THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1897,
maker lunatics if they dwell too
long in her proven «Hi. I feel the en
chantment myself with a strange
fever in my bio »d.”
Tobe Continued.
ing each day to In? led forth to the having firmly seated liberty in
guillotine, from which fate he es- America, he hastened to England
caped by what in the case of a and then over to France, on the
church member would have been same errand; wherever there was
called a miracle. No one, who has oppression, he was needed to help
any sense of the true relation of break the yoke, and where there
THOM AS PA IN E .
MOW H l i i e v e i x . t ' F . c e l i p . u g i l i t i 11 11 g » , t> U f W 1 i l uGlh 11 I hut 'UnuH'
\
. ,. ..
M.'.ed'
[Continued from 1st. Page.]
should set apart the Sunday nearest such solemn circumstances, in the name of liberty he must he present
no man will • ••
in to keep
shield
fore the National Assembly of the birthday - of Paine in honor of all very sight
o of death,
-
i the ~ ----
-- pure and bright.
not - by
France and no other American cit heretics and nonconformists, all so dulge in ribaldry. The “Age of Judged by what we know, J --
— J
called
infidels,
when
we
will
call
Reason”
as
you
think
of
when
and
what
half
informed
writer»
surmise,
izen ever more grandly used the
opportunity. Whatever Paine might over the roll of those heroes and where it was written, becomes a it Is not too much to say that Thomas
have said or done, we should forget martyrs of Freethought, hated by truly sacred writing to be read Paine was a better Christian than
as in those who revile the memory of the
it, as wt* see him standing before the church and to be honored every with uncovered head
that howling mob, mad with the where by all lovers of civil and the presence of the divine, author hero of the Revolution,
desire f«»r blood, ami pressed for religious freedom. An«l as we name No book m the Hebrew bible was a,1d more thoroughly grasped the
ward by a madder set behind, and them from the dawn of history to written amid such tragic surround central idea of Jesus’ universal
pleading for mercy to the French the present day, from Moses to Iu- ings. Not even the revelation to brotherhood than do any of those
king, when he knew that the gersol, from Paul to Channing, Moses on Mt. Sinai was given un who rail against him. “My country
guillotine awaited him at the close from Socrates to Swing, from Lu der more solemn circumstances. is the world to do good is my re
of his defense. 1 hat magnificent ther to Voltaire, from Huss to Bunyan’s “Pilgrims Progress,” was ligion,” are words which should be
written in prison, but the prisoner blazoned in gold and set iu the hall
action of the companion of Washing Tolstoi.
You will find that all of these men was not in danger of his life. of state as the model for the world
ton and Jefierron should forever
silence those libelers whose courage have one element in common, non Paine’s “Age of Reason” was writ to copy, containing the essence of
all oozes away before any determined conformity; that in the list are ten when each sentence might be true religion and true statesman
assault, and also disj rove the those who in their day were hated last. It is a solemn message from ship.
\\ hen for years injustice has
charge that he whined for mercy and banned by one set of men and a love of humanity and of God; ig
on his death-bed and in craven t steemed and reverenced by another; as much a prophecy as any writing been done to a man deserving es
terror bewailed his mistake in that they are like the Jewish now extant. It is a word of God pecially well of Americans, and
writing the “ Age of Reason.’’ The prophets, in that they speak the spoken in the interests of truth and where this injustice has been pub
two actions are inconsistent; we truth and relentlessly attack the righteousness. Its arguments are licly committed and continuously,
know what was his action before •old, if they believe that old to be old fashioned, its woids ill suit though its iniquity has been proven,
the national assembly; the supposed false. In this list are manv,’if not the most elegant task of this age, then in an equally public way
action when on his death-bed is a most, of the brightest in the several the auth >r is often t«»o blunt, but should justice be done; and so I set
centuries, and Paine suffered not its effect in favor of Freethought, apart one Sunday in the year, that
st«ry prepared by his enemies.
