,,gospel ,,philosophy1    ,,showing     
,,the    ,,absurdities ,,of             
,,infidelity1    ,,and ,,the            
,,harmony ,,of ,,the ,,gospel    ,,with 
,,science ,,and ,,history    99 99 99 99
 99    ,,by ,,elder ,j4 ,h ,,ward    99 
99 99 99 99    ,,illustrated ,,with     
,,numerous ,,engravings1    99 99 99 99 
99    ,salt ,lake ,city1 ,utah3         
,published at the ,juvenile ,instructor 
,office1 #ahhd4        ,entered1        
according to act of ,congress1 in the   
year #ahhd1 by ,j4 ,h4 ,ward1  in the   
office of the ,librarian of ,congress at
 ,washington4    99 99 99 99 99         
,,preface4    ,sectarians generally     
dread meeting a ,mormon ,elder in       
discussion1 for  they well know the     
humiliating defeat which has been the   
result to  their compeers in hundreds of
 instances4    ,but there is another    
class of persons who often bring        
formidable-looking arguments against the
 truths of the gospel4 ,this  class is  
composed frequently of persons of       

considerable learning1  research and    
intelligence4 ,they have long ago become
 disgusted with  the absurdities of     
so-called ,christianity2 and are not    
slow in showing  the disagreement of    
sectarian dogmas with the teachings of  
the ,bible1  or contrasting the ,bible  
with supposed science4 ,in some         
instances1  otherwise valuable          
scientific works are marred by sneers at
 the books  of inspiration4 ,in this age
 of earnest thought and research into   
all  branches of knowledge1 many of     
these works fall into the hands of  the 
young and hence the growth of skepticism
 in the minds of many4  ,many of the    
facts contained in this work have been  
collected from1  and references made to 
larger works not easily accessible to   
the  general reader4 ,a large number of 
the illustrations have been designed    
expressly for this work1 and engraved by
 ,brother ,john ,held1 of ,salt  ,lake  
,city4    ,to gather into a small       
compass the leading arguments of infidel

  writers1 and to refute them by        
well-known facts2 to show the cause  of 
the conflict between science and        
religion2 and to harmonize true  science
 with the teachings of ,god's word1 has 
been the design in  writing this little 
work4 ,that in its perusal the young may
 find their  faith strengthened in the  
principles of the gospel2 thoughtful    
minds  find food for reflection1 and the
 missionary ,elder a valuable book of   
reference1 is the earnest wish of       
,the ,author4    99 99 99 99 99         
,,table ,,of ,,contents     ,,chapter   
#a--;,,absurdities ,,of ,,infidelity    
,,chapter #b--;,,causes ,,of ,,the      
,,supposed ,,conflict ,,between         
,,science ,,and ,,religion   ,,chapter  
#c--;,,fallacies ,,of ,,scientists      
,,chapter #d--;,,did ,,the ,,world      
,,make ,,itself8   ,,chapter #e--,,our  
,,need ,,of ,,revelation   ,,chapter    
#f--,,validity ,,of ,,the ,,new         
,,testament ,,as ,,shown ,,by ,,internal
 ,,evidence   ,,chapter #g--,,new       

,,testament ,,facts ,,corroborated ,,by 
,,secular ,,writers   ,,chapter         
#h--;,,historical ,,glimpses ,,of ,,new 
,,testament ,,times   ,,chapter         
#i--;,,fulfillment ,,of ,,prophecy      
,,chapter #aj--;,,infidel ,,objections  
,,considered   ,,chapter #aa--,,moses   
,,and ,,modern ,,science   ,,chapter    
#ab--;,,harmony ,,of ,,genesis ,,and    
,,geology   ,,chapter #ac--,,scientific 
,,proofs ,,of ,,spiritual ,,life        
,,chapter #ad--;,,faith ,,and           
,,infidelity ,,contrasted    99 99 99 99
 99        ,,index      ,ancient        
,scientists                   #bb1 #afd 
,absurdities of ,spiritualism           
#ai    ,anaesthetics ,discovered        
#ce    ,astronomy not ,exact            
#ci    ,apostles1 their ,character      
#abb1 #abe    ,atmosphere1 ,condition of
 ,early           #agi    ,aurochs not  
yet ,extinct                  #ahh      
,benefits of ,romanism                  
#bc    ,brahminism                      
#af    ,bruno                           

#bi    ,buffon's ,theory of ,creation   
#fe    ,babylon1 ,prophecies ,concerning
       #acf1aci    ,books of ,new       
,testament                    #ig       
,burial ,place in ,catacombs            
#abh    ,bird1 ,earliest yet ,found     
#aif    ,bird-,like ,reptile            
#aia    ,bark from ,coal ,mine          
#ahb      ,catacombs                    
#abg1 #abi    ,calvin's ,bigotry        
#bi1 #ca    ,constantine1 ,character of 
#ic    ,cosmas1 ,philosophy of          
#bg    ,copernicus                      
#bi    ,causes of ,infidelity           
#ce1 #cf    ,carlyle's ,absurdities     
#gg    ,compte's ,absurdities           
#hc    ,chesterfield's ,letters         
#hd    ,coin ,found at ,philippi        
#hi    ,celsus1 ,his ,writings          
#ie    ,crust of the ,earth             
#dc    ,comets                          
#aee1 #aef    ,correspondence of ,paine 
#hd    ,chalk ,magnified                
#aid    ,climate of ,coal ,period       
#ahd1 #aih    ,character of ,heathen    

,gods                 #ha               
,disagreement of ,scientists            
#ac1 #dg    ,dead ,sea                  
#gj    ,dispersion of ,jews             
#aag    ,deluge1 ,scientific ,theory of 
#aed    ,dinornis1 ,skeleton of         
#ahi    ,development of ,species        
#ahh      ,eye1 ,section of ,human      
#eh    ,errors in ,astronomy            
#ci    ,egypt1 ,present ,state of       
#adb    ,errors of ,romanism            
#be1 #bf    ,early ,vegetation          
#ahb    ,extinct ,birds                 
#ahh1 #ahi    ,essential ,conditions of 
,life             #bje      ,fire-,mist1
 ,theory of                      #fd    
,forest of ,coal ,period                
#ahe    ,faculties of the ,mind         
#bjg      ,galileo                      
#cj    ,geology ,uncertain              
#da1 #de    ,giant ,cities of ,bashan   
#gd    ,gibbon's ,testimony             
#ic    ,great ,men ,believers           
#bab      ,humboldt                     
#cc    ,heathen ,philosophy             

#gi    ,heathen ,morals                 
#hj    ,human ,eye                      
#eh    ,heat and ,motion                
#agh1 #agi    ,huxley's ,embryotic      
,theory                #aij             
,illumination of ,st4 ,lawrence         
#agf    ,influence of ,judaism          
#aai      ,jenner's ,discoveries        
#ce    ,juggernaut                      
#hb1 #hc      ,luther's ,superstition   
#cb    ,light1 ,velocity of             
#aef          ,various ,sources of      
#age          ,without ,sunshine        
#afe1 #aff          ,from the ,earth    
#age1 #agf      ,marcion1 the ,apostate 
#if    ,milky ,way                      
#aeg    ,modern ,prophecy               
#adi1 #aej    ,monsters1 ,primeval      
#aih    ,man's ,nervous ,system         
#bjh      ,newman's ,absurdities        
#gg    ,new ,testament ,books           
#ig    ,nature in ,continual ,change    
#afg      ,ocean1 ,primeval             
#agh    ,olbers1 ,theory of             
#fg      ,plesiosaurius                 

#aig    ,protestant ,bigotry            
#cc    ,parker's ,absurdities           
#gg1 #gh    ,plato's ,code of ,laws     
#hj    ,paine1 his ,character and       
,writings         #hd    ,paul1 the     
,apostle                   #ajb1 #abb   
,pliny's ,letters                       
#aji    ,personal ,appearance of the    
,savior        #aaf    ,prophetic       
,symbols                        #acd    
,prophecy ,concerning ,judea            
#add                      ,egypt        
#adb1 #adc                      ,babylon
              #ach    ,protoplasm       
#bjd      ,rosetta ,stone               
#ag    ,revelation ,progressive         
#gb    ,religion of ,india              
#ae1 #hb    ,rings of ,saturn           
#aec1 #aed    ,reptilian ,bird          
#aib      ,servetus ,burned             
#ca    ,spirit ,controls ,protoplasm    
#bje    ,simpson1 ,james ,y4            
#ce    ,section of ,earth's ,crust      
#dc           of ,human ,eye            
#eh    ,solar ,system                   

#ff    ,solomon's ,knowledge            
#gc    ,saturn                          
#aec    ,stars ,variable                
#afg    ,sun ,spots                     
#agc    ,sun ,inhabitable               
#agd    ,sun's ,atmosphere              
#agb    ,spencer's ,philosophy          
#bjf      ,tertulian's ,writings        
#ajd    ,testimony of ,tacitus          
#ajf    ,trajan's ,letter               
#aaa    ,temple of ,belus               
#acg      ,universe1 ,extent of         
#ee1 #aeh    ,uintah ,mountains1        
,section of              #ed            
,worship of ,juggernaut                 
#hb    ,western ,continent ,upheaved    
#aii    99 99 99 99 99        ,,chapter 
,i4    ,,absurdities ,,of ,,infidelity4 
,,the ,,present ,,an ,,earnest          
,,age--,,an ,,earnest ,,religion        
,,required--,,young ,,men  ,,liable ,,to
 ,,skepticism--,,literary               
,,fops--,,scientists ,,do ,,not         
,,agree--,,testimony  ,,of ,,socrates   
,,and ,,plato--,,absurdities ,,of       

,,brahminism--,,attempts ,,of ,,french  
,,infidels--,,rosetta ,,stone-,,modern  
,,spiritualism4    ,the gospel is truly 
a grand system4 ,let us try to entertain
 right views  concerning it4 ,let us    
enlarge our minds to grasp it1 that we  
may1  to some extent at least1 conceive 
its greatness and appreciate its        
beauties4    ,the peculiar wants of the 
age in which we live are worthy of deep 
and  careful consideration4 ,never was  
there a time in the history of the      
race1 when learning and general         
intelligence were so well diffused as   
at the present4 ,the press is throwing  
off continually its millions of  printed
 pages1 which are scattered broadcast as
 the leaves of ,autumn4  ,books on      
almost every conceivable subject can be 
cheaply bought2  and journals1 #aj      
magazines and pamphlets1 both of a good 
and evil  influence1 attract the        
attention of the young4    ,never was   
there a time of more intense activity4  
,who can pass through  the crowded      

streets of our cities1 listen to the    
throbbings of the  steam-engine1 the hum
 of machinery1 the appliances of        
electricity1  gaze at the vast trains   
that are driven with fire and vapor     
along our  railways1 or view those      
magnificent structures that cross the   
mighty  deep1 without feeling that this 
is an earnest age8    ,now1 this        
earnest1 active1 thinking age demands a 
religion that has  life and power in it4
 ,not a religion of cold formality and  
narrow  sectarianism1 but a religion    
that will satisfy the intellect with    
its truths1 touch the heart with its    
love1 sway the will with its            
persuasiveness1 gratify the taste with  
its beauties and fill the  imagination  
with its sublimities4 ,a religion is    
wanted that will  enlist upon its side  
the whole nature of man1 and command his
 willing  and devoted homage2 a religion
 that1 bearing the full impress of its  
,author's image1 shall carry its own    
credentials with it2 and which1  clothed

 with all the elements of truth and     
righteousness1 beauty and  grandeur of  
love and power1 shall be revered by all 
those who love the  truth1 and dreaded  
by all who love it not4    ,this is the 
religion that the gospel reveals4 ,there
 is no antagonism  between philosophy   
and faith1 between science and religion1
 whatever  the seeming oppositions of   
the present2 in reality it is perfect   
harmony4 ,the gospel overwhelms1 nay1   
rather1 includes all philosophy4  #aa   
,in the life of many young men there is 
a period of skepticism4 ,then  the young
 man is extremely liable to doubt4 ,then
 he questions all his  previous         
convictions1 challenges all his accepted
 opinions1 and is  in danger of drifting
 aimlessly on the wide tossing sea of   
unbelief1  the sport of every wind of   
doctrine1 the easy prey of every theory 
conceived by the ingenious brain of man4
    ,at this period his faith in ,god   
and man is liable to be swept away      
through a misconception of the real     

teachings of science1 and the  example  
of those who seek to excuse their wicked
 lives under the  specious plea of      
unbelief4 ,this period of skeptical     
tendency comes  early in life1          
frequently when the young man is in     
college or in the  schools of science1  
when he begins to think and act for     
himself4 ,it  is intelligent1 earnest   
young men of brains and capacity who are
 in  special danger from the skepticism 
of the age4    ,many of these young men 
have been trained in the ,sabbath       
school1 but at  nineteen or twenty a    
change comes over them4 ,they feel the  
strength and  vigor of awakening        
manhood1 and that impatience of         
authority which is  characteristic of   
young men in this formative period of   
life4 ,a young  man hears of men of     
learning who reject religion2 he reads  
now and then  a magazine full of doubts 
and insinuations1 and he begins to feel 
that  all his belief is simply the      
result of his education1 and that under 

other circumstances he might have been a
 ,confucian1 a ,buddhist or a           
,mahometan4 ,perhaps he meets with a    
tolerably educated but skeptical  #ab   
friend1 who tells him in effect that    
religion is a fraud1 that  the ,bible is
 a very good book1 to be sure1 but      
destitute of divine  authority4 ,he     
tells him1 in a word1 that these things 
may do for women  and children to       
believe1 but as for himself1 he has put 
away all such  belief along with his    
childish toys4    ,our young man listens
 to all this flippant nonsense with     
itching ears1  until1 at length1 he     
pretends to believe the world was made  
by chance1  is governed by chance and   
all things that exist are only the      
effects of  chance4    ,but there is a  
comical side to this question1 as well  
as to many  others4 ,prof4 ,agassiz     
wisely observes that1 men frequently    
talk  very learnedly of what they know  
but very little2 and ,i know of  nothing
 more irresistibly ludicrous than to see

 one of these so-called  scientific     
skeptics1 who scarcely knows the        
difference between the leg  of a wasp   
and the horn of a beetle1 and yet will  
assume to patronize  the ,almighty and  
talk about progress and culture as      
though he was the  most remarkable      
prodigy of the age in which he lives4   
,it is enough to disgust an honest man1 
to see some of these literary  fops     
going along with ,darwin's works under  
one arm and a case of  transfixed       
grasshoppers and butterflies under the  
other1 talking  about ,huxley's         
protoplasm and natural selection1 and   
nebular  hypothesis1 and biogensis1 and 
abigensis1 all the while lisping  with  
an exthquithit lithp1 and indicating by 
word1 tone and gesture  that all who    
dissent from their opinions #ac are     
grossly ignorant and  scarcely worthy of
 their notice4    ,but the greatest joke
 is that the scientists which they so   
much admire  do not agree4 ,darwin is   
charging at ,lamarch1 ,walace spearing  

,cope1 and  ,herschel denouncing        
,ferguson4 ,how many colors in a ray of 
sun-light8  ,seven1 says ,newton2 only  
three1 says ,david ,brewster4 ,how high 
above the  earth is the ,aurora         
,borealis1 or ,northern ,light8 ,two and
 a half miles1  says ,prof4 ,lias2 one  
hundred and sixty-five1 says ,prof4     
,tumming4 ,la  ,place says the moon was 
not put in the right place1 it should   
have been  four times as far away2 while
 ,prof4 ,lionville comes up just in time
 and  gives us the wonderful information
 787 that the ,creator was acquainted   
with ,his business and fixed it exactly 
right4    ,how far is the sun from the  
earth8 ,less than a million miles1 says 
,zadkiel2 seventy-six millions of miles1
 says ,la ,caille2 eighty-two  millions1
 says ,humboldt2 ninety millions1 says  
,henderson2 one hundred  and four       
millions1 says ,mayer4 ,only a slight   
difference of one hundred  and three    
millions of miles1 or a good deal       
farther than a person  could travel1 at 

the rate of fifty miles per hour1 during
 the next  two centuries1 if he could   
live that long4 ,and yet1 amidst all    
this  confusion and contradiction1 we   
are coolly asked to give up the words   
of inspiration and hang our hopes of the
 future on the miserable  vagaries of   
self-contradicting philosophers4        
,another very ludicrous as well as      
amusing instance #ad of the folly of    
infidelity is the fact that skeptics    
will catch at almost anything upon      
which to hang their faith4 ,all around  
us1 in every grade of society1  are to  
be found men who will tell us that the  
,vedas and ,shasters of the  ,hindoos   
are far more trustworthy than the       
writings of ,moses1 ,isaiah1  ,paul1    
,nephi or ,joseph4 ,they will tell us   
what sublime philosophers  ,brahma and  
,confucius were1 while1 at the same     
time1 they have never  read a word of   
their doctrines1 or even seen a volume  
of their works4  ,all they know is what 
some other truth-hating infidel has told

 them4    ,but for the sake of argument 
let us glance at some of these wonderful
  writings4 ,socrates1 one of the       
greatest of heathen philosophers1       
admits1 ,we must of necessity wait till 
some one from ,him1 who careth  for us1 
shall come and instruct us how to behave
 toward ,god and toward  man4    ,plato 
declares1 ,we cannot know of ourselves  
what will be pleasing to  ,god2 it is   
necessary that a law-giver should be    
sent from heaven to  instruct us4 ,and  
he further adds1 ,oh1 how greatly do ,i 
long to see  that man6 7,plato's        
,republic1 ,book iv and vi47    ,who has
 not felt sad at the dying words of     
,socrates1 ,i am going out  of the world
 and you are to continue in it1 but     
which of us has the  better part is a   
secret to all but ,god4 ,nor is the     
philosophy of ,india  any better4 ,a few
 years ago1 when1 through the labors of 
,oriental  scholars1 the ,vedas and     
,shasters of the ,hindoos were          
translated and  printed in ,european    

languages1 a great shout went #ae up    
from the army  of infidels4 ,here1 said 
they1 is the true chronology4           
,henceforth the  ,jewish records must   
hide their heads4 ,accordingly the      
,shasters were1  for a time1 in high    
repute among those who knew very little 
about them4    ,now1 when we remember   
that these much-vaunted histories       
profess to  reach back through          
ma-ha-yugs or epochs of #d1cbj1jjj of   
our years1  that a thousand of these    
epochs makes a kalpa or one day of the  
life of ,brahma--the nights being of the
 same duration--and that his  life      
consists of one hundred years of such   
days and nights1 we can  easily see the 
absurdity of these histories4 ,in these 
works are also  the records of the seven
 great continents of the world1         
separated by  seven rivers and seven    
chains of mountains1 four hundred       
thousand miles  high1 and the history of
 the families of their kings1 one of    
whom had  ten thousand sons1 another    

sixty thousand who were born in a       
pumpkin1  nourished in pans of milk1    
reduced to ashes by the curse of a demon
  and restored to life by the waters of 
the ,ganges4 ,these records give        
statements of wonderful eclipses1 comets
 and deluges1 seven of which  covered   
the earth1 not merely to the top of     
these wonderfully high  mountains1 but  
even reaching to the polar star4 ,yet   
infidels have the  assurance to quote   
these as standard works of undoubted    
authority1 and  worthy of the credence  
of intelligent beings4 7,duff's ,india1 
page  #abg47    ,nor are the promises of
 the future life any less absurd than   
the  foregoing4 ,tell me1 said a #af    
wealthy ,hindoo1 who had given all  his 
wealth to the ,brahmins who surrounded  
his dying bed1 that he might  obtain a  
pardon of his sins1 what shall become of
 my soul when ,i  die8 ,the priest      
replied1 ,your soul will go into the    
body of a holy  cow4 ,and after that8 he
 asked again4 ,it will pass into the    

body  of a divine peacock4 ,and after   
that8 ,it will pass into a flower4      
,where1 ,o1 where will it go last of    
all8 cried the dying man4 ,where  will  
it go last of all8 ,ah6 that is the     
question4    ,while ,british infidels   
were admiring the sacred writings of the
  ,hindoos1 and holding them up before  
the world as superior to the  word of   
,god1 ,french skeptics were busy in a   
similar employment4 ,when  ,napoleon    
invaded ,egypt1 in #agih1 he took with  
him a large corps of  scientific men4   
,in the ceiling of a temple at ,dendera1
 in ,upper  ,egypt1 some of these       
scientists discovered a stone1 tablet   
covered  with strange characters4 ,these
 characters1 it was concluded1 were a   
representation of the relative positions
 of the sun1 moon and stars  at the time
 the temple was built2 and1 calculating 
backwards1 it was  found that this could
 not be less than seventeen thousand    
years ago4  ,this tablet was taken from 
the ceiling of the temple and carried   

away  to ,france1 and placed in the     
national library in ,paris4 ,hundreds   
of thousands came to see the            
antediluvian monument1 and infidel      
commentators were never wanting to      
inform them that this remarkable  stone 
proved the whole ,bible to be a series  
of lies4 ,one of the  discoverers1      
afterwards #ag a professor in the       
,university of ,breslau1  published a   
pamphlet1 entitled1 ,invincible proof   
that the earth is  at least ten times   
older than is taught by the ,bible4     
,during the  next thirty years1 scores  
of such publications followed2 and the  
base  slander received many additions   
and improvements1 until it was a common 
saying that this stone proved that the  
priests of ,egypt were carving          
astronomy on their pyramids ten thousand
 years before ,adam was born4    ,it did
 not shake their credulity in the least1
 that no two of their  wise men were    
agreed by some thousands of years1 how  
old the stone  was--that no one even    

knew the first principles of the        
,egyptian system  of astronomy1 and that
 none of them could read the            
hieroglyphics4    ,but1 in #ahcb1 the   
curious ,egyptian astronomy was studied1
 and it  then appeared that this object1
 which had caused so much commotion1    
was simply a calendar stone to aid in   
the measurement of time2 and  that the  
positions of the sun1 moon and stars    
were so placed to  enable common        
observers to ascertain the beginning of 
the year4 ,at  length1 by means of the  
,rosetta ,stone--which furnished a key  
to these  hieroglyphics--,champolion and
 others learned to read the inscriptions
  on ,egyptian monuments4               
,,illustration3 ,rosetta ,stone1 showing
 present and original form1 and         
specimens of ,greek1 ,coptic and        
,hieroglyphic characters4    ,the       
,rosetta ,stone was discovered by the   
,french1 in #agii1 at ,rosetta1  ,egypt4
 ,when in a perfect condition it was a  
tablet of black basalt1  three feet     

high1 two feet five inches wide1 and ten
 inches thick4 ,the  inscription was in 
three languages3 #ah ,coptic1 ,greek and
 ancient  ,egyptian hieroglyphics4 ,on  
the publication of the inscriptions it  
was  found that they were the key to the
 hieroglyphic characters4 ,it was  then 
discovered that the names of ,venus1    
,mars1 ,jupiter and ,saturn1  were      
engraved on the stone1 as well as the   
names of the ,roman emperors  ,tiberius1
 ,claudius1 ,nero and ,domitian4 ,the   
inscriptions revealed the  fact that    
they had no reference to early ,egyptian
 history4 ,the edifice  in which the    
first-mentioned stone was found was #ai 
simply a heathen  ,roman temple1 built  
between the fourteenth and eighty-first 
years of  the ,christian era4    ,even  
at the present time1 in the noon-day of 
modern science and  so-called           
civilization1 astrologers1 mediums1     
clairvoyants and  fortune-tellers by the
 hundred find a profitable business     
among those  who consider themselves too

 learned1 wise and progressive to       
believe  in the word of ,god4 ,one      
infidel lecturer even advertises that he
 will  reveal to you the secrets of the 
future and cure you of any disease  you 
may have1 if you will only enclose in a 
letter a few hairs taken  from your     
right temple and--and--a--ten dollar    
bill4 ,concerning the  future life1     
infidels have every variety of oracles1 
conjectures and  suppositions2 but for  
their guesses they have no proof4 ,the  
only thing  upon which they seem agreed 
is in denying the resurrection of the   
body4  ,according to their ideas1 a     
poor1 naked1 shivering1 table-rapping   
spirit1 obliged to fly over the world at
 the sigh of any brainless  fop or      
silly1 sentimental girl1 or the bidding 
of some brazen-faced  strumpet1 is all  
that ever shall exist of all the great  
and good men  and women that have lived 
upon the earth4    ,to such wild        
unreason does the mind of man descend   
when it rejects the  gospel1 for only   

through it life and immortality are     
brought to light4  ,a year or two since1
 the leader of ,american infidels1      
,robert ,ingersol1  was called to       
deliver a funeral oration over the body 
of his brother4  ,in that short         
discourse there were many beautiful     
sentiments3 #bj but  through it all1 as 
through a transparent glass1 was shown  
the need1  which even ,ingersol felt1 of
 divine revelation and divine guidance4 
99 99 99 99 99        ,,chapter ,,ii4   
,,causes ,,of ,,the ,,supposed          
,,conflict ,,between ,,science ,,and    
,,religion4    ,,science ,,and          
,,revelation ,,harmonize--,,want ,,of   
,,revelation ,,the ,,cause ,,of         
,,barbarism--,,benefits ,,and ,,evils   
,,of ,,romanism--,,conflict ,,concerning
  ,,geography--,,philosophy ,,of        
,,cosmas--,,struggles ,,of              
,,copernicus--,,bruno                   
--,,galileo--,,opposition ,,of          
,,luther--,,servetus                    
,,burned--,,protestant                  

,,bigotry--,,causes ,,of ,,infidelity4  
,truth is ever harmonious4 ,science and 
religion1 in the true sense  of the     
terms1 can never be in conflict with    
each other4 ,the direct  revelations of 
,god to man must ever agree with the    
results of  scientific investigation4   
,invention and discovery are but the    
unfolding  of the laws1 attributes and  
objects of nature to man's finite       
understanding--the action of the divine 
will on the minds of men4  ,so1 whether 
man seeks for spiritual truth through   
the revelations of  ,god1 or looks out  
upon the material world and investigates
 the working  of physical laws1 the     
result must be the same4 ,a truth       
revealed to  the sensitive1 impulsive   
human #ba heart to-day in its full play 
of  emotions and passions cannot be at  
any real variance with a truth  written 
upon a far-off planet rolling in the    
depths of space1 or upon a  fossil whose
 poor life ebbed away thousands of years
 ago4 ,yet1 strange  to say1 a conflict 

has been going on for years between some
 students of  science on one side and   
the devotees of religion on the other4  
,nearly  all the great and good men of  
the medieval or modern times have been  
engaged on one side or the other1 and a 
hard contest it has been4 ,the  war has 
been waged longer1 the battles have been
 fiercer1 the sieges  more persistent1  
the diplomacy more far-reaching1 and the
 revenge more  deadly than ever         
characterized the military campaigns of 
,alexander1  ,caesar or ,napoleon4      
,let us then inquire into the causes of 
this conflict and try and  understand   
something concerning it4 ,in the first  
place we must be  careful not to        
underrate science4 ,on every side we see
 its beneficent  effects4 ,the food we  
eat1 the clothes we wear1 and the houses
 we dwell  in depend in a great measure 
upon it for their existence4 ,when we   
travel it is mostly by the appliances of
 science4 ,the books we read  are       
manufactured by its aid4 ,it transmits  

our messages to and from  our friends1  
and prepares the light that illuminates 
our streets and  dwellings4 ,it has     
contributed greatly to relieve human    
suffering and  promote human happiness1 
and to distinguish the civilized from   
the  savage races of the earth4    ,and 
what has religion done8 ,so long as it  
was #bb true and pure it was  the       
favored child of heaven4 ,while the true
 church existed upon the  earth1 whether
 ,jewish or ,christian1 we hear of no   
conflict between its  members and the   
students of science4 ,on the other hand 
we find from  their writings that       
,moses1 ,job1 ,david1 ,solomon and      
,isaiah were the  leading scientists of 
the ages in which they lived4 ,they     
understood  natural history1            
architecture1 sculpture1 poetry1 music1 
botany1 and  in astronomy they made such
 progress that many of the              
constellations  still retain the names  
they used1 such as ,orion1 ,pleaides1   
etc4 7,see  ,job xxxviii1 #ca2 ,amos v1 

#h47 ,we read of no conflict between the
  truths of science and the teachings of
 ,paul1 though he was one of the  most  
learned men of the age in which he      
lived4 ,on the other hand the  discourse
 of ,paul in the court of the           
,areopagus1 was the complement  or      
sequel of ideas already held by the most
 celebrated ,grecian  philosophers4     
7,see ,acts xvii1 #ai-bc47    ,it was   
not till after the great apostasy1 when 
the voice of inspiration  had ceased1   
that the great conflict commenced       
between science and the  so-called      
,christian church4    ,we shall better  
understand this fact1 when we recollect 
that from the  time of the apostles to  
the ninth century1 science1 literature  
and  philosophy were well nigh extinct4 
,no schools of painting flourished1  no 
models in sculpture were designed1 no   
order of architecture arose1  no great  
poem was written1 and no history        
compiled1 which have been  deemed worthy
 to be transmitted to our times4 ,it #bc

 was only when  ,european society came  
largely in contact with ,jewish and     
,saracen  influences during the wars of 
the ,crusades and in contact with the   
,jews  and ,saracens of ,spain1 that any
 decided advances were made4 ,as if to  
mark out to the world the real cause of 
its intellectual degradation1  the      
regeneration of ,italy commenced with   
the banishment of the popes  to         
,avignon4 ,their exile continued more   
than seventy years2 and during  their   
absence1 so rapid was the social and    
intellectual progress  that on their    
return to ,rome1 they found it          
impossible to make any  successful      
resistance1 or to restore the old       
condition of society4    ,yet even in   
her apostatized condition the ,catholic 
church did much  for the amelioration of
 society4 ,at the commencement of the   
fourth  century of the ,christian era1 a
 cloud of more than ,cimmerian darkness 
overshadowed western ,europe4 ,it was   
then occupied by wandering savages4     

,the period embraced in the next        
thousand years greatly improved its     
condition4 ,it was during this period   
that the population were organized  into
 families1 communities and cities4      
,those centuries found it full of       
bondmen--they left it without a slave4  
,where there had been trackless         
forests1 there were now farms1 orchards 
and villages4 ,instead of bloody        
chieftains drinking out of their        
enemies' skulls1 there were parish      
priests teaching the masses the crude   
beginning of religious thought4         
,instead of gladiatorial combats1 which 
characterized ancient ,roman            
civilization1 there were #bd thoughtful 
men gravely pondering the  problems of  
free agency and moral responsibility4   
,enveloped as she was by the evils of   
the times1 the ,catholic church  gave   
rise to many improvements4 ,she taught  
the doctrine of an ultimate             
accountability for personal deeds1 of   
which the ancient inhabitants  of       

,europe had very indistinct perceptions4
 ,under her direction the  brotherhood  
of man was taught as it had never been  
before1 and was  illustrated1 not merely
 by individual acts of charity1 the     
memory of  which is soon forgotten1 but 
also by the establishment of permanent  
institutions1 such as hospitals1        
alms-houses1 schools and asylums  for   
the relief of the afflicted1 for the    
spread of knowledge and the  succoring  
of the oppressed4 ,many of her high     
dignitaries1 and even  popes1 were men  
who had risen from the humbler ranks of 
society4 ,these  men1 true to their     
instincts1 were often the champions of  
right against  might4 ,in an age of     
tyranny1 the very organization of the   
church was  essentially republican4 ,it 
thus paved the way for modern           
representative  governments1 and        
prepared the minds of men for their     
introduction4    ,still it was not over 
nations and communities that ,rome      
showed her  chief power1 but in her     

control of domestic and individual      
interests4  ,history presents no record 
like hers4 ,her pontiffs in the quiet   
halls  of the ,vatican could equally    
take in a hemisphere at a glance or     
examine the private character of any    
individual4 ,was there a rebellion  in  
,spain8 ,her agents informed her of #be 
it4 ,was there an obscure  philosopher  
in ,germany writing down the results of 
his investigations8  ,she also knew it4 
,while she restrained the power and     
tyranny of kings  by her influence1 she 
also relieved the hungry beggar or      
wandering  minstrel at the monastery    
gate4 ,in all ,europe there was not a   
man too  obscure1 too insignificant or  
too desolate for her4 ,surrounded by    
her solemnities every one received his  
name at her altar1 her bells  chimed at 
his marriage and her knell tolled at his
 funeral4 ,by her  confessionals she    
extorted from him the secrets of his    
life1 and by her  penances she punished 
him for his faults4 ,in the hour of     

sickness and  trouble her servants      
sought him out1 teaching him to place   
his trust  in ,god1 and strengthening   
him for the trials of life by the       
example of  the good and faithful of    
former days4 ,and when at length his    
lifeless  body had become an offense1   
even to his friends1 she received it    
into  her consecrated ground1 there to  
rest till the resurrection morning4     
,she raised woman from nearly the       
condition of a slave and made her the   
equal and fit companion of man2 and in  
turn1 received a recompense by  a firm  
friend in every home4 ,in an age of     
bloodshed and plunder she  lifted up her
 hand in defense of the weak1 and made  
her sanctuaries a  refuge for the       
despairing and oppressed4    ,but here  
arose the difficulty4 ,the so-called    
,christian church by  apostasy had lost 
the key of revelation4 ,her decisions   
depended not  upon the voice of         
inspiration but upon the musty          
parchments of the  past4 ,claiming to be

 the church of #bf ,god1 she regarded   
her decisions  as infallible and        
irrevocable1 her teachings as beyond    
question4  ,her ideas were crystalized2 
her philosophy1 if indeed it was worthy 
of that name1 was stationary1 as must be
 the case with all systems  reposing on 
a final revelation of ,god4 ,in the     
domain of the ,catholic  church during  
the space of a thousand years1 namely   
from the time of  the apostles to the   
eleventh century1 not a book had been   
written1  not a painting executed1 nor  
statue sculptured of sufficient merit to
  rescue the name of the author from    
oblivion4 ,throughout the length and    
breadth of ,europe there fell a dark    
cloud of intellectual stagnation1  an   
invisible atmosphere of oppression ready
 to break down morally and  physically  
whatever opposed its weight2 except     
where a few feeble rays  of light were  
kept flickering by the efforts of       
,jewish and ,mahometan  scholars4 ,she  
at once disclosed her human and denied  

her divine origin  by attempting to     
force fixed laws on society in the      
presence of higher  truths and advancing
 civilization4    ,the first great      
conflict was in reference to            
geography--the shape and  surface of the
 earth4 ,when science disclosed the fact
 that the earth  was round1 there was a 
great commotion1 and so much the more   
since it  was by ,mahometan scholars    
that the discovery had been made4 ,it   
was  asked1 ,can any good thing come out
 of ,nazareth8 ,in other words1  ,is it 
possible for vile ,mahometans to        
understand and teach such a  truth when 
it is not yet known to the assumed      
church of ,god8 ,at #bg  once the       
war-spirit became fierce and hot4 ,the  
great writer ,eusebius  treated the     
doctrine with contempt4 ,lactantius     
asks1 ,is there any  one so senseless1  
as to believe that there are men whose  
footsteps  are higher than their heads8 
,that the crops and trees grow          
downwards8  ,that the rains1 snow and   

hail fall upward to the earth8 7,for    
further  particulars see ,whewel's      
,hist4 ,induct4 ,sciences1 ,vol4 ,i1    
page #aif47  ,at this stage of the      
controversy1 ,cosmas ,indicopleustes1 by
 direction  of the ,catholic church1    
undertook to give a description of the  
earth4  ,according to ,cosmas1 the      
universe is in the form of an immense   
box1  twice as broad as it is high and  
twice as long as it is broad4 ,at the   
bottom of this box lies the earth1      
surrounded by four great seas or        
oceans4 ,at the outer edges of these    
seas1 rise immense walls1 which  support
 the vault of heaven1 even as the walls 
of a house support the  roof2 and thus  
walls and vault shut in the earth and   
all the heavenly  bodies4 ,this vast box
 he divides into two compartments or    
stories4  ,in the lower one men were    
said to live1 and sun1 moon and stars to
  move4 ,the upper one was said to be   
the abode of ,god and angels1 whose     
principal work was to push and pull the 

sun and planets to and fro1 and  to open
 the windows of heaven1 and thus        
regulate the quantity of rain4    ,the  
ignorance or impudence of ,cosmas can   
only be partially imagined1  when we    
recollect that he supported his theory  
by reference to the  ,bible1 and quoted 
,genesis i1 #f2 ,job xxvi1 #aa2 ,psalms 
cxlviii1 #d2  ,isaiah xl1 #bb4 ,all the 
sublime poetry and #bh beautiful imagery
 of  these texts were thus debased to   
give credence to the wild vagaries of   
this ignorant man4    ,space will not   
permit us to follow this contest in all 
its phases3  suffice it to say that so  
late as the fourteenth century ,cecco d'
  ,ascoli was burned alive for asserting
 his belief in the rotundity of  the    
earth4 7,see ,neander's ,history of the 
,christian ,church1 ,vol4 ,,ii1  page   
#fc47 ,the student of history will also 
remember how ,columbus at  the great    
council of ,salamanca was overwhelmed by
 texts of scripture  wrested from their 
rightful meaning4 ,it was only after the

 successful  navigation of the earth1 by
 ,magellan's ship1 the ,san ,vittoria1  
that  ,rome ceased to persecute the     
adherents of this doctrine4 ,in all this
  contest ,rome's dogmas only resulted  
in injury to herself4 ,the authority  of
 the scriptures was not in the end      
weakened1 but rather strengthened2  but 
to thinking men1 ,rome's claim of divine
 right to interpret the  scriptures was 
of little value4 ,rome had been weighed 
in the balances  and found wanting4     
,it was therefore in a scientific not   
less than a religious point of  view    
that many leading minds looked with     
favor toward that great  religious1     
movement known as the ,reformation4     
,while ,luther1 ,calvin and ,zwingle    
were busy denouncing the corruptions  of
 the ,romish church1 the forces were    
preparing for the second  great conflict
 between science and so-called religion1
 namely1 that  concerning the motion of 
the earth4 ,copernicus lived at the same
 time  as ,luther1 and died #bi two     

