,,the ,,essays ,,of ,,arthur            
,,schopenhauer    ,,religion3 ,a        
,,dialogue1 ,,etc4    ,,translated ,,by 
,t4 ,,bailey ,,saunders1 ,m4,a4         
,,contents4      ,,prefatory ,,note     
,,religion3 ,a ,,dialogue    ,a ,,few   
,,words ,,on ,,pantheism    ,,on ,,books
 ,,and ,,reading    ,,on ,,physiognomy  
,,psychological ,,observations    ,,the 
,,christian ,,system                    
,,prefatory ,,note      ,schopenhauer is
 one of the few philosophers who can be 
generally  understood without a         
commentary4 ,all his theories claim to  
be drawn  direct from the facts1 to be  
suggested by observation1 and to        
interpret  the world as it is2 and      
whatever view he takes1 he is constant  
in his  appeal to the experience of     
common life4 ,this characteristic endows
 his  style with a freshness and vigor  
which would be difficult to match in    
the philosophical writing of any        
country1 and impossible in that of      
,germany4 ,if it were asked whether     

there were any circumstances apart  from
 heredity1 to which he owed his mental  
habit1 the answer might be  found in the
 abnormal character of his early        
education1 his acquaintance  with the   
world rather than with books1 the       
extensive travels of his  boyhood1 his  
ardent pursuit of knowledge for its own 
sake and without  regard to the         
emoluments and endowments of learning4  
,he was trained in  realities even more 
than in ideas2 and hence he is original1
 forcible1  clear1 an enemy of all      
philosophic indefiniteness and          
obscurity2 so that  it may well be said 
of him1 in the words of a writer in the 
,revue  ,contemporaine1 ce n'est pas un 
philosophe comme les autres1 c'est un   
philosophe qui a vu le monde4    ,it is 
not my purpose1 nor would it be possible
 within the limits of a  prefatory note1
 to attempt an account of               
,schopenhauer's philosophy1 to  indicate
 its sources1 or to suggest or rebut the
 objections which may be  taken to it4  

,m4 ,ribot1 in his excellent little     
book1 ,footnote3 ,la  ,philosophie de   
,schopenhauer1 par ,th4 ,ribot4 has done
 all that is  necessary in this         
direction4 ,but the essays here         
presented need a word  of explanation4  
,it should be observed1 and             
,schopenhauer himself is at  pains to   
point out1 that his system is like a    
citadel with a hundred  gates3 at       
whatever point you take it up1 wherever 
you make your  entrance1 you are on the 
road to the center4 ,in this respect his
  writings resemble a series of essays  
composed in support of a single  thesis2
 a circumstance which led him to insist1
 more emphatically even  than most      
philosophers1 that for a proper         
understanding of his system it  was     
necessary to read every line he had     
written4 ,perhaps it would be  more     
correct to describe ,die ,welt als      
,wille und ,vorstellung as his  main    
thesis1 and his other treatises as      
merely corollary to it4 ,the  essays in 

this volume form part of the corollary2 
they are taken from a  collection       
published towards the close of          
,schopenhauer's life1 and by  him       
entitled ,parerga und ,paralipomena1 as 
being in the nature of  surplusage and  
illustrative of his main position4 ,they
 are by far the  most popular of his    
works1 and since their first publication
 in #ahea1  they have done much to build
 up his fame4 ,written so as to be      
intelligible enough in themselves1 the  
tendency of many of them is  towards the
 fundamental idea on which his system is
 based4 ,it may  therefore be convenient
 to summarize that idea in a couple of  
sentences2  more especially as          
,schopenhauer sometimes writes as if his
 advice had  been followed and his      
readers were acquainted with the whole  
of his  work4    ,all philosophy is in  
some sense the endeavor to find a       
unifying  principle1 to discover the    
most general conception underlying the  
whole  field of nature and of knowledge4

 ,by one of those bold generalizations  
which occasionally mark a real advance  
in ,science1 ,schopenhauer  conceived   
this unifying principle1 this underlying
 unity1 to consist in  something        
analogous to that will which            
self-consciousness reveals to  us4 ,will
 is1 according to him1 the fundamental  
reality of the world1  the              
thing-in-itself2 and its objectivation  
is what is presented in  phenomena4 ,the
 struggle of the will to realize itself 
evolves the  organism1 which in its turn
 evolves intelligence as the servant of 
the  will4 ,and in practical life the   
antagonism between the will and the     
intellect arises from the fact that the 
former is the metaphysical  substance1  
the latter something accidental and     
secondary4 ,and further1  will is       
desire1 that is to say1 need of         
something2 hence need and pain  are what
 is positive in the world1 and the only 
possible happiness is a  negation1 a    
renunciation of the will to live4    ,it

 is instructive to note1 as ,m4 ,ribot  
points out1 that in finding the  origin 
of all things1 not in intelligence1 as  
some of his predecessors  in philosophy 
had done1 but in will1 or the force of  
nature1 from which  all phenomena have  
developed1 ,schopenhauer was            
anticipating something of  the          
scientific spirit of the nineteenth     
century4 ,to this it may be added  that 
in combating the method of ,fichte and  
,hegel1 who spun a system out  of       
abstract ideas1 and in discarding it for
 one based on observation and           
experience1 ,schopenhauer can be said to
 have brought down philosophy  from     
heaven to earth4    ,in ,schopenhauer's 
view the various forms of ,religion are 
no less a  product of human ingenuity   
than ,art or ,science4 ,he holds1 in    
effect1  that all religions take their  
rise in the desire to explain the world2
  and that1 in regard to truth and      
error1 they differ1 in the main1 not by 
preaching monotheism polytheism or      

pantheism1 but in so far as they        
recognize pessimism or optimism as the  
true description of life4 ,hence  any   
religion which looked upon the world as 
being radically evil  appealed to him as
 containing an indestructible element of
 truth4 ,i have  endeavored to present  
his view of two of the great religions  
of the  world in the extract which      
concludes this volume1 and to which ,i  
have  given the title of ,the ,christian
 ,system4 ,the tenor of it is to show   
that1 however little he may have been in
 sympathy with the supernatural         
element1 he owed much to the moral      
doctrines of ,christianity and of       
,buddhism1 between which he traced great
 resemblance4 ,in the following         
,dialogue he applies himself to a       
discussion of the practical efficacy  of
 religious forms2 and though he was an  
enemy of clericalism1 his  choice of a  
method which allows both the affirmation
 and the denial of  that efficacy to be 
presented with equal force may perhaps  

have been  directed by the consciousness
 that he could not side with either view
 to  the exclusion of the other4 ,in any
 case his practical philosophy was      
touched with the spirit of              
,christianity4 ,it was more than        
artistic  enthusiasm which led him in   
profound admiration to the ,madonna di  
,san  ,sisto3      ,sie trgt zur ,welt  
ihn1 und er schaut entsetzt    ,in ihrer
 ,gru'l chaotische ,verwirrung1    ,in  
ihres ,tobens wilde ,raserei1    ,in    
ihres ,treibens nie geheilte ,thorheit1 
,in ihrer ,quaalen nie gestillten       
,schmerz2    ,entsetzt3 doch strahlet   
,rub' and ,zuversicht    ,und           
,siegesglanz sein ,aug'1 verkndigend    
,schon der ,erlsung ewige gewissheit4   
,pessimism is commonly and erroneously  
supposed to be the distinguishing       
feature of ,schopenhauer's system4 ,it  
is right to remember that the same      
fundamental view of the world is        
presented by ,christianity1 to say      
nothing of ,oriental religions4    ,that

 ,schopenhauer conceives life as an evil
 is a deduction1 and possibly  a        
mistaken deduction1 from his            
metaphysical theory4 ,whether his scheme
  of things is correct or not--and it   
shares the common fate of all           
metaphysical systems in being           
unverifiable1 and to that extent        
unprofitable--he will in the last resort
 have made good his claim to be  read by
 his insight into the varied needs of   
human life4 ,it may be that  a future   
age will consign his metaphysics to the 
philosophical  lumber-room2 but he is a 
literary artist as well as a            
philosopher1 and  he can make a bid for 
fame in either capacity4 ,what is       
remarked with  much truth of many       
another writer1 that he suggests more   
than he  achieves1 is in the highest    
degree applicable to ,schopenhauer2 and 
his  obiter dicta1 his sayings by the   
way1 will always find an audience4      
,t4,b4 ,,saunders4          ,,religion4 
,a ,,dialogue4      ,demopheles4        

,between ourselves1 my dear fellow1 ,i  
don't care about the  way you sometimes 
have of exhibiting your talent for      
philosophy2 you  make religion a subject
 for sarcastic remarks1 and even for    
open  ridicule4 ,every one thinks his   
religion sacred1 and therefore you ought
  to respect it4    ,philalethes4 ,that 
doesn't follow6 ,i don't see why1       
because other  people are simpletons1 ,i
 should have any regard for a pack of   
lies4 ,i  respect truth everywhere1 and 
so ,i can't respect what is opposed to  
it4  ,my maxim is ,vigeat veritas et    
pereat mundus1 like the lawyers' ,fiat  
justitia et pereat mundus4 ,every       
profession ought to have an analogous   
advice4    ,demopheles4 ,then ,i suppose
 doctors should say ,fiant pilulae et   
pereat  mundus1--there wouldn't be much 
difficulty about that6    ,philalethes4 
,heaven forbid6 ,you must take          
everything cum grano  salis4            
,demopheles4 ,exactly2 that's why ,i    
want you to take religion cum grano     

salis4 ,i want you to see that one must 
meet the requirements of the  people    
according to the measure of their       
comprehension4 ,where you have  masses  
of people of crude susceptibilities and 
clumsy intelligence1  sordid in their   
pursuits and sunk in drudgery1 religion 
provides the  only means of proclaiming 
and making them feel the hight import of
 life4  ,for the average man takes an   
interest1 primarily1 in nothing but what
  will satisfy his physical needs and   
hankerings1 and beyond this1 give  him a
 little amusement and pastime4 ,founders
 of religion and  philosophers come into
 the world to rouse him from his stupor 
and point  to the lofty meaning of      
existence2 philosophers for the few1 the
  emancipated1 founders of religion for 
the many1 for humanity at large4  ,for1 
as your friend ,plato has said1 the     
multitude can't be philosophers1  and   
you shouldn't forget that4 ,religion is 
the metaphysics of the  masses2 by all  
means let them keep it3 let it therefore

 command external  respect1 for to      
discredit it is to take it away4 ,just  
as they have  popular poetry1 and the   
popular wisdom of proverbs1 so they must
 have  popular metaphysics too3 for     
mankind absolutely needs an             
interpretation  of life2 and this1      
again1 must be suited to popular        
comprehension4  ,consequently1 this     
interpretation is always an allegorical 
investiture  of the truth3 and in       
practical life and in its effects on the
 feelings1  that is to say1 as a rule of
 action and as a comfort and consolation
 in  suffering and death1 it            
accomplishes perhaps just as much as the
 truth  itself could achieve if we      
possessed it4 ,don't take offense at its
  unkempt1 grotesque and apparently     
absurd form2 for with your education    
and learning1 you have no idea of the   
roundabout ways by which people in      
their crude state have to receive their 
knowledge of deep truths4 ,the  various 
religions are only various forms in     

which the truth1 which taken  by itself 
is above their comprehension1 is grasped
 and realized by the  masses2 and truth 
becomes inseparable from these forms4   
,therefore1 my  dear sir1 don't take it 
amiss if ,i say that to make a mockery  
of these  forms is both shallow and     
unjust4    ,philalethes4 ,but isn't it  
every bit as shallow and unjust to      
demand  that there shall be no other    
system of metaphysics but this one1 cut 
out  as it is to suit the requirements  
and comprehension of the masses8 that   
its doctrine shall be the limit of human
 speculation1 the standard of  all      
thought1 so that the metaphysics of the 
few1 the emancipated1 as you  call them1
 must be devoted only to confirming1    
strengthening1 and  explaining the      
metaphysics of the masses8 that the     
highest powers of  human intelligence   
shall remain unused and undeveloped1    
even be nipped  in the bud1 in order    
that their activity may not thwart the  
popular  metaphysics8 ,and isn't this   

just the very claim which religion sets 
up8  ,isn't it a little too much to have
 tolerance and delicate forbearance     
preached by what is intolerance and     
cruelty itself8 ,think of the  heretical
 tribunals1 inquisitions1 religious     
wars1 crusades1 ,socrates'  cup of      
poison1 ,bruno's and ,vanini's death in 
the flames6 ,is all this  to-day quite a
 thing of the past8 ,how can genuine    
philosophical effort1  sincere search   
after truth1 the noblest calling of the 
noblest men1 be  let and hindered more  
completely than by a conventional system
 of  metaphysics enjoying a ,state      
monopoly1 the principles of which are   
impressed into every head in earliest   
youth1 so earnestly1 so deeply1  and so 
firmly1 that1 unless the mind is        
miraculously elastic1 they  remain      
indelible4 ,in this way the groundwork  
of all healthy reason is  once for all  
deranged2 that is to say1 the capacity  
for original thought  and unbiased      
judgment1 which is weak enough in       

itself1 is1 in regard to  those subjects
 to which it might be applied1 for ever 
paralyzed and  ruined4    ,demopheles4  
,which means1 ,i suppose1 that people   
have arrived at a  conviction which they
 won't give up in order to embrace yours
 instead4    ,philalethes4 ,ah6 if it   
were only a conviction based on insight4
 ,then  one could bring arguments to    
bear1 and the battle would be fought    
with  equal weapons4 ,but religions     
admittedly appeal1 not to conviction as 
the  result of argument1 but to belief  
as demanded by revelation4 ,and as the  
capacity for believing is strongest in  
childhood1 special care is taken  to    
make sure of this tender age4 ,this has 
much more to do with the  doctrines of  
belief taking root than threats and     
reports of miracles4  ,if1 in early     
childhood1 certain fundamental views and
 doctrines are  paraded with unusual    
solemnity1 and an air of the greatest   
earnestness  never before visible in    
anything else2 if1 at the same time1 the

  possibility of a doubt about them be  
completely passed over1 or touched  upon
 only to indicate that doubt is the     
first step to eternal perdition1  the   
resulting impression will be so deep    
that1 as a rule1 that is1 in  almost    
every case1 doubt about them will be    
almost as impossible as  doubt about    
one's own existence4 ,hardly one in ten 
thousand will have  the strength of mind
 to ask himself seriously and           
earnestly--is that  true8 ,to call such 
as can do it strong minds1 esprits      
forts1 is a  description more apt than  
is generally supposed4 ,but for the     
ordinary  mind there is nothing so      
absurd or revolting but what1 if        
inculcated in  that way1 the strongest  
belief in it will strike root4 ,if1 for 
example1  the killing of a heretic or   
infidel were essential to the future    
salvation of his soul1 almost every one 
would make it the chief event of  his   
life1 and in dying would draw           
consolation and strength from the       

remembrance that he had succeeded4 ,as a
 matter of fact1 almost every  ,spaniard
 in days gone by used to look upon an   
auto da fe as the most  pious of all    
acts and one most agreeable to ,god4 ,a 
parallel to this may  be found in the   
way in which the ,thugs 7a religious    
sect in ,india1  suppressed a short time
 ago by the ,english1 who executed      
numbers of  them7 express their sense of
 religion and their veneration for the  
goddess ,kali2 they take every          
opportunity of murdering their friends  
and  traveling companions1 with the     
object of getting possession of their   
goods1 and in the serious conviction    
that they are thereby doing a           
praiseworthy action1 conducive to their 
eternal welfare4 ,footnote3 ,cf4        
,illustrations of the history and       
practice of the ,thugs1 ,london1 #ahcg2 
also the ,edinburg ,review1 ,oct4-,jan41
 #ahcf-g4 ,the power of religious       
dogma1 when inculcated early1 is such as
 to stifle conscience1  compassion1 and 

finally every feeling of humanity4 ,but 
if you want to  see with your own eyes  
and close at hand what timely           
inoculation will  accomplish1 look at   
the ,english4 ,here is a nation favored 
before all  others by nature2 endowed1  
more than all others1 with discernment1 
intelligence1 power of judgment1        
strength of character2 look at them1    
abased and made ridiculous1 beyond all  
others1 by their stupid  ecclesiastical 
superstition1 which appears amongst     
their other abilities  like a fixed idea
 or monomania4 ,for this they have to   
thank the  circumstance that education  
is in the hands of the clergy1 whose    
endeavor it is to impress all the       
articles of belief1 at the earliest     
age1 in a way that amounts to a kind of 
paralysis of the brain2 this in  its    
turn expresses itself all their life in 
an idiotic bigotry1 which  makes        
otherwise most sensible and intelligent 
people amongst them  degrade themselves 
so that one can't make head or tail of  

them4 ,if you  consider how essential to
 such a masterpiece is inoculation in   
the  tender age of childhood1 the       
missionary system appears no longer only
 as  the acme of human importunity1     
arrogance and impertinence1 but also as 
an absurdity1 if it doesn't confine     
itself to nations which are still in    
their infancy1 like ,caffirs1           
,hottentots1 ,south ,sea ,islanders1    
etc4  ,amongst these races it is        
successful2 but in ,india1 the ,brahmans
 treat  the discourses of the           
missionaries with contemptuous smiles of
  approbation1 or simply shrug their    
shoulders4 ,and one may say generally   
that the proselytizing efforts of the   
missionaries in ,india1 in spite of  the
 most advantageous facilities1 are1 as a
 rule1 a failure4 ,an  authentic report 
in the ,vol4 ,,xxi4 of the ,asiatic     
,journal 7#ahbf7 states  that after so  
many years of missionary activity not   
more than three  hundred living converts
 were to be found in the whole of       

,india1 where  the population of the    
,english possessions alone comes to one 
hundred and  fifteen millions2 and at   
the same time it is admitted that the   
,christian  converts are distinguished  
for their extreme immorality4 ,three    
hundred  venal and bribed souls out of  
so many millions6 ,there is no evidence 
that things have gone better with       
,christianity in ,india since then1 in  
spite of the fact that the missionaries 
are now trying1 contrary to  stipulation
 and in schools exclusively designed for
 secular ,english  instruction1 to work 
upon the children's minds as they       
please1 in order  to smuggle in         
,christianity2 against which the        
,hindoos are most jealously  on their   
guard4 ,as ,i have said1 childhood is   
the time to sow the seeds  of belief1   
and not manhood2 more especially where  
an earlier faith has  taken root4 ,an   
acquired conviction such as is feigned  
by adults is1 as a  rule1 only the mask 
for some kind of personal interest4 ,and

 it is the  feeling that this is almost 
bound to be the case which makes a man  
who  has changed his religion in mature 
years an object of contempt to most     
people everywhere2 who thus show that   
they look upon religion1 not as a       
matter of reasoned conviction1 but      
merely as a belief inoculated in        
childhood1 before any test can be       
applied4 ,and that they are right in    
their view of religion is also obvious  
from the way in which not only  the     
masses1 who are blindly credulous1 but  
also the clergy of every  religion1 who1
 as such1 have faithfully and zealously 
studied its  sources1 foundations1      
dogmas and disputed points1 cleave as a 
body to  the religion of their          
particular country2 consequently for a  
minister of  one religion or confession 
to go over to another is the rarest     
thing in  the world4 ,the ,catholic     
clergy1 for example1 are fully convinced
 of the  truth of all the tenets of     
their ,church1 and so are the           

