The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1899-09-10
ANOTHER VIEW or INGERsoLL


/ ciplo of local self-rule
/ ANOTHER VIEW or INGERSOLL
The best article that we have seen on
4 Robert G.. Ingersoll is contributed TO the
/ September number Of the Rool;man. by
Harry Thurston Peck. lie introduces his
article by giving an interesting review of
/ the circumstances under which Ingersoll
/ came into prominence. He speaks of the
/ political conditions existing I'm 1876 and Cf
/ the dramatic interest OF the national Re
I publican convention Of that year I'm which
James C. Blaine was such conspicuous
| figure. lie refers 10 the eloquent speech
1 which Mr.. Ingersoll made in that con-
,ention I'm nominating Blaine. and Of the
/ prominence into which he was brought by
/ that effort. 1T was by this nominating
/ speech" says Mr.. Peck. chat he first
/ became well known 10 the American peo-
| pie. and i'm the presidential campaign that
/ fall. his services as a speaker on the
/ stump materially added to his reputation.
That IS 10 say, it was as Ingerson the
! political orator and not as Ingersol the
/ militant aenostic that men first learned
/ TO think OF him" The deduction is that
otherwise Ingerson would never have
| gained The ear which he afterwards Sc
/ cured for his addresses on the subject of
religion. 1t was his prominence as a po-
lucal orator. under the peculiar circum-
/ stances which We have named. that made
the people pay more attention to him
when he BEGAN TO discuss religious topics
We think that there is no doubt as to the
correctness of this view.
with this introduction Mr.. Peck pro-
ceeds to discuss Ingersoll, the agnostc
He eliminates the question of Ingersol's
private character as having nothing TO
DO with the discussion Nor is # worth
while, he says. TO take into considera-
ton the soundness or the reasonableness
of the views which DE advocated HIS
opinions do not concern the student for
they were mere opinions. Mr. Peck also
dismisses with passing remark the doc
trine which Ingersoll taught, saying that
his doubts and his unbelief are entitled
70 the same respect that we afford to the
mistaken faith OF other men. Indeed he
goes a step farther and says that for the
purpose of the moment il may be ass
sumcd that IngeIsoll was right; that
Christianity is merely q superstition and
its history "a fable. And 50 having brush
cd an these things out of the way he
comes to the consideration of Ingefs1ll as
a teacher. His first remark tallies with
the opinion already expressed by The
Times that lneersoll was i'm no sense a
thinker. Gle had received a good pro-
fessional training" says Mr.. Peck che
had read considerable amount of stand
ard literature and Dc possessed the ora
torical temperament with a liberal fund
of wit and hlmor. But that was an. lie
had none of the scholars thoroughness
and the scholars sobriety Of thought.
His controversial addresses. when strip
ped Of an their rhetoric. their pungent
phraseology and their often rather un-
savory jokes, exhibit absolutely nothing
that had not been advanced a hundred
years before lngorsol was born" In
rIott lAN lifAA a. NfiANif ~ ete vi alANA Neslti1
the public and possessed in a high de-
gree the power of ridicule. lie was lack
ing in reverence, and right here Mr.. Peck
makes this Point against him. Ingersoll
drew no distinction. he says between po-
litcal opinions and religious faith. but
attacked the cherished faith Of thousands
with the free and easy manner that he
showed in attacking what he regarded as
political error.
We have said IN discussing this subject
that Christianity did not shrink from in
vestigation. that It was not afraid OF the
truth but we have always been at loss
To understand what good purpose Mr. In
eersoll had in view in trying 10 shake the
faith Of those who found comfort in Bible
doctrine and who regulated their lives ac-
cordlngly. True he found in the church /
some who did not live up to their pro
fession, and it was all right for him to
denounce hypocrites, but If he took the /
trouble TO investigate he found thousands !
upon thousands who followed the pre- /
cepts OK the Bible. who lived good and (
their religion while they lived and in the /
hour Of death the blessed assurance that /
their spirits were going to a better world. 1
What good purpose Mr. lngerson ex- /
pected TO serve 10y destroying this faith I
and by taking out Of the lives Of millions /
Of believers the comfort Of religion and 4
the hope Of heaven Is more than we can
Ingersoll himself said in one
OF his discourses: Everything is right
tina, tends 70 the happiness of mankind,
ana everything is wrong that increases
the sum OF human misery" BY that same
token religion is right because II does tend
10 the happiness OF mankind, and II Is
not wrong because It does not Increase
the sum OF human misery.
Yet Ingersoll not ony attempted TO de
prive millions OF this comfort and this
hope. but made his attempt. as Mr.. Peck
points out In the most brutal fashion
III Col Ingersoll honestly and conscienti-