years before him4 ,his was as brave a   
life  as ever lived in story4 ,for      
thirty-six years1 at the very time the  
,protestant struggle was raging1 he was 
working at that immortal book1  ,de     
,revolutionibus ,orbum1 in which he so  
clearly demonstrates the  motion of the 
earth1 and the revolution of the planets
 around the sun4  ,but he dared not     
print it for many years4 ,if he         
published it at ,rome1  it would fall   
into the hands of the ,inquisition2 if  
he caused it to be  printed in ,germany1
 there were the ,protestant leaders no  
less hostile2  if he sent it to         
,switzerland1 there stood ,calvin and   
,zwingle ready to  burn it4 ,at length  
the work was ready for the press4 ,by   
the entreaty  of the ,romish ,cardinal  
,schomberg1 and with many apologies1    
,copernicus  ventured to publish it4 ,he
 was now old and feeble4 ,patiently he  
waited  at death's door to see a printed
 copy4 ,at length the long looked-for   
copy arrived1 he saw it1 composed       

himself and died1 #aedc4    ,seven years
 after the death of ,copernicus1 was    
born that strange  mortal1 ,giordano    
,bruno4 ,for teaching the rotation of   
the earth he had  to flee to            
,switzerland4 ,but ,calvin held power   
there and ,bruno was  soon obliged to   
leave4 ,driven in succession from       
,england1 ,france and  ,germany1 and1   
like ,noah's dove1 finding no rest for  
the sole of his  foot1 he at length     
ventured to return to ,italy4 ,he was   
arrested in  ,venice1 and after eight   
years of solitary confinement1 was      
burned at  ,rome1 ,february #af1 #afjj4 
,when the atrocious sentence was passed 
upon  him1 he nobly replied1 ,perhaps it
 is with #cj greater fear that ye  pass 
this sentence upon me than ,i receive   
it4    ,meanwhile ,galileo was          
prosecuting his studies at ,florence4   
,in ,may1  #afji1 he made his first     
telescope and pointing it toward the    
heavens  saw the satellites of ,jupiter 
and the phases of ,venus4 ,these were   

two  of the weightiest arguments that   
had as yet been presented in favor  of  
the ,copernican theory4 ,already        
,galileo began to encounter vulgar      
indignation which accused him of        
impiety4 ,in #afaa1 ,galileo publicly   
exhibited the spots upon the sun4 ,this 
only excited the rage of his            
persecutors4 ,goaded by opposition he   
wrote a letter1 in #afac1 to  the ,abbe 
,castelli1 showing that the scriptures  
were given for our  salvation1 and not  
to teach astronomy in particular4 ,this 
was repeating  ,bruno's offense4        
,galileo was brought before the         
,inquisition1 and1 after  years of      
imprisonment1 only saved his life by    
denying the great truths  he had        
discovered4 ,he died #afdb1 in the      
seventy-eighth year of his  age1 the    
prisoner of the ,inquisition4 ,but      
religious bigotry did not end  there4   
,it tried to follow him beyond the      
grave1 disputing his right to  make a   
will and denying him burial in          

consecrated ground4 ,nor were the       
leaders of the ,protestant cause less   
bitter4    ,in reference to ,copernicus1
 ,luther declared1 ,people give ear to  
an  upstart astrologer1 who strives to  
show that the earth revolves2 and       
again1 ,this fool 7,copernicus7 wishes  
to reverse the whole system of          
astronomy4 ,melancthon1 in his treatise 
,initia ,doctrinea ,physicae1  says1    
,the eyes are the #ca witnesses that the
 heavens revolve about  the earth in the
 space of twenty-four hours1 and adds1  
,now it is  a want of decency to assert 
publicly the notions of ,copernicus2    
and ,zwingle declares1 ,the earth can be
 no where1 if not in the  center of the 
universe4 ,it is a part of a good mind  
to accept the  truth as revealed by     
,god1 and acquiesce in it4 7,see        
,geschichte des  ,materialismus1 ,vol4  
,i1 page #bag47      ,,illustration3    
,,burning ,,of ,,servetus4    ,further1 
,calvin proved the darkness of his own  
mind when he put to  death that         

celebrated philosopher and physician1   
,michael ,servetus1  whose greatest     
crimes were that in religion he denied  
the absurd dogma  that the ,father1 ,son
 and ,holy ,spirit are three separate   
and distinct  beings and yet one and the
 same person2 and in science he had     
partially  succeeded in discovering the 
circulation of blood4 ,the circumstances
  were also of the #cb most atrocious   
character4 ,servetus was roasted  for   
two hours in the flames of a slow fire  
made of green wood4  ,meanwhile he was  
begging for the love of ,god that they  
would put on  more wood or do something 
to end his torture4    ,so also in      
superstition the ,protestants were not a
 whit behind the  ,catholics4 ,in       
presence of the ,protestant king1 ,james
 ,i41 of ,england1  it was declared that
 ,agnes ,sampson with two hundred other 
witches had  sailed in sieves from      
,leith to ,north ,betwick church to hold
 a banquet  with the devil4 ,it was also
 said that the witches had baptized and 

then  drowned a black cat1 which caused 
a terrible storm in which the ship  that
 carried the king narrowly escaped being
 wrecked4 ,king ,james and  the high    
church dignitaries who formed his privy 
council1 believed the  accusation and   
condemned the poor woman to the flames4 
,the leaders of ,german ,protestantism  
were ,luther and ,melancthon1 yet  even 
they were victims of the grossest       
superstition4 ,they believed  that in   
the ,tiber1 not far distant from the    
pope's palace1 a monster  had been found
 having the body of a man1 the head of  
an ass and the  claws of a bird of prey4
 ,after much speculation and searching  
of their  ,bibles1 they concluded it was
 a manifestation of ,god's anger against
  ,rome1 and they wrote a pamphlet about
 it4 7,see ,buckle's ,hist4 of          
,civilization47    ,it is a quite common
 error to suppose these persecutions to 
have  emanated from the papal power     
exclusively4 ,when we read of           
,copernicus  escaping #cc persecution   

only by death1 of ,bruno1 burned alive  
as  a monster of impiety1 of ,galileo   
imprisoned and humiliated as the  worst 
of misbelievers we are apt to look upon 
these things as the  effect of ,romish  
intolerance4 ,but we should not forget  
that ,kepler  who stands pre-eminently  
conspicuous1 who lead science on to     
greater  victories than either          
,copernicus or ,galileo1 who thought and
 spake as  one inspired--even he was    
hunted alike by ,protestant and         
,catholic4 ,nor  was this feeling of    
intolerance confined to any particular  
age4 ,on the  contrary we behold its    
continuance even to our own times4 ,in  
,protestant  ,england so late as #aggb1 
the celebrated ,dr4 ,priestly was not   
permitted  to accompany the famous      
expedition for scientific discovery     
under  ,captain ,cook1 because he did   
not believe in the doctrine of the      
,trinity  as taught by the ,church of   
,england4    ,on the #ajth of ,may1     
#ahei1 was buried ,alexander ,von       

,humboldt4 ,his labors  were among the  
greatest glories of this century1 and   
his funeral one  of the most imposing of
 modern times4 ,among those who did     
themselves  the honor of following his  
remains to their last resting-place was 
the  present emperor of ,germany4 ,but  
no minister of any sect was present     
except the officiating clergyman and a  
few others who were considered  as not  
in good standing in their respective    
churches4 ,by these  instances and many 
others it might be shown how has been   
wrought into  the very fibre of modern  
society that pernicious idea that there 
is a  necessary antagonism between      
science and religion4    #cd ,the       
lessons thus taught were clear and      
convincing4 ,many  intelligent minds saw
 that ,protestants as well as ,catholics
 lacked not  merely the charitable      
spirit of the gospel1 but likewise that 
knowledge  and authority1 which are the 
certain results of divine revelation4   
,the  result was soon apparent4 ,a      

violent reaction followed4 ,germany1 the
  birthplace of the ,reformation1 is now
 the stronghold of infidelity4    ,and  
why was this8 ,what was it that made    
large numbers of the best  men in       
,europe hate both the ,catholic and     
,protestant religions8 ,why  did        
,ricetto1 ,bruno and ,servetus in the   
hour of martyrdom turn with  loathing   
from that sacred emblem1 the crucifix8  
,the reason was simply  this3 ,so-called
 ,christianity had been made to them    
identical with  the most horrible       
oppression of mind1 because they who had
 assumed  to represent ,christianity had
 misrepresented it4 ,in other words1 the
  absurd theories1 rigid dogmas and     
heathenish superstitions of apostate    
,christianity bore no more resemblance  
to the benign and heavenly  principles  
of the gospel1 than an ancient ,egyptian
 mummy1 with its  shrunken skeleton and 
ghostly visage1 bears to the person of a
 living  being in the meridian of his   
mental and physical powers4 7,see       

appendix  to ,vol4 ,,iv4 ,histoire des  
,mathematiques47    ,did space permit it
 would be easy to show that the         
,protestant sects  have opposed         
scientific truth as bitterly1 and been  
overthrown as  completely as ,rome has  
ever been4 ,not merely in the examples  
#ce of  geography and astronomy1 but    
also in chemistry and natural           
philosophy1  as shown in the            
imprisonment of ,roger ,bacon and ,john 
,barillon2 in  anatomy and surgery as   
illustrated in the persecutions against 
,versalius1 the great anatomist of the  
sixteenth century4 ,nor was it  merely  
in the olden times that this opposition 
was manifest4 ,scarcely  eighty years   
have passed since ,jenner1 the          
discoverer of vaccination1  barely      
escaped with his life from the          
persecutions of leading  religionists in
 ,protestant ,england1 for conferring   
upon mankind the  knowledge of          
prevention of a horrible disease4 ,so1  
also1 in #ahdg1 ,james  ,y4 ,simpson1   

the eminent ,scotch physician1 who did  
so much to alleviate  human suffering by
 means of anaesthetics1 was denounced   
throughout  ,europe and ,america by the 
leading ,protestant ministers4 ,the     
persecutors  seemed to forget that1 in  
the first surgical operation of which we
 have  record1 ,god caused a deep sleep 
to fall on ,adam4 7,see ,genesis ii41   
#ba47    ,so1 also1 in geology1 scarcely
 forty years have elapsed since both    
,protestant and ,catholic leaders were  
denouncing that science as a dark  art1 
infernal artillery1 and an awful evasion
 of the testimony  of revelation4 ,while
 such honored names as ,prof4 ,sedwick1 
,edward  ,hitchcock1 ,louis ,agassiz and
 ,mary ,somerville were denounced       
coarsely  by name for those studies     
which unfold the wonders of creation1   
and  illustrate the goodness of our     
,heavenly ,father--studies that have    
made  their names honored throughout the
 world4 7,see ,silliman's ,journal4     
,vol4 #cj1 page #aad47      #cf ,and    

what has been the result of all this8   
,in the older nations  have come forth1 
by natural reaction1 the most formidable
 enemies  the so-called ,christian      
church has ever known4 ,of these        
,voltaire and  ,renan may be considered 
types1 and there are many signs that the
 same  causes are producing similar     
results in our own country4 ,yet ,renan1
  ,bennet and ,ingersol are not haters  
of truth4 ,rather may it be said1  they 
hate counterfeits and are indignant at  
the assumptions of apostate             
,christendom4 ,in their impetuosity they
 have rushed into the other  extreme1   
and demand for science more than she can
 rightly claim4    99 99 99 99 99       
,,chapter ,,iii4    ,,fallacies ,,of    
,,scientists4    ,,ignorance ,,of       
,,skeptics--,,errors ,,in ,,astronomy   
,,geology ,,not                         
,,reliable--,,scientists                
,,disagree--,,testimonies ,,of ,,hugh   
,,miller--,,humboldt                    
--,,lyell--,,second-,,hand              

,,knowledge--,,our ,,need ,,of ,,faith4 
,a little or superficial knowledge may  
incline a man's mind to atheism2  but   
depth in philosophy bringeth him back to
 religion4 ,so said ,francis  ,bacon1   
one of the world's greatest             
philosophers1 and history has proved    
his saying to be true4 ,the #cg great   
lights of the scientific world1  such as
 ,columbus1 ,copernicus1 ,galileo1      
,kepler1 ,newton1 ,herschel1  ,agassiz1 
,rosse or ,proctor1 all have cherished a
 reverence for religion4  ,on the other 
hand1 it is generally third or fourth   
rate men of  learning1 or those whose   
impetuosity is greater than their       
judgment1  who ever attempt to achieve  
distinction as infidel lecturers4 ,men  
who  have failed in their business for  
want of capacity1 frequently turn       
misanthropes and denounce truths and men
 that they have not brains  enough to   
comprehend4 ,true1 apostate             
,christianity has been weighed in  the  
balances and found wanting1 but does    

that prove that there is no  vital1 no  
divine religion that will satisfy the   
intellect of man with  its truths1 and  
touch the heart with its love--a        
,christianity which1  bearing the full  
impress of its ,author's image1 shall   
take its place  among the various forces
 at work in society and eventually      
subordinate  them all8 ,nay1 verily6 ,as
 well might we say that because there   
are  counterfeit bank bills in          
existence1 therefore1 none are genuine4 
,one cannot help being amazed at the    
cool impudence with which infidels  take
 for granted the very points to be      
proved1 and set aside1 as  unworthy of  
serious examination1 the most authentic 
records of history  and facts of        
science4 ,when skeptics1 who are        
determined not to believe  in the       
,bible1 find the historical evidences of
 its genuineness1  authority and        
inspiration impossible to be overthrown 
by ridicule or  sophistry1 they turn    
their attention to some other mode of   

attack2  and1 of #ch late years1 they   
have ransacked the whole circle of      
sciences hoping to find a more powerful 
weapon4 ,especially has every  new      
discovery been hailed by skeptics as an 
ally to their cause1 until  further     
acquaintance has proved that it was not 
so4 ,thus1 when geology  began to       
upheave its titanic form it was eagerly 
greeted by skeptics2  but now that they 
have discovered the proofs it gives of a
 ,creator they  are getting shy of its  
acquaintance4    ,it is1 therefore1     
worth while to enquire1 is science      
really so positive  as these persons    
pretend8 ,or1 is it true that the       
students of the  physical sciences have 
no certain knowledge of their theories8 
,we need  not here speak of the disputes
 between ,herschel and ,ferguson1       
,newton  and ,brewster1 ,la ,place and  
,lionville4 ,rather let us begin with   
the most  positive of all sciences4     
,mathematics--the science of magnitude  
and  numbers--and note a few things     

concerning it4 ,upon reflection1 it is  
surprising how few subjects are capable 
of a mathematical demonstration4    ,the
 mathematician may demonstrate the size 
and properties of a  triangle1 but he   
cannot demonstrate the continuance of   
any actual  triangle for one hour1 or   
one minute after his demonstration4     
,a mathematical proof admits of no      
doubts or contingencies4 ,a man may     
calculate the force of the wind1 but he 
cannot tell how long it will  continue  
to blow in that direction1 whether it   
will increase to a  hurricane or subside
 to a calm4 ,he may count the           
revolutions of an  engine1 but he cannot
 test its extreme power1 or prove its   
continued  #ci existence for a single   
hour4 ,how many of the most important   
affairs of life can be demonstrated by  
means of the multiplication  table8 ,it 
would be safe to say not one in ten4    
,again1 mathematics  frequently deal    
with purely ideal figures1 which never  
did or never can  exist4 ,there is not a

 mathematical line--length without      
breadth--in  all the universe4 ,on      
careful examination1 we find that there 
are no  mathematical figures in nature4 
,we speak of the earth as a sphere1  but
 it is a sphere pitted with hollows as  
deep as the ocean1 and  crested with    
protuberances as high as the ,andes or  
,himalayas1 in every  conceivable       
irregularity of form4 ,there is not an  
acre of absolutely  level ground on the 
face of the earth2 even its waters pile 
themselves  up in waves1 or dash into   
breakers1 rather than remain perfectly  
level  for a single hour4 ,the          
microscope reveals the fact that the    
pearl is  proportionally rougher than   
the surface of the earth1 and the       
dew-drop  is no nearer round than a     
pear4 ,when we speak of the orbits of   
the  planets as elliptical or circular1 
it is only in a general way2 just as  we
 speak of a circular saw1 the outline of
 its teeth being regularity  itself1 as 
compared with the motions of the planets

 in their orbits4    ,so also with      
,astronomy1 it is far from being an     
exact science4 ,from  the comparative   
simplicity of the forces with which it  
has to deal1  and the approximate       
regularity of the paths of the heavenly 
bodies1  it may be regarded as the      
science in which the greatest possible  
certainty is attainable4 #dj ,it opens1 
at once1 the widest field to  the       
imagination1 and the noblest range to   
the reason2 it has attracted  the most  
exalted intellects to its pursuit1 and  
has rewarded their  toils with the      
grandest discoveries4 ,lest we should   
ascribe to the  discoverers of the laws 
of the universe1 the glory due to their 
,creator1 let us glance at some of the  
errors of astronomy4    ,sir ,john      
,herschel1 than whom none has a better  
right to speak on this  subject1 devotes
 a chapter to the ,errors of ,astronomy4
    ,no philosophical observation or    
experiment is absolutely accurate4 ,the 
error of a thousandth part of an inch in

 an instrument1 will multiply  itself   
into thousands and millions of miles    
according to the distance  of the       
object4    ,to begin at our own little  
globe1 where exactness is more easily   
attained1 than among distant planets1 we
 find that two of the greatest          
astronomers1 ,bessel and ,newton1 differ
 from each other in the  measurement of 
the diameter of the earth fully eleven  
miles4 ,so also  the diameter of the    
earth's orbit is uncertain by #cfj1jjj  
miles4 ,now  the diameter of the earth1 
and the diameter of its orbit are the   
very  foot rule and yard stick1 as it   
were1 by which astronomers measure the  
heavens4 7,see ,humboldt's ,cosmos1     
,vol1 ,i4 page #g1 and ,vol4 ,,iv4 page 
#dgg47    ,let us then be candid1 says  
,loomis1 and claim no more for astronomy
  than is reasonably due4 ,when in #ahdf
 the great astronomer ,le ,verrier      
announced the existence of a planet     
hitherto unseen1 and when he  assigned  
to it its exact position #da in the     

heavens1 and declared  that it shone    
like a star of the eighth magnitude1 not
 an astronomer  of ,france1 and scarcely
 one in ,europe had sufficient faith in 
the  prediction to prompt him to point  
his telescope to the heavens4    ,so    
also geology1 one of the most recent of 
the sciences1 and in the  hands of      
infidel nurses one of the most noisy1   
has been found to be  unreliable in many
 particulars4 ,true a wonderful outcry  
has been  raised about the antagonism   
between the records of the rocks1 and   
the  records of the ,bible4 ,but no one 
has yet succeeded in proving such an    
antagonism2 for the plain reason that   
neither the ,bible nor geology  says how
 old the earth is4 ,they both say it is 
very old4 ,the ,bible  says1 ,in the    
beginning ,god created the heavens and  
the earth4 ,the  term here translated in
 the beginning signifies1 as every      
,hebrew  scholar knows1 a period of such
 remote antiquity1 that in ,bible       
language it stands next to eternity4    

,now if the geologist could prove  that 
the earth is a thousand million years   
older than the time when  ,adam appeared
 upon it1 this would contradict no      
statement of the ,bible4  ,so when      
infidels come to us with their          
geological theories about the  manner in
 which ,god made the earth1 or in which 
the earth is said to  have made itself1 
and how long it took to do it1 and tell 
us that  they have scientific           
demonstration from the rocks that the   
,bible is  false1 we surely have a right
 to enquire into the foundation of these
  theories upon which they have built   
such startling conclusions4 ,now it  is 
remarkable that every infidel #db       
argument is based not upon the  facts1  
but upon the theories of geology4 ,but  
how does our infidel  geologist set     
about his work of proving that the earth
 has any given  age1 say a thousand     
million years8 ,why he simply commences 
with a  theory or supposition4 ,yet a   
demonstration must rest upon facts1 it  

admits of no suppositions4 ,in examining
 the crust of the earth we find  a great
 many layers of rocks1 one above the    
other1 evidently formed  below the      
water1 some of them out of the fragments
 of former rocks  containing bones1     
shells and casts of fishes and tracks of
 the feet  of birds1 made when these    
rocks were in the state of soft mud4    
,these  layers form what is termed the  
crust of the earth1 and are altogether  
several miles in thickness4 ,yet not one
 of these layers gives us the  element  
of time4 ,they announce to us successive
 generations of animals  and plants2 but
 they do not tell us how long these     
generations lived4  ,we have every      
reason to believe that the condition of 
the world was  very different then1 from
 what it is now2 not only as regards its
  temperature1 of which we have many    
proofs that it was much higher than  at 
present2 but likewise in regard to the  
density of the atmosphere  and the      
distribution of water on the surface of 

the globe4 ,all these  conditions       
indicate that both animal and vegetable 
life were then  far different from what 
they are now1 as the fossil remains of  
those  animals and plants abundantly and
 unquestionably prove4 ,but in all this 
we have no means of determining the     
duration of those species4 ,the  various
 species of plants and animals may have 
flourished during a  period of a        
thousand1 a million1 or a thousand      
million years for all we  know4    #dc  
,,illustration3 ,,section ,,of ,,the    
,,crust ,,of ,,the ,,earth    ,,recent  
,,deposits--,showing remains of animals 
still existing4                         
,,quaternary--,showing remains of some  
extinct and some living species4        
,first appearance of deciduous trees1   
7those that drop their leaves in        
autumn7 showing alternations of heat and
 cold4    ,remains of vertebrates       
7animals having back bones7 of the more 
perfect  species4    ,mammals1          
7milk-giving animals72 carnivora1       

7flesh-eating animals71  monkeys1 etc4  
,first appearance of birds and land     
monsters1 megatheriums1 mammoths1  etc4 
,,cretacious ,,rocks--,age of reptiles  
and amphibious monsters1 as  iguanodons1
 saurians and crocodiles4               
,,carboniferous ,,rocks--,age of coal   
formation2 first indications of         
reptiles1 numerous amphibious           
animals--supposed uniform climate4      
,,sub-,,carboniferous--,first traces of 
amphibious animals4    ,first traces of 
cone-bearing trees1 pines1 ferns1 etc4  
,first fishes2 first vertebrates2       
numerous shell fish2 limestone strata4  
,chalk measures2 sandstone strata1      
,,silurian ,,rocks--,few traces of life2
 old red sandstone4    ,,huronian       
,,rocks--,no traces of life2 gneiss1    
quartz1 felspar1 mica4    ,,laurentian  
,rocks--,granite4    #dd ,here is a     
problem exactly similar4 ,on examination
 we find  that a certain house is built 
on a foundation of well-cemented        
concrete  three feet deep1 that it has  

ten courses of stone in the basement1   
forty courses of brick in the first     
story1 thirty-six courses in the        
second1 thirty-two in the third2 with a 
roof of nine inch rafters1  covered with
 inch boards1 and an inch and a half    
layer of coal-tar and  gravel2 now tell 
us how long was the house in building8  
,why the very  school-boy would laugh at
 the absurdity of such a question4 ,he  
would  say1 ,how can ,i tell unless ,i  
know where the materials were obtained1 
how they were conveyed1 how many workmen
 were employed1 and how much  they could
 do in a day8 ,if the rock had been     
brought from a distance1  the brick to  
be made by hand1 the lumber all dressed 
with a handsaw and  jackplane1 and all  
the work done by a slowgoing jobbing    
contractor who  employed only three or  
four men--why1 they would not get       
through in a  year4 ,but if the rock was
 found in excavating the cellar1 if the 
brick  were made by machinery and near  
at hand1 the lumber dressed by steam    

saw and planing mills1 and thirty or    
forty workmen employed1 it might  be all
 finished in a month4    ,so the        
geologist ought to say1 ,i do not know  
either the source of the  materials of  
the earth's strata nor the distance from
 which they were  conveyed to their     
present position1 nor the forces which  
were employed  in changing them from    
their #de primitive elements to the     
forms in  which we now see them2        
therefore ,i cannot tell the time       
required for  their formation4 ,if the  
crust of the earth was originally fused 
into  granite by intense heat1 and this 
granite has been thrown up into  vast   
mountains by the internal heat of the   
earth2 and in turn1 these  mountains    
have been slowly worn away1 by the      
action of wind1 rain and  frost1 and    
conveyed down to the shores of the      
primeval ocean1 by the  still slower    
agency of mountain torrents and rivers2 
and if these  deposits having first been
 the home of various species of animals 

and  plants have hardened into rock     
which in turn has been heaved up by     
volcanic forces--if this was the mode of
 creation1 hundreds of millions  of     
years may have been required to produce 
the effects we now see upon  the surface
 of the globe4    ,but if the crust of  
the earth originally consisted of the   
various  elements of which granite and  
other rocks are composed1 if 7as is     
generally conceded1 granite is the      
lowest in the scale of all the rocks    
with which man is acquainted17 the      
granite was fused into its present      
condition by the intense heat generated 
by the chemical action of these         
elements upon each other1 and if the    
overlying strata were consolidated  by  
the vast pressure of a universal ocean1 
as is generally conceded to  have       
covered the earth at a certain geologic 
period1 and if these rocks  were baked  
by their own chemical heat or by the    
continuous heat of the  underlying      
granite1 while the cooler temperature of

 the water above  prevented the upper   
strata from becoming #df so solid--then1
 under  such circumstances1 a very few  
centuries might suffice4 7,see ,lyell's 
,principles of ,geology1 chapters #ab   
and #cb47    ,until these indispensable 
preliminaries are settled1 geology can  
make  no calculations of the length of  
time occupied by the formation of the   
strata4    ,again1 all geological       
computations of time are made upon the  
supposition that only the same agents   
were then at work which we now  see1    
that they wrought with the same degree  
of force and produced the  same results 
though working under widely different   
conditions4 ,for  example1 suppose it   
now takes a year to deposit mud enough  
at the  bottom of the sea1 to make an   
inch of rocks1 and if mud was deposited 
no faster in those remote ages1 then the
 rocks would be as old as  there are    
inches in the eight or nine miles depth 
to which the strata  extends4 ,but how  
can we prove that mud was deposited at  

the same rate  then as now8 ,and so the 
whole fabric of geological chronology   
vanishes  into a mere unproved notion1  
based upon an if4    ,it is truly       
astonishing that any sober-minded person
 should allow  himself to be shaken in  
his religious convictions by the alleged
  results of a science so unformed and  
imperfect1 as geologists  themselves    
acknowledge their favorite science to   
be4 ,thus ,hugh ,miller  admits1 ,there 
are no calculations more doubtful than  
those of the  geologist2 and again1 ,it 
furnishes us with no certain clue by    
which  to unravel the unapproachable    
mysteries of #dg creation4 7,see        
,footprints of the ,creator1 page #cac47
    ,these mysteries belong to the      
wondrous ,creator1 and to ,him only4    
,men  attempt to theorize upon them1 and
 to reduce them to law2 but all  nature 
rises up against them in their          
presumptuous rebellion4 ,a stray        
splinter of cone-bearing wood1 a fish's 
skull1 the skeleton of a  reptile1 the  

tooth or jaw of a quadruped1 all or any 
of these things--  weak and             
insignificant as they may seem--when    
found imbedded in the  strata of the    
rocks1 become evidence too strong for   
man and all his  theories4 ,these puny  
fragments in the grasp of truth become  
weapons as  irresistible as the dry bone
 in the hand of ,sampson of old2 and our
  slaughtered theories lie piled up     
heaps upon heaps before them4    ,then1 
again1 they are quarreling about the    
leading principles of the  science4     
,hopkins attempts to prove that the     
crust of the earth is  eight hundred    
miles thick1 while ,humboldt asserts    
that it is less  than twenty-four4 ,as  
the temperature increases one degree for
 every  forty-five feet we descend into 
the earth1 so1 at that rate1 in less    
than twenty-four miles the heat would be
 so great as to melt iron and  almost   
any known substance4 ,but here1 again1  
they differ4 ,wedgewood  declares that  
iron melts at #ba1jjj degrees           

,fahrenheit2 while ,professor  ,daniels 
is positive that it melts at #b1ghf     
degrees1 ,fahrenheit4 ,only a  slight   
difference of #ah1bad degrees4    ,but  
then comes the great question3 if       
granite is the lowest layer in  the     
strata1 what is below the #dh granite8  
,de ,beaumont affirms that  the whole   
globe1 with the exception of a thin     
envelope--much thinner  in proportion   
than the shell of an egg--is a melted   
mass kept fluid  by heat1 but constantly
 cooling and contracting its dimensions 
and  occasionally cracking and falling  
in1 and squeezing upwards large         
portions of the mass1 thus producing    
those folds or wrinkles which we  call  
mountain chains4 ,on the other hand1    
,davy and ,lyell think that we  may     
perhaps refer the heat of the interior  
to chemical changes going on  in the    
earth's crust4 ,so much for the         
uncertainties of geology4    ,if space  
permitted1 it would be easy to go over  
other sciences and show  similar        

uncertainties in them all4 ,it is worthy
 of notice that the  uncertainties of   
science increase just in proportion to  
our interest  in it4 ,about what does   
not concern us1 it is very positive2 but
 very  uncertain about our dearest      
interests4 ,the astronomer may calculate
  with considerable certainty the       
movements of distant planets with which 
we have no intercourse2 but he cannot   
predict the heat or cold1 clouds  or    
sunshine1 and other phenomena           
continually occurring on our earth4     
,the forces of heat may be measured1 to 
some extent1 but what physician  can    
measure the strength of the malignant   
fever that is destroying the  life of   
his patient4 ,the chemist can thoroughly
 analyze any foreign  substance1 but the
 disease of his own body1 which is      
bringing him to  the grave1 he can      
neither weigh1 measure nor remove4      
,science is very  positive about distant
 #di stars and remote ages1 but stammers
 and  hesitates about the very lives of 

its professors4    ,if such are the     
uncertainties of science to the actual  
investigators1  what shall we say to him
 who has learned his science at school8 
,when  we meet with such an infidel1 who
 denounces religion while he extols  the
 certainties of science1 would it not be
 well to ask a few questions  such as   
the following8 ,have you personally     
measured the diameter of the  earth1    
observed the transit of ,venus1 or      
calculated the distance of the  moon8   
,or1 further1 would you feel yourself   
competent to perform such  labor2 or is 
it possible that1 after all your        
boasting1 you have taken  your science  
at second-hand1 and on the testimony of 
another8 ,again1  perhaps you are a     
student of the stone book 7as scientists
 sometimes  call the strata of the      
earth's crust71 with its enduring       
records graven  in the rock forever2 and
 perhaps you profess to believe that    
under  these ponderous strata the ,bible
 has found an everlasting tomb6 ,but how

  many of the volumes of this stone book
 have you perused personally6  ,have you
 ever visited the many localities in our
 own country1 to say  nothing of the    
instructive lessons to be learned from  
the strata of  ,england1 ,scotland1     
,wales1 the ,himalayas1 the ,andes and  
the ,lauretian  rocks of ,canada1 where 
the different formations are to be seen8
 ,have  you personally excavated from   
their beds1 the various fossils that    
form1 as it were1 the very alphabet of  
the science2 or1 is it possible  that   
all you know of geology is from the     
specimens of collectors1 and  the       
statements #ej of lecturers aided by    
maps of ideal stratification  in        
rose-pink1 brimstone-yellow and         
indigo-blue8    ,but perhaps you are a  
chemist1 and proud1 as most chemists    
are1 of  the accuracy attainable in that
 most demonstrative science4 ,but how   
much of it is really science to you8 ,of
 the nine hundred and forty-two         
substances mentioned in ,turner's       

,chemistry1 how many have you analyzed8 
,could you truthfully say one-half1     
one-fourth1 or even one-tenth8 ,much    
less1 would you face the laughter of a  
college class1 to-morrow1 upon  the     
experiment of taking nine out of the    
nine hundred1 reducing them  to their   
primitive elements1 and giving an       
accurate analysis of their  component   
parts8    ,in fact1 do you know anything
 worth mentioning of the facts of       
science  upon your own knowledge1 except
 those of the trade by which you make   
your living8 ,or1 after all your        
boasting about scientific certainty1 is 
it true that you have been obliged to   
receive your science upon faith1  at    
second-hand1 and on the word of another1
 and to save your life you  could not   
tell who that other is1 or even name the
 discoverers of half  the scientific    
truths you believe8 ,therefore1 whatever
 precision may be  attained by          
scientific men--and we have seen that it
 is not much--it  is very certain you   

have none of it4 ,the very best you can 
have to  wrap yourself in is a          
second-hand assurance1 grievously torn  
by rival  schools1 and needing to be    
patched every month by later            
discoveries4    #ea ,but this is not    
all4 ,most sciences are not only        
uncertain1 but  also insufficient4 ,we  
demand the knowledge of truths of which 
science  is profoundly ignorant4 ,of all
 the great problems and precious        
interests which belong to me as a mortal
 or immortal being1 science  knows      
nothing4 ,i ask her whence ,i came4 ,she
 points to her pinions  stretched over  
the abyss of primeval fire1 her eyes    
blinded by its  awful glare1 and remains
 silent4 ,i inquire what ,i am2 but the 
strange  and questioning ,i is a mystery
 which she can neither analyze nor      
measure4 ,i tell her of the voice of    
conscience within--she never heard  it  
and does not pretend to understand it4  
,i tell her of my anxieties  about the  
future--she is learned only in the past4

 ,i inquire how ,i may  be happy        
hereafter--but happiness is not a       
scientific term1 and she  cannot even   
tell me how to be happy here6 ,poor1    
blind science6    ,further still1 all   
our dearest interests lie beyond the    
domains  of physical science1 in the    
regions of faith4 ,science treats of    
things--faith is confidence in persons4 
,take away the persons and of  what     
value are the things8 ,the world becomes
 at once a vast desert1 a  dreary       
solitude4 ,i can live1 and love1 and be 
happy without science2  but not without 
companionship whose bond is faith4 ,in  
its sunshine  alone can happiness grow4 
,it is faith sends man out in the       
morning to  his work1 nerves his arms   
through the toils of the day1 brings him
  home in the evening1 gathers the      
children around the table1 inspires  the
 oft-repeated efforts of the little     
prattler to ascend his parent's  knee1  
clasps the chubby arms #eb around his   
neck1 looks with the most  confiding    

innocence into his eye and puts forth   
the little hand to  catch his bread and 
share his cup4 ,undoubting faith is     
happiness even  here below4 ,need we    
marvel1 then1 that man must be converted
 from his  pride of empty1 barren       
science1 and casting himself with all   
his powers  into the arms of faith1     
become as a little child before he can  
enter  into the kingdom of heaven8      
99 99 99 99 99        ,,chapter ,,iv4   
,,did ,,the ,,world ,,make ,,itself8    
,,manifestations ,,of                   
,,power--,,mountain                     
,,chains--,,phenomena ,,the ,,effect    
,,of  ,,cause--,,extent ,,of            
,,universe--,,manifestations ,,of       
,,design--,,the ,,human  ,,eye--,,matter
 ,,inert--,,did ,,the ,,paving-,,stones 
,,make ,,themselves8--,,theories ,,of   
,,buffon--,,of ,,dr4 ,,olbers--,,history
 ,,declares ,,god',s ,,government4      
,nature is but the name of an effect    
whose cause is ,god4--,,cowper4    ,the 
infidel astronomer is mad4--,,herschel4 

,had the world a ,creator1 or did it    
make itself8 ,let us look out upon      
nature1 and see what there is to suggest
 the idea of ,god4 ,infidels  tell us   
that faith is destined to be left behind
 in the onward  march of intellect2 that
 it belongs to an infantile #ec stage of
  intellectual development2 that        
children and childish notions are prone 
to superstition1 which is only another  
name for religion4 ,to account  for the 
wonders of creation they will coolly    
talk of the eternity of  matter1 and the
 action of natural laws1 as if these    
assertions would  lead them out of their
 dilemma4    ,one of the most impressive
 lessons that a person ever learns1 is  
from  the manifestation of power as     
shown in the phenomena of nature1 as1   
for example1 when he gazes upon the     
phenomena of a thunder storm4 ,the  dark
 and thickening cloud1 the flashes of   
the lightning1 the roaring  of thunder1 
the dashing of the rain and the wild    
sweep of the winds1  sometimes crushing 

forests in their pathway1 are all       
manifestations of  an unseen power4     
,among the works of human hands1 the    
traveler gazes  with amazement at the   
ponderous bulk of the pyramids4 ,but    
what are  the pyramids to the ,alps1    
which have been lifted by some power to 
an  altitude thirty-three times the     
hight of the largest pyramid8 ,and yet  
the ,alps are little more than half the 
hight of the ,andes1 and not more  than 
a hundredth part of their mass4 ,these  
ponderous mountain chains  have been    
upheaved bodily1 tearing their way      
through masses of solid  rock miles in  
thickness1 uplifting1 crushing1 tilting 
and dislocating  the solid floor of half
 a continent4 ,here is a power which may
 well  amaze us4    ,again1 no strain1  
that man has ever applied1 has          
compressed or  stretched1 in the least  
perceptible degree1 a block of building 
stone4  ,in fact1 the #ed architects and
 builders of the most ponderous         
edifices1 such as the ,salt ,lake       

