(1894.)
I. Changes wrought by Time--Throne and Altar Twin Vultures--The King and
the Priest--What is Greatness?--Effect of Voltaire's Name on Clergyman
and Priest--Born and Baptized--State of France in 1694--The Church
at the Head--Efficacy of Prayers and Dead Saints--Bells and Holy
Water--Prevalence of Belief in Witches, Devils, and Fiends--Seeds of
the Revolution Scattered by Noble and Priest--Condition in England--The
Inquisition in full Control in Spain--Portugal and Germany burning
Women--Italy Prostrate beneath the Priests, the Puritans in America
persecuting Quakers, and stealing Children--II. The Days of Youth--His
Education--Chooses Literature as a Profession and becomes a Diplomat--In
Love and Disinherited--Unsuccessful Poem Competition--Jansenists
and Molinists--The Bull Unigenitus--Exiled to Tulle--Sent to the
Bastile--Exiled to England--Acquaintances made there--III. The Morn
of Manhood--His Attention turned to the History of the Church--The
"Triumphant Beast" Attacked--Europe Filled with the Product of his
Brain--What he Mocked--The Weapon of Ridicule--His Theology--His
"Retractions"--What Goethe said of Voltaire--IV. The Scheme of
Nature--His belief in the Optimism of Pope Destroyed by the Lisbon
Earthquake--V. His Humanity--Case of Jean Calas--The Sirven Family--The
Espenasse Case--Case of Chevalier de la Barre and D'Etallonde--Voltaire
Abandons France--A Friend of Education--An Abolitionist--Not
a Saint--VI. The Return--His Reception--His Death--Burial at
Romilli-on-the-Seine--VII. The Death-bed Argument--Serene Demise of
the Infamous--God has no Time to defend the Good and protect the
Pure--Eloquence of the Clergy on the Death-bed Subject--The
Second Return--Throned upon the Bastile--The Grave Desecrated by
Priests--Voltaire.
A Testimonial to Walt Whitman--Let us put Wreaths on the Brows of the
Living--Literary Ideals of the American People in 1855--"Leaves of
Grass"--Its reception by the Provincial Prudes--The Religion of the
Body--Appeal to Manhood and Womanhood--Books written for the
Market--The Index Expurgatorius--Whitman a believer in
Democracy--Individuality--Humanity--An Old-time Sea-fight--What is
Poetry?--Rhyme a Hindrance to Expression--Rhythm the Comrade of
the Poetic--Whitman's Attitude toward Religion--Philosophy--The Two
Poems--"A Word Out of the Sea"--"When Lilacs Last in the Door"--"A Chant
for Death"--
The History of Intellectual Progress is written in the Lives of
Infidels--The King and the Priest--The Origin of God and Heaven, of
the Devil and Hell--The Idea of Hell born of Ignorance, Brutality,
Cowardice, and Revenge--The Limitations of our Ancestors--The Devil
and God--Egotism of Barbarians--The Doctrine of Hell not an Exclusive
Possession of Christianity--The Appeal to the Cemetery--Religion and
Wealth, Christ and Poverty--The "Great" not on the Side of Christ and
his Disciples--Epitaphs as Battle-cries--Some Great Men in favor of
almost every Sect--Mistakes and Superstitions of Eminent Men--Sacred
Books--The Claim that all Moral Laws came from God through
the Jews--Fear--Martyrdom--God's Ways toward Men--The Emperor
Constantine--The Death Test--Theological Comity between Protestants and
Catholics--Julian--A childish Fable still Believed--Bruno--His Crime,
his Imprisonment and