,,trial ,,of ,c4 ,b4 ,,reynolds ,,for ,,blasphemy1 ,,at ,morristown1 ,n4 ,j41 ,may #ahhg4 ,,defence ,,by ,robert ,g4 ,ingersoll4 ,stenographically ,reported by ,i4 ,n4 ,baker1 and ,revised by the ,author4 #ahhh4 ,,publisher',s ,,preface4 ,,mr4 ,c4 ,b4 ,,reynolds1 the accused1 is an accredited missionary of freethought and speech who1 under the guarantees of the ,constitution1 went from town to town in ,new ,jersey1 lecturing and preaching to those--had invited him and to all who chose to come4 ,his methods of invitation were the ordinary ones of circulars1 newspaper notices1 bill posters1 and personal address4 ,his meetings were attended by the best people of the place1 and were orderly and quiet except as disturbed by ,christian mobs1 unrestrained by local officials4 ,at one of these meetings1 in ,boonton1 he was attacked with missiles of every kind1 while speaking--his tent destroyed1 and he compelled to seek safety in flight4 ,an action for damages against the town resulted in a counter action for disturbing the peace4 ,through the cowardice and inaction of the authorities the issue was never joined4 ,not daunted by persecution he continued his labors1 making ,morristown his next field of operations4 ,here he circulated a pamphlet giving his views of theology1 and appended a satirical cartoon of his ,boonton experience4 ,this cartoon was the gravamen of his offence4 ,for this he was indicted on a charge of ,blasphemy1 and brought before a ,morristown jury4 ,the religious farce ended in a fine of #be4jj4 ,c4 ,p4 ,farrell4 ,,mr4 ,,ingersoll',s ,,argument ,gentlemen of the ,jury3 ,i regard this as one of the most important cases that can be submitted to a jury4 ,it is not a case that involves a little property1 neither is it one that involves simply the liberty of one man4 ,it involves the freedom of speech1 the intellectual liberty of every citizen of ,new ,jersey4 ,the question to be tried by you is whether a man has the right to express his honest thought2 and for that reason there can be no case of greater importance submitted to a jury4 ,and it may be well enough for me1 at the outset1 to admit that there could be no case in which ,i could take a greater--a deeper interest ,for my part1 ,i would not wish to live in a world where ,i could not express my honest opinions4 ,men who deny to others the right of speech are not fit to live with honest men4 ,i deny the right of any man1 of any number of men1 of any church1 of any ,state1 to put a padlock on the lips--to make the tongue a convict4 ,i passionately deny the right of the ,herod of authority to kill the children of the brain4 ,a man has a right to work with his hands1 to plow the earth1 to sow the seed1 and that man has a right to reap the harvest4 ,if we have not that right1 then all are slaves except those who take these rights from their fellow-men4 ,if you have the right to work with your hands and to gather the harvest for yourself and your children1 have you not a right to cultivate your brain8 ,have you not the right to read1 to observe1 to investigate--and when you have so read and so investigated1 have you not the right to reap that field8 ,and what is it to reap that field8 ,it is simply to express what you have ascertained--simply to give your thoughts to your fellow-men4 ,if there is one subject in this world worthy of being discussed1 worthy of being understood1 it is the question of intellectual liberty4 ,without that1 we are simply painted clay2 without that1 we are poor miserable serfs and slaves4 ,if you have not the right to express your opinions1 if the defendant has not this right1 then no man ever walked beneath the blue of heaven that had the right to express his thought4 ,if others claim the right1 where did they get it8 ,how did they happen to have it1 and how did you happen to be deprived of it8 ,where did a church or a nation get that right8 ,are we not all children of the same ,mother8 ,are we not all compelled to think1 whether we wish to or not8 ,can you help thinking as you do8 ,when you look out upon the woods1 the fields1--when you look at the solemn splendors of the night--these things produce certain thoughts in your mind1 and they produce them necessarily4 ,no man can think as he desires ,no man controls the action of his brain1 any more than he controls the action of his heart4 ,the blood pursues its old accustomed ways in spite of you4 ,the eyes see1 if you open them1 in spite of you4 ,the ears hear1 if they are unstopped1 without asking your permission4 ,and the brain thinks1 in spite of you4 ,should you express that thought8 ,certainly you should1 if others express theirs4 ,you have exactly the same right4 ,he who takes it from you is a robber4 ,for thousands of years people have been trying to force other people to think their way4 ,did they succeed8 ,no4 ,will they succeed8 ,no4 ,why8 ,because brute force is not an argument4 ,you can stand with the lash over a man1 or you can stand by the prison door1 or beneath the gallows1 or by the stake1 and say to this man3 ,recant1 or the lash descends1 the prison door is locked upon you1 the rope is put about your neck1 or the torch is given to the fagot4 ,and so the man recants4 ,is he convinced8 ,not at all4 ,have you produced a new argument8 ,not the slightest4 ,and yet the ignorant bigots of this world have been trying for thousands of years to rule the minds of men by brute force4 ,they have endeavored to improve the mind by torturing the flesh--to spread religion with the sword and torch4 ,they have tried to convince their brothers by putting their feet in iron boots1 by putting fathers1 mothers1 patriots1 philosophers and philanthropists in dungeons4 ,and what has been the result8 ,are we any nearer thinking alike to-day than we were then8 ,no orthodox church ever had power that it did not endeavor to make people think its way by force and flame4 ,and yet every church that ever was established commenced in the minority1 and while it was in the minority advocated free speech--every one4 ,john ,calvin1 the founder of the ,presbyterian ,church1 while he lived in ,france1 wrote a book on religious toleration in order to show that all men had an equal right to think2 and yet that man afterwards1 clothed in a little authority1 forgot all his sentiments about religious liberty1 and had poor ,servetus burned at the stake1 for differing with him on a question that neither of them knew anything about4 ,in the minority1 ,calvin advocated toleration--in the majority1 he practised murder4 ,i want you to understand what has been done in the world to force men to think alike4 ,it seems to me that if there is some infinite being who wants us to think alike1 he would have made us alike4 ,why did he not do so8 ,why did he make your brain so that you could not by any possibility be a ,methodist8 ,why did he make yours so that you could not be a ,catholic8 ,and why did he make the brain of another so that he is an unbeliever--why the brain of another so that he became a ,mohammedan--if he wanted us all to believe alike8 ,after all1 may be ,nature is good enough1 and grand enough1 and broad enough to give us the diversity born of liberty4 ,may be1 after all1 it would not be best for us all to be just the same4 ,what a stupid world1 if everybody said yes to everything that everybody else might say4 ,the most important thing in this world is liberty4 ,more important than food or clothes--more important than gold or houses or lands--more important than art or science--more important than all religions1 is the liberty of man4 ,if civilization tends to do away with liberty1 then ,i agree with ,mr4 ,buckle that civilization is a curse4 ,gladly would ,i give up the splendors of the nineteenth century--gladly would ,i forget every invention that has leaped from the brain of man--gladly would ,i see all books ashes1 all works of art destroyed1 all statues broken1 and all the triumphs of the world lost--gladly1 joyously would ,i go back to the abodes and dens of savagery1 if that is necessary to preserve the inestimable gem of human liberty4 ,so would every man who has a heart and brain4 ,how has the church in every age1 when in authority1 defended itself8 ,always by a statute against blasphemy1 against argument1 against free speech4 ,and there never was such a statute that did not stain the book that it was in1 and that did not certify to the savagery of the men who passed it4 ,never4 ,by making a statute and by defining blasphemy1 the ,church sought to prevent discussion--sought to prevent argument--sought to prevent a man giving his honest opinion4 ,certainly a tenet1 a dogma1 a doctrine is safe when hedged about by a statute that prevents your speaking against it4 ,in the silence of slavery it exists4 ,it lives because lips are locked4 ,it lives because men are slaves4 ,if ,i understand myself1 ,i advocate only the doctrines that in my judgment will make this world happier and better4 ,if ,i know myself1 ,i advocate only those things that will make a man a better citizen1 a better father1 a kinder husband--that will make a woman a better wife1 a better mother--doctrines that will fill every home with sunshine and with joy4 ,and if ,i believed that anything ,i should say to-day would have any other possible tendency1 ,i would stop4 ,i am a believer in liberty4 ,that is my religion--to give to every other human being every right that ,i claim for myself1 and ,i grant to every other human being1 not the right--because it is his right--but instead of granting ,i declare that it is his right1 to attack every doctrine that ,i maintain1 to answer every argument that ,i may urge--in other words1 he must have absolute freedom of speech4 ,i am a believer in what ,i call intellectual hospitality4 ,a man comes to your door4 ,if you are a gentleman and he appears to be a good man1 you receive him with a smile4 ,you ask after his health4 ,you say3 ,take a chair2 are you thirsty1 are you hungry1 will you not break bread with me8 ,that is what a hospitable1 good man does--he does not set the dog on him4 ,now how should we treat a new thought8 ,i say that the brain should be hospitable and say to the new thought3 ,come in2 sit down2 ,i want to cross-examine you2 ,i want to find whether you are good or bad2 if good1 stay2 if bad1 ,i don't want to hurt you--probably you think you are all right1--but your room is better than your company1 and ,i will take another idea in your place4 ,why not8 ,can any man have the egotism to say that he has found it all out8 ,no4 ,every man who has thought1 knows not only how little he knows1 but how little every other human being knows1 and how ignorant after all the world must be4 ,there was a time in ,europe when the ,catholic church had power4 ,and ,i want it distinctly understood with this jury1 that while ,i am opposed to ,catholicism ,i am not opposed to ,catholics--while ,i am opposed to ,presbyterianism ,i am not opposed to ,presbyterians4 ,i do not fight people1--,i fight ideas1 ,i fight principles1 and ,i never go into personalities4 ,as ,i said1 ,i do not hate ,presbyterians1 but ,presbyterianism--that is ,i am opposed to their doctrine4 ,i do not hate a man that has the rheumatism--,i hate the rheumatism when it has a man4 ,so ,i attack certain principles because ,i think they are wrong1 but ,i always want it understood that ,i have nothing against persons--nothing against victims4 ,there was a time when the ,catholic church was in power in the ,old ,world4 ,all at once there arose a man called ,martin ,luther1 and what did the dear old ,catholics think8 ,oh1 they said1 that man and all his followers are going to ,hell4 ,but they did not go4 ,they were very good people4 ,they may have been mistaken--,i do not know4 ,i think they were right in their opposition to ,catholicism--but ,i have just as much objection to the religion they founded as ,i have to the ,church they left4 ,but they thought they were right1 and they made very good citizens1 and it turned out that their differing from the ,mother ,church did not hurt them4 ,and then after awhile they began to divide1 and there arose ,baptists1 and the other gentlemen1 who believed in this law that is now in ,new ,jersey1 began cutting off their ears so that they could hear better2 they began putting them in prison so that they would have a chance to think4 ,but the ,baptists turned out to be good folks--first rate--good husbands1 good fathers1 good citizens4 ,and in a little while1 in ,england1 the people turned to be ,episcopalians1 on account of a little war that ,henry the ,eighth had with the ,pope1--and ,i always sided with the ,pope in that war--but it made no difference2 and in a little while the ,episcopalians turned out to be just about like other folks--no worse--not as ,i know of1 any better4 ,after awhile arose the ,puritan1 and the ,episcopalian said1 ,we don't want anything of him--he is a bad man2 and they finally drove some of them away and they settled in ,new ,england1 and there were among them ,quakers1 than whom there never were better people on the earth--industrious1 frugal1 gentle1 kind and loving--and yet these ,puritans began hanging them4 ,they said3 ,they are corrupting our children2 if this thing goes on1 everybody will believe in being kind and gentle and good1 and what will become of us8 ,they were honest about it4 ,so they went to cutting off ears4 ,but the ,quakers were good people and none of the prophecies were fulfilled4 ,in a little while there came some ,unitarians and they said1 ,the world is going to ruin1 sure2--but the world went on as usual1 and the ,unitarians produced men like ,channing--one of the tenderest spirits that ever lived--they produced men like ,theodore ,parker--one of the greatest brained and greatest hearted men produced upon this continent--a good man--and yet they thought he was a blasphemer--they even prayed for his death--on their bended knees they asked their ,god to take time to kill him4 ,well1 they were mistaken4 ,honest1 probably4 ,after awhile came the ,universalists1 who said3 ,god is good4 ,he will not damn anybody always1 just for a little mistake he made here4 ,this is a very short life2 the path we travel is very dim1 and a great many shadows fall in the way1 and if a man happens to stub his toe1 ,god will not burn him forever4 ,and then all the rest of the sects cried out1 ,why1 if you do away with hell1 everybody will murder just for pastime--everybody will go to stealing just to enjoy themselves4 ,but they did not4 ,the ,universalists were good people--just as good as any others4 ,most of them much better4 ,none of the prophecies were fulfilled1 and yet the differences existed4 ,and so we go on until we find people who