,,mistakes of ,,moses  ,by ,robert ,g4  
,ingersoll4  ,the ,destroyer ,of ,weeds1
 ,thistles ,and ,thorns1 ,is ,a         
,benefactor ,whether ,he ,soweth ,grain 
,or ,not4  #ahhj4   ,,mrs4 ,,sue ,m4    
,,farrell  ,,in ,,law ,,my ,,sister2    
,,and ,,in ,,fact ,,my ,,friend1  ,,this
 ,,volume1  ,,as ,a ,,token ,,of        
,,respect ,,and ,,love1  ,,is           
,,dedicated4     ,,preface4  ,for many  
years ,i have regarded the ,pentateuch  
simply as a record of a barbarous       
people1 in which are found a great      
number of the ceremonies of savagery1   
many absurd and unjust laws1 and        
thousands of ideas inconsistent with    
known and demonstrated facts4 ,to me it 
seemed almost a crime to teach that this
 record was written by inspired men2    
that slavery1 polygamy1 wars of conquest
 and extermination were right1 and that 
there was a time when men could win the 
approbation of infinite ,intelligence1  
,justice1 and ,mercy1 by violating      
maidens and by butchering babes4 ,to me 

it seemed more reasonable that savage   
men had made these laws2 and ,i         
endeavored in a lecture1 entitled ,some 
,mistakes of ,moses1 to point out some  
of the errors1 contradictions1 and      
impossibilities contained in the        
,pentateuch4 ,the lecture was never     
written and consequently never delivered
 twice the same4 ,on several occasions  
it was reported and published without   
consent1 and without revision4 ,all     
these publications were grossly and     
glaringly incorrect4 ,as published1 they
 have been answered several hundred     
times1 and many of the clergy are still 
engaged in the great work4 ,to keep     
these reverend gentlemen from wasting   
their talents on the mistakes of        
reporters and printers1 ,i concluded to 
publish the principal points in all my  
lectures on this subject4 ,and here1 it 
may be proper for me to say1 that       
arguments cannot be answered by personal
 abuse2 that there is no logic in       
slander1 and that falsehood1 in the long

 run1 defeats itself4 ,people who love  
their enemies should1 at least1 tell the
 truth about their friends4 ,should it  
turn out that ,i am the worst man in the
 whole world1 the story of the flood    
will remain just as improbable as       
before1 and the contradictions of the   
,pentateuch will still demand an        
explanation4  ,there was a time when a  
falsehood1 fulminated from the pulpit1  
smote like a sword2 but1 the supply     
having greatly exceeded the demand1     
clerical misrepresentation has at last  
become almost an innocent amusement4    
,remembering that only a few years ago  
men1 women1 and even children1 were     
imprisoned1 tortured and burned1 for    
having expressed in an exceedingly mild 
and gentle way1 the ideas entertained by
 me1 ,i congratulate myself that calumny
 is now the pulpit's last resort4 ,the  
old instruments of torture are kept only
 to gratify curiosity2 the chains are   
rusting away1 and the demolition of time
 has allowed even the dungeons of the   

,inquisition to be visited by light4    
,the church1 impotent and malicious1    
regrets1 not the abuse1 but the loss of 
her power1 and seeks to hold by         
falsehood what she gained by cruelty and
 force1 by fire and fear4 ,christianity 
cannot live in peace with any other form
 of faith4 ,if that religion be true1   
there is but one savior1 one inspired   
book1 and but one little narrow         
grass-grown path that leads to heaven4  
,such a religion is necessarily         
uncompromising1 unreasoning1 aggressive 
and insolent4 ,christianity has held all
 other creeds and forms in infinite     
contempt1 divided the world into enemies
 and friends1 and verified the awful    
declaration of its founder--a           
declaration that wet with blood the     
sword he came to bring1 and made the    
horizon of a thousand years lurid with  
the fagots' flames4  ,too great praise  
challenges attention1 and often brings  
to light a thousand faults that         
otherwise the general eye would never   

see4 ,were we allowed to read the bible 
as we do all other books1 we would      
admire its beauties1 treasure its worthy
 thoughts1 and account for all its      
absurd1 grotesque and cruel things1 by  
saying that its authors lived in rude1  
barbaric times4 ,but we are told that it
 was written by inspired men2 that it   
contains the will of ,god2 that it is   
perfect1 pure1 and true in all its      
parts2 the source and standard of all   
moral and religious truth2 that it is   
the star and anchor of all human hope2  
the only guide for man1 the only torch  
in ,nature's night4 ,these claims are so
 at variance with every known recorded  
fact1 so palpably absurd1 that every    
free1 unbiased soul is forced to raise  
the standard of revolt4  ,we read the   
pagan sacred books with profit and      
delight4 ,with myth and fable we are    
ever charmed1 and find a pleasure in the
 endless repetition of the beautiful1   
poetic1 and absurd4 ,we find1 in all    
these records of the past1 philosophies 

and dreams1 and efforts stained with    
tears1 of great and tender souls who    
tried to pierce the mystery of life and 
death1 to answer the eternal questions  
of the ,whence and ,whither1 and vainly 
sought to make1 with bits of shattered  
glass1 a mirror that would1 in very     
truth1 reflect the face and form of     
,nature's perfect self4  ,these myths   
were born of hopes1 and fears1 and      
tears1 and smiles1 and they were touched
 and colored by all there is of joy and 
grief between the rosy dawn of birth1   
and death's sad night4 ,they clothed    
even the stars with passion1 and gave to
 gods the faults and frailties of the   
sons of men4 ,in them1 the winds and    
waves were music1 and all the lakes1 and
 streams1 and springs1--the mountains1  
woods and perfumed dells were haunted by
 a thousand fairy forms4 ,they thrilled 
the veins of ,spring with tremulous     
desire2 made tawny ,summer's billowed   
breast the throne and home of love2     
filled ,autumns arms with sun-kissed    

grapes1 and gathered sheaves2 and       
pictured ,winter as a weak old king who 
felt1 like ,lear upon his withered face1
 ,cordelia's tears4 ,these myths1 though
 false1 are beautiful1 and have for many
 ages and in countless ways1 enriched   
the heart and kindled thought4 ,but if  
the world were taught that all these    
things are true and all inspired of     
,god1 and that eternal punishment will  
be the lot of him who dares deny or     
doubt1 the sweetest myth of all the     
,fable ,world would lose its beauty1 and
 become a scorned and hateful thing to  
every brave and thoughtful man4  ,robert
 ,g4 ,ingersoll4  ,washington1 ,d4 ,c1  
,oct4 #gth1 #ahgi     ,i4 ,,some        
,,mistakes ,,of ,,moses  ,,he ,,who     
,,endeavors ,,to ,,control ,,the ,,mind 
,,by ,,force ,,is ,a ,,tyrant1 ,,and    
,,he ,,who ,,submits ,,is ,a ,,slave4   
,i want to do what little ,i can to make
 my country truly free1 to broaden the  
intellectual horizon of our people1 to  
destroy the prejudices born of ignorance

 and fear1 to do away with the blind    
worship of the ignoble past1 with the   
idea that all the great and good are    
dead1 that the living are totally       
depraved1 that all pleasures are sins1  
that sighs and groans are alone pleasing
 to ,god1 that thought is dangerous1    
that intellectual courage is a crime1   
that cowardice is a virtue1 that a      
certain belief is necessary to secure   
salvation1 that to carry a cross in this
 world will give us a palm in the next1 
and that we must allow some priest to be
 the pilot of our souls4  ,until every  
soul is freely permitted to investigate 
every book1 and creed1 and dogma for    
itself1 the world cannot be free4       
,mankind will be enslaved until there is
 mental grandeur enough to allow each   
man to have his thought and say4 ,this  
earth will be a paradise when men can1  
upon all these questions differ1 and yet
 grasp each other's hands as friends4   
,it is amazing to me that a difference  
of opinion upon subjects that we know   

nothing with certainty about1 should    
make us hate1 persecute1 and despise    
each other4 ,why a difference of opinion
 upon predestination1 or the trinity1   
should make people imprison and burn    
each other seems beyond the             
comprehension of man2 and yet in all    
countries where ,christians have        
existed1 they have destroyed each other 
to the exact extent of their power4 ,why
 should a believer in ,god hate an      
atheist8 ,surely the atheist has not    
injured ,god1 and surely he is human1   
capable of joy and pain1 and entitled to
 all the rights of man4 ,would it not be
 far better to treat this atheist1 at   
least1 as well as he treats us8         
,christians tell me that they love their
 enemies1 and yet all ,i ask is--not    
that they love their enemies1 not that  
they love their friends even1 but that  
they treat those who differ from them1  
with simple fairness4  ,we do not wish  
to be forgiven1 but we wish ,christians 
to so act that we will not have to      

forgive them4 ,if all will admit that   
all have an equal right to think1 then  
the question is forever solved2 but as  
long as organized and powerful churches1
 pretending to hold the keys of heaven  
and hell1 denounce every person as an   
outcast and criminal who thinks for     
himself and denies their authority1 the 
world will be filled with hatred and    
suffering4 ,to hate man and worship ,god
 seems to be the sum of all the creeds4 
,that which has happened in most        
countries1 has happened in ours4 ,when a
 religion is founded1 the educated1 the 
powerful--that is to say1 the priests   
and nobles1 tell the ignorant and       
superstitious--that is to say1 the      
people1 that the religion of their      
country was given to their fathers by   
,god himself2 that it is the only true  
religion2 that all others were conceived
 in falsehood and brought forth in      
fraud1 and that all who believe in the  
true religion will be happy forever1    
while all others will burn in hell4 ,for

 the purpose of governing the people1   
that is to say1 for the purpose of being
 supported by the people1 the priests   
and nobles declare this religion to be  
sacred1 and that whoever adds to1 or    
takes from it1 will be burned here by   
man1 and hereafter by ,god4 ,the result 
of this is1 that the priests and nobles 
will not allow the people to change2 and
 when1 after a time1 the priests1 having
 intellectually advanced1 wish to take a
 step in the direction of progress1 the 
people will not allow them to change4   
,at first1 the rabble are enslaved by   
the priests1 and afterwards the rabble  
become the masters4  ,one of the first  
things ,i wish to do1 is to free the    
orthodox clergy4 ,i am a great friend of
 theirs1 and in spite of all they may   
say against me1 ,i am going to do them a
 great and lasting service4 ,upon their 
necks are visible the marks of the      
collar1 and upon their backs those of   
the lash4 ,they are not allowed to read 
and think for themselves4 ,they are     

taught like parrots1 and the best are   
those who repeat1 with the fewest       
mistakes1 the sentences they have been  
taught4 ,they sit like owls upon some   
dead limb of the tree of knowledge1 and 
hoot the same old hoots that have been  
hooted for eighteen hundred years4      
,their congregations are not grand      
enough1 nor sufficiently civilized1 to  
be willing that the poor preachers shall
 think for themselves4 ,they are not    
employed for that purpose4              
,investigation is regarded as a         
dangerous experiment1 and the ministers 
are warned that none of that kind of    
work will be tolerated4 ,they are       
notified to stand by the old creed1 and 
to avoid all original thought1 as a     
mortal pestilence4 ,every minister is   
employed like an attorney--either for   
plaintiff or defendant1--and he is      
expected to be true to his client4 ,if  
he changes his mind1 he is regarded as a
 deserter1 and denounced1 hated1 and    
slandered accordingly4 ,every orthodox  

clergyman agrees not to change4 ,he     
contracts not to find new facts1 and    
makes a bargain that he will deny them  
if he does4 ,such is the position of a  
protestant minister in this ,nineteenth 
,century4 ,his condition excites my     
pity2 and to better it1 ,i am going to  
do what little ,i can4  ,some of the    
clergy have the independence to break   
away1 and the intellect to maintain     
themselves as free men1 but the most are
 compelled to submit to the dictation of
 the orthodox1 and the dead4 ,they are  
not employed to give their thoughts1 but
 simply to repeat the ideas of others4  
,they are not expected to give even the 
doubts that may suggest themselves1 but 
are required to walk in the narrow1     
verdureless path trodden by the         
ignorance of the past4 ,the forests and 
fields on either side are nothing to    
them4 ,they must not even look at the   
purple hills1 nor pause to hear the     
babble of the brooks4 ,they must remain 
in the dusty road where the guide-boards

 are4 ,they must confine themselves to  
the fall of man the expulsion from the  
garden1 the scheme of salvation1 the    
second birth1 the atonement1 the        
happiness of the redeemed1 and the      
misery of the lost4 ,they must be       
careful not to express any new ideas    
upon these great questions4 ,it is much 
safer for them to quote from the works  
of the dead4 ,the more vividly they     
describe the sufferings of the          
unregenerate1 of those who attended     
theatres and balls1 and drank wine in   
summer gardens on the sabbath-day1 and  
laughed at priests1 the better ministers
 they are supposed to be4 ,they must    
show that misery fits the good for      
heaven1 while happiness prepares the bad
 for hell2 that the wicked get all their
 good things in this life1 and the good 
all their evil2 that in this world ,god 
punishes the people he loves1 and in the
 next1 the ones he hates2 that happiness
 makes us bad here1 but not in heaven2  
that pain makes us good here1 but not in

 hell4 ,no matter how absurd these      
things may appear to the carnal mind1   
they must be preached and they must be  
believed4 ,if they were reasonable1     
there would be no virtue in believing4  
,even the publicans and sinners believe 
reasonable things4 ,to believe without  
evidence1 or in spite of it1 is         
accounted as righteousness to the       
sincere and humble christian4  ,the     
ministers are in duty bound to denounce 
all intellectual pride1 and show that we
 are never quite so dear to ,god as when
 we admit that we are poor1 corrupt and 
idiotic worms2 that we never should have
 been born2 that we ought to be damned  
without the least delay2 that we are so 
infamous that we like to enjoy          
ourselves2 that we love our wives and   
children better than our ,god2 that we  
are generous only because we are vile2  
that we are honest from the meanest     
motives1 and that sometimes we have     
fallen so low that we have had doubts   
about the inspiration of the ,jewish    

scriptures4 ,in short1 they are expected
 to denounce all pleasant paths and     
rustling trees1 to curse the grass and  
flowers1 and glorify the dust and weeds4
 ,they are expected to malign the wicked
 people in the green and happy fields1  
who sit and laugh beside the gurgling   
springs or climb the hills and wander as
 they will4 ,they are expected to point 
out the dangers of freedom1 the safety  
of implicit obedience1 and to show the  
wickedness of philosophy1 the goodness  
of faith1 the immorality of science and 
the purity of ignorance4  ,now and then1
 a few pious people discover some young 
man of a religious turn of mind and a   
consumptive habit of body1 not quite    
sickly enough to die1 nor healthy enough
 to be wicked4 ,the idea occurs to them 
that he would make a good orthodox      
minister4 ,they take up a contribution1 
and send the young man to some          
theological school where he can be      
taught to repeat a creed and despise    
reason4 ,should it turn out that the    

young man had some mind of his own1 and1
 after graduating1 should change his    
opinions and preach a different doctrine
 from that taught in the school1 every  
man who contributed a dollar towards his
 education would feel that he had been  
robbed1 and would denounce him as a     
dishonest and ungrateful wretch4  ,the  
pulpit should not be a pillory4         
,congregations should allow the minister
 a little liberty4 ,they should1 at     
least1 permit him to tell the truth4    
,they have1 in ,massachusetts1 at a     
place called ,andover1 a kind of        
minister factory1 where each professor  
takes an oath once in five years--that  
time being considered the life of an    
oath--that he has not1 during the last  
five years1 and will not1 during the    
next five years1 intellectually advance4
 ,there is probably no oath that they   
could easier keep4 ,probably1 since the 
foundation stone of that institution was
 laid there has not been a single case  
of perjury4 ,the old creed is still     

taught4 ,they still insist that ,god is 
infinitely wise1 powerful and good1 and 
that all men are totally depraved4 ,they
 insist that the best man ,god ever     
made1 deserved to be damned the moment  
he was finished4 ,andover puts its brand
 upon every minister it turns out1 the  
same as ,sheffield and ,birmingham brand
 their wares1 and all who see the brand 
know exactly what the minister believes1
 the books he has read1 the arguments he
 relies on1 and just what he            
intellectually is4 ,they know just what 
he can be depended on to preach1 and    
that he will continue to shrink and     
shrivel1 and grow solemnly stupid day by
 day until he reaches the ,andover of   
the grave and becomes truly orthodox    
forever4  ,i have not singled out the   
,andover factory because it is worse    
than the others4 ,they are all about the
 same4 ,the professors1 for the most    
part1 are ministers who failed in the   
pulpit and were retired to the seminary 
on account of their deficiency in reason

 and their excess of faith4 ,as a rule1 
they know nothing of this world1 and far
 less of the next2 but they have the    
power of stating the most absurd        
propositions with faces solemn as       
stupidity touched by fear4  ,something  
should be done for the liberation of    
these men4 ,they should be allowed to   
grow--to have sunlight and air4 ,they   
should no longer be chained and tied to 
confessions of faith1 to mouldy books   
and musty creeds4 ,thousands of         
ministers are anxious to give their     
honest thoughts4 ,the hands of wives and
 babes now stop their mouths4 ,they must
 have bread1 and so the husbands and    
fathers are forced to preach a doctrine 
that they hold in scorn4 ,for the sake  
of shelter1 food and clothes1 they are  
obliged to defend the childish miracles 
of the past1 and denounce the sublime   
discoveries of to-day4 ,they are        
compelled to attack all modern thought1 
to point out the dangers of science1 the
 wickedness of investigation and the    

corrupting influence of logic4 ,it is   
for them to show that virtue rests upon 
ignorance and faith1 while vice         
impudently feeds and fattens upon fact  
and demonstration4 ,it is a part of     
their business to malign and vilify the 
,voltaires1 ,humes1 ,paines1 ,humboldts1
 ,tyndals1 ,haeckels1 ,darwins1         
,spencers1 and ,drapers1 and to bow with
 uncovered heads before the murderers1  
adulterers1 and persecutors of the      
world4 ,they are1 for the most part1    
engaged in poisoning the minds of the   
young1 prejudicing children against     
science1 teaching the astronomy and     
geology of the bible1 and inducing all  
to desert the sublime standard of       
reason4  ,these orthodox ministers do   
not add to the sum of knowledge4 ,they  
produce nothing4 ,they live upon alms4  
,they hate laughter and joy4 ,they      
officiate at weddings1 sprinkle water   
upon babes1 and utter meaningless words 
and barren promises above the dead4     
,they laugh at the agony of unbelievers1

 mock at their tears1 and of their      
sorrows make a jest4 ,there are some    
noble exceptions4 ,now and then a pulpit
 holds a brave and honest man4 ,their   
congregations are willing that they     
should think--willing that their        
ministers should have a little freedom4 
,as we become civilized1 more and more  
liberty will be accorded to these men1  
until finally ministers will give their 
best and highest thoughts4 ,the         
congregations will finally get tired of 
hearing about the patriarchs and saints1
 the miracles and wonders1 and will     
insist upon knowing something about the 
men and women of our day1 and the       
accomplishments and discoveries of our  
time4 ,they will finally insist upon    
knowing how to escape the evils of this 
world instead of the next4 ,they will   
ask light upon the enigmas of this life4
 ,they will wish to know what we shall  
do with our criminals instead of what   
,god will do with his--how we shall do  
away with beggary and want--with crime  

and misery--with prostitution1 disease  
and famine1--with tyranny in all its    
cruel forms--with prisons and scaffolds1
 and how we shall reward the honest     
workers1 and fill the world with happy  
homes6 ,these are the problems for the  
pulpits and congregations of an         
enlightened future4 ,if ,science cannot 
finally answer these questions1 it is a 
vain and worthless thing4  ,the clergy1 
however1 will continue to answer them in
 the old way1 until their congregations 
are good enough to set them free4 ,they 
will still talk about believing in the  
,lord ,jesus ,christ1 as though that    
were the only remedy for all human ills4
 ,they will still teach that            
retrogression is the only path that     
leads to light2 that we must go back1   
that faith is the only sure guide1 and  
that reason is a delusive glare1        
lighting only the road to eternal pain4 
,until the clergy are free they cannot  
be intellectually honest4 ,we can never 
tell what they really believe until they

 know that they can safely speak4 ,they 
console themselves now by a secret      
resolution to be as liberal as they     
dare1 with the hope that they can       
finally educate their congregations to  
the point of allowing them to think a   
little for themselves4 ,they hardly know
 what they ought to do4 ,the best part  
of their lives has been wasted in       
studying subjects of no possible value4 
,most of them are married1 have         
families1 and know but one way of making
 their living4 ,some of them say that if
 they do not preach these foolish       
dogmas1 others will1 and that they may  
through fear1 after all1 restrain       
mankind4 ,besides1 they hate publicly to
 admit that they are mistaken1 that the 
whole thing is a delusion1 that the     
scheme of salvation is absurd1 and that 
the bible is no better than some other  
books1 and worse than most4  ,you can   
hardly expect a bishop to leave his     
palace1 or the pope to vacate the       
,vatican4 ,as long as people want popes1

 plenty of hypocrites will be found to  
take the place4 ,and as long as labor   
fatigues1 there will be found a good    
many men willing to preach once a week1 
if other folks will work and give them  
bread4 ,in other words1 while the demand
 lasts1 the supply will never fail4  ,if
 the people were a little more ignorant1
 astrology would flourish--if a little  
more enlightened1 religion would perish6
     ,,ii4 ,,free ,,schools  ,it is also
 my desire to free the schools4 ,when a 
professor in a college finds a fact1 he 
should make it known1 even if it is     
inconsistent with something ,moses said4
 ,public opinion must not compel the    
professor to hide a fact1 and1 like the 
base ,indian1 throw the pearl away4     
,with the single exception of ,cornell1 
there is not a college in the ,united   
,states where truth has ever been a     
welcome guest4 ,the moment one of the   
teachers denies the inspiration of the  
bible1 he is discharged4 ,if he         
discovers a fact inconsistent with that 

book1 so much the worse for the fact1   
and especially for the discoverer of the
 fact4 ,he must not corrupt the minds of
 his pupils with demonstrations4 ,he    
must beware of every truth that cannot1 
in some way be made to harmonize with   
the superstitions of the ,jews4 ,science
 has nothing in common with religion4   
,facts and miracles never did1 and never
 will agree4 ,they are not in the least 
related4 ,they are deadly foes4 ,what   
has religion to do with facts8 ,nothing4
 ,can there be ,methodist mathematics1  
,catholic astronomy1 ,presbyterian      
geology1 ,baptist biology1 or ,episcopal
 botany8 ,why1 then1 should a sectarian 
college exist8 ,only that which somebody
 knows should be taught in our schools4 
,we should not collect taxes to pay     
people for guessing4 ,the common school 
is the bread of life for the people1 and
 it should not be touched by the        
withering hand of superstition4  ,our   
country will never be filled with great 
institutions of learning until there is 

an absolute divorce between ,church and 
,school4 ,as long as the mutilated      
records of a barbarous people are placed
 by priest and professor above the      
reason of mankind1 we shall reap but    
little benefit from church or school4   
,instead of dismissing professors for   
finding something out1 let us rather    
discharge those who do not4 ,let each   
teacher understand that investigation is
 not dangerous for him2 that his bread  
is safe1 no matter how much truth he may
 discover1 and that his salary will not 
be reduced1 simply because he finds that
 the ancient ,jews did not know the     
entire history of the world4  ,besides1 
it is not fair to make the ,catholic    
support a ,protestant school1 nor is it 
just to collect taxes from infidels and 
atheists to support schools in which any
 system of religion is taught4  ,the    
sciences are not sectarian4 ,people do  
not persecute each other on account of  
disagreements in mathematics4 ,families 
are not divided about botany1 and       

astronomy does not even tend to make a  
man hate his father and mother4 ,it is  
what people do not know1 that they      
persecute each other about4 ,science    
will bring1 not a sword1 but peace4     
,just as long as religion has control of
 the schools1 science will be an        
outcast4 ,let us free our institutions  
of learning4 ,let us dedicate them to   
the science of eternal truth4 ,let us   
tell every teacher to ascertain all the 
facts he can--to give us light1 to      
follow ,nature1 no matter where she     
leads2 to be infinitely true to himself 
and us2 to feel that he is without a    
chain1 except the obligation to be      
honest2 that he is bound by no books1 by
 no creed1 neither by the sayings of the
 dead nor of the living2 that he is     
asked to look with his own eyes1 to     
reason for himself without fear1 to     
investigate in every possible direction1
 and to bring us the fruit of all his   
work4  ,at present1 a good many men     
engaged in scientific pursuits1 and who 

have signally failed in gaining         
recognition among their fellows1 are    
endeavoring to make reputations among   
the churches by delivering weak and     
vapid lectures upon the harmony of      
,genesis and ,geology4 ,like all        
hypocrites1 these men overstate the case
 to such a degree1 and so turn and      
pervert facts and words that they       
succeed only in gaining the applause of 
other hypocrites like themselves4 ,among
 the great scientists they are regarded 
as generals regard sutlers who trade    
with both armies4  ,surely the time must
 come when the wealth of the world will 
not be wasted in the propagation of     
ignorant creeds and miraculous mistakes4
 ,the time must come when churches and  
cathedrals will be dedicated to the use 
of man2 when minister and priest will   
deem the discoveries of the living of   
more importance than the errors of the  
dead2 when the truths of ,nature will   
outrank the sacred falsehoods of the    
past1 and when a single fact will       

outweigh all the miracles of ,holy      
,writ4  ,who can over estimate the      
progress of the world if all the money  
wasted in superstition could be used to 
enlighten1 elevate and civilize mankind8
  ,when every church becomes a school1  
every cathedral a university1 every     
clergyman a teacher1 and all their      
hearers brave and honest thinkers1 then1
 and not until then1 will the dream of  
poet1 patriot1 philanthropist and       
philosopher1 become a real and blessed  
truth4     ,,iii4 ,,the ,,politicians4  
,i would like also to liberate the      
politician4 ,at present1 the successful 
office-seeker is a good deal like the   
centre of the earth2 he weighs nothing  
himself1 but draws everything else to   
him4 ,there are so many societies1 so   
many churches1 so many isms1 that it is 
almost impossible for an independent man
 to succeed in a political career4      
,candidates are forced to pretend that  
they are catholics with protest-ant     
proclivities1 or christians with liberal

 tendencies1 or temperance men who now  
and then take a glass of wine1 or1 that 
although not members of any church their
 wives are1 and that they subscribe     
liberally to all4 ,the result of all    
this is that we reward hypocrisy and    
elect men entirely destitute of real    
principle2 and this will never change   
until the people become grand enough to 
allow each other to do their own        
thinking4  ,our government should be    
entirely and purely secular4 ,the       
religious views of a candidate should be
 kept entirely out of sight4 ,he should 
not be compelled to give his opinion as 
to the inspiration of the bible1 the    
propriety of infant baptism1 or the     
immaculate conception4 ,all these things
 are private and personal4 ,he should be
 allowed to settle such things for      
himself1 and should he decide contrary  
to the law and will of ,god1 let him    
settle the matter with ,god4 ,the people
 ought to be wise enough to select as   
their officers men who know something of

 political affairs1 who comprehend the  
present greatness1 and clearly perceive 
the future grandeur of our country4 ,if 
we were in a storm at sea1 with deck    
wave-washed and masts strained and bent 
with storm1 and it was necessary to reef
 the top sail1 we certainly would not   
ask the brave sailor who volunteered to 
go aloft1 what his opinion was on the   
five points of ,calvinism4 ,our         
government has nothing to do with       
religion4 ,it is neither christian nor  
pagan2 it is secular4 ,but as long as   
the people persist in voting for or     
against men on account of their         
religious views1 just so long will      
hypocrisy hold place and power4 ,just so
 long will the candidates crawl in the  
dust--hide their opinions1 flatter those
 with whom they differ1 pretend to agree
 with those whom they despise2 and just 
so long will honest men be trampled     
under foot4 ,churches are becoming      
political organizations4 ,nearly every  
,catholic is a democrat2 nearly every   

,methodist in the ,north is a           
republican4  ,it probably will not be   
long until the churches will divide as  
sharply upon political1 as upon         
theological questions2 and when that day
 comes1 if there are not liberals enough
 to hold the balance of power1 this     
government will be destroyed4 ,the      
liberty of man is not safe in the hands 
of any church4 ,wherever the bible and  
sword are in partnership1 man is a      
slave4  ,all laws for the purpose of    
making man worship ,god1 are born of the
 same spirit that kindled the fires of  
the auto da fe1 and lovingly built the  
dungeons of the ,inquisition4 ,all laws 
defining and punishing blasphemy--making
 it a crime to give your honest ideas   
about the bible1 or to laugh at the     
ignorance of the ancient ,jews1 or to   
enjoy yourself on the ,sabbath1 or to   
give your opinion of ,jehovah1 were     
passed by impudent bigots1 and should be
 at once repealed by honest men4 ,an    
infinite ,god ought to be able to       

protect himself1 without going in       
partnership with state legislatures4    
,certainly he ought not so to act that  
laws become necessary to keep him from  
being laughed at4 ,no one thinks of     
protecting ,shakespeare from ridicule1  
by the threat of fine and imprisonment4 
,it strikes me that ,god might write a  
book that would not necessarily excite  
the laughter of his children4 ,in fact1 
,i think it would be safe to say that a 
real ,god could produce a work that     
would excite the admiration of mankind4 
,surely politicians could be better     
employed than in passing laws to protect
 the literary reputation of the ,jewish 
,god4     ,,iv4 ,,man ,,and ,,woman     
,let us forget that we are ,baptists1   
,methodists1 ,catholics1 ,presbyterians1
 or ,free-thinkers1 and remember only   
that we are men and women4 ,after all1  
man and woman are the highest possible  
titles4 ,all other names belittle us1   
and show that we have1 to a certain     
extent1 given up our individuality1 and 

have consented to wear the collar of    
authority--that we are followers4       
,throwing away these names1 let us      
examine these questions not as          
partisans1 but as human beings with     
hopes and fears in common4  ,we know    
that our opinions depend1 to a great    
degree1 upon our surroundings--upon     
race1 country1 and education4 ,we are   
all the result of numberless conditions1
 and inherit vices and virtues1 truths  
and prejudices4 ,if we had been born in 
,england1 surrounded by wealth and      
clothed with power1 most of us would    
have been ,episcopalians1 and believed  
in ,church and ,state4 ,we should have  
insisted that the people needed a       
religion1 and that not having intellect 
enough to provide one for themselves1 it
 was our duty to make one for them1 and 
then compel them to support it4 ,we     
should have believed it indecent to     
officiate in a pulpit without wearing a 
gown1 and that prayers should be read   
from a book4 ,had we belonged to the    

lower classes1 we might have been       
dissenters and protested against the    
mummeries of the ,high ,church4 ,had we 
been born in ,turkey1 most of us would  
have been ,mohammedans and believed in  
the inspiration of the ,koran4 ,we      
should have believed that ,mohammed     
actually visited ,heaven and became     
acquainted with an angel by the name of 
,gabriel1 who was so broad between the  
eyes that it required three hundred days
 for a very smart camel to travel the   
distance4 ,if some man had denied this  
story we should probably have denounced 
him as a dangerous person1 one who was  
endeavoring to undermine the foundations
 of society1 and to destroy all         
distinction between virtue and vice4 ,we
 should have said to him1 ,what do you  
propose to give us in place of that     
angel8 ,we cannot afford to give up an  
angel of that size for nothing4 ,we     
would have insisted that the best and   
wisest men believed the ,koran4 ,we     
would have quoted from the works and    

letters of philosophers1 generals and   
sultans1 to show that the ,koran was the
 best of books1 and that ,turkey was    
indebted to that book and to that alone 
for its greatness and prosperity4 ,we   
would have asked that man whether he    
knew more than all the great minds of   
his country1 whether he was so much     
wiser than his fathers8 ,we would have  
pointed out to him the fact that        
thousands had been consoled in the hour 
of death by passages from the ,koran2   
that they had died with glazed eyes     
brightened by visions of the heavenly   
harem1 and gladly left this world of    
grief and tears4 ,we would have regarded
 ,christians as the vilest of men1 and  
on all occasions would have repeated    
,there is but one ,god1 and ,mohammed is
 his prophet6  ,so1 if we had been born 
in ,india1 we should in all probability 
have believed in the religion of that   
country4 ,we should have regarded the   
old records as true and sacred1 and     
looked upon a wandering priest as better

 than the men from whom he begged1 and  
by whose labor he lived4 ,we should have
 believed in a god with three heads     
instead of three gods with one head1 as 
we do now4  ,now and then some one says 
that the religion of his father and     
mother is good enough for him1 and      
wonders why anybody should desire a     
better4 ,surely we are not bound to     
follow our parents in religion any more 
than in politics1 science or art4 ,china
 has been petrified by the worship of   
ancestors4 ,if our parents had been     
satisfied with the religion of theirs1  
we would be still less advanced than we 
are4 ,if we are1 in any way1 bound by   
the belief of our fathers1 the doctrine 
will hold good back to the first people 
who had a religion2 and if this doctrine
 is true1 we ought now to be believers  
in that first religion4 ,in other words1
 we would all be barbarians4 ,you cannot
 show real respect to your parents by   
perpetuating their errors4 ,good fathers
 and mothers wish their children to     

advance1 to overcome obstacles which    
baffled them1 and to correct the errors 
of their education4 ,if you wish to     
reflect credit upon your parents1       
accomplish more than they did1 solve    
problems that they could not understand1
 and build better than they knew4 ,to   
sacrifice your manhood upon the grave of
 your father is an honor to neither4    
,why should a son who has examined a    
subject1 throw away his reason and adopt
 the views of his mother8 ,is not such a
 course dishonorable to both8  ,we must 
remember that this ancestor argument is 
as old at least as the second generation
 of men1 that it has served no purpose  
except to enslave mankind1 and results  
mostly from the fact that acquiescence  
is easier than investigation4 ,this     
argument pushed to its logical          
conclusion1 would prevent the advance of
 all people whose parents were not      
free-thinkers4  ,it is hard for many    
people to give up the religion in which 
they were born2 to admit that their     

fathers were utterly mistaken1 and that 
the sacred records of their country are 
but collections of myths and fables4    
,but when we look for a moment at the   
world1 we find that each nation has its 
sacred records--its religion1 and its   
ideas of worship4 ,certainly all cannot 
be right2 and as it would require a life
 time to investigate the claims of these
 various systems1 it is hardly fair to  
damn a man forever1 simply because he   
happens to believe the wrong one4 ,all  
these religions were produced by        
barbarians4 ,civilized nations have     
contented themselves with changing the  
religions of their barbaric ancestors1  
but they have made none4 ,nearly all    
these religions are intensely selfish4  
,each one was made by some contemptible 
little nation that regarded itself as of
 almost infinite importance1 and looked 
upon the other nations as beneath the   
notice of their god4 ,in all these      
countries it was a crime to deny the    
sacred records1 to laugh at the priests1

 to speak disrespectfully of the gods1  
to fail to divide your substance with   
the lazy hypocrites who managed your    
affairs in the next world upon condition
 that you would support them in this4   
,in the olden time these theological    
people who quartered themselves upon the
 honest and industrious1 were called    
soothsayers1 seers1 charmers1 prophets1 
enchanters1 sorcerers1 wizards1         
astrologers1 and impostors1 but now1    
they are known as clergymen4  ,we are no
 exception to the general rule1 and     
consequently have our sacred books as   
well as the rest4 ,of course1 it is     
claimed by many of our people that our  
books are the only true ones1 the only  
ones that the real ,god ever wrote1 or  
had anything whatever to do with4 ,they 
insist that all other sacred books were 
written by hypocrites and impostors2    
that the ,jews were the only people that
 ,god ever had any personal intercourse 
with1 and that all other prophets and   
seers were inspired only by impudence   

and mendacity4 ,true1 it seems somewhat 
strange that ,god should have chosen a  
barbarous and unknown people who had    
little or nothing to do with the other  
nations of the earth1 as his messengers 
to the rest of mankind4  ,it is not easy
 to account for an infinite ,god making 
people so low in the scale of intellect 
as to require a revelation4 ,neither is 
it easy to perceive why1 if a revelation
 was necessary for all1 it was made only
 to a few4 ,of course1 ,i know that it  
is extremely wicked to suggest these    
thoughts1 and that ignorance is the only
 armor that can effectually protect you 
from the wrath of ,god4 ,i am aware that
 investigators with all their genius1   
never find the road to heaven2 that     
those who look where they are going are 
sure to miss it1 and that only those who
 voluntarily put out their eyes and     
implicitly depend upon blindness can    
surely keep the narrow path4  ,whoever  
reads our sacred book is compelled to   
believe it or suffer forever the        

torments of the lost4 ,we are told that 
we have the privilege of examining it   
for ourselves2 but this privilege is    
only extended to us on the condition    
that we believe it whether it appears   
reasonable or not4 ,we may disagree with
 others as much as we please upon the   
meaning of all passages in the bible1   
but we must not deny the truth of a     
single word4 ,we must believe that the  
book is inspired4 ,if we obey its every 
precept without believing in its        
inspiration we will be damned just as   
certainly as though we disobeyed its    
every word4 ,we have no right to weigh  
it in the scales of reason--to test it  
by the laws of nature1 or the facts of  
observation and experience4 ,to do this1
 we are told1 is to put ourselves above 
the word of ,god1 and sit in judgment on
 the works of our creator4  ,for my     
part1 ,i cannot admit that belief is a  
voluntary thing4 ,it seems to me that   
evidence1 even in spite of ourselves1   
will have its weight1 and that whatever 

our wish may be1 we are compelled to    
stand with fairness by the scales1 and  
give the exact result4 ,it will not do  
to say that we reject the bible because 
we are wicked4 ,our wickedness must be  
ascertained not from our belief but from
 our acts4  ,i am told by the clergy    
that ,i ought not to attack the bible2  
that ,i am leading thousands to         
perdition and rendering certain the     
damnation of my own soul4 ,they have had
 the kindness to advise me that1 if my  
object is to make converts1 ,i am       
pursuing the wrong course4 ,they tell me
 to use gentler expressions1 and more   
cunning words4 ,do they really wish me  
to make more converts8 ,if their advice 
is honest1 they are traitors to their   
trust4 ,if their advice is not honest1  
then they are unfair with me4 ,certainly
 they should wish me to pursue the      
course that will make the fewest        
converts1 and yet they pretend to tell  
me how my influence could be increased4 
,it may be1 that upon this principle    