It is well, once in the year, to in comparison with the others. its power to overthrow the reign of in as public a way as possible, some
devote one Sunday to the memory About many of them lies have been orthodoxy, letter worship, and small leparation may be made for
of those who Eave served the cause told; nothing more evil has been priestcraft is almost as great as when the evil done. Heretics and non
of Freethought. Some of these •aid of Paine than of Luther, who the book was first puhlibhed. Many conformists are the ones to whom
our orthodox friends honor, when was called a drunkard and an will r» ad essays on the higher criti human progress is due; this has by
the Freethought suits them. Lu adulterer by the priests of his day cism, will listen to the scholars, the church been carefully concealed
ther, Zwingle and Calvin in their and yet protestant Christendom as in polished words they say Irom the public view; then it is but
day were as much condemned cannot find praise too exalted to what Paine said, and continue to right to have one Sunday set apart
as Paine, Ingersoll a, d Voltaire in be lavished on Martin Luther. worship the book, the day and the in houor of heretics, nonconform
these «lays, but a number of pre to t- This will be the case, in the com man, but a careful reading of the ists and Infidels and as the church
ant denominations, claiming to be ing century with regard to Paine; “Age of Reason” forever destroys has selected Paine as the arch
orthodox, have descended from many balances will be adjusted, the old idols. And finally, listen to Infidel, the (lay should be placed as
these infidels. John Wesley and many wrongs righted, and many the ever memorable words of the near his birthday as possible. Let
Alexander Campbell were bitterly sent to their own place, when we modern prophet, certainly no more justice be done and honor given
unsavory in appearance, if you be where honor is due. May the time
condemned in their day as opposed have entered the new century.
The time may come, as I believe lieve the worst which can be sai«J soon come when the world shall
to Christianity: surely then it would
become preachers of sects, whose it surely will, when the obi abuse of him, than some of those Jewish learn that heresy is not a crime
founders were denounced in bitter of Paine will die out and his true prophets wdiose words we accept as and that the heretic may be one of
terms, to be a little careful as to merit shall be recognized; when direct from God. “ My country earth’s noblest souls, indeed that it
what they say of others; not so the Scotch heretics and the heret is the world, to do good is my re takes great men to be independent
in thought and action. Noncon
long ago were they regarded as ical poets of many lands, when the ligion.”
No one, since the time of Jesus, formity augers a strong character,
enemies of God, to destroy whom heroes of Freethought in every land
would be to do Gtd service; now it and every age shall be known as has more completely summed up and that Paine was exceptionally
is claimed that they were really the true prophets of God; hated as the spirit of the New Testament. strong is proved by the fact that
working for God; may not these the prophets have always been Jesus, we read, went about doing he was the first in America to
preachers be mistaken w’hen they hated by the priests and the priest- good, and Paine tells us that doing publicly protest against duelling, to
denounce Paine and Voltaire? In enslaved people; but really like the good is his religion; then certainly demand an international copy
the twentieth century Paine’s prophets of Judea proclaiming the if he lived up to his religion, he right law, to plead for kindness to
conclusions, as expressed in the Age word of God and confined to no race was a Christian, and even the most animals, to propose international
of Reason, will be generally accepted and to no time. I want again, as I hostile of biographers, whose eyes arbitration, to argue for political
as correct. We may quarrel with have before, to call attention to the were vailed by the dense fog of equality between men and women
his language and his arguments, circumstances under which the “Age theological bigotry which distorts and to propose the emancipation of
but shall be compelled to admit of Reason,” the cause of all the as- everything, turning white to black Negro slaves.
Look at that picture and you can
that his estimate of the bible is «suits up«m Paine, was written; ar)d black to white; even these never
believe for a moment the
correct; to this conclusion advanced and it would seem that the most calumniators admit that Paine was stories which have been told about
schol irs are rapidly forcing the bigoted of men would have sense ever on the alert to help the needy his immorality and terrible death-
Christian w uld and when the poly enough t<> cease bis abuse. The and distressed, even exposing him- lied. Clear cut and vigorous are
the charge of profligacy the features, vivacious and deter
chrome bible is published, these first part was prepared while Paine 8e^
conclusions can be grasped by the was a member of the National As- ’n his efforts to help a poor woman mined the face; that man who
would not quail before a French
dullest, and the oldest idea of the sembly of France, and was written in distress. Paine, more than any mob would never weaken before the
bible will have gone never to return with the purpose of saving from the other of his time, and than most since accident iff death. Such as the
and we shall no longer have a wreck of state and church a rever- hi» time, understood the spirit of picture shows him, such was he to
norailiy, God
LiOCl and
ano Jesus, , lui
my country
cou n try is
IS lhe end\ Honor, , ....
w the
me
for nc
he Odjn
says “my
all uvuui
honor to
l>ook to enslave the people and ance for virtue, morality,
true religion. The second part lhe world, ’and again his life proved /.V?,
?r
«volution, the
»title Freedom of Thought.
*
*
x ®
, friend of humanity and the nro-
1
But to return to my memorial was written when Paine was expect- that he meant what he said, for phet ofGod.
- ■ * «'*• -
day for infidels. I have long ded-
icated the Sunday on or nearest
Paine’s birthday to the memory of
the proscribed and hated infidels,
fhechurch has set apart one day
tor all saint» and another for all
f t
w o m b
♦
»
.
.
1
.
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r l d
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llf l
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