,a ,,few ,,words ,,about ,,the ,,devil1 ,,and ,,other ,,biographical ,,sketches ,,and ,,essays ,by ,charles ,bradlaugh ,new ,york3 ,a4 ,k4 ,butts ,co41 #cf ,dey ,street4 #ahgd4 ,,autobiography ,,of ,,charles ,,bradlaugh4 ,a ,,page ,,of ,,his ,,life4 ,at the request of many friends1 and by way of farewell address on leaving for ,america1 ,i1 for the first time in my life1 pen a partial autobiographical sketch4 ,i do not pretend that the narrative will be a complete picture of my life1 ,i only vouch the accuracy of the facts so far as ,i state them4 ,i have not the right in some cases to state political occurrences in which others now living are involved1 nor have ,i the courage of ,jean ,jacques ,rousseau1 to photograph my inner life4 ,i shall therefore state little the public may not already know4 ,i was born on the #bfth ,september1 #ahcc1 in a small house in ,bacchus ,walk1 ,hoxton4 ,my father was a solicitor's clerk with a very poor salary1 which he supplemented by law writing4 ,he was an extremely industrious man1 and a splendid penman4 ,i never had the opportunity of judging his tastes or thoughts1 outside his daily labors1 except in one respect1 in which ,i have followed in his footsteps4 ,he was passionately fond of angling4 ,until #ahdh my life needs little relation4 ,my schooling1 like that of most poor men's children1 was small in quantity1 and1 except as to the three ,r's1 indifferent in quality4 ,i remember at seven years of age being at a national school in ,abbey ,street1 ,bethnel ,green2 between seven and nine ,i was at another small private school in the same neighborhood1 and my education was completed before ,i was eleven years of age at a boys' school in ,coalharbor ,street1 ,hackney ,road4 ,when about twelve years of age ,i was first employed as errand lad in the solicitor's office where my father remained his whole life through4 ,after a little more than two years in this occupation1 ,i became wharf clerk and cashier to a firm of coal merchants in ,britannia ,fields1 ,city ,road4 ,while in their employment the excitement of the ,chartist movement was at its height in ,england1 and the authorities1 frightened by the then huge continental revolution wave1 were preparing for the prosecution of some of the leaders among the ,chartists4 ,meetings used to be held almost continuously all day on ,sunday1 and every week-night in the open air on ,bonner's ,fields1 near where the ,consumption ,hospital now stands4 ,these meetings were in knots from fifty to five hundred1 sometimes many more1 and were occupied chiefly in discussions on theological1 social1 and political questions1 any bystander taking part4 ,the curiosity of a lad took me occasionally in the week evenings to the ,bonner's ,fields gatherings4 ,on the ,sunday ,i1 as a member of the ,church of ,england1 was fully occupied as a ,sunday-school teacher4 ,this last-named fashion of passing ,sunday was broken suddenly4 ,the ,bishop of ,london was announced to hold a confirmation in ,bethnal ,green4 ,the incumbent of ,st4 ,peter's1 ,hackney ,road1 the district in which ,i resided1 was one ,john ,graham ,packer1 and he1 desiring to make a good figure when the ,bishop came1 pressed me to prepare for confirmation1 so as to answer any question the ,bishop might put4 ,i studied a little the ,thirty-nine ,articles of the ,church of ,england1 and the four ,gospels1 and came to the conclusion that they differed4 ,i ventured to write the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,packer a respectful letter1 asking him for aid and explanation4 ,all he did was to denounce my letter to my parents as ,atheistical1 although at that time ,i should have shuddered at the very notion of becoming an ,atheist1 and he suspended me for three months from my office of ,sunday-school teacher4 ,this left me my ,sundays free1 for ,i did not like to go to church while suspended from my teacher's duty1 and ,i1 instead1 went to ,bonner's ,fields1 at first to listen1 but soon to take part in some of the discussions which were then always pending there4 ,at the commencement ,i spoke on the orthodox ,christian side1 but after a debate with ,mr4 ,j4 ,savage1 in the ,warner ,place ,hall1 in #ahdi1 on the ,inspiration of the bible1 ,i found that my views were getting very much tinged with ,freethought1 and in the winter of that year1 at the instigation of ,mr4 ,packer1 to whom ,i had submitted the ,diegesis of ,robert ,taylor1 ,i--having become a teetotaler1 which in his view brought out my infidel tendencies still more vigorously--had three days given me by my employers1 after consultation with my father1 to change my opinions or lose my situation4 ,i am inclined to think now that the threat was never intended to have been enforced1 but was used to terrify me into submission4 ,at that time ,i hardly knew what1 if any1 opinions ,i had1 but the result was that sooner than make a show of recanting1 ,i left home and situation on the third day1 and never returned to either4 ,i was always a very fluent speaker1 and now lectured frequently at the ,temperance ,hall1 ,warner ,place1 ,hackney ,road1 at the small ,hall in ,philpot ,street1 and in the open air in ,bonner's ,fields1 where at last on ,sunday afternoons scores of hundreds congregated to hear me4 ,my views were then ,deistical1 but rapidly tending to the more extreme phase in which they ultimately settled4 ,i now took part in all the gatherings held in ,london on behalf of the ,poles and ,hungarians1 and actually fancied that ,i could write poetry on ,kossuth and ,mazzini4 ,it was at this time ,i made the acquaintance of my friend and co-worker1 ,mr4 ,austin ,holyoake1 at his printing office in ,queen's ,head ,passage1 and ,i remember him taking me to ,john ,street ,institution1 where1 at one of the pleasant ,saturday evening gatherings1 ,i met the late ,mrs4 ,emma ,martin4 ,at ,mr4 ,austin ,holyoake's request1 ,mr4 ,george ,jacob ,holyoake1 to my great delight1 presided at one of my lectures in ,philpot ,street1 and ,i felt special interest in the number of the ,reasoner which contained a brief reference to myself and that lecture4 ,i wrote my first pamphlet1 ,a ,few ,words on the ,christian's ,creed1 about the middle of #ahej1 and was honored by ,dr4 ,campbell of the ,british ,banner with a leading article vigorously assailing me for the lectures ,i had then delivered4 ,after leaving home ,i was chiefly sheltered by ,mrs4 ,sharpies ,carlile1 with whose children1 ,hypatia1 ,theophila1 and ,julian1 ,i shared such comforts as were at her disposal4 ,here ,i studied hard everything which came in my way1 picking up a little ,hebrew and an imperfect smattering of other tongues4 ,i tried to earn my living as a coal merchant1 but at sixteen1 and without one farthing in my pocket1 the business was not extensive enough to be profitable4 ,i got very poor1 and at that time was also very proud4 ,a subscription offered me by a few ,freethinkers shocked me1 and awakened me to a sense of my poverty2 so telling no one where ,i was going1 ,i went away1 and on the #agth of ,december1 #ahej1 was1 after some difficulty1 enlisted in the ,seventh ,dragoon ,guards4 ,with this corps ,i remained until ,october1 #ahec1 being ultimately appointed orderly-room clerk2 the regiment1 during the whole of the time ,i remained in it1 being quartered in ,ireland4 ,while ,i was in the regiment ,i was a teetotaler1 and used often to lecture to the men in the barrack-room at night1 and ,i have more than once broken out of ,portobello barracks to deliver teetotal speeches in the small ,french ,street ,hall1 ,dublin4 ,many times have ,i spoken there in my scarlet jacket1 between ,james ,haughton and the good old father1 the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,spratt1 a ,roman ,catholic priest1 then very active in the cause of temperance4 ,while ,i was in the regiment my father died1 and in the summer of #ahec an aunt's death left me a small sum1 out of which ,i purchased my discharge1 and returned to ,england1 to aid in the maintenance of my mother and family4 ,i have now no time for the full story of my army life1 which1 however1 ,i may tell some day4 ,before ,i left the regiment ,i had won the esteem of most of the privates1 and of some of the officers4 ,i quitted the regiment with a very good character from the ,colonel1 but ,i am bound to add1 that the ,captain would not have concurred in this character had he had any voice in the matter4 ,the ,lieutenant-,colonel1 ,c4 ,p4 ,ainslie1 earned an eternal right to grateful mention at my hands by his gentlemanly and considerate treatment4 ,i can not say the same for my ,captain1 who did his best to send me to jail1 and whom ,i have not yet quite forgiven4 ,on returning to civilian life ,i obtained employment in the daytime with a solicitor named ,rogers1 and in the evening as clerk to a ,building ,society2 and soon after entering this employ ,i began again to write and speak1 and it was then ,i1 to in some degree avoid the efforts which were afterward made to ruin me1 took the name ,iconoclast1 under which all my anti-theological work down to #ahfh was done4 ,i give ,mr4 ,rogers' name now for he is dead1 and malice can not injure him4 ,many anonymous letters were sent to him to warn him of my irreligious opinions2 he treated them all with contempt1 only asking me not to let my propaganda become an injury to his business4 ,soon after my discharge from the army ,i had a curious adventure4 ,while ,i was away a number of poor men had subscribed their funds together and had erected a ,working ,man's ,hall1 in ,goldsmith's ,row1 ,hackney ,road4 ,not having any legal advice1 it turned out that they had been entrapped into erecting their building on freehold ground without any lease or conveyance from the freeholder1 who asserted his legal right to the building4 ,the men consulted me1 and finding that under the ,statute of ,frauds they had no remedy1 ,i recommended them to offer a penalty rent of #bj a year4 ,this being refused1 ,i constituted myself into a law court1 and without any riot or breach of the peace1 ,i1 with the assistance of a hundred stout men1 took every brick of the building bodily away1 and divided the materials1 so far as was possible1 among the proper owners4 ,i think ,i can see now the disappointed rascal of a freeholder when he only had his bare soil left once more4 ,he did not escape unpunished1 for to encourage the others to contribute1 he had invested some few pounds in the building4 ,he had been too clever2 he had relied on the letter of the law1 and ,i beat him with a version of common-sense justice4 ,i lectured once or twice a week in the small ,philpot ,street ,hall1 very often then in the ,hall of ,science1 ,city ,road1 and then in the old ,john ,street ,institution1 until ,i won myself a name in the party throughout the country4 ,in #ahee had my first notable adventure with the authorities in reference to the right of meeting in ,hyde ,park1 and subsequently gave evidence before the ,royal ,commission ordered by the ,house of ,commons1 presided over by the ,right ,hon4 ,stuart ,wortley4 ,i was very proud that day at ,westminster1 when1 at the conclusion of my testimony against the authorities1 the ,commissioner publicly thanked me1 and the people who crowded the ,court of ,exchequer cheered me1 for the manner in which ,i denied the right of ,sir ,richard ,mayne1 the then ,chief ,commissioner of ,police1 to issue the notices forbidding the people to meet in the ,park4 ,this was the first step in a course in which ,i have never flinched or wavered4 ,in #ahee ,i undertook1 with others1 the publication of a series of papers1 entitled ,half-,hours with ,freethinkers1 the late ,john ,watts being one of my co-workers4 ,i also by myself commenced the publication of my ,commentary on the ,pentateuch1 which has since been entirely re-written and now forms my ,bible3 what it is4 ,during the autumn of #ahega paid my first lecture visit to ,northampton4 ,early in #aheh1 when ,mr4 ,edward ,truelove was suddenly arrested for publishing the pamphlet1 ,is ,tyrannicide ,justifiable8 ,i became ,honorary ,secretary to the ,defense1 and was at the same time associated with the conduct of the defense of ,simon ,bernard1 who was arrested at the instigation of the ,french ,government for alleged complicity in the ,orsini tragedy4 ,it was at this period ,i gained the friendship of poor ,bernard1 which1 without diminution1 retained until he died2 and also the valued frendship of ,thomas ,allsop1 which ,i still preserve4 ,my associations were from thenceforward such as to encourage in me a strong and bitter feeling against the late ,emperor ,napoleon4 ,while he was in power ,i hated him1 and never lost an opportunity of working against him until the decheance came4 ,i am not sure now that ,i always judged him fairly2 but nothing1 ,i think1 could have tempted me to either write or speak of him with friendliness during his life4 ,le sang de mes amis etait sur son ame4 ,now that the tomb covers his remains1 my hatred has ceased2 but no other feeling has arisen in its place4 ,should any of his family seek to resume the ,imperial purple1 ,i should remain true to my political declarations of sixteen years since1 and should exert myself to the uttermost to prevent ,france falling under another ,empire4 ,i write this with much sadness1 as #ahgj to #ahgc have dispelled some of my illusions held firmly during the fifteen years which preceded4 ,i had believed in such men as ,louis ,blanc1 ,lodru ,rollin1 ,victor ,hugo1 as possible statesmen of ,france4 ,i was mistaken4 ,they were writers1 talkers1 and poets2 good men to ride on the stream1 or to drown in honest protest1 but lacking force to swim against1 or turn back1 the tide by the might of their will4 ,i had believed too in a ,republican ,france1 which is yet only in the womb of time1 to be born after many pangs and sore travailing4 ,in #ahei ,i saw ,joseph ,mazzini for the first time1 and remained on terms of communication with the great ,italian patriot until the year #ahfi1 from time to time bringing him correspondence from ,italy1 where my business sometimes took me4 ,after #ahfi we found ourselves holding diverse opinions on the ,franco-,prussian question--,mazzini went for ,prussia1 ,i for ,france--and ,i never saw him again4 ,in ,june1 #aheh1 ,i held my first public formal theological debate with the ,rev4 ,brewin ,grant1 ,b4,a41 at that time a ,dissenting ,minister at ,sheffield4 ,mr4 ,grant was then a man of some ability1 and if he could have forgotten his aptitudes as a circus jester1 would have been a redoubtable antagonist4 ,during this year ,i was elected ,president of the ,london ,secular ,society1 in lieu of ,mr4 ,george ,jacob ,holyoake1 who had theretofore led the ,english ,free-thought party1 but who has of late years devoted himself more completely to general journalistic work4 ,in ,november1 #aheh1 ,i commenced editorial duties with the ,investigator1 formerly conducted by the late ,robert ,cooper1 which ,i continued until ,august1 #ahei4 ,it had but a small circulation1 and was financially a very great failure4 ,for the encouragement of young propagandists1 ,i may here insert a little anecdote of my early lecturing experience4 ,i had lectured in ,edinburgh in mid-winter1 the audience was small1 the profits microscopical4 ,i1 alter paying my bill at the ,temperance ,hotel1 where ,i then stayed1 had only a few shillings more than my ,parliamentary fare to ,bolton1 where ,i was next to lecture4 ,i was out of bed at five on a freezing morning1 and could have no breakfast1 as the people were not up4 ,i carried my luggage 7a big tin box1 corded round1 which then held books and clothes1 and a small black bag71 for ,i could not spare any of my scanty cash for a conveyance or porter4 ,the train from ,edinburgh being delayed by a severe snow-storm1 the corresponding ,parliamentary had left ,carlisle long before our arrival4 ,in order to reach ,bolton in time for my lecture1 ,i had to book by a quick train1 starting in about three-quarters of an hour1 but could only book to ,preston1 as the increased fare took all my money1 except #d #a_/b;d4 ,with this small sum ,i could get no refreshment in the station1 but in a little shop in the street outside ,i got a mug of tea and a little hot meat pie4 ,from ,preston1 ,i got with great difficulty on to ,bolton1 handing my black bag to the station-master there as security for my fare from ,preston1 until the morning4 ,i arrived in ,bolton about quarter to eight2 the lecture commenced at eight1 and ,i1 having barely time to run to my lodgings1 and wash and change1 went onto the platform cold and hungry4 ,i shall never forget that lecture2 it was in an old ,unitarian ,chapel4 ,we had no gas1 the building seemed full of a foggy mist1 and was imperfectly lit with candles4 ,everything appeared cold1 cheerless1 and gloomy4 ,the most amusing feature was that an opponent1 endowed with extra piety and forbearance1 chose that evening to specially attack me for the money-making and easy life ,i was leading4 ,peace to that opponent's memory1 ,i have never seen him since4 ,it was while in ,scotland on this journey ,i made the acquaintance1 and ultimately won the frendship1 of the late ,alexander ,campbell1 of ,glasgow--a generous1 kindly-hearted old ,socialist ,missionary1 who1 at a time when others were hostile1 spoke encouragingly to me1 and who afterward worked with me for a long period on this journal ,the ,national ,reformer4 ,occasionally the lectures were interfered with by the authorities1 but this happened oftener in the provinces than in ,london4 ,in ,march1 #ahei1 ,i was to have lectured in ,saint ,martin's ,hall on ,louis ,napoleon1 but the ,government--on a remonstrance by ,count ,walewski1 as to language used at a previous meeting1 at which ,i had presided for ,dr4 ,bernard--interfered2 the hall was garrisoned by police1 and the lecture prevented4 ,mr4 ,hullah1 the then proprietor1 being indemnified by the authorities1 paid damages for his breach of contract1 to avoid a suit which ,i at once commenced against him4 ,later in the same month ,i held a debate in ,northampton with ,mr4 ,john ,bowes1 a rather heavy1 but well-meaning1 old gentleman1 utterly unfitted for platform controversy4 ,the press now began to deal with me tolerably freely1 and ,i find boy1 young man1 and juvenile appearance very frequent in the comments4 ,my want of education was an especial matter for hostile criticism1 the more particularly so when the writer had neither heard nor seen me4 ,discussions now grew on me so thick and fast that even some of the most important debates may perhaps escape notice in this imperfect chronicling4 ,at ,sheffield ,i debated with a ,reverend ,dr4 ,mensor1 who styled himself a ,jewish ,rabbi4 ,he was then in the process of gaining admission to the ,church of ,england1 and had been put forward to show my want of scholarship4 ,we both scrawled ,hebrew characters for four nights on a black board1 to the delight and mystification of the audience1 who gave me credit for erudition1 because ,i chalked the square letter characters with tolerable rapidity and clearness4 ,at ,glasgow ,i debated with a ,mr4 ,court1 representing the ,glasgow ,protestant ,association1 a glib-tongued missionary1 who has since gone to the bad2 at ,paisley with a ,mr4 ,smart1 a very gentlemanly antagonist2 and at ,halifax with the ,rev4 ,t4 ,d4 ,matthias1 a ,welsh ,baptist ,minister1 unquestionably very sincere4 ,all these were formal debates1 and were reported with tolerable fullness in the various journals4 ,in the early part of #ahfj ,i1 aided by my friends at ,sheffield1 ,halifax1 and other parts of ,england1 projected the ,national ,reformer in small shares4 ,unfortunately just after the issue of its prospectus1 ,joseph ,barker returned from ,america1 and was associated with me in the editorship4 ,the arrangement was peculiar1 ,mr4 ,barker editing the first half of the paper and ,i the second4 ,it was not precisely a happy union1 and the unnatural alliance came to an end in a very brief period4 ,in ,august4#ahfa1 ,i officially parted company with ,joseph ,barker as editor4 ,we had been practically divorced for months before3 the first part of the paper usually contained abuse of those who wrote in the second half4 ,he came to me originally at ,sheffield1 pretending to be an ,atheist and a ,republican1 and soon after pretended to be a ,christian1 and spoke in favor of slavery4 ,i am sometimes doubtful as to how far ,mr4 ,barker deluded himself1 as well as others1 in his various changes of theological and political opinions4 ,if he had had the slightest thoroughness in his character1 he would have been a great man2 as it is1 he is only a great turn-coat4 ,in ,june1 #ahfj1 ,i debated again with the ,reverend ,brewin ,grant1 every ,monday for four weeks1 at ,bradford1 and during this debate had a narrow escape of my life4 ,in one of my journeys to ,london1 the great ,northern train ran through the station at ,king's ,cross1 and many persons were seriously injured4 ,i got off with some trifling bruises and a severe shaking4 ,garibaldi having at this time made his famous ,marsala effort1 ,i delivered a series of lectures in his aid1 and am happy to be able to record that1 though at that time very poor1 ,i sent him one hundred guineas as my contribution by my tongue4 ,this money was chiefly sent through ,w4 ,h4 ,ashurst1 ,esq41 now ,solicitor to the ,general ,post ,office1 and among the letters ,i preserve ,i have one of thanks from ,g4 ,garibaldi1 for what ,i was then doing for ,italy4 ,in this year ,i debated for four nights with ,dr4 ,brindley1 an old antagonist of the ,socialists1 at ,oldham2 for two nights with the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,baylee1 the ,president of ,st4 ,aidan's ,college1 at ,birkenhead1 where a ,church of ,england curate manufactory was for some time carried on2 and for two nights with the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,rutherford1 of ,newcastle4 ,dr4 ,rutherford has since so identified himself with the cause of the ,tyneside workers1 that ,i read with regret any harsh words that escaped me in that debate4 ,although during late years ,i have managed to keep all my meetings free from violence or disorder1 this was not always so4 ,in ,october1 #ahfj1 ,i paid my first visit to ,wigan1 and certainly lectured there under considerable difficulty1 and incurred personal clanger1 the resident clergy actually inciting the populace to physical violence1 and part destruction of the building ,i lectured in4 ,i1 however1 supported by one courageous woman and her husband1 persevered1 and despite bricks and kicks1 visited ,wigan again and again1 until ,i had1 bon gre malgre improved the manners and customs of the people1 so that now #a am a welcome speaker there4 ,i could not improve the morals of the clergy1 as the public journals have recently shown1 but that was their misfortune not my fault4 ,in the winter of #ahfj1 ,i held two formal debates in ,wigan1 all of which were fully reported in the local journals2 one with ,mr4 ,hutchings1 a respectable ,nonconformist layman1 and the other with the ,rev4 ,woodville ,woodman1 a ,swedenborgian divine4 ,early in #ahfa ,i visited ,guernsey in consequence of an attempt made by the ,law ,courts of the ,island to enforce the blasphemy laws against a ,mr4 ,stephen ,bendall1 who had distributed some or my pamphlets to the ,guernseyites1 and had been condemned to imprisonment in default of finding sureties not to repeat the offense4 ,not daring to prosecute me1 although challenged in writing1 the authorities permitted drink and leave of absence to be given to soldiers in the garrison on condition they would try to prevent the lecture1 and the house in which ,i lectured was broken into by a drunken and pious mob1 shouting ,kill the ,infidel4 ,my antagonists were fortunately as cowardly as they were intolerant1 and ,i succeeded in quelling the riot1 delivering my lecture in spite of all opposition1 although considerable damage was done to the building4 ,shortly after this ,i visited ,plymouth1 where the ,young ,men's ,christian ,association arranged to prosecute me4 ,they were1 however1 a little too hasty1 and had me arrested at an open air meeting when ,i had scarcely commenced my speech1 having only uttered the words3 ,friends1 ,i am about to address you on the bible4 ,having locked me up all night1 and refused bail1 it was found by their legal adviser that a blunder had been committed1 and a charge of exciting a breach of the peace1 and assaulting the constable in the execution of his duty1 was manufactured4 ,it was tolerably amusing to see the number of dinners1 suppers1 and breakfasts1 all accompanied with pots or cups of ,devonshire cream1 sent in to the ,devonport ,lock-up1 where ,i was confined1 by various friends who wanted to show their sympathy4 ,the invented charge1 though well sworn to1 broke down after two days' hearing1 under the severe cross-examination to which ,i subjected the witnesses4 ,i defended myself1 two lawyers appeared against me1 and seven magistrates sat on the bench1 predetermined to convict me4 ,finding that the evidence of the whole of the witnesses whom ,i wished to call was to be objected to1 because un-believers in hell were then incompetent as witnesses according to ,english law1 ,i am pleased to say that several ,nonconformists1 disgusted with the bigotry and pious perjury of my prosecutors1 came forward4 ,the result was a triumphant victory1 and a certificate of dismissal1 which ,i wrung from the reluctant bench of great unpaid4 ,i was not yet satisfied2 some of the magistrates had tried to browbeat me1 and ,i announced in court that ,i would deliver the lecture ,i had been prevented from delivering to an audience assembled in the borough1 and that ,i should sue at law the ,superintendent of ,police who had arrested me4 ,the first portion of my defiance was the most difficult to give effect to2 not a hall could be hired in ,devonport1 and nearly all the convenient open land being under military jurisdiction1 it was impossible to procure the tenancy of a field for an open-air meeting4 ,i1 however1 fulfilled my promise1 and despite the police and military authorities combined1 delivered my lecture to an audience assembled in their very teeth4 ,devonport1 ,stonehouse1 and ,plymouth form one garrisoned and fortified town1 divided by the ,river ,tamar4 ,all the water to the sea is under the separate jurisdiction of ,saltash1 some miles distant4 ,i obtained a large boat on which a temporary platform was built1 and this boat was quietly moored in the ,river ,tamar on the ,devonport side1 about two fathoms from the shore4 ,placards were issued stating that1 acting under legal advice1 ,i should address the meeting and deliver the prevented lecture near to the ,devonport ,park ,gates4 ,overwhelming force was prepared by the ,devonport authorities1 and having already erred by too great haste1 this time they determined to let me fairly commence my lecture before they arrested me4 ,to their horror ,i quietly walked past the ,park ,gates where the crowd was waiting1 and passing down a by-lane to the river side1 stepped into a little boat1 was rowed to the large one1 and then delivered my lecture1 the audience who had followed me standing on an open wharf1 all within the jurisdiction of the ,borough of ,devonport1 and ,i being about #i feet outside the borough4 ,the face of the ,mayor ready to read the riot act1 the superintendent with twenty-eight picked policemen to make sure or my arrest1 and a military force in readiness to overawe any popular demonstration--all these were sights to remember4 ,i am afraid the ,devonport ,young ,men's ,christian ,association did not limit themselves to prayers and blessings on that famous ,sunday4 ,as ,i had promised1 the authorities refusing any apology for the wrongful arrest1 ,i commenced an action against ,superintendent ,edwards1 by whom ,i had been taken into custody4 ,the borough magistrates indemnified their officer and found funds to resist me4 ,i fought with very little help save from one tried1 though anonymous friend1 for ,joseph ,barker1 my co-editor1 but not co-worker1 in our own paper1 discouraged any pecuniary support4 ,the cause was made a special jury one1 and came on for trial at ,exeter ,assizes4 ,unfortunately ,i was persuaded to brief counsel1 and ,sir ,robert ,collier1 my leader1 commenced his speech with an expression of sorrow for my opinions4 ,this damaged me very much1 although ,i won the case easily after a long trial4 ,the jury1 composed of ,devonshire landowners1 only gave me a farthing damages1 and ,mr4 ,baron ,channell refused to certify for costs4 ,i was determined not to let the matter rest here1 and myself carried it to the ,court in ,banco1 where ,i argued it in person for two whole days1 before ,lord ,chief ,justice ,erie and a full bench of ,judges4 ,although ,i did not succeed in improving my own position1 ,i raised public opinion in favor of free speech1 and the enormous costs incurred by the borough authorities1 and which they had to bear1 have deterred them from ever again interfering either with my lectures or those of any other speaker1 and ,i now have crowded audiences in the finest hall whenever ,i visit the three towns4 ,these proceedings cost me several hundred pounds1 and burdened me with a debt which took long clearing off4 ,in #ahjb1 ,i held a four nights' discussion with a ,dissenting clergyman1 the ,rev4 ,w4 ,barker4 ,my opponent was probably one of the most able and straightforward among my numerous antagonists4 ,about this time a severe attack of acute rheumatism prostrated me1 and having soon after to visit ,italy1 ,i1 at first under medical advice1 adopted the habit of drinking the light ,continental wines1 and although continuing an advocate of sobriety1 ,i naturally ceased to take part in any teetotal gatherings4 ,in the struggle between the ,northern and ,southern ,states of ,america1 my advocacy and sympathies went with what ,i am glad to say was the feeling of the great mass of the ,english people--in favor of the ,north2 and my esteemed friend1 and then contributor1 ,w4 ,e4 ,adams1 furnished most valuable aid with his pen in the enlightenment of public opinion1 at a time when many of our aristocracy were openly exulting in what they conceived to be the probable break-up of the ,united ,states ,republic4 ,during the ,lancashire cotton famine ,i lectured several times in aid of the fund4 ,i began now also to assume a much more prominent position in the various ,english political movements1 and especially to speak on the ,irish ,church and ,irish ,land questions4 ,on the ,irish questions1 ,i owe much to my late co-worker and contributor1 poor ,peter ,fox ,andre1 a thoroughly honest and whole-souled man1 whose pen was always on the side of struggling nationalities4 ,one of the disadvantages connected with a public career is1 that every vile scoundrel who is too cowardly to face you openly can libel you anonymously4 ,i have had1 ,i think1 my full share of this kind of annoyance4 ,most of the slanders ,i have treated with utter contempt1 and if ,i had alone consulted my own feelings1 should probably never have pursued any other course4 ,twice1 however1 ,i have had recourse to the judgment of the law--once in the case of a clergyman of the ,church of ,england1 who indulged in a foul libel affecting my wife and children4 ,this fellow ,i compelled to retract every word he had uttered1 and to pay #ajj1 which1 after deducting the costs1 was divided among various charitable institutions4 ,the reverend libeler wrote me an abject letter1 begging me not to ruin his prospects in the ,church by publishing his name2 ,i consented1 and he has since repaid my mercy by losing no opportunity of being offensive4 ,he is a prominent contributor to the ,rock1 and a fierce ultra-,protestant4 ,he must have greater confidence in my honor than in his own1 or fear of exposure would compel him to greater reticence4 ,the other case arose during the election1 and will be dealt with in its proper order4 ,it was my fortune to be associated with the ,reform ,league from its earliest moments until its dissolution4 ,it is hardly worth while to repeat the almost stereotyped story of the successful struggle made by the ,league for ,parliamentary ,reform4 ,e4 ,beales1 ,esq41 was the ,president of the ,league1 and ,i was one of its ,vice-,presidents1 and continued nearly the whole time of its existence a member of its executive4 ,the whole of my services and journeys were given to the ,league without the slightest remuneration1 and ,i repeatedly1 and according to my means1 contributed to its funds4 ,when ,i resigned my position on the executive ,i received from ,mr4 ,george ,howell1 the ,secretary1 and from ,mr4 ,beales1 the ,president1 the most touching and flattering letters as to what ,mr4 ,beales was pleased to describe as the loyalty and utility of my services to the ,league4 ,mr4 ,george ,howell concluded a long letter as follows3 ,be pleased to accept my assurance of sincere regards for your manly courage1 consistent and honorable conduct in our cause1 and for your kindly consideration for myself as ,secretary of this great movement on all occasions4 ,these letters have additional value from the fact that ,mr4 ,beales1 whom ,i sincerely respect1 differs widely from me in matters of faith1 and ,mr4 ,howell is1 fortunately1 far from having any friendly feeling toward me4 ,it was while on the ,executive of this ,league that ,i first became intimately acquainted with ,mr4 ,george ,odger1 and had reason to be pleased with the straightforward course he pursued1 and the honest work he did as one of the ,executive ,committee4 ,mr4 ,john ,baxter ,langley and ,mr4 ,r4 ,a4 ,cooper were also among my most prominent co-workers4 ,my sympathy with ,ireland1 and open advocacy of justice for the ,irish1 nearly brought me into serious trouble4 ,some who were afterward indicted as the chiefs of the so-called ,fenian movement1 came to me for advice4 ,so much ,i see others have written1 and the rest of this portion of my autobiography ,i may write some day4 ,at present there are men not out of danger whom careless words might imperil1 and as regards myself ,i shall not be guilty of the folly of printing language which a government might use against me4 ,my pamphlet on the ,irish ,question1 published in #ahff1 won a voluntary letter of warm approval from ,mr4 ,gladstone1 the only friendly writing ,i ever received from him in my life4 ,at ,huddersfield1 the ,philosophical ,hall having been duly hired for my lectures1 pious influence was brought to bear on the lessee to induce him to break the contract4 ,fortunately what in law amounted to possession had been given1 and on the doors being locked against me1 ,i broke them open1 and delivered my lecture to a crowded and most orderly audience4 ,i was arrested1 and an attempt was made to prosecute me before the ,huddersfield magistrates2 but ,i defended myself with success1 and defeated with ease the ,conservative solicitor1 ,n4 ,learoyd1 who had been specially retained to insure my committal to jail4 ,in #ahfh ,i entered into a contest with the ,conservative ,government which1 having been continued by the ,gladstone ,government1 finished in #ahfi with a complete victory for myself4 ,according to the then law every newspaper was required to give sureties to the extent of #hjj against blasphemous or seditious libel4 ,i had never offered to give these sureties1 as they would have probably been liable to forfeiture about once a month4 ,in ,march1 #ahfh1 the ,disraeli ,government insisted on my compliance with the law4 ,i refused4 ,the ,government then required me to stop my paper4 ,i printed on the next issue1 ,printed in ,defiance of ,her ,majesty's ,government4 ,i was then served with an ,attorney-,general's information1 containing numerous counts1 and seeking to recover enormous penalties4 ,i determined to be my own barrister1 and while availing myself in consultation of the best legal advice1 ,i always argued my own case4 ,the interlocutory hearings before the ,judges in ,chambers were numerous1 for ,i took objection to nearly every step made by the government1 and ,i nearly always succeeded4 ,i also brought the matter before ,parliament1 being specially backed in this by ,mr4 ,milner ,gibson1 ,mr4 ,john ,stuart ,mill1 and ,mr4 ,e4 ,h4 ,j4 ,crawford4 ,when the information was called on for trial in a crowded court before ,mr4 ,baron ,martin1 the ,government backed out1 and declined to make a jury2 so the prosecution fell to the ground4 ,strange to say1 it was renewed by the ,gladstone ,government1 who had the coolness to offer me1 by the mouth of ,attorney-,general ,collier1 that they would not enforce any penalties if ,i would stop the paper1 and admit that ,i was in the wrong4 ,this ,i declined1 and the prosecution now came on for trial before ,baron ,bramwell and a special jury4 ,against me were the ,attorney-,general1 ,sir ,r4 ,collier1 the ,solicitor-,general1 ,sir ,j4 ,d4 ,coleridge1 and ,mr4 ,crompton ,hutton4 ,i found that these legal worthies were blundering in their conduct of the trial1 and at nisi prius ,i let them obtain a verdict1 which however1 ,i reversed on purely technical grounds1 after a long argument1 which ,i sustained before ,lord ,chief ,baron ,kelly and a full court sitting in ,banco4 ,having miserably failed to enforce the law against me1 the ,government repealed the statute1 and ,i can boast that ,i got rid of the last shackle of the obnoxious ,english press laws4 ,mr4 ,j4 ,s4 ,mill wrote me3 ,you have gained a very honorable success in obtaining a repeal of the mischievous ,act by your persevering resistance4 ,the ,government1 although beaten1 refused to reimburse me any portion of the large outlay incurred in fighting them4 ,it has always been my ambition to enter ,parliament1 and at the ,general ,election for #ahjh ,i1 for the first time1 entered the arena as a candidate4 ,i was beaten2 but this is scarcely wonderful4 ,i had all the journals in ,england except three against me4 ,every idle or virulent tale which folly could distort or calumny invent was used against me4 ,despite all1 ,i polled nearly #a1ajj votes1 and ,i obtained unasked1 but not ungratefully listened to1 the public acknowledgments from the ,mayor of the borough1 also from one of my competitors1 ,mr4 ,charles ,gilpin1 as to the loyal manner in which ,i had fought the contest through4 ,during the election struggle libels rained from all sides4 ,one by the late ,mr ,capper1 ,m4 ,p41 seeking reelection at ,sandwich1 was the monstrous story1 that in the open square at ,northampton ,i had taken out my watch and defied ,god to show his power by striking me dead in five minutes4 ,challenged for his authority ,mr4 ,capper pretended to have heard the story from ,mr4 ,c4 ,gilpin1 ,m4 ,p41 who indignantly denied being any party to the falsehood4 ,i insisted on an apology from ,mr4 ,capper1 which being refused ,i sued him1 but he died soon after the writ was served4 ,the story was not an original invention by ,mr4 ,capper2 it had been reported of ,abner ,kneeland thirty years before1 and is still a favorite one with pious missionaries at street corners4 ,a still more outrageous slander was inserted in the ,razor1 a pseudo-comic weekly4 ,i compelled this journal to give a full apology1 but not until after two years' litigation1 and a new trial had been ordered4 ,when obliged to recant1 the ,christian proprietor became insolvent1 to avoid payment of the costs4 ,unfortunately born poor1 my life had been one continued struggle1 and the burden of my indebtedness was sorely swollen in this and similar contests4 ,probably the most severe1 and to me certainly the most costly1 struggle has been on the oath question4 ,formerly it was a fatal objection against the competency of a witness who did not believe in a ,deity and in a future state of rewards and punishments4 ,several attempts had been made to alter the law1 but they had all failed2 and indeed ,sir ,j4 ,trevelyan's measures only provided for affirmation1 and did not seek to abolish the incompetency4 ,in a case in which ,i was plaintiff in the ,court of ,common ,pleas1 my evidence was objected to1 and ,i determined to fight the matter through every possible court1 and to get the law changed if possible4 ,i personally argued the case before ,lord ,chief ,justice ,bovill and a full ,bench1 in the ,court of ,common ,pleas1 and with the aid of the present ,mr4 ,justice ,denman and the late ,lord ,chancellor ,hatherly1 the law was twice altered in ,parliament4 ,before victory was ultimately obtained ,i had to carry the case into the ,court of ,error1 and ,i prepared and sent out at my own cost more than two hundred petitions to ,parliament4 ,ultimately the ,evidence ,amendment ,act1 #ahfi1 and the ,evidence ,further ,amendment ,act1 #ahgj1 gave ,freethinkers the right to enter the witness box1 and ,i won my suit4 ,the ,christian defendant finished by becoming bankrupt1 and ,i lost a terribly large sum in debt and costs4 ,the original debt and interest were over #cjj1 and the costs of the various proceedings were very heavy4 ,in the winter of #ahgj the ,mirfield ,town ,hall1 which had been properly taken and paid for for two nights' lectures1 was refused by the proprietors1 who barricaded the hall1 and obtained a great force of police from the neighborhood4 ,in order that the law might be clearly settled on this matter1 ,i brought an action to try the question1 and although the late ,mr4 ,justice ,willis expressed himself strongly in my favor1 it was held by ,mr4 ,justice ,mellor at nisi prius that nothing1 except a deed under seal or an actual demise1 would avail4 ,a mere agreement for a user of a hall was a license revocable at will1 even when for a valuable consideration4 ,this convinced me that when hall proprietors break their contracts1 ,i must enforce my rights as ,i did at ,huddersfield1 and have done in other places4 ,during the ,franco-,prussian struggle ,i remained neutral until the #dth of ,september4 ,i was against ,bismark and his blood-and-iron theory1 but ,i was also against the ,empire and the ,emperor2 so ,i took no part with either4 ,i was lecturing at ,plymouth the day the decheance was proclaimed1 and immediately after wrote my first article in favor of ,republican ,france4 ,i now set to work and organized a series of meetings in ,london and the provinces1 some of which were cooperated in by ,dr4 ,congreve1 ,professor ,beesly1 and other prominent members of the ,positivist party4 ,these meetings exercised some little effect on the public opinion in this country1 but unfortunately the collapse on the part of ,france was so complete1 and the resources commanded by ,bismark and ,moltke so vast1 that1 except as expressing sympathy1 the results were barren4 ,in ,october1 #ahgj1 ,i1 without any previous communication from myself to them1 received from the ,republican ,government at ,tours a long and flattering letter1 signed by ,leon ,gambetta1 ,adolphe ,cremieux1 ,al ,glais ,bizoin1 and ,admiral ,fourichon1 declaring that they1 as members of the ,gouvernement de la ,defense ,nationale1 reunis en delegation a ,tours1 tiennent a honneur de vous remercier chalereusement du noble concours que vous apportez a la cause de la ,france4 ,on the #b;d of ,february1 #ahga1 ,m4 ,tissot1 the ,charge d',affaires of ,france in ,england1 wrote me3 ,quant a moi1 mon cher ami1 le ne puis que constater ici1 comme je l'ai deja fait1 comme je le feraien toute occasion1 la dette que nous avons contracted envers vous4 ,vous nous avez donne votre temps1 votre activite1 votre eloquence1 votre ame1 la meilleure partie de vous meme1 en un mot2 la ,france que vous avez ete seule a defendre ne l'oubliera jamais4 ,this is probably a too flattering estimate of my services to ,france1 but coming from the official representative of the ,french ,republic1 ,i feel entitled to insert it4 ,in ,september1 #ahga1 ,monsieur ,emmanuel ,arago1 member of the ,provisional ,government of the #dth of ,september1 wrote the following words upon the letter which had been sent me1 as above mentioned1 in ,october1 #ahgj1 by the ,delegate ,government of ,tours3 ,en lisant cette lettre1 j'eprouve tres vivement le regret de n'avoir pu1 en-ferme dans ,paris1 joindre ma signature a celles de mes collegues de la delegation de ,tours4 ,mr4 ,bradlaugh est et sera toujours dans la ,republique notre concitoyen4 ,during #ahgj1 #ahga1 and #ahgb1 #a held several debates with the ,rev4 ,a4 ,j4 ,harrison1 formerly of ,huddersfield4 ,the first at ,newcastle1 in the splendid ,town ,hall of that place1 was attended by about #e1jjj persons4 ,the second debate at ,bristol1 was notable from being presided over by ,professor ,newman4 ,the third discussion was at ,birmingham1 and was an attempt at the ,socratic method1 and the last platform encounter1 was in the ,new ,hall of ,science1 ,london4 ,of the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,harrison it is enough ,i should say that1 a few weeks since1 when rumor put my life in danger1 he was one of the first to write a kindly and unaffected letter of sympathy to ,mrs4 ,bradlaugh4 ,when the great cry of thanksgiving was raised for the recovery of the ,prince of ,wales1 ,i could not let it pass without protest4 ,while he lay dangerously ill ,i had ceased to make any attack on himself or family1 but ,i made no pretense of a grief ,i did not feel4 ,when the thanksgiving day was fixed1 and tickets for ,st4 ,paul's were sent by the ,lord ,chamberlain to working men representatives1 ,i felt it right to hold a meeting of protest1 which was attended by a crowded audience in the ,new ,hall of ,science4 ,the right of meeting has given me three important occasions of measuring swords with the ,government during the last few years1 and each time defeat has attended the ,government4 ,the first1 the ,hyde ,park meeting1 where ,i acted in accord with ,mr4 ,beales1 to whom as chief1 let the honor go of this conflict4 ,the second was on the #cast ,july1 #ahga1 under the following circumstances4 ,a meeting had been held by ,mr4 ,g4 ,odger and some of his friends in ,hyde ,park1 on ,sunday the #cjth of ,july1 to protest against the grant to ,prince ,arthur2 this meeting was adjourned until the following evening4 ,late on the ,sunday afternoon1 the adjourned meeting was forbidden by the ,government4 ,early on ,monday morning ,mr4 ,odger applied to me to give the friends the benefit of my legal knowledge and personal influence4 ,i consented1 and the ,government persevering1 ,i took my share of the responsibility of the gathering1 and signed with ,mr4 ,odger a new notice convening the meeting4 ,the ,home ,office not only served us also with a written prohibition1 but threatened and prepared to use force4 ,i immediately gave ,mr4 ,bruce notice that the force would be illegal1 and that it would be resisted4 ,at the last moment1 and in fact only some half hour before the meeting commenced1 the ,government abandoned its prohibition1 and an enormous meeting of a most orderly character was held in absolute defiance of the authorities4 ,the more recent case was in ,december1 #ahgb1 when finding that ,mr4 ,odger1 ,mr4 ,bailey1 and others1 had been prosecuted under some monstrous and ridiculous regulations invented by ,mr4 ,ayrton1 ,i1 on my own responsibility1 determined to throw down the gauntlet to the ,government4 ,i did this most successfully1 and soon after the opening of ,parliament the obnoxious regulations were annulled4 ,it is at present too early to speak of the ,republican movement in ,england1 which ,i have sought1 and not entirely without success1 to organize on a thoroughly legal basis4 ,it is a fair matter for observation that my lectures on ,the ,impeachment of the ,house of ,brunswick1 have been delivered to crowded audiences assembled in some of the finest halls in ,england and ,scotland1 notably the ,free ,trade ,hall1 ,manchester1 the ,town ,hall1 ,birmingham1 the ,town ,hall1 ,northampton1 and the ,city ,hall1 ,glasgow4 ,it is1 as far as ,i am aware1 the first time any ,english citizen has1 without tumult or disorder and in buildings belonging to various ,municipalities1 directly challenged the hereditary right of the reigning family4 ,in penning the foregoing sketch ,i had purposely to omit many facts connected with branches of ,italian1 ,irish1 and ,french politics4 ,i have also entirely omitted my own struggles for existence4 ,the political parts are left out because there are secrets which are not my own alone1 and which may not bear full telling for many years to come4 ,the second1 because ,i hope that another year or two of hard work may enable me to free myself from the debt load which for some time has hung heavily round me4 ,a ,,few ,,words ,,about ,,the ,,devil ,to have written under this head in the reign of ,james ,rex1 of pious memory1 would have1 probably1 procured for me1 without even the perusal of my pamphlet1 the reputation of ,dr4 ,faustus1 and a too intimate acquaintance with some of the pleasant plans of torturing to death practiced by the clever witch-finders of that day4 ,i profess1 however1 no knowledge of the black art1 and am entirely unskilled in diablerie1 and feel quite convinced that the few words ,i shall say about his ,satanic ,majesty will not be cause of any unholy compacts in which bodies or souls are signed away in ink suspiciously red4 ,in many countries1 dealing with the ,devil has been a perilous experiment4 ,in #agij1 an unfortunate named ,andre ,dubuisson was confined in the ,bastile1 charged with raising the ,devil4 ,to prevent even the slightest apprehension on the part of my reader that ,i have any desire or intent toward placing him unpleasantly near a black-visaged1 sulphureous-constitutioned individual1 horned like an old goat1 with satyr-like legs1 a tail of unpleasant length1 and a disposition to buy a body from any unfortunate wight ready to dispose of it1 ,i have only to assert my intention of treating the subject entirely from a biblical point of view4 ,doubtless ,i ought to do this2 the ,christian ,devil is a bible institution4 ,i say1 advisedly1 the ,christian ,devil1 because other religions have boasted their ,devil1 and it is well to prevent confusion4 ,but ,i frankly admit that none of these religions have the honor of a ,devil so devilish as our own4 ,indeed our ,devil ought to be the best3 it costs the most4 ,no other religion besides our own can boast the array of ,popes1 ,bishops1 ,conferences1 ,rectors1 ,incumbents1 and paid preachers of various titles4 ,and all these to preach against the ,devil6 ,it is necessary1 before entering upon my subject1 that ,i should confess my little ability to do it justice4 ,i am unable to say1 certainly1 whether ,i am writing about a singular ,devil or a plurality of ,devils4 ,in one text ,devils are mentioned199 recognizing a plurality2 in another1 the ,devil19999 as if there was but one4 ,we may1 however1 fairly assume that either there is one ,devil1 more than one1 or less than one2 and1 having thus cleared our path from mere numerical difficulties1 we will proceed to give the ,devil his due4 ,satan appears either to have been a child of ,god1 or1 at any rate1 a most intimate acquaintance of the family2 for we find that on a day when the children of ,god came to present themselves before the ,lord1 that ,satan came also among them2999999 and no surprise or disapprobation is manifested at his presence4 ,the conversation narrated in the ,book of ,job as occurring between ,god and the ,devil has1 for us1 a value proportioned to the rarity of the scene1 and to the high character of the personages concerned4 99 ,leviticus xvii1 #g4 9999 ,luke iv1 #b4 999999 ,job i1 #f ,we are1 therefore1 despite the infidel criticism of ,martin ,luther1 who condemns the ,book of ,job as a sheer argumentum fabul determined to examine carefully the whole particulars for ourselves2 and1 in so doing1 we are naturally surprised to find ,god1 the omniscient1 putting to ,satan the query1 ,whence comest thou8 ,we cannot suppose ,god1 the all-wise1 ignorant upon the subject1 and we can not avoid a feeling of astonishment that such an interrogatory should have been made4 ,satan's reply1 assuming its correctness--and this the text leaves us no reason to doubt--increases our surprise and augments our astonishment4 ,the answer given is1 ,from going to and fro in the earth1 and from going up and down it1 ,in remarking on this answer1 ,i do not address myself to those wretched persons who1 relying on their reason and common sense1 ignore the divine truth4 ,i address myself to the true believer1 and ,i ask1 is he not astonished to find1 from his bible1 that ,satan could have gone to and fro in the earth1 and walked up and down1 and yet not have met ,god1 the omnipresent1 occasionally during his journeying8 ,the ,lord makes no comment on ,satan's reply1 but says1 ,hast thou not considered my servant ,job1 that there is none like him in the earth1 a perfect and an upright man1 one that feareth ,god and escheweth evil8 ,it is rather extraordinary that ,god should wish to have the ,devil's opinion on the only good man recorded as then living in the world3 the more extraordinary when we know that ,god is all-wise1 and knew ,satan's opinion without asking it1 and that ,god is immutable1 and1 therefore1 would not be influenced by the expression of the ,devil's opinion when uttered4 ,satan's answer is1 ,doth ,job fear ,god for naught8 ,hast thou not made an hedge about him1 and about all that he hath on every side8 ,thou hast blest the work of his hand1 and his substance is increased in the land2 but put forth thine hand now and touch all that he hath1 and he will curse thee to thy face4 ,what is ,god's reply to this audacious assertion8 ,does he express his determination to protect the righteous ,job8 ,does he use his power to rebuke the evil tempter8 ,no4 ,the ,lord said unto ,satan1 ,behold all that he hath is in thy power2 only upon himself put forth not thine hand4 ,and this was ,job's reward for being a perfect and upright man1 one that feared ,god and eschewed evil4 ,he was not sent to the ,devil1 but the ,devil was sent to all that he had4 ,and he lost all without repining--sons1 daughters1 oxen1 asses1 camels and sheep1 all destroyed1 and yet ,job sinned not4 ,some divines have urged that we here get a beautiful picture of patience and contentment under wrong and misfortune4 ,but ,i reply that it is not good to submit patiently to wrong1 or to rest contented under misfortune4 ,i urge that it is manlier far to resist wrong1 nobler far to wage war against wrong1 better far to carefully investigate the causes of wrong and misfortune1 with a view to their removal4 ,contentment under wrong is a crime1 voluntary submission under oppression is not the virtue some would have it to be4 ,again there was a day when the sons of ,god came to present themselves before the ,lord as if ,god's children could ever be absent from him1 and ,satan came also among them to present himself before the ,lord4 ,and the ,lord said unto ,satan1 ,from whence comest thou8 ,and ,satan answered the ,lord and said1 ,from going to and fro in the earth1 and from walking up and down in it4 ,and the ,lord said unto ,satan1 ,hast thou considered my servant ,job1 that there is none like him in the earth8 a perfect and an upright man1 one that feareth ,god and escheweth evil8 and still he holdeth fast his integrity1 although thou movedst me against ,,him ,,to ,,destroy ,,him ,,without ,,cause4 ,can ,god be moved against a man to destroy him without a cause8 ,if so1 ,god is neither immutable nor all-wise4 ,yet the bible puts into ,god's mouth the terrible admission that the ,devil had moved ,god against ,job to destroy him without cause4 ,if true1 it destroys ,god's goodness2 if false1 then the bible is no revelation4 ,but ,satan answered the ,lord and said1 ,skin for skin1 yea1 all that a man hath will he give for his life2 put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh1 and he will curse thee to thy face4 ,does the ,lord now drive the ,devil from his presence8 ,is there any expression of wrath or indignation against his tempter8 ,not so4 ,the ,lord said unto ,satan1 ,behold1 he is in thine hand1 but save his life4 ,and ,job1 being better