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About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1900)
T orch R eason . of ••TRUTH BEARS THE TORCH IN THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH.” _ £ M c re /, M5. VOL. 4. s T e T m . 300 M I.VERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, MARCH Giordano Bruno. (A. D. 1900.) In G reat B ritain it was the cour age of insurgent thinkers am ong the working class— whom no im prisonm ent could in tim id a te — who Giordano Bruno, the Solar S y s caused the right of free speech and tem, and the New Era. free publicity to be finally con ceded. Thus rulers came around An /»-Idress D elivered F e b ru a ry 17, E ra of M an 300. Before th e T h o u g h t Eqchange at Sll- to the conclusion of C aballero, th a t ve on, Oregon, in Com m em m oration of the ‘‘tolerance is as necessary in ideas Th ee H undredth A n n iv e rs a ry of t h r B u rn - in; A liv e of B runo by the C hristians at as in social relations.” Ro ne, F e b ru a ry 17, 1600 (C h ris tia n E ra ). Our New W orld. NO. 9. but of these three, B runo was the | ot from w ith o u t us, only from w ith- only one who, as far as we know, not only recognized clearly the dis Com es or can ever com e upon us lig h t covery, but foresaw and accepted W hereby th e m in d keqps ever tr u th in the consequences — even unto the eight. No tr u th , no s tre n g th , no com fort m an m ost awful sacrifice. The idea m ay w in, seems general th a t this discovery No grace for guidance, no release from sin, was m ade all at once, like a new de Save of his own m in d ’s giving. Deep vice in m echanics or a com bination and b rig h t As fire e n k in d le d in th e core of n ig h t in chem istry. F a r different was B urns in th e m ind w here once its fire has As soon as opinion was known to its working out and confirm ation. been. Rv T H A D D E U S B. W A K E M A N , be em ancipated, men began to The lig h t th a t leads a n d q uickens The steps were very gradual which ESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY AND COGNATE th o u g h t, in sp ired think who never thought before. PRO SCIENCES led to th a t result. Tt was first IN THE LIBERAL U N I To d o u b t and tru s t and conquer. So The th in k er no longer had to ob VERSITY, OREGON. he said m ade out th a t there was a great W horn Sidney, flower of E n g lan d , tain a “ Ticket of Leave” from the difference betwen the planets and lo rd liest head churches before he could inquire; R. P resident , L adies and the fixed stars; then th at two of Of all we love, loved: but th e fates re qu ired he was free to investigate where he G entlem en :—The 17th of the planets, M ercury and Venus, A sacrifice to h a te and hell, ere fam e would and what he would. Power F ebruary is one of the did have orbits about the su n ; then Should set w ith his in heaven G io r d a n o ’s nam e. is, as a rule, never im parted or ac great m em orial days of the year; th a t the sun was very faroff; then Cover th in e eyes a n d weep, O child of quired in vain, and honest men and this year it is especially so that the earth was round; then h ell, felt they owed it to those who h a d ’ from the fact th a t it is the 300th th at it revolved on its ax is; then G rey spouse of S atan , C hurch of won freedom for them th a t they anniversary of the effective publica how could all th is be reconciled n am e a b h o rred , \\ eep, w ithered h a rlo t, w ith th y w eep should extend it. T hus it came to tion by the C h ristian s of the true w ith the theory th a t the stars an d ing lord. knowledge of the Solar System. For pass th a t independence was an in Now none will buy th e heaven th o u h a st the sun w ith those said two planets to sell spiration to action in men of in this they really m ade known ro ta tin g around it, all d aily ro ta t At price of p ro stitu te d m in d s, and swell Thy loveless list of lovers. F ire and trepid m inds. Professor T yndall, and effective by the burning alive o ed around our earth? All th is now sw ord in the last words he wrote for pub G iordano Bruno, its great exponent seems too absurd to state, but it No m ore are th in e : th e steel, th e lication, said: “ I choose the nobler at Rome, on th e 17th of F eb ru ary took the good Copernicus about w heel, th e cord, The flam es th a t rose round living lim bs, p art of Em erson, when, after v ari “ A. I). 1600”. The consequences of th irty years to work it out. We and fell this new astronom y, and of this con ous disenchanlm ents, he exclaim s, In lifeless ash an d em ber, now no m ore call him good, because such he was, A pprove th ee godlike. Rom e re ‘I covet tru th !’ ” On p rin tin g sequent awful C hristian m urder, are as well as tru ly great. Born at deem ed a t last From all th e red pollution of th y p a st, these words the W estm inster G a now first beginning to be perceivec Thorn in P russia in 1473, he died Acclaims th e grave, b rig h t face th a t zette added: “ T he gladness of true by a larger p a rt of the civilized aged 70 in 1543. B y all m eans sm iled of yore w orld; and it is coming to be felt E ven on th e fire th a t c au g h t it ro u n d heroism visits th e heart of him read up how he was a m ath em ati a n d clom b who is really com petent to say th a t this greatest discovery in as cian and scientist, a doctor of m ed To cast its ashes on th e face of R om e. th is.” The energies of intellectual tronom y, and th is heroic m a rty r icine (alw ays giving a p art of his —[S elected. in trep id ity had doubtless been de dom properly m ark a New E ra in tim e as such freely to the poor), and voted to science and social pro- ^ ,e history of the hum an race finally a m em ber of a m onastic o r The Second Stage ot Free- gress; but as philosophers have It was, therefore, n a tu ra l and der. As a m onk in a little town thought: Enterprise. found, down to H u x le y ’s day, all proper th a t the A m erican Secular in P oland he seemed protected in exploration was impossible in th a t Union, and th e F reethought Asso his great desire to philosophize free B Y G. J. H O L Y O A K E . direction. M urchison, Brewster, ciation of A m erica, as representa ly and to publish the results of his B uckland and other pioneers of tives of the Liberals of America, astronom ical speculations. They ‘B etter wild ideas th a n no ideas at science were intim idated. Lyell should have recom m ended, as they were delayed because they m ight be a ll.” —[Professor Nichol a t H o rsh am . held back bis book on “ The An did at their last Congress in Boston, dangerous; hut finally his great he em ancipation of the u n tiquity of M an” tw enty years th at Scientists, L iberals and Free >ook, in L atin of course, “ De Orbi- d erstan d in g from in tim id a ly n d a ll, H uxley and Spencer were th in k ers of every kind should make um Coelestium R evolutionibus” ,W’as tion and penal restrain t w aiting to be heard. As H uxley a M emorial of these events by spe- wrought to him on the day of his soon incited th in k ers of enterprise has ju stly said, “ there was no cial M emorial m eetings on this day. death. We are told th a t when his to put th eir new {lowers to use. I horoughfare into the Kingdom of Let us, then, address ourselves to lan d was laid upon it, he seemed i heology being especially a forbid N ature— By O rder— Moses.” Hence, the d u ty of this hour. io recognize it with a sm ile. I t was den subject and the greatest re to exam ine theology, to discover F irst, we m ust learn why the dis- well for him th at he did not, su r pressive force, in q u iry into its pre w hether its a u th o rity was absolute, covery and recognition of the helio- vive this publication, as the sad fate tensions first attracted critical a t became a necessity. It was soon centric astronom y will be found in of his great successors would d o ubt tention. T , , *een th a t lhere was ground for its ultim ate consequences to be bv less have been his. T he book was .ru h T 7 7 C(entU.rf ,°r '° PP8 skep,icism- Tbe pritS' 9 f«1-«h-greatest event in the hktory dedicated to Pope, Paul III., to en Other of ,h ™ , 7 7 7 ° r Cri,iCi"n' by rePreaent*n8 ,h e "k” P- ° f ">e hum an race. Speculations sure protection, but it was fo rth Fo e 7 7 ram p arts of theology. , ic lh elr pretensions as being and advances tow ards this tru e with condem ned as co n trary to the horce had been m arshalled by skeptical o f everything, whereas theory ol the world were m ade by Holy Scriptures, A ristotle and the g e leaders an d l>attle often given they were only skeptics o f clerical ancient P y th ag o ras and by DeCusa C hurch. It was placed upon the n the open held; and u n fo reseen : ¡„fallib ility . They indeed did aver and others. T h a t is well known, “ In d e x ” of books prohibited by the _ .ones are recorded, tn the an n als th a t branches of hum an knowl- and is fully stated by Profs. D raper church, and was not om itted th e re or the wars of in fan tin e R ational- edge, received as well established, and W h ite * B ut the three great from un til 1835. Its circulation i.-m, against the full grown pow- were really open to quesiion, In ih in k ers to whom we chiefly owe was certain ly very sm all, and yet ers of superstition an d darkness. order to show th a t if men could our knowledge of the new and true it is doubtful if an y book has ever t nh„l.Very . T ? ' ian t ,tbinkerSl h -t be confident of things of which word are certain ly N icholas Coper- more profoundly affected m ankind. - > ars, p iilosophers anti critics, they had experience, bow could the nicus, G iordano B runo and Galileo: It has been reprinted several tim es ^ven priests in defiance of power, churches he confident of things of “ 7 3 — . , . „ L. , e c c le s ia s tic a l a n d c iv il h a v e a t «-u; u . , . p a rtic u la rly W h ite ’s “ W arfare and copies of it may be found i n s te a l a n a civilf nave, at which no m an had experience— of Science with Theology”, Vol. 1, p. 122 our larger libraries, where it is in heir own peril, explored the regions a n d which contradicted experience? fr?r a ,ri™ iJnt*.re8{in* 8t*temenfc; alsZ forbidden tru tru th th . <• , . . -7 • “ Conflict Between Religion and spected, and even read, with rever «ur-jiuaen [C oncluded on /th page. S cience” , pp 167-177 ent interest. The diagram s of the N' n T ■ . _ j ------------------- — » ------------------------------------- — ~