honor on their cause. They have no noble army of martyrs. They have no
great monuments. And they can have no assurance of anything better in
days to come. The probability is that their memory will rot, and that
their principles will be an offence and loathing to mankind through all
succeeding generations.

But look on the other side? The highest name on earth is a religious
name; the name of Jesus. The names which stand next in honor are those
of His Apostles and followers. The mightiest nations on earth are
Christian nations. Christians rule the world. Christian ministers are
honored and revered. Christian churches rise to wealth and power. The
Church controls the state. It controls it most when it is least
ambitious, and most consistent. The Church has a glorious history. It
has the grandest array of honorable names. It has the noblest army of
martyrs. It has the richest literature. Its sacred books are read in all
the leading languages of the earth. The great geniuses are her's. The
richest poetry, the grandest eloquence, the divinest philosophy, the
noblest courage, the richest generosity, the most devoted philanthropy,
are all her's. She has the credit of being the parent and the nurse of
our highest civilization. She is the great educator. She builds our
schools. She rules our colleges. She controls the press. She plants new
nations. She spreads herself and exerts her influence in every land. You
cannot destroy the Church. It is immortal. You cannot limit its power.
It is irresistibly expansive and invincible. If at any time it suffers
loss, it is through its own unfaithfulness; and a return to duty is a
return to dominion.

Even in countries not Christian the religious element is supreme, and
the religious men alone are honored. The greatest names in the history
of India and China, of Persia and Turkey, are the names of their
prophets and religious leaders.

What follows from all this? That if infidelity be true and good, and
religion false and mischievous, the world and the human race are wholly
wrong. The best and wisest men are everywhere despised, and the weakest
and wickedest are everywhere honored. The originators of the greatest
delusions are deified; and the revealers of the greatest truths are
regarded as monsters. Truth no longer can be said to be mighty, and
error can no longer be said to be weak. The right is no longer sure of
triumph, nor the wrong of overthrow. Men love darkness and hate the
ligh