than everybody else1 finds himself smitten in consequence with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown4 ,the ways of the ,lord are not as our ways1 or this would seem the reverse of an encouragement to virtue4 ,we turn over the pages of our bible for further information on this diabolic theme4 ,after reading the account of the numbering by ,david attentively1 one is puzzled by the apparent contradiction1 that in one place ,god and in another ,satan occurs499 99 #a ,chron4 xxi1 #a2 #b ,sam4 xxiv1 #a ,but it may be that there is more harmony between ,god and the ,devil than ordinary men are aware4 ,unfortunately1 we have not the advantage of great scholarship1 but one erudite commentator on the bible tells us1 in speaking of the ,hebrew word ,azazel3 ,this terrible and venerable name of ,god1 through the pens of biblical glossers1 has been a ,devil1 a mountain1 a wilderness1 and a he-goat499 ,well may incomprehensibility be an attribute of ,deity1 when1 even to holy and reverend fathers1 ,god has been sometimes undistinguishable from a he-goat or a ,devil4 ,goats and ,devils are alike represented with horns and tails4 ,we trust that profanity will not enlarge on this sad confusion of ideas4 ,not possessing great lingual acquirements1 we adhere to the ,english bible1 believing that religion can never be improved by mere common sense1 or human effort4 ,we admire1 without understanding1 the skill of the ,missionary1 who makes the word ,mooigniazimoongo an equivalent for ,god in the ,sooahelee dialect1 and who represents original sin to the ,ottomi ,indian by the word ,teacatzintiliztlatlacolli1 and who recommends the ,delaware to repentance as ,schiwelendamowitchewagan4 ,we do not wonder that in these translating thaumaturgic exploits ,god and ,devil get mistaken for each other4 ,god is a spirit4 ,jesus was led up of the ,spirit to be tempted of the ,devil2 and it is also true that spirits are very likely to lead men to the ,devil4 ,too intimate acquaintance with whisky toddy overnight is often followed by the delirium tremens and blue-devils on the morrow4 ,we advise our readers to eschew alike spirituous and spiritual mixtures4 ,they interfere sadly with sober thinking1 and play the ,devil with your brains4 ,the history of the temptation of ,jesus by the ,devil has been dealt with in another essay49999 ,yet it may be well to add the opinion of a ,church of ,england divine in this place3 ,that the ,devil should appear personally to the ,son of ,god is certainly not more wonderful than that he should1 in a more remote age1 have appeared among the sons of ,god1 in the presence of ,god himself1 to tempt and torment the righteous ,job4 99 ,g4 ,r4 ,gliddon's extract from ,land's ,sagra ,scritura1 chap4 iii1 sec4 #a4 9999 ,who was ,jesus ,christ8 p4 #h4 ,but that ,satan should carry ,jesus1 bodily and literally1 through the air--first to the top of a high mountain1 and then to the topmost pinnacle of the temple--is wholly inadmissible1 it is an insult to our understanding499 ,it is pleasant to be able to find so many clergymen1 in these days1 zealously repudiating their own creeds4 ,i am not prepared to speak strongly as to the color of the ,devil2 white men paint him black1 black men white2 but1 allowing for the prejudices of dark-colored and fair-skinned believers1 an invisible green would not be an unreasonable tint4 ,we presume that he is not colorless1 as otherwise the ,evangelists or the persons present would have labored under considerable difficulties in witnessing the casting out of the ,devil from the man in the synagogue49999 ,this ,devil is described as an unclean ,devil1 and it is1 therefore1 a fair inference that there are some clean ,devils as well as dirty ,devils4 ,printer's ,devils are mostly unclean ,devils1 but then they are only little ,devils1 and we must not make too much of them4 ,nearly all the ,devils seem to talk1 and it has therefore been conjectured by some bachelor metaphysicians that they are of the feminine gender1 but ,i see no reason to agree in this1 and my wife is of a contrary opinion4 ,the ,devils are probably good ,christians--one text tells us that they believe and tremble4 ,it is a fact with some poor ,devils that the more they believe the more they tremble4 ,we are told in another text that the ,devil goeth about like a roaring lion1 seeking whom he may devour4 ,he will have extremely bad taste1 however1 if he eat up the lean and bony working-classes1 while so many fat bishops and stout archdeacons remain unconsumed4 99,christian ,records1 by the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,giles1 p4 #add4 9999 ,luke iv1 #ce1 #cf4 ,devils should be a sort of eternal salamander1 for we are told there is everlasting fire prepared for the ,devil and his angels199 and that there is a lake of brimstone and fire1 into which the ,devil was cast49999 ,perhaps instead of being salamander they will1 while in the fire1 be rather of the 'otter tribe2 but this is a question which ,mr4 ,c4 ,h4 ,spurgeon1 who is a far better judge of brimstone than myself1 would be more competent to settle4 ,the ,devil has1 at least upon one occasion1 figured as a controversialist4 ,he disputed with the archangel ,michael1 contending about the body of ,moses2999999 and in these degenerate days of personality in debate it is pleasant to know that the religious champion1 unlike the ,grants1 ,coopers1 and ,brindleys of the present period1 was very civil toward his ,satanic opponent4 ,the ,devil was once imprisoned for #a1jjj years in a bottomless pit499999999 ,if a pit has no bottom1 it seems but little confinement to shut the top2 but with faith and prayer1 even a good foundation may be obtained for a bottomless pit4 ,it is urged by some that the ,devil was the serpent of ,genesis--that is1 that it was really ,satan who1 in this guise1 tempted ,eve4 ,there is this difficulty in the matter3 the ,devil is a liar19999999999 but in the interview with ,eve the serpent seems to have confined himself to the strict truth4999999999999 ,there is1 in fact1 no point of resemblance--no horns1 no hoof1 nothing except the tail--which can be in any way identified4 99 ,matt1 xxv1 #da4 9999 ,jude1 #i4 999999 ,john viii1 #dd4 99999999 ,rev4 xxi1 #aj4 9999999999 ,rev4 xxi1 #b4 999999999999 ,genesis iii1 #d1 #e1 #bb4 ,the ,old ,testament speaks a little of the ,devils1 sometimes of ,satan1 but never of ,the ,devil1 and it seems almost too much1 in ,matthew1 to usher him in1 in the temptation scene1 without introduction1 and as if he were an old acquaintance4 ,i do not remember reading1 in the ,old ,testament1 anything about the lake of brimstone and fire2 this feature of faith was reserved for the warmth of ,christian love to inspire2 the ,pentateuch makes no reference to it4 ,zechariah1 in a vision1 saw ,joshua1 the ,high-,priest1 standing before the angel of the ,lord1 and ,satan standing at his right hand to resist him499 ,why the ,devil wanted to resist ,joshua is not clear2 but as ,joshua's garments were in a very filthy state1 it may be that he was preaching to the ,priest the virtues of cleanliness4 ,it is often said that cleanliness is next to godliness2 ,i honestly confess that ,i should prefer a clean sinner to a dirty saint4 ,jesus said that one of the twelve disciples was a ,devil19999 but ,i am not prepared to say whether he meant the unfaithful and cowardly ,peter1 to whom he intrusted the keys of ,heaven1 or ,judas who sold him for money1 just as would nearly any bishop of the present day4 ,the bishops preach that it is as difficult for a rich man to get into ,heaven as for a camel to go through the eye of a needle2 yet they enrich themselves1 and their families1 as greedily and carelessly as if they1 at any rate1 never expected to smell brimstone as a consequence4 ,you are told to resist the ,devil1 and he will flee from you2999999 if this be true1 he is a cowardly ,devil1 and thus does not agree quite with ,milton's picture of his grand1 defiant1 almost heroism4 ,but then ,milton was a poet1 and true religion has but little poetry in it4 99 ,zechariah iii1 #a4 9999 ,john vi1 #gj4 999999 ,james iv1 #g4 ,jeroboam1 one of the ,jewish monarchs1 ordained priests for the ,devils199 and this may be the reason why1 at the present day1 all the orthodox clergy are gentlemen in black4 ,in the time of ,jesus1 ,satan must1 when not in the body of some mad1 deaf1 dumb1 blind1 or paralytic person1 have been in ,heaven2 for ,jesus1 on one occasion1 told his disciples that he saw ,satan1 as lightning1 fall from ,heaven49999 ,of course1 this would betoken a rapid descent1 but although a light affair1 it is no laughing matter1 and we reverently leave it to the clergy to explain the text4 ,jesus told ,simon ,peter that ,satan desired to have him1 that he might sift him as wheat2999999 in this text it may be urged that ,jesus was chaffing his disciple4 ,paul1 the apostle1 seems to have looked on the ,devil much as the magistrates of ,guernsey1 ,devonport1 and ,yarmouth look on the police1 for ,paul delivered ,hymeneus and ,alexander unto ,satan1 that they may learn not to blaspheme499999999 ,revivalists are much indebted for their evanescent successes to ,hell and the ,devil1 if the following extract from the experience of a ,christian preacher be reliable3 ,thomas ,english was one of those very noisy and active preachers who do so much in promoting revivals4 he would tell his hearers of dwelling with devouring fire1 bearing everlasting burning1 roasting on the ,devil's spit1 broiling on his gridiron1 being pitched about with his fork1 drinking the liquid fire1 breathing the brimstone fumes1 drowning in a red-hot sea1 lying on fiery beds19999999999 etc4 99 #b ,chron3 xi1 #ae4 9999 ,luke x1 #ah4 999999 ,luke xxii1 #ca4 99999999 #a ,tim4 i1 #bj4 9999999999 ,pilgrim's ,progress from ,methodism to ,christianity4 ,in the present year the vulgar tirades of ,reginald ,radcliffe1 ,richard ,weaver1 and ,c4 ,h4 ,spurgeon 7some of them delivered in ,exeter ,hall7 will serve to evidence that the above quotation is not the exaggeration which some might think4 ,in ,london1 before crowded audiences1 ,mr4 ,weaver1 without originality1 and with only the merit of copied coarseness1 has called upon the ,lord to shake the ungodly for five minutes over the mouth of ,hell4 ,mr4 ,spurgeon has drawn pictures of ,hell which1 if true and revealed to him by ,god1 are most disgustingly frightful1 and which being1 as we believe1 false1 and but the creation of his own vulgar1 morbid fancies1 induce1 on our part1 a feeling of contempt as well as disgust4 ,the ,wesleyans1 some years since1 made the ,devil a prominent feature in the famous ,fly-,sheet controversy1 so much so that a ,wesleyan1 speaking and writing on the subject1 suggested that the authors of the ,fly-,sheets were ,devils1 and another once-,wesleyan writer says3 ,the first thing which made me inquire about the ,devil was that ,i thought him abused4 ,i thought him bad enough1 but could not help fearing that people told lies about him4 ,r4 ,s------1 a very zealous prayer-leader1 stole some oats1 and imputed the blame to the ,devil4 ,t4 ,c------ got drunk1 and complained in the love-feast that the ,devil had been very busy with him for some time1 and then took him in an unguarded moment4 ,b4 ,s----- was detected in lying1 and complained that ,satan had gained the advantage over him4 ,old ,george ,white burned his fingers in lighting his pipe1 and declared that it was the ,devil that caused him to do it2 and ,farmer ,duffy horsewhipped his wife1 and said that he did it to beat the ,devil out of her4 ,this make me desirous to know what influence the ,devil really had1 and ,i was stimulated to this inquiry by my friend1 ,mr4 ,trelevan1 who assured mo that the ,devil was as necessary as the ,almighty to the orthodox faith499 ,the fashionable preachers in the neighborhood of ,belgravia mostly eschew the ,devil1 and avoid the taint of brimstone2 treacle is the commodity they dispense4 99 ,pilgrim's ,progress from ,methodism to ,christianity4 ,for myself1 the only ,devil ,i know is that black ,devil ignorance1 fostered by knavery and tyranny2 a ,devil personified by the credulous many1 and kept up in the past by the learned but treacherous few1 who preferred to rule the masses by their fears1 rather than to guide them through their love4 ,this devil has1 indeed1 not been a roaring lion1 but a cowardly and treacherous boa constrictor2 it has enveloped in its massive folds glorious truths1 and in the fierceness of its brute power has crushed them in its writhings4 ,but oh6 a glorious day is coming3 amid the heretofore gloom of night the bright rays of the rising sun are piercing1 the light of truth dispels the mists of ignorance4 ,bright facts drive out dark delusions2 mighty truths triumph over pious frauds1 and no longer need men be affrighted by the notion of an omnipotent fiend1 wandering through the earth1 ever seeking their damnation4 ,yes--to partially adopt the phraseology of a writer in ,macmillan's ,magazine--,i do refuse to see in ,god a being omniscient as omnipotent1 who puts us into this world without our volition1 leaves us to struggle through it as we can1 unequally pitted against an almost omnipotent and supersubtile ,devil1 and then1 if we fail1 finally drops us out of this world into ,hell-fire1 where a legion of inferior ,devils find constant and never-ending employment in inventing fresh tortures for us2 our crime being that we have not succeeded where success was rendered impossible4 ,no high1 no manly1 no humane thinkings are developed in the doctrine of ,devils and damnation4 ,if a potent faith1 it degrades alike the teacher and the taught1 by its abhorrent mercilessness2 and if a form1 instead of a faith1 then is the ,devil doctrine a misleading sham1 which frightens weak minds and never developes strong men4 ,,new ,,life ,,of ,,david4 ,in compiling a biographical account of any ancient personage1 impediments mostly arise from the uncertainty of the various traditions out of which we gather our biography1 and from the party bias and coloring which often pervade and detract from their value4 ,in the present case no such obstacle is met with1 no such bias can be imagined1 for1 in giving the life of ,david1 we extract it from an all-wise ,god's perfect and infallible revelation to man1 and thus are enabled to present it to our readers free from any doubt1 uncertainty1 or difficulty4 ,the father of ,david was ,jesse1 an ,ephrathite of ,bethlehem-judah4 ,jesse had either eight sons 7#a ,samuel xvi1 #aj1 #aa1 and xvii1 #ab7 or only seven 7#a ,chron4 ii1 #ac to #ae71 and ,david was either the eighth son or the seventh4 ,some may think this a difficulty to commence with1 but such persons will only be those who rely on their own intellectual faculties1 or who have been misled by ,colenso's arithmetic4 ,if you1 my dear reader1 are in any doubt1 at once consult some qualified divine1 and he will explain to you that there is really no difference between eight and seven when rightly understood with prayer and faith1 by the help of the spirit4 ,arithmetic is an utterly infidel acquirement1 and one which all true believers should eschew4 ,in proof of this1 ,i may observe that the proposition three times one are one is a fundamental article of the ,christian faith4 ,david's great grandmother was the holy harlot ,rahab1 and his grandmother was a lady who when unmarried went in the night and lay at the feet of ,boaz1 and left in the morning before it was light enough for any one to recognize her like her grandson she was prudent in matters4 ,when young1 ,david tended his father's sheep1 and apparently while so doing he obtained the reputation for being cunning in playing1 a mighty valiant man1 and a man of war and prudent in matters4 ,he obtained his reputation as a soldier early and wonderfully1 for he was but a youth1 and ,god's most holy word asserts that when going to fight with ,goliath he tried to walk in armor1 and could not1 for he was not accustomed to it 7#a ,samuel xvii1 #ci1 ,douay version74 ,samuel shortly prior to this anointed ,david1 and the spirit of the ,lord came upon him from that day forward4 ,if a man takes to spirits his life will probably be one of vice1 misery1 and misfortune1 and if spirits take to him the result in the end is nearly the same4 ,saul being ,king of ,israel1 an evil spirit from the ,lord troubled him4 ,the devil has no ear for music1 and ,saul was recommended to have ,david to play on a harp in order that harmony might drive this evil spirit back to the ,lord who sent it4 ,the ,jews' harp was played successfully1 and ,saul was often relieved from the evil spirit by the aid of ,david's ministrations4 ,there is nothing miraculous in this2 at the people's concerts many a working man has been released from the blue devils by a stirring chorus1 a merry song1 or patriotic anthem4 ,david was appointed armor-bearer to the king1 but curiously enough this office does not appear to have interfered with his duties as a shepherd2 indeed the care of his father's sheep took precedence over the care of the king's armor1 and in the time of war he went and returned to feed his father's sheep4 ,perhaps his prudence in matters induced him thus to take care of himself4 ,a ,philistine1 one ,goliath of ,gath 7whose hight was six cubits and a span1 or about nine feet six inches1 at a low computation7 had defied the armies of ,israel4 ,this ,goliath was 7to use the vocabulary of the reverend sporting correspondent of a certain religious newspaper7 a veritable champion of the heavy weights4 ,he carried in all two cwt4 of armor1 offensive and defensive1 upon his person1 and his challenge had great weight4 ,none dared accept it among the soldiers of ,saul until the arrival of ,david with some food for his brethren4 ,david volunteered to fight the giant1 but ,saul objecting that he was not competent to take part in a conflict so dangerous1 ,david related how he pursued a lion and a bear1 how he caught him by his beard and slew him4 ,david's offer was accepted1 he was permitted to fight the giant4 ,in one verse ,david slew the ,philistine with a stone1 in another verse he slew him with the giant's own sword1 while in #b ,samuel1 c4 xxi1 v4 #ai1 we are told that ,goliath the ,gittite was slain by ,elhanan4 ,our transalators1 who have great regard for our faiths and more for their pulpits1 have kindly inserted the words the brother of before ,goliath4 ,this saves the true believer from the difficulty of understanding how ,goliath of ,gath could have been killed by different men at different times4 ,david was previously well known to ,saul1 and was much loved and favored by that monarch4 ,he was also seen by the king before he went forth to do battle with the gigantic ,philistine4 ,yet ,saul had forgotten his own armor-bearer and much-loved harpist1 and was obliged to ask ,abner who ,david was4 ,abner1 captain of the king's host1 familiar with the person of the armor-bearer to the king1 of course knew ,david well2 he therefore answered1 ,as thy soul liveth1 ,o king1 ,i can not tell4 ,one day the evil spirit from the ,lord came upon ,saul and he prophesied4 ,men who are spiritually inclined often talk great nonsense under the influence of spirits1 which they sometimes regret when sober4 ,it is1 however1 an interesting fact in ancient spiritualism to know that ,saul prophesied with a devil in him4 ,under the joint influence of the devil and prophecy1 he tried to kill ,david1 and when this was repeated1 even after ,david had married the king's daughter 7for whose wedding trousseau he had procured an interesting and delicate offering by the slaughter of two hundred men71 then to save his own life ,david fled to ,naioth1 and ,saul sent there messengers to arrest him1 but the king's messengers having all become prophets1 in the end ,saul went himself1 and this time the spirit of the ,lord came upon him1 and he stripped off his clothes and prophesied as hard as the rest4 ,what he phrophesied about we do not know4 ,in fact1 the priests have made so great deduction from the profits during the plenitude of their power1 that there has been little which is profitable in connection with religion left for the people4 ,david lived in exile for some time1 having collected around him every one that was in distress1 and every one that was in debt1 and every one that was discontented4 ,saul made several fruitless attempts to effect his capture1 with no better result than that he twice placed himself in the power of ,david1 who twice showed the mercy to a cruel king which he never conceded to an unoffending people4 ,david having obtruded himself upon ,achish1 ,king of ,gath1 and doubtful of his safety1 feigned madness to cover his retreat4 ,he then lived a precarious life1 sometimes levying a species of blackmail upon defenseless farmers4 ,having applied to one farmer to make him some compensation for permitting the farm to go unrobbed1 and his demand not having been complied with1 ,david1 who is a man after the heart of the ,god of mercy1 immediately determined to murder the farmer and all his household for their wicked reluctance in submitting to his extortions4 ,the wife of farmer ,nabal compromised the matter4 ,david accepted her person and ten days afterward ,nabal was found dead in his bed4 ,david afterward went with six hundred men and lived under the protection of ,achish1 king of ,gath2 and while thus residing 7being the anointed one of a ,god who says ,thou shalt not steal17 he robbed the inhabitants of the surrounding places2 being also obedient to the statute ,thou #a shalt do no murder1 he slaughtered1 and left neither man nor woman alive to report his robberies to ,king ,achish2 and as he always walked in the ways of a ,god to whom lying lips are an abomination1 he made false reports to ,achish in relation to his actions4 ,of course this was all for the glory of ,god1 whose ways are not as our ways4 ,soon the ,philistines were engaged in another of the constantly recurring conflicts with the ,israelites4 ,who offered them the help of himself and band8 ,who offered to make war on his own countrymen8 ,david1 the man after ,god's own heart1 who obeyed his statutes and who walked in his ways to do only that which was right in the sight of ,god4 ,the ,philistines rejected the traitor's aid1 and saved ,david from the consummation of this baseness4 ,while ,david was making this unpatriotic proffer of his services to the ,philistines1 his own city of ,ziglag was captured by the ,amalekites1 who were doubtless endeavoring to avenge some of the most unjustifiable robberies and murders perpetrated by ,david and his followers in their country4 ,david's own friends evidently thought that this misfortune was a retribution for ,david's crimes1 for they spoke of stoning him4 ,the ,amalekites had captured and carried off every thing1 but they do not seem to have maltreated or killed any of their enemies4 ,david was less merciful4 ,he pursued them1 recaptured the spoil1 and spared not a man of them1 save #djj who escaped on camels4 ,in consequence of the death of ,saul1 ,david soon after was elevated to the throne of ,judah1 while ,ishbosheth1 son of ,saul1 was made ,king of ,israel4 ,but ,ishbosheth1 having been assassinated1 ,david slew the assassins1 when they1 hoping for reward1 brought him the news1 and he reigned ultimately over ,israel also4 ,as my religious readers are doubtless aware1 the ,lord ,god of ,israel1 after the time of ,moses1 usually dwelt on the top of an ark or box1 between two figures of gold1 and on one occasion ,david made a journey with his followers to ,baal1 to bring thence the ark of ,god4 ,they placed it on a new cart drawn by oxen4 ,on their journey the oxen stumbled and consequently shook the cart1 and one of the drivers1 whose name was ,uzzah1 fearing that ,god might be tumbled to the ground1 took hold of the ark1 apparently in order to steady it1 and prevent it from overturning4 ,god1 who is a ,god of love1 was much displeased that any one should presume to do any such act of kindness1 and killed ,uzzah on the spot as a punishment for his error4 ,this shows that if a man sees the ,church of ,god tumbling down1 he should never try to prop it up2 if it be not strong enough to save itself the sooner it falls the better for human kind--that is1 if they keep away from it while it is falling4 ,david was much displeased that the ,lord had killed ,uzzah2 in fact1 ,david seems to have wished for a monopoly of slaughter1 and always manifested displeasure when killing was done unauthorized by himself4 ,being displeased1 ,david would not take the ark to ,jerusalem2 he left it in the house of ,obed ,edom1 but as the ,lord proved more kind to ,obed ,edom than he had done to ,uzzah1 ,david determined to bring it away1 and he did so1 and ,david danced before the ark in a state of semi-nudity1 for which he was reproached by ,michal4 ,the story is one which1 by itself1 would be as entertaining to a depraved mind as any ,holywell-,street pamphlet1 if ,lord ,campbell's act did not prevent the publication of indecencies4 ,the pages of ,god's most holy word1 we believe1 do not come within the scope of the act1 and lovers of obscene language may therefore have legal gratification so long as the bible shall exist4 ,the ,god of ,israel1 who had been leading a wandering life for many years1 and who had walked in a tent and in a tabernacle1 and from tent to tent1 and from one tabernacle to another1 and who had not dwelt in any house since the time that he brought the ,isrealites out of ,egypt1 was offered an house for him to dwell in1 but he declined to accept it during the lifetime of ,david1 although he promised to permit the son of ,david to erect him such an abode4 ,david being now a powerful monarch1 and having many wives and concubines1 saw one day the beautiful wife of one of his soldiers4 ,to see1 with this licentious monarch1 was to crave for the gratification of his lust4 ,the husband1 ,uriah1 was fighting for the king1 yet ,david was base enough to steal his wife's virtue during ,uriah's absence in the field of battle4 ,thou shalt not commit adultery1 was one of the commandments1 yet we are told by ,god of this ,david1 who kept my commandments1 and who followed me with all his heart to do only that which was right in mine eyes 7#a ,kings1 c4 xiv1 v4 #h74 ,david having seduced the wife1 sent for her husband1 wishing to make him condone his wife's dishonor1 as many a man has done in other lands1 when a king or prince has been the seducer4 ,some hold that virtue in rags is less worth than vice when coroneted4 ,uriah would not be thus tricked1 and ,david1 the pious ,david1 coolly planned1 and without mercy caused to be executed1 the treacherous murder of ,uriah4 ,god is all just2 and ,david having committed adultery and murder1 ,god punished and killed an innocent child1 which had no part or share in ,david's crime1 and never chose that it should be born from the womb of ,bathsheba4 ,after this the king ,david was even more cruel and merciless than before4 ,previously he had systematically slaughtered the inhabitants of ,moab1 now he sawed people with saws1 cut them with harrows and axes1 and made them pass through brick-kilns4 ,yet of this man ,god said he did that which was right in mine eyes4 ,so bad a king1 so treacherous a man1 a lover so inconstant1 a husband so adulterous1 of course was a bad father1 having bad children4 ,we are little surprised1 therefore1 to read that his son ,ammon robbed his sister1 ,david's daughter ,tamar1 of her virtue2 and that ,ammon was afterward slain by his own brother1 ,david's son ,absalom1 and are scarcely astonished that ,absalom himself1 on the house-top1 in the sight of all ,israel1 should complete his father's shame by an act worthy a child of ,god's selected people4 ,yet these are ,god's chosen race1 and this is the family of the man who walked in ,god's ways all the days of his life4 ,god1 who is all-wise and all-just1 and who is not a man that he should repent1 had repented that he1 had made ,saul king because ,saul spared one man4 ,in the reign of ,david the same good ,god sent a famine for three years on the decendants of ,abraham1 and upon being asked his reason for thus starving his chosen ones1 the reply of the ,deity was that he sent the famine on the subjects of ,david because ,saul slew the ,gibeonites4 ,satisfactory reason6--because ,oliver ,cromwell slew the ,royalists1 ,god will punish the subjects of ,charles the ,second4 ,one reason is to profane eyes equivalent to the other1 but a bishop or even a rural dean would show how remarkably ,god's justice was manifested4 ,david was not behindhand in justice4 ,he had sworn to ,saul that he would not cut off his seed--i4e4 that he would not destroy ,saul's family4 ,he therefore took two of ,saul's sons1 and five of ,saul's grandsons1 and gave them up to the ,gibeonites1 who hung them4 ,strangely wonderful are the ways of the ,lord6 ,saul slew the ,gibeonites1 therefore years afterward ,god starves ,judah4 ,the ,gibeonites hang men who had nothing to do with the crime of ,saul1 except that they are his decendants1 and then we are told the ,lord was intreated for the land4 ,perhaps ,david wanted to get rid of the royal family of ,saul4 ,the anger of the ,lord being kindled against ,israel1 and he wanting some excuse for punishing the decendants of ,jacob1 moved ,david to number his people4 ,the ,chronicles say that it was ,satan1 and pious people may thus learn that there is little difference between ,god and the ,devil when rightly understood4 ,both are personifications founded in the ignorance of the masses1 and their continuance will cease with their credulousness4 ,david caused a census to be taken of the tribes of ,israel and ,judah4 ,there is a trivial disagreement to the extent of about #bgj1jjj soldiers between ,samuel and ,chronicles1 but the readers must not allow so slight an inaccuracy as this to stand between them and heaven4 ,what are #bgj1jjj men when looked at prayerfully8 ,the idea that any doubt should arise is to a devout mind at the same time profane and preposterous4 ,infidels suggest that #a1egj1jjj soldiers form a larger army than the ,jews are likely to have possessed4 ,i can only add that as ,god is omnipotent1 there is no reason to limit his power of increasing or decreasing miraculously the armament of the ,jewish nation4 ,david1 it seems1 did wrong in numbering his people1 although we are never told that he did wrong in robbing or murdering their neighbors1 or in pillaging peaceful agriculturists4 ,david said1 ,i have sinned4 ,the king having done wrong1 an all-merciful ,god brought a pestilence on the people1 and murdered #gj1jjj ,israelites for an offense which their ruler had committed4 ,the angel who was engaged in this terrible slaughter stood somewhere between heaven and earth1 and stretched forth his hand with a drawn sword in it to destroy ,jerusalem itself1 but even the blood-thirsty ,deity of the bible repented him of the evil1 and said to the angel1 ,it is enough4 ,many volumes might be written to answer the inquiries--,where did the angel stand1 and on what8 ,of what metal was the sword1 and where was it made8 ,as it was a drawn one1 where was the scabbard8 and did the angel wear a sword belt8 ,examined in a pious frame of mind1 much holy instruction may be derived from the attempt at solution of these problems4 ,david now grows old and weak1 and at last1 notwithstanding that he has the advantage of a pretty maiden to cherish him1 he wears out1 and his death hour comes4 ,oh6 for the dying words of the ,psalmist6 ,what pious instruction shall we derive from the deathbed scene of the man after ,god's own heart6 ,listen to the last words of ,judah's expiring monarch4 ,you who have been content with the pious frauds and forgeries perpetrated with reference to the deathbeds and dying words of the great1 the generous1 the witty ,voltaire1 the manly1 the self-denying1 the incorruptible ,thomas ,paine1 the humane1 simple1 child-like man1 yet mighty poet1 ,shelley--you who have turned away from these with horror1 unfounded if real1 come with me to the death couch of the special favorite of ,god4 ,bathsheba's child stands by his side4 ,does any thought of the murdered ,uriah rack old ,david's brain1 or has a tardy repentance effaced the bloody stain from the pages of his memory8 ,what does the dying ,david say8 ,does he talk of cherubs1 angels1 and heavenly choirs8 ,nay1 none of these things pass his lips4 ,does he make a confession of his crime-stained life1 and beg his son to be a better king1 a truer man1 a more honest citizen1 a wiser father8 ,nay1 not so--no word or sigh of regret1 no expression of remorse or repentance escaped his lips4 ,what does the dying ,david say8 ,this foul adulterer1 whom ,god has made king2 this red-handed robber1 whose life has been guarded by our ,father which art in ,heaven2 this perjured king1 whose lying lips have found favor in the sight of ,god1 and who when he dies is safe for ,heaven4 ,does ,david repent8 ,nay--like the ravenous tiger or wolf1 which once tasting blood is made more eager for the prey1 he yearns for blood2 he dies1 and with his dying breath begs his son to bring the grey hairs of two old men down to the grave with blood4 ,yet this is the life of ,god's anointed king1 the chief one of ,god's chosen people4 ,david is alleged to have written several ,psalms4 ,in one of these he addresses ,god in the phraseology of a member of the ,p4 ,r4 praising ,deity that he had smitten all of his enemies on the cheek bone and broken the teeth of the ungodly4 ,in these days1 when muscular ,christianity is not without advocates1 the metaphor which presents ,god as a sort of magnificent ,benicia ,boy may find many admirers4 ,in the eighteenth ,psalm1 ,david describes ,god as with smoke coming out of his nostrils and fire out of his mouth1 by which coals were kindled4 ,he represents ,god as coming down from heaven1 and says he rode upon a cherub4 ,the learned ,parkhurst gives a likeness of a one-legged1 four-winged1 four-faced animal1 part lion1 part bull1 part eagle1 part man1 and if a cloven foot be any criterion1 part devil also4 ,this description1 if correct1 will give some idea to the faithful of the wonderful character of the equestrian feats of ,deity4 ,in the twenty-sixth ,psalm1 the writer1 if ,david1 exposes his own hypocrisy in addition to his other vices4 ,he has the impudence to tell ,god that he has been a man of integrity and truth2 that he has avoided evildoers1 although if we are to believe the thirty-eighth ,psalm1 the vile hypocrite must have already been subject to a loathsome disease--a penalty consequent on his licentiousness and criminality4 ,in another ,psalm1 ,david the liar tells ,god that he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight4 ,to understand his malevolent nature we can not do better than quote his prayer to ,god against an enemy 7,psalm cix1 #f-ad73 #f4 ,set thou a wicked man over him3 and let ,satan stand at his right hand4 #g4 ,when he shall be judged1 let him be condemned3 and let his prayer become sin4 #h4 ,let his days be few3 and let another take his office4 #i4 ,let his children be fatherless1 and his wife a widow4 #aj4 ,let his children be continually vagabonds1 and beg3 let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places4 #aa4 ,let the extortioner catch all that he hath3 and let the strangers spoil his labor4 #ab4 ,let there be none to extend mercy unto him3 neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children4 #ac4 ,let his posterity be cut off3 and in the generation following let their name be blotted out4 #ad4 ,let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the ,lord3 and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out4 ,a full consideration of the life of ,david must give great help to each orthodox reader in promoting and sustaining his faith4 ,while he is spoken of by ,deity as obeying all the statutes and keeping all the commandments1 we are astonished to find that murder1 theft1 lying1 adultery1 licentiousness1 and treachery are among the crimes which may be laid to his charge4 ,david was a liar1 ,god is a ,god of truth2 ,david was merciless1 ,god is merciful1 and of long suffering2 ,david was a thief1 ,god says ,thou shalt not steal2 ,david was a murderer1 ,god says ,thou shalt do no murder2 ,david took the wife of ,uriah1 and accepted the wife of ,nabal1 ,god says ,thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife2 ,yet1 notwithstanding all these things1 ,david was a man after ,god's own heart4 ,had this ,jewish monarch any redeeming traits in his character8 ,was he a good citizen8 ,if so1 the bible has carefully concealed every action which would entitle him to such an appellation1 and in lieu has given us the record of his attempted extortion in the case of ,nabal1 and furnished us with a notice of his horde of followers--outlawed1 discontented1 and in debt4 ,was he a kind and constant husband8 ,was he grateful to those who aided him in his hour of need8 ,nay2 like the wounded serpent which1 half frozen by the wayside1 is warmed into new life in the traveler's breast1 and then treacherously stabs him with his poisoned fangs1 so ,david robbed and murdered the friends and allies of the ,king of ,gath1 who had afforded him refuge against the pursuit of ,saul4 ,does his patriotism outshine his many vices8 ,does his love of country efface his many misdoings8 ,not even this4 ,david was a heartless traitor who volunteered to serve against his own countrymen1 and would have done so had not the ,philistines rejected his treacherous help4 ,was he a good king8 ,so say the priesthood now2 but where is the evidence of his virtue8 ,his crimes brought a plague and pestilence on his subjects1 and his reign is a continued succession of wars1 revolts1 and assassinations1 plottings and counterplots4 ,the life of ,david is a dark blot on the page of human history1 and our best hope is that if a spirit from ,god inspired the writer1 then that it was a lying spirit1 and that he has given us fiction instead of truth4 ,,new ,,life ,,of ,,jacob4 ,it is pleasant work to present to the reader sketches of ,god's chosen people4 ,more especially is it an agreeable task to recapitulate the interesting events occurring during the life of a man whom ,god has loved4 ,jacob was the son of ,isaac2 the grandson of ,abraham4 ,these three men were so free from fault1 their lives so unobjectionable1 that the ,god of the bible delighted to be called the ,god of ,abraham1 the ,god of ,isaac1 and the ,god of ,jacob4 ,it is true1 ,abraham owned slaves1 was not exact as to the truth1 and1 on one occasion1 turned his wife and child out to the mercies of a sandy desert4 ,that ,isaac in some sort followed his father's example and disingenuous practices1 and that ,jacob was without manly feeling1 a sordid1 selfish1 unfraternal cozener1 a cowardly trickster1 a cunning knave1 but they must nevertheless have been good men1 for ,god was the ,god of ,abraham1 the ,god of ,isaac1 and the ,god of ,jacob4 ,the name ,jacob is not inappropriate4 ,kalisch says3 ,this appellation1 if taken in its obvious etymological meaning1 implies a deep ignominy2 for the root from which it is derived signifies to deceive1 to defraud1 and in such a despicable meaning the same form of the word is indeed used elsewhere 7,jeremiah ix1 #c74 ,jacob would1 therefore1 be nothing else but the crafty impostor2 in this sense ,esau1 in the heat of his animosity1 in fact clearly explains the word1 justly is his name called ,jacob 7cheat7 because he has cheated me twice 7,genesis xxvii1 #cj74 ,according to the ordinary orthodox bible chronology1 ,jacob was born about #ahcf or #ahcg ,b4 ,c1 that is1 about #b1afh years from in the beginning1 his father ,isaac being then sixty years of age4 ,there is a difficulty connected with ,holy ,scripture chronology which would be insuperable were it not that we have the advantage of spiritual aids in elucidation of the text4 ,this difficulty arises from the fact that the chronology of the bible1 in this respect1 like the major portion of bible history1 is utterly unreliable4 ,but we do not look to the ,old or ,new ,testament for mere commonplace1 everyday facts2 or if we do1 severe will be the disappointment of the truthseeker2 we look there for mysteries1 miracles1 paradoxes1 and perplexities1 and have no difficulties in finding the objects of our search4 ,jacob was born1 together with his twin brother1 ,esau1 in consequence of special entreaty addressed by ,isaac to the ,lord on behalf of ,rebekah1 to whom he had been married about nineteen years1 and who was yet childless4 ,infidel physiologists 7and it is a strange1 though not unaccountable1 fact that all who are physiologists are also in so far infidel7 assert that prayer would do little to repair the consequence of such disease1 or such abnormal organic structure1 as would compel sterility4 ,but our able clergy are agreed that the bible was not intended to teach us science2 or1 at any rate1 we have learned that its attempts in that direction are most miserable failures4 ,its mission is to teach the unteachable2 to enable us to comprehend the incomprehensible4 ,before ,jacob was born ,god decreed that he and his descendants should obtain the mastery over ,esau and his descendants--the elder shall serve the younger499 ,the ,god of the bible is a just ,god1 but it is hard for weak flesh to discover the justice of this proemial decree1 which so sentenced to servitude the children of ,esau before their father's birth4 99,gen4 xxv1 #bc4 ,jacob came into the world holding by his brother's heel1 like some cowardly knave in the battle of life1 who1 not daring to break a gap in the hedge of conventional prejudice1 which bars his path1 is yet ready enough to follow some bolder warrior1 and to gather the fruits of his courage4 ,and the boys grew3 and ,esau was a cunning hunter1 a man of the field3 and ,jacob was a plain man1 dwelling in tents4 ,one day ,esau returned from his hunting faint and wearied to the very point of death4 ,he was hungry1 and came to ,jacob1 his twin and only brother1 saying1 ,feed me1 ,i pray thee199 for ,i am exceedingly faint49999 ,in a like case would not any man so entreated immediately offer to the other the best at his command1 the more especially when that other is his only brother1 born at the same time1 from the same womb1 suckled at the same breast1 fed under the same roof8 ,but ,jacob was not a man and a brother1 he was one of ,god's chosen people1 and one who had been honored by ,god's prenatal selection4 ,if a man come unto me and hate not his brother1 he can not be my disciple4 ,so taught ,jesus the ,jew1 in after time1 but in this earlier age ,jacob the ,jew1 in practice1 anticipated the later doctrine4 ,it is one of the misfortunes of theology1 if not its crime1 that profession of love to ,god is often accompanied with bitter and active hate of man4 ,jacob was one of the founders of the ,jewish race1 and even in this their pre-historic age1 the instinct for driving a hard bargain seems strongly developed4 ,jacob said to ,esau1 ,sell me this day thy birthright4 ,the famished man vainly expostulated1 and the birthright was sold for a mess of pottage4 99 ,gen4 xxv1 #cj 9999 ,douay version4 ,if to-day one man should so meanly and cruelly take advantage of his brother's necessities to rob him of his birthright1 all good and honest men would shun him as an unbrotherly scoundrel and most contemptible knave2 yet1 less than #d1jjj years ago1 a very different standard of morality must have prevailed4 ,indeed1 if ,god is unchangeable1 divine notions of honor and honesty must to-day be widely different from those of our highest men4 ,god approved and endorsed ,jacob's conduct4 ,his approval is shown by his love afterward expressed for ,jacob1 his endorsement by his subsequent attention to ,jacob's welfare4 ,we may learn from this tale1 so pregnant with instruction1 that any deed which to the worldly and sensible man appears like knavery while understood literally1 becomes to the devout and prayerful man an act of piety when understood spiritually4 ,much faith is required to thoroughly understand this2 for example1 it looks like swindling to collect poor children's halfpence and farthings in the ,sunday schools for missionary purposes abroad1 and to spend thereout two or three hundred pounds in an annual jubilatory dinner for well-fed pauper parsons at home2 and so thought the noble lord who wrote to the ,times under the initials ,s4 ,g4 ,o4 ,if he had possessed more faith and less sense1 he would have seen the piety and completely overlooked the knavery of the transaction4 ,pious preachers and clever commentators declare that ,esau despised his birthright4 ,i do not deny that they might back their declaration by scripture quotations1 but ,i do deny that the narrative ought to convey any such impression4 ,esau's words were1 ,behold ,i am at the point to die3 and what profit shall this birthright be to me8 ,isaac growing old1 and fearing from his physical infirmities the near approach of death1 was anxious to bless ,esau before he died1 and directed him to take quiver and bow and go out in the field to hunt some venison for a savory meat1 such as old ,isaac loved4 ,esau departed1 but when he had left his father's presence in order to fulfill his request1 ,jacob appeared on the scene4 ,instigated by his mother1 he1 by an abject stratagem1 passed himself off as ,esau4 ,with a savory meat prepared by ,rebekah1 he came into his father's presence1 and ,isaac said1 ,who art thou1 my son8 ,lying lips are an abomination to the ,lord4 ,the ,lord loved ,jacob1 yet ,jacob lied to his old blind father1 saying1 ,i am ,esau1 thy first-born4 ,isaac had some doubts3 these are manifested by his inquiring how it was that the game was killed so quickly4 ,jacob1 whom ,god loved1 in a spirit of shameless blasphemy replied1 ,because the ,lord thy ,god brought it to me4 ,isaac still hesitated1 fancying that he recognized the voice to be the voice of ,jacob1 and again questioned him1 saying1 ,art thou my very son ,esau8 ,god is the ,god of truth and loved ,jacob1 yet ,jacob said1 ,i am4 ,then ,isaac blessed ,jacob1 believing that he was blessing ,esau3 and ,god permitted the fraud to be successful1 and himself also blessed ,jacob4 ,in that extraordinary composition known as the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 we are told that by faith ,isaac blessed ,jacob4 ,but what faith had ,isaac8 ,faith that ,jacob was ,esau8 ,his belief was produced by deceptive appearances4 ,his faith resulted from false representations4 ,and there are very many men in the world who have no better foundation for their religious faith than had ,isaac when he blessed ,jacob1 believing him to be ,esau4 ,in the ,douay bible ,i find the following note on this remarkable narrative3 ,st4 ,augustine 7,x4 contra mendacium c4 #aj71 treating at large upon this place1 excuseth ,jacob from a lie1 because thi's whole passage was mysterious1 as relating to the preference which was afterward to be given to the ,gentiles before the carnal ,jews1 which ,jacob1 by prophetic light1 might understand4 ,so far it is certain that the first birthright1 both by divine election and by ,esau's free cession1 belonged to ,jacob2 so that if there were any lie in the case1 it would be no more than an officious and venial one4 ,how glorious to be a pa triarch1 and to have a real saint laboring years after your death to twist your lies into truth by aid of prophetic light4 ,lying is at all times most disreputable1 but at the deathbed the crime is rendered more heinous4 ,the death hour would have awed many men into speaking the truth1 but it had little effect on ,jacob4 ,although ,isaac was about to die1 this greedy knave cared not1 so that he got from the dying man the sought-for prize4 ,god is said to love righteousness and hate iniquity1 yet he loved the iniquitous ,jacob1 and hated the honest ,esau4 ,all knaves are tinged more or less with cowardice4 ,jacob was no exception to the rule4 ,his brother enraged at the deception practiced upon ,isaac1 threatened to kill ,jacob4 ,jacob was warned by his mother and fled4 ,induced by ,rebekah1 ,isaac charged ,jacob to marry one of ,laban's daughters4 ,on the way to ,haran1 where ,laban dwell1 ,jacob rested and slept4 ,while sleeping he dreamed2 ordinarily dreams have little significance1 but in the bible they are more important4 ,some of the most weighty and vital facts 787 of the bible are communicated in dreams1 and rightly so2 if the men had been wide awake1 they would have probably rejected the revelation as absurd4 ,so much does that prince of darkness1 the devil1 influence mankind against the bible in the daytime1 that it is when all is dark1 and our eyes are closed1 and the senses dormant1 that ,god's mysteries are most clearly seen and understood4 ,jacob saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth1 and the top thereof touching heaven2 the angels of ,god ascending and descending by it1 and the ,lord leaning upon the ladder4 ,in the ancient temples of ,india1 and in the mysteries of ,mithra1 the seven-stepped ladder by which the spirits ascended to heaven is a prominent feature1 and one of probably far higher antiquity than the age of ,jacob4 ,did paganism furnish the groundwork for the patriarch's dream8 ,no man hath seen ,god at any time4 ,god is invisible4 ,yet ,jacob saw the invisible ,god1 whom no man hath seen or can see1 either standing above a ladder or leaning upon it4 ,true1 it was all a dream4 ,yet ,god spoke to ,jacob2 but perhaps that was a delusion too4 ,we find by scripture that ,god threatens to send to some strong delusions1 that they might believe a lie and be damned4 ,poor ,jacob was much frightened1 as any one might be1 to dream of ,god leaning on so long a ladder4 ,what if it had broken and the dreamer underneath it8 ,jacob's fears were not so powerful but that his shrewdness and avarice had full scope in a sort of half-vow1 half-contract1 made in the morning4 ,jacob said1 ,if ,god will be with me and will keep me in this way that ,i go1 and will give me bread to eat1 and raiment to put on1 so that ,i shall come again to my father's house in peace1 then shall the ,lord be my ,god4 ,the inference deducible from this conditional statement is1 that if ,god failed to complete the items enumerated by ,jacob1 then the latter would have nothing to do with him4 ,jacob was a shrewd ,jew1 who would have laughed to scorn the preaching1 ,take no thought1 saying1 what shall we eat8 or1 what shall we drink8 or1 wherewithal shall we be clothed8 ,after this contract1 ,jacob went on his journey1 and reached the house of his mother's brother1 ,laban1 into whose service he entered4 ,diamond cut diamond would be an appropriate heading to the tale which gives the transactions between ,jacob the ,jew and ,laban the son of ,nahor4 ,laban had two daughters4 ,rachel1 the youngest1 was beautiful and well-favored2 ,leah1 the elder1 was blear-eyed4 ,jacob served for the pretty one2 but on the wedding-day ,laban made a feast1 and gave ,jacob the ugly ,leah instead of the pretty ,rachel4 ,jacob being 7according to ,josephs7 both in drink and in the dark1 it was morning ere he discovered his error4 ,after this ,jacob served for ,rachel also1 and then the remainder of the chapter of ,jacob's servitude to ,laban is but the recital of a series of frauds and trickeries4 ,jacob embezzled ,laban's property1 and ,laban misappropriated and changed ,jacob's wages4 ,in fact1 if ,jacob had not possessed the advantage of divine aid1 he would probably have failed in the endeavor to cheat his master2 but ,god1 who says ,thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house1 nor anything that is thy neighbor's1 encouraged ,jacob in his career of criminality4 ,at last1 ,jacob1 having amassed a large quantity of property1 determined to abscond from his employment1 and taking advantage of his uncle's absence at sheepshearing1 he stole away unawares1 taking with him his wives1 his children1 flocks1 herds1 and goods4 ,to crown the whole1 ,rachel1 worthy wife of a husband so fraudulent1 stole her father's gods4 ,in the present day the next phase would be the employment of ,mr4 ,sergeant ,vericute1 of the special detective department1 and the issue of bills as follows3 ,,one ,,hundred ,,shekels ,,reward1 ,absconded1 with a large amount of property1 ,,jacob1 ,,the ,,jew4 ,information to be given to ,laban1 the ,syrian1 at ,haran1 in the ,east1 or to ,mr4 ,serjeant ,vericute1 ,scotland ,yard4 ,but in those days ,god's ways were not as our ways4 ,god came to ,laban in a dream and compounded the felony1 saying1 ,take heed thou speak not anything harshly against ,jacob499 ,this would probably prevent ,laban giving evidence in a police court against ,jacob1 and thus save him from transportation or penal servitude4 ,after a reconciliation and treaty had been effected between ,jacob and ,laban1 the former went on his way and the angel of ,god met him4 ,angels are not included in the circle with which ,i have at present made acquaintance1 and ,i hesitate1 therefore1 to comment on the meeting between ,jacob and the angels4 ,balaam's ass1 at a later period1 shared the good fortune which was the lot of ,jacob1 for that animal also had a meeting with an angel4 ,jacob was the grandson of the faithful ,abraham to whom angels also appeared4 ,perhaps angelic apparitions are limited to asses and the faithful4 ,on this point ,i do not venture to assert1 and but timidly suggest4 ,it is somewhat extraordinary that ,jacob should have manifested no surprise at meeting a host of angels4 ,still more worthy of note is it that our good translators elevate the same words into angels in verse #a1 which they degrade into messengers in verse #c4 ,john ,bellamy1 in his translation1 says the angels were not immortal angels1 and it is very probable ,john ,bellamy was right4 99 ,genesis xxxi1 #bd1 ,douay version4 ,jacob sent messengers before him to ,esau1 and heard that the latter was coming to meet him followed by #djj men4 ,jacob1 a timorous knave at best1 became terribly afraid4 ,he1 doubtless1 remembered the wrongs inflicted upon ,esau1 the cruel extortion of the birthright1 and the fraudulent obtainment of the dying ,isaac's blessing4 ,he1 therefore1 sent forward to his brother ,esau a large present as a peace offering4 ,he also divided the remainder of his flocks1 herds1 and goods1 into two divisions1 that if one were smitten1 the other might escape2 sending these on1 he was left alone4 ,while alone he wrestled with either a man1 or an angel1 or ,god4 ,the text says a man1 the heading to the chapter says an angel1 and ,jacob himself says that he has seen ,god face to face4 ,whether ,god1 angel1 or man1 it was not a fair wrestle1 and were the present editor of ,bell's ,life referee1 he would1 unquestionably1 declare it to be most unfair to touch the hollow of ,jacob's thigh so as to put it out of joint1 and1 consequently1 award the result of the match to ,jacob4 ,jacob1 notwithstanding the injury1 still kept his grip1 and the apocryphal wrestler1 finding himself no match at fair struggling1 and that foul play was unavailing1 now tried entreaty1 and said1 ,let me go1 for the day breaketh4 ,spirits never appear in the daytime1 when1 if they did appear1 they could be seen and examined2 they are more often visible in the twilight1 in the darkness1 and in dreams4 ,jacob would not let go1 his life's instinct for bargaining prevailed1 and probably1 because he could get nothing else1 he insisted on his opponent's blessing before he let him go4 ,in the ,roman ,catholic version of the bible there is the following note3 ,chap1 xxxii1 #bd4 ,a man1 etc4 ,this was an angel in human shape1 as we learn from ,osee 7xii1 #d74 ,he is called ,god 7xv1 #bh and #cj71 because he represented the son of ,god4 ,this wrestling in which ,jacob1 assisted by ,god1 was a match for an angel1 was so ordered 7v4 #bh7 that he might learn by this experiment of the divine assistance1 that neither ,esau nor any other man should have power to hurt him4 ,how elevating it must be to the true believer to conceive ,god helping ,jacob to wrestle with his own representative4 ,read prayerfully1 doubtless1 the spiritual and inner meaning