,earth's ,holocaust    by ,nathaniel    
,hawthorne          ,once upon a        
time--but whether in the time past or   
time to come is a  matter of little or  
no moment--this wide world had become so
  overburdened with an accumulation of  
worn-out trumpery1 that the  inhabitants
 determined to rid themselves of it by a
 general bonfire4  ,the site fixed upon 
at the representation of the insurance  
companies1  and as being as central a   
spot as any other on the globe1 was one 
of  the broadest prairies of the ,west1 
where no human habitation would be      
endangered by the flames1 and where a   
vast assemblage of spectators  might    
commodiously admire the show4 ,having a 
taste for sights of this  kind1 and     
imagining1 likewise1 that the           
illumination of the bonfire  might      
reveal some profundity of moral truth   
heretofore hidden in mist  or darkness1 
,i made it convenient to journey thither
 and be present4 ,at  my arrival1       
although the heap of condemned rubbish  

was as yet  comparatively small1 the    
torch had already been applied4 ,amid   
that  boundless plain1 in the dusk of   
the evening1 like a far off star alone  
in the firmament1 there was merely      
visible one tremulous gleam1 whence     
none could have anticipated so fierce a 
blaze as was destined to ensue4  ,with  
every moment1 however1 there came       
foot-travellers1 women holding  up their
 aprons1 men on horseback1 wheelbarrows1
 lumbering  baggage-wagons1 and other   
vehicles1 great and small1 and from far 
and  near1 laden with articles that were
 judged fit for nothing but to be       
burned4    8,what materials have been   
used to kindle the flame80 inquired ,i  
of a  bystander2 for ,i was desirous of 
knowing the whole process of the  affair
 from beginning to end4    ,the person  
whom ,i addressed was a grave man1 fifty
 years old or  thereabout1 who had      
evidently come thither as a looker-on4  
,he struck me  immediately as having    
weighed for himself the true value of   

life and  its circumstances1 and        
therefore as feeling little personal    
interest in  whatever judgment the world
 might form of them4 ,before answering  
my  question1 he looked me in the face  
by the kindling light of the fire4      
8,o1 some very dry combustibles10       
replied he1 8and extremely suitable to  
the purpose1--no other1 in fact1 than   
yesterday's newspapers1 last  month's   
magazines1 and last year's withered     
leaves4 ,here now comes some  antiquated
 trash that will take fire like a       
handful of shavings40    ,as he spoke1  
some rough-looking men advanced to the  
verge of the  bonfire1 and threw in1 as 
it appeared1 all the rubbish of the     
herald's  office1--the blazonry of coat 
armor1 the crests and devices of        
illustrious families1 pedigrees that    
extended back1 like lines of  light1    
into the mist of the dark ages1 together
 with stars1 garters1  and embroidered  
collars1 each of which1 as paltry a     
bawble as it might  appear to the       

uninstructed eye1 had once possessed    
vast significance1  and was still1 in   
truth1 reckoned among the most precious 
of moral or  material facts by the      
worshippers of the gorgeous past4       
,mingled with  this confused heap1 which
 was tossed into the flames by armfuls  
at  once1 were innumerable badges of    
knighthood1 comprising those of all  the
 ,european sovereignties1 and           
,napoleon's decoration of the ,legion of
  ,honor1 the ribbons of which were     
entangled with those of the ancient     
order of ,st4 ,louis4 ,there1 too1 were 
the medals of our own ,society of       
,cincinnati1 by means of which1 as      
history tells us1 an order of           
hereditary knights came near being      
constituted out of the king quellers  of
 the ,revolution4 ,and besides1 there   
were the patents of nobility of  ,german
 counts and barons1 ,spanish grandees1  
and ,english peers1 from the  worm-eaten
 instruments signed by ,william the     
,conqueror down to the  bran-new        

parchment of the latest lord who has    
received his honors from  the fair hand 
of ,victoria4    ,at sight of the dense 
volumes of smoke1 mingled with vivid    
jets of  flame1 that gushed and eddied  
forth from this immense pile of earthly 
distinctions1 the multitude of plebeian 
spectators set up a joyous  shout1 and  
clapped their hands with an emphasis    
that made the welkin  echo4 ,that was   
their moment of triumph1 achieved1 after
 long ages1 over  creatures of the same 
clay and the same spiritual infirmities1
 who had  dared to assume the privileges
 due only to ,heaven's better           
workmanship4  ,but now there rushed     
towards the blazing heap a gray-haired  
man1 of  stately presence1 wearing a    
coat1 from the breast of which a star1  
or  other badge of rank1 seemed to have 
been forcibly wrenched away4 ,he had    
not the tokens of intellectual power in 
his face2 but still there was  the      
demeanor1 the habitual and almost native
 dignity1 of one who had  been born to  

the idea of his own social superiority1 
and had never felt  it questioned till  
that moment4    8,people10 cried he1    
gazing at the ruin of what was dearest  
to his eyes  with grief and wonder1 but 
nevertheless with a degree of           
stateliness1--8people1 what have you    
done8 ,this fire is consuming all  that 
marked your advance from barbarism1 or  
that could have prevented  your relapse 
thither4 ,we1 the men of the privileged 
orders1 were those  who kept alive from 
age to age the old chivalrous spirit2   
the gentle  and generous thought2 the   
higher1 the purer1 the more refined and 
delicate life4 ,with the nobles1 too1   
you cast off the poet1 the  painter1 the
 sculptor1--all the beautiful arts2 for 
we were their  patrons1 and created the 
atmosphere in which they flourish4 ,in  
abolishing the majestic distinctions of 
rank1 society loses not only  its grace1
 but its steadfastness--0    ,more he   
would doubtless have spoken2 but here   
there arose an outcry1  sportive1       

