The New York herald., 1877-02-12
MASONIC TEMPLE.

PAGANIsM, OLD AND NEw-sERMoN DY Rev. O.
u. FRoTHINGHAM.
My subject, said Mr.. rockingham yesterday morn
ing, is s.Paganisn, Old and New. Taking up the
other day volume written in opposition TO tho doc
trnc OF evolution, was struck with the fact that tho
writer's chief apprchcnsons seem to be Tor those who
believe the doctrine OF evolution. In that II LED TO
paganism. pagapsm seemed to be his dread. II was
in his mind associated with sensuaiism, matcriasm,
and indelicacy in thought and lIe Pagan
Ism the bugbear of great many people, II is, then.
proper to ask what IS paganlsm9 question which
propose to answer. The word ''pagan" comes from a
Latin word which means village Pagans were VII
layers, at that time when the villages were widely
separated They simple, unaffected people, and
pasanism the religion Of this pcopie-that Is, the
religion OF villagers. There Is another word synony-
nous with pagan-hc word ''hcathcD."
The heather people lived on heath and wore there
foIo OF lower order, you would suppose, than
tho villagers; and yet by one Of those nonsen-
steal Inconsistencies Of language the word "hcathen"
Is described as a higher kind of pagansm Thus
Plato Socrates, the philosophers. are heather tho
multitude arc pagan. Pagansm Is the worship OF ma
turc pure and und,sguised; nature not studied; ma
turc as II appeared the eye and They did not
speculate about it They had instruments by which
they could investigate It, They took II Tor what II
seemed 10 bc--a living thing. We beievc that II is
hving thing. but these villagers did not reason about
VIC do. They simply ielt this presence and won
Jcru power Ia the world. II was TO them lie and II
them creative. Tho impressive part OF nature,
they apprehendcd IL, was iiic-eivng power. They
did not stand Ia an attitude OF awe aud wor-
ship. They took things as they were. They saw ma
,are wns power OF i,.e lney Eut csa The seed u, "a
nature. The rams Tell, The dcws descended upon the
Of The earth where the germ lay aud MP calno
the green sprUui then the delicate flower, then. per-
haps the bus the vegetable, The rn and II was All
mystery They SIMPLY saw the earth answer TO the
power OF the sunbcuns. They saw this reproductive
power gong on IN nature, and they worshppcd II.
Their worship was worship Of nature an overflow
trial Venus IN all her iorms OF beauty. IL was Wild
Let us con'css II was lhdc'cate coarse was u oa'y
tha.y shall we listen TO tho Christian orators VINO
paint pngansm in IT'S darkest coors and say tbat IS
The doctrine that Christianity has supersedcdY
WOULD PLATO sAYy
Suppose philosopher ike Plato should appear
Ia our Christian civilization? lic would go among he
negroes Of The South calling themselves Christians ana
sec Them practising charms and incanations iull OF
the supcrstitions at the old puganism. lie would 20
among the Roman Catholics ana see them prostrating
themselves bcIore The altar, worshpp'ng images pc
lcving In the efficacy Of holy wUter and believing tnry
saved IRON pcrutvn by counting so many beads
He would attend some revival meeting OF the orthodox
Christians and hear the minister time after time
preach the power Of the blood that was she'd 900
years ago. suppose he were 10 say, This is Chris
tisni.y ?-thc worship OF the Airican the iIc w0r-
ship OF the Catholics, the popular superstition oi The
hodox Christians Would II be fairY II Plato should
appear he would find the shrine OF ths terrestrial
Venus recognized by reputable people, the temple
OF Bacchus erected ut every corner. Hc would SEQ
vice, quite as great as ever was practised IN any
heather city, here in New YORK. lie would sec nen
high position in Official trust stealing IRON The
poor, undermining the weak, beating down the de-
enceicss. lie would see wbsNcy ring, Indian ring
rings without number madc by people high in positiou
who are leagued together ana make money for them.
selves the expense OF those whom they are engaged
What would Socrates say 10 thisy Would he
say This IS Christianity"
soME OLD pAGAxs.
The speaker claimed for Paganism some OF tho
noblcst characters Socrates. the cmibcnt ethical
scientist, was pagan. Piato, tho princo OF spccu.
saint, sweet, educated and tender, whom Christians
have tried to ella m the ground that such wisdom
could not be Obtained except through the study Of tho
writings OF tho Apostle faul was pagan; cicero, one
OF the greatest statesmen. orators authors, men ot
letters Of tho race one of the greatest minds ono OF
the profoundcst thinkers, was Pagan these mon IN
their day spcot their whole time in rcdccmng pagan
ism from us errors and supcrstions They were the
rcgcncra;ors OF their age
PAGAN YETI
All our best ideas come from them. The popular
vices oI their Time, the crimes Of the great and TIC H.
tic, they pronounced unworthy of human nature. II
was they who Ixed tho term 'unnatura"
upon the worst vicc OF human kind Art
great art OF Tue world, the art which our artists
ali studying to-day, is pagan through and through
pagan. Mr.. rro,hlnghnm remarked further that
pagauism was quite as much new thing rs II was an
old Ii was not question OF time. They had persua.
sions; We have convictions. They dreamed; We have
found. They longed; we have demonstrated. Tho
new pagani>m bad IT'S indccac SIDE Men were not
redeemed yet. Tue animal not driven out. Still
it remained truc that aud women would
do coars thnGs-the oosceno would he obscene. i:
could not be helped. Pasanism was just conspicu-
Gus modern society as II was before. The course
ness ana indccacy were us bad II not worse. TO-
day than IN the old pnganlsm, because then they
knew better They we're frank and ouspokcn
To those people nothing impure. because they
trastcd with nothing that better Tho lower pa
ganism thinks aud feels the same thing now, but II was
affected meretrcious, uuc!ean and disgusting, because
1t knew better Tho higher pasausn had us grand
forms. To say that pngan:sm scnsuous
ply SANDER Pasanism vas the friend ot intelligence,
purity, goodness and virtue TLc speaker closed by
ing hat the worship OF nature IN all It's action,
the whole range OF lis sweep, was beautiful IN It's
crcnce ;or tho creative power whose seat IS IN the
bosom OF God whose voice IS the music OF the world.