,,the ,,existence ,,of ,,god            
,,introduction    ,an ancestor of the   
,french divine who under the name of    
,fenelon has made for himself a         
household name in ,england as in        
,france1 was ,bertrand de ,salignac1    
,marquis de la ,mothe ,fenelon1 who in  
#aegb1 as ambassador for ,france1 was   
charged to soften as much as he could   
the resentment of our ,queen ,elizabeth 
when news came of the massacre of ,st4  
,bartholomew4  ,our ,fenelon1 claimed in
 brotherhood by ,christians of every    
denomination1 was born nearly eighty    
years after that time1 at the chateau of
 ,fenelon in ,perigord1 on the #fth of  
,august1 #afea4 ,to the world he is     
,fenelon2 he was ,francois de ,salignac 
de la ,mothe ,fenelon to the ,france of 
his own time4  ,fenelon was taught at   
home until the age of twelve1 then sent 
to the ,university of ,cahors1 where he 
began studies that were continued at    
,paris in the ,college du ,plessis4     
,there he fastened upon theology1 and   

there he preached1 at the age of        
fifteen1 his first sermon4  ,he entered 
next into the seminary of ,saint        
,sulpice1 where he took holy orders in  
the year #afge1 at the age of           
twenty-four4  ,as a priest1 while true  
to his own ,church1 he fastened on      
,faith1 ,hope1 and ,charity as the      
abiding forces of religion1 and for him 
also the greatest of these was ,charity4
  ,during the next three years of his   
life ,fenelon was among the young       
priests who preached and catechised in  
the church of ,st4 ,sulpice and laboured
 in the parish4  ,he wrote for ,st4     
,sulpice ,litanies of the ,infant       
,jesus1 and had thought of going out as 
missionary to the ,levant4  ,the        
,archbishop of ,paris1 however1 placed  
him at the head of a community of ,new  
,catholics1 whose function was to       
confirm new converts in their faith1 and
 help to bring into the fold those who  
appeared willing to enter4  ,fenelon    
took part also in some of the           

,conferences on ,scripture that were    
held at ,saint ,germain and ,versailles 
between #afgb and #afhe4  ,in #afha an  
uncle1 who was ,bishop of ,sarlat1      
resigned in ,fenelon's favour the       
,deanery of ,carenas1 which produced an 
annual income of three or four thousand 
livres4 ,it was while he held this      
office that ,fenelon published a book on
 the ,education of ,girls1 at the       
request of the ,duchess of              
,beauvilliers1 who asked for guidance in
 the education of her children4         
,fenelon sought the friendship of       
,bossuet1 who revised for him his next  
book1 a ,refutation of the ,system of   
,malebranche concerning ,nature and     
,grace4  ,his next book1 written just   
before the ,revocation of the ,edict of 
,nantes in #afhe1 opposed the lawfulness
 of the ministrations of the ,protestant
 clergy2 and after the ,edict1 ,fenelon 
was1 on the recommendation of ,bossuet1 
placed at the head of the ,catholic     
mission to ,poitou4  ,he brought to his 

work of conversion or re-conversion     
,charity1 and a spirit of concession    
that brought on him the attacks of men  
unlike in temper4  ,when ,louis ,,xiv4  
placed his grandson1 the young ,duke of 
,burgundy1 under the care of the ,duke  
of ,beauvilliers1 the ,duke of          
,beauvilliers chose ,fenelon for teacher
 of the pupil who was heir presumptive  
to the throne4  ,fenelon's ,fables were 
written as part of his educational work4
  ,he wrote also for the young ,duke of 
,burgundy his ,telemaque--used only in  
,,ms4--and his ,dialogues of the ,dead4 
,while thus living in high favour at    
,court1 ,fenelon sought nothing for     
himself or his friends1 although at     
times he was even in want of money4  ,in
 #afic--;as preceptor of a royal prince 
rather than as author--,fenelon was     
received into the ,french ,academy4  ,in
 #afid ,fenelon was made ,abbot of      
,saint-,valery1 and at the end of that  
year he wrote an anonymous letter to    
,louis ,,xiv4 upon wrongful wars and    

other faults committed in his reign4  ,a
 copy of it has been found in ,fenelon's
 handwriting4  ,the king may not have   
read it1 or may not have identified the 
author1 who was not stayed by it from   
promotion in ,february of the next year 
7#afie7 to the ,archbishopric of        
,cambray4 ,he objected that the holding 
of this office was inconsistent with his
 duties as preceptor of the ,king's     
grandchildren4  ,louis replied that he  
could live at ,court only for three     
months in the year1 and during the other
 nine direct the studies of his pupils  
from ,cambray4  ,bossuet took part in   
the consecration of his friend ,fenelon 
as ,archbishop of ,cambray2 but after a 
time division of opinion arose4 ,jeanne 
,marie ,bouvier de la ,mothe ,guyon     
became in #afgf a widow at the age of   
twenty-eight1 with three children1 for  
whose maintenance she gave up part of   
her fortune1 and she then devoted       
herself to the practice and the         
preaching of a spiritual separation of  

the soul from earthly cares1 and rest in
 ,god4  ,she said with ,galahad1 ,if ,i 
lose myself1 ,i save myself4  ,her      
enthusiasm for a pure ideal1 joined to  
her eloquence1 affected many minds4  ,it
 provoked opposition in the ,church and 
in the ,court1 which was for the most   
part gross and self-seeking4  ,madame   
,guyon was attacked1 even imprisoned4   
,fenelon felt the charm of her spiritual
 aspiration1 and1 without accepting its 
form1 was her defender4  ,bossuet       
attacked her views4  ,fenelon published 
,maxims of the ,saints on the ,interior 
,life4  ,bossuet wrote on ,the ,states  
of ,prayer4  ,these were the rival books
 in a controversy about what was called 
,quietism4 ,bossuet afterwards wrote a  
,relation sur le ,quietisme1 of which   
,fenelon's copy1 charged with his own   
marginal comments1 is in the ,british   
,museum4  ,in ,march1 #afii1 the ,pope  
finally decided against ,fenelon1 and   
condemned his ,maxims of the ,saints4   
,fenelon read from his pulpit the brief 

of condemnation1 accepted the decision  
of the ,pope1 and presented to his      
church a piece of gold plate1 on which  
the ,angel of ,truth was represented    
trampling many errors under foot1 and   
among them his own ,maxims of the       
,saints4  ,at ,court1 ,fenelon was out  
of favour4  ,telemaque1 written for the 
young ,duke of ,burgundy1 had not been  
published2 but a copy having been       
obtained through a servant1 it was      
printed1 and its ideal of a true king   
and a true ,court was so unlike his     
,majesty ,louis ,,xiv4 and the ,court of
 ,france1 and the image of what ought   
not to be was so like what was1 that it 
was resented as a libel4  ,telemaque was
 publicly condemned2 ,fenelon was       
banished from ,court1 and restrained    
within the limits of his diocese4       
,though separated from his pupil1 the   
young ,duke of ,burgundy 7who died in   
#agab71 ,fenelon retained his pupil's   
warm affection4  ,the last years of his 
own life ,fenelon gave to his work in   

,cambray1 until his death on the #gth of
 ,january1 #agae4 ,he wrote many works1 
of which this is one1 and they have been
 collected into twenty volumes4  ,the   
translation here given was anonymous1   
and was first published in the year     
#agac4  ,h4 ,m4    ,,the ,,existence    
,,of ,,god    ,,section ,i4             
,metaphysical ,proofs of the ,existence 
of ,god are not within ,everybody's     
reach4   ,i cannot open my eyes without 
admiring the art that shines throughout 
all nature2 the least cast suffices to  
make me perceive the ,hand that makes   
everything4  ,men accustomed to meditate
 upon metaphysical truths1 and to trace 
up things to their first principles1 may
 know the ,deity by its idea2 and ,i own
 that is a sure way to arrive at the    
source of all truth4 ,but the more      
direct and short that way is1 the more  
difficult and unpassable it is for the  
generality of mankind who depend on     
their senses and imagination4  ,an ideal
 demonstration is so simple1 that       

through its very simplicity it escapes  
those minds that are incapable of       
operations purely intellectual4  ,in    
short1 the more perfect is the way to   
find the ,first ,being1 the fewer men   
there are that are capable to follow it4
   ,,sect4  ,,ii4  ,moral ,proofs of the
 ,existence of ,god are fitted to every 
man's capacity4   ,but there is a less  
perfect way1 level to the meanest       
capacity4  ,men the least exercised in  
reasoning1 and the most tenacious of the
 prejudices of the senses1 may yet with 
one look discover ,him who has drawn    
,himself in all ,his works4  ,the wisdom
 and power ,he has stamped upon         
everything ,he has made are seen1 as it 
were1 in a glass by those that cannot   
contemplate ,him in ,his own idea4      
,this is a sensible and popular         
philosophy1 of which any man free from  
passion and prejudice is capable4       
,humana autem anima rationalis est1 quae
 mortalibus peccati poena tenebatur1 ad 
hoc diminutionis redacta ut per         

conjecturas rerum visibilium ad         
intelligenda invisibilia niteretur2 that
 is1 ,the human soul is still rational1 
but in such a manner that1 being by the 
punishment of sin detained in the bonds 
of death1 it is so far reduced that it  
can only endeavour to arrive at the     
knowledge of things invisible through   
the visible4   ,,sect4  ,,iii4  ,why so 
few ,persons are attentive to the       
,proofs ,nature affords of the          
,existence of ,god4   ,if a great number
 of men of subtle and penetrating wit   
have not discovered ,god with one cast  
of the eye upon nature1 it is not matter
 of wonder2 for either the passions they
 have been tossed by have still rendered
 them incapable of any fixed reflection1
 or the false prejudices that result    
from passions have1 like a thick cloud1 
interposed between their eyes and that  
noble spectacle4  ,a man deeply         
concerned in an affair of great         
importance1 that should take up all the 
attention of his mind1 might pass       

several days in a room treating about   
his concerns without taking notice of   
the proportions of the chamber1 the     
ornaments of the chimney1 and the       
pictures about him1 all which objects   
would continually be before his eyes1   
and yet none of them make any impression
 upon him4  ,in this manner it is that  
men spend their lives2 everything offers
 ,god to their sight1 and yet they see  
it nowhere4  ,he was in the world1 and  
the world was made by ,him1 and         
nevertheless the world did not know     
,him--,in mundo erat1 et mundus per     
ipsum factus est1 et mundus eum non     
cognovit4  ,they pass away their lives  
without perceiving that sensible        
representation of the ,deity4  ,such is 
the fascination of worldly trifles that 
obscures their eyes6  ,fascinatio       
nugacitatis obscurat bona4  ,nay1       
oftentimes they will not so much as open
 them1 but rather affect to keep them   
shut1 lest they should find ,him they do
 not look for4  ,in short1 what ought to

 help most to open their eyes serves    
only to close them faster2 ,i mean the  
constant duration and regularity of the 
motions which the ,supreme ,wisdom has  
put in the universe4  ,st4 ,austin tells
 us those great wonders have been       
debased by being constantly renewed2 and
 ,tully speaks exactly in the same      
manner4  ,by seeing every day the same  
things1 the mind grows familiar with    
them as well as the eyes4  ,it neither  
admires nor inquires into the causes of 
effects that are ever seen to happen in 
the same manner1 as if it were the      
novelty1 and not the importance of the  
thing itself1 that should excite us to  
such an inquiry4  ,sed assiduitate      
quotidiana et consuetudine oculorum     
assuescunt animi1 neque admirantur neque
 requirunt rationes earum rerum1 quas   
semper vident1 perinde quasi novit as   
nos magis quam magnitudo rerum debeat ad
 exquirendas causas excitare4   ,,sect4 
,,iv4  ,all ,nature shows the ,existence
 of its ,maker4   ,but1 after all1 whole

 nature shows the infinite art of its   
,maker4 ,when ,i speak of an art1 ,i    
mean a collection of proper means chosen
 on purpose to arrive at a certain end2 
or1 if you please1 it is an order1 a    
method1 an industry1 or a set design4   
,chance1 on the contrary1 is a blind and
 necessary cause1 which neither sets in 
order nor chooses anything1 and which   
has neither will nor understanding4     
,now ,i maintain that the universe bears
 the character and stamp of a cause     
infinitely powerful and industrious2    
and1 at the same time1 that chance 7that
 is1 the blind and fortuitous concourse 
of causes necessary and void of reason7 
cannot have formed this universe4  ,to  
this purpose it is not amiss to call to 
mind the celebrated comparisons of the  
ancients4   ,,sect4  ,v4  ,noble        
,comparisons proving that ,nature shows 
the ,existence of its ,maker4  ,first   
,comparison1 drawn from ,homer's ,iliad4
   ,who will believe that so perfect a  
poem as ,homer's ,iliad was not the     

product of the genius of a great poet1  
and that the letters of the alphabet1   
being confusedly jumbled and mixed1 were
 by chance1 as it were by the cast of a 
pair of dice1 brought together in such  
an order as is necessary to describe1 in
 verses full of harmony and variety1 so 
many great events2 to place and connect 
them so well together2 to paint every   
object with all its most graceful1 most 
noble1 and most affecting attendants2 in
 short1 to make every person speak      
according to his character in so natural
 and so forcible a manner8  ,let people 
argue and subtilise upon the matter as  
much as they please1 yet they never will
 persuade a man of sense that the ,iliad
 was the mere result of chance4  ,cicero
 said the same in relation to ,ennius's 
,annals2 adding that chance could never 
make one single verse1 much less a whole
 poem4  ,how then can a man of sense be 
induced to believe1 with respect to the 
universe1 a work beyond contradiction   
more wonderful than the ,iliad1 what his

 reason will never suffer him to believe
 in relation to that poem8 ,let us      
attend another comparison1 which we owe 
to ,st4 ,gregory ,nazianzenus4   ,,sect4
  ,,vi4  ,second ,comparison1 drawn from
 the ,sound of ,instruments4   ,if we   
heard in a room1 from behind a curtain1 
a soft and harmonious instrument1 should
 we believe that chance1 without the    
help of any human hand1 could have      
formed such an instrument8  ,should we  
say that the strings of a violin1 for   
instance1 had of their own accord ranged
 and extended themselves on a wooden    
frame1 whose several parts had glued    
themselves together to form a cavity    
with regular apertures8  ,should we     
maintain that the bow formed without art
 should be pushed by the wind to touch  
every string so variously1 and with such
 nice justness8  ,what rational man     
could seriously entertain a doubt       
whether a human hand touched such an    
instrument with so much harmony8  ,would
 he not cry out1 ,it is a masterly hand 

that plays upon it8  ,let us proceed to 
inculcate the same truth4   ,,sect4     
,,vii4  ,third ,comparison1 drawn from a
 ,statue4   ,if a man should find in a  
desert island a fine statue of marble1  
he would undoubtedly immediately say1   
,sure1 there have been men here         
formerly2 ,i perceive the workmanship of
 a skilful statuary2 ,i admire with what
 niceness he has proportioned all the   
limbs of this body1 in order to give    
them so much beauty1 gracefulness1      
majesty1 life1 tenderness1 motion1 and  
action6  ,what would such a man answer  
if anybody should tell him1 ,that's your
 mistake2 a statuary never carved that  
figure4  ,it is made1 ,i confess1 with  
an excellent gusto1 and according to the
 rules of perfection2 but yet it is     
chance alone made it4  ,among so many   
pieces of marble there was one that     
formed itself of its own accord in this 
manner2 the rains and winds have        
loosened it from the mountains2 a       
violent storm has thrown it plumb       

upright on this pedestal1 which had     
prepared itself to support it in this   
place4  ,it is a perfect ,apollo1 like  
that of ,belvedere2 a ,venus that equals
 that of the ,medicis2 an ,hercules1    
like that of ,farnese4  ,you would      
think1 it is true1 that this figure     
walks1 lives1 thinks1 and is just going 
to speak4  ,but1 however1 it is not in  
the least beholden to art2 and it is    
only a blind stroke of chance that has  
thus so well finished and placed it4    
,,sect4  ,,viii4  ,fourth ,comparison1  
drawn from a ,picture4   ,if a man had  
before his eyes a fine picture1         
representing1 for example1 the passage  
of the ,red ,sea1 with ,moses1 at whose 
voice the waters divide themselves1 and 
rise like two walls to let the          
,israelites pass dryfoot through the    
deep1 he would see1 on the one side1    
that innumerable multitude of people1   
full of confidence and joy1 lifting up  
their hands to heaven2 and perceive1 on 
the other side1 ,king ,pharaoh with the 

,egyptians frighted and confounded at   
the sight of the waves that join again  
to swallow them up4  ,now1 in good      
earnest1 who would be so bold as to     
affirm that a chambermaid1 having by    
chance daubed that piece of cloth1 the  
colours had of their own accord ranged  
themselves in order to produce that     
lively colouring1 those various         
attitudes1 those looks so well          
expressing different passions1 that     
elegant disposition of so many figures  
without confusion1 that decent plaiting 
of draperies1 that management of lights1
 that degradation of colours1 that exact
 perspective--in short1 all that the    
noblest genius of a painter can invent8 
,if there were no more in the case than 
a little foam at the mouth of a horse1  
,i own1 as the story goes1 and which ,i 
readily allow without examining into it1
 that a stroke of a pencil thrown in a  
pet by a painter might once in many ages
 happen to express it well4  ,but1 at   
least1 the painter must beforehand have1

 with design1 chosen the most proper    
colours to represent that foam1 in order
 to prepare them at the end of his      
pencil2 and1 therefore1 it were only a  
little chance that had finished what art
 had begun4  ,besides1 this work of art 
and chance together being only a little 
foam1 a confused object1 and so most    
proper to credit a stroke of chance--an 
object without form1 that requires only 
a little whitish colour dropped from a  
pencil1 without any exact figure or     
correction of design4 ,what comparison  
is there between that foam with a whole 
design of a large continued history1 in 
which the most fertile fancy and the    
boldest genius1 supported by the perfect
 knowledge of rules1 are scarce         
sufficient to perform what makes an     
excellent picture8  ,i cannot prevail   
with myself to leave these instances    
without desiring the reader to observe  
that the most rational men are naturally
 extreme loath to think that beasts have
 no manner of understanding1 and are    

mere machines4  ,now1 whence proceeds   
such an invincible averseness to that   
opinion in so many men of sense8  ,it is
 because they suppose1 with reason1 that
 motions so exact1 and according to the 
rules of perfect mechanism1 cannot be   
made without some industry2 and that    
artless matter alone cannot perform what
 argues so much knowledge4  ,hence it   
appears that sound reason naturally     
concludes that matter alone cannot1     
either by the simple laws of motion1 or 
by the capricious strokes of chance1    
make even animals that are mere         
machines4  ,those philosophers          
themselves1 who will not allow beasts to
 have any reasoning faculty1 cannot     
avoid acknowledging that what they      
suppose to be blind and artless in these
 machines is yet full of wisdom and art 
in the ,first ,mover1 who made their    
springs and regulated their movements4  
,thus the most opposite philosophers    
perfectly agree in acknowledging that   
matter and chance cannot1 without the   

help of art1 produce all we observe in  
animals4   ,,sect4  ,,ix4  ,a           
,particular ,examination of ,nature4    
,after these comparisons1 about which ,i
 only desire the reader to consult      
himself1 without any argumentation1 ,i  
think it is high time to enter into a   
detail of ,nature4  ,i do not pretend to
 penetrate through the whole2 who is    
able to do it8  ,neither do ,i pretend  
to enter into any physical discussion4  
,such way of reasoning requires a       
certain deep knowledge1 which abundance 
of men of wit and sense never acquired2 
and1 therefore1 ,i will offer nothing to
 them but the simple prospect of the    
face of ,nature4  ,i will entertain them
 with nothing but what everybody knows1 
and which requires only a little calm   
and serious attention4   ,,sect4  ,x4   
,of the ,general ,structure of the      
,universe4   ,let us1 in the first      
place1 stop at the great object that    
first strikes our sight1 ,i mean the    
general structure of the universe4 ,let 

us cast our eyes on this earth that     
bears us4  ,let us look on that vast    
arch of the skies that covers us2 those 
immense regions of air1 and depths of   
water that surround us2 and those bright
 stars that light us4  ,a man who lives 
without reflecting thinks only on the   
parts of matter that are near him1 or   
have any relation to his wants4  ,he    
only looks upon the earth as on the     
floor of his chamber1 and on the sun    
that lights him in the daytime as on the
 candle that lights him in the night4   
,his thoughts are confined within the   
place he inhabits4  ,on the contrary1 a 
man who is used to contemplate and      
reflect carries his looks further1 and  
curiously considers the almost infinite 
abysses that surround him on all sides4 
,a large kingdom appears then to him but
 a little corner of the earth2 the earth
 itself is no more to his eyes than a   
point in the mass of the universe2 and  
he admires to see himself placed in it1 
without knowing which way he came there4

   ,,sect4  ,,xi4  ,of the ,earth4      
,who is it that hung and poised this    
motionless globe of the earth8 ,who laid
 its foundation8  ,nothing seems more   
vile and contemptible2 for the meanest  
wretches tread it under foot2 but yet it
 is in order to possess it that we part 
with the greatest treasures4  ,if it    
were harder than it is1 man could not   
open its bosom to cultivate it2 and if  
it were less hard it could not bear     
them1 and they would sink everywhere as 
they do in sand1 or in a bog4  ,it is   
from the inexhaustible bosom of the     
earth we draw what is most precious4    
,that shapeless1 vile1 and rude mass    
assumes the most various forms2 and     
yields alone1 by turns1 all the goods we
 can desire4  ,that dirty soil          
transforms itself into a thousand fine  
objects that charm the eye4  ,in the    
compass of one year it turns into       
branches1 twigs1 buds1 leaves1 blossoms1
 fruits1 and seeds1 in order1 by those  
various shapes1 to multiply its         

liberalities to mankind4  ,nothing      
exhausts the earth2 the more we tear her
 bowels the more she is liberal4  ,after
 so many ages1 during which she has     
produced everything1 she is not yet worn
 out4  ,she feels no decay from old age1
 and her entrails still contain the same
 treasures4  ,a thousand generations    
have passed away1 and returned into her 
bosom4 ,everything grows old1 she alone 
excepted3  for she grows young again    
every year in the spring4  ,she is never
 wanting to men2 but foolish men are    
wanting to themselves in neglecting to  
cultivate her4  ,it is through their    
laziness and extravagance they suffer   
brambles and briars to grow instead of  
grapes and corn4  ,they contend for a   
good they let perish4  ,the conquerors  
leave uncultivated the ground for the   
possession of which they have sacrificed
 the lives of so many thousand men1 and 
have spent their own in hurry and       
trouble4  ,men have before them vast    
tracts of land uninhabited and          

uncultivated2 and they turn mankind     
topsy-turvy for one nook of that        
neglected ground in dispute4  ,the      
earth1 if well cultivated1 would feed a 
hundred times more men than now she     
does4  ,even the unevenness of ground   
which at first seems to be a defect     
turns either into ornament or profit4   
,the mountains arose and the valleys    
descended to the place the ,lord had    
appointed for them4  ,those different   
grounds have their particular           
advantages1 according to the divers     
aspects of the sun4  ,in those deep     
valleys grow fresh and tender grass to  
feed cattle4  ,next to them opens a vast
 champaign covered with a rich harvest4 
,here1 hills rise like an amphitheatre1 
and are crowned with vineyards and fruit
 trees4  ,there high mountains carry    
aloft their frozen brows to the very    
clouds1 and the torrents that run down  
from them become the springs of rivers4 
,the rocks that show their craggy tops  
bear up the earth of mountains just as  

the bones bear up the flesh in human    
bodies4  ,that variety yields at once a 
ravishing prospect to the eye1 and1 at  
the same time1 supplies the divers wants
 of man4  ,there is no ground so barren 
but has some profitable property4  ,not 
only black and fertile soil but even    
clay and gravel recompense a man's toil4
  ,drained morasses become fruitful2    
sand for the most part only covers the  
surface of the earth2 and when1 the     
husbandman has the patience to dig      
deeper he finds a new ground that grows 
fertile as fast as it is turned and     
exposed to the rays of the sun4  ,there 
is scarce any spot of ground absolutely 
barren if a man do not grow weary of    
digging1 and turning it to the          
enlivening sun1 and if he require no    
more from it than it is proper to bear1 
amidst stones and rocks there is        
sometimes excellent pasture2 and their  
cavities have veins1 which1 being       
penetrated by the piercing rays of the  
sun1 furnish plants with most savoury   

juices for the feeding of herds and     
flocks4  ,even sea-coasts that seem to  
be the most sterile and wild yield      
sometimes either delicious fruits or    
most wholesome medicines that are       
wanting in the most fertile countries4  
,besides1 it is the effect of a wise    
over-ruling providence that no land     
yields all that is useful to human life4
  ,for want invites men to commerce1 in 
order to supply one another's           
necessities4  ,it is therefore that want
 that is the natural tie of society     
between nations3  otherwise all the     
people of the earth would be reduced to 
one sort of food and clothing2 and      
nothing would invite them to know and   
visit one another4   ,,sect4  ,,xii4    
,of ,plants4   ,all that the earth      
produces being corrupted1 returns into  
her bosom1 and becomes the source of a  
new production4  ,thus she resumes all  
she has given in order to give it again4
  ,thus the corruption of plants1 and   
the excrements of the animals she feeds1

 feed her1 and improve her fertility4   
,thus1 the more she gives the more she  
resumes2 and she is never exhausted1    
provided they who cultivate her restore 
to her what she has given4  ,everything 
comes from her bosom1 everything returns
 to it1 and nothing is lost in it4      
,nay1 all seeds multiply there4  ,if1   
for instance1 you trust the earth with  
some grains of corn1 as they corrupt    
they germinate and spring2 and that     
teeming parent restores with usury more 
ears than she had received grains4  ,dig
 into her entrails1 you will find in    
them stone and marble for the most      
magnificent buildings4  ,but who is it  
that has laid up so many treasures in   
her bosom1 upon condition that they     
should continually produce themselves   
anew8  ,behold how many precious and    
useful metals2 how many minerals        
designed for the conveniency of man6    
,admire the plants that spring from the 
earth3  they yield food for the healthy1
 and remedies for the sick4  ,their     

species and virtues are innumerable4    
,they deck the earth1 yield verdure1    
fragrant flowers1 and delicious fruits4 
,do you see those vast forests that seem
 as old as the world8  ,those trees sink
 into the earth by their roots1 as deep 
as their branches shoot up to the sky4  
,their roots defend them against the    
winds1 and fetch up1 as it were by      
subterranean pipes1 all the juices      
destined to feed the trunk4  ,the trunk 
itself is covered with a tough bark that
 shelters the tender wood from the      
injuries of the air4  ,the branches     
distribute by several pipes the sap     
which the roots had gathered up in the  
trunk4 ,in summer the boughs protect us 
with their shadow against the scorching 
rays of the sun4  ,in winter1 they feed 
the fire that preserves in us natural   
heat4  ,nor is burning the only use wood
 is fit for2 it is a soft though solid  
and durable matter1 to which the hand of
 man gives1 with ease1 all the forms he 
pleases for the greatest works of       

