,,the ,,ruins1 ,,or1 ,,meditation ,,on ,,the ,,revolutions ,,of ,,empires3 ,,and ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,nature1 by ,c4 ,f4 ,,volney1 ,,comte ,,et ,,pair ,,de ,,france4 ,,commandeur ,,de ,,la ,,legion ,d',,honneur1 ,,membre ,,de ,l',,academie ,,francaise1 ,,et ,,de ,,plusieurs ,,autres ,,societes ,,savantes4 ,,deputy ,,to ,,the ,,national ,,assembly ,,of #aghi1 ,,and ,,author ,,of ,,travels ,,in ,,egypt ,,and ,,syria1 ,,new ,,researches ,,on ,,ancient ,,history1 ,,etc4 ,,to ,,which ,,is ,,added ,,volney',s ,,answer ,,to ,,dr4 ,,priestly1 ,a ,,biographical ,,notice ,,by ,,count ,,daru1 ,,and ,,the ,,zodiacal ,,signs ,,and ,,constellations ,,by ,,the ,,editor4 ,i will cherish in remembrance the love of man1 ,i will employ myself on the means of effecting good for him1 and build my own happiness on the promotion of his4--,volney4 ,,new ,,york1 ,,twentieth ,,century ,,pub4 ,,co41 #d ,,warren ,,st4 #ahij4 ,,publisher',s ,,preface4 ,having recently purchased a set of stereotyped plates of ,volney's ,ruins1 with a view of reprinting the same1 ,i found1 on examination1 that they were considerably worn by the many editions that had been printed from them and that they greatly needed both repairs and corrections4 ,a careful estimate showed that the amount necessary for this purpose would go far towards reproducing this standard work in modern type and in an improved form4 ,after due reflection this course was at length decided upon1 and all the more readily1 as by discarding the old plates and resetting the entire work1 the publisher was enabled to greatly enhance its value1 by inserting the translator's preface as it appeared in the original edition1 and also to restore many notes and other valuable material which had been carelessly omitted in the ,american reprint4 ,an example of an important omission of this kind may be found on the fifteenth1 sixteenth1 and seventeenth pages of this volume1 which may be appropriately referred to1 in this connection4 ,it is there stated1 in describing the ancient kingdom of ,ethiopia1 and the ruins of ,thebes1 her opulent metropolis1 that ,there a people1 now forgotten1 discovered1 while others were yet barbarians1 the elements of the arts and sciences4 ,a race of men1 now rejected from society for their sable skin and frizzled hair1 founded on the study of the laws of nature1 those civil and religious systems which still govern the universe4 ,a voluminous note1 in which standard authorities are cited1 seems to prove that this statement is substantially correct1 and that we are in reality indebted to the ancient ,ethiopians1 to the fervid imagination of the persecuted and despised negro1 for the various religious systems now so highly revered by the different branches of both the ,semitic and ,aryan races4 ,this fact1 which is so frequently referred to in ,mr4 ,volney's writings1 may perhaps solve the question as to the origin of all religions1 and may even suggest a solution to the secret so long concealed beneath the flat nose1 thick lips1 and negro features of the ,egyptian ,sphinx4 ,it may also confirm the statement of ,dioderus1 that the ,ethiopians conceive themselves as the inventors of divine worship1 of festivals1 of solemn assemblies1 of sacrifices1 and of every other religious practice4 ,that an imaginative and superstitious race of black men should have invented and founded1 in the dim obscurity of past ages1 a system of religious belief that still enthralls the minds and clouds the intellects of the leading representatives of modern theology1--that still clings to the thoughts1 and tinges with its potential influence the literature and faith of the civilized and cultured nations of ,europe and ,america1 is indeed a strange illustration of the mad caprice of destiny1 of the insignificant and apparently trivial causes that oft produce the most grave and momentous results4 ,the translation here given closely follows that published in ,paris by ,levrault1 ,quai ,malaquais1 in #ahjb1 which was under the direction and careful supervision of the talented author2 and whatever notes ,count ,volney then thought necessary to insert in his work1 are here carefully reproduced without abridgment or modification4 ,the portrait1 maps and illustrations are from a ,french edition of ,volney's complete works1 published by ,bossange ,freres at ,no4 #ab ,rue de ,seine1 ,paris1 in #ahba1--one year after the death of ,mr4 ,volney4 ,it is a presentation copy on the part of ,madame1 the ,countess de ,volney1 and of the nephew of the author1 and it may therefore be taken for granted that ,mr4 ,volney's portrait1 as here given1 is correct1 and was satisfactory to his family4 ,an explanation of the figures and diagrams shown on the map of the ,astrological ,heaven of the ,ancients has been added in the appendix by the publisher4 ,,peter ,,eckler4 ,new ,york1 ,january #c1 #ahij4 ,,translator',s ,,preface ,,of ,,the ,,english ,,edition ,,published ,,in ,,paris4 ,to offer the public a new translation of ,volney's ,ruins may require some apology in the view of those who are acquainted with the work only in the ,english version which already exists1 and which has had a general circulation4 ,but those who are conversant with the book in the author's own language1 and have taken pains to compare it with that version1 must have been struck with the errors with which the ,english performance abounds4 ,they must have regretted the loss of many original beauties1 some of which go far in composing the essential merits of the work4 ,the energy and dignity of the author's manner1 the unaffected elevation of his style1 the conciseness1 perspicuity and simplicity of his diction1 are everywhere suited to his subject1 which is solemn1 novel1 luminous1 affecting1--a subject perhaps the most universally interesting to the human race that has ever been presented to their contemplation4 ,it takes the most liberal and comprehensive view of the social state of man1 develops the sources of his errors in the most perspicuous and convincing manner1 overturns his prejudices with the greatest delicacy and moderation1 sets the wrongs he has suffered1 and the rights he ought to cherish1 in the clearest point of view1 and lays before him the true foundation of morals--his only means of happiness4 ,as the work has already become a classical one1 even in ,english1 and as it must become and continue to be so regarded in all languages in which it shall be faithfully rendered1 we wish it to suffer as little as possible from a change of country2--that as much of the spirit of the original be transfused and preserved as is consistent with the nature of translation4 ,how far we have succeeded in performing this service for the ,english reader we must not pretend to determine4 ,we believe1 however1 that we have made an improved translation1 and this without claiming any particular merit on our part1 since we have had advantages which our predecessor had not4 ,we have been aided by his labors2 and1 what is of still more importance1 our work has been done under the inspection of the author1 whose critical knowledge of both languages has given us a great facility in avoiding such errors as might arise from hurry or mistake4 ,paris1 ,november #a1 #ahjb4 ,,preface ,,of ,,the ,,london ,,edition499 99 ,published by ,t4 ,allman1 #db ,holborn ,hill1 ,london1 #ahea4 ,the plan of this publication was formed nearly ten years ago2 and allusions to it may be seen in the preface to ,travels in ,syria and ,egypt1 as well as at the end of that work1 7published in #aghg74 ,the performance was in some forwardness when the events of #aghh in ,france interrupted it4 ,persuaded that a development of the theory of political truth could not sufficiently acquit a citizen of his debt to society1 the author wished to add practice2 and that particularly at a time when a single arm was of consequence in the defence of the general cause4 ,the same desire of public benefit which induced him to suspend his work1 has since engaged him to resume it1 and though it may not possess the same merit as if it had appeared under the circumstances that gave rise to it1 yet he imagines that at a time when new passions are bursting forth1--passions that must communicate their activity to the religious opinions of men1--it is of importance to disseminate such moral truths as are calculated to operate as a curb and restraint4 ,it is with this view he has endeavored to give to these truths1 hitherto treated as abstract1 a form likely to gain them a reception4 ,it was found impossible not to shock the violent prejudices of some readers2 but the work1 so far from being the fruit of a disorderly and perturbed spirit1 has been dictated by a sincere love of order and humanity4 ,after reading this performance it will be asked1 how it was possible in #aghd to have had an idea of what did not take place till the year #agij8 ,the solution is simple4 ,in the original plan the legislator was a fictitious and hypothetical being3 in the present1 the author has substituted an existing legislator2 and the reality has only made the subject additionally interesting4 ,,preface ,,of ,,the ,,american ,,edition499 99 ,the copy from which this preface is reprinted was published in ,boston by ,charles ,gaylord1 in #ahcc4 ,it was given to the writer1 when a mere lad1 by a lady--almost a stranger--who was traveling through the little hamlet on the banks of the ,hudson where he then resided4 ,this lady assured me that the book was of great value1 containing noble and sublime truths2 and the only condition she attached to the gift was1 that ,i should read it carefully and endeavor to understand its meaning4 ,this ,i willingly promised and faithfully performed2 and all who have climbed the heights1 and escaped from the thraldom of superstitious faith1 will concede the inestimable value of such a gift-- rich with the peace and consolation that the truth imparts4 --,pub4 ,if books were to be judged of by their volume1 the following would have but little value2 if appraised by their contents1 it will perhaps be reckoned among the most instructive4 ,in general1 nothing is more important than a good elementary book2 but1 also1 nothing is more difficult to compose and even to read3 and why8 ,because1 as every thing in it should be analysis and definition1 all should be expressed with truth and precision4 ,if truth and precision are wanting1 the object has not been attained2 if they exist1 its very force renders it abstract4 ,the first of these defects has been hitherto evident in all books of morality4 ,we find in them only a chaos of incoherent maxims1 precepts without causes1 and actions without a motive4 ,the pedants of the human race have treated it like a little child3 they have prescribed to it good behavior by frightening it with spirits and hobgoblins4 ,now that the growth of the human race is rapid1 it is time to speak reason to it2 it is time to prove to men that the springs of their improvement are to be found in their very organization1 in the interest of their passions1 and in all that composes their existence4 ,it is time to demonstrate that morality is a physical and geometrical science1 subject to the rules and calculations of the other mathematical sciences3 and such is the advantage of the system expounded in this book1 that the basis of morality being laid in it on the very nature of things1 it is both constant and immutable2 whereas1 in all other theological systems1 morality being built upon arbritary opinions1 not demonstrable and often absurd1 it changes1 decays1 expires with them1 and leaves men in an absolute depravation4 ,it is true that because our system is founded on facts and not on reveries1 it will with much greater difficulty be extended and adopted3 but it will derive strength from this very struggle1 and sooner or later the eternal religion of ,nature must overturn the transient religions of the human mind4 ,this book was published for the first time in #agic1 under the title of ,the ,french ,citizen's ,catechism4 ,it was at first intended for a national work1 but as it may be equally well entitled the ,catechism of men of sense and honor1 it is to be hoped that it will become a book common to all ,europe4 ,it is possible that its brevity may prevent it from attaining the object of a popular classical work1 but the author will be satisfied if he has at least the merit of pointing out the way to make a better4 ,,advertisement ,,of ,,the ,,american ,,edition4 ,,volney',s ,,ruins2 ,,or ,,meditation ,,on ,,the ,,revolutions ,,of ,,empires4 ,the superior merits of this work are too well known to require commendation2 but as it is not generally known that there are in circulation three ,english translations of it1 varying materially in regard to faithfulness and elegance of diction1 the publisher of the present edition inserts the following extracts for the information of purchasers and readers3 ,,paris ,,translation1 ,first published in this ,country by ,dixon and ,sickels4 ,,invocation4 ,hail1 solitary ruins6 holy sepulchres1 and silent walls6 you ,i invoke2 to you ,i address my prayer4 ,while your aspect averts1 with secret terror1 the vulgar regard1 it excites in my heart the charm of delicious sentiments--sublime contemplations4 ,what useful lessons6 what affecting and profound reflections you suggest to him who knows how to consult you4 ,when the whole earth1 in chains and silence1 bowed the neck before its tyrants1 you had already proclaimed the truths which they abhor1 and confounding the dust of the king with that of the meanest slave1 had announced to man the sacred dogma of ,equality6 ,within your pale1 in solitary adoration of ,liberty1 ,i saw her ,genius arise from the mansions of the dead2 not such as she is painted by the impassioned multitude1 armed with fire and sword1 but under the august aspect of justice1 poising in her hand the sacred balance1 wherein are weighed the actions of men at the gates of eternity4 ,o ,tombs6 what virtues are yours6 you appal the tyrant's heart1 and poison with secret alarm his impious joys2 he flies1 with coward step1 your incorruptible aspect1 and erects afar his throne of insolence4 ,,london ,,translation4 ,,invocation4 ,solitary ruins1 sacred tombs1 ye mouldering and silent walls1 all hail6 ,to you ,i address my invocation4 ,while the vulgar shrink from your aspect with secret terror1 my heart finds in the contemplation a thousand delicious sentiments1 a thousand admirable recollections4 ,pregnant1 ,i may truly call you1 with useful lessons1 with pathetic and irresistible advice to the man who knows how to consult you4 ,a while ago the whole world bowed the neck in silence before the tyrants that oppressed it2 and yet in that hopeless moment you already proclaimed the truths that tyrants hold in abhorrence3 mixing the dust of the proudest kings with that of the meanest slaves1 you called upon us to contemplate this example of ,equality4 ,from your caverns1 whither the musing and anxious love of ,liberty led me1 ,i saw escape its venerable shade1 and with unexpected felicity1 direct its flight and marshal my steps the way to renovated ,france4 ,tombs6 what virtues and potency do you exhibit6 ,tyrants tremble at your aspect--you poison with secret alarm their impious pleasures--they turn from you with impatience1 and1 coward like1 endeavor to forget you amid the sumptuousness of their palaces4 ,,philadelphia ,,translation4 ,,invocation4 ,hail1 ye solitary ruins1 ye sacred tombs1 and silent walls6 ',tis your auspicious aid that ,i invoke2 'tis to you my soul1 wrapt in meditation1 pours forth its prayers6 ,what though the profane and vulgar mind shrinks with dismay from your august and awe-inspiring aspect2 to me you unfold the sublimest charms of contemplation and sentiment1 and offer to my senses the luxury of a thousand delicious and enchanting thoughts6 ,how sumptuous the feast to a being that has a taste to relish1 and an understanding to consult you6 ,what rich and noble admonitions2 what exquisite and pathetic lessons do you read to a heart that is susceptible of exalted feelings6 ,when oppressed humanity bent in timid silence throughout the globe beneath the galling yoke of slavery1 it was you that proclaimed aloud the birthright of those truths which tyrants tremble at while they detect1 and which1 by sinking the loftiest head of the proudest potentate1 with all his boasted pageantry1 to the level of mortality with his meanest slave1 confirmed and ratified by your unerring testimony the sacred and immortal doctrine of ,equality4 ,musing within the precincts of your inviting scenes of philosophic solitude1 whither the insatiate love of true-born ,liberty had led me1 ,i beheld her ,genius ascending1 not in the spurious character and habit of a blood-thirsty ,fury1 armed with daggers and instruments of murder1 and followed by a frantic and intoxicated multitude1 but under the placid and chaste aspect of ,justice1 holding with a pure and unsullied hand the sacred scales in which the actions of mortals are weighed on the brink of eternity4 ,the first translation was made and published in ,london soon after the appearance of the work in ,french1 and1 by a late edition1 is still adopted without alteration4 ,mr4 ,volney1 when in this country in #agig1 expressed his disapprobation of this translation1 alleging that the translator must have been overawed by the government or clergy from rendering his ideas faithfully2 and1 accordingly1 an ,english gentleman1 then in ,philadelphia1 volunteered to correct this edition4 ,but by his endeavors to give the true and full meaning of the author with great precision1 he has so overloaded his composition with an exuberance of words1 as in a great measure to dissipate the simple elegance and sublimity of the original4 ,mr4 ,volney1 when he became better acquainted with the ,english language1 perceived this defect2 and with the aid of our countryman1 ,joel ,barlow1 made and published in ,paris a new1 correct1 and elegant translation1 of which the present edition is a faithful and correct copy4 ,,contents ,publisher's ,preface ,translator's ,preface ,preface of ,london ,edition ,preface of the ,american ,edition ,advertisement of the ,american ,edition ,the ,life of ,volney ,a ,list of ,volney's ,works ,invocation ,chap4 ,i4 ,the ,journey ,,ii4 ,the ,reverie ,,iii4 ,the ,apparition ,,iv4 ,the ,exposition ,v4 ,condition of ,man in the ,universe ,,vi4 ,the ,primitive ,state of ,man ,,vii4 ,principles of ,society ,,viii4 ,sources of the ,evils of ,societies ,,ix4 ,origin of ,governments and ,laws ,x4 ,general ,causes of the ,prosperity of ,ancient ,states ,,xi4 ,general ,causes of the ,revolutions and ,ruin of ,ancient ,states ,,xii4 ,lessons of ,times ,past repeated on the ,present ,,xiii4 ,will the ,human ,race ,improve ,,xiv4 ,the ,great ,obstacle to ,improvement ,,xv4 ,the ,new ,age ,,xvi4 ,a ,free and ,legislative ,people ,,xvii4 ,universal ,basis of all ,right and all ,law ,,xviii4 ,consternation and ,conspiracy of ,tyrants ,,xix4 ,general ,assembly of the ,nations ,,xx4 ,the ,search of ,truth ,,xxi4 ,problem of ,religious ,contradictions ,,xxii4 ,origin and ,filiation of ,religious ,ideas ,i4 ,origin of the ,idea of ,god3 ,worship of the ,elements and of the ,physical ,powers of ,nature ,,ii4 ,second ,system4 ,worship of the ,stars1 or ,sabeism ,,iii4 ,third ,system4 ,worship of ,symbols1 or ,idolatry ,,iv4 ,fourth ,system4 ,worship of two ,principles1 or ,dualism ,v4 ,moral and ,mystical ,worship1 or ,system of a ,future ,state ,,vi4 ,sixth ,system4 ,the ,animated ,world1 or ,worship of the ,universe under diverse ,emblems ,,vii4 ,seventh ,system4 ,worship of the ,soul of the ,world1 that is to say1 the ,element of ,fire1 ,vital ,principle of the ,universe ,,viii4 ,eighth ,system4 ,the ,world ,machine3 ,worship of the ,demi- ,ourgos1 or ,grand ,artificer ,,ix4 ,religion of ,moses1 or ,worship of the ,soul of the ,world 7,you-piter7 ,x4 ,religion of ,zoroaster ,,xi4 ,budsoism1 or ,religion of the ,samaneans ,,xii4 ,brahmism1 or ,indian ,system ,,xiii4 ,christianity1 or the ,allegorical ,worship of the ,sun under the cabalistic names of ,chrish-en or ,christ and ,yesus or ,jesus ,,xxiii4 ,all ,religions have the same ,object ,,xxiv4 ,solution of the ,problem of ,contradictions ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,nature4 ,chap4 ,i4 ,of the ,law of ,nature ,,ii4 ,characters of the ,law of ,nature ,,iii4 ,principles of the ,law of ,nature relating to ,man ,,iv4 ,basis of ,morality3 of ,good1 of ,evil1 of ,sin1 of ,crime1 of ,vice1 and of ,virtue ,v4 ,of ,individual ,virtues ,,vi4 ,on ,temperance ,,vii4 ,on ,continence ,,viii4 ,on ,courage and ,activity ,,ix4 ,on ,cleanliness ,x4 ,on ,domestic ,virtues ,,xi4 ,the ,social ,virtues2 ,justice ,,xii4 ,development of the ,social ,virtues ,volney's ,answer to ,dr4 ,priestly4 ,appendix3 ,the ,zodiacal ,signs and ,constellations ,,life ,,of ,,volney4 ,by ,count ,daru4 ,constantine ,francis ,chassebeuf ,de ,volney was born in #ageg at ,craon1 in that intermediate condition of life1 which is of all the happiest1 since it is deprived only of fortune's too dangerous favors1 and can aspire to the social and intellectual advantages reserved for a laudable ambition4 ,from his earliest youth1 he devoted himself to the search after truth1 without being disheartened by the serious studies which alone can initiate us into her secrets4 ,after having become acquainted with the ancient languages1 the natural sciences and history1 and being admitted into the society of the most eminent literary characters1 he submitted1 at the age of twenty1 to an illustrious academy1 the solution of one of the most difficult problems that the history of antiquity has left open for discussion4 ,this attempt received no encouragement from the learned men who were appointed his judges2 and the author's only appeal from their sentence was to his courage and his efforts4 ,soon after1 a small inheritance having fallen to his lot1 the difficulty was how to spend it 7these are his own words47 ,he resolved to employ it in acquiring1 by a long voyage1 a new fund of information1 and determined to visit ,egypt and ,syria4 ,but these countries could not be explored to advantage without a knowledge of the language4 ,our young traveller was not to be discouraged by this difficulty4 ,instead of learning ,arabic in ,europe1 he withdrew to a convent of ,copts1 until he had made himself master of an idiom that is spoken by so many nations of the ,east4 ,this resolution showed one of those undaunted spirits that remain unshaken amid the trials of life4 ,although1 like other travellers1 he might have amused us with an account of his hardships and the perils surmounted by his courage1 he overcame the temptation of interrupting his narrative by personal adventures4 ,he disdained the beaten track4 ,he does not tell us the road he took1 the accidents he met with1 or the impressions he received4 ,he carefully avoids appearing upon the stage2 he is an inhabitant of the country1 who has long and well observed it1 and who describes its physical1 political1 and moral state4 ,the allusion would be entire if an old ,arab could be supposed to possess all the erudition1 all the ,european philosophy1 which are found united and in their maturity in a traveller of twenty-five4 ,but though a master in all those artifices by which a narration is rendered interesting1 the young man is not to be discerned in the pomp of labored descriptions4 ,although possessed of a lively and brilliant imagination1 he is never found unwarily explaining by conjectural systems the physical or moral phenomena he describes4 ,in his observations he unites prudence with science4 ,with these two guides he judges with circumspection1 and sometimes confesses himself unable to account for the effects he has made known to us4 ,thus his account has all the qualities that persuade--accuracy and candor4 ,and when1 ten years later1 a vast military enterprise transported forty thousand travellers to the classic ground1 which he had trod unattended1 unarmed and unprotected1 they all recognized a sure guide and an enlightened observer in the writer who had1 as it seemed1 only preceded them to remove or point out a part of the difficulties of the way4 ,the unanimous testimony of all parties proved the accuracy of his account and the justness of his observations2 and his ,travels in ,egypt and ,syria were1 by universal suffrage1 recommended to the gratitude and the confidence of the public4 ,before the work had undergone this trial it had obtained in the learned world such a rapid and general success1 that it found its way into ,russia4 ,the empress1 then 7in #aghg7 upon the throne1 sent the author a medal1 which he received with respect1 as a mark of esteem for his talents1 and with gratitude1 as a proof of the approbation given to his principles4 ,but when the empress declared against ,france1 ,volney sent back the honorable present1 saying3 ,if ,i obtained it from her esteem1 ,i can only preserve her esteem by returning it4 ,the revolution of #aghi1 which had drawn upon ,france the menaces of ,catharine1 had opened to ,volney a political career4 ,as deputy in the assembly of the states-general1 the first words he uttered there were in favor of the publicity of their deliberations4 ,he also supported the organization of the national guards1 and that of the communes and departments4 ,at the period when the question of the sale of the domain lands was agitated 7in #agij71 he published an essay in which he lays down the following principles3 ,the force of a ,state is in proportion to its population2 population is in proportion to plenty2 plenty is in proportion to tillage2 and tillage1 to personal and immediate interest1 that is to the spirit of property4 ,whence it follows1 that the nearer the cultivator approaches the passive condition of a mercenary1 the less industry and activity are to be expected from him2 and1 on the other hand1 the nearer he is to the condition of a free and entire proprietor1 the more extension he gives to his own forces1 to the produce of his lands1 and the general prosperity of the ,state4 ,the author draws this conclusion1 that a ,state is so much the more powerful as it includes a greater number of proprietors1--that is1 a greater division of property4 ,conducted into ,corsica by that spirit of observation which belongs only to men whose information is varied and extensive1 he perceived at the first glance all that could be done for the improvement of agriculture in that country3 but he knew that1 for a people firmly attached to ancient customs1 there can exist no other demonstration or means of persuasion than example4 ,he purchased a considerable estate1 and made experiments on those kinds of tillage that he hoped to naturalize in that climate4 ,the sugar-cane1 cotton1 indigo and coffee soon demonstrated the success of his efforts4 ,this success drew upon him the notice of the government4 ,he was appointed director of agriculture and commerce in that island1 where1 through ignorance1 all new methods are introduced with such difficulty4 ,it is impossible to calculate all the good that might have resulted from this peaceable magistracy2 and we know that neither instruction1 zeal1 nor a persevering courage was wanting to him who had undertaken it4 ,of this he had given convincing proofs4 ,it was in obedience to another sentiment1 no less respectable1 that he voluntarily interrupted the course of his labors4 ,when his fellow citizens of ,angers appointed him their deputy in the constituent assembly1 he resigned the employment he held under government1 upon the principle that no man can represent the nation and be dependent for a salary upon those by whom it is administered4 ,through respect for the independence of his legislative functions1 he had ceased to occupy the place he possessed in ,corsica before his election1 but he had not ceased to be a benefactor of that country4 ,he returned thither after the session of the constituent assembly4 ,invited into that island by the principal inhabitants1 who were anxious to put into practice his lessons1 he spent there a part of the years #agib and #agic4 ,on his return he published a work entitled3 ,an ,account of the ,present ,state of ,corsica4 ,this was an act of courage2 for it was not a physical description1 but a political review of the condition of a population divided into several factions and distracted by violent animosities4 ,volney unreservedly revealed the abuses1 solicited the interest of ,france in favor of the ,corsicans1 without flattering them1 and boldly denounced their defects and vices2 so that the philosopher obtained the only recompense he could expect from his sincerity--he was accused by the ,corsicans of heresy4 ,to prove that he had not merited this reproach1 he published soon after a short treatise entitled3 ,the ,law of ,nature1 or ,physical ,principles of ,morality4 ,he was soon exposed to a much more dangerous charge1 and this1 it must be confessed1 he did merit4 ,this philosopher1 this worthy citizen1 who in our first ,national assembly had seconded with his wishes and his talents the establishment of an order of things which he considered favorable to the happiness of his country1 was accused of not being sincerely attached to that liberty for which he had contended2 that is to say1 of being averse to anarchy4 ,an imprisonment of ten months1 which only ended after the #ith of ,thermidor1 was a new trial reserved for his courage4 ,the moment at which he recovered his liberty1 was when the horror inspired by criminal excesses had recalled men to those noble sentiments which fortunately are one of the first necessaries of civilized life4 ,they sought for consolations in study and literature after so many misfortunes1 and organized a plan of public instruction4 ,it was in the first place necessary to insure the aptitude of those to whom education should be confided2 but as the systems were various1 the best methods and a unity of doctrine were to be determined4 ,it was not enough to interrogate the masters1 they were to be formed1 new ones were to be created1 and for that purpose a school was opened in #agid1 wherein the celebrity of the professors promised new instruction even to the best informed4 ,this was not1 as was objected1 beginning the edifice at the roof1 but creating architects1 who were to superintend all the arts requisite for constructing the building4 ,the more difficult their functions were1 the greater care was to be taken in the choice of the professors2 but ,france1 though then accused of being plunged in barbarism1 possessed men of transcendent talents1 already enjoying the esteem of all ,europe1 and we may be bold to say1 that by their labors1 our literary glory had likewise extended its conquests4 ,their names were proclaimed by the public voice1 and ,volney's was associated with those of the men most illustrious in science and in literature499 99 ,lagrange1 ,laplace1 ,berthollet1 ,garat1 ,bernardin de ,saint- ,pierre1 ,daubenton1 ,hauy1 ,volney1 ,sicard1 ,monge1 ,thouin1 ,la ,harpe1 ,buache ,mentelle4 ,this institution1 however1 did not answer the expectations that had been formed of it1 because the two thousand students that assembled from all parts of ,france were not equally prepared to receive these transcendent lessons1 and because it had not been sufficiently ascertained how far the theory of education should be kept distinct from education itself4 ,volney's ,lectures on ,history1 which were attended by an immense concourse of auditors1 became one of his chief claims to literary glory4 ,when forced to interrupt them1 by the suppression of the ,normal school1 he might have reasonably expected to enjoy in his retirement that consideration which his recent functions had added to his name4 ,but1 disgusted with the scenes he had witnessed in his native land1 he felt that passion revive within him which1 in his youth1 had led him to visit ,africa and ,asia4 ,america1 civilized within a century1 and free only within a few years1 fixed his attention4 ,there every thing was new1--the inhabitants1 the constitution1 the earth itself4 ,these were objects worthy of his observation4 ,when embarking for this voyage1 however1 he felt emotions very different from those which formerly accompanied him into ,turkey4 ,then in the prime of life1 he joyfully bid adieu to a land where peace and plenty reigned1 to travel amongst barbarians2 now1 mature in years1 but dismayed at the spectacle and experience of injustice and persecution1 it was with diffidence1 as we learn from himself1 that he went to implore from a free people an asylum for a sincere friend of that liberty that had been so profaned4 ,our traveller had gone to seek for repose beyond the seas4 ,he there found himself exposed to aggression from a celebrated philosopher1 ,dr4 ,priestley4 ,although the subject of this discussion was confined to the investigation of some speculative opinions1 published by the ,french writer in his work entitled ,the ,ruins1 the naturalist in this attack employed a degree of violence which added nothing to the force of his arguments1 and an acrimony of expression not to be expected from a philosopher4 ,m4 ,volney1 though accused of ,hottentotism and ignorance1 preserved in his defence1 all the advantages that the scurrility of his adversary gave over him4 ,he replied in ,english1 and ,priestley's countrymen could only recognize the ,frenchman in the refinement and politeness of his answer4 ,whilst ,m4 ,volney was travelling in ,america1 there had been formed in ,france a literary body which1 under the name of ,institute1 had attained in a very few years a distinguished rank amongst the learned societies of ,europe4 ,the name of the illustrious traveller was inscribed in it at its formation1 and he acquired new rights to the academical honors conferred on him during his absence1 by the publication of his observations ,on the ,climate and ,soil of the ,united ,states4 ,these rights were further augmented by the historical and physiological labors of the ,academician4 ,an examination and justification of ,the ,chronology of ,herodotus1 with numerous and profound researches on ,the ,history of the most ,ancient ,nations1 occupied for a long time him who had observed their monuments and traces in the countries they inhabited4 ,the trial he had made of the utility of the ,oriental languages inspired him with an ardent desire to propagate the knowledge of them2 and to be propagated1 he felt how necessary it was to render it less difficult4 ,in this view he conceived the project of applying to the study of the idioms of ,asia1 a part of the grammatical notions we possess concerning the languages of ,europe4 ,it only appertains to those conversant with their relations of dissimilitude or conformity to appreciate the possibility of realizing this system4 ,the author has1 however1 already received the most flattering encouragement and the most unequivocal appreciation1 by the inscription of his name amongst the members of the learned and illustrious society founded by ,english commerce in the ,indian peninsula4 ,m4 ,volney developed his system in three works199 which prove that this idea of uniting nations separated by immense distances and such various idioms1 had never ceased to occupy him for twenty-five years4 ,lest those essays1 of the utility of which he was persuaded1 should be interrupted by his death1 with the clay-cold hand that corrected his last work1 he drew up a will which institutes a premium for the prosecution of his labors4 ,thus he prolonged1 beyond the term of a life entirely devoted to letters1 the glorious services he had rendered to them4 99 ,on the ,simplification of ,oriental ,languages1 #agie4 ,the ,european ,alphabet ,applied to the ,languages of ,asia1 #ahai4 ,hebrew ,simplified1 #ahbj4 ,this is not the place1 nor does it belong to me to appreciate the merit of the writings which render ,volney's name illustrious4 ,his name had been inscribed in the list of the ,senate1 and afterwards of the ,house of ,peers4 ,the philosopher who had travelled in the four quarters of the world1 and observed their social state1 had other titles to his admission into this body1 than his literary glory4 ,his public life1 his conduct in the constituent assembly1 his independent principles1 the nobleness of his sentiments1 the wisdom and fixity of his opinions1 had gained him the esteem of those who can be depended upon1 and with whom it is so agreeable to discuss political interests4 ,although no man had a better right to have an opinion1 no one was more tolerant for the opinions of others4 ,in ,state assemblies as well as in ,academical meetings1 the man whose counsels were so wise1 voted according to his conscience1 which nothing could bias2 but the philosopher forgot his superiority to hear1 to oppose with moderation1 and sometimes to doubt4 ,the extent and variety of his information1 the force of his reason1 the austerity of his manners1 and the noble simplicity of his character1 had procured him illustrious friends in both hemispheres2 and now that this erudition is extinct in the tomb199 we may be allowed at least to predict that he was one of the very few whose memory shall never die4 99 ,he died in ,paris on the #bjth of ,april1 #ahbj4 ,a list of the ,works ,published by ,count ,volney4 ,,travels ,,in ,,egypt ,,and ,,syria during the years #aghc1 #aghd1 and #aghe3 #b vols4 #hvo4--#aghg4 ,,chronology ,,of ,,the ,,twelve ,,centuries that preceded the entrance of ,xerxes into ,greece4 ,,considerations ,,on ,,the ,,turkish ,,war1 in #aghh4 ,,the ,,ruins1 or ,meditations on the ,revolutions of ,empires--#agia4 ,,account ,,of ,,the ,,present ,,state ,,of ,,corsica--#agic4 ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,nature1 or ,physical ,principles of ,morality--#agic4 ,,on ,,the ,,simplification ,,of ,,oriental ,,languages--#agie4 ,a ,,letter ,,to ,,dr4 ,,priestley--#agig4 ,,lectures ,,on ,,history1 delivered at the ,normal ,school in the year #c--ahjj4 ,,on ,,the ,,climate ,,and ,,soil ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,,of ,,america1 to which is added an account of ,florida1 of the ,french colony of ,scioto1 of some ,canadian ,colonies1 and of the ,savages--#ahjc4 ,,report ,,made ,,to ,,the ,,celtic ,,academy ,,on ,,the ,,russian ,,work ,,of ,,professor ,,pallas1 entitled ,a ,comparative ,vocabulary of all the ,languages in the ,world4 ,,the ,,chronology ,,of ,,herodotus conformable with his ,text--#ahjh and #ahji4 ,,new ,,researches ,,on ,,ancient ,,history1 #c vols4 #hvo4--#ahad ,,the ,,european ,,alphabet ,applied to the ,languages of ,asia--#ahai4 ,a ,,history ,,of ,,samuel--#ahai4 ,,hebrew ,,simplified--#ahbj4 ,,invocation4 ,hail solitary ruins1 holy sepulchres and silent walls6 you ,i invoke2 to you ,i address my prayer4 ,while your aspect averts1 with secret terror1 the vulgar regard1 it excites in my heart the charm of delicious sentiments--sublime contemplations4 ,what useful lessons1 what affecting and profound reflections you suggest to him who knows how to consult you6 ,when the whole earth1 in chains and silence bowed the neck before its tyrants1 you had already proclaimed the truths which they abhor2 and confounding the dust of the king with that of the meanest slave1 had announced to man the sacred dogma of ,equality4 ,within your pale1 in solitary adoration of ,liberty1 ,i saw her ,genius arise from the mansions of the dead2 not such as she is painted by the impassioned multitude1 armed with fire and sword1 but under the august aspect of ,justice1 poising in her hand the sacred balance wherein are weighed the actions of men at the gates of eternity6 ,o ,tombs6 what virtues are yours6 ,you appal the tyrant's heart1 and poison with secret alarm his impious joys4 ,he flies1 with coward step1 your incorruptible aspect1 and erects afar his throne of insolence499 ,you punish the powerful oppressor2 you wrest from avarice and extortion their ill-gotten gold1 and you avenge the feeble whom they have despoiled2 you compensate the miseries of the poor by the anxieties of the rich2 you console the wretched1 by opening to him a last asylum from distress2 and you give to the soul that just equipoise of strength and sensibility which constitutes wisdom--the true science of life4 ,aware that all must return to you1 the wise man loadeth not himself with the burdens of grandeur and of useless wealth3 he restrains his desires within the limits of justice2 yet1 knowing that he must run his destined course of life1 he fills with employment all its hours1 and enjoys the comforts that fortune has allotted him4 ,you thus impose on the impetuous sallies of cupidity a salutary rein6 you calm the feverish ardor of enjoyments which disturb the senses2 you free the soul from the fatiguing conflict of the passions2 elevate it above the paltry interests which torment the crowd2 and surveying1 from your commanding position1 the expanse of ages and nations1 the mind is only accessible to the great affections--to the solid ideas of virtue and of glory4 99 ,the cathedral of ,st4 ,denis is the tomb of the kings of ,france2 and it was because the towers of that edifice are seen from the ,castle of ,st4 ,germain1 that ,louis ,,xiv4 quitted that admirable residence1 and established a new one in the savage forests of ,versailles4 7,this note1 like many others1 has been omitted from the ,american editions4 ,it seems pertinent to the subject1 and is explanatory of the text4--,pub47 ,ah6 when the dream of life is over1 what will then avail all its agitations1 if not one trace of utility remains behind8 ,o ,ruins6 to your school ,i will return6 ,i will seek again the calm of your solitudes2 and there1 far from the afflicting spectacle of the passions1 ,i will cherish in remembrance the love of man1 ,i will employ myself on the means of effecting good for him1 and build my own happiness on the promotion of his4 ,,the ,,ruins ,,of ,,empires4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,journey4 ,in the eleventh year of the reign of ,abd-ul-,hamid1 son of ,ahmid1 emperor of the ,turks2 when the ,nogais-,tartars were driven from the ,crimea1 and a ,mussulman prince of the blood of ,gengis-,kahn became the vassal and guard of a ,christian woman and queen199 ,i was travelling in the ,ottoman dominions1 and through those provinces which were anciently the kingdoms of ,egypt and ,syria4 99 ,in the eleventh year of ,abd-ul-,hamid1 that is #aghd of the ,christian era1 and #aaih of the ,hegira4 ,the emigration of the ,tartars took place in ,march1 immediately on the manifesto of the empress1 declaring the ,crimea to be incorporated with ,russia4 ,the ,mussulman prince of the blood of ,gengis-khan was ,chahin-,guerai4 ,gengis-,khan was borne and served by the kings whom he conquered3 ,chahin1 on the contrary1 after selling his country for a pension of eighty thousand roubles1 accepted the commission of captain of guards to ,catherine ,,ii4 ,he afterwards returned home1 and according to custom was strangled by the ,turks4 ,my whole attention bent on whatever concerns the happiness of man in a social state1 ,i visited cities1 and studied the manners of their inhabitants2 entered palaces1 and observed the conduct of those who govern2 wandered over fields1 and examined the condition of those who cultivated them3 and nowhere perceiving aught but robbery and devastation1 tyranny and wretchedness1 my heart was oppressed with sorrow and indignation4 ,i saw daily on my road fields abandoned1 villages deserted1 and cities in ruin4 ,often ,i met with ancient monuments1 wrecks of temples1 palaces and fortresses1 columns1 aqueducts and tombs4 ,this spectacle led me to meditate on times past1 and filled my mind with contemplations the most serious and profound4 ,arrived at the city of ,hems1 on the border of the ,orontes1 and being in the neighborhood of ,palmyra of the desert1 ,i resolved to visit its celebrated ruins4 ,after three days journeying through arid deserts1 having traversed the ,valley of ,caves and ,sepulchres1 on issuing into the plain1 ,i was suddenly struck with a scene of the most stupendous ruins--a countless multitude of superb columns1 stretching in avenues beyond the reach of sight4 ,among them were magnificent edifices1 some entire1 others in ruins2 the earth every where strewed with fragments of cornices1 capitals1 shafts1 entablatures1 pilasters1 all of white marble1 and of the most exquisite workmanship4 ,after a walk of three-quarters of an hour along these ruins1 ,i entered the enclosure of a vast edifice1 formerly a temple dedicated to the ,sun2 and accepting the hospitality of some poor ,arabian peasants1 who had built their hovels on the area of the temple1 ,i determined to devote some days to contemplate at leisure the beauty of these stupendous ruins4 ,daily ,i visited the monuments which covered the plain2 and one evening1 absorbed in reflection1 ,i had advanced to the ,valley of ,sepulchres4 ,i ascended the heights which surround it from whence the eye commands the whole group of ruins and the immensity of the desert4 ,the sun had sunk below the horizon3 a red border of light still marked his track behind the distant mountains of ,syria2 the full-orbed moon was rising in the east1 on a blue ground1 over the plains of the ,euphrates2 the sky was clear1 the air calm and serene2 the dying lamp of day still softened the horrors of approaching darkness2 the refreshing night breezes attempered the sultry emanations from the heated earth2 the herdsmen had given their camels to repose1 the eye perceived no motion on the dusky and uniform plain2 profound silence rested on the desert2 the howlings only of the jackal199 and the solemn notes of the bird of night1 were heard at distant intervals4 ,darkness now increased1 and through the dusk could only be discerned the pale phantasms of columns and walls4 ,the solitude of the place1 the tranquillity of the hour1 the majesty of the scene1 impressed on my mind a religious pensiveness4 ,the aspect of a great city deserted1 the memory of times past1 compared with its present state1 all elevated my mind to high contemplations4 ,i sat on the shaft of a column1 my elbow reposing on my knee1 and head reclining on my hand1 my eyes fixed1 sometimes on the desert1 sometimes on the ruins1 and fell into a profound reverie4 99 ,an animal resembling a dog and a fox4 ,it preys on other small animals1 and upon the bodies of the dead on the field of battle4 ,it is the ,canis aureus of ,linnaeus4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,reverie4 ,here1 said ,i1 once flourished an opulent city2 here was the seat of a powerful empire4 ,yes6 these places now so wild and desolate1 were once animated by a living multitude2 a busy crowd thronged in these streets1 now so solitary4 ,within these walls1 where now reigns the silence of death1 the noise of the arts1 and the shouts of joy and festivity incessantly resounded2 these piles of marble were regular palaces2 these fallen columns adorned the majesty of temples2 these ruined galleries surrounded public places4 ,here assembled a numerous people for the sacred duties of their religion1 and the anxious cares of their subsistence2 here industry1 parent of enjoyments1 collected the riches of all climes1 and the purple of ,tyre was exchanged for the precious thread of ,serica299 the soft tissues of ,cassimere for the sumptuous tapestry of ,lydia2 the amber of the ,baltic for the pearls and perfumes of ,arabia2 the gold of ,ophir for the tin of ,thule4 99 ,the precious thread of ,serica4--,that is1 the silk originally derived from the mountainous country where the great wall terminates1 and which appears to have been the cradle of the ,chinese empire4 ,the tissues of ,cassimere4-- ,the shawls which ,ezekiel seems to have described under the appellation of ,choud-choud4 ,the gold of ,ophir4--,this country1 which was one of the twelve ,arab cantons1 and which has so much and so unsuccessfully been sought for by the antiquarians1 has left1 however1 some trace of itself in ,ofor1 in the province of ,oman1 upon the ,persian ,gulf1 neighboring on one side to the ,sabeans1 who are celebrated by ,strabo for their abundance of gold1 and on the other to ,aula or ,hevila1 where the pearl fishery was carried on4 ,see the #bgth chapter of ,ezekiel1 which gives a very curious and extensive picture of the commerce of ,asia at that period4 ,and now behold what remains of this powerful city3 a miserable skeleton6 ,what of its vast domination3 a doubtful and obscure remembrance6 ,to the noisy concourse which thronged under these porticoes1 succeeds the solitude of death4 ,the silence of the grave is substituted for the busy hum of public places2 the affluence of a commercial city is changed into wretched poverty2 the palaces of kings have become a den of wild beasts2 flocks repose in the area of temples1 and savage reptiles inhabit the sanctuary of the gods4 ,ah6 how has so much glory been eclipsed8 how have so many labors been annihilated8 ,do thus perish then the works of men--thus vanish empires and nations8 ,and the history of former times revived in my mind2 ,i remembered those ancient ages when many illustrious nations inhabited these countries2 ,i figured to myself the ,assyrian on the banks of the ,tygris1 the ,chaldean on the banks of the ,euphrates1 the ,persian reigning from the ,indus to the ,mediterranean4 ,i enumerated the kingdoms of ,damascus and ,idumea1 of ,jerusalem and ,samaria1 the warlike states of the ,philistines1 and the commercial republics of ,phoenicia4 ,this ,syria1 said ,i1 now so depopulated1 then contained a hundred flourishing cities1 and abounded with towns1 villages1 and hamlets499 ,in all parts were seen cultivated fields1 frequented roads1 and crowded habitations4 ,ah6 whither have flown those ages of life and abundance8--whither vanished those brilliant creations of human industry8 ,where are those ramparts of ,nineveh1 those walls of ,babylon1 those palaces of ,persepolis1 those temples of ,balbec and of ,jerusalem8 ,where are those fleets of ,tyre1 those dock-yards of ,arad1 those work-shops of ,sidon1 and that multitude of sailors1 of pilots1 of merchants1 and of soldiers8 ,where those husbandmen1 harvests1 flocks1 and all the creation of living beings in which the face of the earth rejoiced8 ,alas6 ,i have passed over this desolate land6 ,i have visited the palaces1 once the scene of so much splendor1 and ,i beheld nothing but solitude and desolation4 ,i sought the ancient inhabitants and their works1 and found nothing but a trace1 like the foot-prints of a traveller over the sand4 ,the temples are fallen1 the palaces overthrown1 the ports filled up1 the cities destroyed2 and the earth1 stripped of inhabitants1 has become a place of sepulchres4 ,great ,god6 whence proceed such fatal revolutions8 ,what causes have so changed the fortunes of these countries8 ,wherefore are so many cities destroyed8 ,why has not this ancient population been reproduced and perpetuated8 99 ,according to ,josephus and ,strabo1 there were in ,syria twelve millions of souls1 and the traces that remain of culture and habitation confirm the calculation4 ,thus absorbed in meditation1 a crowd of new reflections continually poured in upon my mind4 ,every thing1 continued ,i1 bewilders my judgment1 and fills my heart with trouble and uncertainty4 ,when these countries enjoyed what constitutes the glory and happiness of man1 they were inhabited by infidel nations3 ,it was the ,phoenician1 offering human sacrifices to ,moloch1 who gathered into his stores the riches of all climates2 it was the ,chaldean1 prostrate before his serpent-god199 who subjugated opulent cities1 laid waste the palaces of kings1 and despoiled the temples of the gods2 it was the ,persian1 worshipper of fire1 who received the tribute of a hundred nations2 they were the inhabitants of this very city1 adorers of the sun and stars1 who erected so many monuments of prosperity and luxury4 ,numerous herds1 fertile fields1 abundant harvests--whatsoever should be the reward of piety--was in the hands of these idolaters4 ,and now1 when a people of saints and believers occupy these fields1 all is become sterility and solitude4 ,the earth1 under these holy hands1 produces only thorns and briers4 ,man soweth in anguish1 and reapeth tears and cares4 ,war1 famine1 pestilence1 assail him by turns4 ,and yet1 are not these the children of the prophets8 ,the ,mussulman1 ,christian1 ,jew1 are they not the elect children of ,god1 loaded with favors and miracles8 ,why1 then1 do these privileged races no longer enjoy the same advantages8 ,why are these fields1 sanctified by the blood of martyrs1 deprived of their ancient fertility8 ,why have those blessings been banished hence1 and transferred for so many ages to other nations and different climes8 99 ,the dragon ,bell4 ,at these words1 revolving in my mind the vicissitudes which have transmitted the sceptre of the world to people so different in religion and manners from those in ancient ,asia to the most recent of ,europe1 this name of a natal land revived in me the sentiment of my country2 and turning my eyes towards ,france1 ,i began to reflect on the situation in which ,i had left her499 99 ,in the year #aghb1 at the close of the ,american war4 ,i recalled her fields so richly cultivated1 her roads so admirably constructed1 her cities inhabited by a countless people1 her fleets spread over every sea1 her ports filled with the produce of both the ,indies3 and then comparing the activity of her commerce1 the extent of her navigation1 the magnificence of her buildings1 the arts and industry of her inhabitants1 with what ,egypt and ,syria had once possessed1 ,i was gratified to find in modern ,europe the departed splendor of ,asia2 but the charm of my reverie was soon dissolved by a last term of comparison4 ,reflecting that such had once been the activity of the places ,i was then contemplating1 who knows1 said ,i1 but such may one day be the abandonment of our countries8 ,who knows if on the banks of the ,seine1 the ,thames1 the ,zuyder-,zee1 where now1 in the tumult of so many enjoyments1 the heart and the eye suffice not for the multitude of sensations1--who knows if some traveller1 like myself1 shall not one day sit on their silent ruins1 and weep in solitude over the ashes of their inhabitants1 and the memory of their former greatness4 ,at these words1 my eyes filled with tears3 and covering my head with the fold of my mantle1 ,i sank into gloomy meditations on all human affairs4 ,ah6 hapless man1 said ,i in my grief1 a blind fatality sports with thy destiny699 ,a fatal necessity rules with the hand of chance the lot of mortals6 ,but no3 it is the justice of heaven fulfilling its decrees6--a ,god of mystery exercising his incomprehensible judgments6 ,doubtless he has pronounced a secret anathema against this land3 blasting with maledictions the present1 for the sins of past generations4 ,oh6 who shall dare to fathom the depths of the ,omnipotent8 99 ,fatality is the universal and rooted prejudice of the ,east4 ,it was written1 is there the answer to every thing4 ,hence result an unconcern and apathy1 the most powerful impediments to instruction and civilization4 ,and sunk in profound melancholy1 ,i remained motionless4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,apparition4 ,while thus absorbed1 a sound struck my ear1 like the agitation of a flowing robe1 or that of slow footsteps on dry and rustling grass4 ,startled1 ,i opened my mantle1 and looking about with fear and trembling1 suddenly1 on my left1 by the glimmering light of the moon1 through the columns and ruins of a neighboring temple1 ,i thought ,i saw an apparition1 pale1 clothed in large and flowing robes1 such as spectres are painted rising from their tombs4 ,i shuddered3 and while agitated and hesitating whether to fly or to advance toward the object1 a distinct voice1 in solemn tones1 pronounced these words3 ,how long will man importune heaven with unjust complaint8 ,how long1 with vain clamors1 will he accuse ,fate as the author of his calamities8 ,will he forever shut his eyes to the light1 and his heart to the admonitions of truth and reason8 ,the light of truth meets him everywhere2 yet he sees it not6 ,the voice of reason strikes his ear2 and he hears it not6 ,unjust man6 if for a moment thou canst suspend the delusion which fascinates thy senses1 if thy heart can comprehend the language of reason1 interrogate these ruins6 ,read the lessons which they present to thee6 ,and you1 evidences of twenty centuries1 holy temples6 venerable tombs6 walls once so glorious1 appear in the cause of nature herself6 ,approach the tribunal of sound reason1 and bear testimony against unjust accusations6 ,come and confound the declamations of a false wisdom or hypocritical piety1 and avenge the heavens and the earth of man who calumniates them both6 ,what is that blind fatality1 which without order and without law1 sports with the destiny of mortals8 ,what is that unjust necessity1 which confounds the effect of actions1 whether of wisdom or of folly8 ,in what consist the anathemas of heaven over this land8 ,where is that divine malediction which perpetuates the abandonment of these fields8 ,say1 monuments of past ages6 have the heavens changed their laws and the earth its motion8 ,are the fires of the sun extinct in the regions of space8 ,do the seas no longer emit their vapors8 ,are the rains and the dews suspended in the air8 ,do the mountains withhold their springs8 ,are the streams dried up8 ,and do the plants no longer bear fruit and seed8 ,answer1 generation of falsehood and iniquity1 hath ,god deranged the primitive and settled order of things which he himself assigned to nature8 ,hath heaven denied to earth1 and earth to its inhabitants1 the blessings they formerly dispensed8 ,if nothing hath changed in the creation1 if the same means now exist which before existed1 why then are not the present what former generations were8 ,ah6 it is falsely that you accuse fate and heaven6 it is unjustly that you accuse ,god as the cause of your evils6 ,say1 perverse and hypocritical race6 if these places are desolate1 if these powerful cities are reduced to solitude1 is it ,god who has caused their ruin8 ,is it his hand which has overthrown these walls1 destroyed these temples1 mutilated these columns1 or is it the hand of man8 ,is it the arm of ,god which has carried the sword into your cities1 and fire into your fields1 which has slaughtered the people1 burned the harvests1 rooted up trees1 and ravaged the pastures1 or is it the hand of man8 ,and when1 after the destruction of crops1 famine has ensued1 is it the vengeance of ,god which has produced it1 or the mad fury of mortals8 ,when1 sinking under famine1 the people have fed on impure aliments1 if pestilence ensues1 is it the wrath of ,god which sends it1 or the folly of man8 ,when war1 famine and pestilence1 have swept away the inhabitants1 if the earth remains a desert1 is it ,god who has depopulated it8 ,is it his rapacity which robs the husbandman1 ravages the fruitful fields1 and wastes the earth1 or is it the rapacity of those who govern8 ,is it his pride which excites murderous wars1 or the pride of kings and their ministers8 ,is it the venality of his decisions which overthrows the fortunes of families1 or the corruption of the organs of the law8 ,are they his passions which1 under a thousand forms1 torment individuals and nations1 or are they the passions of man8 ,and if1 in the anguish of their miseries1 they see not the remedies1 is it the ignorance of ,god which is to blame1 or their ignorance8 ,cease then1 mortals1 to accuse the decrees of ,fate1 or the judgments of the ,divinity6 ,if ,god is good1 will he be the author of your misery8 ,if he is just1 will he be the accomplice of your crimes8 ,no1 the caprice of which man complains is not the caprice of fate2 the darkness that misleads his reason is not the darkness of ,god2 the source of his calamities is not in the distant heavens1 it is beside him on the earth2 it is not concealed in the bosom of the divinity2 it dwells within himself1 he bears it in his own heart4 ,thou murmurest and sayest3 ,what6 have an infidel people then enjoyed the blessings of heaven and earth8 ,are the holy people of ,god less fortunate than the races of impiety8 ,deluded man6 where then is the contradiction which offends thee8 ,where is the inconsistency which thou imputest to the justice of heaven8 ,take into thine own hands the balance of rewards and punishments1 of causes and effects4 ,say3 when these infidels observed the laws of the heavens and the earth1 when they regulated well-planned labors by the order of the seasons and the course of the stars1 should the ,almighty have disturbed the equilibrium of the universe to defeat their prudence8 ,when their hands cultivated these fields with toil and care1 should he have diverted the course of the rains1 suspended the refreshing dews1 and planted crops of thorns8 ,when1 to render these arid fields productive1 their industry constructed aqueducts1 dug canals1 and led the distant waters across the desert1 should he have dried up their sources in the mountains8 ,should he have blasted the harvests which art had nourished1 wasted the plains which peace had peopled1 overthrown cities which labor had created1 or disturbed the order established by the wisdom of man8 ,and what is that infidelity which founded empires by its prudence1 defended them by its valor1 and strengthened them by its justice--which built powerful cities1 formed capacious ports1 drained pestilential marshes1 covered the ocean with ships1 the earth with inhabitants2 and1 like the creative spirit1 spread life and motion throughout the world8 ,if such be infidelity1 what then is the true faith8 ,doth sanctity consist in destruction8 ,the ,god who peoples the air with birds1 the earth with animals1 the waters with fishes--the ,god who animates all nature--is he then a ,god of ruins and tombs8 ,demands he devastation for homage1 and conflagration for sacrifice8 ,requires he groans for hymns1 murderers for votaries1 a ravaged and desolate earth for his temple8 ,behold then1 holy and believing people1 what are your works6 behold the fruits of your piety6 ,you have massacred the people1 burned their cities1 destroyed cultivation1 reduced the earth to a solitude2 and you ask the reward of your works6 ,miracles then must be performed6 ,the people whom you extirpated must be recalled to life1 the walls rebuilt which you have overthrown1 the harvests reproduced which you have destroyed1 the waters regathered which you have dispersed2 the laws1 in fine1 of heaven and earth reversed2 those laws1 established by ,god himself1 in demonstration of his magnificence and wisdom2 those eternal laws1 anterior to all codes1 to all the prophets those immutable laws1 which neither the passions nor the ignorance of man can pervert4 ,but that passion which mistaketh1 that ignorance which observeth neither causes nor effects1 hath said in its folly3 ,all things flow from chance2 a blind fatality poureth out good and evil upon the earth2 success is not to the prudent1 nor felicity to the wise2 or1 assuming the language of hypocrisy1 she hath said1 all things are from ,god2 he taketh pleasure in deceiving wisdom and confounding reason4 ,and ,ignorance1 applauding herself in her malice1 hath said1 thus will ,i place myself on a par with that science which confounds me--thus will ,i excel that prudence which fatigues and torments me4 ,and ,avarice hath added3 ,i will oppress the weak1 and devour the fruits of his labors2 and ,i will say1 it is fate which hath so ordained4 ,but ,i6 ,i swear by the laws of heaven and earth1 and by the law which is written in the heart of man1 that the hypocrite shall be deceived in his cunning--the oppressor in his rapacity6 ,the sun shall change his course1 before folly shall prevail over wisdom and knowledge1 or ignorance surpass prudence1 in the noble and sublime art of procuring to man his true enjoyments1 and of building his happiness on an enduring foundation4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,exposition ,thus spoke the ,phantom4 ,confused with this discourse1 and my heart agitated with different reflections1 ,i remained long in silence4 ,at length1 taking courage1 ,i thus addressed him3 ,oh1 ,genius of tombs and ruins6 ,thy presence1 thy severity1 hath disordered my senses2 but the justice of thy discourse restoreth confidence to my soul4 ,pardon my ignorance4 ,alas1 if man is blind1 shall his misfortune be also his crime8 ,i may have mistaken the voice of reason2 but never1 knowingly1 have ,i rejected its authority4 ,ah6 if thou readest my heart1 thou knowest with what enthusiasm it seeketh truth4 ,is it not in its pursuit that thou seest me in this sequestered spot8 ,alas6 ,i have wandered over the earth1 ,i have visited cities and countries2 and seeing everywhere misery and desolation1 a sense of the evils which afflict my fellow men hath deeply oppressed my soul4 ,i have said1 with a sigh3 is man then born but for sorrow and anguish8 ,and ,i have meditated upon human misery that ,i might discover a remedy4 ,i have said1 ,i will separate myself from the corruption of society2 ,i will retire far from palaces where the mind is depraved by satiety and from the hovel where it is debased by misery4 ,i will go into the desert and dwell among ruins2 ,i will interrogate ancient monuments on the wisdom of past ages2 ,i will invoke from the bosom of the tombs the spirit which once in ,asia gave splendor to states1 and glory to nations2 ,i will ask of the ashes of legislators1 by what secret causes do empires rise and fall2 from what sources spring the ,prosperity and misfortunes of nations1 on what principles can the ,peace of ,society1 and the happiness of man be established8 ,i ceased1 and with submissive look awaited the answer of the ,genius4 ,peace and happiness1 said he1 attend those who practice justice6 ,since thy heart1 ,o mortal1 with sincerity seeketh truth2 since thine eyes can still recognize her through the mist of prejudice1 thy prayer shall not be in vain4 ,i will unfold to thy view that truth thou invokest2 ,i will teach thy reason that knowledge thou seekest2 ,i will reveal to thee the science of ages and the wisdom of the tombs4 ,then approaching and laying his hand on my head1 he said3 ,rise1 mortal1 and extricate thy senses from the dust in which thou movest4 ,suddenly a celestial flame seemed to dissolve the bands which held us to the earth2 and1 like a light vapor1 borne on the wings of the ,genius1 ,i felt myself wafted to the regions above4 ,thence1 from the aerial heights1 looking down upon the earth1 ,i perceived a scene altogether new4 ,under my feet1 floating in the void1 a globe like that of the moon1 but smaller and less luminous1 presented to me one of its phases2 and that phase99 had the aspect of a disk varigated with large spots1 some white and nebulous1 others brown1 green or gray1 and while ,i strained my sight to distinguish what they were1 the ,genius exclaimed3 99 ,see ,plate representing half the terrestrial globe1 opposite page #aj4 ,disciple of ,truth1 knowest thou that object8 ,o ,genius1 answered ,i1 if ,i did not see the moon in another quarter of the heavens1 ,i should have supposed that to be her globe4 ,it has the appearance of that planet seen through the telescope during the obscuration of an eclipse4 ,these varigated spots might be mistaken for seas and continents4 ,they are seas and continents1 said he1 and those of the very hemisphere which you inhabit4 ,what6 said ,i1 is that the earth--the habitation of man8 ,yes1 replied he1 that brown space which occupies irregularly a great portion of the disk1 and envelops it almost on every side1 is what you call the great ocean1 which advancing from the south pole towards the equator1 forms first the great gulf of ,india and ,africa1 then extends eastward across the ,malay islands to the confines of ,tartary1 while towards the west it encircles the continents of ,africa and of ,europe1 even to the north of ,asia4 ,that square peninsula under our feet is the arid country of the ,arabs2 the great continent on its left1 almost as naked in its interior1 with a little verdure only towards its borders1 is the parched soil inhabited by black-men499 ,to the north1 beyond a long1 narrow and irregular sea19999 are the countries of ,europe1 rich in meadows and cultivated fields4 ,on its right1 from the ,caspian ,sea1 extend the snowy and naked plains of ,tartary4 ,returning in this direction that white space is the vast and barren desert of ,cobi1 which separates ,china from the rest of the world4 ,you see that empire in the furrowed plain which obliquely rounds itself off from our sight4 ,on yonder coasts1 those ragged tongues of land and scattered points are the peninsulas and islands of the ,malays1 the wretched possessors of the spices and perfumes4 ,that triangle which advances so far into the sea1 is the too famous peninsula of ,india4999999 ,you see the winding course of the ,ganges1 the rough mountains of ,thibet1 the lovely valley of ,cachemere1 the briny deserts of ,persia1 the banks of the ,euphrates and ,tygris1 the deep bed of the ,jordan and the canals of the solitary ,nile4 99 ,africa4 9999 ,the ,mediterranean4 999999 ,of what real good has been the commerce of ,india to the mass of the people8 ,on the contrary1 how great the evil occasioned by the superstition of this country having been added the general superstition6 ,o ,genius1 said ,i1 interrupting him1 the sight of a mortal reaches not to objects at such a distance4 ,he touched my eyes1 and immediately they became piercing as those of an eagle2 nevertheless the rivers still appeared like waving lines1 the mountains winding furrows1 and the cities little compartments like the squares of a chess-board4 ,and the ,genius proceeded to enumerate and point out the objects to me3 ,those piles of ruins1 said he1 which you see in that narrow valley watered by the ,nile1 are the remains of opulent cities1 the pride of the ancient kingdom of ,ethiopia499 ,behold the wrecks of her metropolis1 of ,thebes with her hundred palaces19999 the parent of cities1 and monument of the caprice of destiny4 ,there a people1 now forgotten1 discovered1 while others were yet barbarians1 the elements of the arts and sciences4 ,a race of men now rejected from society for their sable skin and frizzled hair1 founded on the study of the laws of nature1 those civil and religious systems which still govern the universe4 ,lower down1 those dusky points are the pyramids whose masses have astonished you4 ,beyond that1 the coast1 hemmed in between the sea and a narrow ridge of mountains1 was the habitation of the ,phoenicians4 ,these were the famous cities of ,tyre1 of ,sidon1 of ,ascalon1 of ,gaza1 and of ,berytus4 ,that thread of water with no outlet1 is the river ,jordan2 and those naked rocks were once the theatre of events that have resounded throughout the world4 ,behold that desert of ,horeb1 and that ,mount ,sinai2 where1 by means beyond vulgar reach1 a genius1 profound and bold1 established institutions which have weighed on the whole human race4 ,on that dry shore which borders it1 you perceive no longer any trace of splendor2 yet there was an emporium of riches4 ,there were those famous ,ports of ,idumea1 whence the fleets of ,phoenicia and ,judea1 coasting the ,arabian peninsula1 went into the ,persian gulf1 to seek there the pearls of ,hevila1 the gold of ,saba and of ,ophir4 ,yes1 there on that coast of ,oman and of ,barhain was the seat of that commerce of luxuries1 which1 by its movements and revolutions1 fixed the destinies of ancient nations4999999 ,thither came the spices and precious stones of ,ceylon1 the shawls of ,cassimere1 the diamonds of ,golconda1 the amber of ,maldivia1 the musk of ,thibet1 the aloes of ,cochin1 the apes and peacocks of the continent of ,india1 the incense of ,hadramaut1 the myrrh1 the silver1 the gold dust and ivory of ,africa2 thence passing1 sometimes by the ,red ,sea on the vessels of ,egypt and ,syria1 these luxuries nourished successively the wealth of ,thebes1 of ,sidon1 of ,memphis and of ,jerusalem2 sometimes1 ascending the ,tygris and ,euphrates1 they awakened the activity of the ,assyrians1 ,medes1 ,chaldeans1 and ,persians2 and that wealth1 according to the use or abuse of it1 raised or reversed by turns their domination4 ,hence sprung the magnificence of ,persepolis1 whose columns you still perceive2 of ,ecbatana1 whose sevenfold wall is destroyed2 of ,babylon199999999 now leveled with the earth2 of ,nineveh1 of which scarce the name remains2 of ,thapsacus1 of ,anatho1 of ,gerra1 and of desolated ,palmyra4 ,o names for ever glorious6 fields of renown6 countries of never-dying memory6 what sublime lessons doth your aspect offer6 what profound truths are written on the surface of your soil6 remembrances of times past1 return into my mind6 places1 witnesses of the life of man in so many different ages1 retrace for me the revolutions of his fortune6 say1 what were their springs and secret causes6 say1 from what sources he derived success and disgrace6 unveil to himself the causes of his evils6 correct him by the spectacle of his errors6 teach him the wisdom which belongeth to him1 and let the experience of past ages become a means of instruction1 and a germ of happiness to present and future generations4 99 ,in the new ,encyclopedia #crd vol4 ,antiquities is published a memoir1 respecting the chronology of the twelve ages anterior to the passing of ,xerxes into ,greece1 in which ,i conceive myself to have proved that upper ,egypt formerly composed a distinct kingdom known to the ,hebrews by the name of ,kous and to which the appellation of ,ethiopia was specially given4 ,this kingdom preserved its independence to the time of ,psammeticus2 at which period1 being united to the ,lower ,egypt1 it lost its name of ,ethiopia1 which thenceforth was bestowed upon the nations of ,nubia and upon the different tribes of blacks1 including ,thebes1 their metropolis4 9999 ,the idea of a city with a hundred gates1 in the common acceptation of the word1 is so absurd1 that ,i am astonished the equivoque has not before been felt4 ,it has ever been the custom of the ,east to call palaces and houses of the great by the name of gates1 because the principal luxury of these buildings consists in the singular gate leading from the street into the court1 at the farthest extremity of which the palace is situated4 ,it is under the vestibule of this gate that conversation is held with passengers1 and a sort of audience and hospitality given4 ,all this was doubtless known to ,homer2 but poets make no commentaries1 and readers love the marvellous4 ,this city of ,thebes1 now ,lougsor1 reduced to the condition of a miserable village1 has left astonishing monuments of its magnificence4 ,particulars of this may be seen in the plates of ,norden1 in ,pocock1 and in the recent travels of ,bruce4 ,these monuments give credibility to all that ,homer has related of its splendor1 and lead us to infer its political power and external commerce4 ,its geographical position was favorable to this twofold object4 ,for1 on one side1 the valley of the ,nile1 singularly fertile1 must have early occasioned a numerous population2 and1 on the other1 the ,red ,sea1 giving communication with ,arabia and ,india1 and the ,nile with ,abyssinia and the ,mediterranean1 ,thebes was thus naturally allied to the richest countries on the globe2 an alliance that procured it an activity so much the greater1 as ,lower ,egypt1 at first a swamp1 was nearly1 if not totally1 uninhabited4 ,but when at length this country had been drained by the canals and dikes which ,sesostris constructed1 population was introduced there1 and wars arose which proved fatal to the power of ,thebes4 ,commerce then took another route1 and descended to the point of the ,red ,sea1 to the canals of ,sesostris 7see ,strabo71 and wealth and activity were transferred to ,memphis4 ,this is manifestly what ,diodorus means when he tells us 7lib4 i4 sect4 #b71 that as soon as ,memphis was established and made a wholesome and delicious abode1 kings abandoned ,thebes to fix themselves there4 ,thus ,thebes continued to decline1 and ,memphis to flourish1 till the time of ,alexander1 who1 building ,alexandria on the border of the sea1 caused ,memphis to fall in its turn2 so that prosperity and power seem to have descended historically step by step along the ,nile2 whence it results1 both physically and historically1 that the existence of ,thebes was prior to that of the other cities4 ,the testimony of writers is very positive in this respect4 ,the ,thebans1 says ,diodorus1 consider themselves as the most ancient people of the earth1 and assert1 that with them originated philosophy and the science of the stars4 ,their situation1 it is true1 is infinitely favorable to astronomical observation1 and they have a more accurate division of time into mouths and years than other nations etc4 ,what ,diodorus says of the ,thebans1 every author1 and himself elsewhere1 repeat of the ,ethiopians1 which tends more firmly to establish the identity of this place of which ,i have spoken4 ,the ,ethiopians conceive themselves1 says he1 lib4 iii41 to be of greater antiquity than any other nation3 and it is probable that1 born under the sun's path1 its warmth may have ripened them earlier than other men4 ,they suppose themselves also to be the inventors of divine worship1 of festivals1 of solemn assemblies1 of sacrifices1 and every other religious practice4 ,they affirm that the ,egyptians are one of their colonies1 and that the ,delta1 which was formerly sea1 became land by the conglomeration of the earth of the higher country which was washed down by the ,nile4 ,they have1 like the ,egyptians1 two species of letters1 hieroglyphics1 and the alphabet2 but among the ,egyptians the first was known only to the priests1 and by them transmitted from father to son1 whereas both species were common among the ,ethiopians4 ,the ,ethiopians1 says ,lucian1 page #ihe1 were the first who invented the science of the stars1 and gave names to the planets1 not at random and without meaning1 but descriptive of the qualities which they conceived them to possess2 and it was from them that this art passed1 still in an imperfect state1 to the ,egyptians4 ,it would be easy to multiply citations upon this subject2 from all which it follows1 that we have the strongest reasons to believe that the country neighboring to the tropic was the cradle of the sciences1 and of consequence that the first learned nation was a nation of ,blacks2 for it is incontrovertible1 that1 by the term ,ethiopians1 the ancients meant to represent a people of black complexion1 thick lips1 and woolly hair4 ,i am therefore inclined to believe1 that the inhabitants of ,lower ,egypt were originally a foreign colony imported from ,syria and ,arabia1 a medley of different tribes of savages1 originally shepherds and fishermen1 who1 by degrees formed themselves into a nation1 and who1 by nature and descent1 were enemies of the ,thebans1 by whom they were no doubt despised and treated as barbarians4 ,i have suggested the same ideas in my ,travels into ,syria1 founded upon the black complexion of the ,sphinx4 ,i have since ascertained that the antique images of ,thebias have the same characteristic2 and ,mr4 ,bruce has offered a multitude of analogous facts2 but this traveller1 of whom ,i heard some mention at ,cairo1 has so interwoven these facts with certain systematic opinions1 that we should have recourse to his narratives with caution4 ,it is singular that ,africa1 situated so near us1 should be the least known country on the earth4 ,the ,english are at this moment making explorations1 the success of which ought to excite our emulation4 999999 ,ailah 7,eloth71 and ,atsiom-,gaber 7,hesien-,geber47 ,the name of the first of these towns still subsists in its ruins1 at the point of the gulf of the ,red ,sea1 and in the route which the pilgrims take to ,mecca4 ,hesion has at present no trace1 any more than ,quolzoum and ,faran3 it was1 however1 the harbor for the fleets of ,solomon4 ,the vessels of this prince conducted by the ,tyrians1 sailed along the coast of ,arabia to ,ophir1 in the ,persian ,gulf1 thus opening a communication with the merchants of ,india and ,ceylon4 ,that this navigation was entirely of ,tyrian invention1 appears both from the pilots and shipbuilders employed by the ,jews1 and the names that were given to the trading islands1 viz4 ,tyrus and ,aradus1 now ,barhain4 ,the voyage was performed in two different modes1 either in canoes of osier and rushes1 covered on the outside with skins done over with pitch3 7these vessels were unable to quit the ,red ,sea1 or so much as to leave the shore47 ,the second mode of carrying on the trade was by means of vessels with decks of the size of our river boats1 which were able to pass the strait and to weather the dangers of time ocean2 but for this purpose it was necessary to bring the wood from ,mount ,libanus and ,cilicia1 where it is very fine and in great abundance4 ,this wood was first conveyed in floats from ,tarsus to ,phoenicia1 for which reason the vessels were called ships of ,tarsus2 from whence it has been ridiculously inferred1 that they went round the promontory of ,africa as far as ,tortosa in ,spain4 ,from ,phoenicia it was transported on the backs of camels to the ,red ,sea1 which practice still continues1 because the shores of this sea are absolutely unprovided with wood even for fuel4 ,these vessels spent a complete year in their voyage1 that is1 sailed one year1 sojourned another1 and did not return till the third4 ,this tediousness was owing first to their cruising from port to port1 as they do at present2 secondly1 to their being detained by the ,monsoon currents2 and thirdly1 because1 according to the calculations of ,pliny and ,strabo1 it was the ordinary practice among the ancients to spend three years in a voyage of twelve hundred leagues4 ,such a commerce must have been very expensive1 particularly as they were obliged to carry with them their provisions1 and even fresh water4 ,for this reason ,solomon made himself master of ,palmyra1 which was at that time inhabited1 and was already the magazine and high road of merchants by the way of the ,euphrates4 ,this conquest brought ,solomon much nearer to the country of gold and pearls4 ,this alternative of a route either by the ,red ,sea or by the river ,euphrates was to the ancients1 what in later times has been the alternative in a voyage to the ,indies1 either by crossing the isthmus of ,suez or doubling the cape of ,good ,hope4 ,it appears that till the time of ,moses1 this trade was carried on across the desert of ,syria and ,thebais2 that afterwards it fell into the hands of the ,phoenicians1 who fixed its site upon the ,red ,sea2 and that it was mutual jealousy that induced the kings of ,nineveh and ,babylon to undertake the destruction of ,tyre and ,jerusalem4 ,i insist the more upon these facts1 because ,i have never seen any thing reasonable upon the subject4 99999999 ,it appears that ,babylon occupied on the eastern banks of the ,euphrates a space of ground six leagues in length4 ,throughout this space bricks are found by means of which daily additions are made to the town of ,helle4 ,upon many of these are characters written with a nail similar to those of ,persepolis4 ,i am indebted for these facts to ,m4 de ,beauchamp1 grand vicar of ,babylon1 a traveller equally distinguished for his knowledge of astronomy and for his veracity4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,condition ,,of ,,man ,,in ,,the ,,universe4 ,the ,genius1 after some moments of silence1 resumed in these words3 ,i have told thee already1 ,o friend of truth6 that man vainly ascribes his misfortunes to obscure and imaginary agents2 in vain he seeks as the source of his evils mysterious and remote causes4 ,in the general order of the universe his condition is1 doubtless1 subject to inconveniences1 and his existence governed by superior powers2 but those powers are neither the decrees of a blind fatality1 nor the caprices of whimsical and fantastic beings4 ,like the world of which he forms a part1 man is governed by natural laws1 regular in their course1 uniform in their effects1 immutable in their essence2 and those laws1--the common source of good and evil1--are not written among the distant stars1 nor hidden in codes of mystery2 inherent in the nature of terrestrial beings1 interwoven with their existence1 at all times and in all places1 they are present to man2 they act upon his senses1 they warn his understanding1 and give to every action its reward or punishment4 ,let man then know these laws6 let him comprehend the nature of the elements which surround him1 and also his own nature1 and he will know the regulators of his destiny2 he will know the causes of his evils and the remedies he should apply4 ,when the hidden power which animates the universe1 formed the globe which man inhabits1 he implanted in the beings composing it1 essential properties which became the law of their individual motion1 the bond of their reciprocal relations1 the cause of the harmony of the whole2 he thereby established a regular order of causes and effects1 of principles and consequences1 which1 under an appearance of chance1 governs the universe1 and maintains the equilibrium of the world4 ,thus1 he gave to fire1 motion and activity2 to air1 elasticity2 weight and density to matter2 he made air lighter than water1 metal heavier than earth1 wood less cohesive than steel2 he decreed flame to ascend1 stones to fall1 plants to vegetate2 to man1 who was to be exposed to the action of so many different beings1 and still to preserve his frail life1 he gave the faculty of sensation4 ,by this faculty all action hurtful to his existence gives him a feeling of pain and evil1 and all which is salutary1 of pleasure and happiness4 ,by these sensations1 man1 sometimes averted from that which wounds his senses1 sometimes allured towards that which soothes them1 has been obliged to cherish and preserve his own life2 thus1 self-love1 the desire of happiness1 aversion to pain1 become the essential and primary laws imposed on man by nature herself--the laws which the directing power1 whatever it be1 has established for his government--and which laws1 like those of motion in the physical world1 are the simple and fruitful principle of whatever happens in the moral world4 ,such1 then1 is the condition of man3 on one side1 exposed to the action of the elements which surround him1 he is subject to many inevitable evils2 and if1 in this decree1 nature has been severe1 on the other hand1 just and even indulgent she has not only tempered the evils with equivalent good1 she has also enabled him to increase the good and alleviate the evil4 ,she seems to say3 ,feeble work of my hands1 ,i owe thee nothing1 and ,i give thee life2 the world wherein ,i placed thee was not made for thee1 yet ,i give thee the use of it2 thou wilt find in it a mixture of good and evil2 it is for thee to distinguish them2 for thee to guide thy footsteps in a path containing thorns as well as roses4 ,be the arbiter of thine own fate2 ,i put thy destiny into thine own hands6 ,yes1 man is made the architect of his own destiny2 he1 himself1 hath been the cause of the successes or reverses of his own fortune2 and if1 on a review of all the pains with which he has tormented his own life1 he finds reason to weep over his own weakness or imprudence yet1 considering the beginnings from which he sat out1 and the height attained1 he has1 perhaps1 still reason to presume on his strength1 and to pride himself on his genius4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,primitive ,,state ,,of ,,man4 ,formed naked in body and in mind1 man at first found himself thrown1 as it were by chance1 on a rough and savage land3 an orphan1 abandoned by the unknown power which had produced him1 he saw not by his side beings descended from heaven to warn him of those wants which arise only from his senses1 nor to instruct him in those duties which spring only from his wants4 ,like to other animals1 without experience of the past1 without foresight of the future1 he wandered in the bosom of the forest1 guided only and governed by the affections of his nature4 ,by the pain of hunger1 he was led to seek food and provide for his subsistence2 by the inclemency of the air1 he was urged to cover his body1 and he made him clothes2 by the attraction of a powerful pleasure1 he approached a being like himself1 and he perpetuated his kind4 ,thus the impressions which he received from every object1 awakening his faculties1 developed by degrees his understanding1 and began to instruct his profound ignorance3 his wants excited industry1 dangers formed his courage2 he learned to distinguish useful from noxious plants1 to combat the elements1 to seize his prey1 to defend his life2 and thus he alleviated its miseries4 ,thus self-love1 aversion to pain1 the desire of happiness1 were the simple and powerful excitements which drew man from the savage and barbarous condition in which nature had placed him4 ,and now1 when his life is replete with enjoyments1 when he may count each day by the comforts it brings1 he may applaud himself and say3 ,it is ,i who have produced the comforts which surround me2 it is ,i who am the author of my own happiness2 a safe dwelling1 convenient clothing1 abundant and wholesome nourishment1 smiling fields1 fertile hills1 populous empires1 all is my work2 without me this earth1 given up to disorder1 would have been but a filthy fen1 a wild wood1 a dreary desert4 ,yes1 creative man1 receive my homage6 ,thou hast measured the span of the heavens1 calculated the volume of the stars1 arrested the lightning in its clouds1 subdued seas and storms1 subjected all the elements4 ,ah6 how are so many sublime energies allied to so many errors8 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,principles ,,of ,,society4 ,wandering in the woods and on the banks of rivers in pursuit of game and fish1 the first men1 beset with dangers1 assailed by enemies1 tormented by hunger1 by reptiles1 by ravenous beasts1 felt their own individual weakness2 and1 urged by a common need of safety1 and a reciprocal sentiment of like evils1 they united their resources and their strength2 and when one incurred a danger1 many aided and succored him2 when one wanted subsistence1 another shared his food with him4 ,thus men associated to secure their existence1 to augment their powers1 to protect their enjoyments2 and self-love thus became the principle of society4 ,instructed afterwards by the experience of various and repeated accidents1 by the fatigues of a wandering life1 by the distress of frequent scarcity1 men reasoned with themselves and said3 ,why consume our days in seeking scattered fruits from a parsimonious soil8 why exhaust ourselves in pursuing prey which eludes us in the woods or waters8 why not collect under our hands the animals that nourish us8 why not apply our cares in multiplying and preserving them8 ,we will feed on their increase1 be clothed in their skins1 and live exempt from the fatigues of the day and solicitude for the morrow4 ,and men1 aiding one another1 seized the nimble goat1 the timid sheep2 they tamed the patient camel1 the fierce bull1 the impetuous horse2 and1 applauding their own industry1 they sat down in the joy of their souls1 and began to taste repose and comfort3 and self-love1 the principle of all reasoning1 became the incitement to every art1 and every enjoyment4 ,when1 therefore1 men could pass long days in leisure1 and in communication of their thoughts1 they began to contemplate the earth1 the heavens1 and their own existence as objects of curiosity and reflection2 they remarked the course of the seasons1 the action of the elements1 the properties of fruits and plants2 and applied their thoughts to the multiplication of their enjoyments4 ,and in some countries1 having observed that certain seeds contained a wholesome nourishment in a small volume1 convenient for transportation and preservation1 they imitated the process of nature2 they confided to the earth rice1 barley1 and corn1 which multiplied to the full measure of their hope2 and having found the means of obtaining within a small compass and without removal1 plentiful subsistence and durable stores1 they established themselves in fixed habitations2 they built houses1 villages1 and towns2 formed societies and nations2 and self-love produced all the developments of genius and of power4 ,thus by the aid of his own faculties1 man has raised himself to the astonishing height of his present fortune4 ,too happy if1 observing scrupulously the law of his being1 he had faithfully fulfilled its only and true object6 ,but1 by a fatal imprudence1 sometimes mistaking1 sometimes transgressing its limits1 he has launched forth into a labyrinth of errors and misfortunes2 and self-love1 sometimes unruly1 sometimes blind1 became a principle fruitful in calamities4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,sources ,,of ,,the ,,evils ,,of ,,society4 ,in truth1 scarcely were the faculties of men developed1 when1 inveigled by objects which gratify the senses1 they gave themselves up to unbridled desires4 ,the sweet sensations which nature had attached to their real wants1 to endear to them their existence1 no longer satisfied them4 ,not content with the abundance offered by the earth or produced by industry1 they wished to accumulate enjoyments and coveted those possessed by their fellow men4 ,the strong man rose up against the feeble1 to take from him the fruit of his labor2 the feeble invoked another feeble one to repel the violence4 ,two strong ones then said3 ,why fatigue ourselves to produce enjoyments which we may find in the hands of the weak8 ,let us join and despoil them2 they shall labor for us1 and we will enjoy without labor4 ,and the strong associating for oppression and the weak for resistance1 men mutually afflicted each other2 and a general and fatal discord spread over the earth1 in which the passions1 assuming a thousand new forms1 have generated a continued chain of misfortunes4 ,thus the same self-love which1 moderate and prudent1 was a principle of happiness and perfection1 becoming blind and disordered1 was transformed into a corrupting poison2 and cupidity1 offspring and companion of ignorance1 became the cause of all the evils that have desolated the earth4 ,yes1 ignorance and cupidity6 these are the twin sources of all the torments of man6 ,biased by these into false ideas of happiness1 he has mistaken or broken the laws of nature in his own relation with external objects2 and injuring his own existence1 has violated individual morality2 shutting through these his heart to compassion1 and his mind to justice1 he has injured and afflicted his equal1 and violated social morality4 ,from ignorance and cupidity1 man has armed against man1 family against family1 tribe against tribe2 and the earth is become a theatre of blood1 of discord1 and of rapine4 ,by ignorance and cupidity1 a secret war1 fermenting in the bosom of every state1 has separated citizen from citizen2 and the same society has divided itself into oppressors and oppressed1 into masters and slaves2 by these1 the heads of a nation1 sometimes insolent and audacious1 have forged its chains within its own bowels2 and mercenary avarice has founded political despotism4 ,sometimes1 hypocritical and cunning1 they have called from heaven a lying power1 and a sacrilegious yoke2 and credulous cupidity has founded religious despotism4 ,by these have been perverted the ideas of good and evil1 just and unjust1 vice and virtue2 and nations have wandered in a labyrinth of errors and calamities4 ,the cupidity of man and his ignorance1--these are the evil genii which have wasted the earth6 ,these are the decrees of fate which have overthrown empires6 ,these are the celestial anathemas which have smitten these walls once so glorious1 and converted the splendor of a populous city into a solitude of mourning and of ruins6 ,but as in the bosom of man have sprung all the evils which have afflicted his life1 there he also is to seek and to find their remedies4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,origin ,,of ,,government ,,and ,,laws4 ,in fact1 it soon happened that men1 fatigued with the evils they reciprocally inflicted1 began to sigh for peace2 and reflecting on their misfortunes and the causes of them1 they said3 ,we are mutually injuring each other by our passions2 and1 aiming to grasp every thing1 we hold nothing4 ,what one seizes to-day1 another takes to-morrow1 and our cupidity reacts upon ourselves4 ,let us establish judges1 who shall arbitrate our rights1 and settle our differences6 ,when the strong shall rise against the weak1 the judge shall restrain him1 and dispose of our force to suppress violence2 and the life and property of each shall be under the guarantee and protection of all2 and all shall enjoy the good things of nature4 ,conventions were thus formed in society1 sometimes express1 sometimes tacit1 which became the rule for the action of individuals1 the measure of their rights1 the law of their reciprocal relations2 and persons were appointed to superintend their observance1 to whom the people confided the balance to weigh rights1 and the sword to punish transgressions4 ,thus was established among individuals a happy equilibrium of force and action1 which constituted the common security4 ,the name of equity and of justice was recognized and revered over the earth2 every one1 assured of enjoying in peace1 the fruits of his toil1 pursued with energy the objects of his attention2 and industry1 excited and maintained by the reality or the hope of enjoyment1 developed1 all the riches of art and of nature4 ,the fields were covered with harvests1 the valleys with flocks1 the hills with fruits1 the sea with vessels1 and man became happy and powerful on the earth4 ,thus did his own wisdom repair the disorder which his imprudence had occasioned2 and that wisdom was only the effect of his own organization4 ,he respected the enjoyments of others in order to secure his own2 and cupidity found its corrective in the enlightened love of self4 ,thus the love of self1 the moving principle of every individual1 becomes the necessary foundation of every association2 and on the observance of that law of our nature has depended the fate of nations4 ,have the factitious and conventional laws tended to that object and accomplished that aim8 ,every one1 urged by a powerful instinct1 has displayed all the faculties of his being2 and the sum of individual felicities has constituted the general felicity4 ,have these laws1 on the contrary1 restrained the effort of man toward his own happiness8 ,his heart1 deprived of its exciting principle1 has languished in inactivity1 and from the oppression of individuals has resulted the weakness of the state4 ,as self-love1 impetuous and improvident1 is ever urging man against his equal1 and consequently tends to dissolve society1 the art of legislation and the merit of administrators consists in attempering the conflict of individual cupidities1 in maintaining an equilibrium of powers1 and securing to every one his happiness1 in order that1 in the shock of society against society1 all the members may have a common interest in the preservation and defence of the public welfare4 ,the internal splendor and prosperity of empires then1 have had for their efficient cause the equity of their laws and government2 and their respective external powers have been in proportion to the number of persons interested1 and their degree of interest in the public welfare4 ,on the other hand1 the multiplication of men1 by complicating their relations1 having rendered the precise limitation of their rights difficult1 the perpetual play of the passions having produced incidents not foreseen--their conventions having been vicious1 inadequate1 or nugatory--in fine1 the authors of the laws having sometimes mistaken1 sometimes disguised their objects2 and their ministers1 instead of restraining the cupidity of others1 having given themselves up to their own2 all these causes have introduced disorder and trouble into societies2 and the viciousness of laws and the injustice of governments1 flowing from cupidity and ignorance1 have become the causes of the misfortunes of nations1 and the subversion of states4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,general ,,causes ,,of ,,the ,,prosperity ,,of ,,ancient ,,states4 ,such1 ,o man who seekest wisdom1 such have been the causes of revolution in the ancient states of which thou contemplatest the ruins6 ,to whatever spot ,i direct my view1 to whatever period my thoughts recur1 the same principles of growth or destruction1 of rise or fall1 present themselves to my mind4 ,wherever a people is powerful1 or an empire prosperous1 there the conventional laws are conformable with the laws of nature--the government there procures for its citizens a free use of their faculties1 equal security for their persons and property4 ,if1 on the contrary1 an empire goes to ruin1 or dissolves1 it is because its laws have been vicious1 or imperfect1 or trodden under foot by a corrupt government4 ,if the laws and government1 at first wise and just1 become afterwards depraved1 it is because the alternation of good and evil is inherent to the heart of man1 to a change in his propensities1 to his progress in knowledge1 to a combination of circumstances and events2 as is proved by the history of the species4 ,in the infancy of nations1 when men yet lived in the forest1 subject to the same wants1 endowed with the same faculties1 all were nearly equal in strength2 and that equality was a circumstance highly advantageous in the composition of society3 as every individual1 thus feeling himself sufficiently independent of every other1 no one was the slave1 none thought of being the master of another4 ,man1 then a novice1 knew neither servitude nor tyranny2 furnished with resources sufficient for his existence1 he thought not of borrowing from others2 owning nothing1 requiring nothing1 he judged the rights of others by his own1 and formed ideas of justice sufficiently exact4 ,ignorant1 moreover1 in the art of enjoyments1 unable to produce more than his necessaries1 possessing nothing superfluous1 cupidity remained dormant2 or if excited1 man1 attacked in his real wants1 resisted it with energy1 and the foresight of such resistance ensured a happy balance4 ,thus original equality1 in default of compact1 maintained freedom of person1 security of property1 good manners1 and order4 ,every one labored by himself and for himself2 and the mind of man1 being occupied1 wandered not to culpable desires4 ,he had few enjoyments1 but his wants were satisfied2 and as indulgent nature had made them less than his resources1 the labor of his hands soon produced abundance--abundance1 population2 the arts unfolded1 culture extended1 and the earth1 covered with numerous inhabitants1 was divided into different dominions4 ,the relations of man becoming complicated1 the internal order of societies became more difficult to maintain4 ,time and industry having generated riches1 cupidity became more active2 and because equality1 practicable among individuals1 could not subsist among families1 the natural equilibrium was broken2 it became necessary to supply it by a factitious equilibrium2 to set up chiefs1 to establish laws2 and in the primitive inexperience1 it necessarily happened that these laws1 occasioned by cupidity1 assumed its character4 ,but different circumstances concurred to correct the disorder1 and oblige governments to be just4 ,states1 in fact1 being weak at first1 and having foreign enemies to fear1 the chiefs found it their interest not to oppress their subjects2 for1 by lessening the confidence of the citizens in their government1 they would diminish their means of resistance--they would facilitate foreign invasion1 and by exercising arbitrary power1 have endangered their very existence4 ,in the interior1 the firmness of the people repelled tyranny2 men had contracted too long habits of independence2 they had too few wants1 and too much consciousness of their own strength4 ,states being of a moderate size1 it was difficult to divide their citizens so as to make use of some for the oppression of others4 ,their communications were too easy1 their interest too clear and simple3 besides1 every one being a proprietor and cultivator1 no one needed to sell himself1 and the despot could find no mercenaries4 ,if1 then1 dissensions arose1 they were between family and family1 faction and faction1 and they interested a great number4 ,the troubles1 indeed1 were warmer2 but fears from abroad pacified discord at home4 ,if the oppression of a party prevailed1 the earth being still unoccupied1 and man1 still in a state of simplicity1 finding every where the same advantages1 the oppressed party emigrated1 and carried elsewhere their independence4 ,the ancient states then enjoyed within themselves numerous means of prosperity and power4 ,every one finding his own well-being in the constitution of his country1 took a lively interest in its preservation4 ,if a stranger attacked it1 having to defend his own field1 his own house1 he carried into combat all the passions of a personal quarrel2 and1 devoted to his own interests1 he was devoted to his country4 ,as every action useful to the public attracted its esteem and gratitude1 every one became eager to be useful2 and self-love multiplied talents and civic virtues4 ,every citizen contributing equally by his talents and person1 armies and funds were inexhaustible1 and nations displayed formidable masses of power4 ,the earth being free1 and its possession secure and easy1 every one was a proprietor2 and the division of property preserved morals1 and rendered luxury impossible4 ,every one cultivating for himself1 culture was more active1 produce more abundant2 and individual riches became public wealth4 ,the abundance of produce rendering subsistence easy1 population was rapid and numerous1 and states attained quickly the term of their plenitude4 ,productions increasing beyond consumption1 the necessity of commerce arose2 and exchanges took place between people and people2 which augmented their activity and reciprocal advantages4 ,in fine1 certain countries1 at certain times1 uniting the advantages of good government with a position on the route of the most active circulation1 they became emporiums of flourishing commerce and seats of powerful domination4 ,and on the shores of the ,nile and ,mediterranean1 of the ,tygris and ,euphrates1 the accumulated riches of ,india and of ,europe raised in successive splendor a hundred different cities4 ,the people1 growing rich1 applied their superfluity to works of common and public use2 and this was in every state1 the epoch of those works whose grandeur astonishes the mind2 of those wells of ,tyre1 of those dykes of the ,euphrates1 of those subterranean conduits of ,media199 of those fortresses of the desert1 of those aqueducts of ,palmyra1 of those temples1 of those porticoes4 ,and such labors might be immense1 without oppressing the nations2 because they were the effect of an equal and common contribution of the force of individuals animated and free4 99 ,see respecting these monuments my ,travels into ,syria1 vol4 ii4 p4 #bad4 ,from the town or village of ,samouat the course of the ,euphrates is accompanied with a double bank1 which descends as far as its junction with the ,tygris1 and from thence to the sea1 being a length of about a hundred leagues1 ,french measure4 ,the height of these artificial banks is not uniform1 but increases as you advance from the sea2 it may be estimated at from twelve to fifteen feet4 ,but for them1 the inundation of the river would bury the country around1 which is flat1 to an extent of twenty or twenty-five leagues and even notwithstanding these banks1 there has been in modern times an overflow1 which has covered the whole triangle formed by the junction of this river to the ,tygris1 being a space of country of one hundred and thirty square leagues4 ,by the stagnation of these waters an epidemical disease of the most fatal nature was occasioned4 ,it follows from hence1 #a4 ,that all the flat country bordering upon these rivers1 was originally a marsh2 #b4 ,that this marsh could not have been inhabited previously to the construction of the banks in question2 #c4 ,that these banks could not have been the work but of a population prior as to date2 and the elevation of ,babylon1 therefore1 must have been posterior to that of ,nineveh1 as ,i think ,i have chronologically demonstrated in the memoir above cited4 ,see ,encyclopedia1 vol4 xiii1 of ,antiquities4 ,the modern ,aderbidjan1 which was a part of ,medea1 the mountains of ,koulderstan1 and those of ,diarbekr1 abound with subterranean canals1 by means of which the ancient inhabitants conveyed water to their parched soil in order to fertilize it4 ,it was regarded as a meritorious act and a religious duty prescribed by ,zoroaster1 who1 instead of preaching celibacy1 mortifications1 and other pretended virtues of the monkish sort1 repeats continually in the passages that are preserved respecting him in the ,sad-der and the ,zend-avesta3 ,that the action most pleasing to ,god is to plough and cultivate the earth1 to water it with running streams1 to multiply vegetation and living beings1 to have numerous flocks1 young and fruitful virgins1 a multitude of children1 etc41 etc4 ,among the aqueducts of ,palmyra it appears certain1 that1 besides those which conducted water from the neighboring hills1 there was one which brought it even from the mountains of ,syria4 ,it is to be traced a long way into the ,desert where it escapes our search by going under ground4 ,thus ancient states prospered1 because their social institutions conformed to the true laws of nature2 and because men1 enjoying liberty and security for their persons and their property1 might display all the extent of their faculties1--all the energies of their self-love4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,general ,,causes ,,of ,,the ,,revolutions ,,and ,,ruin ,,of ,,ancient ,,states4 ,cupidity had nevertheless excited among men a constant and universal conflict1 which incessantly prompting individuals and societies to reciprocal invasions1 occasioned successive revolutions1 and returning agitations4 ,and first1 in the savage and barbarous state of the first men1 this audacious and fierce cupidity produced rapine1 violence1 and murder1 and retarded for a long time the progress of civilization4 ,when afterwards societies began to be formed1 the effect of bad habits1 communicated to laws and governments1 corrupted their institutions and objects1 and established arbitrary and factitious rights1 which depraved the ideas of justice1 and the morality of the people4 ,thus one man being stronger than another1 their inequality--an accident of nature--was taken for her law299 and the strong being able to take the life of the weak1 and yet sparing him1 arrogated over his person an abusive right of property2 and the slavery of individuals prepared the way for the slavery of nations4 99,almost all the ancient philosophers and politicians have laid it down as a principle that men are born unequal1 that nature his created some to be free1 and others to be slaves4 ,expressions of this kind are to be found in ,aristotle1 and even in ,plato1 called the divine1 doubtless in the same sense as the mythological reveries which he promulgated4 ,with all the people of antiquity1 the ,gauls1 the ,romans1 the ,athenians1 the right of the strongest was the right of nations2 and from the same principle are derived all the political disorders and public national crimes that at present exist4 ,because the head of a family could be absolute in his house1 he made his own affections and desires the rule of his conduct2 he gave or resumed his goods without equality1 without justice2 and paternal despotism laid the foundation of despotism in government499 99 ,upon this single expression it would be easy to write a long and important chapter4 ,we might prove in it1 beyond contradiction1 that all the abuses of national governments1 have sprung from those of domestic government1 from that government called patriarchal1 which superficial minds have extolled without having analyzed it4 ,numberless facts demonstrate1 that with every infant people1 in every savage and barbarous state1 the father1 the chief of the family1 is a despot1 and a cruel and insolent despot4 ,the wife is his slave1 the children his servants4 ,this king sleeps or smokes his pipe1 while his wife and daughters perform all the drudgery of the house1 and even that of tillage and cultivation1 as far as occupations of this nature are practised in such societies2 and no sooner have the boys acquired strength then they are allowed to beat the females and make them serve and wait upon them as they do upon their fathers4 ,similar to this is the state of our own uncivilized peasants4 ,in proportion as civilization spreads1 the manners become milder1 and the condition of the women improves1 till1 by a contrary excess1 they arrive at dominion1 and then a nation becomes effeminate and corrupt4 ,it is remarkable that parental authority is great in proportion as the government is despotic4 ,china1 ,india1 and ,turkey are striking examples of this4 ,one would suppose that tyrants gave themselves accomplices and interested subaltern despots to maintain their authority4 ,in opposition to this the ,romans will be cited1 but it remains to be proved that the ,romans were men truly free and their quick passage from their republican despotism to their abject servility under the emperors1 gives room at least for considerable doubt as to that freedom4 ,in societies formed on such foundations1 when time and labor had developed riches1 cupidity restrained by the laws1 became more artful1 but not less active4 ,under the mask of union and civil peace1 it fomented in the bosom of every state an intestine war1 in which the citizens1 divided into contending corps of orders1 classes1 families1 unremittingly struggled to appropriate to themselves1 under the name of supreme power1 the ability to plunder every thing1 and render every thing subservient to the dictates of their passions2 and this spirit of encroachment1 disguised under all possible forms1 but always the same in its object and motives1 has never ceased to torment the nations4 ,sometimes1 opposing itself to all social compact1 or breaking that which already existed1 it committed the inhabitants of a country to the tumultuous shock of all their discords2 and states thus dissolved1 and reduced to the condition of anarchy1 were tormented by the passions of all their members4 ,sometimes a nation1 jealous of its liberty1 having appointed agents to administer its government1 these agents appropriated the powers of which they had only the guardianship3 they employed the public treasures in corrupting elections1 gaining partisans1 in dividing the people among themselves4 ,by these means1 from being temporary they became perpetual2 from elective1 hereditary2 and the state1 agitated by the intrigues of the ambitious1 by largesses from the rich and factious1 by the venality of the poor and idle1 by the influence of orators1 by the boldness of the wicked1 and the weakness of the virtuous1 was convulsed with all the inconveniences of democracy4 ,the chiefs of some countries1 equal in strength and mutually fearing each other1 formed impious pacts1 nefarious associations2 and1 apportioning among themselves all power1 rank1 and honor1 unjustly arrogated privileges and immunities2 erected themselves into separate orders and distinct classes2 reduced the people to their control2 and1 under the name of aristocracy1 the state was tormented by the passions of the wealthy and the great4 ,sacred impostors1 in other countries1 tending by other means to the same object1 abused the credulity of the ignorant4 ,in the gloom of their temples1 behind the curtain of the altar1 they made their gods act and speak2 gave forth oracles1 worked miracles1 ordered sacrifices1 levied offerings1 prescribed endowments2 and1 under the names of theocracy and of religion1 the state became tormented by the passions of the priests4 ,sometimes a nation1 weary of its dissensions or of its tyrants1 to lessen the sources of evil1 submitted to a single master2 but if it limited his powers1 his sole aim was to enlarge them2 if it left them indefinite1 he abused the trust confided to him2 and1 under the name of monarchy1 the state was tormented by the passions of kings and princes4 ,then the factions1 availing themselves of the general discontent1 flattered the people with the hope of a better master2 dealt out gifts and promises1 deposed the despot to take his place2 and their contests for the succession1 or its partition1 tormented the state with the disorders and devastations of civil war4 ,in fine1 among these rivals1 one more adroit1 or more fortunate1 gained the ascendency1 and concentrated all power within himself4 ,by a strange phenomenon1 a single individual mastered millions of his equals1 against their will and without their consent2 and the art of tyranny sprung also from cupidity4 ,in fact1 observing the spirit of egotism which incessantly divides mankind1 the ambitious man fomented it with dexterity1 flattered the vanity of one1 excited the jealousy of another1 favored the avarice of this1 inflamed the resentment of that1 and irritated the passions of all2 then1 placing in opposition their interests and prejudices1 he sowed divisions and hatreds1 promised to the poor the spoils of the rich1 to the rich the subjection of the poor2 threatened one man by another1 this class by that2 and insulating all by distrust1 created his strength out of their weakness1 and imposed the yoke of opinion1 which they mutually riveted on each other4 ,with the army he levied contributions1 and with contributions he disposed of the army3 dealing out wealth and office on these principles1 he enchained a whole people in indissoluble bonds1 and they languished under the slow consumption of despotism4 ,thus the same principle1 varying its action under every possible form1 was forever attenuating the consistence of states1 and an eternal circle of vicissitudes flowed from an eternal circle of passions4 ,and this spirit of egotism and usurpation produced two effects equally operative and fatal3 the one a division and subdivision of societies into their smallest fractions1 inducing a debility which facilitated their dissolution2 the other1 a preserving tendency to concentrate power in a single hand199 which1 engulfing successively societies and states1 was fatal to their peace and social existence4 99 ,it is remarkable that this has in all instances been the constant progress of societies2 beginning with a state of anarchy or democracy1 that is1 with a great division of power they have passed to aristocracy1 and from aristocracy to monarchy4 ,does it not hence follow that those who constitute states under the democratic form1 destine them to undergo all the intervening troubles between that and monarchy2 but it should at the same time be proved that social experience is already exhausted for the human race1 and that this spontaneous movement is not solely the effect of ignorance4 ,thus1 as in a state1 a party absorbed the nation1 a family the party1 and an individual the family2 so a movement of absorption took place between state and state1 and exhibited on a larger scale in the political order1 all the particular evils of the civil order4 ,thus a state having subdued a state1 held it in subjection in the form of a province2 and two provinces being joined together formed a kingdom2 two kingdoms being united by conquest1 gave birth to empires of gigantic size2 and in this conglomeration1 the internal strength of states1 instead of increasing1 diminished2 and the condition of the people1 instead of ameliorating1 became daily more abject and wretched1 for causes derived from the nature of things4 ,because1 in proportion as states increased in extent1 their administration becoming more difficult and complicated1 greater energies of power were necessary to move such masses2 and there was no longer any proportion between the duties of sovereigns and their ability to perform their duties3 ,because despots1 feeling their weakness1 feared whatever might develop the strength of nations1 and studied only how to enfeeble them3 ,because nations1 divided by the prejudices of ignorance and hatred1 seconded the wickedness of their governments2 and availing themselves reciprocally of subordinate agents1 aggravated their mutual slavery3 ,because1 the balance between states being destroyed1 the strong more easily oppressed the weak4 ,finally1 because in proportion as states were concentrated1 the people1 despoiled of their laws1 of their usages1 and of the government of their choice1 lost that spirit of personal identification with their government1 which had caused their energy4 ,and despots1 considering empires as their private domains and the people as their property1 gave themselves up to depredations1 and to all the licentiousness of the most arbitrary authority4 ,and all the strength and wealth of nations were diverted to private expense and personal caprice2 and kings1 fatigued with gratification1 abandoned themselves to all the extravagancies of factitious and depraved taste499 ,they must have gardens mounted on arcades1 rivers raised over mountains1 fertile fields converted into haunts for wild beasts2 lakes scooped in dry lands1 rocks erected in lakes1 palaces built of marble and porphyry1 furniture of gold and diamonds4 ,under the cloak of religion1 their pride founded temples1 endowed indolent priests1 built1 for vain skeletons1 extravagant tombs1 mausoleums and pyramids29999 millions of hands were employed in sterile labors2 and the luxury of princes1 imitated by their parasites1 and transmitted from grade to grade to the lowest ranks1 became a general source of corruption and impoverishment4 99 ,it is equally worthy of remark1 that the conduct and manners of princes and kings of every country and every age1 are found to be precisely the same at similar periods1 whether of the formation or dissolution of empires4 ,history every where presents the same pictures of luxury and folly2 of parks1 gardens1 lakes1 rocks1 palaces1 furniture1 excess of the table1 wine1 women1 concluding with brutality4 ,the absurd rock in the garden of ,versailles has alone cost three millions4 ,i have sometimes calculated what might have been done with the expense of the three pyramids of ,gizah1 and ,i have found that it would easily have constructed from the ,red ,sea to ,alexandria1 a canal one hundred and fifty feet wide and thirty deep1 completely covered in with cut stones and a parapet1 together with a fortified and commercial town1 consisting of four hundred houses1 furnished with cisterns4 ,what a difference in point of utility between such a canal and these pyramids6 9999 ,the learned ,dupuis could not be persuaded that the pyramids were tombs2 but besides the positive testimony of historians1 read what ,diodorus says of the religious and superstitious importance every ,egyptian attached to building his dwelling eternal1 b4 #a4 ,during twenty years1 says ,herodotus1 a hundred thousand men labored every day to build the pyramid of the ,egyptian ,cheops4 ,supposing only three hundred days a year1 on account of the sabbath1 there will be #cj millions of days' work in a year1 and #fjj millions in twenty years2 at #ae sous a day1 this makes #dej millions of francs lost1 without any further benefit4 ,with this sum1 if the king had shut the isthmus of ,suez by a strong wall1 like that of ,china1 the destinies of ,egypt might have been entirely changed4 ,foreign invasions would have been prevented1 and the ,arabs of the desert would neither have conquered nor harassed that country4 ,sterile labors6 how many millions lost in putting one stone upon another1 under the forms of temples and churches6 ,alchymists convert stones into gold2 but architects change gold into stone4 ,woe to the kings 7as well as subjects7 who trust their purse to these two classes of empirics6 ,and in the insatiable thirst of enjoyment1 the ordinary revenues no longer sufficing1 they were augmented2 the cultivator1 seeing his labors increase without compensation1 lost all courage2 the merchant1 despoiled1 was disgusted with industry2 the multitude1 condemned to perpetual poverty1 restrained their labor to simple necessaries2 and all productive industry vanished4 ,the surcharge of taxes rendering lands a burdensome possession1 the poor proprietor abandoned his field1 or sold it to the powerful2 and fortune became concentrated in a few hands4 ,all the laws and institutions favoring this accumulation1 the nation became divided into a group of wealthy drones1 and a multitude of mercenary poor2 the people were degraded with indigence1 the great with satiety1 and the number of those interested in the preservation of the state decreasing1 its strength and existence became proportionally precarious4 ,on the other hand1 emulation finding no object1 science no encouragement1 the mind sunk into profound ignorance4 ,the administration being secret and mysterious1 there existed no means of reform or amelioration4 ,the chiefs governing by force or fraud1 the people viewed them as a faction of public enemies2 and all harmony ceased between the governors and governed4 ,and these vices having enervated the states of the wealthy part of ,asia1 the vagrant and indigent people of the adjacent deserts and mountains coveted the enjoyments of the fertile plains2 and1 urged by a cupidity common to all1 attacked the polished empires1 and overturned the thrones of their despots4 ,these revolutions were rapid and easy2 because the policy of tyrants had enfeebled the subjects1 razed the fortresses1 destroyed the warriors2 and because the oppressed subjects remained without personal interest1 and the mercenary soldiers without courage4 ,and hordes of barbarians having reduced entire nations to slavery1 the empires1 formed of conquerors and conquered1 united in their bosom two classes essentially opposite and hostile4 ,all the principles of society were dissolved3 there was no longer any common interest1 no longer any public spirit2 and there arose a distinction of casts and races1 which reduced to a regular system the maintenance of disorder2 and he who was born of this or that blood1 was born a slave or a tyrant--property or proprietor4 ,the oppressors being less numerous than the oppressed it was necessary to perfect the science of oppression1 in order to support this false equilibrium4 ,the art of governing became the art of subjecting the many to the few4 ,to enforce an obedience so contrary to instinct1 the severest punishments were established1 and the cruelty of the laws rendered manners atrocious4 ,the distinction of persons establishing in the state two codes1 two orders of criminal justice1 two sets of laws1 the people1 placed between the propensities of the heart and the oath uttered from the mouth1 had two consciences in contradiction with each other2 and the ideas of justice and injustice had no longer any foundation in the understanding4 ,under such a system1 the people fell into dejection and despair2 and the accidents of nature were added to the other evils which assailed them4 ,prostrated by so many calamities1 they attributed their causes to superior and hidden powers2 and1 because they had tyrants on earth1 they fancied others in heaven2 and superstition aggravated the misfortunes of nations4 ,fatal doctrines and gloomy and misanthropic systems of religion arose1 which painted their gods1 like their despots1 wicked and envious4 ,to appease them1 man offered up the sacrifice of all his enjoyments4 ,he environed himself in privations1 and reversed the order of nature4 ,conceiving his pleasures to be crimes1 his sufferings expiations1 he endeavored to love pain1 and to abjure the love of self4 ,he persecuted his senses1 hated his life2 and a self-denying and anti-social morality plunged nations into the apathy of death4 ,but provident nature having endowed the heart of man with hope inexhaustible1 when his desires of happiness were baffled on this earth1 he pursued it into another world4 ,by a sweet illusion he created for himself another country--an asylum where1 far from tyrants1 he should recover the rights of nature1 and thence resulted new disorders4 ,smitten with an imaginary world1 man despised that of nature4 ,for chimerical hopes1 he neglected realities4 ,his life began to appear a troublesome journey--a painful dream2 his body a prison1 the obstacle to his felicity2 and the earth1 a place of exile and of pilgrimage1 not worthy of culture4 ,then a holy indolence spread over the political world2 the fields were deserted1 empires depopulated1 monuments neglected and deserts multiplied2 ignorance1 superstition and fanaticism1 combining their operations1 overwhelmed the earth with devastation and ruin4 ,thus agitated by their own passions1 men1 whether collectively or individually taken1 always greedy and improvident1 passing from slavery to tyranny1 from pride to baseness1 from presumption to despondency1 have made themselves the perpetual instruments of their own misfortunes4 ,these1 then1 are the principles1 simple and natural1 which regulated the destiny of ancient states4 ,by this regular and connected series of causes and effects1 they rose or fell1 in proportion as the physical laws of the human heart were respected or violated2 and in the course of their successive changes1 a hundred different nations1 a hundred different empires1 by turns humbled1 elevated1 conquered1 overthrown1 have repeated for the earth their instructive lessons4 ,yet these lessons were lost for the generations which have followed6 ,the disorders in times past have reappeared in the present age6 ,the chiefs of the nations have continued to walk in the paths of falsehood and tyranny6--the people to wander in the darkness of superstition and ignorance6 ,since then1 continued the ,genius1 with renewed energy1 since the experience of past ages is lost for the living--since the errors of progenitors have not instructed their descendants1 the ancient examples are about to reappear2 the earth will see renewed the tremendous scenes it has forgotten4 ,new revolutions will agitate nations and empires2 powerful thrones will again be overturned1 and terrible catastrophes will again teach mankind that the laws of nature and the precepts of wisdom and truth cannot be infringed with impunity4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,lessons ,,of ,,times ,,past ,,repeated ,,on ,,the ,,present4 ,thus spoke the ,genius4 ,struck with the justice and coherence of his discourse1 assailed with a crowd of ideas1 repugnant to my habits yet convincing to my reason1 ,i remained absorbed in profound silence4 ,at length1 while with serious and pensive mien1 ,i kept my eyes fixed on ,asia1 suddenly in the north1 on the shores of the ,black sea1 and in the fields of the ,crimea1 clouds of smoke and flame attracted my attention4 ,they appeared to rise at the same time from all parts of the peninsula2 and passing by the isthmus into the continent1 they ran1 as if driven by a westerly wind1 along the oozy lake of ,azof1 and disappeared in the grassy plains of ,couban2 and following more attentively the course of these clouds1 ,i observed that they were preceded or followed by swarms of moving creatures1 which1 like ants or grasshoppers disturbed by the foot of a passenger1 agitated themselves with vivacity4 ,sometimes these swarms appeared to advance and rush against each other2 and numbers1 after the concussion1 remained motionless4 ,while disquieted at this spectacle1 ,i strained my sight to distinguish the objects4 ,do you see1 said the ,genius1 those flames which spread over the earth1 and do you comprehend their causes and effects8 ,oh6 ,genius1 ,i answered1 ,i see those columns of flame and smoke1 and something like insects1 accompanying them2 but1 when ,i can scarcely discern the great masses of cities and monuments1 how should ,i discover1 such little creatures8 ,i can just perceive that these insects mimic battle1 for they advance1 retreat1 attack and pursue4 ,it is no mimicry1 said the ,genius1 these are real battles4 ,and what1 said ,i1 are those mad animalculae1 which destroy each other8 ,beings of a day6 will they not perish soon enough8 ,then the ,genius1 touching my sight and hearing1 again directed my eyes towards the same object4 ,look1 said he1 and listen6 ,ah6 wretches1 cried ,i1 oppressed with grief1 these columns of flame6 these insects6 oh6 ,genius1 they are men4 ,these are the ravages of war6 ,these torrents of flame rise from towns and villages6 ,i see the squadrons who kindle them1 and who1 sword in hand overrun the country3 they drive before them crowds of old men1 women1 and children1 fugitive and desolate3 ,i perceive other horsemen1 who with shouldered lances1 accompany and guide them4 ,i even recognize them to be ,tartars by their led horses199 their kalpacks1 and tufts of hair3 and1 doubtless1 they who pursue1 in triangular hats and green uniforms1 are ,muscovites4 ,ah6 ,i now comprehend1 a war is kindled between the empire of the ,czars and that of the ,sultans4 99 ,a ,tartar horseman has always two horses1 of which he leads one in hand4 ,the ,kalpeck is a bonnet made of the skin of a sheep or other animal4 ,the part of the head covered by this bonnet is shaved1 with the exception of a tuft1 about the size of a crown piece1 and which is suffered to grow to the length of seven or eight inches1 precisely where our priests place their tonsure4 ,it is by this tuft of hair1 worn by the majority of ,mussulmen1 that the angel of the tomb is to take the elect and carry them into paradise4 ,not yet1 replied the ,genius2 this is only a preliminary4 ,these ,tartars have been1 and might still he troublesome neighbors4 ,the ,muscovites are driving them off1 finding their country would be a convenient extension of their own limits2 and as a prelude to another revolution1 the throne of the ,guerais is destroyed4 ,and in fact1 ,i saw the ,russian standards floating over the ,crimea3 and soon after their flag waving on the ,euxine4 ,meanwhile1 at the cry of the flying ,tartars1 the ,mussulman empire was in commotion4 ,they are driving off our brethren1 cried the children of ,mahomet3 the people of the prophet are outraged6 infidels occupy a consecrated land and profane the temples of ,islamism499 ,let us arm2 let us rush to combat1 to avenge the glory of ,god and our own cause4 99 ,it is not in the power of the ,sultan to cede to a foreign power a province inhabited by true believers4 ,the people1 instigated by the lawyers1 would not fail to revolt4 ,this is one reason which has led those who know the ,turks1 to regard as chimerical the ceding of ,candia1 ,cyprus1 and ,egypt1 projected by certain ,european potentates4 ,and a general movement of war took place in both empires4 ,in every part armed men assembled4 ,provisions1 stores1 and all the murderous apparatus of battle were displayed4 ,the temples of both nations1 besieged by an immense multitude1 presented a spectacle which fixed all my attention4 ,on one side1 the ,mussulmen gathered before their mosques1 washed their hands and feet1 pared their nails1 and combed their beards2 then spreading carpets upon the ground1 and turning towards the south1 with their arms sometimes crossed and sometimes extended1 they made genuflexions and prostrations1 and recollecting the disasters of the late war1 they exclaimed3 ,god of mercy and clemency6 hast thou then abandoned thy faithful people8 ,thou who hast promised to thy ,prophet dominion over nations1 and stamped his religion by so many triumphs1 dost thou deliver thy true believers to the swords of infidels8 ,and the ,imans and the ,santons said to the people3 ,it is in chastisement of your sins4 ,you eat pork2 you drink wine2 you touch unclean things4 ,god hath punished you4 ,do penance therefore2 purify2 repeat the profession of faith299 fast from the rising to the setting sun2 give the tenth of your goods to the mosques2 go to ,mecca2 and ,god will render you victorious4 99 ,there is but one ,god1 and ,mahomet is his prophet4 ,and the people1 recovering courage1 uttered loud cries3 ,there is but one ,god1 said they transported with fury1 and ,mahomet is his prophet6 ,accursed be he who believeth not6 ,god of goodness1 grant us to exterminate these ,christians2 it is for thy glory we fight1 and our death is a martyrdom for thy name4 ,and then1 offering victims1 they prepared for battle4 ,on the other side1 the ,russians1 kneeling1 said3 ,we render thanks to ,god1 and celebrate his power4 ,he hath strengthened our arm to humble his enemies4 ,hear our prayers1 thou ,god of mercy6 ,to please thee1 we will pass three days without eating either meat or eggs4 ,grant us to extirpate these impious ,mahometans1 and to overturn their empire4 ,to thee we will consecrate the tenth of our spoil2 to thee we will raise new temples4 ,and the priests filled the churches with clouds of smoke1 and said to the people3 ,we pray for you1 ,god accepteth our incense1 and blesseth your arms4 ,continue to fast and to fight2 confess to us your secret sins2 give your wealth to the church2 we will absolve you from your crimes1 and you shall die in a state of grace4 ,and they sprinkled water upon the people1 dealt out to them1 as amulets and charms1 small relics of the dead1 and the people breathed war and combat4 ,struck with this contrast of the same passions1 and grieving for their fatal consequences1 ,i was considering the difficulty with which the common judge could yield to prayers so contradictory2 when the ,genius1 glowing with anger1 spoke with vehemence3 ,what accents of madness strike my ear8 ,what blind and perverse delirium disorders the spirits of the nations8 ,sacrilegious prayers rise not from the earth6 and you1 oh ,heavens1 reject their homicidal vows and impious thanksgivings6 ,deluded mortals6 is it thus you revere the ,divinity8 ,say then2 how should he1 whom you style your common father1 receive the homage of his children murdering one another8 ,ye victors6 with what eye should he view your hands reeking in the blood he hath created8 ,and1 what do you expect1 oh vanquished1 from useless groans8 ,hath ,god the heart of a mortal1 with passions ever changing8 ,is he1 like you1 agitated with vengeance or compassion1 with wrath or repentance8 ,what base conception of the most sublime of beings6 ,according to them1 it would seem1 that ,god whimsical and capricious1 is angered or appeased as a man3 that he loves and hates alternately2 that he punishes or favors2 that1 weak or wicked1 he broods over his hatred2 that1 contradictory or perfidious1 he lays snares to entrap2 that he punishes the evils he permits2 that he foresees but hinders not crimes2 that1 like a corrupt judge1 he is bribed by offerings2 like an ignorant despot1 he makes laws and revokes them2 that1 like a savage tyrant1 he grants or resumes favors without reason1 and can only be appeased by servility4 ,ah6 now ,i know the lying spirit of man6 ,contemplating the picture which he hath drawn of the ,divinity3 ,no1 said ,i1 it is not ,god who hath made man after the image of ,god2 but man hath made ,god after the image of man2 he hath given him his own mind1 clothed him with his own propensities2 ascribed to him his own judgments4 ,and when in this medley he finds the contradiction of his own principles1 with hypocritical humility1 he imputes weakness to his reason1 and names the absurdities of his own mind the mysteries of ,god4 ,he hath said1 ,god is immutable1 yet he offers prayers to change him2 he hath pronounced him incomprehensible1 yet he interprets him without ceasing4 ,imposters have arisen on the earth who have called themselves the confidants of ,god2 and1 erecting themselves into teachers of the people1 have opened the ways of falsehood and iniquity2 they have ascribed merit to practices indifferent or ridiculous2 they have supposed a virtue1 in certain postures1 in pronouncing certain words1 articulating certain names2 they have transformed into a crime the eating of certain meats1 the drinking of certain liquors1 on one day rather than another4 ,the ,jew would rather die than labor on the sabbath2 the ,persian would endure suffocation1 before he would blow the fire with his breath2 the ,indian places supreme perfection in besmearing himself with cow-dung1 and pronouncing mysteriously the word ,aum299 the ,mussulman believes he has expiated everything in washing his head and arms2 and disputes1 sword in hand1 whether the ablution should commence at the elbow1 or finger ends29999 the ,christian would think himself damned1 if he ate flesh instead of milk or butter4 ,oh sublime doctrines6 ,doctrines truly from heaven6 ,oh perfect morals1 and worthy of martyrdom or the apostolate6 ,i will cross the seas to teach these admirable laws to the savage people--to distant nations2 ,i will say unto them3 99 ,this word is1 in the religion of the ,hindoos1 a sacred emblem of the ,divinity4 ,it is only to be pronounced in secret1 without being heard by any one4 ,it is formed of three letters1 of which the first1 a1 signifies the principal of all1 the creator1 ,brama2 the second1 u1 the conservator1 ,vichenou2 and the last1 m1 the destroyer1 who puts an end to all1 ,chiven4 ,it is pronounced like the monosyllable om1 and expresses the unity of those three ,gods4 ,the idea is precisely that of the ,alpha and ,omega mentioned in the ,new ,testament4 9999 ,this is one of the grand points of schism between the partisans of ,omar and those of ,ali4 ,suppose two ,mahometans to meet on a journey1 and to accost each other with brotherly affection3 the hour of prayer arrives2 one begins his ablution at his fingers1 the other at the elbow1 and instantly they are mortal enemies4 ,o sublime importance of religious opinions6 ,o profound philosophy of the authors of them6 ,children of nature1 how long will you walk in the paths of ignorance8 how long will you mistake the true principles of morality and religion8 ,come and learn its lessons from nations truly pious and learned1 in civilized countries4 ,they will inform you how1 to gratify ,god1 you must in certain months of the year1 languish the whole day with hunger and thirst2 how you may shed your neighbor's blood1 and purify yourself from it by professions of faith and methodical ablutions2 how you may steal his property and be absolved on sharing it with certain persons1 who devote themselves to its consumption4 ,sovereign and invisible power of the universe6 mysterious mover of nature6 universal soul of beings6 thou who art unknown1 yet revered by mortals under so many names6 being incomprehensible and infinite6 ,god1 who in the immensity of the heavens directest the movement of worlds1 and peoplest the abyss of space with millions of suns6 say what do these human insects1 which my sight no longer discerns on the earth1 appear in thy eyes8 ,to thee1 who art guiding stars in their orbits1 what are those wormlings writhing themselves in the dust8 ,of what import to thy immensity1 their distinctions of parties and sects8 ,and of what concern the subtleties with which their folly torments itself8 ,and you1 credulous men1 show me the effect of your practices6 ,in so many centuries1 during which you have been following or altering them1 what changes have your prescriptions wrought in the laws of nature8 ,is the sun brighter8 ,is the course of the seasons varied8 ,is the earth more fruitful1 or its inhabitants more happy8 ,if ,god be good1 can your penances please him8 ,if infinite1 can your homage add to his glory8 ,if his decrees have been formed on foresight of every circumstance1 can your prayers change them8 ,answer1 ,o inconsistent mortals6 ,ye conquerors of the earth1 who pretend you serve ,god6 doth he need your aid8 ,if he wishes to punish1 hath he not earthquakes1 volcanoes1 and thunder8 ,and cannot a merciful ,god correct without extermination8 ,ye ,mussulmans1 if ,god chastiseth you for violating the five precepts1 how hath he raised up the ,franks who ridicule them8 ,if he governeth the earth by the ,koran1 by what did he govern it before the days of the prophet1 when it was covered with so many nations who drank wine1 ate pork1 and went not to ,mecca1 whom he nevertheless permitted to raise powerful empires8 ,how did he judge the ,sabeans of ,nineveh and of ,babylon2 the ,persian1 worshipper of fire2 the ,greek and ,roman idolators2 the ancient kingdoms of the ,nile2 and your own ancestors1 the ,arabians and ,tartars8 ,how doth he yet judge so many nations who deny1 or know not your worship--the numerous castes of ,indians1 the vast empire of the ,chinese1 the sable race of ,africa1 the islanders of the ocean1 the tribes of ,america8 ,presumptuous and ignorant men1 who arrogate the earth to yourselves6 if ,god were to gather all the generations past and present1 what would be1 in their ocean1 the sects calling