,temple1 make not the least allowance   
for the compression of the stones which 
lie at their very base4 ,yet  such is   
the strain which nature exerts upon the 
rocky slabs built into  the hill-sides1 
that they yield like india-rubber to the
 pressure2  and when1 by quarrying1 the 
strain is relieved1 the crushed rocks1  
with a groan1 ease themselves back to   
their original dimensions4 7,see        
,winchel's ,reconciliation of ,science  
and ,religion1 page #ccd47              
,,illustration3 ,,ideal ,,section ,,of  
,,the ,,uintah ,,mountains1 ,,showing   
,,upheaval  ,,of ,,strata ,,and         
,,underlying ,,granite--,,after         
,,powell4    ,and yet1 after all1 this  
is but one of nature's feeblest efforts4
 ,look  beyond the phenomena of uplifted
 mountain-masses1 deep-scooped ocean    
basins1 forest-laying tempests and      
land-consuming waves4 ,look out  into   
limitless space6 ,there hang worlds of  
ponderous bulk4 ,they were  fashioned by
 some skillful hand2 they are upheld by 

some mighty agency2  and moved onward in
 their #ee majestic course by some      
mysterious  power4 ,we cannot bring our 
minds to comprehend that power2 but let 
us  raise our thoughts and try to       
understand something concerning it4     
,there  is the sun whose bulk is so     
great that1 if its center was placed    
where  the center of the earth is1 its  
body would extend in every direction  as
 far as the moon4 ,nay1 farther1 it     
would extend beyond the moon a  distance
 of twenty-four times the diameter of   
the earth4 ,this vast sun1  still in the
 fiery vigor of its youth1 imparting    
light and life to all  that dwell on the
 planets which revolve around it1 is    
only one of the  numberless orbs that   
shine in the abyss of heaven4    ,now1  
what is this power that has formed these
 glorious suns and sent  them whirling  
onward through the cycles of the ages8  
,the infidel tells  us it is gravity4   
,but what is gravity8 ,whence proceeds  
that mighty  force which men call by    

that name8 ,matter is inert1 that is1 it
 does  not possess the power of moving  
itself4 ,it is evident1 then1 that      
matter is acted upon by some power      
outside of itself4 ,in human affairs  we
 can find no result without a cause1 no 
design without a designer2  and1 on     
thinking carefully1 we find that every  
designer is under the  control of a     
will4 ,so1 in the field of nature1 every
 phenomenon is but  the effect of some  
cause1 and that cause must have acted   
under the  control of some intelligent  
will4    ,we are still more amazed when 
we consider the inconceivable space over
  which this power extends4 ,the bulk of
 the sun is beyond our mental  grasp4   
,how then shall we comprehend its       
distance from #ef us8 ,it is  generally 
considered that the sun is about        
ninety-two millions of miles  distant4  
,it is easy to say these words1 but     
difficult to realize their  meaning4    
,our express trains move at the rate of 
thirty miles an hour4  ,now if a railway

 stretched from the earth to the sun1 it
 would require  three hundred and fifty 
years for an express train to pass over 
it4 ,if  ,champlain1 the founder of     
,quebec1 and ,capt4 ,john ,smith and    
,pocahontas1  so famous in early        
,virginia history1 had stepped on board 
this train it  would still require      
nearly eighty years more for their      
descendants to  reach the end of their  
journey4 ,the distance would still be so
 great1  that only the great            
grand-children of the present generation
 could  expect to reach the sun4 ,and   
yet there is a power that reaches across
  this vast distance1 swings the world  
around its orbit like a haltered  colt  
trotting around a hitching post1 lifts  
the ocean into a mighty  tide and lashes
 the rocky shores with the fury of the  
angry waves4 ,but  this is not all4     
,light flashes across this mighty chasm 
in the brief  space of eight minutes and
 a half4 ,the light by which we read    
these  lines started from the sun about 

the time we read the heading of this    
article4 ,what shall we say of a space  
so vast1 that this light must  travel a 
year1 a hundred1 aye1 even a thousand   
years before it reaches  its            
destination8 ,and yet there is a power  
that governs even there1  a power so    
mighty that ,he grasps the whole        
frame-work of stars and  systems1 and   
sends them whirling and wheeling through
 the depths of  boundless space like a  
#eg handful of pebbles thrown through   
the air4  ,well might the great         
philosopher and poet1 ,addison1 exclaim3
     ,the spacious firmament on high    
,with all the blue ethereal sky1   ,and 
spangled heavens1 a shining frame1      
,their great ,original proclaim4     ,in
 ,reason's ear they all rejoice   ,and  
utter forth a glorious voice1   ,forever
 singing as they shine1   ,the hand that
 made us is divine4    ,while we are    
amazed at the manifestations of power in
 creation1 let  us not forget the       
indications of intelligence and design  

that exist  all around us4 ,for example1
 ,i see a friend walking along the      
street  in the rain1 with an umbrella   
over his head1 and ,i feel that somebody
  contrived that instrument with the    
design of keeping off the rain4 ,in  one
 word1 it was intended for that purpose4
 ,in like manner we perceive  marks of  
design and intelligence in the countless
 contrivances and  instruments used in  
every-day life4 ,in fact1 we cannot look
 upon the  simplest invention without   
feeling that it is the result of design 
and intelligence4 ,now the world is full
 of contrivances1 which were  not made  
by human hands1 nor invented by human   
brains4 ,the hand that  wrote these     
words or the hand that set up the type  
to print them is a  more ingenious      
contrivance than was ever made by human 
skill4 ,if it  required intelligence to 
make a pen1 did it not require still    
greater  intelligence to make the hand  
that wields the pen8 ,if it required    
design to #eh fashion a metal type1 did 

it not require a still greater  design  
to form the hand that manipulates that  
type8 not to speak of  that subtle and  
mysterious power1 called the mind1 which
 guides the  hand under both these      
circumstances4    ,in like manner we    
might observe the marks of design and   
mechanical  skill displayed in the      
formation of the eye4 ,first1 there is  
the cavity  in which it is placed1      
composed of seven little bones nicely   
fitted and  glued together1 lined with  
the softest fat and enveloped in a      
tissue1  compared with which the softest
 silk is only coarse canvas4 ,then the  
cavity is so shaped as to exactly fit   
the eye1 while the brow projects  over  
like the roof of a veranda and the lids 
close down over it to  protect it from  
injury4 ,again1 we find that the ropes  
and pulleys used  in the rigging of a   
ship are simplicity indeed as compared  
with the  nerves and muscles used in the
 movements of the eye4                  
,,transcriber',s ,,note3 ,here there is 

an uncaptioned representation of the    
anatomy of the human eye1 with its major
 parts labeled4    ,most persons have   
seen a ship1 and know the way in which  
the yards are  moved1 and the sails     
squared by means of ropes and pulleys4  
,now1 there  is a tackle called a muscle
 to pull the eye down when you want to  
look  down2 another to pull it up when  
you have done2 there is one to pull  it 
to the right1 and another to pull it to 
the #ei left4 ,there is one  fastened to
 the eyeball in two places1 and so      
arranged that it will  move the eye in  
any direction1 as when we roll our eyes2
 and a sixth  fastened to the under side
 of the eye to keep it steady when we do
 not  need to move it4 ,then the eyelids
 are provided with suitable gearing1    
and it needs to be durable too1 for it  
is said to be used thirty  thousand     
times a day1 in fact1 every time we     
wink4    ,not less wonderful is the     
construction of the eye itself4 ,the    
optic  nerve is the part of the eye     

which conveys visions to the mind4      
,suppose  instead of it being where you 
observe it1 at the back part of the     
eye1 it had been brought out to the     
front1 and that reflections from        
objects had fallen directly upon it4 ,it
 is obvious that it would have  been    
exposed to injury from every floating   
particle of dust1 and we  would always  
have felt such a sensation as is caused 
by a burn or scald  when the skin peels 
off and leaves the ends of the nerves   
exposed to  the air4 ,also the tender   
points of the fibres of the optic nerve 
would  soon become blunted and the eye  
of course useless4 ,how then is the     
nerve to be protected1 and yet the sight
 not obstructed8 ,if it were  covered   
with skin as the other nerves are1 we   
could not see through it4  ,for         
thousands of years after men had eyes   
and used them1 they knew no  substance  
at once hard and transparent1 which     
could answer the double  purpose of     
vision and protection4 ,to this day man 

knows no substance  clear enough for    
vision1 hard enough for protection1 and 
elastic enough  to resume its form #fj  
after a blow4 ,now observe in the eye1  
that  forward part1 called the cornea1  
is as it were the watch-glass4 ,it it   
is made of a substance at once hard1    
transparent and elastic2 something      
which man has never been able to        
imitate4    ,it may be asked1 what is   
the use of so many lenses in the eye8   
,light  when refracted through a lens1  
becomes separated into its component    
colors--red1 yellow1 green1 blue and    
violet4 ,so that if the crystalline     
lens of the eye alone were used1 we     
should see every white object1  bluish  
in the middle1 and yellowish and reddish
 at the edges4 ,this  difficulty        
perplexed ,sir ,isaac ,newton all his   
life1 and he never  discovered the mode 
of making a refracting telescope which  
would  obviate it4 ,that remained for   
,m4 ,dolland1 a celebrated physician1   
to do2 and he did it by studying and    

imitating the formation of the  eye4    
,now what absurdity to say that a law of
 nature1 such as gravity1  or           
electricity has such a knowledge of the 
principles of optics and  mechanics as  
the eye proclaims its ,former to have6  
,in all this we see  marks of the most  
admirable design4 ,the eye is fitted    
both to gaze at  the stars millions of  
miles away and minutely examine objects 
only a  few inches distant4 ,in the     
brightness of sunshine the pupil        
contracts  in order to protect the optic
 nerve from injury2 in twilight it      
expands  so as to admit a greater amount
 of light4 ,when we wish to regulate    
the admission of light to our rooms we  
have recourse to very clumsy            
contrivances4 ,a self-acting window     
which shall expand in the twilight  and 
partially close of its #fa own accord as
 the light increases  towards noon1 has 
never been manufactured by man4 ,in     
short1 anatomists  have already observed
 more than eight hundred contrivances in

 the dead  eye1 while the greatest      
contrivance of all1 the power of seeing1
 is  utterly beyond their ken4          
,similar arguments might be brought from
 every department of nature to  prove   
the marks of design in creation4 ,the   
question therefore returns  with double 
force1 had the world a creator or did it
 make itself8  ,there are persons who   
say it did1 and with a brazen-faced     
impudence  declare that the ,bible tells
 a falsehood when it says that1 ,in the 
beginning1 ,god created the heavens and 
the earth4 ,whereas1 say they1  we know 
that matter is eternal1 and the world   
being wholly composed  of matter1       
therefore1 the heavens and the earth are
 eternal--never had  a beginning nor a  
creator4 ,profound reasoning indeed6 ,in
 the same  manner we might say1 ,here is
 a well-burned brick1 fresh from the    
kiln1  which may last for a thousand    
years to come2 therefore1 it has always 
existed4    ,again1 it is claimed by    
some that matter is indestructible4 ,the

  foundation of the argument is as      
rotten as the superstructure4 ,who      
knows that fact8 for the very reason    
that no one can tell what matter  in its
 own nature is4 ,we may heat water to a 
certain degree and change  it into      
steam1 but it is all there in the steam4
 ,we may burn coal and  thus change is  
appearance1 but its particles are all   
there1 in the form  of gas1 ashes or    
tar4 ,all that any one can say is1 that 
matter is #fb  indestructible by any    
power or agency known to man4 ,but to   
assert that  matter is eternal1 because 
man cannot destroy it1 is as if a child 
should try to beat a locomotive to      
pieces with his stick1 and failing  in  
the attempt should say1 ,i am sure this 
locomotive existed from  eternity1      
because ,i am unable to destroy it4     
,but1 supposing that matter is eternal1 
how does that account for the  formation
 of this beautiful world8 ,the earth    
consists not of one  substance known by 
that name1 but of a great variety of    

material  substances as oxygen1         
hydrogen1 carbon1 sulphur1 iron1 and    
some  fifty-two or three others already 
discovered 7see ,turner's ,chemistry1   
section #cda74 ,now which of these is   
the eternal matter referred to8  ,is it 
iron1 or sulphur1 or carbon1 or oxygen8 
,if it is any one of  them1 where did   
the others come from8 ,did a mass of    
iron1 for example1  becoming            
discontented with its condition1        
suddenly change itself into  a cloud of 
gas or a pail of water8 ,or are all the 
elements eternal8  ,have we fifty-eight 
eternal substances8 ,are they all       
eternal in their  present combinations1 
or is it only the simple elements that  
are  eternal8 ,whatever may be the      
answers to these questions1 they give   
no light on the formation of this world1
 which is not a shapeless  mass called  
matter1 but a beautiful building        
composed of a variety of  substances4   
,has this earth existed as it is from   
eternity8 ,no man who  ever was in a    

quarry or gravel pit will say so1 much  
less one who has  the least smattering  
of chemistry or geology4 ,if the        
elements which  #fc compose the earth   
have not always existed as we now find  
them1  then how came they to put        
themselves in their present shapes8     
,matter  has no power of putting itself 
in motion when at rest1 nor of coming to
  rest when in motion4 ,a body will     
never change its place unless moved1    
and if once started will move on forever
 unless stopped4 ,for example1  if we   
leave our room1 and on our return find a
 book missing1 we know  that some one   
has taken it--the book could not have   
gone off at its own  suggestion4    ,now
 will the infidels presume to tell us1  
that the fifty-eight primary  elements  
danced about till the air1 sea and earth
 somehow jumbled  themselves together   
into the present shape of this glorious 
and  beautiful world1 with all its      
regularity of day and night1 ,summer and
  ,winter1 with all its beautiful       

flowers and lofty trees1 with all its   
variety of birds1 beasts and fishes1 not
 to speak of the beauties of  the       
morning1 the gorgeous dyes of sunset1 or
 the silent glories of  the midnight    
sky4 ,or to bring the question down to  
the level of the  intellect of the most 
stupid atheist1 tell us in plain        
,english1 did  the paving stones make   
themselves8    ,absurd as it seems1     
there are persons claiming to be        
philosophers who  not only assert that  
they did1 but will tell you how they did
 it4 ,one  class of them think they     
found it out by supposing everything in 
the  universe reduced to very fine      
powder1 consisting of very fine grains1 
which they call atoms2 or1 if that is   
not fine enough1 into gas1 of  which it 
is supposed the particles are too fine  
#fd to be perceived1  and then by       
different arrangements of these atoms1  
according to the  laws of attraction1   
electricity1 or some other law1 the     
various  elements of the world were     

made1 and arranged in their present     
forms4  ,but then the difficulty is only
 multiplied millions of times4 ,each bit
  of paving stone1 no matter how small  
you break it1 can no more make  itself  
or move itself1 than could the whole    
stone composed of all these  bits4 ,so  
we are landed back at the sublime       
question1 did the paving  stones make   
themselves8    ,others will tell you    
that millions of years ago the world    
existed as a  vast cloud of fire-mist4  
,what this fire-mist is they do not     
know1 but  only that there are certain  
comets1 which come within fifty or sixty
  millions of miles of this earth1 which
 they suppose may be composed of        
fire-mist4 ,hence they imagine that the 
earth also may have been made  from the 
same fire-mist4 ,but where did the mist 
come from8 ,did the mist  make itself8  
,where did the fire come from8 ,did it  
kindle of its own  accord8 ,who put the 
fire and the mist together8 ,was it red 
hot enough  from all eternity to melt   

granite8 ,then why is it any cooler now8
 ,if it  existed as a red hot fire-mist 
from eternity1 why should it ever begin 
to cool at all8 ,infidels claim that    
there was nothing else in all the       
universe except this fire-mist4 ,then   
the cause of all this must have  been in
 the mist itself4 ,in other words1 the  
fire-mist made itself1  then the paving 
stones and the infidels afterwards4     
#fe ,others suppose that the world was  
once in a stage of solution1  in        
primeval oceans1 and that the mixing of 
these waters caused them  to deposit a  
sediment1 which hardened into rock1 then
 vegetated into  plants and trees1 then 
grew into animals1 these in turn        
developed  into monkeys1 and finally the
 monkeys into men4 ,thus it is clearly  
demonstrated that there is no need for  
the ,creator if we only had  somebody to
 make these primeval oceans1 somebody to
 mix them together1  and somebody to    
establish these laws of development4    
,another favorite theory among infidels1

 is that of ,buffon1 the  vain-glorious 
,french philosopher4 ,his theory was    
that the sun is a vast  melted mass1 and
 that once on a time a huge comet struck
 the sun in  such a manner1 that        
portions of it splashed off1 just as a  
stone thrown  in a slanting direction   
into a bucket of water would cause      
portions  of the water to splash out of 
the vessel4 ,these portions of matter   
7acting under certain laws7 then formed 
themselves into spheres and  being      
condensed by cold have become solid     
planets and satellites4 ,thus1          
according to this idea1 creation was    
only an accident after all4 ,still1  as 
might be expected1 thinking men kept    
asking3 ,where did the sun come  from8  
,what melted it down into a fluid state 
fit to be splashed about8  ,where did   
the comet come from8 ,and who threw it  
with so correct an aim1  as to hit the  
sun exactly in an oblique direction4    
#ff ,,illustration3 ,,solar ,,system    
,this idea received considerable        

encouragement from a certain class of   
scientific men during the early part of 
this century4 ,between  the orbits of   
,mars and ,jupiter is a vast space which
 was supposed  to be unoccupied4 ,in the
 first seven years of this century1     
three  small planets were discovered    
revolving in orbits midway between ,mars
  #fg and ,jupiter4 ,afterwards many    
others were discovered until now  the   
number exceeds two hundred4 ,dr4        
,olbers1 the discoverer of two of  them1
 ,pallas and ,vesta1 finding that their 
orbits were comparatively  near together
 and sometimes crossed each other1      
imagined that they  were formed by the  
explosion of a large planet or by a     
comet coming  in contact with a large   
planet and thus shattering it to pieces4
  ,this theory seemed all the more      
plausible seeing that these minor       
worlds or pocket planets1 as ,herschel  
styles them1 are exceedingly            
diminutive4 ,so1 to use a familiar      
illustration1 he imagined the boiler  of

 a large locomotive had burst and the   
fragments had all alighted on  the track
 in the shape of hand-cars2 much more1  
that the hand-cars had  magnanimously   
resolved to keep running and do the     
business of the line4  ,at first sight  
this theory seemed strengthened by every
 new discovery4  ,it is true1 reflecting
 men could not help wondering at such a 
strange  event1 that would produce      
beautiful little planets all by         
accident4  ,they never heard of the     
blowing up of a palace producing        
cottages1 or  the fragments of a        
steam-ship changing into yawl-boats1 nor
 even the  pieces of a wrecked          
locomotive becoming neat little engines 
or even  respectable hand-cars4         
,however1 as the theory removed ,god out
 of sight1  it was generally accepted by
 the infidels and freely used by them1  
to  show that the world has no need of a
 ,creator4    ,genuine scientists1      
however1 were not long in seeing the    
absurdity and demonstrating the #fh     

impossibility of such a theory4  ,it was
 found that their orbits did not        
coincide by more than twenty  millions  
of miles4 ,again1 it has been proven    
that comets are incapable  of greatly   
affecting a sun or planet4 ,herschel    
says1 ,it is evident  that the most     
unsubstantial clouds which float in the 
highest region of  our atmosphere must  
be looked upon as dense and massy bodies
 compared  with the filmy texture of a  
comet4    ,thus ,reason declares1 that  
the world did not make itself4 ,the soul
 of  man did not make itself4 ,the body 
of man did not make itself4 ,they  must 
have had an intelligent ,creator1 who is
 ,god4 ,the work is not the  workman2   
the house is not the builder2 the watch 
is not the watchmaker4  ,the maker is   
always distinct from the thing made and 
superior to it4  ,you1 and ,i1 and the  
universe have been made2 therefore1 our 
,creator is  distinct from us1 and      
superior to us4    ,the consciousness of
 our ignorance and weakness confirms    

this fact4  ,the soul of man is not the 
highest intelligence in the universe4   
,in  his present state he has not yet   
acquired a knowledge of the laws and    
functions of the body he inhabits1 much 
less the laws that sway the  universe4  
,he may know much about what does not   
concern him2 but he  feels his weakness 
where his dearest interests are         
concerned4 ,he may  be able to tell the 
place of a distant planet a century     
hence2 but he  cannot tell where he     
himself will be next year4 ,he may      
calculate for  years the motion of the  
tides2 but he cannot tell how his own   
pulse  will beat to-morrow1 #fi or      
whether it will beat at all4 ,ever as   
his  knowledge of the laws of nature    
increases1 his conviction deepens that  
a wiser head and a stronger hand than   
his planned and rules the world4    ,the
 world's history declares the existence 
and government of ,god4  ,history is but
 the record of men's acts and ,god's    
providences1 of men's  crimes and ,god's

 punishments4 ,once ,he swept away the  
human race with a  flood of water       
because the wickedness of man was great 
upon the earth4  ,again1 ,he testified  
,his displeasure against the wicked of  
,sodom and  ,gomorrah by consuming those
 cities by fire from heaven1 and leaving
  the ,dead ,sea to roll its solemn     
waves of warning to the end of time4    
,no amount of learning or skill1 wealth 
or commerce1 power of arms1  or extent  
of territory1 has ever secured a wicked 
nation against the  sword of ,god's     
justice4 ,read the black record of the  
past4 ,where is  the greatness of       
,egypt1 ,nineveh1 ,babylon and ,petra8  
,tyre had ships1  colonies and commerce1
 ,rome an empire of half a hemisphere2  
,greece had  philosophy1 arts and       
liberty secured by a confederation of   
republics1  ,spain the treasures of the 
earth's gold and silver8 but these did  
not exempt them from the moral          
government of ,god4 ,his laws sway the  
universe1 and link together sin with    

misery1 and crime with punishment1  in  
the brazen fetters of eternal justice4  
,these nations have been  hurled down   
from the pinnacle of their greatness1 to
 dash themselves in  pieces against each
 other in the valley of destruction2 and
 there they  lie1 wrecks of nations1    
ruins of empires1 naught remaining1 save
  some shivered fragments of former     
greatness1 to show that they once       
existed and were the enemies of ,god4   
#gj ,,illustration3 ,,the ,,dead ,,sea  
#ga    99 99 99 99 99        ,,chapter  
,v4    ,,our ,,need ,,of ,,revelation4  
,,revelation ,,progressive--,,its       
,,relation ,,to                         
,,civilization--,,solomon--,,his        
,,proverbs--,,newman',s                 
,,absurdities--,,carlyle--,,parker--,,he
athen ,,philosophy  ,,immoral--,,ancient
 ,,roman ,,songs--,,character ,,of      
,,heathen ,,deities--,,religion  ,,of   
,,india--,,compte--,,bradlaugh--,,cheste
rfield--,,paine4    ,the philosopher    
finds only two books in all the         

world--two divine1  original books1     
viz41 the ,volume of ,nature1 and the   
,revelations of  ,god4 ,all others are  
mere commentaries upon these two        
original1 divine  books4 ,to these      
pertain all that has been thought1 said 
or written1 in  all the ages past2 and1 
we might add1 all that ever will be     
written in  all the ages to come4 ,that 
which explains1 delineates or           
illustrates  the volume of nature is    
called ,science4 ,that which unfolds to 
us the  attributes of ,god1 our own     
nature and destiny is revelation4 ,it   
treats  of that which man cannot        
otherwise perceive2 its records are     
called  the ,scriptures or ,books of    
,inspiration4 #gb ,the volume of nature 
is  written upon the rocks1 fields1     
forests and all the varied forms of     
animal life1 in symbolic characters1    
which it is the province of  science to 
decipher4 ,the volume of revelation is  
the impress of the  divine will on man's
 spiritual nature4 ,thus both are the   

handwriting  of ,deity ,himself4        
,science teaches us material laws in    
relation to  time4 ,revelation instructs
 not merely in these1 but likewise      
includes  spiritual laws and eternal    
duration4 ,the lessons that man learns  
from age to age are progressive even as 
a school boy's4 ,science and  revelation
 are therefore progressive1 though in   
somewhat different  ways4 ,the former   
advances mainly through the exercise of 
human reason2  the latter through man's 
more favored circumstances1 and the     
increased  divine illumination of his   
spiritual nature4 ,how vain1 how        
arrogant the  babblings of the          
sectarians who tell us that the book of 
revelation  is forever closed6 ,that    
man1 in this puerile state1 has already 
taken  possession of the whole treasure 
of divine truth6 ,that the human mind   
with its poor plummet has already       
sounded the depths of the divine        
oracles6 ,still more benighted are they 
who do not see that there is  a divine  

as well as human element in all our     
progress1 that purity  of heart is      
necessary for the clearest perception   
even of the truths  of science4 ,thus   
the nations as well as the individuals  
who have the  highest spiritual light   
are precisely those who have made the   
greatest  intellectual progress4 ,if we 
look over a map of the world we find    
that those #gc nations which possess the
 purest religious ideas are  precisely  
those which have made the greatest      
intellectual1 social and  political     
progress4 ,now religious ideas emanate  
from ,god4 ,they are the  result of the 
action of the divine will on the minds  
of men4 ,thus the  progress of the      
nations depends upon the revelations of 
,god4    ,thousands of years ago1       
,solomon perceived this fact4 ,he was a 
man of  great learning as well as       
practical common sense4 ,he understood  
not  merely the science of government1  
but likewise botany1 or the science  of 
plants1 from the mighty trees that grew 

on ,mount ,lebanon1 to the  tiny hyssop 
that grew in crevices of the garden     
wall3 and the natural  history of beasts
 and birds1 reptiles and fishes4 ,he was
 also skilled  in literature2 he is said
 to have made three thousand proverbs1  
and  his songs were a thousand and five 
7see ,i4 ,kings1 iv chap74 ,better  than
 all this1 in the opinion of many1      
especially infidels1 he made  money1 and
 tells us how to make and keep it4 ,any 
young man will make  hundreds of dollars
 by reading his ,proverbs and acting on 
them4 ,they  would have saved some of us
 many a thousand4 ,of course ,solomon   
knew  something of the world4 ,he was a 
wide-awake trader2 his ships coasted    
the shores of ,asia and ,africa1 from   
,madagascar to ,japan2 and the  overland
 caravans from ,india and ,china drew up
 in the depots he built  for them in the
 heart of the desert4 ,he knew the      
well-doing people with  whom trade was  
profitable1 and the savages who could   
only send apes and  peacocks 7see ,i4   

,kings1 chap4 x74 ,solomon was a        
philosopher as  well as a trader1 and   
could not help being deeply impressed   
with the  great fact that there was a   
wide difference between the nations of  
the  earth4 ,some were enlightened1     
enterprising1 civilized and flourishing2
  others were naked savages1 perpetually
 at war with each other1 living  in     
ignorance1 poverty1 vice and on the     
verge of starvation4    #gd             
,,illustration3 ,,giant ,,cities ,,of   
,,bashan1 ,,built ,,by ,,solomon    #ge 
,solomon also noticed another fact1 that
 the nations  which were favored with   
the revelations of ,god1 were the       
civilized1  enterprising and            
comparatively prosperous nations4 ,in   
,palestine1  ,chaldea and ,mesopotamia1 
,god had revealed ,his will to certain  
persons  for the benefit of the race4   
,even ,egypt1 it is now generally       
admitted1  passed through the era of her
 greatest prosperity at the time she was
  in close relationship and             

communication with the ,hebrew          
,patriarchs1  ,abraham1 ,jacob and      
,joseph1 who were the living oracles of 
,god1 and  whose influence greatly      
increased for a time her national       
prosperity4  ,on the other hand the     
nations that were uninfluenced by the   
revelations  of ,god1 were the          
idolatrous savages1 who were but little 
above the  level of the brutes4 ,solomon
 epitomized these great facts in the    
proverb1 ,where there is no vision the  
people perish1 but he that  keepeth the 
law1 happy is he 7,proverbs xxix1 #ah74 
,o1 says the skeptic1 the world is wiser
 now than it was in ,solomon's  days4   
,he lived in the old times of ignorance 
and superstition1 when men  attributed  
everything extraordinary to the gods4   
,but we are too wise  now to believe in 
revelation4    #gf ,again1 ,straus says1
 ,no just notion of philosophy or       
history  is possible which includes a   
belief of those things that we do not   
understand4 ,depth of wisdom indeed6 ,we

 do not understand how a blade  of grass
 grows1 therefore we must deny its      
existence4    ,one cannot help being    
amazed at the cool impudence with which 
these  men take for granted the very    
point to be proved1 and set aside as    
unworthy of serious examination1 the    
most authentic records of history1      
simply because they do not coincide with
 their so-called philosophy2  and at the
 credulity with which their followers   
swallow these arrogant  assertions1 as  
if they were self-evident truths4 ,let  
us look at this  argument for a moment4 
,pagan religions have their fables1     
therefore1  the ,hebrew and ,christian  
records are fables4 ,in other words1    
since  counterfeit bank bills exist     
therefore none are genuine4    ,skeptics
 offer no proofs that miracles are      
impossible4 ,yet1 surely1  if they imply
 a contradiction1 that contradiction    
could be shown4 ,the  creation of this  
world is the most stupendous of all     
miracles2 yet all  men admit that this  

miracle occurred4 ,the experience of man
 is not the  limit of knowledge4        
,revelation is not impossible because   
supernatural4  ,the world is as full of 
supernatural works as of natural4 ,the  
miracles  recorded in the strata of the 
earth's crust are as great as any       
recorded in the ,bible4    ,if1 as the  
infidel asserts1 religion and           
superstition are identical1  and        
ignorance is the cause1 how #gg happens 
it that the most  intellectual and      
progressive nations are those which have
 the clearest  religious ideas8 ,the    
history of nations universally and      
unequivocally  declares this fact4 ,even
 among the so-called ,christian nations 
of  ,europe and ,america we find their  
intellectual culture and general        
progress in exact proportion to the     
purity of their respective faiths4      
,while we look in vain1 among the       
heathen nations of ,africa to find a    
single benefactor of the race1 or one   
worthy to be distinguished among  the   

millions of her population in all the   
countless generations past4    ,in the  
face of all this we find a sort of      
spiritualistic philosophers  who tell us
 that we have no need of communication  
from ,god4 ,newman1 in  his ,phases of  
,faith1 page #aeg1 says1 ,miraculous    
phenomena will never  prove the         
attributes of ,god if we do not know    
these things in and of  ourselves4      
,carlyle1 in his ,past and ,present1    
page #cjg1 exclaims1  ,revelations6     
inspirations6 indeed6 and thy own mighty
 transcendent1  god-like soul1 dost thou
 not call that a revelation8 ,such sort 
of  trash1 which passes for profound    
philosophy1 is taught in hundreds  of   
colleges1 and is echoed from thousands  
of pulpits by men who call  themselves  
,christian ministers1 but who could not 
reap their rich  salaries if they would 
openly avow their atheism4    ,theodore 
,parker says1 ,if a fact depends upon   
revelation1 it is not  eternally true1  
and if it is not eternally true it is no

 truth at all4  ,profound philosophy    
indeed6--as if eternally true1 and      
sufficiently  known were just the same  
thing4 ,to use #gh a familiar           
illustration1  because vaccination would
 always have prevented the small pox1 if
 it  had been known1 therefore the world
 is under no obligation to ,jenner  for 
informing us of the fact4 ,newman adds  
in another place1 ,i cannot  receive    
instruction from another being4 ,again1 
,neither ,god nor man  can reveal any   
religious truths to our minds4 ,parker  
says1 ,on ,his  7,god's7 word or as ,his
 second1 be he whom he may1 ,i can      
accept nothing  7,parker's ,discourse   
page #bji74    ,now we are tempted to   
ask1 who are these wonderful prodigies1 
so  incapable of receiving instruction  
from anybody8 ,and to our amazement  we 
learn that some forty or fifty years    
ago1 they made their appearance  among  
mankind as little squalling babies1     
without insight enough to  know their   
own names or who they were1 or where    

they came from1 and  were actually      
dependent on an external revelation1    
from their nurses1  for sense enough to 
find their mothers' breasts4 ,and as    
they grew a  little larger1 they learned
 the art of speaking articulate sounds1 
by  external revelation3 viz41 hearing  
and repeating sounds made by others4    
,further1 on a certain day they had a   
book revelation made to them1 in  the   
shape of a ten cent primer1 and received
 their first lessons by  the            
instructions of another4 ,they had not  
then the least insight1  or spiritual   
faculty1 or mighty transcendent soul1 by
 which they  could learn all things in  
and of themselves4 ,faith in the word of
 their  teachers was absolutely the only
 means by which they learned to speak1  
read and write4    #gi ,but this is not 
half their indebtedness to external     
revelation4  ,they admit that a ,feejee 
cannibal has just the same mighty and   
transcendent soul that they themselves  
have4 ,how1 then1 does it happen  that  

,newman1 ,emerson and ,parker1 and all  
their followers1 who are too  proud to  
be taught of ,god1 are not assembled    
around a cannibal's oven1  smearing     
their faces with the blood and feasting 
themselves on the  limbs of women and   
children8 ,is it not1 after all1 the    
revelations of  ,god and the teachings  
depending thereon that make the whole   
difference  between the civilized       
,american and his ,feejee brother8      
,it is amusing to see how these modern  
atheists1 who reject ,moses  and the    
,prophets1 as well as ,christ and ,his  
,apostles1 will permit  themselves to go
 into ecstacies over the supposed wisdom
 of ancient  heathen philosophers1 such 
as ,socrates1 ,plato and ,aristotle4    
,but on  examination we find that the   
teachings of all these philosophers     
were immoral4 ,the gratification of the 
sensual appetites was openly  taught4   
,he may steal1 says ,plato1 who knows   
how to do it4 ,oaths are  frequent in   
the writings of ,plato and ,seneca4     

,anstippus taught that  a wise man had a
 right to commit adultery4 ,aristotle   
vindicated the  awful crimes of         
foeticide and infanticide4 ,even suicide
 was defended by  ,cicero and ,seneca as
 the mark of a hero1 and ,demosthenes1  
,cato1 ,brutus  and ,cassius carried the
 means of self-destruction about them1  
that they  might not fall alive into the
 hands of their enemies4    #hj ,the    
laws of the best-regulated heathen      
states commended or  approved of vice4  
,the student of the classics need not be
 reminded  that the songs of ,ovid1     
,horace and ,virgil would not be        
tolerated in  the vilest theater of ,new
 ,york or ,chicago4 ,the laws of ,sparta
 required  theft1 and the murder of     
unhealthy children4 ,the ,carthaginian  
law  required human sacrifices2 and in  
ancient ,babylon1 prostitution was      
compulsory on every female4 ,plato1     
dissatisfied with the laws of  his      
country1 wrote out a code of morals and 
laws which he thought  much better4 ,in 

this heathen ,utopia the ideas of home  
and family  were ignored4 ,marriage was 
to be unknown2 women's rights were to be
  maintained by having the women trained
 to war4 ,children were still  to be    
murdered if convenience called for it4  
,little boys and girls  were to be led  
to battle at a safe distance1 that the  
young whelps  may early scent carnage   
and be inured to slaughter4 ,such were  
the  loftiest ideas of the greatest     
philosopher of antiquity4 ,after all his
  speculations and writing1 ,plato      
admitted1 ,we cannot know of ourselves  
what petition will be pleasing to ,god1 
or what worship we should pay  to ,him2 
but it is necessary that a lawgiver     
should be sent from heaven  to instruct 
us4 ,oh1 how greatly do ,i long to see  
that man6 ,he further  adds1 ,this      
lawgiver must be more than man1 that he 
may teach us things  man cannot know by 
his own nature4 ,who has not dropped a  
tear over the  dying words of ,socrates8
 ,i am going out of the world1 and you  

are to  continue in it1 but which of us 
has #ha the better part is a secret to  
every one but ,god6 ,also those         
memorable words1 ,we must of necessity  
wait till some one1 who careth for us1  
shall come and instruct us how  we ought
 to behave toward ,god and toward man4  
,nor is it to be expected that the      
ancient ,egyptians1 ,greeks1 ,romans and
  other heathen nations should have an  
exalted idea of virtue1 when we         
consider the character of the gods they 
worshiped4 ,the ,egyptian deities       
consisted of bulls and dogs1 cats and   
rats1 snakes and crocodiles4 ,when  a   
dog died the whole house went into      
mourning and fasted till night4 ,a      
,roman soldier who had accidentally     
killed a cat was punished with death    
7see ,diodorus ,siculus1 ,book ,i74 ,the
 great1 mighty and transcendent  soul1  
as ,carlyle terms it1 had been degraded 
so low that there is a  picture in one  
of the pyramids1 of an ,egyptian king   
worshiping his own  coffin4    ,the     