architecture and navigation4  ,moreover1
 fruit trees by bending their boughs    
towards the earth seem to offer their   
crop to man4  ,the trees and plants1 by 
letting their fruit or seed drop down1  
provide for a numerous posterity about  
them4  ,the tenderest plant1 the least  
of herbs and pulse are1 in little1 in a 
small seed1 all that is displayed in the
 highest plants and largest tree4       
,earth that never changes produces all  
those alterations in her bosom4         
,,sect4  ,,xiii4  ,of ,water4   ,let us 
now behold what we call water4  ,it is a
 liquid1 clear1 and transparent body4   
,on the one hand it flows1 slips1 and   
runs away2 and on the other it assumes  
all the forms of the bodies that        
surround it1 having properly none of its
 own4  ,if water were more rarefied1 or 
thinner1 it would be a kind of air2 and 
so the whole surface of the earth would 
be dry and sterile4  ,there would be    
none but volatiles2 no living creature  
could swim2 no fish could live2 nor     

would there be any traffic by           
navigation4  ,what industrious and      
sagacious hand has found means to       
thicken the water1 by subtilising the   
air1 and so well to distinguish those   
two sorts of fluid bodies8 ,if water    
were somewhat more rarefied1 it could no
 longer sustain those prodigious        
floating buildings1 called ships4       
,bodies that have the least ponderosity 
would presently sink under water4  ,who 
is it that took care to frame so just a 
configuration of parts1 and so exact a  
degree of motion1 as to make water so   
fluid1 so penetrating1 so slippery1 so  
incapable of any consistency3  and yet  
so strong to bear1 and so impetuous to  
carry off and waft away1 the most       
unwieldy bodies8  ,it is docile2 man    
leads it about as a rider does a well-  
managed horse4  ,he distributes it as he
 pleases2 he raises it to the top of    
steep mountains1 and makes use of its   
weight to let it fall1 in order to rise 
again1 as high as it was at first4  ,but

 man who leads waters with such absolute
 command is in his turn led by them4    
,water is one of the greatest moving    
powers that man can employ to supply his
 defects in the most necessary arts1    
either through the smallness or weakness
 of his body4  ,but the waters which1   
notwithstanding their fluidity1 are such
 ponderous bodies1 do nevertheless rise 
above our heads1 and remain a long while
 hanging there4  ,do you see those      
clouds that fly1 as it were1 on the     
wings of the winds8  ,if they should    
fall1 on a sudden1 in watery pillars1   
rapid like a torrent1 they would drown  
and destroy everything where they should
 happen to fall1 and the other grounds  
would remain dry4 ,what hand keeps them 
in those pendulous reservatories1 and   
permits them to fall only by drops as if
 they distilled through a gardener's    
watering-pot8  ,whence comes it that in 
some hot countries1 where scarce any    
rain ever falls1 the nightly dews are so
 plentiful that they supply the want of 

rain2 and that in other countries1 such 
as the banks of the ,nile and ,ganges1  
the regular inundation of rivers1 at    
certain seasons of the year1 never fails
 to make up what the inhabitants are    
deficient in for the watering of the    
ground8  ,can one imagine measures      
better concerted to render all countries
 fertile and fruitful8  ,thus water     
quenches1 not only the thirst of men1   
but likewise of arid lands3  and ,he who
 gave us that fluid body has carefully  
distributed it throughout the earth1    
like pipes in a garden4  ,the waters    
fall from the tops of mountains where   
their reservatories are placed4  ,they  
gather into rivulets in the bottom of   
valleys4  ,rivers run in winding streams
 through vast tracts of land1 the better
 to water them2 and1 at last1 they      
precipitate themselves into the sea1 in 
order to make it the centre of commerce 
for all nations4  ,that ocean1 which    
seems to be placed in the midst of      
lands1 to make an eternal separation    

between them1 is1 on the contrary1 the  
common rendezvous of all the people of  
the earth1 who could not go by land from
 one end of the world to the other      
without infinite fatigue1 tedious       
journeys1 and numberless dangers4  ,it  
is by that trackless road1 across the   
bottomless deep1 that the whole world   
shakes hands with the new2 and that the 
new supplies the old with so many       
conveniences and riches4  ,the waters1  
distributed with so much art1 circulate 
in the earth1 just as the blood does in 
a man's body4  ,but besides this        
perpetual circulation of the water1     
there is besides the flux and reflux of 
the sea4  ,let us not inquire into the  
causes of so mysterious an effect4      
,what is certain is that the tide       
carries1 or brings us back to certain   
places1 at precise hours4  ,who is it   
that makes it withdraw1 and then come   
back with so much regularity8  ,a little
 more or less motion in that fluid mass 
would disorder all nature2 for a little 

more motion in a tide or flood would    
drown whole kingdoms4  ,who is it that  
knew how to take such exact measures in 
immense bodies8  ,who is it that knew so
 well how to keep a just medium between 
too much and too little8  ,what hand has
 set to the sea the unmovable boundary  
it must respect through the series of   
all ages by telling it3  ,there1 thy    
proud waves shall come and break8  ,but 
these waters so fluid become1 on a      
sudden1 during the winter1 as hard as   
rocks4  ,the summits of high mountains  
have1 even at all times1 ice and snow1  
which are the springs of rivers1 and    
soaking pasture-grounds render them more
 fertile4  ,here waters are sweet to    
quench the thirst of man2 there they are
 briny1 and yield a salt that seasons   
our meat1 and makes it incorruptible4   
,in fine1 if ,i lift up my eyes1 ,i     
perceive in the clouds that fly above us
 a sort of hanging seas that serve to   
temper the air1 break the fiery rays of 
the sun1 and water the earth when it is 

too dry4 ,what hand was able to hang    
over our heads those great reservatories
 of waters8  ,what hand takes care never
 to let them fall but in moderate       
showers8   ,,sect4  ,,xiv4  ,of the     
,air4   ,after having considered the    
waters1 let us now contemplate another  
mass yet of far greater extent4  ,do you
 see what is called air8  ,it is a body 
so pure1 so subtle1 and so transparent1 
that the rays of the stars1 seated at a 
distance almost infinite from us1 pierce
 quite through it1 without difficulty1  
and in an instant1 to light our eyes4   
,had this fluid body been a little less 
subtle1 it would either have intercepted
 the day from us1 or at most would have 
left us but a duskish and confused      
light1 just as when the air is filled   
with thick fogs4  ,we live plunged in   
abysses of air1 as fishes do in abysses 
of water4  ,as the water1 if it were    
subtilised1 would become a kind of air1 
which would occasion the death of       
fishes1 so the air would deprive us of  

breath if it should become more humid   
and thicker4  ,in such a case we should 
drown in the waves of that thickened    
air1 just as a terrestrial animal drowns
 in the sea4  ,who is it that has so    
nicely purified that air we breathe8    
,if it were thicker it would stifle us2 
and if it were too subtle it would want 
that softness which continually feeds   
the vitals of man4  ,we should be       
sensible everywhere of what we          
experience on the top of the highest    
mountains1 where the air is so thin that
 it yields no sufficient moisture and   
nourishment for the lungs4  ,but what   
invisible power raises and lays so      
suddenly the storms of that great fluid 
body1 of which those of the sea are only
 consequences8  ,from what treasury come
 forth the winds that purify the air1   
cool scorching heats1 temper the        
sharpness of winter1 and in an instant  
change the whole face of heaven8  ,on   
the wings of those winds the clouds fly 
from one end of the horizon to the      

other4  ,it is known that certain winds 
blow in certain seas1 at some stated    
seasons4 ,they continue a fixed time1   
and others succeed them1 as it were on  
purpose1 to render navigation both      
commodious and regular3  so that if men 
are but as patient1 and as punctual as  
the winds1 they may1 with ease1 perform 
the longest voyages4   ,,sect4  ,,xv4   
,of ,fire4   ,do you see that fire that 
seems kindled in the stars1 and spreads 
its light on all sides8  ,do you see    
that flame which certain mountains vomit
 up1 and which the earth feeds with     
sulphur within its entrails8  ,that same
 fire peaceably lurks in the veins of   
flints1 and expects to break out1 till  
the collision of another body excites it
 to shock cities and mountains4  ,man   
has found the way to kindle it1 and     
apply it to all his uses1 both to bend  
the hardest metals1 and to feed with    
wood1 even in the most frozen climes1 a 
flame that serves him instead of the    
sun1 when the sun removes from him4     

,that subtle flame glides and penetrates
 into all seeds4  ,it is1 as it were1   
the soul of all living things2 it       
consumes all that is impure1 and renews 
what it has purified4  ,fire lends its  
force and activity to weak men4  ,it    
blows up1 on a sudden1 buildings and    
rocks4  ,but have we a mind to confine  
it to a more moderate use8  ,it warms   
man1 and makes all sorts of food fit for
 his eating4  ,the ancients1 in         
admiration of fire1 believed it to be a 
celestial gift1 which man had stolen    
from the gods4   ,,sect4  ,,xvi4  ,of   
,heaven4   ,it is time to lift up our   
eyes to heaven4  ,what power has built  
over our heads so vast and so           
magnificent an arch8  ,what a stupendous
 variety of admirable objects is here8  
,it is1 no doubt1 to present us with a  
noble spectacle that an ,omnipotent     
,hand has set before our eyes so great  
and so bright objects4  ,it is in order 
to raise our admiration of heaven1 says 
,tully1 that ,god made man unlike the   

rest of animals4  ,he stands upright1   
and lifts up his head1 that he may be   
employed about the things that were     
above him4  ,sometimes we see a duskish 
azure sky1 where the purest fires       
twinkle4  ,sometimes we behold1 in a    
temperate heaven1 the softest colours   
mixed with such variety as it is not in 
the power of painting to imitate4       
,sometimes we see clouds of all shapes  
and figures1 and of all the brightest   
colours1 which every moment shift that  
beautiful decoration by the finest      
accidents and various effects of light4 
,what does the regular succession of day
 and night denote8  ,for so many ages as
 are past the sun never failed serving  
men1 who cannot live without it4 ,many  
thousand years are elapsed1 and the dawn
 never once missed proclaiming the      
approach of the day4  ,it always begins 
precisely at a certain moment and place4
  ,the sun1 says the holy writ1 knows   
where it shall set every day4  ,by that 
means it lights1 by turns1 the two      

hemispheres1 or sides of the earth1 and 
visits all those for whom its beams are 
designed4  ,the day is the time for     
society and labour2 the night1 wrapping 
up the earth with its shadow1 ends1 in  
its turn1 all manner of fatigue and     
alleviates the toil of the day4 ,it     
suspends and quiets all2 and spreads    
silence and sleep everywhere4  ,by      
refreshing the bodies it renews the     
spirits4  ,soon after day returns to    
summon again man to labour and revive   
all nature4   ,,sect4  ,,xvii4  ,of the 
,sun4   ,but besides the constant course
 by which the sun forms days and nights 
it makes us sensible of another1 by     
which for the space of six months it    
approaches one of the poles1 and at the 
end of those six months goes back with  
equal speed to visit the other pole4    
,this excellent order makes one sun     
sufficient for the whole earth4  ,if it 
were of a larger size at the same       
distance1 it would set the whole globe  
on fire and the earth would be burnt to 

ashes2 and if1 at the same distance1 it 
were lesser1 the earth would be all over
 frozen and uninhabitable4  ,again1 if  
in the same magnitude it were nearer us1
 it would set us in flames2 and if more 
remote1 we should not be able to live on
 the terrestrial globe for want of heat4
  ,what pair of compasses1 whose        
circumference encircles both heaven and 
earth1 has fixed such just dimensions8  
,that star does no less befriend that   
part of the earth from which it removes1
 in order to temper it1 than that it    
approaches to favour it with its beams4 
,its kind1 beneficent aspect fertilises 
all it shines upon4  ,this change       
produces that of the seasons1 whose     
variety is so agreeable4  ,the spring   
silences bleak frosty winds1 brings     
forth blossoms and flowers1 and promises
 fruits4  ,the summer yields rich       
harvests4  ,the autumn bestows the      
fruits promised by the spring4  ,the    
winter1 which is a kind of night wherein
 man refreshes and rests himself1 lays  

up all the treasures of the earth in its
 centre with no other design but that   
the next spring may display them with   
all the graces of novelty4  ,thus       
nature1 variously attired1 yields so    
many fine prospects that she never gives
 man leisure to be disgusted with what  
he possesses4  ,but how is it possible  
for the course of the sun to be so      
regular8 ,it appears that star is only a
 globe of most subtle flame4  ,now1 what
 is it that keeps that flame1 so        
restless and so impetuous1 within the   
exact bounds of a perfect globe8  ,what 
hand leads that flame in so strait a way
 and never suffers it to slip one side  
or other8  ,that flame is held by       
nothing1 and there is no body that can  
either guide it or keep it under2 for it
 would soon consume whatever body it    
should be enclosed in4  ,whither is it  
going8  ,who has taught it incessantly  
and so regularly to turn in a space     
where it is free and unconstrained8     
,does it not circulate about us on      

purpose to serve us8  ,now if this flame
 does not turn1 and if on the contrary  
it is our earth that turns1 ,i would    
fain know how it comes to be so well    
placed in the centre of the universe1 as
 it were the focus or the heart of all  
nature4  ,i would fain know also how it 
comes to pass that a globe of so subtle 
matter never slips on any side in that  
immense space that surrounds it1 and    
wherein it seems to stand with reason   
that all fluid bodies ought to yield to 
the impetuosity of that flame4  ,in     
fine1 ,i would fain know how it comes to
 pass that the globe of the earth1 which
 is so very hard1 turns so regularly    
about that planet in a space where no   
solid body keeps it fast to regulate its
 course4  ,let men with the help of     
physics contrive the most ingenious     
reasons to explain this phenomenon2 all 
their arguments1 supposing them to be   
true1 will become proofs of the ,deity4 
,the more the great spring that directs 
the machine of the universe is exact1   

simple1 constant1 certain1 and          
productive of abundance of useful       
effects1 the more it is plain that a    
most potent and most artful hand knew   
how to pitch upon the spring which is   
the most perfect of all4   ,,sect4      
,,xviii4  ,of the ,stars4   ,but let us 
once more view that immense arched roof 
where the stars shine1 and which covers 
our heads like a canopy4  ,if it be a   
solid vault1 what architect built it8   
,who is it that has fixed so many great 
luminous bodies to certain places of    
that arch and at certain distances8     
,who is it that makes that vault turn so
 regularly about us8  ,if on the        
contrary the skies are only immense     
spaces full of fluid bodies1 like the   
air that surrounds us1 how comes it to  
pass that so many solid bodies float in 
them without ever sinking or ever coming
 nearer one another8  ,for all          
astronomical observations that have been
 made in so many ages not the least     
disorder or irregular motion has yet    

been discovered in the heavens4  ,will a
 fluid body range in such constant and  
regular order bodies that swim          
circularly within its sphere8  ,but what
 does that almost innumerable multitude 
of stars mean8  ,the profusion with     
which the hand of ,god has scattered    
them through ,his work shows nothing is 
difficult to ,his power4  ,he has cast  
them about the skies as a magnificent   
prince either scatters money by handfuls
 or studs his clothes with precious     
stones4  ,let who will say1 if he       
pleases1 that the stars are as many     
worlds like the earth we inhabit2 ,i    
grant it for one moment2 but then1 how  
potent and wise must ,he be who makes   
worlds as numberless as the grains of   
sand that cover the sea-shore1 and who1 
without any trouble1 for so many ages   
governs all these wandering worlds as a 
shepherd does a flock of sheep8  ,if on 
the contrary they are only1 as it were1 
lighted torches to shine in our eyes in 
this small globe called earth1 how great

 is that power which nothing can        
fatigue1 nothing can exhaust8  ,what a  
profuse liberality it is to give man in 
this little corner of the universe so   
marvellous a spectacle6  ,but among     
those stars ,i perceive the moon1 which 
seems to share with the sun the care and
 office of lighting us4  ,she appears at
 set times with all the other stars1    
when the sun is obliged to go and carry 
back the day to the other hemisphere4   
,thus night itself1 notwithstanding its 
darkness1 has a light1 duskish indeed1  
but soft and useful4  ,that light is    
borrowed from the sun1 though absent3   
and thus everything is managed with such
 excellent art in the universe that a   
globe near the earth1 and as dark as she
 of itself1 serves1 nevertheless1 to    
send back to her1 by reflection1 the    
rays it receives from the sun2 and that 
the sun lights by means of the moon the 
people that cannot see him while he must
 light others4  ,it may be said that the
 motion of the stars is settled and     

regulated by unchangeable laws4  ,i     
suppose it is2 but this very supposition
 proves what ,i labour to evince4  ,who 
is it that has given to all nature laws 
at once so constant and so wholesome1   
laws so very simple1 that one is tempted
 to believe they establish themselves of
 their own accord1 and so productive of 
beneficial and useful effects that one  
cannot avoid acknowledging a marvellous 
art in them8 ,whence proceeds the       
government of that universal machine    
which incessantly works for us without  
so much as our thinking upon it8 ,to    
whom shall we ascribe the choice and    
gathering of so many deep and so well   
conceited springs1 and of so many       
bodies1 great and small1 visible and    
invisible1 which equally concur to serve
 us8  ,the least atom of this machine   
that should happen to be out of order   
would unhinge all nature4  ,for the     
springs and movements of a watch are not
 put together with so much art and      
niceness as those of the universe4      

,what then must be a design so          
extensive1 so coherent1 so excellent1 so
 beneficial8  ,the necessity of those   
laws1 instead of deterring me from      
inquiring into their author1 does but   
heighten my curiosity and admiration4   
,certainly1 it required a hand equally  
artful and powerful to put in ,his work 
an order equally simple and teeming1    
constant and useful4  ,wherefore ,i will
 not scruple to say with the ,scripture1
 ,let every star haste to go whither the
 ,lord sends it2 and when ,he speaks let
 them answer with trembling1 ,here we   
are1 ,ecce adsumus4   ,,sect4  ,,xix4   
,of ,animals1 ,beasts1 ,fowl1 ,birds1   
,fishes1 ,reptiles1 and ,insects4   ,but
 let us turn our eyes towards animals1  
which still are more worthy of          
admiration than either the skies or     
stars4  ,their species are numberless4  
,some have but two feet1 others four1   
others again a great many4  ,some walk2 
others crawl1 or creep2 others fly2     
others swim2 others fly1 walk1 or swim1 

by turns4  ,the wings of birds1 and the 
fins of fishes1 are like oars1 that cut 
the waves either of air or water1 and   
steer the floating body either of the   
bird1 or fish1 whose structure is like  
that of a ship4  ,but the pinions of    
birds have feathers with a down1 that   
swells in the air1 and which would grow 
unwieldy in the water4  ,and1 on the    
contrary1 the fins of fishes have sharp 
and dry points1 which cut the water1    
without imbibing it1 and which do not   
grow heavier by being wet4  ,a sort of  
fowl that swim1 such as swans1 keep     
their wings and most of their feathers  
above water1 both lest they should wet  
them and that they may serve them1 as it
 were1 for sails4  ,they have the art to
 turn those feathers against the wind1  
and1 in a manner1 to tack1 as ships do  
when the wind does not serve4           
,water-fowls1 such as ducks1 have at    
their feet large skins that stretch1    
somewhat like rackets1 to keep them from
 sinking on the oozy and miry banks of  

rivers4  ,amongst the animals1 wild     
beasts1 such as lions1 have their       
biggest muscles about the shoulders1    
thighs1 and legs2 and therefore these   
animals are nimble1 brisk1 nervous1 and 
ready to rush forward4 ,their jaw-bones 
are prodigiously large1 in proportion to
 the rest of their bodies4  ,they have  
teeth and claws1 which serve them1 as   
terrible weapons1 to tear in pieces and 
devour other animals4  ,for the same    
reason1 birds of prey1 such as eagles1  
have a beak and pounces that pierce     
everything4  ,the muscles of their      
pinions are extreme large and brawny1   
that their wings may have a stronger and
 more rapid motion3  and so those       
creatures1 though somewhat heavy1 soar  
aloft and tower up easily to the very   
clouds1 from whence they shoot1 like a  
thunderbolt1 on the quarry they have in 
view4  ,other animals have horns4  ,the 
greatest strength of some lies in their 
backs and necks2 and others can only    
kick4  ,every species1 however1 has both

 offensive and defensive arms4  ,their  
hunting is a kind of war1 which they    
wage one against another1 for the       
necessities of life4  ,they have also   
laws and a government among themselves4 
,some1 like tortoises1 carry the house  
wherein they were born2 others build    
theirs1 as birds do1 on the highest     
branches of trees1 to preserve their    
young from the insult of unwinged       
creatures1 and they even lay their nests
 in the thickest boughs to hide them    
from their enemies4 ,another1 such as   
the beaver1 builds in the very bottom of
 a pond the sanctuary he prepares for   
himself1 and knows how to cast up dikes 
around it1 to preserve himself by the   
neighbouring inundation4 ,another1 like 
a mole1 has so pointed and so sharp a   
snout1 that in one moment he pierces    
through the hardest ground in order to  
provide for himself a subterranean      
retreat4  ,the cunning fox digs a kennel
 with two holes to go out and come in   
at1 that he may not be either surprised 

or trapped by the huntsmen4  ,the       
reptiles are of another make4  ,they    
curl1 wind1 shrink1 and stretch by the  
springs of their muscles2 they creep1   
twist about1 squeeze1 and hold fast the 
bodies they meet in their way2 and      
easily slide everywhere4  ,their organs 
are almost independent one on the other2
 so that they still live when they are  
cut into two4  ,the long-legged birds1  
says ,cicero1 are also long-necked in   
proportion1 that they may bring down    
their bill to the ground1 and take up   
their food4  ,it is the same with the   
camel2 but the elephant1 whose neck     
through its bigness would be too heavy  
if it were as long as that of the camel1
 was furnished with a trunk1 which is a 
contexture of nerves and muscles1 which 
he stretches1 shrinks1 winds1 and turns 
every way1 to seize on bodies1 lift them
 up1 or throw them off3  for which      
reason the ,latins called that trunk a  
hand4  ,certain animals seem to be made 
on purpose for man4  ,the dog is born to

 caress and fawn upon him2 to obey and  
be under command2 to give him an        
agreeable image of society1 friendship1 
fidelity1 and tenderness2 to be true to 
his trust2 eagerly to hunt down1 course1
 and catch several other creatures1 to  
leave them afterwards to man1 without   
retaining any part of the quarry4  ,the 
horse1 and such other animals1 are      
within the reach and power of man2 to   
ease him of his labour1 and to take upon
 them a thousand burdens4  ,they are    
born to carry1 to walk1 to supply man's 
weakness1 and to obey all his motions4  
,oxen are endowed with strength and     
patience1 in order to draw the plough   
and till the ground4  ,cows yield       
streams of milk4 ,sheep have in their   
fleeces a superfluity which is not for  
them1 and which still grows and renews1 
as it were to invite men to shear them  
every year4  ,even goats furnish man    
with a long hair1 for which they have no
 use1 and of which he makes stuffs to   
cover himself4  ,the skins of some      

beasts supply men with the finest and   
best linings1 in the countries that are 
most remote from the sun4  ,thus the    
,author of nature has clothed beasts    
according to their necessities2 and     
their spoils serve afterwards to clothe 
men1 and keep them warm in those frozen 
climes4  ,the living creatures that have
 little or no hair have a very thick and
 very hard skin1 like scales2 others    
have even scales that cover one another1
 as tiles on the top of a house1 and    
which either open or shut1 as it best   
suits with the living creature1 either  
to extend itself or shrink4  ,these     
skins and scales serve the necessities  
of men3  and thus in nature1 not only   
plants but animals also are made for our
 use4  ,wild beasts themselves either   
grow tame or1 at least1 are afraid of   
man4  ,if all countries were peopled and
 governed as they ought to be1 there    
would not be anywhere beasts should     
attack men4  ,for no wild beasts would  
be found but in remote forests1 and they

 would be preserved in order to exercise
 the courage1 strength1 and dexterity of
 mankind1 by a sport that should        
represent war2 so that there never would
 be any occasion for real wars among    
nations4  ,but observe that living      
creatures that are noxious to man are   
the least teeming1 and that the most    
useful multiply most4  ,there are1      
beyond comparison1 more oxen and sheep  
killed than bears or wolves2 and        
nevertheless the number of bears and    
wolves is infinitely less than that of  
oxen and sheep still on earth4  ,observe
 likewise1 with ,cicero1 that the       
females of every species have a number  
of teats proportioned to that of the    
young ones they generally bring forth4  
,the more young they bear1 with the more
 milk-springs has nature supplied them1 
to suckle them4  ,while sheep let their 
wool grow for our use1 silk-worms1 in   
emulation with each other1 spin rich    
stuffs and spend themselves to bestow   
them upon us4  ,they make of their cod a

 kind of tomb1 and shutting up          
themselves in their own work1 they are  
new-born under another figure1 in order 
to perpetuate themselves4  ,on the other
 hand1 the bees carefully suck and      
gather the juice of odorous and fragrant
 flowers1 in order to make their honey2 
and range it in such an order as may    
serve for a pattern to men4  ,several   
insects are transformed1 sometimes into 
flies1 sometimes into worms1 or maggots4
 ,if one should think such insects      
useless1 let him consider that what     
makes a part of the great spectacle of  
the universe1 and contributes to its    
variety1 is not altogether useless to   
sedate and contemplative men4  ,what can
 be more noble1 and more magnificent1   
than that great number of commonwealths 
of living creatures so well governed1   
and every species of which has a        
different frame from the other8         
,everything shows how much the skill and
 workmanship of the artificer surpasses 
the vile matter he has worked upon4     

