts, dominated Presidents and demoralized +the people. + +I do not hold the South responsible for slavery any more than I do the +North. The fact is, that individuals and nations act as they must. There +is no chance. Back of every event--of every hope, prejudice, fancy and +dream--of every opinion and belief--of every vice and virtue--of every +smile and curse, is the efficient cause. The present moment is the +child, and the necessary child, of all the past. + +Northern politicians wanted office, and so they defended slavery; +Northern merchants wanted to sell their goods to the South, and so they +were the enemies of freedom. The preacher wished to please the people +who paid his salary, and so he denounced the slave for not being +satisfied with the position in which the good God had placed him. + +The respectable, the rich, the prosperous, the holders of and the +seekers for office, held liberty in contempt. They regarded the +Constitution as far more sacred than the rights of men. Candidates +for the presidency were applauded because they had tried to make slave +States of free territory, and the highest court solemnly and ignorantly +decided that colored men and women had no rights. Men who insisted +that freedom was better than slavery, and that mothers should not be +robbed of their babes, were hated, despised and mobbed. Mr. Douglas +voiced the feelings of millions when he declared that he did not care +whether slavery was voted up or down. Upon this question the people, +a majority of them, were almost savages. Honor, manhood, conscience, +principle--all sacrificed for the sake of gain or office. + +From the heights of philosophy--standing above the contending hosts, +above the prejudices, the sentimentalities of the day--Lincoln was great +enough and brave enough and wise enough to utter these prophetic words: + +"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this Government +cannot permanently endure half slave and half free. I do not expect +the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the house to fall; but I do +expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all the one thing +or the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further +spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the +belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates +will push it further until it becomes alike lawful in all the States, +old as well as new, North as well as South." + +This declaration was the standard around which gathered the grandest +political party the world has ever seen, and this declaration made +Lincoln the leader of that vast host. + +In this, the first great crisis, Lincoln uttered the victorious truth +that made him the foremost man in the Republic. + +The Republican party nominated him for the presidency and the people +decided at the polls that a house divided against itself could not +stand, and that slavery had cursed soul and soil enough. + +It is not a common thing to elect a really great man to fill the highest +official position. I do not say that the great Presidents have been +chosen by accident. Probably it would be better to say that they were +the favorites of a happy chance. + +The average man is afraid of genius. He feels as an awkward man feels +in the presence of a sleight-of-hand performer. He admires and suspects. +Genius appears to carry too much sail--to lack prudence, has too much +courage. The ballast of dullness inspires confidence. + +By a happy chance Lincoln was nominated and elected in spite of his +fitness--and the patient, gentle, just and loving man was called upon to +bear as great a burden as man has ever borne. + +III. + +THEN came another crisis--the crisis of Secession and Civil war. + +Again Lincoln spoke the deepest feeling and the highest thought of the +Nation. In his first message he said: + +"The central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy." + +He also showed conclusively that the North and South, in spite of +secession, must remain face to face--that physically they could not +separate--that they must have more or less commerce, and that this +commerce must be carried on either between the two sections as friends, +or as aliens. + +This situation and its consequences he pointed out to absolute +perfection in these words: + +"Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can make laws? Can +treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws among +friends?" + +After having stated fully and fairly the philosophy of the conflict, +after having said enough to satisfy any calm and thoughtful mind, he +addressed himself to the hearts of America. Probably there are few finer +passages in literature than the close of Lincoln's inaugural address: + +"I am loth to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be +enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break, our +bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory stretching from every +battlefield and patriotic grave to every loving heart and hearthstone +all over this broad land, will swell the chorus of the Union when again +touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." + +These noble, these touching, these pathetic words, were delivered +in the presence of rebellion, in the midst of spies and +conspirators--surrounded by but few friends, most of whom were unknown, +and some of whom were wavering in their fidelity--at a time when +secession was arrogant and organized, when patriotism was silent, and +when, to quote the expressive words of Lincoln himself, "Sinners were +calling the righteous to repentance." + +When Lincoln became President, he was held in contempt by the +South--underrated by the North and East--not appreciated even by his +cabinet--and yet he was not only one of the wisest, but one of the +shrewdest of mankind. Knowing that he had the right to enforce the +laws of the Union in all parts of the United States, and +Territories--knowing, as he did, that the secessionists were in the +wrong, he also knew that they had sympathizers not only in the North, +but in other lands. + +Consequently, he felt that it was of the utmost importance that the +South should fire the first shot, should do some act that would solidify +the North, and gain for us the justification of the civilized world. + +He proposed to give food to the soldiers at Sumter. He asked the advice +of all his cabinet on this question, and all, with the exception of +Montgomery Blair, answered in the negative, giving their reasons in +writing. In spite of this, Lincoln took his own course--endeavored to +send the supplies, and while thus engaged, doing his simple duty, the +South commenced actual hostilities and fired on the fort. The course +pursued by Lincoln was absolutely right, and the act of the South to +a great extent solidified the North, and gained for the Republic the +justification of a great number of people in other lands. + +At that time Lincoln appreciated the scope and consequences of the +impending conflict. Above all other thoughts in his mind was this: + +"This conflict will settle the question, at least for centuries to +come, whether man is capable of governing himself, and consequently is +of greater importance to the free than to the enslaved." + +He knew what depended on the issue and he said: "We shall nobly save, or +meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth." + +HEN came a crisis in the North. It became clearer and clearer to +Lincoln's mind, day by day, that the Rebellion was slavery, and that it +was necessary to keep the border States on the side of the Union. For +this purpose he proposed a scheme of emancipation and colonization--a +scheme by which the owners of slaves should be paid the full value of +what they called their "property." + +He knew that if the border States agreed to gradual emancipation, and +received compensation for their slaves, they would be forever lost to +the Confederacy, whether secession succeeded or not. It was objected at +the time, by some, that the scheme was far too expensive; but Lincoln, +wiser than his advisers--far wiser than his enemies--demonstrated that +from an economical point of view, his course was best. + +IV. + +He proposed that $400 be paid for slaves, including men, women and +children. This was a large price, and yet he showed how much cheaper it +was to purchase than to carry on the war. + +At that time, at the price mentioned, there were about $750,000 worth +of slaves in Delaware. The cost of carrying on the war was at least two +millions of dollars a day, and for one-third of one day's expenses, all +the slaves in Delaware could be purchased. He also showed that all the +slaves in Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri could be bought, +at the same price, for less than the expense of carrying on the war for +eighty-seven days. + +This was the wisest thing that could have been proposed, and yet such +was the madness of the South, such the indignation of the North, that +the advice was unheeded. + +Again, in July, 1862, he urged on the Representatives of the +border States a scheme of gradual compensated emancipation; but the +Representatives were too deaf to hear, too blind to see. + +Lincoln always hated slavery, and yet he felt the obligations and duties +of his position. In his first message he assured the South that the +laws, including the most odious of all--the law for the return of +fugitive slaves--would be enforced. The South would not hear. Afterward +he proposed to purchase the slaves of the border States, but the +proposition was hardly discussed--hardly heard. Events came thick and +fast; theories gave way to facts, and everything was left to force. + +The extreme Democrat of the North was fearful that slavery might be +destroyed, that the Constitution might be broken, and that Lincoln, +after all, could not be trusted; and at the same time the radical +Republican feared that Lincoln loved the Union more than he did liberty. + +The fact is, that he tried to discharge the obligations of his great +office, knowing from the first that slavery must perish. The course +pursued by Lincoln was so gentle, so kind and persistent, so wise and +logical, that millions of Northern Democrats sprang to the defence, not +only of the Union, but of his administration. Lincoln refused to be led +or hurried by Fremont or Hunter, by Greeley or Sumner. From first to +last he was the real leader, and he kept step with events. + +V. + +ON the 22d of July, 1862, Lincoln sent word to the members of his +cabinet that he wished to see them. It so happened that Secretary Chase +was the first to arrive. He found Lincoln reading a book. Looking up +from the page, the President said: "Chase, did you ever read this book?" +"What book is it?" asked Chase. "Artemus Ward," replied Lincoln. "Let me +read you this chapter, entitled '_Wax Wurx in Albany_.'" And so he began +reading while the other members of the cabinet one by one came in. At +last Stanton told Mr. Lincoln that he was in a great hurry, and if any +business was to be done he would like to do it at once. Whereupon Mr. +Lincoln laid down the open book, opened a drawer, took out a paper and +said: "Gentlemen, I have called you together to notify you what I have +determined to do. I want no advice. Nothing can change my mind." + +He then read the Proclamation of Emancipation. Chase thought there ought +to be something about God at the close, to which Lincoln replied: "Put +it in, it won't hurt it." It was also agreed that the President would +wait for a victory in the field before giving the Proclamation to the +world. + +The meeting was over, the members went their way. Mr. Chase was the +last to go, and as he went through the door looked back and saw that Mr. +Lincoln had taken up the book and was again engrossed in the _Wax Wurx +at Albany._ + +This was on the 22d of July, 1862. On the 22d of August of the same +year--after Lincoln wrote his celebrated letter to Horace Greeley, in +which he stated that his object was to save the Union; _that he would +save it with slavery if he could_; that if it was necessary to destroy +slavery in order to save the Union, he would; in other words, he would +do what was necessary to save the Union. + +This letter disheartened, to a great degree, thousands and millions of +the friends of freedom. They felt that Mr. Lincoln had not attained +the moral height upon which they supposed he stood. And yet, when this +letter was written, the Emancipation Proclamation was in his hands, and +had been for thirty days, waiting only an opportunity to give it to the +world. + +Some two weeks after the letter to Greeley, Lincoln was waited on by a +committee of clergymen, and was by them informed that it was God's will +that he should issue a Proclamation of Emancipation. He replied to them, +in substance, that the day of miracles had passed. He also mildly and +kindly suggested that if it were God's will this Proclamation should +be issued, certainly God would have made known that will to him--to the +person whose duty it was to issue it. + +On the 22d day of September, 1862, the most glorious date in the history +of the Republic, the Proclamation of Emancipation was issued. + +Lincoln had reached the generalization of all argument upon the question +of slavery and freedom--a generalization that never has been, and +probably never will be, excelled: + +"In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free." + +This is absolutely true. Liberty can be retained, can be enjoyed, only +by giving it to others. The spendthrift saves, the miser is prodigal. +In the realm of Freedom, waste is husbandry. He who puts chains upon the +body of another shackles his own soul. The moment the Proclamation was +issued the cause of the Republic became sacred. From that moment the +North fought for the human race. + +From that moment the North stood under the blue and stars, the flag of +Nature, sublime and free. + +In 1831, Lincoln went down the Mississippi on a flat-boat. He received +the extravagant salary of ten dollars a month. When he reached New +Orleans, he and some of his companions went about the city. + +Among other places, they visited a slave market, where men and women +were being sold at auction. A young colored girl was on the block. +Lincoln heard the brutal words of the auctioneer--the savage remarks of +bidders. The scene filled his soul with indignation and horror. + +Turning to his companions, he said, "Boys, if I ever get a chance to hit +slavery, by God I'll hit it hard!" + +The helpless girl, unconsciously, had planted in a great heart the seeds +of the Proclamation. + +Thirty-one years afterward the chance came, the oath was kept, and +to four millions of slaves, of men, women and children, was restored +liberty, the jewel of the soul. + +In the history, in the fiction of the world, there is nothing more +intensely dramatic than this. + +Lincoln held within his brain the grandest truths, and he held them as +unconsciously, as easily, as naturally, as a waveless pool holds within +its stainless breast a thousand stars. + +In these two years we had traveled from the Ordinance of Secession to +the Proclamation of Emancipation. + +VI. + +WE were surrounded by enemies. Many of the so-called great in Europe +and England were against us. They hated the Republic, despised our +institutions, and sought in many ways to aid the South. + +Mr. Gladstone announced that Jefferson Davis had made a nation, and +that he did not believe the restoration of the American Union by force +attainable. + +From the Vatican came words of encouragement for the South. + +It was declared that the North was fighting for empire and the South for +independence. + +The Marquis of Salisbury said: "The people of the South are the natural +allies of England. The North keeps an opposition shop in the same +department of trade as ourselves." + +Not a very elevated sentiment--but English. + +Some of their statesmen declared that the subjugation of the South by +the North would be a calamity to the world. + +Louis Napoleon was another enemy, and he endeavored to establish a +monarchy in Mexico, to the end that the great North might be destroyed. +But the patience, the uncommon common sense, the statesmanship of +Lincoln--in spite of foreign hate and Northern division--triumphed over +all. And now we forgive all foes. Victory makes forgiveness easy. + +Lincoln was by nature a diplomat. He knew the art of sailing against +the wind. He had as much shrewdness as is consistent with honesty. He +understood, not only the rights of individuals, but of nations. In +all his correspondence with other governments he neither wrote nor +sanctioned a line which afterward was used to tie his hands. In the use +of perfect English he easily rose above all his advisers and all his +fellows. + +No one claims that Lincoln did all. He could have done nothing without +the generals in the field, and the generals could have done nothing +without their armies. The praise is due to all--to the private as much +as to the officer; to the lowest who did his duty, as much as to the +highest. + +My heart goes out to the brave private as much as to the leader of the +host. + +But Lincoln stood at the centre and with infinite patience, with +consummate skill, with the genius of goodness, directed, cheered, +consoled and conquered. + +VII. + +SLAVERY was the cause of the war, and slavery was the perpetual +stumbling-block. As the war went on, question after question +arose--questions that could not be answered by theories. Should we hand +back the slave to his master, when the master was using his slave to +destroy the Union? If the South was right, slaves were property, and +by the laws of war anything that might be used to the advantage of the +enemy might be confiscated by us. Events did not wait for discussion. +General Butler denominated the negro as "a contraband." Congress +provided that the property of the rebels might be confiscated. + +The extreme Democrats of the North regarded the slave as more sacred +than life. It was no harm to kill the master--to burn his house, to +ravage his fields--but you must not free his slave. If in war a +nation has the right to take the property of its citizens--of its +friends--certainly it has the right to take the property of those it has +the right to kill. + +Lincoln was wise enough to know that war is governed by the laws of war, +and that during the conflict constitutions are silent. All that he +could do he did in the interests of peace. He offered to execute every +law--including the most infamous of all--to buy the slaves in the border +States--to establish gradual, compensated emancipation; but the South +would not hear. Then he confiscated the property of rebels--treated the +slaves as contraband of war, used them to put down the Rebellion, armed +them and clothed them in the uniform of the Republic--was in favor of +making them citizens and allowing them to stand on an equality with +their white brethren under the flag of the Nation. During these years +Lincoln moved with events, and every step he took has been justified by +the considerate judgment of mankind. + +VIII. + +LINCOLN not only watched the war, but kept his hand on the political +pulse. In 1863 a tide set in against the administration. A Republican +meeting was to be held in Springfield, Illinois, and Lincoln wrote a +letter to be read at this convention. It was in his happiest vein. It +was a perfect defence of his administration, including the Proclamation +of Emancipation. Among other things he said: + +"But the proclamation, as law, either is valid or it is not valid. If +it is not valid it needs no retraction, but if it is valid it cannot be +retracted, any more than the dead can be brought to life." + +To the Northern Democrats who said they would not fight for negroes, +Lincoln replied: + +"Some of them seem willing to fight for you--but no matter." + +Of negro soldiers: + +"But negroes, like other people, act upon motives. Why should they do +anything for us if we will do nothing for them? If they stake their +lives for us they must be prompted by the strongest motive--even the +promise of freedom. And the promise, being made, must be kept." + +There is one line in this letter that will give it immortality: + +"The Father of waters again goes unvexed to the sea." + +This line is worthy of Shakespeare. + +Another: + +"Among free men there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the +bullet." + +He draws a comparison between the white men against us and the black men +for us: + +"And then there will be some black men who can remember that with silent +tongue and clenched teeth and steady eye and well-poised bayonet they +have helped mankind on to this great consummation; while I fear there +will be some white ones unable to forget that with malignant heart and +deceitful speech they strove to hinder it." + +Under the influence of this letter, the love of country, of the Union, +and above all, the love of liberty, took possession of the heroic North. + +There was the greatest moral exaltation ever known. + +The spirit of liberty took possession of the people. The masses became +sublime. + +To fight for yourself is natural--to fight for others is grand; to fight +for your country is noble--to fight for the human race--for the liberty +of hand and brain--is nobler still. + +As a matter of fact, the defenders of slavery had sown the seeds of +their own defeat. They dug the pit in which they fell. Clay and Webster +and thousands of others had by their eloquence made the Union almost +sacred. The Union was the very tree of life, the source and stream and +sea of liberty and law. + +For the sake of slavery millions stood by the Union, for the sake of +liberty millions knelt at the altar of the Union; and this love of the +Union is what, at last, overwhelmed the Confederate hosts. + +It does not seem possible that only a few years ago our Constitution, +our laws, our Courts, the Pulpit and the Press defended and upheld the +institution of slavery--that it was a crime to feed the hungry--to give +water to the lips of thirst--shelter to a woman flying from the whip and +chain! + +The old flag still flies--the stars are there--the stains have gone. + +IX. + +LINCOLN always saw the end. He was unmoved by the storms and currents of +the times. He advanced too rapidly for the conservative politicians, too +slowly for the radical enthusiasts. He occupied the line of safety, and +held by his personality--by the force of his great character, by his +charming candor--the masses on his side. + +The soldiers thought of him as a father. + +All who had lost their sons in battle felt that they had his +sympathy--felt that his face was as sad as theirs. They knew that +Lincoln was actuated by one motive, and that his energies were bent to +the attainment of one end--the salvation of the Republic. + +They knew that he was kind, sincere and merciful. They knew that in his +veins there was no drop of tyrants' blood. They knew that he used his +power to protect the innocent, to save reputation and life--that he had +the brain of a philosopher--the heart of a mother. + +During all the years of war, Lincoln stood the embodiment of mercy, +between discipline and death. He pitied the imprisoned and condemned. +He took the unfortunate in his arms, and was the friend even of the +convict. He knew temptation's strength--the weakness of the will--and +how in fury's sudden flame the judgment drops the scales, and +passion--blind and deaf--usurps the throne. + +One day a woman, accompanied by a Senator, called on the President. The +woman was the wife of one of Mosby's men. Her husband had been captured, +tried and condemned to be shot. She came to ask for the pardon of her +husband. The President heard her story and then asked what kind of man +her husband was. "Is he intemperate, does he abuse the children and beat +you?" "No, no," said the wife, "he is a good man, a good husband, he +loves me and he loves the children, and we cannot live without him. The +only trouble is that he is a fool about politics--I live in the North, +born there, and if I get him home, he will do no more fighting for the +South." "Well," said Mr. Lincoln, after examining the papers, "I will +pardon your husband and turn him over to you for safe keeping." The poor +woman, overcome with joy, sobbed as though her heart would break. + +"My dear woman," said Lincoln, "if I had known how badly it was going to +make you feel, I never would have pardoned him." "You do not understand +me," she cried between her sobs. "You do not understand me." "Yes, yes, +I do," answered the President, "and if you do not go away at once I +shall be crying with you." + +On another occasion, a member of Congress, on his way to see Lincoln, +found in one of the anterooms of the White House an old white-haired +man, sobbing--his wrinkled face wet with tears. The old man told him +that for several days he had tried to see the President--that he wanted +a pardon for his son. The Congressman told the old man to come with him +and he would introduce him to Mr. Lincoln. On being introduced, the old +man said: "Mr. Lincoln, my wife sent me to you. We had three boys. They +all joined your army. One of 'em has been killed, one's a fighting now, +and one of 'em, the youngest, has been tried for deserting and he's +going to be shot day after to-morrow. He never deserted. He's wild, +and he may have drunk too much and wandered off, but he never deserted. +'Taint in the blood. He's his mother's favorite, and if he's shot, +I know she'll die." The President, turning to his secretary, said: +"Telegraph General Butler to suspend the execution in the case +of--------[giving the name] until further orders from me, and ask him to +answer--------." + +The Congressman congratulated the old man on his success--but the old +man did not respond. He was not satisfied. "Mr. President," he began, +"I can't take that news home. It won't satisfy his mother. How do I know +but what you'll give further orders to-morrow?" "My good man," said +Mr. Lincoln, "I have to do the best I can. The generals are complaining +because I pardon so many. They say that my mercy destroys discipline. +Now, when you get home you tell his mother what you said to me about my +giving further orders, and then you tell her that I said this: 'If your +son lives until they get further orders from me, that when he does die +people will say that old Methusaleh was a baby compared to him.'" + +The pardoning power is the only remnant of absolute sovereignty that a +President has. Through all the years, Lincoln will be known as Lincoln +the loving, Lincoln the merciful. + +X. + +LINCOLN had the keenest sense of humor, and always saw the laughable +side even of disaster. In his humor there was logic and the best of +sense. No matter how complicated the question, or how embarrassing the +situation, his humor furnished an answer and a door of escape. + +Vallandigham was a friend of the South, and did what he could to sow +the seeds of failure. In his opinion everything, except rebellion, was +unconstitutional. + +He was arrested, convicted by a court martial, and sentenced to +imprisonment. + +There was doubt about the legality of the trial, and thousands in the +North denounced the whole proceeding as tyrannical and infamous. At the +same time millions demanded that Vallandigham should be punished. + +Lincoln's humor came to the rescue. He disapproved of the findings of +the court, changed the punishment, and ordered that Mr. Vallandigham +should be sent to his friends in the South. + +Those who regarded the act as unconstitutional almost forgave it for the +sake of its humor. + +Horace Greeley always had the idea that he was greatly superior to +Lincoln, because he lived in a larger town, and for a long time insisted +that the people of the North and the people of the South desired peace. +He took it upon himself to lecture Lincoln. Lincoln, with that wonderful +sense of humor, united with shrewdness and profound wisdom, told Greeley +that, if the South really wanted peace, he (Lincoln) desired the same +thing, and was doing all he could to bring it about. Greeley insisted +that a commissioner should be appointed, with authority to negotiate +with the representatives of the Confederacy. This was Lincoln's +opportunity. He authorized Greeley to act as such commissioner. The +great editor felt that he was caught. For a time he hesitated, but +finally went, and found that the Southern commissioners were willing +to take into consideration any offers of peace that Lincoln might make, +consistent with the independence of the Confederacy. + +The failure of Greeley was humiliating, and the position in which he was +left, absurd. + +Again the humor of Lincoln had triumphed. + +Lincoln, to satisfy a few fault-finders in the North, went to Grant's +headquarters and met some Confederate commissioners. He urged that +it was hardly proper for him to negotiate with the representatives of +rebels in arms--that if the South wanted peace, all they had to do was +to stop fighting. One of the commissioners cited as a precedent the fact +that Charles the First negotiated with rebels in arms. To which Lincoln +replied that Charles the First lost his head. + +The conference came to nothing, as Mr. Lincoln expected. + +The commissioners, one of them being Alexander H. Stephens, who, when in +good health, weighed about ninety pounds, dined with the President +and Gen. Grant. After dinner, as they were leaving, Stephens put on an +English ulster, the tails of which reached the ground, while the collar +was somewhat above the wearer's head. + +As Stephens went out, Lincoln touched Grant and said: "Grant, look at +Stephens. Did you ever see as little a nubbin with as much shuck?" + +Lincoln always tried to do things in the easiest way. He did not waste +his strength. He was not particular about moving along straight lines. +He did not tunnel the mountains. He was willing to go around, and reach +the end desired as a river reaches the sea. + +XI. + +One of the most wonderful things ever done by Lincoln was the promotion +of General Hooker. After the battle of Fredericksburg, General Burnside +found great fault with Hooker, and wished to have him removed from the +Army of the Potomac. Lincoln disapproved of Burnside's order, and gave +Hooker the command. He then wrote Hooker this memorable letter: + +"I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I +have done this upon what appears to me to be sufficient reasons, and yet +I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to +which I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe you to be a brave and +skillful soldier--which, of course, I like. I also believe you do not +mix politics with your profession--in which you are right. You have +confidence--which is a valuable, if not an indispensable, quality. You +are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good rather than +harm; but I think that during General Burnside's command of the army +you have taken counsel of your ambition to thwart him as much as you +could--in which you did a great wrong to the country and to a most +meritorious and honorable brother officer. I have heard, in such a way +as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the army and the +Government needed a dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in +spite of it, that I have given you command. Only those generals who +gain successes can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military +successes, and I will risk the dictatorship. The Government will support +you to the utmost of its ability, which is neither more nor less than +it has done and will do for all commanders. I much fear that the spirit +which you have aided to infuse into the army, of criticising their +commander and withholding confidence in him, will now turn upon you. +I shall assist you, so far as I can, to put it down. Neither you, nor +Napoleon, if he were alive, can get any good out of an army while such +a spirit prevails in it. And now beware of rashness. Beware of +rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance go forward and give us +victories." + +This letter has, in my judgment, no parallel. The mistaken magnanimity +is almost equal to the prophecy: + +"I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to infuse into the +army, of criticising their command and withholding confidence in him, +will now turn upon you." + +Chancellorsville was the fulfillment. + +XII. + +MR. LINCOLN was a statesman. The great stumbling-block--the great +obstruction--in Lincoln's way, and in the way of thousands, was the old +doctrine of States Rights. + +This doctrine was first established to protect slavery. It was clung to +to protect the inter-State slave trade. It became sacred in connection +with the Fugitive Slave Law, and it was finally used as the corner-stone +of Secession. + +This doctrine was never appealed to in defence of the right--always in +support of the wrong. For many years politicians upon both sides of this +question endeavored to express the exact relations existing between the +Federal Government and the States, and I know of no one who succeeded, +except Lincoln. In his message of 1861, delivered on July the 4th, the +definition is given, and it is perfect: + +"Whatever concerns the whole should be confided to the whole--to the +General Government. Whatever concerns only the State should be left +exclusively to the State." + +When that definition is realized in practice, this country becomes a +Nation. Then we shall know that the first allegiance of the citizen is +not to his State, but to the Republic, and that the first duty of the +Republic is to protect the citizen, not only when in other lands, but +at home, and that this duty cannot be discharged by delegating it to the +States. + +Lincoln believed in the sovereignty of the people--in the supremacy of +the Nation--in the territorial integrity of the Republic. + +XIII. + +A GREAT actor can be known only when he has assumed the principal +character in a great drama. Possibly the greatest actors have never +appeared, and it may be that the greatest soldiers have lived the lives +of perfect peace. Lincoln assumed the leading part in the greatest drama +ever enacted upon the stage of this continent. + +His criticisms of military movements, his correspondence with his +generals and others on the conduct of the war, show that he was at all +times master of the situation--that he was a natural strategist, that he +appreciated the difficulties and advantages of every kind, and that in +"the still and mental" field of war he stood the peer of any man beneath +the flag. + +Had McClellan followed his advice, he would have taken Richmond. + +Had Hooker acted in accordance with his suggestions, Chancellorsville +would have been a victory for the Nation. + +Lincoln's political prophecies were all fulfilled. + +We know now that he not only stood at the top, but that he occupied +the centre, from first to last, and that he did this by reason of his +intelligence, his humor, his philosophy, his courage and his patriotism. + +In passion's storm he stood, unmoved, patient, just and candid. In his +brain there was no cloud, and in his heart no hate. He longed to save +the South as well as North, to see the Nation one and free. + +He lived until the end was known. + +He lived until the Confederacy was dead--until Lee surrendered, until +Davis fled, until the doors of Libby Prison were opened, until the +Republic was supreme. + +He lived until Lincoln and Liberty were united forever. + +He lived to cross the desert--to reach the palms of victory--to hear the +murmured music of the welcome waves. + +He lived until all loyal hearts were his--until the history of his +deeds made music in the souls of men--until he knew that on Columbia's +Calendar of worth and fame his name stood first. + +He lived until there remained nothing for him to do as great as he had +done. + +What he did was worth living for, worth dying for. + +He lived until he stood in the midst of universal + +Joy, beneath the outstretched wings of Peace--the foremost man in all +the world. + +And then the horror came. Night fell on noon. The Savior of the +Republic, the breaker of chains, the liberator of millions, he who had +"assured freedom to the free," was dead. + +Upon his brow Fame placed the immortal wreath, and for the first time in +the history of the world a Nation bowed and wept. + +The memory of Lincoln is the strongest, tenderest tie that binds all +hearts together now, and holds all States beneath a Nation's flag. + +XIV. + +ABRAHAM LINCOLN--strange mingling of mirth and tears, of the tragic and +grotesque, of cap and crown, of Socrates and Democritus, of Æsop and +Marcus Aurelius, of all that is gentle and just, humorous and honest, +merciful, wise, laughable, lovable and divine, and all consecrated to +the use of man; while through all, and over all, were an overwhelming +sense of obligation, of chivalric loyalty to truth, and upon all, the +shadow of the tragic end. + +Nearly all the great historic characters are impossible monsters, +disproportioned by flattery, or by calumny deformed. We know nothing +of their peculiarities, or nothing but their peculiarities. About these +oaks there clings none of the earth of humanity. + +Washington is now only a steel engraving. About the real man who lived +and loved and hated and schemed, we know but little. The glass through +which we look at him is of such high magnifying power that the features +are exceedingly indistinct. + +Hundreds of people are now engaged in smoothing out the lines of +Lincoln's face--forcing all features to the common mould--so that he may +be known, not as he really was, but, according to their poor standard, +as he should have been. + +Lincoln was not a type. He stands alone--no ancestors, no fellows, and +no successors. + +He had the advantage of living in a new country, of social equality, of +personal freedom, of seeing in the horizon of his future the perpetual +star of hope. He preserved his individuality and his self-respect. He +knew and mingled with men of every kind; and, after all, men are the +best books. He became acquainted with the ambitions and hopes of the +heart, the means used to accomplish ends, the springs of action and the +seeds of thought. He was familiar with nature, with actual things, with +common facts. He loved and appreciated the poem of the year, the drama +of the seasons. + +In a new country a man must possess at least three virtues--honesty, +courage and generosity. In cultivated society, cultivation is often more +important than soil. A well-executed counterfeit passes more readily +than a blurred genuine. It is necessary only to observe the unwritten +laws of society--to be honest enough to keep out of prison, and generous +enough to subscribe in public--where the subscription can be defended as +an investment. + +In a new country, character is essential; in the old, reputation is +sufficient. In the new, they find what a man really is; in the old, +he generally passes for what he resembles. People separated only by +distance are much nearer together, than those divided by the walls of +caste. + +It is no advantage to live in a great city, where poverty degrades and +failure brings despair. The fields are lovelier than paved streets, and +the great forests than walls of brick. Oaks and elms are more poetic +than steeples and chimneys. + +In the country is the idea of home. There you see the rising and setting +sun; you become acquainted with the stars and clouds. The constellations +are your friends. You hear the rain on the roof and listen to the +rhythmic sighing of the winds. You are thrilled by the resurrection +called Spring, touched and saddened by Autumn--the grace and poetry of +death. Every field is a picture, a landscape; every landscape a poem; +every flower a tender thought, and every forest a fairy-land. In the +country you preserve your identity--your personality. There you are +an aggregation of atoms, but in the city you are only an atom of an +aggregation. + +In the country you keep your cheek close to the breast of Nature. You +are calmed and ennobled by the space, the amplitude and scope of earth +and sky--by the constancy of the stars. + +Lincoln never finished his education. To the night of his death he was +a pupil, a learner, an inquirer, a seeker after knowledge. You have no +idea how many men are spoiled by what is called education. For the most +part, colleges are places where pebbles are polished and diamonds are +dimmed. If Shakespeare had graduated at Oxford, he might have been a +quibbling attorney, or a hypocritical parson. + +Lincoln was a great lawyer. There is nothing shrewder in this world than +intelligent honesty. Perfect candor is sword and shield. + +He understood the nature of man. As a lawyer he endeavored to get at the +truth, at the very heart of a case. He was not willing even to deceive +himself. No matter what his interest said, what his passion demanded, +he was great enough to find the truth and strong enough to pronounce +judgment against his own desires. + +Lincoln was a many-sided man, acquainted with smiles and tears, complex +in brain, single in heart, direct as light; and his words, candid as +mirrors, gave the perfect image of his thought. He was never afraid +to ask--never too dignified to admit that he did not know. No man had +keener wit, or kinder humor. + +It may be that humor is the pilot of reason. People without humor drift +unconsciously into absurdity. Humor sees the other side--stands in the +mind like a spectator, a good-natured critic, and gives its opinion +before judgment is reached. Humor goes with good nature, and good +nature is the climate of reason. In anger, reason abdicates and malice +extinguishes the torch. Such was the humor of Lincoln that he could tell +even unpleasant truths as charmingly as most men can tell the things we +wish to hear. + +He was not solemn. Solemnity is a mask worn by ignorance and +hypocrisy--it is the preface, prologue, and index to the cunning or the +stupid. + +He was natural in his life and thought--master of the story-teller's +art, in illustration apt, in application perfect, liberal in speech, +shocking Pharisees and prudes, using any word that wit could disinfect. + +He was a logician. His logic shed light. In its presence the obscure +became luminous, and the most complex and intricate political and +metaphysical knots seemed to untie themselves. Logic is the necessary +product of intelligence and sincerity. It cannot be learned. It is the +child of a clear head and a good heart. + +Lincoln was candid, and with candor often deceived the deceitful. He had +intellect without arrogance, genius without pride, and religion without +cant--that is to say, without bigotry and without deceit. + +He was an orator--clear, sincere, natural. He did not pretend. He did +not say what he thought others thought, but what he thought. + +If you wish to be sublime you must be natural--you must keep close to +the grass. You must sit by the fireside of the heart; above the clouds +it is too cold. You must be simple in your speech; too much polish +suggests insincerity. + +The great orator idealizes the real, transfigures the common, makes even +the inanimate throb and thrill, fills the gallery of the imagination +with statues and pictures perfect in form and color, brings to light +the gold hoarded by memory the miser, shows the glittering coin to the +spendthrift hope, enriches the brain, ennobles the heart, and quickens +the conscience. Between his lips words bud and blossom. + +If you wish to know the difference between an orator and an +elocutionist--between what is felt and what is said--between what the +heart and brain can do together and what the brain can do alone--read +Lincoln's wondrous speech at Gettysburg, and then the oration of Edward +Everett. + +The speech of Lincoln will never be forgotten. It will live until +languages are dead and lips are dust. The oration of Everett will never +be read. + +The elocutionists believe in the virtue of voice, the sublimity of +syntax, the majesty of long sentences, and the genius of gesture. + +The orator loves the real, the simple, the natural. He places the +thought above all. He knows that the greatest ideas should be expressed +in the shortest words--that the greatest statues need the least drapery. + +Lincoln was an immense personality--firm but not obstinate. Obstinacy +is egotism--firmness, heroism. He influenced others without +effort, unconsciously; and they submitted to him as men submit to +nature--unconsciously. He was severe with himself, and for that reason +lenient with others. + +He appeared to apologize for being kinder than his fellows. + +He did merciful things as stealthily as others committed crimes. + +Almost ashamed of tenderness, he said and did the noblest words and +deeds with that charming confusion, that awkwardness, that is the +perfect grace of modesty. + +As a noble man, wishing to pay a small debt to a poor neighbor, +reluctantly offers a hundred-dollar bill and asks for change, fearing +that he may be suspected either of making a display of wealth or +a pretence of payment, so Lincoln hesitated to show his wealth of +goodness, even to the best he knew. + +A great man stooping, not wishing to make his fellows feel that they +were small or mean. + +By his candor, by his kindness, by his perfect freedom from restraint, +by saying what he thought, and saying it absolutely in his own way, he +made it not only possible, but popular, to be natural. He was the enemy +of mock solemnity, of the stupidly respectable, of the cold and formal. + +He wore no official robes either on his body or his soul. He never +pretended to be more or less, or other, or different, from what he +really was. + +He had the unconscious naturalness of Nature's self. + +He built upon the rock. The foundation was secure and broad. The +structure was a pyramid, narrowing as it rose. Through days and nights +of sorrow, through years of grief and pain, with unswerving purpose, +"with malice towards none, with charity for all," with infinite +patience, with unclouded vision, he hoped and toiled. Stone after stone +was laid, until at last the Proclamation found its place. On that the +Goddess stands. + +He knew others, because perfectly acquainted with himself. He cared +nothing for place, but everything for principle; little for money, but +everything for independence. Where no principle was involved, easily +swayed--willing to go slowly, if in the right direction--sometimes +willing to stop; but he would not go back, and he would not go wrong. + +He was willing to wait. He knew that the event was not waiting, and that +fate was not the fool of chance. He knew that slavery had defenders, but +no defence, and that they who attack the right must wound themselves. + +He was neither tyrant nor slave. He neither knelt nor scorned. + +With him, men were neither great nor small--they were right or wrong. + +Through manners, clothes, titles, rags and race he saw the real--that +which is. Beyond accident, policy, compromise and war he saw the end. + +He was patient as Destiny, whose undecipherable hieroglyphs were so +deeply graven on his sad and tragic face. + +Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for +the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish +to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. +It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never +abused it, except on the side of mercy. + +Wealth could not purchase, power could not awe, this divine, this loving +man. + +He knew no fear except the fear of doing wrong. Hating slavery, pitying +the master--seeking to conquer, not persons, but prejudices--he was the +embodiment of the self-denial, the courage, the hope and the nobility of +a Nation. + +He spoke not to inflame, not to upbraid, but to convince. + +He raised his hands, not to strike, but in benediction. + +He longed to pardon. + +He loved to see the pearls of joy on the cheeks of a wife whose husband +he had rescued from death. + +Lincoln was the grandest figure of the fiercest civil war. He is the +gentlest memory of our world. + + + + +VOLTAIRE. + +I. + +THE infidels of one age have often been the aureoled saints of the next. + +The destroyers of the old are the creators of the new. + +As time sweeps on the old passes away and the new in its turn becomes +old. + +There is in the intellectual world, as in the physical, decay and +growth, and ever by the grave of buried age stand youth and joy. + +The history of intellectual progress is written in the lives of +infidels. + +Political rights have been preserved by traitors, the liberty of mind by +heretics. + +To attack the king was treason; to dispute the priest was blasphemy. + +For many centuries the sword and cross were allies. Together they +attacked the rights of man. They defended each other. + +The throne and altar were twins--two vultures from the same egg. + +James I. said: "No bishop, no king." He might have added: "No cross, +no crown." The king owned the bodies of men; the priest, the souls. +One lived on taxes collected by force, the other on alms collected by +fear--both robbers, both beggars. + +These robbers and these beggars controlled two worlds. The king made +laws, the priest made creeds. Both obtained their authority from God, +both were the agents of the Infinite. + +With bowed backs the people carried the burdens of one, and with +wonder's open mouth received the dogmas of the other. + +If the people aspired to be free, they were crushed by the king, and +every priest was a Herod who slaughtered the children of the brain. + +The king ruled by force, the priest by fear, and both by both. + +The king said to the people: "God made you peasants, and He made me +king; He made you to labor, and me to enjoy; He made rags and hovels for +you, robes and palaces for me. He made you to obey, and me to command. +Such is the justice of God." + +And the priest said: "God made you ignorant and vile; He made me holy +and wise; you are the sheep, I am the shepherd; your fleeces belong to +me. If you do not obey me here, God will punish you now and torment you +forever in another world. Such is the mercy of God." + +"You must not reason. Reason is a rebel. You must not +contradict--contradiction is born of egotism; you must believe. He that +hath ears to hear let him hear." Heaven was a question of ears. + +Fortunately for us, there have been traitors and there have been +heretics, blasphemers, thinkers, investigators, lovers of liberty, men +of genius who have given their lives to better the condition of their +fellow-men. + +It may be well enough here to ask the question: What is greatness? + +A great man adds to the sum of knowledge, extends the horizon of +thought, releases souls from the Bastile of fear, crosses unknown and +mysterious seas, gives new islands and new continents to the domain of +thought, new constellations to the firmament of mind. A great man does +not seek applause or place; he seeks for truth; he seeks the road to +happiness, and what he ascertains he gives to others. + +A great man throws pearls before swine, and the swine are sometimes +changed to men. If the great had always kept their pearls, vast +multitudes would be barbarians now. + +A great man is a torch in the darkness, a beacon in superstition's +night, an inspiration and a prophecy. + +Greatness is not the gift of majorities; it cannot be thrust upon any +man; men cannot give it to another; they can give place and power, but +not greatness. + +The place does not make the man, nor the sceptre the king. Greatness is +from within. + +The great men are the heroes who have freed the bodies of men; they are +the philosophers and thinkers who have given liberty to the soul; they +are the poets who have transfigured the common and filled the lives of +many millions with love and song. + +They are the artists who have covered the bare walls of weary life with +the triumphs of genius. + +They are the heroes who have slain