do not believe the bible at all1 and when they say they do not1 they come within this statute4 ,now gentlemen1 ,i am going to try to show you1 first1 that this statute under which ,mr4 ,reynolds is being tried is unconstitutional--that it is not in harmony with the ,constitution of ,new ,jersey2 and ,i am going to try to show you in addition to that1 that it was passed hundreds of years ago1 by men who believed it was right to burn heretics and tie ,quakers at the end of a cart1 men and even modest women--stripped naked--and lash them from town to town4 ,they were the men who originally passed that statute1 and ,i want to show you that it has slept all this time1 and ,i am informed--,i do not know how it is--that there never has been a prosecution in this state for blasphemy4 ,now gentlemen1 what is blasphemy8 ,of course nobody knows what it is1 unless he takes into consideration where he is4 ,what is blasphemy in one country would be a religious exhortation in another4 ,it is owing to where you are and who is in authority4 ,and let me call your attention to the impudence and bigotry of the ,american christians4 ,we send missionaries to other countries4 ,what for8 ,to tell them that their religion is false1 that their ,gods are myths and monsters1 that their ,saviours and apostles were imposters1 and that our religion is true4 ,you send a man from ,morris-town--a ,presbyterian1 over to ,turkey4 ,he goes there1 and he tells the ,mohammedans--and he has it in a pamphlet and he distributes it--that the ,koran is a lie1 that ,mohammet was not a prophet of ,god1 that the angel ,gabriel is not so large that it is four hundred leagues between his eyes--that it is all a mistake--that there never was an angel as large as that4 ,then what would the ,turks do8 ,suppose the ,turks had a law like this statute in ,new ,jersey4 ,they would put the ,morristown missionary in jail1 and he would send home word1 and then what would the people of ,morris-town say8 ,honestly--what do you think they would say8 ,they would say1 ,why look at those poor1 heathen wretches4 ,we sent a man over there armed with the truth1 and yet they were so blinded by their idolatrous religion1 so steeped in superstition1 that they actually put that man in prison4 ,gentlemen1 does not that show the need of more missionaries8 ,i would say1 yes4 ,now let us turn the tables4 ,a gentleman comes from ,turkey to ,morristown4 ,he has got a pamphlet4 ,he says1 ,the ,koran is the inspired book1 ,mohammed is the real prophet1 your bible is false and your ,saviour simply a myth4 ,thereupon the ,morristown people put him in jail4 ,then what would the ,turks say8 ,they would say1 ,morristown needs more missionaries1 and ,i would agree with them4 ,in other words1 what we want is intellectual hospitality4 ,let the world talk4 ,and see how foolish this trial is3 ,i have no doubt but the prosecuting attorney agrees with me to-day1 that whether this law is good or bad1 this trial should not have taken place4 ,and let me tell you why4 ,here comes a man into your town and circulates a pamphlet4 ,now if they had just kept still1 very few would ever have heard of it4 ,that would have been the end4 ,the diameter of the echo would have been a few thousand feet4 ,but in order to stop the discussion of that question1 they indicted this man1 and that question has been more discussed in this country since this indictment than all the discussions put together since ,new ,jersey was first granted to ,charles the ,second's dearest brother ,james1 the ,duke of ,york4 ,and what else8 ,a trial here that is to be reported and published all over the ,united ,states1 a trial that will give ,mr4 ,reynolds a congregation of fifty millions of people4 ,and yet this was done for the purpose of stopping a discussion of this subject4 ,i want to show you that the thing is in itself almost idiotic--that it defeats itself1 and that you cannot crush out these things by force4 ,not only so1 but ,mr4 ,reynolds has the right to be defended1 and his counsel has the right to give his opinions on this subject4 ,suppose that we put ,mr4 ,reynolds in jail4 ,the argument has not been sent to jail4 ,that is still going the rounds1 free as the winds4 ,suppose you keep him at hard labor a year--all the time he is there hundreds and thousands of people will be reading some account1 or some fragment1 of this trial4 ,there is the trouble4 ,if you could only imprison a thought1 then intellectual tyranny might succeed4 ,if you could only take an argument and put a striped suit of clothes on it--if you could only take a good1 splendid1 shining fact and lock it up in some dungeon of ignorance1 so that its light would never again enter the mind of man1 then you might succeed in stopping human progress4 ,otherwise1 no4 ,let us see about this particular statute4 ,in the first place1 the ,state has a ,constitution4 ,that ,constitution is a rule1 a limitation to the power of the legislature1 and a certain breast-work for the protection of private rights1 and the ,constitution says to this sea of passions and prejudices3 ,thus far and no farther4 ,the ,constitution says to each individual3 ,this shall panoply you2 this is your complete coat of mail2 this shall defend your rights4 ,and it is usual in this country to make as a part of each ,constitution several general declarations--called the ,bill of ,rights4 ,so ,i find that in the old ,constitution of ,new ,jersey1 which was adopted in the year of grace #aggf1 although the people at that time were not educated as they are now--the spirit of the ,revolution at that time not having permeated all classes of society--a declaration in favor of religious freedom4 ,the people were on the eve of a ,revolution4 ,this ,constitution was adopted on the third day of ,july1 #aggf1 one day before the immortal ,declaration of ,independence4 ,now what do we find in this--and we have got to go by this light1 by this torch1 when we examine the statute4 ,i find in that ,constitution1 in its ,eighteenth ,section1 this3 ,no person shall ever in this ,state be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping ,god in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience2 nor under any pretence whatever be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith and judgment2 nor shall he be obliged to pay tithes1 taxes1 or any other rates for the purpose of building or repairing any church or churches1 contrary to what he believes to be true4 ,that was a very great and splendid step4 ,it was the divorce of ,church and ,state4 ,it no longer allowed the ,state to levy taxes for the support of a particular religion1 and it said to every citizen of ,new ,jersey3 ,all that you give for that purpose must be voluntarily given1 and the ,state will not compel you to pay for the maintenance of a ,church in which you do not believe4 ,so far so good4 ,the next paragraph was not so good4 ,there shall be no establishment of any one religious sect in this ,state in preference to another1 and no ,protestant inhabitants of this ,state shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right merely on account of his religious principles2 but all persons professing a belief in the faith of any ,protestant sect1 who shall demean themselves peaceably1 shall be capable of being elected to any office of profit or trust1 and shall fully and freely enjoy every privilege and immunity enjoyed by other citizens4 ,what became of the ,catholics under that clause1 ,i do not know--whether they had any right to be elected to office or not under this ,act4 ,but in #ahdd1 the ,state having grown civilized in the meantime1 another ,constitution was adopted4 ,the word ,protestant was then left out4 ,there was to be no establishment of one religion over another4 ,but ,protestantism did not render a man capable of being elected to office any more than ,catholicism1 and nothing is said about any religious belief whatever4 ,so far1 so good4 ,no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office of public trust4 ,no person shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right on account of his religious principles4 ,that is a very broad and splendid provision4 ,no person shall be denied any civil right on account of his religious principles4 ,that was copied from the ,virginia ,constitution1 and that clause in the ,virginia ,constitution was written by ,thomas ,jefferson1 and under that clause men were entitled to give their testimony in the courts of ,virginia whether they believed in any religion or not1 in any bible or not1 or in any ,god or not4 ,that same clause was afterwards adopted by the ,state of ,illinois1 also by many other ,states1 and wherever that clause is1 no citizen can be denied any civil right on account of his religious principles4 ,it is a broad and generous clause4 ,this statute under which this indictment is drawn1 is not in accordance with the spirit of that splendid sentiment4 ,under that clause1 no man can be deprived of any civil right on account of his religious principles1 or on account of his belief4 ,and yet1 on account of this miserable1 this antiquated1 this barbarous and savage statute1 the same man who cannot be denied any political or civil right1 can be sent to the penitentiary as a common felon for simply expressing his honest thought4 ,and before ,i get through ,i hope to convince you that this statute is unconstitutional4 ,but we will go another step3 ,every person may freely speak1 write1 or publish his sentiments on all subjects1 being responsible for the abuse of that right4 ,that is in the ,constitution of nearly every ,state in the ,union1 and the intention of that is to cover slanderous words--to cover a case where a man under pretence of enjoying the freedom of speech falsely assails or accuses his neighbor4 ,of course he should be held responsible for that abuse4 ,then follows the great clause in the ,constitution of #ahdd--more important than any other clause in that instrument--a clause that shines in that ,constitution like a star at night4-- ,no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press4 ,can anything be plainer--anything more forcibly stated8 ,no law shall be passed to abridge the liberty of speech4 ,now while you are considering this statute1 ,i want you to keep in mind this other statement3 ,no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press4 ,and right here there is another thing ,i want to call your attention to4 ,there is a ,constitution higher than any statute4 ,there is a law higher than any ,constitution4 ,it is the law of the human conscience1 and no man who is a man will defile and pollute his conscience at the bidding of any legislature4 ,above all things one should maintain his self-respect1 and there is but one way to do that1 and that is to live in accordance with your highest ideal4 ,there is a law higher than men can make4 ,the facts as they exist in this poor world--the absolute consequences of certain acts--they are above all4 ,and this higher law is the breath of progress1 the very outstretched wings of civilization1 under which we enjoy the freedom we have4 ,keep that in your minds4 ,there never was a legislature great enough--there never was a ,constitution sacred enough1 to compel a civilized man to stand between a black man and his liberty4 ,there never was a ,constitution great enough to make me stand between any human being and his right to express his honest thoughts4 ,such a ,constitution is an insult to the human soul1 and ,i would care no more for it than ,i would for the growl of a wild beast4 ,but we are not driven to that necessity here4 ,this ,constitution is in accord with the highest and noblest aspirations of the heart--,no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech4 ,now let us come to this old law--this law that was asleep for a hundred years before this ,constitution was adopted--this law coiled like a snake beneath the foundations of the government--this law1 cowardly1 dastardly--this law passed by wretches who were afraid to discuss--this law passed by men who could not1 and who knew they could not1 defend their creed--and so they said3 ,give us the sword of the ,state and we will cleave the heretic down4 ,and this law was made to control the minority4 ,when the ,catholics were in power they visited that law upon their opponents4 ,when the ,episcopalians were in power1 they tortured and burned the poor ,catholic who had scoffed and who had denied the truth of their religion4 ,whoever was in power used that1 and whoever was out of power cursed that--and yet1 the moment he got in power he used it4 ,the people became civilized--but that law was on the statute book4 ,it simply remained4 ,there it was1 sound asleep--its lips drawn over its long and cruel teeth4 ,nobody savage enough to waken it4 ,and it slept on1 and ,new ,jersey has flourished4 ,men have done well4 ,you have had average health in this country4 ,nobody roused the statute until the defendant in this case went to ,boonton1 and there made a speech in which he gave his honest thought1 and the people not having an argument handy1 threw stones4 ,thereupon ,mr4 ,reynolds1 the defendant1 published a pamphlet on ,blasphemy and in it gave a photograph of the ,boonton christians4 ,that is his offence4 ,now let us read this infamous statute3 ,if any person shall wilfully blaspheme the holy name of ,god by denying1 cursing1 or contumeliously reproaching his being4-- ,i want to say right here--many a man has cursed the ,god of another man4 ,the ,catholics have cursed the ,god of the ,protestant4 ,the ,presbyterians have cursed the ,god of the ,catholics--charged them with idolatry--cursed their images1 laughed at their ceremonies4 ,and these compliments have been interchanged between all the religions of the world4 ,but ,i say here to-day that no man1 unless a raving maniac1 ever cursed the ,god in whom he believed4 ,no man1 no human being1 has ever lived who cursed his own idea of ,god4 ,he always curses the idea that somebody else entertains4 ,no human being ever yet cursed what he believed to be infinite wisdom and infinite goodness--and you know it4 ,every man on this jury knows that4 ,he feels that that must be an absolute certainty4 ,then what have they cursed8 ,some ,god they did not believe in--that is all4 ,and has a man that right8 ,i say yes4 ,he has a right to give his opinion of ,jupiter1 and there is nobody in ,morristown who will deny him that right4 ,but several thousand years ago it would have been very dangerous for him to have cursed ,jupiter1 and yet ,jupiter is just as powerful now as he was then1 but the ,roman people are not powerful1 and that is all there was to ,jupiter--the ,roman