«
T orch
VOL 2.
F o r th e T o rc h o f R easo n .
of
SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, i$97.
NO. o
progress? Man was com pelled to physic al fictions, instead of looking idea w ithout model, and th a t he is
B rotherhood.
vegetate in his prim itive stupidity; upon the n atu ra l a n d visible causes him self evidently not a reasonable
he was preserved onlv hv invisible of th eir m iseries, a ttrib u te th eir
being? Does it require m ore than
GRACE E. GRURKR.
powers, upon whom his fate was vices to the im perfections of their
supposed to depend, solely occu­ nature and their m isfortunes to the common sense to feel th a t there is
On h eig h ts e th e re a l, let us s ta n d ;
I m ean th e h eig h ts, which hold com ­ pied with his alarm s aud his u n in ­ anger of their gods; they offer to at least delirium and frenzy in h a t­
m and
telligible reveries, he was alw ays at heaven vows, sacrifices and pres­ ing and torm enting each o th er for
>>f m ind — of soul ;th en judge am i find
This pro b lem : B rothethood— M ankind. the m ercy of his priests, who re­ ents in order to put an end to th eir unintelligible opinions of a being of
served to them selves the right of m isfortunes, which are really due th is kind? F in ally , does it not all
Docs it m ean those who hold a creed?
Does it m ean those w hile p lan tin g seed? th in k in g for him and of regulating only to the negligence, the ignor­ prove that m orality and virtue are
They drop th em , w ith such ra rity
his conduct.
ance, and to the perversity of their totally incom patible with the idea
The seed bloom sn o t w ith c h a rity .
Thus m an was, and alw ays re­ guides, to the folly of their in s titu ­ of a god, whose m inisters an d in ter­
Ah, no! for th ey , could never see
T hat w heat is found w here cu atf m ay be. m ained a child w ithout experience, tions, to their foolish custom s, to preters have painted him in all
True c h arity will find the good,
a slave w ithout courage, a logger- their false opinions, to th eir u n ­ countries as the most fa n ta stic, the
And flower will bloom , as flowers
head who feared to reason and who reasonable laws, ai.d especially to most unjust, and the most cruel of
s h o u ld .
Let ty ran ts, whose pretended wishes are
W hat m eans th is struggling hum an c add never escape from the laba- their w ant of enlightenm ent.
Pi ass
rynth into which his ancestors had the m ind he filled ea rly with true to serve as rules and laws for the
Incased w ith in a fram e of ulass?
misled him; he felt compelled to ideas; let m an 's reason be eultivat- in h a b ita n ts of th e e a rth ? To dis­
Eacii like a bubble—tJorn to tali —
’Tis h u m an , and th e lot of all.
groan under the yoke of his gods, ed; let justice govern him ; and cover the tru e principles of m oral­
of whom lie knew nothing except there will be no need of opposing ity men have no need of theology,
I t m eans th a t n e 'e r a hum an form
Can breast th e wave of every storm ,
th e fabulous acounts of th eir m inis-i to his passions the power less h ar­ of revelation, of gods; they need hut
Yet, in each faulty wave we could
ters. These, after having lettered rier of the fear of gods. Men will com m on sense; they have only to
Find v irtu es rare, if u nderstood.
j him with the ties of opinion, have be good when they are well taught, look within them selves, to reflect
The th o u g h t d isp a tc h es to th e m ind
rem ained his m asters or delivered well governed, chastised or censur- upon their own n ature, to consult
Its teleg rap h ic source defined ;
And who shall say th e m essage sent
him up defenseless to t he absolute ed for the evil, and ju stly rewarded th eir obvious interests, to consider
Was not d isp atch ed w ith good in te n t?
I power of ty ra n ts, yo less terrible for the good which they have done the object of society and of each of
W e’re all too prone to view th e face
th an the gods, of whom they were i to their fellow-citizens. It is idle the members who compose it, and
Nor d eeper th o u g h t give to th e case;
W e’d hold th e th in g s w hich som e call the representatives upon the earth , j to pretend to cure m ortals of their they will easily u n d erstan d th a t
good,
Oppressed by the double yoke of : vices if we do not begin by curing virtue is an ad v an tag e and vice an
And lose th e view of B rotherhood.
sp iritu al and tem poral power, it them of th eir prejudices. It is in ju ry to beings of th e ir species.