,john ,bright advises ,america to adopt 
free trade1 so that our country can     
become a successful rival of ,great     
,britain4 ,sometimes ,i think that even 
ministers are not entirely candid4      
,notwithstanding the advice of the      
clergy1 ,i have concluded to pursue my  
own course1 to tell my honest thoughts1 
and to have my freedom in this world    
whatever my fate may be in the next4    
,the real oppressor1 enslaver and       
corrupter of the people is the bible4   
,that book is the chain that binds1 the 
dungeon that holds the clergy4 ,that    
book spreads the pall of superstition   
over the colleges and schools4 ,that    
book puts out the eyes of science1 and  
makes honest investigation a crime4     
,that book unmans the politician and    
degrades the people4 ,that book fills   
the world with bigotry1 hypocrisy and   
fear4 ,it plays the same part in our    
country that has been played by sacred  
records in all the nations of the world4
  ,a little while ago ,i saw one of the 

bibles of the ,middle ,ages4 ,it was    
about two feet in length1 and one and a 
half in width4 ,it had immense oaken    
covers1 with hasps1 and clasps1 and     
hinges large enough almost for the doors
 of a penitentiary4 ,it was covered with
 pictures of winged angels and aureoled 
saints4 ,in my imagination ,i saw this  
book carried to the cathedral altar in  
solemn pomp--heard the chant of robed   
and kneeling priests1 felt the strange  
tremor of the organ's peal2 saw the     
colored light streaming through windows 
stained and touched by blood and        
flame--the swinging censer with its     
perfumed incense rising to the mighty   
roof1 dim with height and rich with     
legend carved in stone1 while on the    
walls was hung1 written in light1 and   
shade1 and all the colors that can tell 
of joy and tears1 the pictured history  
of the martyred ,christ4 ,the people    
fell upon their knees4 ,the book was    
opened1 and the priest read the messages
 from ,god to man4 ,to the multitude1   

the book itself was evidence enough that
 it was not the work of human hands4    
,how could those little marks and lines 
and dots contain1 like tombs1 the       
thoughts of men1 and how could they1    
touched by a ray of light from human    
eyes1 give up their dead8 ,how could    
these characters span the vast chasm    
dividing the present from the past1 and 
make it possible for the living still to
 hear the voices of the dead8     ,v4   
,,the ,,pentateuch  ,the first five     
books in our bible are known as the     
,pentateuch4 ,for a long time it was    
supposed that ,moses was the author1 and
 among the ignorant the supposition     
still prevails4 ,as a matter of fact1 it
 seems to be well settled that ,moses   
had nothing to do with these books1 and 
that they were not written until he had 
been dust and ashes for hundreds of     
years4 ,but1 as all the churches still  
insist that he was the author1 that he  
wrote even an account of his own death  
and burial1 let us speak of him as      

though these books were in fact written 
by him4 ,as the christians maintain that
 ,god was the real author1 it makes but 
little difference whom he employed as   
his pen1 or clerk4  ,nearly all authors 
of sacred books have given an account of
 the creation of the universe1 the      
origin of matter1 and the destiny of the
 human race4 ,nearly all have pointed   
out the obligation that man is under to 
his creator for having placed him upon  
the earth1 and allowed him to live and  
suffer1 and have taught that nothing    
short of the most abject worship could  
possibly compensate ,god for his trouble
 and labor suffered and done for the    
good of man4 ,they have nearly all      
insisted that we should thank ,god for  
all that is good in life2 but they have 
not all informed us as to whom we should
 hold responsible for the evils we      
endure4  ,moses differed from most of   
the makers of sacred books by his       
failure to say anything of a future     
life1 by failing to promise heaven1 and 

to threaten hell4 ,upon the subject of a
 future state1 there is not one word in 
the ,pentateuch4 ,probably at that early
 day ,god did not deem it important to  
make a revelation as to the eternal     
destiny of man4 ,he seems to have       
thought that he could control the ,jews1
 at least1 by rewards and punishments in
 this world1 and so he kept the         
frightful realities of eternal joy and  
torment a profound secret from the      
people of his choice4 ,he thought it far
 more important to tell the ,jews their 
origin than to enlighten them as to     
their destiny4  ,we must remember that  
every tribe and nation has some way in  
which1 the more striking phenomena of   
nature are accounted for4 ,these        
accounts are handed down by tradition1  
changed by numberless narrators as      
intelligence increases1 or to account   
for newly discovered facts1 or for the  
purpose of satisfying the appetite for  
the marvelous4  ,the way in which a     
tribe or nation accounts for day and    

night1 the change of seasons1 the fall  
of snow and rain1 the flight of birds1  
the origin of the rainbow1 the          
peculiarities of animals1 the dreams of 
sleep1 the visions of the insane1 the   
existence of earthquakes1 volcanoes1    
storms1 lightning and the thousand      
things that attract the attention and   
excite the wonder1 fear or admiration of
 mankind1 may be called the philosophy  
of that tribe or nation4 ,and as all    
phenomena are1 by savage and barbaric   
man accounted for as the action of      
intelligent beings for the              
accomplishment of certain objects1 and  
as these beings were supposed to have   
the power to assist or injure man1      
certain things were supposed necessary  
for man to do in order to gain the      
assistance1 and avoid the anger of these
 gods4 ,out of this belief grew certain 
ceremonies1 and these ceremonies united 
with the belief1 formed religion2 and   
consequently every religion has for its 
foundation a misconception of the cause 

of phenomena4  ,all worship is          
necessarily based upon the belief that  
some being exists who can1 if he will1  
change the natural order of events4 ,the
 savage prays to a stone that he calls a
 god1 while the christian prays to a god
 that he calls a spirit1 and the prayers
 of both are equally useful4 ,the savage
 and the christian put behind the       
,universe an intelligent cause1 and this
 cause whether represented by one god or
 many1 has been1 in all ages1 the object
 of all worship4 ,to carry a fetich1 to 
utter a prayer1 to count beads1 to      
abstain from food1 to sacrifice a lamb1 
a child or an enemy1 are simply         
different ways by which the             
accomplishment of the same object is    
sought1 and are all the offspring of the
 same error4  ,many systems of religion 
must have existed many ages before the  
art of writing was discovered1 and must 
have passed through many changes before 
the stories1 miracles1 histories1       
prophesies and mistakes became fixed and

 petrified in written words4 ,after     
that1 change was possible only by giving
 new meanings to old words1 a process   
rendered necessary by the continual     
acquisition of facts somewhat           
inconsistent with a literal             
interpretation of the sacred records4   
,in this way an honest faith often      
prolongs its life by dishonest methods2 
and in this way the ,christians of      
to-day are trying to harmonize the      
,mosaic account of creation with the    
theories and discoveries of modern      
science4  ,admitting that ,moses was the
 author of the ,pentateuch1 or that he  
gave to the ,jews a religion1 the       
question arises as to where he obtained 
his information4 ,we are told by the    
theologians that he received his        
knowledge from ,god1 and that every word
 he wrote was and is the exact truth4   
,it is admitted at the same time that he
 was an adopted son of ,pharaoh's       
daughter1 and enjoyed the rank and      
privilege of a prince4 ,under such      

circumstances1 he must have been well   
acquainted with the literature1         
philosophy and religion of the          
,egyptians1 and must have known what    
they believed and taught as to the      
creation of the world4  ,now1 if the    
account of the origin of this earth as  
given by ,moses is substantially like   
that given by the ,egyptians1 then we   
must conclude that he learned it from   
them4 ,should we imagine that he was    
divinely inspired because he gave to the
 ,jews what the ,egyptians had given    
him8  ,the ,egyptian priests taught     
first1 that a god created the original  
matter1 leaving it in a state of chaos2 
second1 that a god moulded it into form2
 third1 that the breath of a god moved  
upon the face of the deep2 fourth1 that 
a god created simply by saying ,let it  
be2 fifth1 that a god created light     
before the sun existed4  ,nothing can be
 clearer than that ,moses received from 
the ,egyptians the principal parts of   
his narrative1 making such changes and  

additions as were necessary to satisfy  
the peculiar superstitions of his own   
people4  ,if some man at the present day
 should assert that he had received from
 ,god the theories of evolution1 the    
survival of the fittest1 and the law of 
heredity1 and we should afterwards find 
that he was not only an ,englishman1 but
 had lived in the family of ,charles    
,darwin1 we certainly would account for 
his having these theories in a natural  
way1 ,so1 if ,darwin himself should     
pretend that he was inspired1 and had   
obtained his peculiar theories from     
,god1 we should probably reply that his 
grandfather suggested the the same      
ideas1 and that ,lamarck published      
substantially the same theories the same
 year that ,mr4 ,darwin was born4  ,now1
 if we have sufficient courage1 we will1
 by the same course of reasoning1       
account for the story of creation found 
in the bible4 ,we will say that it      
contains the belief of ,moses1 and that 
he received his information from the    

,egyptians1 and not from ,god4 ,if we   
take the account as the absolute truth  
and use it for the purpose of           
determining the value of modern thought1
 scientific advancement becomes         
impossible4 ,and even if the account of 
the ,creation as given by ,moses should 
turn out to be true1 and should be so   
admitted by all the scientific world1   
the claim that he was inspired would    
still be without the least particle of  
proof4 ,we would be forced to admit that
 he knew more than we had supposed4 ,it 
certainly is no proof that a man is     
inspired simply because he is right4    
,no one pretends that ,shakespeare was  
inspired1 and yet all the writers of the
 books of the ,old ,testament put       
together1 could not have produced       
,hamlet4  ,why should we1 looking upon  
some rough and awkward thing1 or god in 
stone1 say that it must have been       
produced by some inspired sculptor1 and 
with the same breath pronounce the      
,venus de ,milo to be the work of man8  

,why should we1 looking at some ancient 
daub of angel1 saint or virgin1 say its 
painter must have been assisted by a    
god8  ,let us account for all we see by 
the facts we know4 ,if there are things 
for which we cannot account1 let us wait
 for light4 ,to account for anything by 
supernatural agencies is1 in fact to say
 that we do not know4 ,theology is not  
what we know about ,god1 but what we do 
not know about ,nature4 ,in order to    
increase our respect for the bible1 it  
became necessary for the priests to     
exalt and extol that book1 and at the   
same time to decry and belittle the     
reasoning powers of man4 ,the whole     
power of the pulpit has been used for   
hundreds of years to destroy the        
confidence of man in himself--to induce 
him to distrust his own powers of       
thought1 to believe that he was wholly  
unable to decide any question for       
himself1 and that all human virtue      
consists in faith and obedience4 ,the   
,church has said1 ,believe1 and obey6   

,if you reason1 you will become an      
unbeliever1 and unbelievers will be     
lost4 ,if you disobey1 you will do so   
through vain pride and curiosity1 and   
will1 like ,adam and ,eve1 be thrust    
from paradise forever6  ,for my part1 ,i
 care nothing for what the ,church says1
 except in so far as it accords with my 
reason2 and the bible is nothing to me1 
only in so far as it agrees with what ,i
 think or know4  ,all books should be   
examined in the same spirit1 and truth  
should be welcomed and falsehood        
exposed1 no matter in what volume they  
may be found4  ,let us in this spirit   
examine the ,pentateuch2 and if anything
 appears unreasonable1 contradictory or 
absurd1 let us have the honesty and     
courage to admit it4 ,certainly no good 
can result either from deceiving        
ourselves or others4 ,many millions have
 implicitly believed this book1 and have
 just as implicitly believed that       
polygamy was sanctioned by ,god4        
,millions have regarded this book as the

 foundation of all human progress1 and  
at the same time looked upon slavery as 
a divine institution4 ,millions have    
declared this book to have been         
infinitely holy1 and to prove that they 
were right1 have imprisoned1 robbed and 
burned their fellow men4 ,the           
inspiration of this book has been       
established by famine1 sword and fire1  
by dungeon1 chain and whip1 by dagger   
and by rack1 by force and fear and      
fraud1 and generations have been        
frightened by threats of hell1 and      
bribed with promises of heaven4  ,let us
 examine a portion of this book1 not in 
the darkness of our fear1 but in the    
light of reason4  ,and first1 let us    
examine the account given of the        
,creation of this world1 commenced1     
according to the bible1 on ,monday      
morning about five thousand eight       
hundred and eighty-three years ago4     
,,vi4 ,,monday  ,moses commences his    
story by telling us that in the         
beginning ,god created the heaven and   

the earth4  ,if this means anything1 it 
means that ,god produced1 caused to     
exist1 called into being1 the heaven and
 the earth4 ,it will not do to say that 
he formed the heaven and the earth of   
previously existing matter4 ,moses      
conveys1 and intended to convey the idea
 that the matter of which the heaven and
 the earth are composed1 was created4   
,it is impossible for me to conceive of 
something being created from nothing4   
,nothing1 regarded in the light of a raw
 material1 is a decided failure4 ,i     
cannot conceive of matter apart from    
force4 ,neither is it possible to think 
of force disconnected with matter4 ,you 
cannot imagine matter going back to     
absolute nothing4 ,neither can you      
imagine nothing being changed into      
something4 ,you may be eternally damned 
if you do not say that you can conceive 
these things1 but you cannot conceive   
them4  ,such is the constitution of the 
human mind that it cannot even think of 
a commencement or an end of matter1 or  

force4  ,if ,god created the universe1  
there was a time when he commenced to   
create4 ,back of that commencement there
 must have been an eternity4 ,in that   
eternity what was this ,god doing8 ,he  
certainly did not think4 ,there was     
nothing to think about4 ,he did not     
remember4 ,nothing had ever happened4   
,what did he do8 ,can you imagine       
anything more absurd than an infinite   
intelligence in infinite nothing wasting
 an eternity8  ,i do not pretend to tell
 how all these things really are2 but ,i
 do insist that a statement that cannot 
possibly be comprehended by any human   
being1 and that appears utterly         
impossible1 repugnant to every fact of  
experience1 and contrary to everything  
that we really know1 must be rejected by
 every honest man4  ,we can conceive of 
eternity1 because we cannot conceive of 
a cessation of time4 ,we can conceive of
 infinite space because we cannot       
conceive of so much matter that our     
imagination will not stand upon the     

farthest star1 and see infinite space   
beyond4 ,in other words1 we cannot      
conceive of a cessation of time2        
therefore eternity is a necessity of the
 mind4 ,eternity sustains the same      
relation to time that space does to     
matter4  ,in the time of ,moses1 it was 
perfectly safe for him to write an      
account of the creation of the world4   
,he had simply to put in form the crude 
notions of the people4 ,at that time1 no
 other ,jew could have written a better 
account4 ,upon that subject he felt at  
liberty to give his imagination full    
play4 ,there was no one who could       
authoritatively contradict anything he  
might say4 ,it was substantially the    
same story that had been imprinted in   
curious characters upon the clay records
 of ,babylon1 the gigantic monuments of 
,egypt1 and the gloomy temples of       
,india4 ,in those days there was an     
almost infinite difference between the  
educated and ignorant4 ,the people were 
controlled almost entirely by signs and 

wonders4 ,by the lever of fear1 priests 
moved the world4 ,the sacred records    
were made and kept1 and altered by them4
 ,the people could not read1 and looked 
upon one who could1 as almost a god4 ,in
 our day it is hard to conceive of the  
influence of an educated class in a     
barbarous age4 ,it was only necessary to
 produce the sacred record1 and         
ignorance fell upon its face4 ,the      
people were taught that the record was  
inspired1 and therefore true4 ,they were
 not taught that it was true1 and       
therefore inspired4  ,after all1 the    
real question is not whether the bible  
is inspired1 but whether it is true4 ,if
 it is true1 it does not need to be     
inspired4 ,if it is true1 it makes no   
difference whether it was written by a  
man or a god4 ,the multiplication table 
is just as useful1 just as true as      
though ,god had arranged the figures    
himself4 ,if the bible is really true1  
the claim of inspiration need not be    
urged2 and if it is not true1 its       

inspiration can hardly be established4  
,as a matter of fact1 the truth does not
 need to be inspired4 ,nothing needs    
inspiration except a falsehood or a     
mistake4 ,where truth ends1 where       
probability stops1 inspiration begins4  
,a fact never went into partnership with
 a miracle4 ,truth does not need the    
assistance of miracle4 ,a fact will fit 
every other fact in the ,universe1      
because it is the product of all other  
facts4 ,a lie will fit nothing except   
another lie made for the express purpose
 of fitting it4 ,after a while the man  
gets tired of lying1 and then the last  
lie will not fit the next fact1 and then
 there is an opportunity to use a       
miracle4 ,just at that point1 it is     
necessary to have a little inspiration4 
,it seems to me that reason is the      
highest attribute of man1 and that if   
there can be any communication from ,god
 to man1 it must be addressed to his    
reason4 ,it does not seem possible that 
in order to understand a message from   

,god it is absolutely essential to throw
 our reason away4 ,how could ,god make  
known his will to any being destitute of
 reason8 ,how can any man accept as a   
revelation from ,god that which is      
unreasonable to him8 ,god cannot make a 
revelation to another man for me4 ,he   
must make it to me1 and until he        
convinces my reason that it is true1 ,i 
cannot receive it4  ,the statement that 
in the beginning ,god created the heaven
 and the earth1 ,i cannot accept4 ,it is
 contrary to my reason1 and ,i cannot   
believe it4 ,it appears reasonable to me
 that force has existed from eternity4  
,force cannot1 as it appears to me1     
exist apart from matter4 ,force1 in its 
nature1 is forever active1 and without  
matter it could not act2 and so ,i think
 matter must have existed forever4 ,to  
conceive of matter without force1 or of 
force without matter1 or of a time when 
neither existed1 or of a being who      
existed for an eternity without either1 
and who out of nothing created both1 is 

to me utterly impossible4 ,i may be     
damned on this account1 but ,i cannot   
help it4 ,in my judgment1 ,moses was    
mistaken4  ,it will not do to say that  
,moses merely intended to tell what ,god
 did1 in making the heavens and the     
earth out of matter then in existence4  
,he distinctly states that in the       
beginning ,god created them4 ,if this   
account is true1 we must believe that   
,god1 existing in infinite space        
surrounded by eternal nothing1 naught   
and void1 created1 produced1 called into
 being1 willed into existence this      
universe of countless stars4  ,the next 
thing we are told by this inspired      
gentleman is1 that ,god created light1  
and proceeded to divide it from the     
darkness4  ,certainly1 the person who   
wrote this believed that darkness was a 
thing1 an entity1 a material that could 
get mixed and tangled up with light1 and
 that these entities1 light and         
darkness1 had to be separated4 ,in his  
imagination he probably saw ,god        

throwing pieces and chunks of darkness  
on one side1 and rays and beams of light
 on the other4 ,it is hard for a man who
 has been born but once to understand   
these things4 ,for my part ,i cannot    
understand how light can be separated   
from darkness4 ,i had always supposed   
that darkness was simply the absence of 
light1 and that under no circumstances  
could it be necessary to take the       
darkness away from the light4 ,it is    
certain1 however1 that ,moses believed  
darkness to be a form of matter1 because
 ,i find that in another place he speaks
 of a darkness that could be felt4 ,they
 used to have on exhibition at ,rome a  
bottle of the darkness that overspread  
,egypt4  ,you cannot divide light from  
darkness any more than you can divide   
heat from cold4 ,cold is an absence of  
heat1 and darkness is an absence of     
light4 ,i suppose that we have no       
conception of absolute cold4 ,we know   
only degrees of heat4 ,twenty degrees   
below zero is just twenty degrees warmer

 than forty degrees below zero4 ,neither
 cold nor darkness are entities1 and    
these words express simply either the   
absolute or partial absence of heat or  
light4 ,i cannot conceive how light can 
be divided from darkness1 but ,i can    
conceive how a barbarian several        
thousand years ago1 writing upon a      
subject about which he knew nothing1    
could make a mistake4 ,the creator of   
light could not have written in this    
way4 ,if such a being exists1 he must   
have known the nature of that mode of   
motion that paints the earth on every   
eye1 and clothes in garments seven-hued 
this universe of worlds4     ,,vii4     
,,tuesday  ,we are next informed by     
,moses that ,god said ,let there be a   
firmament in the midst of the waters1   
and let it divide the waters from the   
waters2 and that ,god made the          
firmament1 and divided the waters which 
were under the firmament from the waters
 which were above the firmament4  ,what 
did the writer mean by the word         

firmament8 ,theologians now tell us that
 he meant an expanse4 ,this will not do4
 ,how could an expanse divide the waters
 from the waters1 so that the waters    
above the expanse would not fall into   
and mingle with the waters below the    
expanse8 ,the truth is that ,moses      
regarded the firmament as a solid       
affair4 ,it was where ,god lived1 and   
where water was kept4 ,it was for this  
reason that they used to pray for rain4 
,they supposed that some angel could    
with a lever raise a gate and let out   
the quantity of moisture desired4 ,it   
was with the water from this firmament  
that the world was drowned when the     
windows of heaven were opened4 ,it was  
in this firmament that the sons of ,god 
lived--the sons who saw the daughters of
 men that they were fair and took them  
wives of all which they chose4 ,the     
issue of such marriages were giants1 and
 the same became mighty men which were  
of old1 men of renown4  ,nothing is     
clearer than that ,moses regarded the   

firmament as a vast material division   
that separated the waters of the world1 
and upon whose floor ,god lived1        
surrounded by his sons4 ,in no other way
 could he account for rain4 ,where did  
the water come from8 ,he knew nothing   
about the laws of evaporation4 ,he did  
not know that the sun wooed with amorous
 kisses the waves of the sea1 and that  
they1 clad in glorified mist rising to  
meet their lover1 were1 by              
disappointment1 changed to tears and    
fell as rain4  ,the idea that the       
firmament was the abode of the ,deity   
must have been in the mind of ,moses    
when he related the dream of ,jacob4    
,and he dreamed1 and behold1 a ladder   
set upon the earth and the top of it    
reached to heaven2 and behold the angels
 of ,god ascending and descending on it2
 and behold the ,lord stood above it and
 said1 ,i am the ,lord ,god4  ,so1 when 
the people were building the tower of   
,babel the ,lord came down to see the   
city1 and the tower which the children  

of men builded4 ,and the ,lord said1    
,behold the people is one1 and they have
 all one language3 and this they begin  
to do2 and nothing will be restrained   
from them which they imagined to do4 ,go
 to1 let us go down and confound their  
language that they may not understand   
one another's speech4  ,the man who     
wrote that absurd account must have     
believed that ,god lived above the      
earth1 in the firmament4 ,the same idea 
was in the mind of the ,psalmist when he
 said that ,god bowed the heavens and   
came down4  ,of course1 ,god could      
easily remove any person bodily to      
heaven1 as it was but a little way above
 the earth4 ,enoch walked with ,god1 and
 he was not1 for ,god took him4 ,the    
accounts in the bible of the ascension  
of ,elijah1 ,christ and ,st4 ,paul were 
born of the belief that the firmament   
was the dwelling-place of ,god4 ,it     
probably never occurred to these writers
 that if the firmament was seven or     
eight miles away1 ,enoch and the rest   

would have been frozen perfectly stiff  
long before the journey could have been 
completed4 ,possibly ,elijah might have 
made the voyage1 as he was carried to   
heaven in a chariot of fire by a        
whirlwind4  ,the truth is1 that ,moses  
was mistaken1 and upon that mistake the 
christians located their heaven and     
their hell4 ,the telescope destroyed the
 firmament1 did away with the heaven of 
the ,new ,testament1 rendered the       
ascension of our ,lord and the          
assumption of his ,mother infinitely    
absurd1 crumbled to chaos the gates and 
palaces of the ,new ,jerusalem1 and in  
their places gave to man a wilderness of
 worlds4     ,,viii4 ,,wednesday  ,we   
are next informed by the historian of   
,creation1 that after ,god had finished 
making the firmament and had succeeded  
in dividing the waters by means of an   
expanse1 he proceeded to gather the     
waters on the earth together in seas1 so
 that the dry land might appear4        
,certainly the writer of this did not   

have any conception of the real form of 
the earth4 ,he could not have known     
anything of the attraction of           
gravitation4 ,he must have regarded the 
earth as flat and supposed that it      
required considerable force and power to
 induce the water to leave the mountains
 and collect in the valleys4 ,just as   
soon as the water was forced to run down
 hill1 the dry land appeared1 and the   
grass began to grow1 and the mantles of 
green were thrown over the shoulders of 
the hills1 and the trees laughed into   
bud and blossom1 and the branches were  
laden with fruit4 ,and all this happened
 before a ray had left the quiver of the
 sun1 before a glittering beam had      
thrilled the bosom of a flower1 and     
before the ,dawn with trembling hands   
had drawn aside the curtains of the     
,east and welcomed to her arms the eager
 god of ,day4  ,it does not seem to me  
that grass and trees could grow and     
ripen into seed and fruit without the   
sun4 ,according to the account1 this all

 happened on the third day4 ,now1 if1 as
 the christians say1 ,moses did not mean
 by the word day a period of twenty-four
 hours1 but an immense and almost       
measureless space of time1 and as ,god  
did not1 according to this view make any
 animals until the fifth day1 that is1  
not for millions of years after he made 
the grass and trees1 for what purpose   
did he cause the trees to bear fruit8   
,moses says that ,god said on the third 
day1 ,let the earth bring forth grass1  
the herb yielding seed1 and the fruit   
tree yielding fruit after his kind1     
whose seed is in itself upon the earth2 
and it was so4 ,and the earth brought   
forth grass and herb yielding seed after
 his kind1 and the tree yielding fruit  
whose seed was in itself after his kind2
 and ,god saw that it was good1 and the 
evening and the morning were the third  
day4  ,there was nothing to eat this    
fruit2 not an insect with painted wings 
sought the honey of the flowers2 not a  
single living1 breathing thing upon the 

earth4 ,plenty of grass1 a great variety
 of herbs1 an abundance of fruit1 but   
not a mouth in all the world4 ,if ,moses
 is right1 this state of things lasted  
only two days2 but if the modern        
theologians are correct1 it continued   
for millions of ages4  ,it is now well  
known that the organic history of the   
earth can be properly divided into five 
epochs--the ,primordial1 ,primary1      
,secondary1 ,tertiary1 and ,quaternary4 
,each of these epochs is characterized  
by animal and vegetable life peculiar to
 itself44 ,in the ,first will be found  
,algae and ,skull-less ,vertebrates1 in 
the ,second1 ,ferns and ,fishes1 in the 
,third1 ,pine ,forests and ,reptiles1 in
 the ,fourth1 ,foliaceous ,forests and  
,mammals1 and in the ,fifth1 ,man4  ,how
 much more reasonable this is than the  
idea that the ,earth was covered with   
grass1 and herbs1 and trees loaded with 
fruit for millions of years before an   
animal existed4  ,there is1 in ,nature1 
an even balance forever kept between the

 total amounts of animal and vegetable  
life4 ,in her wonderful economy she must
 form and bountifully nourish her       
vegetable progeny--twin-brother life to 
her1 with that of animals4 ,the perfect 
balance between plant existences and    
animal existences must always be        
maintained1 while matter courses through
 the eternal circle1 becoming each in   
turn4 ,if an animal be resolved into its
 ultimate constituents in a period      
according to the surrounding            
circumstances1 say1 of four hours1 of   
four months1 of four years1 or even of  
four thousand years1--for it is         
impossible to deny that there may be    
instances of all these periods during   
which the process has continued--those  
elements which assume the gaseous form  
mingle at once with the atmosphere and  
are taken up from it without delay by   
the ever-open mouths of vegetable life4 
,by a thousand pores in every leaf the  
carbonic acid which renders the         
atmosphere unfit for animal life is     

absorbed1 the carbon being separated1   
and assimilated to form the vegetable   
fibre1 which1 as wood1 makes and        
furnishes our houses and ships1 is      
burned for our warmth1 or is stored up  
under pressure for coal4 ,all this      
carbon has played its part1 and many    
parts in its time1 as animal existences 
from monad up to man4 ,our mahogany of  
to-day has been many negroes in its     
turn1 and before the ,african existed1  
was integral portions of many a         
generation of extinct species4  ,it     
seems reasonable to suppose that certain
 kinds of vegetation and certain kinds  
of animals should exist together1 and   
that as the character of the vegetation 
changed1 a corresponding change would   
take place in the animal world4 ,it may 
be that ,i am led to these conclusions  
by total depravity1 or that ,i lack the 
necessary humility of spirit to         
satisfactorily harmonize ,haeckel and   
,moses2 or that ,i am carried away by   
pride1 blinded by reason1 given over to 

hardness of heart that ,i might be      
damned1 but ,i never can believe that   
the earth was covered with leaves1 and  
buds1 and flowers1 and fruits before the
 sun with glittering spear had driven   
back the hosts of ,night4     ,,ix4     
,,thursday  ,after the world was covered
 with vegetation1 it occurred to ,moses 
that it was about time to make a sun and
 moon2 and so we are told that on the   
fourth day ,god said1 ,let there be     
light in the firmament of the heaven to 
divide the day from the night2 and let  
them be for signs and for seasons1 and  
for days and years2 and let them be for 
lights in the firmament of the heaven to
 give light upon the earth2 and it was  
so4 ,and ,god made two great lights2 the
 greater light to rule the day1 and the 
lesser light to rule the night2 he made 
the stars also4  ,can we believe that   
the inspired writer had any idea of the 
size of the sun8 ,draw a circle five    
inches in diameter1 and by its side     
thrust a pin through the paper4 ,the    

hole made by the pin will sustain about 
the same relation to the circle that the
 earth does to the sun4 ,did he know    
that the sun was eight hundred and sixty
 thousand miles in diameter2 that it was
 enveloped in an ocean of fire thousands
 of miles in depth1 hotter even than the
 christian's hell1 over which sweep     
tempests of flame moving at the rate of 
one hundred miles a second1 compared    
with which the wildest storm that ever  
wrecked the forests of this world was   
but a calm8 ,did he know that the sun   
every moment of time throws out as much 
heat as could be generated by the       
combustion of millions upon millions of 
tons of coal8 ,did he know that the     
volume of the ,earth is less than       
one-millionth of that of the sun8 ,did  
he know of the one hundred and four     
planets belonging to our solar system1  
all children of the sun8 ,did he know of
 ,jupiter eighty-five thousand miles in 
diameter1 hundreds of times as large as 
our earth1 turning on his axis at the   

rate of twenty-five thousand miles an   
hour accompanied by four moons1 making  
the tour of his orbit in fifty years1 a 
distance of three thousand million      
miles8 ,did he know anything about      
,saturn1 his rings and his eight moons8 
,did he have the faintest idea that all 
these planets were once a part of the   
sun2 that the vast luminary was once    
thousands of millions of miles in       
diameter2 that ,neptune1 ,uranus1       
,saturn1 ,jupiter and ,mars were all    
born before our earth1 and that by no   
possibility could this world have       
existed three days1 nor three periods1  
nor three good whiles before its source1
 the sun8  ,moses supposed the sun to be
 about three or four feet in diameter   
and the moon about half that size4      
,compared with the earth they were but  
simple specks4 ,this idea seems to have 
been shared by all the inspired men4 ,we
 find in the book of ,joshua that the   
sun stood still1 and the moon stayed    
until the people had avenged themselves 

upon their enemies4 ,so the sun stood   
still in the midst of heaven1 and hasted
 not to go down about a whole day4  ,we 
are told that the sacred writer wrote in
 common speech as we do when we talk    
about the rising and setting of the sun1
 and that all he intended to say was    
that the earth ceased to turn on its    
axis for about a whole day4  ,my own    
opinion is that ,general ,joshua knew no
 more about the motions of the earth    
than he did about mercy and justice4 ,if
 he had known that the earth turned upon
 its axis at the rate of a thousand     
miles an hour1 and swept in its course  
about the sun at the rate of sixty-eight
 thousand miles an hour1 he would have  
doubled the hailstones1 spoken of in the
 same chapter1 that the ,lord cast down 
from heaven1 and allowed the sun and    
moon to rise and set in the usual way4  
,it is impossible to conceive of a more 
absurd story than this about the        
stopping of the sun and moon1 and yet   
nothing so excites the malice of the    

