,,natural ,,man    ,by ,arthur ,b4 ,moss
    ,,price ,,one ,,penny4    ,,london3 
,,the ,,progressive ,,publishing        
,,company1    #bh ,stonecutter ,street4 
#ahhd4          ,,natural ,,man         
,concerning the when and how of the     
origin of man nothing positive  is      
known4 ,genesis states that god made    
man1 but as the greatest  intellects of 
modern times doubt the existence of     
deity1 a ready  acceptance of the       
,mosaic account of the creation of the  
haman species  can only take place among
 those who are not well qualified to    
weigh  evidence1 balance probabilities1 
and appraise the evidence of rival      
theories4    ,the researches of men of  
science lead us to the belief that the  
authors of the first and second chapters
 of ,genesis were mistaken4 ,they       
formulated a theory and imagined it to  
be a fact4    ,darwin1 ,haeckel1        
,huxley1 and other eminent scientists1  
dispute  altogether the theory that man 
was created perfect1 and in their works 

have proved to demonstration that the   
beings called men have evolved  from    
lower organisms2 that they have the same
 anatomical structure as  the           
,catarrhini apes2 that there is a       
distinct blood-relationship between     
them1 and that they have both had a     
common parentage4    ,to establish the  
truth of the evolution theory1 it is    
enough to look  fairly at the facts of  
nature2 to observe man under various    
aspects2  to consider him in barbaric   
times1 or in countries where he is not  
yet  civilised2 to see him in a nude    
condition1 with nothing to cover him but
  a mass of hair which nature provides2 
to watch him in his struggle for  life  
with his enemies1 the destructive lower 
animals and his fellow men1  and to find
 in the course of years that a higher   
form of man has evolved  out of this    
barbaric creature4    ,the evolution    
theory accounts for the facts as they   
are observed in  life--facts which upon 
any other theory are quite inexplicable4

 ,and it  must not be supposed that     
because the theory does not give a      
complete  explanation to all the        
phenomena that it therefore is not      
reliable4  ,haeckel says 7,pedigree of  
,man1 p4 #cf73 ,if we can only prove the
  general truth of the ,darwinian       
theory1 our idea of the origin of man   
from lower vertebrata follows of        
necessity1 and we are not obliged to    
give a special proof as to this latter  
view if the general proposition  is well
 established4 ,that the general         
proposition is well established is  now 
admitted by the most enlightened of the 
opponents of ,darwinism4 ,what  is      
called the evolution theory is generally
 acknowledged to be removed  from the   
region of hypothesis to that of fact4   
,but it is not my purpose further to    
pursue the subject of man's origin1     
which1 while it is confessedly a most   
interesting question1 is one upon  which
 no man who is not a skilled scientist  
can write or speak with  authority4 ,i  

can only deal with probabilities4       
,nobody1 so far as we  know1 was present
 to witness the first man spring into   
existence4  ,indeed1 we do not know that
 there was a first man6 ,and if there   
was a  first1 it does not follow that he
 was conscious of being made1 or when   
he was completed that he had the        
pleasure of seeing his maker1 who told  
him how it was done4 ,or1 on the other  
hand1 if he were evolved from  some     
lower creature it does not follow that  
he was conscious of the  evolution4 ,but
 at least we can be sure that history   
speaks with no  uncertain sound         
concerning man's progress in the world  
and the means by  which it was achieved4
 ,as a civilised creature man is not    
many centuries  old4 ,even now we find  
many savage races existing on the earth1
 and in  type so low in the scale are   
they that they more nearly resemble the 
brute beasts1 both in intellect and in  
physique1 than the higher forms  of men4
 ,now if we would study the progress of 