people4 ,so there was a time when you could have cursed ,zeus1 the god of the ,greeks1 and like ,socrates1 they would have compelled you to drink hemlock4 ,yet now everybody can curse this god4 ,why8 ,is the god dead8 ,no4 ,he is just as alive as he ever was4 ,then what has happened8 ,the ,greeks have passed away4 ,that is all4 ,so in all of our ,churches here4 ,whenever a ,church is in the minority it clamors for free speech4 ,when it gets in the majority1 no4 ,i do not believe the history of the world will show that any orthodox ,church when in the majority ever had the courage to face the free lips of the world4 ,it sends for a constable4 ,and is it not wonderful that they should do this when they preach the gospel of universal forgiveness--when they say1 if a man strike you on one cheek turn to him the other also--but if he laughs at your religion1 put him in the penitentiary8 ,is that the doctrine8 ,is that the law8 ,now read this law4 ,do you know as ,i read this law ,i can almost hear ,john ,calvin laugh in his grave4 ,that would have been a delight to him4 ,it is written exactly as he would have written it4 ,there never was an inquisitor who would not have read that law with a malicious smile4 ,the ,christians who brought the fagots and ran with all their might to be at the burning1 would have enjoyed that law4 ,you know that when they used to burn people for having said something against religion1 they used to cut their tongues out before they burned them4 ,why8 ,for fear that if they did not1 the poor burning victims might say something that would scandalize the ,christian gentlemen who were building the fire4 ,all these persons would have been delighted with this law4 ,let us read a little further3 ,or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching ,jesus ,christ4 ,why1 whoever did1 since the poor man1 or the poor ,god1 was crucified8 ,how did they come to crucify him8 ,because they did not believe in free speech in ,jerusalem4 ,how else8 ,because there was a law against blasphemy in ,jerusalem--a law exactly like this4 ,just think of it4 ,o1 ,i tell you we have passed too many milestones on the shining road of human progress to turn back and wallow in that blood1 in that mire4 ,no4 ,some men have said that he was simply a man4 ,some believed that he was actually a ,god4 ,others believed that he was not only a man1 but that he stood as the representative of infinite love and wisdom4 ,no man ever said one word against that being for saying ,do unto others as ye would that others should do unto you4 ,no man ever raised his voice against him because he said ,blessed are the merciful1 for they shall obtain mercy4 ,and are they the merciful who when some man endeavors to answer their argument1 put him in the penitentiary8 ,no4 ,the trouble is1 the priests--the trouble is1 the ministers--the trouble is1 the people whose business it was to tell the meaning of these things1 quarreled with each other and they put meanings upon human expressions by malice1 meanings that the words will not bear4 ,and let me be just to them4 ,i believe that nearly all that has been done in this world has been honestly done4 ,i believe that the poor savage who kneels down and prays to a stuffed snake--prays that his little children may recover from the fever--is honest1 and it seems to me that a good ,god would answer his prayer if he could1 if it was in accordance with wisdom1 because the poor savage was doing the best he could1 and no one can do any better than that4 ,so ,i believe that the ,presbyterians who used to think that nearly everybody was going to hell1 said exactly what they believed4 ,they were honest about it1 and ,i would not send one of them to jail--would never think of such a thing--even if he called the unbelievers of the world wretches1 dogs1 and devils4 ,what would ,i do8 ,i would simply answer him--that is all2 answer him kindly4 ,i might laugh at him a little1 but ,i would answer him in kindness4 ,so these divisions of the human mind are natural4 ,they are a necessity4 ,do you know that all the mechanics that ever lived--take the best ones--cannot make two clocks that will run exactly alike one hour1 one minute8 ,they cannot make two pendulums that will beat in exactly the same time1 one beat4 ,if you cannot do that1 how are you going to make hundreds1 thousands1 billions of people1 each with a different quality and quantity of brain1 each clad in a robe of living1 quivering flesh1 and each driven by passion's storm over the wild sea of life--how are you going to make them all think alike8 ,this is the impossible thing that ,christian ignorance and bigotry and malice have been trying to do4 ,this was the object of the ,inquisition and of the foolish legislature that passed this statute4 ,let me read you another line from this ignorant statute3-- ,or the ,christian religion4 ,well1 what is the ,christian religion8 ,if you scoff at the ,christian religion--if you curse the ,christian religion4 ,well what is it8 ,gentlemen1 you hear ,presbyterians every day attack the ,catholic ,church4 ,is that the ,christian religion8 ,the ,catholic believes it is the ,christian religion1 and you have to admit that it is the oldest one1 and then the ,catholics turn round and scoff at the ,protestants4 ,is that the ,christian religion8 ,if so1 every ,christian religion has been cursed by every other ,christian religion4 ,is not that an absurd and foolish statute8 ,i say that the ,catholic has the right to attack the ,presbyterian and tell him1 ,your doctrine is all wrong4 ,i think he has the right to say to him1 ,you are leading thousands to hell4 ,if he believes it1 he not only has the right to say it1 but it is his duty to say it2 and if the ,presbyterian really believes the ,catholics are all going to the devil1 it is his duty to say so4 ,why not8 ,i will never have any religion that ,i cannot defend--that is1 that ,i do not believe ,i can defend4 ,i may be mistaken1 because no man is absolutely certain that he knows4 ,we all understand that4 ,every one is liable to be mistaken4 ,the horizon of each individual is very narrow1 and in his poor sky the stars are few and very small4 ,or the word of ,god1-- ,what is that8 ,the canonical ,scriptures contained in the books of the ,old and ,new ,testaments4 ,now what has a man the right to say about that8 ,has he the right to show that the book of ,revelation got into the canon by one vote1 and one only8 ,has he the right to show that they passed in convention upon what books they would put in and what they would not8 ,has he the right to show that there were twenty-eight books called ,the ,books of the ,hebrews8 ,has he the right to show that8 ,has he the right to show that ,martin ,luther said he did not believe there was one solitary word of gospel in the ,epistle to the ,romans8 ,has he the right to show that some of these books were not written till nearly two hundred years afterwards8 ,has he the right to say it1 if he believes it8 ,i do not say whether this is true or not1 but has a man the right to say it if he believes it8 ,now suppose ,i should read the bible all through right here in ,morristown1 and after ,i got through ,i should make up my mind that it is not a true book--what ought ,i to say8 ,ought ,i to clap my hand over my mouth and start for another ,state1 and the minute ,i got over the line say1 ,it is not true1 ,it is not true8 ,or1 ought ,i to have the right and privilege of saying right here in ,new ,jersey1 ,my fellow citizens1 ,i have read the book--,i do not believe that it is the word of ,god8 ,suppose ,i read it and think it is true1 then ,i am bound to say so4 ,if ,i should go to ,turkey and read the ,koran and make up my mind that it is false1 you would all say that ,i was a miserable poltroon if ,i did not say so4 ,by force you can make hypocrites--men who will agree with you from the teeth out1 and in their hearts hate you4 ,we want no more hypocrites4 ,we have enough in every community4 ,and how are you going to keep from having more8 ,by having the air free1--by wiping from your statute books such miserable and infamous laws as this4 ,the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,are they holy8 ,must a man be honest8 ,has he the right to be sincere8 ,there are thousands of things in the ,scriptures that everybody believes4 ,everybody believes the ,scriptures are right when they say1 ,thou shalt not steal--everybody4 ,and when they say ,give good measure1 heaped up and running over1 everybody says1 ,good6 ,so when they say ,love your neighbor1 everybody applauds that4 ,suppose a man believes that1 and practices it1 does it make any difference whether he believes in the flood or not8 ,is that of any importance8 ,whether a man built an ark or not--does that make the slightest difference8 ,a man might deny it and yet be a very good man4 ,another might believe it and be a very mean man4 ,could it now1 by any possibility1 make a man a good father1 a good husband1 a good citizen8 ,does it make any difference whether you believe it or not8 ,does it make any difference whether or not you believe that a man was going through town and his hair was a little short1 like mine1 and some little children laughed at him1 and thereupon two bears from the woods came down and tore to pieces about forty of these children8 ,is it necessary to believe that8 ,suppose a man should say1 ,i guess that is a mistake4 ,they did not copy that right4 ,i guess the man that reported that was a little dull of hearing and did not get the story exactly right4 ,any harm in saying that8 ,is a man to be sent to the penitentiary for that8 ,can you imagine an infinitely good ,god sending a man to hell because he did not believe the bear story8 ,so ,i say if you believe the bible1 say so2 if you do not believe it1 say so4 ,and here is the vital mistake1 ,i might almost say1 in ,protestantism itself4 ,the ,protestants when they fought the ,catholics said3 ,read the bible for yourselves--stop taking it from your priests--read the sacred volume with your own eyes4 ,it is a revelation from ,god to his children1 and you are the children4 ,and then they said3 ,if after you read it you do not believe it1 and you say anything against it1 we will put you in jail1 and ,god will put you in hell4 ,that is a fine position to get a man in4 ,it is like a man who invited his neighbor to come and look at his pictures1 saying3 ,they are the finest in the place1 and ,i want your candid opinion4 ,a man who looked at them the other day said they were daubs1 and ,i kicked him down stairs--now ,i want your candid judgment4 ,so the ,protestant ,church says to a man1 ,this bible is a message from your ,father1--your ,father in heaven4 ,read it4 ,judge for yourself4 ,but if after you have read it you say it is not true1 ,i will put you in the penitentiary for one year4 ,the ,catholic ,church has a little more sense about that--at least more logic4 ,it says3 ,this bible is not given to everybody4 ,it is given to the world1 to be sure1 but it must be interpreted by the ,church4 ,god would not give a bible to the world unless he also appointed some one1 some organization1 to tell the world what it means4 ,they said3 ,we do not want the world filled with interpretations1 and all the interpreters fighting each other4 ,and the ,protestant has gone to the infinite absurdity of saying3 ,judge for yourself1 but if you judge wrong you will go to the penitentiary here and to hell hereafter4 ,now let us see further3 ,or by profane scoffing expose them to ridicule4 ,think of such a law as that1 passed under a ,constitution that says1 ,no law shall abridge the liberty of speech4 ,but you must not ridicule the ,scriptures4 ,did anybody ever dream of passing a law to protect ,shakespeare from being laughed at8 ,did anybody ever think of such a thing8 ,did anybody ever want any legislative enactment to keep people from holding ,robert ,burns in contempt8 ,the songs of ,burns will be sung as long as there is love in the human heart ,do we need to protect him from ridicule by a statute8 ,does he need assistance from ,new ,jersey8 ,is any statute needed to keep ,euclid from being laughed at in this neighborhood8 ,and is it possible that a work written by an infinite being has to be protected by a legislature8 ,is it possible that a book cannot be written by a ,god so that it will not excite the laughter of the human race8 ,why gentlemen1 humor is one of the most valuable things in the human brain4 ,it is the torch of the mind--it sheds light4 ,humor is the readiest test of truth--of the natural1 of the sensible--and when you take from a man all sense of humor1 there will only be enough left to make a bigot4 ,teach this man who has no humor--no sense of the absurd--the ,presbyterian creed1 fill his darkened brain with superstition and his heart with hatred--then frighten him with the threat of hell1 and he will be ready to vote for that statute4 ,such men made that law4 ,let us read another clause3-- ,and every person so offending shall1 on conviction1 be fined not exceeding two hundred dollars1 or imprisoned at hard labor not exceeding twelve months1 or both3 ,i want you to remember that this statute was passed in ,england hundreds of years ago--just in that language4 ,the punishment1 however1 has been somewhat changed4 ,in the good old days when the king sat on the throne--in the good old days when the altar was the right-bower of the throne--then1 instead of saying3 fined two hundred dollars and imprisoned one year1 it was3 ,all his goods shall be confiscated2 his tongue shall be bored with a hot iron1 and upon his forehead he shall be branded with the letter ,b2 and for the second offence he shall suffer death by burning4 ,those were the good old days when people maintained the orthodox religion in all its purity and in all its ferocity4 ,the first question for you1 gentlemen1 to decide in this case is3 ,is this statute constitutional8 ,is this statute in harmony with that part of the ,constitution of #ahdd which says3 ,the liberty of speech shall not be abridged8 ,that is for you to say4 ,is this law constitutional1 or is it simply an old statute that fell asleep1 that was forgotten1 that people simply failed to repeal8 ,i believe ,i can convince you1 if you will think a moment1 that our fathers never intended to establish a government like that4 ,when they fought for what they believed to be religious liberty--when they fought for what they believed to be liberty of speech1 they believed that all such statutes would be wiped from the statute books of all the ,states4 ,let me tell you another reason why ,i believe this4 ,we have in this country naturalization laws4 ,persons may come here