Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1890-11-06
ISGERsoII ON WHITMAN.
The Eloquent Atheists Tribute to the
Author of "Leaves of Grass

1
| Author of LEAVES of Grass"
At testimonial given in the Academy
of Music, Philadelphia, to Walt Whit
man, Col r. G.. Ingersoll delivered an
eloquent address, paying high tribute to
the "good grey poet and to his writ
ings. He dwelt upon the personal
characteristics of the poet, his abhor-
ence of hypocrisy, and gave a keenly
analytical discourse upon the Leaves
of Grass" characterizing il as the "true
transcript of the soul. !" 1t was a mar
velous collection and aggregation of
fragments, hints, suggestions, memories
and prophecies, weeds and flowers,
clouds and clods, sights and sounds,
emotions and passions, waves, shadows
and consultations.
Walt Whitman announced the Cos
pei of the body. He confronted the
people. He denied the dcpravity of
man. He insisted that love is not a
crime. He taught the dignity and glory
of the father and mother, the sacredness
of maternity. Maternity, tender and
pure as the tear Of pity, holy as suffer
ing--the crown, the flower, the ecstasy
of love.
ITO me the most obscene word in our
language is celibacy. Walt Whitman
defended the sacredness Of love, the
purity of passion--tlie passion that
builds every home and fills the world
with art and song. Whoever differs
from the multitude, especially with a
led multitude, will find out from their
leaders that he has committed an I'M
pardonable sin. II is a crime to travel
road of your own, especially if you
put up guide boards for the information
Of Others
The orator, after discussion Of
Poetry and reference to two or
three of the poets poems, closed with
the following brilliant peroration;
Walt Whitman has dreamed great
dreams, told great truths and uttered
sublime thoughts He has held aloft
the torch and bravely led the way.
As you read the marvellous book, or
the person, called Leaves of Grass"
you feel the freedom Of the antique
world you hear the voices of the morn
ing, of the first great singcrs-voices ele-
mental as those of sea and storm. The
horizon enlarges, the heavens grow
ample, limitations are furgottcn-the
realization Of the will the accomplish
ment of the ideal, will be within your
| power. DISTINCTIONS become petty and
disappear. The chains ana bars are
broken and the distinctions of caste are
lost,
The soul is in the open air, under The
blue and stars-the flag Of Nature.
| Crecds, theories and philosophers ask to
be examined, contradicted, recon
1 structed Prejudices disappear, super
stitions vanish and custom abdicates.
i The sacred places become highways,
/ duties and desires clasp hands and be
| come comrades and friends. Authority
drops the sceptre, the priest the mitre
and the purple falls from kings The
inanimate becomes artieulate, the mean
est and hnmblest things utter speech
and the dumb and yoicelcss burst into
4 song, A feeling Of independence takes
| possession OF the soul, the body expands,
the blood flows full and tree, superiors
vanish, battery is 4 lost art and life be-
comes rich, royal and superb. The
world becomes u personal possession
and the oceans, the continents and con-
stellations belong TO You. You are in
the centre, everything radiates from you
and in your veins beats and thr0bs the
pulse Of all life. You become a rover,
careless and free. You wander BY the
shores of all seas and hear the eternal
psalm. You feel the silence Of the wide
forest, and stand beneath the inter-
twined and over-arching houghs, en-
tranced with symphonies Of winds and
woods You are borne on the tides of
eager and swift rivers, hear the rush and
roar Of cataracts as they fall beneath
the seyen-hued arch, and watch the
eagles as they circling soar.
You traverse gOrges dark and dim
and climb the Scared and threatening
cliffs. You stand in orchards where the
blossoms fall like snow, where the birds
nest and sing, and painted moths make
aimlcss journeys through the happy air
You live the lives Of those who till the
earth, and walk amid the pcrfumed
fields, hear the reapers' song, and feel
the breadth and scope of earth and sky.
on are IN the great cities, in the midst
of multitndes, of theendless professions.
You are on the wide plains-thc prairics
with hunter and trapper, with savage
and pioneer and y0u feel the soft grass
yielding under your feet
You sail in many ships and breathe
the free air of the sea, You travel many
roads and countless paths. You visit
palacesand prisons, hospitals and courts;
You pity kings and convicts, and vnur
sympathy goes out to all the suffering
and insane, the oppressed and enslaved,
and even the infamous. You hear the
din of labor, all sounds Of factory, field
and forest of all tools, instruments ana
machines. Inu become familiar with
men and women Of all employments.
trades and proiessiahs-with birth and
burial, with wedding feast and funeral
chant,