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In retirement to the cleansing and the purifying rites;—
If the Saviour's intercession so blots out our every sin,
That the Inquisition demons highest heaven have entered in,—
If the story be a true one of the earliest wonder sign,
Where the tipsy Jews were gladdened at the "water turned to wine,—
If the touching of the eyelids with the spittle-moistened clay
Brought a being born to blindness, swift the glory of the day,—
If the devils fled in terror, subject to a will divine,
From the ever-quivering bodies of the long-tormented swine,—
If the woman who had suffered a decade of years and more,
Swift was healed at merest touching of the robe the Saviour wore,—
If the ancient Nicodemus with his subtle acumen
Turned obedient at Christ's bidding, eager to be born again,—
If our children be instructed as concerning these events,
Till they comprehend and master all stupendous incidents,—
If these adamitic methods of enlightenment conspire
To uplift them to the heavens or to sink them in the mire,—
Nay, but own it, ye believers, leaning from your high estate,
Ours a superhuman patience to endure and tolerate!
Lo, the stupid faith demanded in the shadow of the past,
From beclouding human reason needs must disappear at last!
Oh, unspeakable the havoc that the earlier teachings wrought,
Crucifying heart and spirit, blighting every bud of thought!
For the soul that groped in darkness and their monstrous tales believed
Was forever dwarfed and crippled by the lessons it received,—
Aye, beset with sore affliction, since forbidden to progress,
Life and intellect were wasted in a struggle profitless!
Would you risk the certain evil that such foldarol imparts
To pollute the pure condition of our children's minds and hearts?
E'en to-day, when knowledge, rising and rejoicing in Its might,
Bears a wealth of bloom and fruitage for continuous soul delight!
Aye, to-day, when theologians by their fettering creeds oppressed,
Through the joyous halls of culture walk unseeing and unblessed!
And the earnest man, the toiler, hidden in the blinding maze
Of the struggle for existence, sinks to proletarian ways,
Out with cabalistic fancies, nightly visions of the past:
Give us human institutions for the human family vast!
Mourn our predecessors' errors, who, enslaved and falsely taught,
To the great and glorious dawning of the future gave no thought,
Who, by nature truly noble, bowed 'neath many a grievous woe,
Or, for Truth's dear sake, if needful, gladly unto death would go.
If the Saviour's intercession so blots out our every sin,
That the Inquisition demons highest heaven have entered in,—
If the story be a true one of the earliest wonder sign,
Where the tipsy Jews were gladdened at the "water turned to wine,—
If the touching of the eyelids with the spittle-moistened clay
Brought a being born to blindness, swift the glory of the day,—
If the devils fled in terror, subject to a will divine,
From the ever-quivering bodies of the long-tormented swine,—
If the woman who had suffered a decade of years and more,
Swift was healed at merest touching of the robe the Saviour wore,—
If the ancient Nicodemus with his subtle acumen
Turned obedient at Christ's bidding, eager to be born again,—
If our children be instructed as concerning these events,
Till they comprehend and master all stupendous incidents,—
If these adamitic methods of enlightenment conspire
To uplift them to the heavens or to sink them in the mire,—
Nay, but own it, ye believers, leaning from your high estate,
Ours a superhuman patience to endure and tolerate!
Lo, the stupid faith demanded in the shadow of the past,
From beclouding human reason needs must disappear at last!
Oh, unspeakable the havoc that the earlier teachings wrought,
Crucifying heart and spirit, blighting every bud of thought!
For the soul that groped in darkness and their monstrous tales believed
Was forever dwarfed and crippled by the lessons it received,—
Aye, beset with sore affliction, since forbidden to progress,
Life and intellect were wasted in a struggle profitless!
Would you risk the certain evil that such foldarol imparts
To pollute the pure condition of our children's minds and hearts?
E'en to-day, when knowledge, rising and rejoicing in Its might,
Bears a wealth of bloom and fruitage for continuous soul delight!
Aye, to-day, when theologians by their fettering creeds oppressed,
Through the joyous halls of culture walk unseeing and unblessed!
And the earnest man, the toiler, hidden in the blinding maze
Of the struggle for existence, sinks to proletarian ways,
Out with cabalistic fancies, nightly visions of the past:
Give us human institutions for the human family vast!
Mourn our predecessors' errors, who, enslaved and falsely taught,
To the great and glorious dawning of the future gave no thought,
Who, by nature truly noble, bowed 'neath many a grievous woe,
Or, for Truth's dear sake, if needful, gladly unto death would go.
