four rivers arising from the same spring.... Those rivers are, by Moses,
called Pishon, Gishon, Hiddekal, and Perath, which the ancient authors
interpret by Ganges, Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates. Nor do I truly think
without some reason, for Moses seems to have proposed nothing more than
the bringing four of the most celebrated rivers of the whole earth to
the watering of his garden. Ah! but, say you, these four rivers do not
spring from the same source, or come from the same place; 'tis true, nor
any other four rivers that are named by the interpreters. Wherefore
this objection will everywhere hold good, as well against the ancient
as modern writers.--But although you should reduce these rivers to only
two, as some do, to Tigris and Euphrates, yet neither have these two
rivers the same fountain-head, but this is really and truly an evasion,
instead of an explanation, to reduce, contrary to the history of Moses,
a greater number of rivers to a smaller, only that they may the more
conveniently be reduced to the same spring; for these are the words of
Moses, 'But there comes a river out of Eden to water the garden, and
from thence it divides itself into four branches, the name of the first
is Pishon,' etc., whereby it is apparent that either in the exit or in
the entrance of the garden there were four rivers, and that these four
rivers did one and all proceed from the same fountain-head in Eden. Now,
pray tell me in what part of the earth is this country of Eden, where
four rivers arise from one and the same spring? But do not go about to
say that only two came from that fountain of Eden, and that the other
two arose from the Tigris or the Euphrates, where they split near the
sea, and make, as it were, a bifrontic figure, since this does by no
means answer the words of Moses. Besides, he mentions in the first place
Pishon and Gishon, and afterwards Tigris and Euphrates as lesser rivers;
whereas you, on the contrary, will have those to be derived from these
last as rivers of an inferior order, which is a manifest distorting of
the historical account. But to end all these difficulties concerning
the channels of the rivers which watered Paradise, you will, perhaps, at
last say, that the springs, as well as the courses of rivers, have been
changed by the universal deluge: and that we cannot now be certain
where it was they burst over the earth, and what countries they passed
through. For my part I am much of your opinion, providing you confess
there happened in the deluge such a disruption of the earth as we
suppose there did. But from only an inundation of waters such a change
could never happen. Besides, what geography will you have Moses to
describe these rivers, ante-diluvian or post-diluvian'?--If the latter,
there has happened no considerable alteration of the earth since the
time of Moses and the flood. If the former, you then render Moses's
description of the earth totally superfluous and unuseful to discover
the situation of Paradise. Lastly, it is hard to conceive that any
rivers, whether these or others, can have subsisted ever since the first
beginning of the world; whether you have regard to their water or their
channels. The channels of rivers are made by daily attrition; for if
they had been made as ditches and furrows are, by earth dug out and
heaped on each side, there would certainly have been seen everywhere
great banks of earth. But we plainly see that this is only fortuitous;
forasmuch as they often run through plains, and the river banks are no
more than level with the adjacent fields; besides, whence could there be
had water at the beginning of the world to fill these channels? If you
say, that on the third day, when the great bed of the ocean was made,
the smaller channels of the rivers were also: and as the greatest
part of the waters of the abyss fell into the gulf of the seas, so the
remaining part descended into these other channels, and therewith formed
the primitive rivers. Admitting this, yet the waters would not only be
as salt as those of the sea, but there would be no continual springs
to nourish these rivers; insomuch as when the first stream of water had
flown off, there being no fresh supplies of water to succeed it, these
rivers would have been immediately dried up; I say because there were
no perpetual springs; for whether springs proceed from rain, or from the
sea, they could neither way have rose in so short a time; not from rain,
for it had not as yet rained; neither was it possible, that in the short
space of one day, the waters of the abyss should run down from the most
inland places to the sea, and afterwards returning through ways that
were never yet open to them, should strain themselves through the bowels
of the earth, and ascend to the heads of their rivers. But of rivers we
have said enough; let us now proceed to the rest.