orthodox preacher as to call its truth  
in question4 ,some endeavor to account  
for the phenomenon by natural causes1   
while others attempt to show that ,god  
could1 by the refraction of light have  
made the sun visible although actually  
shining on the opposite side of the     
earth4 ,the last hypothesis has been    
seriously urged by ministers within the 
last few months4 ,the ,rev4 ,henry ,m4  
,morey of ,south ,bend1 ,indiana1 says  
that the phenomenon was simply optical4 
,the rotary motion of the earth was not 
disturbed1 but the light of the sun was 
prolonged by the same laws of refraction
 and reflection by which the sun now    
appears to be above the horizon when it 
is really below4 ,the medium through    
which the sun's rays passed may have    
been miraculously influenced so as to   
have caused the sun to linger above the 
horizon long after its usual time for   
disappearance4  ,this is the latest and 
ripest product of christian scholarship 
upon this question no doubt1 but still  

it is not entirely satisfactory to me4  
,according to the sacred account the sun
 did not linger1 merely1 above the      
horizon1 but stood still in the midst of
 heaven for about a whole day1 that is  
to say1 for about twelve hours4 ,if the 
air was miraculously changed1 so that it
 would refract the rays of the sun while
 the earth turned over as usual for     
about a whole day1 then1 at the end of  
that time the sun must have been visible
 in the east1 that is1 it must by that  
time have been the next morning4        
,according to this1 that most wonderful 
day must have been at least thirty-six  
hours in length4 ,we have first1 the    
twelve hours of natural light1 then     
twelve hours of refracted and reflected 
light4 ,by that time it would again be  
morning1 and the sun would shine for    
twelve hours more in the natural way1   
making thirty-six hours in all4  ,if the
 ,rev4 ,morey would depend a little less
 on refraction and a little more on     
reflection1 he would conclude that the  

whole story is simply a barbaric myth   
and fable4  ,it hardly seems reasonable 
that ,god1 if there is one1 would either
 stop the globe1 change the constitution
 of the atmosphere or the nature of     
light simply to afford ,joshua an       
opportunity to kill people on that day  
when he could just as easily have waited
 until the next morning4 ,it certainly  
cannot be very gratifying to ,god for us
 to believe such childish things4  ,it  
has been demonstrated that force is     
eternal2 that it is forever active1 and 
eludes destruction by change of form4   
,motion is a form of force1 and all     
arrested motion changes instantly to    
heat4 ,the earth turns upon its axis at 
about one thousand miles an hour4 ,let  
it be stopped and a force beyond our    
imagination is changed to heat4 ,it has 
been calculated that to stop the world  
would produce as much heat as the       
burning of a solid piece of coal three  
times the size of the earth4 ,and yet we
 are asked to believe that this was done

 in order that one barbarian might      
defeat another4 ,such stories never     
would have been written1 had not the    
belief been general that the heavenly   
bodies were as nothing compared with the
 earth4  ,the view of ,moses was        
acquiesced in by the ,jewish people and 
by the ,christian world for thousands of
 years4 ,it is supposed that ,moses     
lived about fifteen hundred years before
 ,christ1 and although he was inspired1 
and obtained his information directly   
from ,god1 he did not know as much about
 our solar system as the ,chinese did a 
thousand years before he was born4 ,the 
,emperor ,chwenhio adopted as an epoch1 
a conjunction of the planets ,mercury1  
,mars1 ,jupiter and ,saturn1 which has  
been shown by ,m4 ,bailly to have       
occurred no less than #bddi years before
 ,christ4 ,the ancient ,chinese knew not
 only the motions of the planets1 but   
they could calculate eclipses4 ,in the  
reign of the ,emperor ,chow-,kang1 the  
chief astronomers1 ,ho and ,hi were     

condemned to death for neglecting to    
announce a solar eclipse which took     
place #bafi ,b4 ,c1 a clear proof that  
the prediction of eclipses was a part of
 the duty of the imperial astronomers4  
,is it not strange that a ,chinaman     
should find out by his own exertions    
more about the material universe than   
,moses could when assisted by its       
,creator8  ,about eight hundred years   
after ,god gave ,moses the principal    
facts about the creation of the heaven  
and the earth he performed another      
miracle far more wonderful than stopping
 the world4 ,on this occasion he not    
only stopped the earth1 but actually    
caused it to turn the other way4 ,a     
,jewish king was sick1 and ,god1 in     
order to convince him that he would     
ultimately recover1 offered to make the 
shadow on the dial go forward1 or       
backward ten degrees4 ,the king thought 
it was too easy a thing to make the     
shadow go forward1 and asked that it be 
turned back4 ,thereupon1 ,isaiah the    

prophet cried unto the ,lord1 and he    
brought the shadow ten degrees backward 
by which it had gone down in the dial of
 ,ahaz4 ,i hardly see how this miracle  
could be accounted for even by          
refraction and reflection4  ,it seems1  
from the account1 that this stupendous  
miracle was performed after the king had
 been cured4 ,the account of the shadow 
going backward is given in the eleventh 
verse of the twentieth chapter of       
,second ,kings1 while the cure is given 
in the seventh verse of the same        
chapter4 ,and ,isaiah said1 ,take a lump
 of figs4 ,and they took and laid it on 
the boil1 and he recovered4  ,stopping  
the world and causing it to turn back   
ten degrees after that1 seems to have   
been1 as the boil was already cured by  
the figs1 a useless display of power4   
,the easiest way to account for all     
these wonders is to say that the        
inspired writers were mistaken4 ,in this
 way a fearful burden is lifted from the
 credulity of man1 and he is left free  

to believe the evidences of his own     
senses1 and the demonstrations of       
science4 ,in this way he can emancipate 
himself from the slavery of             
superstition1 the control of the        
barbaric dead1 and the despotism of the 
church4  ,only about a hundred years    
ago1 ,buffon1 the naturalist1 was       
compelled by the faculty of theology at 
,paris to publicly renounce fourteen    
errors in his work on ,natural ,history 
because they were at variance with the  
,mosaic account of creation4 ,the       
,pentateuch is still the scientific     
standard of the church1 and ignorant    
priests1 armed with that1 pronounce     
sentence upon the vast accomplishments  
of modern thought4     ,x4 ,,he ,,made  
,,the ,,stars ,,also4  ,moses came very 
near forgetting about the stars1 and    
only gave five words to all the hosts of
 heaven4 ,can it be possible that he    
knew anything about the stars beyond the
 mere fact that he saw them shining     
above him8  ,did he know that the       

nearest star1 the one we ought to be the
 best acquainted with1 is twenty-one    
billion of miles away1 and that it is a 
sun shining by its own light8 ,did he   
know of the next1 that is thirty-seven  
billion miles distant8 ,is it possible  
that he was acquainted with ,sirius1 a  
sun two thousand six hundred and        
eighty-eight times larger than our own1 
surrounded by a system of heavenly      
bodies1 several of which are already    
known1 and distant from us eighty-two   
billion miles8 ,did he know that the    
,polar star that tells the mariner his  
course and guided slaves to liberty and 
joy1 is distant from this little world  
two hundred and ninety-two billion      
miles1 and that ,capella wheels and     
shines one hundred and thirty-three     
billion miles beyond8 ,did he know that 
it would require about seventy-two years
 for light to reach us from this star8  
,did he know that light travels one     
hundred and eighty-five thousand miles a
 second8 ,did he know that some stars   

are so far away in the infinite abysses 
that five millions of years are required
 for their light to reach this globe8   
,if this is true1 and if as the bible   
tells us1 the stars were made after the 
earth1 then this world has been wheeling
 in its orbit for at least five million 
years4  ,it may be replied that it was  
not the intention of ,god to teach      
geology and astronomy4 ,then why did he 
say anything upon these subjects8 and if
 he did say anything1 why did he not    
give the facts8  ,according to the      
sacred records ,god created1 on the     
first day1 the heaven and the earth1    
moved upon the face of the waters1 and  
made the light4 ,on the second day he   
made the firmament or the expanse and   
divided the waters4 ,on the third day he
 gathered the waters into seas1 let the 
dry land appear and caused the earth to 
bring forth grass1 herbs and fruit      
trees1 and on the fourth day he made the
 sun1 moon and stars and set them in the
 firmament of heaven to give light upon 

the earth4 ,this division of labor is   
very striking4 ,the work of the other   
days is as nothing when compared with   
that of the fourth4 ,is it possible that
 it required the same time and labor to 
make the grass1 herbs and fruit trees1  
that it did to fill with countless      
constellations the infinite expanse of  
space8     ,,xi4 ,,friday  ,we are then 
told that on the next day ,god said1    
,let the waters bring forth abundantly  
the moving creatures that hath life1 and
 fowl that may fly above the earth in   
the open firmament of heaven4 ,and ,god 
created great whales and every living   
creature which the waters brought forth 
abundantly1 after their kind1 and every 
winged fowl after his kind1 and ,god saw
 that it was good4 ,and ,god blessed    
them1 saying1 ,be fruitful and multiply 
and fill the waters in the seas1 and let
 fowl multiply in the earth4  ,is it    
true that while the dry land was covered
 with grass1 and herbs1 and trees       
bearing fruit1 the ocean was absolutely 

devoid of life1 and so remained for     
millions of years8  ,if ,moses meant    
twenty-four hours by the word day1 then 
it would make but little difference on  
which of the six days animals were made2
 but if the word day was used to express
 millions of ages1 during which life was
 slowly evolved from monad up to man1   
then the account becomes infinitely     
absurd1 puerile and foolish4 ,there is  
not a scientist of high standing who    
will say that in his judgment the earth 
was covered with fruit bearing trees    
before the moners1 the ancestors it may 
be of the human race1 felt in           
,laurentian seas the first faint throb  
of life4 ,nor is there one who will     
declare that there was a single spire of
 grass before the sun had poured upon   
the world his flood of gold4  ,why      
should men in the name of religion try  
to harmonize the contradictions that    
exist between ,nature and a book8 ,why  
should philosophers be denounced for    
placing more reliance upon what they    

know than upon what they have been told8
 ,if there is a ,god1 it is reasonably  
certain that he made the world1 but it  
is by no means certain that he is-the   
author of the bible4 ,why then should we
 not place greater confidence in ,nature
 than in a book8 ,and even if this ,god 
made not only the world but the book    
besides1 it does not follow that the    
book is the best part of ,creation1 and 
the only part that we will be eternally 
punished for denying4 ,it seems to me   
that it is quite as important to know   
something of the solar system1 something
 of the physical history of this globe1 
as it is to know the adventures of      
,jonah or the diet of ,ezekiel4 ,for my 
part1 ,i would infinitely prefer to know
 all the results of scientific          
investigation1 than to be inspired as   
,moses was4 ,supposing the bible to be  
true2 why is it any worse or more wicked
 for free-thinkers to deny it1 than for 
priests to deny the doctrine of         
,evolution1 or the dynamic theory of    

heat8 ,why should we be damned for      
laughing at ,samson and his foxes1 while
 others1 holding the ,nebular           
,hypothesis in utter contempt1 go       
straight to heaven8 ,it seems to me that
 a belief in the great truths of science
 are fully as essential to salvation1 as
 the creed of any church4 ,we are taught
 that a man may be perfectly acceptable 
to ,god even if he denies the rotundity 
of the earth1 the ,copernican system1   
the three laws of ,kepler1 the          
indestructibility of matter and the     
attraction of gravitation4 ,and we are  
also taught that a man may be right upon
 all these questions1 and yet1 for      
failing to believe in the scheme of     
salvation1 be eternally lost4     ,,xii4
 ,,saturday  ,on this1 the last day of  
creation1 ,god said3--,let the earth    
bring forth the living creature after   
his kind1 cattle and creeping thing and 
beast of the earth after his kind2 and  
it was so4 ,and ,god made the beast of  
the earth after his kind1 and cattle    

after their kind1 and every thing that  
creepeth upon the earth after his kind2 
and ,god saw that it was good4  ,now1 is
 it true that the seas were filled with 
fish1 the sky with fowls1 and the earth 
covered with grass1 and herbs1 and fruit
 bearing trees1 millions of ages before 
there was a creeping thing in existence8
 ,must we admit that plants and animals 
were the result of the fiat of some     
incomprehensible intelligence           
independent of the operation of what are
 known as natural causes8 ,why is a     
miracle any more necessary to account   
for yesterday than for to-day or for    
to-morrow8  ,if there is an infinite    
,power1 nothing can be more certain than
 that this ,power works in accordance   
with what we call law1 that is1 by and  
through natural causes4 ,if anything can
 be found without a pedigree of natural 
antecedents1 it will then be time enough
 to talk about the fiat of creation4    
,there must have been a time when plants
 and animals did not exist upon this    

globe4 ,the question1 and the only      
question is1 whether they were naturally
 produced4 ,if the account given by     
,moses is true1 then the vegetable and  
animal existences are the result of     
certain special fiats of creation       
entirely independent of the operation of
 natural causes4 ,this is so grossly    
improbable1 so at variance with the     
experience and observation of mankind1  
that it cannot be adopted without       
abandoning forever the basis of         
scientific thought and action4  ,it may 
be urged that we do not understand the  
sacred record correctly4 ,to this it may
 be replied that for thousands of years 
the account of the creation has1 by the 
,jewish and ,christian world1 been      
regarded as literally true4 ,if it was  
inspired1 of course ,god must have known
 just how it would be understood1 and   
consequently must have intended that it 
should be understood just as he knew it 
would be4 ,one man writing to another1  
may mean one thing1 and yet be          

understood as meaning something else4   
,now1 if the writer knew that he would  
be misunderstood1 and also knew that he 
could use other words that would convey 
his real meaning1 but did not1 we would 
say that he used words on purpose to    
mislead1 and was not an honest man4  ,if
 a being of infinite wisdom wrote the   
bible1 or caused it to be written1 he   
must have known exactly how his words   
would be interpreted by all the world1  
and he must have intended to convey the 
very meaning that was conveyed4 ,he must
 have known that by reading that book1  
man would form erroneous views as to the
 shape1 antiquity1 and size of this     
world2 that he would be misled as to the
 time and order of creation2 that he    
would have the most childish and        
contemptible views of the creator2 that 
the sacred word would be used to support
 slavery and polygamy2 that it would    
build dungeons for the good1 and light  
fagots to consume the brave1 and        
therefore he must have intended that    

these results should follow4 ,he also   
must have known that thousands and      
millions of men and women never could   
believe his bible1 and that the number  
of unbelievers would increase in the    
exact ratio of civilization1 and        
therefore1 he must have intended that   
result4  ,let us understand this4 ,an   
honest finite being uses the best words1
 in his judgment1 to convey his meaning4
 ,this is the best he can do1 because he
 cannot certainly know the exact effect 
of his words on others4 ,but an infinite
 being must know not only the real      
meaning of the words1 but the exact     
meaning they will convey to every reader
 and hearer4 ,he must know every meaning
 that they are capable of conveying to  
every mind4 ,he must also know what     
explanations must be made to prevent    
misconception4 ,if an infinite being    
cannot1 in making a revelation to man1  
use such words that every person to whom
 a revelation is essential will         
understand distinctly what that         

revelation is1 then a revelation from   
,god through the instrumentality of     
language is impossible1 or it is not    
essential that all should understand it 
correctly4 ,it may be urged that        
millions have not the capacity to       
understand a revelation1 although       
expressed in the plainest words4 ,to    
this it seems a sufficient reply to ask1
 why a being of infinite power should   
create men so devoid of intelligence1   
that he cannot by any means make known  
to them his will8 ,we are told that it  
is exceedingly plain1 and that a        
wayfaring man1 though a fool1 need not  
err therein4 ,this statement is refuted 
by the religious history of the         
christian world4 ,every sect is a       
certificate that ,god has not plainly   
revealed his will to man4 ,to each      
reader the bible conveys a different    
meaning4 ,about the meaning of this     
book1 called a revelation1 there have   
been ages of war1 and centuries of sword
 and flame4 ,if written by an infinite  

,god1 he must have known that these     
results must follow2 and thus knowing1  
he must be responsible for all4  ,is it 
not infinitely more reasonable to say   
that this book is the work of man1 that 
it is filled with mingled truth and     
error1 with mistakes and facts1 and     
reflects1 too faithfully perhaps1 the   
very form and pressure of its time8  ,if
 there are mistakes in the bible1       
certainly they were made by man4 ,if    
there is anything contrary to nature1 it
 was written by man4 ,if there is       
anything immoral1 cruel1 heartless or   
infamous1 it certainly was never written
 by a being worthy of the adoration of  
mankind4     ,,xiii4 ,,let ,,us ,,make  
,,man  ,we are next informed by the     
author of the ,pentateuch that ,god said
 ,let us make man in our image1 after   
our likeness1 and that ,god created man 
in his own image1 in the image of ,god  
created he him--male and female created 
he them4  ,if this account means        
anything1 it means that man was created 

in the physical image and likeness of   
,god4 ,moses while he speaks of man as  
having been made in the image of ,god1  
never speaks of ,god except as having   
the form of a man4 ,he speaks of ,god as
 walking in the garden in the cool of   
the day2 and that ,adam and ,eve heard  
his voice4 ,he is constantly telling    
what ,god said1 and in a thousand       
passages he refers to him as not only   
having the human form1 but as performing
 actions1 such as man performs4 ,the    
,god of ,moses was a ,god with hands1   
with feet1 with the organs of speech4   
,a ,god of passion1 of hatred1 of       
revenge1 of affection1 of repentance2 a 
,god who made mistakes3--in other words1
 an immense and powerful man4  ,it will 
not do to say that ,moses meant to      
convey the idea that ,god made man in   
his mental or moral image4 ,some have   
insisted that man was made in the moral 
image of ,god because he was made pure4 
,purity cannot be manufactured4 ,a moral
 character cannot be made for man by a  

god4 ,every man must make his own moral 
character4 ,consequently1 if ,god is    
infinitely pure1 ,adam and ,eve were not
 made in his image in that respect4     
,others say that ,adam and ,eve were    
made in the mental image of ,god4 ,if it
 is meant by that1 that they were       
created with reasoning powers like1 but 
not to the extent of those possessed by 
a god1 then this may be admitted4 ,but  
certainly this idea was not in the mind 
of ,moses4 ,he regarded the human form  
as being in the image of ,god1 and for  
that reason always spoke of ,god as     
having that form4 ,no one can read the  
,pentateuch without coming to the       
conclusion that the author supposed that
 man was created in the physical        
likeness of ,deity4 ,god said ,go to1   
let us go down4 ,god smelled a sweet    
savor2 ,god repented him that he had    
made man2 and ,god said2 and walked2 and
 talked2 and rested4 ,all these         
expressions are inconsistent with any   
other idea than that the person using   

them regarded ,god as having the form of
 man4  ,as a matter of fact1 it is      
impossible for a man to conceive of a   
personal ,god1 other than as a being    
having the human form4 ,no one can think
 of an infinite being having the form of
 a horse1 or of a bird1 or of any animal
 beneath man4 ,it is one of the         
necessities of the mind to associate    
forms with intellectual capacities4 ,the
 highest form of which we have any      
conception is man's1 and consequently1  
his is the only form that we can find in
 imagination to give to a personal ,god1
 because all other forms are1 in our    
minds1 connected with lower             
intelligences4  ,it is impossible to    
think of a personal ,god as a spirit    
without form4 ,we can use these words1  
but they do not convey to the mind any  
real and tangible meaning4 ,every one   
who thinks of a personal ,god at all1   
thinks of him as having the human form4 
,take from ,god the idea of form2 speak 
of him simply as an all pervading       

spirit--which means an all pervading    
something about which we know           
nothing--and ,pantheism is the result4  
,we are told that ,god made man2 and the
 question naturally arises1 how was this
 done8 ,was it by a process of          
evolution1 development2 the transmission
 of acquired habits2 the survival of the
 fittest1 or was the necessary amount of
 clay kneaded to the proper consistency1
 and then by the hands of ,god moulded  
into form8 ,modern science tells that   
man has been evolved1 through countless 
epochs1 from the lower forms2 that he is
 the result of almost an infinite number
 of actions1 reactions1 experiences1    
states1 forms1 wants and adaptations4   
,did ,moses intend to convey such a     
meaning1 or did he believe that ,god    
took a sufficient amount of dust1 made  
it the proper shape1 and breathed into  
it the breath of life8 ,can any believer
 in the bible give any reasonable       
account of this process of creation8 ,is
 it possible to imagine what was really 

done8 ,is there any theologian who will 
contend that man was created directly   
from the earth8 ,will he say that man   
was made substantially as he now is1    
with all his muscles properly developed 
for walking and speaking1 and performing
 every variety of human action8 ,that   
all his bones were formed as they now   
are1 and all the relations of nerve1    
ligament1 brain and motion as they are  
to-day8  ,looking back over the history 
of animal life from the lowest to the   
highest forms1 we find that there has   
been a slow and gradual development2 a  
certain but constant relation between   
want and production2 between use and    
form4 ,the ,moner is said to be the     
simplest form of animal life that has   
yet been found4 ,it has been described  
as an organism without organs4 ,it is a 
kind of structureless structure2 a      
little mass of transparent jelly that   
can flatten itself out1 and can expand  
and contract around its food4 ,it can   
feed without a mouth1 digest without a  

stomach1 walk without feet1 and         
reproduce itself by simple division4 ,by
 taking this ,moner as the commencement 
of animal life1 or rather as the first  
animal1 it is easy to follow the        
development of the organic structure    
through all the forms of life to man    
himself4 ,in this way finally every     
muscle1 bone and joint1 every organ1    
form and function may be accounted for4 
,in this way1 and in this way only1 can 
the existence of rudimentary organs be  
explained4 ,blot from the human mind the
 ideas of evolution1 heredity1          
adaptation1 and the survival of the     
fittest1 with which it has been enriched
 by ,lamarck1 ,goethe1 ,darwin1 ,haeckel
 and ,spencer1 and all the facts in the 
history of animal life become utterly   
disconnected and meaningless4  ,shall we
 throw away all that has been discovered
 with regard to organic life1 and in its
 place take the statements of one who   
lived in the rude morning of a barbaric 
day8 ,will anybody now contend that man 

was a direct and independent creation1  
and sustains and bears no relation to   
the animals below him8 ,belief upon this
 subject must be governed at last by    
evidence4 ,man cannot believe as he     
pleases4 ,he can control his speech1 and
 can say that he believes or            
disbelieves2 but after all1 his will    
cannot depress or raise the scales with 
which his reason finds the worth and    
weight of facts4 ,if this is not so1    
investigation1 evidence1 judgment and   
reason are but empty words4  ,i ask     
again1 how were ,adam and ,eve created8 
,in one account they are created male   
and female1 and apparently at the same  
time4 ,in the next account1 ,adam is    
made first1 and ,eve a long time        
afterwards1 and from a part of the man4 
,did ,god simply by his creative fiat   
cause a rib slowly to expand1 grow and  
divide into nerve1 ligament1 cartilage  
and flesh8 ,how was the woman created   
from a rib8 ,how was man created simply 
from dust8 ,for my part1 ,i cannot      

believe this statement4 ,i may suffer   
for this in the world to come2 and may  
millions of years hence1 sincerely wish 
that ,i had never investigated the      
subject1 but had been content to take   
the ideas of the dead4 ,i do not believe
 that any ,deity works in that way4 ,so 
far as my experience goes1 there is an  
unbroken procession of cause and effect4
 ,each thing is a necessary link in an  
infinite chain2 and ,i cannot conceive  
of this chain being broken even for one 
instant4 ,back of the simplest moner    
there is a cause1 and back of that      
another1 and so on1 it seems to me1     
forever4 ,in my philosophy ,i postulate 
neither beginning nor ending4  ,if the  
,mosaic account is true1 we know how    
long man has been upon this earth4 ,if  
that account can be relied on1 the first
 man was made about five thousand eight 
hundred and eighty-three years ago4     
,sixteen hundred and fifty-six years    
after the making of the first man1 the  
inhabitants of the world1 with the      

exception of eight people1 were         
destroyed by a flood4 ,this flood       
occurred only about four thousand two   
hundred and twenty-seven years ago4 ,if 
this account is correct1 at that time1  
only one kind of men existed3 ,noah and 
his family were certainly of the same   
blood4 ,it therefore follows that all   
the differences we see between the      
various races of men have been caused in
 about four thousand years4 ,if the     
account of the deluge is true1 then     
since that event all the ancient        
kingdoms of the earth were founded1 and 
their inhabitants passed through all the
 stages of savage1 nomadic1 barbaric and
 semi-civilized life2 through the epochs
 of ,stone1 ,bronze and ,iron2          
established commerce1 cultivated the    
arts1 built cities1 filled them with    
palaces and temples1 invented writing1  
produced a literature and slowly fell to
 shapeless ruin4 ,we must believe that  
all this has happened within a period of
 four thousand years4  ,from            

representations found upon ,egyptian    
granite made more than three thousand   
years ago1 we know that the negro was as
 black1 his lips as full1 and his hair  
as closely curled then as now4 ,if we   
know anything1 we know that there was at
 that time substantially the same       
difference between the ,egyptian and the
 ,negro as now4 ,if we know anything1 we
 know that magnificent statues were made
 in ,egypt four thousand years before   
our era--that is to say1 about six      
thousand years ago4 ,there was at the   
,world's ,exposition1 in the ,egyptian  
department1 a statue of king ,cephren1  
known to have been chiseled more than   
six thousand years ago4 ,in other words1
 if the ,mosaic account must be         
believed1 this statue was made before   
the world4 ,we also know1 if we know    
anything1 that men lived in ,europe with
 the hairy mammoth1 the cave bear1 the  
rhinoceros1 and the hyena4 ,among the   
bones of these animals have been found  
the stone hatchets and flint arrows of  

our ancestors4 ,in the caves where they 
lived have been discovered the remains  
of these animals that had been          
conquered1 killed and devoured as food1 
hundreds of thousands of years ago4  ,if
 these facts are true1 ,moses was       
mistaken4 ,for my part1 ,i have         
infinitely more confidence in the       
discoveries of to-day1 than in the      
records of a barbarous people4 ,it will 
not now do to say that man has existed  
upon this earth for only about six      
thousand years4 ,one can hardly compute 
in his imagination the time necessary   
for man to emerge from the barbarous    
state1 naked and helpless1 surrounded by
 animals far more powerful than he1 to  
progress and finally create the         
civilizations of ,india1 ,egypt and     
,athens4 ,the distance from savagery to 
,shakespeare must be measured not by    
hundreds1 but by millions of years4     
,,xiv4 ,,sunday  ,and on the seventh day
 ,god ended his work which he had made1 
and he rested on the seventh day from   

all his work which he had made4 ,and    
,god blessed the seventh day and        
sanctified it2 because that in it he had
 rested from all his work which ,god    
created and made4  ,the great work had  
been accomplished1 the world1 the sun1  
and moon1 and all the hosts of heaven   
were finished2 the earth was clothed in 
green1 the seas were filled with life1  
the cattle wandered by the              
brooks--insects with painted wings were 
in the happy air1 ,adam and ,eve were   
making each other's acquaintance1 and   
,god was resting from his work4 ,he was 
contemplating the accomplishments of a  
week4  ,because he rested on that day he
 sanctified it1 and for that reason and 
for that alone1 it was by the ,jews     
considered a holy day4 ,if he only      
rested on that day1 there ought to be   
some account of what he did the         
following ,monday4 ,did he rest on that 
day8 ,what did he do after he got       
rested8 ,has he done anything in the way
 of creation since ,saturday evening of 

the first week8  ,it is1 now claimed by 
the scientific christians that the days 
of creation were not ordinary days of   
twenty-four hours each1 but immensely   
long periods of time4 ,if they are      
right1 then how long was the seventh    
day8 ,was that1 too1 a geologic period  
covering thousands of ages8 ,that cannot
 be1 because ,adam and ,eve were created
 the ,saturday evening before1 and      
according to the bible that was about   
five thousand eight hundred and         
eighty-three years ago4 ,i cannot state 
the time exactly1 because there have    
been as many as one hundred and forty   
different opinions given by learned     
biblical students as to the time between
 the creation of the world and the birth
 of ,christ4 ,we are quite certain1     
however1 that1 according to the bible1  
it is not more than six thousand years  
since the creation of ,adam4 ,from this 
it would appear that the seventh day was
 not a geologic epoch1 but was in fact a
 period of less than six thousand years1

 and probably of only twenty-four hours4
  ,the theologians who answer these     
things may take their choice4 ,if they  
take the ground that the days were      
periods of twenty-four hours1 then      
geology will force them to throw away   
the whole account4 ,if1 on the other    
hand1 they admit that the days were vast
 periods1 then the sacredness of the    
sabbath must be given up4  ,there is    
found in the bible no intimation that   
there was the least difference in the   
days4 ,they are all spoken of in the    
same way4 ,it may be replied that our   
translation is incorrect4 ,if this is   
so1 then only those who understand      
,hebrew1 have had a revelation from     
,god1 and all the rest have been        
deceived4  ,how is it possible to       
sanctify a space of time8 ,is rest      
holier than labor8 ,if there is any     
difference between days1 ought not that 
to be considered best in which the most 
useful labor has been performed8  ,of   
all the superstitions of mankind1 this  

insanity about the sacred sabbath is the
 most absurd4 ,the idea of feeling it a 
duty to be solemn and sad one-seventh of
 the time6 ,to think that we can please 
an infinite being by staying in some    
dark and sombre room1 instead of walking
 in the perfumed fields6 ,why should    
,god hate to see a man happy8 ,why      
should it excite his wrath to see a     
family in the woods1 by some babbling   
stream1 talking1 laughing and loving8   
,nature works on that sacred day4 ,the  
earth turns1 the rivers run1 the trees  
grow1 buds burst into flower1 and birds 
fill the air with song4 ,why should we  
look sad1 and think about death1 and    
hear about hell8 ,why should that day be
 filled with gloom instead of joy8  ,a  
poor mechanic1 working all the week in  
dust and noise1 needs a day of rest and 
joy1 a day to visit stream and wood--a  
day to live with wife and child2 a day  
in which to laugh at care1 and gather   
hope and strength for toils to come4    
,and his weary wife needs a breath of   

sunny air1 away from street and wall1   
amid the hills or by the margin of the  
sea1 where she can sit and prattle with 
her babe1 and fill with happy dreams the
 long1 glad day4  ,the sabbath was born 
of asceticism1 hatred of human joy1     
fanaticism1 ignorance1 egotism of       
priests and the cowardice of the people4
 ,this day1 for thousands of years1 has 
been dedicated to superstition1 to the  
dissemination of mistakes1 and the      
establishment of falsehoods4 ,every     
,freethinker1 as a matter of duty1      
should violate this day4 ,he should     
assert his independence1 and do all     
within his power to wrest the sabbath   
from the gloomy church and give it back 
to liberty and joy4 ,freethinkers should
 make the sabbath a day of mirth and    
music2 a day to spend with wife and     
child--a day of games1 and books1 and   
dreams--a day to put fresh flowers above
 our sleeping dead--a day of memory and 
hope1 of love and rest4  ,why should we 
in this age of the world be dominated by

 the dead8 ,why should barbarian ,jews  
who went down to death and dust three   
thousand years ago1 control the living  
world8 ,why should we care for the      
superstition of men who began the       
sabbath by paring their nails1 beginning
 at the fourth finger1 then going to the
 second1 then to the fifth1 then to the 
third1 and ending with the thumb8 ,how  
pleasing to ,god this must have been4   
,the ,jews were very careful of these   
nail parings4 ,they who threw them upon 
the ground were wicked1 because ,satan  
used them to work evil upon the earth4  
,they believed that upon the ,sabbath1  
souls were allowed to leave purgatory   
and cool their burning souls in water4  
,fires were neither allowed to be       
kindled nor extinguished1 and upon that 
day it was a sin to bind up wounds4 ,the
 lame might use a staff1 but the blind  
could not4 ,so strict was the sabbath   
kept1 that at one time if a ,jew on a   
journey was overtaken by the 'sacred    
day' in a wood1 or on the highway1 no   

matter where1 nor under what            
circumstances1 he must sit down1 and    
there remain until the day was gone4 ,if
 he fell down in the dirt1 there he was 
compelled to stay until the day was     
done4 ,for violating the sabbath1 the   
punishment was death1 for nothing short 
of the offender's blood could satisfy   
the wrath of ,god4 ,there are1 in the   
,old ,testament1 two reasons given for  
abstaining from labor on the            
sabbath3--the resting of ,god1 and the  
redemption of the ,jews from the bondage
 of ,egypt4  ,since the establishment of
 the ,christian religion1 the day has   
been changed1 and ,christians do not    
regard the day as holy upon which ,god  
actually rested1 and which he           
sanctified4 ,the ,christian ,sabbath1 or
 the ,lord's day was legally established
 by the murderer ,constantine1 because  
upon that day ,christ was supposed to   
have risen from the dead4  ,it is not   
easy to see where ,christians got the   
right to disregard the direct command of

 ,god1 to labor on the day he           
sanctified1 and keep as sacred1 a day   
upon which he commanded men to labor4   
,the sabbath of ,god is ,saturday1 and  
if any day is to be kept holy1 that is  
the one1 and not the ,sunday of the     
,christian4  ,let us throw away these   
superstitions and take the higher1      
nobler ground1 that every day should be 
rendered sacred by some loving act1 by  
increasing the happinesss of man1 giving
 birth to noble thoughts1 putting in the
 path of toil some flower of joy1       
helping the unfortunate1 lifting the    
fallen1 dispelling gloom1 destroying    
prejudice1 defending the helpless and   
filling homes with light and love4      
,,xv4 ,,the ,,necessity ,,for ,a ,,good 
,,memory  ,it must not be forgotten that
 there are two accounts of the creation 
in ,genesis4 ,the first account stops   
with the third verse of the second      
chapter4 ,the chapters have been        
improperly divided4 ,in the original    
,hebrew the ,pentateuch was neither     

divided into chapters nor verses4 ,there
 was not even any system of punctuation4
 ,it was written wholly with consonants1
 without vowels1 and without any marks1 
dots1 or lines to indicate them4  ,these
 accounts are materially different1 and 
both cannot be true4 ,let us see wherein
 they differ4  ,the second account of   
the creation begins with the fourth     
verse of the second chapter1 and is as  
follows3  ,these are the generations of 
the heavens and of the earth when they  
were created1 in the day that the ,lord 
,god made the earth and the heavens4    
,and every plant of the field before it 
was in the earth1 and every herb of the 
field before it grew2 for the ,lord ,god
 had not caused it to rain upon the     
earth1 and there was not a man to till  
the ground4  ,but there went up a mist  
from the earth and watered the whole    
face of the ground4  ,and the ,lord ,god
 formed man of the dust of the ground1  
and breathed into his nostrils the      
breath of life2 and man became a living 

soul4  ,and the ,lord ,god planted a    
garden eastward in ,eden2 and there he  
put the man whom he had formed4  ,and   
out of the ground made the ,lord ,god to
 grow every tree that is pleasant to the
 sight1 and good for food2 the tree of  
life also in the midst of the garden1   
and the tree of knowledge of good and   
evil4  ,and a river went out of ,eden to
 water the garden2 and from thence it   
was parted and became into four heads4  
,the name of the first is ,pison2 that  
is it which compasseth the whole land of
 ,havilah1 where there is gold4  ,and   
the gold of that land is good3 there is 
bdellium and the onyx stone4  ,and the  
name of the second river is ,gihon3 the 
same is it that compasseth the whole    
land of ,ethiopia4  ,and the name of the
 third river is ,hiddekel2 that is it   
which goeth toward the east of ,assyria4
 ,and the fourth river is ,euphrates4   
,and the ,lord ,god took the man1 and   
put him into the garden of ,eden to     
dress it and to keep it4  ,and the ,lord

