The Devil
If the Devil should die would God make another?

by Robert G. Ingersoll
(1899)

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll (Dresden Edition, 1900–1902), Volume 4.
Source: https://thegreatagnostic.com/works/the-devil/
Public domain. CC0 / Public Domain Mark 1.0.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

A little while ago I delivered a lecture on "Superstition," in which,
among other things, I said that the Christian world could not deny the
existence of the Devil; that the Devil was really the keystone of the
arch, and that to take him away was to destroy the entire system.

A great many clergymen answered or criticised this statement. Some of
these ministers avowed their belief in the existence of his Satanic
Majesty, while others actually denied his existence; but some, without
stating their own position, said that others believed, not in the
existence of a personal devil, but in the personification of evil, and
that all references to the Devil in the Scriptures could be explained
on the hypothesis that the Devil thus alluded to was simply a
personification of evil.

When I read these answers I thought of this line from Heine: "Christ
rode on an ass, but now asses ride on Christ."

Now, the questions are, first, whether the Devil does really exist;
second, whether the sacred Scriptures teach the existence of the Devil
and of unclean spirits, and third, whether this belief in devils is a
necessary part of what is known as "orthodox Christianity."

Now, where did the idea that a Devil exists come from? How was it
produced?

Fear is an artist—a sculptor—a painter. All tribes and nations, having
suffered, having been the sport and prey of natural phenomena, having
been struck by lightning, poisoned by weeds, overwhelmed by volcanoes,
destroyed by earthquakes, believed in the existence of a Devil, who was
the king—the ruler—of innumerable smaller devils, and all these devils
have been from time immemorial regarded as the enemies of men.

Along the banks of the Ganges wandered the Asuras, the most powerful
of evil spirits. Their business was to war against the Devas—that is
to say, the gods—and at the same time against human beings. There,
too, were the ogres, the Jakshas and many others who killed and devoured
human beings.

The Persians turned this around, and with them the Asuras were good and
the Devas bad. Ormuzd was the good—the god—Ahriman the evil—the devil
—and between the god and the devil was waged a perpetual war. Some of
the Persians thought that the evil would finally triumph, but others
insisted that the good would be the victor.

In Egypt the devil was Set—or, as usually called, Typhon—and the good
god was Osiris. Set and his legions fought against Osiris and against
the human race.

Among the Greeks, the Titans were the enemies of the gods. Ate was the
spirit that tempted, and such was her power that at one time she tempted
and misled the god of gods, even Zeus himself.

These ideas about gods and devils often changed, because in the days of
Socrates a demon was not a devil, but a guardian angel.

We obtain our Devil from the Jews, and they got him from Babylon.
The Jews cultivated the science of Demonology, and at one time it was
believed that there were nine kinds of demons: Beelzebub, prince of the
false gods of the other nations; the Pythian Apollo, prince of liars;
Belial, prince of mischief-makers; Asmodeus, prince of revengeful
devils; Satan, prince of witches and magicians; Meresin, prince of
aerial devils, who caused thunderstorms and plagues; Abaddon, who caused
wars, tumults and combustions; Diabolus, who drives to despair, and
Mammon, prince of the tempters.

It was believed that demons and sorcerers frequently came together and
held what were called "Sabbats;" that is to say, orgies. It was also
known that sorcerers and witches had marks on their bodies that had been
imprinted by the Devil.

Of course these devils were all made by the people, and in these devils
we find the prejudices of their makers. The Europeans always represent
their devils as black, while the Africans believed that theirs were
white.

So, it was believed that people by the aid of the Devil could assume any
shape that they wished. Witches and wizards were changed into wolves,
dogs, cats and serpents. This change to animal form was exceedingly
common.

Within two years, between 1598 and 1600, in one district of France, the
district of Jura, more than six hundred men and women were tried and
convicted before one judge of having changed themselves into wolves, and
all were put to death.

This is only one instance. There are thousands.

There is no time to give the history of this belief in devils. It
has been universal. The consequences have been terrible beyond the
imagination. Millions and millions of men, women and children, of
fathers and mothers, have been sacrificed upon the altar of this
ignorant and idiotic belief.

Of course, the Christians of to-day do not believe that the devils of
the Hindus, Egyptians, Persians or Babylonians existed. They think that
those nations created their own devils, precisely the same as they
did their own gods. But the Christians of to-day admit that for many
centuries Christians did believe in the existence of countless devils;
that the Fathers of the church believed as sincerely in the Devil and
his demons as in God and his angels; that they were just as sure about
hell as heaven.

I admit that people did the best they could to account for what they
saw, for what they experienced. I admit that the devils as well as the
gods were naturally produced—the effect of nature upon the human brain.
The cause of phenomena filled our ancestors not only with wonder, but
with terror. The miraculous, the supernatural, was not only believed in,
but was always expected.

A man walking in the woods at night—just a glimmering of the
moon—everything uncertain and shadowy—sees a monstrous form. One arm
is raised. His blood grows cold, his hair lifts. In the gloom he sees
the eyes of an ogre—eyes that flame with malice. He feels that the
something is approaching. He turns, and with a cry of horror takes to
his heels. He is afraid to look back. Spent, out of breath, shaking
with fear, he reaches his hut and falls at the door. When he regains
consciousness, he tells his story and, of course, the children believe.
When they become men and women they tell father's story of having seen
the Devil to their children, and so the children and grandchildren
not only believe, but think they know, that their father—their
grandfather—actually saw a devil.

An old woman sitting by the fire at night—a storm raging without—hears
the mournful sough of the wind. To her it becomes a voice. Her
imagination is touched, and the voice seems to utter words. Out of these
words she constructs a message or a warning from the unseen world. If
the words are good, she has heard an angel; if they are threatening and
malicious, she has heard a devil. She tells this to her children and
they believe. They say that mother's religion is good enough for them.
A girl suffering from hysteria falls into a trance—has visions of the
infernal world. The priest sprinkles holy water on her pallid face,
saying: "She hath a devil." A man utters a terrible cry; falls to the
ground; foam and blood issue from his mouth; his limbs are convulsed.
The spectators say: "This is the Devil's work."

Through all the ages people have mistaken dreams and visions of fear for
realities. To them the insane were inspired; epileptics were possessed
by devils; apoplexy was the work of an unclean spirit. For many
centuries people believed that they had actually seen the malicious
phantoms of the night, and so thorough was this belief—so vivid—that
they made pictures of them. They knew how they looked. They drew and
chiseled their hoofs, their horns—all their malicious deformities.