themselves universal1 of ,christians and ,mussulmans8 ,what would be the judgments of his equal and common justice over the real universality of mankind8 ,therein it is that your knowledge loseth itself in incoherent systems2 it is there that truth shines with evidence2 and there are manifested the powerful and simple laws of nature and reason--laws of a common and general mover--of a ,god impartial and just1 who sheds rain on a country without asking who is its prophet2 who causeth his sun to shine alike on all the races of men1 on the white as on the black1 on the ,jew1 on the ,mussulman1 the ,christian1 and the ,idolater2 who reareth the harvest wherever cultivated with diligence2 who multiplieth every nation where industry and order prevaileth2 who prospereth every empire where justice is practised1 where the powerful are restrained1 and the poor protected by the laws2 where the weak live in safety1 and all enjoy the rights given by nature and a compact formed in justice4 ,these are the principles by which people are judged6 this the true religion which regulates the destiny of empires1 and which1 ,o ,ottomans1 hath governed yours6 ,interrogate your ancestors1 ask of them by what means they rose to greatness2 when few1 poor and idolaters1 they came from the deserts of ,tartary and encamped in these fertile countries2 ask if it was by ,islamism1 till then unknown to them1 that they conquered the ,greeks and the ,arabs1 or was it by their courage1 their prudence1 moderation1 spirit of union--the true powers of the social state8 ,then the ,sultan himself dispensed justice1 and maintained discipline4 ,the prevaricating judge1 the extortionate governor1 were punished1 and the multitude lived at ease4 ,the cultivator was protected from the rapine of the janissary1 and the fields prospered2 the highways were safe1 and commerce caused abundance4 ,you were a band of plunderers1 but just among yourselves4 ,you subdued nations1 but did not oppress them4 ,harassed by their own princes1 they preferred being your tributaries4 ,what matters it1 said the ,christian1 whether my ruler breaks or adores images1 if he renders justice to me8 ,god will judge his doctrines in the heavens above4 ,you were sober and hardy2 your enemies timid and enervated2 you were expert in battle1 your enemies unskillful2 your leaders were experienced1 your soldiers warlike and disciplined4 ,booty excited ardor1 bravery was rewarded1 cowardice and insubordination punished1 and all the springs of the human heart were in action4 ,thus you vanquished a hundred nations1 and of a mass of conquered kingdoms compounded an immense empire4 ,but other customs have succeeded2 and in the reverses attending them1 the laws of nature have still exerted their force4 ,after devouring your enemies1 your cupidity1 still insatiable1 has reacted on itself1 and1 concentrated in your own bowels1 has consumed you4 ,having become rich1 you have quarrelled for partition and enjoyment1 and disorder hath arisen in every class of society4 ,the ,sultan1 intoxicated with grandeur1 has mistaken the object of his functions2 and all the vices of arbitrary power have been developed4 ,meeting no obstacle to his appetites1 he has become a depraved being2 weak and arrogant1 he has kept the people at a distance2 and their voice has no longer instructed and guided him4 ,ignorant1 yet flattered1 neglecting all instruction1 all study1 he has fallen into imbecility2 unfit for business1 he has thrown its burdens on hirelings1 and they have deceived him4 ,to satisfy their own passions1 they have stimulated and nourished his2 they have multiplied his wants1 and his enormous luxury has consumed everything4 ,the frugal table1 plain clothing1 simple dwelling of his ancestors no longer sufficed4 ,to supply his pomp1 earth and sea have been exhausted4 ,the rarest furs have been brought from the poles2 the most costly tissues from the equator4 ,he has devoured at a meal the tribute of a city1 and in a day that of a province4 ,he has surrounded himself with an army of women1 eunuchs1 and satellites4 ,they have instilled into him that the virtue of kings is to be liberal1 and the munificence and treasures of the people have been delivered into the hands of flatterers4 ,in imitation of their master1 his servants must also have splendid houses1 the most exquisite furniture2 carpets embroidered at great cost1 vases of gold and silver for the lowest uses1 and all the riches of the empire have been swallowed up in the ,serai4 ,to supply this inordinate luxury1 the slaves and women have sold their influence1 and venality has introduced a general depravation4 ,the favor of the sovereign has been sold to his vizier1 and the vizier has sold the empire4 ,the law has been sold to the cadi1 and the cadi has made sale of justice4 ,the altar has been sold to the priest1 and the priest has sold the kingdom of heaven4 ,and gold obtaining everything1 they have sacrificed everything to obtain gold4 ,for gold1 friend has betrayed friend1 the child his parent1 the servant his master1 the wife her honor1 the merchant his conscience2 and good faith1 morals1 concord1 and strength were banished from the state4 ,the pacha1 who had purchased the government of his province1 farmed it out to others1 who exercised every extortion4 ,he sold in turn the collection of the taxes1 the command of the troops1 the administration of the villages2 and as every employ has been transient1 rapine1 spread from rank to rank1 has been greedy and implacable4 ,the revenue officer has fleeced the merchant1 and commerce was annihilated2 the aga has plundered the husbandman1 and culture has degenerated4 ,the laborer1 deprived of his stock1 has been unable to sow2 the tax was augmented1 and he could not pay it2 the bastinado has been threatened1 and he has borrowed4 ,money1 from want of security1 being locked up from circulation1 interest was therefore enormous1 and the usury of the rich has aggravated the misery of the laborer4 ,when excessive droughts and accidents of seasons have blasted the harvest1 the government has admitted no delay1 no indulgence for the tax2 and distress bearing hard on the village1 a part of its inhabitants have taken refuge in the cities2 and their burdens falling on those who remained1 has completed their ruin1 and depopulated the country4 ,if driven to extremity by tyranny and outrage1 the villages have revolted1 the pacha rejoices4 ,he wages war on them1 assails their homes1 pillages their property1 carries off their stock2 and when the fields have become a desert1 he exclaims3 ,what care ,i8 ,i leave these fields to-morrow4 ,the earth wanting laborers1 the rain of heaven and overflowing of torrents have stagnated in marshes2 and their putrid exhalations in a warm climate1 have caused epidemics1 plagues1 and maladies of all sorts1 whence have flowed additional suffering1 penury1 and ruin4 ,oh6 who can enumerate all the calamities of tyrannical government8 ,sometimes the pachas declare war against each other1 and for their personal quarrels the provinces of the same state are laid waste4 ,sometimes1 fearing their masters1 they attempt independence1 and draw on their subjects the chastisement of their revolt4 ,sometimes dreading their subjects1 they invite and subsidize strangers1 and to insure their fidelity set no bounds to their depredations4 ,here they persecute the rich and despoil them under false pretences2 there they suborn false witnesses1 and impose penalties for suppositious offences2 everywhere they excite the hatred of parties1 encourage informations to obtain amercements1 extort property1 seize persons2 and when their short-sighted avarice has accumulated into one mass all the riches of a country1 the government1 by an execrable perfidy1 under pretence of avenging its oppressed people1 takes to itself all their spoils1 as if they were the culprits1 and uselessly sheds the blood of its agents for a crime of which it is the accomplice4 ,oh wretches1 monarchs or ministers1 who sport with the lives and fortunes of the people6 ,is it you who gave breath to man1 that you dare take it from him8 ,do you give growth to the plants of the earth1 that you may waste them8 ,do you toil to furrow the field8 ,do you endure the ardor of the sun1 and the torment of thirst1 to reap the harvest or thrash the grain8 ,do you1 like the shepherd1 watch through the dews of the night8 ,do you traverse deserts1 like the merchant8 ,ah6 on beholding the pride and cruelty of the powerful1 ,i have been transported with indignation1 and have said in my wrath1 will there never then arise on the earth men who will avenge the people and punish tyrants8 ,a handful of brigands devour the multitude1 and the multitude submits to be devoured6 ,oh6 degenerate people6 ,know you not your rights8 ,all authority is from you1 all power is yours4 ,unlawfully do kings command you on the authority of ,god and of their lance--,soldiers be still2 if ,god supports the ,sultan he needs not your aid2 if his sword suffices1 he needs not yours2 let us see what he can do alone4 ,the soldiers grounded their arms2 and behold these masters of the world1 feeble as the meanest of their subjects6 ,people6 know that those who govern are your chiefs1 not your masters2 your agents1 not your owners2 that they have no authority over you1 but by you1 and for you2 that your wealth is yours and they accountable for it2 that1 kings or subjects1 ,god has made all men equal1 and no mortal has the right to oppress his fellow-creatures4 ,but this nation and its chiefs have mistaken these holy truths4 ,they must abide then the consequences of their blindness4 ,the decree is past2 the day approaches when this colossus of power shall be crushed and crumbled under its own mass4 ,yes1 ,i swear it1 by the ruins of so many empires destroyed4 ,the empire of the ,crescent shall follow the fate of the despotism it has copied4 ,a nation of strangers shall drive the ,sultan from his metropolis4 ,the throne of ,orkhan shall be overturned4 ,the last shoot of his trunk shall be broken off2 and the horde of ,oguzians199 deprived of their chief1 shall disperse like that of the ,nagois4 ,in this dissolution1 the people of the empire1 loosened from the yoke which united them1 shall resume their ancient distinctions1 and a general anarchy shall follow1 as happened in the empire of the ,sophis29999 until there shall arise among the ,arabians1 ,armenians1 or ,greeks1 legislators who may compose new states4 99 ,before the ,turks took the name of their chief1 ,othman ,i41 they bore that of ,oguzians2 and it was under this appellation that they were driven out of ,tartary by ,gengis1 and came from the borders of ,giboun to settle themselves in ,anatolia4 9999 ,in ,persia1 after the death of ,thamas-,koulikan1 each province had its chief1 and for forty years these chiefs were in a constant state of war4 ,in this view the ,turks do not say without reason3 ,ten years of a tyrant are less destructive than a single night of anarchy4 ,oh6 if there were on earth men profound and bold6 what elements for grandeur and glory6 ,but the hour of destiny has already come2 the cry of war strikes my ear2 and the catastrophe begins4 ,in vain the ,sultan leads forth his armies2 his ignorant warriors are beaten and dispersed4 ,in vain he calls his subjects2 their hearts are ice4 ,is it not written8 say they1 what matters who is our master8 ,we cannot lose by the change4 ,in vain the true believers invoke heaven and the prophet4 ,the prophet is dead2 and heaven without pity answers3 ,cease to invoke me4 ,you have caused your own misfortunes2 cure them yourselves4 ,nature has established laws2 your part is to obey them4 ,observe1 reason1 and profit by experience4 ,it is the folly of man which ruins him2 let his wisdom save him4 ,the people are ignorant2 let them gain instruction4 ,their chiefs are wicked2 let them correct and amend2 for such is ,nature's decree4 ,since the evils of society spring from cupidity and ignorance1 men will never cease to be persecuted1 till they become enlightened and wise2 till they practise justice1 founded on a knowledge of their relations and of the laws of their organization499 99 ,a singular moral phenomenon made its appearance in ,europe in the year #aghh4 ,a great nation1 jealous of its liberty1 contracted a fondness for a nation the enemy of liberty2 a nation friendly to the arts1 for a nation that detests them2 a mild and tolerant nation1 for a persecuting and fanatic one2 a social and gay nation1 for a nation whose characteristics are gloom and misanthropy2 in a word1 the ,french were smitten with a passion for the ,turks3 they were desirous of engaging in a war for them1 and that at a time when revolution in their own country was just at its commencement4 ,a man1 who perceived the true nature of the situation1 wrote a book to dissuade them from the war3 it was immediately pretended that he was paid by the government1 which in reality wished the war1 and which was upon the point of shutting him up in a state prison4 ,another man wrote to recommend the war3 he was applauded1 and his word taken for the science1 the politeness1 and importance of the ,turks4 ,it is true that he believed in his own thesis1 for he has found among them people who cast a nativity1 and alchymists who ruined his fortune2 as he found ,martinists at ,paris1 who enabled him to sup with ,sesostris1 and ,magnetizers who concluded with destroying his existence4 ,notwithstanding this1 the ,turks were beaten by the ,russians1 and the man who then predicted the fall of their empire1 persists in the prediction4 ,the result of this fall will be a complete change of the political system1 as far as it relates to the coast of the ,mediterranean4 ,if1 however1 the ,french become important in proportion as they become free1 and if they make use of the advantage they will obtain1 their progress may easily prove of the most honorable sort2 inasmuch as1 by the wise decrees of fate1 the true interest of mankind evermore accords with their true morality4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,will ,,the ,,human ,,race ,,improve8 ,at these words1 oppressed with the painful sentiment with which their severity overwhelmed me3 ,woe to the nations6 cried ,i1 melting in tears2 woe to myself6 ,ah6 now it is that ,i despair of the happiness of man6 ,since his miseries proceed from his heart2 since the remedy is in his own power1 woe for ever to his existence6 ,who1 indeed will ever be able to restrain the lust of wealth in the strong and powerful8 ,who can enlighten the ignorance of the weak8 ,who can teach the multitude to know their rights1 and force their chiefs to perform their duties8 ,thus the race of man is always doomed to suffer6 ,thus the individual will not cease to oppress the individual1 a nation to attack a nation2 and days of prosperity1 of glory1 for these regions1 shall never return4 ,alas6 conquerors will come2 they will drive out the oppressors1 and fix themselves in their place2 but1 inheriting their power1 they will inherit their rapacity2 and the earth will have changed tyrants1 without changing the tyranny4 ,then1 turning to the ,genius1 ,i exclaimed3 ,o ,genius1 despair hath settled on my soul4 ,knowing the nature of man1 the perversity of those who govern1 and the debasement of the governed--this knowledge hath disgusted me with life2 and since there is no choice but to be the accomplice or the victim of oppression1 what remains to the man of virtue but to mingle his ashes with those of the tomb8 ,the ,genius then gave me a look of severity1 mingled with compassion2 and after a few moments of silence1 he replied3 ,virtue1 then1 consists in dying6 ,the wicked man is indefatigable in consummating his crime1 and the just is discouraged from doing good at the first obstacle he encounters6 ,but such is the human heart4 ,a little success intoxicates man with confidence2 a reverse overturns and confounds him4 ,always given up to the sensation of the moment1 he seldom judges things from their nature1 but from the impulse of his passion4 ,mortal1 who despairest of the human race1 on what profound combination of facts hast thou established thy conclusion8 ,hast thou scrutinized the organization of sentient beings1 to determine with precision whether the instinctive force which moves them on to happiness is essentially weaker than that which repels them from it8 or1 embracing in one glance the history of the species1 and judging the future by the past1 hast thou shown that all improvement is impossible8 ,say6 hath human society1 since its origin1 made no progress toward knowledge and a better state8 ,are men still in their forests1 destitute of everything1 ignorant1 stupid and ferocious8 ,are all the nations still in that age when nothing was seen upon the globe but brutal robbers and brutal slaves8 ,if at any time1 in any place1 individuals have ameliorated1 why shall not the whole mass ameliorate8 ,if partial societies have made improvements1 what shall hinder the improvement of society in general8 ,and if the first obstacles are overcome1 why should the others be insurmountable8 ,art thou disposed to think that the human race degenerates8 ,guard against the illusion and paradoxes of the misanthrope4 ,man1 discontented with the present1 imagines for the past a perfection which never existed1 and which only serves to cover his chagrin4 ,he praises the dead out of hatred to the living1 and beats the children with the bones of their ancestors4 ,to prove this pretended retrograde progress from perfection we must contradict the testimony of reason and of fact2 and if the facts of history are in any measure uncertain1 we must contradict the living fact of the organization of man2 we must prove that he is born with the enlightened use of his senses2 that1 without experience1 he can distinguish aliment from poison2 that the child is wiser than the old man2 that the blind walks with more safety than the clear-sighted2 that the civilized man is more miserable than the savage2 and1 indeed1 that there is no ascending scale in experience and instruction4 ,believe1 young man1 the testimony of monuments1 and the voice of the tombs4 ,some countries have doubtless fallen from what they were at certain epochs2 but if we weigh the wisdom and happiness of their inhabitants1 even in those times1 we shall find more of splendor than of reality in their glory2 we shall find1 in the most celebrated of ancient states1 enormous vices and cruel abuses1 the true causes of their decay2 we shall find in general that the principles of government were atrocious2 that insolent robberies1 barbarous wars and implacable hatreds were raging from nation to nation299 that natural right was unknown2 that morality was perverted by senseless fanaticism and deplorable superstition2 that a dream1 a vision1 an oracle1 were constantly the causes of vast commotions4 ,perhaps the nations are not yet entirely cured of all these evils2 but their intensity at least is diminished1 and the experience of the past has not been wholly lost4 ,for the last three centuries1 especially1 knowledge has increased and been extended2 civilization1 favored by happy circumstances1 has made a sensible progress2 inconveniences and abuses have even turned to its advantage2 for if states have been too much extended by conquest1 the people1 by uniting under the same yoke1 have lost the spirit of estrangement and division which made them all enemies one to the other4 ,if the powers of government have been more concentrated1 there has been more system and harmony in their exercise4 ,if wars have become more extensive in the mass1 they are less bloody in detail4 ,if men have gone to battle with less personality1 less energy1 their struggles have been less sanguinary and less ferocious2 they have been less free1 but less turbulent2 more effeminate1 but more pacific4 ,despotism itself has rendered them some service2 for if governments have been more absolute1 they have been more quiet and less tempestuous4 ,if thrones have become a property and hereditary1 they have excited less dissensions1 and the people have suffered fewer convulsions2 finally1 if the despots1 jealous and mysterious1 have interdicted all knowledge of their administration1 all concurrence in the management of public affairs1 the passions of men1 drawn aside from politics1 have fixed upon the arts1 and the sciences of nature2 and the sphere of ideas in every direction has been enlarged2 man1 devoted to abstract studies1 has better understood his place in the system of nature1 and his relations in society2 principles have been better discussed1 final causes better explained1 knowledge more extended1 individuals better instructed1 manners more social1 and life more happy4 ,the species at large1 especially in certain countries1 has gained considerably2 and this amelioration cannot but increase in future1 because its two principal obstacles1 those even which1 till then1 had rendered it slow and sometimes retrograde1--the difficulty of transmitting ideas and of communicating them rapidly1--have been at last removed4 99 ,read the history of the wars of ,rome and ,carthage1 of ,sparta and ,messina1 of ,athens and ,syracuse1 of the ,hebrews and the ,phoenicians3 yet these are the nations of which antiquity boasts as being most polished6 ,indeed1 among the ancients1 each canton1 each city1 being isolated from all others by the difference of its language1 the consequence was favorable to ignorance and anarchy4 ,there was no communication of ideas1 no participation of discoveries1 no harmony of interests or of wills1 no unity of action or design2 besides1 the only means of transmitting and of propagating ideas being that of speech1 fugitive and limited1 and that of writing1 tedious of execution1 expensive and scarce1 the consequence was a hindrance of present instruction1 loss of experience from one generation to another1 instability1 retrogression of knowledge1 and a perpetuity of confusion and childhood4 ,but in the modern world1 especially in ,europe1 great nations having allied themselves in language1 and established vast communities of opinions1 the minds of men are assimilated1 and their affections extended2 there is a sympathy of opinion and a unity of action2 then that gift of heavenly ,genius1 the holy art of printing1 having furnished the means of communicating in an instant the same idea to millions of men1 and of fixing it in a durable manner1 beyond the power of tyrants to arrest or annihilate1 there arose a mass of progressive instruction1 an expanding atmosphere of science1 which assures to future ages a solid amelioration4 ,this amelioration is a necessary effect of the laws of nature2 for1 by the law of sensibility1 man as invincibly tends to render himself happy as the flame to mount1 the stone to descend1 or the water to find its level4 ,his obstacle is his ignorance1 which misleads him in the means1 and deceives him in causes and effects4 ,he will enlighten himself by experience2 he will become right by dint of errors2 he will grow wise and good because it is his interest so to be4 ,ideas being communicated through the nation1 whole classes will gain instruction2 science will become a vulgar possession1 and all men will know what are the principles of individual happiness and of public prosperity4 ,they will know the relations they bear to society1 their duties and their rights2 they will learn to guard against the illusions of the lust of gain2 they will perceive that the science of morals is a physical science1 composed1 indeed1 of elements complicated in their operation1 but simple and invariable in their nature1 since they are only the elements of the organization of man4 ,they will see the propriety of being moderate and just1 because in that is found the advantage and security of each2 they will perceive that the wish to enjoy at the expense of another is a false calculation of ignorance1 because it gives rise to reprisal1 hatred1 and vengeance1 and that dishonesty is the never-failing offspring of folly4 ,individuals will feel that private happiness is allied to public good3 ,the weak1 that instead of dividing their interests1 they ought to unite them1 because equality constitutes their force3 ,the rich1 that the measure of enjoyment is bounded by the constitution of the organs1 and that lassitude follows satiety3 ,the poor1 that the employment of time1 and the peace of the heart1 compose the highest happiness of man4 ,and public opinion1 reaching kings on their thrones1 will force them to confine themselves to the limits of regular authority4 ,even chance itself1 serving the cause of nations1 will sometimes give them feeble chiefs1 who1 through weakness1 will suffer them to become free2 and sometimes enlightened chiefs1 who1 from a principle of virtue1 will free them4 ,and when nations1 free and enlightened1 shall become like great individuals1 the whole species will have the same facilities as particular portions now have2 the communication of knowledge will extend from one to another1 and thus reach the whole4 ,by the law of imitation1 the example of one people will be followed by others1 who will adopt its spirit and its laws4 ,even despots1 perceiving that they can no longer maintain their authority without justice and beneficence1 will soften their sway from necessity1 from rivalship2 and civilization will become universal4 ,there will be established among the several nations an equilibrium of force1 which1 restraining them all within the bounds of the respect due to their reciprocal rights1 shall put an end to the barbarous practice of war1 and submit their disputes to civil arbitration499 ,the human race will become one great society1 one individual family1 governed by the same spirit1 by common laws1 and enjoying all the happiness of which their nature is susceptible4 99 ,what is a people8 ,an individual of the society at large4 ,what a war8 ,a duel between two individual people4 ,in what manner ought a society to act when two of its members fight8 ,interfere and reconcile1 or repress them4 ,in the days of the ,abbe de ,saint ,pierre this was treated as a dream1 but happily for the human race it begins to be realized4 ,doubtless this great work will be long accomplishing2 because the same movement must be given to an immense body2 the same leaven must assimilate an enormous mass of heterogeneous parts4 ,but this movement shall be effected2 its presages are already to be seen4 ,already the great society1 assuming in its course the same characters as partial societies have done1 is evidently tending to a like result4 ,at first disconnected in all its parts1 it saw its members for a long time without cohesion2 and this general solitude of nations formed its first age of anarchy and childhood2 divided afterwards by chance into irregular sections1 called states and kingdoms1 it has experienced the fatal effects of an extreme inequality of wealth and rank2 and the aristocracy of great empires has formed its second age2 then1 these lordly states disputing for preeminence1 have exhibited the period of the shock of factions4 ,at present the contending parties1 wearied with discord1 feel the want of laws1 and sigh for the age of order and of peace4 ,let but a virtuous chief arise6 a just1 a powerful people appear6 and the earth will raise them to supreme power4 ,the world is waiting for a legislative people2 it wishes and demands it2 and my heart attends the cry4 ,then turning towards the west3 ,yes1 continued he1 a hollow sound already strikes my ear2 a cry of liberty1 proceeding from far distant shores1 resounds on the ancient continent4 ,at this cry1 a secret murmur against oppression is raised in a powerful nation2 a salutary inquietude alarms her respecting her situation2 she enquires what she is1 and what she ought to be2 while1 surprised at her own weakness1 she interrogates her rights1 her resources1 and what has been the conduct of her chiefs4 ,yet another day--a little more reflection--and an immense agitation will begin2 a new-born age will open6 an age of astonishment to vulgar minds1 of terror to tyrants1 of freedom to a great nation1 and of hope to the human race6 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,great ,,obstacle ,,to ,,improvement4 ,the ,genius ceased4 ,but preoccupied with melancholy thoughts1 my mind resisted persuasion2 fearing1 however1 to shock him by my resistance1 ,i remained silent4 ,after a while1 turning to me with a look which pierced my soul1 he said3 ,thou art silent1 and thy heart is agitated with thoughts which it dares not utter4 ,at last1 troubled and terrified1 ,i replied3 ,o ,genius1 pardon my weakness4 ,doubtless thy mouth can utter nothing but truth2 but thy celestial intelligence can seize its rays1 where my gross faculties can discern nothing but clouds4 ,i confess it2 conviction has not penetrated my soul1 and ,i feared that my doubts might offend thee4 ,and what is doubt1 replied he1 that it should be a crime8 ,can man feel otherwise than as he is affected8 ,if a truth be palpable1 and of importance in practice1 let us pity him that misconceives it4 ,his punishment will arise from his blindness4 ,if it be uncertain or equivocal1 how is he to find in it what it has not8 ,to believe without evidence or proof1 is an act of ignorance and folly4 ,the credulous man loses himself in a labyrinth of contradictions2 the man of sense examines and discusses1 that he may be consistent in his opinions4 ,the honest man will bear contradiction2 because it gives rise to evidence4 ,violence is the argument of falsehood2 and to impose a creed by authority is the act and indication of a tyrant4 ,o ,genius1 said ,i1 encouraged by these words1 since my reason is free1 ,i strive in vain to entertain the flattering hope with which you endeavor to console me4 ,the sensible and virtuous soul is easily caught with dreams of happiness2 but a cruel reality constantly awakens it to suffering and wretchedness4 ,the more ,i meditate on the nature of man1 the more ,i examine the present state of societies1 the less possible it appears to realize a world of wisdom and felicity4 ,i cast my eye over the whole of our hemisphere2 ,i perceive in no place the germ1 nor do ,i foresee the instinctive energy of a happy revolution4 ,all ,asia lies buried in profound darkness4 ,the ,chinese1 governed by an insolent despotism199 by strokes of the bamboo and the cast of lots1 restrained by an immutable code of gestures1 and by the radical vices of an ill-constructed language19999 appear to be in their abortive civilization nothing but a race of automatons4 ,the ,indian1 borne down by prejudices1 and enchained in the sacred fetters of his castes1 vegetates in an incurable apathy4 ,the ,tartar1 wandering or fixed1 always ignorant and ferocious1 lives in the savageness of his ancestors4 ,the ,arab1 endowed with a happy genius1 loses its force and the fruits of his virtue in the anarchy of his tribes and the jealousy of his families4 ,the ,african1 degraded from the rank of man1 seems irrevocably doomed to servitude4 ,in the ,north ,i see nothing but vilified serfs1 herds of men with which landlords stock their estates4 ,ignorance1 tyranny1 and wretchedness have everywhere stupified the nations2 and vicious habits1 depraving the natural senses1 have destroyed the very instinct of happiness and of truth4 99 ,the emperor of ,china calls himself the son of heaven2 that is1 of ,god3 for in the opinion of the ,chinese1 the material of heaven1 the arbiter of fatality1 is the ,deity himself4 ,the emperor only shows himself once in ten months1 lest the people1 accustomed to see him1 might lose their respect2 for he holds it as a maxim that power can only be supported by force1 that the people have no idea of justice1 and are not to be governed but by coercion4 ,narrative of two ,mahometan travellers in #hea and #hgg1 translated by the ,abbe ,renaudot in #agah4 ,notwithstanding what is asserted by the missionaries1 this situation has undergone no change4 ,the bamboo still reigns in ,china1 and the son of heaven bastinades1 for the most trivial fault1 the ,mandarin1 who in his turn bastinades the people4 ,the ,jesuits may tell us that this is the best governed country in the world1 and its inhabitants the happiest of men3 but a single letter from ,amyot has convinced me that ,china is a truly ,turkish government1 and the account of ,sonnerat confirms it4 ,see ,vol4 ,,ii4 of ,voyage aux ,indes1 in #dto4 9999 ,as long as the ,chinese shall in writing make use of their present characters1 they can be expected to make no progress in civilization4 ,the necessary introductory step must be the giving them an alphabet like our own1 or of substituting in the room of their language that of the ,tartars4 ,the improvement made in the latter by ,m4 de ,lengles1 is calculated to introduce this change4 ,see the ,mantchou alphabet1 the production of a mind truly learned in the formation of language4 ,in some parts of ,europe1 indeed1 reason has begun to dawn1 but even there1 do nations partake of the knowledge of individuals8 ,are the talents and genius of governors turned to the benefit of the people8 ,and those nations which call themselves polished1 are they not the same that for the last three centuries have filled the earth with their injustice8 ,are they not those who1 under the pretext of commerce1 have desolated ,india1 depopulated a new continent1 and1 at present1 subject ,africa to the most barbarous slavery8 ,can liberty be born from the bosom of despots8 and shall justice be rendered by the hands of piracy and avarice8 ,o ,genius1 ,i have seen the civilized countries2 and the mockery of their wisdom has vanished before my sight4 ,i saw wealth accumulated in the hands of a few1 and the multitude poor and destitute4 ,i have seen all rights1 all powers concentered in certain classes1 and the mass of the people passive and dependent4 ,i have seen families of princes1 but no families of the nation4 ,i have seen government interests1 but no public interests or spirit4 ,i have seen that all the science of government was to oppress prudently2 and the refined servitude of polished nations appeared to me only the more irremediable4 ,one obstacle above all has profoundly struck my mind4 ,on looking over the world1 ,i have seen it divided into twenty different systems of religion4 ,every nation has received1 or formed1 opposite opinions2 and every one ascribing to itself the exclusive possession of the truth1 must believe the other to be wrong4 ,now if1 as must be the fact in this discordance of opinion1 the greater part are in error1 and are honest in it1 then it follows that our mind embraces falsehood as it does truth2 and if so1 how is it to be enlightened8 ,when prejudice has once seized the mind1 how is it to be dissipated8 ,how shall we remove the bandage from our eyes1 when the first article in every creed1 the first dogma in all religion1 is the absolute proscription of doubt1 the interdiction of examination1 and the rejection of our own judgment8 ,how is truth to make herself known8--,if she resorts to arguments and proofs1 the timid man stifles the voice of his own conscience2 if she invokes the authority of celestial powers1 he opposes it with another authority of the same origin1 with which he is preoccupied2 and he treats all innovation as blasphemy4 ,thus man in his blindness1 has riveted his own chains1 and surrendered himself forever1 without defence1 to the sport of his ignorance and his passions4 ,to dissolve such fatal chains1 a miraculous concurrence of happy events would be necessary4 ,a whole nation1 cured of the delirium of superstition1 must be inaccessible to the impulse of fanaticism4 ,freed from the yoke of false doctrine1 a whole people must impose upon itself that of true morality and reason4 ,this people should be courageous and prudent1 wise and docile4 ,each individual1 knowing his rights1 should not transgress them4 ,the poor should know how to resist seduction1 and the rich the allurements of avarice4 ,there should be found leaders disinterested and just1 and their tyrants should be seized with a spirit of madness and folly4 ,this people1 recovering its rights1 should feel its inability to exercise them in person1 and should name its representatives4 ,creator of its magistrates1 it should know at once to respect them and to judge them4 ,in the sudden reform of a whole nation1 accustomed to live by abuses1 each individual displaced should bear with patience his privations1 and submit to a change of habits4 ,this nation should have the courage to conquer its liberty2 the power to defend it1 the wisdom to establish it1 and the generosity to extend it to others4 ,and can we ever expect the union of so many circumstances8 ,but suppose that chance in its infinite combinations should produce them1 shall ,i see those fortunate days4 ,will not my ashes long ere then be mouldering in the tomb8 ,here1 sunk in sorrow1 my oppressed heart no longer found utterance4 ,the ,genius answered not1 but ,i heard him whisper to himself3 ,let us revive the hope of this man2 for if he who loves his fellow creatures be suffered to despair1 what will become of nations8 ,the past is perhaps too discouraging2 ,i must anticipate futurity1 and disclose to the eye of virtue the astonishing age that is ready to begin2 that1 on viewing the object she desires1 she may be animated with new ardor1 and redouble her efforts to attain it4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,the ,,new ,,age4 ,scarcely had he finished these words1 when a great tumult arose in the west2 and turning to that quarter1 ,i perceived1 at the extremity of the ,mediterranean1 in one of the nations of ,europe1 a prodigious movement--such as when a violent sedition arises in a vast city--a numberless people1 rushing in all directions1 pour through the streets and fluctuate like waves in the public places4 ,my ear1 struck with the cries which resounded to the heavens1 distinguished these words3 ,what is this new prodigy8 ,what cruel and mysterious scourge is this8 ,we are a numerous people and we want hands6 ,we have an excellent soil1 and we are in want of subsistence8 ,we are active and laborious1 and we live in indigence6 ,we pay enormous tributes1 and we are told they are not sufficient6 ,we are at peace without1 and our persons and property are not safe within4 ,who1 then1 is the secret enemy that devours us8 ,some voices from the midst of the multitude replied3 ,raise a discriminating standard2 and let all those who maintain and nourish mankind by useful labors gather round it2 and you will discover the enemy that preys upon you4 ,the standard being raised1 this nation divided itself at once into two bodies of unequal magnitude and contrasted appearance4 ,the one1 innumerable1 and almost total1 exhibited in the poverty of its clothing1 in its emaciated appearance and sun-burnt faces1 the marks of misery and labor2 the other1 a little group1 an insignificant faction1 presented in its rich attire embroidered with gold and silver1 and in its sleek and ruddy faces1 the signs of leisure and abundance4 ,considering these men more attentively1 ,i found that the great body was composed of farmers1 artificers1 merchants1 all professions useful to society2 and that the little group was made up of priests of every order1 of financiers1 of nobles1 of men in livery1 of commanders of armies2 in a word1 of the civil1 military1 and religious agents of government4 ,these two bodies being assembled face to face1 and regarding each other with astonishment1 ,i saw indignation and rage arising in one side1 and a sort of panic in the other4 ,and the large body said to the little one3 ,why are you separated from us8 ,are you not of our number8 ,no1 replied the group2 you are the people2 we are a privileged class1 who have our laws1 customs1 and rights1 peculiar to ourselves4 ,,people4--,and what labor do you perform in our society8 ,,privileged ,,class4--,none2 we are not made to work4 ,,people4--,how1 then1 have you acquired these riches8 ,,privileged ,,class4--,by taking the pains to govern you4 ,,people4--,what6 is this what you call governing8 ,we toil and you enjoy6 we produce and you dissipate6 ,wealth proceeds from us1 and you absorb it4 ,privileged men6 class who are not the people2 form a nation apart1 and govern yourselves499 99 ,this dialogue between the people and the indolent classes1 is applicable to every society2 it contains the seeds of all the political vices and disorders that prevail1 and which may thus be defined3 ,men who do nothing1 and who devour the substance of others2 and men who arrogate to themselves particular rights and exclusive privileges of wealth and indolence4 ,compare the ,mamlouks of ,egypt1 the nobility of ,europe1 the ,nairs of ,india1 the ,emirs of ,arabia1 the patricians of ,rome1 the ,christian clergy1 the ,imans1 the ,bramins1 the ,bonzes1 the ,lamas1 etc41 etc41 and you will find in all the same characteristic feature3--,men living in idleness at the expense of those who labor4 ,then the little group1 deliberating on this new state of things1 some of the most honorable among them said3 ,we must join the people and partake of their labors and burdens1 for they are men like us1 and our riches come from them2 but others arrogantly exclaimed3 ,it would be a shame1 an infamy1 for us to mingle with the crowd2 they are born to serve us4 ,are we not men of another race--the noble and pure descendants of the conquerors of this empire8 ,this multitude must be reminded of our rights and its own origin4 ,,the ,,nobles4--,people6 know you not that our ancestors conquered this land1 and that your race was spared only on condition of serving us8 ,this is our social compact6 this the government constituted by custom and prescribed by time4 ,,people4--,o conquerors1 pure of blood6 show us your genealogies6 we shall then see if what in an individual is robbery and plunder1 can be virtuous in a nation4 ,and forthwith1 voices were heard in every quarter calling out the nobles by their names2 and relating their origin and parentage1 they told how the grandfather1 great-grandfather1 or even father1 born traders and mechanics1 after acquiring wealth in every way1 had purchased their nobility for money3 so that but very few families were really of the original stock4 ,see1 said these voices1 see these purse-proud commoners who deny their parents6 see these plebian recruits who look upon themselves as illustrious veterans6 and peals of laughter were heard4 ,and the civil governors said3 these people are mild1 and naturally servile2 speak to them of the king and of the law1 and they will return to their duty4 ,people6 the king wills1 the sovereign ordains6 ,,people4--,the king can will nothing but the good of the people2 the sovereign can only ordain according to law4 ,,civil ,,governors4--,the law commands you to be submissive4 ,,people4--,the law is the general will2 and we will a new order of things4 ,,civil ,,governors4--,you are then a rebel people4 ,,people4--,a nation cannot revolt2 tyrants only are rebels4 ,,civil ,,governors4--,the king is on our side2 he commands you to submit4 ,,people4--,kings are inseparable from their nations4 ,our king cannot be with you2 you possess only his phantom4 ,and the military governors came forward4 ,the people are timorous1 said they2 we must threaten them2 they will submit only to force4 ,soldiers1 chastise this insolent multitude4 ,,people4--,soldiers1 you are of our blood6 ,will you strike your brothers1 your relatives8 ,if the people perish who will nourish the army8 ,and the soldiers1 grounding their arms1 said to the chiefs3 ,we are likewise the people2 show us the enemy6 ,then the ecclesiastical governors said3 ,there is but one resource left4 ,the people are superstitious2 we must frighten them with the names of ,god and religion4 ,our dear brethren6 our children6 ,god has ordained us to govern you4 ,,people4--,show us your credentials from ,god6 ,,priests4--,you must have faith2 reason leads astray4 ,,people4--,do you govern without reason8 ,,priests4--,god commands peace6 ,religion prescribes obedience4 ,,people4--,peace supposes justice4 ,obedience implies conviction of a duty4 ,,priests4--,suffering is the business of this world4 ,,people4--,show us the example4 ,,priests4--,would you live without gods or kings8 ,,people4--,we would live without oppressors4 ,,priests4--,you must have mediators1 intercessors4 ,,people4--,mediators with ,god and with the king6 courtiers and priests1 your services are too expensive3 we will henceforth manage our own affairs4 ,and the little group said3 ,we are lost6 the multitude are enlightened4 ,and the people answered3 ,you are safe2 since we are enlightened we will commit no violence2 we only claim our rights4 ,we feel resentments1 but we will forget them4 ,we were slaves1 we might command2 but we only wish to be free1 and liberty is but justice4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,a ,,free ,,and ,,legislative ,,people4 ,considering that all public power was now suspended1 and that the habitual restraint of the people had suddenly ceased1 ,i shuddered with the apprehension that they would fall into the dissolution of anarchy4 ,but1 taking their affairs into immediate deliberation1 they said3 ,it is not enough that we have freed ourselves from tyrants and parasites2 we must prevent their return4 ,we are men1 and experience has abundantly taught us that every man is fond of power1 and wishes to enjoy it at the expense of others4 ,it is necessary1 then1 to guard against a propensity which is the source of discord2 we must establish certain rules of duty and of right4 ,but the knowledge of our rights1 and the estimation of our duties1 are so abstract and difficult as to require all the time and all the faculties of a man4 ,occupied in our own affairs1 we have not leisure for these studies2 nor can we exercise these functions in our own persons4 ,let us choose1 then1 among ourselves1 such persons as are capable of this employment4 ,to them we will delegate our powers to institute our government and laws4 ,they shall be the representatives of our wills and of our interests4 ,and in order to attain the fairest representation possible of our wills and our interests1 let it be numerous1 and composed of men resembling ourselves4 ,having made the election of a numerous body of delegates1 the people thus addressed them3 ,we have hitherto lived in a society formed by chance1 without fixed agreements1 without free conventions1 without a stipulation of rights1 without reciprocal engagements1--and a multitude of disorders and evils have arisen from this precarious state4 ,we are now determined on forming a regular compact2 and we have chosen you to adjust the articles4 ,examine1 then1 with care what ought to be its basis and its conditions2 consider what is the end and the principles of every association2 recognize the rights which every member brings1 the powers which he delegates1 and those which he reserves to himself4 ,point out to us the rules of conduct--the basis of just and equitable laws4 ,prepare for us a new system of government2 for we realize that the one which has hitherto guided us is corrupt4 ,our fathers have wandered in the paths of ignorance1 and habit has taught us to follow in their footsteps4 ,everything has been done by fraud1 violence1 and delusion2 and the true laws of morality and reason are still obscure4 ,clear up1 then1 their chaos2 trace out their connection2 publish their code1 and we will adopt it4 ,and the people raised a large throne1 in the form of a pyramid1 and seating on it the men they had chosen1 said to them3 ,we raise you to-day above us1 that you may better discover the whole of our relations1 and be above the reach of our passions4 ,but remember that you are our fellow-citizens2 that the power we confer on you is our own2 that we deposit it with you1 but not as a property or a heritage2 that you must be the first to obey the laws you make2 that to-morrow you redescend among us1 and that you will have acquired no other right but that of our esteem and gratitude4 ,and consider what a tribute of glory the world1 which reveres so many apostles of error1 will bestow on the first assembly of rational men1 who shall have declared the unchangeable principles of justice1 and consecrated1 in the face of tyrants1 the rights of nations4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,universal ,,basis ,,of ,,all ,,right ,,and ,,all ,,law4 ,the men chosen by the people to investigate the true principles of morals and of reason then proceeded in the sacred object of their mission2 and1 after a long examination1 having discovered a fundamental and universal principle1 a legislator arose and said to the people3 ,here is the primordial basis1 the physical origin of all justice and of all right4 ,whatever be the active power1 the moving cause1 that governs the universe1 since it has given to all men the same organs1 the same sensations1 and the same wants1 it has thereby declared that it has given to all the same right to the use of its treasures1 and that all men are equal in the order of nature4 ,and1 since this power has given to each man the necessary means of preserving his own existence1 it is evident that it has constituted them all independent one of another2 that it has created them free2 that no one is subject to another2 that each one is absolute proprietor of his own person4 ,equality and liberty are1 therefore1 two essential attributes of man1 two laws of the ,divinity1 constitutional and unchangeable1 like the physical properties of matter4 ,now1 every individual being absolute master of his own person1 it follows that a full and free consent is a condition indispensable to all contracts and all engagements4 ,again1 since each individual is equal to another1 it follows that the balance of what is received and of what is given1 should be strictly in equilibrium2 so that the idea of justice1 of equity1 necessarily imports that of equality499 99 ,the etymology of the words themselves trace out to us this connection3 equilibrium1 equalitas1 equitas1 are all of one family1 and the physical idea of equality1 in the scales of a balance1 is the source and type of all the rest4 ,equality and liberty are therefore the physical and unalterable basis of every union of men in society1 and of course the necessary and generating principle of every law and of every system of regular government499 99 ,in the ,declaration of ,rights1 there is an inversion of ideas in the first article1 liberty being placed before equality1 from which it in reality springs4 ,this defect is not to be wondered at2 the science of the rights of man is a new science3 it was invented yesterday by the ,americans1 to-day the ,french are perfecting it1 but there yet remains a great deal to be done4 ,in the ideas that constitute it there is a genealogical order which1 from us basis1 physical equality1 to the minutest and most remote branches of government1 ought to proceed in an uninterrupted series of inferences4 ,a disregard of this basis has introduced in your nation1 and in every other1 those disorders which have finally roused you4 ,it is by returning to this rule that you may reform them1 and reorganize a happy order of society4 ,but observe1 this reorganization will occasion a violent shock in your habits1 your fortunes1 and your prejudices4 ,vicious contracts and abusive claims must be dissolved1 unjust distinctions and ill founded property renounced2 you must indeed recur for a moment to a state of nature4 ,consider whether you can consent to so many sacrifices4 ,then1 reflecting on the cupidity inherent in the heart of man1 ,i thought that this people would renounce all ideas of amelioration4 ,but1 in a moment1 a great number of men1 advancing toward the pyramid1 made a solemn abjuration of all their distinctions and all their riches4 ,establish for us1 said they1 the laws of equality and liberty2 we will possess nothing in future but on the title of justice4 ,equality1 liberty1 justice1--these shall be our code1 and shall be written on our standards4 ,and the people immediately raised a great standard1 inscribed with these three words1 in three different colors4 ,they displayed it over the pyramid of the legislators1 and for the first time the flag of universal justice floated on the face of the earth4 ,and the people raised before the pyramid a new altar1 on which they placed a golden balance1 a sword1 and a book with this inscription3 ,,to ,,equal ,,law1 ,,which ,,judges ,,and ,,protects4 ,and having surrounded the pyramid and the altar with a vast amphitheatre1 all the people took their seats to hear the publication of the law4 ,and millions of men1 raising at once their hands to heaven1 took the solemn oath to live equal1 free1 and just2 to respect their reciprocal properties and rights2 to obey the law and its regularly chosen representatives4 ,a spectacle so impressive and sublime1 so replete with generous emotions1 moved me to tears2 and addressing myself to the ,genius1 ,i exclaimed3 ,let me now live1 for in future ,i have everything to hope4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,consternation ,,and ,,conspiracy ,,of ,,tyrants4 ,but scarcely had the solemn voice of liberty and equality resounded through the earth1 when a movement of confusion1 of astonishment1 arose in different nations4 ,on the one hand1 the people1 warmed with desire1 but wavering between hope and fear1 between the sentiment of right and the habit of obedience1 began to be in motion4 ,the kings1 on the other hand1 suddenly awakened from the sleep of indolence and despotism1 were alarmed for the safety of their thrones2 while1 on all sides1 those clans of civil and religious tyrants1 who deceive kings and oppress the people1 were seized with rage and consternation2 and1 concerting their perfidious plans1 they said3 ,woe to us1 if this fatal cry of liberty comes to the ears of the multitude6 ,woe to us1 if this pernicious spirit of justice be propagated6 ,and1 pointing to the floating banner1 they continued3 ,consider what a swarm of evils are included in these three words6 ,if all men are equal1 where is our exclusive right to honors and to power8 ,if all men are to be free1 what becomes of our slaves1 our vassals1 our property8 ,if all are equal in the civil state1 where is our prerogative of birth1 of inheritance8 and what becomes of nobility8 ,if they are all equal in the sight of ,god1 what need of mediators8--where is the priesthood8 ,let us hasten1 then1 to destroy a germ so prolific1 and so contagious4 ,we must employ all our cunning against this innovation4 ,we must frighten the kings1 that they may join us in the cause4 ,we must divide the people by national jealousies1 and occupy them with commotions1 wars1 and conquests4 ,they must be alarmed at the power of this free nation4 ,let us form a league against the common enemy1 demolish that sacrilegious standard1 overturn that throne of rebellion1 and stifle in its birth the flame of revolution4 ,and1 indeed1 the civil and religious tyrants of nations formed a general combination2 and1 multiplying their followers by force and seduction1 they marched in hostile array against the free nation2 and1 surrounding the altar and the pyramid of natural law1 they demanded with loud cries3 ,what is this new and heretical doctrine8 what this impious altar1 this sacrilegious worship8 ,true believers and loyal subjects6 can you suppose that truth has been first discovered to-day1 and that hitherto you have been walking in error8 that those men1 more fortunate than you1 have the sole privilege of wisdom8 ,and you1 rebel and misguided nation1 perceive you not that your new leaders are misleading you8 that they destroy the principles of your faith1 and overturn the religion of your ancestors8 ,ah1 tremble6 lest the wrath of heaven should kindle against you2 and hasten by speedy repentance to retrieve your error4 ,but1 inaccessible to seduction as well as to fear1 the free nation kept silence1 and rising universally in arms1 assumed an imposing attitude4 ,and the legislator said to the chiefs of nations3 ,if while we walked with a bandage on our eyes the light guided our steps1 why1 since we are no longer blindfold1 should it fly from our search8 ,if guides1 who teach mankind to see for themselves1 mislead and deceive them1 what can be expected from those who profess to keep them in darkness8 ,but hark1 ye leaders of nations6 ,if you possess the truth1 show it to us1 and we will receive it with gratitude1 for we seek it with ardor1 and have a great interest in finding it4 ,we are men1 and liable to be deceived2 but you are also men1 and equally fallible4 ,aid us then in this labyrinth1 where the human race has wandered for so many ages2 help us to dissipate the illusion of so many prejudices and vicious habits4 ,amid the shock of so many opinions which dispute for our acceptance1 assist us in discovering the proper and distinctive character of truth4 ,let us this day terminate the long combat with error4 ,let us establish between it and truth a solemn contest1 to which we will invite the opinions of men of all nations4 ,let us convoke a general assembly of the nations4 ,let them be judges in their own cause2 and in the debate of all systems1 let no champion1 no argument1 be wanting1 either on the side of prejudice or of reason2 and let the sentiment of a general and common mass of evidence give birth to a universal concord of opinions and of hearts4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,general ,,assembly ,,of ,,the ,,nations4 ,thus spoke the legislator2 and the multitude1 seized with those emotions which a reasonable proposition always inspires1 expressed its applause2 while the tyrants1 left without support1 were overwhelmed with confusion4 ,a scene of a new and astonishing nature then opened to my view4 ,all that the earth contains of people and of nations2 men of every race and of every region1 converging from their various climates1 seemed to assemble in one allotted place2 where1 forming an immense congress1 distinguished in groups by the vast variety of their dresses1 features1 and complexion1 the numberless multitude presented a most unusual and affecting sight4 ,on one side ,i saw the ,european1 with his short close coat1 pointed triangular hat1 smooth chin1 and powdered hair2 on the other side the ,asiatic1 with a flowing robe1 long beard1 shaved head1 and round turban4 ,here stood the nations of ,africa1 with their ebony skins1 their woolly hair1 their body girt with white and blue tissues of bark1 adorned with bracelets and necklaces of coral1 shells1 and glass2 there the tribes of the north1 enveloped in their leathern bags2 the ,laplander1 with his pointed bonnet and his snow-shoes2 the ,samoyede1 with his feverish body and strong odor2 the ,tongouse1 with his horned cap1 and carrying his idols pendant from his neck2 the ,yakoute1 with his freckled face2 the ,kalmuc1 with his flat nose and little retorted eyes4 ,farther distant were the ,chinese1 attired in silk1 with their hair hanging in tresses2 the ,japanese1 of mingled race2 the ,malays1 with wide-spreading ears1 rings in their noses1 and palm-leaf hats of vast circumference299 and the tattooed races of the isles of the southern ocean and of the continent of the antipodes49999 ,the view of so many varieties of the same species1 of so many extravagant inventions of the same understanding1 and of so many modifications of the same organization1 affected me with a thousand feelings and a thousand thoughts4999999 ,i contemplated with astonishment this gradation of color1 which1 passing from a bright carnation to a light brown1 a deeper brown1 dusky1 bronze1 olive1 leaden1 copper1 ends in the black of ebony and of jet4 ,and finding the ,cassimerian1 with his rosy cheek1 next to the sun-burnt ,hindoo1 and the ,georgian by the side of the ,tartar1 ,i reflected on the effects of climate hot or cold1 of soil high or low1 marshy or dry1 open or shaded4 ,i compared the dwarf of the pole with the giant of the temperate zones1 the slender body of the ,arab with the ample chest of the ,hollander2 the squat figure of the ,samoyede with the elegant form of the ,greek and the ,sclavonian2 the greasy black wool of the ,negro with the bright silken locks of the ,dane2 the broad face of the ,kalmuc1 his little angular eyes and flattened nose1 with the oval prominent visage1 large blue eyes1 and aquiline nose of the ,circassian and ,abazan4 ,i contrasted the brilliant calicoes of the ,indian1 the well-wrought stuffs of the ,european1 the rich furs of the ,siberian1 with the tissues of bark1 of osiers1 leaves and feathers of savage nations2 and the blue figures of serpents1 flowers1 and stars1 with which they painted their bodies4 ,sometimes the variegated appearance of this multitude reminded me of the enamelled meadows of the ,nile and the ,euphrates1 when1 after rains or inundations1 millions of flowers are rising on every side4 ,sometimes their murmurs and their motions called to mind the numberless swarms of locusts which1 issuing from the desert1 cover in the spring the plains of ,hauran4 99 ,this species of the palm-tree is called ,latanier4 ,its leaf1 similar to a fan-mount1 grows upon a stalk issuing directly from the earth4 ,a specimen may be seen in the botanic garden4 9999 ,the country of the ,papons of ,new ,guinea4 999999 ,a hall of costumes in one of the galleries of the ,louvre would1 in every point of view1 be an interesting establishment4 ,it would furnish an admirable treat to the curiosity of a great number of persons1 excellent models to the artist1 and useful subjects of meditation to the physician1 the philosopher and the legislator4 ,picture to yourself a collection of the various faces and figures of every country and nation1 exhibiting accurately1 color1 features and form2 what a field for investigation and enquiry as to the influence of climate1 customs1 food1 etc4 ,it might truly be called the science of man6 ,buffon has attempted a chapter of this nature1 but it only serves to exhibit more strikingly our actual ignorance4 ,such a collection is said to have been begun at ,st4 ,petersburg1 but it is also said at the same time to be as imperfect as the vocabulary of the three hundred languages4 ,the enterprise would be worthy of the ,french nation4 ,at the sight of so many rational beings1 considering on the one hand the immensity of thoughts and sensations assembled in this place1 and on the other hand1 reflecting on the opposition of so many opinions1 and the shock of so many passions of men so capricious1 ,i struggled between astonishment1 admiration1 and secret dread--when the legislator commanded silence1 and attracted all my attention4 ,inhabitants of earth6 a free and powerful nation addresses you with words of justice and peace1 and she offers you the sure pledges of her intentions in her own conviction and experience4 ,long afflicted with the same evils as yourselves1 we sought for their source1 and found them all derived from violence and injustice1 erected into law by the inexperience of past ages1 and maintained by the prejudices of the present4 ,then abolishing our artificial and arbitrary institutions1 and recurring to the origin of all right and reason1 we have found that there existed in the very order of nature and in the physical constitution of man1 eternal and immutable laws1 which only waited his observance to render him happy4 ,o men6 cast your eyes on the heavens that give you light1 and on the earth that gives you bread6 ,since they offer the same bounties to you all--since from the power that gives them motion you have all received the same life1 the same organs1 have you not likewise all received the same right to enjoy its benefits8 ,has it not hereby declared you all equal and free8 ,what mortal shall dare refuse to his fellow that which nature gives him8 ,o nations6 let us banish all tyranny and all discord2 let us form but one society1 one great family2 and1 since human nature has but one constitution1 let there exist in future but one law1 that of nature--but one code1 that of reason--but one throne1 that of justice--but one altar1 that of union4 ,he ceased2 and an immense acclamation resounded to the skies4 ,ten thousand benedictions announced the transports of the multitude2 and they made the earth re-echo ,,justice1 ,,equality and ,,union4 ,but different emotions soon succeeded2 soon the doctors and the chiefs of nations exciting a spirit of dispute1 there was heard a sullen murmur1 which growing louder1 and spreading from group to group1 became a vast disorder2 and each nation setting up exclusive pretensions1 claimed a preference for its own code and opinion4 ,you are in error1 said the parties1 pointing one to the other4 ,we alone are in possession of reason and truth4 ,we alone have the true law1 the real rule of right and justice1 the only means of happiness and perfection4 ,all other men are either blind or rebellious4 ,and great agitation prevailed4 ,then the legislator1 after enforcing silence1 loudly exclaimed3 ,what1 ,o people6 is this passionate emotion8 ,whither will this quarrel conduct you8 ,what can you expect from this dissension8 ,the earth has been for ages a field of disputation1 and you have shed torrents of blood in your controversies4 ,what have you gained by so many battles and tears8 ,when the strong has subjected the weak to his opinion1 has he thereby aided the cause of truth8 ,o nations6 take counsel of your own wisdom4 ,when among yourselves disputes arise between families and individuals1 how do you reconcile them8 ,do you not give them arbitrators8 ,yes1 cried the whole multitude4 ,do so then to the authors of your present dissensions4 ,order those who call themselves your instructors1 and who force their creeds upon you1 to discuss before you their reasons4 ,since they appeal to your interests1 inform yourselves how they support them4 ,and you1 chiefs and governors of the people6 before dragging the masses into the quarrels resulting from your diverse opinions1 let the reasons for and against your views be given4 ,let us establish one solemn controversy1 one public scrutiny of truth--not before the tribunal of a corruptible individual1 or of a prejudiced party1 but in the grand forum of mankind--guarded by all their information and all their interests4 ,let the natural sense of the whole human race be our arbiter and judge4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,the ,,search ,,of ,,truth4 ,the people expressed their applause1 and the legislator continued3 ,to proceed with order1 and avoid all confusion1 let a spacious semicircle be left vacant in front of the altar of peace and union2 let each system of religion1 and each particular sect1 erect its proper distinctive standard on the line of this semicircle2 let its chiefs and doctors place themselves around the standard1 and their followers form a column behind them4 ,the semicircle being traced1 and the order published1 there instantly rose an innumerable multitude of standards1 of all colors and of every form1 like what we see in a great commercial port1 when1 on a day of rejoicing1 a thousand different flags and streamers are floating from a forest of masts4 ,at the sight of this prodigious diversity1 ,i turned towards the ,genius and said3 ,i thought that the earth was divided only into eight or ten systems of faith1 and ,i then despaired of a reconciliation2 ,i now behold thousands of different sects1 and how can ,i hope for concord8 ,but these1 replied the ,genius1 are not all2 and yet they will be intolerant6 ,then1 as the groups advanced to take their stations1 he pointed out to me their distinctive marks1 and thus began to explain their characters3 ,that first group1 said he1 with a green banner bearing a crescent1 a bandage1 and a sabre1 are the followers of the ,arabian prophet4 ,to say there is a ,god1 without knowing what he is2 to believe the words of a man1 without understanding his language2 to go into the desert to pray to ,god1 who is everywhere2 to wash the hands with water1 and not abstain from blood2 to fast all day1 and eat all night2 to give alms of their own goods1 and to plunder those of others2 such are the means of perfection instituted by ,mahomet--such are the symbols of his followers2 and whoever does not bear them is a reprobate1 stricken with anathema1 and devoted to the sword4 ,a ,god of clemency1 the author of life1 has instituted these laws of oppression and murder3 he made them for all the world1 but has revealed them only to one man2 he established them from all eternity1 though he made them known but yesterday4 ,these laws are abundantly sufficient for all purposes1 and yet a volume is added to them4 ,this volume was to diffuse light1 to exhibit evidence1 to lead men to perfection and happiness2 and yet every page was so full of obscurities1 ambiguities1 and contradictions1 that commentaries and explanations became necessary1 even in the life-time of its apostle4 ,its interpreters1 differing in opinion1 divided into opposite and hostile sects4 ,one maintains that ,ali is the true successor2 the other contends for ,omar and ,aboubekre4 ,this denies the eternity of the ,koran2 that the necessity of ablutions and prayers4 ,the ,carmite forbids pilgrimages1 and allows the use of wine2 the ,hakemite preaches the transmigration of souls4 ,thus they make up the number of seventy-two sects1 whose banners are before you499 ,in this contestation1 every one attributing the evidence of truth exclusively to himself1 and taxing all others with heresy and rebellion1 turns against them its sanguinary zeal4 ,and their religion1 which celebrates a mild and merciful ,god1 the common father of all men1--changed to a torch of discord1 a signal for war and murder1 has not ceased for twelve hundred years to deluge the earth in blood1 and to ravage and desolate the ancient hemisphere from centre to circumference49999 99 ,the ,mussulmen enumerate in common seventy-two sects1 but ,i read1 while ,i resided among them1 a work which gave an account of more than eighty1--all equally wise and important4 9999 ,read the history of ,islamism by its own writers1 and you will be convinced that one of the principal causes of the wars which have desolated ,asia and ,africa1 since the days of ,mahomet1 has been the apostolical fanaticism of its doctrine4 ,caesar has been supposed to have destroyed three millions of men3 it would be interesting to make a similar calculation respecting every founder of a religious system4 ,those men1 distinguished by their enormous white turbans1 their broad sleeves1 and their long rosaries1 are the ,imans1 the ,mollas1 and the ,muftis2 and near them are the ,dervishes with pointed bonnets1 and the ,santons with dishevelled hair4 ,behold with what vehemence they recite their professions of faith6 ,they are now beginning a dispute about the greater and lesser impurities--about the matter and the manner of ablutions1--about the attributes of ,god and his perfections--about the ,chaitan1 and the good and wicked angels1--about death1 the resurrection1 the interrogatory in the tomb1 the judgment1 the passage of the narrow bridge not broader than a hair1 the balance of works1 the pains of hell1 and the joys of paradise4 ,next to these1 that second more numerous group1 with white banners intersected with crosses1 are the followers of ,jesus4 ,acknowledging the same ,god with the ,mussulmans1 founding their belief on the same books1 admitting1 like them1 a first man who lost the human race by eating an apple1 they hold them1 however1 in a holy abhorrence2 and1 out of pure piety1 they call each other impious blasphemers4 ,the great point of their dissension consists in this1 that after admitting a ,god one and indivisible the ,christian divides him into three persons1 each of which he believes to be a complete and entire ,god1 without ceasing to constitute an identical whole1 by the indivisibility of the three4 ,and he adds1 that this being1 who fills the universe1 has reduced himself to the body of a man2 and has assumed material1 perishable1 and limited organs1 without ceasing to be immaterial1 infinite1 and eternal4 ,the ,mussulman who does not comprehend these mysteries1 rejects them as follies1 and the visions of a distempered brain2 though he conceives perfectly well the eternity of the ,koran1 and the mission of the prophet3 hence their implacable hatreds4 ,again1 the ,christians1 divided among themselves on many points1 have formed parties not less violent than the ,mussulmans2 and their quarrels are so much the more obstinate1 as the objects of them are inaccessible to the senses and incapable of demonstration3 their opinions1 therefore1 have no other basis but the will and caprice