X47 Stljara, Neva fork FROM THE BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY COLLECTED BY BENNO LOEWY 1854-1919 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY The date shows when this volume was taken., HOME USE RULES All books subject to recall All borrowers must regis- ter in the library to borrow books for home ufee. All books must be re- turned at end of college year for inspection and repairs. Limited books must be returned within the four week limit and not renewed. Students must return all books before leaving town. Officers should arrange for the Veturn of books wanted during their absence from town. Volunies of periodicals and of pamphlets are held in the library as much as possible. For special pur- poses they are given out for a limited time. Borrowers should not use their library privileges for the benefit of other persons. Books of special value and gift books, when the giver wishes it, are not , allowed to circulate. Readers are 'asked to re- port all cases of bdbks ■ marked or mutilated. Do not deface books by marks and writing. HV6028 .Mt"" ""'""'"' "-'""'^ ^'^"JmSmifS^iP^^ criminals olin 3 1924 030 307 668 rv7 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030307668 Crimes Against Criminals, AN ADDRESS Robert G. Ingersoll. DELIVERED BEFORE THE New York Stats Bar Association, at Albany, N. Y. January 21st, 1890. The only complete and authorized edition. New York : C. P. FARRELL, 1898. vo n ' n PRICE, 10 CENTS.' m $ (© \xmn jlgninsi Sriminalslft -j* :-'°'«; .> Sv. =■ 5:"?^^ An Address Robert G. •IngersOll. deuVBrep before the Vew York State Bar Association, at Albany, N. Y.^Jan 2i,i8go. THE ONLY CaMPLETE ANt> AUTHORIZED EDITION New York : C. P. FARRELL 1892. .^, m ?niii Edition, Just Published! ASHOIITHISTOIIIOFTHEBIBLE: BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CANON. BY BRONSON C. KEELER. Price, Cloth, 75 cents. Paper, 50 cents. This book should be read by every Clergyman, Layman, Scholar and Liberal. I have read Mr. Keeler's book with great pleasure and profit. He gives, in my opinion, a clear and intelligent account of the growth of the bible. He shows why books were received as inspired, and why they were rejedled. He does not deal in opinions, but in fafts ; and for the corredness of his fafts, he refers to the highest authorities. He has shown exjdtly who the Christian fathers were, and the weight that their evidence is entitled to. The first centuries of Christianity St, are filled with shadow; most histories of that period simply tell us "what did not happen, and even the statements of what did not happen sjre contradidory. The falsehoods do not agree. Mr. Keeler must have spent a great deal of time in the examination of a vast number of Volumes, and the amount of information contained in his book could not be collefted in years. Every minister, every college pro- •essor, and every man who really wishes to know something about ' ■ origin and growth of the bible, should read this book,— R G, t*"= RSOLL. Inge CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. IN this brief address, the object is to suggest — there being no time to present arguments at length. The subject has been chosen for the reason that it is one that should interest the legal profession, because that profession to a certain extent controls and shapes the legislation of our country and fixes definitely the scope and meaning of all laws. Lawyers ought to be foremost in legislative and judicial reform, and of all men they should under- stand the philosophy of mind, the causes of human action, and the real science of government. It has been said that the three pests of a commu- nity are : A priest without charity ; a doctor without knowledge, and a lawyer without a sense of justice. I. All nations seem to have had supreme con- fidence in the deterrent power of threatened and inflicted pain. They have regarded punishment as CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. the shortest road to reformation. Imprisonment, torture, death, constituted a trinity under whose protection society might feel secure. In addition to these, nations have relied on confiscation and degradation, on maimings, whip- pings, brandings, and exposures to public ridicule and contempt. Connected with the court of justice was the chamber of torture. The ingenuity of man was exhausted in the construction of instruments that would surely reach the most sensitive nerve. All this was done in the interest of civilization — for the protection of virtue, and the well-being of states. Curiously enough, the fact is that, no matter how severe the punishments were, the crimes in- creased. It was found that the penalty of death made little difference. Thieves and highwaymen, heretics and blasphemers, went on their way. It was then thought necessary to add to this penalty of death, and con- sequendy, the convicted were tortured in every con- ceivable way before execution. They were broken on the wheel— their joints dislocated on the rack. They were suspended by their legs and arms, while immense weights were placed upon their breasts. CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 5 Their flesh was burned and torn with hot irons. They were roasted at slow fires. They were buried alive — given to wild beasts — molten lead was poured in their ears — their eye-lids were cut off" and the wretches placed with their faces toward the sun — others were securely bound, so that they could move neither hand nor foot, and over their stomachs were placed inverted bowls ; under these bowls rats were confined ; on top of the bowls were heaped coals of fire, so that the rats in their efforts to escape would gnaw into the bowels of the victims. They were staked out on the sands of the sea, to be drowned by the slowly rising tide — and every means by which human nature can be overcome slowly, painfully and terribly, were conceived and carried into execution. And yet the number of so-called criminals increased. For petty offences men were degraded — given to the mercy of the rabble. Their ears were cut off, their nostrils slit, their foreheads branded. They were tied to the tails of carts and flogged from one town to another. And yet, in spite of all, the poor wretches obstinately refused to become good and useful citizens. Degradation has been thoroughly tried, with its maimings and brandings, and the result was that CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. those who inflicted the punishments became as de- graded as their victims. Only a few years ago there were more than two hundred offences in Great Britain punishable by death. The gallows-tree bore fruit through all the year, and the hangman was the busiest official in the kingdom — but the criminals increased. Crimes were committed to punish crimes, and crimes were committed to prevent crimes. The world has been filled with prisons and dungeons, with chains and whips, with crosses and gibbets, with thumb-screws and racks, with hangmen and heads- men — and yet these frightful means and instrument- alities and crimes have accomplished little for the preservation of property or life. It is safe to say that governments have committed far more crimes than they have prevented. Why is it that men will suffer and risk so much for the sake of steaHng ? Why will they accept deg- radation and punishment and infamy as their por- tion ? Some will answer this question by an appeal to the dogma of original sin ; others by saying that millions of men and women are under the control of fiends — that they are actually possessed by devils ; and others will declare that all these people act from CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. choice — that they are possessed of free wills, of in- telligence — that they know and appreciate conse- quences, and that, in spite of all, they deliberately prefer a life of crime. II. Have we not advanced far enough intellectually to deny the existence of chance ? Are we not sat- isfied now that back of every act and thought and dream and fancy is an efficient cause ? Is anything, or can anything, be produced that is not necessarily produced ? Can