Now, I admit that all these monsters were naturally produced. The people
believed that hell was their native land; that the Devil was a king, and
that lie and his imps waged war against the children of men. Curiously
enough some of these devils were made out of degraded gods, and,
naturally enough, many devils were made out of the gods of other
nations. So that frequently the gods of one people were the devils of
another.

In nature there are opposing forces. Some of the forces work for what
man calls good; some for what he calls evil. Back of these forces our
ancestors put will, intelligence and design. They could not believe that
the good and evil came from the same being. So back of the good they put
God; back of the evil, the Devil.

II. The Atlas of Christianity is the Devil.

The religion known as "Christianity" was invented by God himself to
repair in part the wreck and ruin that had resulted from the Devil's
work.

Take the Devil from the scheme of salvation—from the atonement—from
the dogma of eternal pain—and the foundation is gone.

The Devil is the keystone of the arch.

He inflicted the wounds that Christ came to heal. He corrupted the human
race.

The question now is: Does the Old Testament teach the existence of the
Devil?

If the Old Testament teaches anything, it does teach the existence of
the Devil, of Satan, of the Serpent, of the enemy of God and man, the
deceiver of men and women.

Those who believe the Scriptures are compelled to say that this Devil
was created by God, and that God knew when he created him just what he
would do—the exact measure of his success; knew that he would be a
successful rival; knew that he would deceive and corrupt the children of
men; knew that, by reason of this Devil, countless millions of human
beings would suffer eternal torment in the prison of pain. And this God
also knew when he created the Devil, that he, God, would be compelled to
leave his throne, to be bom a babe in Palestine, and to suffer a cruel
death. All this he knew when he created the Devil. Why did he create
him?

It is no answer to say that this Devil was once an angel of light and
fell from his high estate because he was free. God knew what he would do
with his freedom when he made him and gave him liberty of action, and
as a matter of fact must have made him with the intention that he should
rebel; that he should fall; that he should become a devil; that he
should tempt and corrupt the father and mother of the human race;
that he should make hell a necessity, and that, in consequence of his
creation, countless millions of the children of men would suffer eternal
pain. Why did he create him?

Admit that God is infinitely wise. Has he ingenuity enough to frame an
excuse for the creation of the Devil?

Does the Old Testament teach the existence of a real, living Devil?

The first account of this being is found in Genesis, and in that account
he is called the "Serpent." He is declared to have been more subtle than
any beast of the field. According to the account, this Serpent had a
conversation with Eve, the first woman. We are not told in what language
they conversed, or how they understood each other, as this was the first
time they had met. Where did Eve get her language? Where did the Serpent
get his? Of course, such questions are impudent, but at the same time
they are natural.

The result of this conversation was that Eve ate the forbidden fruit and
induced Adam to do the same. This is what is called the "Fall," and for
this they were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

On account of this, God cursed the earth with weeds and thorns and
brambles, cursed man with toil, made woman a slave, and cursed maternity
with pain and sorrow.

How men—good men—can worship this God; how women—good women—can love
this Jehovah, is beyond my imagination.

In addition to the other curses the Serpent was cursed—condemned to
crawl on his belly and to eat dust. We do not know by what means, before
that time, he moved from place to place—whether he walked or flew;
neither do we know on what food he lived; all we know is that after that
time he crawled and lived on dust. Jehovah told him that this he should
do all the days of his life. It would seem from this that the Serpent
was not at that time immortal—that there was somewhere in the future a
milepost at which the life of this Serpent stopped. Whether he is living
yet or not, I am not certain.

It will not do to say that this is allegory, or a poem, because this
proves too much. If the Serpent did not in fact exist, how do we know
that Adam and Eve existed? Is all that is said about God allegory, and
poetic, or mythical? Is the whole account, after all, an ignorant dream?

Neither will it do to say that the Devil—the Serpent—was a
personification of evil. Do personifications of evil talk? Can a
personification of evil crawl on its belly? Can a personification of
evil eat dust? If we say that the Devil was a personification of
evil, are we not at the same time compelled to say that Jehovah was a
personification of good; that the Garden of Eden was the personification
of a place, and that the whole story is a personification of something
that did not happen? Maybe that Adam and Eve were not driven out of the
Garden; they may have suffered only the personification of exile. And
maybe the cherubim placed at the gate of Eden, with flaming swords, were
only personifications of policemen.

There is no escape. If the Old Testament is true, the Devil does exist,
and it is impossible to explain him away without at the same time
explaining God away.

So there are many references to devils, and spirits of divination and of
evil which I have not the time to call attention to; but, in the Book of
Job, Satan, the Devil has a conversation with God. It is this Devil that
brings the sorrows and losses on the upright man. It is this Devil that
raises the storm that wrecks the homes of Job's children. It is this
Devil that kills the children of Job. Take this Devil from that book,
and all meaning, plot and purpose fade away.

Is it possible to say that the Devil in Job was only a personification
of evil?

In Chronicles we are told that Satan provoked David to number Israel.
For this act of David, caused by the Devil, God did not smite the Devil,
did not punish David, but he killed 70,000 poor innocent Jews who had
done nothing but stand up and be counted.

Was this Devil who tempted David a personification of evil, or was
Jehovah a personification of the devilish?

In Zachariah we are told that Joshua stood before the angel of the Lord,
and that Satan stood at his right hand to resist him, and that the Lord
rebuked Satan.

If words convey any meaning, the Old Testament teaches the existence of
the Devil.

All the passages about witches and those having familiar spirits were
born of a belief in the Devil.

When a man who loved Jehovah wanted revenge on his enemy he fell on his
holy knees, and from a heart full of religion he cried: "Let Satan stand
at his right hand."

III. Take the Devil from the Drama of Christianity and the Plot is Gone.

The next question is: Does the New Testament teach the existence of the
Devil?

As a matter of fact, the New Testament is far more explicit than the
Old. The Jews, believing that Jehovah was God, had very little business
for a devil. Jehovah was wicked enough and malicious enough to take the
Devil's place.

The first reference in the New Testament to the Devil is in the fourth
chapter of Matthew. We are told that Jesus was led by the Spirit into
the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil.

It seems that he was not led by the Devil into the wilderness, but by
the Spirit; that the Spirit and the Devil were acting together in a kind
of pious conspiracy.