,protestant  clergy of theirs1 and both 
defend the principles of their creeds   
with  like zeal4 ,and yet the conviction
 is governed merely by the country      
native to each2 to the ,south ,german   
ecclesiastic the truth of the  ,catholic
 dogma is quite obvious1 to the ,north  
,german1 the ,protestant4 ,if  then1    
these convictions are based on objective
 reasons1 the reasons must  be climatic1
 and thrive1 like plants1 some only     
here1 some only there4  ,the convictions
 of those who are thus locally convinced
 are taken on  trust and believed by the
 masses everywhere4    ,demopheles4     
,well1 no harm is done1 and it doesn't  
make any real  difference4 ,as a fact1  
,protestantism is more suited to the    
,north1  ,catholicism to the ,south4    
,philalethes4 ,so it seems4 ,still ,i   
take a higher standpoint1 and keep  in  
view a more important object1 the       
progress1 namely1 of the knowledge  of  
truth among mankind4 ,and from this     
point of view1 it is a terrible  thing  

that1 wherever a man is born1 certain   
propositions are inculcated  in him in  
earliest youth1 and he is assured that  
he may never have any  doubts about     
them1 under penalty of thereby          
forfeiting eternal  salvation2          
propositions1 ,i mean1 which affect the 
foundation of all our  other knowledge  
and accordingly determine for ever1 and1
 if they are  false1 distort for ever1  
the point of view from which our        
knowledge  starts2 and as1 further1 the 
corollaries of these propositions touch 
the  entire system of our intellectual  
attainments at every point1 the whole   
of human knowledge is thoroughly        
adulterated by them4 ,evidence of this  
is afforded by every literature2 the    
most striking by that of the ,middle    
,age1 but in a too considerable degree  
by that of the fifteenth and  sixteenth 
centuries4 ,look at even the first minds
 of all those epochs2  how paralyzed    
they are by false fundamental positions 
like these2 how1  more especially1 all  

insight into the true constitution and  
working of  nature is1 as it were1      
blocked up4 ,during the whole of the    
,christian  period ,theism lies like a  
mountain on all intellectual1 and       
chiefly on  all philosophical efforts1  
and arrests or stunts all progress4 ,for
 the  scientific men of these ages ,god1
 devil1 angels1 demons hid the whole of 
nature2 no inquiry was followed to the  
end1 nothing ever thoroughly  examined2 
everything which went beyond the most   
obvious casual nexus was  immediately   
set down to those personalities4 ,it was
 at once explained  by a reference to   
,god1 angels or demons1 as ,pomponatius 
expressed  himself when the matter was  
being discussed1 and philosophers at any
  rate have nothing analogous4 ,there   
is1 to be sure1 a suspicion of  irony in
 this statement of ,pomponatius1 as his 
perfidy in other matters  is known2     
still1 he is only giving expression to  
the general way of  thinking of his age4
 ,and if1 on the other hand1 any one    

possessed the  rare quality of an       
elastic mind1 which alone could burst   
the bonds1 his  writings and he himself 
with them were burnt2 as happened to    
,bruno and  ,vanini4 ,how completely an 
ordinary mind is paralyzed by that early
  preparation in metaphysics is seen in 
the most vivid way and on its most      
ridiculous side1 where such a one       
undertakes to criticise the doctrines   
of an alien creed4 ,the efforts of the  
ordinary man are generally found  to be 
directed to a careful exhibition of the 
incongruity of its dogmas  with those of
 his own belief3 he is at great pains to
 show that not only  do they not say1   
but certainly do not mean1 the same     
thing2 and with  that he thinks1 in his 
simplicity1 that he has demonstrated the
  falsehood of the alien creed4 ,he     
really never dreams of putting the      
question which of the two may be right2 
his own articles of belief he  looks    
upon as  priori true and certain        
principles4    ,demopheles4 ,so that's  

your higher point of view8 ,i assure you
 there is  a higher still4 ,first live1 
then philosophize is a maxim of more    
comprehensive import than appears at    
first sight4 ,the first thing to do  is 
to control the raw and evil dispositions
 of the masses1 so as to keep  them from
 pushing injustice to extremes1 and from
 committing cruel1  violent and         
disgraceful acts4 ,if you were to wait  
until they had  recognized and grasped  
the truth1 you would undoubtedly come   
too late2  and truth1 supposing that it 
had been found1 would surpass their     
powers  of comprehension4 ,in any case  
an allegorical investiture of it1 a     
parable or myth1 is all that would be of
 any service to them4 ,as ,kant  said1  
there must be a public standard of      
,right and ,virtue2 it must  always     
flutter high overhead4 ,it is a matter  
of indifference what  heraldic figures  
are inscribed on it1 so long as they    
signify what is  meant4 ,such an        
allegorical representation of truth is  

always and  everywhere1 for humanity at 
large1 a serviceable substitute for a   
truth  to which it can never            
attain1--for a philosophy which it can  
never  grasp2 let alone the fact that it
 is daily changing its shape1 and has   
in no form as yet met with general      
acceptance4 ,practical aims1 then1 my   
good ,philalethes1 are in every respect 
superior to theoretical4                
,philalethes4 ,what you say is very like
 the ancient advice of ,timaeus  of     
,locrus1 the ,pythagorean1 stop the mind
 with falsehood if you can't  speed it  
with truth4 ,i almost suspect that your 
plan is the one which  is so much in    
vogue just now1 that you want to impress
 upon me that      ,the hour is nigh    
,when we may feast in quiet4    ,you    
recommend us1 in fact1 to take timely   
precautions1 so that the waves  of the  
discontented raging masses mayn't       
disturb us at table4 ,but the  whole    
point of view is as false as it is      
now-a-days popular and  commended2 and  

so ,i make haste to enter a protest     
against it4 ,it is  false1 that state1  
justice1 law cannot be upheld without   
the  assistance of religion and its     
dogmas2 and that justice and public     
order  need religion as a necessary     
complement1 if legislative enactments   
are  to be carried out4 ,it is false1   
were it repeated a hundred times4 ,an   
effective and striking argument to the  
contrary is afforded by the  ancients1  
especially the ,greeks4 ,they had       
nothing at all of what we  understand by
 religion4 ,they had no sacred          
documents1 no dogma to be  learned and  
its acceptance furthered by every one1  
its principles to be  inculcated early  
on the young4 ,just as little was moral 
doctrine  preached by the ministers of  
religion1 nor did the priests trouble   
themselves about morality or about what 
the people did or left undone4  ,not at 
all4 ,the duty of the priests was       
confined to temple-ceremonial1  prayers1
 hymns1 sacrifices1 processions1        

lustrations and the like1 the  object of
 which was anything but the moral       
improvement of the  individual4 ,what   
was called religion consisted1 more     
especially in the  cities1 in giving    
temples here and there to some of the   
gods of the  greater tribes1 in which   
the worship described was carried on as 
a state  matter1 and was consequently1  
in fact1 an affair of police4 ,no one1  
except the functionaries performing1 was
 in any way compelled to attend1  or    
even to believe in it4 ,in the whole of 
antiquity there is no trace of  any     
obligation to believe in any particular 
dogma4 ,merely in the case of  an open  
denial of the existence of the gods1 or 
any other reviling of  them1 a penalty  
was imposed1 and that on account of the 
insult offered  to the state1 which     
served those gods2 beyond this it was   
free to  everyone to think of them what 
he pleased4 ,if anyone wanted to gain   
the  favor of those gods privately1 by  
prayer or sacrifice1 it was open to  him

 to do so at his own expense and at his 
own risk2 if he didn't do it1  no one   
made any objection1 least of all the    
state4 ,in the case of the  ,romans1    
everyone had his own ,lares and ,penates
 at home2 they were1  however1 in       
reality1 only the venerated busts of    
ancestors4 ,of the  immortality of the  
soul and a life beyond the grave1 the   
ancients had no  firm1 clear or1 least  
of all1 dogmatically fixed idea1 but    
very loose1  fluctuating1 indefinite and
 problematical notions1 everyone in his 
own  way3 and the ideas about the gods  
were just as varying1 individual and    
vague4 ,there was1 therefore1 really no 
religion1 in our sense of the  word1    
amongst the ancients4 ,but did anarchy  
and lawlessness prevail  amongst them on
 that account8 ,is not law and civil    
order1 rather1 so  much their work1 that
 it still forms the foundation of our   
own8 ,was  there not complete protection
 for property1 even though it consisted 
for  the most part of slaves8 ,and did  

not this state of things last for more  
than a thousand years8 ,so that ,i can't
 recognize1 ,i must even protest        
against the practical aims and the      
necessity of religion in the sense      
indicated by you1 and so popular        
now-a-days1 that is1 as an              
indispensable foundation of all         
legislative arrangements4 ,for1 if you  
take that point of view1 the pure and   
sacred endeavor after truth would1  to  
say the least1 appear quixotic1 and even
 criminal1 if it ventured1 in  its      
feeling of justice1 to denounce the     
authoritative creed as a usurper  who   
had taken possession of the throne of   
truth and maintained his  position by   
keeping up the deception4               
,demopheles4 ,but religion is not       
opposed to truth2 it itself teaches     
truth4 ,and as the range of its activity
 is not a narrow lecture room1  but the 
world and humanity at large1 religion   
must conform to the  requirements and   
comprehension of an audience so numerous

 and so mixed4  ,religion must not let  
truth appear in its naked form2 or1 to  
use a  medical simile1 it must not      
exhibit it pure1 but must employ a      
mythical  vehicle1 a medium1 as it were4
 ,you can also compare truth in this    
respect to certain chemical stuffs which
 in themselves are gaseous1 but  which  
for medicinal uses1 as also for         
preservation or transmission1 must  be  
bound to a stable1 solid base1 because  
they would otherwise  volatilize4       
,chlorine gas1 for example1 is for all  
purposes applied only  in the form of   
chlorides4 ,but if truth1 pure1 abstract
 and free from all  mythical alloy1 is  
always to remain unattainable1 even by  
philosophers1  it might be compared to  
fluorine1 which cannot even be isolated1
 but  must always appear in combination 
with other elements4 ,or1 to take a     
less scientific simile1 truth1 which is 
inexpressible except by means of  myth  
and allegory1 is like water1 which can  
be carried about only in  vessels2 a    

philosopher who insists on obtaining it 
pure is like a man  who breaks the jug  
in order to get the water by itself4    
,this is1  perhaps1 an exact analogy4   
,at any rate1 religion is truth         
allegorically  and mythically expressed1
 and so rendered attainable and         
digestible by  mankind in general4      
,mankind couldn't possibly take it pure 
and unmixed1  just as we can't breathe  
pure oxygen2 we require an addition of  
four  times its bulk in nitrogen4 ,in   
plain language1 the profound meaning1   
the  high aim of life1 can only be      
unfolded and presented to the masses    
symbolically1 because they are incapable
 of grasping it in its true             
signification4 ,philosophy1 on the other
 hand1 should be like the  ,eleusinian  
mysteries1 for the few1 the lite4       
,philalethes4 ,i understand4 ,it comes1 
in short1 to truth wearing the  garment 
of falsehood4 ,but in doing so it enters
 on a fatal alliance4  ,what a dangerous
 weapon is put into the hands of those  

who are  authorized to employ falsehood 
as the vehicle of truth6 ,if it is as   
you  say1 ,i fear the damage caused by  
the falsehood will be greater than any  
advantage the truth could ever produce4 
,of course1 if the allegory were        
admitted to be such1 ,i should raise no 
objection2 but with the admission  it   
would rob itself of all respect1 and    
consequently1 of all utility4  ,the     
allegory must1 therefore1 put in a claim
 to be true in the proper  sense of the 
word1 and maintain the claim2 while1 at 
the most1 it is  true only in an        
allegorical sense4 ,here lies the       
irreparable mischief1  the permanent    
evil2 and this is why religion has      
always been and always  will be in      
conflict with the noble endeavor after  
pure truth4    ,demopheles4 ,oh no6 that
 danger is guarded against4 ,if religion
 mayn't  exactly confess its allegorical
 nature1 it gives sufficient indication 
of it4    ,philalethes4 ,how so8        
,demopheles4 ,in its mysteries4         

,mystery1 is in reality only a          
technical theological term for religious
 allegory4 ,all religions have  their   
mysteries4 ,properly speaking1 a mystery
 is a dogma which is  plainly absurd1   
but which1 nevertheless1 conceals in    
itself a lofty  truth1 and one which by 
itself would be completely              
incomprehensible to  the ordinary       
understanding of the raw multitude4 ,the
 multitude accepts  it in this disguise 
on trust1 and believes it1 without being
 led astray  by the absurdity of it1    
which even to its intelligence is       
obvious2 and  in this way it            
participates in the kernel of the matter
 so far as it is  possible for it to do 
so4 ,to explain what ,i mean1 ,i may add
 that even in  philosophy an attempt has
 been made to make use of a mystery4    
,pascal1  for example1 who was at once a
 pietist1 a mathematician1 and a        
philosopher1 says in this threefold     
capacity3 ,god is everywhere center  and
 nowhere periphery4 ,malebranche has    

also the just remark3 ,liberty  is a    
mystery4 ,one could go a step further   
and maintain that in  religions         
everything is mystery4 ,for to impart   
truth1 in the proper  sense of the word1
 to the multitude in its raw state is   
absolutely  impossible2 all that can    
fall to its lot is to be enlightened by 
a  mythological reflection of it4 ,naked
 truth is out of place before the  eyes 
of the profane vulgar2 it can only make 
its appearance thickly  veiled4 ,hence1 
it is unreasonable to require of a      
religion that it shall  be true in the  
proper sense of the word2 and this1 ,i  
may observe in  passing1 is now-a-days  
the absurd contention of ,rationalists  
and  ,supernaturalists alike4 ,both     
start from the position that religion   
must  be the real truth2 and while the  
former demonstrate that it is not the   
truth1 the latter obstinately maintain  
that it is2 or rather1 the former  dress
 up and arrange the allegorical element 
in such a way1 that1 in the  proper     

sense of the word1 it could be true1 but
 would be1 in that case1  a platitude2  
while the latter wish to maintain that  
it is true in the  proper sense of the  
word1 without any further dressing2 a   
belief1 which1  as we ought to know is  
only to be enforced by inquisitions and 
the  stake4 ,as a fact1 however1 myth   
and allegory really form the proper     
element of religion2 and under this     
indispensable condition1 which is       
imposed by the intellectual limitation  
of the multitude1 religion  provides a  
sufficient satisfaction for those       
metaphysical requirements  of mankind   
which are indestructible4 ,it takes the 
place of that pure  philosophical truth 
which is infinitely difficult and       
perhaps never  attainable4              
,philalethes4 ,ah6 just as a wooden leg 
takes the place of a natural  one2 it   
supplies what is lacking1 barely does   
duty for it1 claims to be  regarded as a
 natural leg1 and is more or less       
artfully put together4  ,the only       

difference is that1 whilst a natural leg
 as a rule preceded the  wooden one1    
religion has everywhere got the start of
 philosophy4    ,demopheles4 ,that may  
be1 but still for a man who hasn't a    
natural leg1  a wooden one is of great  
service4 ,you must bear in mind that the
  metaphysical needs of mankind         
absolutely require satisfaction1 because
  the horizon of men's thoughts must    
have a background and not remain        
unbounded4 ,man has1 as a rule1 no      
faculty for weighing reasons and        
discriminating between what is false and
 what is true2 and besides1 the  labor  
which nature and the needs of nature    
impose upon him1 leaves him  no time for
 such enquiries1 or for the education   
which they presuppose4  ,in his case1   
therefore1 it is no use talking of a    
reasoned conviction2  he has to fall    
back on belief and authority4 ,if a     
really true philosophy  were to take the
 place of religion1 nine-tenths at least
 of mankind  would have to receive it on

 authority2 that is to say1 it too would
 be a  matter of faith1 for ,plato's    
dictum1 that the multitude can't be     
philosophers1 will always remain true4  
,authority1 however1 is an affair  of   
time and circumstance alone1 and so it  
can't be bestowed on that  which has    
only reason in its favor1 it must       
accordingly be allowed to  nothing but  
what has acquired it in the course of   
history1 even if it is  only an         
allegorical representation of truth4    
,truth in this form1  supported by      
authority1 appeals first of all to those
 elements in the  human constitution    
which are strictly metaphysical1 that is
 to say1 to  the need man feels of a    
theory in regard to the riddle of       
existence  which forces itself upon his 
notice1 a need arising from the         
consciousness that behind the physical  
in the world there is a  metaphysical1  
something permanent as the foundation of
 constant change4  ,then it appeals to  
the will1 to the fears and hopes of     

mortal beings  living in constant       
struggle2 for whom1 accordingly1        
religion creates  gods and demons whom  
they can cry to1 appease and win over4  
,finally1 it  appeals to that moral     
consciousness which is undeniably       
present in man1  lends to it that       
corroboration and support without which 
it would not  easily maintain itself in 
the struggle against so many            
temptations4 ,it  is just from this side
 that religion affords an inexhaustible 
source of  consolation and comfort in   
the innumerable trials of life1 a       
comfort  which does not leave men in    
death1 but rather then only unfolds its 
full  efficacy4 ,so religion may be     
compared to one who takes a blind man by
  the hand and leads him1 because he is 
unable to see for himself1 whose        
concern it is to reach his destination1 
not to look at everything by the  way4  
,philalethes4 ,that is certainly the    
strong point of religion4 ,if it is  a  
fraud1 it is a pious fraud2 that is     

undeniable4 ,but this makes priests     
something between deceivers and teachers
 of morality2 they daren't teach  the   
real truth1 as you have quite rightly   
explained1 even if they knew  it1 which 
is not the case4 ,a true philosophy1    
then1 can always exist1  but not a true 
religion2 true1 ,i mean1 in the proper  
understanding of  the word1 not merely  
in that flowery or allegorical sense    
which you have  described2 a sense in   
which all religions would be true1 only 
in various  degrees4 ,it is quite in    
keeping with the inextricable mixture of
 weal  and woe1 honesty and deceit1 good
 and evil1 nobility and baseness1 which 
is the average characteristic of the    
world everywhere1 that the most         
important1 the most lofty1 the most     
sacred truths can make their  appearance
 only in combination with a lie1 can    
even borrow strength from  a lie as from
 something that works more powerfully on
 mankind2 and1 as  revelation1 must be  
ushered in by a lie4 ,this might1       

indeed1 be regarded  as the cachet of   
the moral world4 ,however1 we won't give
 up the hope  that mankind will         
eventually reach a point of maturity and
 education at  which it can on the one  
side produce1 and on the other receive1 
the true  philosophy4 ,simplex sigillum 
veri3 the naked truth must be so simple 
and intelligible that it can be imparted
 to all in its true form1  without any  
admixture of myth and fable1 without    
disguising it in the  form of religion4 
,demopheles4 ,you've no notion how      
stupid most people are4    ,philalethes4
 ,i am only expressing a hope which ,i  
can't give up4 ,if it  were fulfilled1  
truth in its simple and intelligible    
form would of  course drive religion    
from the place it has so long occupied  
as its  representative1 and by that very
 means kept open for it4 ,the time would
  have come when religion would have    
carried out her object and completed    
her course3 the race she had brought to 
years of discretion she could  dismiss1 

and herself depart in peace3 that would 
be the euthanasia of  religion4 ,but as 
long as she lives1 she has two faces1   
one of truth1 one  of fraud4 ,according 
as you look at one or the other1 you    
will bear her  favor or ill-will4       
,religion must be regarded as a         
necessary evil1 its  necessity resting  
on the pitiful imbecility of the great  
majority of  mankind1 incapable of      
grasping the truth1 and therefore       
requiring1 in  its pressing need1       
something to take its place4            
,demopheles4 ,really1 one would think   
that you philosophers had truth in  a   
cupboard1 and that all you had to do was
 to go and get it6    ,philalethes4     
,well1 if we haven't got it1 it is      
chiefly owing to the  pressure put upon 
philosophy by religion at all times and 
in all places4  ,people have tried to   
make the expression and communication of
 truth1  even the contemplation and     
discovery of it1 impossible1 by putting 
children1 in their earliest years1 into 

the hands of priests to be  manipulated2
 to have the lines1 in which their      
fundamental thoughts are  henceforth to 
run1 laid down with such firmness as1 in
 essential  matters1 to be fixed and    
determined for this whole life4 ,when ,i
 take up  the writings even of the best 
intellects of the sixteenth and         
seventeenth centuries1 7more especially 
if ,i have been engaged in  ,oriental   
studies71 ,i am sometimes shocked to see
 how they are paralyzed  and hemmed in  
on all sides by ,jewish ideas4 ,how can 
anyone think out the  true philosophy   
when he is prepared like this8          
,demopheles4 ,even if the true          
philosophy were to be discovered1       
religion wouldn't disappear from the    
world1 as you seem to think4 ,there     
can't be one system of metaphysics for  
everybody2 that's rendered  impossible  
by the natural differences of           
intellectual power between man  and man1
 and the differences1 too1 which        
education makes4 ,it is a  necessity for

 the great majority of mankind to engage
 in that severe  bodily labor which     
cannot be dispensed with if the         
ceaseless  requirements of the whole    
race are to be satisfied4 ,not only does
 this  leave the majority no time for   
education1 for learning1 for            
contemplation2 but by virtue of the hard
 and fast antagonism between  muscles   
and mind1 the intelligence is blunted by
 so much exhausting  bodily labor1 and  
becomes heavy1 clumsy1 awkward1 and     
consequently  incapable of grasping any 
other than quite simple situations4 ,at 
least  nine-tenths of the human race    
falls under this category4 ,but still   
the  people require a system of         
metaphysics1 that is1 an account of the 
world  and our existence1 because such  
an account belongs to the most natural  
needs of mankind1 they require a popular
 system2 and to be popular it  must     
combine many rare qualities4 ,it must be
 easily understood1 and at  the same    
time possess1 on the proper points1 a   

