The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1899-08-04
ROBEkr q. INGERSOLL

most popular infidel of his times
Many men have published more learn
ell and scholarly attacks on the Bible
but his wit, thumor. and brilliant imagi-
nation captivated his audiences. and
carried conviction because he kept
their attention. He was a poet, and
not lawyer or scholar. His voice
had singular sweetness, and when he
was in earnest, 1t had clarion ring in
liz.
He was the son of clergyman, but
left bhe "trodden paths" as he inform
ed the writer, only after he had read
Tom Paine's works. and the abuse that
was heaped upon him. II wanted to
do Paine justice, but when l tried to
defend him, the pious men in America
began to abuse me. | then turned on
the crowd and let fly, and have been
letting fv ever since" He gave up
much of his law practice, because the
profits of his lecturing trips brought
him an annual revenue of nearly $780,
900, and left him much leisure time.
His success as jury lawyer was equal
to that of Mr.. ChOate but he never
commanded as large a practice. He did
many legal services without pay.
Fifteen years ago he moved to New
York city, but was ostracised socially
by the upper and religious classes.
Prominent men would entertain him
al their clubs. and approve of his sem
timents, but they did not take him
to their homes. because the women
called him a wicked infidel," and would
not receive him. But he had thous-
ands of female worshippers.
In spite of this, his services as an
orator were in demand In all of the
great Republican conventions and
celebrations which indicated his stand
ing as patriot.
lie had a friendly controversy with
DR.. Henry NJ Field of the New York
Evangelist. in which DR.. Field admit
ted that he had some doubts about
"the existence of everlasting hell fire."
Col. Ingersoll said in private: IF DR..
Field had given up hell fire, he would
have driven me out of business" He
believed that II the law of eternal
vengeance gave way to the law of love,
the world would be regenerated, and
the highest spiritual life was reached
through love, and not through fear. He
told the writer on one occasion that
according to leading religious jour
nal, seventy-five per cent. of large
| number of Protestant clergymen, who
were asked If they believed in the doc
| trine of eternal punishment, replied
that they did not. If this Is true"
he said. then | shall stop abusing the
people who are giving up cruel god"
At no time did he ever use such BIAS
pemous and profane language towards
the Supreme Being as the poet Ten
nysOn did lin private) when he was
discussing tie doctrine of eternal pun
ishment, as one of his friends recently
related it.
AS an agnostic, he had no positive
| beliefs about immortality. He said a
| If he practced the law of love. At
the grave of little child, he said:
The future has been filed with fear,
stained and polluted by the heartless
past From the wondrous trees of life
the buds and blossoms fall with ripen-
| ed fruit, and in the common bed of
by side. Why should We fear that
which will come to all that is? We
cannot tell. We do not know which
Is the greatest blessing, life or death.
I've cannot say that death is not good
| We do not know whether the grave
is the end of this life or the door Of
another, or whether the night here is
not somewhere else dawn.
No man standing where the horizon
OF life has, touched a grave has any
right to prophesy future filled with
pain and tears 1t may be that death
gives all there is of worth to life. If
those who press and strain against
our hearts could never die, perhaps
that love would wither from the earth.
| Maybe common faith treads from
out the paths between our hearts the
weeds OF selfshness. and should rath-
er live and love where Death is king
than have eternal life where love Is
not. We have no fear; We are all
children of the same mother and the
same fate awaits us all. We, too, have
our religion, and 1t is this: Help for
the living, hope for the dead"
When he was charged with making
agnostics, he said he only voiced the
agnostcism OF the age, which was In
the Churches and out of them,
1 a.g...a 4 a,