In the wilderness Jesus fasted forty days, and then the Devil asked him
to turn stones into bread. The Devil also took him to Jerusalem and set
him on a pinnacle of the temple, and tried to induce him to leap to the
earth. The Devil also took him to the top of a mountain and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world and offered them all to him in exchange
for his worship. Jesus refused. The Devil went away and angels came and
ministered to Christ.

Now, the question is: Did the author of this account believe in the
existence of the Devil, or did he regard this Devil as a personification
of evil, and did he intend that his account should be understood as an
allegory, or as a poem, or as a myth.

Was Jesus tempted? If he was tempted, who tempted him? Did anybody offer
him the kingdoms of the world?

Did the writer of the account try to convey to the reader the thought
that Christ was tempted by the Devil?

If Christ was not tempted by the Devil, then the temptation was bom in
his own heart. If that be true, can it be said that he was divine? If
these adders, these vipers, were coiled in his bosom, was he the son of
God? Was he pure?

In the same chapter we are told that Christ healed "those which were
possessed of devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had
the palsy." From this it is evident that a distinction was made between
those possessed with devils and those whose minds were affected and
those who were afflicted with diseases.

In the eighth chapter we are told that people brought unto Christ many
that were possessed with devils, and that he cast out the spirits
with his word. Now, can we say that these people were possessed with
personifications of evil, and that these personifications of evil were
cast out? Are these personifications entities? Have they form and shape?
Do they occupy space?

Then comes the story of the two men possessed with devils who came from
the tombs, and were exceeding fierce. It is said that when they saw
Jesus they cried out: "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of
God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?"

If these were simply personifications of evil, how did they know that
Jesus was the Son of God, and how can a personification of evil be
tormented?

We are told that at the same time, a good way off, many swine were
feeding, and that the devils besought Christ, saying: "If thou cast
us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine." And he said unto
them: "Go."

Is it possible that personifications of evil would desire to enter the
bodies of swine, and is it possible that it was necessary for them
to have the consent of Christ before they could enter the swine? The
question naturally arises: How did they enter into the body of the man?
Did they do that without Christ's consent, and is it a fact that Christ
protects swine and neglects human beings? Can personifications have
desires?

In the ninth chapter of Matthew there was a dumb man brought to Jesus,
possessed with a devil. Jesus cast out the devil and the dumb man spake.

Did a personification of evil prevent the dumb man from talking? Did it
in some way paralyze his organs of speech? Could it have done this had
it only been a personification of evil?

In the tenth chapter Jesus gives his twelve disciples power to cast
out unclean spirits. What were unclean spirits supposed to be? Did they
really exist? Were they shadows, impersonations, allegories?

When Jesus sent his disciples forth on the great mission to convert the
world, among other things he told them to heal the sick, to raise the
dead and to cast out devils. Here a distinction is made between the sick
and those who were possessed by evil spirits.

Now, what did Christ mean by devils?

In the twelfth chapter we are told of a very remarkable case. There was
brought unto Jesus one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb, and
Jesus healed him. The blind and dumb both spake and saw. Thereupon the
Pharisees said: "This fellow doth not cast out devils but by Beelzebub,
the prince of devils."

Jesus answered by saying: "Every kingdom divided against itself is
brought to desolation. If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against
himself."

Why did not Christ tell the Pharisees that he did not cast
out devils—only personifications of evil; and that with these
personifications Beelzebub had nothing to do?

Another question: Did the Pharisees believe in the existence of devils,
or had they the personification idea?

At the same time Christ said: "If I cast out devils by the Spirit of
God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you."

If he meant anything by these words he certainly intended to convey
the idea that what he did demonstrated the superiority of God over the
Devil.

Did Christ believe in the existence of the Devil?

In the fifteenth chapter is the account of the woman of Canaan who cried
unto Jesus, saying: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My
daughter is sorely vexed with a devil." On account of her faith Christ
made the daughter whole.

In the sixteenth chapter a man brought his son to Jesus. The boy was
a lunatic, sore vexed, oftentimes falling in the fire and water. The
disciples had tried to cure him and had failed. Jesus rebuked the devil,
and the devil departed out of him and the boy was cured. Was the devil
in this case a personification of evil?

The disciples then asked Jesus why they could not cast that devil out.
Jesus told them that it was because of their unbelief, and then added:
"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." From this
it would seem that some personifications were easier to expel than
others.

The first chapter of Mark throws a little light on the story of the
temptation of Christ. Matthew tells us that Jesus was led up of the
Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. In Mark we are
told who this Spirit was:

"And straightway coming up out of the water he saw the heavens opened,
and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him.

"And there came a voice from heaven, saying: 'Thou art my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.'

"And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness."

Why the Holy Ghost should hand Christ over to the tender mercies of
the Devil is not explained. And it is all the more wonderful when we
remember that the Holy Ghost was the third person in the Trinity and
Christ the second, and that this Holy Ghost was, in fact, God, and that
Christ also was, in fact, God, so that God led God into the wilderness
to be tempted of the Devil.

We are told that Christ was in the wilderness forty days tempted of
Satan, and was with the wild beasts, and that the angels ministered unto
him.

Were these angels real angels, or were they personifications of good, of
comfort?

So we see that the same Spirit that came out of heaven, the same Spirit
that said "This is my beloved son," drove Christ into the wilderness to
be tempted of Satan.

Was this Devil a real being? Was this Spirit who claimed to be the
father of Christ a real being, or was he a personification? Are the
heavens a real place? Are they a personification? Did the wild beasts
live and did the angels minister unto Christ? In other words, is the
story true, or is it poetry, or metaphor, or mistake, or falsehood?

It might be asked: Why did God wish to be tempted by the Devil? Was God
ambitious to obtain a victory over Satan? Was Satan foolish enough
to think that he could mislead God, and is it possible that the Devil
offered to give the world as a bribe to its creator and owner, knowing
at the same time that Christ was the creator and owner, and also knowing
that he (Christ) knew that he (the Devil) knew that he (Christ) was the
creator and owner?

Is not the whole story absurdly idiotic? The Devil knew that Christ was
God, and knew that Christ knew that the tempter was the Devil.