,greeks from their intercourse with the 
,jews learned some correct  religious   
ideas1 especially after the conquest of 
,palestine by  ,alexander1 and the      
translation of the scriptures into the  
,greek  language1 in the reign of       
,ptolemy ,philadelphus1 ,b4 ,c4 #bdj4   
,before  this period little sense can be
 found in their religion4 ,their gods   
were as detestable as they were         
numerous4 ,hesiod tells us they had     
thirty thousand4 ,their supreme god1    
,jupiter1 was an adulterer4  ,mars1 a   
murderer4 ,mercury1 a thief1 ,bacchus1 a
 drunkard and ,venus1  a prostitute4 ,to
 their inferior gods they attributed    
other crimes  too horrible to be        
mentioned4 ,these gods #hb they         
worshiped with  ceremonies of lust1     
drunkenness and bloodshed unfit to be   
described4    ,if any one supposes that 
the condition of the modern heathens is 
any  better than it was in ancient      
times1 let him turn to ,india1 where  he
 will find one hundred and fifty        

millions of rational beings1            
possessing1 as ,theodore ,parker says1  
all needful spiritual light1  who       
worship three hundred and thirty        
millions of gods in the form of  hills  
and trees1 rivers and rocks1 elephants  
and tigers1 monkeys and  rats1 serpents 
and crocodiles1 and monsters unlike     
anything in heaven  or on earth4 ,the   
monster idol1 ,juggernaut1 will do as a 
specimen of  all4 ,around his temple    
countless multitudes from all parts of  
,india1  congregate annually1 many of   
them having measured with their own     
bodies  the whole distance of their     
weary pilgrimage4 ,within the temple1   
the  monster idol1 with its frightful   
grim and distorted visage1 sits         
enthroned1 amid thousands of massive    
sculptures1 the representative  emblem  
of that cruelty and vice which          
constitute the very essence of  his     
worship4 ,there in their sacred city of 
,benares may be seen at all  times      
crowds of religious devotees and        

mendicants2 some remaining  all day with
 their heads on the ground and their    
feet in the air2  some cramming their   
eyes with mud and their mouths with     
straw2 others  with their limbs fastened
 in unnatural positions1 and still      
others  with little pots of fire placed 
upon their breasts1 hoping by these     
self-inflicted tortures to win the favor
 of the god4 ,when the day of  the high 
festival arrives1 the horrid idol is #he
 dragged forth from  his temple and     
mounted on a lofty car in the presence  
of hundreds of  thousands who rend the  
air with their shouts1 ,victory to      
,juggernaut6  ,then the officiating     
priest commences the ceremonies by a    
loathsome  pantomimic exhibition        
accompanied by the utterance of obscene 
and  filthy songs1 to which the vast    
multitude at intervals respond1 not in  
the strains of tuneful melody1 but in   
loud yells of approbation4 ,after  this 
the terrible carnage commences2 for as  
the car is dragged through  the streets1

 the more enthusiastic devotees throw   
themselves beneath  the wheels1 and are 
instantly crushed to pieces1 the        
infatuated victims  of hellish          
superstition4 ,on the neighboring hills1
 the so-called sacred  vultures may be  
seen feasting on these corpses and the  
bleak and barren  sands on the roadside 
are forever whitened with the skulls and
 bones of  deluded pilgrims1 which lie  
bleaching in the sun 7see ,duff's       
,india1  page #bbb74    ,of course1     
high-toned infidels do not consider     
themselves as debased  as the natives of
 ,india4 ,what then is the tendency of  
their teachings8  ,m4 ,compte1 a leading
 skeptical writer1 tells us1 ,childhood 
should be  taught to worship idols1     
youth to believe in one ,god1 and full  
grown  men 7like himself7 to adore the  
resultant of all the forces of the      
universe1 not forgetting their worthy   
friends the animals 7see  ,politique    
,positive1 ,vol4 ,,ii4 page #fj74 ,if   
this is not the teachings of  idolatry1 

what is it8    ,again1 we find that the 
whole school of infidel writers         
vindicate and  apologize for the very   
worst #hd of crimes4 ,bradlaugh1 the    
leading  atheist of ,england1 declares  
that1 ,a man is no more to be blamed for
  the indulgence of lust or anger1 than 
he is for thirst or drowsiness4  ,hume1 
whose arguments are so often used by    
,american infidels1 taught  that        
adultery must be practiced by mankind1  
if they would obtain all  the advantages
 of life4 ,lord ,chesterfield1 another  
prominent infidel1  in his letters to   
his son 7which were designed for        
publication7  instructs him in the art  
of seduction1 as part of a polite       
education4    ,nor is the character of  
infidels any better than their          
teachings4 ,take1  for example1 ,thomas 
,paine1 the author of the ,age of       
,reason1 whose  birth-day is annually   
celebrated1 and who is held up by       
infidels as a  model for the young4 ,a  
few extracts from a letter written to   

him1 by  his fellow-infidel1 and        
co-worker1 ,william ,carver1 may not be 
out of  place4    ,new ,rochelle1       
,december #bnd1 #ahjc4    ,mr4 ,thomas  
,paine4       ,sir3--,i received your   
letter dated the #beth ult41 and after  
minutely   examining its contents1 ,i   
found that you had taken to the pitiful 
subterfuge of lying for your defense4   
,you say that you paid me four   dollars
 per week for your board and lodging1   
during the time you were   with me1     
prior to the first of ,june last2 which 
was the day that ,i   went up1 by your  
order1 to take you to ,new ,york1 from  
,new ,rochelle4 ,it   is fortunate for  
me that ,i have a living witness who saw
 you give me   five guineas1 and no more
 in my shop at your departure at that   
time4   ,now you have means1 why do you 
not pay me the remainder8 ,you said you 
would have given me more1 but that you  
had no more with you at that   time4    
,you say1 also1 #he that you found your 
own liquors during the   time you       

boarded with me2 but you should have    
said that you found   only a small part 
of the liquor you drank during your stay
 with me4   ,that part you purchased of 
,john ,fellows and consisted of a       
demi-john   of brandy containing four   
gallons1 and that did not serve you     
three   weeks4 ,this can be proved1 and 
,i mean not to say anything that ,i     
cannot prove1 for ,i hold truth as a    
precious jewel4 ,it is a well-known     
fact1 that you drank one quart of brandy
 per day at my expense1 during   the    
different times you boarded with me1    
besides the demi-john above   mentioned1
 and the last fourteen weeks you were   
sick4 ,was not this a   sufficient      
supply for dinner and supper8 99 99 99  
99 99       ,i have often wondered that 
a ,french woman and three children      
should   leave ,france and all their    
connections to follow ,thomas ,paine to 
,america4 ,suppose ,i were to go to my  
native country1 ,england1 and take      
another man's wife1 and three children  

of his and leave my wife and   children 
in this country2 what would be the      
natural conclusion in   the minds of the
 people1 but that there was some        
criminal connection   between the woman 
and myself8    ,such is the morality of 
those who denounce the ,bible as an     
immoral  book1 and blaspheme the ,god of
 revelation as too vile to be reverenced
  or worshiped4 ,not even the friends of
 ,paine have ever denied the            
genuineness of this and other letters   
that clearly reveal his private         
character4 7,for full particulars see   
,discussion ,between ,dr4 ,berg and     
,mr4 ,barker1 published by ,w4 ,s4      
,young1 ,philadelphia1 #ahed47    ,once 
in modern times a nation had the        
opportunity of showing the world  a     
specimen of an infidel republic4 ,the   
,bible was publicly burned4 ,death  was 
declared an eternal sleep2 ,god was     
declared a fiction1 the ,sabbath  was   
abolished and religious worship         
denounced4 ,and what was #hf the        

consequence8 ,revolution after          
revolution occurred4 ,thousands1 aye    
millions1 of the sons of ,france were   
slain in the wars that ensued4  ,wave   
after wave of blood rolled through the  
guilty streets of ,paris1  and the      
people were clothed in mourning from one
 end of the land to the  other4 ,in the 
,declaration of ,independence it is     
declared that1 ,mankind  are endowed by 
their ,creator with certain inalienable 
rights4 ,it is  well said3 the law of   
,god is the only secure basis for the   
rights of  man4    #hg                  
,,chapter ,,vi4    ,,validity ,,of ,,the
 ,,new ,,testament ,,as ,,shown ,,by    
,,internal ,,evidence4    ,,influence   
,,of ,,the ,,scriptures--,,their        
,,agreement ,,with ,,secular            
,,history--,,colony ,,of                
,,philippi--,,ancient                   
,,coin--,,certainty ,,of ,,bible        
,,history--,,gibbon',s                  
,,testimony--,,quotations ,,of          
,,celsus--,,marcion ,,the               

,,apostate--,,classification ,,of ,,new 
,,testament ,,books--,,avocations ,,of  
,,the  ,,apostles--,,their ,,manner ,,of
 ,,preaching--,,they ,,challenged       
,,criticism--,,denial  ,,of ,,miracles1 
,a ,,modern ,,invention--,,sufferings   
,,of ,,the ,,apostles--,,they  ,,sealed 
,,their ,,testimony ,,with ,,their      
,,blood4    ,faith rests upon facts1    
superstition on theories4 ,faith is     
increased  by intelligence1 superstition
 by ignorance1 ,faith courts            
investigation  for thereby it is        
strengthened2 superstition shuns it as  
fatal to its  existence4 ,thousands can 
bear witness to the truth of the words  
of the  ,savior1 ,if any man will do    
,his will he shall know of the doctrine1
  whether it be of ,god or whether ,i   
speak of myself2 yet surrounded  as we  
are by skeptics and cavilers of every   
sort1 it is well that we  should be     
prepared to ward off the fiery darts of 
the wicked1 to meet  them with their own
 arguments1 and as the youthful #hh     

,david did to  ,goliath in days of old1 
cut off the boastful atheistic giant's  
head  with his own sword4    ,in looking
 over the history of the world1 we find 
that those books1  which collectively   
are called the scriptures1 have in all  
ages1 exerted  a controlling influence  
over the destinies of mankind4 ,their   
teachings  are perused with pleasure by 
the child1 and pondered with patience by
  the philosopher4 ,their practical     
wisdom has guided the judgment of the   
wisest kings of antiquity and still     
teach the humblest peasant his duty  to 
his neighbor4 ,their precious promises  
have lighted the prophetic  eyes of old2
 they are still chanted by the mother   
over her cradle1 and  by the orphan over
 the tomb4 ,here1 thousands of miles    
distant from the  places where they were
 first revealed1 in a language unknown  
alike at  ,cumorah and ,jerusalem1 they 
rule as lovingly and as powerfully as in
  their native soil4    ,with all these 
palpable facts in view1 let us enquire  

into the origin  of the book which has  
produced such results4 ,on looking at   
the ,bible we  find it composed of a    
number of separate treatises written by 
different  authors1 at various times2   
some parts fifteen hundred years before 
the  others4 ,we find also1 that it     
treats of the very beginning of the     
world  before man was made and of       
matters of which we have no other       
authentic  history4 ,again1 we find     
portions which treat of events connected
 in a  thousand places with the affairs 
of the ,medo-,persian1 ,macedonian and  
,roman empires1 of which we have several
 credible #hi histories4 ,now  the      
statements made in these works1 so far  
as they refer to subjects  mentioned in 
the ,bible agree with the ,biblical     
record1 in every  particular4 ,further1 
the inscriptions on monuments and       
ancient coins  have often settled mooted
 questions in history and invariably    
have been  found to agree with the      
scriptural narrative4 ,for example1 we  

are told  in ,acts1 xiv #ab1 that ,paul 
went to ,philippi1 which is the chief   
city  of that part of ,macedonia1 and a 
colony4 ,now1 says the infidel1  ,greece
 at that time was a conquered country2  
and it was contrary  to ,roman customs  
to form colonies of ,roman citizens in  
conquered  countries4 ,besides1 we have 
no account by any ,roman historian that 
,philippi was a colony4 ,hence we may   
conclude that the ,new ,testament       
account is incorrect4    ,,illustration3
 ,,facsimile ,,of ,,coin ,,found ,,at   
,,philippi    ,at first all this seemed 
plausible1 but a few years ago1 a       
scientific  association was formed to   
excavate among the ruins of eastern     
cities1  and1 among others1 ,philippi   
came in for a share of attention4 ,in   
excavating around one of the ruins an   
ancient coin was unearthed1  which bore 
upon its surface the effigy of a ,roman 
emperor1 surrounded  by the following   
inscription3 ,,philippi ,,colona1       
,,claudius ,,imperator1  which signifies

 in plain ,english1 ,colony of          
,philippi1 ,claudius being  emperor4    
#ij ,here1 then1 we have an ancient     
,roman coin bearing testimony to the    
truth of ,god's word4 ,further1 by means
 of this coin we see a depth of         
meaning1 in the last five verses of the 
#afth chapter of ,acts1 not at  first   
perceptible4 ,we are thus able to       
perceive1 in some degree1 the  terror of
 the ,philippian magistrates when they  
learned that ,paul and  ,silas were also
 ,romans4    ,day by day as scientific  
investigation proceeds we hear of       
additional  corroborative evidence4     
,every year throws some new light on    
oriental  manners and customs1 while    
from the ruins of ,nineveh and the      
sepulchres  of ,egypt1 we receive       
unlooked-for testimonies to the minute  
accuracy  of the inspired penmen4 ,the  
objection that the scriptures contain   
mysteries1 or statements which are      
difficult to be understood1 is  in      
reality one of the strongest proofs of  

their divine source and  authority4 ,the
 words of a teacher are often           
misunderstood by the pupil1  because the
 pupil's mind is not sufficiently       
developed to comprehend  them4          
,sometimes1 indeed1 they are entirely   
misapprehended for the same  reason4 ,so
 also1 it is to be expected that the    
full import of the  divine              
communications would sometimes transcend
 the partially-developed  intellect of  
man4 ,the thoughts and methods of       
infinite wisdom1  expressed in the      
plainest of human words1 must sometimes 
remain  inscrutible4 ,after all that can
 be said in reference to the weakness of
  the human medium1 through which the   
divine will has been communicated1  we  
find in the scriptures1 a wonderful     
agreement with the development  of #ia  
truths which have come to man in the    
progress of the ages4  ,science has     
never successfully impeached any        
statement of the  scriptures when       
rightly interpreted4 ,for example1 in   

the first chapter  of ,genesis we find a
 brief account of the creation of the   
world4  ,until modern times1 it was the 
popular opinion that this narrative     
taught that the earth and heavens were  
created during an interval of  six days 
of twenty-four hours each and that the  
work dates back but a  few thousand     
years4 ,these views were entertained    
when our ,bible was  translated into    
,english4 ,since that date1 several     
sciences have sprung  into existence    
which throw a vast amount of light on   
the history of  the creation2 and if    
,king ,james' translators had their work
 to perform  to-day1 they would see     
meanings in ,genesis of which the world 
had not  dreamed two hundred years ago2 
and they would make the translation read
  a little differently1 in order to make
 it agree more exactly with the         
original ,hebrew4 7,winchell's          
,reconciliations page #ceg74    ,have we
 not here one of the plainest admissions
 of the total apostasy  of the so-called

 ,christian church8 ,had the translators
 of the  scriptures been in possession  
of the ,holy ,spirit1 they would have   
had  no difficulty in translating the   
sentiments dictated by that same        
,spirit to the seers and prophets in    
ages past4 ,then1 too1 we would  have   
had a translation which would have      
furnished a key by which to  detect the 
true science from the false4 ,in        
,genesis we have an account1  to which1 
when rightly understood1 the latest     
indications of #ib  science admirably   
conform4 ,this circumstance alone1 ought
 to be strong  evidence1 even to a      
skeptic1 of its super-human origin4     
,written ages  before the birth of      
modern sciences1 there was the utmost   
liability for  mere human authorship to 
fall into the most egregious            
misstatements  respecting the phenomena 
of the natural world2 but in point of   
fact  some of its statements were so far
 in advance of the highest human        
knowledge in all the ages past1 and even

 the boasted science of the  nineteenth 
century1 that we are only just beginning
 to understand them4    ,now1 the only  
way for us to know anything beyond our  
eyesight1 is  to examine it1 and gather 
testimony about it4 ,all the blessings  
of  education1 civilization1 law and    
liberty have come to us through the     
channel of abundant1 reliable testimony4
 ,there is perhaps1 not a man  living   
who was present at the battle of        
,quebec1 in the encampment of  ,valley  
,forge1 or heard ,washington deliver his
 farewell address2 yet  the fact that   
these things transpired as they are     
related1 no one will  doubt4 ,few       
persons now living ever saw ,washington1
 yet no one doubts  that he lived4      
,certainty about the ,bible history is  
just as attainable  as certainty about  
,american history4 ,let us begin at the 
present and  trace the records back to  
the times in which the ,new ,testament  
was  written4 ,we presume there are few 
persons as ignorant as an infidel       

lecturer we once heard1 who1 when asked1
 ,who compiled the scriptures8          
answered1 after some hesitation1 ,the   
,american ,bible ,society4    #ic       
,sometimes infidels tell us that the    
,emperor ,constantine called  various   
councils which compiled the ,new        
,testament1 in the fourth  century4 ,we 
can scarcely wonder at this statement   
coming from those  who look upon the    
,catholic church as representing        
,christianity4  ,constantine1 the man   
who had murdered two of his sons1 and   
strangled1  while in a bath1 the wife   
who had trusted in him1 was surely a    
worthy  representative of that church   
whom the ,apostle ,john styles the      
mother  of harlots and abominations of  
the earth4 ,still we cannot help asking 
how it was that this murderer who had   
made himself obnoxious even  in pagan   
,rome on account of his crimes and his  
confederates equally  wicked1 was able  
to dictate words of such sublime virtue 
as are  everywhere found in the ,new    

,testament4 ,the infidel1 ,gibbon1      
attempts  to explain1 and tells us ,the 
austerity1 purity and zeal of the first 
,christians1 their good discipline1     
their belief in the resurrection of  the
 body1 and the general judgment1 and    
their persuasion that ,christ  and ,his 
apostles wrought miracles1 had made a   
great many converts4  ,but how came they
 to have this belief1 purity and zeal8  
,just as if  we should enquire how the  
,chicago fire originated1 and you should
 tell  us1 that it burned very fast     
because it was very hot4 ,what we want  
to  know is how it happened that        
frivolous ,greeks1 licentious ,asiatics 
and warlike ,romans at once became pure 
and adopted the humble life  of the     
early ,christians8 ,what implanted the  
belief of a judgment to  come in the    
minds of #id these heathen scoffers8    
,gibbon admits that1  ,christian        
churches were sufficiently numerous in  
the ,roman empire1  to make it politic  
for the emperor to profess              

,christianity1 and  sufficiently        
powerful to secure his success4 ,thus   
according to the  admissions of an      
infidel writer the ,christians were     
already numerous1  and the story of     
,constantine forming the ,new           
,testament1 which had been  read in     
churches and believed in for two hundred
 years1 is as absurd as  to hear it     
stated that the saloon keepers1         
prize-fighters and hoodlums  of ,new    
,york had just assembled in the ,large  
,tabernacle in ,salt ,lake  ,city to    
construct the revelations contained in  
the book of ,doctrine and  ,covenants1  
which have been already accepted and    
believed by the ,saints1  for more than 
fifty years4    ,if1 on the other hand1 
we consult any or all of the hundreds of
  manuscripts mentioned by ,mosheim1    
,neander and ,lardner in their          
ecclesiastical histories we shall find  
that there were thousands1 aye          
millions1 who believed in a teacher sent
 from ,god who had appeared  in         

,palestine and taught this religion     
which they had embraced1 and  who had   
performed wonderful miracles such as    
opening the eyes of the  blind1 healing 
lepers and raising the dead4 ,they      
believed also that  this ,teacher had   
been put to death by ,pontius ,pilate1 a
 ,roman governor1  had risen again from 
the dead1 had spoken to hundreds of     
people and  gone out and in among them  
for six weeks after ,his resurrection1  
had  ascended up to heaven in the sight 
of numbers of witnesses1 and had        
promised that ,he would #ie come again  
in the clouds of heaven to raise  the   
dead and judge every man according to   
his works4 ,further1 that  before ,he   
went away he appointed twelve of ,his   
intimate companions to  teach ,his      
religion to the world2 that they and    
their followers did so  in spite of     
persecutions1 sufferings and death1 with
 so much success1  that immense numbers 
gave up idolatry and embraced           
,christianity1  braving the fury of the 

heathen mob1 and the vengeance of the   
,roman  law4 ,afterwards1 when          
persecution had destroyed great numbers1
 and  through apostasy they had lost the
 divine authority and priesthood we     
hear of various councils wherein they   
assembled for the settling of  their    
disputes4 ,these1 so far from giving    
authority to the books of the  ,new     
,testament1 constantly quoted the words 
of these books and referred  to them for
 proof and authority4    ,again1 one    
hundred years before the time of        
,constantine we find ,celsus1  a        
celebrated infidel writer and           
sensualist1 disputing the teachings of  
the gospel because they interfered with 
his depraved appetites2 and  in his     
writings he quotes freely from the ,new 
,testament4 ,so numerous  are his       
quotations that from them alone1 the    
student might gain all  the principal   
facts of the ,christian religion4 ,as   
,paine quotes the  ,new ,testament to   
ridicule it1 no man can deny that such a

 book was  in existence at the time he  
wrote2 so the quotations of ,celsus are 
conclusive proofs that the books he     
referred to were considered  authority  
at the time he wrote4 ,yet in all his   
writings1 ,celsus never  #if once casts 
a doubt on the authority of the         
scriptures1 never  questions the gospels
 as books of history nor denies the     
miracles  recorded in them4 ,it may also
 be added that the student who will     
examine the writings of ,celsus1 will   
cease to admire the professed  wisdom of
 our modern skeptics4 ,the objections   
made by ,hume1 ,voltaire1  ,hobles and  
,paine are frequently only the arguments
 of ,celsus served up  in a modern      
style4    ,going back still another     
hundred years we come to the times of   
the  notorious apostate1 ,marcion4      
,several of the apostles were alive at  
the time ,marcion was born2 and his     
works date back to within twenty  years 
of the latest apostolical writings4     
,having been cut off from the  church1  

he was greatly enraged and said the     
worst he could about it4 ,he  traveled  
all the way from ,sinope1 on the ,black 
,sea1 to ,rome1 through  ,galatia1      
,bythynia1 ,asia-,minor1 ,greece and    
,italy1 the very countries  where the   
apostles preached1 and the churches to  
which they wrote4 ,he  endeavored in    
many places to wrest the scriptures from
 their rightful  meaning2 but nowhere   
attempted to deny their authority 7see  
,lardner1  ,vol4 ix1 page #ceh74 ,thus  
in the writings of ,celsus and ,marcion 
we  have the most indubitable evidence1 
even the admission of enemies1  that    
these books were in existence and       
universally received as true1  by the   
early ,christians1 within twenty years  
of the time when they  were written and 
by the very churches to which they were 
addressed4 ,as  printing was then       
unknown1 and all important doctrines    
were written  upon #ig parchment1 the   
books of that period presented rather a 
bulky appearance4 ,probably for this    

reason the four books1 ,matthew1  ,mark1
 ,luke and ,john1 were commonly joined  
together in one volume and  named ,the  
,gospel4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles1   
and the ,epistles to the  churches of   
,thessalonica1 ,galatia1 ,rome1         
,corinth1 ,ephesus1 ,philippi1          
,collosse1 the ,first ,epistle of       
,peter1 the ,first ,epistle of ,john1   
together with those written to          
,philemon1 ,timothy and ,titus1         
comprised  a second volume called ,the  
,apostles4 ,the remaining books of the  
,new  ,testament1 being the last        
written1 usually formed a third volume  
and  were known as ,apostolical         
,writings4 ,this arrangement did not    
injure  the meaning but rather          
benefitted it by showing the relative   
dates of  the various books comprising  
the ,new ,testament4    ,it is evident  
that the gospels were not copied from   
each other1 for  they often relate      
different events1 and when they relate  
the same  occurrence1 each man relates  

those parts of it which he saw himself1 
and which impressed him most4 ,this     
agreement of independent writers  is the
 more remarkable1 as the writers were   
persons of various  degrees of          
education1 of different professions and 
ranks of life1  born in different       
countries and writing from various      
places in ,italy1  ,greece1 ,palestine  
and ,assyria1 without any communication 
with each  other4 ,matthew was a tax    
collector in the province of ,galilee2  
,mark1  a ,hebrew citizen of ,jerusalem2
 ,luke1 a ,greek physician of ,antioch2 
,james and ,john owned and sailed a     
fishing boat #ih on ,lake ,tiberias2    
,jude left his home and shop in ,galilee
 in order to preach the gospel2         
college-bred ,paul cast his parchments  
and popularity aside1 carried his       
sturdy independence in his breast1 and  
his sail needles in his pocket1  and    
dictated epistles and cut out jib sails 
and awnings in the tent  factory of     
,aquila1 ,paul  ,co41 at ,corinth2      

several of ,paul's letters  were written
 in a dungeon at ,rome2 the last of     
,peter's is dated at  ,babylon2         
,matthew's gospel was penned at         
,jerusalem1 and ,john's gospels  and    
epistles were written at ,ephesus4 ,the 
agreement of eight such  witnesses1 of  
different pursuits1 and so scattered    
over the world1 in  relation to the same
 story is a convincing3 proof of its    
veracity4    ,the manner in which the   
,apostles published their testimony to  
the  world1 bears every mark of         
truthfulness4 ,strong in the            
consciousness  of right1 they dared to  
assert that ,jesus had risen from the   
dead1 in  the very streets of the city  
where he was crucified--in the temple1  
the  most public place of resort of the 
,jews who saw him crucified--and to  the
 teeth of the very men who put him to   
death4 ,the ,god of our fathers  raised 
up ,jesus1 whom ye slew and hung on a   
tree4 ,him that ,god exalted  with ,his 
right hand to be a ,prince and a        

,savior1 to give repentance to  ,israel 
and remission of sins4 ,and we are ,his 
witnesses of these things1  and so is   
also the ,holy ,ghost which ,god hath   
given to them that obey  him 7,acts4 v1 
#cj74 ,had ,paul been conscious that he 
was relating  falsehood1 would he have  
dared to appeal to the judge1 before    
whom he  #ii was on trial for his life1 
as one who knew the notoriety of these  
facts8 ,for the king knoweth of these   
things1 before whom also ,i speak       
freely3 for ,i am persuaded that none of
 these things are hidden from  him2 for 
this thing was not done in a corner     
7,acts xxvi1 #bf74    ,the boldness of  
their preaching1 however1 is little1    
compared with the  boldness of their    
design1 which was nothing less than to  
convert the  world4 ,the heathens never 
dreamed of such a thing4 ,the ,jews were
 so  indignant at the project1 that when
 ,paul hinted it to them1 they cried1   
,away with such a fellow from the earth3
 for it is not fit that he  should live 

7,acts xxii1 #bb74    ,it is remarkable1
 that while in addressing the ,saints1  
the apostles  rarely allude to their    
power of working miracles 7fourteen of  
the  epistles make no allusion to       
apostolic miracles71 but dwell on the   
subject of a holy life4 ,yet they never 
hesitate to confront a ,simon  ,magus1  
or a schismatical church at ,corinth1 or
 a persecuting high  priest and         
sanhedrim with this power of the ,holy  
,ghost4    ,read the story of the       
miraculous healing of the poor1 lame    
beggar1 who  laid at the gate of the    
temple1 as recorded in the third and    
fourth  chapters of ,acts4 ,who ever    
heard of an impostor standing up before 
the  tribunal of his judges1 and        
pleading his cause in the following     
manner1  ,if we this day be examined of 
the good deed done unto the impotent    
man1 by what means he is made whole1 be 
it known unto you all1 and to  all the  
people of ,israel1 that by the name of  
,jesus ,christ #ajj of  ,nazareth1 whom 

ye crucified1 whom ,god raised from the 
dead1 even by ,him  doth this man stand 
before you whole4 ,such an appeal was   
unanswerable4  ,beholding the man who   
was healed standing with them1 they     
could say  nothing against it4 ,nay1    
they were compelled to acknowledge1     
,that  indeed a notable miracle hath    
been done by them is manifest to all    
them  that dwell in ,jerusalem--we      
cannot deny it4    ,the denial of the   
miracles of the gospel is a modern      
invention4 ,the  ,scribes and priests1  
emperors and philosophers of the first  
century1  who had the best opportunity  
of proving their falsehood1 were unable 
to  do so4 ,why1 then1 it may be asked1 
did they not all become ,christians8    
,because a miracle cannot convert a man 
against his will4 ,the religion  of the 
gospel is not merely a belief in        
miracles1 but the love of  ,christ and a
 life in conformity with ,his commands4 
,the labors and sufferings of the       
apostles themselves furnish strong      

proof of the facts of gospel history4   
,to preach another king1 one  ,jesus1 to
 the ,romans1 was to bring down the     
power of the empire upon  them4 ,nothing
 could be more absurd in the eyes of    
,grecian philosophers1  than to speak of
 the resurrection of the body4 ,nor     
could any plan be  devised more certain 
to arouse the fury of the pagan         
priesthood than to  denounce that by    
which they had their wealth4 ,the most  
degraded wretch  who perishes on the    
scaffold is not more contemptible in our
 eyes than  the crucified ,redeemer was 
to the ,jewish and ,roman peoples4      
#aja ,what1 then1 could induce any men  
in their senses to stem the  tide of    
such opposition if they were            
manufacturing falsehoods to gain        
popularity and power4 ,the religion they
 preached was not adapted to  please    
sensual men2 even infidels admit that   
they preached a pure  morality4 ,no     
provision was made for making money by  
their preaching4  ,one of their first   

acts was to cause the church to elect   
deacons  who might manage its money     
matters1 and allow the apostles to give 
themselves wholly to prayer and the     
ministry of the word 7,acts vi1  #b-e74 
,twenty-five years after they could     
appeal to the world that1  ,even to this
 present hour1 we 7the apostles71 both  
hunger1 and thirst1  and are naked1 and 
are buffeted1 and have no certain       
dwelling-place1  and labor1 working with
 our hands3 being reviled1 we bless2    
being  persecuted1 we suffer it3 being  
defamed1 we intreat3 we are made as the 
filth of the world1 and are the         
offscouring of all things unto this  day
 7,i4 ,cor4 iv1 #aa-ac74    ,the ,new   
,testament opens with the story of the  
,savior's birth in a  stable1 with the  
manger for his cradle1 and one of its   
last pictures1  is that of ,his         
venerable apostle chained in a dungeon1 
and begging his  friend to bring his old
 cloak from ,troas1 and to do his       
diligence to  come before ,winter 7,,ii4

 ,tim4 iv chap474    ,unpopular and     
penniless1 if the gospel story were not 
true1 how could  it have had preachers8 
,when ,paul was changed from a          
persecutor to a  disciple1 behold the   
prospect the ,savior presents to him1 ,i
 will  show him how great things he must
 suffer for my #ajb sake4 ,paul         
declares1 ,the ,holy ,ghost testifieth  
that in every city bonds and            
afflictions abide me4 ,yet none of these
 things move me1 neither count  ,i my   
life dear unto myself1 so that ,i may   
finish my course with joy  7,acts xx1   
#bc1 #bd74 ,in another place he adds1   
,of the ,jews five times  received ,i   
forty stripes save one4 ,thrice was ,i  
beaten with rods1 once  was ,i stoned1  
thrice ,i suffered shipwreck1 a night   
and a day ,t have  been in the deep3 in 
journeyings often1 in perils of waters1 
in perils  of robbers1 in perils by my  
own countrymen1 in perils by the        
heathen1  in perils in the city1 in     
perils in the wilderness1 in perils in  

the  sea1 in perils among false         
brethren1 in weariness and painfulness1 
in  watchings often1 in hunger and      
thirst1 in cold and nakedness 7,,ii4    
,cor4 xi1 #bd-bg74    ,man can give no  
higher proof of his veracity1 save to   
seal his  testimony with his blood4     
,this the apostles did4 ,all1 except    
,john1  suffered martyrdom for the truth
 of the gospel4    #ajc        ,,chapter
 ,,vii4    ,,new ,,testament ,,facts    
,,corroborated ,,by ,,secular ,,writers4
    ,,tertulian',s ,,works--,,extract   
,,from ,,tacitus--,,value ,,of          
,,cotemporary                           
,,correspondence--,,pliny',s            
,,letter--,,proof ,,of ,,the ,,saints'  
,,morality--,,gospel  ,,distinctive     
,,from ,,all ,,other ,,religions--,,no  
,,other ,,system ,,depends ,,upon       
,,similar ,,influences4    ,in a former 
chapter was shown some of the internal  
evidences of the  validity of the ,new  
,testament4 ,by continuing our          
investigations we find  other and       

valuable proofs of its authenticity4    
,there was no printing in  those days2  
therefore the people to whom the gospels
 and epistles were  addressed1 had the  
opportunity of knowing by the           
handwriting whether  these documents    
were genuine or not4 ,for example1 ,paul
 in his second  epistle to the          
,thessalonians1 says3 ,the salutation of
 ,paul with my own  hand1 which is the  
token in every epistle3 so ,i write4    
,the grace of  our ,lord ,jesus ,christ 
be with you all4 ,amen4 ,these words    
show indeed  the heart of an apostle2   
but what a business man would most      
appreciate  is the fact how greatly     
these few lines add to the #ajd security
  against forgery4 ,it is a hard thing  
to forge a signature1 but give a        
business man two lines of any man's     
writing besides that1 and he is         
perfectly secure against imposition4    
,the churches to whom the epistles  were
 written and to whom the gospels were   
delivered consisted largely  of business

 men1 merchants1 traders1 city          
chamberlains and officers of  ,caesar's 
household4 ,does any one think that such
 men could not tell the  handwriting of 
the apostle who had lived among them for
 years or that  they cared less for the 
documents of the gospel1 for which they 
risked  their lives1 than we would care 
about the genuineness of a ten dollar   
check8 ,tertulian1 who lived from ,a4   
,d4 #ade to #bbb1 was one of the most   
learned men of that age4 ,he was well   
versed in ,roman law1 in ancient        
philosophy1 history and poetry4 ,he had 
been brought up a heathen1  and was not 
therefore likely to favor the teachings 
of the apostles  without due            
investigation4 ,his writings are        
interesting1 throwing  much light on the
 circumstances and social questions of  
that age4 ,he  traveled extensively     
among the churches which the apostles   
had planted  and claims to have seen the
 original copies of ,matthew and ,john  
and  the epistles written to the        

churches at ,rome1 ,corinth1            
,thessalonica1  ,ephesus and ,philippi1 
and refers skeptics to the places where 
these  documents could be found4 ,that  
these writings contained the same words 
as are in our present ,new ,testament is
 evident from the numerous  quotations  
in ,tertulian's works4    #aje ,in the  
,british and other museums may be found 
thousands of  manuscripts on every      
conceivable subject embracing every age 
for  the past sixteen hundred years and 
even some still earlier4 ,among  these  
manuscripts are over two thousand copies
 of the ,new ,testament1  some of them  
dating back to apostolic times4 ,these  
manuscripts have  been scrutinized by   
the most critical scholars2 yet the     
result of  this examination is merely   
the suggestion of thirteen unimportant  
alterations in the seven thousand nine  
hundred and fifty-nine verses  of the   
,new ,testament4 ,this is a fact utterly
 unexampled in the history  of          
manuscripts4 ,we are thus1 by the       

special providence of ,god1 as          
undoubtedly in possession of genuine    
copies of the gospels and  epistles1    
some of which were written while the    
companions of the ,savior  were still   
living and the divine authority and     
,priesthood were still  upon the earth1 
as we are of genuine copies of the      
,constitution of the  ,united ,states   
and of the ,declaration of              
,independence4    ,there is no history  
so trustworthy as that prepared by      
cotemporary  writers1 especially by     
those who have themselves been actively 
engaged in the events which they relate4
 ,such history never loses its          
interest1 nor does the lapse of ages1 in
 the least degree1 impair its           
credibility4 ,while the documents can be
 preserved1 ,xenophon's ,retreat  of the
 ,ten ,thousand1 ,wellington's          
dispatches1 and ,washington's letters   
to ,congress1 will be as trustworthy as 
on the day they were written4  ,of the  
great facts described in these #ajf     

documents addressed to  their           
cotemporaries1 able at a glance to      
detect a falsehood1 we never  entertain 
the least suspicion4 ,many such         
historical allusions might be  quoted4  
,we have selected one from the          
well-known works of ,tacitus1 the       
celebrated ,roman historian1 who lived  
between ,a4 ,d4 #fj and #abj1  and wrote
 a history of ,rome up to the reign of  
the emperor ,trajan4  ,concerning this  
extract from the history of ,tacitus the
 infidel1  ,gibbon1 says1 ,the most     
skeptical criticism is obliged to       
respect  the truth of this important    
fact and the integrity of this important
  passage of ,tacitus4 ,after relating  
the burning of the city of ,rome  by    
order of ,nero1 and his attempt to      
transfer the odium of it to the         
,christians1 ,tacitus says3      ,the   
author of that name was ,christ1 who in 
the reign of    ,tiberius1 was put to   
death as a criminal1 under the          
procurator    ,pontius ,pilate4 ,but    

this pestilent superstition1 checked for
    a while1 broke out afresh and spread
 not only over ,judea1    where the evil
 originated1 but also in ,rome1 where   
all that is    evil on the earth finds  
its way1 and is practiced4 ,at first1   
those only were apprehended who         
confessed themselves of    that sect2   
afterwards1 a vast multitude were       
discovered by    them2 all of whom were 
condemned1 not so much for the    crime 
of the burning of the city1 as for their
 enmity to    mankind4 ,their executions
 were so contrived as to expose them    
to derision and contempt4 ,some were    
covered over with the    skins of wild  
beasts1 that they might be torn to      
pieces by    dogs2 some were crucified2 
while others having been daubed    over 
with combustible materials1 were set up 
for lights in the    night time and thus
 burned to death4 ,for these spectacles 
,nero gave his own gardens1 and1 at the 
same time1 exhibited    there the       
diversions of the circus2 sometimes     

standing in the    crowd as a spectator1
 in the habit of a charioteer1 and1 at  
#ajg other times driving a chariot      
himself2 until at length these    men1  
though really criminal and deserving of 
exemplary    punishment1 began to be    
commiserated as people who were         
destroyed1    not out of regard to the  
public welfare1 but only to gratify the 
cruelty of one man4    ,now let the     
reader take up the ,new ,testament and  
read the last six  chapters of ,acts and
 the letters of ,paul to ,philemon1     
,titus and the  second to ,timothy4     
,these letters were written when the    
aged prisoner  was ready to be martyred1
 and the time of his departure was at   
hand4  ,then let the reader form his    
opinion of the origin and nature of that
  faith which enabled ,paul to say1     
,none of these things move me1 neither  
count ,i my life dear unto me1 that ,i  
may finish my course with joy1 and  the 
testimony which ,i have received of the 
,lord ,jesus4    ,there is still another

 kind of cotemporary history1 which does
 not even  propose to relate history at 
all2 but is for that very reason        
entirely  removed from the suspicion of 
making a false statement4 ,by this is   
meant cotemporary correspondence4 ,the  
undersigned and incidental use  of a    
name1 a date or a quotation often       
flashes conviction upon the  reader's   
mind in the most forcible manner4 ,if we
 have the private  letters of celebrated
 men laid before us1 we are enabled to  
look right  into them1 and see their    
true characters4 ,thus ,macaulay        
exhibits to the  world the proud1 lying1
 stupid tyrant ,king1 ,james1 displayed 
in his own  letters4 ,thus the          
celebrated ,voltaire records himself an 
adulterer1  and begs his friend #ajh    
,d',alembert to lie for him1 and his    
friend  replies that he has done so4    
,thus the correspondence of ,thomas     
,paine  exhibits him drinking a quart of
 brandy daily at his friend's expense   
and refusing to pay his bill for        

boarding4 ,in the unguarded freedom of  
confidential correspondence the veil is 
taken from the heart4 ,we see  men as   
they are4 ,the true man stands out in   
his native dignity and the  gilding is  
rubbed off the hypocrite4 ,give to the  
world their letters1  and no just person
 would hesitate to pronounce ,hume a    
sensualist1 or  ,washington1 the noblest
 work of ,god1 an honest man4    ,now we
 are in possession of this same kind of 
indisputable evidence  concerning the   
great facts of the ,new ,testament4     
,from the abundant  notices of the      
faith1 teachings and practices of the   
early saints1  which are to be found in 
the works of cotemporaneous writers1    
historians and poets1 philosophers and  
magistrates1 ,jewish1 ,christian  and   
heathen2 it may be well to select one1  
to corroborate and compare  with the    
statements of the ,new ,testament4 ,lest
 we should be accused of  partiality1   
let us take the celebrated letter of    
,pliny to ,trajan4 ,this  letter is     

utterly undeniable and admitted by the  
most skeptical to be  beyond suspicion1 
,pliny1 the younger1 was born ,a4 ,d4   
#fa4 ,he lived and  died a pagan4 ,in   
,a4 ,d4 #ajf1 when a little more than   
forty-five years  of age1 he was        
appointed by the emperor ,trajan to be  
governor of the  ,roman provinces of    
,pontus and ,bithynia--a vast tract of  
,asia-,minor1 in  which #aji were       
situated the cities and churches of     
,ephesus1 ,smyrna1  ,pergamos1          
,thyatira1 ,sardis and ,philadelphia4   
,the ,epistles of ,peter to  the        
strangers scattered throughout ,pontus1 
,galatia1 ,cappadocia ,asia1  and       
,bithynia1 brings us to the same        
mountainous region4 ,pliny1 having      
taken up his residence in ,ephesus1     
wrote the following letter to the       
,roman emperor3      ,pliny to the      
,emperor ,trajan wishes health and      
happiness4      ,it is my constant      
custom1 sire1 to refer myself to you in 
all matters concerning which ,i have any

