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E D I T I O N D E L A P A C I F I C A T I O N
T H E W O R K S O F
VOLTAIRE A CONTEMPORARY VERSION
W ITH NOTES BY TOBIAS SMOLLETT, R EVISED AND MODERNIZED
NEW TRANSLATIONS BY W ILLIAM F. FLEMING, AND AN
INTRODUCTION BY OLIVER H. G. LEIGH
A CRITIQUE AND BIOGRAPHY
BY
T H E R T . H O N . J O H N M O R L E Y
F O R T Y - T H R E E V O L U M E S
ONE HUNDRED ANS SIXTY-EIGHT DESIGNS, COMPRISINGS REPRODUCTIONS
OF RARE OLD ENGRAVINGS, STEEL PLATES, PHOTOGRAVURES,
AND CURIOUS FAC-SIMILES
VOLUME XIII
AKRON, OHIO
THE WERNER COMPANY
1!"
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I am a heritage because I
brin you years of tboupbt
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and tbe lore of time *-^
I impart yet I can pot s|
I have traveled amoio^ tbe
peoples o^ tbe eartb -^ j
am a rover^- Oft-tlrpeo
I stre^ jron? tbe /IresLde
of tbe orae u!bo toves
n?e
n?e u!ei" arr?
#bculd you/Lnd
please send
brotbers^on tbe boo$-
shelves of
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--%&#'
(he )O+# of %OL(,I&
&I(IO. & L, ,0I1I0,(IO.
Limited to one thousand sets
for ,merica and 2reat 3ritain*
43et5een t5o servants of 6umanity' 5ho appeared
eighteen hundred years apart' there is a mysterious relation'
* * * * Let us say it 5ith a sentiment of
profound respect7 8	# )&(7 %OL(,I& #:IL&
Of that divine tear and of that human smile is composed the
s5eetness of the present civili;ation4
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I. (&. %OL9:&#
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8O6. LO0+& CHH
, 6ILO#O6I0,L I0(IO.,<
O&(<
4LI3&(< and property4 is the great national cry
of the &nglish It is certainly better than 4#t
2eorge and my right'4 or 4#t enis and :ont-
joie4 ! it is the cry of nature 1rom #5it;erland to
0hina the peasants are the real occupiers of the land
(he right of conuest alone has' in some countries'
deprived men of a right so natural
(he general advantage or good of a nation is that
of the sovereign' of the magistrate' and of the peo-
ple' both in peace and 5ar Is this possession of
lands by the peasantry eually conducive to the
prosperity of the throne and the people in all periods
and circumstances? In order to its being the most
beneJcial system for the throne' it must be that
5hich produces the most considerable revenue' and
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the most numerous and po5erful army
)e must inuire' therefore' 5hether this prin-
ciple or plan tends clearly to increase commerce and
population It is certain that the possessor of an es-
tate 5ill cultivate his o5n inheritance better than
that of another (he spirit of property doubles a
manKs strength 6e labors for himself and his fam-
ily both 5ith more vigor and pleasure than he 5ould
E
B hilosophical
for a master (he slave' 5ho is in the po5er of an-
other' has but little inclination for marriage! he
often shudders even at the thought of producing
slaves li$e himself 6is industry is damped! his
soul is brutali;ed! and his strength is never eer-
cised in its full energy and elasticity (he possessor
of property' on the contrary' desires a 5ife to share
his happiness' and children to assist in his labors
6is 5ife and children constitute his 5ealth (he
estate of such a cultivator' under the hands of an
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active and 5illing family' may become ten times
more productive than it 5as before (he general
commerce 5ill be increased (he treasure of the
prince 5ill accumulate (he country 5ill supply
more soldiers It is clear' therefore' that the system
is beneJcial to the prince oland 5ould be thrice
as populous and 5ealthy as it is at present if the
peasants 5ere not slaves
.or is the system less beneJcial to the great land-
lords If 5e suppose one of these to possess ten
thousand acres of land cultivated by serfs' these ten
thousand acres 5ill produce him but a very scanty
revenue' 5hich 5ill be freuently absorbed in re-
pairs' and reduced to nothing by the irregularity
and severity of the seasons )hat 5ill he in fact
be' although his estates may be vastly more eten-
sive than 5e have mentioned' if at the same time
they are unproductive? 6e 5ill be merely the pos-
sessor of an immense solitude 6e 5ill never be
really rich but in proportion as his vassals are so!
ictionary D
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his prosperity depends on theirs If this prosperity
advances so far as to render the land too populous !
if land is 5anting to employ the labor of so many
industrious hands as hands in the Jrst instance
5ere 5anting to cultivate the land then the super-
Muity of necessary laborers 5ill Mo5 oN into cities
and seaports' into manufactories and armies op-
ulation 5ill have produced this decided beneJt' and
the possession of the lands by the real cultivators'
under payment of a rent 5hich enriches the land-
lords' 5ill have been the cause of this increase of
population
(here is another species of property not less
beneJcial! it is that 5hich is freed from payment
of rent altogether' and 5hich is liable only to those
general imposts 5hich are levied by the sovereign
for the support and beneJt of the state It is this
property 5hich has contributed in a particular man-
ner to the 5ealth of &ngland' of 1rance' and the free
cities of 2ermany (he sovereigns 5ho thus en-
franchised the lands 5hich constituted their do-
mains' derived' in the Jrst instance' vast advantage
from so doing by the franchises 5hich they disposed
of being eagerly purchased at high prices ! and they
derive from it' even at the present day' a greater
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advantage still' especially in 1rance and &ngland'
by the progress of industry and commerce
&ngland furnished a grand eample to the si-
teenth century by enfranchising the lands possessed
by the church and the mon$s .othing could be
H hilosophical
more odious and nothing more pernicious than the
before prevailing practice of men' 5ho had volun-
tarily bound themselves' by the rules of their order'
to a life of humility and poverty' becoming com-
plete masters of the very Jnest estates in the $ing-
dom' and treating their brethren of man$ind as
mere useful animals' as no better than beasts to
bear their burdens (he state and opulence of this
small number of priests degraded human nature!
their appropriated and accumulated 5ealth impov-
erished the rest of the $ingdom (he abuse 5as de-
stroyed' and &ngland became rich
In all the rest of &urope commerce has never
Mourished! the arts have never attained estimation
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and honor' and cities have never advanced both in
etent and embellishment' ecept 5hen the serfs of
the 0ro5n and the 0hurch held their lands in prop-
erty ,nd it is deserving of attentive remar$ that
if the 0hurch thus lost rights' 5hich in fact never
truly belonged to it' the 0ro5n gained an etension
of its legitimate rights ! for the 0hurch' 5hose Jrst
obligation and professed principle it is to imitate
its great legislator in humility and poverty' 5as not
originally instituted to fatten and aggrandi;e itself
upon the fruit of the labors of man$ind! and the
sovereign' 5ho is the representative of the #tate' is
bound to manage 5ith economy' the produce of that
same labor for the good of the #tate itself' and for
the splendor of the throne In every country 5here
the people labor for the 0hurch' the #tate is poor!
ictionary "
but 5herever they labor for themselves and the sov-
ereign' the #tate is rich
It is in these circumstances that commerce every-
5here etends its branches (he mercantile navy
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becomes a school for the 5arli$e navy 2reat com-
mercial companies are formed (he sovereign Jnds
in periods of diculty and danger resources before
un$no5n ,ccordingly' in the ,ustrian states' in
&ngland' and in 1rance' 5e see the prince easily
borro5ing from his subjects a hundred times more
than he could obtain by force 5hile the people 5ere
bent do5n to the earth in slavery' vv '
,ll the peasants 5ill not be rich' nor is it neces-
sary that they should be so (he #tate reuires men
5ho possess nothing but strength and good 5ill
&ven such' ho5ever' 5ho appear to many as the
very outcasts of fortune' 5ill participate in the pros-
perity of the rest (hey 5ill tPe free to dispose of
their labor at the best mar$et' and this freedom 5ill
be an eNective substitute for property (he assured
hope of adeuate 5ages 5ill support their spirits'
and they 5ill bring up their families in their o5n
laborious and serviceable occupations 5ith success'
and even 5ith gayety It is this class' so despised
by the great and opulent' that constitutes' be it re-
membered' the nursery for soldiers (hus' from
$ings to shepherds' from the sceptre to the scythe'
all is animation and prosperity' and the principle
in uestion gives ne5 force to every eertion
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,fter having ascertained 5hether it is beneJcial
io hilosophical
to a #tate that the cultivators should be proprietors'
it remains to be sho5n ho5 far this principle may
be properly carried It has happened' in more $ing-
doms than one' that the emancipated serf has at-
tained such 5ealth by his s$ill and industry as has
enabled him to occupy the station of his former
masters' 5ho have become reduced and impover-
ished by their luury 6e has purchased their lands
and assumed their titles ! the old noblesse have been
degraded' and the ne5 have been only envied and
despised &verything has been thro5n into con-
fusion (hose nations 5hich have permitted such
usurpations' have been the sport and scorn of such
as have secured themselves against an evil so bane-
ful (he errors of one government may become a
lesson for others (hey proJt by its 5ise and salu-
tary institutions ! they may avoid the evil it has in-
curred through those of an opposite tendency
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It is so easy to oppose the restrictions of la5 to
the cupidity and arrogance of upstart proprietors' to
J the etent of lands 5hich 5ealthy plebeians may
be allo5ed to purchase' to prevent their acuisition
of large seigniorial property and privileges' that a
Jrm and 5ise government can never have cause to
repent of having enfranchised servitude and en-
riched indigence , good is never productive of evil
but 5hen it is carried to a culpable ecess' in 5hich
case it completely ceases to be a good (he eam-
ples of other nations supply a 5arning ! and on this
principle it is easy to eplain 5hy those communi-
ictionary II
ties' 5hich have most recently attained civili;ation
and regular government' freuently surpass the mas-
ters from 5hom they dre5 their lessons
O6&0I&#
#&0(IO. I
(6I# 5ord' in its ordinary acceptation' signiJes
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prediction of the future It is in this sense that
8esus declared to 6is disciples 7 4,ll things must
be fulJlled 5hich 5ere 5ritten in the la5 of :oses'
and in the rophets' and in the salms' concerning
:e (hen opened 6e their understanding that they
might understand the #criptures4
)e shall feel the indispensable necessity of hav-
ing our minds opened to comprehend the prophe-
cies' if 5e reMect that the 8e5s' 5ho 5ere the depos-
itories of them' could never recogni;e 8esus for the
:essiah' and that for eighteen centuries our the-
ologians have disputed 5ith them to J the sense
of some 5hich they endeavor to apply to 8esus
#uch is that of 8acob 4(he sceptre shall not depart
from 8udah' nor a la5giver from bet5een his feet'
until #hiloh come4 (hat of :oses 4(he Lord
thy 2od 5ill raise up unto thee a prophet li$e unto
me from the nations and from thy brethren ! unto
6im shall ye hear$en4 (hat of Isaiah 43ehold
a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son' and
shall call his name Immanuel4 (hat of aniel
4#eventy 5ee$s have been determined in favor of
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@C hilosophical
thy people'4 etc 3ut our object here is not to enter
into theological detail
Let us merely observe 5hat is said in the ,cts
of the ,postles' that in giving a successor to 8udas'
and on other occasions' they acted epressly to ac-
complish prophecies ! but the apostles themselves
sometimes uote such as are not found in the 8e5ish
5ritings ! such is that alleged by #t :atthe5 7
4,nd 6e came and d5elt in a city called .a;areth'
that it might be fulJlled 5hich 5as spo$en by the
prophets' 6e shall be called a .a;arene4
#t 8ude' in his epistle' also uotes a prophecy
from the boo$ of 4&noch'4 5hich is apocryphal!
and the author of the imperfect 5or$ on #t :at-
the5' spea$ing of the star seen in the &ast by the
:agi' epresses himself in these terms 7 4It is re-
lated to me on the evidence of I $no5 not 5hat
5riting' 5hich is not authentic' but 5hich far from
destroying faith encourages it' that there 5as a na-
tion on the borders of the eastern ocean 5hich pos-
sessed a boo$ that bears the name of #eth' in 5hich
the star that appeared to the :agi is spo$en of' and
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the presents 5hich these :agi oNered to the #on of
2od (his nation' instructed by the boo$ in ues-
tion' chose t5elve of the most religious persons
amongst them' and charged them 5ith the care of
observing 5henever this star should appear )hen
any of them died' they substituted one of their sons
or relations (hey 5ere called magi in their tongue'
ictionary @F
because they served 2od in silence and 5ith a lo5
voice
4(hese :agi 5ent every year' after the corn har-
vest' to a mountain in their country' 5hich they
called the :ount of %ictory' and 5hich is very
agreeable on account of the fountains that 5ater
and the trees 5hich cover it (here is also a cistern
dug in the roc$' and after having there 5ashed and
puriJed themselves' they oNered sacriJces and
prayed to 2od in silence for three days
4(hey had not continued this pious practice for
many generations' 5hen the happy star descended
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on their mountain (hey sa5 in it the Jgure of a lit-
tle child' on 5hich there appeared that of the cross
It spo$e to them and told them to go to 8udsea (hey
immediately departed' the star al5ays going before
them' and 5ere t5o days on the road4
(his prophecy of the boo$ of #eth resembles that
of =orodascht or =oroaster' ecept that the Jgure
seen in his star 5as that of a young virgin' and =oro-
aster says not that there 5as a cross on her (his
prophecy' uoted in the 42ospel of the Infancy'4 is
thus related by ,bulpharagius 7 4=oroaster' the
master of the :agi' instructed the ersians of the
future manifestation of our Lord 8esus 0hrist' and
commanded them to oNer 6im presents 5hen 6e
5as born 6e 5arned them that in future times a
virgin should conceive 5ithout the operation of any
man' and that 5hen she brought her #on into the
5orld' a star should appear 5hich 5ould shine at
@G hilosophical
noonday' in the midst of 5hich they 5ould see the
Jgure of a young virgin K<ou' my children/ adds
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=oroaster' K5ill see it before all nations )hen'
therefore' you see this star appear' go 5here it 5ill
conduct you ,dore this da5ning child! oNer it
presents' for it is the ;vord 5hich created heavenK 4
(he accomplishment of this prophecy is related
in linyKs 4.atural 6istory4 ! but besides that the
appearance of the star should have preceded the
birth of 8esus by about forty years' thiQR passage
seems very suspicious to scholars' and is not the Jrst
nor only one 5hich might have been interpolated in
favor of 0hristianity (his is the eact account of
it7 4(here appeared at ome for seven days a
comet so brilliant that the sight of it could scarcely
be supported ! in the middle of it a god 5as per-
ceived under the human form ! they too$ it for the
soul of 8ulius 0aesar' 5ho had just died' and adored
it in a particular temple4
: ,ssermany' in his 4&astern Library'4 also
spea$s of a boo$ of #olomon' archbishop of 3assora'
entitled 4(he 3ee'4 in 5hich there is a chapter on
this prediction of =oroaster 6ornius' 5ho doubted
not its authenticity' has pretended that =oroaster 5as
3alaam' and that 5as very li$ely' because Origen' in
his Jrst boo$ against 0elsus' says that the :agi had
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no doubt of the prophecies of 3alaam' of 5hich these
5ords are found in .umbers 7 4(here shall come
a star out of 8acob' and a sceptre shall rise out of
Israel4 3ut 3alaam 5as no more a 8e5 than =oro-
ictionary @E
aster' since he said himself that he came from ,ram
from the mountains of the &ast
3esides' #t aul spea$s epressly to (itus of a
0retan prophet' and #t 0lement of ,leandria ac-
$no5ledged that 2od' 5ishing to save the 8e5s'
gave them prophets ! 5ith the same motive' 6e ever
created the most ecellent men of 2reece! those
5ho 5ere the most proper to receive 6is grace' 6e
separated from the vulgar' to be prophets of the
2ree$s' in order to instruct them in their o5n
tongue 46as not lato'4 he further says' 4in some
manner predicted the plan of salvation' 5hen in the
second boo$ of his Kepublic'K he has imitated this
epression of #cripture 7 KLet us separate ourselves
from the 8ust' for he incommodes usK! and he e-
presses himself in these terms 7 K(he 8ust shall be
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beaten 5ith rods' 6is eyes shall be put out' and after
suNering all sorts of evils' 6e shall at last be cru-
ciJedK 4
#t 0lement might have added' that if 8esus
0hristKs eyes 5ere not put out' not5ithstanding the
prophecy' neither 5ere 6is bones bro$en' though
it is said in a psalm 7 4)hile they brea$ :y bones'
:y enemies 5ho persecute :e over5helm :e 5ith
their reproaches4 On the contrary' #t 8ohn says
positively that the soldiers bro$e the legs of t5o
others 5ho 5ere cruciJed 5ith 6im' but they bro$e
not those of 8esus' that the #cripture might be ful-
Jlled 7 4, bone of 6im shall not be bro$en4
(his #cripture' uoted by #t 8ohn' etended to
@ B hilosophical
the letter of the paschal lamb' 5hich ought to be eaten
by the Israelites ! but 8ohn the 3aptist having called
8esus the Lamb of 2od' not only 5as the application
of it given to 6im' but it is even pretended that 6is
death 5as predicted by 0onfucius #pi;eli uotes
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the history of 0hina by :aitinus' in 5hich it is re-
lated that in the thirty-ninth year of the reign of
+ing-hi' some hunters outside the gates of the to5n
$illed a rare animal 5hich the 0hinese called $jlin'
that is to say' the Lamb of 2od ,t this ne5s' 0on-
fucius struc$ his breast' sighed profoundly' and e-
claimed more than once 7 4+ilin' 5ho has said that
thou art come?4 6e added7 4:y doctrine dra5s
to an end ! it 5ill no longer be of use' since you 5ill
appear4
,nother prophecy of the same 0onfucius is also
found in his second boo$' 5hich is applied eually
to 8esus' though 6e is not designated under the
name of the Lamb of 2od (his is it 7 )e need not
fear but that 5hen the epected 6oly One shall
come' all the honor 5ill be rendered to 6is virtue
5hich is due to it 6is 5or$s 5ill be conformable
to the la5s of heaven and earth
(hese contradictory prophecies found in the 8e5-
ish boo$s seem to ecuse their obstinacy' and give
good reason for the embarrassment of our theolo-
gians in their controversy 5ith them 1urther'
those 5hich 5e are about to relate of other people'
prove that the author of .umbers' the apostles
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and fathers' recogni;ed prophets in all nations (he
ictionary @D
,rabs also pretend this' 5ho rec$on a hundred and
eighty thousand prophets from the creation of the
5orld to :ahomet' and believe that each of them
5as sent to a particular nation )e shall spea$ of
prophetesses in the article on 4#ibyls4
#&0(IO. II
rophets still eist7 5e had t5o at the 3icetre
in @DCF' both calling themselves &lias (hey 5ere
5hipped ! 5hich put it out of all doubt 3efore the
prophets of 0evennes' 5ho Jred oN their guns from
behind hedges in the name of the Lord in @DAG' 6ol-
land had the famous eter 8urieu' 5ho published
the 4,ccomplishment of the rophecies4 3ut that
6olland may not be too proud' he 5as born in
1rance' in a little to5n called :er' near Orleans
6o5ever' it must be confessed that it 5as at ot-
terdam alone that 2od called him to prophesy
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(his 8urieu' li$e many others' sa5 clearly that
the pope 5as the beast in the 4,pocalypse'4 that he
held 4poculum aureum plenum abominationum'4
the golden cup full of abominations! that the four
Jrst letters of these four Latin 5ords formed the
5ord papa! that conseuently his reign 5as about
to Jnish ! that the 8e5s 5ould re-enter 8erusalem !
that they 5ould reign over the 5hole 5orld during
a thousand years ! after 5hich 5ould come the ,nti-
christ ! Jnally' 8esus seated on a cloud 5ould judge
the uic$ and the dead
8urieu prophesies epressly that the time of the
%ol @F C
@ H hilosophical
great revolution and the entire fall of papistry 45ill
fall justly in the year @BH"' 5hich I hold'4 says he'
4to be the time of the apocalyptic vintage' for the
t5o 5itnesses 5ill revive at this time ! after 5hich'
1rance 5ill brea$ 5ith the pope before the end of
this century' or at the commencement of the net'
and the rest of the anti-0hristian empire 5ill be
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every5here abolished4
(he disjunctive particle 4or'4 that sign of doubt'
is not in the manner of an adroit man , prophet
should not hesitate! he may be obscure' but he
ought to be sure of his fact
(he revolution in papistry not happening in @BH"'
as eter 8urieu predicted' he uic$ly published a
ne5 edition' in 5hich he assured the public that it
5ould be in @B"A! and' 5hat is more astonishing'
this edition 5as immediately follo5ed by another
It 5ould have been very beneJcial if 3ayleKs 4ic-
tionary4 had had such a run in the Jrst instance!
the 5or$s of the latter have' ho5ever' remained'
5hile those of eter 8urieu are not even to be found
by the side of .ostradamus
,ll 5as not left to a single prophet ,n &nglish
resbyterian' 5ho studied at 9trecht' combated all
5hich 8urieu said on the seven vials and seven
trumpets of the ,pocalypse' on the reign of a thou-
sand years' the conversion of the 8e5s' and even on
,ntichrist &ach supported himself by the au-
thority of 0occeius' 0oterus' rabicius' and 0om-
menius' great preceding prophets' and by the proph-
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ictionary @"
etess 0hristina (he t5o champions conJned
themselves to 5riting! 5e hoped they 5ould give
each other blo5s' as =ede$iah smac$ed the face of
:icaiah' saying 7 4)hich 5ay 5ent the spirit of the
Lord from my hand to thy chee$?4 or literally7
46o5 has the spirit passed from thee to me ?4 (he
public had not this satisfaction' 5hich is a great
pity
#&0(IO. III
It belongs to the infallible church alone to J the
true sense of prophecies' for the 8e5s have al5ays
maintained' 5ith their usual obstinacy' that no
prophecy could regard 8esus 0hrist ! and the 1athers
of the 0hurch could not dispute 5ith them 5ith ad-
vantage' since' ecept #t &phrem' the great Origen'
and #t 8erome' there 5as never any 1ather of the
0hurch 5ho $ne5 a 5ord of 6ebre5
It is not until the ninth century that aban the
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:oor' after5ards bishop of :ayence' learned the
8e5ish language 6is eample 5as follo5ed by
some others' and then they began disputing 5ith the
rabbi on the sense of the prophecies
aban 5as astonished at the blasphemies 5hich
they uttered against our #aviour! calling 6im a
bastard' impious son of anther' and saying that
it is not permitted them to pray to 2od 5ithout curs-
ing 8esus 7 4>uod nulla oratio posset apud eum ac-
cepta esse nisi in ea ominum nostrum 8esum
0hristum maledicant 0onJtentes eum esse impium
et Jlium impii' id est' nescio cujus cethnici uern
CO hilosophical
nominant anthera' a uo dicunt matrem omini
adulteratam4
(hese horrible profanations are found in several
places in the 4(almud'4 in the boo$s of .i;achon' in
the dispute of ittangel' in those of 8echiel and
.achmanides' entitled the 43ul5ar$ of 1aith'4 and
above all in the abominable 5or$ of the (oldos
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8eschut It is particularly in the 43ul5ar$ of 1aith4
of the abbin Isaac' that they interpret all the proph-
ecies 5hich announce 8esus 0hrist by applying them
to other persons
)e are there assured that the (rinity is not al-
luded to in any 6ebre5 boo$' and that there is not
found in them the slightest trace of our holy reli-
gion On the contrary' they point out a hundred
passages' 5hich' according to them' assert that the
:osaic la5 should eternally remain
(he famous passage 5hich should confound the
8e5s' and ma$e the 0hristian religion triumph in
the opinion of all our great theologians' is that of
Isaiah 7 43ehold a virgin shall conceive and bear a
son' and shall call his name Immanuel 3utter and
honey shall he eat' that he may $no5 ho5 to refuse
the evil' and choose the good 1or before the child
shall $no5 ho5 to refuse the evil and choose the
good' the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsa$en
of both her $ings ,nd it shall come to pass in that
day' that the Lord shall 5histle for the Mies that are
in the broo$s of &gypt' and for the bees that are in
the land of ,ssyria In the same day shall the Lord
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ictionary C@
shave 5ith a ra;or that is hired' namely' by them
beyond the river' by the $ing of ,ssyria' the head
and the hair of the genitals' and he 5ill also consume
the beard
4:oreover' the Lord said unto me' ta$e thee a
great roll' and 5rite in it 5ith a manKs pen concern-
ing :aher-shalal-hash-ba; ,nd I too$ unto me
faithful 5itnesses to record' 9riah the priest' and
=achariah the son of 8eberechiah ,nd I 5ent in
unto the prophetess! and she conceived and bare a
son ! then said the Lord to me' call his name :aher-
shalal-hash-ba; 1or before the child shall have
$no5ledge to cry my father and my mother' the
riches of amascus' and the spoil of #amaria' shall
be ta$en a5ay before the $ing of ,ssyria4
(he abbin Isaac arms' 5ith all the other doc-
tors of his la5' that the 6ebre5 5ord 4alma4 some-
times signiJes a virgin and sometimes a married
5oman ! that uth is called 4alma4 5hen she 5as a
mother ! that even an adulteress is sometimes called
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4alma4! that nobody is meant here but the 5ife of
the prophet Isaiah ! that her son 5as not called Im-
manuel' but :aher-shalal-hash-ba; ! that 5hen this
son should eat honey and butter' the t5o $ings 5ho
besieged 8erusalem 5ould be driven from the coun-
try' etc
(hus these blind interpreters of their o5n reli-
gion' and their o5n language' combated 5ith the
0hurch' and obstinately maintained' that this proph-
ecy cannot in any manner regard 8esus 0hrist
@@ hilosophical
)e have a thousand times refuted their eplication
in our modern languages )e have employed force'
gibbets' rac$s' and Mames ! yet they 5ill not give up
46e has borne our ills' he has sustained our
griefs' and 5e have beheld him aSicted 5ith sores'
stric$en by 2od' and aSicted4 6o5ever stri$ing
this prediction may appear to us' these obstinate
8e5s say that it has no relationship to 8esus 0hrist'
and that it can only regard the prophets 5ho 5ere
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persecuted for the sins of the people
4,nd behold my servant shall prosper' shall be
honored' and raised very high4 (hey say' further'
that the foregoing passage regards not 8esus 0hrist
but avid! that this $ing really did prosper' but
that 8esus' 5hom they deny' did not prosper 43e-
hold I 5ill ma$e a ne5 pact 5ith the house of Israel'
and 5ith the house of 8udah4 (hey say that this
passage signiJes not' according to the letter and the
sense' anything more than I 5ill rene5 my cove-
nant 5ith 8udah and 5ith Israel 6o5ever' this
pact has not been rene5ed ! and they cannot ma$e a
5orse bargain than they have made .o matter'
they are obstinate
43ut thou' 3ethlehem &phratah' though thou be
little among the thousands of 8udah' yet out of thee
shall come forth a ruler in Israel! 5hose goings
forth have been from of oldj from everlasting4
(hey dare to deny that this prophecy applies to
8esus 0hrist (hey say that it is evident that :icah
spea$s of some native captain of 3ethlehem' 5ho
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he 5ould add to the Jve or si thousand volumes
5hich 5e have on the subject' 5e shall only be more
fatigued' 5ithout advancing a single step
)e are' therefore' plunged in a chaos 5hich it is
impossible for the 5ea$ness of the human mind to
set in order Once more' 5e have need of a church
5hich judges 5ithout appeal 1or in fact' if a 0hi-
nese' a (artar' or an ,frican' reduced to the mis-
fortune of having only good sense' read all these
prophecies' it 5ould be impossible for him to apply
CG hilosophical
them to 8esus 0hrist' the 8e5s' or to anyone else
6e 5ould be in astonishment and uncertainty'
5ould conceive nothing' and 5ould not have a single
distinct idea 6e could not ta$e a step in this abyss
5ithout a guide )ith this guide' he arrives not
only at the sanctuary of virtue' but at good canon-
ships' at large commanderies' opulent abbeys' the
crosiered and mitred abbots of 5hich are called
monseigneur by his mon$s and peasants' and to
bishoprics 5hich give the title of prince In a 5ord'
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he enjoys earth' and is sure of possessing heaven
O6&(#
(6& prophet 8urieu 5as hissed ! the prophets of
the 0evennes 5ere hanged or rac$ed ! the prophets
5ho 5ent from Languedoc and auphiny to Lon-
don 5ere put in the pillory ! the ,nabaptist proph-
ets 5ere condemned to various modes and de-
grees of punishment! and the prophet #avonarola
5as ba$ed at 1lorence If' in connection 5ith these'
5e may advert to the case of the genuine 8e5ish
prophets' 5e shall perceive their destiny to have been
no less unfortunate ! the greatest prophet among the
8e5s' #t 8ohn the 3aptist' 5as beheaded
=achariah is stated to have been assassinated!
but' happily' this is not absolutely proved (he
prophet 8eddo' or ,ddo' 5ho 5as sent to 3ethel
under the injunction neither to eat nor drin$' having
unfortunately tasted a morsel of bread' 5as de-
ictionary CE
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voured in his turn by a lion! and his bones 5ere
found on the high5ay bet5een the lion and his ass
8onah 5as s5allo5ed by a Jsh 6e did not' it is
true' remain in the JshKs stomach more than three
days and three nights ! even this' ho5ever' 5as pass-
ing threescore and t5elve hours very uncomfort-
ably
6aba$$u$ 5as transported through the air' sus-
pended by the hair of his head' to 3abylon! this
5as not a fatal or permanent calamity' certainly !
but it must have been an eceedingly uncomfortable
method of travelling , man could not help suNer-
ing a great deal by being suspended by his hair dur-
ing a journey of three hundred miles I certainly
should have preferred a pair of 5ings' or the mare
3ora$' or the 6ippogriNe
:icaiah' the son of Imla' sa5 the Lord seated on
6is throne' surrounded by 6is army of celestial
spirits! and the Lord having inuired 5ho could
be found to go and deceive +ing ,hab' a demon
volunteered for that purpose' and 5as accordingly
charged 5ith the commission! and :icaiah' on the
part of the Lord' gave +ing ,hab an account of this
celestial adventure 6e 5as re5arded for this com-
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munication by a tremendous blo5 on his face from
the hand of the prophet =ede$iah' and by being shut
up for some days in a dungeon 6is punishment
might undoubtedly have been more severe ! but still'
it is unpleasant and painful enough for a man 5ho
$no5s and feels himself divinely inspired to be
CB hilosophical
$noc$ed about in so coarse and vulgar a manner'
and conJned in a damp and dirty hole of a prison
It is believed that +ing ,ma;iah had the teeth
of the prophet ,mos pulled out to prevent him from
spea$ing! not that a person 5ithout teeth is abso-
lutely incapable of spea$ing' as 5e see many tooth-
less old ladies as louacious and chattering as ever!
but a prophecy should be uttered 5ith great dis-
tinctness ! and a toothless prophet is never listened
to 5ith the respect due to his character
3aruch eperienced various persecutions &;e-
$iel 5as stoned by the companions of his slavery
It is not ascertained 5hether 8eremiah 5as stoned
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or sa5ed asunder Isaiah is considered as having
been incontestably sa5ed to death by order of :an-
asseh' $ing of 8udah
It cannot be denied' that the occupation of a
prophet is eceedingly ir$some and dangerous 1or
one 5ho' li$e &lijah' sets oN on his tour among the
planets in a chariot of light' dra5n by four 5hite
horses' there are a hundred 5ho travel on foot' and
are obliged to beg their subsistence from door to
door (hey may be compared to 6omer' 5ho' 5e
are told' 5as reduced to be a mendicant in the same
seven cities 5hich after5ards sharply disputed 5ith
each other the honor of having given him birth
6is commentators have attributed to him an inJnity
of allegories 5hich he never even thought of! and
prophets have freuently had the li$e honor con-
ferred upon them I by no means deny that there
ictionary CD
may have eisted else5here persons possessed of a
$no5ledge of the future It is only reuisite for a
man to 5or$ up his soul to a high state of ecita-
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tion' according to the doctrine of one of our doughty
modern philosophers' 5ho speculates upon boring
the earth through to the ,ntipodes' and curing the
sic$ by covering them all over 5ith pitch-plaster
(he 8e5s possessed this faculty of ealting and
eciting the soul to such a degree that they sa5
every future event as clearly as possible! only un-
fortunately' it is dicult to decide 5hether by 8eru-
salem they al5ays mean eternal life ! 5hether 3aby-
lon means London or aris! 5hether' 5hen they
spea$ of a grand dinner' they really mean a fast'
and 5hether red 5ine means blood' and a red
mantle faith' and a 5hite mantle charity Indeed'
the correct and complete understanding of the proph-
ets is the most arduous attainment of the human
mind
(here is li$e5ise a further diculty 5ith respect
to the 8e5ish prophets' 5hich is' that many among
them 5ere #amaritan heretics 6osea 5as of the
tribe of Issachar' 5hich d5elt in the #amaritan ter-
ritory' and &lisha and &lijah 5ere of the same tribe
3ut the objection is very easily ans5ered )e 5ell
$no5 that 4the 5ind blo5eth 5here it listeth'4 and
that grace lights on the most dry and barren' as 5ell
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as on the most fertile soil
CH hilosophical
O%I&.0&
I ),# at the grate of the convent 5hen #ister
1essue said to #ister 0onJte7 4rovidence ta$es a
visible care of me ! you $no5 ho5 I love my spar-
ro5! he 5ould have been dead if I had not said
nine ave-marias to obtain his cure 2od has re-
stored my sparro5 to life ! than$s to the 6oly %ir-
gin4
, metaphysician said to her7 4#ister' there is
nothing so good as ave-marias' especially 5hen a
girl pronounces them in Latin in the suburbs of
aris! but I cannot believe that 2od has occupied
6imself so much 5ith your sparro5' pretty as he is !
I pray you to believe that 6e has other matters to
attend to It is necessary for 6im constantly to
superintend the course of siteen planets and the
rising of #aturn' in the centre of 5hich 6e has
placed the sun' 5hich is as large as a million of our
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globes 6e has also thousands and thousands of
millions of other suns' planets' and comets to gov-
ern 6is immutable la5s' and 6is eternal arrange-
ment' produce motion throughout nature! all is
bound to 6is throne by an inJnite chain' of 5hich
no lin$ can ever be put out of placeT4 If certain
ave-marias had caused the sparro5 of #ister 1essue
to live an instant longer than it 5ould naturally
have lived' it 5ould have violated all the la5s im-
posed from eternity by the 2reat 3eing! it 5ould
have deranged the universe! a ne5 5orld' a ne5
ictionary C"
2od' and a ne5 order of eistence 5ould have been
rendered unavoidable
#I#(& 1&##9& )hatT do you thin$ that 2od
pays so little attention to #ister 1essue ?
:&(,6<#I0I,. I am sorry to inform you'
that li$e myself you are but an imperceptible lin$ in
the great chain! that your organs' those of your
sparro5' and my o5n' are destined to subsist a de-
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terminate number of minutes in the suburbs of
aris
#I#(& 1&##9& If so' I 5as predestined to say
a certain number of ave-marias
:&(,6<#I0I,. <es! but they have not
obliged the eity to prolong the life of your spar-
ro5 beyond his term It has been so ordered' that
in this convent at a certain hour you should pro-
nounce' li$e a parrot' certain 5ords in a certain lan-
guage 5hich you do not understand ! that this bird'
produced li$e yourself by the irresistible action of
general la5s' having been sic$' should get better !
that you should imagine that you had cured it' and
that 5e should hold together this conversation
#I#(& 1&##9& #ir' this discourse savors of
heresy :y confessor' the reverend 1ather de
:enou' 5ill infer that you do not believe in rovi-
dence
:&(,6<#I0I,. I believe in a general rovi-
dence' dear sister' 5hich has laid do5n from all
eternity the la5 5hich governs all things' li$e light
from the sun! but I believe not that a particular
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jo hilosophical
rovidence changes the economy of the 5orld for
your sparro5 or your cat
#I#(& 1&##9& 3ut suppose my confessor tells
you' as he has told me' that 2od changes 6is inten-
tions every day in favor of the devout?
:&(,6<#I0I,. 6e 5ould assert the greatest
absurdity that a confessor of girls could possibly
utter to a being 5ho thin$s
#I#(& 1&##9& :y confessor absurdT 6oly
%irgin :aryT
:&(,6<#I0I,. I do not go so far as that I
only observe that he cannot' by an enormously ab-
surd assertion' justify the false principles 5hich he
has instilled into you possibly very adroitly in
order to govern you
#I#(& 1&##9& (hat observation merits reMec-
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tion I 5ill thin$ of it
92,(O<
I( is very singular that the rotestant churches
agree in eclaiming that purgatory 5as invented by
the mon$s It is true that they invented the art of
dra5ing money from the living by praying to 2od
for the dead! but purgatory eisted before the
mon$s
It 5as ope 8ohn I%' say they' 5ho' to5ards
the middle of the tenth century' instituted the feast
of the dead 1rom that fact' ho5ever' I only con-
clude that they 5ere prayed for before ! for if they
then too$ measures to pray for all' it is reasonable to
ictionary F@
believe that they had previously prayed for some of
them! in the same 5ay as the feast of ,ll #aints
5as instituted' because the feast of many of them
had been previously celebrated (he diNerence be-
t5een the feast of ,ll #aints and that of the
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dead' is' that in the Jrst 5e invo$e' and that in the
second 5e are invo$ed ! in the former 5e commend
ourselves to the blessed' and in the second the un-
blessed commend themselves to us
(he most ignorant 5riters $no5' that this feast
5as Jrst instituted at 0luny' 5hich 5as then a ter-
ritory belonging to the 2erman &mpire Is it neces-
sary to repeat' 4that #t Odilon' abbot of 0luny' 5as
accustomed to deliver many souls from purgatory
by his masses and his prayers! and that one day a
$night or a mon$' returning from the holy land' 5as
cast by a tempest' on a small island' 5here he met
5ith a hermit' 5ho said to him' that in that island
eisted enormous caverns of Jre and Mames' in
5hich the 5ic$ed 5ere tormented ! and that he often
heard the devils complain of the ,bbot Odilon and
his mon$s' 5ho every day delivered some soul or
other ! for 5hich reason it 5as necessary to reuest
Odilon to continue his eertions' at once to increase
the joy of the saints in heaven and the grief of the
demons in hell?4
It is thus that 1ather 2erard' the 8esuit' relates
the aNair in his 41lo5er of the #aints'4 after 1ather
ibadeneira 1leury diNers a little from this legend'
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but has substantively preserved it (his revelation
FC hilosophical
induced #t Odilon to institute in 0luny the feast
of the dead' 5hich 5as then adopted by the 0hurch
#ince this time' purgatory has brought much
money to those 5ho possess the po5er of opening
the gates It 5as by virtue of this po5er that &ng-
lish 8ohn' that great landlord' surnamed Lac$land'
by declaring himself the liegeman of ope Innocent
III' and placing his $ingdom under submission' de-
livered the souls of his parents' 5ho had been e-
communicated 7 4ro mortuo ecommunico' pro
uo supplicant consanguinei4
(he oman chancery had even its regular scale
for the absolution of the dead! there 5ere many
privileged altars in the Jfteenth century' at 5hich
every mass performed for si 6ards delivered a soul
from purgatory 6eretics could not ascend beyond
the truth' that the apostles had the right of unbind-
ing all 5ho 5ere bound on earth' but not under the
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earth! and many of them' li$e impious persons'
doubted the po5er of the $eys It is ho5ever to be
remar$ed' that 5hen the pope is inclined to remit
Jve or si hundred years of purgatory' he accords
the grace 5ith full po5er7 4ro potentate a eo
accepta concedit4
Of the ,ntiuity of urgatory
It is pretended that purgatory 5as' from time
immemorial' $no5n to the famous 8e5ish people' and
it is founded on the second boo$ of the :ac' ibees'
5hich says epressly' 4that there being fount' con-
ictionary FF
cealed in the vestments of the 8e5s Uat the battle of
,dullamV' things consecrated to the idols of 8amma'
it 5as manifest that on that account they had per-
ished ! and having made a gathering of t5elve thou-
sand drachms of silver' 8udas' 5ho thought reli-
giously of the resurrection' sent them to 8erusalem
for the sins of the dead4
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6aving ta$en upon ourselves the tas$ of relating
the objections of the heretics and inJdels' for the
purpose of confounding them by their o5n opinions'
5e 5ill detail here these objections to the t5elve
thousand drachms transmitted by 8udas! and to
purgatory (hey say7 I (hat t5elve thousand
drachms of silver 5as too much for 8udas :acca-
beus' 5ho only maintained a petty 5ar of insur-
gency against a great $ing
C (hat they might send a present to 8erusalem
for the sins of the dead' in order to bring do5n the
blessing of 2od on the survivors
F (hat the idea of a resurrection 5as not enter-
tained among the 8e5s at this time' it being ascer-
tained that this doctrine 5as not discussed among
them until the time of 2amaliel' a little before the
ministry of 8esus 0hrist
G ,s the la5s of the 8e5s included in the
4ecalogue'4 Leviticus and euteronomy' have not
spo$en of the immortality of the soul' nor of the
torments of hell' it 5as impossible that they should
contain the doctrine of purgatory
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E 6eretics and inJdels ma$e the greatest ef-
%ol i* a
FG hilosophical
forts to demonstrate in their manner' that the boo$s
of the :accabees are evidently apocryphal (he fol-
lo5ing are their pretended proofs 7
(he 8e5s have never ac$no5ledged the boo$s of
the :accabees to be canonical' 5hy then should 5e
ac$no5ledge them? Origen declares formally that
the boo$s of the :accabees are to be rejected' and
#t 8erome regards them as un5orthy of credit
(he 0ouncil of Laodicea' held in EBD' admits them
not among the canonical boo$s (he ,thanasiuses'
the 0yrils' and the 6ilarys' have also rejected
them (he reasons for treating the foregoing boo$s
as romances' and as very bad romances' are as fol-
lo5s7
(he ignorant author commences by a falsehood'
$no5n to be such by all the 5orld 6e says 7 4,le-
ander called the young nobles' 5ho had been edu-
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cated 5ith him from their infancy' and parted his
$ingdom among them 5hile he still lived4 #o gross
and absurd a lie could not issue from the pen of a
sacred and inspired 5riter
(he author of the :accabees' in spea$ing of
,ntiochus &piphanes' says 7 4,ntiochus marched
to5ards &lymais' and 5ished to pillage it' but 5as
not able' because his intention 5as $no5n to the in-
habitants' 5ho assembled in order to give him battle'
on 5hich he departed 5ith great sadness' and re-
turned to 3abylon )hilst he 5as still in ersia'
he learned that his army in 8udaea had Med
and he too$ to his bed and died4
ictionary F E
(he same 5riter himself' in another place' says
uite the contrary! for he relates that ,ntiochus
&piphanes 5as about to pillage ersepolis' and not
&lymais ! that he fell from his chariot ! that he 5as
stric$en 5ith an incurable 5ound ! that he 5as de-
voured by 5orms ! that he demanded pardon of the
god of the 8e5s! that he 5ished himself to be a
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8e5 7 it is there 5here 5e Jnd the celebrated ver-
sicle' 5hich fanatics have applied so freuently to
their enemies! 4Ordbet scelestus ille veniam uam
non erat consecuturus4 (he 5ic$ed man demandeth
a pardon' 5hich he cannot obtain (his passage is
very 8e5ish ! but it is not permitted to an inspired
5riter to contradict himself so Magrantly
(his is not all 7 behold another contradiction' and
another oversight (he author ma$es ,ntiochus die
in a third manner' so that there is uite a choice 6e
remar$s that this prince 5as stoned in the temple of
.anneus ! and those 5ho 5ould ecuse the stupidity
pretend that he here spea$s of ,ntiochus &upator!
but neither &piphanes nor &upator 5as stoned
:oreover' this author says' that another ,ntio-
chus Uthe 2reatV 5as ta$en by the omans' and that
they gave to &umenes the Indies and :edia (his
is about eual to saying that 1rancis I made a
prisoner of 6enry %III' and that he gave (ur$ey
to the du$e of #avoy It is insulting the 6oly
2host to imagine it capable of dictating so many
disgusting absurdities
(he same author says' that the omans con-
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FB hilosophical
uered the 2alatians! but they did not conuer
2alatia for more than a hundred years after (hus
the unhappy story-teller did not 5rite for more than
a hundred years after the time in 5hich it 5as sup-
posed that he 5rote 7 and it is thus' according to the
inJdels' 5ith almost all the 8e5ish boo$s
(he same author observes' that the omans every
year nominated a chief of the senate 3ehold a 5ell-
informed man' 5ho did not even $no5 that ome
had t5o consulsT )hat reliance' say inJdels' can
be placed in these rhapsodies and puerile tales'
strung together 5ithout choice or order by the most
imbecile of men ? 6o5 shameful to believe in them T
and the barbarity of persecuting sensible men' in
order to force a belief of miserable absurdities' for
5hich they could not but entertain the most sov-
ereign contempt' is eual to that of cannibals
Our ans5er is' that some mista$es 5hich prob-
ably arose from the copyists may not aNect the fun-
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damental truths of the remainder! that the 6oly
2host inspired the author only' and not the copyists !
that if the 0ouncil of Laodicea rejected the :acca-
bees' they have been admitted by the 0ouncil of
(rent! that they are admitted by the oman
0hurch ! and conseuently that 5e ought to receive
them 5ith due submission
Of the Origin of urgatory
It is certain that those 5ho admitted of purga-
tory in the primitive church 5ere treated as heretics
ictionary FD
(he #imonians 5ere condemned 5ho admitted the
purgation of souls su$en +adaron
#t ,ugustine has since condemned the follo5ers
of Origen 5ho maintained this doctrine 3ut the
#imonians and the Origenists had ta$en their pur-
gatory from %irgil' lato and the &gyptians <ou
5ill Jnd it clearly indicated in the sith boo$ of the
4yneid'4 as 5e have already remar$ed )hat is
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still more singular' %irgil describes souls suspended
in air' others burned' and others dro5ned 7
,lice panduntur inanes
#uspenses ad -ventos 7 aliis sub gurgite vasto
Infectum eluitur scelus' aut euritur igni
' ooo$ vi' DGADGC
1or this are various penances enjoined'
,nd some are hung to bleach upon the 5ind!
#ome plunged in 5aters' others purged in Jres'
(ill all the dregs are drained' and all the rust epires
<&.
,nd 5hat is more singular still' ope 2regory'
surnamed the great' not only adopts this doctrine
from %irgil' but in his theology introduces many
souls 5ho arrive from purgatory after having been
hanged or dro5ned
lato has spo$en of purgatory in his 4hcedon'4
and it is easy to discover' by a perusal of 46ermes
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(rismegistus'4 that lato borro5ed from the &gyp-
tians all 5hich he had not borro5ed from (imaeus
of Locris
,ll this is very recent' and of yesterday' in com-
parison 5ith the ancient 3rahmins (he latter' it
must be confessed' invented purgatory in the same
FH hilosophical
manner as they invented the revolt and fall of the
genii or celestial intelligences
It is in their #hasta' or #hastabad' 5ritten three
thousand years before the vulgar era' that you' my
dear reader' 5ill discover the doctrine of purgatory
(he rebel angels' of 5hom the history 5as copied
among the 8e5s in the time of the rabbin 2amaliel'
5ere condemned by the &ternal and 6is #on' to a
thousand years of purgatory' after 5hich 2od par-
doned and made them men (his 5e have already
said' dear reader' as also that the 3rahmins found
eternal punishment too severe' as eternity never
concludes (he 3rahmins thought li$e the ,bbe
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0haulieu' and called upon the Lord to pardon them'
if' impressed 5ith 6is bounties' they could not be
brought to conceive that they 5ould be punished so
rigorously for vain pleasures' 5hich passed a5ay
li$e a dream7
ardonne alors' #eigneur' si' plein de tes bontts'
8e nKai pu concevoir ue mes fragiliteKs'
.i tous ces vains plaisirs ue assent comme un songe t
ussent etre IKobjet de tes sev:th !
&t si j Kat pu penser ue tant des cruauteKs
uniraient un peu trap la douceur dKun mensonge
&l(& #9 L, :O(' au :aruis de la 1are
>9,0+ UO 06,L,(,.V
(6& abode of physicians is in large to5ns ! there
are scarcely any in country places 2reat to5ns
contain rich patients! debauchery' ecess at the
tables' and the passions' cause their maladies u-
moulin' the physician' 5ho 5as in as much practice
ictionary F"
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as any of his profession' said 5hen dying that he
left t5o great physicians behind him simple diet
and soft 5ater
In @DCH' in the time of La5' the most famous of
uac$s of the Jrst class' another named %illars' con-
Jded to some friends' that his uncle' 5ho had lived
to the age of nearly a hundred' and 5ho 5as then
$illed by an accident' had left him the secret of
a 5ater 5hich could easily prolong life to the age
of one hundred and Jfty' provided sobriety 5as at-
tended to )hen a funeral passed' he aNected to
shrug up his shoulders in pity7 46ad the deceased'4
he eclaimed' 4but dran$ my 5ater' he 5ould not
be 5here he is4 6is friends' to 5hom he gener-
ously imparted it' and 5ho attended a little to the
regimen prescribed' found themselves 5ell' and
cried it up 6e then sold it for si francs the bottle'
and the sale 5as prodigious It 5as the 5ater of
the #eine' impregnated 5ith a small uantity of
nitre' and those 5ho too$ it and conJned themselves
a little to the regimen' but above all those 5ho 5ere
born 5ith a good constitution' in a short time re-
covered perfect health 6e said to others7 4It is
your o5n fault if you are not perfectly cured <ou
have been intemperate and incontinent' correct your-
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self of these t5o vices' and you 5ill live a hundred
and Jfty years at least4 #everal did so' and the
fortune of this good uac$ augmented 5ith his repu-
tation (he enthusiastic ,bbe de ons ran$ed him
much above his namesa$e' :arshal %illars 46e
GA hilosophical
caused the death of men'4 he observed to him'
45hereas you ma$e men live4
It being at last discovered that the 5ater of %il-
lars 5as only river 5ater' people too$ no more of it'
and resorted to other uac$s in lieu of him It is
certain that he did much good' and he can only be
accused of selling the #eine 5ater too dear 6e
advised men to temperance' and so far 5as superior
to the apothecary ,rnault' 5ho amused &urope 5ith
the farce of his speciJc against apopley' 5ithout
recommending any virtue
I $ne5 a physician of London named 3ro5n'
5ho had practised at 3arbadoes 6e had a sugar-
house and negroes' and the latter stole from him a
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considerable sum 6e accordingly assembled his
negroes together' and thus addressed them7 4:y
friends'4 said he to them' 4the great serpent has ap-
peared to me during the night' and has informed me
that the thief has at this moment a parouetKs
feather at the end of his nose4 (he criminal in-
stantly applied his hand to his nose 4It is thou
5ho hast robbed me'4 eclaimed the master! 4the
great serpent has just informed me so!4 and he re-
covered his money (his uac$ery is scarcely con-
demnable' but then it is applicable only to negroes
(he Jrst #cipio ,fricanus' a very diNerent per-
son from the physician 3ro5n' made his soldiers
believe that he 5as inspired by the gods (his
grand charlatanism 5as in use for a long time )as
ictionary G@
#cipio to be blamed for assisting himself by the
means of this pretension ? 6e 5as possibly the man
5ho did most honor to the oman republic! but
5hy the gods should inspire him has never been e-
plained
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.uma did better7 he civili;ed robbers' and
s5ayed a senate composed of a portion of them
5hich 5as the most dicult to govern If he had
proposed his la5s to the assembled tribes' the assas-
sins of his predecessor 5ould have started a thou-
sand diculties 6e addressed himself to the god-
dess &geria' 5ho favored him 5ith pandects from
8upiter! he 5as obeyed 5ithout a murmur' and
reigned happily 6is instructions 5ere sound' his
charlatanism did good! but if some secret enemy
had discovered his $navery' and had said' 4Let us
eterminate an impostor 5ho prostitutes the names
of the gods in order to deceive men'4 he 5ould have
run the ris$ of being sent to heaven li$e omulus
It is probable that .uma too$ his measures ably'
and that he deceived the omans for their o5n ben-
eJt' by a policy adapted to the time' the place' and
the early manners of the people
:ahomet 5as t5enty times on the point of fail-
ure' but at length succeeded 5ith the ,rabs of
:edina' 5ho believed him the intimate friend of
the angel 2abriel If any one at present 5as to an-
nounce in 0onstantinople that he 5as favored by the
angel aphael' 5ho is superior to 2abriel in dig-
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GC hilosophical
nity' and that he alone 5as to be believed' he 5ould
be publicly empaled >uac$s should $no5 their
time
)as there not a little uac$ery in #ocrates 5ith
his familiar daemon' and the epress declaration of
,pollo' that he 5as the 5isest of all men? 6o5
can ollin in his history reason from this oracle?
)hy not inform youth that it 5as a pure imposition ?
#ocrates chose his time ill7 about a hundred years
before he might have governed ,thens
&very chief of a sect in philosophy has been a
little of a uac$! but the greatest of all have been
those 5ho have aspired to govern 0rom5ell 5as
the most terrible of all uac$s' and appeared pre-
cisely at a time in 5hich he could succeed 9nder
&li;abeth he 5ould have been hanged! under
0harles II' laughed at 1ortunately for himself he
came at a time 5hen people 5ere disgusted 5ith
$ings 7 his son follo5ed' 5hen they 5ere 5eary of
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protectors
Of the >uac$ery of #ciences and of Literature
(he follo5ers of science have never been able to
dispense 5ith uac$ery &ach 5ould have his opin-
ions prevail ! the subtle doctor 5ould eclipse the an-
gelic doctor' and the profound doctor 5ould reign
alone &veryone erects his o5n system of physics'
metaphysics' and scholastic theology ! and the ues-
tion is' 5ho 5ill value his merchandise? <ou have
dependants 5ho cry it up' fools 5ho believe you'
ictionary GF
and protectors on 5hom to lean 0an there be
greater uac$ery than the substitution of 5ords for
things' or than a 5ish to ma$e others believe 5hat
5e do not believe ourselves ?