certain amount of  obscurity1 even of   
impenetrability2 then a correct and     
satisfactory  system of morality must be
 bound up with its dogmas2 above all1 it
 must  afford inexhaustible consolation 
in suffering and death2 the consequence 
of all this is1 that it can only be true
 in an allegorical and not in a  real   
sense4 ,further1 it must have the       
support of an authority which is        
impressive by its great age1 by being   
universally recognized1 by its          
documents1 their tone and utterances2   
qualities which are so extremely        
difficult to combine that many a man    
wouldn't be so ready1 if he  considered 
the matter1 to help to undermine a      
religion1 but would  reflect that what  
he is attacking is a people's most      
sacred treasure4 ,if  you want to form  
an opinion on religion1 you should      
always bear in mind  the character of   
the great multitude for which it is     
destined1 and form  a picture to        
yourself of its complete inferiority1   

moral and  intellectual4 ,it is         
incredible how far this inferiority     
goes1 and how  perseveringly a spark of 
truth will glimmer on even under the    
crudest  covering of monstrous fable or 
grotesque ceremony1 clinging            
indestructibly1 like the odor of musk1  
to everything that has once come  into  
contact with it4 ,in illustration of    
this1 consider the profound  wisdom of  
the ,upanishads1 and then look at the   
mad idolatry in the ,india  of to-day1  
with its pilgrimages1 processions and   
festivities1 or at the  insane and      
ridiculous goings-on of the ,saniassi4  
,still one can't deny  that in all this 
insanity and nonsense there lies some   
obscure purpose  which accords with1 or 
is a reflection of the profound wisdom  
,i  mentioned4 ,but for the brute       
multitude1 it had to be dressed up in   
this  form4 ,in such a contrast as this 
we have the two poles of humanity1 the  
wisdom of the individual and the        
bestiality of the many1 both of which   

find their point of contact in the moral
 sphere4 ,that saying from the  ,kurral 
must occur to everybody4 ,base people   
look like men1 but ,i have  never seen  
their exact counterpart4 ,the man of    
education may1 all the  same1 interpret 
religion to himself cum grano salis2 the
 man of  learning1 the contemplative    
spirit may secretly exchange it for a   
philosophy4 ,but here again one         
philosophy wouldn't suit everybody2 by  
the laws of affinity every system would 
draw to itself that public to  whose    
education and capacities it was most    
suited4 ,so there is always an  inferior
 metaphysical system of the schools for 
the educated multitude1  and a higher   
one for the lite4 ,kant's lofty         
doctrine1 for instance1  had to be      
degraded to the level of the schools and
 ruined by such men as  ,fries1 ,krug   
and ,salat4 ,in short1 here1 if         
anywhere1 ,goethe's maxim is  true1 ,one
 does not suit all4 ,pure faith in      
revelation and pure  metaphysics are for

 the two extremes1 and for the          
intermediate steps  mutual modifications
 of both in innumerable combinations and
 gradations4  ,and this is rendered     
necessary by the immeasurable           
differences which  nature and education 
have placed between man and man4        
,philalethes4 ,the view you take reminds
 me seriously of the mysteries  of the  
ancients1 which you mentioned just now4 
,their fundamental purpose  seems to    
have been to remedy the evil arising    
from the differences of  intellectual   
capacity and education4 ,the plan was1  
out of the great  multitude utterly     
impervious to unveiled truth1 to select 
certain  persons who might have it      
revealed to them up to a given point2   
out of  these1 again1 to choose others  
to whom more would be revealed1 as being
  able to grasp more2 and so on up to   
the ,epopts4 ,these grades correspond   
to the little1 greater and greatest     
mysteries4 ,the arrangement was  founded
 on a correct estimate of the           

intellectual inequality of mankind4     
,demopheles4 ,to some extent the        
education in our lower1 middle and high 
schools corresponds to the varying      
grades of initiation into the           
mysteries4    ,philalethes4 ,in a very  
approximate way2 and then only in so far
 as  subjects of higher knowledge are   
written about exclusively in ,latin4    
,but  since that has ceased to be the   
case1 all the mysteries are profaned4   
,demopheles4 ,however that may be1 ,i   
wanted to remind you that you  should   
look at religion more from the practical
 than from the  theoretical side4       
,personified metaphysics may be the     
enemy of  religion1 but all the same    
personified morality will be its friend4
  ,perhaps the metaphysical element in  
all religions is false2 but the  moral  
element in all is true4 ,this might     
perhaps be presumed from the  fact that 
they all disagree in their metaphysics1 
but are in accord as  regards morality4 
,philalethes4 ,which is an illustration 

of the rule of logic that false         
premises may give a true conclusion4    
,demopheles4 ,let me hold you to your   
conclusion3 let me remind you that      
religion has two sides4 ,if it can't    
stand when looked at from its           
theoretical1 that is1 its intellectual  
side2 on the other hand1 from the  moral
 side1 it proves itself the only means  
of guiding1 controlling and  mollifying 
those races of animals endowed with     
reason1 whose kinship  with the ape does
 not exclude a kinship with the tiger4  
,but at the same  time religion is1 as a
 rule1 a sufficient satisfaction for    
their dull  metaphysical necessities4   
,you don't seem to me to possess a      
proper idea  of the difference1 wide as 
the heavens asunder1 the deep gulf      
between  your man of learning and       
enlightenment1 accustomed to the process
 of  thinking1 and the heavy1 clumsy1   
dull and sluggish consciousness of      
humanity's beasts of burden1 whose      
thoughts have once and for all taken    

the direction of anxiety about their    
livelihood1 and cannot be put in  motion
 in any other2 whose muscular strength  
is so exclusively brought  into play    
that the nervous power1 which makes     
intelligence1 sinks to a  very low ebb4 
,people like that must have something   
tangible which they  can lay hold of on 
the slippery and thorny pathway of their
 life1 some  sort of beautiful fable1 by
 means of which things can be imparted  
to  them which their crude intelligence 
can entertain only in picture and       
parable4 ,profound explanations and fine
 distinctions are thrown away  upon     
them4 ,if you conceive religion in this 
light1 and recollect that  its aims are 
above all practical1 and only in a      
subordinate degree  theoretical1 it will
 appear to you as something worthy of   
the highest  respect4    ,philalethes4  
,a respect which will finally rest upon 
the principle that  the end sanctifies  
the means4 ,i don't feel in favor of a  
compromise on a  basis like that4       

,religion may be an excellent means of  
training the  perverse1 obtuse and      
ill-disposed members of the biped race3 
in the eyes  of the friend of truth     
every fraud1 even though it be a pious  
one1 is to  be condemned4 ,a system of  
deception1 a pack of lies1 would be a   
strange  means of inculcating virtue4   
,the flag to which ,i have taken the    
oath is  truth2 ,i shall remain faithful
 to it everywhere1 and whether ,i       
succeed  or not1 ,i shall fight for     
light and truth6 ,if ,i see religion on 
the  wrong side--    ,demopheles4 ,but  
you won't4 ,religion isn't a deception3 
it is true and  the most important of   
all truths4 ,because its doctrines are1 
as ,i have  said1 of such a lofty kind  
that the multitude can't grasp them     
without  an intermediary1 because1 ,i   
say1 its light would blind the ordinary 
eye1  it comes forward wrapt in the veil
 of allegory and teaches1 not indeed    
what is exactly true in itself1 but what
 is true in respect of the lofty        

meaning contained in it2 and1 understood
 in this way1 religion is the  truth4   
,philalethes4 ,it would be all right if 
religion were only at liberty to  be    
true in a merely allegorical sense4 ,but
 its contention is that it is  downright
 true in the proper sense of the word4  
,herein lies the  deception1 and it is  
here that the friend of truth must take 
up a  hostile position4    ,demopheles4 
,the deception is a sine qua non4 ,if   
religion were to  admit that it was only
 the allegorical meaning in its doctrine
 which was  true1 it would rob itself of
 all efficacy4 ,such rigorous treatment 
as  this would destroy its invaluable   
influence on the hearts and morals of   
mankind4 ,instead of insisting on that  
with pedantic obstinacy1 look at  its   
great achievements in the practical     
sphere1 its furtherance of good  and    
kindly feelings1 its guidance in        
conduct1 the support and  consolation it
 gives to suffering humanity in life and
 death4 ,how much  you ought to guard   

against letting theoretical cavils      
discredit in the  eyes of the multitude1
 and finally wrest from it1 something   
which is an  inexhaustible source of    
consolation and tranquillity1 something 
which1  in its hard lot1 it needs so    
much1 even more than we do4 ,on that    
score  alone1 religion should be free   
from attack4    ,philalethes4 ,with that
 kind of argument you could have driven 
,luther  from the field1 when he        
attacked the sale of indulgences4 ,how  
many a one  got consolation from the    
letters of indulgence1 a consolation    
which  nothing else could give1 a       
complete tranquillity2 so that he       
joyfully  departed with the fullest     
confidence in the packet of them which  
he held  in his hand at the hour of     
death1 convinced that they were so many 
cards  of admission to all the nine     
heavens4 ,what is the use of grounds of 
consolation and tranquillity which are  
constantly overshadowed by the          
,damocles-sword of illusion8 ,the truth1

 my dear sir1 is the only safe  thing2  
the truth alone remains steadfast and   
trusty2 it is the only  solid           
consolation2 it is the indestructible   
diamond4    ,demopheles4 ,yes1 if you   
had truth in your pocket1 ready to favor
 us  with it on demand4 ,all you've got 
are metaphysical systems1 in which      
nothing is certain but the headaches    
they cost4 ,before you take anything    
away1 you must have something better to 
put in its place4    ,philalethes4      
,that's what you keep on saying4 ,to    
free a man from error  is to give1 not  
to take away4 ,knowledge that a thing is
 false is a  truth4 ,error always does  
harm2 sooner or later it will bring     
mischief to  the man who harbors it4    
,then give up deceiving people2 confess 
ignorance  of what you don't know1 and  
leave everyone to form his own articles 
of  faith for himself4 ,perhaps they    
won't turn out so bad1 especially as    
they'll rub one another's corners down1 
and mutually rectify mistakes4  ,the    

existence of many views will at any rate
 lay a foundation of  tolerance4 ,those 
who possess knowledge and capacity may  
betake  themselves to the study of      
philosophy1 or even in their own persons
  carry the history of philosophy a step
 further4    ,demopheles4 ,that'll be a 
pretty business6 ,a whole nation of raw 
metaphysicians1 wrangling and eventually
 coming to blows with one  another6     
,philalethes4 ,well1 well1 a few blows  
here and there are the sauce of  life2  
or at any rate a very inconsiderable    
evil compared with such  things as      
priestly dominion1 plundering of the    
laity1 persecution of  heretics1 courts 
of inquisition1 crusades1 religious     
wars1 massacres of  ,st4 ,bartholomew4  
,these have been the result of popular  
metaphysics  imposed from without2 so ,i
 stick to the old saying that you can't 
get  grapes from thistles1 nor expect   
good to come from a pack of lies4       
,demopheles4 ,how often must ,i repeat  
that religion is anything but a  pack of

 lies8 ,it is truth itself1 only in a   
mythical1 allegorical  vesture4 ,but    
when you spoke of your plan of everyone 
being his own  founder of religion1 ,i  
wanted to say that a particularism like 
this is  totally opposed to human       
nature1 and would consequently destroy  
all  social order4 ,man is a            
metaphysical animal1--that is to say1 he
 has  paramount metaphysical            
necessities2 accordingly1 he conceives  
life above  all in its metaphysical     
signification1 and wishes to bring      
everything  into line with that4        
,consequently1 however strange it may   
sound in view  of the uncertainty of all
 dogmas1 agreement in the fundamentals  
of  metaphysics is the chief thing1     
because a genuine and lasting bond of   
union is only possible among those who  
are of one opinion on these  points4 ,as
 a result of this1 the main point of    
likeness and of contrast  between       
nations is rather religion than         
government1 or even language2  and so   

the fabric of society1 the ,state1 will 
stand firm only when  founded on a      
system of metaphysics which is          
acknowledged by all4 ,this1  of course1 
can only be a popular system1--that is1 
a religion3 it  becomes part and parcel 
of the constitution of the ,state1 of   
all the  public manifestations of the   
national life1 and also of all solemn   
acts  of individuals4 ,this was the case
 in ancient ,india1 among the ,persians1
  ,egyptians1 ,jews1 ,greeks and        
,romans2 it is still the case in the    
,brahman1  ,buddhist and ,mohammedan    
nations4 ,in ,china there are three     
faiths1 it is  true1 of which the most  
prevalent--,buddhism--is precisely the  
one which  is not protected by the      
,state2 still1 there is a saying in     
,china1  universally acknowledged1 and  
of daily application1 that the three    
faiths are only one1--that is to say1   
they agree in essentials4 ,the  ,emperor
 confesses all three together at the    
same time4 ,and ,europe is the  union of

 ,christian ,states3 ,christianity is   
the basis of every one of the  members1 
and the common bond of all4 ,hence      
,turkey1 though geographically  in      
,europe1 is not properly to be reckoned 
as belonging to it4 ,in the  same way1  
the ,european princes hold their place  
by the grace of ,god3  and the ,pope is 
the vicegerent of ,god4 ,accordingly1 as
 his throne was  the highest1 he used to
 wish all thrones to be regarded as held
 in fee  from him4 ,in the same way1    
too1 ,archbishops and ,bishops1 as such1
  possessed temporal power2 and in      
,england they still have seats and votes
  in the ,upper ,house4 ,protestant     
princes1 as such1 are heads of their    
churches3 in ,england1 a few years ago1 
this was a girl eighteen years  old4 ,by
 the revolt from the ,pope1 the         
,reformation shattered the ,european    
fabric1 and in a special degree         
dissolved the true unity of ,germany by 
destroying its common religious faith4  
,this union1 which had practically  come

 to an end1 had1 accordingly1 to be     
restored later on by artificial  and    
purely political means4 ,you see1 then1 
how closely connected a  common faith is
 with the social order and the          
constitution of every  ,state4 ,faith is
 everywhere the support of the laws and 
the constitution1  the foundation1      
therefore1 of the social fabric1 which  
could hardly hold  together at all if   
religion did not lend weight to the     
authority of  government and the dignity
 of the ruler4    ,philalethes4 ,oh1    
yes1 princes use ,god as a kind of bogey
 to frighten  grown-up children to bed  
with1 if nothing else avails3 that's why
 they  attach so much importance to the 
,deity4 ,very well4 ,let me1 in passing1
  recommend our rulers to give their    
serious attention1 regularly twice      
every year1 to the fifteenth chapter of 
the ,first ,book of ,samuel1 that  they 
may be constantly reminded of what it   
means to prop the throne on  the altar4 
,besides1 since the stake1 that ultima  

ration theologorum1  has gone out of    
fashion1 this method of government has  
lost its  efficacy4 ,for1 as you know1  
religions are like glow-worms2 they     
shine  only when it is dark4 ,a certain 
amount of general ignorance is the      
condition of all religions1 the element 
in which alone they can exist4  ,and as 
soon as astronomy1 natural science1     
geology1 history1 the  knowledge of     
countries and peoples have spread their 
light broadcast1  and philosophy finally
 is permitted to say a word1 every faith
 founded  on miracles and revelation    
must disappear2 and philosophy takes its
  place4 ,in ,europe the day of         
knowledge and science dawned towards the
 end  of the fifteenth century with the 
appearance of the ,renaissance          
,platonists3 its sun rose higher in the 
sixteenth and seventeenth  centuries so 
rich in results1 and scattered the mists
 of the ,middle ,age4  ,church and      
,faith were compelled to disappear in   
the same proportion2 and  so in the     

eighteenth century ,english and ,french 
philosophers were able  to take up an   
attitude of direct hostility2 until1    
finally1 under  ,frederick the ,great1  
,kant appeared1 and took away from      
religious belief  the support it had    
previously enjoyed from philosophy3 he  
emancipated  the handmaid of theology1  
and in attacking the question with      
,german  thoroughness and patience1 gave
 it an earnest instead of a frivolous   
tone4 ,the consequence of this is that  
we see ,christianity undermined in  the 
nineteenth century1 a serious faith in  
it almost completely gone2 we  see it   
fighting even for bare existence1 whilst
 anxious princes try to  set it up a    
little by artificial means1 as a doctor 
uses a drug on a  dying patient4 ,in    
this connection there is a passage in   
,condorcet's  ,des ,progrs de l'esprit  
humain which looks as if written as a   
warning to our age3 the religious zeal  
shown by philosophers and great  men was
 only a political devotion2 and every   

religion which allows  itself to be     
defended as a belief that may usefully  
be left to the  people1 can only hope   
for an agony more or less prolonged4 ,in
 the whole  course of the events which  
,i have indicated1 you may always       
observe that  faith and knowledge are   
related as the two scales of a balance2 
when the  one goes up1 the other goes   
down4 ,so sensitive is the balance that 
it  indicates momentary influences4     
,when1 for instance1 at the beginning of
  this century1 those inroads of ,french
 robbers under the leadership of        
,bonaparte1 and the enormous efforts    
necessary for driving them out and      
punishing them1 had brought about a     
temporary neglect of science and        
consequently a certain decline in the   
general increase of knowledge1 the      
,church immediately began to raise her  
head again and ,faith began to show     
fresh signs of life2 which1 to be sure1 
in keeping with the times1 was  partly  
poetical in its nature4 ,on the other   

hand1 in the more than  thirty years of 
peace which followed1 leisure and       
prosperity furthered  the building up of
 science and the spread of knowledge in 
an  extraordinary degree3 the           
consequence of which is what ,i have    
indicated1  the dissolution and         
threatened fall of religion4 ,perhaps   
the time is  approaching which has so   
often been prophesied1 when religion    
will take  her departure from ,european 
humanity1 like a nurse which the child  
has  outgrown3 the child will now be    
given over to the instructions of a     
tutor4 ,for there is no doubt that      
religious doctrines which are founded   
merely on authority1 miracles and       
revelations1 are only suited to the     
childhood of humanity4 ,everyone will   
admit that a race1 the past  duration of
 which on the earth all accounts1       
physical and historical1  agree in      
placing at not more than some hundred   
times the life of a man  of sixty1 is as
 yet only in its first childhood4       

,demopheles4 ,instead of taking an      
undisguised pleasure in prophesying  the
 downfall of ,christianity1 how ,i wish 
you would consider what a  measureless  
debt of gratitude ,european humanity    
owes to it1 how greatly  it has         
benefited by the religion which1 after a
 long interval1 followed  it from its   
old home in the ,east4 ,europe received 
from ,christianity  ideas which were    
quite new to it1 the ,knowledge1 ,i     
mean1 of the  fundamental truth that    
life cannot be an end-in-itself1 that   
the true  end of our existence lies     
beyond it4 ,the ,greeks and ,romans had 
placed  this end altogether in our      
present life1 so that in this sense they
 may  certainly be called blind         
heathens4 ,and1 in keeping with this    
view of  life1 all their virtues can be 
reduced to what is serviceable to the   
community1 to what is useful in fact4   
,aristotle says quite naively1  ,those  
virtues must necessarily be the greatest
 which are the most  useful to others4  

,so the ancients thought patriotism the 
highest  virtue1 although it is really a
 very doubtful one1 since narrowness1   
prejudice1 vanity and an enlightened    
self-interest are main elements in  it4 
,just before the passage ,i quoted1     
,aristotle enumerates all the  virtues1 
in order to discuss them singly4 ,they  
are ,justice1 ,courage1  ,temperance1   
,magnificence1 ,magnanimity1            
,liberality1 ,gentleness1 ,good  ,sense 
and ,wisdom4 ,how different from the    
,christian virtues6 ,plato  himself1    
incomparably the most transcendental    
philosopher of  pre-,christian          
antiquity1 knows no higher virtue than  
,justice2 and he  alone recommends it   
unconditionally and for its own sake1   
whereas the  rest make a happy life1    
vita beata1 the aim of all virtue1 and  
moral  conduct the way to attain it4    
,christianity freed ,european humanity  
from  this shallow1 crude identification
 of itself with the hollow1 uncertain   
existence of every day1                 

coelumque tueri    ,jussit1 et erectos  
ad sidera tollere vultus4               
,christianity1 accordingly1 does not    
preach mere ,justice1 but the ,love  of 
,mankind1 ,compassion1 ,good ,works1    
,forgiveness1 ,love of your ,enemies1   
,patience1 ,humility1 ,resignation1     
,faith and ,hope4 ,it even went a step  
further1 and taught that the world is of
 evil1 and that we need  deliverance4   
,it preached despisal of the world1     
self-denial1 chastity1  giving up of    
one's will1 that is1 turning away from  
life and its  illusory pleasures4 ,it   
taught the healing power of pain3 an    
instrument  of torture is the symbol of 
,christianity4 ,i am quite ready to     
admit that  this earnest1 this only     
correct view of life was thousands of   
years  previously spread all over ,asia 
in other forms1 as it is still1         
independently of ,christianity2 but for 
,european humanity it was a new  and    
great revelation4 ,for it is well known 
that the population of ,europe  consists

 of ,asiatic races driven out as        
wanderers from their own homes1  and    
gradually settling down in ,europe2 on  
their wanderings these races  lost the  
original religion of their homes1 and   
with it the right view of  life3 so1    
under a new sky1 they formed religions  
for themselves1 which  were rather      
crude2 the worship of ,odin1 for        
instance1 the ,druidic or the  ,greek   
religion1 the metaphysical content of   
which was little and  shallow4 ,in the  
meantime the ,greeks developed a        
special1 one might  almost say1 an      
instinctive sense of beauty1 belonging  
to them alone of  all the nations who   
have ever existed on the earth1         
peculiar1 fine and  exact3 so that their
 mythology took1 in the mouth of their  
poets1 and in  the hands of their       
artists1 an exceedingly beautiful and   
pleasing shape4  ,on the other hand1 the
 true and deep significance of life was 
lost to  the ,greeks and ,romans4 ,they 
lived on like grown-up children1 till   

