Address on the Anniversary of the Birth of Thomas Paine by C. A. Codman Brentwood, NY, Jan. 29th, 1875. Friends and neighbors: The anniversary of the birth of Thomas Paine, which we have met to-night to celebrate, seems a fitting occasion to review the pathway we have gone over, and see from our present stand-point, how much, if any, progress we have made, and what encouragement we may draw from the retrospect. The race grows slowly, but at accelerated speed; notably so, during the last three-quarters of the century we have now to consider. Let us go back in our memory to the period that gave birth to Paine's Age of Reason, which we know was written in the prison of the Conciergerie, during the Reign of Terror, and under the very shadow of death; its completion liable at any moment to be interrupted by the execution of the National Asembly's sentence, "Death by the Guillotine;" which fate Paine escaped by the merest chance.The French nation was in an anarchy of social and political excitement, unequalled in modern history. The doctrines of Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, D'Holbach and the school of the Encyclopaedists were being put to the test of practice. Then geology was unknown. In its place were a few wild and unsubstantial theories without verification. During this time, geology has gained a solid footing, adding greatly to the stores of knowledge. It has shown that death was in the world ages before man, forever upsetting the theological idea that it was sent as a punishment for sins committed in the garden of Eden. It has overthrown the Mosaic chronology, and shown that the Jewish record covers, as it were, but a moment of time, compared to the countless ages it has taken to produce the many changes seen in the earth's crustÑhas exploded the traditions of the deluge of Noah by showing that similar great submerges have occurred many times in the world's history, and may occur again; has exposed the utter unreliability of the Bible account of creation, and thus struck another deadly blow at so-called revelation, wringing from a Christian divine the acknowledgement that the first four chapters of Genesis must be looked upon as an Eastern allegory, and finally, it has demonstrated that the same causes which have in the past wrought great crises are in operation today. And the Age of Reason was being brought forward with all the fiery energy of the long oppressed French nation. Exasperated by ages of tyranny and spoliation; intoxicated with their newly found liberty, and filled with ardent enthusiasm for the Republic, there is little wonder that liberty ran to license and intolerance, and reason to madness. Carlyle says, "All France was in a wild paroxysm which only human blood would appease." But in this wild tempest was struck a fatal blow at the divine right of kings, which, up to that time, had been the unquestioned law of the world, and from which blow it has not, and probably never will, recover. But a few months previous, the science of chemistry was born, by the discovery, by Priestley, of oxygen gas, which was the basis of a real chemistry, for all before this was but little more than alchemy, but here was possible a real knowledge of the constitution of this world. From this discovery, the science has advanced, step by step, to the re-discovery of the great fundamental law of the Universe, the correlation of force. Coincident with this came the invention of the spectroscope which shows us that not only our planetary system, but the far off stars are substantially of the same matter as our own globe, and this demonstrates the unity of the Universe, and that these crises are the results of natural causes, and not from the caprice or revenge of a supernatural God. Out of this study of nature has grown the conviction that man has ascended from the lower animals; that instead of being created by the Jehovah in his form and image, and fashioned by his hand from clay, it is now shown that he is related to all that have lived before him, linking him to all the past; that he is the product of all the ages, instead of being an especial creation of some short- sighted deity who soon cursed and regretted his handiwork. By this knowledge another shock has been given to revelation, which has lost ground it can never regain. Oken, Lamarck, and Darwin deserve the hearty commemoration of their fellow men for the flood of light they have thrown on this subject and their labors. Darwin is an instance of what effect a single career may have on the destinies of man. Philosophy has also made great advances in these years, and has come to realize the comparative futility of the deductive method in the solution of problems, and now recognizes that its path to success lies in the inductive method. It has mostly laid aside its facts of consciousness and has learned that its true course is to study phenomena, and from their examination discover the governing laws. It has left its beaten track, trodden for thousands of years, finding the methods of the past barren of results; it has left off building from the top downward, and gains its proof from the opposite method. From this great change of base we look for splendid results, and may feel the highest encouragement in this direction, for see how great have been the achievements of the scientists since they laid aside their a priori methods, and have gone to Nature and the laboratory to examine for themselves, to question the constitution of things, to analyze and combine, to test and weigh, and thus to get knowledge instead of theories. See what practical applications have been made, by these means adding to man's comfort. Steam, as a motor, is working vast changes in the conditions of society, bringing man in contact with his fellows, eliminating national prejudices, and enabling him to realize that we are really brothers of one family, and thus ameliorating distinctions of race and belief. The telegraph brings the events of the world to our breakfast table, the printing