ion which stands above creeds, and knows nothing about dogmas; in
other words, they wish for a religion of which a certain poet says: "My
religion is to have no religion." The object, then, of these godless,
irreligious _Public Schools_ is to spread among the people the worst of
religions, the _no religion_, the religion which pleases most hardened
adulterers and criminals--the religion of irrational animals. How far
this diabolical scheme has succeeded is well known, for there are at
present from twenty to twenty-five millions of people in the United
States who profess no distinct religious belief. Everywhere the same
effects have been observed. Licentiousness, cruelty, and
vice--"Positivism," or the substitution of the harlotry of the passions
for the calm and elevating influences of reason and religion. How can it
be otherwise?

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Jean Mace.

[B] "_La Solidarite." _(Le Monde Maconnique, October, 5866 [1866], p.
472.)

[C] "_La Solidarite." _(Le Monde Maconnique, February, 5867 [1867].)

[D] Vive le Materialisme.

[E] Le Monde Maconnique, June, 1866.

CHAPTER IV.

EXPOSE OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.

It is a fundamental principle of Christianity, admitted even by
Protestants, that man cannot reach his destiny without a knowledge of
the religion which Jesus Christ taught, and which He sealed with His
precious Blood. Now this fundamental principle is virtually ignored in
our present school system, which proposes to educate without religion.
The whole course of instruction is imparted without any reference to
religion, without any of those occasional observations that are so
necessary in our days, and especially in this country, in order to
explain the seeming inconsistencies between scientific facts and the
doctrines of faith. Instruction, to be useful, must show that the
discoveries of science are, as is really the case, evidences of
religion. It must show the harmony that exists between history and
philosophy and the truths of faith. Secular knowledge should be the
handmaid of religion; but no religion, no knowledge of God, is permitted
to be taught in these schools.

Let a stranger, say an educated Pagan, enter one of our public schools;
will he discover sign, symbol or token of any kind to indicate that
either the teacher or children are Christians? Or suppose this Pagan, or
a Turk, or Atheist sends children there to be educated, they can do so
with perfect safety to their Pagan,