 ,god commanded the man1 saying1 ,of    
every tree of the garden thou mayest    
freely eat2 ,but of the tree of the     
knowledge of good and evil1 thou shalt  
not eat of it2 for in the day that thou 
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die4   
,and the ,lord ,god said1 ,it is not    
good that the man should be alone2 ,i   
will make him an helpmeet for him4  ,and
 out of the ground the ,lord ,god formed
 every beast of the field1 and every    
fowl of the air2 and brought them unto  
,adam to see what he would call them3   
and whatsoever ,adam called every living
 creature1 that was the name thereof4   
,and ,adam gave names to all cattle1 and
 to the fowl of the air1 and to every   
beast of the field2 but for ,adam there 
was not found a helpmeet for him4  ,and 
the ,lord ,god caused a deep sleep to   
fall upon ,adam1 and he slept2 and he   
took one of his ribs1 and closed up the 
flesh instead thereof4  ,and the rib1   
which the ,lord ,god had taken from man1
 made he a woman and brought her unto   

the man4  ,and ,adam said1 ,this is now 
bone of my bones1 and flesh of my flesh2
 she shall be called ,woman1 because she
 was taken out of man4  ,therefore shall
 a man leave his father and his mother1 
and shall cleave unto his wife2 and they
 shall be one flesh4  ,and they were    
both naked1 the man and his wife1 and   
were not ashamed4  ,order of creation in
 the first account3  #a4 ,the heaven and
 the earth1 and light were made4  #b4   
,the firmament was constructed and the  
waters divided4  #c4 ,the waters        
gathered into seas--and then came dry   
land1 grass1 herbs and fruit trees4  #d4
 ,the sun and moon4 ,he made the stars  
also4  #e4 ,fishes1 fowls1 and great    
whales4  #f4 ,beasts1 cattle1 every     
creeping thing1 man and woman4  ,order  
of creation in the second account3  #a4 
,the heavens and the earth4  #b4 ,a mist
 went up from the earth1 and watered the
 whole face of the ground4  #c4 ,created
 a man out of dust1 by the name of      
,adam4  #d4 ,planted a garden eastward  

in ,eden1 and put the man in it4  #e4   
,created the beasts and fowls4  #f4     
,created a woman out of one of the man's
 ribs4  ,in the second account1 man was 
made before the beasts and fowls4 ,if   
this is true1 the first account is      
false4 ,and if the theologians of our   
time are correct in their view that the 
,mosaic day means thousands of ages1    
then1 according to the second account1  
,adam existed millions of years before  
,eve was formed4 ,he must have lived one
 ,mosaic day before there were any      
trees1 and another ,mosaic day before   
the beasts and fowls were created4 ,will
 some kind clergymen tell us upon what  
kind of food ,adam subsisted during     
these immense periods8  ,in the second  
account a man is made1 and the fact that
 he was without a helpmeet did not occur
 to the ,lord ,god until a couple of    
vast periods afterwards4 ,the ,lord ,god
 suddenly coming to an appreciation of  
the situation said1 ,it is not good that
 the man should be alone4 ,i will make  

him a helpmeet for him4  ,now1 after    
concluding to make an helpmeet for      
,adam1 what did the ,lord ,god do8 ,did 
he at once proceed to make a woman8 ,no4
 ,what did he do8 ,he made the beasts1  
and tried to induce ,adam to take one of
 them for an helpmeet4 ,if ,i am        
incorrect1 read the following account1  
and tell me what it means3  ,and the    
,lord ,god said1 ,it is not good that   
the man should be alone2 ,i will make   
him an helpmeet for him4  ,and out of   
the ground the ,lord ,god formed every  
beast of the field1 and every fowl of   
the air2 and brought them unto ,adam to 
see what he would call them3 and        
whatsoever ,adam called every living    
creature1 that was the name thereof4    
,and ,adam gave names to all cattle1 and
 to the fowl of the air1 and to every   
beast of the field2 but for ,adam there 
was not found an helpmeet for him4      
,unless the ,lord ,god was looking for  
an helpmeet for ,adam1 why did he cause 
the animals to pass before him8 ,and why

 did he1 after the menagerie had passed 
by1 pathetically exclaim1 ,but for ,adam
 there was not found an helpmeet for    
him8  ,it seems that ,adam saw nothing  
that struck his fancy4 ,the fairest ape1
 the sprightliest chimpanzee1 the       
loveliest baboon1 the most bewitching   
orangoutang1 the most fascinating       
gorilla failed to touch with love's     
sweet pain1 poor ,adam's lonely heart4  
,let us rejoice that this was so4 ,had  
he fallen in love then1 there never     
would have been a ,freethinker in this  
world4  ,dr4 ,adam ,clark1 speaking of  
this remarkable proceeding says3--,god  
caused the animals to pass before ,adam 
to show him that no creature yet formed 
could make him a suitable companion2    
that ,adam was convinced that none of   
these animals could be a suitable       
companion for him1 and that therefore he
 must continue in a state that was not  
good 7celibacy7 unless he became a      
further debtor to the bounty of his     
maker1 for among all the animals which  

he had formed1 there was not a helpmeet 
for ,adam4  ,upon this same subject1    
,dr4 ,scott informs us that it was not  
conducive to the happiness of the man to
 remain without the consoling society1  
and endearment of tender friendship1 nor
 consistent with the end of his creation
 to be without marriage by which the    
earth might be replenished and          
worshipers and servants raised up to    
render him praise and glory4 ,adam seems
 to have been vastly better acquainted  
by intuition or revelation with the     
distinct properties of every creature   
than the most sagacious observer since  
the fall of man4  ,upon this review of  
the animals1 not one was found in       
outward form his counterpart1 nor one   
suited to engage his affections1        
participate in his enjoyments1 or       
associate with him in the worship of    
,god4  ,dr4 ,matthew ,henry admits that 
,god brought all the animals together to
 see if there was a suitable match for  
,adam in any of the numerous families of

 the inferior creatures1 but there was  
none4 ,they were all looked over1 but   
,adam could not be matched among them   
all4 ,therefore ,god created a new thing
 to be a helpmeet for him4  ,failing to 
satisfy ,adam with any of the inferior  
animals1 the ,lord ,god caused a deep   
sleep to fall upon him1 and while in    
this sleep took out one of ,adam's ribs 
and closed up the flesh instead thereof4
 ,and out of this rib1 the ,lord ,god   
made a woman1 and brought her to the    
man4  ,was the ,lord ,god compelled to  
take a part of the man because he had   
used up all the original nothing out of 
which the universe was made8 ,is it     
possible for any sane and intelligent   
man to believe this story8 ,must a man  
be born a second time before this       
account seems reasonable8  ,imagine the 
,lord ,god with a bone in his hand with 
which to start a woman1 trying to make  
up his mind whether to make a blonde or 
a brunette6  ,just at this point it may 
be proper for me to warn all persons    

from laughing at or making light of1 any
 stories found in the ,holy ,bible4     
,when you come to die1 every laugh will 
be a thorn in your pillow4 ,at that     
solemn moment1 as you look back upon the
 records of your life1 no matter how    
many men you may have wrecked and       
ruined2 no matter how many women you    
have deceived and deserted1 all that can
 be forgiven2 but if you remember then  
that you have laughed at even one story 
in ,god's sacred book you will see      
through the gathering shadows of death  
the forked tongues of devils1 and the   
leering eyes of fiends4  ,these stories 
must be believed1 or the work of        
regeneration can never be commenced4 ,no
 matter how well you act your part1 live
 as honestly as you may1 clothe the     
naked1 feed the hungry1 divide your last
 farthing with the poor1 and you are    
simply traveling the broad road that    
leads inevitably to eternal death1      
unless at the same time you implicitly  
believe the bible to be the inspired    

word of ,god4  ,let me show you the     
result of unbelief4 ,let us suppose1 for
 a moment1 that we are at the ,day of   
,judgment1 listening to the trial of    
souls as they arrive4 ,the ,recording   
,secretary1 or whoever does the         
cross-examining1 says to a soul3  ,where
 are you from8  ,i am from the ,earth4  
,what kind of a man were you8  ,well1 ,i
 don't like to talk about myself4 ,i    
suppose you can tell by looking at your 
books4  ,no sir4 ,you must tell what    
kind of a man you were4  ,well1 ,i was  
what you might call a first-rate fellow4
 ,i loved my wife and children4 ,my home
 was my heaven4 ,my fireside was a      
paradise to me4 ,to sit there and see   
the lights and shadows fall upon the    
faces of those ,i loved1 was to me a    
perfect joy4  ,how did you treat your   
family8  ,i never said an unkind word4  
,i never caused my wife1 nor one of my  
children1 a moment's pain4  ,did you pay
 your debts8  ,i did not owe a dollar   
when ,i died1 and left enough to pay my 

funeral expenses1 and to keep the fierce
 wolf of want from the door of those ,i 
loved4  ,did you belong to any church8  
,no sir4 ,they were too narrow1 pinched 
and bigoted for me1 ,i never thought    
that ,i could be very happy if other    
folks were damned4  ,did you believe in 
eternal punishment8  ,well1 no4 ,i      
always thought that ,god could get his  
revenge in far less time4  ,did you     
believe the rib story8  ,do you mean the
 ,adam and ,eve business8  ,yes6 ,did   
you believe that8  ,to tell you the     
,god's truth1 that was just a little    
more than ,i could swallow4  ,away with 
him to hell6  ,next6  ,where are you    
from8 ,i am from the world too4  ,did   
you belong to any church8  ,yes sir1 and
 to the ,young ,men's ,christian        
,association besides4  ,what was your   
business8  ,cashier in a ,savings ,bank4
  ,did you ever run away with any money8
  ,where ,i came from1 a witness could  
not be compelled to criminate himself4  
,the law is different here4 ,answer the 

question4 ,did you run away with any    
money8  ,yes sir4  ,how much8  ,one     
hundred thousand dollars4  ,did you take
 anything else with you8  ,yes sir4     
,well1 what else8  ,i took my neighbor's
 wife--we sang together in the choir4   
,did you have a wife and children of    
your own8  ,yes sir4  ,and you deserted 
them8  ,yes sir1 but such was my        
confidence in ,god that ,i believed he  
would take care of them4  ,have you     
heard of them since8  ,no sir4  ,did you
 believe in the rib story8  ,bless your 
soul1 of course ,i did4 ,a thousand     
times ,i regretted that there were no   
harder stories in the bible1 so that ,i 
could have shown my wealth of faith4    
,do you believe the rib story yet8      
,yes1 with all my heart4  ,give him a   
harp6  ,well1 as ,i was saying1 ,god    
made a woman from ,adam's rib4 ,of      
course1 ,i do not know exactly how this 
was done1 but when he got the woman     
finished1 he presented her to ,adam4 ,he
 liked her1 and they commenced          

house-keeping in the celebrated garden  
of ,eden4  ,must we1 in order to be     
good1 gentle and loving in our lives1   
believe that the creation of woman was a
 second thought8 ,that ,jehovah really  
endeavored to induce ,adam to take one  
of the lower animals as an helpmeet for 
him8 ,after all1 is it not possible to  
live honest and courageous lives without
 believing these fables8 ,it is said    
that from ,mount ,sinai ,god gave1 amid 
thunderings and lightnings1 ten         
commandments for the guidance of        
mankind2 and yet among them is not      
found--,thou shalt believe the ,bible4  
,,xvi4 ,,the ,,garden  ,in the first    
account we are told that ,god made man1 
male and female1 and said to them ,be   
fruitful1 and multiply1 and replenish   
the earth and subdue it4  ,in the second
 account only the man is made1 and he is
 put in a garden to dress it and to keep
 it4 ,he is not told to subdue the      
earth1 but to dress and keep a garden4  
,in the first account man is given every

 herb bearing seed upon the face of the 
earth and the fruit of every tree for   
food1 and in the second1 he is given    
only the fruit of all the trees in the  
garden with the exception of the tree of
 the knowledge of good and evil which   
was a deadly poison4  ,there was issuing
 from this garden a river that was      
parted into four heads4 ,the first of   
these1 ,pison1 compassed the whole land 
of ,havilah1 the second1 ,gihon1 that   
compassed the whole land of ,ethiopia1  
the third1 ,heddekel1 that flowed toward
 the east of ,assyria1 and the fourth1  
the ,euphrates4 ,where are these four   
rivers now8 ,the brave prow of discovery
 has visited every sea2 the traveler has
 pressed with weary feet the soil of    
every clime2 and yet there has been     
found no place from which four rivers   
sprang4 ,the ,euphrates still journeys  
to the gulf1 but where are ,pison1      
,gihon and the mighty ,heddekel8 ,surely
 by going to the source of the          
,euphrates we ought to find either these

 three rivers or their ancient beds4    
,will some minister when he answers the 
,mistakes of ,moses tell us where these 
rivers are or were8 ,the maps of the    
world are incomplete without these      
mighty streams4 ,we have discovered the 
sources of the ,nile2 the ,north ,pole  
will soon be touched by an ,american2   
but these three rivers still rise in    
unknown hills1 still flow through       
unknown lands1 and empty still in       
unknown seas4  ,the account of these    
four rivers is what the ,rev4 ,david    
,swing would call a geographical poem4  
,the orthodox clergy cover the whole    
affair with the blanket of allegory1    
while the scientific christian folks    
talk about cataclysms1 upheavals1       
earthquakes1 and vast displacements of  
the earth's crust4  ,the question1 then 
arises1 whether within the last six     
thousand years there have been such     
upheavals and displacements8 ,talk as   
you will about the vast creative periods
 that preceded the appearance of man2 it

 is1 according to the bible1 only about 
six thousand years since man was        
created4 ,moses gives us the generations
 of men from ,adam until his day1 and   
this account cannot be explained away by
 calling centuries1 days4  ,according to
 the second account of creation1 these  
four rivers were made after the creation
 of man1 and consequently they must have
 been obliterated by convulsions of     
,nature within six thousand years4  ,can
 we not account for these               
contradictions1 absurdities1 and        
falsehoods by simply saying that        
although the writer may have done his   
level best1 he failed because he was    
limited in knowledge1 led away by       
tradition1 and depended too implicitly  
upon the correctness of his imagination8
 ,is not such a course far more         
reasonable than to insist that all these
 things are true and must stand though  
every science shall fall to mental dust8
  ,can any reason be given for not      
allowing man to eat of the fruit of the 

tree of knowledge8 ,what kind of tree   
was that8 ,if it is all an allegory1    
what truth is sought to be conveyed8    
,why should ,god object to that fruit   
being eaten by man8 ,why did he put it  
in the midst of the garden8 ,there was  
certainly plenty of room outside4 ,if he
 wished to keep man and this tree apart1
 why did he put them together8 ,and why1
 after he had eaten1 was he thrust out8 
,the only answer that we have a right to
 give1 is the one given in the bible4   
,and the ,lord ,god said1 ,behold the   
man has become as one of us to know good
 and evil2 and now1 lest he put forth   
his hand and take also of the tree of   
life1 and eat1 and live forever3        
,therefore the ,lord ,god sent him forth
 from the garden of ,eden1 to till the  
ground from whence he was taken4  ,will 
some minister1 some graduate of         
,andover1 tell us what this means8 ,are 
we bound to believe it without knowing  
what the meaning is8 ,if it is a        
revelation1 what does it reveal8 ,did   

,god object to education then1 and does 
that account for the hostile attitude   
still assumed by theologians towards all
 scientific truth8 ,was there in the    
garden a tree of life1 the eating of    
which would have rendered ,adam and ,eve
 immortal8 ,is it true1 that after the  
,lord ,god drove them from the garden   
that he placed upon its ,eastern side   
,cherubim and a flaming sword which     
turned every way to keep the way of the 
tree of life8 ,are the ,cherubims and   
the flaming sword guarding that tree    
yet1 or was it destroyed1 or did its    
rotting trunk1 as the ,rev4 ,robert     
,collyer suggests nourish a bank of     
violets8  ,what objection could ,god    
have had to the immortality of man8 ,you
 see that after all1 this sacred record1
 instead of assuring us of immortality1 
shows us only how we lost it4 ,in this  
there is assuredly but little           
consolation4  ,according to this story  
we have lost one ,eden1 but nowhere in  
the ,mosaic books are we told how we may

 gain another4 ,i know that the         
,christians tell us there is another1 in
 which all true believers will finally  
be gathered1 and enjoy the unspeakable  
happiness of seeing the unbelievers in  
hell2 but they do not tell us where it  
is4  ,some commentators say that the    
,garden of ,eden was in the third       
heaven--some in the fourth1 others have 
located it in the moon1 some in the air 
beyond the attraction of the earth1 some
 on the ,earth1 some under the ,earth1  
some inside the ,earth1 some at the     
,north ,pole1 others at the ,south1 some
 in ,tartary1 some in ,china1 some on   
the borders of the ,ganges1 some in the 
island of ,ceylon1 some in ,armenia1    
some in ,africa1 some under the         
,equator1 others in ,mesopotamia1 in    
,syria1 ,persia1 ,arabia1 ,babylon1     
,assyria1 ,palestine and ,europe4       
,others have contended that it was      
invisible1 that it was an allegory1 and 
must be spiritually understood4  ,but   
whether you understand these things or  

not1 you must believe them4 ,you may be 
laughed at in this world for insisting  
that ,god put ,adam into a deep sleep   
and made a woman out of one of his ribs1
 but you will be crowned and glorified  
in the next ,you will also have the     
pleasure of hearing the gentlemen howl  
there1 who laughed at you here4 ,while  
you will not be permitted to take any   
revenge1 you will be allowed to         
smilingly express your entire           
acquiescence in the will of ,god4 ,but  
where is the new ,eden8 ,no one knows4  
,the one was lost1 and the other has not
 been found4  ,is it true that man was  
once perfectly pure and innocent1 and   
that he became degenerate by            
disobedience8 ,no4 ,the real truth is1  
and the history of man shows1 that he   
has advanced4 ,events1 like the pendulum
 of a clock have swung forward and      
backward1 but after all1 man1 like the  
hands1 has gone steadily on4 ,man is    
growing grander4 ,he is not             
degenerating4 ,nations and individuals  

fail and die1 and make room for higher  
forms4 ,the intellectual horizon of the 
world widens as the centuries pass4     
,ideals grow grander and purer2 the     
difference between justice and mercy    
becomes less and less2 liberty enlarges1
 and love intensifies as the years sweep
 on4 ,the ages of force and fear1 of    
cruelty and wrong1 are behind us and the
 real ,eden is beyond4 ,it is said that 
a desire for knowledge lost us the ,eden
 of the past2 but whether that is true  
or not1 it will certainly give us the   
,eden of the future4     ,,xvii4 ,,the  
,,fall  ,we are told that the serpent   
was more subtle than any beast of the   
field1 that he had a conversation with  
,eve1 in which he gave his opinion about
 the effect of eating certain fruit2    
that he assured her it was good to eat1 
that it was pleasant to the eye1 that it
 would make her wise2 that she was      
induced to take some2 that she persuaded
 her husband to try it2 that ,god found 
it out1 that he then cursed the snake2  

condemning it to crawl and eat the dust2
 that he multiplied the sorrows of ,eve1
 cursed the ground for ,adam's sake1    
started thistles and thorns1 condemned  
man to eat the herb of the field in the 
sweat of his face1 pronounced the curse 
of death1 ,dust thou art and unto dust  
shalt thou return1 made coats of skins  
for ,adam and ,eve1 and drove them out  
of ,eden4  ,who1 and what was this      
serpent8 ,dr4 ,adam ,clark says3--,the  
serpent must have walked erect1 for this
 is necessarily implied in his          
punishment4 ,that he was endued with the
 gift of speech1 also with reason4 ,that
 these things were given to this        
creature4 ,the woman no doubt having    
often seen him walking erect1 and       
talking and reasoning1 therefore she    
testifies no sort of surprise when he   
accosts her in the language related in  
the text4 ,it therefore appears to me   
that a creature of the ape or           
orangoutang kind is here intended1 and  
that satan made use of this creature as 

the most proper instrument for the      
accomplishment of his murderous purposes
 against the life of the soul of man4   
,under this creature he lay hid1 and by 
this creature he seduced our first      
parents4 ,such a creature answers to    
every part of the description in the    
text4 ,it is evident from the structure 
of its limbs and its muscles that it    
might have been originally designed to  
walk erect1 and that nothing else than  
the sovereign controlling power could   
induce it to put down hands--in every   
respect formed like those of man--and   
walk like those creatures whose         
claw-armed parts prove them to have been
 designed to walk on all fours4 ,the    
stealthy cunning1 and endless variety of
 the pranks and tricks of these         
creatures show them even now to be wiser
 and more intelligent than any other    
creature man alone excepted4 ,being     
obliged to walk on all fours and gather 
their food from the ground1 they are    
literally obliged to eat the dust2 and  

though exceeding cunning1 and careful in
 a variety of instances to separate that
 part which is wholesome and proper for 
food from that which is not so1 in the  
article of cleanliness they are lost to 
all sense of propriety4 ,add to this    
their utter aversion to walk upright2 it
 requires the utmost discipline to bring
 them to it1 and scarcely anything      
offends or irritates them more than to  
be obliged to do it4 ,long observation  
of these animals enables me to state    
these facts4 ,for earnest1 attentive    
watching1 and for chattering and        
babbling they 7the ape7 have no fellows 
in the animal world4 ,indeed1 the       
ability and propensity to chatter1 is   
all they have left of their original    
gift of speech1 of which they appear to 
have been deprived at the fall as a part
 of their punishment4  ,here then is the
 connecting link between man and the    
lower creation4 ,the serpent was simply 
an orang-outang that spoke ,hebrew with 
the greatest ease1 and had the outward  

appearance of a perfect gentleman1      
seductive in manner1 plausible1 polite1 
and most admirably calculated to        
deceive4  ,it never did seem reasonable 
to me that a long1 cold and disgusting  
snake with an apple in his mouth1 could 
deceive anybody2 and ,i am glad1 even at
 this late date to know that the        
something that persuaded ,eve to taste  
the forbidden fruit was1 at least1 in   
the shape of a man4  ,dr4 ,henry does   
not agree with the zoological           
explanation of ,mr4 ,clark1 but insists 
that it is certain that the devil that  
beguiled ,eve is the old serpent1 a     
malignant by creation1 an angel of      
light1 an immediate attendant upon      
,god's throne1 but by sin an apostate   
from his first state1 and a rebel       
against ,god's crown and dignity4 ,he   
who attacked our first parents was      
surely the prince of devils1 the ring   
leader in rebellion4 ,the devil chose to
 act his part in a serpent1 because it  
is a specious creature1 has a spotted1  

dappled skin1 and then1 went erect4     
,perhaps it was a flying serpent which  
seemed to come from on high1 as a       
messenger from the upper world1 one of  
the seraphim2 because the serpent is a  
subtile creature4 ,what ,eve thought of 
this serpent speaking to her1 we are not
 likely to tell1 and1 ,i believe1 she   
herself did not know what to think of   
it4 ,at first1 perhaps1 she supposed it 
might be a good angel1 and yet          
afterwards might suspect something      
amiss4 ,the person tempted was a woman1 
now-alone1 and at a distance from her   
husband1 but near the forbidden tree4   
,it was the devil's subtlety to assault 
the weaker vessel with his temptations1 
as we may suppose her inferior to ,adam 
in knowledge1 strength and presence of  
mind4 ,some think that ,eve received the
 command not immediately from ,god1 but 
at second hand from her husband1 and    
might1 therefore1 be the more easily    
persuaded to discredit it4 ,it was the  
policy of the devil to enter into       

discussion with her when she was alone4 
,he took advantage by finding her near  
the forbidden tree4 ,god permitted      
,satan to prevail over ,eve1 for wise   
and holy ends4 ,satan teaches men first 
to doubt1 and then to deny4 ,he makes   
skeptics first1 and by degrees makes    
them atheists4  ,we are compelled to    
admit that nothing could be more        
attractive to a woman than a snake      
walking erect1 with a spotted1 dappled  
skin1 unless it were a serpent with     
wings4 ,is it not humiliating to know   
that our ancestors believed these       
things8 ,why should we object to the    
,darwinian doctrine of descent after    
this8  ,our fathers thought it their    
duty to believe1 thought it a sin to    
entertain the slightest doubt1 and      
really supposed that their credulity was
 exceedingly gratifying to ,god4 ,to    
them1 the story was entirely real4 ,they
 could see the garden1 hear the babble  
of waters1 smell the perfume of flowers4
 ,they believed there was a tree where  

knowledge grew like plums or pears2 and 
they could plainly see the serpent      
coiled amid its rustling leaves1 coaxing
 ,eve to violate the laws of ,god4      
,where did the serpent come from8 ,on   
which of the six days was he created8   
,who made him8 ,is it possible that ,god
 would make a successful rival8 ,he must
 have known that ,adam and ,eve would   
fall4 ,he knew what a snake with a      
spotted1 dappled skin could do with an  
inexperienced woman4 ,why did he not    
defend his children8 ,he knew that if   
the serpent got into the garden1 ,adam  
and ,eve would sin1 that he would have  
to drive them out1 that afterwards the  
world would be destroyed1 and that he   
himself would die upon the cross4       
,again1 ,i ask what and who was this    
serpent8 ,he was not a man1 for only one
 man had been made4 ,he was not a woman4
 ,he was not a beast of the field1      
because he was more subtile than any    
beast of the field which the ,lord ,god 
had made4 ,he was neither fish nor fowl1

 nor snake1 because he had the power of 
speech1 and did not crawl upon his belly
 until after he was cursed4 ,where did  
this serpent come from8 ,why was he not 
kept out of the garden8 ,why did not the
 ,lord ,god take him by the tail and    
snap his head off8 ,why did he not put  
,adam and ,eve on their guard about this
 serpent8 ,they1 of course1 were not    
acquainted in the neighborhood1 and knew
 nothing about the serpent's reputation 
for truth and veracity among his        
neighbors4 ,probably ,adam saw him when 
he was looking for an helpmeet1 and gave
 him a name1 but ,eve had never met him 
before4 ,she was not surprised to hear a
 serpent talk1 as that was the first one
 she had ever met4 ,every thing being   
new to her1 and her husband not being   
with her just at that moment1 it need   
hardly excite our wonder that she tasted
 the fruit by way of experiment4        
,neither should we be surprised that    
when she saw it was good and pleasant to
 the eye1 and a fruit to be desired to  

make one wise1 she had the generosity to
 divide with her husband4  ,theologians 
have filled thousands of volumes with   
abuse of this serpent1 but it seems that
 he told the exact truth4 ,we are told  
that this serpent was1 in fact1 ,satan1 
the greatest enemy of mankind1 and that 
he entered the serpent1 appearing to our
 first parents in its body4 ,if this is 
so1 why should the serpent have been    
cursed8 ,why should ,god curse the      
serpent for what had really been done by
 the devil8 ,did ,satan remain in the   
body of the serpent1 and in some        
mysterious manner share his punishment8 
,is it true that when we kill a snake we
 also destroy an evil spirit1 or is     
there but one devil1 and did he perish  
at the death of the first serpent8 ,is  
it on account of that transaction in the
 garden of ,eden1 that all the          
descendents of ,adam and ,eve known as  
,jews and ,christians hate serpents8    
,do you account for the snake-worship in
 ,mexico1 ,africa and ,india in the same

 way8  ,what was the form of the serpent
 when he entered the garden1 and in what
 way did he move from place to place8   
,did he walk or fly8 ,certainly he did  
not crawl1 because that mode of         
locomotion was pronounced upon him as a 
curse4 ,upon what food did he subsist   
before his conversation with ,eve8 ,we  
know that after that he lived upon dust1
 but what did he eat before8 ,it may be 
that this is all poetic2 and the truest 
poetry is1 according to ,touchstone1 the
 most feigning4  ,in this same chapter  
we are informed that unto ,adam also and
 to his wife did the ,lord ,god make    
coats of skins and clothed them4 ,where 
did the ,lord ,god get those skins8 ,he 
must have taken them from the animals2  
he was a butcher4 ,then he had to       
prepare them2 he was a tanner4 ,then he 
made them into coats2 he was a tailor4  
,how did it happen that they needed     
coats of skins1 when they had been      
perfectly comfortable in a nude         
condition8 ,did the fall produce a      

change in the climate8  ,is it really   
necessary to believe this account in    
order to be happy here1 or hereafter8   
,does it tend to the elevation of the   
human race to speak of ,god as a        
butcher1 tanner and tailor8  ,and here1 
let me say once for all1 that when ,i   
speak of ,god1 ,i mean the being        
described by ,moses3 the ,jehovah of the
 ,jews4 ,there may be for aught         
,i--know1 somewhere in the unknown      
shoreless vast1 some being whose dreams 
are constellations and within whose     
thought the infinite exists4 ,about this
 being1 if such an one exists1 ,i have  
nothing to say4 ,he has written no      
books1 inspired no barbarians1 required 
no worship1 and has prepared no hell in 
which to burn the honest seeker after   
truth4  ,when ,i speak of ,god1 ,i mean 
that god who prevented man from putting 
forth his hand and taking also of the   
fruit of the tree of life that he might 
live forever2 of that god who multiplied
 the agonies of woman1 increased the    

weary toil of man1 and in his anger     
drowned a world--of that god whose      
altars reeked with human blood1 who     
butchered babes1 violated maidens1      
enslaved men and filled the earth with  
cruelty and crime2 of that god who made 
heaven for the few1 hell for the many1  
and who will gloat forever and ever upon
 the writhings of the lost and damned4  
,,xviii4 ,,dampness4  ,and it came to   
pass1 when men began to multiply on the 
face of the earth1 and daughters were   
born unto them4  ,that the sons of ,god 
saw the daughters of men that they were 
fair2 and they took them wives of all   
which they chose4  ,and the ,lord said1 
,my spirit shall not always strive with 
man1 for that he also is flesh2 yet his 
days shall be an hundred and twenty     
years4  ,there were giants in the earth 
in those days2 and also after that when 
the sons of ,god came in unto the       
daughters of men1 and they bare children
 to them1 the same became mighty men    
which were of old1 men of renown4  ,and 

,god saw that the wickedness of man was 
great in the earth1 and that every      
imagination of the thoughts of his heart
 was only evil continually4  ,and it    
repented the ,lord that he had made man 
on the earth1 and it grieved him at his 
heart4  ,and the ,lord said1 ,i will    
destroy man whom ,i have created from   
the face of the earth2 both man1 and    
beast1 and the creeping thing1 and the  
fowls of the air2 for it repenteth me   
that ,i have made them4  ,from this     
account it seems that driving ,adam and 
,eve out of ,eden did not have the      
effect to improve them or their         
children4 ,on the contrary1 the world   
grew worse and worse4 ,they were under  
the immediate control and government of 
,god1 and he from time to time made     
known his will2 but in spite of this1   
man continued to increase in crime4     
,nothing in particular seems to have    
been done4 ,not a school was            
established4 ,there was no written      
language4 ,there was not a bible in the 

world4 ,the scheme of salvation was kept
 a profound secret4 ,the five points of 
,calvinism had not been taught4 ,sunday 
schools had not been opened4 ,in short1 
nothing had been done for the           
reformation of the world4 ,god did not  
even keep his own sons at home1 but     
allowed them to leave their abode in the
 firmament1 and make love to the        
daughters of men4 ,as a result of this1 
the world was filled with wickedness and
 giants to such an extent that ,god     
regretted that he had made man on the   
earth1 and it grieved him at his heart4 
,of course ,god knew when he made man1  
that he would afterwards regret it4 ,he 
knew that the people would grow worse   
and worse until destruction would be the
 only remedy4 ,he knew that he would    
have to kill all except ,noah and his   
family1 and it is hard to see why he did
 not make ,noah and his family in the   
first place1 and leave ,adam and ,eve in
 the original dust4 ,he knew that they  
would be tempted1 that he would have to 

drive them out of the garden to keep    
them from eating of the tree of life2   
that the whole thing would be a failure2
 that ,satan would defeat his plan2 that
 he could not reform the people2 that   
his own sons would corrupt them1 and    
that at last he would have to drown them
 all except ,noah and his family4 ,why  
was the garden of ,eden planted8 ,why   
was the experiment made8 ,why were ,adam
 and ,eve exposed to the seductive arts 
of the serpent8 ,why did ,god wait until
 the cool of the day before looking     
after his children8 ,why was he not on  
hand in the morning8  ,why did he fill  
the world with his own children1 knowing
 that he would have to destroy them8    
,and why does this same ,god tell me how
 to raise my children when he had to    
drown his8  ,it is a little curious that
 when ,god wished to reform the         
ante-diluvian world he said nothing     
about hell2 that he had no revivals1 no 
camp-meetings1 no tracts1 no outpourings
 of the ,holy ,ghost1 no baptisms1 no   

noon prayer meetings1 and never         
mentioned the great doctrine of         
salvation by faith4 ,if the orthodox    
creeds of the world are true1 all those 
people went to hell without ever having 
heard that such a place existed4 ,if    
eternal torment is a fact1 surely these 
miserable wretches ought to have been ,n
 warned4 ,they were threatened only with
 water when they were in fact doomed to 
eternal fire6  ,is it not strange that  
,god said nothing to ,adam and ,eve     
about a future life2 that he should have
 kept these infinite verities to himself
 and allowed millions to live and die   
without the hope of heaven1 or the fear 
of hell8  ,it may be that hell was not  
made at that time4 ,in the six days of  
creation nothing is said about the      
construction of a bottomless pit1 and   
the serpent himself did not make his    
appearance until after the creation of  
man and woman4 ,perhaps he was made on  
the first ,sunday1 and from that fact   
came1 it may be1 the old couplet1       

