,,critical ,,examination ,,of ,,the     
,,life ,,of ,,st4 ,,paul  ,by ,boulanger
  ,translated ,from ,the ,french ,of    
,boulanger  ,paul1 thou art beside      
thyself1 much learning doth make thee   
mad4  ,acts1 chap4 #bf1 ver4 #bd4  #ahbc
  ,,introduction4  ,,epistle            
,,dedicatory ,,to ,m4 ,l4 ,n4  ,sir1 ,in
 our last conversation you appeared to  
me1 very much smitten with ,st4 ,paul   
and his works2 you recommended me to    
reperuse his writings2 assuring me that 
,i should there find arguments well     
calculated to shake incredulity and     
confirm a ,christian in his faith4      
,although the actions of this celebrated
 ,apostle1 related in the ,acts1 and his
 doctrine contained in his ,epistles1   
were already perfectly known to me1 yet 
to conform myself to your desires1 and  
give you proofs of my docility1 ,i have 
again read those works1 and ,i can      
assure you that ,i have done it with the
 greatest attention4 ,you will judge of 
that yourself1 by the reflections ,i    

send you2 they will at least prove to   
you that ,i have read with attention4 ,a
 superficial glance is only likely to   
deceive us or leave us in error4 ,the   
passions and the prejudices of men      
prevent them from examining with        
candour1 and from their indolence they  
are often disgusted with the researches 
necessary for discovering truth2 that   
has also been with so much care veiled  
from their eyes3 but it is in vain to   
cover it1 its splendour will sooner or  
later shine forth2 the works of         
enthusiasm or imposture1 will always end
 by betraying themselves4 ,as for the   
rest1 read and judge4 ,you will find1 ,i
 think1 at least1 some reasons for      
abating a little from that high opinion1
 that prejudice gives us of the ,apostle
 of the ,gentiles1 and of the religious 
system of the ,christians1 of which ,st4
 ,paul was evidently the true architect4
 ,i am not ignorant that it is very     
difficult to undo at one blow the ideas 
to which the mind has been so long      

accustomed2 but whatever may be your    
judgment it will not alter the          
sentiments of friendship and attachment 
which are due to the goodness of your   
heart4  ,i am1 c1 c4     ,,critical     
,,examination ,,of ,,the ,,life ,,of    
,,st4 ,,paul     ,,chapter ,i4 ,is the  
,conversion of ,st4 ,paul a proof in    
favour of the ,christian ,religion8     
,many theologians would make us regard  
the miraculous conversion and           
apostleship of ,st4 ,paul as one of the 
strongest proofs of the truth of        
,christianity4 ,but in viewing the thing
 closely it appears that this           
conversion1 far from proving any thing  
in favour of this religion1 invalidates 
the other proofs of it1 in fact1 our    
doctors continually assure us that the  
,christian religion draws its strongest 
proofs from the prophecies of the ,old  
,testament1 whilst there is not in fact 
a single one of these prophecies that   
can be literally applied to the ,messiah
 of the ,christians4 ,st4 ,paul himself 

willing to make use of these oracles of 
the ,jewish nation to prove the mission 
of ,christ1 is obliged to distort them1 
and to seek in them a mystical1         
allegorical1 and figurative sense4 ,on  
the other side1 how can these prophecies
 made by ,jews and addressed to ,jews1  
serve as proofs of the doctrine of ,st4 
,paul1 who had evidently formed the     
design of altering1 or even of          
destroying1 the ,jewish religion1 in    
order to raise a new system on its      
ruins8 ,such being the state of things1 
what real connection1 or what relation1 
can there be between the religious      
system of the ,jews1 and that of ,st4   
,paul8 ,for this ,apostle to have had   
the right of making use of the ,jewish  
prophecies1 it would have been necessary
 that he should have remained a ,jew2   
his conversion to ,christianity         
evidently deprived him of the privilege 
of serving himself1 by having recourse  
to the prophecies belonging to a        
religion that he had just abandoned1 and

 the ruin of which he meditated4 ,true  
prophecies can only be found in a divine
 religion1 and a religion truly divine1 
can neither be altered1 reformed1 nor   
destroyed3 ,god himself1 if he is       
immutable1 could not change it4  ,in    
fact1 might not the ,jews have said to  
,st4 ,paul1 ,apostate that you are6 you 
believe in our prophecies1 and you come 
to destroy the religion founded upon the
 same prophecies4 ,if you believe in our
 oracles1 you are forced to believe that
 the religion which you have quitted is 
a true religion and divinely inspired4  
,if you say1 that ,god has changed his  
mind1 you are impious in pretending that
 ,god could change1 and was not         
sufficiently wise1 to give at once to   
his people a perfect worship1 and one   
which had no need of being reformed4 ,on
 the other side1 do not the reiterated  
promises of the ,most ,high1 confirmed  
by paths to our fathers1 assure us1 that
 his alliance with us should endure     
eternally8 ,you are then an impostor1   