One establishes vortices of subtile matter'
branched' globular' and tubular! another' elements
of matter 5hich are not matter' and a pre-established
harmony 5hich ma$es the cloc$ of the body sound
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the hour' 5hen the needle of the cloc$ of the soul is
duly pointed (hese chimeras found partisans for
many years' and 5hen these ideas 5ent out of fash-
ion' ne5 pretenders to inspiration mounted upon the
ambulatory stage (hey banished the germs of the
5orld' asserted that the sea produced mountains'
and that men 5ere formerly Jshes
6o5 much uac$ery has al5ays pervaded his-
tory7 either by astonishing the reader 5ith prodi-
gies' tic$ling the malignity of human nature 5ith
satire' or by Mattering the families of tyrants 5ith
infamous eulogiesT
(he unhappy class 5ho 5rite in order to live' are
uac$s of another $ind , poor man 5ho has no
trade' and has had the misfortune to have been at
college' thin$s that he $no5s ho5 to 5rite' and re-
pairing to a neighboring boo$seller' demands em-
ployment (he boo$seller $no5s that most persons
$eeping houses are desirous of small libraries' and
reuire abridgments and ne5 tables' orders an
abridgment of the history of apin (hoyras' or of
the church ! a collection of bon mots from the :ena-
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GG hilosophical
giana' or a dictionary of great men' in 5hich some
obscure pedant is placed by the side of 0icero' and
a sonneteer of Italy as near as possible to %irgil
,nother boo$seller 5ill order romances or the
translation of romances If you have no invention'
he 5ill say to his 5or$man7 <ou can collect ad-
ventures from the grand 0yrus' from 2usman
dK,lfarache' from the 4#ecret :emoirs of a :an of
>uality4 or of a 4)oman of >uality4! and from
the total you 5ill ma$e a volume of four hundred
pages
,nother boo$seller gives ten yearsK ne5spapers
and almanacs to a man of genius' and says 7 <ou 5ill
ma$e an abstract from all that' and in three months
bring it me under the name of a faithful 46istory of
the (imes'4 by : le 0hevalier ' Lieutenant de
%aisseau' employed in the oce for foreign aNairs
Of this sort of boo$s there are about Jfty thou-
sand in &urope' and the labor still goes on li$e the
secret for 5hitening the s$in' blac$ening the hair'
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and miing up the universal remedy
,%,ILL,0
I +.&) in my infancy a canon of eronne of the
age of ninety-t5o years' 5ho had been educated by
one of the most furious burghers of the League
he al5ays used to say' the late : de availlac (his
canon had preserved many curious manuscripts of
the apostolic times' although they did little honor to
ictionary GE
his party (he follo5ing is one of them' 5hich he
beueathed to my uncle 7
ialogue of a age of the u$e of #ully' and of
:aster 1ilesac' octor of the #orbonne' one of
the t5o 0onfessors of availlac
:,#(& 1IL&#,0 2od be than$ed' my dear
page' availlac has died li$e a saint I heard his
confession! he repented of his sin' and determined
no more to fall into it 6e 5ished to receive the
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holy sacrament' but it is not the custom here as at
ome ! his penitence 5ill serve in lieu of it' and it is
certain that he is in paradise
,2& 6e in paradise' in the 2arden of &den'
the monster T
:,#(& 1IL&#,0 <es' my Jne lad' in that gar-
den' or heaven' it is the same thing
,2& I believe so! but he has ta$en a bad
road to arrive there
:,#(& 1IL&#,0 <ou tal$ li$e a young 6u-
guenot Learn that 5hat I say to you parta$es of
faith 6e possessed attrition' and attrition' joined
to the sacrament of confession' infallibly 5or$s out
the salvation 5hich conducts straight5ay to para-
dise' 5here he is no5 praying to 2od for you
,2& I have no 5ish that he should address
2od on my account Let him go to the devil 5ith
his prayers and his attrition
:,#(& 1IL&#,0 ,t the bottom' he 5as a good
soul ! his ;eal led him to commit evil' but it 5as not
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GB hilosophical
5ith a bad intention In all his interrogatories' he
replied that he assassinated the $ing only because
he 5as about to ma$e 5ar on the pope' and that he
did so to serve 2od 6is sentiments 5ere very
0hristian-li$e 6e is saved' I tell you! he 5as
bound' and I have unbound him
,2& In good faith' the more I listen to you
the more I regard you as a man bound yourself
<ou ecite horror in me
:,#(& 1IL&#,0 It is because that you are not
yet in the right 5ay! but you 5ill be one day I
have al5ays said that you 5ere not far from the
$ingdom of heaven ! but your time is not yet come
,2& ,nd the time 5ill never come in 5hich
I shall be made to believe that you have sent a-
vaillac to the $ingdom of heaven
:,#(& 1IL&#,0 ,s soon as you shall be con-
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verted' 5hich I hope 5ill be the case' you 5ill be-
lieve as I do ! but in the meantime' be assured that
you and the du$e of #ully' your master' 5ill be
damned to all eternity 5ith 8udas Iscariot and the
5ic$ed rich man ives' 5hile availlac 5ill repose
in the bosom of ,braham
,2& 6o5' scoundrelT
:,#(& 1IL&#,0 .o abuse' my little son It
is forbidden to call our brother 4raca'4 under the
penalty of the gehenna or hell Jre ermit me to
instruct 5ithout enraging you
,2& 2o on! thou appearest to me so 4raca4
that I 5ill be angry no more
ictionary GD
:,#(& 1IL&#,0 I therefore say to you' that
agreeably to faith you 5ill be damned' as unhap-
pily our dear 6enry I% is already' as the #orbonne
al5ays foresa5
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,2& :y dear master damned T Listen to the
5ic$ed 5retch T , cane T a cane T
:,#(& 1IL&#,0 3e patient' good young man !
you promised to listen to me uietly Is it not true
that the great 6enry died 5ithout confession? Is
it not true that he died in the commission of mor-
tal sin' being still amorous of the princess of 0onde'
and that he had not time to receive the sacrament of
repentance' 2od having allo5ed him to be stabbed in
the left ventricle of the heart' in conseuence of
5hich he 5as instantly suNocated 5ith his o5n
blood? <ou 5ill absolutely Jnd no good 0atholic
5ho 5ill not say the same as I do
,2& 6old thy tongue' master madman! if I
thought that thy doctors taught a doctrine so abom-
inable' I 5ould burn them in their lodgings
:,#(& 1IL&#,0 Once again' be calm! you
have promised to be so 6is lordship the maruis
of 0ochini' 5ho is a good 0atholic' 5ill $no5 ho5
to prevent you from being guilty of the sacrilege of
injuring my colleagues
,2& 3ut conscientiously' :aster 1ilesac' does
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thy party really thin$ in this manner?
:,#(& 1IL&#,0 3e assured of it! it is our
catechism
,2& Listen! for I must confess to thee' that
GH hilosophical
one of thy #orbonnists almost seduced me last year
6e induced me to hope for a pension or a beneJce
#ince the $ing' he observed' has heard mass in
Latin' you 5ho are only a petty gentleman may also
attend it 5ithout derogation 2od ta$es care of 6is
elect' giving them mitres' crosses' and prodigious
sums of money' 5hile you of the reformed doctrine
go on foot' and can do nothing but 5rite I o5n I
5as staggered! but after 5hat thou hast just said
to me' I 5ould rather a thousand times be a :a-
hometan than of thy creed
(he page 5as 5rong )e are not to become :a-
hometans because 5e are incensed! but 5e must
pardon a feeling young man 5ho loved 6enry I%
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:aster 1ilesac spo$e according to his theology ! the
page attended to his heart
&,#O.,3L&' O I26(
,( (6& time that all 1rance 5as carried a5ay by
the system of La5' and 5hen he 5as comptroller-
general' a man 5ho 5as al5ays in the right came to
him one day and said7
4#ir' you are the greatest madman' the greatest
fool' or the greatest rogue' 5ho has yet appeared
among us It is saying a great deal! but behold
ho5 I prove it <ou have imagined that 5e may
increase the riches of a state ten-fold by means of
paper 3ut this paper only represents money' 5hich
is itself only a representative of genuine riches' the
ictionary G"
production of the earth and manufacture It fol-
lo5s' therefore' that you should have commenced
by giving us ten times as much corn' 5ine' cloth'
linen' etc ! this is not enough' they must be certain
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of sale .o5 you ma$e ten times as many notes as
5e have money and commodities! ergo' you are
ten times more insane' stupid' or roguish' than all
the comptrollers or superintendents 5ho have pre-
ceded you 3ehold ho5 rapidly I 5ill prove my
major4
#carcely had he commenced his major than he
5as conducted to #t La;arus )hen he came out
of #t La;arus' 5here he studied much and strength-
ened his reason' he 5ent to ome 6e demanded
a public audience' and that he should not be inter-
rupted in his harangue 6e addressed his holiness
as follo5s7
46oly father' you are ,ntichrist' and behold ho5
I 5ill prove it to your holiness I call him ante-
0hrist or antichrist' according to the meaning of the
5ord' 5ho does everything contrary to that 5hich
0hrist commanded .o5 0hrist 5as poor' and you
are very rich 6e paid tribute' and you eact it
6e submitted himself to the po5ers that be' and
you have become one of them 6e 5andered on
foot' and you visit 0astle 2andolfo in a sumptuous
carriage 6e ate of all that 5hich people 5ere 5ill-
ing to give him' and you 5ould have us eat Jsh on
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1ridays and #aturdays' even 5hen 5e reside at a
distance from the seas and rivers 6e forbade #i-
%ol @FG
EA hilosophical
mon 3ar jonas using the s5ord' and you have many
s5ords in your service' etc In this sense' there-
fore' your holiness is ,ntichrist In every other
sense I eceedingly revere you' and reuest an in-
dulgence Kin articulo mortisK 4
:y free spea$er 5as immediately conJned in the
castle of #t ,ngelo )hen he came out of the
castle of #t ,ngelo' he proceeded to %enice' and
demanded an audience of the doge 4<our se-
renity'4 he eclaimed' 4commits a great etrava-
gance every year in marrying the sea! for' in the
Jrst place' people marry only once 5ith the same
person! secondly' your marriage resembles that of
6arleuin' 5hich 5as only half performed' as 5ant-
ing the consent of one of the parties ! thirdly' 5ho
has told you that' some day or other' the other mari-
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time po5ers 5ill not declare you incapable of con-
summating your marriage?4
6aving thus delivered his mind' he 5as shut up
in the to5er of #t :ar$ )hen he came out of the
to5er of #t :ar$' he proceeded to 0onstantinople'
5here he obtained an intervie5 5ith the mufti' and
thus addressed him 7 KK<our religion contains some
good points' such as the adoration of the #upreme
3eing' and the necessity of being just and chari-
table ! nevertheless' it is a mere hash composed out
of 8udaism and a 5earisome heap of stories from
:other 2oose If the archangel 2abriel had
brought from some planet the leaves of the +oran
to :ahomet' all ,rabia 5ould have beheld his de-
ictionary E@
scent .obody sa5 him' therefore :ahomet 5as a
bold impostor' 5ho deceived 5ea$ and ignorant
people4
6e had scarcely pronounced these 5ords before
he 5as empaled ! nevertheless' he had been all along
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in the right
&LI0#
3< (6I# name are designated the remains or re-
maining parts of the body' or clothes' of a person
placed after his death by the 0hurch in the number
of the blessed
It is clear that 8esus condemned only the hy-
pocrisy of the 8e5s' in saying7 4)oe unto you'
#cribes and harisees' hypocrites T because ye build
the tombs of the prophets' and garnish the sepul-
chres of the righteous4 (hus orthodo 0hristians
have an eual veneration for the relics and images
of saints' and I $no5 not 5hat octor 6enry ven-
tures to say that 5hen bones or other relics are
changed into 5orms' 5e must not adore these
5orms ! the 8esuit %asue; decided that the opinion
of 6enry is absurd and vain' for it signiJes not in
5hat manner corruption ta$es place! 4conse-
uently'4 says he' 45e can adore relics as much
under the form of 5orms as under that of ashes4
6o5ever this may be' #t 0yril of ,leandria
avo5s that the origin of relics is agan! and this
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is the description given of their 5orship by (heo-
doret' 5ho lived in the commencement of the 0hris'-*
EC hilosophical
tian era7 4(hey run to the temples of martyrs'4
says this learned bishop' 4some to demand the pres-
ervation of tJeir health' others the cure of their mal-
adies! and barren 5omen for fruitfulness ,fter
obtaining children' these 5omen as$ the preserva-
tion of them (hose 5ho underta$e voyages' pray
the martyrs to accompany and conduct them! and
on their return they testify to them their gratitude
(hey adore them not as gods' but they honor them
as divine men ! and conjure them to become their in-
tercessors
4(he oNerings 5hich are displayed in their tem-
ples are public proofs that those 5ho have de-
manded 5ith faith' have obtained the accomplish-
ment of their vo5s and the cure of their disorders
#ome hang up artiJcial eyes' others feet' and others
hands of gold and silver (hese monuments pub-
lish the virtue of those 5ho are buried in these
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tombs' as their inMuence publishes that the god for
5hom they suNered is the true 2od (hus 0hris-
tians ta$e care to give their children the names of
martyrs' that they may be insured their protection4
1inally' (heodoret adds' that the temples of the
gods 5ere demolished' and that the materials served
for the construction of the temples of martyrs 7 41or
the Lord'4 said he to the agans' 4has substituted
his dead for your gods! 6e has sho5n the vanity
of the latter' and transferred to others the honors
paid to them4 It is of this that the famous sophist
of #ardis complains bitterly in deploring the ruin
ictionary EF
of the temple of #erapis at 0anopus' 5hich 5as de-
molished by order of the emperor (heodosius I in
the year FH"
4eople'4 says &unapius' 45ho had never heard
of 5ar' 5ere' ho5ever' very valiant against the
stones of this temple! and principally against
the rich oNerings 5ith 5hich it 5as Jlled (hese
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holy places 5ere given to mon$s' an infamous and
useless class of people' 5hOj provided they 5ear a
blac$ and slovenly dress' hold a tyrannical authority
over the minds of the people! and instead of the
gods 5hom 5e ac$no5ledge through the lights of
reason' these mon$s give us heads of criminals' pun-
ished for their crimes' to adore' 5hich they have
salted in order to preserve them4
(he people are superstitious' and it is supersti-
tion 5hich enchains them (he miracles forged
on the subject of relics became a loadstone 5hich
attracted from all parts riches to the churches #tu-
pidity and credulity 5ere carried so far that' in
the year FHB' the same (heodosius 5as obliged to
ma$e a la5 by 5hich he forbade buried corpses to
be transported from one place to another' or the
relics of any martyr to be separated and sold
uring the Jrst three ages of 0hristianity they
5ere contented 5ith celebrating the day of the death
of martyrs' 5hich they called their natal day' by as-
sembling in the cemeteries 5here their bodies lay'
to pray for them' as 5e have remar$ed in the article
on 4:ass4 (hey dreamed not then of a time in
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EG hilosophical
5hich 0hristians 5ould raise temples to them' trans-
port their ashes and bones from one place to an-
other' sho5 them in shrines' and Jnally ma$e a
trac of them! 5hich ecited avarice to Jll the
5orld 5ith false relics
3ut the (hird 0ouncil of 0arthage' held in the
year F"D' having inserted in the #criptures the
,pocalypse of #t 8ohn' the authenticity of 5hich
5as till then contested' this passage of chapter vi'
4I sa5 under the altar the souls of them that 5ere
slain for the 5ord of 2od4 authori;ed the custom
of having relics of martyrs under the altars! and
this practice 5as soon regarded so essential that
#t ,mbrose' not5ithstanding the 5ishes of the
people' 5ould not consecrate a church 5here there
5ere none ! and in B"C' the 0ouncil of 0onstantino-
ple' in (rullo' even ordered all the altars to be de-
molished under 5hich it found no relics
,nother 0ouncil of 0arthage' on the contrary'
in the year GA@' ordered bishops to build altars
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5hich might be seen every5here' in Jelds and on
high roads' in honor of martyrs ! from 5hich 5ere
here and there dug pretended relics' on dreams and
vain revelations of all sorts of people
#t ,ugustine relates that to5ards the year G@E'
Lucian' the priest of a to5n called 0aphargamata'
some miles distant from 8erusalem' three times sa5
in a dream the learned 2amaliel' 5ho declared to
him that his body' that of ,bibas his son' of #t
#tephen' and .icodemus' 5ere buried in a part of
ictionary EE
his parish 5hich he pointed out to him 6e com-
manded him' on their part and his o5n' to leave
them no longer neglected in the tomb in 5hich they
had been for some ages' but to go and tell 8ohn'
bishop of 8erusalem' to come and dig them up im-
mediately' if he 5ould prevent the ills 5ith 5hich
the 5orld 5as threatened 2amaliel added that this
translation must be made in the episcopacy of 8ohn'
5ho died about a year after (he order of heaven
5as that the body of #t #tephen should be trans-
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ported to 8erusalem
&ither Lucian did not clearly understand' or he
5as unfortunate he dug and found nothing ! 5hich
obliged the learned 8e5 to appear to a very simple
and innocent mon$' and indicate to him more pre-
cisely the place 5here the sacred relics lay Lucian
there found the treasure 5hich he sought' according
as 2od had revealed it unto him In this tomb there
5as a stone on 5hich 5as engraved the 5ord 4che-
liel'4 5hich signiJes 4cro5n4 in 6ebre5' as 4ste-
phanos4 does in 2ree$ On the opening of #tephenKs
con the earth trembled' a delightful odor issued'
and a great number of sic$ 5ere cured (he
body of the saint 5as reduced to ashes' ecept the
bones' 5hich 5ere transported to 8erusalem' and
placed in the church of #ion ,t the same hour
there fell a great rain' until 5hich they had had a
great drouth
,vitus' a #panish priest 5ho 5as then in the
&ast' translated into Latin this story' 5hich Lucian
EB hilosophical
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5rote in 2ree$ ,s the #paniard 5as the friend of
Lucian' he obtained a small portion of the ashes of
the saint' some bones full of an oil 5hich 5as a visi-
ble proof of their holiness' surpassing ne5ly-made
perfumes' and the most agreeable odors (hese
relics' brought by Orosius into the island of :inorca'
in eight days converted Jve hundred and forty
8e5s
(hey 5ere after5ards informed by divers visions
that some mon$s of &gypt had relics of #t #tephen
5hich strangers had brought there ,s the mon$s'
not then being priests' had no churches of their o5n'
they too$ this treasure to transport it to a church
5hich 5as near 9sala ,bove the church some per-
sons soon sa5 a star 5hich seemed to come before
the holy martyr (hese relics did not remain long
in this church ! the bishop of 9sala' Jnding it con-
venient to enrich his o5n' transported them' seated
on a car' accompanied by a cro5d of people' 5ho
sang the praises of 2od' attended by a great num-
ber of lights and tapers
In this manner the relics 5ere borne to an ele-
vated place in the church and placed on a throne
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ornamented 5ith hangings (hey 5ere after5ards
put on a little bed in a place 5hich 5as loc$ed up'
but to 5hich a little 5indo5 5as left' that cloths
might be touched' 5hich cured several disorders
, little dust collected on the shrine suddenly cured
one that 5as paralytic 1lo5ers 5hich had been
presented to the saint' applied to the eyes of a blind
ictionary ED
man' gave him sight (here 5ere even seven or
eight corpses restored to life
#t ,ugustine' 5ho endeavors to justify this 5or-
ship by distinguishing it from that of adoration'
5hich is due to 2od alone' is obliged to agree that
he himself $ne5 several 0hristians 5ho adored
sepulchres and images 4I $no5 several 5ho drin$
to great ecess on the tombs' and 5ho' in giving
entertainments to the dead' fell themselves on those
5ho 5ere buried 4
Indeed' turning fresh from aganism' and
charmed to Jnd deiJed men in the 0hristian church'
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though under other names' the people honored them
as much as they had honored their false gods ! and
it 5ould be grossly deceiving ourselves to judge of
the ideas and practices of the populace by those of
enlightened and philosophic bishops )e $no5
that the sages among the agans made the same
distinctions as our holy bishops 4)e must'4 said
6ierocles' 4ac$no5ledge and serve the gods so as
to ta$e great care to distinguish them from the su-
preme 2od' 5ho is their author and father )e
must not too greatly ealt their dignity ,nd Jnally
the 5orship 5hich 5e give them should relate to
their sole creator' 5hom you may properly call the
2od of gods' because 6e is the :aster of all' and
the most ecellent of all4 orphyrius' 5ho' li$e
#t aul' terms the supreme 2od' the 2od 5ho is
above all things' adds that 5e must not sacriJce to
6im anything that is sensible or material' because'
EH hilosophical
being a pure #pirit' everything material is impure
to 6im 6e can only be 5orthily honored by the
thoughts and sentiments of a soul 5hich is not
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tainted 5ith any sinful passion
In a 5ord' #t ,ugustine' in declaring 5ith
naivete that he dared not spea$ freely on several
similar abuses on account of giving opportunity for
scandal to pious persons or to pedants' sho5s that
the bishops made use of the artiJce to convert the
agans' as #t 2regory recommended t5o centuries
after to convert &ngland (his pope' being con-
sulted by the mon$ ,ugustine on some remains of
ceremonies' half civil and half agan' 5hich the
ne5ly converted &nglish 5ould not renounce' an-
s5ered' 4)e cannot divest hard minds of all their
habits at once! 5e reach not to the top of a steep
roc$ by leaping' but by climbing step by step4
(he reply of the same pope to 0onstantina' the
daughter of the emperor (iberius 0onstantine' and
the 5ife of :aurice' 5ho demanded of him the head
of #t aul' to place in a temple 5hich she had built
in honor of this apostle' is no less remar$able #t
2regory sent 5ord to the princess that the bodies of
saints shone 5ith so many miracles that they dared
not even approach their tombs to pray 5ithout being
sei;ed 5ith fear (hat his predecessor Uelagius
IIV 5ishing to remove some silver from the tomb
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of #t eter to another place four feet distant' he
appeared to him 5ith frightful signs (hat he
U2regoryV 5ishing to ma$e some repairs in the
ictionary E"
monument of #t aul' as it had sun$ a little in
front' and he 5ho had the care of the place having
had the boldness to raise some bones 5hich touched
not the tomb of the apostle' to transport them else-
5here' he appeared to him also in a terrible manner'
and he died immediately (hat his predecessor
also 5ishing to repair the tomb of #t La5rence' the
shroud 5hich encircled the body of the martyr 5as
imprudently discovered ! and although the laborers
5ere mon$s and ocers of the church' they all died
in the space of ten days because they had seen the
body of the saint (hat 5hen the omans gave
relics' they never touched the sacred bodies' but
contented themselves 5ith putting some cloths' 5ith
5hich they approached them' in a bo (hat these
cloths have the same virtue as relics' and perform
as many miracles (hat certain 2ree$s' doubting of
this fact' ope Leo too$ a pair of scissors' and in
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their presence cutting some of the cloth 5hich had
approached the holy bodies' blood came from it (hat
in the 5est of ome it is a sacrilege to touch the
bodies of saints! and that if any one attempts' he
may be assured that his crime 5ill not go unpun-
ished 1or 5hich reason the 2ree$s cannot be per-
suaded to adopt the custom of transporting relics
(hat some 2ree$s daring to disinter some bodies in
the night near the church of #t aul' intending to
transport them into their o5n country' 5ere dis-
covered' 5hich persuaded them that the relics 5ere
false (hat the easterns' pretending that the bodies
BA hilosophical
of #t eter and #t aul belonged to them' came to
ome to ta$e them to their o5n country! but ar-
riving at the catacombs 5here these bodies repose'
5hen they 5ould have ta$en them' sudden lightning
and terrible thunder dispersed the alarmed multi-
tude and forced them to renounce their underta$ing
(hat those 5ho suggested to 0onstantina the de-
mand of the head of #t aul from him' had no
other design than that of ma$ing him lose his favor
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#t 2regory concludes 5ith these 5ords7 4I have
that conJdence in 2od' that you 5ill not be deprived
of the fruit of your good 5ill' nor of the virtue of
the holy apostles' 5hom you love 5ith all your heart
and 5ith all your mind! and that' if you have not
their corporeal presence' you 5ill al5ays enjoy their
protection4
<et the ecclesiastical history pretends that the
translation of relics 5as eually freuent in the
&ast and )est ! and the author of the notes to this
letter further observes that the same #t 2regory
after5ards gave several holy bodies' and that other
popes have given so many as si or seven to one in-
dividual
,fter this' can 5e be astonished at the favor
5hich relics Jnd in the minds of people and $ings?
(he sermons most commonly preached among the
ancient 1rench 5ere composed on the relics of
saints It 5as thus that the $ings 2ontran' #igebert'
and 0hilperic divided the states of 0lotaire' and
agreed to possess aris in common (hey made
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ictionary B@
oath on the relics of #t olyeuctus' #t 6ilary' and
#t :artin <et 0hilperic possessed himself of the
place and merely too$ the precaution of having a
shrine' 5ith a uantity of relics' 5hich he had car-
ried as a safeguard at the head of his troops' in
hopes that the protection of these ne5 patrons
5ould shelter him from the punishment due to his
perjury 1inally' the catechism of the 0ouncil of
(rent approved of the custom of s5earing by relics
It is further observed that the $ings of 1rance
of the Jrst and second races $ept in their palaces a
great number of relics ! above all' the cap and man-
tle of #t :artin! and that they had them carried
in their trains and in their armies (hese relics
5ere sent from the palaces to the provinces 5hen
an oath of Jdelity 5as made to the $ing' or any
treaty 5as concluded
&LI2IO.
#&0(IO. I
(6& &picureans' 5ho had no religion' recom-
Inended retirement from public aNairs' study' and
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0oncord (his sect 5as a society of friends' for
friendship 5as their principal dogma ,tticus'
Lucretius' :emmius' and a fe5 other such men'
might live very reputably together! this 5e see in
all countries! philosophi;e as much as you please
among yourselves , set of amateurs may give a
concert of reJned and scientiJc music ! but let them
be5are of performing such a concert before the ig-
BC hilosophical
norant and brutal vulgar' lest their instruments be
bro$en over their heads If you have but a village
to govern' it must have a religion
I spea$ not here of an error! but of the only
good' the only necessary' the only proved' and the
second revealed
6ad it been possible for the human mind to have
admitted a religion I 5ill not say at all ap-
proaching ours but not so bad as all the other re-
ligions in the 5orld 5hat 5ould that religion have
been?
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)ould it not have been that 5hich should pro-
pose to us the adoration of the supreme' only' in-
Jnite' eternal 3eing' the former of the 5orld' 5ho
gives it motion and life' 4cui nee simile' nee secun-
dum4? (hat 5hich should re-unite us to this 3eing
of beings' as the re5ard of our virtues' and separate
us from 6im' as the chastisement of our crimes?
(hat 5hich should admit very fe5 of the dogmas
invented by unreasoning pride! those eternal sub-
jects of disputation ! and should teach a pure moral-
ity' about 5hich there should never be any dispute ?
(hat 5hich should not ma$e the essence of 5or-
ship consist in vain ceremonies' as that of spitting
into your mouth' or that of ta$ing from you one end
of your prepuce' or of depriving you of one of your
testicles seeing that a man may fulJl all the social
duties 5ith t5o testicles and an entire fores$in' and
5ithout anotherKs spitting into his mouth ?
(hat of serving oneKs neighbor for the love of
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ictionary BF
2od' instead of persecuting and butchering him in
2odKs name ? (hat 5hich should tolerate all others'
and 5hich' meriting thus the good5ill of all' should
alone be capable of ma$ing man$ind a nation of
brethren ?
(hat 5hich should have august ceremonies' to
stri$e the vulgar' 5ithout having mysteries to dis-
gust the 5ise and irritate the incredulous ?
(hat 5hich should oNer men more encourage-
ments to the social virtues than epiations for social
crimes?
(hat 5hich should insure to its ministers a reve-
nue large enough for their decent maintenance' but
should never allo5 them to usurp dignities and
po5er that might ma$e them tyrants?
(hat 5hich should establish commodious retreats
for sic$ness and old age' but never for idleness ?
, great part of this religion is already in the
hearts of several princes! and it 5ill prevail 5hen
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the articles of perpetual peace' proposed by the abbe
de #t ierre' shall be signed by all potentates
#&0(IO. II
Last night I 5as meditating! I 5as absorbed in
the contemplation of nature' admiring the im-
mensity' the courses' the relations of those inJnite
globes' 5hich are above the admiration of the
vulgar
I admired still more the intelligence that presides
over this vast machinery I said to myself 7 , man
BG hilosophical
must be blind not to be impressed by this spectacle !
he must be stupid not to recogni;e its author! he
must be mad not to adore him )hat tribute of
adoration ought I to render him? #hould not this
tribute be the same throughout the etent of space'
since the same #upreme o5er reigns eually in all
that etent?
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oes not a thin$ing being' inhabiting a star of
the :il$y )ay' o5e him the same homage as the
thin$ing being on this little globe 5here 5e are?
Light is the same to the dog-star as to us ! morality'
too' must be the same
If a feeling and thin$ing being in the dog-star
is born of a tender father and mother' 5ho have
labored for his 5elfare' he o5es them as much love
and duty as 5e here o5e to our parents If any one
in the :il$y )ay sees another lame and indigent'
and does not relieve him' though able to do it' he is
guilty in the sight of every globe
(he heart has every5here the same duties! on
the steps of the throne of 2od' if 6e has a throne'
and at the bottom of the great abyss' if there be an
abyss
I 5as 5rapt in these reMections' 5hen one of
those genii 5ho Jll the spaces bet5een 5orlds' came
do5n to me I recogni;ed the same aerial creature
that had formerly appeared to me' to inform me that
the judgments of 2od are diNerent from ours' and
ho5 much a good action is preferable to contro-
versy
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ictionary BE
6e transported me into a desert covered all over
5ith bones piled one upon another! and bet5een
these heaps of dead there 5ere avenues of evergreen
trees' and at the end of each avenue a tall man of
august aspect ga;ing 5ith compassion on these sad
remains
4,las T my archangel'4 said I' 45hither have you
brought me ?4 4(o desolation'4 ans5ered he 4,nd
5ho are those Jne old patriarchs 5hom I see mo-
tionless and melancholy at the end of those green
avenues' and 5ho seem to 5eep over this immense
multitude of dead ?4 4oor human creature T thou
shalt $no5'4 replied the genius! 4but' Jrst' thou
must 5eep4
6e began 5ith the Jrst heap 4(hese'4 said he'
4are the t5enty-three thousand 8e5s 5ho danced
before a calf' together 5ith the t5enty-four thou-
sand 5ho 5ere slain 5hile ravishing :idianitish
5omen ! the number of the slaughtered for similar
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oNences or mista$es amounts to nearly three hun-
dred thousand
4,t the follo5ing avenues are the bones of 0hris-
tians' butchered by one another on account of meta-
physical disputes (hey are divided into several
piles of four centuries each ! it 5as necessary to sep-
arate them! for had they been all together' they
5ould have reached the s$y4
4)hatT4 eclaimed I' 4have brethren thus
treated their brethren ! and have I the misfortune to
be one of this brotherhood?4
%ol @FE
BB hilosophical
46ere'4 said the spirit' 4are the t5elve millions
of ,mericans slain in their o5n country for not
having been bapti;ed4 4,h T my 2od T 5hy 5ere
not these frightful s$eletons left to 5hiten in the
hemisphere 5here the bodies 5ere born' and 5here
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they 5ere murdered in so many various 5ays?
)hy are all these abominable monuments of bar-
barity and fanaticism assembled here?4 41or thy
instruction4
4#ince thou art 5illing to instruct me'4 said I to
the genius' 4tell me if there be any other people than
the 0hristians and the 8e5s' 5hom ;eal and religion'
unhappily turned into fanaticism' have prompted to
so many horrible cruelties?4 4<es'4 said he! 4the
:ahometans have been stained by the same inhuman
acts' but rarely! and 5hen their victims have cried
out KammanTK UmercyTV and have oNered them
tribute' they have pardoned them ,s for other na-
tions' not one of them' since the beginning of the
5orld' has ever made a purely religious 5ar .o5'
follo5 meT4 I follo5ed
, little beyond these heaps of dead 5e found
other heaps! these 5ere bags of gold and silver!
and each pile had its label 7 4#ubstance of the here-
tics massacred in the eighteenth century' in the sev-
enteenth' in the siteenth'4 and so on 42old and
silver of the slaughtered ,mericans'4 etc ! and all
these piles 5ere surmounted by crosses' mitres'
crosiers' and tiaras' enriched 5ith je5els
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4)hat T my genius' 5as it then to possess these
ictionary BD
riches that these carcasses 5ere accumulated?4
4<es' my son4
I shed tears ! and 5hen by my grief I had mer-
ited to be ta$en to the end of the green avenues' he
conducted me thither
40ontemplate'4 said he' 4the heroes of humanity
5ho have been the benefactors of the earth' and 5ho
united to banish from the 5orld' as far as they 5ere
able' violence and rapine >uestion them4
I 5ent up to the Jrst of this band ! on his head
5as a cro5n' and in his hand a small censer I
humbly as$ed him his name 4I'4 said he' 4am
.uma ompilius! I succeeded a robber' and had
robbers to govern! I taught them virtue and the
5orship of 2od! after me they repeatedly forgot
both I forbade any image to be placed in the tem-
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ples' because the divinity 5ho animates nature can-
not be represented uring my reign the omans
had neither 5ars nor seditions! and my religion
did nothing but good &very neighboring people
came to honor my funeral' 5hich has happened to
me alone 4
I made my obeisance and passed on to the second
(his 5as a Jne old man' of about a hundred' clad
in a 5hite robe ! his middle Jnger 5as placed on his
lip' and 5ith the other hand he 5as scattering beans
behind him In him I recogni;ed ythagoras 6e
assured me that he had never had a golden thigh'
and that he had never been a coc$' but that he had
governed the 0rotonians 5ith as much justice as
BH hilosophical
.uma had governed the omans about the same
time' 5hich justice 5as the most necessary and the
rarest thing in the 5orld I learned that the ythag-
oreans eamined their consciences t5ice a day
)hat good peopleT and ho5 far are 5e behind
them T <et 5e' 5ho for thirteen hundred years have
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been nothing but assassins' assert that these 5ise
men 5ere proud
(o please ythagoras I said not a 5ord to him'
but 5ent on to =oroaster' 5ho 5as engaged in con-
centrating the celestial Jre in the focus of a con-
cave mirror' in the centre of a vestibule 5ith a hun-
dred gates' each one leading to 5isdom On the
principal of these gates I read these 5ords' 5hich
are the abstract of all morality' and cut short all the
disputes of the casuists 7 KK)hen thou art in doubt
5hether an action is good or bad' abstain from it4
40ertainly'4 said I to my genius' 4the barbarians
5ho immolated all the victims 5hose bones I have
seen had not read these Jne 5ords4
(hen 5e sa5 =aleucus' (hales' ,naimander'
and all the other sages 5ho had sought truth and
practised virtue
)hen 5e came to #ocrates I uic$ly recogni;ed
him by his bro$en nose 4)ell'4 said I' 4you then
are among the conJdants of the :ost 6igh T ,ll the
inhabitants of &urope' ecepting the (ur$s and the
0rim (artars' 5ho $no5 nothing' pronounce your
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name 5ith reverence #o much is that great name
venerated' so much is it loved' that it has been
ictionary B"
sought to discover those of your persecutors :eli-
tus and ,nitus are $no5n because of you' as a-
vaillac is $no5n because of 6enry I% ! but of
,nitus I $no5 only the name I $no5 not precisely
5ho that villain 5as by 5hom you 5ere calumniated'
and 5ho succeeded in procuring your condemnation
to the hemloc$4
4I have never thought of that man since my ad-
venture'4 ans5ered #ocrates ! 4but no5 that you
put me in mind of him' I pity him much 6e 5as a
5ic$ed priest' 5ho secretly carried on a trade in
leather' a trac reputed shameful amongst us 6e
sent his t5o children to my school! the other dis-
ciples reproached them 5ith their fatherKs being a
currier' and they 5ere obliged to uit (he in-
censed father 5as unceasing in his endeavors until
he had stirred up against me all the priests and all
the sophists (hey persuaded the council of the
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Jve hundred that I 5as an impious man' 5ho did not
believe that the moon' :ercury' and :ars 5ere dei-
ties I thought indeed' as I do no5' that there is
but one 2od' the master of all nature (he judges
gave me up to the republicKs poisoner' and he short-
ened my life a fe5 days I died 5ith tranuillity at
the age of seventy years' and since then I have led
a happy life 5ith all these great men 5hom you
see' and of 5hom I am the least 4
,fter enjoying the conversation of #ocrates for
some time' I advanced 5ith my guide into a bo5er'
situated above the groves' 5here all these sages
yo hilosophical
o antiuity seemed to be tasting the s5eets of
repose
6ere I beheld a man of mild and simple mien'
5ho appeared to me to be about thirty-Jve years old
6e 5as loo$ing 5ith compassion upon the distant
heaps of 5hitened s$eletons through 5hich I had
been led to the abode of the sages I 5as astonished
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to Jnd his feet s5elled and bloody' his hands in the
same state' his side pierced' and his ribs laid bare by
Mogging 42ood 2odT4 said I' 4is it possible that
one of the just and 5ise should be in this state? I
have just seen one 5ho 5as treated in a very odious
manner! but there is no comparison bet5een his
punishment and yours 3ad priests and bad judges
poisoned him )as it also by priests and judges
that you 5ere so cruelly assassinated ?
)ith great aNability he ans5ered 4<es4
4,nd 5ho 5ere those monsters?4
4(hey 5ere hypocrites4
4,h T you have said all T by that one 5ord I un-
derstand that they 5ould condemn you to the 5orst
of punishments <ou then had proved to them' li$e
#ocrates' that the moon 5as not a goddess' and that
:ercury 5as not a god ?4
4.o! those planets 5ere uite out of the ues-
tion :y countrymen did not even $no5 5hat a
planet 5as! they 5ere all arrant ignoramuses
(heir superstitions 5ere uite diNerent from those
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of the 2ree$s4
4(hen you 5ished to teach them a ne5 religion ?4
ictionary D@
4.ot at all! I simply said to them KLove 2od
5ith all your hearts' and your neighbor as your-
selves ! for that is allK 8udge 5hether this precept
is not as old as the universe! judge 5hether I
brought them a ne5 5orship I constantly told
them that I 5as come' not to abolish their la5' but
to fulJl it ! I had observed all their rites ! I 5as
circumcised as they all 5ere ! I 5as bapti;ed li$e the
most ;ealous of them ! li$e them I paid the corban !
li$e them I $ept the assover! and ate' standing'
lamb coo$ed 5ith lettuce I and my friends 5ent
to pray in their temple ! my friends' too' freuented
the temple after my death In short' I fulJlled all
their la5s 5ithout one eception4
4)hat T could not these 5retches even reproach
you 5ith having departed from their la5s?4
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40ertainly not4
4)hy' then' did they put you in the state in
5hich I no5 see you?4
4:ust I tell you ? (hey 5ere proud and selJsh !
they sa5 that I $ne5 them! they sa5 that I 5as
ma$ing them $no5n to the citi;ens ! they 5ere the
strongest ! they too$ a5ay my life ! and such as
they 5ill al5ays do the same' if they can' to 5ho-
ever shall have done them too much justice4
43ut did you say nothing! did you do nothing'
that could serve them as a pretet?4
4(he 5ic$ed Jnd a pretet in everything4
4id you not once tell them that you 5ere come
to bring' not peace' but the s5ord ?4
DC hilosophical
4(his 5as an error of some scribe I told them
that I brought' not the s5ord' but peace I never
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5rote anything! 5hat I said might be miscopied
5ithout any ill intent4
4<ou did not then contribute in anything' by
your discourses' either badly rendered or badly in-
terpreted' to those frightful masses of bones 5hich
I passed on my 5ay to consult you?4
4I loo$ed 5ith horror on those 5ho 5ere guilty
of all these murders4
4,nd those monuments of po5er and 5ealth
of pride and avarice those treasures' those orna-
ments' those ensigns of greatness' 5hich' 5hen see$-
ing 5isdom' I sa5 accumulated on the 5ay do
they proceed from you ?4
4It is impossible! I and mine lived in poverty
and lo5liness ! my greatness 5as only in virtue4
I 5as on the point of begging of him to have the
goodness just to tell me 5ho he 5as! but my guide
5arned me to refrain 6e told me that I 5as not
formed for comprehending these sublime mysteries
I conjured him to tell me only in 5hat true religion
consisted
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46ave I not told you already? Love 2od and
your neighbor as yourself4
4)hatT 0an 5e love 2od and yet eat meat on
a 1riday?4
4I al5ays ate 5hat 5as given me! for I 5as
too poor to give a dinner to any one4
4:ight 5e love 2od and be just' and still be
ictionary DF
prudent enough not to intrust all the adventures of
oneKs life to a person one does not $no5 ?4
4#uch 5as al5ays my custom4
4:ight not I' 5hile doing good' be ecused
from ma$ing a pilgrimage to #t 8ames of 0ompos-
tello?4
4I never 5as in that country4
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4#hould I conJne myself in a place of retirement
5ith 3loc$heads?4
41or my part' I al5ays made little journeys from
to5n to to5n4
4:ust I ta$e part 5ith the 2ree$ or 5ith the
Latin 0hurch?4
4)hen I 5as in the 5orld' I never made any
diNerence bet5een the 8e5 and the #amaritan4
4)ell' if it be so' I ta$e you for my only master4
(hen he gave me a nod' 5hich Jlled me 5ith
consolation (he vision disappeared' and I 5as left
5ith a good conscience
#&0(IO. IIL
>uestions on eligion
1I#( >9&#(IO.
)arburton' bishop of 2loucester' author of one
of the most learned 5or$s ever 5ritten' thus e-
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presses himself U4ivine Legation of :oses'4 i' HV 7
4, religion' a society' 5hich is not founded on the
belief of a future state' must be supported by an e-
traordinary rovidence 8udaism is not founded on
DG hilosophical
the belief of a future state ! therefore' 8udaism 5as
supported by an etraordinary rovidence4
:any theologians rose up against him! and' as
all arguments are retorted' so 5as his retorted upon
himself! he 5as told 7
4&very religion 5hich is not founded on the
dogma of the immortality of the soul' and on ever-
lasting re5ards and punishments' is necessarily
false .o5 these dogmas 5ere un$no5n to the
8e5s ! therefore 8udaism' far from being supported
by rovidence' 5as' on your o5n principles' a false
and barbarous religion by 5hich rovidence 5as at-
tac$ed4
(his bishop had some other adversaries' 5ho
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maintained against him that the immortality of the
soul 5as $no5n to the 8e5s even in the time of
:oses! but he proved to them very clearly that
neither the ecalogue' nor Leviticus' nor eu-
teronomy' had said one 5ord of such a belief ! and
that it is ridiculous to strive to distort and corrupt
some passages of other boo$s' in order to dra5 from
them a truth 5hich is not announced in the boo$ of
the la5
(he bishop' having 5ritten four volumes to dem-
onstrate that the 8e5ish la5 proposed neither pains
nor re5ards after death' has never been able to an-
s5er his adversaries in a very satisfactory manner
(hey said to him 7 4&ither :oses $ne5 this dogma'
and so deceived the 8e5s by not communicating it'
or he did not $no5 it' in 5hich case he did not $no5
ictionary DE
enough to found a good religion Indeed' if the
religion had been good 5hy should it have been
abolished? , true religion must be for all times
and all places! it must be as the light of the sun'
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enlightening all nations and generations4
(his prelate' enlightened as he is' has found
it no easy tas$ to etricate himself from so many
diculties 3ut 5hat system is free from them?
#&0O. >9&#(IO.
,nother man of learning' and a much greater phi-
losopher' 5ho is one of the profoundest metaphy-
sicians of the day i advances very strong arguments
to prove that polytheism 5as the primitive religion
of man$ind' and that men began 5ith believing in
several gods before their reason 5as suciently en-
lightened to ac$no5ledge one only #upreme 3eing
On the contrary' I venture to believe that in the
beginning they ac$no5ledged one only 2od' and
that after5ards human 5ea$ness adopted several
:y conception of the matter is this 7
It is indubitable that there 5ere villages before
large to5ns 5ere built' and that all men have been
divided into petty common5ealths before they 5ere
united in great empires It is very natural that the
people of a village' being terriJed by thunder'
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aSicted at the loss of its harvests' ill-used by the in-
habitants of a neighboring village' feeling every
day its o5n 5ea$ness' feeling every5here an invis-
ible po5er' should soon have said7 (here is some
3eing above us 5ho does us good and harm
jB hilosophical
It seems to me to be impossible that it should
have said 7 (here are t5o po5ers ! for 5hy more
than one ? In all things 5e begin 5ith the simple !
then comes the compound ! and after' by superior
light' 5e go bac$ to the simple again #uch is the
march of the human mind T
3ut 5hat is this being 5ho is thus invo$ed at
Jrst? Is it the sun? Is it the moon? I do not
thin$ so Let us eamine 5hat passes in the minds
of children! they are nearly li$e those of unin-
formed men (hey are struc$' neither by the beauty
nor by the utility of the luminary 5hich animates
nature' nor by the assistance lent us by the moon'
nor by the regular variations of her course! they
thin$ not of these things! they are too much ac-
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customed to them )e adore' 5e invo$e' 5e see$
to appease' only that 5hich 5e fear'' ,ll children
loo$ upon the s$y 5ith indiNerence! but 5hen the
thunder gro5ls they tremble and run to hide them-
selves (he Jrst men undoubtedly did li$e5ise It
could only be a sect of philosophers 5ho Jrst ob-
served the courses of the planets' made them ad^
mired' and caused them to be adored ! mere tillers
of the ground' 5ithout any information' did not
$no5 enough of them to embrace so noble an error
, village then 5ould conJne itself to saying7
(here is a po5er 5hich thunders and hails upon us'
5hich ma$es our children die! let us appease it
3ut ho5 shall 5e appease it ? )e see that by small
presents 5e have calmed the anger of irritated men !
ictionary DD
let us then ma$e small presents to this po5er It
must also receive a name (he Jrst that presents it-
self is that of 4chief'4 4master'4 4lord4 (his po5er
then is styled 4:y Lord4 1or this reason perhaps
it 5as that the Jrst &gyptians called their god
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4$nef4! the #yrians' 4,donai4! the neighboring
nations' 43aal'4 or 43el'4 or 4:elch'4 or 4:oloch4!
the #cythians' 4apaeus4! all these names signify-
ing 4lord'4 4master4
(hus 5as nearly all ,merica found to be divided
into a multitude of petty tribes' each having its pro-
tecting god (he :eicans' too' and the eruvians'
forming great nations' had only one god the one
adoring :anco 0apa$' the other the god of 5ar
(he :eicans called their 5arli$e divinity 46uit-
;ilipochtli'4 as the 6ebre5s had called their Lord
4#abaoth4
It 5as not from a superior and cultivated reason
that every people thus began 5ith ac$no5ledging
on^ only ivinity ! had they been philosophers' they
5ould have adored the 2od of all nature' and not
the god of a village! they 5ould have eamined
those inJnite relations among all things 5hich
prove a 3eing creating and preserving ! but they e-
amined nothing they felt #uch is the progress of
our feeble understanding &ach village 5ould feel
its 5ea$ness and its need of a protector! it 5ould
imagine that tutelary and terrible being residing in
the neighboring forest' or on a mountain' or in a
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cloud It 5ould imagine only one' because the clan
DH hilosophical
had but one chief in 5ar ! it 5ould imagine that one
corporeal' because it 5as impossible to represent it
other5ise It could not believe that the neighboring
tribe had not also its god (herefore it 5as that
8ephthah said to the inhabitants of :oab7 4<ou
possess la5fully 5hat your god 0hemoth has made
you conuer! you should' then' let us enjoy 5hat
our god has given us by his victories4
(his language' used by one stranger to other
strangers' is very remar$able (he 8e5s and the
:oabites had dispossessed the natives of the coun-
try! neither had any right but that of force! and
the one says to the other 7 4<our god has protected
you in your usurpation ! suNer our god to protect us
in ours4
8eremiah and ,mos both as$ 5hat right the god
:elchem had to sei;e the country of 2ad? 1rom
these passages it is evident that the ancients at-
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tributed to each country a protecting god )e Jnd
other traces of this theology in 6omer
It is very natural that' menKs imaginations bein!
heated' and their minds having acuired some con-
fused $no5ledge' they should soon multiply their
gods' and speedily assign protectors to the elements'
the seas' the forests' the fountains' and the Jelds
(he more they observed the stars' the more they
5ould be struc$ 5ith admiration 6o5' indeed'
should they have adored the divinity of a broo$' and
not have adored the sun ? (he Jrst step being ta$en'
the earth 5ould soon be covered -5ith gods! and
ictionary D"
from the stars men 5ould at last come do5n to cats
and onions
eason' ho5ever' 5ill advance to5ards perfec-
tion! time at length found philosophers 5ho sa5
that neither onions' nor cats' nor even the stars' had
arranged the order of nature ,ll those philoso-
phers 3abylonians' ersians' &gyptians' #cythians'
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2ree$s' and omans admitted a supreme' re5ard-
ing' and avenging 2od
(hey did not at Jrst tell it to the people! for
5hosoever should have spo$en ill of onions and cats
before priests and old 5omen' 5ould have been
stoned! 5hosoever should have reproached certain
of the &gyptians 5ith eating their gods 5ould him-
self have been eaten as 8uvenal relates that an
&gyptian 5as in reality $illed and eaten uite ra5
in a controversial dispute
)hat then did they do? Orpheus and others
established mysteries' 5hich the initiated s5ore by
oaths of eecration not to reveal of 5hich mys-
teries the principal 5as the adoration of a supreme
2od (his great truth made its 5ay through half
the 5orld' and the number of the initiated became
immense It is true that the ancient religion still
eisted! but as it 5as not contrary to the dogma
of the unity of 2od' it 5as allo5ed to eist ,nd
5hy should it have been abolished? (he omans
ac$no5ledged the 4eus optimus maimus4 and
the 2ree$s had their =eus their supreme god ,ll
the other divinities 5ere only intermediate beings!
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Ho hilosophical
heroes and emperors 5ere ran$ed 5ith the gods'
i e' 5ith the blessed ! but it is certain that 0laudius'
Octavius' (iberius' and 0aligula' 5ere not regarded
as the creators of heaven and earth
In short' it seems proved that' in the time of
,ugustus' all 5ho had a religion ac$no5ledged a
superior' eternal 2od' 5ith several orders of sec-
ondary gods' 5hose 5orship 5as called idolatry
(he la5s of the 8e5s never favored idolatry!
for' although they admitted the :alachim' angels
and celestial beings of an inferior order' their la5
did not ordain that they should 5orship these sec-
ondary divinities (hey adored the angels' it is
true ! that is' they prostrated themselves 5hen they
sa5 them! but as this did not often happen' there
5as no ceremonial nor legal 5orship established for
them (he cherubim of the ar$ received no homage
It is beyond a doubt that the 8e5s' from ,leanderKs
time at least' openly adored one only 2od' as the in-
numerable multitude of the initiated secretly adored
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6im in their mysteries
(6I >9&#(IO.
It 5as at the time 5hen the 5orship of a #upreme
2od 5as universally established among all the 5ise
in ,sia' in &urope' and in ,frica' that the 0hristian
religion too$ its birth
latonism assisted materially the understanding
of its dogmas (he 4Logos4 5hich 5ith lato
meant the 45isdom'4 the reason of the #upreme
3eing' became 5ith us the 45ord'4 and a second
ictionary H @
person of 2od rofound metaphysics' above
human intelligence' 5ere an inaccessible sanctuary
in 5hich religion 5as enveloped
It is not necessary here to repeat ho5 :ary 5as
after5ards declared to be the mother of 2od ! ho5
the consubstantiality of the 1ather and the 45ord4
5as established ! as also the proceeding of the
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4pneuma'4 the divine organ of the divine Logos!
as also the t5o natures and t5o 5ills resulting from
the hypostasis ! and lastly' the superior manducation
the soul nourished as 5ell as the body' 5ith the
Mesh and blood of the 2od-man' adored and
eaten in the form of bread' present to the eyes'
sensible to the taste' and yet annihilated ,ll mys-
teries have been sublime
In the second century devils began to be cast out
in the name of 8esus ! before they 5ere cast out in
the name of 8ehovah or Ihaho! for #t :atthe5
relates that the enemies of 8esus having said that
6e cast out devils in the name of the prince of
devils' 6e ans5ered' 4If I cast out devils by 3eel;e-
bub' by 5hom do your sons cast them out?4
It is not $no5n at 5hat time the 8e5s recogni;ed
3eel;ebub' 5ho 5as a strange god' as the prince of
devils! but it is $no5n' for 8osephus tells us' that
there 5ere at 8erusalem eorcists appointed to cast
out devils from the bodies of the possessed ! that is'
of such as 5ere attac$ed by singular maladies'
5hich 5ere then in a great part of the 5orld at-
tributed to the maliJc genii
%ol @FB
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HC hilosophical
(hese demons 5ere then cast out by the true
pronunciation of 8ehovah' 5hich is no5 lost' and by
other ceremonies no5 forgotten
(his eorcism by 8ehovah or by the other names
of 2od' 5as still in use in the Jrst ages of the church
Origen' disputing against 0elsus' says to him 7 4If'
5hen invo$ing 2od' or s5earing by 6im' you call
6im Kthe 2od of ,braham' Isaac' and 8acob/ you
5ill by those 5ords do things' the nature and force
of 5hich are such that the evil spirits submit to
those 5ho pronounce them! but if you call him by
another name' as K2od of the roaring sea'K etc' no
eNect 5ill be produced (he name of KIsrael'K ren-
dered in 2ree$' 5ill 5or$ nothing ! but pronounce it
in 6ebre5 5ith the other 5ords reuired' and you
5ill eNect the conjuration4
(he same Origen has these remar$able 5ords7
4(here are names 5hich are po5erful from their
o5n nature #uch are those used by the sages of
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&gypt' the :agi of ersia' and the 3rahmins of
India )hat is called Kmagic/ is not a vain and
chimerical art' as the #toics and &picureans pretend
(he names K#abaothK and K,donaiK 5ere not made
for created beings' but belong to a mysterious the-
ology 5hich has reference to the 0reator ! hence the
virtue of these names 5hen they are arranged and
pronounced according to rule4
Origen' 5hen spea$ing thus' is not giving his
private opinion! he is but repeating the universal
opinion
ictionary HF
,ll the religions then $no5n admitted a sort of
magic' 5hich 5as distinguished into celestial magic'
and infernal magic' necromancy and theurgy all
5as prodigy' divination' oracle (he ersians did
not deny the miracles of the &gyptians' nor the
&gyptians those of the ersians 2od permitted
the primitive 0hristians to be persuaded of the truth
of the oracles attributed to the #ibyls' and left them
a fe5 other unimportant errors' 5hich 5ere no es-
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sential detriment to their religion ,nother very
remar$able thing is' that the 0hristians of the primi-
tive ages held temples' altars' and images in abhor-
rence Origen ac$no5ledges this U.o FGDV &v-
erything 5as after5ards changed' 5ith the disci-
pline' 5hen the 0hurch assumed a permanent form
1O9(6 >9&#(IO.
)hen once a religion is established in a state'
the tribunals are all employed in perverting the con-
tinuance or rene5al of most of the things that 5ere
done in that religion before it 5as publicly received
(he founders used to assemble in private' in spite
of magistrates! but no5 no assemblies are per-
mitted but public ones under the eyes of the la5' and
all concealed associations are forbidden (he maim
formerly 5as' that 4it is better to obey 2od than
man4! the opposite maim is no5 adopted' that
4to follo5 the la5s of the state is to obey 2od4
.othing 5as heard of but obsessions and posses-
sions ! the devil 5as then let loose upon the 5orld'
HG hilosophical
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but no5 the devil stays at home rodigies and
predictions 5ere necessary ! no5 they are no longer
admitted7 a man 5ho in the places should foretell
calamities' 5ould be sent to a madhouse (he
founders secretly received the money of the faithful !
but no5' a man 5ho should gather money for his
o5n disposal' 5ithout being authori;ed by the la5'
5ould be brought before a court of justice to ans5er
for so doing (hus the scaNoldings that have served
to build the ediJce are no longer made use of
1I1(6 >9&#(IO.
,fter our o5n holy religion' 5hich indubitably
is the only good one' 5hat religion 5ould be the
least objectionable?
)ould it not be that 5hich should be the sim-
plest ! that 5hich should teach much morality and
very fe5 dogmas ! that 5hich should tend to ma$e
men just' 5ithout ma$ing them absurd ! that 5hich
should not ordain the belief of things impossible'
contradictory' injurious to the ivinity' and perni-
cious to man$ind ! nor dare to threaten 5ith eternal
pains 5hosoever should possess common sense?
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)ould it not be that 5hich should not uphold its
belief by the hand of the eecutioner' nor inundate
the earth 5ith blood to support unintelligible soph-
isms! that in 5hich an ambiguous epression' a
play upon 5ords' and t5o or three supported char-
ters' should not suce to ma$e a sovereign and a
god of a priest 5ho is often incestuous' a murderer'
ictionary HE
and a poisoner! 5hich should not ma$e $ings
subject to this priest! that 5hich should teach only
the adoration of one 2od' justice' tolerance' and hu-
manity
#I(6 >9&#(IO.
It has been said' that the religion of the 2entiles
5as absurd in many points' contradictory' and per-
nicious ! but have there not been imputed to it more
harm than it ever did' and more absurdities than it
ever preached?
#ho5 me in all antiuity a temple dedicated to
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Leda lying 5ith a s5an' or &uropa 5ith a bull )as
there ever a sermon preached at ,thens or at ome'
to persuade the young 5omen to cohabit 5ith their
poultry? ,re the fables collected and adorned by
Ovid religious ? ,re they not li$e our 2olden Leg-
end' our 1lo5er of the #aints? If some 3rahmin
or dervish 5ere to come and object to our story of
#t :ary the &gyptian' 5ho not having 5here5ith
to pay the sailors 5ho conveyed her to &gypt' gave
to each of them instead of money 5hat are called
4favors'4 5e should say to the 3rahmin 7 everend
father' you are mista$en! our religion is not the
2olden Legend
)e reproach the ancients 5ith their oracles' and
prodigies! if they could return to this 5orld' and
the miracles of our Lady of Loretto and our Lady
of &phesus could be counted' in 5hose favor 5ould
be the balance?
6uman sacriJces 5ere established among almost
HB hilosophical
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every people' but very rarely put in practice ,mong
the 8e5s' only 8ephthahKs daughter and +ing ,gag
5ere immolated ! for Isaac and 8onathan 5ere not
,mong the 2ree$s' the story of 4Iphigenia4 is not
5ell authenticated! and human sacriJces 5ere very
rare among the ancient omans In short' the re-
ligion of the agans caused very little blood to be
shed' 5hile ours has deluged the earth Ours is
doubtless the only good' the only true one ! but 5e
have done so much harm by its means that 5hen 5e
spea$ of others 5e should be modest
#&%&.(6 >9&#(IO.