It may be asked how I know that the Devil knew that Christ was God. My
answer is found in the same chapter. There is an account of what a devil
said to Christ:

"Let us alone. What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth?
Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee. Thou art the holy one of God."
Certainly, if the little devils knew this, the Devil himself must have
had like information. Jesus rebuked this devil and said to him: "Hold
thy peace, and come out of him." And when the unclean spirit had torn
him and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

So we are told that Jesus cast out many devils, and suffered not the
devils to speak because they knew him. So it is said in the third
chapter that "unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him
and cried, saying, 'Thou art the son of God.'"

In the fifth chapter is an account of casting out the devils that
went into the swine, and we are told that "all the devils besought him
saying, 'Send us into the swine.' And Jesus gave them leave."

Again I ask: Was it necessary for the devils to get the permission of
Christ before they could enter swine? Again I ask: By whose permission
did they enter into the man?

Could personifications of evil enter a herd of swine, or could
personifications of evil make a bargain with Christ?

In the sixth chapter we are told that the disciples "cast out many
devils and anointed with oil many that were sick." Here again the
distinction is made between those possessed by devils and those
afflicted by disease. It will not do to say that the devils were
diseases or personifications.

In the seventh chapter a Greek woman whose daughter was possessed by a
devil besought Christ to cast this devil out. At last Christ said: "The
devil is gone out of thy daughter."

In the ninth chapter one of the multitude said unto Christ: "I have
brought unto thee my son which hath a dumb spirit. I spoke unto thy
disciples that they should cast him out, and they could not."

So they brought this boy before Christ, and when the boy saw him, the
spirit tare him, and he fell on the ground and "wallowed, foaming."

Christ asked the father: "How long is it ago since this came unto him?"
And he answered: "Of a child, and ofttimes it hath cast him into the
fire and into the waters to destroy him."

Then Christ said: "Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of
him, and enter no more into him."

"And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him; and he
was as one dead; insomuch that many said, 'He is dead.'"

Then the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast them out, and
Jesus said: "This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and
fasting."

Is there any doubt about the belief of the man who wrote this account?
Is there any allegory, or poetry, or myth in this story? The devil, in
this case, was not an ordinary, every-day devil. He was dumb and deaf;
it was no use to order him out, because he could not hear. The only way
was to pray and fast.

Is there such a thing as a dumb and deaf devil? If so, the devils must
be organized. They must have ears and organs of speech, and they must
be dumb because there is something the matter with the apparatus of
speaking, and they must be deaf because something is the matter with
their ears. It would seem from this that they are not simply spiritual
beings, but organized on a physical basis. Now, we know that the ears do
not hear. It is the brain that hears. So these devils must have brains;
that is to say, they must have been what we call "organized beings."

Now, it is hardly possible that personifications of evil are dumb or
deaf. That is to say, that they have physical imperfections.

In the same chapter John tells Christ that he saw one casting out devils
in Christ's name who did not follow with them, and Jesus said: "Forbid
him not."

By this he seemed to admit that some one, not a follower of his, was
casting out devils in his name, and he was willing that he should go on,
because, as he said: "For there is no man which shall do a miracle in my
name that can lightly speak evil of me." In the fourth chapter of Luke
the story of the temptation of Christ by the Devil is again told with a
few additions. All the writers, having been inspired, did not remember
exactly the same things.

Luke tells us that the Devil said unto Christ, having shown him all the
kingdoms of the world in a moment of time: "All this power will I
give thee and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me, and
to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou wilt worship me, all shall be
thine."

We are also told that when the Devil had ended all the temptation he
departed from him for a season. The date of his return is not given.

In the same chapter we are told that a man in the synagogue had a
"spirit of an unclean devil." This devil recognized Jesus and admitted
that he was the Holy One of God.

As a matter of fact, the apostles seemed to have relied upon the
evidence of devils to substantiate the divinity of their Lord.

Jesus said to this devil: "Hold thy peace and come out of him." And the
devil, after throwing the man down, came out.

In the forty-first verse of the same chapter it is said: "And devils
also came out of many, crying out and saying, 'Thou art Christ, the Son
of God.'"

It is also said that Christ rebuked them and suffered them not to speak,
for they knew that he was Christ.

Now, it will not do to say that these devils were diseases, because
diseases could not talk, and diseases would not recognize Christ as the
Son of God. After all, epilepsy is not a theologian. I admit that lunacy
comes nearer.

In the eighth chapter is told again the story of the devils and the
swine. In this account, Jesus asked the devil his name, and the devil
replied "Legion." In the ninth chapter is told the story of the devil
that the disciples could not cast out, but was cast out by Christ, and
in the thirteenth chapter it is said that the Pharisees came to Jesus,
telling him to go away, because Herod would kill him, and Jesus said
unto these Pharisees; "Go ye, and tell that fox, behold, I cast out
devils."

What did he mean by this? Did he mean that he cured diseases? No.
Because in the same sentence he says, "And I do cures to-day," making a
distinction between devils and diseases.

In the twenty-second chapter an account of the betrayal of Christ by
Judas is given in these words:

"Then entered Satan into Judas Iscariot, being of the number of the
twelve."

"And he went his way and communed with the chief priests and captains
how he might betray him unto them.

"And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money."

According to Christ the little devils knew that he was the Son of God.
Certainly, then, Satan, king of all the fiends, knew that Christ was
divine. And he not only knew that, but he knew all about the scheme of
salvation. He knew that Christ wished to make an atonement of blood by
the sacrifice of himself.

According to Christian theologians, the Devil has always done his utmost
to gain possession of the souls of men. At the time he entered into
Judas, persuading him to betray Christ, he knew that if Christ was
betrayed he would be crucified, and that he would make an atonement for
all believers, and that, as a result, he, the Devil, would lose all the
souls that Christ gained.

What interest had the Devil in defeating himself? If he could have
prevented the betrayal, then Christ would not have been crucified. No
atonement would have been made, and the whole world would have gone to
hell. The success of the Devil would have been complete. But, according
to this story, the Devil outwitted himself.

How thankful we should be to his Satanic Majesty. He opened for us the
gates of Paradise and made it possible for us to obtain eternal life.
Without Satan, without Judas, not a single human being could have become
an angel of light. All would have been wingless devils in the prison
of flame. In Jerusalem, to the extent of his power, Satan repaired the
wreck and ruin he had wrought in the Garden of Eden.

Certainly the writers of the New Testament believed in the existence of
the Devil.

