St. Paul daily globe., 1891-05-30
And Makes Much Sport of
Some OF the Biblical
Legends.
All Religions Originated From
the Worship of the Sun,
He Says.
Miracles Demand a Big Per-
speetiVe, and Don't Stand
Daylight.

large audience, which was limited onlv
ny the capacity of the house, at the Ly-
ceum theater last evening, though it
was not much more than two weeks
since he had lectured from the same
rostrum. His lecture last evening was
new one, that is to say, it had
Deen given but once before when Inger-
SOIL delivered it before the Union
League club or New ork. The topic.
Myths and Miracles" as might be con-
Jectured, afforded Col. IDgersolI an on
portunIty to bang away at what he con
sidered the fairy tales the Chris
tlan religion OF today teaches
as gospel truth. 1t was onite
similar IN several respects to his lecture
upon Ghosts" and he made a great
deal or fun for his auditory. stopping
now and then to deliver some bit of
Orlillant imagery in his charactericaIIy
eLoquent way. However, he dealt with
tne cherished legends gently, as if ne
9lu Iot WISH TO ruthless destroy them,
IuItleT lhan to explain their origin. 1t
was ohly Wnen ne considered that these
ihytus, as ne called them, are used to
oulld up prejudices, arouse fear. and
use the superstitions of the people for
selnsh end that he was severe.
III beginning he said the man of to-
uay sometimes stops to wonder where
uld M come from? Whittier am | goiugo
| Where did the river of life begin. and
INTO what gulf is it fiowing? Every
! savage wonders what makes the tree
! grow, the stars shine? What creates
9IseaSe, what is life and what is death?
Is there anything l can DO to placate
ame % power that controls the
Wolius Why is 1t the floods de-
stroy my heldS, the wind breaks my
Poor nut my child IS sicken and dies?
Is tnere great savage who rules this
World who wants to be worshipped and
nattered? There is always some one to
tell MIN II he does certain things and
supports certain people they will do
their pest 10 use their influence in his
OehaII. NOW everything in this world
Was Naturally Created,
Nothing happens by chance and there
is reason for everything. Fverv re-
llglon or theory made by the savage has
oeen the best he could do under the cir
cumstances. In travelling from the cave
OF ignorance to the temple of ed
ucation he has followed tha
best path that he could find
Nature everywhere. in all lands. and an
! all:tlmes has had substantially the same
influence upon her children. and there
nave oeen the same myths and religions
at all times, and, the men who today
thlnK they have new religion are mis-
takenIthey nave only got some old re-
llglon that has been reVamped.
Every religion has had its golden age
Its garden Of Eden, when ali men were
honest, and did not have to toll: the age
or gold, the age of happiness. Now
there IS not the slightest truth in all
this, and think | know how it origin
ated. What has happened to the indi-
vldual has happened TO the race, for
the race is but a collection of
individuals. Every old man tells of
what good times there were in his
youth, and his father told him the same
story, and the times of his grandfather
were perfectly splendid. If you go back
lar enough you'll get to the golden aye
the garden of Eden. The truth is the
world is better than it ever was. 1t is
greater intellectually, and there is more
of justice. We have grown little more
sensible day by day-So | say there is
no garden of Eden back of us-onIv a
cave of gloom.
Man Has Been Deceived.
In the days when there was no print
ing. no record of events. how things
| grew! The father said it was a hundred
feet high. the son said it was a thousand
feet nigh, and in the next generation it
| grew out of sight until it was
cut down by its own absurdity.
Just think if the War of
the Rebellion had occurred ages ago.
why, they would have had Gen. Grant
giant with sword fifteen feet long.
with which he killed people bv the
score at every swipe. So the dead have
ruled the living, the grave has been
thrown open and the bone has been a
scepter.
There is another idea-the EIysian
helds-where did man get that? l think
he got 1t looking at the setting sun.
You find a description in every language
OF the world to come, which tallies with
the description of the setting sun. An
other myth-the flood. The Hindoos
have it, the Egyptians have it, and we
have it.
How Did 1t Originatea
| think it came, because on every
hand the world over is evidence that
some time the land has been submerged
by the ocean, and it had to be accounted
for. Our legend of the flood is infinitely
absurd; but one thing, We did not
originate il, nor did the Jews. The
story is hundreds of years older than
any IcllSlOu vi lO-udys
The story of the virgin mother. this
legend, this myth, is almost universal
what does 1t mean? The virgin il the
mother earth and the sun the father.
The Egyptians taught this for years.
The trinity is another myth. So is the
tree OF life, and it was taught by the
HlndoOS, the Chinese and AZtecs.
| Apollo, the sun god d-another myth
from the Hindoos. The god who was
The Most Generous of Gods.
yet destroyed his father and mother.
What does that mean? Why the rubbing
of two dry sticks together produced fire
which destroyed what had produced il
and here l think the idea of the cross
may have originated
These mvthS do not hurt anv one. nm
less people are idiOtic enough to think
they are facts. Hercules was a sun god
Jonah was sun god, Samson was a
sun god. Samson means the Shining
One. His strength was his hair. which
means the rays of light that were
shorn by the Delilah; of darkness the
gates he carried away were but the pill
lars of Hercules. And all of these sun
gods have been born in managers and
caves; were pursued by kings. Every
one was crucifed, and every one rose
from the dead. Christ, in NV opinion
was a sun god. If he was a myth he
was worth the beauty and splendor of
the character that has been given him;
If he was man he is worth all the good
he has done for the human race. want
you TO know that l like everything that
is good | love splendid ideal, and |
love splendid reality.
More Myths Destroyed.
The Sleeping Beauty, that beautiful.
splendid story, is but the birth of
the new year, legend all over
the world. So with Red Riding Hood.
Euridyce and Orpheus is only the story
of the eternal seasons. Every religion
came from the sun, the most natural
place in the world, for the sun is the
fireplace of the world. When a man
prays he closes his eyes. The sun wor-
oh hnl al L.. L