of the text 7if it have one7 is most transcendental4 ,read sensibly1 the literal and only meaning the text conveys is that of an absurd tradition of an ignorant age4 ,on the morrow ,jacob met ,esau3 ,and ,esau ran to meet him1 and embraced him1 and fell on his neck1 and kissed him2 and they wept4 ,and he said1 ,what meanest thou by all this drove which ,i met8 ,and he said these are to find grace in the sight of my lord4 ,and ,esau said1 ,i have enough1 my brother2 keep that thou hast unto thyself4 ,the following expressive comment1 from the able pen of ,mr4 ,holyoake1 deserves transcription3 ,the last portion of the history of ,jacob and ,esau is very instructive4 ,the coward fear of ,jacob to meet his brother is well delineated4 ,he is subdued by a sense of his treacherous guilt4 ,the noble forgiveness of ,esau invests his memory with more respect than all the wealth ,jacob won1 and all the blessings of the ,lord he received4 ,could ,i change my name from ,jacob to ,esau1 ,i would do it in honor of him4 ,the whole incident has a dramatic interest4 ,there is nothing in the ,old or ,new ,testament equal to it4 ,the simple magnanimity of ,esau is scarcely surpassed by anything in ,plutarch4 ,in the conduct of ,esau we see the triumph of time1 of filial affection1 and generosity over a deep sense of execrable treachery1 unprovoked and irrevocable injury4 ,was not ,esau a merciful1 generous man8 ,yet ,god hated him1 and shut him out of all share in the promised land4 ,was not ,jacob a mean1 prevaricating knave1 a crafty1 abject cheat8 ,yet ,god loved and rewarded him4 ,how great are the mysteries in this bible representation of an all-good and all-loving ,god thus hating good and loving evil4 ,at the time of the wrestling1 a promise was made1 which is afterward repeated by ,god to ,jacob1 that the latter should not be any more called ,jacob1 but ,israel4 ,this promise was not strictly kept2 the name ,jacob being used repeatedly1 mingled with that of ,israel in the after part of ,jacob's history4 ,jacob had a large family2 his sons are reputedly the heads of the twelve ,jewish tribes4 ,we have not much space to notice them3 suffice it to say that one ,joseph1 who was much loved by his father1 was sold by his brethren into slavery4 ,this transaction does not seem to have called for any special reproval from ,god4 ,joseph1 who from early life was skilled in dreams1 succeeded by interpreting the visions of ,pharaoh in obtaining a sort of premiership in ,egypt2 while filling this office he managed to act like the ,russells and the ,greys of our own time4 ,we are told that he placed his father and his brethren1 and gave them a possession in the land of ,egypt1 in the best of the land4 ,joseph made the parallel still stronger between himself and a more modern head of the ,treasury ,bench2 he not only gave his own family the best place in the land1 but he also1 by a trick of statecraft1 obtained the land for the king1 made slaves of the people1 and made it a law over the land of ,egypt that the king should be entitled to one-fifth of the produce1 always1 of course1 excepting and saving the rights of the priest4 ,judah1 another brother1 sought to have burned a woman by whom he had a child4 ,a third1 named ,reuben1 was guilty of the grossest vice1 equaled only by that of ,absalon the son of ,david2 of ,simeon and ,levi1 two more of ,jacob's sons1 it is said that ,instruments of cruelty were in their habitations2 their conduct1 as detailed in the #cdth chapter of ,genesis1 alike shocks by its treachery and its mercilessness4 ,after ,jacob had heard that his son ,joseph was governor in ,egypt1 but before he had journeyed farther than ,beer-sheba1 ,god spake unto him in the visions of the night1 and probably forgetting that he had given him a new name1 or being more accustomed to the old one1 said1 ,jacob1 ,jacob1 and then told him to go down into ,egypt1 where ,jacob died after a residence of about seventeen years1 when #adg years of age4 ,before ,jacob died he blessed1 first the sons of ,joseph1 and then his own children1 and at the termination of his blessing to ,ephraim and ,manasseh we find the following speech addressed to ,joseph3 ,moreover1 ,i have given to thee one portion above thy brethren1 which ,i took out of the hand of the ,amorite with my sword and with my bow4 ,this speech implies warlike pursuit on the part of ,jacob1 of which the bible gives no record1 and which seems incompatible with his recorded life4 ,the sword of craft and the bow of cunning are the only weapons in the use of which he was skilled4 ,when his sons murdered and robbed the ,hivites1 fear seems to have been ,jacob's most prominent characteristic4 ,it is not my duty1 nor have ,i space here1 to advocate any theory of interpretation1 but it may be well to mention that many learned men contend that the whole history of ,jacob is but an allegory4 ,that the twelve patriarchs but typify the twelve signs of the zodiac1 as do the twelve great gods of the ,pagans1 and twelve apostles of the gospels4 ,from the history of ,jacob it is hard to draw any conclusions favorable to the man whose life is narrated4 ,to heap additional epithets on his memory would be but waste of time and space4 ,i conclude by regretting that if ,god loved one brother and hated another1 he should have so unfortunately selected for his love the one whose whole career shows him in a most despicable light4 ,,new ,,life ,,of ,,abraham4 ,most undoubtedly father ,abraham is a personage whose history should command our attention1 if only because he figures as the founder of the ,jewish race--a race which1 having been promised protection and favor by ,deity1 appear to have experienced little else besides the infliction1 or sufferance of misfortune and misery4 ,men are taught to believe that ,god1 following out a solemn covenant made with ,abraham1 suspended the operations of ,nature to aggrandize the ,jews2 that he promised always to bless and favor them if they adhered to his worship and obeyed the priests4 ,the promised blessings were1 usually1 political authority1 individual happiness and sexual power1 long life1 and great wealth2 the threatened curses for idolatry or disobedience3 disease1 loss of property and children1 mutilation1 death4 ,among the blessings3 the right to kill1 plunder1 and ravish their enemies1 with protection1 while pious1 against any subjection to retaliatory measures4 ,and all this because they were ,abraham's children6 ,abraham is an important personage4 ,without ,abraham1 no ,jesus1 no ,christianity1 no ,church of ,england1 no bishops1 no tithes1 no church rates4 ,but for ,abraham ,england would have lost all these blessings4 ,abraham was the great-grandfather of ,judah1 the head of the tribe to which ,god's father1 ,joseph1 belonged4 ,in gathering materials for a short biographical sketch1 we are at the same time comforted and dismayed by the fact that the only reliable account of ,abraham's career is that furnished by the book of ,genesis1 supplemented by a few brief references in other parts of the bible1 and that1 outside ,god's perfect and infallible revelation to man1 there is no reliable account of ,abraham's existence at all4 ,we are comforted by the thought that ,genesis is unquestioned by the faithful1 and is at present protected by ,church and ,state against heretic assaults2 but we are dismayed when we think that1 if ,infidelity1 encouraged by ,colenso and ,kalisch1 upsets ,genesis1 ,abraham will have little historical claim on our attention ,some philologists have asserted that ,brama and ,abraham are alike corruptions of ,abba ,rama1 or ,abrama1 and that ,sarah is identical with ,sarasvati4 ,abram1 is a ,chaldean compound1 meaning father of the elevated1 or exalted father ------ is a compound of ,chaldee and ,arabic1 signifying father of a multitude4 ,in part ,v of his work ,colenso mentions that ,adonis was formerly identified with ,abram1 high father1 ,adonis being the personified sun4 ,leaving incomprehensible philology for the ordinary authorized version of our bibles1 we find that ,abraham was the son of ,terah4 ,the text does not expressly state where ,abraham was born1 and ,i can not therefore describe his birthplace with that accuracy of detail which a true believer might desire1 but ,i may add that he dwelt in old time on the other side of the flood4 7,joshua xxiv1 #b1 #c47 ,the situation of such dwelling involves a geographical problem most unlikely to be solved unless the inquirer is half seas over4 ,abraham was born when ,terah1 his father1 was seventy years of age2 and1 accord-ing to ,genesis1 ,terah and his family came forth out of ,ur of the ,chaldees1 and went to ,haran and dwelt there4 ,we turn to the map to look for ,ur of the ,chaldees1 anxious to discover it as possibly ,abraham's place of nativity1 but find that the translators of ,god's inspired word have taken a slight liberty with the text by substituting ,ur of the ,chaldees for ,aur ,kasdim1 the latter being1 in plain ,english1 the light of the magi1 or conjurers1 or astrologers4 ------ is stated by ,kalisch to have been made the basis for many extraordinary legends1 as to ,abraham's rescue from the flames4 ,abraham1 being born--according to ,hebrew chronology1 #b1jhc years after the creation1 and according to the ,septuagint #c1edi years after the event--when his father was seventy1 grew so slowly that when his father reached the good old age of #bje years1 ,abraham had only arrived at #ge years1 having1 apparently1 lost no less than #fj year's growth during his father's lifetime4 ,st4 ,augustine and ,st ,jerome gave this up as a difficulty inexplicable4 ,calmet endeavors to explain it1 and makes it worse4 ,but what real difficulty is there8 ,do you mean1 dear reader1 that it is impossible ,abraham could have lived #ace years1 and yet be only #ge years of age8 ,is this your objection8 ,it is a sensible one1 ,i admit1 but it is an ,infidel one4 ,eschew sense1 and1 retaining only religion1 ever remember that with ,god all things are possible4 ,indeed1 ,i have read myself that gin given to young children stunts their growth2 and who shall say what influence of the spirit prevented the full development of ,abraham's years8 ,it is a slight question whether ,abraham and his two brothers were not born the same year2 if this be so1 he might have been a small child1 and not grown so quickly as he would have otherwise done4 ,the ,lord spoke to ,abraham1 and promised to make of him a great nation1 to bless those who blessed ,abraham1 and to curse those who cursed him4 ,i do not know precisely which ,lord it was that spake unto ,abraham4 ,in the ,hebrew it says it was ------ ,jeue1 or1 as our translators call it1 ,jehovah2 but as ,god said 7,exodus vi1 #b7 that by the name ,jehovah was ,i not known to either ,abraham1 ,isaac1 or ,jacob1 we must conclude either that the omniscient ,deity had forgotten the matter1 or that a counterfeit ,lord had assumed a title to which he had no right4 ,the word ,jehovah1 which the book of ,exodus says ,abraham did not know1 is nearly always the name by which ,abraham addresses or speaks of the ,jewish ,deity4 ,abraham having been promised protection by the ,god of ,truth1 initiated his public career with a diplomacy of statement worthy of ,talleyrand1 ,thiers1 or ,gladstone4 ,he represented his wife ,sarah as his sister1 which1 if true1 is a sad reproach to the marriage4 ,the ruling ,pharaoh1 hearing the beauty of ,sarah commended1 took her into his house1 she being at that time a fair ,jewish dame1 between #fj and #gj years of age1 and he entreated ,abraham well for her sake1 and he had sheep and oxen1 asses and servants1 and camels4 ,we do not read that ,abraham objected in any way to the loss of his wife4 ,the ,lord1 who is all-just1 finding out that ,pharaoh had done wrong1 not only punished the king1 but also punished the king's household1 who could hardly have interfered with his misdoings4 ,abraham got his wife back1 and went away much richer by the transaction4 ,whether the conduct of father ,abraham in pocketing quietly the price of the insult--or honor--offered to his wife is worthy of modern imitation1 is a question ,i leave to be discussed by ,convocation when it has finished with the ,athanasian ,creed4 ,after this transaction we are not surprised to hear that ,abraham was very rich in silver and gold4 ,so was the ,duke of ,marlborough after the ,king had taken his sister in similar manner into his house4 ,in verse #ai of chapter xii1 there is a curious mistranslation in our version4 ,the text is3 ,it is for that ,i had taken her for my wife1 our version has3 ,i might have taken her4 ,the ,douay so translates as to take a middle phrase1 leaving it doubtful whether or not ,pharaoh actually took ,sarah as his wife4 ,in any case1 the ,egyptian king acted well throughout4 ,abraham plays the part of a timorous1 contemptible hypocrite4 ,strong enough to have fought for his wife1 he sold her4 ,yet ,abraham was blessed for his faith1 and his conduct is our pattern6 ,despite his timorousness in the matter of his wife1 ,abraham was a man of wonderful courage and warlike ability4 ,to rescue his relative1 ,lot3--with whom he could not live on the same land without quarreling1 both being religious--he armed #cah servants1 and fought with four powerful kings1 defeating them and recovering the spoil4 ,abraham's victory was so decisive that the king of ,sodom1 who fled and fell 7xiv1 #aj7 in a previous encounter1 now met ,abraham alive 7see v1 #ag71 to congratulate him on his victory4 ,abraham was also offered bread and wine by ,melchisedek1 ,king of ,salem1 priest of the ,most ,high ,god4 ,where was ,salem8 ,some identify it with ,jerusalem1 which it can not be1 as ,jebus was not so named until after the time of the ,judges 7,judges xix1 #aj74 ,how does this ,king1 of this unknown ,salem1 never heard of before or after1 come to be priest of the ,most ,high ,god8 ,these are queries for divines--orthodox disciples believe without inquiring4 ,melchisedek was most unfortunate as far as genealogy is concerned4 ,he had no father4 ,i do not mean by this that any bar sinister defaced his escutcheon4 ,he not only was without a father1 but without mother also2 he had no beginning of days or end of life1 and is therefore probably at the present time an extremely old gentleman1 who would be an invaluable acquisition to any antiquarian association fortunate enough to cultivate his acquaintance4 ,god having promised ,abraham a numerous family1 and the promise not having been in any part fulfilled1 the patriarch grew uneasy and remonstrated with the ,lord1 who explained the matter thoroughly to ,abraham when the latter was in a deep sleep1 and a dense darkness prevailed4 ,religions explanations come with greater force under these or similar conditions4 ,natural or artificial light and clear-sightedness are always detrimental to spiritual manifestations4 ,abraham's wife had a maid named ,hagar1 and she bore to ,abraham a child named ,ishmael2 at the time ,ishmael was born1 ,abraham was #hf years of age4 ,just before ,ishmael's birth ,hagar was so badly treated that she ran away4 ,as she was only a slave1 ,god persuaded ,hagar to return1 and humble herself to her mistress4 ,thirteen years afterward ,god appeared to ,abraham1 and instituted the rite of circumcision--which rite had been practiced long before by other nations--and again renewed the promise4 ,the rite of circumcision was not only practiced by nations long anterior to that of the ,jews1 but appears1 in many cases1 not even to have been pretended as a religious rite4 7,see ,kalisch1 ,genesis1 p4 #chf2 ,cahen1 ,genese1 p4 #dc7 ,after ,god had left off talking with him1 ,god went up from ,abraham4 ,as ,god is infinite1 he did not1 of course1 go up2 but still the bible says ,god went up1 and it is the duty of the people to believe that he did so1 especially as the infinite ,deity then and now resides habitually in heaven1 wherever that may be4 ,again the ,lord appeared to ,abraham1 either as three men or angels1 or as one of the three2 and ,abraham1 who seemed hospitably inclined1 invited the three to wash their feet1 and to rest under the tree1 and gave butter and milk and dressed calf1 tender and good1 to them1 and they did eat2 and after the inquiry as to where ,sarah then was1 the promise of a son is repeated4 ,sarah--then by her own admission an old woman1 stricken in years--laughed when she heard this1 and the ,lord said1 ,wherefore did ,sarah laugh8 and ,sarah denied it1 but the ,lord said1 ,nay1 but thou didst laugh4 ,the three then went toward ,sodom1 and ,abraham went with them as a guide2 and the ,lord explained to ,abraham that some sad reports had reached him about ,sodom and ,gomorrah1 and that he was then going to find out whether the report was reliable4 ,god is infinite1 and was always therefore at ,sodom and ,gomorrah1 but had apparently been temporarily absent2 he is omniscient1 and therefore knew everything which was happening at ,sodom and ,gomorrah1 but he did not know whether or not the people were as wicked as they had been represented to him4 ,god1 ,job tells us1 put no trust in his servants1 and his angels he charged with folly4 ,between the rogues and the fools1 therefore1 the all-wise and all-powerful ,god seems to be as liable to be mistaken in the reports made to him as any monarch might be in reports made by his ministers4 ,two of the three men1 or angels1 went on to ,sodom1 and left the ,lord with ,abraham1 who began to remonstrate with ,deity on the wholesale destruction contemplated1 and asked him to spare the city if fifty righteous should be found within it4 ,god said1 ,if ,i find fifty righteous within the city1 then will ,i spare the place for their sakes4 ,god being all-wise1 he knew there were not fifty in ,sodom1 and was deceiving ,abraham4 ,by dint of hard bargaining1 in thorough ,hebrew fashion1 ,abraham1 whose faith seemed tempered by distrust1 got the stipulated number reduced to ten1 and then the ,lord went his way4 ,jacob ,ben ,chajim1 in his introduction to the ,rabbinical bible1 p4 #bh1 tells us that the ,hebrew text used to read in verse #bb3 ,and ,jehovah still stood before ,abraham2 but the scribes altered it1 and made ,abraham stand before the ,lord1 thinking the original text offensive to ,deity4 ,the #ahth chapter of ,genesis has given plenty of work to the divines4 ,augustin contended that ,god can take food1 though he does not require it4 ,justin compared the eating of ,god with the devouring power of the fire4 ,kalisch sorrows over the holy fathers who have taxed all their ingenuity to make the act of eating compatible with the attributes of ,deity4 ,in the ,epistle to the ,romans1 ,abraham's faith is greatly praised4 ,we are told1 iv1 #ai1 #bj1 that3 ,being not weak in faith1 he considered not his own body now dead1 when he was about an hundred years old1 neither yet the deadness of ,sarah's womb4 ,he staggered not at the promise of ,god through unbelief2 but was strong in faith1 giving glory to ,god4 ,yet1 so far from ,abraham giving ,god glory1 we are told in ,genesis1 xvii1 #ag1 that3 ,abraham fell upon his face1 and laughed1 and said in his heart1 shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old1 and shall ,sarah1 that is ninety years old1 bear8 ,the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,boutell says that the declaration which caused ,sarah to 'laugh1' shows the wonderful familiarity which was then permitted to ,abraham in his communications with ,god4 ,after the destruction of ,sodom and ,gomorrah1 ,abraham journeyed south and sojourned in ,gerar1 and either untaught or too well taught by his previous experience1 again represented his wife as his sister1 and ,abimelech1 king of ,gerar1 sent and took ,sarah4 ,as before1 we find neither remonstrance nor resistance recorded on the part of ,abraham4 ,this time ,god punished1 a la ,malthus1 the women in ,abimelech's house for an offense they did not commit1 and ,sarah was again restored to her husband1 with sheep1 oxen1 men-servants1 and women-servants1 and money4 ,infidels object that the bible says ,sarah was old and well stricken in age2 that it had ceased to be with her after the manner of women2 that she was more than ninety years of age2 and that it is not likely ,king ,abimelech would fall in love with an ugly old woman4 ,we reply1 chacun a son gout8 ,it is clear that ,sarah had not ceased to be attractive1 as ,god resorted to especial means to protect her virtue from ,abimelech4 ,at length ,isaac is born1 and his mother ,sarah now urges ,abraham to expel ,hagar and her son1 and the thing was very grievous in ,abraham's sight because of his son2 the mother being only a bondwoman does not seem to have troubled him4 ,god1 however1 approving ,sarah's notion1 ,hagar is expelled1 and she departed and wandered in the wilderness1 and the water was spent in the bottle1 and she cast the child under one of the shrubs4 ,she had apparently carried the child1 who being at least more than fourteen1 and according to some calculations as much as seventeen years of age1 must have been a heavy child to carry in a warm climate4 ,god never did tempt any man at any time1 but he did tempt ,abraham to kill ,isaac by offering him as a burnt offering4 ,the doctrine of human sacrifice is one of the holy mysteries of ,christianity1 as taught in the ,old and ,new ,testament4 ,of course1 judged from a religious or biblical standpoint1 it can not be wrong1 as1 if it were1 ,god would not have permitted ,jephtha to sacrifice his daughter by offering her as a burnt offering1 nor have tempted ,abraham to sacrifice his son1 nor have said in ,leviticus1 ,none devoted1 which shall be devoted of men1 shall be redeemed2 but shall surely be put to death 7xxvii1 #bi71 nor have in the ,new ,testament worked out the monstrous sacrifice of his only son ,jesus1 at the same time son and begetting father4 ,abraham did not seem to be entirely satisfied with his own conduct when about to kill ,isaac1 for he not only concealed from his servants his intent1 but positively stated that which was not true1 saying1 ,i and the lad will go yonder and worship1 and come again to you4 ,if he meant that he and ,isaac would come again to them1 then he knew that the sacrifice would not take place4 ,nay1 ,abraham even deceived his own son1 who asked him where was the lamb for the burnt offering8 ,but we learn from the ,new ,testament that ,abraham acted in this and other matters by faith1 so his falsehoods and evasions1 being results and aids of faith1 must be dealt with in an entirely different manner from transactions of every-day life4 ,just as ,abraham stretched forth his hand to slay his son1 the angel of the ,lord called to him from heaven1 and prevented the murder1 saying1 ,now ,i know that thou fearest ,god1 seeing thou hast not withheld thy son4 ,this would convey the impression that up to that moment the angel of the ,lord was not certain upon the subject4 ,in ,genesis xiii1 ,god says to ,abraham1 ,lift up now thine eyes1 and look from the place where thou art northward1 and southward1 and eastward and westward4 ,for all the land which thou seest1 to thee will ,i give it1 and to thy seed for ever4 ,arise1 walk through the land1 in the length of it1 and in the breadth of it1 for ,i will give it unto thee4 ,yet1 as is admitted by the ,rev4 ,charles ,boutell1 in his ,bible ,dictionary1 ,the only portion of territory in that land of promise1 of which ,abraham became possessed was a graveyard1 which he had bought and paid for4 ,although ,abraham was too old to have children before the birth of ,isaac1 he had many children after ,isaac is born4 ,he lived to a good old age1 and died full of years1 but was yet younger than any of those who preceded him1 and whose ages are given in the bible history1 except ,nahor4 ,abraham gave all that he had to ,isaac1 but appears to have distributed the rest of the property among his other children1 who were sent to enjoy it somewhere down ,east4 ,according to the ,new ,testament1 ,abraham is now in ,paradise1 but ,abraham in heaven is scarcely an improvement upon ,abraham on-earth4 ,when he was entreated by an unfortunate in hell for a drop of water to cool his tongue1 father ,abraham replied1 ,son1 remember that in thy life-time thou receivedst thy good things1 and now thou art tormented1 as if the reminiscence of past good would alleviate present and future continuity of evil4 ,,new ,,life ,,of ,,moses4 ,the ,life of ,abraham was presented to our readers1 because1 as the nominal founder of the ,jewish race1 his position entitled him to that honor4 ,the ,life of ,david1 because1 as one of the worst men and worst kings ever known1 his history might afford matter for reflection to admirers of monarchical institutions and matter for comment to the advocates of a republican form of government4 ,the ,life of ,jacob served to show how basely mean and contemptibly deceitful a man might become1 and yet enjoy ,god's love4 ,having given thus a brief outline of the career of the patriarch1 the king1 and the knave1 the life of a priest naturally presents itself as the most fitting to complement the present quadrifid series4 ,moses1 the great grandson of ,levi1 was born in ,egypt1 not far distant from the banks of the ,nile1 a river world-famous for its inundations1 made familiar to ordinary readers by the travelers who have journeyed to discover its source1 and held in bad repute by strangers1 especially on account of the carnivorous ,saurians who infest its waters4 ,the mother and father of our hero were both of the tribe of ,levi1 and were named ,jochebed and ,amram4 ,the infant ,moses was1 at the age of three months1 placed in an ark of bulrushes by the river's brink4 ,this was done in order to avoid the decree of extermination propounded by the reigning ,pharaoh against the male ,jewish children4 ,the daughter of ,pharaoh1 coming down to the river to bathe1 found the child and took compassion upon him1 adopting him as her son4 ,of the early life of ,moses we have but scanty record4 ,we are told in the ,new ,testament that he was learned in the wisdom of the ,egyptians199 and that1 when he was come to years he refused by faith9999 to be called the son of ,pharaoh's daughter4 ,perhaps the record from which the ,new ,testament writers quoted has been lost2 it is certain that the present version of the ,old ,testament does not contain those statements4 ,the record which is lost may have been ,god's original revelation to man1 and of which our bible may be an incomplete version4 ,i am little grieved by the supposition that a revelation may have been lost1 being1 for my own part1 more inclined to think that no revelation has ever been made4 ,josephus says that1 when quite a baby1 ,moses trod contemptuously on the crown of ,egypt4 ,the ,egyptian monuments and ,exodus are both silent on this point4 ,josephus also tells us that ,moses led the ,egyptians in war against the ,ethiopians1 and married ,tharbis1 the daughter of the ,ethiopian monarch4 ,this also is omitted both in ,egyptian history and in the sacred record4 ,when ,moses was grown1 according to the ,old ,testament1 or when he was #dj years of age according to the ,new1 it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of ,israel4 ,and he spied an ,egyptian smiting a ,hebrew4 ,and he looked this way and that way1 and when he saw that there was no man1 he slew the ,egyptian1 and hid him in the sand4 ,the ,new ,testament says that he did it1 for he supposed that his brethren would understand how that ,god1 by his hand1 would deliver them4999999 99 ,acts1 vii1 #ba4 9999 ,hebrews1 xi1 #bd4 999999 ,acts1 vii1 #be4 ,but this is open to the following objections3 ,the ,old ,testament says nothing of the kind2 there was no man to see the homicide1 and as ,moses hid the body1 it is hard to conceive how he could expect the ,israelites to understand a matter of which they not only had no knowledge whatever1 but which he himself did not think was known to them2 if there were really no man present1 the story of the after accusation against ,moses needs explanation3 it might be further objected that it does not appear that ,moses at that time did even himself conceive that he had any mission from ,god to deliver his people4 ,moses fled from the wrath of ,pharaoh1 and dwelt in ,midian1 where he married the daughter of one ,reuel1 or ,jethro4 ,this name is not of much importance1 but it is strange that if ,moses wrote the books of the ,pentateuch he was not more exact in designating so near a relation4 ,while acting as shepherd to his father-in-law1 he led the flock to the back side of the desert1 and the angel of the ,lord appeared to him in a flame of fire3 that is1 the angel was either a flame1 or was the object which was burning1 for this angel appeared in the midst of a bush which burned with fire1 but was not consumed4 ,this flame appears to have been a luminous one1 for it was a great sight1 and attracted ,moses1 who turned aside to see it4 ,but the luminosity would depend on substance ignited and rendered inacandescent4 ,is the angel of the ,lord a substance susceptible of ignition and incandescence8 ,who knoweth8 ,if so1 will the fallen angels ignite and burn in hell6 ,god called unto ,moses out of the midst of the bush4 ,it is hard to conceive an infinite ,god in the middle of a bush2 yet as the law of ,england says that we must not deny the ,holy ,scriptures of the ,old and ,new ,testaments to be of divine authority1 in order not to break the law1 ,i advise all to believe that1 in addition to being in the middle of a bush1 the infinite and all-powerful ,god also sat on the top of a box1 dwelt sometimes in a tent1 afterward in a temple2 although invisible1 appeared occasionally2 and being a spirit without body or parts1 was hypostatically incarnate as a man4 ,moses1 when spoken to by ,god1 hid his face1 for he was afraid to look upon ,god4 ,if ,moses had known that ,god was invisible he would have escaped this fear4 ,god told ,moses that the cry of the children of ,israel had reached him1 and that he had come down to deliver them1 and that ,moses was to lead them out of ,egypt4 ,moses does not seem to have placed entire confidence in the phlegmonic divine communication1 and asked1 when the ,jews should question him on the name of the ,deity1 what answer should he make8 ,it does not appear from this that the ,jews1 if they had so completely forgotten ,god's name1 had much preserved the recollection of the promise comparatively so recently made to ,abraham1 to ,isaac1 and to ,jacob4 ,the answer given according to our version is ,i am that ,i am2 according to the ,douay1 ,i am who am4 ,god1 in addition1 told ,moses that the ,jews should spoil the ,egyptians of their wealth2 but even this promise of plunder so congenial to the nature of a bill-discounting ,jew of the bible type1 did not avail to overcome the scruples of ,moses4 ,god therefore taught him to throw his rod on the ground1 and thus transform it into a serpent1 from which pseudo-serpent ,moses at first fled in fear1 but on his taking it by the tail it resumed its original shape1 ,moses1 with even other wonders at command1 still hesitated2 he had an impediment in his speech4 ,god cured this by the appointment of ,aaron1 who was eloquent1 to aid his brother4 ,god directed ,moses to return to ,egypt1 but his parting words must somewhat have damped the future legislator's hope of any speedy or successful ending to his mission4 ,god said1 ,i will harden ,pharaoh's heart that he shall not let the people go4 ,on the journey back to ,egypt ,god met ,moses by the way in the inn1 and sought to kill him4 ,i am ignorant as to the causes which prevented the omnipotent ,deity from carrying out his intention2 the text does not explain the matter1 and ,i am not a bishop or a ,d4 ,d41 and ,i do not therefore feel justified in putting my assumptions in place of ,god's revelation4 ,moses and ,aaron went to ,pharaoh1 and asked that the ,jews might be permitted to go three days' journey in the wilderness2 but the ,king of ,egypt not only refused their request1 but gave them additional tasks1 and in consequence ,moses and ,aaron went again to the ,lord1 who told them1 ,i appeared unto ,abraham1 unto ,isaac1 and unto ,jacob by the name of ,god ,almighty2 but by my name ,jehovah was ,i not known unto them4 ,whether ,god had forgotten that the name of ,jehovah was known to ,abraham1 or whether he was here deceiving ,moses and ,aaron1 are points the solution of which ,i leave to the faithful1 referring them to the fact that ,abraham called a place99 ,jehovah-,jireh4 99 ,genesis xxii1 #ad ,after this ,moses and ,aaron again went to ,pharaoh and worked wonderfully in his presence4 ,thaumaturgy is coming into fashion again1 but the exploits of ,moses far exceeded any of those performed by ,mr4 ,home or the ,davenport brothers4 ,aaron flung down his rod1 and it became a serpent2 the ,egyptian magicians flung down their rods1 which became serpents also2 but the rod of ,aaron1 as though it had been a ,jew money-lender or a tithe collecting parson1 swallowed up these miraculous competitors1 and the ,jewish leaders could afford to laugh at their defeated rival conjurors4 ,moses and ,aaron carried on the miracle-working for some time4 ,all the water of the land of ,egypt was turned by them into blood1 but the magicians did so with their enchantments1 and it had no effect on ,pharaoh4 ,then showers of frogs1 at the instance of ,aaron1 covered the land of ,egypt2 but the ,egyptians did so with their enchantments1 and frogs abounded still more plentifully4 ,the ,jews next tried their hands at the production of lice1 and here--to the glory of ,god be it said--the infidel ,egyptians failed to imitate them4 ,it is written that cleanliness is next to godliness1 but we can not help thinking that godliness must have been far from cleanliness when the former so soon resulted in lice4 ,the magicians were now entirely discomfited4 ,the preceding wonders seem to have affected all the land of ,egypt2 but in the next miracle the swarms of flies sent were confined to ,egyptians only1 and were not extended to ,goshen1 in which the ,israelites dwelt4 ,the next plague in connection with the ministration of ,moses and ,aaron was that all the cattle of ,egypt died4 ,after all the cattle were dead1 a boil was sent1 breaking forth with blains upon man and beast4 ,this failing in effect1 ,moses afterward stretched forth his hand and smote both man and beast with hail1 then covered the land with locusts1 and followed this with a thick darkness throughout the land--a darkness which might have been felt4 ,whether it was felt is a matter on which ,i am unable to pass an opinion4 ,after this1 the ,egyptians being terrified by the destruction of their first-born children1 the ,jews1 at the instance of ,moses1 borrowed of the ,egyptians jewels of silver1 jewels of gold1 and raiment2 and they spoiled the ,egyptians4 ,the fact is1 that the ,egyptians were in the same position as the payers of church rates1 tithes1 vicars' rates1 and ,easter dues3 they lent to the ,lord's people1 who are good borrowers1 but slow when repayment is required4 ,they prefer promising you a crown of glory to paying you at once five shillings in silver4 ,moses led the ,jews through the ,red ,sea1 which proved a ready means of escape1 as may be easily read in ,exodus1 which says that the ,lord made the sea dry land for the ,israelites1 and afterward not only overwhelmed in it the ,egyptians who sought to follow them1 but1 as ,josephus tells us1 the current of the sea actually carried to the camp of the ,hebrews the arms of the ,egyptians1 so that the wandering ,jews might not be destitute of weapons4 ,after this the ,israelities were led by ,moses into ,shur1 where they were without water for three days1 and the water they afterward found was too bitter to drink until a tree had been cast into the well4 ,the ,israelites were then fed with manna1 which1 when gathered on ,friday1 kept for the ,sabbath1 but rotted if kept from one week day to another4 ,the people grew tired of eating manna1 and complained1 and ,god sent fire among them and burned them up in the uttermost parts of the camp2 and after this the people wept and said1 ,who shall give us flesh to eat8 ,we remember the fish we did eat in ,egypt freely2 the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic2 but now there is nothing at all beside this manna before our eyes4 ,this angered the ,lord1 and he gave them a feast of quails1 and while the flesh was yet between their teeth1 ere it was chewed1 the anger of the ,lord was kindled1 and he smote the ,jewish people with a very great plague499 99 ,numbers xi4 ,the people again in ,rephidim were without water1 and ,moses therefore smote the ,rock of ,horeb with his rod1 and water came out of the rock4 ,at ,rephidim the ,amalekites and the ,jews fought together1 and while they fought1 ,moses1 like a prudent general1 went to the top of a hill1 accompanied by ,aaron and ,hur1 and it came to pass that when ,moses held up his hands ,israel prevailed1 and when he let down his hands ,amalek prevailed4 ,but ,moses' hands were heavy1 and they took a stone and put it under him1 and he sat thereon1 and ,aaron and ,hur stayed up his hands1 the one on the one side and the other on the other side1 and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun1 and ,joshua discomfited ,amalek1 and his people with the edge of the sword4 ,how the true believer ought to rejoice that the stone was so convenient1 as otherwise the ,jews might have been slaughtered1 and there might have been no royal line of ,david1 no ,jesus1 no ,christianity4 ,that stone should be more valued than the precious black stone of the ,moslem2 it is the corner-stone of the system1 the stone which supported the ,mosaic rule4 ,god is everywhere1 but ,moses went up unto him1 and the ,lord called to him out of a mountain and came to him in a thick cloud1 and descended on ,mount ,sinai in a fire1 in consequence of which the mountain smoked1 and the ,lord came down upon the top of the mountain and called ,moses up to him2 and then the ,lord gave ,moses the ,ten ,commandments1 and also those precepts which follow1 in which ,jews are permitted to buy their fellow-countrymen for six years1 and in which it is provided that1 if the slave-master shall give his six-year slave a wife1 and she bear him sons or daughters1 that the wife and the children shall be the property of her master4 ,in these precepts it is also permitted that a man may sell his own daughter for the most base purposes4 ,also that a master may beat his slave so that if he do not die until a few days after the ill-treatment1 the master shall escape justice because the slave is his money4 ,also that ,jews may buy strangers and keep them as slaves for ever4 ,while ,moses was up in the mount the people clamored for ,aaron to make them gods4 ,moses had stopped away so long that the people gave him up for lost4 ,aaron1 whose duty it was to have pacified and restrained them1 and to have kept them in the right faith1 did nothing of the kind4 ,he induced them to bring all their gold1 and then made it into a calf1 before which he built an altar1 and then proclaimed a feast4 ,manners and customs change4 ,in those days the ,jews did see the ,god that ,aaron took their gold for1 but now the priests take the people's gold1 and the poor contributors do not even see a calf for their pains1 unless indeed they are near a mirror at the time when they are making their voluntary contributions4 ,and the ,lord told ,moses what happened1 and said1 ,i have seen this people1 and behold it is a stiff-necked people4 ,now1 therefore1 let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them1 and that ,i may consume them4 ,moses would not comply with ,god's request1 but remonstrated1 and expostulated1 and begged him not to afford the ,egyptians an opportunity of speaking against him4 ,moses succeeded in changing the unchangeable1 and the ,lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people4 ,although ,moses would not let ,god's wrath wax hot his own anger waxed hot1 and he broke1 in his rage1 the two tables of stone which ,god had given him1 and on which the ,lord had graven and written with his own finger4 ,we have now no means of knowing in what language ,god wrote1 or whether ,moses afterward took any pains to rivet together the broken pieces4 ,it is almost to be wondered at that the ,christian ,evidence ,societies have not sent missionaries to search for these pieces of the tables1 which may even yet remain beneath the mount4 ,moses took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and strewed it upon water and made the children of ,israel drink of it4 ,after this ,moses armed the priests and killed #c1jjj ,jews1 and the ,lord plagued the people because they had made the calf which ,aaron had made499 ,moses afterward pitched the tabernacle without the camp2 and the cloudy pillar in which the ,lord went1 descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle2 and the ,lord talked to ,moses face to face1 as a man would to his friend49999 ,and the ,lord then told ,moses1 ,thou canst not see my face1 for there shall no man see me and live4999999 ,before this ,moses and ,aaron and ,nadab and ,abihu1 and seventy of the elders of ,israel1 saw the ,god of ,israel1 and there was under his feet1 as it were1 a paved work of sapphire stone1444 and upon the nobles of the children of ,israel he laid not his hand2 also they saw ,god1 and did eat and drink499999999 99 ,exodus xxxii1 #ce4 9999 ,ib4 xxxiii1 #aa4 999999 ,ib4 xxxiii1 #bj4 99999999 ,ib4 xxiv1#i4 ,aaron1 the brother of ,moses1 died under very strange circumstances4 ,the ,lord said unto ,moses1 ,strip ,aaron of his garments and put them upon ,eleazar1 his son1 and ,aaron shall be gathered unto his people and shall die there4 ,and ,moses did as the ,lord commanded1 and ,aaron died there on the top of the mount1 where ,moses had taken him4 ,there does not appear to have been any coroner's inquest in the time of ,aaron1 and the suspicious circumstances of the death of the brother of ,moses have been passed over by the faithful4 ,when ,moses was leading the ,israelites over ,moab1 ,balak the ,king of the ,moabites sent to ,balaam in order to get ,balaam to curse the ,jews4 ,when ,balak's messengers were with ,balaam1 ,god came to ,balaam also1 and asked what men they were4 ,of course ,god knew1 but he inquired for his own wise purposes1 and ,balaam told him truthfully4 ,god ordered ,balaam not to curse the ,jews1 and therefore the latter refused1 and sent the ,moabitish messengers away4 ,then ,balak sent again high and mighty princes under whose influence ,balaam went mounted on an ass1 and ,god's anger was kindled against ,balaam1 and he sent an angel to stop him by the way2 but the angel did not understand his business well1 and the ass first ran into a field1 and then close against the wall1 and it was not until the angel removed to a narrower place that he succeeded in stopping the donkey2 and when the ass saw the angel she fell down4 ,balaam did not see the angel at first2 and1 indeed we may take it as a fact of history that asses have always been the most ready to perceive angels4 ,moses may have been a great author1 but we have little means of ascertaining what he wrote in the present day4 ,divines talk of ,genesis to ,deuteronomy as the five books of ,moses1 but ,eusebius1 in the fourth century1 attributed them to ,ezra1 and ,saint ,chrysostom says that the name of ,moses has been affixed to the books without authority1 by persons living long after him4 ,it is quite certain that if ,moses lived #c1cjj years ago1 he did not write in square letter ,hebrew1 and this because the character has not existed so long4 ,it is indeed doubtful if it can be carried back #b1jjj years4 ,the ancient ,hebrew character1 though probably older than this1 yet is comparatively modern among the ancient languages of the earth4 ,it is urged by orthodox chronologists that ,moses was born about #adej ,b4 ,c41 and that the ,exodus took place about #adja ,b4 ,c4 ,unfortunately there are no recorded dates in the ,jewish ,scriptures that are trustworthy4 ,moses1 or the ,hebrews1 not being mentioned upon ,egyptian monuments from the twelfth to the seventeenth century ,b4 ,c4 inclusive1 and never being alluded to by any extant writer who lived prior to the ,septuagint translation at ,alexandria 7commencing in the third century ,b4 ,c471 there are no extraneous aids1 from sources alien to the ,jewish ,books through which any information1 worthy of historical acceptance1 can be gathered elsewhere about him or them499 ,moses died in the land of ,moab when he was #abj years of age4 ,the ,lord buried ,moses in a valley of ,moab1 over against ,bethpeor1 but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day4 ,josephus says that a cloud came over him on the sudden and he disappeared in a certain valley4 ,the devil disputed about the body of ,moses1 contending with the ,archangel ,michael29999 but whether the devil or the angel had the best of the discussion1 the bible does not tell us4 ,de ,beauvoir ,priaulx1999999 looking at ,moses as a counselor1 leader1 and legislator1 says3 ,invested with this high authority1 he announced to the ,jews their future religion1 and announced it to them as a state religion1 and as framed for a particular state1 and that state only4 99 ,gliddon's ,types of ,mankind3 ,mankind's ,chronology1 p4 #gaa4 9999 ,jude1 v4 #i4 999999 ,questiones ,mosaic1 p4 #dhh4 ,he gave this religion1 moreover1 a creed so narrow and negative--he limited it to objects so purely temporal1 he crowded it with observances so entirely ceremonial or national--that we find it difficult to determine whether ,moses merely established this religion in order that by a community of worship he might induce in the tribe-divided ,israelites that community of sentiment which would constitute them a nation2 or1 whether he only roused them to a sense of their national dignity1 in the hope that they might then more faithfully perform the duties of priests and servants of ,jehovah4 ,in other words1 we hesitate to decide whether in the mind of ,moses the state was subservient to the purposes of religion1 or religion to the purposes of state4 ,the same writer observes99 that1 according to the ,jewish writings1 ,moses is the friend and favorite of the ,deity4 ,he is one whose prayers and wishes the ,deity hastens to fulfill1 one to whom the ,deity makes known his designs4 ,the relations between ,god and the prophet are most intimate4 ,god does not disdain to answer the questions of ,moses1 to remove his doubts1 and even occasionally to receive his suggestions1 and to act upon them even in opposition to his own predetermined decrees4 99 ,questiones ,mosaic p4 #dah4 ,,new ,,life ,,of ,,jonah ,jonah was the son of ,amittai of ,gath-hepher1 which place divines identify with ,gittah-hepher of the ,children of ,zebulun4 ,dr4 ,iuman says that ,gath-hepher means the ,heifer's trough4 ,gesenius translates it the wine-press of the well4 ,bible dictionaries say that ,gath-hepher is the same as el-,meshhad1 and affirm that the tomb of ,jonah was long shown on a rocky hill near the town4 ,the blood of ,saint ,januarius is shown in ,naples to this day4 ,nothing is known of the sex or life of ,amittai1 except that ,jonah was his or her son1 and that ,gath-hepher was her or his place of residence2 but to a true believer these two facts1 even though standing utterly alone1 will be pregnant with instruction4 ,to the skeptic and railer1 ,amittai is as an unknown quantity in an algebraic problem4 ,jonah was not a very common proper name1 ------ means a dove1 and some derive it from the ,arabic root--to be weak1 gentle2 so that one meaning of ,jonah1 according to ,gesenius1 would be feeble1 gentle bird4 ,the prophet ,jonah was by no means a feeble1 gentle bird2 he was rather a bird of prey4 ,certainly it was his intention to become a bird of passage4 ,the date of the birth of ,jonah is not given2 the margin of my bible dates the book of ,jonah ,b4 ,c4 cir4 #hfb1 and my bible dictionary fixes the date of the matter to which the book relates at about ,b4 ,c4 #hcj4 ,if from any reason either of these dates should be disagreeable to the reader1 he can choose any other date without fear of anachronism4 ,jonah was a prophet2 so is ,dr4 ,cumming1 so is ,brigham ,young2 there is no evidence that ,jonah followed any other profession4 ,jonah's profit probably hardly equaled that realized by the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 but he had money enough to pay his fare from the presence of the ,lord to ,tarshish4 ,the exact distance of this voyage may be easily calculated by remembering that the ,lord is omnipresent1 and then measuring from his boundary to ,tarshish4 ,the fare may be worked out by the differential calculus after evening prayer4 ,the word of the ,lord came to ,jonah2 when or how the word came the text does not record1 and to any devout mind it is enough to know that it came4 ,the first time in the world's history that the word of the ,lord ever came to anybody1 may be taken to be when ,adam and ,eve heard the voice of the ,lord walking in the ,garden of ,eden in the cool of the day4 ,between the time of ,adam and ,jonah a long period had elapsed2 but human nature1 having had many prophets1 was very wicked4 ,the ,lord wanted ,jonah to go with a message to ,nineveh4 ,nineveh was apparently a city of three days' journey in size4 ,allowing twenty miles for each day1 this would make the city about #fj miles across1 or about #ahj miles in circumference4 ,some faint idea may be formed of this vast city1 by adding together ,london1 ,paris1 and ,new ,york1 and then throwing in ,liverpool1 ,manchester1 ,glasgow1 ,edinburgh1 ,marseilles1 ,naples1 ,spurgeon's ,tabernacle4 ,jonah knowing that the ,lord did not always carry out his threats or perform his promises1 did not wish to go to ,nineveh1 and rose up to flee to ,tarshish from the presence of the ,lord1 ,the ,tarshish for which ,jonah intended his flight was either in ,spain or ,india or elsewhere4 ,i am inclined1 after deep reflection and examination of the best authorities1 to give the preference to the third-named locality4 ,when ,cain went out of the presence of the ,lord1 he went into the ,land of ,nod1 but whether ,tarshish is in that or some other country there is no evidence to determine4 ,to get to ,tarshish1 ,jonah--instead of going to the port of ,tyre1 which was the nearest to his reputed dwelling1 and by far the most commodious--went to the more distant and less convenient port of ,joppa1 where he found a ship going to ,tarshish2 so he paid the fare thereof1 and went down into it1 to go with them into ,tarshish1 from the presence of the ,lord4 ,jonah was1 however1 very short-sighted4 ,just as in the old ,greek mythology1 winds and waves are made warriors for the gods1 so the ,god of the ,hebrews sent out a great wind into the sea1 and there was a mighty tempest in the sea1 so that the ship was like to be broken4 ,luckily she was not an old leaky vessel1 over-laden and heavily insured2 one which the sanctimonious owners desired to see at the bottom1 and which the captain did not care to save4 ,christianity and civilization were yet to bring forth that glorious resultant1 a pious ,english ship-owner1 with a newly-painted1 but1 under the paint1 a worn and rusty iron vessel1 long abandoned as unfit1 but now fresh named1 and so insured that ,davy ,jones' locker becomes the most welcome haven of refuge4 ,the mariners were afraid4444 and cast forth the wares into the sea to lighten the ship4 ,but where was ,jonah during this noise8 ,men trampling on deck1 hoarse and harsh words of command1 and the fury of the storm troubled not our prophet4 ,sea-sickness1 which spares not the most pious1 had no effect upon him4 ,jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship1 and he lay and was fast asleep4 ,the battering of the waves against the sides disturbed not his devout slumbers2 the creaking of the vessel's timbers spoiled not his repose4 ,despite the pitching and rolling of the vessel ,jonah was fast asleep4 ,had he been in the comfortable berth of a ,cunarder1 it would not have been easy to sleep through such a storm4 ,had he been in the hold of a smaller vessel on the ,bay of ,biscay1 finding himself now with his head lower than his heels1 and now with his body playing hide and seek among loose articles of cargo1 it would have required great absence of mind to prevent waking4 ,had he only been on an ,irish steamer carrying cattle on deck1 between ,bristol and ,cork1 with a portion of the bulwarks washed away1 and a squad of recruits who cried every man to his ,god1 he would have found the calmness of undisturbed slumber difficult4 ,but ,jonah was on board the ,joppa and ,tarshish boat1 and he was fast asleep4 ,as the crew understood the theory of storms1 they of course knew that when there is a tempest at sea it is sent by ,god1 because he is offended by some one on board the vessel4 ,modern scientists scout this notion1 and pretend to track storm waves across the world1 and to affix storm signals in order to warn mariners4 ,they actually profess to predict atmospheric changes1 and to explain how such changes take place4 ,church clergymen know how futile science is1 and how potent prayers are1 for vessels at sea4 ,the men on the ,joppa vessel said1 every one to his fellow1 ,come1 and let us cast lots1 that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us4 ,so they cast lots1 and the lot fell upon ,jonah4 ,it was always a grave question in sacred metaphysics as to whether ,god directed ,jonah's lot1 and1 if yes1 whether the casting of lots is analogous to playing with loaded dice4 ,the ,bishop of ,lincoln1 who understands how far cremation may render resurrection awkward1 is the only divine capable of thoroughly resolving this problem4 ,for ordinary ,christians it is enough to know that the lot fell upon ,jonah4 ,before the crew commenced casting lots to find out1 they had cast lots of their wares overboard1 so that when the lot fell on ,jonah it was much lighter than it would have been had the lot fallen upon him during his sleep4 ,still1 if not stunned by the lot which fell upon him1 he stood convicted as the cause of the tempest and the crews4 ,then said they unto him1 ,tell us1 we pray thee1 for whose cause this evil is upon us2 ,what is thine occupation8 and whence comest thou8 what is thy country8 and of what people art thou8 ,and he said unto them1 ,i am an ,hebrew2 and ,i fear the ,lord1 the ,god of heaven1 which hath made the sea and the dry land4 ,then were the men exceedingly afraid1 and said unto him1 ,why hast thou done this8 ,for the men-knew that he fled from the presence of the ,lord1 because he had told them4 ,then said they unto him1 ,what shall we do unto thee1 that the sea may be calm unto us8 for the sea wrought1 and was tempestuous4 ,and he said unto them1 ,take me up1 and cast me forth into the sea2 so shall the sea be calm unto you2 for ,i know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you4 ,nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land2 but they could not2 for the sea wrought1 and was tempestuous against them4 ,wherefore they cried unto the ,lord1 and said1 ,we beseech thee1 ,o ,lord1 we beseech thee1 let us not perish for this man's life1 and lay not upon us innocent blood3 for thou1 ,o ,lord1 hast done as it pleased thee4 ,so they took up ,jonah1 and cast him forth into the sea3 and the sea ceased from her raging4 ,no pen can improve this story2 it is so simple1 so natural1 so child-like4 ,every one has heard of casting oil on troubled waters4 ,it stands to reason that a fat prophet would produce the same effect4 ,what a striking illustration of the power of faith it will be when bishops leave their own sees in order to be in readiness to calm an ocean storm4 ,or if not a bishop1 at least a curate2 and even a lean curate1 for with sea air1 a ravenous appetite1 and a ,white ,star ,line cabin bill of fare of breakfast1 lunch1 dinner1 tea1 and supper1 fatness would soon be arrived at4 ,in the interests of science ,i should like to see an episcopal prophet occasionally thrown overboard during a storm4 ,the experiment