and1 according to our law1 we ought to  
exterminate you2 seeing that ,moses1 our
 divine legislator1 orders us to put to 
death1 whoever shall have the temerity  
to preach to us a new worship1 even     
though he should confirm his mission by 
prodigies4 ,the ,god that you preach is 
not the ,god of our fathers3 you say    
that ,christ is his son2 but we know    
that ,god has no son4 ,you pretend that 
this son1 whom we have put to death as a
 false prophet1 has risen from the dead1
 but ,moses has not spoken of the       
resurrection2 thus your new ,god and    
your dogmas are contrary to our law1 and
 consequently we ought to hold them in  
abhorrence4 ,in short these same ,jews  
might have said to ,st4 ,paul3 ,you     
deceive yourself in saying1 that you are
 the disciple of ,jesus1 your ,jesus was
 a ,jew1 during the whole of his life he
 was circumcised1 he conformed himself  
to all the legal ordinances2 he often   
protested that he came to accomplish1   
and not to abolish the law2 whilst you  

in contempt of the protestations of the 
,master1 whose ,apostle you say you are1
 take the liberty of changing this holy 
law1 of decrying it1 of dispensing with 
its most essential ordinances4          
,moreover the conversion of ,st4 ,paul  
strangely weakens the proof that the    
,christian religion draws from the      
miracles of ,jesus ,christ and his      
,apostles4 ,according to the evangelists
 themselves the ,jews were not at all   
convinced by these miracles4 ,the       
transcendant prodigy of the resurrection
 of ,christ1 the wonders since wrought  
by some of his adherents did not        
contribute more to their conversion4    
,st4 ,paul believed nothing of them at  
first1 he was a zealous persecutor of   
the first ,christians to such a degree1 
that1 according to the ,christians1     
nothing short of a new miracle1         
performed for him alone1 was able to    
convert him2 which proves to us that    
there was1 at least1 a time when ,st4   
,paul did not give any credit to the    

wonders that the partisans of ,jesus    
related at ,jerusalem4  ,he needed a    
particular miracle to believe in those  
miracles1 that we are obliged to believe
 in at the time in which we live1       
without heaven operating any new prodigy
 to demonstrate to us the truth of them4
     ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,opinions of the   
first ,christians upon the ,acts of the 
,apostles1 and upon the ,epistles and   
,person of ,st4 ,paul4  ,it is in the   
,acts of the ,apostles1 and the         
,epistles of ,st4 ,paul1 that we find   
the details of his life and the system  
of his doctrine2 but1 how can we be     
certain of the authenticity of these    
works1 whilst we see many of the first  
,christians doubt and reject them as    
apocryphal8 ,we find1 in fact1 that from
 the earliest period of the church1     
entire sects of ,christians1 who        
believed that many of the ,epistles     
published under the name of this        
,apostle1 were not really his4 ,the     
,marcionites were confident that the    

gospels were filled with falshoods1 and 
,marcion1 their head1 pretended that his
 gospel was the only true one4  ,the    
,manicheans1 who formed a very numerous 
sect at the commencement of             
,christianity1 rejected as false1 all   
the ,new ,testament1 and produced other 
writings1 quite different1 which they   
gave as authentic4 ,the ,corinthians1 as
 well as the ,marcionites1 did not admit
 the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,the       
,encratites and the ,severians did not  
adopt either the ,acts or the ,epistles 
of ,st4 ,paul4 ,st4 ,john ,chrysostom in
 a homily1 which he has made upon the   
,acts1 says1 that in his time 7that is  
to say1 towards the end of the fourth   
century7 many men were ignorant not only
 of the name of the author1 or of the   
collector of these ,acts1 but even did  
not know this work4 ,the ,valentinians1 
as well as many other sects of          
,christians accused our scriptures of   
being filled with errors1 imperfections1
 and contradictions1 and of being       

insufficient without the assistance of  
traditions2 this is a fact that is      
attested to us by ,st4 ,irenus4 ,the    
,ebionites or ,nazarenes1 who1 as we    
shall soon see1 were the first          
,christians1 rejected all the ,epistles 
of ,st4 ,paul1 and regarded him as an   
impostor and hypocrite4  ,it will not   
fail being said to us1 that we ought not
 to rely on the testimony of heretics2  
but ,i shall reply1 that in the matter  
in question1 their testimony is of the  
same weight as that of the orthodox1    
seeing that all the different sects     
consider themselves as orthodox1 and    
have treated their adversaries as       
heretics4 ,how shall we unravel the     
truth if we do not hear both parties8   
,by what signs shall we know those on   
whom we ought to rely8 ,shall we cede   
the cause without examining their       
adversaries1 to writers who utter to us 
falshoods without number1 who contradict
 each other1 who are never agreed       
amongst themselves1 and whose discordant