T hen let not censure, let not blam e
Be heaped on those w ho bear th e s h a m e ; was impossible for tin* people to in only by showing them the tru th Let us teach men to be ju st, benev­
Toe p ro b lem ’s sol ved ;th e goal w e’ll tind,
\\ hen we’ll be ju st and read th e m ind. stru ct them selves ami to work foi that they can know th eir best in- olent, m oderate and sociable, not
th eir own interests. T hus, religion, terests and the real m otives which because their gods exact it, but be­
politics and m orals became sanc­ will lead them to happiness. Long cause it pleases men; let us tell
Gods.
tuaries, into which the prolane were enough have the instructors of the them to abstain from vice an d from
not perm itted to enter. Men had people fixed their eyes on heaven: crime, not because they will be
RY JE A N M E S L IE R .
n o other m orality than th at which let them at last bring them back to punished in an o th er world, but be­
O riginally, savage nations, fero­ th eir legislators and their priests earth . Tired of an incom prehensi­ cause they will suffer in the present
cious, perpetually at war, adored, claim ed descended from unknown ble theology, of ridiculous fables, world. There are, says M ontes­
em pyrian regions.
The hum an of im penetrable m ysteries, of p u er­ quieu, m eans to prevent crim e, they
under various names, some god con­
mi ml, perplexed by these theolog ile cerem onies, let toe hum an m ind are suffering; to change the m an ­
formed to their ideas; th a t is to say, ¡c a j opinions, m isunderstood itself, occupy itself with n atu ra l things, ners, the««? are good exam ples.
cruel, carnivorous, greedy of blood, doubled its own powers, m istrusted intelligible objects, sensible tru th s, Truth is sim ple, erro r is co m p licat­
We find in all the religions of the i experience, feared tru th , disdained aixl useful knowledge.
Let the ed. uncertain in its gait, full of by-
earth a god of arm ies, a jealous its reason, and leff it to blindly fol- vain chim eras which beset the peo- ways; the voice of n atu re is intelli-
god, an avenging g o d ,an exterm in- low au th o rity .
Man was a pure ple be dissipated, and very soon ra ­ gible, th at of falsehood am biguous,
ating god, a god who enjoys carnage m achine in the h an d s of his ty ran ts tional opinions will fill the m inds enigm atical and m ysterious; the
and whose w orshippers make it a and his priests, who alone had the of those who were believed fated to road o f tru th is straig h t, th a t of
duty to serve him to his taste, rig h t to regulate his movements. he alw ays in error. To an n ih ilate im posture is o b liq u ean d d ark ; this
Lam bs, hulls, ch ild ren, men, here- Always treated as a slave, he had religious prejudices it would he suf­ tru th , always necessary to m an, is
tics, infidels, kings, whole nations, a t all tim es and in all places the ficient to show that what is incon- felt by all ju s t m inds; the lessons
are sacrificed to him . T he zealous vices and disposition o f a slave,
ceiveable to man c a n n o t he of any of reason are followed by all h o n ­
servants of this barbarous god go
These are th e ti ue sources of the use to him.
Does it need, then, est souls; men are u n h ap p y ordy
so far as to believe th a t they are corruption of habits, to which re­ an y th in g hut sim ple com m on sense because they are ignorant; they are
obliged to offer them selves as a sac- ligion never opposes an y th in g hut to perceive th a t a being most clear* ignorant only because everything
rifice to him.
Everyw here we see ideal and ineffectual obstacles; ig-1 ly irreconcilable with the notions of conspires to prevent them from be­
zealots who, after having sadly norance aud servitude have a tend- m ankind, th a t a cause co n tin u ally ing enlightened, and they are wick­
m editated upon th eir terrib le god. ency to m ake men wicked and un- opposed to the effects a ttrib u te d to ed only because th eir reason is not
im agine th a t in order to please him happy. Science, reason, liberty him ; th a t a being of whom not a sufficiently developed.—[Preface to
they m ust do them selves, in his alone can reform them and render word can he said w ithout falling Common Sense.
honor, all im aginable torm ents. In them more happy; hut everything into contradictions; th a t a being
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a word, everyw here the baneful conspires to blind them and con- who, far from explaining the m vs-
F ear paralyzes th e brain. Pro-
ideas of d iv in ity , far from consol- firm them in th eir blindness. The teries of the universe, only renders gress is born o f courage. F ear be­
ing men for the m isfortunes inci- priests deceive them , ty ran ts cor- them m ore inexplicable; th a t a be- lieves—courage doubts. F ear falls
dent to th eir existence, have filled ru p t them in order to subjugate ing to whom for so m any centuries upon the earth and p ra y s—courage
the heart with trouble, t n d given them more easily.
T yranny has men have addressed them selves so stan d s erect and th in k s. F ear re­
birth to follies destructive to them . been, and will alw ays lx*, the chief vainly to obtain their happiness tre a ts —courage advances. F ear is
How could th e hum an m ind, filled source of the depraved m orals and and deliverance from th eir suffer- b arb arism —courage is civilization,
with frightful phantom s and guided h ab itu al calam ities of the people, j ings; does it need, I say, more th an F ear believes in w itchcraft, in d e r­
by men interested in perp etu atin g These, alm ost alw ays fascinated by sim ple common sense to understand ils and ghosts.
F ear is religion —
its ignorance and its fear, m ake th eir religious notions or by meta- th a t the idea of such a being is an ! courage is scie ice.— [Ingersoll.