the human race to any  advantage1 we    
must study it apart from all prejudice1 
and not allow  religious or             
superstitious notions concerning the    
superiority of one  class of people to  
warp our minds and prevent us from      
understanding the  important part played
 by savage peoples in the battle of     
life4 ,for it  must always be remembered
 that man's history is one of fearful   
warfare1  not only between men and men1 
but between man and the lower animals4  
,it is no flight of the imagination to  
say that there exist the clearest       
proofs that man many ages ago lived in  
holes in the earth1 and went  in        
constant fear of animals who sought him 
as their prey4 ,sometimes  he would have
 to scramble up trees to elude the      
vigilance of these  sagacious beasts2   
sometimes the tree would form no place  
of safety1 and  he would have to run for
 dear life or become a living sacrifice 
to these  savage beings4    ,in the     
course of time man learnt how to keep   

himself warm1 while the  beasts of the  
field perished from cold or parched with
 thirst and  famished with hunger1 sunk 
and died2 he learnt how to huddle       
himself  up close to a fire in his      
mud-hut1 out of all danger from the     
enemy4 ,in  addition to this he learnt  
how to speak1 to communicate his        
thoughts to  his fellows4 ,these were   
great steps in advance4 ,man was still  
in a nude  condition4 ,but now he began 
to form a theory as to the cause of the 
phnomena of the universe4 ,he began to  
establish the reign of the gods4  ,all  
his gods1 naturally enough1 at first    
were fetishes4 ,those animals  which he 
considered superior to himself he       
elected as special objects of  worship4 
,as soon as he found that these were not
 superior1 but inferior1  to himself1 he
 began to make gods after his own image4
    ,out of small tribes in course of   
ages grew great nations4 ,men could now 
manufacture weapons of destruction with 
which they could procure food  and      

destroy their enemies2 thus little by   
little were built up the  nations of the
 earth4 ,all advance1 all progress      
towards civilisation  made by primitive 
man was made by opposing with all his   
strength and  skill the destructive     
forces of nature1 and by strenuous      
attempts at  improving upon human nature
 itself4 ,was man then inherently       
depraved and  prone to evil continually8
 ,not so4 ,the germs of evil and good   
were alike  sown in his nature2 and if  
either of these was developed by        
favorable  circumstances an evil or a   
good result followed of necessity4 ,that
  man was not depraved by nature is seen
 by the fact that in the general        
evolution of things1 instead of growing 
worse he has continued to  improve--from
 the low1 brutal and immoral creature of
 the past1 to the  purer1 loftier1      
nobler being--the highest that can be   
found to-day4    ,in his natural state1 
it is true1 man was a wicked being4 ,he 
had no  intuitive knowledge of right and

 wrong4 ,he had to perform an act1 and  
he  was never sure until he felt the    
results whether it was good or bad4 ,in 
his natural state he was dirty1         
untruthful1 unjust4 ,no god came to tell
  him that cleanliness was next to      
godliness2 nor admonish him to be       
truthful and just in all his dealings4  
,he was left alone to use his own       
unaided intelligence as best he might4  
,to test the truth of these assertions  
one has only to turn to savage  races   
existing to-day4 ,it will be found on   
investigation that not only  are they   
unclean in their habits and destitute of
 any idea of justice1  but for the most 
part they are unblushing liars and      
ingenious thieves4    ,all the          
characteristics in human nature that are
 called virtues are  purely of          
artificial growth1 and result from man's
 cultivation of his  better self2 or1 in
 other words1 from his improvement upon 
nature's  spontaneous course of action4 
,in support of this view ,i may here    

quote ,j4 ,s4 ,mill1 who says 7,essay on
  ,nature1 p4 #dh73 ,children and the   
lower classes of most countries seem  to
 be actually fond of dirt3 the vast     
majority of the human race are          
indifferent to it3 whole nations of     
otherwise civilised and cultivated      
human beings tolerate it in some of its 
worst forms1 and only a very  small     
minority are consistently offended by   
it4 ,indeed1 the universal  law of the  
subject appears to be that uncleanliness
 offends only those  to whom it is      
unfamiliar1 so that those who have lived
 in so artificial  a state as to be     
unused to it in any form1 are the sole  
persons whom  it disgusts in all forms4 
,of all virtues this is the most        
evidently not  instinctive1 but a       
triumph over instinct4 ,assuredly       
neither cleanliness  nor the love of    
cleanliness is natural to man1 but only 
the capacity of  acquiring a love of    
cleanliness4 ,on page #eg the same      
writer declares  that ,savages are      