 doubt4 ,for who    can better direct me
 when ,i hesitate1 or instruct me when  
,i am    ignorant8 ,t have never been   
present at any trials of ,christians1   
so that ,i know not well what is the    
subject matter of    punishment1 or of  
inquiry1 or what strictures ought to be 
used in    either4 ,nor have ,i been a  
little perplexed to determine    whether
 any difference ought to be made upon   
account of age1    or whether the young 
and tender1 and the full-grown and      
robust1 ought to be treated all alike2  
whether repentance    should entitle to 
pardon1 or whether all who have once    
been    ,christians ought to be punished
 though they are now no    longer so4   
,in the meantime ,i have taken this     
course with all who    have been brought
 before me1 and have been accused as    
,christians4 ,i have put the question to
 them whether they    were ,christians4 
,upon their confessing to me that they  
were1    ,i repeated the question a     
second and a third time1 threatening    

also to punish them with death4 ,such as
 still persisted1 ,i    ordered away to 
be punished2 for it was no doubt with   
me1    whatever might be the nature of  
their opinion1 that contumacy    and    
inflexible obstinacy ought to be        
punished4 ,there were    others of the  
same infatuation1 whom1 because they are
 ,roman    citizens1 ,i have noted down 
to be sent to the city 7,rome74      ,in
 a short time1 the crime spreading      
itself even while under    persecutions1
 as is usual in such cases1 divers sorts
 of people    came in my way4 ,and      
information was presented to me1    #aaj
 without mentioning the author1         
containing the names of many    persons1
 who1 upon examination denied that they 
were    ,christians1 or had ever been   
so2 who repeated after me an            
invocation to the gods1 and with wine   
and frankincense made    supplication to
 your image1 which1 for that purpose1 ,i
 have    caused to be brought and set   
before them1 together with the          

statues of the deities4 ,moreover they  
reviled the name of    ,christ4 ,none of
 which things1 as is said1 they who are 
really    ,christians can by any means  
be compelled to do4 ,these1             
therefore1 ,i thought proper to         
discharge4      ,others were named by an
 informer1 who at first confessed       
themselves ,christians1 and afterwards  
denied it4 ,the rest    said they had   
been ,christians1 but had left them2    
some three years    ago1 some longer1   
and one or more above twenty years4     
,they    all worshiped your image1 and  
the statues of the gods2 these    also  
reviled ,christ4 ,they affirmed that the
 whole of their    fault or error lay in
 this3 that they were wont to meet      
together1    on a stated day before it  
was light1 and sing among themselves    
alternately1 a hymn to ,christ as a ,god
 and bind themselves    by a sacrament1 
not to the commission of any wickedness1
 but    not to be guilty of theft1 or   
robbery1 or adultery2 never to          

falsify their word nor to deny a pledge 
committed to them    when called upon to
 return it4 ,when these things were     
performed1 it was their custom to       
separate1 and then to come    together  
again to a meal which they ate in       
common1 without    any disorder2 but    
this they had forborne since the        
publication    of my edict1 by which1   
according to your command1 ,i           
prohibited assemblies4 ,after receiving 
this account1 ,i judged    it the more  
necessary to examine two maid servants1 
who    were called ministers1 by        
torture4 ,but ,i have discovered        
nothing besides a bad and excessive     
superstition4      ,suspending1         
therefore1 all judicial proceedings1 ,i 
have    recourse to you for advice2 for 
it has appeared to me a matter    highly
 deserving consideration especially upon
 account of the    great number of      
persons who are in danger of suffering4 
,for    many of all ages and every rank1
 of both sexes likewise1 are    accused1

 and will be accused4 ,nor has the      
contagion of this    superstition seized
 cities only1 but the lesser towns also1
 and    #aaa the open country4          
,nevertheless1 it seems that it may be  
restrained and arrested4 ,it is certain 
that the temples which    were almost   
forsaken1 begin to be frequented4 ,and  
the sacred    solemnities1 after a long 
intermission1 are revived4 ,victims1    
likewise1 are everywhere brought up1    
whereas1 for some time1    there were   
few purchasers4 ,whence1 it is easy to  
imagine1    what numbers of men might be
 reclaimed1 if pardon were    granted to
 those who shall repent4    ,to this the
 ,emperor ,trajan replied3      ,trajan 
to ,pliny wisheth health and happiness3 
,you have taken the right course1 my    
,pliny1 in your    proceedings with     
those who have been brought before you  
as    ,christians2 for it is impossible 
to establish any one rule that    shall 
hold universally4 ,they are not to be   
sought after4 ,if    any are brought    

before you1 and are convicted1 they     
ought to    be punished4 ,however1 he   
that denies his being a ,christian1     
and makes it evident in fact1 that is1  
by supplication to our    gods1 though  
he be suspected to have been so         
formerly1 let    him be pardoned upon   
repentance4 ,but in no case of any crime
    whatever1 may a bill of information 
be received without being    signed by  
him who presents it4 ,for that would be 
a    dangerous precedent1 and unworthy  
of my government4    ,now let us read   
the ,first ,general ,epistle of ,peter1 
the ,first ,general  ,epistle of ,john1 
and the second and third chapters of    
,revelation and we  will be able to see 
the force of the various allusions1 to  
the numbers1  doctrines1 morals and     
persecutions of the ,saints as mentioned
 in this  letter4 ,the doctrines of the 
,christian faith then are not the       
gradual  growth of centuries1 as the    
infidel would make us believe4 ,on the  
other hand the primitive churches       

possessed a perfection of doctrine  and 
organization unknown to the so-called   
,christian churches of the  present day4
 ,in the life time #aab of those who had
 seen the ,savior  crucified1 and in    
countries a thousand miles distant from 
,jerusalem1 we  find the ,saints        
scattered over ,pontus1 ,galatia1       
,cappadocia1 ,asia and  ,bithynia1 as   
well as in the world's proud capital1   
the city of ,rome4  ,in this letter also
 we have the testimony of apostates1    
eager to save  their lives by giving    
such information as they knew would be  
acceptable  to the persecuting governor1
 the testimony of the two servants under
  torture1 and the unwilling1 yet       
express testimony2 of their torturer1   
that all his cruel ingenuity could      
discover nothing worse than what he     
called a bad and excessive superstition4
 ,now1 what was it that this  heathen   
governor called a superstition8 ,why    
simply that they bound  themselves by   
the most solemn religious services1 not 

to be guilty of  theft1 robbery or      
adultery2 not to falsify their word nor 
deny a pledge  committed to them2 and   
when a statue of the emperor was        
presented to  them they refused to make 
supplication to it4 ,for this refusal1  
and  this alone1 he ordered them away to
 death4 ,and as these martyrs went  away
 to torture and to death1 may they not  
have heard tingling in  their ears the  
words of ,peter which had been written  
to them a few  years previous3 ,beloved1
 think it not strange concerning the    
fiery  trial that is to try you1 as     
though some strange thing happened unto 
you4 ,but let none of you suffer as a   
murderer1 or as a thief1 or as an       
evil-doer1 or as a busybody in other    
men's matters 7,i4 ,peter iv1  #ab-ae74 
,pliny says that there were apostates   
twenty years previous1  that is in the  
year #hf4 ,now does not #aac that       
exactly coincide with  what ,john wrote 
to them in the year #ij3 ,they went out 
from us but  they were not of us1 for if

 they had been of us1 they would no     
doubt  have continued with us 7,i4 ,john
 ii4 #ai74 ,so ,pliny speaks of the     
apostates1 ,they all worshiped your     
image and statues of the gods2  these   
also reviled ,christ4 ,none of which    
things1 as is said1 they who  are really
 ,christians can by any means be        
compelled to do4 ,what was it  that     
enabled the early ,saints of all ranks  
and all ages1 of both sexes  likewise1  
to joyfully meet death in its most      
horrid forms8 ,it was the  power of     
truth--it was the power of ,god4        
,now1 the grand idea that strikes us in 
the testimony of the ,saints1  both of  
primitive and modern times1 is that it  
stands out utterly  different from all  
other religions4 ,there is nothing in   
the world  like it1 not even its        
counterfeits4 ,the great central fact of
  ,christianity--that ,christ died for  
our sins1 and rose again from the       
dead--stands absolutely alone in the    
history of religions4 ,the priests  of  

,baal1 ,brahma or ,jupiter never dreamed
 of such a thing4 ,confucius1  ,buddha  
or ,zoroaster never attained to such    
sublime ideas4 ,our modern  positivists 
and spiritualists perceiving the        
grandeur of this doctrine1  have vainly 
attempted to destroy this1 the key-stone
 of the gospel arch4    ,there is no    
instance in the whole world's history of
 any other religion  ever producing the 
same effects2 no other instance of men  
destitute  of wealth1 arms1 power and   
learning1 converting multitudes of      
lying1  lustful1 murdering idolators    
#aad into honest1 peaceable ,christians1
  simply by prayer and preaching4 ,when 
the skeptic tells us of the rapid       
spread of impostures which enlist       
disciples by promising free license  to 
lust1 robbery and murder1 and retain    
them by the terror of scimetar  and     
rifle ball1 he simply insults our common
 sense1 by ignoring the  difference     
between the degrading practices of vice1
 and the ennobling  principles of       

virtue4 ,the gospel stands alone in its 
doctrines1  singular in its operation1  
unequalled in its success4    99 99 99  
99 99        ,,chapter ,,viii1          
,,historical ,,glimpses ,,of ,,new      
,,testament ,,times4    ,,personal      
,,appearance ,,of ,,our ,,savior--,,by  
,,marcus--,,by ,,josephus--,,condition  
,,of ,,the ,,world ,,at--,,the ,,birth  
,,of ,,christ--,,influence ,,of         
,,judaism  ,,heathen ,,traditions       
,,concerning ,,the ,,savior',s          
,,advent--,,character ,,of              
,,barnabas--,,appearance ,,and          
,,character ,,of ,,paul--,,peter1 ,,the 
,,leader ,,of  ,,the                    
,,apostles--,,character ,,of ,,john     
,,and ,,james--,,statement ,,concerning 
,,mary--,,history ,,epitomized ,,in     
,,the ,,gospels--,,description ,,of     
,,the  ,,catacombs--,,inscriptions ,,of 
,,them4    ,the living or written       
testimony of those who have been        
actively  engaged in the great          
latter-day #aae work will ever have a   

weight far  superior to any given by    
inimical or disinterested parties4      
,still1 the  descriptions given and the 
historical facts and incidents related  
by  such persons are often highly       
interesting as furnishing glimpses of   
scenes and facts unmentioned by more    
prominent actors4 ,for example1 the     
discourse delivered by ,thomas ,l4 ,kane
 before the ,historical ,society of     
,pennsylvania1 throws a flood of light  
upon the manners and customs of  the    
,latter-day ,saints and the scenes      
attending their expulsion from  ,nauvoo1
 which no history of the ,church has    
exceeded2 and this is all  the more     
valuable as it corroborates many of the 
statements made by the  ,saints4 ,so in 
like manner there are many references   
made by secular  writers which throw    
light on ,new ,testament history1 and by
 this light  we see a new beauty and    
force in the language of the inspired   
writers4    ,no man of sense will for a 
moment hesitate to acknowledge the      

superiority of the narratives written by
 ,matthew1 ,mark1 ,luke and  ,john1 to  
any merely human composition4 ,the      
biographies of the ,savior1  written by 
,fleetwood and others bear no comparison
 to the simple1 yet  sublime records of 
the evangelists4 ,but it does not       
militate against  the authority of the  
scriptures to read a description of the 
personal  appearance of the ,savior as  
described by ,marcus1 a ,roman lawyer   
who  resided at ,jerusalem1 and still   
preserved in the works of ,origen3      
#aaf   ,jesus of ,nazareth1 sometimes   
called the ,galilean1 was a most        
remarkable person4 ,in stature ,he was  
above the medium hight1 straight   and  
tall4 ,his complexion was fair3 ,his    
hair was of a brown color1   and fell in
 heavy curls upon ,his shoulders4 ,his  
eyes were blue1 and   possessed such a  
penetrating power that no man could meet
 ,his gaze4 ,his   beard was of a deep  
wine color1 fine and full3 it is said   
that ,he was   never shaved4 ,his       

countenance was majestic1 calm and      
serene1 bearing   the impress of wisdom1
 justice and love4    ,again1 we have   
the testimony of ,josephus1 the         
celebrated ,jewish  historian who       
flourished between the thirty-seventh   
and ninety-eighth  year of the          
,christian era4 ,he was a ,jewish priest
 and had no connection  with the early  
saints2 yet in the ,history of the      
,antiquities of the  ,jews1 ,book xviii1
 he declares3      ,now there was about 
this time1 ,jesus1 a wise man1 if it    
be lawful to call ,him a man1 for ,he   
was a doer of wonderful    works1 a     
teacher of such men as receive the truth
 with    pleasure4 ,he drew over to     
,him1 both many of the ,jews1 and many  
of the ,gentiles4 ,he was the ,christ4  
,and when ,pilate1 at the    suggestion 
of the principal men among us1 had      
condemned    ,him to the cross1 those   
that loved ,him at the first1 did not   
forsake ,him1 for ,he appeared to them  
alive on the third day3    as the divine

 prophets had foretold these and ten    
thousand    other wonderful things      
concerning ,him4 ,and the tribe of      
,christians1 so named from ,him1 are not
 extinct at this day4    ,in the time of
 ,christ1 ,palestine was in the very    
center of the then  known world4 ,to the
 north and north-east lay the decaying  
remnants  of the ,medo-,persian and     
still more ancient ,babylonian and      
,assyrian  empires2 on the east were the
 powerful tribes of ,arabia1 who1       
fearless  of any foreign power1 had     
built their capital in the rugged       
defiles  #aag of ,arabia-,petrea1 the   
magnificent ruins of which astonish the 
travelers of the present day4    ,on the
 south lay ,egypt reposing in gloomy    
grandeur and already boasting  a hoary  
antiquity2 yet even this ancient        
civilization was to a great  extent     
indebted to the founders of the ,jewish 
commonwealth4 ,on the west  lay the     
classic countries of ,greece and ,italy4
    ,as is well known1 after the        

,babylonish captivity1 the ,jews were   
widely scattered4 ,comparatively few of 
them availed themselves of the          
permission granted by ,cyrus1 to return 
to ,palestine4 ,the majority  remained  
in ,babylonia or wandered into other    
lands4 ,in ,alexandria1  for example1 at
 the time of ,christ1 fully one-half the
 inhabitants  were ,jews1 who by trading
 had become rich and powerful4 ,at that 
time the coasts of ,arabia and even     
,india were visited by ,jewish          
merchants4 ,in ,asia ,minor and ,greece 
there was scarcely a town without  its  
,jewish synagogue4 ,in ,rome the ,jews  
possessed the greater part of  the      
,trastevere1 or right bank of the       
,tiber4 ,from the time of ,julius       
,caesar they were allowed to build      
synagogues and granted many other       
privileges4 ,all these ,jews who lived  
outside of ,palestine and formed  a     
majority of the whole nation were       
commonly called the ,dispersion1  ,it   
was this class of persons to which the  

,jews referred1 when in  speaking of    
,christ1 they said1 ,will ,he go unto   
the dispersed among  the ,gentiles and  
teach the ,gentiles8 7,john vii1 #be74  
,yet these ,jews  still considered      
,jerusalem as their center1 regarded the
 ,sanhedrim 7or  high council7 #aah as  
their highest church court1 sent yearly 
gifts of  money and sacrifices to the   
temple1 and visited it from time to time
 at  the great festivals4    ,it is easy
 to see how this state of things aided  
the spread of the  gospel4 ,the feasts  
of the ,passover and of ,pentecost      
brought many of  these dispersed ,jews  
from the neighboring countries to       
,jerusalem4 ,thus  thousands1 who were  
not residents of ,palestine1 had an     
opportunity  at these yearly feasts to  
become acquainted with the teachings and
  miracles of ,jesus4 ,it was also at   
the time of the great feast of the      
,passover1 that the crucifixion took    
place4 ,fifty days later was the  feast 
of ,pentecost at which time occurred    

those wonderful events  recorded in the 
second chapter of ,acts4    ,thus1 we   
perceive1 how it was that people from   
various nations had  gathered together2 
and how important the gift of tongues   
whereby each  could hear in his own     
language the wonderful works of ,god4   
7,see ,acts  ii1 #e1 #i-aa47    ,these  
men on their return carried the news of 
,christianity to their  homes4 ,then    
again the apostles in their missionary  
travels found  synagogues in all the    
principal towns and cities2 likewise1   
devout  persons who were looking forward
 to the advent of the ,messiah and  the 
redemption of ,israel4 ,of these might  
be mentioned ,dorcas1 and  ,cornelius1  
7,acts ix1 #aj47 ,lydia 7,acts xvi1     
#ad471 ,aquilla and  ,priscilla1 7,acts 
xviii71 ,eunice and ,lois1 the mother   
and grandmother  of ,timothy1 and many  
others4    #aai ,every synagogue was1 as
 it were1 a missionary station in       
readiness for them with friends and     
inquirers already there to welcome      

them4 ,the influence of the ,jews had   
helped also to undermine heathenism  and
 thus to prepare the ground for         
,christianity4 ,so much was this the    
case that the ,roman philosopher1       
,seneca1 in speaking of the ,jews1 says1
  ,the conquered have given laws to the 
conquerors4 ,josephus1 in his           
,antiquities1 ,book #ah1 says1 ,many of 
the ,jews held high offices1 and  lived 
at the courts of princes4 ,even the     
empress ,poppea1 wife of ,nero  was a   
proselyte to ,judaism4 ,in his          
autobiography1 he relates that1  when in
 ,rome1 he made the acquaintance of this
 empress through a ,jewish  favorite of 
,nero1 and at once received from her the
 release of some  imprisoned ,jewish    
priests together with large presents4   
,through her  influence also was due    
much of that bitterness which           
characterized the  persecutions of the  
saints in the reign of ,nero4           
,juvenal1 a ,latin poet1 ridicules the  
prevalence of ,jewish customs2  also    

many of the ,greeks1 following the      
teachings of ,socrates1 believed  in the
 existence of an unknown ,god4 ,it is in
 the very nature of man  to believe in  
something4 ,when the absurdities of     
heathenism became  apparent1 men fell   
into other superstitions4 ,more and more
 was felt  the want of a true religion4 
,even the ,samaritans who were so       
carried  away by the sorceries of ,simon
 ,magus1 as to call him the great power 
of ,god1 readily received the preaching 
of the gospel4 7,act viii1  #e47 ,so    
also ,sergius #abj ,paulus1 who1        
dissatisfied with heathenism1  had with 
him the ,jewish sorcerer and false      
prophet ,elymas1 was won  to the        
,christian faith by the preaching of    
,paul 7,acts xiii1 #f-aa74  ,indeed the 
best feature of that age was a strong   
religious yearning4  ,expectations of a 
coming ,messiah1 in various forms and   
degrees of  clearness1 were at that     
time1 by the political collision of the 
nations  and by their intellectual and  

religious contact1 spread over all the  
nations2 and1 like the first red streaks
 upon the horizon1 announced  the       
approach of day4 ,the ,persians were    
looking for their ,sosiosch1 who  should
 conquer ,ahriman and his kingdom of    
darkness4 ,the ,chinese sage1           
,confucius1 pointed his disciples to a  
,holy ,one who should appear in the     
west4 ,the wise men who came to worship 
the new-born king of the ,jews1  we must
 look upon as representatives of the    
,messianic hopes of oriental  heathens4 
,the western nations1 on the contrary1  
looked toward the east for the  dawn of 
a better day4 ,the ,roman historians1   
,suetonius and ,tacitus1 both  speak of 
a current saying in the ,roman empire1  
that in the east1 and  more particularly
 in ,judea1 a new universal empire would
 soon be set up4    ,thus1 in a time1   
the like of which history before or     
since has never  seen1 appeared the     
,savior of men4 ,amid the dying and     
decaying forms of  ancient society1     

while those things that had been the    
objects of man's  enthusiastic love were
 withering away1 ,christ came that      
through ,him  humanity should receive a 
new1 youthful life4    #aba ,impenitent 
,judaism1 it is true1 still wanders1    
ghost like through  all ages and        
countries3 but only as an               
incontrovertible living witness  of the 
divinity of the ,christian religion4    
,the ,jews who were scattered through   
the various countries of the  east came 
in contact with the manners and customs 
of those various  countries1 and this   
had a tendency to break down ,jewish    
exclusiveness  and prepare the minds of 
many for broader and more liberal views4
 ,hence  we find that several of the    
most useful men of the apostolic church1
  such as ,stephen1 the martyr1 ,philip1
 the deacon1 ,paul and ,barnabas were   
of this class4 ,barnabas was1 indeed    
one1 of the most remarkable men of  the 
age in which he lived4 ,he was born in  
the island of ,cyprus1 but  removed to  

,jerusalem where he became one of the   
active members of the  apostolic church4
    ,after the martyrdom of ,stephen and
 in consequence of the persecution      
which followed1 some of the disciples   
were scattered as far as ,antioch1      
whither ,barnabas was sent to organize a
 church1 and here the disciples  first  
received the name of ,christians4 7,acts
 xi1 #bf47 ,it was ,barnabas  who first 
introduced ,paul to the rest of the     
apostles and removed the  mistrust which
 was felt towards him4 ,afterwards1 when
 ,paul was living a  retired life in his
 native city of ,tarsus1 ,barnabas      
sought him out and  brought him to      
,antioch4 ,to win over this great       
reticent and susceptible  soul1 to labor
 with him and even to take a subordinate
 place under him1  indicate both wisdom 
and #abb humanity2 and this is what     
,barnabas did  for ,paul4    ,saul1     
afterwards ,latinized into ,paul1 was   
born at ,tarsus in ,cilicia1  in the    
tenth or twelfth year of our era4       

,paul's father early intended  that he  
should become a religious teacher1 but1 
according to the  customs of that age1  
taught him a trade also1 by which he    
afterwards  supported himself without   
becoming a burden to the church4 ,he    
came to  ,jerusalem at an early age and 
entered the school of ,gamaliel the     
elder4  ,this ,gamaliel was one of the  
most learned men in ,jerusalem1 and the 
youthful ,paul soon became a leader in  
society4 ,this is evident from the      
position he held at the death of        
,stephen4 ,paul was short in stature1   
somewhat stooping and at the middle age 
his hair was thin1 inclining to         
baldness4 ,his countenance was pale and 
half hidden by a dark beard4 ,his  nose 
was aquiline1 his eyes piercing and his 
eyebrows heavy4 ,it is said  that he    
possessed one of those strange visages  
which though plain1 yet1  when lighted  
up by emotion1 assumes a deep brilliancy
 and grandeur4  ,paul was a man of great
 politeness and exquisite manners4 ,his 

letters  show that he was a man of rare 
intelligence1 who formed for his lofty  
sentiments1 expressions of great beauty4
 ,no correspondence exhibits  more      
careful attention1 finer shades of      
meaning or more amiable  pleasantries4  
,what animation6 ,what a wealth of      
charming sayings6 ,what  simplicity6 ,it
 is easy to see that his character is   
that of a polite1  earnest and          
affectionate man4    #abc ,simon1 or    
,peter1 as he was afterwards called1 was
 a son of the  fisherman1 ,jonas4 ,he   
resided at ,capernaum1 on the shore of  
the sea  of ,galilee1 where he followed 
his father's occupation4 ,his brother1  
,andrew1 who had been a disciple of     
,john the ,baptist1 first brought him   
to ,jesus by whom he was called to be a 
fisher of men4 ,he was one of  the      
witnesses of the transfiguration on     
,mount ,tabor1 and the agony of  the    
,savior in the garden of ,gethsemane4   
,he was evidently the leader of  the    
ancient apostles4 ,in the four places   

where a list of the twelve  is given1 he
 is invariably placed at the beginning2 
and in many other  places he is         
mentioned as the leading speaker4 ,in   
,peter's character we  have a remarkable
 combination of great natural talents   
and virtues1  with peculiar weaknesses4 
,this apostle was distinguished from the
 other  eleven by an ardent1 impulsive1 
sanguine temperament1 and an open1      
shrewd1 practical nature4 ,he was always
 ready to speak out his mind1  to       
resolve and to act4 ,his excitable1     
impulsive disposition led him  sometimes
 to over-estimate his powers1 to trust  
too much to himself1  and1 in the hour  
of danger1 to yield to opposite         
impressions4 ,thus  we find that1 in    
spite of his usual firmness and joy in  
confessing  his faith1 he actually      
denied the ,savior when arraigned in the
 palace  of ,caiphas4 ,in learning he   
was inferior to ,paul1 and in loving    
character1 to ,john2 but he possessed1  
in an eminent degree1 the gift of       

inspiration which enabled him to act    
with promptness and decision4    #abd   
,the apostle and evangelist1 ,john1 was 
the son of ,zebedee1 and  the brother of
 the elder ,james4 ,his mother was one  
of the women who  supported ,jesus with 
their property1 and brought spices to   
embalm ,him4  ,john himself owned a     
house in ,jerusalem1 into which he      
received the  mother of the ,savior     
after the crucifixion4 ,he was the only 
one of  the apostles who was present at 
the cross1 and to him ,jesus committed  
the care of his mother4 7,john xix1 #bf1
 #bg47 ,nicephorus states that  ,mary   
continued to live with ,john until her  
death1 which occurred  about fourteen   
years after the crucifixion4 ,after     
this1 ,john went  to preside over the   
church at ,ephesus4 ,here he wrote the  
gospel and  epistle that bear his name4 
,in the reign of ,domitian1 about the   
year  #hd1 he was called to ,rome where 
he was condemned to be put to death by  
being thrust into a caldron of boiling  

oil4 ,from this he miraculously         
escaped1 even as the three ,hebrews who 
were cast into the fiery  furnace4      
,afterwards he was banished to the      
solitary1 rocky island1  ,patmos1 where 
he received that wonderful prophetic    
history of the  conflicts and conquests 
of the church1 which is called the      
,apocalypse1  or ,revelation4 ,in the   
opening chapter he says1 ,i1 ,john1 who 
also am  your brother and companion in  
tribulation1 and in the kingdom and     
patience of ,jesus ,christ1 was in the  
isle that is called ,patmos1 for  the   
word of ,god and for the testimony of   
,jesus ,christ4    ,when ,peter asked   
the manner of ,john's death1 the ,savior
 replied1 ',if ,i  will that he tarry   
till ,i come1 what is that to thee8'    
#abe ,then went this saying abroad among
 the brethren that that  disciple should
 not die4    ,peter1 ,james and ,john   
were the chosen among the chosen1 upon  
whom the  ,savior bestowed special      
favor4 ,peter was a man of great energy1

 fitted  to be a leader in the church   
and in society4 ,john possessed a deep1 
affectionate nature1 which made him the 
dearest of the ,savior's three  chosen  
friends4    ,of ,james we know very     
little4 ,he seems to have been of a     
quiet1  earnest1 meditative turn4 ,he   
presided over the church at ,jerusalem  
until the year forty-four of our era1   
when he sealed his testimony with  his  
blood1 being the first of that glorious 
band of apostolic martyrs4    ,such were
 the chief actors in ,new ,testament    
times4 ,the great facts of  their lives 
are corroborated both by ,jewish and    
heathen writers1 and  admitted to be    
true by the most eminent of modern      
infidels1 such as  ,volney1 ,straus and 
,renan4 ,christianity did not take its  
rise in an  obscure corner of the earth4
 ,on the other hand1 from the very first
  it attracted the attention of the     
good1 the wise and the learned1 and     
aroused the opposition of the wicked1   
though they were powerful kings  and    

potentates of the earth4 ,yet1 in spite 
of all1 it has won its way1  both in    
ancient times and at the present day    
among the honest in heart  by the       
simplicity1 grandeur and harmony of its 
truths4    ,we must1 therefore1 accept  
the ,new ,testament as a whole4 ,we     
cannot  accept the writings of one1 and 
say they are true1 and reject the       
writings of #abf another1 teaching the  
same doctrine1 and say it is  false4    
,neither can we accept the gospel and   
reject the epistles1 for  there is not a
 doctrine of the gospel which is not    
taught in the very  first of them1 that 
written by ,matthew4    ,he who writes  
forgeries must needs be well posted in  
the matter of  names1 dates and places1 
or else he will contradict some         
well-known  facts and so expose his     
forgery to the world4 ,men who write    
falsehoods  do not write as follows3    
,now1 in the fifteenth year of the reign
 of ,tiberius ,caesar1 ,pontius  ,pilate
 being governor of ,judea1 and ,herod   

being tetrarch of ,galilee1  and his    
brother1 ,philip1 tetrarch of ,iturea   
and of the region of  ,trachonitis1 and 
,lysanius tetrarch of ,abilene1 ,annas  
and ,caiphas being  high priests1 the   
word of ,god came unto ,john1 the son of
 ,zacharias1 in  the wilderness4        
,here1 in one sentence1 are twenty      
historical1 geographical1 political  and
 family references1 every one of which  
can be proven true by the  statements of
 cotemporaneous secular writers4        
,infidels have utterly  failed in their 
attempts to disprove one of the hundreds
 of such  statements in the ,new        
,testament4    ,among the various       
historical evidences of primitive       
,christianity1 none  seem more authentic
 or possess a deeper interest than those
 connected  with the catacombs of       
ancient ,rome4 ,these were subterraneous
 chambers  or excavations which were    
made in the soft1 sandy rock which      
underlies  the hills on which stood     
ancient ,rome4 ,to these dreary vaults  

the early saints were in the habit of   
retiring1 in order to celebrate  their  
worship in times of persecution1 and in 
them were buried many of  the saints and
 martyrs of the primitive church4 ,they 
consist of long1  narrow galleries1 #abh
 usually about eight feet high and five 
feet  wide1 which twist and turn in all 
directions1 very much resembling  mines4
 ,the graves were constructed by        
hollowing out a portion of the  rock at 
the side of the gallery1 large enough to
 contain the body4 ,the  entrance was   
then built up1 and generally an         
inscription was placed  upon it4    #abg
 ,,illustration3 ,,section ,,of ,,the   
,,catacomb ,,of ,,calixtus4    #abh     
,these excavations were first formed by 
quarrying the  volcanic1 sandy rock1 in 
order to supply the materials necessary 
for  the building of ancient ,rome4     
,they were afterwards increased in order
  to procure the sand used for cement1  
until1 at length1 they formed an  area  
of very extensive dimensions4 ,they are 

mentioned by the ,roman  writers1       
,horace and ,varro1 by ,cicero and      
,seutonius4 ,jerome1 writing  about the 
middle of the fourth century1 describes 
them as they existed  in his day1       
declaring that he was accustomed1 as a  
youth1 when  studying in ,rome1 to visit
 these dark and dreary spots on         
,sundays1 in  order to see the tombs of 
apostles and martyrs4    ,,illustration3
 ,,burial ,,place ,,in ,,the            
,,catacombs4    ,among the many         
inscriptions which the museum of the    
,vatican has derived  from the catacombs
 is #abi the following4 ,it relates to  
the reign of  ,marcus ,aurelius1 or     
,antoninus1 as he is sometimes called1  
about ,a4 ,d4  #aej3      ,,alexander   
,,mortuus ,,non ,,est ,,sed    ,,vivit  
,,super ,,astra ,,et ,,corpus ,,in ,,hoc
    ,,tumulo ,,quiescit4 ,,vitam        
,,explevit    ,,sub ,,antonino ,,impo1  
,,qui ,,ubi ,,multum    ,,benefitii     
,,antevenire ,,praevideret    ,,pro     
,,gratia ,,odium ,,reddidit ,,genua     

,,enim ,,flectens ,,vero ,,deo          
,,sacrificaturus ,,ad ,,supplicia       
,,ducitur4    ,,tempora ,,infausta6     
,,quibus ,,inter ,,sacra    ,,et ,,vota 
,,ne ,,in ,,cavernis ,,quidem           
,,salvari ,,possimus4 ,,quid ,,miserius 
,,vita    ,,sed ,,quid ,,miserius ,,in  
,,morte ,,cum    ,,ab ,,amicis ,,et     
,,parentibus    ,,sepeliri ,,nequeant   
,,tandem ,,in ,,coelo    ,,coruscant    
,,parum ,,vixit ,,qui ,,vixit ,,in ,x4  
,,tem4    ,,translation3      ,alexander
 is not dead1 but lives beyond the      
stars1 and his    body rests in this    
tomb4 ,he lived under the ,emperor      
,antoninus1 who1 foreseeing that great  
benefit would result from his           
services1 returned evil for good4 ,for1 
while on his knees and    about to      
sacrifice to the true ,god1 he was led  
away to    execution4 ,o1 sad times6 in 
which sacred rites and prayers1 even    
in caverns1 afford no protection to us4 
,what can be more    wretched than such 
a life1 and what than such a death1 when

    they could not be buried by their   
friends and relatives8 ,at    length    
they are resplendent in heaven4 ,he has 
scarcely lived    who has lived in      
,christian times4    ,sometimes a       
victor's crown--one of laurel--is       
intended to mark that  the interred one 
has passed #acj through the agony and   
strife of his  ,christian conflict1 and 
was triumphant4 ,at other times the     
simplest  words indicated a saint's last
 resting place4 ,in some cases these    
epitaphs are imperfectly spelled1       
indicating the humble class to which    
the survivors belonged4    99 99 99 99  
99        ,,chapter ,,ix4               
,,fulfillment ,,of ,,prophecy4          
,,prophecy ,,defined--,,objections ,,to 
,,symbolical ,,language                 
,,answered--,,history  ,,reversed1      
,,unintelligible--,,necessity ,,of      
,,prophetic ,,obscurity--,,infidel      
,,dread ,,of ,,prophecy--,,prophecies   
,,concerning ,,babylon--,,their         
,,fulfillment--,,prophecies ,,concerning

 ,,egypt--,,prophecies ,,concerning     
,,judea  ,,and ,,the                    
,,jews--,,concerning ,,the ,,seven      
,,churches ,,of ,,asia--,,testimonies   
,,of  ,,infidels--,,modern              
,,prophecy--,,its ,,fulfillment4    ,an 
astronomer is able to predict the       
eclipses of the sun and moon1  because  
he knows the laws that govern the       
heavenly bodies4 ,so also a             
countrywoman can predict the time of    
hatching1 and the kind of birds  that   
will come forth from a certain class of 
eggs placed under a fowl  in the act of 
incubation1 because she has many times  
observed #aca  phenomena of this kind4  
,prophecy is only prediction in the     
highest  sense of the term4 ,our        
,heavenly ,father1 who knows1 not merely
 the laws  that govern the material     
world1 but also the mental1 moral and   
physical  laws that govern humanity1 can
 foretell the phenomena incident to     
man's  social and religious development4
 ,he who knows the origin of man--both  

his strength and his weakness--and the  
extent and influence of the  powers of  
darkness1 can foretell the result of    
that awful conflict that  has been in   
progress since before the foundation of 
the world4 ,when  man1 in obedience to  
law1 shall have gained his higher       
development  and become as one of the   
,gods1 he will1 no doubt1 obtain the    
power of  prophecy4 ,even in his present
 state1 every true poet1 philosopher and
  scientist may be said to possess1 in a
 certain degree1 this gift2 in  fact1 so
 far as they can penetrate into the laws
 and mysteries of the  universe beyond  
the ken of ordinary mortals4 ,thus the  
steam-engine  was predicted eighteen    
hundred years before ,watt heard the    
first  deep1 regular respiration of this
 modern evangel4 ,thus1 the magnetic    
telegraph was expected for quite three  
hundred years before its first  tap of  
the keys announced its presence4 ,when  
,shakespeare wrote1 ,i'll  put a girdle 
round about the earth in forty minutes1 

it was nothing  but the instinct of the 
poet1 peering with a glimmer of         
inspiration  into the darkened chamber  
towards which science was advancing4    
,bruno1  ,galileo1 ,newton1 ,columbus   
and ,washington had glimmerings of this 
celestial light4 ,the lines #acb written
 by ,julia ,ward ,howe are as  truthful 
as they are beautiful3      ,lift up    
your eyes1 desponding freemen1          
,fling to the winds your needless fears2
    ,he who unfurled your glorious      
banner1      ,said it shall wave a      
thousand years4    ,a thousand years1 my
 own ,columbia1      ',tis the glad day 
so long foretold2    ',tis the glad morn
 whose early twilight      ,washington  
saw in days of old4    ,but it is       
objected that the prophecies of         
scripture are obscure and  wrapped up in
 symbolical language4 ,this objection   
proceeds from a total  misapprehension  
of the nature and design of prophecy1   
which is not to  unveil the future for  
the gratification of our curiosity1 but 

to give  directions for our present duty
 and future welfare4 ,the larger part of
  the prophecies of scripture is taken  
up with directions how men should       
regulate their conduct1 rather than with
 information how ,god intends to        
regulate ,his4    ,as to the objection  
against the symbolical language of      
prophecy1 it  may be asked1 how can     
heavenly things be revealed to          
earth-born men1  but by earthly figures8
 ,who knows a single word1 in our own or
 any  other language1 to express a      
spiritual state1 or mental operation1   
that is not the name of some material   
state or physical operation used        
symbolically8 ,spirit1 memory1          
imagination1 etc41 are each a symbol  or
 figure of speech4 ,in what way could   
,god or man teach us to know  anything  
except by either showing us a picture of
 it1 or telling us  what it is like1    
that is1 simply by #acc type or symbol8 
,these are the  only possible means for 
conveying heavenly truth or future      

history to  our minds4    ,when1        
therefore1 the skeptic insists that     
prophecy be given literally  in the     
style of history written in advance1 he 
simply requires that ,god  should make  
it utterly unintelligible4    ,we may   
gather much valuable information from   
symbolic language2 but  history written 
in advance would be more difficult to   
decipher than  the inscriptions of      
,nineveh or ,egypt1 or the still more   
obscure  hieroglyphics of ,central      
,america4 ,imagine ,alexander reading   
,bancroft  instead of ,daniel4 ,the     
,hebrew prophet he might understand1 for
 he  himself was the fulfillment of a   
part of ,daniel's prophecy1 but what    
could he learn from reading such a      
record as this8 ,in the year  of        
,christ1 #ahdg1 the ,united ,states     
conquered ,mexico and annexed           
,california4 ,he would say1 ,in the year
 of ,christ--what does that  mean8 ,the 
,united ,states may mean the states of  
,greece2 but on what  shore of the      

