New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-01-30
THOMAS PAINE.
LECTURE BY COLONEL INGERsoLL.

LECTURE BY COLONEL INGERSOLL.
ATTACKS on CHRISTIANITY AND THE BIDLE-A
CHALLENGE TO PAINE's CRITICS.
Chickering Hall was crowded last night at
Colonel Robert e. Ingersos lecture on Thomas PANE
The speaker made Paine's lIfc and works
the theme, which he oyerlaid with denunciations
OF the Christian Church and the orthodox Greco
Many OF his sharpest hits cast in the form OF cpl
grams. These often moved the audience to laughter
WHILE at some OF his expressions, whispered exclama
lions OF Oh my - heard from the lips OF startled
hearers.
"Ip the first place." said the lecturer, ask you to d
vest OF any prejudice you may have Prejudice
has been denomlnated By Thomas Paine to be the
spider of the mind. In an old building the
spiders will weave webs over every orihce
through which light possibly come. Aud SO 1t Is
with prejudice in the mind. The time has now como
when the American people should have the manlinets
and honor to do justice to Thomas Paine.
Thomas Paine was OF English parentage. Born in
poverty necessity his only schoolmaster He never
enjoyed the advantage OF having what little originality
he possessed crushed out OF him by collegiate educa
ton. lie attended one OF our insutu-
tions for the diffusion OF useless knowiedge'
Paine had the fashion OF examining everything 70
the bedrock. He believed thing because he saw
It IN print Paine found he could do nothing IN England,
so he started America. The principal occupation OF
the colonies was il writing out petitions and lay
ing them before the throne, on which sat that
idiot, George Ill, king "by the grace OF God" Soon
after Paine's Common Sense" issued, The Ameri-
can Congress declared the States free. During the
darkest hours OF the Revolution, Paine was
the foremost man, and in the midnight or
Valley Forge, The Crisis" the only star that
glittered in the wide horizon OF despair. Applause
Tho Rights OF Man"he best political docu-
ment ever e,rtten-and for 1t indicted for libel in
England After having looked into the power OF kings.
he stigaed the authority OF priests lie wrote booA
called " The Age OF Kea-on FOR THIS the chlIch smut
door his and emptleu nm rom the
window. lLaughtcrl And some OF the principal slop-
York. may say that / don't entirely agree with Mr..
Paine in his religious ideas iio Is atogether inore or
"A intidel Laughter
From the moment OF the publication of the SAGE Of
Reason" Pane became infamous. The church rose IN
dcnuuclaon against him PANE was now shhnned as II
he were moral stllcnGe Ihey pursued nm s Sy
AZ what they suppO sed TO be remorSe at
mis- lonely deathbed Yet The men who ENGAGED IN the
For my part had rather take my chances 0f dying NE
wonderful that all the services Of this man 10 liberty we're
forgotten Thomas Paine rendered Impossible 10 Write
he history o! hu1a uslty ana oa'e S ,v -, a..
Paine saw that as long as the blDle was SUPPOSED 10 Dc
inspired the doctrine OF belle would De preached ny
research he found that the Bible was not Inspired.
Many to-day reach the same concius,ol. put
q clergyman will tell you. II you DON'T be
1t Is awful hard to hui ont .what the clergy really be-
heye II their sayinss are ne TOO strong, tne re-
that God selected the Jews as nus eno'en people ana
CIVILIZED them b. hinS on Their nistGof I'm He 5uc
Paines sole crime Was the denial OF the revelation OF
come al st-and What You get from Moses, you get ~
secondhand But Moses may not have told the truth
been been. A lie may have We had Gods word for
i, but you have only that mans word
whale and al; you are asked believe what you want
aud pay your pe" rent I4gghesl II the Bio!e is ab
II the laws when Moses gives an account Of
that were passed the Legs turc Of God on Small why
we Yt them These TslgtOul5ts dread
SON Their religion breads nothing except DeHE under
Onc hundred and nfty years ago the foremost preach
U oar uIne woGu have pcrshed at ile stake ina.
Is the religion that Thomas Pane attacked. ,oud not
every uan YOU have 3acked II had you lived in tina
INN to uean FOR pckin. up sunday. If he only
commit ID murder, they allowed him flee city
Of refuge. lLAughter The orthodox OF Panes age dc
ana 10 do good my religion" Superstition had cOuded
Ito civilized word for centuries Milton had clothed
Christianity in the faded nery the gods He turne
gels soldiers, and described God militia general
Ihe Pilgrims left Holland account OF religious lib
crty, To get IL. WGen they reached Holland they
found much liberty there that them preacher Robin
son, said, Our aud daughters will be debauched
here. 80 they sailed for Amer a. ought not 10 say any
thing about Iny but viii there been
great improvement ia their posery. laughterI Re-
hgion DOESN'T doubt OF inquire lhe Age OF Reason
undermine the church thau any Other book,
1t written Tor the common mind IL put al.
glnenis IN the mouths ot thc people People cont
want To watch tue tsnt OF tho eagle OF Reason
They demand the nest anG lie dr' limbs on watch te
eagle has rested Ana II mas always stfc. me thlt inc
people no have the smallest sOui, make the most russ
about .cttlng them saved lApPIbllS'.I
great deal OF talk has been nuuigCd IN a. Ia the
manner Of Phnes death. don't think II |, naif the
spousbty die that IL Is 10 I'VE When you cone 10 die
YOU can't do anything eXc0it die. fOu can't help
a Mend except remember HIM in your will.
Paine died SAYING, Il have nothing to take back. Al
though the cmissafes OF orthodoxy surrounded him.
and tried To WING from his lips the confession that
had rrcanted, he true To his own soul,
| have the witnesses to prove this, and
have made mp my mind L. do IL. Men must
stup lying about Thomas Paine Mt the bar of public
viii tncn common liars. lApplLusc
/ Will pay ~ 200 gold n IL Is proved tIat he
clued another oil 900 lie Is proved dofauiter: stIll
another evidence that his wife divorced from
hn for cruelty In all thatSis igneIr have uttered.
they have 4 word ilIat detIacts from the
age the honor, the manhood NJ Thomas Paine.
science Is iioerty superstition and religion
slavery. For superstition, inidtls Offer Facts; for
slayory liberty The douber aud the inidol have been
the sa,Iouls OF progress To tne church say: You
have Imprisoned the human mind; You have
torn the nosh from thinkers with hooks IF iron.
treated mon AZ outcasts. cOnscated thor property,
denied udrls the right To testify III court Justice
In the of religion. You have robbed OF all
rights and after Going yting IN this world, you
have fll,n on your and asked that the publish
ment bo completed In hell"
For 500 years Christianity has had control OF the
world and to-day what do We md The principal
object of Christian nations ~ TO murder each other
Verify IL IA sweet to brethren dwell together IN
unity Creed, GIgma, fable have tred and found