If a man 5ould persuade foreigners' or his o5n
countrymen' of the truth of his religion' should he
not go about it 5ith the most insinuating mildness
and the most engaging moderation? If he begins
5ith telling them that 5hat he announces is demon-
strated' he 5ill Jnd a multitude of persons incredu-
lous ! if he ventures to tell them that they reject his
doctrine only inasmuch as it condemns their pas-
sions ! that their hearts have corrupted their minds !
that their reasoning is only false and proud' he dis-
gusts them! he incenses them against himself! he
himself ruins 5hat he 5ould fain establish
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If the religion he announces be true' 5ill violence
and insolence render it more so ? o you put your-
self in a rage' 5hen you say that it is necessary to
be mild' patient' beneJcent' just' and to fulJl all the
duties of society ? .o ! because everyone is of your
ictionary HD
o5n opinion )hy' then' do you abuse your brother
5hen preaching to him a mysterious system of meta-
physics? 3ecause his opinion irritates your self-
love <ou are so proud as to reuire your brother
to submit his intelligence to yours ! humbled pride
produces the 5rath ! it has no other source , man
5ho has received t5enty 5ounds in a battle does not
My into a passion! but a divine' 5ounded by the
refusal of your assent' at once becomes furious and
implacable
&I26(6 >9&#(IO.
:ust 5e not carefully distinguish the religion of
the state from theological religion ? (he religion of
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the state reuires that the imans $eep registers of
the circumcised' the vicars or pastors registers of
the bapti;ed ! that there be mosues' churches' tem-
ples' days consecrated to rest and 5orship' rites es-
tablished by la5! that the ministers of those rites
enjoy consideration 5ithout po5er! that they teach
good morals to the people' and that the ministers of
the la5 5atch over the morals of the ministers of
the temples (his religion of the state cannot at any
time cause any disturbance
It is other5ise 5ith theological religion7 this
is the source of all imaginable follies and disturb-
ances! it is the parent of fanaticism and civil dis-
cord ! it is the enemy of man$ind , bon;e asserts
that 1o is a 2od' that he 5as foretold by fa$irs'
that he 5as born of a 5hite elephant' and that every
bon;e can by certain grimaces ma$e a 1o , tala-
HH hilosophical
poin says' that 1o 5as a holy man' 5hose doctrine
the bon;es have corrupted' and that #ammono-
codom is the true 2od ,fter a thousand argu-
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ments and contradictions' the t5o factions agree to
refer the uestion to the dalai-lama' 5ho resides
three hundred leagues oN' and 5ho is not only im-
mortal' but also infallible (he t5o factions send to
him a solemn deputation ! and the dalai-lama begins'
according to his divine custom' by distributing
among them the contents of his close-stool
(he t5o rival sects at Jrst receive them 5ith
eual reverence! have them dried in the sun' and
encase them in little chaplets 5hich they $iss de-
voutly! but no sooner have the dalai-lama and his
council pronounced in the name of 1o' than the con-
demned party thro5 their chaplets in the vice-godKs
face' and 5ould fain give him a sound thrashing
(he other party defend their lama' from 5hom they
have received good lands! both Jght a long time!
and 5hen at last they are tired of mutual etermina-
tion' assassination' and poisoning' they grossly abuse
each other' 5hile the dalai-lama laughs' and still
distributes his ecrement to 5hosoever is desirous
of receiving the good father lamaKs precious favors
6<:&
6<:& 5as probably invented to assist the mem-
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ory' and to regulate at the same time the song and
the dance (he return of the same sounds served to
bring easily and readily to the recollection the inter-
ictionary H"
mediate 5ords bet5een the t5o rhymes (hose
rhymes 5ere a guide at once to the singer and the
dancer! they indicated the measure ,ccordingly'
in every country' verse 5as the language of the
gods
)e may therefore class it among the list of prob-
able' that is' of uncertain' opinions' that rhyme 5as
at Jrst a religious appendage or ceremony ! for after
all' it is possible that verses and songs might be ad-
dressed by a man to his mistress before they 5ere
addressed by him to his deities ! and highly impas-
sioned lovers indeed 5ill say that the cases are pre-
cisely the same
, rabbi 5ho gave a general vie5 of the 6ebre5
language' 5hich I never 5as able to learn' once re-
cited to me a number of rhymed psalms' 5hich he
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said 5e had most 5retchedly translated I remem-
ber t5o verses' 5hich are as follo5s 7
6ibbitu dare vena haru
9lph nehem aljec$pharu
4(hey loo$ed upon him and 5ere lightened' and
their faces 5ere not ashamed4
.o rhyme can be richer than that of those t5o
verses ! and this being admitted' I reason in the fol-
lo5ing manner 7
(he 8e5s' 5ho spo$e a jargon half hoenician
and half #yriac' rhymed! therefore the great and
po5erful nations' under 5hom they 5ere in slavery'
rhymed also )e cannot help believing' that the
8e5s 5ho' as 5e have freuently observed' adopted
go hilosophical
almost everything from their neighbors adopted
from them also rhyme
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,ll the Orientals rhyme! they are steady and
constant in their usages (hey dress no5 as they
have dressed for the long series of Jve or si thou-
sand years )e may' therefore' 5ell believe that
they have rhymed for a period of eual duration
#ome of the learned contend that the 2ree$s be-
gan 5ith rhyming' 5hether in honor of their gods'
their heroes' or their mistresses! but' that after-
5ards becoming more sensible of the harmony of
their language' having acuired a more accurate
$no5ledge of prosody' and reJned upon melody'
they made those reuisite verses 5ithout rhyme
5hich have been transmitted do5n to us' and 5hich
the Latins imitated and very often surpassed
,s for us' the miserable descendants of 2oths'
%andals' 2auls' 1ran$s' and 3urgundians barbar-
ians 5ho are incapable of attaining either the 2ree$
or Latin melody 5e are compelled to rhyme
3lan$ verse' among all modern nations' is nothing
but prose 5ithout any measure! it is distinguished
from ordinary prose only by a certain number of
eual and monotonous syllables' 5hich it has been
agreed to denominate 4verse4
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)e have remar$ed else5here that those 5ho
have 5ritten in blan$ verse have done so only be-
cause they 5ere incapable of rhyming 3lan$ verse
originated in an incapacity to overcome diculty'
and in a desire to come to an end sooner
ictionary "@
)e have remar$ed that ,riosto has made a
series of forty-eight thousand rhymes 5ithout pro-
ducing either disgust or 5eariness in a single reader
)e have observed ho5 1rench poetry' in rhyme'
s5eeps all obstacles before it' and that pleasure
arose even from the very obstacles themselves )e
have been al5ays convinced that rhyme 5as neces-
sary for the ears' not for the eyes ! and 5e have e-
plained our opinions' if not 5ith judgment and suc-
cess' at least 5ithout dictation and arrogance
3ut 5e ac$no5ledge that on the receipt at :ount
+rapa$ of the late dreadful literary intelligence
from aris' our former moderation completely aban-
dons us )e understand that there eists a rising
sect of barbarians' 5hose doctrine is that no tragedy
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should hencefor5ard be ever 5ritten but in prose
(his last blo5 alone 5as 5anting' in addition to all
our previous aSictions It is the abomination of
desolation in the temple of the muses )e can very
easily conceive that' after 0orneille had turned into
verse the 4Imitation of 8esus 0hrist'4 some sarcastic
5ag might menace the public 5ith the acting of a
tragedy in prose' by 1loridor and :ondori ! but
this project having been seriously eecuted by the
abbe dK,ubignac' 5e 5ell $no5 5ith 5hat success
it 5as attended )e 5ell $no5 the ridicule and
disgrace that 5ere attached to the prose 42&dipus4
of e la :otte 6oudart' 5hich 5ere nearly as great
as those 5hich 5ere incurred by his 40&dipus4 in
verse )hat miserable %isigoth can dare' after
"C hilosophical
40inna4 and 4,ndromache'4 to banish verse from
the theatre? ,fter the grand and brilliant age of
our literature' can 5e be really sun$ into such degra-
dation and opprobriumT 0ontemptible barbariansT
2o' then' and see this your prose tragedy performed
by actors in their riding-coats at %auhall' and
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after5ards go and feast upon shoulder of mutton
and strong beer
)hat 5ould acine and 3oileau have said had
this terrible intelligence been announced to them?
43on ieu4 T 2ood 2od T from 5hat a height have
5e fallen' and into 5hat a slough are 5e plunged T
It is certain that rhyme gives a most over5helm-
ing and oppressive inMuence to verses possessing
mere mediocrity of merit (he poet in this case
is just li$e a bad machinist' 5ho cannot prevent the
harsh and grating sounds of his 5ires and pulleys
from annoying the ear 6is readers eperience the
same fatigue that he under5ent 5hile forming his
o5n rhymes ! his verses are nothing but an empty
jingling of 5earisome syllables 3ut if he is happy
in his thoughts and happy also in his rhyme' he then
eperiences and imparts a pleasure truly euisite
a pleasure that can be fully enjoyed only by minds
endo5ed 5ith sensibility' and by ears attuned to
harmony
	&0(IO.
#&0(IO. I
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)& ,& told that the &gyptians built their pyra-
mids for no other purpose than to ma$e tombs of
ictionary "F
them' and that their bodies' embalmed 5ithin and
5ithout' 5aited there for their souls to come and re-
animate them at the end of a thousand years 3ut if
these bodies 5ere to come to life again' 5hy did the
embalmers begin the operation by piercing the s$ull
5ith a gimlet' and dra5ing out the brain ? (he idea
of coming to life again 5ithout brains 5ould ma$e
one suspect that if the epression may be used
the &gyptians had not many 5hile alive! but let
us bear in mind that most of the ancients believed
the soul to be in the breast ,nd 5hy should the
soul be in the breast rather than else5here? 3e-
cause' 5hen our feelings are at all violent' 5e do in
reality feel' about the region of the heart' a dilata-
tion or compression' 5hich caused it to be thought
that the soul 5as lodged there (his soul 5as some-
thing aerial ! it 5as a slight Jgure that 5ent about
at random until it found its body again
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(he belief in resurrection is much more ancient
than historical times ,thalides' son of :ercury'
could die and come to life again at 5ill ! v&sculapius
restored 6ippolytus to life' and 6ercules' ,lceste
elops' after being cut in pieces by his father' 5as
resuscitated by the gods lato relates that 6eres
came to life again for Jfteen days only
,mong the 8e5s' the harisees did not adopt the
dogma of the resurrection until long after latoKs
time
In the ,cts of the ,postles there is a very sin-
gular fact' and one 5ell 5orthy of attention #t
"G hilosophical
8ames and several of his companions advise #t aul
to go into the temple of 8erusalem' and' 0hristian as
he 5as' to observe all the ceremonies of the Old
La5' in order say they 4that all may $no5 that
those things 5hereof they 5ere informed concerning
thee are nothing' but that thou thyself also 5al$est
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orderly and $eepest the la54 (his is clearly say-
ing 7 42o and lie ! go and perjure yourself ! go and
publicly deny the religion 5hich you teach4
#t aul then 5ent seven days into the temple!
but on the seventh he 5as discovered 6e 5as ac-
cused of having come into it 5ith strangers' and of
having profaned it Let us see ho5 he etricated
himself
43ut 5hen aul perceived that the one part 5ere
#adducees and the other harisees' he cried out
in the council 4:en and brethren' I am a harisee'
the son of a harisee ! of the hope and resurrection
of the dead I am called in uestion4 (he resurrec-
tion of the dead formed no part of the uestion !
aul said this only to incense the harisees and
#adducees against each other
4,nd 5hen he had so said there arose a dissen-
sion bet5een the harisees and the #adducees ! and
the multitude 5as divided
41or the #adducees say that there is no resur-
rection' neither angel nor spirit! but the harisees
confess both4
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It has been asserted that 8ob' 5ho is very ancient'
5as acuainted 5ith the doctrine of resurrection!
ictionary "E
and these 5ords are cited7 4I $no5 that my e-
deemer liveth' and that one day 6is redemption
shall rise upon me ! or that I shall rise again from
the dust' that my s$in shall return' and that in my
Mesh I shall again see 2od4
3ut many commentators understand by these
5ords that 8ob hopes soon to recover from his mal-
ady' and that he shall not al5ays remain lying on
the ground' as he then 5as (he seuel suciently
proves this eplanation to be the true one! for he
cries out the net moment to his false and hard-
hearted friends 7 4)hy then do you say let us per-
secute 6im?4 Or7 41or you shall say' because 5e
persecuted 6im4 oes not this evidently mean
you 5ill repent of having ill used me' 5hen you
shall see me again in my future state of health and
opulence )hen a sic$ man says7 I shall rise
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again' he does not say7 I shall come to life again
(o give forced meanings to clear passages is the
sure 5ay never to understand one another! or
rather' to be regarded by honest men as 5anting
sincerity
#t 8erome dates the birth of the sect of the
harisees but a very short time before 8esus 0hrist
(he rabbin 6illel is considered as having been the
founder of the harisaic sect! and this 6illel 5as
contemporary 5ith #t aulKs master' 2amaliel
:any of these harisees believed that only the
8e5s 5ere brought to life again' the rest of man$ind
not being 5orth the trouble Others maintained
"B hilosophical
that there 5ould be no rising again but in alestine !
and that the bodies of such as 5ere buried else5here
5ould be secretly conveyed into the neighborhood
of 8erusalem' there to rejoin their souls 3ut #t
aul' 5riting to the people of (hessalonica' says 7
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41or this 5e say unto you by the 5ord of the
Lord' that 5e 5hich are alive' and remain unto the
coming of the Lord' shall not prevent them 5hich
are asleep
41or the Lord 6imself shall descend from
heaven 5ith a shout' 5ith the voice of the arch-
angel' and 5ith the trump of 2od! and the dead
in 0hrist shall rise Jrst
4(hen 5e 5hich are alive and remain shall be
caught up 5ith them in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air ! and so shall 5e ever be 5ith the Lord4
oes not this important passage clearly prove
that the Jrst 0hristians calculated on seeing the end
of the 5orld ? as' indeed' it 5as foretold by #t
Lu$e to ta$e place 5hile he himself 5as alive ? 3ut
if they did not see this end of the 5orld' if no one
rose again in their day' that 5hich is deferred is
not lost
#t ,ugustine believed that children' and even
still-born infants' 5ould rise again in a state of ma-
turity Origen' 8erome' ,thanasius' 3asil' and
others' did not believe that 5omen 5ould rise again
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5ith the mar$s of their se
In short' there have ever been disputes about
ictionary "D
5hat 5e have been' about 5hat 5e are' and about
5hat 5e shall be
#&0(IO. II
1ather :alebranche proves resurrection by the
caterpillars becoming butterMies (his proof' as
every one may perceive' is not more 5eighty than
the 5ings of the insects from 5hich he borro5s it
0alculating thin$ers bring forth arithmetical objec-
tions against this truth 5hich he has so 5ell proved
(hey say that men and other animals are really fed
and derive their gro5th from the substance of their
predecessors (he body of a man' reduced to ashes'
scattered in the air' and falling on the surface of the
earth' becomes corn or vegetable #o 0ain ate a
part of ,dam ! &noch fed on 0ain ! Irad on &noch !
:ahalaleel on Irad! :ethuselah on :ahalaleel!
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and thus 5e Jnd that there is not one among us
5ho has not s5allo5ed some portion of our Jrst
parent 6ence it has been said that 5e have all
been cannibals .othing can be clearer than that
such is the case after a battle ! not only do 5e $ill
our brethren' but at the end of t5o or three years'
5hen the harvests have been gathered from the
Jeld of battle' 5e have eaten them all ! and 5e' in
turn' shall be eaten 5ith the greatest facility imagin-
able .o5' 5hen 5e are to rise again' ho5 shall 5e
restore to each one the body that belongs to him'
5ithout losing something of our o5n ?
#o say those 5ho trust not in resurrection ! but
%ol @F D
"H hilosophical
the resurrectionists have ans5ered them very perti-
nently
, rabbin named #amai demonstrates resurrec-
tion by this passage of &odus 7 4I appeared unto
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,braham' Isaac' and 8acob' and s5ore to give unto
them the land of 0anaan4 .o5 says this great
rabbin not5ithstanding this oath' 2od did not give
them that land! therefore' they 5ill rise again to
enjoy it' in order that the oath be fulJlled
(he profound philosopher 0almet Jnds a much
more conclusive proof in vampires 6e sa5 vam-
pires issuing from churchyards to go and suc$ the
blood of good people in their sleep ! it is clear that
they could not suc$ the blood of the living if they
themselves 5ere still dead ! therefore they had risen
again ! this is peremptory
It is also certain that at the day of judgment all
the dead 5ill 5al$ under ground' li$e moles so
says the 4(almud4 that they may appear in the
valley of 8ehoshaphat' 5hich lies bet5een the city of
8erusalem and the :ount of Olives (here 5ill
be a good deal of suee;ing in this valley ! but it 5ill
only be necessary to reduce the bodies proportion-
ately' li$e :iltonKs devils in the hall of ande-
monium
(his resurrection 5ill ta$e place to the sound of
the trumpet' according to #t aul (here must' of
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course' be more trumpets than one ! for the thunder
itself is not heard more than three or four leagues
round It is as$ed 7 6o5 many trumpets 5ill there
ictionary ""
be ? (he divines have not yet made the calculation !
it 5ill nevertheless be made
(he 8e5s say that >ueen 0leopatra' 5ho no
doubt believed in the resurrection li$e all the ladies
of that day' as$ed a harisee if 5e 5ere to rise
again uite na$ed? (he doctor ans5ered that 5e
shall be very 5ell dressed' for the same reason that
the corn that has been so5n and perished under
ground rises again in ear 5ith a robe and a beard
(his rabbin 5as an ecellent theologian! he rea-
soned li$e om 0almet
#&0(IO. III
esurrection of the ,ncients
It has been asserted that the dogma of resurrec-
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tion 5as much in vogue 5ith the &gyptians' and 5as
the origin of their embalmings and their pyramids
(his I myself formerly believed #ome said that
the resurrection 5as to ta$e place at the end of a
thousand years! others at the end of three thou-
sand (his diNerence in their theological opinions
seems to prove that they 5ere not very sure about
the matter
3esides' in the history of &gypt' 5e Jnd no man
raised again ! but among the 2ree$s 5e Jnd several
,mong the latter' then' 5e must loo$ for this inven-
tion of rising again
3ut the 2ree$s often burned their bodies' and the
&gyptians embalmed them' that 5hen the soul'
5hich 5as a small' aerial Jgure' returned to its habi-
ioo hilosophical
tation' it might Jnd it uite ready (his had been
good if its organs had also been ready ! but the em-
balmer began by ta$ing out the brain and clearing
the entrails 6o5 5ere men to rise again 5ithout
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intestines' and 5ithout the medullary part by means
of 5hich they thin$? )here 5ere they to Jnd
again the blood' the lymph' and other humors?
<ou 5ill tell me that it 5as still more dicult
to rise again among the 2ree$s' 5here there 5as
not left of you more than a pound of ashes at the
utmost mingled' too' 5ith the ashes of 5ood'
stuNs and spices
<our objection is forcible' and I hold 5ith you'
that resurrection is a very etraordinary thing ! but
the son of :ercury did not the less die and rise
again several times (he gods restored elops to
life' although he had been served up as a ragout'
and 0eres had eaten one of his shoulders <ou
$no5 that ^&sculapius brought 6ippolytus to life
again! this 5as a veriJed fact' of 5hich even the
most incredulous had no doubt ! the name of 4%ir-
bius'4 given to 6ippolytus' 5as a convincing proof
6ercules had resuscitated ,lceste and irithous
6eres did' it is true according to lato come to
life again for Jfteen days only ! still it 5as a resur-
rection ! the time does not alter the fact
:any grave schoolmen clearly see purgatory and
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resurrection in %irgil ,s for purgatory' I am
obliged to ac$no5ledge that it is epressly in the
ictionary @A@
sith boo$ (his may displease the rotestants' but
I have no alternative 7
.on tamen omne malum miseris' nee funditus omnes
0orporea ecedunt pestes'
.ot death itself can 5holly 5ash their stains!
3ut long contracted Jlth even in the soul remains
(he relics of inveterate vice they 5ear'
,nd spots of sin obscene in every face appear'
3ut 5e have already uoted this passage in the
article on 4urgatory'4 5hich doctrine is here e-
pressed clearly enough! nor could the $insfol$s of
that day obtain from the pagan priests an indulgence
to abridge their suNerings for ready money (he
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ancients 5ere much more severe and less simoniacal
than 5e are not5ithstanding that they imputed so
many foolish actions to their gods )hat 5ould
you have? (heir theology 5as made up of contra-
dictions' as the malignant say is the case 5ith our
o5n
)hen their purgation 5as Jnished' these souls
5ent and dran$ of the 5aters of Lethe' and instantly
as$ed that they might enter fresh bodies and again
see daylight 3ut is this a resurrection? .ot at
all ! it is ta$ing an entirely ne5 body' not resuming
the old one! it is a metempsychosis' 5ithout any
relation to the manner in 5hich 5e of the true faith
are to rise again
(he souls of the ancients did' I must ac$no5l-
edge' ma$e a very bad bargain in coming bac$ to
this 5orld' for seventy years at most' to undergo
IOC hilosophical
once more all that 5e $no5 is undergone in a life
of seventy years' and then suNer another thousand
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yearsK discipline In my humble opinion there is no
soul that 5ould not be tired of this everlasting vicis-
situde of so short a life and so long a penance
#&0(IO. I%
esurrection of the :oderns
Our resurrection is uite diNerent &very man
5ill appear 5ith precisely the same body 5hich he
had before! and all these bodies 5ill be burned
for all eternity' ecepting only' at most' one in a
hundred thousand (his is much 5orse than a pur-
gatory of ten centuries' in order to live here again
a fe5 years
)hen 5ill the great day of this general resurrec-
tion arrive ? (his is not positively $no5n ! and the
learned are much divided .or do they any more
$no5 ho5 each one is to Jnd his o5n members
again 6ereupon they start many diculties
@ Our body' say they' is' during life' undergo-
ing a continual change ! at Jfty years of age 5e have
nothing of the body in 5hich our soul 5as lodged at
t5enty
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C , soldier from 3rittany goes into 0anada!
there' by a very common chance' he Jnds himself
short of food' and is forced to eat an Irouois 5hom
he $illed the day before (his Irouois had fed on
8esuits for t5o or three months ! a great part of his
body had become 8esuit 6ere' then' the body of
ictionary @AF
a soldier is composed of Irouois' of 8esuits' and of
all that he had eaten before 6o5 is each to ta$e
again precisely 5hat belongs to him? and 5hich
part belongs to each ?
F , child dies in its motherKs 5omb' just at the
moment that it has received a soul )ill it rise
again foetus' or boy' or man?
G (o rise again to be the same person as you
5ere you must have your memory perfectly fresh
and present ! it is memory that ma$es your identity
If your memory be lost' ho5 5ill you be the same
man?
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E (here are only a certain number of earthly
particles that can constitute an animal #and' stone'
minerals' metals' contribute nothing ,ll earth is
not adapted thereto! it is only the soils favorable
to vegetation that are favorable to the animal spe-
cies )hen' after the lapse of many ages' every one
is to rise again' 5here shall be found the earth
adapted to the formation of all these bodies ?
B #uppose an island' the vegetative part of
5hich 5ill suce for a thousand men' and for Jve
or si thousand animals to feed and labor for that
thousand men! at the end of a hundred thousand
generations 5e shall have to raise again a thousand
millions of men It is clear that matter 5ill be 5ant-
ing7 4:ateries opus est' ut crescunt postera
saecla4
D ,nd lastly' 5hen it is proved' or thought to be
proved' that a miracle as great as the universal
IOG hilosophical
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deluge' or the ten plagues of &gypt' 5ill be neces-
sary to 5or$ the resurrection of all man$ind in the
valley of 8ehoshaphat' it is as$ed 7 )hat becomes of
the souls of all these bodies 5hile a5aiting the mo-
ment of returning into their cases?
1ifty rather $notty uestions might easily be
put! but the divines 5ould li$e5ise easily Jnd an-
s5ers to them all
I26(#
#&0(IO. I
.ational ights .atural ights ublic ights
I +.O) no better 5ay of commencing this sub-
ject than 5ith the verses of ,riosto' in the second
stan;a of the GGth canto of the 4Orlando 1urioso'4
5hich observes that $ings' emperors' and popes'
sign Jne treaties one day 5hich they brea$ the net'
and that' 5hatever piety they may aNect' the only
god to 5hom they really appeal' is their interest 7
1an lega oggi re' papi et imperatori
oman saran nintici capitali 7
er c he' ual IKapparen;e esteriori'
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.on hanno i cor' non han gli animi tali'
0he non mirando al torto piu che al dritto
,ttendon solamente al lor proJt to
If there 5ere only t5o men on earth' ho5 5ould
they live together? (hey 5ould assist each other!
they 5ould annoy each other! they 5ould court
each other ! they 5ould spea$ ill of each other ! Jght
5ith each other! be reconciled to each other! and
be neither able to live 5ith nor 5ithout each other-
ictionary @AE
In short' they 5ould do as people at present do' 5ho
possess the gift of reason certainly' but the gift
of instinct also! and 5ill feel' reason' and act for-
ever as nature has destined
.o god has descended upon our globe' assembled
the human race' and said to them' 4I ordain that the
negroes and +ars go star$ na$ed and feed upon
insects
4I order the #amoyeds to clothe themselves 5ith
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the s$ins of reindeer' and to feed upon their Mesh'
insipid as it is' and eat dry and half putrescent Jsh
5ithout salt It is my 5ill that the (artars of
(hibet all believe 5hat their dalai-lama shall say!
and that the 8apanese pay the same attention to their
dairo
4(he ,rabs are not to eat s5ine' and the )est-
phalians nothing else but s5ine
4I have dra5n a line from :ount 0aucasus to
&gypt' and from &gypt to :ount ,tlas ,ll 5ho
inhabit the east of that line may espouse as many
5omen as they please ! those to the 5est of it must
be satisJed 5ith one
4If' to5ards the ,driatic 2ulf' or the marshes
of the hine and the :euse' or in the neighborhood
of :ount 8ura' or the Isle of ,lbion' any one shall
5ish to ma$e another despotic' or aspire to be so
himself' let his head be cut oN' on a full conviction
that destiny and myself are opposed to his inten-
tions
4#hould any one be so insolent as to attempt to
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ioB hilosophical
establish an assembly of free men on the ban$s of
the :an;anares' or on the shores of the ropontis'
let him be empaled alive or dra5n asunder by four
horses
4)hoever shall ma$e up his accounts according
to a certain rule of arithmetic at 0onstantinople' at
2rand 0airo' at (aJlet' at elhi' or at ,drianople'
let him be empaled alive on the spot' 5ithout form of
la5 ! and 5hoever shall dare to account by any other
rule at Lisbon' :adrid' in 0hampagne' in icardy'
and to5ards the anube' from 9lm unto 3elgrade'
let him be devoutly burned amidst chantings of the
K:iserereK
4(hat 5hich is just along the shores of the Loire
is other5ise on the ban$s of the (hames! for my
la5s are universal'4 etc
It must be confessed that 5e have no very clear
proof' even in the 48ournal 0hretien'4 nor in 4(he
+ey to the 0abinet of rinces'4 that a god has de-
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scended in order to promulgate such a public la5
It eists' not5ithstanding' and is literally practised
according to the preceding announcement! and
there have been compiled' compiled' and compiled'
upon these national rights' very admirable com-
mentaries' 5hich have never produced a sou to the
great numbers 5ho have been ruined by 5ar' by
edicts' and by ta-gatherers
(hese compilations closely resemble the case of
conscience of ontas It is forbidden to $ill ! there-
fore all murderers are punished 5ho $ill not in large
ictionary @AD
companies' and to the sound of trumpets! it is the
rule
,t the time 5hen ,nthropophagi still eisted in
the forest of ,rdennes' an old villager met 5ith a
man-eater' 5ho had carried a5ay an infant to de-
vour it :oved 5ith pity' the villager $illed the de-
vourer of children and released the little boy' 5ho
uic$ly Med a5ay (5o passengers' 5ho 5itnessed
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the transaction at a distance' accused the good man
5ith having committed a murder on the $ingKs high-
5ay (he person of the oNender being produced
before the judge' the t5o 5itnesses after they had
paid the latter a hundred cro5ns for the eercise of
his functions deposed to the particulars' and the
la5 being precise' the villager 5as hanged upon the
spot for doing that 5hich had so much ealted 6er-
cules' (heseus' Orlando' and ,madis the 2aul
Ought the judge to be hanged himself' 5ho ee-
cuted this la5 to the letter? 6o5 ought the point
to be decided upon a general principle? (o re-
solve a thousand uestions of this $ind' a thousand
volumes have been 5ritten
uNendorN Jrst established moral eistences7
4(here are'4 said he' 4certain modes 5hich intel-
ligent beings attach to things natural' or to physical
operations' 5ith the vie5 of directing or restraining
the voluntary actions of man$ind' in order to infuse
order' convenience' and felicity into human eist-
ence4
(hus' to give correct ideas to the #5edes and the
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ioH hilosophical
2ermans of the just and the unjust' he remar$s that
4there are t5o $inds of place' in regard to one of
5hich' it is said' that things are for eample' here or
there! and in respect to the other' that they have
eisted' do' or 5ill eist at a certain time' as for e-
ample' yesterday' to-day' or to-morro5 In the same
manner 5e conceive t5o sorts of moral eistence'
the one of 5hich denotes a moral state' that has
some conformity 5ith place' simply considered ! the
other a certain time' 5hen a moral eNect 5ill be
produced'4 etc
(his is not all ! uNendorN curiously distin-
guishes the simple moral from the modes of opinion'
and the formal from the operative ualities (he
formal ualities are simple attributes' but the opera-
tive are to be carefully divided into original and
derivated
In the meantime' 3arbeyrac has commented on
these Jne things' and they are taught in the uni-
versities' and opinion is divided bet5een 2rotius
and uNendorN in regard to uestions of similar
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importance (a$e my recommendation! read
(ullyKs 4Oces4
#&0(IO. II
.othing possibly can tend more to render a mind
false' obscure' and uncertain than the perusal of
2rotius' uNendorN' and almost all the 5riters on
the 4jus gentium4 '
)e must not do evil that good may come of it'
says the 5riter to 5hom nobody hear$ens It is
ictionary @A"
permitted to ma$e 5ar on a po5er' lest it should be-
come too strong' says the 4#pirit of La5s4
)hen rights are to be established by prescrip-
tion' the publicists call to their aid divine right and
human right! and the theologians ta$e their part
in the dispute 4,braham and his seed'4 say they'
4had a right to the land of 0anaan' because he had
travelled there! and 2od had given it to him in a
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vision4 3ut according to the vulgate sage teachers'
Jve hundred and forty-seven years elapsed bet5een
the time 5hen ,braham purchased a sepulchre in
the country and 8oshua too$ possession of a small
part of it .o matter' his right 5as clear and cor-
rect ,nd then prescription? ,5ay 5ith prescrip-
tion T Ought that 5hich once too$ place in alestine
to serve as a rule for 2ermany and Italy ? <es' for
6e said so 3e it so' gentlemen ! 2od preserve me
from disputing 5ith youT
(he descendants of ,ttila' it is said' established
themselves in 6ungary (ill 5hat time must the
ancient inhabitants hold themselves bound in con-
science to remain serfs to the descendants of ,ttila ?
Our doctors' 5ho have 5ritten on peace and 5ar'
are very profound ! if 5e attend to them' everything
belongs of right to the sovereign for 5hom they
5rite! he' in fact' has never been able to alienate
his domains (he emperor of right ought to possess
ome' Italy' and 1rance! such 5as the opinion of
3artholus! Jrst' because the emperor 5as entitled
$ing of the omans! and' secondly' because the
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no hilosophical
archbishop of 0ologne is chancellor of Italy' and the
archbishop of (rier chancellor of 2aul :ore-
over' the emperor of 2ermany carries a gilded ball
at his coronation' 5hich of course proves that he is
the rightful master of the 5hole globe
,t ome there is not a single priest 5ho has not
learned' in his course of theology' that the pope
ought to be master of this earth' seeing it is 5ritten
that it 5as said to #imon' the son of 8onas 7 4(hou
art eter' and upon this roc$ I 5ill build my
church4 It 5as 5ell said to 2regory %II that this
treated only of souls' and of the celestial $ingdom
amnable observation T he replied ! and 5ould have
hanged the observer had he been able
#pirits' still more profound' establish this reason-
ing by an argument to 5hich there is no reply 6e
to 5hom the bishop of ome calls himself vicar has
declared that his dominion is not of this 5orld ! can
this 5orld then belong to the vicar' 5hen his master
has renounced it? )hich ought to prevail' human
nature or the decretals? (he decretals' indisput-
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ably
If it be as$ed 5hether the massacre of ten or
t5elve millions of unarmed men in ,merica 5as de-
fensible' it is replied that nothing can be more just
and holy' since they 5ere not 0atholic' apostolic
and oman
(here is not an age in 5hich the declarations of
5ar of 0hristian princes have not authori;ed the at-
tac$ and pillage of all the subjects of the prince' to
ictionary @ @ @
5hom 5ar has been announced by a herald' in a coat
of mail and hanging sleeves (hus' 5hen this sig-
niJcation has been made' should a native of ,u-
vergne meet a 2erman' he is bound to $ill' and en-
titled to rob him either before or after the murder
(he follo5ing has been a very thorny uestion
for the schools 7 (he ban' and the arriere-ban' hav-
ing been ordered out in order to $ill and be $illed on
the frontiers' ought the #uabians' being satisJed
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that the 5ar is atrociously unjust' to march? #ome
doctors say yes! others' more just' pronounce no
)hat say the politicians?
)hen 5e have fully discussed these great pre-
liminary uestions' 5ith 5hich no sovereign embar-
rasses himself' or is embarrassed' 5e must proceed
to discuss the right of Jfty or sity families upon
the county of ,lost ! the to5n of Orchies ! the duchy
of 3erg and of 8uliers ! upon the countries of (our-
nay and .ice ! and' above all' on the frontiers of all
the provinces' 5here the 5ea$est al5ays loses his
cause
It 5as disputed for a hundred years 5hether the
du$es of Orleans' Louis II' and 1rancis I' had a
claim on the duchy of :ilan' by virtue of a contract
of marriage 5ith %alentina de :ilan' granddaughter
of the bastard of a brave peasant' named 8acob
:u;io 8udgment 5as given in this process at the
battle of avia
(he du$es of #avoy' of Lorraine' and of (uscany
still pretend to the :ilanese ! but it is believed that
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6C hilosophical
a family of poor gentlemen eist in 1riuli' the pos-
terity in a right line from ,lbion' $ing of the Lom-
bards' 5ho possess an anterior claim
(he publicists have 5ritten great boo$s upon the
rights of the $ingdom of 8erusalem (he (ur$s
have 5ritten none' and 8erusalem belongs to them !
at least at this present 5riting! nor is 8erusalem a
$ingdom
0,.O.I0,L I26(# O L,)
2eneral Idea of the ights of the 0hurch or 0anon
La5' by : 3ertrand' 6eretofore 1irst astor
of the 0hurch of 3erne
)e assume neither to adopt nor contradict the
principles of : 3ertrand! it is for the public to
judge of them
0anon la5' or the canon' according to the vulgar
opinion' is ecclesiastical jurisprudence It is the col-
lection of canons' rules of the council' decrees of the
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popes' and maims of the fathers
,ccording to reason' and to the rights of $ings
and of the people' ecclesiastical jurisprudence is only
an eposition of the privileges accorded to ecclesias-
tics by sovereigns representing the nation
If t5o supreme authorities' t5o administrations'
having separate rights' eist' and the one 5ill ma$e
5ar 5ithout ceasing upon the other' the unavoidable
result 5ill be perpetual convulsions' civil 5ars' an-
archy' tyranny' and all the misfortunes of 5hich
history presents so miserable a picture
ictionary @ @F
If a priest is made sovereign! if the dairo of
8apan remained emperor until the siteenth century !
if the dalai-lama is still sovereign at (hibet! if
.uma 5as at once $ing and pontiN! if the caliphs
5ere heads of the state as 5ell as of religion! and
if the popes reign at ome these are only so many
proofs of the truth of 5hat 5e advance! the au-
thority is not divided ! there is but one po5er (he
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sovereigns of ussia and of &ngland preside over
religion! the essential unity of po5er is there pre-
served
&very religion is 5ithin the #tate! every priest
forms a part of civil society' and all ecclesiastics are
among the number of the subjects of the sovereign
under 5hom they eercise their ministry If a re-
ligion eists 5hich establishes ecclesiastical inde-
pendence' and supports them in a sovereign and
legitimate authority' that religion cannot spring
from 2od' the author of society
It is even to be proved' from all evidence' that
in a religion of 5hich 2od is represented as the au-
thor' the functions of ministers' their persons' prop-
erty' pretensions' and manner of inculcating moral-
ity' teaching doctrines' celebrating ceremonies' the
adjustment of spiritual penalties ! in a 5ord' all that
relates to civil order' ought to be submitted to the
authority of the prince and the inspection of the
magistracy
If this jurisprudence constitutes a science' here
5ill be found the elements
%ol
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@ @G hilosophical
It is for the magistracy' solely' to authori;e the
boo$s admissible into the schools' according to the
nature and form of the government It is thus that
: aul 8oseph ieger' counsellor of the court'
judiciously teaches canon la5 in the 9niversity of
%ienna! and' in the li$e manner' the republic of
%enice eamined and reformed all the rules in the
states 5hich have ceased to belong to it It is de-
sirable that eamples so 5ise should generally pre-
vail
#&0(IO. I
Of the &cclesiastical :inistry
eligion is instituted only to preserve order
among man$ind' and to render them 5orthy of the
bounty of the eity by virtue &verything in a re-
ligion 5hich does not tend to this object ought to be
regarded as foreign or dangerous
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Instruction' ehortation' the fear of punishment
to come' the promises of a blessed hereafter' prayer'
advice' and spiritual consolation are the only means
5hich churchmen can properly employ to render
men virtuous on earth and happy to all eternity
&very other means is repugnant to the freedom
of reason ! to the nature of the soul ! to the unalter-
able rights of conscience ! to the essence of religion !
to that of the clerical ministry ! and to the just rights
of the sovereign
%irtue infers liberty' as the transport of a burden
implies active force )ith constraint there is no
ictionary @@E
virtue' and 5ithout virtue no religion :a$e me a
slave and I shall be the 5orse for it
&ven the sovereign has no right to employ force
to lead men to religion' 5hich essentially presumes
choice and liberty :y opinions are no more de-
pendent on authority than my sic$ness or my health
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In a 5ord' to unravel all the contradictions in
5hich boo$s on the canon la5 abound' and to adjust
our ideas in respect to the ecclesiastical ministry'
let us endeavor' in the midst of a thousand ambigui-
ties' to determine 5hat is the 0hurch
(he 0hurch' then' is all believers' collectively'
5ho are called together on certain days to pray in
common' and at all times to perform good actions
riests are persons appointed' under the au-
thority of the #tate' to direct these prayers' and su-
perintend public 5orship generally
, numerous 0hurch cannot eist 5ithout ec-
clesiastics! but these ecclesiastics are not the
0hurch
It is not less evident that if the ecclesiastics' 5ho
compose a part of civil society' have acuired rights
5hich tend to trouble or destroy such society' such
rights ought to be suppressed
It is still more obvious that if 2od has attached
prerogatives or rights to the 0hurch' these preroga-
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tives and these rights belong eclusively neither to
the head of the 0hurch nor to the ecclesiastics ! be-
cause these are not the 0hurch itself' any more than
@ @ B hilosophical
the magistrates are the sovereign' either in a repub-
lic or a monarchy
Lastly ! it is very evident that it is our souls only
5hich are submitted to the care of the clergy' and
that for spiritual objects alone
(he soul acts in5ardly! its in5ard acts are
thought' 5ill' inclination' and an acuiescence in
certain truths' all 5hich are above restraint! and it
is for the ecclesiastical ministry to instruct' but not
to command them
(he soul acts also out5ardly Its eterior acts
are submission to the civil la5 ! and here constraint
may ta$e place' and temporal or corporeal penalties
may punish the violations of the la5
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Obedience to the ecclesiastical order ought' con-
seuently' to be al5ays free and voluntary ! it ought
to eact no other On the contrary' submission to
the civil la5 may be enforced
1or the same reason ecclesiastical penalties' al-
5ays being spiritual' attach in this 5orld to those
only 5ho are in5ardly convinced of their error
0ivil penalties' on the contrary' accompanied by
physical evil produce physical eNects' 5hether the of-
fender ac$no5ledge the justice of them or not
6ence it manifestly results that the authority of
the clergy can only be spiritual that it is unac-
uainted 5ith temporal po5er' and that any co-op-
erative force belongs not to the administration of
the 0hurch' 5hich is essentially destroyed by it
It moreover follo5s that a prince' intent not to
ictionary @@D
suNer any division of his authority' ought not to per-
mit any enterprise 5hich places the members of the
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community in an out5ard or civil dependence on the
ecclesiastical corporation
#uch a4re the incontestable principles of genuine
canonical right or la5' the rules and the decisions of
5hich ought at all times to be submitted to the test
of eternal and immutable truths' founded upon
natural rights and the necessary order of society
#&0(IO. II
Of the ossessions of &cclesiastics
Let us constantly ascend to the principles of so-
ciety' 5hich' in civil as in religious order' are the
foundations of all right
#ociety in general is the proprietor of the terri-
tory of a country' and the source of national riches
, portion of this national revenue is devoted to the
sovereign to support the epenses of government
&very individual is possessor of that part of the ter-
ritory' and of the revenue' 5hich the la5s insure
him! and no possession or enjoyment can at any
time be sustained' ecept under the protection of
la5
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In society 5e hold not any good' or any posses-
sion as a simple natural right' as 5e give up our
natural rights and submit to the order -of civil so-
ciety' in return for assurance and protection It is'
therefore' by the la5 that 5e hold our possessions
.o one can hold anything on earth through re-
nH hilosophical
ligion' neither lands nor chattels ! since all its 5ealth
is spiritual (he possessions of the faithful' as
veritable members of the 0hurch' are in heaven!
it is there 5here their treasures are laid up (he
$ingdom of 8esus 0hrist' 5hich 6e al5ays an-
nounced as at hand' 5as not' nor could it be' of this
5orld .o property' therefore' can be held by divine
right
(he Levites under the 6ebre5 la5 had' it is true'
their tithe by a positive la5 of 2od! but that 5as
under a theocracy 5hich eists no longer 2od
6imself acting as the sovereign ,ll those la5s
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have ceased' and cannot at present communicate any
title to possession
If any body at present' li$e that of the priesthood'
pretend to possess tithes or any other 5ealth by pos-
itive right divine' it must produce an epress and
incontestable proof enregistered by divine revela-
tion (his miraculous title 5ould be' I confess' an
eception to the civil la5' authori;ed by 2od' 5ho
says 7 4,ll persons ought to submit to the po5ers
that be' because they are ordained of 2od and estab-
lished in 6is name4
In defect of such a title' no ecclesiastical body
5hatever can enjoy aught on earth but by consent
of the sovereignty and the authority of the civil
la5s (hese form their sole title to possession If
the clergy imprudently renounce this title' they 5ill
possess none at all' and might be despoiled by any
one 5ho is strong enough to attempt it Its essential
ictionary @@"
interest is' therefore' to support civil society' to
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5hich it o5es everything
1or the same reason' as all the 5ealth of a nation
is liable 5ithout eception to public ependiture for
the defence of the sovereign and the nation' no prop-
erty can be eempt from it but by force of la5'
5hich la5 is al5ays revocable as circumstances
vary eter cannot be eempt 5ithout augmenting
the ta of 8ohn &uity' therefore' is eternally
claiming for euality against surcharges ! and the
#tate has a right' at all times' to eamine into e-
emptions' in order to replace things in a just' nat-
ural' proportionate order' by abolishing previously
granted immunities' 5hether permitted or etorted
&very la5 5hich ordains that the sovereign' at
the epense of the public' shall ta$e care of the
5ealth or possessions of any individual or a body'
5ithout this body or individual contributing to the
common epenses' amounts to a subversion of la5
I moreover assert that the uota' 5hether the con-
tribution of a body or an individual' ought to be pro-
portionately regulated' not by him or them' but by
the sovereign or magistracy' according to the gen-
eral form and la5 (hus the sovereign or state may
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demand an account of the 5ealth and of the posses-
sions of everybody as of every individual
It is' therefore' once more on these immutable
principles that the rules of the canon la5 should be
founded 5hich relate to the possessions and revenue
of the clergy
@ CA hilosophical
&cclesiastics' 5ithout doubt' ought to be allo5ed
sucient to live honorably' but not as members of
or as representing the 0hurch' for the 0hurch itself
claims neither sovereignty nor possession in this
5orld
3ut if it be necessary for ministers to preside at
the altar' it is proper that society should support them
in the same manner as the magistracy and soldiers
It is' therefore' for the civil la5 to ma$e a suitable
provision for the priesthood
&ven 5hen the possessions of the ecclesiastics
have been besto5ed on them by 5ills' or in any
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other manner' the donors have not been able to de-
nationali;e the property by abstracting it from pub-
lic charges and the authority of the la5s It is al-
5ays under the guarantee of the la5s' 5ithout
5hich they 5ould not possess the insured and legit-
imate possessions 5hich they enjoy
It is' therefore' still left to the sovereign' or the
magistracy in his name' to eamine at all times if
the ecclesiastical revenues be sucient ! and if they
are not' to augment the allotted provision ! if' on the
contrary' they are ecessive' it is for them to dispose
of the superMuity for the general good of society
3ut according to the right' commonly called
canonical' 5hich has sought to form a #tate 5ithin
the #tate' 4imperium in imperio'4 ecclesiastical
property is sacred and intangible' because it belongs
to religion and the 0hurch ! they have come of 2od'
and not of man
ictionary @C@
In the Jrst place' it is impossible to appropriate
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this terrestrial 5ealth to religion' 5hich has nothing
temporal (hey cannot belong to the 0hurch' 5hich
is the universal body of the believers' including the
$ing' the magistracy' the soldiery' and all subjects !
for 5e are never to forget that priests no more form
the 0hurch than magistrates the #tate
Lastly' these goods come only from 2od in the
same sense as all goods come from 6im' because all
is submitted to 6is providence
(herefore' every ecclesiastical possessor of riches'
or revenue' enjoys it only as a subject and citi;en of
the #tate' under the single protection of the civil la5
roperty' 5hich is temporal and material' cannot
be rendered sacred or holy in any sense' neither
literally nor Jguratively If it be said that a person
or ediJce is sacred' it only signiJes that it has been
consecrated or set apart for spiritual purposes
(he abuse of a metaphor' to authori;e rights and
pretensions destructive to all society' is an enterprise
of 5hich history and religion furnish more than one
eample' and even some very singular ones' 5hich
are not at present to my purpose
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#&0(IO. III
Of &cclesiastical or eligious ,ssemblies
It is certain that nobody can call any public or
regular assembly in a state but under the sanction
of civil authority
eligious assemblies for public 5orship must be
@CC hilosophical
authori;ed by the sovereign' or civil magistracy' be-
fore they can be legal
In 6olland' 5here the civil po5er grants the
greatest liberty' and very nearly the same in ussia'
in &ngland' and in russia' those 5ho 5ish to form
a church have to obtain permission' after 5hich the
ne5 church is in the states' although not of the re-
ligion of the states In general' as soon as there is
a sucient number of persons' or of families' 5ho
5ish to cultivate a particular mode of 5orship' and
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to assemble for that purpose' they can 5ithout hesi-
tation apply to the magistrate' 5ho ma$es himself
a judge of it! and once allo5ed' it cannot be dis-
turbed 5ithout a breach of public order (he facil-
ity 5ith 5hich the government of 6olland has
granted this permission has never produced any
disorder! and it 5ould be the same every5here if
the magistrate alone eamined' judged' and pro-
tected the parties concerned
(he sovereign' or civil po5er' possesses the right
at all times of $no5ing 5hat passes 5ithin these as-
semblies' of regulating them in conformity 5ith pub-
lic order' and of preventing such as produce dis-
order (his perpetual inspection is an essential por-
tion of sovereignty' 5hich every religion ought to
ac$no5ledge
&verything in the 5orship' in respect to form of
prayer' canticles' and ceremonies' ought to be open
to the inspection of the magistrate (he clergy may
compose these prayers ! but it is for the #tate to ap-
ictionary @ CF
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prove or reform them in case of necessity 3loody
5ars have been underta$en for mere forms' 5hich
5ould never have been 5aged had sovereigns under-
stood their rights
6olidays ought to be no more established 5ithout
the consent and approbation of the #tate' 5ho may
at all times abridge and regulate them (he multi-
plication of such days al5ays produces a laity of
manners and national impoverishment
, superintendence over oral instruction and
boo$s of devotion' belongs of right to the #tate It
is not the eecutive 5hich teaches' but 5hich attends
to the manner in 5hich the people are taught :or-
ality above all should be attended to' 5hich is al5ays
necessary! 5hereas disputes concerning doctrines
are often dangerous
If disputes eist bet5een ecclesiastics in reference
to the manner of teaching' or on points of doctrine'
the #tate may impose silence on both parties' and
punish the disobedient
,s religious congregations are not permitted by
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the #tate in order to treat of political matters' mag-
istrates ought to repress seditious preachers' 5ho
heat the multitude by punishable declamation 7 these
are pests in every #tate
&very mode of 5orship presumes a discipline to
maintain order' uniformity' and decency It is for
the magistrate to protect this discipline' and to bring
about such changes as times and circumstances may
render necessary
@ CG hilosophical
1or nearly eight centuries the emperors of the
&ast assembled councils in order to appease religious
disputes' 5hich 5ere only augmented by the too
great attention paid to them 0ontempt 5ould have
more certainly terminated the vain disputation'
5hich interest and the passions had ecited #ince
the division of the empire of the )est into various
$ingdoms' princes have left to the pope the convoca-
tion of these assemblies (he rights of the oman
pontiN are in this respect purely conventional' and
the sovereigns may agree in the course of time' that
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they shall no longer eist! nor is any one of them
obliged to submit to any canon 5ithout having e-
amined and approved it 6o5ever' as the 0ouncil
of (rent 5ill most li$ely be the last' it is useless
to agitate all the uestions 5hich might relate to a
future general council
,s to assemblies' synods' or national councils'
they indisputably cannot be convo$ed ecept 5hen
the sovereign or #tate deems them necessary (he
commissioners of the latter ought therefore to pre-
side' direct all their deliberations' and give their
sanction to the decrees
(here may eist periodical assemblies of the
clergy' to maintain order' under the authority of the
#tate' but the civil po5er ought uniformly to direct
their vie5s and guide their deliberations (he pe-
riodical assembly of the clergy of 1rance is only an
assembly of regulative commissioners for all the
clergy of the $ingdom
ictionary @CE
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(he vo5s by 5hich certain ecclesiastics oblige
themselves to live in a body according to certain
rules' under the name of mon$s' or of religieu' so
prodigiously multiplied in &urope' should al5ays
be submitted to the inspection and approval of the
magistrate (hese convents' 5hich shut up so many
persons 5ho are useless to society' and so many
victims 5ho regret the liberty 5hich they have lost !
these orders' 5hich bear so many strange denomi-
nations' ought not to be valid or obligatory' unless
5hen eamined and sanctioned by the sovereign or
the #tate
,t all times' therefore' the prince or #tate has a
right to ta$e cogni;ance of the rules and conduct
of these religious houses' and to reform or abolish
them if held to be incompatible 5ith present circum-
stances' and the positive 5elfare of society
(he revenue and property of these religious
bodies are' in li$e manner' open to the inspection of
the magistracy' in order to judge of their amount
and of the manner in 5hich they are employed If
the mass of the riches' 5hich is thus prevented from
circulation' be too great ! if the revenues greatly e-
ceed the reasonable support of the regulars ! if the
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employment of these revenues be opposed to the gen-
eral good ! if this accumulation impoverish the rest
of the community! in all these cases it becomes
the magistracy' as the common fathers of the coun-
try' to diminish and divide these riches' in order to
ma$e them parta$e of the circulation' 5hich is the
@CB hilosophical
life of the body politic! or even to employ them
in any other 5ay for the beneJt of the public
,greeably to the same principles' the sovereign
authority ought to forbid any religious order from
having a superior 5ho is a native or resident of an-
other country It approaches to the crime of lese-
majeste
(he sovereign may prescribe rules for admission
into these orders! he may' according to ancient
usage' J an age' and hinder ta$ing vo5s' ecept
by the epress consent of the magistracy in each in-
stance &very citi;en is born a subject of the #tate'
and has no right to brea$ his natural engagements
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5ith society 5ithout the consent of those 5ho pre-
side over it
If the sovereign abolishes a religious order' the
vo5s cease to be binding (he Jrst vo5 is that to
the #tate ! it is a primary and tacit oath authori;ed
by 2od! a vo5 according to the decrees of rovi-
dence ! a vo5 unalterable and imprescriptible' 5hich
unites man in society to his country and his sover-
eign If 5e ta$e a posterior vo5' the primitive one
still eists! and 5hen they clash' nothing can
5ea$en or suspend the force of the primary engage-
ment If' therefore' the sovereign declares this last
vo5' 5hich is only conditional and dependent on the
Jrst' incompatible 5ith it' he does not dissolve a vo5'
but decrees it to be necessarily void' and replaces the
individual in his natural state'
(he foregoing is uite sucient to dissipate all
ictionary @CD
ihe sophistry by 5hich the canonists have sought to
embarrass a uestion so simple in the estimation of
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all 5ho are disposed to listen to reason
#&0(IO. I%
On &cclesiastical enalties
#ince neither the 0hurch' 5hich is the body of
believers collectively' nor the ecclesiastics' 5ho are
ministers in the 0hurch in the name of the sovereign
and under his authority' possess any coactive
strength' eecutive po5er' or terrestrial authority'
it is evident that these ministers can inMict only spir-
itual punishments (o threaten sinners 5ith the
anger of heaven is the sole penalty that a pastor is
entitled to inMict If the name of punishment or
penalty is not to be given to those censures or dec-
lamations' ministers of religion have none at all to
inMict
:ay the 0hurch eject from its bosom those 5ho
disgrace or 5ho trouble it? (his is a grand ues-
tion' upon 5hich the canonists have not hesitated to
adopt the armative Let us repeat' in the Jrst
place' that ecclesiastics are not the 0hurch (he
assembled 0hurch' 5hich includes the #tate or sov-
ereign' doubtless possesses the right to eclude from
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the congregations a scandalous sinner' after repeated
charitable and sucient 5arnings (he eclusion'
even in this case' cannot inMict any civil penalty' any
bodily evil' or any merely earthly privation! but
5hatever right the 0hurch may in this 5ay possess'
@CH hilosophical
the ecclesiastics belonging to it can only eercise it
as far as the sovereign and #tate allo5
It is therefore still more incumbent on the sover-
eign' in this case' to 5atch over the manner in 5hich
this permitted right is eercised' vigilance being the
more necessary in conseuence of the abuse to 5hich
it is liable It is' conseuently' necessary for the
supreme civil po5er to consult the rules for the regu-
lation of assistance and charity' to prescribe suitable
restrictions' 5ithout 5hich every declaration of the
clergy' and all ecommunication' 5ill be null and
5ithout eNect' even 5hen only applicable to the spir-
itual order It is to confound diNerent eras and cir-
cumstances' to regulate the proceedings of present
times from the practice of the apostles (he sover-
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eign in those days 5as not of the religion of the
apostles' nor 5as the 0hurch included in the #tate'
so that the ministers of 5orship could not have re-
course to the magistrates :oreover' the apostles
5ere ministers etraordinary' of 5hich 5e no5 per-
ceive no resemblance If other eamples of ecom-
munication' 5ithout the authority of the sovereign'
be uoted' I can only say that I cannot hear' 5ithout
horror' of eamples of ecommunication insolently
fulminated against sovereigns and magistrates! I
boldly reply' that these denunciations amount to
manifest rebellion' and to an open violation of the
most sacred duties of religion' charity' and natural
right
Let us add' in order to aNord a complete idea of
ictionary @C"
ecommunication' and of the true rules of canonical
right or la5 in this respect' that ecommunication'
legitimately pronounced by those to 5hom the sov-
ereign' in the name of the 0hurch' epressly leaves
the po5er' includes privation only of spiritual ad-
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vantages on earth' and can etend to nothing else 7
all beyond this 5ill be abuse' and more or less tyran-
nical (he ministers of the 0hurch can do no more
than declare that such and such a man is no more a
member of the 0hurch 6e may still' ho5ever' enjoy
not5ithstanding the ecommunication' all his nat-
ural' civil' and temporal rights as a man and a citi-
;en If the magistrate steps in and deprives such a
man' in conseuence' of an oce or employment in
society' it then becomes a civil penalty for some
fault against civil order
Let us suppose that 5hich may very li$ely happen'
as ecclesiastics are only men' that the ecommunica-
tion 5hich they have been led to pronounce has been
prompted by some error or some passion ! he 5ho
is eposed to a censure so precipitate is clearly justi-
Jed in his conscience before 2od! the declaration
issued against him can produce no eNect upon the
life to come eprived of eterior communion 5ith
the true 0hurch' he may still enjoy the consolation
of the interior communion 8ustiJed by his con-
science' he has nothing to fear in a future eistence
from the judgment of 2od' his only true judge
It is then a great uestion' as to canonical rights'
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5hether the clergy' their head' or any ecclesiastical
%ol @F "
@FA hilosophical
body 5hatever' can ecommunicate the sovereign or
the magistracy' under any pretet' or for any abuse
of their po5er ? (his uestion is essentially scandal-
ous' and the simple doubt a direct rebellion In
fact' the Jrst duty of man in society is to respect the
magistrate' and to advance his respectability' and
you pretend to have a right to censure and set him
aside )ho has given you this absurd and per-
nicious right? Is it 2od' 5ho governs the political
5orld by delegated sovereignty' and 5ho ordains
that society shall subsist by subordination ?