of the parties4 ,thus1 while they agree that ,god is a being incomprehensible and unknown1 they dispute1 nevertheless1 about his essence1 his mode of acting1 and his attributes4 ,while they agree that his pretended transformation into man is an enigma above the human understanding1 they dispute on the junction or distinction of his two wills and his two natures1 on his change of substance1 on the real or fictitious presence1 on the mode of incarnation1 etc4 ,hence those innumerable sects1 of which two or three hundred have already perished1 and three or four hundred others1 which still subsist1 display those numberless banners which here distract your sight4 ,the first in order1 surrounded by a group in varied and fantastic dress1 that confused mixture of violet1 red1 white1 black and speckled garments--with heads shaved1 or with tonsures1 or with short hair--with red hats1 square bonnets1 pointed mitres1 or long beards1 is the standard of the ,roman pontiff1 who1 uniting the civil government to the priesthood1 has erected the supremacy of his city into a point of religion1 and made of his pride an article of faith4 ,on his right you see the ,greek pontiff1 who1 proud of the rivalship of his metropolis1 sets up equal pretensions1 and supports them against the ,western church by the priority of that of the ,east4 ,on the left are the standards of two recent chiefs199 who1 shaking off a yoke that had become tyrannical1 have raised altar against altar in their reform1 and wrested half of ,europe from the pope4 ,behind these are the subaltern sects1 subdivided from the principal divisions1 the ,nestorians1 the ,eutycheans1 the ,jacobites1 the ,iconoclasts1 the ,anabaptists1 the ,presbyterians1 the ,wicliffites1 the ,osiandrians1 the ,manicheans1 the ,pietists1 the ,adamites1 the ,contemplatives1 the ,quakers1 the ,weepers1 and a hundred others19999 all of distinct parties1 persecuting when strong1 tolerant when weak1 hating each other in the name of a ,god of peace1 forming each an exclusive heaven in a religion of universal charity1 dooming each other to pains without end in a future state1 and realizing in this world the imaginary hell of the other4 99 ,luther and ,calvin4 9999 ,consult upon this subject ,dictionnaire des ,herseies par l',abbe ,pluquet1 in two volumes #hvo43 a work admirably calculated to inspire the mind with philosophy1 in the sense that the ,lacedemonians taught the children temperance by showing to them the drunken ,helots4 ,after this group1 observing a lonely standard of the color of hyacinth1 round which were assembled men clad in all the different dresses of ,europe and ,asia3 ,at least1 said ,i1 to the ,genius1 we shall find unanimity here4 ,yes1 said he1 at first sight and by a momentary accident4 ,dost thou not know that system of worship8 ,then1 perceiving in ,hebrew letters the monogram of the name of ,god1 and the palms which the ,rabbins held in their hands3 ,true1 said ,i1 these are the children of ,moses1 dispersed even to this day1 abhorring every nation1 and abhorred and persecuted by all4 ,yes1 he replied1 and for this reason1 that1 having neither the time nor liberty to dispute1 they have the appearance of unanimity4 ,but no sooner will they come together1 compare their principles1 and reason on their opinions1 than they will separate as formerly1 at least into two principal sects299 one of which1 taking advantage of the silence of their legislator1 and adhering to the literal sense of his books1 will deny everything that is not clearly expressed therein2 and on this principle will reject as profane inventions1 the immortality of the soul1 its transmigration to places of pain or pleasure1 its resurrection1 the final judgment1 the good and bad angels1 the revolt of the evil ,genius1 and all the poetical belief of a world to come4 ,and this highly-favored people1 whose perfection consists in a slight mutilation of their persons1--this atom of a people1 which forms but a small wave in the ocean of mankind1 and which insists that ,god has made nothing but for them1 will by its schism reduce to one-half1 its present trifling weight in the scale of the universe4 99 ,the ,sadducees and ,pharisees4 ,he then showed me a neighboring group1 composed of men dressed in white robes1 wearing a veil over their mouths1 and ranged around a banner of the color of the morning sky1 on which was painted a globe cleft in two hemispheres1 black and white3 ,the same thing will happen1 said he1 to these children of ,zoroaster199 the obscure remnant of a people once so powerful4 ,at present1 persecuted like the ,jews1 and dispersed among all nations1 they receive without discussion the precepts of the representative of their prophet4 ,but as soon as the ,mobed and the ,destours9999 shall assemble1 they will renew the controversy about the good and the bad principle2 on the combats of ,ormuzd1 ,god of light1 and ,ahrimanes1 ,god of darkness2 on the direct and allegorical sense2 on the good and evil ,genii2 on the worship of fire and the elements2 on impurities and ablutions2 on the resurrection of the soul and body1 or only of the soul2999999 on the renovation of the present world1 and on that which is to take its place4 ,and the ,parses will divide into sects1 so much the more numerous1 as their families will have contracted1 during their dispersion1 the manners and opinions of different nations4 99 ,they are the ,parses1 better known by the opprobrious name of ,gaures or ,guebres1 another word for infidels4 ,they are in ,asia what the ,jews are in ,europe4 ,the name of their pope or high priest is ,mobed4 9999 ,that is to say1 their priests4 ,see1 respecting the rites of this religion1 ,henry ,lord ,hyde1 and the ,zendavesta4 ,their costume is a robe with a belt of four knots1 and a veil over their mouth for fear of polluting the fire with their breath4 999999 ,the ,zoroastrians are divided between two opinions2 one party believing that both soul and body will rise1 the other that it will be the soul only4 ,the ,christians and ,mahometans have embraced the most solid of the two4 ,next to these1 remark those banners of an azure ground1 painted with monstrous figures of human bodies1 double1 triple1 and quadruple1 with heads of lions1 boars1 and elephants1 and tails of fishes and tortoises2 these are the ensigns of the sects of ,india1 who find their gods in various animals1 and the souls of their fathers in reptiles and insects4 ,these men support hospitals for hawks1 serpents1 and rats1 and they abhor their fellow creatures6 ,they purify themselves with the dung and urine of cows1 and think themselves defiled by the touch of a man6 ,they wear a net over the mouth1 lest1 in a fly1 they should swallow a soul in a state of penance199 and they can see a ,pariah9999 perish with hunger6 ,they acknowledge the same gods1 but they separate into hostile bands4 99 ,according to the system of the ,metempsychosis1 a soul1 to undergo purification1 passes into the body of some insect or animal4 ,it is of importance not to disturb this penance1 as the work must in that case begin afresh4 9999 ,this is the name of a cast or tribe reputed unclean1 because they eat of what has enjoyed life4 ,the first standard1 retired from the rest1 bearing a figure with four heads1 is that of ,brama1 who1 though the creator of the universe1 is without temples or followers2 but1 reduced to serve as a pedestal to the ,lingam199 he contents himself with a little water which the ,bramin throws every morning on his shoulder1 reciting meanwhile an idle canticle in his praise4 99 ,see ,sonnerat1 ,voyage aux ,indes1 vol4 #a4 ,the second1 bearing a kite with a scarlet body and a white head1 is that of ,vichenou1 who1 though preserver of the world1 has passed part of his life in wicked actions4 ,you sometimes see him under the hideous form of a boar or a lion1 tearing human entrails1 or under that of a horse199 shortly to come armed with a sword to destroy the human race1 blot out the stars1 annihilate the planets1 shake the earth1 and force the great serpent to vomit a fire which shall consume the spheres4 99 ,these are the incarnations of ,vichenou1 or metamorphoses of the sun4 ,he is to come at the end of the world1 that is1 at the expiration of the great period1 in the form of a horse1 like the four horses of the ,apocalypse4 ,the third is that of ,chiven1 ,god of destruction and desolation1 who has1 however1 for his emblem the symbol of generation4 ,he is the most wicked of the three1 and he has the most followers4 ,these men1 proud of his character1 express in their devotions to him their contempt for the other gods199 his equals and brothers2 and1 in imitation of his inconsistencies1 while they profess great modesty and chastity1 they publicly crown with flowers1 and sprinkle with milk and honey1 the obscene image of the ,lingam4 99 ,when a sectary of ,chiven hears the name of ,vichenou pronounced1 he stops his ears1 runs1 and purifies himself4 ,in the rear of these1 approach the smaller standards of a multitude of gods--male1 female1 and hermaphrodite4 ,these are friends and relations of the principal gods1 who have passed their lives in wars among themselves1 and their followers imitate them4 ,these gods have need of nothing1 and they are constantly receiving presents2 they are omnipotent and omnipresent1 and a priest1 by muttering a few words1 shuts them up in an idol or a pitcher1 to sell their favors for his own benefit4 ,beyond these1 that cloud of standards1 which1 on a yellow ground1 common to them all1 bear various emblems1 are those of the same god1 who reins under different names in the nations of the ,east4 ,the ,chinese adores him in ,fot199 the ,japanese in ,budso1 the ,ceylonese in ,bedhou1 the people of ,laos in ,chekia1 of ,pegu in ,phta1 of ,siam in ,sommona-,kodom1 of ,thibet in ,budd and in ,la4 ,agreeing in some points of his history1 they all celebrate his life of penitence1 his mortifications1 his fastings1 his functions of mediator and expiator1 the enmity between him and another god1 his adversary1 their battles1 and his ascendency4 ,but as they disagree on the means of pleasing him1 they dispute about rites and ceremonies1 and about the dogmas of interior doctrine and of public doctrine4 ,that ,japanese ,bonze1 with a yellow robe and naked head1 preaches the eternity of souls1 and their successive transmigrations into various bodies2 near him1 the ,sintoist denies that souls can exist separate from the senses19999 and maintains that they are only the effect of the organs to which they belong1 and with which they must perish1 as the sound of the flute perishes with the flute4 ,near him1 the ,siamese1 with his eyebrows shaved1 and a talipat screen999999 in his hand1 recommends alms1 offerings1 and expiations1 at the same time that he preaches blind necessity and inexorable fate4 ,the ,chinese vo-chung sacrifices to the souls of his ancestors2 and next him1 the follower of ,confucius interrogates his destiny in the cast of dice and the movement of the stars499999999 ,that child1 surrounded by a swarm of priests in yellow robes and hats1 is the ,grand ,lama1 in whom the god of ,thibet has just become incarnate499#e ,but a rival has arisen who partakes this benefit with him2 and the ,kalmouc on the banks of the ,baikal1 has a ,god similar to the inhabitant of ,lasa4 ,and they agree1 also1 in one important point--that god can inhabit only a human body4 ,they both laugh at the stupidity of the ,indian who pays homage to cow-dung1 though they themselves consecrate the excrements of their high-priest499#f 99 ,the original name of this god is ,baits1 which in ,hebrew signifies an egg4 ,the ,arabs pronounce it ,baidh1 giving to the dh an emphatic sound which makes it approach to dz4 ,kempfer1 an acurate traveler1 writes it ,budso1 which must be pronounced ,boudso1 whence is derived the name of ,budsoist and of ,bonze1 applied to the priests4 ,clement of ,alexandria1 in his ,stromata1 writes it ,bedou1 as it is pronounced also by the ,chingulais2 and ,saint ,jerome1 ,boudda and ,boutta4 ,at ,thibet they call it ,budd2 and hence the name of the country called ,boud-tan and ,ti-budd3 it was in this province that this system of religion was first inculcated in ,upper ,asia2 ,la is a corruption of ,allah1 the name of ,god in the ,syriac language1 from which many of the eastern dialects appear to be derived4 ,the ,chinese having neither b nor d1 have supplied their place by f and t1 and have therefore said ,fout4 9999 ,see in ,kempfer the doctrine of the ,sintoists1 which is a mixture of that of ,epicurus and of the ,stoics4 999999 ,it is a leaf of the ,latanier species of the palm-tree4 ,hence the bonzes of ,siam take the appellation of ,talapoin4 ,the use of this screen is an exclusive privilege4 99999999 ,the sectaries of ,confucius are no less addicted to astrology than the bonzes4 ,it is indeed the malady of every eastern nation4 99#e ,the ,delai-,la-,ma1 or immense high priest of ,la1 is the same person whom we find mentioned in our old books of travels1 by the name of ,prester ,john1 from a corruption of the ,persian word ,djehan1 which signifies the world1 to which has been prefixed the ,french word prestre or pretre1 priest4 ,thus the priest world1 and the god world are in the ,persian idiom the same4 99#f ,in a recent expedition the ,english have found certain idols of the ,lamas filled in the inside with sacred pastils from the close stool of the high priest4 ,mr4 ,hastings1 and ,colonel ,pollier1 who is now at ,lausanne1 are living witnesses of this fact1 and undoubtedly worthy of credit4 ,it will be very extraordinary to observe1 that this disgusting ceremony is connected with a profound philosophical system1 to wit1 that of the metempsychosis1 admitted by the ,lamas4 ,when the ,tartars swallow1 the sacred relics1 which they are accustomed to do1 they imitate the laws of the universe1 the parts of which are incessantly absorbed and pass into the substance of each other4 ,it is upon the model of the serpent who devours his tail1 and this serpent is ,budd and the world4 ,after these1 a crowd of other banners1 which no man could number1 came forward into sight2 and the genius exclaimed3 ,i should never finish the detail of all the systems of faith which divide these nations4 ,here the hordes of ,tartars adore1 in the forms of beasts1 birds1 and insects1 the good and evil ,genii2 who1 under a principal1 but indolent god1 govern the universe4 ,in their idolatry they call to mind the ancient paganism of the ,west4 ,you observe the fantastical dress of the ,chamans2 who1 under a robe of leather1 hung round with bells and rattles1 idols of iron1 claws of birds1 skins of snakes and heads of owls1 invoke1 with frantic cries and factitious convulsions1 the dead to deceive the living4 ,there1 the black tribes of ,africa exhibit the same opinions in the worship of their fetiches4 ,see the inhabitant of ,juida worship god in a great snake1 which1 unluckily1 the swine delight to eat499 ,the ,teleutean attires his god in a coat of several colors1 like a ,russian soldier49999 ,the ,kamchadale1 observing that everything goes wrong in his frozen country1 considers god as an old ill-natured man1 smoking his pipe and hunting foxes and martins in his sledge4999999 99 ,it frequently happens that the swine devour the very species of serpents the negroes adore1 which is a source of great desolation in the country4 ,president de ,brosses has given us1 in his ,history of the ,fetiche1 a curious collection of absurdities of this nature4 9999 ,the ,teleuteans1 a ,tartar nation1 paint ,god as wearing a vesture of all colors1 particularly red and green2 and as these constitute the uniform of the ,russian dragoons1 they compare him to this description of soldiers4 ,the ,egyptians also dress the ,god ,world in a garment of every color4 ,eusebius ,proep4 ,evang4 p #aae4 ,the ,teleuteans call ,god ,bou1 which is only an alteration of ,boudd1 the ,god ,egg and ,world4 999999 ,consult upon this subject a work entitled1 ,description des ,peuples1 soumis a la ,russie1 and it will be found that the picture is not overcharged4 ,but you may still behold a hundred savage nations who have none of the ideas of civilized people respecting ,god1 the soul1 another world1 and a future life2 who have formed no system of worship2 and who nevertheless enjoy the rich gifts of nature in the irreligion in which she has created them4 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,,problem ,,of ,,religious ,,contradictions4 ,the various groups having taken their places1 an unbounded silence succeeded to the murmurs of the multitude2 and the legislator said3 ,chiefs and doctors of mankind6 ,you remark how the nations1 living apart1 have hitherto followed different paths1 each believing its own to be that of truth4 ,if1 however1 truth is one1 and opinions are various1 it is evident that some are in error4 ,if1 then1 such vast numbers of us are in the wrong1 who shall dare to say1 ,i am in the right8 ,begin1 therefore1 by being indulgent in your dissensions4 ,let us all seek truth as if no one possessed it4 ,the opinions which to this day have governed the world1 originating from chance1 propagated in obscurity1 admitted without discussion1 accredited by a love of novelty and imitation1 have usurped their empire in a clandestine manner4 ,it is time1 if they are well founded1 to give a solemn stamp to their certainty1 and legitimize their existence4 ,let us summon them this day to a general scrutiny1 let each propound his creed1 let the whole assembly be the judge1 and let that alone be acknowledged as true which is so for the whole human race4 ,then1 by order of position1 the representative of the first standard on the left was allowed to speak3 ,you are not permitted to doubt1 said their chief1 that our doctrine is the only true and infallible one4 ,,first1 it is revealed by ,god himself-- ,so is ours1 cried all the other standards1 and you are not permitted to doubt it4 ,but at least1 said the legislator1 you must prove it1 for we cannot believe what we do not know4 ,our doctrine is proved1 replied the first standard1 by numerous facts1 by a multitude of miracles1 by resurrections of the dead1 by rivers dried up1 by mountains removed-- ,and we also have numberless miracles1 cried all the others1 and each began to recount the most incredible things4 ,,their miracles1 said the first standard1 are imaginary1 or the fictions of the evil spirit1 who has deluded them4 ,they are yours1 said the others1 that are imaginary2 and each group1 speaking of itself1 cried out3 ,none but ours are true1 all the others are false4 ,the legislator then asked3 ,have you living witnesses of the facts8 ,no1 replied they all2 the facts are ancient1 the witnesses are dead1 but their writings remain4 ,be it so1 replied the legislator2 but if they contradict each other1 who shall reconcile them8 ,just judge6 cried one of the standards1 the proof that our witnesses have seen the truth is1 that they died to confirm it2 and our faith is sealed by the blood of martyrs4 ,and ours too1 said the other standards2 we have thousands of martyrs who have died in the most excruciating torments1 without ever denying the truth4 ,then the ,christians of every sect1 the ,mussulmans1 the ,indians1 the ,japanese1 recited endless legends of confessors1 martyrs1 penitents1 etc4 ,and one of these parties1 having denied the martyrology of the others3 ,well1 said they1 we will then die ourselves to prove the truth of our belief4 ,and instantly a crowd of men1 of every religion and of every sect1 presented themselves to suffer the torments of death4 ,many even began to tear their arms1 and to beat their heads and breasts1 without discovering any symptom of pain4 ,but the legislator1 preventing them--,o men6 said he1 hear my words with patience4 ,if you die to prove that two and two make four1 will your death add any thing to this truth8 ,no6 answered all4 ,and if you die to prove that they make five1 will that make them five8 ,again they all answered1 ,no4 ,what1 then1 is your persuasion to prove1 if it changes not the existence of things8 ,truth is one--your persuasions are various2 many of you1 therefore1 are in error4 ,now1 if man1 as is evident1 can persuade himself of error1 what is the persuasion of man to prove8 ,if error has its martyrs1 what is the sure criterion of truth8 ,if the evil spirit works miracles1 what is the distinctive character of ,god8 ,besides1 why resort forever to incomplete and insufficient miracles8 ,instead of changing the course of nature1 why not rather change opinions8 ,why murder and terrify men1 instead of instructing and correcting them8 ,o credulous1 but opinionated mortals6 none of us know what was done yesterday1 what is doing to-day even under our eyes2 and we swear to what was done two thousand years ago6 ,oh1 the weakness and yet the pride of men6 ,the laws of nature are unchangeable and profound--our minds are full of illusion and frivolity--and yet we would comprehend every thing--determine every thing6 ,forgetting that it is easier for the whole human race to be in error1 than to change the nature of the smallest atom4 ,well1 then1 said one of the doctors1 let us lay aside the evidence of fact1 since it is uncertain2 let us come to argument--to the proofs inherent in the doctrine4 ,then came forward1 with a look of confidence1 an ,iman of the law of ,mahomet2 and1 having advanced into the circle1 turned towards ,mecca1 and recited with great fervor his confession of faith4 ,praise be to ,god1 said he1 with a solemn and imposing voice1 the light shines with full evidence1 and the truth has no need of examination4 ,then1 showing the ,koran1 he exclaimed3 ,here is the light of truth in its proper essence4 ,there is no doubt in this book4 ,it conducts with safety him who walks in darkness1 and who receives without discussion the divine word which descended on the prophet1 to save the simple and confound the wise4 ,god has established ,mahomet his minister on earth2 he has given him the world1 that he may subdue with the sword whoever shall refuse to receive his law4 ,infidels dispute1 and will not believe2 their obduracy comes from ,god1 who has hardened their hearts to deliver them to dreadful punishments499 99 ,this passage contains the sense and nearly the very words of the first chapter of the ,koran2 and the reader will observe in general1 that1 in the pictures that follow1 the writer has endeavored to give as accurately as possible the letter and spirit of the opinions of each party4 ,at these words a violent murmur arose on all sides1 and silenced the speaker4 ,who is this man1 cried all the groups1 who thus insults us without a cause8 ,what right has he to impose his creed on us as conqueror and tyrant8 ,has not ,god endowed us1 as well as him1 with eyes1 understanding1 and reason8 ,and have we not an equal right to use them1 in choosing what to believe and what to reject8 ,if he attacks us1 shall we not defend ourselves8 ,if he likes to believe without examination1 must we therefore not examine before we believe8 ,and what is this luminous doctrine that fears the light8 ,what is this apostle of a ,god of clemency1 who preaches nothing but murder and carnage8 ,what is this ,god of justice1 who punishes blindness which he himself has made8 ,if violence and persecution are the arguments of truth1 are gentleness and charity the signs of falsehood8 ,a man then advancing from a neighboring group1 said to the ,iman3 ,admitting that ,mahomet is the apostle of the best doctrine1--the prophet of the true religion1--have the goodness at least to tell us whether1 in the practice of his doctrine1 we are to follow his son-in-law ,ali1 or his vicars ,omar and ,aboubekre899 99 ,these are the two grand parties into which the ,mussulmans are divided4 ,the ,turks have embraced the second1 the ,persians the first4 ,at the sound of these names a terrible schism arose among the ,mussulmans themselves4 ,the partisans of ,ali and those of ,omar1 calling out heretics and blasphemers1 loaded each other with execrations4 ,the quarrel became so violent that neighboring groups were obliged to interfere1 to prevent their coming to blows4 ,at length1 tranquillity being somewhat restored1 the legislator said to the ,imans3 ,see the consequences of your principles6 ,if you yourselves were to carry them into practice1 you would destroy each other to the last man4 ,is it not the first law of ,god that man should live8 ,then1 addressing himself to the other groups1 he continued3 ,doubtless this intolerant and exclusive spirit shocks every idea of justice1 and overturns the whole foundation of morals and society2 but before we totally reject this code of doctrine1 is it not proper to hear some of its dogmas8 ,let us not pronounce on the forms1 without having some knowledge of the substance4 ,the groups having consented1 the ,iman began to expound how ,god1 having sent to the nations lost in idolatry twenty-four thousand prophets1 had finally sent the last1 the seal and perfection of all1 ,mahomet2 on whom be the salvation of peace3 how1 to prevent the divine word from being any longer perverted by infidels1 the supreme goodness had itself written the pages of the ,koran4 ,then1 explaining the particular dogmas of ,islamism1 the ,iman unfolded how the ,koran1 partaking of the divine nature1 was uncreated and eternal1 like its author3 how it had been sent leaf by leaf1 in twenty-four thousand nocturnal apparitions of the angel ,gabriel3 how the angel announced himself by a gentle knocking1 which threw the prophet into a cold sweat3 how in the vision of one night he had travelled over ninety heavens1 riding on the beast ,borack1 half horse and half woman3 how1 endowed with the gift of miracles1 he walked in the sunshine without a shadow1 turned dry trees to green1 filled wells and cisterns with water1 and split in two the body of the moon3 how1 by divine command1 ,mahomet had propagated1 sword in hand1 the religion the most worthy of ,god by its sublimity1 and the most proper for men by the simplicity of its practice2 since it consisted in only eight or ten points3--,to profess the unity of ,god2 to acknowledge ,mahomet as his only prophet2 to pray five times a day2 to fast one month in the year2 to go to ,mecca once in our life2 to pay the tenth of all we possess2 to drink no wine2 to eat no pork2 and to make war upon the infidels499 ,he taught that by these means every ,mussulman becoming himself an apostle and martyr1 should enjoy in this world many blessings2 and at his death1 his soul1 weighed in the balance of works1 and absolved by the two black angels1 should pass the infernal pit on the bridge as narrow as a hair and as sharp as the edge of a sword1 and should finally be received to a region of delight1 which is watered with rivers of milk and honey1 and embalmed in all the perfumes of ,india and ,arabia2 and where the celestial ,houris--virgins always chaste--are eternally crowning with repeated favors the elect of ,god1 who preserve an eternal youth4 99 ,whatever the advocates for the philosophy and civilization of the ,turks may assert1 to make war upon infidels is considered by them as an obligatory precept and an act of religion4 ,see ,reland de ,relig4 ,mahom4 ,at these words an involuntary smile was seen on all their lips2 and the various groups1 reasoning on these articles of faith1 exclaimed with one voice3 ,is it possible that reasonable beings can admit such reveries8 ,would you not think it a chapter from ,the ,thousand and ,one ,nights8 ,a ,samoyede advanced into the circle3 ,the paradise of ,mahomet1 said he1 appears to me very good2 but one of the means of gaining it is embarrassing3 for if we must neither eat nor drink between the rising and setting sun1 as he has ordered1 how are we to practise that fast in my country1 where the sun continues above the horizon six months without setting8 ,that is impossible1 cried all the ,mussulman doctors1 to support the teaching of the prophet2 but a hundred nations having attested the fact1 the infallibility of ,mahomet could not but receive a severe shock4 ,it is singular1 said an ,european1 that ,god should be constantly revealing what takes place in heaven1 without ever instructing us what is doing on the earth4 ,for my part1 said an ,american1 ,i find a great difficulty in the pilgrimage4 ,for suppose twenty-five years to a generation1 and only a hundred millions of males on the globe1--each being obliged to go to ,mecca once in his life1--there must be four millions a year on the journey2 and as it would be impracticable for them to return the same year1 the numbers would be doubled--that is1 eight millions3 where would you find provisions1 lodgings1 water1 vessels1 for this universal procession8 ,here must be miracles indeed6 ,the proof1 said a catholic doctor1 that the religion of ,mahomet is not revealed1 is that the greater part of the ideas which serve for its basis existed a long time before1 and that it is only a confused mixture of truths disfigured and taken from our holy religion and from that of the ,jews2 which an ambitious man has made to serve his projects of domination1 and his worldly views4 ,look through his book2 you will see nothing there but the histories of the ,bible and the ,gospel travestied into absurd fables--into a tissue of vague and contradictory declamations1 and ridiculous or dangerous precepts4 ,analyze the spirit of these precepts1 and the conduct of their apostle2 you will find there an artful and audacious character1 which1 to obtain its end1 works ably it is true1 on the passions of the people it had to govern4 ,it is speaking to simple men1 and it entertains them with miracles2 they are ignorant and jealous1 and it flatters their vanity by despising science2 they are poor and rapacious1 and it excites their cupidity by the hope of pillage2 having nothing at first to give them on earth1 it tells them of treasures in heaven2 it teaches them to desire death as a supreme good2 it threatens cowards with hell2 it rewards the brave with paradise2 it sustains the weak with the opinion of fatality2 in short1 it produces the attachment it wants by all the allurements of sense1 and all the power of the passions4 ,how different is the character of our religion6 and how completely does its empire1 founded on the counteraction of the natural temper1 and the mortification of all our passions1 prove its divine origin6 ,how forcibly does its mild and compassionate morality1 its affections altogether spiritual1 attest its emanation from ,god6 ,many of its doctrines1 it is true1 soar above the reach of the understanding1 and impose on reason a respectful silence2 but this more fully demonstrates its revelation1 since the human mind could never have imagined such mysteries4 ,then1 holding the ,bible in one hand and the four ,gospels in the other1 the doctor began to relate that1 in the beginning1 ,god1 after passing an eternity in idleness1 took the resolution1 without any known cause1 of making the world out of nothing2 that having created the whole universe in six days1 he found himself fatigued on the seventh2 that having placed the first human pair in a garden of delights1 to make them completely happy1 he forbade their tasting a particular fruit which he placed within their reach2 that these first parents1 having yielded to the temptation1 all their race 7which were not yet born7 had been condemned to bear the penalty of a fault which they had not committed2 that1 after having left the human race to damn themselves for four or five thousand years1 this ,god of mercy ordered a well beloved son1 whom he had engendered without a mother1 and who was as old as himself1 to go and be put to death on the earth2 and this for the salvation of mankind2 of whom much the greater portion1 nevertheless1 have ever since continued in the way of perdition2 that to remedy this new difficulty1 this same ,god1 born of a virgin1 having died and risen from the dead1 assumes a new existence every day1 and in the form of a piece of bread1 multiplies himself by millions at the voice of one of the basest of men4 ,then1 passing on to the doctrine of the sacraments1 he was going to treat at large on the power of absolution and reprobation1 of the means of purging all sins by a little water and a few words1 when1 uttering the words indulgence1 power of the pope1 sufficient grace1 and efficacious grace1 he was interrupted by a thousand cries4 ,it is a horrible abuse1 cried the ,lutherans1 to pretend to remit sins for money4 ,the notion of the real presence1 cried the ,calvinists1 is contrary to the text of the ,gospel4 ,the pope has no right to decide anything of himself1 cried the ,jansenists2 and thirty other sects rising up1 and accusing each other of heresies and errors1 it was no longer possible to hear anything distinctly4 ,silence being at last restored1 the ,mussulmans observed to the legislator3 ,since you have rejected our doctrine as containing things incredible1 can you admit that of the ,christians8 ,is not theirs still more contrary to common sense and justice8 ,a ,god1 immaterial and infinite1 to become a man6 to have a son as old as himself6 ,this god-man to become bread1 to be eaten and digested6 ,have we any thing equal to that8 ,have the ,christians an exclusive right of setting up a blind faith8 ,and will you grant them privileges of belief to our detriment8 ,some savage tribes then advanced3 ,what6 said they1 because a man and woman ate an apple six thousand years ago1 all the human race are damned8 ,and you call ,god just8 ,what tyrant ever rendered children responsible for the faults of their fathers8 ,what man can answer for the actions of another8 ,does not this overturn every idea of justice and of reason8 ,others exclaimed3 ,where are the proofs1 the witnesses of these pretended facts8 ,can we receive them without examining the evidence8 ,the least action in a court of justice requires two witnesses2 and we are ordered to believe all this on mere tradition and hearsay6 ,a ,jewish ,rabbin then addressing the assembly1 said3 ,as to the fundamental facts1 we are sureties2 but with regard to their form and their application1 the case is different1 and the ,christians are here condemned by their own arguments4 ,for they cannot deny that we are the original source from which they are derived--the primitive stock on which they are grafted2 and hence the reasoning is very short3 ,either our law is from ,god1 and then theirs is a heresy1 since it differs from ours1 or our law is not from ,god1 and then theirs falls at the same time4 ,but you must make this distinction1 replied the ,christian3 ,your law is from ,god as typical and preparative1 but not as final and absolute3 you are the image of which we are the substance4 ,we know1 replied the ,rabbin1 that such are your pretensions2 but they are absolutely gratuitous and false4 ,your system turns altogether on mystical meanings1 visionary and allegorical interpretations499 ,with violent distortions on the letter of our books1 you substitute the most chimerical ideas for the true ones1 and find in them whatever pleases you2 as a roving imagination will find figures in the clouds4 ,thus you have made a spiritual ,messiah of that which1 in the spirit of our prophets1 is only a temporal king4 ,you have made a redemption of the human race out of the simple re-establishment of our nation4 ,your conception of the ,virgin is founded on a single phrase1 of which you have changed the meaning4 ,thus you make from our ,scriptures whatever your fancy dictates2 you even find there your trinity2 though there is not a word that has the most distant allusion to such a thing2 and it is an invention of profane writers1 admitted into your system with a host of other opinions1 of every religion and of every sect1 during the anarchy of the first three centuries of your era4 99 ,when we read the ,fathers of the church1 and see upon what arguments they have built the edifice of religion1 we are inexpressibly astonished with their credulity or their knavery3 but allegory was the rage of that period2 the ,pagans employed it to explain the actions of their gods1 and the ,christians acted in the same spirit when they employed it after their fashion4 ,at these words1 the ,christian doctors1 crying sacrilege and blasphemy1 sprang forward in a transport of fury to fall upon the ,jew2 and a troop of monks1 in motley dresses of black and white1 advanced with a standard on which were painted pincers1 gridirons1 lighted fagots1 and the words ,justice1 ,charity1 ,mercy499 ,it is necessary1 said they1 to make an example of these impious wretches1 and burn them for the glory of ,god4 ,they began even to prepare the pile1 when a ,mussulman answered in a strain of irony3 ,this1 then1 is that religion of peace1 that meek and beneficent system which you so much extol6 ,this is that evangelical charity which combats infidelity with persuasive mildness1 and repays injuries with patience6 ,ye hypocrites6 ,it is thus that you deceive mankind--thus that you propagate your accursed errors6 ,when you were weak1 you preached liberty1 toleration1 peace2 when you are strong1 you practise persecution and violence-- 99 ,this description answers exactly to the banner of the ,inquisition of ,spanish ,jacobins4 ,and he was going to begin the history of the wars and slaughters of ,christianity1 when the legislator1 demanding silence1 suspended this scene of discord4 ,the monks1 affecting a tone of meekness and humility1 exclaimed3 ,it is not ourselves that we would avenge2 it is the cause of ,god2 it is the glory of ,god that we defend4 ,and what right have you1 more than we1 said the ,imans1 to constitute yourselves the representatives of ,god8 ,have you privileges that we have not8 ,are you not men like us8 ,to defend ,god1 said another group1 to pretend to avenge him1 is to insult his wisdom and his power4 ,does he not know1 better than men1 what befits his dignity8 ,yes1 replied the monks1 but his ways are secret4 ,and it remains for you to prove1 said the ,rabbins1 that you have the exclusive privilege of understanding them4 ,then1 proud of finding supporters to their cause1 the ,jews thought that the books of ,moses were going to be triumphant1 when the ,mobed 7high priest7 of the ,parses obtained leave to speak4 ,we have heard1 said he1 the account of the ,jews and ,christians of the origin of the world2 and1 though greatly mutilated1 we find in it some facts which we admit4 ,but we deny that they are to be attributed to the legislator of the ,hebrews4 ,it was not he who made known to men these sublime truths1 these celestial events4 ,it was not to him that ,god revealed them1 but to our holy prophet ,zoroaster3 and the proof of this is in the very books that they refer to4 ,examine with attention the laws1 the ceremonies1 the precepts established by ,moses in those books2 you will not find the slightest indication1 either expressed or understood1 of what constitutes the basis of the ,jewish and ,christian theology4 ,you nowhere find the least trace of the immortality of the soul1 or of a future life1 or of heaven1 or of hell1 or of the revolt of the principal angel1 author of the evils of the human race4 ,these ideas were not known to ,moses1 and the reason is very obvious3 it was not till four centuries afterwards that ,zoroaster first evangelized them in ,asia499 99 ,see the ,chronology of the ,twelve ,ages1 in which ,i conceive myself to have clearly proved that ,moses lived about #a1djj years before ,jesus ,christ1 and ,zoroaster about a thousand4 ,thus1 continued the ,mobed1 turning to the ,rabbins1 it was not till after that epoch1 that is to say1 in the time of your first kings1 that these ideas began to appear in your writers2 and then their appearance was obscure and gradual1 according to the progress of the political relations between your ancestors and ours4 ,it was especially when1 having been conquered by the kings of ,nineveh and ,babylon and transported to the banks of the ,tygris and the ,euphrates1 where they resided for three successive generations1 that they imbibed manners and opinions which had been rejected as contrary to their law4 ,when our king ,cyrus had delivered them from slavery1 their heart was won to us by gratitude2 they became our disciples and imitators2 and they admitted our dogmas in the revision of their books299 for your ,genesis1 in particular1 was never the work of ,moses1 but a compilation drawn up after the return from the ,babylonian captivity1 in which are inserted the ,chaldean opinions of the origin of the world4 99 ,in the first periods of the ,christian church1 not only the most learned of those who have since been denominated heretics1 but many of the orthodox conceived ,moses to have written neither the law nor the ,pentateuch1 but that the work was a compilation made by the elders of the people and the ,seventy1 who1 after the death of ,moses1 collected his scattered ordinances1 and mixed with them things that were extraneous2 similar to what happened as to the ,koran of ,mahomet4 ,see ,les ,clementines1 ,homel4 #b4 sect4 #ea4 and ,homel4 #c4 sect4 #db4 ,modern critics1 more enlightened or more attentive than the ancients1 have found in ,genesis in particular1 marks of its having been composed on the return from the captivity2 but the principal proofs have escaped them4 ,these ,i mean to exhibit in an analysis of the book of ,genesis1 in which ,i shall demonstrate that the tenth chapter1 among others1 which treats of the pretended generations of the man called ,noah1 is a real geographical picture of the world1 as it was known to the ,hebrews at the epoch of the captivity1 which was bounded by ,greece or ,hellas at the ,west1 mount ,caucasus at the ,north1 ,persia at the ,east1 and ,arabia and ,upper ,egypt at the ,south4 ,all the pretended personages from ,adam to ,abraham1 or his father ,terah1 are mythological beings1 stars1 constellations1 countries4 ,adam is ,bootes3 ,noah is ,osiris3 ,xisuthrus ,janus1 ,saturn2 that is to say ,capricorn1 or the celestial ,genius that opened the year4 ,the ,alexandrian ,chronicle says expressly1 page #he1 that ,nimrod was supposed by the ,persians to be their first king1 as having invented the art of hunting1 and that he was translated into heaven1 where he appears under the name of ,orion4 ,at first the pure followers of the law1 opposing to the emigrants the letter of the text and the absolute silence of the prophet1 endeavored to repel these innovations2 but they ultimately prevailed1 and our doctrine1 modified by your ideas1 gave rise to a new sect4 ,you expected a king to restore your political independence2 we announced a ,god to regenerate and save mankind4 ,from this combination of ideas1 your ,essenians laid the foundation of ,christianity3 and whatever your pretensions may be1 ,jews1 ,christians1 ,mussulmans1 you are1 in your system of spiritual beings1 only the blundering followers of ,zoroaster4 ,the ,mobed1 then passing on to the details of his religion1 quoting from the ,zadder and the ,zendavesta1 recounted1 in the same order as they are found in the book of ,genesis1 the creation of the world in six gahans199 the formation of a first man and a first woman1 in a divine place1 under the reign of perfect good2 the introduction of evil into the world by the great snake1 emblem of ,ahrimanes2 the revolt and battles of the ,genius of evil and darkness against ,ormuzd1 ,god of good and of light2 the division of the angels into white and black1 or good and bad2 their hierarchal orders1 cherubim1 seraphim1 thrones1 dominions1 etc42 the end of the world at the close of six thousand years2 the coming of the lamb1 the regenerator of nature2 the new world2 the future life1 and the regions of happiness and misery2 the passage of souls over the bridge of the bottomless pit2 the celebration of the mysteries of ,mithras2 the unleavened bread which the initiated eat2 the baptism of new-born children2 the unction of the dead2 the confession of sins2 and1 in a word1 he recited so many things analagous to those of the three preceding religions1 that his discourse seemed like a commentary or a continuation of the ,koran or the ,apocalypse49999 99 ,or periods1 or in six gahan-bars1 that is six periods of time4 ,these periods are what ,zoroaster calls the thousands of ,god or of light1 meaning the six summer months4 ,in the first1 say the ,persians1 ,god created 7arranged in order7 the heavens2 in the second the waters2 in the third the earth2 in the fourth trees2 in the fifth animals2 and in the sixth man2 corresponding with the account in ,genesis4 ,for particulars see ,hyde1 ch4 #i1 and ,henry ,lord1 ch4 #b1 on the religion of the ancient ,persians4 ,it is remarkable that the same tradition is found in the sacred books of the ,etrurians1 which relate that the fabricator of all things had comprised the duration of his work in a period of twelve thousand years1 which period was distributed to the twelve houses of the sun4 ,in the first thousand1 ,god made heaven and earth2 in the second the firmament2 in the third the sea and the waters2 in the fourth the sun1 moon and stars2 in the fifth the souls of animals1 birds1 and reptiles2 in the sixth man4 ,see ,suidas1 at the word ,tyrrhena2 which shows first the identity of their theological and astrological opinions2 and1 secondly1 the identity1 or rather confusion of ideas1 between absolute and systematical creation2 that is1 the periods assigned for renewing the face of nature1 which were at first the period of the year1 and afterwards periods of #fj1 of #fjj1 of #be1jjj1 of #cf1jjj and of #dcb1jjj years4 9999 ,the modern ,parses and the ancient ,mithriacs1 who are the same sect1 observe all the ,christian sacraments1 even the laying on of hands in confirmation4 ,the priest of ,mithra1 says ,tertullian1 7de ,proescriptione1 ch4 #dj7 promises absolution from sin on confession and baptism2 and1 if ,i rightly remember1 ,mithra marks his soldiers in the forehead1 with the chrism called in the ,egyptian ,kouphi2 he celebrates the sacrifice of bread1 which is the resurrection1 and presents the crown to his followers1 menacing them at the same time with the sword1 etc4 ,in these mysteries they tried the courage of the initiated with a thousand terrors1 presenting fire to his face1 a sword to his breast1 etc42 they also offered him a crown1 which he refused1 saying1 ,god is my crown3 and this crown is to be seen in the celestial sphere by the side of ,bootes4 ,the personages in these mysteries were distinguished by the names of the animal constellations4 ,the ceremony of mass is nothing more than an imitation of these mysteries and those of ,eleusis4 ,the benediction1 the ,lord be with you1 is a literal translation of the formula of admission chou-k1 am1 p-ka4 ,see ,beausob4 ,hist4 ,du ,manicheisme1 vol4 ii4 ,but the ,jewish1 ,christian1 and ,mahometan doctors1 crying out against this recital1 and treating the ,parses as idolaters and worshippers of fire1 charged them with falsehood1 interpolations1 falsification of facts2 and there arose a violent dispute as to the dates of the events1 their order and succession1 the origin of the doctrines1 their transmission from nation to nation1 the authenticity of the books on which they are founded1 the epoch of their composition1 the character of their compilers1 and the validity of their testimony4 ,and the various parties1 pointing out reciprocally to each other1 the contradictions1 improbabilities1 and forgeries1 accused one another of having established their belief on popular rumors1 vague traditions1 and absurd fables1 invented without discernment1 and admitted without examination by unknown1 partial1 or ignorant writers1 at uncertain or unknown epochs4 ,a great murmur now arose from under the standards of the various ,indian sects2 and the ,bramins1 protesting against the pretensions of the ,jews and the ,parses1 said3 ,what are these new and almost unheard of nations1 who arrogantly set themselves up as the sources of the human race1 and the depositaries of its archives8 ,to hear their calculations of five or six thousand years1 it would seem that the world was of yesterday2 whereas our monuments prove a duration of many thousands of centuries4 ,and for what reason are their books to be preferred to ours8 ,are then the ,vedes1 the ,chastres1 and the ,pourans inferior to the ,bibles1 the ,zendavestas1 and the ,zadders899 ,and is not the testimony of our fathers and our gods as valid as that of the fathers and the gods of the ,west8 ,ah6 if it were permitted to reveal our mysteries to profane men6 if a sacred veil did not justly conceal them from every eye6 ,these are the sacred volumes of the ,hindoos2 they are sometimes written ,vedams1 ,pouranams1 ,chastrans1 because the ,hindoos1 like the ,persians1 are accustomed to give a nasal sound to the terminations of their words1 which we represent by the affixes on and an1 and the ,portuguese by the affixes om and am4 ,many of these books have been translated1 thanks to the liberal spirit of ,mr4 ,hastings1 who has founded at ,calcutta a literary society1 and a printing press4 ,at the same time1 however1 that we express our gratitude to this society1 we must be permitted to complain of its exclusive spirit2 the number of copies printed of each book being such as it is impossible to purchase them even in ,england2 they are wholly in the hands of the ,east ,india proprietors4 ,scarcely even is the ,asiatic ,miscellany known in ,europe2 and a man must be very learned in oriental antiquity before he so much as hears of the ,jones's1 the ,wilkins's1 and the ,halhed's1 etc4 ,as to the sacred books of the ,hindoos1 all that are yet in our hands are the ,bhagvat ,geeta1 the ,ezour-,vedam1 the ,bagavadam1 and certain fragments of the ,chastres printed at the end of the ,bhagvat ,geeta4 ,these books are in ,indostan what the ,old and ,new ,testament are in ,christendom1 the ,koran in ,turkey1 the ,zadder and the ,zendavesta among the ,parses1 etc4 ,when ,i have taken an extensive survey of their contents1 ,i have sometimes asked myself1 what would be the loss to the human race if a new ,omar condemned them to the flames2 and1 unable to discover any mischief that would ensue1 ,i call the imaginary chest that contains them1 the box of ,pandora4 ,the ,bramins stopping short at these words3 ,how can we admit your doctrine1 said the legislator1 if you will not make it known8 ,and how did its first authors propagate it1 when1 being alone possessed of it1 their own people were to them profane8 ,did heaven reveal it to be kept a secret899 99 ,the ,vedas or ,vedams are the sacred volumes of the ,hindoos1 as the ,bibles with us4 ,they are three in number2 the ,rick ,veda1 the ,yadjour ,veda1 and the ,sama ,veda2 they are so scarce in ,india1 that the ,english could with great difficulty find an original one1 of which a copy is deposited in the ,british ,museum2 they who reckon four ,vedas1 include among them the ,attar ,veda1 concerning ceremonies1 but which is lost4 ,there are besides commentaries named ,upanishada1 one of which was published by ,anquetil du ,peron1 and entitled ,oupnekhat1 a curious work4 ,the date of these books is more than twenty-five centuries prior to our era2 their contents prove that all the reveries of the ,greek metaphysicians come from ,india and ,egypt4 ,since the year #aghh1 the learned men of ,england are working in ,india a mine of literature totally unknown in ,europe1 and which proves that the civilization of ,india ascends to a very remote antiquity4 ,after the ,vedas come the ,chastras amounting to six4 ,they treat of theology and the ,sciences4 ,afterwards eighteen ,pouranas1 treating of ,mythology and ,history4 ,see the ,bahgouet-guita1 the ,baga ,vadam1 and the ,ezour-,vedam1 etc4 ,but the ,bramins persisting in their silence3 ,let them have the honor of the secret1 said a ,european3 ,their doctrine is now divulged2 we have their books1 and ,i can give you the substance of them4 ,then beginning with an abstract of the four ,vedes1 the eighteen ,pourans1 and the five or six ,chastres1 he recounted how a being1 infinite1 eternal1 immaterial and round1 after having passed an eternity in self-contemplation1 and determining at last to manifest himself1 separated the male and female faculties which were in him1 and performed an act of generation1 of which the ,lingam remains an emblem2 how that first act gave birth to three divine powers1 ,brama1 ,bichen or ,vichenou1 and ,chib or ,chiven299 whose functions were--the first to create1 the second to preserve1 and the third to destroy1 or change the form of the universe4 ,then1 detailing the history of their operations and adventures1 he explained how ,brama1 proud of having created the world and the eight bobouns1 or spheres of probation1 thought himself superior to ,chib1 his equal2 how his pride brought on a battle between them1 in which these celestial globes were crushed like a basket of eggs2 how ,brama1 vanquished in this conflict1 was reduced to serve as a pedestal to ,chib1 metamorphosed into a ,lingam2 how ,vichenou1 the god mediator1 has taken at different times to preserve the world1 nine mortal forms of animals2 how first1 in shape of a fish1 he saved from the universal deluge a family who repeopled the earth2 how afterwards1 in the form of a tortoise19999 he drew from the sea of milk the mountain ,mandreguiri 7the pole72 then1 becoming a boar1 he tore the belly of the giant ,ereuniachessen1 who was drowning the earth in the abyss of ,djole1 from whence he drew it out with his tusks2 how1 becoming incarnate in a black shepherd1 and under the name of ,christ-en1 he delivered the world of the enormous serpent ,calengem1 and then crushed his head1 after having been wounded by him in the heel4 99 ,these names are differently pronounced according to the different dialects2 thus they say ,birmah1 ,bremma1 ,brouma4 ,bichen has been turned into ,vichen by the easy exchange of a ,b for a ,v1 and into ,vichenou by means of a grammatical affix4 ,in the same manner ,chib1 which is synonymous with ,satan1 and signifies adversary1 is frequently written ,chiba and ,chiv-en2 he is called also ,rouder and ,routr-en1 that is1 the destroyer4 9999 ,this is the constellation testudo1 or the lyre1 which was at first a tortoise1 on account of its slow motion round the ,pole2 then a lyre1 because it is the shell of this reptile on which the strings of the lyre are mounted4 ,see an excellent memoir of ,m4 ,dupuis sur l',origine des ,constellations4 ,then1 passing on to the history of the secondary ,genii1 he related how the ,eternal1 to display his own glory1 created various orders of angels1 whose business it was to sing his praises and to direct the universe2 how a part of these angels revolted under the guidance of an ambitious chief1 who strove to usurp the power of ,god1 and to govern all2 how ,god plunged them into a world of darkness1 there to undergo the punishment for their crimes2 how at last1 touched with compassion1 he consented to release them1 to receive them into favor1 after they should undergo a long series of probations2 how1 after creating for this purpose fifteen orbits or regions of planets1 and peopling them with bodies1 he ordered these rebel angels to undergo in them eighty-seven transmigrations2 he then explained how souls1 thus purified1 returned to the first source1 to the ocean of life and animation from which they had proceeded2 and since all living creatures contain portions of this universal soul1 he taught how criminal it was to deprive them of it4 ,he was finally proceeding to explain the rites and ceremonies1 when1 speaking of offerings and libations of milk and butter made to gods of copper and wood1 and then of purifications by the dung and urine of cows1 there arose a universal murmur1 mixed with peals of laughter1 which interrupted the orator4 ,each of the different groups began to reason on that religion3 ,they are idolators1 said the ,mussulmans2 and should be exterminated4 ,they are deranged in their intellect1 said the followers of ,confucius2 we must try to cure them4 ,what ridiculous gods1 said others1 are these puppets1 besmeared with grease and smoke6 ,are gods to be washed like dirty children1 from whom you must brush away the flies1 which1 attracted by honey1 are fouling them with their excrements6 ,but a ,bramin exclaimed with indignation3 ,these are profound mysteries1--emblems of truth1 which you are not worthy to hear4 ,and in what respect are you more worthy than we8 exclaimed a ,lama of ,tibet4 ,is it because you pretend to have issued from the head of ,brama1 and the rest of the human race from the less noble parts of his body8 ,but to support the pride of your distinctions of origin and castes1 prove to us in the first place that you are different from other men2 establish1 in the next place1 as historical facts1 the allegories which you relate2 show us1 indeed1 that you are the authors of all this doctrine2 for we will demonstrate1 if necessary1 that you have only stolen and disfigured it2 that you are only the imitators of the ancient paganism of the ,west2 to which1 by an ill assorted mixture1 you have allied the pure and spiritual doctrine of our gods--a doctrine totally detached from the senses1 and entirely unknown on earth till ,beddou taught it to the nations499 99 ,all the ancient opinions of the ,egyptian and ,grecian theologians are to be found in ,india1 and they appear to have been introduced1 by means of the commerce of ,arabia and the vicinity of ,persia1 time immemorial4 ,a number of groups having asked what was this doctrine1 and who was this god1 of whom the greater part had never heard the name1 the ,lama resumed and said3 ,in the beginning1 a sole-existent and self-existent ,god1 having passed an eternity in the contemplation of his own being1 resolved to manifest his perfections out of himself1 and created the matter of the world4 ,the four elements being produced1 but still in a state of confusion1 he breathed on the face of the waters1 which swelled like an immense bubble in form of an egg1 which unfolding1 became the vault or orb of heaven1 enclosing the world499 ,having made the earth1 and the bodies of animals1 this ,god1 essence of motion1 imparted to them a part of his own being to animate them2 for this reason1 the soul of everything that breathes being a portion of the universal soul1 no one of them can perish2 they only change their form and mould in passing successively into different bodies4 ,of all these forms1 the one most pleasing to ,god is that of man1 as most resembling his own perfections4 ,when a man1 by an absolute disengagement from his senses1 is wholly absorbed in self-contemplation1 he then discovers the divinity1 and becomes himself ,god4 ,of all the incarnations of this kind that ,god has hitherto taken1 the greatest and most solemn was that in which he appeared thirty centuries ago in ,kachemire1 under the name of ,fot or ,beddou1 to preach the doctrines of self-denial and self-annihilation4 99 ,this cosmogony of the ,lamas1 the ,bonzes1 and even the ,bramins1 as ,henry ,lord asserts1 is literally that of the ancient ,egyptians4 ,the ,egyptians1 says ,porphyry1 call ,kneph1 intelligence1 or efficient cause of the universe4 ,they relate that this ,god vomited an egg1 from which was produced another ,god named ,phtha or ,vulcan1 7igneous principle or the sun7 and they add1 that this egg is the world4 ,euseb4 ,proep4 ,evang4 p4 #aae4 ,they represent1 says the same author in another place1 the ,god ,kneph1 or efficient cause1 under the form of a man in deep blue 7the color of the sky7 having in his hand a sceptre1 a belt round his body1 and a small bonnet royal of light feathers on his head1 to denote how very subtile and fugacious the idea of that being is4 ,upon which ,i shall observe that ,kneph in ,hebrew signifies a wing1 a feather1 and that this color of sky-blue is to be found in the majority of the ,indian ,gods1 and is1 under the name of ,narayan1 one of their most distinguishing epithets4 ,then1 pursuing the history of ,fot1 the ,lama continued3 ,he was born from the right flank of a virgin of royal blood1 who did not cease to be a virgin for having become a mother2 that the king of the country1 uneasy at his birth1 wished to destroy him1 and for this purpose ordered a massacre of all the males born at that period1 that being saved by shepherds1 ,beddou lived in the desert till the age of thirty years1 at which time he began his mission to enlighten men and cast out devils2 that he performed a multitude of the most astonishing miracles2 that he spent his life in fasting and severe penitence1 and at his death1 bequeathed to his disciples a book containing his doctrines4 ,and the ,lama began to read3 ,he that leaveth his father and mother to follow me1 says ,fot1 becomes a perfect ,samanean 7a heavenly man74 ,he that practices my precepts to the fourth degree of perfection1 acquires the faculty of flying in the air1 of moving heaven and earth1 of prolonging or shortening his life 7rising from the dead74 ,the ,samanean despises riches1 and uses only what is strictly necessary2 he mortifies his body1 silences his passions1 desires nothing1 forms no attachments1 meditates my doctrines without ceasing1 endures injuries with patience1 and bears no malice to his neighbor4 ,heaven and earth shall perish1 says ,fot3 despise therefore your bodies1 which are composed of the four perishable elements1 and think only of your immortal soul4 ,listen not to the flesh3 fear and sorrow spring from the passions3 stifle the passions and you destroy fear and sorrow4 ,whoever dies without having embraced my religion1 says ,fot1 returns among men1 until he embraces it4 ,the ,lama was going on with his reading1 when the ,christians interrupted him1 crying out that this was their own religion adulterated--that ,fot was no other than ,jesus himself disfigured1 and that the ,lamas were the ,nestorians and the ,manicheans disguised and bastardized499 99 ,this is asserted by our missionaries1 and among others by ,georgi in his unfinished work of the ,thibetan alphabet3 but if it can be proved that the ,manicheans were but plagiarists1 and the ignorant echo of a doctrine that existed fifteen hundred years before them1 what becomes of the declarations of ,georgi8 ,see upon this subject1 ,beausob4 ,hist4 du ,manicheisme4 ,but the ,lama1 supported by the ,chamans1 ,bonzes1 ,gonnis1 ,talapoins of ,siam1 of ,ceylon1 of ,japan1 and of ,china1 proved to the ,christians1 even from their own authors1 that the doctrine of the ,samaneans was known through the ,east more than a thousand years before the ,christian era2 that their name was cited before the time of ,alexander1 and that ,boutta1 or ,beddou1 was known before ,jesus499 99 ,the eastern writers in general agree in placing the birth of ,beddou #ajbg years before ,jesus ,christ1 which makes him the contemporary of ,zoroaster1 with whom1 in my opinion1 they confound him4 ,it is certain that his doctrine notoriously existed at that epoch2 it is found entire in that of ,orpheus1 ,pythagoras1 and the ,indian gymnosophists4 ,but the gymnosophists are cited at the time of ,alexander as an ancient sect already divided into ,brachmans and ,samaneans4 ,see ,bardesanes en ,saint ,jerome1 ,epitre a ,jovien4 ,pythagoras lived in the ninth century before ,jesus ,christ2 ,see chronology of the twelve ages2 and ,orpheus is of still greater antiquity4 ,if1 as is the case1 the doctrine of ,pythagoras and that of ,orpheus are of ,egyptian origin1 that of ,beddou goes back to the common source2 and in reality the ,egyptian priests recite1 that ,hermes as he was dying said3 ,i have hitherto lived an exile from my country1 to which ,i now return4 ,weep not for me1 ,i ascend to the celestial abode where each of you will follow in his turn3 there ,god is3 this life is only death4--,chalcidius in ,thinaeum4 ,such was the profession of faith of the ,samaneans1 the sectaries of ,orpheus1 and the ,pythagoreans4 ,farther1 ,hermes is no other than ,beddou himself2 for among the ,indians1 ,chinese1 ,lamas1 etc41 the planet ,mercury and the corresponding day of the week 7,wednesday7 bear the name of ,beddou1 and this accounts for his being placed in the rank of mythological beings1 and discovers the illusion of his pretended existence as a man2 since it is evident that ,mercury was not a human being1 but the ,genius or ,decan1 who1 placed at the summer solstice1 opened the ,egyptian year2 hence his attributes taken from the constellation ,syrius1 and his name of ,anubis1 as well as that of ,esculapius1 having the figure of a man and the head of a dog3 hence his serpent1 which is the ,hydra1 emblem of the ,nile 7,hydor1 humidity72 and from this serpent he seems to have derived his name of ,hermes1 as ,remes 7with a schin7 in the oriental languages1 signifies serpent4 ,now ,beddou and ,hermes being the same names1 it is manifest of what antiquity is the system ascribed to the former4 ,as to the name of ,samanean1 it is precisely that of ,chaman1 still preserved in ,tartary1 ,china1 and ,india4 ,the interpretation given to it is1 man of the woods1 a hermit mortifying the flesh1 such being the characteristic of this sect2 but its literal meaning is1 celestial 7,samaoui7 and explains the system of those who are called by it4--,the system is the same as that of the sectaries of ,orpheus1 of the ,essenians1 of the ancient ,anchorets of ,persia1 and the whole eastern country4 ,see ,porphyry1 de ,abstin4 ,animal4 ,these celestial and penitent men carried in ,india their insanity to such an extreme as to wish not to touch the earth1 and they accordingly lived in cages suspended from the trees1 where the people1 whose admiration was not less absurd1 brought them provisions4 ,during the night there were frequent robberies1 rapes and murders1 and it was at length discovered that they were committed by those men1 who1 descending from their cages1 thus indemnified themselves for their restraint during the day4 ,the ,bramins1 their rivals1 embraced the opportunity of exterminating them2 and from that time their name in ,india has been synonymous with hypocrite4 ,see ,hist4 de la ,chine1 in #e vols4 quarto1 at the note page #cj2 ,hist4 de ,huns1 #b vols4 and preface to the ,ezour-,vedam4 ,then1 retorting the pretensions of the ,christians against themselves3 ,prove to us1 said the ,lama1 that you are not ,samaneans degenerated1 and that the man you make the author of your sect is not ,fot himself disguised4 ,prove to us by historical facts that he even existed at the epoch you pretend2 for1 it being destitute of authentic testimony199 we absolutely deny it2 and we maintain that your very gospels are only the books of some ,mithriacs of ,persia1 and the ,essenians of ,syria1 who were a branch of reformed ,samaneans49999 99 ,there are absolutely no other monuments of the existence of ,jesus ,christ as a human being1 than a passage in ,josephus 7,antiq4 ,jud4 lib4 #ah1 c4#c17 a single phrase in ,tacitus 7,annal4 lib4 #ae1 c4 #dd71 and the ,gospels4 ,but the passage in ,josephus is unanimously acknowledged to be apocryphal1 and to have been interpolated towards the close of the third century1 7,see ,trad4 de joseph1 par ,m4 ,gillet72 and that of ,tacitus in so vague and so evidently taken from the deposition of the ,christians before the tribunals1 that it may be ranked in the class of evangelical records4 ,it remains to enquire of what authority are these records4 ,all the world knows1 says ,faustus1 who1 though a ,manichean1 was one of the most learned men of the third century1 ,all the world knows that the gospels were neither written by ,jesus ,christ1 nor his apostles1 but by certain unknown persons1 who rightly judging that they should not obtain belief respecting things which they had not seen1 placed at the head of their recitals the names of contemporary apostles4 ,see ,beausob4 vol4 i4 and ,hist4 des ,apologistes de la ,relig4 ,chret4 par ,burigni1 a sagacious writer1 who has demonstrated the absolute uncertainty of those foundations of the ,christian religion2 so that the existence of ,jesus is no better proved than that of ,osiris and ,hercules1 or that of ,fot or ,beddou1 with whom1 says ,m4 de ,guignes1 the ,chinese continually confound him1 for they never call ,jesus by any other name than ,fot4 ,hist4 de ,huns4 9999 ,that is to say1 from the pious romances formed out of the sacred legends of the mysteries of ,mithra1 ,ceres1 ,isis1 etc41 from whence are equally derived the books of the ,hindoos and the ,bonzes4 ,our missionaries have long remarked a striking resemblance between those books and the gospels4 ,m4 ,wilkins expressly mentions it in a note in the ,bhagvat ,geeta4 ,all agree that ,krisna1 ,fot1 and ,jesus have the same characteristic features3 but religious prejudice has stood in the way of drawing from this circumstance the proper and natural inference4 ,to time and reason must it be left to display the truth4 ,at these words1 the ,christians set up a general cry1 and a new dispute was about to begin2 when a number of ,chinese ,chamans1 and ,talapoins of ,siam1 came forward and said that they would settle the whole controversy4 ,and one of them speaking for the whole exclaimed3 ,it is time to put an end to these frivolous contests by drawing aside the veil from the interior doctrine that ,fot himself revealed to his disciples on his death bed499 99 ,the ,budsoists have two doctrines1 the one public and ostensible1 the other interior and secret1 precisely like the ,egyptian priests4 ,it may be asked1 why this distinction8 ,it is1 that as the public doctrine recommends offerings1 expiations1 endowments1 etc41 the priests find their profit in preaching it to the people2 whereas the other1 teaching the vanity of worldly things1 and attended with no lucre1 it is thought proper to make it known only to adepts4 ,can the teachers and followers of this religion be better classed than under the heads of knavery and credulity8 ,all these theological opinions1 continued he1 are but chimeras4 ,all the stories of the nature of the gods1 of their actions and their lives1 are but allegories and mythological emblems1 under which are enveloped ingenious ideas of morals1 and the knowledge of the operations of nature in the action of the elements and the movement of the planets4 ,the truth is1 that all is reduced to nothing--that all is illusion1 appearance1 dream2 that the moral metempsychosis is only the figurative sense of the physical metempsychosis1 or the successive movement of the elements of bodies which perish not1 but which1 having composed one body1 pass when that is dissolved1 into other mediums and form other combinations4 ,the soul is but the vital principle which results from the properties of matter1 and from the action of the elements in those bodies where they create a spontaneous movement4 ,to suppose that this product of the play of the organs1 born with them1 matured with them1 and which sleeps with them1 can subsist when they cease1 is the romance of a wandering imagination1 perhaps agreeable enough1 but really chimerical4 ,god itself is nothing more than the moving principle1 the occult force inherent in all beings--the sum of their laws and properties--the animating principle2 in a word1 the soul of the universe2 which on account of the infinite variety of its connections and its operations1 sometimes simple1 sometimes multiple1 sometimes active1 sometimes passive1 has always presented to the human mind an unsolvable enigma4 ,all that man can comprehend with certainty is1 that matter does not perish2 that it possesses essentially those properties by which the world is held together like a living and organized being2 that the knowledge of these laws with respect to man is what constitutes wisdom2 that virtue and merit consist in their observance2 and evil1 sin1 and vice1 in the ignorance and violation of them2 that happiness and misery result from these by the same necessity which makes heavy bodies descend and light ones rise1 and by a fatality of causes and effects1 whose chain extends from the smallest atom to the greatest of the heavenly bodies499 99 ,these are the very expressions of ,la ,loubre1 in his description of the kingdom of ,siam and the theology of the ,bronzes4 ,their dogmas1 compared with those of the ancient philosophers of ,greece and ,italy1 give a complete representation of the whole system of the ,stoics and ,epicureans1 mixed with astrological superstitious1 and some traits of ,pythagorism4 ,at these words1 a crowd of theologians of every sect cried out that this doctrine was materialism1 and that those who profess it were impious atheists1 enemies to ,god and man1 who must be exterminated4 ,very well1 replied the ,chamans1 suppose we are in error1 which