[* The sensation created by the speech of the Rev. Henry
Ward Beecher at the Academy of Music, in Brooklyn, when he
uttered a brilliant eulogy of Col. Robert Ingersoll and
publicly shook hands with him has not yet subsided. A
portion of the religious world is thoroughly stirred up at
what it considers a gross breach of orthodox propriety.
This feeling is especially strong among the class of
positivists who believe that
"An Atheist's laugh's a poor exchange For Deity offended."
Many believe that Mr. Beecher is at heart in full sympathy
and accord with Ingersoll's teachings, but has not courage
enough to say so at the sacrifice of his pastoral position.
The fact that these two men are the very head and front of
their respective schools of thought makes the matter an
important one. The denouncement of the doctrine of eternal
punishment, followed by the scene at the Academy, has about
it an aroma of suggestiveness that might work much harm
without an explanation. Since Colonel Ingersoll's recent
attack upon the _personnel_ of the clergy through the
"Shorter Catechism" the pulpit has been remarkably silent
regarding the great atheist. "Is the keen logic and broad
humanity of Ingersoll converting the brain and heart of
Christendom?" was recently asked. Did the hand that was
stretched out to him on the stage of the Academy reach
across the chasm which separates orthodoxy from infidelity?
Desiring to answer the last question if possible, a _Herald_
reporter visited Mr. Beecher and Colonel Ingersoll to learn
their opinion of each other. Neither of the gentlemen was
aware that the other was being interviewed.]
_Question_. What is your opinion of Mr. Beecher?
_Answer_. I regard him as the greatest man in any pulpit of the
world. He treated me with a generosity that nothing can exceed.
He rose grandly above the prejudices supposed to belong to his
class, and acted as only a man could act without a chain upon his
brain and only kindness in his heart.
I told him that night that I congratulated the world that it had
a minister with an intellectual horizon broad enough and a mental
sky studded with stars of genius enough to hold all creeds in scorn
that shocked the heart of man. I think that Mr. Beecher has
liberalized the English-speaking people of the world.
I do not think he agrees with me. He holds to many things that I
most passionately deny. But in common, we believe in the liberty
of thought.
My principal objections to orthodox religion are two--slavery here
and hell hereafter. I do not believe that Mr. Beecher on these
points can disagree with me. The real difference between us is--
he says God, I say Nature. The real agreement between us is--we
both say--Liberty.
_Question_. What is his forte?
_Answer_. He is of a wonderfully poetic temperament. In pursuing
any course of thought his mind is like a stream flowing through
the scenery of fairyland. The stream murmurs and laughs while the
banks grow green and the vines blossom.
His brain is controlled by his heart. He thinks in pictures. With
him logic means mental melody. The discordant is the absurd.
For years he has endeavored to hide the dungeon of orthodoxy with
the ivy of imagination. Now and then he pulls for a moment the
leafy curtain aside and is horrified to see the lizards, snakes,
basilisks and abnormal monsters of the orthodox age, and then he
utters a great cry, the protest of a loving, throbbing heart.
He is a great thinker, a marvelous orator, and, in my judgment,
greater and grander than any creed of any church.
Besides all this, he treated me like a king. Manhood is his forte,
and I expect to live and die his friend.