  “A respectable lie, sir! Pray what do you mean? Why the term in itself is a plain contradiction. A lie is a lie, and deserves no respect, But merciless judgment, and speedy conviction. It springs from corruption, is servile and mean, An evil conception, a coward’s invention, And whether direct, or but simply implied, Has naught but deceit for its end and intention.” Ah, yes! very well! So good morals would teach; But facts are the most stubborn things in existence, And they tend to show that great lies win respect, And hold their position with wondrous persistence. The small lies, the white lies, the lies feebly told, The world will condemn both in spirit and letter; But the great, bloated lies will be held in respect, And the larger and older a lie is, the better. A respectable lie, from a popular man, On a popular theme, never taxes endurance; And the pure, golden coin of unpopular truth, Is often refused for the brass of assurance. You may dare all the laws of the land to defy, And bear to the truth the most shameless relation, But never attack a respectable lie, If you value a name, or a good reputation. A lie well established, and hoary with age, Resists the assaults of the boldest seceder; While he is accounted the greatest of saints, Who silences reason and follows the leader. Whenever a mortal has dared to be wise, And seize upon Truth, as the soul’s “Magna Charta,” He always has won from the lovers of lies, The name of a fool, or the fate of a martyr. There are popular lies, and political lies, And “lies that stick fast between buying and selling,” And lies of politeness—conventional lies— (Which scarcely are reckoned as such in the telling.) From those who delight to peck filth like a pigeon; But the oldest and far most respectable lies, Are those that are told in the name of Religion. Theology sits like a tyrant enthroned, A system per se with a fixed nomenclature, Derived from strange doctrines, and dogmas, and creeds, At war with man’s reason, with God and with Nature; And he who subscribes to the popular faith, Never questions the fact of divine inspiration, But holds to the Bible as absolute truth, From Genesis through to St. John’s Revelation. We mock at the Catholic bigots at Rome, Who strive with their dogmas man’s reason to fetter; But we turn to the Protestant bigots at home, And we find that their dogmas are scarce a whit better. In endless damnation, and torments infernal; While around and above us, the Infinite Truth, Scarce heeded or heard, speaks sublime and eternal. It is sad—but the day-star is shining on high, And Science comes in with her conquering legions; And ev’ry respectable, time-honored lie, Will fly from her face to the mythical regions. The soul shall no longer with terror behold The red waves of wrath that leap up to engulf her, For Science ignores the existence of hell, And chemistry finds better uses for sulphur. We may dare to repose in the beautiful faith, That an Infinite Life is the source of all being; And though we must strive with delusion and Death, We can trust to a love and a wisdom all-*seeing; And walk where our feet shall not stumble or falter; And, freed from the bondage of time-honored lies, To lay all we have on the Truth’s sacred altar. |
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