from the ,university of ,michigan       
,digital ,libraries47                   
,,lamartine ,,on ,,atheism4             
,,atheism              ,,among          
,,the ,,people                  ,,by    
,,alphonse ,,de ,,lamartine4            
,,boston3  ,,phillips1 ,,sampson ,,and  
,,company1      #aaj ,,washington       
,,street4              #ahej4           
,entered according to ,act of ,congress1
 in the year #ahej1 ,,by ,,phillips1    
,,sampson ,,and ,,company1 ,in the      
,clerk's ,office of the ,district ,court
 of ,massachusetts4   ,,stereotyped ,,by
 ,,charles ,w4 ,,colton1 ,no4 #b ,water 
,street4     ,,advertisement4   ,through
 the past year1 ,m4 de ,lamartine has   
published a monthly journal1 called ,the
 ,people's ,counsellor1 ,le ,conseiller 
du ,peuple4 ,each number of this journal
 contains an ,essay1 by him1 on some    
specific subject1 of pressing interest  
to the ,french people1--generally1 some 
political subject4  ,as a companion to  
one of these numbers1 he published the  

,essay which we here translate4 ,we have
 thought that its interest and merit are
 by no means local2 but1 that it will be
 read with as much interest in ,america1
 as in ,france4                         
,,edward ,e4 ,,hale1                    
,,francis ,,le ,,baron4    ,worcester1  
,mass4 ,march #g1 #ahej4     ,,atheism  
,,among ,,the ,,people4     ,i4   ,i    
have often asked myself1 ,why am ,i a   
,republican8--,why am ,i the partizan of
 equitable ,democracy1 organized and    
established as a good and strong        
,government8--,why have ,i a real love  
of the ,people--a love always serious1  
and sometimes even tender8--,what has   
the ,people done for me8 ,i was not born
 in the ranks of the ,people4 ,i was    
born between the high ,aristocracy and  
what was then called the inferior       
classes1 in the days when there were    
classes1 where are now equal citizens in
 various callings4 ,i never starved in  
the ,people's famine2 ,i never groaned1 
personally1 in the ,people's miseries2  

,i never sweat with its sweat2 ,i was   
never benumbed with its cold4 ,why then1
 ,i repeat it1 do ,i hunger in its      
hunger1 thirst with its thirst1 warm    
under its sun1 freeze under its cold1   
grieve under its sorrows8 ,why should ,i
 not care for it as little as for that  
which passes at the antipodes8--turn    
away my eyes1 close my ears1 think of   
other things1 and wrap myself up in that
 soft1 thick garment of indifference and
 egotism1 in which ,i can shelter       
myself1 and indulge my separate personal
 tastes1 without asking whether1 below  
me1--in street1 garret1 or cottage1     
there is a rich ,people1 or a beggar    
,people2 a religious ,people1 or an     
atheistic ,people2 a ,people of idlers1 
or of workers2 a ,people of ,helots1 or 
of citizens8  ,and whenever ,i have thus
 questioned myself1 ,i have thus        
answered myself3--,i love the people    
because ,i believe in ,god4 ,for1 if ,i 
did not believe in ,god1 what would the 
people be to me8 ,i should enjoy at ease

 that lucky throw of the dice1 which    
chance had turned up for me1 the day of 
my birth2 and1 with a secret1 savage    
joy1 ,i should say1 ',so much the worse 
for the losers6--the world is a lottery4
 ,woe to the conquered6' ,i cannot1     
indeed1 say this without shame and      
cruelty1--for1 ,i repeat it1 ,i believe 
in ,god4     ,,ii4   ,and what is there 
in common1 you will say to me1 between  
your belief in ,god and your love for   
the ,people8 ,i answer3 ,my belief in   
,god is not that vague1 confused1       
indefinite1 shadowy sentiment which     
compels one to suppose a principle      
because he sees consequences1--a cause  
where he contemplates effects1 a source 
where he sees the rush of the           
inexhaustible river of life1 of forms1  
of substances1 absorbed for ever in the 
ocean1 and renewed unceasingly from     
creation4 ,the belief in ,god1 which is 
thus perceived and conceived1 is1 so to 
speak1 only a mechanical sensation of   
the interior eye1--an instinct of       

intelligence1 in some sort forced and   
brutal1--an evidence1 not reasonable1   
not religious1 not perfect1 not         
meritorious2 but like the material      
evidence of light1 which enters our eyes
 when we open them to the day2 like the 
evidence of sound which we hear when we 
listen to any noise2 like the evidence  
of touch when we plunge our limbs in the
 waves of the sea1 and shiver at the    
contact4 ,this elementary1 gross1       
instinctive1 involuntary belief in ,god1
 is not the living1 intelligent1 active1
 and legislative faith of humanity4 ,it 
is almost animal4 ,i am persuaded that  
if the brutes even1--if the dog1 the    
horse1 the ox1 the elephant1 the bird1  
could speak1 they would confess1 that1  
at the bottom of their nature1 their    
instincts1 their sensations1 their      
obtuse intelligence1 assisted by organs 
less perfect than ours1 there is a      
clouded1 secret sentiment of this       
existence of a superior and primordial  
,being1 from whom all emanates1 and to  

whom all returns1--a shadow of the      
divinity upon their being1 a distant    
approach to the conception of that idea1
 which fills the worlds1 and for which  
alone the worlds have been made1--the   
idea of ,god6         99       99       
99       99       99  ,this may be a    
bold1 but it is not an impious          
supposition4 ,for ,god1 having made all 
things for himself alone1 must have     
placed1 upon all that he made1 an       
impress of himself2 more or less clear1 
more or less luminous1 more or less     
profound1 a presentiment or a           
remembrance of a ,creator4 ,but this    
faith1 when it stops here1 is not worthy
 of the name4 ,it is a species of       
,pantheism1 that is to say1 a confused  
visibility1 a physical working together 
into indissoluble union of something    
impersonal1 something blind1 something  
fatal1 and something divine1 which1 in  
the elements composing the universe1 we 
may call ,,god4 ,but this visibility can
 give to man no moral decision1--can    

give to ,god no worship4 ,the ,pantheism
 of which ,i am accused as a philosopher
 and poet1 that ,pantheism which ,i have
 always scorned as a contradiction and  
as a blasphemy1 resembles entirely the  
reasoning of the man who should say1 ,i 
see an innumerable multitude of rays1   
therefore there is no sun4     ,,iii4   
,faith1 or reasonable and effective     
belief in ,god1 proceeds1 undoubtedly1  
from this first instinct2 but in        
proportion as intelligence develops     
itself1 and human thought expands1 it   
goes from knowledge to knowledge1 from  
conclusion to conclusion1 from light to 
light1 from sentiment to sentiment1     
infinitely farther and higher1 in the   
idea of ,god4 ,it does not see him with 
the eyes of the body1 because the       
,infinite is not visible by a narrow    
window of flesh1 pierced in the frontal 
bone of an insect called ,man2 but it   
sees ,him1 with a thousand times more   
certainty1 by the spirit1 that          
immaterial eye of the soul1 which       

