The first of these is, that _organizations_ to promote truth and righteousness are of more consequence than truth and righteousness. Thus, to a Catholic, the reputation and interests of _the church_—that is, the clergy—are to be regarded first, so that its pope and priesthood are to be shielded from the public exposure of whatever crimes they may commit, lest the influence of the church should suffer. Thus, in Protestant ecclesiastical organizations, the sins of their chief leaders are sometimes covered and palliated, lest their church and order be discredited. Thus the college faculty are sometimes sustained by parents or the public in unjust proceedings, lest the respect and confidence of the pupils or the public toward them should be impaired. Thus, also, the officers of benevolent associations are tolerated and shielded from odium for conduct that should receive universal disapprobation. In such cases, the _end_ is made secondary to the means—the instrumentalities to promote virtue receive more regard than virtue itself. This, among “fishers of men,” is making taking the fish secondary to the care of the net. The other false principle is, that men are to be restrained from protesting against wrong, in cases where it would make great trouble and difficulty to individuals or to communities involved in it. That men are to use discretion and consult expediency as to the _time_ and _manner_ of exposing and denouncing wrong, is one of the teachings of common sense. But that men are to protest against wrong only when it makes little or no trouble to any one, and be silent when contention and trouble would result from such protesting, is a principle that would have inhibited the spread of Christianity by the apostles, of the Reformation by Luther, and of every other great reform. The extent to which wise and good men have adopted and acted on these false principles has probably done more to undermine faith in the Bible and the church than all other causes united. The tendency has been to generate the feeling that the great organizations based on the Bible and aiming to extend its authority, are really little better than associations to sustain the power and the influence of a certain privileged class, at the sacrifice of not only truth and righteousness, but of manly freedom of thought and speech. The extent of real infidelity, not only in our colleges, but among the young mechanics of our shops and manufactories, the young farmers in our fields, the clerks in our offices and stores, and Young America all over the nation, is little imagined by those, who, on the field of conservatism, are striving to repress free discussion. There are seething and glowing fires gathering for vent, which such attempts are as vain to restrain as are bands of cobwebs to confine an outbursting volcano.