the fatherless and motherless exist ? Is there not a connection between all events, and is not every act related to all other acts ? Is it not possible, is it not probable, is it not true, that the actions of all men are determined by countless causes over which they have no positive control ? Certain it is that men do not prefer unhappiness to joy. It can hardly be said that man intends per- manently to injure himself, and that he does what he does in order that he may live a life of misery. On the other hand, we must take it for granted that man endeavors to better his own condition, and seeks, although by mistaken ways, his own well-being. The poorest man would like to be rich — the sick 8 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. desire health — and no sane man wishes to win the contempt and hatred of his fellow men. Every hu- man being prefers liberty to imprisonment. Are the brains of criminals exactly like the brains of honest men ? Have criminals the same ambitions, the same standards of happiness or of well-being? If a difference exists in brain, will that, in part ac- count for the difference in character ? Is there any- thing in heredity ? Are vices as carefully transmitted by nature as virtues ? Does each man in some degree bear burdens imposed by ancestors ? We know that diseases of flesh and blood are transmit- ted — that the child is the heir of physical deformity. Are diseases of the brain — are deformities of the soul, of the mind, also transmitted ? We not only admit, but we assert, that in the physical world there are causes and effects. We insist that there is and can be no effect without an efficient cause. When anything happens in that world, we are satisfied that it was naturally and nec- essarily produced. The causes may be obscure, but we as implicitly believe in their existence as when we know positively what they are. In the physical world we have taken the ground that there is nothing miraculous — that everything is natural — and if we CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. cannot explain it, we account for our inability to ex- plain, by our own ignorance. Is it not possible, is it not probable, that what is true in the physical world is equally true in the realm of mind — in that strange world of passion and desire ? Is it possible that thoughts, or desires, or passions are the children of chance, born of nothing ? Can we conceive of Nothing as a force, or as a cause ? If, then, there is behind every thought and desire and passion an effi- cient cause, we can, in part at least, account for the actions of men. A certain man under certain conditions acts in a certain way. There are certain temptations that he, with his brain, with his experience, with his in- telligence, with his surroundings cannot withstand. He is irresistibly led to do, or impelled to do, certain things ; and there are other things that he can not do. If we change the conditions of this man, his actions will be changed. Develop his mind, give him new subjects of thought, and you change the man ; and the man being changed, it follows of necessity that his conduct will be different. In civilized countries the struggle for existence is severe — the competition far sharper than in savage lands. The consequence is that there are many lO CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. failures. These failures lack, it may be, opportunity, or brain, or moral force, or industry, or somethmg without which, under the circumstances, success is impossible. Certain lines of conduct are called legal, and certain others criminal, and the men who fail in one line may be driven to the other. How do we know that it is possible for all people to be honest ? Are we certain that all people can tell the truth ? Is it possible for all men to be generous, or candid, or courageous ? I am perfectly satisfied that there are millions of people incapable of committing certain crimes, and it may be true that there are millions of others inca- pable of practising certain virtues. We do not blame a man because he is not a sculptor, a poet, a painter, or a statesman. We say he has not the genius. Are we certain that it does not require genius to be good ? Where is the man with intelligence enough to take into consideration the circumstances of each individ- ual case ? Who has the mental balance with which to weigh the forces of heredity, of want, of tempta- tion, — and who can analyze with certainty the mys- terious motions of the brain ? Where and what are the sources of vice and virtue ? In what obscure and shadowy recesses of the brain are passions born ? CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. I I And what is it that for the moment destroys the sense of right and wrong ? Who knows to what extent reason becomes the prisoner of passion — oi some strange and wild desire, the seeds of which were sown, it may be, thousands of years ago in the breast of some savage ? To what extent do ante- cedents and surroundings affect the moral sense ? Is it not possible that the tyranny of govern- ments, the injustice of nations, the fierceness of what is called the law, produce in the individual a ten- dency in the same direction ? Is it not true that the citizen is apt to imitate his nation ? Society de- grades its enemies — the individual seeks to degrade his. Society plunders its enemies, and now and then the citizen has the desire to plunder his. Soci- ety kills its enemies, and possibly sows in the heart of some citizen the seeds of murder. III. Is it not true" that the criminal is a natural pro- duct, and that society unconsciously produces these children of vice ? Can we not safely take another step, and say that the criminal is a victim, as the diseased and insane and deformed are victims ? We do not think of punishing a man because he is afHic- 12 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. ted with disease — our desire is to find a cure. We send him, not to the penitentiary, but to the hospital, to an asylum. We do this because we recognize the fact that disease is naturally produced — that it is in- herited from parents, or the result of unconscious negligence, or it may be of recklessness — but instead of punishing, we pity. If there are diseases of the mind, of the brain, as there are diseases of the body; and if these diseases of the mind, these deformities of the brain, produce, and necessarily produce, what we call vice, why should we punish the criminal, and pity those who are physically diseased ? Socrates, in some respects at least one of the wisest of men, said : " It is strange that you should not be angry when you meet a man with an ill-con- ditioned body, and yet be vexed when you encounter one with an ill-conditioned soul." We know that there are deformed bodies, and we are equally certain that there are deformed minds. Of course, society has the right to protect itself, no matter whether the persons who attack its well- being are responsible or not, no matter whether they are sick in mind, or deformed in brain. The right of self-defence exists, not only in the individual, but CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 1 3 in society. The great question is, How shall this right of self-defence be exercised ? What spirit shall be in the nation, or in society — the spirit of revenge, a desire to degrade and punish and destroy, or, a spirit born of the recognition of the fact that crimin- als are victims ? The world has thoroughly tried confiscation, deg- radation, imprisonment, torture and death, and thus far the world has failed. In this connection I call your attention to the following statistics gathered in our own country : In i85o, we had 23,000,000 of people, and be- tween six and seven thousand prisoners. In i860 — 31,000,000 of people, and 19,000 prisoners. jn 1870 — 38,000,000 of people, and 32,000 prisoners. In 1880 — 5o,ooo,ooo of people, and 58,ooo prisoners. It may be curious to note the relation between insanity, pauperism and crime : In i85o, there were i5,ooo insane; in i860, 24,000; in 1870, 37,000; in 1880, 91,000. In the light of these statistics, we are not suc- ceeding