 writings are nevertheless produced as  
proofs of what they advance8 ,in any    
other subject such a conduct would seem 
to betray a partiality or even          
insincerity3 but in religious matters1  
every thing is fair1 and there is no    
necessity of being so nice4  ,however   
that may be1 it does not follow that    
because one sect has received or        
rejected a work1 that the work itself is
 either true or false2 there cannot be  
otherwise than1 a diversity of opinions 
between persons of different parties2   
their testimony ought to have equal     
weight1 until the partisans of one sect1
 have been convicted of being greater   
cheats and liars1 than those of the     
other4 ,if we pay no regard to the      
authority of heretics1 it is because    
they have not had sufficient power to   
enforce their opinions4 ,it is power or 
weakness which makes orthodoxians or    
heretics3 the last are always those who 
have not power enough to make their     
opinions current4  ,what course shall we

 then pursue to discover on which side  
is the truth8 ,an impartial man will no 
more expect to find it in one party than
 in another1 thus the testimony of the  
one can have no greater weight than that
 of the other in the eye of an          
unprejudiced man4  ,this granted1 we    
cannot rely on the authority of         
,christian traditions which vary in all 
sects1 and we shall be reduced to recur 
solely to reason1 especially when we    
find that the works1 which are to-day   
regarded as authentic1 have in other    
times been considered as suppositious1  
or apocryphal1 by some very ancient     
sects of ,christians1 and that the works
 and writings1 then regarded as         
apocryphal1 have since been adopted as  
true4  ,it appears that in the ancient  
churches1 they read at once the works   
that we now regard as true1 and those   
that now-pass for suppositious1 in such 
sort1 that there is reason to believe   
they were then held to possess equal    
claim to authenticity3 it is1 at least1 

very1 difficult to demonstrate the      
contrary in the present time4 ,some     
churches have attributed the same       
authority to false or doubtful writings 
as to true4  ,the ,roman ,church to-day 
adopts as authentic and divinely        
inspired many books of the ,bible1      
absolutely rejected by the ,protestants4
 ,how is it possible to decide which is 
the party that deceives itself8  ,by    
what right can we then affirm to-day    
that the works of ,st4 ,paul1 formerly  
rejected by so many ,christian sects1   
are authentic1 that is to say1 truly    
belong to this ,apostle8 ,on the other  
hand1 how can we attribute to divine    
inspiration writings filled with        
inconsistencies1 contradictions1        
mistakes1 and false reasonings1 in a    
word1 which bear every character of     
delirium1 of ignorance1 and of fraud8 ,i
 acknowledge that those who want valid  
proofs1 always do right to affirm the   
thing1 with the tone of authority2 but  
this tone proves nothing1 and always    

prejudices against those who take it4   
,nothing is more injurious to the       
interest of truth1 than the arrogance of
 an usurped authority4 ,these are1      
however1 the arms that are incessantly  
opposed to those who doubt of religion4 
,it would seem that its defenders have  
no other arguments than their pretences2
 it is easy to feel that these arguments
 are every thing1 but convincing4  ,the 
,acts of the ,apostles1 adopted by the  
,ebionites or ,nazarenes1 relate amongst
 other things1 that1 ,paul was          
originally a ,pagan1 that he came to    
,jerusalem where he dwelt for some time2
 that being desirous of marrying the    
daughter of the ,high ,priest he became 
a proselyte1 and was circumcised2 but   
not being able to obtain the woman he   
desired1 he quarrelled with the ,jews1  
began to write against the circumcision1
 against the observation of the         
,sabbath1 and against legal ordinances4 
,we know that the name of ,nazarenes was
 the first which was given to the       

,christians4 ,st4 ,epiphanius1 from whom
 the preceding passage is taken1 says1  
that they were thus named because of    
,jesus of ,nazareth1 of whom they were  
the first disciples4 ,the ,jews called  
them ,nazarenes from the ,hebrew word   
,nozerim1 which signifies one separated 
or excommunicated2 again they designated
 them under the name of ,mineans1 that  
is to say1 heretics4 ,they were also by 
contempt called ,ebionites1 which       
signifies poor1 mendicant1 weak-minded4 
,in fact1 the ,hebrew ,ebion1 means     
poor1 miserable1 and we know1 that the  
first followers of ,christ1 were every  
thing but opulent or intelligent men4   
,the first faithful1 were ,jews         
converted by ,jesus himself1 or by the  
most ancient ,apostles1 such as ,peter1 
,james1 and ,john1 who as well as their 
master1 lived in ,judaism4 ,these       
,apostles1 disciples1 and new converts1 
differed from the ,jews in nothing but  
the belief in ,jesus ,christ1 whom they 
regarded as the ,messiah predicted by   