always liars4 ,they have not the        
faintest notion of  truth as a virtue4  
,having then all these bad qualities of 
nature1 how is it that man has  been    
able to put them into subjection and    
advance along the road to  civilisation 
even at the pace that we have seen8     
,such advance has been  wholly dependent
 upon the energy and skill with which he
 has opposed the  destructive forces of 
nature1 using one law to counteract     
another1 and  upon the determination    
with which he has striven to improve    
upon human  nature itself4    ,for      
centuries man groped about in the dark4 
,nature was deaf to his  appeals and    
blind to his sufferings1 and her daily  
performances  frightened and bewildered 
him4 ,and yet he did his best to        
ascertain the  causes of the phnomena of
 the universe4 ,but his best guesses    
were wide  of the mark4 ,outside of     
nature he sought for explanation4 ,he   
thought he  had scaled nature's heights 
and fathomed her debts when he had      

merely  gazed a few miles into the vast 
expanse of space above2 and when  the   
most learned among them declared that   
god was the author of the  universe1 a  
great theological enterprise commenced4 
,every nation started  a god on its own 
account1 and if one proved to be        
insufficient1 a few  more were easily   
drafted in1 with a devil to keep them   
company4    ,these gods and devils1     
which were material or spiritual1       
according  as occasion required1 were   
hereafter put forward as explanations of
  nature's workings4 ,and the people    
believed in them4 ,how could they  do   
otherwise8 ,their credulity was         
perfectly natural4 ,they could not      
investigate2 all their faculties were   
untrained4 ,even the most learned  among
 them were superlatively ignorant2      
incapable by virtue of an  untrained    
mind of accurately perceiving1          
recording1 remembering1 or  judging of  
nature's manifold manifestations4       
,and so the theologian had a good time  

of it4 ,he believed thoroughly in  his  
own pretensions2 believed that he       
possessed the key which opened the  door
 of all mysteries2 that he was a        
god-appointed teacher of men2 and  in   
all the countries of the world he was   
looked upon as second only in           
importance to the gods themselves4      
,but all this time the people were      
anxious to know not only what sort of   
deity it was they worshipped1 but what  
kind of action would be likely  to win  
his favor4 ,they were told that god was 
a jealous being1 and that  their first  
duty was obedience to his will4 ,they   
believed it4    ,when1 therefore1 they  
were instructed to slaughter their      
neighbors who  worshipped a different   
deity1 they went to the task with all   
the ardor  of their nature1 imagining in
 their ignorance that the more brutally 
they executed the deity's will1 the more
 pleasantly would he smile upon  them4  
,the ,jews killed the ,midianites1 the  
,amalakites1 the ,baalites1 and  all    

other peoples they were capable of      
mastering who despised their god4       
,later1 the ,mahommedans with equal     
mercilessness followed the example  of  
their ,jewish brethren4 ,later still1   
the ,christians persecuted and  murdered
 many who stubbornly refused to         
acknowledge that ,jesus was the         
,christ2 and each nation could not only 
refer the deed back to the priest  from 
whom the wicked instructions came1 but  
the priest in his turn  could point to  
the passage in his sacred book          
distinctly commanding or  sanctioning   
such barbarities4 ,the ,bible contained 
instructions for the  ,jews not only to 
kill unbelieving people of other        
nations1 but minute  details were given 
as to how believers of their own kith   
and kin should  be put to death         
7,leviticus xxiv41 #af74    ,the ,koran 
was equally explicit in its directions  
to murder the infidels  7chapter on the 
,cow1 p4 #bc72 and the ,new ,testament1 
which the  ,christians accepted as a    