"We have, in the third place, a very strange account of a serpent that
talked with Eve, and enticed her to oppose God. I must confess, we have
not yet known that this beast could ever speak, or utter any sort
of voice, beside hissing. But what shall we think Eve knew of this
business? If she had taken it for a dumb animal, the very speech of it
would have so frightened her, that she would have fled from it. If,
on the other side, the serpent had from the beginning been capable of
talking and haranguing, and only lost his speech for the crime of having
corrupted the faith of Eve, certainly Moses would have been far from
passing over in silence this sort of punishment, and only mentioning the
curse of licking the dust. Besides this, will you have the particular
species of serpents, or all the beasts in Paradise, to have been imbued
with the faculty of speaking, like the trees in Dodona's grove? If you
say all, pray what offence had the rest been guilty of, that they also
should lose the use of their tongues? If only the serpent enjoyed this
privilege, how came it about that so vile an animal (by nature the most
reverse and remote from man) should, before all his other fellow brutes,
deserve to be master of so great a favor and benefit as that of speech?
"Lastly, since all discoursing and arguing includes the use of reason,
by this very thing you make the serpent a rational creature. But
I imagine you will solve this difficulty another way; for (say the
sticklers for a literal interpretation) under the disguise of a serpent
was hid the Devil, or an evil spirit, who, using the mouth and organs
of this animal, spoke to the woman as though it were a human voice. But
what testimony or what authority have they for this? The most literal
reading of Moses, which they so closely adhere to, does not express
anything of it; for what else does he seem to say, but that he
attributes the seducing of Eve to the natural craftiness of the serpent,
and nothing else? For these are Moses's words:--'Now the serpent was
more cunning than any beast of the field that the Lord God had made.'
Afterwards, continues he:--'The serpent said to the woman, yea, hath God
said,' etc.--But besides, had Eve heard an animal, by nature dumb, speak
through the means of some evil spirit, she would instantly have
fled with horror from the monster.--When, on the contrary, she very
familiarly received it; they argued very amicably together, as though
nothing new or astonishing had taken place. Again, if you say that all
this proceeded from the ignorance or weakness of a woman, it would on
the other side have been but just, that some good angels should have
succoured a poor, ignorant, weak woman; those just guardians of human
affairs would not have permitted so unequal a conflict; for what if
an evil spirit, crafty and knowing in business, had, by his subtlety,
overreached a poor, weak, and silly woman, who had not as yet, either
seen the sun rise or set, who was but newly born, and thoroughly
inexperienced. Certainly, a person who had so great a price set upon her
head, as the salvation of all mankind, might well have deserved a guard
of angels. Aye, but perhaps (you will say) the woman ought to have taken
care not to violate a law established on pain of death. 'The day you eat
of it you shall surely die,', both you and yours; this was the law. Die!
what does that mean, says the poor, innocent virgin, who as yet had not
seen anything dead, no, not so much as a flower; nor had yet with her
eyes or mind perceived the image of death--viz., sleep, or night? But
what you add concerning his posterity and their punishment, that is
not all expressed in the law. Now no laws are ever to so distorted,
especially those that are penal. The punishment of the serpent will also
afford no inconsiderable question, if the Devil transacted the whole
thing under the form of a serpent; or if he compelled the serpent to do,
or to suffer things, why did he (the serpent) pay for a crime committed
by the Devil? Moreover, as to the manner and form of the punishment
inflicted on the serpent, that from that time he should go creeping on
his belly, it is not to be explained what that meant. Hardly any one
will say, that prior to his catastrophe the serpent walked upright, like
four footed beasts; and if, from the beginning, he crept on his belly
like other snakes, it may seem ridiculous to impose on this creature as
a punishment for one single crime, a thing which, by nature, he ever had
before. But let this suffice for the woman and serpent; let us now go
on to the trees. I here understand those two trees, which stood in the
middle of the garden, the tree of life, and the tree of good and evil.
The former so called, that it would give men a very long life, although,
by what follows, we find our forefathers, prior to the flood, lived
to very great ages, independent of the tree of life. Besides, if the
longevity, or immortality of man had depended only upon one tree, or its
fruit, what if Adam had not sinned? how could his posterity, diffused
throughout the whole earth, have been able to come and gather fruit out
of this garden, or from this tree? or how could the product of one tree
have been sufficient for all mankind?"
