soul in chains. In other words, I am
in favor of liberty. I do not wish that any man should be the
slave of his fellow-men, or that the human race should be the slaves
of any god, real or imaginary. Man has the right to think for
himself, to work for himself, to take care of himself, to get bread
for himself, to get a home for himself. He has a right to his own
opinion about God, and heaven and hell; the right to learn any art
or mystery or trade; the right to work for whom he will, for what
he will, and when he will.

The world belongs to the human race. There is to be no war in this
country on religious opinions, except a war of words--a conflict
of thoughts, of facts; and in that conflict the hosts of superstition
will go down. They may not be defeated to-day, or to-morrow, or
next year, or during this century, but they are growing weaker day
by day.

This priest, McGlynn, has the courage to stand up against the
propaganda. What would have been his fate a few years ago? What
would have happened to him in Spain, in Portugal, in Italy--in any
other country that was Catholic--only a few years ago? Yet he
stands here in New York, he refuses to obey God's vicegerent; he
freely gives his mind to an archbishop; he holds the holy Inquisition
in contempt. He has done a great thing. He is undoubtedly an
honest man. He never should have been a Catholic. He has no
business in that church. He has ideas of his own--theories, and
seems to be governed by principles. The Catholic Church is not
his place. If he remains, he must submit, he must kneel in the
humility of abjectness; he must receive on the back of his independence
the lashes of the church. If he remains, he must ask the forgiveness
of slaves for having been a man. If he refuses to submit, the
church will not have him. He will be driven to take his choice--
to remain a member, humiliated, shunned, or go out into the great,
free world a citizen of the Republic, with the rights, responsibilities,
and duties of an American citizen.

I believe that Dr. McGlynn is an honest man, and that he really
believes in the land theories of Mr. George. I have no confidence
in his theories, but I have confidence that he is actuated by the
best and noblest motives.

_Question_. Are you to go on the lecture platform again?

_Answer_. I expect to after a while. I am now waiting for the
church to catch up. I got so far ahead that I began almost to
sympathize wit