is not impossible1 since the first attribute of the human mind is to be subject to illusion2 but what right have you to take away from men like yourselves1 the life which ,heaven has given them8 ,if ,heaven holds us guilty and in abhorrence1 why does it impart to us the same blessings as to you8 ,and if it treats us with forbearance1 what authority have you to be less indulgent8 ,pious men6 who speak of ,god with so much certainty and confidence1 be so good as to tell us what it is2 give us to comprehend what those abstract and metaphysical beings are1 which you call ,god and soul1 substance without matter1 existence without body1 life without organs or sensation4 ,if you know those beings by your senses or their reflections1 render them in like manner perceptible to us2 or if you speak of them on testimony and tradition1 show us a uniform account1 and give a determinate basis to our creed4 ,there now arose among the theologians a great controversy respecting ,god and his nature1 his manner of acting1 and of manifesting himself2 on the nature of the soul and its union with the body2 whether it exists before the organs1 or only after they are formed2 on the future life1 and the other world4 ,and every sect1 every school1 every individual1 differing on all these points1 and each assigning plausible reasons1 and respectable though opposite authorities for his opinion1 they fell into an inextricable labyrinth of contradictions4 ,then the legislator1 having commanded silence and recalled the dispute to its true object1 said3 ,chiefs and instructors of nations2 you came together in search of truth4 ,at first1 every one of you1 thinking he possessed it1 demanded of the others an implicit faith2 but perceiving the contrariety of your opinions1 you found it necessary to submit them to a common rule of evidence1 and to bring them to one general term of comparison2 and you agreed that each should exhibit the proofs of his doctrine4 ,you began by alleging facts2 but each religion and every sect1 being equally furnished with miracles and martyrs1 each producing an equal number of witnesses1 and offering to support them by a voluntary death1 the balance on this first point1 by right of parity1 remained equal4 ,you then passed to the trial of reasoning2 but the same arguments applying equally to contrary positions--the same assertions1 equally gratuitous1 being advanced and repelled with equal force1 and all having an equal right to refuse his assent1 nothing was demonstrated4 ,what is more1 the confrontation of your systems has brought up more and extraordinary difficulties2 for amid the apparent or adventitious diversities1 you have discovered a fundamental resemblance1 a common groundwork2 and each of you pretending to be the inventor1 and first depositary1 have taxed each other with adulterations and plagiarisms2 and thence arises a difficult question concerning the transmission of religious ideas from people to people4 ,finally1 to complete your embarrassment3 when you endeavored to explain your doctrines to each other1 they appeared confused and foreign1 even to their adherents2 they were founded on ideas inaccessible to your senses2 you consequently had no means of judging of them1 and you confessed yourselves in this respect to be only the echoes of your fathers4 ,hence follows this other question3 how came they to the knowledge of your fathers1 who themselves had no other means than you to conceive them8 ,so that1 on the one hand1 the succession of these ideas being unknown1 and on the other1 their origin and existence being a mystery1 all the edifice of your religious opinions becomes a complicated problem of metaphysics and history4 ,since1 however1 these opinions1 extraordinary as they may be1 must have had some origin2 since even the most abstract and fantastical ideas have some physical model1 it may be useful to recur to this origin1 and discover this model--in a word1 to find out from what source the human understanding has drawn these ideas1 at present so obscure1 of ,god1 of the soul1 of all immaterial beings1 which make the basis of so many systems2 to unfold the filiation which they have followed1 and the alterations which they have undergone in their transmissions and ramifications4 ,if1 then1 there are any persons present who have made a study of these objects1 let them come forward1 and endeavor1 in the face of nations1 to dissipate the obscurity in which their opinions have so long remained4 ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,,origin ,,and ,,filiation ,,of ,,religious ,,ideas4 ,at these words1 a new group1 formed in an instant by men from various standards1 but not distinguished by any1 came forward into the circle2 and one of them spoke in the name of the whole3 ,delegates1 friends of evidence and virtue6 ,it is not surprising that the subject in question should be enveloped in so many clouds1 since1 besides its inherent difficulties1 thought itself has always been encumbered with superadded obstacles peculiar to this study1 where all free enquiry and discussion have been interdicted by the intolerance of every system4 ,but now that our views are permitted to expand1 we will expose to open day1 and submit to the judgment of nations1 that which unprejudiced minds1 after long researches1 have found to be the most reasonable2 and we do this1 not with the pretension of imposing a new creed1 but with the hope of provoking new lights1 and obtaining better information4 ,doctors and instructors of nations6 ,you know what thick darkness covers the nature1 the origin1 the history of the dogmas which you teach4 ,imposed by authority1 inculcated by education1 and maintained by example1 they pass from age to age1 and strengthen their empire from habit and inattention4 ,but if man1 enlightened by reflection and experience1 brings to mature examination the prejudices of his childhood1 he soon discovers a multitude of incongruities and contradictions which awaken his sagacity and excite his reasoning powers4 ,at first1 remarking the diversity and opposition of the creeds which divide the nations1 he takes courage to question the infallibility which each of them claims1 and arming himself with their reciprocal pretensions1 he conceives that his senses and his reason1 derived immediately from ,god1 are a law not less holy1 a guide not less sure1 than the mediate and contradictory codes of the prophets4 ,if he then examines the texture of these codes themselves1 he observes that their laws1 pretended to be divine1 that is1 immutable and eternal1 have arisen from circumstances of times1 places1 and persons2 that they have issued one from the other1 in a kind of genealogical order1 borrowing from each other reciprocally a common and similar fund of ideas1 which every lawgiver modifies according to his fancy4 ,if he ascends to the source of these ideas1 he finds it involved in the night of time1 in the infancy of nations1 even to the origin of the world1 to which they claim alliance2 and there1 placed in the darkness of chaos1 in the empire of fables and traditions1 they present themselves1 accompanied with a state of things so full of prodigies1 that it seems to forbid all access to the judgment3 but this state itself excites a first effort of reason1 which resolves the difficulty2 for if the prodigies1 found in the theological systems1 have really existed--if1 for instance1 the metamorphoses1 the apparitions1 the conversations with one or many gods1 recorded in the books of the ,indians1 the ,hebrews1 the ,parses1 are historical events1 he must agree that nature in those times was totally different from what it is at present2 that the present race of men are quite another species from those who then existed2 and1 therefore1 he ought not to trouble his head about them4 ,if1 on the contrary1 these miraculous events have really not existed in the physical order of things1 then he readily conceives that they are creatures of the human intellect2 and this faculty being still capable of the most fantastical combinations1 explains at once the phenomenon of these monsters in history4 ,it only remains1 then1 to find how and wherefore they have been formed in the imagination4 ,now1 if we examine with care the subjects of these intellectual creations1 analyze the ideas which they combine and associate1 and carefully weigh all the circumstances which they allege1 we shall find that this first obscure and incredible state of things is explained by the laws of nature4 ,we find that these stories of a fabulous kind have a figurative sense different from the apparent one2 that these events1 pretended to be marvellous1 are simple and physical facts1 which1 being misconceived or misrepresented1 have been disfigured by accidental causes dependent on the human mind1 by the confusion of signs employed to represent the ideas1 the want of precision in words1 permanence in language1 and perfection in writing2 we find that these gods1 for instance1 who display such singular characters in every system1 are only the physical agents of nature1 the elements1 the winds1 the stars1 and the meteors1 which have been personified by the necessary mechanism of language and of the human understanding2 that their lives1 their manners1 their actions1 are only their mechanical operations and connections2 and that all their pretended history is only the description of these phenomena1 formed by the first naturalists who observed them1 and misconceived by the vulgar who did not understand them1 or by succeeding generations who forgot them4 ,in a word1 all the theological dogmas on the origin of the world1 the nature of ,god1 the revelation of his laws1 the manifestation of his person1 are known to be only the recital of astronomical facts1 only figurative and emblematical accounts of the motion of the heavenly bodies4 ,we are convinced that the very idea of a ,god1 that idea at present so obscure1 is1 in its first origin1 nothing but that of the physical powers of the universe1 considered sometimes as a plurality by reason of their agencies and phenomena1 sometimes as one simple and only being by reason of the universality of the machine and the connection of its parts2 so that the being called ,god has been sometimes the wind1 the fire1 the water1 all the elements2 sometimes the sun1 the stars1 the planets1 and their influence2 sometimes the matter of the visible world1 the totality of the universe2 sometimes abstract and metaphysical qualities1 such as space1 duration1 motion1 intelligence2 and we everywhere see this conclusion1 that the idea of ,god has not been a miraculous revelation of invisible beings1 but a natural offspring of the human intellect--an operation of the mind1 whose progress it has followed and whose revolutions it has undergone1 in all the progress that has been made in the knowledge of the physical world and its agents4 ,it is then in vain that nations attribute their religion to heavenly inspirations2 it is in vain that their dogmas pretend to a primeval state of supernatural events3 the original barbarity of the human race1 attested by their own monuments199 belies these assertions at once4 ,but there is one constant and indubitable fact which refutes beyond contradiction all these doubtful accounts of past ages4 ,from this position1 that man acquires and receives no ideas but through the medium of his senses19999 it follows with certainty that every notion which claims to itself any other origin than that of sensation and experience1 is the erroneous supposition of a posterior reasoning3 now1 it is sufficient to cast an eye upon the sacred systems of the origin of the world1 and of the actions of the gods1 to discover in every idea1 in every word1 the anticipation of an order of things which could not exist till a long time after4 ,reason1 strengthened by these contradictions1 rejecting everything that is not in the order of nature1 and admitting no historical facts but those founded on probabilities1 lays open its own system1 and pronounces itself with assurance4 99 ,it is the unanimous testimony of history1 and even of legends1 that the first human beings were every where savages1 and that it was to civilize them1 and teach them to make bread1 that the ,gods manifested themselves4 9999 ,the rock on which all the ancients have split1 and which has occasioned all their errors1 has been their supposing the idea of ,god to be innate and co-eternal with the soul2 and hence all the reveries developed in ,plato and ,jamblicus4 ,see the ,timoeus1 the ,phedon1 and ,de ,mysteriis ,egyptiorum1 sect4 ,i1 c4 #c4 ,before one nation had received from another nation dogmas already invented2 before one generation had inherited ideas acquired by a preceding generation1 none of these complicated systems could have existed in the world4 ,the first men1 being children of nature1 anterior to all events1 ignorant of all science1 were born without any idea of the dogmas arising from scholastic disputes2 of rites founded on the practice of arts not then known2 of precepts framed after the development of passions2 or of laws which suppose a language1 a state of society not then in being2 or of ,god1 whose attributes all refer to physical objects1 and his actions to a despotic state of government2 or of the soul1 or of any of those metaphysical beings1 which we are told are not the objects of sense1 and for which1 however1 there can be no other means of access to the understanding4 ,to arrive at so many results1 the necessary circle of preceding facts must have been observed2 slow experience and repeated trials must have taught the rude man the use of his organs2 the accumulated knowledge of successive generations must have invented and improved the means of living2 and the mind1 freed from the cares of the first wants of nature1 must have raised itself to the complicated art of comparing ideas1 of digesting arguments1 and seizing abstract similitudes4 ,i4 ,origin of the idea of ,god3 ,worship of the elements and of the physical powers of nature4 ,it was not till after having overcome these obstacles1 and gone through a long career in the night of history1 that man1 reflecting on his condition1 began to perceive that he was subjected to forces superior to his own1 and independent of his will4 ,the sun enlightened and warmed him1 the fire burned him1 the thunder terrified him1 the wind beat upon him1 the water overwhelmed him4 ,all beings acted upon him powerfully and irresistibly4 ,he sustained this action for a long time1 like a machine1 without enquiring the cause2 but the moment he began his enquiries1 he fell into astonishment2 and1 passing from the surprise of his first reflections to the reverie of curiosity1 he began a chain of reasoning4 ,first1 considering the action of the elements on him1 he conceived an idea of weakness and subjection on his part1 and of power and domination on theirs2 and this idea of power was the primitive and fundamental type of every idea of ,god4 ,secondly1 the action of these natural existences excited in him sensations of pleasure or pain1 of good or evil2 and by a natural effect of his organization1 he conceived for them love or aversion2 he desired or dreaded their presence2 and fear or hope gave rise to the first idea of religion4 ,then1 judging everything by comparison1 and remarking in these beings a spontaneous movement like his own1 he supposed this movement directed by a will1--an intelligence of the nature of his own2 and hence1 by induction1 he formed a new reasoning4 ,having experienced that certain practices towards his fellow creatures had the effect to modify their affections and direct their conduct to his advantage1 he resorted to the same practices towards these powerful beings of the universe4 ,he reasoned thus with himself3 ,when my fellow creature1 stronger than ,i1 is disposed to do me injury1 ,i abase myself before him1 and my prayer has the art to calm him4 ,i will pray to these powerful beings who strike me4 ,i will supplicate the intelligences of the winds1 of the stars1 of the waters1 and they will hear me4 ,i will conjure them to avert the evil and give me the good that is at their disposal2 ,i will move them by my tears1 ,i will soften them by offerings1 and ,i shall be happy4 ,thus simple man1 in the infancy of his reason1 spoke to the sun and to the moon2 he animated with his own understanding and passions the great agents of nature2 he thought by vain sounds1 and vain actions1 to change their inflexible laws4 ,fatal error6 ,he prayed the stone to ascend1 the water to mount above its level1 the mountains to remove1 and substituting a fantastical world for the real one1 he peopled it with imaginary beings1 to the terror of his mind and the torment of his race4 ,in this manner the ideas of ,god and religion have sprung1 like all others1 from physical objects2 they were produced in the mind of man from his sensations1 from his wants1 from the circumstances of his life1 and the progressive state of his knowledge4 ,now1 as the ideas of ,god had their first models in physical agents1 it followed that ,god was at first varied and manifold1 like the form under which he appeared to act4 ,every being was a ,power1 a ,genius2 and the first men conceived the universe filled with innumerable gods4 ,again the ideas of ,god have been created by the affections of the human heart2 they became necessarily divided into two classes1 according to the sensations of pleasure or pain1 love or hatred1 which they inspired4 ,the forces of nature1 the gods and genii1 were divided into beneficent and malignant1 good and evil powers2 and hence the universality of these two characters in all the systems of religion4 ,these ideas1 analogous to the condition of their inventors1 were for a long time confused and ill-digested4 ,savage men1 wandering in the woods1 beset with wants and destitute of resources1 had not the leisure to combine principles and draw conclusions2 affected with more evils than they found pleasures1 their most habitual sentiment was that of fear1 their theology terror2 their worship was confined to a few salutations and offerings to beings whom they conceived as greedy and ferocious as themselves4 ,in their state of equality and independence1 no man offered himself as mediator between men and gods as insubordinate and poor as himself4 ,no one having superfluities to give1 there existed no parasite by the name of priest1 no tribute by the name of victim1 no empire by the name of altar4 ,their dogmas and their morals were the same thing1 it was only self-preservation2 and religion1 that arbitrary idea1 without influence on the mutual relations of men1 was a vain homage rendered to the visible powers of nature4 ,such was the necessary and original idea of ,god4 ,and the orator1 addressing himself to the savage nations1 continued3 ,we appeal to you1 men who have received no foreign and factitious ideas2 tell us1 have you ever gone beyond what ,i have described8 ,and you1 learned doctors1 we call you to witness2 is not this the unanimous testimony of all ancient monuments899 99 ,it clearly results1 says ,plutarch1 from the verses of ,orpheus and the sacred books of the ,egyptians and ,phrygians1 that the ancient theology1 not only of the ,greeks1 but of all nations1 was nothing more than a system of physics1 a picture of the operations of nature1 wrapped up in mysterious allegories and enigmatical symbols1 in a manner that the ignorant multitude attended rather to their apparent than to their hidden meaning1 and even in what they understood of the latter1 supposed there to be something more deep than what they perceived4 ,fragment of a work of ,plutarch now lost1 quoted by ,eusebius1 ,proepar4 ,evang4 lib4 #c1 ch4 #a1 p4 #hc4 ,the majority of philosophers1 says ,porphyry1 and among others ,haeremon 7who lived in ,egypt in the first age of ,christianity71 imagine there never to have been any other world than the one we see1 and acknowledged no other ,gods of all those recognized by the ,egyptians1 than such as are commonly called planets1 signs of the ,zodiac1 and constellations2 whose aspects1 that is1 rising and setting1 are supposed to influence the fortunes of men2 to which they add their divisions of the signs into decans and dispensers of time1 whom they style lords of the ascendant1 whose names1 virtues in relieving distempers1 rising1 setting1 and presages of future events1 are the subjects of almanacs 7for be it observed1 that the ,egyptian priests had almanacs the exact counterpart of ,matthew ,lansberg's72 for when the priests affirmed that the sun was the architect of the universe1 ,chaeremon presently concludes that all their narratives respecting ,isis and ,osiris1 together with their other sacred fables1 referred in part to the planets1 the phases of the moon1 and the revolution of the sun1 and in part to the stars of the daily and nightly hemispheres and the river ,nile2 in a word1 in all cases to physical and natural existences and never to such as might be immaterial and incorporeal4 4 4 4 ,all these philosophers believe that the acts of our will and the motion of our bodies depend on those of the stars to which they are subjected1 and they refer every thing to the laws of physical necessity1 which they call destiny or ,fatum1 supposing a chain of causes and effects which binds1 by ,i know not what connection1 all beings together1 from the meanest atom to the supremest power and primary influence of the ,gods2 so that1 whether in their temples or in their idols1 the only subject of worship is the power of destiny4 ,porphyr4 ,epist4 ad ,janebonem4 ,,ii4 ,second system3 ,worship of the ,stars1 or ,sabeism4 ,but those same monuments present us likewise a system more methodical and more complicated--that of the worship of all the stars2 adored sometimes in their proper forms1 sometimes under figurative emblems and symbols2 and this worship was the effect of the knowledge men had acquired in physics1 and was derived immediately from the first causes of the social state2 that is1 from the necessities and arts of the first degree1 which are among the elements of society4 ,indeed1 as soon as men began to unite in society1 it became necessary for them to multiply the means of subsistence1 and consequently to attend to agriculture3 agriculture1 to be carried on with success1 requires the observation and knowledge of the heavens4 ,it was necessary to know the periodical return of the same operations of nature1 and the same phenomena in the skies2 indeed to go so far as to ascertain the duration and succession of the seasons and the months of the year4 ,it was indispensable to know1 in the first place1 the course of the sun1 who1 in his zodiacal revolution1 shows himself the supreme agent of the whole creation2 then1 of the moon1 who1 by her phases and periods1 regulates and distributes time2 then1 of the stars1 and even of the planets1 which by their appearance and disappearance on the horizon and nocturnal hemisphere1 marked the minutest divisions4 ,finally1 it was necessary to form a whole system of astronomy199 or a calendar2 and from these works there naturally followed a new manner of considering these predominant and governing powers4 ,having observed that the productions of the earth had a regular and constant relation with the heavenly bodies2 that the rise1 growth1 and decline of each plant kept pace with the appearance1 elevation1 and declination of the same star or the same group of stars2 in short1 that the languor or activity of vegetation seemed to depend on celestial influences1 men drew from thence an idea of action1 of power1 in those beings1 superior to earthly bodies2 and the stars1 dispensing plenty or scarcity1 became powers1 genii19999 gods1 authors of good and evil4 99 ,it continues to be repeated every day1 on the indirect authority of the book of ,genesis1 that astronomy was the invention of the children of ,noah4 ,it has been gravely said1 that while wandering shepherds in the plains of ,shinar1 they employed their leisure in composing a planetary system3 as if shepherds had occasion to know more than the polar star2 and if necessity was not the sole motive of every invention6 ,if the ancient shepherds were so studious and sagacious1 how does it happen that the modern ones are so stupid1 ignorant1 and inattentive8 ,and it is a fact that the ,arabs of the desert know not so many as six constellations1 and understand not a word of astronomy4 9999 ,it appears that by the word genius1 the ancients denoted a quality1 a generative power2 for the following words1 which are all of one family1 convey this meaning3 generare1 genos1 genesis1 genus1 gens4 ,as the state of society had already introduced a regular hierarchy of ranks1 employments and conditions1 men1 continuing to reason by comparison1 carried their new notions into their theology1 and formed a complicated system of divinities by gradation of rank1 in which the sun1 as first god199 was a military chief or a political king3 the moon was his wife and queen2 the planets were servants1 bearers of commands1 messengers2 and the multitude of stars were a nation1 an army of heroes1 genii1 whose office was to govern the world under the orders of their chiefs4 ,all the individuals had names1 functions1 attributes1 drawn from their relations and influences2 and even sexes1 from the gender of their appellations49999 99 ,the ,sabeans1 ancient and modern1 says ,maimonides1 acknowledge a principal ,god1 the maker and inhabitant of heaven2 but on account of his great distance they conceive him to be inaccessible2 and in imitation of the conduct of people towards their kings1 they employ as mediators with him1 the planets and their angels1 whom they call princes and potentates1 and whom they suppose to reside in those luminous bodies as in palaces or tabernacles1 etc4 ,more- ,nebuchim4 9999 ,according as the gender of the object was in the language of the nation masculine or feminine1 the ,divinity who bore its name was male or female4 ,thus the ,cappadocians called the moon ,god1 and the sun ,goddess3 a circumstance which gives to the same beings a perpetual variety in ancient mythology4 ,and as the social state had introduced certain usages and ceremonies1 religion1 keeping pace with the social state1 adopted similar ones2 these ceremonies1 at first simple and private1 became public and solemn2 the offerings became rich and more numerous1 and the rites more methodical2 they assigned certain places for the assemblies1 and began to have chapels and temples2 they instituted officers to administer them1 and these became priests and pontiffs3 they established liturgies1 and sanctified certain days1 and religion became a civil act1 a political tie4 ,but in this arrangement1 religion did not change its first principles2 the idea of ,god was always that of physical beings1 operating good or evil1 that is1 impressing sensations of pleasure or pain3 the dogma was the knowledge of their laws1 or their manner of acting2 virtue and sin1 the observance or infraction of these laws2 and morality1 in its native simplicity1 was the judicious practice of whatever contributes to the preservation of existence1 the well-being of one's self and his fellow creatures499 99 ,we may add1 says ,plutarch1 that these ,egyptian priests always regarded the preservation of health as a point of the first importance1 and as indispensably necessary to the practice of piety and the service of the gods4 ,see his account of ,isis and ,osiris1 towards the end4 ,should it be asked at what epoch this system took its birth1 we shall answer on the testimony of the monuments of astronomy itself2 that its principles appear with certainty to have been established about seventeen thousand years ago199 and if it be asked to what people it is to be attributed1 we shall answer that the same monuments1 supported by unanimous traditions1 attribute it to the first tribes of ,egypt2 and when reason finds in that country all the circumstances which could lead to such a system2 when it finds there a zone of sky1 bordering on the tropic1 equally free from the rains of the equator and the fogs of the ,north29999 when it finds there a central point of the sphere of the ancients1 a salubrious climate1 a great1 but manageable river1 a soil fertile without art or labor1 inundated without morbid exhalations1 and placed between two seas which communicate with the richest countries1 it conceives that the inhabitant of the ,nile1 addicted to agriculture from the nature of his soil1 to geometry from the annual necessity of measuring his lands1 to commerce from the facility of communications1 to astronomy from the state of his sky1 always open to observation1 must have been the first to pass from the savage to the social state2 and consequently to attain the physical and moral sciences necessary to civilized life4 99 ,the historical orator follows here the opinion of ,m4 ,dupuis1 who1 in his learned memoirs concerning the ,origin of the ,constellations and ,origin of all ,worship1 has assigned many plausible reasons to prove that ,libra was formerly the sign of the vernal1 and ,aries of the autumnal equinox2 that is1 that since the origin of the actual astronomical system1 the precession of the equinoxes has carried forward by seven signs the primitive order of the zodiac4 ,now estimating the precession at about seventy years and a half to a degree1 that is1 #b1aae years to each sign2 and observing that ,aries was in its fifteenth degree1 #a1ddg years before ,christ1 it follows that the first degree of ,libra could not have coincided with the vernal equinox more lately than #ae1aid years before ,christ2 now1 if you add #agij years since ,christ1 it appears that #af1ihd years have elapsed since the origin of the ,zodiac4 ,the vernal equinox coincided with the first degree of ,aries1 #b1ejd years before ,christ1 and with the first degree of ,taurus #d1fai years before ,christ4 ,now it is to be observed1 that the worship of the ,bull is the principal article in the theological creed of the ,egyptians1 ,persians1 ,japanese1 etc42 from whence it clearly follows1 that some general revolution took place among these nations at that time4 ,the chronology of five or six thousand years in ,genesis is little agreeable to this hypothesis2 but as the book of ,genesis cannot claim to be considered as a history farther back than ,abraham1 we are at liberty to make what arrangements we please in the eternity that preceded4 ,see on this subject the analysis of ,genesis1 in the first volume of ,new ,researches on ,ancient ,history2 see also ,origin of ,constellatians1 by ,dupuis1 #agha2 the ,origin of ,worship1 in #c vols4 #agid1 and the ,chronological ,zodiac1 #ahjf4 9999 ,m4 ,balli1 in placing the first astronomers at ,selingenakoy1 near the ,bailkal paid no attention to this twofold circumstance3 it equally argues against their being placed at ,axoum on account of the rains1 and the ,zimb fly of which ,mr4 ,bruce speaks4 ,it was1 then1 on the borders of the upper ,nile1 among a black race of men1 that was organized the complicated system of the worship of the stars1 considered in relation to the productions of the earth and the labors of agriculture2 and this first worship1 characterized by their adoration under their own forms and natural attributes1 was a simple proceeding of the human mind4 ,but in a short time1 the multiplicity of the objects of their relations1 and their reciprocal influence1 having complicated the ideas1 and the signs that represented them1 there followed a confusion as singular in its cause as pernicious in its effects4 ,,iii4 ,third system4 ,worship of ,symbols1 or ,idolatry4 ,as soon as this agricultural people began to observe the stars with attention1 they found it necessary to individualize or group them2 and to assign to each a proper name1 in order to understand each other in their designation4 ,a great difficulty must have presented itself in this business3 ,first1 the heavenly bodies1 similar in form1 offered no distinguishing characteristics by which to denominate them2 and1 secondly1 the language in its infancy and poverty1 had no expressions for so many new and metaphysical ideas4 ,necessity1 the usual stimulus of genius1 surmounted everything4 ,having remarked that in the annual revolution1 the renewal and periodical appearance of terrestrial productions were constantly associated with the rising and setting of certain stars1 and to their position as relative to the sun1 the fundamental term of all comparison1 the mind by a natural operation connected in thought these terrestrial and celestial objects1 which were connected in fact2 and applying to them a common sign1 it gave to the stars1 and their groups1 the names of the terrestrial objects to which they answered499 99 ,the ancients1 says ,maimonides1 directing all their attention to agriculture1 gave names to the stars derived from their occupation during the year4 ,more ,neb4 pars #c4 ,thus the ,ethopian of ,thebes named stars of inundation1 or ,aquarius1 those stars under which the ,nile began to overflow299 stars of the ox or the bull1 those under which they began to plow2 stars of the lion1 those under which that animal1 driven from the desert by thirst1 appeared on the banks of the ,nile2 stars of the sheaf1 or of the harvest virgin1 those of the reaping season2 stars of the lamb1 stars of the two kids1 those under which these precious animals were brought forth3 and thus was resolved the first part of the difficulty4 99 ,this must have been ,june4 ,moreover1 man having remarked in the beings which surrounded him certain qualities distinctive and proper to each species1 and having thence derived a name by which to designate them1 he found in the same source an ingenious mode of generalizing his ideas2 and transferring the name already invented to every thing which bore any resemblance or analogy1 he enriched his language with a perpetual round of metaphors4 ,thus the same ,ethiopian having observed that the return of the inundation always corresponded with the rising of a beautiful star which appeared towards the source of the ,nile1 and seemed to warn the husbandman against the coming waters1 he compared this action to that of the animal who1 by his barking1 gives notice of danger1 and he called this star the dog1 the barker 7,sirius74 ,in the same manner he named the stars of the crab1 those where the sun1 having arrived at the tropic1 retreated by a slow retrograde motion like the crab or cancer4 ,he named stars of the wild goat1 or ,capricorn1 those where the sun1 having reached the highest point in his annuary tract1 rests at the summit of the horary gnomon1 and imitates the goat1 who delights to climb the summit of the rocks4 ,he named stars of the balance1 or libra1 those where the days and nights1 being equal1 seemed in equilibrium1 like that instrument2 and stars of the scorpion1 those where certain periodical winds bring vapors1 burning like the venom of the scorpion4 ,in the same manner he called by the name of rings and serpents the figured traces of the orbits of the stars and the planets1 and such was the general mode of naming all the stars and even the planets1 taken by groups or as individuals1 according to their relations with husbandry and terrestrial objects1 and according to the analogies which each nation found between them and the objects of its particular soil and climate499 99 ,the ancients had verbs from the substantives crab1 goat1 tortoise1 as the ,french have at present the verbs serpenter1 coquetter4 ,the history of all languages is nearly the same4 ,from this it appeared that abject and terrestrial beings became associated with the superior and powerful inhabitants of heaven2 and this association became stronger every day by the mechanism of language and the constitution of the human mind4 ,men would say by a natural metaphor3 ,the bull spreads over the earth the germs of fecundity 7in spring7 he restores vegetation and plenty3 the lamb 7or ram7 delivers the skies from the maleficent powers of winter2 he saves the world from the serpent 7emblem of the humid season7 and restores the empire of goodness 7summer1 joyful season73 the scorpion pours out his poison on the earth1 and scatters diseases and death4 ,the same of all similar effects4 ,this language1 understood by every one1 was attended at first with no inconvenience2 but in the course of time1 when the calendar had been regulated1 the people1 who had no longer any need of observing the heavens1 lost sight of the original meaning of these expressions2 and the allegories remaining in common use became a fatal stumbling block to the understanding and to reason4 ,habituated to associate to the symbols the ideas of their archetypes1 the mind at last confounded them3 then the same animals1 whom fancy had transported to the skies1 returned again to the earth2 but being thus returned1 clothed in the livery of the stars1 they claimed the stellary attributes1 and imposed on their own authors4 ,then it was that the people1 believing that they saw their gods among them1 could pray to them with more convenience3 they demanded from the ram of their flock the influences which might be expected from the heavenly ram2 they prayed the scorpion not to pour out his venom upon nature2 they revered the crab of the sea1 the scarabeus of the mud1 the fish of the river2 and by a series of corrupt but inseparable analogies1 they lost themselves in a labyrinth of well connected absurdities4 ,such was the origin of that ancient whimsical worship of the animals2 such is the train of ideas by which the character of the divinity became common to the vilest of brutes1 and by which was formed that theological system1 extremely comprehensive1 complicated1 and learned1 which1 rising on the borders of the ,nile1 propagated from country to country by commerce1 war1 and conquest1 overspread the whole of the ancient world2 and which1 modified by time1 circumstances and prejudices1 is still seen entire among a hundred nations1 and remains as the essential and secret basis of the theology of those even who despise and reject it4 ,some murmurs at these words being heard from various groups3 ,yes6 continued the orator1 hence arose1 for instance1 among you1 nations of ,africa1 the adoration of your fetiches1 plants1 animals1 pebbles1 pieces of wood1 before which your ancestors would not have had the folly to bow1 if they had not seen in them talismans endowed with the virtue of the stars499 99 ,the ancient astrologers1 says the most learned of the ,jews 7,maimonides71 having sacredly assigned to each planet a color1 an animal1 a tree1 a metal1 a fruit1 a plant1 formed from them all a figure or representation of the star1 taking care to select for the purpose a proper moment1 a fortunate day1 such as the conjunction of the star1 or some other favorable aspect4 ,they conceived that by their magic ceremonies they could introduce into those figures or idols the influences of the superior beings after which they were modeled4 ,these were the idols that the ,chaldean-,sabeans adored2 and in the performance of their worship they were obliged to be dressed in the proper color4 ,the astrologers1 by their practices1 thus introduced idolatry1 desirous of being regarded as the dispensers of the favors of heaven2 and as agriculture was the sole employment of the ancients1 they succeeded in persuading them that the rain and other blessings of the seasons were at their disposal4 ,thus the whole art of agriculture was exercised by rules of astrology1 and the priests made talismans or charms which were to drive away locusts1 flies1 etc4 ,see ,maimonides1 ,more ,nebuchim1 pars #c1 c4 #bi4 ,the priests of ,egypt1 ,persia1 ,india1 etc41 pretended to bind the ,gods to their idols1 and to make them come from heaven at their pleasure4 ,they threatened the sun and moon1 if they were disobedient1 to reveal the secret mysteries1 to shake the skies1 etc41 etc4 ,euseb4 ,proecep4 ,evang4 p4 #aih1 and ,jamblicus de ,mysteriis ,aegypt4 ,here1 ye nations of ,tartary1 is the origin of your marmosets1 and of all that train of animals with which your chamans ornament their magical robes4 ,this is the origin of those figures of birds and of snakes which savage nations imprint upon their skins with sacred and mysterious ceremonies4 ,ye inhabitants of ,india6 in vain you cover yourselves with the veil of mystery3 the hawk of your god ,vichenou is but one of the thousand emblems of the sun in ,egypt2 and your incarnations of a god in the fish1 the boar1 the lion1 the tortoise1 and all his monstrous adventures1 are only the metamorphoses of the sun1 who1 passing through the signs of the twelve animals 7or the zodiac71 was supposed to assume their figures1 and perform their astronomical functions499 99 ,these are the very words of ,jamblicus de ,symbolis ,aegyptiorum1 c4 #b1 sect4 #g4 ,the sun was the grand ,proteus1 the universal metamorphist4 ,people of ,japan1 your bull1 which breaks the mundane egg1 is only the bull of the zodiac1 which in former times opened the seasons1 the age of creation1 the vernal equinox4 ,it is the same bull ,apis which ,egypt adored1 and which your ancestors1 ,jewish ,rabbins1 worshipped in the golden calf4 ,this is still your bull1 followers of ,zoroaster1 which1 sacrificed in the symbolic mysteries of ,mithra1 poured out his blood which fertilized the earth4 ,and ye ,christians1 your bull of the ,apocalypse1 with his wings1 symbol of the air1 has no other origin2 and your lamb of ,god1 sacrificed1 like the bull of ,mithra1 for the salvation of the world1 is only the same sun1 in the sign of the celestial ram1 which1 in a later age1 opening the equinox in his turn1 was supposed to deliver the world from evil1 that is to say1 from the constellation of the serpent1 from that great snake1 the parent of winter1 the emblem of the ,ahrimanes1 or ,satan of the ,persians1 your school masters4 ,yes1 in vain does your imprudent zeal consign idolaters to the torments of the ,tartarus which they invented2 the whole basis of your system is only the worship of the sun1 with whose attributes you have decorated your principal personage4 ,it is the sun which1 under the name of ,horus1 was born1 like your ,god1 at the winter solstice1 in the arms of the celestial virgin1 and who passed a childhood of obscurity1 indigence1 and want1 answering to the season of cold and frost4 ,it is he that1 under the name of ,osiris1 persecuted by ,typhon and by the tyrants of the air1 was put to death1 shut up in a dark tomb1 emblem of the hemisphere of winter1 and afterwards1 ascending from the inferior zone towards the zenith of heaven1 arose again from the dead triumphant over the giants and the angels of destruction4 ,ye priests6 who murmur at this relation1 you wear his emblems all over your bodies2 your tonsure is the disk of the sun2 your stole is his zodiac299 your rosaries are symbols of the stars and planets4 ,ye pontiffs and prelates6 your mitre1 your crozier1 your mantle are those of ,osiris2 and that cross whose mystery you extol without comprehending it1 is the cross of ,serapis1 traced by the hands of ,egyptian priests on the plan of the figurative world2 which1 passing through the equinoxes and the tropics1 became the emblem of the future life and of the resurrection1 because it touched the gates of ivory and of horn1 through which the soul passed to heaven4 99 ,the ,arabs1 says ,herodotus1 shave their heads in a circle and about the temples1 in imitation of ,bacchus 7that is the sun71 who shaves himself is this manner4 ,jeremiah speaks also of this custom4 ,the tuft of hair which the ,mahometans preserve1 is taken also from the sun1 who was painted by the ,egyptians at the winter solstice1 as having but a single hair upon his head4 4 4 4 ,the robes of the goddess of ,syria and of ,diana of ,ephesus1 from whence are borrowed the dress of the priests2 have the twelve animals of the zodiac painted on them4 4 4 4 ,rosaries are found upon all the ,indian idols1 constructed more than four thousand years ago1 and their use in the ,east has been universal from time immemorial4 4 4 4 ,the crozier is precisely the staff of ,bootes or ,osiris4 7,see plate47 ,all the ,lamas wear the mitre or cap in the shape of a cone1 which was an emblem of the sun4 ,at these words1 the doctors of all the groups began to look at each other with astonishment2 but no one breaking silence1 the orator proceeded3 ,three principal causes concur to produce this confusion of ideas3 ,first1 the figurative expressions under which an infant language was obliged to describe the relations of objects2 expressions which1 passing afterwards from a limited to a general sense1 and from a physical to a moral one1 caused1 by their ambiguities and synonymes1 a great number of mistakes4 ,thus1 it being first said that the sun had surmounted1 or finished1 twelve animals1 it was thought afterwards that he had killed them1 fought them1 conquered them2 and of this was composed the historical life of ,hercules499 99 ,see the memoir of ,dupuis on the ,origin of the ,constellations1 before cited4 ,it being said that he regulated the periods of rural labor1 the seed time and the harvest1 that he distributed the seasons and occupations1 ran through the climates and ruled the earth1 etc41 he was taken for a legislative king1 a conquering warrior2 and they framed from this the history of ,osiris1 of ,bacchus1 and others of that description4 ,having said that a planet entered into a sign1 they made of this conjunction a marriage1 an adultery1 an incest499 ,having said that the planet was hid or buried1 when it came back to light1 and ascended to its exaltation1 they said that it had died1 risen again1 was carried into heaven1 etc4 99 ,these are the very words of ,plutarch in his account of ,isis and ,osiris4 ,the ,hebrews say1 in speaking of the generations of the ,patriarchs1 et ingressus est in eam4 ,from this continual equivoke of ancient language1 proceeds every mistake4 ,a second cause of confusion was the material figures themselves1 by which men first painted thoughts2 and which1 under the name of hieroglyphics1 or sacred characters1 were the first invention of the mind4 ,thus1 to give warning of the inundation1 and of the necessity of guarding against it1 they painted a boat1 the ship ,argo2 to express the wind1 they painted the wing of a bird2 to designate the season1 or the month1 they painted the bird of passage1 the insect1 or the animal which made its appearance at that period2 to describe the winter1 they painted a hog or a serpent1 which delight in humid places1 and the combination of these figures carried the known sense of words and phrases499 ,but as this sense could not be fixed with precision1 as the number of these figures and their combinations became excessive1 and overburdened the memory1 the immediate consequence was confusion and false interpretations4 ,genius afterwards having invented the more simple art of applying signs to sounds1 of which the number is limited1 and painting words1 instead of thoughts1 alphabetical writing thus threw into disuetude hieroglyphical painting2 and its signification1 falling daily into oblivion1 gave rise to a multitude of illusions1 ambiguities1 and errors4 99 ,the reader will doubtless see with pleasure some examples of ancient hieroglyphics4 ,the ,egyptians 7says ,hor-appolo7 represent eternity by the figures of the sun and moon4 ,they designate the world by the blue serpent with yellow scales 7stars1 it is the ,chinese ,dragon74 ,if they were desirous of expressing the year1 they drew a picture of ,isis1 who is also in their language called ,sothis1 or dog-star1 one of the first constellations1 by the rising of which the year commences2 its inscription at ,sais was1 ,it is ,i that rise in the constellation of the ,dog4 ,they also represent the year by a palm tree1 and the month by one of its branches1 because it is the nature of this tree to produce a branch every month4 ,they farther represent it by the fourth part of an acre of land4 ,the whole acre divided into four denotes the bissextile period of four years4 ,the abbreviation of this figure of a field in four divisions1 is manifestly the letter ha or het1 the seventh in the ,samaritan alphabet2 and in general all the letters of the alphabet are merely astronomical hieroglyphics2 and it is for this reason that the mode of writing is from right to left1 like the march of the stars4 --,they denote a prophet by the image of a dog1 because the dog star 7,anoubis7 by its rising gives notice of the inundation4 ,noubi1 in ,hebrew signifies prophet--,they represent inundation by a lion1 because it takes place under that sign3 and hence1 says ,plutarch1 the custom of placing at the gates of temples figures of lions with water issuing from their mouths4--,they express the idea of ,god and destiny by a star4 ,they also represent ,god1 says ,porphyry1 by a black stone1 because his nature is dark and obscure4 ,all white things express the celestial and luminous ,gods3 all circular ones the world1 the moon1 the sun1 the orbits2 all semicircular ones1 as bows and crescents are descriptive of the moon4 ,fire and the ,gods of ,olympus they represent by pyramids and obelisks 7the name of the sun1 ,baal1 is found in this latter word73 the sun by a cone 7the mitre of ,osiris73 the earth1 by a cylinder 7which revolves73 the generative power of the air by the phalus1 and that of the earth by a triangle1 emblem of the female organ4 ,euseb4 ,proecep4 ,evang4 p4 #ih4 ,clay1 says ,jamblicus de ,symbolis1 sect4 #g1 c4 #b4 denotes matter1 the generative and nutrimental power1 every thing which receives the warmth and fermentation of life4 ,a man sitting upon the ,lotos or ,nenuphar1 represents the moving spirit 7the sun7 which1 in like manner as that plant lives in the water without any communication with clay1 exists equally distinct from matter1 swimming in empty space1 resting on itself3 it is round also in all its parts1 like the leaves1 the flowers1 and the fruit of the ,lotos4 7,brama has the eyes of the ,lotos1 says ,chasler ,nesdirsen1 to denote his intelligence3 his eye swims over every thing1 like the flower of the ,lotos on the waters47 ,a man at the helm of a ship1 adds ,jamblicus1 is descriptive of the sun which governs all4 ,and ,porphyry tells us that the sun is also represented by a man in a ship resting upon an amphibious crocodile 7emblem of air and water74 ,at ,elephantine they worshipped the figure of a man in a sitting posture1 painted blue1 having the head of a ram1 and the horns of a goat which encompassed a disk2 all which represented the sun and moon's conjunction at the sign of the ram2 the blue color denoting the power of the moon1 at the period of junction1 to raise water into the clouds4 ,euseb4 ,proecep4 ,evang4 p4 #aaf4 ,the hawk is an emblem of the sun and of light1 on account of his rapid flight and his soaring into the highest regions of the air where light abounds4 ,a fish is the emblem of aversion1 and the ,hippopotamus of violence1 because it is said to kill its father and to ravish its mother4 ,hence1 says ,plutarch1 the emblematical inscription of the temple of ,sais1 where we see painted on the vestibule1 #a4 ,a child1 #b4 ,an old man1 #c4 ,a hawk1 #d4 ,a fish1 #e4 ,a hippopotamus3 which signify1 #a4 ,entrance1 into life1 #b4 ,departure1 #c4 ,god1 #d4 ,hates1 #e4 ,injustice4 ,see ,isis and ,osiris4 ,the ,egyptians1 adds he1 represent the world by a ,scarabeus1 because this insect pushes1 in a direction contrary to that in which it proceeds1 a ball containing its eggs1 just as the heaven of the fixed stars causes the revolution of the sun1 7the yolk of an egg7 in an opposite direction to its own4 ,they represent the world also by the number five1 being that of the elements1 which1 says ,diodorus1 are earth1 water1 air1 fire1 and ether1 or spiritus4 ,the ,indians have the same number of elements1 and according to ,macrobius's mystics1 they are the supreme ,god1 or primum mobile1 the intelligence1 or mens1 born of him1 the soul of the world which proceeds from him1 the celestial spheres1 and all things terrestrial4 ,hence1 adds ,plutarch1 the analogy between the ,greek pente1 five1 and pan all4 ,the ass1 says he again1 is the emblem of ,typhon1 because like that animal he is of a reddish color4 ,now ,typhon signifies whatever is of a mirey or clayey nature2 7and in ,hebrew ,i find the three words clay1 red1 and ass to be formed from the same root hamr74 ,jamblicus has farther told us that clay was the emblem of matter and he elsewhere adds1 that all evil and corruption proceeded from matter2 which compared with the phrase of ,macrobius1 all is perishable1 liable to change in the celestial sphere1 gives us the theory1 first physical1 then moral1 of the system of good and evil of the ancients4 ,finally1 a third cause of confusion was the civil organization of ancient states4 ,when the people began to apply themselves to agriculture1 the formation of a rural calendar1 requiring a continued series of astronomical observations1 it became necessary to appoint certain individuals charged with the functions of watching the appearance and disappearance of certain stars1 to foretell the return of the inundation1 of certain winds1 of the rainy season1 the proper time to sow every kind of grain4 ,these men1 on account of their service1 were exempt from common labor1 and the society provided for their maintenance4 ,with this provision1 and wholly employed in their observations1 they soon became acquainted with the great phenomena of nature1 and even learned to penetrate the secret of many of her operations4 ,they discovered the movement of the stars and planets1 the coincidence of their phases and returns with the productions of the earth and the action of vegetation2 the medicinal and nutritive properties of plants and fruits2 the action of the elements1 and their reciprocal affinities4 ,now1 as there was no other method of communicating the knowledge of these discoveries but the laborious one of oral instruction1 they transmitted it only to their relations and friends1 it followed therefore that all science and instruction were confined to a few families1 who1 arrogating it to themselves as an exclusive privilege1 assumed a professional distinction1 a corporation spirit1 fatal to the public welfare4 ,this continued succession of the same researches and the same labors1 hastened1 it is true1 the progress of knowledge2 but by the mystery which accompanied it1 the people were daily plunged in deeper shades1 and became more superstitious and more enslaved4 ,seeing their fellow mortals produce certain phenomena1 announce1 as at pleasure1 eclipses and comets1 heal diseases1 and handle venomous serpents1 they thought them in alliance with celestial powers2 and1 to obtain the blessings and avert the evils which they expected from above1 they took them for mediators and interpreters2 and thus became established in the bosom of every state sacrilegious corporations of hypocritical and deceitful men1 who centered all powers in themselves2 and the priests1 being at once astronomers1 theologians1 naturalists1 physicians1 magicians1 interpreters of the gods1 oracles of men1 and rivals of kings1 or their accomplices1 established1 under the name of religion1 an empire of mystery and a monopoly of instruction1 which to this day have ruined every nation4 4 4 4 ,here the priests of all the groups interrupted the orator1 and with loud cries accused him of impiety1 irreligion1 blasphemy2 and endeavored to cut short his discourse2 but the legislator observing that this was only an exposition of historical facts1 which1 if false or forged1 would be easily refuted2 that hitherto the declaration of every opinion had been free1 and without this it would be impossible to discover the truth1 the orator proceeded3 ,now1 from all these causes1 and from the continual associations of ill-assorted ideas1 arose a mass of disorders in theology1 in morals1 and in traditions2 first1 because the animals represented the stars1 the characters of the animals1 their appetites1 their sympathies1 their aversions1 passed over to the gods1 and were supposed to be their actions2 thus1 the god ,ichneumon made war against the god ,crocodile2 the god ,wolf liked to eat the god ,sheep2 the god ,ibis devoured the god ,serpent2 and the deity became a strange1 capricious1 and ferocious being1 whose idea deranged the judgment of man1 and corrupted his morals and his reason4 ,again1 because in the spirit of their worship every family1 every nation1 took for its special patron a star or a constellation1 the affections or antipathies of the symbolic animal were transferred to its sectaries2 and the partisans of the god ,dog were enemies to those of the god ,wolf299 those who adored the god ,ox had an abhorrence to those who ate him2 and religion became the source of hatred and hostility1--the senseless cause of frenzy and superstition4 99 ,these are properly the words of ,plutarch1 who relates that those various worships were given by a king of ,egypt to the different towns to disunite and enslave them1 and these kings had been taken from the cast of priests4 ,see ,isis and ,osiris4 ,besides1 the names of those animal-stars having1 for this same reason of patronage1 been conferred on countries1 nations1 mountains1 and rivers1 these objects were taken for gods1 and hence followed a mixture of geographical1 historical1 and mythological beings1 which confounded all traditions4 ,finally1 by the analogy of actions which were ascribed to them1 the god-stars1 having been taken for men1 for heroes1 for kings1 kings and heroes took in their turn the actions of gods for models1 and by imitation became warriors1 conquerors1 proud1 lascivious1 indolent1 sanguinary2 and religion consecrated the crimes of despots1 and perverted the principles of government4 ,,iv4 ,fourth system4 ,worship of two ,principles1 or ,dualism4 ,in the mean time1 the astronomical priests1 enjoying peace and abundance in their temples1 made every day new progress in the sciences1 and the system of the world unfolding gradually to their view1 they raised successively various hypotheses as to its agents and effects1 which became so many theological systems4 ,the voyages of the maritime nations and the caravans of the nomads of ,asia and ,africa1 having given them a knowledge of the earth from the ,fortunate ,islands to ,serica1 and from the ,baltic to the sources of the ,nile1 the comparison of the phenomena of the various zones taught them the rotundity of the earth1 and gave birth to a new theory4 ,having remarked that all the operations of nature during the annual period were reducible to two principal ones1 that of producing and that of destroying2 that on the greater part of the globe these two operations were performed in the intervals of the two equinoxes2 that is to say1 during the six months of summer every thing was procreating and multiplying1 and that during winter everything languished and almost died2 they supposed in ,nature two contrary powers1 which were in a continual state of contention and exertion2 and considering the celestial sphere in this view1 they divided the images which they figured upon it into two halves or hemispheres2 so that the constellations which were on the summer heaven formed a direct and superior empire2 and those which were on the winter heaven composed an antipode and inferior empire4 ,therefore1 as the constellations of summer accompanied the season of long1 warm1 and unclouded days1 and that of fruits and harvests1 they were considered as the powers of light1 fecundity1 and creation2 and1 by a transition from a physical to a moral sense1 they became genii1 angels of science1 of beneficence1 of purity and virtue4 ,and as the constellations of winter were connected with long nights and polar fogs1 they were the genii of darkness1 of destruction1 of death2 and by transition1 angels of ignorance1 of wickedness1 of sin and vice4 ,by this arrangement the heaven was divided into two domains1 two factions2 and the analogy of human ideas already opened a vast field to the errors of imagination2 but the mistake and the illusion were determined1 if not occasioned by a particular circumstance4 7,observe plate ,astrological ,heaven of the ,ancients47 ,in the projection of the celestial sphere1 as traced by the astronomical priests199 the zodiac and the constellations1 disposed in circular order1 presented their halves in diametrical opposition2 the hemisphere of winter1 antipode of that of summer1 was adverse1 contrary1 opposed to it4 ,by a continual metaphor1 these words acquired a moral sense2 and the adverse genii1 or angels1 became revolted enemies49999 ,from that moment all the astronomical history of the constellations was changed into a political history2 the heavens became a human state1 where things happened as on the earth4 ,now1 as the earthly states1 the greater part despotic1 had already their monarchs1 and as the sun was apparently the monarch of the skies1 the summer hemisphere 7empire of light7 and its constellations 7a nation of white angels7 had for king an enlightened ,god1 a creator intelligent and good4 ,and as every rebel faction must have its chief1 the heaven of winter1 the subterranean empire of darkness and woe1 and its stars1 a nation of black angels1 giants and demons1 had for their chief a malignant genius1 whose character was applied by different people to the constellation which to them was the most remarkable4 ,in ,egypt it was at first the ,scorpion1 first zodiacal sign after ,libra1 and for a long time chief of the winter signs 2 then it was the ,bear1 or the polar ,ass1 called ,typhon1 that is to say1 deluge19999 on account of the rains which deluge the earth during the dominion of that star4 ,at a later period1999999 in ,persia199999999 it was the ,serpent1 who1 under the name of ,abrimanes1 formed the basis of the system of ,zoroaster2 and it is the same1 ,o ,christians and ,jews6 that has become your serpent of ,eve 7the celestial virgin17 and that of the cross2 in both cases it is the emblem of ,satan1 the enemy and great adversary of the ,ancient of ,days1 sung by ,daniel4 99 ,the ancient priests had three kinds of spheres1 which it may be useful to make known to the reader4 ,we read in ,eusebius1 says ,porphyry1 that ,zoroaster was the first who1 having fixed upon a cavern pleasantly situated in the mountains adjacent to ,persia1 formed the idea of consecrating it to ,mithra 7the sun7 creator and father of all things3 that is to say1 having made in this cavern several geometrical divisions1 representing the seasons and the elements1 he imitated on a small scale the order and disposition of the universe by ,mithra4 ,after ,zoroaster1 it became a custom to consecrate caverns for the celebration of mysteries3 so that in like manner as temples were dedicated to the ,gods1 rural altars to heroes and terrestrial deities1 etc41 subterranean abodes to infernal deities1 so caverns and grottoes were consecrated to the world1 to the universe1 and to the nymphs3 and from hence ,pythagoras and ,plato borrowed the idea of calling the earth a cavern1 a cave1 de ,antro ,nympharum4 ,such was the first projection of the sphere in relief2 though the ,persians give the honor of the invention to ,zoroaster1 it is doubtless due to the ,egyptians2 for we may suppose from this projection being the most simple that it was the most ancient2 the caverns of ,thebes1 full of similar pictures1 tend to strengthen this opinion4 ,the following was the second projection3 ,the prophets or hierophants1 says ,bishop ,synnesius1 who had been initiated in the mysteries1 do not permit the common workmen to form idols or images of the ,gods2 but they descend themselves into the sacred caves1 where they have concealed coffers containing certain spheres upon which they construct those images secretly and without the knowledge of the people1 who despise simple and natural things and wish for prodigies and fables4 7,syn4 in ,calvit47 ,that is1 the ancient priests had armillary spheres like ours2 and this passage1 which so well agrees with that of ,chaeremon1 gives us the key to all their theological astrology4 ,lastly1 they had flat models of the nature of ,plate ,v4 with the difference that they were of a very complicated nature1 having every fictitious division of decan and subdecan1 with the hieroglyphic signs of their influence4 ,kircher has given us a copy of one of them in his ,egyptian ,oedipus1 and ,gybelin a figured fragment in his book of the calendar 7under the name of the ,egyptian ,zodiac74 ,the ancient ,egyptians1 says the astrologer ,julius ,firmicus1 7,astron4 lib4 ii4 and lib4 iv41 c4 #af71 divide each sign of the ,zodiac into three sections2 and each section was under the direction of an imaginary being whom they called decan or chief of ten2 so that there were three decans a month1 and thirty-six a year4 ,now these decans1 who were also called ,gods 7,theoi71 regulated the destinies of mankind--and they were placed particularly in certain stars4 ,they afterwards imagined in every ten three other ,gods1 whom they called arbiters2 so that there were nine for every month1 and these were farther divided into an infinite number of powers4 ,the ,persians and ,indians made their spheres on similar plans2 and if a picture thereof were to be drawn from the description given by ,scaliger at the end of ,manilius1 we should find in it a complete explanation of their hieroglyphics1 for every article forms one4 9999 ,if it was for this reason the ,persians always wrote the name of ,ahrimanes inverted thus3 ',ahrimanes' upside down and backwards4 999999 ,typhon1 pronounced ,touphon by the ,greeks1 is precisely the touphan of the ,arabs1 which signifies deluge2 and these deluges in mythology are nothing more than winter and the rains1 or the overflowing of the ,nile3 as their pretended fires which are to destroy the world1 are simply the summer season4 ,and it is for this reason that ,aristotle 7,de ,meteor1 lib4 ,i4 c4 xiv71 says1 that the winter of the great cyclic year is a deluge2 and its summer a conflagration4 ,the ,egyptians1 says ,porphyry1 employ every year a talisman in remembrance of the world3 at the summer solstice they mark their houses1 flocks and trees with red1 supposing that on that day the whole world had been set on fire4 ,it was also at the same period that they celebrated the pyrric or fire dance4 ,and this illustrates the origin of purification by fire and by water2 for having denominated the tropic of ,cancer the gate of heaven1 and the genial heat of celestial fire1 and that of ,capricorn the gate of deluge or of water1 it was imagined that the spirit or souls who passed through these gates in their way to and from heaven1 were roasted or bathed3 hence the baptism of ,mithra2 and the passage through flames1 observed throughout the ,east long before ,moses4 99999999 ,that is when the ram became the equinoctial sign1 or rather when the alteration of the skies showed that it was no longer the bull4 ,in ,syria1 it was the hog or wild boar1 enemy of ,adonis2 because in that country the functions of the ,northern ,bear were performed by the animal whose inclination for mire and dirt was emblematic of winter4 ,and this is the reason1 followers of ,moses and ,mahomet6 that you hold him in horror1 in imitation of the priests of ,memphis and ,balbec1 who detested him as the murderer of their ,god1 the sun4 ,this likewise1 ,o ,indians6 is the type of your ,chib-en2 and it has been likewise the ,pluto of your brethren1 the ,romans and ,greeks2 in like manner1 your ,brama1 ,god the creator1 is only the ,persian ,ormuzd1 and the ,egyptian ,osiris1 whose very name expresses creative power1 producer of forms4 ,and these gods received a worship analogous to their attributes1 real or imaginary2 which worship was divided into two branches1 according to their characters4 ,the good god receives a worship of love and joy1 from which are derived all religious acts of gaiety1 such as festivals1 dances1 banquets1 offerings of flowers1 milk1 honey1 perfumes2 in a word1 everything grateful to the senses and to the soul499 ,the evil god1 on the contrary1 received a worship of fear and pain2 whence originated all religious acts of the gloomy sort19999 tears1 desolations1 mournings1 self-denials1 bloody offerings1 and cruel sacrifices4 99 ,all the ancient festivals respecting the return and exaltation of the sun were of this description3 hence the hilaria of the ,roman calendar at the period of the passage1 ,pascha1 of the vernal equinox4 ,the dances were imitations of the march of the planets4 ,those of the ,dervises still represent it to this day4 9999 ,sacrifices of blood1 says ,porphyry1 were only offered to ,demons and evil ,genii to avert their wrath4 ,demons are fond of blood1 humidity1 stench4 ,apud4 ,euseb4 ,proep4 ,ev41 p4 #agc4 ,the ,egyptians1 says ,plutarch1 only offer bloody victims to ,typhon4 ,they sacrifice to him a red ox1 and the animal immolated is held in execration and loaded with all the sins of the people4 ,the goat of ,moses4 ,see ,isis and ,osiris4 ,strabo says1 speaking of ,moses1 and the ,jews1 ,circumcision and the prohibition of certain kinds of meat sprung from superstition4 ,and ,i observe1 respecting the ceremony of circumcision1 that its object was to take from the symbol of ,osiris1 7,phallus7 the pretended obstacle to fecundity3 an obstacle which bore the seal of ,typhon1 whose nature1 says ,plutarch1 is made up of all that hinders1 opposes1 causes obstruction4 ,hence arose that distinction of terrestrial beings into pure and impure1 sacred and abominable1 according as their species were of the number of the constellations of one of these two gods1 and made part of his domain2 and this produced1 on the one hand1 the superstitions concerning pollutions and purifications2 and1 on the other1 the pretended efficacious virtues of amulets and talismans4 ,you conceive now1 continued the orator1 addressing himself to the ,persians1 the ,indians1 the ,jews1 the ,christians1 the ,mussulmans1 you conceive the origin of those ideas of battles and rebellions1 which equally abound in all your mythologies4 ,you see what is meant by white and black angels1 your cherubim and seraphim1 with heads of eagles1 of lions1 or of bulls2 your deus1 devils1 demons1 with horns of goats and tails of serpents2 your thrones and dominions1 ranged in seven orders or gradations1 like the seven spheres of the planets2 all beings acting the same parts1 and endowed with the same attributes in your ,vedas1 ,bibles1 and ,zend-avestas1 whether they have for chiefs ,ormuzd or ,brama1 ,typhon or ,chiven1 ,michael or ,satan2--whether they appear under the form of giants with a hundred arms and feet of serpents1 or that of gods metamorphosed into lions1 storks1 bulls or cats1 as they are in the sacred fables of the ,greeks and ,egyptians4 ,you perceive the successive filiation of these ideas1 and how1 in proportion to their remoteness from their source1 and as the minds of men became refined1 their gross forms have been polished1 and rendered less disgusting4 ,but in the same manner as you have seen the system of two opposite principles or gods arise from that of symbols1 interwoven into its texture1 your attention shall now be called to a new system which has grown out of this1 and to which this has served in its turn as the basis and support4 ,v4 ,moral and ,mystical ,worship1 or ,system of a ,future ,state4 ,indeed1 when the vulgar heard speak of a new heaven and another world1 they soon gave a body to these fictions2 they erected therein a real theatre of action1 and their notions of astronomy and geography served to strengthen1 if not to originate1 this illusion4 ,on the one hand1 the ,phoenician navigators who passed the pillars of ,hercules1 to fetch the tin of ,thule and the amber of the ,baltic1 related that at the extremity of the world1 the end of the ocean 7the ,mediterranean71 where the sun sets for the countries of ,asia1 were the ,fortunate ,islands1 the abode of eternal spring2 and beyond were the hyperborean regions1 placed under the earth 7relatively to the tropics7 where reigned an eternal night499 ,from these stories1 misunderstood1 and no doubt confusedly related1 the imagination of the people composed the ,elysian fields19999 regions of delight1 placed in a world below1 having their heaven1 their sun1 and their stars2 and ,tartarus1 a place of darkness1 humidity1 mire1 and frost4 ,now1 as man1 inquisitive of that which he knows not1 and desirous of protracting his existence1 had already interrogated himself concerning what was to become of him after his death1 as he had early reasoned on the principle of life which animates his body1 and which leaves it without deforming it1 and as he had imagined airy substances1 