,and ,satan still some mischief finds   
,for idle hands to do4  ,the sacred     
historian failed also to tell us when   
the cherubim and the flaming sword were 
made1 and said nothing about two of the 
persons composing the trinity4 ,it      
certainly would have been an easy thing 
to enlighten ,adam and his immediate    
descendants4 ,the world was then only   
about fifteen hundred and thirty-six    
years old1 and only about three or four 
generations of men had lived4 ,adam had 
been dead only about six hundred and six
 years1 and some of his grand children  
must1 at that time1 have been alive and 
well4  ,it is hard to see why ,god did  
not civilize these people4 ,he certainly
 had the power to use1 and the wisdom to
 devise the proper means4 ,what right   
has a god to fill a world with fiends8  
,can there be goodness in this8 ,why    
should he make experiments that he knows
 must fail8 ,is there wisdom in this8   
,and what right has a man to charge an  
infinite being with wickedness and      

folly8  ,according to ,moses1 ,god made 
up his mind not only to destroy the     
people1 but the beasts and the creeping 
things1 and the fowls of the air4 ,what 
had the beasts1 and the creeping things1
 and the birds done to excite the anger 
of ,god8 ,why did he repent having made 
them8 ,will some christian give us an   
explanation of this matter8 ,no good man
 will inflict unnecessary pain upon a   
beast2 how then can we worship a god who
 cares nothing for the agonies of the   
dumb creatures that he made8  ,why did  
he make animals that he knew he would   
destroy8 ,does ,god delight in causing  
pain8 ,he had the power to make the     
beasts1 and fowls1 and creeping things  
in his own good time and way1 and it is 
to be presumed that he made them        
according to his wish4 ,why should he   
destroy them8 ,they had committed no    
sin4 ,they had eaten no forbidden fruit1
 made no aprons1 nor tried to reach the 
tree of life4 ,yet this god1 in blind   
unreasoning wrath destroyed all flesh   

wherein was the breath of life1 and     
every living thing beneath the sky1 and 
every substance wherein was life that he
 had made4  ,jehovah1 having made up his
 mind to drown the world1 told ,noah to 
make an ,ark of gopher wood three       
hundred cubits long1 fifty cubits wide  
and thirty cubits high4 ,a cubit is     
twenty-two inches2 so that the ark was  
five hundred and fifty feet long1       
ninety-one feet and eight inches wide   
and fifty-five feet high4 ,this ark was 
divided into three stories1 and had on  
top1 one window twenty-two inches       
square4 ,ventilation must have been one 
of ,jehovah's hobbies4 ,think of a ship 
larger than the ,great ,eastern with    
only one window1 and that but twenty-two
 inches square6  ,the ark also had one  
door set in the side thereof that shut  
from the outside4 ,as soon as this ship 
was finished1 and properly victualed1   
,noah received seven days notice to get 
the animals in the ark4  ,it is claimed 
by some of the scientific theologians   

that the flood was partial1 that the    
waters covered only a small portion of  
the world1 and that consequently only a 
few animals were in the ark4 ,it is     
impossible to conceive of language that 
can more clearly convey the idea of a   
universal flood than that found in the  
inspired account4 ,if the flood was only
 partial1 why did ,god say he would     
destroy all flesh wherein is the breath 
of life from under heaven1 and that     
every thing that is in the earth shall  
die8 ,why did he say ,i will destroy man
 whom ,i have created from the face of  
the earth1 both man and beast1 and the  
creeping thing and the fowls of the air8
 ,why did he say ,and every living      
substance that ,i have made will ,i     
destroy from off the face of the earth8 
,would a partial1 local flood have      
fulfilled these threats8  ,nothing can  
be clearer than that the writer of this 
account intended to convey1 and did     
convey the idea that the flood was      
universal4 ,why should christians try to

 deprive ,god of the glory of having    
wrought the most stupendous of miracles8
 ,is it possible that the ,infinite     
could not overwhelm with waves this atom
 called the ,earth8 ,do you doubt his   
power1 his wisdom or his justice8       
,believers in miracles should not       
endeavor to explain them4 ,there is but 
one way to explain anything1 and that is
 to account for it by natural agencies4 
,the moment you explain a miracle1 it   
disappears4 ,you should depend not upon 
explanation1 but assertion4 ,you should 
not be driven from the field because the
 miracle is shown to be unreasonable4   
,you should reply that all miracles are 
unreasonable4 ,neither should you be in 
the least disheartened if it is shown to
 be impossible4 ,the possible is not    
miraculous4 ,you should take the ground 
that if miracles were reasonable1 and   
possible1 there would be no reward paid 
for believing them4 ,the christian has  
the goodness to believe1 while the      
sinner asks for evidence4 ,it is enough 

for ,god to work miracles without being 
called upon to substantiate them for the
 benefit of unbelievers4  ,only a few   
years ago1 the christians believed      
implicitly in the literal truth of every
 miracle recorded in the bible4 ,whoever
 tried to explain them in some natural  
way1 was looked upon as an infidel in   
disguise1 but now he is regarded as a   
benefactor4 ,the credulity of the       
,church is decreasing1 and the most     
marvelous miracles are now either       
explained1 or allowed to take refuge    
behind the mistakes of the translators1 
or hide in the drapery of allegory4  ,in
 the sixth chapter1 ,noah is ordered to 
take of every living thing of all flesh1
 two of every sort into the ark--male   
and female4 ,in the seventh chapter the 
order is changed1 and ,noah is          
commanded1 according to the ,protestant 
bible1 as follows3 ,of every clean beast
 thou shalt take to thee by sevens1 the 
male and his female1 and of beasts that 
are not clean1 by two1 the male and his 

female4 ,of fowls also of the air by    
sevens1 the male and the female4        
,according to the ,catholic bible1 ,noah
 was commanded--,of all clean beasts    
take seven and seven1 the male and the  
female4 ,but of the beasts that are     
unclean two and two1 the male and the   
female4 ,of the fowls also of the air   
seven and seven1 the male and the       
female4  ,for the purpose of belittling 
this miracle1 many commentators have    
taken the ground that ,noah was not     
ordered to take seven males and seven   
females of each kind of clean beasts1   
but seven in all4 ,many christians      
contend that only seven clean beasts of 
each kind were taken into the ark--three
 and a half of each sex4  ,if the       
account in the seventh chapter means    
anything1 it means first1 that of each  
kind of clean beasts1 fourteen were to  
be taken1 seven males1 and seven        
females2 second1 that of unclean beasts 
should be taken1 two of each kind1 one  
of each sex1 and third1 that he should  

take of every kind of fowls1 seven of   
each sex4  ,it is equally clear that the
 command in the #aith and #bjth verses  
of the #fth chapter1 is to take two of  
each sort1 one male and one female4 ,and
 this agrees exactly with the account in
 the #gth1 #hth1 #ith1 #adth4 #aeth1 and
 #afth verses of the #gth chapter4  ,the
 next question is1 how many beasts1     
fowls and creeping things did ,noah take
 into the ark8  ,there are now known and
 classified at least twelve thousand    
five hundred species of birds4 ,there   
are still vast territories in ,china1   
,south ,america1 and ,africa unknown to 
the ornithologist4 ,of the birds1 ,noah 
took fourteen of each species1 according
 to the #c;d verse of the #gth chapter1 
,of fowls also of the air by sevens1 the
 male and the female1 making a total of 
#age1jjj birds4  ,and right here allow  
me to ask a question4 ,if the flood was 
simply a partial flood1 why were birds  
taken into the ark8 ,it seems to me that
 most birds1 attending strictly to      

business1 might avoid a partial flood4  
,there are at least sixteen hundred and 
fifty-eight kinds of beasts4 ,let us    
suppose that twenty-five of these are   
clean4 ,of the clean1 fourteen of each  
kind--seven of each sex--were taken4    
,these amount to #cej4 ,of the          
unclean--two of each kind1 amounting to 
#c1bff4 ,there are some six hundred and 
fifty species of reptiles4 ,two of each 
kind amount to-#a1cjj4 ,and lastly1     
there are of insects including the      
creeping things1 at least one million   
species1 so that ,noah and his folks had
 to get of these into the ark about     
#b1jjj1jjj4  ,animalculae have not been 
taken into consideration4 ,there are    
probably many hundreds of thousands of  
species2 many of them invisible2 and yet
 ,noah had to pick them out by pairs4   
,very few people have any just          
conception of the trouble ,noah had4    
,we know that there are many animals on 
this continent not found in the ,old    
,world4 ,these must have been carried   

from here to the ark1 and then brought  
back afterwards4 ,were the peccary1     
armadillo1 ant-eater1 sloth1 agouti1    
vampire-bat1 marmoset1 howling and      
prehensile-tailed monkey1 the raccoon   
and muskrat carried by the angels from  
,america to ,asia8 ,how did they get    
there8 ,did the polar bear leave his    
field of ice and journey toward the     
tropics8 ,how did he know where the ark 
was8 ,did the kangaroo swim or jump from
 ,australia to ,asia8 ,did the giraffe1 
hippopotamus1 antelope and orang-outang 
journey from ,africa in search of the   
ark8 ,can absurdities go farther than   
this8  ,what had these animals to eat   
while on the journey8 ,what did they eat
 while in the ark8 ,what did they drink8
 ,when the rain came1 of course the     
rivers ran to the seas1 and these seas  
rose and finally covered the world4 ,the
 waters of the seas1 mingled with those 
of the flood1 would make all salt4 ,it  
has been calculated that it required1 to
 drown the world1 about eight times as  

much water as was in all the seas4 ,to  
find how salt the waters of the flood   
must have been1 take eight quarts of    
fresh water1 and add one quart from the 
sea4 ,such water would create instead of
 allaying thirst4 ,noah had to take in  
his ark fresh water for all his beasts1 
birds and living things4 ,he had to take
 the proper food for all4 ,how long was 
he in the ark8 ,three hundred and       
seventy-seven days6 ,think of the food  
necessary for the monsters of the       
ante-diluvian world6  ,eight persons did
 all the work4 ,they attended to the    
wants of #age1jjj birds1 #c1faf beasts1 
#a1cjj reptiles1 and #b1jjj1jjj insects1
 saying nothing of countless            
animalculae4  ,well1 after they all got 
in1 ,noah pulled down the window1 ,god  
shut the door1 and the rain commenced4  
,how long did it rain8  ,forty days4    
,how deep did the water get8  ,about    
five miles and a half4  ,how much did it
 rain a day8  ,enough to cover the whole
 world to a depth of about seven hundred

 and forty-two feet4  ,some ,christians 
say that the fountains of the great deep
 were broken up4 ,will they be kind     
enough to tell us what the fountains of 
the great deep are8 ,others say that    
,god had vast stores of water in the    
center of the earth that he used on that
 occasion4 ,how did these waters happen 
to run up hill8  ,gentlemen1 allow me to
 tell you once more that you must not   
try to explain these things4 ,your      
efforts in that direction do no good1   
because your explanations are harder to 
believe than the miracle itself4 ,take  
my advice1 stick to assertion1 and let  
explanation alone4  ,then1 as now1      
,dhawalagiri lifted its crown of snow   
twenty-nine thousand feet above the     
level of the sea1 and on the cloudless  
cliffs of ,chimborazo then1 as now1 sat 
the condor2 and yet the waters rising   
seven hundred and twenty-six feet a     
day--thirty feet an hour1 six inches a  
minute1--rose over the hills1 over the  
volcanoes1 filled the vast craters1     

extinguished all the fires1 rose above  
every mountain peak until the vast world
 was but one shoreless sea covered with 
the innumerable dead4  ,was this the    
work of the most merciful ,god1 the     
father of us all8 ,if there is a ,god1  
can there be the slightest danger of    
incurring his displeasure by doubting   
even in a reverential way1 the truth of 
such a cruel lie8 ,if we think that ,god
 is kinder than he really is1 will our  
poor souls be burned for that8  ,how    
many trees can live under miles of water
 for a year8 ,what became of the soil   
washed1 scattered1 dissolved1 and       
covered with the debris of a world8 ,how
 were the tender plants and herbs       
preserved8 ,how were the animals        
preserved after leaving the ark8 ,there 
was no grass except such as had been    
submerged for a year4 ,there were no    
animals to be devoured by the           
carnivorous beasts4 ,what became of the 
birds that fed on worms and insects8    
,what became of the birds that devoured 

other birds8  ,it must be remembered    
that the pressure of the water when at  
the highest point--say twenty-nine      
thousand feet1 would have been about    
eight hundred tons on each square foot4 
,such a pressure certainly would have   
destroyed nearly every vestige of       
vegetable life1 so that when the animals
 came out of the ark1 there was not a   
mouthful of food in the wide world4 ,how
 were they supported until the world was
 again clothed with grass8 ,how were    
those animals taken care of that        
subsisted on others8 ,where did the bees
 get honey1 and the ants seeds8 ,there  
was not a creeping thing upon the whole 
earth2 not a breathing creature beneath 
the whole heavens2 not a living         
substance4 ,where did the tenants of the
 ark get food8  ,there is but one       
answer1 if the story is true4 ,the food 
necessary not only during the year of   
the flood1 but sufficient for many      
months afterwards1 must have been stored
 in the ark4  ,there is probably not an 

animal in the world that will not1 in a 
year1 eat and drink ten times its       
weight4 ,noah must have provided food   
and water for a year while in the ark1  
and food for at least six months after  
they got ashore4 ,it must have required 
for a pair of elephants1 about one      
hundred and fifty tons of food and      
water4 ,a couple of mammoths would have 
required about twice that amount4 ,of   
course there were other monsters that   
lived on trees2 and in a year would have
 devoured quite a forest4  ,how could   
eight persons have distributed this     
food1 even if the ark had been large    
enough to hold it8 ,how was the ark kept
 clean8 ,we know how it was ventilated2 
but what was done with the filth8 ,how  
were the animals watered8 ,how were some
 portions of the ark heated for animals 
from the tropics1 and others kept cool  
for the polar bears8 ,how did the       
animals get back to their respective    
countries8 ,some had to creep back about
 six thousand miles1 and they could only

 go a few feet a day4 ,some of the      
creeping things must have started for   
the ark just as soon as they were made1 
and kept up a steady jog for sixteen    
hundred years4 ,think of a couple of the
 slowest snails leaving a point opposite
 the ark and starting for the plains of 
,shinar1 a distance of twelve thousand  
miles4 ,going at the rate of a mile a   
month1 it would take them a thousand    
years4 ,how did they get there8 ,polar  
bears must have gone several thousand   
miles1 and so sudden a change in climate
 must have been exceedingly trying upon 
their health4 ,how did they know the way
 to go8 ,of course1 all the polar bears 
did not go4 ,only two were required4    
,who selected these8  ,two sloths had to
 make the journey from ,south ,america4 
,these creatures cannot travel to exceed
 three rods a day4 ,at this rate1 they  
would make a mile in about a hundred    
days4 ,they must have gone about six    
thousand five hundred miles1 to reach   
the ark4 ,supposing them to have        

traveled by a reasonably direct route1  
in order to complete the journey before 
,noah hauled in the plank1 they must    
have started several years before the   
world was created4 ,we must also        
consider that these sloths had to board 
themselves on the way1 and that most of 
their time had to be taken up getting   
food and water4 ,it is exceedingly      
doubtful whether a sloth could travel   
six thousand miles and board himself in 
less than three thousand years4         
,volumes might be written upon the      
infinite absurdity of this most         
incredible1 wicked and foolish of all   
the fables contained in that repository 
of the impossible1 called the bible4 ,to
 me it is a matter of amazement1 that it
 ever was for a moment believed by any  
intelligent human being4  ,dr4 ,adam    
,clark says that the animals were       
brought to the ark by the power of ,god1
 and their enmities were so removed or  
suspended1 that the lion could dwell    
peaceably with the lamb1 and the wolf   

sleep happily by the side of the kid4   
,there is no positive evidence that     
animal food was ever used before the    
flood4 ,noah had the first grant of this
 kind4  ,dr4 ,scott remarks1 ,there     
seems to have been a very extraordinary 
miracle1 perhaps by the ministration of 
angels1 in bringing two of every species
 to ,noah1 and rendering them           
submissive1 and peaceful with each      
other4 ,yet it seems not to have made   
any impression upon the hardened        
spectators4 ,the suspension of the      
ferocity of the savage beasts during    
their continuance in the ark1 is        
generally considered as an apt figure of
 the change that takes place in the     
disposition of sinners when they enter  
the true church of ,christ4  ,he        
believed the deluge to have been        
universal4 ,in his day science had not  
demonstrated the absurdity of this      
belief1 and he was not compelled to     
resort to some theory not found in the  
bible4 ,he insisted that by some vast   

convulsion1 the very bowels of the earth
 were forced upwards1 and rain poured   
down in cataracts and water-spouts1 with
 no intermission for forty days and     
nights1 and until in every place a      
universal deluge was effected4  ,the    
presence of ,god was the only comfort of
 ,noah in his dreary confinement1 and in
 witnessing the dire devastation of the 
earth and its inhabitants1 and          
especially of the human species--of his 
companions1 his neighbors1 his          
relatives--all those to whom he had     
preached1 for whom he had prayed and    
over whom he had wept1 and even of many 
who had helped to build the ark4  ,it   
seems that by a peculiar providential   
interposition1 no animal of any sort    
died1 although they had been shut up in 
the ark above a year2 and it does not   
appear that there had been any increase 
of them during that time4  ,the ,ark was
 flat-bottomed--square at each          
end--roofed like a house so that it     
terminated at the top in the breadth of 

a cubit4 ,it was divided into many      
little cabins for its intended          
inhabitants4 ,pitched within and without
 to keep it tight and sweet1 and lighted
 from the upper part4 ,but it must1 at  
first sight1 be evident that so large a 
vessel1 thus constructed1 with so few   
persons on board1 was utterly unfitted  
to weather out the deluge1 except it was
 under the immediate guidance and       
protection of the ,almighty4  ,dr4      
,henry furnished the ,christian world   
with the following3--  ,as our bodies   
have in them the humors which1 when ,god
 pleases1 become the springs and seeds  
of mortal disease1 so the earth had1 in 
its bowels1 those waters which1 at      
,god's command1 sprung up and flooded   
it4  ,god made the world in six days1   
but he was forty days in destroying it1 
because he is slow to anger4  ,the      
hostilities between the animals in the  
ark ceased1 and ravenous creatures      
became mild and manageable1 so that the 
wolf lay down with the lamb1 and the    

lion ate straw like an ox4  ,god shut   
the door of the ark to secure ,noah and 
to keep him safe1 and because it was    
necessary that the door should be shut  
very close lest the water should break  
in and sink the ark1 and very fast lest 
others might break it down4  ,the waters
 rose so high that not only the low flat
 countries were deluged1 but to make    
sure work and that none might escape1   
the tops of the highest mountains were  
overflowed fifteen cubits4 ,that is1    
seven and a half yards1 so that         
salvation was not hoped for from hills  
or mountains4  ,perhaps some of the     
people got to the top of the ark1 and   
hoped to shift for themselves there4    
,but either they perished there for want
 of food1 or the dashing rain washed    
them off the top4 ,others1 it may be1   
hoped to prevail with ,noah for         
admission into the ark1 and plead old   
acquaintance4  ',have we not eaten and  
drank in thy presence8 ,hast thou not   
preached in our streets8 ',yea1' said   

,noah1 'many a time1 but to little      
purpose4 ,i called but ye refused2 and  
now it is not in my power to help you4  
,god has shut the door and ,i cannot    
open it4'  ,we may suppose that some of 
those who perished in the deluge had    
themselves assisted ,noah1 or were      
employed by him in building the ark4    
,hitherto1 man had been confined to feed
 only upon the products of the earth4   
,fruits1 herbs and roots1 and all sorts 
of greens1 and milk1 which was the first
 grant2 but the flood having perhaps    
washed away much of the fruits of the   
earth1 and rendered them much less      
pleasant and nourishing1 ,god enlarged  
the grant and allowed him to eat flesh1 
which perhaps man never thought of until
 now1 that ,god directed him to it4 ,nor
 had he any more desire to it than the  
sheep has to suck blood like the wolf4  
,but now1 man is allowed to feed upon   
flesh as freely and safely as upon the  
green herb4  ,such was the debasing     
influence of a belief in the literal    

truth of the bible upon these men1 that 
their commentaries are filled with      
passages utterly devoid of common sense4
  ,dr4 ,clark speaking of the mammoth   
says3  ,this animal1 an astonishing     
proof of ,god's power1 he seems to have 
produced merely to show what he could   
do4 ,and after suffering a few of them  
to propagate1 he extinguished the race  
by a merciful providence1 that they     
might not destroy both man and beast4   
,we are told that it would have been    
much easier for ,god to destroy all the 
people and make new ones1 but he would  
not want to waste anything and no power 
or skill should be lavished where no    
necessity exists4  ,the animals were    
brought to the ark by the power of ,god4
  ,again gentlemen1 let me warn you of  
the danger of trying to explain a       
miracle4 ,let it alone4 ,say that you do
 not understand it1 and do not expect to
 until taught in the schools of the ,new
 ,jerusalem4 ,the more reasons you give1
 the more unreasonable the miracle will 

appear4 ,through what you say in defence
 people are led to think1 and as soon as
 they really think1 the miracle is      
thrown away4  ,among the most ignorant  
nations you will find the most wonders1 
among the most enlightened1 the least4  
,it is with individuals1 the same as    
with nations4 ,ignorance believes1      
,intelligence examines and explains4    
,for about seven months the ark1 with   
its cargo of men1 animals and insects1  
tossed and wandered without rudder or   
sail upon a boundless sea4 ,at last it  
grounded on the mountains of ,ararat2   
and about three months afterwards the   
tops of the mountains became visible4   
,it must not be forgotten that the      
mountain where the ark is supposed to   
have first touched bottom1 was about    
seventeen thousand feet high4 ,how were 
the animals from the tropics kept warm8 
,when the waters were abated it would be
 intensely cold at a point seventeen    
thousand feet above the level of the    
sea4 ,may be there were stoves1         

furnaces1 fire places and steam coils in
 the ark1 but they are not mentioned in 
the inspired narrative4 ,how were the   
animals kept from freezing8 ,it will not
 do to say that ,ararat was not very    
high after all4  ,if you will read the  
fourth and fifth verses of the eight    
chapter you will see that although the  
ark rested in the seventh month1 on the 
seventeenth day of the month1 upon the  
mountains of ,ararat1 it was not until  
the first day of the tenth month that   
the tops of the mountains could be seen4
 ,from this it would seem that the ark  
must have rested upon about the highest 
peak in that country4 ,noah waited forty
 days more1 and then for the first time 
opened the window and took a breath of  
fresh air4 ,he then sent out a raven    
that did not return1 then a dove that   
returned4 ,he then waited seven days and
 sent forth a dove that returned not4   
,from this he knew that the waters were 
abated4 ,is it possible that he could   
not see whether the waters had gone8 ,is

 it possible to conceive of a more      
perfectly childish way of ascertaining  
whether the earth was dry8  ,at last    
,noah removed the covering of the ark1  
and looked and behold the face of the   
ground was dry1 and thereupon ,god told 
him to disembark4 ,in his gratitude     
,noah built an altar and took of every  
clean beast and of every clean fowl1 and
 offered burnt offerings4 ,and the ,lord
 smelled a sweet savor and said in his  
heart that he would not any more curse  
the ground for man's sake4 ,for saying  
this in his heart the ,lord gives as a  
reason1 not that man is1 or will be     
good1 but because the imagination of    
man's heart is evil from his youth4 ,god
 destroyed man because the wickedness of
 man was great in the earth1 and because
 every imagination of the thoughts of   
his heart was only evil continually4    
,and he promised for the same reason not
 to destroy him again4 ,will some       
gentleman skilled in theology give us an
 explanation8  ,after ,god had smelled  

the sweet savor of sacrifice1 he seems  
to have changed his idea as to the      
proper diet for man4 ,when ,adam and    
,eve were created they were allowed to  
eat herbs bearing seed1 and the fruit of
 trees4 ,when they were turned out of   
,eden1 ,god said to them ,thou shalt eat
 the herb of the field4 ,in the first   
chapter of ,genesis the green herb was  
given for food to the beasts1 fowls and 
creeping things4 ,upon being expelled   
from the garden1 ,adam and ,eve1 as to  
their food1 were put upon an equality   
with the lower animals4 ,according to   
this1 the ante-diluvians were           
vegetarians4 ,this may account for their
 wickedness and longevity4  ,after ,noah
 sacrificed1 and ,god smelled the sweet 
savor2 he said--,every moving thing that
 liveth shall be meat for you1 even as  
the green herb have ,i given you all    
things4 ,afterwards this same ,god      
changed his mind again1 and divided the 
beasts and birds into clean and unclean1
 and made it a crime for man to eat the 

unclean4 ,probably food was so scarce   
when ,noah was let out of the ark that  
,jehovah generously allowed him to eat  
anything and everything he could find4  
,according to the account1 ,god then    
made a covenant with ,noah to the effect
 that he would not again destroy the    
world with a flood1 and as the attesting
 witness of this contract1 a rainbow was
 set in the cloud4 ,this bow was placed 
in the sky so that it might perpetually 
remind ,god of his promise and covenant4
 ,without this visible witness and      
reminder1 it would seem that ,jehovah   
was liable to forget the contract1 and  
drown the world again4 ,did the rainbow 
originate in this way8 ,did ,god put it 
in the cloud simply to keep his         
agreement in his memory8  ,for me it is 
impossible to believe the story of the  
deluge4 ,it seems so cruel1 so barbaric1
 so crude in detail1 so absurd in all   
its parts1 and so contrary to all we    
know of law1 that even credulity itself 
is shocked4  ,many nations have         

preserved accounts of a deluge in which 
all people1 except a family or two1 were
 destroyed4 ,babylon was certainly a    
city before ,jerusalem was founded4     
,egypt was in the height of her power   
when there were only seventy ,jews in   
the world1 and ,india had a literature  
before the name of ,jehovah had passed  
the lips of superstition4 ,an account of
 a general deluge was discovered by     
,george ,smith1 translated from another 
account that was written about two      
thousand years before ,christ4 ,of      
course it is impossible to tell how long
 the story had lived in the memory of   
tradition before it was reduced to      
writing by the ,babylonians4 ,according 
to this account1 which is1 without      
doubt1 much older than the one given by 
,moses1 ,tamzi built a ship at the      
command of the god ,hea1 and put in it  
his family and the beasts of the field4 
,he pitched the ship inside and outside 
with bitumen1 and as soon as it was     
finished1 there came a flood of rain and

 destroyed all life from the face of the
 whole earth4 ,on the seventh day there 
was a calm1 and the ship stranded on the
 mountain ,nizir4 ,tamzi waited for     
seven days more1 and then let out a     
dove4 ,afterwards1 he let out a swallow1
 and that1 as well as the dove returned4
 ,then he let out a raven1 and as that  
did not return1 he concluded that the   
water had dried away1 and thereupon left
 the ship4 ,then he made an offering to 
god1 or the gods1 and ,hea interceded   
with ,bel1 so that the earth might never
 again be drowned4  ,this is the        
,babylonian story1 told without the     
contradictions of the original4 ,for in 
that1 it seems1 there are two accounts1 
as well as in the bible4 ,is it not a   
strange coincidence that there should be
 contradictory accounts mingled in both 
the ,babylonian and ,jewish stories8    
,in the bible there are two accounts4   
,in one account1 ,noah was to take two  
of all beasts1 birds1 and creeping      
things into the ark1 while in the other 

he was commanded to take of clean       
beasts1 and all birds by sevens of each 
kind4 ,according to one account1 the    
flood only lasted one hundred and fifty 
days--as related in the third verse of  
the eighth chapter2 while the other     
account fixes the time at three hundred 
and seventy-seven days4 ,both of these  
accounts cannot be true4 ,yet in order  
to be saved1 it is not sufficient to    
believe one of them--you must believe   
both4  ,among the ,egyptians there was a
 story to the effect that the great god 
,ra became utterly maddened with the    
people1 and deliberately made up his    
mind that he would exterminate mankind4 
,thereupon he began to destroy1 and     
continued in the terrible work until    
blood flowed in streams1 when suddenly  
he ceased1 and took an oath that he     
would not again destroy the human race4 
,this myth was probably thousands of    
years old when ,moses was born4  ,so1 in
 ,india1 there was a fable about the    
flood4 ,a fish warned ,manu that a flood

 was coming4 ,manu built a box and the  
fish towed it to a mountain and saved   
all hands4  ,the same kind of stories   
were told in ,greece1 and among our own 
,indian tribes4 ,at one time the        
christian pointed to the fact that many 
nations told of a flood1 as evidence of 
the truth of the ,mosaic account2 but   
now1 it having been shown that other    
accounts are much older1 and equally    
reasonable1 that argument has ceased to 
be of any great value4  ,it is probable 
that all these accounts had a common    
origin4 ,they were likely born of       
something in nature visible to all      
nations4 ,the idea of a universal flood1
 produced by a god to drown the world on
 account of the sins of the people1 is  
infinitely absurd4 ,the solution of all 
these stories has been supposed to be1  
the existence of partial floods in most 
countries2 and for a long time this     
solution was satisfactory4 ,but the fact
 that these stories are greatly alike1  
that only one man is warned1 that only  

one family is saved1 that a boat is     
built1 that birds are sent out to find  
if the water had abated1 tend to show   
that they had a common origin4          
,admitting that there were severe floods
 in all countries2 it certainly cannot  
follow that in each instance only one   
family would be saved1 or that the same 
story would in each instance be told4   
,it may be urged that the natural       
tendency of man to exaggerate           
calamities1 might account for this      
agreement in all the accounts1 and it   
must be admitted that there is some     
force in the suggestion1 ,i believe1    
though1 that the real origin of all     
these myths is the same1 and that it was
 originally an effort to account for the
 sun1 moon and stars4 ,the sun and moon 
were the man and wife1 or the god and   
goddess1 and the stars were their       
children4 ,from a celestial myth1 it    
became a terrestrial one2 the air1 or   
ether-ocean became a flood1 produced by 
rain1 and the sun moon and stars became 

man1 woman and children4  ,in the       
original story1 the mountain was the    
place where in the far east the sky was 
supposed to touch the earth1 and it was 
there that the ship containing the      
celestial passengers finally rested from
 its voyage4 ,but whatever may be the   
origin of the stories of the flood1     
whether told first by ,hindu1           
,babylonian or ,hebrew1 we may rest     
perfectly assured that they are all     
equally false4     ,,xix4 ,,bacchus     
,,and ,,babel  ,as soon as ,noah had    
disembarked1 he proceeded to plant a    
vineyard1 and began to be a husbandman2 
and when the grapes were ripe he made   
wine and drank of it to excess2 cursed  
his grandson1 blessed ,shem and         
,japheth1 and after that lived for three
 hundred and fifty years4 ,what he did  
during these three hundred and fifty    
years1 we are not told4 ,we never hear  
of him again4 ,for three hundred and    
fifty years he lived among his sons1 and
 daughters1 and their descendants4 ,he  

must have been a venerable man4 ,he was 
the man to whom ,god had made known his 
intention of drowning the world4 ,by his
 efforts1 the human race had been saved4
 ,he must have been acquainted with     
,methuselah for six hundred years1 and  
,methuselah was about two hundred and   
forty years old1 when ,adam died4 ,noah 
must himself have known the history of  
mankind1 and must have been an object of
 almost infinite interest2 and yet for  
three hundred and fifty years he is     
neither directly nor indirectly         
mentioned4 ,when ,noah died1 ,abraham   
must have been more than fifty years    
old2 and ,shem1 the son of ,noah1 lived 
for several hundred years after the     
death of ,abraham2 and yet he is never  
mentioned4 ,noah when he died1 was the  
oldest man in the whole world by about  
five hundred years2 and everybody living
 at the time of his death knew that they
 were indebted to him1 and yet no       
account is given of his burial4 ,no     
monument was raised to mark the spot4   

,this1 however1 is no more wonderful    
than the fact that no account is given  
of the death of ,adam or of ,eve1 nor of
 the place of their burial4 ,this may   
all be accounted for by the fact that   
the language of man was confounded at   
the building of the tower of ,babel1    
whereby all tradition may have been     
lost1 so that even the sons of ,noah    
could not give an account of their      
voyage in the ark2 and1 consequently1   
some one had to be directly inspired to 
tell the story1 after new languages had 
been formed4  ,it has always been a     
mystery to me how ,adam1 ,eve1 and the  
serpent were taught the same language4  
,where did they get it8 ,we know now1   
that it requires a great number of years
 to form a language2 that it is of      
exceedingly slow growth4 ,we also know  
that by language1 man conveys to his    
fellows the impressions made upon him by
 what he sees1 hears1 smells and        
touches4 ,we know that the language of  
the savage consists of a few sounds1    

capable of expressing only a few ideas  
or states of the mind1 such as love1    
desire1 fear1 hatred1 aversion and      
contempt4 ,many centuries are required  
to produce a language capable of        
expressing complex ideas4 ,it does not  
seem to me that ideas can be            
manufactured by a deity and put in the  
brain of man4 ,these ideas must be the  
result of observation and experience4   
,does anybody believe that ,god directly
 taught a language to ,adam and ,eve1 or
 that he so made them that they1 by     
intuition spoke ,hebrew1 or some        
language capable of conveying to each   
other their thoughts8 ,how did the      
serpent learn the same language8 ,did   
,god teach it to him1 or did he happen  
to overhear ,god1 when he was teaching  
,adam and ,eve8 ,we are told in the     
second chapter of ,genesis that ,god    
caused all the animals to pass before   
,adam to see what he would call them4   
,we cannot infer from this that ,god    
named the animals and informed ,adam    

what to call them4 ,adam named them     
himself4 ,where did he get his words8   
,we cannot imagine a man just made out  
of dust1 without the experience of a    
moment1 having the power to put his     
thoughts in language4 ,in the first     
place1 we cannot conceive of his having 
any thoughts until he has combined1     
through experience and observation1 the 
impressions that nature had made upon   
him through the medium of his senses4   
,we cannot imagine of his knowing       
anything1 in the first instance1 about  
different degrees of heat1 nor about    
darkness1 if he was made in the         
day-time1 nor about light1 if created at
 night1 until the next morning4 ,before 
a man can have what we call thoughts1 he
 must have had a little experience4     
,something must have happened to him    
before he can have a thought1 and before
 he can express himself in language4    
,language is a growth1 not a gift4 ,we  
account now for the diversity of        
language by the fact that tribes and    

nations have had different experiences1 
different wants1 different surroundings1
 and1 one result of all these           
differences is1 among other things1 a   
difference in language4 ,nothing can be 
more absurd than to account for the     
different languages of the world by     
saying that the original language was   
confounded at the tower of ,babel4      
,according to the bible1 up to the time 
of the building of that tower1 the whole
 earth was of one language and of one   
speech1 and would have so remained until
 the present time had not an effort been
 made to build a tower whose top should 
reach into heaven4 ,can any one imagine 
what objection ,god would have to the   
building of such a tower8 ,and how could
 the confusion of tongues prevent its   
construction8 ,how could language be    
confounded8 ,it could be confounded only
 by the destruction of memory4 ,did ,god
 destroy the memory of mankind at that  
time1 and if so1 how8 ,did he paralyze  
that portion of the brain presiding over

 the organs of articulation1 so that    
they could not speak the words1 although
 they remembered them clearly1 or did he
 so touch the brain that they could not 
hear8 ,will some theologian1 versed in  
the machinery of the miraculous1 tell us
 in what way ,god confounded the        
language of mankind8  ,why would the    
confounding of the language make them   
separate8 ,why would they not stay      
together until they could understand    
each other8 ,people will not separate1  
from weakness4 ,when in trouble they    
come together and desire the assistance 
of each other4 ,why1 in this instance1  
did they separate8 ,what particular ones
 would naturally come together if nobody
 understood the language of any other   
person8 ,would it not have been just as 
hard to agree when and where to go1     
without any language to express the     
agreement1 as to go on with the building
 of the tower8  ,is it possible that any
 one now believes that the whole world  
would be of one speech had the language 

not been confounded at ,babel8 ,do we   
not know that every word was suggested  
in some way by the experience of men8   
,do we not know that words are          
continually dying1 and continually being
 born2 that every language has its      
cradle and its cemetery--its buds1 its  
blossoms1 its fruits and its withered   
leaves8 ,man has loved1 enjoyed1 hated1 
suffered and hoped1 and all words have  
been born of these experiences4  ,why   
did the ,lord come down to see the city 
and the tower8 ,could he not see them   
from where he lived or from where he    
was8 ,where did he come down from8 ,did 
he come in the daytime1 or in the night8
 ,we are taught now that ,god is        
everywhere2 that he inhabits immensity2 
that he is in every atom1 and in every  
star4 ,if this is true1 why did he come 
down to see the city and the tower8     
,will some theologian explain this8     
,after all1 is it not much easier and   
altogether more reasonable to say that  
,moses was mistaken1 that he knew little