in doing away with crime. There were in 14 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 1880, 58,ooo prisoners, and in the same year 67,000 homeless children, and 66,000 paupers in almshouses. Is it possible that we must go to the same causes for these effects ? IV. There is no reformation in degradation. To mu- tilate a criminal is to say to all the world that he is a criminal, and to render his reformation substantially impossible. Who ever is degraded by society be- comes its enemy. The seeds of malice are sown in his heart and to the day of his death he will hate the hand that sowed the seeds. There is also another side to this question. A punishment that degrades the punished will degrade the man who inflicts the punishment, and will degrade the government that procures the infliction. The whipping-post pollutes, not only the whipped, but the whipper, and not only the whipper, but the community at large. Wherever its shadow falls it degrades. If, then, there is no reforming power in degrada- tion — no deterrent power — for the reason that the degradation of the criminal degrades the community, and in this way produces more criminals, then the CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. I 5 next question is, Whether there is any reforming power in torture ? The trouble with this is that it hardens and degrades to the last degree the minis- ters of the law. Those who are not affected by the agonies of the bad will in a little time care nothing for the sufferings of the good. There seems to be a little of the wild beast in men — a something that is fascinated by suffering, and that delights in in- flicting pain. When a government tortures, it is in the same state of mind that the criminal was when he committed his crime. It requires as much malice in those who execute the law to torture a criminal, as it did in the criminal to torture and kill his victim. The one was a crime by a person, the other by a nation. There is something in injustice, in cruelty, that tends to defeat itself There were never as many traitors in England as when the traitor was drawn and quartered — when he was tortured in every possible way — when his limbs, torn and bleeding, were given to the fury of mobs or exhibited pierced by pikes or hung in chains. These frightful punish- ments produced intense hatred of the government, and traitors continued to increase until they became powerful enough to decide what treason was and 1 6 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. who the traitors were, and to inflict the same tor- ments on others. Think for a moment of what man has suffered in the cause of crime. Think of the millions that have been imprisoned, impoverished and degraded because they were thieves and forgers, swindlers and cheats. Think for a moment of what they have endured — of the difficulties under which they have pursued their calling, and it will be exceedingly hard to believe that they were sane and natural people possessed of good brains, of minds well poised, and that they did what they did from a choice unaffected by heredity and the countless circumstances that tend to deter- mine the conduct of human beings. The other day I was asked these questions : " Has there been as much heroism displayed for the right as for the wrong ? Has virtue had as many martyrs as vice ?" For hundreds of years the world has endeavored to destroy the good by force. The expression of hon- est thought was regarded as the greatest of crimes. Dungeons were filled by the noblest and the best, and the blood of the bravest was shed by the sword or consumed by flame. It was impossible to destroy the longing in the heart of man for liberty and truth. CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 1 7 Is it not possible that brute force and cruelty and revenge, imprisonment, torture and death are as im- potent to do away with vice as to destroy virtue. In our country there has been for many years a growing feeling that convicts should neither be degraded nor tortured. It was provided in the Constitution of the United States that " cruel and unusual punishments should not be inflicted." Benjamin Franklin took great interest in the treat- ment of prisoners, being a thorough believer in the reforming influence of justice, having no confidence whatever in punishment for punishment's sake. To me it has always been a mystery how the average man, knowing something of the weakness of human nature, something of the temptations to which he himself has been exposed— remembering the evil of his life, the things he would have done had there been opportunity, had he absolutely known that discovery would be impossible — should have feehngs of hatred toward the imprisoned. Is it possible that the average man assaults the criminal in a spirit of self-defence ? Does he wish to convince his neighbors that the evil thought and impulse were never in his mind ? Are his words a shield that he uses to protect himself from suspicion ? 1 8 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. For my part, I sympathize sincerely with all failures, with the victims of society, with those who have fallen, with the imprisoned, with the hopeless, with those who have been stained by verdicts of guilty, and with those who, in the moment of passion have destroyed, as with a blow, the future of their lives. How perilous, after all, is the state of man. It is the work of a life to build a great and splendid char- acter. It is the work of a moment to destroy it utterly, from turret to foundation stone. How cruel hypocrisy is ! V. Is there any remedy ? Can anything be done for the reformation of the criminal ? He should be treated with kindness. Every right should be given him, consistent with the safety of society. He should neither be degraded nor robbed. The state should set the highest and no- blest example. The powerful should never be cruel, and in the breast of the supreme there should be no desire for revenge. A man in a moment of want steals the property of another, and he is sent to the penitentiary — first as it is claimed, for the purpose of deterring others ; CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 1 9 and secondly, of reforming him. The circumstances of each individual case are rarely inquired into. In- vestigation stops when the simple fact of the larceny has been ascertained. No distinctions are made, except as between first and subsequent offences. Nothing is allowed for surroundings. All will admit that the industrious must be protected. In this world it is necessary to work. Labor is the foundation of all prosperity. Larceny is the enemy of industry. Society has the right to protect itself The question is, Has it the right to punish? — has it the right to degrade? — or should it endeavor to reform the convict ? A man is taken to the penitentiary. He is clad in the garments of a convict. He is degraded — he loses his name — he is designated by a number. He is no longer treated as a human being ^ — -he be- comes the slave of the state. Nothing is done for his improvement — -nothing for his reformation. He is driven like a beast of burden ; robbed of his labor ; leased, it may be, by the state to a contractor, who gets out of his hands, out of his muscles, out of his poor brain, all the toil that he can. He is not allow- ed to speak with a fellow-prisoner. At night he is alone in his cell. The relations that should exist 20 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. between men are destroyed. He is a convict. He is no longer worthy to associate even with his keep- ers. The jailor is immensely his superior, and the man who turns the key upon him at night regards himself, in comparison, as a model of honesty, of virtue and manhood. The convict is pavement on which those who watch him walk. He remains for the time of his sentence, and when that expires he goes forth a branded man. He is given money enough to pay his fare back to the place from whence he came. What is the condition of this man ? Can he get employment? Not if he honestly states who he is and where he has been. The first things he does is to deny his personality, to