The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. 2. (of 2): With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and EnglandConway, Moncure Daniel
History
The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. 2. (of 2): With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England
Conway, Moncure Daniel
Paine, Thomas, 1737-1809
Mr. Kyd, in replying, quoted from the Bishop of Llandaff's "Answer to
Gibbon": "I look upon the right of private judgment, in every respect
concerning God and ourselves, as superior to the control of human
authority"; and his claim that the Church of England is distinguished
from Mahometanism and Romanism by its permission of every man to utter
his opinion freely. He also cites Dr. Lardner, and Dr. Waddington,
the Bishop of Chichester, who declared that Woolston "ought not to be
punished for being an infidel, nor for writing against the Christian
religion." He quoted Paine's profession of faith on the first page of
the incriminated book: "I believe in one God and no more; I hope for
happiness, beyond this life; I believe in the equality of men, and I
believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy,
and endeavouring to make our fellow creatures happy." He also quoted
Paine's homage to the character of Jesus. He defied the prosecution to
find in the "Age of Reason" a single passage "inconsistent with the
most chaste, the most correct system of morals," and declared the very
passages selected for indictment pleas against obscenity and cruelty.
Mr. Kyd pointed out fourteen narratives in the Bible (such as Sarah
giving Hagar to Abraham, Lot and his daughters, etc.) which, if found in
any other book, would be pronounced obscene. He was about to enumerate
instances of cruelty when the judge, Lord Kenyon, indignantly
interrupted him, and with consent of the jury said he could only allow
him to cite such passages without reading them. (Mr. Kyd gratefully
acknowledged this release from the "painful task" of reading such
horrors from the "Word of God"!) One of the interesting things about
this trial was the disclosure of the general reliance on Butler's
"Analogy," used by Bishop Watson in his reply to Paine,--namely, that
the cruelties objected to in the God of the Bible are equally found
in nature, through which deists look up to their God. When Kyd, after
quoting from Bishop Watson, said, "Gentlemen, observe the weakness of
this answer," Lord Kenyon exclaimed: "I cannot sit in this place and
hear this kind of discussion." Kyd said: "My Lord, I stand here on the
privilege of an advocate in an English Court of Justice: this man has
applied to me to defend him; I have undertaken his defence; and I have
often heard your Lordship declare, that every man had a right to be
defended. I know no other mode by which I can seriously defend him
against this charge, than that which I am now pursuing; if your Lordship
wish to prevent me from pursuing it, you may as well tell me to abandon
my duty to my client at once." Lord Kenyon said: "Go on, Sir." Returning
to the analogy of the divinely ordered massacres in the Bible with the
like in nature, Kyd said:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. 2. (of 2): With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England — John Shaqi
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