The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-02-11

Our TWO New Preachers.
1t is striking and interesting Thought,
how great variety Of religious teaching IS
presented to tho people OF New York every
Sunday. Every man who can hire n hall and
get anybody t. listen to him may preach
about what he chuu~cs.
There have lately been added To- our
preachers two rather remarkable men
GEORGE FRASCls TRAIN, the cvuluionist,
and Boz iNnEKsoLi, the iniidcl. Mr. TRAIN
believes in nothing except himself He IL
satisfied that the work of evolution has been
going on in him for n long time. and that il
has got 81 far that The future is a. clear To
his eyes rs the present. lie feels that ho
wirlds n tremendous psychological power in
the world, 80 that mems wills bend before
his: and he has proved by actual expert
mcnt that he can live without eating or
drinking. Mr. TRAIN l. also convinced that
he has even conquered death, and will re-
main alive for an indefinite period. We
hop, lac Is not aboring under dclusion, for
he has afforded much entertainment to this
generation, and il Il very interesting man;
and We should like 10 hand him down to
future generations But he must take care
not to evolutc too far The trouble with
men Of Mr. TRAINS temperament il that
they 20 too deeply into things, and some
day thoy get absolutely lost.
Exactly what sir. TRAIN il to preach about
we do not know II really mntters very lit
tie with him what hi7 formal subject is. lie
despi-cs logical arrangement in his dis
COURSES and talks Of what happens To- oc-
eur to him al the moment. careless whether
it has any relation Ia what has gone before
or not This pcculiality of Mr.. TRAINS
method IL a public speakrr gives great va
ricty to hi- olatiun- AMI seems to please his
hearers. II i probable that he will not de-
part from that method in his SERMONS. We
warm him. however, not to wantunly offend
the religious preiudice- ui people, ami to
deal carefully with sacred subjects. Besides
/ being pruiano, ilrovorrncc is Ia wrrtchcd
taste. ana Il man who gets up Ia n public
| place 10 rdlcule the things the Christian
world Inn always held in Neneration makes
nuisancr Of hinsrl.
Bon lNnEl,suLL, our other new preacher,
/ is very different ,oit of individual. A. a
lawyer he has accredited himself we'll and
that implies that he * capable Of logical
| reasoning. The first time he became known
/ to the public generally was when he nomi-
mated JAMES q. BLAINE for President ut the
I Cincinnati Convention. His speech ON that
/ occasion was remarkable for its cloQucncc.
! Since then he has been an extensive stump
aud lyccum orator ON the one platform adj
/ Nucaiiug the doctrines of Repuhlicanism,
and on the other pruclaimiug tho-" Of Ton
/ PAINE NoLNEY. and their fellow iuiidc-,
/ Bon ISGrl.soLL. though an amiablc and
even jolly man. actually hates the religion
Of the Bible and holds that that book j. the
most horrible" ever written. lie thinks he'll
j. phantom and that the devil is about ~
real prrsonaS" as the man IN the moon.
lie ~,.r~ no reason why We -huud he i'm
mortal, and holds that whether We are or
ara not is something beyond Il living mans
finding out.
These views ~ Bon lNGERsuLL are not
| now, nor are they peculiar to him. lie pre-
s"nts them. however. very splritcdly and
with much irrcVcrrntal humur, and that il,
the reason he gets large audience, 10 listen
10 him. This jolly rotund. rubcund. ora
tor, who never ho-i,ates for II word. AMI has
a sublime ~rlf-condrncc. will keep an au-
dicncr Interested for hours while he breaches
iniidrlity 10 them. when one of the lean
atheists Of the Liberal CLUB would drive
them uut Of the house in ten minutes Yet
what Bob lNDEE,oLL say II not valuable,
and very likely people would be- better oil If
they stayed away from his sermons and
lectures.
Our two new prcncher- will, We fear do
little for IN" cause of good morals ana sound
religion, the maintenance of which We COM
menu to the regular ministers. whose duty
il j. to enforce the doctrines and prcccpts Of
I Christianity