one of the first results of the lamon biography was a lecture prepared by rev. james a. reed, pastor of the first presbyterian church of springfield. this lecture[35] was delivered several times, and in 1873 was published in scribner's magazine, which at that time was edited by j. g. holland. holland had been horrified by the lamon biography, and had reviewed it with such disfavor that herndon attributes the failure of the book in no small part to holland's pronounced opposition. this lecture, published in so widely read a magazine, produced a profound impression. a doubt which lamon had raised and which herndon later had the bad taste to emphasize concerning lincoln's paternity turned to good advantage; and reed produced from several of the men whom lamon had quoted, counter-statements declaring that they had been misquoted. of these was james h. matheny, whose statement to herndon we are to consider in connection with the story of lincoln's burnt book and who wrote to dr. reed:
"the language attributed to me in lamon's book is not from my pen. i did not write it, and it does not express my sentiment of mr. lincoln's entire life and character. it is a mere collection of sayings gathered from private conversations that were only true of mr. lincoln's earlier life. i would not have allowed such an article to be printed over my signature as covering my opinion of mr. lincoln's life and religious sentiments. while i do believe mr. lincoln to have been an infidel in his former life, when his mind was as yet unformed, and his associations principally with rough and skeptical men, yet i believe he was a very different man in[pg 136] later life; and that after associating with a different class of men, and investigating the subject, he was a firm believer in the christian religion."
major john t. stuart also repudiated the statement attributed to him, and not only so but gave detailed and positive statements which directly contradicted the more important part of what lamon had attributed to him.
dr. reed went further and set forth with a considerable degree of precision the grounds for the statement that lincoln's views had undergone marked change during his life in springfield, particularly under the influence of dr. reed's predecessor, the rev. james smith.
dr. reed's lecture became the subject of acrimonious attack. his article was flouted, belittled, and railed at. but its essential affirmations have not been disproved. we shall devote a chapter to a consideration of the relations of dr. smith to mr. lincoln and shall find that dr. reed's claims were not extravagant.
other controversialists took up the pen about this time in confutation of lamon. one of the most interesting and valuable of the contributions which then appeared was an article by b. f. irwin, of pleasant plains, illinois, published in the illinois state journal, for may 16, 1874.[36] he produced a considerable number of letters from men who had known mr. lincoln prior to his residence in springfield and whose knowledge of his religious beliefs at that time was intimate and accurate. of these by far the most important was from lincoln's old teacher, mentor graham, which we shall quote at length in the chapter on lincoln's "burnt book."
among these were letters from men who professed to have heard lincoln charged with infidelity and had heard him deny it. the most important of these letters, however, aside from that of mentor graham, have value for us in the light they shed upon what really constituted lincoln's alleged infidelity at this early period. that he had doubts and mis[pg 137]givings upon various subjects was not denied, but his hostility to the orthodox belief expressed itself chiefly in a vigorous denial of the endlessness of future punishment. this dogma lincoln denied upon two grounds, as these letters affirm. first, the justice and mercy of god; and secondly, the fact that according to the biblical scheme of redemption, whatever right the human race had possessed to immortality and lost through sin, had been restored in christ. lincoln was, according to the testimony of a number of these men who had known him, not an infidel, nor even a deist, but essentially a universalist.
irwin had interviewed colonel james h. matheny and quoted matheny as denying that he had ever heard lincoln admit that he was an infidel and did not himself believe it. irwin himself had known lincoln personally for many years and had known large numbers of men who were intimately acquainted with him and he said:
"i have never yet heard one single man express the belief that lincoln was an infidel. mr. herndon, it is true, did have opportunities over others in knowing mr. lincoln's religious opinions, but other men had some opportunities, as well as mr. herndon, and to them i shall have to appeal, for i do not claim to personally know anything about mr. lincoln's religious faith. though personally acquainted with mr. lincoln for twenty-eight years and often in his office, i never heard him say a word on the subject of his religious belief."
it will be noted that while the statements concerning mr. lincoln's alleged infidelity have been published over the name of lamon, herndon was held responsible for them in these controversies. the impetuous herndon possessed none of the reticence of bateman; and while denying that he wrote lamon's book, rushed in as lamon's champion and covered himself with wounds if not with glory.
irwin's article proceeds to quote these old neighbors and friends of lincoln, whose testimony, added to those adduced by dr. reed, was of very great weight. i have copied these[37][pg 138] from the files of the illinois state journal in the library of the illinois state historical society in springfield and here produce three of them, reserving others for later comment.
one of the letters quoted in full by irwin was from thomas mostiller, of pleasant plains, menard county, illinois. he professed to have heard lincoln when he was a candidate for congress in 1847 or 1848, when he was charged with being an infidel and explicitly denied it. said he:
"i was present and heard josiah grady ask lincoln a question or two regarding a charge made against lincoln of being an infidel, and lincoln unqualifiedly denied the charge of infidelity, and said, in addition, his parents were baptists, and brought him up in the belief of the christian religion; and he believed it as much as anyone, but was sorry to say he had or made no pretensions to religion himself. i can't give his exact words, but would make oath anywhere that he positively denied the charge made against him of infidelity. that was the first time i ever heard the charge of infidelity against lincoln. grady did not say that he would not vote for lincoln if he was an infidel, but my understanding from grady was that he would not vote for lincoln if he was an infidel; and grady did, as i suppose, vote for him. i understood him that he should."
another statement was by jonathan harnett. it was not made in a letter, like the others, but was verbally stated to mr. irwin, who wrote it from harnett's dictation, and was then read to him and endorsed by him. mr. harnett related an incident which he declared himself to have witnessed in lincoln's office in 1858, when an argument was held on the truth of the christian religion, a number of men participating. he affirmed that mr. lincoln ended the discussion by a cogent argument based on the restitution of all things in christ, and the ultimate salvation of all men.
this line of argument, attested by a number who heard mr. lincoln in these discussions, will be readily understood by those who have heard, as he had heard from his infancy,[pg 139] the typical argument of the backwoods baptist preacher, and who appreciates mr. lincoln's theory of the irrevocability of the divine will, and the relation of the atonement to the restitution of all things. the essential difference between lincoln's point of view and that of these preachers was that the preachers saw in the work of christ the basis of personal forgiveness of sin; and lincoln saw in it rather a manifestation of the irrevocable law of god for the ultimate salvation of the race.
another of the letters included in the irwin article was one from isaac cogdal, who related a conversation in lincoln's office in herndon's presence, in which lincoln expressed himself somewhat as follows:
"he did not nor could not believe in the endless punishment of any one of the human race. he understood punishment for sin to be a bible doctrine; that punishment was parental in its object, aim and design, and intended for the good of the offender; hence it must cease when justice was satisfied. he added that all that was lost by the transgression of adam was made good by the atonement; all that was lost by the fall was made good by the sacrifice; and he added this remark, that punishment being a 'provision of the gospel system, he was not sure but the world would be better off if a little more punishment was preached by our ministers, and not so much of pardon of sin.'"
i need only add, that to me these letters carry the conviction of reality. lincoln had been rooted and grounded in the kind of dogma that began with adam and related to his fall in vital sort the atonement of christ. that lincoln had some doubts concerning the person of christ is not in point. he believed in god, and he knew the fact of sin, and he was dyed in the wool in arguments concerning the fall of the race in adam and its redemption in christ. but he did not dwell as did the preachers on individual forgiveness, which he sometimes doubted, but sought to evolve a legal and moral scheme with a final restoration. i regard these testimonies as essentially true.
