toilings, and sufferings, on this earth.

Morality is the greatest thing in the world because without it human
life would not be worth the living, or even possible; but, paradoxical
as the assertion may seem, freedom or liberty is greater because without
it morality would be an impossibility.

One can attain to the very highest standard of morality, religion and
sainthood without the least necessity of the slightest reference to what
the gods of the supernaturalistic religions said or did, and this is
quite as true of Jesus as of any other among such gods, but no man can
reach even the lowest standard of morality, and so of course not of
religion or sainthood, without constant reference to the god of truth.

Yet there is a difference between a law and a truth. The law is a doing
or act of nature, and as such it is a fact or revelation. There are no
other facts or revelations.

According to the traditional superstitious conception, a truth is the
revelation of the will of a god, involving a service to be rendered
directly or indirectly to him, and morality consists in a fulfillment of
it.

According to the modern scientific conception, a truth is the
interpretation of a fact involving a service to be rendered to men. On
the scientific theory each man must have what truth he has, either by
his own interpretation or by the adoption for himself of another's
interpretation.

No man can live the moral part of his psychical (soul) life on the truth
of another any more than he can live his physical (body) life on the
meals of another. Every one must have his own truths, even as he must
have his own meals.

Hence the necessity of freedom to morality. Hence, too, the
impossibility of the moral life under restraint, such as is imposed by
orthodox churches in their official dogmas, and such as is imposed by
belligerent states in their espionage laws.

Capitalism is essentially competitive and therefore necessarily
belligerent in character: hence a complete, an ideal moral life is an
utter impossibility under it, but even the little of moral life which
otherwise might be possible is lessened to one-half by official dogmas
and espionage laws; if, then, the governments of churches and nations
have any regard for the morality of their memberships and citizenships
they will at once repeal them, and never enact others.

The democracy which means freedom to learn the laws of the physical
realm of nature and to interpret