guide1 not only bade the believer have  
no  fellowship with unbelievers1 but    
into whatever city they went1 and the   
people were indisposed to give heed to  
their preachings1 they were to  shake   
off the dust of their feet1 and god     
would make it warmer for  such people in
 the next world than for ordinary       
sinners4 ,nay more3 the  ,christian     
could point to the strong declaration of
 ,jesus3 ,but those  mine enemies who   
would not that ,i should reign over     
them1 bring hither  and slay before me  
7,luke xix41 #bg74    ,the people were  
told that angels existed4 ,they believed
 it4    ,they were told that witches    
were displeasing to the sight of ,god2  
that  he had given instructions that    
they were not to be suffered to live4   
,they believed it2 and did their best to
 remove the witches from the face  of   
the earth4    ,they were told that their
 ,god liked nothing so much as roast    
lamb4 ,they  believed it4 ,and when they
 couldn't spare a lamb1 they thought it 

would  be pleasant at least for their   
deity to smell the flavor of it4        
,they were told that ,god was the father
 of all men2 that he was just and  good2
 but that he liked some nations better  
than others2 and considered  some men   
fit only to be the slaves of others4    
,they believed it4    ,they were told   
that ,god made man4 ,they believed it4  
,they were told that he made all other  
animals for man's pleasure and          
assistance4 ,they believed it4    ,they 
were told that he made the sun and the  
stars to give light to the  earth4 ,they
 believed it4    ,they were told that he
 made the earth4 ,they believed it4     
,that it was  flat1 and they were flats 
enough to believe that also4    ,but    
they were not told who made ,god2 what  
intelligent mind designed him  before he
 was made2 who made the intelligent mind
 that designed the ,god  that made the  
world out of nothing4 ,these matters    
were allowed to remain  impenetrable    
mysteries4    ,in course of time        

morality improved4 ,the would-be        
murderer found that  there were men in  
the nation who could defend themselves  
against all  assaults of the enemy2 and 
that the only way to be secure from     
attack  was to promise not to be the    
aggressive party4    ,and the thief     
found that if he stole others would     
steal from him2 that  only by being     
honest could he hope to have his own    
property protected4    ,though very     
early in the progress of man laws had   
been made against  murder and theft1 it 
was not until men saw that their own    
life and  property were at stake1 and   
that unless they were peaceful and      
honest  themselves they ran a risk of   
losing all they had1 that anything      
approaching harmony existed among the   
people of the nations that were on  the 
high road to civilisation4    ,among    
savage races1 murder1 theft and other   
crimes are almost as rife  as ever2 and 
it is only when barbarous races come in 
contact with  races higher up the scale 

of life that their morality manifests   
rapid  improvement4    ,scepticism is   
the sign of a healthy mind4 ,doubt and  
unbelief invariably  arise as the result
 of earnest inquiry and vigorous        
thought4 ,except  among the             
philosophical ,greeks and cultured      
,romans1 doubts concerning  the truth of
 theology were not openly expressed1    
even by the few1 until  many centuries  
after the ,christian era began4    ,of  
course1 among the early ,christians     
there were many who doubted2 some  who  
denied the divinity of ,jesus2 many who 
questioned the truth of the             
resurrection2 among the ,brahmins and   
,buddhists1 many who were sceptical  on 
dogmatic points of their faith4 ,but it 
was not until the middle of  the        
sixteenth century that we find men      
questioning the pretensions of          
theologians1 and exposing with admirable
 fearlessness and candor the  errors of 
theology4    ,martin ,luther early in   
the sixteenth century boldly questioned 