(he Jrst ecclesiastics at the rise of 0hristianity
did they conceive themselves authori;ed to ecom-
municate (iberius' .ero' 0laudius' or even 0onstan-
tine' 5ho 5as a heretic? 6o5 then have preten-
sions thus monstrous' ideas thus atrocious' 5ic$ed
attempts eually condemned by reason and by nat-
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ural and religious rights' been suNered to last so
long? If a religion eists 5hich teaches li$e hor-
rors' society ought to proscribe it' as directly sub-
versive of the repose of man$ind (he cry of 5hole
nations is already lifted up against these pretended
canonical la5s' dictated by ambition and by fanati-
cism It is to be hoped that sovereigns' better in-
structed in their rights' and supported by the Jdel-
ity of their people' 5ill terminate abuses so enor-
mous' and 5hich have caused so many misfortunes
(he author of the 4&ssay on the :anners and
#pirit of .ations4 has been the Jrst to forcibly e-
pose the atrocity of enterprises of this nature
ictionary @F@
#&0(IO. %
Of the #uperintendence of octrine
(he sovereign is not the judge of the truth of
doctrine ! he may judge for himself' li$e all other
men! but he ought to ta$e cogni;ance of it in re-
spect to everything 5hich relates to civil order'
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5hether in regard to purport or delivery
(his is the general rule from 5hich magistrates
ought never to depart .othing in a doctrine merits
the attention of the police' ecept as it interests pub-
lic order7 it is the inMuence of doctrine upon man-
ners that decides its importance octrines 5hich
have a distant connection only 5ith good conduct
can never be fundamental (ruths 5hich conduce
to render man$ind gentle' humane' obedient to the
la5s and to the government' interest the #tate' and
proceed evidently from 2od
#&0(IO. %I
#uperintendence of the :agistracy Over the ,d-
ministration of the #acraments
(he administration of the sacraments ought to be
submitted to the careful inspection of the magis-
trates in everything 5hich concerns public order
It has already been observed that the magistrate
ought to 5atch over the form of the public registry
of marriages' baptisms' and deaths' 5ithout any re-
gard to the creed of the diNerent inhabitants of the
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#tate
@FC hilosophical
#imilar reasons in relation to police and good
government do they not reuire an eact registry
in the hands of the magistracy of all those 5ho ma$e
vo5s' and enter convents in those countries in 5hich
convents are permitted?
In the sacrament of repentance' the minister 5ho
refuses or grants absolution is accountable for his
judgment only to 2od ! and in the same manner' the
penitent is accountable to 2od alone' 5hether he
consummates it all' or does so 5ell or ill
.o pastor' himself a sinner' ought to have the
right of publicly refusing' on his o5n private author-
ity' the eucharist to another sinner (he sinless
8esus 0hrist refused not the communion to 8udas
&treme unction and the viaticum' if demanded
or reuested by the sic$' should be governed by the
same rule (he simple right of the minister is to
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ehort the sic$ person' and it is the duty of the
magistrate to ta$e care that the pastor abuse not cir-
cumstances' in order to persecute the invalid
1ormerly' it 5as the 0hurch collectively 5hich
called the pastors' and conferred upon them the right
of governing and instructing the Moc$ ,t present'
ecclesiastics alone consecrate others' and the magis-
tracy ought to be 5atchful of this privilege
It is doubtless a great' though ancient abuse' that
of conferring orders 5ithout functions ! it is de-
priving the #tate of members' 5ithout adding to the
0hurch (he magistrate is called upon to reform
this abuse
ictionary @FF
:arriage' in a civil sense' is the legitimate union'
of a man 5ith a 5oman for the procreation of chil-
dren' to secure their due nurture and education' and
in order to assure unto them their rights and prop-
erties under the protection of the la5s In order to
conJrm and establish this union' it is accompanied
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by a religious ceremony' regarded by some as a
sacrament' and by others as a portion of public 5or-
ship! a genuine logomachy' 5hich changes nothing
in the thing (5o points are therefore to be distin-
guished in marriage the civil contract' or natural
engagement' and the sacrament' or sacred cere-
mony :arriage may therefore eist' 5ith all its
natural and civil eNects' independently of the relig-
ious ceremony (he ceremonies of the 0hurch are
only essential to civil order' because the #tate has
adopted them , long time elapsed before the min-
isters of religion had anything to do 5ith marriage
In the time of 8ustinian' the agreement of the parties'
in the presence of 5itnesses' 5ithout any ceremonies
of the 0hurch' legali;ed marriages among 0hris-
tians It 5as that emperor 5ho' to5ards the middle
of the sith century' made the Jrst la5s by 5hich
the presence of priests 5as reuired' as simple 5it-
nesses' 5ithout' ho5ever' prescribing any nuptial
benediction (he emperor Leo' 5ho died in HHB'
seems to have been the Jrst 5ho placed the religious
ceremony in the number of necessary conditions
(he terms of the la5 itself indeed' 5hich ordains it'
prove it to have been a novelty
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@FG hilosophical
1rom the correct idea 5hich 5e no5 form of
marriage' it results in the Jrst place' that good order'
and even piety' render religious forms adopted in all
0hristian countries necessary 3ut the essence of
marriage cannot be denationali;ed' and this engage-
ment' 5hich is the principal one in society' ought
uniformly' as a branch of civil and political order'
to be placed under the authority of the magistracy
It follo5s' therefore' that a married couple' even
educated in the 5orship of inJdels and heretics' are
not obliged to marry again' if they have been united
agreeably to the established forms of their o5n
country ! and it is for the magistrate in all such in-
stances to investigate the state of the case
(he priest is at present the magistrate freely nom-
inated by the la5' in certain countries' to receive the
pledged faith of persons 5ishing to marry It is
very evident' that the la5 can modify or change as
it pleases the etent of this ecclesiastical authority
)ills and funerals are incontestably under the
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authority of the civil magistracy and the police
(he clergy have never been allo5ed to usurp the
authority of the la5 in respect to these In the age
of Louis I% ho5ever' and even in that of Louis
%' stri$ing eamples have been 5itnessed of the
endeavors of certain fanatical ecclesiastics to inter-
fere in the regulation of funerals 9nder the pre-
tet of heresy' they refused the sacraments' and in-
terment ! a barbarity 5hich agans 5ould have held
in horror
ictionary @FE
#&0(IO. %II
&cclesiastical 8urisdiction
(he sovereign or #tate may' 5ithout doubt' give
up to an ecclesiastical body' or a single priest' a
jurisdiction over certain objects and certain persons'
5ith a po5er suitable to the authority conJded I
eamine not into the prudence of remitting a cer-
tain portion of civil authority into the hands of any
body or person 5ho already enjoys an authority in
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things spiritual (o deliver to those 5ho ought to
be solely employed in conducting men to heaven'
an authority upon earth' is to produce a union of
t5o po5ers' the abuse of 5hich is only too easy!
but at least it is evident that any man' as 5ell as an
ecclesiastic' may be Kintrusted 5ith the same juris-
diction 3y 5homsoever possessed' it has either
been conceded by the sovereign po5er' or usurped !
there is no medium (he $ingdom of 8esus 0hrist
is not of this 5orld ! he refused to be a judge upon
earth' and ordered that men should give unto 0aesar
the things 5hich belonged unto 0aesar7 he forbade
all dominations to his apostles' and preached only
humility' gentleness' and dependence 1rom him
ecclesiastics can derive neither po5er' authority'
domination' nor jurisdiction in this 5orld (hey*
can therefore possess no legitimate authority' but
by a concession from the sovereign or #tate' from
5hich all authority in a society can properly emanate
(here 5as a time in the unhappy epoch of the
feudal ages in 5hich ecclesiastics 5ere possessed in
ij B hilosophical
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various countries 5ith the principal functions of the
magistracy7 the authority of the lords of the lay
Jefs' so formidable to the sovereign and oppressive
to the people' has been since bounded ! but a portion
of the independence of the ecclesiastical jurisdictions
still eists )hen 5ill sovereigns be suciently in-
formed and courageous to ta$e bac$ from them the
usurped authority and numerous privileges 5hich
they have so often abused' to annoy the Moc$ 5hich
they ought to protect?
It is by this inadvertence of princes that the au-
dacious enterprises of ecclesiastics against sover-
eigns themselves have originated (he scandalous
history of these attempts has been consigned to rec-
ords 5hich cannot be contested (he bull 4In ccena
omini'4 in particular' still remains to prove the
continual enterprises of the clergy against royal and
civil authority
&tract from the (ariN of the ights &acted in
1rance by the 0ourt of ome for 3ulls' ispen-
sations' ,bsolutions' etc' 5hich (ariN 5as e-
creed in the +ingKs 0ouncil' #ept G' @B"@' and
)hich is eported &ntire in the 3rief of 8ames
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Lepelletier' rinted at Lyons in @B""' 5ith the
,pprobation and ermission of the +ing Lyons7
rinted for ,nthony 3oudet' &ighth &dition
@ 1or absolution for the crime of apostasy' pay-
able to the pope' t5enty-four livres
C , bastard 5ishing to ta$e orders must pay
ictionary @FD
t5enty-Jve livres for a dispensation ! if desirous to
possess a beneJce' he must pay in addition one hun-
dred and eighty livres! if anious that his dispen-
sation should not allude to his illegitimacy' he 5ill
have to pay a thousand and Jfty livres
F 1or dispensation and absolution of bigamy'
one thousand and Jfty livres
G 1or a dispensation for the error of a false
judgment in the administration of justice or the e-
ercise of medicine' ninety livres
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E ,bsolution for heresy' t5enty-four livres
B 3rief of forty hours' for seven years' t5elve
livres
D ,bsolution for having committed homicide in
self-defence' or undesignedly' ninety-Jve livres ,ll
in company of the murderer also need absolution'
and are to pay for the same eighty-Jve livres each
H Indulgences for seven years' t5elve livres
" erpetual indulgences for a brotherhood'
forty livres
@A ispensation for irregularity and incapacity'
t5enty-Jve livres! if the irregularity is great' Jfty
livres
@@ 1or permission to read forbidden boo$s'
t5enty-Jve livres
@C ispensation for simony' forty livres! 5ith
an augmentation according to circumstances
@F 3rief to permit the eating of forbidden
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meats' sity-Jve livres
@G ispensation for simple vo5s of chastity or
ij H hilosophical
of religion' Jfteen livres 3rief declaratory of the
nullity of the profession of a mon$ or a nun' one
hundred livres If this brief be reuested ten years
after profession' double the amount
ispensations in elation to :arriage
ispensations for the fourth degree of relation-
ship' 5ith cause' sity-Jve livres! 5ithout cause'
ninety livres ! 5ith dispensation for familiarities that
have passed bet5een the future married persons' one
hundred and eighty livres
1or relations of the third or fourth degree' both
on the side of the father and mother' 5ithout cause'
eight hundred and eighty livres! 5ith cause' one
hundred and forty-Jve livres
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1or relations of the second degree on one side'
and the fourth on the other ! nobles to pay one thou-
sand four hundred and thirty livres ! roturiers' one
thousand one hundred and Jfty livres
6e 5ho 5ould marry the sister of the girl to
5hom he has been aanced' to pay for a dispensa-
tion' one thousand four hundred and thirty livres
(hose 5ho are relations in the third degree' if
they are nobles' or live creditably' are to pay one
thousand four hundred and thirty livres ! if the re-
lationship is on the side of father as 5ell as mother'
t5o thousand four hundred and thirty livres
elations in the second degree to pay four thou-
sand Jve hundred and thirty livres ! and if the fe-
male has accorded favors to the male' in addition for
absolution' t5o thousand and thirty livres
ictionary @F"
1or those 5ho have stood sponsors at the baptism
of the children of each other' the dispensation 5ill
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cost t5o thousand seven hundred and thirty livres
If they 5ould be absolved from premature familiar-
ity' one thousand three hundred and thirty livres in
addition
6e 5ho has enjoyed the favors of a 5ido5 dur-
ing the life of her deceased husband' in order to
Wegitimately espouse her' 5ill have to pay one hun-
dred and ninety livres
In #pain and ortugal' the marriage dispensa-
tions are still dearer 0ousins-german cannot ob-
tain them for less than t5o thousand cro5ns
(he poor not being able to pay these taes' abate-
ments may be made It is better to obtain half a
right' than lose all by refusing the dispensation
.o reference is had here to the sums paid to the
pope for the bulls of bishops' abbots' etc' 5hich are
to be found in the almanacs ! but 5e cannot perceive
by 5hat authority the pope of ome levies taes
upon laymen 5ho choose to marry their cousins
I%&#
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(6& progress of rivers to the ocean is not so
rapid as that of man to error It is not long since it
5as discovered that all rivers originate in those eter-
nal masses of sno5 5hich cover the summits of lofty
mountains' those sno5s in rain' that rain in the
vapor ehaled from the land and sea ! and that thus
everything is a lin$ in the great chain of nature
@GA hilosophical
)hen a boy' I heard theses delivered 5hich
proved that all rivers and fountains came from the
sea (his 5as the opinion of all antiuity (hese
rivers Mo5ed into immense caverns' and thence dis-
tributed their 5aters to all parts of the 5orld
)hen ,risteus goes to lament the loss of his bees
to 0yrene his mother' goddess of the little river
&nipus in (hessaly' the river immediately divides
itself' forming as it 5ere t5o mountains of 5ater'
right and left' to receive him according to ancient
and immemorial usage ! after 5hich he has a vie5
of those vast and beautiful grottoes through 5hich
Mo5 all the rivers of the earth ! the o' 5hich de-
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scends from :ount %iso in iedmont' and traverses
Italy! the (everone' 5hich comes from the ,pen-
nines! the hasis' 5hich issues from :ount 0au-
casus' and falls into the 3lac$ #ea ! and numberless
others
%irgil' in this instance' adopted a strange system
of natural philosophy' in 5hich certainly none but
poets can be indulged
#uch' ho5ever' 5as the credit and prevalence of
this system that' Jfteen hundred years after5ards'
(asso completely imitated %irgil in his fourteenth
canto' 5hile imitating at the same time 5ith far
greater felicity ,riosto ,n old 0hristian magician
conducts underground the t5o $nights 5ho are to
bring bac$ inaldo from the arms of ,rmida' as
:elissa had rescued ogero from the caresses of
,lcina (his venerable sage ma$es inaldo descend
ictionary @G@
into his grotto' from 5hich issue all the rivers 5hich
refresh and fertili;e our earth It is a pity that the
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rivers of ,merica arc not among the number 3ut
as the .ile' the anube' the #eine' the 8ordan' and
the %olga have their source in this cavern' that
ought to be deemed sucient )hat is still more in
conformity to the physics of antiuity is the cir-
cumstance of this grotto or cavern being in the very
centre of the earth Of course' it is here that :au-
pertuis 5anted to ta$e a tour
,fter admitting that rivers spring from moun-
tains' and that both of them are essential parts of
this great machine' let us be5are ho5 5e give in
to varying and vanishing systems
)hen :aillet imagined that the sea had formed
the mountains' he should have dedicated his boo$ to
0yrano de 3ergerac )hen it has been said' also'
that the great chains of mountains etend from east
to 5est' and that the greatest number of rivers also
Mo5 al5ays to the 5est' the spirit of system has been
more consulted than the truth of nature
)ith respect to mountains' disembar$ at the 0ape
of 2ood 6ope' you 5ill perceive a chain of moun-
tains from the south as far north as :onomotapa
Only a fe5 persons have visited that uarter of the
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5orld' and travelled under the line in ,frica 3ut
0alpe and ,bila are completely in the direction of
north and south 1rom 2ibraltar to the river 2ua-
diana' in a course directly north5ard' there is a con-
tinuous range of mountains .e5 and Old 0astile
@GC hilosophical
are covered 5ith them' and the direction of them all
is from south to north' li$e that of all the mountains
in ,merica )ith respect to the rivers' they Mo5
precisely according to the disposition or direction of
the land
(he 2uadaluivir runs straight to the south
from %illanueva to #an Lucar! the 2uadiana the
same' as far as 3adajos ,ll the rivers in the 2ulf
of %enice' ecept the o' fall into the sea to5ards
the south #uch is the course of the hone from
Lyons to its mouth (hat of the #eine is from the
north-north5est (he hine' from 3asle' goes
straight to the north (he :euse does the same'
from its source to the territory overMo5ed by its
5aters (he #cheldt also does the same
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)hy' then' should men be so assiduous in deceiv-
ing themselves' just for the pleasure of forming sys-
tems' and leading astray persons of 5ea$ and ig-
norant minds? )hat good can possibly arise from
inducing a number of people 5ho must inevitably
be soon undeceived to believe that all rivers and all
mountains are in a direction from east to 5est' or
from 5est to east! that all mountains are covered
5ith oyster-shells 5hich is most certainly false
that anchors have been found on the summit of the
mountains of #5it;erland! that these mountains
have been formed by the currents of the ocean ! and
that limestone is composed entirely of seashells?
)hat T shall 5e' at the present day' treat philosophy
as the ancients formerly treated history?
ictionary @GF
(o return to streams and rivers (he most im-
portant and valuable things that can be done in rela-
tion to them is preventing their inundations' and
ma$ing ne5 rivers that is' canals out of those al-
ready eisting' 5herever the underta$ing is prac-
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ticable and beneJcial (his is one of the most use-
ful services that can be conferred upon a nation
(he canals of &gypt 5ere as serviceable as its pyra-
mids 5ere useless
)ith regard to the uantity of 5ater conveyed
along the beds of rivers' and everything relating to
calculation on the subject' read the article on
4iver'4 by : dK,lembert It is' li$e everything
else done by him' clear' eact' and true ! and 5ritten
in a style adapted to the subject ! he does not employ
the style of (elemachus to discuss subjects of nat-
ural philosophy
O,#
I( ),# not until lately that the modern nations of
&urope began to render roads practicable and con-
venient' and to besto5 on them some beauty (o
superintend and $eep in order the road is one of the
most important cares of both the :ogul and 0hinese
emperors 3ut these princes never attained such
eminence in this department as the omans (he
,ppian' the ,urelian' the 1laminian' the y&milian'
and the (rajan 5ays eist even at the present day
(he omans alone 5ere capable of constructing such
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@GG hilosophical
roads' and they alone 5ere capable of repairing
them
3ergier' 5ho has 5ritten an other5ise valuable
boo$' insists much on #olomonKs employing thirty
thousand 8e5s in cutting 5ood on :ount Lebanon'
eighty thousand in building the temple' seventy
thousand on carriages' and three thousand si hun-
dred in superintending the labors of others )e
5ill for a moment admit it all to be true ! yet still
there is nothing said about his ma$ing or repairing
high5ays
liny informs us that three hundred thousand
men 5ere employed for t5enty years in building
one of the pyramids of &gypt ! I am not disposed to
doubt it! but surely three hundred thousand men
might have been much better employed (hose 5ho
5or$ed on the canals in &gypt ! or on the great 5all'
the canals' or high5ays of 0hina! or those 5ho
constructed the celebrated 5ays of the oman &m-
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pire 5ere much more usefully occupied than the
three hundred thousand miserable slaves in building
a pyramidal sepulchre for the corpse of a bigoted
&gyptian
)e are 5ell acuainted 5ith the prodigious 5or$s
accomplished by the omans' their immense eca-
vations for la$es of 5ater' or the beds of la$es
formed by nature' Jlled up' hills levelled' and a pas-
sage bored through a mountain by %espasian' in the
1laminian 5ay' for more than a thousand feet in
ictionary @GE
length' the inscription on 5hich remains at present
ausilippo is not to be compared 5ith it
(he foundations of the greater part of our pres-
ent houses are far from being so solid as 5ere the
high5ays in the neighborhood of ome! and these
public 5ays 5ere etended throughout the empire'
although not upon the same scale of duration and
solidity (o eNect that 5ould have reuired more
men and money than could possibly have been ob-
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tained
,lmost all the high5ays of Italy 5ere erected on
a foundation four feet deep! 5hen a space of
marshy ground or bog 5as on the trac$ of the road'
it 5as Jlled up ! and 5hen any part of it 5as moun-
tainous' its precipitousness 5as reduced to a gentle
and triMing inclination from the general line of the
road In many parts' the roads 5ere supported by
solid 5alls
9pon the four feet of masonry' 5ere placed large
he5n stones of marble' nearly one foot in thic$ness'
and freuently ten feet 5ide! they 5ere indented
by the chisel to prevent the slipping of the horses
It 5as dicult to say 5hich most attracted admira-
tion the utility or the magniJcence of these aston-
ishing 5or$s
.early all of these 5onderful constructions 5ere
raised at the public epense 0aesar repaired and
etended the ,ppian 5ay out of his o5n private
funds! those funds' ho5ever' consisted of the
money of the republic
%ol @ @A
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@GB hilosophical
)ho 5ere the persons employed upon these
5or$s? #laves' captives ta$en in 5ar' and provin-
cials that 5ere not admitted to the distinction of o-
man citi;ens (hey 5or$ed by 4corvee4 as they do
in 1rance and else5here ! but some triMing remun-
eration 5as allo5ed them
,ugustus 5as the Jrst 5ho joined the legions
5ith the people in labors upon the high5ays of the
2auls' and in #pain and ,sia 6e penetrated the
,lps by the valley 5hich bore his name' and 5hich
the iedmontese and the 1rench corruptly called the
4%alley of ,oste4 It 5as previously necessary to
bring under subjection all the savage hordes by
5hich these cantons 5ere inhabited (here is still
visible' bet5een 2reat and Little #t 3ernard'
the triumphal arch erected by the senate in honor of
him after this epedition 6e again penetrated the
,lps on another side leading to Lyons' and thence
into the 5hole of 2aul (he conuered never ef-
fected for themselves so much as 5as eNected for
them by their conuerors
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(he do5nfall of the oman &mpire 5as that of
all the public 5or$s' as also of all orderly police' art'
and industry (he great roads disappeared in the
2auls' ecept some cause5ays' 4chaussees'4 5hich
the unfortunate >ueen 3runehilde $ept for a little
time in repair , man could scarcely move on
horsebac$ 5ith safety on the ancient celebrated
5ays' 5hich 5ere no5 becoming dreadfully bro$en
up' and impeded by masses of stone and mud It
ictionary @GD
5as found necessary to pass over the cultivated
Jelds ! the ploughs scarcely eNected in a month 5hat
they no5 easily accomplish in a 5ee$ (he little
commerce that remained 5as limited to a fe5
5oollen and linen cloths' and some 5retchedly
5rought hard5ares' 5hich 5ere carried on the bac$s
of mules to the fortiJcations or prisons called 4cha-
teau4 situated in the midst of marshes' or on the
tops of mountains covered 5ith sno5
)hatever travelling 5as accomplished and it
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could be but little during the severe seasons of the
year' so long and so tedious in northern climates'
could be eNected only by 5ading through mud or
climbing over roc$s #uch 5as the state of the
5hole of 1rance and 2ermany do5n to the middle
of the seventeenth century &very individual 5ore
boots ! and in many of the cities of 2ermany the in-
habitants 5ent into the streets on stilts
,t length' under Louis I%' 5ere begun those
great roads 5hich other nations have imitated
(heir 5idth 5as limited to sity feet in the year
@DCA (hey are bordered by trees in many places
to the etent of thirty leagues from the capital'
5hich has a most interesting and delightful eNect
(he oman military 5ays 5ere only siteen feet
5ide' but 5ere inJnitely more solid It 5as neces-
sary to repair them every year' as is the practice
5ith us (hey 5ere embellished by monuments' by
military columns G and even by magniJcent tombs!
for it 5as not permitted' either in 2reece or Italy'
@GH hilosophical
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to bury the dead 5ithin the 5alls of cities' and still
less 5ithin those of temples! to do so 5ould have
been no less an oNence than sacrilege It 5as not
then as it is at present in our churches' in 5hich'
for a sum of money' ostentatious and barbarous
vanity is allo5ed to deposit the dead bodies of
5ealthy citi;ens' infecting the very place 5here men
assemble to adore their 2od in purity' and 5here
incense seems to be burned solely to counteract the
stench of carcasses ! 5hile the poorer classes are de-
posited in the adjoining cemetery! and both unite
their fatal inMuence to spread contagion among sur-
vivors
(he emperors 5ere almost the only persons
5hose ashes 5ere permitted to repose in the monu-
ments erected at ome
6igh5ays' sity feet in 5idth' occupy too much
land! it is about forty feet more than necessary
1rance measures t5o hundred leagues' or there-
abouts' from the mouth of the hone to the etrem-
ity of 3rittany' and about the same from erpig-
nan to un$ir$ ! rec$oning the league at t5o thou-
sand Jve hundred toises (his calculation reuires'
merely for t5o great roads' a hundred and t5enty
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millions of suare feet of land' all 5hich must of
course be lost to agriculture (his loss is very
considerable in a country 5here the harvests are by
no means al5ays abundant
,n attempt 5as made to pave the high road
from Orleans' 5hich 5as not of the 5idth above
ictionary @G"
mentioned! but it 5as seen' in no long time' that
nothing could be 5orse contrived for a road con-
stantly covered 5ith heavy carriages Of these he5n
paving stones laid on the ground' some 5ill be con-
stantly sin$ing' and others rising above the correct
level' and the road becomes rugged' bro$en' and im-
practicable! it 5as therefore found necessary that
the plan should be abandoned
oads covered 5ith gravel and sand reuire a re-
ne5al of labor every year ! this labor interferes 5ith
the cultivation of land' and is ruinous to agriculture
: (urgot' son of the mayor of aris 5hose
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name is never mentioned in that city but 5ith bless-
ings' and 5ho 5as one of the most enlightened' pa-
triotic' and ;ealous of magistrates and the humane
and beneJcent : de 1ontette have done all in their
po5er' in the provinces of Limousin and .ormandy'
to correct this most serious inconvenience
It has been contended that 5e should follo5 the
eample of ,ugustus and (rajan' and employ our
troops in the construction of high5ays 3ut in that
case the soldier must necessarily have an increase
of pay! and a $ingdom' 5hich 5as nothing but a
province of the oman &mpire' and 5hich is often
involved in debt' can rarely engage in such under-
ta$ings as the oman &mpire accomplished 5ithout
diculty
It is a very commendable practice in the Lo5
0ountries' to reuire the payment of a moderate toll
from all carriages' in order to $eep the public roads
@ EA hilosophical
in proper repair (he burden is a very light one
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(he peasant is relieved from the old system of ve-
ation and oppression' and the roads are in such Jne
preservation as to form even an agreeable continued
promenade
0anals are much more useful still (he 0hinese
surpass all other people in these 5or$s' 5hich re-
uire continual attention and repair Louis I%'
0olbert' and iuet' have immortali;ed themselves
by the canal 5hich joins the t5o seas (hey have
never been as yet imitated It is no dicult matter
to travel through a great part of 1rance by canals
.othing could be more easy in 2ermany than to
join the hine to the anube! but men appear to
prefer ruining one anotherKs fortunes' and cutting
each otherKs throats about a fe5 paltry villages' to
etending the grand means of human happiness
O
(6& (heurgists and ancient sages had al5ays a
rod 5ith 5hich they operated
:ercury passes for the Jrst 5hose rod 5or$ed
miracles It is asserted that =oroaster also bore a
great rod (he rod of the ancient 3acchus 5as his
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(hyrsus' 5ith 5hich he separated the 5aters of the
Orontes' the 6ydaspus' and the ed #ea (he rod
of 6ercules 5as his club ythagoras 5as al5ays
represented 5ith his rod It is said it 5as of gold !
ictionary @E@
and it is not surprising that' having a thigh of gold'
he should possess a rod of the same metal
,baris' priest of the hyperborean ,pollo' 5ho it
is pretended 5as contemporary 5ith ythagoras'
5as still more famous for his rod It 5as indeed
only of 5ood' but he traversed the air astride of it
orphyry and lamblichus pretend that these t5o
grand (heurgists' ,baris and ythagoras' amicably
ehibited their rods to each other
(he rod' 5ith sages' 5as at all times a sign of
their superiority (he sorcerers of the privy coun-
cil of haraoh at Jrst eNected as many feats 5ith
their rods as :oses 5ith his o5n (he judicious
0almet informs us' in his 4issertation on the 3oo$
of &odus'4 that 4 these operations of the :agi 5ere
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not miracles' properly spea$ing' but metamorphoses'
vi; 7 singular and dicult indeed' but nevertheless
neither contrary to nor above the la5s of nature4
(he rod of :oses had the superiority' 5hich it ought
to have' over those of the 0hotins of &gypt
.ot only did the rod of ,aron share in the honor
of the prodigies of that of his brother :oses' but he
performed some admirable things 5ith his o5n .o
one can be ignorant that' out of thirteen rods'
,aronKs alone blossomed' and bore buds and Mo5ers
of almonds
(he devil' 5ho' as is 5ell $no5n' is a 5ic$ed aper
of the deeds of saints' 5ould also have his rod or
5and' 5ith 5hich he gratiJed the sorcerers :edea
@EC hilosophical
and 0irce 5ere al5ays armed 5ith this mysterious
instrument 6ence' a magician never appears at the
opera 5ithout his rod' and on 5hich account they
call their parts' 4roles de baguette4 .o performer
5ith cups and balls can manage his hey presto T 5ith-
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out his rod or 5and
#prings of 5ater and hidden treasures are dis-
covered by means of a rod made of a ha;el t5ig'
5hich fails not to press the hand of a fool 5ho holds
it too fast' but 5hich turns about easily in that of a
$nave : 1ormey' secretary of the academy of
3erlin' eplains this phenomenon by that of the load-
stone ,ll the conjurers of past times' it 5as
thought' repaired to a sabbath or assembly on a
magic rod or on a broom-stic$! and judges' 5ho
5ere no conjurers' burned them
3irchen rods are formed of a handful of t5igs of
that tree 5ith 5hich malefactors are scourged on the
bac$ It is indecent and shameful to scourge in
this manner the posteriors of young boys and girls !
a punishment 5hich 5as formerly that of slaves
I have seen' in some colleges' barbarians 5ho have
stripped children almost na$ed! a $ind of eecu-
tioner' often intoicated' lacerate them 5ith long
rods' 5hich freuently covered them 5ith blood'
and produced etreme inMammation Others struc$
them more gently' 5hich from natural causes has
been $no5n to produce conseuences' especially in
females' scarcely less disgusting
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3y an incomprehensible species of police' the
ictionary @ EF
8esuits of araguay 5hipped the fathers and
mothers of families on their posteriors 6ad there
been no other motive for driving out the 8esuits' that
5ould have suced
O:& U0O9( O1V
3&1O& the time of 0onstantine' the bishop of
ome 5as considered by the oman magistrates'
5ho 5ere unacuainted 5ith our holy religion' only
as the chief of a sect' freuently tolerated by the
government' but freuently eperiencing from it
capital punishment (he names of the Jrst disci-
ples' 5ho 5ere by birth 8e5s' and of their succes-
sors' 5ho governed the little Moc$ concealed in the
immense city of ome' 5ere absolutely un$no5n by
all the Latin 5riters )e 5ell $no5 that everything
5as changed' and in 5hat manner everything 5as
changed under 0onstantine
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(he bishop of ome' protected and enriched as
he 5as' 5as al5ays in subjection to the emperors'
li$e the bishop of 0onstantinople' and of .icomedia'
and every other' not ma$ing even the slightest pre-
tension to the shado5 of sovereign authority 1a-
tality' 5hich guides the aNairs of the universe'
Jnally established the po5er of the ecclesiastical
oman court' by the hands of the barbarians 5ho
destroyed the empire
(he ancient religion' under 5hich the omans
had been victorious for such a series of ages' eisted
still in the hearts of the population' not5ithstanding
@ EG hilosophical
all the eNorts of persecution' 5hen' in the four hun-
dred and eighth year of our era' ,laric invaded
Italy and beseiged ome ope Innocent I indeed
did not thin$ proper to forbid the inhabitants of that
city sacriJcing to the gods in the capitol' and in the
other temples' in order to obtain the assistance of
heaven against the 2oths 3ut this same ope
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Innocent' if 5e may credit =osimus and Orosius'
5as one of the deputation sent to treat 5ith ,laric'
a circumstance 5hich sho5s that the pope 5as at
that time regarded as a person of considerable
conseuence
)hen ,ttila came to ravage Italy in GEC' by
the same right 5hich the omans themselves had
eercised over so many and such po5erful nations !
by the right of 0lovis' of the 2oths' of the %andals'
and the 6eruli' the emperor sent ope Leo I' as-
sisted by t5o personages of consular dignity' to ne-
gotiate 5ith that conueror I have no doubt' that
agreeably to 5hat 5e are positively told' #t Leo
5as accompanied by an angel' armed 5ith a Maming
s5ord' 5hich made the $ing of the 6uns tremble'
although he had no faith in angels' and a single
s5ord 5as not eceedingly li$ely to inspire him 5ith
fear (his miracle is very Jnely painted in the
%atican' and nothing can be clearer than that it never
5ould have been painted unless it had actually been
true )hat particularly vees and perplees me
is this angelKs suNering ,uileia' and the 5hole of
Illyria' to be sac$ed and ravaged' and also his not
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ictionary @EE
preventing 2enseric' at a later period' from giving up
ome to his soldiers for fourteen days of plunder
It 5as evidently not the angel of etermination
9nder the earchs' the credit and inMuence of the
popes augmented' but even then they had not the
smallest degree of civil po5er (he oman bishop'
elected by the people' craved protection for the
bishop' of the earch of avenna' 5ho had the
po5er of conJrming or of cancelling the election
,fter the earchate 5as destroyed by the Lom-
bards' the Lombard $ings 5ere desirous of becom-
ing masters also of the city of ome ! nothing could
certainly be more natural
epin' the usurper of 1rance' 5ould not suNer
the Lombards to usurp that capital' and so become
too po5erful against himself ! nothing again can be
more natural than this
It is pretended that epin and his son 0harle-
magne gave to the oman bishops many lands of the
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earchate' 5hich 5as designated the 8ustices of #t
eter 4les 8ustices de #t ierre4 #uch is the
real origin of their temporal po5er 1rom this pe-
riod' these bishops appear to have assiduously e-
erted themselves to obtain something of rather
more consideration and of more conseuence than
these justices
)e are in possession of a letter from ope ,rian
I to 0harlemagne' in 5hich he says' 4(he pious
liberality of the emperor 0onstantine the 2reat' of
sacred memory' raised and ealted' in the time of the
@EB hilosophical
blessed oman ontiN' #ylvester' the holy oman
0hurch' and conferred upon it his o5n po5er in this
portion of Italy4
1rom this time' 5e perceive' it 5as attempted to
ma$e the 5orld believe in 5hat is called the ona-
tion of 0onstantine' 5hich 5as' in the seuel' for a
period of Jve hundred years' not merely regarded
as an article of faith' but an incontestable truth
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(o entertain doubts on the subject of this donation
included at once the crime of treason and the guilt
of mortal sin
,fter the death of 0harlemagne' the bishop aug-
mented his authority in ome from day to day ! but
centuries passed a5ay before he came to be consid-
ered as a sovereign prince ome had for a long
period a patrician municipal government
ope 8ohn II' 5hom Otho L' emperor of 2er-
many' procured to be deposed in a sort of council'
in "BF' as simoniacal' incestuous' sodomitical' an
atheist' in league 5ith the devil' 5as the Jrst man
in Italy as patrician and consul' before he became
bishop of ome! and not5ithstanding all these
titles and claims' not5ithstanding the inMuence of
the celebrated :arosia' his mother' his authority
5as al5ays uestioned and contested
2regory %II' 5ho from the ran$ of a mon$
became pope' and pretended to depose $ings and
besto5 empires' far from being in fact complete mas-
ter of ome' died under the protection' or rather as
the prisoner of those .orman princes 5ho con-
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ictionary @ ED
uered the t5o #icilies' of 5hich he considered him-
self the paramount lord
In the grand schism of the )est' the popes 5ho
contended for the empire of the 5orld freuently
supported themselves on alms
It is a fact not a little etraordinary that the
popes did not become rich till after the period 5hen
they dared not to ehibit themselves at ome
,ccording to %illani' 3ertrand de 2oth' 0lement
% of 3ordeau' 5ho passed his life in 1rance' sold
beneJces publicly' and at his death left behind him
vast treasures
(he same %illani asserts that he died 5orth t5en-
ty-Jve millions of gold Morins #t eterKs patri-
mony could not certainly have brought him such a
sum
In a 5ord' do5n to the time of Innocent %III'
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5ho made himself master of the castle of #t ,n-
gelo' the popes never possessed in ome actual sov-
ereignty
(heir spiritual authority 5as undoubtedly the
foundation of their temporal ! but had they conJned
themselves to imitating the conduct of #t eter'
5hose place it 5as pretended they Jlled' they 5ould
never have obtained any other $ingdom than that of
heaven (heir policy al5ays contrived to prevent
the emperors from establishing themselves at ome'
not5ithstanding the Jne and Mattering title of 4$ing
of the omans4 (he 2uelph faction al5ays pre-
vailed in Italy over the 2hibelline (he omans
@EH hilosophical
5ere more disposed to obey an Italian priest than a
2erman $ing
In the civil 5ars' 5hich the uarrel bet5een the
empire and the priesthood ecited and $ept alive
for a period of Jve hundred years' many lords ob-
tained sovereignties' sometimes in uality of vicars
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of the empire' and sometimes in that of vicars of the
6oly #ee #uch 5ere the princes of &ste at 1er-
rara' the 3entivoglios at 3ologna' the :alatestas at
imini' the :anfredis at 1aen;a' the 3agliones at
erouse' the 9rsins in ,nguillara and in #erveti'
the 0ollonas in Ostia' the iarios at 1orli' the :on-
tefeltros in 9rbino' the %aranos in 0amerino' and
the 2ravinas in #enigaglia
,ll these lords had as much right to the terri-
tories they possessed as the popes had to the patri-
mony of #t eter! both 5ere founded upon do-
nations
It is $no5n in 5hat manner ope ,leander %I
made use of his bastard to invade and ta$e posses-
sion of all these principalities +ing Louis II
obtained from that pope the cancelling of his mar-
riage' after a cohabitation of eighteen years' on con-
dition of his assisting the usurper
(he assassinations committed by 0lovis to gain
possession of the territories of the petty $ings 5ho
5ere his neighbors' bear no comparison to the hor-
rors ehibited on this occasion by ,leander and his
son
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(he history of .ero himself is less abominable !
ictionary @E"
the atrocity of 5hose crimes 5as not increased by
the pretet of religion! and it is 5orth observing'
that at the very time these diabolical ecesses 5ere
performed' the $ings of #pain and ortugal 5ere
suing to that pope' one of them for ,merica' and the
other for ,sia' 5hich the monster accordingly
granted them in the name of that 2od he pretended
to represent It is also 5orth observing that not
fe5er than a hundred thousand pilgrims Moc$ed to
his jubilee and prostrated themselves in adoration of
his person
8ulius II completed 5hat ,leander had begun
Louis II' born to become the dupe of all his neigh-
bors' assisted 8ulius in sei;ing upon 3ologna and
erouse (hat unfortunate monarch' in return for
his services' 5as driven out of Italy' and ecom-
municated by the very pope 5hom the archbishop of
,uch' the $ingKs ambassador at ome' addressed
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5ith the 5ords 4your 5ic$edness'4 instead of 4your
holiness4
(o complete his mortiJcation' ,nne of 3rittany'
his 5ife' a 5oman as devout as she 5as imperious'
told him in plain terms' that he 5ould be damned
for going to 5ar 5ith the pope
If Leo and 0lement %II lost so many states
5hich 5ithdre5 from the papal communion' their
po5er continued no less absolute than before over
the provinces 5hich still adhered to the 0atholic
faith (he court of ome ecommunicated the em-
@BA hilosophical
peror 6enry III' and declared 6enry I% un5orthy
to reign
It still dra5s large sums from all the 0atholic
states of 2ermany' from 6ungary' oland' #pain'
and 1rance Its ambassadors ta$e precedence of all
others ! it is no longer suciently po5erful to carry
on 5ar! and its 5ea$ness is in fact its happiness
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(he ecclesiastical state is the only one that has
regularly enjoyed the advantages of peace since the
sac$ing of ome by the troops of 0harles % It ap-
pears' that the popes have been often treated li$e
the gods of the 8apanese' 5ho are sometimes pre-
sented 5ith oNerings of gold' and sometimes thro5n
into the river
#,:O(6,0&
)6&(6& the celebrated isle of #amothrace be
at the mouth of the river 6ebrus' as it is said to be
in almost all the geographical dictionaries' or
5hether it be t5enty miles distant from it' 5hich is
in fact the case' is not 5hat I am no5 investigating
(his isle 5as for a long time the most famous in
the 5hole archipelago' and even in the 5hole 5orld
Its deities called 0abiri' its hierophants' and its mys-
teries' conferred upon it as much reputation as 5as
obtained not long since by #t atric$Ks cave in Ire-
land
(his #amothrace' the modern name of 5hich is
#amandrachi' is a roc$ covered 5ith a very thin and
barren soil' and inhabited by poor Jshermen (hey
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ictionary @B@
5ould be etremely surprised at being told of the
glory 5hich 5as formerly connected 5ith their isl-
and! and they 5ould probably as$' )hat is glory?
I inuire' 5hat 5ere these hierophants' these
holy free masons' 5ho celebrated their ancient mys-
teries in #amothrace' and 5hence did they and their
gods 0abiri come ?
It is not probable that these poor people came
from hoenicia' as 3ochart infers by a long train of
6ebre5 etymologies' and as the ,bbe 3arrier' after
him' is of opinion also It is not in this manner that
gods gain establishments in the 5orld (hey are
li$e conuerors 5ho subjugate nations' not all at
once' but one after another (he distance from
hoenicia to this 5retched island is too great to ad-
mit of the supposition that the gods of the 5ealthy
#idon and the proud (yre should come to coop
themselves up in this hermitage 6ierophants are
not such fools
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(he fact is' that there 5ere gods of the 0abiri'
priests of the 0abiri' and mysteries of the 0abiri' in
this contemptible and miserable island .ot only
does 6erodotus mention them' but the hoenician
historian #anchoniathon' 5ho lived long before
6erodotus' spea$s of them in those fragments 5hich
have been so fortunately preserved by &usebius
)hat is 5orse still' this #anchoniathon' 5ho cer-
tainly lived before the period in 5hich :oses Mour-
ished' cites the great (haut' the Jrst 6ermes' the
Jrst :ercury of &gypt ! and this same great (haut
%ol @F ii
@ BC hilosophical
lived eight hundred years before #anchoniathon' as
that hoenician ac$no5ledges himself
(he 0abiri 5ere therefore in estimation and
honor t5o thousand and three or four hundred years
before the 0hristian era
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.o5' if you are desirous of $no5ing 5hence
those gods of the 0abiri' established in #amothrace'
came' does it not seem probable that they came from
(hrace' the country nearest to that island' and that
that small island 5as granted them as a theatre on
5hich to act their farces' and pic$ up a little money ?
Orpheus might very possibly be the prime minstrel
of these gods
3ut 5ho 5ere these gods? (hey 5ere 5hat all
the gods of antiuity 5ere' phantoms invented by
coarse and vulgar $naves' sculptured by artisans
coarser still' and adored by brutes having the name
of men
(here 5ere three sorts of 0abiri ! for' as 5e have
already observed' everything in antiuity 5as done
by threes Orpheus could not have made his ap-
pearance in the 5orld until long after the invention
of these three gods ! for he admits only one in his
mysteries I am much disposed to consider Or-
pheus as having been a strict #ocinian
I regard the ancient gods 0abiri as having been
the Jrst gods of (hrace' 5hatever 2ree$ names may
have been after5ards given to them
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(here is something' ho5ever' still more curious'
respecting the history of #amothrace )e $no5
ictionary @ BF
that 2reece and (hrace 5ere formerly aSicted by
many inundations )e have read of the deluges of
eucaleon and Ogyges (he isle of #amothrace
boasted of a yet more ancient deluge ! and its deluge
corresponds' in point of time' 5ith the period in
5hich it is contended that the ancient $ing of
(hrace' iuter' lived' 5hom 5e have spo$en of
under the article on 4,rarat4
<ou may probably recollect that the gods of
iuter' or issuter' 5ho 5ere in all probability
the 0abiri' commanded him to build a vessel about
thirty thousand feet long' and a hundred and t5elve
5ide! that this vessel sailed for a long time over
the mountains of ,rmenia during the deluge ! that'
having ta$en on board 5ith him some pigeons and
many other domestic animals' he let loose his pigeons
to ascertain 5hether the 5aters had 5ithdra5n!
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and that they returned covered 5ith dirt and slime'
5hich induced iuter to resolve on disembar$ing
from his immense vessel
<ou 5ill say that it is a most etraordinary cir-
cumstance that #anchoniathon does not ma$e any
mention of this curious adventure I reply' that it
is impossible for us to decide 5hether it 5as men-
tioned in his history or not' as &usebius' 5ho has
only transmitted to us some fragments of this very
ancient historian' had no particular inducement to
uote any passage that might have eisted in his
5or$ respecting the ship and pigeons 3erosus'
ho5ever' relates the case' and he connects it 5ith the
@ BG hilosophical
marvellous' according to the general practice of the
ancients (he inhabitants of #amothrace had erected
monuments of this deluge
)hat is more etraordinary and astonishing still
is' as indeed 5e have already partly remar$ed' that
neither 2reece nor (hrace' nor the people of any
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other country' ever $ne5 anything of the real and
great deluge' the deluge of .oah
6o5 could it be possible' 5e once more as$' that
an event so a5ful and appalling as that of the sub-
mersion of the 5hole earth should be un$no5n by
the survivors? 6o5 could the name of our com-
mon father' .oah' 5ho re-peopled the 5orld' be un-
$no5n to all those 5ho 5ere indebted to him for
life ? It is the most prodigious of all progidies' that'
of so many grandchildren' not one should have ever
spo$en of his grandfatherT
I have applied to all the learned men that I have
seen' and said' 6ave you ever met 5ith any old
5or$ in 2ree$' (uscan' ,rabian' &gyptian' 0hal-
dsean' Indian' ersian' or 0hinese' in 5hich the
name of .oah is to be found ? (hey have all replied
in the negative (his is a fact that perpetually per-
plees and confounds me
3ut that the history of this universal inundation
should be found in a single page of a boo$ 5ritten
in the 5ilderness by fugitives' and that this page
should have been un$no5n to all the rest of the
5orld till about nine hundred years after the foun-
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dation of ome this perfectly petriJes me I can-
ictionary @BE
not recover from its impression (he eNect is com-
pletely overpo5ering :y 5orthy reader' let us
both together eclaim7 4O altitude ignorantiarumT4
#,:#O.
I. >9,LI(< of poor alphabetical compilers' col-
lectors of anecdotes' gatherers of triMes' pic$ers of
rags at the corners of the streets' 5e glorify our-
selves 5ith all the pride attached to our sublime
science' on having discovered that 4#amson the
#trong'4 a tragedy' 5as played at the close of the
siteenth century' in the to5n of ouen' and that
it 5as printed by ,braham 0outurier 8ohn :ilton'
for a long time a schoolmaster of London' after-
5ards Latin secretary to the protector' 0rom5ell
:ilton' the author of 4aradise Lost4 and 4ara-
dise egained4 5rote the tragedy of 4#amson
,gonistes4 ! and it is very unfortunate that 5e can-
not tell in 5hat year
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)e $no5' ho5ever' that it has been printed 5ith
a preface' in 5hich much is boasted' by one of our
brethren' the commentator named araeus' 5ho Jrst
perceived by the force of his genius' that the ,poc-
alypse is a tragedy On the strength of this dis-
covery he divided the ,pocalypse into Jve acts'
and inserted choruses 5orthy of the elegance and
Jne nature of the piece (he author of this preface
spea$s to us of the Jne tragedies of #t 2regory of
.a;ian;en 6e asserts' that a tragedy should
never have more than Jve acts' and to prove it' he
@ BB hilosophical
gives us the 4#amson ,gonistes4 of :ilton' 5hich
has but one (hose 5ho li$e elaborate declamation
5ill be satisJed 5ith this piece
, comedy of #amson 5as played for a long time
in Italy , translation of it 5as made in aris in
@D@D' by one named omagnesi! it 5as represented
on the 1rench theatre of the pretended Italian com-
edy' formerly the palace of the du$es of 3urgundy
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It 5as published' and dedicated to the du$e of Or-
leans' regent of 1rance
In this sublime piece' ,rleuin' the servant of
#amson' Jghts 5ith a tur$ey-coc$' 5hilst his master
carries oN the gates of 2a;a on his shoulders
In @DFC' it 5as 5ished to represent' at the opera
of aris' a tragedy of #amson' set to music by the
celebrated ameau ! but it 5as not permitted (here
5as neither ,rleuin nor tur$ey-coc$ ! but the thing
appeared too serious ! besides' certain people 5ere
very glad to mortify ameau' 5ho possessed great
talents <et at that time they performed the opera
of 48ephthah'4 etracted from the Old (estament'
and the comedy of the 4rodigal #on'4 from the
.e5 (estament
(here is an old edition of the 4#amson ,go-
nistes4 of :ilton' preceded by an abridgment of
the history of the hero (he follo5ing is this
abridgment 7
(he 8e5s' to 5hom 2od promised by oath all the
country 5hich is bet5een the river of &gypt and
the &uphrates' and 5ho through their sins never
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ictionary @BD
had this country' 5ere on the contrary reduced to
servitude' 5hich slavery lasted for forty years .o5
there 5as a 8e5 of the tribe of an' named :anoah !