In the eighth chapter it is said that out of Mary Magdalene were cast
seven devils. To me Mary Magdalene is the most beautiful character in
the New Testament. She is the one true disciple. In the darkness of
the crucifixion she lingered near. She was the first at the sepulcher.
Defeat, disaster, disgrace, could not conquer her love. And yet,
according to the account, when she met the risen Christ, he said: "Touch
me not." This was the reward of her infinite devotion.

In the Gospel of John we are told that John the Baptist said that he saw
the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and that it abode upon
Christ. But in the Gospel of John nothing is said about the Spirit
driving Christ into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. Possibly
John never heard of that, or forgot it, or did not believe it. But in
the thirteenth chapter I find this:

"And supper being ended, the Devil having now put into the heart of
Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him."...

In John there are no accounts of the casting out of devils by Christ or
his apostles. On that subject there is no word. Possibly John had his
doubts.

In the fifth chapter of Acts we are told that the people brought the
sick and those which were vexed with unclean spirits to the apostles,
and the apostles healed them. Here again there is made a clear
distinction between the sick and those possessed by devils. And in the
eighth chapter we are told that "unclean spirits, crying with a loud
voice, came out of them."

In the thirteen chapter Paul calls Elymas the child of the Devil, and in
the sixteenth chapter an account is given of "a damsel possessed with a
spirit of divination, who brought her masters much gain by soothsaying."

Paul and Silas, it would seem, cast out this spirit, and by reason of
that suffered great persecution.

In the nineteenth chapter certain vagabond Jews pronounced over those
who had evil spirits the name of Jesus, and the evil spirits answered:
"Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?"

"And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them so that they
fled naked and wounded."

Paul, writing to the Corinthians, in the eighth chapter says; "I would
not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup
of the Lord and the cup of devils. Ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's
table and the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?"

In the eleventh chapter he says that long hair is the glory of woman,
but that she ought to keep her head covered because of the angels.

In those intellectual days people believed in what were called the
Incubi and the Succubi. The Incubi were male angels and the Succubi
were female angels, and according to the belief of that time nothing so
attracted the Incubi as the beautiful hair of women, and for this reason
Paul said that women should keep their heads covered. Paul calls the
Devil the "prince of the power of the air."

So in Jude we are told "that Michael, the archangel, when contending
with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring
against him a railing accusation, but said, 'The Lord rebuke thee.'" Was
this devil with whom Michael contended a personification of evil, or a
poem, or a myth?

In First Peter we are told to be sober, vigilant, "because your
adversary, the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he
may devour."

Are people devoured by personifications or myths? Has an allegory an
appetite, or is a poem a cannibal?

So in Ephesians we are warned not to give place to the Devil, and in the
same book we are told: "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be
able to stand against the wiles of the Devil."

And in Hebrews it is said that "him that had the power of death—that
is, the Devil;" showing that the Devil has the power of death.

And in James it is said that if we resist the Devil he will flee from
us; and in First John we are told that he that committeth sin is of the
Devil, for the reason that the Devil sinneth from the beginning; and we
are also told that "for this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that
he may destroy the works of the Devil."

No Devil—no Christ.

In Revelation, the insanest of all books, I find the following: "And
there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the
dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels.

"And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil,
and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

"Therefore, rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the
inhabiters of the earth and of the sea; for the devil is come down unto
you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short
time."

From this it would appear that the Devil once lived in heaven, raised
a rebellion, was defeated and cast out, and the inspired writer
congratulates the angels that they are rid of him and commiserates us
that we have him.

In the twentieth chapter of Revelation is the following:

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

"And he laid Hold on the dragon—that old serpent, which is the Devil
and Satan—and bound him a thousand years.

"And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal
upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand
years should be fulfilled; and after he must be loosed a little season."

It is hard to understand how one could be confined in a pit without a
bottom, and how a chain of iron could hold one in eternal fire, or what
use there would be to lock a bottomless pit; but these are questions
probably suggested by the Devil.

We are further told that "when the thousand years are expired Satan
shall be loosed out of his prison."

"And the Devil was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the
beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night
forever."

In the light of the passages that I have read we can clearly see what
the writers of the New Testament believed. About this there can be
no honest difference. If the gospels teach the existence of God—of
Christ—they teach the existence of the Devil. If the Devil does
not exist—if little devils do not enter the bodies of men—the New
Testament may be inspired, but it is not true.

The early Christians proved that Christ was divine because he cast out
devils. The evidence they offered was more absurd than the statement
they sought to prove. They were like the old man who said that he saw
a grindstone floating down the river. Some one said that a grindstone
would not float. "Ah," said the old man, "but the one I saw had an iron
crank in it."

Of course, I do not blame the authors of the gospels. They lived in' a
superstitious age, at a time when Rumor was the historian, when Gossip
corrected the "proof," and when everything was believed except the
facts.

The apostles, like their fellows, believed in miracles and magic.
Credulity was regarded as a virtue.

The Rev. Mr. Parkhurst denounces the apostles as worthless cravens.
Certainly I do not agree with him. I think that they were good men. I do
not believe that any one of them ever tried to reform Jerusalem on the
Parkhurst plan. I admit that they honestly believed in devils—that they
were credulous and superstitious.

There is one story in the New Testament that illustrates my meaning.

In the fifth chapter of John is the following:

"Now, there is at Jerusalem, by the sheep market, a pool, which is
called in the Hebrew tongue 'Bethesda,' having five porches.

"In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk—of blind, halt,
withered—waiting for the moving of the water.

"For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled
the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped
in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

"And a certain man was there which had an infirmity thirty and eight
years.

"When Jesus saw him he and knew that he had been now a long time in that
case, he saith unto him: 'Wilt thou be made whole??'

"The impotent man answered him: 'Sir, I have no man when the water is
troubled to put me into the pool; but while I am coming another steppeth
down before me.'

"Jesus saith unto him: 'Rise, take up thy bed and walk.'

"And immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked."

Does any sensible human being now believe this story? Was the water of
Bethesda troubled by an angel? Where did the angel come from? Where do
angels live? Did the angel put medicine in the water—just enough to
cure one? Did he put in different medicines for different diseases, or
did he have a medicine, like those that are patented now, that cured all
diseases just the same?

Was the water troubled by an angel? Possibly, what apostles and
theologians call an angel a scientist knows as carbonic acid gas.

John does not say that the people thought the water was troubled by an
angel, but he states it as a fact. And he tells us, also, as a fact,
that the first invalid that got in the water after it had been troubled
was cured of what disease he had.

What is the evidence of John worth?

