The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1878-02-28
INGERSoLLIANA.

Some days ago I heard the remark.
"Why has not some man of ability an
swered Robert Ingersoll 2" 1t might have
been replied that scores of able men
have answered his arguments years ago,
and other scores are answering them
every Sabbath.
One of the reasons why his attacks
upon the Bible have attracted so much
attention and become SO notorious lies
in the fact that, in the nature of things,
evil generally make more stir and
awakens more notice and remark than
good.
For instance, a farmer may raise a
hundred cattle, and there is one fine
looking, bull-headed steer among them
that tears down the fences and ravages
the grain-felds. That one steer will
cause more thought and uneasiness than
| the ninety and nine that behaved them
selves. Mr.. Ingersoll resembles such a
dashing, uproarious, rebellious steer.
If you have but one small snag of a
tooth that is aching furiously, you will
give more intense heed to it than to all
the other parts of your body that are
not disordered. Now, Robert happens
to be the most prominent unseund tooth
of the period and when the tooth comes
to the height of its twinges and torture
we are ready to declare it is several
times larger than any other tooth in the
head. This may account, in some degree,
for Roberts appearing so great.
You may have vast, complicated
array of machinery under your care and
direction. You have been at heavy
outlay of time, thought, money, and
labor to make it complete: You have ii
all running in admirable order. 1t is
accomplishing your designs, and exceed.
ing your expectations in its success. But
all at once one of the little cogs breaks
out. That little cog-beeemes-
noticeable simply because it is misplaced
Robert seems possessed with desire tc
belike that little cog. Had the cog KEEP
in its proper position it would not have
become the subject of any particular OBJ
servation.
In our country there are thousands
of good persons and true, who art
orderly and upright, and mind their owl
business, and seek to promote their OWL
and general welfare. You wake up on,
morning and hear the report ringing
through all the neighborhoods, that one
of your citizens has been guilty of ter
rible crime. Before forty-eight hour
every daily paper in the land chronicle
the sad event, under flaming head lines
Not aword is said in favor of the thou
sands of orderly citizens. No notoriet,
whatever is given to them. The unrul,
member of the community would, in al
probability, never had figured in tn
papers if he had not become criminal
His evil deed made him conspicuous
Robert figured in the front in the lat
political campaign. That field was shu
: up to him in the late Presidential elee
tion. His ambition to figure in from
, still remained in full force with him
! He could be far bigger star in tn
dark than he could in the sunshine. Th
+ darkness of his errors sets off the bri
! liancy of his wit. The mischief of hi
work is rendered doubly attractive b
, the shafts of his ridicule, the gayety O
q his language, the luxuriance of hi
imagery, and the sallies of his humol
+ Like Nero, he gives us the harmoniou
' rattle of a splendid fiddle, to comfort u
/ for the confagration he endeavors
create. Like the man who was detel
Y mined to immortalize himself, and fc
! lack of inclination, or opportunity, 9
E ability to do so in works of goodness, b
burned the temple of Dina. Robel
t would crafty his longing for fame b
r attempting to demolish and consume tt
e temples Of religion and obliterate tt
truths of Christianity.