,every living creature1 nay even gnats1 
appear wonderful to me4  ,if one finds  
them troublesome1 he ought to consider  
that it is necessary that some anxiety  
and pain be mixed with man's            
conveniences3  for if nothing should    
moderate his pleasures1 and exercise his
 patience1 he would either grow soft and
 effeminate1 or forget himself4         
,,sect4  ,,xx4  ,admirable ,order in    
which all the ,bodies that make up the  
,universe are ranged4   ,let us now     
consider the wonders that shine equally 
both in the largest and the smallest    
bodies4  ,on the one side1 ,i see the   
sun so many thousand times bigger than  
the earth2 ,i see him circulating in a  
space1 in comparison of which he is     
himself but a bright atom4  ,i see other
 stars1 perhaps still bigger than he1   
that roll in other regions1 still       
farther distant from us4  ,beyond those 
regions1 which escape all measure1 ,i   
still confusedly perceive other stars1  
which can neither be counted nor        

distinguished4  ,the earth1 on which ,i 
stand1 is but one point1 in proportion  
to the whole1 in which no bound can ever
 be found4  ,the whole is so well put   
together1 that not one single atom can  
be put out of its place without         
unhinging this immense machine2 and it  
moves in such excellent order that its  
very motion perpetuates its variety and 
perfection4  ,sure it must be the hand  
of a being that does everything without 
any trouble that still keeps steady1 and
 governs this great work for so many    
ages2 and whose fingers play with the   
universe1 to speak with the ,scripture4 
,,sect4  ,,xxi4  ,wonders of the        
,infinitely ,little4   ,on the other    
hand the work is no less to be admired  
in little than in great3  for ,i find as
 well in little as in great a kind of   
infinite that astonishes me4  ,it       
surpasses my imagination to find in a   
hand-worm1 as one does in an elephant or
 whale1 limbs perfectly well organised2 
a head1 a body1 legs1 and feet1 as      

distinct and as well formed as those of 
the biggest animals4  ,there are in     
every part of those living atoms1       
muscles1 nerves1 veins1 arteries1 blood2
 and in that blood ramous particles and 
humours2 in these humours some drops    
that are themselves composed of several 
particles3  nor can one ever stop in the
 discussion of this infinite composition
 of so infinite a whole4  ,the          
microscope discovers to us in every     
object as it were a thousand other      
objects that had escaped our notice4    
,but how many other objects are there in
 every object discovered by the         
microscope which the microscope itself  
cannot discover8  ,what should not we   
see if we could still subtilise and     
improve more and more the instruments   
that help out weak and dull sight8  ,let
 us supply by our imagination what our  
eyes are defective in2 and let our fancy
 itself be a kind of microscope1 and    
represent to us in every atom a thousand
 new and invisible worlds3  but it will 

never be able incessantly to paint to us
 new discoveries in little bodies2 it   
will be tired1 and forced at last to    
stop1 and sink1 leaving in the smallest 
organ of a body a thousand wonders      
undiscovered4   ,,sect4  ,,xxii4  ,of   
the ,structure or ,frame of the ,animal4
   ,let us confine ourselves within the 
animal's machine1 which has three things
 that never can be too much admired3    
,first1 it has in it wherewithal to     
defend itself against those that attack 
it1 in order to destroy it4  ,secondly1 
it has a faculty of reviving itself by  
food4  ,thirdly1 it has wherewithal to  
perpetuate its species by generation4   
,let us bestow some considerations on   
these three things4   ,,sect4  ,,xxiii4 
,of the ,instinct of the ,animal4       
,animals are endowed with what is called
 instinct1 both to approach useful and  
beneficial objects1 and to avoid such as
 may be noxious and destructive to them4
  ,let us not inquire wherein this      
instinct consists1 but content ourselves

 with matter of fact1 without reasoning 
upon it4  ,the tender lamb smells his   
dam afar off1 and runs to meet her4  ,a 
sheep is seized with horror at the      
approach of a wolf1 and flies away      
before he can discern him4  ,the hound  
is almost infallible in finding out a   
stag1 a buck1 or a hare1 only by the    
scent4  ,there is in every animal an    
impetuous spring1 which1 on a sudden1   
gathers all the spirits2 distends all   
the nerves2 renders all the joints more 
supple and pliant2 and increases in an  
incredible manner1 upon sudden dangers1 
his strength1 agility1 speed1 and       
cunning1 in order to make him avoid the 
object that threatens his destruction4  
,the question in this place is not to   
know whether beasts are endowed with    
reason or understanding2 for ,i do not  
pretend to engage in any philosophical  
inquiry4  ,the motions ,i speak of are  
entirely indeliberate1 even in the      
machine of man4  ,if1 for instance1 a   
man that dances on a rope should1 at    

that time1 reason on the laws and rules 
of equilibrium1 his reasoning would make
 him lose that very equilibrium which he
 preserves admirably well without       
arguing upon the matter1 and reason     
would then be of no other use to him but
 to throw him on the ground4  ,the same 
happens with beasts2 nor will it avail  
anything to object that they reason as  
well as men1 for this objection does not
 in the least weaken my proof2 and their
 reasoning can never serve to account   
for the motions we admire most in them4 
,will any one affirm that they know the 
nicest rules of mechanics1 which they   
observe with perfect exactness1 whenever
 they are to run1 leap1 swim1 hide      
themselves1 double1 use shifts to avoid 
pursuing hounds1 or to make use of the  
strongest part of their bodies to defend
 themselves8  ,will he say that they    
naturally understand the mathematics    
which men are ignorant of8  ,will he    
dare to advance that they perform with  
deliberation and knowledge all those    

impetuous and yet so exact motions which
 even men perform without study or      
premeditation8  ,will he allow them to  
make use of reason in those motions1    
wherein it is certain man does not8  ,it
 is an instinct1 will he say1 that      
beasts are governed by4  ,i grant it3   
for it is1 indeed1 an instinct4  ,but   
this instinct is an admirable sagacity  
and dexterity1 not in the beasts1 who   
neither do1 nor can then1 have time to  
reason1 but in the superior wisdom that 
governs them4  ,that instinct1 or       
wisdom1 that thinks and watches for     
beasts1 in indeliberate things1 wherein 
they could neither watch nor think1 even
 supposing them to be as reasonable as  
we1 can be no other than the wisdom of  
the ,artificer that made these machines4
  ,let us therefore talk no more of     
instinct or nature1 which are but fine  
empty names in the mouth of the         
generality that pronounce them4 ,there  
is in what they call nature and instinct
 a superior art and contrivance1 of     

which human invention is but a shadow4  
,what is beyond all question is1 that   
there are in beasts a prodigious number 
of motions entirely indeliberate1 and   
which yet are performed according to the
 nicest rules of mechanics4  ,it is the 
machine alone that follows those rules3 
which is a fact independent from all    
philosophy2 and matter of fact is ever  
decisive4  ,what would a man think of a 
watch that should fly or slip away1     
turn1 again1 or defend itself1 for its  
own preservation1 if he went about to   
break it8  ,would he not admire the     
skill of the artificer8  ,could he be   
induced to believe that the springs of  
that watch had formed1 proportioned1    
ranged1 and united themselves1 by mere  
chance8  ,could he imagine that he had  
clearly explained and accounted for such
 industrious and skilful operation by   
talking of the nature and instinct of a 
watch that should exactly show the hour 
to his master1 and slip away from such  
as should go about to break its springs 

to pieces8   ,,sect4  ,,xxiv4  ,of      
,food4   ,what is more noble than a     
machine which continually repairs and   
renews itself8  ,the animal1 stinted to 
his own strength1 is soon tired and     
exhausted by labour2 but the more he    
takes pains1 the more he finds himself  
pressed to make himself amends for his  
labour1 by more plentiful feeding4      
,aliments daily restore the strength he 
had lost4  ,he puts into his body       
another substance that becomes his own1 
by a kind of metamorphosis4  ,at first  
it is pounded1 and being changed into a 
liquor1 it purifies1 as if it were      
strained through a sieve1 in order to   
separate anything that is gross from it2
 afterwards it arrives at the centre1 or
 focus of the spirits1 where it is      
subtilised1 and becomes blood4  ,and    
running at last1 and penetrating through
 numberless vessels to moisten all the  
members1 it filtrates in the flesh1 and 
becomes itself flesh4  ,so many         
aliments1 and liquors of various        

colours1 are then no more than one and  
the same flesh2 and food which was but  
an inanimate body preserves the life of 
the animal1 and becomes part of the     
animal himself2 the other parts of which
 he was composed being exhaled by an    
insensible and continual transpiration4 
,the matter which1 for instance1 was    
four years ago such a horse1 is now but 
air1 or dung4 ,what was then either hay1
 or oats1 is become that same horse1 so 
fiery and vigorous--at least1 he is     
accounted the same horse1               
notwithstanding this insensible change  
of his substance4   ,,sect4  ,,xxv4  ,of
 ,sleep4   ,the natural attendant of    
food is sleep2 in which the animal      
forbears not only all his outward       
motions1 but also all the principal     
inward operations which might too much  
stir and dissipate the spirits4  ,he    
only retains respiration1 and digestion2
 so that all motions that might wear out
 his strength are suspended1 and all    
such as are proper to recruit and renew 

it go on freely of themselves4  ,this   
repose1 which is a kind of enchantment1 
returns every night1 while darkness     
interrupts and hinders labour4  ,now1   
who is it that contrived such a         
suspension8  ,who is it that so well    
chose the operations that ought to      
continue2 and1 with so just discernment1
 excluded all such as ought to be       
interrupted8  ,the next day all past    
fatigue is gone and vanished4  ,the     
animal works on1 as if he had never     
worked before2 and this reviving gives  
him a vivacity and vigour that invites  
him to new labour4  ,thus the nerves are
 still full of spirits1 the flesh       
smooth1 the skin whole1 though one would
 think it should waste and tear2 the    
living body of the animal soon wears out
 inanimate bodies1 even the most solid  
that are about it2 and yet does not wear
 out itself4  ,the skin of a horse1 for 
instance1 wears out several saddles2 and
 the flesh of a child1 though very      
delicate and tender1 wears out many     

clothes1 whilst it daily grows stronger4
  ,if this renewing of spirits were     
perfect1 it would be real immortality1  
and the gift of eternal youth4  ,but the
 same being imperfect1 the animal       
insensibly loses his strength1 decays   
and grows old1 because everything that  
is created ought to bear a mark of      
nothingness from which it was drawn2 and
 have an end4   ,,sect4  ,,xxvi4  ,of   
,generation4   ,what is more admirable  
than the multiplication of animals8     
,look upon the individuals3  no animal  
is immortal4  ,everything grows old1    
everything passes away1 everything      
disappears1 everything1 in short1 is    
annihilated4  ,look upon the species3   
everything subsists1 everything is      
permanent and immutable1 though in a    
constant vicissitude4  ,ever since there
 have been on earth men that have taken 
care to preserve the memory of events1  
no lions1 tigers1 wild boars1 or bears1 
were ever known to form themselves by   
chance in caves or forests4  ,neither do

 we see any fortuitous productions of   
dogs or cats4  ,bulls and sheep are     
never born of themselves1 either in     
stables1 folds1 or on pasture grounds4  
,every one of those animals owes his    
birth to a certain male and female of   
his species4  ,all those different      
species are preserved much the same in  
all ages4 ,we do not find that for three
 thousand years past any one has        
perished or ceased2 neither do we find  
that any one multiplies to such an      
excess as to be a nuisance or           
inconveniency to the rest4  ,if the     
species of lions1 bears1 and tigers     
multiplied to a certain excessive       
degree1 they would not only destroy the 
species of stags1 bucks1 sheep1 goats1  
and bulls1 but even get the mastery over
 mankind1 and unpeople the earth4  ,now 
who maintains so just a measure as never
 either to extinguish those different   
species1 or never to suffer them to     
multiply too fast8  ,but this continual 
propagation of every species is a wonder

 with which we are grown too familiar4  
,what would a man think of a watchmaker 
who should have the art to make watches1
 which1 of themselves1 should produce   
others ad infinitum in such a manner    
that two original watches should be     
sufficient to multiply and perpetuate   
their species over the whole earth8     
,what would he say of an architect that 
should have the skill to build houses1  
which should build others1 to renew the 
habitations of men1 before the first    
should decay and be ready to fall to the
 ground8  ,it is1 however1 what we daily
 see among animals4  ,they are no more1 
if you please1 than mere machines1 as   
watches are4  ,but1 after all1 the      
,author of these machines has endowed   
them with a faculty to reproduce or     
perpetuate themselves ad infinitum by   
the conjunction of both sexes4 ,affirm1 
if you please1 that this generation of  
animals is performed either by moulds or
 by an express configuration of every   
individual2 which of these two opinions 

you think fit to pitch upon1 it comes   
all to one2 nor is the skill of the     
,artificer less conspicuous4  ,if you   
suppose that at every generation the    
individual1 without being cast into a   
mould1 receives a configuration made on 
purpose1 ,i ask1 who it is that manages 
and directs the configuration of so     
compounded a machine1 and which argues  
so much art and industry8 ,if1 on the   
contrary1 to avoid acknowledging any art
 in the case you suppose that everything
 is determined by the moulds1 ,i go back
 to the moulds themselves1 and ask1 who 
is it that prepared them8  ,in my       
opinion they are still greater matter of
 wonder than the very machines which are
 pretended to come out of them4         
,therefore let who will suppose that    
there were moulds in the animals that   
lived four thousand years ago1 and      
affirm1 if he pleases1 that those moulds
 were so inclosed one within another ad 
infinitum1 that there was a sufficient  
number for all the generations of those 

four thousand years2 and that there is  
still a sufficient number ready prepared
 for the formation of all the animals   
that shall preserve their species in all
 succeeding ages4  ,now1 these moulds1  
which1 as ,i have observed1 must have   
all the configuration of the animal1 are
 as difficult to be explained or        
accounted for as the animals themselves1
 and are besides attended with far more 
unexplicable wonders4  ,it is certain   
that the configuration of every         
individual animal requires no more art  
and power than is necessary to frame all
 the springs that make up that machine2 
but when a man supposes moulds3  first1 
he must affirm that every mould contains
 in little1 with unconceivable niceness1
 all the springs of the machine itself4 
,now1 it is beyond dispute that there is
 more art in making so compound a work  
in little than in a larger bulk4        
,secondly1 he must suppose that every   
mould1 which is an individual prepared  
for a first generation1 contains        

distinctly within itself other moulds   
contained within one another ad         
infinitum1 for all possible generations1
 in all succeeding ages4  ,now what can 
be more artful and more wonderful in    
matter of mechanism than such a         
preparation of an infinite number of    
individuals1 all formed beforehand in   
one from which they are to spring8      
,therefore the moulds are of no use to  
explain the generations of animals      
without supposing any art or skill4     
,for1 on the contrary1 moulds would     
argue a more artificial mechanism and   
more wonderful composition4  ,what is   
manifest and indisputable1 independently
 from all the systems of philosophers1  
is that the fortuitous concourse of     
atoms never produces1 without           
generation1 in any part of the earth1   
any lions1 tigers1 bears1 elephants1    
stags1 bulls1 sheep1 cats1 dogs1 or     
horses4  ,these and the like are never  
produced but by the encounter of two of 
their kind of different sex4  ,the two  

animals that produce a third are not the
 true authors of the art that shines in 
the composition of the animal engendered
 by them4  ,they are so far from knowing
 how to perform that art1 that they do  
not so much as know the composition or  
frame of the work that results from     
their generation4  ,nay1 they know not  
so much as any particular spring of it2 
having been no more than blind and      
unvoluntary instruments1 made use of for
 the performance of a marvellous art1 to
 which they are absolute strangers1 and 
of which they are perfectly ignorant4   
,now ,i would fain know whence comes    
that art1 which is none of theirs8 ,what
 power and wisdom knows how to employ1  
for the performance of works of so      
ingenious and intricate a design1       
instruments so uncapable to know what   
they are doing1 or to have any notion of
 it8 ,nor does it avail anything to     
suppose that beasts are endowed with    
reason4  ,let a man suppose them to be  
as rational as he pleases in other      

things1 yet he must own1 that in        
generation they have no share in the art
 that is conspicuous in the composition 
of the animals they produce4  ,let us   
carry the thing further1 and take for   
granted the most wonderful instances    
that are given of the skill and forecast
 of animals4  ,let us admire1 as much as
 you please1 the certainty with which a 
hound takes a spring into a third way1  
as soon as he finds by his nose that the
 game he pursues has left no scent in   
the other two4  ,let us admire the hind1
 who1 they say1 throws a good way off   
her young fawn1 into some hidden place1 
that the hounds may not find him out by 
the scent of his strain4  ,let us even  
admire the spider who with her cobwebs  
lays subtle snares to trap flies1 and   
fall unawares upon them before they can 
disentangle themselves4  ,let us also   
admire the hern1 who1 they say1 puts his
 head under his wing1 in order to hide  
his bill under his feathers1 thereby to 
stick the breast of the bird of prey    

that stoops at him4  ,let us allow the  
truth of all these wonderful instances  
of rationality2 for all nature is full  
of such prodigies4  ,but what must we   
infer from them8 ,in good earnest1 if we
 carefully examine the matter1 we shall 
find that they prove too much4  ,shall  
we say that animals are more rational   
than we8  ,their instinct has           
undoubtedly more certainty than our     
conjectures4  ,they have learnt neither 
logic nor geometry1 neither have they   
any course or method of improvement1 or 
any science4  ,whatever they do is done 
of a sudden without study1 preparation1 
or deliberation4  ,we commit blunders   
and mistakes every hour of the day after
 we have a long while argued and        
consulted together2 whereas animals1    
without any reasoning or premeditation1 
perform every hour what seems to require
 most discernment1 choice1 and          
exactness4  ,their instinct is in many  
things infallible2 but that word        
instinct is but a fair name void of     

sense4  ,for what can an instinct more  
just1 exact1 precise1 and certain than  
reason itself mean but a more perfect   
reason8  ,we must therefore suppose a   
wonderful reason and understanding      
either in the work or in the artificer2 
either in the machine or in him that    
made it4  ,when1 for instance1 ,i find  
that a watch shows the hours with such  
exactness as surpasses my knowledge1 ,i 
presently conclude that if the watch    
itself does not reason1 it must have    
been made by an artificer who1 in that  
particular1 reasoned better and had more
 skill than myself4 ,in like manner1    
when ,i see animals1 who every moment   
perform actions that argue a more       
certain art and industry than ,i am     
master of1 ,i immediately conclude that 
such marvellous art must necessarily be 
either in the machine or in the         
artificer that framed it4  ,is it in the
 animal himself8  ,but how is it        
possible he should be so wise and so    
infallible in some things8  ,and if this

 art is not in him1 it must of necessity
 be in the ,supreme ,artificer that made
 that piece of work1 just as all the art
 of a watch is in the skill of the      
watchmaker4   ,,sect4  ,,xxvii4  ,though
 ,beasts commit some ,mistakes1 yet     
their ,instinct is1 in many cases1      
,infallible4   ,do not object to me that
 the instinct of beasts is in some      
things defective1 and liable to error4  
,it is no wonder beasts are not         
infallible in everything1 but it is     
rather a wonder they are so in many     
cases4  ,if they were infallible in     
everything1 they should be endowed with 
a reason infinitely perfect2 in short1  
they should be deities4  ,in the works  
of an infinite ,power there can be but a
 finite perfection1 otherwise ,god      
should make creatures like or equal to  
,himself1 which is impossible4  ,he     
therefore cannot place perfection1 nor  
consequently reason1 in his works1      
without some bounds and restrictions4   
,but those bounds do not prove that the 

work is void of order or reason4        
,because ,i mistake sometimes1 it does  
not follow that ,i have no reason at    
all1 and that ,i do everything by mere  
chance1 but only that my reason is      
stinted and imperfect4  ,in like manner1
 because a beast is not by his instinct 
infallible in everything1 though he be  
so in many1 it does not follow that     
there is no manner of reason in that    
machine1 but only that such a machine   
has not a boundless reason4  ,but1 after
 all1 it is a constant truth that in the
 operations of that machine there is a  
regular conduct1 a marvellous art1 and a
 skill which in many cases amounts to   
infallibility4  ,now1 to whom shall we  
ascribe this infallible skill8  ,to the 
work1 or its ,artificer8   ,,sect4      
,,xxviii4  ,it is impossible ,beasts    
should have ,souls4   ,if you affirm    
that beasts have souls different from   
their machines1 ,i immediately ask you1 
,of what nature are those souls entirely
 different from and united to bodies8   

,who is it that knew how to unite them  
to natures so vastly different8  ,who is
 it that has such absolute command over 
so opposite natures1 as to put and keep 
them in such a regular and constant a   
society1 and wherein mutual agreement   
and correspondence are so necessary and 
so quick8  ,if1 on the contrary1 you    
suppose that the same matter may        
sometimes think1 and sometimes not      
think1 according to the various         
wrangling and configurations it may     
receive1 ,i will not tell you in this   
place that matter cannot think2 and that
 one cannot conceive that the parts of a
 stone1 without adding anything to it1  
may ever know themselves1 whatever      
degree of motion1 whatever figure1 you  
may give them4  ,i will only ask you now
 wherein that precise ranging and       
configuration of parts1 which you speak 
of1 consists8  ,according to your       
opinion there must be a degree of motion
 wherein matter does not yet reason1 and
 then another much like it wherein1 on a

 sudden1 it begins to reason and know   
itself4  ,now1 who is it that knew how  
to pitch upon that precise degree of    
motion8  ,who is it that has discovered 
the line in which the parts ought to    
move8  ,who is it that has measured the 
dimensions so nicely as to find out and 
state the bigness and figure every part 
must have to keep all manner of         
proportions between themselves in the   
whole8  ,who is it that has regulated   
the outward form by which all those     
bodies are to be stinted8  ,in a word1  
who is it that has found all the        
combinations wherein matter thinks1 and 
without the least of which matter must  
immediately cease to think8  ,if you say
 it is chance1 ,i answer that you make  
chance rational to such a degree as to  
be the source of reason itself4         
,strange prejudice and intoxication of  
some men1 not to acknowledge a most     
intelligent cause1 from which we derive 
all intelligence2 and rather choose to  
affirm that the purest reason is but the

 effect of the blindest of all causes in
 such a subject as matter1 which of     
itself is altogether incapable of       
knowledge6 ,certainly there is nothing a
 man of sense would not admit rather    
than so extravagant and absurd an       
opinion4   ,,sect4  ,,xxix4  ,sentiments
 of some of the ,ancients concerning the
 ,soul and ,knowledge of ,beasts4   ,the
 philosophy of the ancients1 though very
 lame and imperfect1 had nevertheless a 
glimpse of this difficulty2 and1        
therefore1 in order to remove it1 some  
of them pretended that the ,divine      
,spirit interspersed and scattered      
throughout the universe is a superior   
,wisdom that continually operates in all
 nature1 especially in animals1 just as 
souls act in bodies2 and that this      
continual impression or impulse of the  
,divine ,spirit1 which the vulgar call  
instinct1 without knowing the true      
signification of that word1 was the life
 of all living creatures4  ,they added1 
,that those sparks of the ,divine       

,spirit were the principle of all       
generations2 that animals received them 
in their conception and at their birth2 
and that the moment they died those     
divine particles disengaged themselves  
from all terrestrial matter in order to 
fly up to heaven1 where they shone and  
rolled among the stars4  ,it is this    
philosophy1 at once so magnificent and  
so fabulous1 which ,virgil so gracefully
 expresses in the following verses upon 
bees3--  ,esse apibus partem divinae    
mentis1 et haustus ,a,etherios dixere3  
,deum namque ire per omnes ,terrasque1  
tractusque maris1 caelumque profundum4  
,hinc pecudes1 armenta viros1 genus omne
 ferarum1 ,quemque sibi tenues nascentem
 arcessere vitas4 ,scilicet huc reddi   
deinde1 ac resoluta referri ,omnia1 nec 
morti esse locum1 sed viva volare       
,sideris in numerum1 atque alto         
succedere caelo4  ,that is3--  ,induced 
by such examples1 some have taught ,that
 bees have portions of ethereal thought1
 ,endued with particles of heavenly     

fires1 ,for ,god the whole created mass 
inspires4 ,through heaven1 and earth1   
and ocean depth ,he throws ,his         
influence round1 and kindles as ,he     
goes4 ,hence flocks1 and herds1 and men1
 and beasts1 and fowls1 ,with breath are
 quickened1 and attract their souls4    
,hence take the forms ,his prescience   
did ordain1 ,and into ,him1 at length1  
resolve again4 ,no room is left for     
death3  they mount the sky1 ,and to     
their own congenial planets fly4        
,dryden's ,virgil4  ,that ,divine       
,wisdom that moves all the known parts  
of the world had made so deep an        
impression upon the ,stoics1 and on     
,plato before them1 that they believed  
the whole world to be an animal1 but a  
rational and wise animal--in short1 the 
,supreme ,god4  ,this philosophy reduced
 ,polytheism1 or the multitude of gods1 
to ,deism1 or one ,god1 and that one    
,god to ,nature1 which according to them
 was eternal1 infallible1 intelligent1  
omnipotent1 and divine4  ,thus          

philosophers1 by striving to keep from  
and rectify the notions of poets1       
dwindled again at last into poetical    
fancies1 since they assigned1 as the    
inventors of fables did1 a life1 an     
intelligence1 an art1 and a design to   
all the parts of the universe that      
appear most inanimate4  ,undoubtedly    
they were sensible of the wonderful art 
that is conspicuous in nature1 and their
 only mistake lay in ascribing to the   
work the skill of the ,artificer4       
,,sect4  ,,xxx4  ,of ,man4   ,let us not
 stop any longer with animals inferior  
to man4  ,it is high time to consider   
and study the nature of man himself1 in 
order to discover ,him whose image he is
 said to bear4  ,i know but two sorts of
 beings in all nature3  those that are  
endowed with knowledge or reason1 and   
those that are not ,now man is a        
compound of these two modes of being4   
,he has a body1 as the most inanimate   
corporeal beings have2 and he has a     
spirit1 a mind1 or a soul--that is1 a   

thought whereby he knows himself1 and   
perceives what is about him4 ,if it be  
true that there is a ,first ,being who  
has drawn or created all the rest from  
nothing1 man is truly ,his image2 for he
 has1 like ,him1 in his nature all the  
real perfection that is to be found in  
those two various kinds or modes of     
being4  ,but an image is but an image   
still1 and can be but an adumbration or 
shadow of the true ,perfect ,being4     
,let us begin to study man by the       
contemplation of his body4  ,i know not1
 said a mother to her children in the   
,holy ,writ1 how you were formed in my  
womb4  ,nor is it1 indeed1 the wisdom of
 the parents that forms so compounded   
and so regular a work4  ,they have no   
share in that wonderful art2 let us     
therefore leave them1 and trace it up   
higher4   ,,sect4  ,,xxxi4  ,of the     
,structure of ,man's ,body4   ,the body 
is made of clay2 but let us admire the  
,hand that framed and polished it4  ,the
 ,artificer's ,seal is stamped upon ,his

 work4  ,he seems to have delighted in  
making a masterpiece with so vile a     
matter4  ,let us cast our eyes upon that
 body1 in which the bones sustain the   
flesh that covers them4  ,the nerves    
that are extended in it make up all its 
strength2 and the muscles with which the
 sinews weave themselves1 either by     
swelling or extending themselves1       
perform the most exact and regular      
motions4  ,the bones are divided at     
certain distances1 but they have joints1
 whereby they are set one within        
another1 and are tied by nerves and     
tendons4  ,cicero admires1 with reason1 
the excellent art with which the bones  
are knit together4  ,for what is more   
supple for all various motions8  ,and1  
on the other hand1 what is more firm and
 durable8  ,even after a body is dead1  
and its parts are separated by          
corruption1 we find that these joints   
and ligaments can hardly be destroyed4  
,thus this human machine or frame is    
either straight or crooked1 stiff or    

supple1 as we please4  ,from the brain1 
which is the source of all the nerves1  
spring the spirits1 which are so subtle 
that they escape the sight2 and         
nevertheless so real1 and of so great   
activity and force1 that they perform   
all the motions of the machine1 and make
 up all in strength4  ,these spirits are
 in an instant conveyed to the very     
extremities of the members4  ,sometimes 
they flow gently and regularly1         
sometimes they move with impetuosity1 as
 occasion requires2 and they vary ad    
infinitum the postures1 gestures1 and   
other actions of the body4   ,,sect4    
,,xxxii4  ,of the ,skin4   ,let us      
consider the flesh4  ,it is covered in  
certain places with a soft and tender   
skin1 for the ornament of the body4  ,if
 that skin1 that renders the object so  
agreeable1 and gives it so sweet a      
colour1 were taken off1 the same object 
would become ghastly1 and create horror4
  ,in other places that same skin is    
harder and thicker1 in order to resist  

the fatigue of those parts4  ,as1 for   
instance1 how harder is the skin of the 
feet than that of the face8 ,and that of
 the hinder part of the head than that  
of the forehead8 ,that skin is all over 
full of holes like a sieve3  but those  
holes1 which are called pores1 are      
imperceptible4  ,although sweat and     
other transpirations exhale through     
those pores1 the blood never runs out   
that way4  ,that skin has all the       
tenderness necessary to make it         
transparent1 and give the face a lively1
 sweet1 and graceful colour4 ,if the    
skin were less close1 and less smooth1  
the face would look bloody1 and         
excoriated4  ,now1 who is that knew how 
to temper and mix those colours with    
such nicety as to make a carnation which
 painters admire1 but never can         
perfectly imitate8   ,,sect4  ,,xxxiii4 
,of ,veins and ,arteries4   ,there are  
in man's body numberless branches of    
blood-vessels4  ,some of them carry the 
blood from the centre to the extreme    