,christianity came and recalled them to 
the serious side of existence4          
,philalethes4 ,and to see the effects   
one need only compare antiquity  with   
the ,middle ,age2 the time of ,pericles1
 say1 with the fourteenth  century4 ,you
 could scarcely believe you were dealing
 with the same kind  of beings4 ,there1 
the finest development of humanity1     
excellent  institutions1 wise laws1     
shrewdly apportioned offices1 rationally
  ordered freedom1 all the arts1        
including poetry and philosophy1 at     
their  best2 the production of works    
which1 after thousands of years1 are    
unparalleled1 the creations1 as it were1
 of a higher order of beings1  which we 
can never imitate2 life embellished by  
the noblest fellowship1  as portrayed in
 ,xenophen's ,banquet4 ,look on the     
other picture1 if you  can2 a time at   
which the ,church had enslaved the      
minds1 and violence the  bodies of men1 
that knights and priests might lay the  
whole weight of  life upon the common   

beast of burden1 the third estate4      
,there1 you have  might as right1       
,feudalism and ,fanaticism in close     
alliance1 and in their  train abominable
 ignorance and darkness of mind1 a      
corresponding  intolerance1 discord of  
creeds1 religious wars1 crusades1       
inquisitions  and persecutions2 as the  
form of fellowship1 chivalry1 compounded
 of  savagery and folly1 with its       
pedantic system of ridiculous false     
pretences carried to an extreme1 its    
degrading superstition and apish        
veneration for women4 ,gallantry is the 
residue of this veneration1  deservedly 
requited as it is by feminine arrogance2
 it affords continual  food for laughter
 to all ,asiatics1 and the ,greeks would
 have joined in  it4 ,in the golden     
,middle ,age the practice developed into
 a regular and  methodical service of   
women2 it imposed deeds of heroism1     
cours  d'amour1 bombastic ,troubadour   
songs1 etc42 although it is to be       
observed that these last buffooneries1  

which had an intellectual side1  were   
chiefly at home in ,france2 whereas     
amongst the material sluggish  ,germans1
 the knights distinguished themselves   
rather by drinking and  stealing2 they  
were good at boozing and filling their  
castles with  plunder2 though in the    
courts1 to be sure1 there was no lack of
 insipid  love songs4 ,what caused this 
utter transformation8 ,migration and    
,christianity4    ,demopheles4 ,i am    
glad you reminded me of it4 ,migration  
was the source  of the evil2            
,christianity the dam on which it broke4
 ,it was chiefly by  ,christianity that 
the raw1 wild hordes which came flooding
 in were  controlled and tamed4 ,the    
savage man must first of all learn to   
kneel1  to venerate1 to obey2 after that
 he can be civilized4 ,this was done in 
,ireland by ,st4 ,patrick1 in ,germany  
by ,winifred the ,saxon1 who was a      
genuine ,boniface4 ,it was migration of 
peoples1 the last advance of  ,asiatic  
races towards ,europe1 followed only by 

the fruitless attempts of  those under  
,attila1 ,zenghis ,khan1 and ,timur1 and
 as a comic afterpiece1  by the         
gipsies1--it was this movement which    
swept away the humanity of  the         
ancients4 ,christianity was precisely   
the principle which set itself  to work 
against this savagery2 just as later1   
through the whole of the  ,middle ,age1 
the ,church and its hierarchy were most 
necessary to set  limits to the savage  
barbarism of those masters of violence1 
the princes  and knights3 it was what   
broke up the icefloes in that mighty    
deluge4  ,still1 the chief aim of       
,christianity is not so much to make    
this life  pleasant as to render us     
worthy of a better4 ,it looks away over 
this  span of time1 over this fleeting  
dream1 and seeks to lead us to eternal  
welfare4 ,its tendency is ethical in the
 highest sense of the word1 a  sense    
unknown in ,europe till its advent2 as  
,i have shown you1 by putting  the      
morality and religion of the ancients   

side by side with those of              
,christendom4    ,philalethes4 ,you are 
quite right as regards theory3 but look 
at the  practice6 ,in comparison with   
the ages of ,christianity the ancient   
world  was unquestionably less cruel    
than the ,middle ,age1 with its deaths  
by  exquisite torture1 its innumerable  
burnings at the stake4 ,the ancients1   
further1 were very enduring1 laid great 
stress on justice1 frequently           
sacrificed themselves for their country1
 showed such traces of every  kind of   
magnanimity1 and such genuine manliness1
 that to this day an  acquaintance with 
their thoughts and actions is called the
 study of  ,humanity4 ,the fruits of    
,christianity were religious wars1      
butcheries1  crusades1 inquisitions1    
extermination of the natives in         
,america1 and the  introduction of      
,african slaves in their place2 and     
among the ancients  there is nothing    
analogous to this1 nothing that can be  
compared with  it2 for the slaves of the

 ancients1 the familia1 the vernae1 were
 a  contented race1 and faithfully      
devoted to their masters' service1 and  
as  different from the miserable negroes
 of the sugar plantations1 which are  a 
disgrace to humanity1 as their two      
colors are distinct4 ,those special     
moral delinquencies for which we        
reproach the ancients1 and which are    
perhaps less uncommon now-a-days than   
appears on the surface to be the  case1 
are trifles compared with the ,christian
 enormities ,i have  mentioned4 ,can you
 then1 all considered1 maintain that    
mankind has been  really made morally   
better by ,christianity8    ,demopheles4
 ,if the results haven't everywhere been
 in keeping with the  purity and truth  
of the doctrine1 it may be because the  
doctrine has  been too noble1 too       
elevated for mankind1 that its aim has  
been placed  too high4 ,it was so much  
easier to come up to the heathen system1
 or to  the ,mohammedan4 ,it is         
precisely what is noble and dignified   

that is most  liable everywhere to      
misuse and fraud3 abusus optimi         
pessimus4 ,those  high doctrines have   
accordingly now and then served as a    
pretext for the  most abominable        
proceedings1 and for acts of unmitigated
 wickedness4 ,the  downfall of the      
institutions of the old world1 as well  
as of its arts  and sciences1 is1 as ,i 
have said1 to be attributed to the      
inroad of  foreign barbarians4 ,the     
inevitable result of this inroad was    
that  ignorance and savagery got the    
upper hand2 consequently violence and   
knavery established their dominion1 and 
knights and priests became a  burden to 
mankind4 ,it is partly1 however1 to be  
explained by the fact  that the new     
religion made eternal and not temporal  
welfare the object  of desire1 taught   
that simplicity of heart was to be      
preferred to  knowledge1 and looked     
askance at all worldly pleasure4 ,now   
the arts and  sciences subserve worldly 
pleasure2 but in so far as they could be

 made  serviceable to religion they were
 promoted1 and attained a certain       
degree of perfection4    ,philalethes4  
,in a very narrow sphere4 ,the sciences 
were suspicious  companions1 and as     
such1 were placed under restrictions3 on
 the other  hand1 darling ignorance1    
that element so necessary to a system of
 faith1  was carefully nourished4       
,demopheles4 ,and yet mankind's         
possessions in the way of knowledge up  
to that period1 which were preserved in 
the writings of the ancients1  were     
saved from destruction by the clergy1   
especially by those in the  monasteries4
 ,how would it have fared if            
,christianity hadn't come in just       
before the migration of peoples4        
,philalethes4 ,it would really be a most
 useful inquiry to try and make1  with  
the coldest impartiality1 an            
unprejudiced1 careful and accurate      
comparison of the advantages and        
disadvantages which may be put down to  
religion4 ,for that1 of course1 a much  

larger knowledge of historical and      
psychological data than either of us    
command would be necessary4  ,academies 
might make it a subject for a prize     
essay4    ,demopheles4 ,they'll take    
good care not to do so4    ,philalethes4
 ,i'm surprised to hear you say that3   
it's a bad look out  for religion4      
,however1 there are academies which1 in 
proposing a subject  for competition1   
make it a secret condition that the     
prize is to go to  the man who best     
interprets their own view4 ,if we could 
only begin by  getting a statistician to
 tell us how many crimes are prevented  
every  year by religious1 and how many  
by other motives1 there would be very   
few of the former4 ,if a man feels      
tempted to commit a crime1 you may  rely
 upon it that the first consideration   
which enters his head is the  penalty   
appointed for it1 and the chances that  
it will fall upon him3  then comes1 as a
 second consideration1 the risk to his  
reputation4 ,if ,i  am not mistaken1 he 

will ruminate by the hour on these two  
impediments1  before he ever takes a    
thought of religious considerations4 ,if
 he gets  safely over those two first   
bulwarks against crime1 ,i think        
religion  alone will very rarely hold   
him back from it4    ,demopheles4 ,i    
think that it will very often do so1    
especially when its  influence works    
through the medium of custom4 ,an       
atrocious act is at  once felt to be    
repulsive4 ,what is this but the effect 
of early  impressions8 ,think1 for      
instance1 how often a man1 especially if
 of  noble birth1 will make tremendous  
sacrifices to perform what he has       
promised1 motived entirely by the fact  
that his father has often  earnestly    
impressed upon him in his childhood that
 a man of honor or  a gentleman or a a  
cavalier always keeps his word          
inviolate4    ,philalethes4 ,that's no  
use unless there is a certain inborn    
honorableness4 ,you mustn't ascribe to  
religion what results from innate       

goodness of character1 by which         
compassion for the man who would suffer 
by his crime keeps a man from committing
 it4 ,this is the genuine moral  motive1
 and as such it is independent of all   
religions4    ,demopheles4 ,but this is 
a motive which rarely affects the       
multitude  unless it assumes a religious
 aspect4 ,the religious aspect at any   
rate  strengthens its power for good4   
,yet without any such natural           
foundation1  religious motives alone are
 powerful to prevent crime4 ,we need not
 be  surprised at this in the case of   
the multitude1 when we see that even    
people of education pass now and then   
under the influence1 not indeed of      
religious motives1 which are founded on 
something which is at least             
allegorically true1 but of the most     
absurd superstition1 and allow          
themselves to be guided by it all their 
life long2 as1 for instance1            
undertaking nothing on a ,friday1       
refusing to sit down thirteen at a      

table1 obeying chance omens1 and the    
like4 ,how much more likely is the      
multitude to be guided by such things4  
,you can't form any adequate idea  of   
the narrow limits of the mind in its raw
 state2 it is a place of  absolute      
darkness1 especially when1 as often     
happens1 a bad1 unjust and  malicious   
heart is at the bottom of it4 ,people in
 this condition--and  they form the     
great bulk of humanity--must be led and 
controlled as well  as may be1 even if  
it be by really superstitious motives2  
until such  time as they become         
susceptible to truer and better ones4   
,as an instance  of the direct working  
of religion1 may be cited the fact1     
common enough1  in ,italy especially1 of
 a thief restoring stolen goods1 through
 the  influence of his confessor1 who   
says he won't absolve him if he doesn't4
  ,think again of the case of an oath1  
where religion shows a most decided     
influence2 whether it be that a man     
places himself expressly in the         

position of a purely moral being1 and as
 such looks upon himself as  solemnly   
appealed to1 as seems to be the case in 
,france1 where the  formula is simply je
 le jure1 and also among the ,quakers1  
whose solemn  yea or nay is regarded as 
a substitute for the oath2 or whether it
  be that a man really believes he is   
pronouncing something which may  affect 
his eternal happiness1--a belief which  
is presumably only the  investiture of  
the former feeling4 ,at any rate1       
religious considerations  are a means of
 awakening and calling out a man's moral
 nature4 ,how often  it happens that a  
man agrees to take a false oath1 and    
then1 when it  comes to the point1      
suddenly refuses1 and truth and right   
win the day4    ,philalethes4 ,oftener  
still false oaths are really taken1 and 
truth and  right trampled under foot1   
though all witnesses of the oath know it
  well6 ,still you are quite right to   
quote the oath as an undeniable  example
 of the practical efficacy of religion4 

,but1 in spite of all  you've said1 ,i  
doubt whether the efficacy of religion  
goes much beyond  this4 ,just think2 if 
a public proclamation were suddenly made
 announcing  the repeal of all the      
criminal laws2 ,i fancy neither you nor 
,i would  have the courage to go home   
from here under the protection of       
religious  motives4 ,if1 in the same    
way1 all religions were declared untrue1
 we  could1 under the protection of the 
laws alone1 go on living as before1     
without any special addition to our     
apprehensions or our measures of        
precaution4 ,i will go beyond this1 and 
say that religions have very  frequently
 exercised a decidedly demoralizing     
influence4 ,one may say  generally that 
duties towards ,god and duties towards  
humanity are in  inverse ratio4    ,it  
is easy to let adulation of the ,deity  
make amends for lack of proper  behavior
 towards man4 ,and so we see that in all
 times and in all  countries the great  
majority of mankind find it much easier 

to beg their  way to heaven by prayers  
than to deserve to go there by their    
actions4  ,in every religion it soon    
comes to be the case that faith1        
ceremonies1  rites and the like1 are    
proclaimed to be more agreeable to the  
,divine  will than moral actions2 the   
former1 especially if they are bound up 
with the emoluments of the clergy1      
gradually come to be looked upon as a   
substitute for the latter4 ,sacrifices  
in temples1 the saying of masses1  the  
founding of chapels1 the planting of    
crosses by the roadside1 soon  come to  
be the most meritorious works1 so that  
even great crimes are  expiated by them1
 as also by penance1 subjection to      
priestly authority1  confessions1       
pilgrimages1 donations to the temples   
and the clergy1 the  building of        
monasteries and the like4 ,the          
consequence of all this is  that the    
priests finally appear as middlemen in  
the corruption of the  gods4 ,and if    
matters don't go quite so far as that1  

where is the  religion whose adherents  
don't consider prayers1 praise and      
manifold  acts of devotion1 a           
substitute1 at least in part1 for moral 
conduct8  ,look at ,england1 where by an
 audacious piece of priestcraft1 the    
,christian ,sunday1 introduced by       
,constantine the ,great as a subject for
  the ,jewish ,sabbath1 is in a         
mendacious way identified with it1 and  
takes  its name1--and this in order that
 the commands of ,jehovah for the       
,sabbath 7that is1 the day on which the 
,almighty had to rest from his six      
days' labor1 so that it is essentially  
the last day of the week71 might  be    
applied to the ,christian ,sunday1 the  
dies solis1 the first day of  the week  
which the sun opens in glory1 the day of
 devotion and joy4 ,the  consequence of 
this fraud is that ,sabbath-breaking1 or
 the  desecration of the ,sabbath1 that 
is1 the slightest occupation1 whether   
of business or pleasure1 all games1     
music1 sewing1 worldly books1 are on    

,sundays looked upon as great sins4     
,surely the ordinary man must believe   
that if1 as his spiritual guides impress
 upon him1 he is only constant  in a    
strict observance of the holy ,sabbath1 
and is a regular  attendant at ,divine  
,service1 that is1 if he only invariably
 idles away  his time on ,sundays1 and  
doesn't fail to sit two hours in church 
to hear  the same litany for the        
thousandth time and mutter it in tune   
with the  others1 he may reckon on      
indulgence in regard to those little    
peccadilloes which he occasionally      
allows himself4 ,those devils in human  
form1 the slave owners and slave traders
 in the ,free ,states of ,north         
,america 7they should be called the     
,slave ,states7 are1 as a rule1         
orthodox1 pious ,anglicans who would    
consider it a grave sin to work on      
,sundays2 and having confidence in this1
 and their regular attendance at        
church1 they hope for eternal happiness4
 ,the demoralizing tendency of  religion

 is less problematical than its moral   
influence4 ,how great and  how certain  
that moral influence must be to make    
amends for the  enormities which        
religions1 especially the ,christian and
 ,mohammedan  religions1 have produced  
and spread over the earth6 ,think of the
  fanaticism1 the endless persecutions1 
the religious wars1 that  sanguinary    
frenzy of which the ancients had no     
conception6 think of the  crusades1 a   
butchery lasting two hundred years and  
inexcusable1 its war  cry ,it is the    
will of ,god1 its object to gain        
possession of the  grave of one who     
preached love and sufferance6 think of  
the cruel  expulsion and extermination  
of the ,moors and ,jews from ,spain6    
think of  the orgies of blood1 the      
inquisitions1 the heretical tribunals1  
the  bloody and terrible conquests of   
the ,mohammedans in three continents1 or
  those of ,christianity in ,america1   
whose inhabitants were for the most     
part1 and in ,cuba entirely1            

exterminated4 ,according to ,las ,cases1
  ,christianity murdered twelve millions
 in forty years1 of course all in       
majorem ,dei gloriam1 and for the       
propagation of the ,gospel1 and because 
what wasn't ,christian wasn't even      
looked upon as human6 ,i have1 it is    
true1 touched upon these matters before2
 but when in our day1 we hear of        
,latest ,news from the ,kingdom of ,god 
,footnote3 ,a missionary paper1 of      
which the #djth annual number appeared  
in #ahef1 we shall not be weary of      
bringing old news to mind4 ,and above   
all1 don't let us forget ,india1 the    
cradle of the human race1 or at least of
 that part of it to which we  belong1   
where first ,mohammedans1 and then      
,christians1 were most cruelly          
infuriated against the adherents of the 
original faith of mankind4 ,the         
destruction or disfigurement of the     
ancient temples and idols1 a            
lamentable1 mischievous and barbarous   
act1 still bears witness to the         

monotheistic fury of the ,mohammedans1  
carried on from ,marmud1 the  ,ghaznevid
 of cursed memory1 down to ,aureng ,zeb1
 the fratricide1 whom the  ,portuguese  
,christians have zealously imitated by  
destruction of temples  and the auto de 
f of the inquisition at ,goa4 ,don't let
 us forget the  chosen people of ,god1  
who after they had1 by ,jehovah's       
express command1  stolen from their old 
and trusty friends in ,egypt the gold   
and silver  vessels which had been lent 
to them1 made a murderous and plundering
  inroad into the ,promised ,land1 with 
the murderer ,moses at their head1  to  
tear it from the rightful               
owners1--again1 by the same ,jehovah's  
express and repeated commands1 showing  
no mercy1 exterminating the             
inhabitants1 women1 children and all    
7,joshua1 ch4 #i and #aj74 ,and all     
this1 simply because they weren't       
circumcised and didn't know ,jehovah1   
which was reason enough to justify every
 enormity against them2 just as  for the

 same reason1 in earlier times1 the     
infamous knavery of the  patriarch      
,jacob and his chosen people against    
,hamor1 ,king of ,shalem1 and  his      
people1 is reported to his glory because
 the people were  unbelievers6 7,genesis
 xxxiii4 #ah47 ,truly1 it is the worst  
side of  religions that the believers of
 one religion have allowed themselves   
every sin again those of another1 and   
with the utmost ruffianism and  cruelty 
persecuted them2 the ,mohammedans       
against the ,christians and  ,hindoos2  
the ,christians against the ,hindoos1   
,mohammedans1 ,american  natives1       
,negroes1 ,jews1 heretics1 and others4  
,perhaps ,i go too far in saying all    
religions4 ,for the sake of truth1 ,i   
must add that the fanatical enormities  
perpetrated in the name of  religion are
 only to be put down to the adherents of
 monotheistic  creeds1 that is1 the     
,jewish faith and its two branches1     
,christianity and  ,islamism4 ,we hear  
of nothing of the kind in the case of   