contemptuous1 and indignant1 that       
altogether drowned the  appeal of the   
fallen nobleman1 insomuch that1 casting 
one look of  despair at his own         
half-burned pedigree1 he shrunk back    
into the crowd1  glad to shelter himself
 under his new-found insignificance4    
8,let him thank his stars that we have  
not flung him into the same  fire60     
shouted a rude figure1 spurning the     
embers with his foot4 8,and  henceforth 
let no man dare to show a piece of musty
 parchment as his  warrant for lording  
it over his fellows4 ,if he have        
strength of arm1  well and good2 it is  
one species of superiority4 ,if he have 
wit1  wisdom1 courage1 force of         
character1 let these attributes do for  
him  what they may2 but from this day   
forward no mortal must hope for place   
and consideration by reckoning up the   
mouldy bones of his ancestors4  ,that   
nonsense is done away40    8,and in good
 time10 remarked the grave observer by  
my side1 in a low  voice1 however1 8if  

no worse nonsense comes in its place2   
but1 at all  events1 this species of    
nonsense has fairly lived out its life40
    ,there was little space to muse or  
moralize over the embers of this        
time-honored rubbish2 for1 before it was
 half burned out1 there came  another   
multitude from beyond the sea1 bearing  
the purple robes of  royalty1 and the   
crowns1 globes1 and sceptres of emperors
 and kings4  ,all these had been        
condemned as useless bawbles1 playthings
 at best1  fit only for the infancy of  
the world or rods to govern and chastise
 it  in its nonage1 but with which      
universal manhood at its full-grown     
stature could no longer brook to be     
insulted4 ,into such contempt had  these
 regal insignia now fallen that the     
gilded crown and tinselled  robes of the
 player king from ,drury ,lane ,theatre 
had been thrown in  among the rest1     
doubtless as a mockery of his brother   
monarchs on the  great stage of the     
world4 ,it was a strange sight to       

discern the crown  jewels of ,england   
glowing and flashing in the midst of the
 fire4 ,some  of them had been delivered
 down from the time of the ,saxon       
princes2  others were purchased with    
vast revenues1 or perchance ravished    
from  the dead brows of the native      
potentates of ,hindustan2 and the whole 
now  blazed with a dazzling lustre1 as  
if a star had fallen in that spot and   
been shattered into fragments4 ,the     
splendor of the ruined monarchy had  no 
reflection save in those inestimable    
precious stones4 ,but enough on  this   
subject4 ,it were but tedious to        
describe how the ,emperor of  ,austria's
 mantle was converted to tinder1 and how
 the posts and pillars  of the ,french  
throne became a heap of coals1 which it 
was impossible to  distinguish from     
those of any other wood4 ,let me add1   
however1 that ,i  noticed one of the    
exiled ,poles stirring up the bonfire   
with the ,czar  of ,russia's sceptre1   
which he afterwards flung into the      

flames4    8,the smell of singed        
garments is quite intolerable here10    
observed my  new acquaintance1 as the   
breeze enveloped us in the smoke of a   
royal  wardrobe4 8,let us get to        
windward and see what they are doing on 
the  other side of the bonfire40    ,we 
accordingly passed around1 and were just
 in time to witness the  arrival of a   
vast procession of ,washingtonians1--as 
the votaries of  temperance call        
themselves nowadays1--accompanied by    
thousands of the  ,irish disciples of   
,father ,mathew1 with that great apostle
 at their  head4 ,they brought a rich   
contribution to the bonfire1 being      
nothing  less than all the hogsheads and
 barrels of liquor in the world1 which  
they rolled before them across the      
prairie4    8,now1 my children10 cried  
,father ,mathew1 when they reached the  
verge of  the fire1 8one shove more1 and
 the work is done4 ,and now let us stand
  off and see ,satan deal with his own  
liquor40    ,accordingly1 having placed 

their wooden vessels within reach of the
  flames1 the procession stood off at a 
safe distance1 and soon beheld  them    
burst into a blaze that reached the     
clouds and threatened to set  the sky   
itself on fire4 ,and well it might2 for 
here was the whole  world's stock of    
spirituous liquors1 which1 instead of   
kindling a  frenzied light in the eyes  
of individual topers as of yore1 soared 
upwards with a bewildering gleam that   
startled all mankind4 ,it was the       
aggregate of that fierce fire which     
would otherwise have scorched the       
hearts of millions4 ,meantime numberless
 bottles of precious wine were  flung   
into the blaze1 which lapped up the     
contents as if it loved them1  and grew1
 like other drunkards1 the merrier and  
fiercer for what it  quaffed4 ,never    
again will the insatiable thirst of the 
fire-fiend be so  pampered4 ,here were  
the treasures of famous bon             
vivants1--liquors that  had been tossed 
on ocean1 and mellowed in the sun1 and  

hoarded long in  the recesses of the    
earth1--the pale1 the gold1 the ruddy   
juice of  whatever vineyards were most  
delicate1--the entire vintage of        
,tokay1--all  mingling in one stream    
with the vile fluids of the common pot  
house1  and contributing to heighten the
 self-same blaze4 ,and while it rose in 
a gigantic spire that seemed to wave    
against the arch of the firmament  and  
combine itself with the light of stars1 
the multitude gave a shout  as if the   
broad earth were exulting in its        
deliverance from the curse  of ages4    
,but the joy was not universal4 ,many   
deemed that human life would be         
gloomier than ever when that brief      
illumination should sink down4 ,while   
the reformers were at work ,i overheard 
muttered expostulations from  several   
respectable gentlemen with red noses and
 wearing gouty shoes2  and a ragged     
worthy1 whose face looked like a hearth 
where the fire is  burned out1 now      
expressed his discontent more openly and

