Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1878-12-10
RIDICULE NOT ARGUMENT.

DIR. Stuart Robinson, the emin-
ent Presbyterian divine, has been
reviewing some of Col. Robert In
gersolls utterances touching the
truth of revelation. He does it in
his usual vigorous style, and to the
complete satisfaction of those who
believe in the Bible as q revelation
from living God, supreme, over
all and above all. lie says:
No answer can be made To such
iKuurant iUsoleu"e a. Ingecsoli's.
This j. the c--e III which comes The
application ga the Scripture pTecept:
Answer not fool according TO his
folly he puts himself out of the
reach of argument 10y his impndent
effrOuteTy IN treating with contempt
Gii that ever the learned and wise and
good IF three thousand years have
thought and taught concerning Moses
and Jesus; aud out Of the reach Of
Ujdicule, by an InsOlent effIODiery of
Ignorance that, as a shield of triple
brass, dsfies the keenest shafts of wit.
Ridicule proceeds upon the theory that
the object Of il has some regard tor the
good opinion IL mankind. OF what
Use To Tidicule a clown? His aim and
ambition II To be ridiculous. Any av-
sTage mOuntebaUk might undertake
successfully TO amuse the crowd, at a
dollar a head, by deuOuuCiDg, bur-
leeQuing and earIeaturiDg the Copper
nican system Far more ridiculous
pictures than IUgeTsOll's might he
drawn OF a world that stands on Moth
iHg. But who could answer the buff
foam, al lea s. to the satisfaction of his
sdmiTlng, nOvelty-Seeking audience
y mo could devise a lash Of satire that
could penetrate his stOli !ity 3?
There is no method of answer
other than that which DIR. Burrows 50
successfully spplies to IogersOips silly
deuunciatiou OF the Bible, in showing
hy analogy that he might with as
much or even more truth denOuDce the
sun In heaven, holding him response
bic for the malaria, The breeding Of
mosquitoes, tadpOles, etc.
" inAt i the CHEAPEST OF all which
ge.s lis point fIOm burlesque Ofthiugs
sacred III the associations OF men.
The man shameless enough and daring
enough 10 put FOOLS cap upon the
head Il George Washington, and car
feature his sayings and deeds, could /
very cheaply draw down the shouts of
laughter from a thOughlless crowd. |
Or the man v no should undertake to /
ridicule the Constitution of 1889 might /
fiud many points ia it as the target |
for lis Wit. But in that case the sem
uments Of patriotism which still lin
ger among the people might more
readily revolt ~ the performance. Yet /
Moses aud Jusss Christ and the Bible /
have done FAR more for us than even /
" sshiDgtOn aud the Federal Consti- |
tuition. Without The fret, the latter |
could never have cUme into existence |
Without the Bible and the lofty civilza.
lion which grows up under it, learned T.
iutidellty would have no audience to /
appreciate its TeasoniDgs, nor vulgar /
lngersolls even a rabOle TO applaud |
their buffOOueTy. IF, therefore, no 1
higher motive should restrain intelli- |
gent and patriotic citizens from lend /
ing their cOuntenance to such bias |
phemeTs, their regard for the interests /
of society should be sufficient. If the /
fathers cOuDtenance IngeTsOll in his /
insults to the religious convictions and /
sacred associations OF their Christian /
neighbOr- and riends, with how much /
consistency will they seek TO restrain /
their children from going TO seek |
amusement when, IN the effort 10 de- \
wise some other novelty in advance of 1
some peripatetic cypTian 1
shall come tn buTiesque the sacred in /
stituti0n of marriage, or some Com
munist Kesrney to burlesque the |
rights OF property and make cunning
thieveTy in spite of despoiic laws .
virtue? II the fathers glory
in making advance in this direction
beyond their fathers, shall not the
children claim the rights of still
farther advance? How long will
society hold together under this pro-
cess ?n
There is much force in this.
There is no cause, however truth
full or sacred it may be, that
may not be made the sub
ject of ridicule by the thOughtless
wit. But ridicule is not argument,
as every one knows, and after his
fluent talk, cheap wit and vulgar
Mr.. Ingersoll has utterly
failed to present an argument that
can shake the faith of the weakest
Christian.