 of the science of language1 and that he
 guessed a great deal more than he      
investigated8     ,,xx4 ,,faith ,,in    
,,filth  ,no light whatever is shed upon
 what passed in the world after the     
confounding of language at ,babel1 until
 the birth of ,abraham4 ,but1 before    
speaking of the history of the ,jewish  
people1 it may be proper for me to say  
that many things are recounted in       
,genesis1 and other books attributed to 
,moses1 of which ,i do not wish to      
speak4 ,there are many pages of these   
books unfit to read1 many stories not   
calculated1 in my judgment1 to improve  
the morals of mankind4 ,i do not wish   
even to call the attention of my readers
 to these things1 except in a general   
way4 ,it is to be hoped that the time   
will come when such chapters and        
passages as cannot be read without      
leaving the blush of shame upon the     
cheek of modesty1 will be left out1 and 
not published as a part of the bible4   
,if there is a ,god1 it certainly is    

blasphemous to attribute to him the     
authorship of pages too obscene1 beastly
 and vulgar to be read in the presence  
of men and women4  ,the believers in the
 bible are loud in their denunciation of
 what they are pleased to call the      
immoral literature of the world2 and yet
 few books have been published          
containing more moral filth than this   
inspired word of ,god4 ,these stories   
are not redeemed by a single flash of   
wit or humor4 ,they never rise above the
 dull details of stupid vice4 ,for one1 
,i cannot afford to soil my pages with  
extracts from them2 and all such        
portions of the ,scriptures ,i leave to 
be examined1 written upon1 and explained
 by the clergy4 ,clergymen may know some
 way by which they can extract honey    
from these flowers4 ,until these        
passages are expunged from the ,old     
,testament1 it is not a fit book to be  
read by either old or young4 ,it        
contains pages that no minister in the  
,united ,states would read to his       

congregation for any reward whatever4   
,there are chapters that no gentleman   
would read in the presence of a lady4   
,there are chapters that no father would
 read to his child4 ,there are          
narratives utterly unfit to be told2 and
 the time will come when mankind will   
wonder that such a book was ever called 
inspired4  ,i know that in many books   
besides the bible there are immodest    
lines4 ,some of the greatest writers    
have soiled their pages with indecent   
words4 ,we account for this by saying   
that the authors were human2 that they  
catered to the taste and spirit of their
 times4 ,we make excuses1 but at the    
same time regret that in their works    
they left an impure word4 ,but what     
shall we say of ,god8 ,is it possible   
that a being of infinite purity--the    
author of modesty1 would smirch the     
pages of his book with stories lewd1    
licentious and obscene8 ,if ,god is the 
author of the bible1 it is1 of course1  
the standard by which all other books   

can1 and should be measured4 ,if the    
bible is not obscene1 what book is8 ,why
 should men be imprisoned simply for    
imitating ,god8 ,the christian world    
should never say another word against   
immoral books until it makes the        
inspired volume clean4 ,these vile and  
filthy things were not written for the  
purpose of conveying and enforcing moral
 truth1 but seem to have been written   
because the author loved an unclean     
thing4 ,there is no moral depth below   
that occupied by the writer or publisher
 of obscene books1 that stain with lust1
 the loving heart of youth4 ,such men   
should be imprisoned and their books    
destroyed4 ,the literature of the world 
should be rendered decent1 and no book  
should be published that cannot be read 
by1 and in the hearing of the best and  
purest people4 ,but as long as the bible
 is considered as the work of ,god1 it  
will be hard to make all men too good   
and pure to imitate it2 and as long as  
it is imitated there will be vile and   

filthy books4 ,the literature of our    
country will not be sweet and clean     
until the bible ceases to be regarded as
 the production of a god4  ,we are      
continually told that the bible is the  
very foundation of modesty and morality2
 while many of its pages are so immodest
 and immoral that a minister1 for       
reading them in the pulpit1 would be    
instantly denounced as an unclean       
wretch4 ,every woman would leave the    
church1 and if the men stayed1 it would 
be for the purpose of chastising the    
minister4  ,is there any saving grace in
 hypocrisy8 ,will men become clean in   
speech by believing that ,god is        
unclean8 ,would it not be far better to 
admit that the bible was written by     
barbarians in a barbarous1 coarse and   
vulgar age8 ,would it not be safer to   
charge ,moses with vulgarity1 instead of
 ,god8 ,is it not altogether more       
probable that some ignorant ,hebrew     
would write the vulgar words8 ,the      
christians tell me that ,god is the     

author of these vile and stupid things8 
,i have examined the question to the    
best of my ability1 and as to ,god my   
verdict is3--,not guilty4 ,faith should 
not rest in filth4  ,every foolish and  
immodest thing should be expunged from  
the bible4 ,let us keep the good4 ,let  
us preserve every great and splendid    
thought1 every wise and prudent maxim1  
every just law1 every elevated idea1 and
 every word calculated to make man      
nobler and purer1 and let us have the   
courage to throw the rest away4 ,the    
souls of children should not be stained 
and soiled4 ,the charming instincts of  
youth should not be corrupted and       
defiled4 ,the girls and boys should not 
be taught that unclean words were       
uttered by inspired lips4 ,teach them   
that these words were born of savagery  
and lust4 ,teach them that the unclean  
is the unholy1 and that only the pure is
 sacred4     ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,hebrews     
,after language had been confounded and 
the people scattered1 there appeared in 

the land of ,canaan a tribe of ,hebrews 
ruled by a chief or sheik called        
,abraham4 ,they had a few cattle1 lived 
in tents1 practiced polygamy1 wandered  
from place to place1 and were the only  
folks in the whole world to whom ,god   
paid the slightest attention4 ,at this  
time there were hundreds of cities in   
,india filled with temples and palaces2 
millions of ,egyptians worshiped ,isis  
and ,osiris1 and had covered their land 
with marvelous monuments of industry1   
power and skill4 ,but these             
civilizations were entirely neglected by
 the ,deity1 his whole attention being  
taken up with ,abraham and his family4  
,it seems1 from the account1 that ,god  
and ,abraham were intimately acquainted1
 and conversed frequently upon a great  
variety of subjects4 ,by the twelfth    
chapter of ,genesis it appears that he  
made the following promises to ,abraham4
 ,i will make of thee a great nation1   
and ,i will bless thee1 and make thy    
name great3 and thou shalt be a         

blessing4 ,and ,i will bless them that  
bless thee1 and curse him that curseth  
thee4  ,after receiving this            
communication from the ,almighty1       
,abraham went into the land of ,canaan1 
and again ,god appeared to him and told 
him to take a heifer three years old1 a 
goat of the same age1 a sheep of equal  
antiquity1 a turtle dove and a young    
pigeon4 ,whereupon ,abraham killed the  
animals and divided them in the midst1  
and laid each piece one against another4
 ,and it came to pass that when the sun 
went down and it was dark1 behold a     
smoking furnace and a burning lamp that 
passed between the raw and bleeding     
meat4 ,the killing of these animals was 
a preparation for receiving a visit from
 ,god4 ,should an ,american missionary  
in ,central ,africa find a negro chief  
surrounded by a butchered heifer1 a goat
 and a sheep1 with which to receive a   
communication from the infinite ,god1 my
 opinion is1 that the missionary would  
regard the proceeding as the direct     

result of savagery4 ,and if the chief   
insisted that he had seen a smoking     
furnace and a burning lamp going up and 
down between the pieces of meat1 the    
missionary would certainly conclude that
 the chief was not altogether right in  
his mind4  ,if the bible is true1 this  
same ,god told ,abraham to take and     
sacrifice his only son1 or rather the   
only son of his wife1 and a murder would
 have been committed had not ,god1 just 
at the right moment1 directed him to    
stay his hand and take a sheep instead4 
,god made a great number of promises to 
,abraham1 but few of them were ever     
kept4 ,he agreed to make him the father 
of a great nation1 but he did not4 ,he  
solemnly promised to give him a great   
country1 including all the land between 
the river of ,egypt and the ,euphrates1 
but he did not4  ,in due time ,abraham  
passed away1 and his son ,isaac took his
 place at the head of the tribe4 ,then  
came ,jacob1 who watered stock and      
enriched himself with the spoil of      

,laban4 ,joseph was sold into ,egypt by 
his jealous brethren1 where he became   
one of the chief men of the kingdom1 and
 in a few years his father and brothers 
left their own country and settled in   
,egypt4 ,at this time there were seventy
 ,hebrews in the world1 counting ,joseph
 and his children4 ,they remained in    
,egypt two hundred and fifteen years4   
,it is claimed by some that they were in
 that country for four hundred and      
thirty years4 ,this is a mistake4       
,josephus says they were in ,egypt two  
hundred and fifteen years1 and this     
statement is sustained by the best      
biblical scholars of all denominations4 
,according to the #agth verse of the    
#crd chapter of ,galatians1 it was four 
hundred and thirty years from the time  
the promise was made to ,abraham to the 
giving of the law1 and as the ,hebrews  
did not go to ,egypt for two hundred and
 fifteen years after the making of the  
promise to ,abraham1 they could in no   
event have been in ,egypt more than two 

hundred and fifteen years4 ,in our bible
 the #djth verse of the #abth chapter of
 ,exodus1 is as follows3--  ,now the    
sojourning of the children of ,israel1  
who dwelt in ,egypt1 was four hundred   
and thirty years4  ,this passage does   
not say that the sojourning was all done
 in ,egypt2 neither does it say that the
 children of ,israel dwelt in ,egypt    
four hundred and thirty years2 but it   
does say that the sojourning of the     
children of ,israel who dwelt in ,egypt 
was four hundred and thirty years4 ,the 
,vatican copy of the ,septuagint renders
 the same passage as follows3--  ,the   
sojourning of the children of ,israel   
which they sojourned in ,egypt1 and in  
the land of ,canaan1 was four hundred   
and thirty years4  ,the ,alexandrian    
version says3--,the sojourning of the   
children of ,israel which they and their
 fathers sojourned in ,egypt1 and in the
 land of ,canaan1 was four hundred and  
thirty years4  ,and in the ,samaritan   
bible we have3--,the sojourning of the  

children of ,israel and of their fathers
 which they sojourned in the land of    
,canaan1 and in the land of ,egypt1 was 
four hundred and thirty years4  ,there  
were seventy souls when they went down  
into ,egypt1 and they remained two      
hundred and fifteen years1 and at the   
end of that time they had increased to  
about three million4 ,how do we know    
that there were three million at the end
 of two hundred and fifteen years8 ,we  
know it because we are informed by      
,moses that there were six hundred      
thousand men of war4 ,now1 to each man  
of war1 there must have been at least   
five other people4 ,in every ,state in  
this ,union there will be to each voter1
 five other persons at least1 and we all
 know that there are always more voters 
than men of war4 ,if there were six     
hundred thousand men of war1 there must 
have been a population of at least three
 million4 ,is it possible that seventy  
people could increase to that extent in 
two hundred and fifteen years8 ,you may 

say that it was a miracle2 but what need
 was there of working a miracle8 ,why   
should ,god miraculously increase the   
number of slaves8 ,if he wished         
miraculously to increase the population1
 why did he not wait until the people   
were free8  ,in #aggf1 we had in the    
,american ,colonies about three millions
 of people4 ,in one hundred years we    
doubled four times3 that is to say1 six1
 twelve1 twenty-four1 forty-eight       
million1--our present population4  ,we  
must not forget that during all these   
years there has been pouring into our   
country a vast stream of emigration1 and
 that this1 taken in connection with the
 fact that our country is productive    
beyond all others1 gave us only four    
doubles in one hundred years4 ,admitting
 that the ,hebrews increased as rapidly 
without emigration as we1 in this       
country1 have with it1 we will give to  
them four doubles each century1         
commencing with seventy people1 and they
 would have1 at the end of two hundred  

years1 a population of seventeen        
thousand nine hundred and twenty4       
,giving them another double for the odd 
fifteen years and there would be1       
provided no deaths had occurred1        
thirty-five thousand eight hundred and  
forty people4 ,and yet we are told that 
instead of having this number1 they had 
increased to such an extent that they   
had six hundred thousand men of war3    
that is to say1 a population of more    
than three millions6  ,every sensible   
man knows that this account is not1 and 
cannot be true4 ,we know that seventy   
people could not increase to three      
million in two hundred and fifteen      
years4  ,about this time the ,hebrews   
took a census1 and found that there were
 twenty-two thousand two hundred and    
seventy-three first born males4 ,it is  
reasonable to suppose that there were   
about as many first born females4 ,this 
would make forty-four thousand five     
hundred and forty-six first born        
children4 ,now1 there must have been    

about as many mothers as there were     
first born children4 ,if there were only
 about forty-five thousand mothers and  
three millions of people1 the mothers   
must have had on an average about       
sixty-six children apiece4  ,at this    
time1 the ,hebrews were slaves1 and had 
been for two hundred and fifteen years4 
,a little while before1 an order had    
been made by the ,egyptians that all the
 male children of the ,hebrews should be
 killed4 ,one1 contrary to this order1  
was saved in an ark made of bullrushes  
daubed with slime4 ,this child was found
 by the daughter of ,pharaoh1 and was   
adopted1 it seems1 as her own1 and1 may 
be1 was4 ,he grew to be a man1 sided    
with the ,hebrews1 killed an ,egyptian  
that was smiting a slave1 hid the body  
in the sand1 and fled from ,egypt to the
 land of ,midian1 became acquainted with
 a priest who had seven daughters1 took 
the side of the daughters against the   
ill-mannered shepherds of that country1 
and married ,zipporah1 one of the girls1

 and became a shepherd for her father4  
,afterward1 while tending his flock1 the
 ,lord appeared to him in a burning     
bush1 and commanded him to go to the    
king of ,egypt and demand from him the  
liberation of the ,hebrews4 ,in order to
 convince him that the something burning
 in the bush was actually ,god1 the rod 
in his hand was changed into a serpent1 
which1 upon being caught by the tail1   
became again a rod4 ,moses was also told
 to put his hand in his bosom1 and when 
he took it out it was as leprous as     
snow4 ,quite a number of strange things 
were performed1 and others promised4    
,moses then agreed to go back to ,egypt 
provided his brother could go with him4 
,whereupon the ,lord appeared to ,aaron1
 and directed him to meet ,moses in the 
wilderness4 ,they met at the mount of   
,god1 went to ,egypt1 gathered together 
all the elders of the children of       
,israel1 spake all the words which ,god 
had spoken unto ,moses1 and did all the 
signs in the sight of the people4 ,the  

,israelites believed1 bowed their heads 
and worshiped2 and ,moses and ,aaron    
went in and told their message to       
,pharaoh the king4     ,,xxii4 ,,the    
,,plagues  ,three millions of people    
were in slavery4 ,they were treated with
 the utmost rigor1 and so fearful were  
their masters that they might1 in time1 
increase in numbers sufficient to avenge
 themselves1 that they took from the    
arms of mothers all the male children   
and destroyed them4 ,if the account     
given is true1 the ,egyptians were the  
most cruel1 heartless and infamous      
people of which history gives any       
record4 ,god finally made up his mind to
 free the ,hebrews2 and for the         
accomplishment of this purpose he sent1 
as his agents1 ,moses and ,aaron1 to the
 king of ,egypt4 ,in order that the king
 might know that these men had a divine 
mission1 ,god gave ,moses the power of  
changing a stick into a serpent1 and    
water into blood4 ,moses and ,aaron went
 before the king1 stating that the ,lord

 ,god of ,israel ordered the ,king of   
,egypt to let the ,hebrews go that they 
might hold a feast with ,god in the     
wilderness4 ,thereupon ,pharaoh1 the    
king1 enquired who the ,lord was1 at the
 same time stating that he had never    
made his acquaintance1 and knew nothing 
about him4 ,to this they replied that   
the ,god of the ,hebrews had met with   
them1 and they asked to go a three days 
journey into the desert and sacrifice   
unto this ,god1 fearing that if they did
 not he would fall upon them with       
pestilence or the sword4 ,this interview
 seems to have hardened ,pharaoh1 for he
 ordered the tasks of the children of   
,israel to be increased2 so that the    
only effect of the first appeal was to  
render still worse the condition of the 
,hebrews4 ,thereupon1 ,moses returned   
unto the ,lord and said ,lord1 wherefore
 hast thou so evil entreated this       
people8 ,why is it that thou hast sent  
me8 ,for since ,i came to ,pharaoh to   
speak in thy name he hath done evil to  

this people2 neither hast thou delivered
 thy people at all4  ,apparently stung  
by this reproach1 ,god answered3--  ,now
 shalt thou see what ,i will do to      
,pharoah2 for with a strong hand shall  
he let them go2 and with a strong hand  
shall he drive them out of his land4    
,god then recounts the fact that he had 
appeared unto ,abraham1 ,isaac and      
,jacob1 that he had established a       
covenant with them to give them the land
 of ,canaan1 that he had heard the      
groanings of the children of ,israel in 
,egyptian bondage2 that their groanings 
had put him in mind of his covenant1 and
 that he had made up his mind to redeem 
the children of ,israel with a stretched
 out arm and with great judgments4      
,moses then spoke to the children' of   
,israel again1 but they would listen to 
him no more4 ,his first effort in their 
behalf had simply doubled their trouble 
and they seemed to have lost confidence 
in his power4 ,thereupon ,jehovah       
promised ,moses that he would make him a

 god unto ,pharaoh1 and that ,aaron     
should be his prophet1 but at the same  
time informed him that his message would
 be of no avail2 that he would harden   
the heart of ,pharaoh so that he would  
not listen2 that he would so harden his 
heart that he might have an excuse for  
destroying the ,egyptians4 ,accordingly1
 ,moses and ,aaron again went before    
,pharaoh4 ,moses said to ,aaron2--,cast 
down your rod before ,pharaoh1 which he 
did1 and it became a serpent4 ,then     
,pharaoh not in the least surprised1    
called for his wise men and his         
sorcerers1 and they threw down their    
rods and changed them into serpents4    
,the serpent that had been changed from 
,aaron's rod was1 at this time crawling 
upon the floor1 and it proceeded to     
swallow the serpents that had been      
produced by the magicians of ,egypt4    
,what became of these serpents that were
 swallowed1 whether they turned back    
into sticks again1 is not stated4 ,can  
we believe that the stick was changed   

into a real living serpent1 or did it   
assume simply the appearance of a       
serpent8 ,if it bore only the appearance
 of a serpent it was a deception1 and   
could not rise above the dignity of     
legerdemain4 ,is it necessary to believe
 that ,god is a kind of prestigiator--a 
sleight-of-hand per-former1 a magician  
or sorcerer8 ,can it be possible that an
 infinite being would endeavor to secure
 the liberation of a race by performing 
a miracle that could be equally         
performed by the sorcerers and magicians
 of a barbarian king8  ,not one word was
 said by ,moses or ,aaron as to the     
wickedness of depriving a human being of
 his liberty4 ,not a word was said in   
favor of liberty4 ,not the slightest    
intimation that a human being was justly
 entitled to the product of his own     
labor4 ,not a word about the cruelty of 
masters who would destroy even the babes
 of slave mothers4 ,it seems to me      
wonderful that this ,god did not tell   
the king of ,egypt that no nation could 

enslave another1 without also enslaving 
itself2 that it was impossible to put a 
chain around the limbs of a slave1      
without putting manacles upon the brain 
of the master4 ,why did he not tell him 
that a nation founded upon slavery could
 not stand8 ,instead of declaring these 
things1 instead of appealing to justice1
 to mercy and to liberty1 he resorted to
 feats of jugglery4 ,suppose we wished  
to make a treaty with a barbarous       
nation1 and the president should employ 
a sleight-of-hand performer as envoy    
extraordinary1 and instruct him1 that   
when he came into the presence of the   
savage monarch1 he should cast down an  
umbrella or a walking stick1 which would
 change into a lizard or a turtle2 what 
would we think8 ,would we not regard    
such a performance as beneath the       
dignity even of a president8 ,and what  
would be our feelings if the savage king
 sent for his sorcerers and had them    
perform the same feat8 ,if such things  
would appear puerile and foolish in the 

president of a great republic1 what     
shall be said when they were resorted to
 by the creator of all worlds8 ,how     
small1 how contemptible such a ,god     
appears6 ,pharaoh1 it seems1 took about 
this view of the matter1 and he would   
not be persuaded that such tricks were  
performed by an infinite being4  ,again1
 ,moses and ,aaron came before ,pharaoh 
as he was going to the river s bank1 and
 the same rod which had changed to a    
serpent1 and1 by this time changed back1
 was taken by ,aaron1 who1 in the       
presence of ,pharaoh1 smote the water of
 the river1 which was immediately turned
 to blood1 as well as all the water in  
all the streams1 ponds1 and pools1 as   
well as all water in vessels of wood and
 vessels of stone in the entire land of 
,egypt4 ,as soon as all the waters in   
,egypt had been turned into blood1 the  
magicians of that country did the same  
with their enchantments4 ,we are not    
informed where they got the water to    
turn into blood1 since all the water in 

,egypt had already been so changed4 ,it 
seems from the account that the fish in 
the ,nile died1 and the river emitted a 
stench1 and there was not a drop of     
water in the land of ,egypt that had not
 been changed into blood4 ,in           
consequence of this1 the ,egyptians     
digged around about the river for water 
to drink4 ,can we believe this story8   
,is it necessary to salvation to admit  
that all the rivers1 pools1 ponds and   
lakes of a country were changed into    
blood1 in order that a king might be    
induced to allow the children of ,israel
 the privilege of going a three days    
journey into the wilderness to make     
sacrifices to their ,god8  ,it seems    
from the account that ,pharaoh was told 
that the ,god of the ,hebrews would1 if 
he refused to let the ,israelites go1   
change all the waters of ,egypt into    
blood1 and that1 upon his refusal1 they 
were so changed4 ,this had1 however1 no 
influence upon him1 for the reason that 
his own magicians did the same4 ,it does

 not appear that ,moses and ,aaron      
expressed the least surprise at the     
success of the ,egyptian sorcerers4 ,at 
that time it was believed that each     
nation had its own god4 ,the only claim 
that ,moses and ,aaron made for their   
,god was1 that he was the greatest and  
most powerful of all the gods1 and that 
with anything like an equal chance he   
could vanquish the deity of any other   
nation4  ,after the waters were changed 
to blood ,moses and ,aaron waited for   
seven days4 ,at the end of that time    
,god told ,moses to again go to ,pharaoh
 and demand the release of his people1  
and to inform him that1 if he refused1  
,god would strike all the borders of    
,egypt with frogs4 ,that he would make  
frogs so plentiful that they would go   
into the houses of ,pharaoh1 into his   
bedchamber1 upon his bed1 into the      
houses of his servants1 upon his people1
 into their ovens1 and even into their  
kneading troughs1 ,this threat had no   
effect whatever upon ,pharaoh1 ,and     

thereupon ,aaron stretched out his hand 
over the waters of ,egypt1 and the frogs
 came up and covered the land4 ,the     
magicians of ,egypt did the same1 and   
with their enchantments brought more    
frogs upon the land of ,egypt ,these    
magicians do not seem to have been      
original in their ideas1 but so far as  
imitation is concerned1 were perfect    
masters of their art4 ,the frogs seem to
 have made such an impression upon      
,pharaoh that he sent for ,moses and    
asked him to entreat the ,lord that he  
would take away the frogs4 ,moses agreed
 to remove them from the houses and the 
land1 and allow them to remain only in  
the rivers4 ,accordingly the frogs died 
out of the houses1 and out of the       
villages1 and out of the fields1 and the
 people gathered them together in heaps4
 ,as soon as the frogs had left the     
houses and fields1 the heart of ,pharaoh
 became again hardened1 and he refused  
to let the people go4  ,aaron then1     
according to the command of ,god1       

stretched out his hand1 holding the rod1
 and smote the dust of the earth1 and it
 became lice in man and in beast1 and   
all the dust became lice throughout the 
land of ,egypt4 ,pharaoh again sent for 
his magicians1 and they sought to do the
 same with their enchantments1 but they 
could not4 ,whereupon the sorcerers said
 unto ,pharaoh3 ,this is the finger of  
,god4  ,notwithstanding this1 however1  
,pharaoh refused to let the ,hebrews go4
 ,god then caused a grievous swarm of   
flies to come into the house of ,pharaoh
 and into his servants' houses1 and into
 all the land of ,egypt1 to such an     
extent that the whole land was corrupted
 by reason of the flies4 ,but into that 
part of the country occupied by the     
children of ,israel there came no flies4
 ,thereupon ,pharaoh sent for ,moses and
 ,aaron and said to them3 ,go1 and      
sacrifice to your ,god in this land4    
,they were not willing to sacrifice in  
,egypt1 and asked permission to go on a 
journey of three days into the          

wilderness4 ,to this ,pharaoh acceded1  
and in consideration of this ,moses     
agreed to use his influence with the    
,lord to induce him to send the flies   
out of the country4 ,he accordingly told
 the ,lord of the bargain he had made   
with ,pharaoh1 and the ,lord agreed to  
the compromise1 and removed the flies   
from ,pharaoh and from his servants and 
from his people1 and there remained not 
a single fly in the land of ,egypt4 ,as 
soon as the flies were gone1 ,pharaoh   
again changed his mind1 and concluded   
not to permit the children of ,israel to
 depart4 ,the ,lord then directed ,moses
 to go to ,pharaoh and tell him that if 
he did not allow the children of ,israel
 to depart1 he would destroy his cattle1
 his horses1 his camels and his sheep2  
that these animals would be afflicted   
with a grievous disease1 but that the   
animals belonging to the ,hebrews should
 not be so afflicted4 ,moses did as he  
was bid4 ,on the next day all the cattle
 of ,egypt died2 that is to say1 all the

 horses1 all the asses1 all the camels1 
all the oxen and all the sheep2 but of  
the animals owned by the ,israelites1   
not one perished4 ,this disaster had no 
effect upon ,pharaoh1 and he still      
refused to let the children of ,israel  
go4 ,the ,lord then told ,moses and     
,aaron to take some ashes out of a      
furnace1 and told ,moses to sprinkle    
them toward the heavens in the sight of 
,pharaoh2 saying that the ashes should  
become small dust in all the land of    
,egypt1 and should be a boil breaking   
forth with blains upon man and upon     
beast throughout all the land4  ,how    
these boils breaking out with blains1   
upon cattle that were already dead1     
should affect ,pharaoh1 is a little hard
 to understand4 ,it must not be         
forgotten that all the cattle and all   
beasts had died with the murrain before 
the boils had broken out ,this was a    
most decisive victory for ,moses and    
,aaron4 ,the boils were upon the        
magicians to that extent that they could

 not stand before ,moses4 ,but it had no
 effect upon ,pharaoh1 who seems to have
 been a man of great firmness4 ,the     
,lord then instructed ,moses to get up  
early in the morning and tell ,pharaoh  
that he would stretch out his hand and  
smite his people with a pestilence1 and 
would1 on the morrow1 cause it to rain a
 very grievous hail1 such as had never  
been known in the land of ,egypt4 ,he   
also told ,moses to give notice1 so that
 they might get all the cattle that were
 in the fields under cover4 ,it must be 
remembered that all these cattle had    
recently died of the murrain1 and their 
dead bodies had been covered with boils 
and blains4 ,this1 however1 had no      
effect1 and ,moses stretched forth his  
hand toward heaven1 and the ,lord sent  
thunder1 and hail and lightning1 and    
fire that ran along the ground1 and the 
hail fell upon all the land of ,egypt1  
and all that were in the fields1 both   
man and beast1 were smitten1 and the    
hail smote every herb of the field1 and 

broke every tree of the country except  
that portion inhabited by the children  
of ,israel2 there1 there was no hail4   
,during this hail storm ,pharaoh sent   
for ,moses and ,aaron and admitted that 
he had sinned1 that the ,lord was       
righteous1 and that the ,egyptians were 
wicked1 and requested them to ask the   
,lord that there be no more thunderings 
and hail1 and that he would let the     
,hebrews go4 ,moses agreed that as soon 
as he got out of the city he would      
stretch forth his hands unto the ,lord1 
and that the thunderings should cease   
and the hail should stop4 ,but1 when the
 rain and the hail and the thundering   
ceased1 ,pharaoh concluded that he would
 not let the children of ,israel go4    
,again1 ,god sent ,moses and ,aaron1    
instructing them to tell ,pharaoh that  
if he refused to let the people go1 the 
face of the earth would be covered with 
locusts1 so that man would not be able  
to see the ground1 and that these       
locusts would eat the residue of that   

which escaped from the hail2 that they  
would eat every tree out of the field2  
that they would fill the houses of      
,pharaoh and the houses of all his      
servants1 and the houses of all the     
,egyptians4 ,moses delivered the        
message1 and went out from ,pharaoh4    
,some of ,pharaoh's servants entreated  
their master to let the children of     
,israel go4 ,pharaoh sent for ,moses and
 ,aaron and asked them1 who wished to go
 into the wilderness to sacrifice4 ,they
 replied that they wished to go with the
 young and old2 with their sons and     
daughters1 with flocks and herds4       
,pharaoh would not consent to this1 but 
agreed that the men might go4 ,there    
upon ,pharaoh drove ,moses and ,aaron   
out of his sight4 ,then ,god told ,moses
 to stretch forth his hand upon the land
 of ,egypt for the locusts1 that they   
might come up and eat every herb1 even  
all that the hail had left4 ,and ,moses 
stretched out his rod over the land of  
,egypt1 and the ,lord brought an ,east  

wind all that day and all that night2   
and and when it was morning the ,east   
wind brought the locusts2 and they came 
up over all the land of ,egypt and      
rested upon all the coasts covering the 
face of the whole earth1 so that the    
land was darkened2 and they ate every   
herb and all the fruit of the trees     
which the hail had left1 and there      
remained not any green thing on the     
trees or in the herbs of the field      
throughout the land of ,egypt4 ,pharaoh 
then called for ,moses and ,aaron in    
great haste1 admitted that he had sinned
 against the ,lord their ,god and       
against them1 asked their forgiveness   
and requested them to intercede with    
,god that he might take away the        
locusts4 ,they went out from his        
presence and asked the ,lord to drive   
the locusts away1 ,and the ,lord made a 
strong west wind which took away the    
locusts1 and cast them into the ,red    
,sea so that there remained not one     
locust in all the coasts of ,egypt4  ,as

 soon as the locusts were gone1 ,pharaoh
 changed his mind1 and1 in the language 
of the sacred text1 the ,lord hardened  
,pharaoh's heart so that he would not   
let the children of ,israel go4  ,the   
,lord then told ,moses to stretch out   
his hand toward heaven that there might 
be darkness over the land of ,egypt1    
even darkness which might be felt4 ,and 
,moses stretched forth his hand toward  
heaven1 and there was a thick darkness  
over the land of ,egypt for three days  
during which time they saw not each     
other1 neither arose any of the people  
from their places for three days2 but   
the children of ,israel had light in    
their dwellings4  ,it strikes me that   
when the land of ,egypt was covered with
 thick darkness--so thick that it could 
be felt1 and when light was in the      
dwellings of the ,israelites1 there     
could have been no better time for the  
,hebrews to have left the country4      
,pharaoh again called for ,moses1 and   
told him that his people could go and   

serve the ,lord1 provided they would    
leave their flocks and herds4 ,moses    
would not agree to this1 for the reason 
that they needed the flocks and herds   
for sacrifices and burnt offerings1 and 
he did not know how many of the animals 
,god might require1 and for that reason 
he could not leave a single hoof4 ,upon 
the question of the cattle1 they        
divided1 and ,pharaoh again refused to  
let the people go4 ,god then commanded  
,moses to tell the ,hebrews to borrow1  
each of his neighbor1 jewels of silver  
and gold4 ,by a miraculous interposition
 the ,hebrews found favor in the sight  
of the ,egyptians so that they loaned   
the articles asked for4 ,after this1    
,moses again went to ,pharaoh and told  
him that all the first-born in the land 
of ,egypt1 from the first-born of       
,pharaoh upon the throne1 unto the      
first-born of the maid-servant who was  
behind the mill1 as well as the         
first-born of beasts1 should die4  ,as  
all the beasts had been destroyed by    

disease and hail1 it is troublesome to  
understand the meaning of the threat as 
to their first-born4  ,preparations were
 accordingly made for carrying this     
frightful threat into execution4 ,blood 
was put on the door-posts of all houses 
inhabited by ,hebrews1 so that ,god1 as 
he passed through that land1 might not  
be mistaken and destroy the first-born  
of the ,jews4 ,and it came to pass that 
at midnight the ,lord smote all the     
first-born in the land of ,egypt1 the   
first-born of ,pharaoh who sat on the   
throne1 and the first-born of the       
captive who was in the dungeon4 ,and    
,pharaoh rose up in the night1 and all  
his servants1 and all the ,egyptians1   
and there was a great cry in ,egypt1 for
 there was not a house where there was  
not one dead4  ,what had these children 
done8 ,why should the babes in the      
cradle be destroyed on account of the   
crime of ,pharaoh8 ,why should the      
cattle be destroyed because man had     
enslaved his brother8 ,in those days    

women and children and cattle were put  
upon an exact equality1 and all         
considered as the property of the men2  
and when man in some way excited the    
wrath of ,god1 he punished them by      
destroying all their cattle1 their      
wives1 and their little ones4 ,where can
 words be found bitter enough to        
describe a god who would kill wives and 
babes because husbands and fathers had  
failed to keep his law8 ,every good man1
 and every good woman1 must hate and    
despise such a deity4  ,upon the death  
of all the first-born ,pharaoh sent for 
,moses and ,aaron1 and not only gave his
 consent that they might go with the    
,hebrews into the wilderness1 but       
besought them to go at once4  ,is it    
possible that an infinite ,god1 creator 
of all worlds and sustainer of all life1
 said to ,pharaoh1 ,if you do not let my
 people go1 ,i will turn all the water  
of your country into blood1 and that    
upon the refusal of ,pharaoh to release 
the people1 ,god did turn all the waters

 into blood8 ,do you believe this8  ,do 
you believe that ,pharaoh even after all
 the water was turned to blood1 refused 
to let the ,hebrews go1 and that        
thereupon ,god told him he would cover  
his land with frogs8 ,do you believe    
this8  ,do you believe that after the   
land was covered with frogs ,pharaoh    
still refused to let the people go1 and 
that ,god then said to him1 ,i will     
cover you and all your people with lice8
 ,do you believe ,god would make this   
threat8  ,do you also believe that ,god 
told ,pharaoh1 ,if you do not let these 
people go1 ,i will fill all your houses 
and cover your country with flies8 ,do  
you believe ,god makes such threats as  
this8  ,of course ,god must have known  
that turning the waters into blood1     
covering the country with frogs1        
infesting all flesh with lice1 and      
filling all houses with flies1 would not
 accomplish his object1 and that all    
these plagues would have no effect      
whatever upon the ,egyptian king4  ,do  

you believe that1 failing to accomplish 
anything by the flies1 ,god told        
,pharaoh that if he did not let the     
people go he would kill his cattle with 
murrain8 ,does such a threat sound      
,god-like8  ,do you believe that1       
failing to effect anything by killing   
the cattle1 this same ,god then         
threatened to afflict all the people    
with boils1 including the magicians who 
had been rivaling him in the matter of  
miracles2 and failing to do anything by 
boils1 that he resorted to hail8 ,does  
this sound reasonable8 ,the hail        
experiment having accomplished nothing1 
do you believe that ,god murdered the   
first-born of animals and men8 ,is it   
possible to conceive of anything more   
utterly absurd1 stupid1 revolting1 cruel
 and senseless1 than the miracles said  
to have been wrought by the ,almighty   
for the purpose of inducing ,pharaoh to 
liberate the children of ,israel8  ,is  
it not altogether more reasonable to say
 that the ,jewish people1 being in      

slavery1 accounted for the misfortunes  
and calamities1 suffered by the         
,egyptians1 by saying that they were the
 judgments of ,god8  ,when the ,armada  
of ,spain was wrecked and scattered by  
the storm1 the ,english people believed 
that ,god had interposed in their       
behalf1 and publicly gave thanks4 ,when 
the battle of ,lepanto was won1 it was  
believed by the catholic world that the 
victory was given in answer to prayer4  
,so1 our fore-fathers in their          
revolutionary struggle saw1 or thought  
they saw1 the hand of ,god1 and most    
firmly believed that they achieved their
 independence by the interposition of   
the ,most ,high4  ,now1 it may be that  
while the ,hebrews were enslaved by the 
,egyptians1 there were plagues of       
locusts and flies4 ,it may be that there
 were some diseases by which many of the
 cattle perished4 ,it may be that a     
pestilence visited that country so that 
in nearly every house there was some one
 dead4 ,if so1 it was but natural for   

the enslaved and superstitious ,jews to 
account for these calamities by saying  
that they were punishments sent by their
 ,god4 ,such ideas will be found in the 
history of every country4  ,for a long  
time the ,jews held these opinions1 and 
they were handed from father to son     
simply by tradition4 ,by the time a     
written language had been produced1     
thousands of additions had been made1   
and numberless details invented2 so that
 we have not only an account of the     
plagues suffered by the ,egyptians1 but 
the whole woven into a connected story1 
containing the threats made by ,moses   
and ,aaron1 the miracles wrought by     
them1 the promises of ,pharaoh1 and     
finally the release of the ,hebrews1 as 
a result of the marvelous things        
performed in their behalf by ,jehovah4  
,in any event it is infinitely more     
probable that the author was            
misinformed1 than that the ,god of this 
universe was guilty of these childish1  
heartless and infamous things4 ,the     

solution of the whole matter is         
this3--,moses was mistaken4     ,,xxiii4
 ,,the ,,flight  ,three millions of     
people1 with their flocks and herds1    
with borrowed jewelry and raiment1 with 
unleavened dough in kneading troughs    
bound in their clothes upon their       
shoulders1 in one night commenced their 
journey for the land of promise4 ,we are
 not told how they were informed of the 
precise time to start4 ,with all the    
modern appliances1 it would require     
months of time to inform three millions 
of people of any fact4  ,in this vast   
assemblage there were six hundred       
thousand men of war1 and with them were 
the old1 the young1 the diseased and    
helpless4 ,where were those people      
going8 ,they were going to the desert of
 ,sinai1 compared with which ,sahara is 
a garden4 ,imagine an ocean of lava torn
 by storm and vexed by tempest1 suddenly
 gazed at by a ,gorgon and changed      
instantly to stone6 ,such was the desert
 of ,sinai4  ,all of the civilized      

nations of the world could not feed and 
support three millions of people on the 
desert of ,sinai for forty years4 ,it   
would cost more than one hundred        
thousand millions of dollars1 and would 
bankrupt ,christendom4 ,they had with   
them their flocks and herds1 and the    
sheep were so numerous that the         
,israelites sacrificed1 at one time1    
more than one hundred and fifty thousand
 first-born lambs4 ,how were these      
flocks supported8 ,what did they eat8   
,where were meadows and pastures for    
them8 ,there was no grass1 no           
forests--nothing6 ,there is no account  
of its having rained baled hay1 nor is  
it even claimed that they were          
miraculously fed4 ,to support these     
flocks1 millions of acres of pasture    
would have been required4 ,god did not  
take the ,israelites through the land of
 the ,philistines1 for fear that when   
they saw the people of that country they
 would return to ,egypt1 but he took    
them by the way of the wilderness to the