 boldly4    8,what is this world good   
for10 said the last toper1 8now that we 
can  never be jolly any more8 ,what is  
to comfort the poor man in sorrow and   
perplexity8 ,how is he to keep his heart
 warm against the cold winds of  this   
cheerless earth8 ,and what do you       
propose to give him in exchange  for the
 solace that you take away8 ,how are old
 friends to sit together  by the        
fireside without a cheerful glass       
between them8 ,a plague upon  your      
reformation6 ,it is a sad world1 a cold 
world1 a selfish world1 a  low world1   
not worth an honest fellow's living in1 
now that good  fellowship is gone       
forever60    ,this harangue excited     
great mirth among the bystanders2 but1  
preposterous as was the sentiment1 ,i   
could not help commiserating the        
forlorn condition of the last toper1    
whose boon companions had dwindled  away
 from his side1 leaving the poor fellow 
without a soul to  countenance him in   
sipping his liquor1 nor indeed any      

liquor to sip4  ,not that this was quite
 the true state of the case2 for ,i had 
observed  him at a critical moment filch
 a bottle of fourth-proof brandy that   
fell beside the bonfire and hide it in  
his pocket4    ,the spirituous and      
fermented liquors being thus disposed   
of1 the zeal  of the reformers next     
induced them to replenish the fire with 
all the  boxes of tea and bags of coffee
 in the world4 ,and now came the        
planters  of ,virginia1 bringing their  
crops of tobacco4 ,these1 being cast    
upon  the heap of inutility1 aggregated 
it to the size of a mountain1 and       
incensed the atmosphere with such potent
 fragrance that methought we  should    
never draw pure breath again4 ,the      
present sacrifice seemed to  startle the
 lovers of the weed more than any that  
they had hitherto  witnessed4    8,well1
 they've put my pipe out10 said an old  
gentleman1 flinging it  into the flames 
in a pet4 8,what is this world coming   
to8 ,everything  rich and racy--all the 

spice of life--is to be condemned as    
useless4 ,now  that they have kindled   
the bonfire1 if these nonsensical       
reformers  would fling themselves into  
it1 all would be well enough60    8,be  
patient10 responded a stanch            
conservative2 8it will come to that in  
the end4 ,they will first fling us in1  
and finally themselves40    ,from the   
general and systematic measures of      
reform ,i now turn to  consider the     
individual contributions to this        
memorable bonfire4 ,in  many instances  
these were of a very amusing character4 
,one poor fellow  threw in his empty    
purse1 and another a bundle of          
counterfeit or  insolvable bank-notes4  
,fashionable ladies threw in their last 
season's  bonnets1 together with heaps  
of ribbons1 yellow lace1 and much other 
half-worn milliner's ware1 all of which 
proved even more evanescent in  the fire
 than it had been in the fashion4 ,a    
multitude of lovers of both             
sexes--discarded maids or bachelors and 

couples mutually weary of one           
another--tossed in bundles of perfumed  
letters and enamored sonnets4 ,a  hack  
politician1 being deprived of bread by  
the loss of office1 threw  in his teeth1
 which happened to be false ones4 ,the  
,rev4 ,sydney  ,smith--having voyaged   
across the ,atlantic for that sole      
purpose--came up  to the bonfire with a 
bitter grin and threw in certain        
repudiated  bonds1 fortified though they
 were with the broad seal of a sovereign
  state4 ,a little boy of five years    
old1 in the premature manliness of  the 
present epoch1 threw in his playthings2 
a college graduate1 his  diploma2 an    
apothecary1 ruined by the spread of     
homeopathy1 his whole  stock of drugs   
and medicines2 a physician1 his library2
 a parson1 his  old sermons2 and a fine 
gentleman of the old school1 his code of
  manners1 which he had formerly written
 down for the benefit of the next       
generation4 ,a widow1 resolving on a    
second marriage1 slyly threw in her     

dead husband's miniature4 ,a young man1 
jilted by his mistress1 would  willingly
 have flung his own desperate heart into
 the flames1 but could  find no means to
 wrench it out of his bosom4 ,an        
,american author1 whose  works were     
neglected by the public1 threw his pen  
and paper into the  bonfire and betook  
himself to some less discouraging       
occupation4 ,it  somewhat startled me to
 overhear a number of ladies1 highly    
respectable  in appearance1 proposing to
 fling their gowns and petticoats into  
the  flames1 and assume the garb1       
together with the manners1 duties1      
offices1 and responsibilities1 of the   
opposite sex4    ,what favor was        
accorded to this scheme ,i am unable to 
say1 my attention  being suddenly drawn 
to a poor1 deceived1 and half-delirious 
girl1 who1  exclaiming that she was the 
most worthless thing alive or dead1     
attempted to cast herself into the fire 
amid all that wrecked and  broken       
trumpery of the world4 ,a good man1     

however1 ran to her rescue4             
8,patience1 my poor girl60 said he1 as  
he drew her back from the fierce        
embrace of the destroying angel4 8,be   
patient1 and abide ,heaven's will4  ,so 
long as you possess a living soul1 all  
may be restored to its first  freshness4
 ,these things of matter and creations  
of human fantasy are  fit for nothing   
but to be burned when once they have had
 their day2 but  your day is eternity60 
8,yes10 said the wretched girl1 whose   
frenzy seemed now to have sunk  down    
into deep despondency1 8yes1 and the    
sunshine is blotted out of  it60    ,it 
was now rumored among the spectators    
that all the weapons and  munitions of  
war were to be thrown into the bonfire  
with the exception  of the world's stock
 of gunpowder1 which1 as the safest mode
 of  disposing of it1 had already been  
drowned in the sea4 ,this intelligence  
seemed to awaken great diversity of     
opinion4 ,the hopeful philanthropist    
esteemed it a token that the millennium 

