(1897.)
I. Our fathers Ages Ago--From Savagery to Civilization--For the
Blessings we enjoy, Whom should we Thank?--What Good has the Church
Done?-Did Christ add to the Sum of Useful Knowledge--The Saints--What
have the Councils and Synods Done?--What they Gave us, and What they
did Not--Shall we Thank them for the Hell Here and for the Hell of
the Future?--II. What Does God Do?--The Infinite Juggler and his
Puppets--What the Puppets have Done--Shall we Thank these
Gods?--Shall we Thank Nature?--III. Men who deserve our Thanks--The
Infidels, Philanthropists and Scientists--The Discoverers and
Inventors--Magellan--Copernicus--Bruno--Galileo--Kepler, Herschel,
Newton, and LaPlace--Lyell--What the Worldly have Done--Origin and
Vicissitudes of the Bible--The Septuagint--Investigating the Phenomena
of Nature--IV. We thank the Good Men and Good Women of the Past--The
Poets, Dramatists, and Artists--The Statesmen--Paine, Jefferson,
Ericsson, Lincoln. Grant--Voltaire, Humboldt, Darwin.