must in any case be advantageous to humanity2 should the tempest be stilled1 then the ocean would be indeed the broad way1 not leading to destruction2 should the storm not be conquered1 there would even then be promotion in the ,church1 and happiness to many at the mere cost of one bishop4 ,now the ,lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up ,jonah4 ,jesus says the fish was a whale4 ,a whale would have needed preparation1 and the statement has an air of vraisemblance4 ,the fish did swallow ,jonah4 ,jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights4 ,poor ,jonah6 and poor fish6 ,poor ,jonah1 for it can scarcely be pleasant1 even if you escape suffocation1 to be in a fish's belly with too much to drink1 and no room to swallow1 and your solids either raw or too much done4 ,poor fish6 for even after preparation it must be disagreeable to have one's poor stomach turned into a sort of prayer meeting4 ,jonah was taken in2 but the fish found that taking in a parson was a feat neither easy nor healthy4 ,after ,jonah had uttered guttural sounds from inside the fish's belly for three days and three nights1 the ,lord spake unto the fish1 and the fish was sick of ,jonah1 and it vomited out ,jonah upon the dry land4 ,some skeptics urged that a whale could not have swallowed ,jonah2 but once1 at ,todmorden1 a ,church of ,england clergyman1 who had been curate to the ,reverend ,charles ,kingsley1 got rid of this as an objection by assuring us that he should have equally believed the story had it stated that ,jonah had swallowed the whale4 ,and then the word of the ,lord came to ,jonah once more1 and this time ,jonah obeyed4 ,he was to take ,god's message to the citizens of ,nineveh4 ,and ,jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey1 and he cried1 and said1 ,yet forty days1 and ,nineveh shall be overthrown4 ,should ,jonah come to ,london in the present day with a similar message1 he would meet scant courtesy from our clergy4 ,a foreigner and using a strange tongue1 he would probably find himself in ,colney ,hatch or ,hanwell4 ,to come to ,england in the name of ,mahomet or ,buddha1 or ,osiris or ,jupiter1 would have little effect4 ,but the ,ninevites do not seem even to have raised the question that the ,god of the ,hebrews was not their ,god4 ,they listened to ,jonah1 and the people of ,nineveh believed ,god1 and proclaimed a fast1 and put on sackcloth1 from the greatest of them even to the least of them4 ,for word came unto the king of ,nineveh1 and he arose from his throne1 and he laid his robe from him1 and covered him with sackcloth and sat in ashes4 ,and he caused it to be proclaimed and published through ,nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles1 saying1 ,let neither man nor beast1 herd nor flock1 taste anything2 let them not feed1 nor drink water3 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth1 and cry mightily unto ,god3 yea1 let them turn every one from his evil way1 and from the violence that is in their hands4 ,the consumption of sackcloth for covering every man and beast must have been rather large1 and the ,nineveh sackcloth manufacturers must have had enormous stocks on hand to supply the sudden demand4 ,the city article of the ,nineveh ,times1 if such a paper existed1 would probably have described sackcloth firm1 with a tendency to rise4 ,man and beast1 all dressed in or covered with sackcloth6 ,it would be sometimes difficult to distinguish a ,ninevite man from a ,ninevite beast1 the dress being similar for all4 ,this is a difficulty1 however1 other nations have shared with the ,ninevites4 ,men and women may sometimes be seen in ,london dressed in broadcloth and satins1 and1 though their clothing is distinguishable enough1 their conduct is sometimes so beastly that the naked beasts are the more respectable4 ,nineveh was frightened1 and ,nineveh moaned1 and ,nineveh determined to do wrong3 no more4 ,and ,god saw their works1 that they turned from their evil way2 and ,god repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them2 and he did it not4 ,god1 the unchangeable1 changed his purpose1 and spared the city1 which in his infinite wisdom he had doomed4 ,but it displeased ,jonah exceedingly1 and he was very angry4 ,it was enough to vex a saint to be sent to prophesy the destruction of the city in six weeks1 and then nothing at all to happen4 ,and he prayed unto the ,lord1 and said1 ,i pray thee1 ,o ,lord1 was not this my saying1 when ,i was yet in my country8 ,therefore ,i fled before unto ,tarshish4 ,jonah did not like to be a discredited prophet and cried1 ,therefore now1 ,o ,lord1 take1 ,i beseech thee1 my life from me2 for it is better for me to die than to live4 ,then said the ,lord1 ,doest thou well to be angry8 ,jonah1 knowing the ,lord1 was still curious and uncertain as well as angry4 ,he was a prophet and a skeptic4 ,so ,jonah went out of the city1 and sat on the east side of the city1 and there made him a booth1 and sat under it in the shadow1 till he might see what would become of the city4 ,and the ,lord ,god prepared a gourd1 and made it to come up over ,jonah1 that it might be a shadow over his head1 to deliver him from his grief4 ,so ,jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd4 ,but ,god prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day1 and it smote the gourd that it withered4 ,and it came to pass1 when the sun did arise1 that ,god prepared a vehement east wind2 and the sun beat upon the head of ,jonah1 that he fainted1 and wished in himself to die1 and said1 ,it is better for me to die than to live4 ,and ,god said to ,jonah1 ,doest thou well to be angry for the gourd8 ,and he said1 ,i do well to be angry1 even unto death4 ,then said the ,lord1 ,thou hast had pity on the gourd1 for the which thou hast not labored1 neither madest it grow2 which came up in a night1 and perished in a night3 ,and should not ,i spare ,nineveh1 that great city1 wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that can not discern between their right hand and their left hand2 and also much cattle8 ,the ,lord seems to have overlooked that ,jonah had more pity on himself than the gourd1 whose only value to him was as a shade from the sun4 ,jonah1 too1 might have reminded the ,lord that there were more than #abj1jjj persons similarly situated at the deluge and at the slaughter of the ,midianites1 and that the much cattle had never theretofore been reckoned in the divine decrees of mercy4 ,here ends the new life of ,jonah4 ,of the prophet's childhood we know nothing2 of his middle age no more than we have here related2 of his old age and death we have nothing to say4 ,it is enough for good ,christians to know that ,jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly2 so shall the ,son of ,man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth4 ,according to ,jesus the story of ,jonah is as true as ,gospel4 ,,who ,,was ,,jesus ,,christ8 ,many persons will consider the question heading this pamphlet as one to which the ,gospels have given a sufficient answer1 and that no further inquiry is necessary4 ,we1 in reply1 point out that while the general ,christian body affirm that ,jesus was ,god incarnate on earth1 the ,unitarian ,christians1 less in numerical strength1 but numbering a large proportion of the more intelligent and humane1 absolutely deny this divinity2 and even in the earliest ages of the ,christian ,church heretics were found who scrupled not to deny that ,jesus had ever existed in the flesh4 ,under these circumstances1 it is well to prosecute the inquiry to the uttermost1 that our faith may rest on sure foundations4 ,the history of ,jesus ,christ is contained in four books1 or gospels4 ,we know not with any degree of certainty1 and have now no means of knowing1 when these gospels were written1 we know not where they were written1 and we know not by whom they were written4 ,until after the year ,a4 ,d4 #bjj1 no author1 except ,irenus1 professes to mention any gospels by ,matthew1 ,mark1 ,luke1 or ,john1 and there is no sufficient evidence to identify the gospels we have with the writings to which ,irenseus refers4 ,the ,church has1 however1 kindly provided us with an author for each gospel1 and the early ,fathers have proved there ought to be four gospels1 because there are four seasons1 four principal points to the compass1 etc4 ,our duty is simply to believe4 ,with regard to the gospel first in order1 it is true that divines themselves disagree as to the language in which it was written4 ,some allege that the original was in ,hebrew1 others deny that our ,greek version has any of the characters of a translation4 ,this increases our difficulty1 but if we wish for temporal welfare we must believe with the party which is most fashionable1 and if we simply wish for truth1 we had better disregard all parties and avoid their creeds4 ,our authorized ,english translation of the four gospels is made from the received ,greek version2 this version was made at ,alcala in ,spain1 and the ,,mss4 from which it was obtained were afterward sold by the pious ,christians and manufactured into sky-rockets by one ,torjo1 a firework maker4 ,so that the same ,christians who threaten us with the pains of hell if we reject the gospels1 actually condemned their own books to brimstone and fire4 ,the only variation in the mode of burning is this--the holy ,,mss41 when made into sky-rockets1 were shot upward and burnt in their ascent to the heavenly regions1 and we are to burn in our descent into the lower regions of the bottomless pit4 ,we do not know the hour1 the day1 the month1 or the year1 in which ,jesus was born4 ,the only point on which divines generally agree is1 that he was not born on ,christmas ,day4 ,the ,oxford chronology places the matter in no clearer light1 and more than thirty learned authorities give us a period of over seven years difference in their reckoning4 ,the place of his birth is also uncertain1 as may be ascertained by careful reference to the text4 ,for instance1 the ,jews in the very presence of ,jesus reproached him that he ought to have been born at ,bethlehem1 and he never ventured to say1 ,i was born there4 7,john vii1 #da1 #db1 #eb47 ,jesus was the son of ,david the son of ,abraham 7,matthew i71 and his descent from ,abraham is traced through ,isaac1 who was born of ,sarai 7whom the writer of the ,epistle to ,galatians1 chap1 iv1 v4 #bd1 says was a covenant and not a woman71 and ultimately through ,joseph1 who was not only not his father1 but is not shown to have had any relationship to ,jesus at all1 and through whom the genealogy should not be traced4 ,there are two genealogies in the four gospels which have the merit of contradicting each other1 and these in part may be collated with the ,old ,testament genealogy1 which has the advantage of agreeing with neither4 ,much prayer and faith will be required in this introduction to the history of ,jesus4 ,the genealogy of ,matthew possesses peculiar points of interest to a would-be believer4 ,it is self-contradictory1 counts thirteen names as fourteen without explanation1 and omits the names of three kings without apology4 ,matthew 7i1 #ac71 says ,abiud was the son of ,zorobabel4 ,luke says ,zorobabel's son was ,rhesa4 ,the ,old ,testament contradicts both1 and gives ,meshullam and ,hananiah and ,shelomith1 their sister 7#a ,chron4 iii1 #ai71 as the names of ,zorobabel's children4 ,some ,greek ,,mss4 insert ,joram into ,luke iii1 #cc4 ,i do not know whether we shall be damned for omitting or for inserting ,joram3 those who believe had better look to this4 ,jesus was born without a father after his mother had been visited by the angel ,gabriel1 who came in unto her with a message from ,god4 ,his reputed father1 ,joseph1 had two fathers1 one named ,jacob1 the other named ,heli4 ,the divines feeling this to be a difficulty1 have kindly invented a statement that ,heli was the father of ,mary4 ,the birth of ,jesus was miraculously announced to ,mary and to ,joseph by visits of an angel1 but they so little regarded the miraculous annunciation that they marveled soon after at things spoken by ,simeon1 which were much less wonderful in character4 ,jesus was the ,son of ,god1 or ,god manifest in the flesh1 and his birth was first discovered by some wise men or astrologers4 ,the ,god of the bible1 who is a spirit1 had previously said that these men were an abomination in his sight1 and he therefore1 doubtless1 preferred them to be his first visitors in the flesh to keep up his character for incomprehensibility4 ,these men saw his star in the ,east1 but it did not tell them much1 for they were obliged to come and ask information from ,herod the king4 ,herod inquired of the chief priests and scribes2 and it is evident ,jeremiah was right1 if he said1 ,the prophets prophecy falsely and the priests bear rule by their means1 for these chief priests1 like the ,brewin ,grants and the ,brindleys of the present day1 misquoted to suit their purposes1 and invented a false prophecy by omitting a few words from1 and adding a few words to1 a text until it suited their purpose4 ,the star1 after they knew where to go1 and no longer required its aid1 led the wise men and went before them1 until it came and stood over where the young child was4 ,the story will be better understood if the reader will walk out at night and notice some star1 and then see how many houses it will be over4 ,the writer of the third gospel does not appear to have been aware of the star story1 and he therefore invents an angel who tells some shepherds2 but as this last named adventure does not appear to have happened in the reign of ,herod at all1 perhaps ,jesus was born twice4 ,after the wise men had left ,jesus1 an angel warned ,joseph to flee with him and ,mary into ,egypt1 and ,joseph did fly and remained there with the young child and his mother until the death of ,herod2 and this was done to fulfill a prophecy4 ,on referring to ,hosea 7xi1 #a71 we find the words have no reference whatever to ,jesus1 and that1 therefore1 either the tale of the flight is invented as a fulfillment of the prophecy1 or the prophecy manufactured to support the tale of the flight4 ,the ,jesus of the third gospel never went into ,egypt at all in his childhood2 perhaps there were two ,jesus ,christs8 ,when ,jesus began to be about thirty years of age he was baptized by ,john in the river ,jordan4 ,john1 who knew him1 according to the writer of the first gospel1 forbade him directly he saw him2 but1 according to the writer of the fourth gospel1 he knew him not1 and had1 therefore1 no occasion to forbid him4 ,god is an invisible spirit1 whom no man hath seen 7,john i1 #ah71 or can see4 7,exodus xxxiii1 #bj72 but ,john1 who was a man1 saw the spirit of ,god descending like a dove4 ,god is everywhere1 but at that time was in heaven1 from whence he said1 ,this is my beloved ,son1 in whom ,i am well pleased4 ,although ,john heard this from ,god's own mouth1 he did not always believe it1 but sometime after sent two of his disciples to ,jesus to inquire if he were really the ,christ 7,matthew xi1 #b1 #c74 ,immediately after the baptism1 ,jesus was led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil4 ,i do not know anything about either the spirit or the devil here mentioned1 and the writer does not explain anything about them2 he speaks of them familiarly1 as old acquaintances4 ,jesus fasted forty days and forty nights1 and in those days he did eat nothing4 ,of course it would be difficult to find a more severe fast--forty days and nights is a long period to abstain from food4 ,moses fasted twice that period4 ,such fasts take place in religious books1 but they are seldom found in every-day life4 ,such fasts are nearly miraculous4 ,miraculous events are events which never happened in the past1 do not take place in the present1 and never will occur in the future4 ,jesus was ,god1 and by his power as ,god fasted4 ,this all must believe4 ,the only difficulty is1 to understand on the hypothesis of his divinity1 what made him hungry4 ,when ,jesus was hungry the devil tempted him by offering him stones1 and asking him to make them bread4 ,we have heard of men having hard nuts to crack1 but that stones should be offered to a hungry man for extempore bread-making hardly seems a probable temptation4 ,which temptation came next is a matter of doubt4 ,the ,holy ,ghost1 which the clergy assert inspired ,matthew and ,luke1 does not appear to have inspired them both alike1 and they relate the story of the temptation in different order4 ,according to one1 the devil next taketh ,jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and tempts him to throw himself to the bottom1 by quoting ,scripture that angels should bear him in their arms4 ,jesus was1 however1 either a disbeliever in ,scripture1 or remembered that the devil1 like other gentlemen in black1 grossly misquoted to suit his purpose1 and the temptation failed4 ,the devil then took ,jesus to an exceedingly high mountain1 from whence he showeth him all the kingdoms of the world1 and the glory thereof1 in a moment of time1 which was very quick4 ,it is urged that this did not include a view of the antipodes1 but only referred to the kingdoms then known4 ,if this be true1 it must have been a long look from ,judea to ,china1 which was then a known kingdom4 ,the eye of faith will1 however1 see things afar off and sometimes will also see things which are not4 ,the mountain must have been very high--much higher than the diameter of the earth2 it must have been solid in proportion1 therefore would have capsized the earth in its revolutions1 if even temporarily placed upon it4 ,the devil then offered ,jesus1 who was the same as ,god1 and therefore omnipotent1 all the kingdoms of the world1 if he1 ,jesus the omnipotent ,god1 would fall down and worship his own creature1 the devil4 ,some object that if ,god is the creator and omnipotent ruler of the world1 then the devil would have no control over the kingdoms of the world1 and that the offer could be no temptation as it was made to ,jesus1 who was both ,god omnipotent and all-wise1 as well as man4 ,these objectors may easily be answered by asserting that it requires a proper submission of the intellect1 and an abhorrence of worldly reason1 in order properly to understand these books4 ,after this ,jesus taught the multitudes4 ,his teachings will form the subject of a separate tract4 ,we are here only endeavoring to answer our preliminary question by a narration of his history4 ,after the temptation1 ,jesus is alleged to have worked many miracles1 casting out devils1 and otherwise creating marvels among the inhabitants of ,judea4 ,bedevilment is now at a sad discount1 and if a second ,jesus of ,nazareth were in this heretical age to boast that he possessed the power of casting out devils1 he would stand a fair chance of expiating his offense by a three months' penance with hard labor in the highly polished interior of some borough jail4 ,now if men be sick and they have a little wisdom1 the physician is resorted to1 who administers medicine to cure the disease4 ,if men have much wisdom they study physiology1 while they have health1 in order to prevent sickness altogether4 ,in the time of the early ,christians prayer and faith 7,james v1 #ad1 #ae7 occupied the position of utility since usurped by rhubarb1 jalap1 et similibus4 ,men who had lost their sight in the time of ,christ were attacked not by disease but by the devil2 we have heard of men seeing double who have allowed spirits to get into their heads4 ,in the days of ,jesus one spirit would make a man blind1 or deaf1 or dumb2 occasionally a number of devils would get into a man and drive him mad4 ,we do not doubt this1 nor do we ask our readers to doubt4 ,we are grieved to be obliged to add that although we do not doubt the story of devils1 neither do we believe them4 ,our state of mind is neither that of doubt1 nor of absolute conviction of their correctness4 ,on one occasion1 ,jesus met either one man 7,mark v1 #b7 or two men 7,matthew viii1 #bh7 possessed with devils4 ,i am not in a position to advance greater reasons for believing that it was one man who was possessed than for believing there were two in the clutches of the devils4 ,the probabilities are equal--that is1 the amount of probability is not greater upon the one side than upon the other--that is1 there is no probability on either side4 ,the devils knew ,jesus and addressed him by name4 ,jesus was not so familiar with the imp1 or imps1 and we find inquired the name of the particular devil he was addressing4 ,the answer given in ,latin would induce a belief that the devils usually spoke in that tongue4 ,this may be an error1 but1 of course1 it is well to give consideration to every particular when we know we are to be eternally damned if we happen to believe the wrong statement4 ,jesus wanted to cast out the devils1 this they do not seem to have cared about1 but they appear to have had a decided objection to being cast out of the country4 ,whether ,palestine was the native country of the devils1 and that therefore they were loth to quit it1 ,i know not1 but it is likely enough1 as ,christianity is alleged to have had its rise there4 ,a compromise was agreed to1 and at their own request the devils were transferred to a herd of swine4 ,people who believe this may be said to go the whole hog4 ,the ,jesus of the four gospels is also alleged to have fed large multitudes of people under circumstances of a most ultra-thaumaturgic character4 ,to the first book of ,euclid is1 prefixed an axiom that the whole is greater than its part4 ,john ,wesley is alleged to have eschewed mathematics lest it should lead him to ,infidelity4 ,john ,wesley was wise1 for if any man be foolish enough to accept ,euclid's axiom1 he will be compelled to reject the miraculous feeding of #e1jjj people with five loaves and two small fishes4 ,it is difficult under any circumstances to perform a miracle4 ,the original difficulty is rather increased than diminished by the assertion that after the multitude had been fed1 twelve baskets full of fragments remained4 ,perhaps the loaves were very large or the baskets very small4 ,jesus is related to have walked on the sea at a time when it was very stormy1 and when1 to use the words of the text1 the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew4 ,walking on the water is a great feat if it be calm1 but when the waves run high it is still more wonderful4 ,perhaps it was because ,jesus must have been often engulfed by the angry waves1 that one sect prefers baptism by complete immersion4 ,we admire this miracle2 we know how difficult it is for a man to keep his head above water in the affairs of life4 ,the miracle of turning water into wine at ,cana1 in ,galilee1 is worthy of considerable attention1 in the endeavor to answer the question1 ,who was ,jesus ,christ8 ,jesus and his disciples had been called to a marriage feast1 and when there the company fell short of wine4 ,the mother of ,jesus to whom the ,catholics offer worship1 and pay great adoration1 informed ,jesus of the deficiency4 ,jesus1 who was very meek and gentle1 answered her in the somewhat uncourteous and unmeaning phrase1 ,woman1 what have ,i to do with thee8 mine hour is not yet come4 ,his mother seemed to have expected a miracle by her conduct1 yet if the fourth gospel speak the truth1 that was the beginning of miracle working on the part of ,jesus4 ,perhaps something had previously happened which is not recorded1 and which would explain this apparent inconsistency4 ,we must exert our faith to fill up any little gap which may be in the way of salvation4 ,jesus having obtained six waterpots full of water1 turned them into wine4 ,teetotalers who reject spirits in bottles1 but accept spiritual teachings1 and who can not believe ,god would specially provide means of drunkenness1 urge that this wine was not of intoxicating quality4 ,we will hope their hypothesis is a correct one1 but there is nothing to justify it in our text4 ,in fact1 the curious connection between the phrase well drunk and the time at which the miracle was performed1 would almost warrant the allegation that the guests were already in such a state as to render unnecessary the administration of further intoxicants4 ,the moral effects of this miracle are not easily conceivable by carnal minds4 ,shortly after this ,jesus went to the temple1 and in a meek and quiet manner1 with a scourge of small curds drove thereout the cattle dealers and money changers who had assembled there in the ordinary course of their business4 ,it is hardly probable that the ,jews would have permitted this without violent resistance to so rough a course of procedure4 ,the writer of the fourth gospel placed this event very early in the public life of ,jesus4 ,the writer of the third gospel fixes the occurrence much later4 ,perhaps it happened twice1 or perhaps they have both made a mistake in the time4 ,the ,jesus of the four gospels is alleged to have been ,god all-wise2 being hungry1 he went to a fig-tree1 when the season of figs was not yet come4 ,of course there were no figs upon the tree1 and ,jesus then caused the tree to wither away4 ,this is an interesting account to a true orthodox trinitarian4 ,such a one will believe3 first1 that ,jesus was ,god1 who made the tree1 and prevented it from bearing figs2 second1 that ,god the all-wise1 who is not subject to human passions1 being hungry1 went to the fig-tree1 on which he knew there would be no figs1 expecting to find some there2 third1 that ,god the all-just then punished the tree because it did not bear figs in opposition to ,god's eternal ordination4 ,this account is a profound mystery to a truly religious man4 ,he bow's his head1 flings his carnal reason away1 and looks at the matter in a prayerful spirit1 with an eye of faith4 ,faith as a grain of mustard seed will remove a mountain4 ,the only difficulty is to get the grain of faith2 all is easy when that is done4 ,the eye of faith is a great help1 it sometimes enables men to see that which does not exist4 ,jesus had a disciple named ,peter1 who1 having much faith1 was a great rascal and denied his leader in his hour of need4 ,jesus was previously aware that ,peter would be a rascal1 and he gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven1 and told him that whatsoever be bound on earth should be bound in heaven4 ,many an honest man has been immured in a dungeon1 and has had the key turned on him by a rascally jailor4 ,it is to be regretted that the like should be promised for all eternity4 ,peter was to have denied ,jesus three times before the cock should crow 7,matt4 #bf1 #cd74 ,the cock was doubtless an infidel cock1 and would not wait4 ,he crowed before ,peter's second denial 7,mark xiv1 #fh74 ,commentators urge that the words used do not refer to the crowing of any particular cock1 but to a special hour of the morning called cockcrow4 ,the commentators have but one difficulty to get over1 and that is1 that if the gospel be true1 their explanation is false4 ,peter's denial becomes the more extraordinary when we remember that he had seen ,moses1 ,jesus1 and ,elias talking together1 and had heard a voice from a cloud say1 ,this is my beloved son1 in whom ,i am well pleased4 ,if ,peter could thus deny ,jesus after having heard ,god vouch his divinity1 and if ,peter not only escapes punishment but gets the office of gatekeeper to heaven1 how much should we escape punishment and obtain reward1 who only deny because we can not help it1 and who have no corroborative evidence of sight or hearing to compel our faith8 ,the ,jesus of the first gospel promised that1 as ,jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly1 so he 7,jesus7 would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth4 ,yet he was buried on ,friday evening1 and was out of the grave before ,saturday was over4 ,of course this is susceptible of explanation2 you must have faith and believe that in some other language something else was said which ought to be translated differently4 ,or1 if you can not believe thus1 then you must have faith until you stretch the one day and part of another day1 and one night and part of another night1 into three days and three nights4 ,our orthodox translators have made ,jesus perform a curious equestrian feat on his entry into ,jerusalem4 ,the text says1 they brought the ass and the colt and put on them their clothes and set him thereon4 ,perhaps this does not mean that he rode on both at one time4 ,on the cross1 the ,jesus of the four gospels1 who was ,god1 cried out1 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why hast thou forsaken me8 ,god can not forsake himself4 ,jesus was ,god himself4 ,yet ,god forsook ,jesus1 and the latter cried out to know why he was forsaken4 ,this is one of the mysteries of the holy ,christian religion which1 unless a man rightly believe without doubt he shall perish everlastingly4 ,at the crucifixion of ,jesus wonderful miracles took place4 ,the graves were opened1 and many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the grave after his resurrection and appeared unto many4 ,we do not know which saints these were4 ,whether they numbered among them ,st4 ,abraham1 who permitted his wife to incur the risk of dishonor1 and who accepted riches to gild his shame2 who turned his wife into the desert with one bottle of water and some bread4 ,saint ,lot1 of whom the less said the purer our pages2 ,saint ,judah1 who wanted to burn alive a woman he had gotten with child2 ,saint ,jacob1 the liar and cheat2 ,saint ,joseph1 the model prime minister1 who bought the people's rights with their own corn2 ,saint ,moses1 the conjuror1 who killed #c1jjj ,jews because his own brother ,aaron had persuaded them to make a golden calf2 ,saint ,jael1 the blessed above all women1 because she drove most treacherously a nail into the skull of a sleeping guest2 ,saint ,samson1 who slew one thousand men with the jawbone of an ass2 ,saint ,gideon1 who frightened a large body of ,midianites1 with trumpets1 pitchers1 and lanterns4 ,poor ,midianites1 they had all been exterminated long before ,gideon's time2 it must have been an extraordinary providence to bring them into life in order to frighten them2 but ,god's ways are not as our ways4 ,this is a digression--in plain language1 we do not know who the saints were4 ,they appeared unto many1 but there is not the slightest evidence that any one ever saw them4 ,their bodies came out of the graves1 so we suppose that the bodies of the saints do not decompose like those of ordinary human beings4 ,as the saints rose1 so did ,jesus4 ,as they had their bodies1 so had he4 ,he must have much changed in the grave1 for his disciples did not know him when he stood on the shore 7,john xxi1 #d74 ,according to the first gospel ,jesus appeared to two women after his resurrection1 and afterward met eleven of his disciples by appointment on a mountain in ,galilee4 ,we do not know when the appointment was made2 the only verse on which divines rely as being capable of bearing this construction is ,matt1 xxxi1 #cb1 and that voice is silent both as to place and time--in fact1 gives no promise of any meeting whatever4 ,according to the second gospel1 he appeared first to one women1 and when she told the disciples they did not believe it4 ,yet we are bound to unhesitatingly accept that which the disciples of ,jesus rejected4 ,we have an advantage which perhaps the disciples lacked4 ,we have several different stories of the same event1 and we can select that which appears to us the most probable4 ,the disciples might have been so unfortunate as to have only one account4 ,by the second gospel we learn that instead of the eleven going to ,galilee after ,jesus1 he came to them as they sat at meat4 ,in the third gospel1 wo are told that he first appeared to two of his disciples at ,emmaus1 and they did not know him until they had been a long time in his company--in fact1 according to the text1 it was evening before they recognized him1 so we suppose the light of faith supplied the want of the light of day4 ,unfortunately directly they saw him they did not see him1 for as soon as they knew him he vanished out of their sight4 ,he immediately afterward appeared to the eleven at ,jerusalem1 and not at ,galilee1 as stated in the first ,gospel4 ,jesus asked for some meat1 and the disciples gave him a portion of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb1 and he did eat4 ,in these degenerate days it is hard to believe in a ghost eating fried fish1 yet we must try to do it for our soul's sake1 which otherwise may be burned for ever in the fire that is never quenched4 ,there is certainly nothing more improbable in ,god the ,son eating broiled fish after he was dead1 than there is in believing ,god the ,father ate dressed calf1 tender and good1 prepared for him by ,abraham 7vide ,genesis xviii74 ,a truly pious and devout mind will not look at the letter which killeth1 but for the spirit which maketh alive4 ,jesus was afterward taken up into heaven1 a cloud received him1 and he was missed4 ,god of course is everywhere1 and heaven is not more above than below1 but it is necessary we should believe that ,jesus has ascended into heaven to sit on the right hand of ,god1 who is infinite and has no right hand4 ,our question at the commencement was1 ,who was ,jesus ,christ8 ,was he a man8--surely not4 ,born without a father1 in the lifetime of ,herod1 according to ,luke4 ,residing in ,egypt1 according to ,matthew1 at a period in which1 if ,luke be true1 he never could have visited ,egypt at all4 ,his whole career is1 not simply a series of improbabilities1 not simply a series of absurdities1 but1 in truth1 a series of fables destitute of foundation in fact4 ,who was ,christ8 born of a virgin4 ,so was ,chrishna1 the ,hindoo god incarnate4 ,the story of ,chrishna is identical in many respects with that of ,jesus4 ,the story of ,chrishna was current long prior to the birth of ,jesus4 ,the story of ,chrishna is believed by the inhabitants of ,hindostan and disbelieved by the ,english1 who say it is a myth1 a fable4 ,we add that both are equally true1 and that both are equally false4 ,who was ,jesus ,christ8 ,a man or a myth8 ,his history being a fable1 is the hero a reality8 ,do you allege that it was impossible to forge books so large as the gospels8 then the answer is that ,christians were skilled in the art of forging epistles1 gospels1 acts1 decrees of councils1 etc4 ,will you urge that this only applies to the ,romish ,church8 ,then you will admit that your stream runs from a polluted fountain8 ,who was ,jesus ,christ8 ,who was ,saint ,patrick1 who excelled the reptiles from ,ireland8 ,who was ,fin ma coul8 ,who was ,odin8 ,perhaps there was a man who really lived and performed some special actions attracting popular attention1 but beyond this ,jesus ,christ is a fiction4 ,,what ,,did ,,jesus ,,teach8 ,the doctrines of ,jesus may be sought for and found in a small compass4 ,four thin gospels are alleged to contain nearly the entirety of his sayings1 and as most ,englishmen are professedly ,christians1 it might be fairly supposed that the general public were conversant with ,christ's teachings4 ,this1 however1 is not the case4 ,the bulk of professors believe from custom rather than from reading4 ,they profess a faith as they follow a fashion--because others have done so before them4 ,what did ,jesus teach8 ,manly self-reliant resistance of wrong1 and practice of right8 ,no2 the key-stone of his whole teaching may be found in the text1 ,blessed are the poor in spirit1 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven499 99 ,matthew v1 #c4 ,is poverty of spirit the chief among virtues1 that ,jesus gives it the prime place in his teaching8 ,is poverty of spirit a virtue at all8 ,surely not4 ,manliness of spirit1 honesty of spirit1 fullness of rightful purpose1 these are virtues2 but poverty of spirit is a crime4 ,when men are poor in spirit1 then do the proud and haughty in spirit oppress and trample upon them1 but when men are true in spirit and determined 7as true men should be7 to resist and prevent evil1 wrong1 and injustice whenever they can1 then is their greater opportunity for happiness here1 and no lesser fitness for the enjoyment of further happiness1 in some may-be heaven1 hereafter4 ,are you poor in spirit1 and are you smitten2 in such case what did ,jesus teach8 ,unto whom that smiteth thee on the one cheek1 offer also the other499 ',twere better far to teach that he who courts oppression shares the crime4 ,rather say1 if smitten once1 take careful measure to prevent a future smiting4 ,i have heard men preach passive resistance1 but this teaches actual invitation of injury1 a course degrading in the extreme4 ,shelley breathed higher humanity in his noble advice3 ,stand ye calm and resolute1 ,like a forest close and mute1 ,with folded arms and looks1 which are ,weapons of an unvanquished war4 ,there is a wide distinction between the passive resistance to wrong and the courting of further injury at the hands of the wrongdoer4 ,i have in no case seen this better illustrated than in ,mr4 ,george ,jacob ,holyoake's history of his imprisonment in ,gloucester ,jail19999 where passive resistance saved him from the indignity of a prison dress1 and also from compulsory attendance at morning prayer in the prison chapel1 which in his case would have been to him an additional insult4 ,but the teaching of ,jesus goes much beyond this kind of conduct2 the poverty of spirit principle is enforced to the fullest extent--,him that taketh away thy cloak1 forbid not to take thy coat also4 ,give to every man that asketh of thee1 and from him that taketh away thy goods1 ask them not again4999999 ,poverty of person is the only possible sequence to this extraordinary manifestation of poverty of spirit4 99 ,luke vi1 #bi4 9999 ,last trail by ,jury for ,atheism4 999999 ,luke vi1 #bi1 #cj4 ,poverty of person is attended with many unpleasantnesses2 and if ,jesus knew that poverty of goods would result from his teaching1 we might expect some notice of this4 ,and so there is--as if he wished to keep the poor content through their lives with poverty1 he says1 ,blessed be ye poor for yours is the kingdom of ,god499 ,but woe unto you that are rich1 for you have received your consolation49999 ,he pictures one in hell1 whose only related vice is that in life he was rich2 and another in heaven1 whose only related virtue is that in life he was poor4999999 ,he at another time tells his hearers that it is as difficult for a rich man to get into heaven as for a camel to go through the eye of a needle499999999 ,the only intent of such teaching could be to induce the poor to remain content with the want and misery attendant on their wretched state in this life1 in the hope of a higher recompense in some future life4 ,is it good to be content with poverty8 ,nay1 'tis better far to investigate the cause of such poverty1 with a view to its cure and prevention4 ,the doctrine is a most horrid one which declares that the poor shall not cease from the face of the earth4 ,poor in spirit and poor in pocket4 ,with no courage to work for food1 or money to purchase it6 ,we might well expect to find the man who held these doctrines with empty stomach also2 and what does ,jesus teach8--,blessed are ye that hunger now1 for ye shall be filled49999999999 ,he does not say when the filling shall take place1 but the date is evidently postponed until the time when you will have no stomachs to replenish4 ,it is not in this life that the hunger is to be sated4 ,do you doubt me1 turn again to your ,testament and read1 ,woe unto you that are full1 for ye shall hunger4999999999999 ,this must surely settle the point4 99 ,luke vi1 #bj4 9999 ,luke vi1 #bd4 999999 ,luke xvi1 #ai--ha4 99999999 ,luke xviii1 #be4 9999999999 ,luke vi1 #ba4 999999999999 ,luke vi1 #be4 ,it would be but little vantage to the hungry man to bless him by filling him1 if1 when he had satisfied his appetite1 he were met by a curse which had awaited the completion of his repast4 ,craven in spirit1 with an empty purse and hungry mouth--what next8 ,the man who has not manliness enough to prevent wrong will probably bemoan his hard fate1 and cry bitterly that so sore are the misfortunes he endures4 ,and what does ,jesus teach8--,blessed are ye that weep now1 for ye shall laugh499 ,is this true1 and if true1 when8 ,blessed are they that mourn1 for they shall be comforted49999 ,aye1 but when8 ,not while they mourn and weep4 ,weeping for the past is vain2 'tis past1 and a deluge of tears will never wash away its history4 ,weeping for the present is worse than vain--it obstructs your sight4 ,in each minute of your life the aforetime future is present-born1 and you need dry and keen eyes to give it and yourself a safe and happy deliverance4 ,when shall they that mourn be comforted8 ,are slaves that weep salt teardrops on their steel shackles comforted in their weeping8 ,nay1 but each pearly overflow1 as it falls1 rusts mind as well as fetter4 ,ye who are slaves and weep1 will never be comforted until ye dry your eyes and nerve your arms1 and1 in the plenitude of your manliness1 ,shake your chains to earth like dew1 ,which in sleep have fallen on you4 ,jesus teaches that the poor1 the hungry and the wretched shall be blessed8 ,this is not so4 ,the blessing only comes when they have ceased to be poor1 hungry and wretched4 ,contentment under poverty1 hunger and misery is high treason1 not to yourself alone1 but to your fellows4 ,these three1 like foul diseases1 spread quickly wherever humanity is stagnant and content with wrong4 99 ,luke vi1 #ca4 9999 ,matthew v1 #d4 ,what did ,jesus teach8 ,thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself499 ,so far well1 but how if thy neighbor will not hear thy doctrine when thou preacheth the glad tidings of great joy to him8 ,then forgetting all thy love1 and with bitter hatred that a theological disputant alone can manifest1 thou shalt shake off the dust from your feet1 and by so doing make it more tolerable in the day of judgment for the land of ,sodom and ,gomorrah than for your unfortunate neighbor who has ventured to maintain an opinion of his own1 and who will not let you be his priest49999 ,it is1 indeed1 a mockery to speak of love1 as if love to one another could result from the dehumanizing and isolating faith required from the disciple of ,jesus4 ,ignatius ,loyola in this1 at least1 was more consistent than his ,protestant brethren1 ,if any man come unto me1 and hate not his father1 and mother1 and wife1 and children1 and brethren1 and sisters1 yea1 and his own life also1 he can not be my disciple4999999 ,think not that ,i am come to send peace on earth4 ,i came not to send peace1 but a sword4 ,for ,i am come to set men at variance against his father1 and the daughter against her mother1 and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law1 and a man's foes they shall be of his own household499999999 ,every one that hath forsaken houses1 or brethren1 or sisters1 or father or mother1 or wife or children1 or lands for my sake1 shall receive an hundred fold1 and shall inherit everlasting life49999999999 ,the teaching of ,jesus is1 in fact1 save yourself by yourself4 ,the teaching of humanity should be1 to save yourself save your fellow4 99 ,matthew xix1 #ai4 9999 ,matthew x1 #ad1ae4 999999 ,luke xiv1 #bf4 99999999 ,matthew x1 #hd--hf4 9999999999 ,matthew xix1 #bi4 ,the human family is a vast chain1 each man and woman a link4 ,there is no snapping off one link and preserving for it an entirety of happiness2 our joy depends on our brother's also4 ,but what does ,jesus teach8 ,that many are called1 but few are chosen2 that the majority will inherit an eternity of misery1 while it is but the minority who obtain eternal happiness4 ,and on what is the eternity of bliss to depend8 ,on a truthful course of life8 ,not so4 ,jesus puts ,father ,abraham in ,heaven1 whose reputation for faith outstrips his character for veracity4 ,the passport througli ,heaven's portals is faith4 ,he that believeth and baptized shall be saved1 and he that believeth not1 shall be damned499 ,are you married8 ,have you a wife you love8 ,she dies and you4 ,you from your first speech to your last had ever said1 ,i believe1 much as a clever parrot might say it1 if well taught4 ,you had never examined your reasons for your faith for1 like a true believer should1 you distrusted the efficacy of your carnal reason4 ,you said1 therefore1 ,i believe in ,god and ,jesus ,christ1 because you had been taught to say it1 and you would have as glibly said1 ,i believe in ,allah1 and in ,mahomet his prophet1 had your birthplace been a few degrees more eastward1 and your parents and instructors ,turks4 ,you believed in this life and awake in ,heaven4 ,your much-loved wife did not think as you did--she could not4 ,her organization1 education and temperament were all different from your own4 ,she disbelieved because she could not believe4 ,she was a good wife1 but she disbelieved1 ,a good and affectionate mother1 but she disbelieved4 ,a virtuous and kindly woman1 but she disbelieved4 ,and you are to be happy for an eternity in ,heaven1 while she is writhing in agony in ,hell4 99 ,mark xvi1#af4 ,if true1 ,i could say with ,shelley1 of this ,christianity1 that it ,peoples earth with demons1 hell with men1 ,and heaven with slaves4 ,it is often urged that ,jesus is the ,savior of the world1 that he brought redemption without let or stint to the whole human race4 ,but what did ,jesus teach8 ,go not into any way of the ,gentiles1 and into any city of the ,samaritan enter ye not499 ,these were his injunctions to those whom he first sent out to preach4 ,i am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of ,israel1 is his hard answer to the poor ,syrophenician woman who is entreating succor for her child4 ,christianity1 as first taught by ,jesus1 was for the ,jews alone1 and it is only upon his rejection by them that the world at large has the opportunity of salvation afforded it4 ,he came unto his own and his own received him not19999 ,why should the ,jews be more ,god's own than the ,gentiles8 ,is ,god the creator of all8 and did he create the descendant of ,abraham with greater right and privilege than all other men8 ,then1 indeed1 is great and grievous injustice done4 ,you and ,i had no choice whether we would be born ,jews or ,gentiles2 yet to the accident of such a birth is attached the first offer of a salvation which if accepted1 shuts out all beside4 ,the ,kingdom of ,heaven is a prominent feature in the teachings of ,jesus1 and it may be well to ascertain1 as precisely as we can1 the picture drawn by ,god incarnate of his own special domain4 ',tis likened to a wedding feast1 to which the invited guests coming not1 servants are sent out into the highways to gather all they can find--both good and bad4 ,the ,king comes in to see his motley array of guests1 and findeth one without a wedding garment4 99 ,matt4 x1 #e4 9999 ,john i1 #aa4 ,the ,king inquired why he came into the feast without one1 and the man1 whoso attendance has been compulsorily enforced1 is speechless4 ,and who can wonder8 he is a guest from necessity1 not choice1 he neither chose the fashion of his coming or his attiring4 ,then comes the ,king's decree1 the command of the all-merciful and loving ,king of ,heaven3 ,bind him hand and foot1 and cast him into outer darkness2 there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth4 ,commentators urge that it was the custom to provide wedding garments for all guests1 and that this man is punished for his nonacceptance of the customary and ready robe4 ,the text does not warrant this position1 but assigns1 as an explanation of the parable1 that an invitation to the heavenly feast will not insure its partakal1 for that many are called1 but few are chosen4 ,what more of the ,kingdom of ,heaven8 ,there shall be joy in ,heaven over one sinner that repenteth1 more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance499 ,nay1 it is urged that the greater sinner one has been1 the better saint he makes1 and the more he has sinned1 so much the more he loves ,god4 ,to whom little is forgiven1 the same loveth little49999 ,is not this indeed asserting that a life of vice1 with its stains washed away by a death-bed repentance1 is better than a life of consistent and virtuous conduct8 ,why should the fatted calf be killed for the prodigal son8999999 ,why should men be taught to make to themselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness8 ,these ambiguities1 these assertions of punishment and forgiveness of crime1 instead of directions for its prevention and cure1 are serious detractions from a system alleged to have been inculcated by one for whom his followers claim divinity4 99 ,luke xv1 #g4 9999 ,luke #g1 #dg4 999999 ,luke xv1 #bg4 ,will you again turn back to the love of ,jesus as the redeeming feature of the whole8 ,then1 ,i ask you1 read the story of the fig-tree99 withered by the hungry ,jesus4 ,the fig-tree1 if he were all-powerful ,god1 was made by him1 he limited its growth and regulated its development4 ,he prevented it from bearing figs1 expected fruit where he had rendered fruit impossible1 and in his infinite love was angry that the tree had not upon it that which it could not have4 ,tell me the love expressed in that remarkable speech which follows one of his parables1 and in which he says3 ,for1 ,i say unto you1 that unto every one which hath shall be given1 and from him that hath not1 even that which he hath shall be taken away from him4 ,but those1 mine enemies1 which would not that ,i should reign over them1 bring them hither1 and slay them before me49999 ,what love is expressed by that ,jesus who1 if he were ,god1 represents himself as saying to the majority of his unfortunate creatures 7for it is the few who are chosen73 ',depart from me1 ye cursed1 into everlasting fire1 prepared for the devil and his angels4'999999 99 ,matt xxi1 #ah-bb2 ,mark xi1 #ab-bd4 9999 ,luke xix1 #bf1ag4 999999 ,matt1 xxv1 #da4 ,far from love is this horrid notion of eternal torment4 ,and yet the popular preachers of to-day talk first of love and then of ,hell1 a red gulf of everlasting fire1 ,where poisonous and undying worms prolong ,eternal misery to those hapless slaves1 ,whose life has been a penance for its crimes4 ,in reading the sayings attributed to ,jesus1 all must be struck by the passage which so extraordinarily influenced the famous ,origen499 ,if he understood it aright1 its teachings are most terrible4 ,if he understood it wrongly1 what are we to say for the wisdom of teaching which expresses so vaguely the meaning which it rather hides than discovers by its words8 ,the general intent of ,christ's teaching seems to be an inculcation of neglect of this life1 in the search for another4 ,labor not for the meat which perisheth1 but for that meat which en-dureth unto everlasting life49999 ,take no thought for your life1 what ye shall eat1 or what ye shall drink2 nor yet for your body1 what ye shall put on4444 take no thought1 saying1 what shall we eat8 or what shall we drink8 or wherewithal shall we be clothed84444 ,but seek ye first the ,kingdom of ,god and his righteousness1 and all these things shall be added unto you4 ,the effect of these texts1 if fully carried out1 would be most disastrous2 they would stay all scientific discoveries1 prevent all development of man's energies4 ,it is in the struggle for existence here that men are compelled to become acquainted with the conditions which compel happiness or misery4 ,it is only by the practical application of that knowledge1 that the wants of society are understood and satisfied1 and disease1 poverty1 hunger1 and wretchedness1 prevented4 ,jesus substitutes ,i believe1 for ,i think1 and puts watch and pray1 instead of think and act4 ,belief is made the most prominent feature1 and is1 indeed1 the doctrine which pervades1 permeates1 and governs all ,christianity4 ,it is represented that1 at the judgment1 the world will be reproved ,of sin because they believe not4 ,this teaching is most disastrous2 man should be incited to active thought3 belief is a cord which would bind him to the teachings of an uneducated past4 99 ,matt4 xix1 #ab4 9999 ,matt1 xxiv1 #da4 ,thought1 mighty thought1 mighty in making men most manly1 will burst this now rotting cord1 and then--shaking off the cobwebbed and dust-covered traditions of dark old times1 humanity shall stand crowned with a most glorious diadem of facts1 which1 like gems worn on a bright summer's day1 shall grow more resplendent as they reflect back the rays of truth's meridian sun4 ,fit companion to blind belief in slave-like prayer4 ,men pray as though ,god needed most abject entreaty ere he would grant them justice4 ,what does ,jesus teach on this8 ,what is his direction on prayer8 ,after this manner pray ye3 ,our ,father1 which art in heaven4 ,do you think that ,god is the ,father of all1 when you pray that he will enable you to defeat some other of his children1 with whom your nation is at war8 ,and why which art in ,heaven8 ,where is ,heaven8 you look upward1 and if you were at the antipodes1 would look upward still4 ,but that upward would be downward to us4 ,do you know where ,heaven is1 if not1 why say which art in ,heaven8 ,is ,god infinite1 then he is in earth also1 why limit him to ,heaven8 ,hallowed be thy name4 ,what is ,god's name8 and if you know it not1 how can you hallow it8 ,how can ,god's name be hallowed even if you know it8 ,thy kingdom come4 ,what is ,god's kingdom1 and will your praying bring it quicker8 ,is it the ,judgment day1 and do you say ,love one another1 pray for the more speedy arrival of that day on which ,god may say to your fellow1 depart ye cursed into everlasting fire8 ,thy will be done on earth1 as it is in heaven4 ,how is ,god's will done in heaven8 ,if the devil be a fallen angel1 there must have been rebellion even there4 ,give us this day our daily bread1 ,will the prayer get it without work8 ,no4 ,will work get it without the prayer8 ,yes8 ,why pray then for bread to ,god1 who says1 ,blessed be ye that hunger4444 woe unto you that are full8 ,and forgive us our debts1 as we forgive our debtors4 ,what debts have you to ,god8 ,sins8 ,samuel ,taylor ,coleridge says1 ,a sin is an evil which has its ground or origin in the agent1 and not in the compulsion of circumstances4 ,circumstances are compulsory1 from the absence of a power to resist or control them3 and if the absence likewise be the effect of circumstances4444 the evil derives from the circumstances4444 and such evil is not sin499 ,do you say that you are independent of all circumstances1 that you can control them1 that you have a free will8 ,mr4 ,buckle says that the assertion of a free will involves two assumptions1 of which the first1 though possibly true1 has never been proved1 and the second is unquestionably false4 ,these assumptions are that there is an independent faculty1 called consciousness1 and that the dictates of that faculty are infallible49999 ,and lead us not into temptation1 but deliver us from evil4 ,do you think ,god will possibly lead you into temptation8 if so1 you can not think him all-good1 if not all-good he is not ,god1 if ,god1 the prayer is a blasphemy4 99 ,aids to ,reflection1 #ahdc1 p4 #bjj4 9999 ,history of ,civilization1 vol4 i1 p4 #ad4 ,i close this paper with the last scene in ,jesus' life1 not meaning that ,i have--in these few pages--fully examined his teachings2 but hoping that enough is even here done to provoke inquiry and necessitate debate1 ,jesus1 according to the general declaration of ,christian divines1 came to die1 and what does he teach by his death8 ,the ,rev4 ,f4 ,d4 ,maurice it is1 ,i think1 who well says1 ,that he who kills for a faith must be weak1 that he who dies for a faith must be strong4 ,how did ,jesus die8 ,giordano ,bruno1 and ,julius ,caesar ,vanini1 were burned for ,atheism4 ,they died calm1 heroic defiant of wrong4 ,jesus1 who could not die1 courted death1 that he1 as ,god1 might accept his own atonement1 and might pardon man for a sin which he had not committed1 and in which he had no share4 ,the death he courted came1 and when it came he could not face it1 but prayed to himself that he might not die4 ,and then1 when on the