assume a name. He en- deavors by telling falsehoods to lay the foundation for future good conduct. The average man does not wish to employ an ex-convict, because the average man has no confidence in the reform.ing power of the penitentiary. He believes that the convict who comes out is worse than the convict who went in. He knows that in the penitentiary the heart of this man has been hardened — that he has been subjected to the torture of perpetual humiliation — that he has been treated like a ferocious beast ; and so he believes CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 21 that this ex-convict has in his heart hatred for society, that he feels he has been degraded and robbed. Un- der these circumstances, what avenue is open to the ex-convict ? If he changes his name, there will be some detective, some officer of the law, some meddle- some wretch, who will betray his secret. He is then discharged. He seeks employment again, and he must seek it by again telling what is not true. He is again detected, and again discharged. And finally he be- comes convinced that he cannot live as an honest man. He naturally drifts back into the society of those who have had a like experience ; and the result is that in a little while he again stands in the dock, charged with the commission of another crime. Again he is sent to the penitentiary — and this is the end. He feels that his day is done, that the future has only degradation for him. The men in the penitentiaries do not work for themselves. Their labor belongs to others. They have no interest in their toil — no reason for doing the best they can — and the result is that the product of their labor is poor. This product comes in competi- tion with the work of mechanics, honest men, who have families to support, and the cry is that convict labor takes the bread from the mouths of virtuous people. 2 2 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. VI. Why should the state take without compensation the labor of these men ; and why should they, after having been imprisoned for years, be turned out without the means of support ? Would it not be far better, far more economical, to pay these men for their labor, to lay aside their earnings from day to day, from month to month, and from year to year — to put this money at interest, so that when the convict is released after five years of imprisonment he will have several hundred dollars of his own — not merely money enough to pay his way back to the place from which he was sent, but enough to make it possible for him to commence business on his own account, enough to keep the wolf of crime from the door of his heart ? Suppose the convict comes out with five hundred dollars. This would be to most of that class a fortune. It would form a breast- work, a fortress, behind which the man could fight temptation. This would give him food and raiment, enable him to go to some other state or country where he could redeem himself. If this were done, thousands of convicts would feel un- der immense obligation to the government. They would think of the penitentiary as the place in which CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 23 they were saved — in which they were redeemed — and they would feel that the verdict of guilty rescued them from the abyss of crime. Under these circum- stances, the law would appear beneficent, and the heart of the poor convict, instead of being filled with malice, would overflow with gratitude. He would see the propriety of the course pursued by the govern- ment. He would recognize and feel and experience the benefits of this course, and the result would be good, not only to him, but to the nation as well. If the convict worked for himself, he would do the best he could, and the wares produced in the peni- tentiaries would not cheapen the labor of other men. VII. There are, however, men who pursue crime as a vocation- — -as a profession- — ^men who have been convicted again and again, and who still persist in using the liberty of intervals to prey upon the rights of others. What shall be done with these men and women ? Put one thousand hardened thieves on an island — compel them to produce what they eat and use — and I am almost certain that a large majority would be opposed to theft. Those who worked would not 24 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. permit those who did not to steal the result of their labor. In other words, self-preservation would be the dominant idea, and these men would instantly look upon the idlers as the enemies of their society. Such a community would be self-supporting Let women of the same class be put by themselves. Keep the sexes absolutely apart. Those who are beyond the power of reformation should not have the liberty to reproduce themselves. Those who cannot be reached by kindness — by justice — those who under no circumstances are willing to do their share, should be separated. They should dwell apart, and dying, should leave no heirs. What shall be done with the slayers of their fellow men — with murderers? Shall the nation take life ? It has been contended that the death penalty deters others- — -that it has far more terror than im- prisonment for life. What is the effect of the exam- ple set by a nation ? Is not the tendency to harden and degrade not only those who inflict and those who witness, but the entire community as well? A few years ago a man was hanged in Alexan- dria, Virginia. One who witnessed the execution, on that very day, murdered a pedler in the Smithso- CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 25 nian grounds at Washington. He was tried and executed, and one who witnessed his hanging went home, and on the same day murdered his wife. The tendency of the extreme penalty is to pre- vent conviction. In the presence of death it is easy for a jury to find a doubt. Technicalities become important, and absurdities, touched with mercy, have the appearance for a moment of being natural and logical. Honest and conscientious men dread a final and irrevocable step. If the penalty were imprison- ment for life, the jury would feel that if any mistake were made it could be rectified ; but where the pen- alty is death a mistake is fatal. A conscientious man takes into consideration the defects of human nature — the uncertainty of testimony, and the count- less shadows that dim and darken the understanding, and refuses to find a verdict that, if wrong, cannot be righted. The death penalty, inflicted by the government, is a perpetual excuse for mobs. The greatest danger in a Republic is a mob, and as long as States inflict the penalty of death mobs will follow the example. If the State does not con- sider life sacred, the mob, with ready rope, will strangle the suspected. The mob will say : " The 26 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. only difference is in the trial ; the State does the same — we know the man is guilty — why should time be wasted in technicalities ? " In other words, why may not the mob do quickly that which the State does slowly ? Every execution tends to harden the public heart — tends to lessen the sacredness of human life. In many States of this Union the mob is supreme. For certain offences the mob is expected to lynch the supposed criminal. It is the duty of every citizen ■ — and as it seems to me especially of every lawyer — to do what he can to destroy the mob spirit. One would think that men would be afraid to com- mit any crime in a community where the mob is in the ascendency, and yet, such are the contradictions and subtleties of human nature, that it is exactly the opposite. And there is another thing in this con- nection — the men who constitute the mob are, as a rule, among the worst, the lowest, and the most depraved. A few years ago, in Illinois, a man escaped from jail, and, in escaping, shot the sheriff. He was pur- sued, overtaken — lynched. The man who put the rope around his neck was then out on bail, having been indicted for an assault to murder. And after CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 27 the poor wretch was dead, another man climbed the tree from which he dangled and, in derision, put a cigar in the mouth of the dead ; and this man was on bail, having been indicted for larceny. Those who are the fiercest to destroy and hang their fellow-men for having committed crimes, are, for the most part, at heart, criminals themselves. As long as nations meet on the fields of war — as long as they sustain the relations of savages to each other — as long as they put the laurel and the oak on the brows of those who kill — just so long will citizens resort to violence, and the quarrels of individuals be settled by dagger and revolver. VIII. If we are to change the conduct of men, we must change their conditions. Extreme poverty and crime go hand in hand. Destitution multiplies temptations and destroys the finer feelings. The bodies and souls of men are apt to be clad in like garments. If the body is covered with rags, the soul is generally in the same condition. Self-respect is gone — the man looks down — he has neither hope nor courage. He becomes sinister — he envies the prosperous — hates the fortunate, and despises himself. 