and the 5ife of this :anoah 5as barren! and an
angel appeared to this 5oman' and said to her' 43e-
hold' thou shalt conceive and bear a son ! and no5
drin$ no 5ine nor strong drin$' neither eat any un-
clean thing! for the child shall be a .a;arite to
2od' from the 5omb to the day of his death4
(he angel after5ards appeared to the husband
and 5ife! they gave him a $id to eat! he 5ould
have none of it' and disappeared in the midst of the
smo$e! and the 5oman said' )e shall surely die'
because 5e have seen 2od ! but they died not
(he slave #amson being born' 5as consecrated a
.a;arite ,s soon as he 5as gro5n up' the Jrst
thing he did 5as to go to the hoenician or hilistine
to5n of (imnath' to court a daughter of one of his
masters' 5hom he married
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In going to his mistress he met a lion' and tore
him in pieces 5ith his na$ed hand' as he 5ould
have done a $id #ome days after' he found a
s5arm of bees in the throat of the dead lion' 5ith
some honey' though bees never rest on carrion
(hen he proposed this enigma to his companions 7
Out of the eater came forth meat' and out of the
strong came forth s5eetness7 if you guess' I 5ill
give you thirty tunics and thirty go5ns ! if not' you
shall give me thirty go5ns and thirty tunics (he
comrades' not being able to guess in 5hat the solu-
@ BH hilosophical
tion of the enigma consisted' gained over the young
5ife of #amson ! she dre5 the secret from her hus-
band' and he 5as obliged to give them thirty tunics
and thirty go5ns 4,h'4 said he to them' 4if ye
had not ploughed 5ith my heifer' ye 5ould not
have found out my riddle4
#oon after' the father-in-la5 of #amson gave an-
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other husband to his daughter
#amson' enraged at having lost his 5ife' imme-
diately caught three hundred foes' tied them t5o
together by the tails 5ith lighted Jrebrands' and
they Jred the corn of the hilistines
(he 8e5ish slaves' not being 5illing to be pun-
ished by their masters for the eploits of #amson'
surprised him in the cavern in 5hich he d5elt' tied
him 5ith great ropes' and delivered him to the hil-
istines ,s soon as he 5as in the midst of them' he
bro$e his cords' and Jnding the ja5bone of an ass'
5ith one eNort he $illed a thousand hilistines
#uch an eNort ma$ing him very 5arm' he 5as dying
of thirst' on 5hich 2od made a fountain spout
from one of the teeth of the assKs ja5-bone #am-
son' having drun$' 5ent into 2a;a' a hilistine
to5n! he there immediately became smitten 5ith a
courtesan ,s he slept 5ith her' the hilistines shut
the gates of the to5n' and surrounded the house'
5hen he arose' too$ the gates' and carried them
a5ay (he hilistines' in despair at not being able
to overcome this hero' addressed themselves to an-
other courtesan named elilah' 5ith 5hom he after-
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ictionary @B"
5ards slept #he Jnally dre5 from him the secret
in 5hich his strength consisted 7 it 5as only neces-
sary to shave him' to render him eual to other men
6e 5as shaved' became 5ea$' and his eyes being put
out' he 5as made to turn a mill and to play on the
violin One day' 5hile playing in a hilistine
temple' bet5een t5o of its columns' he became in-
dignant that the hilistines should have columned
temples' 5hilst the 8e5s had only a tabernacle sup-
ported on four poles 6e also felt that his hair be-
gan to gro5! and being transported 5ith a holy
;eal' he pulled do5n the t5o pillars ! by 5hich con-
cussion the temple 5as overthro5n' the hilistines
5ere crushed to death' and he 5ith them
#uch is this preface' 5ord for 5ord
(his is the history 5hich is the subject of the
piece of :ilton' and omagnesi7 it is adapted to
Italian farce
#,(9.K# I.2
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(6I# astonishing phenomenon' but not more as-
tonishing than others' this solid and luminous body'
5hich surrounds the planet #aturn' 5hich it en-
lightens' and by 5hich it is enlightened' 5hether by
the feeble reMection of the sunKs rays' or by some
un$no5n cause' 5as' according to a dreamer 5ho
calls himself a philosopher' formerly a sea (his
sea' according to him' has hardened and become
earth or roc$! once it gravitated to5ards t5o
@DA hilosophical
centres' 5hereas at present it gravitates only to-
5ards one
6o5 pleasantly you proceed' my ingenious
dreamer T ho5 easily you transform 5ater into roc$ T
Ovid 5as nothing in the comparison )hat a mar-
vellous po5er you eercise over nature! imagina-
tion by no means confounds you Oh' greediness to
utter novelties T Oh' fury for systems T Oh' 5ea$-
ness of the human mind T If anyone has spo$en of
this reverie in the 4&ncyclopaedia'4 it is doubtless to
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ridicule it' 5ithout 5hich other nations 5ould have
a right to say 7 3ehold the use 5hich the 1rench
ma$e of the discovery of other people T 6uyghens
discovered the ring of #aturn' and calculated its ap-
pearances! 6oo$ and 1lamstead have done the
same thing , 1renchman has discovered that this
solid body 5as even a circular ocean' and this
1renchman is not 0yrano de 3ergerac T
#0,.,L
)I(6O9( inuiring 5hether scandal originally
meant a stone 5hich might occasion people to
stumble and fall' or a uarrel' or a seduction' 5e
consider it here merely in its present sense and ac-
ceptation , scandal is a serious indecorum 5hich
is used generally in reference to the clergy (he
tales of 1ontaine are libertine or licentious! many
passages of #anche;' of (ambourin' and of :olina
are scandalous
, man is scandalous by his 5ritings or by his
ictionary @D@
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conduct (he siege 5hich the ,ugustins main-
tained against the patrol' at the time of the 1ronde'
5as scandalous (he ban$ruptcy of the brother La
%alette' of the #ociety of 8esuits' 5as more than
scandalous (he la5suit carried on by the reverend
fathers of the order of the 0apuchins of aris' in
@DBG' 5as a most satisfactory and delightful scan-
dal to thousands 1or the ediJcation of the reader'
a 5ord or t5o upon that subject in this place 5ill
not be ill employed
(hese reverend fathers had been Jghting in their
convent ! some of them had hidden their money' and
others had stolen the concealed treasure 9p to this
point the scandal 5as only particular' a stone
against 5hich only 0apuchins could trip and
tumble ! but 5hen the aNair 5as brought before the
parliament' the scandal became public
It is stated in the pleadings in the cause' that the
convent of the #t 6onore consumes t5elve hun-
dred pounds of bread a 5ee$' and meat and 5ood in
proportion ! and that there are four collecting friars'
4ueteurs4 5hose oce it is' conformably to the
term' to raise contributions in the city )hat a
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frightful' dreadful scandal T (5elve hundred pounds
of meat and bread per 5ee$ for a fe5 0apuchins'
5hile so many artisans over5helmed 5ith old age'
and so many respectable 5ido5s' are eposed to
languish in 5ant' and die in miseryT
(hat the reverend father orotheus should have
accumulated an income of three thousand livres a
@DC hilosophical
year at the epense of the convent' and conseuently
of the public' is not only an enormous scandal' but
an absolute robbery' and a robbery committed upon
the most needy class of citi;ens in aris ! for the
poor are the persons 5ho pay the ta imposed by
the mendicant mon$s (he ignorance and 5ea$ness
of the people ma$e them imagine that they can never
obtain heaven 5ithout parting 5ith their absolute
necessaries' from 5hich these mon$s derive their
superMuities
(his single brother' therefore' the chief of the
convent' orotheus' to ma$e up his income of a
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thousand cro5ns a year' must have etorted from
the poor of aris' no less a sum than t5enty thou-
sand cro5ns
0onsider' my good reader' that such cases are by
no means rare' even in this eighteenth century of
our era' 5hich has produced useful boo$s to epose
abuses and enlighten minds! but' as I have before
observed' the people never read , single 0apu-
chin' ecollet' or 0armelite is capable of doing more
harm than the best boo$s in the 5orld 5ill ever be
able to do good
I 5ould venture to propose to those 5ho are
really humane and 5ell-disposed' to employ through-
out the capital a certain number of anti-0apuchins
and anti-ecollets' to go about from house to house
ehorting fathers and mothers to virtue' and to $eep
their money for the maintenance of their families'
and the support of their old age ! to love 2od 5ith
ictionary @DF
all their hearts' but to give none of their money to
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mon$s Let us return' ho5ever' to the real mean-
ing of the 5ord 4scandal4
In the above-mentioned process on the subject of
the 0apuchin convent' 3rother 2regory is accused
of being the father of a child by :ademoiselle 3ras-
defer' and of having her after5ards married to
:outard' the shoe-ma$er It is not stated 5hether
3rother 2regory himself besto5ed the nuptial bene-
diction on his mistress and poor :outard' together
5ith the reuired dispensation If he did so' the
scandal is rendered as complete as possible! it in-
cludes fornication' robbery' adultery' and sacrilege
46orresco referens4
I say in the Jrst place 4fornication'4 as 3rother
2regory committed that oNence 5ith :agdalene
3ras-defer' 5ho 5as not at the time more than Jf-
teen years of age
I also say 4robbery'4 as he gave an apron and
ribbons to :agdalene ! and it is clear he must have
robbed the convent in order to purchase them' and
to pay for suppers' lodgings' and other epenses at-
tending their intercourse
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I say 4adultery'4 as this depraved man continued
his connection 5ith :agdalene after she became
:adame :outard
,nd I say 4sacrilege'4 as he 5as the confessor of
:agdalene ,nd' if he himself performed the mar-
riage ceremony for his mistress' judge 5hat sort of
man 3rother 2regory must really have been
@DG hilosophical
One of our colleagues in this little collection of
philosophic and encyclopaedic uestions is no5 en-
gaged on a moral 5or$' on the subject of scandal'
against the opinion of 3rother atouillet )e hope
it 5ill not be long before it sees the light
#06I#:
,LL that 5e had 5ritten on the subject of the
grand schism bet5een the 2ree$s and Latins' in the
essay on the manners and spirit of nations' has been
inserted in the great encyclopaedic dictionary )e
5ill not here repeat ourselves
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losophy alone can eNect a cure
(he oles are no5 the only people among 5hom
this contagion at present rages )e may almost be-
lieve that the disorder is born 5ith them' li$e their
frightful plica (hey are both diseases of the head'
and of a most noious character 0leanliness 5ill
cure the plica! 5isdom alone can etirpate schism
)e are told that both these diseases 5ere un-
$no5n to the #amartians 5hile they 5ere agans
(he plica aNects only the common people at present'
but all the evils originating in schism are corroding
and destroying the higher classes of the republic
(he cause of the evil is the fertility of their land'
5hich produces too much corn It is a melancholy
and deplorable case that even the blessing of heaven
should in fact have involved them in such direful
calamity #ome of the provinces have contended
that it 5as absolutely necessary to put leaven in
their bread' but the greater part of the nation enter-
tain an obstinate and unalterable belief' that' on cer-
tain days of the year' fermented bread is absolutely
mortal
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#uch is one of the principal causes of the schism
or the rending asunder of oland ! the dispute has
infused acrimony into their blood Other causes
have added to the eNect
#ome have imagined' in the paroysms and con-
vulsions of the malady under 5hich they labor' that
ijB hilosophical
the 6oly #pirit proceeded both from the 1ather and
the #on 7 and the others have eclaimed' that it pro-
ceeded from the 1ather only (he t5o parties' one
of 5hich is called the oman party' and the other
the issident' loo$ upon each other as if they 5ere
absolutely infected by the plague ! but' by a singu-
lar symptom peculiar to this complaint' the infected
issidents have al5ays sho5n an inclination to ap-
proach the 0atholics' 5hile the 0atholics on the
other hand have never manifested any to approach
them
(here is no disease 5hich does not vary in dif-
ferent circumstances and situations (he diet'
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5hich is generally esteemed salutary' has been so
pernicious to this unhappy nation' that after the ap-
plication of it in @DBH' the cities of 9man' =ablotin'
(etiou' =ilian$i' and =afran 5ere destroyed and in-
undated 5ith blood! and more than t5o hundred
thousand patients miserably perished
On one side the empire of ussia' and on the
other that of (ur$ey' have sent a hundred thousand
surgeons provided 5ith lancets' bistouries' and all
sorts of instruments' adapted to cut oN the morbid
and gangrened parts! but the disease has only be-
come more virulent (he delirium has even been so
outrageous' that forty of the patients actually met
together for the purpose of dissecting their $ing'
5ho had never been attac$ed by the disease' and
5hose brain and all the vital and noble parts of his
body 5ere in a perfectly sound state' as 5e shall
ictionary @DD
have to remar$ under the article on 4#uperstition4
It is thought that if the contending parties 5ould
refer the case entirely to him' he might eNect a cure
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of the 5hole nation ! but it is one of the symptoms
of this cruel malady to be afraid of being cured' as
persons laboring under hydrophobia dread even the
sight of 5ater
(here are some learned men among us 5ho con-
tend that the disease 5as brought' a long time ago'
from alestine' and that the inhabitants of 8erusa-
lem and #amaria 5ere long harassed by it Others
thin$ that the original seat of the disease 5as &gypt'
and that the dogs and cats' 5hich 5ere there held in
the highest consideration' having become mad' com-
municated the madness of schism' or tearing asun-
der' to the greater part of the &gyptians' 5hose
5ea$ heads 5ere but too susceptible to the disorder
It is remar$ed also' that the 2ree$s 5ho travelled
to &gypt' as' for eample' (imeus of Locris and
lato' some5hat injured their brains by the ecur-
sion 6o5ever' the injury by no means reached
madness' or plague' properly so called! it 5as a
sort of delirium 5hich 5as not at all times easily to
be perceived' and 5hich 5as often concealed under
a very plausible appearance of reason 3ut the
2ree$s having' in the course of time' carried the
complaint among the 5estern and northern nations'
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the malformation or unfortunate ecitability of the
brain in our unhappy countries occasioned the slight
fever of (imeus and lato to brea$ out among us
%ol @F @C
@DH hilosophical
into the most frightful and fatal contagion' 5hich
the physicians sometimes called intolerance' and
sometimes persecution! sometimes religious 5ar'
sometimes madness' and sometimes pestilence
)e have seen the fatal ravages committed by this
infernal plague over the face of the earth :any
physicians have oNered their services to destroy this
frightful evil at its very root 3ut 5hat 5ill appear
to many scarcely credible is' that there are entire
faculties of medicine' at #alamanca and 0oimbra' in
Italy and even in aris' 5hich maintain that schism'
division' or tearing asunder' is necessary for man-
$ind ! that corrupt humors are dra5n oN from them
through the 5ounds 5hich it occasions ! that enthu-
siasm' 5hich is one of the Jrst symptoms of the
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complaint' ealts the soul' and produces the most
beneJcial conseuences ! that toleration is attended
5ith innumerable inconveniences ! that if the 5hole
5orld 5ere tolerant' great geniuses 5ould 5ant that
po5erful and irresistible impulse 5hich has pro-
duced so many admirable 5or$s in theology! that
peace is a great calamity to a state' because it brings
bac$ the pleasures in its train ! and pleasures' after
a course of time' soften do5n that noble ferocity
5hich forms the hero! and that if the 2ree$s had
made a treaty of commerce 5ith the (rojans' in-
stead of ma$ing 5ar 5ith them' there 5ould never
have been an ,chilles' a 6ector' or a 6omer' and
that the race of man 5ould have stagnated in ignor-
ance
ictionary @D"
(hese reasons' I ac$no5ledge' are not 5ithout
force ! and I reuest time for giving them due con-
sideration
#0O19L,
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I( 6,# been pretended that divine po5er is ap-
pealed to in regard to this malady' because it is
scarcely in human po5er to cure it
ossibly some mon$s began by supposing that
$ings' in their character of representatives of the
divinity' possessed the privilege of curing scrofula'
by touching the patients 5ith their anointed hands
3ut 5hy not besto5 a similar po5er on emperors'
5hose dignity surpasses that of $ings' or on popes'
5ho call themselves the masters of emperors' and
5ho are more than simple images of 2od' being 6is
vicars on earth? It is possible' that some imagin-
ary dreamer of .ormandy' in order to render the
usurpation of )illiam the 3astard the more re-
spectable' conceded to him' in uality of 2odKs rep-
resentative' the faculty of curing scrofula by the tip
of his ringer
It 5as some time after )illiam that this usage
became established )e must not gratify the $ings
of &ngland 5ith this gift' and refuse it to those of
1rance' their liege lords (his 5ould be in deJance
of the respect due to the feudal system In short'
this po5er is traced up to &d5ard the 0onfessor in
&ngland' and to 0lovis in 1rance
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(he only testimony' in the least degree credible'
@ HA hilosophical
of the antiuity of this usage' is to be found in the
5ritings in favor of the house of Lancaster' com-
posed by the judge' #ir 8ohn 1ortescue' under
6enry %I' 5ho 5as recogni;ed $ing of 1rance at
aris in his cradle' and then $ing of &ngland' but
5ho lost both $ingdoms #ir 8ohn 1ortescue as-
serts' that from time immemorial' the $ings of &ng-
land 5ere in possession of the po5er of curing scrof-
ula by their touch )e cannot perceive' ho5ever'
that this pretension rendered their persons more
sacred in the 5ars bet5een the roses
>ueens consort could not cure scrofula' because
they 5ere not anointed in the hands' li$e the $ings 7
but &li;abeth' a ueen regnant and anointed' cured
it 5ithout diculty
, sad thing happened to :ortorillo the 0ala-
brian' 5hom 5e denominate #t 1rancis de aulo
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+ing Louis I brought him to lessis les (ours to
cure him of his tendency to apopley' and the saint
arrived aSicted by scrofula
4Ipse fuit detentus gravi' inMatura' uam in parte
inferiori' genes sua detrae circa guttur patiebatur
0hirugii dicebant' mortum esse scrofarum4
(he saint cured not the $ing' and the $ing cured
not the saint
)hen the $ing of &ngland' 8ames II' 5as con-
ducted from ochester to )hitehall' somebody pro-
posed that he should ehibit a proof of genuine roy-
alty' as for instance' that of touching for the evil !
but no one 5as presented to him 6e departed to
ictionary @ H @
eercise his sovereignty in 1rance at #t 2ermain'
5here he touched some 6ibernians 6is daughter
:ary' +ing )illiam' >ueen ,nne' and the $ings of
the house of 3runs5ic$ have cured nobody (his
sacred gift departed 5hen people began to reason
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#&0(
#&0(IO. I
&%&< sect' of 5hatever opinion it may be' is a
rallying point for doubt and error #cotists' (hom-
ists' ealists' .ominalists' apists' 0alvinists' :ol-
inists' and 8ansenists' are only 5arli$e appellations
(here is no sect in geometry ! 5e never say 7 ,
&uclidian' an ,rchimedian )hen truth is evident'
it is impossible to divide people into parties and fac-
tions .obody disputes that it is broad day at noon
(hat part of astronomy 5hich determines the
course of the stars' and the return of eclipses' being
no5 $no5n' there is no longer any dispute among
astronomers
It is similar 5ith a small number of truths' 5hich
are similarly established! but if you are a :ahom-
etan' as there are many men 5ho are not :ahom-
etans' you may possibly be in error
)hat 5ould be the true religion' if 0hristianity
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did not eist? (hat in 5hich there 5ould be no
sects ! that in 5hich all minds necessarily agreed
.o5' in 5hat doctrine are all minds agreed? In
the adoration of one 2od' and in probity ,ll the
@ HC hilosophical
philosophers 5ho have professed a religion have
said at all times 7 4(here is a 2od' and 6e must be
just4 3ehold then the universal religion' estab-
lished throughout all time and among all men T (he
point then in 5hich all agree is true ! the systems in
regard to 5hich all diNer are false
:y sect is the best' says a 3rahmin 3ut' my
good friend' if thy sect is the best' it is necessary !
for if not absolutely necessary' thou must confess
that it is useless If' on the contrary' it is necessary'
it must be so to all men ! ho5 then is it that all men
possess not 5hat is absolutely necessary to them?
6o5 is it that the rest of the 5orld laughs at thee
and thy 3rahma?
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)hen =oroaster' 6ermes' Orpheus' :inos' and
all the great men say 7 Let us 5orship 2od' and be
just' no one laughs ! but all the 5orld sneers at him
5ho pretends' that to please 2od it is proper to die
holding a co5 by the tail ! at him 5ho cuts oN a
particle of fores$in for the same purpose! at him
5ho consecrates crocodiles and onions ! at him 5ho
attaches eternal salvation to the bones of dead men
carried underneath the shirt' or to a plenary indul-
gence purchased at ome for t5o sous and a half
)hence this universal assemblage of laughing
and hissing from one end of the universe to the
other? It must be that the things 5hich all the
5orld derides are not evident truths )hat shall
5e say to a secretary of #ejanus' 5ho dedicates to
etronius a boo$' in a confused and involved style'
ictionary @HF
entitled 4(he (ruth of the #ibylline Oracles' roved
from 1acts4
(his secretary at Jrst proves to you' that 2od
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sent upon earth many #ibyls' one after the other'
having no other means of instructing men It is
demonstrated' that 2od communicated 5ith these
#ibyls' because the 5ord 4sibyl4 signiJes 40ouncil
of 2od4 (hey ought to live a long time' for this
privilege at least belongs to persons 5ith 5hom 2od
communicates (hey amounted to t5elve' because
this number is sacred (hey certainly predicted all
the events in the 5orld' because (aruin the roud
bought their boo$ from an old 5oman for a hundred
cro5ns )hat unbeliever' eclaims the secretary'
can deny all these evident facts' 5hich too$ place in
one corner of the earth' in the face of all the 5orld ?
)ho can deny the accomplishment of their prophe-
cies? 6as not %irgil himself cited the predictions
of the #ibyls? If 5e have not the Jrst copies of the
#ibylline boo$s' 5ritten at a time 5hen no one could
read and 5rite' 5e have authentic copies Impiety
must be silent before such proofs (hus spo$e
6outeville to #ejanus' and hoped to obtain by it the
place of chief augur' 5ith a revenue of Jfty thou-
sand livres ! but he obtained nothing
(hat 5hich my sect teaches me is obscure' I con-
fess it' eclaims a fanatic ! and it is in conseuence
of that obscurity that I must believe it ! for it says
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itself that it abounds in obscurities :y sect is e-
travagant' therefore it is divine! for ho5' appear-
@ HG hilosophical
ing so insane' 5ould it other5ise have been em-
braced by so many people It is precisely li$e the
+oran' 5hich the #onnites say presents at once
the face of an angel and that of a beast 3e not
scandali;ed at the mu;;le of the beast' but revere
the face of the angel (hus spo$e this madman !
but a fanatic of another sect replied to the Jrst
fanatic 7 It is thou 5ho art the beast' and I 5ho am
the angel
.o5 5ho 5ill judge this process' and decide be-
t5een these t5o inspired personages? (he reason-
able and impartial man 5ho is learned in a science
5hich is not that of 5ords! the man divested of
prejudice' and a lover of truth and of justice! the
man' in Jne' 5ho is not a beast' and 5ho pretends
not to be an angel
#&0(IO. II
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#ect and error are synonymous terms (hou art
a peripatetic and I a latonist! 5e are therefore
both in the 5rong ! for thou opposest lato' because
his chimeras repel thee! and I My from ,ristotle'
because it appears to me that he $ne5 not 5hat he
said If the one or the other had demonstrated the
truth' there 5ould have been an end of sect (o de-
clare for the opinion of one in opposition to that of
another' is to ta$e part in a civil 5ar (here is no
sect in mathematics or eperimental philosophy7 a
man 5ho eamines the relation bet5een a cone and
a sphere is not of the sect of ,rchimedes! and he
ictionary @HE
5ho perceived that the suare of the hypotenuse of
a right-angled triangle is eual to the sum of the
suares of the other t5o sides' is not in conseuence
a ythagorean
)hen 5e say that the blood circulates' that the
air is 5eighty' that the rays of the sun are a bundle
of seven refrangible rays' it follo5s not that 5e are
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of the sect of 6arvey' of (orricelli' or of .e5ton !
5e simply acuiesce in the truths 5hich they demon-
strate' and the 5hole universe 5ill be of the same
opinion
#uch is the character of truth' 5hich belongs to
all time and to all men It is only to be produced to
be ac$no5ledged' and admits of no opposition ,
long dispute signiJes that both parties are in error
#&L1-LO%&
.I0OL&' in his 4:oral &ssays'4 5ritten after t5o
or three thousand volumes on morals U(reatise on
0harity' chap' iiV' says' that 4by means of the gib-
bets and tortures 5hich are established in common'
the tyrannical designs of the self-love of each in-
dividual are repressed4
I 5ill not eamine 5hether 5e have gibbets in
common' as 5e have Jelds and 5oods in common'
and a common purse' or if thoughts are repressed
by 5heels! but it seems to me very strange that
.icole has ta$en high5ay robbery and murder for
self-love (he distinctions must be a little more
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@ HB hilosophical
eamined 6e 5ho should say that .ero $illed his
mother from self-love' that 0artouche had much
self-love' 5ould not epress himself very correctly
#elf-love is not a 5ic$edness! it is a sentiment nat-
ural to all men! it is much more the neighbor of
vanity than of crime
, beggar of the suburbs of :adrid boldly as$ed
alms ! a passenger said to him 7 ,re you not
ashamed to carry on this infamous trade' 5hen you
can 5or$? #ir' replied the mendicant' I as$ you for
money' and not for advice ! and turned his bac$ on
him 5ith 0astilian dignity (his gentleman 5as a
haughty beggar! his vanity 5as 5ounded by very
little 7 he as$ed alms for love of himself' and 5ould
not suNer the reprimand from a still greater love of
himself
, missionary' travelling in India' met a fa$ir
loaded 5ith chains' na$ed as an ape' lying on his
stomach' and lashing himself for the sins of his
countrymen' the Indians' 5ho gave him some coins
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of the country )hat a renouncement of himselfT
said one of the spectators enouncement of my-
selfT said the fa$ir' learn that I only lash myself in
this 5orld to serve you the same in the net' 5hen
you 5ill be the horses and I the rider
(hose 5ho said that love of ourselves is the basis
of all our sentiments and actions 5ere right! and
as it has not been 5ritten to prove to men that they
have a face' there is no occasion to prove to them
that they possess self-love (his self-love is the in-
ictionary @HD
strument of our preservation ! it resembles the pro-
vision for the perpetuity of man$ind ! it is necessary'
it is dear to us' it gives us pleasure' and 5e must
conceal it
#&.#,(IO.
O<#(&#' it is said' have t5o senses ! moles four !
all other animals' li$e man' Jve #ome people con-
tend for a sith^ but it is evident that the voluptuous
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sensation to 5hich they allude is reducible to that of
touch ! and that Jve senses are our lot It is impos-
sible for us to imagine anything beyond them' or to
desire out of their range
It may be' that in other globes the inhabitants
possess sensations of 5hich 5e can form no idea
It is possible that the number of our senses aug-
ments from globe to globe' and that an eistence
5ith innumerable and perfect senses 5ill be the Jnal
attainment of all being
3ut 5ith respect to ourselves and our Jve senses'
5hat is the etent of our capacity? )e constantly
feel in spite of ourselves' and never because 5e 5ill
do so 7 it is impossible for us to avoid having the
sensation 5hich our nature ordains 5hen any object
ecites it (he sensation is 5ithin us' but depends
not upon ourselves )e receive it' but ho5 do 5e
receive it ? It is evident that there is no connection
bet5een the stric$en air' the 5ords 5hich I sing'
and the impression 5hich these 5ords ma$e upon
my brain
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@ HH hilosophical
)e are astonished at thought' but sensation is
eually 5onderful , divine po5er is as manifest
in the sensation of the meanest of insects as in the
brain of .e5ton In the meantime' if a thousand
animals die before our eyes' 5e are not anious to
$no5 5hat becomes of their faculty of sensation'
although it is as much the 5or$ of the #upreme 3e-
ing as our o5n )e regard them as the machines
of nature' created to perish' and to give place to
others
1or 5hat purpose and in 5hat manner may their
sensations eist' 5hen they eist no longer? )hat
need has the author of all things to preserve uali-
ties' 5hen the substance is destroyed? It is as rea-
sonable to assert that the po5er of the plant called
4sensitive'4 to 5ithdra5 its leaves to5ards its
branches' eists 5hen the plant is no more <ou
5ill as$' 5ithout doubt' in 5hat manner the sensa-
tion of animals perishes 5ith them' 5hile the mind
of man perishes not ? I am too ignorant to solve this
uestion (he eternal author of mind and of sensa-
tion alone $no5s ho5 to give' and ho5 to preserve
them
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,ll antiuity maintains that our understanding
contains nothing 5hich has not been received by our
senses escartes' on the contrary' asserts in his
4omances'4 that 5e have metaphysical ideas be-
fore 5e are acuainted 5ith the nipple of our nurse
, faculty of theology proscribed this dogma' not
because it 5as erroneous' but because it 5as ne5
ictionary @H"
1inally' ho5ever' it 5as adopted' because it had
been destroyed by Loc$e' an &nglish philosopher'
and an &nglishman must necessarily be in the
5rong In Jne' after having so often changed opin-
ion' the ancient opinion 5hich declares that the
senses are the inlets to the understanding is Jnally
proscribed (his is acting li$e deeply indebted gov-
ernments' 5ho sometimes issue certain notes 5hich
are to pass current' and at other times cry them
do5n ! but for a long time no one 5ill accept the
notes of the said faculty of theology
,ll the faculties in the 5orld 5ill never prevent a
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philosopher from perceiving that 5e commence by
sensation' and that our memory is nothing but a con-
tinued sensation , man born 5ithout his Jve
senses 5ould be destitute of all idea' supposing it
possible for him to live :etaphysical notions are
obtained only through the senses ! for ho5 is a circle
or a triangle to be measured ; if a circle or a triangle
has neither been touched nor seen? 6o5 form an
imperfect notion of inJnity' 5ithout a notion of
limits? ,nd ho5 ta$e a5ay limits' 5ithout having
either beheld or felt them?
#ensation includes all our faculties' says a great
philosopher )hat ought to be concluded from all
this? <ou 5ho read and thin$' pray conclude
(he 2ree$s invented the faculty 4syche4 for
sensation' and the faculty 4.ous4 for mind )e
are' unhappily' ignorant of the nature of these t5o
faculties 7 5e possess them' but their origin is no
@ "A hilosophical
more $no5n to us than to the oyster' the sea-nettle'
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the polypus' 5orms' or plants 3y some inconceiv-
able mechanism' sensitiveness is diNused throughout
my body' and thought in my head alone If the head
be cut oN' there 5ill remain a very small chance of
its solving a problem in geometry In the mean-
time' your pineal gland' your Meshly body' in 5hich
abides your soul' eists for a long time 5ithout al-
teration' 5hile your separated head is so full of ani-
mal spirits that it freuently ehibits motion after
its removal from the trun$ It seems as if at this
moment it possessed the most lively ideas' resem-
bling the head of Orpheus' 5hich still uttered melo-
dious song' and chanted &urydice' 5hen cast into
the 5aters of the 6ebrus
If 5e thin$ no longer' after losing our heads'
5hence does it happen that the heart beats' and ap-
pears to be sensitive after being torn out?
)e feel' you say' because all our nerves have
their origin in the brain! and in the meantime' if
you are trepanned' and a portion of your brain be
thro5n into the Jre' you feel nothing the less :en
5ho can state the reason of all this are very clever
#&.(&.0&# U&:,+,3L&V
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On .atural Liberty
I. #&%&,L countries' and particularly in 1rance'
collections have been made of the juridical murders
5hich tyranny' fanaticism' or even error and 5ea$-
ness' have committed 5ith the s5ord of justice
ictionary @"@
(here are sentences of death 5hich 5hole years
of vengeance could scarcely epiate' and 5hich 5ill
mdce all future ages tremble #uch are the sen-
tences given against the natural $ing of .aples
and #icily' by the tribunal of 0harles of ,njou!
Kgainst 8ohn 6uss and 8erome of rague' by priests
and mon$s! and against the $ing of &ngland'
0harles I' by fanatical citi;ens
,fter these enormous crimes' formally com-
mitted' come the legal murders committed by indo-
lence' stupidity' and superstition' and these are in-
numerable )e shall relate some of them in other
articles
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In this class 5e must principally place the trials
for 5itchcraft' and never forget that even in our
days' in @DEA' the sacerdotal justice of the bishop of
)ur;burg has condemned as a 5itch a nun' a girl
of uality' to the punishment of Jre I here repeat
this circumstance' 5hich I have else5here men-
tioned' that it should not be forgotten )e forget
too much and too soon
&very day of the year I 5ould have a public
crier' instead of crying as in 2ermany and 6olland
5hat time it is 5hich is $no5n very 5ell 5ithout
their crying cry 7 It 5as on this day that' in the re-
ligious 5ars :agdeburg and all its inhabitants
5ere reduced to ashes It 5as on :ay IGth that
6enry I% 5as assassinated' only because he 5as
not submissive to the pope! it 5as on such a day
@"C hilosophical
that such an abominable cruelty 5as perpetrated in
your to5n' under the name of justice
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(hese continual advertisements 5ould be very
useful! but the judgments given in favor of inno-
cence against persecutors should be cried 5ith a
much louder voice 1or eample' I propose' that
every year' the t5o strongest throats 5hich can be
found in aris and (oulouse shall cry these 5ords
in all the streets7 It 5as on such a day that Jfty
magistrates of the council re-established the mem-
ory of 8ohn 2alas' 5ith a unanimous voice' and ob-
tained for his family the favors of the $ing himself'
in 5hose name 8ohn 2alas had been condemned to
the most horrible eecution
It 5ould not be amiss to have another crier at the
door of all the ministers' to say to all 5ho came to
demand lettres de cachet' in order to possess them-
selves of the property of their relations' friends' or
dependents 7 2entlemen' fear to seduce the minis-
ter by false statements' and to abuse the name of
the $ing It is dangerous to ta$e it in vain (here
5as in the 5orld one 2erbier' 5ho defended the
cause of the 5ido5 and orphan oppressed under the
5eight of a sacred name It 5as he 5ho' at the bar
of the arliament of aris' obtained the abolishment
of the #ociety of 8esus Listen attentively to the
lesson 5hich he gave to the society of #t 3ernard'
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conjointly 5ith :aster Loiseau' another protector
of 5ido5s
<ou must Jrst $no5' that the reverend 3ernar-
ictionary @"F
dine fathers of 0lairvau possess seventeen thou-
sand acres of 5ood' seven large forges' fourteen
large farms' a uantity of Jefs' beneJces' and even
rights in foreign countries (he yearly revenue of
the convent amounts to t5o hundred thousand
livres (he treasure is immense ! the abbotKs palace
is that of a prince .othing is more just! it is a
poor recompense for the services 5hich the 3er-
nardines continually render to the #tate
It happened' that a youth of seventeen years of
age' named 0astille' 5hose baptismal name 5as
3ernard' believed' for that reason' that he should
become a 3ernardine It is thus that 5e reason at
seventeen' and sometimes at thirty 6e 5ent to
pass his novitiate at Lorraine' in the abbey of Orval
)hen he 5as reuired to pronounce his vo5s' grace
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5as 5anting in him 7 he did not sign them ! he de-
parted and became a man again 6e established
himself at aris' and at the end of thirty years' hav-
ing made a little fortune' he married' and had chil-
dren
(he reverend father' attorney of 0lairvau'
named :ayeur' a 5orthy solicitor' brother of the
abbot' having learned from a 5oman of pleasure at
aris' that this 0astille 5as formerly a 3ernardine'
plotted to challenge him as a deserter though he
5as not really engaged to ma$e his 5ife pass for
his concubine' and to place his children in the hos-
pital as bastards 6e associated himself 5ith an-
other rogue' to divide the spoils 3oth 5ent to the
<ol @F@
@ "G hilosophical
court for lettres de cachet' eposed their grievances
in the name of #t 3ernard' obtained the letter'
sei;ed 3ernard 0astille' his 5ife' and their children'
possessed themselves of all the property' and are
no5 devouring it' you $no5 5here
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3ernard 0astille 5as shut up at Orval in a dun-
geon' 5here he 5as eecuted after si months' for
fear that he should demand justice 6is 5ife 5as
conducted to another dungeon' at #t elagic' a
house for prostitutes Of three children' one died
in the hospital
(hings remained in this state for three years ,t
the end of this time' the 5ife of 0astille obtained
her enlargement 2od is just 7 6e gave a second
husband to the 5ido5 (he husband' named Lan-
nai' 5as a man of head' 5ho discovered all the
frauds' horrors' and crimes employed against his
5ife (hey both entered into a suit against the
mon$s It is true' that brother :ayeur' 5ho is
called om :ayeur' 5as not hanged' but the con-
vent of 0lairvau 5as condemned to pay forty
thousand livres (here is no convent 5hich 5ould
not rather see its attorney hanged than lose its
money
(his history should teach you' gentlemen' to use
much moderation in the fact of lettres de cachet
+no5' that :aster &lias de 3eaumont' that cele-
brated defender of the memory of 0alas' and :aster
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(arget that other protector of oppressed innocence'
caused the man to pay a Jne of t5enty thousand
ictionary @"E
francs' 5ho by his intrigues had gained a lettre de
cachet to sei;e upon the dying countess of Lanci;e'
to drag her from the bosom of her family and divest
her of all her titles
)hen tribunals give such sentences as these' 5e
hear clapping of hands from the etent of the grand
chamber to the gates of aris (a$e care of your-
selves' gentlemen ! do not lightly demand lettres de
cachet
,n &nglishman' on reading this article' e-
claimed' 4)hat is a lettre de cachet?4 )e could
never ma$e him comprehend it
#&.(&.0&# O1 &,(6
I. &,I.2 history' and seeing its course con-
tinually interrupted 5ith innumerable calamities
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heaped upon this globe' 5hich some call the best of
all possible 5orlds' I have been particularly struc$
5ith the great uantity of considerable men in the
#tate' in the 0hurch' and in society' 5ho have suf-
fered death li$e robbers on the high5ay #etting
aside assassinations and poisonings' I spea$ only of
massacres in a juridical form' performed 5ith loyalty
and ceremony ! I commence 5ith $ings and ueens !
&ngland alone furnishes an ample list! but for
chancellors' $nights' and esuires' volumes are re-
uired Of all 5ho have thus perished by justice' I
do not believe that there are four in all &urope 5ho
5ould have undergone their sentence if their suits
@"B hilosophical
had lasted some time longer' or if the adverse parties
had died of apopley during the preparation
If Jstula had gangrened the rectum of 0ardinal
ichelieu some months longer' the virtuous de
(hou' 0in-:ars' and so many others 5ould have
been at liberty If 3arneveldt had had as many ,r-
minians for his judges as 2omerists' he 5ould have
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died in his bed ! if the constable de Luynes had not
demanded the conJscation of the property of the
lady of the :arshal dK,ncre' she 5ould not have
been burned as a 5itch If a really criminal man' an
assassin' a public thief' a poisoner' a parricide' be
arrested' and his crime be proved' it is certain that
in all times and 5hoever the judges' he 5ill be con-
demned 3ut it is not the same 5ith statesmen!
only give them other judges' or 5ait until time has
changed interests' cooled passions' and introduced
other sentiments' and their lives 5ill be in safety
#uppose >ueen &li;abeth had died of an indiges-
tion on the eve of the eecution of :ary #tuart' then
:ary #tuart 5ould have been seated on the throne
of &ngland' Ireland' and #cotland' instead of dying
by the hand of an eecutioner in a chamber hung
5ith blac$ If 0rom5ell had only fallen sic$' care
5ould have been ta$en ho5 0harles IKs head 5as
cut oN (hese t5o assassinations disguised' I
$no5 not ho5' in the garb of the la5s scarcely en-
tered into the list of ordinary injustice 1igure to
yourself some high5aymen 5ho' having bound and
robbed t5o passengers' amuse themselves 5ith nam-
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ictionary @"D
ing in the troop an attorney-general' a president' an
advocate and counsellors' and 5ho' having signed a
sentence' cause the t5o victims to be hanged in cere-
mony ! it 5as thus that the >ueen of #cotland and
her grandson 5ere judged
3ut of common judgments' pronounced by com-
petent judges against princes or men in place' is
there a single one 5hich 5ould have been either
eecuted' or even passed' if another time had been
chosen ? Is there a single one of the condemned' im-
molated under 0ardinal ichelieu' 5ho 5ould not
have been in favor if their suits had been prolonged
until the regency of ,nne of ,ustria? (he rince
of 0onde 5as arrested under 1rancis II' he 5as
condemned to death by commissaries! 1rancis II
died' and the rince of 0onde again became po5-
erful
(hese instances are innumerable! 5e should
above all consider the spirit of the times %anini
5as burned on a vague suspicion of atheism ,t
present' if any one 5as foolish and pedantic enough
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to 5rite such boo$s as %anini' they 5ould not be
read' and that is all 5hich could happen to them
, #paniard passed through 2eneva in the middle of
the siteenth century! the icard' 8ohn 0alvin'
learned that this #paniard 5as lodged at an inn ! he
remembered that this #paniard had disputed 5ith
him on a subject 5hich neither of them understood
3eholdT my theologian' 8ohn 0alvin' arrested the
passenger' contrary to all la5s' human or divine'
@"H hilosophical
contrary to the right possessed by people among
all nations ! immured him in a dungeon' and burned
him at a slo5 Jre 5ith green faggots' that the pain
might last the longer 0ertainly this infernal
manoeuvre 5ould never enter the head of any one in
the present day ! and if the fool #ervetus had lived
in good times' he 5ould have had nothing to fear!
5hat is called justice is therefore as arbitrary as
fashion (here are times of horrors and follies
among men' as there are times of pestilence' and this
contagion has made the tour of the 5orld
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#&&.(#
4I 0&(I1< that I have many times $illed serpents
by moistening in a slight degree' 5ith my spittle' a
stic$ or a stone' and giving them a slight blo5 on
the middle of the body' scarcely sucient to produce
a small contusion 8anuary @"' @DED 1iguier'
#urgeon4
(he above surgeon having given me this certiJ-
cate' t5o 5itnesses' 5ho had seen him $ill serpents
in this manner' attested 5hat they had beheld .ot-
5ithstanding' I 5ished to behold the thing myself!
for I confess that' in various parts of these ueries'
I have ta$en #t (homas of idymus for my patron
saint' 5ho al5ays insisted on an eamination 5ith
his o5n hands
1or eighteen hundred years this opinion has been
perpetuated among the people' and it might possibly
ictionary @ ""
be even eighteen thousand years old' if 2enesis
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had not supplied us 5ith the precise date of our en-
mity to this reptile It may be asserted that if &ve
had spit on the serpent 5hen he too$ his place at her
ear' a 5orld of evil 5ould have been spared human
nature
Lucretius' in his fourth boo$' alludes to this man-
ner of $illing serpents as very 5ell $no5n 7
&st utiue ut serpens hominis contacta salmis
isperit' ac sese mandendo conJcit ipsa
LI3' iv' v BGC-BGF
#pit on a serpent' and his vigor Mies'
6e straight devours himself' and uic$ly dies
(here is some slight contradiction in painting
him at once deprived of vigor and self-devouring'
but my surgeon 1iguier asserts not that the serpents
5hich he $illed 5ere self-devouring 2enesis says
5isely that 5e $ill them 5ith our heels' and not
5ith spittle
)e are in the midst of 5inter on 8anuary @"'
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5hich is the time 5hen serpents visit us I cannot
Jnd any at :ount +rapa$ ! but I ehort all philoso-
phers to spit upon every serpent they meet 5ith in
the spring It is good to $no5 the etent of the
po5er of the saliva of man
It is certain that 8esus 0hrist employed his spittle
to cure a man 5ho 5as deaf and dumb 6e too$
him aside' placed 6is Jngers on his ears' and loo$-
ing up to heaven' sighed and said to him 7 4&phpha-
tha4 4be opened4 5hen the deaf and dumb person
immediately began to spea$
COO hilosophical
It may therefore be true that 2od has allo5ed the
saliva of man to $ill serpents ! but 6e may have also
permitted my surgeon to assail them 5ith heavy
blo5s from a stic$ or a stone' in such a 5ay that they
5ould die 5hether he spat upon them or not
I beg of all philosophers to eamine the thing
5ith attention 1or eample' should they meet
1reron in the street' let them spit in his face' and if
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he die' the fact 5ill be conJrmed' in spite of all the
reasoning of the incredulous
I ta$e this opportunity also to beg of philosophers
not to cut oN the heads of any more snails ! for I af-
Jrm that the head has returned to snails 5hich I have
decapitated very eNectively 3ut it is not enough
that I $no5 it by eperience' others must be eually
satisJed in order that the fact be rendered probable !
for although I have t5ice succeeded' I have failed
thirty times #uccess depends upon the age of the
snail' the time in 5hich the head is cut oN' the situa-
tion of the incision' and the manner in 5hich it is
$ept until the head gro5s again
If it is important to $no5 that death may be in-
Micted by spitting' it is still more important to $no5
that heads may be rene5ed :an is of more con-
seuence than a snail' and I doubt not that in due
time' 5hen the arts are brought to perfection' some
means 5ill be found to give a sound head to a man
5ho has none at all
ictionary COI
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#6&+&L
, )&I26( and denomination of money among the
8e5s ! but as they never coined money' and al5ays
made use of the coinage of other people' all gold
coins 5eighing about a guinea' and all silver coins
of the 5eight of a small 1rench cro5n' 5ere called
a she$el ! and these she$els 5ere distinguished into
those of the 5eight of the sanctuary' and those of
the 5eight of the $ing
It is said in the 3oo$ of #amuel that ,bsalom
had very Jne hair' from 5hich he cut a part every
year :any profound commentators assert that he
cut it once a month' and that it 5as valued at t5o
hundred she$els If these she$els 5ere of gold' the
loc$s of ,bsalom 5ere 5orth t5o thousand four
hundred guineas per annum (here are fe5
seigniories 5hich produce at present the revenue
that ,bsalom derived from his head
It is said that 5hen ,braham bought a cave in
6ebron from the 0anaanite &phron' &phron sold
him the cave for four hundred she$els of silver' of
current money 5ith the merchant probates monetcs
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publicce
)e have already remar$ed that there 5as no
coined money in these days' and thus these four hun-
dred she$els of silver became four hundred she$els
in 5eight' 5hich' valued at present at three livres
four sous each' are eual to t5elve hundred and
eighty livres of 1rance
CAC hilosophical
It follo5s that the little Jeld' 5hich 5as sold
5ith this cavern' 5as ecellent land' to bring so high
a price
)hen &lea;ar' the servant of ,braham' met the
beautiful ebecca' the daughter of 3ethnel' carrying
a pitcher of 5ater upon her shoulder' from 5hich she
gave him and his camels leave to drin$' he presented
her 5ith earrings of gold' 5hich 5eighed t5o
she$els' and bracelets 5hich 5eighed ten' amounting
in the 5hole to a present of the value of t5enty-four
guineas
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In the la5s of &odus it is said that if an o
gored a male or female slave' the possessor of the o
should give thirty she$els of silver to the master of
the slave' and that the o should be stoned It is
apparently to be understood that the o in this case
has produced a very dangerous 5ound' other5ise
thirty-t5o cro5ns 5as a large sum for the neighbor-
hood of :ount #inai' 5here money 5as uncommon
It is for the same reason that many grave' but too
hasty' persons suspect that &odus as 5ell as
2enesis 5as not 5ritten until a comparatively late
period
)hat tends to conJrm them in this erroneous
opinion is a passage in the same &odus7 4(a$e
of pure myrrh Jve hundred she$els' and of s5eet
cinnamon half as much ! of s5eet calamus t5o hun-
dred and Jfty she$els ! of cassia Jve hundred she$els'
after the she$el of the sanctuary ! and of olive-oil a
ton' to form an ointment to annoint the tabernacle4 !
ictionary CAF
and 5hosoever anointed himself or any stranger
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5ith a similar composition' 5as to be put to death
It is added that 5ith all these aromatics 5ere to
be united stacte' ony' galbanum' and fran$incense !
and that a perfume 5as to be mied up according to
the art of the apothecary or perfumer
3ut I cannot perceive anything in this composi-
tion 5hich ought to ecite the doubt of the incredu-
lous It is natural to imagine that the 8e5s 5ho'
according to the tet' stole from the &gyptians all
5hich they could bring a5ay had also ta$en fran$-
incense' galbanum' ony' stacte' olive-oil' cassia'
s5eet calamus' cinnamon' and myrrh (hey also'
5ithout doubt' stole many she$els ! indeed' 5e have
seen' that one of the most ;ealous partisans of this
6ebre5 horde estimates 5hat they stole' in gold
alone' at nine millions I abide by his rec$oning
#I3<L
(6& Jrst 5oman 5ho pronounced oracles at el-
phos 5as called #ibylla ,ccording to ausanias'
she 5as the daughter of 8upiter' and of Lamia' the
daughter of .eptune' and she lived a long time be-
fore the siege of (roy 1rom her all 5omen 5ere
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distinguished by the name of sibyls' 5ho' 5ithout
being priestesses' or even attached to a particular
oracle' announced the future' and called themselves
inspired iNerent ages and countries have had
their sibyls' or preserved predictions 5hich bear their
name' and collections 5ere formed of them
CAG hilosophical
(he greatest embarrassment to the ancients 5as
to eplain by 5hat happy privilege these sibyls had
the gift of predicting the future latonists found
the cause of it in the intimate union 5hich the
creature' arrived at a certain degree of perfection'
might have 5ith the ivinity Others attribute this
divine property of the sibyls to the vapors and e-
halations of the caves 5hich they inhabited 1inally
others attributed the prophetic spirit of the sibyls
to their sombre and melancholy humor' or to some
singular malady
#t 8erome maintained that this gift 5as to them
a recompense for their chastity! but there 5as at
least one very celebrated one 5ho boasted of having
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had a thousand lovers 5ithout being married It
5ould have been much more sensible in #t 8erome
and other fathers of the 0hurch to have denied the
prophetic spirit of the sibyls' and to have said that by
means of ha;arding predictions at a venture' they
might sometimes have been fulJlled' particularly
5ith the help of a favorable commentary' by 5hich
5ords' spo$en by chance' have been turned into
facts 5hich it 5as impossible they could have pre-
dicted
It is singular that their predictions 5ere collected
after the event (he Jrst collection of sibylline
leaves' bought by (aruin' contained three boo$s!
the second 5as compiled after the Jre of the capitol'
but 5e are ignorant ho5 many boo$s it contained!
and the third is that 5hich 5e possess in eight boo$s'
ictionary CAE
and in 5hich it is doubtful 5hether the author has
not inserted several predictions of the second (his
collection is the fruit of the pious fraud of some
latonic 0hristians' more ;ealous than clever' 5ho
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in composing it thought to lend arms to the 0hristian
religion' and to put those 5ho defended it in a situa-
tion to combat paganism 5ith the greatest ad-
vantage
(his confused compilation of diNerent prophecies
5as printed for the Jrst time in the year @EGE from
manuscripts' and published several times after' 5ith
ample commentaries' burdened 5ith an erudition
often trivial' and almost al5ays foreign to the tet'
5hich they seldom enlightened (he number of
5or$s composed for and against the authenticity of
these sibylline boo$s is very great' and some even very
learned ! but there prevails so little order and reason-
ing' and the authors are so devoid of all philosophic
spirit that those 5ho might have courage to read
them 5ould gain nothing but ennui and fatigue (he
date of the publication is found clearly indicated in
the Jfth and eighth boo$s (he sibyl is made to say
that the oman &mpire 5ill have only Jfteen em-
perors' fourteen of 5hich are designated by the nu-
meral value of the Jrst letter of their names in the
2ree$ alphabet #he adds that the Jfteenth' 5ho
5ould be a man 5ith a 5hite head' 5ould bear the
name of a sea near ome (he Jfteenth of the
oman emperors 5as ,drian' and the ,siatic gulf
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is the sea of 5hich he bears the name
CAB hilosophical
1rom this prince' continues the sibyl' three others
5ill proceed 5ho 5ill rule the empire at the same
time! but Jnally one of them 5ill remain the pos-
sessor (hese three shoots 5ere ,ntoninus' :arcus
,urelius' and Lucius %erus (he sibyl alludes to
the adoptions and associations 5hich united them
:arcus ,urelius found himself sole master of the
empire at the death of Lucius %erus' at the com-
mencement of the year @B" ! and he governed it 5ith-
out any colleague until the year @DD' 5hen he asso-
ciated 5ith his son 0ommodus ,s there is nothing
5hich can have any relation to this ne5 colleague of
:arcus ,urelius' it is evident that the collection
must have been made bet5een the years @B" and @DD
of the vulgar era
8osephus' the historian' uotes a 5or$ of the sibyl'
in 5hich the (o5er of 3abel and the confusion of
tongues are spo$en of nearly as in 2enesis ! 5hich
proves that the 0hristians are not the Jrst authors of
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the supposition of the sibylline boo$s 8osephus not
relating the eact 5ords of the sibyl' 5e cannot as-
certain 5hether 5hat is said of the same event in
our collection 5as etracted from the 5or$ uoted
by 8osephus ! but it is certain that several lines' at-
tributed to the sibyl' in the ehortations found in the
5or$s of #t 8ustin' of (heophilus of ,ntioch' of
0lement of ,leandria' and in some other fathers'
are not in our collection ! and as most of these lines
bear no stamp of 0hristianity' they might be the
5or$ of some latonic 8e5
ictionary CAD
In the time of 0elsus' sibyls had already some
credit among the 0hristians' as it appears by t5o
passages of the ans5er of Origen 3ut in time sibyl-
line prophecies appearing favorable to 0hristianity'
they 5ere commonly made use of in 5or$s of contro-
versy 5ith much more conJdence than by the pagans
themselves' 5ho' ac$no5ledging sibyls to be inspired
5omen' conJned themselves to saying that the 0hris-
tians had falsiJed their 5ritings' a fact 5hich could
only be decided by a comparison of the t5o manu-
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scripts' 5hich fe5 people are in a situation to ma$e
1inally' it 5as from a poem of the sibyl of 0umea
that the principal dogmas of 0hristianity 5ere ta$en
0onstantine' in the Jne discourse 5hich he pro-
nounced before the assembly of the saints' sho5s that
the fourth eclogue of %irgil is only a prophetic de-
scription of the #aviour ! and if that 5as not the im-
mediate object of the poet' it 5as that of the sibyl
from 5hom he borro5ed his ideas' 5ho' being Jlled
5ith the spirit of 2od' announced the birth of the
edeemer
6e believed that he sa5 in this poem the miracle
of the birth of 8esus of a virgin' the abolition of sin
by the preaching of the gospel' and the abolition of
punishment by the grace of the edeemer 6e be-
lieved he sa5 the old serpent overthro5n' and the
mortal venom 5ith 5hich he poisoned human nature
entirely deadened 6e believed that he sa5 that the
grace of the Lord' ho5ever po5erful it might be'
5ould nevertheless suNer the dregs and traces of sin
CAH hilosophical
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to remain in the faithful ! in a 5ord' he believed that
he sa5 8esus 0hrist announced under the great char-
acter of the #on of 2od
In this eclogue there are many other passages
5hich might have been said to be copies of the 8e5-
ish prophets' 5ho apply it themselves to 8esus
0hrist! it is at least the general opinion of the
0hurch #t ,ugustine' li$e others' has been per-
suaded of it' and has pretended that the lines of %ir-
gil can only be applied to 8esus 0hrist 1inally' the
most clever moderns maintain the same opinion
#I.2I.2
>uestions on #inging' :usic' :odulation' 2esticu-
lation' etc
0O9L a (ur$ conceive that 5e have one $ind of
singing for the Jrst of our mysteries 5hen 5e cele-
brate it in music' another $ind 5hich 5e call
4motetts4 in the same temple' a third $ind at the
opera' and a fourth at the theatre ?
In li$e manner' can 5e imagine ho5 the ancients
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ble5 their Mutes' recited on their theatres 5ith their
heads covered by enormous mas$s' and ho5 their
declamation 5as 5ritten do5n
La5 5as promulgated in ,thens nearly as in
aris 5e sing an air on the ont-.euf (he public
crier sang an edict' accompanying himself on the
lyre
It is thus that in aris the rose in bud is cried in
ictionary CA"
one tone ! old silver lace to sell in another ! only in
the streets of aris the lyre is dispensed 5ith
,fter the victory of 0hseronea' hilip' the father
of ,leander' sang the decree by 5hich emosthenes
had made him declare 5ar' and beat time 5ith his
foot )e are very far from singing in our streets
our edicts' or Jnances' or upon the t5o sous in the
livre
It is very probable that the melopee' or modula-
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tion' regarded by ,ristotle in his poetic art as an es-
sential part of tragedy' 5as an even' simple chant'
li$e that 5hich 5e call the preface to mass' 5hich in
my opinion is the 2regorian chant' and not the ,m-
brosian' and 5hich is a true melopee
)hen the Italians revived tragedy in the si-
teenth century the recitative 5as a melopee 5hich
could not be 5ritten ! for 5ho could 5rite inMections
of the voice 5hich are octaves and siths of tone?
(hey 5ere learned by heart (his custom 5as re-
ceived in 1rance 5hen the 1rench began to form a
theatre' more than a century after the Italians (he
4#ophonisba4 of :airet 5as sung li$e that of (ris-
sin' but more grossly ! for throats as 5ell as minds
5ere then rather coarser at aris ,ll the parts of the
actors' but particularly of the actresses' 5ere noted
from memory by tradition :ademoiselle 3auval'
an actress of the time of 0orneille' acine' and :o-
liere' recited to me' about sity years ago or more'
the commencement of the part of &milia' in 40inna'4
as it had been played in the Jrst representations by
%ol @F @G
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Cio hilosophical
La 3eauprB (his modulation resembled the decla-
mation of the present day much less than our modern
recitative resembles the manner of reading the ne5s-
paper
I cannot better compare this $ind of singing' this
modulation' than to the admirable recitative of Lulli'
criticised by adorers of double crochets' 5ho have
no $no5ledge of the genius of our language' and
5ho are ignorant 5hat help this melody furnishes to
an ingenious and sensible actor
(heatrical modulation perished 5ith the comedian
uclos' 5hose only merit being a Jne voice 5ithout
spirit and soul' Jnally rendered that ridiculous 5hich
had been admired in es 0&uillets' and in 0hamp-
mesle
(ragedy is no5 played dryly ! if 5e 5ere not
heated by the pathos of the spectacle and the action'
it 5ould be very insipid Our age' commendable in
other things' is the age of dryness
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It is true that among the omans one actor re-
cited and another made gestures It 5as not by
chance that the abbe ubos imagined this pleasant
method of declaiming (itus Livius' 5ho never fails
to instruct us in the manners and customs of the
omans' and 5ho' in that respect is more useful
than the ingenious and satirical (acitus' informs us'
I say' that ,ndronicus' being hoarse 5hile singing
in the interludes' got another to sing for him 5hile
he eecuted the dance ! and thence came the custom
of dividing interludes bet5een dancers and singers 7
ictionary in
4icitur cantum egisse magis vigente motu uum
nihil vocis usis impediebat4 (he song is epressed
by the dance 40antum egisse magis vigente motu4
)ith more vigorous movements
3ut they divided not the story of the piece be-
t5een an actor 5ho only gesticulates and another
5ho only sings (he thing 5ould have been as ridic-
ulous as impracticable
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(he art of pantomimes' 5hich are played 5ithout
spea$ing' is uite diNerent' and 5e have seen very
stri$ing eamples of it ! but this art can please only
5hen a mar$ed action is represented' a theatrical
event 5hich is easily presented to the imagination
of the spectator It can represent Orosmanes $illing
=aire and $illing himself! #emiramis 5ounded'
dragging herself on the frontiers to the tomb of
.inus' and holding her son in her arms (here is
no occasion for verses to epress these situations by
gestures to the sound of a mournful and terrible
symphony 3ut ho5 5ould t5o pantomimes paint
the dessertation of :aimus and 0inna on monarch-
ical and popular governments ?
,propos of the theatrical eecution of the
omans' the abbe ubos says that the dancers in
the interludes 5ere al5ays in go5ns ancing re-
uires a closer dress In the ays de %aud' a suite of
baths built by the omans' is carefully preserved' the
pavement of 5hich is mosaic (his mosaic' 5hich is
not decayed' represents dancers dressed li$e opera
dancers )e ma$e not these observations to detect
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C@C hilosophical
errors in ubos! there is no merit in having seen
this antiue monument 5hich he had not seen ! and
besides' a very solid and just mind might be de-
ceived by a passage of (itus Livius
#L,%&#
)6< do 5e denominate slaves those 5hom the
omans called 4servi'4 and the 2ree$s 4duloi4?