irrespective of their religion4 ,they must simply swear allegiance to this country--they must forswear allegiance to every other potentate1 prince and power--but they do not have to change their religion4 ,a ,hindoo may become a citizen of the ,united ,states1 and the ,constitution of the ,united ,states1 like the ,constitution of ,new ,jersey1 guarantees religious liberty4 ,that ,hindoo believes in a ,god--in a ,god that no ,christian does believe in4 ,he believes in a sacred book that every ,christian looks upon as a collection of falsehoods4 ,he believes1 too1 in a ,saviour--in ,buddha4 ,now ,i ask you1--when that man comes here and becomes a citizen--when the ,constitution is about him1 above him--has he the right to give his ideas about his religion8 ,has he the right to say in ,new ,jersey3 ,there is no ,god except the ,supreme ,brahm--there is no ,saviour except ,buddha the ,illuminated1 ,buddha the ,blest8 ,i say that he has that right--and you have no right1 because in addition to that he says1 ,you are mistaken2 your ,god is not ,god2 your bible is not true1 and your religion is a mistake1 to abridge his liberty of speech4 ,he has the right to say it1 and if he has the right to say it1 ,i insist before this ,court and before this jury1 that he has the right to give his reasons for saying it2 and in giving those reasons1 in maintaining his side1 he has the right1 not simply to appeal to history1 not simply to the masonry of logic1 but he has the right to shoot the arrows of wit1 and to use the smile of ridicule4 ,anything that can be laughed out of this world ought not to stay in it4 ,so the ,persian--the believer in ,zoroaster1 in the spirits of ,good and ,evil1 and that the spirit of ,evil will finally triumph forever--if that is his religion--has the right to state it1 and the right to give his reasons for his belief4 ,how infinitely preposterous for you1 one of the ,states of this ,union1 to invite a ,persian or a ,hindoo to come to your shores4 ,you do not ask him to renounce his ,god4 ,you ask him to renounce the ,shah4 ,then when he becomes a citizen1 having the rights of every other citizen1 he has the right to defend his religion and to denounce yours4 ,there is another thing4 ,what was the spirit of our government at that time8 ,you must look at the leading men4 ,who were they8 ,what were their opinions8 ,were most of them as guilty of blasphemy as is the defendant in this case8 ,thomas ,jefferson--and there is in my judgment only one name on the page of ,american history greater than his--only one name for which ,i have a greater and a tenderer reverence--and that is ,abraham ,lincoln1 because of all men who ever lived and had power1 he was the most merciful4 ,and that is the way to test a man4 ,how does he use power8 ,does he want to crush his fellow citizens8 ,does he like to lock somebody up in the penitentiary because he has the power of the moment8 ,does he wish to use it as a despot1 or as a philanthropist--like a devil1 or like a man8 ,thomas ,jefferson entertained about the same views entertained by the defendant in this case1 and he was made ,president of the ,united ,states4 ,he was the author of the ,declaration of ,independence1 founder of the ,university of ,virginia1 writer of that clause in the ,constitution of that ,state that made all the citizens equal before the law4 ,and when ,i come to the very sentences here charged as blasphemy1 ,i will show you that these were the common sentiments of thousands of very great1 of very intellectual and admirable men4 ,i have no time1 and it may be this is not the place and the occasion1 to call your attention to the infinite harm that has been done in almost every religious nation by statutes such as this4 ,where that statute is1 liberty can not be2 and if this statute is enforced by this jury and by this ,court1 and if it is afterwards carried out1 and if it could be carried out in the ,states of this ,union1 there would be an end of all intellectual progress4 ,we would go back to the dark ages4 ,every man's mind1 upon these subjects at least1 would become a stagnant pool1 covered with the scum of prejudice and meanness4 ,and wherever such laws have been enforced1 have the people been friends8 ,here we are to-day in this blessed air--here amid these happy fields4 ,can we imagine1 with these surroundings1 that a man for having been found with a crucifix in his poor little home had been taken from his wife and children and burned--burned by ,protestants8 ,you cannot conceive of such a thing now4 ,neither can you conceive that there was a time when ,catholics found some poor ,protestant contradicting one of the dogmas of the ,church1 and took that poor honest wretch--while his wife wept--while his children clung to his hands--to the public square1 drove a stake in the ground1 put a chain or two about him1 lighted the fagots1 and let the wife whom he loved and his little children see the flames climb around his limbs--you cannot imagine that any such infamy was ever practiced4 ,and yet ,i tell you that the same spirit made this detestable1 infamous1 devilish statute4 ,you can hardly imagine that there was a time when the same kind of men that made this law said to another man3 ,you say this world is round8 ,yes1 sir2 ,i think it is1 because ,i have seen its shadow on the moon4 ,you have8--,now can you imagine a society outside of hyenas and boa constrictors that would take that man1 put him in the penitentiary1 in a dungeon1 turn the key upon him1 and let his name be blotted from the book of human life8 ,years afterward some explorer amid ruins finds a few bones4 ,the same spirit that did that1 made this statute--the same spirit that did that1 went before the grand jury in this case--exactly4 ,give the men that had this man indicted the power1 and ,i would not want to live in that particular part of the country4 ,i would not willingly live with such men4 ,i would go somewhere else1 where the air is free1 where ,i could speak my sentiments to my wife1 to my children1 and to my neighbors4 ,now this persecution differs only in degree from the infamies of the olden time4 ,what does it mean8 ,it means that the ,state of ,new ,jersey has all the light it wants4 ,and what does that mean8 ,it means that the ,state of ,new ,jersey is absolutely infallible--that it has got its growth1 and does not propose to grow any more4 ,new ,jersey knows enough1 and it will send teachers to the penitentiary4 ,it is hardly possible that this ,state has accomplished all that it is ever going to accomplish4 ,religions are for a day4 ,they are the clouds4 ,humanity is the eternal blue4 ,religions are the waves of the sea4 ,these waves depend upon the force and direction of the wind--that is to say1 of passion2 but ,humanity is the great sea4 ,and so our religions change from day to day1 and it is a blessed thing that they do4 ,why8 ,because we grow1 and we are getting a little more civilized every day1--and any man that is not willing to let another man express his opinion1 is not a civilized man1 and you know it4 ,any man that does not give to everybody else the rights he claims for himself1 is not an honest man4 ,here is a man who says1 ,i am going to join the ,methodist ,church4 ,what right has he8 ,just the same right to join it that ,i have not to join it--no more1 no less4 ,but if you are a ,methodist and ,i am not1 it simply proves that you do not agree with me1 and that ,i do not agree with you--that is all4 ,another man is a ,catholic4 ,he was born a ,catholic1 or is convinced that ,catholicism is right4 ,that is his business1 and any man that would persecute him on that account1 is a poor barbarian--a savage2 any man that would abuse him on that account1 is a barbarian--a savage4 ,then ,i take the next step4 ,a man does not wish to belong to any church4 ,how are you going to judge him8 ,judge him by the way he treats his wife1 his children1 his neighbors4 ,does he pay his debts8 ,does he tell the truth8 ,does he help the poor8 ,has he got a heart that melts when he hears grief's story8 ,that is the way to judge him4 ,i do not care what he thinks about the bears1 or the flood1 about bibles or gods4 ,when some poor mother is found wandering in the street with a babe at her breast1 does he quote ,scripture1 or hunt for his pocket-book8 ,that is the way to judge4 ,and suppose he does not believe in any bible whatever8 ,if ,christianity is true1 that is his misfortune1 and everybody should pity the poor wretch that is going down the hill4 ,why kick him8 ,you will get your revenge on him through all eternity--is not that enough8 ,so ,i say1 let us judge each other by our actions1 not by theories1 not by what we happen to believe--because that depends very much on where we were born4 ,if you had been born in ,turkey1 you probably would have been a ,mohammedan4 ,if ,i had been born among the ,hindoos1 ,i might have been a ,buddhist--,i can't tell4 ,if ,i had been raised in ,scotland1 on oat meal1 ,i might have been a ,covenanter--nobody knows4 ,if ,i had lived in ,ireland1 and seen my poor wife and children driven into the street1 ,i think ,i might have been a ,home ,ruler--no doubt of it4 ,you see it depends on where you were born--much depends on our surroundings4 ,of course1 there are men born in ,turkey who are not ,mohammedans1 and there are men born in this country who are not ,christians--,methodists1 ,unitarians1 or ,catholics1 plenty of them1 who are unbelievers--plenty of them who deny the truth of the ,scriptures--plenty of them who say3 ,i know not whether there be a ,god or not4 ,well1 it is a thousand times better to say that honestly than to say dishonestly that you believe in ,god4 ,if you want to know the opinion of your neighbor1 you want his honest opinion4 ,you do not want to be deceived4 ,you do not want to talk with a hypocrite4 ,you want to get straight at his honest mind--and then you are going to judge him1 not by what he says but by what he does4 ,it is very easy to sail along with the majority--easy to sail the way the boats are going--easy to float with the stream2 but when you come to swim against the tide1 with the men on the shore throwing rocks at you1 you will get a good deal of exercise in this world4 ,and do you know that we ought to feel under the greatest obligation to men who have fought the prevailing notions of their day8 ,there is not a ,presbyterian in ,morristown that does not hold up for admiration the man that carried the flag of the ,presbyterians when they were in the minority--not one4 ,there is not a ,methodist in this state who does not admire ,john and ,charles ,wesley and ,whitefield1 who carried the banner of that new and despised sect when it was in the minority4 ,they glory in them because they braved public opinion1 because they dared to oppose idiotic1 barbarous and savage statutes like this4 ,and there is not a ,universalist that does not worship dear old ,hosea ,ballon--,i love him myself--because he said to the ,presbyterian minister3 ,you are going around trying to keep people out of hell1 and ,i am going around trying to keep hell out of the people4 ,every ,universalist admires him and loves him because when despised and railed at and spit upon1 he stood firm1 a patient witness for the eternal mercy of ,god4 ,and there is not a solitary ,protestant who does not honor ,martin ,luther--who does not honor the ,covenanters in poor ,scotland1 and that poor girl who was tied out on the sand of the sea by ,episcopalians1 and kept there till the rising tide drowned her1 and all she had to do to save her life was to say1 ,god save the king2 but she would not say it without the addition of the words1 ,if it be ,god's will4 ,no one1 who is not a miserable1 contemptible wretch1 can fail to stand in admiration before such courage1 such self-denial--such heroism4 ,no matter what the attitude of your body may be1 your soul falls on its knees before such men and such women4 ,let us take another step4 ,where would we have been if authority had always triumphed8 ,where would we have been if such statutes had always been carried out8 ,we have now a science called ,astronomy4 ,that science has done more to enlarge the horizon of human thought than all things else4 ,we now live in an infinite universe4 ,we know that the sun is a million times larger than our earth1 and we know that there are other great luminaries millions of times larger than our sun4 ,we know that there are planets so far away that light1 traveling at the rate of one hundred and eighty-five thousand miles a second1 requires fifteen thousand years to reach this grain of sand1 this tear1 we call the earth--and we now know that all the fields of space are sown thick with constellations4 ,if that statute had been enforced1 that ,science would not now be the property of the human mind4 ,that ,science is contrary to the bible1 and for asserting the truth you become a criminal4 ,for what sum of money1 for what amount of wealth1 would the world have the science of ,astronomy expunged from the brain of man8 ,we learned the story of the stars in spite of that statute4 ,the first men who said the world was round were scourged for scoffing at the ,scriptures4 ,and even ,martin ,luther1 speaking of one of the greatest men that ever lived1 said3 ,does he think with his little lever to overturn the ,universe of ,god8 ,martin ,luther insisted that such men ought to be trampled under foot4 ,if that statute had been carried into effect1 ,galileo would have been impossible4 ,kepler1 the discoverer of the three laws1 would have died with the great secret locked in his brain1 and mankind would have been left ignorant1 superstitious1 and besotted4 ,and what else8 ,if that statute had been carried out1 the world would have been deprived of the philosophy of ,spinoza2 of the philosophy1 of the literature1 of the wit and wisdom1 the justice and mercy of ,voltaire1 the greatest ,frenchman that ever drew the breath of life--the man who by his mighty pen abolished torture in a nation1 and helped to civilize a world4 ,if that statute had been enforced1 nearly all the books that enrich the libraries of the world could not have been written4 ,if that statute had been enforced1 ,humboldt could not have delivered the lectures now known as ,the ,cosmos4 ,if that statute had been enforced1 ,charles ,darwin would not have been allowed to give to the world his discoveries that have been of more benefit to mankind than all the sermons ever uttered4 ,in ,england they have placed his sacred dust in the great ,abbey4 ,if he had lived in ,new ,jersey1 and this statute could have been enforced1 he would have lived one year at least in your penitentiary4 ,why8 ,that man went so far