,hindoos and  ,buddhists4 ,although it  
is a matter of common knowledge that    
about the  fifth century of our era     
,buddhism was driven out by the         
,brahmans from  its ancient home in the 
southernmost part of the ,indian        
peninsula1 and  afterwards spread over  
the whole of the rest of ,asia1 as far  
as ,i know1  we have no definite account
 of any crimes of violence1 or wars1 or 
cruelties1 perpetrated in the course of 
it4    ,that may1 of course1 be         
attributable to the obscurity which     
veils the  history of those countries2  
but the exceedingly mild character of   
their  religion1 together with their    
unceasing inculcation of forbearance    
towards all living things1 and the fact 
that ,brahmanism by its caste  system   
properly admits no proselytes1 allows   
one to hope that their  adherents may be
 acquitted of shedding blood on a large 
scale1 and of  cruelty in any form4     
,spence ,hardy1 in his excellent book on
 ,eastern  ,monachism1 praises the      

extraordinary tolerance of the          
,buddhists1 and  adds his assurance that
 the annals of ,buddhism will furnish   
fewer  instances of religious           
persecution than those of any other     
religion4    ,as a matter of fact1 it is
 only to monotheism that intolerance is 
essential2 an only god is by his nature 
a jealous god1 who can allow no  other  
god to exist4 ,polytheistic gods1 on the
 other hand1 are naturally  tolerant2   
they live and let live2 their own       
colleagues are the chief  objects of    
their sufferance1 as being gods of the  
same religion4 ,this  toleration is     
afterwards extended to foreign gods1 who
 are1 accordingly1  hospitably received1
 and later on admitted1 in some cases1  
to an  equality of rights2 the chief    
example of which is shown by the fact1  
that the ,romans willingly admitted and 
venerated ,phrygian1 ,egyptian and      
other gods4 ,hence it is that           
monotheistic religions alone furnish the
  spectacle of religious wars1 religious

 persecutions1 heretical  tribunals1    
that breaking of idols and destruction  
of images of the gods1  that razing of  
,indian temples1 and ,egyptian colossi1 
which had looked on  the sun three      
thousand years1 just because a jealous  
god had said1 ,thou  shalt make no      
graven image4    ,but to return to the  
chief point4 ,you are certainly right in
 insisting  on the strong metaphysical  
needs of mankind2 but religion appears  
to me  to be not so much a satisfaction 
as an abuse of those needs4 ,at any rate
  we have seen that in regard to the    
furtherance of morality1 its utility    
is1 for the most part1 problematical1   
its disadvantages1 and especially  the  
atrocities which have followed in its   
train1 are patent to the light  of day4 
,of course it is quite a different      
matter if we consider the  utility of   
religion as a prop of thrones2 for where
 these are held by  the grace of ,god1  
throne and altar are intimately         
associated2 and every  wise prince who  

loves his throne and his family will    
appear at the head  of his people as an 
exemplar of true religion4 ,even        
,machiavelli1 in the  eighteenth chapter
 of his book1 most earnestly recommended
 religion to  princes4 ,beyond this1 one
 may say that revealed religions stand  
to  philosophy exactly in the relation  
of sovereigns by the grace of ,god1  to 
the sovereignty of the people2 so that  
the two former terms of the  parallel   
are in natural alliance4    ,demopheles4
 ,oh1 don't take that tone6 ,you're     
going hand in hand with  ochlocracy and 
anarchy1 the arch enemy of all          
legislative order1 all  civilization and
 all humanity4    ,philalethes4 ,you are
 right4 ,it was only a sophism of mine1 
what the  fencing master calls a feint4 
,i retract it4 ,but see how disputing   
sometimes makes an honest man unjust and
 malicious4 ,let us stop4               
,demopheles4 ,i can't help regretting   
that1 after all the trouble ,i've       
taken1 ,i haven't altered your          

disposition in regard to religion4 ,on  
the  other hand1 ,i can assure you that 
everything you have said hasn't shaken  
my conviction of its high value and     
necessity4    ,philalethes4 ,i fully    
believe you2 for1 as we may read in     
,hudibras--      ,a man convinced       
against his will    ,is of the same     
opinion still4    ,my consolation is    
that1 alike in controversies and in     
taking mineral  waters1 the after       
effects are the true ones4              
,demopheles4 ,well1 ,i hope it'll be    
beneficial in your case4                
,philalethes4 ,it might be so1 if ,i    
could digest a certain ,spanish         
proverb4    ,demopheles4 ,which is8     
,philalethes4 ,behind the cross stands  
the devil4    ,demopheles4 ,come1 don't 
let us part with sarcasms4 ,let us      
rather admit  that religion1 like       
,janus1 or better still1 like the       
,brahman god of  death1 ,yama1 has two  
faces1 and like him1 one friendly1 the  
other  sullen4 ,each of us has kept his 

eye fixed on one alone4    ,philalethes4
 ,you are right1 old fellow4          ,a
 ,,few ,,words ,,on ,,pantheism4        
,the controversy between ,theism and    
,pantheism might be presented in an     
allegorical or dramatic form by         
supposing a dialogue between two persons
  in the pit of a theatre at ,milan     
during the performance of a piece4 ,one 
of them1 convinced that he is in        
,girolamo's renowned marionette-theatre1
  admires the art by which the director 
gets up the dolls and guides their      
movements4 ,oh1 you are quite mistaken1 
says the other1 we're in the  ,teatro   
della ,scala2 it is the manager and his 
troupe who are on the  stage2 they are  
the persons you see before you2 the poet
 too is taking a  part4    ,the chief   
objection ,i have to ,pantheism is that 
it says nothing4 ,to call  the world    
,god is not to explain it2 it is only to
 enrich our language  with a superfluous
 synonym for the word world4 ,it comes  
to the same  thing whether you say the  

world is ,god1 or ,god is the world4    
,but if  you start from ,god as         
something that is given in experience1  
and has  to be explained1 and they say1 
,god is the world1 you are affording    
what is to some extent an explanation1  
in so far as you are reducing  what is  
unknown to what is partly known 7ignotum
 per notius72 but it  is only a verbal  
explanation4 ,if1 however1 you start    
from what is really  given1 that is to  
say1 from the world1 and say1 the world 
is ,god1 it  is clear that you say      
nothing1 or at least you are explaining 
what is  unknown by what is more        
unknown4    ,hence1 ,pantheism          
presupposes ,theism2 only in so far as  
you start from a  god1 that is1 in so   
far as you possess him as something with
 which you  are already familiar1 can   
you end by identifying him with the     
world2 and  your purpose in doing so is 
to put him out of the way in a decent   
fashion4 ,in other words1 you do not    
start clear from the world as  something

 that requires explanation2 you start   
from ,god as something  that is given1  
and not knowing what to do with him1 you
 make the world  take over his role4    
,this is the origin of ,pantheism4      
,taking an  unprejudiced view of the    
world as it is1 no one would dream of   
regarding  it as a god4 ,it must be a   
very ill-advised god who knows no better
 way  of diverting himself than by      
turning into such a world as ours1 such 
a  mean1 shabby world1 there to take the
 form of innumerable millions who  live 
indeed1 but are fretted and tormented1  
and who manage to exist a  while        
together1 only by preying on one        
another2 to bear misery1 need and       
death1 without measure and without      
object1 in the form1 for instance1 of   
millions of negro slaves1 or of the     
three million weavers in ,europe who1   
in hunger and care1 lead a miserable    
existence in damp rooms or the          
cheerless halls of a factory4 ,what a   
pastime this for a god1 who must1  as   

such1 be used to another mode of        
existence6    ,we find accordingly that 
what is described as the great advance  
from  ,theism to ,pantheism1 if looked  
at seriously1 and not simply as a masked
  negation of the sort indicated above1 
is a transition from what is  unproved  
and hardly conceivable to what is       
absolutely absurd4 ,for  however        
obscure1 however loose or confused may  
be the idea which we  connect with the  
word ,god1 there are two predicates     
which are  inseparable from it1 the     
highest power and the highest wisdom4   
,it is  absolutely absurd to think that 
a being endowed with these qualities    
should have put himself into the        
position described above4 ,theism1 on   
the other hand1 is something which is   
merely unproved2 and if it is  difficult
 to look upon the infinite world as the 
work of a personal1 and  therefore      
individual1 ,being1 the like of which we
 know only from our  experience of the  
animal world1 it is nevertheless not an 

absolutely  absurd idea4 ,that a ,being1
 at once almighty and all-good1 should  
create  a world of torment is always    
conceivable2 even though we do not know 
why  he does so2 and accordingly we find
 that when people ascribe the height  of
 goodness to this ,being1 they set up   
the inscrutable nature of his  wisdom as
 the refuge by which the doctrine       
escapes the charge of  absurdity4       
,pantheism1 however1 assumes that the   
creative ,god is himself  the world of  
infinite torment1 and1 in this little   
world alone1 dies  every second1 and    
that entirely of his own will2 which is 
absurd4 ,it  would be much more correct 
to identify the world with the devil1 as
 the  venerable author of the ,deutsche 
,theologie has1 in fact1 done in a      
passage of his immortal work1 where he  
says1 ,wherefore the evil spirit  and   
nature are one1 and where nature is not 
overcome1 neither is the  evil adversary
 overcome4    ,it is manifest that the  
,pantheists give the ,sansara the name  

of ,god4 ,the  same name is given by the
 ,mystics to the ,nirvana4 ,the latter1 
however1  state more about the ,nirvana 
than they know1 which is not done by the
  ,buddhists1 whose ,nirvana is         
accordingly a relative nothing4 ,it is  
only  ,jews1 ,christians1 and           
,mohammedans who give its proper and    
correct  meaning to the word ,god4      
,the expression1 often heard now-a-days1
 the world is an end-in-itself1  leaves 
it uncertain whether ,pantheism or a    
simple ,fatalism is to be  taken as the 
explanation of it4 ,but1 whichever it   
be1 the expression  looks upon the world
 from a physical point of view only1 and
 leaves out  of sight its moral         
significance1 because you cannot assume 
a moral  significance without presenting
 the world as means to a higher end4    
,the  notion that the world has a       
physical but not a moral meaning1 is the
  most mischievous error sprung from the
 greatest mental perversity4            
,,on ,,books ,,and ,,reading4           

,ignorance is degrading only when found 
in company with riches4 ,the poor  man  
is restrained by poverty and need3 labor
 occupies his thoughts1 and  takes the  
place of knowledge4 ,but rich men who   
are ignorant live for  their lusts only1
 and are like the beasts of the field2  
as may be seen  every day3 and they can 
also be reproached for not having used  
wealth  and leisure for that which gives
 them their greatest value4    ,when we 
read1 another person thinks for us3 we  
merely repeat his mental  process4 ,in  
learning to write1 the pupil goes over  
with his pen what the  teacher has      
outlined in pencil3 so in reading2 the  
greater part of the  work of thought is 
already done for us4 ,this is why it    
relieves us to  take up a book after    
being occupied with our own thoughts4   
,and in  reading1 the mind is1 in fact1 
only the playground of another's        
thoughts4 ,so it comes about that if    
anyone spends almost the whole day  in  
reading1 and by way of relaxation       

devotes the intervals to some           
thoughtless pastime1 he gradually loses 
the capacity for thinking2 just  as the 
man who always rides1 at last forgets   
how to walk4 ,this is the  case with    
many learned persons3 they have read    
themselves stupid4 ,for to  occupy every
 spare moment in reading1 and to do     
nothing but read1 is  even more         
paralyzing to the mind than constant    
manual labor1 which at  least allows    
those engaged in it to follow their own 
thoughts4 ,a spring  never free from the
 pressure of some foreign body at last  
loses its  elasticity2 and so does the  
mind if other people's thoughts are     
constantly forced upon it4 ,just as you 
can ruin the stomach and impair  the    
whole body by taking too much           
nourishment1 so you can overfill and    
choke the mind by feeding it too much4  
,the more you read1 the fewer are  the  
traces left by what you have read3 the  
mind becomes like a tablet  crossed over
 and over with writing4 ,there is no    

time for ruminating1 and  in no other   
way can you assimilate what you have    
read4 ,if you read on  and on without   
setting your own thoughts to work1 what 
you have read can  not strike root1 and 
is generally lost4 ,it is1 in fact1 just
 the same  with mental as with bodily   
food3 hardly the fifth part of what one 
takes  is assimilated4 ,the rest passes 
off in evaporation1 respiration and the 
like4    ,the result of all this is that
 thoughts put on paper are nothing more 
than footsteps in the sand3 you see the 
way the man has gone1 but to  know what 
he saw on his walk1 you want his eyes4  
,there is no quality of style that can  
be gained by reading writers who        
possess it2 whether it be               
persuasiveness1 imagination1 the gift of
  drawing comparisons1 boldness1        
bitterness1 brevity1 grace1 ease of     
expression or wit1 unexpected contrasts1
 a laconic or naive manner1 and  the    
like4 ,but if these qualities are       
already in us1 exist1 that is to  say1  

potentially1 we can call them forth and 
bring them to  consciousness2 we can    
learn the purposes to which they can be 
put2 we  can be strengthened in our     
inclination to use them1 or get courage 
to do  so2 we can judge by examples the 
effect of applying them1 and so acquire 
the correct use of them2 and of course  
it is only when we have arrived  at that
 point that we actually possess these   
qualities4 ,the only way in  which      
reading can form style is by teaching us
 the use to which we can  put our own   
natural gifts4 ,we must have these gifts
 before we begin to  learn the use of   
them4 ,without them1 reading teaches us 
nothing but  cold1 dead mannerisms and  
makes us shallow imitators4    ,the     
strata of the earth preserve in rows the
 creatures which lived in  former ages2 
and the array of books on the shelves of
 a library stores  up in like manner the
 errors of the past and the way in which
 they have  been exposed4 ,like those   
creatures1 they too were full of life in

 their  time1 and made a great deal of  
noise2 but now they are stiff and       
fossilized1 and an object of curiosity  
to the literary palaeontologist  alone4 
,herodotus relates that ,xerxes wept at 
the sight of his army1 which  stretched 
further than the eye could reach1 in the
 thought that of all  these1 after a    
hundred years1 not one would be alive4  
,and in looking  over a huge catalogue  
of new books1 one might weep at thinking
 that1  when ten years have passed1 not 
one of them will be heard of4    ,it is 
in literature as in life3 wherever you  
turn1 you stumble at once  upon the     
incorrigible mob of humanity1 swarming  
in all directions1  crowding and soiling
 everything1 like flies in summer4      
,hence the number1  which no man can    
count1 of bad books1 those rank weeds of
 literature1  which draw nourishment    
from the corn and choke it4 ,the time1  
money and  attention of the public1     
which rightfully belong to good books   
and their  noble aims1 they take for    

themselves3 they are written for the    
mere  purpose of making money or        
procuring places4 ,so they are not only 
useless2 they do positive mischief4     
,nine-tenths of the whole of our        
present literature has no other aim than
 to get a few shillings out of  the     
pockets of the public2 and to this end  
author1 publisher and  reviewer are in  
league4    ,let me mention a crafty and 
wicked trick1 albeit a profitable and   
successful one1 practised by            
littrateurs1 hack writers1 and          
voluminous  authors4 ,in complete       
disregard of good taste and the true    
culture of the  period1 they have       
succeeded in getting the whole of the   
world of fashion  into leading strings1 
so that they are all trained to read in 
time1 and  all the same thing1 viz41 the
 newest books2 and that for the purpose 
of getting food for conversation in the 
circles in which they move4 ,this  is   
the aim served by bad novels1 produced  
by writers who were once  celebrated1 as

 ,spindler1 ,bulwer ,lytton1 ,eugene    
,sue4 ,what can be more  miserable than 
the lot of a reading public like this1  
always bound to  peruse the latest works
 of extremely commonplace persons who   
write for  money only1 and who are      
therefore never few in number8 and for  
this  advantage they are content to know
 by name only the works of the few      
superior minds of all ages and all      
countries4 ,literary newspapers1 too1   
are a singularly cunning device for     
robbing the reading public of the  time 
which1 if culture is to be attained1    
should be devoted to the  genuine       
productions of literature1 instead of   
being occupied by the  daily bungling   
commonplace persons4    ,hence1 in      
regard to reading1 it is a very         
important thing to be able to  refrain4 
,skill in doing so consists in not      
taking into one's hands any  book merely
 because at the time it happens to be   
extensively read2 such  as political or 
religious pamphlets1 novels1 poetry1 and

 the like1 which  make a noise1 and may 
even attain to several editions in the  
first and  last year of their existence4
 ,consider1 rather1 that the man who    
writes  for fools is always sure of a   
large audience2 be careful to limit your
  time for reading1 and devote it       
exclusively to the works of those great 
minds of all times and countries1 who   
o'ertop the rest of humanity1  those    
whom the voice of fame points to as     
such4 ,these alone really  educate and  
instruct4 ,you can never read bad       
literature too little1 nor  good        
literature too much4 ,bad books are     
intellectual poison2 they  destroy the  
mind4 ,because people always read what  
is new instead of the  best of all ages1
 writers remain in the narrow circle of 
the ideas which  happen to prevail in   
their time2 and so the period sinks     
deeper and  deeper into its own mire4   
,there are at all times two literatures 
in progress1 running side by  side1 but 
little known to each other2 the one     

real1 the other only  apparent4 ,the    
former grows into permanent literature2 
it is pursued by  those who live for    
science or poetry2 its course is sober  
and quiet1  but extremely slow2 and it  
produces in ,europe scarcely a dozen    
works in  a century2 these1 however1 are
 permanent4 ,the other kind is pursued  
by  persons who live on science or      
poetry2 it goes at a gallop with much   
noise and shouting of partisans2 and    
every twelve-month puts a thousand      
works on the market4 ,but after a few   
years one asks1 ,where are they8  where 
is the glory which came so soon and made
 so much clamor8 ,this kind  may be     
called fleeting1 and the other1         
permanent literature4    ,in the history
 of politics1 half a century is always a
 considerable  time2 the matter which   
goes to form them is ever on the move2  
there is  always something going on4    
,but in the history of literature there 
is  often a complete standstill for the 
same period2 nothing has happened1  for 

clumsy attempts don't count4 ,you are   
just where you were fifty years         
previously4    ,to explain what ,i mean1
 let me compare the advance of knowledge
 among  mankind to the course taken by a
 planet4 ,the false paths on which      
humanity usually enters after every     
important advance are like the          
epicycles in the ,ptolemaic system1 and 
after passing through one of  them1 the 
world is just where it was before it    
entered it4 ,but the great  minds1 who  
really bring the race further on its    
course do not accompany  it on the      
epicycles it makes from time to time4   
,this explains why  posthumous fame is  
often bought at the expense of          
contemporary praise1  and vice versa4   
,an instance of such an epicycle is the 
philosophy  started by ,fichte and      
,schelling1 and crowned by ,hegel's     
caricature of  it4 ,this epicycle was a 
deviation from the limit to which       
philosophy had  been ultimately brought 
by ,kant2 and at that point ,i took it  

up again  afterwards1 to carry it       
further4 ,in the intervening period the 
sham  philosophers ,i have mentioned and
 some others went through their         
epicycle1 which had just come to an end2
 so that those who went with  them on   
their course are conscious of the fact  
that they are exactly at  the point from
 which they started4    ,this           
circumstance explains why it is that1   
every thirty years or so1  science1     
literature1 and art1 as expressed in the
 spirit of the time1  are declared      
bankrupt4 ,the errors which appear from 
time to time amount  to such a height in
 that period that the mere weight of    
their absurdity  makes the fabric fall2 
whilst the opposition to them has been  
gathering  force at the same time4 ,so  
an upset takes place1 often followed by 
an  error in the opposite direction4 ,to
 exhibit these movements in their       
periodical return would be the true     
practical aim of the history of         
literature3 little attention1 however1  

is paid to it4 ,and besides1 the        
comparatively short duration of these   
periods makes it difficult to  collect  
the data of epochs long gone by1 so that
 it is most convenient  to observe how  
the matter stands in one's own          
generation4 ,an instance of  this       
tendency1 drawn from physical science1  
is supplied in the ,neptunian  geology  
of ,werter4    ,but let me keep strictly
 to the example cited above1 the nearest
 we can  take4 ,in ,german philosophy1  
the brilliant epoch of ,kant was        
immediately  followed by a period which 
aimed rather at being imposing than at  
convincing4 ,instead of being thorough  
and clear1 it tried to be  dazzling1    
hyperbolical1 and1 in a special degree1 
unintelligible3  instead of seeking     
truth1 it intrigued4 ,philosophy could  
make no  progress in this fashion2 and  
at last the whole school and its method 
became bankrupt4 ,for the effrontery of 
,hegel and his fellows came to  such a  
pass1--whether because they talked such 

sophisticated nonsense1  or were so     
unscrupulously puffed1 or because the   
entire aim of this  pretty piece of work
 was quite obvious1--that in the end    
there was  nothing to prevent           
charlatanry of the whole business from  
becoming  manifest to everybody3 and    
when1 in consequence of certain         
disclosures1  the favor it had enjoyed  
in high quarters was withdrawn1 the     
system was  openly ridiculed4 ,this most
 miserable of all the meagre            
philosophies  that have ever existed    
came to grief1 and dragged down with it 
into the  abysm of discredit1 the       
systems of ,fichte and ,schelling which 
had  preceded it4 ,and so1 as far as    
,germany is concerned1 the total        
philosophical incompetence of the first 
half of the century following  upon     
,kant is quite plain3 and still the     
,germans boast of their talent  for     
philosophy in comparison with           
foreigners1 especially since an         
,english writer has been so maliciously 