 ,red ,sea1 going before them by day in 
a pillar of cloud1 and by night1 in a   
pillar of fire4  ,when it was told      
,pharaoh that the people had fled1 he   
made ready and took six hundred chosen  
chariots of ,egypt1 and pursued after   
the children of ,israel1 overtaking them
 by the sea4 ,as all the animals had    
long before that time been destroyed1 we
 are not informed where ,pharaoh        
obtained the horses for his chariots4   
,the moment the children of ,israel saw 
the hosts of ,pharaoh1 although they had
 six hundred thousand men of war1 they  
immediately cried unto the ,lord for    
protection4 ,it is wonderful to me that 
a land that had been ravaged by the     
plagues described in the bible1 still   
had the power to put in the field an    
army that would carry terror to the     
hearts of six hundred thousand men of   
war4 ,even with the help of ,god1 it    
seems1 they were not strong enough to   
meet the ,egyptians in the open field1  
but resorted to strategy4 ,moses again  

stretched forth his wonderful rod over  
the waters of the ,red ,sea1 and they   
were divided1 and the ,hebrews passed   
through on dry land1 the waters standing
 up like a wall on either side4 ,the    
,egyptians pursued them2 and in the     
morning watch the ,lord looked into the 
hosts of the ,egyptians1 through the    
pillar of fire1 and proceeded to take   
the wheels off their chariots4 ,as soon 
as the wheels were off1 ,god told ,moses
 to stretch out his hand over the sea4  
,moses did so1 and immediately the      
waters returned and covered the chariots
 and horsemen and all the hosts of      
,pharaoh that came into the sea1 and    
there remained not so much as one of    
them4  ,this account may be true1 but   
still it hardly looks reasonable that   
,god would take the wheels off the      
chariots4 ,how did he do it8 ,did he    
pull out the linch-pins1 or did he just 
take them off by main force8  ,what a   
picture this presents to the mind6 ,god 
the creator of the universe1 maker of   

every shining1 glittering star1 engaged 
in pulling off the wheels of wagons1    
that he might convince ,pharaoh of his  
greatness and power6  ,where were these 
people going8 ,they were going to the   
promised land4 ,how large a country was 
that8 ,about twelve thousand square     
miles4 ,about one-fifth the size of the 
,state of ,illinois4 ,it was a frightful
 country1 covered with rocks and        
desolation4 ,how many people were in the
 promised land already8 ,moses tells us 
there were seven nations in that country
 mightier than the ,jews4 ,as there were
 at least three millions of ,jews1 there
 must have been at least twenty-one     
millions of people already in that      
country4 ,these had to be driven out in 
order that room might be made for the   
chosen people of ,god4  ,it seems1      
however1 that ,god was not willing to   
take the children of ,israel into the   
promised land immediately4 ,they were   
not fit to inhabit the land of ,canaan2 
so he made up his mind to allow them to 

wander upon the desert until all except 
two1 who had left ,egypt1 should perish4
 ,of all the slaves released from       
,egyptian bondage1 only two were allowed
 to reach the promised land6  ,as soon  
as the ,hebrews crossed the ,red ,sea1  
they found themselves without food1 and 
with water unfit to drink by reason of  
its bitterness1 and they began to murmur
 against ,moses1 who cried unto the     
,lord1 and the ,lord showed him a tree4 
,moses cast this tree into the waters1  
and they became sweet4 ,and it came to  
pass in the morning the dew lay around  
about the camp2 and when the dew that   
lay was gone1 behold1 upon the face of  
the wilderness lay a small round thing1 
small as the hoar-frost upon the ground4
 ,and ,moses said unto them1 this is the
 bread which the ,lord hath given you to
 eat4 ,this manna was a very peculiar   
thing4 ,it would melt in the sun1 and   
yet they could cook it by seething and  
baking4 ,one would as soon think of     
frying snow or of broiling icicles4 ,but

 this manna had another remarkable      
quality4 ,no matter how much or little  
any person gathered1 he would have an   
exact omer2 if he gathered more1 it     
would shrink to that amount1 and if he  
gathered less1 it would swell exactly to
 that amount4 ,what a magnificent       
substance manna would be with which to  
make a currency--shrinking and swelling 
according to the great laws of supply   
and demand6  ,upon this manna the       
children of ,israel lived for forty     
years1 until they came to a habitable   
land4 ,with this meat were they fed     
until they reached the borders of the   
land of ,canaan4 ,we are told in the    
twenty-first chapter of ,numbers1 that  
the people at last became tired of the  
manna1 complained of ,god1 and asked    
,moses why he brought them out of the   
land of ,egypt to die in the wilderness4
 ,and they said3--,there is no bread1   
nor have we any water4 ,our soul        
loatheth this light food4  ,we are told 
by some commentators that the ,jews     

lived on manna for forty years2 by      
others that they lived upon it for only 
a short time4 ,as a matter of fact the  
accounts differ1 and this difference is 
the opportunity for commentators4 ,it   
also allows us to exercise faith in     
believing that both accounts are true4  
,if the accounts agreed1 and were       
reasonable1 they would be believed by   
the wicked and unregenerated4 ,but as   
they are different and unreasonable1    
they are believed only by the good4     
,whenever a statement in the bible is   
unreasonable1 and you believe it1 you   
are considered quite a good christian4  
,if the statement is grossly absurd and 
infinitely impossible1 and you still    
believe it1 you are a saint4  ,the      
children of ,israel were in the desert1 
and they were out of water4 ,they had   
nothing to eat but manna1 and this they 
had had so long that the soul of every  
person abhorred it4 ,under these        
circumstances they complained to ,moses4
 ,now1 as ,god is infinite1 he could    

just as well have furnished them with an
 abundance of the purest and coolest of 
water1 and could1 without the slightest 
trouble to himself1 have given them     
three excellent meals a day1 with a     
generous variety of meats and           
vegetables1 it is very hard to see why  
he did not do so4 ,it is still harder to
 conceive why he fell into a rage when  
the people mildly suggested that they   
would like a change of diet4 ,day after 
day1 week after week1 month after month1
 year after year1 nothing but manna4 ,no
 doubt they did the best they could by  
cooking it in different ways1 but in    
spite of themselves they began to loathe
 its sight and taste1 and so they asked 
,moses to use his influence to secure a 
change in the bill of fare4  ,now1 ,i   
ask1 whether it was unreasonable for the
 ,jews to suggest that a little meat    
would be very gratefully received8 ,it  
seems1 however1 that as soon as the     
request was made1 this ,god of infinite 
mercy became infinitely enraged1 and    

instead of granting it1 went into1      
partnership with serpents1 for the      
purpose of punishing the hungry wretches
 to whom he had promised a land flowing 
with milk and honey4  ,where did these  
serpents come from8 ,how did ,god convey
 the information to the serpents1 that  
he wished them to go to the desert of   
,sinai and bite some ,jews8 ,it may be  
urged that these serpents were created  
for the express purpose of punishing the
 children of ,israel for having had the 
presumption1 like ,oliver ,twist1 to ask
 for more4  ,there is another account in
 the eleventh chapter of ,numbers1 of   
the people murmuring because of their   
food4 ,they remembered the fish1 the    
cucumbers1 the melons1 the leeks1 the   
onions and the garlic of ,egypt1 and    
they asked for meat ,the people went to 
the tent of ,moses and asked him for    
flesh4 ,moses cried unto the ,lord and  
asked him why he did not take care of   
the multitude4 ,god thereupon agreed    
that they should have meat1 not for a   

day or two1 but for a month1 until the  
meat should come out of their nostrils  
and become loathsome to them4 ,he then  
caused a wind to bring quails from      
beyond the sea1 and cast them into the  
camp1 on every side of the camp around  
about for the space of a days journey4  
,and the people gathered them1 and while
 the flesh was yet between their teeth  
the wrath of ,god being provoked against
 them1 struck them with an exceeding    
great plague4 ,serpents1 also1 were sent
 among them1 and thousands perished for 
the crime of having been hungry4  ,the  
,rev4 ,alexander ,cruden commenting upon
 this account says3--  ,god caused a    
wind to rise that drove the quails      
within and about the camp of the        
,israelites2 and it is in this that the 
miracle consists1 that they were brought
 so seasonably to this place1 and in so 
great numbers as to suffice above a     
million of persons above a month4 ,some 
authors affirm1 that in those eastern   
and southern countries1 quails are      

innumerable1 so that in one part of     
,italy within the compass of five miles1
 there were taken about an hundred      
thousand of them every day for a month  
together2 and that sometimes they fly so
 thick over the sea1 that being weary   
they fall into ships1 sometimes in such 
numbers1 that they sink them with their 
weight4  ,no wonder ,mr4 ,cruden        
believed the ,mosaic account4  ,must we 
believe that ,god made an arrangement   
with hornets for the purpose of securing
 their services in driving the          
,canaanites from the land of promise8   
,is this belief necessary unto          
salvation8 ,must we believe that ,god   
said to the ,jews that he would send    
hornets before them to drive out the    
,canaanites1 as related in the          
twenty-third chapter of ,exodus1 and the
 seventh chapter of ,deuteronomy8 ,how  
would the hornets know a ,canaanite8 ,in
 what way would ,god put it in the mind 
of a hornet to attack a ,canaanite8 ,did
 ,god create hornets for that especial  

purpose1 implanting an instinct to      
attack a ,canaanite1 but not a ,hebrew8 
,can we conceive of the ,almighty       
granting letters of marque and reprisal 
to hornets8 ,of course it is admitted   
that nothing in the world would be      
better calculated to make a man leave   
his native land than a few hornets4 ,is 
it possible for us to believe that an   
infinite being would resort to such     
expedients in order to drive the        
,canaanites from their country8 ,he     
could just as easily have spoken the    
,canaanites out of existence as to have 
spoken the hornets in4 ,in this way a   
vast amount of trouble1 pain and        
suffering would have been saved4 ,is it 
possible that there is1 in this country1
 an intelligent clergyman who will      
insist that these stories are true2 that
 we must believe them in in order to be 
good people in this world1 and glorified
 souls in the next8  ,we are also told  
that ,god instructed the ,hebrews to    
kill the ,canaanites slowly1 giving as a

 reason that the beasts of the field    
might increase upon his chosen people4  
,when we take into consideration the    
fact that the ,holy ,land contained only
 about eleven or twelve thousand square 
miles1 and was at that time inhabited by
 at least twenty-one millions of people1
 it does not seem reasonable that the   
wild beasts could have been numerous    
enough to cause any great alarm4 ,the   
same ratio of population would give to  
the ,state of ,illinois at least one    
hundred and twenty millions of          
inhabitants4 ,can anybody believe that1 
under such circumstances1 the danger    
from wild beasts could be very great8   
,what would we think of a general1      
invading such a state1 if he should     
order his soldiers to kill the people   
slowly1 lest the wild beasts might      
increase upon them8 ,is it possible that
 a ,god capable of doing the miracles   
recounted in the ,old ,testament could  
not1 in some way1 have disposed of the  
wild beasts8 ,after the ,canaanites were

 driven out1 could he not have employed 
the hornets to drive out the wild       
beasts8 ,think of a ,god that could     
drive twenty-one millions of people out 
of the promised land1 could raise up    
innumerable stinging flies1 and could   
cover the earth with fiery serpents1 and
 yet seems to have been perfectly       
powerless against the wild beasts of the
 land of ,canaan6  ,speaking of these   
hornets1 one of the good old            
commentators1 whose views have long been
 considered of great value by the       
believers in the inspiration of the     
bible1 uses the following               
language3--,hornets are a sort of strong
 flies1 which the ,lord used as         
instruments to plague the enemies of his
 people4 ,they are of themselves very   
troublesome and mischievous1 and those  
the ,lord made use of were1 it is       
thought1 of an extraordinary bigness and
 perniciousness4 ,it is said they live  
as the wasps1 and that they have a king 
or captain1 and pestilent stings as     

bees1 and that1 if twenty-seven of them 
sting man or beast1 it is certain death 
to either4 ,nor is it strange that such 
creatures did drive out the ,canaanites 
from their habitations2 for many heathen
 writers give instances of some people  
driven from their seats by frogs1 others
 by mice1 others by bees and wasps4 ,and
 it is said that a christian city1 being
 besieged by ,sapores1 king of ,persia1 
was delivered by hornets2 for the       
elephants and beasts being stung by     
them1 waxed unruly1 and so the whole    
army fled4  ,only a few years ago1 all  
such stories were believed by the       
christian world2 and it is a historical 
fact1 that ,voltaire was the third man  
of any note in ,europe1 who took the    
ground that the mythologies of ,greece  
and ,rome were without foundation4      
,until his time1 most christians        
believed as thoroughly in the miracles  
ascribed to the ,greek and ,roman gods  
as in those of ,christ and ,jehovah4    
,the christian world cultivated         

credulity1 not only as one of the       
virtues1 but as the greatest of them    
all4 ,but1 when ,luther and his         
followers left the church of ,rome1 they
 were compelled to deny the power of the
 catholic church1 at that time1 to      
suspend the laws of nature1 but took the
 ground that such power ceased with the 
apostolic age4 ,they insisted that all  
things now happened in accordance with  
the laws of nature1 with the exception  
of a few special interferences in favor 
of the protestant church in answer to   
prayer4 ,they taught their children a   
double philosophy3 by one1 they were to 
show the impossibility of catholic      
miracles1 because opposed to the laws of
 nature2 by the other1 the probability  
of the miracles of the apostolic age1   
because they were in conformity with the
 statements of the scriptures4 ,they had
 two foundations3 one1 the law of       
nature1 and the other1 the word of ,god4
 ,the protestants have endeavored to    
carry on this double process of         

reasoning1 and the result has been a    
gradual increase of confidence in the   
law of nature1 and a gradual decrease of
 confidence in the word of ,god4  ,we   
are told1 in this inspired account1 that
 the clothing of the ,jewish people did 
not wax old1 and that their shoes       
refused to wear out4 ,some commentators 
have insisted that angels attended to   
the wardrobes of the ,hebrews1 patched  
their garments1 and mended their shoes4 
,certain it is1 however1 that the same  
clothes lasted them for forty years1    
during the entire journey from ,egypt to
 the ,holy ,land4 ,little boys starting 
out with their first pantaloons1 grew as
 they traveled1 and their clothes grew  
with them4  ,can it be necessary to     
believe a story like this8 ,will men    
make better husbands1 fathers1          
neighbors1 and citizens1 simply by      
giving credence to these childish and   
impossible things8 ,certainly an        
infinite ,god could have transported the
 ,jews to the ,holy ,land in a moment1  

and could1 as easily1 have removed the  
,canaanites to some other country4      
,surely there was no necessity for doing
 thousands and thousands of petty       
miracles1 day after day for forty years1
 looking after the clothes of three     
millions of people1 changing the nature 
of wool1 and linen1 and leather1 so that
 they would not wax old4 ,every step1   
every motion1 would wear away some part 
of the clothing1 some part of the shoes4
 ,were these parts1 so worn away1       
perpetually renewed1 or was the nature  
of things so changed that they could not
 wear away8 ,we know that whenever      
matter comes in contact with matter1    
certain atoms1 by abrasion1 are lost4   
,were these atoms gathered up every     
night by angels1 and replaced on the    
soles of the shoes1 on the elbows of    
coats1 and on the knees of pantaloons1  
so that the next morning they would be  
precisely in the condition they were on 
the morning before8 ,there must be a    
mistake somewhere4  ,can we believe that

 the real ,god1 if there is one1 ever   
ordered a man to be killed simply for   
making hair oil1 or ointment8 ,we are   
told in the thirtieth chapter of        
,exodus1 that the ,lord commanded ,moses
 to take myrrh1 cinnamon1 sweet calamus1
 cassia1 and olive oil1 and make a holy 
ointment for the purpose of anointing   
the tabernacle1 tables1 candlesticks and
 other utensils1 as well as ,aaron and  
his sons2 saying1 at the same time1 that
 whosoever compounded any like it1 or   
whoever put any of it on a stranger1    
should be put to death4 ,in the same    
chapter1 the ,lord furnishes ,moses with
 a recipe for making a perfume1 saying1 
that whoever should make any which      
smelled like it1 should be cut off from 
his people4 ,this1 to me1 sounds so     
unreasonable that ,i cannot believe it4 
,why should an infinite ,god care       
whether mankind made ointments and      
perfumes like his or not8 ,why should   
the ,creator of all things threaten to  
kill a priest who approached his altar  

without having washed his hands and     
feet8 ,these commandments and these     
penalties would disgrace the vainest    
tyrant that ever sat1 by chance1 upon a 
throne4 ,there must be some mistake4 ,i 
cannot believe that an infinite         
,intelligence appeared to ,moses upon   
,mount ,sinai having with him a variety 
of patterns for making a tabernacle1    
tongs1 snuffers and dishes4 ,neither can
 ,i believe that ,god told ,moses how to
 cut and trim a coat for a priest4 ,why 
should a ,god care about such things8   
,why should he insist on having buttons 
sewed in certain rows1 and fringes of a 
certain color8 ,suppose an intelligent  
civilized man was to overhear1 on ,mount
 ,sinai1 the following instructions from
 ,god to ,moses3--  ,you must consecrate
 my priests as follows3--,you must kill 
a bullock for a sin offering1 and have  
,aaron and his sons lay their hands upon
 the head of the bullock4 ,then you must
 take the blood and put it upon the     
horns of the altar round about with your

 finger1 and pour some blood at the     
bottom of the altar to make a           
reconciliation2 and of the fat that is  
upon the inwards1 the caul above the    
liver and two kidneys1 and their fat1   
and burn them upon the altar4 ,you must 
get a ram for a burnt offering1 and     
,aaron and his sons must lay their hands
 upon the head of the ram4 ,then you    
must kill it and sprinkle the blood upon
 the altar1 and cut the ram into pieces1
 and burn the head1 and the pieces1 and 
the fat1 and wash the inwards and the   
lungs in water and then burn the whole  
ram upon the altar for a sweet savor    
unto me4 ,then you must get another ram1
 and have ,aaron and his sons lay their 
hands upon the head of that1 then kill  
it and take of its blood1 and put it on 
the top of ,aaron s right ear1 and on   
the thumb of his right hand1 and on the 
great toe of his right foot4 ,and you   
must also put a little of the blood upon
 the top of the right ears of ,aaron's  
sons1 and on the thumbs of their right  

hands and on the great toes of their    
right feet4 ,and then you must take of  
the fat that is on the inwards1 and the 
caul above the liver and the two        
kidneys1 and their fat1 and the right   
shoulder1 and out of a basket of        
unleavened bread you must take one      
unleavened cake and another of oil      
bread1 and one wafer1 and put them on   
the fat of the right shoulder4 ,and you 
must take of the anointing oil1 and of  
the blood1 and sprinkle it on ,aaron1   
and on his garments1 and on his sons    
garments1 and sanctify them and all     
their clothes4--,do you believe that he 
would have even suspected that the      
creator of the universe was talking8    
,can any one now tell why ,god commanded
 the ,jews1 when they were upon the     
desert of ,sinai1 to plant trees1       
telling them at the same time that they 
must not eat any of the fruit of such   
trees until after the fourth year8      
,trees could not have been planted in   
that desert1 and if they had been1 they 

could not have lived4 ,why did ,god tell
 ,moses1 while in the desert1 to make   
curtains of fine linen8 ,where could he 
have obtained his flax8 ,there was no   
land upon which it could have been      
produced4 ,why did he tell him to make  
things of gold1 and silver1 and precious
 stones1 when they could not have been  
in possession of these things8 ,there is
 but one answer1 and that is1 the       
,pentateuch was written hundreds of     
years after the ,jews had settled in the
 ,holy ,land1 and hundreds of years     
after ,moses was dust and ashes4  ,when 
the ,jews had a written language1 and   
that must have been long after their    
flight from ,egypt1 they wrote out their
 history and their laws4 ,tradition had 
filled the infancy of the nation with   
miracles and special interpositions in  
their behalf by ,jehovah4 ,patriotism   
would not allow these wonders to grow   
small1 and priestcraft never denied a   
miracle4 ,there were traditions to the  
effect that ,god had spoken face to face

 with ,moses2 that he had given him the 
tables of the law1 and had1 in a        
thousand ways1 made known his will2 and 
whenever the priests wished to make new 
laws1 or amend old ones1 they pretended 
to have found something more that ,god  
said to ,moses at ,sinai4 ,in this way  
obedience was more easily secured4 ,only
 a very few of the people could read1   
and1 as a consequence1 additions1       
interpolations and erasures had no fear 
of detection4 ,in this way we account   
for the fact that ,moses is made to     
speak of things that did not exist in   
his day1 and were unknown for hundreds  
of years after his death4  ,in the      
thirtieth chapter of ,exodus1 we are    
told that the people1 when numbered1    
must give each one a half shekel after  
the shekel of the sanctuary4 ,at that   
time no such money existed1 and         
consequently the account could not1 by  
any possibility1 have been written until
 after there was a shekel of the        
sanctuary1 and there was no such thing  

until long after the death of ,moses4   
,if we should read that ,caesar paid his
 troops in pounds1 shillings and pence1 
we would certainly know that the account
 was not written by ,caesar1 nor in his 
time1 but we would know that it was     
written after the ,english had given    
these names to certain coins4  ,so1 we  
find1 that when the ,jews were upon the 
desert it was commanded that every      
mother should bring1 as a sin offering1 
a couple of doves to the priests1 and   
the priests were compelled to eat these 
doves in the most holy place4 ,at the   
time this law appears to have been      
given1 there were three million people1 
and only three priests1 ,aaron1 ,eleazer
 and ,ithamar4 ,among three million     
people there would be1 at least1 three  
hundred births a day4 ,certainly we are 
not expected to believe that these three
 priests devoured six hundred pigeons   
every twenty-four hours4  ,why should a 
woman ask pardon of ,god for having been
 a mother8 ,why should that be          

considered a crime in ,exodus1 which is 
commanded as a duty in ,genesis8 ,why   
should a mother be declared unclean8    
,why should giving birth to a daughter  
be regarded twice as criminal as giving 
birth to a son8 ,can we believe that    
such laws and ceremonies were made and  
instituted by a merciful and intelligent
 ,god8 ,if there is anything in this    
poor world suggestive of1 and standing  
for1 all that is sweet1 loving and pure1
 it is a mother holding in her thrilled 
and happy arms her prattling babe4 ,read
 the twelfth chapter of ,leviticus1 and 
you will see that when a woman became   
the mother of a boy she was so unclean  
that she was not allowed to touch a     
hallowed thing1 nor to enter the        
sanctuary for forty days4 ,if the babe  
was a girl1 then the mother was unfit   
for eighty days1 to enter the house of  
,god1 or to touch the sacred tongs and  
snuffers4 ,these laws1 born of          
barbarism1 are unworthy of our day1 and 
should be regarded simply as the        

mistakes of savages4  ,just as low in   
the scale of intelligence are the       
directions given in the fifth chapter of
 ,numbers1 for the trial of a wife of   
whom the husband was jealous4 ,this     
foolish chapter has been the foundation 
of all appeals to ,god for the          
ascertainment of facts1 such as the     
corsned1 trial by battle1 by water1 and 
by fire1 the last of which is our       
judicial oath4 ,it is very easy to      
believe that in those days a guilty     
woman would be afraid to drink the water
 of jealousy and take the oath1 and     
that1 through fear1 she might be made to
 confess4 ,admitting that the deception 
tended not only to prevent crime1 but to
 discover it when committed1 still1 we  
cannot admit that an honest god would1  
for any purpose1 resort to dishonest    
means4 ,in all countries fear is        
employed as a means of getting at the   
truth1 and in this there is nothing     
dishonest1 provided falsehood is not    
resorted to for the purpose of producing

 the fear4 ,protestants laugh at        
catholics because of their belief in the
 efficacy of holy water1 and yet they   
teach their children that a little holy 
water1 in which had been thrown some    
dust from the floor of the sanctuary1   
would work a miracle in a woman's flesh4
 ,for hundreds of years our fathers     
believed that a perjurer could not      
swallow a piece of sacramental bread4   
,such stories belong to the childhood of
 our race1 and are now believed only by 
mental infants and intellectual babes4  
,i cannot believe that ,moses had in his
 hands a couple of tables of stone1 upon
 which ,god had written the ten         
commandments1 and that when he saw the  
golden calf1 and the dancing1 that he   
dashed the tables to the earth and broke
 them in pieces4 ,neither do ,i believe 
that ,moses took a golden calf1 burnt   
it1 ground it to powder1 and made the   
people drink it with water1 as related  
in the thirty-second chapter of ,exodus4
  ,there is another account of the      

giving of the ten commandments to       
,moses1 in the nineteenth and twentieth 
chapters of ,exodus4 ,in this account   
not one word is said about the people   
having made a golden calf1 nor about the
 breaking of the tables of stone4 ,in   
the thirty-fourth chapter of ,exodus1   
there is an account of the renewal of   
the broken tables of the law1 and the   
commandments are given1 but they are not
 the same commandments mentioned in the 
twentieth chapter4 ,there are two       
accounts of the same transaction4 ,both 
of these stories cannot be true1 and yet
 both must be believed4 ,any one who    
will take the trouble to read the       
nineteenth and twentieth chapters1 and  
the last verse of the thirty-first      
chapter1 the thirty-second1             
thirty-third1 and thirty-fourth chapters
 of ,exodus1 will be compelled to admit 
that both accounts cannot be true4      
,from the last account it appears that  
while ,moses was upon ,mount ,sinai     
receiving the commandments from ,god1   

the people brought their jewelry to     
,aaron1 and he cast for them a golden   
calf4 ,this happened before any         
commandment against idolatry had been   
given4 ,a god ought1 certainly1 to      
publish his laws before inflicting      
penalties for their violation4 ,to      
inflict punishment for breaking unknown 
and unpublished laws is1 in the last    
degree1 cruel and unjust4 ,it may be    
replied that the ,jews knew better than 
to worship idols1 before the law was    
given4 ,if this is so1 why should the   
law have been given8 ,in all civilized  
countries1 laws are made and            
promulgated1 not simply for the purpose 
of informing the people as to what is   
right and wrong1 but to inform them of  
the penalties to be visited upon those  
who violate the laws4 ,when the ten     
commandments were given1 no penalties   
were attached4 ,not one word was written
 on the tables of stone as to the       
punishments that would be inflicted for 
breaking any or all of the inspired     

laws4 ,the people should not have been  
punished for violating a commandment    
before it was given4 ,and yet1 in this  
case1 ,moses commanded the sons of ,levi
 to take their swords and slay every man
 his brother1 his companion1 and his    
neighbor4 ,the brutal order was obeyed1 
and three thousand men were butchered4  
,the ,levites consecrated themselves    
unto the ,lord by murdering their sons1 
and their brothers1 for having violated 
a commandment before it had been given4 
,it has been contended for many years   
that the ten commandments are the       
foundation of all ideas of justice and  
of law4 ,eminent jurists have bowed to  
popular prejudice1 and deformed their   
works by statements to the effect that  
the ,mosaic laws are the fountains from 
which sprang all ideas of right and     
wrong4 ,nothing can be more stupidly    
false than such assertions4 ,thousands  
of years before ,moses was born1 the    
,egyptians had a code of laws4 ,they had
 laws against blasphemy1 murder1        

adultery1 larceny1 perjury1 laws for the
 collection of debts1 the enforcement of
 contracts1 the ascertainment of        
damages1 the redemption of property     
pawned1 and upon nearly every subject of
 human interest4 ,the ,egyptian code was
 far better than the ,mosaic4  ,laws    
spring from the instinct of             
self-preservation1 ,industry objected to
 supporting idleness1 and laws were made
 against theft4 ,laws were made against 
murder1 because a very large majority of
 the people have always objected to     
being murdered4 ,all fundamental laws   
were born simply of the instinct of     
self-defence4 ,long before the ,jewish  
savages assembled at the foot of ,sinai1
 laws had been made and enforced1 not   
only in ,egypt and ,india1 but by every 
tribe that ever existed4  ,it is        
impossible for human beings to exist    
together1 without certain rules of      
conduct1 certain ideas of the proper and
 improper1 of the right and wrong1      
growing out of the relation4 ,certain   

rules must be made1 and must be         
enforced4 ,this implies law1 trial and  
punishment4 ,whoever produces anything  
by weary labor1 does not need a         
revelation from heaven to teach him that
 he has a right to the thing produced4  
,not one of the learned gentlemen who   
pretend that the ,mosaic laws are filled
 with justice and intelligence1 would   
live1 for a moment1 in any country where
 such laws were in force4  ,nothing can 
be more wonderful than the medical ideas
 of ,jehovah4 ,he had the strangest     
notions about the cause and cure of     
disease4 ,with him everything was       
miracle and wonder4 ,in the fourteenth  
chapter of ,leviticus1 we find the law  
for cleansing a leper3--,then shall the 
priest take for him that is to be       
cleansed1 two birds1 alive and clean1   
and cedar wood1 and scarlet1 and hyssop4
 ,and the priest shall command that one 
of the birds be killed in an earthen    
vessel1 over running water4 ,as for the 
living bird1 he shall take it1 and the  

cedar wood1 and the scarlet1 and the    
hyssop1 and shall dip them1 and the     
living bird1 in the blood of the bird   
that was killed over the running water4 
,and he shall sprinkle upon him that is 
to be cleansed from the leprosy1 seven  
times1 and shall pronounce him clean1   
and shall let the living bird loose into
 the open field4  ,we are told that ,god
 himself gave these directions to       
,moses4 ,does anybody believe this8 ,why
 should the bird be killed in an earthen
 vessel8 ,would the charm be broken if  
the vessel was of wood8 ,why over       
running water8 ,what would be thought of
 a physician now1 who would give a      
prescription like that8  ,is it not     
strange that ,god1 although he gave     
hundreds of directions for the purpose  
of discovering the presence of leprosy1 
and for cleansing the leper after he was
 healed1 forgot to tell how that disease
 could be cured8 ,is it not wonderful   
that while ,god told his people what    
animals were fit for food1 he failed to 

give a list of plants that man might    
eat8 ,why did he leave his children to  
find out the hurtful and the poisonous  
by experiment1 knowing that experiment1 
in millions of cases1 must be death8    
,when reading the history of the ,jewish
 people1 of their flight from slavery to
 death1 of their exchange of tyrants1 ,i
 must confess that my sympathies are all
 aroused in their behalf4 ,they were    
cheated1 deceived and abused4 ,their god
 was quick-tempered unreasonable1 cruel1
 revengeful and dishonest4 ,he was      
always promising but never performed4   
,he wasted time in ceremony and childish
 detail1 and in the exaggeration of what
 he had done4 ,it is impossible for me  
to conceive of a character more utterly 
detestable than that of the ,hebrew god4
 ,he had solemnly promised the ,jews    
that he would take them from ,egypt to a
 land flowing with milk and honey4 ,he  
had led them to believe that in a little
 while their troubles would be over1 and
 that they would soon in the land of    