was already come2 while persons  of     
another stamp1 in whose view mankind was
 a breed of bulldogs1  prophesied that  
all the old stoutness1 fervor1          
nobleness1 generosity1  and magnanimity 
of the race would disappear1--these     
qualities1 as they  affirmed1 requiring 
blood for their nourishment4 ,they      
comforted  themselves1 however1 in the  
belief that the proposed abolition of   
war  was impracticable for any length of
 time together4    ,be that as it might1
 numberless great guns1 whose thunder   
had long been  the voice of battle1--the
 artillery of the ,armada1 the battering
 trains  of ,marlborough1 and the       
adverse cannon of ,napoleon and         
,wellington1--were  trundled into the   
midst of the fire4 ,by the continual    
addition of dry  combustibles1 it had   
now waxed so intense that neither brass 
nor iron  could withstand it4 ,it was   
wonderful to behold how these terrible  
instruments of slaughter melted away    
like playthings of wax4 ,then the       

armies of the earth wheeled around the  
mighty furnace1 with their  military    
music playing triumphant marches1--and  
flung in their muskets  and swords4 ,the
 standard-bearers1 likewise1 cast one   
look upward at  their banners1 all      
tattered with shot-holes and inscribed  
with the  names of victorious fields2   
and1 giving them a last flourish on the 
breeze1 they lowered them into the      
flame1 which snatched them upward in    
its rush towards the clouds4 ,this      
ceremony being over1 the world was  left
 without a single weapon in its hands1  
except possibly a few old  king's arms  
and rusty swords and other trophies of  
the ,revolution in  some of our ,state  
armories4 ,and now the drums were beaten
 and the  trumpets brayed all together1 
as a prelude to the proclamation of     
universal and eternal peace and the     
announcement that glory was no  longer  
to be won by blood1 but that it would   
henceforth be the  contention of the    
human race to work out the greatest     

mutual good1 and  that beneficence1 in  
the future annals of the earth1 would   
claim the  praise of valor4 ,the blessed
 tidings were accordingly promulgated1  
and  caused infinite rejoicings among   
those who had stood aghast at the       
horror and absurdity of war4    ,but ,i 
saw a grim smile pass over the seared   
visage of a stately old  commander1--by 
his war-worn figure and rich military   
dress1 he might  have been one of       
,napoleon's famous marshals1--who1 with 
the rest of the  world's soldiery1 had  
just flung away the sword that had been 
familiar  to his right hand for half a  
century4    8,ay6 ay60 grumbled he4     
8,let them proclaim what they please2   
but1 in the  end1 we shall find that all
 this foolery has only made more work   
for  the armorers and cannon-founders40 
8,why1 sir10 exclaimed ,i1 in           
astonishment1 8do you imagine that the  
human race will ever so far return on   
the steps of its past madness as  to    
weld another sword or cast another      

cannon80    8,there will be no need10   
observed1 with a sneer1 one who neither 
felt  benevolence nor had faith in it4  
8,when ,cain wished to slay his brother1
  he was at no loss for a weapon40      
8,we shall see10 replied the veteran    
commander4 8,if ,i am mistaken1 so  much
 the better2 but in my opinion1 without 
pretending to philosophize  about the   
matter1 the necessity of war lies far   
deeper than these  honest gentlemen     
suppose4 ,what6 is there a field for all
 the petty  disputes of individuals8 and
 shall there be no great law court for  
the  settlement of national             
difficulties8 ,the battle-field is the  
only court  where such suits can be     
tried40    8,you forget1 general10      
rejoined ,i1 8that1 in this advanced    
stage of  civilization1 ,reason and     
,philanthropy combined will constitute  
just  such a tribunal as is requisite40 
8,ah1 ,i had forgotten that1 indeed60   
said the old warrior1 as he limped      
away4    ,the fire was now to be        

replenished with materials that had     
hitherto  been considered of even       
greater importance to the well-being of 
society  than the warlike munitions     
which we had already seen consumed4 ,a  
body  of reformers had travelled all    
over the earth in quest of the machinery
  by which the different nations were   
accustomed to inflict the  punishment of
 death4 ,a shudder passed through the   
multitude as these  ghastly emblems were
 dragged forward4 ,even the flames      
seemed at first  to shrink away1        
displaying the shape and murderous      
contrivance of each  in a full blaze of 
light1 which of itself was sufficient to
 convince  mankind of the long and      
deadly error of human law4 ,those old   
implements  of cruelty2 those horrible  
monsters of mechanism2 those inventions 
which it seemed to demand something     
worse than man's natural heart to       
contrive1 and which had lurked in the   
dusky nooks of ancient prisons1  the    
subject of terror-stricken legend1--were

 now brought forth to view4  ,headsmen's
 axes1 with the rust of noble and royal 
blood upon them1 and  a vast collection 
of halters that had choked the breath of
 plebeian  victims1 were thrown in      
together4 ,a shout greeted the arrival  
of the  guillotine1 which was thrust    
forward on the same wheels that had     
borne  it from one to another of the    
bloodstained streets of ,paris4 ,but the
  loudest roar of applause went up1     
telling the distant sky of the  triumph 
of the earth's redemption1 when the     
gallows made its  appearance4 ,an       
ill-looking fellow1 however1 rushed     
forward1 and1  putting himself in the   
path of the reformers1 bellowed         
hoarsely1 and  fought with brute fury to
 stay their progress4    ,it was little 
matter of surprise1 perhaps1 that the   
executioner should  thus do his best to 
vindicate and uphold the machinery by   
which he  himself had his livelihood and
 worthier individuals their death2 but  
it  deserved special note that men of a 

