hanged and
burned for bringing disease upon the regal persons of kings, and for
souring beer. I did say that this book upheld that most of all
infamies, polygamy, and that it did not teach political liberty or
religious toleration, but political slavery and the most wretched
intolerance. I did try to prove that these ghosts knew less than
nothing about medicine, politics, legislation, astronomy, geology and
astrology, but I am also aware that in saving these things I have done
what my censors think I ought not to have done. But the victor ought
not to feel malice, and I shall have none. As soon as I had said all
these things, some gentlemen felt called upon to answer them, which
they had a right to do. Now, I like fairness, am enamored with it,
probably because I get so little of it. I can say a great many mean
things, for I have read all the religious papers, and I ought to be
able to account for every motive in a mean manner after.

"The first gentleman whom I shall call your attention to is the Rev.
Dr. Woodbridge. It seems that when I delivered my lectures the
conclusion had come to "that man does not believe in anything but
matter and force--that man does not believe in spirit." Why not? If
by spirit you mean that which thinks, I am one of them myself. If you
mean by spirit that which hopes and reasons and loves and aspires, why,
then, I am a believer in spirits; but whatever spirit there is in this
universe I will take my oath is a natural product and not superimposed
upon this world. All I will say is that whatever is, is natural, and
there is as much goodness in my judgment, as much spirit here in this
world as in any other, and you are just as near the heart of the
universe here as you ever can be.

But, they say, "there is matter and force, and there is force and there
is spirit." Well, what of it? There is no matter without force. What
would keep it together unless there was force? Can you imagine matter
without force? Honor bright, can you conceive of force without
matter? And what is spirit? They say spirit is the first thing that
ever was. It seems to me sometimes as though spirit was the blossom
and fruit of all, and not the commencement. But they say spirit was
first. What would that spirit do? No force--no matter--a spirit living
in an infinite vacuum without side, edge or bottom. This spirit
created the world; and if this spirit did, there must have been a time
when it commen