press gives us the mental stores of the past, and the last thought of the day for our enlightenment and consideration, and even the wind and the weather are predicted with almost absolute certainty. These growing means are great social factors, all bearing on the human problem, the significance of which we can hardly realize. Men and things are being studied critically and profoundly, and the old foundations are now under trial as in a fiery furnace, and the time is not far distant when all men will ask for demonstration, and be led no more by dogmas assumed by the artful and designing, or the ignorant and bigoted. I think the crowning discovery of the period is, that of the Human God—the Supreme Being, Humanity—which is sure to supplant the supernatural Almighty, with his caprices and revenge, and replace that infantile conception with a rational object of worship, worthy of man's highest devotion. If Comte had done nothing more than this, he would deserve to be enrolled in the front rank of the world's benefactors. But he has also shown that wealth, being the product of all, must have a social destinationÑa principle of immense importance in the present struggle between capital and labor. of which, as yet we have had only the preliminary skirmishes. Such are some of the results that have been reached in the last eighty years, and they are so grand and far reaching in the field of thought and action which they cover, so potent for good, that man may well take heart. Another source of encouragement is to be found in the growing unbelief in Supernaturalism; in the lessening hold of the priests and clergy on the people—notably so among the Protestants, which is shown by the increasing disrespect shown the clergy, and from the great number of scandals that have of late years come to light, as well as from increased enlightenment. The clergy realize that their grasp is growing weaker, and make great efforts to retain the connection, and it is quite the rule for them to come to the people in variousways—by the modification of doctrine, by the recognition somewhat of science, by entertainments and amusements not long since looked upon as ungodly. Who now hears of infant damnation, literal hell, or resurrection of the body? These are relegated to the past, and in their place transcendental explanations of the nature of the Deity, of God as the soft shadow; of the Holy Ghost as a thin film, of hell as a condition of the conscience; and other impotent though important modifications of dogmas that, until now, have had their hold for ages. The Church realizes the gravity of the situation, and sees that the coming struggle involves the very existence of the Almighty. On the other hand, the Church of Rome insists on an even farther claim on its followers, and in its pretensions to infallibility, its dogmas of the immaculate conception; and its anathemas against modern science and its tendencies, it shows itself thoroughly reactionary, and must, before long, entirely forfeit its claim as a real spiritual power; for science is illuminating the world; and as knowledge increases so fades away the gloom of the dark ages. The more we know, the less we believe. Fiction is replaced by facts, dogmas by natural law, and the fancies of the imagination, instead of being accepted as truths, take their proper place in the domain of poetry. To my mind, there are three problems of importance now standing in the way of progress, and pressing for solution, viz; The theological, (God, Heaven, and Immortality), the relation of sexes, and the relation of capital and labor. And they are all on trial; substantial ghosts, that will not down, until they are settled beyond peradventure. The growing demand for justice in all the relations of life, is leading on to daylight in these matters. Science and philosophy will seal the fate of theology; the study of history and a knowledge of the laws of the human organism will solve the sexual problem, and the organization of industry will harmonize capital and labor; and when these are settled, this life will be worth the living, and no longer a vale of tears, in which death is welcome. To this consummation have tended the efforts of all good men; to this end the instincts of the race point. This is the meaning of history; to this we are rapidly converging. Human unity becomes the central point toward which the race is traveling. And as we see clearly the destiny of man, the objective aim that, tho' never so blindly through toil and struggle man's instincts have led him through blood and sacrifice. Let us gather up the names of those mighty men who have contributed to bring the era of knowledge and justice; let us carve them high on the fair temple of humanity, let us bring all the arts to their glorification, and, through sculpture, painting, and poetry, hold their careers up for imitation and emulation; re-people our Parthenon with Phidiases, Pericleses, Ptolemys and Pythagorases from classic Greece; bring from the East, Confucius, Zoroaster and Buddha, with Moses, Christ, and Mahomet. Let Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and Goethe represent poetry; Aristotle, Bacon, Mill and Comte stand for philosophy; Newton, Kepler, LaPlace, Huxley and Tyndall for modern science; and, also, let us place Voltaire, Hume, Rousseau and (the man in whose name we have met to-night), Thomas Paine, among this glorious company, as having been levers in the liberation of man; instruments, in their ages, of the mighty instincts, the great gulf stream of human tendencies, flowing through the ocean of time. With these, and many others worthy of working for humanity, we will beautify our memorial halls, and may we be glorified in our conquest over ignorance, and happy in that realization, for which, we have ever yearned. Restored from oblivion, cleared of calumnies and recognized at its true worth, will be found the name of Thomas Paine, the patriot, statesman, and philosopher. Reprinted from Truth Seeker Tracts Volume 3 by D. M. Bennett