the monsters of ignorance and fear, +who have outgazed the Gorgon and driven the cruel gods from their +thrones. + +They are the inventors, the discoverers, the great mechanics, the kings +of the useful who have civilized this world. + +At the head of this heroic army, foremost of all, stands Voltaire, whose +memory we are honoring tonight. + +Voltaire! a name that excites the admiration of men, the malignity of +priests. Pronounce that name in the presence of a clergyman, and you +will find that you have made a declaration of war. Pronounce that name, +and from the face of the priest the mask of meekness will fall, and +from the mouth of forgiveness will pour a Niagara of vituperation and +calumny. And yet Voltaire was the greatest man of his century, and did +more to free the human race than any other of the sons of men. + +On Sunday, the 21st of November, 1694, a babe was born--a babe so +exceedingly frail that the breath hesitated about remaining, and the +parents had him baptized as soon as possible. They were anxious to save +the soul of this babe, and they knew that if death came before baptism +the child would be doomed to an eternity of pain. They knew that God +despised an unsprinkled child. The priest who, with a few drops of +water, gave the name of Francois-Marie Arouet to this babe and saved +his soul--little thought that before him, wrapped in many folds, weakly +wailing, scarcely breathing, was the one destined to tear from the white +throat of Liberty the cruel, murderous claws of the "Triumphant Beast." + +When Voltaire came to this "great stage of fools," his country had been +Christianized--not civilized--for about fourteen hundred years. For a +thousand years the religion of peace and good-will had been supreme. The +laws had been given by Christian kings, and sanctioned by "wise and +holy men." Under the benign reign of universal love, every court had its +chamber of torture, and every priest relied on the thumb-screw and rack. + +Such had been the success of the blessed gospel that every science was +an outcast. + +To speak your honest thoughts, to teach your fellow-men, to investigate +for yourself, to seek the truth, these were all crimes, and the +"holy-mother church" pursued the criminals with sword and flame. + +The believers in a God of love--an infinite father--punished hundreds of +offences with torture and death. Suspected persons were tortured to +make them confess. Convicted persons were tortured to make them give the +names of their accomplices. Under the leadership of the church, cruelty +had become the only reforming power. + +In this blessed year, 1694, all authors were at the mercy of king and +priest. The most of them were cast into prisons, impoverished by fines +and costs, exiled or executed. + +The little time that hangmen could snatch from professional duties was +occupied in burning books. + +The courts of justice were traps, in which the innocent were caught. +The judges were almost as malicious and cruel as though they had been +bishops or saints. There was no trial by jury, and the rules of +evidence allowed the conviction of the supposed criminal by the proof of +suspicion or hearsay. + +The witnesses, being liable to be tortured, generally told what the +judges wished to hear. + +The supernatural and the miraculous controlled the world. Everything was +explained, but nothing was understood. The church was at the head. The +sick bought from monks little amulets of consecrated paper. They did not +send for a doctor, but for a priest, and the priest sold the diseased +and the dying these magical amulets. These little pieces of paper with +the help of some saint would cure diseases of every kind. If you would +put one in a cradle, it would keep the child from being bewitched. If +you would put one in the barn, the rats would not eat your corn. If you +would keep one in the house, evil spirits would not enter your doors, +and if you buried them in the fields, you would have good weather, the +frost would be delayed, rain would come when needed, and abundant crops +would bless your labor. The church insisted that all diseases could +be cured in the name of God, and that these cures could be effected +by prayers, exorcism, by touching bones of saints, pieces of the true +cross; by being sprinkled with holy water or with sanctified salt, or +touched with magical oil. + +In that day the dead saints were the best physicians; St. Valentine +cured the epilepsy; St. Gervasius was exceedingly good for rheumatism; +St. Michael for cancer; St. Judas for coughs and colds; St. Ovidius +restored the hearing; St. Sebastian was good for the bites of snakes and +the stings of poisonous insects; St. Apollonia for toothache; St. Clara +for any trouble with the eyes; and St. Hubert for hydrophobia. It +was known that doctors reduced the revenues of the church; that was +enough--science was the enemy of religion. + +The church thought that the air was filled with devils; that every +sinner was a kind of tenement house inhabited by evil spirits; that +angels were on one side of men and evil spirits on the other, and that +God would, when the subscriptions and donations justified the effort, +drive the evil spirits from the field. + +Satan had power over the air; consequently he controlled the frost, the +mildew, the lightning and the flood; and the principal business of the +church was with bells, and holy water, and incense, and crosses, to +defeat the machinations of that prince of the power of the air. + +Great reliance was placed upon the bells; they were sprinkled with holy +water, and their clangor cleared the air of imps and fiends. And bells +also protected the people from storms and lightning. In that day the +church used to anathematize insects. Suits were commenced against rats, +and judgment rendered. Every monastery had its master magician, who +sold incense and salt and tapers and consecrated palms and relics. +Every science was regarded as an enemy; every fact held the creed of the +church in scorn. Investigators were regarded as dangerous; thinkers +were traitors, and the church exerted its vast power to prevent the +intellectual progress of man. + +There was no real liberty, no real education, no real philosophy, no +real science---nothing but credulity and superstition. The world was +under the control of Satan and the church. + +The church firmly believed in the existence of witches and devils and +fiends. In this way the church had every enemy within her power. It +simply had to charge him with being a wizard, of holding communications +with devils, and the ignorant mob were ready to tear him to pieces. So +prevalent was this belief, this belief in the supernatural, that the +poor people were finally driven to make the best possible terms they +could with the spirit of evil. This frightful doctrine filled every +friend with suspicion of his friend; it made the husband denounce the +wife, children their parents, parents their children. It destroyed the +amenities of humanity; it did away with justice in courts; it broke the +bond of friendship; it filled with poison the golden cup of life; it +turned earth into a very perdition peopled with abominable, malicious +and hideous fiends. Such was the result of a belief in the supernatural; +such was the result of giving up the evidence of their own senses and +relying upon dreams, visions and fears. Such was the result of the +attack upon the human reason; such the result of depending on the +imagination, on the supernatural; such the result of living in this +world for another; of depending upon priests instead of upon ourselves. +The Protestants vied with Catholics; Luther stood side by side with the +priests he had deserted in promoting this belief in devils and fiends. +To the Catholic every Protestant was possessed by a devil; to the +Protestant every Catholic was the home of a fiend. All order, all +regular succession of causes and effects were known no more; the natural +ceased to exist; the learned and the ignorant were on a level. The +priest was caught in the net he had spread for the peasant, and +Christendom became a vast madhouse, with the insane for keepers. + +When Voltaire was born the church ruled and owned France. It was +a period of almost universal corruption. The priests were mostly +libertines, the judges cruel and venal. The royal palace was a house of +prostitution. The nobles were heartless, proud, arrogant and cruel to +the last degree. The common people were treated as beasts. It took the +church a thousand years to bring about this happy condition of things. + +The seeds of the Revolution unconsciously were being scattered by every +noble and by every priest. + +They were germinating slowly in the hearts of the wretched; they were +being watered by the tears of agony; blows began to bear interest. There +was a faint longing for blood. Workmen, blackened by the sun, bowed by +labor, deformed by want, looked at the white throats of scornful ladies +and thought about cutting them. + +In those days witnesses were cross-examined with instruments of torture; +the church was the arsenal of superstition; miracles, relics, angels and +devils were as common as lies. + +In order to appreciate a great man we must know his surroundings. We +must understand the scope of the drama in which he played--the part he +acted, and we must also know his audience. + +In England George I. was disporting with the "May-pole" and "Elephant," +and then George II., jealous and choleric, hating the English and their +language, making, however, an excellent image or idol before whom the +English were glad to bow--snobbery triumphant--the criminal code getting +bloodier every day--223 offences punishable with death--the prisons +filled and the scaffolds crowded--efforts on every hand to repress +the ambition of men to be men--the church relying on superstition and +ceremony to make men good--and the state dependent on the whip, the rope +and axe to make men patriotic. + +In Spain the Inquisition in full control--all the instruments of torture +used to prevent the development of the mind, Spain, that had driven out +the Jews, that is to say, her talent; that had driven out the Moors, +that is to say, her taste and her industry, was still endeavoring by all +religious means to reduce the land to the imbecility of the true faith. + +In Portugal they were burning women and children for having eaten meat +on a holy day, and this to please the most merciful God. + +In Italy the nation prostrate, covered with swarms of cardinals and +bishops and priests and monks and nuns and every representative of holy +sloth. The Inquisition there also--while hands that were clasped in +prayer or stretched for alms, grasped with eagerness and joy the lever +of the rack, or gathered fagots for the holy flame. + +In Germany they were burning men and women charged with having made a +compact with the enemy of man. + +And in our own fair land, persecuting Quakers, stealing men and women +from another shore, stealing children from their mother's breasts, and +paying labor with the cruel lash. + +Superstition ruled the world! + +There is but one use for law, but one excuse for government--the +preservation of liberty--to give to each man his own, to secure to the +farmer what he produces from the soil, the mechanic what he invents +and makes, to the artist what he creates, to the thinker the right to +express his thoughts. Liberty is the breath of progress. + +In France, the people were the sport of a king's caprice. Everywhere was +the shadow of the Bastile. + +It fell upon the sunniest field, upon the happiest home. With the king +walked the headsman; back of the throne was the chamber of torture. The +Church appealed to the rack, and Faith relied on the fagot. Science was +an outcast, and Philosophy, so-called, was the pander of superstition. + +Nobles and priests were sacred. Peasants were vermin. Idleness sat at +the banquet, and Industry gathered the crumbs and the crusts. + + +II. THE DAYS OF YOUTH. + +VOLTAIRE was of the people. In the language of that day, he had no +ancestors. His real name was Francois-Marie Arouet. His mother was +Marguerite d'Aumard. This mother died when he was seven years of age. +He had an elder brother, Armand, who was a devotee, very religious and +exceedingly disagreeable. This brother used to present offerings to the +church, hoping to make amends for the unbelief of his brother. So far as +we know, none of his ancestors were literary people. + +The Arouets had never written a line. The Abbe de Chaulieu was his +godfather, and, although an abbe, was a Deist who cared nothing about +religion except in connection with his salary. Voltaire's father wanted +to make a lawyer of him, but he had no taste for law. At the age of ten +he entered the college of Louis Le Grand. This was a Jesuit school, +and here he remained for seven years, leaving at seventeen, and never +attending any other school. According to Voltaire, he learned nothing at +this school but a little Greek, a good deal of Latin and a vast amount +of nonsense. + +In this college of Louis Le Grand they did not teach geography, history, +mathematics or any science. This was a Catholic institution, controlled +by the Jesuits. In that day the religion was defended, was protected or +supported by the state. Behind the entire creed were the bayonet, the +axe, the wheel, the fagot and the torture chamber. + +While Voltaire was attending the college of Louis Le Grand the soldiers +of the king were hunting Protestants in the mountains of Cevennes for +magistrates to hang on gibbets, to put to torture, to break on the +wheel, or to burn at the stake. + +At seventeen Voltaire determined to devote his life to literature. The +father said, speaking of his two sons Armand and Francois, "I have a +pair of fools for sons, one in verse and the other in prose." + +In 1713, Voltaire, in a small way, became a diplomat. He went to The +Hague attached to the French minister, and there he fell in love. The +girl's mother objected. Voltaire sent his clothes to the young lady that +she might visit him. Everything was discovered and he was dismissed. +To this girl he wrote a letter, and in it you will find the key note of +Voltaire: "Do not expose yourself to the fury of your mother. You know +what she is capable of. You have experienced it too well. Dissemble; it +is your only chance. Tell her that you have forgotten me, that you hate +me; then after telling her, love me all the more." + +On account of this episode Voltaire was formally disinherited by his +father. The father procured an order of arrest and gave his son the +choice of going to prison or beyond the seas. He finally consented to +become a lawyer, and says: "I have already been a week at work in the +office of a solicitor learning the trade of a pettifogger." + +About this time he competed for a prize, writing a poem on the king's +generosity in building the new choir in the Cathedral Notre Dame. He did +not win it. After being with the solicitor a little while, he hated the +law, began to write poetry and the outlines of tragedy. Great questions +were then agitating the public mind, questions that throw a flood of +light upon that epoch. + +In 1552 Dr. Baius took it into his head to sustain a number of +propositions touching predestination to the prejudice of the doctrine of +free will. The Cordelian monks selected seventy-six of the propositions +and denounced them to the Pope as heretical, and from the Pope obtained +what was called a Bull. This Bull contained a doubtful passage, the +meaning of which was dependent upon the position of a comma. The friends +of Dr. Baius wrote to Rome to find where the comma ought to be placed. +Rome, busy with other matter, sent as an answer a copy of the Bull in +which the doubtful sentence was left without any comma. So the dispute +continued. + +Then there was the great controversy between the Jansenists and +Molinists. Molini was a Spanish Jesuit, who sustained the doctrine of +free will with a subtlety of his own, "man's will is free, but God sees +exactly how he will use it." The Presbyterians of our country are still +wrestling with this important absurdity. + +Jansenius was a French Jesuit who carried the doctrine of predestination +to the extreme, asserting that God commands things that are impossible, +and that Christ did not die for all. + +In 1641 the Jesuits obtained a Bull condemning five propositions +of Jansenius. The Jansenists there upon denied that the five +propositions--or any of them--were found in the works of Jansenius. + +This question of Jansenism and Molinism occupied France for about two +hundred years. + +In Voltaire's time the question had finally dwindled down to whether the +five propositions condemned by the Papal Bull were in fact in the works +of Jansenius. The Jansenists proved that the five propositions were not +in his book, because a niece of Pascal had a diseased eye cured by the +application of a thorn from the crown of Christ. + +The Bull Unigenitus was launched in 1713, and then all the prisons were +filled with Jansenists. This great question of predestination and free +will, of free moral agency and accountability, and being saved by the +grace of God, and damned for the glory of God, have occupied the mind of +what we call the civilized world for many centuries. All these questions +were argued pro and con through Switzerland; all of them in Holland +for centuries; in Scotland and England and New England, and millions +of people are still busy harmonizing foreordination and free will, +necessity and morality, predestination and accountability. + +Louis XIV. having died, the Regent took possession, and then the prisons +were opened. The Regent called for a list of all persons then in the +prisons sent there at the will of the king. He found that, as to many +prisoners, nobody knew any cause why they had been in prison. They had +been forgotten. Many of the prisoners did not know themselves, and +could not guess why they had been arrested. One Italian had been in the +Bastile thirty-three years without ever knowing why. On his arrival in +Paris, thirty-three years before, he was arrested and sent to prison. +He had grown old. He had survived his family and friends. When the rest +were liberated he asked to remain where he was, and lived there the +rest of his life. The old prisoners were pardoned, but in a little while +their places were taken by new ones. + +At this time Voltaire was not interested in the great world--knew very +little of religion or of government. He was busy writing poetry, busy +thinking of comedies and tragedies. He was full of life. All his fancies +were winged like moths. + +He was charged with having written some cutting epigrams. He was exiled +to Tulle, three hundred miles away. From this place he wrote in the true +vein--"I am at a chateau, a place that would be the most agreeable in +the world if I had not been exiled to it, and where there is nothing +wanting for my perfect happiness except the liberty of leaving. It would +be delicious to remain, if I only were allowed to go." + +At last the exile was allowed to return. Again he was arrested; this +time sent to the Bastile, where he remained for nearly a year. While in +prison he changed his name from Francois-Marie Arouet to Voltaire, and +by that name he has since been known. + +Voltaire, as full of life as summer is full of blossoms, giving his +ideas upon all subjects at the expense of prince and king, was exiled +to England. From sunny France he took his way to the mists and fogs of +Albion. He became acquainted with the highest and the best in Britain. +He met Pope, a most wonderful verbal mechanic, a maker of artificial +flowers, very much like natural ones, except that they lack perfume and +the seeds of suggestion. He made the acquaintance of Young, who wrote +the "Night Thoughts;" Young, a fine old hypocrite with a virtuous +imagination, a gentleman who electioneered with the king's mistress that +he might be made a bishop. He became acquainted with Chesterfield--all +manners, no man; with Thomson, author of "The Seasons," who loved to +see the sun rise in bed and visit the country in town; with Swift, whose +poisoned arrows were then festering in the flesh of Mr. Bull--Swift, as +wicked as he was witty, and as heartless as he was humorous--with Swift, +a dean and a devil; with Congreve, whom Addison thought superior to +Shakespeare, and who never wrote but one great line, "The cathedral +looking tranquillity." + + +III. THE MORN OF MANHOOD. + +VOLTAIRE began to think, to doubt, to inquire. He studied the history of +the church, of the creed. He found that the religion of his time +rested on the inspiration of the Scriptures--the infallibility of +the church--the dreams of insane hermits--the absurdities of the +Fathers--the mistakes and falsehoods of saints--the hysteria of +nuns--the cunning of priests and the stupidity of the people. He found +that the Emperor Constantine, who lifted Christianity into power, +murdered his wife Fausta and his eldest son Crispus, the same year that +he convened the Council of Nice, to decide whether Christ was a man or +the Son of God. The Council decided, in the year 325, that Christ was +consubstantial with the Father. He found that the church was indebted +to a husband who assassinated his wife--a father who murdered his son, +for settling the vexed question of the divinity of the Savior. He found +that Theodosius called a council at Constantinople in 381, by which +it was decided that the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Father--that +Theodosius, the younger, assembled a council at Ephesus in 431, that +declared the Virgin Mary to be the mother of God--that the Emperor +Marcian called another council at Chalcedon in 451, that decided +that Christ had two wills--that Pognatius called another in 680, that +declared that Christ had two natures to go with his two wills--and that +in 1274, at the council of Lyons, the important fact was found that the +Holy Ghost "proceeded," not only from the Father, but also from the Son +at the same time. + +So, it took about 1,300 years to find out a few things that had been +revealed by an infinite God to his infallible church. + +Voltaire found that this insane creed had filled the world with cruelty +and fear. He found that vestments were more sacred than virtues--that +images and crosses--pieces of old bones and bits of wood were more +precious than the rights and lives of men, and that the keepers of these +relics were the enemies of the human race. + +With all the energy of his nature--with every faculty of his mind--he +attacked this "Triumphant Beast." + +Voltaire was the apostle of common sense. He knew that there could have +been no primitive or first language from which all other languages had +been formed. He knew that every language had been influenced by the +surroundings of the people. He knew that the language of snow and ice +was not the language of palm and flower. He knew also that there had +been no miracle in language. He knew that it was impossible that the +story of the Tower of Babel should be true. He knew that everything in +the whole world had been natural. He was the enemy of alchemy, not only +in language but in science. One passage from him is enough to show his +philosophy in this regard. He says; "To transmute iron into gold, two +things are necessary: first, the annihilation of the iron; second, the +creation of gold." + +Voltaire gave us the philosophy of history. + +Voltaire was a man of humor, of good nature, of cheerfulness. He +despised with all his heart the philosophy of Calvin, the creed of the +sombre, of the severe, of the unnatural. He pitied those who needed +the aid of religion to be honest, to be cheerful. He had the courage +to enjoy the present and the philosophy to bear what the future might +bring. + +And yet for more than a hundred and fifty years the Christian world has +fought this man and has maligned his memory. In every Christian pulpit +his name has been pronounced with scorn, and every pulpit has been an +arsenal of slander. He is one man of whom no orthodox minister has +ever told the truth. He has been denounced equally by Catholics and +Protestants. + +Priests and ministers, bishops and exhorters, presiding elders and popes +have filled the world with slanders, with calumnies about Voltaire. I am +amazed that ministers will not or cannot tell the truth about an enemy +of the church. As a matter of fact, for more than one thousand years, +almost every pulpit has been a mint in which slanders have been coined. + +Voltaire made up his mind to destroy the superstition of his time. + +He fought with every weapon that genius could devise or use. He was the +greatest of all caricaturists, and he used this wonderful gift without +mercy. For pure crystallized wit, he had no equal. The art of flattery +was carried by him to the height of an exact science. He knew and +practiced every subterfuge. He fought the army of hypocrisy and +pretence, the army of faith and falsehood. + +Voltaire was annoyed by the meaner and baser spirits of his time, by +the cringers and crawlers, by the fawners and pretenders, by those who +wished to gain the favor of priests, the patronage of nobles. Sometimes +he allowed himself to be annoyed by these wretches; sometimes he +attacked them. And, but for these attacks, long ago they would have been +forgotten. In the amber of his genius Voltaire preserved these insects, +these tarantulas, these scorpions. + +It is fashionable to say that he was not profound. This is because he +was not stupid. In the presence of absurdity he laughed, and was called +irreverent. He thought God would not damn even a priest forever--this +was regarded as blasphemy. He endeavored to prevent Christians from +murdering each other, and did what he could to civilize the disciples +of Christ. Had he founded a sect, obtained control of some country, and +burned a few heretics at slow fires, he would have won the admiration, +respect and love of the Christian world. Had he only pretended to +believe all the fables of antiquity, had he mumbled Latin prayers, +counted beads, crossed himself, devoured now and then the flesh of God, +and carried fagots to the feet of Philosophy in the name of Christ, he +might have been in heaven this moment, enjoying a sight of the damned. + +If he had only adopted the creed of his time--if he had asserted that +a God of infinite power and mercy had created millions and billions +of human beings to suffer eternal pain, and all for the sake of his +glorious justice--that he had given his power of attorney to a cunning +and cruel Italian Pope, authorizing him to save the soul of his mistress +and send honest wives to hell--if he had given to the nostril's of +this God the odor of burning flesh--the incense of the fagot--if he had +filled his ears with the shrieks of the tortured--the music of the rack, +he would now be known as Saint Voltaire. + +For many years this restless man filled Europe with the product of his +brain. Essays, epigrams, epics, comedies, tragedies, histories, poems, +novels, representing every phase and every faculty of the human mind. At +the same time engrossed in business, full of speculation, making money +like a millionaire, busy with the gossip of courts, and even with the +scandals of priests. At the same time alive to all the discoveries +of science and the theories of philosophers, and in this Babel never +forgetting for one moment to assail the monster of superstition. + +Sleeping and waking he hated the church. With the eyes of Argus he +watched, and with the arms of Briareus he struck. For sixty years he +waged continuous and unrelenting war, sometimes in the open field, +sometimes striking from the hedges of opportunity--taking care during +all this time to remain independent of all men. He was in the highest +sense successful. He lived like a prince, became one of the powers of +Europe, and in him, for the first time, literature was crowned. + +It has been claimed by the Christian critics that Voltaire was +irreverent; that he examined sacred things without solemnity; that he +refused to remove his shoes in the presence of the Burning Bush; that +he smiled at the geology of Moses, the astronomical ideas of Joshua, +and that the biography of Jonah filled him with laughter. They say that +these stories, these sacred impossibilities, these inspired falsehoods, +should be read and studied with a believing mind in humbleness of +spirit; that they should be examined prayerfully, asking God at the same +time to give us strength to triumph over the conclusions of our +reason. These critics imagine that a falsehood can be old enough to be +venerable, and that to stand covered in its presence is the act of +an irreverent scoffer. Voltaire approached the mythology of the Jews +precisely as he did the mythology of the Greeks and Romans, or the +mythology of the Chinese or the Iroquois Indians. There is nothing +in this world too sacred to be investigated, to be understood. The +philosopher does not hide. Secrecy is not the friend of truth. No man +should be reverent at the expense of his reason. Nothing should be +worshiped until the reason has been convinced that it is worthy of +worship. + +Against all miracles, against all holy superstition, against sacred +mistakes, he shot the arrows of ridicule. + +These arrows, winged by fancy, sharpened by wit, poisoned by truth, +always reached the centre. + +It is claimed by many that anything, the best and holiest, can be +ridiculed. As a matter of fact, he who attempts to ridicule the truth, +ridicules himself. He becomes the food of his own laughter. + +The mind of man is many-sided. Truth must be and is willing to be tested +in every way, tested by all the senses. + +But in what way can the absurdity of the "real presence" be answered, +except by banter, by raillery, by ridicule, by persiflage? How are you +going to convince a man who believes that when he swallows the sacred +wafer he has eaten the entire Trinity, and that a priest drinking a drop +of wine has devoured the Infinite? How are you to reason with a man who +believes that if any of the sacred wafers are left over they should be +put in a secure place, so that mice should not eat God? + +What effect will logic have upon a religious gentleman who firmly +believes that a God of infinite compassion sent two bears to tear thirty +or forty children in pieces for laughing at a bald-headed prophet? + +How are such people to be answered? How can they be brought to a +sense of their absurdity? They must feel in their flesh the arrows of +ridicule.. + +So Voltaire has been called a mocker. + +What did he mock? He mocked kings that were unjust; kings who cared +nothing for the sufferings of their subjects. He mocked the titled +fools of his day. He mocked the corruption of courts; the meanness, +the tyranny and the brutality of judges. He mocked the absurd and cruel +laws, the barbarous customs. He mocked popes and cardinals and bishops +and priests, and all the hypocrites on the earth. He mocked historians +who filled their books with lies, and philosophers who defended +superstition. He mocked the haters of liberty, the persecutors of their +fellow-men. He mocked the arrogance, the cruelty, the impudence, and the +unspeakable baseness of his time. + +He has been blamed because he used the weapon of ridicule. + +Hypocrisy has always hated laughter, and always will. Absurdity detests +humor, and stupidity despises wit. Voltaire was the master of ridicule. +He ridiculed the absurd, the impossible. He ridiculed the mythologies +and the miracles, the stupid lives and lies of the saints. He found +pretence and mendacity crowned by credulity. He found the ignorant +many controlled by the cunning and cruel few. He found the historian, +saturated with superstition, filling his volumes with the details of the +impossible, and he found the scientists satisfied with "they say." + +Voltaire had the instinct of the probable. He knew the law of average, +the sea level; he had the idea of proportion, and so he ridiculed the +mental monstrosities and deformities--the _non sequiturs_--of his day. +Aristotle said women had more teeth than men. This was repeated again +and again by the Catholic scientists of the eighteenth century. + +Voltaire counted the teeth. The rest were satisfied with "they say." + +Voltaire for many years, in spite of his surroundings, in spite of +almost universal tyranny and oppression, was a believer in God and what +he was pleased to call the religion of Nature. He attacked the creed of +his time because it was dishonorable to his God. He thought of the Deity +as a father, as the fountain of justice, intelligence and mercy, and +the creed of the Catholic Church made him a monster of cruelty and +stupidity. He attacked the Bible with all the weapons at his command. He +assailed its geology, its astronomy, its ideas of justice, its laws +and customs, its absurd and useless miracles, its foolish wonders, its +ignorance on all subjects, its insane prophecies, its cruel threats and +its extravagant promises. + +At the same time he praised the God of nature, the God who gives us rain +and light and food and flowers and health and happiness--who fills the +world with youth and beauty. + +Attacked on every side, he fought with every weapon that wit, logic, +reason, scorn, contempt, laughter, pathos and indignation could sharpen, +form, devise or use. He often apologized, and the apology was an insult. +He often recanted, and the recantation was a thousand times worse than +the thing recanted. He took it back by giving more. In the name of +eulogy he flayed his victim. In his praise there was poison. He often +advanced by retreating, and asserted by retraction. + +He did not intend to give priests the satisfaction of seeing him burn or +suffer. Upon this very point of recanting he wrote: + +"They say I must retract. Very willingly. I will declare that Pascal is +always right. That if St. Luke and St. Mark contradict one another, it +is only another proof of the truth of religion to those who know how +to understand such things; and that another lovely proof of religion +is that it is unintelligible. I will even avow that all priests are +gentle and disinterested; that Jesuits are honest people; that +monks are neither proud nor given to intrigue, and that their odor is +agreeable; that the Holy Inquisition is the triumph of humanity +and tolerance. In a word, I will say all that may be desired of me, +provided they leave me in repose, and will not persecute a man who has +done harm to none." + +He gave the best years of his wondrous life to succor the oppressed, +to shield the defenceless, to reverse infamous decrees, to rescue the +innocent, to reform the laws of France, to do away with torture, to +soften the hearts of priests, to enlighten judges, to instruct kings, +to civilize the people, and to banish from the heart of man the love and +lust of war. + +You may think that I have said too much; that I have placed this man too +high. Let me tell you what Goethe, the great German, said of this man: + +"If you wish depth, genius, imagination, taste, reason, sensibility, +philosophy, elevation, originality, nature, intellect, fancy, +rectitude, facility, flexibility, precision, art, abundance, variety, +fertility, warmth, magic, charm, grace, force, an eagle sweep of +vision, vast understanding, instruction rich, tone excellent, urbanity, +suavity, delicacy, correctness, purity, clearness, eloquence, harmony, +brilliancy, rapidity, gaiety, pathos, sublimity and universality, +perfection indeed, behold Voltaire." + +Even Carlyle, that old Scotch terrier, with the growl of a grizzly +bear, who attacked shams, as I have sometimes thought, because he hated +rivals, was forced to admit that Voltaire gave the death stab to modern +superstition. + +It is the duty of every man to destroy the superstitions of his time, +and yet there are thousands of men and women, fathers and mothers, who +repudiate with their whole hearts the creeds of superstition, and +still allow their children to be taught these lies. They allow their +imaginations to be poisoned with the dogma of eternal pain. They allow +arrogant and ignorant parsons, meek and foolish teachers, to sow the +seeds of barbarism in the minds of their children--seeds that will fill +their lives with fear and pain. Nothing can be more important to a human +being than to be free and to live without fear. + +It is far better to be a mortal free man than an immortal slave. + +Fathers and mothers should do their utmost to make their children free. +They should teach them to doubt, to investigate, to inquire, and every +father and mother should know that by the cradle of every child, as by +the cradle of the infant Hercules, crawls the serpent of superstition. + + +IV. THE SCHEME OF NATURE. + +AT that time it was pretended by the believers in God that the plan, or +the scheme of nature, was not cruel; that the lower was sacrificed +for the benefit of the higher; that while life lived upon life, while +animals lived upon each other, and while man was the king or sovereign +of all, still the higher lived upon the lower. Consequently, a lower +life was sacrificed that a higher life might exist. This reasoning +satisfied many. Yet there were thousands that could not see why the +lower should be sacrificed, or why all joy should be born of pain. But, +since the construction of the microscope, since man has been allowed +to look toward the infinitely small, as well as toward the infinitely +great, he finds that our fathers were mistaken when they laid down the +proposition that only the lower life was sacrificed for the sake of the +higher. + +Now we find that the lives of all visible animals are liable to be, and +in countless cases are, destroyed by a far lower life; that man himself +is destroyed by the microbes, the bacilli, the infinitesimal. We find +that for the sake of preserving the yellow fever germs millions and +millions have died, and that whole nations have been decimated for the +sake of the little beast that gives us the cholera. We have also found +that there are animals, call them what you please, that live on the +substance of the human heart, others that prefer the lungs, others again +so delicate in their palate that they insist on devouring the optic +nerve, and when they have destroyed the sight of one eye have sense +enough to bore through the cartilage of the nose to attack the other. +Thus we find the other side of this proposition. At first sight the +lower seemed to be sacrificed for the sake of the higher, but on closer +inspection the highest are sacrificed for the sake of the lowest. + +Voltaire was, for a long time, a believer in the optimism of Pope--"All +partial evil, universal good." This is a very fine philosophy for the +fortunate. It suits the rich. It is flattering to kings and priests. It +sounds well. It is a fine stone to throw at a beggar. It enables you to +bear with great fortitude the misfortunes of others. + +It is not the philosophy for those who suffer--for industry clothed in +rags, for patriotism in prison, for honesty in want, or for virtuous +outcasts. It is a philosophy of a class, of a few, and of the few who +are fortunate; and, when misfortune overtakes them, this philosophy +fades and withers. + +In 1755 came the earthquake at Lisbon. This frightful disaster became an +immense interrogation. The optimist was compelled to ask, "What was my +God doing? Why did the Universal Father crush to shapelessness thousands +of his poor children, even at the moment when they were upon their knees +returning thanks to him?" + +What could be done with this horror? If earthquake there must be, why +did it not occur in some uninhabited desert, on some wide waste of +sea? This frightful fact changed the theology of Voltaire. He became +convinced that this is not the best possible of all worlds. He became +convinced that evil is evil here, now, and forever. + +The Theist was silent. The earthquake denied the existence of God. + + +V. HIS HUMANITY. + +TOULOUSE was a favored town. It was rich in relics. The people were as +ignorant as wooden images, but they had in their possession the dried +bodies of seven apostles--the bones of many of the infants slain by +Herod--part of a dress of the Virgin Mary, and lots of skulls and +skeletons of the infallible idiots known as saints. + +In this city the people celebrated every year with great joy two holy +events: The expulsion of the Huguenots, and the blessed massacre of St. +Bartholomew. The citizens of Toulouse had been educated and civilized by +the church. + +A few Protestants, mild because in the minority, lived among these +jackals and tigers. + +One of these Protestants was Jean Calas--a small dealer in dry goods. +For forty years he had been in this business, and his character was +without a stain. He was honest, kind and agreeable. He had a wife and +six children--four sons and two daughters. One of the sons became a +Catholic. The eldest son, Marc Antoine, disliked his father's business +and studied law. He could not be allowed to practice unless he became +a Catholic. He tried to get his license by concealing that he was +a Protestant. He was discovered--grew morose. Finally he became +discouraged and committed suicide, by hanging himself one evening in his +father's store. + +The bigots of Toulouse started the story that his parents had killed him +to prevent his becoming a Catholic. + +On this frightful charge the father, mother, one son, a servant, and one +guest at their house, were arrested. + +The dead son was considered a martyr, the church taking possession of +the body. + +This happened in 1761. + +There was what was called a trial. There was no evidence, not the +slightest, except hearsay. All the facts were in favor of the accused. + +The united strength of the defendants could not have done the deed. + +Jean Calas was doomed to torture and to death upon the wheel. This was +on the 9th of March, 1762, and the sentence was to be carried out the +next day. + +On the morning of the 10th the father was taken to the torture room. The +executioner and his assistants were sworn on the cross to administer the +torture according to the judgment of the court. + +They bound him by the wrists to an iron ring in the stone wall four feet +from the ground, and his feet to another ring in the floor. Then they +shortened the ropes and chains until every joint in his arms and +legs was dislocated. Then he was questioned. He declared that he was +innocent. Then the ropes were again shortened until life fluttered in +the torn body; but he remained firm. + +This was called "the question ordinaire." + +Again the magistrates exhorted the victim to confess, and again he +refused, saying that there was nothing to confess. + +Then came "the question extraordinaire." + +Into the mouth of the victim was placed a horn holding three pints of +water. In this way thirty pints of water were forced into the body +of the sufferer. The pain was beyond description, and yet Jean Calas +remained firm. + +He was then carried to the scaffold in a tumbril. + +He was bound to a wooden cross that lay on the scaffold. The executioner +then took a bar of iron, broke each leg and each arm in two places, +striking eleven blows in all. He was then left to die if he could. He +lived for two hours, declaring his innocence to the last. He was slow +to die, and so the executioner strangled him. Then his poor lacerated, +bleeding and broken body was chained to a stake and burned. + +All this was a spectacle--a festival for the savages of Toulouse. What +would they have done if their hearts had not been softened by the glad +tidings of great joy--peace on earth and good will to men? + +But this was not all. The property of the family was confiscated; the +son was released on condition that he become a Catholic; the servant +if she would enter a convent. The two daughters were consigned to a +convent, and the heart-broken widow was allowed to wander where she +would. + +Voltaire heard of this case. In a moment his soul was on fire. He took +one of the sons under his roof. He wrote a history of the case. He +corresponded with kings and queens, with chancellors and lawyers. If +money was needed, he advanced it. For years he filled Europe with the +echoes of the groans of Jean Calas. He succeeded. The horrible judgment +was annulled--the poor victim declared innocent and thousands of dollars +raised to support the mother and family. + +This was the work of Voltaire. + + +THE SIRVEN FAMILY. + +Sirven, a Protestant, lived in Languedoc with his wife and three +daughters. The housekeeper of the bishop wanted to make one of the +daughters a Catholic. + +The law allowed the bishop to take the child of Protestants from their +parents for the sake of its soul. This little girl was so taken and +placed in a convent. She ran away and came back to her parents. Her poor +little body was covered with the marks of the convent whip. + +"Suffer little children to come unto me." + +The child was out of her mind--suddenly she disappeared, and a few days +after her little body was found in a well, three miles from home. + +The cry was raised that her folks had murdered her to keep her from +becoming a Catholic. + +This happened only a little way from the Christian City of Toulouse +while Jean Calas was in prison. The Sirvens knew that a trial would end +in conviction. They fled. In their absence they were convicted, their +property confiscated, the parents sentenced to die by the hangman, the +daughters to be under the gallows during the execution of their mother, +and then to be exiled. + +The family fled in the midst of winter; the married daughter gave birth +to a child in the snows of the Alps; the mother died, and, at last +reaching Switzerland, the father found himself without means of support. + +They went to Voltaire. He espoused their cause. He took care of them, +gave them the means to live, and labored to annul the sentence that had +been pronounced against them for nine long and weary years. He appealed +to kings for money, to Catharine II. of Russia, and to hundreds of +others. He was successful. He said of this case: The Sirvens were tried +and condemned in two hours in January, 1762, and now in January, 1772, +after ten years of effort, they have been restored to their rights. + +This was the work of Voltaire. Why should the worshipers of God hate the +lovers of men? + + +THE ESPENASSE CASE. + +Espenasse was a Protestant, of good estate. In 1740 he received into his +house a Protestant clergyman, to whom he gave supper and lodging. + +In a country where priests repeated the parable of the "Good Samaritan," +this was a crime. + +For this crime Espenasse was tried, convicted and sentenced to the +galleys for life. + +When he had been imprisoned for twenty-three years his case came to +the knowledge of Voltaire, and he was, through the efforts of Voltaire, +released and restored to his family. + +This was the work of Voltaire. There is not time to tell of the case of +General Lally, of the English General Byng, of the niece of Corneille, +of the Jesuit Adam, of the writers, dramatists, actors, widows and +orphans for whose benefit he gave his influence, his money and his time. +But I will tell another case: + +In 1765, at the town of Abbeville, an old wooden cross on a bridge had +been mutilated--whittled with a knife--a terrible crime. Sticks, when +crossing each other, were far more sacred than flesh and blood. Two +young men were suspected--the Chevalier de la Barre and D'Etallonde. +D'Etallonde fled to Prussia and enlisted as a common soldier. + +La Barre remained and stood his trial. + +He was convicted without the slightest evidence, and he and D'Etallonde +were both sentenced: + +_First_, to endure the torture, ordinary and extraordinary. + +_Second_, to have their tongues torn out by the roots with pincers of +iron. + +_Third_, to have their right hands cut off at the door of the church. + +_Fourth_, to be bound to stakes by chains of iron and burned to death by +a slow fire. + +"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." + +Remembering this, the judges mitigated the sentence by providing that +their heads should be cut off before their bodies were given to the +flames. + +The case was appealed to Paris; heard by a court composed of twenty-five +judges, learned in the law, and the judgment was confirmed. + +The sentence was carried out on the first day of July, 1766. + +When Voltaire heard of this judicial infamy he made up his mind +to abandon France. He wished to leave forever a country where such +cruelties were possible. + +He wrote a pamphlet, giving the history of the case. + +He ascertained the whereabouts of D'Etallonde, wrote in his behalf to +the King of Prussia; got him released from the army; took him to his +own house; kept him for a year and a half; saw that he was instructed +in drawing, mathematics, engineering, and had at last the happiness of +seeing him a captain of engineers in the army of Frederick the Great. + +Such a man was Voltaire. He was the champion of the oppressed and the +helpless. He was the Cæsar to whom the victims of church and state +appealed. He stood for the intellect and heart of his time. + +And yet for a hundred and fifty years those who love their enemies have +exhausted the vocabulary of hate, the ingenuity of malice and mendacity, +in their efforts to save their stupid creeds from the genius of +Voltaire. + +From a great height he surveyed the world. His horizon was large. He had +some vices--these he shared in common with priests--his virtues were his +own. + +He was in favor of universal education--of the development of the brain. +The church despised him. He wished to put the knowledge of the whole +world within the reach of all. Every priest was his enemy. He wished to +drive from the gate of Eden the cherubim of superstition, so that +the children of Adam might return and eat of the fruit of the tree of +knowledge. The church opposed this because it had the fruit of the tree +of ignorance for sale. + +He was one of the foremost friends of the Encyclopedia--of Diderot, and +did all in his power to give information to all. So far as principles +were concerned, he was the greatest lawyer of his time. I do not mean +that he knew the terms and decisions, but that he clearly perceived not +only what the law should be, but its application and administration. He +understood the philosophy of evidence, the difference between suspicion +and proof, between belief and knowledge, and he did more to reform the +laws of the kingdom and the abuses at courts than all the lawyers and +statesmen of his time. + +At school, he read and studied the works of Cicero--the lord of +language--probably the greatest orator that has uttered speech, and the +words of the Roman remained in his brain. He became, in spite of the +spirit of caste, a believer in the equality of men. He said: + +"Men are born equal." + +"Let us respect virtue and merit." + +"Let us have it in the heart that men are equal." He was an +abolitionist--the enemy of slavery in all its forms. He did not think +that the color of one man gave him the right to steal from another man +on account of that man's color. He was the friend of serf and peasant, +and did what he could to protect animals, wives and children from the +fury of those who loved their neighbors as themselves. + +It was Voltaire who sowed the seeds of liberty in the heart and brain of +Franklin, of Jefferson and Thomas Paine. + +Pufendorf had taken the ground that slavery was, in part, founded on +contract. + +Voltaire said: "Show me the contract, and if it is signed by the party +to be the slave, I may believe." + +He thought it absurd that God should drown the fathers, and then come +and die for the children. This is as good as the remark of Diderot: "If +Christ had the power to defend himself from the Jews and refused to use +it, he was guilty of suicide." + +He had sense enough to know that the flame of the fagot does not +enlighten the mind. He hated the cruel and pitied the victims of church +and state. He was the friend of the unfortunate--the helper of the +striving. He laughed at the pomp of kings--the pretensions of priests. +He was a believer in the natural and abhorred with all his heart the +miraculous and absurd. + +Voltaire was not a saint. He was educated by the Jesuits. He was never +troubled about the salvation of his soul. All the theological disputes +excited his laughter, the creeds his pity, and the conduct of bigots his +contempt. He was much better than a saint. + +Most of the Christians in his day kept their religion not for every day +use but for disaster, as ships carry life boats to be used only in the +stress of storm. + +Voltaire believed in the religion of humanity--of good and generous +deeds. For many centuries the church had painted virtue so ugly, sour +and cold, that vice was regarded as beautiful. Voltaire taught the +beauty of the useful, the hatefulness and hideousness of superstition. + +He was not the greatest of poets, or of dramatists, but he was the +greatest man of his time, the greatest friend of freedom and the +deadliest foe of superstition. + +He did more to break the chains of superstition--to drive the phantoms +of fear from the heart and brain, to destroy the authority of the church +and to give liberty to the world than any other of the sons of men. In +the highest, the holiest sense he was the most profoundly religious man +of his time. + + +VI. THE RETURN. + +AFTER an exile of twenty-seven years, occupying during all that time +a first place in the civilized world, Voltaire returned to Paris. His +journey was a triumphal march. He was received as a conqueror. The +Academy, the Immortals, came to meet him--a compliment that had never +been paid to royalty. His tragedy of "Irene" was performed. At the +theatre he was crowned with laurel, covered with flowers; he was +intoxicated with perfume and with incense of worship. He was the supreme +French poet, standing above them all. Among the literary men of the +world he stood first--a monarch by the divine right of genius. There +were three mighty forces in France--the throne, the altar and Voltaire. + +The king was the enemy of Voltaire. The court could have nothing to do +with him. The church, malign and morose, was waiting for her revenge, +and yet, such was the reputation of this man--such the hold he had upon +the people--that he became, in spite of Throne, in spite of Church, the +idol of France. + +He was an old man of eighty-four. He had been surrounded with the +comforts, the luxuries of life. He was a man of great wealth, the +richest writer that the world had known. Among the literary men of the +earth he stood first. He was an intellectual king--one who had built his +own throne and had woven the purple of his own power. He was a man of +genius. The Catholic God had allowed him the appearance of success. +His last years were filled with the intoxication of flattery--of almost +worship. He stood at the summit of his age. + +The priests became anxious. They began to fear that God would forget, in +a multiplicity of business, to make a terrible example of Voltaire. + +Towards the last of May, 1778, it was whispered in Paris that Voltaire +was dying. Upon the fences of expectation gathered the unclean birds of +superstition, impatiently waiting for their prey. + +"Two days before his death, his nephew went to seek the Curé of Saint +Sulpice and the Abbé Gautier, and brought them into his uncle's sick +chamber. 