nothing blinds2 and after having seen   
him with evidence1 it reasons upon the  
consequences of his existence1 upon the 
divine aims of ,his creation1 upon the  
terrestrial as well as eternal destinies
 of ,his creatures1 upon the nature of  
the homage and adoration that ,god      
expects1 upon his moral laws1 upon the  
public and private duties which he      
imposes on his creatures by their       
consciences1 upon the liberty ,he leaves
 them2 so that with the sufferings of   
conflict ,he may give to them the merits
 and the prize of virtue4 ,thus in man  
does the instinct of ,god become ,faith4
 ,thus man can speak the greatest word  
that has ever been spoken upon the earth
 or in the stars1 the word which fills  
the worlds by itself alone1 the word    
which commenced with them1 and which can
 only end with them2--  ,i believe in   
,god6     ,,iv4   ,it is in this sense1 
my friends1 that ,i say to you1 ,i      
believe in ,god4  ,but1 once having said
 this word with the universe of beings  

and of worlds1 and blessed this         
invisible ,god for having rendered      
himself visible1 sensible1 evident1     
palpable1 adorable in the mirror of weak
 human intelligence1 made gradually more
 and more pure1 ,i reason with myself on
 the best worship to be rendered ,him in
 thought and action4 ,let me show how1  
by this reasoning1 ,i am forcibly drawn 
to the love of the ,people4  ,i say to  
myself1 then1 ,who is this ,god8 ,is he 
a vain notion1 which has no effect on   
the thoughts and acts of man1 his       
creature2 who inspires nothing in him2  
who gives him no commands2 who imposes  
nothing upon him2 who does not reward1  
and who does not punish8--,no6 ,god is  
not a mere notion1 an idea1 an          
evidence2--,god is a law1--the living   
law1 the supreme law1 the universal law1
 the eternal law4 ,because ,god is a law
 on high1 he is a duty on the earth2 and
 when man says1 ',i believe in ,god1' he
 says1 at the same time1 ',i believe in 
my duty towards ,god1--,i believe in my 

duty towards man4' ,god is a government6
  ,and what are these duties8 ,they are 
of three sorts3--  ,duty towards        
,god1--that is to say1 the duty of      
developing1 as much as possible1 my     
intelligence and my reason1 to arrive at
 the purest idea and the highest worship
 of the ,supreme ,being1 by whom and for
 whom all is1 all exists3--,religion4   
,private ,duties1--that is to say1 the  
exact and tender discharge of all       
sentiments to which form has been given1
 either in written or unwritten laws1   
which bind me to those1 to whom1 in the 
order of nature1 ,i hold most           
closely1--the nearest to myself in the  
human group--father1 mother1 brothers1  
sisters1 wife1 children1 friends1       
neighbors3--the ,family4  ,collective   
,duties1--that is to say1 devotions1    
even to the sacrifice of myself1 even to
 death1 to the progress1 the well-being1
 the preservation1 the amelioration of  
this great human family1 of which my    
family1 and my country1 are only parts2 

and of which ,i myself am only a        
miserable and vanishing fraction1 a leaf
 of a summer1 which vegetates and       
withers on a branch of the immense trunk
 of the human race3--,society4  ,let us 
speak to-day only of these last         
duties1--because1 now we are occupied   
with politics alone4     ,v4   ,god1    
when one believes in ,him as you and ,i 
do1 imposes then on man a duty towards  
the society of which he makes a part4   
,you admit it1 do you not8  ,then       
follow1 and analyze with me this        
society4 ,of whom1 and how1 is it       
composed8  ,it is composed1 at the same 
time1 of strong and weak1 conquerors and
 conquered1 victors and vanquished1     
oppressors and oppressed1 masters and   
slaves1 nobles and serfs1 of citizens   
and bondmen or subjects disinherited and
 enslaved1 considered as living         
furniture1 as tools and laughing-stocks 
to their fellow-men1 as were the ,blacks
 in our colonies before the ,republic4  
,thanks to the increase of general      

reason1 to the light of philosophy1 to  
the inspiration of ,christianity1 to the
 progress of the idea of justice1 of    
charity1 and of fraternity1 in laws1    
manners1 and religion1 society in       
,america1 in ,europe1 and in ,france1   
especially since the ,revolution1 has   
broken down all these barriers1 all     
these denominations of caste1 all these 
injurious distinctions among men4       
,society is composed only of various    
conditions1 professions1 functions1 and 
ways of life1 among those who form what 
we call a ,nation2 of proprietors of the
 soil1 and proprietors of houses2 of    
investments1 of handicrafts1 of         
merchants1 of manufacturers1 of farmers2
 of day-laborers becoming farmers1      
manufacturers1 merchants1 or possessors 
of houses or capital1 in their turn2 of 
the rich1 of those in easy              
circumstances1 of the poor1 of workmen  
with their hands1 workmen with their    
minds2 of day-laborers1 of those in     
need1 of a small number of men enjoying 

considerable acquired or inherited      
wealth1 of others of a smaller fortune  
painfully increased and improved1 of    
others with property only sufficient for
 their needs2 there are some1 finally1  
without any personal possession but     
their hands1 and gleaning for themselves
 and for their families1 in the         
workshop1 or the field1 and at the      
threshold of the homes of others on the 
earth1 the asylum1 the wages1 the bread1
 the instruction1 the tools1 the daily  
pay1 all those means of existence which 
they have neither inherited1 saved1 nor 
acquired4 ,these last are what have been
 improperly called the ,people4 ,this   
name is extended now2 it embraces really
 all the ,people2 but still it is used  
as the name of the indigent and         
suffering part of the ,people4  ,it is  
more especially of this class that ,i   
intend to speak1 in saying to you1 ,to  
love the ,people1 it is necessary to    
believe in ,god4     ,,vi4   ,the love  
of the ,people1 the conscience of the   

citizen1 the sentiment which induces the
 individual to lose himself in the mass1
 to submit himself to the community1 to 
sacrifice himself to its needs1--his    
interest1 his individuality1 his        
egotism1 his ambition1 his pride1 his   
fortune1 his blood1 his life1 his       
reputation even1 sometimes1 to the      
safety of his country1 to the happiness 
of the ,people1 to the good of humanity1
 of which he is a member in the sight of
 ,god1--in one word1 all these virtues1 
necessary under every form of           
government1--useful under a monarchy1   
indispensable under a republic1--never  
have been derived1 and never can be     
derived1 from any thing but that single 
sentence1 pronounced with religious     
faith1 at the commencement1 in the      
middle1 at the end of all our patriotic 
acts3--,i believe in ,god6  ,the ,people
 who do not believe strongly1           
efficaciously in this first principle1  
in this supreme original1 in this last  
end of all existence1 cannot have a     