parts1 and are called arteries4         
,through those various vessels runs the 
blood1 a liquor soft and oily1 and by   
this oiliness proper to retain the most 
subtle spirits1 just as the most subtle 
and spirituous essences are preserved in
 gummy bodies4  ,this blood moistens the
 flesh1 as springs and rivers water the 
earth2 and after it has filtrated in the
 flesh1 it returns to its source1 more  
slowly1 and less full of spirits3  but  
it renews1 and is again subtilised in   
that source1 in order to circulate      
without ceasing4   ,,sect4  ,,xxxiv4    
,of the ,bones1 and their ,jointing4    
,do you consider that excellent order   
and proportion of the limbs8 ,the legs  
and thighs are great bones jointed one  
with another1 and knit together by      
tendons4  ,they are two sorts of        
pillars1 equal and regular1 erected to  
support the whole fabric4  ,but those   
pillars fold2 and the rotula of the knee
 is a bone of a circular figure1 which  
is placed on purpose on the joint1 in   

order to fill it up1 and preserve it1   
when the bones fold1 for the bending of 
the knee4  ,each column or pillar has   
its pedestal1 which is composed of      
various inlaid parts1 so well jointed   
together1 that they can either bend1 or 
keep stiff1 as occasion requires4  ,the 
pedestal1 ,i mean the foot1 turns1 at a 
man's pleasure1 under the pillar4  ,in  
this foot we find nothing but nerves1   
tendons1 and little bones closely knit1 
that this part may1 at once1 be either  
more supple or more firm1 according to  
various occasions4  ,even the toes1 with
 their articles and nails1 serve to feel
 the ground a man walks on1 to lean and 
stand with more dexterity and           
nimbleness1 the better to preserve the  
equilibrium of the body1 to rise1 or to 
stoop4  ,the two feet stretch forward1  
to keep the body from falling that way1 
when it stoops or bends4  ,the two      
pillars are jointed together at the top1
 to bear up the rest of the body1 but   
are still divided there in such a       

manner1 that that joint affords man the 
conveniency of resting himself1 by      
sitting on the two biggest muscles of   
the body4  ,the body of the structure is
 proportioned to the height of the      
pillars4  ,it contains such parts as are
 necessary for life1 and which          
consequently ought to be placed in the  
centre1 and shut up in the securest     
place4  ,therefore two rows of ribs     
pretty close to one another1 that come  
out of the backbone1 as the branches of 
a tree do from its trunk1 form a kind of
 hoop1 to hide and shelter those noble  
and tender parts4  ,but because the ribs
 could not entirely shut up that centre 
of the human body1 without hindering the
 dilatation of the stomach and of the   
entrails1 they form that hoop but to a  
certain place1 below which they leave an
 empty space1 that the inside may freely
 distend and stretch1 both for          
respiration and feeding4  ,as for the   
backbone1 all the works of man afford   
nothing so artfully and curiously       

wrought4  ,it would be too stiff1 and   
too frangible or brittle1 if it were    
made of one single bone3  and in such a 
case man could never bend or stoop4     
,the author of this machine has         
prevented that inconveniency by forming 
vertebrae1 which jointing one with      
another make up a whole1 consisting of  
several pieces of bones1 more strong    
than if it were of a single piece4      
,this compound being sometimes supple   
and pliant1 and sometimes stiff1 stands 
either upright1 or bends1 in a moment1  
as a man pleases4  ,all these vertebrae 
have in the middle a gutter or channel1 
that serves to convey a continuation of 
the substance of the brain to the       
extremities of the body1 and with speed 
to send thither spirits through that    
pipe4  ,but who can forbear admiring the
 nature of the bones8  ,they are very   
hard2 and we see that even the          
corruption of all the rest of the body1 
after death1 does not affect them4      
,nevertheless1 they are full of         

numberless holes and cavities that make 
them lighter2 and in the middle they are
 full of the marrow1 or pith1 that is to
 nourish them4  ,they are bored exactly 
in those places through which the       
ligaments that knit them are to pass4   
,moreover1 their extremities are bigger 
than the middle1 and form1 as it were1  
two semicircular heads1 to make one bone
 turn more easily with another1 that so 
the whole may fold and bend without     
trouble4   ,,sect4  ,,xxxv4  ,of the    
,organs4   ,within the enclosure of the 
ribs are placed in order all the great  
organs such as serve to make a man      
breathe2 such as digest the aliments2   
and such as make new blood4             
,respiration1 or breathing1 is necessary
 to temper inward heat1 occasioned by   
the boiling of the blood1 and by the    
impetuous course of the spirits4  ,the  
air is a kind of food that nourishes the
 animal1 and by means of which he renews
 himself every moment of his life4  ,nor
 is digestion less necessary to prepare 

sensible aliments towards their being   
changed into blood1 which is a liquor   
apt to penetrate everywhere1 and to     
thicken into flesh in the extreme parts1
 in order to repair in all the members  
what they lose continually both by      
transpiration and the waste of spirits4 
,the lungs are like great covers1 which 
being spongy1 easily dilate and contract
 themselves1 and as they incessantly    
take in and blow out a great deal of    
air1 they form a kind of bellows that   
are in perpetual motion4  ,the stomach  
has a dissolvent that causes hunger1 and
 puts man in mind of his want of food4  
,that dissolvent1 which stimulates and  
pricks the stomach1 does1 by that very  
uneasiness1 prepare for it a very lively
 pleasure1 when its craving is satisfied
 by the aliments4  ,then man1 with      
delight1 fills his belly with strange   
matter1 which would create horror in him
 if he could see it as soon as it has   
entered his stomach1 and which even     
displeases him1 when he sees it being   

already satisfied4  ,the stomach is made
 in the figure of a bagpipe4 ,there the 
aliments being dissolved by a quick     
coction1 or digestion1 are all          
confounded1 and make up a soft liquor1  
which afterwards becomes a kind of milk1
 called chyle2 and which being at last  
brought into the heart1 receives there1 
through the plenty of spirits1 the form1
 vivacity1 and colour of blood4  ,but   
while the purest juice of the aliments  
passes from the stomach into the pipes  
destined for the preparation of chyle   
and blood1 the gross particles of the   
same aliments are separated1 just as    
bran is from flour by a sieve2 and they 
are dejected downwards to ease the body 
of them1 through the most hidden        
passages1 and the most remote from the  
organs of the senses1 lest these be     
offended at them4  ,thus the wonders of 
this machine are so great and numerous1 
that we find some unfathomable1 even in 
the most abject and mortifying functions
 of the body1 which modesty will not    

allow to be more particularly explained4
   ,,sect4  ,,xxxvi4  ,of the ,inward   
,parts4   ,i own that the inward parts  
are not so agreeable to the sight as the
 outward2 but then be pleased to observe
 they are not made to be seen4  ,nay1 it
 was necessary according to art and     
design that they should not be          
discovered without horror1 and that a   
man should not without violent          
reluctance go about to discover them by 
cutting open this machine in another    
man4  ,it is this very horror that      
prepares compassion and humanity in the 
hearts of men when one sees another     
wounded or hurt4  ,add to this1 with    
,st4 ,austin1 that there are in those   
inward parts a proportion1 order1 and   
mechanism which still please more an    
attentive1 inquisitive mind than        
external beauty can please the eyes of  
the body4  ,that inside of man--which is
 at once so ghastly and horrid and so   
wonderful and admirable--is exactly as  
it should be to denote dirt and clay    

wrought by a ,divine hand1 for we find  
in it both the frailty of the creature  
and the art of the ,creator4   ,,sect4  
,,xxxvii4  ,of the ,arms and their ,use4
   ,from the top of that precious fabric
 we have described hang the two arms1   
which are terminated by the hands1 and  
which bear a perfect symmetry one with  
another4  ,the arms are knit with the   
shoulders in such a manner that they    
have a free motion1 in that joint4      
,they are besides divided at the elbow  
and at the wrist that they may fold1    
bend1 and turn with quickness4  ,the    
arms are of a just length to reach all  
the parts of the body4  ,they are       
nervous and full of muscles1 that they  
may1 as well as the back1 be often in   
action and sustain the greatest fatigue 
of all the body4  ,the hands are a      
contexture of nerves and little bones   
set one within another in such a manner 
that they have all the strength and     
suppleness necessary to feel the        
neighbouring bodies1 to seize on them1  

hold them fast1 throw them1 draw them to
 one1 push them off1 disentangle them1  
and untie them one from another4  ,the  
fingers1 the ends of which are armed    
with nails1 are by the delicacy and     
variety of their motions contrived to   
exercise the most curious and marvellous
 arts4  ,the arms and hands serve also1 
according as they are either extended1  
folded1 or turned1 to poise the body in 
such a manner as that it may stoop      
without any danger of falling4  ,the    
whole machine has1 besides1             
independently from all after-thoughts1 a
 kind of spring that poises it on a     
sudden and makes it find the equilibrium
 in all its different postures and      
positions4   ,,sect4  ,,xxxviii4  ,of   
the ,neck and ,head4   ,above the body  
rises the neck1 which is either firm or 
flexible at pleasure4  ,must a man bear 
a heavy burden on his head8  ,this neck 
becomes as stiff as if it were made up  
of one single bone4  ,has he a mind to  
bow or turn his head8  ,the neck bends  

every way as if all its bones were      
disjointed4  ,this neck1 a little raised
 above the shoulders1 bears up with ease
 the head1 which over-rules and governs 
the whole body4  ,if it were less big it
 would bear no proportion with the rest 
of the machine2 and if it were bigger it
 would not only be disproportioned and  
deformed1 but1 besides1 its weight would
 both crush the neck and put man in     
danger of falling on the side it should 
lean a little too much4  ,this head1    
fortified on all sides by very thick and
 very hard bones in order the better to 
preserve the precious treasure it       
encloses1 is jointed with the vertebrae 
of the neck1 and has a very quick       
communication with all the other parts  
of the body4  ,it contains the brain1   
whose moist1 soft1 and spongy substance 
is made up of tender filaments or       
threads woven together2 this is the     
centre of all the wonders we shall speak
 of afterwards4 ,the skull is regularly 
perforated1 or bored1 with exact        

proportion1 and symmetry1 for1 the two  
eyes1 the two ears1 the mouth1 and the  
nostrils4  ,there are nerves destined   
for sensations1 that exercise and play  
in most of those pipes4  ,the nose1     
which has no nerves for its sensation1  
has a cribriform1 or spongy bone1 to let
 odours pass on to the brain4  ,amongst 
the organs of these sensations the chief
 are double1 to preserve to one side    
what the other might happen to be       
defective in by any accident4  ,these   
two organs of the same sensation are    
symmetrically placed either on the      
forepart or on the sides1 that man may  
use them with more ease to the right or 
to the left or right against him--that  
is to say1 towards the places his joints
 direct his steps and all his actions4  
,besides1 the flexibility of the neck   
makes all those organs turn in an       
instant which way soever he pleases4    
,all the hinder part of the head1 which 
is the least able to defend itself1 is  
therefore the thickest4  ,it is adorned 

with hair which at the same time serves 
to fortify the head against the injuries
 of the air2 and1 on the other hand1 the
 hair likewise adorns the fore part of  
the head and renders the face more      
graceful4  ,the face is the fore part of
 the head1 wherein the principal        
sensations meet and centre with an order
 and proportion that render it very     
beautiful unless some accident or other 
happen to alter and impair so regular a 
piece of work4  ,the two eyes are equal1
 being placed about the middle1 on the  
two sides of the head1 that they may1   
without trouble1 discover afar off both 
on the right and left all strange       
objects1 and that they may commodiously 
watch for the safety of all the parts of
 the body4  ,the exact symmetry with    
which they are placed is the ornament of
 the face2 and ,he that made them has   
kindled in them ,i know not what        
celestial flame1 the like of which all  
the rest of nature does not afford4     
,these eyes are a sort of               

looking-glasses1 wherein all the objects
 of the whole world are painted by turns
 and without confusion in the bottom of 
the retina that the thinking part of man
 may see them in those looking-glasses4 
,but though we perceive all objects by a
 double organ1 yet we never see the     
objects double1 because the two nerves  
that are subservient to sight in our    
eyes are but two branches that unite in 
one pipe1 as the two glasses of a pair  
of spectacles unite in the upper part   
that joins them together4  ,the two eyes
 are adorned with two equal eyebrows1   
and1 that they may open and close1 they 
are wrapped up with lids edged with hair
 that defend so delicate a part4        
,,sect4  ,,xxxix4  ,of the ,forehead and
 ,other ,parts of the ,face4   ,the     
forehead gives majesty and gracefulness 
to all the face1 and serves to heighten 
all its features4  ,were it not for the 
nose1 which is placed in the middle1 the
 whole face would look flat and         
deformed1 of which they are fully       

convinced who have happened to see men  
in whom that part of the face is        
mutilated4  ,it is placed just above the
 mouth1 that it may the more easily     
discern1 by the odours1 whatever is most
 proper to feed man4  ,the two nostrils 
serve at once both for the respiration  
and smell4  ,look upon the lips3  their 
lively colour1 freshness1 figure1 seat1 
and proportion1 with the other features1
 render the face most beautiful4  ,the  
mouth1 by the correspondence of its     
motions with those of the eyes1         
animates1 gladdens1 suddens1 softens1 or
 troubles the face1 and by sensible     
marks expresses every passion4  ,the    
lips not only open to receive food1 but 
by their suppleness and the variety of  
their motions serve likewise to vary the
 sounds that form speech4  ,when they   
open they discover a double row of teeth
 with which the mouth is adorned4 ,these
 teeth are little bones set in order in 
the two jaw-bones1 which have a spring  
to open and another to shut in such a   

manner that the teeth grind1 like a     
mill1 the aliments in order to prepare  
their digestion4  ,but these aliments   
thus ground go down into the stomach1   
through a pipe different from that      
through which we breathe1 and these two 
pipes1 though so neighbouring1 have     
nothing common4   ,,sect4  ,,xl4  ,of   
the ,tongue and ,teeth4   ,the tongue is
 a contexture of small muscles and      
nerves so very supple1 that it winds and
 turns like a serpent1 with             
unconceivable mobility and pliantness4  
,it performs in the mouth the same      
office which either the fingers or the  
bow of a master of music perform on a   
musical instrument3  for sometimes it   
strikes the teeth1 sometimes the roof of
 the mouth4  ,there is a pipe that goes 
into the inside of the neck1 called     
throat1 from the roof of the mouth to   
the breast1 which is made up of         
cartilaginous rings nicely set one      
within another1 and lined within with a 
very smooth membrane1 in order to render

 the air that is pushed from the lungs  
more sonorous4  ,on the side of the roof
 of the mouth the end of that pipe is   
opened like a flute1 by a slit1 that    
either extends1 or contracts itself as  
is necessary to render the voice either 
big or slender1 hollow or clear4  ,but  
lest the aliments1 which have their     
separate pipe1 should slide into the    
windpipe ,i have been describing1 there 
is a kind of valve that lies on the     
orifice of the organ of the voice1 and  
playing like a drawbridge1 lets the     
aliments freely pass through their      
proper channel1 but never suffers the   
least particle or drop to fall into the 
slit of the windpipe4  ,this sort of    
valve has a very free motion1 and easily
 turns any way1 so that by shaking on   
that half-opened orifice1 it performs   
the softest modulations of the voice4   
,this instance is sufficient to show1   
by-the-by1 and without entering         
long-winded details of anatomy1 what a  
marvellous art there is in the frame of 

the inward parts4  ,and indeed the organ
 ,i have described is the most perfect  
of all musical instruments1 nor have    
these any perfection1 but so far as they
 imitate that4   ,,sect4  ,,xli4  ,of   
the ,smell1 ,taste1 and ,hearing4   ,who
 were able to explain the niceness of   
the organs by which man discerns the    
numberless savours and odours of bodies8
  ,but how is it possible for so many   
different voices to strike at once my   
ear without confounding one another1 and
 for those sounds to leave in me1 after 
they have ceased to be1 so lively and so
 distinct images of what they have been8
  ,how careful was the ,artificer who   
made our bodies to give our eyes a      
moist1 smooth1 and sliding cover to     
close them2 and why did ,he leave our   
ears open8  ,because1 says ,cicero1 the 
eyes must be shut against the light in  
order to sleep2 and1 in the meantime1   
the ears ought to remain open in order  
to give us warning1 and wake us by the  
report of noise1 when we are in danger  

of being surprised4  ,who is it that1 in
 an instant1 imprints in my eye the     
heaven1 the sea1 and the earth1 seated  
at almost an infinite distance8  ,how   
can the faithful images of all the      
objects of the universe1 from the sun to
 an atom1 range themselves distinctly in
 so small an organ8  ,is not the        
substance of the brain1 which preserves1
 in order1 such lively representations  
of all the objects that have made an    
impression upon us ever since we were in
 the world1 a most wonderful prodigy8   
,men admire with reason the invention of
 books1 wherein the history of so many  
events1 and the collection of so many   
thoughts1 are preserved4  ,but what     
comparison can be made between the best 
book and the brain of a learned man8    
,there is no doubt but such a brain is a
 collection infinitely more precious1   
and of a far more excellent contrivance1
 than a book4  ,it is in that small     
repository that a man never misses      
finding the images he has occasion for4 

,he calls them1 and they come2 he       
dismisses them1 and they sink ,i know   
not where1 and disappear1 to make room  
for others4 ,a man shuts or opens his   
fancy at pleasure1 like a book4  ,he    
turns1 as it were1 its leaves2 and1 in  
an instant1 goes from one end to the    
other4  ,there is even in memory a sort 
of table1 like the index of a book1     
which shows where certain remote images 
are to be found4  ,we do not find that  
these innumerable characters1 which the 
mind of man reads inwardly with so much 
rapidity1 leave any distinct trace or   
print in the brain1 when we open it4    
,that admirable book is but a soft      
substance1 or a sort of bottom made up  
of tender threads1 woven one with       
another4  ,now what skilful hand has    
laid up in that kind of dirt1 which     
appears so shapeless1 such precious     
images1 ranged with such excellent and  
curious art8   ,,sect4  ,,xlii4  ,of the
 ,proportion of ,man's ,body4   ,such is
 the body of man in general3  for ,i do 

not enter into an anatomical detail1 my 
design being only to discover the art   
that is conspicuous in nature1 by the   
simple cast of an eye1 without any      
science4  ,the body of man might        
undoubtedly be either much bigger and   
taller1 or much lesser and smaller4     
,but if1 for instance1 it were but one  
foot high1 it would be insulted by most 
animals1 that would tread and crush it  
under their feet4  ,if it were as tall  
as a high steeple1 a small number of men
 would in a few days consume all the    
aliments a whole country affords4  ,they
 could find neither horses nor any other
 beasts of burden either to carry them  
on their backs or draw them in a machine
 with wheels2 nor could they find       
sufficient quantity of materials to     
build houses proportioned to their      
bigness2 and as there could be but a    
small number of men upon earth1 so they 
should want most conveniences4  ,now1   
who is it that has so well regulated the
 size of man to so just a standard8     

,who is it that has fixed that of other 
animals and living creatures1 with      
proportion to that of man8  ,of all     
animals1 man only stands upright on his 
feet1 which gives him a nobleness and   
majesty that distinguishes him1 even as 
to the outside1 from all that lives upon
 earth4  ,not only his figure is the    
noblest1 but he is also the strongest   
and most dextrous of all animals1 in    
proportion to his bigness4  ,let one    
nicely examine the bulk and weight of   
the most terrible beasts1 and he will   
find1 that though they have more matter 
than the body of a man1 yet a vigorous  
man has more strength of body than most 
wild beasts4  ,nor are these dreadful to
 him1 except in their teeth and claws4  
,but man1 who has not such natural arms 
in his limbs1 has yet hands1 whose      
dexterity to make artificial weapons    
surpasses all that nature has bestowed  
upon beasts4  ,thus man either pierces  
with his darts or draws into his snares1
 masters1 and leads in chains the       

strongest and fiercest animals4  ,nay1  
he has the skill to tame them in their  
captivity1 and to sport with them as he 
pleases4  ,he teaches lions and tigers  
to caress him3  and gets on the back of 
elephants4   ,,sect4  ,,xliii4  ,of the 
,soul1 which alone1 among all           
,creatures1 ,thinks and ,knows4   ,but  
the body of man1 which appears to be the
 masterpiece of nature1 is not to be    
compared to his thought4  ,it is certain
 that there are bodies that do not      
think3  man1 for instance1 ascribes no  
knowledge to stone1 wood1 or metals1    
which undoubtedly are bodies4  ,nay1 it 
is so natural to believe that matter    
cannot think1 that all unprejudiced men 
cannot forbear laughing when they hear  
any one assert that beasts are but mere 
machines2 because they cannot conceive  
that mere machines can have such        
knowledge as they pretend to perceive in
 beasts4  ,they think it to be like     
children's playing1 and talking to their
 puppets1 the ascribing any knowledge to

 mere machines4  ,hence it is that the  
ancients themselves1 who knew no real   
substance but the body1 pretended1      
however1 that the soul of a man was a   
fifth element1 or a sort of quintessence
 without name1 unknown here below1      
indivisible1 immutable1 and altogether  
celestial and divine1 because they could
 not conceive that the terrestrial      
matter of the four elements could think1
 and know itself3 ,aristoteles quintam  
quandam naturam censet esse1 e qua sit  
mens4 ,cogitare enim1 et providere1 et  
discere1 et docere4 4 4 4 in horum      
quatuor generum nullo inesse putat2     
quintum genus adhibet vacans nomine4    
,,sect4  ,,xliv4  ,matter ,cannot       
,think4   ,but let us suppose whatever  
you please1 for ,i will not enter the   
lists with any sect of philosophers3    
here is an alternative which no         
philosopher can avoid4  ,either matter  
can become a thinking substance1 without
 adding anything to it1 or matter cannot
 think at all1 and so what thinks in us 

is a substance distinct from matter1 and
 which is united to it4  ,if matter can 
acquire the faculty of thinking without 
adding anything to it1 it must1 at      
least1 be owned that all matter does not
 think1 and that even some matter that  
now thinks did not think fifty years    
ago2 as1 for instance1 the matter of    
which the body of a young man is made up
 did not think ten years before he was  
born4  ,it must then be concluded that  
matter can acquire the faculty of       
thinking by a certain configuration1    
ranging1 and motion of its parts4  ,let 
us1 for instance1 suppose the matter of 
a stone1 or of a heap of sand4  ,it is  
agreed this part of matter has no manner
 of thought2 and therefore to make it   
begin to think1 all its parts must be   
configurated1 ranged1 and moved a       
certain way and to a certain degree4    
,now1 who is it that knew how to find1  
with so much niceness1 that proportion1 
order1 and motion that way1 and to such 
a degree1 above and below which matter  

would never think8 ,who is it that has  
given all those just1 exact1 and precise
 modifications to a vile and shapeless  
matter1 in order to form the body of a  
child1 and to render it rational by     
degrees8  ,if1 on the contrary1 it be   
affirmed that matter cannot become a    
thinking substance without adding       
something to it1 and that another being 
must be united to it1 ,i ask1 what will 
that other thinking being be1 whilst the
 matter1 to which it is united1 only    
moves8  ,therefore1 here are two natures
 or substances very unlike and distinct4
  ,we know one by figures and local     
motions only2 as we do the other by     
perceptions and reasonings4  ,the one   
does not imply1 or create the idea of   
the other1 for their respective ideas   
have nothing in common4   ,,sect4       
,,xlv4  ,of the ,union of the ,soul and 
,body1 of which ,god alone can be the   
,author4   ,but now1 how comes it to    
pass that beings so unlike are so       
intimately united together in man8      

,whence comes it that certain motions of
 the body so suddenly and so infallibly 
raise certain thoughts in the soul8     
,whence comes it that the thoughts of   
the soul1 so suddenly and so infallibly1
 occasion certain motions in the body8  
,whence proceeds so regular a society1  
for seventy or fourscore years1 without 
any interruption8  ,how comes it to pass
 that this union of two beings1 and two 
operations1 so very different1 make up  
so exact a compound1 that many are      
tempted to believe it to be a simple and
 indivisible whole8  ,what hand had the 
skill to unite and tie together these   
two extremes and opposites8 ,it is      
certain they did not unite themselves by
 mutual consent1 for matter having of   
itself neither thought nor will1 to make
 terms and conditions1 it could not     
enter into an agreement with the mind4  
,on the other hand1 the mind does not   
remember that it ever made an agreement 
with matter2 nor could it be subjected  
to such an agreement1 if it had quite   

forgot it4  ,if the mind had freely1 and
 of its own accord1 resolved to submit  
to the impressions of matter1 it would  
not1 however1 subject itself to them but
 when it should remember such a         
resolution1 which1 besides1 it might    
alter at pleasure4  ,nevertheless1 it is
 certain that in spite of itself it is  
dependent on the body1 and that it      
cannot free itself from its dependence1 
unless it destroy the organs of the body
 by a violent death4  ,besides1 although
 the mind had voluntarily subjected     
itself to matter1 it would not follow   
that matter were reciprocally subjected 
to the mind4  ,the mind would indeed    
have certain thoughts when the body     
should have certain motions1 but the    
body would not be determined to have1 in
 its turn1 certain motions1 as soon as  
the mind should have certain thoughts4  
,now it is most certain that this       
dependence is reciprocal4  ,nothing is  
more absolute than the command of the   
mind over the body4  ,the mind wills1   

and1 instantly1 all the members of the  
body are in motion1 as if they were     
acted by the most powerful machines4    
,on the other hand1 nothing is more     
manifest than the power and influence of
 the body over the mind4  ,the body is  
in motion1 and1 instantly the mind is   
forced to think either with pleasure or 
pain1 upon certain objects4  ,now1 what 
hand equally powerful over these two    
divers and distinct natures has been    
able to bring them both under the same  
yoke1 and hold them captive in so exact 
and inviolable a society8  ,will any man
 say it was chance8  ,if he does1 will  
he be able either to understand what he 
means1 or to make it understood by      
others8  ,has chance1 by a concourse of 
atoms1 hooked together the parts of the 
body with the mind8  ,if the mind can be
 hooked with some parts of the body1 it 
must have parts itself1 and consequently
 be a perfect body1 in which case1 we   
relapse into the first answer1 which ,i 
have already confuted4  ,if1 on the     

contrary1 the mind has no parts1 nothing
 can hook it with those of the body1 nor
 has chance wherewithal to tie them     
together4  ,in short1 my alternative    
ever returns1 and is peremptory and     
decisive4  ,if the mind and body are a  
whole made up of matter only1 how comes 
it to pass that this matter1 which      
yesterday did not1 has this day begun to
 think8  ,who is it that has bestowed   
upon it what it had not1 and which is   
without comparison more noble than      
thoughtless matter8  ,what bestows      
thought upon it1 has it not itself1 and 
how can it give what it has not8  ,let  
us even suppose that thought should     
result from a certain configuration1    
ranging1 and degree of motion a certain 
way1 of all the parts of matter3 what   
artificer has had the skill to find out 
all those just1 nice1 and exact         
combinations1 in order to make a        
thinking machine8  ,if1 on the contrary1
 the mind and body are two distinct     
natures1 what power superior to those   

two natures has been able to unite and  
tie together without the mind's assent1 
or so much as its knowing which way that
 union was made8  ,who is it that with  
such absolute and supreme command       
over-rules both minds and bodies1 and   
keeps them in society and               
correspondence1 and under a sort of     
incomprehensible policy8   ,,sect4      
,,xlvi4  ,the ,soul has an ,absolute    
,command over the ,body4   ,be pleased  
to observe that the command of my mind  
over my body is supreme and absolute in 
its bounded extent1 since my single     
will1 without any effort or preparation1
 causes all the members of my body to   
move on a sudden and immediately1       
according to the rules of mechanics4    
,as the ,scripture gives us the         
character of ,god1 who said after the   
creation of the universe1 ,let there be 
light1 and there was light--in like     
manner1 the inward word of my soul      
alone1 without any effort or            
preparation1 makes what it says4  ,i    

say1 for instance1 within myself1       
through that inward1 simple1 and        
momentaneous word1 ,let my body move1   
and it moves4  ,at the command of that  
simple and intimate will1 all the parts 
of my body are at work4  ,immediately   
all nerves are distended1 all the       
springs hasten to concur together1 and  
the whole machine obeys1 just as if     
every one of the most secret of those   
organs heard a supreme and omnipotent   
voice4  ,this is certainly the most     
simple and most effectual power that can
 be conceived4  ,all the other beings   
within our knowledge afford not the like
 instance of it1 and this is precisely  
what men that are sensible and persuaded
 of a ,deity ascribe to it in all the   
universe4  ,shall ,i ascribe it to my   
feeble mind1 or rather to the power it  
has over my body1 which is so vastly    
different from it8  ,shall ,i believe   
that my will has that supreme command of
 its own nature1 though in itself so    
weak and imperfect8  ,but how comes it  

to pass that1 among so many bodies1 it  
has that power over no more than one8   
,for no other body moves according to   
its desires4  ,now1 who is it that gave 
over one body the power it had over no  
other8  ,will any man be again so bold  
as to ascribe this to chance8   ,,sect4 
,,xlvii4  ,the ,power of the ,soul over 
the ,body is not only ,supreme or       
,absolute1 but ,blind at the same time4 
,but that power1 which is so supreme and
 absolute1 is blind at the same time4   
,the most simple and ignorant peasant   
knows how to move his body as well as a 
philosopher the most skilled in anatomy4
  ,the mind of a peasant commands his   
nerves1 muscles1 and tendons1 which he  
knows not1 and which he never heard of4 
,he finds them without knowing how to   
distinguish them1 or knowing where they 
lie2 he calls precisely upon such as he 
has occasion for1 nor does he mistake   
one for the other4  ,if a rope-dancer1  
for instance1 does but will1 the spirits
 instantly run with impetuousness1      

sometimes to certain nerves1 sometimes  
to others--all which distend or slacken 
in due time4  ,ask him which of them he 
set a-going1 and which way he begun to  
move them8  ,he will not so much as     
understand what you mean4  ,he is an    
absolute stranger to what he has done in
 all the inward springs of his machine4 
,the lute-player1 who is perfectly well 
acquainted with all the strings of his  
instrument1 who sees them with his eyes1
 and touches them one after another with
 his fingers1 yet mistakes them         
sometimes4  ,but the soul that governs  
the machine of man's body moves all its 
springs in time1 without seeing or      
discerning them1 without being          
acquainted with their figure1 situation1
 or strength1 and yet it never mistakes4
  ,what prodigy is here6  ,my mind      
commands what it knows not1 and cannot  
see2 what neither has1 nor is capable of
 any knowledge4  ,and yet it is         
infallibly obeyed4  ,how much blindness 
and how much power at once is here6     