far different sphere--even of that      
consecrated class in whose guardianship 
the world is apt to trust its           
benevolence--were found to take the     
hangman's view of the question4         
8,stay1 my brethren60 cried one of them4
 8,you are misled by a false            
philanthropy2 you know not what you do4 
,the gallows is a  ,heaven-ordained     
instrument4 ,bear it back1 then1        
reverently1 and set it  up in its old   
place1 else the world will fall to      
speedy ruin and  desolation60           
8,onward6 onward60 shouted a leader in  
the reform4 8,into the flames with  the 
accursed instrument of man's bloody     
policy6 ,how can human law  inculcate   
benevolence and love while it persists  
in setting up the  gallows as its chief 
symbol8 ,one heave more1 good friends1  
and the  world will be redeemed from its
 greatest error40    ,a thousand hands1 
that nevertheless loathed the touch1 now
 lent their  assistance1 and thrust the 
ominous burden far1 far into the centre 

of  the raging furnace4 ,there its fatal
 and abhorred image was beheld1  first  
black1 then a red coal1 then ashes4     
8,that was well done60 exclaimed ,i4    
8,yes1 it was well done10 replied1 but  
with less enthusiasm than ,i  expected1 
the thoughtful observer1 who was still  
at my side1--8well  done1 if the world  
be good enough for the measure4 ,death1 
however1 is  an idea that cannot easily 
be dispensed with in any condition      
between  the primal innocence and that  
other purity and perfection which       
perchance we are destined to attain     
after travelling round the full  circle2
 but1 at all events1 it is well that the
 experiment should now  be tried40      
8,too cold6 too cold60 impatiently      
exclaimed the young and ardent leader   
in this triumph4 8,let the heart have   
its voice here as well as the           
intellect4 ,and as for ripeness1 and as 
for progress1 let mankind always  do the
 highest1 kindest1 noblest thing that1  
at any given period1 it  has attained   

the perception of2 and surely that thing
 cannot be wrong  nor wrongly timed40   
,i know not whether it were the         
excitement of the scene1 or whether the 
good people around the bonfire were     
really growing more enlightened  every  
instant2 but they now proceeded to      
measures in the full length of  which ,i
 was hardly prepared to keep them       
company4 ,for instance1 some  threw     
their marriage certificates into the    
flames1 and declared  themselves        
candidates for a higher1 holier1 and    
more comprehensive  union than that     
which had subsisted from the birth of   
time under the  form of the connubial   
tie4 ,others hastened to the vaults of  
banks and  to the coffers of the        
rich--all of which were opened to the   
first comer  on this fated occasion--and
 brought entire bales of paper-money to 
enliven the blaze1 and tons of coin to  
be melted down by its intensity4        
,henceforth1 they said1 universal       
benevolence1 uncoined and exhaustless1  

was to be the golden currency of the    
world4 ,at this intelligence the        
bankers and speculators in the stocks   
grew pale1 and a pickpocket1 who  had   
reaped a rich harvest among the crowd1  
fell down in a deadly  fainting fit4 ,a 
few men of business burned their        
day-books and ledgers1  the notes and   
obligations of their creditors1 and all 
other evidences  of debts due to        
themselves2 while perhaps a somewhat    
larger number  satisfied their zeal for 
reform with the sacrifice of any        
uncomfortable  recollection of their own
 indebtment4 ,there was then a cry that 
the  period was arrived when the        
title-deeds of landed property should be
  given to the flames1 and the whole    
soil of the earth revert to the  public1
 from whom it had been wrongfully       
abstracted and most unequally           
distributed among individuals4 ,another 
party demanded that all written         
constitutions1 set forms of government1 
legislative acts1  statute-books1 and   

everything else on which human invention
 had  endeavored to stamp its arbitrary 
laws1 should at once be destroyed1      
leaving the consummated world as free as
 the man first created4    ,whether any 
ultimate action was taken with regard to
 these propositions  is beyond my       
knowledge2 for1 just then1 some matters 
were in progress  that concerned my     
sympathies more nearly4    8,see6 see6  
,what heaps of books and pamphlets60    
cried a fellow1 who did  not seem to be 
a lover of literature4 8,now we shall   
have a glorious  blaze60    8,that's    
just the thing60 said a modern          
philosopher4 8,now we shall get  rid of 
the weight of dead men's thought1 which 
has hitherto pressed so  heavily on the 
living intellect that it has been       
incompetent to any  effectual           
self-exertion4 ,well done1 my lads6     
,into the fire with them6  ,now you are 
enlightening the world indeed60    8,but
 what is to become of the trade80 cried 
a frantic bookseller4    8,o1 by all    

means1 let them accompany their         
merchandise10 coolly  observed an       
author4 8,it will be a noble            
funeral-pile60    ,the truth was1 that  
the human race had now reached a stage  
of progress  so far beyond what the     
wisest and wittiest men of former ages  
had ever  dreamed of1 that it would have
 been a manifest absurdity to allow the 
earth to be any longer encumbered with  
their poor achievements in the  literary
 line4 ,accordingly a thorough and      
searching investigation had  swept the  
booksellers' shops1 hawkers' stands1    
public and private  libraries1 and even 
the little book-shelf by the country    
fireside1 and  had brought the world's  
entire mass of printed paper1 bound or  
in  sheets1 to swell the already        
mountain bulk of our illustrious        
bonfire4  ,thick1 heavy folios1         
containing the labors of lexicographers1
  commentators1 and encyclopedists1 were
 flung in1 and1 falling among the       
embers with a leaden thump1 smouldered  