,mediterranean can ,mexico and          
,california be found8 ,what  information
 could ,aristotle gather from the fact  
that the electric  telegraph was        
invented in #ahdd8 ,could all the wise  
men of ,rome have  explained to ,julius 
,caesar the following dispatch1 if given
 in  prophetic vision8 ,sebastopol was  
evacuated last night after enduring1    
for three days1 an infernal fire of shot
 and shell4    ,should we diminish the  
vista to within two or three centuries1 
what  could ,oliver ,cromwell1 aided by 
the whole ,british parliament1 have     
made #acd of a prophetic vision of a    
single newspaper paragraph1  written in 
advance1 to inform them that ,three     
companies of soldiers  came down last   
night from ,berwick to ,southampton1 by 
a special train1  traveling fifty-four  
and a half miles an hour1 including     
stoppages1 and  embarked immediately on 
arrival4 ,the fleet put to sea at noon  
in the  face of a full gale from the    
south-west8 ,why1 the intelligible part 

of this single paragraph would seem to  
them more impossible1 and the           
unintelligible part more absurd than all
 the mysterious symbols of the          
,apocalypse4    ,a complete prophetic   
history of the steam-engine1 steam      
navigation and  railways would have been
 necessary before they could have       
understood it4    ,the world has        
accepted ,god's symbols thousands of    
years ago1 and it  is too late in the   
day for skeptics to deride the laws of  
thought and  forms of speech4 ,david's  
prophetic psalms1 ,isaiah's celestial   
anthems1  ,ezekiel's glorious symbols1  
,solomon's terse proverbs and the       
,savior's  lovely parables will be      
recited and admired ages after the foggy
  abstractions of ,parker and ,newman1  
,carlyle and ,emerson have vanished     
from the earth4 ,the ,biblical symbols  
of the ,thirst of ,passion1 the  ,blood 
of ,murder1 the ,rod of ,chastisement1  
the ,iron ,scepter1 the ,fire  of       
,wrath1 the ,balance of ,righteousness1 

the ,sword of ,justice and the  ,wheels 
of ,providence will photograph their    
lessons on ,memory's tablet1  while the 
mists of the positive philosophy float  
past unheeded to  the land of           
forgetfulness4 ,god's prophetic symbols 
are the #ace  glorious embodiments of   
living truths1 while skeptics' theories 
are the  melancholy ghosts of expiring  
nonsense4    ,the prophetic symbols are 
sufficiently plain to be distinctly     
intelligible after the fulfillment2 but 
sufficiently obscure to  baffle         
presumptuous curiosity before it4 ,had  
they been so written as to  be fully    
intelligible beforehand1 they must have 
interfered with man's  free agency1 by  
causing their own fulfillment4 ,they    
hide the future  sufficiently to make   
man feel his ignorance2 they reveal     
enough to  encourage faith in the ,god  
who rules it4 ,god's prophecy is not    
merely  ,his foretelling something which
 will certainly happen at some future   
time1 but over which ,he has no         

control--as an astronomer foretells an  
eclipse of the sun1 but can neither     
hasten nor hinder it--but it is  the    
revealing of a part of ,his plan of this
 world's affairs1 to show  that ,god and
 not man is the sovereign of it4        
,infidels feel the power of  this       
manifestation of ,god in ,his word2 and 
are driven to every possible  denial of 
the fact4 ,they feel1 instinctively1    
that the ,bible prophecies  are far more
 than mere predictions4 ,they would     
rather endow every human  being on earth
 with the power of predicting the       
future1 than allow the  ,god of heaven  
that power of ruling the present1 which 
these prophecies  assert4 ,hence we find
 them frequently patronizing mediums and
 fortune  tellers of various kinds4     
,,illustration3 ,,the ,,ruins ,,of      
,,babylon    ,the prophecies of the     
scriptures are frequently predictions at
 once  unexampled and unparalleled4     
,nations could not perish before they   
had grown1 #acf nor empires be destroyed

 till they had accumulated4  ,babylon1  
,nineveh1 ,damascus and ,tyre had been  
growing and flourishing  for a thousand 
years1 at the time that ,jonah1 ,micah1 
,hosea and ,isaiah  pronounced their    
sentences against them4 ,at that time1  
mankind had not  yet seen a ruined      
empire4 ,judging from the past they had 
no reason to  expect #acg anything else 
than prosperity concerning these cities2
  yet the prophets pronounced desolation
 and solitude against these  cities     
which were then the capitals of nations 
more populous than this  continent at   
the present time1 and displayed         
buildings1 a sight of  whose crumbling  
ruins is deemed sufficient recompense   
for the perils  of a journey of ten     
thousand miles4 ,every church1 hall1    
school-house1  theatre and hospital of  
,salt ,lake ,city could have been       
conveniently  arranged in the basement  
of the great temple of ,belus4 ,on the  
first  floor there was room enough for  
the whole adult population of ,utah to  

assemble1 while the remaining seven     
stories would have still been open  for 
the accomodation of the citizens of     
,babylon4 ,when the prophets  wrote     
their predictions1 the walls of ,babylon
 had been raised to the  hight of three 
hundred and fifty feet1 and made broad  
enough for six  chariots to drive upon  
them abreast4 ,from its hundred brazen  
gates  issued the armies which trampled 
under foot the liberties of mankind1    
and presented their lives to the nod of 
a despot1 who slew whom he  would1 and  
whom he would1 allowed to live4 ,twenty 
years' provisions  were collected within
 its walls1 and the world would not     
believe that  an enemy could enter its  
gates4 ,nevertheless1 the prophets of   
,god  pronounced against it a doom of   
destruction as extraordinary as the     
pride and wickedness which procured it4 
,tyre1 the ,london of ,asia1 was  to    
become a place for the spreading of nets
 7,ezekiel xxvi #e71  ,the infidel1     
,volney1 tells us that1 ,its commerce   

has declined to a  trifling1 #ach       
fishery2 but even that implies some few 
resident  inhabitants4 ,rabbah of ,ammon
 was to become1 ,a stable for camels and
  couching place for flocks 7,ezekiel   
xxv1 #e74 ,lord ,lindsay reports  that1 
he could not sleep amidst its ruins for 
the bleating of sheep  in the           
sheep-folds and the braying of camels in
 its ruins4 ,yet  sheep-folds imply that
 their ,arab owners would occasionally  
reside  near its ruins4 ,but desolation1
 solitude and utter abandonment to the  
wild beast of the desert is the         
clearly-predicted doom of the ancient   
world's proud capital3 ,babylon1 the    
glory of kingdoms1 the beauty of  the   
,chaldees' excellency1 shall be as when 
,god overthrew ,sodom and  ,gomorrah4   
,it shall never be inhabited1 neither   
shall it be dwelt in1  from generation  
to generation3 neither shall the        
,arabian pitch his tent  there2 neither 
shall the shepherds make their folds    
there4 ,but wild  beasts of the desert  

shall lie there1 and their houses shall 
be full of  doleful creatures2 and owls 
shall dwell there1 and satyrs shall     
dance  there4 ,and the wild beasts of   
the islands shall cry in their desolate 
houses1 and dragons in their pleasant   
palaces 7,isaiah xiii1 #ai #bb74        
,every traveler attests the fulfillment 
of this strange prediction4 ,it  is a   
tenantless and desolate ruin1 says      
,mignon1 who1 though fully  armed and   
attended by six ,arabs1 could not be    
induced by any reward  to pass the night
 among its ruins1 from his apprehension 
of evil  spirits4 ,so completely        
fulfilled is the prophecy1 ,the ,arabian
 shall  not pitch his tent there4 ,the  
same voice #aci that called camels  and 
flocks to the palaces of ,rabbah1       
summoned a very different class  of     
tenants for the palaces of ,babylon4    
,rabbah was to be a sheep-fold1         
,babylon a menagerie of wild beasts--a  
very specific difference and  very      
improbable4 ,however1 after it was      

destroyed and deserted1 one of  the     
,persian kings repaired its walls1      
converted it into a vast hunting  ground
 and stocked it with various kinds of   
wild beasts2 and to this  day the apes  
of the ,spice ,islands1 and the lions of
 the ,african wilds  meet in its ruins  
and howl their testimony to the truth of
 ,god's word4  ,only a few years ago4   
,sir ,r4 ,k4 ,porter and ,dr4 ,rich1 saw
 two majestic  lions in the ,mujelibe or
 ruins of the palace4    ,the nations   
selected as examples of divine justice  
are as various as  their sentences are  
different--covering a space as long as  
from ,new  ,york to ,san ,francisco and 
climes as various as those between      
,canada and  ,cuba2 peopled by men of   
every shade of color and degree of      
capacity  from the negro servant of     
servants1 to the builders of the        
,coliseum and  the pyramids4 ,the       
prophecies describe in their own        
expressive symbols1  the nations yet    
unfounded and kings unborn1 who should  

ignorantly  execute the judgments of    
,god4 ,they also predict the future of  
over  thirty states--no two of which are
 alike4    ,if1 for instance1 a prophet 
should declare that ,new ,york should be
  overturned and become a little fishing
 village--that ,philadelphia  should    
become a swamp and never be             
inhabited--that ,new #adj ,orleans      
should become a dry1 barren desert1 and 
,chicago be utterly consumed  with fire 
and never be rebuilt--that learning     
should depart from ,boston  and no      
travelers should pass through it any    
more--that ,new ,england  should become 
the basest of the nations and no native 
,american ever be  president of the     
,union1 but that it should be a spoil   
and a prey to the  most savage          
tribes--that the ,russians should tread 
,washington under  foot for a thousand  
years1 but that ,god would preserve     
,pittsburg and  ,salt ,lake ,city in the
 midst of destruction2 then1 if all     
these things  should come to pass1 would

 any man dare to say that the prophet   
spake  the dictates of human sagacity1  
or the calculations of human reason1    
and was not inspired by the ,spirit of  
,god8    ,such was the character of the 
prophecies concerning the geographical1 
political1 social and religious         
condition of the greatest nations of    
antiquity4    ,considering the modes of 
ancient warfare1 ,egypt was one of the  
most  defensible countries in the world4
 ,bounded on the south by high          
mountains1 on the east by the ,red ,sea1
 on the west by the trackless1  burning 
desert1 she was able to defend the      
mouths of her river with a  powerful    
navy1 to drown an invading army every   
year by the inundation  of the ,nile4   
,egypt had not only maintained her      
independence1 but  extended her         
conquests for a thousand years4 ,she had
 given learning1  art1 science and      
idolatry to half the world and had not  
yet risen to  the hight of her fame or  
extent of her influence until many years

 after  the #ada predictions against her
 were uttered4 ,yet it was prophesied1  
,i will make the rivers dry1 and sell   
the land into the hand of the  wicked2  
and ,i will make the land waste and all 
that is therein by the  hand of         
strangers4 ,i1 the ,lord1 have spoken   
it4 ,thus saith the ,lord  ,god1 ,i will
 also destroy the idols1 and ,i will    
cause the images to  cease out of ,noph1
 and there shall be no more a prince of 
the land of  ,egypt4    #ada            
,,illustration3 ,,sphynx ,,and          
,,pyramids    #adb ,the infidel1        
,volney1 thus relates the fulfillment of
 these  predictions3    ,such is the    
state of ,egypt4 ,deprived twenty-three 
centuries ago of  her natural           
properties1 she has seen her fertile    
fields successively  a prey to the      
,persians1 the ,macedonians1 the        
,romans1 the ,greeks1 the  ,arabs1 the  
,georgians and at length the race of    
,tartars distinguished  by the name of  
,ottoman ,turks4 ,the ,mamelukes        

purchased as slaves1 and  introduced as 
soldiers1 soon usurped the power and    
selected a leader4  ,if their first     
establishment was a singular event1     
their continuance is  no less           
extraordinary2 they are replaced by     
slaves1 brought from their  original    
country4 7,volney's ,travels1 ,vol4 ,i1 
page #gd74    ,gibbon1 another infidel1 
states1 ,the most illustrious sultans of
 the  ,baharite and ,beyite dynasties   
were themselves promoted from the       
,tartar  and ,circassian bands2 and the 
four and twenty beys1 or military       
chiefs1  have ever been succeeded1 not  
by their sons1 but by their servants4   
7,decline and ,fall1 chap4 xlix74    ,it
 is needless to remind the reader that  
the idols are cut off4 ,neither  the    
nominal ,christians of ,egypt nor the   
,mahometans allow images among  them4   
,the rivers1 too1 are drying up4 ,in one
 day's travel forty dry  water courses  
will be crossed #adc in the delta of the
 ,nile2 and the  traveler needs to carry

 water with him1 who explores the ruined
 cities  through which once floated     
,greek and ,roman navies4    ,again1 it 
was prophesied1 ,it shall be the basest 
of the kingdoms1  neither shall it exalt
 itself any more above the nations1 for 
,i  will diminish them that they shall  
no more rule over the nations4          
7,ezekiel1 xxix1 #ae74 ,every traveler  
attests the truth of this  prediction4  
,the wretched peasantry are rejoiced to 
labor for any one  who will pay them    
five cents a day1 and then quickly hide 
the treasure  in the ground from the    
rapacious tax-gatherer4    ,in ,egypt   
there is no middle class1 neither       
nobility1 clergy1  merchants nor        
land-holders4 ,a universal appearance of
 misery arrests  the attention of the   
traveler and points out to him the      
rapacity and  oppression as well as the 
ignorance of the inhabitants1 who are   
equally  unable to perceive the cause of
 their evils or to apply the necessary  
remedies4 ,ignorance diffused through   

every class1 extends its effects  to    
every species of moral and physical     
knowledge4    ,babylon was to be reduced
 to utter barrenness and desolation1    
,egypt to  slavery and degradation2 but 
a different and still more incredible   
doom  is pronounced in the ,bible upon  
,judea and its people3 ,i will make your
  cities waste and bring your           
sanctuaries unto desolation1 and ,i will
  bring the land into desolation3 and   
your enemies which dwell therein  shall 
be astonished at it4 ,and ,i will       
scatter you among the heathen1  and will
 draw out a #add sword after you3 and   
your land shall be  desolate and your   
cities waste4 7,leviticus1 xxvi1        
#ca-cc47    ,the generation to come of  
your children and the stranger from a   
far  land shall say1 ,wherefore hath the
 ,lord done thus to this land8 ,what    
meaneth the heat of this great anger8   
,the following testimony of ,volney is  
an example of the manner in which  ,god 
causes infidels and scoffers to fulfill 

the prophecies3    ,i journeyed in the  
empire of the ,ottomans1 and traversed  
the  provinces1 which were formerly the 
kingdoms of ,egypt and ,syria4 ,this    
,syria1 said ,i to myself1 now almost   
depopulated1 then contained a  hundred  
flourishing cities1 and abounded with   
towns1 villages and  hamlets4 ,what has 
become of those ages of abundance and of
 life8 ,great  ,god6 from whence proceed
 such melancholy revolutions8 ,for what 
cause is  the fortune of these countries
 so strikingly changed8 ,why are so many
  cities destroyed8 ,why is not that    
ancient population reproduced and       
perpetuated8 ,a mysterious ,god         
exercises ,his incomprehensible         
judgments4  ,he has doubtless pronounced
 a secret malediction against the earth4
  ,he has struck with a curse the       
present race of men in revenge of past  
generations4 7,volney's ,ruins1 ,book   
,i71    ,the malediction is no secret to
 any one who will read the twenty-ninth 
chapter of ,deuteronomy4    ,of         

,jerusalem it was predicted1 ,it shall  
be trodden down of the  ,gentiles4      
,saracens1 ,turks1 ,crusaders and       
pilgrims from all parts of  the earth   
#ade have been and are fulfilling this  
prediction at the  present day4 ,of the 
temple1 it was said1 ,there shall not be
 left  one stone upon another1 that     
shall not be thrown down4 ,history has  
preserved1 and the ,jews to this day    
curse the name of the soldier1          
,terentius ,rufus1 who plowed up the    
foundations of the temple4 ,the ,roman  
emperor1 ,julian1 attempted to falsify  
the ,savior's words1 ,behold1 your      
house is left unto you desolate2 and    
sent his friend1 ,alypius1 with a       
,roman army and abundant treasure1 to   
rebuild it4 ,the ,jews flocked from  all
 parts to assist in the work2 but the   
combined forces were obliged  to desist 
from the attempt4 ,horrible balls of    
fire1 breaking out from  the foundations
 with repeated attacks1 rendered the    
place inaccessible  to the scorched     

workmen and the enterprise was dropped4 
7,ammiam  ,marcellus1 ,book xxiii1 chap4
 #a74    ,such is the testimony of a    
heathen1 confirmed by ,jews and         
,christians4  ,the ,mahometan ,mosque of
 ,omar now rears its lofty dome where   
once stood  the ,temple of ,solomon1 and
 no ,jew is permitted to tread that     
sacred  spot4    ,of the ,israelitish   
nation ,god predicted that it should be 
a peculiar1  distinct people1 dispersed 
among1 yet separate from1 the other     
nations  of the earth3 ,i will sift the 
house of ,israel among all nations1 like
  as corn is sifted in a sieve1 yet     
shall not the least grain fall upon  the
 earth4 7,amos ix1 #i74 ,again1 ,and    
yet1 for all that1 when they  are in the
 land of their enemies1 ,i will not cast
 them away1 neither  will ,i abhor them 
to destroy them #adf utterly1 and to    
break my  covenant with them2 for ,i am 
the ,lord their ,god4 7,lev4 xxvi1 #dd74
    ,here are four distinct predictions2
 national peculiarity1 grievous         

oppression1 universal dispersion and    
remarkable preservation4 ,the           
fulfillment is obvious and undeniable4  
,the infidel is sorely perplexed  to    
give any account of this great          
phenomenon4 ,how does it happen  that   
these singular people are dispersed over
 all the earth1 and for  eighteen       
hundred years have resisted all the     
influences of nature1  all the customs  
of society and all the powers of        
persecution driving  them toward        
amalgamation1 and irresistible in all   
other instances4 ,in  spite of the power
 of imperial ,rome and the tortures of  
the ,spanish  ,inquisition1 amid the    
chaos of ,asiatic and ,african tribes1  
and the  fusion of ,american democracy1 
on the plains of ,australia and the     
streets of ,san ,francisco1 the religion
 and the customs of the children  of    
,israel are as distinct this day as they
 were three thousand years  ago when    
,moses wrote them in the ,pentateuch1   
and their physiognomy  the same as when 

,shishak caused them to be engraven on  
the monuments  of ancient ,karnack4     
,human sagacity cannot explain these    
facts as they  exist to-day1 much less  
could it foretell them three thousand   
years ago4    ,did space permit1 it     
might be shown that the predictions     
against the  seven churches of ,asia1   
were literally fulfilled4 7,see ,rev4 i 
and ii74    ,ephesus1 once famous for   
its magnificence and the great temple of
  ,diana1 the mart of commerce #adg and 
the busy avenue of travel1 was  the     
first to receive the doom of abused     
privileges3 ,i will remove thy          
candlestick out of its place unless thou
 repent4    ,a few unintelligible heaps 
of stone1 says ,arundell1 with some mud 
cottages untenanted1 are all that remain
 of the great city of the  ,ephesians4  
,even the sea has retired from the scene
 of desolation1 and  a pestilential     
morass1 covered with mud and rushes1 has
 succeeded to  the waters which brought 
up the ships laden with merchandise from

 the  whole known world4    ,laodicea1  
some of whose public buildings would    
contain #ajj1jjj persons2  ,sardis1 that
 once contained more specie than is now 
in circulation in  the ,united ,states2 
,thyatira1 that once manufactured the   
royal purple of  kings and princes2     
,pergamos1 the seat of learning and the 
birth-place  of ,galen1 the father of   
medicine2 all these cities are in ruins4
 ,amid  the fallen columns and broken   
arches1 the temple of ,jupiter1 of      
,venus  or of ,diana1 will equally elude
 the search of the curious traveler4    
,they have all received their doom      
according to the words of ,jesus4 ,yet1 
,smyrna1 against which no doom was      
pronounced1 is still the queen city  of 
,asia ,minor2 and ,philadelphia1 of     
which it was said1 ,i will write  upon  
him my new name1 is still erect--a      
column in a scene of ruins4  ,the       
prediction of the ,savior is fulfilled  
in its modern name1 ,allah  ,sehr--the  
city of ,god4    ,the prophecies        

regarding the ,messiah and their        
fulfillment might also  be noticed4 ,the
 time1 the #adh place1 the manner of    
,his birth1 ,his  parentage and         
reception1 were plainly declared1       
hundreds of years  before ,he appeared4 
,compare ,micah v4 #b1 and ,matthew ii4 
#a2 also ,isaiah  lxi4 #a1 and ,matthew 
xi4 #e2 likewise ,isaiah liii4 #c1 and  
,matthew xxvi4  #ef4 ,these and many    
other passages prove that the character 
and mission  of the coming ,messiah were
 pointedly foretold long before ,he made
 ,his  appearance in the flesh4    ,the 
one grand1 unparalleled fact of the     
resurrection from the tomb  is also     
predicted1 ,thou wilt not leave my soul 
in hell1 nor wilt  ,thou give ,thine    
,holy ,one to see corruption 7,psalm    
xvi4 #aj74 ,often  did ,jesus predict   
this event before friend and foe4 ,even 
,his enemies  declared1 ,sir1 we        
remember that that deceiver said1 while 
he was  yet alive4 ,after three days ,i 
will rise again4 ,the last chapters of  

the gospel relate the proofs by which   
,he convinced ,his incredulous          
disciples that the prophecy was         
fulfilled1 ,behold my hands and my      
feet1 that it is ,i myself4 ,handle me  
and see1 for a spirit hath not  flesh   
and bones as ye see me have4 ,and when  
,he had thus spoken ,he  showed them    
,his hands and ,his feet4 ,and while    
they yet believed not for  joy and      
wondered4 ,he saith unto them1 ',have ye
 here any meat8' ,and they  gave ,him a 
piece of a broiled fish and of a        
honeycomb4 ,and ,he took it  and did eat
 before them 7,luke xxiv4 #ci74         
,afterwards1 ,he led them  out as far as
 to ,bethany and ,he lifted up ,his     
hands and blessed them4  ,and while ,he 
was blessing them ,he was parted from   
them and carried  up into #adi heaven   
7,luke xxiv4 #ej1 #ea74 ,and while they 
looked  steadfastly toward heaven as ,he
 went up1 behold two men stood by them  
in white apparel and said1 ,ye men of   
,galilee1 why stand ye gazing up  into  

heaven8 ,this same ,jesus1 which is     
taken up from you into heaven1  shall so
 come in like manner as ye have seen    
,him go into heaven 7,acts  i4 #aj-ab74 
,with our own eyes we shall see the     
fulfillment of this  prophecy4 ,every   
eye shall see ,him4 ,the clouds of      
heaven shall then  reveal the vision now
 sketched on the page of revelation4    
,in conclusion1 let us notice a few of  
the prophecies given through the        
,prophet ,joseph1 and their wonderful   
fulfillment4 ,when ,joseph ,smith was   
an obscure1 unlearned youth1 living at  
his father's house1 in the then         
sparsely settled region of western ,new 
,york1 the angel ,moroni told him  that 
,god had a work for him to do1 and that 
his name should be had  for good and    
evil among all nations1 kindreds and    
tongues4 ,men of all  classes are       
witnesses how literally this has been   
fulfilled4    ,then1 again1 in #ahcb1   
when the ,united ,states were enjoying  
the  blessings of profound peace1 the   

,lord declared1 by the mouth of the     
,prophet ,joseph3 ,verily1 thus saith   
the ,lord1 concerning the wars  that    
will shortly come to pass1 beginning at 
the rebellion of ,south  ,carolina1     
which will eventually terminate in the  
death and misery of  many souls4 99 99  
99 99 99 99    ,for behold the ,southern
 ,states shall be divided against the   
,northern  ,states and the ,southern    
,states will call on other nations1 even
 the  nation #aej of ,great ,britain1 as
 it is called1 etc41 7,doc4 and  ,cov41 
,sec4 lxxxvii74 ,the whole adult        
population of the ,united ,states  are  
witnesses of the fulfillment of this    
prophecy4 ,for many years it  remained  
unfulfilled1 and the ,elders who        
proclaimed it met with scorn  and       
sneers2 but1 at length1 arrived the     
terrible havoc and storm of  war4 ,there
 had been many rebellions within the    
territory of the ,united  ,states4 ,in  
,virginia had occurred ,bacon's         
rebellion2 in ,maryland1  ,clayborne's  

rebellion2 in ,new ,england1 the        
insurrection1 controlled by  the        
,hartford convention1 of #ahad2 in      
,western ,pennsylvania1 the ,state of   
,franklin1 had1 at one time1 held a     
political existence for nearly two      
years4 ,then1 by what human sagacity was
 it predicted that the war must         
commence in ,south ,carolina8 ,let the  
skeptic read and ponder4    #aea        
,,chapter ,x4    ,,infidel ,,objections 
,,considered4    ,,arrogance ,,of       
,,infidels--,,their                     
,,ignorance--,,sun',s                   
,,heat--,,saturn',s ,,rings--,a         
,,scientist',s ,,theory ,,of ,,the      
,,deluge--,,density ,,of ,,comets--,,the
 ,,milky  ,,way--,,unknown ,,forces ,,of
 ,,the ,,universe--,,antiquity ,,of     
,,the ,,earth--,,teachings  ,,of        
,,ancient ,,prophets--,,teachings ,,of  
,,primitive ,,church--,,modern          
,,scientists4    ,the grand error of    
infidel theories in regard to creation  
lies in the  arrogant assumption on     

which every one of them must be founded4
 ,they  assume that the theorist is     
acquainted with all substances and all  
forces in the universe1 and with all the
 modes of their operation4  ,this       
knowledge must apply1 not merely to the 
present age1 but to  all past epochs2   
not merely to this world1 but1 likewise1
 to others  in widely different and     
utterly unknown situations and          
conditions4  ,otherwise1 that unknown   
force must have had its influence in    
framing  the world4 ,for instance1 a    
theory of creation which would neglect  
the  attraction of gravitation would be 
manifestly false4 ,but there are  other 
laws1 the power of repulsion1 for       
instance1 whose omission would  be      
equally fatal4 ,skeptics #aeb are aware 
of this fact1 and have  sought to       
simplify matters1 by reducing all       
substances to a few simple  elements1   
and all forces to the form of one       
universal law4 ,instead  of this1       
chemistry1 every year1 reveals new      

substances and increases  our knowledge 
of nature's variety4 ,at one time1 it   
was boasted that  astronomy would enable
 us to account for all the operations of
 the  universe2 but1 instead of this1 it
 has revealed substances and forces1    
whose nature and combinations are       
entirely unknown4    ,for example1 it is
 estimated that the sun's heat at its   
surface is  #cjj1jjj times greater than 
at the surface of the earth4 ,an        
exceedingly  few rays of the sun1       
concentrated by a burning mirror1 will  
convert  gold and platina into vapor4   
,at this rate1 it is calculated that if 
a  cataract of icebergs1 a mile high and
 as broad as the ,atlantic ocean1  was  
launched into the sun1 with the velocity
 of a cannon ball1 it would  be         
converted into steam as fast as it      
entered his atmosphere1 without  cooling
 his surface in the least degree4 ,but  
how is such an enormous  heat kept up8  
,hitherto1 every discovery1 so far from 
giving us an  explanation1 seems rather 

to remove farther the prospect of       
probable  explanation4 7,outlines of    
,astronomy1 ,vol4 vi41 p4 #djj47 ,yet   
the sun  is the nearest of the fixed    
stars1 by far the best known1 and most  
nearly related to us4 ,in fact1 we are  
dependent on his influence for  life and
 health4 ,but if the infidel cannot tell
 the sun's substance1  or the nature and
 cause of the light and heat he sends   
us1 how can he  presume to #aec tell us 
how this same sun was formed1 or declare
 that  the ,biblical account is false8  
,,illustration3 ,,view ,,of ,,saturn1   
,,showing ,,rings4    ,concerning the   
nearest planets1 how little do we know6 
,are they  built of the same materials  
as our planet8 ,are ,saturn's rings     
solid  or liquid8 ,the planet1 ,saturn1 
is surrounded with a revolving belt     
consisting of several distinct rings1   
containing an estimated area a  hundred 
and forty-six times greater than the    
surface of our globe1  with a thickness 
of a hundred miles4 ,from mechanical    

considerations1  it has been proved that
 these rings could not be of uniform    
thickness  all around1 else when a      
majority of her seven moons were on the 
same  side1 the attraction would draw   
them in upon her on the opposite side2  
and once attracted to her surface1 they 
could never get loose again1  if they   
were solid4 ,it was next ascertained    
that the motion of the  moons of ,saturn
 and her rings was such that the rings  
must be capable  of changing their      
thickness according to circumstances4   
,finally1 it  was demonstrated that     
these rings were fluid and that their   
density  is nearly that of water1 and   
that the inner portion1 at least1 is so 
transparent #aed that the planet has    
been seen through it4 ,the rings  of    
,saturn are1 then1 a stream or streams  
of fluid1 rather denser than  water1    
flowing about the planet4 ,this         
extraordinary fact1 which shows  how    
,god can deluge a planet when ,he       
pleases1 is given in the language  of a 

philosopher whose thoughtless           
illustration of revelation is all  the  
more valuable that it is unintentional3 
,m4 ,otto ,struve1 ,mr4 ,bond and ,sir  
,david ,brewster are agreed that        
,saturn's third ring is fluid1 that it  
is gradually approaching the body  of   
,saturn1 and that we may expect1 sooner 
or later1 to see it united  with the    
body of the planet4 ,with this deluge   
impending1 ,saturn would  scarcely be a 
very eligible residence for men whatever
 it might be for  dolphins4 7,see       
,annual of ,scientific ,discovery1      
#ahef1 p4 #cgg47    ,let the skeptic    
show that ,god did not1 or could not    
suspend a similar  celestial ocean over 
the earth1 or cease to pronounce a      
universal  deluge impossible4    ,again1
 it may be asked4 ,has the moon an      
atmosphere8 ,are the atmospheres  of the
 planets like ours8 ,what is the cause  
of the light and heat of  the sun8      
,these and many other questions         
scientists variously answer1  but leave 

unanswered after all4    ,comets        
constitute by far the greatest number of
 the bodies of our  solar system4 ,arago
 says seven millions frequent it1 within
 the orbit  of ,uranus4 ,they are the   
largest bodies known to us1 stretching  
across  hundreds of millions of miles4  
#aee ,,illustration3 ,,the ,,comet ,,of 
#ahaa4    ,they approach nearer to this 
earth than any other bodies1 sometimes  
even involving it in their tails1 and   
generally exciting great alarm  among   
its inhabitants4 ,but the nature of the 
transparent1 luminous  matter of which  
they are composed is utterly unknown4   
,while their  density was doubtful1 they
 formed very convenient material for the
  atheist's world-factory2 but recently 
they have been literally  dissipated    
into smoke by powerful telescopes4 ,in  
fact a respectable  wreath of smoke is  
quite substantial compared with the     
densest  of the comets4 ,stars of the   
smallest magnitude remain distinctly    
visible though covered by what appears  

to be their densest portion2  although  
these same stars would be completely    
obscured by a moderate  fog extending   
only a few yards above the #aef earth4  
,neither are  they dense enough to cast 
a shadow4 ,it is thus evident that the  
most  substantial clouds which float in 
our atmosphere are dense and massy      
bodies compared with the filmy and all  
but spiritual texture of a  comet's     
tail4    ,neither do men understand the 
laws that govern the motion of comets4  
,as they approach the sun1 they come    
under an influence directly the         
opposite of attraction4 ,while the body 
of the comet travels towards the  sun1  
sometimes with a velocity nearly        
one-third of that of light1 the  tail   
shoots forth in the opposite direction  
with much greater velocity4  ,the       
greatest velocity with which we are     
acquainted on earth is the  velocity of 
light1 which travels a million times    
faster than a cannon  ball1 or at the   
rate of #aie1jjj miles per second4      

,,illustration3 ,,comet ,,passing       
,,round ,,the ,,sun 7,,its              
,,perihelion74    ,but infidels tell us 
that the universe is infinite1 and      
therefore  self-existent4 ,this         
assertion is essential to their creed4  
,they must  establish this fact #aeg    
before they can convince themselves or  
any  other person1 that the universe had
 no ,creator2 for that which exists  by 
the necessity of its own nature must    
exist in all time and in every  place4  
,but it can be easily shown that our    
solar system has boundaries1  and does  
not fill the immensity of space4 ,that  
broad band of luminous  clouds1 which   
stretches across the heaven1 called the 
,milky ,way1  consists of millions of   
stars1 so small and distant that we     
cannot see  the individual stars1 and so
 numerous that we cannot help seeing the
  light of the mass2 just as we may see 
the outline of a forest at a  distance1 
but are unable to distinguish the       
individual trees4 ,besides  the ,milky  