&tymology is here eceedingly at fault ! and 3ochart
has not been able to derive this 5ord from the 6e-
bre5
(he most ancient record that 5e possess in 5hich
the 5ord 4slave4 is found is the 5ill of one &rman-
gaut' archbishop of .arbonne' 5ho beueathed to
3ishop 1redelon his slave ,naph 4,naphinus
#lavonium4 (his ,naph 5as very fortunate in be-
longing to t5o bishops successively
It is not unli$ely that the #lavonians came from
the distant .orth 5ith other indigent and conuer-
ing hordes' to pillage from the oman &mpire 5hat
that empire had pilliged from other nations' and
especially in almatia and Illyria (he Italians
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called the misfortune of falling into their hands
4shiavitu'4 and 4schiavi4 the captives themselves
,ll that 5e can gather from the confused history
of the middle ages is that in the time of the omans
the $no5n 5orld 5as divided bet5een freemen and
slaves )hen the #lavonians' ,lans' 6uns' 6eruli'
Ostrogoths' %isigoths' %andals' 3urgundians'
1ran$s and .ormans came to despoil &urope' there
5as little probability that the multitude of slaves
ictionary C@F
5ould diminish ,ncient masters' in fact' sa5 them-
selves reduced to slavery' and the smaller number
enslaved the greater' as negroes are enslaved in the
colonies' and according to the practice in many other
cases
)e read nothing in ancient authors concerning
the slaves of the ,ssyrians and the 3abylonians
(he boo$ 5hich spea$s most of slaves is the 4Iliad4
In the Jrst place' 3riseiis is slave to ,chilles! and
all the (rojan 5omen' and more especially the prin-
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cesses' fear becoming slaves to the 2ree$s' and spin-
ners for their 5ives
#lavery is also as ancient as 5ar' and 5ar as
human nature #ociety 5as so accustomed to this
degradation of the species that &pictetus' 5ho 5as
assuredly 5orth more than his master' never e-
presses any surprise at his being a slave
.o legislator of antiuity ever attempted to abro-
gate slavery! on the contrary' the people most en-
thusiastic for liberty the ,thenians' the Lacedae-
monians' the omans' and the 0arthaginians 5ere
those 5ho enacted the most severe la5s against their
serfs (he right of life and death over them 5as
one of the principles of society It must be confessed
that' of all 5ars' that of #partacus 5as the most just'
and possibly the only one that 5as ever absolutely so
)ho 5ould believe that the 8e5s' created as it
might appear to serve all nations in turn' should also
appear to possess slaves of their o5n ? It is observed
in their la5s' that they may purchase their brethren
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C@G hilosophical
for si years' and strangers forever It 5as said'
that the children of &sau 5ould become bondsmen
to the children of 8acob ! but since' under a diNerent
dispensation' the ,rabs' 5ho call themselves de-
scendants of &sau' have enslaved the posterity of
8acob
(he &vangelists put not a single 5ord into the
mouth of 8esus 0hrist 5hich recalls man$ind to the
primitive liberty to )hich they appear to be born
(here is nothing said in the .e5 (estament on this
state of degradation and suNering' to 5hich one-
half of the human race 5as condemned .ot a 5ord
appears in the 5ritings of the apostles and the fathers
of the 0hurch' tending to change beasts of burden
into citi;ens' as began to be done among ourselves in
the thirteenth century If slavery be spo$en of' it
is the slavery of sin
It is dicult to comprehend ho5' in #t 8ohn' the
8e5s can say to 8esus 7 4)e have never been slaves
to any one4 they 5ho 5ere at that time subjected
to the omans ! they 5ho had been sold in the mar-
$et after the ta$ing of 8erusalem ! they of 5hom ten
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tribes' led a5ay as slaves by #halmaneser' had disap-
peared from the face of the earth' and of 5hom t5o
other tribes 5ere held in chains by the 3abylonians
for seventy years ! they 5ho had been seven times
reduced to slavery in their promised land' according
to their o5n avo5al ! they 5ho in all their 5ritings
spea$ of their bondage in Xhat &gypt 5hich they
abhorred' but to 5hich they ran in cro5ds to gain
ictionary C@E
money' as soon as ,leander condescended to allo5
them to settle there (he reverend om 0almet
says' that 5e must understand in this passage' 4in-
trinsic servitude'4 an eplanation 5hich by no means
renders it more comprehensible
Italy' the 2auls' #pain' and a part of 2ermany'
5ere inhabited by strangers' by foreigners become
masters' and natives reduced to serfs )hen the
bishop of #eville' Opas' and 0ount 8ulian called over
the :ahometan :oors against the 0hristian $ings
of the %isigoths' 5ho reigned in the yrenees' the
:ahometans' according to their custom' proposed to
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the natives' either to receive circumcision' give bat-
tle' or pay tribute in money and girls +ing od-
eric$ 5as vanuished' and slaves 5ere made of those
5ho 5ere ta$en captive
(he conuered preserved their 5ealth and their
religion by paying! and it is thus that the (ur$s
have since treated 2reece' ecept that they imposed
upon the latter a tribute of children of both sees'
the boys of 5hich they circumcise and transform into
pages and janissaries' 5hile the girls are devoted to
the harems (his tribute has since been compro-
mised for money (he (ur$s have only a fe5 slaves
for the interior service of their houses' and these
they purchase from the 0ircassians' :ingrelians' and
nations of Lesser (artary
3et5een the ,frican :ahometans and the &uro-
pean 0hristians' the custom of piracy' and of ma$ing
slaves of all 5ho could be sei;ed on the high seas'
C @ B hilosophical
has al5ays eisted (hey are birds of prey 5ho feed
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upon one another! the ,lgerines' natives of :o-
rocco' and (unisians' all live by piracy (he +nights
of :alta' successors to those of hodes' formally
s5ear to rob and enslave all the :ahometans 5hom
they meet! and the galleys of the pope cruise for
,lgerines on the northern coasts of ,frica (hose
5ho call themselves 5hites and 0hristians proceed
to purchase negroes at a good mar$et' in order to
sell them dear in ,merica (he ennsylvanians
alone have renounced this trac' 5hich they account
Magitious
#&0(IO. II
I read a short time ago at :ount +rapa$' 5here
it is $no5n that I reside' a boo$ 5ritten at aris'
abounding in 5it and paradoes' bold vie5s and
hardihood' resembling in some respects those of
:ontesuieu' against 5hom it is 5ritten In this
boo$' slavery is decidedly preferred to domesticity'
and above all to the free labor (his boo$ eceed-
ingly pities those unhappy free men 5ho earn a sub-
sistence 5here they please' by the labor for 5hich
man is born' and 5hich is the guardian of innocence'
as 5ell as the support of life It is incumbent on no
one' says the author' either to nourish or to succor
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them ! 5hereas' slaves are fed and protected by their
masters li$e their horses ,ll this is true ! but human
beings 5ould rather provide for themselves than de-
pend on others ! and horses bred in the forest pre-
fer them to stables
ictionary C@D
6e justly remar$s that artisans lose many days in
5hich they are forbidden to 5or$' 5hich is very true !
but this is not because they are free' but because
ridiculous la5s eist in regard to holidays
6e says most truly' that it is not 0hristian char-
ity 5hich has bro$en the fetters of servitude' since
the same charity has riveted them for more than
t5elve centuries! and that 0hristians' and even
mon$s' all charitable as they are' still possess slaves
reduced to a frightful state of bondage' under the
name of 4mortaillables' mainmor tables4 and serfs of
the soil
6e asserts that 5hich is very true' that 0hristian
princes only aNranchised their serfs through avarice
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It 5as' in fact' to obtain the money laboriously
amassed by these unhappy persons' that they signed
their letters of manumission (hey did not besto5
liberty' but sold it (he emperor 6enry % began 7
he freed the serfs of #pires and )orms in the
t5elfth century (he $ings of 1rance follo5ed his
eample ! and nothing tends more to prove the value
of liberty than the high price these gross men paid
for it
Lastly' it is for the men on 5hose condition the
dispute turns to decide upon 5hich state they pre-
fer Interrogate the lo5est laborer covered 5ith
rags' fed upon blac$ bread' and sleeping on stra5'
in a hut half open to the elements! as$ this man'
5hether he 5ill be a slave' better fed' clothed' and
bedded! not only 5ill he recoil 5ith horror at the
C @ H hilosophical
proposal' but regard you 5ith horror for ma$ing the
proposal ,s$ a slave if he is 5illing to be free'
and you 5ill hear his ans5er (his alone ought to
decide the uestion
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It is also to be considered that a laborer may be-
come a farmer' and a farmer a proprietor In
1rance' he may even become a counsellor of the $ing'
if he acuire riches In &ngland' he may become a
freeholder' or a member of parliament In #5eden'
he may become a member of the national states
(hese possibilities are of more value than that
of dying neglected in the corner of his masterKs
stable
#&0(IO. III
uNendorN says' that slavery has been established
4by the free consent of the opposing parties4 I 5ill
believe uNendorN' 5hen he sho5s me the original
contract
2rotius inuires' 5hether a man 5ho is ta$en
captive in 5ar has a right to escape ! and it is to be
remar$ed' that he spea$s not of a prisoner on his
parole of honor 6e decides' that he has no such
right! 5hich is about as much as to say that a
5ounded man has no right to get cured .ature de-
cides against 2rotius
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,ttend to the follo5ing observations of the author
of the 4#pirit of La5s'4 after painting negro slavery
5ith the pencil of :oliere 7
4:r erry says that the :oscovites sell them-
ictionary C@"
selves readily ! I can guess the reason their liberty
is 5orth nothing4
0aptain 8ohn erry' an &nglishman' 5ho 5rote
an account of the state of ussia in @D@G' says noth-
ing of that 5hich the 4#pirit of La5s4 ma$es him
say erry contains a fe5 lines only on the subject
of ussian bondage' 5hich are as follo5s7 4(he
c;ar has ordered that' throughout his states' in fu-
ture' no one is to be called KgolupK or slave! but
only KraabK 5hich signiJes subject 6o5ever' the
people derive no real advantage from this order' be-
ing still in reality slaves4
(he author of the 4#pirit of La5s4 adds' that
according to 0aptain ampier' 4everybody sells him-
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self in the $ingdom of ,chem4 (his 5ould be a
singular species of commerce' and I have seen noth-
ing in the 4%oyage4 of ampier 5hich conveys such
a notion It is a pity that a man so replete 5ith 5it
should ha;ard so many crudities' and so freuently
uote incorrectly
#&0(IO. I%
#erfs of the 3ody' #erfs of the 2lebe' :ainmort' etc
It is commonly asserted that there are no more
slaves in 1rance! that it is the $ingdom of the
1ran$s' and that slave and 1ran$ are contradictory
terms ! that people are so free there that many Jnan-
ciers die 5orth more than thirty millions of francs'
acuired at the epense of the descendants of the
ancient 1ran$s 6appy 1rench nation to be thus
CCA hilosophical
free T 3ut ho5' in the meantime' is so much freedom
compatible 5ith so many species of servitude' as for
instance' that of the mainmort?
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:any a Jne lady at aris' 5ho spar$les in her bo
at the opera' is ignorant that she descends from a
family of 3urgundy' the 3ourbonnais' 1ranche-
0omte' :arche' or ,uvergne' 5hich family is still
enslaved' mortaillable and mainmortable
Of these slaves' some are obliged to 5or$ three
days a 5ee$ for the lord' and others t5o If they
die 5ithout children' their 5ealth belongs to the lord !
if they leave children' the lord ta$es only the Jnest
cattle and' according to more than one custom' the
most valuable movables ,ccording to other cus-
toms' if the son of a mainmortable slave visits not
the house of his father 5ithin a year and a day from
his death' he loses all his fatherKs property' yet still
remains a slave ! that is to say' 5hatever 5ealth he
may acuire by his industry' becomes at his death
the property of the lord
)hat follo5s is still better 7 ,n honest arisian
pays a visit to his parents in 3urgundy and in
1ranche-0omte' resides a year and a day in a main-
mortable house' and returning to aris Jnds that his
property' 5herever situated' belongs to the lord' in
case he dies 5ithout issue
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It is very properly as$ed ho5 the province of
3urgundy obtained the nic$name of 4free'4 5hile
distinguished by such a species of servitude? It is
ictionary CC@
5ithout doubt upon the principle that the 2ree$s
called the furies &umenides' 4good hearts4
3ut the most curious and most consolatory cir-
cumstance attendant on this jurisprudence is that the
lords of half these mainmortable territories are
mon$s
If by chance a prince of the blood' a minister of
state' or a chancellor cast his eyes upon this article'
it 5ill be 5ell for him to recollect' that the $ing of
1rance' in his ordinance of :ay @H' @DF@' declares
to the nation' 4that the mon$s and endo5ments pos-
sess more than half of the property of 1ranche-
0omte4
(he maruis dK,rgenson' in 4Le roit ublic &c-
clesiastiue4 says' that in ,rtois' out of eighteen
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ploughs' the mon$s possess thirteen (he mon$s
themselves are called mainmor tables' and yet possess
slaves Let us refer these mon$ish possessions to
the chapter of contradictions
)hen 5e have made some modest remonstrances
upon this strange tyranny on the part of people 5ho
have vo5ed to 2od to be poor and humble' they 5ill
then reply to us7 )e have enjoyed this right for
si hundred years! 5hy then despoil us of it? )e
may humbly rejoin' that for these thirty or forty
thousand years' the 5easels have been in the habit of
suc$ing the blood of our pullets ! yet 5e assume to
ourselves the right of destroying them 5hen 5e can
catch them
CCC hilosophical
. 3 It is a mortal sin for a 0hartreu to eat
half an ounce of mutton'' but he may 5ith a safe con-
science devour the entire substance of a family I
have seen the 0hartreu in my neighborhood inherit
a hundred thousand cro5ns from one of their main-
mortable slaves' 5ho had made a fortune by com-
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merce at 1ran$fort 3ut all the truth must be told !
it is no less true' that his family enjoys the right of
soliciting alms at the gate of the convent
Let us suppose that the mon$s have still Jfty or
sity thousand slaves in the $ingdom of 1rance
(ime has not been found hitherto to reform this
0hristian jurisprudence! but something is begin-
ning to be thought about it It is only to 5ait a fe5
hundred years' until the debts of the state be paid
#L&&&# U(6& #&%&.V
1,3L& supposes that one &pimenides in a single
nap' slept t5enty-seven years' and that on his a5a$-
ing he 5as uite astonished at Jnding his grand-
children 5ho as$ed him his name married' his
friends dead' his to5n and the manners of its inhabi-
tants changed It 5as a Jne Jeld for criticism' and a
pleasant subject for a comedy (he legend has bor-
ro5ed all the features of the fable' and enlarged
upon them
(he author of the 42olden KLegend4 5as not the
Jrst 5ho' in the thirteenth century' instead of one
sleeper' gave us seven' and bravely made them seven
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ictionary CCF
martyrs 6e too$ his edifying history from 2regory
de (ours' a veridical 5riter' 5ho too$ it from #ige-
bert' 5ho too$ it from :etaphrastes' 5ho had ta$en
it from .icephorus It is thus that truth is handed
do5n from man to man
(he reverend father eter ibadeneira' of the
company of 8esus' goes still further in this celebrated
41lo5er of the #aints'4 of 5hich mention is made
in :oliereKs 4(artuNe4 It 5as translated' aug-
mented' and enriched 5ith engravings' by the rever-
end ,ntony 2irard' of the same society 7 nothing 5as
5anting to it
#ome of the curious 5ill doubtless li$e to see the
prose of the reverend father 2irard 7 behold a speci-
menT 4In the time of the emperor ecius' the
0hurch eperienced a violent and fearful persecu-
tion ,mong other 0hristians' seven brothers 5ere
accused' young' 5ell disposed' and graceful! they
5ere the children of a $night of &phesus' and called
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:aimilian' :arius' :artinian' ionysius' 8ohn'
#erapion' and 0onstantine (he emperor Jrst too$
from them their golden girdles ! then they hid them-
selves in a cavern' the entrance of 5hich ecius
caused to be 5alled up that they might die of
hunger4
1ather 2irard proceeds to say' that all seven
uic$ly fell asleep' and did not a5a$e again until K
they had slept one hundred and seventy-seven years
1ather 2irard' far from believing that this is
the dream of a man a5a$e' proves its authenticity by
CCG hilosophical
the most demonstrative arguments! and 5hen he
could Jnd no other proof' alleges the names of these
seven sleepers names never being given to people
5ho have not eisted (he seven sleepers doubtless
could neither be deceived nor deceivers' so that it
is not to dispute this history that 5e spea$ of it' but
merely to remar$ that there is not a single fabulous
event of antiuity 5hich has not been rectiJed by an-
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cient legendaries ,ll the history of 0&dipus' 6er-
cules' and (heseus is found among them' accommo-
dated to their -style (hey have invented little' but
they have perfected much
I ingenuously confess that I $no5 not 5hence
.icephorus too$ this Jne story I suppose it 5as
from the tradition of &phesus ! for the cave of the
seven sleepers' and the little church dedicated to
them' still eist (he least a5a$ened of the poor
2ree$s still go there to perform their devotions #ir
aul ycaut and several other &nglish travellers
have seen these t5o monuments ! but as to their de-
votions there' 5e hear nothing about them
Let us conclude this article 5ith the reasoning of
,bbadie7 KK(hese are memorials instituted to cele-
brate forever the adventure of the seven sleepers
.o 2ree$ in &phesus has ever doubted of it' and
these 2ree$s could not have been deceived' nor de-
ceive anybody else! therefore the history of the
seven sleepers is incontestable4
ictionary CCE
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#LO) 3&LLI&# U%&.(&# ,&##&9V
#( ,9L says' that the 0retans 5ere all 4liars'4
4evil beasts'4 and 4slo5 bellies4 (he physician
6euet understood by slo5 bellies' that the 0retans
5ere costive' 5hich vitiated their blood' and ren-
dered them ill-disposed and mischievous It is
doubtless very true that persons of this habit are
more prone to choler than others 7 their bile passes
not a5ay' but accumulates until their blood is over-
heated
)hen you have a favor to beg of a minister' or his
Jrst secretary' inform yourself adroitly of the state
of his stomach' and al5ays sei;e on 4mollia fandi
tempora4
.o one is ignorant that our character and turn of
mind are intimately connected 5ith the 5ater-closet
0ardinal ichelieu 5as sanguinary' because he had
the piles' 5hich aSicted his rectum and hardened
his disposition >ueen ,nne of ,ustria al5ays called
him 4cul pourri4 Usore bottomV' 5hich nic$name re-
doubled his bile' and possibly cost :arshal :arillac
his life' and :arshal 3assompierre his liberty ! but
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I cannot discover 5hy certain persons should be
greater liars than others (here is no $no5n con-
nection bet5een the anal sphincter and falsehood'
li$e that very sensible one bet5een our stomach and
our passions' our manner of thin$ing and our con-
duct
I am much disposed to believe' that by 4slo5
%ol @F@E
CCB hilosophical
bellies4 #t aul understood voluptuous men and
gross feeders a $ind of priors' canons' and abbots-
commendatory rich prelates' 5ho lay in bed all the
morning to recover from the ecesses of the even-
ing' as :arot observes in his eighty-sith epigram in
regard to a fat prior' 5ho lay in bed and fondled
his grandson 5hile his partridges 5ere preparing !
9n gros rieur son petit Jls baisait'
&t mignardait au matin dans sa couche'
(andis rotir sa perdri enfaisait' etc
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3ut people may lie in bed all the morning 5ithout
being either liars' or badly disposed On the con-
trary' the voluptuously indolent are generally so-
cially gentle' and easy in their commerce 5ith the
5orld
6o5ever this may be' I regret that #t aul
should oNend an entire people In this passage' hu-
manly spea$ing' there is neither politeness' ability'
or even truth .othing is gained from men by call-
ing them evil beasts! and doubtless men of merit
5ere to be found in 0rete )hy thus outrage the
country of :inos' 5hich ,rchbishop 1enelon' in-
Jnitely more polished than #t aul' so much eulo-
gi;es in his 4(elemachus4 ?
)as not #t aul some5hat dicult to live 5ith'
of a proud spirit' and of a hard and imperious char-
acter ? If I had been one of the apostles' or even a
disciple only' I should infallibly have uarrelled 5ith
him It appears to me' that the fault 5as all on his
side' in his dispute 5ith #imon eter 3arjonas 6e
ictionary CCD
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had a furious passion for domination 6e often
boasts of being an apostle' and more an apostle than
his associates he 5ho had assisted to stone #t
#tephen' he 5ho had been assistant persecutor under
2amaliel' and 5ho 5as called upon to 5eep longer
for his crimes than #t eter for his 5ea$ness T al-
5ays' ho5ever' humanly spea$ing
6e boasts of being a oman citi;en born at (ar-
sus' 5hereas #t 8erome pretends that he 5as a poor
provincial 8e5' born at 2iscala in 2alilee In his
letters addressed to the small Moc$ of his brethren'
he al5ays spea$s magisterially 7 4I 5ill come'4 says
he to certain 0orinthians' 4and I 5ill judge of you
all on the testimony of t5o or three 5itnesses ! and
I 5ill neither pardon those 5ho have sinned' nor
others4 (his 4nor others4 is some5hat severe
:any men at present 5ould be disposed to ta$e
the part of #t eter against #t aul' but for the
episode of ,nanias and #apphira' 5hich has intimi-
dated persons inclined to besto5 alms
I return to my tet of the 0retan liars' evil beasts'
and slo5 bellies ! and I recommend to all mission-
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aries never to commence their labors among any peo-
ple 5ith insults
It is not that I regard the 0retans as the most
just and respectable of men' as they 5ere called by
fabulous 2reece I pretend not to reconcile their
pretended virtue 5ith the pretended bull of 5hich
the beautiful asiphse 5as so much enamored ! nor
5ith the s$ill eerted by the artisan aedalus in the
CCH hilosophical
construction of a co5 of brass' by 5hich asiphse
5as enabled to produce a :inotaur' to 5hom the
pious and euitable :inos sacriJced every year and
not every nine years seven gro5n-up boys and
seven virgins of ,thens
It is not that I believe in the hundred large cities
in 0rete' meaning a hundred poor villages standing
upon a long and narro5 roc$' 5ith t5o or three
to5ns It is to be regretted that ollin' in his ele-
gant compilation of 4,ncient 6istory'4 has repeated
so many of the ancient fables of 0rete' and that of
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:inos among others
)ith respect to the poor 2ree$s and 8e5s 5ho
no5 inhabit the steep mountains of this island' under
the government of a pasha' they may possibly be liars
and evil disposed' but I cannot tell if they are slo5 of
digestion 7 I sincerely hope' ho5ever' that they have
sucient to eat
#O0I&(< UO<,LV O1 LO.O.' ,.
,0,&:I&#
2&,( men have all been formed either before
academies or independent of them 6omer and
hidias' #ophocles and ,pelles' %irgil and %itru-
vius' ,riosto and :ichelangelo' 5ere none of
them academicians (asso encountered only unjust
criticism from the ,cademy della 0rusca' and .e5-
ton 5as not indebted to the oyal #ociety of London
for his discoveries in optics' upon gravitation' upon
the integral calculus' and upon chronology Of 5hat
ictionary CC"
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use then are academies? (o cherish the Jre 5hich
great genius has $indled
(he oyal #ociety of London 5as formed in @BBA'
si years before the 1rench ,cademy of #cience
It has no re5ards li$e ours' but neither has it any
of the disagreeable distinctions invented by the abbe
3ignon' 5ho divided the ,cademy of #ciences be-
t5een those 5ho paid' and honorary members 5ho
5ere not learned (he society of London being in-
dependent' and only self-encouraged' has been com-
posed of members 5ho have discovered the la5s of
light' of gravitation' of the aberration of the stars'
the reMecting telescope' the Jre engine' solar micro-
scope' and many other inventions' as useful as admi-
rable 0ould they have had greater men' had they
admitted pensionaries or honorary members?
(he famous octor #5ift' in the last years of the
reign of >ueen ,nne' formed the idea of establishing
an academy for the &nglish language' after the
model of the ,cademic 1ranchise (his project 5as
countenanced by the earl of Oford' Jrst lord of the
treasury' and still more by Lord 3olingbro$e' secre-
tary of state^ 5ho possessed the gift of spea$ing e-
tempore in parliament 5ith as much purity as octor
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#5ift composed in his closet' and 5ho 5ould have
been the patron and ornament of this academy (he
members li$ely to compose it 5ere men 5hose 5or$s
5ill last as long as the &nglish language octor
#5ift 5ould have been one' and :r rior' 5hom 5e
had among us as public minister' and 5ho enjoyed a
CFA hilosophical
similar reputation in &ngland to that of La 1on-
taine among ourselves (here 5ere also :r ope'
the &nglish 3oileau' and :r 0ongreve' 5hom they
call their :oliere' and many more 5hose names es-
cape my recollection (he ueen' ho5ever' dying
suddenly' the )higs too$ it into their heads to oc-
cupy themselves in hanging the protectors of acad-
emies' a process 5hich is very injurious to the belles-
lettres (he members of this body 5ould have en-
joyed much greater advantages than 5ere possessed
by the Jrst 5ho composed the 1rench ,cademy
#5ift' rior' 0ongreve' ryden' ope' ,ddison' and
others' had Jed the &nglish language by their 5rit-
ings' 5hereas 0hapelain' 0olletet' 0assaigne' 1aret'
and 0otin' our Jrst academicians' 5ere a scandal to
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the nation ! and their names have become so ridicu-
lous that if any author had the misfortune to be
called 0hapelain or 0otin at present' he 5ould be
obliged to change his name
,bove all' the labors of an &nglish academy 5ould
have materially diNered from our o5n One day' a
5it of that country as$ed me for the memoirs of the
1rench ,cademy It composes no memoirs' I re-
plied ! but it has caused sity or eighty volumes of
compliments to be printed 6e ran through one or
t5o' but 5as not able to comprehend the style' al-
though perfectly able to understand our best authors
4,ll that I can learn by these Jne compositions'4 said
he to me' 4is' that the ne5 member' having assured
the body that his predecessor 5as a great man' 0ar-
ictionary CF @
dinal ichelieu a very great man' and 0hancellor
#eguier a tolerably great man' the president replies
by a similar string of assurances' to 5hich he adds a
ne5 one' implying that the ne5 member is also a sort
of great man ! and as for himself' the president' he
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may also perchance possess a spice of pretension4 It
is easy to perceive by 5hat fatality all the academic
speeches are so little honorable to the body 4%itium
est temporis' potius uam hominis4 It insensibly be-
came a custom for every academician to repeat those
^eulogies at his reception ! and thus the body imposed
upon themselves a $ind of obligation to fatigue the
public If 5e 5ish to discover the reason 5hy the
most brilliant among the men of genius' 5ho have
been chosen by this body' have so freuently made
the 5orst speeches' the cause may be easily e-
plained It is' that they have been anious to shine'
and to treat 5orn-out matter in a ne5 5ay (he
necessity of saying something! the embarrassment
produced by the consciousness of having nothing to
say ! and the desire to ehibit ability' are three things
sucient to render even a great man ridiculous
9nable to discover ne5 thoughts' the ne5 members
fatigue themselves for novel terms of epression'
and often spea$ 5ithout thin$ing! li$e men 5ho'
aNecting to che5 5ith nothing in their mouths' seem
to eat 5hile perishing 5ith hunger Instead of a la5
in the 1rench ,cademy to have these speeches
printed' a la5 should be passed in prevention of that
absurdity
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CFC hilosophical
(he ,cademy of 3elles-Lettres imposed upon it-
self a tas$ more judicious and useful that of pre-
senting to the public a collection of memoirs com-
prising the most critical and curious disuisitions
and researches (hese memoirs are already held in
great esteem by foreigners It is only desirable' that
some subjects 5ere treated more profoundly' and
others not treated of at all (hey might' for eample'
very 5ell dispense 5ith dissertations upon the pre-
rogative of the right hand over the left ! and of other
inuiries 5hich' under a less ridiculous title' are not
less frivolous (he ,cademy of #ciences' in its more
dicult and useful investigation' embraces a study
of nature' and the improvement of the arts ! and it
is to be epected that studies so profound and per-
severingly pursued' calculations so eact' and dis-
coveries so reJned' 5ill in the end produce a corre-
sponding beneJt to the 5orld at large
,s to the 1rench ,cademy' 5hat services might
it not render to letters' to the language' and the na-
tion' if' instead of printing volumes of compliments
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every year' it 5ould reprint the best 5or$s of the age
of Louis I%' puriJed from all the faults of lan-
guage 5hich have crept into themT 0orneille and
:oliere are full of them' and they s5arm in La 1on-
taine (hose 5hich could not be corrected might at
least be mar$ed' and &urope at large' 5hich reads
these authors' 5ould then learn our language 5ith
certainty' and its purity 5ould be forever 4Jed
2ood 1rench boo$s' printed 5ith care at the epense
ictionary CFF
of the $ing' 5ould be one of the most glorious mon-
uments of the nation I have heard say' that : es-
preau once made this proposal' 5hich has since
been rene5ed by a man 5hose 5it' 5isdom' and
sound criticism are generally ac$no5ledged! but
this idea has met 5ith the fate of several other useful
projects that of being approved and neglected
#O0,(&#
Is (6& mould bro$en of those 5ho loved virtue
for itself' of a 0onfucius' a ythagoras' a (hales' a
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#ocrates? In their time' there 5ere cro5ds of dev-
otees to their pagods and divinities ! minds struc$
5ith fear of 0erberus and of the 1uries' 5ho under-
5ent initiations' pilgrimages' and mysteries' 5ho
ruined themselves in oNerings of blac$ sheep ,ll
times have seen those unfortunates of 5hom Lucre-
tius spea$s 7
>ui iiocumue tamen miseri venere parentant'
&t nigras mactant pecudes' et manibu ivis
Inferias mittunt! multoue in rebus acerbis
,crius advertunt animus ad religionem
L90&(I9#' iii' E@-EG
)ho sacriJce blac$ sheep on every tomb
(o please the manes! and of all the rout
)hen cares and dangers press' gro5 most devout
0&&06
:ortiJcations 5ere in use ! the priests of 0ybele
castrated themselves to preserve continence 6o5
comes it' that among all the martyrs of superstition'
antiuity rec$ons not a single great man a sage?
It is' that fear could never ma$e virtue' and that
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CFG hilosophical
great men have been enthusiasts in moral good
)isdom 5as their predominant passion ! they 5ere
sages as ,leander 5as a 5arrior' as 6omer 5as a
poet' and ,pelles a painter by a superior energy
and nature ! 5hich is all that is meant by the demon
of #ocrates
One day' t5o citi;ens of ,thens' returning from
the temple of :ercury' perceived #ocrates in the
public place One said to the other 7 4Is not that the
rascal 5ho says that one can be virtuous 5ithout
going every day to oNer up sheep and geese?4
4<es'4 said the other' 4that is the sage 5ho has no
religion ! that is the atheist 5ho says there is only
one 2od4 #ocrates approached them 5ith his sim-
ple air' his dsemon' and his irony' 5hich :adame
acier has so highly ealted 4:y friends'4 said he
to them' 4one 5ord' if you please 7 a man 5ho prays
to 2od' 5ho adores 6im' 5ho see$s to resemble
6im as much as human 5ea$ness can do' and 5ho
does all the good 5hich lies in his po5er' 5hat 5ould
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you call him?4 4, very religious soul'4 said they
4%ery 5ell! 5e may therefore adore the #upreme
3eing' and have a great deal of religion?4
42ranted'4 said the t5o ,thenians 43ut do you be-
lieve'4 pursued #ocrates' 4that 5hen the ivine
,rchitect of the 5orld arranged all the globes 5hich
roll over our heads' 5hen 6e gave motion and life
to so many diNerent beings' 6e made use of the arm
of 6ercules' the lyre of ,pollo' or the Mute of an ?4
4It is not probable'4 said they 43ut if it is not li$ely
ictionary CFE
that 6e called in the aid of others to construct that
5hich 5e see' it is not probable that 6e preserves
it through others rather than through 6imself If
.eptune 5as the absolute master of the sea' 8uno
of the air' 8&olus of the 5inds' 0eres of harvests
and one 5ould have a calm' 5hen the other 5ould
have rain you feel clearly' that the order of nature
could not eist as it is <ou 5ill confess' that all
depends upon 6im 5ho has made all <ou give
four 5hite horses to the sun' and four blac$ ones to
the moon ! but is it not more li$ely' that day and
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night are the eNect of the motion given to the stars
by their :aster' than that they 5ere produced by
eight horses ?4 (he t5o citi;ens loo$ed at him' but
ans5ered nothing In short' #ocrates concluded by
proving to them' that they might have harvests 5ith-
out giving money to the priests of 0eres ! go to the
chase 5ithout oNering little silver statues to the
temple of iana ! that omona gave not fruits ! that
.eptune gave not horses ! and that they should
than$ the #overeign 5ho had made all
6is discourse 5as most eactly logical eno-
phon' his disciple' a man 5ho $ne5 the 5orld' and
5ho after5ards sacriJced to the 5ind' in the re-
treat of the ten thousand' too$ #ocrates by the sleeve'
and said to him7 4<our discourse is admirable!
you have spo$en better than an oracle ! you are lost !
one of these honest people to 5hom you spea$ is a
butcher' 5ho sells sheep and geese for sacriJces ! and
the other a goldsmith' 5ho gains much by ma$ing
CFB hilosophical
little gods of silver and brass for 5omen (hey 5ill
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accuse you of being a blasphemer' 5ho 5ould di-
minish their trade ! they 5ill depose against you to
:elitus and ,nitus' your enemies' 5ho have resolved
upon your ruin 7 have a care of hemloc$ ! your fa-
miliar spirit should have 5arned you not to say to a
butcher and a goldsmith 5hat you should only say
to lato and enophon4
#ome time after' the enemies of #ocrates caused
him to be condemned by the council of Jve hundred
6e had t5o hundred and t5enty voices in his favor'
5hich may cause it to be presumed that there 5ere
t5o hundred and t5enty philosophers in this tri-
bunal ! but it sho5s that' in all companies' the number
of philosophers is al5ays the minority
#ocrates therefore dran$ hemloc$' for having
spo$en in favor of the unity of 2od ! and the ,the-
nians after5ards consecrated a temple to #ocrates
to him 5ho disputed against all temples dedicated to
inferior beings
#OLO:O.
#&%&,L $ings have been good scholars' and have
5ritten good boo$s (he $ing of russia' 1rederic$
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the 2reat' is the latest eample 5e have had of it 7
2erman monarchs 5ill be found 5ho compose
1rench verses' and 5ho 5rite the history of their
countries 8ames I in &ngland' and even 6enry
%III have 5ritten In #pain' 5e must go bac$ as
ictionary CFD
far as ,lphonso #till it is doubtful 5hether he
put his hand to the 4,lphonsine (ables4
1rance cannot boast of having had an author
$ing (he empire of 2ermany has no boo$ from the
pen of its emperors! but ome 5as gloriJed in
0aesar' :arcus ,urelius' and 8ulian In ,sia' sev-
eral 5riters are rec$oned among the $ings (he
present emperor of 0hina' +ien Long' particularly'
is considered a great poet! but #olomon' or #oly-
man' the 6ebre5' has still more reputation than
+ien Long' the 0hinese
(he name of #olomon has al5ays been revered in
the &ast (he 5or$s believed to be his' the 4,nnals
of the 8e5s'4 and the fables of the ,rabs' have car-
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ried his reno5n as far as the Indies 6is reign is
the great epoch of the 6ebre5s
6e 5as the third $ing of alestine (he 1irst
3oo$ of +ings says that his mother' 3athsheba' ob-
tained from avid' the promise that he should cro5n
#olomon' her son' instead of ,donijah' his eldest
It is not surprising that a 5oman' an accomplice in
the death of her Jrst husband' should have had arti-
Jce enough to cause the inheritance to be given to the
fruit of her adultery' and to cause the legitimate son
to be disinherited' 5ho 5as also the eldest
It is a very remar$able fact that the prophet .a-
than' 5ho reproached avid 5ith his adultery' the
murder of 9riah' and the marriage 5hich follo5ed
this murder' 5as the same 5ho after5ards seconded
3athsheba in placing that #olomon on the throne'
CFH hilosophical
5ho 5as born of this sanguine and infamous mar-
riage (his conduct' reasoning according to the
Mesh' 5ould prove' that the prophet .athan had'
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according to circumstances' t5o 5eights and t5o
measures (he boo$ even says not that .athan re-
ceived a particular mission from 2od to disinherit
,donijah If he had one' 5e must respect it! but
5e cannot admit that 5e Jnd it 5ritten
It is a great uestion in theology' 5hether #olo-
mon is most reno5ned for his ready money' his
5ives' or his boo$s I am sorry that he commenced
his reign in the (ur$ish style by murdering his
brother
,donijah' ecluded from the throne by #olomon'
as$ed him' as an only favor' permission to espouse
,bishag' the young girl 5ho had been given to
avid to 5arm him in his old age #cripture says
not 5hether #olomon disputed 5ith ,donijah' the
concubine of his father! but it says' that #olomon'
simply on this demand of ,donijah' caused him to
be assassinated ,pparently 2od' 5ho gave him the
spirit of 5isdom' refused him that of justice and
humanity' as he after5ards refused him the gift of
continence
It is said in the same 3oo$ of +ings that he 5as
the master of a great $ingdom 5hich etended from
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the &uphrates to the ed #ea and the :editerra-
nean ! but unfortunately it is said at the same time'
that the $ing of &gypt conuered the country of
2e;er' in 0anaan' and that he gave the city of 2e;er
ictionary CF"
as a portion to his daughter' 5hom it is pretended
that #olomon espoused It is also said that there
5as a $ing at amascus ! and the $ingdoms of (yre
and #idon Mourished #urrounded thus 5ith po5er-
ful states' he doubtless manifested his 5isdom in liv-
ing in peace 5ith them all (he etreme abundance
5hich enriched his country could only be the fruit
of this profound 5isdom' since' as 5e have already
remar$ed' in the time of #aul there 5as not a 5or$er
in iron in the 5hole country (hose 5ho reason Jnd
it dicult to understand ho5 avid' the successor
of #aul' so vanuished by the hilistines' could have
established so vast an empire
(he riches 5hich he left to #olomon are still more
5onderful ! he gave him in ready money one hun-
dred and three thousand talents of gold' and one
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million thirteen thousand talents of silver (he
6ebraic talent of gold' according to ,rbuthnot' is
5orth si thousand livres sterling' the talent of sil-
ver' about Jve hundred livres sterling (he sum
total of the legacy in ready money' 5ithout the
je5els and other eNects' and 5ithout the ordinary
revenue proportioned no doubt to this treasure
amounted' according to this calculation' to one bil-
lion' one hundred and nineteen millions' Jve hundred
thousand pounds sterling' or to Jve billions' Jve hun-
dred and ninety-seven cro5ns of 2ermany' or to
t5enty-Jve billions' forty-eight millions of francs
(here 5as not then so much money circulating
through the 5hole 5orld #ome scholars value this
CGA hilosophical
treasure at a little less' but the sum is al5ays very
large for alestine
)e see not' after that' 5hy #olomon should tor-
ment himself so much to send Meets to Ophir to bring
gold )e can still less divine ho5 this po5erful
monarch' in his vast states' had not a man 5ho $ne5
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ho5 to fashion 5ood from the forest of Libanus
6e 5as obliged to beg 6iram' $ing of (yre' to lend
him 5ood cutters and laborers to 5or$ it It must
be confessed that these contradictions eceedingly
eercise the genius of commentators
&very day' Jfty oen' and one hundred sheep
5ere served up for the dinner and supper of his
houses' and poultry and game in proportion' 5hich
might be about sity thousand pounds 5eight of
meat per day 6e $ept a good house It is added'
that he had forty thousand stables' and as many
houses for his chariots of 5ar' but only t5elve thou-
sand stables for his cavalry 6ere is a great number
of chariots for a mountainous country! and it 5as
a great euipage for a $ing 5hose predecessor had
only a mule at his coronation' and a territory 5hich
bred asses alone
It 5as not becoming a prince possessing so many
chariots to be limited in the article of 5omen! he
therefore possessed seven hundred 5ho bore the
name of ueen! and 5hat is strange' he had but
three hundred concubines! contrary to the custom
of $ings' 5ho have generally more mistresses than
5ives
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ictionary CG@
6e $ept four hundred and t5elve thousand
horses' doubtless to ta$e the air 5ith them along
the la$e of 2ennesaret' or that of #odom' in the
neighborhood of the 3roo$ of +edron' 5hich 5ould
be one of the most delightful places upon earth' if
the broo$ 5as not dry nine months of the year' and
if the earth 5as not horribly stony
,s to the temple 5hich he built' and 5hich the
8e5s believed to be the Jnest 5or$ of the universe'
if the 3ramantes' the :ichelangelos' and the al-
ladios' had seen this building' they 5ould not have
admired it It 5as a $ind of small suare fortress'
5hich enclosed a court ! in this court 5as one edi-
Jce of forty cubits long' and another of t5enty ! and
it is said' that this second ediJce' 5hich 5as properly
the temple' the oracle' the holy of holies' 5as only
t5enty cubits in length and breadth' and t5enty
cubits high : #ouMot 5ould not have been uite
pleased 5ith those proportions
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(he boo$s attributed to #olomon have lasted
longer than his temple
(he name of the author alone has rendered these
boo$s respectable (hey should be good' since they
5ere 5ritten by a $ing' and this $ing passed for the
5isest of men
(he Jrst 5or$ attributed to him is that of rov-
erbs It is a collection of maims' 5hich sometimes
appear to our reJned minds triMing' lo5' incoherent'
in bad taste' and 5ithout meaning eople cannot
be persuaded that an enlightened $ing has composed
%ol @F@B
CGC hilosophical
a collection of sentences' in 5hich there is not one
5hich regards the art of government' politics' man-
ners of courtiers' or customs of a court (hey are
astonished at seeing 5hole chapters in 5hich nothing
is spo$en of but prostitutes' 5ho invite passengers in
the streets to lie 5ith them (hey revolt against
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sentences in the follo5ing style 7 4(here are three
things that are never satisJed' a fourth 5hich never
says KenoughK! the grave! the barren 5omb! the
earth that is not Jlled 5ith 5ater' are the three ! and
the fourth is Jre' 5hich never sayeth KenoughK
4(here be three things 5hich are too 5onderful
for me! yea' four 5hich I $no5 not (he 5ay of
an eagle in the air' the 5ay of a serpent upon a roc$'
the 5ay of a ship in the midst of the sea' and the
5ay of a man 5ith a maid
4(here be four things 5hich are little upon the
earth' but they are eceeding 5ise (he ants are a
people not strong' yet they prepare their meat in the
summer! the conies are but a feeble race' yet they
ma$e their houses in roc$s! the locusts have no
$ing' yet go they forth all of them by bands! the
spider ta$eth hold 5ith her hands' and is in $ingsK
palaces4
0an 5e impute such follies as these to a great
$ing' to the 5isest of mortals? say the objectors
(his criticism is strong ! it should deliver itself 5ith
more respect
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(he roverbs have been attributed to Isaiah'
&lijah' #obna' &lia$im' 8oachim' and several others!
ictionary CGF
but 5hoever compiled this collection of &astern sen-
tences' it does not appear that it 5as a $ing 5ho gave
himself the trouble )ould he have said that the
terror of the $ing is li$e the roaring of a lion? It
is thus that a subject or a slave spea$s' 5ho trembles
at the anger of his master )ould #olomon have
spo$en so much of unchaste 5omen? )ould he
have said 7 4Loo$ thou not upon the 5ine 5hen it is
red' 5hen it giveth its color in the glass4 ?
I doubt very much 5hether there 5ere any drin$-
ing glasses in the time of #olomon ! it is a very re-
cent invention! all antiuity dran$ from cups of
5ood or metal ! and this single passage perhaps in-
dicates that this 8e5ish collection 5as composed in
,leandria' as 5ell as most of the other 8e5ish
boo$s
(he 3oo$ of &cclesiastes' 5hich is attributed to
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#olomon' is in uite a diNerent order and taste 6e
5ho spea$s in this 5or$ seems not to be deceived
by visions of grandeur' to be tired of pleasures' and
disgusted 5ith science )e have ta$en him for
an &picurean 5ho repeats on each page' that the just
and unjust are subject to the same accidents! that
man is nothing more than the beast 5hich perishes !
that it is better not to be born than to eist! that
there is no other life ! and that there is nothing more
good and reasonable than to enjoy the fruit of our
labors 5ith a 5oman 5hom 5e love
It might happen that #olomon held such discourse
5ith some of his 5ives! and it is pretended that
CGG hilosophical
these are objections 5hich he made! but these
maims' 5hich have a libertine air' do not at all re-
semble objections! and it is a jo$e to profess to
understand in an author the eact contrary of that
5hich he says
)e believe that 5e read the sentiments of a mate-
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rialist ' at once sensual and digusted' 5ho appears to
have put an edifying 5ord or t5o on 2od in the
last verse' to diminish the scandal 5hich such a boo$
must necessarily create ,s to the rest' several
fathers say that #olomon did penance! so that 5e
can pardon him
0ritics have diculty in persuading themselves
that this boo$ can be by #olomon ! and 2rotius pre-
tends that it 5as 5ritten under =erubbabel It is not
natural for #olomon to say 7 4)oe to thee' O land'
5hen thy $ing is a child T4 (he 8e5s had not then
such $ings
It is not natural for him to say 7 4I observe the
face of the $ing4 It is much more li$ely' that the
author spo$e of #olomon' and that by this alienation
of mind' 5hich 5e discover in so many rabbins' he
has often forgotten' in the course of the boo$' that
it 5as a $ing 5hom he caused to spea$
)hat appears surprising to them is that this 5or$
has been consecrated among the canonical boo$s If
the canon of the 3ible 5ere to be established no5'
say they' perhaps the 3oo$ of &cclesiastes might not
be inserted ! but it 5as inserted at a time 5hen boo$s
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5ere very rare' and more admired than read ,ll
ictionary CGE
that can be done no5 is to palliate the &picureanism
5hich prevails in this 5or$ (he 3oo$ of &ccle-
siastes has been treated li$e many other things 5hich
disgust in a particular manner 3eing established in
times of ignorance' 5e are forced' to the scandal of
reason' to maintain them in 5iser times' and to dis-
guise the horror or absurdity of them by allegories
(hese critics are too bold
(he 4#ong of #ongs4 is further attributed to #ol-
omon' because the name of that $ing is found in t5o
or three places ! because it is said to the beloved'
that she is beautiful as the curtains of #olomon ! be-
cause she says that she is blac$' by 5hich epithet it
is believed that #olomon designated his &gyptian
5ife
(hese three reasons have not proved convincing 7
I )hen the beloved' in spea$ing to her lover' says
4(he $ing hath brought me into his chamber'4 she
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evidently spea$s of another than her lover! there-
fore the $ing is not this lover ! it is the $ing of the
festival! it is the paranymph' the master of the
house' 5hom she means ! and this 8e5ess is so far
from being the mistress of a $ing' that throughout
the 5or$ she is a shepherdess' a country girl' 5ho
goes see$ing her lover through the Jelds' and in the
streets of the to5n' and 5ho is stopped at the gates
by a porter 5ho steals her garment
C 4I am beautiful as the curtains of #olomon'4
is the epression of a villager' 5ho 5ould say7 I
am as beautiful as the $ingKs tapestries! and it is
CGB hilosophical
precisely because the name of #olomon is found in
this 5or$' that it cannot be his )hat monarch could
ma$e so ridiculous a comparison? 43ehold'4 says
the beloved' 4behold +ing #olomon 5ith the cro5n
5here5ith his mother cro5ned him in the day of his
espousalsT4 )ho recogni;es not in these epres-
sions the common comparisons 5hich girls ma$e in
spea$ing of their lovers ? (hey say 7 46e is as beau-
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tiful as a prince ! he has the air of a $ing'4 etc
It is true that the shepherdess' 5ho is made to
spea$ in this amorous song' says that she is tanned
by the sun' that she is bro5n .o5 if this 5as the
daughter of the $ing of &gypt' she 5as not so
tanned 1emales of uality in &gypt 5ere fair
0leopatra 5as so ! and' in a 5ord' this person could
not be at once a peasant and a ueen
, monarch 5ho had a thousand 5ives might have
said to one of them 7 4Let her $iss me 5ith the lips
of her mouth ! for thy breasts are better than 5ine4
, $ing and a shepherd' 5hen the subject is of $iss-
ing' might epress themselves in the same manner
It is true' that it is strange enough it should be pre-
tended' that the girl spea$s in this place' and eulo-
gi;es the breasts of her lover
)e further avo5 that a gallant $ing might have
said to his mistress 7 4, bundle of myrrh is my 5ell
beloved unto me ! he shall lie all night bet5een my
breasts4
(hat he might have said to her7 4(hy navel is
li$e a round goblet 5hich 5anteth not liuor! thy
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ictionary CGD
belly is li$e a heap of 5heat set about 5ith lilies!
thy t5o breasts are li$e t5o young roes that are
t5ins! thy nec$ is as a to5er of ivory! thine eyes
li$e the Jsh pools in 6eshbon ! and thy nose as the
to5er of Lebanon4
I confess that the 4&clogues4 of %irgil are in a
diNerent style! but each has his o5n' and a 8e5
is not obliged to 5rite li$e %irgil
)e have not noticed this Jne turn of &astern elo-
uence7 4)e have a little sister' and she hath no
breasts )hat shall 5e do for our sister in the
day 5hen she shall be spo$en for? If she be a 5all'
5e 5ill build upon her! and if she be a door' 5e
5ill close it4
#olomon' the 5isest of men' might have spo$en
thus in his merry moods ! but several rabbins Khave
maintained' not only that this voluptuous eclogue
5as not +ing #olomonKs' but that it is not authentic
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(heodore of :opsuestes 5as of this opinion' and the
celebrated 2rotius calls the 4#ong of #ongs'4 a lib-
ertine Magitious 5or$ 6o5ever' it is consecrated'
and 5e regard it as a perpetual allegory of the mar-
riage of 8esus 0hrist 5ith the 0hurch )e must
confess' that the allegory is rather strong' and 5e
see not 5hat the 0hurch could understand' 5hen the
author says that his little sister has no breasts
,fter all' this song is a precious relic of antiuity !
it is the only boo$ of love of the 6ebre5s 5hich re-
mains to us &njoyment is often spo$en of in it
It is a 8e5ish eclogue (he style is li$e that of all
CGH hilosophical
the elouent 5or$s of the 6ebre5s' 5ithout con-
nection' 5ithout order' full of repetition' confused'
ridiculously metaphorical' but containing passages
5hich breathe simplicity and love
(he 43oo$ of )isdom4 is in a more serious taste !
but it is no more #olomonKs than the 4#ong of
#ongs4 It is generally attributed to 8esus' the son
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of #irac' and by some to hilo of 3iblos ! but 5ho-
ever may be the author' it is believed' that in his
time the entateuch did not eist! for he says in
chapter ' that ,braham 5as going to sacriJce Isaac
at the time of the eluge ! and in another place he
spea$s of the patriarch 8oseph as of a $ing of &gypt
,t least' it is the most natural sense
(he 5orst of it is' that the author in the same
chapter pretends' that in his time the statue of salt
into 5hich LotKs 5ife 5as changed 5as to be seen
)hat critics Jnd still 5orse is that the boo$ appears
to them a tiresome mass of commonplaces ! but they
should consider that such 5or$s are not made to fol-
lo5 the vain rules of elouence (hey are 5ritten
to edify' and not to please' and 5e should even com-
bat our disinclination to read them
It is very li$ely that #olomon 5as rich and
learned for his time and people &aggeration' the
inseparable companion of greatness' attributes riches
to him 5hich he could not have possessed' and boo$s
5hich he could not have 5ritten espect for an-
tiuity has since consecrated these errors
3ut 5hat signiJes it to us' that these boo$s 5ere
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ictionary CG"
5ritten by a 8e5 ? Our 0hristian religion is founded
on the 8e5ish' but not on all the boo$s 5hich the
8e5s have 5ritten
1or instance' 5hy should the 4#ong of #ongs4
be more sacred to us than the fables of (almud?
It is' say they' because 5e have comprised it in the
canon of the 6ebre5s ,nd 5hat is this canon?
It is a collection of authentic 5or$s )ell' must a
5or$ be divine to be authentic? , history of the
little $ingdoms of 8udah and #ichem' for instance
is it anything but a history? (his is a strange prej-
udice )e hold the 8e5s in horror' and 5e insist
that all 5hich has been 5ritten by them' and collected
by us' bears the stamp of ivinity (here never 5as
so palpable a contradiction
#O:.,:39LI#(# ,. &,:&#
#&0(IO. I
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I 6,%& seen a somnambulist' but he contented
himself 5ith rising' dressing himself' ma$ing a bo5'
and dancing a minuet' all 5hich he did very prop-
erly ! and having again undressed himself' returned
to bed and continued to sleep
(his conies not near the somnambulist of the
4&ncyclopaedia4 (he last 5as a young seminarist'
5ho set himself to compose a sermon in his sleep
6e 5rote it correctly' read it from one end to the
other' or at least appeared to read it' made correc-
tions' erased some lines' substituted others' and in-
serted an omitted 5ord 6e even composed music'
CEA hilosophical
noted it 5ith precision' and after preparing his paper
5ith his ruler' placed the 5ords under the notes
5ithout the least mista$e
It is said' that an archbishop of 3ordeau has
5itnessed all these operations' and many others
eually astonishing It is to be 5ished that this prel-
ate had aed his attestation to the account' signed
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by his grand vicars' or at least by his secretary
3ut supposing that this somnambulist has done all
5hich is imputed to him' I 5ould persist in putting
the same ueries to him as to a simple dreamer I
5ould say to him 7 <ou have dreamed more forci-
bly than another! but it is upon the same principle!
one has had a fever only' the other a degree of mad-
ness! but both the one and the other have received
ideas and sensations to 5hich they have not attended
<ou have both done 5hat you did not intend to do
Of t5o dreamers' the one has not a single idea'
the other a cro5d ! the one is as insensible as mar-
ble' 5hile the other eperiences desires and enjoy-
ments , lover composes a song on his mistress in
a dream' and in his delirium imagines himself to be
reading a tender letter from her' 5hich he repeats
aloud 7
#cribit amatori meretri ! dat adultera munus
In noctis spatio miserorum vulnera durant
&(O.I9#' chap civ
oes anything pass 5ithin you during this po5er-
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ful dream more than 5hat passes every day 5hen
you are a5a$e?
ictionary CE@
<ou' :r #eminarist' born 5ith the gift of imi-
tation' you have listened to some hundred sermons'
and your brain is prepared to ma$e them 7 moved by
the talent of imitation' you have 5ritten them 5a$-
ing ! and you are led by the same talent and impulse
5hen you are asleep 3ut ho5 have you been able
to become a preacher in a dream? <ou 5ent to
sleep' 5ithout any desire to preach emember 5ell
the Jrst time that you 5ere led to compose the s$etch
of a sermon 5hile a5a$e <ou thought not of it a
uarter of an hour before ! but seated in your cham-
ber' occupied in a reverie' 5ithout any determinate
ideas' your memory recalls' 5ithout your 5ill inter-
fering' the remembrance of a certain holiday! this
holiday reminds you that sermons are delivered on
that day ! you remember a tet ! this tet suggests
an eordium! pens' in$' and paper' are lying near
you ! and you begin to 5rite things you had not
the least previous intention of 5riting #uch is pre-
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cisely 5hat came to pass in your noctambulism
<ou believe yourself' both in the one and the other
occupation' to have done only 5hat you intended to
do! and you have been directed 5ithout conscious-
ness by all 5hich preceded the 5riting of the sermon
In the same manner 5hen' on coming from ves-
pers' you are shut up in your cell to meditate' you
have no design to occupy yourself 5ith the image of
your fair neighbor! but it someho5 or another in-
trudes! your imagination is inMamed! and I need
CEC hilosophical
not refer to the conseuences <ou may have epe-
rienced the same adventure in your sleep
)hat share has your 5ill had in all these modi-
Jcations of sensation? (he same that it has had in
the coursing of your blood through your arteries and
veins' in the action of your lymphatic vessels' or in
the pulsation of your heart' or of your brain
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I have read the article on 4reams4 in the 4&ncy-
clopaedia'4 and have understood nothing! and 5hen
I search after the cause of my ideas and actions'
either in sleeping or 5a$ing' I am eually con-
founded
I $no5 5ell' that a reasoner 5ho 5ould prove to
me 5hen I 5a$e' and 5hen I am neither mad nor
intoicated' that I am then an active agent' 5ould
but slightly embarrass me ! but I should be still more
embarrassed if I undertoo$ to prove to him that
5hen he slept he 5as passive and a pure automaton
&plain to me an animal 5ho is a mere machine
one-half of his life' and 5ho changes his nature t5ice
every t5enty-four hours
#&0(IO. II
Letter on reams to the &ditor of the Literary 2a-
;ette' ,ugust' @DBG
2entlemen 7 ,ll the objects of science are 5ithin
your jurisdiction ! allo5 chimeras to be so also 4.il
sub sole novum4 4nothing ne5 under the sun
(hus it is not of anything 5hich passes in noonday
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that I am going to treat' but of that 5hich ta$es
ictionary CEF
place during the night 3e not alarmed ! it is only
5ith dreams that I concern myself
I confess' gentlemen' that I am constantly of the
opinion of the physician of : ourceaugnac ! he
inuires of his patient the nature of his dreams' and
: ourceaugnac' 5ho is not a philosopher' replies
that they are of the nature of dreams It is most
certain ho5ever' 5ith no oNence to your Limousin'
that uneasy and horrible dreams denote pain either
of body or mind ! a body overcharged 5ith aliment'
or a mind occupied 5ith melancholy ideas 5hen
a5a$e
(he laborer 5ho has 5a$ed 5ithout chagrin' and
fed 5ithout ecess' sleeps sound and tranuil' and
dreams disturb him not ! so long as he is in this state'
he seldom remembers having a dream a truth 5hich
I have fully ascertained on my estate in 6ereford-
shire &very dream of a forcible nature is produced
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by some ecess' either in the passions of the soul'
or the nourishment of the body ! it seems as if nature
intended to punish us for them' by suggesting ideas'
and ma$ing us thin$ in spite of ourselves It may be
inferred from this' that those 5ho thin$ the least are
the most happy ! but it is not that conclusion 5hich
I see$ to establish
)e must ac$no5ledge' 5ith etronius' 4>uid-
uid luce fuit' tenebris agit4 I have $no5n advo-
cates 5ho have pleaded in dreams ! mathematicians
5ho have sought to solve problems ! and poets 5ho
have composed verses I have made some myself'
CEG hilosophical
5hich are very passable It is therefore incontesta-
ble' that consecutive ideas occur in sleep' as 5ell as
5hen 5e are a5a$e' 5hich ideas as certainly come in
spite of us )e thin$ 5hile sleeping' as 5e move
in our beds' 5ithout our 5ill having anything to
do either in the motive or the thought <our 1ather
:alebranche is right in asserting that 5e are not able
to give ourselves ideas 1or 5hy are 5e to be mas-
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ters of them' 5hen 5a$ing' more than during sleep ?