the  dogmas of the ,romish ,church4 ,he 
was ably supported by ,philip           
,melancthon1  but these reformers1      
although fighting bravely for the right 
of  ,freethought1 were fearful lest     
others in the exercise of this freedom  
should go further than they did4 ,bruno1
 ,telesio1 ,campanella and ,vanini  are 
among the first mentioned in history who
 courageously declared their  disbelief 
in the prevailing theology4    ,bruno   
was a ,pantheist4 ,he denied that ,god  
was a person1 and declared  that he was 
an essence4 ,he affirmed that matter was
 indestructible2  that nature produced  
all phnomena as the fruit of her own    
womb4  ,he believed in the plurality of 
worlds1 and denied the teachings of     
,aristotle4 ,telesio and ,campanella    
held much the same belief4    ,vanini   
was an ,atheist4 ,for their heresies    
,telesio and ,oampanella were           
imprisoned2 ,bruno and ,vanini both died
 at the stake4 ,no doubt there were     
many others who entertained doubts      

similar to those expressed by these     
noble philosophers2 but when they found 
that their scepticism would be  burnt   
out of them if they expressed it1 they  
doubtlessly came to the  conclusion that
 they had better keep it to themselves  
until men were  more prepared for the   
reception of it4 ,and probably the time 
would never  have come had it not been  
for the heroism of a ,bruno1 the        
defiance of  a ,vanini1 and the         
persistent teaching of other less known 
,freethought  worthies4    ,galileo the 
astronomer must also be numbered among  
the sceptics4 ,he  denied that the earth
 was the centre of the universe1 and in 
opposition  to such teaching declared   
that it moved round the sun4 ,for making
 known  this now well-established fact  
the great astronomer was imprisoned1    
and a short interval allowed for him to 
recant or die the death of an  infidel4 
,he was an old man1 and life was sweet4 
,he elected to live4  ,he had sown the  
seeds of doubt concerning the ,church's 

teaching of  astronomy--he left it to   
blossom in its own good time4    ,in    
,europe periodical efforts had been made
 to improve the social and  domestic    
life of the people4 ,feudalism having   
developed to its highest  point1        
decayed1 and upon its ruins were        
established strong monarchies1  which   
vied with each other in voluptuousness  
and wickedness4 ,but if the  nation     
showed any signs of going forward in the
 march of progress1 there  was always   
one chain at least to drag them         
hopelessly back again4  ,this was the   
,romish ,church with1 its slavish       
theology and horrible  corruption4      
,for centuries the popes at intervals   
had embroiled ,italy4 ,sometimes        
several popes ruled at once1 and        
sometimes the ,catholic ,church had no  
pope at all4 ,to unite and maintain1 the
 temporal and spiritual power  in their 
own persons was ever the ruling passion 
of the ,catholic  potentates2 and for   
this they have spilt rivers of human    

blood4  ,under their absolute power the 
,church and its vices has grown up for  
centuries4 ,rooted into the heart of    
society the people had learnt to  revere
 the ancient institution4 ,their        
imaginations were captivated by  its    
showy services2 its priesthood had the  
keeping of their consciences2  was their
 only means of access to heaven2 gave   
consolation in sickness2  married1      
buried1 and sent them to paradise4 ,its 
superstitions and  centuries of cruelty 
had as yet only increased its power4    
,europe was  filled with its images of  
saints and martyrs1 real or counterfeit1
 and  the people were instructed to fall
 down and worship them4 ,dead saints    
were made the medium of access to the   
deity2 the services of religion  were   
muttered in dead languages2 priests were
 decked in dazzling  garments2 wax      
candles burnt in the churches at        
noonday2 vessels of  gold and silver    
stood on the altars2 preaching had      
become rare1 and had  degenerated into  