phantoms1 and shades1 he fondly believed that he should continue1 in the subterranean world1 that life which it was too painful for him to lose2 and these lower regions seemed commodious for the reception of the beloved objects which he could not willingly resign4 99 ,nights of six months duration4 9999 ,aliz1 in the ,phoenician or ,hebrew language signifies dancing and joyous4 ,on the other hand1 the astrological and geological priests told such stories and made such descriptions of their heavens1 as accorded perfectly well with these fictions4 ,having1 in their metaphorical language1 called the equinoxes and solstices the gates of heaven1 the entrance of the seasons1 they explained these terrestrial phenomena by saying1 that through the gate of horn 7first the bull1 afterwards the ram7 and through the gate of ,cancer1 descended the vivifying fires which give life to vegetation in the spring1 and the aqueous spirits which bring1 at the solstice1 the inundation of the ,nile2 that through the gate of ivory 7,libra1 formerly ,sagittarius1 or the bowman7 and that of ,capricorn1 or the urn1 the emanations or influences of the heavens returned to their source1 and reascended to their origin2 and the ,milky ,way1 which passed through the gates of the solstices1 seemed to be placed there to serve them as a road or vehicle499 ,besides1 in their atlas1 the celestial scene presented a river 7the ,nile1 designated by the windings of the hydra71 a boat1 7the ship ,argo7 and the dog ,sirius1 both relative to this river1 whose inundation they foretold4 ,these circumstances1 added to the preceding1 and still further explaining them1 increased their probability1 and to arrive at ,tartarus or ,elysium1 souls were obliged to cross the rivers ,styx and ,acheron in the boat of the ferryman ,charon1 and to pass through the gates of horn or ivory1 guarded by the dog ,cerberus4 ,finally1 these inventions were applied to a civil use1 and thence received a further consistency4 99,see ,macrob4 ,som4 ,scrip4 c4 #ab4 ,having remarked that in their burning climate the putrefaction of dead bodies was a cause of pestilential diseases1 the ,egyptians1 in many of their towns1 had adopted the practice of burying their dead beyond the limits of the inhabited country1 in the desert of the ,west4 ,to go there1 it was necessary to pass the channels of the river1 and consequently to be received into a boat1 and pay something to the ferryman1 without which the body1 deprived of sepulture1 must have been the prey of wild beasts4 ,this custom suggested to the civil and religious legislators the means of a powerful influence on manners2 and1 addressing uncultivated and ferocious men with the motives of filial piety and a reverence for the dead1 they established1 as a necessary condition1 their undergoing a previous trial1 which should decide whether the deceased merited to be admitted to the rank of the family in the black city4 ,such an idea accorded too well with all the others1 not to be incorporated with them3 the people soon adopted it2 and hell had its ,minos and its ,rhadamanthus1 with the wand1 the bench1 the ushers1 and the urn1 as in the earthly and civil state4 ,it was then that ,god became a moral and political being1 a lawgiver to men1 and so much the more to be dreaded1 as this supreme legislator1 this final judge1 was inaccessible and invisible4 ,then it was that this fabulous and mythological world1 composed of such odd materials and disjointed parts1 became a place of punishments and of rewards1 where divine justice was supposed to correct what was vicious and erroneous in the judgment of men4 ,this spiritual and mystical system acquired the more credit1 as it took possession of man by all his natural inclinations4 ,the oppressed found in it the hope of indemnity1 and the consolation of future vengeance2 the oppressor1 expecting by rich offerings to purchase his impunity1 formed out of the errors of the vulgar an additional weapon of oppression2 the chiefs of nations1 the kings and priests1 found in this a new instrument of domination by the privilege which they reserved to themselves of distributing the favors and punishments of the great judge1 according to the merit or demerit of actions1 which they took care to characterize as best suited their system4 ,this1 then1 is the manner in which an invisible and imaginary world has been introduced into the real and visible one2 this is the origin of those regions of pleasure and pain1 of which you ,persians have made your regenerated earth1 your city of resurrection1 placed under the equator1 with this singular attribute1 that in it the blessed cast no shade499 ,of these materials1 ,jews and ,christians1 disciples of the ,persians1 have you formed your ,new ,jerusalem of the ,apocalypse1 your paradise1 your heaven1 copied in all its parts from the astrological heaven of ,hermes3 and your hell1 ye ,mussulmans1 your bottomless pit1 surmounted by a bridge1 your balance for weighing souls and good works1 your last judgment by the angels ,monkir and ,nekir1 are likewise modeled from the mysterious ceremonies of the cave of ,mithras9999 and your heaven differs not in the least from that of ,osiris1 of ,ormuzd1 and of ,brama4 99 ,there is on this subject a passage in ,plutarch1 so interesting and explanatory of the whole of this system1 that we shall cite it entire4 ,having observed that the theory of good and evil had at all times occupied the attention of philosophers and theologians1 he adds3 ,many suppose there to be two gods of opposite inclinations1 one delighting in good1 the other in evil2 the first of these is called particularly by the name of ,god1 the second by that of ,genius or ,demon4 ,zoroaster has denominated them ,oromaze and ,ahrimanes1 and has said that of whatever falls under the cognizance of our senses1 light is the best representation of the one1 and darkness and ignorance of the other4 ,he adds1 that ,mithra is an intermediate being1 and it is for this reason the ,persians call ,mithra the mediator or intermediator4 ,each of these ,gods has distinct plants and animals consecrated to him3 for example1 dogs1 birds and hedge-hogs belong to the good ,genius1 and all aquatic animals to the evil one4 ,the ,persians also say1 that ,oromaze was born or formed out of the purest light2 ,ahrimanes1 on the contrary1 out of the thickest darkness3 that ,oromaze made six gods as good as himself1 and ,ahrimanes opposed to them six wicked ones3 that ,oromaze afterwards multiplied himself threefold 7,hermes trismegistus7 and removed to a distance as remote from the sun as the sun is remote from the earth that he there formed stars1 and1 among others1 ,sirius1 which he placed in the heavens as a guard and sentinel4 ,he made also twenty-four other ,gods1 which he inclosed in an egg2 but ,ahrimanes created an equal number on his part1 who broke the egg1 and from that moment good and evil were mixed 7in the universe74 ,but ,ahrimanes is one day to be conquered1 and the earth to be made equal and smooth1 that all men may live happy4 ,theopompus adds1 from the books of the ,magi1 that one of these ,gods reigns in turn every three thousand years during which the other is kept in subjection2 that they afterwards contend with equal weapons during a similar portion of time1 but that in the end the evil ,genius will fall 7never to rise again74 ,then men will become happy1 and their bodies cast no shade4 ,the ,god who mediates all these things reclines at present in repose1 waiting till he shall be pleased to execute them4 ,see ,isis and ,osiris4 ,there is an apparent allegory through the whole of this passage4 ,the egg is the fixed sphere1 the world3 the six ,gods of ,oromaze are the six signs of summer1 those of ,ahrimanes the six signs of winter4 ,the forty-eight other ,gods are the forty-eight constellations of the ancient sphere1 divided equally between ,ahrimanes and ,oronmze4 ,the office of ,sirius1 as guard and sentinel1 tells us that the origin of these ideas was ,egyptian3 finally1 the expression that the earth is to become equal and smooth1 and that the bodies of happy beings are to cast no shade1 proves that the equator was considered as their true paradise4 9999 ,in the caves which priests every where constructed1 they celebrated mysteries which consisted 7says ,origen against ,celsus7 in imitating the motion of the stars1 the planets and the heavens4 ,the initiated took the name of constellations1 and assumed the figures of animals4 ,one was a lion1 another a raven1 and a third a ram4 ,hence the use of masks in the first representation of the drama4 ,see ,ant4 ,devoile1 vol4 iii41 p4 #bdd4 ,in the mysteries of ,ceres the chief in the procession called himself the creator2 the bearer of the torch was denominated the sun2 the person nearest to the altar1 the moon2 the herald or deacon1 ,mercury4 ,in ,egypt there was a festival in which the men and women represented the year1 the age1 the seasons1 the different parts of the day1 and they walked in precession after ,bacchus4 ,athen4 lib4 v41 ch4 #g4 ,in the cave of ,mithra was a ladder with seven steps1 representing the seven spheres of the planets1 by means of which souls ascended and descended4 ,this is precisely the ladder in ,jacob's vision1 which shows that at that epoch a the whole system was formed4 ,there is in the ,french king's library a superb volume of pictures of the ,indian ,gods1 in which the ladder is represented with the souls of men mounting it4 ,,vi4 ,sixth ,system4 ,the ,animated ,world1 or ,worship of the ,universe under diverse ,emblems4 ,while the nations were wandering in the dark labyrinth of mythology and fables1 the physical priests1 pursuing their studies and enquiries into the order and disposition of the universe1 came to new conclusions1 and formed new systems concerning powers and first causes4 ,long confined to simple appearances1 they saw nothing in the movement of the stars but an unknown play of luminous bodies rolling round the earth1 which they believed the central point of all the spheres2 but as soon as they discovered the rotundity of our planet1 the consequences of this first fact led them to new considerations2 and from induction to induction they rose to the highest conceptions in astronomy and physics4 ,indeed1 after having conceived this luminous idea1 that the terrestrial globe is a little circle inscribed in the greater circle of the heavens1 the theory of concentric circles came naturally into their hypothesis1 to determine the unknown circle of the terrestrial globe by certain known portions of the celestial circle2 and the measurement of one or more degrees of the meridian gave with precision the whole circumference4 ,then1 taking for a compass the known diameter of the earth1 some fortunate genius applied it with a bold hand to the boundless orbits of the heavens2 and man1 the inhabitant of a grain of sand1 embracing the infinite distances of the stars1 launches into the immensity of space and the eternity of time3 there he is presented with a new order of the universe of which the atom-globe which he inhabited appeared no longer to be the centre2 this important post was reserved to the enormous mass of the sun2 and that body became the flaming pivot of eight surrounding spheres1 whose movements were henceforth subjected to precise calculations4 ,it was indeed a great effort for the human mind to have undertaken to determine the disposition and order of the great engines of nature2 but not content with this first effort1 it still endeavored to develop the mechanism1 and discover the origin and the instinctive principle4 ,hence1 engaged in the abstract and metaphysical nature of motion and its first cause1 of the inherent or incidental properties of matter1 its successive forms and its extension1 that is to say1 of time and space unbounded1 the physical theologians lost themselves in a chaos of subtile reasoning and scholastic controversy499 99 ,consult the ,ancient ,astronomy of ,m4 ,bailly1 and you will find our assertions respecting the knowledge of the priests amply proved4 ,in the first place1 the action of the sun on terrestrial bodies1 teaching them to regard his substance as a pure and elementary fire1 they made it the focus and reservoir of an ocean of igneous and luminous fluid1 which1 under the name of ether1 filled the universe and nourished all beings4 ,afterwards1 having discovered1 by a physical and attentive analysis1 this same fire1 or another perfectly resembling it1 in the composition of all bodies1 and having perceived it to be the essential agent of that spontaneous movement which is called life in animals and vegetation in plants1 they conceived the mechanism and harmony of the universe1 as of a homogeneous whole1 of one identical body1 whose parts1 though distant1 had nevertheless an intimate relation299 and the world was a living being1 animated by the organic circulation of an igneous and even electrical fluid19999 which1 by a term of comparison borrowed first from men and animals1 had the sun for a heart and a focus4999999 99 ,these are the very words of ,jamblicus4 ,de ,myst4 ,egypt4 9999 ,the more ,i consider what the ancients understood by ether and spirit1 and what the ,indians call akache1 the stronger do ,i find the analogy between it and the electrial fluid4 ,a luminous fluid1 principle of warmth and motion1 pervading the universe1 forming the matter of the stars1 having small round particles1 which insinuate themselves into bodies1 and fill them by dilating itself1 be their extent what it will4 ,what can more strongly resemble electricity8 999999 ,natural philosophers1 says ,macrobius1 call the sun the heart of the world4 ,som4 ,scrip4 c4 #bj4 ,the ,egyptians1 says ,plutarch1 call the ,east the face1 the ,north the right side1 and the ,south the left side of the world1 because there the heart is placed4 ,they continually compare the universe to a man2 and hence the celebrated microcosm of the ,alchymists4 ,we observe1 by the bye1 that the ,alchymists1 ,cabalists1 ,free-masons1 ,magnetisers1 ,martinists1 and every other such sort of visionaries1 are but the mistaken disciples of this ancient school3 we say mistaken1 because1 in spite of their pretensions1 the thread of the occult science is broken4 ,from this time the physical theologians seem to have divided into several classes2 one class1 grounding itself on these principles resulting from observation2 that nothing can be annihilated in the world2 that the elements are indestructible2 that they change their combinations but not their nature2 that the life and death of beings are but the different modifications of the same atoms2 that matter itself possesses properties which give rise to all its modes of existence2 that the world is eternal199 or unlimited in space and duration2 said that the whole universe was ,god2 and1 according to them1 ,god was a being1 effect and cause1 agent and patient1 moving principle and thing moved1 having for laws the invariable properties that constitute fatality2 and this class conveyed their idea by the emblem of ,pan 7the great whole72 or of ,jupiter1 with a forehead of stars1 body of planets1 and feet of animals2 or of the ,orphic ,egg19999 whose yolk1 suspended in the center of a liquid1 surrounded by a vault1 represented the globe of the sun1 swimming in ether in the midst of the vault of heaven2999999 sometimes by a great round serpent1 representing the heavens where they placed the moving principle1 and for that reason of an azure color1 studded with spots of gold1 7the stars7 devouring his tail--that is1 folding and unfolding himself eternally1 like the revolutions of the spheres2 sometimes by that of a man1 having his feet joined together and tied1 to signify immutable existence1 wrapped in a cloak of all colors1 like the face of nature1 and bearing on his head a sphere of gold199999999 emblem of the sphere of the stars2 or by that of another man1 sometimes seated on the flower of the lotos borne on the abyss of waters1 sometimes lying on a pile of twelve cushions1 denoting the twelve celestial signs4 ,and here1 ,indians1 ,japanese1 ,siamese1 ,tibetans1 and ,chinese1 is the theology1 which1 founded by the ,egyptians and transmitted to you1 is preserved in the pictures which you compose of ,brama1 of ,beddou1 of ,somona-,kodom of ,omito4 ,this1 ye ,jews and ,christians1 is likewise the opinion of which you have preserved a part in your ,god moving on the face of the waters1 by an allusion to the wind99#e which1 at the beginning of the world1 that is1 the departure of the sun from the sign of ,cancer1 announced the inundation of the ,nile1 and seemed to prepare the creation4 99 ,see the ,pythagorean1 ,ocellus ,lacunus4 9999 ,vide ,oedip4 ,aegypt4 ,tome ,,ii41 page #bje4 999999 ,this comparison of the sun with the yolk of an egg refers3 #a4 ,to its round and yellow figure2 #b4 ,to its central situation2 #c4 ,to the germ or principle of life contained in the yolk4 ,may not the oval form of the egg allude to the elipsis of the orbs8 ,i am inclined to this opinion4 ,the word ,orphic offers a farther observation4 ,macrobius says 7,som4 ,scrip4 c4 #ad4 and c4 #bj71 that the sun is the brain of the universe1 and that it is from analogy that the skull of a human being is round1 like the planet1 the seat of intelligence4 ,now the word ,oerph signifies in ,hebrew the brain and its seat 7cervix73 ,orpheus1 then1 is the same as ,bedou or ,baits2 and the ,bonzes are those very ,orphics which ,plutarch represents as quacks1 who ate no meat1 vended talismans and little stones1 and deceived individuals1 and even governments themselves4 ,see a learned memoir of ,freret sur les ,orphiques1 ,acad4 des ,inscrp4 vol4 #be1 in quarto4 99999999 ,see ,porphyry in ,eusebus4 ,proep4 ,evang41 lib4 #c1 p4 #aae4 99#e ,the ,northern or ,etesian wind1 which commences regularly at the solstice1 with the inundation4 ,,vii4 ,seventh ,system4 ,worship of the ,,soul of the ,,world1 that is to say1 the ,element of ,fire1 vital ,principle of the ,universe4 ,but others1 disgusted at the idea of a being at once effect and cause1 agent and patient1 and uniting contrary natures in the same nature1 distinguished the moving principle from the thing moved2 and premising that matter in itself was inert they pretended that its properties were communicated to it by a distinct agent1 of which itself was only the cover or the case4 ,this agent was called by some the igneous principle1 known to be the author of all motion2 by others it was supposed to be the fluid called ether1 which was thought more active and subtile2 and1 as in animals the vital and moving principle was called a soul1 a spirit1 and as they reasoned constantly by comparisons1 especially those drawn from human beings1 they gave to the moving principle of the universe the name of soul1 intelligence1 spirit2 and ,god was the vital spirit1 which extended through all beings and animated the vast body of the world4 ,and this class conveyed their idea sometimes by ,youpiter199 essence of motion and animation1 principle of existence1 or rather existence itself2 sometimes by ,vulcan or ,phtha1 elementary principle of fire2 or by the altar of ,vesta1 placed in the center of her temple like the sun in the heavens2 sometimes by ,kneph1 a human figure1 dressed in dark blue1 having in one hand a sceptre and a girdle 7the zodiac71 with a cap of feathers to express the fugacity of thought1 and producing from his mouth the great egg4 99 ,this is the true pronunciation of the ,jupiter of the ,latins4 4 4 4 ,existence itself4 ,this is the signification of the word ,you4 ,now1 as a consequence of this system1 every being containing in itself a portion of the igneous and etherial fluid1 common and universal mover1 and this fluid soul of the world being ,god1 it followed that the souls of all beings were portions of ,god himself partaking of all his attributes1 that is1 being a substance indivisible1 simple1 and immortal2 and hence the whole system of the immortality of the soul1 which at first was eternity499 99 ,in the system of the first spiritualists1 the soul was not created with1 or at the same time as the body1 in order to be inserted in it3 its existence was supposed to be anterior and from all eternity4 ,such1 in a few words1 is the doctrine of ,macrobius on this head4 ,som4 ,seip4 passim4 ,there exists a luminous1 igneous1 subtile fluid1 which under the name of ether and spiritus1 fills the universe4 ,it is the essential principle and agent of motion and life1 it is the ,deity4 ,when an earthly body is to be animated1 a small round particle of this fluid gravitates through the milky way towards the lunar sphere2 where1 when it arrives1 it unites with a grosser air1 and becomes fit to associate with matter3 it then enters and entirely fills the body1 animates it1 suffers1 grows1 increases1 and diminishes with it2 lastly1 when the body dies1 and its gross elements dissolve1 this incorruptible particle takes its leave of it1 and returns to the grand ocean of ether1 if not retained by its union with the lunar air3 it is this air or gas1 which1 retaining the shape of the body1 becomes a phantom or ghost1 the perfect representation of the deceased4 ,the ,greeks called this phantom the image or idol of the soul2 the ,pythagoreans1 its chariot1 its frame2 and the ,rabbinical school1 its vessel1 or boat4 ,when a man had conducted himself well in this world1 his whole soul1 that is its chariot and ether1 ascended to the moon1 where a separation took place3 the chariot lived in the lunar ,elysium1 and the ether returned to the fixed sphere1 that is1 to ,god3 for the fixed heaven1 says ,macrobius1 was by many called by the name of ,god 7c4 #ad74 ,if a man had not lived virtuously1 the soul remained on earth to undergo purification1 and was to wander to and fro1 like the ghosts of ,homer1 to whom this doctrine must have been known1 since he wrote after the time of ,pherecydes and ,pythagoras1 who were its promulgators in ,greece4 ,herodotus upon this occasion says1 that the whole romance of the soul and its transmigrations was invented by the ,egyptians1 and propagated in ,greece by men1 who pretended to be its authors4 ,i know their names1 adds he1 but shall not mention them 7lib4 #b74 ,cicero1 however1 has positively informed us1 that it was ,pherecydes1 master of ,pythagoras4 ,tuscul4 lib4 #a1 sect4 #af4 ,now admitting that this system was at that period a novelty1 it accounts for ,solomon's treating it as a fable1 who lived #acj years before ,pherecydes4 ',who knoweth1' said he1 'the spirit of a man that it goeth upwards8 ,i said in my heart concerning the estate of the sons of men1 that ,god might manifest them and that they might see that they themselves are beasts4 ,for that which befalleth the sons of men1 befalleth beasts2 even one thing befalleth them3 as the one dieth1 so dieth the other2 yea they have all one breath1 so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast3 for all is vanity4' ,eccles4 c4 iii3 v4 #ah4 ,and such had been the opinion of ,moses1 as a translator of ,herodotus 7,m4 ,archer of the ,academy of ,inscriptions7 justly observes in note #chi of the second book2 where he says also that the immortality of the soul was not introduced among the ,hebrews till their intercourse with the ,assyrians4 ,in other respects1 the whole ,pythagorean system1 properly analysed1 appears to be merely a system of physics badly understood4 ,hence1 also its transmigrations1 known by the name of metempsychosis1 that is1 the passage of the vital principle from one body to another2 an idea which arose from the real transmigration of the material elements4 ,and behold1 ye ,indians1 ye ,boudhists1 ye ,christians1 ye ,mussulmans6 whence are derived all your opinions on the spirituality of the soul2 behold what was the source of the dreams of ,pythagoras and ,plato1 your masters1 who were themselves but the echoes of another1 the last sect of visionary philosophers1 which we will proceed to examine4 ,,viii4 ,eighth system4 ,the ,,world-,,machine3 ,worship of the ,demi-,ourgos1 or ,grand ,artificer4 ,hitherto the theologians1 employing themselves in examining the fine and subtile substances of ether or the generating fire1 had not1 however1 ceased to treat of beings palpable and perceptible to the senses2 and theology continued to be the theory of physical powers1 placed sometimes exclusively in the stars1 and sometimes disseminated through the universe2 but at this period1 certain superficial minds1 losing the chain of ideas which had directed them in their profound studies1 or ignorant of the facts on which they were founded1 distorted all the conclusions that flowed from them by the introduction of a strange and novel chimera4 ,they pretended that this universe1 these heavens1 these stars1 this sun1 differed in no respect from an ordinary machine2 and applying to this first hypothesis a comparison drawn from the works of art1 they raised an edifice of the most whimsical sophisms4 ,a machine1 said they1 does not make itself2 it has had an anterior workman2 its very existence proves it4 ,the world is a machine2 therefore it had an artificer499 99 ,all the arguments of the spiritualists are founded on this4 ,see ,macrobius1 at the end of the second book1 and ,plato1 with the comments of ,marcilius ,ficinus4 ,here1 then1 is the ,demi-,ourgos or grand artificer1 constituted ,god autocratical and supreme4 ,in vain the ancient philosophy objected to this by saying that the artificer himself must have had parents and progenitors2 and that they only added another step to the ladder by taking eternity from the world1 and giving it to its supposed author4 ,the innovators1 not content with this first paradox1 passed on to a second2 and1 applying to their artificer the theory of the human understanding1 they pretended that the ,demi-,ourgos had framed his machine on a plan already existing in his understanding4 ,now1 as their masters1 the naturalists1 had placed in the regions of the fixed stars the great primum mobile1 under the name of intelligence and reason1 so their mimics1 the spiritualists1 seizing this idea1 applied it to their ,demi-,ourgos1 and making it a substance distinct and self-existent1 they called it mens or logos 7reason or word74 ,and1 as they likewise admitted the existence of the soul of the world1 or solar principle1 they found themselves obliged to compose three grades of divine beings1 which were3 first1 the ,demi-,ourgos1 or working god2 secondly1 the logos1 word or reason2 thirdly1 the spirit or soul 7of the world7499 ,and here1 ,christians6 is the romance on which you have founded your trinity2 here is the system which1 born a heretic in the temples of ,egypt1 transported a pagan into the schools of ,greece and ,italy1 is now found to be good1 catholic1 and orthodox1 by the conversion of its partisans1 the disciples of ,pythagoras and ,plato1 to ,christianity4 99 ,these are the real types of the ,christian ,trinity4 ,it is thus that ,god1 after having been1 ,first1 ,the visible and various action of the meteors and the elements2 ,secondly1 ,the combined powers of the stars1 considered in their relations to terrestrial beings2 ,thirdly1 ,these terrestrial beings themselves1 by confounding the symbols with their archetypes2 ,fourthly1 ,the double power of nature in its two principal operations of producing and destroying2 ,fifthly1 ,the animated world1 with distinction of agent and patient1 of effect and cause2 ,sixthly1 ,the solar principle1 or the element of fire considered as the only mover2 ,has thus become1 finally1 in the last resort1 a chimerical and abstract being1 a scholastic subtilty1 of substance without form1 a body without a figure1 a very delirium of the mind1 beyond the power of reason to comprehend4 ,but vainly does it seek in this last transformation to elude the senses2 the seal of its origin is imprinted upon it too deep to be effaced2 and its attributes1 all borrowed from the physical attributes of the universe1 such as immensity1 eternity1 indivisibility1 incomprehensibility2 or on the moral affections of man1 such as goodness1 justice1 majesty2 its names99 even1 all derived from the physical beings which were its types1 and especially from the sun1 from the planets1 and from the world1 constantly bring to mind1 in spite of its corrupters1 indelible marks of its real nature4 99 ,in our last analysis we found all the names of the ,deity to be derived from some material object in which it was supposed to reside4 ,we have given a considerable number of instances2 let us add one more relative to our word ,god4 ,this is known to be the ,deus of the ,latins1 and the ,theos of the ,greeks4 ,now by the confession of ,plato 7in ,cratylo71 of ,macrobius 7,saturn1 lib4 #a1 c4 #bd17 and of ,plutarch 7,isis and ,osiris7 its root is thein1 which signifies to wander1 like planein1 that is to say1 it is synonymous with planets2 because1 add our authors1 both the ancient ,greeks and ,barbarians particularly worshipped the planets4 ,i know that such enquiries into etymologies have been much decried3 but if1 as is the case1 words are the representative signs of ideas1 the genealogy of the one becomes that of the other1 and a good etymological dictionary would be the most perfect history of the human understanding4 ,it would only be necessary in this enquiry to observe certain precautions1 which have hitherto been neglected1 and particularly to make an exact comparison of the value of the letters of the different alphabets4 ,but1 to continue our subject1 we shall add1 that in the ,phoenician language1 the word thah 7with ain7 signifies also to wander1 and appears to be the derivation of thein4 ,if we suppose ,deus to be derived from the ,greek ,zeus1 a proper name of ,you-piter1 having zaw1 ,i live1 for its root1 its sense will be precisely that of you1 and will mean soul of the world1 igneous principle4 7,see note p4 #adc74 ,div-us1 which only signifies ,genius1 ,god of the second order1 appears to me to come from the oriental word div substituted for dib1 wolf and chacal1 one of the emblems of the sun4 ,at ,thebes1 says ,macrobius1 the sun was painted under the form of a wolf or chacal1 for there are no wolves in ,egypt4 ,the reason of this emblem1 doubtless1 is that the chacal1 like the cock announces by its cries the sun's rising2 and this reason is confirmed by the analogy of the words lykos1 wolf1 and lyke1 light of the morning1 whence comes lux4 ,dius1 which is to be understood also of the sun1 must be derived from dih1 a hawk4 ,the ,egyptians1 says ,porphyry 7,euseb4 ,proecep4 ,evang4 p4 #ib17 represent the sun under the emblem of a hawk1 because this bird soars to the highest regions of air where light abounds4 ,and in reality we continually see at ,cairo large flights of these birds1 hovering in the air1 from whence they descend not but to stun us with their shrieks1 which are like the monosyllable dih3 and here1 as in the preceding example1 we find an analogy between the word dies1 day1 light1 and dius1 god1 sun4 ,such is the chain of ideas which the human mind had already run through at an epoch previous to the records of history2 and since their continuity proves that they were the produce of the same series of studies and labors1 we have every reason to place their origin in ,egypt1 the cradle of their first elements4 ,this progress there may have been rapid2 because the physical priests had no other food1 in the retirement of the temples1 but the enigma of the universe1 always present to their minds2 and because in the political districts into which that country was for a long time divided1 every state had its college of priests1 who1 being by turns auxiliaries or rivals1 hastened by their disputes the progress of science and discovery499 99 ,one of the proofs that all these systems were invented in ,egypt1 is that this is the only country where we see a complete body of doctrine formed from the remotest antiquity4 ,clemens ,alexandrinus has transmitted to us 7,stromat4 lib4 #f17 a curious detail of the forty-two volumes which were borne in the procession of ,isis4 ,the priest1 says he1 or chanter1 carries one of the symbolic instruments of music1 and two of the books of ,mercury2 one containing hymns of the gods1 the other the list of kings4 ,next to him the horoscope 7the regulator of time17 carries a palm and a dial1 symbols of astrology2 he must know by heart the four books of ,mercury which treat of astrology3 the first on the order of the planets1 the second on the risings of the sun and moon1 and the two last on the rising and aspect of the stars4 ,then comes the sacred author1 with feathers on his head 7like ,kneph7 and a book in his hand1 together with ink1 and a reed to write with1 7as is still the practice among the ,arabs74 ,he must be versed in hieroglyphics1 must understand the description of the universe1 the course of the sun1 moon1 stars1 and planets1 be acquainted with the division of ,egypt into thirty-six nomes1 with the course of the ,nile1 with instruments1 measures1 sacred ornaments1 and sacred places4 ,next comes the stole bearer1 who carries the cubit of justice1 or measure of the ,nile1 and a cup for the libations2 he bears also in the procession ten volumes on the subject of sacrifices1 hymns1 prayers1 offerings1 ceremonies1 festivals4 ,lastly arrives the prophet1 bearing in his bosom a pitcher1 so as to be exposed to view2 he is followed by persons carrying bread 7as at the marriage of ,cana47 ,this prophet1 as president of the mysteries1 learns ten other sacred volumes1 which treat of the laws1 the gods1 and the discipline of the priests4 ,now there are in all forty-two volumes1 thirty-six of which are studied and got by heart by these personages1 and the remaining six are set apart to be consulted by the pastophores2 they treat of medicine1 the construction of the human body 7anatomy71 diseases1 remedies1 instruments1 etc41 etc4 ,we leave the reader to deduce all the consequences of an ,encyclopedia4 ,it is ascribed to ,mercury2 but ,jamblicus tells us that each book1 composed by priests1 was dedicated to that god1 who1 on account of his title of genius or decan opening the zodiac1 presided over every enterprise4 ,he is the ,janus of the ,romans1 and the ,guianesa of the ,indians1 and it is remarkable that ,yanus and ,guianes are homonymous4 ,in short it appears that these books are the source of all that has been transmitted to us by the ,greeks and ,latins in every science1 even in alchymy1 necromancy1 etc4 ,what is most to be regretted in their loss is that part which related to the principles of medicine and diet1 in which the ,egyptians appear to have made a considerable progress1 and to have delivered many useful observations4 ,there happened early on the borders of the ,nile1 what has since been repeated in every country2 as soon as a new system was formed its novelty excited quarrels and schisms2 then1 gaining credit by persecution itself1 sometimes it effaced antecedent ideas1 sometimes it modified and incorporated them2 then1 by the intervention of political revolutions1 the aggregation of states and the mixture of nations confused all opinions2 and the filiation of ideas being lost1 theology fell into a chaos1 and became a mere logogriph of old traditions no longer understood4 ,religion1 having strayed from its object was now nothing more than a political engine to conduct the credulous vulgar2 and it was used for this purpose1 sometimes by men credulous themselves and dupes of their own visions1 and sometimes by bold and energetic spirits in pursuit of great objects of ambition4 ,,ix4 ,religion of ,moses1 or ,worship of the ,soul of the ,world 7,you-piter74 ,such was the legislator of the ,hebrews2 who1 wishing to separate his nation from all others1 and to form a distinct and solitary empire1 conceived the design of establishing its basis on religious prejudices1 and of raising around it a sacred rampart of opinions and of rites4 ,but in vain did he prescribe the worship of the symbols which prevailed in lower ,egypt and in ,phoenicia299 for his god was nevertheless an ,egyptian god1 invented by those priests of whom ,moses had been the disciple2 and ,yahouh19999 betrayed by its very name1 essence 7of beings71 and by its symbol1 the burning bush1 is only the soul of the world1 the moving principle which the ,greeks soon after adopted under the same denomination in their you-piter1 regenerating being1 and under that of ,ei1 existence1999999 which the ,thebans consecrated by the name of ,kneph1 which ,sais worshipped under the emblem of ,isis veiled1 with this inscription3 ,i am al that has been1 all that is1 and all that is to come1 and no mortal has raised my veil2 which ,pythagoras honored under the name of ,vesta1 and which the stoic philosophy defined precisely by calling it the principle of fire4 ,in vain did ,moses wish to blot from his religion every thing which had relation to the stars2 many traits call them to mind in spite of all he has done4 ,the seven planetary luminaries of the great candlestick2 the twelve stones1 or signs in the ,urim of the high priests2 the feast of the two equinoxes1 7entrances and gates of the two hemispheres72 the ceremony of the lamb1 7the celestial ram then in his fifteenth degree72 lastly1 the name even of ,osiris preserved in his song199999999 and the ark1 or coffer1 an imitation of the tomb in which that ,god was laid1 all remain as so many witnesses of the filiation of his ideas1 and of their extraction from the common source4 99 ,at a certain period1 says ,plutarch 7de ,iside7 all the ,egyptians have their animal gods painted4 ,the ,thebans are the only people who do not employ painters1 because they worship a god whose form comes not under the senses1 and cannot be represented4 ,and this is the god whom ,moses1 educated at ,heliopolis1 adopted2 but the idea was not of his invention4 9999 ,such is the true pronunciation of the ,jehovah of the moderns1 who violate1 in this respect1 every rule of criticism2 since it is evident that the ancients1 particularly the eastern ,syrians and ,phoenicians1 were acquainted neither with the ,j nor the ,p which are of ,tartar origin4 ,the subsisting usage of the ,arabs1 which we have re-established here1 is confirmed by ,diodorus1 who calls the god of ,moses ,iaw1 7lib4 #a71 and ,iaw and ,yahouh are manifestly the same word3 the identity continues in that of ,you-piter2 but in order to render it more complete1 we shall demonstrate the signification to be the same4 ,in ,hebrew1 that is to say1 in one of the dialects of the common language of lower ,asia1 ,yahouh is the participle of the verb hih1 to exist1 to be1 and signifies existing3 in other words1 the principle of life1 the mover or even motion 7the universal soul of beings74 ,now what is ,jupiter8 ,let us hear the ,greeks and ,latins explain their theology4 ,the ,egyptians1 says ,diodorus1 after ,manatho1 priest of ,memphis1 in giving names to the five elements1 called spirit1 or ether1 ,you-piter1 on account of the true meaning of that word3 for spirit is the source of life1 author of the vital principle in animals2 and for this reason they considered him as the father1 the generator of beings4 ,for the same reason ,homer says1 father1 and king of men and gods4 7,diod4 lib4 #a1 sect #a74 ,theologians1 says ,macrobius1 consider ,you-piter as the soul of the world4 ,hence the words of ,virgil3 ,muses let us begin with ,you-piter2 the world is full of ,you-piter4 7,somn4 ,scrip41 ch4 #ag74 ,and in the ,saturnalia1 he says1 ,jupiter is the sun himself4 ,it was this also which made ,virgil say1 ,the spirit nourishes the life 7of beings71 and the soul diffused through the vast members 7of the universe71 agitates the whole mass1 and forms but one immense body4 ,ioupiter1 says the ancient verses of the ,orphic sect1 which originated in ,egypt2 verses collected by ,onomacritus in the days of ,pisistratus1 ,ioupiter1 represented with the thunder in his hand1 is the beginning1 origin1 end1 and middle of all things3 a single and universal power1 he governs every thing2 heaven1 earth1 fire1 water1 the elements1 day1 and night4 ,these are what constitute his immense body3 his eyes are the sun and moon3 he is space and eternity3 in fine1 adds ,porphyry4 ,jupiter is the world1 the universe1 that which constitutes the essence and life of all beings4 ,now1 continues the same author1 as philosophers differed in opinion respecting the nature and constituent parts of this god1 and as they could invent no figure that should represent all his attributes1 they painted him in the form of a man4 ,he is in a sitting posture1 in allusion to his immutable essence2 the upper part of his body is uncovered1 because it is in the upper regions of the universe 7the stars7 that he most conspicuously displays himself4 ,he is covered from the waist downwards1 because respecting terrestrial things he is more secret and concealed4 ,he holds a scepter in his left hand1 because on the left side is the heart1 and the heart is the seat of the understanding1 which1 7in human beings7 regulates every action4 ,euseb4 ,proeper4 ,evang41 p #ajj4 ,the following passage of the geographer and philosopher1 ,strabo1 removes every doubt as to the identity of the ideas of ,moses and those of the heathen theologians4 ,moses1 who was one of the ,egyptian priests1 taught his followers that it was an egregious error to represent the ,deity under the form of animals1 as the ,egyptians did1 or in the shape of man1 as was the practice of the ,greeks and ,africans4 ,that alone is the ,deity1 said he1 which constitutes heaven1 earth1 and every living thing2 that which we call the world1 the sum of all things1 nature2 and no reasonable person will think of representing such a being by the image of any one of the objects around us4 ,it is for this reason1 that1 rejecting every species of images or idols1 ,moses wished the ,deity to be worshipped without emblems1 and according to his proper nature2 and he accordingly ordered a temple worthy of him to be erected1 etc4 ,geograph4 lib4 #af1 p4 #aajd1 edition of #agjg4 ,the theology of ,moses has1 then1 differed in no respect from that of his followers1 that is to say1 from that of the ,stoics and ,epicureans1 who consider the ,deity as the soul of the world4 ,this philosophy appears to have taken birth1 or to have been disseminated when ,abraham came into ,egypt 7#bjj years before ,moses71 since he quitted his system of idols for that of the god ,yahouh2 so that we may place its promulgation about the seventeenth or eighteenth century before ,christ2 which corresponds with what we have said before4 ,as to the history of ,moses1 ,diodorus properly represents it when he says1 lib4 #cd and #dj1 ,that the ,jews were driven out of ,egypt at a time of dearth1 when the country was full of foreigners1 and that ,moses1 a man of extraordinary prudence seized this opportunity of establishing his religion in the mountains of ,judea4 ,it will seem paradoxical to assert1 that the #fjj1jjj armed men whom he conducted thither ought to be reduced to #f1jjj2 but ,i can confirm the assertion by so many proofs drawn from the books themselves1 that it will be necessary to correct an error which appears to have arisen from the mistake of the transcribers4 999999 ,this was the monosyllable written on the gates of the temple of ,delphos4 ,plutarch has made it the subject of a dissertation4 99999999 ,these are the literal expressions of the book of ,deuteronomy1 chap4 ,,xxxii4 ,the works of ,tsour are perfect4 ,now ,tsour has been translated by the word creator2 its proper signification is to give forms1 and this is one of the definitions of ,osiris in ,plutarch4 ,x4 ,religion of ,zoroaster4 ,such also was ,zoroaster2 who1 five centuries after ,moses1 and in the time of ,david1 revived and moralized among the ,medes and ,bactrians1 the whole ,egyptian system of ,osiris and ,typhon1 under the names ,ormuzd and ,ahrimanes2 who called the reign of summer1 virtue and good2 the reign of winter1 sin and evil2 the renewal of nature in spring1 creation of the world2 the conjunction of the spheres at secular periods1 resurrection2 and the ,tartarus and ,elysium of the astrologers and geographers were named future life1 hell and paradise4 ,in a word1 he did nothing but consecrate the existing dreams of the mystical system4 ,,xi4 ,budsoism1 or ,religion of the ,samaneans4 ,such again are the propagators of the dismal doctrine of the ,samaneans2 who1 on the basis of the ,metempsychosis1 have erected the misanthropic system of self-denial1 and of privations2 who1 laying it down as a principle that the body is only a prison where the soul lives in an impure confinement1 that life is only a dream1 an illusion1 and the world only a passage to another country1 to a life without end1 placed virtue and perfection in absolute immobility1 in the destruction of all sentiment1 in the abnegation of physical organs1 in the annihilation of all our being2 whence resulted fasts1 penances1 macerations1 solitude1 contemplations1 and all the practices of the deplorable delirium of the ,anchorites4 ,,xii4 ,brahmism1 or ,indian ,system4 ,and such1 too1 were the founders of the ,indian ,system2 who1 refining after ,zoroaster on the two principles of creation and destruction1 introduced an intermediary principle1 that of preservation1 and on their trinity in unity1 of ,brama1 ,chiven1 and ,vichenou1 accumulated the allegories of their ancient traditions1 and the alembicated subtilities of their metaphysics4 ,these are the materials which existed in a scattered state for many centuries in ,asia2 when a fortuitous concourse of events and circumstances1 on the borders of the ,euphrates and the ,mediterranean1 served to form them into new combinations4 ,,xiii4 ,christianity1 or the ,allegorical ,worship of the ,sun1 under the cabalistical names of ,chrish-en1 or ,christ1 and ,ye-sus or ,jesus4 ,in constituting a separate nation1 ,moses strove in vain to defend it against the invasion of foreign ideas4 ,an invisible inclination1 founded on the affinity of their origin1 had constantly brought back the ,hebrews towards the worship of the neighboring nations2 and the commercial and political relations which necessarily existed between them1 strengthened this propensity from day to day4 ,as long as the constitution of the state remained entire1 the coercive force of the government and the laws opposed these innovations1 and retarded their progress2 nevertheless the high places were full of idols2 and the god ,sun had his chariot and horses painted in the palaces of the kings1 and even in the temples of ,yahouh2 but when the conquests of the sultans of ,nineveh and ,babylon had dissolved the bands of civil power1 the people1 left to themselves and solicited by their conquerors1 restrained no longer their inclination for profane opinions1 and they were publicly established in ,judea4 ,first1 the ,assyrian colonies1 which came and occupied the lands of the tribes1 filled the kingdom of ,samaria with dogmas of the ,magi1 which very soon penetrated into the kingdom of ,judea4 ,afterwards1 ,jerusalem being subjugated1 the ,egyptians1 the ,syrians1 the ,arabs1 entering this defenceless country1 introduced their opinions2 and the religion of ,moses was doubly mutilated4 ,besides the priests and great men1 being transported to ,babylon and educated in the sciences of the ,chaldeans1 imbibed1 during a residence of seventy years1 the whole of their theology2 and from that moment the dogmas of the hostile ,genius 7,satan71 the archangel ,michael199 the ancient of days 7,ormuzd71 the rebel angels1 the battles in heaven1 the immortality of the soul1 and the resurrection1 all unknown to ,moses1 or rejected by his total silence respecting them1 were introduced and naturalized among the ,jews4 99 ,the names of the angels and of the months1 such as ,gabriel1 ,michael1 ,yar1 ,nisan1 etc41 came from ,babylon with the ,jews3 says expressly the ,talmud of ,jerusalem4 ,see ,beousob4 ,hist4 du ,manich4 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #fbd1 where he proves that the saints of the ,almanac are an imitation of the #cfe angels of the ,persians2 and ,jamblicus in his ,egyptian ,mysteries1 sect4 #b1 c4 #c1 speaks of angels1 archangels1 seraphims1 etc41 like a true ,christian4 ,the emigrants returned to their country with these ideas2 and their innovation at first excited disputes between their partisans the ,pharisees1 and their opponents the ,saducees1 who maintained the ancient national worship2 but the former1 aided by the propensities of the people and their habits already contracted1 and supported by the ,persians1 their deliverers and masters1 gained the ascendant over the latter2 and the ,sons of ,moses consecrated the theology of ,zoroaster499 99 ,the whole philosophy of the gymnosophists1 says ,diogenes ,laertius on the authority of an ancient writer1 is derived from that of the ,magi1 and many assert that of the ,jews to have the same origin4 ,lib4 #a4 c4 #i4 ,megasthenes1 an historian of repute in the days of ,seleucus ,nicanor1 and who wrote particularly upon ,india1 speaking of the philosophy of the ancients respecting natural things1 puts the ,brachmans and the ,jews precisely on the same footing4 ,a fortuitous analogy between two leading ideas was highly favorable to this coalition1 and became the basis of a last system1 not less surprising in the fortune it has had in the world1 than in the causes of its formation4 ,after the ,assyrians had destroyed the kingdom of ,samaria1 some judicious men foresaw the same destiny for ,jerusalem1 which they did not fail to predict and publish2 and their predictions had the particular turn of being terminated by prayers for a re-establishment and regeneration1 uttered in the form of prophecies4 ,the ,hierophants1 in their enthusiasm1 had painted a king as a deliverer1 who was to re-establish the nation in its ancient glory2 the ,hebrews were to become once more a powerful1 a conquering nation1 and ,jerusalem the capital of an empire extended over the whole earth4 ,events having realized the first part of these predictions1 the ruin of ,jerusalem1 the people adhered to the second with a firmness of belief in proportion to their misfortunes2 and the afflicted ,jews expected1 with the impatience of want and desire1 this victorious king and deliverer1 who was to come and save the nation of ,moses1 and restore the empire of ,david4 ,on the other hand1 the sacred and mythological traditions of preceding times had spread through all ,asia a dogma perfectly analogous4 ,the cry there was a great mediator1 a final judge1 a future saviour1 a king1 god1 conqueror and legislator1 who was to restore the golden age upon earth199 to deliver it from the dominion of evil1 and restore men to the empire of good1 peace1 and happiness4 ,the people seized and cherished these ideas with so much the more avidity1 as they found in them a consolation under that deplorable state of suffering into which they had been plunged by the devastations of successive conquests1 and the barbarous despotism of their governments4 ,this conformity between the oracles of different nations1 and those of the prophets1 excited the attention of the ,jews2 and doubtless the prophets had the art to compose their descriptions after the style and genius of the sacred books employed in the ,pagan mysteries4 ,there was therefore a general expectation in ,judea of a great ambassador1 a final ,saviour2 when a singular circumstance determined the epoch of his coming4 99 ,this is the reason of the application of the many ,pagan oracles to ,jesus1 and particularly the fourth eclogue of ,virgil1 and the ,sybilline verses so celebrated among the ancients4 ,it is found in the sacred books of the ,persians and ,chaldeans1 that the world1 composed of a total revolution of twelve thousand1 was divided into two partial revolutions2 one of which1 the age and reign of good1 terminated in six thousand2 the other1 the age and reign of evil1 was to terminate in six thousand more4 ,by these records1 the first authors had understood the annual revolution of the great celestial orb called the world1 7a revolution composed of twelve months or signs1 divided each into a thousand parts71 and the two systematic periods1 of winter and summer1 composed each of six thousand4 ,these expressions1 wholly equivocal and badly explained1 having received an absolute and moral1 instead of a physical and astrological sense1 it happened that the annual world was taken for the secular world1 the thousand of the zodiacal divisions1 for a thousand of years2 and supposing1 from the state of things1 that they lived in the age of evil1 they inferred that it would end with the six thousand pretended years499 99 ,we have already seen this tradition current among the ,tuscans2 it was disseminated through most nations1 and shows us what we ought to think of all the pretended creations and terminations of the world1 which are merely the beginnings and endings of astronomical periods invented by astrologers4 ,that of the year or solar revolution1 being the most simple and perceptible1 served as a model to the rest1 and its comparison gave rise to the most whimsical ideas4 ,of this description is the idea of the four ages of the world among the ,indians4 ,originally these four ages were merely the four seasons2 and as each season was under the supposed influence of a planet1 it bore the name of the metal appropriated to that planet2 thus spring was the age of the sun1 or of gold2 summer the age of the moon1 or of silver2 autumn the age of ,venus1 or of brass2 and winter the age of ,mars1 or of iron4 ,afterwards when astronomers invented the great year of #be and #cf thousand common years1 which had for its object the bringing back all the stars to one point of departure and a general conjunction1 the ambiguity of the terms introduced a similar ambiguity of ideas2 and the myriads of celestial signs and periods of duration which were thus measured were easily converted into so many revolutions of the sun4 ,thus the different periods of creation which have been so great a source of difficulty and misapprehension to curious enquirers1 were in reality nothing more than hypothetical calculations of astronomical periods4 ,in the same manner the creation of the world has been attributed to different seasons of the year1 just as these different seasons have served for the fictitious period of these conjunctions2 and of consequence has been adopted by different nations for the commencement of an ordinary year4 ,among the ,egyptians this period fell upon the summer solstice1 which was the commencement of their year2 and the departure of the spheres1 according to their conjectures1 fell in like manner upon the period when the sun enters cancer4 ,among the ,persians the year commenced at first in the spring1 or when the sun enters ,aries2 and from thence the first ,christians were led to suppose that ,god created the world in the spring3 this opinion is also favored by the book of ,genesis2 and it is farther remarkable1 that the world is not there said to be created by the ,god of ,moses 7,yahouh71 but by the ,elohim or gods in the plural1 that is by the angels or genii1 for so the word constantly means in the ,hebrew books4 ,if we farther observe that the root of the word ,elohim signifies strong or powerful1 and that the ,egyptians called their decans strong and powerful leaders1 attributing to them the creation of the world1 we shall presently perceive that the book of ,genesis affirms neither more nor less than that the world was created by the decans1 by those very genii whom1 according to ,sanchoniathon1 ,mercury excited against ,saturn1 and who were called ,elohim4 ,it may be farther asked why the plural substantive ,elohim is made to agree with the singular verb bara 7the ,elohim creates74 ,the reason is that after the ,babylonish captivity the unity of the ,supreme ,being was the prevailing opinion of the ,jews2 it was therefore thought proper to introduce a pious solecism in language1 which it is evident had no existence before ,moses2 thus in the names of the children of ,jacob many of them are compounded of a plural verb1 to which ,elohim is the nominative case understood1 as ,raouben 7,reuben71 they have looked upon me1 and ,samaonni 7,simeon71 they have granted me my prayer2 to wit1 the ,elohim4 ,the reason of this etymology is to be found in the religious creeds of the wives of ,jacob1 whose gods were the taraphim of ,laban1 that is1 the angels of the ,persians1 and ,egyptian decans4 ,now1 according to calculations admitted by the ,jews1 they began to reckon near six thousand years since the supposed creation of the world499 ,this coincidence caused a fermentation in the public mind4 ,nothing was thought of but the approaching end4 ,they consulted the hierophants and the mystical books1 which differed as to the term2 the great mediator1 the final judge1 was expected and desired1 to put an end to so many calamities4 ,this being was so much spoken of1 that some person finally was said to have seen him2 and a first rumor of this sort was sufficient to establish a general certainty4 ,popular report became an established fact3 the imaginary being was realized2 and all the circumstances of mythological tradition1 being assembled around this phantom1 produced a regular history1 of which it was no longer permitted to doubt4 99 ,according to the computation of the ,seventy1 the period elapsed consisted of about #e1fjj years1 and this computation was principally followed4 ,it is well known how much1 in the first ages of the church1 this opinion of the end of the world agitated the minds of men4 ,in the sequel1 the general councils encouraged by finding that the general conflagration did not come1 pronounced the expectation that prevailed heretical1 and its believers were called ,millenarians2 a circumstance curious enough1 since it is evident from the history of the gospels that ,jesus ,christ was a ,millenarian1 and of consequence a heretic4 ,these mythological traditions recounted that1 in the beginning1 a woman and a man had by their fall introduced sin and misery into the world4 7,consult plate of the ,astrological ,heaven of the ,ancients47 ,by this was denoted the astronomical fact1 that the celestial virgin and the herdsman 7,bootes71 by setting heliacally at the autumnal equinox1 delivered the world to the wintry constellations1 and seemed1 on falling below the horizon1 to introduce into the world the genius of evil1 ,ahrimanes1 represented by the constellation of the ,serpent499 99 ,the ,persians1 says ,chardin1 call the constellation of the serpent ,ophiucus1 serpent of ,eve3 and this serpent ,ophiucas or ,ophioneus plays a similar part in the theology of the ,phoenicians1 for ,pherecydes1 their disciple and the master of ,pythagoras1 said that ,ophioneus ,serpentinus had been chief of the rebels against ,jupiter4 ,see ,mars4 ,ficin4 ,apol4 ,socrat4 p4 m4 #gig1 col4 #b4 ,i shall add that ephah 7with ain7 signifies in ,hebrew1 serpent4 ,these traditions related that the woman had decoyed and seduced the man499 99 ,in a physical sense to seduce1 seducere1 means only to attract1 to draw after us4 ,and in fact1 the virgin1 setting first1 seems to draw the herdsman after her4 ,that the woman tempted him by offering him fruit fair to the sight and good to eat1 which gave the knowledge of good and evil4 ,and in fact1 the ,virgin holds in her hand a branch of fruit1 which she seems to offer to the ,herdsman2 and the branch1 emblem of autumn1 placed in the picture of ,mithra99 between winter and summer1 seems to open the door and give knowledge1 the key of good and evil4 99 ,see this picture in ,hyde1 page #aaa1 edition of #agfj4 ,that this couple had been driven from the celestial garden1 and that a cherub with a flaming sword had been placed at the gate to guard it4 ,and in fact1 when the virgin and the herdsman fall beneath the horizon1 ,perseus rises on the other side299 and this ,genius1 with a sword in his hand1 seems to drive them from the summer heaven1 the garden and dominion of fruits and flowers4 99 ,rather the head of ,medusa2 that head of a woman once so beautiful1 which ,perseus cut off and which beholds in his hand1 is only that of the virgin1 whose head sinks below the horizon at the very moment that ,perseus rises2 and the serpents which surround it are ,orphiucus and the ,polar ,dragon1 who then occupy the zenith4 ,this shows us in what manner the ancients composed all their figures and fables4 ,they took such constellations as they found at the same time on the circle of the horizon1 and collecting the different parts1 they formed groups which served them as an almanac in hieroglyphic characters4 ,such is the secret of all their pictures1 and the solution of all their mythological monsters4 ,the virgin is also ,andromeda1 delivered by ,perseus from the whale that pursues her 7pro-sequitor74 ,that of this virgin should be born1 spring up1 an offspring1 a child1 who should bruise the head of the serpent1 and deliver the world from sin4 ,this denotes the son1 which1 at the moment of the winter solstice1 precisely when the ,persian ,magi drew the horoscope of the new year1 was placed on the bosom of the ,virgin1 rising heliacally in the eastern horizon2 on this account he was figured in their astrological pictures under the form of a child suckled by a chaste virgin199 and became afterwards1 at the vernal equinox1 the ram1 or the lamb1 triumphant over the constellation of the ,serpent1 which disappeared from the skies4 99 ,such was the picture of the ,persian sphere1 cited by ,aben ,ezra in the ,coelam ,poeticum of ,blaeu1 p4 #ga4 ,the picture of the first decan of the ,virgin1 says that writer4 represents a beautiful virgin with flowing hair2 sitting in a chair1 with two ears of corn in her hand1 and suckling an infant1 called ,jesus by some nations1 and ,christ in ,greek4 ,in the library of the king of ,france is a manuscript in ,arabic1 marked #aafe1 in which is a picture of the twelve signs2 and that of the ,virgin represents a young woman with an infant by her side3 the whole scene indeed of the birth of ,jesus is to be found in the adjacent part of the heavens4 ,the stable is the constellation of the charioteer and the goat1 formerly ,capricorn3 a constellation called proesepe ,jovis ,heniochi1 stable of ,iou2 and the word ,iou is found in the name ,iou-seph 7,joseph74 ,at no great distance is the ass of ,typhon 7the great she-bear71 and the ox or bull1 the ancient attendants of the manger4 ,peter the porter1 is ,janus with his keys and bald forehead3 the twelve apostles are the genii of the twelve months1 etc4 ,this ,virgin has acted very different parts in the various systems of mythology3 she has been the ,isis of the ,egyptians1 who said of her in one of their inscriptions cited by ,julian1 the fruit ,i have brought forth is the sun4 ,the majority of traits drawn by ,plutarch apply to her1 in the same manner as those of ,osiris apply to ,bootes3 also the seven principal stars of the she-bear1 called ,david's chariot1 were called the chariot of ,osiris 7,see ,kirker72 and the crown that is situated behind1 formed of ivy1 was called ,chen-,osiris1 the tree of ,osiris4 ,the ,virgin has likewise been ,ceres1 whose mysteries were the same with those of ,isis and ,mithra2 she has been the ,diana of the ,ephesians2 the great goddess of ,syria1 ,cybele1 drawn by lions2 ,minerva1 the mother of ,bacchus2 ,astraea1 a chaste virgin taken up into heaven at the end of a golden age2 ,themis at whose feet is the balance that was put in her hands2 the ,sybil of ,virgil1 who descends into hell1 or sinks below the hemisphere with a branch in her hand1 etc4 ,that1 in his infancy1 this restorer of divine and celestial nature would live abased1 humble1 obscure and indigent4 ,and this1 because the winter sun is abased below the horizon2 and that this first period of his four ages or seasons1 is a time of obscurity1 scarcity1 fasting1 and want4 ,that1 being put to death by the wicked1 he had risen gloriously2 that he had reascended from hell to heaven1 where he would reign forever ,this is a sketch of the life of the sun2 who1 finishing his career at the winter solstice1 when ,typhon and the rebel angels gain the dominion1 seems to be put to death by them2 but who soon after is born again1 and rises99 into the vault of heaven1 where he reigns4 99 ,resurgere1 to rise a second time1 cannot signify to return to life1 but in a metaphorical sense2 but we see continually mistakes of this kind result from the ambiguous meaning of the words made use of in ancient tradition4 ,finally1 these traditions went so far as to mention even his astrological and mythological names1 and inform us that he was called sometimes ,chris1 that is to say1 preserver199 and from that1 ye ,indians1 you have made your god ,chrish-en or ,chrish-na2 and1 ye ,greek and ,western ,christians1 your ,chris-tos1 son of ,mary1 is the same2 sometimes he is called ,yes1 by the union of three letters1 which by their numerical value form the number #fjh1 one of the solar periods49999 ,and this1 ,europeans1 is the name which1 with the ,latin termination1 is become your ,yes-us or ,jesus1 the ancient and cabalistic name attributed to young ,bacchus1 the clandestine son 7nocturnal7 of the ,virgin ,minerva1 who1 in the history of his whole life1 and even of his death1 brings to mind the history of the god of the ,christians1 that is1 of the star of day1 of which they are each of them the emblems4 99 ,the ,greeks used to express by ,x1 or ,spanish iota1 the aspirated ha of the ,orientals1 who said haris4 ,in ,hebrew heres signifies the sun1 but in ,arabic the meaning of the radical word is1 to guard1 to preserve1 and of haris1 guardian1 preserver4 ,it is the proper epithet of ,vichenou1 which demonstrates at once the identity of the ,indian and ,christian ,trinities1 and their common origin4 ,it is manifestly but one system1 which divided into two branches1 one extending to the east1 and the other to the west1 assumed two different forms3 ,its principal trunk is the ,pythagorean system of the soul of the world1 or ,iou-piter4 ,the epithet piter1 or father1 having been applied to the demi-ourgos of ,plato1 gave rise to an ambiguity which caused an enquiry to be made respecting the son of this father4 ,in the opinion of the philosophers the son was understanding1 ,nous and ,logos1 from which the ,latins made their ,verbum4 ,and thus we clearly perceive the origin of the eternal father and of the ,verbum his son1 proceeding from him 7,mens ,ex ,deo nata1 says ,macrobius73 the oenima or spiritus mundi1 was the ,holy ,ghost2 and it is for this reason that ,manes1 ,pasilides1 ,valentinius1 and other pretended heretics of the first ages1 who traced things to their source1 said1 that ,god the ,father was the supreme inaccessible light 7that of the heaven1 the primum mobile1 or the aplanes72 the ,son the secondary light resident in the sun1 and the ,holy ,ghost the atmosphere of the earth 7,see ,beausob4 vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #ehf73 hence1 among the ,syrians1 the representation of the ,holy ,ghost by a dove1 the bird of ,venus ,urania1 that is of the air4 ,the ,syrians 7says ,nigidius de ,germaico7 assert that a dove sat for a certain number of days on the egg of a fish1 and that from this incubation ,venus was born3 ,sextus ,empiricus also observes 7,inst4 ,pyrrh4 lib4 #c1 c4 #bc7 that the ,syrians abstain from eating doves2 which intimates to us a period commencing in the sign ,pisces1 in the winter solstice4 ,we may farther observe1 that if ,chris comes from ,harisch by a chin1 it will signify artificer1 an epithet belonging to the sun4 ,these variations1 which must have embarrassed the ancients1 prove it to be the real type of ,jesus1 as had been already remarked in the time of ,tertullian4 ,many1 says this writer1 suppose with greater probability that the sun is our ,god1 and they refer us to the religion of the ,persians4 ,apologet4 c4 #af4 9999 ,see a curious ode to the sun1 by ,martianus ,capella1 translated by ,gebelin4 ,here a great murmur having arisen among all the ,christian groups1 the ,lamas1 the ,mussulmans and the ,indians called them to order1 and the orator went on to finish his discourse3 ,you know at present1 said he1 how the rest of this system was composed in the chaos and anarchy of the three first centuries2 what a multitude of singular opinions divided the minds of men1 and armed them with an enthusiasm and a reciprocal obstinacy2 because1 being equally founded on ancient tradition1 they were equally sacred4 ,you know how the government1 after three centuries1 having embraced one of these sects1 made it the orthodox1 that is to say1 the pre-dominant religion1 to the exclusion of the rest2 which1 being less in number1 became heretics2 you know how and by what means of violence and seduction this religion was propagated1 extended1 divided1 and enfeebled2 how1 six hundred years after the ,christian innovation1 another system was formed from it and from that of the ,jews2 and how ,mahomet found the means of composing a political and theological empire at the expense of those of ,moses and the vicars of ,jesus4 ,now1 if you take a review of the whole history of the spirit of all religion1 you will see that in its origin it has had no other author than the sensations and wants of man2 that the idea of ,god has had no other type and model than those of physical powers1 material beings1 producing either good or evil1 by impressions of pleasure or pain on sensitive beings2 that in the formation of all these systems the spirit of religion has always followed the same course1 and been uniform in its proceedings2 that in all of them the dogma has never failed to represent1 under the name of gods1 the operations of nature1 and passions and prejudices of men2 that the moral of them all has had for its object the desire of happiness and the aversion to pain2 but that the people1 and the greater part of legislators1 not knowing the route to be pursued1 have formed false1 and therefore discordant1 ideas of virtue and vice of good and evil1 that is to say1 of what renders man happy or miserable2 that in every instance1 the means and the causes of propagating and establishing systems have exhibited the same scenes of passion and the same events2 everywhere disputes about words1 pretexts for zeal1 revolutions and wars excited by the ambition of princes1 the knavery of apostles1 the credulity of proselytes1 the ignorance of the vulgar1 the exclusive cupidity and intolerant arrogance of all4 ,indeed1 you will see that the whole history of the spirit of religion is only the history of the errors of the human mind1 which1 placed in a world that it does not comprehend1 endeavors nevertheless to solve the enigma2 and which1 beholding with astonishment this mysterious and visible prodigy1 imagines causes1 supposes reasons1 builds systems2 then1 finding one defective1 destroys it for another not less so2 hates the error that it abandons1 misconceives the one that it embraces1 rejects the truth that it is seeking1 composes chimeras of discordant beings2 and thus1 while always dreaming of wisdom and happiness1 wanders blindly in a labyrinth of illusion and doubt4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,,all ,,religions ,,have ,,the ,,same ,,object4 ,thus spoke the orator in the name of those men who had studied the origin and succession of religious ideas4 ,the theologians of various systems1 reasoning on this discourse3 ,it is an impious representation1 said some1 whose tendency is nothing less than to overturn all belief1 to destroy subordination in the minds of men1 and annihilate our ministry and power4 ,it is a romance1 said others1 a tissue of conjectures1 composed with art1 but without foundation4 ,the moderate and prudent men added3 ,supposing all this to be true1 why reveal these mysteries8 ,doubtless our opinions are full of errors2 but these errors are a necessary restraint on the multitude4 ,the world has gone thus for two thousand years2 why change it now8 ,a murmur of disapprobation1 which never fails to rise at every innovation1 now began to increase2 when a numerous group of the common classes of people1 and of untaught men of all countries and of every nation1 without prophets1 without doctors1 and without doctrine1 advancing in the circle1 drew the attention of the whole assembly2 and one of them1 in the name of all1 thus addressed the multitude3 ,mediators and arbiters of nations6 the strange relations which have occupied the present debate were unknown to us until this day4 ,our understanding1 confounded and amazed at so many statements1 some of them learned1 others absurd and all incomprehensible1 remains in uncertainty