The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-01-04
Address 80 the Young Mems Hebrew
Association


yesterday by DR.. Bien to address you this
evening, and take great pleasure in doing
so. do not knew whether you appreciate
as you ought the many blessings of which
you as citizens of this age and this country
sre the fortunate recipients. We are SO fsmil-
la low with the inestimable privilege Of un-
restrained mental culture, freedom of thought
aud freedom Of speech, that we hs7e come
to look upon these as a matter OF course,
even as VIC do the sweet sunlight, the bouE-
teous water and the life sustaining at.nos.
phere, all which we partske Of without cost
and without molestation. But one Of
these Gays when you shall have become
familiar with the history Of civilization,
with the progress of intellectual development
and thereby SEQ from what depths Of igno-
rance, superstition, prejudice and despotism
the human mind has been exalted to its pres
ent condition of freedom, YOU will by COM
parisou be prepared to place proper value
upon the advantages of which you are the
inherlt1rs to-day. For you must know that
there was time and that too within the
memories of your grandparents whom educs,
ton was thing prohibited, when il was
against the law TO publish books or TO read
them, when there were no newspapers to fur
nish to the people an account of what their
rulers were doing in the way of taxing and
otherwise expressing them ilto poverty and
servility. | am thinking now when [ say
thiS, OF the m ct advanced nations on the
globe, for only eighty.f five years ago tho
laws of England prescribed all public
libraries, prohibited the loaning Of any
books, the publishing of any newspapers, the
indulging in any public political or religious
discussions, under the seveIas. penalties, uR-
less special permit from the government au-
thorlties were first obtained. The officials
were even empowered by law to invade ones
home and stealthily spy out trsnsgressions
OF these harsh, despotical oDRciments even
al the very hearthstone of the family circle.
In France matters were no better, for the Ia.
tellect OF that crest country was put under
the same ruthless ban. its literature was pro-
hlbited and burned, and its authors plumber.
ed and imprisoned It was capital offence
to write book, and The penalty Of death was
imposed against any one who saw Gt to at
tack the prevailing religion or ori,icso the
condition OF the finances Ia both countries
then all was for the governors nothing tor
the governed, and the voice of liberty wss
sllenced by the hand of despotism.
And 1t twas only fifty years ago that 10 was
considered impious to lei Jew sit in the
BRUSH parliament, and shoe king that he
should b Judge wearing the white wig and
tho black gown, since it was esteemed right
TO Danish the rac1 and rob them and murder
them, when it was esteemed lust that one
should take ten pounds from Shvlock, rather
than MIRO pounds ninetocn shillug5 eleven
pence and thraD farthings from Antonio.
when 1t was esteemed monstrOug for Jew
to legisl9te for community composed of
jews and Christians but all right for the lat
ter to collect the taxes from poor here.cal
cobler or tailor, rather than froE q sub
serlber to the thirty-nno articles of faith.
AS 1t was with the Jews so was il lust lit
tie while before with the treatment of the
Catholics until the emancipation act
was passed. and so was it with
tho protessants when in the
inquisitorial chamber of pain and
death, the furious bigotry of Spain held high
carnival against the mathematical reformors.
And 1t was not many years ago when it
was considered blasphemy to DENY tho fat
figure OF the earth, heresy to assert that il
reyolFed around the sun and not the sun
around II, an objectionable impisty to AN
nounce that there were more worlds than this
little sand hill OF ours in the hour-gAss Of
time. For these truths was Copernicus placed
upon the rack, Galieo plunged into prison
and compelled to relOunce tho correct doc
trlne, and Bruno murdered for these teach
lngs In the interest of truth, were thousands
OF others OF Gods handiw9rk enforced TO m
early passage from transient trouble 10 eter-
nal happiness, finding an escape from the
cruelty OF earth to the charity of heaven.
These things sound like Munchausen storiss
TO us ofthis day, but assure YOU that history
Is tatooed all over with the revoltiug rev0la-
tons. Such was then the degradation of the
human intellect, such tho proclamation of
human liberty.
But matters have changed since then and
therefore | said to you that it was only
by comparison you could appreci-
ate the results of that change
No ones dsres now in civilized country
talk of bridling tho people or Of resisting
their united wishes. Under the impulse Of
education they have become as we'll in
formed as their rulers; indeed they are now
the rulers; government is the agent now, net
the principal. People used to look upon
government as all powerful and as Justly
tyrannicSl. 1t is now looked upon as an evil
at best something to keep the bad in sub
lection, as a cage restraints wild
beast, or as the prison or A
straight jacket the murderer or the lun.
attic. Education has produced this freedom.
And yet to-day wa are, after all, only in A
transition state, an evolution in the direction
OF still better ono. Now, my Young
friends, one of tho most potent factors in this
cycle of the improvements of the people is
this thing of education its FREQ and untrsm.
meled diffusion; education, which bv
directing the current of the Thoughts and
feelings, adds TO ones comforts, csnveniences
and consequent happiness. The time was
when tue measure of mans usefulness TO
his country was estimated by the amount eff
brute force that resided in his muscles and
tissues; the larger the endowment the greater
the glory. U der this regime tia larger tho
number Of human beings man had killed
on the battle field or on that other
ground of murder, the duel
line, the worthior hero was he.
True pluck is always admirable, even thar Of
tho "TasmODiap devil" which, fighting to
the last gasp, snarls with This dying breath;
and admirable, too, is that Of the tenacious
bulldog which retains its hold even when a
limb is cut of, and admirable again is tho
pluck of thu gsmecock that dies sooner than
run. But, below all these, the devil, tho an.