frivolous talking2 monks who lived a    
life of ease or  idleness1 and often of 
vice1 were scattered in multitudes      
throughout  every nation of             
,christendom2 and in order to prevent   
inquiry and crush  opposition1 the      
,inquisition was established and the    
fire of persecution  lit4 ,pope         
,alexander ,,vi41 a man of unusual      
depravity1 burnt ,savonarola  for       
preaching reform in the ,church4 ,in    
short1 a frightful spiritual  despotism1
 such as ,europe had never seen before1 
held the human mind in  abject bondage  
7,dr4 ,bollock's ,history of ,modern    
,europe1 p4 #bc74    ,after the         
,reformation the disputes between       
,christians1 regarding  the doctrines of
 the ,protestant as well as the         
,catholic ,church1 were  numerous and   
exceedingly bitter4 ,but the masses of  
the people having to  work hard for a   
small pittance and little leisure1 took 
comparatively  small notice of these    
theological disputes1 and applied       

themselves  with commendable zeal to    
more useful labor than watching the     
wretched  encounters of fanatical       
religionists4    ,the printing-press    
having now got into working order1 began
 to disturb  the peace of mind of the   
clergy and others in authority4 ,every  
shot from  the armory of intelligence   
shook to their foundation the dogmas of 
the  ,church4 ,the people continued to  
work4 ,scientific men1 too1 continued   
their labors quietly4    ,columbus      
discovered ,america1 and frightened     
credulous believers in the  flatness of 
the earth out of all the wits they ever 
had4    ,descartes in ,france1 ,spinoza 
in ,holland1 formulated a philosophy    
that  knocked the anthropomorphic deity 
of the ,christians quite off his        
pedestal2 it was done1 however1 in such 
a learned manner that the common  people
 heard scarcely anything about it4      
,these continued the useful labors of   
the world4 ,they tilled the soil2  they 
bred cattle2 they erected magnificent   

houses for the rich and small  hovels   
for the poor2 they made gaudy raiment   
wherewith to bedeck the  persons of     
kings and priests1 and plain dresses as 
a covering for the  common people4      
,periodically1 their progress was       
thwarted by being  called upon to fight 
religious wars for the priests1 and wars
 for the  glorification or vanity of    
kings4 ,running rapidly over the pages  
of  history one important fact stands   
prominently out4 ,it is this1 that  as  
soon as the nations were at peace1 for  
however short a while1 the  sceptics    
appeared again1 and with the growing    
intelligence of the  people1 spoke in   
language of unmistakeable plainness     
about religion4    ,thomas ,paine       
directed his powerful intellect against 
the upas tree2  ,voltaire's wit went    
like a javelin to its core2 while       
,mirabaud and  ,d',holbach tore off the 
mask and left theology's errors exposed 
in all  their glaring hideousness4 ,and 
now the dawn of a new era for           

,freethought  began to appear4    ,the  
clergy maligned great sceptics1 but     
scepticism increased  notwithstanding4  
,heretical works were condemned and the 
authors  imprisoned2 but the seeds of   
doubt having been widely sown1 nothing  
short of the wholesale destruction of   
persons suspected of entertaining  these
 doubts was likely to prove effectual in
 the extirpation of them4    ,from this 
point rapid progress towards the higher 
civilisation was made  in all countries 
in ,europe where the people were bold   
enough to  free themselves from the     
dogmatism of the priests1 read the works
  of scientific men1 take advantage of  
every new discovery1 interest           
themselves in the political and social  
movements of the country4 ,in  short1   
man advanced in proportion as he devoted
 himself to the work of  the world1 and 
left the next world and all opinions in 
regard to it to  take care of           
themselves4    ,so far we have seen the 
progress of man has been won by a       

vigorous  struggling against the harmful
 forces of nature4 ,in truth1 nature has
  been a very useful servant to those   
who understand her1 but a harsh and     
brutal master to those who were ignorant
 of her ways4 ,she is not1 nor  ever has
 been1 worthy of worship4 ,she destroys 
every being that lives  once1 and       
sometimes by the most painful process it
 is possible to  conceive4 ,how many    
thousands she has starved with hunger1  
frozen with  cold1 poisoned1 drowned1 or
 swept away by earthquakes or other     
frightful  calamities1 mankind will     
never know4 ,all we can know is that    
thousands  have been thus sacrificed1   
and that in proportion as man used one  
force  of nature to counteract the      
effect of another he has advanced4      
,when the sceptical man had a chance of 
life1 his advance towards  civilisation 
was rapid4 ,the sceptical mind          
investigated2 new discoveries  were     
made2 the printing press increased in   
usefulness and power2 new  forms of     