,way there are many other star-clouds1  
in various parts of the  heavens1 which 
have successively been shown by the     
telescope to consist  of multitudes of  
stars4 ,but all around these            
star-clouds1 or ,nebulae  as they are   
called1 the clear blue sky is discovered
 by the naked eye4  ,now it is easy to  
perceive that if all the regions of     
space were filled  with self-luminous   
suns or planets capable of reflecting   
light1 or even  comets1 we should see no
 blue sky at all3 in a word1 the whole  
heaven  would be one vast ,milky ,way4  
,though the telescope discovers         
multitudes of stars where the naked eye 
sees none1 yet they are seen projected  
on a perfectly dark heaven4 ,and  even  
through the ,milky ,way1 and the other  
star-clouds1 the telescope  penetrates  
through intervals absolutely dark and   
completely void of any  star of the     
smallest telescopic magnitude 7,outlines
 of ,astronomy1  chap4 xvii74 #aeh ,it  
may assist us to understand the full    

import of  this declaration to remember 
that the largest telescopes now in use1 
clearly define any object on the moon's 
surface as large as the ,deseret  ,bank4
 ,we may comprehend to some extent their
 power of penetrating  space by the fact
 that light1 which flashes from ,san    
,francisco to  ,london quicker than you 
can close your eye and open it again    
requires  thousands of years to travel  
to our earth from the most distant stars
  discernible by these telescopes4 ,if a
 solar system like ours existed         
anywhere within this amazing distance   
these telescopes would certainly  reveal
 it4 ,in gazing through these           
instruments we are made to feel most    
sensibly that not merely this world     
which constitutes our earthly all1  and 
yon glorious sun which shines upon it1  
but all the host of heaven's  suns1     
planets1 moons and firmaments1 which our
 unaided eyes behold1  are but as the   
handful of sand of the ocean shore1     
compared with the  immensity of the     

universe4 ,but ever1 and along with this
 it has shown  us the ocean1 as well as 
the shore1 and revealed boundless       
regions  of darkness and solitude       
stretching around and far away beyond   
these  islands of existence4    ,when we
 come to consider the vastness of these 
regions of darkness1  over which no     
light has traveled for millions of      
years1 and remember  also that          
astronomers have looked clear through   
the nebulae1 and find  that they bear no
 more proportion to the infinite        
darkness behind them1  than the sparks  
of a chimney do to the extent of the sky
 against #aei  which they seem          
projected1 so far from imagining the    
solar system to be  infinite1 we stand  
confounded at its relative              
insignificance4    ,there is no possible
 evasion of this great fact4 ,it cannot 
be objected  that stars may exist at    
vast distances1 whose light has not yet 
reached the limits of our system2 for   
there is no possible distance  over     

which light could not have traveled1    
during eternal duration4  ,but the      
eternal existence of these stars is the 
very thing which the  atheist is        
concerned to prove4 ,if we admit that   
these worlds had a  beginning1 we are   
compelled to seek a cause for that      
beginning3 that is  to say1 a ,creator4 
,nor will it answer the purpose to say1 
that these dark regions may  be filled  
with dark stars4 ,if it could be proven 
that some stars  shine1 while others are
 dark2 then why this difference8        
,variety is an  effect1 and demands a   
prior cause4 ,worlds therefore do not   
exist by the  necessity of their own    
nature1 wherever there is room for them1
 but  must have had a pre-existent1     
external and supernatural cause of their
  existence in the places where they    
exist4 ,this implies design--will--     
,god4    ,in these amazing disclosures  
of the unknown forces of the heavens1 do
  we not hear a voice rebuking the      
presumption of ignorant theorists1  and 

asking1 ,knowest thou the ordinances of 
heaven8 ,canst thou set  the dominion   
thereof in the earth 7,job xxxviii4     
#cc74 ,how many  influences1 hitherto   
undiscovered by our ruder senses1 may be
 ever  #afj streaming toward us1 and    
modifying every terrestrial action4 ,and
  yet1 because man has traced a little  
concerning one or two of these  laws1 we
 have deemed our astronomy complete4 ,we
 have no reason1 save  our own          
self-sufficient arrogance1 to believe   
that the discovery of  these forces     
exhausts the treasures of infinite      
wisdom4    ,but the infidel asks us1    
,does not the ,bible make a false       
declaration1  when it says that the     
universe was created only some six or   
seven  thousand years ago8 ,we reply by 
asking1 ,where does the ,bible say  so8 
,but1 says our objector1 is not this the
 doctrine held by the  various sects and
 taught by the various commentators8    
,that is not the  question before us    
just now4 ,we are not asking what sects 

believe1 or  uninspired teachers teach2 
but1 ,what does the ,bible say4 ,the    
,bible  uniformly attributes the most   
remote antiquity to the work of         
creation4  ,in the beginning ,god       
created the heavens and the earth 7,gen4
 i1  #a74 ,so far from supposing man's  
appearance on the earth to be even      
approximately coeval with the creation1 
human presumption is reproved  in the   
remarkable words1 ,where wast thou when 
,i laid the foundations  of the earth8  
7,job1 xxxviii4 #d47 ,in majestic       
contrast with the frail  human race1    
,moses glances at the primeval monuments
 of ,god's antiquity1  as though by them
 he might form some faint conceptions of
 eternity1 and  sings1 ,before the      
mountains were brought forth1 or ever   
thou hadst  formed the earth and the    
world1 even from everlasting1 to        
everlasting  thou art ,god 7,ps4 xc1    
#b74 ,the #afa very phrase in the       
beginning1  is in itself an emphatic    
refutation of the notion1 that the work 

of  creation is only some six or seven  
thousand years old4 ,geologists have    
been unable to invent a better1 and have
 borrowed from the ,bible this  very    
form of speech1 to designate as the     
primary formations1 those  strata beyond
 which human knowledge cannot penetrate4
 ,this phrase1  in ,bible language1     
marks the last promontory on the        
boundless ocean  of past eternity3 the  
only positive phrase1 by which we can   
express  the most remote period of past 
duration4 ,it expresses not a date--a   
point of duration2 but a period--a vast 
cycle4 ,but one boundary is  perceptible
 to mortals3 that where creation rises  
from its abyss4  ,created eye has never 
seen the other shore4    ,let the       
geologist then penetrate as deeply as he
 can into the  profundities of the      
earth's foundations1 and bring forth the
 monuments  of their hoary antiquity2 we
 will follow with unfaltering faith4    
,let  the astronomer raise his telescope
 and reflect1 on our astonished eyes1   

the light which flashed from morning    
stars1 on the first day of this  earth's
 existence1 or even the rays which began
 to travel from distant  suns millions  
of years ere the first morning dawned on
 our planet3  they shall shed a sacred  
lustre over the pages of inspiration1   
and  give new beauties of illustration  
to its majestic symbols4 ,but never  in 
this life will geologists penetrate the 
depth of its mysteries1 nor  astronomers
 attain the sublimity of that beginning 
revealed in its  pages4 ,it is placed in
 an #afb antiquity beyond the power of  
human  calculation1 in that sublime     
sentence with which it introduces       
mortals  to the ,eternal1 ,in the       
beginning ,god created the heavens and  
the  earth4    ,the doctrine of the     
creation the earth only six or seven    
thousand years  ago is a product of     
monkish ignorance4 ,clemens of          
,alexandria1 who lived  in the second   
century of the ,christian era1 and      
,justin ,martyr1 who was  a disciple and

 companion of the ,apostle ,john1 both  
teach the existence  of an indefinite   
period between the creation and the     
preparatory work1  fitting it for the   
habitation of man4 ,the ,jewish rabbis  
also are  perfectly explicit in         
recognizing these distinctions4    ,but 
it is replied1 ,does not the ,bible say1
 in the fourth commandment1  ',in six   
days the ,lord made heaven1 and earth1  
and the sea1 and all  that in them is8' 
etc ,true4 ,but we are speaking just now
 of a very  different work2 the work of 
creation4 ,if any one does not know the 
difference between create and make1 let 
him turn to his dictionary1  and        
,webster will inform him4 ,if he has no 
dictionary1 he can satisfy  himself     
thoroughly1 as to the different meanings
 of these two words1 by  looking at     
their use in the ,bible4 ,he will find  
the term create used  when there were no
 organized materials to form the earth  
from2 unless  we adopt the infidel      
absurdity that the paving stones made   

themselves4  ,he will also find that the
 term make is applied to the adjusting  
of the  earth in its present condition  
7see ,gen41 i1 #ba and #bg4 ,psalms1    
li1 #aj4 ,ecclesiastes1 xii1 #a4 ,col1  
i1 #af74    #afc ,but between these two 
widely different processes1 namely the  
creation1 and the organizing of the     
world there intervened a period of      
indefinite length4 ,that original chaos1
 which some would find in the  second   
verse1 never had an existence save in   
the brains of atheistic  philosophers4  
,it is purely absurd4 ,the crystals of  
the smallest grain  of sand1 the        
sporules of the humblest fungus on the  
rotten tree1 and  the animalculae in the
 filthiest pool of mud1 are as orderly  
in their  arrangements1 as perfect after
 their kind1 and as wisely adapted to   
their station as the most perfect beings
 on the earth4    ,if then astronomers  
and geologists assert that the earth was
 millions  or hundreds of millions of   
years in process of preparation for its 

present state1 by a long series of      
successive destructions and             
renovations1 and gradual formations1    
there is not one word in the ,bible  to 
contradict that opinion2 but on the     
contrary1 very many texts which  fully  
and unequivocally imply its truth4      
,infidels frequently attempt to make    
sport of the figures of sacred  poetry  
such as the pillars1 and windows of     
heaven1 the corners  of the earth1 the  
four winds of heaven1 etc4 ,one         
prominent infidel  writer asserts that  
,moses was so ignorant of the nature of 
the  atmosphere1 and the origin of rain 
that he taught that the firmament  was  
simply a brazen hemisphere or huge      
caldron placed in an inverted  position 
over the earth1 that a fresh-water ocean
 was outside of this1  and that the     
figurative term windows of heaven meant 
trap-doors to  let #afd the waters      
descend in the form of rain upon the    
inhabitants  of the earth4 ,if so1      
,moses did not put his teachings into   

practice2  for we find that he set up a 
brazen hemisphere in the tabernacle and 
placed its mouth upwards and put water  
on the inside of it4 ,such  are the     
miserable subterfuges to which infidels 
will resort when  in want of an         
argument4 ,they seem to forget that a   
thousand years  before skeptics had     
learned to talk nonsense about crystal  
spheres1  and trap-doors in the bottom  
of celestial oceans1 the writers of  the
 ,bible were recording those            
conversations of pious philosophers     
concerning stars1 clouds and rain1 from 
which ,galileo derived the  first hints 
of the causes of barometrical phenomena4
 ,the origin of  rain1 its proportion to
 the amount of evaporation1 and the mode
 of  its distribution by condensation1  
could not be propounded by ,humboldt    
himself with greater clearness than they
 are described by ,job1 the  ancient    
philosopher of the land of ,uz4 ,he     
maketh small the drops of  water3 they  
pour down rain according to the vapor   

thereof1 which the  clouds do draw and  
distil upon man abundantly 7,job xxxvi4 
#bg74  ,the cause of this rarefaction of
 cold water1 is as much a mystery to    
modern scientific associations as it was
 to ,job and ,elihu2 and even  were all 
the electrical tension of vapors        
disclosed1 the balancing of  the clouds 
would only be more clearly discovered to
 be1 as the ,bible  declares1 the       
wonderful works of ,him1 who is perfect 
in knowledge4  ,three thousand years    
before the theory of the trade winds was
 #afe  demonstrated by ,maury1 it was   
written in the ,bible1 ,the wind goeth  
toward the south1 and turneth about unto
 the north1 and1 ,the wind  returneth   
again according to his circuits 7,eccl4 
i1 #f74 ,thousands  of years before     
,newton1 ,galileo and ,copernicus were  
born1 ,isaiah  was writing about the    
orbit of the earth and the earth's      
relative  insignificance 7,isaiah xl1   
#bb74 ,even the modern names of some of 
the  constellations of the heavens were 

known to the ancients4 ,canst thou  bind
 the sweet influences of ,pleiades1 or  
loose the bands of ,orion8  7,job       
xxxviii1 #ca74    ,one of the most      
vaunted objections1 which infidels bring
 against the  ,bible1 is that which     
represents ,god as creating light before
 the  sun1 and the sun1 moon and stars1 
only two days before the creation  of   
man4 ,they seem to forget that the term 
to create is nowhere used  in connection
 with the preparing of the earth for the
 habitation of  man4 ,by careful reading
 it will be seen at once that the       
darkness  spoken of in the first chapter
 of ,genesis had reference to this      
planet  only4 ,there is not the remotest
 hint1 in any portion of scripture1     
that any other planet or star was       
shrouded in gloom at that time4 ,on  the
 contrary1 we are most distinctly       
informed that the wonders which  ,god   
was performing in this world1 at that   
very time1 were distinctly  visible amid
 the cheerful illumination of other     

orbs4 ,when the morning  stars sang     
together1 and all the sons of ,god      
shouted for joy1 as this  earth emerged 
from its primeval darkness4    #aff     
,true the ,bible represents that this   
earth was illuminated  at a time when   
the sun was not visible from its        
surface4 ,now1 if  any one will presume 
to scoff at the ,bible for speaking of  
light  without sunshine--as infidels    
frequently do--what will he say of the  
light which exists in the midst of a    
,london fog or on the banks of          
,newfoundland8 ,to understand1 how there
 may be day without sunshine1  we need  
only conceive the whole earth enveloped 
in vapors such as  ,humboldt describes a
 portion of ,peru4 ,a thick mist        
obscures the  firmament in this region  
for many months4 ,if by chance the sun's
 disc  becomes visible during the day1  
it appears devoid of rays1 as if seen   
through colored glasses4 ,according to  
what modern geology has taught  us      
concerning the ancient history of our   

atmosphere1 its primitive  condition    
must have been unfavorable to the       
transmission of light  7,humboldt's     
,cosmos1 ,vol iii1 p4 #aci74    ,dr4    
,dana is evidently of the same opinion4 
,in speaking of the formation  of coal  
and the peculiar vegetation which       
flourished upon the earth  during that  
period1 the remains of which are found  
imbedded in the  coal measures2 he says1
 ,in the ,pacific ocean1 off the coast  
of ,chili1  there is an island named    
,chiloe1 where it rains #cjj days in the
 year1  and where the light of the sun  
is shut out by perpetual fogs4 ,on this 
island1 arborescent ferns1 form forests1
 beneath which grow herbaceous  ferns1  
which rise three feet and upwards above 
a marshy soil1 and a  mass of plants    
flourish there1 #afg resembling in their
 main features  the plants found in the 
coal fields 7,manual of ,geology1       
#ahhj74 ,thus  science corroborates the 
word of ,god4    ,another favorite      
theory of the unbeliever is the         

uniformity of nature4  ,where1 says he1 
is the promise of ,christ's coming to   
judgment2  for since the fathers fell   
asleep1 all things continue as they were
  since the beginning of the world8 ,but
 on examination astronomy  dispels the  
illusion1 exhibits the course of nature 
as a succession  of catastrophies1      
displays the conflagration of other     
worlds1 and  the extinction of other    
suns1 before our eyes1 and asks1 ,why   
should  our sun differ from other suns8 
,in short there is no permanence  in the
 heavens1 any more than on the earth2   
but a perpetual change  is the destiny  
of suns and stars4 ,a few instances it  
may be well  to transcribe3 ,on the     
#aath of ,november1 #aegb1 as the       
illustrious  ,danish astronomer1 ,tycho 
,brahe1 was walking through the fields1 
he  was astonished to observe a new star
 in the constellation ,cassiopea1       
beaming with a radiance quite unwonted  
in that part of the heavens4            
,suspecting some delusion about his     

eyes1 he went to a group of peasants  to
 ascertain if they saw it1 and found    
them gazing at it with as much          
astonishment as himself4 ,he went to his
 instrument and fixed its  place1 from  
which it never after appeared to        
deviate4 ,for some time it  increased in
 brightness--greatly surpassing ,sirius 
in luster1 and even  ,jupiter--so that  
it could be seen by good eyes in the day
 time4 ,after  reaching its greatest    
brightness1 it again diminished1 #afh   
assuming  in succession the hues of a   
dying conflagration1 and then finally   
disappeared4 ,it is impossible to       
imagine anything more tremendous than  a
 conflagration that could be visible at 
such a distance 7,nicholl's  ,solar     
,system1 page #aah74    ,sir ,john      
,herschell describes the star1 ,eta     
,argus1 which1 in the year  #ahcg1 went 
through similar variations4 ,humboldt   
gives a catalogue of  twenty-four such  
stars1 whose variations have been       
recorded1 and asks1  ,why should our sun

 differ from other suns8 ,what we no    
longer see is  not necessarily          
annihilated4 ,it is merely the          
transition of matter into  new          
forms--into combinations which are      
subject to new processes4 ,dark         
cosmical bodies may1 by a new process of
 light1 again become luminous  7,cosmos 
,vol4 ,,iii1 page #bcb74    ,nicholl    
sums up the matter in the following     
emphatic words3 ,no more is  light      
inherent in the sun than in ,tycho's    
vanished star2 and with it  and other   
orbs a time may come when the sun shall 
cease to be required  to shine4 ,the    
womb which contains the future is that  
which bore the  past 7,solar ,system1   
page #aij74    ,the threatenings of     
,god's word are invested with a mantle  
of terrible  literality by the facts we 
have been contemplating4    #afi        
,,chapter ,,xi4    ,,moses ,,and        
,,modern ,,science4    ,,science        
,,agrees ,,with ,,religion--,,nebular   
,,theory--,,sun ,a ,,dark ,,body--,,sun 

,,spots--,,various ,,sources ,,of       
,,light--,,primeval ,,ocean--,,density  
,,of ,,early  ,,atmosphere--,,vegetation
 ,,of ,,coal ,,period ,,everywhere      
,,identical--,,uniformity  ,,of         
,,climate4    ,there is a class of      
aspirants to gentility who refuse to    
recognize any  person not dressed in the
 style which they suppose fashionable   
among  the higher classes4 ,a story is  
told of a wealthy ,glasgow brewer's     
wife1  who1 attired in all the          
magnificence of her satins1 laces and   
jewelry1  was driving out in her        
carriage one day in the vicinity of     
,balmoral4  ,a quiet lady1 clad in a    
plain1 gingham dress and gray shawl1 was
  gathering a bouquet of wild flowers in
 the hedge1 and as the carriage  passed 
by1 wished the occupant a pleasant good 
morning1 to which the  brewer's wife    
answered by a contemptuous nod1 but     
afterwards learned  to her great        
mortification1 that she had thus lost an
 opportunity  of forming an acquaintance

 with ,queen ,victoria4 ,so a large     
class of  pretenders to science refuse  
to become acquainted with ,bible #agj   
truth1 because it is not shrouded in the
 technicalities of science1 but         
displays itself in the plain speech of  
the common people to whom it was  given4
    ,of late years the first chapter of 
,genesis has been assailed by           
scientists in such a manner that even   
some professing ,christians and  other  
devout believers in the ,old ,testament 
have come to doubt the  authenticity of 
that chapter2 while the efforts of some 
modern divines  to interpret its sayings
 so as to conform to the declarations of
  so-called science1 have in some cases 
been pitiful to behold4 ,we do  not     
claim that what is called science is    
infallible4 ,true science is            
indisputable4 ,but much that is called  
science is only theory4 ,in the         
writings of learned men1 concerning the 
formation of the world1 and  geologic   
processes and periods1 there is a large 

mixture of theory  and guess-work along 
with some demonstrated facts and        
principles4 ,we  believe1 however1 that 
there is no real conflict between the   
,mosaic  account of the creation and the
 nebular theory1 which is the most      
widely accepted among the most prominent
 scientists4    ,the ,bible declares1   
,in the beginning ,god created the      
heavens and  the earth4 ,science admits 
that there was a ,great ,first ,cause4  
,the  world-famous scientist1 ,herbert  
,spencer1 says1 ,the universe had its   
origin in the unknown source of things4 
,the ,bible declares1 ,the  earth was   
without form1 and void1 and darkness was
 upon the face of  the deep4 ,science   
teaches us that matter primarily existed
 without  any form1 in a highly #aga    
attenuated and invisible condition1 but 
containing all the elements which now   
compose the solid and fluid  portions of
 the earth1 and while it was in this    
condition it was  non-luminous4 ,before 
motion there was no light4 ,the ,bible  

says the  ,spirit of ,god moved upon the
 face of the waters4 7,the original word
  mayhim means literally a flowing1     
non-solid1 fluid substance47            
,scientists admit that motion as well as
 matter demands a cause1 and  that the  
earth was then a flowing or movable     
substance or fluid4  ,thus we see that  
the description given by ,moses of that 
far1 far off  period is not only correct
 but likewise has a depth of meaning    
that is  perfectly sublime4    ,let us  
now turn to another chapter in nature's 
volume and compare it  with the second  
event mentioned by ,moses4 ,and ,god    
said4 ,let there be  light3 and there   
was light4 ,scientists admit that the   
first visible  effect of motion in the  
fluid mass was the giving out of light4 
,and  here it may not be out of place to
 give a concise description of the      
nebular theory3    ,la ,place conceived 
the sun to be at one period the nucleus 
of a vast  nebula or star-cloud1 the    
matter of which extended beyond what is 

now the orbit of the remotest planet of 
the solar system4 ,this mass  of matter 
in process of condensation1 and probably
 by the agency of  electricity1 was     
endued with a circulating motion around 
its center  of gravity4 ,the tendency   
which all revolving bodies possess to   
fly  off from the center1 caused        
portions of this nebula in process of   
condensation1 #agb to detach themselves 
from the parent mass1 and form          
themselves into concentric rings1 which 
afterwards1 by condensation and         
electrical action1 separated themselves 
into distinct bodies4 ,these  masses1   
which hence constituted the various     
planets1 in their turn  condensing after
 the manner of the parent mass and      
abandoning their  outlying matter1      
became surrounded by similar concentric 
rings1 which  in turn formed satellites 
or moons surrounding the various        
planetary  masses4 ,in proof of this1   
the case of the planet ,saturn has been 
cited  to show that the work of creation

 is still in progress4 ,as is well      
known1 this planet is surrounded by a   
revolving belt1 consisting of  several  
distinct rings still unbroken4    ,while
 infidels are scoffing at the idea of   
light without the sun1  modern science  
has discovered the astonishing fact1    
that even at this  moment the globe of  
the sun is not a source of light to     
itself much  less to us2 that1 in fact  
light is no more connected with the sun 
than  with a candlestick4 ,the sun      
consists mainly of a dark nucleus1 like 
the body of the earth and other         
planetary globes1 surrounded by two     
atmospheres of enormous depths1 the one 
nearest to him being cloudy  and dense  
like our atmosphere1 while the loftier  
stratum consists  of dazzling electric  
and phosphorescent zephyrs that1 bestow 
light  on so many surrounding spheres4  
,this phosphorescent atmosphere1 or     
photosphere1 as it is called1 is by no  
means inseparably attached  to the      
surface of the nucleus or dark body     

beneath4 ,nor is it in any  degree      
stable1 but is subject to #agc extensive
 fluctuations and the  most violent     
commotions1 being frequently swayed and 
whirled aside1  laying bare the surface 
of the dark globe beneath for thousands 
of  miles to the observation of         
astronomers1 and even to the naked eye4 
,,illustration3 ,,the ,,sun ,,as ,,seen 
,,by ,,mr4 ,,proctor ,,september        
#be,,th1 #ahgj4    ,in the month of     
,june1 #ahdc1 a spot was visible which1 
according to the  measurements of       
,schwabe1 the astronomer1 had a length  
of no less than  #gd1haf miles4 ,on     
,march #aeth1 #aheh1 observers of the   
great solar eclipse  had an opportunity 
of seeing a spot which had a breadth of 
#ajg1ebj  miles4 ,but #agd the most     
remarkable view of the sun was that     
exhibited  ,september #beth1 #ahgj4 ,one
 of the openings was so vast that it was
  calculated that eighteen of our       
worlds1 placed side by side1 would have 
scarcely filled the chasm4    ,the      

latest discoveries in science tend      
rather to demonstrate that the  sun's   
light is but very faintly visible on his
 globe2 and that there is  no such thing
 as solar heat4 ,what is popularly      
called so is only the  heat caused by   
the friction of the waves of light      
passing through the  atmosphere1 or     
striking against the earth4 ,we approach
 the question of  the sun's             
inhabitability1 says ,sir ,david        
,brewster1 with the certain  knowledge  
that the sun is not a red hot globe1 but
 that its nucleus is  a solid1 opaque   
mass1 receiving very little light from  
its luminous  atmosphere4 ,for ought we 
know the dark1 solid nucleus of the sun 
may  have existed for millions of years 
and given out no light whatever4  ,it is
 quite possible that variations of the  
sun's light may have been  caused       
through electrical action4 ,the         
telescope has shown us that the  fixed  
stars are also luminous bodies similar  
to our sun1 only very far  distant from 

us4 ,some of these have suddenly flashed
 into existence1  where none were       
previously visible4 ,the appearance of  
twenty-one such  stars is on record4    
,others have greatly increased in       
brightness2 and1  still further1 many   
familiar suns have ceased to shine4 ,on 
a careful  re-examination of the        
heavens1 many stars are found to be     
missing4  7,herschel's ,outlines1 ,sec4 
#hcb47    #age ,the variation of our    
supply of light from the sun is the only
  explanation we have of the great      
alternations of heat and cold which     
have been so extensive as1 at one       
period1 to have clothed high northern   
latitudes1 such as ,greenland and       
,siberia1 with a more than tropical     
luxuriance of vegetation1 and1 at       
another time1 to have buried vast       
tracts of ,europe and ,america1 now     
enjoying a genial climate1 under vast   
glaciers and mountains of ice4          
,again1 light1 so far from being solely 
derived from the sun1 exists  in1 and   

can be educed from almost any known     
substance4 ,the metallic  bases of most 
earths and alkalies are capable of      
emitting light in  suitable electrical  
conditions1 and a brilliant flame can be
 produced  by the combustion even of    
water4 ,all the metals can be made to   
flash  forth lightnings under suitable  
electric and magnetic excitements2 and  
the crystals of several rocks give out  
light during the process of             
crystallization4 ,thousands of miles of 
the earth's surface must once  have     
presented the lurid glow of a vast      
furnace of melted granite4  ,even at a  
far later period of its history1 it may 
have shone with a  luster little        
inferior to that of the sun2 for lime1  
of which unknown  thousands of miles of 
its strata consist1 when subject to a   
heat much  less than that produced by   
contact with melted granite or lava1    
emits  a brilliant1 white light of such 
intensity that the eye cannot support   
its luster4 7,see ,turner's ,chemistry1 

,sec4 #afj47    ,as is well known1 the  
moon is a dark1 opaque body1 therefore  
the copper  color of the moon1 #agf     
during a total eclipse1 when the dark   
side  of the earth is turned towards the
 moon1 shows us that the earth1  even   
now1 is a source of light4 ,that ,god   
could command the light to  shine out of
 darkness1 and convert the very ocean   
into a magnificent  illumination1 the   
following fact clearly proves3          
,captain ,bonnycastle coming up the gulf
 of ,st4 ,lawrence1 on the #gth of      
,september1 #ahbf1 was roused by the    
mate of the vessel in great alarm  from 
an unusual appearance4 ,it was a        
starlight night1 when suddenly  the sky 
became overcast in the direction of the 
highland of ,cornwallis  ,county1 and an
 instantaneous and intensely vivid      
light1 resembling the  aurora1 or       
northern lights1 shot out from the      
hitherto dark and gloomy  sea1 on the   
lee bow1 which was so brilliant that it 
lighted every  thing distinctly1 even to

 the mast-head4 ,the light spread over  
the sea  between the two shores1 and the
 waves1 which before had been tranquil1 
now began to be agitated4 ,captain      
,bonnycastle describes the scene as     
that of a blazing sheet of awful and    
most brilliant light4 ,a long and  vivid
 line of light1 superior in brightness  
to the parts of the sea not  immediately
 near the vessel1 showed the base of the
 high1 frowning and  dark land abreast2 
the sky became lowering and more        
intensely obscure4  ,long1 tortuous     
lines of light showed immense numbers of
 large fish  darting about as if in     
consternation4 ,the top-sail yard and   
mizen boom  were lighted by the glare1  
as if gas-lights had been burning       
directly  below them2 and until just    
before daybreak1 at four o'clock1 the   
#agg  most minute objects were          
distinctly visible4 7,connection of     
,physical  ,sciences1 p4 #bhh47    ,in  
the fourth and fifth verses of the first
 chapter of ,genesis we are  told1 ,and 

,god saw the light1 that it was good3   
and ,god divided the  light from the    
darkness4 ,and ,god called the light    
day1 and the darkness  ,he called night4
 ,and the evening and morning were the  
first day4    ,in spite of all the      
sneers of infidels1 the candid reader   
finds the  divine record sublime in its 
simplicity4 ,the good effect of light   
upon our planet was immediately         
apparent4 ,the earth having now become  
sufficiently condensed to cast a shadow1
 there was1 of course1 one side         
enjoying the light of the sun while the 
other was in shadow4 ,thus the  dark    
body of the earth was the means by which
 ,god divided the light  from the       
darkness1 as at the present2 and the    
first rotation of the  earth upon its   
axis causing the shadow and the light to
 be alternately  on every part of the   
earth1 produced the evening and the     
morning of the  first day4 ,how long the
 first day was1 we know not4 ,from      
observations  of phenomena going on in  

the ,spiral ,nebula at the present time1
 it is  reasonable to suppose that the  
first revolution of the earth upon its  
axis occupied a vast epoch of time4     
,the next process in the organization of
 the earth was the forming of  an       
atmosphere3 ,and ,god said1 let there be
 a firmament 7literally1  expanse7 in   
the midst of the waters1 and let it     
divide the waters  from the waters4 ,and
 ,god made the firmament1 #agh and      
divided the  waters1 which are under the
 firmament3 and it was so4 7,gen4 i1    
#f-g74    ,now let us turn to the book  
of nature and see how science           
corroborates  these facts4 ,geologists  
tell us that the motion of the particles
 of  matter which form the earth1 in    
course of condensation became very hot2 
for heat and motion are only different  
names for the same thing4 ,heat  is     
easily convertible into motion1 as every
 one knows who has a steam  engine1 and 
motion can easily be changed into heat1 
as everybody knows1  by friction1 that  

is by rubbing two substances together4  
,m4 ,mangin1 in his ,mysteries of the   
,ocean1 thus graphically describes  the 
first formation of the universal ocean3 
,as the earth continued  to cool1 a time
 arrived when its temperature became    
insufficient to  maintain in a state of 
vapor the vast masses of water which    
floated  in the atmosphere4 ,these      
vapors would pass into a liquid state1  
and  then the first rain fell upon the  
earth4 ,this water would in turn be     
quickly evaporated and again ascend into
 the colder regions of space1  where it 
would again condense and fall upon the  
earth4 ,this might take  place many     
times2 but each time much heat would be 
withdrawn from the  surface of the      
globe1 and at last the waters would     
settle down and form  a universal ocean4
 ,and the evening and the morning were  
the second day4    ,further we are told3
 ,and ,god said1 ,let the waters under  
the heaven be  gathered together unto   
#agi one place1 and let the dry land    

appear3  and it was so4 ,and ,god called
 the dry land earth2 and the gathering  
together of the waters called ,he seas4 
7,gen4 i1 #i1aj74    ,mark the phrase1  
unto one place4 ,the oceans and seas are
 all  connected2 they are only names for
 parts of one place or basin4 ,in  the  
#ajdth ,psalm we are told that ,god     
covered the earth ,with the deep  as    
with a garment2 the waters stood above  
the mountains4 ,concerning  the early   
condition of the earth1 science         
declares1 that the waters  encased the  
whole globe1 and were above the early   
mountains1 which were  afterwards formed
 by the contortions caused by the       
shrinking of the  crust of the earth as 
it cooled4    ,helmholtz has calculated 
that the shrinking of the earth one     
ten-thousandth of its diameter would    
generate an amount of heat equal  to    
that which the earth receives from the  
sun during two thousand  years4 ,from   
this fact we may easily perceive the    
causes of that  internal heat which1    

after the lapse of unknown ages1 still  
manifests  itself in geysers1           
earthquakes and volcanoes4 ,here1 also1 
we may  perceive that mighty force by   
which the ,divine chemist prepared the  
materials for the earth's ultimate      
condition4    ,when ,god created light4 
,he pronounced it good2 when ,he divided
 the  dry land from the waters4 ,he     
pronounced it good2 but when ,he created
  the firmament1 or expanse4 ,he did not
 declare it good4 ,why8 ,possibly       
because1 until vegetation began1 it was 
loaded with carbonic acid and  #ahj     
other poisonous gases1 and totally unfit
 to support animal life4  ,science      
teaches us that this was the period when
 those strata known  as the primary     
rocks were formed4 ,no remains of animal
 life can be  found in them4 ,it is a   
well-known fact that most substances    
shrink  as they cool4 ,this is the      
principle that holds the tires upon     
wagon  wheels4 ,in the same manner the  
earth also shrank1 in proportion1 as it 

cooled4 ,as the various parts might give
 out heat in an unequal manner1  so     
irregularities would appear on its      
surface1 forming the earliest  mountain 
chains1 valleys1 rents and ravines4     
,gradually as these early  mountains and
 table-lands rose above the surface of  
the primeval ocean1  the waves would    
dash against them and the rains fall1   
slowly wearing  away the rocks and thus 
forming the earliest soil on the        
new-made world4    ,continuing our      
investigations1 let us turn to another  
chapter of the  book of nature and see  
how closely the teachings of science    
agree with  the record given by ,moses3 
,and ,god said1 ,let the earth bring    
forth  grass 7literally1 sproutage71 the
 herb yielding seed1 and the fruit  tree
 yielding fruit after his kind1 whose   
seed is in itself1 upon the  earth2 and 
it was so4 7,gen4 i1 #aa47    ,mark the 
order3 ,first1 the sproutage2 second1   
seed-bearing herbs2  and thirdly1       
fruit-bearing trees4 ,now what does     

science say on this  subject8 ,it tells 
us that the exact geological period1    
when plants  first appeared upon the    
earth1 cannot be told2 for their        
delicate  structure was such that their 
earliest forms have been entirely       
destroyed1 unless #aha they are those   
which are still preserved in the  strata
 of the coal measures4 ,the earliest    
forms of which we have any  knowledge   
were flowerless plants1 which produced  
minute spores instead  of seeds4 ,among 
these may be classed fungi1 mosses and  
ferns4 ,thus we  see how correctly      
,moses has described the first form of  
vegetable life  by simply speaking of it
 as sproutage1 without mentioning any   
seed4      ,,illustrations3 ,,specimens 
,,of ,,early ,,vegetation4 ,,ferns4     
,,calamites4      #ahb ,,illustration3  
,,specimen ,,of ,,bark ,,from ,a ,,nova 
,,scotia ,,coal ,,mine4    ,with regard 
to this vegetation1 it would imply the  
existence of  sunlight1 though some of  
the lower orders would require but      

little4 ,the  atmosphere was still dense
 and loaded with vapor4 ,the lower      
orders of  flowerless plants were       
succeeded by tree-like ferns1 some of   
which grew  to the enormous hight of    
forty or fifty feet4 ,the careful       
observer will  frequently find traces of
 this early vegetation in the lumps of  
common  coal4 ,sometimes the galleries  
of coal mines are overhung with         
beautiful  proportions of extinct       
vegetable forms4 ,thus a wise           
,providence has  preserved the remains  
of primeval vegetation for perhaps      
millions of  years1 to tell us the story
 of those ancient forests1 and reveal to
  us the various steps of creation4 ,the
 vegetation of the coal period  presents
 a remarkable character1 being composed 
almost entirely of  #ahc the highest    
class of flowerless plants1 along with a
 few of the  lowest class of those that 
flower4 7,dawson's ,chain of ,life1 p4  
#if47    ,concerning the climatic       
condition of the earth during the       

coal-forming1  7carboniferous7 period1  
as it is called1 the description given  
by ,hugh  ,miller1 the eminent          
geologist1 may not be out of place3     
,from the  circumstance that no dew is  
deposited in our ,summer evenings1 save 
under a clear sky1 it is now ascertained
 that even a thin covering of           
cloud--serving as a robe to keep the    
earth warm--prevents the surface  heat  
of the planet from radiating into the   
space beyond4 ,and such a  cloud1 thick 
and continuous1 as must have wrapped    
round the earth1  as with a mantle1     
during the earlier geologic periods1    
would have  served to retard1 for many  
ages1 the radiation1 and consequently   
the  reduction1 of that internal heat of
 which it was itself a consequence4     
,nor would a planet1 covered over for   
ages with a thick screen of vapor1  be a
 novelty yet in the universe4 ,it is    
doubtful whether astronomers  have ever 
yet looked on the face of ,mercury4 ,it 
is1 at least1 very  generally held that1

 hitherto1 only his clouds have been    
seen4 ,even  ,jupiter1 though it is     
thought his mountains have been         
occasionally  detected raising their    
peaks through openings in his cloudy    
atmosphere1  is known chiefly by the    
dark1 shifting bands that1 flecking his 
surface in the line of his trade-winds1 
belong not to his body1 but  to his     
thick1 dark covering4 ,nor1 yet further1
 would a warm1 steaming  atmosphere1    
muffled in clouds1 have been #ahd       
unfavorable to a rank1  flowerless      
vegetation like that of the coal        
measures4    ,there are moist1 mild1    
cloudy days of ,spring and early        
,summer1 that  rejoice the heart of the 
farmer1 for he knows how conducive they 
are  to the young growth on his fields4 
,the coal measure climate would  have   
consisted of an unbroken series of      
these1 with1 mayhap1 a little  more of  
cloud and moisture and a great deal more
 of heat4 ,the earth  would have been a 
vast greenhouse covered with smoked     

glass1 and  a vigorous1 though1 perhaps1
 a loosely-knit and faintly-colored1    
vegetation would have luxuriated under  
its shade4 ,that the vegetable  growth  
must have been great we can easily      
imagine when we consider the  immense   
quantities of coal throughout the world4
 ,it is a remarkable  circumstance that1
 from the equatorial regions up to      
,melville ,island  in the ,arctic       
,ocean1 where continual frost now       
prevails2 and from  ,spitzbergen to the 
center of ,africa1 the remains of the   
plants of  the coal measures are        
identically the same4 ,there seems to   
have been  then only one climate over   
the whole globe1 caused1 no doubt1 by   
the  internal heat of the earth4 ,we    
should not forget that ,moses puts the  
elevating of the land and the production
 of vegetation in the same  geological  
period1 viz41 between the second and    
third day4    ,and the evening and the  
morning were the third day4 7,gen4 i1   
#ac47  ,before this time there seems to 

have been no seasons2 but1 after that1  
,god appointed the sun1 moon and stars  
to give light upon the  earth1 and to be
 for signs1 and for seasons1 and for    
days and for  years4 ,that the sun and  
stars had been created long before this1
 we  have no reason to doubt4 ,we may1  
therefore1 correctly infer that they    
were then1 for the first time1 visible  
from the surface of the earth4    #ahe  
,,transcriber',s ,,note3 ,here is an    
artist's rendition of a  primordial     
forest    #ahf        ,,chapter ,,xii4  
,,harmony ,,of ,,genesis ,,and          
,,geology4    ,,development ,,of        
,,species--,,survival ,,of ,,the        
,,fittest--,,laws ,,of                  
,,variation--,,gradual ,,extinction ,,of
 ,,animals--,,aquatic ,,character ,,of  
,,earliest  ,,birds--,,indications ,,of 
,,life ,,in ,,chalk--,,primeval         
,,monsters--,,huge ,,land               
,,animals--,,change ,,in ,,the ,,climate
 ,,of ,,the ,,earth--,,creation ,,of    
,,man--,,no  ,,intermediate ,,link4     

,philosophers lay it down as a rule1    
that the materials for all  revolutions1
 whether political1 moral or social are 
prepared  before-hand4 ,a revolution in 
ideas and modes of thought is by no     
means  an exception to this rule4 ,the  
unthinking throng may gaze in wonder  at
 the spectacle afforded by the sudden   
outburst2 but the thoughtful  student   
will trace the order of events1 and the 
forces that have been  long at work     
preparing the minds of men for the new  
order of things4    #ahg ,when in the   
latter part of the eighteenth century1  
,voltaire  marshaled his arguments as a 
legion1 and hurled his burning          
invectives  against the corruptions of  
false ,christianity1 humanity stood     
aghast at  the result1 for they did not 
perceive that the forces which impelled 
it  had long been preparing4 ,when the  
works of ,voltaire and ,thomas ,paine   
appeared1 society was in such a         
condition that many accepted their      
teachings as a relief from existing     

evils4 ,much more1 many persons were    
ready to follow them into all the wild  
sophistries of infidelity4    ,the      
history of that time1 has been to some  
extent repeated in the  great scientific
 revolution so vigorously at work in the
 nineteenth  century4 ,when ,hugh       
,miller wrote his ,testimony of the     
,rocks there  were those who confidently
 expected that this work would overturn 
the  ,mosaic account of the creation2   
and a wonderful outcry was raised  about
 the opposition between the records of  
the rocks and the ,bible4  ,after a time
 it was found that geology demonstrates 
the existence1  wisdom and goodness of  
an ,almighty ,creator with irresistible 
evidence4  ,so when ,darwin1 ,huxley1   
,hooker1 ,spencer and others revealed to
 the  world1 a vast amount of knowledge 
concerning the origin of species  and   
the development of plants and animals1  
there were those who would  have gladly 
found an antagonism between the facts of
 science and the  records of revelation4

