The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1881-06-15
MISCELLANY.
COLONEL INGERSOLL'S GREAT
INFTDELS.
LETTER FROM PROF. c. J. LITTLE 10 THE N.
Y. TRIBUNE. N g
To t1e Edttor Of Me Trt1une.


To the Editor Of tie Tribune.
SIR Colonel lngersoll seems to be very
brilliant talker but is he scrupuously accu-
rate Before me lie David Frederick Strauss
lectures on Voltare. Colonel Ingersoll has
perhaps heard OF Strauss, and win hardly con-
found him with the Archbishop of Canterbury
or the Pope of Rome. Now what does
Strauss say of Voltaire "Looking back con-
templatively upon Voltaire's life we must con-
cede that large part of his nature was of the
earth eartay, and that to speak with the
angels in the second part of Faust, 1T is not
Clean And this not simply because of hu-
man weakness, as is the case with the defects
of even the noblest men with Voltaire weak
ness was blended with baseness, and these
Spots far from disappearing in the splendoi
of his intellectual superiority, are only made
the more conspicuous by It, for they cause his
image to reflect an unsteady and gruesome
radiance. Heat may mar and party favor
beautify his features, but his nature was full
of contradictions, which in the foregoing
pages have forced themselves upon us I'M
pleasantly enoughP' 81 xsaassss
Leasing was neither priest nor preacher, but
LEASING despised Voltaire Frederick drove
him away ftom his court in disgrace, but then
Froda,;ci, ,vas q n,onarcb--a crime in Colonel
Ingersoll's eyes only slightly less than being
n Christian. Poor slandered Diderot was new
er,he,e.s tho nensioper and devoted worship
nov If that olvtemnestra of the North. Cath
arne the Second. The clear headed Empress
seems to have had profound contempt for
Diderot,s statecraft. but no doubt had read
with delight those PLAYS whose reading must
ho followea accordino 70 CARLYLE and Morley.
Inv ecaouent hatbs in the cleanest of clean wa
,sr Tho d;fferense betveen Egrotesoue eulo-
o;um and disnassionate praise can be readily
5;ece,ned hi those who willsturns from Col.
Jnrerso,I,s ,ect,,rs ID M. Janetss fpe article.
.Ia ph;,oso},b;e do D;derot. - in the last num-
ber of the Nineteenth Century. the .eist Of
which los IN the closing paraoraph ..sssDiderot
had in him always something coarse and SEN
first ,ank Int he e. first in the men of genius
Of tho saoond ranl % To DENY the ability of
Tho ,a,r, .h,oodea cnt,er,s son would he su-
,,ro,,o so,lv INT ne stranss said of yoltaire.
..he 10 not c,eant,, 6kEE &
But now take the statement that ssit was in
oreat mart duo to Paine and Jefferson that Je.
bovab was retired from politics and that the
Constitution If thel country was adopted. 49,
Did Colonel Inpersoll ever see aEIliott's De-
batesp Tn Volume III he will discover that
Jefrarson was not only ont Of the country
lono barore and during the framing of the
const;tut;one,l,,t thar mis- att,tude edward II
was a matter. Of sI,arn discussion n, the vir-
c;nia convantian Patrick Henrv claimed
that be was onnosed "a it's ratification. whilst
Madison claimed him for The other side and
depreoated the Introduction of his name
freat a. xveya TefFsrso,,,s abilities and his pnb.
liz se,v;cas ba vas not a trutl,fuI man His
course toward the nascent Federal system was
neither frank nor couraseous but quite Of
n;ece with his cowardly conoealment of his
authorship Of tho Kentucky resolutions
fact not revealed till his death, If after look.
inc into the third volume. Col In0ersoll.
will turn to the second volume containing the
dabatas IF ,i,a Maeeechusatts C,onventinp baf
>-oS''e~s - .--~ ar-~~-- 1890 = -