industry were started1 and a higher     
happiness made possible for  the masses 
of the people4 ,the art of agriculture  
steadily improved2  and the shipping of 
merchandise from one nation to another  
was greatly  facilitated by improved    
skill in navigation4    ,great1 however1
 as were the strides towards            
civilisation in the  seventeenth and    
eighteenth centuries1 they were all     
eclipsed in the  early part of the      
nineteenth century by the utilisation of
 steam-power1  electricity1 and other   
great natural forces1 which had the     
effect of  greatly increasing the       
wealth-producing power of those nations 
that  adopted them4 ,nor was this all2  
for immediately following1 machinery1   
which saved an enormous amount of labor1
 was introduced4 ,food and  clothing    
became cheaper4 ,the people multiplied  
rapidly1 and with this  increase of     
population grew a proportionate demand  
for food and labor4    ,in a short time 
the struggle for existence was          

manifestly keener than it  had ever been
 before2 the rich became richer and     
richer1 while among the  poor the       
tendency was to get poorer and more     
poor4 ,uncomplainingly the  people      
devoted themselves to the labor of each 
day4 ,theology they set  aside for six  
days of the week1 and concerned         
themselves about the gods  on ,sunday4  
,though they did not often say so1 the  
majority of men thought  it was far     
better for them to be diligent workmen1 
performing all  the secular duties of   
daily life--building houses1 making     
clothes1  machinery1 writing books2     
acting the part of good husbands1       
fathers1 or  citizens--than to have the 
most orthodox belief it was possible for
 a  being to entertain4 ,and this       
sentiment grew stronger and stronger1   
and  proved of immense importance to    
mankind4    ,for hundreds of years      
theologians had talked about the        
importance of  saving men's souls2 and  
those who possessed the smallest seemed 

to make  the most fuss about them4 ,but 
now the aspect of things was changed4   
,men  began to talk about looking after 
their bodies2 and some ventured to      
suggest that if they had souls in their 
bodies it would1 perhaps1 be no         
disadvantage to them if their bodies    
were well fed1 well clothed1 and  their 
whole being well trained4    ,necessity 
forced all but a small minority into the
 labor market4 ,and  after years of     
labor the earth was converted from a    
howling wilderness  into a home fit for 
habitation4 ,here let me distinctly     
affirm that all  that is admirable in   
civilised life--the comfort of home1 the
 pleasure  of education1 the fascination
 of the drama1 the beauty of painting or
  sculpture1 the usefulness of          
scientific acquirements--owe their value
 to  the secular labor of mankind4      
,theology deserves no credit in respect 
to these things4 ,theology did not  help
 man to supersede the sailing vessel by 
the steamship1 the old coach  by the    

railroad1 the reaping machine by the    
scythe 7vice versa1 ,,dw71 nor  the     
fastest locomotion by the telegraph     
wires4 ,the theologian did not  discover
 the telephone1 nor did he learn how to 
light--with a brilliancy  previously    
unknown to man--our streets and great   
public buildings by  means of           
electricity4    ,one ,stephenson is     
worth a thousand theologians2 one       
,edison of more  value to the world than
 all the gods that men's imagination    
have ever  pictured4    ,but see what   
additional wonders the secular laborer  
has accomplished4 ,he  has removed      
forests of trees and converted them into
 houses1 the hides  of cattle he turned 
into boots and shoes1 the wool of sheep 
he has  transformed into robes of beauty
 and utility4 ,he has bedecked our      
walls with paintings1 put books upon our
 shelves1 and with sweet music          
gladdened our hearts4 ,to accomplish all
 this he has had to rely solely  upon   
his reason4 ,yet theologians call this  