away to ashes like rotten wood4  ,the   
small1 richly gilt ,french tomes of the 
last age1 with the hundred  volumes of  
,voltaire among them1 went off in a     
brilliant shower of  sparkles and little
 jets of flame2 while the current       
literature of the  same nation burned   
red and blue1 and threw an infernal     
light over the  visages of the          
spectators1 converting them all to the  
aspect of  party-colored fiends4 ,a     
collection of ,german stories emitted a 
scent of  brimstone4 ,the ,english      
standard authors made excellent fuel1   
generally  exhibiting the properties of 
sound oak logs4 ,milton's works1 in     
particular1 sent up a powerful blaze1   
gradually reddening into a coal1  which 
promised to endure longer than almost   
any other material of the  pile4 ,from  
,shakespeare there gushed a flame of    
such marvellous splendor  that men      
shaded their eyes as against the sun's  
meridian glory2 nor  even when the works
 of his own elucidators were flung upon 

him did he  cease to flash forth a      
dazzling radiance from beneath the      
ponderous  heap4 ,it is my belief that  
he is still blazing as fervidly as ever4
    8,could a poet but light a lamp at  
that glorious flame10 remarked ,i1 8he  
might then consume the midnight oil to  
some good purpose40    8,that is the    
very thing which modern poets have been 
too apt to do1 or  at least to attempt10
 answered a critic4 8,the chief benefit 
to be  expected from this conflagration 
of past literature undoubtedly is1  that
 writers will henceforth be compelled to
 light their lamps at the  sun or       
stars40    8,if they can reach so high10
 said ,i2 8but that task requires a     
giant1  who may afterwards distribute   
the light among inferior men4 ,it is not
  every one that can steal the fire from
 heaven like ,prometheus2 but1  when    
once he had done the deed1 a thousand   
hearths were kindled by it40    ,it     
amazed me much to observe how indefinite
 was the proportion between  the        

physical mass of any given author and   
the property of brilliant and           
long-continued combustion4 ,for         
instance1 there was not a quarto volume 
of the last century--nor1 indeed1 of the
 present--that could compete in  that   
particular with a child's little        
gilt-covered book1 containing  ,mother  
,goose's ,melodies4 ,the ,life and      
,death of ,tom ,thumb outlasted  the    
biography of ,marlborough4 ,an epic1    
indeed a dozen of them1 was  converted  
to white ashes before the single sheet  
of an old ballad was  half consumed4 ,in
 more than one case1 too1 when volumes  
of applauded  verse proved incapable of 
anything better than a stifling smoke1  
an  unregarded ditty of some nameless   
bard--perchance in the corner of a      
newspaper--soared up among the stars    
with a flame as brilliant as their  own4
 ,speaking of the properties of flame1  
methought ,shelley's poetry  emitted a  
purer light than almost any other       
productions of his day1  contrasting    

beautifully with the fitful and lurid   
gleams and gushes of  black vapor that  
flashed and eddied from the volumes of  
,lord ,byron4 ,as  for ,tom ,moore1 some
 of his songs diffused an odor like a   
burning  pastil4    ,i felt particular  
interest in watching the combustion of  
,american  authors1 and scrupulously    
noted by my watch the precise number of 
moments that changed most of them from  
shabbily printed books to               
indistinguishable ashes4 ,it would be   
invidious1 however1 if not  perilous1 to
 betray these awful secrets2 so that ,i 
shall content myself  with observing    
that it was not invariably the writer   
most frequent in  the public mouth that 
made the most splendid appearance in the
 bonfire4  ,i especially remember that a
 great deal of excellent inflammability 
was  exhibited in a thin volume of poems
 by ,ellery ,channing2 although1 to     
speak the truth1 there were certain     
portions that hissed and spluttered  in 
a very disagreeable fashion4 ,a curious 

phenomenon occurred in  reference to    
several writers1 native as well as      
foreign4 ,their books1  though of highly
 respectable figure1 instead of bursting
 into a blaze  or even smouldering out  
their substance in smoke1 suddenly      
melted away  in a manner that proved    
them to be ice4    ,if it be no lack of 
modesty to mention my own works1 it must
 here be  confessed that ,i looked for  
them with fatherly interest1 but in     
vain4  ,too probably they were changed  
to vapor by the first action of the     
heat2 at best1 ,i can only hope that1 in
 their quiet way1 they  contributed a   
glimmering spark or two to the splendor 
of the evening4    8,alas6 and woe is   
me60 thus bemoaned himself a            
heavy-looking gentleman  in green       
spectacles4 8,the world is utterly      
ruined1 and there is nothing  to live   
for any longer4 ,the business of my life
 is snatched from me4  ,not a volume to 
be had for love or money60    8,this10  
remarked the sedate observer beside me1 

