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CT <02
CLERICAL
“POOH, POOH!” RHETORIC.
Ovk aiffxpbv Tjye'i bpra to ipeuBrj Keyeiv ;
Ouk, ei rb cra>£ijvat ye rb if/evbos cpepei.
Philoctetes, 108-9.
PUBLISHED BY THOMAS SCOTT,
NO. II THE TERRACE, FARQUHAR ROAR, UPPER NORWOOD,
LONDON, S.E.
1875.
Price Threepence.
�LONDON!
PRINTED BY C. W. REYNELL, LITTLE PVLTENEY STREET,
HAYMARKET, W.
�CLERICAL “POOH POOH!” RHETORIC.
T is much easier to be religious than to be moral.
This is remarkably the case in countries where
the Roman Catholic religion is that of the State.
There every person is religious, but scarcely any one
is moral. There religion is a respectable suit of
clothes to be worn on great occasions and holy days ;
or, it is a passport which those who dislike being
“ spotted ” carry with them to produce in case any one
might question their orthodoxy.
Religion—not
morality—circulates through the blood of these
people, through their families, their households, and
the very atmosphere they breathe. Their religion
may be blind admiration, or submission, or faith, or
adoration, or even it may be persuasion; but it
scarcely ever is a binding rule for their moral con
duct. It has not the least necessary connection with
any one moral virtue. The most hardened murderer,
the most self-indulgent sensualist, the most atrocious
villain may be rigidly devout,—as in the case of the
notorious Francisco Pizarro. He may even avow
publicly that he is rigidly devout and intensely pious
without giving the least shock to public opinion. In
short, the Roman Catholic Religion is witchcraft
undisguised. The Protestant Religion is witchcraft
disguised to a certain extent.
Protestants do not allow themselves the same,
indulgence that Roman Catholics permit themselves.
Protestants have less faith than Roman Catholics in
I
B
�6
Clerical '''‘Pooh, Pooh I ” Rhetoric.
the efficacy of a death-bed repentance. Regarding
the efficacy of the Sacraments there is a difference
of opinion among Protestants. Moreover the oracle
of Protestants is a dumb book called the Bible, whose
want of speech causes almost endless diversities of
opinion among those who consult it. These differ
ences and difficulties necessarily promote the cause of
morality. The accusation, that a man holds strange
opinions in order to find arguments for whatever he
has an inclination to do, is a reproach which must
always sting a Protestant who leads an immoral life.
Hence if a Protestant hold any peculiar opinion it is
cf almost infinite satisfaction to himself and advan
tage to his cause if he be able to point to a private
life of dignified moral repute. Consequently the
peoples among whom the Protestant religion prevails
are much more moral than the peoples among whom
the Roman Catholic religion is established by law.
Nevertheless, the Protestants allow themselves a
certain amount of a certain kind of self-indulgence.
In the first place, they have their little allowance
of witchcraft, namely, the laying on of hands—
infant baptism—-justification by faith—remission of
sins—and the final perseverance of the saints.
Secondly, they have their little hard and fast lines
of exclusiveness, as arranged among their various
divisions of Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Congregationalists, Methodists, Baptists, &c. &c.
Thirdly, Protestants permit and even applaud a
certain amount of spiritual hatred, spiritual ran
cour, and spiritual denunciation. The odium tlieologicum is particularly gratifying to the Protestant intel
lect. At Exeter Hall, Belfast, or Glasgow, there
could scarcely be any public matter that would be
more likely to draw together a numerous audience
than the announcement that an eloquent firebrand,
on a certain time, and at a certain place, would
denounce Mr. Gladstone and the Pope.
�Clerical “Pooh^ Pooh ! ” Rhetoric.
7
Fourthly (and principally), persistent and vocifer
ous assertion, in opposition to facts, that the Bible
has been written by men who were guided by divine
grace, and that Protestantism is the only true reli
gion on earth, are points that are almost universally
acted on and applauded by Protestants. If such a
course were adopted by Infidels it would be called
“ a system of enormous lying.” But when that
course is adopted for the preservation of Christianity
it is considered not only justifiable but a bounden
duty by almost all Protestants.
In Sophocles’ “ Philoctetes,” 108-9, Neoptolemus
says to Ulysses, “ Dost thou, then, not think it base
to tell a lie ? ” To this Ulysses answers : “No ; at
least not if the lie bring preservation.” This doc
trine is avowed by the Jesuits and practised by Pro
testants—especially by the clergy of the Established
Church in England and of the disestablished church
in Ireland.
