Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1884-08-07
INGERSOLL'S SECOND LECTURE.
s'What Shall We Do to be Saved!''

The attendance on July Both, on the
occasion of Col. Ingersoll's second and con-
Guiding lecture in Helena, filled the Opera
House in all parts, the parquette and
orchestra seats containing large number
of ladies' In the audience were repre-
sentatives of nearly all the church denom-
nations, who were among the most atten-
tive if among the least pleased and salts
fed of the great orators hearers. 20, that
such eloquenoe should be wasted in skepti-
cism !" exclaimed devoutly pious lady.
"Such egotism1 the like of it | never
saw or heard beforer' said another "a
matchless man ON the platform" !" remarked
a gentleman, passing out with the throng
at the close of the lecture: "a wholesome
intellectual treat which have immensely
enjoyed
! The lecturer presented himself at $50
o'clock, stepping briskly before his audience,
his splendid presence clothed in full even
ing dress. His clean, round face, benignly
smiling, was much the face of the great
editor, Greedy, or of Hoar, as seen in the
Senate Chamber. The lofty forehead
shone like polished globe, with luminous
blue orbs below that fastened every eye to
his. With grace in every gesture, with
eloquence in every pose, his speech began
| and was captivating to the close.
The whole world" said the lecturer,
''has been filled with fear. Ignorance has
/ been the refuge of the soul. For thOus-
ands of years the intellectual ocean was
ravaged by the buccaneers of reason.
Pious persons clung to the shore and
looked at the light house. The seas were
| filled with monsters and the islands with
sirens The people were driven in the
middle of narrow road, while priests
went before beating the hedges on either
! side to frighten the robbers from their lairs.
! The poor followers, seeing no robbers,
| thanked their brave leaders with all their
hearts. Hnddled in folds, they listened
with wide eyes while the shepherds told
of ravening wolves. With great gladness
they exchanged their fieeces for security.
Shorn and shivering they had the happi-
ness Of seeing their protectors comfortable
and warm Through all the years those
who plowed divided with those who pray
ed. Wicked industry supported pious idle
ness; the hut gave to the cathedral, and
frightened poverty gave even It's rags 10
buy robe for hypocrisy.
| Fear is the dungeon of the mind, and
superstition is a dagger with which
hypocrisy assassinates the soul. Courage
is liberty. | am in favor of absolute free
dom of thought In the realm of mind
every one is monarch; everyone is rObed,
sceptered, and crowned, and every one wears
the purple of authority. | belong to the
republic of intellectual liberty, and only
those are good citizens of that republic who
depend upon reason and upon persuasion,
and only those are traitors who resort to
brute force.
"Now beg of you all to forget just for
few moments that you are Methodists, or
Baptists, or Catholics, or Presbyterians, and
let us for an hour or two remember only
that we are men and women; and allow
me to say man and woman are the high
est titles that can be bestowed upon hu-
manity. Let us, if possible, Danish all
fear from the mind. Do not imagine that
there is some being in the infinite expanse
who is not willing that every man and
woman should think for himself and her.
self. Do not imagine that there is any be-
ing who would give to his children the
holy torch of reason. and then damn them
for following that sacred light Let us have
courage
"Priests have invented crime called
blasphemy, and behind that crime hypo-
crisy has crouched for thousands of years.
There is but one blasphemy, and that is
injustice There is but one worship, and
that is justice. (Applause.)
"You need not fear the anger of God
that you cannot injure. Rather fear to in
jure your fellow men. Do not be afraid OF
a crime you cannot commit. Rather be
afraid of the one that you may commit.
The reason that you cannot injure God is
that the Infinite is conditionless. You
cannot increase or diminish the happiness
of any being without changing that beings
condition. If God is conditiOnless you can
neither iniure or benefit him.
There was a Jewish gentleman who
went into a restaurant to get his dinner
and the devil of temptation whispered in
his ear. Eat some bacon He knew if
there was anything in the universe calcu-
lated to excite the wrath of Jehovah, who
made every shining star, it was to see
Jew eating bacon. He knew it, and he
knew the infinite being was looking, that
he was the eternal eavesdropper OF the
universe But his appetite got the better
of his conscience, as it often has with us
all, and he ate the bacon. He knew itwas
wrong and his conscience felt the blood OF
shame in his cheek. When he went into
that restaurant the weather was delightful,
the sky was as blue as June, and when
he came out the sky was covered with
angry Clouds the lightning was leaping
from one to the other, and the
earth was shaking beneath the voice OF
the thunder. He went back into that
restaurant with face as white as milk, and
said to one of the keepers: My God,
did you ever hear such fuss about little
piece of bacon? Great laughter AS