The Irish standard., 1895-07-20


Hons of the hum all i Swh0 bell eye sdn
Him and whose hope, too,s is we'll founded,
3sosf Tar as III Ingersoll d as done sor said
ing ia VI sprofves IT. and vet he would
tear this hope from ther hearts, nbliterate
ats hal loWed IND uence rom their lives
and extinguish tie only star on the dark
brow of life that guides the Immortal
wanderer5s stto that world without "a tear 4
& s. His d s.ctum lis not enough wi thont he
has come thing to- oFer in its stead. Poly
carp, the martyr, said {: I'VE Christians
are not accustomed to change from better
Sto worse but from bad to better And
what mas Nj. Ingersoll offered ID. place Of
+ that world thout id tear q The phan-
toHehance and cherries gloom of ,ir-
consciousness, the doctrines Of eternal
sleep and the silent Sad duceeism Of thera-
uonalistic believer Is not enough for. the
Iinsatiates lpng.ngs Of The esprit within us
s$} Blot out this star Of hope from: the
fathers heart, the mothers breast, the
flows home, the chtld's life; extin-.
guish this ceaseless yearntng, this con-
8tinuous and universal longing for that
world without a tear and calmly con-
template the dismal blackness, the cease
less 5appreh tension, the darkness Wnish
would brood In sable terror over the hui
man race. Eliminate from the mind
and heart all thoughts Of a world s
iredeemer, all evidence Of the Christ OF
aGalilee, this star Of the ages, this hope Of
the millions, this glorif1ed redeemer.. the
risen Christ, and where can we look for
array of sunshine, a glimmer Of hope, 9
spark Of confidence to which the patient
men may look for aid to d higher, a NO
ipen
/ e, Mr.. Ingersoll, I have lived amid the
tempests and storms and battle for
bread for more than so years, and can
not, therefore, expect to stay many more
years Ia tenant Of earth. fl accept,
yollr creed, what have you to offer me?
/ have not lived without sin Can you,
offer me Saviour? A Providence to
guide me an immortality to elevate me :?
No, sir. You have no sympathy for a
distressed soul, no Joy for our sorrow, no
balm for our grief, no support In our
weakness, 10 help In sickness. You,
sir, have no father for our orphaned chill
dren, no husband for our widowed wives.
You have no consolation to offer us In.
life, and your supreme wisdom In the
hour Of death Is the. dismal, truly dts
mai, darkness Of doubt and unreientifg
despair, Are we imbecile that you thus,
insult our reason and our self-interest
by your fabulous dogma, your rotten and
grOundless creed? 2s4s.f}}fs
q s..You are a mighty fellow, you are.
lis; true, you have defied the All
mighty, you have dared the indignation
of Him who created the universe. You
have blasphen1ed the God who could by
His slightest hown send you shiverng
with terror from His presence. You
have ridiculedt the Christ who died for
you and made jest at the tears of Him
who will one day judge you. You have
sc0rned and abused men chosen of heav-
EN-. to preach redemption to a lost world,
white Jealous apostles and fire-scorched
martyrs have been the subjects Of your
ribald mt1,th. Why have you done this 2.
Have you done 1t as a patriot, eas a lover
Of your country, and for the benefit of
your race? Where, then, are the tro-
piles OF your work? No. sir; you have
not a solitary good to which you can
point. You are, however, none the less
destitute of good than, many who pre-
coded you. Diderot, with coarse invec-
tive; Paine's ribald wit; Strauss, with
critical acuteness; Voltaire, with learn
ed sarcasm, and Keenan, with polished
sneers, have all faded; and, sir, you as
a thinker, a reasoner. as logician, as a
sob olar and a gentleman, compared with
them are but a~mouthing monntehank.
christianity lives, and shall till all the
millons Of Its votaries shall gather
around the throne Of the God Eternal,
and In songs OF trump ant praise and
anthems of redeeming love shall worship
in His temple night and day in that
world without a tearf'" ss#