Again I say that if the Devil does not exist the gospels are not
inspired. If devils do not exist Christ was either honestly mistaken,
insane or an impostor.

If devils do not exist the fall of man is a mistake and the atonement an
absurdity. If devils do not exist hell becomes only a dream of revenge.

Beneath the structure called "Christianity" are four corner-stones—the
Father, Son, Holy Ghost and Devil.

IV. The Evidence of the Church.

The Devil, was Forced to Father the Failures of God.

All the fathers of the church believed in devils. All the saints won
their crowns by overcoming devils. All the popes and cardinals, bishops
and priests, believed in devils. Most of their time was occupied in
fighting devils. The whole Catholic world, from the lowest layman to the
highest priest, believed in devils. They proved the existence of devils
by the New Testament. They knew that these devils were citizens of hell.
They knew that Satan was their king. They knew that hell was made for
the Devil and his angels.

The founders of all the Protestant churches—the makers of all the
orthodox creeds—all the leading Protestant theologians, from Luther to
the president of Princeton College—were, and are, firm believers in
the Devil. All the great commentators believed in the Devil as firmly as
they did in God.

Under the "Scheme of Salvation" the Devil was a necessity. Somebody had
to be responsible for the thorns and thistles, for the cruelties and
crimes. Somebody had to father the mistakes of God. The Devil was the
scapegoat of Jehovah.

For hundreds of years, good, honest, zealous Christians contended
against the Devil. They fought him day and night, and the thought that
they had beaten him gave to their dying lips the smile of victory.

For centuries the church taught that the natural man was totally
depraved; that he was by nature a child of the Devil, and that new-born
babes were tenanted by unclean spirits.

As late as the middle of the sixteenth century, every infant that was
baptized was, by that ceremony, freed from a devil. When the holy water
was applied the priest said: "I command thee, thou unclean spirit, in
the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that thou
come out and depart from this infant, whom our Lord Jesus Christ has
vouchsafed to call to his holy baptism, to be made a member of his body,
and of his holy congregation."

At that time the fathers—the theologians, the commentators—agreed that
unbaptized children, including those that were born dead, went to hell.

And these same fathers—theologians and commentators—said: "God is
love."

These babes were pure as Pity's tears, innocent as their mother's
loving smiles, and yet the makers of our creeds believed and taught
that leering, unclean fiends inhabited their dimpled flesh. O, the
unsearchable riches of Christianity!

For many centuries the church filled the world with devils—with
malicious spirits that caused storm and tempest, disease, accident and
death—that filled the night with visions of despair; with prophecies
that drove the dreamers mad. These devils assumed a thousand
forms—countless disguises in their efforts to capture souls and destroy
the church. They deceived sometimes the wisest and the best; made
priests forget their vows. They melted virtue's snow in passion's fire,
and in cunning ways entrapped and smirched the innocent and good. These
devils gave witches and wizards their supernatural powers, and told them
the secrets of the future.

Millions of men and women were destroyed because they had sold
themselves to the Devil.

At that time Christians really believed the New Testament. They knew
it was the inspired word of God, and so believing, so knowing—as they
thought—they became insane.

No man has genius enough to describe the agonies that have been
inflicted on innocent men and women because of this absurd belief. How
it darkened the mind, hardened the heart, and poisoned life! It made the
Universe a madhouse presided over by an insane God.

Think! Why would a merciful God allow his children to be the victims
of devils? Why would a decent God allow his worshipers to believe in
devils, and by reason of that belief to persecute, torture and burn
their fellow-men?

Christians did not ask these questions. They believed the Bible; they
had confidence in the words of Christ.

V. Personifications of Evil.

The Orthodox Ostrich Thrusts His Head into the Sand.

Many of the clergy are now ashamed to say that they believe in devils.
The belief has become ignorant and vulgar. They are ashamed of the lake
of fire and brimstone. It is too savage.

At the same time they do not wish to give up the inspiration of the
Bible. They give new meanings to the inspired words. Now they say that
devils were only personifications of evil. If the devils were only
personifications of evil, what were the angels? Was the angel who told
Joseph who the father of Christ was, a personification? Was the Holy
Ghost only the personification of a father? Was the angel who told
Joseph that Herod was dead a personification of news?

Were the angels who rolled away the stone and sat clothed in shining
garments in the empty sepulcher of Christ a couple of personifications?
Were all the angels described in the Old Testament imaginary
shadows—bodiless personifications? If the angels of the Bible are real
angels, the devils are real devils.

Let us be honest with ourselves and each other and give to the Bible its
natural, obvious meaning. Let us admit that the writers believed what
they wrote. If we believe that they were mistaken, let us have the
honesty and courage to say so. Certainly we have no right to change or
avoid their meaning, or to dishonestly correct their mistakes. Timid
preachers sully their own souls when they change what the writers of the
Bible believed to be facts to allegories, parables, poems and myths.

It is impossible for any man who believes in the inspiration of the
Bible to explain away the Devil.

If the Bible is true the Devil exists. There is no escape from this.

If the Devil does not exist the Bible is not true. There is no escape
from this.

I admit that the Devil of the Bible is an impossible contradiction; an
impossible being.

This Devil is the enemy of God and God is his. Now, why should this
Devil, in another world, torment sinners, who are his friends, to please
God, his enemy?

If the Devil is a personification, so is hell and the lake of fire and
brimstone. All these horrors fade into allegories; into ignorant lies.

Any clergyman who can read the Bible and then say that devils are
personifications of evil is himself a personification of stupidity or
hypocrisy.

VI.

Does any intelligent man now, whose brain has not been deformed by
superstition, believe in the existence of the Devil? What evidence have
we that he exists? Where does this Devil live? What does he do for a
livelihood? What does he eat? If he does not eat, he cannot think. He
cannot think without the expenditure of force. He cannot create force;
he must borrow it—that is to say, he must eat. How does lie move from
place to place? Does he walk or does he fly, or has he invented some
machine? What object has he in life? What idea of success? This Devil,
according to the Bible, knows that he is to be defeated; knows that
the end is absolute and eternal failure; knows that every step he takes
leads to the infinite catastrophe. Why does he act as he does?

Our fathers thought that everything in this world came from some
other realm; that all ideas of right and wrong came from above; that
conscience dropped from the clouds; that the darkness was filled with
imps from perdition, and the day with angels from heaven; that souls had
been breathed into man by Jehovah.

