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About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1899)
the TORCH OF REASON, SIL V E R T O N , O REG O N , OCTOBER 5 1899. pated” people. T hus, in regard to religion, Bible? Those ideas had not been reached in those ages, any more than th e telegraph or the education and life generally, it m eans those telephone. The words “ Peace on earth and who are freed and em ancipated from the gods, devils, spooks, superstitions, dogm as, creeds, good will to m en” are a late interpolation. churches and ecclesiastical authorities, terrors The original is “ Glory to God in the and influences of th e past. T he “ Liberal, or highest, and on earth peace to men of will” . T h at is, peace to those em ancipated, U niversity, therefore, is the one good An In a u e u ra l Address D elivered upon the In c o rp o ra tio n o f th e L ib e r a l L n ,v e r s it> a which is out in the clear— away from all of who are in with us. Those who are not so, and do not so believe, “ are dam ned alread y ” . those lim itations above referred to, which have S ilv e r to n , O re g o n . O c to b e r I , i« W - hitherto lim ited, dwarfed and torm ented the This the church said and says, condem ning lives and souls of nearly all of those who have all those outside of the pale of salvation. All B y THADDEUS B. WAKEMAN, ever lived and so made a free people and un- peoples were “ b arb arian s” and fair “ two-leg professor in Sociology and Cognate Sciences. tram eled education impossible. To finally get ged gam e” to the Greeks and Romans. Cic out “ into the clear,” free from every phase of ero came the nearest to a modern H u m a n T bits (E v o lu tio n a l).-"! an. not come to destroy, spookism, m ysticism and soul slavery, to be itarian . Of course it is to this love,evolved in our new E ra of M an,to which we refer,broad as but Vi fulfill.” —Matt, .'i.l I - . ( | Kingdom of m entally, spiritually and em otionally u n blinded and unlim ited, is the greatest of all the race in its solidarity, never-ending as the h a n d ’’- em ancipations and of all earthly acquisitions race in its continuity; th a t love we in h erit as M att. 3 :2 ; 4:17. the out-flower and trium ph of Science and and treasures. T hat liberty is the necessary H u m an ity — which no past re gion, not even condition of freedom of choice, w ithout which the C hristian, ever had or could ever u n d er there can be no real m orality or love of the good, and no freethought, w ithout which there stan d ; that love which Thom as Paine first can he no real knowledge »»r science. This c a lle d “ the Religion of H u m an ity ”— the unity ia m s of th y your! • » c h ild is h re lig io n s a n d pure diam ond of th e soul, this priceless jewel of the race itself, at first in sentim ent, hut hereafter in scientific history and sociology, of the cleared and independent intellect, the to he those of our oceans an d th e p lan et. L iberal U niversity is organized to attain . and then in general hum an statesm anship. ‘Life-« object is life it#elf; on the know able »land firm . U niversal mental liberty is both its in sp ira Such love must he onr second cornerstone! I f ghost« spook, *o straight, on bj F„UHt Act y . T hird: Science, we have ju st referred to tion and object. as the necessary result of this universal h u “ T he im p o rta n t, practical tru th is th a t m an is But forget not th a t this result of our educa- man love. F or w hat we love we seek to find, is not negative merely. Liberty of m ind, soul and aspiration, although unspeakably great, to know and to serve, and th a t can only be m use like a real hero, discover the rich, |s „ < U > h « done by knowledge, and verifiable knowledge dream s, or he m u st ignom intously perish ¡ J «• glorious, desirable and benificent of, fot and is science (L at. Scio, 1 know). As liberty gave i ti r F W by its “ single self,” has its im m ense u tility in . l i ard v h ’s U p “ O o utlines n a n , .« of e a Sociology r ,! , n " O , - p . ----- the fundam ental fact th a t it is the inexpugna to love its enlarging growth, so love has c a r th e re a new h e a v e n ; only as we build it is it ours. ble condition of any and of all possible pro ried science to the ends of the earth , and be gress of the h eart, the mind or o f « he acti\ ities yond,even into the starry depths of the infinite “ LUO” —THE LIBERAL UNIVERSITY OREGON In our blessed m odern era, every of m ankind. 1 he historian, Buckle, ami space. established 1896; incorporated 1899. m any others have had much reason in look where the head (intellect) has become the in M r . P resident , L adies and G en tlem en : ing upon liberty as if it were in and by itself form ing servant of the heart (affectional n a All great events require public announce the main cause and measure of civilization, tu re), and has alm ost ceased to be its slave as m ent and become recognized and sometimes enlightenm ent and of all the well-being that the of old. And since our new E ra of Science and Man began, with the prom ulgation oi tne Co- consecrated thereby. One of the most precious hum an race has had. It m ay be more .just to pernican astronom y and the burning of B ru things in the im m ortal Declaration ot Inde- say th a t liberty is the indispensible c o n d itio n pendence, which sprang from the creative of all of these blessings, ami if possible, of no by C hristianity in A. D. 1600, what has this h eart’s faithful m inister, science, done? genius and Common 8en»e of 1 hom as 1 a,ne more— indeed of all. It is so, because w ithout and was p ut into shape by Thom as Jefferson, if, there can be no free play, growth or evolu \\ e m ight say, what has it not done? \\ hen is the decent respect to the opinions of m an tion of love, of thought or of conative w ill; we try to condense all of its achievem ents kind with which it opens, as the reason tor a in a word, no n a tu ra l,w e a lth y , beneficent life throughout the five G rand Divisions of the W orld into one view as a scientific or positive public declaration of the grounds for the sep and no true, com plete or h ealth y education at philosophy— th a t is, a verifiable explanation aration of the colonies from the m other coun all. try and a statem ent of the