as not simply to deny the truth of your bible1 but absolutely to deny the existence of your ,god4 ,was he a good man8 ,yes1 one of the noblest and greatest of men4 ,humboldt1 the greatest ,german who ever lived1 was of the same opinion4 ,and so ,i might go on with the great men of to-day4 ,who are the men who are leading the race upward and shedding light in the intellectual world8 ,they are the men declared by that statute to be criminals4 ,mr4 ,spencer could not publish his books in the ,state of ,new ,jersey4 ,he would be arrested1 tried1 and imprisoned2 and yet that man has added to the intellectual wealth of the world4 ,so with ,huxley1 so with ,tyndal1 so with ,helmholz--so with the greatest thinkers and greatest writers of modern times4 ,you may not agree with these men--and what does that prove8 ,it simply proves that they do not agree with you--that is all4 ,who is to blame8 ,i do not know4 ,they may be wrong1 and you may be right2 but if they had the power1 and put you in the penitentiary simply because you differed with them1 they would be savages2 and if you have the power and imprison men because they differ from you1 why then1 of course1 you are savages4 ,no2 ,i believe in intellectual hospitality4 ,i love men that have a little horizon to their minds--a little sky1 a little scope4 ,i hate anything that is narrow and pinched and withered and mean and crawling1 and that is willing to live on dust4 ,i believe in creating such an atmosphere that things will burst into blossom4 ,i believe in good will1 good health1 good fellowship1 good feeling--and if there is any ,god on the earth1 or in heaven1 let us hope that he will be generous and grand4 ,do you not see what the effect will be8 ,i am not cursing you because you are a ,methodist1 and not damning you because you are a ,catholic1 or because you are an ,infidel--a good man is more2 than all of these4 ,the grandest of all things is to be in the highest and noblest sense a man4 ,now let us see the frightful things that this man1 the defendant in this case1 has done4 ,let me read the charges against him as set out in this indictment4 ,i shall insist that this statute does not cover any publication--that it covers simply speech--not in writing1 not in book or pamphlet4 ,let us see3 ,this bible describes ,god as so loving that he drowned the whole world in his mad fury4 ,well1 the great question about that is1 is it true8 ,does the bible describe ,god as having drowned the whole world with the exception of eight people8 ,does it1 or does it not8 ,i do not know whether there is anybody in this county who has really read the bible1 but ,i believe the story of the flood is there4 ,it does say that ,god destroyed all flesh1 and that he did so because he was angry4 ,he says so himself1 if the bible be true4 ,the defendant has simply repeated what is in the bible4 ,the bible says that ,god is loving1 and says that he drowned the world1 and that he was angry4 ,is it blasphemy to quote from the ,sacred ,scriptures8 ,because it was so much worse than he1 knowing all things1 ever supposed it could be4-- ,well1 the bible does say that he repented having made man4 ,now is there any blasphemy in saying that the bible is true8 ,that is the only question4 ,it is a fact that ,god1 according to the bible1 did drown nearly everybody4 ,if ,god knows all things1 he must have known at the time he made them that he was going to drown them4 ,is it likely that a being of infinite wisdom would deliberately do what he knew he must undo8 ,is it blasphemy to ask that question8 ,have you a right to think about it at all8 ,if you have1 you have the right to tell somebody what you think--if not1 you have no right to discuss it1 no right to think about it4 ,all you have to do is to read it and believe it--to open your mouth like a young robin1 and swallow--worms or shingle nails--no matter which4 ,the defendant further blasphemed and said that3-- ,an all-wise1 unchangeable ,god1 who got out of patience with a world which was just what his own stupid blundering had made it1 knew no better way out of the muddle than to destroy it by drowning6 ,is that true8 ,was not the world exactly as ,god made it8 ,certainly4 ,did he not1 if the bible is true1 drown the people8 ,he did4 ,did he know he would drown them when he made them8 ,he did4 ,did he know they ought to be drowned when they were made8 ,he did4 ,where1 then1 is the blasphemy in saying so8 ,there is not a minister in this world who could explain it--who would be permitted to explain it--under this statute4 ,and yet you would arrest this man and put him in the penitentiary4 ,but after you lock him in the cell1 there remains the question still4 ,is it possible that a good and wise ,god1 knowing that he was going to drown them1 made millions of people8 ,what did he make them for8 ,i do not know4 ,i do not pretend to be wise enough to answer that question4 ,of course1 you cannot answer the question4 ,is there anything blasphemous in that8 ,would it be blasphemy in me to say ,i do not believe that any ,god ever made men1 women and children--mothers1 with babes clasped to their breasts1 and then sent a flood to fill the world with death8 ,a rain lasting for forty days--the water rising hour by hour1 and the poor wretched children of ,god climbing to the tops of their houses--then to the tops of the hills4 ,the water still rising--no mercy4 ,the people climbing higher and higher1 looking to the mountains for salvation--the merciless rain still falling1 the inexorable flood still rising4 ,children falling from the arms of mothers--no pity4 ,the highest hills covered--infancy and old age mingling in death--the cries of women1 the sobs and sighs lost in the roar of waves--the heavens still relentless4 ,the mountains are covered--a shoreless sea rolls round the world1 and on its billows are billions of corpses4 ,this is the greatest crime that man has imagined1 and this crime is called a deed of infinite mercy4 ,do you believe that8 ,i do not believe one word of it1 and ,i have the right to say to all the world that this is false4 ,if there be a good ,god1 the story is not true4 ,if there be a wise ,god1 the story is not true4 ,ought an honest man to be sent to the penitentiary for simply telling the truth8 ,suppose we had a statute that whoever scoffed at ,science--whoever by profane language should bring the ,rule of ,three into contempt1 or whoever should attack the proposition that two parallel lines will never include a space1 should be sent to the penitentiary--what would you think of it8 ,it would be just as wise and just as idiotic as this4 ,and what else says the defendant8 ,the bible-,god says that his people made him jealous ,provoked him to anger4 ,is that true8 ,it is4 ,if it is true1 is it blasphemous8 ,let us read another line-- ,and now he will raise the mischief with them2 that his anger burns like hell4 ,that is true4 ,the bible says of ,god--,my anger burns to the lowest hell4 ,and that is all that the defendant says4 ,every word of it is in the bible4 ,he simply does not believe it--and for that reason is a blasphemer4 ,i say to you now1 gentlemen1--and ,i shall argue to the ,court1--that there is not in what ,i have read a solitary blasphemous word--not a word that has not been said in hundreds of pulpits in the ,christian world4 ,theodore ,parker1 a ,unitarian1 speaking of this bible-,god1 said3 ,vishnu with a necklace of skulls1 ,vishnu with bracelets of living1 hissing serpents1 is a figure of ,love and ,mercy compared to the ,god of the ,old ,testament4 ,that1 we might call blasphemy1 but not what ,i have read4 ,let us read on3-- ,he would destroy them all were it not that he feared the wrath of the enemy4 ,that is in the bible--word for word4 ,then the defendant in astonishment says3 ,the ,almighty ,god afraid of his enemies6 ,that is what the bible says4 ,what does it mean8 ,if the bible is true1 ,god was afraid4 ,can the mind conceive of more horrid blasphemy8 ,is not that true8 ,if ,god be infinitely good and wise and powerful1 is it possible he is afraid of anything8 ,if the defendant had said that ,god was afraid of his enemies1 that might have been blasphemy--but this man says the bible says that1 and you are asked to say that it is blasphemy4 ,now1 up to this point there is no blasphemy1 even if you were to enforce this infamous statute--this savage law4 ,the ,old ,testament records for our instruction in morals the most foul and bestial instances of fornication1 incest1 and polygamy1 perpetrated by ,god's own saints1 and the ,new ,testament indorses these lecherous wretches as examples for all good ,christians to follow4 ,now is it not a fact that the ,old ,testament does uphold polygamy8 ,abraham would have gotten into trouble in ,new ,jersey--no doubt of that4 ,sarah could have obtained a divorce in this state1--no doubt of that4 ,what is the use of telling a falsehood about it8 ,let us tell the truth about the patriarchs4 ,everybody knows that the same is true of ,moses4 ,we have all heard of ,solomon--a gentleman with five or six hundred wives1 and three or four hundred other ladies with whom he was acquainted4 ,this is simply what the defendant says4 ,is there any blasphemy about that8 ,it is only the truth4 ,if ,solomon were living in the ,united ,states to-day1 we would put him in the penitentiary4 ,you know that under the ,edmunds' ,mormon law he would be locked up4 ,if you should present a petition signed by his eleven hundred wives1 you could not get him out4 ,so it was with ,david4 ,there are some splendid things about ,david1 of course4 ,i admit that1 and pay my tribute of respect to his courage--but he happened to have ten or twelve wives too many1 so he shut them up1 put them in a kind of penitentiary and kept them there till they died4 ,that would not be considered good conduct even in ,morristown4 ,you know that4 ,is it any harm to speak of it8 ,there are plenty of ministers here to set it right--thousands of them all over the country1 every one with his chance to talk all day ,sunday and nobody to say a word back4 ,the pew cannot reply to the pulpit1 you know2 it has just to sit there and take it4 ,if there is any harm in this1 if it is not true1 they ought to answer it4 ,but it is here1 and the only answer is an indictment4 ,i say that ,lot was a bad man4 ,so ,i say of ,abraham1 and of ,jacob4 ,did you ever know of a more despicable fraud practiced by one brother on another than ,jacob practiced on ,esau8 ,my sympathies have always been with ,esau4 ,he seemed to be a manly man4 ,is it blasphemy to say that you do not like a hypocrite1 a murderer1 or a thief1 because his name is in the bible8 ,how do you know what such men are mentioned for8 ,may be they are mentioned as examples1 and you certainly ought not to be led away and induced to imagine that a man with seven hundred wives is a pattern of domestic propriety1 one to be followed by yourself and your sons4 ,i might go on and mention the names of hundreds of others who committed every conceivable crime1 in the name of religion--who declared war1 and on the field of battle killed men1 women and babes1 even children yet unborn1 in the name of the most merciful ,god4 ,the ,bible is filled with the names and crimes of these sacred savages1 these inspired beasts4 ,any man who says that a ,god of love commanded the commission of these crimes is1 to say the least of it1 mistaken4 ,if there be a ,god1 then it is blasphemous to charge him with the commission of crime4 ,but let us read further from this indictment3 ,the aforesaid printed document contains other scandalous1 infamous and blasphemous matters and things to the tenor and effect following1 that is to say1--,then comes this particularly blasphemous line3 ,now1 reader1 take time and calmly think it over4 ,gentlemen1 there are many things ,i have read that ,i should not have expressed in exactly the same language used by the defendant1 and many things that ,i am going to read ,i might not have said at all1 but the defendant had the right to say every word with which he is charged in this indictment4 ,he had the right to give his honest thought1 no matter whether any human being agreed with what he said or not1 and no matter whether any other man approved of the manner in which he said these things4 ,i defend his right to speak1 whether ,i believe in what he spoke or not1 or in the propriety of saying what he did4 ,i should defend a man just as cheerfully who had spoken against my doctrine1 as one who had spoken against the popular superstitions of my time4 ,it would make no difference to me how unjust the attack was upon my belief--how maliciously ingenious2 and no matter how sacred the conviction that was attacked1 ,i would defend the freedom of speech4 ,and why8 ,because no attack can be answered by force1 no argument can be refuted by a blow1 or by imprisonment1 or by fine4 ,you may imprison the man1 but the argument is free2 you may fell the man to the earth1 but the statement stands4 ,the defendant in this case has attacked certain beliefs1 thought by the ,christian world to be sacred4 ,yet1 after all1 nothing is sacred but the truth1 and by truth ,i mean what a man sincerely and honestly believes4 ,the defendant says3 ,take time to calmly think it over3 ,was a ,jewish girl the mother of ,god1 the mother of your ,god8 ,the defendant probably asked this question supposing that it must be answered by all sensible people in the negative4 ,if the ,christian religion is true1 then a ,jewish girl was the mother of ,almighty ,god4 ,personally1 if the doctrine is true1 ,i have no fault to find with the statement that a ,jewish maiden was the mother of ,god4--,millions believe that this is true--,i do not believe1--but who knows8 ,if a ,god came from the throne of the universe1 came to this world and became the child of a pure and loving woman1 it would not lessen1 in my eyes1 the dignity or the greatness of that ,god4 ,there is no more perfect picture on the earth1 or within the imagination of man1 than a mother holding in her thrilled and happy arms a child1 the fruit of love4 ,no matter how the statement is made1 the fact remains the same4 ,a ,jewish girl became the mother of ,god4 ,if the bible is true1 that is true1 and to repeat it1 even according to your law1 is not blasphemous1 and to doubt it1 or to express the doubt1 or to deny it1 is not contrary to your ,constitution4 ,to this defendant it seemed improbable that ,god was ever born of woman1 was ever held in the lap of a mother2 and because he cannot believe this1 he is charged with blasphemy4 ,could you pour contempt on ,shakespeare by saying that his mother was a woman1--by saying that he was once a poor crying