Such is a condensed abstract of Dr. Burnet's seventh chapter of
"Archæologia." The eighth chapter equals the above in boldness; but far
exceeds it in breadth of logic and critical acumen, without, however,
appearing so iconoclastic or so vulgar. The next chapter abounds in
classical quotations, the Creation of the world and the Deluge is the
theme on which so much is advanced, at a time when such language was
greeted with the stake and the prison. We cannot calculate the effect of
Burnet's works on the clerical mind; but this we do know, that since his
day, there has progressed an internal revolution in the tenets of the
church, which, in the last generation, gave birth to the neology, now so
destructive of the internal peace of the churches. Neology has not come
from Deism, for this power assails the outworks of Christianity; while
the school of criticism is but a severe pruning knife of internal
verbiage. Although the language quoted is harsh, the arguments
common-place, which, although true, are now discarded by the educated
Freethinker; yet if for no stronger language than this men were
imprisoned only ten years ago, what must we say to the moral courage
which could publish them 150 years ago? There must surely have been
greater risks than in our day; and when a man dare hazard the highest
power of the church for the duty of publishing unpopular sentiments,
it is clearly our duty to; enshrine him as one of the guardians of that
liberty of thought, and speech, which have won for us a freedom.
we cherish and protect. Let the earth then lie lightly over the
priest-Freethinker, Thomas Burnet.
A. C.
THOMAS PAINE.
"The wise by some centuries before the crowd,
Must, by their novel systems, though correct,
Of course offend the wicked, weak, and proud,
Must meet with hatred, calumny, neglect."
Thomas Paine, "the sturdy champion of political and religious liberty,"
was born at Thetford, in the County of Norfolk, (Eng.,) 29th of January,
1737. Born of religious parents (his father being a Quaker, and his
mother a member of the Church of England,) Paine received a religious
education at Thetford Grammar School, under the Rev. William Knowles.
At an early age he gave indications of his great talent, and found
pleasure, when a boy, in studying poetical authors. His parents,
however, endeavored to check his taste for poetry, his father probably
thinking it would unfit him for the denomination to which _he_ belonged.
But Paine did not lose much time before experimenting in poetry himself.
Hence we find him, when eight years of age, composing the following
epitaph, upon a fly being caught in a spider's web:--
"Here lies the body of John Crow,
Who once was high, but now is low;
Ye brother Crows take warning all,
For as you rise, so you must fall."
At the age of thirteen, after receiving a moderate education in reading,
writing, and arithmetic, Paine left school, to follow his father's
trade (stay-making.) Although disliking the business, he pursued
this avocation for nearly five years. When about twenty years of age,
however, he felt--as most enterprising young men do feel--a desire
to visit London, and enter into the competition and chances of a
metropolitan life. His natural dislike to his father's business led him
to abandon for a period his original occupation, and, after working some
time with Mr. Morris, a noted stay-maker, in Long Acre, he resolved upon
a seafaring adventure, of which he thus speaks:--
"At an early age, raw, adventurous, and heated with the false Heroism
of a master [Rev. Mr. Knowles, Master of the Grammar School at Thetford]
who had served in a man-of-war, I began my fortune, and entered on board
the Terrible, Captain Death, from this adventure I was happily prevented
by the affectionate and moral remonstrances of a good father, who from
the habits of his life, being of the Quaker profession, looked on me as
lost; but the impression, much as it affected me at the time, wore
away, and I entered afterwards in the King of Prussia privateer, Captain
Mender, and went with her to sea."
Sea life did not, as may be supposed, long satisfy a mind like Paine's.
In April, 1759, after working nearly twelve months at Dover, we find
him settled as master stay-maker at Sandwich; marrying, on September
27, Mary Lambert, daughter of an Exciseman of that place. But his
matrimonial happiness was of short duration, his wife dying the
following year.
Disgusted with the toil and inconvenience of his late occupation,
Paine now renounced it forever, to apply himself to the profession of
Exciseman. After fourteen months' study he obtained the appointment of
supernumerary in the Excise, which he held, with intervals, till 1768,
when he settled as Exciseman at Lewes, in Sussex, and married, 1771,
Elizabeth Olive, daughter of a tobacconist, whose business he succeeded
to. About this time Paine wrote several little pieces, in prose and
verse, among which was the celebrated song on the "Death of General
Wolfe," and "The Trial of Farmer Carter's Dog, Porter." The latter is a
composition of "exquisite wit and humor."
In 1772 the Excise officers throughout the kingdom were dissatisfied
with their salaries, and formed a plan to apply to Parliament for an
increase. Paine being distinguished among them as a man of great
talent, was solicited to draw up and state their case, which he did in a
pamphlet entitled "The Case of the Salary of the Officers of Excise, and
Thoughts on the Corruption arising from the Poverty of Excise Officers."