faith superior to their individual      
selfishness4  ,the ,people who cannot   
have a principle superior to their      
individual selfishness1 in their acts as
 citizens1 cannot have national virtue4 
,the ,people who cannot have national   
virtue cannot be free2 for they can have
 neither the courage which enables them 
to defend their own liberty1 nor the    
conscience which forces them to respect 
the liberty of others1 and to obey the  
laws1 not as an outward force1 but as a 
second conscience4  ,the ,people who can
 neither defend their liberty1 nor      
restrain it1 may be1 by turns1 slaves or
 tyrants1 but they can never be         
republicans4  ,therefore1 ,atheism in   
the ,people is the most invincible      
obstacle to the establishment and       
consolidation of that sublime form of   
government1 the idol of all ages1 the   
tendency of all perfect civilization1   
the dream of every sage1 the model of   
all great souls1--the government of the 
entire ,people by the reason and        

conscience of each citizen1--otherwise  
called the ,,republic4     ,,vii4       
,must ,i demonstrate to you so simple a 
truth8 ,can you not comprehend1 without 
explanation of mine1 that a nation1     
where each citizen thinks only of his   
own private well-being here below1 and  
sacrifices constantly the general good  
to his personal and narrow              
interest2--where the powerful man wishes
 to preserve all the power for himself  
alone1 without making an equitable and  
proportional division to the            
weak2--where the weak wishes to conquer 
at any price1 that he may tyrannize in  
his turn2--where the rich wishes to     
acquire and concentrate the greatest    
possible amount of wealth1 to enjoy it  
alone1 and even without circulating it  
in work1 in wages1 in assistance1 in    
benevolence1 in good deeds to his       
brothers2--where the poor wishes to     
dispossess violently and unjustly those 
who possess more than himself1 instead  
of recognizing that diversity of        

chances1 of conditions1 of professions1 
of fortunes1 of which human life is     
composed1--instead of acquiring         
prosperity for his family1 in his turn  
and degree1 by effort1 by order1 by     
labor1 by economy1 by the assistance of 
borrowed capital1 by the law of         
inheritance1 by the free transfer of    
real estate1 by free entrance into      
different callings and trades1 by free  
competition in the money market2--where 
each class of citizens declares itself  
an enemy to every other1 and heaps upon 
each other all manner of evil1 instead  
of doing all the good in its power1 and 
uniting in the holy harmony of social   
unity2--where each individual draws     
around him1 for himself alone1 the      
common mantle1 willing to tear it in    
pieces for himself1 and thus leave the  
whole world naked1--do you not          
understand1 ,i say1 that such a ,people1
 having no ,god but its selfishness1 no 
judge but interest1 no conscience but   
cupidity1 will fall1 in a short time1   

into complete destruction1 and1 being   
incapable of a ,republican government1  
because it casts aside the government of
 ,god himself1 will rush headlong into  
the government of the brute3 the        
government of the strongest1 the        
despotism of the sword1 the divinity of 
the cannon1--that last resort of        
anarchy1 which is at once the remedy and
 the death of nations without ,god6     
,now has not this weakening of the      
sentiment of ,god in the soul of the    
,people been1 from year to year1 from   
century to century1 indeed1 ,i might    
say1 the most discouraging and          
threatening symptom1 in the eyes of     
those who desire the progress of their  
race1 who aspire to the moral perfection
 of the human spirit1 who hope in       
,republican institutions1 who love the  
,people1 who wish to cultivate their    
reason1 who desire that the ,people     
should understand themselves1 respect   
themselves1 and1 finally1 by their      
enlightenment1 their conscientiousness1 

their moderation and virtue1 give the   
lie to those who declare them in a state
 of perpetual infancy1 perpetual        
madness1 or perpetual weakness8  ,yes1  
this is but too true3 men have been     
blotting out ,god1 for a century past1  
from the souls of the ,people1 and more 
especially in latter years4 ,the masses 
have been driven to ,atheism1 they have 
been driven on every side and by every  
hand4  ,sometimes1 by blasphemies1 such 
as were never heard upon the earth1     
until an insult to the ,creator became a
 means of popularity among ,his         
creatures2 blasphemies which would have 
darkened the sun and extinguished the   
stars1 if ,god had not commanded ,his   
creation to pass unnoticed the revolt of
 a blind and foolish insect against     
,infinity1 and refused ,himself to sink 
to the foolishness of avenging impiety6 
,read those lines which ,i dare not     
write1 those lines where an apostle of  
,atheism effaces the name of ,god from  
the beautiful creation and endeavors to 

substitute his own6 99 99 99     ,,viii4
   ,sometimes the masses have been      
driven to ,atheism by science4 ,there   
are some geometers great in paradox1 men
 who1 of all the senses that the        
,creator has given to his creatures1    
have cultivated only one1 the sense of  
touch1--leaving out entirely that chief 
sense1 which connects and confirms all  
others1--the sense of the invisible1 the
 moral sense4 ,these savans1 geometers1 
physicians1 arithmeticians1             
mathematicians1 chemists1 astronomers1  
measurers of distances1 calculators of  
numbers1 have early acquired the habit  
of believing only in the tangible4      
,these are the beings who1 so to speak1 
live and think in the dark2 all1 which  
is not palpable1 does not exist for     
them4 ,they measure the earth1 and say1 
,we have not met ,god in any league of  
its surface6 ,they heat the alembic1 and
 say1 ,we have not perceived ,god in the
 smoke of any of our experiments6 ,they 
dissect dead bodies1 and say1 ,we have  

not found ,god1 or thought1 in any      
bundle of muscles or nerves in our      
dissection6 ,they calculate columns of  
figures1 long as the firmament1 and say1
 ,we have not seen ,god in the sum of   
any of our additions6 ,they pierce1 with
 eye and glass1 into the dazzling       
mysteries of night1 to discover1 across 
thousands and thousands of leagues1 the 
groups and the evolutions of the        
celestial worlds1 and say1 ,we have not 
discovered ,god at the end of our       
telescopes6 ,the existence of ,god does 
not concern us2 it is no affair of      
ours6--,madmen6 ,they do not suspect    
that the knowledge and adoration of ,god
 are1 at bottom1 the only business of   
the creature2 and that all these        
distances1 these globes1 these numbers1 
these mysteries of the living being1    
this dissected mechanism of the dead1   
these compositions and decompositions of
 combined elements1 these hosts of      
stars1 and these eternal evolutions of  
suns around the divine hand which guides