little helpless child8 ,of course he was2 and he afterwards became the greatest human being that ever touched the earth1--the only man whose intellectual wings have reached from sky to sky2 and he was once a crying babe4 ,what of it8 ,does that cast any scorn or contempt upon him8 ,does this take any of the music from ,midsummer ,night's ,dream8--any of the passionate wealth from ,antony and ,cleopatra1 any philosophy from ,macbeth1 any intellectual grandeur from ,king ,lear8 ,on the contrary1 these great productions of the brain show the growth of the dimpled babe1 give every mother a splendid dream and hope for her child1 and cover every cradle with a sublime possibility4 ,the defendant is also charged with having said that ,god cried and screamed4 ,why not8 ,if he was absolutely a child1 he was like other children1--like yours1 like mine4 ,i have seen the time1 when absent from home1 that ,i would have given more to have heard my children cry1 than to have heard the finest orchestra that ever made the air burst into flower4 ,what if ,god did cry8 ,it simply shows that his humanity was real and not assumed1 that it was a tragedy1 real1 and not a poor pretense4 ,and the defendant also says that if the orthodox religion be true1 that the ,god of the ,universe kicked1 and flung about his little arms1 and made aimless dashes into space with his little fists4 ,is there anything in this that is blasphemous8 ,one of the best pictures ,i ever saw of the ,virgin and ,child was painted by the ,spaniard1 ,murillo4 ,christ appears to be a truly natural1 chubby1 happy babe4 ,such a picture takes nothing from the majesty1 the beauty1 or the glory of the incarnation4 ,i think it is the best thing about the ,catholic ,church that it lifts up for adoration and admiration1 a mother1--that it pays what it calls ,divine honors to a woman4 ,there is certainly goodness in that1 and where a ,church has so few practices that are good1 ,i am willing to point this one out4 ,it is the one redeeming feature about ,catholicism that it teaches the worship of a woman4 ,the defendant says more about the childhood of ,christ4 ,he goes so far as to say1 that ,he was found staring foolishly at his own little toes4 ,and why not8 ,the bible says1 that he increased in wisdom and stature4 ,the defendant might have referred to something far more improbable4 ,in the same verse in which ,st4 ,luke says that ,jesus increased in wisdom and stature1 will be found the assertion that he increased in favor with ,god and man4 ,the defendant might have asked how it was that the love of ,god for ,god increased4 ,but the defendant has simply stated that the child ,jesus grew1 as other children grow2 that he acted like other children1 and if he did1 it is more than probable that he did stare at his own toes4 ,i have laughed many a time to see little children astonished with the sight of their feet4 ,they seem to wonder what on earth puts the little toes in motion4 ,certainly there is nothing blasphemous in supposing that the feet of ,christ amused him1 precisely as the feet of other children have amused them4 ,there is nothing blasphemous about this2 on the contrary1 it is beautiful4 ,if ,i believed in the existence of ,god1 the creator of this world1 the being who1 with the hand of infinity1 sowed the fields of space with stars1 as a farmer sows his grain1 ,i should like to think of him as a little dimpled babe1 overflowing with joy1 sitting upon the knees of a loving mother4 ,the ministers1 themselves1 might take a lesson even from the man who is charged with blasphemy1 and make an effort to bring an infinite ,god a little nearer to the human heart4 ,the defendant also says1 speaking of the infant ,christ1 ,he was nursed at ,mary's breast4 ,yes1 and if the story be true1 that is the tenderest fact in it4 ,nursed at the breast of woman4 ,no painting1 no statue1 no words can make a deeper and a tenderer impression upon the heart of man than this3 ,the ,infinite ,god1 a babe1 nursed at the holy breast of woman4 ,you see these things do not strike all people the same4 ,to a man that has been raised on the ,orthodox desert1 these things are incomprehensible4 ,he has been robbed of his humanity4 ,he has no humor1 nothing but the stupid and the solemn4 ,his fancy sits with folded wings4 ,imagination1 like the atmosphere of ,spring1 woes every seed of earth to seek the blue of heaven1 and whispers of bud and flower and fruit4 ,imagination gathers from every field of thought and pours the wealth of many lives into the lap of one4 ,to the contracted1 to the cast-iron people who believe in heartless and inhuman creeds1 the words of the defendant seem blasphemous1 and to them the thought that ,god was a little child is monstrous4 ,they cannot bear to hear it said that he nursed at the breast of a maiden1 that he was wrapped in swaddling clothes1 that he had the joys and sorrows of other babes4 ,i hope1 gentlemen1 that not only you1 but the attorneys for the prosecution1 have read what is known as the ,apocryphal ,new ,testament1 books that were once considered inspired1 once admitted to be genuine1 and that once formed a part of our ,new ,testament4 ,i hope you have read the books of ,joseph and ,mary1 of the ,shepherd of ,hermes1 of the ,infancy and of ,mary1 in which many of the things done by the youthful ,christ are described--books that were once the delight of the ,christian world2 books that gave joy to children1 because in them they read that ,christ made little birds of clay1 that would at his command stretch out their wings and fly with joy above his head4 ,if the defendant in this case had said anything like that1 here in the ,state of ,new ,jersey1 he would have been indicted2 the ,orthodox ,ministers would have shouted blasphemy1 and yet1 these little stories made the name of ,christ dearer to children4 ,the ,church of to-day lacks sympathy2 the theologians are without affection4 ,after all1 sympathy is genius4 ,a man who really sympathizes with another understands him4 ,a man who sympathizes with a religion instantly sees the good that is in it1 and the man who sympathizes with the right1 sees the evil that a creed contains4 ,but the defendant1 still speaking of the infant ,christ1 is charged with having said1 ,god smiled when he was comfortable4 ,he lay in a cradle and was rocked to sleep4 ,yes1 and there is no more beautiful picture than that ,let some great religious genius paint a picture of this kind--of a babe smiling with content1 rocked in the cradle by the mother who bends tenderly and proudly above him4 ,there could be no more beautiful1 no more touching1 picture than this4 ,what would ,i not give for a picture of ,shakespeare as a babe1--a picture that was a likeness1--rocked by his mother8 ,i would give more for this than for any painting that now enriches the walls of the world4 ,the defendant also says1 that ,god was sick when cutting his teeth4 ,and what of that8 ,we are told that he was tempted in all points1 as we are4 ,that is to say1 he was afflicted1 he was hungry1 he was thirsty1 he suffered the pains and miseries common to man4 ,otherwise1 he was not flesh1 he was not human4 ,he caught the measles1 the mumps1 the scarlet fever and the whooping cough4 ,certainly he was liable to have these diseases1 for he was1 in fact1 a child4 ,other children have them4 ,other children1 loved as dearly by their mothers as ,christ could have been by his1 and yet they are taken from the little family by fever2 taken1 it may be1 and buried in the snow1 while the poor mother goes sadly home1 wishing that she was lying by its side4 ,all that can be said of every word in this address1 about ,christ and about his childhood1 amounts to this2 that he lived the life of a child2 that he acted like other children4 ,i have read you substantially what he has said1 and this is considered blasphemous4 ,he has said1 that-- ,according to the ,old ,testament1 the ,god of the ,christian world commanded people to destroy each other4 ,if the bible is true1 then the statement of the defendant is true4 ,is it calculated to bring ,god into contempt to deny that he upheld polygamy1 that he ever commanded one of his generals to rip open with the sword of war1 the woman with child8 ,is it blasphemy to deny that a ,god of infinite love gave such commandments8 ,is such a denial calculated to pour contempt and scorn upon the ,god of the ,orthodox8 ,is it blasphemous to deny that ,god commanded his children to murder each other8 ,is it blasphemous to say that he was benevolent1 merciful and just8 ,it is impossible to say that the bible is true and that ,god is good4 ,i do not believe that a ,god made this world1 filled it with people and then drowned them4 ,i do not believe that infinite wisdom ever made a mistake4 ,if there be any ,god he was too good to commit such an infinite crime1 too wise to make such a mistake4 ,is this blasphemy8 ,is it blasphemy to say that ,solomon was not a virtuous man1 or that ,david was an adulterer8 ,must we say when this ancient king had one of his best generals placed in the front of the battle--deserted him and had him murdered for the purpose of stealing his wife1 that he was a man after ,god's own heart8 ,suppose the defendant in this case were guilty of something like that8 ,uriah was fighting for his country1 fighting the battles of ,david1 the king4 ,david wanted to take from him his wife4 ,he sent for ,joab1 his commander in chief1 and said to him3 ,make a feint to attack a town4 ,put ,uriah at the front of the attacking force and when the people sally forth from the town to defend its gate1 fall back so that this gallant1 noble1 patriotic man may be slain4 ,this was done and the widow was stolen by the king4 ,is it blasphemy to tell the truth and to say exactly what ,david was8 ,let us be honest with each other2 let us be honest with this defendant4 ,for thousands of years men have taught that the ancient patriarchs were sacred1 that they were far better than the men of modern times that what was in them a virtue1 is in us a crime4 ,children are taught in ,sunday-schools to admire and respect these criminals of the ancient days4 ,the time has come to tell the truth about these men1 to call things by their proper names1 and above all1 to stand by the right1 by the truth1 by mercy and by justice4 ,if what the defendant has said is blasphemy under this statute then the question arises1 is the statute in accordance with the ,constitution8 ,if this statute is constitutional1 why has it been allowed to sleep for all these years8 ,i take this position3 ,any law made for the preservation of a human right1 made to guard a human being1 cannot sleep long enough to die2 but any law that deprives a human being of a natural right--if that law goes to sleep1 it never wakes1 it sleeps the sleep of death4 ,i call the attention of the ,court to that remarkable case in ,england where1 only a few years ago1 a man appealed to trial by battle4 ,the law allowing trial by battle had been asleep in the statute book of ,england for more than two hundred years1 and yet the ,court held that1 in spite of the fact that the law had been asleep--it being a law in favor of a defendant--he was entitled to trial by battle4 ,and why8 ,because it was a statute at the time made in defence of a human right1 and that statute could not sleep long enough or soundly enough to die4 ,in consequence of this decision1 the ,parliament of ,england passed a special act1 doing away forever with the trial by battle4 ,when a statute attacks an individual right the ,state must never let it sleep4 ,when it attacks the right of the public at large and is allowed to pass into a state of slumber1 it cannot be raised for the purpose of punishing an individual4 ,now gentlemen1 a few words more4 ,i take an almost infinite interest in this trial1 and before you decide1 ,i am exceedingly anxious that you should understand with clearness the thoughts ,i have expressed upon this subject4 ,i want you to know how the civilized feel1 and the position now taken by the leaders of the world4 ,a few years ago almost everything spoken against the grossest possible superstition was considered blasphemous4 ,the altar hedged itself about with the sword2 the ,priest went in partnership with the ,king4 ,in those days statutes were leveled against all human speech4 ,men were convicted of blasphemy because they believed in an actual personal ,god2 because they insisted that ,god had body and parts4 ,men were convicted of blasphemy because they denied that ,god had form4 ,they have been imprisoned for denying the doctrine of tran-substantiation1 and they have been torn in pieces for defending that doctrine4 ,there are but few dogmas now believed by any ,christian church that have not at some time been denounced as blasphemous4 ,when ,henry the ,,viii4 put himself at the head of the ,episcopal church a creed was made1 and in that creed there were five dogmas that must1 of necessity1 be believed4 ,anybody who denied any one1 was to be punished--for the first offence1 with fine1 with imprisonment1 or branding1 and for the second offence1 with death4 ,not one of these five dogmas is now a part of the creed of the ,church of ,england4 ,so ,i could go on for days and weeks and months1 showing that hundreds and hundreds of religious dogmas1 to deny which was death1 have been either changed or abandoned for others nearly as absurd as the old ones were4 ,it may be1 however1 sufficient to say1 that where-ever the ,church has had power it has been a crime for any man to speak his honest thought4 ,no ,church has ever been willing that any opponent should give a transcript of his mind4 ,every ,church in power has appealed to brute force1 to the sword1 for the purpose of sustaining its creed4 ,not one has had the courage to occupy the open field3 ,the ,church has not been satisfied with calling infidels and unbelievers blasphemers4 ,each ,church has accused nearly every other ,church of being a blasphemer4 ,every pioneer has been branded as a criminal4 ,the ,catholics called ,martin ,luther a blasphemer1 and ,martin ,luther called ,copernicus a blasphemer4 ,pious ignorance always regards intelligence as a kind of blasphemy4 ,some of the greatest men of the world1 some of the best1 have been put to death for the crime of blasphemy1 that is to say1 for the crime of endeavoring to benefit their fellow men4 ,as long as the ,church has the power to close the lips of men1 so long and no longer will superstition rule this world4 ,blasphemy is the word that the majority hisses into the ear of the few4 ,after every argument of the ,church has been answered1 has been refuted1 then the ,church cries1 blasphemy6 ,blasphemy is