28 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. As long as children are raised in the tenement and gutter, the prisons will be full. The gulf be- tween the rich and poor will grow wider and wider.. One will depend on cunning, the other on force. It is a great question whether those who live in luxury- can afford to allow others to exist in want. The value of property depends, not on the prosperity of the few, but on the prosperity of a very large majority. Life and property must be secure, or that subtle thing called "value" takes its leave. The poverty of the many is a perpetual menace. If we expect a prosper- ous and peaceful country, the citizens must have homes. The more homes, the more patriots, the more virtue, and the more security for all that gives worth to life. We need not repeat the failures of the old world. To divide lands among successful generals, or among favorites of the crown, to give vast estates for services rendered in war, is no worse than to allow men of great wealth to purchase and hold vast tracts of land. The result is precisely the same — that is to say, a nation composed of a few landlords and of many tenants — the tenants resorting from time to time to mob violence, and the landlords depending upon a standing army. The property of no man, however, CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 29 should be taken for either private or public use with- out just compensation and in accordance with law. There is in the State what is known as the right of eminent domain. The State reserves to itself the power to take the land of any private citizen for a public use, paying to that private citizen a just com- pensation to be legally ascertained. When a corpo- ration wishes to build a railway, it exercises this right of eminent domain, and where the owner of land refuses to sell a right of way, or land for the establish- ment of stations or shops, and the corporation proceeds to condemn the land to ascertain its value, and when the amount thus ascertained is paid, the property vests in . the corporation. This power is exercised because in the estimation of the people the construction of a railway is a public good. I believe that this power should be exercised in another direction. It would be well as it seems to me, for the Legislature to fix the amount of land that a private citizen may own, that will not be subject to be taken for the use of which I am about to speak. The amount to be thus held will depend upon many local circumstances, to be decided by each State for itself. Let me suppose that the amount of land that may be held for a farmer for cultivation has been fixed 30 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. at 1 60 acres — and suppose that A has several thousand acres. B wishes to buy 160 acres or less of this land, for the purpose of making himself a home. A refuses to sell. Now, I believe that the law should be so that B can invoke this right of eminent domain, and file his petition, have the case brought before a jury, or before commissioners, who shall hear the evidence and determine the value, and on the pay- ment of the amount the land shall belong to B. I would extend the same law to lots and houses in cities and villages — the object being to fill our country with the owners of homes, so that every child shall have a fireside, every father and mother a roof, provided they have the intelligence, the energy and the industry to acquire the necessary means. Tenements and flats and rented lands are, in my judgment, the enemies of civilization. They make the rich richer, and the poor poorer. They put a few in palaces, but they put many in prisons. I would go a step further than this. I would exempt homes of a certain value not only from levy and sale, but from every kind of taxation, State and National — ^so that these poor people would feel that they were in partnership with nature — that some of the land was absolutely theirs, and that no one could CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 3 1 drive them from their home — so that mothers could feel secure. If the home increased in value, and ex- ceeded the limit, then taxes could be paid on the excess ; and if the home was sold, I would have the money realized exempt for a certain time in order that the family should have the privilege of buying another home. The home, after all, is the unit of civilization, of good government ; and to secure homes for a great majority of our citizens, would be to lay the foun- dation of our government deeper and broader and stronger than that of any nation that has existed among men. IX. No one places a higher value upon the free school than I do ; and no one takes greater pride in the prosperity of our colleges and universities. But at the same time, much that is called education sim- ply unfits men successfully to fight the battle of life. Thousands are to-day studying things that will be of exceedingly little importance to them or to others. Much valuable time is wasted in studying languages that long ago were dead, and histories in which there is no truth. 32 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. There was an idea in the olden time — and it is not yet dead — that whoever was educated ought not to work ; that he should use his head and not his hands. Graduates were ashamed to be found en- gaged in manual labor, in ploughing fields, in sowing or in gathering grain. To this manly kind of in- dependence they preferred the garret and the precarious existence of an unappreciated poet, bor- rowing their money from their friends, and their ideas from the dead. The educated regarded the useful as degrading — they were willing to stain their souls to keep their hands white. The object of all education should be to increase the usefulness of man — usefulness to himself and others. Every human being should be taught that his first duty is to take care of himself, and that to be self-respecting he must be self-supporting. To live on the labor of others, either by force which enslaves, or by cunning which robs, or by borrowing or beg- ging, is wholly dishonorable. Every man should be taught some useful art. His hands should be edu- cated as well as his head. He should be taught to deal with things as they are — with life as it is. This would give a feeling of independence, which is the firmest foundation of honor, of character. CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 33 Every man knowing that he is useful, admires himself. In all the schools children should be taught to work in wood and iron, to understand the construc- tion and use of machinery, to become acquainted with the great forces that man is using to do his work. The present system of education teaches names, not things. It is as though we should spend years in learning the names of cards, without playing a game. In this way boys would learn their aptitudes — would ascertain what they were fitted for — what they could do. It would not be a guess, or an ex- periment, but a demonstration. Education should increase a boy's chances for