in of man has been in some place held
to be sacred.

Now some one says, "The religion of my father and mother is good enough
for me." Suppose we all said that, where would be the progress of the
world? We would have the rudest and most barbaric religion--religion
which no one could believe. I do not believe that it is showing real
respect to our parents to believe something simply because they did.
Every good father and every good mother wish their children to find out
more than they knew every good father wants his son to overcome some
obstacle that he could not grapple with and if you wish to reflect
credit on your father and mother, do it by accomplishing more than they
did, because you live in a better time. Every nation has had what you
call a sacred record, and the older the more sacred, the more
contradictory and the more inspired is the record. We, of course, are
not an exception, and I propose to talk a little about what is called
the Pentateuch, a book, or a collection of books, said to have been
written by Moses. And right here in the commencement let me say that
Moses never wrote one word of the Pentateuch--not one word was written
until he had been dust and ashes for hundreds of years. But as the
general opinion is that Moses wrote these books, I have entitled this
lecture "The Mistakes of Moses." For the sake of this lecture, we will
admit that he wrote it. Nearly every maker of religion has commenced
by making the world; and it is one of the safest things to do, because
no one can contradict as having been present, and it gives free scope
to the imagination. These books, in times when there was a vast
difference between the educated and the ignorant, became inspired and
people bowed down and worshiped them.

I saw a little while ago a Bible with immense oaken covers, with hasps
and clasps large enough almost for a penitentiary, and I can imagine
how that book would be regarded by barbarians in Europe when not more
than one person in a dozen could read and write. In imagination I saw
it carried into the cathedral, heard the chant of the priest, saw the
swinging of the censer and the smoke rising; and when that Bible was
put on the altar I can imagine the barbarians looking at it and
wondering what influence that book could have on their lives and
future. I do not wonder that they imagined it was inspired. None of
them could write a book, and consequently when they saw it they adored
it; they