Four thousand copies of this pamphlet were printed and circulated. Some
time after this publication, Paine, being in the grocery business, was
_suspected_ of unfair practices, and was dismissed the Excise, after
being in it twelve years. This _suspicion_, however, was never shown
to be just. But to show how _very vigorous_ the authorities were in
_suppressing_ smuggling, we will quote the following letter from Clio
Rickman to the Editor of the Independent Whig, in October, 1807:--
"Sir,--If there are any characters more to be abhorred than others,
it is those who inflict severe punishments against offenders, and yet
themselves commit the same crimes.
"If any characters more than others deserve execration, exposure, and
to be driven from among mankind, it is those governors of the people who
break the laws they themselves make, and punish others for breaking.
"Suffer me, Mr. Editor, thus to preface the following fact; fact, I say,
because I stand ready to prove it so.
"When Admiral Duncan rendezvoused in the Downs with his fleet, on the
8th of January, 1806, the Spider lugger, Daniel Falara, master, was sent
to Guernsey to smuggle articles for the fleet, such as wine, spirits,
hair powder, playing cards, tobacco, etc., for the supply of the
different ships.
"At her arrival in the Downs, the ships' boats flocked round her
to unload her and her contraband cargo. A Custom House extra boat,
commanded by William Wallace, seeing the lugger, followed and took her;
in doing which he did his duty.
"On his inspecting the smuggled articles with which she was laden, he
found a number of cases directed to Admiral Duncan, the Right Honorable
William Pitt, the heaven-born Minister of England, and to the Right
Honorable Henry Dundas, Walmer Castle. In a few days, Wallace, the
master of the Custom House cutter, received orders from Government to
give the lugger and her smuggled cargo up, on penalty of being dismissed
the service; and these cases of smuggled goods were afterwards delivered
at the Prime Ministers, Mr. Pitt, at Walmer Castle.
"Mr. Editor, read what follows, and repress your indignation if you can.
"There are now in Deal jail fourteen persons for trifling acts of
smuggling compared to the above of the Right Honorable William Pitt and
the now Right Honorable Lord Melville.
"The former were poor, and knew not how to live, the latter were most
affluently and splendidly supported by the people--that is, they were
paupers upon the generous public, towards whom they thus scandalously
and infamously conducted themselves.
"I am, Sir, your humble servant,
"Clio Rickman."
To those opponents of Thomas Paine who attach any weight to his
dismissal from the Excise on suspicion of smuggling, we would mention
the fact, that during Paine's service at Lewes, Mr. Jenner, the
principal clerk in the Excise Office, London, wrote several letters
from the Board of Excise, "thanking Mr. Paine for his assiduity in his
profession, and for his information and calculations forwarded to the
office." Shortly-after his dismissal, Mr. Paine and his wife, by mutual
agreement, separated. Many tales have been put in circulation respecting
the separation. Clio Rickman, in his "Life of Paine," has the following
passage:---
"That he did not cohabit with her from the moment they left the altar
till the day of their separation, a space of three years, although they
lived in the same house together, is an indubitable truth. It is also
true, that no physical defect, on the part of Mr. Paine, can be adduced
as a reason for such conduct.... Mr. Paine's answer, upon my once
referring to this subject, was, 'It is nobody's business but my own: I
had cause for it, but I will name it to no one.'.... This I can assert,
that Mr. Paine always spoke tenderly and respectfully of his wife; and
sent her several times pecuniary aid, without her knowing even whence it
came."
In 1774 Paine left England, and arrived at Philadelphia a few months
before the battle of Lexington. He made his appearance in the New World
as editor of the Pennsylvanian Magazine; and it would appear that he
then had in view the coming struggle, in which he took so prominent a
part, for in his introduction to the first number of the above Magazine
he states:--"Thus encompassed with difficulties, this first number of
the Pennsylvanian Magazine entreats a favorable reception; of which we
shall only say, that like the early snowdrop, it comes forth in a barren
season, and contents itself with foretelling the reader that choicer
flowers are preparing to appear." Upon the foreign supply of gunpowder
being prohibited, he proposed a plan, in the Pennsylvanian Journal, of
a saltpetre association for the voluntary supply of that article of
destruction.