 them1 have no other reason for         
existence1 for movement1 and for        
duration1 than to compel the            
acknowledgment1 fear1 admiration1 and   
adoration of ,god1 by that supreme      
sense1 that sense superior to all other 
senses1 that sense imponderable and     
impalpable1 invisible yet beholding all 
things1--that sense which we call       
intelligence6  ,alas6 it is not that    
,god has denied this sense to these men 
of figures1 of science1 and calculation2
 but they have blinded themselves1 they 
have cultivated the other senses so     
much1 that they have weakened this4     
,they have believed too much in matter1 
and so they have lost the eye of the    
spirit4 ,these men1 we are told1 have   
made great progress in experimental     
science1 but they have made good1 evil1 
to the ,people1 by saying to them1 ,we1 
who are so high1 we cannot see          
,god6--blind men6 what do you see1 then8
     ,,ix4   ,besides these men1 there  
is still another class1--inventors of   

another science1 which they call        
,political ,economy4 ,this is the class 
of ,economists4 ,i do not1 indeed1 speak
 of all of them3 there are among them   
some who are as spiritual as ,fenelon1  
and these are1 perhaps1 at this day1 the
 greater number4 ,i speak only of those 
who1 considering this world alone1 have 
been driven1 voluntarily or             
involuntarily1 to ,atheism in another   
way4 ,leaving the eternal and fastidious
 metaphysical and religions disputes in 
which the theologians of past centuries 
wasted the time1 the good sense1 and the
 blood of men1 to honor their pretended 
,god by immolating to ,him the enemies  
of their faith1 these false economists  
have said to governments and people1    
,leave all this2 there is only one      
science which is good for any thing3 it 
is the science of ,wealth4 ,all else is 
vanity and vexation of spirit4 ,this is 
the famous cry1 the cry of a            
materialistic society3--,grow rich6 ,the
 economists of this school1 now highly  

enlightened1 legitimate children of the 
materialists of the ,eighteenth         
,century1 see in humanity1 only matter  
and the things that belong to matter2 in
 men1 only consumers and producers2 in  
the social functions1 only labor of the 
hands3--to labor1 to sow1 to reap1 to   
hew1 to build1 to forge1 to weave1 to   
barter1 to exchange1 to sell1 to buy1 to
 acquire1 to beget1--this is1 according 
to these disciples of ,malthus1 the     
whole of man6 ,these are the ,lycurguses
 and the ,moseses1 the legislators of a 
trading ,people3 the moral1             
intellectual1 spiritual1 religious man  
does not exist for them4 ,they love     
liberty1 not because it ennobles human  
nature2 exercises free will1 the most   
sublime of man's vital functions2       
cultivates his highest                  
faculty1--conscience2 purifies religion1
 the fundamental idea of mankind1 from  
the superstitions that debase and       
dishonor it2 sanctifies human society1  
by leading it to the knowledge and      

worship of ,god2--they love it because  
it abolishes ,custom ,house duties6 ,all
 legislation1 all civilization1 all     
religion1 is reduced by them to a       
well-balanced account6 ,to have and to  
owe1 these are the only two words in    
their language6 ,what matter to them the
 spirit1 the soul1 virtue1              
sentiment8--,what the moral and         
consoling beliefs1 the divine hopes1 the
 supernatural certainties1 revealed or  
proved1 or the immortal destiny1 of     
man8--,what the present intellectual    
life1 and the future immaterial life of 
these harvests of human generations1    
which ,god sows that they may bear fruit
 in his name1 may adore his             
grandeur1--which ,death cuts down to    
bear them1 ripe in faith and virtue1 up 
to ,heaven8 ,all this can neither be    
bought nor sold2 all this has neither   
stated price nor net revenue2 all this  
is not current on the                   
,exchange1--therefore it is nothing6    
,thus these men count for nothing the   

forms of worship and the forms of       
government4 ,they are neither followers 
of ,brama1 of ,confucius1 of ,mahomet1  
of ,plato1 or of ,rousseau2 neither     
absolute monarchists1 constitutional    
royalists1 nor republicans4 ,they are of
 the politics1 and of the religion1 in  
which they can manufacture most1 buy and
 sell easiest1 trade the best1 multiply 
fastest6 ,their civilization is traffic2
 their ,god is the dollar6 ,this sect1  
useful in administering intelligently   
the affairs of commerce1 has been a     
shadow over intellectual civilization2  
for it has forgotten heavenly things1   
and1 in forgetting them1 has contributed
 to make the ,people also forget them4  
,x4   ,but that ,people which forgets   
,god1 forgets itself4 ,what right has it
 to be a ,people1 if it have not its    
origin and hope in ,him8 ,how can the   
men of any nation expect tyrants to     
remember and respect its destiny1 if    
they themselves debase this destiny to  
that of a machine with ten fingers1     

destined to weave the greatest possible 
number of yards of cloth in seventy     
years1 to people as many hundred acres  
as possible with creatures as much to be
 pitied and as miserable as themselves1 
and to serve1 from generation to        
generation1 as human manure for the     
land1 to fertilize the soil of their    
birth1 their life1 and their graves8    
,how can the moral spiritualism of a    
,people long resist such theories8      
,where can they find ,god in this       
workshop of matter8     ,,xi4   ,but    
even this is nothing4 ,the ,french      
,revolution came in #aghi4 ,it came to  
put an end to a double philosophy1--the 
spiritual philosophy of ,rousseau's     
school1 founded in reason and religion1 
the material philosophy of the school of
 ,helvetius1 ,diderot1 and their        
disciples1 atheistic and cynical4 ,the  
thought of the first of these           
philosophies was religious at bottom4   
,it consisted merely in freeing the     
luminous idea of ,god from the shadows  

by which ignorance1 intolerance1 the    
inquisition of temporal dynasties and   
times of barbarism had falsified it1--in
 freeing this idea1 debased as it       
was1--obscured1 and enchained to        
thrones1--so as to restore reason to its
 liberty1 to inquiry1 to the free       
conscience of every worship and of every
 soul2 to revive it in the eyes of the  
,people1 by leading them to the broad   
light of day1 the evidence of nature1   
the dignity and efficacy of free        
worship4  ,but1 for this1 it was        
necessary to dispossess the ,middle     
,ages of their temporal power1 of their 
mort-main possessions1 of their civil   
jurisdictions1 of their exclusive       
privileges1 of their legal intolerance  
against all other divine thoughts1 and  
all other individual or national faith1 
all other forms of adoration and worship
 than what were imposed by the exclusive
 and established religion4 ,to rally the
 people to this work1 a work legitimate 
in itself1 a work which the abuses of a 