,canaan1 surrounded by their wives and  
little ones1 forget the stripes and     
tears of ,egypt4 ,after promising the   
poor wanderers again and again that he  
would lead them in safety to the        
promised land of joy and plenty1 this   
,god1 forgetting every promise1 said to 
the wretches in his power3--,your       
carcasses shall fall in this wilderness 
and your children shall wander until    
your carcasses be wasted4 ,this curse   
was the conclusion of the whole matter4 
,into this dust of death and night faded
 all the promises of ,god4 ,into this   
rottenness of wandering despair fell all
 the dreams of liberty and home4        
,millions of corpses were left to rot in
 the desert1 and each one certified to  
the dishonesty of ,jehovah4 ,i cannot   
believe these things4 ,they are so cruel
 and heartless1 that my blood is chilled
 and my sense of justice shocked4 ,a    
book that is equally abhorrent to my    
head and heart1 cannot be accepted as a 
revelation from ,god4  ,when we think of

 the poor ,jews1 destroyed1 murdered1   
bitten by serpents1 visited by plagues1 
decimated by famine1 butchered by each1 
other1 swallowed by the earth1          
frightened1 cursed1 starved1 deceived1  
robbed and outraged1 how thankful we    
should be that we are not the chosen    
people of ,god4 ,no wonder that they    
longed for the slavery of ,egypt1 and   
remembered with sorrow the unhappy day  
when they exchanged masters4 ,compared  
with ,jehovah1 ,pharaoh was a           
benefactor1 and the tyranny of ,egypt   
was freedom to those who suffered the   
liberty of ,god4  ,while reading the    
,pentateuch1 ,i am filled with          
indignation1 pity and horror4 ,nothing  
can be sadder than the history of the   
starved and frightened wretches who     
wandered over the desolate crags and    
sands of wilderness and desert1 the prey
 of famine1 sword1 and plague4 ,ignorant
 and superstitious to the last degree1  
governed by falsehood1 plundered by     
hypocrisy1 they were the sport of       

priests1 and the food of fear4 ,god was 
their greatest enemy1 and death their   
only friend4  ,it is impossible to      
conceive of a more thoroughly           
despicable1 hateful1 and arrogant being1
 than the ,jewish god4 ,he is without a 
redeeming feature4 ,in the mythology of 
the world he has no parallel4 ,he1 only1
 is never touched by agony and tears4   
,he delights only in blood and pain4    
,human affections are naught to him4 ,he
 cares neither for love nor music1      
beauty nor joy4 ,a false friend1 an     
unjust judge1 a braggart1 hypocrite1 and
 tyrant1 sincere in hatred1 jealous1    
vain1 and revengeful1 false in promise1 
honest in curse1 suspicious1 ignorant1  
and changeable1 infamous and            
hideous3--such is the ,god of the       
,pentateuch4     ,,xxiv4 ,,confess ,,and
 ,,avoid  ,the scientific christians now
 admit that the bible is not inspired in
 its astronomy1 geology1 botany1        
zoology1 nor in any science4 ,in other  
words1 they admit that on these         

subjects1 the bible cannot be depended  
upon4 ,if all the statements in the     
scriptures were true1 there would be no 
necessity for admitting that some of    
them are not inspired4 ,a christian will
 not admit that a passage in the bible  
is uninspired1 until he is satisfied    
that it is untrue4 ,orthodoxy itself has
 at last been compelled to say1 that    
while a passage may be true and         
uninspired1 it cannot be inspired if    
false4  ,if the people of ,europe had   
known as much of astronomy and geology  
when the bible was introduced among     
them1 as they do now1 there never could 
have been one believer in the doctrine  
of inspiration4 ,if the writers of the  
various parts of the bible had known as 
much about the sciences as is now known 
by every intelligent man1 the book never
 could have been written4 ,it was       
produced by ignorance1 and has been     
believed and defended by its author4 ,it
 has lost power in the proportion that  
man has gained knowledge4 ,a few years  

ago1 this book was appealed to in the   
settlement of all scientific questions2 
but now1 even the clergy confess that in
 such matters1 it has ceased to speak   
with the voice of authority4 ,for the   
establishment of facts1 the word of man 
is now considered far better than the   
word of ,god4 ,in the world of science1 
,jehovah was superseded by ,copernicus1 
,galileo1 and ,kepler4 ,all that ,god   
told ,moses1 admitting the entire       
account to be true1 is dust and ashes   
compared to the discoveries of ,des     
,cartes1 ,la ,place1 and ,humboldt4 ,in 
matters of fact1 the bible has ceased to
 be regarded as a standard4 ,science has
 succeeded in breaking the chains of    
theology4 ,a few years ago1 ,science    
endeavored to show that it was not      
inconsistent with the bible4 ,the tables
 have been turned1 and now1 ,religion is
 endeavoring to prove that the bible is 
not inconsistent with ,science4 ,the    
standard has been changed4  ,for many   
ages1 the christians contended that the 

bible1 viewed simply as a literary      
performance1 was beyond all other books1
 and that man without the assistance of 
,god could not produce its equal4 ,this 
claim was made when but few books       
existed1 and the bible1 being the only  
book generally known1 had no rival4 ,but
 this claim1 like the other1 has been   
abandoned by many1 and soon will be1 by 
all4 ,compared with ,shakespeare's book 
and volume of the brain1 the sacred     
bible shrinks and seems as feebly       
impotent and vain1 as would a pipe of   
,pan1 when some great organ1 voiced with
 every tone1 from the hoarse thunder of 
the sea to the winged warble of a mated 
bird1 floods and fills cathedral aisles 
with all the wealth of sound4  ,it is   
now maintained--and this appears to be  
the last fortification behind which the 
doctrine of inspiration skulks and      
crouches--that the bible1 although false
 and mistaken in its astronomy1 geology1
 geography1 history and philosophy1 is  
inspired in its morality4 ,it is now    

claimed that had it not been for this   
book1 the world would have been         
inhabited only by savages1 and that had 
it not been for the holy scriptures1 man
 never would have even dreamed of the   
unity of ,god4 ,a belief in one ,god is 
claimed to be a dogma of almost infinite
 importance1 that without this belief   
civilization is impossible1 and that    
this fact is the sun around which all   
the virtues revolve1 ,for my part1 ,i   
think it infinitely more important to   
believe in man4 ,theology is a          
superstition--,humanity a religion4     
,,xxv4 ,,inspired ,,slavery  ,perhaps   
the bible was inspired upon the subject 
of human slavery4 ,is there1 in the     
civilized world1 today1 a clergyman who 
believes in the divinity of slavery8    
,does the bible teach man to enslave his
 brother8 ,if it does1 is it not        
blasphemous to say that it is inspired  
of ,god8 ,if you find the institution of
 slavery upheld in a book said to have  
been written by ,god1 what would you    

expect to find in a book inspired by the
 devil8 ,would you expect to find that  
book in favor of liberty8 ,modern       
christians1 ashamed of the ,god of the  
,old ,testament1 endeavor now to show   
that slavery was neither commanded nor  
opposed by ,jehovah4 ,nothing can be    
plainer than the following passages from
 the twenty-fifth chapter of ,leviticus4
 ,moreover of the children of the       
strangers that do sojourn among you1 of 
them shall ye buy1 and of their families
 that are with you1 which they begat in 
your land3 and they shall be your       
possession4 ,and ye shall take them as  
an inheritance for your children after  
you1 to inherit them for a possession1  
they shall be your bond-men forever4    
,both thy bond-men1 and thy bond-maids1 
which thou shalt have1 shall be of the  
heathen that are round about you2 of    
them shall ye buy bond-men1 and         
bond-maids4  ,can we believe in this1   
the ,nineteenth ,century1 that these    
infamous passages were inspired by ,god8

 that ,god approved not only of human   
slavery1 but instructed his chosen      
people to buy the women1 children and   
babes of the heathen round about them8  
,if it was right for the ,hebrews to    
buy1 it was also right for the heathen  
to sell4 ,this ,god1 by commanding the  
,hebrews to buy1 approved of the selling
 of sons and daughters4 ,the ,canaanite 
who1 tempted by gold1 lured by avarice1 
sold from the arms of his wife the      
dimpled babe1 simply made it possible   
for the ,hebrews to obey the orders of  
their ,god4 ,if ,god is the author of   
the bible1 the reading of these passages
 ought to cover his cheeks with shame4  
,i ask the christian world to-day1 was  
it right for the heathen to sell their  
children8 ,was it right for ,god not    
only to uphold1 but to command the      
infamous traffic in human flesh8 ,could 
the most revengeful fiend1 the most     
malicious vagrant in the gloom of hell1 
sink to a lower moral depth than this8  
,according to this ,god1 his chosen     

people were not only commanded to buy of
 the heathen round about them1 but were 
also permitted to buy each other for a  
term of years4 ,the law governing the   
purchase of ,jews is laid down in the   
twenty-first chapter of ,exodus4 ,if    
thou buy a ,hebrew servant1 six years   
shall he serve3 and in the seventh he   
shall go out free for nothing4 ,if he   
came in by himself1 he shall go out by  
himself3 if he were married1 then his   
wife shall go out with him4 ,if his     
master have given him a wife1 and she   
have borne him sons or daughters1 the   
wife and her children shall be her      
master's1 and he shall go out by        
himself4 ,and if the servant shall      
plainly say1 ,i love my master1 my wife1
 and my children2 ,i will not go out    
free3 ,then his master shall bring him  
unto the judges2 he shall also bring him
 to the door1 or unto the door-post3 and
 his master shall bore his ear through  
with an awl3 and he shall serve him     
forever4  ,do you believe that ,god was 

the author of this infamous law8 ,do you
 believe that the loving father of us   
all1 turned the dimpled arms of babes   
into manacles of iron8 ,do you believe  
that he baited the dungeon of servitude 
with wife and child8 ,is it possible to 
love a ,god who would make such laws8   
,is it possible not to hate and despise 
him8  ,the heathen are not spoken of as 
human beings4 ,their rights are never   
mentioned4 ,they were the rightful food 
of the sword1 and their bodies were made
 for stripes and chains4  ,in the same  
chapter of the same inspired book1 we   
are told that1 if a man smite his       
servant1 or his maid1 with a rod1 and he
 dies under his hand1 he shall be surely
 punished4 ,notwithstanding1 if he      
continue a day or two1 he shall not be  
punished1 for he is his money4  ,must we
 believe that ,god called some of his   
children the money of others8 ,can we   
believe that ,god made lashes upon the  
naked back1 a legal tender for labor    
performed8 ,must we regard the auction  

block as an altar8 ,were blood hounds   
apostles8 ,was the slave-pen a temple8  
,were the stealers and whippers of babes
 and women the justified children of    
,god8  ,it is now contended that while  
the ,old ,testament is touched with the 
barbarism of its time1 that the ,new    
,testament is morally perfect1 and that 
on its pages can be found no blot or    
stain4 ,as a matter of fact1 the ,new   
,testament is more decidedly in favor of
 human slavery than the old4  ,for my   
part1 ,i never will1 ,i never can1      
worship a ,god who upholds the          
institution of slavery4 ,such a ,god ,i 
hate and defy4 ,i neither want his      
heaven1 nor fear his hell4     ,,xxvi4  
,,inspired ,,marriage  ,is there an     
orthodox clergyman in the world1 who    
will now declare that he believes the   
institution of polygamy to be right8 ,is
 there one who will publicly declare    
that1 in his judgment1 that institution 
ever was right8 ,was there ever a time  
in the history of the world when it was 

right to treat woman simply as property8
 ,do not attempt to answer these        
questions by saying1 that the bible is  
an exceedingly good book1 that we are   
indebted for our civilization to the    
sacred volume1 and that without it1 man 
would lapse into savagery1 and mental   
night4 ,this is no answer4 ,was there a 
time when the institution of polygamy   
was the highest expression of human     
virtue8 ,is there a christian woman1    
civilized1 intelligent1 and free1 who   
believes in the institution of polygamy8
 ,are we better1 purer1 and more        
intelligent than ,god was four thousand 
years ago8 ,why should we imprison      
,mormons1 and worship ,god8 ,polygamy is
 just as pure in ,utah1 as it could have
 been in the promised land4 ,love and   
,virtue are the same the whole world    
round1 and ,justice is the same in every
 star4 ,all the languages of the world  
are not sufficient to express the filth 
of polygamy4 ,it makes of man1 a beast1 
of woman1 a trembling slave4 ,it        

destroys the fireside1 makes virtue an  
outcast1 takes from human speech its    
sweetest words1 and leaves the heart a  
den1 where crawl and hiss the slimy     
serpents of most loathsome lust4        
,civilization rests upon the family4    
,the good family is the unit of good    
government4 ,the virtues grow about the 
holy hearth of home--they cluster1      
bloom1 and shed their perfume round the 
fireside where the one man loves the one
 woman4                                 
,lover--husband--wife--mother--father--c
hild--home6--without these sacred words1
 the world is but a lair1 and men and   
women merely beasts4  ,why should the   
innocent maiden and the loving mother   
worship the heartless ,jewish ,god8 ,why
 should they1 with pure and stainless   
lips1 read the vile record of inspired  
lust8  ,the marriage of the one man to  
the one woman is the citadel and        
fortress of civilization4 ,without this1
 woman becomes the prey and slave of    
lust and power1 and man goes back to    

savagery and crime4 ,from the bottom of 
my heart ,i hate1 abhor and execrate all
 theories of life1 of which the pure and
 sacred home is not the corner-stone4   
,take from the world the family1 the    
fireside1 the children born of wedded   
love1 and there is nothing left4 ,the   
home where virtue dwells with love is   
like a lily with a heart of fire--the   
fairest flower in all the world4        
,,xxvii4 ,,inspired ,,war  ,if the bible
 be true1 ,god commanded his chosen     
people to destroy men simply for the    
crime of defending their native land4   
,they were not allowed to spare         
trembling and white-haired age1 nor     
dimpled babes clasped in the mothers'   
arms4 ,they were ordered to kill women1 
and to pierce1 with the sword of war1   
the unborn child4 ,our heavenly ,father 
commanded the ,hebrews to kill the men  
and women1 the fathers1 sons and        
brothers1 but to preserve the girls     
alive4 ,why were not the maidens also   
killed8 ,why were they spared8 ,read the

 thirty-first chapter of ,numbers1 and  
you will find that the maidens were     
given to the soldiers and the priests4  
,is there1 in all the history of war1 a 
more infamous thing than this8 ,is it   
possible that ,god permitted the violets
 of modesty1 that grow and shed their   
perfume in the maiden's heart1 to be    
trampled beneath the brutal feet of     
lust8 ,if this was the order of ,god1   
what1 under the same circumstances1     
would have been the command of a devil8 
,when1 in this age of the world1 a      
woman1 a wife1 a mother1 reads this     
record1 she should1 with scorn and      
loathing1 throw the book away4 ,a       
general1 who now should make such an    
order1 giving over to massacre and      
rapine a conquered people1 would be held
 in execration by the whole civilized   
world4 ,yet1 if the bible be true1 the  
supreme and infinite ,god was once a    
savage4  ,a little while ago1 out upon  
the western plains1 in a little path    
leading to a cabin1 were found the      

bodies of two children and their mother4
 ,her breast was filled with wounds     
received in the defence of her darlings4
 ,they had been murdered by the savages4
 ,suppose when looking at their lifeless
 forms1 some one had said1 ,this was    
done by the command of ,god6 ,in ,canaan
 there were countless scenes like this4 
,there was no pity in inspired war4 ,god
 raised the black flag1 and commanded   
his soldiers to kill even the smiling   
infant in its mother's arms4 ,who is the
 blasphemer2 the man who denies the     
existence of ,god1 or he who covers the 
robes of the ,infinite with innocent    
blood8  ,we are told in the ,pentateuch1
 that ,god1 the father of us all1 gave  
thousands of maidens1 after having      
killed their fathers1 their mothers1 and
 their brothers1 to satisfy the brutal  
lusts of savage men4 ,if there be a     
,god1 ,i pray him to write in his book1 
opposite my name1 that ,i denied this   
lie for him4     ,,xxviii4 ,,inspired   
,,religious ,,liberty  ,according to the

 bible1 ,god selected the ,jewish people
 through whom to make known the great   
fact1 that he was the only true and     
living ,god4 ,for this purpose1 he      
appeared on several occasions to        
,moses--came down to ,sinai's top       
clothed in cloud and fire1 and wrought a
 thousand miracles for the preservation 
and education of the ,jewish people4 ,in
 their presence he opened the waters of 
the sea4 ,for them he caused bread to   
rain from heaven4 ,to quench their      
thirst1 water leaped from the dry and   
barren rock4 ,their enemies were        
miraculously destroyed2 and for forty   
years1 at least1 this ,god took upon    
himself the government of the ,jews4    
,but1 after all this1 many of the people
 had less confidence in him than in gods
 of wood and stone4 ,in moments of      
trouble1 in periods of disaster1 in the 
darkness of doubt1 in the hunger and    
thirst of famine1 instead of asking this
 ,god for aid1 they turned and sought   
the help of senseless things4 ,this     

,god1 with all his power and wisdom1    
could not even convince a few wandering 
and wretched savages that he was more   
potent than the idols of ,egypt4 ,this  
,god was not willing that the ,jews     
should think and investigate for        
themselves4 ,for heresy1 the penalty was
 death4 ,where this ,god reigned1       
intellectual liberty was unknown4 ,he   
appealed only to brute force2 he        
collected taxes by threatening plagues2 
he demanded worship on pain of sword and
 fire2 acting as spy1 inquisitor1 judge 
and executioner4  ,in the thirteenth    
chapter of ,deuteronomy1 we have the    
ideas of ,god as to mental freedom4 ,if 
thy brother1 the son of thy mother1 or  
thy son1 or the wife of thy bosom1 or   
thy friend which is as thine own soul1  
entice thee secretly1 saying1 ,let us go
 and serve other gods1 which thou hast  
not known1 thou nor thy fathers2 namely 
of the gods of the people which are     
around about you1 nigh unto thee1 or far
 off from thee1 from the one end of the 

earth even unto the other end of the    
earth1 ,thou shalt not consent unto him1
 nor hearken unto him1 neither shall    
thine eye pity him1 neither shalt thou  
spare him1 neither shalt thou conceal   
him4 ,but thou shalt surely kill him2   
thine hand shall be first upon him to   
put him to death1 and afterward the hand
 of all the people4 ,and thou shalt     
stone him with stones that he die4      
,this is the religious liberty of ,god2 
the toleration of ,jehovah4 ,if ,i had  
lived in ,palestine at that time1 and my
 wife1 the mother of my children1 had   
said to me1 ,i am tired of ,jehovah1 he 
is always asking for blood2 he is never 
weary of killing2 he is always telling  
of his might and strength2 always       
telling what he has done for the ,jews1 
always asking for sacrifices2 for doves 
and lambs--blood1 nothing but           
blood4--,let us worship the sun4        
,jehovah is too revengeful1 too         
malignant1 too exacting4 ,let us worship
 the sun4 ,the sun has clothed the world

 in beauty2 it has covered the earth    
with flowers2 by its divine light ,i    
first saw your face1 and my beautiful   
babe4--,if ,i had obeyed the command of 
,god1 ,i would have killed her4 ,my hand
 would have been first upon her1 and    
after that the hands of all the people1 
and she would have been stoned with     
stones until she died4 ,for my part1 ,i 
would never kill my wife1 even if       
commanded so to do by the real ,god of  
this universe4 ,think of taking up some 
ragged rock and hurling it against the  
white bosom filled with love for you2   
and when you saw oozing from the bruised
 lips of the death wound1 the red       
current of her sweet life--think of     
looking up to heaven and receiving the  
congratulations of the infinite fiend   
whose commandment you had obeyed6  ,can 
we believe that any such command was    
ever given by a merciful and intelligent
 ,god8 ,suppose1 however1 that ,god did 
give this law to the ,jews1 and did tell
 them that whenever a man preached a    

heresy1 or proposed to worship any other
 god that they should kill him2 and     
suppose that afterward this same ,god   
took upon himself flesh1 and came to    
this very chosen people and taught a    
different religion1 and that thereupon  
the ,jews crucified him2 ,i ask you1 did
 he not reap exactly what he had sown8  
,what right would this ,god have to     
complain of a crucifixion suffered in   
accordance with his own command8        
,nothing can be more infamous than      
intellectual tyranny4 ,to put chains    
upon the body is as nothing compared    
with putting shackles on the brain4 ,no 
god is entitled to the worship or the   
respect of man who does not give1 even  
to the meanest of his children1 every   
right that he claims for himself4  ,if  
the ,pentateuch be true1 religious      
persecution is a duty4 ,the dungeons of 
the ,inquisition were temples1 and the  
clank of every chain upon the limbs of  
heresy was music in the ear of ,god4 ,if
 the ,pentateuch was inspired1 every    

heretic should be destroyed2 and every  
man who advocates a fact inconsistent   
with the sacred book1 should be consumed
 by sword and flame4  ,in the ,old      
,testament no one is told to reason with
 a heretic1 and not one word is said    
about relying upon argument1 upon       
education1 nor upon intellectual        
development--nothing except simple brute
 force4 ,is there to-day a christian who
 will say that four thousand years ago1 
it was the duty of a husband to kill his
 wife if she differed with him upon the 
subject of religion8 ,is there one who  
will now say that1 under such           
circumstances1 the wife ought to have   
been killed8 ,why should ,god be so     
jealous of the wooden idols of the      
heathen8 ,could he not compete with     
,baal8 ,was he envious of the success of
 the ,egyptian magicians8 ,was it not   
possible for him to make such a         
convincing display of his power as to   
silence forever the voice of unbelief8  
,did this ,god have to resort to force  

to make converts8 ,was he so ignorant of
 the structure of the human mind as to  
believe all honest doubt a crime8 ,if he
 wished to do away with the idolatry of 
the ,canaanites1 why did he not appear  
to them8 ,why did he not give them the  
tables of the law8 ,why did he only make
 known his will to a few wandering      
savages in the desert of ,sinai8 ,will  
some theologian have the kindness to    
answer these questions8 ,will some      
minister1 who now believes in religious 
liberty1 and eloquently denounces the   
intolerance of ,catholicism1 explain    
these things2 will he tell us why he    
worships an intolerant ,god8 ,is a god  
who will burn a soul forever in another 
world1 better than a christian who burns
 the body for a few hours in this8 ,is  
there no intellectual liberty in heaven8
 ,do the angels all discuss questions on
 the same side8 ,are all the            
investigators in perdition8 ,will the   
penitent thief1 winged and crowned1     
laugh at the honest folks in hell8 ,will

 the agony of the damned increase or    
decrease the happiness of ,god8 ,will   
there be1 in the universe1 an eternal   
auto da fe8     ,,xxix4 ,,conclusion    
,if the ,pentateuch is not inspired in  
its astronomy1 geology1 geography1      
history or philosophy1 if it is not     
inspired concerning slavery1 polygamy1  
war1 law1 religious or political        
liberty1 or the rights of men1 women and
 children1 what is it inspired in1 or   
about8 ,the unity of ,god8--that was    
believed long before ,moses was born4   
,special providence8--that has been the 
doctrine of ignorance in all ages4 ,the 
rights of property8--theft was always a 
crime4 ,the sacrifice of animals8--that 
was a custom thousands of years before a
 ,jew existed4 ,the sacredness of       
life8--there have always been laws      
against murder4 ,the wickedness of      
perjury8--truthfulness has always been a
 virtue4 ,the beauty of chastity8--the  
,pentateuch does not teach it4 ,thou    
shalt worship no other ,god8--that has  

been the burden of all religions4  ,is  
it possible that the ,pentateuch could  
not have been written by uninspired men8
 that the assistance of ,god was        
necessary to produce these books8 ,is it
 possible that ,galileo ascertained the 
mechanical principles of ,virtual       
,velocity1 the laws of falling bodies   
and of all motion2 that ,copernicus     
ascertained the true position of the    
earth and accounted for all celestial   
phenomena2 that ,kepler discovered his  
three laws--discoveries of such         
importance that the #hth of ,may1 #afah1
 may be called the birth-day of modern  
science2 that ,newton gave to the world 
the ,method of ,fluxions1 the ,theory of
 ,universal ,gravitation1 and the       
,decomposition of ,light2 that ,euclid1 
,cavalieri1 ,des ,cartes1 and ,leibnitz1
 almost completed the science of        
mathematics2 that all the discoveries in
 optics1 hydrostatics1 pneumatics and   
chemistry1 the experiments1 discoveries1
 and inventions of ,galvani1 ,volta1    

,franklin and ,morse1 of ,trevethick1   
,watt and ,fulton and of all the        
pioneers of progress--that all this was 
accomplished by uninspired men1 while   
the writer of the ,pentateuch was       
directed and inspired by an infinite    
,god8 ,is it possible that the codes of 
,china1 ,india1 ,egypt1 ,greece and     
,rome were made by man1 and that the    
laws recorded in the ,pentateuch were   
alone given by ,god8 ,is it possible    
that ,a,eschylus and ,shakespeare1      
,burns1 and ,beranger1 ,goethe and      
,schiller1 and all the poets of the     
world1 and all their wondrous tragedies 
and songs are but the work of men1 while
 no intelligence except the infinite    
,god could be the author of the         
,pentateuch8 ,is it possible that of all
 the books that crowd the libraries of  
the world1 the books of science1        
fiction1 history and song1 that all save
 only one1 have been produced by man8   
,is it possible that of all these1 the  
bible only is the work of ,god8  ,if the

 ,pentateuch is inspired1 the           
civilization of of our day is a mistake 
and crime4 ,there should be no political
 liberty4 ,heresy should be trodden out 
beneath the bigot's brutal feet4        
,husbands should divorce their wives at 
will1 and make the mothers of their     
children houseless and weeping          
wanderers4 ,polygamy ought to be        
practiced2 women should become slaves2  
we should buy the sons and daughters of 
the heathen and make them bondmen and   
bondwomen forever4 ,we should sell our  
own flesh and blood1 and have the right 
to kill our slaves4 ,men and women      
should be stoned to death for laboring  
on the seventh day4 ,mediums1 such as   
have familiar spirits1 should be burned 
with fire4 ,every vestige of mental     
liberty should be destroyed1 and        
reason's holy torch extinguished in the 
martyr's blood4  ,is it not far better  
and wiser to say that the ,pentateuch   
while containing some good laws1 some   
truths1 some wise and useful things is1 

after all1 deformed and blackened by the
 savagery of its time8 ,is it not far   
better and wiser to take the good and   
throw the bad away8  ,let us admit what 
we know to be true2 that ,moses was     
mistaken about a thousand things2 that  
the story of creation is not true2 that 
the garden of ,eden is a myth2 that the 
serpent and the tree of knowledge1 and  
the fall of man are but fragments of old
 mythologies lost and dead2 that woman  
was not made out of a rib2 that serpents
 never had the power of speech2 that the
 sons of ,god did not marry the         
daughters of men2 that the story of the 
flood and ark is not exactly true2 that 
the tower of ,babel is a mistake2 that  
the confusion of tongues is a childish  
thing2 that the origin of the rainbow is
 a foolish fancy2 that ,methuselah did  
not live nine hundred and sixty-nine    
years2 that ,enoch did not leave this   
world1 taking with him his flesh and    
bones2 that the story of ,sodom and     
,gomorrah is somewhat improbable2 that  

burning brimstone never fell like rain2 
that ,lot's wife was not changed into   
chloride of sodium2 that ,jacob did not1
 in fact1 put his hip out of joint      
wrestling with ,god2 that the history of
 ,tamar might just as well have been    
left out2 that a belief in ,pharaoh's   
dreams is not essential to salvation2   
that it makes but little difference     
whether the rod of ,aaron was changed to
 a serpent or not2 that of all the      
wonders said to have been performed in  
,egypt1 the greatest is1 that anybody   
ever believed the absurd account2 that  
,god did not torment the innocent cattle
 on account of the sins of their owners2
 that he did not kill the first born of 
the poor maid behind the mill because of
 ,pharaoh's crimes2 that flies and frogs
 were not ministers of ,god's wrath2    
that lice and locusts were not the      
executors of his will2 that seventy     
people did not1 in two hundred and      
fifteen years1 increase to three        
million2 that three priests could not   

eat six hundred pigeons in a day2 that  
gazing at a brass serpent could not     
extract poison from the blood2 that ,god
 did not go in partnership with hornets2
 that he did not murder people simply   
because they asked for something to eat2
 that he did not declare the making of  
hair oil and ointment an offence to be  
punished with death2 that he did not    
miraculously preserve cloth and leather2
 that he was not afraid of wild beasts2 
that he did not punish heresy with sword
 and fire2 that he was not jealous1     
revengeful1 and unjust2 that he knew all
 about the sun1 moon1 and stars2 that he
 did not threaten to kill people for    
eating the fat of an ox2 that he never  
told ,aaron to draw cuts to see which of
 two goats should be killed2 that he    
never objected to clothes made of woolen
 mixed with linen2 that if he objected  
to dwarfs1 people with flat noses and   
too many fingers1 he ought not to have  
created such folks2 that he did not     
demand human sacrifices as set forth in 

the last chapter of ,leviticus2 that he 
did not object to the raising of horses2
 that he never commanded widows to spit 
in the faces of their brothers-in-law2  
that several contradictory accounts of  
the same transaction cannot all be true2
 that ,god did not talk to ,abraham as  
one man talks to another2 that angels   
were not in the habit of walking about  
the earth eating veal dressed with milk 
and butter1 and making bargains about   
the destruction of cities2 that ,god    
never turned himself into a flame of    
fire1 and lived in a bush2 that he never
 met ,moses in a hotel and tried to kill
 him2 that it was absurd to perform     
miracles to induce a king to act in a   
certain way and then harden his heart so
 that he would refuse2 that ,god was not
 kept from killing the ,jews by the fear
 that the ,egyptians would laugh at him2
 that he did not secretly bury a man and
 then allow the corpse to write an      
account of the funeral2 that he never   
believed the firmament to be solid2 that

 he knew slavery was and always would be
 a frightful crime2 that polygamy is but
 stench and filth2 that the brave       
soldier will always spare an unarmed    
foe2 that only cruel cowards slay the   
conquered and the helpless2 that no     
language can describe the murderer of a 
smiling babe2 that ,god did not want the
 blood of doves and lambs2 that he did  
not love the smell of burning flesh2    
that he did not want his altars daubed  
with blood2 that he did not pretend that
 the sins of a people could be          
transferred to a goat2 that he did not  
believe in witches1 wizards1 spooks1 and
 devils2 that he did not test the virtue
 of woman with dirty water2 that he did 
not suppose that rabbits chewed the cud2
 that he never thought there were any   
four-footed birds2 that he did not boast
 for several hundred years that he had  
vanquished an ,egyptian king2 that a dry
 stick did not bud1 blossom1 and bear   
almonds in one night2 that manna did not
 shrink and swell1 so that each man     

could gather only just one omer2 that it
 was never wrong to countenance the poor
 man in his cause2 that ,god never told 
a people not to live in peace with their
 neighbors2 that he did not spend forty 
days with ,moses on ,mount ,sinai giving
 him patterns for making clothes1 tongs1
 basins1 and snuffers2 that maternity is
 not a sin2 that physical deformity is  
not a crime2 that an atonement cannot be
 made for the soul by shedding innocent 
blood2 that killing a dove over running 
water will not make its blood a         
medicine2 that a god who demands love   
knows nothing of the human heart2 that  
one who frightens savages with loud     
noises is unworthy the love of civilized
 men2 that one who destroys children on 
account of the sins of their fathers is 
a monster2 that an infinite god never   
threatened to give people the itch2 that
 he never sent wild beasts to devour    
babes2 that he never ordered the        
violation of maidens2 that he never     
regarded patriotism as a crime2 that he 

never ordered the destruction of unborn 
children2 that he never opened the earth
 and swallowed wives and babes because  
husbands and fathers had displeased him2
 that he never demanded that men should 
kill their sons and brothers1 for the   
purpose of sanctifying themselves2 that 
we cannot please ,god by believing the  
improbable2 that credulity is not a     
virtue2 that investigation is not a     
crime2 that every mind should be free2  
that all religious persecution is       
infamous in ,god1 as well as man2 that  
without liberty1 virtue is impossible2  
that without freedom1 even love cannot  
exist2 that every man should be allowed 
to think and to express his thoughts2   
that woman is the equal of man2 that    
children should be governed by love and 
reason2 that the family relation is     
sacred2 that war is a hideous crime2    
that all intolerance is born of         
ignorance and hate2 that the freedom of 
today is the hope of to-morrow2 that the
 enlightened present ought not to fall  

upon its knees and blindly worship the  
barbaric past2 and that every free1     
brave and enlightened man should        
publicly declare that all the ignorant1 
infamous1 heartless1 hideous things     
recorded in the inspired ,pentateuch are
 not the words of ,god1 but simply ,some
 ,mistakes of ,moses4      ,a ,,tribute 
,,to  ,ebon ,c4 ingersoll1  ,,by ,,his  
,,brother  ,robert4  ,dec4 #ab1 #ahca4  
,,may #ca1 #ahgi4  ,a ,tribute to ,ebon 
,c4 ,ingersoll1  ,by his ,brother       
,robert4  ,,the ,,record ,,of ,a        
,,generous ,,life ,,runs ,,like ,a      
,,vine ,,around ,,the ,,memory ,,of     
,,our ,,dead1 ,,and ,,every ,,sweet1    
,,unselfish ,,act ,,is ,,now ,a         
,,perfumed ,,flower4  ,dear ,friends3 ,i
 am going to do that which the dead oft 
promised he would do for me4  ,the loved
 and loving brother1 husband1 father1   
friend1 died where manhood's morning    
almost touches noon1 and while the      
shadows still were falling toward the   
west4  ,he had not passed on life's     

highway the stone that marks the highest
 point2 but1 being weary for a moment1  
he lay down by the wayside1 and1 using  
his burden for a pillow1 fell into that 
dreamless sleep that kisses down his    
eyelids still4 ,while yet in love with  
life and raptured with the world1 he    
passed to silence and pathetic dust4    
,yet1 after all1 it may be best1 just in
 the happiest1 sunniest hour of all the 
voyage1 while eager winds are kissing   
every sail1 to dash against the unseen  
rock1 and in an instant hear the billows
 roar above a sunken ship4 ,for whether 
in mid sea or 'mong the breakers of the 
farther shore1 a wreck at last must mark
 the end of each and all4 ,and every    
life1 no matter if its every hour is    
rich with love and every moment jeweled 
with a joy1 will1 at its close1 become a
 tragedy as sad and deep and dark as can
 be woven of the warp and woof of       
mystery and death4  ,this brave and     
tender man in every storm of life was   
oak and rock2 but in the sunshine he was

 vine and flower4 ,he was the friend of 
all heroic souls4 ,he climbed the       
heights1 and left all superstitions far 
below1 while on his forehead fell the   
golden dawning1 of the grander day4  ,he
 loved the beautiful1 and was with      
color1 form1 and music touched to tears4
 ,he sided with the weak1 the poor1 and 
wronged1 and lovingly gave alms4 ,with  
loyal heart and with the purest hands he
 faithfully discharged all public       
trusts4  ,he was a worshipper of        
liberty1 a friend of the oppressed4 ,a  
thousand times ,i have heard him quote  
these words3 ,for ,justice all place a  
temple1 and all season1 summer6 ,he     
believed that happiness was the only    
good1 reason the only torch1 justice the
 only worship1 humanity the only        
religion1 and love the only priest4 ,he 
added to the sum of human joy2 and were 
every one to whom he did some loving    
service to bring a blossom to his grave1
 he would sleep to-night beneath a      
wilderness of flowers4  ,life is a      

narrow vale between the cold and barren 
peaks of two eternities4 ,we strive in  
vain to look beyond the heights4 ,we cry
 aloud1 and the only answer is the echo 
of our wailing cry4 ,from the voiceless 
lips of the unreplying dead there comes 
no word2 but in the night of death hope 
sees a star and listening love can hear 
the rustle of a wing4  ,he who sleeps   
here1 when dying1 mistaking the approach
 of death for the return of health1     
whispered with his latest breath1 ,i am 
better now4 ,let us believe1 in spite of
 doubts and dogmas1 of fears and tears1 
that these dear words are true of all   
the countless dead4  ,and now1 to you1  
who have been chosen1 from among the    
many men he loved1 to do the last sad   
office for the dead1 we give his sacred 
dust4  ,speech cannot contain our love4 
,there was1 there is1 no gentler1       
stronger1 manlier man4