If your :alebranche had stopped there' he 5ould
have been a great philosopher ! he deceived himself
only by going too far 7 of him 5e may say 7
rocessit longe Mammantia mcenia mundi
L90&(I9#' i' DG
6is vigorous and active mind 5as hurled
3eyond the Maming limits of this 5orld
0&&06
1or my part' I am persuaded that the reMection
that our thoughts proceed not from ourselves' may
induce the visit of some very good thoughts I 5ill
not' ho5ever' underta$e to develop mine' for fear of
tiring some readers' and astonishing others
I simply beg to say t5o or three 5ords in rela-
tion to dreams 6ave you not found' li$e me' that
they are the origin of the opinion so generally dif-
fused throughout antiuity' touching spectres and
manes? , man profoundly aSicted at the death of
his 5ife or his son' sees them in his sleep ! he spea$s
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to them! they reply to him! and to him they have
certainly appeared Other men have had similar
ictionary CEE
dreams! it is therefore impossible to deny that the
dead may return ! but it is certain' at the same time'
that these deceased' 5hether inhumed' reduced to
ashes' or buried in the abyss of the sea' have not been
able to reserve their bodies ! it is' therefore' the soul
5hich 5e have seen (his soul must necessarily be
etended' light' and impalpable' because in spea$ing
to it 5e have not been able to embrace it 7 4&Nugit
imago par levibus ventis4 It is moulded and de-
signed from the body that it inhabits' since it per-
fectly resembles it (he name of shade or manes is
given it ! from all 5hich a confused idea remains in
the head' 5hich diNers itself so much more because
no one can understand it
reams also appear to me to have been the sen-
sible origin of primitive prophecy or prediction
)hat more natural or common than to dream that a
person dear to us is in danger of dying' or that 5e
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see him epiring? )hat more natural' again' than
that such a person may really die soon after this omi-
nous dream of his friend ? reams 5hich have come
to pass are al5ays predictions 5hich no one can
doubt' no account being ta$en of the dreams 5hich
are never fulJlled ! a single dream accomplished has
more eNect than a hundred 5hich fail ,ntiuity
abounds 5ith these eamples 6o5 constructed are
5e for the reception of error T ay and night unite
to deceive us T
<ou see' gentlemen' that by attending to these
CEB hilosophical
ideas' 5e may gather some fruit from the boo$ of my
compatriot' the dreamer ! but I Jnish' lest you should
ta$e me myself for a mere visionary
<ours'
8O6. &,:&
#&0(IO. III
Of reams
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,ccording to etronius' dreams are not of divine
origin' but self-formed7
#omnia guce mentes ludunt volitantibus umbrts'
.on delumbra deum nee ab cethere numina mittunt'
#ed sibi uisuefacit
3ut ho5' all the senses being defunct in sleep'
does there remain an internal one 5hich retains con-
sciousness ? 6o5 is it' that 5hile the eyes see not'
the ears hear not' 5e not5ithstanding understand in
our dreams? (he hound rene5s the chase in a
dream7 he bar$s' follo5s his prey' and is in at the
death (he poet composes verses in his sleep! the
mathematician eamines his diagram ! and the meta-
physician reasons 5ell or ill ! of all 5hich there are
stri$ing eamples
,re they only the organs of the machine 5hich
act ? Is it the pure soul' submitted to the empire of
the senses' enjoying its faculties at liberty?
If the organs alone produce dreams by night' 5hy
not alone produce ideas by day? If the soul' pure
and tranuil' acting for itself during the repose of
the senses' is the sole cause of our ideas 5hile 5e
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are sleeping' 5hy are all these ideas usually irregu-
ictionary CED
lar' unreasonable' and incoherent ? )hat T at a time
5hen the soul is least disturbed' it is so much dis-
uieted in its imagination ? Is it frantic 5hen at lib-
erty? If it 5as produced 5ith metaphysical ideas'
as so many sages assert 5ho dream 5ith their eyes
open' its correct and luminous ideas of being' of in-
Jnity' and of all the primary principles' ought to be
revealed in the soul 5ith the greatest energy 5hen
the body sleeps )e should never be good philoso-
phers ecept 5hen dreaming
)hatever system 5e embrace' 5hatever our vain
endeavors to prove that the memory impels the brain'
and that the brain acts upon the soul' 5e must allo5
that our ideas come' in sleep' independently of our
5ill It is therefore certain that 5e can thin$ seven
or eight hours running 5ithout the least intention of
doing so' and even 5ithout being certain that 5e
thin$ ause upon that' and endeavor to divine 5hat
there is in this 5hich is animal
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reams have al5ays formed a great object of
superstition' and nothing is more natural , man
deeply aNected by the sic$ness of his mistress
dreams that he sees her dying ! she dies the net day !
and of course the gods have predicted her death
(he general of an army dreams that he shall gain
a battle ! he subseuently gains one ! the gods had
decreed that he should be a conueror reams
5hich are accomplished are alone attended to
reams form a great part of ancient history' as also
of oracles
%ol @F @D
CEH hilosophical
(he 4%ulgate4 thus translates the end of Leviti-
cus' i' CB 7 4<ou shall not observe dreams4 3ut
the 5ord 4dream4 eists not in the 6ebre5 ! and it
5ould be eceedingly strange' if attention to dreams
5as reproved in the same boo$ in 5hich it is said
that 8oseph became the benefactor of &gypt and his
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family' in conseuence of his interpretation of three
dreams
(he interpretation of dreams 5as a thing so com-
mon' that the supposed art had no limits' and the in-
terpreter 5as sometimes called upon to say 5hat an-
other person had dreamed .ebuchadne;;ar' having
forgotten his dream' orders his :agi to say 5hat it
5as he had dreamed' and threatened them 5ith death
if they failed ! but the 8e5 aniel' 5ho 5as in the
school of the :agi' saved their lives by divining at
once 5hat the $ing had dreamed' and interpreting it
(his history' and many others' may serve to prove
that the la5s of the 8e5s did not forbid oneiromancy'
that is to say' the science of dreams
#&0(IO. I%
Lausanne' Oct CE' @DED
In one of my dreams' I supped 5ith : (ouron'
5ho appeared to compose verses and music' 5hich he
sang to us I addressed these four lines to him in
my dream7
:an cher (ouron' ue tu nfenchantes
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ar la douceur de tes accens T
>ue tes vers sont dou et coulansT
(u lesfais coinme tu les chantes
ictionary CE"
(hy gentle accents' (ouron dear'
#ound most delightful to my earT
)ith ho5 much ease the verses roll'
)hich Mo5' 5hile singing' from thy soulT
In another dream' I recited the Jrst canto of the
46enriade4 uite diNerent from 5hat it is <ester-
day' I dreamed that verses 5ere recited at supper'
and that some one pretended they 5ere too 5itty I
replied that verses 5ere entertainments given to the
soul' and that ornaments are necessary in entertain-
ments
I have therefore said things in my sleep 5hich I
should have some diculty to say 5hen a5a$e! I
have had thoughts and reMections' in spite of myself'
and 5ithout the least voluntary operation on my o5n
part' and nevertheless combined my ideas 5ith sa-
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gacity' and even 5ith genius )hat am I' therefore'
if not a machine?
#O6I#(
, 2&O:&(I0I,.' a little severe' thus addressed
us one day 7 (here is nothing in literature more
dangerous than rhetorical sophists! and among
these sophists none are more unintelligible and un-
5orthy of being understood than the divine lato
(he only useful idea to be found in him' is that
of the immortality of the soul' 5hich 5as already
admitted among cultivated nations! but' then' ho5
does he prove this immortality?
)e cannot too forcibly appeal to this proof' in
@BA hilosophical
order to correctly appreciate this famous 2ree$ 6e
asserts' in his 4hcedon'4 that death is the opposite of
life' that death springs from life' and the living from
the dead' conseuently that our souls 5ill descend
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beneath the earth 5hen 5e die
If it is true that the sophist lato' 5ho gives him-
self out for the enemy of all sophists' reasons al5ays
thus' 5hat have been all these pretended great men'
and in 5hat has consisted their utility?
(he grand defect of the latonic philosophy is the
transformation of abstract ideas into realities ,
man can only perform a Jne action' because a beauty
really eists' 5hich is its archetype
)e cannot perform any action' 5ithout forming
an idea of the action therefore these ideas eist I
$no5 not 5here' and it is necessary to study them
2od formed an idea of the 5orld before 6e cre-
ated it (his 5as 6is logos7 the 5orld' therefore'
is the production of the logosT
)hat disputes' ho5 many vain and even sanguin-
ary contests' has this manner of argument produced
upon earth T lato never dreamed that his doctrine
5ould be able' at some future period' to divide a
church 5hich in his time 5as not in eistence
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(o conceive a just contempt for all these foolish
subtilties' read emosthenes' and see if in any one
of his harangues he employs one of these ridiculous
sophisms It is a clear proof that' in serious business'
no more attention is paid to these chimeras than in a
council of state to theses of theology
ictionary CB@4
.either 5ill you Jnd any of this sophistry in the
speeches of 0icero It 5as a jargon of the schools'
invented to amuse idleness the uac$ery of mind
#O9L
#&0(IO. I
(6I# is a vague and indeterminate term' epress-
ing an un$no5n principle of $no5n eNects' 5hich
5e feel in ourselves (his 5ord 4soul4 ans5ers to
the 4anima4 of the Latins to the 4pneuma4 of the
2ree$s to the term 5hich each and every nation
has used to epress 5hat they understood no better
than 5e do
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In the proper and literal sense of the Latin and
the languages derived from it' it signiJes that 5hich
animates (hus pecrple say' the soul of men' of ani-
mals' and sometimes of plants' to denote their prin-
ciple of vegetation and life (his 5ord has never
been uttered 5ith any but a confused idea' as 5hen
it is said in 2enesis7 42od breathed into his nos-
trils the breath of life' and he became a living soul4 !
and7 4(he soul of animals is in the blood4! and7
4#tay not my soul4
(hus the soul 5as ta$en for the origin and the
cause of life' and for life itself 6ence all $no5n
nations long imagined that everything died 5ith the
body If anything can be discerned 5ith clearness
in the chaos of ancient histories' it seems that the
&gyptians 5ere at least the Jrst 5ho made a distinc-
CBC hilosophical
tion bet5een the intelligence and the soul ! and the
2ree$s learned from them to distinguish their
4nous4 and their 4pneuma4 (he Latins' after the
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eample of the 2ree$s' distinguished 4animus4 and
4anima4 ! and 5e have' too' our soul and our under-
standing 3ut are that 5hich is the principle of our
life' and that 5hich is the principle of our thoughts'
t5o diNerent things ? oes that 5hich causes us to
digest' and 5hich gives us sensation and memory'
resemble that 5hich is the cause of digestion in ani-
mals' and of their sensations and memory?
6ere is an eternal object for disputation 7 I say
an eternal object' for having no primitive notion
from 5hich to deduce in this investigation' 5e must
ever continue in a labyrinth of doubts and feeble
conjectures
)e have not the smallest step on 5hich to set our
foot' to reach the slightest $no5ledge of 5hat ma$es
us live and 5hat ma$es us thin$ 6o5 should 5e?
1or 5e must then have seen life and thought enter a
body oes a father $no5 ho5 he produced his
son ? oes a mother $no5 ho5 she conceived him ?
6as anyone ever been able to divine ho5 he acts'
ho5 he 5a$es' or ho5 he sleeps? oes anyone
$no5 ho5 his limbs obey his 5ill ? 6as anyone dis-
covered by 5hat art his ideas are traced in his brain'
and issue from it at his command ? 1eeble automata'
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moved by the invisible hand 5hich directs us on the
stage of this 5orld' 5hich of us has ever perceived
the thread 5hich guides us?
ictionary CBF
)e dare to put in uestion' 5hether the intelli-
gent soul is spirit or matter! 5hether it is created
before us' or proceeds from nothing at our birth!
5hether' after animating us for a day on this earth'
it lives after us in eternity (hese uestions appear
sublime! 5hat are they? >uestions of blind men
as$ing one another 7 )hat is light ?
)hen 5e 5ish to have a rude $no5ledge of a
piece of metal' 5e put it on the Jre in a crucible!
but have 5e any crucible 5herein to put the soul?
It is spirit' says one ! but 5hat is spirit ? ,ssuredly'
no one $no5s (his is a 5ord so void of meaning'
that to tell 5hat spirit is' you are obliged to say 5hat
it is not (he soul is matter' says another ! but 5hat
is matter ? )e $no5 nothing of it but a fe5 appear-
ances and properties ! and not one of these proper-
ties' not one of these appearances' can bear the least
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anity to thought
It is something distinct from matter' you say!
but 5hat proof have you of this ? Is it because mat-
ter is divisible and Jgurable' and thought is not?
3ut ho5 do you $no5 that the Jrst principles of mat-
ter are divisible and Jgurable ? It is very li$ely that
they are not ! 5hole sects of philosophers assert that
the elements of matter have neither Jgure nor e-
tent <ou triumphantly eclaim 7 (hought is neither
5ood' nor stone' nor sand' nor metal! therefore'
thought belongs not to matter )ea$ and presump-
tuous reasonersT 2ravitation is neither 5ood' nor
sand' nor metal' nor stone ! nor is motion' or vege-
CBG hilosophical
tation' or life' any of all these ! yet life' vegetation'
motion' gravitation' are given to matter (o say that
2od cannot give thought to matter' is to say the
most insolently absurd thing that has ever been ad-
vanced in the privileged schools of madness and
folly )e are not assured that 2od has done this !
5e are only assured that 6e can do it 3ut of 5hat
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avail is all that has been said' or all that 5ill be said'
about the soul? )hat avails it that it has been
called 4entelechia4 uintessence' Mame' ether that
it has been believed to be universal' uncreated' trans-
migrant ?
Of 5hat avail' in these uestions inaccessible to
reason' are the romances of our uncertain imagina-
tions? )hat avails it' that the fathers in the four
primitive ages believed the soul to be corporeal?
)hat avails it that (ertullian' 5ith a contradictori-
ness that 5as familiar to him' decided that it is at
once corporeal' Jgured' and simple? )e have a
thousand testimonies of ignorance' but not one 5hich
aNords us a ray of probability
6o5' then' shall 5e be bold enough to arm
5hat the soul is ? )e $no5 certainly that 5e eist'
that 5e feel' that 5e thin$ #ee$ 5e to advance one
step further 5e fall into an abyss of dar$ness ! and
in this abyss' 5e have still the foolish temerity to dis-
pute 5hether this soul' of 5hich 5e have not the
least idea' is made before us or 5ith us' and 5hether
it is perishable or immortal ?
(he article on 4#oul'4 and all articles belonging
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ictionary CBE
to metaphysics' should begin 5ith a sincere submis-
sion to the indubitable tenets of the 0hurch evela-
tion is doubtless much better than philosophy #ys-
tems eercise the mind' but faith enlightens and
guides it
,re there not 5ords often pronounced of 5hich
5e have but a very confused idea' or perhaps no
idea at all? Is not the 5ord 4soul4 one of these?
)hen the tongue of a pair of bello5s is out of order'
and the air' escaping through the valve' is not driven
5ith violence to5ards the Jre' the maid-servant
says 7 4(he soul of the bello5s is burst4 #he $no5s
no better' and the uestion does not at all disturb
her uiet
(he gardener uses the epression' 4#oul of the
plants4! and cultivates them very 5ell 5ithout
$no5ing 5hat the term means
(he musical-instrument ma$er places' and shifts
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for5ard or bac$5ard' the soul of a violin' under the
bridge' in the interior of the instrument 7 a sorry bit
of 5ood more or less gives it or ta$es from it a har-
monious soul
)e have several manufactures in 5hich the 5or$-
men give the appellation of 4soul4 to their machines !
but they are never heard to dispute about the 5ord 7
it is other5ise 5ith philosophers
(he 5ord 4soul'4 5ith us' signiJes in general that
5hich animates Our predecessors' the 0elts' gave
their soul the name of 4seel'4 of 5hich the &nglish
have made soul' 5hile the 2ermans retain 4seel4 !
CBB hilosophical
and it is probable that the ancient (eutons and the
ancient 3ritons had no university uarrels about this
epression
(he 2ree$s distinguished three sorts of souls7
4syche'4 signifying the sensitive soul the soul of
the senses! and hence it 5as that Love' the son of
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,phrodite' had so much passion for syche' and that
she loved him so tenderly! 4neuma'4 the breath
5hich gave life and motion to the 5hole machine'
and 5hich 5e have rendered by 4spiritus4 spirit
a vague term' 5hich has received a thousand diNer-
ent acceptations 7 and lastly' 4nous'4 intelligence
(hus 5e possess three souls' 5ithout having the
slightest notion of any one of them #t (homas
,uinas admits these three souls in his uality of
peripatetic' and distinguishes each of the three into
three parts
4syche4 5as in the breast! 4neuma4 5as
spread throughout the body ! and 4.ous4 5as in the
head (here 5as no other philosophy in our schools
until the present day ! and 5oe to the man 5ho too$
one of these souls for another T
In this chaos of ideas' there 5as ho5ever a foun-
dation :en had clearly perceived that in their pas-
sions of love' anger' fear' etc' motions 5ere ecited
5ithin them! the heart and the liver 5ere the seat
of the passions )hen thin$ing deeply' one feels a
laboring in the organs of the head! therefore' the
intellectual soul is in the brain )ithout respiration
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there is no vegetation' no life ! therefore' the vegeta-
ictionary CBD
tive soul is in the breast' 5hich receives the breath
of the air
)hen men had seen in their sleep their dead rela-
tives or friends' they necessarily sought to discover
5hat had appeared to them It 5as not the body'
5hich had been consumed on a pile or s5allo5ed up
in the sea and eaten by the Jshes 6o5ever' they
5ould declare it 5as something' for they had seen it !
the dead man had spo$en! the dreamer had ues-
tioned him )as it 4syche4 ! 5as it 4neuma4 !
5as it 4.ous4 5ith 5hom he had conversed in his
sleep? (hen a phantom 5as imagined a slight
Jgure! it 5as 4s$ia4 it 5as 4daimonos4 a shade
of the manes ! a small soul of air and Jre' etremely
slender' 5andering none $ne5 5here
In after times' 5hen it 5as determined to sound
the matter' the undisputed result 5as' that this soul
5as corporeal' and all antiuity had no other idea of
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it ,t length came lato' 5ho so subtili;ed this soul'
that it 5as doubted 5hether he did not entirely sep-
arate it from matter ! but the problem 5as never re-
solved until faith came to enlighten us
In vain do the materialists adduce the testimony
of some fathers of the 0hurch 5ho do not epress
themselves 5ith eactness #t Irenaeus says that the
soul is but the breath of life' that it is incorporeal
only in comparison 5ith the mortal body' and that it
retains the human Jgure in order that it may be rec-
ogni;ed
In vain does (ertullian epress himself thus 7
CBH hilosophical
4(he corporality of the soul shines forth in the 2os-
pel K0orporalitas anima in ipso evangelic reluces-
seitK KKK 1or if the soul had not a body' the image of
the soul 5ould not have the image of the body
In vain does he even relate the vision of a holy
5oman 5ho had seen a very brilliant soul of the
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color of the air
In vain does (atian epressly say 7
ev oov t ()% avOdP(75v no^uJear^ iartv
4(he soul of man is composed of several parts4
In vain do they adduce #t 6ilary' 5ho said in
later times 7 4(here is nothing created 5hich is not
corporeal' neither in heaven nor on earth! neither
visible nor invisible ! all is formed of elements ! and
souls' 5hether they inhabit a body or are 5ithout a
body' have al5ays a corporeal substance4
In vain does #t ,mbros0j in the fourth century'
say7 4)e $no5 nothing but 5hat is material' e-
cepting only the ever-venerable (rinity4
(he 5hole body of the 0hurch has decided that
the soul is immaterial (hese holy men had fallen
into an error then universal! they 5ere men7 but
they 5ere not mista$en concerning immortality' be-
cause it is evidently announced in the 2ospels
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#o evident is our need of the decision of the in-
fallible 0hurch on these points of philosophy' that
indeed 5e have not of ourselves any sucient notion
of 5hat is called pure spirit' nor of 5hat is called
matter ure spirit is an epression 5hich gives us
ictionary CB"
no idea ! and 5e are acuainted 5ith matter only by
a fe5 phenomena #o little do 5e $no5 of it' that
5e call it substance' 5hich 5ord 4substance4 means
that 5hich is beneath ! but this beneath 5ill eternally
be concealed from us ! this beneath is the 0reatorKs
secret' and this secret of the 0reator is every5here
)e do not $no5 ho5 5e receive life' ho5 5e give it'
ho5 5e gro5' ho5 5e digest' ho5 5e sleep' ho5 5e
thin$' nor ho5 5e feel (he great diculty is' to
comprehend ho5 a being' 5hatsoever it be' has
thoughts
#&0(IO. II
Loc$eKs oubts concerning the #oul
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(he author of the article on 4#oul'4 in the 4&n-
cyclopaedia'4 5ho has scrupulously follo5ed 8acue-
lot' teaches us nothing 6e also rises up against
Loc$e' because the modest Loc$e has said 7
4erhaps 5e shall never be capable of $no5ing
5hether a material being thin$s or not ! for this rea-
son y-that it is impossible for us to discover' by the
contemplation of our o5n ideas' K5ithout revelation/
5hether 2od has not given to some portion of mat-
ter' disposed as 6e thin$s Jt' the po5er of perceiv-
ing and thin$ing! or 5hether 6e has joined and
united to matter so disposed' an immaterial and
thin$ing substance 1or 5ith regard to our notions'
it is no less easy for us to conceive that 2od can' if
6e pleases' add to an idea of matter the faculty of
thin$ing' than to comprehend that 6e joins to it
CDA hilosophical
another substance 5ith the faculty of thin$ing ! since
5e $no5 not in 5hat thought consists' nor to 5hat
$ind of substance this all-po5erful 3eing has
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thought Jt to grant this po5er' 5hich could be cre-
ated only by virtue of the good-5ill and pleasure of
the 0reator I do not see that there is any contra-
diction in 2od that thin$ing' eternal' and all-po5-
erful 3eing giving' if 6e 5ills it' certain degrees
of feeling' perception' and thought' to certain por-
tions of matter' created and insensible' 5hich 6e
joins together as he thin$s Jt4
(his 5as spea$ing li$e a profound' religious' and
modest man It is $no5n 5hat contests he had to
maintain concerning this opinion' 5hich he ap-
peared to have ha;arded' but 5hich 5as really no
other than a conseuence of the conviction he felt of
the omnipotence of 2od' and the 5ea$ness of man
6e did not say that matter thought ! but he said that
5e do not $no5 enough to demonstrate that it is im-
possible for 2od to add the gift of thought to the
un$no5n being called 4matter'4 after granting to it
those of gravitation and of motion' 5hich are eually
incomprehensible
,ssuredly' Loc$e 5as not the only one 5ho ad-
vanced this opinion ! it 5as that of all the ancients
regarding the soul only as very subtile matter' they
conseuently armed that matter could feel and
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thin$
#uch 5as the opinion of 2assendi' as 5e Jnd in
his objections to escartes 4It is true'4 says 2as-
ictionary CD@
sendi' 4that you $no5 that you thin$ ! but you' 5ho
thin$' $no5 not of 5hat $ind of substance you are
(hus' though the operation of thought is $no5n to
you' the principle of your essence is hidden from
you' and you do not $no5 5hat is the nature of that
substance' one of the operations of 5hich is to thin$
<ou resemble a blind man 5ho' feeling the heat of
the sun' and being informed that it is caused by the
sun' should believe himself to have a clear and dis-
tinct idea of that luminary' because' if he 5ere as$ed
5hat the sun is' he could ans5er' that it is a thing
5hich 5arms 4
(he same 2assendi' in his 4hilosophy of &pic-
urus'4 repeats several times that there is no mathe-
matical evidence of the pure spirituality of the soul
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escartes' in one of his letters to &li;abeth' prin-
cess palatine' says to her7 4I confess' that by nat-
ural reason alone' 5e can form many conjectures
about the soul' and conceive Mattering hopes ! but 5e
can have no assurance4 ,nd here escartes com-
bats in his letters 5hat he advances in his boo$s a
too ordinary contradiction
)e have seen' too' that all the fathers in the Jrst
ages of the 0hurch' 5hile they believed the soul im-
mortal' believed it to be material (hey thought it
as easy for 2od to preserve as to create (hey said'
2od made it thin$ing' 6e 5ill preserve it thin$ing
:alebranche has clearly proved' that by ourselves
5e have no idea' and that objects are incapable of
giving us any ! 5hence he concludes that 5e see all
ay C hilosophical
things in 2od (his' in substance' is the same as
ma$ing 2od the author of all our ideas ! for 5here-
5ith should 5e see ourselves in 6im' if 5e had not
instruments for seeing? and these instruments are
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held and directed by him alone (his system is a
labyrinth' of 5hich one path 5ould lead you to #pin-
o;ism' another to #toicism' another to chaos
)hen men have disputed 5ell and long on matter
and spirit' they al5ays end in understanding neither
one another nor themselves .o philosopher has ever
been able to lift by his o5n strength the veil 5hich
nature has spread over the Jrst principle of things
(hey dispute' 5hile nature is acting
#&0(IO. III
On the #ouls of 3easts' and on #ome &mpty Ideas
3efore the strange system 5hich supposes ani-
mals to be pure machines 5ithout any sensation' men
had never imagined an immaterial soul in beasts!
and no one had carried temerity so far as to say that
an oyster has a spiritual soul ,ll the 5orld peace-
ably agreed that beasts had received from 2od feel-
ing' memory' ideas' but not a pure spirit .o one
had abused the gift of reason so far as to say that
nature has given to beasts the organs of feeling' in
order that they may have no feeling .o one had
said that they cry out 5hen 5ounded' and My 5hen
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pursued' 5ithout eperiencing either pain or fear
2odKs omnipotence 5as not then denied 7 it 5as in
6is po5er to communicate to the organi;ed matter
ictionary CDF
of animals pleasure' pain' remembrance' the combi-
nation of some ideas ! it 5as in 6is po5er to give to
several of them' as the ape' the elephant' the hound'
the talent of perfecting themselves in the arts 5hich
are taught them 7 not only 5as it in 6is po5er to en-
do5 almost all carnivorous animals 5ith the talent
of ma$ing 5ar better in their eperienced old age
than in their conJding youth ! not only 5as it in 6is
po5er to do this' but 6e had done it' as the 5hole
5orld could 5itness
ereira and escartes maintained against the
5hole 5orld that it 5as mista$en! that 2od had
played the conjurer! that 6e had given to animals
all the instruments of life and sensation' that they
might have neither sensation or life properly so
called 3ut some pretended philosophers' I $no5
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not 5hom' in order to ans5er escartesK chimera'
thre5 themselves into the opposite chimera very lib-
erally' giving 4pure spirit4 to toads and insects 4In
vitium ducit culpa fuga4
3et5it these t5o follies' the one depriving of
feeling the organs of feeling' the other lodging pure
spirit in a bug a mean 5as imagined' vi;' instinct
,nd 5hat is 4instinct4? OhT it is a substantial
form ! it is a plastic form ! it is a I $no5 not 5hat
it is instinct I 5ill be of your opinion' so long as
you apply to most things 4I $no5 not 5hat4 ! so long
as your philosophy shall begin and end 5ith 4I $no5
not4 ! but 5hen you 4arm'4 I shall say to you 5ith
rior' in his poem on the vanity of the 5orld 7
%ol @F@H
CDG hilosophical
(hen vainly the philosopher avers
(hat reason guides our deeds' and instinct theirs
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6o5 can 5e justly diNerent causes frame'
)hen the eNects entirely are the same?
Instinct and reason ho5 can 5e divide?
K(is the foolKs ignorance' and the pedantKs pride
(he author of the article on 4#oul'4 in the 4&n-
cyclopaedia'4 eplains himself thus 7 4I represent to
myself the soul of beasts as a substance immaterial
and intelligent4 3ut of 5hat $ind? It seems to
me' that it must be an active principle having sensa-
tions' and only sensations If 5e reMect on
the nature of the souls of beasts' it does not of itself
give us any grounds for believing that their spiritu-
ality 5ill save them from annihilation
I do not understand ho5 you represent to your-
self an immaterial substance (o represent a thing
to yourself is to ma$e to yourself an image of it ! and
hitherto no one has been able to paint the mind I
am 5illing to suppose that by the 5ord 4represent'4
the author means I 4conceive4 ! for my part' I o5n
that I do not conceive it #till less do I conceive ho5
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a spiritual soul is annihilated' because I have no con-
ception of creation or of nothing! because I never
attended 2odKs council ! because I $no5 nothing at
all of the principle of things
If I see$ to prove that the soul is a real being' I
am stopped' and told that it is a faculty If I arm
that it is a faculty' and that I have that of thin$ing'
I am ans5ered' that I mista$e ! that 2od' the eternal
master of all nature' does everything in me' directing
all my actions' and all my thoughts! that if I pro-
ictionary CDE
duced my thoughts' I should $no5 those 5hich I
should have the net minute! that I never $no5
this! that I am but an automaton 5ith sensations
and ideas' necessarily dependent' and in the hands
of the #upreme 3eing' inJnitely more subject to
6im than clay is to the potter
I ac$no5ledge then my ignorance! I ac$no5l-
edge that four thousand volumes of metaphysics 5ill
not teach us 5hat our soul is
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,n orthodo philosopher said to a heterodo
philosopher' 46o5 can you have brought yourself
to imagine that the soul is of its nature mortal' and
that it is eternal only by the pure 5ill of 2od?4 43y
my eperience'4 says the other 46o5 T have you
been dead then ?4 4<es' very often 7 in my youth I
had a Jt of epilepsy! and I assure you' that I 5as
perfectly dead for several hours 7 I had no sensation'
nor even any recollection from the moment that I
5as sei;ed (he same thing happens to me no5 al-
most every night I never feel precisely the mo-
ment 5hen I fall asleep' and my sleep is absolutely
5ithout dreams I cannot imagine' but by con-
jectures' ho5 long I have slept I am dead regu-
larly si hours in t5enty-four' 5hich is one-fourth
of my life4
(he orthodo then maintained against him that
he al5ays thought 5hile he 5as asleep' 5ithout his
$no5ing of it (he heterodo replied 7 4I believe'
by revelation' that I shall thin$ forever in the net
5orld ! but I assure you' that I seldom thin$ in this4
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CjB hilosophical
(he orthodo 5as not mista$en in arming the
immortality of the soul' since faith demonstrates that
truth ! but he might be mista$en in arming that a
sleeping man constantly thin$s
Loc$e fran$ly o5ned that he did not al5ays thin$
5hile he 5as asleep ,nother philosopher has said 7
4(hought is peculiar to man' but it is not his es-
sence4
Let us leave every man at liberty to see$ into
himself and to lose himself in his ideas 6o5ever'
it is 5ell to $no5 that in @DEA' a philosopher under-
5ent a very severe persecution' for having ac$no5l-
edged' 5ith Loc$e' that his understanding 5as not
eercised every moment of the day and of the night'
no more than his arms or his legs .ot only 5as he
persecuted by the ignorance of the court' but the ma-
licious ignorance of some pretended men of letters
assailed the object of persecution (hat 5hich in
&ngland had produced only some philosophical dis-
putes' produced in 1rance the most disgraceful
atrocities7 a 1renchman 5as made the victim of
Loc$e
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(here have al5ays been among the refuse of our
literature' some of those 5retches 5ho have sold
their pens and caballed against their very benefac-
tors (his remar$ is to be sure foreign to the article
on 4#oul4 7 but ought one to lose a single opportu-
nity of stri$ing terror into those 5ho render them-
selves un5orthy of the name of literary men' 5ho
prostitute the little 5it and conscience they have to a
ictionary CDD
vile interest' to a chimerical policy' 5ho betray their
friends to Matter fools' 5ho prepare in secret the
hemloc$-draught 5ith 5hich po5erful and 5ic$ed
ignorance 5ould destroy useful citi;ens
id it ever occur in true ome' that a Lucretius
5as denounced to the consuls for having put the
system of &picurus into verse ! a 0icero' for having
repeatedly 5ritten' that there is no pain after death !
or that a liny or a %arro 5as accused of having
peculiar notions of the divinity? (he liberty of
thin$ing 5as unlimited among the omans (hose
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of harsh' jealous' and narro5 minds' 5ho among us
have endeavored to crush this liberty the parent of
our $no5ledge' the mainspring of the understanding
have made chimerical dangers their pretet ! they
have forgotten that the omans' 5ho carried this
liberty much further than 5e do' 5ere nevertheless
our conuerors' our la5givers ! and that the disputes
of schools have no more to do 5ith government than
the tub of iogenes had 5ith the victories of ,le-
ander
(his lesson is 5orth uite as much as a lesson on
the soul )e shall perhaps have occasion more than
once to recur to it
In Jne' 5hile adoring 2od 5ith all our soul' let
us ever confess our profound ignorance concerning
that soul that faculty of feeling and thin$ing 5hich
5e o5e to 6is inJnite goodness Let us ac$no5l-
edge that our 5ea$ reasonings can neither ta$e from
nor add to revelation and faith Let us' in short'
CD H hilosophical
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conclude that 5e ought to employ this intelligence'
5hose nature is un$no5n' in perfecting the sciences
5hich are the object of the 4&ncyclopaedia'4 as
5atchma$ers ma$e use of springs in their 5atches'
5ithout $no5ing 5hat spring is
#&0(IO. I%
On the #oul' and on our Ignorance
elying on our acuired $no5ledge' 5e have ven-
tured to discuss the uestion7 )hether the soul is
created before us ? )hether it arrives from nothing
in our bodies? ,t 5hat age it came and placed it-
self bet5een the bladder and the intestines' 4caecum4
and 4rectum4 ? )hether it received or brought there
any ideas' and 5hat those ideas are ? )hether' after
animating us for a fe5 moments' its essence is to live
after us in eternity' 5ithout the intervention of 2od
6imself? )hether' it being a spirit' and 2od being
spirit' they are of li$e nature ? (hese uestions have
an appearance of sublimity )hat are they but ues-
tions of men born blind discussing the nature of
light?
)hat have all the philosophers' ancient and mod-
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ern' taught us ? , child is 5iser than they 7 he does
not thin$ about 5hat he cannot conceive
6o5 unfortunate' you 5ill say' for an insatiable
curiosity' for an unuenchable thirst after 5ell-be-
ing' that 5e are thus ignorant of ourselves T 2ranted 7
and there are things yet more unfortunate than this !
but I 5ill ans5er you 7 4#ors tua mortalis' non est
ictionary CD"
mortale uod optas4 4:ortal thy fate' thy 5ishes
those of gods4
Once more let it be repeated' the nature of every
principle of things appears to be the secret of the
0reator 6o5 does the air convey sound? 6o5
are animals formed ? 6o5 do some of our members
constantly obey our 5ill ? )hat hand places ideas in
our memory' $eeps them there as in a register' and
dra5s them thence sometimes at our command' and
sometimes in spite of us? Our o5n nature' that of
the universe' that of the smallest plant all' to us'
involved in utter dar$ness
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:an is an acting' feeling' and thin$ing being!
this is all 5e $no5 of the matter 7 it is not given to
us to $no5 either 5hat renders us feeling or thin$-
ing' or 5hat ma$es us act' or 5hat causes us to be
(he acting faculty is to us as incomprehensible as the
thin$ing faculty (he diculty is not so much to
conceive ho5 this body of clay has feelings and ideas
as to conceive ho5 a being' 5hatever it be' has ideas
and feelings
3ehold on one hand the soul of ,rchimedes' and
on the other that of a simpleton! are they of the
same nature ? If their essence is to thin$' then they
thin$ al5ays and independently of the body' 5hich
cannot act 5ithout them If they thin$ by their o5n
nature' can a soul' 5hich is incapable of performing
a single arithmetical operation' be of the same species
as that 5hich has measured the heavens? If it is
the organs of the body that have made ,rchimedes
CHA hilosophical
thin$' 5hy does not my idiot thin$' seeing that he is
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better constituted than ,rchimedes' more vigorous'
digesting better' performing all his functions bet-
ter? 3ecause' say you' his brain is not so good ! but
you suppose this ! you have no $no5ledge of it .o
diNerence has ever been found among sound brains
that have been dissected! indeed' it is very li$ely
that the brain-pan of a bloc$head 5ould be found
in a better state than that of ,rchimedes' 5hich has
been prodigiously fatigued' and may be 5orn and
contracted
Let us then conclude 5hat 5e have concluded al-
ready' that 5e are ignorant of all Jrst principles ,s
for those 5ho are ignorant and self-sucient' they
are far belo5 the ape
.o5 then dispute' ye choleric arguers ! present
memorials against one another! abuse one another!
pronounce your sentences you 5ho $no5 not a syl-
lable of the matter T
#&0(IO. v
)arburtoris arado on the Immortality of the
#oul
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)arburton' the editor and commentator of
#ha$espeare' and 3ishop of 2loucester' using &ng-
lish liberty' and abusing the custom of vituperating
against adversaries' has composed four volumes to
prove that the immortality of the soul 5as never an-
nounced in the entateuch! and to conclude from
this very proof' that the mission of :oses' 5hich he
calls 4legation'4 5as divine (he follo5ing is an
ictionary CH@
abstract of his boo$' 5hich he himself gives at the
commencement of the Jrst volume 7
4i (hat to inculcate the doctrine of a future
state of re5ards and punishments is necessary to the
5ell-being of civil society
4C (hat all man$ind Y5herein he is mista$enZ'
especially the most 5ise and learned nations of an-
tiuity' have concurred in believing and teaching'
that this doctrine 5as of such use to civil society
4F (hat the doctrine of a future state of re-
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5ards and punishments is not to be found in' nor did
it ma$e part of' the :osaic dispensation
4(hat therefore the la5 of :oses is of divine
origin !
4)hich one or both of the t5o follo5ing syllo-
gisms 5ill evince 7
4I )hatever religion and society have no future
state for their support must be supported by an e-
traordinary rovidence
4(he 8e5ish religion and society had no future
state for their support !
4(herefore the 8e5ish religion and society 5ere
supported by an etraordinary rovidence
4,nd again'
4II (he ancient la5givers universally believed
that such a religion could be supported only by an
etraordinary rovidence
4:oses' an ancient la5giver' versed in all the
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5isdom of &gypt' purposely instituted such a reli-
gion!
CHC hilosophical
4(herefore :oses believed his religion 5as sup-
ported by an etraordinary rovidence4
)hat is most etraordinary' is this assertion of
)arburton' 5hich he has put in large characters at
the head of his 5or$ 6e has often been reproached
5ith his etreme temerity and dishonesty in daring
to say that all ancient la5givers believed that a reli-
gion 5hich is not founded on re5ards and punish-
ments after death cannot be upheld but by an etra-
ordinary rovidence 7 not one of them ever said so
6e does not even underta$e to adduce a single in-
stance of this in his enormous boo$' stuNed 5ith an
immense number of uotations' all foreign to the
subject 6e has buried himself under a heap of
2ree$ and Latin authors' ancient and modern' that
no one may reach him through this horrible accumu-
lation of coverings )hen at length the critic has
rummaged to the bottom' the author is raised to life
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from among all those dead' to load his adversaries
5ith abuse
It is true' that near the close of the fourth volume'
after ranging through a hundred labyrinths' and
Jghting all he met 5ith on the 5ay' he does at last
come bac$ to his great uestion from 5hich he has
so long 5andered 6e ta$es up the 3oo$ of 8ob'
5hich the learned consider as the 5or$ of an ,rab !
and he see$s to prove' that 8ob did not believe in the
immortality of the soul 6e then eplains' in his
o5n 5ay' all the tets of #cripture that have been
brought to combat his opinion
ictionary CHF
,ll that should be said of him is' that if he 5as
in the right' it 5as not for a bishop to be so in the
right 6e should have felt that t5o dangerous con-
seuences might be dra5n 7 but all goes by chance
in this 5orld (his man' 5ho became an informer
and a persecutor' 5as not made a bishop through the
patronage of a minister of state' until immediately
after he 5rote his boo$
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,t #alamanca' at 0oimbra' or at ome' he 5ould
have been obliged to retract and to as$ pardon In
&ngland he became a peer of the realm' 5ith an in-
come of a hundred thousand livres 6ere 5as some-
thing to soften his manners
#&0(IO. %I
On the .eed of evelation
(he greatest beneJt for 5hich 5e are indebted
to the .e5 (estament is its having revealed to us
the immortality of the soul It is therefore uite in
vain that this )arburton has sought to cloud this
important truth' by continually representing' in his
4Legation of :oses'4 that 4the ancient 8e5s had no
$no5ledge of this necessary dogma'4 and that 4the
#adducees did not admit it in the time of our Lord
8esus4
6e interprets in his o5n 5ay' the very 5ords
5hich 8esus 0hrist is made to utter 7 46ave ye not
read that 5hich is spo$en unto you by 2od saying'
I am the 2od of ,braham' and the 2od of Isaac' and
the 2od of 8acob 7 2od is not the 2od of the dead'
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CHG hilosophical
but of the living4 6e gives to the parable of the
rich bad man a sense contrary to that of all the
churches #herloc$' bishop of London' and t5enty
other learned men' have refuted him &ven the &ng-
lish philosophers have reminded him ho5 scandalous
it is in an &nglish bishop to manifest an opinion so
contrary to the 0hurch of &ngland! and after all'
this man has thought proper to call others impious 7
li$e 6arleuin' in the farce of 4(he 6ousebrea$er4
ULe evaliseur des :aisonsV 5ho' after thro5ing
the furniture out at the 5indo5' seeing a man carry-
ing some articles a5ay' cries 5ith all his might
4#top' thief @4
(he revelation of the immortality of the soul' and
of pains and re5ards after death' is the more to be
blessed' as the vain philosophy of men al5ays
doubted of it (he great 0aesar had no faith in it
6e eplained himself clearly to the 5hole senate'
5hen' to prevent 0atiline from being put to death'
he represented to them that death left man 5ithout
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feeling that all died 5ith him 7 and no one refuted
this opinion
(he oman &mpire 5as divided bet5een t5o
great principal sects 7 that of &picurus' 5ho af-
Jrmed that the divinity 5as useless to the 5orld' and
the soul perished 5ith the body! and that of the
#toics' 5ho regarded the soul as a portion of the
divinity' 5hich after death 5as reunited to its origi-
nal to the great ,ll from 5hich it had emanated
#o that' 5hether the soul 5as believed to be mortal'
ictionary CHE
or to be immortal' all sects united in contemning the
idea of re5ards and punishments after death
(here are still remaining numerous monuments
of this belief of the omans It 5as from the force
of this opinion profoundly engraved on all hearts'
that so many oman heroes and so many private citi-
;ens put themselves to death 5ithout the smallest
scruple! they did not 5ait for a tyrant to delivei
them into the hands of the eecutioner
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&ven the most virtuous men' and the most thor-
oughly persuaded of the eistence of a 2od' did not
then hope any re5ard' nor did they fear any punish-
ment It has been seen in the article on 4,pocry-
pha'4 that 0lement himself' 5ho 5as after5ards
pope and saint' began 5ith doubting 5hat the Jrst
0hristians said of another life' and that he consulted
#t eter at 0sesarea )e are very far from believ-
ing that #t 0lement 5rote the history 5hich is at-
tributed to him! but it sho5s 5hat need man$ind
had of a precise revelation ,ll that can surprise us
is that a tenet so repressing and so salutary should
have left men a prey to so many horrible crimes'
5ho have so short a time to live' and Jnd themselves
pressed bet5een the eternities
#&0(IO. %II
#ouls of 1ools and :onsters
, child' ill-formed' is born absolutely imbecile'
has no ideas' lives 5ithout ideas! instances of this
have been $no5n 6o5 shall this animal be deJned?
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CHB hilosophical
octors have said that it is something bet5een man
and beast ! others have said that it is a sensitive soul'
but not an intellectual soul 7 it eats' it drin$s' it sleeps'
it 5a$es' it has sensations' but it does not thin$
Is there for it another life' or is there none ? (he
case has been put' and has not yet been entirely re-
solved
#ome have said that this creature must have a
soul' because its father and its mother had souls
3ut by this reasoning it 5ould be proved that if it
had come into the 5orld 5ithout a nose' it should
have the eputation of having one' because its father
and its mother had one
, 5oman is brought to bed7 her infant has no
chin! its forehead is Mat and some5hat blac$' its
eyes round' its nose thin and sharp ! its countenance
is not much unli$e that of a s5allo5 7 yet the rest of
his body is made li$e ours It is decided by a ma-
jority of voices that it is a man' and possesses an im-
material soul! 5hereupon the parents have it bap-
ti;ed 3ut if this little ridiculous Jgure has pointed
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cla5s' and a mouth in the form of a bea$' it is de-
clared to be a monster ! it has no soul ! it is not bap-
ti;ed
It is $no5n' that in @DCB' there 5as in London a
5oman 5ho 5as brought to bed every eight days of
a young rabbit .o diculty 5as made of refusing
baptism to this child' not5ithstanding the epidemic
folly 5hich prevailed in London for three 5ee$s' of
believing that this poor jade actually brought forth
ictionary CHD
5ild rabbits (he surgeon 5ho delivered her' named
#t ,ndre' s5ore that nothing 5as more true ! and
he 5as believed 3ut 5hat reason had the credu-
lous for refusing a soul to this 5omanKs oNspring?
#he had a soul! her children must li$e5ise have
been furnished 5ith souls' 5hether they had hands
or pa5s' 5hether they 5ere born 5ith a snout or
5ith a face7 cannot the #upreme 3eing vouchsafe
the gift of thought and sensation to a little nonde-
script' born of a 5oman' 5ith the Jgure of a rab-
bit' as 5ell as a little nondescript born 5ith the Jgure
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of a man ? )ill the soul 5hich 5as ready to ta$e up
its abode in this 5omanKs foetus return unhoused ?
It is very 5ell observed by Loc$e' 5ith regard to
monsters' that immortality must not be attributed to
the eterior of a body that it has nothing to do 5ith
the Jgure 4(his immortality'4 says he' 4is no more
attached to the form of oneKs face or breast than it is
to the 5ay in 5hich oneKs beard is clipped or oneKs
coat is cut4
6e as$s 7 )hat is the eact measure of deformity
by 5hich you can recogni;e 5hether an infant has a
soul or not ? )hat is the precise degree at 5hich it
is to be declared a monster and 5ithout a soul ?
,gain' it is as$ed7 )hat 5ould a soul be that
should have none but chimerical ideas? (here are
some 5hich never go beyond such ,re they 5orthy
or un5orthy? )hat is to be made of their pure
spirit ?
)hat are 5e to thin$ of a child 5ith t5o heads'
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CHH hilosophical
5hich is other5ise 5ell formed?4 #ome say that it
has t5o souls' because it is furnished 5ith t5o pineal
glands' 5ith t5o callous substances' 5ith t5o 4sen-
soria communia4 Others ans5er that there cannot
be t5o souls' 5ith but one breast and one navel
In short' so many uestions have been as$ed about
this poor human soul' that if it 5ere necessary to put
an end to them all' such an eamination of its o5n
person 5ould cause it the most insupportable annoy-
ance (he same 5ould happen to it as happened to
0ardinal olignac at a conclave 7 his ste5ard' tired
of having never been able to ma$e him pass his ac-
counts' too$ a journey to ome' and 5ent to the
small 5indo5 of his cell' laden 5ith an immense
bundle of papers ! he read for nearly t5o hours ! at
last' Jnding that no ans5er 5as made' he thrust for-
5ard his head7 the cardinal had been gone almost
t5o hours Our souls 5ill be gone before their
ste5ards have Jnished their statements ! but let us
be just before 2od ignorant as both 5e and our
ste5ards are
#ee 5hat is said on the soul in the 4Letters of
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:emmius4
#&0(IO. %III
iNerent Opinions 0riticised ,pology for Loc$e
I must ac$no5ledge' that 5hen I eamined the
infallible ,ristotle' the evangelical doctor' and the
divine lato' I too$ all these epithets for nic$names
In all the philosophers 5ho have spo$en of the hu-
ictionary CH"
man soul' I have found only blind men' full of babble
and temerity' striving to persuade themselves that
they have an eagle eye! and others' curious and
foolish' believing them on their 5ord' and imagining
that they see something too
I shall not feign to ran$ escartes and :ale-
branche 5ith these teachers of error (he former
assures us that the soul of man is a substance' 5hose
essence is to thin$' 5hich is al5ays thin$ing' and
5hich' in the motherKs 5omb' is occupied 5ith Jne
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metaphysical ideas and general aioms' 5hich it
after5ards forgets
,s for 1ather :alebranche' he is uite persuaded
that 5e see all in 2od and he has found partisans 7
for the most etravagant fables are those 5hich are
the best received by the 5ea$ imaginations of men
%arious philosophers then had 5ritten the romance
of the soul 7 at length' a 5ise man modestly 5rote
its history Of this history I am about to give an
abridgment' according to the conception I have
formed of it I very 5ell $no5 that all the 5orld
5ill not agree 5ith Loc$eKs ideas ! it is not unli$ely'
that against escartes and :alebranche' Loc$e 5as
right' but that against the #orbonne he 5as 5rong 7
I spea$ according to the lights of philosophy' not
according to the relations of the faith
It is not for me to thin$ other5ise than humanly !
theologians decide divinely' 5hich is uite another
thing 7 reason and faith are of contrary natures In
a 5ord' here follo5s a short abstract of Loc$e' 5hich
%ol @F @"
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C"A hilosophical
I 5ould censure' if I 5ere a theologian' but 5hich I
adopt for a moment' simply as a hypothesis a con-
jecture of philosophy 6umanly spea$ing' the ues-
tion is 7 )hat is the soul ?
@ (he 5ord 4soul4 is one of those 5hich every-
one pronounces 5ithout understanding it ! 5e under-
stand only those things of 5hich 5e have an idea!
5e have no idea of soul spirit ! therefore 5e do not
understand it
C )e have then been pleased to give the name
of soul to the faculty of feeling and thin$ing' as 5e
have given that of life to the faculty of living' and
that of 5ill to the faculty of 5illing
easoners have come and said 7 :an is composed
of matter and spirit7 matter is etended and divis-
ible ! spirit is neither etended nor divisible ! there-
fore' say they' it is of another nature (his is a
joining together of beings 5hich are not made for
each other' and 5hich 2od unites in spite of their
nature )e see little of the body' 5e see nothing of
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s the soul ! it has no parts' therefore it is eternal ! it
has ideas pure and spiritual' therefore it does not
receive them from matter ! nor does it receive them
from itself' therefore 2od gives them to it' and it
brings 5ith it at its birth the ideas of 2od' inJnity'
and all general ideas
#till humanly spea$ing' I ans5er these gentlemen
that they are very $no5ing (hey tell us' Jrst' that
there is a soul' and then 5hat that soul must be
(hey pronounce the 5ord 4matter'4 and then plainly
ictionary C"@
decide 5hat it is ,nd I say to them 7 <ou have no
$no5ledge either of spirit or of matter 3y spirit
you can imagine only the faculty of thin$ing! by
matter you can understand only a certain assemblage
of ualities' colors' etents' and solidities' 5hich
it has pleased you to call matter ! and you have as-
signed limits to matter and to the soul' even before
you are sure of the eistence of either the one or the
other
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,s for matter' you gravely teach that it has only
etent and solidity ! and I tell you modestly' that it
is capable of a thousand properties about 5hich
neither you nor I $no5 anything <ou say that the
soul is indivisible' eternal ! and here you assume that
5hich is in uestion <ou are much li$e the regent
of a college' 5ho' having never in his life seen a
cloc$' should all at once have an &nglish repeater
put into his hands (his man' a good peripatetic' is
struc$ by the eactness 5ith 5hich the hands mar$
the time' and still more astonished that a button'
pressed by the Jnger' should sound precisely the
hour mar$ed by the hand :y philosopher 5ill not
fail to prove that there is in this machine a soul
5hich governs it and directs its springs 6e
learnedly demonstrates his opinion by the simile of
the angels 5ho $eep the celestial spheres in motion !
and in the class he forms Jne theses' maintained on
the souls of 5atches One of his scholars opens the
5atch' and nothing is found but springs! yet the
system of the soul of 5atches is still maintained' and
C"C hilosophical
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is considered as demonstrated I am that scholar'
opening the 5atch called man ! but instead of boldly
deJning 5hat 5e do not understand' I endeavor to
eamine by degrees 5hat 5e 5ish to $no5
Let us ta$e an infant at the moment of its birth'
and follo5' step by step' the progress of its under-
standing <ou do me the honor of informing me
that 2od too$ the trouble of creating a soul' to go
and ta$e up its abode in this body 5hen about si
5ee$s old ! that this soul' on its arrival' is provided
5ith metaphysical ideas having conseuently a very
clear $no5ledge of spirit' of abstract ideas' of inJn-
ity being' in short' a very $no5ing person 3ut
unfortunately it uits the uterus in the uttermost ig-
norance 7 for eighteen months it $no5s nothing but
its nurseKs teat! and 5hen at the age of t5enty
years an attempt is made to bring bac$ to this soulKs
recollection all the scientiJc ideas 5hich it had 5hen
it entered its body' it is often too dull of apprehen-
sion to conceive any one of them (here are 5hole
nations 5hich have never had so much as one of
these ideas )hat' in truth' 5ere the souls of es-
cartes and :alebranche thin$ing of' 5hen they im-
agined such reveries ? Let us then follo5 the idea of
the child' 5ithout stopping at the imaginings of the
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philosophers
(he day that his mother 5as brought to bed of
him and his soul' there 5ere born in the house a dog'
a cat' and a canary bird ,t the end of eighteen
months I ma$e the dog an ecellent hunter! in a
ictionary C"F
the canary bird 5histles an air! in si 5ee$s
the cat is master of its profession ! and the child' at
the end of four years' does nothing I' a gross per-
son' 5itnessing this prodigious diNerence' and never
having seen a child' thin$ at Jrst that the cat' the
dog' and the canary are very intelligent creatures'
and that the infant is an automaton 6o5ever' by
little and little' I perceive that this child has ideas
and memory' that he has the same passions as these
animals! and then I ac$no5ledge that he is' li$e
them' a rational creature 6e communicates to me
diNerent ideas by some 5ords 5hich he has learned'
in li$e manner as my dog' by diversiJed cries' ma$es
$no5n to me eactly his diNerent 5ants I perceive
at the age of si or seven years the child combines
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in his little brain almost as many ideas as my hound
in his ! and at length' as he gro5s older' he acuires
an inJnite variety of $no5ledge (hen 5hat am I
to thin$ of him? #hall I believe that he is of a
nature altogether diNerent ? 9ndoubtedly not ! for
you see on one hand an idiot' and on the other a
.e5ton ! yet you assert that they are of one and the
same nature that there is no diNerence but that of
greater and less (he better to assure myself of the
rerisimilitude of my probable opinion' I eamine
the dog and the child both 5a$ing and sleeping I
have them each bled immediately! then their ideas
seem to escape 5ith their blood In this state I call
them they do not ans5er! and if I dra5 from them
a fe5 more ounces' my t5o machines' 5hich before
C"G hilosophical
had ideas in great plenty and passions of every $ind'
have no longer any feeling I net eamine my t5o
animals 5hile they sleep! I perceive that the dog'
after eating too much' has dreams! he hunts and
cries after the game! my youngster' in the same
state' tal$s to his mistress and ma$es love in his
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dreams If both have eaten moderately' I observe
that neither of them dream ! in short' I see that the
faculties of feeling' perceiving' and epressing their
ideas unfold themselves gradually' and also become
5ea$er by degrees I discover many more anities
bet5een them than bet5een any man of strong mind
and one absolutely imbecile )hat opinion then shall
I entertain of their nature ? (hat 5hich every people
at Jrst imagined' before &gyptian policy asserted the
spirituality' the immortality' of the soul I shall
even suspect that ,rchimedes and a mole are but dif-
ferent varieties of the same species as an oa$ and a
grain of mustard are formed by the same principles'
though the one is a large tree and the other the seed
of a small plant I shall believe that 2od has given
portions of intelligence to portions of matter organ-
i;ed for thin$ing! I shall believe that matter has
sensations in proportion to the Jneness of its senses'
that it is they 5hich proportion them to the measure
of our ideas! I shall believe that the oyster in its
shell has fe5er sensations and senses' because its soul
being attached to its shell' Jve senses 5ould not at
all be useful to it (here are many animals 5ith
only t5o senses ! 5e have Jve 5hich are very fe5
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ictionary C"E
It is to be believed that in other 5orlds there are
other animals enjoying t5enty or thirty senses' and
that other species' yet more perfect' have senses to
inJnity
#uch' it appears to me' is the most natural 5ay of
reasoning on the matter that is' of guessing and in-
specting 5ith certainty , long time elapsed before
men 5ere ingenious enough to imagine an un$no5n
being' 5hich is ourselves' 5hich does all in us' 5hich
is not altogether ourselves' and 5hich lives after us
.or 5as so bold an idea adopted all at once ,t
Jrst this 5ord 4soul4 signiJes life' and 5as common
to us and the other animals ! then our pride made us
a soul apart' and caused us to imagine a substantial
form for other creatures (his human pride as$s 7
)hat then is that po5er of perceiving and feeling'
5hich in man is called soul' and in the brute instinct ?