ironical as to call them a  nation of   
thinkers4    ,for an example of the     
general system of epicycles drawn from  
the history  of art1 look at the school 
of sculpture which flourished in the    
last  century and took its name from    
,bernini1 more especially at the        
development of it which prevailed in    
,france4 ,the ideal of this school  was 
not antique beauty1 but commonplace     
nature3 instead of the  simplicity and  
grace of ancient art1 it represented the
 manners of a  ,french minuet4    ,this 
tendency became bankrupt when1 under    
,winkelman's direction1 a  return was   
made to the antique school4 ,the history
 of painting furnishes  an illustration 
in the first quarter of the century1    
when art was looked  upon merely as a   
means and instrument of mediaeval       
religious sentiment1  and its themes    
consequently drawn from ecclesiastical  
subjects alone3  these1 however1 were   
treated by painters who had none of the 
true  earnestness of faith1 and in their

 delusion they followed ,francesco      
,francia1 ,pietro ,perugino1 ,angelico  
da ,fiesole and others like them1       
rating them higher even than the really 
great masters who followed4 ,it  was in 
view of this terror1 and because in     
poetry an analogous aim had  at the same
 time found favor1 that ,goethe wrote   
his parable  ,pfaffenspiel4 ,this       
school1 too1 got the reputation of being
 whimsical1  became bankrupt1 and was   
followed by a return to nature1 which   
proclaimed itself in genre pictures and 
scenes of life of every kind1  even     
though it now and then strayed into what
 was vulgar4    ,the progress of the    
human mind in literature is similar4    
,the history of  literature is for the  
most part like the catalogue of a museum
 of  deformities2 the spirit in which   
they keep best is pigskin4 ,the few     
creatures that have been born in goodly 
shape need not be looked for  there4    
,they are still alive1 and are          
everywhere to be met with in the  world1

 immortal1 and with their years ever    
green4 ,they alone form what ,i  have   
called real literature2 the history of  
which1 poor as it is in  persons1 we    
learn from our youth up out of the      
mouths of all educated  people1 before  
compilations recount it for us4    ,as  
an antidote to the prevailing monomania 
for reading literary  histories1 in     
order to be able to chatter about       
everything1 without  having any real    
knowledge at all1 let me refer to a     
passage in  ,lichtenberg's works 7vol4  
,,ii41 p4 #cjb71 which is well worth    
perusal4    ,i believe that the         
over-minute acquaintance with the       
history of science  and learning1 which 
is such a prevalent feature of our day1 
is very  prejudicial to the advance of  
knowledge itself4 ,there is pleasure in 
following up this history2 but as a     
matter of fact1 it leaves the mind1  not
 empty indeed1 but without any power of 
its own1 just because it  makes it so   
full4 ,whoever has felt the desire1 not 

to fill up his mind1  but to strengthen 
it1 to develop his faculties and        
aptitudes1 and  generally1 to enlarge   
his powers1 will have found that there  
is nothing  so weakening as intercourse 
with a so-called littrateur1 on a matter
 of  knowledge on which he has not      
thought at all1 though he knows a       
thousand  little facts appertaining to  
its history and literature4 ,it is like 
reading a cookery-book when you are     
hungry4 ,i believe that so-called       
literary history will never thrive      
amongst thoughtful people1 who are      
conscious of their own worth and the    
worth of real knowledge4 ,these  people 
are more given to employing their own   
reason than to troubling  themselves to 
know how others have employed theirs4   
,the worst of it is  that1 as you will  
find1 the more knowledge takes the      
direction of  literary research1 the    
less the power of promoting knowledge   
becomes2  the only thing that increases 
is pride in the possession of it4 ,such 

persons believe that they possess       
knowledge in a greater degree than      
those who really possess it4 ,it is     
surely a well-founded remark1 that      
knowledge never makes its possessor     
proud4 ,those alone let themselves be   
blown out with pride1 who incapable of  
extending knowledge in their own        
persons1 occupy themselves with clearing
 up dark points in its history1  or are 
able to recount what others have done4  
,they are proud1 because  they consider 
this occupation1 which is mostly of a   
mechanical nature1  the practice of     
knowledge4 ,i could illustrate what ,i  
mean by examples1  but it would be an   
odious task4    ,still1 ,i wish some one
 would attempt a tragical history of    
literature1  giving the way in which the
 writers and artists1 who form the      
proudest  possession of the various     
nations which have given them birth1    
have been  treated by them during their 
lives4 ,such a history would exhibit the
  ceaseless warfare1 which what was good

 and genuine in all times and  countries
 has had to wage with what was bad and  
perverse4 ,it would tell  of the        
martyrdom of almost all those who truly 
enlightened humanity1 of  almost all the
 great masters of every kind of art3 it 
would show us how1  with few exceptions1
 they were tormented to death1 without  
recognition1  without sympathy1 without 
followers2 how they lived in poverty and
  misery1 whilst fame1 honor1 and       
riches1 were the lot of the unworthy2   
how their fate was that of ,esau1 who   
while he was hunting and getting        
venison for his father1 was robbed of   
the blessing by ,jacob1 disguised  in   
his brother's clothes1 how1 in spite of 
all1 they were kept up by the  love of  
their work1 until at last the bitter    
fight of the teacher of  humanity is    
over1 until the immortal laurel is held 
out to him1 and the  hour strikes when  
it can be said3      ,der sehwere       
,panzer wird zum ,flgelkleide    ,kurz  
ist der ,schmerz1 unendlich ist die     

,freude4          ,,physiognomy4        
,that the outer man is a picture of the 
inner1 and the face an expression  and  
revelation of the whole character1 is a 
presumption likely enough in  itself1   
and therefore a safe one to go by2      
evidenced as it is by the  fact that    
people are always anxious to see anyone 
who has made himself  famous by good or 
evil1 or as the author of some          
extraordinary work2 or  if they cannot  
get a sight of him1 to hear at any rate 
from others what  he looks like4 ,so    
people go to places where they may      
expect to see the  person who interests 
them2 the press1 especially in ,england1
 endeavors  to give a minute and        
striking description of his appearance2 
painters  and engravers lose no time in 
putting him visibly before us2 and      
finally  photography1 on that very      
account of such high value1 affords the 
most  complete satisfaction of our      
curiosity4 ,it is also a fact that in   
private life everyone criticises the    

physiognomy of those he comes  across1  
first of all secretly trying to discern 
their intellectual and  moral character 
from their features4 ,this would be a   
useless proceeding  if1 as some foolish 
people fancy1 the exterior of a man is a
 matter of  no account2 if1 as they     
think1 the soul is one thing and the    
body  another1 and the body related to  
the soul merely as the coat to the man  
himself4    ,on the contrary1 every     
human face is a hieroglyphic1 and a     
hieroglyphic1  too1 which admits of     
being deciphered1 the alphabet of which 
we carry  about with us already         
perfected4 ,as a matter of fact1 the    
face of a man  gives us a fuller and    
more interesting information than his   
tongue2 for  his face is the compendium 
of all he will ever say1 as it is the   
one  record of all his thoughts and     
endeavors4 ,and1 moreover1 the tongue   
tells the thought of one man only1      
whereas the face expresses a thought  of
 nature itself3 so that everyone is     

worth attentive observation1 even       
though everyone may not be worth talking
 to4 ,and if every individual is  worth 
observation as a single thought of      
nature1 how much more so is  beauty1    
since it is a higher and more general   
conception of nature1 is1  in fact1 her 
thought of a species4 ,this is why      
beauty is so captivating3  it is a      
fundamental thought of nature3 whereas  
the individual is only a  by-thought1 a 
corollary4    ,in private1 people always
 proceed upon the principle that a man  
is what  he looks2 and the principle is 
a right one1 only the difficulty lies in
  its application4 ,for though the art  
of applying the principle is partly     
innate and may be partly gained by      
experience1 no one is a master of it1   
and even the most experienced is not    
infallible4 ,but for all that1  whatever
 ,figaro may say1 it is not the face    
which deceives2 it is we who  deceive   
ourselves in reading in it what is not  
there4    ,the deciphering of a face is 

certainly a great and difficult art1 and
  the principles of it can never be     
learnt in the abstract4 ,the first      
condition of success is to maintain a   
purely objective point of view1  which  
is no easy matter4 ,for1 as soon as the 
faintest trace of anything  subjective  
is present1 whether dislike or favor1 or
 fear or hope1 or  even the thought of  
the impression we ourselves are making  
upon the  object of our attention the   
characters we are trying to decipher    
become  confused and corrupt4 ,the sound
 of a language is really appreciated    
only  by one who does not understand it1
 and that because1 in thinking of the   
signification of a word1 we pay no      
regard to the sign itself4 ,so1 in the  
same way1 a physiognomy is correctly    
gauged only by one to whom it is  still 
strange1 who has not grown accustomed to
 the face by constantly  meeting and    
conversing with the man himself4 ,it is1
 therefore1 strictly  speaking1 only the
 first sight of a man which affords that

 purely  objective view which is        
necessary for deciphering his features4 
,an odor  affects us only when we first 
come in contact with it1 and the first  
glass of wine is the one which gives us 
its true taste3 in the same way1  it is 
only at the first encounter that a face 
makes its full impression  upon us4     
,consequently the first impression      
should be carefully attended  to and    
noted1 even written down if the subject 
of it is of personal  importance1       
provided1 of course1 that one can trust 
one's own sense of  physiognomy4        
,subsequent acquaintance and intercourse
 will obliterate the  impression1 but   
time will one day prove whether it is   
true4    ,let us1 however1 not conceal  
from ourselves the fact that this first 
impression is for the most part         
extremely unedifying4 ,how poor most    
faces are6 ,with the exception of those 
that are beautiful1 good-natured1  or   
intellectual1 that is to say1 the very  
few and far between1 ,i believe  a      

person of any fine feeling scarcely ever
 sees a new face without a  sensation   
akin to a shock1 for the reason that it 
presents a new and  surprising          
combination of unedifying elements4 ,to 
tell the truth1 it is1  as a rule1 a    
sorry sight4 ,there are some people     
whose faces bear the  stamp of such     
artless vulgarity and baseness of       
character1 such an  animal limitation of
 intelligence1 that one wonders how they
 can appear  in public with such a      
countenance1 instead of wearing a mask4 
,there are  faces1 indeed1 the very     
sight of which produces a feeling of    
pollution4  ,one cannot1 therefore1 take
 it amiss of people1 whose privileged   
position admits of it1 if they manage to
 live in retirement and  completely free
 from the painful sensation of seeing   
new faces4 ,the  metaphysical           
explanation of this circumstance rests  
upon the  consideration that the        
individuality of a man is precisely that
 by the  very existence of which he     

should be reclaimed and corrected4 ,if1 
on the  other hand1 a psychological     
explanation is satisfactory1 let any one
 ask  himself what kind of physiognomy  
he may expect in those who have all     
their life long1 except on the rarest   
occasions1 harbored nothing but  petty1 
base and miserable thoughts1 and vulgar1
 selfish1 envious1 wicked  and malicious
 desires4 ,every one of these thoughts  
and desires has set  its mark upon the  
face during the time it lasted1 and by  
constant  repetition1 all these marks   
have in course of time become furrows   
and  blotches1 so to speak4             
,consequently1 most people's appearance 
is such as  to produce a shock at first 
sight2 and it is only gradually that one
  gets accustomed to it1 that is to say1
 becomes so deadened to the  impression 
that it has no more effect on one4      
,and that the prevailing facial         
expression is the result of a long      
process of innumerable1 fleeting and    
characteristic contractions of the      

features is just the reason why         
intellectual countenances are of gradual
  formation4 ,it is1 indeed1 only in old
 age that intellectual men attain  their
 sublime expression1 whilst portraits of
 them in their youth show  only the     
first traces of it4 ,but on the other   
hand1 what ,i have just  said about the 
shock which the first sight of a face   
generally produces1  is in keeping with 
the remark that it is only at that first
 sight that  it makes its true and full 
impression4 ,for to get a purely        
objective and  uncorrupted impression of
 it1 we must stand in no kind of        
relation to  the person2 if possible1 we
 must not yet have spoken with him4 ,for
 every  conversation places us to some  
extent upon a friendly footing1         
establishes a certain rapport1 a mutual 
subjective relation1 which is  at once  
unfavorable to an objective point of    
view4 ,and as everyone's  endeavor is to
 win esteem or friendship for himself1  
the man who is  under observation will  

at once employ all those arts of        
dissimulation in  which he is already   
versed1 and corrupt us with his airs1   
hypocrisies  and flatteries2 so that    
what the first look clearly showed will 
soon be  seen by us no more4    ,this   
fact is at the bottom of the saying that
 most people gain by  further           
acquaintance2 it ought1 however1 to run1
 delude us by it4 ,it  is only when1    
later on1 the bad qualities manifest    
themselves1 that our  first judgment as 
a rule receives its justification and   
makes good its  scornful verdict4 ,it   
may be that a further acquaintance is an
  unfriendly one1 and if that is so1 we 
do not find in this case either  that   
people gain by it4 ,another reason why  
people apparently gain on a  nearer     
acquaintance is that the man whose first
 aspect warns us from  him1 as soon as  
we converse with him1 no longer shows   
his own being and  character1 but also  
his education2 that is1 not only what he
 really is  by nature1 but also what he 

has appropriated to himself out of the  
common wealth of mankind4 ,three-fourths
 of what he says belongs not to  him1   
but to the sources from which he        
obtained it2 so that we are often       
surprised to hear a minotaur speak so   
humanly4 ,if we make a still closer     
acquaintance1 the animal nature1 of     
which his face gave promise1 will       
manifest itself in all its splendor4 ,if
 one is gifted with an acute  sense for 
physiognomy1 one should take special    
note of those verdicts  which preceded a
 closer acquaintance and were therefore 
genuine4 ,for the  face of a man is the 
exact impression of what he is2 and if  
he deceives  us1 that is our fault1 not 
his4 ,what a man says1 on the other     
hand1 is  what he thinks1 more often    
what he has learned1 or it may be even1 
what  he pretends to think4 ,and besides
 this1 when we talk to him1 or even     
hear him talking to others1 we pay no   
attention to his physiognomy  proper4   
,it is the underlying substance1 the    

fundamental datum1 and we  disregard it2
 what interests us is its pathognomy1   
its play of feature  during             
conversation4 ,this1 however1 is so     
arranged as to turn the good  side      
upwards4    ,when ,socrates said to a   
young man who was introduced to him to  
have his  capabilities tested1 ,talk in 
order that ,i may see you1 if indeed by 
seeing he did not simply mean hearing1  
he was right1 so far as it is  only in  
conversation that the features and      
especially the eyes become  animated1   
and the intellectual resources and      
capacities set their mark  upon the     
countenance4 ,this puts us in a position
 to form a provisional  notion of the   
degree and capacity of intelligence2    
which was in that  case ,socrates' aim4 
,but in this connection it is to be     
observed1  firstly1 that the rule does  
not apply to moral qualities1 which lie 
deeper1 and in the second place1 that   
what from an objective point of  view we
 gain by the clearer development of the 

countenance in  conversation1 we lose   
from a subjective standpoint on account 
of the  personal relation into which the
 speaker at once enters in regard to us1
  and which produces a slight           
fascination1 so that1 as explained      
above1 we  are not left impartial       
observers4 ,consequently from the last  
point of  view we might say with greater
 accuracy1 ,do not speak in order that  
,i  may see you4    ,for to get a pure  
and fundamental conception of a man's   
physiognomy1 we  must observe him when  
he is alone and left to himself4        
,society of any  kind and conversation  
throw a reflection upon him which is not
 his own1  generally to his advantage2  
as he is thereby placed in a state of   
action  and reaction which sets him off4
 ,but alone and left to himself1 plunged
  in the depths of his own thoughts and 
sensations1 he is wholly himself1  and a
 penetrating eye for physiognomy can at 
one glance take a general  view of his  
entire character4 ,for his face1 looked 

at by and in itself1  expresses the     
keynote of all his thoughts and         
endeavors1 the arrt  irrevocable1 the   
irrevocable decree of his destiny1 the  
consciousness  of which only comes to   
him when he is alone4    ,the study of  
physiognomy is one of the chief means of
 a knowledge of  mankind1 because the   
cast of a man's face is the only sphere 
in which  his arts of dissimulation are 
of no avail1 since these arts extended  
only to that play of feature which is   
akin to mimicry4 ,and that is why ,i    
recommend such a study to be undertaken 
when the subject of it is alone  and    
given up to his own thoughts1 and before
 he is spoken to3 and this  partly for  
the reason that it is only in such a    
condition that  inspection of the       
physiognomy pure and simple is possible1
 because  conversation at once lets in a
 pathognomical element1 in which a man  
can  apply the arts of dissimulation    
which he has learned3 partly again      
because personal contact1 even of the   

very slightest kind1 gives a  certain   
bias and so corrupts the judgment of the
 observer4    ,and in regard to the     
study of physiognomy in general1 it is  
further to  be observed that            
intellectual capacity is much easier of 
discernment  than moral character4 ,the 
former naturally takes a much more      
outward  direction1 and expresses itself
 not only in the face and the play of   
feature1 but also in the gait1 down even
 to the very slightest movement4  ,one  
could perhaps discriminate from behind  
between a blockhead1 a fool  and a man  
of genius4 ,the blockhead would be      
discerned by the torpidity  and         
sluggishness of all his movements3 folly
 sets its mark upon every  gesture1 and 
so does intellect and a studious nature4
 ,hence that remark  of ,la ,bruyre that
 there is nothing so slight1 so simple  
or  imperceptible but that our way of   
doing it enters in and betrays us3 a    
fool neither comes nor goes1 nor sits   
down1 nor gets up1 nor holds his        

tongue1 nor moves about in the same way 
as an intelligent man4 7,and this  is1  
be it observed by way of parenthesis1   
the explanation of that sure  and       
certain instinct which1 according to    
,helvetius1 ordinary folk  possess of   
discerning people of genius1 and of     
getting out of their  way47    ,the     
chief reason for this is that1 the      
larger and more developed the  brain1   
and the thinner1 in relation to it1 the 
spine and nerves1 the  greater is the   
intellect2 and not the intellect alone1 
but at the same  time the mobility and  
pliancy of all the limbs2 because the   
brain  controls them more immediately   
and resolutely2 so that everything hangs
  more upon a single thread1 every      
movement of which gives a precise       
expression to its purpose4    ,this is  
analogous to1 nay1 is immediately       
connected with the fact that  the higher
 an animal stands in the scale of       
development1 the easier it  becomes to  
kill it by wounding a single spot4      

,take1 for example1  batrachia3 they are
 slow1 cumbrous and sluggish in their   
movements2 they  are unintelligent1 and1
 at the same time1 extremely tenacious  
of life2  the reason of which is that1  
with a very small brain1 their spine and
  nerves are very thick4 ,now gait and  
movement of the arms are mainly         
functions of the brain2 our limbs       
receive their motion and every little   
modification of it from the brain       
through the medium of the spine4        
,this is why conscious movements fatigue
 us3 the sensation of fatigue1  like    
that of pain1 has its seat in the brain1
 not1 as people commonly  suppose1 in   
the limbs themselves2 hence motion      
induces sleep4    ,on the other hand    
those motions which are not excited by  
the brain1 that  is1 the unconscious    
movements of organic life1 of the heart1
 of the  lungs1 etc41 go on in their    
course without producing fatigue4 ,and  
as  thought1 equally with motion1 is a  
function of the brain1 the character  of

 the brain's activity is expressed      
equally in both1 according to the       
constitution of the individual2 stupid  
people move like lay-figures1  while    
every joint of an intelligent man is    
eloquent4    ,but gesture and movement  
are not nearly so good an index of      
intellectual  qualities as the face1 the
 shape and size of the brain1 the       
contraction  and movement of the        
features1 and above all the eye1--from  
the small1  dull1 dead-looking eye of a 
pig up through all gradations to the    
irradiating1 flashing eyes of a genius4 
,the look of good sense and prudence1   
even of the best kind1 differs from     
that of genius1 in that the former bears
 the stamp of subjection to the  will1  
while the latter is free from it4       
,and therefore one can well believe the 
anecdote told by ,squarzafichi in  his  
life of ,petrarch1 and taken from       
,joseph ,brivius1 a contemporary of  the
 poet1 how once at the court of the     
,visconti1 when ,petrarch and other     

noblemen and gentlemen were present1    
,galeazzo ,visconti told his son1 who   
was then a mere boy 7he was afterwards  
first ,duke of ,milan71 to pick out  the
 wisest of the company2 how the boy     
looked at them all for a little1  and   
then took ,petrarch by the hand and led 
him up to his father1 to the  great     
admiration of all present4 ,for so      
clearly does nature set the mark  of her
 dignity on the privileged among mankind
 that even a child can  discern it4     
,therefore1 ,i should advise my         
sagacious countrymen1 if ever again they
  wish to trumpet about for thirty years
 a very commonplace person as a  great  
genius1 not to choose for the purpose   
such a beerhouse-keeper  physiognomy as 
was possessed by that philosopher1 upon 
whose face nature  had written1 in her  
clearest characters1 the familiar       
inscription1  commonplace person4       
,but what applies to intellectual       
capacity will not apply to moral        
qualities1 to character4 ,it is more    

difficult to discern its  physiognomy1  
because1 being of a metaphysical nature1
 it lies  incomparably deeper4    ,it is
 true that moral character is also      
connected with the constitution1  with  
the organism1 but not so immediately or 
in such direct connection  with definite
 parts of its system as is intellectual 
capacity4    ,hence while everyone makes
 a show of his intelligence and         
endeavors to  exhibit it at every       
opportunity1 as something with which he 
is in  general quite contented1 few     
expose their moral qualities freely1 and
  most people intentionally cover them  
up2 and long practice makes the         
concealment perfect4 ,in the meantime1  
as ,i explained above1 wicked  thoughts 
and worthless efforts gradually set     
their mask upon the face1  especially   
the eyes4 ,so that1 judging by          
physiognomy1 it is easy to  warrant that
 a given man will never produce an      
immortal work2 but not  that he will    
never commit a great crime4             

