ect,
fancy, rectitude, facility, flexibility, precision, art, abundance,
variety, fertility, warmth, magic, charm, grace, force, an eagle sweep
of vision, vast understanding, instruction rich, tone excellent,
urbanity, suavity, delicacy, correctness, purity, cleanness, eloquence,
harmony, brilliancy, rapidity, gayety, pathos, sublimity, and
universality perfection, indeed, behold Voltaire."

Even Carlyle, the old Scotch terrier, with the growl of a grizzly bear,
who attacked shams, as I have sometime thought, because he hated
rivals, was forced to admit that Voltaire gave the death stab to modern
superstition. It was the hand of Voltaire that sowed the seeds of
liberty in the heart and brain of Franklin, of Jefferson, and of Thomas
Paine.

Toulouse was a favored town. It was rich in relics. The people were
as ignorant as wooden images, but they had in their possession the
dried bodies of seven apostles--the bones of many of the infants slain
by Herod--part of a dress of the Virgin Mary, and lots of skulls and
skeletons of the infallible idiots known as saints.

In this city the people celebrated every year with great joy two holy
events: The expulsion of the Huguenots and the blessed massacre of St.
Bartholomew. The citizens of Toulouse had been educated and civilized
by the church. A few Protestants, mild because in the minority, lived
among these jackals and tigers. One of these Protestants was Jean
Calas--a small dealer in dry goods. For forty years he had been in
this business, and his character was without a stain. He was honest,
kind and agreeable. He had a wife and six children, four sons and two
daughters. One of the sons became a Catholic. The eldest son, Marc
Antoine, disliked his father's business and studied law. He could not
be allowed to practice unless he became a Catholic. He tried to get
his license by concealing that he was a Protestant. He was
discovered--grew morose. Finally he became discouraged and committed
suicide by hanging himself one evening in his father's store. The
bigots of Toulouse started the story that his parents had killed him to
prevent his becoming a Catholic. On this frightful charge the father,
mother, one son, a servant, and one guest at their house were arrested.
The dead son was considered a martyr, the church taking possession of
the body. This happened in 1761. There was what was called a trial.
There was no evidence, not the slightest, except hearsay. All