and doubt4 ,one only reflection has struck us3 on reviewing so many prodigious facts1 so many contradictory assertions1 we ask ourselves3 ,what are all these discussions to us8 ,what need have we of knowing what passed five or six thousand years ago1 in countries we never heard of1 and among men who will ever be unknown to us8 ,true or false1 what interest have we in knowing whether the world has existed six thousand1 or twenty-five thousand years8 ,whether it was made of nothing1 or of something2 by itself1 or by a maker1 who in his turn would require another maker8 ,what6 we are not sure of what happens near us1 and shall we answer for what happens in the sun1 in the moon1 or in imaginary regions of space8 ,we have forgotten our own infancy1 and shall we know the infancy of the world8 ,and who will attest what no one has seen8 who will certify what no man comprehends8 ,besides1 what addition or diminution will it make to our existence1 to answer yes or no to all these chimeras8 ,hitherto neither our fathers nor ourselves have had the least knowledge or notion of them1 and we do not perceive that we have had on this account either more or less of the sun1 more or less of subsistence1 more or less of good or of evil4 ,if the knowledge of these things is so necessary1 why have we lived as well without it as those who have taken so much trouble concerning it8 ,if this knowledge is superfluous1 why should we burden ourselves with it to-day8 ,then addressing himself to the doctors and theologians3 ,what6 said he1 is it necessary that we1 poor and ignorant men1 whose every moment is scarcely sufficient for the cares of life1 and the labors of which you take the profit1--is it necessary for us to learn the numberless histories that you have recounted1 to read the quantity of books that you have cited1 and to study the various languages in which they are composed6 ,a thousand years of life would not suffice-- ,it is not necessary1 replied the doctors1 that you should acquire all this science2 we have it for you-- ,but even you1 replied the simple men1 with all your science1 you are not agreed2 of what advantage1 then1 is your science8 ,besides1 how can you answer for us8 ,if the faith of one man is applicable to many1 what need have even you to believe8 your fathers may have believed for you2 and this would be reasonable1 since they have seen for you4 ,farther1 what is believing1 if believing influences no action8 ,and what action is influenced by believing1 for instance1 that the world is or is not eternal8 ,the latter would be offensive to ,god1 said the doctors4 ,how prove you that8 replied the simple men4 ,in our books1 answered the doctors4 ,we do not understand them1 returned the simple men4 ,we understand them for you1 said the doctors4 ,that is the difficulty1 replied the simple men4 ,by what right do you constitute yourselves mediators between ,god and us8 ,by his orders1 said the doctors4 ,where is the proof of these orders8 said the simple men4 ,in our books1 said the doctors4 ,we understand them not1 said the simple men2 and how came this just ,god to give you this privilege over us8 ,why did this common father oblige us to believe on a less degree of evidence than you8 ,he has spoken to you2 be it so2 he is infallible1 and deceives you not4 ,but it is you who speak to us6 ,and who shall assure us that you are not in error yourselves1 or that you will not lead us into error8 ,and if we should be deceived1 how will that just ,god save us contrary to law1 or condemn us on a law which we have not known8 ,he has given you the natural law1 said the doctors4 ,and what is the natural law8 replied the simple men4 ,if that law is sufficient1 why has he given any other8 ,if it is not sufficient1 why did he make it imperfect8 ,his judgments are mysteries1 said the doctors1 and his justice is not like that of men4 ,if his justice1 replied the simple men1 is not like ours1 by what rule are we to judge of it8 ,and1 moreover1 why all these laws1 and what is the object proposed by them8 ,to render you more happy1 replied a doctor1 by rendering you better and more virtuous4 ,it is to teach man to enjoy his benefits1 and not injure his fellows1 that ,god has manifested himself by so many oracles and prodigies4 ,in that case1 said the simple men1 there is no necessity for so many studies1 nor of such a variety of arguments2 only tell us which is the religion that best answers the end which they all propose4 ,immediately1 on this1 every group1 extolling its own morality above that of all others1 there arose among the different sects a new and most violent dispute4 ,it is we1 said the ,mussulmans1 who possess the most excellent morals1 who teach all the virtues useful to men and agreeable to ,god4 ,we profess justice1 disinterestedness1 resignation to providence1 charity to our brethren1 alms-giving1 and devotion2 we torment not the soul with superstitious fears2 we live without alarm1 and die without remorse4 ,how dare you speak of morals1 answered the ,christian priests1 you1 whose chief lived in licentiousness and preached impurity8 ,you1 whose first precept is homicide and war8 ,for this we appeal to experience3 for these twelve hundred years your fanatical zeal has not ceased to spread commotion and carnage among the nations4 ,if ,asia1 so flourishing in former times1 is now languishing in barbarity and depopulation1 it is in your doctrine that we find the cause2 in that doctrine1 the enemy of all instruction1 which sanctifies ignorance1 which consecrates the most absolute despotism in the governors1 imposes the most blind and passive obedience in the people1 that has stupefied the faculties of man1 and brutalized the nations4 ,it is not so with our sublime and celestial morals2 it was they which raised the world from its primitive barbarity1 from the senseless and cruel superstitions of idolatry1 from human sacrifices199 from the shameful orgies of pagan mysteries2 they it was that purified manners1 proscribed incest and adultery1 polished savage nations1 banished slavery1 and introduced new and unknown virtues1 charity for men1 their equality in the sight of ,god1 forgiveness and forgetfulness of injuries1 the restraint of all the passions1 the contempt of worldly greatness1 a life completely spiritual and completely holy6 99 ,read the cold declaration of ,eusebius 7,proep4 ,evang4 lib4 ,i1 p4 #aa171 who pretends that1 since the coming of ,christ1 there have been neither wars1 nor tyrants1 nor cannibals1 nor sodomites1 nor persons committing incest1 nor savages destroying their parents1 etc4 ,when we read these fathers of the church we are astonished at their insincerity or infatuation4 ,we admire1 said the ,mussulmans1 the ease with which you reconcile that evangelical meekness1 of which you are so ostentatious1 with the injuries and outrages with which you are constantly galling your neighbors4 ,when you criminate so severely the great man whom we revere1 we might fairly retort on the conduct of him whom you adore2 but we scorn such advantages1 and confining ourselves to the real object in question1 we maintain that the morals of your gospel have by no means that perfection which you ascribe to them2 it is not true that they have introduced into the world new and unknown virtues3 for example1 the equality of men in the sight of ,god1--that fraternity and that benevolence which follow from it1 were formal doctrines of the sect of the ,hermatics or ,samaneans199 from whom you descend4 ,as to the forgiveness of injuries1 the ,pagans themselves had taught it2 but in the extent that you give it1 far from being a virtue1 it becomes an immorality1 a vice4 ,your so much boasted precept of turning one cheek after the other1 is not only contrary to every sentiment of man1 but is opposed to all ideas of justice4 ,it emboldens the wicked by impunity1 debases the virtuous by servility1 delivers up the world to despotism and tyranny1 and dissolves all society4 ,such is the true spirit of your doctrines4 ,your gospels in their precepts and their parables1 never represent ,god but as a despot without any rules of equity2 a partial father treating a debauched and prodigal son with more favor than his respectful and virtuous children2 a capricious master1 who gives the same wages to workmen who had wrought but one hour1 as to those who had labored through the whole day2 one who prefers the last comers to the first4 ,the moral is everywhere misanthropic and antisocial2 it disgusts men with life and with society2 and tends only to encourage hermitism and celibacy4 99 ,the equality of mankind in a state of nature and in the eyes of ,god was one of the principal tenets of the ,samaneans1 and they appear to be the only ancients that entertained this opinion4 ,as to the manner in which you have practised these morals1 we appeal in our turn to the testimony of facts4 ,we ask whether it is this evangelical meekness which has excited your interminable wars between your sects1 your atrocious persecutions of pretended heretics1 your crusades against ,arianism1 ,manicheism1 ,protestantism1 without speaking of your crusades against us1 and of those sacrilegious associations1 still subsisting1 of men who take an oath to continue them899 ,we ask you whether it be gospel charity which has made you exterminate whole nations in ,america1 to annihilate the empires of ,mexico and ,peru2 which makes you continue to dispeople ,africa and sell its inhabitants like cattle1 notwithstanding your abolition of slavery2 which makes you ravage ,india and usurp its dominions2 and whether it be the same charity which1 for three centuries past1 has led you to harrass the habitations of the people of three continents1 of whom the most prudent1 the ,chinese and ,japanese1 were constrained to drive you off1 that they might escape your chains and recover their internal peace8 99 ,the oath taken by the knights of the ,order of ,malta1 is to kill1 or make the ,mahometans prisoners1 for the glory of ,god4 ,here the ,bramins1 the ,rabbins1 the ,bonzes1 the ,chamans1 the ,priests of the ,molucca islands1 and the coasts of ,guinea1 loading the ,christian doctors with reproaches3 ,yes6 cried they1 these men are robbers and hypocrites1 who preach simplicity1 to surprise confidence2 humility1 to enslave with more ease2 poverty1 to appropriate all riches to themselves4 ,they promise another world1 the better to usurp the present2 and while they speak to you of tolerance and charity1 they burn1 in the name of ,god1 the men who do not worship him in their manner4 ,lying priests1 retorted the missionaries1 it is you who abuse the credulity of ignorant nations to subjugate them4 ,it is you who have made of your ministry an art of cheating and imposture2 you have converted religion into a traffic of cupidity and avarice4 ,you pretend to hold communications with spirits1 and they give for oracles nothing but your wills4 ,you feign to read the stars1 and destiny decrees only your desires4 ,you cause idols to speak1 and the gods are but the instruments of your passions4 ,you have invented sacrifices and libations1 to collect for your own profit the milk of flocks1 and the flesh and fat of victims2 and under the cloak of piety you devour the offerings of the gods1 who cannot eat1 and the substance of the people who are forced to labor4 ,and you1 replied the ,bramins1 the ,bonzes1 the ,chamans1 you sell to the credulous living1 your vain prayers for the souls of the dead4 ,with your indulgences and your absolutions you have usurped the power of ,god himself2 and making a traffic of his favors and pardons1 you have put heaven at auction2 and by your system of expiations you have formed a tariff of crimes1 which has perverted all consciences499 99 ,as long as it shall be possible to obtain purification from crimes and exemption from punishment by means of money or other frivolous practices2 as long as kings and great men shall suppose that building temples or instituting foundations1 will absolve them from the guilt of oppression and homicide2 as long as individuals shall imagine that they may rob and cheat1 provided they observe fast during ,lent1 go to confession1 and receive extreme unction1 it is impossible there should exist in society any morality or virtue2 and it is from a deep conviction of truth1 that a modern philosopher has called the doctrine of expiations la verola des societes4 ,add to this1 said the ,imans1 that these men have invented the most insidious of all systems of wickedness1--the absurd and impious obligation of recounting to them the most intimate secrets of actions and of thoughts 7confessions72 so their insolent curiosity has carried their inquisition even into the sanctuary of the marriage bed199 and the inviolable recesses of the heart4 99 ,confession is a very ancient invention of the priests1 who did not fail to avail themselves of that means of governing4 ,it was practised in the ,egyptian1 ,greek1 ,phrygian1 ,persian mysteries1 etc4 ,plutarch has transmitted us the remarkable answer of a ,spartan whom a priest wanted to confess4 ,is it to you or to ,god ,i am to confess8 ,to ,god1 answered the priest3 ,in that case1 replied the ,spartan1 man1 begone6 7,remarkable ,savings of the ,lacedemonians47 ,the first ,christians confessed their faults publicly1 like the ,essenians4 ,afterwards1 priests began to be established1 with power of absolution from the sin of idolatry4 ,in the time of ,theodosius1 a woman having publicly confessed an intrigue with a deacon1 bishop ,necterius1 and his successor ,chrysostom1 granted communion without confession4 ,it was not until the seventh century that the abbots of convents exacted from monks and nuns confession twice a year2 and it was at a still later period that bishops of ,rome generalized it4 ,the ,mussulmen1 who suppose women to have no souls1 are shocked at the idea of confession2 and say2 ,how can an honest man think of listening to the recital of the actions or the secret thoughts of a woman8 ,may we not also ask1 on the other hand1 how can an honest woman consent to reveal them8 ,thus by mutual reproaches the doctors of the different sects began to reveal all the crimes of their ministry--all the vices of their craft2 and it was found that among all nations the spirit of the priesthood1 their system of conduct1 their actions their morals1 were absolutely the same3 ,that they had everywhere formed secret associations and corporations at enmity with the rest of society399 99 ,that we may understand the general feelings of priests respecting the rest of mankind1 whom they always call by the name of the people1 let us hear one of the doctors of the church4 ,the people1 says ,bishop ,synnesius1 in ,calvit4 page #cae1 are desirous of being deceived1 we cannot act otherwise respecting them4 ,the case was similar with the ancient priests of ,egypt1 and for this reason they shut themselves up in their temples1 and there composed their mysteries1 out of the reach of the eye of the people4 ,and forgetting what he has before just said1 he adds3 for had the people been in the secret they might have been offended at the deception played upon them4 ,in the mean time how is it possible to conduct one's self otherwise with the people so long as they are people8 ,for my own part1 to myself ,i shall always be a philosopher1 but in dealing with the mass of mankind1 ,i shall be a priest4 ,a little jargon1 says ,geogory ,nazianzen to ,st4 ,jerome 7,hieron4 ad4 ,nep47 is all that is necessary to impose on the people4 ,the less they comprehend1 the more they admire4 ,our forefathers and doctors of the church have often said1 not what they thought1 but what circumstances and necessity dictated to them4 ,we endeavor1 says ,sanchoniaton1 to excite admiration by means of the marvellous4 7,proep4 ,evang4 lib4 #c47 ,such was the conduct of all the priests of antiquity1 and is still that of the ,bramins and ,lamas who are the exact counterpart of the ,egyptian priests4 ,such was the practice of the ,jesuits1 who marched with hasty strides in the same career4 ,it is useless to point out the whole depravity of such a doctrine4 ,in general every association which has mystery for its basis1 or an oath of secrecy1 is a league of robbers against society1 a league divided in its very bosom into knaves and dupes1 or in other words agents and instruments4 ,it is thus we ought to judge of those modern clubs1 which1 under the name of ,illuminatists1 ,martinists1 ,cagliostronists1 and ,mesmerites1 infest ,europe4 ,these societies are the follies and deceptions of the ancient ,cabalists1 ,magicians1 ,orphies1 etc41 who1 says ,plutarch1 led into errors of considerable magnitude1 not only individuals1 but kings and nations4 ,that they had everywhere attributed to themselves prerogatives and immunities1 by means of which they lived exempt from the burdens of other classes3 ,that they everywhere avoided the toils of the laborer1 the dangers of the soldier1 and the disappointments of the merchant3 ,that they lived everywhere in celibacy1 to shun even the cares of a family3 ,that1 under the cloak of poverty1 they found everywhere the secret of procuring wealth and all sorts of enjoyments3 ,that under the name of mendicity they raised taxes to a greater amount than princes3 ,that in the form of gifts and offerings they had established fixed and certain revenues exempt from charges3 ,that under pretence of retirement and devotion they lived in idleness and licentiousness3 ,that they had made a virtue of alms-giving1 to live quietly on the labors of others3 ,that they had invented the ceremonies of worship1 as a means of attracting the reverence of the people1 while they were playing the parts of gods1 of whom they styled themselves the interpreters and mediators1 to assume all their powers2 that1 with this design1 they had 7according to the degree of ignorance or information of their people7 assumed by turns the character of astrologers1 drawers of horoscopes1 fortune-tellers1 magicians199 necromancers1 quacks1 physicians1 courtiers1 confessors of princes1 always aiming at the great object to govern for their own advantage3 99 ,what is a magician1 in the sense in which people understand the word8 ,a man who by words and gestures pretends to act on supernatural beings1 and compel them to descend at his call and obey his orders4 ,such was the conduct of the ancient priests1 and such is still that of all priests in idolatrous nations2 for which reason we have given them the denomination of ,magicians4 ,and when a ,christian priest pretends to make ,god descend from heaven1 to fix him to a morsel of leaven1 and render1 by means of this talisman1 souls pure and in a state of grace1 what is this but a trick of magic8 ,and where is the difference between a ,chaman of ,tartary who invokes the ,genii1 or an ,indian ,bramin1 who makes ,vichenou descend in a vessel of water to drive away evil spirits8 ,yes1 the identity of the spirit of priests in every age and country is fully established6 ,every where it is the assumption of an exclusive privilege1 the pretended faculty of moving at will the powers of nature2 and this assumption is so direct a violation of the right of equality1 that whenever the people shall regain their importance1 they will forever abolish this sacrilegious kind of nobility1 which has been the type and parent stock of the other species of nobility4 ,that sometimes they had exalted the power of kings and consecrated their persons1 to monopolize their favors1 or participate their sway3 ,that sometimes they had preached up the murder of tyrants 7reserving it to themselves to define tyranny71 to avenge themselves of their contempt or their disobedience3 ,and that they always stigmatised with impiety whatever crossed their interests2 that they hindered all public instruction1 to exercise the monopoly of science2 that finally1 at all times and in all places1 they had found the secret of living in peace in the midst of the anarchy they created1 in safety under the despotism that they favored1 in idleness amidst the industry they preached1 and in abundance while surrounded with scarcity2 and all this by carrying on the singular trade of selling words and gestures to credulous people1 who purchase them as commodities of the greatest value499 99 ,a curious work would be the comparative history of the agnuses of the pope and the pastils of the grand ,lama4 ,it would be worth while to extend this idea to religions ceremonies in general1 and to confront column by column1 the analogous or contrasting points of faith and superstitious practices in all nations4 ,there is one more species of superstition which it would be equally salutary to cure1 blind veneration for the great2 and for this purpose it would be alone sufficient to write a minute detail of the private life of kings and princes4 ,no work could be so philosophical as this2 and accordingly we have seen what a general outcry was excited among kings and the panders of kings1 when the ,anecdotes of the ,court of ,berlin first appeared4 ,what would be the alarm were the public put in possession of the sequel of this work8 ,were the people fairly acquainted with all the absurdities of this species of idol1 they would no longer be exposed to covet their specious pleasures of which the plausible and hollow appearance disturbs their peace1 and hinders them from enjoying the much more solid happiness of their own condition4 ,then the different nations1 in a transport of fury1 were going to tear in pieces the men who had thus abused them2 but the legislator1 arresting this movement of violence1 addressed the chiefs and doctors3 ,what6 said he1 instructors of nations1 is it thus that you have deceived them8 ,and the terrified priests replied4 ,o legislator6 we are men4 ,the people are so superstitious6 they have themselves encouraged these errors499 99 ,consider in this view the ,brabanters4 ,and the kings said3 ,o legislator6 the people are so servile and so ignorant6 they prostrated themselves before the yoke1 which we scarcely dared to show them499 99 ,the inhabitants of ,vienna1 for example1 who harnessed themselves like cattle and drew the chariot of ,leopold4 ,then the legislator1 turning to the people--,people6 said he1 remember what you have just heard2 they are two indelible truths4 ,yes1 you yourselves cause the evils of which you complain2 yourselves encourage the tyrants1 by a base adulation of their power1 by an imprudent admiration of their false beneficence1 by servility in obedience1 by licentiousness in liberty1 and by a credulous reception of every imposition4 ,on whom shall you wreak vengeance for the faults committed by your own ignorance and cupidity8 ,and the people1 struck with confusion1 remained in mournful silence4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,,solution ,,of ,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,contradictions4 ,the legislator then resumed his discourse3 ,o nations6 said he1 we have heard the discussion of your opinions4 ,the different sentiments which divide you have given rise to many reflections1 and furnished several questions which we shall propose to you to solve4 ,first1 considering the diversity and opposition of the creeds to which you are attached1 we ask on what motives you found your persuasion8 ,is it from a deliberate choice that you follow the standard of one prophet rather than another8 ,before adopting this doctrine1 rather than that1 did you first compare8 did you carefully examine them8 ,or have you received them only from the chance of birth1 from the empire of education and habit8 ,are you not born ,christians on the borders of the ,tiber1 ,mussulmans on those of the ,euphrates1 ,idolaters on the ,indus1 just as you are born fair in cold climates1 and sable under the scorching sun of ,africa8 ,and if your opinions are the effect of your fortuitous position on the earth1 of consanguinity1 of imitation1 how is it that such a hazard should be a ground of conviction1 an argument of truth8 ,secondly1 when we reflect on the mutual proscriptions and arbitrary intolerance of your pretensions1 we are frightened at the consequences that flow from your own principles4 ,nations6 who reciprocally devote each other to the bolts of heavenly wrath1 suppose that the universal ,being1 whom you revere1 should this moment descend from heaven on this multitude2 and1 clothed with all his power1 should sit on this throne to judge you2 suppose that he should say to you3 ,mortals6 it is your own justice that ,i am going to exercise upon you4 ,yes1 of all the religious systems that divide you1 one alone shall this day be preferred2 all the others1 all this multitude of standards1 of nations1 of prophets1 shall be condemned to eternal destruction4 ,this is not enough3 among the particular sects of the chosen system1 one only can be favored2 all the others must be condemned3 neither is this enough2--from this little remnant of a group ,i must exclude all those who have not fulfilled the conditions enjoined by its precepts4 ,o men6 to what a small number of elect have you limited your race6 to what a penury of beneficence do you reduce the immensity of my goodness6 to what a solitude of beholders do you condemn my greatness and my glory6 ,but1 said the legislator rising1 no matter you have willed it so4 ,nations6 here is an urn in which all your names are placed3 one only is a prize3 approach1 and draw this tremendous lottery6 ,and the nations1 seized with terror cried3 ,no1 no2 we are all brothers1 all equal2 we cannot condemn each other4 ,then1 said the legislator1 resuming his seat3 ,o men6 who dispute on so many subjects1 lend an attentive ear to one problem which you exhibit1 and which you ought to decide yourselves4 ,and the people1 giving great attention1 he lifted an arm towards heaven1 and1 pointing to the sun1 said3 ,nations1 does that sun1 which enlightens you1 appear square or triangular8 ,no1 answered they with one voice1 it is round4 ,then1 taking the golden balance that was on the altar3 ,this gold1 said the legislator1 that you handle every day1 is it heavier than the same volume of copper8 ,yes1 answered all the people1 gold is heavier than ,copper4 ,then1 taking the sword3 ,is this iron1 said the legislator1 softer than lead8 ,no1 said the people4 ,is sugar sweet1 and gall bitter8 ,yes4 ,do you love pleasure and hate pain8 ,yes4 ,thus1 then1 you are agreed in these points1 and many others of the same nature4 ,now1 tell us1 is there a cavern in the centre of the earth1 or inhabitants in the moon8 ,this question caused a universal murmur4 ,every one answered differently--some yes1 others no2 one said it was probable1 another said it was an idle and ridiculous question2 some1 that it was worth knowing4 ,and the discord was universal4 ,after some time the legislator1 having obtained silence1 said3 ,explain to us1 ,o ,nations6 this problem3 we have put to you several questions which you have answered with one voice1 without distinction of race or of sect3 white men1 black men1 followers of ,mahomet and of ,moses1 worshippers of ,boudha and of ,jesus1 all have returned the same answer4 ,we then proposed another question1 and you have all disagreed6 ,why this unanimity in one case1 and this discordance in the other8 ,and the group of simple men and savages answered and said3 ,the reason of this is plain4 ,in the first case we see and feel the objects1 and we speak from sensation2 in the second1 they are beyond the reach of our senses--we speak of them only from conjecture4 ,you have resolved the problem1 said the legislator2 and your own consent has established this first truth3 ,that whenever objects can be examined and judged of by your senses1 you are agreed in opinion2 and that you only differ when the objects are absent and beyond your reach4 ,from this first truth flows another equally clear and worthy of notice4 ,since you agree on things which you know with certainty1 it follows that you disagree only on those which you know not with certainty1 and about which you are not sure2 that is to say1 you dispute1 you quarrel1 you fight1 for that which is uncertain1 that of which you doubt4 ,o men6 is this wisdom8 ,is it not1 then1 demonstrated that truth is not the object of your contests8 that it is not her cause which you defend1 but that of your affections1 and your prejudices8 that it is not the object1 as it really is in itself1 that you would verify1 but the object as you would have it2 that is to say1 it is not the evidence of the thing that you would enforce1 but your own personal opinion1 your particular manner of seeing and judging8 ,it is a power that you wish to exercise1 an interest that you wish to satisfy1 a prerogative that you arrogate to yourself2 it is a contest of vanity4 ,now1 as each of you1 on comparing himself to every other1 finds himself his equal and his fellow1 he resists by a feeling of the same right4 ,and your disputes1 your combats1 your intolerance1 are the effect of this right which you deny each other1 and of the intimate conviction of your equality4 ,now1 the only means of establishing harmony is to return to nature1 and to take for a guide and regulator the order of things which she has founded2 and then your accord will prove this other truth3 ,that real beings have in themselves an identical1 constant and uniform mode of existence2 and that there is in your organs a like mode of being affected by them4 ,but at the same time1 by reason of the mobility of these organs as subject to your will1 you may conceive different affections1 and find yourselves in different relations with the same objects2 so that you are to them like a mirror1 capable of reflecting them truly as they are1 or of distorting and disfiguring them4 ,hence it follows1 that whenever you perceive objects as they are1 you agree among yourselves1 and with the objects2 and this similitude between your sensations and their manner of existence1 is what constitutes their truth with respect to you2 and1 on the contrary1 whenever you differ in opinion1 your disagreement is a proof that you do not represent them such as they are1--that you change them4 ,hence1 also1 it follows1 that the causes of your disagreement exist not in the objects themselves1 but in your minds1 in your manner of perceiving or judging4 ,to establish1 therefore1 a uniformity of opinion1 it is necessary first to establish the certainty1 completely verified1 that the portraits which the mind forms are perfectly like the originals2 that it reflects the objects correctly as they exist4 ,now1 this result cannot be obtained but in those cases where the objects can be brought to the test1 and submitted to the examination of the senses4 ,everything which cannot be brought to this trial is1 for that reason alone1 impossible to be determined2 there exists no rule1 no term of comparison1 no means of certainty1 respecting it4 ,from this we conclude1 that1 to live in harmony and peace1 we must agree never to decide on such subjects1 and to attach to them no importance2 in a word1 we must trace a line of distinction between those that are capable of verification1 and those that are not2 and separate by an inviolable barrier the world of fantastical beings from the world of realities2 that is to say1 all civil effect must be taken away from theological and religious opinions4 ,this1 ,o ye people of the earth6 is the object proposed by a great nation freed from her fetters and her prejudices2 this is the work which1 under her eye and by her orders1 we had undertaken1 when your kings and your priests came to interrupt it4 ,o kings and priests6 you may suspend1 yet for a while1 the solemn publication of the laws of nature2 but it is no longer in your power to annihilate or to subvert them4 ,a general shout then arose from every part of the assembly2 and the nations universally1 and with one voice1 testified their assent to the proposals of the delegates3 ,resume1 said they1 your holy and sublime labors1 and bring them to perfection4 ,investigate the laws which nature1 for our guidance1 has implanted in our breasts1 and collect from them an authentic and immutable code2 nor let this code be any longer for one family only1 but for us all without exception4 ,be the legislators of the whole human race1 as you are the interpreters of nature herself4 ,show us the line of partition between the world of chimeras and that of realities2 and teach us1 after so many religions of error and delusion1 the religion of evidence and truth6 ,then the delegates1 having resumed their enquiries into the physical and constituent attributes of man1 and examined the motives and affections which govern him in his individual and social state1 unfolded in these words the laws on which nature herself has founded his happiness4 ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,nature4 ,,chapter #a4 ,,of ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,nature4 ,q4 ,what is the law of nature8 ,a4 ,it is the constant and regular order of events1 by which ,god governs the universe2 an order which his wisdom presents to the senses and reason of men1 as an equal and common rule for their actions1 to guide them1 without distinction of country or sect1 towards perfection and happiness4 ,q4 ,give a clear definition of the word law4 ,a4 ,the word law1 taken literary1 signifies lecture199 because originally1 ordinances and regulations were the lectures1 preferably to all others1 made to the people1 in order that they might observe them1 and not incur the penalties attached to their infraction3 whence follows the original custom explaining the true idea4 ,the definition of law is1 ,an order or prohibition to act with the express clause of a penalty attached to the infraction1 or of a recompense attached to the observance of that order4 99 ,from the ,latin word lex1 lectio4 ,alcoran likewise signifies lecture and is only a literal translation of the word law4 ,q4 ,do such orders exist in nature8 ,a4 ,yes4 ,q4 ,what does the word nature signify8 ,a4 ,the word nature bears three different significations4 #a4 ,it signifies the universe1 the material world3 in this first sense we say the beauties of nature1 the riches of nature1 that is to say1 the objects in the heavens and on the earth exposed to our sight2 #b4 ,it signifies the power that animates1 that moves the universe1 considering it as a distinct being1 such as the soul is to the body2 in this second sense we say1 ,the intentions of nature1 the incomprehensible secrets of nature4 #c4 ,it signifies the partial operations of that power on each being1 or on each class of beings2 and in this third sense we say1 ,the nature of man is an enigma2 every being acts according to its nature4 ,wherefore1 as the actions of each being1 or of each species of beings1 are subjected to constant and general rules1 which cannot be infringed without interrupting and troubling the general or particular order1 those rules of action and of motion are called natural laws1 or laws of nature4 ,q4 ,give me examples of those laws4 ,a4 ,it is a law of nature1 that the sun illuminates successively the surface of the terrestrial globe2--that its presence causes both light and heat2--that heat acting upon water1 produces vapors2--that those vapors rising in clouds into the regions of the air1 dissolve into rain or snow1 and renew incessantly the waters of fountains and rivers4 ,it is a law of nature1 that water flows downwards2 that it endeavors to find its level2 that it is heavier than air2 that all bodies tend towards the earth2 that flame ascends towards the heavens2--that it disorganizes vegetables and animals2 that air is essential to the life of certain animals2 that1 in certain circumstances1 water suffocates and kills them2 that certain juices of plants1 certain minerals attack their organs1 and destroy their life1 and so on in a multitude of other instances4 ,wherefore1 as all those and similar facts are immutable1 constant1 and regular1 so many real orders result from them for man to conform himself to1 with the express clause of punishment attending the infraction of them1 or of welfare attending their observance4 ,so that if man pretends to see clear in darkness1 if he goes in contradiction to the course of the seasons1 or the action of the elements2 if he pretends to remain under water without being drowned1 to touch fire without burning himself1 to deprive himself of air without being suffocated1 to swallow poison without destroying himself1 he receives from each of those infractions of the laws of nature a corporeal punishment proportionate to his fault2 but if on the contrary1 he observes and practises each of those laws according to the regular and exact relations they have to him he preserves his existence1 and renders it as happy as it can be3 and as the only and common end of all those laws1 considered relatively to mankind1 is to preserve1 and render them happy1 it has been agreed upon to reduce the idea to one simple expression1 and to call them collectively the law of nature4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,characters ,,of ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,nature4 ,q4 ,what are the characters of the law of nature8 ,a4 ,there can be assigned ten principal ones4 ,q4 ,which is the first8 ,a4 ,to be inherent to the existence of things1 and1 consequently1 primitive and anterior to every other law3 so that all those which man has received1 are only imitations of it1 and their perfection is ascertained by the resemblance they bear to this primordial model4 ,q4 ,which is the second8 ,a4 ,to be derived immediately from ,god1 and presented by him to each man1 whereas all other laws are presented to us by men1 who may be either deceived or deceivers4 ,q4 ,which is the third8 ,a4 ,to be common to all times1 and to all countries1 that is to say1 one and universal4 ,q4 ,is no other law universal8 ,a4 ,no3 for no other is agreeable or applicable to all the people of the earth2 they are all local and accidental1 originating from circumstances of places and of persons2 so that if such a man had not existed1 or such an event happened1 such a law would never have been enacted4 ,q4 ,which is the fourth character8 ,a4 ,to be uniform and invariable4 ,q4 ,is no other law uniform and invariable8 ,a4 ,no3 for what is good and virtue according to one1 is evil and vice according to another2 and what one and the same law approves of at one time1 it often condemns at another4 ,q4 ,which is the fifth character8 ,a4 ,to be evident and palpable1 because it consists entirely of facts incessantly present to the senses1 and to demonstration4 ,q4 ,are not other laws evident8 ,a4 ,no3 for they are founded on past and doubtful facts1 on equivocal and suspicious testimonies1 and on proofs inaccessible to the senses4 ,q4 ,which is the sixth character8 ,a4 ,to be reasonable1 because its precepts and entire doctrine are conformable to reason1 and to the human understanding4 ,q4 ,is no other law reasonable8 ,a4 ,no3 for all are in contradiction to the reason and the understanding of men1 and tyrannically impose on him a blind and impracticable belief4 ,q4 ,which is the seventh character8 ,a4 ,to be just1 because in that law1 the penalties are proportionate to the infractions4 ,q4 ,are not other laws just8 ,a4 ,no3 for they often exceed bounds1 either in rewarding deserts1 or in punishing delinquencies1 and consider as meritorious or criminal1 null or indifferent actions4 ,q4 ,which is the eighth character8 ,a4 ,to be pacific and tolerant1 because in the law of nature1 all men being brothers and equal in rights1 it recommends to them only peace and toleration1 even for errors4 ,q4 ,are not other laws pacific8 ,a4 ,no3 for all preach dissension1 discord1 and war1 and divide mankind by exclusive pretensions of truth and domination4 ,q4 ,which is the ninth character8 ,a4 ,to be equally beneficent to all men1 in teaching them the true means of becoming better and happier4 ,q4 ,are not other laws beneficent likewise8 ,a4 ,no3 for none of them teach the real means of attaining happiness2 all are confined to pernicious or futile practices2 and this is evident from facts1 since after so many laws1 so many religions1 so many legislators and prophets1 men are still as unhappy and ignorant1 as they were six thousand years ago4 ,q4 ,which is the last character of the law of nature8 ,a4 ,that it is alone sufficient to render men happier and better1 because it comprises all that is good and useful in other laws1 either civil or religious1 that is to say1 it constitutes essentially the moral part of them2 so that if other laws were divested of it1 they would be reduced to chimerical and imaginary opinions devoid of any practical utility4 ,q4 ,recapitulate all those characters4 ,a4 ,we have said that the law of nature is1 #a4 ,primitive2 #f4 ,reasonable2 #b4 ,immediate2 #g4 ,just2 #c4 ,universal2 #h4 ,pacific2 #d4 ,invariable2 #i4 ,beneficent3 and #e4 ,evident2 #aj4 ,alone sufficient4 ,and such is the power of all these attributes of perfection and truth1 that when in their disputes the theologians can agree upon no article of belief1 they recur to the law of nature1 the neglect of which1 say they1 forced ,god to send from time to time prophets to proclaim new laws2 as if ,god enacted laws for particular circumstances1 as men do2 especially when the first subsists in such force1 that we may assert it to have been at all times and in all countries the rule of conscience for every man of sense or understanding4 ,q4 ,if1 as you say1 it emanates immediately from ,god1 does it teach his existence8 ,a4 ,yes1 most positively3 for1 to any man whatever1 who observes with reflection the astonishing spectacle of the universe1 the more he meditates on the properties and attributes of each being1 on the admirable order and harmony of their motions1 the more it is demonstrated that there exists a supreme agent1 a universal and identic mover1 designated by the appellation of ,god2 and so true it is that the law of nature suffices to elevate him to the knowledge of ,god1 that all which men have pretended to know by supernatural means1 has constantly turned out ridiculous and absurd1 and that they have ever been obliged to recur to the immutable conceptions of natural reason4 ,q4 ,then it is not true that the followers of the law of nature are atheists8 ,a4 ,no2 it is not true2 on the contrary1 they entertain stronger and nobler ideas of the ,divinity than most other men2 for they do not sully him with the foul ingredients of all the weaknesses and passions entailed on humanity4 ,q4 ,what worship do they pay to him8 ,a4 ,a worship wholly of action2 the practice and observance of all the rules which the supreme wisdom has imposed on the motion of each being2 eternal and unalterable rules1 by which it maintains the order and harmony of the universe1 and which1 in their relations to man1 constitute the law of nature4 ,q4 ,was the law of nature known before this period3 ,a4 ,it has been at all times spoken of3 most legislators pretend to adopt it as the basis of their laws2 but they only quote some of its precepts1 and have only vague ideas of its totality4 ,q4 ,why4 ,a4 ,because1 though simple in its basis1 it forms in its developements and consequences1 a complicated whole which requires an extensive knowledge of facts1 joined to all the sagacity of reasoning4 ,q4 ,does not instinct alone teach the law of nature8 ,a4 ,no2 for by instinct is meant nothing more than that blind sentiment by which we are actuated indiscriminately towards everything that flatters the senses4 ,q4 ,why1 then1 is it said that the law of nature is engraved in the hearts of all men4 ,a4 ,it is said for two reasons3 first1 because it has been remarked1 that there are acts and sentiments common to all men1 and this proceeds from their common organization2 secondly1 because the first philosophers believed that men were born with ideas already formed1 which is now demonstrated to be erroneous4 ,q4 ,philosophers1 then1 are fallible8 ,a4 ,yes1 sometimes4 ,q4 ,why so8 ,a4 ,first1 because they are men2 secondly1 because the ignorant call all those who reason1 right or wrong1 philosophers2 thirdly1 because those who reason on many subjects1 and who are the first to reason on them1 are liable to be deceived4 ,q4 ,if the law of nature be not written1 must it not become arbitrary and ideal8 ,a4 ,no3 because it consists entirely in facts1 the demonstration of which can be incessantly renewed to the senses1 and constitutes a science as accurate and precise as geometry and mathematics2 and it is because the law of nature forms an exact science1 that men1 born ignorant and living inattentive and heedless1 have had hitherto only a superficial knowledge of it4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,principles ,,of ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,nature ,,relating ,,to ,,man4 ,q4 ,explain the principles of the law of nature with relation to man4 ,a4 ,they are simple2 all of them are comprised in one fundamental and single precept4 ,q4 ,what is that precept8 ,a4 ,it is self-preservation4 ,q4 ,is not happiness also a precept of the law of nature8 ,a4 ,yes3 but as happiness is an accidental state1 resulting only from the development of man's faculties and his social system1 it is not the immediate and direct object of nature2 it is in some measure1 a superfluity annexed to the necessary and fundamental object of preservation4 ,q4 ,how does nature order man to preserve himself8 ,a4 ,by two powerful and involuntary sensations1 which it has attached1 as two guides1 two guardian ,geniuses to all his actions3 the one a sensation of pain1 by which it admonishes him of1 and deters him from1 everything that tends to destroy him2 the other1 a sensation of pleasure1 by which it attracts and carries him towards everything that tends to his preservation and the development of his existence4 ,q4 ,pleasure1 then1 is not an evil1 a sin1 as casuists pretend8 ,a4 ,no1 only inasmuch as it tends to destroy life and health which1 by the avowal of those same casuists1 we derive from ,god himself4 ,q4 ,is pleasure the principal object of our existence1 as some philosophers have asserted8 ,a4 ,no2 not more than pain2 pleasure is an incitement to live as pain is a repulsion from death4 ,q4 ,how do you prove this assertion8 ,a4 ,by two palpable facts3 ,one1 that pleasure1 when taken immoderately1 leads to destruction2 for instance1 a man who abuses the pleasure of eating or drinking1 attacks his health1 and injures his life4 ,the other1 that pain sometimes leads to self-preservation2 for instance1 a man who permits a mortified member to be cut off1 suffers pain in order not to perish totally4 ,q4 ,but does not even this prove that our sensations can deceive us respecting the end of our preservation8 ,a4 ,yes2 they can momentarily4 ,q4 ,how do our sensations deceive us8 ,a4 ,in two ways3 by ignorance1 and by passion4 ,q4 ,when do they deceive us by ignorance8 ,a4 ,when we act without knowing the action and effect of objects on our senses3 for example1 when a man touches nettles without knowing their stinging quality1 or when he swallows opium without knowing its soporiferous effects4 ,q4 ,when do they deceive us by passion8 ,a4 ,when1 conscious of the pernicious action of objects1 we abandon ourselves1 nevertheless1 to the impetuosity of our desires and appetites3 for example1 when a man who knows that wine intoxicates1 does nevertheless drink it to excess4 ,q4 ,what is the result8 ,a4 ,that the ignorance in which we are born1 and the unbridled appetites to which we abandon ourselves1 are contrary to our preservation2 that1 therefore1 the instruction of our minds and the moderation of our passions are two obligations1 two laws1 which spring directly from the first law of preservation4 ,q4 ,but being born ignorant1 is not ignorance a law of nature8 ,a4 ,no more than to remain in the naked and feeble state of infancy4 ,far from being a law of nature1 ignorance is an obstacle to the practice of all its laws4 ,it is the real original sin4 ,q4 ,why1 then1 have there been moralists who have looked upon it as a virtue and perfection8 ,a4 ,because1 from a strange or perverted disposition1 they confounded the abuse of knowledge with knowledge itself2 as if1 because men abuse the power of speech1 their tongues should be cut out2 as if perfection and virtue consisted in the nullity1 and not in the proper development of our faculties4 ,q4 ,instruction1 then1 is indispensable to man's existence8 ,a4 ,yes1 so indispensable1 that without it he is every instant assailed and wounded by all that surrounds him2 for if he does not know the effects of fire1 he burns himself2 those of water he drowns himself2 those of opium1 he poisons himself2 if1 in the savage state1 he does not know the wiles of animals1 and the art of seizing game1 he perishes through hunger2 if in the social state1 he does not know the course of the seasons1 he can neither cultivate the ground1 nor procure nourishment2 and so on1 of all his actions1 respecting all his wants4 ,q4 ,but can man individually acquire this knowledge necessary to his existence1 and to the development of his faculties8 ,a4 ,no2 not without the assistance of his fellow men1 and by living in society4 ,q4 ,but is not society to man a state against nature8 ,a4 ,no3 it is on the contrary a necessity1 a law that nature imposed on him by the very act of his organization2 for1 first1 nature has so constituted man1 that he cannot see his species of another sex without feeling emotions and an attraction which induce him to live in a family1 which is already a state of society2 secondly1 by endowing him with sensibility1 she organized him so that the sensations of others reflect within him1 and excite reciprocal sentiments of pleasure and of grief1 which are attractions1 and indissoluble ties of society2 thirdly1 and finally1 the state of society1 founded on the wants of man1 is only a further means of fulfilling the law of preservation3 and to pretend that this state is out of nature1 because it is more perfect1 is the same as to say1 that a bitter and wild fruit of the forest1 is no longer the production of nature1 when rendered sweet and delicious by cultivation in our gardens4 ,q4 ,why1 then1 have philosophers called the savage state the state of perfection8 ,a4 ,because1 as ,i have told you1 the vulgar have often given the name of philosophers to whimsical geniuses1 who1 from moroseness1 from wounded vanity1 or from a disgust to the vices of society1 have conceived chimerical ideas of the savage state1 in contradiction with their own system of a perfect man4 ,q4 ,what is the true meaning of the word philosopher8 ,a4 ,the word philosopher signifies a lover of wisdom2 and as wisdom consists in the practice of the laws of nature1 the true philosopher is he who knows those laws1 and conforms the whole tenor of his conduct to them4 ,q4 ,what is man in the savage state8 ,a4 ,a brutal1 ignorant animal1 a wicked and ferocious beast4 ,q4 ,is he happy in that state8 ,a4 ,no2 for he only feels momentary sensations1 which are habitually of violent wants which he cannot satisfy1 since he is ignorant by nature1 and weak by being isolated from his race4 ,q4 ,is he free8 ,a4 ,no2 he is the most abject slave that exists2 for his life depends on everything that surrounds him3 he is not free to eat when hungry1 to rest when tired1 to warm himself when cold2 he is every instant in danger of perishing2 wherefore nature offers but fortuitous examples of such beings2 and we see that all the efforts of the human species1 since its origin1 sorely tends to emerge from that violent state by the pressing necessity of self-preservation4 ,q4 ,but does not this necessity of preservation engender in individuals egotism1 that is to say self-love8 and is not egotism contrary to the social state8 ,a4 ,no2 for if by egotism you mean a propensity to hurt our neighbor1 it is no longer self-love1 but the hatred of others4 ,self-love1 taken in its true sense1 not only is not contrary to society1 but is its firmest support1 by the necessity we lie under of not injuring others1 lest in return they should injure us4 ,thus mans preservation1 and the unfolding of his faculties1 directed towards this end1 teach the true law of nature in the production of the human being2 and it is from this essential principle that are derived1 are referred1 and in its scale are weighed1 all ideas of good and evil1 of vice and virtue1 of just and unjust1 of truth or error1 of lawful or forbidden1 on which is founded the morality of individual1 or of social man4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,basis ,,of ,,morality2 ,,of ,,good1 ,,of ,,evil1 ,,of ,,sin1 ,,of ,,crime1 ,,of ,,vice ,,and ,,of ,,virtue4 ,q4 ,what is good1 according to the law of nature8 ,a4 ,it is everything that tends to preserve and perfect man4 ,q4 ,what is evil8 ,a4 ,that which tends to man's destruction or deterioration4 ,q4 ,what is meant by physical good and evil1 and by moral good and evil8 ,a4 ,by the word physical is understood1 whatever acts immediately on the body4 ,health is a physical good2 and sickness a physical evil4 ,by moral1 is meant what acts by consequences more or less remote4 ,calumny is a moral evil2 a fair reputation is a moral good1 because both one and the other occasion towards us1 on the part of other men1 dispositions and habitudes199 which are useful or hurtful to our preservation1 and which attack or favor our means of existence4 99 ,it is from this word habitudes1 7reiterated actions17 in ,latin mores1 that the word moral1 and all its family1 are derived4 ,q4 ,everything that tends to preserve1 or to produce is therefore a good8 ,a4 ,yes2 and it is for that reason that certain legislators have classed among the works agreeable to the divinity1 the cultivation of a field and the fecundity of a woman4 ,q4 ,whatever tends to cause death is1 therefore1 an evil8 ,a4 ,yes2 and it is for that reason some legislators have extended the idea of evil and of sin even to the killing of animals4 ,q4 ,the murdering of a man is1 therefore1 a crime in the law of nature8 ,a4 ,yes1 and the greatest that can be committed2 for every other evil can be repaired1 but murder alone is irreparable4 ,q4 ,what is a sin in the law of nature8 ,a4 ,whatever tends to disturb the order established by nature for the preservation and perfection of man and of society4 ,q4 ,can intention be a merit or a crime8 ,a4 ,no1 for it is only an idea void of reality3 but it is a commencement of sin and evil1 by the impulse it gives to action4 ,q4 ,what is virtue according to the law of nature8 ,a4 ,it is the practice of actions useful to the individual and to society4 ,q4 ,what is meant by the word individual8 ,a4 ,it means a man considered separately from every other4 ,q4 ,what is vice according to the law of nature8 ,a4 ,it is the practice of actions prejudicial to the individual and to society4 ,q4 ,have not virtue and vice an object purely spiritual and abstracted from the senses8 ,a4 ,no2 it is always to a physical end that they finally relate1 and that end is always to destroy or preserve the body4 ,q4 ,have vice and virtue degrees of strength and intensity8 ,a4 ,yes3 according to the importance of the faculties1 which they attack or which they favor2 and according to the number of persons in whom those faculties are favored or injured4 ,q4 ,give me some examples8 ,a4 ,the action of saving a man's life is more virtuous than that of saving his property2 the action of saving the lives of ten men1 than that of saving only the life of one1 and an action useful to the whole human race is more virtuous than an action that is only useful to one single nation4 ,q4 ,how does the law of nature prescribe the practice of good and virtue1 and forbid that of evil and vice8 ,a4 ,by the advantages resulting from the practice of good and virtue for the preservation of our body1 and by the losses which result to our existence from the practice of evil and vice4 ,q4 ,its precepts are then in action8 ,a4 ,yes3 they are action itself1 considered in its present effect and in its future consequences4 ,q4 ,how do you divide the virtues8 ,a4 ,we divide them in three classes1 first1 individual virtues1 as relative to man alone2 secondly1 domestic virtues1 as relative to a family2 thirdly1 social virtues1 as relative to society4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,of ,,individual ,,virtues4 ,q4 ,which are the individual virtues8 ,a4 ,there are five principal ones1 to wit3 first1 science1 which comprises prudence and wisdom2 secondly1 temperance1 comprising sobriety and chastity2 thirdly1 courage1 or strength of body and mind2 fourthly1 activity1 that is to say1 love of labor and employment of time2 fifthly1 and finally1 cleanliness1 or purity of body1 as well in dress as in habitation4 ,q4 ,how does the law of nature prescribe science8 ,a4 ,because the man acquainted with the causes and effects of things attends in a careful and sure manner to his preservation1 and to the development of his faculties4 ,science is to him the eye and the light1 which enable him to discern clearly and accurately all the objects with which he is conversant1 and hence by an enlightened man is meant a learned and well-informed man4 ,with science and instruction a man never wants for resources and means of subsistence2 and upon this principle a philosopher1 who had been shipwrecked1 said to his companions1 that were inconsolable for the loss of their wealth3 ,for my part1 ,i carry all my wealth within me4 ,q4 ,which is the vice contrary to science8 ,a4 ,it is ignorance4 ,q4 ,how does the law of nature forbid ignorance8 ,a4 ,by the grievous detriments resulting from it to our existence2 for the ignorant man who knows neither causes nor effects1 commits every instant errors most pernicious to himself and to others2 he resembles a blind man groping his way at random1 and who1 at every step1 jostles or is jostled by every one he meets4 ,q4 ,what difference is there between an ignorant and a silly man8 ,a4 ,the same difference as between him who frankly avows his blindness and the blind man who pretends to sight2 silliness is the reality of ignorance1 to which is superadded the vanity of knowledge4 ,q4 ,are ignorance and silliness common8 ,a4 ,yes1 very common2 they are the usual and general distempers of mankind3 more than three thousand years ago the wisest of men said3 ,the number of fools is infinite2 and the world has not changed4 ,q4 ,what is the reason of it8 ,a4 ,because much labor and time are necessary to acquire instruction1 and because men1 born ignorant and indolent1 find it more convenient to remain blind1 and pretend to see clear4 ,q4 ,what difference is there between a learned and a wise man8 ,a4 ,the learned knows1 and the wise man practices4 ,q4 ,what is prudence8 ,a4 ,it is the anticipated perception1 the foresight of the effects and consequences of every action2 by means of which foresight1 man avoids the dangers which threaten him1 while he seizes on and creates opportunities favorable to him3 he thereby provides for his present and future safety in a certain and secure manner1 whereas the imprudent man1 who calculates neither his steps nor his conduct1 nor efforts1 nor resistance1 falls every instant into difficulties and dangers1 which sooner or later impair his faculties and destroy his existence4 ,q4 ,when the ,gospel says1 ,happy are the poor of spirit1 does it mean the ignorant and imprudent8 ,a4 ,no2 for1 at the same time that it recommends the simplicity of doves1 it adds the prudent cunning of serpents4 ,by simplicity of mind is meant uprightness1 and the precept of the ,gospel is that of nature4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,on ,,temperance4 ,q4 ,what is temperance8 ,a4 ,it is a regular use of our faculties1 which makes us never exceed in our sensations the end of nature to preserve us2 it is the moderation of the passions4 ,q4 ,which is the vice contrary to temperance8 ,a4 ,the disorder of the passions1 the avidity of all kind of enjoyments1 in a word1 cupidity4 ,q4 ,which are the principal branches of temperance8 ,a4 ,sobriety1 and continence or chastity4 ,q4 ,how does the law of nature prescribe sobriety8 ,a4 ,by its powerful influence over our health4 ,the sober man digests with comfort2 he is not overpowered by the weight of aliments2 his ideas are clear and easy2 he fulfills all his functions properly2 he conducts his business with intelligence2 his old age is exempt from infirmity2 he does not spend his money in remedies1 and he enjoys1 in mirth and gladness1 the wealth which chance and his own prudence have procured him4 ,thus1 from one virtue alone1 generous nature derives innumerable recompenses4 ,q4 ,how does it prohibit gluttony8 ,a4 ,by the numerous evils that are attached to it4 ,the glutton1 oppressed with aliments1 digests with anxiety2 his head1 troubled by the fumes of indigestion1 is incapable of conceiving clear and distinct ideas2 he abandons himself with violence to the disorderly impulse of lust and anger1 which impair his health2 his body becomes bloated1 heavy1 and unfit for labor2 he endures painful and expensive distempers2 he seldom lives to be old2 and his age is replete with infirmities and sorrow4 ,q4 ,should abstinence and fasting be considered as virtuous actions8 ,a4 ,yes1 when one has eaten too much2 for then abstinence and fasting are simple and efficacious remedies2 but when the body is in want of aliment1 to refuse it any1 and let it suffer from hunger or thirst1 is delirium and a real sin against the law of nature4 ,q4 ,how is drunkenness considered in the law of nature8 ,a4 ,as a most vile and pernicious vice4 ,the drunkard1 deprived of the sense and reason given us by ,god1 profanes the donations of the divinity3 he debases himself to the condition of brutes2 unable even to guide his steps1 he staggers and falls as if he were epileptic2 he hurts and even risks killing himself2 his debility in this state exposes him to the ridicule and contempt of every person that sees him2 he makes in his drunkenness1 prejudicial and ruinous bargains1 and injures his fortune2 he makes use of opprobrious language1 which creates him enemies and repentance2 he fills his house with trouble and sorrow1 and ends by a premature death or by a cacochymical old age4 ,q4 ,does the law of nature interdict absolutely the use of wine8 ,a4 ,no2 it only forbids the abuse2 but as the transition from the use to the abuse is easy and prompt among the generality of men1 perhaps the legislators1 who have proscribed the use of wine1 have rendered a service to humanity4 ,q4 ,does the law of nature forbid the use of certain kinds of meat1 or of certain vegetables1 on particular days1 during certain seasons8 ,a4 ,no2 it absolutely forbids only whatever is injurious to health2 its precepts1 in this respect1 vary according to persons1 and even constitute a very delicate and important science for the quality1 the quantity1 and the combination of aliments have the greatest influence1 not only over the momentary affections of the soul1 but even over its habitual disposition4 ,a man is not the same when fasting as after a meal1 even if he were sober4 ,a glass of spirituous liquor1 or a dish of coffee1 gives degrees of vivacity1 of mobility1 of disposition to anger1 sadness1 or gaiety2 such a meat1 because it lies heavy on the stomach1 engenders moroseness and melancholy2 such another1 because it facilitates digestion1 creates sprightliness1 and an inclination to oblige and to love4 ,the use of vegetables1 because they have little nourishment1 enfeebles the body1 and gives a disposition to repose1 indolence1 and ease2 the use of meat1 because it is full of nourishment1 and of spirituous liquors1 because they stimulate the nerves1 creates vivacity1 uneasiness1 and audacity4 ,now from those habitudes of aliment result habits of constitution and of the organs1 which form afterwards different kinds of temperaments1 each of which is distinguished by a peculiar characteristic4 ,and it is for this reason that1 in hot countries especially1 legislators have made laws respecting regimen or food4 ,the ancients were taught by long experience that the dietetic science constituted a considerable part of morality2 among the ,egyptians1 the ancient ,persians1 and even among the ,greeks1 at the ,areopagus1 important affairs were examined fasting2 and it has been remarked that1 among those people1 where public affairs were discussed during the heat of meals1 and the fumes of digestion1 deliberations were hasty and violent1 and the results of them frequently unreasonable1 and productive of turbulence and confusion4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,on ,,continence4 ,q4 ,does the law of nature prescribe continence8 ,a4 ,yes3 because a moderate use of the most lively of pleasures is not only useful1 but indispensable1 to the support of strength and health3 and because a simple calculation proves that1 for some minutes of privation1 you increase the number of your days1 both in vigor of body and of mind4 ,q4 ,how does it forbid libertinism8 ,a4 ,by the numerous evils which result from it to the physical and the moral existence4 ,he who carries it to an excess enervates and pines away2 he can no longer attend to study or labor2 he contracts idle and expensive habits1 which destroy his means of existence1 his public consideration1 and his credit2 his intrigues occasion continual embarrassment1 cares1 quarrels and lawsuits1 without mentioning the grievous deep-rooted distempers1 and the loss of his strength by an inward and slow poison2 the stupid dullness of his mind1 by the exhaustion of the nervous system2 and1 in fine1 a premature and infirm old age4 ,q4 ,does the law of nature look on that absolute chastity so recommended in monastical institutions1 as a virtue8 ,a4 ,no3 for that chastity is of no use either to the society that witnesses1 or the individual who practises it2 it is even prejudicial to both4 ,first1 it injures society by depriving it of population1 which is one of its principal sources of wealth and power2 and as bachelors confine all their views and affections to the term of their lives1 they have in general an egotism unfavorable to the interests of society4 ,in the second place1 it injures the individuals who practise it1 because it deprives them of a number of affections and relations which are the springs of most domestic and social virtues2 and besides1 it often happens1 from circumstances of age1 regimen1 or temperament1 that absolute continence injures the constitution and causes severe diseases1 because it is contrary to the physical laws on which nature has founded the system of the reproduction of beings2 and they who recommend so strongly chastity1 even supposing them to be sincere1 are in contradiction with their own doctrine1 which consecrates the law of nature by the well known commandment3 increase and multiply4 ,q4 ,why is chastity considered a greater virtue in women than in men8 ,a4 ,because a want of chastity in women is attended with inconveniences much more serious and dangerous for them and for society2 for1 without taking into account the pains and diseases they have in common with men1 they are further exposed to all the disadvantages and perils that precede1 attend1 and follow child-birth4 ,when pregnant contrary to law1 they become an object of public scandal and contempt1 and spend the remainder of their lives in bitterness and misery4 ,moreover1 all the expense of maintaining and educating their fatherless children falls on them3 which expense impoverishes them1 and is every way prejudicial to their physical and moral existence4 ,in this situation1 deprived of the freshness and health that constitute their charm1 carrying with them an extraneous and expensive burden1 they are less prized by men1 they find no solid establishment1 they fall into poverty1 misery1 and wretchedness1 and thus drag on in sorrow their unhappy existence4 ,q4 ,does the law of nature extend so far as the scruples of desires and thoughts4 ,a4 ,yes2 because1 in the physical laws of the human body1 thoughts and desires inflame the senses1 and soon provoke to action3 now1 by another law of nature in the organization of our body1 those actions become mechanical wants which recur at certain periods of days or of weeks1 so that1 at such a time1 the want is renewed of such an action and such a secretion2 if this action and this secretion be injurious to health1 the habitude of them becomes destructive of life itself4 ,thus thoughts and desires have a true and natural importance4 ,q4 ,should modesty be considered as a virtue8 ,a4 ,yes2 because modesty1 inasmuch as it is a shame of certain actions1 maintains the soul and body in all those habits useful to good order1 and to self-preservation4 ,the modest woman is esteemed1 courted1 and established1 with advantages of fortune which ensure her existence1 and render it agreeable to her1 while the immodest and prostitute are despised1 repulsed1 and abandoned to misery and infamy4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,on ,,courage ,,and ,,activity4 ,q4 ,are courage and strength of body and mind virtues in the law of nature8 ,a4 ,yes1 and most important virtues2 for they are the efficacious and indispensable means of attending to our preservation and welfare4 ,the courageous and strong man repulses oppression1 defends his life1 his liberty1 and his property2 by his labor he procures himself an abundant subsistence1 which he enjoys in tranquillity and peace of mind4 ,if he falls into misfortunes1 from which his prudence could not protect him1 he supports them with fortitude and resignation2 and it is for this reason that the ancient moralists have reckoned strength and courage among the four principal virtues4 ,q4 ,should weakness and cowardice be considered as vices8 ,a4 ,yes1 since it is certain that they produce innumerable calamities4 ,the weak or cowardly man lives in perpetual cares and agonies2 he undermines his health by the dread1 oftentimes ill founded1 of attacks and dangers3 and this dread which is an evil1 is not a remedy2 it renders him1 on the contrary1 the slave of him who wishes to oppress him2 and by the servitude and debasement of all his faculties1 it degrades and diminishes his means of existence1 so far as the seeing his life depend on the will and caprice of another man4 ,q4 ,but1 after what you have said on the influence of aliments1 are not courage and force1 as well as many other virtues1 in a great measure the effect of our physical constitution and temperament8 ,a4 ,yes1 it is true2 and so far1 that those qualities are transmitted by generation and blood1 with the elements on which they depend3 the most reiterated and constant facts prove that in the breed of animals of every kind1 we see certain physical and moral qualities1 attached to the individuals of those species1 increase or decay according to the combinations and mixtures they make with other breeds4 ,q4 ,but1 then1 as our will is not sufficient to procure us those qualities1 is it a crime to be destitute of them8 ,a4 ,no1 it is not a crime1 but a misfortune2 it is what the ancients call an unlucky fatality2 but even then we have it yet in our power to acquire them2 for1 as soon as we know on what physical elements such or such a quality is founded1 we can promote its growth1 and hasten its developments1 by a skillful management of those elements2 and in this consists the science of education1 which1 according as it is directed1 meliorates or degrades individuals1 or the whole race1 to such a pitch as totally to change their nature and inclinations2 for which reason it is of the greatest importance to be acquainted with the laws of nature by which those operations and changes are certainly and necessarily effected4 ,q4 ,why do you say that activity is a virtue according to the law of nature8 ,a4 ,because the man who works and employs his time usefully1 derives from it a thousand precious advantages to his existence4 ,if he is born poor1 his labor furnishes him with subsistence2 and still more so1 if he is sober1 continent1 and prudent1 for he soon acquires a competency1 and enjoys the sweets of life2 his very labor gives him virtues2 for1 while he occupies his body and mind1 he is not affected with unruly desires1 time does not lie heavy on him1 he contracts mild habits1 he augments his strength and health1 and attains a peaceful and happy old age4 ,q4 ,are idleness and sloth vices in the law of nature8 ,a4 ,yes1 and the most pernicious of all vices1 for they lead to all the others4 ,by idleness and sloth man remains ignorant1 he forgets even the science he had acquired1 and falls into all the misfortunes which accompany ignorance and folly2 by idleness and sloth man1 devoured with disquietude1 