cross1 if two of the gospels do him no injustice1 his last words--as there recorded--were a bitter cry of deep despair1 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why hast thou forsaken me8 ,the ,rev4 ,enoch ,mellor1 in his work on the ,atonement1 says1 ,i seek not to fathom the profound mystery of these words4 ,to understand their full import would require one to experience the agony of desertion they express4 ,do the words1 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why hast thou forsaken me8 express an agony caused by a consciousness of desertion8 ,doubtless they do2 in fact1 if this be not the meaning conveyed by the despairing death-cry1 then there is in it no meaning whatever4 ,and if those words do express a bitter agony of desertion1 then they emphatically contradict the teachings of ,jesus4 ,before ,abraham was1 ,i am4 ,i and my father are one4 ,thou shalt not tempt the ,lord thy ,god4 ,these were the words of ,jesus1 words conveying 7together with many other such texts7 to the reader an impression that divinity was claimed by the man who uttered them4 ,if ,jesus had indeed been ,god1 the words ,my ,god1 my ,god1 would have been a mockery most extreme4 ,god could not have deemed himself forsaken by himself4 ,the dying ,jesus1 in that cry1 confessed himself either the dupe of some other teaching1 a self-deluded enthusiast1 or an arch-imposter1 who1 in the bitter cry1 with the wide-opening of the flood-gates through which life's stream ran out1 confessed aloud that he1 at least1 was no deity1 and deemed himself a ,god-forsaken man4 ,the garden scene of agony is fitting prelude to this most terrible act4 ,jesus1 who is ,god1 prays to himself1 in agony he prayed most earnestly499 ,he refuses to hear his own prayers1 and he1 the omnipotent1 is forearmed against his coming trial by an angel from heaven1 who strengthened the great ,creator4 ,was ,jesus the son of ,god8 ,praying1 he said1 ,father1 the hour is come1 glorify thy ,son1 that thy ,son also may glorify thee49999 ,and was he glorified8 ,his death and resurrection most strongly disbelieved in the very city where they happened1 if1 indeed1 they ever happened at all4 ,his doctrines rejected by the only people to whom he preached them4 ,his miracles denied by the only nation where they are alleged to have been performed2 and he himself thus on the cross1 crying out1 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why hast thou forsaken me8 ,surely no further comment is needed on this head1 to point more distinctly to the most monstrous mockery the text reveals4 99 ,luke1 xxii1 #dd4 9999 ,john1 xvii1 #b4 ,to those who urge that the course ,i take is too bold1 or that the problems ,i deal with are two deep or sacred1 ,i will reply in ,herschel's version of ,schiller1 ,wouldst thou reach perfection's goal1 ,stay not6 rest not6 ,forward strain1 ,hold not hand1 and draw not rein4 ,perseverance strikes the mark1 ,expansion clears whatever is dark1 ,truth in the abyss doth dwell1 ,my say is said--now fare the well4 ,,the ,,twelve ,,apostles4 ,all1 good ,christians1 indeed all ,christians--for are there any who are not models of goodness8--will desire that their fellow-creatures who are unbelievers should have the fullest possible information1 biographical or otherwise1 as to the twelve persons specially chosen by ,jesus to be his immediate followers4 ,it is not for the instruction of the believer that ,i pen this brief essay2 he would be equally content with his faith in the absence of all historic vouchers4 ,indeed a pious worshiper would cling to his creed not only without testimony in its favor1 but despite direct testimony against it4 ,it is to those not within the pale of the church that ,i shall seek to demonstrate the credibility of the history of the twelve apostles4 ,the short biographical sketch here presented is extracted from the first five books of the ,new ,testament1 two of which at least are attributed to two of the twelve4 ,it is objected by heretical men who go as far in their criticisms on the ,gospels as ,colenso does with the ,pentateuch1 that not one of the gospels is original or written by any of the apostles2 that1 on the contrary1 they were preceded by numerous writings1 since lost or rejected1 these in their turn having for their basis the oral tradition which preceded them4 ,it is alleged that the four gospels are utterly anonymous1 and that the fourth gospel is subject to strong suspicions of spuriousness4 ,it would be useless to combat1 and ,i therefore boldly ignore these attacks on the authenticity of the text1 and proceed with my history4 ,the names of the twelve are as follows3 ,simon1 surnamed ,peter2 ,andrew1 his brother2 ,james and ,john1 the sons of ,zebedee2 ,andrew2 ,philip2 ,bartholomew2 ,matthew2 ,james1 the son of ,alphaeus2 ,simon1 the ,canaanite2 ,judas ,iscariot2 and a twelfth1 as to whose name there is some uncertainty2 it was either ,lebbaeus1 ,thaddaeus1 or ,judas4 ,it is in ,matthew alone 7x1 #c7 that the name of ,lebbaeus is mentioned thus3 ,lebbaeus1 whose surname was ,thaddaeus4 ,we are told1 on this point1 by able biblicists1 that the early ,,mss4 have not the words whose surname was ,thaddaeus1 and that these words have probably been inserted to reconcile the gospel according to ,matthew with that attributed to ,mark4 ,how good must have been the old fathers who sought to improve upon the ,holy ,ghost by making clear that which inspiration had left doubtful6 ,in the ,english version of the ,rheims ,testament used in this country by our ,roman ,catholic brethren1 the reconciliation between ,matthew and ,mark is completed by omitting the words ,lebbaeus whose surname was1 leaving only the name ,thaddaeus in ,matthew's text4 ,this omission must be correct1 being by the authority of an infallible church4 ,if ,matthew x1 #c1 and ,mark iii1 #ah1 be passed as reconciled1 although the first calls the twelfth disciple ,lebbaeus1 and the second gives him the name ,thaddaeus1 there is yet the difficulty that in ,luke vi1 #af1 corroborated by ,john xiv1 #bb1 there is a disciple spoken of as ,judas1 not ,iscariot4 ,judas1 the brother of ,james4 ,commentators have endeavored to clear away this last difficulty by declaring that ,thaddaeus is a ,syriac word1 having much the same meaning as ,judas4 ,this has been answered by the objection that if ,matthew's ,gospel uses ,thaddus in lieu of ,judas1 then he ought to speak of ,thaddaeus ,iscariot1 which he does not2 and it is further objected also that while there are some grounds for suggesting a ,hebrew original for the gospel attributed to ,matthew1 there is not the slightest pretense for alleging that ,matthew wrote in ,syriac4 ,it is to be hoped that the unbelieving reader will not stumble on the threshold of his study because of a little uncertainty as to a name4 ,what is in a name8 ,the ,jewish name which we read as ,jesus is really ,joshua1 but the name to which we are most accustomed seems the one we should adhere to4 ,simon ,peter being the first named among the disciples of ,jesus1 deserves the first place in this notice4 ,the word ,simon may be rendered1 if taken as a ,greek name1 flatnose or ugly4 ,some of the ancient ,greek and ,hebrew names are characteristic of peculiarities in the individual1 but no one knows whether ,peter's nose had anything to do with his name4 ,simon is rather a ,hebrew name1 but ,peter is ,greek1 signifying a rock or stone4 ,peter is supposed to have the keys of the kingdom of heaven1 and his second name may express his stony insensibility to all appeals by infidels for admittance to the celestial regions4 ,lord ,byron's ,vision of ,judgment is the highest known authority as to ,saint ,peter's celestial duties1 but this nobleman's poems are only fit for very pious readers4 ,peter1 ere he became a parson1 was by trade a fisher1 and when ,jesus first saw ,peter1 the latter was in a vessel fishing with his brother ,andrew1 casting a net into the sea of ,galilee1 ,jesus walking by the sea said to them1 ,follow me1 and ,i will make you fishers of men499 ,the two brothers did so1 and they became ,christ's disciples4 ,the successors of ,peter have since reversed the apostles' early practice3 instead of now casting their nets into the sea1 the modern representatives of the disciples of ,jesus draw the sees into their nets1 and1 it is believed1 find the result much more profitable4 ,when ,jesus called ,peter no one was with him but his brother ,andrew2 a little further on1 the two sons of ,zebedee were in a ship with their father mending nets4 ,this is the account of ,peter's call given in the gospel according to ,matthew1 and as ,matthew was inspired by the ,holy ,ghost1 who is identical with ,god the ,father1 who is one with ,god the ,son1 who is ,jesus1 the account is doubtless free from error4 ,in the ,gospel according to ,john1 which is likewise inspired in the same manner1 from the same source1 and with similar infallibility1 we learn that ,andrew was originally a disciple of ,john the ,baptist1 and that when ,andrew first saw ,jesus1 ,peter was not present1 but ,andrew went and found ,peter who1 if fishing1 must have been angling on land1 telling him we have found the ,messiah1 and that ,andrew then brought ,peter to ,jesus1 who said1 ,thou art ,simon1 the son of ,jonas2 thou shalt be called ,cephas4 ,there is no mention in this gospel narrative of the sons of ,zebedee being a little further on1 or of any fishing in the sea of ,galilee4 ,this call is clearly on land1 whether or not near the sea of ,galilee does not appear4 ,in the ,gospel according to ,luke1 which is as much inspired as either of the two before-mentioned gospels1 and1 therefore equally authentic with each of them1 we are told9999 that when the call took place1 ,jesus and ,peter were both at sea4 ,jesus had been preaching to the people1 who1 pressing upon him1 he got into ,simon's ship1 from which he preached4 99 ,matthew iv1 #ah-bb4 9999 ,luke v1 #a-aa4 ,after this he directed ,simon to put out into the deep and let down the nets4 ,simon answered1 ,master1 we have toiled all night and taken nothing2 nevertheless1 at thy word ,i will let down the net4 ,no sooner was this done than the net was filled to breaking1 and ,simon's partners1 the two sons of ,zebedee1 came to help1 when1 at the call of ,jesus1 they brought their ships to land1 and followed him4 ,from these accounts the unbeliever may learn that when ,jesus called ,peter1 either both ,jesus and ,peter were on the land1 or one was on land and the other on sea1 or both of them were at sea4 ,he may also learn that the sons of ,zebedee were present at the time1 having come to help to get in the great catch1 and were called with ,peter2 or that they were further on1 sitting mending nets with their father1 and were called afterward2 or that they were neither present nor near at hand4 ,he may also be assured that ,simon was in his ship when ,jesus came to call him1 and that ,jesus was on land when ,andrew1 ,simon's brother1 found ,simon and brought him to ,jesus to be called4 ,the unbeliever must not hesitate because of any apparent incoherence or contradiction in the narrative4 ,with faith it is easy to harmonize the three narratives above quoted1 especially when you know that ,jesus had visited ,simon's house before the call of ,simon199 but did not go to ,simon's house until after ,simon had been called49999 ,jesus went to ,simon's house and cured his wife's mother of a fever4 ,robert ,taylor1999999 commenting on the fever-curing miracle1 says3 ,st4 ,luke tells us that this fever had taken the woman1 not that the woman had taken the fever1 and not that the fever was a very bad fever1 or a yellow fever1 or a scarlet fever1 but that it was a great fever--that is1 ,i suppose1 a fever six feet high at least2 a personal fever1 a rational and intelligent fever1 that would yield to the power of ,jesus' argument1 but would never have given way to ,james' powder4 ,so we are expressly told that ,jesus rebuked the fever--that is1 he gave it a good scolding2 asked it1 ,i dare say1 how it could be so unreasonable as to plague the poor old woman so cruelly1 and whether it wasn't ashamed of itself2 and said1 perhaps1 ,get out you naughty1 wicked fever1 you2 and such like objurgatory language1 which the fever1 not used to being rebuked in such a manner1 and being a very sensible sort of fever1 would not stand1 but immediately left the old woman in high dudgeon4 ,this ,robert ,taylor1 although a clergyman of the ,church of ,england1 has been convicted of blasphemy and imprisoned for writing in such wicked language about the bible4 ,simon ,peter1 as a disciple1 performed many miracles1 some when in company with ,jesus1 and more when separately by himself4 ,these miracles1 though themselves un-vouched by any reliable testimony1 and disbelieved by the people among whom they worked1 are strong evidence in favor of the apostolic character claimed for ,peter4 99 ,luke iv1 #hh4 9999 ,matthew viii1 #ad4 999999 ,devil's ,pulpit1 vol4 i41 p4 #adh4 ,on one occasion the whole of the disciples were sent away by ,jesus in a ship1 the ,savior remaining behind to pray4 ,about the fourth watch of the night1 when the ship was in the midst of the sea1 ,jesus went unto his disciples1 walking on the sea4 ,though ,jesus went unto his disciples1 and as an expeditious way1 ,i suppose1 of arriving with them1 he would have passed by them1 but they saw him1 and supposing him to be a spirit1 cried out4 ,jesus bid them be of good cheer1 to which ,peter answered1 ,lord1 if it be thou1 bid me come unto thee499 ,jesus said1 ,come1 and ,peter walked on the water to go to ,jesus4 ,but the sea being wet and the wind boisterous1 ,peter became afraid1 and instead of walking on the water began to sink into it1 and cried out ,lord save me1 and immediately ,jesus stretched out his hand and caught ,peter4 ,some object that the two gospels according to ,john and ,mark1 which both record the feat of water-walking by ,jesus1 omit all mention of ,peter's attempt4 ,probably the ,holy ,ghost had good reasons for omitting it4 ,a profane mind might make a jest of an ,apostle half seas over1 and ridicule an apostolic gatekeeper who could not keep his head above water4 ,peter's partial failure in this instance should drive away all unbelief1 as the text will show that it was only for lack of faith that ,peter lost his buoyancy4 ,simon is called ,bar-,jonah1 that is1 son of ,jonah2 but ,i am not aware if he is any relation to the ,jonah who lived under water in the belly of a fish three days and three nights4 ,it was ,simon ,peter who1 having told ,jesus he was the ,son of ,god1 was answered1 ,blessed art thou ,simon ,bar-,jonah1 flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee49999 ,we find a number of disciples shortly before this1 and in ,peter's presence1 telling ,jesus that he was the ,son of ,god1999999 but there is no real contradiction between the two texts4 ,it was on this occasion that ,jesus said to ,simon1 ,thou art ,peter1 and upon this rock ,i will build my ,church1 and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it1 and ,i will give thee the keys of the kingdom of ,heaven2 and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in ,heaven1 and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in ,heaven4 99 ,matt1 xiv1 #bc2 ,mark vi1 #de4 9999 ,matt4 xvi1 #ag4 999999 ,matt1 xiv1 #cc4 ,under these extraordinary declarations from the mouth of ,god the ,son1 the ,bishops of ,rome have claimed1 as successors of ,peter1 the same privileges1 and their pretensions have been1 acceded to by some of the most powerful monarchs of ,europe4 ,under this claim the ,bishops1 or ,popes of ,rome1 have at various times issued ,papal ,bulls1 by which they have sought to bind the entire world4 ,many of these have been very successful1 but in #acjb1 ,philip the ,fair1 of ,france1 publicly burned the ,pope ,boniface's ,bull after an address in which the ,states-,general had denounced1 in words more expressive than polite1 the right of the ,popes of ,rome to ,saint ,peter's keys on earth4 ,some deny that the occupiers of the episcopal seat in the seven-hilled city are really of the ,church of ,christ1 and they point to the bloody quarrels which have raged between men contending for the ,papal dignity4 ,they declare that those ,vicars of ,christ have more than once resorted to fraud1 treachery1 and murder1 to secure the ,papal dignity4 ,they point to ,stephen ,,vii1 the son of an unmarried priest1 who cut off the head of his predecessor's corpse2 to ,sergius ,,iii1 convicted of assassination2 to ,john ,x1 who was strangled in the bed of his paramour ,theodora2 to ,john ,,xi1 son of ,pope ,sergius ,,iii1 famous only for his drunken debauchery2 to ,john ,,xii1 found assassinated in the apartments of his mistress2 to ,benedict ,,ix1 who both purchased and sold the ,pontificate2 to ,gregory ,,vii1 pseudo lover of the ,countess ,matilda1 and the author of centuries of war carried on by his successors4 ,and if these suffice not1 they point to ,alexander ,borgia1 whose name is but the echo of crime1 and whose infamy will be as lasting as history4 ,it is answered1 by the fruit ye shall judge of the tree4 ,it is useless to deny the vine's existence because the grapes are sour4 ,peter1 the favored disciple1 it is declared was a rascal1 and why not his successors8 ,they have only to repent1 and there is more joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth1 than over ninety and nine righteous men4 ,such language is very terrible1 and arises from allowing the carnal reason too much freedom4 ,all true believers will be familiar with the story of ,peter's sudden readiness to deny his ,lord and teacher in the hour of danger1 and will easily draw the right moral from the mysterious lesson here taught1 but unbelievers may be a little puzzled by the common infidel objections on this point4 ,these objections1 therefore1 shall be first stated1 and then refuted in the most orthodox fashion4 ,it is objected that all the denials were to take place before the cock should crow199 but that only one denial actually took place before the cock crew49999 ,that the first denial by ,peter that he knew ,jesus1 or was one of his disciples1 was at the door to the damsel1999999 but was inside while sitting by the fire199999999 that the second denial was to a man1 and apparently still sitting by the fire19999999999 but was to a maid when he was gone out into the porch4 ,that these denials1 or1 at any rate1 the last denial1 were all in the presence of ,jesus1999999999999 who turned and looked at ,peter1 but that the first denial was at the door1 ,jesus being inside the palace1 the second denial out in the porch1 ,jesus being still inside199999999999999 and the third denial also outside4 99 ,matt4 xxvi1 #cd4 9999 ,luke xxii1 #cd4 999999 ,john xiii1 #ch4 99999999 ,mark xiv1 #fh4 9999999999 ,john xviii1 #ag4 999999999999 ,luke xxii1 #eg41 ,luke xxii1 #eh41 ,luke xxii1 #fa4 99999999999999 ,mark xiv1 #fi4 ,the refutation of these paltry objections is simple1 but as none but an infidel would need to hear it1 we refrain from penning it4 ,none but a disciple of ,paine1 or follower of ,voltaire1 would permit himself to be drawn to the risk of damnation on the mere question of when some cock happened to crow1 or the particular spot on which a recreant apostle denied his master4 ,two of the twelve apostles1 whose names are not1 given1 saw ,jesus after he was dead1 on the road to ,emmaus1 but they did not know him2 toward evening they knew him1 and he vanished out of their sight4 ,in broad daylight they did not know him2 at evening time they knew him4 ,while they did not know him they could see him2 when they did know him they could not see him4 ,well may true believers declare that the ways of the ,lord are wonderful4 ,one of the apostles1 ,thomas called ,didymus1 set the world an example of unbelief4 ,he disbelieved the other disciples when they said to him we have seen the ,lord1 and required to see ,jesus1 though dead1 alive in the flesh1 and touch the body of his crucified master4 ,thomas the apostle had his requirements complied with--he saw1 he touched1 and he believed4 ,the great merit is to believe without any evidence-- ,he that believeth and is baptized1 shall be saved1 he that believeth not shall be damned4 ,how it was that ,thomas the ,apostle did not know ,jesus when he saw him shortly after near the sea of ,tiberias1 is another of the mysteries of the ,holy ,christian religion4 ,the acts of the apostles after the death of ,jesus deserve treatment in a separate paper2 the present essay is issued in the meantime to aid the ,bishop of ,london in his labors to stem the rising tide of infidelity4 ,,the ,,atonement4 ,quel est donc ce ,dieu qui fait mourir ,dieu pour apaiser ,dieu8 ,adam's sin is the corner-stone of ,christianity2 the keystone of the arch4 ,without the fall there is no redeemer1 for there is no fallen one to be redeemed4 ,it is1 then1 to the history of ,adam that the examinant of the atonement theory should first direct his attention4 ,to try the doctrine of the atonement by the aid of science would be fatal to ,christianity4 ,as for the man1 ,adam1 #f1jjj years ago the first of the human race1 his existence is not only unvouched for by science1 but is actually questioned by the timid1 and challenged by the bolder exponents of modern ethnology4 ,the human race is traced back far beyond the period fixed for ,adam's sin4 ,egypt and ,india speak for humanity busy with wars1 cities and monuments1 prior to the date given for the garden scene in ,eden4 ,the fall of ,adam could not have brought sin upon mankind1 and death by sin1 if hosts of men and women had lived and died ages before the words thou shalt surely die were spoken by ,god to man4 ,nor could all men inherit ,adam's misfortune1 if it be true that it is not to one center1 but to many centers of origin that we ought to trace back the various races of mankind4 ,the theologian who finds no evidence of death prior to the offense shared by ,adam and ,eve is laughed to scorn by the geologist who point to the innumerable petrifactions on the earth's bosom1 which with a million tongues declare more potently than loudest speech thai organic life in myriads of myriads was destroyed incalculable ages before man's era on our world4 ,science1 however1 has so little to offer in support of any religious doctrine1 and so much to advance against all purely theologic tenets1 that we turn to a point giving the ,christian greater vantage ground2 and1 accepting for the moment his premises1 we deny that he can maintain the possibility of ,adam's sin1 and yet consistently affirm the existence of an ,all-wise1 ,all-powerful1 and ,all-good ,god4 ,did ,adam sin8 ,we will take the ,christian's bible in our hands to answer the question1 first defining the word sin4 ,what is sin8 ,samuel ,taylor ,coleridge says1 ,a sin is an evil which has its ground or origin in the agent1 and not in the compulsion of circumstances4444 ,an act to be sin must be original1 and a state or act that has not its origin in the will may be calamity1 deformity1 or disease1 but sin it can not be4 ,it is not enough that the act appears voluntary1 or that it has the most hateful passions or debasing appetite for its proximate cause and accompaniment4 ,all these may be found in a madhouse1 where neither law nor humanity permit us to condemn the actor of sin4 ,the reason of law declared the maniac not a free agent1 and the verdict follows1 of course ,not guilty8 ,did ,adam sin8 ,the bible story is that a ,deity created one man and one woman2 that he placed them in a garden wherein he had also placed a tree which was good for food1 pleasant to the eyes1 and a tree to be desired to make one wise4 ,that although he had expressly given the fruit of every tree bearing seed for food1 he1 nevertheless1 commanded them not to eat of the fruit of this attractive tree1 under penalty of death4 ,supposing ,adam to have at once disobeyed this injunction1 would it have been sin8 ,the fact that ,god had made the tree good for food1 pleasant to the eyes1 and a tree to be desired to make one wise1 would have surely been sufficient circumstance of justification on the ,god-created inducement to partake of its fruit4 ,the inhibition lost its value as against the enticement4 ,if the ,all-wise had intended the tree to be avoided1 would he have made its allurements so overpowering to the senses8 ,but the case does not rest here4 ,in addition to all the attractions of the tree1 and as though there were not enough1 there is a subtle serpent1 gifted with suasive speech1 who1 either wiser or more truthful than the ,all-perfect ,deity1 says that although ,god has threatened immediate death as the consequence of disobedience to his command1 yet they shall not die2 for ,god doth know that in the day ye eat thereof your eyes shall be opened1 and ye shall be as gods1 knowing good and evil4 ,the tempter is stronger than the tempted1 the witchery of the serpent is too great for the spellbound woman1 the decoy tree is too potent in its temptations2 overpersuaded herself by the honey-tongued voice of the seducer1 she plucks the fruit and gives to her husband also4 ,and for this their offspring are to suffer6 ,the yet unborn children are to be the victims of ,god's vengeance on their parents' weakness--though he had made them weak2 though1 indeed1 he had created the tempter sufficiently strong to practice upon this weakness1 and had arranged the causes predisposing man and woman to commit the offense--if1 indeed1 it be an offense to pluck the fruit of a tree which gives knowledge to the eater4 ,it is for this fall that ,jesus is to atone4 ,he is sacrificed to redeem the world's inhabitants from the penalties for a weakness 7for sin it was not7 they had no share in4 ,it was not sin1 for the man was influenced by circumstances pre-arranged by ,deity1 and which man was powerless to resist or control4 ,but if man was so influenced by such circumstances1 then it was ,god who influenced man--,god who punished the human race for an action to the commission of which he impelled their progenitor4 ,adam did not sin4 ,he ate of the fruit of a tree which ,god had made good to be eaten4 ,he was induced to this through the indirect persuasion of a serpent ,god had made purposely to persuade him4 ,but even if ,adam did sin1 and even he and ,eve1 his wife1 were the first parents of the whole human family1 what have we to do with their sin8 ,we1 unborn when the act was committed and without choice as to coming into the world4 ,does ,jesus atone for ,adam's sin8 ,adam suffered for his own offense2 he1 according to the curse1 was to eat in sorrow of the fruit of the earth all his life as punishment for his offense4 ,atonement1 after punishment1 is surely a superfluity4 ,did the sacrifice of ,jesus serve as atonement for the whole world1 and1 if yes1 for all sin1 or for ,adam's sin only8 ,if the atonement is for the whole world1 does it extend to unbelievers as well as to believers in the efficacy8 ,if it only includes believers1 then what has become of those generations who1 according to the bible1 for #d1jjj years succeeded each other in the world without faith in ,christ because without knowledge of his mission8 ,should not ,jesus have come #d1jjj years earlier1 or1 at least1 should he not have come when the ark on ,ararat served as monument of ,god's merciless vengeance1 which had made the whole earth a battle-field1 whereon the omnipotent had crushed the feeble1 and had marked his prowess by the innumerable myriads of decayed dead8 ,if it be declared that1 though the atonement by ,jesus only applies to believers in his mission so far as regards human beings born since his coming1 yet that it is wider in its retrospective effect1 then the answer is that it is unfair to those born after ,jesus to make faith the condition precedent to the saving efficacy of atonement1 especially if belief be required from all mankind posterior to the ,christian era1 whether they have heard of ,jesus or not4 ,japanese1 ,chinese1 savage ,indians1 ,kaffirs1 and others1 have surely a right to complain of this atonement scheme1 which insures them eternal damnation by making it requisite to believe in a ,gospel of which they have no knowledge4 ,if it be contended that belief shall only be required from those to whom the gospel of ,jesus has been preached1 and who have had afforded to them the opportunity of its acceptance1 then how great a cause of complaint against ,christian missionaries have those peoples who1 without such missions1 might have escaped damnation for unbelief4 ,the gates of hell are opened to them by the earnest propagandist1 who professes to show the road to heaven4 ,but does this atonement serve only to redeem the human family from the curse inflicted by ,deity in ,eden's garden for ,adam's sin1 or does it operate as satisfaction for all sin8 ,if the salvation is from the punishment for ,adam's sin alone1 and if belief and baptism are1 as ,jesus himself affirms1 to be the sole conditions precedent to any saving efficacy in the much-lauded atonement by the ,son of ,god1 then what becomes of a child that only lives a few hours1 is never baptized1 and1 never having any mind1 consequently never has any belief8 ,or what becomes of one idiot born who1 throughout his dreary life1 never has mental capacity for the acceptance1 or examination of1 or credence in1 any religious dogmas whatever8 ,is the idiot saved who can not believe8 ,is the infant saved that can not believe8 ,i1 with some mental faculties tolerably developed1 can not believe4 ,must ,i be damned8 ,if so1 fortunate short-lived babe6 lucky idiot6 ,that the atonement should not be effective until the person to be saved has been baptized is at least worthy of comment2 that the sprinkling a few drops of water should quench the flames of hell is a remarkable feature in the ,christian's creed4 ,one can't but think it somewhat droll ,pump-water thus should cleanse a soul4 ,how many fierce quarrels have raged on the formula of baptism among those loving brothers in ,christ who believe he died for them6 ,how strange an idea that1 though ,god has been crucified to redeem mankind1 it yet needs the font of water to wash away the lingering stain of ,adam's crime4 ,one minister of the ,church of ,england1 occupying the presidential chair of a well-known training college for church clergymen in the north of ,england1 seriously declared1 in the presence of a large auditory and of several church dignitaries1 that the sin of ,adam was so potent in its effect that if a man had never been born1 he would yet have been damned for sin6 ,that is1 he declared that man existed before birth1 and that he committed sin before he was born2 and if never born1 would1 notwithstanding1 deserve to suffer eternal torment for that sin6 ,it is almost impossible to discuss seriously a doctrine so monstrously absurd1 and yet it is not one whit more ridiculous than the ordinary orthodox and terrible doctrine that ,god1 the undying1 in his infinite love1 killed himself under the form of his son to appease the cruel vengeance of ,god1 the just and merciful1 who1 without this1 would have been ever vengeful1 unjust and merciless4 ,the atonement theory1 as presented to us by the bible1 is in effect as follows3 ,god creates man1 surrounded by such circumstances as the divine mind chose1 in the selection of which man had no voice1 and the effects of which on man were all foreknown and predestined by ,deity4 ,the result is man's fall on the very first temptation1 so frail the nature with which he was endowed1 or so powerful the temptation to which he was subjected4 ,for this fall not only does the ,all-merciful punish ,adam1 but also his posterity2 and this punishment went on for many centuries1 until ,god1 the immutable1 changed his purpose of continual condemnation of men for sins they had no share in1 and was wearied with his long series of unjust judgments on those whom he created in order that he might judge them4 ,that1 then1 ,god sent his son1 who was himself and was also his own father1 and who was immortal1 to die upon the cross1 and1 by this sacrifice1 to atone for the sin which ,god himself had caused ,adam to commit1 and thus to appease the merciless vengeance of the ,all-merciful1 which would otherwise have been continued against men yet unborn for an offense they could not have been concerned in or accessory to4 ,whether those who had died before ,christ's coming are redeemed the bible does not clearly tell us4 ,those born after are redeemed only on condition of their faith in the efficacy of the sacrifice offered1 and in the truth of the history of ,jesus's life4 ,the doctrine of salvation by sacrifice of human life is the doctrine of a barbarous and superstitous age2 the outgrowth of a brutal and depraved era4 ,the ,god who accepts the bloody offering of an innocent victim in lieu of punishing the guilty culprit shows no mercy in sparing the offender3 he has already satiated his lust for vengeance on the first object presented to him4 ,yet sacrifice is an early and prominent1 and1 with slight exception1 an abiding feature in the ,hebrew record--sacrifice of life finds appreciative acceptance from the ,jewish ,deity4 ,cain's offering of fruits is ineffective but ,abel's altar1 bearing the firstlings of his flock1 and the fat thereof1 finds respect in the sight of the ,lord4 ,while the face of the earth was disfigured by the rotting dead1 after ,god in his infinite mercy had deluged the world1 then it was that the ascending smoke from ,noah's burnt sacrifice of bird and beast produced pleasure in heaven1 and ,god himself smelled a sweet savor from the roasted meats4 ,to reach atonement for the past by sacrifice is worse than folly--it is crime4 ,the past can never be recalled1 and the only reference to it should be that1 by marking its events1 we may avoid its evil deeds and improve upon its good ones4 ,for ,jesus himself--can man believe in him8 --in his history contained in anonymous pamphlets uncorroborated by contemporary testimony8--this history1 in which1 in order to fulfill a prophecy which does not relate to him1 his descent from ,david is demonstrated by tracing through two self-contradictory genealogies the descent of ,joseph who was not his father--this history1 in which the infinite ,god grows1 from babyhood and hus cradle through childhood to manhood1 as though he were not ,god at all--this history1 full of absurd wonders1 devils1 magicians1 and evil spirits1 rather fit for an ,arabian ,night's legend than the word of ,god to his people--this history1 with its miraculous raisings of the dead to life1 disbelieved and contradicted by the people among whom they are alleged to have been performed2 but1 nevertheless1 to be accepted by us to-day with all humility--this history1 with the ,man-,god subject to human passions and infirmities1 who comes to die1 and who prays to his heavenly father 7that is1 to himself7 that he will spare him the bitter cup of death--who is betrayed1 having himself1 ere he laid the foundations of the world1 predestined ,judas to betray him1 and who dies1 being ,god immortal crying with his almost dying breath1 ,my ,god6 my ,god6 why hast thou forsaken me8 ,,were ,,adam ,,and ,,eve ,,our ,,first ,,parents8 ,this question1 ,were ,adam and ,eve our first parents8 is indeed one of most grave importance4 ,if the answer be a negative one1 it is1 in fact1 a denial of the whole scheme of ,christianity4 ,the ,christian theory is that ,adam1 the common father of the whole human race1 sinned1 and that by his sin he dragged down all his posterity to a state from which redemption was needed2 and that ,jesus is1 and was1 the ,redeemer1 by whom all mankind are and were saved from the consequences of the fall of ,adam4 ,if ,adam1 therefore1 be proved not to be the first man--if it be shown that it is not to ,adam the various races of mankind are indebted for their origin1 then the whole hypothesis of fall and redemption is dissipated4 ,in a pamphlet like the present it is impossible to give any statement and analysis of the various hypotheses as to the origin of the human race4 ,i frankly admit that my only wish and intent is1 to compel people to examine the bible record for themselves1 instead of making it their fetich1 bowing down before it without thought4 ,i am inclined to the opinion that the doctrine of a plurality of sources for the various types of the human race is a correct one2 that wherever the conditions for life have been found1 there also has been the degree of life resultant on those conditions4 ,my purpose in this essay is not to demonstrate the correctness of my own thinking1 but rather to illustrate the incorrectness of the ,geneiacal teaching4 ,were ,adam and ,eve our first parents8 ,on the one hand an answer in the affirmative to this question can be obtained from the bible1 which asserts ,adam and ,eve to be the first man and woman made by ,god1 and fixes the date of their making about #f1jjj years1 little more or less1 from the present time4 ,on the other hand1 it seems to me that science emphatically declares man to have existed on the earth for a far more extended period2 affirms that1 as far as we can trace man1 we find him in isolated groups1 diverse in type1 till we lose him in the ante-historic period2 and1 with nearly equal distinctness1 denies that the various existing races find their common parentage in one pair4 ,it is only on the first point that ,i attack the bible chronology of man's existence4 ,i am aware that compilations based upon the authorized version of the ,old ,testament ,scriptures are open to objection1 and that while from the ,hebrew #a1fef years represent the period from ,adam to the ,deluge generally acknowledged1 the ,samaritan ,pentateuch only yields for the same period #a1cjg years1 while the ,septuagint version furnishes #b1bdb years2 there is1 ,i am also informed1 on the authority of a most erudite ,egyptologist1 a fatal objection to the ,septuagint chronology--i4 e41 that it makes ,methusaleh outlive the flood499 ,the deluge occurred1 according to the ,septuagint1 in the year of the world #b1bdb1 and1 by adding up the generations previous to ,methusaleh's-- ,adam44444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444#bcj ,seth44444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444#bje ,enos44444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444#aij ,cainan444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444#agj ,malaleel4444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444#afe ,jared4444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444#afb ,enoch4444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444#afe 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 444444444#abhg 99 ,sharpe's ,history of ,egypt1 page #aif4 --we shall find that he was born in the year of the world #a1bhg4 ,he lived #ifi years1 and therefore died in #b1bef4 ,but this is fourteen years after the deluge4 ,the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,lightfoot1 who wrote about #a1fdd1 fixes the month of the creation at ,september1 #e1egb years preceding the date of his book1 and says that ,adam was expelled from ,eden on the day in which he was created499 ,in the ,london ,ethnological ,journal1 for which ,i am indebted to the kindness of its ,editor1 an able ethnologist and careful thinker1 the reader will find a chronology of ,genesis ably and elaborately examined4 ,at present1 for our immediate purpose1 we will take the ordinary4 ,english bible1 which gives the following result3 ,from ,adam to ,abraham 7,gen4 v and xi74444444444444 #bjjh ,from ,abraham to ,isaac 7,gen4 xxi1 #e7444444444444444 #ajj ,from ,isaac to ,jacob 7,gen4 xxv1 #bf7444444444444444444 #fj ,from ,jacob going into ,egypt 7,gen4 xlvii1 #i7444444444 #acj ,sojourn in ,egypt 7,exod4 xii1 #da7444444444444444444444 #dhj ,duration of ,moses99 leadership 7,exod4 vii1 #g2 xxxi1 #b74 #dj ,thence to ,david1 about44444444444444444444444444444 #djj ,from ,david to ,captivity1 fourteen generations 7#bg71 about twenty-two reigns44444444444444444444444444#dgh ,captivity to ,jesus1 fourteen generations1 about444444 #eic #dbcd ,less disputed #bcj years of sojourn in ,egypt444444#bcj #djjd ,from ,adam to ,abraham the dates are certain1 if we take the bible statement1 and there is certainly no portion of the orthodox text1 except the period of the ,judges1 which will admit any considerable extension of the ordinary ,oxford chronology4 99 ,harmony of the ,four ,evangelists1 and ,harmony of the ,old ,testament4 ,the book of ,judges is not a book of history4 ,everything in it is recounted without chronological order4 ,it will suffice to say1 that the ciphers which we find in the book of ,judges1 and in the first book of ,samuel1 yield us1 from the death of ,joshua to the commencement of the reign of ,saul1 the sum total of #ejj years1 which would make1 since the exode from ,egypt1 #efe years2 whereas the first book of ,kings counts but #dhj years1 from the going out of ,egypt down to the foundation of the temple under ,solomon4 ,according to this we must suppose that several of the ,judges governed simultaneously499 99 ,munk's ,palestine1 p4 #bca4 ,in reading ,alfred ,maury's profound essay on the classification of tongues1 ,i was much struck with the fact that he1 in his philological researches1 traces back some of the ancient ,greek mythologies to a ,sanscrit source4 ,he has the following remark1 worthy of earnest attention3 ,the ,god of ,heaven1 or the sky1 is called by the ,greeks ,zeus ,pater2 and let us here notice that the pronunciation of ,z resembles very much that of ,d1 inasmuch as the word ,zeus becomes in the genitive ,dios4 ,the ,latins termed the same ,god ,dies-piter1 or ,jupiter ,now in the ,veda the ,god of ,heaven is called ,dyash-pitai4 ,what is this but the original of our own ,christian ,god1 the father1 the ------ 7,jeue7 pater of the ,old ,testament8 ,i introduce this remark for the purpose of shaking a very commonly entertained opinion that the ,hebrew ,records1 whether or not ,god-inspired1 are at any rate the most antique1 and are written in a primitive tongue4 ,neither is it true that ,hebrew mythology is the most ancient1 nor the ,hebrew language the most primitive2 on the contrary1 the mythology is clearly derived1 and the language in a secondary or tertiary state4 ,what is the value of this book of ,genesis1 which is the sole authority for the hypothesis that ,adam and ,eve1 about #e1hfe years ago1 were the sole founders of the peoples now living on the face of the earth8 ,written we know not by whom1 we know not when1 and we know not in what language4 ,if we respect the book1 it must be from its internal merits2 its author is to us unknown4 ,eusebius1 ,chrysostom1 and ,clemens ,alexandrinus alike agree that the name of ,moses should not stand at the head of ,genesis as the author of the book4 ,as to its internal merit ,origen did not hesitate to declare the contents of the first and second chapters of ,genesis to be purely figurative4 ,our translation of it has been severely criticised by the learned and pious ,bellamy1 and by the more learned and less pious ,sir ,william ,drummond4 ,errors almost innumerable have been pointed out1 the correctness of the ,hebrew text itself questioned1 and yet this book is an unerring guide to the students of ethnology4 ,they may do anything1 everything1 except stray out of the beaten track4 ,we have1 therefore1 on the one hand1 an anonymous book1 which indeed does not take you back so much as #f1jjj years1 for at least #a1fjj years must be deducted for the ,noachian deluge1 when the world's inhabitants were again reduced to one family1 one race1 one type4 ,on the other hand1 we have now existing ,eskimo men1 of the ,arctic realm2 ,chinamen1 of the ,asiatic realm2 ,englishmen1 of the ,european realm2 ,sahara negroes1 of the ,african realm2 ,fuegians1 of the ,american realm2 ,new ,zealanders1 of the ,polynesian realm2 the ,malay1 representative of the realm which bears his name2 the ,tasmanian1 of the ,australian realm1 with other families of each realm too numerous for mention here2 dark and fair1 black-skinned and white-skinned1 woolly-haired and straight-haired2 low forehead1 high forehead2 ,hottentot limb1 ,negro limb1 ,caucasian limb4 ,do all these different and differing structures and colors trace their origin to one pair8 ,to ,adam and ,eve1 or rather to ,noah and his family8 ,or are they 7the various races7 indigenous to their nature1 soils1 and climates8 ,and are these various types naturally resultant1 with all their differences1 from the differing conditions for life persistent to and consistent with them8 ,the question1 then1 really is this3 ,have the different races of men all found their common parent in ,noah1 about #d1cjj years ago8 ,assuming the unity of the races or species of men now existing1 there are but three suppositions on which the diversity now seen can be accounted for3 #a4 ,a miracle1 or direct act of the ,almighty1 in changing one type into another4 #b4 ,the gradual action of physical causes1 such as climate1 food1 mode of life1 etc4 #c4 ,congenital or accidental varieties499 ,we may fairly dismiss entirely from our minds the question of miracle4 ,such a miracle is nowhere recorded in the bible1 and it lies upon any one hardy enough to assert that the present diversity has a miraculous origin to show some kind of reasons for his faith1 some kind of evidence for our conviction1 and until this is done we have no reason to dwell on the first hypothesis4 ,of the permanence of type under its own climatic conditions--that is1 in the country to which it is indigenous--we have overwhelming proof in the statue of an ancient ,egyptian scribe1 taken from a tomb of the fifth dynasty1 #e1jjj years old1 and precisely corresponding to the ,fellah of the present day49999 99 ,types of ,mankind1 ,dr4 ,nott1 p4 #eg4 9999 ,m4 ,pulzsky on ,iconography--,indigenous ,races1 p4 #aaa4 ,the sand had preserved the color of the statuette1 which1 from its portrait-like beauty1 marks a long era of art-progress preceding its production4 ,it antedates the orthodox era of the flood1 carries us back to a time when1 if the bible were true1 ,adam was yet alive1 and still we find before it kings reigning and ruling in mighty ,egypt4 ,can the reader wonder that these facts are held to impeach the orthodox faith8 ,on the second point ,dr4 ,nott writes3 ,it is a commonly received error that the influence of a hot climate is gradually exerted on successive generations1 until one species of mankind is completely changed into another4444 ,this idea is proven to be false4444 ,a sunburnt cheek is never handed down to succeeding generations4 ,the exposed parts of the body are alone tanned by the sun1 and the children of the white-skinned ,europeans in ,new ,orleans1 ,mobile1 and the ,west ,indies are born as fair as their ancestors1 and would remain so if carried back to a colder climate499 ,pure negroes and negresses1 transported from ,central ,africa to ,england1 and marrying among themselves1 would never acquire the characteristics of the ,caucasian races2 nor would pure ,englishmen and ,englishwomen1 emigrating to ,central ,africa1 and in like manner intermarrying1 ever become negroes or negresses4 ,the fact is1 that while you don't bleach the color of the dark-skinned ,african by placing him in ,london1 you bleach the life out of him2 and vice versa with the ,englishman49999 99 ,types of ,mankind1 p4 #eh4 9999 ,indigenous ,races of the ,earth1 p4 #deh4 ,the alleged discovery of white-skinned negroes in ,western ,africa does not affect this question3 it is not only to the color of the skin1 but also the general negro characteristics that the above remarks apply4 ,for a long time there has been ascribed to man the faculty of adapting himself to every climate4 ,the following facts will show the ascription a most erroneous one3 ,in ,egypt the austral negroes are1 and the ,caucasian ,memlooks were1 unable to raise up even a third generation2 in ,corsica ,french families vanish beneath ,italian summers4 ,where are the descendants of the ,romans1 the ,vandals1 or the ,greeks in ,africa8 ,in ,modern ,arabia1 #ahcj years after ,mahomed ,ali had got clear of the ,morea war1 #ah1jjj ,arnaots 7,albanians7 were soon reduced to some #djj men4 ,at ,gibraltar1 in #ahag1 a negro regiment was almost annihilated by consumption4 ,in #ahda1 during the three weeks on the ,niger1 #acj ,europeans out of #ade caught ,african fever1 and #dj died2 out of #aeh negro sailors only eleven were affected1 and not one died4 ,in #ahji the ,british ,expedition to ,walchereen failed in the ,netherlands through marsh fever4 ,about the same time1 in ,st4 ,domingo1 about #ae1jjj ,french soldiers died from malaria4 ,of #cj1jjj ,frenchmen1 only #h1jjj survived exposure to that ,antillian island2 while the ,dominicanized ,african negro1 ,tous-saint ,l',overture1 retransported to ,europe1 was perishing from the chill of his prison in ,france4 ,on the third point we again quote ,dr4 ,nott3 ,the only argument left1 then1 is that of congenital varieties or peculiarities1 which are said to spring up and be transmitted from parent to child1 so as to form new races4 ,let us pause for a moment to illustrate this fanciful idea4 ,the negroes of ,africa1 for example1 are admitted not to be offsets from some other race which have been gradually blackened and changed in a moral and physical type by the action of climate1 but it is asserted that 'once1 in the flight of ages1' some genuine little negro1 or rather many such1 were born of ,caucasian1 ,mongol1 or other light-skinned parents1 and then have turned about and changed the type of the inhabitants of a whole continent4 ,so1 in ,america1 the countless aborigines found on this continent1 which we have reason to believe were building mounds before the time of ,abraham1 are the offspring of a race changed by accidental or congenital varieties4 ,thus1 too1 old ,china1 ,india1 ,australia1 ,oceana1 etc41 all owe their types1 physical and mental1 to congenital and accidental varieties1 and are descended from ,adam and ,eve6 ,can human credulity go further1 or human ingenuity invent any argument more absurd8 ,but even supposing these objections to the second and third suppositions set aside1 there are two other propositions which1 if affirmed1 as ,i believe they may be1 entirely overthrow the orthodox assertion that ,adam and ,eve1 six thousand years ago1 were the first pair2 and that all diversities now existing must find their common source in ,noah--less than four thousand three hundred years from the present time4 ,these two are as follows4 #a4 ,that man may be traced back on the earth long prior to the alleged ,adamic era4 #b4 ,that there are diversities traceable as existing among the human race four thousand five hundred years ago as marked as in the present day4 ,to illustrate the position that man may be traced back to a period long prior to the ,adamic era1 we refer our readers to the chronology of the late ,baron ,bunsen1 who1 while allowing about #bb1jjj years for man's existence on earth1 fixes the following dates1 after a patient examination of the ,nilotic antiquities3 ,egyptians under a republican form44444444444444 #aj1jjj ,b4 ,c4 ,ascension of ,bytis1 the ,theban1 first ,priest ,king4 #i1jhe ,elective ,kings in ,egypt4444444444444444444444444 #g1bhj ,hereditary ,kings in ,upper and ,lower ,egypt 7a double empire7 form4444444444444444444444444 #e1adc99 99 ,nott and ,gliddon1 ,indigenous ,races1 page #fhg4 ,the assertion of such an antiquity for ,egypt is no modern hypothesis4 ,plato puts language into the mouth of an ,egyptian first claiming in that day an antecedent #aj1jjj years for painting and sculpture in ,egypt4 ,this has long been regarded as fabulous because it was contrary to the ,hebrew chronology4 ,if this be the result of the researches into ,egyptian archology1 the reader will scarcely be surprised to find me endeavoring from other sources to get corroborative evidence of a still more astonishing character4 ,there are few who now pretend that the whole creation 787 took place #f1jjj years ago1 although if it be true that ,god made all in six days1 and man on the sixth1 then the universe would only be more ancient than ,adam by some five days4 ,to state the age of the earth at #f1jjj years is simply preposterous1 when we ascertain that it would require about #d1jjj1jjj of years for the formation of the fossiliferous rocks alone1 and that #ae1jjj1jjj of years have been stated as a moderate estimate for the antiquity of our globe4 ,the deltas of the great rivers afford corroboration to our position as to man's duration4 ,the delta of the ,nile1 formed by immense quantities of sedimentary matter1 which in like manner is still carried down and deposited1 has not perceptibly increased during the last #c1jjj years4 ,in the days of the earliest ,pharaohs1 the delta1 as it now exists1 was covered with ancient cities and filled with a dense population1 whose civilization must have required a period going back far beyond any date that has yet been assigned to the deluge of ,noah1 or even to the creation of the world499 ,from borings which have been made at ,new ,orleans to the depth of #fjj feet1 from excavations for public works1 and from examinations in parts of ,louisiana1 where the range between high and low water is much greater than it is at ,new ,orleans1 no less than ten distinct cypress forests divided from each other by eras of aquatic plants1 etc41 have been traced1 arranged vertically above each other2 and from these and other data it is estimated by ,dr4 ,benet ,dowler that the age of the delta is at least #aeh1jjj years2 and in the excavations above referred to human remains have been found below the further forest level1 making it appear that the human race existed in the delta of the ,mississippi more than #eg1jjj years ago49999 ,it is further urged1 by the same competent writer1 that human bones discovered on the coast of ,brazil near ,santas1 and on the borders of a lake called ,lagoa ,santa1 by ,captain ,elliott and ,dr4 ,lund1 thoroughly incorporated with a very hard breccia1 every one in a fossil state1 demonstrate that aboriginal man in ,america antedates the ,mississippi alluvia1 and that he can even boast a geological antiquity1 because numerous species of animals have become extinct since ,american humanity's first appearance4999999 99 ,gliddon's ,types of ,mankind1 page #cce4 9999 ,types1 pages #ccf to #cfi4 999999 ,types1 pages #cej and #ceg4 ,with reference to the second point1 as to the possibility of tracing back the diversities of the ,human ,race to an antediluvian date1 it is simply sufficient to point on the one side to the remains of the ,american ,indian disentombed from the ,mississippi forests1 and on the other to the ,egyptian monuments1 tombs1 pyramids1 and stuccoes1 revealing to us ,caucasian men1 and ,negro men1 their diversities as marked as in the present day4 ,sir ,william ,jones1 in his day1 claimed for ,sanscrit literature a vast antiquity1 and asserted the existence of the religions of ,egypt1 ,greece1 ,india1 and ,italy1 prior to the ,mosaic era4 ,so far as ,egypt is concerned the researches of ,lepsius1 ,bunsen1 ,champollion1 ,lenormant1 ,gliddon1 and others1 have fully verified the position of the learned president of the ,asiatic ,society4 ,we have ,egyptian statues of the third dynasty1 going back far beyond the #d1cjj years1 which would give the orthodox era of the deluge1 and taking us over the #d1ejj years fixed by our second proposition4 ,the fourth dynasty is rich in pyramids1 tombs1 and statues2 and1 according to ,lepsius1 this dynasty commenced #c1dbf ,b4 ,c1 or about #e1bhg years from the present date4 ,in reading a modern work on the orthodox side199 ,i have been much pained by the constant assumption that the long chronologists must be in error1 because their views do not coincide with orthodox teachings4 ,orthodox authors treat their heterodox brethren as unworthy of credit1 because of their heterodoxy4 ,the writer asserts9999 that the earliest reference to the ,negro tribes is in the era of the #abth dynasty4 ,supposing for a moment this to be correct1 ,i ask what even then will be the state