crafty priesthood had made necessary1   
seven times1 and whose accomplishment   
they had seven times partially and      
gradually undertaken1 since the time of 
,charlemagne1--the philosophers of the  
second school1 the irreligious school1  
the atheistic school1 of ,diderot and   
,helvetius1 drove the masses from       
stupidity even to impiety1 and the      
demagogues of '#ic forced them from     
impiety to ,atheism1 and from ,atheism  
to blood4 ,demagogues1 those poisoners  
of liberty1 corrupt every revolution in 
which they mingle2 they defile every    
thing that they touch2 they dishonor    
every truth which they profess1 by      
polluting or perverting it4 ,the age and
 philosophy1 ,heaven and earth1 desire  
what we too desire1--freedom of         
conscience1 voluntary worship1--liberty 
of the human mind in matters of         
faith1--the fraternity of altars1       
invoking1 each in its own language1 that
 ,god whom the whole earth is spelling  
out1 and who reveals1 from age to age1  

still another letter of ,his divine     
name4  ,instead of this1 ,atheists and  
demagogues united to persecute religion1
 to revenge themselves for the old      
persecutions of the priesthood4 ,they   
profaned the temples1 violated          
conscience1 blasphemed the ,god of the  
faithful1 parodied the ceremonies1 cast 
to the winds the pious symbols of       
worship1 and persecuted the ministers of
 religion4  ,in the name of the         
,revolution1 and under the menace of    
terror1 they dragged the ,people to     
these ,saturnalia4 ,they corrupted the  
eyes1 the hands1 the minds1 the souls of
 the populace4 ,these violences to the  
altar were cast back on the religious   
idea itself4 ,the ,people1 seeing the   
temple fall1 believed that ,heaven      
itself crumbled2 and that1 following the
 profaned image of a vanishing worship1 
,god himself would vanish from the      
world1 with conscience1 the supernatural
 law1 the unwritten moral law1 the soul 
and the immortality of the human race6  

,when the ignorant ,people no longer saw
 ,god between them and annihilation1    
they plunged into the boundless and     
bottomless abyss of ,atheism1 they lost 
their divine sense1 they became brutal  
as the animal1 who sees in the earth    
only a pasture ground1 instead of the   
footstool of ,jehovah4  ,but these      
irreligious abominations1 and these     
,saturnalia of ,atheism1 however much   
injury they inflicted on the religious  
spirit of the ,people1 did not effect so
 much1 perhaps1 as the reign which      
followed this anarchy1 the reign of     
,bonaparte1 the so-called restorer of   
worship4 ,and how8     ,,xii4   ,the    
,republic had passed its paroxysm of    
fever1 of demagoguical madness1 of      
persecution4 ,the ,directory had finally
 concentrated and regulated the         
republican power4 ,this government was  
composed of men1 naturally moderate and 
tolerant1 or made so by the experience  
and the lassitude of anarchy2 the       
moderate principles of the ,revolution  

of #aghi1 and of the constituted        
,assembly1 regained their level1 thanks 
to a natural reaction1 limited by good  
sense1 as happens after every revolution
 that overshoots its mark4 ,the priests 
officiated1 without obstacle1 in the    
temples restored by the municipalities  
to the faithful1 religion was entirely  
free1 even favored by public respect1   
and by that care for good morals which  
all serious governments feel4 ,faith1   
taking refuge in men's consciences1 was1
 moreover1 more sincere and more active1
 because it was neither constrained1 nor
 favored1 nor altered1 nor profaned by  
the hand of government4  ,this was1     
perhaps1 the moment when there was the  
most religion in ,france1--for this was 
the moment when1 after having had its   
martyrs1 the religious sentiment had a  
life in itself1 and owed nothing to the 
partial and interested protection of the
 powers of the ,state4 ,for1 the less   
the ,state imposes upon you a ,god of   
its own fashion1 or its own choice1 the 

more does your conscience rise1 and the 
more does it attach itself to the ,god  
of your own reason1 or your own faith6  
,bonaparte1 whose genius was entirely   
military1 but who1 in affairs of moral1 
civil1 and religious government1 made it
 a matter of policy to contradict and   
extinguish all the truths of the        
,revolution1 hastened to change all     
this4 ,he wished to parody ,charlemagne4
  ,charlemagne had been the philosopher 
and revolutionary organizer of his time2
 ,charlemagne had bound together the    
spiritual and temporal1 crowning the    
,pontiff that he might be crowned by him
 in turn4 ,bonaparte desired a ,state   
religion1 an agreement in which religion
 and the empire should mutually engage  
and mutually check each other2 a ,pope  
to subdue1 to caress1 to drive away1 to 
recall1 to persecute1 by turns2 a       
coronation by the hand of an enslaved   
,church2 then a ,church to chastise1    
when it did not obey2--in one word1 all 
that shameful and scandalous simony of  

ancient times1 when the temporal power  
played1 in the sight of the nations1    
with the idea and name of ,god1 in a    
manner as contemptuous as it was odious4
  ,the ,people1 who saw clearly through 
this intrigue of an indifferent         
sovereign1--an ,atheist at ,toulon1 a   
crafty politician at ,marengo1 a        
,mussulman in ,egypt1 a persecutor at   
,rome1 an oppressor at ,savona1 a       
schismatic at ,fontainbleau1 a saint at 
,notre ,dame de ,paris1--protector of   
religion and profaner of consciences by 
turns1--felt their belief shaken anew4  
,they asked themselves1 ,what then is   
,god for us1 poor souls1 since ,god is  
such an instrument of power for great   
men1 and such a police machine for      
governments8 ,scorn threw them back into
 ,atheism4 ,this was natural4           
,,xiii4   ,this system was continued1   
with more sincerity on the part of      
government1 under the dynasty of the    
,restoration4 ,but the interested favors
 of the ,court1 for the higher clergy of

 a particular worship1 irritated the    
minds of the populace against the       
priesthood4  ,the more it lavished power
 and human dignities upon priestly      
superiors1 the more the mind of the     
,people turned from the religious       
sentiment4 ,each favor of royal         
authority to the privileged ,church cast
 thousands of souls into ,atheism4  ,the
 ,revolution of ,july suppressed the    
religion of the ,state3 it was a        
progress towards the religion of        
conscience4 ,but it favored the religion
 of the majority2 it still leaned       
towards the supremacy of numbers in     
matters of faith4 ,however1 from the    
moment the ,state religion was          
suppressed1 the religion of conscience  
gained ground in men's hearts4 ,from    
#ahcj to this day1 every intelligent    
observer gladly acknowledges an immense 
progress in the religious sentiment in  
,france4--,why8 ,because the suppression
 of the official religion of the ,state 
was a progress in the liberty of        