getting a living. The real good of it is to get food and roof and raiment, opportunity to develop the mind and the body and live a full and ample life. The more real education, the less crime — and the more homes, the fewer prisons. X. The fear of punishment may deter some, the fear of exposure others ; but there is no real reforming power in fear or punishment. Men cannot be 34 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. tortured into greatness, into goodness. All this, as I said before, has been thoroughly tried. The idea that punishment was the only relief, found its limit, its infinite, in the old doctrine of eternal pain ; but the believers in that dogma stated distinctly that the victims never would be, and never could be, re- formed. As men become civilized they become capable of greater pain and of greater joy. To the extent that the average man is capable of enjoying or suffering, to that extent he has sympathy with others. The average man, the more enlightened he becomes, the more apt he is to put himself in the place of another. He thinks of his prisoner, of his employee, of his tenant — and he even thinks beyond these : he thinks of the community at large. As man becomes civilized he takes more and more into consideration circum- stances and conditions. He gradually loses faith in the old ideas and theories that every man can do as he wills, and in the place of the word " wills," he puts the word " must." The time comes to the in- telligent man when in the place of punishments he thinks of consequences, results — that is to say, not something inflicted by some other power, but some- thing necessarily growing out of what is done. The CKIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 36 clearer men perceive the consequences of actions, the better they will be. Behind consequences we place no personal will, and consequently do not regard them as inflictions, or punishments. Conse- quences, no matter how severe they may be, create in the mind no feeling of resentment, no desire for revenge. We do not feel bitterly towards the fire because it burns, or the frost that freezes, or the flood that overwhelms, or the sea that drowns — because we attribute to these things no motives, good or bad. So, when through the development of the in- tellect man perceives not only the nature but the absolute certainty of consequences, he refrains from certain actions, and this may be called reformation through the intellect — and surely there is no better reformation than this. Some may be, and probably millions have been, reformed, through kindness, through gratitude — made better in the sunlight of charity. In the atmosphere of kindness the seeds of virtue burst into bud and flower. Cruelty, tyranny, brute force, do not and can not by any possibility better the heart of man. He who is forced upon his knees has the attitude, but never the feeling, of prayer. In am satisfied that the discipline of the average 36 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. prison hardens and degrades. It is for the most part a perpetual exhibition of arbitrary power. There is really no appeal. The cries of the convict are not heard beyond the walls. The protests die in cells, and the poor prisoner feels that the last tie between him and his fellow-men has been broken. He is kept in ignorance of the outer world. The prison is a cemetery, and his cell is a grave. In many of the penitentiaries there are instru- ments of torture, and now and then a convict is murdered. Inspections and investigations go for naught, because the testimony of a convict goes for naught. He is generally prevented by fear from telling his wrongs ; but if he speaks^ he is not be- lieved — he is regarded as less than a human being, and so the imprisoned remain without remedy. When the visitors are gone, the convict who has spoken is prevented from speaking again. Every manly feeling, every effort toward real reformation, is trampled under foot, so that when the convict's time is out there is little left on which to build. He has been humiliated to the last degree, and his spirit has so long been bent by authority and fear that even the desire to stand erect has almost faded from the mind. The keeper's feel that they CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 37 are safe, because no matter what they do, the con- vict when released will not tell the story of his wrongs, for if he conceals his shame, he must also hide their guilt. Every penitentiary should be a real reformatory. That should be the principal object for the establish- ment of the prison. The men in charge should be of the kindest and noblest. They should be filled with divine enthusiasm for humanity, and every means should be taken to convince the prisoner that his good is sought — -that nothing is done for re- venge — nothing for a display of power, and nothing for the gratification of malice. He should feel that the warden is his unselfish friend. When a convict is charsred with a violation of the rules — with insub- ordination, or with any offence, there should be an investigation in due and proper form, giving the con- vict an opportunity to be heard. He should not be for one moment the victim of irresponsible power. He would then feel that he had some rights, and that some little of the human remained in him still. They should be taught things of value — in- structed by competent men. Pains should be taken, not to punish, not to degrade, but to benefit and ennoble. 38 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. We know, if we know anything, that men in the penitentiaries are not altogether bad, and that many out are not altogether good ; and we feel that in the brain and heart of all there are the seeds of good and bad. We know, too, that the best are liable to fall, and it may be that the worst, under certain condi- tions, may be capable of grand and heroic deeds. Of one thing we may be assured — and that is, that criminals will never be reformed by being robbed, humiliated and degraded. Ignorance, filth, and poverty are the missionaries of crime. As long as dishonorable success outranks honest effort — as long as society bows and cringes before the great thieves, there will be little ones enough to fill the jails. XI. All the penalties, all the punishments, are inflicted under a belief that man can do right under all circum- stances — that his conduct is absolutely under his control, and that his will is a pilot that can, in spite of winds and tides, reach any port desired. All this is, in my judgment, a mistake. It is a denial of the integrity of nature. It is based upon the supernatural and miraculous, and as long as this mistake remains CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. 39 the corner-stone of criminal jurisprudence, reforma- tion will be impossible. We must take into consideration the nature of man, — the facts of mind — the power of temptation — the limitations of the intellect — the force of habit — the result of heredity — the power of passion — the domination of want — the diseases of the brain — the tyranny of appetite — the cruelty of conditions — the results of association — the effects of poverty and wealth, of helplessness and power. Until these subtle things are understood — until we know that man, in spite of all, can certainly pur- sue the highway of the right, society should not impoverish and degrade, should not chain and kill, those who, after all may be the helpless victims of unknown causes that are deaf and blind. We know something of ourselves — of the aver- age man — of his thoughts, passions, fears and aspi- rations — something of his sorrows and his joys, his weakness, his liability to fall — something of what he resists — the struggles, the victories and the failures of his life. We know something of the tides and currents of the mysterious sea — something of the circuits of the wayward winds — but we do not know where the wild storms are born that wreck and rend. 40 CRIMES AGAINST CRIMINALS. Neither do we know in what strange realm the mists and clouds are formed that dim and darken all the heaven of the mind, nor from whence