'Ah, well!' said Voltaire, 'give them my compliments and my +thanks.' The Abbé spoke some words to him, exhorting him to patience. +The curé of Saint Sulpice then came forward, having announced himself, +and asked of Voltaire, elevating his voice, if he acknowledged the +divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. The sick man pushed one of his hands +against the curés coif, shoving him back and cried, turning abruptly to +the other side, 'Let me die in peace.' The curé seemingly considered his +person soiled and his coif dishonored by the touch of a philosopher. He +made the nurse give him a little brushing and went out with the Abbé +Gautier." + +He expired, says Wagnière, on the 30th of May, 1778, at about a +quarter-past eleven at night, with the most perfect tranquillity. A few +minutes before his last breath he took the hand of Morand, his _valet de +chambre_, who was watching by him, pressed it, and said: "Adieu, my dear +Morand, I am gone." These were his last words. Like a peaceful river +with green and shaded banks, he flowed without a murmur into the +waveless sea, where life is rest. + +From this death, so simple and serene, so kind, so philosophic and +tender, so natural and peaceful; from these words, so utterly destitute +of cant or dramatic touch, all the frightful pictures, all the +despairing utterances, have been drawn and made. From these materials, +and from these alone, or rather, in spite of these facts, have been +constructed by priests and clergymen and their dupes all the shameless +lies about the death of this great and wonderful man. A man, compared +with whom all of his calumniators, dead and living, were, and are, but +dust and vermin. + +Let us be honest. Did all the priests of Rome increase the mental wealth +of man as much as Bruno? Did all the priests of France do as great a +work for the civilization of the world as Voltaire or Diderot? Did all +the ministers of Scotland add as much to the sum of human knowledge as +David Hume? Have all the clergymen, monks, friars, ministers, priests, +bishops, cardinals and popes, from the day of Pentecost to the last +election, done as much for human liberty as Thomas Paine? + +What would the world be if infidels had never been? + +The infidels have been the brave and thoughtful men; the flower of all +the world; the pioneers and heralds of the blessed day of liberty and +love; the generous spirits of the unworthy past; the seers and +prophets of our race; the great chivalric souls, proud victors on the +battlefields of thought, the creditors of all the years to be. + +Why should it be taken for granted that the men who devoted their lives +to the liberation of their fellow-men should have been hissed at in +the hour of death by the snakes of conscience, while men who defended +slavery--practiced polygamy---justified the stealing of babes from +the breasts of mothers, and lashed the naked back of unpaid labor, are +supposed to have passed smilingly from earth to the embraces of the +angels? Why should we think that the brave thinkers, the investigators, +the honest men, must have left the crumbling shore of time in dread +and fear, while the instigators of the massacre of St. Bartholomew; +the inventors and users of thumb-screws, of iron boots and racks; the +burners and tearers of human flesh; the stealers, the whippers and the +enslavers of men; the buyers and beaters of maidens, mothers and babes; +the founders of the Inquisition; the makers of chains; the builders of +dungeons; the calumniators of the living; the slanderers of the +dead, and even the murderers of Jesus Christ, all died in the odor of +sanctity, with white, forgiven hands folded upon the breasts of peace, +while the destroyers of prejudice, the apostles of humanity, the +soldiers of liberty, the breakers of fetters, the creators of light, +died surrounded by the fierce fiends of God? + +In those days the philosophers--that is to say, the thinkers--were +not buried in holy ground. It was feared that their principles might +contaminate the ashes of the just. And they also feared that on the +morning of the resurrection they might, in a moment of confusion, slip +into heaven. Some were burned, and their ashes scattered; and the bodies +of some were thrown naked to beasts, and others buried in unholy earth. + +Voltaire knew the history of Adrienne Le Couvreur, a beautiful actress, +denied burial. + +After all, we do feel an interest in what is to become of our bodies. +There is a modesty that belongs to death. Upon this subject Voltaire +was infinitely sensitive. It was that he might be buried that he +went through the farce of confession, of absolution, and of the last +sacrament. The priests knew that he was not in earnest, and Voltaire +knew that they would not allow him to be buried in any of the cemeteries +of Paris. + +His death was kept a secret. The Abbé Mignot made arrangements for +the burial at Romilli-on-the-Seine, more than 100 miles from Paris. On +Sunday evening, on the last day of May, 1778, the body of Voltaire, clad +in a dressing gown, clothed to resemble an invalid, posed to simulate +life, was placed in a carriage; at its side, a servant, whose business +it was to keep it in position. To this carriage were attached six +horses, so that people might think a great lord was going to his +estates. Another carriage followed, in which were a grand nephew and two +cousins of Voltaire. All night they traveled, and on the following day +arrived at the courtyard of the Abbey. The necessary papers were shown, +the mass was performed in the presence of the body, and Voltaire found +burial. A few moments afterwards, the prior, who "for charity had given +a little earth," received from his bishop a menacing letter forbidding +the burial of Voltaire. It was too late. + +Voltaire was dead. The foundations of State and Throne had been sapped. +The people were becoming acquainted with the real kings and with the +actual priests. Unknown men born in misery and want, men whose fathers +and mothers had been pavement for the rich, were rising toward the +light, and their shadowy faces were emerging from darkness. Labor and +thought became friends. That is, the gutter and the attic fraternized. +The monsters of the Night and the angels of the Dawn--the first thinking +of revenge, and the others dreaming of equality, liberty and fraternity. + + +VII. THE DEATH-BED ARGUMENT. + +ALL kinds of criminals, except infidels, meet death with reasonable +serenity. As a rule, there is nothing in the death of a pirate to cast +any discredit on his profession. The murderer upon the scaffold, with +a priest on either side, smilingly exhorts the multitude to meet him in +heaven. The man who has succeeded in making his home a hell, meets death +without a quiver, provided he has never expressed any doubt as to the +divinity of Christ, or the eternal "procession" of the Holy Ghost. The +king who has waged cruel and useless war, who has filled countries with +widows and fatherless children, with the maimed and diseased, and who +has succeeded in offering to the Moloch of ambition the best and bravest +of his subjects, dies like a saint. + +All the believing kings are in heaven--all the doubting philosophers in +perdition. All the persecutors sleep in peace, and the ashes of those +who burned their brothers, sleep in consecrated ground. Libraries could +hardly contain the names of the Christian wretches who have filled the +world with violence and death in defence of book and creed, and yet +they all died the death of the righteous, and no priest, no minister, +describes the agony and fear, the remorse and horror with which their +guilty souls were filled in the last moments of their lives. These men +had never doubted--they had never thought--they accepted the creed as +they did the fashion of their clothes. They were not infidels, they +could not be--they had been baptized, they had not denied the divinity +of Christ, they had partaken of the "last supper." They respected +priests, they admitted that Christ had two natures and the same number +of wills; they admitted that the Holy Ghost had "proceeded," and that, +according to the multiplication table of heaven, once one is three, and +three times one is one, and these things put pillows beneath their heads +and covered them with the drapery of peace. + +They admitted that while kings and priests did nothing worse than to +make their fellows wretched, that so long as they only butchered and +burnt the innocent and helpless, God would maintain the strictest +neutrality; but when some honest man, some great and tender soul, +expressed a doubt as to the truth of the Scriptures, or prayed to the +wrong God, or to the right one by the wrong name, then the real God +leaped like a wounded tiger upon his victim, and from his quivering +flesh tore his wretched soul. + +There is no recorded instance where the uplifted hand of murder has been +paralyzed--no truthful account in all the literature of the world of +the innocent child being shielded by God. Thousands of crimes are being +committed every day--men are at this moment lying in wait for their +human prey--wives are whipped and crushed, driven to insanity and +death--little children begging for mercy, lifting imploring, tear-filled +eyes to the brutal faces of fathers and mothers--sweet girls are +deceived, lured and outraged, but God has no time to prevent these +things--no time to defend the good and protect the pure. He is too busy +numbering hairs and watching sparrows. He listens for blasphemy; looks +for persons who laugh at priests; examines baptismal registers; watches +professors in college who begin to doubt the geology of Moses and the +astronomy of Joshua. He does not particularly object to stealing, if you +won't swear. A great many persons have fallen dead in the act of taking +God's name in vain, but millions of men, women and children have been +stolen from their homes and used as beasts of burden, but no one engaged +in this infamy has ever been touched by the wrathful hand of God. + +Now and then a man of genius, of sense, of intellectual honesty, has +appeared. Such men have denounced the superstitions of their day. They +have pitied the multitude. To see priests devour the substance of the +people--priests who made begging one of the learned professions--filled +them with loathing and contempt. These men were honest enough to +tell their thoughts, brave enough to speak the truth. Then they were +denounced, tried, tortured, killed by rack or flame. But some escaped +the fury of the fiends who love their enemies, and died naturally in +their beds. It would not do for the church to admit that they died +peacefully. That would show that religion was not essential at the last +moment. Superstition gets its power from the terror of death. It would +not do to have the common people understand that a man could deny the +Bible--refuse to kiss the cross--contend that Humanity was greater than +Christ, and then die as sweetly as Torquemada did, after pouring molten +lead into the ears of an honest man; or as calmly as Calvin after he had +burned Servetus; or as peacefully as King David after advising with his +last breath one son to assassinate another. + +The church has taken great pains to show that the last moments of all +infidels (that Christians did not succeed in burning) were infinitely +wretched and despairing. It was alleged that words could not paint the +horrors that were endured by a dying infidel. Every good Christian was +expected to, and generally did, believe these accounts. They have been +told and retold in every pulpit of the world. Protestant ministers have +repeated the lies invented by Catholic priests, and Catholics, by a kind +of theological comity, have sworn to the lies told by the Protestants. +Upon this point they have always stood together, and will as long as the +same falsehood can be used by both. + +Instead of doing these things, Voltaire wilfully closed his eyes to +the light of the gospel, examined the Bible for himself, advocated +intellectual liberty, struck from the brain the fetters of an arrogant +faith, assisted the weak, cried out against the torture of man, appealed +to reason, endeavored to establish universal toleration, succored the +indigent, and defended the oppressed. + +He demonstrated that the origin of all religions is the same--the same +mysteries--the same miracles--the same imposture--the same temples and +ceremonies--the same kind of founders, apostles and dupes--the same +promises and threats--the same pretence of goodness and forgiveness and +the practice of the same persecution and murder. He proved that religion +made enemies--philosophy friends--and that above the rights of Gods were +the rights of man. + +These were his crimes. Such a man God would not suffer to die in peace. +If allowed to meet death with a smile, others might follow his example, +until none would be left to light the holy fires of the _auto da fe_. It +would not do for so great, so successful, an enemy of the church to +die without leaving some shriek of fear, some shudder of remorse, some +ghastly prayer of chattered horror uttered by lips covered with blood +and foam. + +For many centuries the theologians have taught that an unbeliever--an +infidel--one who spoke or wrote against their creed, could not meet +death with composure; that in his last moments God would fill his +conscience with the serpents of remorse. + +For a thousand years the clergy have manufactured the facts to fit this +theory--this infamous conception of the duty of man and the justice of +God. + +The theologians have insisted that crimes against man were, and are, as +nothing compared with crimes against God. + +Upon the death-bed subject the clergy grow eloquent. When describing the +shudderings and shrieks of the dying unbeliever, their eyes glitter with +delight. + +It is a festival. + +They are no longer men. They become hyenas. They dig open graves. They +devour the dead. + +It is a banquet. + +Unsatisfied still, they paint the terrors of hell. They gaze at the +souls of the infidels writhing in the coils of the worm that never dies. +They see them in flames--in oceans of fire--in gulfs of pain--in abysses +of despair. They shout with joy. They applaud. + +It is an _auto da fe_, presided over by God. + + +VIII. THE SECOND RETURN. + +FOR four hundred years the Bastile had been the outward symbol of +oppression. Within its walls the noblest had perished. It was a +perpetual threat. It was the last, and often the first, argument of +king and priest. Its dungeons, damp and rayless, its massive towers, its +secret cells, its instruments of torture, denied the existence of God. + +In 1789, on the 14th of July, the people, the multitude, frenzied by +suffering, stormed and captured the Bastile. The battle-cry was "Vive +Voltaire." + +In 1791 permission was given to place in the Pantheon the ashes of +Voltaire. He had been buried 110 miles from Paris. Buried by stealth, he +was to be removed by a nation. A funeral procession of a hundred miles; +every village with its flags and arches; all the people anxious to +honor the philosopher of France--the Savior of Calas--the Destroyer of +Superstition. + +On reaching Paris the great procession moved along the Rue St. Antoine. +Here it paused, and for one night upon the ruins of the Bastile rested +the body of Voltaire--rested in triumph, in glory--rested on fallen wall +and broken arch, on crumbling stone still damp with tears, on rusting +chain and bar and useless bolt--above the dungeons dark and deep, where +light had faded from the lives of men and hope had died in breaking +hearts. + +The conqueror resting upon the conquered.--Throned upon the Bastile, +the fallen fortress of Night, the body of Voltaire, from whose brain had +issued the Dawn. + +For a moment his ashes must have felt the Promethean fire, and the old +smile must have illumined once more the face of death. + +The vast multitude bowed in reverence, hushed with love and awe heard +these words uttered by a priest: "God shall be avenged." + +The cry of the priest was a prophecy. Priests skulking in the shadows +with faces sinister as night, ghouls in the name of the gospel, +desecrated the grave. They carried away the ashes of Voltaire. + +The tomb is empty. + +God is avenged. + +The world is filled with his fame. + +Man has conquered. + +Was there in the eighteenth century, a man wearing the vestments of the +church, the equal of Voltaire? + +What cardinal, what bishop, what priest in France raised his voice for +the rights of men? What ecclesiastic, what nobleman, took the side of +the oppressed--of the peasant? Who denounced the frightful criminal +code--the torture of suspected persons? What priest pleaded for the +liberty of the citizen? What bishop pitied the victims of the rack? Is +there the grave of a priest in France on which a lover of liberty would +now drop a flower or a tear? Is there a tomb holding the ashes of a +saint from which emerges one ray of light? + +If there be another life--a day of judgment, no God can afford to +torture in another world the man who abolished torture in this. If God +be the keeper of an eternal penitentiary, he should not imprison there +the men who broke the chains of slavery here. He cannot afford to make +an eternal convict of Voltaire. + +Voltaire was a perfect master of the French language, knowing all its +moods, tenses and declinations, in fact and in feeling--playing upon it +as skillfully as Paganini on his violin, finding expression for every +thought and fancy, writing on the most serious subjects with the gayety +of a harlequin, plucking jests from the crumbling mouth of death, +graceful as the waving of willows, dealing in double meanings that +covered the asp with flowers and flattery--master of satire and +compliment--mingling them often in the same line, always interested +himself, and therefore interesting others--handling thoughts, questions, +subjects as a juggler does balls, keeping them in the air with perfect +ease--dressing old words in new meanings, charming, grotesque, pathetic, +mingling mirth with tears, wit and wisdom, and sometimes wickedness, +logic and laughter. With a woman's instinct knowing the sensitive +nerves--just where to touch--hating arrogance of place, the stupidity of +the solemn--snatching masks from priest and king, knowing the springs of +action and ambition's ends--perfectly familiar with the great world--the +intimate of kings and their favorites, sympathizing with the oppressed +and imprisoned, with the unfortunate and poor, hating tyranny, despising +superstition, and loving liberty with all his heart. Such was Voltaire +writing "Odipus" at seventeen, "Irene" at eighty-three, and crowding +between these two tragedies the accomplishment of a thousand lives. + +From his throne at the foot of the Alps, he pointed the finger of scorn +at every hypocrite in Europe. For half a century, past rack and stake, +past dungeon and cathedral, past altar and throne, he carried with brave +hands the sacred torch of Reason, whose light at last will flood the +world. + + + + +LIBERTY IN LITERATURE. + +(A TESTIMONIAL TO WALT WHITMAN.) + + * An address delivered in Philadelphia, Oct. 21, 1890. Used + by permission of the Truth Seeker Co. + + +I. LET US PUT WREATHS ON THE BROWS OF THE LIVING. + +IN the year 1855 the American people knew but little of books. Their +ideals, their models, were English. Young and Pollok, Addison and Watts, +were regarded as great poets. Some of the more reckless read Thomson's +"Seasons" and the poems and novels of Sir Walter Scott. A few, not quite +orthodox, delighted in the mechanical monotony of Pope, and the +really wicked--those lost to all religious shame--were worshipers of +Shakespeare. The really orthodox Protestant, untroubled by doubts, +considered Milton the greatest poet of them all. Byron and Shelley were +hardly respectable--not to be read by young persons. It was admitted +on all hands that Burns was a child of nature of whom his mother was +ashamed and proud. + +In the blessed year aforesaid, candor, free and sincere speech, were +under the ban. Creeds at that time were entrenched behind statutes, +prejudice, custom, ignorance, stupidity, Puritanism and slavery; that is +to say, slavery of mind and body. + +Of course it always has been, and forever will be, impossible for +slavery, or any kind or form of injustice, to produce a great +poet. There are hundreds of verse makers and writers on the side of +wrong--enemies of progress--but they are not poets, they are not men of +genius. + +At this time a young man--he to whom this testimonial is given--he upon +whose head have fallen the snows of more than seventy winters--this man, +born within the sound of the sea, gave to the world a book, "Leaves of +Grass." This book was, and is, the true transcript of a soul. The man is +unmasked. No drapery of hypocrisy, no pretence, no fear. The book was +as original in form as in thought. All customs were forgotten +or disregarded, all rules broken--nothing mechanical--no +imitation--spontaneous, running and winding like a river, multitudinous +in its thoughts as the waves of the sea--nothing mathematical or +measured--in everything a touch of chaos; lacking what is called form, +as clouds lack form, but not lacking the splendor of sunrise or the +glory of sunset. It was a marvelous collection and aggregation of +fragments, hints, suggestions, memories, and prophecies, weeds and +flowers, clouds and clods, sights and sounds, emotions and passions, +waves, shadows and constellations. + +His book was received by many with disdain, with horror, with +indignation and protest--by the few as a marvelous, almost miraculous, +message to the world--full of thought, philosophy, poetry and music. + +In the republic of mediocrity genius is dangerous. A great soul appears +and fills the world with new and marvelous harmonies. In his words is +the old Promethean flame. The heart of nature beats and throbs in his +line. The respectable prudes and pedagogues sound the alarm, and cry, or +rather screech: "Is this a book for a young person?" + +A poem true to life as a Greek statue--candid as nature--fills these +barren souls with fear. + +They forget that drapery about the perfect was suggested by immodesty. + +The provincial prudes, and others of like mold, pretend that love is a +duty rather than a passion--a kind of self-denial--not an over-mastering +joy. They preach the gospel of pretence and pantalettes, In the presence +of sincerity, of truth, they cast down their eyes and endeavor to feel +immodest. To them, the most beautiful thing is hypocrisy adorned with a +blush. + +They have no idea of an honest, pure passion, glorying in its +strength--intense, intoxicated with the beautiful, giving even to +inanimate things pulse and motion, and that transfigures, ennobles, and +idealizes the object of its adoration. + +They do not walk the streets of the city of life--they explore the +sewers; they stand in the gutters and cry "Unclean!" They pretend that +beauty is a snare; that love is a Delilah; that the highway of joy is +the broad road, lined with flowers and filled with perfume, leading to +the city of eternal sorrow. + +Since the year 1855 the American people have developed; they are +somewhat acquainted with the literature of the world. They have +witnessed the most tremendous of revolutions, not only upon the fields +of battle, but in the world of thought. The American citizen has +concluded that it is hardly worth while being a sovereign unless he has +the right to think for himself. + +And now, from this height, with the vantage-ground of to-day, I propose +to examine this book and to state, in a general way, what Walt Whitman +has done, what he has accomplished, and the place he has won in the +world of thought. + + +II. THE RELIGION OF THE BODY. + +WALT WHITMAN stood when he published his book, where all stand to-night, +on the perpetually moving line where history ends and prophecy begins. +He was full of life to the very tips of his fingers--brave, eager, +candid, joyous with health. He was acquainted with the past. He knew +something of song and story, of philosophy and art; much of the heroic +dead, of brave suffering, of the thoughts of men, the habits of the +people--rich as well as poor--familiar with labor, a friend of wind and +wave, touched by love and friendship, liking the open road, enjoying the +fields and paths, the crags, friend of the forest--feeling that he +was free--neither master nor slave; willing that all should know his +thoughts; open as the sky, candid as nature, and he gave his thoughts, +his dreams, his conclusions, his hopes and his mental portrait to his +fellow-men. + +Walt Whitman announced the gospel of the body. He confronted the people. +He denied the depravity of man. He insisted that love is not a crime; +that men and women should be proudly natural; that they need not grovel +on the earth and cover their faces for shame, He taught the dignity and +glory of the father and mother; the sacredness of maternity. + +Maternity, tender and pure as the tear of pity, holy as suffering--the +crown, the flower, the ecstasy of love! + +People had been taught from Bibles and from creeds that maternity was +a kind of crime; that the woman should be purified by some ceremony in +some temple built in honor of some god. This barbarism was attacked in +"Leaves of Grass." + +The glory of simple life was sung; a declaration of independence was +made for each and all. + +And yet this appeal to manhood and to womanhood was misunderstood. It +was denounced simply because it was in harmony with the great trend of +nature. To me, the most obscene word in our language is celibacy. + +It was not the fashion for people to speak or write their thoughts. +We were flooded with the literature of hypocrisy. The writers did not +faithfully describe the worlds in which they lived. They endeavored to +make a fashionable world. They pretended that the cottage or the hut in +which they dwelt was a palace, and they called the little area in which +they threw their slops their domain, their realm, their empire. They +were ashamed of the real, of what their world actually was. They +imitated; that is to say, they told lies, and these lies filled the +literature of most lands. + +Walt Whitman defended the sacredness of love, the purity of passion--the +passion that builds every home and fills the world with art and song. + +They cried out: "He is a defender of passion--he is a libertine! He +lives in the mire. He lacks spirituality!" + +Whoever differs with the multitude, especially with a led +multitude--that is to say, with a multitude of taggers--will find out +from their leaders that he has committed an unpardonable sin. It is +a crime to travel a road of your own, especially if you put up +guide-boards for the information of others. + +Many, many centuries ago Epicurus, the greatest man of his century, and +of many centuries before and after, said: "Happiness is the only good; +happiness is the supreme end." This man was temperate, frugal, generous, +noble--and yet through all these years he has been denounced by the +hypocrites of the world as a mere eater and drinker. + +It was said that Whitman had exaggerated the importance of love--that +he had made too much of this passion. Let me say that no poet--not +excepting Shakespeare--has had imagination enough to exaggerate the +importance of human love--a passion that contains all heights and all +depths--ample as space, with a sky in which glitter all constellations, +and that has within it all storms, all lightnings, all wrecks and ruins, +all griefs, all sorrows, all shadows, and all the joy and sunshine of +which the heart and brain are capable. + +No writer must be measured by a word or paragraph. He is to be measured +by his work--by the tendency, not of one line, but by the tendency of +all. + +Which way does the great stream tend? Is it for good or evil? Are the +motives high and noble, or low and infamous? + +We cannot measure Shakespeare by a few lines, neither can we measure the +Bible by a few chapters, nor "Leaves of Grass" by a few paragraphs. In +each there are many things that I neither approve nor believe--but +in all books you will find a mingling of wisdom and foolishness, of +prophecies and mistakes--in other words, among the excellencies there +will be defects. The mine is not all gold, or all silver, or all +diamonds--there are baser metals. The trees of the forest are not all of +one size. On some of the highest there are dead and useless limbs, +and there may be growing beneath the bushes weeds, and now and then a +poisonous vine. + +If I were to edit the great books of the world, I might leave out some +lines and I might leave out the best. I have no right to make of my +brain a sieve and say that only that which passes through belongs to the +rest of the human race. I claim the right to choose. I give that right +to all. + +Walt Whitman had the courage to express his thought--the candor to +tell the truth. And here let me say it gives me joy--a kind of perfect +satisfaction--to look above the bigoted bats, the satisfied owls and +wrens and chickadees, and see the great eagle poised, circling higher +and higher, unconscious of their existence. And it gives me joy, a kind +of perfect satisfaction, to look above the petty passions and jealousies +of small and respectable people, above the considerations of place and +power and reputation, and see a brave, intrepid man. + +It must be remembered that the American people had separated from the +Old World--that we had declared not only the independence of colonies, +but the independence of the individual. We had done more--we had +declared that the state could no longer be ruled by the church, and +that the church could not be ruled by the state, and that the individual +could not be ruled by the church. + +These declarations were in danger of being forgotten. We needed a new +voice, sonorous, loud and clear, a new poet for America, for the new +epoch, somebody to chant the morning song of the new day. + +The great man who gives a true transcript of his mind, fascinates and +instructs. Most writers suppress individuality. They wish to please the +public. They flatter the stupid and pander to the prejudice of their +readers. They write for the market, making books as other mechanics make +shoes. They have no message, they bear no torch, they are simply the +slaves of customers. + +The books they manufacture are handled by "the trade;" they are regarded +as harmless. The pulpit does not object; the young person can read the +monotonous pages without a blush--or a thought. + +On the title pages of these books you will find the imprint of the great +publishers; on the rest of the pages, nothing. These books might be +prescribed for insomnia. + + +III. + +Men of talent, men of business, touch life upon few sides. They travel +but the beaten path. The creative spirit is not in them. They regard +with suspicion a poet who touches life on every side. They have little +confidence in that divine thing called sympathy, and they do not and +cannot understand the man who enters into the hopes, the aims and the +feelings of all others. + +In all genius there is the touch of chaos--a little of the vagabond; and +the successful tradesman, the man who buys and sells, or manages a bank, +does not care to deal with a person who has only poems for collaterals; +they have a little fear of such people, and regard them as the awkward +countryman does a sleight-of-hand performer. + +In every age in which books have been produced the governing class, the +respectable, have been opposed to the works of real genius. If what are +known as the best people could have had their way, if the pulpit had +been consulted--the provincial moralists--the works of Shakespeare would +have been suppressed. Not a line would have reached our time. And the +same may be said of every dramatist of his age. + +If the Scotch Kirk could have decided, nothing would have been known +of Robert Burns. If the good people, the orthodox, could have had their +say, not one line of Voltaire would now be known. All the plates of the +French Encyclopedia would have been destroyed with the thousands that +were destroyed. Nothing would have been known of D'Alembert, Grimm, +Diderot, or any of the Titans who warred against the thrones and altars +and laid the foundation of modern literature not only, but what is of +far greater moment, universal education. + +It is not too much to say that every book now held in high esteem would +have been destroyed, if those in authority could have had their will. +Every book of modern times that has a real value, that has enlarged the +intellectual horizon of mankind, that has developed the brain, that has +furnished real food for thought, can be found in the Index Expurgatorius +of the Papacy, and nearly every one has been commended to the free minds +of men by the denunciations of Protestants. + +If the guardians of society, the protectors of "young persons," could +have had their way, we should have known nothing of Byron or Shelley. +The voices that thrill the world would now be silent. If authority could +have had its way, the world would have been as ignorant now as it was +when our ancestors lived in holes or hung from dead limbs by their +prehensile tails. + +But we are not forced to go very far back. If Shakespeare had been +published for the first time now, those divine plays--greater than +continents and seas, greater even than the constellations of the +midnight sky--would be excluded from the mails by the decision of the +present enlightened postmaster-general. + +The poets have always lived in an ideal world, and that ideal world has +always been far better than the real world. As a consequence, they +have forever roused, not simply the imagination, but the energies--the +enthusiasm of the human race. + +The great poets have been on the side of the oppressed--of the +downtrodden. They have suffered with the imprisoned and the enslaved, +and whenever and wherever man has suffered for the right, wherever the +hero has been stricken down--whether on field or scaffold--some man +of genius has walked by his side, and some poet has given form and +expression, not simply to his deeds, but to his aspirations. + +From the Greek and Roman world we still hear the voices of a few. +The poets, the philosophers, the artists and the orators still speak. +Countless millions have been covered by the waves of oblivion, but the +few who uttered the elemental truths, who had sympathy for the whole +human race, and who were great enough to prophesy a grander day, are as +alive to-night as when they roused, by their bodily presence, by their +living voices, by their works of art, the enthusiasm of their fellow-men. + +Think of the respectable people, of the men of wealth and position, +those who dwelt in mansions, children of success, who went down to +the grave voiceless, and whose names we do not know. Think of the vast +multitudes, the endless processions, that entered the caverns of eternal +night, leaving no thought, no truth as a legacy to mankind! + +The great poets have sympathized with the people. They have uttered in +all ages the human cry. Unbought by gold, unawed by power, they have +lifted high the torch that illuminates the world. + + +IV. + +Walt Whitman is in the highest sense a believer in democracy. He +knows that there is but one excuse for government--the preservation of +liberty, to the end that man may be happy. He knows that there is but +one excuse for any institution, secular or religious--the preservation +of liberty; and that there is but one excuse for schools, lor universal +education, for the ascertainment of facts, namely, the preservation of +liberty. He resents the arrogance and cruelty of power. He has sworn +never to be tyrant or slave. He has solemnly declared: + +"_I speak the pass-word primeval, I give the sign of democracy, By God! +I will accept nothing which all cannot have their counterpart of on the +same terms_." + +This one declaration covers the entire ground. It is a declaration of +independence, and it is also a declaration of justice, that is to say, +a declaration of the independence of the individual, and a declaration +that all shall be free. The man who has this spirit can truthfully say: + +"_I have taken off my hat to nothing known or unknown. I am for those +that have never been master'd._" + +There is in Whitman what he calls "The boundless impatience of +restraint," together with that sense of justice which compelled him to +say, "Neither a servant nor a master am I." + +He was wise enough to know that giving others the same rights that he +claims for himself could not harm him, and he was great enough to say: +"As if it were not indispensable to my own rights that others possess +the same." + +He felt as all should feel, that the liberty of no man is safe unless +the liberty of each is safe. + +There is in our country a little of the old servile spirit, a little of +the bowing and cringing to others. Many Americans do not understand that +the officers of the government are simply the servants of the people. +Nothing is so demoralizing as the worship of place. Whitman has reminded +the people of this country that they are supreme, and he has said to +them: + +"_The President is there in the White House for you, it is not you who +are here for him, The Secretaries act in their bureaus for you, not you +here for them. Doctrines, politics and civilization exurge from you, +Sculpture and monuments and any thing inscribed anywhere are tallied in +you_." + +He describes the ideal American citizen--the one who + +"_Says indifferently and alike 'How are you, friend?' to the President +at his levee, And he says 'Good-day, my brother,' to Cudge that hoes in +the sugar-field_." + +Long ago, when the politicians were wrong, when the judges were +subservient, when the pulpit was a coward, Walt Whitman shouted: + +"_Man shall not hold property in man._" + +"_The least develop'd person on earth is just as important and sacred +to himself or herself as the most develop'd person is to himself or +herself._" + +This is the very soul of true democracy. + +Beauty is not all there is of poetry. It must contain the truth. It is +not simply an oak, rude and grand, neither is it simply a vine. It is +both. Around the oak of truth runs the vine of beauty. + +Walt Whitman utters the elemental truths and is the poet of democracy. +He is also the poet of individuality. + + +V. INDIVIDUALITY. + +IN order to protect the liberties of a nation, we must protect the +individual. A democracy is a nation of free individuals. The individuals +are not to be sacrificed to the nation. The nation exists only for the +purpose of guarding and protecting the individuality of men and women. +Walt Whitman has told us that: "The whole theory of the universe is +directed unerringly to one single individual--namely to You." + +And he has also told us that the greatest city--the greatest nation--is +"where the citizen is always the head and ideal." + +And that + +"_A great city is that which has the greatest men and women, If it be a +few ragged huts it is still the greatest city in the whole world._" + +By this test maybe the greatest city on the continent to-night is +Camden. + +This poet has asked of us this question: + +"_What do you suppose will satisfy the soul, except to walk free and own +no superior?_" + +The man who asks this question has left no impress of his lips in the +dust, and has no dirt upon his knees. + +He was great enough to say: + +"_The soul has that measureless pride which revolts from every lesson +but its own._" + +He carries the idea of individuality to its utmost height: + +"_What do you suppose I would intimate to you in a hundred ways, but +that man or woman is as good as God? And that there is no God any more +divine than Yourself?_" + +Glorying in individuality, in the freedom of the soul, he cries out: + + "O to struggle against great odds, to meet enemies undaunted! + To be entirely alone with them, to find how much one can stand! + To look strife, torture, prison, popular odium, face to face! + To mount the scaffold, to advance to the muzzles of guns with perfect nonchalance! + To be indeed a God!" + +And again: + + "O the joy of a manly self-hood! + To be servile to none, to defer to none, not to any tyrant known or unknown, + + To walk with erect carriage, a step springy and elastic, + To look with calm gaze or with a flashing eye, + + To speak with full and sonorous voice out of a broad chest, + To confront with your personality all the other personalities of the earth." + +Walt Whitman is willing to stand alone. He is sufficient unto himself, +and he says: + + "Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune. + Strong and content I travel the open road." + +He is one of + + "Those that look carelessly in the faces of Presidents and Governors, + as to say 'Who are you? '" + +And not only this, but he has the courage to say: "Nothing, not God, +is greater to one than one's self." Walt Whitman is the poet of +Individuality--the defender of the rights of each for the sake of +all--and his sympathies are as wide as the world. He is the defender of +the whole race. + + +VI. HUMANITY. + +THE great poet is intensely human, infinitely sympathetic, entering +into the joys and griefs of others, bearing their burdens, knowing their +sorrows. Brain without heart is not much; they must act together. When +the respectable people of the North, the rich, the successful, were +willing to carry out the Fugitive Slave Law, Walt Whitman said: + + "I am the hounded slave, I wince at the bite of the dogs, + Hell and despair are upon me, crack and again crack the marksmen, + I clutch the rails of the fence, my gore dribs, thinn'd with the ooze of my skin, + I fall on the weeds and stones, + The riders spur their unwilling horses, haul close, + Taunt my dizzy ears, and beat me violently over the head with whip-stocks. + Agonies are one of my changes of garments, + I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, + I myself become the wounded person.... + I... see myself in prison shaped like another man, + And feel the dull unintermitted pain. + For me the keepers of convicts shoulder their carbines and keep watch, + It is I let out in the morning and barr'd at night. + Not a mutineer walks handcuff'd to jail but I am handcuff'd to him and walk by his side. + Judge not as the judge judges, but as the sun falling upon a helpless thing." + +Of the very worst he had the infinite tenderness to say: "Not until the +sun excludes you will I exclude you." + +In this age of greed when houses and lands and stocks and bonds outrank +human life; when gold is of more value than blood, these words should be +read by all: + + "When the psalm sings instead of the singer, + When the script preaches instead of the preacher, + When the pulpit descends and goes instead of the carver that carved the supporting desk, + When I can touch the body of books by night or day, and when they touch my body back again," + When a university course convinces like a slumbering woman and child convince, + When the minted gold in the vault smiles like the night-watchman's daughter, + When warrantee deeds loaf in chairs opposite and are my friendly companions, + I intend to reach them my hand, and make as much of them as I do of men and women like you." + + +VII. + +The poet is also a painter, a sculptor--he, too, deals in form and +color. The great poet is of necessity a great artist. With a few words +he creates pictures, filling his canvas with living men and women--with +those who feel and speak. Have you ever read the account of the +stage-driver's funeral? Let me read it: + + "Cold dash of waves at the ferry-wharf, posh and ice in the river, half-frozen mud in the streets, + A gray discouraged sky overhead, the short, last daylight of December, + A hearse and stages, the funeral of an old Broadway stage-driver, the cortege mostly drivers. + Steady the trot to the cemetery, duly rattles the death-bell, The gate is pass'd, the new-dug grave is halted at, the living alight, the hearse uncloses. + The coffin is pass'd out, lower'd and settled, the whip is laid on the coffin, the earth is swiftly shovel'd in, + The mound above is flatted with the spades--silence, + A minute--no one moves or speaks--it is done, + He is decently put away--is there anything more? + He was a good fellow, free-mouth'd, quick-temper'd, not bad-looking, + Ready with life or death for a friend, fond of women, gambled, ate hearty, drank hearty, + Had known what it was to be flush, grew low-spirited toward the last, sicken'd, was helped by a contribution, Died, aged forty-one years--and that was his funeral." + +Let me read you another description, one of a woman: + + "Behold a woman! + She looks out from her quaker cap, her face is clearer and more beautiful than the sky. + She sits in an armchair under the shaded porch of the farmhouse, + The sun just shines on her old white head. + Her ample gown is of cream-hued linen, + Her grandsons raised the flax, and her granddaughters spun it with the distaff and the wheel. + The melodious character of the earth. + The finish beyond which philosophy cannot go and does not wish to go, + The justified mother of men." + +Would you hear of an old-time sea-fight? + +"Would you learn who won by the light of the moon and stars? List to the +yarn, as my grandmother's father the sailor told it to me. Our foe was +no skulk in his ship I tell you, (said he,) His was the surly English +pluck, and there is no tougher or truer, and never was, and never will +be; Along the lower'd eve he came horribly raking us. We closed with +him, the yards entangled, the cannon touch'd, My captain lash'd fast +with his own hands. We had receiv'd some eighteen pound shots under the +water, On our lower gun-deck two large pieces had burst at the first +fire, killing all around and blowing up overhead. Fighting at sun-down, +fighting at dark, Ten o'clock at night, the full moon well up, our leaks +on the gain, and five feet of water reported, The master-at-arms loosing +the prisoners confined in the after-hold to give them a chance for +themselves. The transit to and from the magazine is now stopt by the +sentinels, They see so many strange faces they do not know whom to +trust. + + Our frigate takes fire, + The other asks if we demand quarter? + If our colors are struck and the fighting done? + Now I laugh content, for I hear the voice of my little captain, + 'We have not struck,' he composedly cries, 'we have just begun our part of the fighting.' + Only three guns are in use, + One is directed by the captain himself against the enemy's mainmast, + Two well serv'd with grape and canister silence his musketry and clear his decks. + The tops alone second the fire of this little battery, especially the main-top, + They hold out bravely during the whole of the action. + Not a moment's cease, + The leaks gain fast on the pumps, the fire eats toward the powder-magazines. + One of the pumps has been shot away, it is generally thought we are sinking. + Serene stands the little captain, + He is not hurried, his voice is neither high nor low, + His eyes give more light to us than our battle-lanterns. + Toward twelve there in the beams of the moon the surrender to us. + Stretch'd and still lies the midnight, + Two great hulls motionless on the breast of the darkness. Our vessel riddled and slowly sinking, preparations to pass to the one we have conquer'd, + The captain on the quarter-deck coldly giving his orders through a countenance white as a sheet, + Near by the corpse of the child that serv'd in the cabin, The dead face of an old salt with long white hair and carefully curl'd whiskers, + The flames spite of all that can be done flickering aloft and below, + The husky voices of the two or three officers yet fit for duty, Formless stacks of bodies and bodies by themselves, dabs of flesh upon the masts and spars, + Cut of cordage, dangle of rigging, slight shock of the soothe of waves, + Black and impassive guns, litter of powder-parcels, strong scent, + A few large stars overhead, silent and mournful shining, Delicate sniffs of sea-breeze, smells of sedgy grass and fields by the shore, death-messages given in charge to survivors, + The hiss of the surgeon's knife, the gnawing teeth of his saw, + Wheeze, cluck, swash of falling blood, short wild scream, and long, dull, tapering groan." + +Some people say that this is not poetry--that it lacks measure and +rhyme. + + +VIII. WHAT IS POETRY? + +THE whole world is engaged in the invisible commerce of thought. That +is to say, in the exchange of thoughts by words, symbols, sounds, colors +and forms. The motions of the silent, invisible world, where feeling +glows and thought flames--that contains all seeds of action--are made +known only by sounds and colors, forms, objects, relations, uses and +qualities, so that the visible universe is a dictionary, an aggregation +of symbols, by which and through which is carried on the invisible +commerce of thought. Each object is capable of many meanings, or of +being used in many ways to convey ideas or states of feeling or of facts +that take place in the world of the brain. + +The greatest poet is the one who selects the best, the most appropriate +symbols to convey the best, the highest, the sublimest thoughts. Each +man occupies a world of his own. He is the only citizen of his world. +He is subject and sovereign, and the best he can do is to give the facts +concerning the world in which he lives to the citizens of other worlds. +No two of these worlds are alike. They are of all kinds, from the +flat, barren, and uninteresting--from the small and shriveled +and worthless--to those whose rivers and mountains and seas and +constellations belittle and cheapen the visible world. The inhabitants +of these marvelous worlds have been the singers of songs, utterers of +great speech--the creators of art. + +And here lies the difference between creators and imitators: the creator +tells what passes in his own world--the imitator does not. The imitator +abdicates, and by the fact of imitation falls upon his knees. He is +like one who, hearing a traveler talk, pretends to others that he has +traveled. + +In nearly all lands, the poet has been privileged. For the sake of +beauty, they have allowed him to speak, and for that reason he has told +the story of the oppressed, and has excited the indignation of honest +men and even the pity of tyrants. He, above all others, has added to +the intellectual beauty of the world. He has been the true creator of +language, and has left his impress on mankind. + +What I have said is not only true of poetry--it is true of all speech. +All are compelled to use the visible world as a dictionary. Words have +been invented and are being invented, for the reason that new powers are +found in the old symbols, new qualities, relations, uses and meanings. +The growth of language is necessary on account of the development of the +human mind. The savage needs but few symbols--the civilized many--the +poet most of all. + +The old idea was, however, that the poet must be a rhymer. Before +printing was known, it was said: the rhyme assists the memory. That +excuse no longer exists. + +Is rhyme a necessary part of poetry? In my judgment, rhyme is a +hindrance to expression. The rhymer is compelled to wander from his +subject, to say more or less than he means, to introduce irrelevant +matter that interferes continually with the dramatic action and is a +perpetual obstruction to sincere utterance. + +All poems, of necessity, must be short. The highly and purely poetic +is the sudden bursting into blossom of a great and tender thought. The +planting of the seed, the growth, the bud and flower must be rapid. The +spring must be quick and warm, the soil perfect, the sunshine and rain +enough--everything should tend to hasten, nothing to delay. In poetry, +as in wit, the crystallization must be sudden. + +The greatest poems are rhythmical. While rhyme is a hindrance, rhythm +seems to be the comrade of the poetic. Rhythm has a natural foundation. +Under emotion the blood rises and falls, the muscles contract and relax, +and this action of the blood is as rhythmical as the rise and fall of +the sea. In the highest form of expression the thought should be in +harmony with this natural ebb and flow. + +The highest poetic truth is expressed in rhythmical form. I have +sometimes thought that an idea selects its own words, chooses its own +garments, and that when the thought has possession, absolutely, of the +speaker or writer, he unconsciously allows the thought to clothe itself. + +The great poetry of the world keeps time with the winds and the waves. + +I do not mean by rhythm a recurring accent at accurately measured +intervals. Perfect time is the death of music. There should always be +room for eager haste and delicious delay, and whatever change there +may be in the rhythm or time, the action itself should suggest perfect +freedom. + +A word more about rhythm. I believe that certain feelings and +passions---joy, grief, emulation, revenge, produce certain molecular +movements in the brain--that every thought is accompanied by certain +physical phenomena. Now, it may be that certain sounds, colors, and +forms produce the same molecular action in the brain that accompanies +certain feelings, and that these sounds, colors and forms produce first +the molecular movements and these in their turn reproduce the feelings, +emotions and states of mind capable of producing the same or like +molecular movements. So that what we call heroic music produces the +same molecular action in the brain--the same physical changes--that +are produced by the real feeling of heroism; that the sounds we call +plaintive produce the same molecular movement in the brain that grief, +or the twilight of grief, actually produces. There may be a rhythmical +molecular movement belonging to each state of mind, that accompanies +each thought or passion, and it may be that music, or painting, or +sculpture, produces the same state of mind or feeling that produces +the music or painting or sculpture, by producing the same molecular +movements. + +All arts are born of the same spirit, and express like thoughts in +different ways--that is to say, they produce like states of mind and +feeling. The sculptor, the painter, the composer, the poet, the orator, +work to the same end, with different materials. The painter expresses +through form and color and relation; the sculptor through form and +relation. The poet also paints and chisels--his words give form, +relation and color. His statues and his paintings do not crumble, +neither do they fade, nor will they as long as language endures. The +composer touches the passions, produces the very states of feeling +produced by the painter and sculptor, the poet and orator. In all +these there must be rhythm--that is to say, proportion--that is to say, +harmony, melody. + +So that the greatest poet is the one who idealizes the common, who gives +new meanings to old symbols, who transfigures the ordinary things of +life. He must deal with the hopes and fears, and with the experiences of +the people. + +The poetic is not the exceptional. A perfect poem is like a perfect day. +It has the undefinable charm of naturalness and ease. It must not appear +to be the result of great labor. We feel, in spite of ourselves, that +man does best that which he does easiest. + +The great poet is the instrumentality, not always of his time, but +of the best of his time, and he must be in unison and accord with the +ideals of his race. The sublimer he is, the simpler he is. The thoughts +of the people must be clad in the garments of feeling--the words must +be known, apt, familiar. The height must be in the thought, in the +sympathy. + +In the olden time they used to have May day parties, and the prettiest +child was crowned Queen of May. Imagine an old blacksmith and his wife +looking at their little daughter clad in white and crowned with roses. +They would wonder while they looked at her, how they ever came to have +so beautiful a child. It is thus that the poet clothes the intellectual +children or ideals of the people. They must not be gemmed and garlanded +beyond the recognition of their parents. Out from all the flowers and +beauty must look the eyes of the child they know. + +We have grown tired of gods and goddesses in art. Milton's heavenly +militia excites our laughter. Light-houses have driven sirens from the +dangerous coasts. We have found that we do not depend on the imagination +for wonders--there are millions of miracles under our feet. + +Nothing can be more marvelous than the common and everyday facts of +life. The phantoms have been cast aside. Men and women are enough for +men and women. In their lives is all the tragedy and all the comedy that +they can comprehend. + +The painter no longer crowds his canvas with the winged and +impossible--he paints life as he sees it, people as he knows them, and +in whom he is interested. "The Angelus," the perfection of pathos, is +nothing but two peasants bending their heads in thankfulness as they +hear the solemn sound of the distant bell--two peasants, who have +nothing to be thankful for, nothing but weariness and want, nothing but +the crusts that they soften with their tears--nothing. And yet as you +look at that picture you feel that they have something besides to be +thankful for--that they have life, love, and hope--and so the distant +bell makes music in their simple hearts. + + +IX. + +The attitude of Whitman toward religion has not been understood. Toward +all forms of worship, toward all creeds, he has maintained the attitude +of absolute fairness. He does not believe that Nature has given her last +message to man. He does not believe that all has been ascertained. He +denies that any sect has written down the entire truth. He believes in +progress, and so believing he says: + + "We consider Bibles and religions divine--I do not say they are not divine, + I say they have all grown out of you, and may grow out of you still, + It is not they who give the life, it is you who give the life." + + "His [the poet's] thoughts are the hymns of the praise of things, + In the dispute on God and eternity he is silent." + + "Have you thought there could be but a single supreme? + There can be any number of supremes--one does not countervail another + anymore than one eyesight countervails another." + +Upon the great questions, as to the great problems, he feels only the +serenity of a great and well-poised soul: + + "No array of terms can say how much I am at peace about God and about death. + I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least, + Nor do I understand who there can be more wonderful than myself.... + In the faces of men and women I see God, and in my own face in the glass, + I find letters from God dropt in the street, and every one is sign'd by God's name." + +The whole visible world is regarded by him as a revelation, and so is +the invisible world, and with this feeling he writes: + +"Not objecting to special revelations--considering a curl of smoke or a +hair on the back of my hand just as curious as any revelation." + +The creeds do not satisfy, the old mythologies are not enough; they are +too narrow at best, giving only hints and suggestions; and feeling this +lack in that which has been written and preached, Whitman says: + + "Magnifying and applying come I, + Outbidding at the start the old cautious hucksters, + Taking myself the exact dimensions of Jehovah, Lithographing Kronos, + Zeus his son, and Hercules his grandson, + Buying drafts of Osiris, Isis, Belus, Brahma, Buddha, + In my portfolio placing Manito loose, Allah on a leaf, the crucifix engraved, + With Odin and the hideous-faced Mexitli, and every idol and image, + Taking them all for what they are worth, and not a cent more." + +Whitman keeps open house. He is intellectually hospitable. He extends +his hand to a new idea. He does not accept a creed because it is +wrinkled and old and has a long white beard. He knows that hypocrisy has +a venerable look, and that it relies on looks and masks, on stupidity +and fear. Neither does he reject or accept the new because it is new. He +wants the truth, and so he welcomes all until he knows just who and what +they are. + + +X. PHILOSOPHY. + +WALT WHITMAN is a philosopher. The more a man has thought, the more he +has studied, the more he has traveled intellectually, the less certain +he is. Only the very ignorant are perfectly satisfied that they know. +To the common man the great problems are easy. He has no trouble in +accounting for the universe. He can tell you the origin and destiny of +man and the why and the wherefore of things. As a rule, he is a +believer in special providence, and is egotistic enough to suppose that +everything that happens in the universe happens in reference to him. + +A colony of red ants lived at the foot of the Alps. It happened one day +that an avalanche destroyed the hill; and one of the ants was heard to +remark: "Who could have taken so much trouble to destroy our home?" + +Walt Whitman walked by the side of the sea "where the fierce old mother +endlessly cries for her castaways," and endeavored to think out, to +fathom the mystery of being; and he said: + + "I too but signify at the utmost a little wash'd-up drift, + A few sands and dead leaves to gather, + Gather, and merge myself as part of the sands and drift. + Aware now that amid all that blab whose echoes recoil upon me + I have not once had the least idea who or what I am, + But that before all my arrogant poems the real Me stands yet untouch'd, + untold, altogether unreach'd, + Withdrawn far, mocking me with mock-congratulatory signs and bows, + With peals of distant ironical laughter at every word I have written, + Pointing in silence to these songs, and then to the sand beneath.... + I perceive I have not really understood any thing, not a single object, + and that no man ever can." + +There is in our language no profounder poem than the one entitled +"Elemental Drifts." + +The effort to find the origin has ever been, and will forever be, +fruitless. Those who endeavor to find the secret of life resemble a man +looking in the mirror, who thinks that if he only could be quick enough +he could grasp the image that he sees behind the glass. + +The latest word of this poet upon this subject is as follows: + +"To me this life with all its realities and functions is finally a +mystery, the real something yet to be evolved, and the stamp and shape +and life here somehow giving an important, perhaps the main outline to +something further. Somehow this hangs over everything else, and stands +behind it, is inside of all facts, and the concrete and material, and +the worldly affairs of life and sense. That is the purport and meaning +behind all the other meanings of Leaves of Grass." + +As a matter of fact, the questions of origin and destiny are beyond the +grasp of the human mind. We can see a certain distance; beyond that, +everything is indistinct; and beyond the indistinct is the unseen. In +the presence of these mysteries--and everything is a mystery so far as +origin, destiny, and nature are concerned--the intelligent, honest man +is compelled to say, "I do not know." + +In the great midnight a few truths like stars shine on forever, and from +the brain of man come a few struggling gleams of light, a few momentary +sparks. + +Some have contended that everything is spirit; others that everything +is matter; and again, others have maintained that a part is matter and a +part is spirit; some that spirit was first and matter after; others that +matter was first and spirit after; and others that matter and spirit +have existed together. + +But none of these people can by any possibility tell what matter is, or +what spirit is, or what the difference is between spirit and matter. + +The materialists look upon the spiritualists as substantially crazy; and +the spiritualists regard the materialists as low and groveling. These +spiritualistic people hold matter in contempt; but, after all, matter is +quite a mystery. Y ou take in your hand a little earth--a little dust. +Do you know what it is? In this dust you put a seed; the rain falls upon +it; the light strikes it; the seed grows; it bursts into blossom; it +produces fruit. + +What is this dust--this womb? Do you understand it? Is there anything in +the wide universe more wonderful than this? + +Take a grain of sand, reduce it to powder, take the smallest possible +particle, look at it with a microscope, contemplate its every part for +days, and it remains the citadel of a secret--an impregnable fortress. +Bring all the theologians, philosophers, and scientists in serried ranks +against it; let them attack on every side with all the arts and arms +of thought and force. The citadel does not fall. Over the battlements +floats the flag, and the victorious secret smiles at the baffled hosts. + +Walt Whitman did not and does not imagine that he has reached the +limit--the end of the road traveled by the human race. He knows that +every victory over nature is but the preparation for another battle. +This truth was in his mind when he said: "Understand me well; it is +provided in the essence of things, that from any fruition of success, +no matter what, shall come forth something to make a greater struggle +necessary." + +This is the generalization of all history. + +XI. THE TWO POEMS. + +THERE are two of these poems to which I will call special attention. The +first is entitled, "A Word Out of the Sea." + +The boy, coming out of the rocked cradle, wandering over the sands and +fields, up from the mystic play of shadows, out of the patches of +briers and blackberries--from the memories of birds--from the thousand +responses of his heart--goes back to the sea and his childhood, and +sings a reminiscence. + +Two guests from Alabama--two birds--build their nest, and there were +four light green eggs, spotted with brown, and the two birds sang for +joy: + + "Shine! shine! shine! + Pour down your warmth, great sun! + While we bask, we two together. + Two together! + Winds blow south, or winds blow north, + Day come white, or night come black, . + Home, or rivers and mountains from home, + Singing all time, minding no time, + While we two keep together." + +In a little while one of the birds is missed and never appeared again, +and all through the summer the mate, the solitary guest, was singing of +the lost: + + "Blow! blow! blow! + Blow up sea-winds along Paumanok's shore; + I wait and I wait till you blow my mate to me." + +And the boy that night, blending himself with the shadows, with bare +feet, went down to the sea, where the white arms out in the breakers +were tirelessly tossing; listening to the songs and translating the +notes. + +And the singing bird called loud and high for the mate, wondering what +the dusky spot was in the brown and yellow, seeing the mate whichever +way he looked, piercing the woods and the earth with his song, hoping +that the mate might hear his cry; stopping that he might not lose her +answer; waiting and then crying again: "Here I am! And this gentle call +is for you. Do not be deceived by the whistle of the wind; those are the +shadows;" and at last crying: + + "O past! O happy life! O songs of joy! + In the air, in the woods, over fields, + Loved! loved! loved! loved! loved! + But my mate no more, no more with me! + We two together no more." + +And then the 'boy, understanding the song that had awakened in his +breast a thousand songs clearer and louder and more sorrowful than the +birds, knowing that the cry of unsatisfied love would never again be +absent from him; thinking then of the destiny of all, and asking of the +sea the final word, and the sea answering, delaying not and hurrying +not, spoke the low delicious word "Death!" "ever Death!" + +The next poem, one that will live as long as our language, entitled: +"When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom'd," is on the death of Lincoln, + + "The sweetest, wisest soul of all my days and lands." + +One who reads this will never forget the odor of the lilac, "the +lustrous western star" and "the gray-brown bird singing in the pines and +cedars." + +In this poem the dramatic unities are perfectly preserved, the +atmosphere and climate in harmony with every event. + +Never will he forget the solemn journey of the coffin through day and +night, with the great cloud darkening the land, nor the pomp of inlooped +flags, the processions long and winding, the flambeaus of night, +the torches' flames, the silent sea of faces, the unbared heads, the +thousand voices rising strong and solemn, the dirges, the shuddering +organs, the tolling bells--and the sprig of lilac. + +And then for a moment they will hear the gray-brown bird singing in the +cedars, bashful and tender, while the lustrous star lingers in the west, +and they will remember the pictures hung on the chamber walls to adorn +the burial house--pictures of spring and farms and homes, and the gray +smoke lucid and bright, and the floods of yellow gold--of the gorgeous +indolent sinking sun--the sweet herbage under foot--the green leaves of +the trees prolific--the breast of the river with the wind-dapple here +and there, and the varied and ample land--and the most excellent sun so +calm and haughty--the violet and purple morn with just-felt breezes--the +gentle soft-born measureless light--the miracle spreading, bathing +all--the fulfill'd noon--the coming eve delicious, and the welcome night +and the stars. + +And then again they will hear the song of the gray-brown bird in the +limitless dusk amid the cedars and pines. Again they will remember the +star, and again the odor of the lilac. + +But most of all, the song of the bird translated and becoming the chant +for death: + + +A CHANT FOR DEATH. + + "Come lovely and soothing death, + Undulate round the world, serenely arriving, arriving, + In the day, in the night, to all, to each, + Sooner or later delicate death. + Prais'd be the fathomless universe, + For life and joy, and for objects and knowledge curious, + And for love, sweet love--but praise! praise! praise! + For the sure-enwinding arms of cool-enfolding death. + Dark mother always gliding near with soft feet, + Have none chanted for thee a chant of fullest welcome? + Then I chant it for thee, I glorify thee above all, + I bring thee a song that when thou must indeed come, come unfalteringly. + Approach strong deliveress, + When it is so, when thou hast taken them I joyously sing the dead, + Lost in the loving floating ocean of thee, + Laved in the flood of thy bliss, O death. + From me to thee glad serenades, + Dances for thee I propose saluting thee, adornments and 'feastings for thee, + And the sights of the open landscape and the high spread sky are fitting, + And life and the fields, and the huge and thoughtful night. + The night in silence under many a star, + The ocean shore and the husky whispering wave whose voice I know, + And the soul turning to thee O vast and well-veil'd death, + And the body gratefully nestling close to thee. + Over the tree-tops I float thee a song, + Over the rising and sinking waves, over the myriad fields and the prairies wide, + Over the dense-pack'd cities all and the teeming wharves and ways, + I float this carol with joy, with joy to thee O death." + +This poem, in memory of "the sweetest, wisest soul of all our days and +lands," and for whose sake lilac and star and bird entwined, will last +as long as the memory of Lincoln. + + +XII. OLD AGE. + +WALT WHITMAN is not only the poet of childhood, of youth, of manhood, +but, above all, of old age. He has not been soured by slander or +petrified by prejudice; neither calumny nor flattery has made him +revengeful or arrogant. Now sitting by the fireside, in the winter of +life, + +"His jocund heart still beating in his breast," he is just as brave and +calm and kind as in his manhood's proudest days, when roses blossomed in +his cheeks. + +He has taken life's seven steps. Now, as the gamester might say, "on +velvet," he is enjoying "old age, expanded, broad, with the haughty +breadth of the universe; old age, flowing free, with the delicious +near-by freedom of death; old age, superbly rising, welcoming the +ineffable aggregation of dying days." + +He is taking the "loftiest look at last," and before he goes he utters +thanks: + + "For health, the midday sun, the impalpable air--for life, mere life, + For precious ever-lingering memories, + (of you my mother dear--you, father--you, brothers, sisters, friends,) + For all my days--not those of peace alone--the days of war the same, + For gentle words, caresses, gifts from foreign lands, + For shelter, wine and meat--for sweet appreciation, + (You distant, dim unknown--or young or old--countless, unspecified, + readers belov'd, + We never met, and ne'er shall meet--and yet our souls embrace, + long, close and long;) + For beings, groups, love, deeds, words, books--for colors, forms, + For all the brave strong men--devoted, hardy men--who've forward + sprung in freedom's help, all years, all lands, + For braver, stronger, more devoted men--(a special laurel ere I go, + to life's war's chosen ones, + The cannoneers of song and thought--the great artillerists-- + the foremost leaders, captains of the soul:" + +It is a great thing to preach philosophy--far greater to live it. The +highest philosophy accepts the inevitable with a smile, and greets it as +though it were desired. + +To be satisfied: This is wealth--success. + +The real philosopher knows that everything has happened that could have +happened--consequently he accepts. He is glad that he has lived--glad +that he has had his moment on the stage. In this spirit Whitman has +accepted life. + + "I shall go forth, + I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, + Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my v + voice will suddenly cease. + O book, O chants! must all then amount to but this? + Must we barely arrive at this beginning of us?--and yet it is enough, O soul; + O soul, we have positively appear'd--that is enough." + +Yes, Walt Whitman has appeared. He has his place upon the stage. +The drama is not ended. His voice is still heard. He is the Poet of +Democracy--of all people. He is the poet of the body and soul. He has +sounded the note of Individuality. He has given the pass-word primeval. +He is the Poet of Humanity--of Intellectual Hospitality. He has voiced +the aspirations of America--and, above all, he is the poet of Love and +Death. + +How grandly, how bravely he has given his thought, and how superb is his +farewell--his leave-taking: + + "After the supper and talk--after the day is done, + As a friend from friends his final withdrawal prolonging, + Good-bye and Good-bye with emotional lips repeating, + (So hard for his hand to release those hands--no more will they meet, + No more for communion of sorrow and joy, of old and young, + A far-stretching journey awaits him, to return no more,) + Shunning, postponing severance--seeking to ward off the last word ever so little, + E'en at the exit-door turning--charges superfluous calling back-- + e'en as he descends the steps, + Something to eke out a minute additional--shadows of nightfall deepening, + Farewells, messages lessening--dimmer the forthgoer's visage and form, + Soon to be lost for aye in the darkness--loth, O so loth to depart!" + +And is this all? Will the forthgoer be lost, and forever? Is death the +end? Over the grave bends Love sobbing, and by her side stands Hope and +whispers: + +We shall meet again. Before all life is death, and after all death is +life. The falling leaf, touched with the hectic flush, that testifies of +autumn's death, is, in a subtler sense, a prophecy of spring. + +Walt Whitman has dreamed great dreams, told great truths and uttered +sublime thoughts. He has held aloft the torch and bravely led the way. + +As you read the marvelous book, or the person, called "Leaves of Grass," +you feel the freedom of the antique world; you hear the voices of the +morning, of the first great singers--voices elemental as those of sea +and storm. The horizon enlarges, the heavens grow ample, limitations are +forgotten--the realization of the will, the accomplishment of the ideal, +seem to be within your power. Obstructions become petty and disappear. +The chains and bars are broken, and the distinctions of caste are lost. +The soul is in the open air, under the blue and stars--the flag +of Nature. Creeds, theories and philosophies ask to be examined, +contradicted, reconstructed. Prejudices disappear, superstitions vanish +and custom abdicates. The sacred places become highways, duties and +desires clasp hands and become comrades and friends. Authority drops +the scepter, the priest the mitre, and the purple falls from kings. +The inanimate becomes articulate, the meanest and humblest things +utter speech, and the dumb and voiceless burst into song. A feeling of +independence takes possession of the soul, the body expands, the blood +flows full and free, superiors vanish, flattery is a lost art, and +life becomes rich, royal, and superb. The world becomes a personal +possession, and the oceans, the continents, and constellations belong +to you. You are in the center, everything radiates from you, and in +your veins beats and throbs the pulse of all life. You become a rover, +careless and free. You wander by the shores of all seas and hear the +eternal psalm. You feel the silence of the wide forest, and stand +beneath the intertwined and over-arching boughs, entranced with +symphonies of winds and woods. You are borne on the tides of eager and +swift rivers, hear the rush and roar of cataracts as they fall beneath +the seven-hued arch, and watch the eagles as they circling soar. You +traverse gorges dark and dim, and climb the scarred and threatening +cliffs. You stand in orchards where the blossoms fall like snow, where +the birds nest and sing, and painted moths make aimless journeys through +the happy air. You live the lives of those who till the earth, and walk +amid the perfumed fields, hear the reapers' song, and feel the breadth +and scope of earth and sky. You are in the great cities, in the midst of +multitudes, of the endless processions. You are on the wide plains--the +prairies--with hunter and trapper, with savage and pioneer, and you feel +the soft grass yielding under your feet. You sail in many ships, and +breathe the free air of the sea. You travel many roads, and countless +paths. You visit palaces and prisons, hospitals and courts; you pity +kings and convicts, and your sympathy goes out to all the suffering and +insane, the oppressed and enslaved, and even to the infamous. You hear +the din of labor, all sounds of factory, field, and forest, of all +tools, instruments and machines. You become familiar with men and women +of all employments, trades and professions--with birth and burial, with +wedding feast and funeral chant. You see the cloud and flame of war, and +you enjoy the ineffable perfect days of peace. + +In this one book, in these wondrous "Leaves of Grass," you find hints +and suggestions, touches and fragments, of all there is of life that +lies between the babe, whose rounded cheeks dimple beneath his mother's +laughing, loving eyes, and the old man, snow-crowned, who, with a smile, +extends his hand to death. + +We have met to-night to honor ourselves by honoring the author of +"Leaves of Grass." + + + + +THE GREAT INFIDELS.* + + * This lecture is printed from notes found among Colonel + Ingersoll's papers, but was not revised by him for + publication. + +I HAVE sometimes thought that it will not make great and splendid +character to rock children in the cradle of hypocrisy. I do not believe +that the tendency is to make men and women brave and glorious when you +tell them that there are certain ideas upon certain subjects that they +must never express; that they must go through life with a pretence as a +shield; that their neighbors will think much more of them if they +will only keep still; and that above all is a God who despises one who +honestly expresses what he believes. For my part, I believe men will be +nearer honest in business, in politics, grander in art--in everything +that is good and grand and beautiful, if they are taught from the cradle +to the coffin to tell their honest opinion. + +Neither do I believe thought to be dangerous. + +It is incredible that only idiots are absolutely sure of salvation. +It is incredible that the more brain you have the less your chance is. +There can be no danger in honest thought, and if the world ever advances +beyond what it is to-day, it must be led by men who express their real +opinions. + +We have passed midnight in the great struggle between Fact and Faith, +between Science and Superstition. The brand of intellectual inferiority +is now upon the orthodox brain. There is nothing grander than to rescue +from the leprosy of slander the reputation of a good and generous man. +Nothing can be nearer just than to benefit our benefactors. + +The Infidels of one age have been the aureoled saints of the next. The +destroyers of the old are the creators of the new. The old passes away, +and the new becomes old. There is in the intellectual world, as in the +material, decay and growth, and ever by the grave of buried age stand +youth and joy. + +The history of intellectual progress is written in the lives of +Infidels. Political rights have been preserved by traitors--the liberty +of the mind by heretics. To attack the king was treason--to dispute the +priest was blasphemy. The sword and cross were allies. They defended +each other. The throne and altar were twins--vultures from the same egg. + +It was James I. who said: "No bishop, no king." He might have said: "No +cross, no crown." + +The king owned the bodies, and the priest the souls, of men. One lived +on taxes, the other on alms. One was a robber, the other a beggar, and +each was both. + +These robbers and beggars controlled two worlds. The king made laws, the +priest made creeds. With bowed backs the people received the burdens of +the one, and with wonder's open mouth the dogmas of the other. If any +aspired to be free they were crushed by the king, and every priest was +a Herod who slaughtered the children of the brain. The king ruled by +force, the priest by fear, and both by both. + +The king said to the people: "God made you peasants, and he made me +king. He made rags and hovels for you, robes and palaces for me. Such +is the justice of God." And the priest said: "God made you ignorant and +vile. He made me holy and wise. If you do not obey me, God will punish +you here and torment you hereafter. Such is the mercy of God." + +Infidels are intellectual discoverers. They sail the unknown seas and +find new isles and continents in the infinite realms of thought. + +An Infidel is one who has found a new fact, who has an idea of his own, +and who in the mental sky has seen another star. + +He is an intellectual capitalist, and for that reason excites the envy +and hatred of the theological pauper. + +The Origin of god and Heaven, Of the Devil and Hell. + +IN the estimation of good orthodox Christians I am a criminal, because +I am trying to take from loving mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, +husbands, wives, and lovers the consolations naturally arising from +a belief in an eternity of grief and pain. I want to tear, break, and +scatter to the winds the God that priests erected in the fields of +innocent pleasure--a God made of sticks called creeds, and of old +clothes called myths. I shall endeavor to take from the coffin its +horror, from the cradle its curse, and put out the fires of revenge +kindled by an infinite fiend. + +Is it necessary that Heaven should borrow its light from the glare of +Hell? + +Infinite punishment is infinite cruelty, endless injustice, immortal +meanness. To worship an eternal goaler hardens, debases, and pollutes +even the vilest soul. While there is one sad and breaking heart in the +universe, no good being can be perfectly happy. + +Against the heartlessness of the Christian religion every grand and +tender soul should enter solemn protest. The God of Hell should be held +in loathing, contempt and scorn. A God who threatens eternal pain should +be hated, not loved--cursed, not worshiped. A heaven presided over by +such a God must be below the lowest hell. I want no part in any heaven +in which the saved, the ransomed and redeemed will drown with shouts of +joy the cries and sobs of hell--in which happiness will forget misery, +where the tears of the lost only increase laughter and double bliss. + +The idea of hell was born of ignorance, brutality, fear, cowardice, and +revenge. This idea testifies that our remote ancestors were the lowest +beasts. Only from dens, lairs, and caves, only from mouths filled +with cruel fangs, only from hearts of fear and hatred, only from the +conscience of hunger and lust, only from the lowest and most debased +could come this most cruel, heartless and bestial of all dogmas. + +Our barbarian ancestors knew but little of nature. They were too +astonished to investigate. They could not divest themselves of the idea +that everything happened with reference to them; that they caused storms +and earthquakes; that they brought the tempest and the whirlwind; that +on account of something they had done, or omitted to do, the lightning +of vengeance leaped from the darkened sky. They made up their minds that +at least two vast and powerful beings presided over this world; that +one was good and the other bad; that both of these beings wished to get +control of the souls of men; that they were relentless enemies, eternal +foes; that both welcomed recruits and hated deserters; that both +demanded praise and worship; that one offered rewards in this world, and +the other in the next. The Devil has paid cash--God buys on credit. + +Man saw cruelty and mercy in nature, because he imagined that phenomena +were produced to punish or to reward him. When his poor hut was torn and +broken by the wind, he thought it a punishment. When some town or city +was swept away by flood or sea, he imagined that the crimes of the +inhabitants had been avenged. When the land was filled with plenty, when +the seasons were kind, he thought that he had pleased the tyrant of the +skies. + +It must be remembered that both gods and devils were supposed to be +presided over by the greatest God and the greatest Devil. The God could +give infinite rewards and could inflict infinite torments. The Devil +could assist man here; could give him wealth and place in this world, in +consideration of owning his soul hereafter. Each human soul was a prize +contended for by these deities. Of course this God and this Devil had +innumerable spirits at their command, to execute their decrees. The God +lived in heaven and the Devil in hell. Both were mon-archs and were +infinitely jealous of each other. The priests pretended to be the agents +and recruiting sergeants of this God, and they were duly authorized to +promise and threaten in his name; they had power to forgive and curse. +These priests sought to govern the world by force and fear. Believing +that men could be frightened into obedience, they magnified the tortures +and terrors of perdition. Believing also that man could in part be +influenced by the hope of reward, they magnified the joys of heaven. In +other words, they promised eternal joy and threatened everlasting pain. +Most of these priests, born of the ignorance of the time, believed what +they taught. They proved that God was good by sunlight and harvest, by +health and happiness; that he was angry, by disease and death. Man, +according to this doctrine, was led astray by the Devil, who delighted +only in evil. It was supposed that God demanded worship; that he loved +to be flattered; that he delighted in sacrifice; that nothing made him +happier than to see ignorant faith upon its knees; that above all things +he hated and despised doubters and heretics, and that he regarded all +investigation as rebellion. + +Now and then believers in these ideas, those who had gained great +reputation for learning and sanctity, or had enjoyed great power, wrote +books, and these books after a time were considered sacred. Most of them +were written to frighten mankind, and were filled with threatenings and +curses for unbelievers and promises for the faithful. The more frightful +the curses, the more extravagant the promises, the more sacred the books +were considered. All of the gods were cruel and vindictive, unforgiving +and relentless, and the devils were substantially the same. + +It was also believed that certain things must be accepted as true, no +matter whether they were reasonable or not; that it was pleasing to God +to believe a certain creed, especially if it happened to be the creed of +the majority. Each community felt it a duty to see that the enemies of +God were converted or killed. To allow a heretic to live in peace was +to invite the wrath of God. Every public evil--every misfortune--was +accounted for by something the community had permitted or done. When +epidemics appeared, brought by ignorance and welcomed by filth, the +heretic was brought out and sacrificed to appease the vengeance of God. +From the knowledge they had--from their premises--they reasoned well. +They said, if God will inflict such frightful torments upon us here, +simply for allowing a few heretics to live, what will he do with the +heretics? Of course the heretics would be punished forever. They knew +how cruel was the barbarian king when he had the traitor in his power. +They had seen every horror that man could inflict on man. Of course a +God could do more than a king. He could punish forever. The fires he +would kindle never could be quenched. The torments he would inflict +would be eternal. They thought the amount of punishment would be +measured only by the power of God. + +These ideas were not only prevalent in what are called barbarous times, +but they are received by the religious world of to-day. + +No death could be conceived more horrible than that produced by flames. +To these flames they added eternity, and hell was produced. They +exhausted the idea of personal torture. + +By putting intention behind what man called good, God was produced. By +putting intention behind what man called bad, the Devil was created. +Leave this "intention" out, and gods and devils fade away. + +If not a human being existed the sun would continue to shine, and +tempests now and then would devastate the world; the rain would fall in +pleasant showers, and the bow of promise would adorn the cloud; violets +would spread their velvet bosoms to the sun, and the earthquake would +devour; birds would sing, and daisies bloom, and roses blush, and the +volcanoes would fill the heavens with their lurid glare; the procession +of the seasons would not be broken, and the stars would shine just as +serenely as though the world was filled with loving hearts and happy +homes. But in the olden time man thought otherwise. He imagined that +he was of great importance. Barbarians are always egotistic. They think +that the stars are watching them; that the sun shines on their account; +that the rain falls for them, and that gods and devils are really +troubling themselves about their poor and ignorant souls. + +In those days men fought for their God as they did for their king. They +killed the enemies of both. For this their king would reward them +here, and their God hereafter. With them it was loyalty to destroy +the disloyal. They did not regard God as a vague "spirit," nor as an +"essence" without body or parts, but as a being, a person, an infinite +man, a king, the monarch of the universe, who had garments of glory for +believers and robes of flame for the heretic and infidel. + +Do not imagine that this doctrine of hell belongs to Christianity alone. +Nearly all religions have had this dogma for a corner-stone. Upon this +burning foundation nearly all have built. Over the abyss of pain rose +the glittering dome of pleasure. This world was regarded as one of +trial. Here a God of infinite wisdom experimented with man. Between the +outstretched paws of the Infinite the mouse, man, was allowed to play. +Here man had the opportunity of hearing priests and kneeling in temples. +Here he could read and hear read the sacred books. Here he could have +the example of the pious and the counsels of the holy. Here he could +build churches and cathedrals. Here he could burn incense, fast, wear +haircloth, deny himself all the pleasures of life, confess to priests, +count beads, be miserable one day in seven, make creeds, construct +instruments of torture, bow before pictures and images, eat little +square pieces of bread, sprinkle water on the heads of babes, shut his +eyes and say words to the clouds, and slander and defame all who have +the courage to despise superstition, and the goodness to tell their +honest thoughts. After death, nothing could be done to make him better. +When he should come into the presence of God, nothing was left except +to damn him. Priests might convert him here, but God could do nothing +there,--all of which shows how much more a priest can do for a soul +than its creator; how much more potent is the example of your average +Christian than that of all the angels, and how much superior earth is to +heaven for the moral development of the soul. In heaven the Devil is +not allowed to enter. There all are pure and perfect, yet they cannot +influence a soul for good. + +Only here, on the earth, where the Devil is constantly active, only +where his agents attack every soul, is there the slightest hope of moral +improvement. + +Strange! that a world cursed by God, filled with temptations and thick +with fiends, should be the only place where hope exists, the only place +where man can repent, the only place where reform is possible! Strange! +that heaven, filled with angels and presided over by God, is the +only place where reformation is utterly impossible! Yet these are the +teachings of all the believers in the eternity of punishment. + +Masters frightened slaves with the threat of hell, and slaves got a kind +of shadowy revenge by whispering back the threat. The poor have damned +the rich and the rich the poor. The imprisoned imagined a hell for their +gaolers; the weak built this place for the strong; the arrogant for +their rivals; the vanquished for their victors; the priest for the +thinker, religion for reason, superstition for science. + +All the meanness, all the revenge, all the selfishness, all the cruelty, +all the hatred, all the infamy of which the heart of man is capable, +grew, blossomed and bore fruit in this one word--Hell. + +For the nourishment of this dogma cruelty was soil, ignorance was rain, +and fear was light. + +Christians have placed upon the throne of the universe a God of eternal +hate. I cannot worship a being whose vengeance is boundless, whose +cruelty is shoreless, and whose malice is increased by the agonies he +inflicts. + + +THE APPEAL TO THE CEMETERY. + +WHOEVER attacks a custom or a creed, will be confronted with a list of +the names of the dead who upheld the custom, or believed the creed. He +is asked in a very triumphant and sneering way, if he knows more than +all the great and honored of the past Every defender of a creed has +graven upon his memory the names of all "great" men whose actions or +words can be tortured into evidence for his doctrine. The church is +always anxious to have some king or president certify to the moral +character of Christ, the authority of the Scriptures, and the justice +of the Jewish God. Of late years, confessions of gentlemen about to be +hanged have been considered of great value, and the scaffold is regarded +as a means of grace. + +All the churches of our day seek the rich. They are no longer the +friends and defenders of the poor. Poverty no longer feels at home +in the house of God. In the Temple of the Most High, garments out of +fashion are considered out of place. People now, before confessing to +God what worthless souls they have, enrich their bodies. Now words of +penitence mingle with the rustle of silk, and light thrown from diamonds +adorns the repentant tear. We are told that the rich, the fortunate, the +holders of place and office, the fashionable, the respectable, are all +within the churches. And yet all these people grow eloquent over the +poverty of Christ--boast that he was born in a manger--that the Holy +Ghost passed by all the ladies of titled wealth and fashion and selected +the wife of a poor and unknown mechanic for the Mother of God. + +They admit that all the men of Jerusalem who held high positions--all +the people of wealth, influence and power--were the enemies of the +Savior and held his pretensions in contempt. They admit that he had +influence only with the poor, and that he was so utterly unknown--so +indigent in acquaintance, that it was necessary to bribe one of his +disciples to point him out to the police. They assert that he had done a +great number of miracles--had cured the sick, and raised the dead--that +he had preached to vast multitudes--had made a kind of triumphal entry +into Jerusalem--had scourged from the temple the changers of money--had +disputed with the doctors--and yet, notwithstanding all these things, +he remained in the very depths of obscurity. Surely he and his disciples +could have been met with the argument that the "great" dead were opposed +to the new religion. + +The apostles, it is claimed, preached the doctrines of Christ in Rome +and Athens, and the people of those cities could have used the arguments +against Christianity that Christians now use in its support. They could +have asked the apostles if they were wiser than all the philosophers, +poets, orators, and statesmen dead--if they knew more, coming as they +did from a weak and barbarous nation, than the greatest men produced by +the highest civilization of the known world. With what scorn would the +Greeks listen to a barbarian's criticisms upon Socrates and Plato. How +a Roman would laugh to hear a vagrant Hebrew attack a mythology that had +been believed by Cato and Virgil. + +Every new religion has to overcome this argument of the cemetery--this +logic of the grave. Old ideas take shelter behind a barricade of corpses +and tombstones. They have epitaphs for battle-cries, and malign the +living in the name of the dead. The moment, however, that a new religion +succeeds, it becomes the old religion and uses the same argument against +a new idea that it once so gallantly refuted. The arguments used to-day +against what they are pleased to call infidelity would have shut the +mouth of every religious reformer, from Christ to the founder of the +last sect. The general objection to the new is, that it differs somewhat +from the old, and the fact that it does differ is urged as an argument +against its truth. + +Every man is forced to admit that he does not agree with all the great +men, living or dead. The average Catholic, if not a priest, as a rule +will admit that Sir Isaac Newton was in some things his superior, that +Demosthenes had the advantage of him in expressing his ideas in public, +and that as a sculptor he is far below the unknown man of whose hand and +brain was born the Venus de Milo, but he will not, on account of +these admissions, change his views upon the important question of +transubstantiation. + +Most Protestants will cheerfully admit that they are inferior in brain +and genius to some men who have lived and died in the Catholic Church; +that in the matter of preaching funeral sermons they do not pretend to +equal Bossuet; that their letters are not so interesting and polished +as those of Pascal; that Torquemada excelled them in the genius of +organization, and that for planning a massacre they would not for a +moment dispute the palm with Catherine de Medici. + +And yet, after all these admissions, they would insist that the Pope +is an unblushing impostor, and that the Catholic Church is a vampire +fattened by the best blood of a thousand years. + +The truth is, that in favor of almost every sect, the names of some +great men can be pronounced. In almost every church there have been +men whose only weakness was their religion, and who in other directions +achieved distinction. If you call men great because they were emperors, +kings, noblemen, statesmen, millionaires--because they