foundations upon But with liberty all these benefits result, be of all of the knowable world— we may well be lost in wonder and astonishm ent! which as a new nation they would finally rest. cause liberty gives the opportunity for the Let us follow these trium phs a few m o A w orthier reason, exam ple and inspiration em otional and affectional nature to come into m ents and see where we are. As a clue to th an this of Jefferson’s we certainly could not free and healthy plav, so th a t attraction may have for this our public announcem ent of the begin to shape destiny. L iberty and love are the w orld-labyrinth, Science places in our hands and m inds her fundam ental law, incorporation and establishm ent of an In s titu thus the two twin children of free, untram el- known as the correlation and equivalence of tion which is designed to commence the em an led intellect. N either is possible w ithout the cipation of education, and to place it upon a other. Our first word and corner stone is, all forces, th a t is of all the changes knowable solid, scientific, republican and American therefore “ L iberal”— «he Liberal U niversity. in the world. These changes are alw ays the foundation— very much as our fathers did in Second: We have ju s t pointed out th a t love equivalents and m easures of each other in a regard to politics by the foundation of our is the affirm ative side of liberty; and in its boundless process of co-relation, which we call Republic. W e feel it, therefore, to be a higher, broader and social sense, love is well causation. T hus every effect becomes a cause, d u tv and a pleasure to make known to you, and generally recognized as the greatest and as every cause was an effect. And all this in a n d 'to all others who m ay he interested, th at the due course of countless and constant p ro most desirable of all things— the true Sum- the Liberal U niversity, Oregon, has become a mum Bonum—th e chief end of Man and of cesses, whose laws are changeless and endless. legal fact by the due and proper filing of a r ti M ankind, much as “ a ttra c tio n ” is the integra The discoveries of these changes and th eir cles of incorporation establishing a cm potation tive force of the universe.This attractiv e power, laws make the great body of knowledge called of trustees and a faculty to operate it; ami in its sim pler forms, has been as old as h u Science. Shall we see how they bind us to the th a t its m ain building, commodious and well man n atu re itself, and alw ays appeared more universe? Let us then: 1. Follow these correlations inw ard from the designed for the purposes of education, is ap or less potent in all the higher and better “ re proaching its com pletion and will be opened boundless star-depths to which we have re ligions.” T hat, for instance, which makes the tomorrow for the reception of students in this ferred. We cannot fail to see th a t our won C hristian religion the highest and best of all your thriving and beautiful town and village of the past and partial religions, is the in ju n c drous sun, with its solar system , and all of its of Silverton. tion placed in the m outh of its ideal C hrist. properties and m otions are the correlations, re W h at this new enterprise m ay be the begin “ A new com m andm ent give I unto you; th a t sults of changes which occur in these depths of ning of, as to outcome and result, only those ye love one an o th er” (Jo h n , xiii, 34); and this space. It is by those forces th a t our sun and who survive us will know; but what it is de conclusion, stated by the apostle Paul: “ And system is floated, pulled or pushed toward the signed and purposed to accomplish for the now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; hut star L yra, at the inconceivable speed of ten benefit of those who come after us, by those tl e greatest of these is love ’ (1 Cor. xiii, 13). miles a second, th at is three hundred m illions who now devote their lives and means to this We have spoken of love as all-enduring, but of miles a year; while, as a side correlation, m ovem ent is to us plain enough. It is no not unchanging. our little M other E arth (bless her heart We have yet much to learn less than the complete em ancipation of as to the part that, evolution plays in the de wherever it is) is compelled to circle her fly education in all of its degrees, stages and velopm ent, refinem ent and history of the ing lord every year at a distance of ninety- forms, as adapted to every age, and to both three m illions of miles, giving us the seasons; affections. N either the sexual, the p arental sexes, from the hitherto inevitable curse of nor the social love of 1800 years ago is the and bv daily rotation on her axis,“ altern atin g superstition and supernaturalism . T h at p u r same, or more than sim ilar to th a t of the civ E lysian brightness with deep and dreadful pose is prim arily and clearly indicated by the ilized peoples of today. The love and en th u s n ig h t” . But all of her changes,form s and life title: The Liberal U niversity, Oregon— th at iasm of H u m an ity , th a t general race love, are only the effects and correlations of sun is, in and of Oregon, and it is located a t the which is the glory of our life and tim e, is the changes and forces. Thus says our m odern L iberal town of Silverton. Let us try to dis astronom v. (See Prof. Langley’s New A stron cover and u n derstand the depth of the out-flowering of our “ E ra of M an” , and of no omy, and Prof. Newcomb in M cClure’s M aga m eaning im plicated in this title and location. other era. All of the old loves were lim ited zine for Ju ly , 1899.) F irst: This educative institution is to the fam ily, tribe, city, nation, sect or “ re 2. Next, we have our Science of Physics, or ligion”. M ankind have only become hum an to be “ L iberal.” This is its first and N atural Philosophy, telling us of the p roper m ain peculiarity. The word Liberal is, as you and moral since A. D. 1600, E. M. 1. W here ties and correlations by «he masses or bodies does the term hum an or hum anity, or even know, from the Latin word ‘liber’, free, and of m atter ou the surface of our earth , with the “ Liberals” are the “ freed” and “em anci the word m oral or m orality, occur in the The E m ancipation of Education.