of the argument8 ,the #abth dynasty1 according to ,lepsius1 ends about #d1jjj years ago4 ,the orthodox chronology fixes the deluge about #cjj years earlier4 ,will any sane man argue that there was sufficient lapse of time in three centuries for the development of ,caucasian and ,negro man from one family8 99 ,archaia1 by ,dr4 ,dawson4 9999 ,archaia1 page #cjf4 ,the fact is that we trace back the various types of man now known1 not to one center1 not to one country1 not to one family1 not to one pair1 but we trace them to different centers1 to distinct countries1 to separate families1 probably to many pairs4 ,wherever the conditions for life are found1 there are living beings also4 ,the conditions of climate1 soil1 etc41 of ,central ,africa1 differ from those of ,europe4 ,the indigenous races of ,central ,africa differ from those of ,europe4 ,without pretending1 in the present limited essay1 to do more than index some of the most prominent features of the case1 ,i yet hope that enough is here stated to interest my readers in the prosecution of future inquiry upon the important question which serves as the title to these pages4 ,i put forward no knowledge from myself1 but am ready to listen to the teachings of wiser men2 and while ,i shrink from the ordinary orthodox assertion of ,adamic unity of origin1 accompanied as it is by threats of pains and penalties if rejected1 ,i am yet ready to receive it1 if it can be presented to me associated with facts1 and divested of those future hell-fire torments and present societarian persecutions which now form its chief1 if not sole1 supports4 ,the rejection of the bible account of the peopling of the world involves also the rejection1 as has been already remarked1 of the entire scheme of ,christianity4 ,according to the orthodox rendering of both ,new and ,old ,testament teaching1 all men are involved in the curse which followed ,adam's sin4 ,but if the account of the ,fall be mythical1 not historical2 if ,adam and ,eve--supposing them to have ever existed--were preceded on the earth by many nations and empires1 what becomes of the doctrine that ,jesus came to redeem mankind from a sin committed by one who was not the common father of all humanity8 ,reject ,adam1 and you can not accept ,jesus4 ,refuse to believe ,genesis1 and you can not give credence to ,matthew1 ,mark1 ,luke1 ,john and ,paul4 ,the ,old and ,new ,testaments are so connected together that to dissolve the union is to destroy the system4 ,the account of the ,creation and ,fall of ,man is the foundation-stone of the ,christian ,church4 ,if this stone be rotten1 the superstructure can not be stable4 ,it is therefore most important that those who profess a faith in ,christianity should consider facts which so vitally and materially affect the creed they hold4 ,a ,,plea ,,for ,,atheism4 ,gillespie says that an ,atheist propagandist seems a nondescript monster created by ,nature in a moment of madness4 ,despite this opinion1 it is as the propagandist of ,atheism that ,i pen the following lines1 in the hope that ,i may succeed in removing some few of the many prejudices which have been created against not only the actual holders of ,atheistic opinions1 but also against those wrongfully suspected of entertaining such ideas4 ,men who have been famous for depth of thought1 for excellent wit1 or great genius1 have been recklessly assailed as ,atheists by those who lacked the high qualifications against which the spleen of the calumniators was directed4 ,thus1 not only has ,voltaire been without ground accused of ,atheism1 but ,bacon1 ,locke1 and ,bishop ,berkeley himself1 have1 among others1 been denounced by thoughtless or unscrupulous pietists as inclining to ,atheism1 the ground for the accusation being that they manifested an inclination to improve human thought4 ,it is too often the fashion with persons of pious reputation to speak in unmeasured language of ,atheism as favoring immorality1 and of ,atheists as men whose conduct is necessarily vicious1 and who have adopted atheistic views as a disparate defiance against a ,deity justly offended by the badness of their lives4 ,such persons urge that among the proximate causes of ,atheism are vicious training1 immoral and profligate companions1 licentious living1 and the like4 ,dr4 ,john ,pye ,smith1 in his ,instructions on ,christian ,theology1 goes so far as to declare that nearly all the ,atheists upon record have been men of extremely debauched and vile conduct4 ,such language from the ,christian advocate is not surprising1 but there are others who1 professing great desire for the spread of ,freethought1 and with pretensions to rank among acute and liberal thinkers1 declare ,atheism impracticable1 and its teachings cold1 barren1 and negative4 ,in this brief essay ,i shall except to each of the above allegations1 and shall endeavor to demonstrate that ,atheism affords greater possibility for human happiness than any system yet based on ,theism1 or possible to be founded thereon1 and that the lives of true ,atheists must be more virtuous1 because more human1 than those of the believers in ,deity1 the humanity of the devout believer often finding itself neutralized by a faith with which it is necessarily in constant collision4 ,the devotee piling the faggots at the auto de fe of a heretic1 and that heretic his son1 might1 notwithstanding1 be a good father in every respect but this4 ,heresy1 in the eyes of the believer1 is highest criminality1 and outweighs all claims of family or affection4 ,atheism1 properly understood1 is in nowise a cold1 barren negative2 it is1 on the contrary1 a hearty1 fruitful affirmation of all truth1 and involves the positive assertion and action of highest humanity4 ,let ,atheism be fairly examined1 and neither condemned--its defense unheard--on the ex parte slanders of the professional preachers of fashionable orthodoxy1 whose courage is bold enough while the pulpit protects the sermon1 but whose valor becomes tempered with discretion when a free platform is afforded and discussion claimed2 nor misjudged because it has been the custom to regard ,atheism as so unpopular as to render its advocacy impolitic4 ,the best policy against all prejudice is to assert firmly the verity4 ,the ,atheist does not say ,there is no ,god1 but he says1 ,i know not what you mean by ,god3 ,i am without idea of ,god2 the word ',god' is to me a sound conveying no clear or distinct affirmation4 ,i do not deny ,god1 because ,i can not deny that of which ,i have no conception1 and the conception of which by its affirmer is so imperfect that he is unable to define it to me4 ,if you speak to the ,atheist of ,god as a creator1 he answers that the conception of creation is impossible4 ,we are utterly unable to construe it in thought as possible that the complement of existence has been either increased or diminished1 much less can we conceive an absolute origination of substance4 ,we can not conceive either1 on the one hand1 nothing becoming something1 or on the other1 something becoming nothing4 ,the ,theist who speaks of ,god creating the universe1 must either suppose that ,deity evolved it out of himself1 or that he produced it from nothing4 ,but the ,theist can not regard the universe as evolution of ,deity1 because this would identify ,universe and ,deity1 and be ,pantheism rather than ,theism4 ,there would be no distinction of substance--in fact1 no creation4 ,nor can the ,theist regard the universe as created out of nothing1 because ,deity is1 according to him1 necessarily eternal and infinite4 ,his existence being eternal and infinite1 precludes the possibility of the conception of vacuum to be filled by the universe if created4 ,no one can even think of any point of existence in extent or duration and say here is the point of separation between the creator and the created4 ,indeed1 it is not possible for the ,theist to imagine a beginning to the universe4 ,it is not possible to conceive either an absolute commencement1 or an absolute termination of existence2 that is1 it is impossible to conceive a beginning before which you have a period when the universe has yet to be3 or to conceive an end1 after which the universe1 having been1 no longer exists4 ,it is impossible in thought to originate or annihilate the universe4 ,the ,atheist affirms that he cognizes to-day effects1 that these are at the same time causes and effects--causes to the effects they precede1 effects to the causes they follow4 ,cause is simply everything without which the effect would not result1 and with which it must result4 ,cause is the means to an end1 consummating itself in that end4 ,the ,theist who argues for creation must assert a point of time1 that is1 of duration1 when the created did not yet exist4 ,at this point of time either something existed or nothing2 but something must have existed1 for out of nothing nothing can come4 ,something must have existed1 because the point fixed upon is that of the duration of something4 ,this something must have been either finite or infinite2 if finite1 it could not have been ,god2 and if the something were infinite1 then creation was impossible1 as it is impossible to add to infinite existence4 ,if you leave the question of creation and deal with the government of the universe1 the difficulties of ,theism are by no means lessened4 ,the existence of evil is then a terrible stumbling-block to the ,theist4 ,pain1 misery1 crime1 poverty1 confront the advocate of eternal goodness1 and challenge with unanswerable potency his declaration of ,deity as all-good1 all-wise1 and all-powerful4 ,evil is either caused by ,god1 or exists independently2 but it can not be caused by ,god1 as in that case he would not be all-good2 nor can it exist independently1 as in that case he would not be all-powerful4 ,evil must either have had a beginning1 or it must be eternal2 but1 according to the ,theist1 it can not be eternal1 because ,god alone is eternal4 ,nor can it have had a beginning1 for if it had it must either have originated in ,god1 or outside of ,god2 but1 according to the ,theist1 it can not have originated in ,god1 for he is all-good1 and out of all-goodness evil can not originate2 nor can evil have originated outside of ,god1 for1 according to the ,theist1 ,god is infinite1 and it is impossible to go outside of or beyond infinity4 ,to the ,atheist this question of evil assumes an entirely different aspect4 ,he declares that evil is a result1 but not a result from ,god or ,devil4 ,he affirms that by conduct founded on knowledge of the laws of existence it is possible to ameliorate and avoid present evil1 and1 as our knowledge increases1 to prevent its future recurrence4 ,some declare that the belief in ,god is necessary as a check to crime4 ,they allege that the ,atheist may commit murder1 lie1 or steal1 without fear of any consequences4 ,to try the actual value of this argument1 it is not unfair to ask1 ,do ,theists ever steal8 ,if yes1 then in each such theft1 the belief in ,god and his power to punish has been inefficient as a preventive of the crime4 ,do ,theists ever lie or murder8 ,if yes1 the same remark has farther force--hell-fire failing against the lesser as against the greater crime4 ,the fact is that these who use such an argument overlook a great truth--i4e41 that all men seek happiness1 though in very diverse fashions4 ,ignorant and miseducated men often mistake the true path to happiness1 and commit crime in the endeavor to obtain it4 ,atheists hold that by teaching mankind the real road to human happiness1 it is possible to keep them from the by-ways of criminality and error4 ,atheists would teach men to be moral now1 not because ,god offers as an inducement reward by and by1 but because in the virtuous act itself immediate good is insured to the doer and the circle surrounding him4 ,atheism would preserve man from lying1 stealing1 murdering now1 not from fear of an eternal agony after death1 but because these crimes make this life itself a course of misery4 ,while ,theism1 asserting ,god as the creator and governor of the universe1 hinders and checks man's efforts by declaring ,god's will to be the sole directing and controlling power1 ,atheism1 by declaring all events to be in accordance with natural laws--that is1 happening in certain ascertainable sequences--stimulates man to discover the best conditions of life1 and offers him the most powerful inducements to morality4 ,while the ,theist provides future happiness for a scoundrel repentant on his death bed1 ,atheism affirms present and certain happiness for the man who does his best to live here so well as to have little cause for repenting hereafter4 ,theism declares that ,god dispenses health and inflicts disease1 and sickness and illness are regarded by the ,theist as visitations from an angered ,deity1 to be borne with meekness and content4 ,atheism declares that physiological knowledge may preserve us from disease by preventing our infringing the law of health1 and that sickness results not as the ordinance of offended ,deity1 but from ill-ventilated dwellings and workshops1 bad and insufficient food1 excessive toil1 mental suffering1 exposure to inclement weather1 and the like--all these finding root in poverty1 the chief source of crime and disease2 that prayers and piety afford no protection against fever1 and that if the human being be kept without food he will starve as quickly whether he be ,theist or ,atheist1 theology being no substitute for bread4 ,when the ,theist ventures to affirm that his ,god is an existence other than and separate from the so-called material universe1 and when he invests this separate1 hypothetical existence with the several attributes of omniscence1 omnipresence1 omnipotence1 eternity1 infinity1 immutability1 and perfect goodness1 then the ,atheist1 in reply says1 ,i deny the existence of such a being4 ,it becomes very important1 in order that injustice may not be done to the ,theistic argument1 that we should have--in lieu of a clear definition1 which it seems useless to ask for--the best possible clue to the meaning intended to be conveyed by the word ,god4 ,if it were not that the word is an arbitrary term1 invented for the ignorant1 and the notions suggested by which are vague and entirely contingent upon individual fancies1 such a clue could be probably most easily and satisfactorily obtained by tracing back the word ,god1 and ascertaining the sense in which it was used by the uneducated worshipers who have gone before us2 collating this with the more modern ,theism1 qualified as it is by the superior knowledge of to-day4 ,dupuis says3 ,the word ,god appears intended to express the force universal1 and eternally active1 which endows all nature with motion according to the laws of a constant and admirable harmony2 which develops itself in the diverse forms of organized matter1 which mingles with all1 gives life to all2 which seems to be one through all its infinitely varied modifications1 and inheres in itself alone4 ,in the ,bon ,sens of ,cure ,meslier1 it is asked1 ,qu'est ce que ,dieu8 and the answer is3 ,it is an abstract word coined to designate the hidden force of ,nature1 or rather it is a mathematical point having neither length1 breadth1 nor thickness4 ,the orthodox fringe of the ,theism of to-day is ,hebraistic in its origion--that is1 it finds its root in the superstition and ignorance of a petty and barbarous people nearly destitute of literature1 poor in language1 and almost entirely wanting in high conceptions of humanity4 ,it might1 as ,judaism is the foundation of ,christianity1 be fairly expected that the ancient ,jewish ,records would aid us in our search after the meaning to be attached to the word ,god4 the most prominent words in ,hebrew rendered ,god or ,lord in ,english are ------ ,jeue1 and ------ ,aleim4 ,the first word1 ,jeue1 called by our orthodox ,jehovah1 is equivalent to that which exists1 and indeed embodies in itself the only possible trinity in unity--i4 e4 past1 present1 and future4 ,there is nothing in this ,hebrew word to help you to any such definition as is required for the sustenance of modern ,theism4 ,the most you can make of it by any stretch of imagination is equivalent to the declaration ,i am1 ,i have been1 ,i shall be4 ,the word ---- is hardly ever spoken by religious ,jews1 who actually in reading substitute for it1 ,adonai1 an entirely different word4 ,dr4 ,wall notices the close resemblance in sound between the word ,yehowa or ,yeue1 or ,jehovah1 and ,jove4 ,in fact --------1 ,jupiter and ,jeue1 pater1 7,god the father7 present still closer resemblance in sound4 ,jove is also ---- or ---- or ----1 whence the word ,deus and our ,deity4 ,the ,greek mythology1 far more ancient than that of the ,hebrews1 has probably found for ,christianity many other and more important features of coincidence than that of a similarly sounding name4 ,the word ---- traced back affords us no help beyond that it identifies ,deity with the universe4 ,plato says that the early ,greeks thought that the only ,gods were the sun1 moon1 earth1 stars and heaven4 ,the word ,aleim1 assists us still less in defining the word ,god1 for ,parkhurst translates it as a plural noun signifying the curser1 deriving it from the verb to curse4 ,finding that philology aids us but little1 we must endeavor to arrive at the meaning of the word ,god by another rule4 ,it is utterly impossible to fix the period of the rise of ,theism among any particular people1 but it is1 notwithstanding1 comparatively easy1 if not to trace out the development of ,theistic ideas1 at any rate to point to their probable course of growth among all peoples4 ,keightley1 in his ,origin of ,mythology1 says3 ,supposing1 for the sake of hypothesis1 a race of men in a state of total or partial ignorance of ,deity1 their belief in many gods may have thus commenced4 ,they saw around them various changes brought about by human agency1 and hence they knew the power of intelligence to produce effects4 ,when they beheld other and greater effects1 they ascribed them to some unseen being1 similar but superior to man4 ,they associated particular events with special unknown beings 7gods71 to each of whom they ascribed either a peculiarity of power1 or a sphere of action not common to other gods4 ,thus one was god of the sea1 anothor god of war1 another god of love1 another ruled the thunder and lightning2 and thus through the various elements of the universe and passions of humankind1 so far as they were then known4 ,this mythology became modified with the advancement of human knowledge4 ,the ability to think has proved itself oppugnant to and destructive of the desire to worship4 ,science has razed altar after altar heretofore erected to the unknown gods1 and pulled down deity after deity from the pedestals on which ignorance and superstition had erected them4 ,the priest who had formerly spoken as the oracle of ,god lost his sway1 just in proportion as the scientific teacher succeeded in impressing mankind with a knowledge of the facts around them4 ,the ignorant who had hitherto listened unquestioning during centuries of abject submission to their spiritual preceptors1 at last commenced to search and examine for themselves1 and were guided by experience rather than by church doctrine4 ,to-day it is that advancing intellect which challenges the reserve guard of the old armies of superstition1 and compels a conflict which humankind1 must in the end have great gain by the forced enunciation of the truth4 ,from the word ,god the ,theist derives no argument in his favor2 it teaches nothing1 defines nothing1 demonstrates nothing1 explains nothing4 ,the ,theist answers that this is no sufficient objection1 that there are many words which are in common use to which the same objection applies4 ,even admitting that this were true1 it does not answer the ,atheist's objection4 ,alleging a difficulty on the one side is not a removal of the obstacle already pointed out on the other4 ,the ,theist declares his ,god to be not only immutable1 but also infinitely intelligent1 and says3 ,matter is either essentially intelligent1 or essentially non-intelligent2 if matter were essentially intelligent1 no matter could be without intelligence2 but matter can not be essentially intelligent1 because some matter is not intelligent1 therefore matter is essentially non-intelligent3 but there is intelligence1 therefore there must be a cause for the intelligence1 independent of matter2 this must be an intelligent being--i4e441 ,god4 ,the ,atheist answers1 ,i do not know what is meant1 in the mouth of the ,atheist1 by matter4 ,matter1 substance1 existence1 are three words having the same signification in the ,atheist's vocabulary4 ,it is not certain that the ,theist expresses any very clear idea when he uses the words matter and intelligence4 ,reason and understanding are sometimes treated as separate faculties1 yet it is not unfair to presume that the ,theist would include them both under the word intelligence4 ,perception is the foundation of the intellect4 ,the perceptive faculty1 or perceptive faculties1 differs or differ in each animal1 yet in speaking of matter that ,theist uses the word intelligence as though the same meaning were to be understood in every case4 ,the recollection of the perceptions is the exercise of a different faculty from the perceptive faculty1 and occasionally varies disproportionately2 thus an individual may have great perceptive faculties1 and very little memory1 or the reverse1 yet memory1 as well as perception1 is included in intelligence4 ,so also the faculty of comparing between two or more perceptions2 the faculty of judging and the faculty of reflecting--all these are subject to the same remarks1 and all these and other faculties are included in the word intelligence4 ,we answer1 then1 that ,god 7whatever that word may mean7 can not be intelligent4 ,he can never perceive2 the act of perception results in the obtaining a new idea1 but if ,god be omniscient his ideas have been eternally the same4 ,he has either been always and always will be perceiving1 or he has never perceived at all4 ,but ,god can not have been always perceiving1 because if he had he would always have been obtaining fresh knowledge1 in which case he must have some time had less knowledge than now2 that is he would have been less perfect2 that is1 he would not have been ,god3 he can never recollect or forget1 he can never compare1 reflect nor judge4 ,there can not be perfect intelligence without understanding2 but following ,coleridge1 understanding is the faculty of judging according to sense4 ,the faculty of whom8 ,of some person1 judging according to that person's senses8 ,but has ,god senses8 ,is there anything beyond ,god for ,god to sensate8 ,there can not be perfect intelligence without reason4 ,by reason we mean that faculty or aggregation of faculties which avails itself of past experience to predetermine1 more or less accurately1 experience in the future1 and to affirm truths which sense perceives1 experiment verifies1 and experience confirms4 ,to ,god there can be neither past nor future1 therefore to him reason is impossible4 ,there can not be perfect intelligence without will1 but has ,god will8 ,if ,god wills1 the will of the all-powerful must be irresistible2 the will of the infinite must exclude all other wills4 ,god can never perceive4 ,perception and sensation are identical4 ,every sensation is accompanied by pleasure or pain4 ,but ,god1 if immutable1 can neither be pleased nor pained4 ,every fresh sensation involves a change in mental and perhaps in physical condition4 ,god1 if immutable1 can not change4 ,sensation is the source of all ideas1 but it is only objects external to the mind which can be sensated4 ,if ,god be infinite there can be no objects external to him1 and therefore sensation must be to him impossible4 ,yet without perception where is intelligence8 ,god can not have memory or reason--memory is of the past1 reason for the future1 but to ,god immutable there can be no past1 no future4 ,the words past1 present1 and future1 imply change2 they assert progression of duration4 ,if ,god be immutable1 to him change is impossible4 ,can you have intelligence destitute of perception1 memory1 and reason8 ,god can not have the faculty of judgment--judgment implies in the act of judging a conjoining or disjoining of two or more thoughts1 but this involves change of mental condition4 ,to ,god1 the immutable1 change is impossible4 ,can you have intelligence1 yet no perception1 no memory1 no reason1 no judgment8 ,god can not think4 ,the law of the thinkable is that the thing thought must be separated from the thing which is not thought4 ,to think otherwise would be to think of nothing--to have an impression with no distinguishing mark1 would be to have no impression4 ,yet this separation implies change1 and to ,god1 immutable1 change is impossible4 ,can you have intelligence without thought8 ,if the ,theist replies to this that he does not mean by infinite intelligence as an attribute of ,deity an infinity of the intelligence found in a finite degree of humankind1 then he is bound to explain1 clearly and distinctly1 what other intelligence he means1 and until this be done the foregoing statements require answer4 ,the ,atheist does not regard substance as either essentially intelligent or the reverse4 ,intelligence is the result of certain conditions of existence4 ,burnished steel is bright--that is1 brightness is the necessity of a certain condition of existence4 ,alter the condition1 and the characteristic of the condition no longer exists4 ,the only essential of substance is its existence4 ,alter the wording of the ,theist's objection4 ,matter is either essentially bright1 or essentially non-bright4 ,if matter were essentially bright1 brightness should be the essence of all matter2 but matter can not be essentially bright1 because some matter is not bright1 therefore matter is essentially non-bright2 but there is brightness1 therefore there must be a cause for this brightness independent of matter2 that is1 there must be an essentially bright being--i4e41 ,god4 ,another ,theistic proposition is thus stated3 ,every effect must have a cause2 the first cause universal must be eternal3 ergo1 the first cause universal must be ,god4 ,this is equivalent to saying that ,god is first cause4 ,but what is to be understood by cause8 ,defined in the absolute1 the word has no real value4 ,cause1 therefore1 cannot be eternal4 ,what can be understood by first cause8 ,to us the two words convey no meaning greater than would be conveyed by the phrase round triangle4 ,cause and effect are correlative terms--each cause is the effect of some precedent2 each effect the cause of its consequent4 ,it is impossible to conceive existence terminated by a primal or initial cause4 ,the beginning1 as it is phrased1 of the universe1 is not thought out by the ,theist1 but conceded without thought4 ,to adopt the language of ,montaigne1 ,men make themselves believe that they believe4 ,the so-called belief in ,creation is nothing more than the prostration of the intellect on the threshold of the unknown4 ,we can only cognize the ever-succeeding phenomena of existence as a line in continuous and eternal evolution4 ,this line has to us no beginning2 we trace it back into the misty regions of the past but a little way2 and however far we may be able to journey1 there is still the great beyond ,then what is meant by universal cause8 ,spinoza gives the following definition of cause1 as used in its absolute signification3 ,by cause of itself ,i understand that1 the essence of which involves existence1 or that1 the nature of which can only be considered as existent4 ,that is1 ,spinoza treats cause absolute and existence as two words having the same meaning4 ,if his mode of defining the word be contested1 then it has no meaning other than its relative signification1 of a means to an end4 ,every effect must have a cause4 ,every effect implies the plurality of effects1 and necessarily that each effect must be finite2 but how is it possible from a finite effect to logically deduce a universal1 i4e41 infinite1 cause8 ,there are two modes of argument presented by ,theists1 and by which1 separately or combined1 they seek to demonstrate the being of a ,god4 ,these are familiarly known as the arguments a priori and a posteriori4 ,the a posteriori argument has been popularized in ,england by ,paley1 who has ably endeavored to bide the weakness of his demonstration under an abundance of irrelevant illustration4 ,the reasoning of ,paley is very deficient in the essential points where it most needed strength4 ,it is utterly impossible to prove by it the eternity or infinity of ,deity4 ,as an argument founded on analogy1 the design argument1 at the best1 could only entitle its propounder to infer the existence of a finite cause1 or1 rather1 of a multitude of finite causes4 ,it ought not to be forgotten that the illustrations of the eye1 the watch1 and the man1 even if admitted as instances of design1 or1 rather1 of adaptation1 are instances of eyes1 watches1 and men1 designed or adapted out of pre-existing substance1 by a being of the same kind of substance1 and afford1 therefore1 no demonstration in favor of a designer1 alleged to have actually created substance out of nothing1 and also alleged to have created a substance entirely different from himself4 ,the a posteriori argument can never demonstrate infinity for ,deity4 ,arguing from an effect finite in extent1 the most it could afford would be a cause sufficient for that effect1 such cause being possibly finite in extent and duration4 ,and as the argument does not demonstrate ,god's infinity1 neither can it1 for the same reason1 make out his omniscience1 as it is clearly impossible to logically claim infinite wisdom for a ,god possibly only finite4 ,god's omnipotence remains unproved for the same reason1 and because it is clearly absurd to argue that ,god exercises power where he may not be4 ,nor can the a posteriori argument show ,god's absolute freedom1 for1 as it does nothing more than seek to prove a finite ,god1 it is quite consistent with the argument that ,god's existence is limited and controlled in a thousand ways4 ,nor does this argument show that ,god always existed2 at the best the proof is only that some cause1 enough for the effect1 existed before it1 but there is no evidence that this cause differs from any other causes1 which are often as transient as the effect itself4 ,and as it does not demonstrate that ,god has always existed1 neither does it demonstrate that he will always exist1 or even that he now exists4 ,it is perfectly in accordance with the arguement1 and with the analagy of cause and effect that the effect may remain after the cause has ceased to exist4 ,nor does the argument from design demonstrate one ,god4 ,it is quite consistent with this argument that a separate cause existed for each effect1 or mark of design1 discovered1 or that several causes contributed to some or one of such effects4 ,so that if the argument be true1 it might result in a multitude of petty deities1 limited in knowledge1 extent1 duration1 and power2 and1 still worse1 each one of this multitude of gods may have had a cause which would also be finite in extent and duration1 and would require another1 and so on1 until the design argument loses the reasoner among an innumerable crowd of deities1 none of whom can have the attributes claimed for ,god4 ,the design argument is defective as an argument from analogy1 because it seeks to prove a ,creator ,god who designed1 but does not explain whether this ,god has been eternally designing1 which would be absurd2 or1 if he at some time commenced to design1 what then induced him so to commence4 ,it is illogical1 for it seeks to prove an immutable ,deity by demonstrating a mutation on the part of ,deity4 ,it is unnecessary to deal specially with each of the many writers who have used from different standpoints the a posteriori form of argument in order to prove the existence of ,deity4 ,the objections already stated apply to the whole class2 and1 although probably each illustration used by the theistic advocate is capable of an elucidation entirely at variance with his argument1 the main features of objection are the same4 ,the argument a posteriori is a method of proof in which the premises are composed of some position of existing facts1 and the conclusion asserts a position antecedent to those facts4 ,the argument is from given effects to their causes4 ,it is one form of this argument which asserts that man has a moral nature1 and from this seeks to deduce the existence of a moral governor4 ,this form has the disadvantage that its premises are illusory4 ,in alleging a moral nature for man1 the ,theist overlooks the fact that the moral nature of man differs somewhat in each individual1 differs considerably in each nation1 and differs entirely in some peoples4 ,it is dependent on organization and education3 these are influenced by climate1 food1 and mode of life4 ,if the argument from man's nature could demonstrate anything1 it would prove a murdering ,god for the murderer1 a lascivious ,god for the licentious man1 a dishonest ,god for the thief1 and so through the various phases of human inclination4 ,the a priori arguments are methods of proof in which the matter of the premises exists in the order of conception antecedently to that of the conclusion4 ,the argument is from cause to effect4 ,among the prominent ,theistic advocates relying upon the a priori argument in ,england are ,dr4 ,samuel ,clarke1 the ,rev4 ,moses ,lowman1 and ,william ,gillespie4 ,as this last gentleman condemns his predecessors for having utterly failed to demonstrate ,god's existence1 and as his own treatise on the ,necessary ,existence of ,god comes to us certified by the praise of ,lord ,brougham and the approval of ,sir ,william ,hamilton1 it is to ,mr4 ,william ,gillespie that the reader shall be directed4 ,the propositions are first stated entirely1 so that ,mr4 ,gillespie may not complain of misrepresentation3 #a4 ,infinity of extension is necessarily existing4 #b4 ,infinity of extension is necessarily indivisible4 ,corollary4--,infinity of extension is necessarily immovable4 #c4 ,there is necessarily a being of infinity of extension4 #d4 ,the being of infinity of extension is necessarily of unity and simplicity4 ,sub-proposition4--,the material universe is finite in extension4 #e4 ,there is necessarily but one being of infinity of expansion4 ,part #b1 ,proposition #a4--;,infinity of duration is necessarily existing4 #b4 ,infinity of duration is necessarily indivisible4 ,corollary4--,infinity of duration is necessarily immovable4 #c4 ,there is necessarily a being of infinity of duration4 #d4 ,the being of infinity of duration is necessarily of unity and simplicity4 ,sub-proposition4--,the material universe is finite in duration4 ,corollary4--,every succession of substances is finite in duration4 #e4 ,there is necessarily but one being of infinity of duration4 ,part #c1 ,proposition #a4--,there is necessarily a being of infinity of expansion and infinity of duration4 #b4 ,the being of infinity of expansion and infinity of duration is necessarily of unity and simplicity4 ,division #b1 ,part #a4--,the simple sole being of infinity of expansion and of duration is necessarily intelligent and all-knowing4 ,part #b4--,the simple sole being of infinity of expansion and of duration1 who is all-knowing1 is necessarily all-powerful4 ,part #c4--,the simple sole being of infinity of expansion and of duration1 who is all-knowing and all-powerful1 is necessarily entirely free4 ,division #c4--,the simple sole being of infinity of expansion and of duration1 who is all-knowing1 all-powerful1 and entirely free1 is necessarily completely happy4 ,sub-proposition4--,the simple sole being of infinity of expansion and of duration1 who is all-knowing1 all-powerful1 entirely free1 and completely happy1 is necessarily perfectly good4 ,the first objection against the foregoing arguments is that it seeks to prove too much4 ,it affirms one existence 7,god7 infinite in extent and duration1 and another entirely different and distinct existence 7the material universe7 finite in extent and duration4 ,it therefore seeks to substantiate everything and something more4 ,the first proposition is curiously worded1 and the argument to demonstrate it is undoubtedly open to more than one objection4 ,mr4 ,gillespie has not defined infinity1 and it is possible therefore his argument may be misapprehended in this paper4 ,infinite signifies nothing more than indefinite4 ,when a person speaks of infinite extension he can only mean to refer to the extension of something to which he has been unable to set limits4 ,the mind can not conceive extension per se1 either absolute or finite4 ,it can only conceive something extended4 ,it might be impossible mentally to define the extension of some substance4 ,in such a case its extension would be indefinite2 or1 as ,mr4 ,gillespie uses the word1 infinite4 ,no one can therefore possibly have any idea of infinity of extension4 ,yet it is upon the existence of such an idea1 and on the impossibility of getting rid of it1 that ,mr4 ,gillespie grounds his first proposition4 ,if the idea does not exist1 the argument is destroyed at the first step4 ,mr4 ,gillespie argues that it is utterly beyond the power of the human mind to conceive infinity of extension non-existent4 ,he would have been more correct in asserting that it is utterly beyond the power of the human mind to conceive infinity of extension at all1 either existent or non-existent4 ,extension can only be conceived as quality of substance4 ,it is possible to conceive substance extended4 ,it is impossible in thought to limit the possible extension of substance4 ,mr4 ,gillespie having asserted that we can not but believe that infinity of extension exists1 proceeds to declare that it exists necessarily4 ,for1 he says1 everything the existence of which we can not but believe1 exists necessarily4 ,it is not necessary at present to examine what ,mr4 ,gillespie means by existing necessarily2 it is sufficient to have shown that we do not believe in the existence of infinity of extension1 although we may and do believe in the existence of substance1 to the extension of which we may be unable to set limits4 ,but1 says ,mr4 ,gillespie1 everything the existence of which we can not but believe is necessarily existing4 ,then as we can not but believe in the existence of the universe 7or1 to adopt ,mr4 ,gillespie's phrase1 the material universe71 the material universe exists necessarily4 ,if by anything necessarily existing1 he means anything the essence of which involves existence1 or the nature of which can only be considered as existent1 then ,mr4 ,gillespie1 by demonstrating the necessary existence of the universe1 refutes his own later argument1 that ,god is its creator4 ,mr4 ,gillespie's argument1 as before remarked1 is open to misconception1 because he has left us without any definition of some of the most important words he uses4 ,to avoid the same objection1 it is necessary to state that by substance or existence ,i mean that which is in itself and is conceived per se--that is1 the conception of which does not involve the conception of anything else as antecedent to it4 ,by quality1 that by which ,i cognize any mode of existence4 ,by mode1 each cognized condition of existence4 ,regarding extension as quality of mode of substance1 and not as substance itself1 it appears absurd to argue that the quality exists otherwise than as quality of mode4 ,the whole of the propositions following the first are so built upon it1 that if it fails they are baseless4 ,the second proposition is1 that infinity of extension is necessarily indivisible4 ,in dealing with this proposition1 ,mr4 ,gillespie talks of the parts of infinity of extension1 and winds up by saying that he means parts in the sense of partial consideration only4 ,now not only is it denied that you can have any idea of infinity of extension1 but it is also denied that infinity can be the subject of partial consideration4 ,mr4 ,gillespie's whole proof of this proposition is intended to affirm that the parts of infinity of extension are necessarily indivisible from each other4 ,i have already denied the possibility of conceiving infinity in parts2 and1 indeed1 if it were possible to conceive infinity in parts1 then that infinity could not be indivisible1 for ,mr4 ,gillespie says that1 by indivisible1 he means indivisible1 either really or mentally4 ,now each part of anything conceived is1 in the act of conceiving1 mentally separated from1 either other parts of1 or from the remainder of1 the whole of which it is part4 ,it is clearly impossible to have a partial consideration of infinity1 because the part considered must be mentally distinguished from the unconsidered remainder1 and1 in that case1 you have1 in thought1 the part considered finite1 and the residue certainly limited1 at least1 by the extent of the part under consideration4 ,if any of the foregoing objections are well-founded1 they are fatal to ,mr4 ,gillespie's argument4 ,the argument in favor of the corollary to the second proposition is that the parts of infinity of extension are necessarily immovable among themselves2 but if there be no such thing as infinity of extension--that is1 if extension be only a quality and not necessarily infinite2 if infinite mean only indefiniteness or illimitability1 and if infinity can not have parts--this argument goes for very little4 ,the acceptance of the argument that the parts of infinity of extension are immovable is rendered difficult when the reader considers ,mr4 ,gillespie's sub-proposition 7#d7 that the parts of the material universe are movable and divisible from each other4 ,he urges that a part of the infinity of extension or of its substratum must penetrate the material universe and every atom of it4 ,but if infinity can have no parts1 no part of it can penetrate the material universe4 ,if infinity have parts 7which is absurd71 and if some part penetrate every atom of the material universe1 and if the part so penetrating be immovable1 how can the material universe be considered as movable1 and yet as penetrated in every atom by immovability8 ,if penetrated be a proper phrase1 then1 at the moment when the part of infinity was penetrating the material universe1 the part of infinity so penetrating must have been in motion4 ,mr4 ,gillespie's logic is faulty4 ,use his own language1 and there is either no penetration1 or there is no immovability4 ,in his argument for the fourth proposition1 ,mr4 ,gillespie--having by his previous proposition demonstrated 787 what he calls a substratum for the before demonstrated 787 infinity of extension--says1 it is intuitively evident that the substratum of infinity of extension can be no more divisible than infinity of extension4 ,is this so8 ,might not a complex and divisible substratum be conceived by us as possible to underlie a 7to us7 simple and indivisible indefinite extension1 if the conception of the latter were possible to us8 ,there can not be any intuition4 ,it is mere assumption1 as1 indeed1 is the assumption of extension at all1 other than as the extension of substance4 ,in his argument for proposition #e1 ,gillespie says that any one who asserts that he can suppose two or more necessarily existing beings1 each of infinity of expansion1 is no more to be argued with than one who denies1 ,whatever is1 is4 ,why is it more difficult to suppose this than to suppose one being of infinity1 and1 in addition to this infinity1 a material universe8 ,is it impossible to suppose a necessary being of heat1 one of light1 and one of electricity1 all occupying the same indefinite expansion8 ,if it be replied that you can not conceive two distinct and different beings occupying the same point at the same moment1 then it must be equally impossible to conceive the material universe and ,god existing together4 ,the second division of ,mr4 ,gillespie's argument is also open to grave objection4 ,having demonstrated to his own satisfaction an infinite substance1 and also having assumed in addition a finite substance1 and having called the first an infinite being--perhaps from a devout objection to speak of ,god as substance--,mr4 ,gillespie seeks to prove that the infinite being is intelligent4 ,he says3 ,intelligence either began to be1 or it never began to be4 ,that is never began to be is evident in this1 that if it began to be1 it must have had a cause2 for whatever begins to be must have a cause4 ,and the cause of intelligence must be of intelligence2 for what is not of intelligence can not make intelligence begin to be4 ,now intelligence being before intelligence began to be is a contradiction4 ,and this absurdity following from the supposition that intelligence began to be1 it is proved that intelligence never began to be3 to wit1 is of infinity of duration4 ,mr4 ,gillespie does not condescend to tell us why what is not of intelligence cannot make intelligence begin to be2 but it is not unfair to suppose that he means that of things which have nothing in common one can not be the cause of the other4 ,let us apply ,mr4 ,gillespie's argument to the material universe1 the existence of which is to him so certain that he has treated it as a self-evident proposition4 ,the material universe--that is1 matter--either began to be1 or it never began to be4 ,that it never began to be is evident in this1 that if it began to be1 it must have had a cause2 for whatever begins to be must have a cause4 ,and the cause of matter must be of matter2 for what is not of matter can not make matter begin to be4 ,now matter being before matter began to be is contradiction4 ,and this absurdity following from the supposition that matter--i4 e41 the material universe--began to be1 it is proved that the material universe never began to be--to wit1 is of indefinite duration4 ,the argument as to the eternity of matter is at least as logical as the argument for the eternity of intelligence4 ,mr4 ,gillespie may reply that he affirms the material universe to be finite in duration1 and that by the argument for his proposition1 part #b1 he proves that the one infinite being 7,god7 is the creator of matter4 ,his words are3 ,as the material universe is finite in duration1 or began to be1 it must have had a cause2 for whatever begins to be must have a cause4 ,and this cause must be ,mr4 ,gillespie does not explain why1 in one respect or other1 the simple sole being of infinity of expansion and duration1 who is all-knowing the all-knowing or intelligence rests on the argument which has just been shown to be equally applicable to matter1 inasmuch as what being1 or cause independent of that being1 could there be8 ,and1 therefore1 that being made matter begin to be4 ,taking ,mr4 ,gillespie's own argument1 that which made matter begin to be must be of matter1 for what is not matter can not make matter begin to be1 then ,mr4 ,gillespie's infinite being 7,god7 must be matter4 ,but there is yet another exception to the preposition1 which is that the infinite being 7,god7 is all-powerful4 ,having1 as above1 argued that the being made matter1 he proceeds1 and this being shown1 it must be granted that the being is1 necessarily1 all-powerful4 ,nothing of the kind need be granted4 ,if it were true that it was demonstrated that the infinite being 7,god7 made matter1 it would not prove him able to make anything else2 it might show the being cause enough for that effect1 but does not demonstrate him cause for all effects4 ,so that if no better argument can be found to prove ,god all-powerful1 his omnipotence remains unproved4 ,mr4 ,gillespie's last proposition is that the being 7,god7 whose existence he has so satisfactorily 787 made out is necessarily completely happy4 ,in dealing with this proposition1 ,mr4 ,gillespie talks of unhappiness as existing in various kinds and degrees4 ,but1 to adopt his own style of argument1 unhappiness either began to be1 or it never began to be4 ,that it never began to be is evident in this1 that whatever began to be must have had a cause1 for whatever begins to be must have a cause4 ,and the cause of unhappiness must be of unhappiness1 for what is not of unhappiness can not make unhappiness begin to be4 ,but unhappiness being before unhappiness began to be is a contradiction2 therefore unhappiness is of infinity of duration4 ,but proposition #e1 part #b1 says there is but one being of infinity of duration4 ,the one being of infinity of duration is therefore necessarily unhappy4 ,mr4 ,gillespie's arguments recoil on himself1 and are destructive of his own affirmations4 ,in his argument for the sub-proposition1 ,mr4 ,gillespie says that ,god's motive1 or one of his motives1 to create1 must be believed to have been a desire to make happiness1 besides his own consummate happiness1 begin to be4 ,that is1 ,god1 who is consummate happiness everywhere forever1 desired something4 ,that is1 he wanted more than then existed4 ,that is1 his happiness was not complete4 ,that is1 ,mr4 ,gillespie refutes himself4 ,but what did infinite and eternal complete happiness desire8 ,it desired 7says ,mr4 ,gillespie7 to make more happiness--that is1 to make more than an infinity of complete happiness4 ,mr4 ,gillespie's proof1 on the whole1 is at most that there exists necessarily substance1 the extension and duration which we can not limit4 ,part of his argument involves of the use of the very a posteriori reasoning just considered1 regarded by himself as utterly worthless for the demonstration of the existence of a being with such attributes as orthodox ,theism tries to assert4 ,if ,sir ,william ,hamilton meant no flattery in writing that ,mr4 ,gillespie's works was one of the very ablest on the ,theistic side1 how wretched indeed must1 in his opinion1 have been the logic of the less able advocates for ,theism4 ,every ,theist must admit that if a ,god exists1 he could have so convinced all men of the fact of his existence that doubt1 disagreement1 or disbelief would be impossible4 ,if he could not do this1 he would not be omnipotent1 or he would not be omniscient--that is1 he would not be ,god4 ,every ,theist must also agree that if a ,god exists1 he would wish all men to have such a clear consciousness of his existence and attributes that doubt1 disagreement1 or belief on this subject would be impossible4 ,and this1 if for no other reason1 because that out of doubts and disagreements on religion have too often resulted centuries of persecution1 strife1 and misery1 which a good ,god would desire to prevent4 ,if ,god would not desire this1 then he is not all-good--that is he is not ,god4 ,but as many men have doubts1 a large majority of mankind have disagreements1 and some men have disbeliefs as to ,god's existence and attributes1 it follows either that ,god does not exist1 or that he is not all-wise1 or that he is not all-powerful1 or that he is not all-good4 ,every child is born into the world an ,atheist2 and if he grows into a ,theist1 his ,deity differs with the country in which the believer may happen to be born1 or the people among whom he may happen to be educated4 ,the belief is the result of education or organization4 ,religious belief is powerful in proportion to the want of scientific knowledge on the part of the believer4 ,the more ignorant1 the more credulous4 ,in the mind of the ,theist ,god is equivalent to the sphere of the unknown2 by the use of the ,word he answers without thought problems which might otherwise obtain scientific solution4 ,the more ignorant the ,theist1 the greater his ,god4 ,belief in ,god is not a faith founded on reason1 but a prostration of the reasoning faculties on the threshold of the unknown4 ,theism is worse than illogical2 its teachings are not only without utility2 but of itself it has nothing to teach4 ,separated from ,christianity with its almost innumerable sects1 from ,maliometanism with its numerous divisions1 and separated also from every other preached system1 ,theism is a ,will-o'-the-wisp1 without reality4 ,apart from orthodoxy1 ,theism is a boneless skeleton2 the various mythologies give it alike flesh and bone1 otherwise coherence it hath none4 ,what does ,christian ,theism teach8 ,that the first man made perfect by the all-powerful1 all-wise1 all-good ,god1 was nevertheless imperfect1 and by his imperfection brought misery into the world1 when the all-good ,god must have intended misery should never come4 ,that this ,god made men to share this misery--men whose fault was their being what he made them4 ,that this ,god begets a son1 who is nevertheless his unbegotten self1 and that by belief in the birth of ,god's eternal son1 and in the death of the undying who died to satisfy ,god's vengeance1 man may escape the consequences of the first man's error4 ,christian ,theism declares that belief alone can save man1 and yet recognizes the fact that man's belief results from teaching1 by establishing missionary societies to spread the faith4 ,christian ,theism teaches that ,god1 though no respecter of persons1 selected as his favorites one nation in preference to all others3 that man can do no good of himself or without ,god's aid1 but yet that each man has a free will2 that ,god is all-powerful1 but that few go to heaven and the majority to hell2 that all are to love ,god1 who has predestined from eternity that by far the largest number of human beings are to be burning in hell for ever4 ,yet the advocates for ,theism venture to upbraid those who argue against such a faith4 ,either ,theism is true or false4 ,if true1 discussion must help to spread its influence2 if false1 the sooner it ceases to influence human conduct the better for human kind4 ,it will be useless for the clergy to urge that such a pamphlet deserves no reply4 ,it is true the writer is unimportant1 and the language in which his thoughts find expression lacks the polish of a ,macaulay1 and the fervor of a ,burke2 but they are nevertheless his thoughts1 uttered because it is not only his right1 but his duty1 to give them utterance4 ,and this ,plea for ,atheism is put forth challenging the ,theists to battle for their cause1 and in the hope that the strugglers being sincere1 truth may give laurels to the victor and the vanquished2 laurels to the victor in that he has upheld the truth2 laurels still welcome to the vanquished1 whose defeat crowns him with a truth he knew not of before4 ,,is ,,there ,a ,,god8 ,some of those who have heard me venture to examine the question of the existence of ,deity viva voce1 have desired to have my reasons for holding the ,atheistic position briefly stated1 and while ,i do not pretend to exhaust the subject in these few pages1 ,i trust to say enough to provoke thought and inquiry4 ,i do not say1 ,there is no ,god1 and the scarcely polite rejoinder of those who quote the ,psalmist can not1 therefore1 be applied with justice toward myself4 ,i have never yet heard living man give me a clear1 coherent definition of the word ,god1 and ,i have never read any definition from either dead or living man expressing a definite and comprehensible idea of ,deity4 ,in fact1 it has always appeared to me that men use that word rather to hide their ignorance than to express their knowledge499 99 ,in ,sir ,william ,hamilton's ,essay on ,cousin1 ,i find a note quoting ,mr4 ,piesse on ,kant1 in which the word ,god stands as the equivalent for a phase of the unknowable4 ,climatic conditions often1 and diversity of human race always1 govern and modify the meaning conveyed by the word4 ,by ,god one nation or sect expresses love2 another1 vengeance2 another1 good2 another1 wisdom2 another1 fire2 another1 water2 another1 air2 another1 earth2 and some even confound their notion of ,deity with that of devil4 ,elihu ,palmer well observes3 ,the ,christian world worships three infinite gods1 and one omniscient devil4 ,i do not deny ,god1 because that word conveys to me no idea1 and ,i can not deny that which presents to me no distinct affirmation1 and of which the would-be affirmer has no conception4 ,i can not war with a nonentity4 ,if1 however1 ,god is affirmed to represent an existence which is distinct from the existence of