splendid attribute carnal  reason1 and  
declare that it is no safe guide to man4
 ,it has been man's  only guide2 and    
when he has trusted it he has been more 
often in the  right than otherwise4     
,even his errors have assisted hint in  
future  labors4 ,faith he has had1 but  
it has always been secular faith4       
,experience has been his guide1 science 
a lamp unto his feet4 ,even when  he has
 walked down the wrong path he has done 
so with his eyes open4    ,theological  
faith is sightless4 ,it allures you to  
the brink of a  precipice and           
precipitates you to the earth beneath4  
,it is a ship  without a rudder2 the    
tempestuous waves toss it about         
recklessly1 the  wind drives it savagely
 against the rocks1 and to-day this ship
 called  ,theological ,faith is a dreary
 wreck4    ,but reason grows stronger   
and clearer as the ages roll on4 ,man   
has  discovered that he can trust it2   
that he can use it2 that he can assist  
himself and others by the employment of 

it4 ,in other words1 he can do  his own 
thinking1 reason out his own principles1
 act his own life4 ,he  can be a man4   
,and it is better for an individual to  
be a bad original  than a good copy of  
somebody else4 ,man is civilised to-day4
 ,he has  fought a good fight1 he has   
conquered a foe2 but better than all1 he
 has  converted an enemy into a friend4 
,what is man's future policy8 ,is there 
not still plenty of labor for  him to   
perform8 ,is there not an ocean of      
enigmas yet to be fathomed1 a  gold-mine
 of knowledge yet to be explored8 ,is   
there not poverty to be  remedied1 pain 
to be alleviated1 ignorance to be       
removed8 ,the reformer  has yet         
something to inspire his fervid soul2   
the philanthropist plenty  to touch his 
generous heart4 ,why even now the       
wealthy rogue struts  pompously upon the
 stage of life in grand attire1 and     
fares sumptuously  every day2 while     
honest poverty in rags lies hungry and  
fainting at his  door4 ,even now the    

rich own all the land1 and many poor    
have not where  to lay their head4 ,even
 now all men are not equal in the sight 
of  the law2 and one man gets pensioned 
for work for which another is           
incarcerated in gaol4 ,even now our     
sisters are outraged and turned  adrift 
upon the world to be the playthings of  
vicious men for evermore4  ,even now our
 workhouses are filled with men and     
women who are able to  work for an      
honest living--if they could get it--but
 cannot because  labor is cheap1 and    
there are too many waiting to perform   
it4 ,even now  our gaols are filled with
 society-made criminals1 that education 
and  better circumstances might have    
rescued from a life of misery and crime4
  ,even now youth is stunted and        
starved1 and men and women pine away1   
racked with some terrible disease which 
thoughtless and careless parents  have  
transmitted to them4    ,reformers abate
 not your enthusiasm1 but work bravely  
on4 ,through the  world diffuse the     

glorious light of knowledge1 let men    
learn that all  crime is a mistake1 that
 effects always follow causes1 and that 
a good  effect never follows from a bad 
cause in a nation that is governed on   
the principles of truth and justice4    
,remove poverty by sound advice to the  
poor and by strenuous efforts to        
improve men's surroundings4 ,stay the   
drunkard in his downward course1  and   
assist unceasingly all social and       
political progress4 ,popularity you  may
 never attain2 even praise for your     
unselfish labor may be denied you  while
 you live4 ,but good work must leave its
 influence in the world2  and your      
children's children will assuredly      
profit by it4 ,for as ,carlyle  truly   
says3 ,beautiful it is to see and       
understand that no worth1 or  known or  
unknown1 can die even on this earth4    
,the work an unknown  good man has done 
is like a hidden vein of water flowing  
underground1  secretly making the ground
 green4 ,it flows and flows2 it joins   

itself  with other veins and veinlets1  
and one day it will start forth as a    
visible perennial well4