,the blindness is man's2 but the power1 
whose is it8  ,to whom shall we ascribe 
it1 unless it be to ,him who sees what  
man does not see1 and performs in him   
what passes his understanding8  ,it is  
to no purpose my mind is willing to move
 the bodies that surround it1 and which 
it knows very distinctly2 for none of   
them stirs1 and it has not power to move
 the least atom by its will4  ,there is 
but one single body1 which some superior
 ,power must have made its property4    
,with respect to this body1 my mind is  
but willing1 and all the springs of that
 machine1 which are unknown to it1 move 
in time and in concert to obey him4     
,st4 ,augustin1 who made these          
reflections1 has expressed them         
excellently well4  ,the inward parts of 
our bodies1 says he1 cannot be living   
but by our souls2 but our souls animate 
them far more easily than they can know 
them4 4 4 4  ,the soul knows not the    
body which is subject to it4 4 4 4  ,it 
does not know why it does not move the  

nerves but when it pleases2 and why1 on 
the contrary1 the pulsation of veins    
goes on without interruption1 whether   
the mind will or no4  ,it knows not     
which is the first part of the body it  
moves immediately1 in order thereby to  
move all the rest4 4 4 4  ,it does not  
know why it feels in spite of itself1   
and moves the members only when it      
pleases4  ,it is the mind does these    
things in the body4  ,but how comes it  
to pass it neither knows what she does1 
nor in what manner it performs it8      
,those who learn1 anatomy1 continues    
that father1 are taught by others what  
passes within1 and is performed by      
themselves4  ,why1 says he1 do ,i know1 
without being taught1 that there is in  
the sky1 at a prodigious distance from  
me1 a sun and stars2 and why have ,i    
occasion for a master to learn where    
motion begins8 4 4 4  ,when ,i move my  
finger1 ,i know not how what ,i perform 
within myself is performed4  ,we are too
 far above1 and cannot comprehend       

ourselves4   ,,sect4  ,,xlviii4  ,the   
,sovereignty of the ,soul over the ,body
 principally appears in the ,images     
imprinted in the ,brain4   ,it is       
certain we cannot sufficiently admire   
either the absolute power of the soul   
over corporeal organs which she knows   
not1 or the continual use it makes of   
them without discerning them4  ,that    
sovereignty principally appears with    
respect to the images imprinted in our  
brain4  ,i know all the bodies of the   
universe that have made any impression  
on my senses for a great many years     
past4  ,i have distinct images of them  
that represent them to me1 insomuch that
 ,i believe ,i see them even when they  
exist no more4  ,my brain is like a     
closet full of pictures1 which should   
move and set themselves in order at the 
master's pleasure4  ,painters1 with all 
their art and skill1 never attain but an
 imperfect likeness2 whereas the        
pictures ,i have in my head are so      
faithful1 that it is by consulting them 

,i perceive all the defects of those    
made by painters1 and correct them      
within myself4  ,now1 do these images1  
more like their original than the       
masterpieces of the art of painting1    
imprint themselves in my head without   
any art8  ,is my brain a book1 all the  
characters of which have ranged         
themselves of their own accord8  ,if    
there be any art in the case1 it does   
not proceed from me4  ,for ,i find      
within me that collection of images     
without having ever so much as thought  
either to imprint them1 or set them in  
order4  ,moreover1 all these images     
either appear or retire as ,i please1   
without any confusion4 ,i call them     
back1 and they return2 ,i dismiss them1 
and they sink ,i know not where4  ,they 
either assemble or separate1 as ,i      
please4  ,but ,i neither know where they
 lie1 nor what they are4  ,nevertheless 
,i find them always ready4  ,the        
agitation of so many images1 old and    
new1 that revive1 join1 or separate1    

never disturbs a certain order that is  
amongst them4  ,if some of them do not  
appear at the first summons1 at least ,i
 am certain they are not far off4  ,they
 may lurk in some deep corner1 but ,i am
 not totally ignorant of them as ,i am  
of things ,i never knew2 for1 on the    
contrary1 ,i know confusedly what ,i    
look for4  ,if any other image offers   
itself in the room of that ,i called    
for1 ,i immediately dismiss it1 telling 
it1 ,it is not you ,i have occasion for4
  ,but1 then1 where lie objects         
half-forgotten8 ,they are present within
 me1 since ,i look for them there1 and  
find them at last4  ,again1 in what     
manner are they there1 since ,i look for
 them a long while in vain8  ,what      
becomes of them8  ,i am no more1 says   
,st4 ,augustin1 what ,i was when ,i had 
the thoughts ,i cannot find again4  ,i  
know not1 continues that father1 either 
how it comes to pass that ,i am thus    
withdrawn from and deprived of myself1  
or how ,i am afterwards brought back and

 restored to myself4 ,i am1 as it were1 
another man1 and carried to another     
place1 when ,i look for1 and do not     
find1 what ,i had trusted to my memory4 
,in such a case we cannot reach1 and    
are1 in a manner1 strangers remote from 
ourselves4  ,nor do we come at us but   
when we find what we are in quest of4   
,but where is it we look for but within 
us8  ,or what is it we look for but     
ourselves8 4 4 4  ,so unfathomable a    
difficulty astonishes us6  ,i distinctly
 remember ,i have known what ,i do not  
know at present4  ,i remember my very   
oblivion4  ,i call to mind the pictures 
or images of every person in every      
period of life wherein ,i have seen them
 formerly1 so that the same person      
passes several times in my head4  ,at   
first1 ,i see one a child1 then a young1
 and afterwards an old1 man4  ,i place  
wrinkles in the same face in which1 on  
the other side1 ,i see the tender graces
 of infancy4  ,i join what subsists no  
more with what is still1 without        

confounding these extremes4  ,i preserve
 ,i know not what1 which1 by turns1 is  
all that ,i have seen since ,i came into
 the world4  ,out of this unknown store 
come all the perfumes1 harmonies1       
tastes1 degrees1 and mixtures of        
colours2 in short1 all the figures that 
have passed through my senses1 and which
 they have trusted to my brain4  ,i     
revive when ,i please the joy ,i felt   
thirty years ago4  ,it returns2 but     
sometimes it is not the same it was     
formerly1 and appears without rejoicing 
me4  ,i remember ,i have been well      
pleased1 and yet am not so while ,i have
 that remembrance4  ,on the other hand1 
,i renew past sorrows and troubles4     
,they are present2 for ,i distinctly    
perceive them such as they were         
formerly1 and not the least part of     
their bitterness and lively sense       
escapes my memory4  ,but yet they are no
 more the same2 they are dulled1 and    
neither trouble nor disquiet me4  ,i    
perceive all their severity without     

feeling it2 or1 if ,i feel it1 it is    
only by representation1 which turns a   
former smart and racking pain into a    
kind of sport and diversion1 for the    
image of past sorrows rejoices me4  ,it 
is the same with pleasures3  a virtuous 
mind is afflicted by the memory of its  
disorderly unlawful enjoyments4  ,they  
are present1 for they appear with all   
their softest and most flattering       
attendants2 but they are no more        
themselves1 and such joys return only to
 make us uneasy4   ,,sect4  ,,xlix4     
,two ,wonders of the ,memory and ,brain4
   ,here1 therefore1 are two wonders    
equally incomprehensible4  ,the first1  
that my brain is a kind of book1 that   
contains a number almost infinite of    
images1 and characters ranged in an     
order ,i did not contrive1 and of which 
chance could not be the author4  ,for ,i
 never had the least thought either of  
writing anything in my brain1 or to     
place in any order the images and       
characters ,i imprinted in it4  ,i had  

no other thought but only to see the    
objects that struck my senses4  ,neither
 could chance make so marvellous a book3
  even all the art of man is too        
imperfect ever to reach so high a       
perfection1 therefore what hand had the 
skill to compose it8  ,the second wonder
 ,i find in my brain1 is to see that my 
mind reads with so much ease1 whatever  
it pleases1 in that inward book2 and    
read even characters it does not know4  
,i never saw the traces or figures      
imprinted in my brain1 and even the     
substance of my brain itself1 which is  
like the paper of that book1 is         
altogether unknown to me4  ,all those   
numberless characters transpose         
themselves1 and afterwards resume their 
rank and place to obey my command4  ,i  
have1 as it were1 a divine power over a 
work ,i am unacquainted with1 and which 
is incapable of knowledge4  ,that which 
understands nothing1 understands my     
thought and performs it instantly4  ,the
 thought of man has no power over       

bodies3  ,i am sensible of it by running
 over all nature4  ,there is but one    
single body which my bare will moves1 as
 if it were a deity2 and even moves the 
most subtle and nicest springs of it1   
without knowing them4  ,now1 who is it  
that united my will to this body1 and   
gave it so much power over it8   ,,sect4
  ,l4  ,the ,mind of ,man is mixed with 
,greatness and ,weakness4 ,its          
,greatness consists in two things4      
,first1 the ,mind has the ,idea of the  
,infinite4   ,let us conclude these     
observations by a short reflection on   
the essence of our mind2 in which ,i    
find an incomprehensible mixture of     
greatness and weakness4  ,its greatness 
is real3  for it brings together the    
past and the present1 without confusion2
 and by its reasoning penetrates into   
futurity4  ,it has the idea both of     
bodies and spirits4  ,nay1 it has the   
idea of the infinite3  for it supposes  
and affirms all that belongs to it1 and 
rejects and denies all that is not      

proper to it4  ,if you say that the     
infinite is triangular1 the mind will   
answer without hesitation1 that what has
 no bounds can have no figure4  ,if you 
desire it to assign the first of the    
units that make up an infinite number1  
it will readily answer1 that there can  
be no beginning1 end1 or number in the  
infinite2 because if one could find     
either a first or last unit in it1 one  
might add some other unit to that1 and  
consequently increase the number4  ,now 
a number cannot be infinite1 when it is 
capable of some addition1 and when a    
limit may be assigned to it1 on the side
 where it may receive an increase4      
,,sect4  ,,li4  ,the ,mind knows the    
,finite only by the ,idea of the        
,infinite4   ,it is even in the infinite
 that my mind knows the finite4  ,when  
we say a man is sick1 we mean a man that
 has no health2 and when we call a man  
weak1 we mean one that has no strength4 
,we know sickness1 which is a privation 
of health1 no other way but by          

representing to us health itself as a   
real good1 of which such a man is       
deprived2 and1 in like manner1 we only  
know weakness1 by representing to us    
strength as a real advantage1 which such
 a man is not master of4  ,we know      
darkness1 which is nothing real1 only by
 denying1 and consequently by conceiving
 daylight1 which is most real1 and most 
positive4  ,in like manner we know the  
finite only by assigning it a bound1    
which is a mere negation of a greater   
extent2 and consequently only the       
privation of the infinite4  ,now a man  
could never represent to himself the    
privation of the infinite1 unless he    
conceived the infinite itself3  just as 
he could not have a notion of sickness1 
unless he had an idea of health1 of     
which it is only a privation4  ,now1    
whence comes that idea of the infinite  
in us8   ,,sect4  ,,lii4  ,secondly1 the
 ,ideas of the ,mind are ,universal1    
,eternal1 and ,immutable4   ,oh6 how    
great is the mind of man6  ,he carries  

within him wherewithal to astonish1 and 
infinitely to surpass himself3  since   
his ideas are universal1 eternal1 and   
immutable4  ,they are universal3  for   
when ,i say it is impossible to be and  
not to be2 the whole is bigger than a   
part of it2 a line perfectly circular   
has no straight parts2 between two      
points given the straight line is the   
shortest2 the centre of a perfect circle
 is equally distant from all the points 
of the circumference2 an equilateral    
triangle has no obtuse or right angle3  
all these truths admit of no exception4 
,there never can be any being1 line1    
circle1 or triangle1 but according to   
these rules4 ,these axioms are of all   
times1 or to speak more properly1 they  
exist before all time1 and will ever    
remain after any comprehensible         
duration4  ,let the universe be turned  
topsy-turvy1 destroyed1 and annihilated2
 and even let there be no mind to reason
 about beings1 lines1 circles1 and      
triangles3  yet it will ever be equally 

true in itself1 that the same thing     
cannot at once be and not be2 that a    
perfect circle can have no part of a    
straight line2 that the centre of a     
perfect circle cannot be nearer one side
 of the circumference than the other4   
,men may1 indeed1 not think actually on 
these truths3  and it might even happen 
that there should be neither universe   
nor any mind capable to reflect on these
 truths3  but nevertheless they are     
still constant and certain in themselves
 although no mind should be acquainted  
with them2 just as the rays of the sun  
would not cease being real1 although all
 men should be blind1 and no body have  
eyes to be sensible of their light4  ,by
 affirming that two and two make four1  
says ,st4 ,augustin1 man is not only    
certain that he speaks truth1 but he    
cannot doubt that such a proposition was
 ever equally true1 and must be so      
eternally4  ,these ideas we carry within
 ourselves have no bounds1 and cannot   
admit of any4  ,it cannot be said that  

what ,i have affirmed about the centre  
of perfect circles is true only in      
relation to a certain number of circles2
 for that proposition is true1 through  
evident necessity1 with respect to all  
circles ad infinitum4  ,these unbounded 
ideas can never be changed1 altered1    
impaired1 or defaced in us2 for they    
make up the very essence of our reason4 
,whatever effort a man may make in his  
own mind1 yet it is impossible for him  
ever to entertain a serious doubt about 
the truths which those ideas clearly    
represent to us4  ,for instance1 ,i     
never can seriously call in question1   
whether the whole is bigger than one of 
its parts2 or whether the centre of a   
perfect circle is equally distant from  
all the points of the circumference4    
,the idea of the infinite is in me like 
that of numbers1 lines1 circles1 a      
whole1 and a part4  ,the changing our   
ideas would be1 in effect1 the          
annihilating reason itself4  ,let us    
judge and make an estimate of our       

greatness by the immutable infinite     
stamp within us1 and which can never be 
defaced from our minds4  ,but lest such 
a real greatness should dazzle and      
betray us1 by flattering our vanity1 let
 us hasten to cast our eyes on our      
weakness4   ,,sect4  ,,liii4  ,weakness 
of ,man's ,mind4   ,that same mind that 
incessantly sees the infinite1 and1     
through the rule of the infinite1 all   
finite things1 is likewise infinitely   
ignorant of all the objects that        
surround it4  ,it is altogether ignorant
 of itself1 and gropes about in an abyss
 of darkness4  ,it neither knows what it
 is1 nor how it is united with a body2  
nor which way it has so much command    
over all the springs of that body1 which
 it knows not4  ,it is ignorant of its  
own thoughts and wills4 ,it knows not1  
with certainty1 either what it believes 
or wills4  ,it often fancies to believe 
and will1 what it neither believes nor  
wills4  ,it is liable to mistake1 and   
its greatest excellence is to           

acknowledge it4  ,to the error of its   
thoughts1 it adds the disorder and      
irregularity of its will and desires2 so
 that it is forced to groan in the      
consciousness and experience of its     
corruption4  ,such is the mind of man1  
weak1 uncertain1 stinted1 full of       
errors4  ,now1 who is it that put the   
idea of the infinite1 that is to say of 
perfection1 in a subject so stinted and 
so full of imperfection8 ,did it give   
itself so sublime1 and so pure an idea1 
which is itself a kind of infinite in   
imagery8  ,what finite being distinct   
from it was able to give it what bears  
no proportion with what is limited      
within any bounds8  ,let us suppose the 
mind of man to be like a looking-glass1 
wherein the images of all the           
neighbouring bodies imprint themselves4 
,now what being was able to stamp within
 us the image of the infinite1 if the   
infinite never existed8  ,who can put in
 a looking-glass the image of a         
chimerical object which is not in being1

 and which was never placed against the 
glass8  ,this image of the infinite is  
not a confused collection of finite     
objects1 which the mind may mistake for 
a true infinite4  ,it is the true       
infinite of which we have the thought   
and idea4  ,we know it so well1 that we 
exactly distinguish it from whatever it 
is not2 and that no subtilty can palm   
upon us any other object in its room4   
,we are so well acquainted with it1 that
 we reject from it any propriety that   
denotes the least bound or limit4  ,in  
short1 we know it so well1 that it is in
 it alone we know all the rest1 just as 
we know the night by the day1 sickness  
by health4  ,now1 once more1 whence     
comes so great an image8  ,does it      
proceed from nothing8  ,can a stinted   
limited being imagine and invent the    
infinite1 if there be no infinite at    
all8  ,our weak and short-sighted mind  
cannot of itself form that image1 which1
 at this rate1 should have no author4   
,none of the outward objects can give us

 that image3  for they can only give us 
the image of what they are1 and they are
 limited and imperfect4  ,therefore1    
from whence shall we derive that        
distinct image which is unlike anything 
within us1 and all we know here below1  
without us8  ,whence does it proceed8   
,where is that infinite we cannot       
comprehend1 because it is really        
infinite3  and which nevertheless we    
cannot mistake1 because we distinguish  
it from anything that is inferior to it8
  ,sure it must be somewhere1 otherwise 
how could it imprint itself in our      
minds8   ,,sect4  ,,liv4  ,the ,ideas of
 ,man are the ,immutable ,rules of his  
,judgment4   ,but besides the idea of   
the infinite1 ,i have yet universal and 
immutable notions1 which are the rule   
and standard of all my judgments2       
insomuch that ,i cannot judge of        
anything but by consulting them2 nor am 
,i free to judge contrary to what they  
represent to me4  ,my thoughts are so   
far from being able to correct or form  

that rule1 that they are themselves     
corrected1 in spite of myself1 by that  
superior rule2 and invincibly subjected 
to its decision4  ,whatever effort my   
mind can make1 ,i can never be brought1 
as ,i observed before1 to entertain a   
doubt whether two and two make four2    
whether the whole is bigger than one of 
its parts2 or whether the centre of a   
perfect circle be equally distant from  
all the points of the circumference4  ,i
 am not free to deny those propositions2
 and if ,i happen to deny those truths1 
or others much like them1 there is in me
 something above myself1 which forces me
 to return to the rule4  ,that fixed and
 immutable rule is so inward and        
intimate1 that ,i am tempted to take it 
for myself4  ,but it is above me1 since 
it corrects and rectifies me2 gives me a
 distrust of myself1 and makes me       
sensible of my impotency4  ,it is       
something that inspires me every moment1
 provided ,i hearken to it1 and ,i never
 err or mistake except when ,i am not   

attentive to it4  ,what inspires me     
would for ever preserve me from error1  
if ,i were docile1 and acted without    
precipitation2 for that inward          
inspiration would teach me to judge     
aright of things within my reach1 and   
about which ,i have occasion to form a  
judgment4  ,as for others1 it would     
teach me not to judge of them at all1   
which second lesson is no less important
 than the first4  ,that inward rule is  
what ,i call my reason2 but ,i speak of 
my reason without penetrating into the  
extent of those words1 as ,i speak of   
nature and instinct1 without knowing    
what those expressions mean4   ,,sect4  
,,lv4  ,what ,man's ,reason is4   ,it is
 certain my reason is within me1 for ,i 
must continually recollect myself to    
find it2 but the superior reason that   
corrects me upon occasion1 and which ,i 
consult1 is none of mine1 nor is it part
 of myself4  ,that rule is perfect and  
immutable2 whereas ,i am changeable and 
imperfect4  ,when ,i err1 it preserves  

its rectitude4 ,when ,i am undeceived1  
it is not set right1 for it never was   
otherwise2 and still keeping to truth   
has the authority to call1 and bring me 
back to it4  ,it is an inward master    
that makes me either be silent or speak2
 believe1 or doubt2 acknowledge my      
errors1 or confirm my judgment4  ,i am  
instructed by hearkening to it2 whereas 
,i err and go astray when ,i hearken to 
myself4  ,that ,master is everywhere1   
and ,his voice is heard1 from one end of
 the universe to the other1 by all men  
as well as me4  ,whilst ,he corrects and
 rectifies me in ,france1 ,he corrects  
and sets right other men in ,china1     
,japan1 ,mexico1 and in ,peru1 by the   
same principles4   ,,sect4  ,,lvi4      
,reason is the ,same in all ,men1 of all
 ,ages and ,countries4   ,two men who   
never saw or heard of one another1 and  
who never entertained any correspondence
 with any other man that could give them
 common notions1 yet speak at two       
extremities of the earth1 about a       

certain number of truths1 as if they    
were in concert4  ,it is infallibly     
known beforehand in one hemisphere1 what
 will be answered in the other upon     
these truths4  ,men of all countries and
 of all ages1 whatever their education  
may have been1 find themselves          
invincibly subjected and obliged to     
think and speak in the same manner4     
,the ,master who incessantly teaches us 
makes all of us think the same way4     
,whenever we hastily judge1 without     
hearkening to ,his voice1 in diffidence 
of ourselves1 we think and utter dreams 
full of extravagance4  ,thus what       
appears most to be part of ourselves1   
and our very essence1 ,i mean our       
reason1 is least our own1 and what1 on  
the contrary1 ought to be accounted most
 borrowed4  ,we continually receive a   
reason superior to us1 as we incessantly
 breathe the air1 which is a foreign    
body2 or as we incessantly see all the  
objects near us by the light of the sun1
 whose rays are bodies foreign to our   

eyes4  ,that superior reason over-rules 
and governs1 to a certain degree1 with  
an absolute power all men1 even the     
least rational1 and makes them all ever 
agree1 in spite of themselves1 upon     
those points4  ,it is she that makes a  
savage in ,canada think about a great   
many things1 just as the ,greek and     
,roman philosophers did4  ,it is she    
that made the ,chinese geometricians    
find out much of the same truths with   
the ,europeans1 whilst those nations so 
very remote were unknown one to another4
  ,it is she that makes people in ,japan
 conclude1 as in ,france1 that two and  
two make four2 nor is it apprehended    
that any nation shall ever change their 
opinion about it4  ,it is she that makes
 men think nowadays about certain       
points1 just as men thought about the   
same four thousand years ago4  ,it is   
she that gives uniform thoughts to the  
most jealous and jarring men1 and the   
most irreconcilable among themselves4   
,it is by her that men of all ages and  

countries are1 as it were1 chained about
 an immovable centre1 and held in the   
bonds of amity by certain invariable    
rules1 called first principles1         
notwithstanding the infinite variations 
of opinions that arise in them from     
their passion1 avocations1 and caprices1
 which over-rule all their other        
less-clear judgments4  ,it is through   
her that men1 as depraved as they are1  
have not yet presumed openly to bestow  
on vice the name of virtue1 and that    
they are reduced to dissemble being     
just1 sincere1 moderate1 benevolent1 in 
order to gain one another's esteem4     
,the most wicked and abandoned of men   
cannot be brought to esteem what they   
wish they could esteem1 or to despise   
what they wish they could despise4  ,it 
is not possible to force the eternal    
barrier of truth and justice4  ,the     
inward master1 called reason1 intimately
 checks the attempt with absolute power1
 and knows how to set bounds to the most
 impudent folly of men4  ,though vice   

has for many ages reigned with unbridled
 licentiousness1 virtue is still called 
virtue2 and the most brutish and rash of
 her adversaries cannot yet deprive her 
of her name4  ,hence it is that vice1   
though triumphant in the world1 is still
 obliged to disguise itself under the   
mask of hypocrisy or sham honesty1 to   
gain the esteem it has not the          
confidence to expect1 if it should go   
bare-faced4  ,thus1 notwithstanding its 
impudence1 it pays a forced homage to   
virtue1 by endeavouring to adorn itself 
with her fairest outside in order to    
receive the honour and respect she      
commands from men4  ,it is true virtuous
 men are exposed to censure2 and they   
are1 indeed1 ever reprehensible in this 
life1 through their natural             
imperfections2 but yet the most vicious 
cannot totally efface in themselves the 
idea of true virtue4  ,there never was  
yet any man upon earth that could       
prevail either with others1 or himself1 
to allow1 as a received maxim1 that to  