which ,i am a mode1 and which it is alleged is not the noumenon1 of which the word ,i represents only a specialty of phenomena1 then ,i deny ,god1 and affirm that it is impossible ,god can be4 ,that is1 ,i affirm that there is one existence1 and deny that there can be more than one4 ,atheists are sometimes content to say to their opponents1 your proofs are no proofs1 your evidences are failures1 you do not and can not prove the existence of ,deity4 ,this ground may be safe1 but the conduct of its occupier is not daring4 ,the swordsman who always guarded and parried1 but never ventured cut or thrust1 might himself escape unwounded1 but he would thus make but little progress toward victory over his opponent4 ,it is well to show that the position of your antagonist is weak1 but it is better to prove that you are strong4 ,in a paper as limited as the present1 it is necessary to be brief both in answer to opponents and in the statements of my own opinions4 ,this is rather intended as the challenging speech of a debate1 not as a complete essay on the existence of ,deity4 ,there are two modes in which ,theists endeavor to prove the existence of ,god1 and each of these modes is in its turn denounced by ,theistic writers--#ast1 the a priori2 #b;d1 the a posteriori4 ,of the former1 ,pearson1 in his ,prize ,essay on ,infidelity1 says3 ,the a priori mode of reasoning is the exclusive idol of many of the ,german logicians4444 ,but in their hands this kind of reasoning has completely failed4 ,it conducts the mind to no firm resting place2 it bewilders instead of elucidating our notions of ,god1 of man1 and the universe4 ,it gives us no divine personal existence1 and leaves us floating in a region of mere vague abstractions4 ,such reasonings are either altogether vain or are not really what they profess to be4 ,in our country the name of ,dr4 ,clarke is chiefly associated with the a priori argument4444 ,clarke himself found it necessary to stoop to the argument a posteriori1 and thereby acknowledged the fallacy of attempting to reason exclusively a priori4444 ,the fate of ,dr4 ,clarke's pretended demonstration1 and the result1 in so far as theology is concerned1 of the transcendental reasoning of the continental philosophers1 show the futility of attempting to rise up to the height of the great argument of the existence of ,god by the a priori method alone4 ,of the latter1 ,william ,gillespie1 in his ,treatise on the ,necessary ,existence of ,deity1 writes that it can never make it appear that infinity belongs in any way to ,god4 ,it can only entitle us to infer the existence of a being of finite extension1 for1 by what rule in philosophy can we deduce from the existence of an object finite in extent 7and nothing is plainer than that the marks of design which we can discover must be finite in their extent7 the existence of a cause of infinity of extension8 ,what1 then1 becomes of the omnipresence of the ,deity1 according to those who are content to rest satisfied from the reasoning of experience8444 ,it will be vain to talk of the ,deity being present by his energy8 although he may not be present by his substance1 to the whole universe4 ,for1 'tis natural to ask not so much how it is proved that ,god is virtually present1 though not substantially present1 in every part of nature1 as what can be meant by being everywhere present by mere energy8 ,this reasoning can no more make out that the ,deity is omnipresent by his virtue1 than that he is omnipresent as to his substance4444 ,and1 from the inaptitude of the reasoning under consideration to show that immensity1 or omnipresence1 belongs to ,god1 it will be found to follow1 directly and immediately1 that his wisdom and power can not be shown to be more than finite1 and that he can never be proved to be a free agent4444 ,omnipresence 7let it be only by energy7 is absolutely necessary in a being of infinity of wisdom4 ,and therefore1 'the design argument' is unable to evince that the ,deity is in possession of this attribute4 ,it likewise plainly follows1 from the inaptitude of this argument to show that ,god is omnipresent1 that thereby we can not prove infinity of power to belong to him4 ,for1 if the argument can not make out that the being it discovers is everywhere present1 how can it ever make out that he is everywhere powerful8 ,by careful reflection1 too1 we may perceive that omnipotence of another kind than power1 winch can exert itself in all places1 requires the existence of immensity4 ,the design argument can never evince that ,god is a free agent4444 ,if we can not prove the immensity or omnipresence of the ,deity1 we can for that reason never show that he is omniscient1 that he is omnipotent1 that he is entirely free4444 ,if the ,deity can not be proved to be of infinity in any given respect1 it would be nothing less than absurd to suppose that he could be proved to be of infinity in any other respect4 ,it can do no more than prove that at the commencement of the phenomena which pass under its review1 there existed a cause exactly sufficient to make the effects begin to be4 ,that this cause existed from eternity1 the reasonings from experience by no means show4 ,nay1 for aught they make known1 the designer himself may not have existed long before those marks of design which betoken his workmanship4 ,this reasoning can not prove that the ,god whom it reveals has existed from all eternity1 therefore1 for anything it intimates1 ,god may at some time cease to be1 and the workmanship may have an existence when the workman hath fallen into annihilation4444 ,such reasonings can never assure us of the unity of the ,deity4 ,whether there be one ,god or not1 the argument from experience doth by no means make clear4 ,it discovers marks of design in the phenomena of nature1 and infers the existence of at least one intelligent substance sufficient to produce them4 ,further1 however1 it advances not our knowledge4 ,whether the cause of the phenomena be one ,god or many ,gods1 it pretends not to determine past all doubt4444 ,but did this designer create the matter in which the design appeared8 ,of this the argument can not convince us1 for it does no more than infer a designing cause from certain appearances1 in the same way we would infer from finding some well-contrived machine in a desert that a human being had left it there4444 ,now1 because this reasoning can not convince us of such a creation1 it can not convince us there is not a plurality of deities1 or of the causes of things4444 ,if we can not prove the eternity of ,god1 it is not possible we can prove the unity of ,god4 ,to say that1 for anything we know to the contrary1 he may have existed from all eternity1 being much the same as saying that1 for anything we know to the contrary1 there may be another ,god or many ,gods beside4 ,sir ,w4 ,hamilton considered that the only valid arguments for the existence of a ,god1 and for the immortality of the human soul1 rest on the ground of man's moral nature4 ,dr4 ,lyman ,beecher issued1 some few years since1 a series of lectures on ,atheism1 without merit or fairness1 and which are here only alluded to as fairly illustrating a certain class of orthodox opposition4 ,his statements of ,atheistic opinions are monstrous perversions1 and his answers are directed against the straw man built together by himself4 ,the doctrine of almighty chance which ,dr4 ,beecher attacks1 is one which ,i never heard an educated ,atheist teach1 and the misrepresentation of ,freethought objects is so obvious that it can only be effectual with those who have never freed themselves from the trammels which habit and fashion-faith bound upon them in their infancy1 and which have strengthened with their growth4 ,the ,rev4 ,j4 ,orr1 in his ,treatise on ,theism1 says1 ,all inquiry about chance is1 however1 impertinent in the present day4 ,the idea is an infantine one1 possible of entertainment only in the initial state of human knowledge4 ,chance is not the position relied upon by modern ,atheism4 ,and when1 therefore1 the ,theist expends the artillery of his argument upon this broken down and obsolete notion1 he is intermeddling with the dead1 and after accomplishing the destruction of the venerable fallacy1 the modern ,atheist will likely ask him to come down to the nineteenths century and meet him there4 ,the only attempt at argument in ,dr4 ,beecher's book is founded on the assumption3 #ast4 ,that there is an existence called matter4 #b;d4 ,that there are certain effects perceivable which can not result from matter4 #c;d4 ,that therefore there is a ,god the cause for these effects4 ,where are there any ,materialists who accept ,dr4 ,beecher's limitation of matter8 ,it is a word ,i do not use myself4 ,on the question of evil1 ,coleridge1 in his ,aids to ,reflection1 says3 #ast4 ,that evil must have had a beginning1 since otherwise it must either be ,god or a co-eternal and co-equal rival with ,god4 #b;d4 ,that it could not originate in ,god2 for if so1 it would at once be evil and not evil1 or ,god would be at once ,god--that is1 infinite goodness--and not ,god4 ,if ,god be infinite goodness1 can evil exist at all8 ,it is necessary above all that we should understand the meaning of each word we use4 ,some men talk as if their words were intended rather to conceal than to express their ideas4 ,so far as this essay is concerned ,i will endeavor to avoid this difficulty by explicitly defining each special word ,i use4 ,dugald ,stewart1 indeed1 says1 ,that there are many words used in philosophical discourse which do not admit of logical definition1 is abundantly manifest4 ,this is the case with all those words that signify things un-compounded1 and consequently unsusceptible of analysis--a proposition1 one should think1 almost self-evident2 and yet it is surprising how very generally it has been overlooked by philosophers4 ,the advantages1 however1 accruing from frequent definitions are very great2 at the least they serve to explain what was meant by the persons using the word1 whereas sometimes two men confuse each word by using words to which each attaches an opposite or a dissimilar value4 ,men will talk of ,first ,cause1 and ,intelligent ,first ,cause4 ,do they know what they mean8 ,i confess ,i do not1 and from the manner in which they use the words1 the most charitable conclusion is that they use them because others have done so1 and for no worse or better reason4 ,they talk of the ,beauties of ,creation1 and ,works of the ,great ,creator4 ,if by creation is meant the origin of existence1 then each utterance of the phrase is an absurdity4 ,the human mind is utterly incapable of construing it in thought as possible that the complement of existence has either been increased or diminished4 ,man can neither conceive nothing becoming something nor something becoming nothing4 ,definitions4--#a4 ,by existence1 or substance1 ,i mean that which is in itself and is conceived per se--that is1 the conception of which does not require the conception of anything else as antecedent to it4 ,whenever ,i use the words universe or matter1 ,i use them in the same sense as representing the totality of existence4 ,existence can only be known in its modes1 and these by their attributes4 #b4 ,by attribute1 ,i understand that by which ,i cognize any mode of existence4 ,hardness1 brightness1 color1 life1 form1 etc41 are attributes of conditional existence4 #c4 ,by mode1 ,i understand each cognized condition or accident of existence4 #d4 ,by eternity ,i mean indefinite duration2 that is duration which is to me illimitable4 #e4 ,by infinity1 ,i mean indefinite extension4 ,the axioms1 so far as ,i shall give them1 are in the precise language of ,spinoza4 #a4 ,everything which is1 is in itself1 or in some other thing44 #b4 ,that which cannot be conceived through another per aliud1 must be conceived per se4 #c4 ,from a given determinate cause1 the effect necessarily follows2 and1 vice versa1 if no determinate cause be given1 no effect can follow4 #d4 ,the knowledge of an effect depends on a knowledge of the cause1 and includes it4 #e4 ,things that have nothing in common with each other1 can not be understood by means of each other--that is1 the conception of one does not involve the conception of the other4 ,propositions4--,existence is prior to its modes4 ,this follows from definitions #a and #c1 because modes of existence are conceived relatively and in dependence on existence1 which is absolutely precedent in such conception4 ,existences having different attributes have nothing in common with each other4 ,this is founded on definition #a4 ,existences have nothing in common with each other1 can not be the cause of1 or affect one another4 ,if they have nothing in common1 they can not be conceived by means of each other 7per axiom #e71 and they can not be conceived as relating to each other1 but must be conceived per se 7per definition #a72 and as 7per axiom #d7 the knowledge of an effect depends on the knowledge of the cause and includes it1 it is impossible to conceive any existence as an effect1 so long as you can not conceive it in relation to any other existence4 ,by cause in the absolute1 ,i mean existence4 ,in its popular or relative sense1 ,i use cause as an effect of some precedent causative influence1 itself the cause of some consequent effect1 as the means toward an end1 in the accomplishment of which end it completes itself4 ,what fact is there so certain that ,i may base all my reasonings upon it8 ,my existence is this primary fact2 this1 to me1 indubitable certainty4 ,i am4 ,this logic can neither prove nor disprove4 ,the very nature of proof is to make a proposition more clear to the mind than it was before1 and no amount of evidence can in-crease my conviction of the certainty of my own existence4 ,i do not affirm that ,i am in existence1 but ,i affirm that there is existence4 ,this existence is either eternal1 that is1 unlimited in duration1 that is1 indefinite in duration2 or else it had a beginning1 that is1 it has been created4 ,if created1 then such creation must be by some existence the same as itself1 or by some existence differing from itself4 ,but it can not have been created by any existence the same as itself1 because to imagine such1 would be to conceive no more than a continuance of the same existence--there would be no discontinuity4 ,but1 says ,s4 ,t4 ,coleridge1 where there is no discontinuity1 there can be no origination4 ,and it can not have been created by any existence differing from itself1 because things which have nothing in common with one another can not be the cause of1 or affect1 one another4 ,therefore1 this existence has not been created1 that is1 its duration is indefinite--that is1 you can not conceive a beginning--that is1 it is eternal4 ,this eternal existence is either infinite in extent1 that is1 is unlimited in extent1 or it is finite1 that is1 limited4 ,if limited1 it must be limited by an existence the same as itself1 or by an existence differing from itself4 ,but the same arguments which applied to a limitation of duration1 also apply to a limitation of extension4 ,therefore1 this existence is unlimited in extent2 that is1 is infinite and eternal--that is1 there is only one existence4 ,it is at this point that ,atheism separates from ,pantheism4 ,pantheism demonstrates one existence1 but affirms for it infinite attributes4 ,atheism denies that attributes can be infinite4 ,attributes are but the distinguishing characteristics of modes1 and how can that be infinite which is only the quality of finity8 ,men do not talk of infinite hardness or of infinite softness2 yet they talk of infinite intelligence4 ,intelligence is not an existence1 and the word is without value unless it strictly comprehend1 and is included in1 that which is intelligent4 ,the hardness of the diamond1 the brilliancy of the burnished steel1 have no existence apart from the diamond or the steel4 ,i1 in fact1 affirm that there is only one existence1 and that all we take cognizance of is mode1 or attribute of mode1 of that existence4 ,i have carefully abstained from using the words matter and spirit4 ,dr4 ,priestly says3 ,it has generally been supposed that there are two distinct kinds of substance in human nature1 and they have been distinguished by the terms matter1 and spirit1 or mind4 ,the former of these has been said to be possessed of the property of extension1 viz41 of length1 breadth and thickness1 and also of solidity or impenetrability1 and consequently of a vis inerti2 but it is said to be naturally destitute of all other powers whatever4 ,the latter has of late been defined to be a substance entirely destitute of all extension1 or relation to space1 so as to have no property in common with matter2 and therefore to be properly immaterial1 but to be possessed of the powers of perception1 intelligence1 and self-motion4 ,matter is alleged to be that kind of substance of which our bodies are composed1 whereas the principle of perception and thought belonging to us is said to reside in a spirit1 or immaterial principle1 intimately united to the body2 while higher orders of intelligent beings1 and especially the ,divine ,being1 are said to be purely immaterial4 ,it is maintained that neither matter nor spirit 7meaning by the latter the subject of sense and thought7 correspond to the definitions above mentioned4 ,for that matter is not that inert substance that it has been supposed to be2 that powers of attraction or repulsion are necessary to its very being1 and that no part of it appears to be impenetrable to other parts2 ,i therefore define it to be a substance possessed of the property of extension1 and powers of attraction or repulsion2 and since it has never yet been asserted that the powers of sensation and thought are incompatible with these 7solidity or impenetrability1 and1 consequently1 a vis inerti1 only having been thought to be repugnent to them71 ,i therefore maintain that we have no reason to suppose that there are in man two substances so distinct from each other as have been represented4 ,it is likewise maintained that the notion of two substances that have no common property1 and yet are capable of intimate connection and mutual action1 is absurd4 ,i do not conceive spirit or mind as an existence4 ,by the word mind1 ,i simply express the totality of perception1 observation1 collection1 and recollection of perceptions1 reflection and various other mental processes4 ,dugald ,stewart1 in his ,essay on ,locke1 says3 ,we are conscious of sensation1 thought1 desire1 volition1 but we are not conscious of the existence of the mind itself4 ,it is urged that the idea of ,god is universal4 ,this is not only not true1 but ,i1 in fact1 deny that any coherent idea exists in connection with the word ,god4 ,the chief object to which the emotions of any people were directed in ancient times became their ,god4 ,when these emotions were combined with vague traditions1 and a priesthood became interested in handing down the traditions1 and increasing the emotions1 then the object becoming sacred was hallowed and adored1 and uncertain opinions formed the basis of a creed4 ,any prominent phenomenon in the universe1 which was not understood1 was personified1 as were also the various passions and phases of humanity4 ,these1 in time1 were preached as religious truths1 and thus diverted the people from inquiry into the natural causes of phenomena1 which they accounted for as ordained by ,god1 and when famine or pestilence occurred1 instead of endeavoring to remove its cause or using preventive measures against a recurrence of the evil1 they sought to discover why the supernatural power was offended1 and how it might be appeased1 and ascribing to it their own passions and emotions1 they offered prayers and sacrifices4 ,these errors becoming institutions of the country1 the people1 prompted by their priests1 regarded all those who endeavored to overturn them by free and scientific thought and speech as blasphemers1 and the ,religion of each ,state has1 therefore1 always been opposed to the education of the people4 ,archbishop ,whately1 in his ,elements of ,rhetoric1 part #a1 chap1 ii1 sec4 #e1 urges that those who represent ,god or ,gods as malevolent1 capricious1 or subject to human passions and vices1 are invariably to be found among those who are brutal and uncivilized4 ,we admit this1 but ask is it not the fact that both the ,old and ,new ,testament teachings do represent ,god as malevolent1 capricious1 and subject to human passions and vices--that is1 are not these bible views of ,god relics of a brutal and uncivilized people8 ,there is1 of course1 not room in a short essay like the present to say much upon the morality of ,atheism1 and it should therefore suffice to say1 that truth and morality go hand in hand4 ,that that is moral which tends to the permanent happiness of all4 ,the continuance of falsehood never can result in permanent happiness2 and therefore if ,atheism be truthful1 it must be moral1 if it be against falsehood1 it must tend to human happiness4 ,yet if quoting great names will have effect1 ,lord ,bacon1 who is often quoted against ,atheism1 also says3 ,atheism leaves a man to sense1 to philosophy1 to natural piety1 to laws1 to reputation1 all of which may be guides to an outward moral virtue1 though religion were not2 but superstition dismounts all these1 and erecteth an absolute monarchy in the mind of men2 therefore ,atheism never did perturb states1 for it makes men wary of themselves as looking no further2 and we see the times inclined to ,atheism1 as the times of ,augustus ,caesar were civil times2 but superstition has been the confusion of many states4 ,george ,combe says3 ,i have known men in whom the reasoning organs were amply developed and well cultivated1 who assured me that they could not reach the conviction of the being of a ,god4 ,i have known such men equal in point of integrity and practical benevolence to the most orthodox believers4 ,in the ,west ,riding of ,yorkshire1 among the men themselves1 a wealthy employer bore favorable testimony to the conduct and intelligence of ,atheistic working men4 ,nay1 even the fanatical ,dr4 ,lyman ,beecher is obliged to concede that ,atheism made converts among females of education and refinement--females of respectable standing in society4 ,,has ,,man ,a ,,soul8 ,this lecture was originally delivered to the ,sheffield ,secular ,society1 and was printed from the reporter's notes without efficient correction from myself1 ,i1 at that time1 suffering under a severe attack of acute rheumatism4 ,the lecture has since been often re-delivered2 and three editions having been exhausted1 ,i have again corrected and revised the present edition4 ,it is not intended as an answer to the question which forms the title1 but it is intended to provoke thought upon this important subject4 ,what do you mean by soul8 ,what is the soul8 ,is it ,i8 ,is it the body8 ,is it apart from the body8 ,is it an attribute of the body8 ,has it a separate and distinct existence from the body8 ,what is the soul8 ,if ,i ask one of those who claim to be considered orthodox men1 they will tell me that the soul is a spirit--that the soul lives after the body is dead4 ,they will tell me that the soul is immortal1 and that the body is mortal2 that the soul has nothing whatever in common with the body2 that it has an existence entirely independent of the body4 ,they will tell me that after the body has decayed--after the body has become re-absorbed in the universe1 of which it is but a part1 that the soul still exists4 ,is there any proof of the existence of the same individual soul apart from all material conditions8 ,i have endeavored to examine this subject1 and1 up to the present time1 ,i have not found one iota of proof in support of the positions thus put forward4 ,i have no idea of any existence except that of which ,i am part4 ,i am4 ,of my own existence ,i am certain ,i think4 ,i am4 ,but what is it that thinks8 ,is it my soul8 ,is it me1 and yet distinct from me8 ,i am but a mode of existence4 ,i am only part of the great universe4 ,the elements of which ,i am composed are indissolubly connected with that great existence which is around me and within me1 and which ,i help to make up4 ,if men tell me ,i am a compound1 and not a compound--a mixture1 and not a mixture--a joining together1 and not a joining together--of two entirely different existences1 which they call matter and spirit1 ,i am compelled to doubt those men4 ,the ability to think is but an attribute of a certain modification of existence4 ,intelligence is a word by which we express the sum of certain abilities1 always attending a certain mode of existence4 ,i find intelligence manifested so far as organization is developed4 ,i never find intelligence without animal organization4 ,i find intelligence manifested in degree1 only so far as ,i find a higher or lower type of organization--that is1 ,i find man's intellectual faculties limited by his organization4 ,but the orthodox tell me that my soul has an immaterial existence1 independent of all organization--independent of all climatic conditions--independent of all education4 ,is that so8 ,when does the soul come into man8 ,when does it go out of man8 ,if the soul is immortal1 why is it that standing here1 in the prime of health and strength1 if part of that roof should fall fracturing my skull1 and pressing upon my brain--how is it1 if my soul is not subject to material conditions1 that it then ceases to act8 ,is the plaster roof more powerful than my immortal soul8 ,or is it that intelligence is the necessary result of a certain condition of existence1 and that the moment you destroy that condition--the moment you destroy the organization--the result ceases to be realizable8 ,by the course of reasoning you adopt 7says the orthodox objector7 you reduce man to the same level as the beasts4 ,and why not8 ,i stand on the river's bank1 ,i see there a man full grown1 possessed of the physical figure of man1 but an idiot--an idiot from his birth upward--one who could not1 even if he would1 think and act as other men4 ,a little child is there playing on the bank1 and the idiot1 having large destructive propensities1 has thrust the child into the water1 and he stands there jabbering and gesticulating while the little child is drowning in the river4 ,and see how half-vacantly1 half-triumphantly1 he points to the helpless child4 ,a ,newfoundland dog has come to the bank2 it jumps in and brings the child out and saves its life4 ,yet theologians tell me that the idiot has a soul1 and that the ,newfoundland dog has not one4 ,i can not understand these nice distinctions1 which make the man so superior to the beast in matters in which he is positively inferior4 ,man has doubtless an organization on the whole far superior intellectually to that of any other animal1 but he is only superior by virtue of his superior organization and its consequent susceptibility for development or education4 ,many brutes can see more clearly than man2 but they possess not the capability for the manufacture of telescopes to aid their vision4 ,many brutes can run more swiftly1 but they manifest no capacity for the subjugation of a steam power which far outstrips their speed4 ,but man himself1 a well-organized1 thoughtful1 intelligent1 well-educated man1 by a fall from a horse1 by a tile from a roof1 may receive an injury to his nervous encephalic apparatus1 and may be1 even while a man in shape1 as low as the brute in the imbecility of his reason1 and inferior to the brute in physical strength4 ,there is as much difference between different races of men1 there is1 in fact1 more difference between a pure ,caucasian and a ,sahara negro1 than between the ,sahara negro and the infant chimpanzee4 ,when did the soul come into the body8 ,has it been waiting from all eternity to occupy each body the moment of birth8 ,is this the theory that is put forward to man--that there are many millions of souls still waiting1 perhaps1 in mid air1 'twixt heaven and earth1 to occupy the still unborn babes8 ,is that the theory8 ,or do you allege that ,god specially creates souls for each little child at the moment it is born or conceived8 ,which is the theory put forward8 ,is it that the soul being immortal--being destined to exist for ever1 has existed from all eternity8 ,if not1 how do you know that the soul is to exist for ever2 when it only comes into existence with the child8 ,may not that which has recently begun to be1 soon cease to be8 ,in what manner does the soul come into the child8 ,is it a baby's soul1 and does it grow with the child8 or1 does it possess its full power the moment the child is born8 ,when does it come into the child8 ,does it come in the moment the child begins to form1 or is it the moment the child is born into the world8 ,whence is it this soul comes8 ,dr4 ,cooper1 quoting ,lawrence on the ,functions of the ,brain1 says3 ,sir ,everard ,home1 with the assistance of ,mr4 ,bauer and his microscope1 has shown us a man eight days old from the time of conception1 about as broad and a little longer than a pin's head4 ,he satisfied himself that the brain of this homunculus was discernible4 ,could the immaterial mind have been connected with it at this time8 ,or was the tenement too small even for so etherial a lodger8 ,even at the full period of uterogestation1 it is still difficult to trace any vestiges of mind3 and the believers in its separate existence have left us quite in the dark on the precise time when they suppose this union of soul and body to take place4 ,many of those who tell me that man has a soul1 and that it is immortal--that man has a soul1 and that the beast has not one--forget or ignore the fact that at a very early stage in the formation of the brain the state of the brain corresponds to that of the avertebrated animal1 or animal that is without vertebra4 ,if the brain had stopped in its first month's course of formation1 would the child have had a soul8 ,if it would have had a soul1 then have avertebrated animals souls also8 ,if you tell me it would not have had a soul1 then ,i ask1 ,how do you know it8 and ,i ask you what ground you have for assuming that the soul did not begin to form with the formation of the brain8 ,i ask you whether it was pre-existing1 or at what stage it came8 ,in the second month this brain corresponds then to the brain of an osseous fish4 ,supposing the development of the child had been then stopped1 had it a soul at that time8 ,if so1 have fishes souls8 ,again1 if you tell me that the child had not a soul1 then1 ,i ask1 why not8 ,how do you know it had not8 ,what ground have you for alleging that the soul did not exist in the child8 ,we go on still further1 and in the third month we find that brain corresponds then to that of a turtle1 and in the fourth to that of a bird2 and in the fifth month1 to an order termed rodentia2 sixth1 to that of the ruminantia2 seventh1 to that of the dugitigrada2 eighth1 to that of the quadrumana2 and not till the ninth month does the brain of the child attain a full human character4 ,i1 of course1 here mean to allege no more than ,dr4 ,fletcher1 who says1 in his ,rudiments of ,physiology1 quoted by the author of the ,vestiges of ,creation3 ,this is only an approximation to the truth2 since neither is the brain of all osseous fishes1 of all turtles1 of all birds1 nor of all the species of any of the above order of mammals1 by any means precisely the same2 nor does the brain of the human fetus at any time precisely resemble1 perhaps1 that of any individual whatever among the lower animals4 ,nevertheless it may be said to represent1 at each of the above-named periods1 the aggregate1 as it were1 of the brains of each of the tribes stated4 ,now1 should a birth have taken place at any of the eight stages1 would the child thus prematurely born have had a soul8 ,that is the question ,i propose to you4 ,you who affirm that man has a soul1 it lies upon you1 here1 without charging me with blasphemy--without charging me with ignorance--without charging me with presumption--it lies upon you who affirm1 to state the grounds for your belief4 ,at which stage1 if at any1 did the soul come into the child8 ,at the moment of the birth8 ,why when a child is born into the world it can scarcely see--it can not speak--it can not think--but after a short time ,i jingle my keys1 and it begins to give faint smiles2 and after a few weeks1 it is pleased with the jingling of my keys4 ,is it the soul which is learning to appreciate the sound of the jingling keys1 and pleased with them8 ,is it the immaterial and immortal soul amused and pleased with my bundle of keys8 ,where is the soul8 ,how is it that the soul can not speak the moment the child is born--can not even think8 ,how is it1 that if ,i keep that child without telling it any thing of its soul until it become fourteen or fifteen years of age1 it would then speak and think as ,i had taught it to speak and think2 and if ,i kept it without the knowledge of a soul1 it would have no knowledge of a soul at that age8 ,how is that8 ,rajah ,brooke1 at a missionary meeting in ,liverpool1 told his hearers there that the ,dyaks1 a people with whom he was connected1 had no knowledge of ,god1 of a soul1 or of any future state4 ,how is it that the ,dyaks have got this soul and yet live knowing nothing whatever about it8 ,and the ,dyaks are by no means the only people who live and die knowing nothing of any immortal and immaterial soul4 ,again you tell me that this soul is immortal4 ,do you mean that it has eternally existed--has never been created8 ,if so1 you deny a ,god who is the creator of all things4 ,if the soul began at some time to exist1 where is the evidence that it will not also at some time cease to exist8 ,it it came into existence with the body's birth1 why not cease with the body's death8 ,you say the soul is immaterial2 do you mean that it is susceptible to material conditions or do you not8 ,if susceptible to material conditions1 what do you mean by its being immortal and immaterial8 ,if not susceptible to material conditions1 then explain to me how it is that under good conditions it prospers and advances1 and under bad conditions deteriorates and recedes4 ,if a child is born in some of the back streets of our city1 and lives on bad food in a wretched cellar1 it grows up a weak and puny pale-faced child4 ,if allowed to crawl into existence on the edge of a gutter1 imperfectly educated1 in fact mis-educated1 it steals--steals1 perhaps1 to live--and it becomes an outcast from society4 ,is this immortal soul affected by the bodily conditions8 or is the soul originally naturally depraved8 ,and if the soul is primarily naturally depraved1 why is ,god so unjust as to give a naturally depraved soul to any body8 ,if not1 how is it that this immortal soul1 when the body is kept without food1 permits the man who has no money to buy food1 to steel to satisfy his hunger8 ,you allege that the soul moves my body4 ,you assert that matter is inert1 unintelligent2 that it is my active1 intelligent soul that moves and impels my inert and non-intelligent body4 ,is my immortal soul hindered and controlled by the state of my body's general health8 ,does my soul feel hungry and compel my body to steal8 ,some theologians declare that my soul is immaterial--that there is no means by which ,i can take any cognizance whatever of it4 ,what does that mean1 except that they know nothing whatever about it8 ,sir ,w4 ,hamilton admits that we are entirely ignorant as to the connection between soul and body4 ,yet many who in so many words admit that they have no knowledge1 but only faith in the soul's existence1 are most presumptuous in affirming it1 and in denouncing those who dispute their affirmation4 ,it is an easy method to hide ignorance1 by denouncing your opponent as an ignorant blasphemer4 ,joseph ,priestley1 in his book upon matter and spirit1 quotes from ,hallet's discourses1 as follows2 ,i see a man move and hear him speak for some years4 ,from his speech ,i certainly infer that he thinks1 as ,i do4 ,i then see that man is a being who thinks and acts4 ,after some time the man falls down in my sight1 grows cold and stiff1 and speaks and acts no more4 ,is it not then natural to conclude that he thinks no more2 as the only reason ,i had to believe that he did think was his motion and his speech4 ,and now that his motion and speech have ceased1 ,i have lost the only way of proving that he had the power of thought4 ,upon this sudden death1 one visible thing1 the one man1 has greatly changed4 ,whence could ,i infer that the same being consisted of two parts1 and that the inward part continues to live and think1 and flies away from the body8 ,when the outward part ceases to live and move1 it looks as if the whole man was gone1 and that he1 with all his powers1 ceases at the same time4 ,his motion and thought both die together1 as far as ,i can discern4 ,the powers of thought1 of speech and motion1 equally depend upon the body1 and run the same fate in case of declining age4 ,when a man dies through old age1 ,i perceive his powers of speech1 motion1 and thought decay and die together1 and by the same degrees4 ,that moment he ceases to move and breathe he appears to cease to think1 too4 ,when ,i am left to my reason it seems to me that my power of thought depends as much upon the body as my sight and hearing4 ,i could not think in infancy2 my power of thought1 of sight1 and of feeling are equally liable to be obstructed by the body4 ,a blow on the head has deprived a man of thought1 who could yet see1 and feel and move2 so naturally the power of thinking seems as much to belong to the body as any power of man whatsoever4 ,naturally there appears no more reason to suppose that a man can think out of the body than he can hear sounds and feel cold out of the body4 ,what do those mean who say that man is made up of two parts--matter and mind8 ,i know of only one existence4 ,i find that existence manifested variously1 each mode having certain variations of attributes by which it is cognized4 ,one of these attributes1 or a collection of certain attributes1 ,i find in1 or with1 certain modifications of that existence1 that is1 in or with animal life--this attribute1 or these attributes1 we call intelligence4 ,in the same way that ,i find upon the blade of a knife brightness1 consequent upon a certain state of the metal1 so do ,i find in man1 in the beast1 different degrees1 not of brightness1 but of intelligence1 according to their different states of organization4 ,i am told that the mind and the body are separate from one another4 ,are the brightness and steel of the knife separate8 ,is not brightness the quality attaching to a certain modification of existence--steel8 ,is not intelligence a quality attaching to a certain modification of existence--man8 ,the word brightness has no meaning1 except as relating to some bright thing4 ,the word intelligence1 no meaning1 except as relating to some intelligent thing4 ,i take some water and drop it upon the steel1 in due course the process of oxidation takes place and the brightness is gone4 ,i drop into man's brain a bullet2 the process of destruction of life takes place1 and his intelligence is gone4 ,by changing the state of the steel we destroy its brightness1 and by disorganizing the man destroy his intelligence4 ,is mind an entity or result8 an existence or a condition8 ,surely it is but the result of organic activity1 a phenomenon of animal life4 ,dr4 ,engledue says3 ,in the same way as organism generally has the power of manifesting1 when the necessary stimuli are applied1 the phenomena which are designated life2 so one individual portion--brain1 having peculiar and distinct properties1 manifests on the application of its appropriate stimuli a peculiar and distinct species of action4 ,if the sum of all bodily function--life1 be not an entity1 how can the product of the action of one portion of the body--brain1 be an entity8 ,feeling and intelligence are but fractional portions of life4 ,i ask those who are here to prove that man has a soul1 to do so apart from revelation4 ,if the soul is a part of ourselves1 we require no supernatural revelation to demonstrate its existence to us4 ,d',holbach says3 ,the doctrine of spirituality1 such as it now exists1 affords nothing but vague ideas2 it is rather a poisoner of all ideas4 ,let me draw your attention to this3 ,the advocates of spirituality do not tell you anything1 but in fact prevent you from knowing anything4 ,they say that spirit and matter have nothing in common1 and that mortal man can not take cognizance of immortality4 ,an ignorant man may set himself up as an orator upon such a matter4 ,he says you have a soul--an immortal soul4 ,take care you don't lose your soul4 ,when you ask him what is my soul1 he says he does not know--nobody knows--nobody can tell you4 ,this is really that which they do4 ,what is this doctrine of spirituality8 ,what does it present to the mind8 ,a substance unsubstantial that possesses nothing of which our senses enable us to take cognizance4 ,theologians urge that each of us has a soul superior to all material conditions1 and yet a man who speaks can not communicate by his speaking soul so freely with that man who is deaf and dumb2 the conditions cramp that which is said to be uncontrolled by any conditions4 ,if you cut out a man's tongue1 the soul no longer speaks4 ,if you put a gag in his mouth1 and tie it with a handkerchief1 so that he can not get it out1 his soul ceases to speak4 ,the immaterial soul is conquered by a gag1 it can not utter itself1 the gag is in the way4 ,the orthodox say that the soul is made by ,god2 and what do you know about ,god8 ,why just as much as we know about the soul4 ,and what do you know about the soul8 ,nothing whatever4 ,how is it that if the soul is immaterial1 having nothing in common with matter1 that it is only manifest by material means8 and how is it that it is incased and inclosed in my material frame8 ,they affirm that my soul is a spirit--that ,i receive the same spirit from ,god4 ,how is it that my spirit is now by myself1 and by my mortal body1 denying its own existence8 ,is my mortal soul acting the hypocrite1 or is it ignorant of its own existence1 and can not help itself to better knowledge8 ,and if it can not help itself1 why not1 if it is superior to the body8 and if you think it a hypocrite1 tell me why4 ,what is meant by the declaration that man is a compound of matter and spirit8--things which the orthodox assert have nothing in common with one another4 ,of the existence of what you call matter you are certain1 because you and ,i1 material beings1 are here4 ,are you equally certain of the existence of mind1 as an existence independent and separate from matter8 and if you are1 tell me why4 ,have you ever found it apart from matter8 ,if so1 when and where8 ,have you found that the mind has a separate and distinct existence8 if so1 under what circumstances8 and tell me--you who define matter as unintelligent1 passive1 inert1 and motionless--who talk of the vis inerti of matter--tell me what you mean when you give these definitions to it8 ,you find the universe1 and this small portion of it on which we are1 ceaselessly active4 ,why do you call it passive1 except it be that you want courage to search for true knowledge as to the vast capabilities of existence1 and1 therefore1 invent such names as ,god and ,soul to account for all difficulties1 and to hide your ignorance8 ,what do you mean by passive and inert matter8 ,you tell me of this world--part of a system--that system part of another--that of another--and point out to me the innumerable planets1 the countless millions of worlds1 in the universe4 ,you1 who tell me of the vast forces of the universe1 what do you mean by telling me that that is motionless8 ,what do you mean by yet pointing to the immeasurable universe and its incalculably mighty forces and affirming that they are incapable of every perceptible effect8 ,you1 without one fact on which to base your theory1 strive to call into existence another existence which must be more vast1 and which you allege produces this existence and gives its powers to it4 ,sir ,isaac ,newton says3 ,we are to admit no more causes of things than are sufficient to explain appearances4 ,what effect is there which the forces of existence are incapable of producing8 ,why do you come to the conclusion that the forces of the universe are incapable of producing every effect of which ,i take cognizance8 ,why do you come to the conclusion that intelligence is not an attribute--why8 ,what is there which enables you to convert it into a separate and distinct existence8 ,is there anything8 ,is it spirit8 ,what is spirit8 ,that of which the mortal man can know nothing1 you tell me--that it is nothing which his senses can grasp--that is1 no man1 but one who disregards his senses1 can believe in it1 and that it is that which no man's senses can take cognizance of4 ,if a man who uses his senses can never by their aid take cognizance of spirit1 then as it is through the senses alone man knows that which is around him1 you can know nothing about spirit until you go out of your senses4 ,when ,i speak of the senses1 ,i do not limit myself to what are ordinarily termed man's five senses--,i include all man's sensitive faculties1 and admit that ,i do not know the extent of1 and am not prepared to set a limit to1 the sensitive capabilities of man4 ,i have had personal experience in connection with psycho-magnetic phenomena of faculties in man and woman not ordinarily recognized1 and am inclined to the opinion that many men have been made converts to the theories of spiritualism because their previous education had induced them to set certain arbitrary limits to the domains of the natural4 ,when they have been startled by phenomena outside these conventional limitations they at once ascribed them to supernatural influences rather than reverse their previous rules of thinking4 ,some urge that the soul is life4 ,what is life8 ,is it not the word by which we express the aggregate normal functional activity of vegetable and animal organisms necessarily differing in degree1 if not in kind1 with each different organization8 ,to talk of immortal life and yet to admit the decay and destruction of the organization1 is much the same as to talk of a square circle4 ,you link together two words which contradict each other4 ,the solution of the soul problem is not so difficult as many imagine4 ,the greatest difficulty is1 that we have been trained to use certain words as ,god1 matter1 mind1 spirit1 soul1 intelligence1 and we have been further trained to take these words as representatives of realities1 which1 in fact1 they do not represent4 ,we have to unlearn much of our school lore4 ,we have specially to carefully examine the meaning of each word we use4 ,the question1 lies in a small compass4 ,is there one existence or more8 ,of one existence ,i am conscious1 because ,i am a mode of it4 ,i know of no other existence4 ,i know of no existence but that existence of which ,i am a mode4 ,i hold it to be capable of producing every effect4 ,it is for the man who alleges that there is another1 to prove it4 ,i know of one existence4 ,i do not endeavor to demonstrate to you my existence1 it needs no demonstration--,i am ,my existence is undeniable4 ,i am speaking to you ,you are conscious of my existence4 ,you and ,i are not separate entities1 but modes of the same existence4 ,we take cognizance of the existence which is around us and in us1 and which is the existence of which we are modes4 ,of the one existence we are certain4 ,it is for those who affirm that the universe is matter1 and who affirm that there also exists spirit1 to remember that they admit the one existence ,i seek to prove1 and that the onus lies on them to demonstrate a second existence--in fact1 to prove there is the other existence which they term spiritual4 ,there can not exist two different substances or existences having the same attributes1 or qualities4 ,there can not be two existences of the same essence1 having different attributes1 because it is by the attributes alone that we can distinguish the existences4 ,we can only judge of the substance by its modes4 ,we may find a variety of modes of the same substance1 and we shall find points of union which help to identify them1 the one with the other--the link which connects them with the great whole4 ,we can only judge of the existence of which we are a part 7in consequence of our peculiar organization7 under the form of a continuous chain of causes and effects--each effect a cause to the effect it precedes1 each cause an effect of the causative influence which heralded its advent4 ,the remote links of that line are concealed by the darkness of the far off past4 ,nay1 more than this1 the mightiest effort of mind can never say1 ,this is the first cause4 ,weakness and ignorance have said it--but why8 ,to cloak their weakness1 to hide their ignorance4 ,knaves have said it--but why8 ,to give scope to their cunning1 and to enable them to say to the credulous1 ,thus far shalt thou go and no farther4 ,the termination is in the as yet unknowable future2 and ,i ask you1 presumptuous men1 who dare to tell me of ,god and soul1 of matter and creation--when possessed you the power to sunder links of that great chain and write1 ,in the beginning8 ,i deny that by the mightiest effort of the strongest intellect man can ever say of any period1 at this point substance began to be--before this existence was not4 ,has man a soul8 ,you who tell me he has a soul1 a soul independent of material conditions1 ,i ask you how it is that these immortal souls strive with one another to get mortal benefits8 ,has man a soul8 ,if man's soul is not subject to material conditions1 why do ,i find knavish souls8--,why slavish souls8--tyrannous souls8 ,your doctrine that man has a soul prevents him from rising4 ,when you tell him that his soul is not improvable by material conditions1 you prevent him from making himself better than he is4 ,man's intelligence is a consequence of his organization4 ,organization is improvable1 the intelligence becomes more powerful as the organization is fully developed1 and the conditions which surround man are made more pure4 ,and the man will become higher1 truer1 and better when he knows that his intelligence is an attribute1 like other attributes1 capable of development1 susceptible of deterioration1 he will strive to effect the first and to guard against the latter4 ,look at the number of people putting power into the hands of one man1 because he is a lord--surely they have no souls4 ,see the mass cringing to a wretched idol--surely these have no souls4 ,see men forming a pyramid of which the base is a crushed and worn-out people1 and the apex a church1 a throne1 a priest1 a king1 and the frippery of a creed--have those men souls8 ,society should not be such a pyramid1 it should be one brotherly circle1 in which men should be linked together by a consciousness that they are only happy so linked1 conscious that when the chain is broken1 then the society and her peace is destroyed4 ,what we teach is not that man has a soul apart and independent of the body1 but that he has an ability1 an intelligence1 an attribute of his body1 capable of development1 improvable1 more useful1 according as he elevates himself and his fellows4 ,give up blind adhesion to creeds and priests1 strive to think and follow out in action the result of your thoughts4 ,each mental struggle is an enlargement of your mind1 an addition to your brain power1 an increase of your soul--the only soul you have4 ,,labor',s ,,prayer4 ,give us this day our daily bread is the entreaty addressed by the tiller of the soil to the ,our ,father1 who has promised to answer prayer4 ,and what answer cometh from heaven to this the bread winner's petition8 ,walk among the cotton workers of ,lancashire1 the cloth-weavers of ,yorkshire1 the ,durham pitmen1 the ,staffordshire puddlers1 the ,cornish miners1 the ,london dock laborers1 go anywhere where hands are roughened with toil1 where foreheads are bedewed with sweat of work1 and see the ,lord's response to the prayer1 the father's answer to his children6 ,the only bread they get is the bread they take2 in their hard struggle for life-sustenance the loaves come but slowly1 and heaven adds not a crust1 even though the worker be hungry1 when he rises from his toil-won meal4 ,not even the sight of pale-faced wife1 and thin forms of half-starved infants can move to generosity the ,ruler of the world4 ,the laborer may pray1 but1 if work be scant and wages low1 he pines to death while praying4 ,his prayer gives no relief1 and misery's answer is the mocking echo to his demand4 ,it is said by many a pious tongue that ,god helps the poor2 the wretchedness of some of their hovel houses1 found alas6 too often1 in the suburbs of our wealthiest cities1 grimy black1 squalid1 and miserable2 the threadbare raggedness of their garments2 the unwholesomeness of the food they eat2 the poisoned air they breathe in their narrow wynds and filthy alleys2 all these tell how much ,god helps the poor4 ,do you want to see how ,god helps the poor8 go into any police court when some little child-thief is brought up for hearing2 see him shoeless1 with ragged trousers1 threadbare1 grimy1 vest hardly hanging to his poor body1 shirt that seems as though it never could have been white1 skin dull brown with dirt1 hair innocent of comb or brush1 eye ignorantly1 sullenly-defiant1 yet downcast2 born poor1 born wretched1 born in ignorance1 educated among criminals1 crime the atmosphere in which he moved2 and society his nurse and creator1 is now virtuously aghast at the depravity of this its own neglected nursling1 and a poor creature whom ,god alone hath helped4 ,go where the weakly wife in a narrow room huddles herself and little children day after day2 and where the husband crowds in to lie down at night2 they are poor and honest1 but their honesty bars not the approach of disease1 fever1 sorrow1 death--,god helps not the line of health to their poor wan cheeks4 ,go to the county workhouse in which is temporarily housed the wornout farm laborer1 who1 while1 strength enough remained1 starved through weary years with wife and several children on eight shillings per week--it is thus ,god helps the poor4 ,and the poor are taught to pray for a continuance of this help1 and to be thankful and content to pray that to-morrow may be like to-day1 thankful that yesterday was no worse than it was1 and content that to-day is as good as it is4 ,are there many repining at their miseries1 the preacher1 with gracious intonation1 answers rebukingly that ,god1 in his wisdom1 has sent these troubles upon them as chastisement for their sins4 ,so1 says the church1 all are sinners1 rich its well as poor2 but rich sinners feel that the chastising rod is laid more lightly on their backs than it is upon those of their meaner brethren4 ,weekday and ,sunday it is the same contrast2 one wears fustian1 the other broadcloth2 one prepares for heaven in the velvet cushioned pew1 the other on the wooden benches of the free seats4 ,in heaven it will be different--all there above are to wear crowns of gold and fine linen1 and1 therefore1 here below the poor man is to be satisfied with the state of life into which it has pleased ,god to call him4 ,the pastor1 who tells him this1 looks upon the laborer as an inferior animal1 and the laborer by force of habit regards the landowner and peer1 who patronizes his endeavors1 as a being of a superior order4 ,is there no new form of prayer that labor might be taught to utter1 no other power to which his petition might be addressed8 ,prayer to the unknown for aid gives no strength to the prayer4 ,in each beseeching he loses dignity and self-reliance1 he trusts to he knows not what1 for an answer which cometh he knows not when1 and mayhap may never come at all4 ,let labor pray in the future in another fashion and at another altar4 ,let laborer pray to laborer that each may know labor's rights1 and be able to fulfill labor's duties4 ,the size of the loaf of daily bread must depend on the amount of the daily wages1 and the laborer must pray for better wages4 ,but his