in order to dissipate it1 abandons himself to all the desires of his senses1 which1 becoming every day more inordinate1 render him intemperate1 gluttonous1 lascivious1 enervated1 cowardly1 vile1 and contemptible4 ,by the certain effect of all those vices1 he ruins his fortune1 consumes his health1 and terminates his life in all the agonies of sickness and of poverty4 ,q4 ,from what you say1 one would think that poverty was a vice8 ,a4 ,no1 it is not a vice2 but it is still less a virtue1 for it is by far more ready to injure than to be useful2 it is even commonly the result1 or the beginning of vice1 for the effect of all individual vices is to lead to indigence1 and to the privation of the necessaries of life2 and when a man is in want of necessaries1 he is tempted to procure them by vicious means1 that is to say1 by means injurious to society4 ,all the individual virtues tend1 on the contrary1 to procure to a man an abundant subsistence2 and when he has more than he can consume1 it is much easier for him to give to others1 and to practice the actions useful to society4 ,q4 ,do you look upon opulence as a virtue8 ,a4 ,no2 but still less as a vice3 it is the use alone of wealth that can be called virtuous or vicious1 according as it is serviceable or prejudicial to man and to society4 ,wealth is an instrument1 the use and employment alone of which determine its virtue or vice4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,on ,,cleanliness4 ,q4 ,why is cleanliness included among the virtues8 ,a4 ,because it is1 in reality1 one of the most important among them1 on account of its powerful influence over the health and preservation of the body4 ,cleanliness1 as well in dress as in residence1 obviates the pernicious effects of the humidity1 baneful odors1 and contagious exhalations1 proceeding from all things abandoned to putrefaction4 ,cleanliness1 maintains free transpiration2 it renews the air1 refreshes the blood1 and disposes even the mind to cheerfulness4 ,from this it appears that persons attentive to the cleanliness of their bodies and habitations are1 in general1 more healthy1 and less subject to disease1 than those who live in filth and nastiness2 and it is further remarked1 that cleanliness carries with it1 throughout all the branches of domestic administration1 habits of order and arrangement1 which are the chief means and first elements of happiness4 ,q4 ,uncleanliness or filthiness is1 then1 a real vice8 ,a4 ,yes1 as real a one as drunkenness1 or as idleness1 from which in a great measure it is derived4 ,uncleanliness is the second1 and often the first1 cause of many inconveniences1 and even of grievous disorders2 it is a fact in medicine1 that it brings on the itch1 the scurf1 tetters1 leprosies1 as much as the use of tainted or sour aliments2 that it favors the contagious influence of the plague and malignant fevers1 that it even produces them in hospitals and prisons2 that it occasions rheumatisms1 by incrusting the skin with dirt1 and thereby preventing transpiration2 without reckoning the shameful inconvenience of being devoured by vermin--the foul appendage of misery and depravity4 ,most ancient legislators1 therefore1 considered cleanliness1 which they called purity1 as one of the essential dogmas of their religions4 ,it was for this reason that they expelled from society1 and even punished corporeally those who were infected with distempers produced by uncleanliness2 that they instituted and consecrated ceremonies of ablutions baths1 baptisms1 and of purifications1 even by fire and the aromatic fumes of incense1 myrrh1 benjamin1 etc41 so that the entire system of pollutions1 all those rites of clean and unclean things1 degenerated since into abuses and prejudices1 were only founded originally on the judicious observation1 which wise and learned men had made1 of the extreme influence that cleanliness in dress and abode exercises over the health of the body1 and by an immediate consequence over that of the mind and moral faculties4 ,thus all the individual virtues have for their object1 more or less direct1 more or less near1 the preservation of the man who practises them and by the preservation of each man1 they lead to that of families and society1 which are composed of the united sum of individuals4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,on ,,domestic ,,virtues4 ,q4 ,what do you mean be domestic virtues8 ,a4 ,i mean the practice of actions useful to a family1 supposed to live in the same house499 99 ,domestic is derived from the ,latin word domus1 a house4 ,q4 ,what are those virtues8 ,a4 ,they are economy1 paternal love1 filial love1 conjugal love1 fraternal love1 and the accomplishment of the duties of master and servant4 ,q4 ,what is economy8 ,a4 ,it is1 according to the most extensive meaning of the word1 the proper administration of every thing that concerns the existence of the family or house2 and as subsistence holds the first rank1 the word economy in confined to the employment of money for the wants of life4 ,q4 ,why is economy a virtue8 ,a4 ,because a man who makes no useless expenses acquires a superabundancy1 which is true wealth1 and by means of which he procures for himself and his family everything that is really convenient and useful2 without mentioning his securing thereby resources against accidental and unforeseen losses1 so that he and his family enjoy an agreeable and undisturbed competency1 which is the basis of human felicity4 ,q4 ,dissipation and prodigality1 therefore1 are vices8 ,a4 ,yes1 for by them man1 in the end1 is deprived of the necessaries of life2 he falls into poverty and wretchedness2 and his very friends1 fearing to be obliged to restore to him what he has spent with or for them1 avoid him as a debtor does his creditor1 and he remains abandoned by the whole world4 ,q4 ,what is paternal love8 ,a4 ,it is the assiduous care taken by parents to make their children contract the habit of every action useful to themselves and to society4 ,q4 ,why is paternal tenderness a virtue in parents8 ,a4 ,because parents1 who rear their children in those habits1 procure for themselves1 during the course of their lives1 enjoyments and helps that give a sensible satisfaction at every instant1 and which assure to them1 when advanced in years1 supports and consolations against the wants and calamities of all kinds with which old age is beset4 ,q4 ,is paternal love a common virtue8 ,a4 ,no2 notwithstanding the ostentation made of it by parents1 it is a rare virtue4 ,they do not love their children1 they caress and spoil them4 ,in them they love only the agents of their will1 the instruments of their power1 the trophies of their vanity1 the pastime of their idleness4 ,it is not so much the welfare of their children that they propose to themselves1 as their submission and obedience2 and if among children so many are seen ungrateful for benefits received1 it is because there are among parents as many despotic and ignorant benefactors4 ,q4 ,why do you say that conjugal love is a virtue8 ,a4 ,because the concord and union resulting from the love of the married1 establish in the heart of the family a multitude of habits useful to its prosperity and preservation4 ,the united pair are attached to1 and seldom quit their home2 they superintend each particular direction of it2 they attend to the education of their children2 they maintain the respect and fidelity of domestics2 they prevent all disorder and dissipation2 and from the whole of their good conduct1 they live in ease and consideration2 while married persons who do not love one another1 fill their house with quarrels and troubles1 create dissension between their children and the servants1 leaving both indiscriminately to all kinds of vicious habits2 every one in turn spoils1 robs1 and plunders the house2 the revenues are absorbed without profit2 debts accumulate2 the married pair avoid each other1 or contend in lawsuits2 and the whole family falls into disorder1 ruin1 disgrace and want4 ,q4 ,is adultery an offence in the law of nature8 ,a4 ,yes2 for it is attended with a number of habits injurious to the married and to their families4 ,the wife or husband1 whose affections are estranged1 neglect their house1 avoid it1 and deprive it1 as much as they can1 of its revenues or income1 to expend them with the object of their affections2 hence arise quarrels1 scandal1 lawsuits1 the neglect of their children and servants1 and at last the plundering and ruin of the whole family2 without reckoning that the adulterous woman commits a most grievous theft1 in giving to her husband heirs of foreign blood1 who deprive his real children of their legitimate portion4 ,q4 ,what is filial love8 ,a4 ,it is1 on the side of children1 the practice of those actions useful to themselves and to their parents4 ,q4 ,how does the law of nature prescribe filial love8 ,a4 ,by three principal motives3 #a4 ,by sentiment2 for the affectionate care of parents inspires1 from the most tender age1 mild habits of attachment4 #b4 ,by justice2 for children owe to their parents a return and indemnity for the cares1 and even for the expenses1 they have caused them4 #c4 ,by personal interest2 for1 if they use them ill1 they give to their own children examples of revolt and ingratitude1 which authorize them1 at a future day1 to behave to themselves in a similar manner4 ,q4 ,are we to understand by filial love a passive and blind submission8 ,a4 ,no2 but a reasonable submission1 founded on the knowledge of the mutual rights and duties of parents and children2 rights and duties1 without the observance of which their mutual conduct is nothing but disorder4 ,q4 ,why is fraternal love a virtue8 ,a4 ,because the concord and union1 which result from the love of brothers1 establish the strength1 security1 and conservation of the family3 brothers united defend themselves against all oppression1 they aid one another in their wants1 they help one another in their misfortunes1 and thus secure their common existence2 while brothers disunited1 abandoned each to his own personal strength1 fall into all the inconveniences attendant on an insulated state and individual weakness4 ,this is what a certain ,scythian king ingeniously expressed when1 on his death-bed1 calling his children to him1 he ordered them to break a bundle of arrows4 ,the young men1 though strong1 being unable to effect it1 he took them in his turn1 and untieing them1 broke each of the arrows separately with his fingers4 ,behold1 said he1 the effects of union2 united together1 you will be invincible2 taken separately1 you will be broken like reeds4 ,q4 ,what are the reciprocal duties of masters and of servants8 ,a4 ,they consist in the practice of the actions which are respectively and justly useful to them2 and here begin the relations of society2 for the rule and measure of those respective actions is the equilibrium or equality between the service and the recompense1 between what the one returns and the other gives2 which is the fundamental basis of all society4 ,thus all the domestic and individual virtues refer1 more or less mediately1 but always with certitude1 to the physical object of the amelioration and preservation of man1 and are thereby precepts resulting from the fundamental law of nature in his formation4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,social ,,virtues2 ,,justice4 ,q4 ,what is society8 ,a4 ,it is every reunion of men living together under the clauses of an expressed or tacit contract1 which has for its end their common preservation4 ,q4 ,are the social virtues numerous8 ,a4 ,yes2 they are in as great number as the kinds of actions useful to society2 but all may be reduced to one principle4 ,q4 ,what is that fundamental principle8 ,a4 ,it is justice1 which alone comprises all the virtues of society4 ,q4 ,why do you say that justice is the fundamental and almost only virtue of society8 ,a4 ,because it alone embraces the practice of all the actions useful to it2 and because all the other virtues1 under the denominations of charity1 humanity1 probity1 love of one's country1 sincerity1 generosity1 simplicity of manners1 and modesty1 are only varied forms and diversified applications of the axiom1 ,do not to another what you do not wish to be done to yourself1 which is the definition of justice4 ,q4 ,how does the law of nature prescribe justice8 ,a4 ,by three physical attributes1 inherent in the organization of man4 ,q4 ,what are those attributes8 ,a4 ,they are equality1 liberty1 and property4 ,q4 ,how is equality a physical attribute of man8 ,a4 ,because all men1 having equally eyes1 hands1 mouths1 ears1 and the necessity of making use of them1 in order to live1 have1 by this reason alone1 an equal right to life1 and to the use of the aliments which maintain it2 they are all equal before ,god4 ,q4 ,do you suppose that all men hear equally1 see equally1 feel equally1 have equal wants1 and equal passions8 ,a4 ,no2 for it is evident1 and daily demonstrated1 that one is short1 and another long-sighted2 that one eats much1 another little2 that one has mild1 another violent passions2 in a word1 that one is weak in body and mind1 while another is strong in both4 ,q4 ,they are1 therefore1 really unequal8 ,a4 ,yes1 in the development of their means1 but not in the nature and essence of those means4 ,they are made of the same stuff1 but not in the same dimensions2 nor are the weight and value equal4 ,our language possesses no one word capable of expressing the identity of nature1 and the diversity of its form and employment4 ,it is a proportional equality2 and it is for this reason ,i have said1 equal before ,god1 and in the order of nature4 ,q4 ,how is liberty a physical attribute of man8 ,a4 ,because all men having senses sufficient for their preservation--no one wanting the eye of another to see1 his ear to hear1 his mouth to eat1 his feet to walk--they are all1 by this very reason1 constituted naturally independent and free2 no man is necessarily subjected to another1 nor has he a right to dominate over him4 ,q4 ,but if a man is born strong1 has he a natural right to master the weak man8 ,a4 ,no2 for it is neither a necessity for him1 nor a convention between them2 it is an abusive extension of his strength2 and here an abuse is made of the word right1 which in its true meaning implies1 justice or reciprocal faculty4 ,q4 ,how is property a physical attribute of man8 ,a4 ,inasmuch as all men being constituted equal or similar to one another1 and consequently independent and free1 each is the absolute master1 the full proprietor of his body and of the produce of his labor4 ,q4 ,how is justice derived from these three attributes8 ,a4 ,in this1 that men being equal and free1 owing nothing to each other1 have no right to require anything from one another only inasmuch as they return an equal value for it2 or inasmuch as the balance of what is given is in equilibrium with what is returned3 and it is this equality1 this equilibrium which is called justice1 equity299 that is to say that equality and justice are but one and the same word1 the same law of nature1 of which the social virtues are only applications and derivatives4 99 ,aequitas1 aequilibrium1 aequalitas1 are all of the same family4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,development ,,of ,,the ,,social ,,virtues4 ,q4 ,explain how the social virtues are derived from the law of nature4 ,how is charity or the love of one's neighbor a precept and application of it8 ,a4 ,by reason of equality and reciprocity2 for when we injure another1 we give him a right to injure us in return2 thus1 by attacking the existence of our neighbor1 we endanger our own1 from the effect of reciprocity2 on the other hand1 by doing good to others1 we have room and right to expect an equivalent exchange2 and such is the character of all social virtues1 that they are useful to the man who practises them1 by the right of reciprocity which they give him over those who are benefited by them4 ,q4 ,charity is then nothing but justice8 ,a4 ,no3 it is only justice2 with this slight difference1 that strict justice confines itself to saying1 ,do not to another the harm you would not wish he should do to you2 and that charity1 or the love of one's neighbor1 extends so far as to say1 ,do to another the good which you would wish to receive from him4 ,thus when the gospel said1 that this precept contained the whole of the law and the prophets1 it announced nothing more than the precept of the law of nature4 ,q4 ,does it enjoin forgiveness of injuries8 ,a4 ,yes1 when that forgiveness implies self-preservation4 ,q4 ,does it prescribe to us1 after having received a blow on one cheek1 to hold out the other8 ,a4 ,no2 for it is1 in the first place1 contrary to the precept of loving our neighbor as ourselves1 since thereby we should love1 more than ourselves1 him who makes an attack on our preservation4 ,secondly1 such a precept in its literal sense1 encourages the wicked to oppression and injustice4 ,the law of nature has been more wise in prescribing a calculated proportion of courage and moderation1 which induces us to forget a first or unpremediated injury1 but which punishes every act tending to oppression4 ,q4 ,does the law of nature prescribe to do good to others beyond the bounds of reason and measure8 ,a4 ,no2 for it is a sure way of leading them to ingratitude4 ,such is the force of sentiment and justice implanted in the heart of man1 that he is not even grateful for benefits conferred without discretion4 ,there is only one measure with them1 and that is to be just4 ,q4 ,is alms-giving a virtuous action8 ,a4 ,yes1 when it is practised according to the rule first mentioned2 without which it degenerates into imprudence and vice1 inasmuch as it encourages laziness1 which is hurtful to the beggar and to society2 no one has a right to partake of the property and fruits of another's labor1 without rendering an equivalent of his own industry4 ,q4 ,does the law of nature consider as virtues faith and hope1 which are often joined with charity8 ,a4 ,no2 for they are ideas without reality2 and if any effects result from them1 they turn rather to the profit of those who have not those ideas1 than of those who have them2 so that faith and hope may be called the virtues of dupes for the benefit of knaves4 ,q4 ,does the law of nature prescribe probity8 ,a4 ,yes1 for probity is nothing more than respect for one's own rights in those of another2 a respect founded on a prudent and well combined calculation of our interests compared to those of others4 ,q4 ,but does not this calculation1 which embraces the complicated interests and rights of the social state1 require an enlightened understanding and knowledge1 which make it a difficult science8 ,a4 ,yes1 and a science so much the more delicate as the honest man pronounces in his own cause4 ,q4 ,probity1 then1 shows an extension and justice in the mind8 ,a4 ,yes1 for an honest man almost always neglects a present interest1 in order not to destroy a future one2 whereas the knave does the contrary1 and loses a great future interest for a present smaller one4 ,q4 ,improbity1 therefore1 is a sign of false judgment and a narrow mind8 ,a4 ,yes1 and rogues may be defined ignorant and silly calculators2 for they do not understand their true interest1 and they pretend to cunning3 nevertheless1 their cunning only ends in making known what they are--in losing all confidence and esteem1 and the good services resulting from them for their physical and social existence4 ,they neither live in peace with others1 nor with themselves2 and incessantly menaced by their conscience and their enemies1 they enjoy no other real happiness but that of not being hanged4 ,q4 ,does the law of nature forbid robbery8 ,a4 ,yes1 for the man who robs another gives him a right to rob him2 from that moment there is no security in his property1 nor in his means of preservation3 thus in injuring others1 he1 by a counterblow1 injures himself4 ,q4 ,does it interdict even an inclination to rob8 ,a4 ,yes2 for that inclination leads naturally to action1 and it is for this reason that envy is considered a sin8 ,q4 ,how does it forbid murder8 ,a4 ,by the most powerful motives of self-preservation2 for1 first1 the man who attacks exposes himself to the risk of being killed1 by the right of defence2 secondly1 if he kills1 he gives to the relations and friends of the deceased1 and to society at large1 an equal right of killing him2 so that his life is no longer in safety4 ,q4 ,how can we1 by the law of nature1 repair the evil we have done8 ,a4 ,by rendering a proportionate good to those whom we have injured4 ,q4 ,does it allow us to repair it by prayers1 vows1 offerings to ,god1 fasting and mortifications8 ,a4 ,no3 for all those things are foreign to the action we wish to repair3 they neither restore the ox to him from whom it has been stolen1 honor to him whom we have deprived of it1 nor life to him from whom it has been taken away2 consequently they miss the end of justice2 they are only perverse contracts by which a man sells to another goods which do not belong to him2 they are a real depravation of morality1 inasmuch as they embolden to commit crimes through the hope of expiating them2 wherefore1 they have been the real cause of all the evils by which the people among whom those expiatory practices were used1 have been continually tormented4 ,q4 ,does the law of nature order sincerity8 ,a4 ,yes2 for lying1 perfidy1 and perjury create distrust1 quarrels1 hatred1 revenge1 and a crowd of evils among men1 which tend to their common destruction2 while sincerity and fidelity establish confidence1 concord1 and peace1 besides the infinite good resulting from such a state of things to society4 ,q4 ,does it prescribe mildness and modesty8 ,a4 ,yes2 for harshness and obduracy1 by alienating from us the hearts of other men1 give them an inclination to hurt us2 ostentation and vanity1 by wounding their self-love and jealousy1 occasion us to miss the end of a real utility4 ,q4 ,does it prescribe humility as a virtue8 ,a4 ,no2 for it is a propensity in the human heart to despise secretly everything that presents to it the idea of weakness2 and self-debasement encourages pride and oppression in others2 the balance must be kept in equipoise4 ,q4 ,you have reckoned simplicity of manners among the social virtues2 what do you understand by that word8 ,a4 ,i mean the restricting our wants and desires to what is truly useful to the existence of the citizen and his family2 that is to say1 the man of simple manners has but few wants1 and lives content with a little4 ,q4 ,how is this virtue prescribed to us8 ,a4 ,by the numerous advantages which the practice of it procures to the individual and to society2 for the man whose wants are few1 is free at once from a crowd of cares1 perplexities1 and labors2 he avoids many quarrels and contests arising from avidity and a desire of gain2 he spares himself the anxiety of ambition1 the inquietudes of possession1 and the uneasiness of losses2 finding superfluity everywhere1 he is the real rich man2 always content with what he has1 he is happy at little expense2 and other men1 not fearing any competition from him1 leave him in quiet1 and are disposed to render him the services he should stand in need of4 ,and if this virtue of simplicity extends to a whole people1 they insure to themselves abundance2 rich in everything they do not consume1 they acquire immense means of exchange and commerce2 they work1 fabricate1 and sell at a lower price than others1 and attain to all kinds of prosperity1 both at home and abroad4 ,q4 ,what is the vice contrary to this virtue8 ,a4 ,it is cupidity and luxury4 ,q4 ,is luxury a vice in the individual and in society8 ,a4 ,yes1 and to that degree1 that it may be said to include all the others2 for the man who stands in need of many things1 imposes thereby on himself all the anxiety1 and submits to all the means just or unjust of acquiring them4 ,does he possess an enjoyment1 he covets another2 and in the bosom of superfluity1 he is never rich2 a commodious dwelling is not sufficient for him1 he must have a beautiful hotel2 not content with a plenteous table1 he must have rare and costly viands3 he must have splendid furniture1 expensive clothes1 a train of attendants1 horses1 carriages1 women1 theatrical representations and games4 ,now1 to supply so many expenses1 much money must be had2 and he looks on every method of procuring it as good and even necessary2 at first he borrows1 afterwards he steals1 robs1 plunders1 turns bankrupt1 is at war with every one1 ruins and is ruined4 ,should a nation be involved in luxury1 it occasions on a larger scale the same devastations2 by reason that it consumes its entire produce1 it finds itself poor even with abundance2 it has nothing to sell to foreigners2 its manufactures are carried on at a great expense1 and are sold too dear2 it becomes tributary for everything it imports2 it attacks externally its consideration1 power1 strength1 and means of defence and preservation1 while internally it undermines and falls into the dissolution of its members4 ,all its citizens being covetous of enjoyments1 are engaged in a perpetual struggle to obtain them2 all injure or are near injuring themselves2 and hence arise those habits and actions of usurpation1 which constitute what is denominated moral corruption1 intestine war between citizen and citizen4 ,from luxury arises avidity1 from avidity1 invasion by violence and perfidy2 from luxury arises the iniquity of the judge1 the venality of the witness1 the improbity of the husband1 the prostitution of the wife1 the obduracy of parents1 the ingratitude of children1 the avarice of the master1 the dishonesty of the servant1 the dilapidation of the administrator1 the perversity of the legislator1 lying1 perfidy1 perjury1 assassination1 and all the disorders of the social state2 so that it was with a profound sense of truth1 that ancient moralists have laid the basis of the social virtues on simplicity of manners1 restriction of wants1 and contentment with a little2 and a sure way of knowing the extent of a man's virtues and vices is1 to find out if his expenses are proportionate to his fortune1 and calculate1 from his want of money1 his probity1 his integrity in fulfilling his engagements1 his devotion to the public weal1 and his sincere or pretended love of his country4 ,q4 ,what do you mean by the word country8 ,a4 ,i mean the community of citizens who1 united by fraternal sentiments1 and reciprocal wants1 make of their respective strength one common force1 the reaction of which on each of them assumes the noble and beneficent character of paternity4 ,in society1 citizens form a bank of interest2 in our country we form a family of endearing attachments2 it is charity1 the love of one's neighbor extended to a whole nation4 ,now as charity cannot be separated from justice1 no member of the family can pretend to the enjoyment of its advantages1 except in proportion to his labor2 if he consumes more than it produces1 he necessarily encroaches on his fellow-citizens2 and it is only by consuming less than what he produces or possesses1 that he can acquire the means of making sacrifices and being generous4 ,q4 ,what do you conclude from all this8 ,a4 ,i conclude from it that all the social virtues are only the habitude of actions useful to society and to the individual who practices them2 ,that they refer to the physical object of man's preservation2 ,that nature having implanted in us the want of that preservation1 has made a law to us of all its consequences1 and a crime of everything that deviates from it2 ,that we carry in us the seed of every virtue1 and of every perfection2 ,that it only requires to be developed2 ,that we are only happy inasmuch as we observe the rules established by nature for the end of our preservation2 ,and that all wisdom1 all perfection1 all law1 all virtue1 all philosophy1 consist in the practice of these axioms founded on our own organization3 ,preserve thyself2 ,instruct thyself2 ,moderate thyself2 ,live for thy fellow citizens1 that they may live for thee4 ,,volney',s ,,answer ,,to ,,dr4 ,,priestly499 99 ,in #agig1 ,dr4 ,priestly published a pamphlet1 entitled1 ,observation on the increase of infidelity1 with animadversions upon the writings of several modern unbelievers1 and especially the ,ruins of ,mr4 ,volney4 ,the motto to this tract was3 ,minds of little penetration rest naturally on the surface of things4 ,they do not like to pierce deep into them1 for fear of labor and trouble2 sometimes still more for fear of truth4 ,this ,letter is an answer from ,volney1 taken from the ,anti-,jacobin ,review of ,march and ,april1 #agii4 ,,sir4--,i received in due time your pamphlet on the increase of infidelity1 together with the note without date which accompanied it499 ,my answer has been delayed by the incidents of business1 and even by ill health1 which you will surely excuse3 this delay has1 besides1 no inconvenience in it4 ,the question between us is not of a very urgent nature3 the world would not go on less well with or without my answer as with or without your book4 ,i might1 indeed1 have dispensed with returning you any answer at all2 and ,i should have been warranted in so doing1 by the manner in which you have stated the debate1 and by the opinion pretty generally received that1 on certain occasions1 and with certain persons1 the most noble reply is silence4 ,you seem to have been aware of this yourself1 considering the extreme precautions you have taken to deprive me of this resource2 but as according to our ,french customs1 any answer is an act of civility1 ,i am not willing to concede the advantage of politeness--besides1 although silence is sometimes very significant1 its eloquence is not understood by every one1 and the public which has not leisure to analyze disputes 7often of little interest7 has a reasonable right to require at least some preliminary explanations2 reserving to itself1 should the discussion degenerate into the recriminative clamors of an irritated self-love1 to allow the right of silence to him in whom it becomes the virtue of moderation4 99 ,dr4 ,priestly sent his pamphlet to ,volney1 desiring his answer to the strictures on his opinions in his ,ruins of ,empires4 ,i have read1 therefore1 your animadversions on my ,ruins1 which you are pleased to class among the writings of modern unbelievers1 and since you absolutely insist on my expressing my opinion before the public1 ,i shall now fulfill this rather disagreeable task with all possible brevity1 for the sake of economizing the time of our readers4 ,in the first place1 sir1 it appears evidently1 from your pamphlet1 that your design is less to attack my book than my personal and moral character2 and in order that the public may pronounce with accuracy on this point1 ,i submit several passages fitted to throw light on the subject4 ,you say1 in the preface of your discourses1 p4 #ab1 ,there are1 however1 unbelievers more ignorant than ,mr4 ,paine1 ,mr4 ,volney1 ,lequino1 and others in ,france say1 c4 ,also in the preface of your present observations1 p4 #bj4 ,i can truly say that in the writings of ,hume1 ,mr4 ,gibbon1 ,voltaire1 ,mr4 ,volney--there is nothing of solid argument3 all abound in gross mistakes and misrepresentations4 ,idem1 p4 #ch--,whereas had he 7,mr4 ,volney7 given attention to the history of the times in which ,christianity was promulgated 4 4 4 he could have no more doubt 4 4 4 c41 it is as much in vain to argue with such a person as this1 as with a ,chinese or even a ,hottentot4 ,idem1 p4 #aai--,mr4 ,volney1 if we may judge from his numerous quotations of ancient writers in all the learned languages1 oriental as well as occidental1 must be acquainted with all2 for he makes no mention of any translation1 and yet if we judge from this specimen of his knowledge of them1 he cannot have the smallest tincture of that of the ,hebrew or even of the ,greek4 ,and1 at last1 after having published and posted me in your very title page1 as an unbeliever and an infidel2 after having pointed me out in your motto as one of those superficial spirits who know not how to find out1 and are unwilling to encounter1 truth2 you add1 p4 #abd1 immediately after an article in which you speak of me under all these denominations-- ,the progress of infidelity1 in the present age1 is attended with a circumstance which did not so frequently accompany it in any former period1 at least1 in ,england1 which is1 that unbelievers in revelation generally proceed to the disbelief of the being and providence of ,god so as to become properly ,atheists4 ,so that1 according to you1 ,i am a ,chinese1 a ,hottentot1 an unbeliever1 an ,atheist1 an ignoramus1 a man of no sincerity2 whose writings are full of nothing but gross mistakes and misrepresentations4 ,now ,i ask you1 sir1 ,what has all this to do with the main question8 ,what has my book in common with my person8 ,and how can you hold any converse with a man of such bad connexions8 ,in the second place1 your invitation1 or rather1 your summons to me1 to point out the mistakes which ,i think you have made with respect to my opinions1 suggest to me several observations4 ,first4 ,you suppose that the public attaches a high importance to your mistakes and to my opinions3 but ,i cannot act upon a supposition4 ,am ,i not an unbeliever8 ,secondly4 ,you say1 p4 #ah1 that the public will expect it from me3 ,where are the powers by which you make the public speak and act8 ,is this also a revelation8 ,thirdly4 ,you require me to point out your mistakes4 ,i do not know that ,i am under any such obligation3 ,i have not reproached you with them2 it is not1 indeed1 very correct to ascribe to me1 by selection or indiscriminately1 as you have done1 all the opinions scattered through my book1 since1 having introduced many different persons1 ,i was under the necessity of making them deliver different sentiments1 according to their different characters4 ,the part which belongs to me is that of a traveler1 resting upon the ruins and meditating on the causes of the misfortunes of the human race4 ,to be consistent with yourself you ought to have assigned to me that of the ,hottentot or ,samoyde savage1 who argues with the ,doctors1 chap4 xxiii1 and ,i should have accepted it2 you have preferred that of the erudite historian1 chap4 xxii1 nor do ,i look upon this as a mistake2 ,i discover on the contrary1 an insidious design to engage me in a duel of self-love before the public1 wherein you would excite the exclusive interest of the spectators by supporting the cause which they approve2 while the task which you would impose on me1 would only1 in the event of success1 be attended with sentiments of disapprobation4 ,such is your artful purpose1 that1 in attacking me as doubting the existence of ,jesus1 you might secure to yourself1 by surprise1 the favor of every ,christian sect1 although your own incredulity in his divine nature is not less subversive of ,christianity than the profane opinion1 which does not find in history the proof required by the ,english law to establish a fact3 to say nothing of the extraordinary kind of pride assumed in the silent1 but palpable1 comparison of yourself to ,paul and to ,christ1 by likening your labors to theirs as tending to the same object1 p4 #aj1 preface4 ,nevertheless1 as the first impression of an attack always confers an advantage1 you have some ground for expecting you may obtain the apostolic crown2 unfortunately for your purpose ,i entertain no disposition to that of martrydom3 and however glorious it might be to me to fall under the arm of him who has overcome ,hume1 ,gibbon1 ,voltaire and even ,frederick ,,ii41 ,i find myself under the necessity of declining your theological challenge1 for a number of substantial reasons4 #a4 ,because1 to religious quarrels there is no end1 since the prejudices of infancy and education almost unavoidably exclude impartial reasoning1 and besides1 the vanity of the champions becomes committed by the very publicity of the contest1 never to give up a first assertion1 whence result a spirit of sectarism and faction4 #b4 ,because no one has a right to ask of me an account of my religious opinions4 ,every inquisition of this kind is a pretension to sovereignty1 a first step towards persecution2 and the tolerant spirit of this country1 which you invoke1 has much less in view to engage men to speak1 than to invite them to be silent4 #c4 ,because1 supposing ,i do hold the opinions you attribute to me1 ,i wish not to engage my vanity so as never to retract1 nor to deprive myself of the resource of a conversion on some future day after more ample information4 #d4 ,and because1 reverend sir1 if1 in the support of your own thesis1 you should happen to be discomfited before the ,christian audience1 it would be a dreadful scandal2 and ,i will not be a cause for scandal1 even for the sake of good4 #e4 ,because in this metaphysical contest our arms are too unequal2 you speaking in your mother tongue1 which ,i scarcely lisp1 might bring forth huge volumes1 while ,i could hardly oppose pages2 and the public1 who would read neither production1 might take the weight of the books for that of reasoning4 #f4 ,and because1 being endowed with the gift of faith in a pretty sufficient quantity1 you might swallow in a quarter of an hour more articles than my logic would digest in a week4 #g4 ,because again1 if you were to oblige me to attend your sermons1 as you have compelled me to read your pamphlet1 the congregation would never believe that a man powdered and adorned like any worldling1 could be in the right against a man dressed out in a large hat1 with straight hair199 and a mortified countenance1 although the gospel1 speaking of the pharisees of other times1 who were unpowdered1 says that when one fasts he must anoint his head and wash his face49999 99 ,dr4 ,priestly has discarded his wig since he went to ,america1 and wears his own hair4 ,editor ,a4 ,j4 ,reveiw4 9999 ,st4 ,matthew1 ,chapter ,,vi4 verses #af and #ag4 #h4 ,because1 finally1 a dispute to one having nothing else to do would be a gratification1 while to me1 who can employ my time better1 it would be an absolute loss4 ,i shall not then1 reverend sir1 make you my confessor in matters of religion1 but ,i will disclose to you my opinion1 as a man of letters1 on the composition of your book4 ,having in former days1 read many works of theology1 ,i was curious to learn whether by any chemical process you had discovered real beings in that world of invisibles4 ,unfortunately1 ,i am obliged to declare to the public1 which1 according to your expression1 p4 #ai1 hopes to be instructed1 to be led into truth1 and not into error by me1 that ,i have not found in your book a single new argument1 but the mere repetition of what is told over and over in thousands of volumes1 the whole fruit of which has been to procure for their authors a cursory mention in the dictionary of heresies4 ,you everywhere lay down that as proved which remains to be proved2 with this peculiarity1 that1 as ,gibbon says1 firing away your double battery against those who believe too much1 and those who believe too little1 you hold out your own peculiar sensations1 as to the precise criterion of truth2 so that we must all be just of your size in order to pass the gate of that ,new ,jerusalem which you are building4 ,after this1 your reputation as a divine might have become problematical with me2 but recollecting the principle of the association of ideas so well developed by ,locke1 whom you hold in estimation1 and whom1 for that reason ,i am happy to cite to you1 although to him ,i owe that pernicious use of my understanding which makes me disbelieve what ,i do not comprehend--,i perceive why the public having originally attached the idea of talents to the name of ,mr4 ,priestly1 doctor in chemistry1 continued by habit to associate it with the name of ,mr4 ,priestly1 doctor in divinity2 which1 however1 is not the same thing3 an association of ideas the more vicious as it is liable to be moved inversely499 ,happily you have yourself raised a bar of separation between your admirers1 by advising us in the first page of your preface1 that your present book is especially destined for believers4 ,to cooperate1 however1 with you1 sir1 in this judicious design1 ,i must observe that it is necessary to retrench two passages1 seeing they afford the greatest support to the arguments of unbelievers4 99 ,mr4 ,blair1 doctor of divinity1 and ,mr4 ,black1 doctor in chemistry1 met at the coffee house in ,edinburg3 a new theological pamphlet written by doctor ,priestly was thrown upon the table1 ,really1 said ,dr4 ,blair1 this man had better confine himself to chemistry1 for he is absolutely ignorant in theology3--,i beg your pardon1 answered ,dr4 ,black1 he is in the right1 he is a minister of the gospel1 he ought to adhere to his profession1 for in truth he knows nothing of chemistry4 ,you say1 p4 #ae1 ,what is manifestly contrary to natural reason cannot be received by it2--and p4 #fb1 ,with respect to intellect1 men and brute animals are born in the same state1 having the same external senses1 which are the only inlets to all ideas1 and consequently the source of all the knowledge and of all the mental habits they ever acquire4 ,now if you admit1 with ,locke1 and with us infidels1 that every one has the right of rejecting whatever is contrary to his natural reason1 and that all our ideas and all our knowledge are acquired only by the inlets of our external senses2 ,what becomes of the system of revelation1 and of that order of things in times past1 which is so contradictory to that of the time present8 unless we consider it as a dream of the human brain during the state of superstitious ignorance4 ,with these two single phrases1 ,i could overturn the whole edifice of your faith4 ,dread not1 however1 sir1 in me such overflowing zeal4 ,for the same reason that ,i have not the frenzy of martyrdom1 ,i have not that of making proselytes4 ,it becomes those ardent1 or rather acrimonious tempers1 who mistake the violence of their sentiments for the enthusiasm of truth2 the ambition of noise and rumor1 for the love of glory2 and for the love of their neighbor1 the detestation of his opinions1 and the secret desire of dominion4 ,as for me1 who have not received from nature the turbulent qualities of an apostle1 and never sustained in ,europe the character of a dissenter1 ,i am come to ,america neither to agitate the conscience of men1 nor to form a sect1 nor to establish a colony1 in which1 under the pretext of religion1 ,i might erect a little empire to myself4 ,i have never been seen evangelizing my ideas1 either in temples or in public meetings4 ,i have never likewise practiced that quackery of beneficence1 by which a certain divine1 imposing a tax upon the generosity of the public1 procures for himself the honors of a more numerous audience1 and the merit of distributing at his pleasure a bounty which costs him nothing1 and for which he receives grateful thanks dexterously stolen from the original donors4 ,either in the capacity of a stranger1 or in that of a citizen1 a sincere friend to peace1 ,i carry into society neither the spirit of dissension1 nor the desire of commotion2 and because ,i respect in every one what ,i wish him to respect in me1 the name of liberty is in my mind nothing else but the synonyma of justice4 ,as a man1 whether from moderation or indolence1 a spectator of the world rather than an actor in it1 ,i am every day less tempted to take on me the management of the minds or bodies of men3 it is sufficient for an individual to govern his own passions and caprices4 ,if by one of these caprices1 ,i am induced to think it may be useful1 sometimes1 to publish my reflections1 ,i do it without obstinacy or pretension to that implicit faith1 the ridicule of which you desire to impart to me1 p4 #abc4 ,my whole book of the ,ruins which you treat so ungratefully1 since you thought it amusing1 p4 #abb1 evidently bears this character4 ,by means of the contrasted opinions ,i have scattered through it1 it breathes that spirit of doubt and uncertainty which appears to me the best suited to the weakness of the human mind1 and the most adapted to its improvement1 inasmuch as it always leaves a door open to new truths2 while the spirit of dogmatism and immovable belief1 limiting our progress to a first received opinion1 binds us at hazard1 and without resource1 to the yoke of error or falsehood1 and occasions the most serious mischiefs to society2 since by combining with the passions1 it engenders fanaticism1 which1 sometimes misled and sometimes misleading1 though always intolerant and despotic1 attacks whatever is not of its own nature2 drawing upon itself persecution when it is weak1 and practising persecution when it is powerful2 establishing a religion of terror1 which annihilates the faculties1 and vitiates the conscience3 so that1 whether under a political or a religious aspect1 the spirit of doubt is friendly to all ideas of liberty1 truth1 or genius1 while a spirit of confidence is connected with the ideas of tyranny1 servility1 and ignorance4 ,if1 as is the fact1 our own experience and that of others daily teaches us that what at one time appeared true1 afterwards appeared demonstrably false1 how can we connect with our judgments that blind and presumptuous confidence which pursues those of others with so much hatred8 ,no doubt it is reasonable1 and even honest1 to act according to our present feelings and conviction3 but if these feelings and their causes do vary by the very nature of things1 how dare we impose upon ourselves or others an invariable conviction8 ,how1 above all1 dare we require this conviction in cases where there is really no sensation1 as happens in purely speculative questions1 in which no palpable fact can be presented8 ,therefore1 when opening the book of nature1 7a more authentic one and more easy to be read than leaves of paper blackened over with ,greek or ,hebrew17 and when ,i reflected that the slightest change in the material world has not been in times past1 nor is at present effected by the difference of so many religions and sects which have appeared and still exist on the globe1 and that the course of the seasons1 the path of the sun1 the return of rain and drought1 are the same for the inhabitants of each country1 whether ,christians1 ,mussulmans1 ,idolaters1 ,catholics1 ,protestants1 etc41 ,i am induced to believe that the universe is governed by laws of wisdom and justice1 very different from those which human ignorance and intolerance would enact4 ,and as in living with men of very opposite religious persuasions1 ,i have had occasion to remark that their manners were1 nevertheless1 very analogous2 that is to say1 among the different ,christian sects1 among the ,mahometans1 and even among those people who were of no sect1 ,i have found men who practise all the virtues1 public and private1 and that too without affectation2 while others1 who were incessantly declaiming of ,god and religion1 abandoned themselves to every vicious habit which their belief condemned1 ,i thereby became convinced that ,ethics1 the doctrines of morality1 are the only essential1 as they are only demonstrable1 part of religion4 ,and as1 by your own avowal1 the only end of religion is to render men better1 in order to add to their happiness1 p4 #fb1 ,i have concluded that there are but two great systems of religion in the world1 that of good sense and beneficence1 and that of malice and hypocrisy4 ,in closing this letter1 ,i find myself embarrassed by the nature of the sentiment which ,i ought to express to you1 for in declaring as you have done1 p4 #abc1 that you do not care for the contempt of such as me99 7ignorant as you were of my opinion71 you tell me plainly that you do not care for their esteem4 ,i leave1 therefore1 to your discernment and taste to determine the sentiment most congenial to my situation and your desert4 99 ,and what does it do for me here1 except1 perhaps1 expose me to the contempt of such men as ,mr4 ,volney1 which1 however1 ,i feel myself pretty well able to bear8 p4 #abd4 ,this language is the more surprising1 as ,dr4 ,priestly never received anything from me but civilities4 ,in the year #agia ,i sent him a dissertation of mine on the ,chronology of the ,ancients1 in consequence of some charts which he had himself published4 ,his only answer was to abuse me in a pamphlet in #agib4 ,after this first abuse1 on meeting me here last winter1 he procured me an invitation to dine with his friend ,mr4 ,russell1 at whose house he lodged2 after having shown me polite attention at that dinner1 he abuses me in his new pamphlet4 ,after this second abuse he meets me in ,spruce ,street1 and takes me by the hand as a friend1 and speaks of me in a large company under that denomination4 ,now ,i ask the public1 what kind of a man is ,dr4 ,priestly8 ,c4 ,f4 ,,volney4 ,philadelphia1 ,march #aj1 #agig4 ,p4 ,s4 ,i do not accompany this public letter with a private note to ,dr4 ,priestly1 because communications of that nature carry an appearance of bravado1 which1 even in exercising the right of a necessary defence1 appear to me imcompatible with decency and politeness4 ,,the ,,zodiacal ,,signs ,,and ,,constellations4 7,compiled by the publisher from recognized authorities47 ,the ,zodiac is an imaginary girdle or belt in the celestial sphere1 which extends about eight degrees on each side of the ,ecliptic4 ,it is divided into twelve portions1 called the signs of the ,zodiac1 within which all the planets make their revolutions4 ,the ,zodiac is so called from the animals represented upon it1 and is supposed to have originated in remote ages and in latitudes where the camel and elephant were comparatively unknown4 ,this pictorial representation of the zodiac was probably the origin1 as ,m4 ,dupuis suggests1 of the ,arabian and ,egyptian adoration of animals and birds1 and has led in the natural progress of events to the adoration of images by both ,christians and pagans4 ,the ,signs of the ,zodiac1 7says ,godfrey ,higgins in ,the ,anacalypsis7 with the exception of the ,scorpion1 which was exchanged by ,dan for the ,eagle1 were carried by the different tribes of the ,israelites on their standards2 and ,taurus1 ,leo1 ,aquarius1 and ,scorpio or the ,eagle--the four signs of ,reuben1 ,judah1 ,ephriam1 and ,dan--were placed at the four corners1 7the four cardinal points71 of their encampment1 evidently in allusion to the cardinal points of the sphere1 the equinoxes and solstices1 when the equinox was in ,taurus4 7,see ,parkhurst's ,lexicon47 ,these coincidences prove that this religious system had its origin before the bull ceased to be an equinoctial sign1 and prove also1 that the religion of ,moses was originally the same in its secret mysteries as that of the ,heathen1 or1 if my reader likes it better1 that the ,heathen secret mysteries were the same as those of ,moses4 ,the ,ecliptic1 a great circle of the sphere1 7shown on the preceding map by two parallel lines71 is supposed to be drawn through the middle of the ,zodiac1 cutting the ,equator at two points1 7called the ,equinoctial points71 at an angle with the equinoctial of #bc degrees #bh minutes1 7the sun's greatest declination71 and is the path which the earth is supposed to describe amidst the fixed stars in performing its annual circuit around the sun4 ,it is called the ,ecliptic because the eclipses of the sun and moon always occur under it4 ,the ,signs are each the twelfth part of the ,ecliptic or ,zodiac1 7#cj degrees17 and are reckoned from the point of intersection of the ecliptic and equator at the vernal equinox4 ,they are named respectively ,aries1 ,taurus1 ,gemini1 ,cancer1 ,leo1 ,virgo1 ,libra1 ,scorpio1 ,sagittarius1 ,capricornus1 ,aquarius1 ,pisces4 ,these names are borrowed from the constellations of the zodiac of the same denomination1 which corresponded when these divisions were originally made2 but in consequence of the precession1 recession1 or retrocession of the equinoxes1 7about #ej #a_/aj yearly1 at the rate of about #gb years to a degree1 displacing an entire sign in about #baeb years1 and making an entire revolution of the equinoctial in about #be1hfh years71 the positions of these constellations in the heavens no longer correspond with the divisions of the ecliptic of the same name1 but are in advance of them4 ,thus1 the constellation ,aries is now in that part of the ecliptic called ,taurus1 and the stars of ,taurus are in ,gemini1 those of ,gemini in ,cancer1 and so on throughout the ecliptic4 ,the relative positions of the signs and constellations in the zodiac and ecliptic seem thus to have gradually changed with the revolving years2 and the worship of the three constellations1 ,taurus1 ,aries1 and ,pisces1 with which ,christianity is so intimately connected1 seems to have changed in a corresponding degree4 ,the worship of the bull of ,egypt--the celestial ,taurus--has given place to that of the lamb of ,palestine--the celestial ,aries2 and under the astronomical emblem ,pisces--the twelfth sign of the zodiac--the dominant faith of to-day was appropriately taught by the twelve apostolic fishermen4 ,it is from one of these chosen fishermen1 ,st4 ,peter1 that the ,pope of ,rome claims to have derived his arbitrary power for binding and loosing on earth those who are to be bound and loosed in heaven4 7,matt4 xvi1 #ai47 ,the grave responsibility of wielding with justice and equity this tremendous power over the future destiny of mankind1 seems never to have disconcerted any of the successors of ,st4 ,peter4 ,they have all proved to be equally arrogant and intolerant1 zealous for both temporal and spiritual domination1 and merciless to those who have opposed their pretensions4 ,the present incumbent of the papal chair1 who modestly claims the attribute of infallibility1 seems proud of his inherited title1 ,the ,great ,fisherman6 and hopes in the progress of time1 with the assistance of his monks1 bishops1 and cardinals1 to entangle all nations in his net of faith1 and to dictate with unquestioned authority the religious worship of the entire human race4 ,as the precession of the equinoxes still continues as of yore1 and as the masses still continue credulous and devout1 they may in succeeding ages be again called upon to worship the god ,apis1 when the sign of ,taurus shall again coincide in the zodiac and the ecliptic2 and ,aries1 the lamb of ,god1 may again be offered in the fullness of time as a sacrifice for mankind1 again be crucified1 and again shed his redeeming blood to wash away the sins of a believing world4 ,m4 ,dupuis has satisfactorily shown in ,the ,history of all ,religions that the twelve labors of the god and saviour ,hercules were astronomical allegories--the history of the passage of the sun through the twelve signs of the zodiac--and these labors are so similar to the sufferings of ,jesus1 that the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,parkhurst has been obliged1 much against his inclination1 to acknowledge that they were types of what the real ,saviour was to do and suffer4 7,parkhurst1 p4#dg47 ,an intimate connection1 if not identity1 is thus shown between ancient and modern belief--between the paganism of the past and the orthodoxy of the present4 ,,the ,,zodiacal ,,signs4 ,,aries1 the ,ram3 7marked symbol for ,,aries7--,a northern constellation1 usually named as the first sign in the zodiac1 into which1 when the sun enters at the vernal equinox in ,march1 the days and nights are of equal length4 ,aries has been regarded by the devout during many ages as the celestial representative1 visible in the heavens1 of the ,lamb of ,god that taketh away the sins of the world4 ,,taurus1 the ,bull37marked thus1 symbol for ,,taurus7--,the second sign in the zodiac1 which by the ,arabians is called ,ataur4 ,this constellation was worshipped for ages by the idolatrous ,egyptians as the heavenly representative of their god ,osiris2 and derives its name1 according to ,grecian fable1 from the bull into which ,jupiter transformed himself in order to carry ,europa over into ,crete2 but the constellation was probably so named by the ,egyptians to designate that period of the year1 7,april71 in which cows mostly bring forth their young4 ,the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,maurice in his work on the antiquities of ,india1 has shown that the ,may-day festival and the ,may-pole of ,great ,britain with its garlands1 etc41 are the remains of an ancient festival of ,egypt and ,india1 and probably of ,phoenicia1 when these nations1 in countries very distant1 and from times very remote1 have all1 with one consent1 celebrated the entrance of the sun into the sign of ,taurus at the vernal equinox4 ,,gemini1 the ,twins3 7marked thus1 symbol for ,,gemini7--,a zodiacal constellation1 visible in ,may1 containing the two bright stars ,castor and ,pollux1 the fabled sons of ,leda and ,jupiter1 who during their lives had cleared the ,hellespont and neighboring seas of pirates1 and were therefore deemed the protectors of navigators and sailors4 ,,cancer1 the ,crab3 7marked thus1 symbol for ,,cancer7--,is the fourth sign of the zodiac1 which the sun enters on the #bast day of ,june1 and is thence called the summer solstice4 ,according to ,grecian fable1 the crab was transported to heaven at the request of ,juno1 after it had been slain by ,hercules during his battle with the serpent ,python1 but the evident design of the name is to represent the apparent backward motion of the sun in ,june1 which is said to resemble the motions of a crab4 ,,leo1 the ,lion3 7symbol for ,,leo74--,is the fifth sign in the zodiac1 and contains one star of the first magnitude1 called ,regulus1 or ,cor ,leonis--the ,lion's ,heart4 ,the fervid heat of ,july1 when the sun has attained its greatest power1 is now symbolized in our almanacs by the figure of an enraged lion2 and the feasts or sacrifices formerly celebrated among the ancients during this month1 in honor of the sun1 7which they also represented under the form of a lion17 were called ,leonitica4 ,the priests who performed the sacred rites were called ,leones4 ,this feast was sometimes called ,mithriaca1 because ,mithra was the name of the sun among the ,persians4 ,the sacred writings abound with references to the king of beasts2 among the most interesting of which is the story of the battle between the lion and ,samson1 the ,jewish ,herculus2 while the most wonderful example of animal evolution on record is found in the sixty-fifth chapter of ,isaiah1 where we are gravely informed that the lion shall eat straw like the bullock4 ,,virgo1 ,virgin ,mother1 ,venus1 ,eve1 ,isis1 c4--7symbol for ,,virgo74--,is the sixth sign of the zodiac1 which the sun enters about the #bast of ,august4 ,the myths and fables regarding the virgin which abound among all nations and all religions1 are both various and voluminous1 and we may add somewhat improbable4 ,they all agree1 however1 in this1 that the female1 shown on the preceding diagram1 holding in her right hand a branch of ripened fruit1--the apples of ,paradise1--was intended to represent the reproductive powers of nature1--the abundance1 satisfaction and contentment which mortals enjoy during the happy period of harvest4 ,,libra1 the ,balance4--,the seventh sign of the zodiac1 directly opposite to ,aries1 from which it is distant #ahj degrees4 ,it is marked thus symbol for ,,libra1 after the manner of a pair of scales2 to denote1 probably1 that when the sun arrives at this part of the ecliptic1 the days and nights are equal1 as if weighed in a balance4 ,hence the period when the sun enters ,libra1 7about ,september #bast17 is called the ,autumnal equinox4 ,on the #beth of ,september was born ,john the ,baptist1 the forerunner of his cousin ,jesus1 who came to his exaltation of glory on the #beth of ,march1 the ,vernal equinox4 ,the equinoxes and solstices1 says ,higgins1 equally marked the births and deaths of ,john and ,jesus4 ,the one preceded and prepared the way for the other1 who receded4 ,one advanced1 the other declined4 ,jesus ascended1 ,john descended4 ,astrologically speaking1 ,he must increase1 but ,i must decrease4 7,john iii1 #cj47 ,,scorpio1 the ,scorpion4--,the eighth sign of the zodiac1 which the sun enters on the #bc;d of ,october1 is marked thus symbol for ,,scorpio4 ,scorpio is fabled to have killed the great hunter ,orion1 and for that exploit to have been placed among the constellations4 ,for this reason it is also said that when ,scorpio rises ,orion sets4 ,,sagittarius1 the ,archer3 7marked thus1 symbol for ,,sagittarius7 is the ninth zodiacal sign1 and corresponds with the month of ,november4 ,this sign is represented like a centaur and was fabled to be ,crotus1 the son of ,eupheme1 the nurse of the ,muses4 ,,capricornus1 the ,goat47symbol for ,,capricornus7--,the tenth sign of the zodiac1 which the sun enters the #bast of ,december1 7the longest night in the year17 called the winter solstice4 ,this sign is drawn to represent the horns of a goat1 and is fabled to have been ,pan1 who in the war of the giants was taken to heaven in the shape of a goat4 ,others claim that it was the goat of ,amalthaea1 which fed ,jupiter with her milk4 ,macrobius1 who calls ,cancer and ,capricorn the gates of the sun1 makes the latter sign to represent his motion1 after the manner of a goat climbing the mountains4 ,,aquarius1 the ,water ,bearer4--,a constellation in the heavens so called1 because during its rising there is usually an abundance of rain4 ,it is the eleventh sign in the zodiac1 reckoned from ,aries1 and is marked thus1 symbol for ,,aquarius4 ,it rises in ,january and sets in ,february1 and is supposed by the poets to be ,ganymede4 ,,pisces1 the ,fishes1 symbol for ,,pisces4--,the twelfth sign of the zodiac1 rises in ,february and is represented by two fishes tied together by the tails4 ,these fishes are fabled by the ,greeks to be those into which ,venus and ,cupid were changed to escape from the giant ,typhon4 ,this fable may not be true1 but that wonderful miracles were once performed with two small fishes is stated in the ninth chapter of the ,gospel of ,st4 ,luke1 where it is said that #ejjj hungry mortals were cheaply1 if not sumptuously regaled with two small fishes and five loaves of bread2 while a large surplus of this piscatory diet1 larger indeed than the original stock1 still remained intact4 ,in the vestibule or approaches to catholic churches is usually found a vase filled with water1 7called ,piscina17 and this water is considered holy4 ,the ,fish-days are observed as holy days1 or fast days1 in which ,fish may be eaten and meat is forbidden2 and learned writers have asserted that in the worship of ,pisces may be found the true secret of the origin of the rite of baptism4 ,the ,fish-god ,oannes1 is said to have come out of the ,erythraean ,sea and taught the ,babylonians all kinds of useful knowledge4 ,ionnes or ,jonas went headlong into the sea and into a fish1 and has kindly recorded for our instruction his remarkable adventures4 ,the miraculous draughts of fishes in the apostolic age still excite the emulation of modern fishermen1 who cannot even hope to rival the wonders that have been recorded4 ,st4 ,peter is said to have secured ready money from the mouth of a fish that he caught with a hook and line in the sea of ,galilee4 7,matthew xvii1 #bg47 ,his success was justly rewarded1 and to him was delegated the power of ruling the infant church4 ,pisces thus displaced ,aries4 ,the fisherman succeeded the shepherd4 ,the precession of the equinoxes produced a new avatar2 a new sign arose in the heavens2 and a new saviour was born to save mankind4 ,,the ,,constellations4 ,,sirius1 the ,dog ,star4--,a bright star of the first magnitude in the mouth of the constellation ,canis ,major4 ,this is the brightest star that appears in our firmament1 and is supposed by some to be the nearest4 ,,lepus4--,one of the southern constellations1 placed near ,orion1 according to ,grecian fable1 because it was one of the animals which he hunted4 ,,eridanus4--,a winding southern constellation1 near the ,cetus1 containing the bright star ,achemar4 ,,cetus1 the ,whale4--,a southern constellation1 and one of the forty-eight old asterisms4 ,it is fabled to have been the sea monster sent by ,neptune to devour ,andromeda1 which was killed by ,perseus4 ,,crater1 the ,cup4--,a southern constellation1 near ,hydra4 ,this is supposed by ,hyainus to be the cup which ,apollo gave to the ,corvus1 or ,raven4 ,,corvus4--,one of the old constellations in the southern hemisphere1 near ,sagittarius4 ,this bird is fabled to have been translated to heaven by ,apollo for discovering to him the infidelity of the nymph ,coronis4 ,,argo ,,navis1 the ,ship4--,a constellation near to the ,canis ,major1 and the name of the ship which carried ,jason and his fifty-four companions to ,colchis in quest of the golden fleece1 and was said to have been translated into the heavens4 ,,canopus4--,the name formerly given to a star in the second bend of ,eridanus4 ,a bright star of the first magnitude in the rudder of the ship ,argo1 which1 according to ,pliny1 was visible at ,alexandria in ,egypt4 ,,centaurus4--,one of the forty-eight old constellations in the southern hemisphere1 represented in the form of half man and half horse1 who was fabled by the ,greeks to have been ,chiron1 the tutor of ,achilles4 ,,ava1 or ,,altar4--,one of the old constellations1 and fabled to have been that at which the giants entered into their conspiracy against the gods2 wherefore ,jupiter1 in commemoration of the event1 transplanted the altar into the heavens4 ,,pegasus4--,one of the forty-eight old constellations of the northern hemisphere1 figured in the form of a flying horse4 ,,delphinus1 or ,,dolphin4--,a northern constellation1 near ,pegasus4 ,the ,dolphin is fabled to have been translated to heaven by ,neptune4 ,,aquila1 the ,eagle4--,in the ,arabic ,altair1 but in the ,persian tables the ,flying ,vulture4 ,this is one of the old constellations1 situated near ,delphinus in the northern hemisphere4 ,according to ,grecian fable1 ,aquila represented ,ganymede or ,hebe1 who was transported to heaven and made cup-bearer to ,jupiter4 ,,sagitta--the ,dart or ,arrow1 called by the ,arabians ,schahan4 ,one of the old constellations in the northern hemisphere1 near ,aquila and ,delphinus4 ,it is fabled to have been the arrow with which ,hercules slew the vulture that was devouring the liver of ,prometheus who was1 like ,jesus1 crucified for loving mankind4 ,,cygnus1 the ,swan4--,an old constellation in the milky-way1 between ,equus and the ,dragon4 ,this is fabled to be the swan into which ,jupiter transformed himself in order to deceive the virtuous ,leda1 wife of ,tyndareus1 king of ,sparta4 ,the ,grecian matron1 like the ,jewish virgin1 thus became the mother of a ,god4 ,,lyra4--,a northern constellation between ,hercules and ,cygnus1 containing a white star of the first magnitude4 ,,milky-,,way4--,galaxy1 or ,via ,lactia4--,a broad luminous path or circle encompassing the heavens1 which is easily discernible by its white appearance1 from which it derives its name4 ,it is supposed to be the blended light of innumerable fixed stars1 which are not distinguishable with ordinary telescopes4 ,,hydra1 the ,serpent4--,a southern constellation of great length1 which is drawn to represent a serpent4 ,the ,hydra is fabled to have been placed in the heavens by ,apollo1 to frighten the ,raven from drinking4 ,,orion1 the hunter4--,a constellation of the southern hemisphere with respect to the ecliptic1 but half southern and half northern with respect to the equinoctial4 ,it is placed near the feet of the bull1 and is composed of seventeen stars in the form of a sword1 which has given occasion to the poets to speak of ,orion's sword4 ,he was described by the ,greeks as a mighty hunter1 who for his exploits was placed in the heavens by ,jupiter1 between the ,canis and the ,lepus4 ,he is believed by many to have been the mighty hunter spoken of in the bible1 under the name of ,nimrod4 7,see ,gen4 x3 #h1 #i2 #a ,chron4 i3 #aj2 ,micha v3 #f1 ,job ix1 #i2 ,amos v1 #h47 ,,perseus4--,this constellation is named from ,perseus1 the son of ,jupiter by ,danae1 who was translated into the heavens by the assistance of ,minerva1 for having released ,andromeda from her confinement on the rock to which she was chained4 ,he is represented in the preceding illustration holding a drawn sword in his right hand and in his left the head of ,medusa1 the ,gorgon1 whose terrifying appearance changed all who beheld her into stone1 and whom he had destroyed with the assistance of the wings he had borrowed from ,mercury1 the helmet from ,pluto1 the sword from ,vulcan1 and the shield from ,minerva4 ,,joseph',s ,,stable2 ,,auriga1 the ,wagoner3--,a northern constellation between ,perseus and ,gemini1 represented by the figure of an old man supporting a goat4 ,he is said to have been taken to heaven by ,jupiter after the invention of wagons4 ,,ursa ,,major1 the ,bear4--,one of the prominent northern constellations1 situated near the north pole4 ,it contains the stars called the ,dipper4 ,ursa ,minor contains the pole-star1 which is shown in the extremity of the tail of the bear4 ,,andromeda4--,a northern constellation1 represented by a woman chained2 as1 according to ,grecian fable1 ,andromeda1 the daughter of ,cassiopia1 was bound to a rock by the ,nereides1 and afterwards released by ,perseus4 ,minerva changed her into a constellation after her death1 and placed her in the heavens4 ,,draco ,,or ,,dragon4--,a northern constellation1 supposed to represent the ,dragon that guarded the ,hesperian fruit1 and was killed by ,hercules4 ,it is said that ,juno took it up to heaven and placed it among the constellations4 ,,bootis1 the ,ox driver3 so called because this constellation seems to follow the ,great ,bear as the driver follows his oxen4 ,bootis is represented as grasping in his right hand a sickle and in his left a club1 and is fabled to have been ,icarius1 who was transported to heaven because he was a great cultivator of the vine2 for when ,bootes rises the works of ploughing and cultivation go forward4 ,,corona ,,borealis4 ,northern ,crown4--,one of the old northern constellations1 between ,hercules and ,bootes4 ,,corona ,,australis--,southern ,crown4--,one of the old constellations in the southern hemisphere1 between ,sagittarius and ,scorpio4 ,the ,corona were fabled to be ,menippe and ,metioche1 two daughters of ,orion1 who sacrificed themselves at the suggestion of an oracle1 to protect ,boeotia1 their native country1 from the ravages of a pestilence3 it being the belief of idolatrous nations that an angry god could be propitiated by human sacrifices1 and that the death of the innocent might atone for the sins of the guilty4 ,the deities of ,hades were astonished1 it is said1 at the patriotism and devotion of these ,grecian maidens1 who had so generously and uselessly sacrificed their lives4 ,after their death two stars were seen to issue from the altars that still smoked with their blood1 and these stars were placed in the heavens in the form of a crown or coronet4 ,,cepheus ,,and ,,cassiopia4--,one of the old asterism in the northern hemisphere1 near the pole4 ,according to ,grecian fables1 ,cassiopia and her husband ,cepheus1 king of ,etheopia1 were placed among the constellations to witness the punishment inflicted on their daughter1 ,andromeda4 ,,triangularium4--,a name for both one of the old and new constellations in the northern hemisphere1 between ,andromeda and ,aries4 ,,serpentarius1 called ,ophiucus1 is a constellation in the northern hemisphere1 between ,scorpio and ,hercules4 ,,hercules1 one of the old northern constellations4 ,in ,grecian mythology it was taught and believed that ,hercules1 the ,theban1 was born of a human mother and an immortal father1 like other so-called saviours of mankind4 ,his mother1 the fair ,alcmena1 wife of ,amphitryon1 having found favor in the eyes of the god ,jupiter1 soon fell an unwilling victim to his celestial wiles4 ,the life of the infant ,hercules1 born of this unnatural union1 was threatened by the jealous ,juno1 the same as the life of the infant ,jesus was threatened by the tyrant ,herod4 ,like ,jesus1 ,hercules devoted his life to the benefit of the human race1 and like ,jesus he was also worshipped after his death as a ,god in heaven4 ,he is shown in the astrological chart1 enveloped in the skin of the lion he has slain1 with his club upraised1 and his foot placed threateningly above the head of the ,dragon1 as if about to fulfill the scriptural prophecy1 that the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head4