In the days of David Hume, who flourished about
A.n. 1750, the clergy of the day deemed it their duty
to refute the arguments against miracles, against a
particular Providence, and against a future life, con
tained in his “ Inquiry concerning Human Under
standing,” published a.d. 1748. Not being able to
refute him they wrote what they called Answers'to
him. He says “ Answers by Reverends and Right
Reverends came out two or three in a year, and I
found, by Dr. Warburton’s railing, that the books
were beginning to be esteemed in good company.”
On the part of the clergy this was decent. It showed
they thought they had something to defend besides
their salaries. But the clergy of the present day
have long ago lost the power of using their pens, or
indeed of using any weapons requiring the aid of
human intellect to wield them.
So, when the late Dr. Strauss published, a.d. 1837,
his “Life of Jesus,” the clergy were quite taken by
�8
Clerical11 Pooh, Pooh ! ” Rhetoric.
surprise. The idea that Jesus might not be a strictly
historical character, and that the narratives con
tained in our Gospels might be, for the most part
mythological, was quite new to our clergy. They
had not as much as one argument to bring forward.
They could use only exclamations, such as Oh !—Ah !
—Such a thing to say !—Downright blasphemy !—
Shocking!—Horrible !—&c. &c.
Not long after this, a.d. 1844, “ Vestiges of the
Natural History of Creation ” appeared. It found
the clergy utterly unable to bring forward an argu
ment against its statements and reasonings. The
clergy had been better employed. They had been
looking after rectories., archdeaconries, canonries,
prebends’ stalls, and deaneries, and the Presbyterian
portion of them had been manufacturing bricks and
getting leases of building ground. Nevertheless the
clergy raised against the “ Vestiges ” an outcry that
resounded through her Majesty’s three kingdoms;
but it was vox et prceterea nihil.
Not long after this, A.D. 1860, “ Essays and Reviews ”
made their appearance. Again the clergy were “un
practised, unprepared, and still to seek.” Again the
clergy raised an outcry, but it was as powerless as the
“ unearthly squeak ” uttered by “ the feeble forms of
the deceased dead” fluttering around Ulysses in Hades.
Before the sensation caused by the publication of
“ Essays and Reviews ” had died away, Dr. Colenso,
a.d. 1862, published the first volume of “ The Penta
teuch and Book of Joshua Critically Examined.”
This was too much. All the interjections in the
English language could not successfully resist this
rush of learned and clever publications on behalf of
the good old cause, “ Truth v. Christianity.” It
was deemed necessary to do something. The stupid
good people began to expect that the clergy would
do something. The ignorant little curates began to
expect that some powerful church dignitary would
�Clerical “Pooh, Pooh ! ” Rhetoric.
9
come forth and refute Dr. Colenso. If there was
any such churchman in existence he did not make
his appearance. Mr. Speaker Denison suggested that
all the eminent blockheads in the church of England
should put their heads together and refute Dr.
Colenso. This was received with applause by the
stupid good people. And accordingly the Fathers
of the Church were gathered together in West
minster Abbey amidst “ the pride, pomp and circum
stance of glorious ” witchcraft to refute Dr. Colenso.
They commenced by receiving the holy communion! And
if they ever shall arrive at a conclusion, it will be “ a
conclusion in which nothing is concluded.”
In the meantime the expectation of the. stupid
good people was stretched to the utmost. They first
uttered a cry for help, next a scream of anguish,
then a howl of despair, and finally a wail of lamen
tation. This was too much. The clergy were at
their wit s end—and they had not to go very far to
reach it! Resort was had to the maxim of Ulysses,
that “ It is not base to tell a lie if the lie bring
preservation.”
So the clergy went among their flocks exclaiming
“Pooh, Pooh!” and preserving an ostentatious
silence on all matters of controversy.
Like all great and important doctrines, the pro- .
found reason and important theory contained in the
exclamation “ Pooh, Pooh ! ” have been gradually
“ developed.”
When Dr. Colenso was in England during the
year 1863 he wrote to a bishop asking for an expla
nation of certain statements he had made against
Dr. Colenso. To this the bishop replied that he
would not enter into a controversy “with one who
has been so ably answered ”—the bishop did not say
by whom. This is the suppressio veri in the form of
“ Pooh ! Pooh ! ”
At that time, 1863, a bishop was performing cer-
�io
Clerical “Pooh, Pooh!” Rhetoric.
tain ceremonies of witchcraft, commonly called
“ confirmation,” “ ordination,” “ consecration,’ &c.