comes the tempest of the brain in which the will to do, sudden as the lightning's flash, seizes and holds the man until the dreadful deed is done that leaves a curse upon the soul. We do not know. Our ignorance should make us hesitate. Our weakness should make us merciful. I cannot more fittingly close this address than by quoting the prayer of the Buddhist : " I pray thee to have pity on the vicious — thou hast already had pity on the virtuous by making them so." a "Si'B.'w "a"Di.T:ioii. tost pi3B'l.is=hsi"D"^ K Short Bistopi; of the gible: Being an account of the fortnation and development of the Canon, by BRONSON C. KEELER. Price, Cloth, 75 cents. Paper, 50 cents. Postage paid. This Book should be read by every Clergyman, Layman, Scholar and Liberal. Everybody knows that the contents of the Bible were voted upon by different councils of the church ; that books were included in the early centuries "which are no longer regarded as a part of the sacred scriptures ; that many of the books now in the Bible were for centuries not a part of it ; and that bishops, and synods, and councils labored long to agree upon what books should be con- sidered canonical and what should not be. But the general knowledge has been indefinite. Few people are aware, for example, that the book of Revelation was for 1500 years rejected by the Eastern branch of the Christian church, and was voted into the Bible by that branch at a council held in Jerusalem in 1672. The aim of Mr. Keeler's book is to go over this entire ground from the beginning of the Christian era to the present time, and to famish all the facts concerning the formation and development of the Bible canon, giving brieiiy but succinctly the views of each bishop and the action of every council having any influence on the contents of the sacred volume. Mr. Keeler does not deal in opinions. He simply states facts, and gives a reference for each fact to the early Christian fathers and other recognized authorities ; and it is believed that his book throws much light on a hitherto obscured department of religious history. "I have read Mr. Keeler's book with great pleasure and profit. He gives, in my opinion, a clear and intelligent account of the growth of the bible. He shows why books were received as inspired, and why they were rejected. He does not deal in opinions, but in facts ; and for the correctness of his facts, he refers to the highest authorities. He has shown exactly who the Christian fathers were, and the weight that their evidence is entitled to. The first cen- turies of Christianity are filled with shadow ; most histories of that period simply tell us what did not happen, and even the statements of what did not happen are contradictory. The falsehoods do not agree. Mr, Keeler must have spent a great deal of time in the examination of a vast number of volumes, and the amount of information contained in his book could not be collected in years. Every minister, every college professor, and every man who really wishes to know something about the origin and growth of the bible, should read this book."— R. G. INGERSOLL. TO C. P. Farrell, Esq.— Often have I wished that some writer, who had a learned' head and a lucid pen, would give us a brief yet comprehensive account of the Books of the Bible— how we came by them — when the world first got them — and what were the qualities, characters and pretensions of those who first imposed them upon credulous and superstitious believers. Often have I wished that if such a book were written, some publisher, having the ear of the Free Thought world, would issue it. Great was mv surprise and pleasure when I saw at Washington, Bronson Keeler's ''Short History of the Bible" we have, and the marvellous number of suppressed Scriptures — all Christian, all curi- ous all instructive —most of them wiser, all equally authentic, and all believed to be eaually divine by those who had better means of judging them than we have All who are Christian — all who think they ought to be — and all who are liot — should read Mr. Keeler's " Short," masterly and wise book.— GEORGE Jacob Holyoake, London, England. The New York Sun, (Sunday, Oct. g, 1881, in a review occupying four and one- ouarter columnsl : "On what questionable ground some writings were admitted ?Trflntlieri excluded from the Christian scriptures is briefly and effectively set fOTtoinamonogrlphendtledM Short History of the Bible,' ^y Bronson C. iflplei- The wfiter of this striking essay has not drawn his matermls from the Girman rationalists, but bases his assertions on the statements of Christian his- t^riSis and commentators, especially on the writings of the Christian fathers 0^,1 t?^ «-olesiastical history of Eusebius, and, among modern works, on Mifman's 'History of Latin ^Christianity,' and the disquisitions of Wescott, DaWd?on Lange and Schaff. We trust that no one who has been led by the ronearanie of the revised version to ponder the origin and. history of the sacred wr?tilgTwill fail to examine for himself Mr. K eeler's admirable monograph." Address C. P. FARRELL, Publisher, New York. Robert G. Ingersolls Works. Gods and other Lectures, comprising the Gods, Humboldt, Thomas Paine, Individuality, Heretics and Heresies. Paper 50c.; cloth, $1.00. Ghosts and other Lectures, including The Ghosts, Liberty of Man Woman, and Child; The Declaration of Independence, About Farming in Illinois, Speech nominating James G. Blaine for Prefidency in 1876, The Grant Banquet, A Tribute to Rev. Alex. Clark, The Past Rises before Me Like a Dream, aaid A Tribute to Ebon C. IngersoU. Paper, 50o.; clotli, $1.00. Some Mistakes of Moses. 270 pages, paper, 50o.;oioth, $1.00. Interviews on Talmage. Being six interviews with the Famous Orator on Six Sermons by the Rev. T. DeWltt Talmage of Brooklyn, to whlcli is added a Talmagian Catechism. Paper, 50c.; cloth, $1.25. Blasphemy. Argument by E. G. IngersoU in the Trial of 0. B. Eeynolds, at Morristown, N. J. Paper, 25c.; cloth, 50c. What Must We Do to Be Saved? Analyzes the go-oaUed gospels ol Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and devotes a chapter each to tiie CathoUca, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Bvangehcal Alliance, and answers the question of the Christians as to what he proposes instead of Christianity — the religion of sword and flame. Paper, 25 cents. The Liberty of Man, Woman and Child; just out. a Lecture. Paper, 26 ots. Prose-Poems and Selections, sixth edition, enlarged and r» vised. A handsome quarto, containing 383 pages. This is, beyond question, tho cheapest and most elegant volume in Liberal literature. Its mechanical finish is worthy of its intrinsic excellence. No expense has been spared to make it the thing of beauty it is. The type Is large and clear, the paper heavy, highly calen ■ dered, and richly tinted, the presswork faultless, and the binding as perfect an the best materials and skill can make it. As to the contents, it is enough to say that they include all of the choicest ntterancet of the greatest writer on the topics treated that has ever lived. Those who have not the good fortune to own all of Mr. Ingersoll's published works, will have in this book of selections many bright samples of hia lofty thought, his matchless eloquence, his wonderful imagery, and his epigrammatic and poetio power. The collection includes all of the '* Tributes " that have become famotu m literature— notably those to his brother E. C. IngersoU, Lincoln, Grant, Beecher, Conklin, Courtlandt M. Palmer, Mary Piske, Elizur Wright : his peer- less monographs on "The Vision of War," Love, Liberty, Art and Morality, Science, Nature, The Imagination, Decoration Day Oration, What is Poetry, Music of Wagner, Origin and Destiny, " Leaves of Grass," and on the great heroes of intellectual Liberty. Besides these there are innumerable gems taken here and there from the orations, speeches, arguments, toasts, lectures, letters, interviews, and day by day conversations of the author. The book ia desired for, and wlU be accepted by, admiring friends as a rare per- sonal souvenir. To help it serve this purpose, a fine steel portrait, with auto- graph fac-simile, has been prepared especiaUy for it. In the more elegant styles of binding it is eminently suited for preaentation purposea, for any seaaon or occaaion. PBI0B3.