What there is in this world that lives and breathes was produced here.
Life was not imported. Mind is not an exotic. Of this planet man is a
native. This world is his mother. The maker did not descend from the
heavens. The maker was and is here. Matter and force in their countless
forms, affinities and repulsions produced the living, breathing world.

How can we account for devils? Is it possible that they creep into the
bodies of men and swine? Do they stay in the stomach or brain, in the
heart or liver?

Are these devils immortal or do they multiply and die? Were they all
created at the same time or did they spring from a single pair? If they
are subject to death what becomes of them after death? Do they go to
some other world, are they annihilated, or can they get to heaven by
believing on Christ?

In the brain of science the devils have never lived. There you will find
no goblins, ghosts, wraiths or imps—no witches, spooks or sorcerers.
There the supernatural does not exist. No man of sense in the whole
world believes in devils any more than he does in mermaids,
vampires, gorgons, hydras, naiads, dryads, nymphs, fairies or the
anthropophagi—any more than he does in the Fountain of Youth, the
Philosopher's Stone, Perpetual Motion or Fiat Money.

There is the same difference between religion and science that there
is between a madhouse and a university—between a fortune teller and
a mathematician—between emotion and philosophy—between guess and
demonstration.

The devils have gone, and with them they have taken the miracles of
Christ. They have carried away our Lord. They have taken away the
inspiration of the Bible, and we are left in the darkness of nature
without the consolation of hell.

But let me ask the clergy a few questions:

How did your Devil, who was at one time an angel of light, come to
sin? There was no other devil to tempt him. He was in perfectly good
society—in the company of God—of the Trinity. All of his associates
were perfect. How did he fall? He knew that God was infinite, and yet
he waged war against him and induced about a third of the angels to
volunteer. He knew that he could not succeed; knew that he would be
defeated and cast out; knew that he was fighting for failure.

Why was God so unpopular? Why were the angels so bad?

According to the Christians, these angels were spirits. They had never
been corrupted by flesh—by the passion of love. Why were they so
wicked?

Why did God create those angels, knowing that they would rebel? Why
did he deliberately sow the seeds of discord in heaven, knowing that he
would cast them into the lake of eternal fire—knowing that for them he
would create the eternal prison, whose dungeons would echo forever the
sobs and shrieks of endless pain?

How foolish is infinite wisdom!

How malicious is mercy!

How revengeful is boundless love!

Again, I say that no sensible man in all the world believes in devils.

Why does God allow these devils to enjoy themselves at the expense of
his ignorant children? Why does he allow them to leave their prison?
Does he give them furloughs or tickets-of-leave?

Does he want his children misled and corrupted so that he can have the
pleasure of damning their souls?

VII. The Man of Straw.

Some of the preachers who have answered me say that I am fighting a man
of straw.

I am fighting the supernatural—the dogma of inspiration—the belief in
devils—the atonement, salvation by faith—the forgiveness of sins and
the savagery of eternal pain. I am fighting the absurd,-the monstrous,
the cruel.

The ministers pretend that they have advanced—that they do not believe
the things that I attack. In this they are not honest.

Who is the "man of straw"?

The man of straw is their master. In every orthodox pulpit stands this
man of straw—stands beside the preacher—stands with a club, called a
"creed," in his upraised hand. The shadow of this club falls athwart the
open Bible—falls upon the preacher's brain, darkens the light of his
reason and compels him to betray himself.

The man of straw rules every sectarian school and college—every
orthodox church. He is the censor who passes on every sermon. Now and
then some minister puts a little sense in his discourse—tries to take
a forward step. Down comes the club, and the man of straw demands an
explanation—a retraction. If the minister takes it back—good. If he
does not, he is brought to book. The man of straw put the plaster of
silence on the lips of Prof. Briggs, and he was forced to leave the
church or remain dumb.

The man of straw closed the mouth of Prof. Smith, and he has not opened
it since.

The man of straw would not allow the Presbyterian creed to be changed.

The man of straw took Father McGlynn by the collar, forced him to his
knees, made him take back his words and ask forgiveness for having been
abused.

The man of straw pitched Prof. Swing out of the pulpit and drove the
Rev. Mr. Thomas from the Methodist Church.

Let me tell the orthodox ministers that they are trying to cover their
retreat.

You have given up the geology and astronomy of the Bible. You have
admitted that its history is untrue. You are retreating still. You are
giving up the dogma of inspiration; you have your doubts about the flood
and Babel; you have given up the witches and wizards; you are beginning
to throw away the miraculous; you have killed the little devils, and in
a little while you will murder the Devil himself.

In a few years you will take the Bible for what it is worth. The good
and true will be treasured in the heart; the foolish, the infamous, will
be thrown away.

The man of straw will then be dead.

Of course, the real old petrified, orthodox Christian will cling to the
Devil. He expects to have all of his sins charged to the Devil, and at
the same time he will be credited with all the virtues of Christ. Upon
this showing on the books, upon this balance, he will be entitled to
his halo and harp. What a glorious, what an equitable, transaction! The
sorcerer Superstition changes debt to credit. He waves his wand, and he
who deserves the tortures of hell receives an eternal reward.

But if a man lacks faith the scheme is exactly reversed. While in one
case a soul is rewarded for the virtues of another, in the other case a
soul is damned for the sins of another. This is justice when it blossoms
in mercy.

Beyond this idiocy cannot go.

VIII. Keep the Devils Out of Children.

William Kingdon Clifford, one of the greatest men of this century, said:
"If there is one lesson that history forces upon us in every page, it is
this: Keep your children away from the priest, or he will make them the
enemies of mankind."

In every orthodox Sunday school children are taught to believe in
devils. Every little brain becomes a menagerie, filled with wild beasts
from hell. The imagination is polluted with the deformed, the monstrous
and malicious. To fill the minds of children with leering fiends—with
mocking devils—is one of the meanest and basest of crimes. In these
pious prisons—these divine dungeons—these Protestant and Catholic
inquisitions—children are tortured with these cruel lies. Here they
are taught that to really think is wicked; that to express your honest
thought is blasphemy; and that to live a free and joyous life, depending
on fact instead of faith, is the sin against the Holy Ghost.

Children thus taught—thus corrupted and deformed—become the enemies
of investigation—of progress. They are no longer true to themselves.
They have lost the veracity of the soul. In the language of Prof.
Clifford, "they are the enemies of the human race."