8is a bookworm1--one of  those men who  
are born to gnaw dead thoughts4 ,his    
clothes1 you see1 are  covered with the 
dust of libraries4 ,he has no inward    
fountain of ideas2  and1 in good        
earnest1 now that the old stock is      
abolished1 ,i do not see  what is to    
become of the poor fellow4 ,have you no 
word of comfort for  him80    8,my dear 
sir10 said ,i to the desperate bookworm1
 8is not nature better  than a book8 ,is
 not the human heart deeper than any    
system of  philosophy8 ,is not life     
replete with more instruction than past 
observers have found it possible to     
write down in maxims8 ,be of good       
cheer4 ,the great book of ,time is still
 spread wide open before us2 and1  if we
 read it aright1 it will be to us a     
volume of eternal truth40    8,o1 my    
books1 my books1 my precious printed    
books60 reiterated the  forlorn         
bookworm4 8,my only reality was a bound 
volume2 and now they  will not leave me 
even a shadowy pamphlet60    ,in fact1  

the last remnant of the literature of   
all the ages was now  descending upon   
the blazing heap in the shape of a cloud
 of pamphlets  from the press of the    
,new ,world4 ,these likewise were       
consumed in the  twinkling of an eye1   
leaving the earth1 for the first time   
since the  days of ,cadmus1 free from   
the plague of letters1--an enviable     
field for  the authors of the next      
generation4    8,well1 and does anything
 remain to be done80 inquired ,i1       
somewhat  anxiously4 8,unless we set    
fire to the earth itself1 and then leap 
boldly off into infinite space1 ,i know 
not that we can carry reform to  any    
farther point40    8,you are vastly     
mistaken1 my good friend10 said the     
observer4 8,believe  me1 the fire will  
not be allowed to settle down without   
the addition of  fuel that will startle 
many persons who have lent a willing    
hand thus  far40    ,nevertheless there 
appeared to be a relaxation of effort   
for a little  time1 during which1       

probably1 the leaders of the movement   
were  considering what should be done   
next4 ,in the interval1 a philosopher   
threw his theory into the flames1--a    
sacrifice which1 by those who knew  how 
to estimate it1 was pronounced the most 
remarkable that had yet  been made4 ,the
 combustion1 however1 was by no means   
brilliant4 ,some  indefatigable people1 
scorning to take a moment's ease1 now   
employed  themselves in collecting all  
the withered leaves and fallen boughs of
  the forest1 and thereby recruited the 
bonfire to a greater height than  ever4 
,but this was mere by-play4    8,here   
comes the fresh fuel that ,i spoke of10 
said my companion4    ,to my            
astonishment the persons who now        
advanced into the vacant space  around  
the mountain fire bore surplices and    
other priestly garments1  mitres1       
crosiers1 and a confusion of ,popish and
 ,protestant emblems with  which it     
seemed their purpose to consummate the  
great act of faith4  ,crosses from the  

spires of old cathedrals were cast upon 
the heap with  as little remorse as if  
the reverence of centuries passing in   
long  array beneath the lofty towers had
 not looked up to them as the holiest   
of symbols4 ,the font in which infants  
were consecrated to ,god1 the           
sacramental vessels whence piety        
received the hallowed draught1 were     
given to the same destruction4 ,perhaps 
it most nearly touched my heart  to see 
among these devoted relics fragments of 
the humble  communion-tables and        
undecorated pulpits which ,i recognized 
as having  been torn from the           
meeting-houses of ,new ,england4 ,those 
simple edifices  might have been        
permitted to retain all of sacred       
embellishment that  their ,puritan      
founders had bestowed1 even though the  
mighty structure  of ,st4 ,peter's had  
sent its spoils to the fire of this     
terrible  sacrifice4 ,yet ,i felt that  
these were but the externals of         
religion1  and might most safely be     

relinquished by spirits that best knew  
their  deep significance4    8,all is   
well10 said ,i1 cheerfully4 8,the       
wood-paths shall be the aisles  of our  
cathedral1 the firmament itself shall be
 its ceiling4 ,what needs  an earthly   
roof between the ,deity and his         
worshippers8 ,our faith can  well afford
 to lose all the drapery that even the  
holiest men have  thrown around it1 and 
be only the more sublime in its         
simplicity40    8,true10 said my        
companion2 8but will they pause here80  
,the doubt implied in his question was  
well founded4 ,in the general           
destruction of books already described1 
a holy volume1 that stood apart  from   
the catalogue of human literature1 and  
yet1 in one sense1 was at  its head1 had
 been spared4 ,but the ,titan of        
innovation1--angel or fiend1  double in 
his nature1 and capable of deeds        
befitting both  characters1--at first   
shaking down only the old and rotten    
shapes of  things1 had now1 as it       

appeared1 laid his terrible hand upon   
the main  pillars which supported the   
whole edifice of our moral and spiritual
  state4 ,the inhabitants of the earth  
had grown too enlightened to define     
their faith within a form of words1 or  
to limit the spiritual by any  analogy  
to our material existence4 ,truths which
 the heavens trembled at  were now but a
 fable of the world's infancy4          
,therefore1 as the final  sacrifice of  
human error1 what else remained to be   
thrown upon the  embers of that awful   
pile1 except the book which1 though a   
celestial  revelation to past ages1 was 
but a voice from a lower sphere as      
regarded the present race of man8 ,it   
was done6 ,upon the blazing heap of     
falsehood and worn-out truth--things    
that the earth had never needed1 or  had
 ceased to need1 or had grown childishly
 weary of--fell the ponderous  church   
,bible1 the great old volume that had   
lain so long on the cushion  of the     
pulpit1 and whence the pastor's solemn  

voice had given holy  utterance on so   
many a ,sabbath day4 ,there1 likewise1  
fell the family  ,bible1 which the      
long-buried patriarch had read to his   
children1--in  prosperity or sorrow1 by 
the fireside and in the summer shade of 
trees1--and had bequeathed downward as  
the heirloom of generations4  ,there    
fell the bosom ,bible1 the little volume
 that had been the soul's  friend of    
some sorely tried child of dust1 who    
thence took courage1  whether his trial 
were for life or death1 steadfastly     
confronting both  in the strong         
assurance of immortality4    ,all these 
were flung into the fierce and riotous  
blaze2 and then a  mighty wind came     
roaring across the plain with a desolate
 howl1 as if  it were the angry         
lamentation of the earth for the loss of
 heaven's  sunshine2 and it shook the   
gigantic pyramid of flame and scattered 
the  cinders of half-consumed           
abominations around upon the spectators4
    8,this is terrible60 said ,i1       