be knavish1 passionate1 and mischievous1
 is more honourable than to be honest1  
moderate1 good-natured1 and benevolent4 
,,sect4  ,,lvii4  ,reason in ,man is    
,independent of and above ,him4   ,i    
have already evinced that the inward and
 universal master1 at all times1 and in 
all places1 speaks the same truths4  ,we
 are not that master3  though it is true
 we often speak without1 and higher than
 him4  ,but then we mistake1 stutter1   
and do not so much as understand        
ourselves4  ,we are even afraid of being
 made sensible of our mistakes1 and we  
shut up our ears1 lest we should be     
humbled by his corrections4  ,certainly 
the man who is apprehensive of being    
corrected and reproved by that          
uncorruptible reason1 and ever goes     
astray when he does not follow it1 is   
not that perfect1 universal1 and        
immutable reason1 that corrects him1 in 
spite of himself4  ,in all things we    
find1 as it were1 two principles within 
us4  ,the one gives1 the other receives2

 the one fails1 or is defective2 the    
other makes up2 the one mistakes1 the   
other rectifies2 the one goes awry1     
through his inclination1 the other sets 
him right4  ,it was the mistaken and    
ill-understood experience of this that  
led the ,marcionites and ,manicheans    
into error4  ,every man is conscious    
within himself of a limited and inferior
 reason1 that goes astray and errs1 as  
soon as it gets loose from an entire    
subordination1 and which mends its error
 no other way1 but by returning under   
the yoke of another superior1 universal1
 and immutable reason4  ,thus everything
 within us argues an inferior1 limited1 
communicated1 and borrowed reason1 that 
wants every moment to be rectified by   
another4 ,all men are rational by means 
of the same reason1 that communicates   
itself to them1 according to various    
degrees4  ,there is a certain number of 
wise men2 but the wisdom from which they
 draw theirs1 as from an inexhaustible  
source1 and which makes them what they  

are1 is but ,,one4   ,,sect4  ,,lviii4  
,it is the ,primitive ,truth1 that      
,lights all ,minds1 by communicating    
itself to them4   ,where is that wisdom8
  ,where is that reason1 at once both   
common and superior to all limited and  
imperfect reasons of mankind8  ,where is
 that oracle1 which is never silent1 and
 against which all the vain prejudices  
of men cannot prevail8  ,where is that  
reason which we have ever occasion to   
consult1 and which prevents us to create
 in us the desire of hearing its voice8 
,where is that lively light which       
lighteth every man that cometh into the 
world8  ,where is that pure and soft    
light1 which not only lights those eyes 
that are open1 but which opens eyes that
 are shut2 cures sore eyes2 gives eyes  
to those that have none to see it2 in   
short1 which raises the desire of being 
lighted by it1 and gains even their     
love1 who were afraid to see it8 ,every 
eye sees it2 nor would it see anything1 
unless it saw it2 since it is by that   

light and its pure rays that the eye    
sees everything4  ,as the sensibler sun 
in the firmament lights all bodies1 so  
the sun of intelligence lights all      
minds4  ,the substance of a man's eye is
 not the light3  on the contrary1 the   
eye borrows1 every moment1 the light    
from the rays of the sun4  ,just in the 
same manner1 my mind is not the         
primitive reason1 or universal and      
immutable truth2 but only the organ     
through which that original light       
passes1 and which is lighted by it4     
,there is a sun of spirits that lights  
them far better than the visible sun    
lights bodies4 ,this sun of spirits     
gives us1 at once1 both its light1 and  
the love of it1 in order to seek it4    
,that sun of truth leaves no manner of  
darkness1 and shines at the same time in
 the two hemispheres4  ,it lights us as 
much by night as by day2 nor does it    
spread its rays outwardly2 but inhabits 
in every one of us4  ,a man can never   
deprive another man of its beams4  ,one 

sees it equally1 in whatever corner of  
the universe he may lurk4  ,a man never 
needs say to another1 step aside1 to let
 me see that sun2 you rob me of its     
rays2 you take away my share of it4     
,that sun never sets3  nor suffers any  
cloud1 but such as are raised by our    
passions4  ,it is a day without shadow4 
,it lights the savages even in the      
deepest and darkest caves2 none but sore
 eyes wink against its light2 nor is    
there indeed any man so distempered and 
so blind1 but who still walks by the    
glimpse of some duskish light he retains
 from that inward sun of consciences4   
,that universal light discovers and     
represents all objects to our minds2 nor
 can we judge of anything but by it2    
just as we cannot discern anybody but by
 the rays of the sun4   ,,sect4  ,,lix4 
,it is by the ,light of ,primitive      
,truth a ,man ,judges whether what one  
says to him be ,true or ,false4   ,men  
may speak and discourse to us in order  
to instruct us3  but we cannot believe  

them any farther1 than we find a certain
 conformity or agreement between what   
they say1 and what the inward master    
says4 ,after they have exhausted all    
their arguments1 we must still return1  
and hearken to him1 for a final         
decision4  ,if a man should tell us that
 a part equals the whole of which it is 
a part1 we should not be able to forbear
 laughing1 and instead of persuading us1
 he would make himself ridiculous to us4
  ,it is in the very bottom of          
ourselves1 by consulting the inward     
master1 that we must find the truths    
that are taught us1 that is1 which are  
outwardly proposed to us4  ,thus1       
properly speaking1 there is but one true
 ,master1 who teaches all1 and without  
whom one learns nothing4  ,other masters
 always refer and bring us back to that 
inward school where he alone speaks4    
,it is there we receive what we have    
not2 it is there we learn what we were  
ignorant of2 and find what we had lost  
by oblivion4  ,it is in the intimate    

bottom of ourselves1 he keeps in store  
for us certain truths1 that lie1 as it  
were1 buried1 but which revive upon     
occasion2 and it is there1 in short1    
that we reject the falsehood we had     
embraced4  ,far from judging that       
master1 it is by him alone we are judged
 peremptorily in all things4  ,he is a  
judge disinterested1 impartial1 and     
superior to us4  ,we may1 indeed1 refuse
 hearing him1 and raise a din to stun   
our ears3  but when we hear him it is   
not in our power to contradict him4     
,nothing is more unlike man than that   
invisible master that instructs and     
judges him with so much severity1       
uprightness1 and perfection4  ,thus our 
limited1 uncertain1 defective1 fallible 
reason1 is but a feeble and momentaneous
 inspiration of a primitive1 supreme1   
and immutable reason1 which communicates
 itself with measure1 to all intelligent
 beings4   ,,sect4  ,,lx4  ,the         
,superior ,reason that resides in ,man  
is ,god ,himself2 and whatever has been 

above discovered to be in ,man1 are     
evident ,footsteps of the ,deity4   ,it 
cannot be said that man gives himself   
the thoughts he had not before2 much    
less can it be said that he receives    
them from other men1 since it is certain
 he neither does nor can admit anything 
from without1 unless he finds it in his 
own bottom1 by consulting within him the
 principles of reason1 in order to      
examine whether what he is told is      
agreeable or repugnant to them4         
,therefore there is an inward school    
wherein man receives what he neither can
 give himself1 nor expect from other men
 who live upon trust as well as himself4
 ,here then1 are two reasons ,i find    
within me2 one of which1 is myself1 the 
other is above me4  ,that which is      
myself is very imperfect1 prejudiced1   
liable to error1 changeable1 headstrong1
 ignorant1 and limited2 in short it     
possesses nothing but what is borrowed4 
,the other is common to all men1 and    
superior to them4  ,it is perfect1      

eternal1 immutable1 ever ready to       
communicate itself in all places1 and to
 rectify all minds that err and mistake2
 in short1 incapable of ever being      
either exhausted or divided1 although it
 communicates itself to all who desire  
it4  ,where is that perfect reason which
 is so near me1 and yet so different    
from me8  ,where is it8  ,sure it must  
be something real2 for nothing or nought
 cannot either be perfect or make       
perfect imperfect natures4  ,where is   
that supreme reason8  ,is it not the    
very ,god ,i look for8   ,,sect4  ,,lxi4
  ,new sensible ,notices of the ,deity  
in ,man1 drawn from the ,knowledge he   
has of ,unity4   ,i still find other    
traces or notices of the ,deity within  
me3  here is a very sensible one4  ,i am
 acquainted with prodigious numbers with
 the relations that are between them4   
,now how come ,i by that knowledge8  ,it
 is so very distinct that ,i cannot     
seriously doubt of it2 and so1          
immediately1 without the least          

hesitation1 ,i rectify any man that does
 not follow it in computation4  ,if a   
man says seventeen and three make       
twenty-two1 ,i presently tell him       
seventeen and three make but twenty2 and
 he is immediately convinced by his own 
light1 and acquiesces in my correction4 
,the same ,master who speaks within me  
to correct him speaks at the same time  
within him to bid him acquiesce4  ,these
 are not two masters that have agreed to
 make us agree4  ,it is something       
indivisible1 eternal1 immutable1 that   
speaks at the same time with an         
invincible persuasion in us both4  ,once
 more1 how come ,i by so just a notion  
of numbers8  ,all numbers are but       
repeated units4  ,every number is but a 
compound1 or a repetition of units4     
,the number of two1 for instance1 is but
 two units2 the number of four is       
reducible to one repeated four times4   
,therefore we cannot conceive any number
 without conceiving unity1 which is the 
essential foundation of any possible    

number2 nor can we conceive any         
repetition of units without conceiving  
unity itself1 which is its basis4  ,but 
which way can ,i know any real unit8  ,i
 never saw1 nor so much as imagined any 
by the report of my senses4  ,let me    
take1 for instance1 the most subtle     
atom2 it must have a figure1 length1    
breadth1 and depth1 a top and a bottom1 
a left and a right side2 and again the  
top is not the bottom1 nor one side the 
other4  ,therefore this atom is not     
truly one1 for it consists of parts4    
,now a compound is a real number1 and a 
multitude of beings4  ,it is not a real 
unit1 but a collection of beings1 one of
 which is not the other4  ,i therefore  
never learnt by my eyes1 my ears1 my    
hands1 nor even by my imagination1 that 
there is in nature any real unity2 on   
the contrary1 neither my senses nor my  
imagination ever presented to me        
anything but what is a compound1 a real 
number or a multitude4  ,all unity      
continually escapes me2 it flies me as  

it were by a kind of enchantment4       
,since ,i look for it in so many        
divisions of an atom1 ,i certainly have 
a distinct idea of it2 and it is only by
 its simple and clear idea that ,i      
arrive1 by the repetition of it1 at the 
knowledge of so many other numbers4     
,but since it escapes me in all the     
divisions of the bodies of nature1 it   
clearly follows that ,i never came by   
the knowledge of it1 through the canal  
of my senses and imagination4  ,here    
therefore is an idea which is in me     
independently from the senses1          
imagination1 and impressions of bodies4 
,moreover1 although ,i would not frankly
 acknowledge that ,i have a clear idea  
of unity1 which is the foundation of all
 numbers1 because they are but          
repetitions or collections of units3  ,i
 must at least be forced to own that ,i 
know a great many numbers with their    
proprieties and relations4  ,i know1 for
 instance1 how much make #ijj1jjj1jjj   
joined with #hjj1jjj1jjj of another sum4

  ,i make no mistake in it2 and ,i      
should1 with certainty1 immediately     
rectify any man that should4            
,nevertheless1 neither my senses nor my 
imagination were ever able to represent 
to me distinctly all those millions put 
together4  ,nor would the image they    
should represent to me be more like     
seventeen hundred millions than a far   
inferior number4 ,therefore1 how came ,i
 by so distinct an idea of numbers1     
which ,i never could either feel or     
imagine8  ,these ideas1 independent upon
 bodies1 can neither be corporeal nor   
admitted in a corporeal subject4  ,they 
discover to me the nature of my soul1   
which admits what is incorporeal and    
receives it within itself in an         
incorporeal manner4  ,now1 how came ,i  
by so incorporeal an idea of bodies     
themselves8  ,i cannot by my own nature 
carry it within me1 since what in me    
knows bodies is incorporeal2 and since  
it knows them1 without receiving that   
knowledge through the canal of corporeal

 organs1 such as the senses and         
imagination4  ,what thinks in me must   
be1 as it were1 a nothing of corporeal  
nature4  ,how was ,i able to know beings
 that have by nature no relation with my
 thinking being8 ,certainly a being     
superior to those two natures1 so very  
different1 and which comprehends them   
both in its infinity1 must have joined  
them in my soul1 and given me an idea of
 a nature entirely different from that  
which thinks in me4   ,,sect4  ,,lxii4  
,the ,idea of the ,unity proves that    
there are ,immaterial ,substances2 and  
that there is a ,being ,perfectly ,one1 
who is ,god4   ,as for units1 some      
perhaps will say that ,i do not know    
them by the bodies1 but only by the     
spirits2 and1 therefore1 that my mind   
being one1 and truly known to me1 it is 
by it1 and not by the bodies1 ,i have   
the idea of unity4  ,but to this ,i     
answer4  ,it will1 at least1 follow from
 thence that ,i know substances that    
have no manner of extension or          

divisibility1 and which are present4    
,here are already beings purely         
incorporeal1 in the number of which ,i  
ought to place my soul4  ,now1 who is it
 that has united it to my body8  ,this  
soul of mine is not an infinite being2  
it has not been always1 and it thinks   
within certain bounds4  ,now1 again1 who
 makes it know bodies so different from 
it8  ,who gives it so great a command   
over a certain body2 and who gives      
reciprocally to that body so great a    
command over the soul8  ,moreover1 which
 way do ,i know whether this thinking   
soul is really one1 or whether it has   
parts8 ,i do not see this soul4  ,now1  
will anybody say that it is in so       
invisible1 and so impenetrable1 a thing 
that ,i clearly see what unity is8  ,i  
am so far from learning by my soul what 
the being ,one is1 that1 on the         
contrary1 it is by the clear idea ,i    
have already of unity that ,i examine   
whether my soul be one or divisible4    
,add to this1 that ,i have within me a  

clear idea of a perfect unity1 which is 
far above that ,i may find in my soul4  
,the latter is often conscious that she 
is divided between two contrary         
opinions1 inclinations1 and habits4     
,now1 does not this division1 which ,i  
find within myself1 show and denote a   
kind of multiplicity and composition of 
parts8  ,besides1 the soul has1 at      
least1 a successive composition of      
thoughts1 one of which is most different
 and distinct from another4  ,i conceive
 an unity infinitely more ,one1 if ,i   
may so speak4  ,i conceive a ,being who 
never changes ,his thoughts1 who always 
thinks all things at once1 and in which 
no composition1 even successive1 can be 
found4  ,undoubtedly it is the idea of  
the perfect and supreme unity that makes
 me so inquisitive after some unity in  
spirits1 and even in bodies4  ,this     
idea1 ever present within me1 is innate 
or inborn with me2 it is the perfect    
model by which ,i seek everywhere some  
imperfect copy of the unity4  ,this idea

 of what is one1 simple1 and indivisible
 by excellence can be no other than the 
idea of ,god4  ,i1 therefore1 know ,god 
with such clearness and evidence1 that  
it is by knowing ,him ,i seek in all    
creatures1 and in myself1 some image and
 likeness of ,his unity4  ,the bodies   
have1 as it were1 some mark or print of 
that unity1 which still flies away in   
the division of its parts2 and the      
spirits have a greater likeness of it1  
although they have a successive         
composition of thoughts4   ,,sect4      
,,lxiii4  ,dependence and ,independence 
of ,man4  ,his ,dependence ,proves the  
,existence of his ,creator4   ,but here 
is another mystery which ,i carry within
 me1 and which makes me incomprehensible
 to my self1 viz43  that on the one hand
 ,i am free1 and on the other dependent4
  ,let us examine these two things1 and 
see whether it is possible to reconcile 
them4  ,i am a dependent being4         
,independency is the supreme perfection4
  ,to be by one's self is to carry      

within one's self the source or spring  
of one's own being2 or1 which is the    
same1 it is to borrow nothing from any  
being different from one's self4        
,suppose a being that has all the       
perfections you can imagine1 but which  
has a borrowed and dependent being1 and 
you will find him to be less perfect    
than another being in which you would   
suppose but bare independency4  ,for    
there is no comparison to be made       
between a being that exists by himself  
and a being who has nothing of his      
own--nothing but what is precarious and 
borrowed--and is in himself1 as it were1
 only upon trust4  ,this consideration  
brings me to acknowledge the            
imperfection of what ,i call my soul4   
,if she existed by herself1 it would    
borrow nothing from another2 she would  
not want either to be instructed in her 
ignorances1 or to be rectified in her   
errors4  ,nothing could reclaim her from
 her vices1 or inspire her with virtue2 
for nothing would be able to render her 

will better than it should have been at 
first4 ,this soul would ever possess    
whatever she should be capable to enjoy1
 nor could she ever receive any addition
 from without4  ,on the other hand1 it  
is no less certain that she could not   
lose anything1 for what is or exists by 
itself is always necessarily whatever it
 is4  ,therefore my soul could not fall 
into ignorance1 error1 or vice1 or      
suffer any diminution of good-will2 nor 
could she1 on the other hand1 instruct  
or correct herself1 or become better    
than she is4  ,now1 ,i experience the   
contrary of all these2 for ,i forget1   
mistake1 err1 go astray1 lose the sight 
of truth and the love of virtue1 ,i     
corrupt1 ,i diminish4  ,on the other    
hand1 ,i improve and increase by        
acquiring wisdom and good-will1 which ,i
 never had4  ,this intimate experience  
convinces me that my soul is not a being
 existing by itself and independent2    
that is necessary1 and immutable in all 
it possesses and enjoys4  ,now1 whence  

proceeds this augmentation and          
improvement of myself8  ,who is it that 
can enlarge and perfect my being by     
making me better1 and1 consequently1    
greater than ,i was8   ,,sect4  ,,lxiv4 
,good ,will cannot ,proceed but from a  
,superior ,being4   ,the will or faculty
 of willing is undoubtedly a degree of  
being1 and of good1 or perfection2 but  
good-will1 benevolence1 or desire of    
good1 is another degree of superior     
good4  ,for one may misuse will in order
 to wish ill1 cheat1 hurt1 or do        
injustice2 whereas good- will is the    
good or right use of will itself1 which 
cannot but be good4  ,good-will is      
therefore what is most precious in man4 
,it is that which sets a value upon all 
the rest4  ,it is1 as it were1 ,the     
whole man3 ,hoc enim omnis homo4  ,i    
have already shown that my will is not  
by itself1 since it is liable to lose   
and receive degrees of good or          
perfection2 and likewise that it is a   
good inferior to good-will1 because it  

is better to will good than barely to   
have a will susceptible both of good and
 evil4  ,how could ,i be brought to     
believe that ,i1 a weak1 imperfect1     
borrowed1 precarious1 and dependent     
being1 bestow on myself the highest     
degree of perfection1 while it is       
visible and evident that ,i derive the  
far inferior degree of perfection from a
 ,first ,being8  ,can ,i imagine that   
,god gives me the lesser good1 and that 
,i give myself the greater without ,him8
  ,how should ,i come by that high      
degree of perfection in order to give it
 myself6  ,should ,i have it from       
nothing1 which is all my own stock8     
,shall ,i say that other spirits1 much  
like or equal to mine1 give it me8  ,but
 since those limited and dependent      
beings like myself cannot give          
themselves anything no more than ,i can1
 much less can they bestow anything upon
 another4  ,for as they do not exist by 
themselves1 so they have not by         
themselves any true power1 either over  

me1 or over things that are imperfect in
 me1 or over themselves4  ,wherefore1   
without stopping with them1 we must go  
up higher in order to find out a first1 
teeming1 and most powerful cause1 that  
is able to bestow on my soul the good   
will she has not4   ,,sect4  ,,lxv4  ,as
 a ,superior ,being is the ,cause of    
,all the ,modifications of ,creatures1  
so it is ,impossible for ,man's ,will to
 ,will ,good by ,itself or of its own   
,accord4   ,let us still add another    
reflection4  ,that ,first ,being is the 
cause of all the modifications of ,his  
creatures4  ,the operation follows the  
,being1 as the philosophers are used to 
speak4  ,a being that is dependent in   
the essence of his being cannot but be  
dependent in all his operations1 for the
 accessory follows the principal4       
,therefore1 the ,author of the essence  
of the being is also the ,author of all 
the modifications or modes of being of  
creatures4  ,thus ,god is the real and  
immediate cause of all the              

configurations1 combinations1 and       
motions of all the bodies of the        
universe4  ,it is by means or upon      
occasion of a body ,he has set in motion
 that ,he moves another4  ,it is ,he who
 created everything and who does        
everything in ,his creatures or works4  
,now1 volition is the modification of   
the will or willing faculty of the soul1
 just as motion is the modification of  
bodies4  ,shall we affirm that ,god is  
the real1 immediate1 and total cause of 
the motion of all bodies1 and that ,he  
is not equally the real and immediate   
cause of the good-will of men's wills8  
,will this modification1 the most       
excellent of all1 be the only one not   
made by ,god in ,his own work1 and which
 the work bestows on itself             
independently8  ,who can entertain such 
a thought8  ,therefore my good-will     
which ,i had not yesterday and which ,i 
have to-day is not a thing ,i bestow    
upon myself1 but must come from ,him who
 gave me both the will and the being4   

,as to will is a greater perfection than
 barely to be1 so to will good is more  
perfect than to will4  ,the step from   
power to a virtuous act is the greatest 
perfection in man4  ,power is only a    
balance or poise between virtue and     
vice1 or a suspension between good and  
evil4  ,the passage or step to the act  
is a decision or determination for the  
good1 and consequent by the superior    
good4 ,the power susceptible of good and
 evil comes from ,god1 which we have    
fully evinced4  ,now1 shall we affirm   
that the decisive stroke that determines
 to the greater good either is not at   
all1 or is less owing to ,him8  ,all    
this evidently proves what the ,apostle 
says1 viz41 that ,god works both to will
 and to do of ,his good pleasure4 ,here 
is man's dependence2 let us look for his
 liberty4   ,,sect4  ,,lxvi4  ,of ,man's
 ,liberty4   ,i am free1 nor can ,i     
doubt of it4  ,i am intimately and      
invincibly convinced that ,i can either 
will or not will1 and that there is in  

me a choice not only between willing and
 not willing1 but also between divers   
wills about the variety of objects that 
present themselves4  ,i am sensible1 as 
the ,scripture says1 that ,i am in the  
hands of my ,council1 which alone       
suffices to show me that my soul is not 
corporeal4  ,all that is body or        
corporeal does not in the least         
determine itself1 and is1 on the        
contrary1 determined in all things by   
laws called physical1 which are         
necessary1 invincible1 and contrary to  
what ,i call liberty4  ,from thence ,i  
infer that my soul is of a nature       
entirely different from that of my body4
  ,now who is it that was able to join  
by a reciprocal union two such different
 natures1 and hold them in so just a    
concert for all their respective        
operations8  ,that tie1 as we observed  
before1 cannot be formed but by a       
,superior ,being1 who comprehends and   
unites those two sorts of perfections in
 ,his own infinite perfection4   ,,sect4

  ,,lxvii4  ,man's ,liberty ,consists in
 that his ,will by determining1         
,modifies ,itself4   ,it is not the same
 with the modification of my soul which 
is called will1 and by some philosophers
 volition1 as with the modifications of 
bodies4  ,a body does not in the least  
modify itself1 but is modified by the   
sole power of ,god4  ,it does not move  
itself1 it is moved2 it does not act in 
anything1 it is only acted and actuated4
 ,thus ,god is the only real and        
immediate cause of all the different    
modifications of bodies4  ,as for       
spirits the case is different1 for my   
will determines itself4  ,now to        
determine one's self to a will is to    
modify one's self1 and therefore my will
 modifies itself4  ,god may prevent my  
soul1 but ,he does not give it the will 
in the same manner as ,he gives motion  
to bodies4  ,if it is ,god who modifies 
me1 ,i modify myself with ,him1 and am  
with ,him a real cause of my own will4  
,my will is so much my own that ,i am   

only to blame if ,i do not will what ,i 
ought4  ,when ,i will a thing it is in  
my power not to will it1 and when ,i do 
not will it it is likewise in my power  
to will it4  ,i neither am nor can be   
compelled in my will2 for ,i cannot will
 what ,i actually will in spite of      
myself1 since the will ,i mean evidently
 excludes all manner of constraint4     
,besides the exemption from all         
compulsion1 ,i am likewise free from    
necessity4  ,i am conscious and sensible
 that ,i have1 as it were1 a two-edged  
will1 which at its own choice may be    
either for the affirmative or the       
negative1 the yes or the no1 and turn   
itself either towards an object or      
towards another4  ,i know no other      
reason or determination of my will but  
my will itself4  ,i will a thing because
 ,i am free to will it2 and nothing is  
so much in my power as either to will or
 not to will it4  ,although my will     
should not be constrained1 yet if it    
were necessitated it would be as        

strongly and invincibly determined to   
will as bodies are to move4  ,an        
invincible necessity would have as much 
influence over the will with respect to 
spirits as it has over motion with      
respect to bodies2 and1 in such a case1 
the will would be no more accountable   
for willing than a body for moving4  ,it
 is true the will would will what it    
would2 but the motion by which a body is
 moved is the same as the volition by   
which the willing faculty wills4  ,if   
therefore volition be necessitated as   
motion it deserves neither more nor less
 praise or blame4  ,for though a        
necessitated will may seem to be a will 
unconstrained1 yet it is such a will as 
one cannot forbear having1 and for which
 he that has it is not accountable4     
,nor does previous knowledge establish  
true liberty1 for a will may be preceded
 by the knowledge of divers objects1 and
 yet have no real election or choice4   
,nor is deliberation or the being in    
suspense any more than a vain trifle1 if