what an old mistake says of a newly discovered truth4 ,blasphemy is what a withered last year's leaf says of this year's bud4 ,blasphemy is the bulwark of religious prejudice4 ,blasphemy is the breastplate of the heartless4 ,and let me say now1 that the crime of blasphemy set out in this statute1 is impossible4 ,no man can blaspheme a book4 ,no man can commit blasphemy telling his honest thought4 ,no man can blaspheme ,god1 or a ,holy ,ghost1 or a ,son of ,god4 ,the ,infinite cannot be blasphemed4 ,in the olden time1 in the days of savagery and superstition1 when some poor man was struck by lightning1 when a blackened mark was left on the breast of and mother1 the poor savage supposed that son angered by something he had done1 had taken revenge4 ,what else did the savage suppose8 ,he believed that this ,god had the same feelings1 with to the loyalty of his subjects1 that an earthly chief or an earthly king with regard to the loyalty or tread of members of his tribe1 or citizens of his kingdom the savage said1 when his country was visited by a calamity1 when the flood swept the people away1 or the storm scattered their poor houses in fragments3 ,we have allowed some freethinker to live2 some one is in our town or village who has not brought his gift to the priest1 his incense to the altar2 some man of our tribe or of our country does not respect our ,god4 ,then1 for the purpose of appeasing the supposed ,god1 for the purpose of winning a smile from ,heaven1 for the purpose of securing a little sunlight for their fields and homes1 they drag the accused man from his home1 from his wife and children1 and with all the ceremonies of pious brutality1 shed his blood4 ,they did it in self-defense2 they believed that they were saving their own lives and the lives of their children2 they did it to appease their ,god4 ,most people are now beyond that point4 ,now1 when disease visits a community1 the intelligent do not say the disease came because the people were wicked2 when the cholera comes1 it is not because of the ,methodists1 of the ,catholics1 of the ,presbyterians1 or of the infidels4 ,when the wind destroys a town in the far ,west1 it is not because somebody there had spoken his honest thoughts4 ,we are beginning to see that the wind blows and destroys without the slightest reference to man1 without the slightest care whether it destroys the good or the bad1 the irreligious or the religious4 ,when the lightning leaps from the clouds it is just as likely to strike a good man as a bad man1 and when the great serpents of flame climb around the houses of men1 they burn just as gladly and just as joyously1 the home of virtue1 as they do the den and lair of vice4 ,then the reason for all these laws has failed4 ,the laws were made on account of a superstition4 ,that superstition has faded from the minds of intelligent men and1 as a consequence1 the laws based on the superstition ought to fail4 ,there is one splendid thing in nature1 and that is that men and nations must reap the consequences of their acts--reap them in this world1 if they live1 and in another1 if there be one4 ,that man who leaves this world a bad man1 a malicious man1 will probably be the same man when he reaches another realm1 and the man who leaves this shore good1 charitable and honest1 will be good1 charitable and honest1 no matter on what star he lives again4 ,the world is growing sensible upon these subjects1 and as we grow sensible1 we grow charitable4 ,another reason has been given for these laws against blasphemy1 the most absurd reason that can by any possibility be given4 ,it is this4 ,there should be laws against blasphemy1 because the man who utters blasphemy endangers the public peace4 ,is it possible that ,christians will break the peace8 ,is it possible that they will violate the law8 ,is it probable that ,christians will congregate together and make a mob1 simply because a man has given an opinion against their religion8 ,what is their religion8 ,they say1 ,if a man smites you on one cheek1 turn the other also4 ,they say1 ,we must love our neighbors as we love ourselves4 ,is it possible then1 that you can make a mob out of ,christians1--that these men1 who love even their enemies1 will attack others1 and will destroy life1 in the name of universal love8 ,and yet1 ,christians themselves say that there ought to be laws against blasphemy1 for fear that ,christians1 who are controlled by universal love1 will become so outraged1 when they hear an honest man express an honest thought1 that they will leap upon him and tear him in pieces4 ,what is blasphemy8 ,i will give you a definition2 ,i will give you my thought upon this subject4 ,what is real blasphemy8 ,to live on the unpaid labor of other men--that is blasphemy4 ,to enslave your fellow-man1 to put chains upon his body--that is blasphemy4 ,to enslave the minds of men1 to put manacles upon the brain1 padlocks upon the lips--that is blasphemy4 ,to deny what you believe to be true1 to admit to be true what you believe to be a lie--that is blasphemy4 ,to strike the weak and unprotected1 in order that you may gain the applause of the ignorant and superstitious mob--that is blasphemy4 ,to persecute the intelligent few1 at the command of the ignorant many--that is blasphemy4 ,to forge chains1 to build dungeons1 for your honest fellow-men--that is blasphemy4 ,to pollute the souls of children with the dogma of eternal pain--that is blasphemy4 ,to violate your conscience--that is blasphemy4 ,the jury that gives an unjust verdict1 and the ,judge who pronounces an unjust sentence1 are blasphemers4 ,the man who bows to public opinion against his better judgment and against his honest conviction1 is a blasphemer4 ,why should we fear our fellow-men8 ,why should not each human being have the right1 so far as thought and its expression are concerned1 of all the world8 ,what harm can come from an honest interchange of thought8 ,i have been giving you my real ideas4 ,i have spoken freely1 and yet the sun rose this morning1 just the same as it always has4 ,there is no particular change visible in the world1 and ,i do not see but that we are all as happy to-day as though we had spent yesterday in making somebody else miserable4 ,i denounced on yesterday the superstitions of the ,christian world1 and yet1 last night ,i slept the sleep of peace4 ,you will pardon me for saying again that ,i feel the greatest possible interest in the result of this trial1 in the principle at stake4 ,this is my only apology1 my only excuse for taking your time4 ,for years ,i have felt that the great battle for human liberty1 the battle that has covered thousands of fields with heroic dead1 had finally-been won4 ,when ,i read the history of this world1 of what has been endured1 of what has been suffered1 of the heroism and infinite courage of the intellectual and honest few1 battling with the countless serfs and slaves of kings and priests1 of tyranny1 of hypocrisy1 of ignorance and prejudice1 of faith and fear1 there was in my heart the hope that the great battle had been fought1 and that the human race1 in its march towards the dawn1 had passed midnight1 and that the great balance weighed up morning4 ,this hope1 this feeling1 gave me the greatest possible joy4 ,when ,i thought of the many who had been burnt1 of how often the sons of liberty had perished in ashes1 of how many of the noblest and greatest had stood upon scaffolds1 and of the countless hearts1 the grandest that ever throbbed in human breasts1 that had been broken by the tyranny of ,church and ,state1 of how many of the noble and loving had sighed themselves away in dungeons1 the only consolation was that the last ,bastile had fallen1 that the dungeons of the ,inquisition had been torn down and that the scaffolds of the world could no longer be wet with heroic blood4 ,you know that sometimes1 after a great battle has been fought1 and one of the armies has been broken1 and its fortifications carried1 there are occasional stragglers beyond the great field1 stragglers who know nothing of the fate of their army1 know nothing of the victory1 and for that reason1 fight on4 ,there are a few such stragglers in the ,state of ,new ,jersey4 ,they have never heard of the great victory4 ,they do not know that in all civilized countries the hosts of superstition have been put to flight4 ,they do not know that freethinkers1 infidels1 are to-day the leaders of the intellectual armies of the world4 ,one of the last trials of this character1 tried in ,great ,britain1--and that is the country that our ancestors fought in the sacred name of liberty1--one of the last trials in that country1 a country ruled by a ,state church1 ruled by a woman who was born a queen1 ruled by dukes and nobles and lords1 children of ancient robbers--was in the year #ahdc4 ,george ,jacob ,holyoake1 one of the best of the human race1 was imprisoned on a charge of ,atheism1 charged with having written a pamphlet and having made a speech in which he had denied the existence of the ,british ,god4 ,the ,judge who tried him1 who passed sentence upon him1 went down to his grave with a stain upon his intellect and upon his honor4 ,all the real intelligence of ,great ,britain rebelled against the outrage4 ,there was a trial after that to which ,i will call your attention4 ,judge ,coleridge1 father of the present ,chief ,justice of ,england1 presided at this trial4 ,a poor man by the name of ,thomas ,pooley1 a man who dug wells for a living1 wrote on the gate of a priest that1 if people would burn their bibles and scatter the ashes on the lands1 the crops would be better1 and that they would also save a good deal of money in tithes4 ,he wrote several sentences of a kindred character4 ,he was a curious man4 ,he had an idea that the world was a living1 breathing animal4 ,he would not dig a well beyond a certain depth for fear he might inflict pain upon this animal1 the earth4 ,he was tried before ,judge ,coleridge1 on that charge4 ,an infinite ,god was about to be dethroned1 because an honest well-digger had written his sentiments on the fence of a parson4 ,he was indicted1 tried1 convicted and sentenced to prison4 ,afterwards1 many intelligent people asked for his pardon1 on the ground that he was in danger of becoming insane4 ,the ,judge refused to sign the petition4 ,the pardon was refused4 ,long before his sentence expired1 he became a raving maniac4 ,he was removed to an asylum and there died4 ,some of the greatest men in ,england attacked that ,judge1 among these1 ,mr4 ,buckle1 author of ,the ,history of ,civilization in ,england1 one of the greatest books in this world4 ,mr4 ,buckle denounced ,judge ,coleridge4 ,he brought him before the bar of ,english opinion1 and there was not a man in ,england1 whose opinion was worth anything1 who did not agree with ,mr4 ,buckle1 and did not with him1 declare the conviction of ,thomas ,pooley to be an infamous outrage4 ,what were the reasons given8 ,this1 among others4 ,the law was dead2 it had been asleep for many years2 it was a law passed during the ignorance of the ,middle ,ages1 and aw that came out of the dungeons of religious persecution2 a law that was appealed to by bigots and by hypocrites1 to punish1 to imprison an honest man4 ,in many parts of this country people have entertained the idea that ,new ,england was still filled with the spirit of ,puritanism1 filled with the descendants of those who killed ,quakers in the name of universal benevolence1 and traded ,quaker children in the ,barbadoes for rum1 for the purpose of establishing the fact that ,god is an infinite father4 ,yet1 the last trial in ,massachusetts on a charge like this1 was when ,abner ,kneeland was indicted on a charge of atheism4 ,he was tried for having written this sentence3 ,the ,universalists believe in a ,god which ,i do not4 ,he was convicted and imprisoned4 ,chief ,justice ,shaw upheld the decision1 and upheld it because he was afraid of public opinion2 upheld it1 although he must have known that the statute under which ,kneeland was indicted1 was clearly and plainly in violation of the ,constitution4 ,no man can read the decision of ,justice ,shaw without being convinced that he was absolutely dominated1 either by bigotry1 or hypocrisy4 ,one of the ,judges of that court1 a noble man1 wrote a dissenting opinion1 and in that dissenting opinion is the argument of a civilized1 of an enlightened jurist ,no man can answer the dissenting opinion of ,justice ,morton4 ,the case against ,kneeland was tried more than fifty years ago1 and there has been none since in the ,new ,england ,states2 and this case1 that we are now trying1 is the first ever tried in ,new ,jersey4 ,the fact that it is the first1 certifies to my interpretation of this statute1 and it also certifies to the toleration and to the civilization of the people of this ,state4 ,the statute is upon your books4 ,you inherited it from your ignorant ancestors1 and they inherited it from their savage ancestors4 ,the people of ,new ,jersey were heirs of the mistakes and of the atrocities of ancient ,england4 ,it is too late to enforce a law like this4 ,why has it been allowed to slumber8 ,who obtained this indictment8 ,were they actuated by good and noble motives8 ,had they the public weal at heart1 or were they simply endeavoring to be revenged upon this defendant8 ,were they willing to disgrace the ,state1 in order that they might punish him8 ,i have given you my definition of blasphemy1 and now the question arises1 what is worship8 ,who is a worshipper8 ,what is prayer8 ,what is real religion8 ,let me answer these questions4 ,good1 honest1 faithful work1 is worship4 ,the man who ploughs the fields and fells the forests2 the man who works in mines1 the man who battles with the winds and waves out on the wide sea1 controlling the commerce of the world2 these men are worshippers4 ,the man who goes into the forest1 leading his wife by the hand1 who builds him a cabin1 who makes a home in the wilderness1 who helps to people and civilize and cultivate a continent1 is a worshipper4 ,labor is the only prayer that ,nature answers2 it is the only prayer that deserves an answer1--good1 honest1 noble work4 ,a woman whose husband has gone down to the gutter1 gone down to degradation and filth2 the woman who follows him and lifts him out of the mire and presses him to her noble heart1 until he becomes a man once more1 this woman is a worshipper4 ,her act is worship4 ,the poor man and the poor woman who work night and day1 in order that they may give education to their children1 so that they may have a better life than their father and mother had2 the parents who deny themselves the comforts of life1 that they may lay up something to