The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1914-10-15

n0 hOudu CdIuOllC Cnurcn is the
eternal enemy Of all three. It is es-
sentially religion of darkness. For
hundreds Of years the Romish
Church ruled the world and this is
the period we speak of as the Ozark
Ages" Its spectacular ceremonies,
its appeal to superstition, it's love of
darkness, it's hatred of light, it's
cruel inquisition, kept the world for
four hundred years wrapped in men
tai, moral and spiritual ignorance
almost unbelievable. Any of the few
t1en of those days who were so for
tunate as to obtain little superior
education and were bold enough to
declare their convictions in advance
Of their church were at once put
under the ban, were severely perse-
cuted and in many cases eXcommuni-
Gated. She condemned the great
scientists Calico, Copernicus, KEEP
Ter and Newton. So afraid was that
church the <'heresies'' they were
teaching Chat the earth was
round and revolved around the SUM
would become popular and be ac-
cepted by the people, that Pope Ur-
ban VIII. formulated the following
decree In the name and by the
authority Of Jesus Christ, the penti-
tude of which resides in his vicar,
the pope, we declare that the teach
ing that the earth is not the center
of the world, that it moves with a
diurnal motion, is absurd, philoso-
phically false and erroneous in
faith"
No more singing rebuke to the
destiny Of Romanism was ever heard
than that administered by Victor
Hugo: "Ah, we know you. We know
the clerical party. 1t is an old party
This is that which has found for
truth those two marvellous supper
ers--ignorance and error Every
step which the intelligence of Europe
has taken has been in spite of it,
It's history is written in the history
of human progress; but it is written
on the back of the leaf 1t is OPP
posed to it all. This is that which
caused Prinelli to be scourged for
having said the stars would not fall.
This is that which put Campanella
seven times to torture for saying
that the number Of worlds was inf
mite and for having caught a glimpse
of the secret of creation. This is it
which prosecuted Harvey for having
proved the circulation of the blood.
In the name of Jesus it shut up Cali
leo. In the name of Saint Paul it
imprisoned Christopher Columbus.
To discover law Of the heavens was
an impiety, to find a world was a
heresy. This is that which anathe-
matized Pascal in the name of reli-
gton; MOntaigne in the name Of NOR
atty; MOliere in the name of both
morality and religion. For a long
time, already you have tried to put
a gag upon the human intellect: you
wish to be the master of education,
and there is not a poet, not an au-
thor, not athinker, not philosopher,
that you accept. All that has been
written, found, dreamed, deduced,
inspired, imagined, invented by ge-
MUS. the treasure of civilization the
venerable inheritance of genera
tons, the common patrimony of
knowledge, you reject"
This scathing denunciation Of Ro-
manism is not one bit too severe.
The fact is patent before our very
eyes today. The most ignorant, the
most helpless, the most undeveloped
countries Of the world that claim any
civilization at all are those where
Romanism has reigned the longest
Lock at them and contrast them
with the Protestant countries of the
globe. The United States Bureau of
Education collects the following sta
tisticS showing the ratio Of illiteracy