conscience1 and all progress in liberty 
of conscience is a progress of human    
thought toward the idea of ,god4 ,go    
farther still1 and complete liberty will
 destroy ,atheism in the ,people6  ,but 
the evil done was immense4 ,the cynicism
 of ,diderot1 materialism1 scepticism1  
revolutionary impiety1 the false and    
hypocritical piety of the empire1 the   
concordat1 the restoration of an        
imperial religion1 and of an official   
and dynastic ,god by ,napoleon1 the     
tendency of the two ,bourbon reigns to  
reconstruct a political church1         
everlastingly endowed with a monopoly of
 goods and of souls1--and1 finally1 the 
industrialism of the reign of ,louis    
,philippe1 turning every thought to     
trade1 to manual labor1 to worldly      
wealth1 and making gold the true and    
only ,god of the century2--all this has 
borne its fruits4  ,look at these fruits
 at the present day1 and say1 if        
practical ,atheism does not devour the  
souls of this ,people4 ,but let us      

proceed4     ,,xiv4   ,for eighteen     
years1 new sects1 or1 rather1 posthumous
 sects1 have disputed for the soul of   
the ,people1 under the names of         
,fourierism1 of ,pantheism1 of          
,communism1 of ,industrialism1 of       
,economism1 and1 finally1 of ,terrorism4
 ,look at them1 listen to them1 read    
them1 analyze them1 sift them1 handle   
them2 and say1 if1 with the exception of
 a vague deifying of every thing1--that 
is to say1 of nothing1 by the           
,fourierites1--there is a single one of 
these philosophical1 social1 or         
political sects1 which is not founded on
 the most evident practical ,atheism2   
which has not matter for a ,god2        
material enjoyments for morality2       
exclusive satisfaction of the senses for
 an end2 purely sensual gratifications  
for a paradise2 this world for the sole 
scene of existence2 the body for the    
only condition of being2 the prolonging 
of life a few more years for its only   
hope2 a sharpening of the senses to     

material appetites for a perspective2   
death for the end of all things2 after  
death1 an assimilation with the dust of 
the earth for a future2 annihilation for
 justice1 for reward1 and for           
immortality6  ,no1 there has not been   
since #ahcj1 there has not been since   
the ,revolution1 there is not at this   
moment1 one of these schools of         
pretended apostles1 prophets of the     
future1 and saviors of the present1     
which is not ,materialism in action4 ,it
 is the deadly seed of the century of   
,helvetius1 producing its poisons in the
 dregs of another century4 ,it is man1  
deprived of his spiritual and immortal  
sense1 reduced to a solid measure of    
organized matter1 and seeking1 not      
virtue1 that key to his future destiny1 
in his soul2 but1 in his senses1 mere   
enjoyment1 that end of the brute1 who   
only believes in what he can eat and    
drink4     ,,xv4   ,analyze with me1 if 
you are not overwhelmed with            
humiliation1 the five or six            

,revelations of the latter days2 and ask
 yourselves1 as ,i have often asked     
myself1 while listening to them1 if     
these revealers of pretended human      
felicity do indeed address themselves to
 men1 or to herds of fatted cattle6 ,and
 are they astonished that the           
intellectual world resists them8 ,do    
they complain that the ignorant are     
their only disciples8 ,are they         
indignant that the ideas they attempt to
 spread1 creep1 like fetid mists1 along 
the abysses of society1 and excite1     
instead of enthusiasm1 only the         
fanaticism of hunger and thirst8 ,i can 
well believe it6 ,what ,people is there 
who would become fanatics1 only for     
their own destruction2 renounce their   
moral nature1 their divine souls1 their 
immortal destinies1 only for a morsel of
 more savory bread upon their table1 for
 a larger portion of earth under their  
feet8 ,no6 no6 enthusiasm soars aloft1  
it does not fall to earth4 ,bear me up  
to ,heaven1 if you wish to dazzle my    

eyes2 promise me immortality1 if you    
would offer to my soul a motive worthy  
of its nature1 an aim worthy of its     
efforts1 a price worthy of its virtue6  
,but what do your systems of atheistic  
society show us in perspective8 ,what do
 they promise us in compensation for our
 griefs8 ,what do they give us in       
exchange for our souls8 ,you know1--we  
will not speak of it4  ,but1 indeed1 if 
these sects survive the month which sees
 and which produces them2 and1 if these 
questions which they debate1 and these  
systems which they bring before the     
astonished ,people1 are destined to     
serve as enigmas to posterity2 what will
 the future say of us8 ,it will only    
explain the ,materialism1 ,atheism1 and 
brutality of the doctrines and sects by 
which we have been disturbed for ten or 
twelve years1 as the nightmare of a     
starving ,people1 whose dreams have1 for
 an object1 only a frantic satisfaction 
of the senses4 ,all these philosophies1 
or all these deliriums1 are the         

deliriums or philosophies of the        
stomach6 ,all this epoch1 future        
historians will say1 the ,french must   
have been a nation distressed by a      
terrible famine1 to have forgotten1 in  
so total an eclipse of the intellectual 
nature1 the great and immortal ideas    
which have alone inspired even these1   
the human race1 and rendered the        
revolutions of the ,people worthy of the
 regard of posterity1 and of the blood  
of man4 ,the ,eighteenth ,century must  
have been a time when avaricious ,nature
 shut up her bosom1 and the earth       
brought forth neither fruit nor         
harvests1 that this great intellectual  
,people1 formerly called the ,french    
,people1 should have forgotten their    
souls for a morsel of bread1 their      
immortality for an income1 and their    
,god for a dollar6 ,let us turn away our
 eyes and weep over that age4     ,,xvi4
   ,see where we were when the ,republic
 arose3 happy was it that the ,people   
had at bottom more of the true sentiment

 of ,god than these masters and heads of
 sects4 ,for1 what would have become of 
us1 if1 in that total eclipse of        
government1 of armed force1 and of law1 
which followed the #bdth of ,february1  
the ,people1 masters of all1 of the     
fortunes and lives of the citizens1 of  
,heaven and earth1 had been a ,people of
 ,materialists1 of ,terrorists1 and of  
,atheists8 ,the ,revolution would have  
been a pillage1 the ,republic a         
scaffold1 the dynasty of the ,people a  
deluge of blood4 ,but there was no such 
thing4 ,god was there4 ,he revealed     
,himself in the multitude2 ,materialism 
disappeared in enthusiasm1 which always 
exhibits the divinity of the human      
heart4  ,we heard but one cry1--,honor  
to ,god6 ,respect for the altars6       
,liberty to their ministers6            
,self-denial1 harmony1 protection to the
 weak1 inviolability of property1       
assistance to the miserable6 ,yes1--on  
the first day1 and during the whole time
 that the ,people was alone and burning 