feeling that my check grew pale1 and    
seeing  a like change in the visages    
about me4    8,be of good courage yet10 
answered the man with whom ,i had so    
often  spoken4 ,he continued to gaze    
steadily at the spectacle with a        
singular  calmness1 as if it concerned  
him merely as an observer4 8,be of good 
courage1 nor yet exult too much2 for    
there is far less both of good and  evil
 in the effect of this bonfire than the 
world might be willing to  believe40    
8,how can that be80 exclaimed ,i1       
impatiently4 8,has it not consumed      
everything8 ,has it not swallowed up or 
melted down every human or  divine      
appendage of our mortal state that had  
substance enough to be  acted on by     
fire8 ,will there be anything left us   
to-morrow morning  better or worse than 
a heap of embers and ashes80            
8,assuredly there will10 said my grave  
friend4 8,come hither to-morrow         
morning1 or whenever the combustible    
portion of the pile shall be quite      

burned out1 and you will find among the 
ashes everything really  valuable that  
you have seen cast into the flames4     
,trust me1 the world  of to-morrow will 
again enrich itself with the gold and   
diamonds which  have been cast off by   
the world of today4 ,not a truth is     
destroyed nor  buried so deep among the 
ashes but it will be raked up at last40 
,this was a strange assurance4 ,yet ,i  
felt inclined to credit it1 the  more   
especially as ,i beheld among the       
wallowing flames a copy of the  ,holy   
,scriptures1 the pages of which1 instead
 of being blackened into  tinder1 only  
assumed a more dazzling whiteness as the
 fingermarks of  human imperfection were
 purified away4 ,certain marginal notes 
and  commentaries1 it is true1 yielded  
to the intensity of the fiery test1  but
 without detriment to the smallest      
syllable that had flamed from the  pen  
of inspiration4    8,yes2 there is the  
proof of what you say10 answered ,i1    
turning to the  observer2 8but if only  

what is evil can feel the action of the 
fire1  then1 surely1 the conflagration  
has been of inestimable utility4 ,yet1  
if ,i understand aright1 you intimate a 
doubt whether the world's  expectation  
of benefit would be realized by it40    
8,listen to the talk of these worthies10
 said he1 pointing to a group in  front 
of the blazing pile2 8possibly they may 
teach you something  useful1 without    
intending it40    ,the persons whom he  
indicated consisted of that brutal and  
most earthy  figure who had stood forth 
so furiously in defence of the          
gallows1--the  hangman1 in              
short1--together with the last thief and
 the last murderer1  all three of whom  
were clustered about the last toper4    
,the latter was  liberally passing the  
brandy bottle1 which he had rescued from
 the  general destruction of wines and  
spirits4 ,this little convivial party   
seemed at the lowest pitch of           
despondency1 as considering that the    
purified world must needs be utterly    

unlike the sphere that they had         
hitherto known1 and therefore but a     
strange and desolate abode for          
gentlemen of their kidney4    8,the best
 counsel for all of us is10 remarked the
 hangman1 8that1 as  soon as we have    
finished the last drop of liquor1 ,i    
help you1 my three  friends1 to a       
comfortable end upon the nearest tree1  
and then hang  myself on the same bough4
 ,this is no world for us any longer40  
8,poh1 poh1 my good fellows60 said a    
dark-complexioned personage1 who  now   
joined the group1--his complexion was   
indeed fearfully dark1 and his  eyes    
glowed with a redder light than that of 
the bonfire2 8be not so  cast down1 my  
dear friends2 you shall see good days   
yet4 ,there is one  thing that these    
wiseacres have forgotten to throw into  
the fire1 and  without which all the    
rest of the conflagration is just       
nothing at all2  yes1 though they had   
burned the earth itself to a cinder40   
8,and what may that be80 eagerly        

demanded the last murderer4    8,what   
but the human heart itself80 said the   
dark-visaged stranger1 with  a          
portentous grin4 8,and1 unless they hit 
upon some method of purifying  that foul
 cavern1 forth from it will reissue all 
the shapes of wrong  and misery--the    
same old shapes or worse ones--which    
they have taken such  a vast deal of    
trouble to consume to ashes4 ,i have    
stood by this  livelong night and       
laughed in my sleeve at the whole       
business4 ,o1 take  my word for it1 it  
will be the old world yet60    ,this    
brief conversation supplied me with a   
theme for lengthened  thought4 ,how sad 
a truth1 if true it were1 that man's    
age-long endeavor  for perfection had   
served only to render him the mockery of
 the evil  principle1 from the fatal    
circumstance of an error at the very    
root of  the matter6 ,the heart1 the    
heart1 there was the little yet         
boundless  sphere wherein existed the   
original wrong of which the crime and   

misery  of this outward world were      
merely types4 ,purify that inward       
sphere1 and  the many shapes of evil    
that haunt the outward1 and which now   
seem  almost our only realities1 will   
turn to shadowy phantoms and vanish of  
their own accord2 but if we go no deeper
 than the intellect1 and  strive1 with  
merely that feeble instrument1 to       
discern and rectify what  is wrong1 our 
whole accomplishment will be a dream1 so
 unsubstantial  that it matters little  
whether the bonfire1 which ,i have so   
faithfully  described1 were what we     
choose to call a real event and a flame 
that  would scorch the finger1 or only a
 phosphoric radiance and a parable of   
my own brain4