&c., and when Dr. Colenso called on him to explain
certain ungrounded assertions he had made relative
to the futility of Dr. Colenso’s arguments against
the pretensions claimed for some parts of Holy
Scripture to be regarded as written by aid of Divine
inspiration, the bishop’s reply was to the effect that
he was too much occupied by his witchcraft to be
able to waste time in defending Holy Scripture.
This is the trick of shirking under the form of “ Pooh,
Pooh ! ”
A layman sent a copy of a tract published in
Mr. Scott’s series to a dignitary of the church of
England, requesting him to refute it, “ at which
his nose was in great indignation.” The dignitary
returned the tract with a message, to the effect that
he considered the act of sending him such a tract
was “a personal insult.” This is the stately profes
sional dodge under the form of “ Pooh, Pooh ! ”
Another layman sent a copy of another tract which
appeared in Mr. Scott’s series to a poor curate,
requesting him to refute the arguments contained in
it. The curate wrote back in reply that all the state
ments and arguments contained in that tract had
been written and refuted many years ago. The lay
man wrote back to the curate requesting him to give
.the names of the books which the curate alleged had
anticipated, and refuted the statements and argu
ments contained in the tract. To this the curate did
not give any answer. This is deliberate lying for the
Gospel’s sake under the form of “ Pooh, Pooh !”
A lay inquirer asked a dignitary to explain why
there are so many contradictory statements in our
New Testament regarding “justification by works,”
and “justification by faith?” The dignitary asked
the layman had he read certain books. The layman
answered in the negative. Thereupon the dignitary
�Clerical "Pooh, Pooh 1 ” Rhetoric.
11
named a number of books so numerous that it would
require the time of five or six average human lives
to peruse them, and the dignitary told the layman
that the answer to the question would be found among
those books. This is running away and taking refuge
behind the petticoats of mother Church under the
form of “ Pooh, Pooh ! ”
Dr. Farrar lately published a ‘ Life of Christ ’
grounded on the old maxim of obstinate stupidity:—
Over and over again I repeat it,
Time after time and day after day,
Nothing while I live shall ever defeat it
For over and over the same I will say.
A favourable notice of this performance is given
in the Quarterly Review for January, 1875. The
notice concludes thus :—“To fill the minds of those
who read his pages with solemn and not ignoble
thoughts, ‘ to add sunlight to daylight by making
the happy happier, to encourage the toiler, to con
sole the sorrowful, to point the weak to the one true
source of moral strength ’—these are the high ends
to which he [Dr. Farrar] desires that his work may
be blest, and we may safely promise him that he will
not be disappointed.” This is Peter driving a nail
through the Moon, and Paddy clinching the nail on
the other side, under the form of “ Pooh, Pooh I”
Many other instances of clerical “ Pooh, Pooh ! ”
rhetoric could be given. But it is needless. What,
has been said is amply sufficient to enable the intelli
gent reader to detect clerical “ Pooh, Pooh ! ” rhetoric
under whatever guise it may lurk.
In his essay on Miracles David Hume says, “ ’Tis
strange, a judicious reader is apt to say, upon the
perusal of these wonderful histories, that such prodi
gious events never happen in our days. But ’tis
nothing strange, I hope, that men should lie in all
ages. You must surely have seen instances enow of
that frailty.*’
�12
Clerical “Pooh, Pooh ! ” Rhetoric.
Recommending the clerics to study the works of
David Hume, and learn honesty, we shall take leave
of those holy men, expressing for them in English a
wish which Demosthenes expressed in Greek for
certain persons who “ flourished ” by dishonest means
in his day:—
“If it be possible, inspire even in these men a better sense
and feeling! But if they be indeed incurable, destroy them by
themselves : exterminate them on land and sea.”
Kilferest,
Feast of the Annunciation, 1875.
Printed
by c. w. reynell, little pulteney-street, haymarket, w.
�
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Victorian Blogging
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Clerical "Pooh, pooh!" rhetoric
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 12 p. ; 18 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Printed by C.W. Reynell, London.
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Thomas Scott
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1875
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CT128
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Clergy
Christianity
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Christianity-Controversial Literature
Clergy
Conway Tracts