help their children to a higher place--they are worshippers2 and the children who1 after they reap the benefit of this worship1 become ashamed of their parents1 are blasphemers4 ,the man who sits by the bed of his invalid wife1--a wife prematurely old and gray1--the husband who sits by her bed and holds her thin1 wan hand in his as lovingly1 and kisses it as rapturously1 as passionately1 as when it was dimpled1--that is worship2 that man is a worshipper2 that is real religion4 ,whoever increases the sum of human joy1 is a worshipper4 ,he who adds to the sum of human misery1 is a blasphemer4 ,gentlemen1 you can never make me believe--no statute can ever convince me1 that there is any infinite being in this universe who hates an honest man4 ,it is impossible to satisfy me that there is any ,god1 or can be any ,god1 who holds in abhorrence a soul that has the courage to express its thought4 ,neither can the whole world convince me that any man should be punished1 either in this world or the next1 for being candid with his fellow-men4 ,if you send men to the penitentiary for speaking their thoughts1 for endeavoring to enlighten their fellows1 then the penitentiary will become a place of honor1 and the victim will step from it--not stained1 not disgraced1 but clad in robes of glory4 ,let us take one more step4 ,what is holy8 ,what is sacred8 ,i reply that human happiness is holy1 human rights are holy4 ,the body and soul of man--these are sacred4 ,the liberty of man is of far more importance than any book--the rights of man1 more sacred than any religion--than any ,scriptures1 whether inspired or not4 ,what we want is the truth1 and does any one suppose that all of the truth is confined in one book--that the mysteries of the whole world are explained by one volume8 ,all that is--all that conveys information to man--all that has been produced by the past--all that now exists--should be considered by an intelligent man4 ,all the known truths of this world--all the philosophy1 all the poems1 all the pictures1 all the statues1 all the entrancing music--the prattle of babes1 the lullaby of mothers1 the words of honest men1 the trumpet calls to duty--all these make up the bible of the world--everything that is noble and true and free1 you will find in this great book4 ,if we wish to be true to ourselves1--if we wish to benefit our fellow men--if we wish to live honorable lives--we will give to every other human being every right that we claim for ourselves4 ,there is another thing that should be remembered by you4 ,you are the judges of the law1 as well as the judges of the facts4 ,in a case like this1 you are the final judges as to what the law is2 and if you acquit1 no ,court can reverse your verdict4 ,to prevent the least misconception1 let me state to you again what ,i claim3 ,first4 ,i claim that the ,constitution of ,new ,jersey declares that3 ,the liberty of speech shall not be abridged4 ,second4 ,that this statute1 under which this indictment is found1 is unconstitutional1 because it does abridge the liberty of speech2 it does exactly that which the ,constitution emphatically says shall not be done4 ,third4 ,i claim1 also1 that under this law--even if it be constitutional--the words charged in this indictment do not amount to blasphemy1 read even in the light1 or rather in the darkness1 of this statute4 ,do not1 ,i pray you1 forget this point4 ,do not forget that1 no matter what the ,court may tell you about the law--how good it is1 or how bad it is--no matter what the ,court may instruct you on that subject--do not forget one thing1 and that is3 that the words charged in the indictment are the only words that you can take into consideration in this case4 ,remember that1 no matter what else may be in the pamphlet--no matter what pictures or cartoons there may be of the gentlemen in ,boonton who mobbed this man in the name of universal liberty and love--do not forget that you have no right to take one word into account except the exact words set out in this indictment--that is to say1 the words that ,i have read to you4 ,upon this point the ,court will instruct you that you have nothing to do with any other line in that pamphlet2 and ,i now claim1 that should the ,court instruct you that the statute is constitutional1 still ,i insist that the words set put in this indictment do not amount to blasphemy4 ,there is still another point4 ,this statute says3 whoever shall wilfully speak against4 ,now1 in this case1 you must find that the defendant wilfully did so and so--that is to say1 that he made the statements attributed to him knowing that they were not true4 ,if you believe that he was honest in what he said1 then this statute does not touch him4 ,even under this statute1 a man may give his honest opinion4 ,certainly1 there is no law that charges a man with wilfully being honest--wilfully telling his real opinion--wilfully giving to his fellow-men his thought4 ,where a man is charged with larceny1 the indictment must set out that he took the goods or the property with the intention to steal--with what the law calls the animus furandi4 ,if he took the goods with the intention to steal1 then he is a thief2 but if he took the goods believing them to be his own1 then he is guilty of no offence4 ,so in this case1 whatever was said by the defendant must have been wilfully said4 ,and ,i claim that if you believe that what the man said was honestly said1 you cannot find him guilty under this statute4 ,one more point3 ,this statute has been allowed to slumber so long1 that no man had the right to awaken it ,for more than one hundred years it has slept2 and so far as ,new ,jersey is concerned1 it has been sound asleep since #affd4 ,for the first time it is dug out of its grave4 ,the breath of life is sought to be breathed into it1 to the end that some people may wreak their vengeance on an honest man4 ,is there any evidence--has there been any--to show that the defendant was not absolutely candid in the expression of his opinions8 ,is there one particle of evidence tending to show that he is not a perfectly honest and sincere man8 ,did the prosecution have the courage to attack his reputation8 ,no4 ,the ,state has simply proved to you that he circulated that pamphlet--that is all4 ,it was claimed1 among other things1 that the defendant circulated this pamphlet among children4 ,there was no such evidence--not the slightest4 ,the only evidence about schools1 or school-children was1 that when the defendant talked with the bill poster1--whose business the defendant was interfering with1--he asked him something about the population of the town1 and about the schools4 ,but according to the evidence1 and as a matter of fact1 not a solitary pamphlet was ever given to any child1 or to any youth4 ,according to the testimony1 the defendant went into two or three stores1--laid the pamphlets on a show case1 or threw them upon a desk--put them upon a stand where papers were sold1 and in one instance handed a pamphlet to a man4 ,that is all4 ,in my judgment1 however1 there would have been no harm in giving this pamphlet to every citizen of your place4 ,again ,i say1 that a law that has been allowed to sleep for all these years--allowed to sleep by reason of the good sense and by reason of the tolerant spirit of the ,state of ,new ,jersey1 should not be allowed to leap into life because a few are intolerant1 or because a few lacked good sense and judgment4 ,this snake should not be warmed into vicious life by the blood of anger4 ,probably not a man on this jury agrees with me about the subject of religion4 ,probably not a member of this jury thinks that ,i am right in the opinions that ,i have entertained and have so often expressed4 ,most of you belong to some ,church1 and ,i presume that those who do1 have the good of what they call ,christianity at heart4 ,there may be among you some ,methodists4 ,if so1 they have read the history of their ,church1 and they know that when it was in the minority1 it was persecuted1 and they know that they can not read the history of that persecution without becoming indignant4 ,they know that the early ,methodists were denounced as heretics1 as ranters1 as ignorant pretenders4 ,there are also on this jury ,catholics1 and they know that there is a tendency in many parts of this country to persecute a man now because he is a ,catholic4 ,they also know that their ,church has persecuted in times past1 whenever and wherever it had the power2 and they know that ,protestants1 when in power1 have always persecuted ,catholics2 and they know1 in their hearts1 that all persecution1 whether in the name of law1 or religion1 is monstrous1 savage1 and fiendish4 ,i presume that each one of you has the good of what you call ,christianity at heart4 ,if you have1 ,i beg of you to acquit this man4 ,if you believe ,christianity to be a good1 it never can do any ,church any good to put a man in jail for the expression of opinion4 ,any church that imprisons a man because he has used an argument against its creed1 will simply convince the world that it cannot answer the argument4 ,christianity will never reap any honor1 will never reap any profit1 from persecution4 ,it is a poor1 cowardly1 dastardly way of answering arguments4 ,no gentleman will do it--no civilized man ever did do it--no decent human being ever did1 or ever will4 ,i take it for granted that you have a certain regard1 a certain affection1 for the ,state in which you live--that you take a pride in the ,commonwealth of ,new ,jersey4 ,if you do1 ,i beg of you to keep the record of your ,state clean4 ,allow no verdict to be recorded against the freedom of speech4 ,at present there is not to be found on the records of any inferior ,court1 or on those of the ,supreme tribunal--any case in which a man has been punished for speaking his sentiments4 ,the records have not been stained--have not been polluted1--with such a verdict4 ,keep such a verdict from the ,reports of your ,state--from the ,records of your ,courts4 ,no jury has yet1 in the ,state of ,new ,jersey1 decided that the lips of honest men are not free--that there is a manacle upon the brain4 ,for the sake of your ,state--for the sake of her reputation through the world--for your own sakes--for the sake of your children1 and their children yet to be--say to the world that ,new ,jersey shares in the spirit of this age1--that ,new ,jersey is not a survival of the ,dark ,ages1--that ,new ,jersey does not still regard the thumb-screw as an instrument of progress1--that ,new ,jersey needs no dungeon to answer the arguments of a free man1 and does not send to the penitentiary men who think1 and men who speak4 ,say to the world1 that where arguments are without foundation1 ,new ,jersey has confidence enough in the brains of her people to feel that such arguments can be refuted by reason4 ,for the sake of your ,state1 acquit this man4 ,for the sake of something of far more value to this world than ,new ,jersey--for the sake of something of more importance to mankind than this continent--for the sake of ,human ,liberty1 for the sake of ,free ,speech1 acquit this man4 ,what light is to the eyes1 what love is to the heart1 ,liberty is to the soul of man4 ,without it1 there come suffocation1 degradation and death4 ,in the name of ,liberty1 ,i implore--and not only so1 but ,i insist--that you shall find a verdict in favor of this defendant4 ,do not do the slightest thing to stay the march of human progress4 ,do not carry us back1 even for a moment1 to the darkness of that cruel night that good men hoped had passed away forever4 ,liberty is the condition of progress4 ,without ,liberty1 there remains only barbarism4 ,without ,liberty1 there can be no civilization4 ,if another man has not the right to think1 you have not even the right to think that he thinks wrong4 ,if every man has not the right to think1 the people of ,new ,jersey had no right to make a statute1 or to adopt a ,constitution--no jury has the right to render a verdict1 and no ,court to pass its sentence4 ,in other words1 without liberty of thought1 no human being has the right to form a judgment4 ,it is impossible that there should be such a thing as real religion1 without liberty4 ,without liberty there can be no such thing as conscience1 no such word as justice4 ,all human actions--all good1 all bad--have for a foundation the idea of human liberty1 and without ,liberty there can be no vice1 and there can be no virtue4 ,without ,liberty there can be no worship1 no blasphemy--no love1 no hatred1 no justice1 no progress4 ,take the word ,liberty from human speech and all the other words become poor1 withered1 meaningless sounds--but with that word realized--with that word understood1 the world becomes a paradise4 ,understand me4 ,i am not blaming the people4 ,i am not blaming the prosecution1 nor the prosecuting attorney4 ,the officers of the ,court are simply doing what they feel to be their duty4 ,they did not find the indictment ,that was found by the grand jury4 ,the grand jury did not find the indictment of its own motion4 ,certain people came before the grand jury and made their complaint--gave their testimony1 and upon that testimony1 under this statute1 the indictment was found4 ,while ,i do not blame these people--they not being on trial--,i do ask you to stand on the side of right4 ,i cannot conceive of much greater happiness than to discharge a public duty1 than to be absolutely true to conscience1 true to judgment1 no matter what authority may say1 no matter what public opinion may demand4 ,a man who stands by the right against the world cannot help applauding himself1 and saying3 ,i am an honest man4 ,i want your verdict--a verdict born of manhood1 of courage2 and ,i want to send a dispatch to-day to a woman who is lying sick4 ,i wish you to furnish the words of this dispatch--only two words--and these two words will fill an anxious heart with joy4 ,they will fill a soul with light4 ,it is a very short message--only two words--and ,i ask you to furnish them3 ,not guilty4 ,you are expected to do this1 because ,i believe you will be true to your consciences1 true to your best judgment true to the bests interests of the people of ,new ,jersey1 true to the great cause of ,liberty4 ,i sincerely hope that it will never be necessary again1 under the flag of the ,united ,states--that flag for which has been shed the bravest and best blood of the world--under that flag maintained by ,washington1 by ,jefferson1 by ,franklin and by ,lincoln--under that flag in defence of which ,new ,jersey poured out her best and bravest blood--,i hope it will never be necessary again for a man to stand before a jury and plead for the ,liberty of ,speech4