,,psychological ,,observations4         
,for every animal1 and more especially  
for man1 a certain conformity and       
proportion between the will and the     
intellect is necessary for existing  or 
making any progress in the world4 ,the  
more precise and correct the  proportion
 which nature establishes1 the more     
easy1 safe and agreeable  will be the   
passage through the world4 ,still1 if   
the right point is only  approximately  
reached1 it will be enough to ward off  
destruction4 ,there  are1 then1 certain 
limits within which the said proportion 
may vary1 and  yet preserve a correct   
standard of conformity4 ,the normal     
standard is as  follows4 ,the object of 
the intellect is to light and lead the  
will on  its path1 and therefore1 the   
greater the force1 impetus and passion1 
which spurs on the will from within1 the
 more complete and luminous must  be the
 intellect which is attached to it1 that
 the vehement strife of  the will1 the  
glow of passion1 and the intensity of   

the emotions1 may  not lead man astray1 
or urge him on to ill considered1 false 
or ruinous  action2 this will1          
inevitably1 be the result1 if the will  
is very  violent and the intellect very 
weak4 ,on the other hand1 a phlegmatic  
character1 a weak and languid will1 can 
get on and hold its own with a  small   
amount of intellect2 what is naturally  
moderate needs only  moderate support4  
,the general tendency of a want of      
proportion between  the will and the    
intellect1 in other words1 of any       
variation from the  normal proportion ,i
 have mentioned1 is to produce          
unhappiness1 whether  it be that the    
will is greater than the intellect1 or  
the intellect  greater than the will4   
,especially is this the case when the   
intellect is  developed to an abnormal  
degree of strength and superiority1 so  
as to be  out of all proportion to the  
will1 a condition which is the essence  
of  real genius2 the intellect is then  
not only more than enough for the  needs

 and aims of life1 it is absolutely     
prejudicial to them4 ,the result  is    
that1 in youth1 excessive energy in     
grasping the objective world1           
accompanied by a vivid imagination and a
 total lack of experience1 makes  the   
mind susceptible1 and an easy prey to   
extravagant ideas1 nay1 even  to        
chimeras2 and the result is an eccentric
 and phantastic character4  ,and when1  
in later years1 this state of mind      
yields and passes away  under the       
teaching of experience1 still the genius
 never feels himself  at home in the    
common world of every day and the       
ordinary business of  life2 he will     
never take his place in it1 and         
accommodate himself to it  as accurately
 as the person of moral intellect2 he   
will be much more  likely to make       
curious mistakes4 ,for the ordinary mind
 feels itself so  completely at home in 
the narrow circle of its ideas and views
 of the  world that no one can get the  
better of it in that sphere2 its        

faculties  remain true to their original
 purpose1 viz41 to promote the service  
of  the will2 it devotes itself         
steadfastly to this end1 and abjures    
extravagant aims4 ,the genius1 on the   
other hand1 is at bottom a  monstrum per
 excessum2 just as1 conversely1 the     
passionate1 violent  and unintelligent  
man1 the brainless barbarian1 is a      
monstrum per  defectum4           99    
99       99       99       99    ,the   
will to live1 which forms the inmost    
core of every living being1  exhibits   
itself most conspicuously in the higher 
order of animals1 that  is1 the cleverer
 ones2 and so in them the nature of the 
will may be seen  and examined most     
clearly4 ,for in the lower orders its   
activity is not  so evident2 it has a   
lower degree of objectivation2 whereas1 
in the  class which stands above the    
higher order of animals1 that is1 in    
men1  reason enters in2 and with reason 
comes discretion1 and with discretion1  
the capacity of dissimulation1 which    

throws a veil over the operations  of   
the will4 ,and in mankind1 consequently1
 the will appears without its  mask only
 in the affections and the passions4    
,and this is the reason why  passion1   
when it speaks1 always wins credence1 no
 matter what the  passion may be2 and   
rightly so4 ,for the same reason the    
passions are the  main theme of poets   
and the stalking horse of actors4 ,the  
conspicuousness of the will in the lower
 order of animals explains the  delight 
we take in dogs1 apes1 cats1 etc42 it is
 the entirely naive way  in which they  
express themselves that gives us so much
 pleasure4    ,the sight of any free    
animal going about its business         
undisturbed1  seeking its food1 or      
looking after its young1 or mixing in   
the company  of its kind1 all the time  
being exactly what it ought to be and   
can  be1--what a strange pleasure it    
gives us6 ,even if it is only a bird1 ,i
  can watch it for a long time with     
delight2 or a water rat or a hedgehog2  

or better still1 a weasel1 a deer1 or a 
stag4 ,the main reason why we  take so  
much pleasure in looking at animals is  
that we like to see our  own nature in  
such a simplified form4 ,there is only  
one mendacious being  in the world1 and 
that is man4 ,every other is true and   
sincere1 and  makes no attempt to       
conceal what it is1 expressing its      
feelings just as  they are4           99
       99       99       99       99    
,many things are put down to the force  
of habit which are rather to be         
attributed to the constancy and         
immutability of original1 innate        
character1 according to which under like
 circumstances we always do the  same   
thing3 whether it happens for the first 
or the hundredth time1 it  is in virtue 
of the same necessity4 ,real force of   
habit1 as a matter of  fact1 rests upon 
that indolent1 passive disposition which
 seeks to  relieve the intellect and the
 will of a fresh choice1 and so makes us
 do  what we did yesterday and have done

 a hundred times before1 and of which   
we know that it will attain its object4 
,but the truth of the matter lies       
deeper1 and a more precise explanation  
of it can be given than appears  at     
first sight4 ,bodies which may be moved 
by mechanical means only are  subject to
 the power of inertia2 and applied to   
bodies which may be  acted on by        
motives1 this power becomes the force of
 habit4 ,the actions  which we perform  
by mere habit come about1 in fact1      
without any  individual separate motive 
brought into play for the particular    
case3  hence1 in performing them1 we    
really do not think about them4 ,a      
motive  was present only on the first   
few occasions on which the action       
happened1 which has since become a      
habit3 the secondary after-effect of    
this motive is the present habit1 and it
 is sufficient to enable the  action to 
continue3 just as when a body had been  
set in motion by a  push1 it requires no
 more pushing in order to continue its  

motion2 it  will go on to all eternity1 
if it meets with no friction4 ,it is the
 same  in the case of animals3 training 
is a habit which is forced upon them4   
,the horse goes on drawing his cart     
quite contentedly1 without having to  be
 urged on3 the motion is the continued  
effect of those strokes of the  whip1   
which urged him on at first3 by the law 
of inertia they have  become perpetuated
 as habit4 ,all this is really more than
 a mere  parable3 it is the underlying  
identity of the will at very different  
degrees of its objectivation1 in virtue 
of which the same law of motion  takes  
such different forms4           99      
99       99       99       99    ,vive  
muchos aos is the ordinary greeting in  
,spain1 and all over the  earth it is   
quite customary to wish people a long   
life4 ,it is presumably  not a knowledge
 of life which directs such a wish2 it  
is rather  knowledge of what man is in  
his inmost nature1 the will to live4    
,the wish which everyone has that he may

 be remembered after his  death1--a wish
 which rises to the longing for         
posthumous glory in the  case of those  
whose aims are high1--seems to me to    
spring from this  clinging to life4     
,when the time comes which cuts a man   
off from every  possibility of real     
existence1 he strives after a life which
 is still  attainable1 even though it be
 a shadowy and ideal one4           99  
99       99       99       99    ,the   
deep grief we feel at the loss of a     
friend arises from the feeling  that in 
every individual there is something     
which no words can express1  something  
which is peculiarly his own and         
therefore irreparable4 ,omne  individuum
 ineffabile4           99       99      
99       99       99    ,we may come to 
look upon the death of our enemies and  
adversaries1 even  long after it has    
occurred1 with just as much regret as we
 feel for that  of our friends1 viz41   
when we miss them as witnesses of our   
brilliant  success4           99        

99       99       99       99    ,that  
the sudden announcement of a very happy 
event may easily prove  fatal rests upon
 the fact that happiness and misery     
depend merely on the  proportion which  
our claims bear to what we get4         
,accordingly1 the good  things we       
possess1 or are certain of getting1 are 
not felt to be such2  because all       
pleasure is in fact of a negative nature
 and effects the  relief of pain1 while 
pain or evil is what is really positive2
 it is the  object of immediate         
sensation4 ,with the possession or      
certain  expectation of good things our 
demands rises1 and increases our        
capacity  for further possession and    
larger expectations4 ,but if we are     
depressed  by continual misfortune1 and 
our claims reduced to a minimum1 the    
sudden  advent of happiness finds no    
capacity for enjoying it4 ,neutralized  
by an  absence of pre-existing claims1  
its effects are apparently positive1 and
  so its whole force is brought into    

play2 hence it may possibly break our   
feelings1 i4e41 be fatal to them4 ,and  
so1 as is well known1 one must  be      
careful in announcing great happiness4  
,first1 one must get the person  to hope
 for it1 then open up the prospect of   
it1 then communicate part  of it1 and at
 last make it fully known4 ,every       
portion of the good news  loses its     
efficacy1 because it is anticipated by a
 demand1 and room is  left for an       
increase in it4 ,in view of all this1 it
 may be said that our  stomach for good 
fortune is bottomless1 but the entrance 
to it is  narrow4 ,these remarks are not
 applicable to great misfortunes in the 
same way4 ,they are more seldom fatal1  
because hope always sets itself  against
 them4 ,that an analogous part is not   
played by fear in the case  of happiness
 results from the fact that we are      
instinctively more  inclined to hope    
than to fear2 just as our eyes turn of  
themselves  towards light rather than   
darkness4           99       99       99

       99       99    ,hope is the      
result of confusing the desire that     
something should take  place with the   
probability that it will4 ,perhaps no   
man is free from  this folly of the     
heart1 which deranges the intellect's   
correct  appreciation of probability to 
such an extent that1 if the chances are 
a  thousand to one against it1 yet the  
event is thought a likely one4 ,still   
in spite of this1 a sudden misfortune is
 like a death stroke1 whilst a  hope    
that is always disappointed and still   
never dies1 is like death by  prolonged 
torture4    ,he who has lost all hope   
has also lost all fear2 this is the     
meaning of  the expression desperate4   
,it is natural to a man to believe what 
he  wishes to be true1 and to believe it
 because he wishes it1 ,if this         
characteristic of our nature1 at once   
beneficial and assuaging1 is  rooted out
 by many hard blows of fate1 and a man  
comes1 conversely1 to a  condition in   
which he believes a thing must happen   

because he does not  wish it1 and what  
he wishes to happen can never be1 just  
because he  wishes it1 this is in       
reality the state described as          
desperation4           99       99      
99       99       99    ,that we are so 
often deceived in others is not because 
our judgment is  at fault1 but because  
in general1 as ,bacon says1 intellectus 
luminis  sicci non est1 sed recipit     
infusionem a voluntate et affectibus3   
that  is to say1 trifles unconsciously  
bias us for or against a person from    
the very beginning4 ,it may also be     
explained by our not abiding by the     
qualities which we really discover2 we  
go on to conclude the presence of       
others which we think inseparable from  
them1 or the absence of those  which we 
consider incompatible4 ,for instance1   
when we perceive  generosity1 we infer  
justice2 from piety1 we infer honesty2  
from lying1  deception2 from deception1 
stealing1 etc42 a procedure which opens 
the  door to many false views1 partly   

because human nature is so strange1     
partly because our standpoint is so     
one-sided4 ,it is true1 indeed1 that    
character always forms a consistent and 
connected whole2 but the roots  of all  
its qualities lie too deep to allow of  
our concluding from  particular data in 
a given case whether certain qualities  
can or cannot  exist together4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,we often happen to say things that may 
in some way or other be  prejudicial to 
us2 but we keep silent about things that
 might make us  look ridiculous2 because
 in this case effect follows very       
quickly on  cause4           99       99
       99       99       99    ,the pain
 of an unfulfilled wish is small in     
comparison with that of  repentance2 for
 the one stands in the presence of the  
vast open future1  whilst the other has 
the irrevocable past closed behind it4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,geduld1 patientia1 patience1 especially
 the ,spanish sufrimiento1 is  strongly 

connected with the notion of suffering4 
,it is therefore a  passive state1 just 
as the opposite is an active state of   
the mind1 with  which1 when great1      
patience is incompatible4 ,it is the    
innate virtue of  a phlegmatic1         
indolent1 and spiritless people1 as also
 of women4 ,but  that it is nevertheless
 so very useful and necessary is a sign 
that the  world is very badly           
constituted4           99       99      
99       99       99    ,money is human 
happiness in the abstract3 he1 then1 who
 is no longer  capable of enjoying human
 happiness in the concrete1 devotes his 
heart  entirely to money4           99  
99       99       99       99           
,obstinacy is the result of the will    
forcing itself into the place of the    
intellect4           99       99        
99       99       99    ,if you want to 
find out your real opinion of anyone1   
observe the  impression made upon you by
 the first sight of a letter from him4  
99       99       99       99       99  

,the course of our individual life and  
the events in it1 as far as their  true 
meaning and connection is concerned1 may
 be compared to a piece of  rough       
mosaic4 ,so long as you stand close in  
front of it1 you cannot get  a right    
view of the objects presented1 nor      
perceive their significance  or beauty4 
,both come in sight only when you stand 
a little way off4 ,and  in the same way 
you often understand the true connection
 of important  events in your life1 not 
while they are going on1 nor soon after 
they  are past1 but only a considerable 
time afterwards4    ,is this so1 because
 we require the magnifying effect of    
imagination8 or  because we can get a   
general view only from a distance8 or   
because the  school of experience makes 
our judgment ripe8 ,perhaps all of these
  together3 but it is certain that we   
often view in the right light the       
actions of others1 and occasionally even
 our own1 only after the lapse  of      
years4 ,and as it is in one's own life1 

so it is in history4    ,happy          
circumstances in life are like certain  
groups of trees4 ,seen from  a distance 
they look very well3 but go up to them  
and amongst them1 and  the beauty       
vanishes2 you don't know where it can   
be2 it is only trees  you see4 ,and so  
it is that we often envy the lot of     
others4           99       99       99  
99       99    ,the doctor sees all the 
weakness of mankind1 the lawyer all the 
wickedness1 the theologian all the      
stupidity4           99       99        
99       99       99    ,a person of    
phlegmatic disposition who is a         
blockhead1 would1 with a  sanguine      
nature1 be a fool4           99       99
       99       99       99    ,now and 
then one learns something1 but one      
forgets the whole day long4    ,moreover
 our memory is like a sieve1 the holes  
of which in time get  larger and larger3
 the older we get1 the quicker anything 
entrusted to  it slips from the memory1 
whereas1 what was fixed fast in it in   

early  days is there still4 ,the memory 
of an old man gets clearer and clearer1 
the further it goes back1 and less clear
 the nearer it approaches the  present  
time2 so that his memory1 like his eyes1
 becomes short-sighted4           99    
99       99       99       99    ,in the
 process of learning you may be         
apprehensive about bewildering and      
confusing the memory1 but not about     
overloading it1 in the strict sense  of 
the word4 ,the faculty for remembering  
is not diminished in proportion  to what
 one has learnt1 just as little as the  
number of moulds in which  you cast     
sand1 lessens its capacity for being    
cast in new moulds4 ,in  this sense the 
memory is bottomless4 ,and yet the      
greater and more  various any one's     
knowledge1 the longer he takes to find  
out anything  that may suddenly be asked
 him2 because he is like a shopkeeper   
who has  to get the article wanted from 
a large and multifarious store2 or1 more
  strictly speaking1 because out of many

 possible trains of thought he has  to  
recall exactly that one which1 as a     
result of previous training1  leads to  
the matter in question4 ,for the memory 
is not a repository of  things you wish 
to preserve1 but a mere dexterity of the
 intellectual  powers2 hence the mind   
always contains its sum of knowledge    
only  potentially1 never actually4      
,it sometimes happens that my memory    
will not reproduce some word in a       
foreign language1 or a name1 or some    
artistic expression1 although ,i  know  
it very well4 ,after ,i have bothered   
myself in vain about it for a  longer or
 a shorter time1 ,i give up thinking    
about it altogether4 ,an  hour or two   
afterwards1 in rare cases even later    
still1 sometimes only  after four or    
five weeks1 the word ,i was trying to   
recall occurs to me  while ,i am        
thinking of something else1 as suddenly 
as if some one had  whispered it to me4 
,after noticing this phenomenon with    
wonder for very  many years1 ,i have    

come to think that the probable         
explanation of it is  as follows4 ,after
 the troublesome and unsuccessful       
search1 my will  retains its craving to 
know the word1 and so sets a watch for  
it in the  intellect4 ,later on1 in the 
course and play of thought1 some word by
  chance occurs having the same initial 
letters or some other resemblance  to   
the word which is sought2 then the      
sentinel springs forward and  supplies  
what is wanting to make up the word1    
seizes it1 and suddenly  brings it up in
 triumph1 without my knowing where and  
how he got it2 so  it seems as if some  
one had whispered it to me4 ,it is the  
same process  as that adopted by a      
teacher towards a child who cannot      
repeat a word2  the teacher just        
suggests the first letter of the word1  
or even the  second too2 then the child 
remembers it4 ,in default of this       
process1 you  can end by going          
methodically through all the letters of 
the alphabet4    ,in the ordinary man1  

injustice rouses a passionate desire for
 vengeance2  and it has often been said 
that vengeance is sweet4 ,how many      
sacrifices  have been made just to enjoy
 the feeling of vengeance1 without any  
intention of causing an amount of injury
 equivalent to what one has  suffered4  
,the bitter death of the centaur ,nessus
 was sweetened by the  certainty that he
 had used his last moments to work out  
an extremely  clever vengeance4 ,walter 
,scott expresses the same human         
inclination in  language as true as it  
is strong3 ,vengeance is the sweetest   
morsel to  the mouth that ever was      
cooked in hell6 ,i shall now attempt a  
psychological explanation of it4        
,suffering which falls to our lot in the
 course of nature1 or by chance1  or    
fate1 does not1 ceteris paribus1 seem so
 painful as suffering which  is         
inflicted on us by the arbitrary will of
 another4 ,this is because we  look upon
 nature and chance as the fundamental   
masters of the world2 we  see that the  

blow we received from them might just as
 well have fallen  on another4 ,in the  
case of suffering which springs from    
this source1 we  bewail the common lot  
of humanity rather than our own         
misfortune4 ,but  that it is the        
arbitrary will of another which inflicts
 the suffering1  is a peculiarly bitter 
addition to the pain or injury it       
causes1 viz41  the consciousness that   
some one else is superior to us1 whether
 by force  or cunning1 while we lie     
helpless4 ,if amends are possible1      
amends heal  the injury2 but that bitter
 addition1 and it was you who did that  
to  me1 which is often more painful than
 the injury itself1 is only to be       
neutralized by vengeance4 ,by inflicting
 injury on the one who has  injured us1 
whether we do it by force or cunning1 is
 to show our  superiority to him1 and to
 annul the proof of his superiority to  
us4  ,that gives our hearts the         
satisfaction towards which it yearns4   
,so where  there is a great deal of     