On the 10th of January, 1776, "Common Sense" was published, its
circulation soon reaching 100,000 copies. The effect this remarkable
pamphlet produced upon the minds of the American people, and the share
it had in bringing to a successful issue the then pending struggle, may
be gathered even from Paine's bitterest enemies. Mr. Cheetham, in his
"Life of Paine," while endeavoring to damage the author of "Common
Sense," admits the value of this pamphlet. He says:--"This pamphlet of
forty octavo pages, holding out relief by proposing Independence to
an oppressed and despairing people, was published in January, 1776;
speaking a language which the colonists had felt, but not thought of.
Its popularity, terrible in its consequences to the parent country,
was unexampled in the history of the press. At first involving the
colonists, in the crime of rebellion, and pointing to a road leading
inevitably to ruin, it was read with indignation and alarm; but when
the reader--and every one read it--recovering from the first shock,
re-perused it, its arguments nourishing his feelings and appealing to
his pride, re-animated his hopes, and satisfied his understanding that
'Common Sense,' backed by the resources and force of the colonies, poor
and feeble as they were, could alone rescue them from the unqualified
oppression with which they were threatened. The unknown author, in the
moments of enthusiasm which succeeded, was an angel sent from heaven
to save from all the horrors of slavery by his timely, powerful, and
unerring councils, a faithful but abused, a brave but misrepresented
people." Another of Paine's enemies and slanderers--Elkanah Watson--in
a volume recently published, entitled "Men and Times of the Revolution,"
after speaking in very disparaging terms of Paine's appearance, habits,
and disposition (which is proved false by the best of testimony,) admits
the service rendered to America by "Common Sense." He says:--"Yet I
could not repress the deepest emotions of gratitude towards him, as
the instrument of Providence in accelerating the declaration of our
Independence. He certainly was a prominent agent in preparing the public
sentiment of America for that glorious event. The idea of Independence
had not occupied the popular mind, and when guardedly approached on the
topic, it shrunk from the conception, as fraught with doubt, with peril,
and with suffering. In 1776 I was present at Providence, Rhode Island,
in a social assembly of most of the prominent leaders of the State. I
recollect that the subject of Independence was cautiously introduced by
an ardent Whig, and the thought seemed to excite the abhorrence of the
whole circle. A few weeks after, Paine's 'Common Sense' appeared, and
passed through the continent like an electric spark. It everywhere
flashed conviction, and aroused a determined spirit, which resulted in
the Declaration of Independence, upon the 4th of July ensuing. The name
of Paine was precious to every Whig heart, and had resounded throughout
Europe." Other testimony could be given to Paine's influence in the
American struggle for Independence; but after the two already mentioned
from his opponents, it is unnecessary to give further proof.
In the same year that "Common Sense" appeared, Paine accompanied General
Washington and his army, being with him in his retreat from Hudson River
to the Delaware. Although great terror prevailed, Paine stood brave and
undismayed, conscious he was advocating a just cause, and determined to
bring it to a successful issue. He occupied himself in inspiring hope
in the Americans, showing them their strength and their weakness. This
object drew from his pen "The Crisis," a continuation of the
"Common Sense," which was issued at intervals till the cessation of
hostilities.
In 1777 Paine was unanimously, and unknown to himself, appointed
Secretary in the Foreign Department, where he formed a close friendship
with Dr. Franklin. He did not retain his office, however, long, as
he refused to become a party to the fraudulent demands of a Mr. Silas
Deane, one of the American Commissioners, then in Europe; and he
resigned the office.
In 1780 he was chosen member of the American Philosophical Society,
having previously received the degree of Master of Arts from the
University of Philadelphia.
When the Independence of America was attained, and when oppression had
received a severe and lasting check in that rising country, we find that
Paine, so far from being satisfied with his success in the New World,
began to look for a fresh field where he might render good service to
the cause of right and freedom. Accordingly, in 1787. he visited Paris,
his famous services to America giving him a welcome by those who knew
the benefit arising from the establishment of human rights. His stay in
Paris, at this time, was of short duration, as he returned to England
after an absence of thirteen years, on September 3rd. After visiting
his mother, and settling an allowance of nine shillings per week for her
support, he resided for a short time at Rotherham, in Yorkshire, where
an iron bridge was cast and erected upon a model of his invention, which
obtained him great reputation for his mathematical skill.
The publication of "Mr. Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution"
called from Paine his "Rights of Man," a book that created great
attraction, and sold nearly a million and a half of copies. In politics
Paine was clear and decided, and, from his moderation, what is called
"sound." For the perusal of those who may not have read it, we give the
following quotations, to show the principles upon which it is based:--