prayer must take the form of earnest1 educated endeavor to obtain the result desired4 ,let workmen1 instead of praying to ,god in their distress1 ask one another why are wages low8 how can wages be raised8 can we raise our own wages8 having raised them1 can we keep them fixed at the sum desired8 ,what causes produce a rise and fall in wages8 are high wages beneficial to the laborer8 ,these are questions the pulpit has no concern with4 ,the reverend pastor will tell you that the wages of sin is death1 and will rail against filthy lucre2 but he has no inclination for answering the queries here propounded4 ,why are wages low8 ,wages are low because the wage-winners crowd too closely4 ,wages are low because too many seek to share one fund4 ,wages are lower still because the laborer fights against unfair odds2 the laws of the country1 overriding the laws of humanity1 have been enacted without the laborer's consent1 although his obedience to them is enforced4 ,the fund is unfairly distributed as well as too widely divided4 ,statutes are gradually being modified1 and the working man may hope for ampler justice from the employer in the immediate future than was possible in the past1 but high and healthy wages depend on the working man himself4 ,wages can be raised by the work-ing classes exercising a moderate degree of caution in increasing their numbers4 ,wages must increase when capital increases more rapidly than population1 and it is the duty of the working man1 therefore1 to take every reasonable precaution to check the increase of population and to accelerate the augmentation of capital4 ,can working-men1 by combination1 permanently raise the rate of wages8 ,one gentleman presiding at a meeting of the ,national ,association for the ,promotion of ,social ,science for the discussion of the labor question1 very fairly said1 ,it is not in the power of the men alone1 or of the masters alone1 or of both combined1 to say what shall be the amount of wages at any particular time in any trade or country4 ,the men and the masters are1 at most1 competitors for the division1 at a certain rate1 of a certain fund1 provided by themselves and others--that is1 by the consumers4 ,if that fund is small1 no device can make the rate of profit or rate of wages higher4 ,this is in theory quite correct1 if it means that no device can make the total divisible greater than it is1 but not if it refers to the increase of profit or wages by partial distribution4 ,in practice1 although it is true that if the fund be small and the seekers to share it be many1 the quotient to each must be necessarily very small1 yet it is also true that a few of the competitors--i4e4 the capitalists1 may and do absorb for their portions of profits an improper and unfairly large amount1 thus still further reducing the wretchedly small pittance in any case receivable by the mass of laborers4 ,it is warmly contended that the capitalist and laborer contend for division of the fund appropriable in fair and open field2 that the capitalist has his money to employ1 the man his labor to sell2 that if workmen are in excess of the capitalist's requirements1 so that the laborer has to supplicate for employment1 wages can not rise1 and will probably fall2 but that if1 on the contrary1 capital has need to invite additional laborers1 then wages must rise4 ,that is the law of supply and demand brought prominently forward4 ,in great part this is true1 but it is not true that capital and labor compete in fair and open field1 any more than it is true that an iron-clad war vessel1 with heavy ordnance1 would compete in fair field with a wooden frigate1 equipped with the material in use thirty years ago4 ,capital is gold-plated1 and carries too many guns for unprotected labor4 ,the intelligent capitalist makes the laws affecting master and servant1 which the uneducated laborer must obey1 but has no effective voice to alter4 ,the capitalist forms the government of the country1 which in turn protects capital against labor2 this government the laborer must sustain1 and dares not modify4 ,the capitalist does combine1 and has combined1 and the result of this combination has been an unfair appropriation of the divisible fund4 ,why should not the laborer combine also8 ,the answer is truly that no combination of workmen can increase the rate of wages1 if at the same time the number of laborers increases more rapidly than the capital out of which their wages must be paid4 ,but the men may combine to instruct one another in the laws of political economy2 they may combine to apply their knowledge of those laws to the contracts between employer and employed4 ,they may combine to compel the repeal of unjust enactments under which an unfair distribution of the labor fund is not only possible but certain4 ,organizations of laborers are1 therefore1 wise and necessary2 the object of such organizations should be the permanent elevation and enfranchisement of the members4 ,no combination of workmen1 which merely dictates a temporary cessation from labor1 can ultimately and permanently benefit the laborer2 while it certainly immediately injures him and deteriorates his condition1 making his home wretched1 his family paupers4 ,nor can even co-operative combination1 praiseworthy as it certainly is1 to procure for the laborer a larger share of the profits of his labor permanently benefit him1 except in so far that temporarily alleviating his condition1 and giving him leisure for study1 it enables him to educate himself2 unless1 at the same time1 the co-operator is conscious that the increase or reduction in the amount of wages depends entirely on the ratio of relation preserved between population and its means of subsistence1 the former always having a tendency to increase more rapidly than the latter4 ,it is with the problem of too many mouths for too little bread that the laborer has really to deal3 if he must pray1 it should be for more bread and for fewer mouths4 ,the answer often given by the workman himself to the advocate of ,malthusian views is1 that the world is wide enough for all1 that there are fields yet unplowed broad enough to bear more corn than man at present could eat1 and that there is neither too little food nor are there too many mouths2 that there is1 in fact1 none of that over-population with which it is sought to affright the working man4 ,over-population in the sense that the whole world is too full to contain its habitants1 or that it will ever become too full to contain them1 is certainly a fallacy1 but overpopulation is a lamentable truth in its relative sense4 ,we find evidences of over-population in every old country of the world4 ,the pest of over-population is the existence of poverty1 squalor1 wretchedness1 disease1 ignorance1 misery1 and crime4 ,low rate of wages1 and food dear1 here you have two certain indices of relative over-population4 ,wages depending on the demand for and supply of laborers1 wherever wages are low it is a certain sign that there are too many candidates for employment in that phase of the labor market4 ,the increased cost of production of food1 and its consequent higher price1 also mark that the cultivation has been forced1 by the numbers of the people to descend to less productive soils4 ,poverty is the test and result of over-population4 ,it is not against some possible increase of their numbers1 which may produce possibly greater affliction1 that the working men are entreated to agitate4 ,it is against the existing evils which afflict their ranks1 evils alleged by sound students of political economy to have already resulted from inattention to the population question1 that the energies of the people are sought to be directed1 ,the operation of the law of population has been for centuries entirely ignored by those who have felt its adverse influence most severely4 ,it is only during the last thirty years that any of the working classes have turned their attention to the question2 and only during the last few years that it has to any extent been discussed among them4 ,yet all the prayers that labor ever uttered since the first breath of human life1 have not availed so much for human happiness as will the earnest examination by one generation of this1 the greatest of all social questions1 the root of all political problems1 the foundation of all civil progress4 ,poor1 man must be wretched4 ,poor1 he must be ignorant4 ,poor1 he must be criminal2 and poor he must be till the cause of poverty has been ascertained by the poor man himself and its cure planned by the poor man's brain1 and effected by the poor man's hand4 ,outside his own rank none can save the poor4 ,others may show him the abyss1 but he must avoid its dangerous brink himself4 ,others may point out to him the chasm1 but he must build his own bridge over4 ,labor's prayer must be to labor's head for help from labor's hand to strike the blow that severs labor's chain1 and terminates the too long era of labor's suffering4 ,during the last few years our daily papers1 and various periodicals1 magazines1 and reviews have been more frequently1 and much less partially1 devoted than of old to the discussion of questions relating to the laborer's condition1 and the means of ameliorating it4 ,in the ,legislative ,assembly debates have taken place which would have been impossible fifty years since4 ,works on political economy are now more easily within the reach of the working man than they were some years ago4 ,people's editions are now published of treatises on political economy which half a century back the people were unable to read4 ,it is now possible for the laborer1 and it is the laborer's duty1 to make himself master of the laws which govern the production and distribution of wealth4 ,undoubtedly there is much grievous wrong in the mode of distribution of wealth1 by which the evils that afflict the poorest stragglers are often specially and tenfold aggravated4 ,the monopoly of land1 the serf state of the laborer1 are points requiring energetic agitation4 ,the grave and real question is1 however1 that which lies at the root of all1 the increase of wealth as against the increase of those whom it subsists4 ,the leaders of the great trades unions of the country1 if they really desire to permanently increase the happiness of the classes among whom they exercise influence1 can speedily promote this object by encouraging their members to discuss freely the relations of labor to capital2 not moving in one groove1 as if labor and capital were necessarily antagonistic1 and that therefore labor must always have rough-armed hand to protect itself from the attacks of capital2 but1 taking new ground1 to inquire if labor and capital are bound to each other by any and what ties1 ascertaining if the share of the laborer in the capital fund depends1 except so far as affected by inequality in distribution1 on the proportion between the number of laborers and the amount of the fund4 ,the discussing1 examining1 and dealing generally with these topics1 would necessarily compel the working man to a more correct appreciation of his position4 ,any such doctrine as that the poor shall never cease out of the land2 or that we are to be content with the station in life into which it has pleased ,god to call us2 or that we are to ask and we shall receive1 must no longer avail4 ,schiller most effectively answers the advocates of prayer3 ,help1 ,lord1 help6 ,look with pity down6 ,a paternoster pray2 ,what ,god does1 that is justly done1 ,his grace endures for aye4 ,oh1 mother6 empty mockery1 ,god hath not justly dealt by me3 ,have ,i not begged and prayed in vain2 ,what boots it now to pray again8 ,labor's only and effective prayer must be in life action for its own redemption2 action founded on thought1 crude thought1 and sometimes erring at first1 but ultimately developed into useful thinking1 by much patient experimenting for the right and true4 ,,poverty3 ,,its ,,effects ,,on ,,the ,,political ,,condition ,,of ,,the ,,people4 ,political ,economy does not itself instruct how to make a nation rich1 but whoever would be qualified to judge of the means of making a nation rich must first be a political economist4--,john ,stuart ,mill4 ,the object of political economy is to secure the means of subsistence of all the inhabitants1 to obviate every circumstance which might render this precarious1 to provide everything necessary for supplying the wants of society1 and to employ the inhabitants so as to make the interests accord with their supplying each other's wants4--,sir ,james ,stewart4 ,on one occasion in the world's history1 a people rose searching for upright life1 who had previously1 for several generations1 depressed by poverty and its attendant hand-maidens of misery1 prowled hunger-striken and disconsolate1 stooping and stumbling through the byways of existence4 ,a mighty revolution resulted in much rough justice and some brutal vengeance1 much rude right1 and some terrific wrong4 ,among the writers who have since narrated the history of this people's struggle1 some penmen have been assiduous and hasty to search for1 and chronicle the errors1 and have even not hesitated to magnify the crimes of the rebels2 while they have been slow to recognize the previous demoralizing tendency of the system rebelled against4 ,in this pamphlet it is proposed to very briefly deal with the state of the people in ,france immediately prior to the grand convulsion which destroyed the ,bastile ,monarchy1 and set a glorious example of the vindication of the rights of man against opposition the most formidable that can be conceived2 believing that even in this slight illustration of the condition of the masses in ,france who sought to erect on the ruins of arbitrary power the glorious edifice of civil and religious liberty1 an answer may be found to the question3 ,what is the effect of poverty on the political condition of the people4 ,in taking the instance of ,france1 it is not that the writer for one moment imagines that poverty is a word without meaning in our own lands4 ,the clamming factory hands in the ,lancanshire valleys1 the distressed ribbon weavers of ,conventry1 and the impoverished laborers in various parts of ,ireland and ,scotland would be able to give us a definition of the word fearful in its distinctness4 ,but in ,england poverty is happily partial1 while in ,france in the eighteenth century poverty was universal outside the palaces of the nobles and the mansions of the church1 where luxury1 voluptuousness1 and effeminacy were regnant4 ,in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries travelers in ,france could learn from the sadness1 the solitude1 the miserable poverty1 the dismal nakedness of the empty cottages1 and the starving1 ragged population1 how much men could endure without dying4 ,on the one side a discontented1 wretched1 hungry mass of tax-providing slaves1 and on the other a rapacious1 pampered1 licentious1 spendthrift monarchy4 ,this culminated in the refusal of the laborers to cultivate the fertile soil because1 the tax-gatherer's rapacity left an insufficient remnant to provide the cultivator with the merest necessaries of life4 ,then followed uncultivated fields1 unpeopled villages1 and houses dropping to decay2 the great cities--as ,paris1 ,lyons1 and ,bordeaux--crowded with begging skeletons1 frightful in their squallid disease and loathsome aspect4 ,even after the ,national ,assembly had passed some measures of temporary alleviation1 the distress in ,paris itself was so great that at the gratuitious distributions of bread old people have been seen to expire with their hand stretched out to receive the loaf1 and women waiting in their turn in front of the baker's shop were prematurely delivered of dead children in the open streets4 ,the great mass of the people were as ignorant as they were poor2 were ignorant indeed because they were poor4 ,ignorance is the pauper's inalienable heritage4 ,when the struggle is for the means of subsistence1 and these are only partially obtained1 there is little hope for the luxury of a leisure hour in which other emotions can be cultivated than those of the mere desires for food and rest--sole results of the laborious monotonousness of machine work2 a round of toil and sleep closing in death--the only certain refuge for the worn out laborer4 ,without the opportunity afforded by the possession of more than will satisfy the immediate wants1 there can be little or no culture of the mental faculties4 ,the toiler badly paid and ill-fed1 is separated from the thinker4 ,nobly-gifted1 highly-cultured though the poet may be1 his poesy has no charms for the father to whom one hour's leisure means short food for his hungry children clamoring for bread4 ,the picture gallery1 replete with the finest works of our greatest masters1 is forbidden ground to the pitman1 the plowman1 the poor pariahs to whom the conceptions of the highest art-treasures are impossible4 ,the beauties of nature are almost equally inaccessible to the dwellers in the narrow lanes of great cities4 ,out of your narrow wynds in ,edinburgh and ,glasgow1 and on to the moor and mountain-side1 ye poor1 and breathe the pure life-renewing breezes4 ,not so2 the moors are for the sportsmen and peers1 not peasants2 and a ,scotch ,duke--emblem of the worst vices of a corrupt and selfish1 but fast-decaying ,house of ,lords--closes miles of heather against the pedestrian's foot4 ,but even this paltry oppression is unneeded4 ,duke ,despicable is in unholy alliance with ,king ,poverty1 who mocks at the poor mother and her wretched1 ragged family1 when from the garret or cellar in a great ,babylon wilderness they set out to find green fields and new life4 ,work days are sacred to bread1 and clothes1 and rent2 hunger1 inclement weather1 and pressing landlord forbid the study of nature 'twixt ,monday morn and ,saturday night1 and on ,sunday ,god's ministers require to teach a weary people how to die1 as if the lesson were not unceasingly inculcated in their incessant toil4 ,oh6 horrid mockery2 men need teaching how to live4 ,according to religionists1 this world's bitter misery is a dark and certain preface1 just published1 to a volume of eternal happiness1 which for #b1jjj years has been advertised as in the press and ready for publication1 but which after all may never appear4 ,and notwithstanding that every-day misery is so very potent1 mankind seem to heed it but very little4 ,the second edition of a paper containing the account of a battle in which some #e1jjj were killed and #aj1jjj wounded1 is eagerly perused1 but the battle in which poverty kills and maims hundreds of thousands1 is allowed to rage without the uplifting of a weapon against the common enemy4 ,the poor in ,france were awakened by ,rousseau's startling declaration that property was spoliation1 they knew they had been spoiled1 the logic of the stomach was conclusive1 empty bellies and aching brains were the predecessors of a revolution which sought vengeance when justice was denied1 but which full-stomached and empty-headed ,tories of later days have calumniated and denounced4 ,warned by the past1 ought we not to-day to give battle to that curse of all old countries--poverty8 ,the fearful miseries of the want of food and leisure which the poor have to endure are such as to seriously hinder their political enfranchisement4 ,those who desire that men and women shall have their rights of citizens1 should be conscious how low the poor are trampled down1 and how incapable poverty renders them for the performance of the duties of citizenship4 ,so that the question of political freedom is really determined by the wealth or poverty of the masses2 to this extent1 at any rate1 that a poverty-stricken people must necessarily1 after that state of pauperism has existed for several generations1 be an ignorant and enslaved people4 ,the problem is1 how to remove poverty1 as it is only by the removal of poverty that the political emancipation of the nation can be rendered possible4 ,it has been ascertained that the average food of the agricultural laborer in ,england is about half that alloted by the jail dietary to sustain criminal life4 ,so that the peasant who builds and guards his master's haystack gets worse fed and worse lodged than the incendiary convicted for burning it down4 ,how can this poverty be removed and prevented8 ,i quote the reply from one who has written most elaborately in elucidation of the views of ,malthus and ,mill3 ,there is but one possible mode of preventing any evil--namely1 to seek for and remove its cause4 ,the cause of low wages1 or in other words of ,poverty1 is overpopulation2 that is1 the existence of too many people in proportion to the food1 of too many laborers in proportion to the capital4 ,it is of the very first importance that the attention of all who seek to remove poverty should never be diverted from this great truth4 ,the disproportion between the numbers and the food is the only real cause of social poverty4 ,individual cases of poverty may be produced by individual misconduct1 such as drunknness1 ignorance1 laziness1 or disease2 but these and all other accidental influences must be wholly thrown out of the question in considering the permanent cause1 and aiming at the prevention of poverty4 ,drunknness and ignorance1 moreover1 are far more frequently the effect than the cause of poverty4 ,population and food1 like two runners of unequal swiftness chained together1 advance side by side2 but the ratio of increase of the former is so immensely superior to that of the latter1 that it is necessarily greatly checked2 and the checks are of course either more deaths or fewer births--that is1 either positive or preventive4 ,unless the necessity of the preventive or positive checks to population be perceived2 unless it be clearly seen1 that they must operate in one form1 if not in another2 and that though individuals may escape them1 the race can not2 human society is a hopeless and insoluble riddle4 ,quoting ,john ,stuart ,mill1 the writer from whom the foregoing extracts have been made1 proceeds3 ,the great object of statesmanship should be to raise the habitual standard of comfort among the working classes1 and to bring them into such a position as shows them most clearly that their welfare depends upon themselves4 ,for this purpose he advises that there should be1 first1 an extended scheme of national emigration1 so as to produce a striking and sudden improvement in the condition of the laborers left at home1 and raise their standard of comfort2 also that the population truths should be disseminated as widely as possible1 so that a powerful public feeling should be awakened among the working classes against undue procreation on the part of any individual among them--a feeling which could not fail greatly to influence individual conduct2 and also that we should use every endeavor to get rid of the present system of labor--namely1 that of employers1 and employed1 and adopt to a great extent that of independent or associated industry4 ,his reason for this is1 that a hired laborer1 who has no personal interest in the work he is engaged in1 is generally reckless and without foresight1 living from hand to mouth1 and exerting little control over his powers of procreation2 whereas the laborer who has a personal stake in his work1 and the feeling of independence and self-reliance which the possession of property gives1 as1 for instance1 the peasant proprietor1 or member of a copartnership1 has far stronger motives for self-restraint1 and can see much more clearly the evil effects of having a large family4 ,the end in view in all this is the attainment of a greater amount of happiness for humankind4 ,the rendering life more worth the living1 by distributing more equally than at present its love1 its beauties1 and its charms4 ,in one of his most recent publications1 ,mr4 ,john ,stuart ,mill observes3 ,in a world in which there is so much to interest1 so much to enjoy1 and so much also to correct and improve1 every one who has a moderate amount of moral and intellectual requisites is capable of an existence which may be called enviable2 and unless such a person1 through bad laws1 or subjection to the will of others1 is denied the liberty to use the sources of happiness within his reach1 he will not fail to find tins enviable existence1 if he escape the positive evils of life1 the great sources of physical and mental suffering1 such as indigence1 disease1 and the unkindness1 worthlessness1 or premature loss of objects of affection4 ,yet no one whose opinion deserves a moment's consideration1 can doubt that most of the great positive evils of the world are in themselves removable1 and will1 if human affairs continue to improve1 be in the end reduced within narrow limits4 ,poverty1 in any sense implying suffering1 may be completely extinguished by the wisdom of society1 combined with the good sense and providence of individuals4 ,even that most intractable of enemies1 disease1 may be indefinitely reduced in dimensions by good physical and moral education and proper control of noxious influences1 while the progress of science holds out a promise for the future of still more direct conquests over this detestable foe4 ,in a former pamphlet1 ,jesus1 ,shelly1 and ,malthus1 the reader's attention was entreated to this grave question4 ,in a few pages it is impossible to do more than erect a fingerpost to point out a possible road to a given end4 ,to attempt in a narrow compass to give complete details1 would be as unwise as it would be unavailing4 ,my desire is rather to provoke discussion among the masses than to obtain willing auditors among the few1 and ,i affirm it1 therefore1 as a proposition which ,i am prepared to support1 ,that the political conditions of the people can never be permanently reformed until the cause of poverty has been discovered and the evil itself prevented and removed4 ,,why ,,do ,,men ,,starve8 ,why is it that human beings are starved to death1 in a wealthy country like ,england1 with its palaces1 its cathedrals1 and its abbeys2 with its grand mansions1 and luxurious dwellings1 with its fine inclosed parks1 and strictly guarded preserves2 with its mills1 mines1 and factories2 with its enormous profits to the capitalist2 and with its broad acres and great rent rolls to the landholder8 ,the feet that men1 old1 young1 and in the prime of life2 that women1 and that children1 do so die1 is indisputable4 ,the paragraph in the daily journals1 headed ,death from ,starvation1 or ,another ,death from ,destitution1 is no uncommon one to the eyes of the careful reader4 ,in a newspaper of one day1 ,december #bd1 #ahfd1 may be read the verdict of a ,london jury that the deceased1 ,robert ,bloom1 died from the mortal effects of effusion on the brain and disease of the lungs1 arising from natural causes1 but the said death was accelerated by destitution1 and by living in an ill-ventilated room1 and in a court wanting in sanitary requirements2 and the verdict of another jury1 presided over by the very ,coroner who sat on the last case1 that the deceased1 ,mary ,hale1 was found dead in a certain room from the mortal effects of cold and starvation2 as also the history of a poor wanderer from the ,glasgow ,city ,poor ,house found dead in the snow4 ,in ,london1 the hive of the world1 with its merchant millionaires1 even under the shadow of the wealth pile1 starvation is as busy as if in the most wretched and impoverished village2 busy1 indeed1 not always striking the victim so obtrusively that the coroner's inquest shall preserve a record of the fact1 but more often busy quietly1 in the wretched court and narrow lane1 up in the garret1 and down in the cellar1 stealing by slow degrees the life of the poor4 ,why does it happen that ,christian ,london1 with its magnificent houses for ,god1 has so many squalid holes for the poor8 ,christianity from its thousand pulpits teaches1 ,ask and it shall be given to you1 who if his son ask bread1 will he give him a stone8 yet with much prayer the bread is too frequently not enough1 and it is1 alas6 not seldom that the prayer for bread gets the answer in the stone of the paved street1 where he lays him down to die4 ,the prayer of the poor outcast is answered by hunger1 misery1 disease1 crime and death1 and yet the ,bible says1 ,blessed be ye poor4' ,ask the orthodox clergyman why men starve1 why men are poor and miserable2 he will tell you that it is ,god's will2 that it is a punishment for man's sins4 ,and so long as men are content to believe that it is ,god's will that the majority of humankind should have too little happiness1 so long will it be impossible effectually to get them to listen to the answer to this great question4 ,men starve because the great bulk of them are ignorant of the great law of population1 the operation of which controls their existence and determines its happiness or misery4 ,they starve because pulpit teachers have taught them for centuries to be content with the state of life in which it has pleased ,god to call them1 instead of teaching them how to extricate themselves from the misery1 degradation1 and ignorance which a continuance of poverty entails4 ,men starve because the teachers have taught heaven instead of earth1 the next world instead of this4 ,it is now generally admitted by those who have investigated the subject that there is a tendency in all animated life to increase beyond the nourishment nature produces4 ,in the human race1 there is a constant endeavor on the part of its members to increase beyond the means of subsistence within their reach4 ,the want of food to support this increase operates1 in the end1 as a positive obstacle to the further spread of population1 and men are starved because the great mass of them have neglected to listen to one of nature's clearest teachings4 ,the unchecked increase of population is in a geometrical ratio1 the increase of food for their subsistence is in an arithmetical ratio4 ,that is1 while humankind would increase in proportion as #a1 #b1 #d1 #h1af1 #cb1 #fd1 #abh1 #bef1 food would only increase as #a1 #b1 #c1d1 #e1 #f1 #g1 #h1 #i4 ,the more the mouths the less the proportion of food4 ,while the restraint to an increase of population is thus a want of food1 and starvation is the successful antagonist of struggling human life1 it is seldom that this obstacle operates immediately--its dealing is more often indirectly against its victims4 ,those who die of actual famine are few indeed compared with those who die from various forms of disease1 induced by scarcity of the means of subsistence4 ,if any of my readers doubt this1 their doubts may be removed by a very short series of visits to the wretched homes of the paupers of our great cities4 ,suicide is the refuge mainly of those who are worn out in a bitter1 and1 to them1 a hopeless struggle against accumulated ills4 ,disease1 suffering1 and misery are the chief causes of the prevalence of suicide in our country1 and suicide is therefore one form1 although comparatively minute1 in which the operation of the law of population may be traced4 ,from dread of the pangs of poverty1 men1 women1 and children are driven to unwholesome occupations1 which destroy not only the health of the man and woman actually employed1 but implant the germs of physical disease in their offspring4 ,a starving woman seeking food mixes white lead with oil and turpentine for a paltry pittance1 which provides bare existence for her and those who share it2 in a few weeks1 she is so diseased she can work no longer1 and the hospital and grave in turn receive her4 ,men and women are driven to procure bread by work in lead mines2 they rapidly dig their own graves1 and not alone themselves1 but their wretched offspring1 are death-stricken as the penalty2 the lead poisons the blood of parent and child alike4 ,young women and children work at artificial flower-making1 and soon their occupation teaches that ,scheele's and ,schweenfurth green1 bright and pleasing colors to the eye1 are death's darts too often fatally aimed4 ,the occupation may be objected to as unhealthy2 but the need for food is great1 and the woman's or child's wages1 wretchedly little though they are1 yet help to fill the mouths at home3 so the wage is taken till the worker dies4 ,here1 again1 the checks to an increase of population all stop short of starvation--the victims are poisoned instead of starved4 ,so where some forty or fifty young girls are crowded into a badly ventilated work-room1 not large enough for half the number1 from early in the morning till even near midnight1 when orders press2 or in some work-room where slop clothes are made1 and twenty-five tailors are huddled together in a little parlor scarce wide enough for three--they work to live1 and die slowly while they work4 ,they are not starved1 but is this sort of asphyxiation much better8 ,the poor1 are not only driven to unhealthy1 but also to noisome1 dwellings4 ,there are in ,london1 ,liverpool1 ,glasgow1 ,edinburgh1 ,manchester1 and other large cities1 fearful alleys1 with wretched houses1 and small ill-ventilated rooms1 each room containing a family1 the individuals of which are crowded together under conditions so wretched that disease1 and often speedy death1 is the only possible result4 ,in the ,east of ,london1 ten1 eleven1 and1 in some cases1 fourteen persons have been found sleeping in one wretched little room4 ,is it wonderful that some of these misery-stricken ones die before they have time to starve8 ,from poverty the mother1 obliged to constantly work that the miserable pittance she gets may yield enough to sustain bare life1 is unable properly to nurse and care for baby-child1 and often quick death1 or slow but certain disease1 ending ultimately in the grave1 is the result4 ,the poor live by wages4 ,wages popularly signify the amount of money earned by the laborer in a given time2 but the real value of the money-wages is the amount in quantity and quality of the means of subsistence which the laborer can purchase with that money4 ,wages may be nominally high1 but really low1 if the food and commodities to be purchased are1 at the same time1 dear in price4 ,an undue increase of population reduces wages in more than one way2 it reduces them in effect1 if not in nominal amount1 by increasing the price of the food to be purchased2 and it also reduces the nominal amount1 because the nominal amount depends on the amount of capital at disposal for employ1 and the number of laborers seeking employment4 ,no remedies for low wages1 no scheme for the prevention and removal of poverty1 can ever be efficacious until they operate on and through the minds and habits of the masses4 ,it is not from rich men that the poor must hope for deliverance from starvation4 ,it is not to charitable associations the wretched must appeal4 ,temporary alleviation of the permanent evil is the best that can be hoped for from such aids4 ,it is by the people that the people must be saved4 ,measures which increase the dependence of the poor on charitable aid can only temporarily benefit one portion of the laboring class while injuring another in the same proportion2 and charity1 if carried far1 must inevitably involve the recipients in ultimate ruin and degradation by destroying their mutual self-reliance4 ,the true way to improve the worker1 in all cases short of actual want of the necessaries of life1 is to throw him entirely on his own resources1 but at the same time to teach him how he may augment those resources to the utmost4 ,it is only by educating the ignorant poor to a consciousness of the happiness possible to them1 as a result of their own exertions1 that you can induce them effectually to strive for it4 ,but1 alas6 as ,mr4 ,mill justly observes1 ,education is not compatible with extreme poverty4 ,it is impossible effectually to teach an indigent population4 ,the time occupied in the bare struggle to exist leaves but few moments and fewer opportunities for mental cultivation to the very poor4 ,the question of wages and their relation to capital and population1 a question which interests a poor man so much1 is one on which he formerly hardly ever thought at all1 and on which even now he thinks much too seldom4 ,it is necessary to impress on the laborer that the rate of wages depends on the proportion between population and capital4 ,if population increases without an increase of capital1 wages fall2 the number or competitors in the labor market being greater1 and the fund to provide for them not having increased proportionately1 and1 if capital increases without an increase of population1 wages rise4 ,many efforts have been made to increase wages1 but none of them can be permanently successful which do not include some plan for preventing a too rapid increase of laborers4 ,population has a tendency to increase1 and has increased faster than capital2 this is evidenced by the poor and miserable condition of the great body of the people in most of the old countries of the world1 a condition which can only be accounted for upon one of two suppositions1 either that there is a natural tendency in population to increase faster than capital1 or that capital has1 by some means1 been prevented from increasing as rapidly as it might have done4 ,that population has such a tendency to increase that1 unchecked1 it would double itself in a small number of years--say twenty-five--is a proposition which most writers of any merit concur in1 and which may be easily proven4 ,in some instances1 the increase has been even still more rapid4 ,that capital has not increased sufficiently is evident from the existing state of society4 ,but that it could increase under any circumstances with the same rapidity as is possible to population is denied4 ,the increase of capital is retarded by an obstacle which does not exist in the case of population44 ,the augmentation of capital is painful4 ,it can only be effected by abstaining from immediate enjoyment4 ,in the case of augmentation of population precisely the reverse obtains4 ,there the temporary and immediate pleasure is succeeded by the permanent pain4 ,the only possible mode of raising wages permanently1 and effectually benefiting the poor1 is by so educating them that they shall be conscious that their welfare depends upon the exercise of a greater control over their passions4 ,in penning this brief paper1 my desire has been to provoke among the working classes a discussion and careful examination of the teachings of political economy1 as propounded by ,mr4 ,j4 ,s4 ,mill and those other able men who1 of late1 have devoted themselves to elaborating and popularizing the doctrines enunciated by ,malthus4 ,while ,i am glad to find that there are some among the masses who are inclined to preach and put in practice the teachings of the ,malthusian ,school of political economists1 ,i know that they are yet few in comparison with the great body of the working classes who have been taught to look upon the political economist as the poor man's foe4 ,it is nevertheless among the working men alone1 and1 in the very ranks of the starvers1 that the effort must be made to check starvation4 ,the question is again before us3 ,how are men to be prevented from starving8 ,not by strikes1 during the continuance of which food is scarcer than before4 ,no combinations of workmen can obtain high wages if the number of workers is too great4 ,it is not by a mere struggle of class against class that the poor man's ills can be cured4 ,the working classes can alleviate their own sufferings4 ,they can1 by co-operative schemes1 which have the advantage of being educational in their operation1 temporarily and partially remedy some of the evils1 if not by increasing the means of subsistence1 at any rate by securing a larger portion of the result of labor to the proper sustenance of the laborer4 ,systems of associated industry are of immense benefit to the working classes1 not alone or so much from the pecuniary improvement they result in1 but because they develop in each individual a sense of dignity and independence which he lacks as a mere hired laborer4 ,they can permanently improve their condition by taking such steps as shall prevent too rapid an increase of their numbers1 and1 by thus checking the supply of laborers1 they will1 as capital augments1 increase the rate of wages paid to the laborer4 ,the steady object of each working man should be to impress on his fellow-worker the importance of this subject4 ,let each point out to his neighbor not only the frightful struggle in which a poor man must engage who brings up a large family1 but also that the result is to place in the labor market more claimants tor a share of the fund which has hitherto been found insufficient to keep the working classes from death by starvation4 ,the object of this pamphlet will be amply attained if it serve as the means of inducing some of the working classes to examine for themselves the teachings of ,political ,economy4 ,all that is at present needed is that laboring men and women should be accustomed1 both publicly and at home1 to the consideration and discussion of the views and principles first openly propounded by ,mr4 ,malthus1 and since elaborated by ,mr4 ,mill and other writers4 ,the mere investigation of the subject will of itself serve to bring to the notice of the masses many facts hitherto entirely ignored by them4 ,all must acknowledge the terrible ills resulting from poverty1 and all therefore are bound to use their faculties to discover if possible its cause and cure4 ,it is more than folly for the working man to permit himself to be turned away from the subject by the cry that the ,political ,economists have no sympathy with the poor4 ,if the allegation were true1 which it is not1 it would only afford an additional reason why this important science should find students among those who most need aid from its teachings4 ,,the ,,land ,,question4 ,,large ,,estates ,,inimical ,,to ,,the ,,welfare ,,of ,,the ,,people ,property in land differs from ordinary property4 ,wealth1 which is the accumulated result of labor1 is sometimes1 but not often1 accumulated in the hands of the laborer1 and is more frequently accumulated in the hands of some person who has purchased the result of the laborers toil4 ,such personal wealth is capable of indefinite increase2 and the exclusive right to its disposal is protected in the hands of its possessor1 so long as he does not avail himself of this legal protection to use the wealth mischievously to his fellows4 ,there would be no incentive in the laborer to economy1 or to increased exertion1 unless the ,state gave him reasonable protection in the enjoyment of his savings4 ,unfortunately1 to obtain the protection of the authorities1 he has in this country to give up an unreasonably large portion of his earnings to defray the cost of local and imperial ,government4 ,during the reign of her present ,majesty1 imperial taxation alone has increased from about #dh1jjj1jjj to #gc1hcc1jjj4 ,the ,state has no right to interfere with a man's daily disposition of his personal wealth1 merely on the ground that he might have used it more advantageously for his fellows4 ,with land it is quite different2 it is limited in extent1 and the portions of it capable of producing food with ease to the cultivator are still more limited4 ,every individual member of the commonwealth has an indefeasible interest in the totality of the land1 and no man ought to assert an absolute freehold in land hostile to the interest of his fellow4 ,the land is part of the general soil of the ,state1 and should be held subject to the general welfare of the citizens4 ,no man has a right so to hold land that his tenure is detrimental to the happiness of the dwellers upon it or around it4 ,this principle is already recognized in much of our legislation4 ,a man can not say to a railway company--which has obtained the usual compulsory powers of taking land--,you shall not cross my private estate2 the law would answer1 if he did1 by saying1 ,the railway is for the good of the ,state2 you as an individual must give way to the general good1 and must lose your land1 receiving a fair and reasonable money value for it4 ,this principle should be applied more widely3 and if it be for the good of the commonwealth that some of the enormous land monopolies of this country should be broken up1 no statesman ought to be deterred by the mere dread of interfering with the so-called rights of private property4 ,mr4 ,mill says3 ,when the 'sacredness of property' is talked of1 it should always be remembered that any such sacredness does not belong in the same degree to landed property4 ,no man made the land4 ,it is the original inheritance of the whole species4 ,its appropriation is wholly a question of general expediency4 ,when private property in land is not expedient it is unjust4 ,the possession of land involves and carries with it the duty of cultivating that land1 and1 in fact1 individual proprietorship of soil is only defensible so long as the possessor can show improvement and cultivation of the land he holds4 ,to quote again from ,mr4 ,john ,stuart ,mill3 ,the essential principle of property being to assure to all persons what they have produced by their labor1 and accumulated by their abstinence1 this principle can not apply to that which is not the produce of labor1 the raw material of the earth4 ,mr4 ,mill urges that property in land is only valid in so far as the proprietor of the land is its improver4 ,in no sound theory of private property was it ever contemplated that the proprietor of land should be merely a sinecurist quartered upon it4 ,yet1 in ,england and ,wales alone1 the landlords who received for rent1 in the year #ahjj1 #bb1ejj1jjj1 now receive about #fg1jjj1jjj1 and for this have no obligation on them to cultivate4 ,the holding cultivable land in an uncultivated condition in this overcrowded country ought to be made a statutory misdemeanor1 the penalty for which should be the forfeiture to the ,state of the land so left uncultivated1 at1 say1 a twenty years' purchase of its annual return in the neglected or misapplied state in which it was found at the time of conviction4 ,the true theory of landholding should be that the ,state should be the only freeholder1 all other tenures being limited in character2 and cultivation ought to be a special condition of tenancy4444 ,the holder of land should either cultivate it with his own hands1 or1 as would be most frequently the case1 by the hands of others2 but in the latter case1 the landed proprietor is bound to allow the agricultural laborer to live by his labor4 ,by living ,i mean that the laborer should have healthy food1 shelter1 and clothing1 and sufficient leisure in which to educate himself and his family1 besides the necessary leisure for rest from his labors4 ,at present agricultural laborers do not live2 they only drag wearily through a career but little higher in any respect than--and often not half so comfortable as--that of many of the other animals on the estate4444 ,little boys and girls1 in the ,midland1 ,eastern1 ,southern1 and ,southwestern counties of ,england1 go into the fields to work1 in some instances1 soon after six years of age2 in very many cases before they are seven years old1 and in nearly all cases before they have attained eight4 ,it is true1 that the work at first may be the comparatively idle work of scaring birds or tending sheep1 but it involves exposure of the child's yet delicate frame in the cold and damp of spring1 and then to the heat of the summer sun1 from day-dawn to evening4 ,this too often results in the stunted growth and diseased frame found so frequently among the ,english poor4 ,i say nothing of the demoralization of children consequent on their employment1 without regard to sex1 in the field gangs4 ,i pass by the fact that work at this early age utterly incapacitates them1 as a body1 for mental effort4 ,it is enough to declare that no child ought to have to work on the land until he is ten years of age1 and if ,i am told that the fathers--only earning1 in the majority of instances1 from nine to thirteen shillings per week--need the additional petty wage these wretched babes may bring home1 then again ,i answer1 that it is to the landholder's enormous income that the ,state ought to look for the means of educating the too often worse than savages who are reared on his estate1 and who by their labors swell his rent-roll4 ,that a few landed proprietors should have gigantic incomes1 while the mass of the people are so poor--that in ,gloucester1 the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,frazer describes type after type of social life almost degraded to the level of barbarism--that near ,lavenham1 the cottages are unfit for human habitation--that in ,norfolk the ,parliamentary returns speak of their dwellings in one as miserable1 in a second as deplorable1 in a third as detestable1 in a fourth as a disgrace to a ,christian community2 while near ,docking1 we are told1 in consequence of the overcrowding of the wretched poor1 the whole atmosphere is sensual1 and human nature is degraded into something below the level of the swine4 ,this is a state of things that if the landholders will not redress willingly they must be made to remedy before it is too late4 ,a few men have vast estates and excessive incomes2 the millions have seldom an inch of land until they inherit the grave1 and have a starvation wage out of which a proportion is taken back for rent4 ,take the vast property of the ,marquis of ,westminster1 whose income is credibly stated at something near a million a year2 or that of the ,duke of ,devonshire1 amounting to #if1jjj acres in the county of ,derby alone1 without regarding his ,irish or other estates2 or that of the ,duke of ,norfolk1 whose ,sussex estate is fifteen miles in circuit2 or that of the ,duke of ,sutherland1 which stretches across and contains the whole of ,sutherlandshire from sea to sea2 or that of the ,marquis of ,bute1 on which #b1jjj1-jjj sterling were spent by his trustees during his minority2 or that of the ,marquis of ,breadalbane1 who is said to be able to ride from his own door one hundred miles straight to the sea on his own freehold land2 or those of the ,duke of ,richmond and ,lord ,leconfield1 who between them own nearly the whole of the eastern portion of the county of ,sussex1 containing nearly #hjj square miles4 ,and such estates have a tendency to increase rather than to diminish4 ,in ,northumberland1 the ,ducal proprietor1 whose titular rank is derived from the county1 is a constant purchaser of any lands put up for sale4 ,mr4 ,bright1 in #ahfd1 spoke of one nobleman who devoted #hj1jjj a year of his income to the purchase of additional land4 ,these large properties must all be broken up2 they paralyze the people1 and they corrupt their possessors4 ,we prefer that the breaking up shall be voluntary and gradual1 but it must begin at once1 for hungry bellies are multiplying daily4 ,the ,state ought to put the peasantry in possession of the land1 and this might be done in several ways at the same time4 #a4 ,there is the ,prussian ,land ,system1 a modification of which might be made to work well here1 and which since #ahej has enabled the smallest occupiers of peasants' land to acquire the proprietorship at twenty years' purchase2 the amount of which is paid to the landlord1 not in money1 but in rent debentures issued by authority of the ,state1 and bearing four per cent1 interest1 and gradually redeemable by means of the one per cent1 difference1 which at compound interest extinguishes the principal in a little over forty-one years4 ,the ,prussian peasant has1 however1 two other options3 he may pay less by one-tenth to the ,state bank than the rent he formerly paid to his landlord1 in which case the purchase debentures take fifty-six years to redeem2 or he may1 if he can raise the cash1 compel his landlord to accept eighteen years' purchase money of the annual rent4 ,by this means nearly #ajj1jjj peasant proprietors have been created in ,prussia4 ,kent debentures to the extent of many millions have been issued to the landholders1 and in less than nineteen years more than one-eighth of the debentures issued have been entirely redeemed and extinguished4 #b4 ,the ,legislature should declare that leaving cultivable land uncultivated gave the ,government the right to take possession of such land1 assessing it by its actual return for the last live years1 and not by its real value1 and handing to the proprietor the amount of1 say1 twenty years' purchase in ,consolidated ,stock1 redeemable in a limited term of years4 ,the land so taken should not be sold at all1 but should be let out to persons willing to become cultivators1 on sufficiently long terms of tenancy to fairly recoup his labor and capital to the cultivator1 who should yearly pay into the ,national ,treasury1 in lieu of all other imperial taxes1 a certain proportion of the value of the annual produce4 #c4 ,the game laws should be abolished4 ,game preserving in ,england is not only injurious1 in that it diverts land capable of corn-bearing from the purpose it should fulfill1 of growing corn to feed the starving1 but it is injurious in that it prevents proper cultivation of surrounding farms1 and demoralizes and makes criminals of the neighboring agriculturial laborers1 creating for them a kind and degree of crime which would be otherwise unknown4 ,poaching1 which is so severely punished1 is actually fostered and encouraged by the very landholders who punish it4 ,pheasants and partridges' eggs are bought to stock preserves2 the gamekeepers who buy these eggs shut their eyes to the mode in which they have been procured4 ,the lad who was encouraged to procure the eggs finds himself in jail when he learns that shooting or trapping pheasants gains a higher pecuniary reward than leading the plow horse1 or trimming the hedge1 or grubbing the plantation4 ,poaching is the natural consequence of rearing a large number of rabbits1 hares1 partridges1 and pheasants1 in the midst of an underpaid1 underfed1 badly-housed1 and deplorably ignorant body of people4 ,the brutal outrages of gamekeepers of which we read so much are the regretable but easily-traceable measure of retaliation for a system which takes a baby child to work in the fields soon after six years of age1 which trains all his worst propensities and deadens and degrades his better faculties1 which keeps him in constant wretchedness1 and tantalizes him with the sight of hundreds of acres on which game runs and flies well-fed1 under his very nose1 while he limps ill-fed along the muddy lane which skirts the preserve--game1 which is at liberty to come out of its covert and eat and destroy the farmer's crop1 but which is even then made sacred by the law1 and fenced round by covenants1 as in a ,leitrim lease4 ,the game laws must go2 they starve our population by using land which might be golden to the autumn sun with the waving crop of wheat1 barley1 and rye2 they feed our prisons1 and rear a criminal class in our midst1 who have to be prosecuted and guarded at great cost1 and all because hares and pheasants are higher in the landowners' eyes than human beings4 #e4 ,any person holding more than1 say1 #e1jjj acres of land1 should be taxed at a far heavier rate than those having smaller holdings4 ,that is1 presuming1 in order to take a figure as basis1 the land-tax on #e1jjj acres to be at the rate of #as4 per acre1 then on every acre above that quantity it should be #bs4 per acre up to #aj1jjj acres1 and from thence #es4 per acre up to #ae1jjj acres1 and from thence #ajs4 per acre up to #bj1jjj acres1 so as to discourage all extravagantly large holdings4 #f4 ,the law of primogeniture should be repealed2 the settlement of property1 except for a widow and her children1 be entirely prohibited and some limitation should be put on the power of devise1 so as to prevent1 say1 the ,marquis of ,westminster from leaving the bulk of his property to his eldest son1 while the younger ones are left as noble paupers1 to be provided with places and pensions by the nation4 ,land should be made as easily and as cheaply transferable as any personal chattel4 ,the present land monopoly must be broken by legislation1 or it will be destroyed by revolution4