pride and vanity1 there also will there 
be a  great desire of vengeance4 ,but as
 the fulfillment of every wish brings   
with it more or less of a sense of      
disappointment1 so it is with           
vengeance4 ,the delight we hope to get  
from it is mostly embittered by         
compassion4 ,vengeance taken will often 
tear the heart and torment the          
conscience3 the motive to it is no      
longer active1 and what remains is  the 
evidence of our malice4          ,,the  
,,christian ,,system4      ,when the    
,church says that1 in the dogmas of     
religion1 reason is totally  incompetent
 and blind1 and its use to be           
reprehended1 it is in reality  attesting
 the fact that these dogmas are         
allegorical in their nature1  and are   
not to be judged by the standard which  
reason1 taking all things  sensu        
proprio1 can alone apply4 ,now the      
absurdities of a dogma are  just the    
mark and sign of what is allegorical and
 mythical in it4 ,in the  case under    

consideration1 however1 the absurdities 
spring from the fact  that two such     
heterogeneous doctrines as those of the 
,old and ,new  ,testaments had to be    
combined4 ,the great allegory was of    
gradual growth4  ,suggested by external 
and adventitious circumstances1 it was  
developed  by the interpretation put    
upon them1 an interpretation in quiet   
touch  with certain deep-lying truths   
only half realized4 ,the allegory was   
finally completed by ,augustine1 who    
penetrated deepest into its meaning1    
and so was able to conceive it as a     
systematic whole and supply its         
defects4 ,hence the ,augustinian        
doctrine1 confirmed by ,luther1 is the  
complete form of ,christianity2 and the 
,protestants of to-day1 who take        
,revelation sensu proprio and confine it
 to a single individual1 are in  error  
in looking upon the first beginnings of 
,christianity as its most  perfect      
expression4 ,but the bad thing about all
 religions is that1  instead of being   

able to confess their allegorical       
nature1 they have to  conceal it2       
accordingly1 they parade their doctrine 
in all seriousness  as true sensu       
proprio1 and as absurdities form an     
essential part of  these doctrines1 you 
have the great mischief of a continual  
fraud4 ,and1  what is worse1 the day    
arrives when they are no longer true    
sensu  proprio1 and then there is an end
 of them2 so that1 in that respect1 it  
would be better to admit their          
allegorical nature at once4 ,but the    
difficulty is to teach the multitude    
that something can be both true and     
untrue at the same time4 ,and as all    
religions are in a greater or less      
degree of this nature1 we must recognize
 the fact that mankind cannot  get on   
without a certain amount of absurdity1  
that absurdity is an  element in its    
existence1 and illusion indispensable2  
as indeed other  aspects of life        
testify4 ,i have said that the          
combination of the ,old  ,testament with

 the ,new gives rise to absurdities4    
,among the examples  which illustrate   
what ,i mean1 ,i may cite the ,christian
 doctrine of  ,predestination and       
,grace1 as formulated by ,augustine and 
adopted from  him by ,luther2 according 
to which one man is endowed with grace  
and  another is not4 ,grace1 then1 comes
 to be a privilege received at birth    
and brought ready into the world2 a     
privilege1 too1 in a matter second  to  
none in importance4 ,what is obnoxious  
and absurd in this doctrine may  be     
traced to the idea contained in the ,old
 ,testament1 that man is the  creation  
of an external will1 which called him   
into existence out of  nothing4 ,it is  
quite true that genuine moral excellence
 is really  innate2 but the meaning of  
the ,christian doctrine is expressed in 
another and more rational way by the    
theory of metempsychosis1 common to     
,brahmans and ,buddhists4 ,according to 
this theory1 the qualities which        
distinguish one man from another are    

received at birth1 are brought1  that is
 to say1 from another world and a former
 life2 these qualities  are not an      
external gift of grace1 but are the     
fruits of the acts  committed in that   
other world4 ,but ,augustine's dogma of 
,predestination  is connected with      
another dogma1 namely1 that the mass of 
humanity is  corrupt and doomed to      
eternal damnation1 that very few will be
 found  righteous and attain salvation1 
and that only in consequence of the gift
  of grace1 and because they are        
predestined to be saved2 whilst the     
remainder will be overwhelmed by the    
perdition they have deserved1 viz41     
eternal torment in hell4 ,taken in its  
ordinary meaning1 the dogma is          
revolting1 for it comes to this3 it     
condemns a man1 who may be1 perhaps1    
scarcely twenty years of age1 to expiate
 his errors1 or even his  unbelief1 in  
everlasting torment2 nay1 more1 it makes
 this almost  universal damnation the   
natural effect of original sin1 and     

therefore  the necessary consequence of 
the ,fall4 ,this is a result which must 
have  been foreseen by him who made     
mankind1 and who1 in the first place1   
made  them not better than they are1 and
 secondly1 set a trap for them into     
which he must have known they would     
fall2 for he made the whole world1  and 
nothing is hidden from him4 ,according  
to this doctrine1 then1 ,god  created   
out of nothing a weak race prone to sin1
 in order to give them  over to endless 
torment4 ,and1 as a last characteristic1
 we are told that  this ,god1 who       
prescribes forbearance and forgiveness  
of every fault1  exercises none himself1
 but does the exact opposite2 for a     
punishment  which comes at the end of   
all things1 when the world is over and  
done  with1 cannot have for its object  
either to improve or deter1 and is      
therefore pure vengeance4 ,so that1 on  
this view1 the whole race is  actually  
destined to eternal torture and         
damnation1 and created  expressly for   

this end1 the only exception being those
 few persons who  are rescued by        
election of grace1 from what motive one 
does not know4    ,putting these aside1 
it looks as if the ,blessed ,lord had   
created the  world for the benefit of   
the devil6 it would have been so much   
better  not to have made it at all4 ,so 
much1 then1 for a dogma taken sensu     
proprio4 ,but look at it sensu          
allegorico1 and the whole matter        
becomes capable of a satisfactory       
interpretation4 ,what is absurd and     
revolting in this dogma is1 in the main1
 as ,i said1 the simple outcome  of     
,jewish theism1 with its creation out of
 nothing1 and really foolish  and       
paradoxical denial of the doctrine of   
metempsychosis which is  involved in    
that idea1 a doctrine which is natural1 
to a certain extent  self-evident1 and1 
with the exception of the ,jews1        
accepted by nearly  the whole human race
 at all times4 ,to remove the enormous  
evil arising  from ,augustine's dogma1  

and to modify its revolting nature1     
,pope ,gregory  ,i41 in the sixth       
century1 very prudently matured the     
doctrine of  ,purgatory1 the essence of 
which already existed in ,origen 7cf4   
,bayle's  article on ,origen1 note ,b474
 ,the doctrine was regularly            
incorporated  into the faith of the     
,church1 so that the original view was  
much  modified1 and a certain substitute
 provided for the doctrine of           
metempsychosis2 for both the one and the
 other admit a process of  purification4
 ,to the same end1 the doctrine of the  
,restoration of all  things ,greek3     
apokatastasis was established1 according
 to which1 in  the last act of the      
,human ,comedy1 the sinners one and all 
will be  reinstated in integrum4 ,it is 
only ,protestants1 with their obstinate 
belief in the ,bible1 who cannot be     
induced to give up eternal punishment   
in hell4 ,if one were spiteful1 one     
might say1 much good may it do  them1   
but it is consoling to think that they  

really do not believe the  doctrine2    
they leave it alone1 thinking in their  
hearts1 ,it can't be so  bad as all     
that4    ,the rigid and systematic      
character of his mind led ,augustine1 in
 his  austere dogmatism and his resolute
 definition of doctrines only just      
indicated in the ,bible and1 as a matter
 of fact1 resting on very vague         
grounds1 to give hard outlines to these 
doctrines and to put a harsh            
construction on ,christianity3 the      
result of which is that his views       
offend us1 and just as in his day       
,pelagianism arose to combat them1 so   
now in our day ,rationalism does the    
same4 ,take1 for example1 the case as   
he states it generally in the ,de       
,civitate ,dei1 ,bk4 xii4 ch4 #ba4 ,it  
comes to this3 ,god creates a being out 
of nothing1 forbids him some  things1   
and enjoins others upon him2 and because
 these commands are not  obeyed1 he     
tortures him to all eternity with every 
conceivable anguish2  and for this      

purpose1 binds soul and body inseparably
 together1 so that1  instead1 of the    
torment destroying this being by        
splitting him up into  his elements1 and
 so setting him free1 he may live to    
eternal pain4 ,this  poor creature1     
formed out of nothing6 ,at least1 he has
 a claim on his  original nothing3 he   
should be assured1 as a matter of right1
 of this  last retreat1 which1 in any   
case1 cannot be a very evil one3 it is  
what  he has inherited4 ,i1 at any rate1
 cannot help sympathizing with him4 ,if 
you add to this ,augustine's remaining  
doctrines1 that all this does not       
depend on the man's own sins and        
omissions1 but was already predestined  
to happen1 one really is at a loss what 
to think4 ,our highly educated          
,rationalists say1 to be sure1 ,it's all
 false1 it's a mere bugbear2  we're in a
 state of constant progress1 step by    
step raising ourselves to  ever greater 
perfection4 ,ah6 what a pity we didn't  
begin sooner2 we  should already have   

been there4    ,in the ,christian system
 the devil is a personage of the        
greatest  importance4 ,god is described 
as absolutely good1 wise and powerful2  
and  unless he were counterbalanced by  
the devil1 it would be impossible to    
see where the innumerable and           
measureless evils1 which predominate in 
the world1 come from1 if there were no  
devil to account for them4 ,and  since  
the ,rationalists have done away with   
the devil1 the damage  inflicted on the 
other side has gone on growing1 and is  
becoming more  and more palpable2 as    
might have been foreseen1 and was       
foreseen1 by the  orthodox4 ,the fact   
is1 you cannot take away one pillar from
 a building  without endangering the    
rest of it4 ,and this confirms the view1
 which  has been established on other   
grounds1 that ,jehovah is a             
transformation  of ,ormuzd1 and ,satan  
of the ,ahriman who must be taken in    
connection with  him4 ,ormuzd himself is
 a transformation of ,indra4            

,christianity has this peculiar         
disadvantage1 that1 unlike other        
religions1 it is not a pure system of   
doctrine3 its chief and essential       
feature is that it is a history1 a      
series of events1 a collection of       
facts1 a statement of the actions and   
sufferings of individuals3 it is  this  
history which constitutes dogma1 and    
belief in it is salvation4  ,other      
religions1 ,buddhism1 for instance1     
have1 it is true1 historical            
appendages1 the life1 namely1 of their  
founders3 this1 however1 is not  part   
and parcel of the dogma but is taken    
along with it4 ,for example1  the       
,lalitavistara may be compared with the 
,gospel so far as it contains  the life 
of ,sakya-muni1 the ,buddha of the      
present period of the world's  history3 
but this is something which is quite    
separate and different  from the dogma1 
from the system itself3 and for this    
reason2 the lives  of former ,buddhas   
were quite other1 and those of the      

future will be  quite other1 than the   
life of the ,buddha of to-day4 ,the     
dogma is by no  means one with the      
career of its founder2 it does not rest 
on individual  persons or events2 it is 
something universal and equally valid at
 all  times4 ,the ,lalitavistara is not1
 then1 a gospel in the ,christian sense 
of the word2 it is not the joyful       
message of an act of redemption2 it is  
the career of him who has shown how each
 one may redeem himself4 ,the           
historical constitution of ,christianity
 makes the ,chinese laugh at            
missionaries as story-tellers4    ,i may
 mention here another fundamental error 
of ,christianity1 an error  which cannot
 be explained away1 and the mischievous 
consequences of  which are obvious every
 day3 ,i mean the unnatural distinction 
,christianity makes between man and the 
animal world to which he really         
belongs4 ,it sets up man as             
all-important1 and looks upon animals as
  merely things4 ,brahmanism and        

,buddhism1 on the other hand1 true to   
the  facts1 recognize in a positive way 
that man is related generally to the    
whole of nature1 and specially and      
principally to animal nature2 and in    
their systems man is always represented 
by the theory of metempsychosis  and    
otherwise1 as closely connected with the
 animal world4 ,the important  part     
played by animals all through ,buddhism 
and ,brahmanism1 compared  with the     
total disregard of them in ,judaism and 
,christianity1 puts an  end to any      
question as to which system is nearer   
perfection1 however  much we in ,europe 
may have become accustomed to the       
absurdity of the  claim4 ,christianity  
contains1 in fact1 a great and essential
  imperfection in limiting its precepts 
to man1 and in refusing rights to  the  
entire animal world4 ,as religion fails 
to protect animals against  the rough1  
unfeeling and often more than bestial   
multitude1 the duty  falls to the       
police2 and as the police are unequal to

 the task1  societies for the protection
 of animals are now formed all over     
,europe  and ,america4 ,in the whole of 
uncircumcised ,asia1 such a procedure   
would  be the most superfluous thing in 
the world1 because animals are there    
sufficiently protected by religion1     
which even makes them objects of        
charity4 ,how such charitable feelings  
bear fruit may be seen1 to take an      
example1 in the great hospital for      
animals at ,surat1 whither ,christians1 
,mohammedans and ,jews can send their   
sick beasts1 which1 if cured1 are  very 
rightly not restored to their owners4   
,in the same way when a  ,brahman or a  
,buddhist has a slice of good luck1 a   
happy issue in any  affair1 instead of  
mumbling a ,te ,deum1 he goes to the    
market-place and  buys birds and opens  
their cages at the city gate2 a thing   
which may be  frequently seen in        
,astrachan1 where the adherents of every
 religion meet  together3 and so on in a
 hundred similar ways4 ,on the other    

hand1 look  at the revolting ruffianism 
with which our ,christian public treats 
its  animals2 killing them for no object
 at all1 and laughing over it1 or       
mutilating or torturing them3 even its  
horses1 who form its most direct  means 
of livelihood1 are strained to the      
utmost in their old age1 and  the last  
strength worked out of their poor bones 
until they succumb at  last under the   
whip4 ,one might say with truth1        
,mankind are the devils of  the earth1  
and the animals the souls they torment4 
,but what can you  expect from the      
masses1 when there are men of education1
 zoologists  even1 who1 instead of      
admitting what is so familiar to them1  
the  essential identity of man and      
animal1 are bigoted and stupid enough to
  offer a zealous opposition to their   
honest and rational colleagues1 when    
they class man under the proper head as 
an animal1 or demonstrate the           
resemblance between him and the         
chimpanzee or ourang-outang4 ,it is a   

revolting thing that a writer who is so 
pious and ,christian in his  sentiments 
as ,jung ,stilling should use a simile  
like this1 in his  ,scenen aus dem      
,geisterreich4 7,bk4 ,,ii4 sc4 i41 p4   
#ae47 ,suddenly the  skeleton shriveled 
up into an indescribably hideous and    
dwarf-like form1  just as when you bring
 a large spider into the focus of a     
burning glass1  and watch the purulent  
blood hiss and bubble in the heat4 ,this
 man of  ,god then was guilty of such   
infamy6 or looked on quietly when       
another  was committing it6 in either   
case it comes to the same thing here4   
,so  little harm did he think of it that
 he tells us of it in passing1 and      
without a trace of emotion4 ,such are   
the effects of the first chapter of     
,genesis1 and1 in fact1 of the whole of 
the ,jewish conception of nature4  ,the 
standard recognized by the ,hindus and  
,buddhists is the ,mahavakya  7the great
 word71--tat-twam-asi 7this is thyself71
 which may always be  spoken of every   

animal1 to keep us in mind of the       
identity of his inmost  being with ours4
 ,perfection of morality1 indeed6       
,nonsense4    ,the fundamental          
characteristics of the ,jewish religion 
are realism and  optimism1 views of the 
world which are closely allied2 they    
form1 in  fact1 the conditions of       
theism4 ,for theism looks upon the      
material world  as absolutely real1 and 
regards life as a pleasant gift bestowed
 upon  us4 ,on the other hand1 the      
fundamental characteristics of the      
,brahman  and ,buddhist religions are   
idealism and pessimism1 which look upon 
the  existence of the world as in the   
nature of a dream1 and life as the      
result of our sins4 ,in the doctrines of
 the ,zendavesta1 from which1 as  is    
well known1 ,judaism sprang1 the        
pessimistic element is represented by   
,ahriman4 ,in ,judaism1 ,ahriman has as 
,satan only a subordinate position2     
but1 like ,ahriman1 he is the lord of   
snakes1 scorpions1 and vermin4 ,but  the

 ,jewish system forthwith employs ,satan
 to correct its fundamental  error of   
optimism1 and in the ,fall introduces   
the element of  pessimism1 a doctrine   
demanded by the most obvious facts of   
the world4  ,there is no truer idea in  
,judaism than this1 although it         
transfers to  the course of existence   
what must be represented as its         
foundation and  antecedent4    ,the ,new
 ,testament1 on the other hand1 must be 
in some way traceable to  an ,indian    
source3 its ethical system1 its ascetic 
view of morality1 its  pessimism1 and   
its ,avatar1 are all thoroughly ,indian4
 ,it is its morality  which places it in
 a position of such emphatic and        
essential antagonism  to the ,old       
,testament1 so that the story of the    
,fall is the only possible  point of    
connection between the two4 ,for when   
the ,indian doctrine was  imported into 
the land of promise1 two very different 
things had to be  combined3 on the one  
hand the consciousness of the corruption

 and misery  of the world1 its need of  
deliverance and salvation through an    
,avatar1  together with a morality based
 on self-denial and repentance2 on the  
other hand the ,jewish doctrine of      
,monotheism1 with its corollary that    
all things are very good ,greek3 panta  
kala lian4 ,and the task  succeeded as  
far as it could1 as far1 that is1 as it 
was possible to  combine two such       
heterogeneous and antagonistic creeds4  
,as ivy clings for the support and stay 
it wants to a rough-hewn post1          
everywhere conforming to its            
irregularities and showing their        
outline1  but at the same time covering 
them with life and grace1 and changing  
the  former aspect into one that is     
pleasing to the eye2 so the ,christian  
faith1 sprung from the wisdom of ,india1
 overspreads the old trunk of  rude     
,judaism1 a tree of alien growth2 the   
original form must in part  remain1 but 
it suffers a complete change and becomes
 full of life and  truth1 so that it    

appears to be the same tree1 but is     
really another4    ,judaism had         
presented the ,creator as separated from
 the world1 which he  produced out of   
nothing4 ,christianity identifies this  
,creator with the  ,saviour1 and through
 him1 with humanity3 he stands as their 
representative2 they are redeemed in    
him1 just as they fell in ,adam1 and    
have lain ever since in the bonds of    
iniquity1 corruption1 suffering and     
death4 ,such is the view taken by       
,christianity in common with ,buddhism2 
the world can no longer be looked at in 
the light of ,jewish optimism1  which   
found all things very good3 nay1 in the 
,christian scheme1 the  devil is named  
as its ,prince or ,ruler 7,greek3 ho    
archon tou  kosmoutoutou4 ,john #ab1    
#cc74 ,the world is no longer an end1   
but a means3  and the realm of          
everlasting joy lies beyond it and the  
grave4  ,resignation in this world and  
direction of all our hopes to a better1 
form the spirit of ,christianity4 ,the  

way to this end is opened by the        
,atonement1 that is the ,redemption from
 this world and its ways4 ,and in  the  
moral system1 instead of the law of     
vengeance1 there is the command  to love
 your enemy2 instead of the promise of  
innumerable posterity1 the  assurance of
 eternal life2 instead of visiting the  
sins of the fathers  upon the children  
to the third and fourth generations1 the
 ,holy ,spirit  governs and overshadows 
all4    ,we see1 then1 that the         
doctrines of the ,old ,testament are    
rectified and  their meaning changed by 
those of the ,new1 so that1 in the most 
important and essential matters1 an     
agreement is brought about between  them
 and the old religions of ,india4       
,everything which is true in            
,christianity may also be found in      
,brahmanism and ,buddhism4 ,but in      
,hinduism and ,buddhism you will look in
 vain for any parallel to the  ,jewish  
doctrines of a nothing quickened into   
life1 or of a world made  in time1 which

 cannot be humble enough in its thanks  
and praises to  ,jehovah for an         
ephemeral existence full of misery1     
anguish and need4    ,whoever seriously 
thinks that superhuman beings have ever 
given our race  information as to the   
aim of its existence and that of the    
world1 is  still in his childhood4      
,there is no other revelation than the  
thoughts  of the wise1 even though these
 thoughts1 liable to error as is the lot
  of everything human1 are often clothed
 in strange allegories and myths  under 
the name of religion4 ,so far1 then1 it 
is a matter of indifference  whether a  
man lives and dies in reliance on his   
own or another's  thoughts2 for it is   
never more than human thought1 human    
opinion1 which  he trusts4 ,still1      
instead of trusting what their own minds
 tell them1  men have as a rule a       
weakness for trusting others who pretend
 to  supernatural sources of knowledge4 
,and in view of the enormous            
intellectual inequality between man and 

man1 it is easy to see that the         
thoughts of one mind might appear as in 
some sense a revelation to  another4