 ,i deliberate between two counsels when
 ,i am under an actual impotency to     
follow the one and under an actual      
necessity to pursue the other4  ,in     
short1 there is no serious and true     
choice between two objects1 unless they 
be both actually ready within my reach  
so that ,i may either leave or take     
which of the two ,i please4   ,,sect4   
,,lxviii4  ,will may ,resist ,grace1 and
 ,its ,liberty is the ,foundation of    
,merit and ,demerit4   ,when therefore  
,i say ,i am free1 ,i mean that my will 
is fully in my power1 and that even ,god
 ,himself leaves me at liberty to turn  
it which way ,i please1 that ,i am not  
determined as other beings1 and that ,i 
determine myself4  ,i conceive that if  
that ,first ,being prevents me1 to      
inspire me with a good-will1 it is still
 in my power to reject ,his actual      
inspiration1 how strong soever it may   
be1 to frustrate its effect1 and to     
refuse my assent to it4  ,i conceive    
likewise that when ,i reject ,his       

inspiration for the good1 ,i have the   
true and actual power not to reject it2 
just as ,i have the actual and immediate
 power to rise when ,i remain sitting1  
and to shut my eyes when ,i have them   
open4  ,objects may indeed solicit me by
 all their allurements and agreeableness
 to will or desire them4  ,the reasons  
for willing may present themselves to me
 with all their most lively and         
affecting attendants1 and the ,supreme  
,being may also attract me by ,his most 
persuasive inspirations4  ,but yet for  
all this actual attraction of objects1  
cogency of reasons1 and even inspiration
 of a ,superior ,being1 ,i still remain 
master of my will1 and am free either to
 will or not to will4  ,it is this      
exemption not only from all manner of   
constraint or compulsion but also from  
all necessity and this command over my  
own actions that render me inexcusable  
when ,i will evil1 and praiseworthy when
 ,i will good2 in this lies merit and   
demerit1 praise and blame2 it is this   

that makes either punishment or reward  
just2 it is upon this consideration that
 men exhort1 rebuke1 threaten1 and      
promise4  ,this is the foundation of all
 policy1 instruction1 and rules of      
morality4  ,the upshot of the merit and 
demerit of human actions rests upon this
 basis1 that nothing is so much in the  
power of our will as our will itself1   
and that we have this free-will--this1  
as it were1 two-edged faculty--and this 
elative power between two counsels which
 are immediately1 as it were1 within our
 reach4  ,it is what shepherds and      
husbandmen sing in the fields1 what     
merchants and artificers suppose in     
their traffic1 what actors represent in 
public shows1 what magistrates believe  
in their councils1 what doctors teach in
 their schools2 it is that1 in short1   
which no man of sense can seriously call
 in question4  ,that truth imprinted in 
the bottom of our hearts1 is supposed in
 the practice1 even by those            
philosophers who would endeavour to     

shake it by their empty speculations4   
,the intimate evidence of that truth is 
like that of the first principles1 which
 want no proof1 and which serve         
themselves as proofs to other truths    
that are not so clear and self-evident4 
,but how could the ,first ,being make a 
creature who is himself the umpire of   
his own actions8   ,,sect4  ,,lxix4  ,a 
,character of the ,deity1 both in the   
,dependence and ,independence of ,man4  
,let us now put together these two      
truths equally certain4  ,i am dependent
 upon a ,first ,being even in my own    
will2 and nevertheless ,i am free4      
,what then is this dependent liberty8   
how is it possible for a man to conceive
 a free-will1 that is given by a ,first 
,being8 ,i am free in my will1 as ,god  
is in ,his4  ,it is principally in this 
,i am ,his image and likeness4  ,what a 
greatness that borders upon infinite is 
here6  ,this is a ray of the ,deity     
itself3  it is a kind of ,divine power  
,i have over my will2 but ,i am but a   

bare image of that supreme ,being so    
absolutely free and powerful4  ,the     
image of the ,divine independence is not
 the reality of what it represents2 and1
 therefore1 my liberty is but a shadow  
of that ,first ,being1 by whom ,i exist 
and act4  ,on the one hand1 the power ,i
 have of willing evil is1 indeed1 rather
 a weakness and frailty of my will than 
a true power3  for it is only a power to
 fall1 to degrade myself1 and to        
diminish my degree of perfection and    
being4  ,on the other hand1 the power ,i
 have to will good is not an absolute   
power1 since ,i have it not of myself4  
,now liberty being no more than that    
power1 a precarious and borrowed power  
can constitute but a precarious1        
borrowed1 and dependent liberty2 and1   
therefore1 so imperfect and so          
precarious a being cannot but be        
dependent4  ,but how is he free8  ,what 
profound mystery is here6  ,his liberty1
 of which ,i cannot doubt1 shows his    
perfection2 and his dependence argues   

the nothingness from which he was drawn4
   ,,sect4  ,,lxx4  ,the ,seal and      
,stamp of the ,deity in ,his ,works4    
,we have seen the prints of the ,deity1 
or to speak more properly1 the seal and 
stamp of ,god ,himself1 in all that is  
called the works of nature4  ,when a man
 will not enter into philosophical      
subtleties1 he observes with the first  
cast of the eye a hand1 that was the    
first mover1 in all the parts of the    
universe1 and set all the wheels of the 
great machine a-going4  ,the heavens1   
the earth1 the stars1 plants1 animals1  
our bodies1 our minds3  everything shows
 and proclaims an order1 an exact       
measure1 an art1 a wisdom1 a mind       
superior to us1 which is1 as it were1   
the soul of the whole world1 and which  
leads and directs everything to his     
ends1 with a gentle and insensible1     
though omnipotent1 force4  ,we have     
seen1 as it were1 the architecture and  
frame of the universe2 the just         
proportion of all its parts2 and the    

bare cast of the eye has sufficed us to 
find and discover even in an ant1 more  
than in the sun1 a wisdom and power that
 delights to exert itself in the        
polishing and adorning its vilest works4
  ,this is obvious1 without any         
speculative discussion1 to the most     
ignorant of men2 but what a world of    
other wonders should we discover1 should
 we penetrate into the secrets of       
physics1 and dissect the inward parts of
 animals1 which are framed according to 
the most perfect mechanics4   ,,sect4   
,,lxxi4  ,objection of the ,epicureans1 
who ,ascribe ,everything to ,chance1    
considered4   ,i hear certain           
philosophers who answer me that all this
 discourse on the art that shines in the
 universe is but a continued sophism4   
,all nature1 will they say1 is for man's
 use1 it is true2 but you have no reason
 to infer from thence1 that it was made 
with art1 and on purpose for the use of 
man4  ,a man must be ingenious in       
deceiving himself who looks for and     

thinks to find what never existed4  ,it 
is true1 will they add1 that man's      
industry makes use of an infinite number
 of things that nature affords1 and are 
convenient for him2 but nature did not  
make those things on purpose for his    
conveniency4  ,as1 for instance1 some   
country fellows climb up daily1 by      
certain craggy and pointed rocks1 to the
 top of a mountain2 but yet it does not 
follow that those points of rocks were  
cut with art1 like a staircase1 for the 
conveniency of men4  ,in like manner1   
when a man happens to be in the fields1 
during a stormy rain1 and fortunately   
meets with a cave1 he uses it1 as he    
would do a house1 for shelter2 but1     
however1 it cannot be affirmed that this
 cave was made on purpose to serve men  
for a house4  ,it is the same with the  
whole world3  it was formed by chance1  
and without design2 but men finding it  
as it is1 had the art to turn and       
improve it to their own uses4  ,thus the
 art you admire both in the work and its

 artificer1 is only in men1 who know how
 to make use of everything that         
surrounds them4  ,this is certainly the 
strongest objection those philosophers  
can raise2 and ,i hope they will have no
 reason to complain that ,i have        
weakened it2 but it will immediately    
appear how weak it is in itself when    
closely examined4  ,the bare repetition 
of what ,i said before will be          
sufficient to demonstrate it4   ,,sect4 
,,lxxii4  ,answer to the ,objection of  
the ,epicureans1 who ,ascribe all to    
,chance4   ,what would one say of a man 
who should set up for a subtle          
philosopher1 or1 to use the modern      
expression1 a free-thinker1 and who     
entering a house should maintain it was 
made by chance1 and that art had not in 
the least contributed to render it      
commodious to men1 because there are    
caves somewhat like that house1 which   
yet were never dug by the art of man8   
,one should show to such a reasoner all 
the parts of the house1 and tell him for

 instance3--,do you see this great      
court-gate8  ,it is larger than any     
door1 that coaches may enter it4  ,this 
court has sufficient space for coaches  
to turn in it4  ,this staircase is made 
up of low steps1 that one may ascend it 
with ease2 and turns according to the   
apartments and stories it is to serve4  
,the windows1 opened at certain         
distances1 light the whole building4    
,they are glazed1 lest the wind should  
enter with the light2 but they may be   
opened at pleasure1 in order to breathe 
a sweet air when the weather is fair4   
,the roof is contrived to defend the    
whole house from the injuries of the    
air4  ,the timber-work is laid slanting 
and pointed at the top1 that the rain   
and snow may easily slide down on both  
sides4  ,the tiles bear one upon        
another1 that they may cover the        
timber-work4  ,the divers floors serve  
to make different stories1 in order to  
multiply lodgings within a small space4 
,the chimneys are contrived to light    

fire in winter without setting the house
 on fire1 and to let out the smoke1 lest
 it should offend those that warm       
themselves4  ,the apartments are        
distributed in such a manner that they  
be disengaged from one another2 that a  
numerous family may lodge in the house1 
and the one not be obliged to pass      
through another's room2 and that the    
master's apartment be the principal4    
,there are kitchens1 offices1 stables1  
and coach- houses4  ,the rooms are      
furnished with beds to lie in1 chairs to
 sit on1 and tables to write and eat on4
  ,sure1 should one urge to that        
philosopher1 this work must have been   
directed by some skilful architect2 for 
everything in it is agreeable1 pleasant1
 proportioned1 and commodious2 and      
besides1 he must needs have had         
excellent artists under him4  ,not at   
all1 would such a philosopher answer2   
you are ingenious in deceiving yourself4
  ,it is true this house is pleasant1   
agreeable1 proportioned1 and commodious2

 but yet it made itself with all its    
proportions4  ,chance put together all  
the stones in this excellent order2 it  
raised the walls1 jointed and laid the  
timber-work1 cut open the casements1 and
 placed the staircase3  do not believe  
any human hand had anything to do with  
it4  ,men only made the best of this    
piece of work when they found it ready  
made4  ,they fancy it was made for them1
 because they observe things in it which
 they know how to improve to their own  
conveniency2 but all they ascribe to the
 design and contrivance of an imaginary 
architect1 is but the effect of their   
preposterous imaginations4  ,this so    
regular1 and so well-contrived house1   
was made in just the same manner as a   
cave1 and men finding it ready made to  
their hands made use of it1 as they     
would in a storm1 of a cave they should 
find under a rock in a desert4  ,what   
thoughts could a man entertain of such a
 fantastic philosopher1 if he should    
persist seriously to assert that such a 

house displays no art8  ,when we read   
the fabulous story of ,amphion1 who by a
 miraculous effect of harmony caused the
 stones to rise1 and placed themselves1 
with order and symmetry1 one on the top 
of another1 in order to form the walls  
of ,thebes1 we laugh and sport with that
 poetical fiction3  but yet this very   
fiction is not so incredible as that    
which the free-thinking philosopher we  
contend with would dare to maintain4    
,we might1 at least1 imagine that       
harmony1 which consists in a local      
motion of certain bodies1 might 7by some
 of those secret virtues1 which we      
admire in nature1 without being         
acquainted with them7 shake and move the
 stones into a certain order and in a   
sort of cadence1 which might occasion   
some regularity in the building4  ,i own
 this explanation both shocks and       
clashes with reason2 but yet it is less 
extravagant than what ,i have supposed a
 philosopher should say4  ,what1 indeed1
 can be more absurd1 than to imagine    

stones that hew themselves1 that go out 
of the quarry1 that get one on the top  
of another1 without leaving any empty   
space2 that carry with them mortar to   
cement one another2 that place          
themselves in different ranks for the   
contrivance of apartments2 and who admit
 on the top of all the timber-roof1 with
 the tiles1 in order to cover the whole 
work8  ,the very children1 that cannot  
yet speak plain1 would laugh1 if they   
were seriously told such a ridiculous   
story4   ,,sect4  ,,lxxiii4  ,comparison
 of the ,world with a ,regular ,house4  
,a ,continuation of the ,answer to the  
,objection of the ,epicureans4   ,but   
why should it appear less ridiculous to 
hear one say that the world made itself1
 as well as that fabulous house8  ,the  
question is not to compare the world    
with a cave without form1 which is      
supposed to be made by chance3  but to  
compare it with a house in which the    
most perfect architecture should be     
conspicuous4  ,for the structure and    

frame of the least living creature is   
infinitely more artful and admirable    
than the finest house that ever was     
built4  ,suppose a traveller entering   
,saida1 the country where the ancient   
,thebes1 with a hundred gates1 stood    
formerly1 and which is now a desert1    
should find there columns1 pyramids1    
obelisks1 and inscriptions in unknown   
characters4  ,would he presently say3   
men never inhabited this place2 no human
 hand had anything to do here2 it is    
chance that formed these columns1 that  
placed them on their pedestals1 and     
crowned them with their capitals1 with  
such just proportions2 it is chance that
 so firmly jointed the pieces that make 
up these pyramids2 it is chance that cut
 the obelisks in one single stone1 and  
engraved in them these characters8      
,would he not1 on the contrary1 say1    
with all the certainty the mind of man  
is capable of3  these magnificent ruins 
are the remains of a noble and          
majestical architecture that flourished 

in ancient ,egypt8  ,this is what plain 
reason suggests1 at the first cast of   
the eye1 or first sight1 and without    
reasoning4  ,it is the same with the    
bare prospect of the universe4  ,a man  
may by vain1 long-winded1 preposterous  
reasonings confound his own reason and  
obscure the clearest notions3 but the   
single cast of the eye is decisive4     
,such a work as the world is never makes
 itself of its own accord4  ,there is   
more art and proportion in the bones1   
tendons1 veins1 arteries1 nerves1 and   
muscles1 that compose man's body1 than  
in all the architecture of the ancient  
,greeks and ,egyptians4  ,the single eye
 of the least of living creatures       
surpasses the mechanics of all the most 
skilful artificers4  ,if a man should   
find a watch in the sands of ,africa1 he
 would never have the assurance         
seriously to affirm1 that chance formed 
it in that wild place2 and yet some men 
do not blush to say that the bodies of  
animals1 to the artful framing of which 

no watch can ever be compared1 are the  
effects of the caprices of chance4      
,,sect4  ,,lxxiv4  ,another ,objection  
of the ,epicureans drawn from the       
,eternal ,motion of ,atoms4   ,i am not 
ignorant of a reasoning which the       
,epicureans may frame into an objection4
  ,the atoms will1 they say1 have an    
eternal motion2 their fortuitous        
concourse must1 in that eternity1 have  
already produced infinite combinations4 
,who says infinite1 says what           
comprehends all without exception4      
,amongst these infinite combinations of 
atoms which have already happened       
successively1 all such as are possible  
must necessarily be found3  for if there
 were but one possible combination1     
beyond those contained in that infinite1
 it would cease to be a true infinite1  
because something might be added to it2 
and whatever may be increased1 being    
limited on the side it may receive an   
addition1 is not truly infinite4 ,hence 
it follows that the combination of      

atoms1 which makes up the present system
 of the world1 is one of the            
combinations which the atoms have had   
successively3  which being laid as a    
principle1 is it matter of wonder that  
the world is as it is now8  ,it must    
have taken this exact form1 somewhat    
sooner1 or somewhat later1 for in some  
one of these infinite changes it must1  
at last1 have received that combination 
that makes it now appear so regular2    
since it must have had1 by turns1 all   
combinations that can be conceived4     
,all systems are comprehended in the    
total of eternity4  ,there is none but  
the concourse of atoms1 forms1 and      
embraces1 sooner or later4  ,in that    
infinite variety of new spectacles of   
nature1 the present was formed in its   
turn4  ,we find ourselves actually in   
this system4  ,the concourse of atoms   
that made will1 in process of time1     
unmake it1 in order to make others1 ad  
infinitum1 of all possible sorts4  ,this
 system could not fail having its place1

 since all others without exception are 
to have theirs1 each in its turn4  ,it  
is in vain one looks for a chimerical   
art in a work which chance must have    
made as it is4  ,an example will suffice
 to illustrate this4  ,i suppose an     
infinite number of combinations of the  
letters of the alphabet1 successively   
formed by chance4  ,all possible        
combinations are1 undoubtedly1          
comprehended in that total1 which is    
truely infinite4  ,now1 it is certain   
that ,homer's ,iliad is but a           
combination of letters3 therefore       
,homer's ,iliad is comprehended in that 
infinite collection of combinations of  
the characters of the alphabet4  ,this  
being laid down as a principle1 a man   
who will assign art in the ,iliad1 will 
argue wrong4  ,he may extol the harmony 
of the verses1 the justness and         
magnificence of the expressions1 the    
simplicity and liveliness of images1 the
 due proportion of the parts of the     
poem1 its perfect unity1 and inimitable 

conduct2 he may object that chance can  
never make anything so perfect1 and that
 the utmost effort of human wit is      
hardly capable to finish so excellent a 
piece of work3  yet all in vain1 for all
 this specious reasoning is visibly     
false4  ,it is certain1 on the contrary1
 that the fortuitous concourse of       
characters1 putting them together by    
turns with an infinite variety1 the     
precise combination that composes the   
,iliad must have happened in its turn1  
somewhat sooner or somewhat later4  ,it 
has happened at last2 and thus the      
,iliad is perfect1 without the help of  
any human art4  ,this is the objection  
fairly laid down in its full latitude2  
,i desire the reader's serious and      
continued attention to the answers ,i am
 going to make to it4   ,,sect4  ,,lxxv4
  ,answers to the ,objection of the     
,epicureans drawn from the ,eternal     
,motion of ,atoms4   ,nothing can be    
more absurd than to speak of successive 
combinations of atoms infinite in       

number2 for the infinite can never be   
either successive or divisible4  ,give  
me1 for instance1 any number you may    
pretend to be infinite1 and it will     
still be in my power to do two things   
that shall demonstrate it not to be a   
true infinite4  ,in the first place1 ,i 
can take an unit from it2 and in such a 
case it will become less than it was1   
and will certainly be finite2 for       
whatever is less than the infinite has a
 boundary or limit on the side where one
 stops1 and beyond which one might go4  
,now the number which is finite as soon 
as one takes from it one single unit1   
could not be infinite before that       
diminution2 for an unit is certainly    
finite1 and a finite joined with another
 finite cannot make an infinite4  ,if a 
single unit added to a finite number    
made an infinite1 it would follow from  
thence that the finite would be almost  
equal to the infinite2 than which       
nothing can be more absurd4  ,in the    
second place1 ,i may add an unit to that

 number given1 and consequently increase
 it4  ,now what may be increased is not 
infinite1 for the infinite can have no  
bound2 and what is capable of           
augmentation is bounded on the side a   
man stops1 when he might go further and 
add some units to it4  ,it is plain1    
therefore1 that no divisible compound   
can be the true infinite4  ,this        
foundation being laid1 all the romance  
of the ,epicurean philosophy disappears 
and vanishes out of sight in an instant4
 ,there never can be any divisible body 
truly infinite in extent1 nor any number
 or any succession that is a true       
infinite4  ,from hence it follows that  
there never can be an infinite          
successive number of combinations of    
atoms4  ,if this chimerical infinite    
were real1 ,i own all possible and      
conceivable combinations of atoms would 
be found in it2 and that consequently   
all combinations that seem to require   
the utmost industry would likewise be   
included in them4  ,in such a case1 one 

might ascribe to mere chance the most   
marvellous performances of art4  ,if one
 should see palaces built according to  
the most perfect rules of architecture1 
curious furniture1 watches1 clocks1 and 
all sort of machines the most           
compounded1 in a desert island1 he      
should not be free reasonably to        
conclude that there have been men in    
that island who made all those exquisite
 works4  ,on the contrary1 he ought to  
say1 ,perhaps one of the infinite       
combinations of atoms which chance has  
successively made1 has formed all these 
compositions in this desert island      
without the help of any man's art2 for  
such an assertion is a natural          
consequence of the principles of the    
,epicureans4  ,but the very absurdity of
 the consequence serves to expose the   
extravagance of the principle they lay  
down4  ,when men1 by the natural        
rectitude of their common sense1        
conclude that such sort of works cannot 
result from chance1 they visibly        

suppose1 though in a confused manner1   
that atoms are not eternal1 and that in 
their fortuitous concourse they had not 
an infinite succession of combinations4 
,for if that principle were admitted1 it
 would no longer be possible ever to    
distinguish the works of art from those 
that should result from those           
combinations as fortuitous as a throw at
 dice4   ,,sect4  ,,lxxvi4  ,the        
,epicureans confound the ,works of ,art 
with those of ,nature4   ,all men who   
naturally suppose a sensible difference 
between the works of art and those of   
chance do consequently1 though but      
implicitly1 suppose that the            
combinations of atoms were not          
infinite--which supposition is very     
just4  ,this infinite succession of     
combinations of atoms is1 as ,i showed  
before1 a more absurd chimera than all  
the absurdities some men would explain  
by that false principle4  ,no number1   
either successive or continual1 can be  
infinite2 from whence it follows that   

the number of atoms cannot be infinite1 
that the succession of their various    
motions and combinations cannot be      
infinite1 that the world cannot be      
eternal1 and that we must find out a    
precise and fixed beginning of these    
successive combinations4  ,we must recur
 to a first individual in the           
generations of every species4  ,we must 
likewise find out the original and      
primitive form of every particle of     
matter that makes a part of the         
universe4  ,and as the successive       
changes of that matter must be limited  
in number1 we must not admit in those   
different combinations but such as      
chance commonly produces2 unless we     
acknowledge a ,superior ,being1 who with
 the perfection of art made the         
wonderful works which chance could never
 have made4   ,,sect4  ,,lxxvii4  ,the  
,epicureans take whatever they please   
for granted1 without any ,proof4   ,the 
,epicurean philosophers are so weak in  
their system that it is not in their    

power to form it1 or bring it to bear1  
unless one admits without proofs their  
most fabulous postulata and positions4  
,in the first place they suppose eternal
 atoms1 which is begging the question2  
for how can they make out that atoms    
have ever existed and exist by          
themselves8  ,to exist by one's self is 
the supreme perfection4  ,now1 what     
authority have they to suppose1 without 
proofs1 that atoms have in themselves a 
perfect1 eternal1 and immutable being8  
,do they find this perfection in the    
idea they have of every atom in         
particular8  ,an atom not being the same
 with1 and being absolutely             
distinguished from1 another atom1 each  
of them must have in itself eternity and
 independence with respect to any other 
being4  ,once more1 is it in the idea   
these philosophers have of each atom    
that they find this perfection8  ,but   
let us grant them all they suppose in   
this question1 and even what they ought 
to be ashamed to suppose--viz41 that    

atoms are eternal1 subsisting by        
themselves1 independent from any other  
being1 and consequently entirely        
perfect4   ,,sect4  ,,lxxviii4  ,the    
,suppositions of the ,epicureans are    
,false and ,chimerical4   ,must we      
suppose1 besides1 that atoms have motion
 of themselves8 ,shall we suppose it out
 of gaiety to give an air of reality to 
a system more chimerical than the tales 
of the fairies8  ,let us consult the    
idea we have of a body4  ,we conceive it
 perfectly well without supposing it to 
be in motion1 and represent it to us at 
rest2 nor is its idea in this state less
 clear2 nor does it lose its parts1     
figure1 or dimensions4  ,it is to no    
purpose to suppose that all bodies are  
perpetually in some motion1 either      
sensible or insensible2 and that though 
some parts of matter have a lesser      
motion than others1 yet the universal   
mass of matter has ever the same motion 
in its totality4  ,to speak at this rate
 is building castles in the air1 and    

imposing vain imaginations on the belief
 of others2 for who has told these      
philosophers that the mass of matter has
 ever the same motion in its totality8  
,who has made the experiment of it8     
,have they the assurance to bestow the  
name of philosophy upon a rash fiction  
which takes for granted what they never 
can make out8  ,is there no more to do  
than to suppose whatever one pleases in 
order to elude the most simple and most 
constant truths8  ,what authority have  
they to suppose that all bodies         
incessantly move1 either sensibly or    
insensibly8  ,when ,i see a stone that  
appears motionless1 how will they prove 
to me that there is no atom in that     
stone but what is actually in motion8   
,will they ever impose upon me bare     
suppositions1 without any semblance of  
truth1 for decisive proofs8   ,,sect4   
,,lxxix4  ,it is ,falsely supposed that 
,motion is ,essential to ,bodies4       
,however1 let us go a step further1 and1
 out of excessive complaisance1 suppose 

that all the bodies in ,nature are      
actually in motion4  ,does it follow    
from thence that motion is essential to 
every particle of matter8  ,besides1 if 
all bodies have not an equal degree of  
motion2 if some move sensibly1 and more 
swiftly than others2 if the same body   
may move sometimes quicker and sometimes
 slower2 if a body that moves           
communicates its motion to the          
neighbouring body that was at rest1 or  
in such inferior motion that it was     
insensible--it must be confessed that a 
mode or modification which sometimes    
increases1 and at other times decreases1
 in bodies is not essential to them4    
,what is essential to a being is ever   
the same in it4  ,neither the motion    
that varies in bodies1 and which1 after 
having increased1 slackens and decreases
 to such a degree as to appear          
absolutely extinct and annihilated2 nor 
the motion that is lost1 that is        
communicated1 that passes from one body 
to another as a foreign thing--can      

belong to the essence of bodies4  ,and1 
therefore1 ,i may conclude that bodies  
are perfect in their essence without    
ascribing to them any motion4  ,if they 
have no motion in their essence1 they   
have it only by accident2 and if they   
have it only by accident1 we must trace 
up that accident to its true cause4     
,bodies must either bestow motion on    
themselves1 or receive it from some     
other being4  ,it is evident they do not
 bestow it on themselves1 for no being  
can give what it has not in itself4     
,and we are sensible that a body at rest
 ever remains motionless1 unless some   
neighbouring body happens to shake it4  
,it is certain1 therefore1 that no body 
moves by itself1 and is only moved by   
some other body that communicates its   
motion to it4  ,but how comes it to pass
 that a body can move another8  ,what is
 the reason that a ball which a man     
causes to roll on a smooth table        
7billiards1 for the purpose7 cannot     
touch another without moving it8  ,why  

was it not possible that motion should  
not ever communicate itself from one    
body to another8  ,in such a case a ball
 in motion would stop near another at   
their meeting1 and yet never shake it4  
,,sect4  ,,lxxx4  ,the ,rules of        
,motion1 which the ,epicureans suppose  
do not render it essential to ,bodies4  
,i may be answered that1 according to   
the rules of motion among bodies1 one   
ought to shake or move another4  ,but   
where are those laws of motion written  
and recorded8  ,who both made them and  
rendered them so inviolable8  ,they do  
not belong to the essence of bodies1 for
 we can conceive bodies at rest2 and we 
even conceive bodies that would not     
communicate their motion to others      
unless these rules1 with whose original 
we are unacquainted1 subjected them to  
it4  ,whence comes this1 as it were1    
arbitrary government of motion over all 
bodies8  ,whence proceed laws so        
ingenious1 so just1 so well adapted one 
to the other1 that the least alteration 

of or deviation from which would1 on a  
sudden1 overturn and destroy all the    
excellent order we admire in the        
universe8  ,a body being entirely       
distinct from another1 is in its nature 
absolutely independent from it in all   
respects4  ,whence it follows that it   
should not receive anything from it1 or 
be susceptible of any of its            
impressions4  ,the modifications of a   
body imply no necessary reason to modify
 in the same manner another body1 whose 
being is entirely independent from the  
being of the first4  ,it is to no       
purpose to allege that the most solid   
and most heavy bodies carry or force    
away those that are less big and less   
solid2 and that1 according to this rule1
 a great leaden ball ought to move a    
great ball of ivory4  ,we do not speak  
of the fact2 we only inquire into the   
cause of it4  ,the fact is certain1 and 
therefore the cause ought likewise to be
 certain and precise4  ,let us look for 
it without any manner of prepossession  

or prejudice4  ,what is the reason that 
a great body carries off a little one8  
,the thing might as naturally happen    
quite otherwise2 for it might as well   
happen that the most solid body should  
never move any other body--that is to   
say1 motion might be incommunicable4    
,nothing but custom obliges us to       
suppose that ,nature ought to act as it 
does4   ,,sect4  ,,lxxxi4  ,to give a   
satisfactory ,account of ,motion we must
 recur to the ,first ,mover4            
,moreover1 it has been proved that      
matter cannot be either infinite or     
eternal2 and1 therefore1 there must be  
supposed both a first atom 7by which    
motion must have begun at a precise     
moment71 and a first concourse of atoms 
7that must have formed the first        
combination74 ,now1 ,i ask what mover   
gave motion to that first atom1 and     
first set the great machine of the      
universe a-going8  ,it is not possible  
to elude this home question by an       
endless circle1 for this question1 lying

 within a finite circumference1 must    
have an end at last2 and so we must find
 the first atom in motion1 and the first
 moment of that first motion1 together  
with the first mover1 whose hand made   
that first impression4   ,,sect4        
,,lxxxii4  ,no ,law of ,motion has its  
,foundation in the ,essence of the      
,body2 and most of those ,laws are      
,arbitrary4   ,among the laws of motion 
we must look upon all those as arbitrary
 which we cannot account for by the very
 essence of bodies4  ,we have already   
made out that no motion is essential to 
any body4  ,wherefore all those laws    
which are supposed to be eternal and    
immutable are1 on the contrary1         
arbitrary1 accidental1 and made without 
cogent necessity2 for there is none of  
them that can be accounted for by the   
essence of bodies4  ,if there were any  
law of motion essential to bodies1 it   
would undoubtedly be that by which      
bodies of less bulk and less solid are  
moved by such as have more bulk and     

solidity4  ,and yet we have seen that   
that very law is not to be accounted for
 by the essence of bodies4  ,there is   
another which might also seem very      
natural--that1 ,i mean1 by which bodies 
ever move rather in a direct than a     
crooked line1 unless their motion be    
otherwise determined by the meeting of  
other bodies4  ,but even this rule has  
no foundation in the essence of matter4 
,motion is so very accidental1 and      
super-added to the nature of bodies1    
that we do not find in this nature of   
bodies any primitive or immutable law by
 which they ought to move at all1 much  
less to move according to certain rules4
  ,in the same manner as bodies might   
have existed1 and yet have never either 
been in motion or communicated motion   
one to another1 so they might never have
 moved but in a circular line1 and this 
motion might have been as natural to    
them as the motion in a direct line4    
,now1 who is it that pitched upon either
 of these two laws equally possible8    