I 5ill satisfy this demand 5hen the natural philoso-
phers shall have informed me 5hat is sound' light'
space' body' time I 5ill say' in the spirit of the
5ise Loc$e7 hilosophy consists in stopping 5hen
the torch of physical science fails us I observe the
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eNects of nature ! but I freely o5n that of Jrst prin-
ciples I have no more conception than you have ,ll
I do $no5 is that I ought not to attribute to several
causes especially to un$no5n causes that 5hich
I can attribute to a $no5n cause ! no5 I can attribute
to my body the faculty of thin$ing and feeling!
therefore I ought not to see$ this faculty of thin$-
ing and feeling in another substance' called soul or
C"B hilosophical
spirit' of 5hich I cannot have the smallest idea <ou
eclaim against this proposition o you then thin$
it irreligious to dare to say that the body can thin$?
3ut 5hat 5ould you say' Loc$e 5ould ans5er' if
you yourselves 5ere found guilty of irreligion in thus
daring to set bounds to the po5er of 2od? )hat
man upon earth can arm' 5ithout absurd impiety'
that it is impossible for 2od to give to matter sen-
sation and thought? )ea$ and presumptuous that
you are T you boldly advance that matter does not
thin$' because you do not conceive ho5 matter of
any $ind should thin$
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<e great philosophers' 5ho decide on the po5er
of 2od' and say that 2od can of a stone ma$e an
angel do you not see that' according to yourselves'
2od 5ould in that case only give to a stone the
po5er of thin$ing? for if the matter of the stone did
not remain' there 5ould no longer be a stone! there
5ould be a stone annihilated and an angel created
)hichever 5ay you turn you are forced to ac$no5l-
edge t5o things your ignorance and the boundless
po5er of the 0reator ! your ignorance' to 5hich thin$-
ing matter is repugnant! and the 0reatorKs po5er' to
5hich certes it is not impossible
<ou' 5ho $no5 that matter does not perish' 5ill
dispute 5hether 2od has the po5er to preserve in
that matter the noblest uality 5ith 5hich 6e has
endo5ed it &tent subsists perfectly 5ithout body'
through 6im' since there are philosophers 5ho be-
lieve in a void! accidents subsist very 5ell 5ithout
ictionary C"D
substance 5ith 0hristians 5ho believe in transub-
stantiation 2od' you say' cannot do that 5hich
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implies contradiction (o be sure of this' it is neces-
sary to $no5 more of the matter than you do $no5 !
it is all in vain ! you 5ill never $no5 more than this
that you are a body' and that you thin$ :any
persons 5ho have learned at school to doubt of
nothing' 5ho ta$e their syllogisms for oracles and
their superstitions for religion' consider Loc$e as im-
pious and dangerous (hese superstitious people are
in society 5hat co5ards are in an army! they are
possessed by and communicate panic terror )e
must have the compassion to dissipate their fears!
they must be made sensible that the opinions of phi-
losophers 5ill never do harm to religion )e $no5
for certain that light comes from the sun' and that
the planets revolve round that luminary! yet 5e
do not read 5ith any the less ediJcation in the 3ible
that light 5as made before the sun' and that the sun
stood still over the village of 2ibeon It is demon-
strated that the rainbo5 is necessarily formed by the
rain! yet 5e do not the least reverence the sacred
tet 5hich says that 2od set 6is bo5 in the clouds'
after the eluge' as a sign that there should never
be another inundation
)hat though the mystery of the (rinity and that
of the eucharist are contradictory to $no5n demon-
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strations ? (hey are not the less venerated by 0ath-
olic philosophers' 5ho $no5 that the things of reason
and those of faith are diNerent in their nature (he
C"H hilosophical
notion of the antipodes 5as condemned by the popes
and the councils ! yet the popes discovered the antip-
odes and carried thither that very 0hristian re-
ligion' the destruction of 5hich had been thought to
be sure' in case there could be found a man 5ho' as
it 5as then epressed' should have' as relative to our
o5n position' his head do5n5ards and his feet up-
5ards' and 5ho' as the very unphilosophical #t ,u-
gustine says' should have fallen from heaven
,nd no5' let me once repeat that' 5hile I 5rite
5ith freedom' I 5arrant no opinion I am respon-
sible for nothing erhaps there are' among these
dreams' some reasonings' and even some rrveries' to
5hich I should give the preference ! but there is not
one that I 5ould not unhesitatingly sacriJce to re-
ligion and to my country
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#&0(IO. I
I shall suppose a do;en of good philosophers in an
island 5here they have never seen anything but
vegetables #uch an island' and especially t5elve
such philosophers' 5ould be very hard to Jnd ! ho5-
ever' the Jction is allo5able (hey admire the life
5hich circulates in the Jbres of the plants' appearing
to be alternately lost and rene5ed ! and as they $no5
not ho5 a plant springs up' ho5 it derives its nour-
ishment and gro5th' they call this a vegetative soul
)hat' they are as$ed' do you understand by a veg-
etative soul ? (hey ans5er 7 It is a 5ord that serves
to epress the un$no5n spring by 5hich all this is
operated 3ut do you not see' a mechanic 5ill as$
ictionary C""
them' that all this is naturally done by 5eights'
levers' 5heels' and pulleys? .o' the philosophers
5ill say ! there is in this vegetation something other
than ordinary motion ! there is a secret po5er 5hich
all plants have of dra5ing to themselves the juices
5hich nourish them ! and this po5er cannot be e-
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plained by any system of mechanics! it is a gift
5hich 2od has made to matter' and the nature of
5hich neither you nor 5e comprehend
,fter disputing thus' our reasoners at length dis-
cover animals Oh' oh T say they' after a long e-
amination' here are beings organi;ed li$e ourselves
It is indisputable that they have memory' and often
more than 5e have (hey have our passions ! they
have $no5ledge ! they ma$e us understand all their
5ants! they perpetuate their species li$e us Our
philosophers dissect some of these beings' and Jnd in
them hearts and brains )hatT say they' can the
author of these machines' 5ho does nothing in vain'
have given them all the organs of feeling' in order
that they may have no feeling? It 5ere absurd to
thin$ so there is certainly something in them
5hich' for 5ant of $no5ing a better term' 5e li$e-
5ise call soul something that eperiences sensa-
tions' and has a certain number of ideas 3ut 5hat
is this principle? Is it something absolutely dif-
ferent from matter ? Is it a pure spirit ? Is it a mid-
dle being' bet5een matter' of 5hich 5e $no5 little'
and pure spirit' of 5hich 5e $no5 nothing ? Is it a
property given by 2od to organi;ed matter?
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FAA hilosophical
(hey then ma$e eperiments upon insects ! upon
earth 5orms they cut them into several parts' and
are astonished to Jnd that' after a short time' there
come heads to all these divided parts ! the same ani-
mal is reproduced' and its very destruction becomes
the means of its multiplication 6as it several souls'
5hich 5ait until the head is cut oN the original
trun$' to animate the reproduced parts? (hey are
li$e trees' 5hich put forth fresh branches' and are
reproduced from slips 6ave these trees several
souls? It is not li$ely (hen it is very probable
that the soul of these reptiles is of a diNerent $ind
from that 5hich 5e call vegetative soul in plants!
that it is a faculty of a superior order' 5hich 2od
has vouchsafed to give to certain portions of matter
6ere is a fresh proof of 6is po5er a fresh subject
of adoration
, man of violent temper' and a bad reasoner'
hears this discourse and says to them 7 <ou are
5ic$ed 5retches' 5hose bodies should be burned for
the good of your souls' for you deny the immortality
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of the soul of man Our philosophers then loo$ at
one another in perfect astonishment' and one of them
mildly ans5ers him7 )hy burn us so hastily?
)hence have you concluded that 5e have an idea
that your cruel soul is mortal ? 1rom your believ-
ing' returns the other' that 2od has given to the
brutes 5hich are organi;ed li$e us' the faculty of
having feelings and ideas .o5 this soul of the
ictionary FA@
beasts perishes 5ith them! therefore you believe
that the soul of man perishes also
(he philosopher replies 7 )e are not at all sure
that 5hat 5e call 4soul4 in animal perishes 5ith
them ! 5e $no5 very 5ell that matter does not per-
ish' and 5e believe that 2od may have put in ani-
mals something 5hich' if 2od 5ill it' shall forever
retain the faculty of having ideas )e are very far
from arming that such is the case' for it is hardly
for men to be so conJdent! but 5e dare not set
bounds to the po5er of 2od )e say that it is very
probable that the beasts' 5hich are matter' have re-
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ceived from 6im a little intelligence )e are every
day discovering properties of matter that is' pres-
ents from 2od of 5hich 5e had before no idea
)e at Jrst deJned matter to be an etended sub-
stance ! net 5e found it necessary to add solidity !
some time after5ards 5e 5ere obliged to admit that
this matter has a force 5hich is called 4vis inertia4!
and after this' to our great astonishment' 5e had to
ac$no5ledge that matter gravitates
)hen 5e sought to carry our researches further'
5e 5ere forced to recogni;e beings resembling mat-
ter in some things' but 5ithout the other attributes
5ith 5hich matter is gifted (he elementary Jre'
for instance' acts upon our senses li$e other bodies !
but it does not' li$e them' tend to a centre ! on the
contrary' it escapes from the centre in straight lines
on every side It does not seem to obey the la5s of
8OC hilosophical
attraction' of gravitation' li$e other bodies (here
are mysteries in optics' for 5hich it 5ould be hard
to account' 5ithout venturing to suppose that the rays
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of light penetrate one another (here is certainly
something in light 5hich distinguishes it from $no5n
matter Light seems to be a middle being bet5een
bodies and other $inds of beings of 5hich 5e are
ignorant T It is very li$ely that these other $inds are
themselves a medium leading to other creatures' and
that there is a chain of substances etending to in-
Jnity 49sue adeo uod tangit id;m est' tamen
ultima distantT4
(his idea seems to us to be 5orthy of the great-
ness of 2od' if anything is 5orthy of it ,mong
these substances 6e has doubtless had po5er to
choose one 5hich 6e has lodged in our bodies' and
5hich 5e call the human soul ! and the sacred boo$s
5hich 5e have read inform us that this soul is im-
mortal eason is in accordance 5ith revelation ! for
ho5 should any substance perish? &very mode is
destroyed ! the substance remains )e cannot con-
ceive the creation of a substance ! 5e cannot conceive
its annihilation ! but 5e dare not arm that the ab-
solute master of all beings cannot also give feelings
and perceptions to the being 5hich 5e call matter
<ou are uite sure that the essence of your soul is
to thin$ ! but 5e are not so sure of this ! for 5hen
5e eamine a foetus' 5e can hardly believe that its
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soul had many ideas in its head ! and 5e very much
doubt 5hether' in a sound and deep sleep' or in a
ictionary FAF
complete lethargy' any one ever meditated (hus
it appears to us that thought may very 5ell be' not
the essence of the thin$ing being' but a present made
by the 0reator to beings 5hich 5e call thin$ing!
from all 5hich 5e suspect that' if 6e 5ould' 6e
could ma$e this present to an atom ! and could pre-
serve this atom and 6is present forever' or destroy it
at 6is pleasure (he diculty consists not so much
in divining ho5 matter could thin$' as in divin-
ing ho5 any substance 5hatever does thin$
<ou have ideas only because 2od has been pleased
to give them to you ! 5hy 5ould you prevent 6im
from giving them to other species ? 0an you really
be so fearless as to dare to believe that your soul
is precisely of the same $ind as the substances 5hich
approach nearest to the ivinity? (here is great
probability that they are of an order very superior'
and that conseuently 2od has vouchsafed to give
them a 5ay of thin$ing inJnitely Jner' just as 6e
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has given a very limited measure of ideas to the ani-
mals 5hich are of an order inferior to you I $no5
not ho5 I live' nor ho5 I give life ! yet you 5ould
have me $no5 ho5 I have ideas (he soul is a
timepiece 5hich 2od has given us to manage! but
6e has not told us of 5hat the spring of this time-
piece is composed
Is there anything in all this from 5hich it can be
inferred that our souls are mortal? Once more let
us repeat it 5e thin$ as you do of the immortality
announced to us by faith ! but 5e believe that 5e are
FAG hilosophical
too ignorant to arm that 2od has not the po5er
of granting thought to 5hatever being 6e pleases
<ou bound the po5er of the 0reator' 5hich is
boundless ! and 5e etend it as far as 6is eistence
etends 1orgive us for believing 6im to be omnip-
otent' as 5e forgive you for restraining 6is po5er
<ou doubtless $no5 all that 6e can do' and 5e $no5
nothing of it Let us live as brethren ! let us adore
our common 1ather in peace you 5ith your $no5-
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ing and daring souls' 5e 5ith our ignorant and timid
souls )e have a day to live ! let us pass it calmly'
5ithout uarrelling about diculties that 5ill be
cleared up in the immortal life 5hich 5ill begin to-
morro5
(he brutal man' having nothing good to say in
reply' tal$ed a long 5hile' and 5as very angry Our
poor philosophers employed themselves for some
5ee$s in reading history! and after reading 5ell'
they spo$e as follo5s to this barbarian' 5ho 5as so
un5orthy to have an immortal soul 7
:y friend' 5e have read that in all antiuity
things 5ent on as 5ell as they do in our o5n times
that there 5ere even greater virtues' and that phi-
losophers 5ere not persecuted for the opinions 5hich
they held ! 5hy' then' should you see$ to injure us
for opinions 5hich 5e do not hold ? )e read that all
the ancients believed matter to be eternal (hey 5ho
sa5 that it 5as created left the others at rest y-
thagoras had been a coc$' his relations had been
s5ine! but no one found fault 5ith this! his sect
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ictionary FAE
5as cherished and revered by all' ecept the coo$s
and those 5ho had beans to sell
(he #toics ac$no5ledged a god' nearly the same
as the god after5ards so rashly admitted by the
#pino;ists ! yet #toicism 5as a sect the most fruitful
in heroic virtues' and the most accredited
(he &picureans made their god li$e our canons'
5hose indolent corpulence upholds their divinity'
and 5ho ta$e their nectar and ambrosia in uiet'
5ithout meddling 5ith anything (hese &picureans
boldly taught the materiality and the mortality of
the soul ! but they 5ere not the less respected ! they
5ere admitted into all oces! and their croo$ed
atoms never did the 5orld any harm
(he latonists' li$e the 2ymnosophists' did not
do us the honor to thin$ that 2od had condescended
to form us 6imself ,ccording to them' 6e left this
tas$ to 6is ocers to genii' 5ho in the course of
their 5or$ made many blunders (he god of the
latonists 5as an ecellent 5or$man' 5ho employed
here belo5 very indiNerent assistants ! but men did
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not the less reverence the school of lato
In short' among the 2ree$s and the omans' so
many sects as there 5ere' so many 5ays of thin$ing
about 2od and the soul' the past and the future'
none of these sects 5ere persecutors (hey 5ere
all mista$en and 5e are very sorry for it ! but they
5ere all peaceful and this confounds us' this con-
demns us' this sho5s us that most of the reasoners
of the present day are monsters' and that those of
%ol @F CA
FAB hilosophical
antiuity 5ere men (hey sang publicly on the
oman stage 7 4ost mortem nihil est' ipsaue mors
nihil4 4.aught after death' and death is noth-
ing4
(hese opinions made men neither better nor
5orse ! all 5as governed' all 5ent on as usual ! and
(itus' (rajan' and ,urelius governed the earth li$e
beneJcent deities
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assing from the 2ree$s and the omans to bar-
barous nations' let us only contemplate the 8e5s
#uperstitious' cruel' and ignorant as this 5retched
people 5ere' still they honored the harisees' 5ho
admitted the fatality of destiny and the metemp-
sychosis! they also paid respect to the #adducees'
5ho absolutely denied the immortality of the soul
and the eistence of spirits' ta$ing for their founda-
tion the la5 of :oses' 5hich had made no mention
of pain or re5ard after death (he &ssenes' 5ho
also believed in fatality' and 5ho never oNered up
victims in the temple' 5ere reverenced still more
than the harisees and the #adducees .one of their
opinions ever disturbed the government <et here
5ere abundant subjects for slaughtering' burning'
and eterminating one another' had they been so in-
clined Oh' miserable men T proJt by these eam-
ples (hin$' and let others thin$ It is the solace
of our feeble minds in this short life )hat T 5ill
you receive 5ith politeness a (ur$' 5ho believes
that :ahomet travelled to the moon! 5ill you be
careful not to displease the pasha 3onneval ! and yet
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ictionary FAD
5ill you have your brother hanged' dra5n' and uar-
tered' because he believes that 2od created intelli-
gence in every creature?
#o spa$e one of the philosophers ! and another of
them added 7 3elieve me' it need never be feared that
any philosophical opinion 5ill hurt the religion of a
country )hat though our mysteries are contrary to
our demonstrations' they are not the less reverenced
by our 0hristian philosophers' 5ho $no5 that the
objects of reason and faith are of diNerent natures
hilosophers 5ill never form a religious sect! and
5hy ? 3ecause they are 5ithout enthusiasm ivide
man$ind into t5enty parts ! and of these' nineteen
consist of those 5ho labor 5ith their hands' and 5ill
never $no5 that there has been such a person as
Loc$e in the 5orld In the remaining t5entieth'
ho5 fe5 men 5ill be found 5ho read T and among
those 5ho read' there are t5enty that read novels
for one that studies philosophy (hose 5ho thin$
are ecessively fe5 ! and those fe5 do not set them-
selves to disturb the 5orld
)ho are they 5ho have 5aved the torch pf dis-
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cord in their native country ? ,re they omponatius'
:ontaigne' La %ayer' escartes' 2assendi' 3ayle'
#pino;a' 6obbes' #haftesbury' 3oulainvilliers' the
0onsul :aillet' (oland' 0ollins' 1lood' )oolston'
3e$$er' the author disguised under the name of
8acues :asse' he of the 4(ur$ish #py'4 he of the
4Lettres ersanes4 of the 4Lettres 8uives'4 of the
4ensees hilosophiues4 ? .o! they are for the
FAH hilosophical
most part theologians' 5ho' having at Jrst been am-
bitious of becoming leaders of a sect' have soon be-
come ambitious to be leaders of a party .ay' not
all the boo$s of modern philosophy put together 5ill
ever ma$e so much noise in the 5orld as 5as once
made by the dispute of the 0ordeliers about the form
of their hoods and sleeves
#&0(IO.
On the ,ntiuity of the ogma of the Immortality
of the #oul , 1ragment
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(he dogma of the immortality of the soul is at
once the most consoling and the most repressing idea
that the mind of man can receive (his Jne phi-
losophy 5as as ancient among the &gyptians as their
pyramids ! and before them it 5as $no5n to the er-
sians I have already else5here related the allegory
of the Jrst =oroaster' cited in the 4#adder'4 in
5hich 2od sho5s to =oroaster a place of chastise-
ment' such as the ardaroth or +eron of the &gyp-
tians' the 6ades and the (artarus of the 2ree$s'
5hich 5e have but imperfectly rendered in our mod-
ern tongues by the 5ords 4inferno4 4enfer'4 4in-
fernal regions'4 4hell'4 4bottomless pit4 In this
place of punishment 2od sho5ed to =oroaster all
the bad $ings ! one of them had but one foot ! =oro-
aster as$ed the reason ! and 2od ans5ered that this
$ing had done only one good action in his life' 5hich
5as by approaching to $ic$ for5ard a trough 5hich
5as not near enough to a poor ass dying of hunger
ictionary FA"
2od had placed this 5ic$ed manKs foot in heaven!
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the rest of his body 5as in hell
(his fable' 5hich cannot be too often repeated'
sho5s ho5 ancient 5as the opinion of another life
(he Indians 5ere persuaded of it' as their metemp-
sychosis proves (he 0hinese venerated the souls of
their ancestors &ach of these nations had founded
po5erful empires long before the &gyptians (his
is a very important truth' 5hich I thin$ I have al-
ready proved by the very nature of the soil of &gypt
(he most favorable grounds must have been culti-
vated the Jrst! the ground of &gypt is the least
favorable of all' being under 5ater four months of
the year ! it 5as not until after immense labor' and
conseuently after a prodigious lapse of time' that
to5ns 5ere at length raised 5hich the .ile could
not inundate
(his empire' then' ancient as it 5as' 5as much less
ancient than the empires of ,sia ! and in both one and
the other it 5as believed that the soul eisted after
death It is true that all these nations' 5ithout e-
ception' considered the soul as a light ethereal form'
an image of the body! the 2ree$ 5ord signifying
4breath4 5as invented long after by the 2ree$s 3ut
it is beyond a doubt that a part of ourselves 5as con-
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sidered as immortal e5ards and punishments in
another life 5ere the grand foundation of ancient
theology
herecides 5as the Jrst among the 2ree$s 5ho
believed that souls eisted from all eternity' and not
F@A hilosophical
the Jrst' as has been supposed' 5ho said that the soul
survived the body 9lysses' long before herecides'
had seen the souls of heroes in the infernal regions !
but that souls 5ere as old as the 5orld 5as a system
5hich had sprung up in the &ast' and 5as brought
into the )est by herecides I do not believe that
there is among us a single system 5hich is not to be
found among the ancients (he materials of all our
modern ediJces are ta$en from the 5rec$ of an-
tiuity
#&0(IO. I
It 5ould be a Jne thing to see oneKs soul 4+no5
thyself4 is an ecellent precept ! but it belongs only
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to 2od to put it in practice )ho but 6e can $no5
6is o5n essence ?
)e call 4soul4 that 5hich animates O5ing to
our limited intelligence 5e $no5 scarcely anything
more of the matter (hree-fourths of man$ind go
no further' and give themselves no concern about
the thin$ing being ! the other fourth see$ it ! no one
has found it' or ever 5ill Jnd it
oor pedant T thou seest a plant 5hich vegetates'
and thou sayest' 4vegetation'4 or perhaps 4vegeta-
tive soul4 (hou remar$est that bodies have and
communicate motion' and thou sayest' 4force4 ! thou
seest thy dog learn his craft under thee' and thou e-
claimest' 4instinct'4 4sensitive soul4T (hou hast
combined ideas' and thou eclaimest' 4spirit4 T
3ut pray' 5hat dost thou understand by these
5ords ? (his Mo5er vegetates ! but is there any real
ictionary F@@
being called vegetation? (his body pushes along
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another' but does it possess 5ithin itself a distinct
being called force ? (hy dog brings thee a partridge'
but is there any being called instinct? )ouldst
thou not laugh' if a reasoner though he had been
preceptor to ,leander 5ere to say to thee7 ,ll
animals live ! therefore there is in them a being' a
substantial form' 5hich is life?
If a tulip could spea$ and 5ere to tell thee7 I
and my vegetation are t5o beings evidently joined
together ! 5ouldst thou not laugh at the tulip ?
Let us at Jrst see 5hat thou $no5est' of 5hat
thou art certain! that thou 5al$est 5ith thy feet!
that thou digestest 5ith thy stomach! that thou
feelest 5ith thy 5hole body ! and that thou thin$est
5ith thy head Let us see if thy reason alone can
have given thee light enough by 5hich to conclude'
5ithout supernatural aid' that thou hast a soul
(he Jrst philosophers' 5hether 0haldseans or
&gyptians' said 7 (here must be something 5ithin
us 5hich produces our thoughts! that something
must be very subtile ! it is a breath ! it is Jre ! it is
ether ! it is a uintessence ! it is a slender li$eness !
it is an antelechia ! it is a number ! it is a harmony
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Lastly' according to the divine lato' it is a com-
pound of the same and the other 4It is atoms 5hich
thin$ in us'4 said &picurus' after emocrites 3ut'
my friend' ho5 does an atom thin$? ,c$no5ledge
that thou $no5est nothing of the matter
(he opinion 5hich one ought to adopt is' doubt-
F@C hilosophical
less' that the soul is an immaterial being! but cer-
tainly 5e cannot conceive 5hat an immaterial being
is .o' ans5er the learned ! but 5e $no5 that its
nature is to thin$ ,nd 5hence do you $no5 this?
)e $no5' because it does thin$ Oh' ye learned T I
am much afraid that you are as ignorant as &pi-
curus T (he nature of a stone is to fall' because it
does fall ! but I as$ you' 5hat ma$es it fall ?
)e $no5' continue they' that a stone has no soul
2ranted ! I believe it as 5ell as you )e $no5 that
an armative and a negative are not divisible' are
not parts of matter I am of your opinion 3ut
matter' other5ise un$no5n to us' possesses ualities
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5hich are not material' 5hich are not divisible! it
has gravitation to5ards a centre' 5hich 2od has
given it ! and this gravitation has no parts ! it is not
divisible (he moving force of bodies is not a being
composed of parts In li$e manner the vegetation of
organi;ed bodies' their life' their instinct' are not
beings apart' divisible beings ! you can no more cut
in t5o the vegetation of a rose' the life of a horse'
the instinct of a dog' than you can cut in t5o a sen-
sation' an armation' a negation (herefore your
Jne argument' dra5n from the indivisibility of
thought' proves nothing at all
)hat' then' do you call your soul? )hat idea
have you of it? <ou cannot of yourselves' 5ithout
revelation' admit the eistence 5ithin you of any-
thing but a po5er un$no5n to you of feeling and
thin$ing
ictionary
.o5 tell me honestly' is this po5er of feeling and
thin$ing the same as that 5hich causes you to digest
and to 5al$? <ou o5n that it is not! for in vain
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might your understanding say to your stomach
igest ! it 5ill not' if it be sic$ In vain might your
immaterial being order your feet to 5al$ ! they 5ill
not stir' if they have the gout
(he 2ree$s clearly perceived that thought has
freuently nothing to do 5ith the play of our organs !
they admitted the eistence of an animal soul for
these organs' and for the thoughts a soul Jner' more
subtile a nous
3ut 5e Jnd that this soul of thought has' on a
thousand occasions' the ascendency over the animal
soul (he thin$ing soul commands the hands to
ta$e' and they obey It does not tell the heart to
beat' the blood to Mo5' the chyle to form ! all this is
done 5ithout it 6ere then are t5o souls much in-
volved' and neither of them having the mastery
.o5' this Jrst animal soul certainly does not
eist ! it is nothing more than the movement of our
organs (a$e heed' O man T lest thou have no more
proofs but thy 5ea$ reason that the other soul eists
(hou canst not $no5 it but by faith ! thou art born'
thou eatest' thou thin$est' thou 5a$est' thou sleepest'
5ithout $no5ing ho5 2od has given thee the fac-
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ulty of thin$ing' as 6e has given thee all the rest!
and if 6e had not come at the time appointed by 6is
providence' to teach thee that thou hast an imma-
F@G hilosophical
terial and an immortal soul' thou 5ouldst have no
proof 5hatever of it
Let us eamine the Jne systems on the soul' 5hich
thy philosophy has fabricated
One says that the soul of man is part of the sub-
stance of 2od 6imself ! another that it is part of the
great 5hole! a third that it is created from all
eternity! a fourth that it is made' and not created
Others assure us that 2od ma$es souls according as
they are 5anted' and that they arrive at the moment
of copulation (hey are lodged in the seminal ani-
malcules' cries one .o' says another' they ta$e up
their abode in the 1allopian tubes , third conies
and says 7 <ou are all 5rong ! the soul 5aits for si
5ee$s' until the fcetus is formed' and then it ta$es
possession of the pineal gland ! but if it Jnds a false
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conception' it returns and 5aits for a better oppor-
tunity (he last opinion is that its d5elling is in the
callous body ! this is the post assigned to it by La
eyronie , man should be Jrst surgeon to the $ing
of 1rance to dispose in this 5ay of the lodging of
the soul <et the callous body 5as not so successful
in the 5orld as the surgeon 5as
#t (homas in his uestion DE and follo5ing'
says that the soul is a form subsisting per se' that it
is all in all' that its essence diNers from its po5er!
that there are three vegetative souls' vi;' the nutri-
tive' the argumentative' and the generative! that
the memory of spiritual things is spiritual' and the
memory of corporeal things is corporeal! that thp
ictionary F@E
rational soul is a form 4immaterial as to its opera-
tions' and material as to its being4 #t (homas
5rote t5o thousand pages' of li$e force and clear-
ness! and he is the angel of the schools
.or have there been fe5er systems contrived on
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the 5ay in 5hich this soul 5ill feel' 5hen it shall
have laid aside the body 5ith 5hich it felt! ho5 it
5ill hear 5ithout ears' smell 5ithout a nose' and
touch 5ithout hands ! 5hat body it 5ill after5ards
resume' 5hether that 5hich it had at t5o years old'
or at eighty ! ho5 the D the identity of the same per-
son 5ill subsist! ho5 the soul of a man become
imbecile at the age of Jfteen' and dying imbecile at
the age of seventy' 5ill resume the thread of the
ideas 5hich he had at the age of puberty! by 5hat
contrivance a soul' the leg of 5hose body shall be cut
oN in &urope' and one of its arms lost in ,merica'
5ill recover this leg and arm' 5hich' having been
transformed into vegetables' 5ill have passed into
the blood of some other animal )e should never
Jnish' if 5e 5ere to see$ to give an account of all
the etravagances 5hich this poor human soul has
imagined about itself
It is very singular that' in the la5s of 2odKs peo-
ple' not a 5ord is said of the spirituality and im-
mortality of the soul! nothing in the ecalogue'
nothing in Leviticus' or in euteronomy
It is uite certain' it is indubitable' that :oses
no5here proposes to the 8e5s pains and re5ards in
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another life ! that he never mentions to them the im-
F@B hilosophical
mortality of their souls! that he never gives them
hopes of heaven' nor threatens them 5ith hell ! all is
temporal
:any illustrious commentators have thought that
:oses 5as perfectly acuainted 5ith these t5o great
dogmas! and they prove it by the 5ords of 8acob'
5ho' believing that his son had been devoured by
5ild beasts' said in his grief 7 4I 5ill go do5n into
the grave in infernum unto my son4! that is' I
5ill die' since my son is dead
(hey further prove it by the passages in Isaiah
and &;e$iel! but the 6ebre5s' to 5hom :oses
spo$e' could not have read either &;e$iel or Isaiah'
5ho did not come until several centuries after
It is uite useless to dispute about the private
opinions of :oses (he fact is that in his public
la5s he never spo$e of a life to come ! that he lim-
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ited all re5ards and punishments to the time present
If he $ne5 of a future life' 5hy did he not epressly
set forth that dogma? ,nd if he did not $no5 of
it' 5hat 5ere the object and etent of his mission?
(his uestion is as$ed by many great persons (he
ans5er is' that the :aster of :oses' and of all men'
reserved to 6imself the right of epounding to the
8e5s' at 6is o5n time' a doctrine 5hich they 5ere
not in a condition to understand 5hen they 5ere in
the desert
If :oses had announced the immortality of the
soul' a great school among the 8e5s 5ould not have
ictionary F@D
constantly combated it (his great retreat of the
#adducees 5ould not have been authori;ed in the
#tate ! the #adducees 5ould not have Jlled the high-
est oces' nor 5ould pontiNs have been chosen from
their body
It appears that it 5as not until after the founding
of ,leandria that the 8e5s 5ere divided into three
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sects the harisees' the #adducees' and the &s-
senes (he historian 8osephus' 5ho 5as a harisee'
informs us in the thirteenth boo$ of his 4,ntiui-
ties4 that the harisees believed in the metemp-
sychosis ! the #adducees believed that the soul per-
ished 5ith the body! the &ssenes' says 8osephus'
held that souls 5ere immortal! according to them
souls descended in an aerial form into the body' from
the highest region of the air' 5hither they 5ere
carried bac$ again by a violent attraction ! and after
death' those 5hich had belonged to the good d5elt
beyond the ocean in a country 5here there 5as
neither heat nor cold' nor 5ind' nor rain (he souls
of the 5ic$ed 5ent into a climate of an opposite de-
scription #uch 5as the theology of the 8e5s
6e 5ho alone 5as to instruct all men came and
condemned these three sects ! but 5ithout 6im 5e
could never have $no5n anything of our soul! for
the philosophers never had any determinate idea of
it ! and :oses the only true la5giver in the 5orld
before our o5n :oses' 5ho tal$ed 5ith 2od face
to face' left men in the most profound ignorance on
this great point It is' then' only for seventeen hun-
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F @ H hilosophical
dred years that there has been any certainty of the
soulKs eistence and its immortality
0icero had only doubts ! his grandson and grand-
daughter might learn the truth from the Jrst 2ali-
leans 5ho came to ome
3ut before that time' and since then' in all the rest
of the earth 5here the apostles did not penetrate'
each one must have said to his soul7 )hat art
thou ? 5hence comest thou ? 5hat dost thou ? 5hither
goest thou? (hou art I $no5 not 5hat' thin$ing
and feeling7 and 5ert thou to feel and thin$ for a
hundred thousand millions of years' thou 5ouldst
never $no5 any more by thine o5n light 5ithout
the assistance of 2od
O manT 2od has given thee understanding for
thy o5n good conduct' and not to penetrate into the
essence of the things 5hich 6e has created
#o thought Loc$e ! and before Loc$e' 2assendi !
and before 2assendi' a multitude of sages! but 5e
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have bachelors 5ho $no5 all of 5hich those great
men 5ere ignorant
#ome cruel enemies of reason have dared to rise
up against these truths' ac$no5ledged by all the 5ise
(hey have carried their dishonesty and impudence
so far as to charge the authors of this 5or$ 5ith
having armed that the soul is matter <ou 5ell
$no5' persecutors of innocence' that 5e have said
uite the contrary <ou must have read these very
5ords against &picurus' emocritus' and Lucre-
tius 7 4:y friend' ho5 does an atom thin$ ? ,c-
ictionary F@"
$no5ledge that thou $no5est nothing of the mat-
ter4 It is then evident' ye are calumniators
.o one $no5s 5hat that material being is' 5hich
is called 4spirit'4 to 5hich be it observed you
give this material name' signifying 45ind4 ,ll the
Jrst fathers of the 0hurch believed the soul to be
corporeal It is impossible for us limited beings to
$no5 5hether our intelligence is substance or fac-
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ulty 7 5e cannot thoroughly $no5 either the etended
being' or the thin$ing beings' or the mechanism of
thought
)e eclaim to you' 5ith the ever to be revered
2assendi and Loc$e' that 5e $no5 nothing by our-
selves of the secrets of the 0reator ,nd are you
gods' 5ho $no5 everything? )e repeat to you'
that you cannot $no5 the nature and distinction of
the soul but by revelation ,nd is not this revelation
sucient for you ? <ou must surely be enemies of
this revelation 5hich 5e claim' since you persecute
those 5ho epect everything from it' and believe
only in it
<es' 5e tell you' 5e defer 5holly to the 5ord of
2od! and you' enemies of reason and of 2od' treat
the humble doubt and humble submission of the phi-
losopher as the 5olf in the fable treated the lamb !
you say to him7 <ou said ill of me last year! I
must suc$ your blood hilosophy ta$es no revenge !
she smiles in peace at your vain endeavors! she
mildly enlightens man$ind' 5hom you 5ould brutal-
i;e' to ma$e them li$e yourselves
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FCA hilosophical
#,0&
)6,( is space? 4(here is no space in void'4
eclaimed Leibnit;' after having admitted a void!
but 5hen he admitted a void' he had not embroiled
himself 5ith .e5ton' nor disputed 5ith him on the
calculus of Muions' of 5hich .e5ton 5as the in-
ventor (his dispute brea$ing out' there 5as no
longer space or a void for Leibnit;
1ortunately' 5hatever may be said by philos-
ophers on these insolvable uestions' 5hether it be
for &picurus' for 2assendi' for .e5ton' for es-
cartes' or ohaut' the la5s of motion 5ill be al5ays
the same
>ue ohaut vainement sh he pour concevoir
0omment tout eKtantplein t tout apu se mouvoir
3OIL&,9' &p v' F@-FC
(hat ohaut ehausts himself by vainly endeav-
oring to understand ho5 motion can eist in a ple-
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num 5ill not prevent our vessels from sailing to the
Indies' and all motion proceeding 5ith regularity
ure space' you say' can neither be matter' nor spirit !
and as there is nothing in this 5orld but matter and
spirit' there can therefore be no space
#o' gentlemen' you assert that there is only matter
and spirit' to us 5ho $no5 so little either of the one
or the other a pleasant decision' trulyT 4(here
are only t5o things in nature' and these 5e $no5
not4 :onte;uma reasons more justly in the &ng-
lish tragedy of ryden 7 4)hy come you here to tell
ictionary FC@
me of the emperor 0harles the 1ifth? (here are
but t5o emperors in the 5orld! he of eru and
myself4 :onte;uma spo$e of t5o things 5ith
5hich he 5as acuainted' but 5e spea$ of t5o things
of 5hich 5e have no precise idea
)e are very pleasant atoms )e ma$e 2od a
spirit in a mode of our o5n ! and because 5e denom-
inate that faculty spirit' 5hich the supreme' univer-
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sal' eternal' and all-po5erful 3eing has given us' of
combining a fe5 ideas in our little brain' of the e-
tent of si inches more or less' 5e suppose 2od to
be a spirit in the same sense 2od al5ays in our
image honest soulsT
3ut ho5' if there be millions of beings of another
nature from our matter' of 5hich 5e $no5 only a
fe5 ualities' and from our spirit' our ideal breath
of 5hich 5e accurately $no5 nothing at all? and
5ho can assert that these millions of beings eist
not ! or suspects not that 2od' demonstrated to eist
by 6is 5or$s' is eminently diNerent from all these
beings' and that space may not be one of them?
)e are far from asserting 5ith Lucretius
&rgo' prceter inane et corpora' tertiaper se
.ulla potest rerum in numero natura referri
Li3'i' v GGB' GGD
(hat all consists of body and of space 0&&06
3ut may 5e venture to believe 5ith him' that
space is inJnite?
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6as any one been ever able to ans5er his ues-
tion 7 #peed an arro5 from the limits of the 5orld
5ill it fall into nothing' into nihility?
%ol @F C@
FCC hilosophical
0lar$e' 5ho spo$e in the name of .e5ton' pre-
tends that 4space has properties' for since it is e-
tended' it is measurable' and therefore eists4 3ut
if 5e ans5er' that something may be put 5here there
is nothing' 5hat ans5er 5ill be made by .e5ton and
0lar$e?
.e5ton regards space as the sensorium of 2od
I thought that I understood this grand saying form-
erly' because I 5as young ! at present' I understand
it no more than his eplanation of the ,pocalypse
#pace' the sensorium' the internal organ of 2odT
I lose both .e5ton and myself there
.e5ton thought' according to Loc$e' that the
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creation might be eplained by supposing that 2od'
by an act of 6is 5ill and 6is po5er' had rendered
space impenetrable It is melancholy that a genius
so profound as that possessed by .e5ton should
suggest such unintelligible things
#(,2& UOLI0& O1 (6&V
+I.2# of 1rance 5ere formerly ecommunicated !
all from hilip I to Louis %III 5ere solemnly so !
as also the emperors from 6enry I% to Louis of
3avaria inclusively (he $ings of &ngland had
li$e5ise a very decent part of these favors from the
court of ome It 5as the rage of the times' and
this rage cost si or seven hundred thousand men
their lives (hey actually ecommunicated the rep-
resentatives of monarchs ! I do not mean ambassa-
dors' but players' 5ho are $ings and emperors three
ictionary FCF
or four times a 5ee$' and 5ho govern the universe
to procure a livelihood
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I scarcely $no5 of any but this profession' and
that of magicians' to 5hich this honor could no5 be
paid! but as sorcerers have ceased for the eighty
years that sound philosophy has been $no5n to men'
there are no longer any victims but ,leander'
0aesar' ,thalie' olyeucte' ,ndromache' 3rutus'
=aire' and 6arleuin
(he principal reason given is' that these gentle-
men and ladies represent the passions! but if de-
picting the human heart merits so horrible a disgrace'
a greater rigor should be used 5ith painters and
sculptors (here are many licentious pictures 5hich
are publicly sold' 5hile 5e do not represent a single
dramatic poem 5hich maintains not the strictest de-
corum (he %enus of (itian and that of 0orreggio
are uite na$ed' and are at all times dangerous for
our modest youth ! but comedians only recite the
admirable lines of 40inna4 for about t5o hours' and
5ith the approbation of the magistracy under the
royal authority )hy' therefore' are these living
personages on the stage more condemned than these
mute comedians on canvas? 49t pictura poesis
erit4 )hat 5ould #ophocles and &uripides have
said' if they could have foreseen that a people' 5ho
only ceased to be barbarous by imitating them' 5ould
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one day inMict this disgrace upon the stage' 5hich
in their time received such high glory?
&sopus and oscius 5ere not oman senators'
FCG hilosophical
it is true! but the 1lamen did not declare them in-
famous! and the art of (erence 5as not doubted
(he great pope and prince' Leo ' to 5hom 5e o5e
the rene5al of good tragedy and comedy in &urope'
and 5ho caused dramatic pieces to be represented in
his palace 5ith so much magniJcence' foresa5 not
that one day' in a part of 2aul' the descendants of
the 0elts and the 2oths 5ould believe they had a
right to disgrace that 5hich he honored If 0ardi-
nal ichelieu had lived he 5ho caused the alais
oyal to be built' and to 5hom 1rance o5es the
stage he 5ould no longer have suNered them to
have dared to cover 5ith ignominy those 5hom he
employed to recite his o5n 5or$s
It must be confessed that they 5ere heretics 5ho
began to outrage the Jnest of all the arts Leo '
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having revived the tragic scene' the pretended re-
formers reuired nothing more to convince them
that it 5as the 5or$ of #atan (hus the to5n of
2eneva' and several illustrious places of #5it;erland'
have been a hundred and Jfty years 5ithout suNer-
ing a violin amongst them (he 8ansenists' 5ho no5
dance on the tomb of #t aris' to the great ediJca-
tion of the neighborhood' in the last century forbade
a princess of 0onti' 5hom they governed' to allo5
her son to learn dancing' saying that dancing 5as
too profane 6o5ever' as it 5as necessary he should
be graceful' he 5as taught the minuet' but they
5ould not allo5 a violin' and the director 5as a long
time before he 5ould suNer the prince of 0onti to
ictionary FCE
be taught 5ith castanets , fe5 0atholic %isigoths
on this side the ,lps' therefore' fearing the re-
proaches of the reformers' cried as loudly as they
did (hus' by degrees' the fashion of defaming
0aesar and ompey' and of refusing certain cere-
monies to certain persons paid by the $ing' and la-
boring under the eyes of the magistracy' 5as estab-
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lished in 1rance )e do not declaim against this
abuse! for 5ho 5ould embroil himself 5ith po5-
erful men of the present time' for hedra and heroes
of past ages?
)e are content 5ith Jnding this rigor absurd'
and 5ith al5ays paying our full tribute of admira-
tion to the masterpieces of our stage
ome' from 5hom 5e have learned our catechism'
does not use it as 5e do ! she has al5ays $no5n ho5
to temper her la5s according to times and occasions !
she has $no5n ho5 to distinguish impudent mounte-
ban$s' 5ho 5ere formerly rightly censured' from the
dramatic pieces of (rissin' and of several bishops
and cardinals 5ho have assisted to revive tragedy
&ven at present' comedies are publicly represented
at ome in religious houses Ladies go to them
5ithout scandal! they thin$ not that dialogues' re-
cited on boards' are a diabolical infamy )e have
even seen the piece of 42eorge andin4 eecuted
at ome by nuns' in the presence of a cro5d of ec-
clesiastics and ladies (he 5ise omans are above
all careful ho5 they ecommunicate the gentlemen
5ho sing the trebles in the Italian operas! for' in
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FCB hilosophical
truth' it is enough to be castrated in this 5orld' 5ith-
out being damned in the other
In the good time of Louis I%' there 5as al-
5ays a bench at the spectacles' 5hich 5as called the
bench of bishops I have been a 5itness' that in the
minority of Louis %' 0ardinal 1leury' then bishop
of 1rejus' 5as very anious to revive this custom
)ith other times and other manners' 5e are ap-
parently much 5iser than in the times in 5hich the
5hole of &urope came to admire our sho5s' 5hen
ichelieu revived the stage in 1rance' 5hen Leo
rene5ed the age of ,ugustus in Italy 7 but a time 5ill
come in 5hich our children' seeing the impertinent
5or$ of 1ather Le 3run against the art of #opho-
cles' and the 5or$s of our great men printed at
the same time' 5ill eclaim 7 Is it possible that the
1rench could thus contradict themselves' and that the
most absurd barbarity has so proudly raised its head
against some of the Jnest productions of the human
mind?
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#t (homas of ,uinas' 5hose morals 5ere eual
to those of 0alvin and 1ather >uesnel #t (homas'
5ho had never seen good comedy' and 5ho $ne5
only miserable players' thin$s ho5ever that the
theatre might be useful 6e had sucient good
sense and justice to feel the merit of this art' un-
Jnished as it 5as' and permitted and approved of it
#t 0harles 3orromeo personally eamined the pieces
5hich 5ere played at :ilan' and gave them his ap-
probation and signature )ho after that 5ill be
ictionary FCD
%isigoths enough to treat oderigo and 0himene as
soul-corrupters ? )ould to 2od that these barbar-
ians' the enemies of the Jnest of arts' had the piety
of olyeucte' the clemency of ,ugustus' the virtue
of 3urrhus' and 5ould die li$e the husband of ,l-
;iraT
#(,(&# 2O%&.:&.(#
)6I06 is the best? I have not hitherto $no5n
any person 5ho has not governed some state I
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spea$ not of messieurs the ministers' 5ho really
govern ! some t5o or three years' others si months'
and others si 5ee$s ! I spea$ of all other men' 5ho'
at supper or in their closet' unfold their systems of
government' and reform armies' the 0hurch' the
go5n' and Jnances
(he ,bbe de 3our;eis began to govern 1rance
to5ards the year @BGE' under the name of 0ardinal
ichelieu' and made the 4olitical (estament'4 in
5hich he 5ould enlist the nobility into the cavalry
for three years' ma$e chambers of accounts and par-
liaments pay the poll-ta' and deprive the $ing of
the produce of the ecise 6e asserts' above all'
that to enter a country 5ith Jfty thousand men' it
is essential to economy that a hundred thousand
should be raised 6e arms that 4rovence alone
has more Jne seaports than #pain and Italy to-
gether4
(he ,bbe de 3our;eis had not travelled ,s to
the rest' his 5or$ abounds 5ith anachronisms and
FCH hilosophical
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errors ! and as he ma$es 0ardinal ichelieu sign in
a manner in 5hich he never signed' so he ma$es
him spea$ as he had never spo$en :oreover' he
Jlls a 5hole chapter 5ith saying that reason should
guide a state' and in endeavoring to prove this dis-
covery (his 5or$ of obscurities' this bastard of
the ,bbe de 3our;eis' has long passed for the legit-
imate oNspring of the 0ardinal ichelieu! and all
academicians' in their speeches of reception' fail not
to praise etravagantly this political masterpiece
(he #ieur 2atien de 0ourtil;' seeing the success
of the 4(estament olitiue4 of ichelieu' published
at (he 6ague the 4(estament de 0olbert'4 5ith a
Jne letter of : 0olbert to the $ing It is clear that
if this minister made such a testament' it must have
been suppressed ! yet this boo$ has been uoted by
several authors
,nother ignoramus' of 5hose name 5e are igno-
rant' failed not to produce the 4(estament de
Louis'4 still 5orse' if possible' than that of 0olbert
,n abbe of 0hevremont also made 0harles' du$e
of Lorraine' form a testament )e have had the
political testaments of 0ardinal ,lberoni' :arshal
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3elle-Isle' and Jnally that of :andrin
: de 3oisguillebert' author of the 4etail de la
1rance'4 published in @B"E' produced the impracti-
cable project of the royal tithe' under the name of
the marshal de %auban
, madman' named La 8onchere' 5anting bread'
5rote' in @DCA' a 4roject of 1inance'4 in four vol-
ictionary FC"
umes ! and some fools have uoted this production
as a 5or$ of La 8onchere' the treasurer-general'
imagining that a treasurer could not 5rite a bad
boo$ on Jnance
3ut it must be confessed that very 5ise men' per-
haps very 5orthy to govern' have 5ritten on the
administration of states in 1rance' #pain' and &ng-
land (heir boo$s have done much good ! not that
they have corrected ministers 5ho 5ere in place
5hen these boo$s appeared' for a minister does not
and cannot correct himself 6e has attained his
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gro5th' and more instruction' more counsel' he has
not time to listen to (he current of aNairs carries
him a5ay ! but good boo$s form young people' des-
tined for their places! and princes and statesmen
of a succeeding generation are instructed
(he strength and 5ea$ness of all governments
has been narro5ly eamined in latter times (ell
me' then' you 5ho have travelled' 5ho have read and
have seen' in 5hat state' under 5hat sort of govern-
ment' 5ould you be born? I conceive that a great
landed lord in 1rance 5ould have no objection to be
born in 2ermany 7 he 5ould be a sovereign instead
of a subject , peer of 1rance 5ould be very glad
to have the privileges of the &nglish peerage 7 he
5ould be a legislator (he go5nsman and Jnancier
5ould Jnd himself better oN in 1rance than else-
5here 3ut 5hat country 5ould a 5ise freeman
choose a man of small fortune' 5ithout prejudices ?
, rather learned member of the council of ond-
FFA hilosophical
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icherry came into &urope' by land' 5ith a brahmin'
more learned than the generality of them 46o5 do
you Jnd the government of the 2reat :ogul ?4 said
the counsellor 4,bominable'4 ans5ered the brah-
min ! 4ho5 can you epect a state to be happily gov-
erned by (artars? Our rajahs' our omras' and our
nabobs are very contented' but the citi;ens are by no
means so! and millions of citi;ens are something4
(he counsellor and the brahmin traversed all 9p-
per ,sia' reasoning on their 5ay 4I reMect'4 said
the brahmin' 4that there is not a republic in all this
vast part of the 5orld4 4(here 5as formerly that
of (yre'4 said the counsellor' 4but it lasted not
long! there 5as another to5ards ,rabia etraea'
in a little noo$ called alestine if 5e can honor
5ith the name of republic a horde of thieves and
usurers' sometimes governed by judges' sometimes
by a sort of $ings' sometimes by high priests ! 5ho
became slaves seven or eight times' and 5ere Jnally
driven from the country 5hich they had usurped4
4I fancy'4 said the brahmin' 4that 5e should Jnd
very fe5 republics on earth :en are seldom 5or-
thy to govern themselves (his happiness should
only belong to little people' 5ho conceal themselves
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in islands' or bet5een mountains' li$e rabbits 5ho
steal a5ay from carnivorous animals' but at length
are discovered and devoured4
)hen' the travellers arrived in ,sia :inor' the
counsellor said to the brahmin' 4)ould you believe
that there 5as a republic formed in a corner of Italy'
ictionary FF@
5hich lasted more than Jve hundred years' and
5hich possessed this ,sia :inor' ,sia' ,frica'
2reece' the 2auls' #pain' and the 5hole of Italy?4
4It 5as therefore soon turned into a monarchy?4
said the brahmin 4<ou have guessed it'4 said the
other! 4but this monarchy has fallen' and every
day 5e ma$e Jne dissertations to discover the causes
of its decay and fall4 4<ou ta$e much useless
pains'4 said the Indian 7 4this empire has fallen be-
cause it eisted ,ll must fall I hope that the same
5ill happen to the empire of the 2reat :ogul4
4,propos'4 said the &uropean' 4do you believe that
more honor is reuired in a despotic state' and more
virtue in a republic ?4 (he term 4honor4 being Jrst
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eplained to the Indian' he replied' that honor 5as
more necessary in a republic' and that there is more
need of virtue in a monarchical state 41or'4 said
he' 4a man 5ho pretends to be elected by the people'
5ill not be so' if he is dishonored! 5hile at court
he can easily obtain a place' according to the maim
of a great prince' that to succeed' a courtier should
have neither honor nor a 5ill of his o5n )ith re-
spect to virtue' it is prodigiously reuired in a court'
in order to dare to tell the truth (he virtuous
man is much more at his ease in a republic' having
nobody to Matter4
4o you believe'4 said the &uropean' 4that la5s
and religions can be formed for climates' the same
as furs are reuired at :osco5' and gau;e stuNs at
elhi?4 4<es' doubtless'4 said the brahmin! 4all
FFC hilosophical
la5s 5hich concern physics are calculated for the
meridian 5hich 5e inhabit ! a 2erman reuires only
one 5ife' and a ersian must have t5o or three
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4ites of religion are of the same nature If I
5ere a 0hristian' ho5 5ould you have me say mass
in my province' 5here there is neither bread nor
5ine ? )ith regard to dogmas' it is another thing !
climate has nothing to do 5ith them id not your
religion commence in ,sia' from 5hence it 5as
driven? does it not eist to5ards the 3altic #ea'
5here it 5as un$no5n?4
4In 5hat state' under 5hat dominion' 5ould you
li$e to live?4 said the counsellor 49nder any but
my o5n'4 said his companion' 4and I have found
many #iamese' (onuinese' ersians' and (ur$s
5ho have said the same4 43ut' once more'4 said
the &uropean' 45hat state 5ould you choose?4
(he brahmin ans5ered' 4(hat in 5hich the la5s
alone are obeyed4 4(hat is an odd ans5er'4 said
the counsellor 4It is not the 5orse for that'4 said
the brahmin 4)here is this country?4 said the
counsellor (he brahmin 7 4)e must see$ it4
#(,(&#-2&.&,L
(6&& have been al5ays such in &urope' and
probably in all the earth' so natural is it to assemble
the family' to $no5 its interests' and to provide for
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its 5antsT (he (artars had their cour-ilte (he
2ermans' according to (acitus' assembled to con-
sult (he #aons and people of the .orth had their
ictionary FFF
5itenagemot (he people at large formed states-
general in the 2ree$ and oman republics
)e see none among the &gyptians' ersians' or
0hinese' because 5e have but very imperfect frag-
ments of their histories 7 5e scarcely $no5 anything
of them until since the time in 5hich their $ings
5ere absolute' or at least since the time in 5hich
they had only priests to balance their authority
)hen the comitia 5ere abolished at ome' the
raetorian guards too$ their place 7 insolent' greedy'
barbarous' and idle soldiers 5ere the republic #ep-
timius #everus conuered and disbanded them
(he states-general of the Ottoman &mpire are
the janissaries and cavalry! in ,lgiers and (unis'
it is the militia (he greatest and most singular e-
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ample of these states-general is the iet of atisbon'
5hich has lasted a hundred years' 5here the rep-
resentatives of the empire' the ministers of electors'
princes' counts' prelates and imperial cities' to the
number of thirty-seven' continually sit
(he second states-general of &urope are those of
2reat 3ritain (hey are not al5ays assembled' li$e
the iet of atisbon ! but they are become so neces-
sary that the $ing convo$es them every year
(he 6ouse of 0ommons ans5ers precisely to the
deputies of cities received in the diet of the empire !
but it is much larger in number' and enjoys a su-
perior po5er It is properly the nation eers and
bishops are in parliament only for themselves' and
the 6ouse of 0ommons for all the country
FFG hilosophical
(his parliament of &ngland is only a perfected
imitation of certain states-general of 1rance In
@FEE' under +ing 8ohn' the three states 5ere as-
sembled at aris' to aid him against the &nglish
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(hey granted him a considerable sum' at Jve livres
Jve sous the mar$' for fear the $ing should change
the numerary value (hey regulated the ta neces-
sary to gather in this money' and they established
nine commissioners to preside at the receipt (he
$ing promised for himself and his successors' not
to ma$e any change in the coin in future
)hat is promising for himself and his heirs?
&ither it is promising nothing' or it is saying 7 .ei-
ther myself nor my heirs have the right of altering
the money ! 5e have not the po5er of doing ill