with excitement1 it was religious6 ,it  
was not until after the cooling of this 
enthusiasm that the materialistic sects1
 who waited their opportunity afar off1 
and who now torment the ,people1 dared  
to offer their sensual symbols1 and to  
set up ,capital and ,interest1 the      
organization of labor1 the increase of  
wages1 and equality of conditions in    
this human manger1 as the sole          
,divinities1--dared to infuse envy      
against the happy1 the breath of hatred 
as the only consolation to the hearts of
 the miserable1 lightning vengeance     
against the wrongs of ,providence1      
imprecations against society1           
blasphemies against the existence of    
,god1 the enjoyments and bestialities of
 the corporeal nature1 purchased by     
complete forgetfulness of the moral     
nature1 and enjoyed in a debauch of     
ideas1 and in a deification of matter4  
,this cannot last2 the ,people will not 
allow themselves to be changed into hogs
 by the ,circes of ,atheism4 ,their     

souls will flash indignation against    
their transformers4 ,a day will come    
when they will see that they are        
impoverished under the pretext of being 
enriched2 that1 when they are robbed of 
their souls and of ,god1 both their     
titles to liberty are stolen from them4 
,atheism and ,republicanism are two     
words which exclude each other4         
,absolutism may thrive without a ,god1  
for it needs only slaves4 ,republicanism
 cannot exist without a ,god1 for it    
must have citizens4 ,and what is it that
 makes citizens8 ,two things1--the      
sentiment of their rights1 and the      
sentiment of their duties as a          
republican ,people4 ,where are your     
rights1 if you have not a common ,father
 in ,heaven8 ,where are your duties1 if 
you have not a ,judge between your      
brothers and you8 ,republicanism draws  
you in both these ways to ,god4         
,,xvii4   ,thus1 look at every free     
,people1 from the mountains of ,helvetia
 to the forests of ,america2 see even   

the free ,british nation1 where the     
,aristocracy is only the head of        
liberty1 where the ,aristocracy and     
,democracy mutually respect each other1 
and balance each other by an exchange of
 kindnesses and services which sanctify 
society while fortifying it4 ,atheism   
has fled before liberty3 in proportion  
as despotism has receded1 the divine    
idea has advanced in the souls of men4  
,liberty lives by morality4 ,what is    
morality without a ,god8 ,what is a law 
without a lawgiver8  ,i know well1 and  
,i shall give you the reason hereafter2 
,i know well1 and ,i mourn to think of  
it1 that1 even up to the present time1  
the ,french ,people have been the least 
religious ,people in ,europe4  ,is this 
because the intelligence of ,france has 
not that force1 and that severity1 which
 are needed to carry long enough and far
 enough the idea of ,god1--the greatest 
idea of the human soul2--that idea1 as  
it comes from all the evidences of      
nature1 and all the depths of           

reflection1 being the most powerful and 
the most grave of human                 
intelligence1--and the intelligence of  
,france being the most superficial1 the 
most light1 and the least reflecting of 
the ,european races8  ,is it because our
 governments have always been charged   
with thinking1 believing1 and praying1  
for us8  ,is it that they have always   
given us gods of the ,court1 worship    
according to ,etiquette1 and religions  
of ,state1 instead of letting us form1  
make1 and practise our faith for        
ourselves1 by reason1 by free-will1 by  
voluntary piety1 by association1 by     
tradition1 by the sympathies of the     
community1 of worship1 and of the       
family8  ,is it because we are1 and     
always have been1 a military ,people1 a 
nation of soldiers and adventurers1 led 
by kings1 heroes1 ambitious men1 from   
battle-field to battle-field1 making    
conquests and not keeping them1         
ravaging1 dazzling1 charming1 and       
corrupting ,europe1 and bearing the     

manners1 vices1 bravado1 lightness1 and 
impiety of the camp into the homes of   
the ,people8  ,i do not know2 but it is 
certain that the nation has an immense  
progress to make in serious thought1 if 
it wishes to maintain its liberty4 ,if  
we look at the comparative character1 in
 matters of religious sentiment1 of the 
great nations of ,europe1 ,america1 and 
even ,asia1 the advantage is not on our 
side4 ,while the great men of other     
nations live and die upon the scene of  
history1 looking towards heaven1 our    
great men seem to live and die in entire
 forgetfulness of the only idea for     
which life or death is worth any thing2 
they live and die looking at the        
spectators1 or1 at most1 towards        
posterity4  ,thus1 even at the present  
time1 while we have had the greatest    
men1 other nations have had the greatest
 citizens4 ,it is great citizens that a 
,republic needs6     ,,xviii4   ,open   
the history of ,america1 the history of 
,england1 and the history of ,france2   

read the great lives1 the great deaths1 
the great sufferings1 the sublime words1
 when the ruling passion of life reveals
 itself in the last moments of the      
dying1--and compare them6  ,washington  
and ,franklin fought1 spoke1 suffered2  
rose and fell1 in their political life1 
from popularity to ingratitude1 from    
glory to bitter scorn of their          
citizens1--always in the name of ,god1  
for whom they acted2 and the liberator  
of ,america died1 committing to the     
,divine protection1 first1 the liberty  
of his ,people1--and1 afterwards1 his   
own soul to ,his indulgent judgment4    
,strafford1 dying for the constitution  
of his country1 wrote to ,charles ,i41  
to entreat his consent to his           
punishment1 that he might spare trouble 
to the ,state3 ,put not your trust1     
wrote he1 after this consent was        
obtained1 put not your trust in princes1
 or in the son of man1 because salvation
 is not in them1 but from on high4      
,while walking to the scaffold1 he      

stopped under the windows of his friend1
 the ,bishop of ,london2 he raised his  
head towards him1 and asked1 in a loud  
voice1 the assistance of his prayers in 
the terrible moment to which he had     
come4 ,the primate1 bowed with age1 and 
bathed in tears1 gave1 in a stifled     
voice1 his tender benedictions to his   
unhappy friend1 and fell1 without       
consciousness1 into the arms of his     
attendants4 ,strafford continued his    
way1 sustained by the ,divine force1    
descending from this invocation upon    
him3 he spoke with resignation to the   
,people assembled to see him die4 ,i    
fear only one thing1 said he1 and that  
is1 that this effusion of innocent blood
 is a bad presage for the liberty of my 
country6 7,alas6 why did not the        
,convention recall these words among us1
 in '#ic87 ,stafford continued3--,now1  
said he1 ,i draw near my end4 ,one blow 
will make my wife a widow1 my children  
orphans1 deprive my poor servants of an 
affectionate master1 and separate me    

