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Show mil THGUGiir pJ ; Apostles of Liberty Appeal to the Senses Free Thought Analyzed Every Man a I Free - Thinker Free Thought In Its : Broadest Sense, No Law to Restrain, the I Root of Nihilism and Anarchy Truth j the Essential Basis of Free Thought f Logically Proven Rights of Others In- j violable Essential for the Preserva- tion and Perpetuation of Society Free ; Thinkers Hedge When Pressed. i I ' (Written for The Intermountaiii Catholic.) i Progress and enlightenment are the boast of ! our age and country. But neither of these quali- I f h-;i! ions, however true, is a proof against fraud ' iiii'l deception. The masses of the people, admitting th;U they are learned and progressive, are and ever will be victims of deception, because they are more i carried away by the captious terms which the shrewd and subtle business man uses in advertis- ! ii:g his poods, than they are by the real value of j tin poods advertised. If a person advertising can l i-ucceed with some sensational heading to catch the cyo. and excite the mind his end is more, than half ! i attained, for all are in search of the "gold brick." As it is in the business world, so is it in the re- licious and irreligious world. Catch the human j mind by something broad and liberal, and propose , at the same time by some grand doctrine to liber- , j :Uo man from those dogmas, doctrines and super- stiiions which entramel him. and no matter how illogical the reasoning or unphilosophical the prin- f -iiles. the end is more than half attained by hav- f iug the masses prc-disposcd to accept such teach- iug. There is what the logicians term an priore I argument in favor of such liberal doctrine. f Such are the advanlgjs vhjehth socajled t iqostles'bF liberty have on theTr side in -their war j against religion. Civilization or free thought is I captious heading, and by such men are more f wayod than by any reasoning which its would-be voateries may advance, because if free thinkers, or advanced thinkers would only define their position. and tell what they mean by free thoueht, the fal- ! Ley of their principles, and of their reasoning too I rould soon be detected. . 1 What is free thought? Does it refer to the f passive state of the intellect when some object is I presented, whence immediately spring tip the re- lation between the mind and the obiect presented? I If iliat be its meaning, , then all are free thinkers, for there is no power in the physical world that ean control the inner workings of the soul. Not I even man himself could prevent his intellect frcm thinking, or drawing the relation between the soul 1 and llie object presented to it. This being the true I meaning and real analysis of thought, all in the . I line souse, are free thinkers. ! However logical this may be. evidently it is not J il:e sense in which it is used by so-called free think- I i r,v free thought do they mean to think as they I please, and act according to their thoughts, i. p.. I i here shall be no law. cither divine or civil which -hall mark the channel through which their I thoughts" shall flow, and no power or authority to restrain their acting up to their free thoughts? , ' I his is free thought in the broadest sense. But this -'"Hint ion of free thought contains all the elements ef Nihilism. Communism, Anarchy. Socialism, and I ev ry ether ism that sets itself tin in opposition to "i-,, j- an truth, for free thought not controlled by fiidit Reason and truth is 'license. Free thought i:; the strict and real sense, is the thought that is la mined in. so to speak, by truth, and the only free I 'hiker is the man who has the truth. Hence the ii'ith of Christ's teaching: "The truth shall make y,.u free." . Thoughts must never encroach on the domain f truth, nor upon the right of society. If they : ... they fail to be guarded by right reason, and I 1: v.i vcr free they may be. must be rejected. We ) ':-h-. for example ,the rotundity of the earth as I c ': Mifically established. Judging from personal 1 ' rvation man thinks it to be anything but round. I Thai thought, which is free, must be rejected, be- t ' .owe it encroaches on truth, and is not in accord- '''' with reason. The same would apply to a man j ' i railroad carriage which is in motion. He thinks I 'i::;'lf stationary, and the world outside in mo- L 1' J H s thought is free, but nevertheless untrue j ::!.-! i here fore must be rejected. Free thought must ' j i h' ays conform to truth and be in accordance with I As with truth so is it with right. Society has ; ''"I'laiu rights, and man is not free to encroach i iM"ii, or violate these rights. Society makes cer- ordinances, or laws for the maintenance of I i ;!!- aJK jood order. Is man free to think that he I ta:ty violate these with impunity? As soon as his j 1h' splits prompt him to do so, and that he violates I tiioM laws, under the plea that he was a free think- ' r ,'id did only what his thoughts prompted him to the law steps in and punishes him. The drunk- I l may say to himself, "I have a right to spend I "iy nioney as I please," and thinking freely con- . ''des to spend it in a saloon; but society says to u,)- "We have rights that shall not be violated, we I !iilV0 a right that no drunken man parades the I M"'els; it is our right that shall mark the liberty I -' i claim, especially in partaking of intoxicants, j I' u are frPe 0 gg ,0 much but no more," and should go beyond those limits, no matter how free Tjjp thought which nrompted him to do so he XV'j '" punished for infringing on the rights of I s'" i ty. That is the main object of all govern-1 govern-1 1 I mcnts to preserve and perpetuate society which is itself essential for the preservation of the human race. Allow men under the pretenseof liberty to disregard the laws made by society for its own protection, pro-tection, and very soon man will cea to subsist. Why? Because man is by his very nature a social being, depending on society for his very existence. But society without government is impossible. Therefore .those, who in the name of liberty would prove disloyal to the laws, or in any way strive to render the government insecure, are the worst enemies ene-mies of the human race, and would if their principles prin-ciples were carried out. lead to the extinction of society so-ciety and man. But all this, aver our loyal and patriotic pa-triotic apostles of liberty, is not the doctrine of Free Thinkers. What then? The theories propounded pro-pounded according to their own platform will be the subject of future discussion. T. D. |