commanded vast +armies and wielded great influence in their day, then more names can be +found to support and prop the Church of Rome than any other Christian +sect. + +Is Protestantism willing to rest its claims upon the "great man" +argument? Give me the ideas, the religions, not that have been advanced +and believed by the so-called great of the past, but that will be +defended and believed by the great souls of the future. + +It gives me pleasure to say that Lord Bacon was a great man; but I do +not for that reason abandon the Copernican system of astronomy, and +insist that the earth is stationary. Samuel Johnson was an excellent +writer of latinized English, but I am confident that he never saw a +real ghost. Matthew Hale was a reasonably good judge of law, but he +was mistaken about witches causing children to vomit crooked pins. John +Wesley was quite a man, in a kind of religious way, but in this country +few people sympathize with his hatred of republican government, or with +his contempt for the Revolutionary Fathers. Sir Isaac Newton, in the +domain of science, was the colossus of his time, but his commentary on +the book of Revelation would hardly excite envy, even in the breast of +a Spurgeon or a Talmage. Upon many questions, the opinions of Napoleon +were of great value, and yet about his bed, when dying, he wanted to +see burning the holy candles of Rome. John Calvin has been called +a logician, and reasoned well from his premises, but the burning of +Servetus did not make murder a virtue. Luther weakened somewhat the +power of the Catholic Church, and to that extent was a reformer, and +yet Lord Brougham affirmed that his "Table Talk" was so obscene that no +respectable English publisher would soil paper with a translation. He +was a kind of religious Rabelais; and yet a man can defend Luther in his +attack upon the church without justifying his obscenity. If every man +in the Catholic Church was a good man, that would not convince me that +Ignatius Loyola ever met and conversed with the Virgin Mary. The +fact is, very few men are right in everything. Great virtues may +draw attention from defects, but they cannot sanctify them. A pebble +surrounded by diamonds remains a common stone, and a diamond surrounded +by pebbles is still a gem. No one should attempt to refute an argument +by pronouncing the name of some man, unless he is willing to adopt all +the ideas and beliefs of that man. It is better to give reasons and +facts than names. An argument should not depend for its force upon the +name of its author. Facts need no pedigree; logic has no heraldry, and +the living should not be awed by the mistakes of the dead. + +The greatest men the world has produced have known but little. They had +a few facts, mingled with mistakes without number. In some departments +they towered above their fellows, while in others they fell below the +common level of mankind. + +Daniel Webster had great respect for the Scriptures, but very little for +the claims of his creditors. Most men are strangely inconsistent. Two +propositions were introduced into the Confederate Congress by the same +man. One was to hoist the black flag, and the other was to prevent +carrying the mails on Sunday. George Whitefield defended the slave +trade, because it brought the negroes within the sound of the gospel, +and gave them the advantage of associating with the gentlemen who stole +them. And yet this same Whitefield believed and taught the dogma +of predestination. Volumes might be written upon the follies and +imbecilities of great men. A full rounded man--a man of sterling +sense and natural logic--is just as rare as a great painter, poet, or +sculptor. If you tell your friend that he is not a painter, that he has +no genius for poetry, he will probably admit the truth of what you say, +without feeling that he has been insulted in the least. But if you tell +him that he is not a logician, that he has but little idea of the value +of a fact, that he has no real conception of what evidence is, and +that he never had an original thought in his life, he will cut your +acquaintance. Thousands of men are most wonderful in mechanics, in +trade, in certain professions, keen in business, knowing well the +men among whom they live, and yet satisfied with religions infinitely +stupid, with politics perfectly senseless, and they will believe that +wonderful things were common long ago, such things as no amount of +evidence could convince them had happened in their day. A man may be a +successful merchant, lawyer, doctor, mechanic, statesman, or theologian +without one particle of originality, and almost without the ability to +think logically upon any subject whatever. Other men display in some +directions the most marvelous intellectual power, astonish mankind with +their grasp and vigor, and at the same time, upon religious subjects +drool and drivel like David at the gates of Gath. + + +SACRED BOOKS. + +WE have found, at last, that other nations have sacred books much +older than our own, and that these books and records were and are +substantiated by traditions and monuments, by miracles and martyrs, +christs and apostles, as well as by prophecies fulfilled. In all of +these nations differences of opinion as to the authenticity and meaning +of these books arose from time to time, precisely as they have done and +still do with us, and upon these differences were founded sects that +manufactured creeds. These sects denounced each other, and preached with +the sword and endeavored to convince with the fagot. Our theologians +were greatly astonished to find in other bibles the same stories, +precepts, laws, customs and commands that adorn and stain our own. At +first they accounted for this, by saying that these books were in part +copies of the Jewish Scriptures, mingled with barbaric myths. To such an +extent did they impose upon and insult probability, that they declared +that all the morality of the world, all laws commanding right and +prohibiting wrong, all ideas respecting the unity of a Supreme Being, +were borrowed from the Jews, who obtained them directly from God. The +Christian world asserts with warmth, not always born of candor, that +the Bible is the source, origin, and fountain of law, liberty, love, +charity, and justice; that it is the intellectual and moral sun of the +world; that it alone gives happiness here, and alone points out the +way to joy hereafter; that it contains the only revelation from the +Infinite; that all others are the work of dishonest and mistaken men. +They say these things in spite of the fact that the Jewish nation was +one of the weakest and most barbaric of the past; in spite of the fact +that the civilization of Egypt and India had commenced to wane before +that of Palestine existed. To account for all the morality contained in +the sacred books of the Hindus, by saying that it was borrowed from +the wanderers in the Desert of Sinai, from the escaped slaves of the +Egyptians, taxes to the utmost the credulity of ignorance, bigotry, and +zeal. + +The men who make these assertions are not superior to other men. They +have only the facts common to all, and they must admit that these facts +do not force the same conclusions upon all. They must admit that men +equally honest, equally well informed as themselves, deny their premises +and conclusions. They must admit that had they been born and educated in +some other country, they would have had a different religion, and would +have regarded with reverence and awe the books they now hold as false +and foolish. Most men are followers, and implicitly rely upon the +judgment of others. They mistake solemnity for wisdom, and regard a +grave countenance as the titlepage and preface to a most learned volume. +So they are easily imposed upon by forms, strange garments, and solemn +ceremonies. And when the teaching of parents, the customs of neighbors, +and the general tongue approve and justify a belief or creed, no matter +how absurd, it is hard even for the strongest to hold the citadel of his +soul. In each country, in defence of each religion, the same arguments +would be urged. There is the same evidence in favor of the inspiration +of the Koran and Bible. Both are substantiated in exactly the same way. +It is just as wicked and unreasonable to be a heretic in Constantinople +as in New York. To deny the claims of Christ and Mohammed is alike +blasphemous. It all depends upon where you are when you make the denial. +No religion has ever fallen that carried with it down to dumb death a +solitary fact. Mistakes moulder with the temples in which they were +taught, and countless superstitions sleep with their dead priests. + +Yet Christians insist that the religions of all nations that have fallen +from wealth and power were false, with of course the solitary exception +of the Jewish, simply because the nations teaching them dropped from +their dying hands the swords of power. This argument drawn from the +fate of nations proves no more than would one based upon the history +of persons. With nations as with individuals, the struggle for life is +perpetual, and the law of the survival of the fittest applies equally to +both. + +It may be that the fabric of our civilization will crumbling fall to +unmeaning chaos and to formless dust, where oblivion broods and even +memory forgets. Perhaps the blind Samson of some imprisoned force, +released by thoughtless chance, may so wreck and strand the world that +man, in stress and strain of want and fear, will shudderingly crawl back +to savage and barbaric night. The time may come in which this thrilled +and throbbing earth, shorn of all life, will in its soundless orbit +wheel a barren star, on which the light will fall as fruitlessly as +falls the gaze of love upon the cold, pathetic face of death. + + +FEAR. + +'T'HERE is a view quite prevalent, that in some way you can prove +whether the theories defended or advanced by a man are right or not, by +showing what kind of man he was, what kind of life he lived, and what +manner of death he died. + +A man entertains certain opinions; he is persecuted. He refuses to +change his mind; he is burned, and in the midst of flames cries out +that he dies without change. Hundreds then say that he has sealed his +testimony with his blood, and his doctrines must be true. + +All the martyrs in the history of the world are not sufficient +to establish the correctness of an opinion. Martyrdom, as a rule, +establishes the sincerity of the martyr,--never the correctness of +his thought. Things are true or false in themselves. Truth cannot be +affected by opinions; it cannot be changed, established, or affected +by martyrdom. An error cannot be believed sincerely enough to make it a +truth. + +No Christian will admit that any amount of heroism displayed by a Mormon +is sufficient to prove that Joseph Smith was divinely inspired. All the +courage and culture, all the poetry and art of ancient Greece, do not +even tend to establish the truth of any myth. + +The testimony of the dying concerning some other world, or in regard to +the supernatural, cannot be any better, to say the least, than that +of the living. In the early days of Christianity a serene and intrepid +death was regarded as a testimony in favor of the church. At that time +Pagans were being converted to Christianity--were throwing Jupiter away +and taking the Hebrew God instead. In the moment of death many of these +converts, without doubt, retraced their steps and died in the faith of +their ancestors. But whenever one died clinging to the cross of the +new religion, this was seized upon as an evidence of the truth of the +gospel. After a time the Christians taught that an unbeliever, one +who spoke or wrote against their doctrines, could not meet death with +composure--that the infidel in his last moments would necessarily be a +prey to the serpent of remorse. For more than a thousand years they +have made the "facts" to fit this theory. Crimes against men have been +considered as nothing when compared with a denial of the truth of the +Bible, the divinity of Christ, or the existence of God. + +According to the theologians, God has always acted in this way. As long +as men did nothing except to render their fellows wretched; as long as +they only butchered and burnt the innocent and helpless, God maintained +the strictest and most heartless neutrality; but when some honest man, +some great and tender soul expressed a doubt as to the truth of the +Scriptures, or prayed to the wrong God, or to the right one by the wrong +name, then the real God leaped like a wounded tiger upon his victim, and +from his quivering flesh tore his wretched soul. + +There is no recorded instance where the uplifted hand of murder has been +paralyzed--no truthful account in all the literature of the world of the +innocent being shielded by God. Thousands of crimes are committed every +day--men are this moment lying in wait for their human prey--wives +are whipped and crushed, driven to insanity and death--little children +begging for mercy, lifting imploring, tear-filled eyes to the brutal +faces of fathers and mothers--sweet girls are deceived, lured, and +outraged, but God has no time to prevent these things--no time to defend +the good and to protect the pure. He is too busy numbering hairs and +watching sparrows. + +He listens for blasphemy; looks for persons who laugh at priests; +examines baptismal registers; watches professors in colleges who begin +to doubt the geology of Moses and the astronomy of Joshua. He does not +particularly object to stealing if you won't swear. A great many persons +have fallen dead in the act of taking God's name in vain, but millions +of men, women, and children have been stolen from their homes and used +as beasts of burden, but no one engaged in this infamy has ever been +touched by the wrathful hand of God. + +All kinds of criminals, except infidels, meet death with reasonable +serenity. As a rule, there is nothing in the death of a pirate to cast +any discredit on his profession. The murderer upon the scaffold, with +a priest on either side, smilingly exhorts the multitude to meet him in +heaven. The man who has succeeded in making his home a hell, meets death +without a quiver, provided he has never expressed any doubt as to the +divinity of Christ, or the eternal "procession" of the Holy Ghost. The +king who has waged cruel and useless war, who has filled countries with +widows and fatherless children, with the maimed and diseased, and who +has succeeded in offering to the Moloch of ambition the best and bravest +of his subjects, dies like a saint. + +The Emperor Constantine, who lifted Christianity into power, murdered +his wife Fausta, and his eldest son Crispus, the same year that he +convened the Council of Nice to decide whether Jesus Christ was a man or +the Son of God. The council decided that Christ was consubstantial +with the Father. This was in the year 325. We are thus indebted to a +wife-murderer for settling the vexed question of the divinity of the +Savior. Theodosius called a council at Constantinople in 381, and +this council decided that the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Father. +Theodosius, the younger, assembled another council at Ephesus to +ascertain who the Virgin Mary really was, and it was solemnly decided in +the year 431 that she was the Mother of God. In 451 it was decided by a +council held at Chalcedon, called together by the Emperor Marcian, that +Christ had two natures--the human and divine. In 680, in another general +council, held at Constantinople, convened by order of Pognatius, it +was also decided that Christ had two wills, and in the year 1274 it was +decided at the Council of Lyons, that the Holy Ghost proceeded not only +from the Father, but from the Son as well. Had it not been for these +councils, we might have been without a Trinity even unto this day. When +we take into consideration the fact that a belief in the Trinity is +absolutely essential to salvation, how unfortunate it was for the world +that this doctrine was not established until the year 1274. Think of +the millions that dropped into hell while these questions were being +discussed. + +This, however, is a digression. Let us go back to Constantine. This +Emperor, stained with every crime, is supposed to have died like a +Christian. We hear nothing of fiends leering at him in the shadows of +death. He does not see the forms of his murdered wife and son covered +with the blood he shed. From his white and shrivelled lips issued no +shrieks of terror. He does not cover his glazed eyes with thin and +trembling hands to shut out the visions of hell. His chamber is filled +with the rustle of wings--of wings waiting to bear his soul to the +thrilling realms of joy. + +Against the Emperor Constantine the church has hurled no anathema. She +has accepted the story of his vision in the clouds, and his holy memory +has been guarded by priest and pope. All the persecutors sleep in peace, +and the ashes of those who burned their brothers in the name of Christ +rest in consecrated ground. Whole libraries could not contain even the +names of the wretches who have filled the world with violence and death +in defence of book and creed, and yet they all died the death of the +righteous, and no priest or minister describes the agony and fear, the +remorse and horror, with which their guilty souls were filled in the +last moments of their lives. These men had never doubted--they accepted +the creed--they were not infidels--they had not denied the divinity +of Christ--they had been baptized--they had partaken of the Last +Supper--they had respected priests--they admitted that the Holy Ghost +had "proceeded," and these things put pillows beneath their dying heads, +and covered them with the drapery of peace. + +Now and then, in the history of this world, a man of genius, of sense, +of intellectual honesty has appeared. These men have denounced the +superstitions of their day. They pitied the multitude. To see priests +devour the substance of the people filled them with indignation. These +men were honest enough to tell their thoughts. Then they were denounced, +tried, condemned, executed. Some of them escaped the fury of the people +who loved their enemies, and died naturally in their beds. + +It would not do for the church to admit that they died peacefully. That +would show that religion was not actually necessary in the last moment. +Religion got much of its power from the terror of death. + + +THE DEATH TEST. + +YOU had better live well and die wicked. + +You had better live well and die cursing than live badly and die +praying. + +It would not do to have the common people understand that a man could +deny the Bible, refuse to look at the cross, contend that Christ was +only a man, and yet die as calmly as Calvin did after he had murdered +Servetus, or as did King David after advising one son to kill another. + +The church has taken great pains to show that the last moments of all +infidels (that Christians did not succeed in burning) were infinitely +wretched and despairing. It was alleged that words could not paint the +horrors that were endured by a dying infidel. Every good Christian was +expected to, and generally did, believe these accounts. They have been +told and retold in every pulpit of the world. Protestant ministers have +repeated the inventions of Catholic priests, and Catholics, by a kind +of theological comity, have sworn to the falsehoods told by Protestants. +Upon this point they have always stood together, and will as long as the +same calumny can be used by both. + +Upon the death-bed subject the clergy grow eloquent. When describing the +shudderings and shrieks of the dying unbeliever, their eyes glitter with +delight. + +It is a festival. + +They are no longer men. They become hyenas. They dig open graves. They +devour the reputations of the dead. + +It is a banquet. + +Unsatisfied still, they paint the terrors of hell. They gaze at the +souls of the infidels writhing in the coils of the worm that never dies. +They see them in flames--in oceans of fire--in gulfs of pain--in abysses +of despair. They shout with joy. They applaud. + +It is an _auto da fe_, presided over by God and his angels. + +The men they thus describe were not atheists; they were all believers +in God, in special providence, and in the immortality of the soul. They +believed in the accountability of man--in the practice of virtue, in +justice, and liberty, but they did not believe in that collection of +follies and fables called the Bible. + +In order to show that an infidel must die overwhelmed with remorse and +fear, they have generally selected from all the "unbelievers" since the +day of Christ five men--the Emperor Julian, Spinoza, Voltaire, Diderot, +David Hume, and Thomas Paine. + +Hardly a minister in the United States has attempted to "answer" me +without referring to the death of one or more of these men. + +In vain have these calumniators of the dead been called upon to prove +their statements. In vain have rewards been offered to any priestly +maligner to bring forward the evidence. + +Let us once for all dispose of these slanders--of these pious calumnies. + + +JULIAN. + +THEY say that the Emperor Julian was an apostate that he was once +a Christian; that he fell from grace, and that in his last moments, +throwing some of his own blood into the air, he cried out to Jesus +Christ, "Galilean, thou hast conquered!" + +It must be remembered that the Christians had persecuted and imprisoned +this very Julian; that they had exiled him; that they had threatened him +with death. Many of his relatives were murdered by the Christians. +He became emperor, and Christians conspired to take his life. The +conspirators were discovered and they were pardoned. He did what he +could to prevent the Christians from destroying each other. He held pomp +and pride and luxury in contempt, and led his army on foot, sharing the +privations of the meanest soldier. + +Upon ascending the throne he published an edict proclaiming universal +religious toleration. He was then a Pagan. It is claimed by some that he +never did entirely forget his Christian education. In this I am +inclined to think there is some truth, because he revoked his edict of +toleration, and for a time was nearly as unjust as though he had been +a saint. He was emperor one year and seven months. In a battle with the +Persians he was mortally wounded. "Brought back to his tent, and +feeling that he had but a short time to live, he spent his last hours in +discoursing with his friends on the immortality of the soul. He reviewed +his reign and declared that he was satisfied with his conduct, and had +neither penitence nor remorse to express for anything that he had done." +His last words were: "I submit willingly to the eternal decrees of +heaven, convinced that he who is captivated with life, when his last +hour has arrived is more weak and pusillanimous than he who would rush +to voluntary death when it is his duty still to live." + +When we remember that a Christian emperor murdered Julian's father and +most of his kindred, and that he narrowly escaped the same fate, we can +hardly blame him for having a little prejudice against a church +whose members were fierce, ignorant, and bloody--whose priests were +hypocrites, and whose bishops were assassins. If Julian had said he was +a Christian--no matter what he actually was, he would have satisfied the +church. + +The story that the dying emperor acknowledged that he was conquered +by the Galilean was originated by some of the so-called Fathers of the +Church, probably by Gregory or Theodoret. They are the same wretches +who said that Julian sacrificed a woman to the moon, tearing out her +entrails with his own hands. We are also informed by these hypocrites +that he endeavored to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem, and that +fire came out of the earth and consumed the laborers employed in the +sacrilegious undertaking. + +I did not suppose that an intelligent man could be found in the world +who believed this childish fable, and yet in the January number for +1880, of the _Princeton Review_, the Rev. Stuart Robinson (whoever +he may be) distinctly certifies to the truth of this story. He says: +"Throughout the entire era of the planting of the Christian Church, the +gospel preached was assailed not only by the malignant fanaticism of the +Jew and the violence of Roman statecraft, but also by the intellectual +weapons of philosophers, wits, and poets. Now Celsus denounced the new +religion as base imposture. Now Tacitus described it as but another +phase of the _odium generis humani. Now Julian proposed to bring into +contempt the prophetic claims of its founder by the practical test +of rebuilding the Temple_." Here then in the year of grace 1880 is a +Presbyterian preacher, who really believes that Julian tried to rebuild +the Temple, and that God caused fire to issue from the earth and consume +the innocent workmen. + +All these stories rest upon the same foundation--the mendacity of +priests. + +Julian changed the religion of the Empire, and diverted the revenues +of the church. Whoever steps between a priest and his salary, will find +that he has committed every crime. No matter how often the slanders may +be refuted, they will be repeated until the last priest has lost his +body and found his wings. These falsehoods about Julian were invented +some fifteen hundred years ago, and they are repeated to-day by just as +honest and just as respectable people as those who told them at first. +Whenever the church cannot answer the arguments of an opponent, she +attacks his character. She resorts to falsehood, and in the domain of +calumny she has stood for fifteen hundred years without a rival. + +The great Empire was crumbling to its fall. The literature of the world +was being destroyed by priests. The gods and goddesses were driven from +the earth and sky. The paintings were torn and defaced. The statues were +broken. The walls were left desolate, and the niches empty. Art, like +Rachel, wept for her children, and would not be comforted. The streams +and forests were deserted by the children of the imagination, and the +whole earth was barren, poor and mean. + +Christian ignorance, bigotry and hatred, in blind unreasoning zeal, had +destroyed the treasures of our race. Art was abhorred, Knowledge +was despised, Reason was an outcast. The sun was blotted from the +intellectual heaven, every star extinguished, and there fell upon the +world that shadow--that midnight,--known as "The Dark Ages." + +This night lasted for a thousand years. + +The First Great Star--Herald of the Dawn--was Bruno. + + +BRUNO. + +THE night of the Middle Ages lasted for a thousand years. The first star +that enriched the horizon of this universal gloom was Giordano Bruno. He +was the herald of the dawn. + +He was born in 1550, was educated for a priest, became a Dominican +friar. At last his reason revolted against the doctrine of +transubstantiation. He could not believe that the entire Trinity was in +a wafer, or in a swallow of wine. He could not believe that a man could +devour the Creator of the universe by eating a piece of bread. This led +him to investigate other dogmas of the Catholic Church, and in +every direction he found the same contradictions and impossibilities +supported, not by reason, but by faith. + +Those who loved their enemies threatened his life. He was obliged to +flee from his native land, and he became a vagabond in nearly every +nation of Europe. He declared that he fought, not what priests believed, +but what they pretended to believe. He was driven from his native +country because of his astronomical opinions. He had lost confidence +in the Bible as a scientific work. He was in danger because he had +discovered a truth. + +He fled to England. He gave some lectures at Oxford. He found that +institution controlled by priests. He found that they were teaching +nothing of importance--only the impossible and the hurtful. He called +Oxford "the widow of true learning." There were in England, at that +time, two men who knew more than the rest of the world. Shakespeare was +then alive. + +Bruno was driven from England. He was regarded as a dangerous man,--he +had opinions, he inquired after reasons, he expressed confidence in +facts. He fled to France. He was not allowed to remain in that country. +He discussed things--that was enough. The church said, "move on." He +went to Germany. He was not a believer--he was an investigator. The +Germans wanted believers; they regarded the whole Christian system as +settled; they wanted witnesses; they wanted men who would assert. So he +was driven from Germany. + +He returned at last to his native land. He found himself without +friends, because he had been true, not only to himself, but to the human +race. But the world was false to him because he refused to crucify the +Christ of his own soul between the two thieves of hypocrisy and bigotry. +He was arrested for teaching that there are other worlds than this; +that many of the stars are suns, around which other worlds revolve; that +Nature did not exhaust all her energies on this grain of sand called the +earth. He believed in a plurality of worlds, in the rotation of this, in +the heliocentric theory. For these crimes, and for these alone, he was +imprisoned for six years. He was kept in solitary confinement. He was +allowed no books, no friends, no visitors. He was denied pen and paper. +In the darkness, in the loneliness, he had time to examine the great +questions of origin, of existence, of destiny. He put to the test what +is called the goodness of God. He found that he could neither depend +upon man nor upon any deity. At last, the Inquisition demanded him. +He was tried, condemned, excommunicated and sentenced to be burned. +According to Professor Draper, he believed that this world is animated +by an intelligent soul--the cause of forms, but not of matter; that it +lives in all things, even in such as seem not to live; that everything +is ready to become organized; that matter is the mother of forms, +and then their grave; that matter and the soul of things, together, +constitute God. He was a pantheist--that is to say, an atheist. He was +a lover of Nature,--a reaction from the asceticism of the church. He was +tired of the gloom of the monastery. He loved the fields, the woods, the +streams. He said to his brother-priests: Come out of your cells, out of +your dungeons: come into the air and light. + +Throw away your beads and your crosses. Gather flowers; mingle with your +fellow-men; have wives and children; scatter the seeds of joy; throw +away the thorns and nettles of your creeds; enjoy the perpetual miracle +of life. + +On the sixteenth day of February, in the year of grace 1600, by "the +triumphant beast," the Church of Rome, this philosopher, this great and +splendid man, was burned. He was offered his liberty if he would recant. +There was no God to be offended by his recantation, and yet, as an +apostle of what he believed to be the truth, he refused this offer. To +those who passed the sentence upon him he said: "It is with greater fear +that ye pass this sentence upon me than I receive it." This man, greater +than any naturalist of his day; grander than the martyr of any religion, +died willingly in defence of what he believed to be the sacred truth. He +was great enough to know that real religion will not destroy the joy +of life on earth; great enough to know that investigation is not a +crime--that the really useful is not hidden in the mysteries of faith. +He knew that the Jewish records were below the level of the Greek and +Roman myths; that there is no such thing as special providence; that +prayer is useless; that liberty and necessity are the same, and that +good and evil are but relative. + +He was the first real martyr,--neither frightened by perdition, nor +bribed by heaven. He was the first of all the world who died for truth +without expectation of reward. He did not anticipate a crown of glory. +His imagination had not peopled the heavens with angels waiting for his +soul. He had not been promised an eternity of joy if he stood firm, +nor had he been threatened with the fires of hell if he wavered and +recanted. He expected as his reward an eternal nothing! Death was to him +an everlasting end--nothing beyond but a sleep without a dream, a night +without a star, without a dawn--nothing but extinction, blank, utter, +and eternal. No crown, no palm, no "well done, good and faithful +servant," no shout of welcome, no song of praise, no smile of God, no +kiss of Christ, no mansion in the fair skies--not even a grave within +the earth--nothing but ashes, wind-blown and priest-scattered, mixed +with earth and trampled beneath the feet of men and beasts. + +The murder of this man will never be completely and perfectly avenged +until from Rome shall be swept every vestige of priest and pope, until +over the shapeless ruin of St. Peter's, the crumbled Vatican and the +fallen cross, shall rise a monument to Bruno,--the thinker, philosopher, +philanthropist, atheist, martyr. + + +THE CHURCH IN THE TIME OF VOLTAIRE. + +WHEN Voltaire was born, the natural was about the only thing in which +the church did not believe. The monks sold little amulets of consecrated +paper. They would cure diseases. If laid in a cradle they would prevent +a child being bewitched. So, they could be put into houses and barns to +keep devils away, or buried in a field to prevent bad weather, to delay +frost, and to insure good crops. There was a regular formulary by which +they were made, ending with a prayer, after which the amulets were +sprinkled with holy water. The church contended that its servants were +the only legitimate physicians. The priests cured in the name of the +church, and in the name of God, by exorcism, relics, water, salt, +and oil. St. Valentine cured epilepsy, St. Gervasius was good for +rheumatism, St. Michael de Sanatis for cancer, St. Judas for coughs, St. +Ovidius for deafness, St. Sebastian for poisonous bites, St. Apollonia +for toothache, St. Clara for rheum in the eye, St. Hubert for +hydrophobia. Devils were driven out with wax tapers, with incense, with +holy water, by pronouncing prayers. The church, as late as the middle of +the twelfth century, prohibited good Catholics from having anything to +do with physicians. + +It was believed that the devils produced storms of wind, of rain and of +fire from heaven; that the atmosphere was a battlefield between angels +and devils; that Lucifer had power to destroy fields and vineyards and +dwellings, and the principal business of the church was to protect the +people from the Devil. This was the origin of church bells. These bells +were sprinkled with holy water, and their clangor cleared the air of +imps and fiends. The bells also prevented storms and lightning. The +church used to anathematize insects. In the sixteenth century, regular +suits were commenced against rats, and judgment was rendered. Every +monastery had its master magician, who sold magic incense, salt, and +tapers, consecrated palms and relics. + +Every science was regarded as an outcast, an enemy. Every fact held the +creed of the church in scorn. Investigators were enemies in disguise. +Thinkers were traitors, and the church exerted its vast power for +centuries to prevent the intellectual progress of man. There was no +liberty, no education, no philosophy, no science; nothing but credulity, +ignorance, and superstition. The world was really under the control +of Satan and his agents. The church, for the purpose of increasing her +power, exhausted every means to convince the people of the existence +of witches, devils, and fiends. In this way the church had every enemy +within her power. She simply had to charge him with being a wizard, of +holding communication with devils, and the ignorant mob were ready to +tear him to pieces. + +To such an extent was this frightful course pursued, and such was the +prevalence of the belief in the supernatural, that the worship of the +devil was absolutely established. The poor people, brutalized by the +church, filled with fear of Satanic influence, finding that the church +did not protect, as a last resort began to worship the Devil. The power +of the Devil was proven by the Bible. The history of Job, the temptation +of Christ in the desert, the carrying of Christ to the top of +the temple, and hundreds of other instances, were relied upon as +establishing his power; and when people laughed about witches riding +upon anointed sticks in the air, invisible, they were reminded of a like +voyage when the Devil carried Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple. + +This frightful doctrine filled every friend with suspicion of his +friend. It the husband denounce the wife, the children the parents, +and the parents the children It destroyed all the sweet relations of +humanity. It did away with justice in the courts. It destroyed the +charity of religion. It broke the bond of friendship. It filled with +poison the golden cup of life. It turned earth into a very hell, peopled +with ignorant, tyrannical, and malicious demons. + +Such was the result of a few centuries of Christianity. Such was the +result of a belief in the supernatural. Such was the result of giving +up the evidence of our own senses, and relying upon dreams, visions, and +fears. Such was the result of destroying human reason, of depending upon +the supernatural, of living here for another world instead of for this, +of depending upon priests instead of upon ourselves. The Protestants +vied with the Catholics. Luther stood side by side with the priests +he had deserted, in promoting this belief in devils and fiends. To the +Catholic, every Protestant was possessed by a devil. To the Protestant, +every Catholic was the homestead of a fiend. All order, all regular +succession of causes and effects, were known no more. The natural ceased +to exist. The learned and the ignorant were on a level. The priest had +been caught in the net spread for the peasant, and Christendom was a +vast madhouse, with insane priests for keepers. + + +VOLTAIRE + +WHEN Voltaire was born, the church ruled and owned France. It was +a period of almost universal corruption. The priests were mostly +libertines. The judges were nearly as cruel as venal. The royal palace +was simply a house of assignation. The nobles were heartless, proud, +arrogant, and cruel to the last degree. The common people were treated +as beasts. It took the church a thousand years to bring about this happy +condition of things. + +The seeds of the revolution unconsciously were being scattered by +every noble and by every priest. They germinated in the hearts of the +helpless. They were watered by the tears of agony. Blows began to bear +interest. There was a faint longing for blood. Workmen, blackened by the +sun, bent by labor, looked at the white throats of scornful ladies and +thought about cutting them. + +In those days witnesses were cross-examined with instruments of torture. +The church was the arsenal of superstition. Miracles, relics, angels +and devils were as common as rags. Voltaire laughed at the evidences, +attacked the pretended facts, held the Bible up to ridicule, and +filled Europe with indignant protests against the cruelty, bigotry, and +injustice of the time. + +He was a believer in God, and in some ingenious way excused this God for +allowing the Catholic Church to exist. He had an idea that, originally, +mankind were believers in one God, and practiced all the virtues. Of +course this was a mistake. He imagined that the church had corrupted the +human race. In this he was right. + +It may be that, at one time, the church relatively stood for progress, +but when it gained power, it became an obstruction. The system of +Voltaire was contradictory. He described a being of infinite goodness, +who not only destroyed his children with pestilence and famine, but +allowed them to destroy each other. While rejecting the God of the +Bible, he accepted another God, who, to say the least, allowed the +innocent to be burned for love of him. + +Voltaire hated tyranny, and loved liberty. His arguments to prove the +existence of a God were just as groundless as those of the reverend +fathers of his day to prove the divinity of Christ, or that Mary was the +mother of God. The theologians of his time maligned and feared him. He +regarded them as a spider does flies. He spread nets for them. They +were caught, and he devoured them for the amusement and benefit of the +public. He was educated by the Jesuits, and sometimes acted like one. + +It is fashionable to say that he was not profound, This is because he +was not stupid. In the presence of absurdity he laughed, and was called +irreverent. He thought God would not damn even a priest forever: this +was regarded as blasphemy. He endeavored to prevent Christians from +murdering each other and did what he could to civilize the disciples +of Christ. Had he founded a sect, obtained control of some country, and +burned a few heretics at slow fires, he would have won the admiration, +respect and love of the Christian world. Had he only pretended to +believe all the fables of antiquity, had he mumbled Latin prayers, +counted beads, crossed himself, devoured the flesh of God, and carried +fagots to the feet of philosophy in the name of Christ, he might have +been in heaven this moment, enjoying a sight of the damned. + +Instead of doing these things, he willfully closed his eyes to the light +of the gospel, examined the Bible for himself, advocated intellectual +liberty, struck from the brain the fetters of an arrogant faith, +assisted the weak, cried out against the torture of man, appealed to +reason, endeavored to establish universal toleration, succored the +indigent, and defended the oppressed. + +These were his crimes. Such a man God would not suffer to die in peace. +If allowed to meet death with a smile, others might follow his example, +until none would be left to light the holy fires of the auto da fe. It +would not do for so great, so successful an enemy of the church, to +die without leaving some shriek of fear, some shudder of remorse, some +ghastly prayer of chattered horror, uttered by lips covered with blood +and foam. + +He was an old man of eighty-four. He had been surrounded with the +comforts of life; he was a man of wealth, of genius. Among the literary +men of the world he stood first. God had allowed him to have the +appearance of success. His last years were filled with the intoxication +of flattery. He stood at the summit of his age. + +The priests became anxious. They began to fear that God would forget, in +a multiplicity of business, to make a terrible example of Voltaire. + +Toward the last of May, 1778, it was whispered in Paris that Voltaire +was dying. Upon the fences of expectation gathered the unclean birds of +superstition, impatiently waiting for their prey. + +"Two days before his death, his nephew went to seek the curé of Saint +Sulpice and the Abbé Gautier and brought them into his uncle's sick +chamber, who was informed that they were there. 'Ah, well!' said +Voltaire, 'give them my compliments and my thanks.' The Abbé spoke some +words to him, exhorting him to patience. The curé of Saint Sulpice then +came forward, having announced himself, and asked of Voltaire, elevating +his voice, if he acknowledged the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. The +sick man pushed one of his hands against the curé's coif, shoving him +back, and cried, turning abruptly to the other side, 'Let me die in +peace.' The curé seemingly considered his person soiled, and his coif +dishonored, by the touch of the philosopher. He made the nurse give him +a little brushing, and went out with the Abbé Gautier." + +He expired, says Wagniere, on the 30th of May, 1778, at about a quarter +past eleven at night, with the most perfect tranquillity. Ten minutes +before his last breath he took the hand of Morand, his _valet de +chambre_, who was watching by him, pressed it and said: "Adieu, my dear +Morand, I am gone." These were his last words. + +From this death, so simple and serene, so natural and peaceful; from +these words so utterly destitute of cant or dramatic touch, all the +frightful pictures, all the despairing utterances, have been drawn and +made. From these materials, and from these alone, have been constructed +all the shameless lies about The death of this great and wonderful man, +compared with whom all of his calumniators, dead and living, were and +are but dust and vermin. + +Voltaire was the intellectual autocrat of his time. From his throne at +the foot of the Alps he pointed the finger of scorn at every hypocrite +in Europe. He was the pioneer of his century. He was the assassin of +superstition. He left the quiver of ridicule without an arrow. Through +the shadows of faith and fable, through the darkness of myth and +miracle, through the midnight of Christianity, through the blackness of +bigotry, past cathedral and dungeon, past rack and stake, past altar and +throne, he carried, with chivalric hands, the sacred torch of reason. + + +DIDEROT. + +DOUBT IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARD TRUTH. + +DIDEROT was born in 1713. His parents were in what may be called the +humbler walks of life. Like Voltaire he was educated by the Jesuits. He +had in him something of the vagabond, and was for several years almost a +beggar in Paris. He was endeavoring to live by his pen. In that day and +generation, a man without a patron, endeavoring to live by literature, +was necessarily almost a beggar. He nearly starved--frequently going for +days without food. Afterward, when he had something himself, he was as +generous as the air. No man ever was more willing to give, and no man +less willing to receive, than Diderot. + +He wrote upon all conceivable subjects, that he might have bread. He +even wrote sermons, and regretted it all his life. He and D'Alembert +were the life and soul of the Encyclopaedia. With infinite enthusiasm he +helped to gather the knowledge of the world for the use of each and all. +He harvested the fields of thought, separated the grain from the +straw and chaff, and endeavored to throw away the seeds and fruit of +superstition. His motto was, "_Incredulity is the first step towards +philosophy_." + +He had the vices of most Christians--was nearly as immoral as the +majority of priests. His vices he shared in common, his virtues were his +own. All who knew him united in saying that he had the pity of a woman, +the generosity of a prince, the self-denial of an anchorite, the courage +of Cæsar, and the enthusiasm of a poet. He attacked with every power +of his mind the superstition of his day. He said what he thought. The +priests hated him. He was in favor of universal education--the church +despised it. He wished to put the knowledge of the whole world within +reach of the poorest. + +He wished to drive from the gate of the Garden of Eden the cherubim of +superstition, so that the child of Adam might return to eat once more +the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Every Catholic was his enemy. His +poor little desk was ransacked by the police searching for manuscripts +in which something might be found that would justify the imprisonment of +such a dangerous man. Whoever, in 1750, wished to increase the knowledge +of mankind was regarded as the enemy of social order. + +The intellectual superstructure of France rests upon the Encyclopaedia. +The knowledge given to the people was the impulse, the commencement, +of the revolution that left the church without an altar and the king +without a throne. Diderot thought for himself, and bravely gave his +thoughts to others. For this reason he was regarded as a criminal. He +did not expect his reward in another world. He did not do what he did to +please some imaginary God. He labored for mankind. He wished to lighten +the burdens of those who should live after him. Hear these noble words: + +"The more man ascends through the past, and the more he launches into +the future, the greater he will be, and all these philosophers and +ministers and truth-telling men who have fallen victims to the stupidity +of nations, the atrocities of priests, the fury of tyrants, what +consolation was left for them in death? This: That prejudice would +pass, and that posterity would pour out the vial of ignominy upon +their enemies. O Posterity! Holy and sacred stay of the unhappy and +the oppressed; thou who art just, thou who art incorruptible, thou who +findest the good man, who unmaskest the hypocrite, who breakest down +the tyrant, may thy sure faith, thy consoling faith never, never abandon +me!" Posterity is for the philosopher what the other world is for the +devotee. + +Diderot took the ground that, if orthodox religion be true Christ was +guilty of suicide. Having the power to defend himself he should have +used it. + +Of course it would not do for the church to allow a man to die in +peace who had added to the intellectual wealth of the world. The moment +Diderot was dead, Catholic priests began painting and recounting the +horrors of his expiring moments. They described him as overcome with +remorse, as insane with fear; and these falsehoods have been repeated +by the Protestant world, and will probably be repeated by thousands of +ministers after we are dead. The truth is, he had passed his three-score +years and ten. He had lived for seventy-one years. He had eaten his +supper. He had been conversing with his wife. He was reclining in +his easy chair. His mind was at perfect rest. He had entered, without +knowing it, the twilight of his last day. Above the horizon was the +evening star, telling of sleep. The room grew still and the stillness +was lulled by the murmur of the street. There were a few moments of +perfect peace. The wife said, "He is asleep." She enjoyed his repose, +and breathed softly that he might not be disturbed. The moments wore on, +and still he slept. Lovingly, softly, at last she touched him. Yes, he +was asleep. He had become a part of the eternal silence. + + +DAVID HUME. + +THE worst religion of the world was the Presbyterianism of Scotland as +it existed in the beginning of the eighteenth century. The Kirk had all +the faults of the Church of Rome without a redeeming feature. The Kirk +hated music, painting, statuary, and architecture. Anything touched with +humanity--with the dimples of joy--was detested and accursed. God was to +be feared--not loved. + +Life was a long battle with the Devil. Every desire was of Satan. +Happiness was a snare, and human love was wicked, weak and vain. The +Presbyterian priest of Scotland was as cruel, bigoted and heartless as +the familiar of the Inquisition. + +One case will tell it all: + +In the beginning of this, the nineteenth century, a boy seventeen +years of age, Thomas Aikenhead, was indicted and tried at Edinburgh for +blasphemy. He had denied the inspiration of the Bible. He had on several +occasions, when cold, jocularly wished himself in hell that he might get +warm. The poor, frightened boy recanted--begged for mercy; but he was +found guilty, hanged, thrown in a hole at the foot of the scaffold, +and his weeping mother vainly begged that his bruised and bleeding body +might be given to her. + +This one case, multiplied again and again, gives you the condition of +Scotland when, on the 26th of April, 1711, David Hume was born. + +David Hume was one of the few Scotchmen of his day who were not owned +by the church. He had the manliness to examine historical and religious +questions for himself, and the courage to give his conclusions to +the world. He was singularly capable of governing himself. He was a +philosopher, and lived a calm and cheerful life, unstained by an +unjust act, free from all excess, and devoted in a reasonable degree to +benefiting his fellow-men. After examining the Bible he became convinced +that it was not true. For failing to suppress his real opinion, for +failing to tell a deliberate falsehood, he brought upon himself the +hatred of the church. + +Intellectual honesty is the sin against the Holy Ghost, and whether God +will forgive this sin or not his church has not, and never will. + +Hume took the ground that a miracle could not be used as evidence until +the fact that it had happened was established. But how can a miracle be +established? Take any miracle recorded in the Bible, and how could it be +established now? You may say: Upon the testimony of those who wrote +the account. Who were they? No one knows. How could you prove +the resurrection of Lazarus? Or of the widow's son? How could you +substantiate, today, the ascension of Jesus Christ? In what way could +you prove that the river Jordan was divided upon being struck by the +coat of a prophet? How is it possible now to establish the fact that the +fires of a furnace refused to burn three men? Where are the witnesses? +Who, upon the whole earth, has the slightest knowledge upon this +subject? + +He insisted that at the bottom of all good was the useful; that human +happiness was an end worth working and living for; that origin +and destiny were alike unknown; that the best religion was to live +temperately and to deal justly with our fellow-men; that the dogma of +inspiration was absurd, and that an honest man had nothing to fear. Of +course the Kirk hated him. He laughed at the creed. + +To the lot of Hume fell ease, respect, success, and honor. While many +disciples of God were the sport and prey of misfortune, he kept steadily +advancing. + +Envious Christians bided their time. They waited as patiently as +possible for the horrors of death to fall upon the heart and brain of +David Hume. They knew that all the furies would be there, and that God +would get his revenge. + +Adam Smith, author of the "Wealth of Nations," speaking of Hume in his +last sickness, says that in the presence of death "his cheerfulness was +so great, and his conversation and amusements ran so much in the usual +strain, that, notwithstanding all his bad symptoms, many people could +not believe he was dying. A few days before his death Hume said: 'I am +dying as fast as my enemies--if I have any--could wish, and as easily +and tranquilly as my best friends could desire.'" + +Col. Edmondstoune shortly afterward wrote Hume a letter, of which the +following is an extract: + +"My heart is full. I could not see you this morning. I thought it was +better for us both. You cannot die--you must live in the memory of your +friends and acquaintances; and your works will render you immortal. I +cannot conceive that it was possible for any one to dislike you, or hate +you. He must be more than savage who could be an enemy to a man with the +best head and heart and the most amiable manners." + +Adam Smith happened to go into his room while he was reading the above +letter, which he immediately showed him. Smith said to Hume that he was +sensible of how much he was weakening, and that appearances were in many +respects bad; yet, that his cheerfulness was so great and the spirit of +life still seemed to be so strong in him, that he could not keep from +entertaining some hopes. + +Hume answered, "When I lie down in the evening I feel myself weaker than +when I arose in the morning; and when I rise in the morning, weaker than +when I lay down in the evening. I am sensible, besides, that some of my +vital parts are affected so that I must soon die." + +"Well," said Mr. Smith, "if it must be so, you have at least the +satisfaction of leaving all your friends, and the members of your +brother's family in particular, in great prosperity." + +He replied that he was so sensible of his situation that when he was +reading Lucian's Dialogues of the Dead, among all the excuses which are +alleged to Charon for not entering readily into his boat, he could not +find one that fitted him. He had no house to finish; he had no daughter +to provide for; he had no enemies upon whom he wished to revenge +himself; "and I could not well," said he, "imagine what excuse I could +make to Charon in order to obtain a little delay. I have done everything +of consequence which I ever meant to do, and I could, at no time expect +to leave my relations and friends in a better situation than that in +which I am now likely to leave them; and I have, therefore, every reason +to die contented." + +"Upon further consideration," said he, "I thought I might say to him, +'Good Charon, I have been correcting my works for a new edition. +Allow me a little time that I may see how the public receives the +alterations.' 