Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-15
RENAN AND sHEOL

1
and there In interstices Of the book-d
voured walls the -primates. of painting.
gloomy in ttme-tarnished frames! At the
back a library ladder, the very steps OF
| which books and pamphlets have invaded.
But one chair which such invasion has
| spared. He, turning on his seat, his hair in
| admired confusion, shows q monastic pallor.
| 1t Is q white presence in q room Of shadows.
But not monastic asceticism, for there is q
| plump and comfortable presence the cour-
| tier abbe who dimes well and lies in warm
beddings like Remains voice. 1t is low
and has that purring caress which is an
| equipment of the servants Of the Church
| gained by long practice Of whispered conf
dences in boudoir and confessional.
"Master," satd, 81 have come to talk to
| you about heh.''-
Then added about the outcry which had
been raised by his last book, where he de-
| MED snch punishment; told him of the
| odium theologicum, nowhere 50 bitter as in
our fair land Of England, which had been
poured forth anent his views, and asked for
further exposition.
He smiles and raises his shoulders, and
| smiles again deprecatingly extending the
plump, beautiful, white hands, and says:
"We must blame nobody for absurdity in
religious beliefs. There are things in re-
ligioE which are. in!antine in their abb
surdfty. uttradition. satavism, education,
aye, and patriotism, will make even the
most enlightened OF men swallow-where
religious belief is concerned-what in every
day life they would be the first to smile at.
That explains the faith in certain mattere
Of men justly reputed master-1ninds. 1t is
not hypocrisy on their parts. They are
sincere. Family traditions, atavism and
patriotism create their faiths"
''SINCE when have people held this fear
full creed OF future punishment-this belief
in hellf"
"Since about 160 years before the birth Of
Christ. The Hebrews Of the Old Testament
had 10 belief in q future state, at least you
will find no allusion whatever to either the
future punishment Of the evil or the future
beatitude of the good in tho Old Testament.
The reason Of this was no doubt, that up to
the period I mention the Hebrews were
fairly happy. But in 175 A. c. Epiphanes
Antiochus came and prosecuted the Hebrews
terribly, Then they suffered horrors of Glib
bet and sword, torture and fire. and there
were among them many martyrdoms. 1t
was then that the belief arose that those
who had suffered martyrdom should in an
after-life be compensated for their terrible
sufferings, while to the executioners and
punishment should be dealt out The han.
kering after quid pro quo is primary
factor in the Judaic psychology. Each, they
thought, must get his fair share of good and
evil. Those that suffered on earth should
have compensation in a future state, while
those who were happy here and made others
suffer should in their turn have to undergo
was between the years 175 and Iss-that is to
say, some time during the reign of
Epiphanes Antiochus otherwise Antiochus
Iv.-that the world saw the genesis Of that
nj f,nkr Hs-1, NrnS
has terrorized the world ever since"
Heaven, the idea of heaven. had its gene
sis simultaneously-that grand idea Of future
happiness which has made the world so con-
fident, so patient, ever since?' asked.
And he: "Yes simultaneously. Future
suffering for the t0rturers-Antiochus and
his crew; ana for the tortured-the perse-
cuted and the martyred Hebrews-future
happiness. A squaring Of accounts"
Eternal beatitude for these: for those
eternal pain"
conceive eternal life in any form for finite
being. Eternity. in their belief, was alone
the prerogative OF Almighty God. the Eter-
na tan nS eotitd bfch shoG TO she S aurn
loved by those who had suffered on earth.
Some thought it would last 400 wears; others
maintained it would be tor 1000 years. None
hoped for eternal beatitude."
Then in this respect also humanity,
granted an inch, has taken an infnity Of
Gas HUMANITY will do under all circum-
stances How far are the hopes of the be-
iiever of to-day from the hopes Of the He
brew of $50 years before Christ, who only
looked for seven lifetimes of happinessf Ap-
petite has come to us in eating. None to-day
would be content with a thousand years OF
beatitnde. All must be happy forever and
ever. In the 999th year all would revolt,
raise barricades in Paradise, insist on re-
newal O perpetuite of the awarded felici-
ties"
.'And the promises and menaces of the
Lord Jesus?"
Renan bowed HIS head Then he said:
"It was continuation-a development of
the ideas current among the Maccabeans,
the genesis of which have exposed to you.
tension of similar formula to be found in
such works as The Book of Enoch' and
The Assumption of Moses His menaces
were q considerable development"
"In so far as?'-"In SO far as the original
idea of punishment was less state of suffer
ing as one OF complete annihilation. The
wicked was to be crnsbed o1 oo out while the good
At the same time, this idea of annihilation
was not general. Many liked the idea of n
state of suffering for others, so that their
own state of felicity might be, as it were, in.
creased by comparison. 1t was for the sake
OF contrast"
"Was it held that this state Of suffering
should be eternal""
"I have said that the Hebrews, from whom
the Christians have inherited their beliefs,
could not conceive an eternity for men, be-
iieving that state to be alone the prerogatlve
OF the Almighty"
"And whence came the idea of fire in
hellf"
CIT was thought that the pain of burn
ing was the most atrocious that could be |
endured by the body, and so 1t was applied |
to the soul. Rave said in matters of re-
ligion none should be astonished at the ut |
most childishness of belief. But the germ
idea of this form of punishment may be
found in the sacred book of Isaiah, which is |
not contained in the Bible, written during
the time of the captivity. And the fire and |
the worm of the later belief we're donbt-
less inspired by recollections of the worship |
of Moloch, before whom children were sac |
riflced in burning braziers. The valley of |
near Jerusalem, sort of Mont |
1aucon, where corpses were left to rot-a
where fires burned to clear |
the pestiterous air, did also suggest the idea |
of terrible place of punishment-a place |
where
"vermis eorum non moritur ct ignis non
extinguitur."
"Why do people place hell below? The re-
the lightning is?''
at had to be placed somewhere. Above
in the bright azure of the beautiful skies
was naturally the place of beatitude. Nor
was the presence of subterranean fire I'M
known for the volcanoes were proof OF. its
existence. For contrast also. heaven above,
and hell, partant, below"
"Rut tIfd not the Romans entertain anv