It is man's labor, man's work, man's achievement, that gives us the
little desire that we have to live. How often do we prefer _death_ to
living life in our former condition, after our efforts have brought us
to a point of vantage and comfort!
Death is always preferable to the living of a "dog's life!" And yet,
with it all, the little improvement we have to-day, with the still
remaining cruel conditions of Nature left to endure and fight, has not
been worth the struggle through the black and bleak past. The price has
been entirely too severe for the little that has been gained.
God gives man nothing; man gives man everything!
What sublime courage it was that made the pathfinders of the past
sacrifice their lives, in order that their principles of truth might
triumph, so that another link might be made in the chain of progress
that is endeavoring to break the spell of a tyrant power.
You must be made to know that for whatever desirable condition we have
to-day we are indebted to heroic men and women of the past, who, in the
days of infant progress, achieved a moral, physical and intellectual
triumph.
The chair you sit on, the cup you drink from, the fork you eat with, the
light you read by, the bed you sleep in, the heat that warms you, the
shoes on your feet, the clothes upon your back, the hat upon your head,
and every part and particle of improvement that has enriched the world
with a little touch of human comfort are the result of the heroic labors
of the men and women of the past, who victoriously fought the accursed
and chaotic forces of Nature, so as to make life and living a little
better.
But at every step and stage of progress the dogmatists have exerted
their influence toward retardation. What these dogmatists were unable
to accomplish through fear and suppression, they accomplished through
ostracism, and death. Human advancement and progress are foreign to the
"believing" mind. The dogmatists are concerned only with the
"supernatural." They want not the comforts of life here if they can
secure those benefits "hereafter."
It is the attitude of the religious to belittle anything that is
designed for human betterment. Their philosophy is, the more you suffer
here, the less you will suffer "hereafter." Their humility to and fear
of this "unseen" power is the most degrading trait in human beings. It
is a frame of mind not only despicable and a hindrance in the face of
progress, but even antagonistic to and destructive of all things worth
while.
To them, the insanity of belief is of paramount importance, and is more
sacred and holy than human life. Aye, human life has been so
subordinated to this superstitious belief that it meant death in the
past to those who rejected it.
Rather observe some "holy day" than perform "work" to help some fellow
human being in distress. Murder, rather than eat meat on a "forbidden
day"! This frame of mind is one of the mental mysteries that science has
yet to solve.