,what is not determined by the essence  
of bodies can have been determined by no
 other but ,him who gave bodies the     
motion they had not in their own        
essence4  ,besides1 this motion in a    
direct line might have been upwards or  
downwards1 from right to left1 or from  
left to right1 or in a diagonal line4   
,now1 who is it that determined which   
way the straight line should go8        
,,sect4  ,,lxxxiii4  ,the ,epicureans   
can draw no ,consequence from all their 
,suppositions1 although the same should 
be granted them4   ,let us still attend 
the ,epicureans even in their most      
fabulous suppositions1 and carry on the 
fiction to the last degree of           
complaisance4  ,let us admit motion in  
the essence of bodies1 and suppose1 as  
they do1 that motion in a direct line is
 also essential to all atoms4  ,let us  
bestow upon atoms both a will and an    
understanding1 as poets did on rocks and
 rivers4  ,and let us allow them        
likewise to choose which way they will  

begin their straight line4  ,now1 what  
advantage will these philosophers draw  
from all ,i have granted them1 contrary 
to all evidence8  ,in the first place1  
all atoms must have been in motion from 
all eternity2 secondly1 they must all   
have had an equal motion2 thirdly1 they 
must all have moved in a direct line2   
fourthly1 they must all have moved by an
 immutable and essential law4  ,i am    
still willing to gratify our            
adversaries1 so far as to suppose that  
those atoms are of different figures1   
for ,i will allow them to take for      
granted what they should be obliged to  
prove1 and for which they have not so   
much as the shadow of a proof4  ,one can
 never grant too much to men who never  
can draw any consequence from what is   
granted them2 for the more absurdities  
are allowed them1 the sooner they are   
caught by their own principles4         
,,sect4  ,,lxxxiv4  ,atoms cannot make  
any ,compound by the ,motion the        
,epicureans assign them4   ,these atoms 

of so many odd figures--some round1 some
 crooked1 others triangular1 c4--are by 
their essence obliged always to move in 
a straight line1 without ever deviating 
or bending to the right or to the left2 
wherefore they never can hook one       
another1 or make together any compound4 
,put1 if you please1 the sharpest hooks 
near other hooks of the like make2 yet  
if every one of them never moves        
otherwise than in a line perfectly      
straight1 they will eternally move one  
near another1 in parallel lines1 without
 being able to join and hook one        
another4  ,the two straight lines which 
are supposed to be parallel1 though     
immediate neighbours1 will never cross  
one another1 though carried on ad       
infinitum2 wherefore in all eternity1 no
 hooking1 and consequently no compound1 
can result from that motion of atoms in 
a direct line4   ,,sect4  ,,lxxxv4  ,the
 ,clinamen1 ,declination1 or ,sending of
 ,atoms is a ,chimerical ,notion that   
throws the ,epicureans into a gross     

,contradiction4   ,the ,epicureans1 not 
being able to shut their eyes against   
this glaring difficulty1 that strikes at
 the very foundation of their whole     
system1 have1 for a last shift1 invented
 what ,lucretius calls clinamen--by     
which is meant a motion somewhat        
declining or bending from the straight  
line1 and which gives atoms the occasion
 to meet and encounter4  ,thus they turn
 and wind them at pleasure1 according as
 they fancy best for their purpose4     
,but upon what authority do they suppose
 this declination of atoms1 which comes 
so pat to bear up their system8  ,if    
motion in a straight line be essential  
to bodies1 nothing can bend1 nor        
consequently join them1 in all eternity2
 the clinamen destroys the very essence 
of matter1 and those philosophers       
contradict themselves without blushing4 
,if1 on the contrary1 the motion in a   
direct line is not essential to all     
bodies1 why do they so confidently      
suppose eternal1 necessary1 and         

immutable laws for the motion of atoms  
without recurring to a first mover8     
,and why do they build a whole system of
 philosophy upon the precarious         
foundation of a ridiculous fiction8     
,without the clinamen the straight line 
can never produce anything1 and the     
,epicurean system falls to the ground2  
with the clinamen1 a fabulous poetical  
invention1 the direct line is violated1 
and the system falls into derision and  
ridicule4  ,both the straight line and  
the clinamen are airy suppositions and  
mere dreams2 but these two dreams       
destroy each other1 and this is the     
upshot of the uncurbed licentiousness   
some men allow themselves of supposing  
as eternal truths whatever their        
imagination suggests them to support a  
fable2 while they refuse to acknowledge 
the artful and powerful hand that formed
 and placed all the parts of the        
universe4   ,,sect4  ,,lxxxvi4  ,strange
 ,absurdity of the ,epicureans1 who     
endeavour to account for the ,nature of 

the ,soul by the ,declination of ,atoms4
   ,to reach the highest degree of      
amazing extravagance1 the ,epicureans   
have had the assurance to explain and   
account for what we call the soul of man
 and his free-will1 by the clinamen1    
which is so unaccountable and           
inexplicable itself4  ,thus they are    
reduced to affirm that it is in this    
motion1 wherein atoms are in a kind of  
equilibrium between a straight line and 
a line somewhat circular1 that human    
will consists4  ,strange philosophy6    
,if atoms move only in a straight line1 
they are inanimate1 and incapable of any
 degree of knowledge1 understanding1 or 
will2 but if the very same atoms        
somewhat deviate from the straight line1
 they become1 on a sudden1 animate1     
thinking1 and rational4  ,they are      
themselves intelligent souls1 that know 
themselves1 reflect1 deliberate1 and are
 free in their acts and determinations4 
,was there ever a more absurd           
metamorphosis8  ,what opinion would men 

have of religion if1 in order to assert 
it1 one should lay down principles and  
positions so trifling and ridiculous as 
theirs who dare to attack it in earnest8
   ,,sect4  ,,lxxxvii4  ,the ,epicureans
 cast a ,mist before their own ,eyes by 
endeavouring to explain the ,liberty of 
,man by the ,declination of ,atoms4     
,but let us consider to what degree     
those philosophers impose upon their own
 understandings4  ,what can they find in
 the clinamen that1 with any colour1 can
 account for the liberty of man8  ,this 
liberty is not imaginary2 for it is not 
in our power to doubt of our free- will1
 any more than it is to doubt of what we
 are intimately conscious and certain4  
,i am conscious ,i am free to continue  
sitting when ,i rise in order to walk4  
,i am sensible of it with so entire     
certainty that it is not in my power    
ever to doubt of it in earnest2 and ,i  
should be inconsistent with myself if ,i
 dared to say the contrary4  ,can the   
proof of our religion be more evident   

and convincing8  ,we cannot doubt of the
 existence of ,god unless we doubt of   
our own liberty2 from whence ,i infer   
that no man can seriously doubt of the  
being of the ,deity1 since no man can   
entertain a serious doubt about his own 
liberty4  ,if1 on the contrary1 it be   
frankly acknowledged that men are really
 free1 nothing is more easy than to     
demonstrate that the liberty of man's   
will cannot consist of any combination  
of atoms1 if one supposes that there was
 no first mover1 who gave matter        
arbitrary laws for its motion4  ,motion 
must be essential to bodies1 and all the
 laws of motion must also be as         
necessary as the essences of natures    
are4  ,therefore1 according to this     
system1 all the motions of bodies must  
be performed by constant1 necessary1 and
 immutable laws2 the motion in a        
straight line must be essential to all  
atoms1 that are not made to deviate from
 it by the encounter of other atoms2 the
 straight line must likewise be         

essential either upwards or downwards1  
either from right to left1 or left to   
right1 or some other diagonal way1      
fixed1 precise1 and immutable4          
,besides1 it is evident that no atom can
 make another atom deviate2 for that    
other atom carries also in its essence  
the same invincible and eternal         
determination to follow the straight    
line the same way4  ,from hence it      
follows that all the atoms placed at    
first on different lines must pursue ad 
infinitum those parallel lines without  
ever coming nearer one another2 and that
 those who are in the same line must    
follow one another ad infinitum without 
ever coming up together1 but keeping    
still the same distance from one        
another4  ,the clinamen1 as we have     
already shown1 is manifestly impossible3
  but1 contrary to evident truth1       
supposing it to be possible1 in such a  
case it must be affirmed that the       
clinamen is no less necessary1          
immutable1 and essential to atoms than  

the straight line4  ,now1 will anybody  
say that an essential and immutable law 
of the local motion of atoms explains   
and accounts for the true liberty of    
man8  ,is it not manifest that the      
clinamen can no more account for it than
 the straight line itself8  ,the        
clinamen1 supposing it to be true1 would
 be as necessary as the perpendicular   
line1 by which a stone falls from the   
top of a tower into the street4  ,is    
that stone free in its fall8  ,however1 
the will of man1 according to the       
principle of the clinamen1 has no more  
freedom than that stone4  ,is it        
possible for man to be so extravagant as
 to dare to contradict his own          
conscience about his free-will1 lest he 
should be forced to acknowledge his ,god
 and maker8  ,to affirm1 on the one     
hand1 that the liberty of man is        
imaginary1 we must silence the voice and
 stifle the sense of all nature2 give   
ourselves the lie in the grossest       
manner2 deny what we are most intimately

 conscious and certain of2 and1 in      
short1 be reduced to believe that we    
have no eligibility or choice of two    
courses1 or things proposed1 about which
 we fairly deliberate upon any occasion4
  ,nothing does religion more honour    
than to see men necessitated to fall    
into such gross and monstrous           
extravagance as soon as they call in    
question the truths she teaches4  ,on   
the other hand1 if we own that man is   
truly free1 we acknowledge in him a     
principle that never can be seriously   
accounted for1 either by the            
combinations of atoms or the laws of    
local motion1 which must be supposed to 
be all equally necessary and essential  
to matter1 if one denies a first mover4 
,we must therefore go out of the whole  
compass of matter1 and search far from  
combined atoms some incorporeal         
principle to account for free-will1 if  
we admit it fairly4  ,whatever is matter
 and an atom1 moves only by necessary1  
immutable1 and invincible laws3         

wherefore liberty cannot be found either
 in bodies1 or in any local motion2 and 
so we must look for it in some          
incorporeal being4  ,now whose hand tied
 and subjected to the organs of this    
corporeal machine that incorporeal being
 which must necessarily be in me united 
to my body8  ,where is the artificer    
that ties and unites natures so vastly  
different8  ,can any but a power        
superior both to bodies and spirits keep
 them together in this union with so    
absolute a sway8  ,two crooked atoms1   
says an ,epicurean1 hook one another4   
,now this is false1 according to his    
very system2 for ,i have demonstrated   
that those two crooked atoms never hook 
one another1 because they never meet4   
,but1 however1 after having supposed    
that two crooked atoms unite by hooking 
one another1 the ,epicurean must be     
forced to own that the thinking being1  
which is free in his operations1 and    
which consequently is not a collection  
of atoms1 ever moved by necessary laws1 

is incorporeal1 and could not by its    
figure be hooked with the body it       
animates4  ,thus which way so ever the  
,epicurean turns1 he overthrows his     
system with his own hands4  ,but let us 
not1 by any means1 endeavour to confound
 men that err and mistake1 since we are 
men as well as they1 and no less subject
 to error4  ,let us only pity them1     
study to light and inform them with     
patience1 edify them1 pray for them1 and
 conclude with asserting an evident     
truth4   ,,sect4  ,,lxxxviii4  ,we must 
necessarily acknowledge the ,hand of a  
,first ,cause in the ,universe without  
inquiring why that first ,cause has left
 ,defects in it4   ,thus everything in  
the universe--the heavens1 the earth1   
plants1 animals1 and1 above all1        
men--bears the stamp of a ,deity4       
,everything shows and proclaims a set   
design1 and a series and concatenation  
of subordinate causes1 over-ruled and   
directed with order by a superior cause4
  ,it is preposterous and foolish to    

criticise upon this great work4 ,the    
defects that happen to be in it proceed 
either from the free and disorderly will
 of man1 which produces them by its     
disorder1 or from the ever holy and just
 will of ,god1 who sometimes has a mind 
to punish impious men1 and at other     
times by the wicked to exercise and     
improve the good4  ,nay1 it happens     
oftentimes that what appears a defect to
 our narrow judgment in a place separate
 from the work is an ornament with      
respect to the general design1 which we 
are not able to consider with views     
sufficiently extended and simple to know
 the perfection of the whole4  ,does not
 daily experience show that we rashly   
censure certain parts of men's works for
 want of being thoroughly acquainted    
with the whole extent of their designs  
and schemes8  ,this happens1 in         
particular1 every day with respect to   
the works of painters and architects4   
,if writing characters were of an       
immense bigness1 each character at close

 view would take up a man's whole sight1
 so that it would not be possible for   
him to see above one at once2 and1      
therefore1 he would not be able to      
read--that is1 put different letters    
together1 and discover the sense of all 
those characters put together4  ,it is  
the same with the great strokes of      
,providence in the conduct of the whole 
world during a long succession of ages4 
,there is nothing but the whole that is 
intelligible2 and the whole is too vast 
and immense to be seen at close view4   
,every event is like a particular       
character that is too large for our     
narrow organs1 and which signifies      
nothing of itself and separate from the 
rest4  ,when1 at the consummation of    
ages1 we shall see in ,god--that is1 in 
the true point and centre of            
perspective--the total of human events1 
from the first to the last day of the   
universe1 together with their           
proportions with regard to the designs  
of ,god1 we shall cry out1 ,lord1 ,thou 

alone art just and wise6  ,we cannot    
rightly judge of the works of men but by
 examining the whole4  ,every part ought
 not to have every perfection1 but only 
such as becomes it according to the     
order and proportion of the different   
parts that compose the whole4  ,in a    
human body1 for instance1 all the       
members must not be eyes1 for there must
 be hands1 feet1 c4  ,so in the         
universe1 there must be a sun for the   
day1 but there must be also a moon for  
the night4  ,nec tibi occurrit perfecta 
universitas1 nisi ubi majora sic praesto
 sunt1 ut minora non desint4 ,this is   
the judgment we ought to make of every  
part with respect to the whole4  ,any   
other view is narrow and deceitful4     
,but what are the weak and puny designs 
of men1 if compared to that of the      
creation and government of the universe8
  ,as much as the heavens are above the 
earth1 as much1 says ,god in the ,holy  
,writ1 are ,my ways and ,my thoughts    
above yours4  ,let1 therefore1 man      

admire what he understands1 and be      
silent about what he does not           
comprehend4 ,but1 after all1 even the   
real defects of this work are only      
imperfections which ,god was pleased to 
leave in it1 to put us in mind that ,he 
drew and made it from nothing4  ,there  
is not anything in the universe but what
 does and ought equally to bear these   
two opposite characters3  on the one    
side1 the seal or stamp of the artificer
 upon his work1 and1 on the other1 the  
mark of its original nothing1 into which
 it may relapse and dwindle every       
moment4  ,it is an incomprehensible     
mixture of low and great2 of frailty in 
the matter1 and of art in the maker8    
,the hand of ,god is conspicuous in     
everything1 even in a worm that crawls  
on earth4  ,nothingness1 on the other   
hand1 appears everywhere1 even in the   
most vast and most sublime genius4      
,whatever is not ,god1 can have but a   
stinted perfection2 and what has but a  
stinted perfection1 always remains      

imperfect on the side where the boundary
 is sensible1 and denotes that it might 
be improved4  ,if the creature wanted   
nothing1 it would be the ,creator       
,himself2 for it would have the fulness 
of perfection1 which is the ,deity      
itself4  ,since it cannot be infinite1  
it must be limited in perfection1 that  
is1 it must be imperfect on one side or 
other4  ,it may have more or less       
imperfection1 but still it must be      
imperfect4  ,we must ever be able to    
point out the very place where it is    
defective1 and to say1 upon a critical  
examination1 ,this is what it might have
 had1 what it has not4   ,,sect4        
,,lxxxix4  ,the ,defects of the         
,universe compared with those of a      
,picture4   ,do we conclude that a piece
 of painting is made by chance when we  
see in it either shades1 or even some   
careless touches8  ,the painter1 we say1
 might have better finished those       
carnations1 those draperies1 those      
prospects4  ,it is true1 this picture is

 not perfect according to the nicest    
rules of art4  ,but how extravagant     
would it be to say1 ,this picture is not
 absolutely perfect2 therefore it is    
only a collection of colours formed by  
chance1 nor did the hand of any painter 
meddle with it6  ,now1 what a man would 
blush to say of an indifferent and      
almost artless picture he is not ashamed
 to affirm of the universe1 in which a  
crowd of incomprehensible wonders1 with 
excellent order and proportion1 are     
conspicuous4  ,let a man study the world
 as much as he pleases2 let him descend 
into the minutest details2 dissect the  
vilest of animals2 narrowly consider the
 least grain of corn sown in the ground1
 and the manner in which it germinates  
and multiplies2 attentively observe with
 what precautions a rose-bud blows and  
opens in the sun1 and closes again at   
night2 and he will find in all these    
more design1 conduct1 and industry than 
in all the works of art4  ,nay1 what is 
called the art of men is but a faint    

imitation of the great art called the   
laws of ,nature1 and which the impious  
did not blush to call blind chance4 ,is 
it therefore a wonder that poets        
animated the whole universe1 bestowed   
wings upon the winds1 and arrows on the 
sun1 and described great rivers         
impetuously running to precipitate      
themselves into the sea1 and trees      
shooting up to heaven to repel the rays 
of the sun by their thick shades8       
,these images and figures have also been
 received in the language of the vulgar1
 so natural it is for men to be sensible
 of the wonderful art that fills all    
nature4  ,poetry did only ascribe to    
inanimate creatures the art and design  
of the ,creator1 who does everything in 
them4  ,from the figurative language of 
the poets those notions passed into the 
theology of the heathens1 whose divines 
were the poets4  ,they supposed an art1 
a power1 or a wisdom1 which they called 
numen1 in creatures the most destitute  
of understanding4  ,with them great     

rivers were gods2 and springs1 naiads4  
,woods and mountains had their          
particular deities2 flowers had their   
,flora2 and fruits1 ,pomona4  ,after    
all1 the more a man contemplates        
,nature1 the more he discovers in it an 
inexhaustible stock of wisdom1 which is1
 as it were1 the soul of the universe4  
,,sect4  ,,xc4  ,we must necessarily    
conclude that there is a ,first ,being  
that created the ,universe4   ,what must
 we infer from thence8  ,the consequence
 flows of itself4 ,if so much wisdom and
 penetration1 says ,minutius ,felix1 are
 required to observe the wonderful order
 and design of the structure of the     
world1 how much more were necessary to  
form it6  ,if men so much admire        
philosophers1 because they discover a   
small part of the wisdom that made all  
things1 they must be stark blind not to 
admire that wisdom itself4   ,,sect4    
,,xci4  ,reasons why ,men do not        
acknowledge ,god in the ,universe1      
wherein ,he shows ,himself to them1 as  

in a faithful glass4   ,this is the     
great object of the universe1 wherein   
,god1 as it were in a glass1 shows      
,himself to mankind4  ,but some 7,i     
mean1 the philosophers7 were bewildered 
in their own thoughts4  ,everything with
 them turned into vanity4  ,by their    
subtle reasonings some of them overshot 
and lost a truth which a man finds      
naturally and simply in himself without 
the help of philosophy4  ,others1       
intoxicated by their passions1 live in a
 perpetual avocation of thought4  ,to   
perceive ,god in ,his works a man must1 
at least1 consider them with attention4 
,but passions cast such a mist before   
the eyes1 not only of wild savages1 but 
even of nations that seem to be most    
civilised and polite1 that they do not  
so much as see the light that lights    
them4  ,in this respect the ,egyptians1 
,grecians1 and ,romans were no less     
blind or less brutish than the rudest   
and most ignorant ,americans4  ,like    
these1 they lay1 as it were1 buried     

within sensible things without going up 
higher2 and they cultivated their wit1  
only to tickle themselves with softer   
sensations1 without observing from what 
spring they proceeded4  ,in this manner 
the generality of men pass away their   
lives upon earth4  ,say nothing to them1
 and they will think on nothing except  
what flatters either their brutish      
passions or vanity4  ,their souls grow  
so heavy and unwieldy that they cannot  
raise their thoughts to any incorporeal 
object4  ,whatever is not palpable and  
cannot be seen1 tasted1 heard1 felt1 or 
told1 appears chimerical to them4  ,this
 weakness of the soul1 turning into     
unbelief1 appears strength of mind to   
them2 and their vanity glories in       
opposing what naturally strikes and     
affects the rest of mankind1 just as if 
a monster prided in not being formed    
according to the common rules of        
,nature1 or as if one born blind boasted
 of his unbelief with respect to light  
and colours1 which other men perceive   

and discern4   ,,sect4  ,,xcii4  ,a     
,prayer to ,god4   ,o my ,god1 if so    
many men do not discover ,thee in this  
great spectacle ,thou givest them of all
 ,nature1 it is not because ,thou art   
far from any of us4  ,every one of us   
feels ,thee1 as it were1 with his hand2 
but the senses1 and the passions they   
raise1 take up all the attention of our 
minds4  ,thus1 ,o ,lord1 ,thy light     
shines in darkness2 but darkness is so  
thick and gloomy that it does not admit 
the beams of ,thy light4  ,thou         
appearest everywhere2 and everywhere    
unattentive mortals neglect to perceive 
,thee4  ,all ,nature speaks of ,thee and
 resounds with ,thy holy name2 but she  
speaks to deaf men1 whose deafness      
proceeds from the noise and clutter they
 make to stun themselves4  ,thou art    
near and within them2 but they are      
fugitive1 and wandering1 as it were1 out
 of themselves4  ,they would find ,thee1
 ,o ,sweet ,light1 ,o ,eternal ,beauty1 
ever old and ever young1 ,o ,fountain of

 ,chaste ,delights1 ,o ,pure and ,happy 
,life of all who live truly1 should they
 look for ,thee within themselves4  ,but
 the impious lose ,thee only by losing  
themselves4  ,alas6 ,thy very gifts1    
which should show them the hand from    
whence they flow1 amuse them to such a  
degree as to hinder them from perceiving
 it4  ,they live by ,thee1 and yet they 
live without thinking on ,thee2 or1     
rather1 they die by the ,fountain of    
,life for want of quenching their       
drought in that vivifying stream2 for   
what greater death can there be than not
 to know ,thee1 ,o ,lord8  ,they fall   
asleep in ,thy soft and paternal bosom1 
and1 full of the deceitful dreams by    
which they are tossed in their sleep1   
they are insensible of the powerful hand
 that supports them4 ,if ,thou wert a   
barren1 impotent1 and inanimate body1   
like a flower that fades away1 a river  
that runs1 a house that decays and falls
 to ruin1 a picture that is but a       
collection of colours to strike the     

imagination1 or a useless metal that    
glisters--they would perceive ,thee1 and
 fondly ascribe to ,thee the power of   
giving them some pleasure1 although in  
reality pleasure cannot proceed from    
inanimate beings1 which are themselves  
void and incapable of it1 but only from 
,thee alone1 the true spring of all joy4
  ,if therefore ,thou wert but a        
lumpish1 frail1 and inanimate being1 a  
mass without any virtue or power1 a     
shadow of a being1 ,thy vain fantastic  
nature would busy their vanity1 and be a
 proper object to entertain their mean  
and brutish thoughts4  ,but because     
,thou art too intimately within them1   
and they never at home1 ,thou art to    
them an unknown ,god2 for while they    
rove and wander abroad1 the intimate    
part of themselves is most remote from  
their sight4  ,the order and beauty     
,thou scatterest over the face of ,thy  
creatures are like a glaring light that 
hides ,thee from and dazzles their sore 
eyes4  ,thus the very light that should 

light them strikes them blind2 and the  
rays of the sun themselves hinder them  
to see it4  ,in fine1 because ,thou art 
too elevated and too pure a truth to    
affect gross senses1 men who are become 
like beasts cannot conceive ,thee1      
though man has daily convincing         
instances of wisdom and virtue without  
the testimony of any of his senses2 for 
those virtues have neither sound1       
colour1 odour1 taste1 figure1 nor any   
sensible quality4  ,why then1 ,o my     
,god1 do men call ,thy existence1       
wisdom1 and power more in question than 
they do those other things most real and
 manifest1 the truth of which they      
suppose as certain1 in all the serious  
affairs of life1 and which nevertheless1
 as well as ,thou1 escape our feeble    
senses8  ,o misery6 ,o dismal night that
 surrounds the children of ,adam6  ,o   
monstrous stupidity6  ,o confusion of   
the whole man6  ,man has eyes only to   
see shadows1 and truth appears a phantom
 to him4  ,what is nothing1 is all2 and 

what is all1 is nothing to him4  ,what  
do ,i behold in all ,nature8  ,god4     
,god everywhere1 and still ,god alone4  
,when ,i think1 ,o ,lord1 that all being
 is in ,thee1 ,thou exhaustest and      
swallowest up1 ,o ,abyss of ,truth1 all 
my thoughts4  ,i know not what becomes  
of me4 ,whatever is not ,thou1          
disappears2 and scarce so much of myself
 remains wherewithal to find myself     
again4  ,who sees ,thee not1 never saw  
anything2 and who is not sensible of    
,thee1 never was sensible of anything4  
,he is as if he were not4  ,his whole   
life is but a dream4 ,arise1 ,o ,lord1  
arise4  ,let ,thy enemies melt like wax 
and vanish like smoke before ,thy face4 
,how unhappy is the impious soul who1   
far from ,thee1 is without ,god1 without
 hope1 without eternal comfort6 ,how    
happy he who searches1 sighs1 and       
thirsts after ,thee6  ,but fully happy  
he on whom are reflected the beams of   
,thy countenance1 whose tears ,thy hand 
has wiped off1 and whose desires ,thy   

love has already completed4  ,when will 
that time be1 ,o ,lord8  ,o ,fair ,day1 
without either cloud or end1 of which   
,thyself shalt be the sun1 and wherein  
,thou shalt run through my soul like a  
torrent of delight8  ,upon this pleasing
 hope my bones shiver1 and cry          
out3--,who is like ,thee1 ,o ,lord8  ,my
 heart melts and my flesh faints1 ,o    
,god of my soul1 and my eternal wealth4