'But,' Charon would answer, 'when you have seen the effect +of this, you will be for making other alterations. There will be no +end to such excuses; so, my honest friend, please step into the boat.' +'But,' I might still urge, 'have a little patience, good Charon; I have +been endeavoring to open the eyes of the public; if I live a few years +longer, I may have the satisfaction of seeing the downfall of some of +the prevailing systems of superstition.' And Charon would then lose all +temper and decency, and would cry out, 'You loitering rogue, that will +not happen these many hundred years. Do you fancy I will grant you a +lease for so long a time? Get into the boat this instant.'" + +To the Comtesse de Boufflers, the dying man, with the perfect serenity +that springs from an honest and loving life, writes: + +"I see death approach gradually without any anxiety or regret.... I +salute you with great affection and regard, for the last time." + +On the 25th of August, 1776, the philosopher, the historian, the +infidel, the honest man, and a benefactor of his race, in the composure +born of a noble life, passed quietly and panglessly away. + +Dr. Black wrote the following account of his death: + +"Monday, 26 August, 1776. + +"Dear Sir: Yesterday, about four o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Hume +expired. The near approach of his death became evident on the evening +between Thursday and Friday, when his disease became exhaustive, and +soon weakened him so much that he could no longer rise from his bed. +He continued to the last perfectly sensible, and free from much pain +or feeling of distress. He never dropped the smallest expression of +impatience; but when he had occasion to speak to the people about him, +always did it with affection and tenderness.... When he became very +weak, it cost him an effort to speak, and he died in such happy +composure of mind that nothing could exceed it." + +Dr. Cullen writes Dr. Hunter on the 17th of September, 1776, from which +the following extracts are made: + +"You desire an account of Mr. Hume's last days, and I give it to you +with great pleasure.... It was truly an example _des grands hommes qui +sont morts en plaisantant_; and to me, who have been so often shocked +with the horrors of superstition, the reflection on such a death is +truly agreeable. For many weeks before his death he was very sensible +of his gradual decay; and his answer to inquiries after his health was, +several times, that he was going as fast as his enemies could wish, and +as easily as his friends could desire. He passed most of the time in his +drawing-room, admitting the visits of his friends, and with his usual +spirit conversed with them upon literature and politics and whatever +else was started. In conversation he seemed to be perfectly at ease; +and to the last abounded with that pleasantry and those curious and +entertaining anecdotes which ever distinguished him.... His senses and +judgment did not fail him to the last hour of his life. He constantly +discovered a strong sensibility of the attention and care of his +friends; and midst great uneasiness and languor never betrayed any +peevishness or impatience." (Here follows the conversation with Charon.) +"These are a few particulars which may, perhaps, appear trivial; but to +me, no particulars seem trivial which relate to so great a man. It is +perhaps from trifles that we can best distinguish the tranquilness and +cheerfulness of the philosopher at a time when the most part of mankind +are under disquiet, and sometimes even horror. I consider the sacrifice +of the cock as a more certain evidence of the tranquillity of Socrates +than his discourse on immortality." + +The Christians took it for granted that this serene and placid man died +filled with remorse for having given his real opinions, and proceeded to +describe, with every incident and detail of horror, the terrors of his +last moments. Brainless clergymen, incapable of understanding what Hume +had written, knowing only in a general way that he had held their creeds +in contempt, answered his arguments by maligning his character. + +Christians took it for granted that he died in horror and recounted the +terrible scenes. + +When the facts of his death became generally known to intelligent men, +the ministers redoubled their efforts to maintain the old calumnies, +and most of them are in this employment even unto this day. Finding it +impossible to tell enough falsehoods to hide the truth, a few of the +more intelligent among the priests admitted that Hume not only died +without showing any particular fear, but was guilty of unbecoming +levity. The first charge was that he died like a coward; the next that +he did not care enough, and went through the shadowy doors of the +dread unknown with a smile upon his lips. The dying smile of David Hume +scandalized the believers in a God of love. They felt shocked to see +a man dying without fear who denied the miracles of the Bible; who had +spent a life investigating the opinions of men; in endeavoring to prove +to the world that the right way is the best way; that happiness is +a real and substantial good, and that virtue is not a termagant with +sunken cheeks and hollow eyes. + +Christians hated to admit that a philosopher had died serenely without +the aid of superstition--one who had taught that man could not make God +happy by making himself miserable, and that a useful life, after all, +was the best possible religion. They imagined that death would fill such +a man with remorse and terror. He had never persecuted his fellow-men +for the honor of God, and must needs die in despair. They were mistaken. + +He died as he had lived. Like a peaceful river with green and shaded +banks he passed, without a murmur, into that waveless sea where life at +last is rest. + + +BENEDICT SPINOZA. + +ONE of the greatest thinkers was Benedict Spinoza, a Jew, born at +Amsterdam, in 1632. He studied medicine and afterward theology. He +endeavored to understand what he studied. In theology he necessarily +failed. Theology is not intended to be understood,--it is only to be +believed. It is an act, not of reason, but of faith. Spinoza put to the +rabbis so many questions, and so persistently asked for reasons, that +he became the most troublesome of students. When the rabbis found +it impossible to answer the questions, they concluded to silence the +questioner. He was tried, found guilty, and excommunicated from the +synagogue. + +By the terrible curse of the Jewish religion, he was made an outcast +from every Jewish home. His father could not give him shelter. His +mother could not give him bread--could not speak to him, without +becoming an outcast herself. All the cruelty of Jehovah, all the +infamy of the Old Testament, was in this curse. In the darkness of the +synagogue the rabbis lighted their torches, and while pronouncing the +curse, extinguished them in blood, imploring God that in like manner the +soul of Benedict Spinoza might be extinguished. + +Spinoza was but twenty-four years old when he found himself without +kindred, without friends, surrounded only by enemies. He uttered no +complaint. + +He earned his bread with willing hands, and cheerfully divided his crust +with those still poorer than himself. + +He tried to solve the problem of existence. To him, the universe was +One. The Infinite embraced the All. The All was God. According to his +belief, the universe did not commence to be. It is; from eternity it +was; to eternity it will be. + +He was right. The universe is all there is, or was, or will be. It is +both subject and object, contemplator and contemplated, creator and +created, destroyer and destroyed, preserver and preserved, and hath +within itself all causes, modes, motions and effects. + +In this there is hope. This is a foundation and a star. The Infinite +is the All. Without the All, the Infinite cannot be. I am something. +Without me, the Infinite cannot exist. + +Spinoza was a naturalist--that is to say, a pantheist. He took the +ground that the supernatural is, and forever will be, an infinite +impossibility. His propositions are luminous as stars, and each of his +demonstrations is a Gibraltar, behind which logic sits and smiles at all +the sophistries of superstition. + +Spinoza has been hated because he has not been answered. He was a +real republican. He regarded the people as the true and only source of +political power. He put the state above the church, the people above +the priest. He believed in the absolute liberty of worship, thought and +speech. In every relation of life he was just, true, gentle, patient, +modest and loving. He respected the rights of others, and endeavored to +enjoy his own, and yet he brought upon himself the hatred of the Jewish +and the Christian world. In his day, logic was blasphemy, and to think +was the unpardonable sin. The priest hated the philosopher, revelation +reviled reason, and faith was the sworn foe of every fact. + +Spinoza was a philosopher, a philanthropist. He lived in a world of his +own. He avoided men. His life was an intellectual solitude. He was a +mental hermit. Only in his own brain he found the liberty he loved. And +yet the rabbis and the priests, the ignorant zealot and the cruel bigot, +feeling that this quiet, thoughtful, modest man was in some way forging +weapons to be used against the church, hated him with all their hearts. + +He did not retaliate. He found excuses for their acts. Their ignorance, +their malice, their misguided and revengeful zeal excited only pity in +his breast. He injured no man. He did not live on alms. He was poor--and +yet, with the wealth of his brain, he enriched the world. On Sunday, +February 21, 1677, Spinoza, one of the greatest and subtlest of +metaphysicians--one of the noblest and purest of human beings,--at the +age of forty-four, passed tranquilly away; and notwithstanding the curse +of the synagogue under which he had lived and most lovingly labored, +death left upon his lips the smile of perfect peace. + + +OUR INFIDELS. + +IN our country there were three infidels--Paine, Franklin and Jefferson. +The colonies were filled with superstition, the Puritans with the spirit +of persecution. Laws savage, ignorant and malignant had been passed in +every colony, for the purpose of destroying intellectual liberty. +Mental freedom was absolutely unknown. The Toleration Acts of +Maryland tolerated only Christians--not infidels, not thinkers, not +investigators. The charity of Roger Williams was not extended to those +who denied the Bible, or suspected the divinity of Christ. It was not +based upon the rights of man, but upon the rights of believers, who +differed in non-essential points. + +The moment the colonies began to deny the rights of the king they +suspected the power of the priest. In digging down to find an excuse for +fighting George the Third, they unwittingly undermined the church. They +went through the Revolution together. They found that all denominations +fought equally well. They also found that persons without religion had +patriotism and courage, and were willing to die that a new nation might +be born. As a matter of fact the pulpit was not in hearty sympathy with +our fathers. Many priests were imprisoned because they would not pray +for the Continental Congress. After victory had enriched our standard, +and it became necessary to make a constitution--to establish a +government--the infidels--the men like Paine, like Jefferson, and +like Franklin, saw that the church must be left out; that a government +deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed could make no +contract with a church pretending to derive its powers from an infinite +God. + +By the efforts of these infidels, the name of God was left out of the +Constitution of the United States. They knew that if an infinite being +was put in, no room would be left for the people. They knew that if +any church was made the mistress of the state, that mistress, like all +others, would corrupt, weaken, and destroy. Washington wished a church +established by law in Virginia. He was prevented by Thomas Jefferson. It +was only a little while ago that people were compelled to attend church +by law in the Eastern States, and taxes were raised for the support of +churches the same as for the construction of highways and bridges. The +great principle enunciated in the Constitution has silently repealed +most of these laws. In the presence of this great instrument, the +constitutions of the States grew small and mean, and in a few years +every law that puts a chain upon the mind, except in Delaware, will be +repealed, and for these our children may thank the Infidels of 1776. + +The church never has pretended that Jefferson or Franklin died in fear. +Franklin wrote no books against the fables of the ancient Jews. He +thought it useless to cast the pearls of thought before the swine of +ignorance and fear. Jefferson was a statesman. He was the father of a +great party. He gave his views in letters and to trusted friends. He +was a Virginian, author of the Declaration of Independence, founder of a +university, father of a political party, President of the United +States, a statesman and philosopher. He was too powerful for the divided +churches of his day. Paine was a foreigner, a citizen of the world. He +had attacked Washington and the Bible. He had done these things openly, +and what he had said could not be answered. His arguments were so good +that his character was bad. + + +THOMAS PAINE + +THOMAS PAINE was born in Thetford, England. He came from the common +people. At the age of thirty-seven he left England for America. He +was the first to perceive the destiny of the New World. He wrote the +pamphlet "Common Sense," and in a few months the Continental Congress +declared the colonies free and independent States--a new nation was +born. Paine having aroused the spirit of independence, gave every energy +of his soul to keep the spirit alive. He was with the army. He shared +its defeats and its glory. When the situation became desperate, he gave +them "The Crisis." It was a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, +leading the way to freedom, honor, and to victory. + +The writings of Paine are gemmed with compact statements that carry +conviction to the dullest. Day and night he labored for America, until +there was a government of the people and for the people. At the close +of the Revolution, no one stood higher than Thomas Paine. Had he been +willing to live a hypocrite, he would have been respectable, he at least +could have died surrounded by other hypocrites, and at his death there +would have been an imposing funeral, with miles of carriages, filled +with hypocrites, and above his hypocritical dust there would have been a +hypocritical monument covered with lies. + +Having done so much for man in America, he went to France. The seeds +sown by the great infidels were bearing fruit in Europe. The eighteenth +century was crowning its gray hairs with the wreath of progress. +Upon his arrival in France he was elected a member of the French +Convention--in fact, he was selected about the same time by the people +of no less than four Departments. He was one of the committee to draft +a constitution for France. In the Assembly, where nearly all were +demanding the execution of the king, he had the courage to vote against +death. To vote against the death of the king was to vote against his own +life. This was the sublimity of devotion to principle. For this he +was arrested, imprisoned, and doomed to death. While under sentence of +death, while in the gloomy cell of his prison, Thomas Paine wrote to +Washington, asking him to say one word to Robespierre in favor of the +author of "Common Sense." Washington did not reply. He wrote again. +Washington, the President, paid no attention to Thomas Paine, the +prisoner. The letter was thrown into the wastebasket of forgetfulness, +and Thomas Paine remained condemned to death. Afterward he gave his +opinion of Washington at length, and I must say, that I have never found +it in my heart to greatly blame him. + +Thomas Paine, having done so much for political liberty, turned his +attention to the superstitions of his age. He published "The Age of +Reason;" and from that day to this, his character has been maligned by +almost every priest in Christendom. He has been held up as the terrible +example. Every man who has expressed an honest thought, has been +warningly referred to Thomas Paine. All his services were forgotten. No +kind word fell from any pulpit. His devotion to principle, his zeal for +human rights, were no longer remembered. Paine simply took the ground +that it is a contradiction to call a thing a revelation that comes to us +second-hand. There can be no revelation beyond the first communication. +All after that is hearsay. He also showed that the prophecies of the Old +Testament had no relation whatever to Jesus Christ, and contended that +Jesus Christ was simply a man. In other words, Paine was an enlightened +Unitarian. Paine thought the Old Testament too barbarous to have been +the work of an infinitely benevolent God. He attacked the doctrine that +salvation depends upon belief. He insisted that every man has the right +to think. + +After the publication of these views every falsehood that malignity +could coin and malice pass was given to the world. On his return to +America, after the election to the presidency of another infidel, Thomas +Jefferson, it was not safe for him to appear in the public streets. He +was in danger of being mobbed. Under the very flag he had helped to put +in heaven his rights were not respected. Under the Constitution that he +had suggested, his life was insecure. He had helped to give liberty to +more than three millions of his fellow-citizens, and they were willing +to deny it unto him. He was deserted, ostracized, shunned, maligned, and +cursed. He enjoyed the seclusion of a leper; but he maintained through +it all his integrity. He stood by the convictions of his mind. Never for +one moment did he hesitate or waver. + +He died almost alone. The moment he died Christians commenced +manufacturing horrors for his death-bed. They had his chamber filled +with devils rattling chains, and these ancient lies are annually +certified to by the respectable Christians of the present day. The truth +is, he died as he had lived. Some ministers were impolite enough to +visit him against his will. Several of them he ordered from his room. +A couple of Catholic priests, in all the meekness of hypocrisy, called +that they might enjoy the agonies of a dying friend of man. Thomas +Paine, rising in his bed, the few embers of expiring life blown into +flame by the breath of indignation, had the goodness to curse them both. +His physician, who seems to have been a meddling fool, just as the cold +hand of death was touching the patriot's heart, whispered in the dull +ear of the dying man: "Do you believe, or do you wish to believe, that +Jesus Christ is the son of God?" And the reply was: "I have no wish to +believe on that subject." + +These were the last remembered words of Thomas Paine. He died as +serenely as ever Christian passed away. He died in the full possession +of his mind, and on the very brink and edge of death proclaimed the +doctrines of his life. + +Every Christian, every philanthropist, every believer in human liberty, +should feel under obligation to Thomas Paine for the splendid service +rendered by him in the darkest days of the American Revolution. In the +midnight of Valley Forge, "The Crisis" was the first star that glittered +in the wide horizon of despair. Every good man should remember +with gratitude the brave words spoken by Thomas Paine in the French +Convention against the death of Louis. He said: "We will kill the king, +but not the man. We will destroy monarchy, not the monarch." + +Thomas Paine was a champion, in both hemispheres, of human liberty; one +of the founders and fathers of this Republic; one of the foremost men of +his age. He never wrote a word in favor of injustice. He was a despiser +of slavery. He abhorred tyranny in every form. He was, in the widest and +best sense, a friend of all his race. His head was as clear as his heart +was good, and he had the courage to speak his honest thought. + +He was the first man to write these words: "The United States of +America." He proposed the present Federal Constitution. He furnished +every thought that now glitters in the Declaration of Independence. + +He believed in one God and no more. He was a believer even in special +providence, and he hoped for immortality. + +How can the world abhor the man who said: + +"I believe in the equality of man, and that religious duties consist +in doing justice, in loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our +fellow-creatures happy."-- + +"It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to +himself."-- + +"The word of God is the creation which we behold."-- + +"Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man."-- + +"My opinion is, that those whose lives have been spent in doing good +and endeavoring to make their fellow-mortals happy, will be happy +hereafter."-- + +"One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests."-- + +"I believe in one God, and no more, and I hope for happiness beyond this +life."-- + +"Man has no property in man"--and "The key of heaven is not in the +keeping of any sect!" + +Had it not been for Thomas Paine I could not deliver this lecture here +to-night.. + +It is still fashionable to calumniate this man--and yet Channing, +Theodore Parker, Longfellow, Emerson, and in fact all the liberal +Unitarians and Universalists of the world have adopted the opinions of +Thomas Paine. + +Let us compare these Infidels with the Christians of their time: + +Compare Julian with Constantine,--the murderer of his wife,--the +murderer of his son,--and who established Christianity with the same +sword he had wet with their blood. Compare him with all the Christian +emperors--with all the robbers and murderers and thieves--the parricides +and fratricides and matricides that ever wore the imperial purple on the +banks of the Tiber or the shores of the Bosphorus. + +Let us compare Bruno with the Christians who burned him; and we will +compare Spinoza, Voltaire, Diderot, Hume, Jefferson, Paine--with the men +who it is claimed have been the visible representatives of God. + +Let it be remembered that the popes have committed every crime of which +human nature is capable, and that not one of them was the friend of +intellectual liberty--that not one of them ever shed one ray of light. + +Let us compare these Infidels with the founders of sectarian churches; +you will see how narrow, how bigoted, how cruel were their founders, and +how broad, how generous, how noble, were these infidels. + +Let us be honest. The great effort of the human mind is to ascertain the +order of facts by which we are surrounded--the history of things. + +Who has accomplished the most in this direction--the church, or +the unbelievers? Upon one side write all that the church has +discovered--every phenomenon that has been explained by a creed, every +new fact in Nature that has been discovered by a church, and on the +other side write the discoveries of Humboldt, and the observations and +demonstrations of Darwin! + +Who has made Germany famous--her priests, or her scientists? + + +Goethe. + +Kant: That immortal man who said: "Whoever thinks that he can please +God in any way except by discharging his obligations to his fellows, is +superstitious." + +And that greatest and bravest of thinkers, Ernst + +Haeckel. + +Humboldt. + +Italy:--Mazzini. Garibaldi. + +In France who are and were the friends of freedom--the Catholic priests, +or Renan? the bishops, or Gambetta?--Dupanloup, or Victor Hugo? + +Michelet--Taine--Auguste Comte. + +England:--Let us compare her priests with John Stuart Mill,--Harriet +Martineau, that "free rover on the breezy common of the +universe."--George Eliot--with Huxley and Tyndall, with Holyoake and +Harrison--and above and over all--with Charles Darwin. + + +CONCLUSION. + +LET us be honest. Did all the priests of Rome increase the mental wealth +of man as much as Bruno? Did all the priests of France do as great a +work for the civilization of the world as Diderot and Voltaire? Did all +the ministers of Scotland add as much to the sum of human knowledge as +David Hume? Have all the clergymen, monks, friars, ministers, priests, +bishops, cardinals and popes, from the day of Pentecost to the last +election, done as much for human liberty as Thomas Paine?--as much for +science as Charles Darwin? + +What would the world be if infidels had never been? + +The infidels have been the brave and thoughtful men; the flower of all +the world; the pioneers and heralds of the blessed day of liberty and +love; the generous spirits of the unworthy past; the seers and +prophets of our race; the great chivalric souls, proud victors on the +battlefields of thought, the creditors of all the years to be. + +Why should it be taken for granted that the men who devoted their lives +to the liberation of their fellow-men should have been hissed at in +the hour of death by the snakes of conscience, while men who defended +slavery, practiced polygamy, justified the stealing of babes from +the breasts of mothers, and lashed the naked back of unpaid labor are +supposed to have passed smilingly from earth to the embraces of the +angels? Why should we think that the brave thinkers, the investigators, +the honest men, must have left the crumbling shore of time in dread +and fear, while the instigators of the massacre of St. Bartholomew; the +inventors and users of thumbscrews, of iron boots and racks; the burners +and tearers of human flesh; the stealers, the whippers and the enslavers +of men; the buyers and beaters of maidens, mothers, and babes; the +founders of the Inquisition; the makers of chains; the builders of +dungeons; the calumniators of the living; the slanderers of the +dead, and even the murderers of Jesus Christ, all died in the odor of +sanctity, with white, forgiven hands folded upon the breasts of peace, +while the destroyers of prejudice, the apostles of humanity, the +soldiers of liberty, the breakers of fetters, the creators of light, +died surrounded by the fierce fiends of God? + + + + +WHICH WAY? + +I. + +THERE are two ways,--the natural and the supernatural. + +One way is to live for the world we are in, to develop the brain by +study and investigation, to take, by invention, advantage of the forces +of nature, to the end that we may have good houses, raiment and food, to +the end that the hunger of the mind may be fed through art and science. + +The other way is to live for another world that we expect, to sacrifice +this life that we have for another that we know not of. The other way is +by prayer and ceremony to obtain the assistance, the protection of some +phantom above the clouds. + +One way is to think--to investigate, to observe, and follow the light of +reason. The other way is to believe, to accept, to follow, to deny the +authority of your own senses, your own reason, and bow down to those who +are impudent enough to declare that they know. + +One way is to live for the benefit of your fellow-men--for your wife +and children--to make those you love happy and to shield them from the +sorrows of life. + +The other way is to live for ghosts, goblins, phantoms and gods with the +hope that they will reward you in another world. + +One way is to enthrone reason and rely on facts, the other to crown +credulity and live on faith. + +One way is to walk by the light within--by the flame that illumines the +brain, verifying all by the senses--by touch and sight and sound. + +The other way is to extinguish the sacred light and follow blindly the +steps of another. + +One way is to be an honest man, giving to others your thought, standing +erect, intrepid, careless of phantoms and hells. + +The other way is to cringe and crawl, to betray your nobler self, and to +deprive others of the liberty that you have not the courage to enjoy. + +Do not imagine that I hate the ones who have taken the wrong side and +traveled the wrong road. + +Our fathers did the best they could. They believed in the Supernatural, +and they thought that sacrifices and prayer, fasting and weeping, would +induce the Supernatural to give them sunshine, rain and harvest--long +life in this world and eternal joy in another. To them, God was an +absolute monarch, quick to take offence, sudden in anger, terrible in +punishment, jealous, hateful to his enemies, generous to his favorites. +They believed also in the existence of an evil God, almost the equal +of the other God in strength, and a little superior in cunning. Between +these two Gods was the soul of man like a mouse between two paws. + +Both of these Gods inspired fear. Our fathers did not quite love God, +nor quite hate the Devil, but they were afraid of both. They really +wished to enjoy themselves with God in the next world and with the Devil +in this. They believed that the course of Nature was affected by their +conduct; that floods and storms, diseases, earthquakes and tempests were +sent as punishments, and that all good phenomena were rewards. + +Everything was under the direction and control of supernatural powers. +The air, the darkness, were filled with angels and devils; witches +and wizards planned and plotted against the pious--against the true +believers. Eclipses were produced by the sins of the people, and +the unusual was regarded as the miraculous. In the good old times +Christendom was an insane asylum, and insane priests and prelates were +the keepers. There was no science. The people did not investigate--did +not think. They trembled and believed. Ignorance and superstition ruled +the Christian world. + +At last a few began to observe, to make records, and to think. + +It was found that eclipses came at certain intervals, and that their +coming could be foretold. This demonstrated that the actions of men had +nothing to do with eclipses. A few began to suspect that earthquakes and +storms had natural causes, and happened without the slightest reference +to mankind. + +Some began to doubt the existence of evil spirits, or the interference +of good ones in the affairs of the world. Finding out something about +astronomy, the great number of the stars, the certain and continuous +motions of the planets, and the fact that many of them were vastly +larger than the earth; ascertaining something about the earth, the +slow development of forms, the growth and distribution of plants, the +formation of islands and continents, the parts played by fire, water +and air through countless centuries; the kinship of all life; fixing +the earth's place in the constellation of the sun; by experiment and +research discovering a few secrets of chemistry; by the invention of +printing, and the preservation and dissemination of facts, theories and +thoughts, they were enabled to break a few chains of superstition, to +free themselves a little from the dominion of the supernatural, and to +set their faces toward the light. Slowly the number of investigators and +thinkers increased, slowly the real facts were gathered, the sciences +began to appear, the old beliefs grew a little absurd, the supernatural +retreated and ceased to interfere in the ordinary affairs of men. + +Schools were founded, children were taught, books were printed and the +thinkers increased. Day by day confidence lessened in the supernatural, +and day by day men were more and more impressed with the idea that +man must be his own protector, his own providence. From the mists and +darkness of savagery and superstition emerged the dawn of the Natural. +A sense of freedom took possession of the mind, and the soul began to +dream of its power. On every side were invention and discovery, and +bolder thought. The church began to regard the friends of science as +its foes: Theologians resorted to chain and fagot--to mutilation and +torture. + +The thinkers were denounced as heretics and Atheists--as the minions +of Satan and the defamers of Christ. All the ignorance, prejudice and +malice of superstition were aroused and all united for the destruction +of investigation and thought. For centuries this conflict was waged. +Every outrage was perpetrated, every crime committed by the believers +in the supernatural. But, in spite of all, the disciples of the Natural +increased, and the power of the church waned. Now the intelligence of +the world is on the side of the Natural. Still the conflict goes on--the +supernatural constantly losing, and the Natural constantly gaining. In a +few years the victory of science over superstition will be complete and +universal. + +So, there have been for many centuries two philosophies of life; +one in favor of the destruction of the passions--the lessening of +wants,--and absolute reliance on some higher power; the other, in favor +of the reasonable gratification of the passions, the increase of wants, +and their supply by industry, ingenuity and invention, and the reliance +of man on his own efforts. Diogenes, Epictetus, Socrates to some extent, +Buddha and Christ, all taught the first philosophy. All despised riches +and luxury, all were the enemies of art and music, the despisers of +good clothes and good food and good homes. They were the philosophers +of poverty and rags, of huts and hovels, of ignorance and faith. They +preached the glories of another world and the miseries of this. They +derided the prosperous, the industrious, those who enjoyed life, and +reserved heaven for beggars. + +This philosophy is losing authority, and now most people are anxious +to be happy here in this life. Most people want food and roof and +raiment--books and pictures, luxury and leisure. They believe in +developing the brain--in making servants and slaves of the forces of +Nature. + +Now the intelligent men of the world have cast aside the teachings, +the philosophy of the ascetics. They no longer believe in the virtue of +fasting and self-torture. They believe that happiness is the only good, +and that the time to be happy is now--here, in this world. They no +longer believe in the rewards and punishments of the supernatural. They +believe in consequences, and that the consequences of bad actions are +evil, and the consequences of good actions are good. + +They believe that man by investigation, by reason, should find out the +conditions of happiness, and then live and act in accordance with +such conditions. They do not believe that earthquakes, or tempests, or +volcanoes, or eclipses are caused by the conduct of men. They no longer +believe in the supernatural. They do not regard themselves as the serfs, +servants, or favorites of any celestial king. They feel that many evils +can be avoided by knowledge, and for that reason they believe in the +development of the brain. The schoolhouse is their church and the +university their cathedral. + +So, there have been for some centuries two theories of government,--one +theological, the other secular. + +The king received his power directly from God. It was the business of +the people to obey. The priests received their creeds from God and it +was the duty of the people to believe. + +The theological government is growing somewhat unpopular. In England, +Parliament has taken the place of God, and in the United States, +government derives its powers from the consent of the governed. + +Probably Emperor William is the only man in Germany who really believes +that God placed him on the throne and will keep him there whether the +German people are satisfied or not. Italy has retired the Catholic God +from politics, France belongs to and is governed by the French, and +even in Russia there are millions who hold the Czar and all his divine +pretensions in contempt. + +The theological governments are passing away and the secular are slowly +taking their places. Man is growing greater and the Gods are becoming +vague and indistinct. These "divine" governments rest on the fear and +ignorance of the many, the cunning, the impudence and the mendacity of +the few. A secular government is born of the intelligence, the honesty +and the courage, not only of the few, but of the many. + +We have found that man can govern himself without the assistance of +priest or pope, of ghost or God. We have found that religion is not +self-evident, and that to believe without evidence is not a praiseworthy +action. We know that the self-evident is the square and compass of the +brain, the polar star in the firmament of mind. And we know that no +one denies the self-evident. We also know that there is no particular +goodness in believing when the evidence is sufficient, and certainly +there is' none in saying; that you believe when the evidence is +insufficient. + +The believers have not all been good. Some of the worst people in the +whole world have been believers. The gentlemen who made Socrates drink +hemlock were believers. The Jews who crucified Christ were believers in +and worshipers of God. The devil believes in the Trinity, the Father, +Son and Holy Ghost, and yet it does not seem to have affected his moral +character. According to the Bible, he trembles, but he does not reform. +At last we have concluded that we have a right to examine the religion +of our fathers. + + +II. + +ALL Christians know that all the gods, except Jehovah, were created by +man; that they were, and are, false, foolish and monstrous; that all the +heathen temples were built and all their altars erected in vain; that +the sacrifices were wasted, that the priests were hypocrites, that their +prayers were unanswered and that the poor people were deceived, robbed +and enslaved. But after all, is our God superior to the gods of the +heathen? + +We can ask this question now because we are prosperous, and prosperity +gives courage. If we should have a few earthquakes or a pestilence we +might fall on our knees, shut our eyes and ask the forgiveness of God +for ever having had a thought. We know that famine is the friend of +faith and that calamity is the sunshine of superstition. But as we have +no pestilence or famine, and as the crust of the earth is reasonably +quiet, we can afford to examine into the real character of our God. + +It must be admitted that the use of power is an excellent test of +character. + +Would a good God appeal to prejudice, the armor, fortress, sword and +shield of ignorance? to credulity, the ring in the priest-led nose +of stupidity? to fear, the capital stock of imposture, the lever of +hypocrisy? Would a good God frighten or enlighten his children? Would +a good God appeal to reason or ignorance, to justice or selfishness, to +liberty or the lash? + +To our first parents in the Garden of Eden, our God said nothing about +the sacredness of love, nothing about children, nothing about education, +about justice or liberty. + +After they had violated his command he became ferocious as a wild beast. +He cursed the earth and to Eve he said:--"I will greatly multiply thy +sorrow. In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children. Thy husband shall +rule over thee." + +Our God made love the slave of pain, made wives serfs, and brutalized +the firesides of the world. + +Our God drowned the whole world, with the exception of eight people; +made the earth one vast and shoreless sea covered with corpses. + +Why did he cover the world with men, women and children knowing that he +would destroy them? + +Why did he not try to reform them? Why would he create people, knowing +that they could not be reformed? + +Is it possible that our God was intelligent and good? + +After the flood our God selected the Jews and abandoned the rest of his +children. He paid no attention to the Hindoos, neglected the Egyptians, +ignored the Persians, forgot the Assyrians and failed to remember the +Greeks. And yet he was the father of them all. For many centuries he was +only a tribal God, protecting the few and despising the many. Our God +was ignorant, knew nothing of astronomy or geology. He did not even know +the shape of the earth, and thought the stars were only specks. + +He knew nothing of disease. He thought that the blood of a bird that had +been killed over running water was good medicine. He was revengeful and +cruel, and assisted some of his children to butcher and destroy others. +He commanded them to murder men, wives and children, and to keep alive +the maidens and distribute them among his soldiers. + +Our God established slavery--commanded men to buy their fellow-men, to +make merchandise of wives and babes. Our God sanctioned polygamy and +made wives the property of their husbands. Our God murdered the people +for the crimes of kings. + +No man of intelligence, no one whose brain has not been poisoned by +superstition, paralyzed by fear, can read the Old Testament without +being forced to the conclusion that our God was, a wild beast. + +If we must have a god, let him be merciful. Let us remember that "the +quality of mercy is not strained." Let us remember that when the sword +of Justice becomes a staff to support the weak, it bursts into blossom, +and that the perfume of that flower is the only incense, the only +offering, the only sacrifice that mercy will accept. + + +III. + +SO, there have been two theories about the cause and cure of disease. +One is the theological, the other the scientific. + +According to the theological idea, diseases were produced by evil +spirits, by devils who entered into the bodies of people. + +These devils could be cast out by prophets, inspired men and priests. + +While Christ was upon earth his principal business was to cast out evil +spirits. + +For many centuries the priests followed his example, and during the +Middle Ages millions of devils were driven from the bodies of men. +Diseases were cured with little images of consecrated pewter, with +pieces of paper, with crosses worn about the neck--by having plaster of +Paris Virgins and clay Christs at the head of the bed, by touching the +bones of dead saints, or pieces of the true cross, or one of the nails +that was driven through the flesh of Christ, or a garment that had been +worn by the Virgin Mary, or by sprinkling the breast with holy water, or +saying prayers, or counting beads, or making the stations of the cross, +or by going without meat, or wearing haircloth, or in some way torturing +the body. All diseases were supposed to be of supernatural origin +and all cures were of the same nature. Pestilences were stopped by +processions, led by priests carrying the Host. + +Nothing was known of natural causes and effects. Everything was +miraculous and mysterious. The priests were cunning and the people +credulous. + +Slowly another theory as to the cause and cure of disease took +possession of the mind. A few discarded the idea of devils, and took +the ground that diseases were naturally produced, and that many of them +could be cured by natural means. + +At first the physician was exceedingly ignorant, but he knew more than +the priest. Slowly but surely he pushed the priest from the bedside. +Some people finally became intelligent enough to trust their bodies to +the doctors, and remained ignorant enough to leave the care of their +souls with the priests. Among civilized people the theological theory +has been cast aside, and the miraculous, the supernatural, no longer has +a place in medicine. In Catholic countries the peasants are still cured +by images, prayers, holy water and the bones of saints, but when the +priests are sick they send for a physician, and now even the Pope, God's +agent, gives his sacred body to the care of a doctor. + +The scientific has triumphed to a great extent over the theological. + +No intelligent person now believes that devils inhabit the bodies +of men. No intelligent person now believes that devils are trying to +control the actions of men. No intelligent person now believes that +devils exist. + +And yet, at the present time, in the city of New York, Catholic priests +are exhibiting a piece of one of the bones of Saint Anne, the supposed +mother of the Virgin Mary. Some of these priests may be credulous +imbeciles and some may be pious rogues. If they have any real +intelligence they must know that there is no possible way of proving +that the piece of bone ever belonged to Saint Anne. And if they have any +real intelligence they must know that even the bones of Saint Anne were +substantially like the bones of other people, made of substantially +the same material, and that the medical and miraculous qualities of all +human bones must be substantially the same. And yet these priests are +obtaining from their credulous dupes thousands and thousands of dollars +for the privilege of seeing this bone and kissing the box that contains +the "sacred relic." + +Archbishop Corrigan knows that no one knows who the mother of the Virgin +Mary was, that no one knows about any of the bones of this unknown +mother, knows that the whole thing is a theological fraud, knows that +his priests, or priests under his jurisdiction, are obtaining money +under false pretences. Cardinal Gibbons knows the same, but neither of +these pious gentlemen has one word to say against this shameless crime. +They are willing that priests for the benefit of the church should make +merchandise of the hopes and fears of ignorant believers; willing that +fraud that produces revenue should live and thrive. + +This is the honesty of the theologian. If these gentlemen should +be taken sick they would not touch the relic. They would send for a +physician. + +Let me tell you a Japanese story that is exactly in point: + +An old monk was in charge of a monastery that had been built above the +bones of a saint. These bones had the power to cure diseases and they +were so placed that by thrusting the arm through an orifice they could +be touched by the hand of the pilgrim. Many people, afflicted in many +ways, came and touched these bones. Many thought they had been benefited +or cured, and many in gratitude left large sums of money with the monk. +One day the old monk addressed his assistant as follows: "My dear son, +business has fallen off, and I can easily attend to all who come. You +will have to find another place. I will give you the white donkey, a +little money, and my blessing." + +So the young man mounted upon the beast and went his way. In a few days +his money was gone and the white donkey died. An idea took possession of +the young man's mind. By the side of the road he buried the donkey, and +then to every passer-by held out his hands and said in solemn tones: "I +pray thee give me a little money to build a temple above the bones of +the sinless one." + +Such was his success that he built the temple, and then thousands came +to touch the bones of the sinless one. The young man became rich, gave +employment to many assistants and lived in the greatest luxury. + +One day he made up his mind to visit his old master. Taking with him a +large retinue of servants he started for the old home. When he +reached the place the old monk was seated by the doorway. With great +astonishment he looked at the young man and his retinue. The young man +dismounted and made himself known, and the old monk cried: "Where hast +thou been? Tell me, I pray thee, the story of thy success." + +"Ah," the young man replied, "old age is stupid, but youth has thoughts. +Wait until we are alone and I