So I say to all fathers and mothers, keep your children away from
priests; away from orthodox Sunday schools; away from the slaves of
superstition.

They will teach them to believe in the Devil; in hell; in the prison
of God; in the eternal dungeon, where the souls of men are to suffer
forever. These frightful things are a part of Christianity. Take these
lies from the creed and the whole scheme falls into shapeless ruin. This
dogma of hell is the infinite of savagery—the dream of insane revenge.
It makes God a wild beast—an infinite hyena. It makes Christ as
merciless as the fangs of a viper. Save poor children from the pollution
of this horror. Protect them from this infinite lie.

IX. Conclusion.

I admit that there are many good and beautiful passages in the Old
and New Testament; that from the lips of Christ dropped many pearls of
kindness—of love. Every verse that is true and tender I treasure in my
heart. Every thought, behind which is the tear of pity, I appreciate and
love. But I cannot accept it all. Many utterances attributed to Christ
shock my brain and heart. They are absurd and cruel.

Take from the New Testament the infinite savagery, the shoreless
malevolence of eternal pain, the absurdity of salvation by faith, the
ignorant belief in the existence of devils, the immorality and cruelty
of the atonement, the doctrine of non-resistance that denies to virtue
the right of self-defence, and how glorious it would be to know that the
remainder is true! Compared with this knowledge, how everything else in
nature would shrink and shrivel! What ecstasy it would be to know that
God exists; that he is our father and that he loves and cares for the
children of men! To know that all the paths that human beings travel,
turn and wind as they may, lead to the gates of stainless peace! How the
heart would thrill and throb to know that Christ was the conqueror
of Death; that at his grave the all-devouring monster was baffled and
beaten forever; that from that moment the tomb became the door that
opens on eternal life! To know this would change all sorrow into
gladness. Poverty, failure, disaster, defeat, power, place and wealth
would become meaningless sounds. To take your babe upon your knee and
say: "Mine and mine forever!" What joy! To clasp the woman you love in
your arms and to know that she is yours and forever—yours though suns
darken and constellations vanish! This is enough: To know that the loved
and dead are not lost; that they still live and love and wait for you.
To know that Christ dispelled the darkness of death and filled the grave
with eternal light. To know this would be all that the heart could bear.
Beyond this joy cannot go. Beyond this there is no place for hope.

How beautiful, how enchanting, Death would be! How we would long to see
his fleshless skull! What rays of glory would stream from his sightless
sockets, and how the heart would long for the touch of his stilling
hand! The shroud would become a robe of glory, the funeral procession a
harvest home, and the grave would mark the end of sorrow, the beginning
of eternal joy.

And yet it were better far that all this should be false than that all
of the New Testament should be true.

It is far better to have no heaven than to have heaven and hell; better
to have no God than God and Devil; better to rest iii eternal sleep than
to be an angel and know that the ones you love are suffering eternal
pain; better to live a free and loving life—a life that ends forever at
the grave—than to be an immortal slave.

The master cannot be great enough to make slavery sweet. I have no
ambition to become a winged servant, a winged slave. Better eternal
sleep. But they say, "If you give up these superstitions, what have you
left?"

Let me now give you the declaration of a creed.

Declaration of the Free
    We have no falsehoods to defend—
    We want the facts;
    Our force, our thought, we do not spend
    In vain attacks.
    And we will never meanly try
    To save some fair and pleasing lie.
    The simple truth is what we ask,
    Not the ideal;
    We've set ourselves the noble task
    To find the real.
    If all there is is naught but dross,
    We want to know and bear our loss.
    We will not willingly be fooled,
    By fables nursed;
    Our hearts, by earnest thought, are schooled
    To bear the worst;
    And we can stand erect and dare
    All things, all facts that really are.
    We have no God to serve or fear,
    No hell to shun,
    No devil with malicious leer.
    When life is done
    An endless sleep may close our eyes,
    A sleep with neither dreams nor sighs.
    We have no master on the land—
    No king in air—
    Without a manacle we stand,
    Without a prayer,
    Without a fear of coming night,
    We seek the truth, we love the light.
    We do not bow before a guess,
    A vague unknown;
    A senseless force we do not bless
    In solemn tone.
    When evil comes we do not curse,
    Or thank because it is no worse.
    When cyclones rend—when lightning blights,
    'Tis naught but fate;
    There is no God of wrath who smites
    In heartless hate.
    Behind the things that injure man
    There is no purpose, thought, or plan.
    We waste no time in useless dread,
    In trembling fear;
    The present lives, the past is dead,
    And we are here,
    All welcome guests at life's great feast—
    We need no help from ghost or priest.
    Our life is joyous, jocund, free—
    Not one a slave
    Who bends in fear the trembling knee,
    And seeks to save
    A coward soul from future pain;
    Not one will cringe or crawl for gain.
    The jeweled cup of love we drain,
    And friendship's wine
    Now swiftly flows in every vein
    With warmth divine.
    And so we love and hope and dream
    That in death's sky there is a gleam.
    We walk according to our light,
    Pursue the path
    That leads to honor's stainless height,
    Careless of wrath
    Or curse of God, or priestly spite,
    Longing to know and do the right.
    We love our fellow-man, our kind,
    Wife, child, and friend.
    To phantoms we are deaf and blind,
    But we extend
    The helping hand to the distressed;
    By lifting others we are blessed.
    Love's sacred flame within the heart
    And friendship's glow;
    While all the miracles of art
    Their wealth bestow
    Upon the thrilled and joyous brain,
    And present raptures banish pain.
    We love no phantoms of the skies,
    But living flesh,
    With passion's soft and soulful eyes,
    Lips warm and fresh,
    And cheeks with health's red flag unfurled,
    The breathing angels of this world.
    The hands that help are better far
    Than lips that pray.
    Love is the ever gleaming star
    That leads the way,
    That shines, not on vague worlds of bliss,
    But on a paradise in this.
    We do not pray, or weep, or wail;
    We have no dread,
    No fear to pass beyond the veil
    That hides the dead.
    And yet we question, dream, and guess,
    But knowledge we do not possess.
    We ask, yet nothing seems to know;
    We cry in vain.
    There is no "master of the show"
    Who will explain,
    Or from the future tear the mask;
    And yet we dream, and still we ask
    Is there beyond the silent night
    An endless day?
    Is death a door that leads to light?
    We cannot say.
    The tongueless secret locked in fate
    We do not know.—
    We hope and wait.