from my dear brother1 and my friends4   
,may ,god be all of these6 ,he disrobed 
himself1 and placed his head on the     
block4 ,i give thanks1 said he1 to my   
heavenly ,master for helping me to await
 this blow without fear2 for not        
permitting me to be cast down for a     
single instant by terror4 ,i repose my  
head as willingly on this block as ,i   
ever laid it down to sleep4 ,this is    
faith in ,patriotism6 ,see ,charles ,i41
 in his turn1--that model of a kingly   
death4 ,at the moment that he was to    
receive the blow of the axe1 the edge of
 which he had coolly examined and       
touched1 he raised his head1 and        
addressed the clergyman who was         
present3--,remember6 said he2 as if he  
had said1 ,remember to advise my sons   
never to revenge their father6  ,sidney1
 the young martyr of a patriotism1      
guilty1 because too hasty1 died to      
expiate the dream of the freedom of his 
country4 ,he said to the jailer1 ,may my
 blood purify my soul6 ,i rejoice that  

,i die innocent toward the king1 but a  
victim resigned to the ,king of ,heaven1
 to whom we owe all life4  ,the         
republicans of ,cromwell sought only the
 way of ,god1 even in the blood of      
battles4 ,their politics is nothing but 
faith2 their government1 a prayer2 their
 death1 a holy hymn2--they sang1 like   
the ,templars1 on their funeral-pile4   
,we see1 we feel1 we hear ,god1 above   
all1 in these revolutions1 in these     
great popular movements1 and in the     
souls of the great citizens of these    
nations4  ,but recross the ,atlantic1   
traverse the ,channel1 approach our own 
time1 open our annals2 and listen to the
 great political actors in the drama of 
our liberty4 ,it would seem as if ,god  
was hidden from the souls of men2 as if 
his name had never been written in the  
language4 ,history will have the air of 
being atheistic1 while recounting to    
posterity these annihilations1 rather   
than deaths1 of the celebrated men of   
the greatest years of ,france4 ,the     

victims alone have a ,god2 the tribunes 
and lictors have none4  ,see ,mirabeau  
on his death-bed4 ,crown me with        
flowers1 said he1 intoxicate me with    
perfumes1 let me die with the sound of  
delicious music4 ,not one word of ,god1 
or of his soul6 ,a sensual philosopher1 
he asks of death only a supreme         
sensualism2 he desires to give a last   
pleasure even to agony4  ,look at ,madam
 ,roland1 that strong woman of the      
,revolution1--upon the car that carries 
her to death4 ,she looks with scorn upon
 the stupid ,people1 who kill their     
prophets and their sibyls4 ,not one     
glance to ,heaven2 only an exclamation  
for the earth she leaves3--,o1 ,liberty6
  ,approach the prison door of the      
,girondines3 their last night is a      
banquet1 and their last hymn is the     
,marseillaise6  ,follow ,camille        
,desmoulins to punishment3--a cold and  
indecent pleasantry at the tribunal2 one
 long imprecation on the road to the    
guillotine2--those are the last thoughts

 of this dying man1 about to appear on  
high6  ,listen to ,danton1 upon the     
platform of the scaffold1 one step from 
,god and immortality3--,i have enjoyed  
much2 let me go to sleep1 he            
says2--then1 to the executioner1 ,you   
will show my head to the ,people2 it is 
worth while6 ,annihilation for a        
confession of faith2 vanity for his last
 sigh3 such is the ,frenchman of these  
latter days6  ,what do you think of the 
religious sentiment of a free ,people1  
whose great characters seem to walk thus
 in procession to annihilation2 and die1
 without even death1 that terrible      
minister1 recalling to their minds the  
fear or the promises of ,god8  ,thus the
 ,republic1--which had no               
future1--reared by these men1 and mere  
parties1 was quickly overthrown in      
blood4 ,liberty1 achieved by so much    
heroism and genius1 did not find in     
,france a conscience to shelter it1 a   
,god to avenge it1 a ,people to defend  
it1 against that other ,atheism called  

,glory6 ,all was finished by a soldier1 
and by the apostacy of republicans      
travestied into courtiers6 ,and what    
could you expect8 ,republican ,atheism  
has no reason to be heroic4 ,if it is   
terrified1 it yields4 ,would one buy it1
 it sells itself2 it would be most      
foolish to sacrifice itself4 ,who would 
mourn for it8--the ,people are          
ungrateful1 and ,god does not exist4    
,thus end atheistic revolutions6        
,,xix4   ,if you wish that this         
revolution should not have the same end1
 beware of abject ,materialism1         
degrading ,sensualism1 gross ,socialism1
 of besotted ,communism2 of all these   
doctrines of flesh and blood1 of meat   
and drink1 of hunger and thirst1 of     
wages and traffic1 which these          
corruptors of the soul of the ,people   
preach to you1 exclusively1 as the sole 
thought1 the sole hope1 as the only     
duty1 and only end of man6 ,they will   
soon make you slaves of ease1 serfs of  
your desires4  ,are you willing to have 

inscribed on the tomb of our ,french    
race1 as on that of the ,sybarites1 this
 epitaph3 ,this ,people ate and drank   
well1 while they browsed upon the earth8
 ,no6 ,you desire that ,history should  
write thus3 ,this ,people worshipped    
well1 served ,god and humanity well1--in
 thought1 in philosophy1 in religion1 in
 literature1 in arts1 in arms1 in labor1
 in liberty1 in their ,aristocracies1 in
 their ,democracies1 in their           
,monarchies1 and their ,republics6 ,this
 nation was the spiritual laborer1 the  
conqueror of truth2 the disciple of the 
highest ,god1 in all the ways of        
civilization1--and1 to approach nearer  
to him1 it invented the ,republic1 that 
government of duties and of rights1 that
 rule of spiritualism1 which finds in   
ideas its only sovereignty4  ,seek ,god1
 then4 ,this is your nature and your    
grandeur4 ,and do not seek ,him in these
 ,materialisms6 ,for ,god is not        
below1--he is on high6                  
,,lamartine1                            

,representative of the ,people4   ,,the 
,,end4     ,transcriber's ,note  ,this  
text uses some variant spelling--for    
example1 partizan1 demagoguical1        
apostacy1 corruptors4 ,this has been    
preserved as printed4  ,the ellipsis in 
this text uses asterisks rather than    
dots4  ,on page #fb1 the semicolon      
following 'rose' has been moved to      
follow 'suffered'--444 fought1 spoke1   
suffered2 rose and fell 444  ,a         
repetition of the book title has been   
deleted4