— In cloth, beveled boards, gilt edges, $2.50; in half morocco, gilt edges, $5; in half calf, mottled edges, library style, $4.50 ; in full Turkey morocco, gilt, exquisitely fine, $7.50 ; in fuU tree calf, highest possible finish. $9. Cheap ed $1.50. Ingersoll's Lectures in one volume. Contents: The Gods; Humboldt; Individuality; Thomas Paine; Heretica and Heresiea; The Ghosts; The Liberty of Man, Woman and Child ; The Centennial Oration, or Declara- tion of Independence, July 4, 1876 ; What I Know About Farming in lUinois ; Speech at Cincinnati in 1876, nominating James Q. Blaine for the Presidency ; lie Past Rises Before Me, or Vision of War, an extract from a Speech made at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Reunion at Indianapolis, Ind., Sept. 21, 1876; A Tribute to Ebon C. Ingeraoll ; The Grant Banquet ; Crimes Against Criminals; Tribute to the Rev. Alexander Clarke ; Some Mistakes of Mosea ; What Muat We Do to be Saved ? Six Intervlewa with Robert G. IngersoU on Six Sermons by the Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.; to which is added a Talmagian Catechism, and Four Prefaces, which contain some of Mr. IngersoU's wittiest and brightest pay- ings. niis volume has the greatest popularity. Is beautiftiUy bound in half calf or half morocco, mottled edgSs, 1,431 pages, good paper, large typei post 8vo. Piiea, postpaid. $6.00. Cloth, $3.60; sher- .00. ROBERT G. INGBRSOLL'S WORKS— Continued. God in the Constitution, one of the best papers Colonel IngersoU ever wrote. In paper cover with likeness of author. Price, lo cents. Twelve copies for $i. Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Wait whitman. "Let us :put wreaths on the brows of the living." An address delivered in Philadelphia, Oct. 21, 1850, with Portrait of Whitman. Paper, 25 cents ; cloth, 50 cents. Also contains the funeral oration. TilOmaS Paine'S Vindication. AReplytotheNewYorkO&serrer's Attack upon the Author-hero of the Revolution, by B. G. IngersoU. Paper, 15 c. Limitations of Toleration, a Discussion between Col. E. G. IngersoU, Hon. Frederick E. Coudert, and Ex-Qovemor Stewart L. Woodford. Paper, 10 cents. O rth O d OXy . a Lecture. Paper, 10 cents. Civil Rights Speech, with speech of Hon. Pred'k Douglass. Paper, 10 cents. IngersoU and the Brooklyn Divines. How the caiurch meets The Demands of the Hour. Paper, 25cts. A Lay Sermon. On the Labor Question. Paper, 5 cents. Crimes Against Criminals. OeUvered before the New York state Bar Association, at Albany, N. Y., Jan. 21, 1890. Paper, 10 cents. Life. A Prose-Poem. In color, on board, beveled, gUt edges, 1Z% xl2, (for mantel, waU or easel,) 75 cents. Illustrated. Lithograph of R. G. IngersoU. 22x 28 inch., heavy plate paper, eoc. photographs of Col. IngersoU, 18x24, $5.00. imperial, 7Kx 13, $1.50. Cabinet, 25 cts. IngersoU and granddaughter Eva III., (a home picture,) 35 cts. About the Holy Bible, just out. a new Lecture About the Holy Bible. Price, paper, 25 cents. Shakespeare. IngersoU's Great Lecture on Shakespeare, with a rare and handsome half-tone picture of the Kesselstadt Death Mask. Paper, 25 cts. Lecture on Abraham Lincoln, justout. with a handsome, new portrait. Price, paper, 25 cents. The Great IngersoU Controversy, containing the Famous Christmas Sermon, by Colonel B. Q. IngersoU. the indignant protests thereby evoked from ministers of various denominations, and Col. IngersoU's repUes to the same. A work of tremendous interest to every thinking man and woman. Price, paper, 25 cts. Is Suicide a Sin? "Something Brand New!" IngersoU's startling, brilliant and thriUingly eloquent letters, which created such a sensation when pubUshed in the New York World, together with the replies of famous clergymen and writers, a verdict from a jury of eminent men of New York, Curious Facts About Suicides, celebrated essays and opinions of noted men, and an astonish- ing and original chapter. Great Suicides of History ! Price, paper, 25 ctB. An Open Letter to Indianaoolis Clergymen. By Colonel E. G. IngersoU. To which is added " The Genesis of Life," by W. H. Lamaster. Paper, 25 cents. Col. IngersoU's Note to the Public. Washinqton, D. C Jul/ylO, 1889. I wish to notifv the public that all books and pamphlets purporting to contain my leo- ttieT^d ?otl5ntata^Sg the imprint of Mr C. S-. /vbeeli. =^ P'i?'*er, are Bpunons, oToasWinaecnrate flUed with mistakes, horribly printed, and outrageously unjust to mo, ^he&he?« of all such are simply li&rary thlefes and' P^tes'ind are obtaining mon^^^^^ from the public under false pretences. These wretches have published one lecture unaei Su?titto and several others under two or three. I take this course to warn the public thlttS publications are fraudulent; the only correct editions being those published by Mr. O. P. PAERELL. g Q iNaBESOLI,. C. p. FARRELL, 220 Madison Ave., New York. The Liberal ClasslcSc ^^The greatest works of the noblest viinds.''^ Volney's Ruins of Empires and the Law of Nature, with Por- trait of Volney, Illustrations, and Map of the Astrological Heaven of the Ancients. Also, Volney's Answer to Dr. Priestly, a Biographical Notice by Count Daru, and an Explanation of the Zodiacal Signs and Constellations by Peter Eckler. 248 pp., cloth 75 cts. ; paper 50 cts. ; half calf $3.00. Gibbon's History of Christianity, with Preface, Lite of Gibbon, and Notes by Peter Eckler ; also variorum Notes by Guizot, Wenck, Mill- man, etc. Portrait of Gibbon and many engravings of mythological divini- ties. Post 8vo, 864 pp., cloth $3.00, half calf $4.00. Meslier'S Superstition in All Ages, jean MesUer was a Roman Cath- olic Priest who, after a pastoral service of thirty years in France, wholly abjured religious dogmas, and left this work as his last Will and Testament to his parishioners and to the world. 339 pp., portrait. Cloth $i 00, paper 50 cts. ; halt calf $4. J^^The same work in German, cloth $1.00, paper 50 cts. Voltaire's Romances, a new Edition, containing twenty-two of Vol- taire's best and wittiest productions, with Portrait and 82 Illustrations. Preface and notes by Peter Eckler. Cloth $1.50, paper $1.00, half calf $4.00. Biichner's Force and Matter, or principles of the natural order OF THE Universe. With a system of Morality based thereon. A scientific work of great ability and merit. Post 8vo, 414 pp., with Portrait, Cloth $1 00. Buchner's Man in the Past, Present, and Future, it describes Man as " a being not put upon the earth accidentally by an arbitrary act, but produced in harmony with the earth's nature, and belonging to it as do the flowers and fruits to the tree which bears them." Cloth $1.00. Haeckel's Visit to Ceylon, with Portrait, and Map of India and Ceylon. " These letters constitute one of the most charming books of travel ever published, quite worthy of being placed by the side of Darwin's ' Voyage of the Beagle.' " Post 8vo, 348 pages, cloth $1.00. Rouss*"iu's Social Contract; or principles of political law. Alsc Project for a Perpetual Peace. Preface by Peter Eckler. Post 8vo, 238 Pjy., with Portrait, cloth 75 cts., paper 50 cts. Rousseau's Profession of Faith of the Vicar of Savoy. Also, A SEARCH FOR TRUTH, by Olive Schreiner. Preface by Peter Eckler. Post 8vo, 128 pages, with Portrait. Cloth 50 cts., paper 25 cts. Higgins' Horae Sabbaticae, Or an Attempt to Correct Certain Supersti- tious and Vulgar Errors Respecting the Sabbath. Preface by Peter Eckler. Post 8vo, cloth 50 cts., paper 25 cts. Bacon's Christian Paradoxes, Or the Characters of a Believing Chris- tian m Paradoxes and Seeming Contradictions. With Portrait, paper. 10 cts. The Great IngersoH Controversy, containing an eloquent Christ- mas sermon by Col. Robert G. Ing jrsoU, and various protests by eminent divines. 213 pp., paper 25 cts. Dickens' Sunday Under Three Heads.- As it is; as Sabbath wiis would make it ; and as it might be made. By Charles Dickens. Illustrated by Phiz. Portrait. Preface by Peter Eckler. Cloth 50 cts., paper 25 cts. ^'^^?w?T^l®*?''y?*"^^^l®?,**®"?'<'" ^"