 ,but now it is admitted that it would  
be equally  wonderful1 and would as much
 require the infinite powers of #ahh    
,deity1 to develop all the varied and   
marvelous forms of organic life  from a 
single germ as to call them into        
existence by special acts of  creation4 
,in reality we owe these philosophers a 
debt of gratitude  for having studied   
nature so carefully and given us so many
 deeply  interesting and important      
facts4    ,it is evidently part of the  
divine plan that species should develop 
from a lower to a higher condition4 ,we 
see this in the improvements  in the    
breeds of our domestic animals1 as well 
as in the wild animals  that now live1  
as compared with the remains of the     
ancient ,saurians  that once roamed over
 the earth4 ,the doctrine of ,natural   
,selection  or ,survival of the         
,fittest1 as ,huxley terms it1 is also a
 law of  nature4 ,we see this           
illustrated at the present time in the  
history  of races of men and species of 

animals4 ,the weaker races of men are   
gradually disappearing while those      
nations who possess the highest         
physical1 mental and moral              
characteristics are extending their     
dominion  over the earth4 ,in the       
history of animals this is likewise     
apparent4  ,the gigantic1 unwieldy ox1  
the ,urus of ,caesar1 has been extinct  
since  ,roman times4 ,the ,auroch1      
another ox whose bones are frequently   
found  in the same strata with extinct  
animals1 would have been now entirely   
extinct but for the imperial edict which
 preserves a few in the forest  of      
,lithuania4 ,the gigantic birds         
,dinornis and ,aptornis have but        
recently passed away4 ,perfect skeletons
 of them are still preserved in  the    
museum of ,christchurch1 ,new ,zealand4 
,from #ahi the measurement  of these    
skeletons they are estimated to have    
been nearly or quite  twelve feet high4 
,the ,dodo1 a heavy1 clumsy bird1 of    
fifty pounds'  weight1 with loose1 downy

 feathers1 and imperfect wings like a   
new-born  chicken1 became extinct only  
about #aej or #bjj years ago4 ,the      
,apteryx of ,australia1 which of all    
living birds most resembles some  of the
 extinct species1 still survives1 ready 
to disappear4 ,the lion1  tiger1 bison  
7or buffalo71 elephant1 rhinoceros1 and1
 in fact1 all  the fiercer and larger   
animals1 are even now disappearing      
before the  advance of civilized man4   
,,illustration3 ,,skeleton ,,of ,a ,,man
 ,,and ,,that ,,of ,a ,,dinornis        
,,showing  ,,comparative ,,size4    #aij
 ,the law of variation1 as expressed by 
,darwin1 is true  with certain          
limitations4 ,for example1 every person 
must admit a vast  change in the        
condition of the best breeds of our     
domestic swine1 from  their ancestors1  
the wild boars of medieval ,europe4 ,yet
 nowhere can be  found a single instance
 of transmutation of species4 ,for      
example1 if  we should trace the        
pedigree of a horse backwards through a 

thousand  generations we should find    
that the original animal was also a     
horse1  though probably a very inferior 
animal4 ,of all the living animals and  
fossil remains of extinct ones1 though  
thousands of specimens have  been       
discovered1 yet of land animals and the 
higher orders of creation  not a single 
instance of transmutation can be found4 
,in all this we  see a beautiful        
agreement with the divine record1 ,and  
,god said1 ,let  the earth bring forth  
the living creature after his kind1     
cattle1 and  creeping thing1 and beast  
of the earth after his kind3 and it was 
so  7,gen4 i1 #bd74    ,true1 we are    
told by ,huxley that the embryos of     
different animals  closely resemble each
 other1 so that at an early stage of    
their  existence they cannot be         
distinguished4 ,but what of this8 ,it   
only  shows the unity of design in the  
works of the ,creator which is one  of  
the grand characteristics #aia of the   
world4 ,further1 it teaches  us a lesson

 of man's ignorance and imbecility4     
,with all the aid of  science we are    
unable to perceive those minute         
arrangements of atoms  which will on    
development produce a tortoise or a     
fowl1 a dog or a  man4 ,who will presume
 to say that a castle was developed or  
evolved  from a cottage because they    
were built of similar materials or      
because  some of the rooms were after   
the same pattern8 ,why then should the  
,divine ,architect's work be doubted    
because ,he gives to the germs of       
different beings the power of           
self-development according to a         
specified  pattern1 which is to end in  
the ultimate perfection of vastly       
different  organisms8    ,,illustration3
 ,,bird-,,like ,,reptile ,,discovered   
,,by ,,darwin4    ,but we are asked1 is 
it not true that the most accurate and  
reliable  geologists1 have discovered in
 the rocky records of former ages the   
most undeniable evidence that the       
earliest birds were of a #aib  strangely

 reptilian character1 and that many of  
the reptiles of that  age were of an    
extraordinary bird-like character8 ,that
 in some cases it  is difficult to      
determine which predominated to the     
greatest extent1  the characteristics of
 the reptile1 the bat or the bird8      
,these animals  were evidently          
amphibious1 living either on land or in 
the sea4 ,some  specimens still extant  
which were found in ,mexico and ,south  
,america  and which are identical with1 
or closely resemble the extinct species1
  possess the double character of an    
aquatic and terrestrial animal4  ,some  
of them advance beyond the development  
common to the class1  and from          
gill-breathers1 fitted1 only to inhabit 
the water1 become  lung-breathers       
adapted to live on land4                
,,illustration3 ,,reptilian ,,bird ,,by 
,,huxley4    ,is it not also true that  
the remains of the earliest birds       
indicate  them to have been of an       
aquatic character similar to the cranes1

 gulls  and pelicans of the present     
time8 ,some of these were destitute of  
horn  bills which birds of the present  
age possess4 ,on the other hand their   
heads resembled those of reptiles4      
,neither were their wings always  #aic  
covered with feathers1 but in some cases
 their wings resembled  those of the    
bat1 and their feet closely resembled   
those of reptiles4  ,now1 says the      
skeptic1 is it not possible that        
reptiles and birds lived  upon the earth
 previous to the creation of beasts8    
,and1 further1 is it  not possible that 
birds and reptiles may have been        
developed from the  same original type1 
whereas ,moses declares that ,god made  
the beast of  the earth after his kind8 
,not so fast1 my friend4 ,it is well    
known that these declarations of        
science are mere speculations1 plausible
 indeed1 but nowhere proven to  be true4
 ,granting all that the infidel asks1   
let us carefully read the  sacred record
 and see if there really is any         

contradiction3 ,and ,god  said4 ,let the
 waters bring forth abundantly the      
living creature that  hath life1 and    
fowl that may fly above the earth in the
 open firmament  of heaven4 7,gen4 i1   
#bj74 ,had ,moses written1 ,and ,god now
 created  every living thing that moveth
 in the waters1 there might have been   
some reason for infidel objections4 ,we 
should therefore especially  notice that
 ,moses does not say that this was the  
first dawn of animal  life upon our     
globe1 but simply that the waters were  
now to bring  forth abundantly the      
moving creature that hath life1 and     
fowl1 etc4  ,in all this there is no    
inconsistency between the geological and
  ,biblical statements4 ,on the other   
hand the wording of the text is such  as
 to lead the student to believe that    
birds were of aquatic origin1  that is1 
lived on the water4    #aid ,in the     
twenty-first verse we are told that ,god
 created great  whales 7literally       
sea-monsters7 and every living creature 

that moveth1  which the waters brought  
forth abundantly1 after their kind and  
every  winged fowl after his kind4 ,and 
here we also perceive that the waters   
are again represented to be as it were  
the nursing mother of both  birds and   
the lower orders of animal life4 ,mark  
also that the term  created is used only
 three times in the whole of this       
record2 first  in reference to the      
creation of the earth1 second in        
reference to  sea-monsters1 and third in
 reference to the creation of man4      
,,illustration3 ,,piece ,,of ,,chalk    
,,highly ,,magnified4    #aie ,while    
revelation teaches us that the period   
when the waters  were to bring forth    
abundantly1 was in a succeeding epoch to
 that in  which vegetation commenced2   
geology bears testimony that there are  
few  remains of animal life till we come
 up to more recently formed strata1     
than the vegetable deposits of the coal 
measures4 ,it is only when we  arrive at
 the chalk measures that we find an     

abundance of animal  life4 ,recent      
investigations have shown1 that chalk is
 mostly composed  of shells in every    
stage of change1 some perfect1 some     
broken1 and  still others decayed into  
an impalpable dust4 ,some of these      
shells are  so minute that it would     
require #a1hjj placed side by side to   
measure a  single inch4 ,perhaps no     
human intellect is able to form a       
conception of  this profuseness of      
animal life4 ,well might ,moses say the 
sea brought  forth abundantly4          
,,illustration3 ,,remains ,,of ,,shell  
,,fish4    ,it is at this epoch that we 
find the first remains of shell fish    
which are so common in the rocks of     
every land2 also the remains of         
innumerable tiny fish1 so prevalent in  
certain sections of our own  land4      
,again1 geology teaches us that birds   
made their first appearance  during this
 epoch4 ,no fragments of the skeletons  
of birds have yet  been discovered in   
formations older than the chalk4    #aif

 ,,illustration3 ,,remains ,,of         
,,macroura--,,earliest ,,bird ,,yet     
,,found4    ,further it is only in      
strata formed subsequently to the chalk 
that  we find the remains of those      
monsters that made the earth to tremble 
beneath their tread and lashed to foam  
the billows of the primeval  ocean4 ,to 
those who are unaccustomed to view      
fossil remains the  dimensions of some  
of these seem almost incredible4 ,just  
think of  monsters #abj feet in length  
with teeth eleven inches in diameter and
  eyes whose sockets were more than     
eighteen inches across2 and we can      
easily perceive that the statement of   
,moses is verified1 ,and ,god  created  
great whales 7literally sea monsters74  
,of this epoch1 ,le  ,conte says1 ,it   
was preeminently an age of reptiles4    
,there are now  on the whole face of the
 earth only six large reptiles over     
fifteen  feet long--two in ,india1 one  
in ,africa1 three in ,america--and none 
over twenty-five feet long4 ,yet in the 

strata that correspond to this  period  
in ,great ,britain alone are found the  
skeletons of at least  #aig five great  
,dinosaurs from twenty to sixty feet    
long1 and in the  ,united ,states the   
fullness of reptilian life was even     
greater2 for1 one  hundred and          
forty-seven species of reptiles have    
been found1 most  of them of gigantic   
size4 ,among these are fifty species of 
,mosasaurs1  seventy or eighty feet     
long1 also species of crocodiles fifty  
feet  long1 besides great numbers of    
gigantic turtles4 ,these are some of the
  remains that are still preserved4 ,but
 the fossil animals of any period  are  
only a remnant of the animals of that   
period4 ,that the climate  of the earth 
was then warm and uniform is            
sufficiently attested4 ,all  great      
reptiles are now found only in tropical 
or subtropical regions2  but the remains
 of these monsters are scattered in all 
latitudes from  ,new ,zealand to        
,spitzbergen4 ,in all this we see a     

wonderful agreement  between the account
 given by ,moses and the records of     
geology4    ,,illustrations3 ,,tooth    
,,of ,,plesiosaurus1 ,,one ,,twelfth    
,,it',s ,,natural  ,,size4 ,,remains    
,,of ,,plesiosaurus ,,and ,,megolosaurus
    #aih ,of the land animals which then
 inhabited the earth1  might be         
mentioned the ,dinotherium4 ,from the   
remains of it which  still exist it must
 have measured not less than sixteen    
feet high and  twenty-four feet long    
with a head at least three feet in      
breadth and  hence capable of containing
 a brain large enough for the most      
exacting  phrenologist4 ,then again     
there was another huge animal called the
  ,mastodon4 ,we may get some idea of   
the enormous size of the animal  from   
the fact that the remains of some of its
 grinding teeth1 recently  found in     
,pennsylvania1 weighed no less than     
seventeen pounds4 ,there  existed at    
that time still another huge animal     
whose remains are found  in ,siberia1   

,sweden1 ,italy and ,north and ,south   
,america4 ,it is commonly  called a     
,mammoth1 #aii though on account of its 
resemblance to  existing elephants1     
naturalists have named it ,elephas      
,primigenius4 ,it  was covered with     
three kinds of hair3 first strong       
bristles1 secondly1  soft hair1 and     
thirdly with reddish wool growing among 
the hair4    ,geologists agree that     
during the latter part of this period   
the earth  began to assume conditions   
similar to those which prevail at the   
present time4 ,this is indicated by the 
abundance of deciduous plants  7that is 
plants that drop their leaves each      
autumn71 which are to  be found in      
,north ,america4 ,it is thus evident    
that the climate was  becoming cooler1  
the dense atmosphere which so long had  
wrapped the  earth as with a mantle had 
dissipated2 the carbonic acid and other 
poisonous gases1 which were totally     
unfit to support animal life had  been  
absorbed by the rank vegetation of the  

coal period4 ,geologists  tell us that  
this was the period when the ,wasatch   
and ,uintah mountains  were formed and  
the center of the western continent     
upheaved1 by which  the great interior  
sea which previously divided ,america   
into two  continents was abolished4 ,the
 change of physical geography was       
enormous  and the change of climate was 
doubtless correspondingly great4 ,it was
  natural1 therefore1 to expect1 with   
the opening of the next era1 a very     
great change both in plant and animal   
life4 ,so ended the fifth epoch of      
creation1 for ,the evening and the      
morning were the fifth day4    ,moses   
opens the record of the sixth epoch by  
the words1 ,and ,god said1  ,let the    
earth bring #bjj forth the living       
creature1 after his kind1  cattle1 and  
creeping thing1 and beast of the earth  
after his kind2  and it was so4 ,geology
 confirms this by declaring1 as it were1
 that  then her modern history          
commenced4 ,then began the present      

aspect of  field and forest2 and modern 
types of animals were introduced and    
became predominant4 ,many of the species
 of both plants and animals were        
identical with those still living4      
,further1 one of the most noteworthy    
facts connected with the first mammals  
7or milk-giving animals71 is the        
suddenness of their appearance in great 
numbers1 and of all1 or nearly  all     
orders1 even the highest1 except man4   
,lastly1 we are told1 ,and ,god said4   
,let us make man in our image1 after    
our likeness2 and let them have dominion
 over the fish of the sea and  over the 
fowl of the air1 and over the cattle and
 over all the earth1  and over every    
creeping thing that creepeth upon the   
earth4 7,gen4 i1  #bf74 ,thus from      
scripture we learn that the closing and 
completing work  of the creation was    
man4    ,geology triumphantly confirms  
the revealed fact that submarine        
animals1  land vegetation1 reptiles1    
birds and quadrupeds1 were all of them  

in  existence1 successively and         
collectively1 before the first of the   
human race4 ,further1 that the earliest 
remains of men1 yet discovered1         
indicate that they were distinctly and  
perfectly human1 as much so as  any race
 now living1 and were not in any sense  
an intermediate link  between man and   
the ape4 ,when his habitation was       
prepared1 and #bja  the materials of the
 forest and of the mine were all ready  
for his use1  then1 and not till then1  
did man appear4 ,thus the record of     
,moses1 and  the record of nature bear  
each other witness4 ,the same narrative 
told  by the ruler of ,israel four      
thousand years ago1 is also told in its 
own  expressive language by the very    
earth on which we tread1 as if it were  
graven with an iron pen and lead in the 
rock forever4    99 99 99 99 99         
,,chapter ,,xiii4    ,,scientific       
,,proofs ,,of ,,spiritual ,,life4       
,,testimony ,,of ,,the                  
,,scriptures--,,doctrine ,,of ,,the     

,,sadducees--,,remark  ,,of             
,,napoleon--,,spirit ,,controls         
,,matter--,,microscopic ,,atoms--       
,,protoplasm--,,essential ,,conditions  
,,of ,,life--,,infidel ,,theories--     
,,wisdom ,,of ,,socrates--,,herbert     
,,spencer',s ,,philosophy--,,faculties  
,,of ,,the                              
,,mind--,,consciousness--,,perception--,
,memory--,,imagination--                
,,judgment--,,conscience--,,volition--,,
abercrombie',s ,,record--,,talleyrand-- 
,,milk ,,poisoning4    ,the inspired    
records uniformly teach that man has a  
spiritual nature  distinct from the     
body1 the union of which with the body  
produces  that which1 for want of a     
better term1 we call our present life4  
,the  union of some of these celestial  
spirits with #bjb bodies of earthly     
matter forms the visible world of       
mankind4 ,they teach us1 also1 that  the
 existence and conscious faculties of   
the soul continue after the  death of   
the body4 ,death is referred to in the  

scriptures as giving up  the ghost1 or  
spirit2 and very many passages refer to 
the condition  of disembodied spirits   
after death4 ,in the account of the     
creation of  ,adam1 we read that ,the   
,lord ,god formed man of the dust of the
 ground1  and breathed into his nostrils
 the breath of life2 and man became a   
living soul1 thus making an evident     
distinction between the body and  the   
soul4 ,in various parts of the ,old     
,testament we find references to        
disembodied spirits1 and various        
enactments in the ,mosaic law against   
consulting them by means of divination  
and necromancy4    ,the ,sadducees      
denied the separate existence of        
spirits2 but1 in our  ,savior's famous  
argument with them4 ,he showed that the 
,old ,testament  clearly taught this    
doctrine when it represented ,god as    
saying1 ,i  am the ,god of ,abraham1 and
 the ,god of ,isaac1 and the ,god of    
,jacob1  adding1 ,he is not the ,god of 
the dead1 but the ,god of the living4   

7,mark xii1 #bf47 ,thereby teaching that
 these persons1 although their  bodies  
had been long dead1 were still living4  
,so1 likewise1 ,st4 ,paul  speaks of    
being absent from the body1 yet present 
with the ,lord4 ,st4  ,john declares    
that he saw the souls of those who had  
been slain for  their testimony of      
,jesus4 7,rev4 vi1 #i47    ,in examining
 the scientific evidence of these       
scriptural views  concerning a spiritual
 existence1 it will be necessary to     
inquire  into the origin of #bjc life as
 exhibited in physiology4 ,this is      
confessedly a difficult question1 yet   
one of great importance1 since1  driven 
from the sciences of astronomy and      
geology1 infidelity has  sought to      
entrench itself in natural history as in
 a citadel4 ,yet1 even  here1 the ground
 crumbles beneath its feet2 and the time
 is not far  distant when a man1 having 
a scientific education1 will be ashamed 
to  avow himself an infidel4    ,we have
 seen that astronomy and geology bear   

testimony to the truths  revealed in the
 scriptures2 so1 likewise1 does the     
science which treats  of the functions  
of living beings4    ,napoleon is said  
to have remarked to ,dr4 ,antomarchi1 at
 ,st4 ,helena1  ,you physicians are     
unbelievers because you cannot find the 
soul with  your dissecting knife4       
,however applicable this might have been
 to  physicians of that day1 it would   
fail of application now1 since1 by      
means of the microscope1 man has been   
able to penetrate still more  deeply    
into the recesses of nature's mysteries4
 ,with this instrument1  science has    
been able to detect the beginnings of   
living structure1 and  to trace the     
fundamental laws of the process of      
development4    ,chemistry has also done
 its part in investigating this         
phenomena4 ,from  these sources we learn
 the mutual relation1 as well as        
individuality of  all organic things4   
,from the inorganic world1 directly or  
indirectly1  the bodies of all living   

things originate1 and to it1 naturally1 
they  all return4 ,by some power1 unseen
 to mortal eyes1 matter is arranged in  
new forms2 and these forms1 after using 
#bjd the matter thus arranged1  restore 
it again to the physical world4 ,in this
 manner is kept up  the wonderful circle
 of organic life4 ,scientists1 though   
skeptically  inclined1 agree that there 
must have first existed an animated     
germ1  the product of a                 
previously-existing organism1 which     
draws in and  appropriates the inorganic
 elements1 combines these elements into 
organisms1 builds up an organized       
fabric1 and discards1 finally1 the      
atoms and implements which it can no    
longer use4 ,what this organism  is we  
cannot fully explain1 since it is       
evident that it is of such a  refined or
 sublimated nature as to elude the grasp
 of science in its  present stage of    
development4 ,by no means1 at our       
disposal1 are we  capable of rigidly    
examining it by our bodily senses4      

,to illustrate this subject1 and at the 
same time to show the  superiority and  
independence of the vital principle1 as 
it is called1  or organizing spirit1 to 
the cruder matter it uses1 let us       
consider  the history of a single       
microscopic atom1 as it is used in the  
service  of life4 ,by some              
means--understood only by the           
,creator--it has become  mysteriously   
endowed with life4 ,let us suppose its  
first connection  with vitality to be in
 the simplest form of animated          
matter--that  of the protoplasm4 ,we    
find1 on examination1 that this         
protoplasm  possesses what scientists   
call the essential conditions of life1  
namely sensibility1 contractibility and 
assimilation4 ,we find that this  atom  
of living jelly--for such it really     
is--is endowed with the power  of       
selecting nutriment #bje from the       
inorganic matter around it for  the     
support of its own existence4 ,after a  
time it forms itself into  a simple     

cell1 a bladder-like form inclosing a   
fluid substance1 and  containing a few  
moving granules4 ,after a time1 this    
cell multiplies  itself1 that is1 gives 
birth to a number of cells like itself4 
,these  are inclosed in the original    
cell1 which at last bursts and sets them
  free4 ,all scientists agree that      
protoplasm is the physical basis of     
life4 ,now whence comes this wonderful  
principle which endows the  protoplasm  
with the essential conditions of life1  
and presses into  its service the atoms 
and the laws of the material universe8  
,its  effects are too palpable to allow 
a denial of its existence1 while  its   
power over earthly matter proves that it
 is distinct from it4  ,although too    
subtle to be analyzed by the            
philosopher1 its existence  is          
suggestive of the highest truths4 ,it   
speaks to us of a spiritual  world--a   
world to which the visible world is     
subservient1 and which is  itself       
unaffected by the many changes which    

take place around us4    ,among the many
 theories which infidels have           
profounded1 one of the most  common is  
that which declares that life is the    
result of organization4  ,this argument1
 like many others1 is only an old one   
with a modern  dress4 ,we find in       
,plato's ,phaedo1 that when ,simmias    
argued against  the immortality of the  
soul1 the wise and good ,socrates       
opposed him1  proving that the soul     
existed before the body1 as shown by the
 fact of  pre-existent ideas4 ,for      
example1 the idea of goodness must      
necessarily  exist1 before we are able  
to form an opinion #bjf concerning      
goodness4  ,infidels tell us that the   
idea of virtue is merely the harmony of 
the soul2 but if the soul itself is only
 the harmonious result of  organization1
 then virtue is simply the harmony of a 
harmony1 which  is absurd4 ,socrates    
further showed that parts of the soul   
may be  opposed to each other1 as desire
 and reason1 for example2 and this fact 

overthrows the idea of harmony4 ,thus   
even a pagan philosopher could  deal    
fatal blows against the positivism of   
his age as well as against  the         
pretended wisdom of the nineteenth      
century4    ,some tell that no idea or  
feeling can arise1 save as the result of
  some physical force expended in       
producing it4 ,that because light1      
heat1 electricity and motion are closely
 related1 therefore they are  the cause 
of life4 ,as well might we say that the 
art and skill observed  in a beautiful  
building were the offspring of the house
 itself1 or that  the architect was the 
result of a beautiful suite of rooms4   
,in other  words1 the relation of cause 
and effect are completely reversed4     
,yet we are told that heat1 motion1     
electricity and chemical affinity  are  
the causes of mental and moral action4  
,this principle is even  applied to the 
progress of civilization1 and the       
statistics of crime2  and ,mr ,herbert  
,spencer has made it the foundation of  

his new system of  philosophy4 ,stripped
 of its parade and tinsel1 however1 this
 theory  is nothing but the old         
pantheism revived4 ,it is the desperate 
effort  of infidelity to press into its 
service the researches of modern        
physiology and anatomy1 as has formerly 
been tried with #bjg astronomy  and     
geology2 but each of these sciences     
refuses an alliance with  skepticism1   
and incontrovertibly points to a        
,creator and a spiritual  world4    ,let
 the honest skeptic inquire1 ,how do    
these theories explain the  cause of    
life8 ,do they show us a single reason  
why some parts of matter  become        
organized and others do not8 ,do they   
make plain why one cell  develops a     
vegetable and another an animal1 no     
perceptible difference  existing between
 them1 and the circumstances of each    
being the same  except originating from 
different parentage8 ,can these         
philosophers  tell us what they mean by 
physical force8 ,is it matter2 or is it 

a  creative power1 or energy added to   
matter8    ,an answer to these questions
 would cut the ,gordian knot4 ,while    
science stands on the very confines of a
 spiritual world1 and points  across the
 boundary1 why should we fear to look in
 that direction1 or  spurn the guidance 
of that faith which would lead us to    
higher truths4    ,it may not be out of 
place to mention a few of the leading   
faculties of  the mind1 to show its     
independence4    ,consciousness1 that   
is1 the knowledge which the mind has of 
its own  operations4 ,perception1 or the
 evidence we have of external objects   
by our senses4 ,memory1 which implies a 
former conscious experience1  its       
retention1 revival and recognition4     
,imagination is a term used to          
represent the power which the mind has  
of combining ideas previously  received4
 ,in its highest degree1 imagination    
rises to the sphere of  creative fancy1 
or poetic power4    #bjh ,judgment is   
the decision of the mind1 the result of 

comparing  two or more ideas4           
,conscience1 sometimes called the moral 
sense1  is that faculty by which we have
 ideas of right and wrong respecting    
actions1 and corresponding feelings of  
approbation or disapprobation4  ,it     
might1 also1 be claimed the faith       
faculty4 ,it brings us into  relation   
with the spiritual world and the claims 
of ,god and duty4  ,volition1 or choice1
 is the dominion exercised by the mind  
over  itself1 employing or withholding  
its faculties in any particular  action4
 ,these are a few of the faculties which
 link the mind to the  body and likewise
 show its independence4    ,thus far we 
have only considered the origin of life1
 as confirmatory  of man's spiritual    
nature4 ,there are1 however1 other      
themes which  point as clearly to the   
same truth4 ,the functions of the       
nervous  system--sensation and voluntary
 motion--cannot be explained by  any    
other theory4 ,the nerve-structure only 
implies a capability of  reception and  

transmission4 ,in other words1 it is the
 telegraph system  that conveys         
intelligence to1 and transmits the      
wishes of the immortal  soul4 ,it is    
true that the active exertions of the   
power of the soul  require a            
corresponding health in the bodily      
organs1 since the most  accomplished    
artisan cannot exhibit his full powers  
with imperfect  tools and materials2    
yet1 as the injury or destruction of the
 implement  is no proof of the death of 
the artisan1 so the injury or           
destruction  of the body destroys not   
the soul4    ,there is no constant      
relation between the #bji integrity of  
mind and  body4 ,the mind is sometimes  
an agonizing sufferer1 while the body is
 in  perfect health2 and only slowly1   
and by degrees1 the mind brings the     
bodily organs into a sympathetic state4 
,though the body cannot long  resist the
 influence of mental disease2 yet the   
mind can effectually  resist the        
depressing influence of bodily disease  

or bodily pain1 even  to the period of  
their separation4 ,paralysis has        
unnerved and unstrung  the whole system 
and yet the mind has remained uninjured4
 ,such was the  case with the great     
,french statesman1 ,talleyrand1 who1    
with a body like  a living tomb1        
retained his faculties unimpaired4 ,nor 
need we more than  allude to the        
rejoicing moment of the dying saint1 or 
the triumphs of  the martyr at the      
stake1 to show that the mind can        
continue in calm  serenity1 while the   
body is enduring the most excruciating  
torments1  or losing at once its        
vitality and power4 ,joy causes a       
brilliancy of  the eyes4 ,melancholy    
produces a directly opposite effect from
 joy4  ,the emotion of anger urges the  
circulation of the blood to the utmost  
vehemence1 sometimes producing tremors  
or spasmodic action of the  muscles4 ,it
 acts also upon the secretions--the     
saliva1 milk and bile--  which often    
become actually poisoned4 ,the sickness 

and death of many  children are caused  
by taking the milk of an enraged mother4
    ,the independent action of the mind 
is also manifest in the phenomenon  of  
sleep4 ,that personality is not         
suspended1 is proved by voluntary       
waking at a predetermined hour4    #baj 
,dreaming is another proof of mental    
activity and independence4  ,then the   
mind is withdrawn from the ordinary     
influences of the  world around1 and    
lives1 as it were1 in a world of its    
own4 ,hence  the adaptability of the    
dream state to spiritual communication  
and  inspiration1 as referred to so     
often in the scriptures4 ,in examining1 
thus1 a few particulars in which the    
bodily organization is acted upon  by   
its spiritual inhabitant1 we find       
abundant proof of the independent       
nature of the soul1 as taught in holy   
writ4    99 99 99 99 99        ,,chapter
 ,,xiv4    ,,faith ,,and ,,infidelity   
,,contrasted4    ,,faith ,,and ,,science
 ,,harmonious--,,great ,,men1           

,,believers--,,the ,,safety  ,,of       
,,society ,,demands ,,religion--,,the   
,,gospel ,,the ,,basis ,,of ,,true      
,,civilization--,,who ,,are ,,the       
,,credulous--,,conclusion4    ,we repeat
 it3 there is no antagonism between     
philosophy and faith4  ,whatever the    
seeming oppositions of the present1 all 
in the end will be  perfect harmony4    
,the gospel not merely overwhelms but   
comprehends all  philosophy4    ,the    
star of science shines very beautifully 
indeed in its own sphere2  but its light
 at best is a #baa borrowed light1 and  
its beams grow  pale and vanish before  
the glorious sun of righteousness4      
,often as the comparison has been made  
the result has been uniform--the  sun   
outshines the star4 ,astronomy tried it4
 ,when the old ,ptolemaic  system was   
exploded by ,copernicus1 the vaunted    
wisdom of men proclaimed  that the      
,bible also was exploded4 ,but the      
,star-,maker triumphed over the         
star-gazers4    ,the gospel may indeed  

be likened to a splendid palace which   
the  ,great ,builder founded on a rock1 
digging deep and bolting it to the      
solid granite2 and false religion to a  
building of fair appearance1  but       
founded upon the sand1 which1 when the  
floods come and storms  beat1 falls into
 irretrievable ruin4 ,false religion    
cannot endure  investigation2 but the   
gospel1 though tried by the severest    
tests that  science can devise1 only    
reveals more fully its beauty and       
solidity4  ,instead of astronomy        
undermining the temple of gospel truth1 
it has led  the greatest of astronomers 
to unite with ,herschel in the          
exclamation1  ,the infidel astronomer is
 mad4    ,geology tried it4 ,she came   
forth boasting her discoveries1 and     
declaring that she had been among the   
rocks and deep down in the  caves of the
 earth1 and that she had found the      
teachings of the ,bible  contradicted by
 the strata of pre-,adamic ages1 and had
 read its epitaph  deeply chiseled by   

,nature herself in everlasting stone4   
,but now the  geologists admit that we  
have no rule for the measurement of     
geologic  time4    #bab ,the fact is1 we
 are not so far out of the dust1 and    
chaos1 and  barbarism of antiquity as we
 had supposed4 ,geologically speaking1  
the  very beginnings of our race are    
still almost in sight4 ,the most eminent
  geologists admit that the total age of
 our race is not of necessity  greater  
than indicated by the ,mosaic history of
 primeval times4    ,anatomy also tried 
it4 ,by all the appliances of modern    
science every  bone1 muscle and tissue  
of the human body has been examined2 yet
 no  one has discovered the secret      
springs of action of the human soul4    
,the  power of vision1 the source of    
muscular action1 the fountain of life1  
have all eluded the skill of man4 ,these
 mysteries belong to ,him whose  goings 
forth are from everlasting1 and whose   
ways are past finding out4  ,man with   
all his learning and skill cannot solve 

the problem of his own  being4    ,and  
so with all other sciences4 ,many a wild
 hurricane has spent its  force on this 
tree of life1 but has only caused it to 
strike its  roots deeper4 ,the day is   
hastening when men of science will be   
the  very first to recognize the        
authority of ,god4 ,already it is       
largely  so4 ,what infidel names can be 
placed over against ,raphael1 ,reynolds1
  ,rubens1 ,trumbull1 ,west and ,cole as
 painters1 or what against ,canova  or  
,thorwaldsen in sculpture1 or           
,christopher ,wren in architecture1 or  
,michael ,angelo in all three8 ,in      
poetry1 ,milton1 ,young1 ,shakespeare1  
,dryden1 ,pope1 ,montgomery1 ,cowper1   
,watts1 ,wesley1 ,scott1 ,beattie1      
,goldsmith1 ,wordsworth1 ,tennyson1     
,bryant1 ,longfellow1 ,whittier1        
,hemans1  #bac the ,careys and hundreds 
of others who were all believers in     
inspiration4 ,as if religion only was   
entitled to sing1 infidelity  has never 
produced a ,handel1 a ,haydn1 a ,mozart1

 a ,beethoven or a  ,spohr4 ,where can  
infidelity find such a galaxy of        
peerless judges as  ,grotius1 ,selden1  
,blackstone1 ,hale1 ,mansfield1 ,wirt1  
,story1 ,kent and  ,frelinghuysen4      
,among physicians1 none can outrank     
,harvey1 ,sydenham1  ,boerhave1         
,gregory1 ,goode1 ,cooper and ,rush2 yet
 these all reverenced the  name of ,god4
 ,infidel philosophy can boast no names 
like ,bacon1 ,newton1  ,locke1 ,stewart1
 ,davy1 ,herschel1 ,cuvier1 ,whately1   
,hamilton1 ,proctor1  ,winchell or ,le  
,conte4 ,jesus was in ,his appropriate  
place when among the  doctors2 and the  
wise men of the east were never wiser   
than when they  brought their royal     
gifts to ,him4    ,if the ,being who    
made man has not had consideration      
enough for him to  reveal to him ,his   
will1 then he is not of the slightest   
consequence4  ,these horrible wars which
 drown nations in sorrow1 are the mere  
squabbles of a crowd of insects too     
insignificant for the divine  notice4   

,these dreams of moral purity1 these    
aspirations after a higher  life1 these 
hopes of immortality1 these             
out-reachings toward the  everlasting   
,father1 the assumption that we have a  
nature higher than  the horse we drive  
or the dog we caress1 are all miserable 
mistakes4 ,if  there is no authoritative
 revelation from ,god1 what better are  
we than  the brute creation8 ,when we   
have set revelation aside and renounced 
our  hope of immortality and #bad thrown
 off all our moral and religious        
obligations1 and relinquished the       
leadership of the ,savior1 what shall   
we do for a restraining power to keep   
society together at all8    ,if men     
should be convinced that they are only  
animals1 and that ,god  takes no notice 
of them1 whose property would be safe8  
,whose life would  be sacred8 ,who would
 be secure from the unrestrained ravages
 of every  base passion that finds its  
home in the human heart8 ,when ,christ1 
as  a ,divine ,being1 or as a man       

divinely commissioned1 dies out of the  
popular faith1 what then8 ,who shall    
comfort the hearts that mourn8 ,who     
shall assure us that virtue has a       
reward1 or that there is any such  thing
 as virtue8 ,who shall stimulate the    
love of brotherhood1 and move  men to   
works of benevolence8 ,who then would   
strive to raise the world  out of its   
beastly degradation8    ,no candid      
observer will deny that whatever of good
 there is in our  civilization is the   
product of the gospel4 ,the very        
government under  which we live was     
organized and established by men who    
were the  instruments of ,god4    ,that 
which gives us protection by day and    
night--the dwellings we  live in1 the   
clothes we wear1 the institutions of    
mental1 social and  moral culture--all  
these are the direct results of the     
revelations of  ,god4 ,a faith in ,god  
is the very fountain head of everything 
that is  desirable in our civilization1 
and this civilization is the flower of  

time4 ,humanity has reached its noblest 
thrift1 its highwater mark1 its         
loftiest flight of excellence through   
the influence of this faith4    #bae    
,and now we are told by infidels1 in the
 most complacent language  that the     
gospel is a myth1 and that the ,old     
,testament1 which holds a  relation to  
the ,new ,testament and all other divine
 records as the blade  holds to the ear1
 the bud to the flower1 is a huge batch 
of absurdities  with no valid claim to  
our respectful faith4 ,we are told in   
effect that  out of an ingenious lie1   
out of a cunning delusion1 out of a     
baseless  myth1 out of a systematized   
falsehood has sprung all that there is  
in  this life worth living for--the     
grandest motive of human progress in    
purity and power6 ,we are1 in effect1   
told that by means of a stupendous      
cheat1 men are trained to goodness1     
purified of their passions1 filled  with
 love to one another1 prompted to the   
highest heroism1 inspired  to sacrifices

 of life and fortune for the public     
good1 and are built  up into a          
civilization which is immeasurably      
superior to all that  human nature1     
assisted merely by human reason and     
false religion1 ever  dreamed of6    ,we
 are1 in effect1 told all this2 and we  
now ask reasonable men what  they think 
of it4 ,who are the credulous men--those
 who believe in a  divine power and     
personage1 out of whose life has flown  
into humanity  those pure principles and
 elevating and purifying motives--or    
those who  believe that a lie has       
wrought those marvels8    ,of all the   
credulous idiots that the age has       
produced1 we know of none  so pitiable  
as those who1 in the full blaze of such 
a civilization as  ours1 soberly talk of
 the gospel as a myth and its ,author as
 a cheat4    #baf    ,,conclusion4      
,and now1 dear reader1 if you have      
diligently read the preceding  pages1   
you can understand how carefully the    
various objections to our  religion have

 been examined and how thoroughly       
answered4 ,during the  last twenty-five 
years human intellect has made advances 
which have  astonished even students of 
science4 ,scientific positions which    
were  deemed impregnable a generation   
ago1 have been swept away by a storm  of
 new ideas2 and the sunshine of         
examination has melted many an  iceberg 
of prejudice1 and dissipated many an    
intellectual fog4 ,true  it is that in  
advance of us are ,banks of cloud darkly
 bounding the  horizon1 and loftier     
,alps of thought which remain to be     
scaled4 ,yet  ,faith penetrates the vail
 and sees the glorious land of          
promise--the  inheritance of our race4  
,even to those who have not faith1 the  
victories of ,god's truth over the      
vagaries of men is an earnest of  future
 triumph4 ,when men shall understand    
what is the true gospel and  what is    
true science then will come not         
conflict1 but the peace of  mutual      
recognition and mutual understanding4   

,oh1 let us be calm1 and  wait          
reverently for ,god to vindicate ,his   
own everlasting ,,truth4     ,it        
breaks--it comes--the misty shadows fly2
    ,a rosy radiance gleams upon the    
sky2    ,the mountain tops reflect it   
calm and clear1    the plain is yet in  
shade but day is near4                  
,transcriber's ,notes3    ,the ,table of
 ,contents was not present in the       
original edition1 but  was added by the 
transcriber for the ,,html edition1 and 
reproduced in  the text edition for     
consistency4    ,many cases of archaic  
spelling have been preserved4 ,however1 
the  following have been judged to be   
errors in printing1 and have been       
corrected as indicated3      ,on page   
#ac1 where the original reads ninty1    
this edition reads     ninety4    ,on   
page #db1 where the original reads      
destribution1 this edition reads        
distribution4    ,on page #ha1 where the
 original reads ,eygptian1 this edition 
reads     ,egyptian4    ,on page #ajj1  

where the original reads doeth1 this    
edition reads     doth4    ,on page     
#aah1 where the original reads ,pasover1
 this edition reads     ,passover4      
,on page #abj1 where the original reads 
diciple1 this edition reads             
disciple4    ,on page #abj1 where the   
original reads ,messiaic1 this edition  
reads     ,messianic4    ,on page #afj1 
where the original reads evelasting1    
this edition reads     everlasting4     
,on page #afc1 where the original reads 
orginal1 this edition reads             
original4    ,on page #afd1 where the   
original reads philospher1 this edition 
reads     philosopher4    ,on page #agg1
 one of a set of duplicated words 7be   
be7 was deleted4    ,on page #aih1 where
 the original reads enornous1 this      
edition reads     enormous4    ,on page 
#baa1 where the original reads spendid1 
this edition reads     splendid4