will tell you all." + +So that night the young man told his story, told about the death and +burial of the donkey, the begging of money to build a temple over the +bones of the sinless one, and of the sums of money he had received for +the cures the bones had wrought. + +When he finished a satisfied smile crept over his pious face as he +added: "Old age is stupid, but youth has thoughts." + +"Be not so fast," said the old monk, as he placed his trembling hand on +the head of his visitor, "Young man, this monastery in which your youth +was passed, in which you have seen so many miracles performed, so many +diseases cured, was built above the sacred bones of the mother of your +little jackass." + + +IV. + +THERE are two ways of accounting for the sacred books and religions of +the world. + +One is to say that the sacred books were written by inspired men, and +that our religion was revealed to us by God. + +The other is to say that all books have been written by men, without any +aid from supernatural powers, and that all religions have been naturally +produced. + +We find that other races and peoples have sacred books and prophets, +priests and Christs; we find too that their sacred books were written by +men who had the prejudices and peculiarities of the race to which they +belonged, and that they contain the mistakes and absurdities peculiar to +the people who produced them. + +Christians are perfectly satisfied that all the so-called sacred books, +with the exception of the Old and New Testaments, were written by men, +and that the claim of inspiration is perfectly absurd. So they believe +that all religions, except Judaism and Christianity, were invented +by men. The believers in other religions take the ground that their +religion was revealed by God, and that all others, including Judaism and +Christianity, were made by men. All are right and all are wrong. When +they say that "other" religions were produced by men, they are right; +when they say that their religion was revealed by God, they are wrong. + +Now we know that all tribes and nations have had some kind of religion; +that they have believed in the existence of good and evil beings, +spirits or powers, that could be softened by gifts or prayer. Now we +know that at the foundation of every religion, of all worship, is the +pale and bloodless face of fear. Now we know that all religions and all +sacred books have been naturally produced--all born of ignorance, fear +and cunning. + +Now we know that the gifts, sacrifices and prayers were all in vain; +that no god received and that no god heard or answered. + +A few years ago prayers decided the issue of battle, and priests, +through their influence with God, could give the victory. Now no +intelligent man expects any answer to prayer. He knows that nature +pursues her course without reference to the wishes of men, that the +clouds float, the winds blow, the rain falls and the sun shines without +regard to the human race. Yet millions are still praying, still hoping +that they can gain the protection of some god, that some being will +guard them from accident and disease. Year after year the ministers make +the same petitions, pray for the same things, and keep on in spite of +the fact that nothing is accomplished. + +Whenever good men do some noble thing the clergy give their God the +credit, and when evil things are done they hold the men who did the evil +responsible, and forget to blame their God. + +Praying has become a business, a profession, a trade, A minister is +never happier than when praying in public. Most of them are exceedingly +familiar with their God. Knowing that he knows everything, they tell him +the needs of the nation and the desires of the people, they advise him +what to do and when to do it. They appeal to his pride, asking him to do +certain things for his own glory. They often pray for the impossible. In +the House of Representatives in Washington I once heard a chaplain +pray for what he must have known was impossible. Without a change of +countenance, without a smile, with a face solemn as a sepulchre, he +said: "I pray thee, O God, to give Congress wisdom." It may be that +ministers really think that their prayers do good and it may be that +frogs imagine that their croaking brings spring. + +The men of thought now know that all religions and all sacred books have +been made by men; that no revelation has come from any being superior +to nature; that all the prophecies were either false or made after the +event; that no miracle ever was or ever will be performed; that no God +wants the worship or the assistance of man; that no-prayer has ever +coaxed one drop of rain from the sky, one ray of light from the sun; +that no prayer has stayed the flood, or the tides of the sea, or folded +the wings of the storm; that no prayer has given water to the cracked +and bleeding lips of thirst, or food to the famishing; that no prayer +has stopped the pestilence, stilled the earthquake or quieted the +volcano; that no prayer has shielded the innocent, succored the +oppressed, unlocked the dungeon's door, broke the chains of slaves, +rescued the good and noble from the scaffold, or extinguished the +fagot's flame. + +The intelligent man now knows that we live in a natural world, that gods +and devils and the sons of God are all phantoms, that our religion and +our Deity are much like the religion and deities of other nations, +and that the stone god of a savage answers prayer and protects his +worshipers precisely the same, and to just the same extent, as the +Father, Son and Holy Ghost. + + +V. + +THERE are two theories about morals. One theory is that the moral man +obeys the commands of a supposed God, without stopping to think whether +the commands are right or wrong. He believes that the will of the God is +the source and fountain of right. He thinks a thing is wrong because +the God prohibits it, not that the God prohibits it because it is wrong. +This theory calls not for thought, but for obedience. It does not appeal +to reason, but to the fear of punishment, the hope of reward. God is a +king whose will is law, and men are serfs and slaves. + +Many contend that without a belief in the existence of God morality is +impossible and that virtue would perish from the earth. + +This absurd theory, with its "Thus saith the Lord" has been claimed to +be independent of and superior to reason. + +The other theory is that right and wrong exist in the nature of things; +that certain actions preserve or increase the happiness of man, and that +other actions cause sorrow and misery; that all those actions that cause +happiness are moral, and that all others are evil, or indifferent. Right +and wrong are not revelations from some supposed god, but have been +discovered through the experience and intelligence of man. There is +nothing miraculous or supernatural about morality. Neither has morality +anything to do with another world, or with an infinite being. It applies +to conduct here, and the effect of that conduct on ourselves and others +determines its nature. + +In this world people are obliged to supply their wants by labor. +Industry is a necessity, and those who work are the natural enemies of +those who steal. + +It required no revelation from God to make larceny unpopular. Human +beings naturally object to being injured, maimed, or killed, and so +everywhere, and at all times, they have tried to protect themselves. + +Men did not require a revelation from God to put in their minds the +thought of self-preservation. To defend yourself when attacked is as +natural as to eat when you are hungry. + +To determine the quality of an action by showing that it is in +accordance with, or contrary to the command of some supposed God, is +superstition pure and simple. To test all actions by their consequences +is scientific and in accord with reason. + +According to the supernatural theory, natural consequences are not taken +into consideration. Actions are wrong because they have been prohibited +and right because they have been commanded. According to the Catholic +Church, eating meat on Friday is a sin that deserves eternal punishment. +And yet, in the nature of things, the consequences of eating meat on +that day must be exactly the same as eating meat on any other. So, +all the churches teach that unbelief is a crime, not in the nature of +things, but by reason of the will of God. + +Of course this is absurd and idiotic. If there be an infinite God he +cannot make that wrong which in the nature of things is right. Neither +can he make an action good the natural consequences of which are evil. +Even an infinite God cannot change a fact. In spite of him the relation +between the diameter and circumference of a circle would remain the +same. + +All the relations of things to things, of forces to forces, of acts to +acts, of causes to effects in the domain of what is called matter, +and in the realm of what is called mind, are just as certain, just as +unchangeable as the relation between the diameter and circumference of a +circle. + +An infinite God could not make ingratitude a virtue any easier than he +could make a square triangle. + +So, the foundations of the moral and the immoral are in the nature of +things--in the necessary relation between conduct and well-being, and +an infinite God cannot change these foundations, and cannot increase or +diminish the natural consequences of actions. + +In this world there is neither chance nor caprice, neither magic nor +miracle. Behind every event, every thought and dream, is the efficient, +the natural and necessary cause. + +The effort to make the will of a supposed God the foundation of +morality, has filled the world with misery and crime, extinguished in +millions of minds the light of reason, and in countless ways hindered +and delayed the progress of our race. + +Intelligent men now know, that if there be an infinite God, man cannot +in any way increase or decrease the happiness of such a being. They know +that man can only commit crimes against sentient beings who, to some +extent at least, are within his power, and that a crime by a finite +being against an infinite being is an infinite impossibility. + + +VI. + +FOR many thousands of years man has believed in and sought for the +impossible. In chemistry he has searched for a universal solvent, for +some way in which to change the baser metals into gold. Even Lord +Bacon was a believer in this absurdity. Thousands of men, during many +centuries, in thousands of ways, sought to change the nature of lead and +iron so that they might be transformed to gold. They had no conception +of the real nature of things. They supposed that they had originally +been created by a kind of magic, and could by the same kind of magic +be changed into something else. They were all believers in the +supernatural. So, in mechanics, men sought for the impossible. They were +believers in perpetual motion and they tried to make machines that would +through a combination of levers furnish the force that propelled them. + +Thousands of ingenious men wasted their lives in the vain effort to +produce machines that would in some wonderful way create a force. They +did not know that force is eternal, that it can neither be created nor +destroyed. They did not know that a machine having perpetual motion +would necessarily be a universe within itself, or independent of this, +and in which the force called friction would be necessarily changed, +without loss, into the force that propelled,--the machine itself causing +or creating the original force that put it in motion. And yet in spite +of all the absurdities involved, for many centuries men, regarded by +their fellows as intelligent and learned, tried to discover the great +principle of "perpetual motion." + +Our ancestors studied the stars because in them they thought it possible +to learn the fate of nations, the life and destiny of the individual. +Eclipses, wandering comets, the relations of certain stars were the +forerunners or causes of prosperity or disaster, of the downfall or +upbuilding of kingdoms. Astrology was believed to be a science, and +those who studied the stars were consulted by warriors, statesmen and +kings. The account of the star that led the wise men of the East to the +infant Christ was written by a believer in astrology. It would be hard +to overstate the time and talent wasted in the study of this so-called +science. The men who believed in astrology thought that they lived in a +supernatural world--a world in which causes and effects had no necessary +connection with each other--in which all events were the result of magic +and necromancy. + +Even now, at the close of the nineteenth century, there are hundreds +and hundreds of men who make their living by casting the horoscopes of +idiots and imbeciles. + +The "perpetual motion" of the mechanic, the universal solvent of the +chemist, the changing of lead into gold, the foretelling events by the +relations of stars were all born of the same ignorance of nature that +caused the theologian to imagine an uncaused cause as the cause of all +causes and effects. + +The theologian insisted that there was something superior to nature, and +that that something was the creator and preserver of nature. + +Of course there is no more evidence of the existence of that "something" +than there is of the philosopher's stone. + +The mechanics who now believe in perpetual motion are insane, so are the +chemists who seek to change one metal into another, so are the honest +astrologers, and in a few more years the same can truthfully be said of +the honest theologians. + +Many of our ancestors believed in the existence of and sought for the +Fountain of Perpetual Youth. They believed that an old man could stoop +and drink from this fountain and that while he drank his gray hairs +would slowly change, that the wrinkles would disappear, that his dim +eyes would brighten and grow clear, his heart throb with manhood's force +and rhythm, while in his pallid cheeks would burst into blossom the +roses of health. + +They were believers in the supernatural, the miraculous, and nothing +seemed more probable than the impossible. + + +VII. + +MOST people use names in place of arguments. They are satisfied to be +disciples, followers of the illustrious dead. Each church, each party +has a list of "great men," and they throw the names of these men at each +other when discussing their dogmas and creeds. + +Men prove the inspiration of the Bible, the divinity of Christ by the +admissions of soldiers, statesmen and kings. And in the same way they +establish the existence of heaven and hell. Dispute one of their dogmas +and you will instantly be told that Isaac Newton or Matthew Hale was on +the other side, and you will be asked whether you claim to be superior +to Newton or Hale. In our own country the ministers, to establish their +absurdities, quote the opinions of Webster and of other successful +politicians as though such opinions were demonstrations. + +Most Protestants will cheerfully admit that they are inferior in brain +and genius to some men who have lived and died in the Catholic faith; +that in the matter of preaching funeral sermons they are not equal to +Bossuet; that their letters are not as interesting and polished as +those written by Pascal; that Torquemada excelled them in the genius +of organization, and that for planning a massacre they would not for +a moment claim the palm from Catherine de Medici, and yet after these +admissions, these same Protestants would insist that the Pope is an +unblushing impostor, and the Catholic Church a vampire. + +The so-called "great men" of the world have been mistaken in many +things. Lord Bacon denied the Copernican system of astronomy and +believed to the day of his death that the sun and stars journeyed about +this little earth. Matthew Hale was a firm believer in the existence of +witches and wizards. John Wesley believed that earthquakes were caused +by sin and that they could be prevented by believing in the Lord Jesus +Christ. John Calvin regarded murder as one of the means to preserve the +purity of the gospel. Martin Luther denounced Galileo as a fool because +he was opposed to the astronomy of Moses. Webster was in favor of the +Fugitive Slave Law and held the book of Job in high esteem. He wanted +votes and he knelt to the South. He wanted votes and he flattered the +church. + + +VIII. + +VOLUMES might be written on the follies and imbecilities of "great" men. + +Only a few years ago the really great men were persecuted, imprisoned +or burned. In this way the church was enabled to keep the "great" men on +her side. + +As a matter of fact it is impossible to tell what the "great" men really +thought. We only know what they said. These "great" men had families +to support, they had a prejudice against prisons and objected to being +burned, and it may be that they thought one way and talked another. + +The priests said to these men: "Agree with the creed, talk on our side, +or you will be persecuted to the death." Then the priests turned to the +people and cried: "Hear what the great men say." + +For a few years we have had something like liberty of speech and many +men have told their thoughts. Now the theologians are not quite so apt +to appeal to names as formerly. The really great are not on their side. +The leaders of modern thought are not Christians. Now the unbelievers +can repeat names--names that stand for intellectual triumphs. Humboldt, +Helmholtz, Haeckel and Huxley, Darwin, Spencer and Tyndall and many +others, stand for investigation, discovery, for vast achievements in the +world of thought. These men were and are thinkers and they had and have +the courage to express their thoughts. They were not and are not puppets +of priests, or the trembling worshipers of ghosts. + +For many years, most of the presidents of American colleges have +been engaged in the pious work of trying to prevent the intellectual +advancement of the race. To such an extent have they succeeded that none +of their students have been or are great scientists. + +For the purpose of bolstering their creed the orthodox do not now repeat +the names of the living, their witnesses are in the cemetery. All the +"great" Christians are dead. + +To-day we want arguments, not names, reasons, not opinions. It is +degrading to blindly follow a man, or a church. Nothing is nobler than +to be governed by reason. To be vanquished by the truth is to be a +victor. The man who follows is a slave. The man who thinks is free. + +We must remember that most men have been controlled by their +surroundings. Most of the intelligent men in Turkey are followers of +Mahomet. They were rocked in the cradle of the Koran, they received +their religious opinions as they did their features--from their parents. +Their opinion on the subject of religion is of no possible value. The +same may be said of the Christians of our country. Their belief is the +result, not of thought, of investigation, but of surroundings. + +All religions have been the result of ignorance, and the seeds were sown +and planted in the long night of savagery. + +In the decline of the Roman power, in the times when prosperity died, +when commerce almost ceased, when the sceptre of authority fell from +weak and nerveless hands, when arts were lost and the achievements of +the past forgotten or unknown, then Christians came, and holding in +contempt all earthly things, told their fellows of another world--of joy +eternal beyond the clouds. + +If learning had not been lost, if the people had been educated, if they +had known the literature of Greece and Rome, if they had been familiar +with the tragedies of Æschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, with the +philosophy of Zeno and Epicurus, with the orations of Demosthenes; if +they had known the works of art, the miracles of genius, the passions in +marble, the dreams in stone; if they had known the history of Rome; if +they had understood Lucretius, Cicero and Cæsar; if they had studied the +laws, the decisions of the Prætors; if they had known the thoughts of +all the mighty dead, there would have been no soil on which the seeds of +Christian superstition could have taken root and grown. + +But the early Christians hated art, and song, and joy. They slandered +and maligned the human race, insisted that the world had been blighted +by the curse of God, that this life should be used only in making +preparation for the next, that education filled the mind with doubt, and +science led the soul from God. + + +IX. + +THERE are two ways. One is to live for God. That has been tried, and the +result has always been the same. It was tried in Palestine many years +ago and the people who tried it were not protected by their God. They +were conquered, overwhelmed and exiled. They lost their country and were +scattered over the earth. For many centuries they expected assistance +from their God. They believed that they would be gathered together +again, that their cities and temples and altars would be rebuilt, that +they would again be the favorites of Jehovah, that with his help they +would overcome their enemies and rule the world. Century by century +the hope has grown weaker and weaker, until now it is regarded by the +intelligent as a foolish dream. + +Living for God was tried in Switzerland and it ended in slavery and +torture. Every avenue that led to improvement, to progress, was closed. +Only those in authority were allowed to express their thoughts. No +one tried to increase the happiness of people in this world. Innocent +pleasure was regarded as sin, laughter was suppressed, all natural joy +despised, and love itself denounced as sin. + +They amused themselves with fasting and prayer, hearing sermons, talking +about endless pain, committing to memory the genealogies in the Old +Testament, and now and then burning one of their fellow-men. + +Living for God was tried in Scotland. The people became the serfs and +slaves of the blessed Kirk. The ministers became petty tyrants. They +poisoned the very springs of life. They interfered with every family, +invaded the privacy of every home, sowed the seeds of superstition and +fear, and filled the darkness with devils. They claimed to be divinely +inspired, that they delivered the messages of God, that to deny their +authority was blasphemy, and that all who refused to do their bidding +would suffer eternal pain. Under their government Scotland was a land of +sighing and sorrow, of grief and pain. The people were slaves. + +Living for God was tried in New England. A government was formed in +accordance with the Old Testament. The laws, for the most part, were +petty and absurd, the penalties cruel and bloody to the last degree. +Religious liberty was regarded as a crime, as an insult to God. Persons +differing in belief from those in power, were persecuted, whipped, +maimed and exiled. People supposed to be in league with the devil +were imprisoned or killed. A theological government was established, +ministers were the agents of God, they dictated the laws and fixed the +penalties. Everything was under the supervision of the clergy. They had +no pity, no mercy. With all their hearts they hated the natural. They +promised happiness in another world, and did all they could to destroy +the pleasures of this. + +Their greatest consolation, their purest joy was found in their belief +that all who failed to obey their words, to wear their yoke, would +suffer infinite torture in the eternal dungeons of hell. + +Living for God was tried in the Dark Ages. Thousands of scaffolds were +wet with blood, countless swords were thrust through human hearts. The +flames of fagots consumed the flesh of men, dungeons became the homes of +those who thought. In the name of God every cruelty was practiced, every +crime committed, and liberty perished from the earth. Everywhere the +result has been the same. Living for God has filled the world with blood +and flame. + +There is another way. Let us live for man, for this world. Let +us develop the brain and civilize the heart. Let us ascertain the +conditions of happiness and live in accordance with them. Let us do what +we can for the destruction of ignorance, poverty and crime. Let us do +our best to supply the wants of the body, to satisfy the hunger of the +mind, to ascertain the secrets of nature, to the end that we may make +the invisible forces the tireless servants of the human race, and fill +the world with happy homes. + +Let the gods take care of themselves. Let us live for man. Let us +remember that those who have sought for the truths of nature have never +persecuted their fellow-men. The astronomers and chemists have forged no +chains, built no dungeons. The geologists have invented no instrument +of torture. The philosophers have not demonstrated the truth of their +theories by burning their neighbors. The great infidels, the thinkers, +have lived for the good of man. + +It is noble to seek for truth, to be intellectually honest, to give to +others a true transcript of your mind, a photograph of your thoughts in +honest words. + + +X. + +HERE are two ways: The narrow way along which the selfish go in single +file, not wide enough for husband and wife to walk side by side +while children clasp their hands. The narrow road over the desert of +superstition "with here and there a traveler." The narrow grass-grown +path, filled with flints and broken glass, bordered by thistles and +thorns, where the twice-born limping walk with bleeding feet. If by this +path you see a flower, do not pick it. It is a temptation. Beneath its +leaves a serpent lies. Keep your eyes on the New Jerusalem. Do not look +back for wife or child or friend. Think only of saving your own soul. +You will be just as happy in heaven with all you love in hell. Believe, +have faith, and you will be rewarded for the goodness of another. Look +neither to the right nor left. Keep on, straight on, and you will save +your worthless, withered, selfish soul. + +This is the narrow road that leads from earth to the Christian's +heartless heaven. + +There is another way--the broad road. + +Give me the wide and ample way, the way broad enough for us all to go +together. The broad way where the birds sing, where the sun shines and +the streams murmur. The broad way, through the fields where the flowers +grow, over the daisied slopes where sunlight, lingering, seems to sleep +and dream. + +Let us go the broad way with the great world, with science and art, with +music and the drama, with all that gladdens, thrills, refines and calms. + +Let us go the wide road with husband and wife, with children and friends +and with all there is of joy and love between the dawn and dusk of +life's strange day. + +This world is a great orange tree filled with blossoms, with ripening +and ripened fruit, while, underneath the bending boughs, the fallen +slowly turn to dust. + +Each orange is a life. Let us squeeze it dry, get all the juice there +is, so that when death comes we can say; "There is nothing left but +withered peel." + +Let us travel the broad and natural way. Let us live for man. + +To think of what the world has suffered from superstition, from +religion, from the worship of beast and stone and god, is almost enough +to make one insane. Think of the long, long night of ignorance and fear! +Think of the agony, the sufferings of the past, of the days that are +dead! + +I look. In gloomy caves I see the sacred serpents coiled, waiting for +their sacrificial prey. I see their open jaws, their restless tongues, +their glittering eyes, their cruel fangs. I see them seize and crush in +many horrid folds the helpless children given by fathers and mothers to +appease the Serpent-God. I look again. I see temples wrought of stone +and gilded with barbaric gold. I see altars red with human blood. I see +the solemn priests thrust knives in the white breasts of girls. I look +again. I see other temples and other altars, where greedy flames devour +the flesh and blood of babes. I see other temples and other priests and +other altars dripping with the blood of oxen, lambs and doves. + +I look again. I see other temples and other priests and other altars on +which are sacrificed the liberties of man. I look. I see the cathedrals +of God, the huts of peasants, the robes of priests and kings, the rags +of honest men. I look again. The lovers of God are the murderers of +men. I see dungeons filled with the noblest and the best. I see exiles, +wanderers, outcasts, millions of martyrs, widows and orphans. I see the +cunning instruments of torture and hear the shrieks and sobs and moans +of millions dead. + +I see the dungeon's gloom, I hear the clank of chains. I see the fagot's +flames, the scorched and blackened face, the writhing limbs. I hear the +jeers and scoffs of pious fiends. I see the victim on the rack, I hear +the tendons as they break. I see a world beneath the feet of priests, +liberty in chains, every virtue a crime, every crime a virtue, +intelligence despised, stupidity sainted, hypocrisy crowned and the +white forehead of honor wearing the brand of shame. This was. + +I look again, and in the East of hope's fair sky the first pale light +shed by the herald star gives promise of another dawn. I look, and +from the ashes, blood and tears the heroes leap to bless the future and +avenge the past. I see a world at war, and in the storm and chaos of the +deadly strife thrones crumble, altars fall, chains break, creeds change. + +The highest peaks are touched with holy light. The dawn has blossomed. +I look again. I see discoverers sailing across mysterious seas. I see +inventors cunningly enslave the forces of the world. I see the houses +being built for schools. Teachers, interpreters of nature, slowly take +the place of priests. Philosophers arise, thinkers give the world their +wealth of brain, and lips grow rich with words of truth. This is. + +I look again, but toward the future now. The popes and priests and kings +are gone,--the altars and the thrones have mingled with the dust,--the +aristocracy of land and cloud have perished from the earth and-air, and +all the gods are dead. A new religion sheds its glory on mankind. It +is the gospel of this world, the religion of the body, of the heart +and brain, the evangel of health and joy. I see a world at peace, +where labor reaps its true reward, a world without prisons, without +workhouses, without asylums for the insane, a world on which the gibbets +shadow does not fall, a world where the poor girl, trying to win bread +with the needle, the needle that has been called "the asp for the breast +of the poor," is not driven to the desperate choice of crime or death, +of suicide or shame. I see a world without the beggar's outstretched +palm, the miser's heartless, stony stare, the piteous wail of want, the +pallid face of crime, the livid lips of lies, the cruel eyes of scorn. +I see a race without disease of flesh or brain, shapely and fair, the +married harmony of form and use, and as I look life lengthens, fear +dies, joy deepens, love intensifies. The world is free. This shall be. + + + + +ABOUT THE HOLY BIBLE. + +SOMEBODY ought to tell the truth about the Bible. The preachers dare +not, because they would be driven from their pulpits. Professors in +colleges dare not, because they would lose their salaries. Politicians +dare not. They would be defeated. Editors dare not. They would lose +subscribers. Merchants dare not, because they might lose customers. Men +of fashion dare not, fearing that they would lose caste. Even clerks +dare not, because they might be discharged. And so I thought I would do +it myself. + +There are many millions of people who believe the Bible to be the +inspired word of God--millions who think that this book is staff and +guide, counselor and consoler; that it fills the present with peace and +the future with hope--millions who believe that it is the fountain of +law, justice and mercy, and that to its wise and benign teachings the +world is indebted for its liberty, wealth and civilization--millions +who imagine that this book is a revelation from the wisdom and love of +God to the brain and heart of man--millions who regard this book as a +torch that conquers the darkness of death, and pours its radiance on +another world--a world without a tear. + +They forget its ignorance and savagery, its hatred of liberty, its +religious persecution; they remember heaven, but they forget the dungeon +of eternal pain. + +They forget that it imprisons the brain and corrupts the heart. They +forget that it is the enemy of intellectual freedom. Liberty is my +religion. Liberty of hand and brain--of thought and labor. + +Liberty is a word hated by kings--loathed by popes. It is a word that +shatters thrones and altars--that leaves the crowned without subjects, +and the outstretched hand of superstition without alms. Liberty is the +blossom and fruit of justice--the perfume of mercy. Liberty is the seed +and soil, the air and light, the dew and rain of progress, love and joy. + + +I. THE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. + +A FEW wandering families--poor, wretched, without education, art or +power; descendants of those who had been enslaved for four hundred +years; ignorant as the inhabitants of Central Africa, had just escaped +from their masters to the desert of Sinai. + +Their leader was Moses, a man who had been raised in the family of +Pharaoh and had been taught the law and mythology of Egypt. For the +purpose of controlling his followers he pretended that he was instructed +and assisted by Jehovah, the God of these wanderers. + +Everything that happened was attributed to the interference of this God. +Moses declared that he met this God face to face; that on Sinai's top +from the hands of this God he had received the tables of stone on which, +by the finger of this God, the Ten Commandments had been written, and +that, in addition to this, Jehovah had made known the sacrifices and +ceremonies that were pleasing to him and the laws by which the people +should be governed. + +In this way the Jewish religion and the Mosaic Code were established. + +It is now claimed that this religion and these laws were and are +revealed and established for all mankind. + +At that time these wanderers had no commerce with other nations, they +had no written language, they could neither read nor write. They had no +means by which they could make this revelation known to other nations, +and so it remained buried in the jargon of a few ignorant, impoverished +and unknown tribes for more than two thousand years. + +Many centuries after Moses, the leader, was dead--many centuries after +all his followers had passed away--the Pentateuch was written, the work +of many writers, and to give it force and authority it was claimed that +Moses was the author. + +We now know that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses. + +Towns are mentioned that were not in existence when Moses lived. + +Money, not coined until centuries after his death, is mentioned. + +So, many of the laws were not applicable to wanderers on the +desert--laws about agriculture, about the sacrifice of oxen, sheep and +doves, about the weaving of cloth, about ornaments of gold and silver, +about the cultivation of land, about harvest, about the threshing of +grain, about houses and temples, about cities of refuge, and about many +other subjects of no possible application to a few starving wanderers +over the sands and rocks. + +It is now not only admitted by intelligent and honest theologians that +Moses was not the author of the Pentateuch, but they all admit that no +one knows who the authors were, or who wrote any one of these books, or +a chapter or a line. We know that the books were not written in the same +generation; that they were not all written by one person; that they are +filled with mistakes and contradictions. + +It is also admitted that Joshua did not write the book that bears his +name, because it refers to events that did not happen until long after +his death. + +No one knows, or pretends to know, the author of Judges; all we know is +that it was written centuries after all the judges had ceased to exist. +No one knows the author of Ruth, nor of First and Second Samuel; all we +know is that Samuel did not write the books that bear his name. In the +25th chapter of First Samuel is an account of Samuel's death, and in +the 27th chapter is an account of the raising of Samuel by the Witch of +Endor. + +No one knows the author of First and Second Kings or First and Second +Chronicles; all we know is that these books are of no value. + +We know that the Psalms were not written by David. In the Psalms the +Captivity is spoken of, and that did not happen until about five hundred +years after David slept with his fathers. + +We know that Solomon did not write the Proverbs or the Song; that Isaiah +was not the author of the book that bears his name; that no one knows +the author of Job, Ecclesiastes, or Esther, or of any book in the Old +Testament, with the exception of Ezra. + +We know that God is not mentioned or in any way referred to in the book +of Esther. We know, too, that the book is cruel, absurd and impossible. + +God is not mentioned in the Song of Solomon, the best book in the Old +Testament. + +And we know that Ecclesiastes was written by an unbeliever. + +We know, too, that the Jews themselves had not decided as to what books +were inspired--were authentic--until the second century after Christ. + +We know that the idea of inspiration was of slow growth, and that the +inspiration was determined by those who had certain ends to accomplish. + + +II. + +IF it is, it should be a book that no man--no number of men--could +produce. + +It should contain the perfection of philosophy. + +It should perfectly accord with every fact in nature. + +There should be no mistakes in astronomy, geology, or as to any subject +or science. + +Its morality should be the highest, the purest. + +Its laws and regulations for the control of conduct should be just, +wise, perfect, and perfectly adapted to the accomplishment of the ends +desired. + +It should contain nothing calculated to make man cruel, revengeful, +vindictive or infamous. + +It should be filled with intelligence, justice, purity, honesty, mercy +and the spirit of liberty. + +It should be opposed to strife and war, to slavery and lust, to +ignorance, credulity and superstition. + +It should develop the brain and civilize the heart. + +It should satisfy the heart and brain of the best and wisest. + +It should be true. + +Does the Old Testament satisfy this standard? + +Is there anything in the Old Testament--in history, in theory, in law, +in government, in morality, in science--above and beyond the ideas, the +beliefs, the customs and prejudices of its authors and the people among +whom they lived? + +Is there one ray of light from any supernatural source? + +The ancient Hebrews believed that this earth was the centre of the +universe, and that the sun, moon and stars were specks in the sky. + +With this the Bible agrees. + +They thought the earth was flat, with four corners; that the sky, the +firmament, was solid--the floor of Jehovah's house. + +The Bible teaches the same. + +They imagined that the sun journeyed about the earth, and that by +stopping the sun the day could be lengthened. + +The Bible agrees with this. + +They believed that Adam and Eve were the first man and woman; that they +had been created but a few years before, and that they, the Hebrews, +were their direct descendants. + +This the Bible teaches. + +If anything is, or can be, certain, the writers of the Bible were +mistaken about creation, astronomy, geology; about the causes of +phenomena, the origin of evil and the cause of death. + +Now, it must be admitted that if an Infinite Being is the author of +the Bible, he knew all sciences, all facts, and could not have made a +mistake. + +If, then, there are mistakes, misconceptions, false theories, ignorant +myths and blunders in the Bible, it must have been written by finite +beings; that is to say, by ignorant and mistaken men. + +Nothing can be clearer than this. + +For centuries the church insisted that the Bible was absolutely true; +that it contained no mistakes; that the story of creation was true; +that its astronomy and geology were in accord with the facts; that +the scientists who differed with the Old Testament were infidels and +atheists. + +Now this has changed. The educated Christians admit that the writers of +the Bible were not inspired as to any science. They now say that God, +or Jehovah, did not inspire the writers of his book for the purpose of +instructing the world about astronomy, geology, or any science. They +now admit that the inspired men who wrote the Old Testament knew nothing +about any science, and that they wrote about the earth and stars, the +sun and moon, in accordance with the general ignorance of the time. + +It required many centuries to force the theologians to this admission. +Reluctantly, full of malice and hatred, the priests retired from the +field, leaving the victory with science. + +They took another position: + +They declared that the authors, or rather the writers, of the Bible +were inspired in spiritual and moral things; that Jehovah wanted to make +known to his children his will and his infinite love for his children; +that Jehovah, seeing his people wicked, ignorant and depraved, wished to +make them merciful and just, wise and spiritual, and that the Bible is +inspired in its laws, in the religion it teaches and in its ideas of +government. + +This is the issue now. Is the Bible any nearer right in its ideas of +justice, of mercy, of morality or of religion than in its conception of +the sciences? + +Is it moral? + +It upholds slavery--it sanctions polygamy. + +Could a devil have done worse? + +Is it merciful? + +In war it raised the black flag; it commanded the destruction, the +massacre, of all--of the old, infirm, and helpless--of wives and babes. + +Were its laws inspired? + +Hundreds of offences were punished with death. To pick up sticks on +Sunday, to murder your father on Monday, were equal crimes. There is +in the literature of the world no bloodier code. The law of revenge--of +retaliation--was the law of Jehovah. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a +tooth, a limb for a limb. + +This is savagery--not philosophy. + +Is it just and reasonable? + +The Bible is opposed to religious toleration--to religious liberty. +Whoever differed with the majority was stoned to death. Investigation +was a crime. Husbands were ordered to denounce and to assist in killing +their unbelieving wives. + +It is the enemy of Art. "Thou shalt make no graven image." This was the +death of Art. + +Palestine never produced a painter or a sculptor. + +Is the Bible civilized? + +It upholds lying, larceny, robbery, murder, the selling of diseased meat +to strangers, and even the sacrifice of human beings to Jehovah. + +Is it philosophical? + +It teaches that the sins of a people can be transferred to an animal--to +a goat. It makes maternity an offence for which a sin offering had to be +made. + +It was wicked to give birth to a boy, and twice as wicked to give birth +to a girl. + +To make hair-oil like that used by the priests was an offence punishable +with death. + +The blood of a bird killed over running water was regarded as medicine. + +Would a civilized God daub his altars with the blood of oxen, lambs and +doves? Would he make all his priests butchers? Would he delight in the +smell of burning flesh? + + +III. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS + +SOME Christian lawyers--some eminent and stupid judges--have said and +still say, that the Ten Commandments are the foundation of all law. + +Nothing could be more absurd. Long before these commandments were +given there were codes of laws in India and Egypt--laws against murder, +perjury, larceny, adultery and fraud. Such laws are as old as human +society; as old as the love of life; as old as industry; as the idea of +prosperity; as old as human love. + +All of the Ten Commandments that are good were old; all that were new +are foolish. If Jehovah had been civilized he would have left out the +commandment about keeping the Sabbath, and in its place would have said: +"Thou shalt not enslave thy fellow-men." He would have omitted the one +about swearing, and said: "The man shall have but one wife, and the +woman but one husband." He would have left out the one about graven +images, and in its stead would have said: "Thou shalt not wage wars +of extermination, and thou shalt not unsheathe the sword except in +self-defence." + +If Jehovah, had been civilized, how much grander the Ten Commandments +would have been. + +All that we call progress--the enfranchisement of man, of labor, the +substitution of imprisonment for death, of fine for imprisonment, the +destruction of polygamy, the establishing of free speech, of the rights +of conscience; in short, all that has tended to the development and +civilization of man; all the results of investigation, observation, +experience and free thought; all that man has accomplished for the +benefit of man since the close of the Dark Ages--has been done in spite +of the Old Testament. + +Let me further illustrate the morality, the mercy, the philosophy and +goodness of the Old Testament: + + +THE STORY OF ACHAN. + +Joshua took the City of Jericho. Before the fall of the city he declared +that all the spoil taken should be given to the Lord. + +In spite of this order Achan secreted a garment, some silver and gold. + +Afterward Joshua tried to take the city of Ai. He failed and many of his +soldiers were slain. + +Joshua sought for the cause of his defeat and he found that Achan had +secreted a garment, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold. +To this Achan confessed. + +And thereupon Joshua took Achan, his sons and his daughters, his oxen +and his sheep--stoned them all to death and burned their bodies. + +There is nothing to show that the sons and Daughters had committed any +crime. Certainly, the oxen and sheep should not have been stoned to +death for the crime of their owner. This was the justice, the mercy, of +Jehovah! + +After Joshua had committed this crime, with the help of Jehovah he +captured the city of Ai. + + +THE STORY OF ELISHA. + +"And he went up thence unto Bethel, and as he was going up by the way +there came forth little children out of the city and mocked him, and +said unto him, 'Go up, thou baldhead.' + +"And he turned back and looked at them, and cursed them in the name of +the Lord. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood and tore +forty and two children of them." + +This was the work of the good God--the merciful Jehovah! + + +THE STORY OF DANIEL. + +King Darius had honored and exalted Daniel, and the native princes were +jealous. So they induced the king to sign a decree to the effect that +any man who should make a petition to any god or man except to King +Darius, for thirty days, should be cast into the den of lions. + +Afterward these men found that Daniel, with his face toward Jerusalem, +prayed three times a day to Jehovah. + +Thereupon Daniel was cast into the den of lions; a stone was placed at +the mouth of the den and sealed with the king's seal. + +The king passed a bad night. The next morning he went to the den and +cried out to Daniel. Daniel answered and told the king that God had sent +his angel and shut the mouths of the lions. + +Daniel was taken out alive and well, and the king was converted and +believed in Daniel's God. + +Darius, being then a believer in the true God, sent for the men who had +accused Daniel, and for their wives and their children, and cast them +all into the lions' den. + +"And the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in +pieces, or ever they came at the bottom of the pit." + +What had the wives and little children done? How had they offended King +Darius, the believer in Jehovah? Who protected Daniel? Jehovah! Who +failed to protect the innocent wives and children? Jehovah! + + +THE STORY OF JOSEPH. + +Pharaoh had a dream, and this dream was interpreted by Joseph. + +According to this interpretation there was to be in Egypt seven years of +plenty, followed by seven years of famine. Joseph advised Pharaoh to buy +all the surplus of the seven plentiful years and store it up against the +years of famine. + +Pharaoh appointed Joseph as his minister or agent, and ordered him to +buy the grain of the plentiful years. + +Then came the famine. The people came to the king for help. He told them +to go to Joseph and do as he said. + +Joseph sold corn to the Egyptians until all their money was gone--until +he had it all. + +When the money was gone the people said: "Give us corn and we will give +you our cattle." + +Joseph let them have corn until all their cattle, their horses and their +flocks had been given to him. + +Then the people said: "Give us corn and we will give you our lands." + +So Joseph let them have corn until all their lands were gone. + +But the famine continued, and so the poor wretches sold themselves, and +they became the servants of Pharoah. + +Then Joseph gave them seed, and made an agreement with them that they +should forever give one-fifth of all they raised to Pharaoh. + +Who enabled Joseph to interpret the dream of Pharaoh? Jehovah! Did he +know at the time that Joseph would use the information thus given to rob +and enslave the people of Egypt? Yes. Who produced the famine? Jehovah! + +It is perfectly apparent that the Jews did not think of Jehovah as the +God of Egypt--the God of all the world. He was their God, and theirs +alone. Other nations had gods, but Jehovah was the greatest of all. He +hated other nations and other gods, and abhorred all religions except +the worship of himself. + + +IV. WHAT IS IT ALL WORTH? + +WILL some Christian scholar tell us the value of Genesis? + +We know that it is not true--that it contradicts itself. There are two +accounts of the creation in the first and second chapters. In the first +account birds and beasts were created before man. + +In the second, man was created before the birds and beasts. + +In the first, fowls are made out of the water. + +In the second, fowls are made out of the ground. + +In the first, Adam and Eve are created together. + +In the second, Adam is made; then the beasts and birds, and then Eve is +created from one of Adam's ribs. + +These stories are far older than the Pentateuch. + +Persian: God created the world in six days, a man called Adama, a woman +called Evah, and then rested. + +The Etruscan, Babylonian, Phoenician, Chaldean and the Egyptian stories +are much the same. + +The Persians, Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese and + +Hindus have their Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life. + +So the Persians, the Babylonians, the Nubians, the people of Southern +India, all had the story of the fall of man and the subtle serpent. + +The Chinese say that sin came into the world by the disobedience of +woman. And even the Tahitians tell us that man was created from the +earth, and the first woman from one of his bones. + +All these stories are equally authentic and of equal value to the world, +and all the authors were equally inspired. + +We know also that the story of the flood is much older than the book of +Genesis, and we know besides that it is not true. + +We know that this story in Genesis was copied from the Chaldean. There +you find all about the rain, the ark, the animals, the dove that was +sent out three times, and the mountain on which the ark rested. + +So the Hindus, Chinese, Parsees, Persians, Greeks, Mexicans and +Scandinavians have substantially the same story. + +We also know that the account of the Tower of Babel is an ignorant and +childish fable. + +What then is left in this inspired book of + +Genesis? Is there a word calculated to develop the heart or brain? Is +there an elevated thought--any great principle--anything poetic--any +word that bursts into blossom? + +Is there anything except a dreary and detailed statement of things that +never happened? + +Is there anything in Exodus calculated to make men generous, loving and +noble? + +Is it well to teach children that God tortured the innocent cattle of +the Egyptians--bruised them to death with hailstones--on account of the +sins of Pharoah? + +Does it make us merciful to believe that God killed the firstborn of the +Egyptians--the firstborn of the poor and suffering people--of the poor +girl working at the mill--because of the wickedness of the king? + +Can we believe that the gods of Egypt worked miracles? Did they change +water into blood, and sticks into serpents? + +In Exodus there is not one original thought or line of value. + +We know, if we know anything, that this book was written by +savages--savages who believed in slavery, polygamy and wars of +extermination. We know that the story told is impossible, and that the +miracles were never performed. This book admits that there are other +gods besides Jehovah. In the 17th chapter is this verse: "Now I know +that the Lord is greater than all gods, for, in the thing wherein they +dealt proudly, he was above them." + +So, in this blessed book is taught the duty of human sacrifice--the +sacrifice of babes. + +In the 22d chapter is this command: "Thou shalt not delay to offer the +first of thy ripe fruits and of thy liquors: the first-born of thy sons +thou shalt give unto me." + +Has Exodus been a help or a hindrance to the human race? + +Take from Exodus the laws common to all nations, and is there anything +of value left? + +Is there anything in Leviticus of importance? Is there a chapter worth +reading? What interest have we in the clothes of priests, the curtains +and candles of the tabernacle, the tongs and shovels of the altar or the +hair-oil used by the Levites? + +Of what use the cruel code, the frightful punishments, the curses, the +falsehoods and the miracles of this ignorant and infamous book? + +And what is there in the book of Numbers--with its sacrifices and water +of jealousy, with its shew-bread and spoons, its kids and fine flour, +its oil and candlesticks, its cucumbers, onions and manna--to assist and +instruct mankind? What interest have we in the rebellion of Korah, the +water of separation, the ashes of a red heifer, the brazen serpent, the +water that followed the people uphill and down for forty years, and +the inspired donkey of the prophet Balaam? Have these absurdities and +cruelties--these childish, savage superstitions--helped to civilize the +world? + +Is there anything in Joshua--with its wars, its murders and massacres, +its swords dripping with the blood of mothers and babes, its +tortures, maimings and mutilations, its fraud and fury, its hatred and +revenge--calculated to improve the world? + +Does not every chapter shock the heart of a good man? Is it a book to be +read by children? + +The book of Joshua is as merciless as famine, as ferocious as the heart +of a wild beast. It is a history--a justification--a sanctification of +nearly every crime. + +The book of Judges is about the same, nothing but war and bloodshed; +the horrible story of Jael and Sisera; of Gideon and his trumpets +and pitchers; of Jephtha and his daughter, whom he murdered to please +Jehovah. + +Here we find the story of Samson, in which a sun-god is changed to a +Hebrew giant. + +Read this book of Joshua--read of the slaughter of women, of wives, of +mothers and babes--read its impossible miracles, its ruthless crimes, +and all done according to the commands of Jehovah, and tell me whether +this book is calculated to make us forgiving, generous and loving. + +I admit that the history of Ruth is in some respects a beautiful and +touching story; that it is naturally told, and that her love for Naomi +was deep and pure. But in the matter of courtship we would hardly advise +our daughters to follow the example of Ruth. Still, we must remember +that Ruth was a widow. + +Is there anything worth reading in the first and second books of Samuel? +Ought a prophet of God to hew a captured king in pieces? Is the story of +the ark, its capture and return of importance to us? Is it possible that +it was right, just and merciful to kill fifty thousand men because they +had looked into a box? Of what use to us are the wars of Saul and David, +the stories of Goliath and the Witch of Endor? Why should Jehovah have +killed Uzzah for putting forth his hand to steady the ark, and forgiven +David for murdering Uriah and stealing his wife? + +According to "Samuel," David took a census of the people. This excited +the wrath of Jehovah, and as a punishment he allowed David to choose +seven years of famine, a flight of three months from pursuing enemies, +or three days of pestilence. David, having confidence in God, chose the +three days of pestilence; and, thereupon, God, the compassionate, on +account of the sin of David, killed seventy thousand innocent men! + +Under the same circumstances, what would a devil have done? + +Is there anything in First and Second Kings that suggests the idea of +inspiration? + +When David is dying he tells his son Solomon to murder Joab--not to let +his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. With his last breath he +commands his son to bring down the hoar head of Shimei to the grave +with blood. Having uttered these merciful words, the good David, the man +after God's heart, slept with his fathers. + +Was it necessary to inspire the man who wrote the history of the +building of the temple, the story of the visit of the Queen of Sheba, or +to tell the number of Solomon's wives? + +What care we for the withering of Jereboam's hand, the prophecy of Jehu, +or the story of Elijah and the ravens? + +Can we believe that Elijah brought flames from heaven, or that he went +at last to Paradise in a chariot of fire? + +Can we believe in the multiplication of the widow's oil by Elisha, that +an army was smitten with blindness, or that an axe floated in the water? + +Does it civilize us to read about the beheading of the seventy sons +of Ahab, the putting out of the eyes of Zedekiah and the murder of his +sons? Is there one word in First and Second Kings calculated to make men +better? + +First and Second Chronicles is but a re-telling of what is told in First +and Second Kings. The same old stories--a little left out, a little +added, but in no respect made better or worse. + +The book of Ezra is of no importance. He tells us that Cyrus, King of +Persia, issued a proclamation for building a temple at Jerusalem, and +that he declared Jehovah to be the real and only God. + +Nothing could be more absurd. Ezra tells us about the return from +captivity, the building of the temple, the dedication, a few prayers, +and this is all. This book is of no importance, of no use. + +Nehemiah is about the same, only it tells of the building of the wall, +the complaints of the people about taxes, a list of those who returned +from Babylon, a catalogue of those who dwelt at Jerusalem, and the +dedication of the walls. + +Not a word in Nehemiah worth reading. + +Then comes the book of Esther: + +In this we are told that King Ahasueras was intoxicated; that he sent +for his Queen, Vashti, to come and show herself to him and his guests. +Vashti refused to appear. + +This maddened the king, and he ordered that from every province the most +beautiful girls should be brought before him that he might choose one in +place of Vashti. + +Among others was brought Esther, a Jewess. She was chosen and became the +wife of the king. Then a gentleman by the name of Haman wanted to have +all the Jews killed, and the king, not knowing that Esther was of that +race, signed a decree that all the Jews should be killed. + +Through the efforts of Mordecai and Esther the decree was annulled and +the Jews were saved. + +Haman prepared a gallows on which to have Mordecai hanged, but the good +Esther so managed matters that Haman and his ten sons were hanged on the +gallows that Haman had built, and the Jews were allowed to murder more +than seventy-five thousand of the king's subjects. + +This is the inspired story of Esther. + +In the book of Job we find some elevated sentiments, some sublime and +foolish thoughts, something of the wonder and sublimity of nature, the +joys and sorrows of life; but the story is infamous. + +Some of the Psalms are good, many are indifferent, and a few are +infamous. In them are mingled the vices and virtues. There are verses +that elevate, verses that degrade. There are prayers for forgiveness and +revenge. In the literature of the world there is nothing more heartless, +more infamous, than the 109th Psalm. + +In the Proverbs there is much shrewdness, many pithy and prudent maxims, +many wise sayings. The same ideas are expressed in many ways--the wisdom +of economy and silence, the dangers of vanity and idleness. Some are +trivial, some are foolish, and many are wise. These proverbs are not +generous--not altruistic. Sayings to the same effect are found among all +nations. + +Ecclesiastes is the most thoughtful book in the Bible. It was written by +an unbeliever--a philosopher--an agnostic. Take out the interpolations, +and it is in accordance with the thought of the nineteenth century. +In this book are found the most philosophic and poetic passages in the +Bible. + +After crossing the desert of death and crime--after reading the +Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles--it is +delightful to reach this grove of palms, called the "Song of Solomon." A +drama of love--of human love; a poem without Jehovah--a poem born of the +heart and true to the divine instincts of the soul. + +"I sleep, but my heart waketh." + +Isaiah is the work of several. Its swollen words, its vague imagery, +its prophecies and curses, its ravings against kings and nations, its +laughter at the wisdom of man, its hatred of joy, have not the slightest +tendency to increase the well-being of man. + +In this book is recorded the absurdest of all miracles. The shadow on +the dial is turned back ten degrees, in order to satisfy Hezekiah that +Jehovah will add fifteen years to his life. + +In this miracle the world, turning from west to east at the rate of more +than a thousand miles an hour, is not only stopped, but made to turn the +other way until the shadow on the dial went back ten degrees! Is +there in the whole world an intelligent man or woman who believes this +impossible falsehood? + +Jeremiah contains nothing of importance--no facts of value; nothing but +fault-finding, lamentations, croakings, wailings, curses and promises; +nothing but famine and prayer, the prosperity of the wicked, the ruin of +the Jews, the captivity and return, and at last Jeremiah, the traitor, +in the stocks and in prison. + +And Lamentations is simply a continuance of the ravings of the same +insane pessimist; nothing but dust and sackcloth and ashes, tears and +howls, railings and revilings. + +And Ezekiel--eating manuscripts, prophesying siege and desolation, with +visions of coals of fire, and cherubim, and wheels with eyes, and +the type and figure of the boiling pot, and the resurrection of dry +bones--is of no use, of no possible value. + +With Voltaire, I say that any one who admires Ezekiel should be +compelled to dine with him. + +Daniel is a disordered dream--a nightmare. + +What can be made of this book with its image with a golden head, with +breast and arms of silver, with belly and thighs of brass, with legs of +iron, and with feet of iron and clay; with its writing on the wall, its +den of lions, and its vision of the ram and goat? + +Is there anything to be learned from Hosea and his wife? Is there +anything of use in Joel, in Amos, in Obadiah? Can we get any good from +Jonah and his gourd? Is it possible that God is the real author of +Micah and Nahum, of Habakkuk and Zephaniah, of Haggai and Malachi and +Zechariah, with his red horses, his four horns, his four carpenters, his +flying roll, his mountains of brass and the stone with four eyes? + +Is there anything in these "inspired" books that has been of benefit to +man? + +Have they taught us how to cultivate the earth, to build houses, to +weave cloth, to prepare food? Have they taught us to paint pictures, to +chisel statues, to build bridges, or ships, or anything of beauty or of +use? Did we get our ideas of government, of religious freedom, of the +liberty of thought, from the Old Testament? Did we get from any of these +books a hint of any science? Is there in the "sacred volume" a word, a +line, that has added to the wealth, the intelligence and the happiness +of mankind? Is there one of the books of the Old Testament as +entertaining as "Robinson Crusoe," "The Travels of Gulliver," or "Peter +Wilkins and his Flying Wife"? Did the author of Genesis know as much +about nature as Humboldt, or Darwin, or Haeckel? Is what is called the +Mosaic Code as wise or as merciful as the code of any civilized nation? +Were the writers of Kings and Chronicles as great historians, as great +writers, as Gibbon and Draper? Is Jeremiah, or Habakkuk equal to Dickens +or Thackeray? Can the authors of Job and the Psalms be compared with +Shakespeare? Why should we attribute the best to man and the worst to +God? + + +V. WAS JEHOVAH A GOD OF LOVE? + +Did these words come from the heart of love?-- + +"When the Lord thy God shall drive them before thee, thou shalt smite +them and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, or +show mercy unto them." + +"I will heap mischief upon them. I will send mine arrows upon them; +they shall be burned with hunger and devoured with burning heat and with +bitter destruction." + +"I will send the tooth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents +of the dust." + +"The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man +and the virgin; the suckling also with the man of gray hairs." + +"Let his children be fatherless and his wife a widow; let his children +be continually vagabonds and beg; let them seek their bread also out of +their desolate places; let the extortioner catch all that he hath, and +let the stranger spoil his labor; let there be none to extend mercy unto +him, neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children." + +"And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body--the flesh of thy sons +and daughters." + +"And the heaven that is over thee shall be brass, and the earth that is +under thee shall be iron." + +"Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the +field." + +"I will make my arrows drunk with blood." + +"I will laugh at their calamity.". + +Did these curses, these threats, come from the heart of love or from the +mouth of savagery? + +Was Jehovah god or devil? + +Why should we place Jehovah above all the gods? + +Has man in his ignorance and fear ever imagined a greater monster? + +Have the barbarians of any land, in any time, worshiped a more heartless +god? + +Brahma was a thousand times nobler, and so was Osiris and Zeus and +Jupiter. So was the supreme god of the Aztecs, to whom they offered only +the perfume of flowers. The worst god of the Hindus, with his necklace +of skulls and his bracelets of living snakes, was kind and merciful +compared with Jehovah. + +Compared with Marcus Aurelius, how small Jehovah seems. Compared with +Abraham Lincoln, how cruel, how contemptible, is this god. + + +VI. JEHOVAH'S ADMINISTRATION. + +HE created the world, the hosts of heaven, a man and woman--placed them +in a garden. Then the serpent deceived them, and they were cast out and +made to earn their bread. + +Jehovah had been thwarted. + +Then he tried again. He went on for about sixteen hundred years trying +to civilize the people. + +No schools, no churches, no Bible, no tracts--nobody taught to read or +write. No Ten Commandments. The people grew worse and worse, until the +merciful Jehovah sent the flood and drowned all the people except Noah +and his family, eight in all. + +Then he started again, and changed their diet. At first Adam and Eve +were vegetarians. After the flood Jehovah said: "Every moving thing that +liveth shall be meat for you"--snakes and buzzards. + +Then he failed again, and at the Tower of Babel he dispersed and +scattered the people. + +Finding that he could not succeed with all the people, he thought he +would try a few, so he selected Abraham and his descendants. Again he +failed, and his chosen people were captured by the Egyptians and +enslaved for four hundred years. + +Then he tried again--rescued them from Pharaoh and started for +Palestine. + +Then he changed their diet, allowing them to eat only the beasts that +parted the hoof and chewed the cud. Again he failed. The people hated +him, and preferred the slavery of Egypt to the freedom of Jehovah. So he +kept them wandering until nearly all who came from Egypt had died. +Then he tried again--took them into Palestine and had them governed by +judges. + +This, too, was a failure--no schools, no Bible. Then he tried kings, and +the kings were mostly idolaters. + +Then the chosen people were conquered and carried into captivity by the +Babylonians. + +Another failure. + +Then they returned, and Jehovah tried prophets--howlers and wailers--but +the people grew worse and worse. No schools, no sciences, no arts, no +commerce. Then Jehovah took upon himself flesh, was born of a woman, and +lived among the people that he had been trying to civilize for several +thousand years. Then these people, following the law that Jehovah +had given them in the wilderness, charged this Jehovah-man--this +Christ--with blasphemy; tried, convicted and killed him. + +Jehovah had failed again. + +Then he deserted the Jews and turned his attention to the rest of the +world. + +And now the Jews, deserted by Jehovah, persecuted by Christians, are the +most prosperous people on the earth. Again has Jehovah failed. + +What an administration! + + +VII. THE NEW TESTAMENT. + +WHO wrote the New Testament? + +Christian scholars admit that they do not know. They admit that, if the +four gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, they must +have been written in Hebrew. And yet a Hebrew manuscript of any one of +these gospels has never been found. All have been and are in Greek. +So, educated theologians admit that the Epistles, James and Jude, were +written by persons who had never seen one of the four gospels. In these +Epistles--in James and Jude--no reference is made to any of the gospels, +nor to any miracle recorded in them. + +The first mention that has been found of one of our gospels was made +about one hundred and eighty years after the birth of Christ, and the +four gospels were first named and quoted from at the beginning of the +third century, about one hundred and seventy years after the death of +Christ. + +We now know that there were many other gospels besides our four, some of +which have been lost. + +There were the gospels of Paul, of the Egyptians, of the Hebrews, of +Perfection, of Judas, of Thaddeus, of the Infancy, of Thomas, of Mary, +of Andrew, of Nicodemus, of Marcion and several others. + +So there were the Acts of Pilate, of Andrew, of Mary, of Paul and Thecla +and of many others; also a book called the Shepherd of Hermas. + +At first not one of all the books was considered as inspired. The Old +Testament was regarded as di vine; but the books that now constitute the +New Testament were regarded as human productions. We now know that we do +not know who wrote the four gospels. + +The question is, Were the authors of these four gospels inspired? + +If they were inspired, then the four gospels must be true. If they are +true, they must agree. + +The four gospels do not agree. + +Matthew, Mark and Luke knew nothing of the atonement, nothing of +salvation by faith. They knew only the gospel of good deeds--of charity. +They teach that if we forgive others God will forgive us. + +With this the gospel of John does not agree. + +In that gospel we are taught that we must believe on the Lord Jesus +Christ; that we must be born again; that we must drink the blood and +eat the flesh of Christ. In this gospel we find the doctrine of the +atonement and that Christ died for us and suffered in our place. + +This gospel is utterly at variance with, the other three. If the other +three are true, the gospel of John is false. If the gospel of John +was written by an inspired man, the writers of the other three were +uninspired. From this there is no possible escape. The four cannot be +true. + +It is evident that there are many interpolations in the four gospels. + +For instance, in the 28th chapter of Matthew is an account to the effect +that the soldiers at the tomb of Christ were bribed to say that the +disciples of Jesus stole away his body while they, the soldiers, slept. + +This is clearly an interpolation. It is a break in the narrative. + +The 10th verse should be followed by the 16th. The 10th verse is as +follows: + +"Then Jesus said unto them, 'Be not afraid; go tell my brethren that +they go unto Galilee and there shall they see me.'" + +The 16th verse: + +"Then the eleven disciples went away unto Galilee into a mountain, where +Jesus had appointed them." + +The story about the soldiers contained in the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and +15th verses is an interpolation--an afterthought--long after. The 15th +verse demonstrates this. + +Fifteenth verse: "So they took the money and did as they were taught. +And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day." + +Certainly this account was not in the original gospel, and certainly +the 15th verse was not written by a Jew. No Jew could have written this: +"And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day." + +Mark, John and Luke never heard that the soldiers had been bribed by the +priests; or, if they had, did not think it worth while recording. So +the accounts of the Ascension of Jesus Christ in Mark and Luke are +interpolations. Matthew says nothing about the Ascension. + +Certainly there never was a greater miracle, and yet Matthew, who was +present--who saw the Lord rise, ascend and disappear--did not think it +worth mentioning. + +On the other hand, the last words of Christ, according to Matthew, +contradict the Ascension: "Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of +the world." John, who was present, if Christ really ascended, says not +one word on the subject. + +As to the Ascension, the gospels do not agree. Mark gives the last +conversation that Christ had with his disciples, as follows: + +"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He +that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not +shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my +name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They +shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not +hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. +So, then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into +heaven and sat on the right hand of God." + +Is it possible that this description was written by one who witnessed +this miracle? + +This miracle is described by Luke as follows: "And it came to pass while +he blessed them he was parted from them and carried up into heaven." + +"Brevity is the soul of wit." + +In the Acts we are told that: "When he had spoken, while they beheld, he +was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight." + +Neither Luke, nor Matthew, nor John, nor the writer of the Acts, heard +one word of the conversation attributed to Christ by Mark. The fact is +that the Ascension of Christ was not claimed by his disciples. + +At first Christ was a man--nothing more. Mary was his mother, Joseph his +father. The genealogy of his father, Joseph, was given to show that he +was of the blood of David. + +Then the claim was made that he was the son of God, and that his mother +was a virgin, and that she remained a virgin until her death. + +Then the claim was made that Christ rose from the dead and ascended +bodily to heaven. + +It required many years for these absurdities to take possession of the +minds of men. + +If Christ rose from the dead, why did he not appear to his enemies? +Why did he not call on Caiaphas, the high priest? Why did he not make +another triumphal entry into Jerusalem? + +If he really ascended, why did he not do so in public, in the presence +of his persecutors? Why should this, the greatest of miracles, be done +in secret, in a corner? + +It was a miracle that could have been seen by a vast multitude--a +miracle that could not be simulated--one that would have convinced +hundreds of thousands. + +After the story of the Resurrection, the Ascension became a necessity. +They had to dispose of the body. + +So there are many other interpolations in the gospels and epistles. + +Again I ask: Is the New Testament true? Does anybody now believe that at +the birth of Christ there was a celestial greeting; that a star led +the Wise Men of the Bast; that Herod slew the babes of Bethlehem of two +years old and under? + +The gospels are filled with accounts of miracles. Were they ever +performed? + +Matthew gives the particulars of about twenty-two miracles, Mark of +about nineteen, Luke of about eighteen and John of about seven. + +According to the gospels, Christ healed diseases, cast out devils, +rebuked the sea, cured the blind, fed multitudes with five loaves and +two fishes, walked on the sea, cursed a fig tree, turned water into wine +and raised the dead. + +Matthew is the only one that tells about the Star and the Wise Men--the +only one that tells about the murder of babes. + +John is the only one who says anything about the resurrection of +Lazarus, and Luke is the only one giving an account of the raising from +the dead the widow of Nain's son. + +How is it possible to substantiate these miracles? + +The Jews, among whom they were said to have been performed, did not +believe them. The diseased, the palsied, the leprous, the blind who were +cured, did not become followers of Christ. Those that were raised from +the dead were never heard of again. + +Does any intelligent man believe in the existence of devils? The writer +of three of the gospels certainly did. John says nothing about Christ +having cast out devils, but Matthew, Mark and Luke give many instances. + +Does any natural man now believe that Christ cast out devils? If his +disciples said he did, they were mistaken. If Christ said he did, he was +insane or an impostor. + +If the accounts of casting out devils are false, then the writers were +ignorant or dishonest. If they wrote through ignorance, then they were +not inspired. If they wrote what they knew to be false, they were not +inspired. If what they wrote is untrue, whether they knew it or not, +they were not inspired. + +At that time it was believed that palsy, epilepsy, deafness, insanity +and many other diseases were caused by devils; that devils took +possession of and lived in the bodies of men and women. Christ believed +this, taught this belief to others, and pretended to cure diseases +by casting devils out of the sick and insane. We know now, if we know +anything, that diseases are not caused by the presence of devils. We +know, if we know anything, that devils do not reside in the bodies of +men. + +If Christ said and did what the writers of the three gospels say he said +and did, then Christ was mistaken. If he was mistaken, certainly he was +not God. And if he was mistaken, certainly he was not inspired. + +Is it a fact that the Devil tried to bribe Christ? + +Is it a fact that the Devil carried Christ to the top of the temple and +tried to induce him to leap to the ground? + +How can these miracles be established? + +The principals have written nothing, Christ has written nothing, and the +Devil has remained silent. + +How can we know that the Devil tried to bribe Christ? Who wrote the +account? We do not know. How did the writer get his information? We do +not know. + +Somebody, some seventeen hundred years ago, said that the Devil tried to +bribe God; that the Devil carried God to the top of the temple and tried +to induce him to leap to the earth and that God was intellectually too +keen for the Devil. + +This is all the evidence we have. + +Is there anything in the literature of the world more perfectly idiotic? + +Intelligent people no longer believe in witches, wizards, spooks and +devils, and they are perfectly satisfied that every word in the New +Testament about casting out devils is utterly false. + +Can we believe that Christ raised the dead? + +A widow living in Nain is following the body of her son to the tomb. +Christ halts the funeral procession and raises the young man from the +dead and gives him back to the arms of his mother. + +This young man disappears. He is never heard of again. No one takes the +slightest interest in the man who returned from the realm of death. Luke +is the only one who tells the story. Maybe Matthew, Mark and John never +heard of it, or did not believe it and so failed to record it. + +John says that Lazarus was raised from the dead; Matthew, Mark and Luke +say nothing about it. + +It was more wonderful than the raising of the widow's son. He had not +been laid in the tomb for days. He was only on his way to the grave, but +Lazarus was actually dead. He had begun to decay. + +Lazarus did not excite the least interest. No one asked him about the +other world. No one inquired of him about their dead friends. + +When he died the second time no one said: "He is not afraid. He has +traveled that road twice and knows just where he is going." + +We do not believe in the miracles of Mohammed, and yet they are as well +attested as this. We have no confidence in the miracles performed by +Joseph Smith, and yet the evidence is far greater, far better. + +If a man should go about now pretending to raise the dead, pretending to +cast out devils, we would regard him as insane. What, then, can we say +of Christ? If we wish to save his reputation we are compelled to say +that he never pretended to raise the dead; that he never claimed to have +cast out devils. + +We must take the ground that these ignorant and impossible things were +invented by zealous disciples, who sought to deify their leader. + +In those ignorant days these falsehoods added to the fame of Christ. +But now they put his character in peril and belittle the authors of the +gospels. + +Can we now believe that water was changed into wine? John tells of this +childish miracle, and says that the other disciples were present, yet +Matthew, Mark and Luke say nothing about it. + +'Take the miracle of the man cured by the pool of Bethseda. John says +that an angel troubled the waters of the pool of Bethseda, and that +whoever got into the pool first after the waters were troubled was +healed. + +Does anybody now believe that an angel went into the pool and troubled +the waters? Does anybody now think that the poor wretch who got in first +was healed? Yet the author of the gospel according to John believed and +asserted these absurdities. If he was mistaken about that he may have +been about all the miracles he records. + +John is the only one who tells about this pool of Bethseda. Possibly the +other disciples did not believe the story. + +How can we account for these pretended miracles? + +In the days of the disciples, and for many centuries after, the world +was filled with the supernatural. Nearly everything that happened was +regarded as miraculous. God was the immediate governor of the world. If +the people were good, God sent seed time and harvest; but if they were +bad he sent flood and hail, frost and famine. If anything wonderful +happened it was exaggerated until it became a miracle. + +Of the order of events--of the unbroken and the unbreakable chain of +causes and effects--the people had no knowledge and no thought. + +A miracle is the badge and brand of fraud. No miracle ever was +performed. No intelligent, honest man ever pretended to perform a +miracle, and never will. + +If Christ had wrought the miracles attributed to him; if he had cured +the palsied and insane; if he had given hearing to the deaf, vision to +the blind; if he had cleansed the leper with a word, and with a touch +had given life and feeling to the withered limb; if he had given pulse +and motion, warmth and thought, to cold and breathless clay; if he had +conquered death and rescued from the grave its pallid prey--no word +would have been uttered, no hand raised, except in praise and honor. +In his presence all heads would have been uncovered--all knees upon the +ground. + +Is it not strange that at the trial of Christ no one was found to say a +word in his favor? No man stood forth and said: "I was a leper, and this +man cured me with a touch." No woman said: "I am the widow of Nain and +this is my son whom this man raised from the dead." + +No man said: "I was blind, and this man gave me sight." + +All silent + + +VIII. THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHRIST + +MILLIONS assert that the philosophy of Christ is perfect--that he was +the wisest that ever littered speech. + +Let us see: + +_Resist not evil. If smitten on one cheek turn the other_. + +Is there any philosophy, any wisdom in this? Christ takes from goodness, +from virtue, from the truth, the right of self-defence. Vice becomes the +master of the world, and the good become the victims of the infamous. + +No man has the right to protect himself, his property, his wife and +children. Government becomes impossible, and the world is at the mercy +of criminals. Is there any absurdity beyond this? + +_Love your enemies_. + +Is this possible? Did any human being ever love his enemies? Did Christ +love his, when he denounced them as whited sepulchers, hypocrites and +vipers? + +We cannot love those who hate us. Hatred in the hearts of others does +not breed love in ours. Not to resist evil is absurd; to love your +enemies is impossible. + +_Take no thought for the morrow_. + +The idea was that God would take care of us as he did of sparrows and +lilies. Is there the least sense in that belief? + +Does God take care of anybody? + +Can we live without taking thought for the morrow? To plow, to sow, to +cultivate, to harvest, is to take thought for the morrow. We plan and +work for the future, for our children, for the unborn generations +to come. Without this forethought there could be no progress, no +civilization. The world would go back to the caves and dens of savagery. + +_If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out. If thy right hand offend +thee, cut it off._ + +Why? Because it is better that one of our members should perish than +that the whole body should be cast into hell. + +Is there any wisdom in putting out your eyes or cutting off your hands? +Is it possible to extract from these extravagant sayings the smallest +grain of common sense? + +_Swear not at all; neither by Heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by +the Earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is his holy +city._ + +Here we find the astronomy and geology of Christ. Heaven is the throne +of God, the monarch; the earth is his footstool. A footstool that turns +over at the rate of a thousand miles an hour, and sweeps through space +at the rate of over a thousand miles a minute! + +Where did Christ think heaven was? Why was Jerusalem a holy city? Was it +because the inhabitants were ignorant, cruel and superstitious? + +_If any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat let him have +thy cloak also_. + +Is there any philosophy, any good sense, in that commandment? Would it +not be just as sensible to say: "If a man obtains a judgment against you +for one hundred dollars, give him two hundred." + +Only the insane could give or follow this advice. + +_Think not I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, +but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, +and the daughter against her mother._ + +If this is true, how much better it would have been had he remained +away. + +Is it possible that he who said, "Resist not evil," came to bring a +sword? That he who said, "Love your enemies," came to destroy the peace +of the world? + +To set father against son, and daughter against father--what a glorious +mission! + +He did bring a sword, and the sword was wet for a thousand years with +innocent blood. In millions of hearts he sowed the seeds of hatred and +revenge. He divided nations and families, put out the light of reason, +and petrified the hearts of men. + +_And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or +father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, +shall receive an hundredfold, shall inherit everlasting life._ + +According to the writer of Matthew, Christ, the compassionate, the +merciful, uttered these terrible words. Is it possible that Christ +offered the bribe of eternal joy to those who would desert their +fathers, their mothers, their wives and children? Are we to win the +happiness of heaven by deserting the ones we love? Is a home to be +ruined here for the sake of a mansion there? + +And yet it is said that Christ is an example for all the world. Did he +desert his father and mother? He said, speaking to his mother: "Woman, +what have I to do with, thee?" + +The Pharisees said unto Christ: "Is it lawful to pay tribute unto Cæsar?" + +Christ said: "Show me the tribute money." They brought him a penny. And +he saith unto them: "Whose is the image and the superscription?" They +said: "Cæsar's." And Christ said: "Render unto Cæsar the things that are +Cæsar's." + +Did Christ think that the money belonged to Cæsar because his image and +superscription were stamped upon it? Did the penny belong to Cæsar or to +the man who had earned it? Had Cæsar the right to demand it because it +was adorned with his image? + +Does it appear from this conversation that Christ understood the real +nature and use of money? + +Can we now say that Christ was the greatest of philosophers? + + +IX. IS CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE? + +HE never said a word in favor of education. He never even hinted at the +existence of any science. He never uttered a word in favor of industry, +economy or of any effort to better our condition in this world. He was +the enemy of the successful, of the wealthy. Dives was sent to hell, not +because he was bad, but because he was rich. Lazarus went to heaven, not +because he was good, but because he was poor. + +Christ cared nothing for painting, for sculpture, for music--nothing for +any art. He said nothing about the duties of nation to nation, of king +to subject; nothing about the rights of man; nothing about intellectual +liberty or the freedom of speech. He said nothing about the sacredness +of home; not one word for the fireside; not a word in favor of marriage, +in honor of maternity. + +He never married. He wandered homeless from place to place with a +few disciples. None of them seem to have been engaged in any useful +business, and they seem to have lived on alms. . + +All human ties were held in contempt; this world was sacrificed for the +next; all human effort was discouraged. God would support and protect. + +At last, in the dusk of death, Christ, finding that he was mistaken, +cried out: "My God! My God! Why hast thou forsaken me?" + +We have found that man must depend on himself. He must clear the land; +he must build the home; he must plow and plant; he must invent; he +must work with hand and brain; he must overcome the difficulties and +obstructions; he must conquer and enslave the forces of nature to the +end that they may do the work of the world. + + +X. WHY SHOULD WE PLACE CHRIST AT THE TOP AND SUMMIT OF THE HUMAN RACE? + +AS he kinder, more forgiving, more self-sacrificing than Buddha? Was he +wiser, did he meet death with more perfect calmness, than Socrates? +Was he more patient, more charitable, than Epictetus? Was he a greater +philosopher, a deeper thinker, than Epicurus? In what respect was he the +superior of Zoroaster? Was he gentler than Lao-tsze, more universal than +Confucius? Were his ideas of human rights and duties superior to those +of Zeno? Did he express grander truths than Cicero? Was his mind subtler +than Spinoza's? Was his brain equal to Kepler's or Newton's? Was he +grander in death--a sublimer martyr than Bruno? Was he in intelligence, +in the force and beauty of expression, in breadth and scope of thought, +in wealth of illustration, in aptness of comparison, in knowledge of the +human brain and heart, of all passions, hopes and fears, the equal of +Shakespeare, the greatest of the human race? + +If Christ was in fact God, he knew all the future. + +Before Him like a panorama moved the history yet to be. He knew how +his words would be interpreted. He knew what crimes, what horrors, what +infamies, would be committed in his name. He knew that the hungry flames +of persecution would climb around the limbs of countless martyrs. He +knew that thousands and thousands of brave men and women would languish +in dungeons in darkness, filled with pain. He knew that his church would +invent and use instruments of torture; that his followers would appeal +to whip and fagot, to chain and rack. He saw the horizon of the future +lurid with the flames of the auto da fe. He knew what creeds would +spring like poisonous fungi from every text. He saw the ignorant sects +waging war against each other. He saw thousands of men, under the orders +of priests, building prisons for their fellow-men. He saw thousands of +scaffolds dripping with the best and bravest blood. He saw his followers +using the instruments of pain. He heard the groans--saw the faces white +with agony. He heard the shrieks and sobs and cries of all the moaning, +martyred multitudes. He knew that commentaries would be written on his +words with swords, to be read by the light of fagots. He knew that the +Inquisition would be born of the teachings attributed to him. + +He saw the interpolations and falsehoods that hypocrisy would write and +tell. He saw all wars that would be waged, and-he knew that above these +fields of death, these dungeons, these rackings, these burnings, these +executions, for a thousand years would float the dripping banner of the +cross. + +He knew that hypocrisy would be robed and crowned--that cruelty and +credulity would rule the world; knew that liberty would perish from the +earth; knew that popes and kings in his name would enslave the souls +and bodies of men; knew that they would persecute and destroy the +discoverers, thinkers and inventors; knew that his church would +extinguish reason's holy light and leave the world without a star. + +He saw his disciples extinguishing the eyes of men, flaying them alive, +cutting out their tongues, searching for all the nerves of pain. + +He knew that in his name his followers would trade in human flesh; that +cradles would be robbed and women's breasts unbabed for gold. + +And yet he died with voiceless lips. + +Why did he fail to speak? Why did he not tell his disciples, and through +them the world: "You shall not burn, imprison and torture in my name. You +shall not persecute your fellow-men." + +Why did he not plainly say: "I am the Son of God," or, "I am God"? Why +did he not explain the Trinity? Why did he not tell the mode of baptism +that was pleasing to him? Why did he not write a creed? Why did he not +break the chains of slaves? Why did he not say that the Old Testament +was or was not the inspired word of God? Why did he not write the New +Testament himself? Why did he leave his words to ignorance, hypocrisy +and chance? Why did he not say something positive, definite and +satisfactory about another world? Why did he not turn the tear-stained +hope of heaven into the glad knowledge of another life? Why did he +not tell us something of the rights of man, of the liberty of hand and +brain? + +Why did he go dumbly to his death, leaving the world to misery and to +doubt? + +I will tell you why. He was a man, and did not know. + + +XI. INSPIRATION + +NOT before about the third century was it claimed or believed that the +books composing the New Testament were inspired. + +It will be remembered that there were a great number of books of +Gospels, Epistles and Acts, and that from these the "inspired" ones were +selected by "uninspired" men. + +Between the "Fathers" there were great differences of opinion as to +which books were inspired; much discussion and plenty of hatred. Many of +the books now deemed spurious were by many of the "Fathers" regarded as +divine, and some now regarded as inspired were believed to be spurious. +Many of the early Christians and some of the "Fathers" repudiated the +Gospel of John, the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jude, James, Peter, and the +Revelation of St. John. On the other hand, many of them regarded the +Gospel of the Hebrews, of the Egyptians, the Preaching ol Peter, the +Shepherd of Hermas, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Pastor of Hermas, the +Revelation of Peter, the Revelation of Paul, the Epistle of Clement, the +Gospel of Nicodemus, inspired Books, equal to the very best. + +From all these books, and many others, the Christians selected the +inspired ones. + +The men who did the selecting were ignorant and superstitious. They were +firm believers in the miraculous. They thought that diseases had been +cured by the aprons and handkerchiefs of the apostles, by the bones of +the dead. They believed in the fable of the Phoenix, and that the hyenas +changed their sex every year. + +Were the men who through many centuries made the selections inspired? +Were they--ignorant, credulous, stupid and malicious--as well qualified +to judge of "inspiration" as the students of our time? How are we bound +by their opinion? Have we not the right to judge for ourselves? + +Erasmus, one of the leaders of the Reformation, declared that the +Epistle to the Hebrews was not written by Paul, and he denied the +inspiration of Second and Third John, and also of Revelation. Luther was +of the same opinion. He declared James to be an epistle of straw, and +denied the inspiration of Revelation. Zwinglius rejected the book of +Revelation, and even Calvin denied that Paul was the author of Hebrews. + +The truth is that the Protestants did not agree as to what books are +inspired until 1647, by the Assembly of Westminster. + +To prove that a book is inspired you must prove the existence of God. +You must also prove that this God thinks, acts, has objects, ends and +aims. This Is somewhat difficult. + +It is impossible to conceive of an infinite being. Having no conception +of an infinite being, it is impossible to tell whether all the facts we +know tend to prove or disprove the existence of such a being. + +God is a guess. If the existence of God is admitted, how are we to prove +that he inspired the writers of the books of the Bible? + +How can one man establish the inspiration of another? How can an +inspired man prove that he is inspired? How can he know himself that he +is inspired? There is no way to prove the fact of inspiration. The +only evidence is the word of some man who could by no possibility know +anything on the Subject. + +What is inspiration? Did God use men as instruments? Did he cause them +to write his thoughts? Did he take possession of their minds and destroy +their wills? + +Were these writers only partly controlled, so that their mistakes, their +ignorance and their prejudices were mingled with the wisdom of God? + +How are we to separate the mistakes of man from the thoughts of God? +Can we do this without being inspired ourselves? If the original writers +were inspired, then the translators should have been, and so should be +the men who tell us what the Bible means. + +How is it possible for a human being to know that he is inspired by an +infinite being? But of one thing we may be certain: An inspired book +should certainly excel all the books produced by uninspired men. +It should, above all, be true, filled with wisdom, blossoming in +beauty--perfect. + +Ministers wonder how I can be wicked enough to attack the Bible. + +I will tell them: + +This book, the Bible, has persecuted, even unto death, the wisest and +the best. This book stayed and stopped the onward movement of the human +race. This book poisoned the fountains of learning and misdirected the +energies of man. + +This book is the enemy of freedom, the support of slavery. This book +sowed the seeds of hatred in families and nations, fed the flames of +war, and impoverished, the world. This book is the breastwork of kings +and tyrants--the enslaver of women and children. This book has corrupted +parliaments and courts. This book has made colleges and, universities +the teachers of error and the haters of science. This book has filled +Christendom with hateful, cruel, ignorant and warring sects. This book +taught men to kill their fellows for religion's sake. This book founded +the Inquisition, invented the instruments of torture, built the dungeons +in which the good and loving languished, forged the chains that rusted +in their flesh, erected the scaffolds whereon they died. This book +piled fagots about the feet of the just. This book drove reason from the +minds of millions and filled the asylums with the insane. + +This book has caused fathers and mothers to shed the blood of their +babes. This book was the auction block on which the slave-mother stood +when she was sold from her child. This book filled the sails of the +slave-trader and made merchandise of human flesh. This book lighted +the fires that, burned "witches" and "wizards." This book filled the +darkness with ghouls and ghosts, and the bodies of men and women with +devils. This book polluted the souls of men with the infamous dogma +of eternal pain. This book made credulity the greatest of virtues, and +investigation the greatest of crimes. This book filled nations with +hermits, monks and nuns--with the pious and the useless. This book +placed the ignorant and unclean saint above the philosopher and +philanthropist. This book taught man to despise the joys of this life, +that he might be happy in another--to waste this world for the sake of +the next. + +I attack this book because it is the enemy of human liberty--the +greatest obstruction across the highway of human progress. + +Let me ask the ministers one question: How can you be wicked enough to +defend this book? + + +XII. THE REAL BIBLE. + +OR thousands of years men have been writing the real Bible, and it is +being written from day to day, and it will never be finished while man +has life. All the facts that we know, all the truly recorded events, all +the discoveries and inventions, all the wonderful machines whose wheels +and levers seem to think, all the poems, crystals from the brain, +flowers from the heart, all the songs of love and joy, of smiles and +tears, the great dramas of Imagination's world, the wondrous paintings, +miracles of form and color, of light and shade, the marvelous marbles +that seem to live and breathe, the secrets told by rock and star, by +dust and flower, by rain and snow, by frost and flame, by winding stream +and desert sand, by mountain range and billowed sea. + +All the wisdom that lengthens and ennobles life--all that avoids or +cures disease, or conquers pain--all just and perfect laws and rules +that guide and shape our lives, all thoughts that feed the flames +of love, the music that transfigures, enraptures and enthralls, the +victories of heart and brain, the miracles that hands have wrought, +the deft and cunning hands of those who worked for wife and child, the +histories of noble deeds, of brave and useful men, of faithful loving +wives, of quenchless mother-love, of conflicts for the right, of +sufferings for the truth, of all the best that all the men and women of +the world have said, and thought and done through all the years. + +These treasures of the heart and brain--these are the Sacred Scriptures +of the human race. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Works of Robert G. 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