the prophets2 otherwise they believed   
themselves bound constantly to observe  
the ,mosaic law1 persuaded that their   
,messiah was come to accomplish and not 
to destroy this law4 ,in consequence of 
this1 they observed circumcision1 the   
abstinence from certain meats1          
separation from the ,gentiles1 in a     
word1 the ,jewish rites and ordinances4 
,thus the first ,apostles1 and their    
adherents1 were only ,jews1 persuaded   
that the ,messiah was already come1 and 
was going soon to commence his reign1   
which made them hated and persecuted as 
schismatics or heretics by their        
fellow-citizens4 ,st4 ,jerome informs   
us1 that even down to his time1 the     
,jews used to anathematize the          
,christians1 under the name of          
,nazarenes1 three times a day in their  
synagogues4  ,all this evidently proves1
 that the ,nazarenes1 of ,ebionites1    
were the first ,christians1 taught by   
the most considerable of the ,apostles1 
and that the first ,christians were only

 reformed ,jews2 this is clearly the    
only idea we can form of ,christianity1 
such as it was taught by ,jesus ,christ 
himself4  ,how then comes it that since 
,jesus1 ,christianity has been so       
separated from ,judaism8 a slight       
attention will prove to us that this is 
owing to ,st4 ,paul4 ,repulsed by the   
,jews1 or perhaps desirous of playing a 
more important part1 we see him separate
 himself from his brethren of           
,jerusalem1 and undertake the conversion
 of the ,gentiles1 for whom the ,jews   
entertained no sentiment but horror4    
,encouraged by his first successes and  
wishing to extend them1 he dispensed the
 ,pagans from the painful ceremony of   
circumcision2 he declared that the law  
of ,moses1 was only a law of servitude1 
from which ,jesus was come to free      
mankind2 he pretended that all the old  
law was merely the emblem and figure of 
the new2 he announced himself as the    
,apostle of the ,gentiles1 and leaving  
,peter and the other ,nazarenes to      

preach the gospel of circumcision1 he   
preached his own gospel1 which he       
himself called the gospel of            
uncircumcision3 in a word1 he made a    
divorce with the ,jewish laws1 to which 
his apostolic brethren believed they    
ought to hold themselves attached1 at   
least1 in most respects4  ,the conduct  
of ,paul1 must naturally have displeased
 his seniors in the ,apostleship1 but   
fear appears to have deter mined them to
 cede1 at least for a time1 to our      
missionary who had already made a       
considerable party4 ,nevertheless the   
,acts of the ,apostles and the writings 
of ,paul1 prove to us his quarrels with 
his brethren1 who1 according to         
appearances1 never viewed with a        
friendly eye1 his enterprizes and       
innovations4 ,moreover1 ,eusebius and   
,st4 ,epiphanius inform us1 that our    
,apostle was regarded as an apostate1 an
 impostor1 and an enemy by the          
,ebionites1 that is to say1 by the first
 faithful4 ,but ,st4 ,paul's party      

having in the end prevailed1 the ,jewish
 law was entirely banished from         
,christianity1 and the ,ebionites1 or   
,nazarenes1 though of more ancient date 
and though formed by ,christ and his    
first apostles were declared heretics4  
,it is proper to remark in this place   
that these ,ebionites1 or first         
,christians1 believed that ,jesus was   
but a man1 as much on the side of his   
father as on that of his mother1 that is
 to say1 the son of ,joseph and ,mary2  
but that he was a wise1 just1 and       
excellent person1 thus meriting the     
appellation of the son of ,god1 because 
of his holy life and good qualities     
whence we see that the first ,christians
 were as well as the first ,apostles1   
true ,socinians4 ,but ,st4 ,paul to     
give1 without doubt1 more lustre to his 
ministry1 and his adherents after him1  
willing to extol the holiness of their  
religion1 made a ,god of ,jesus1 a dogma
 which it is no more permitted to doubt1
 especially since the partizans of ,paul

 have become more numerous1 and stronger
 than those of ,st4 ,peter and the other
 ,nazarenes1 or ,jewish founders of     
primitive ,christianity1 which thus     
totally changed its face as to its      
capital dogmas4  ,having thus become    
masters of the field of battle1 ,paul1  
his adherents1 and the disciples formed 
in their school1 saw themselves in      
possession of the power of regulating   
belief1 of inventing new dogmas1 of     
making gospels1 and of arranging them in
 their own manner1 of forging to        
themselves titles1 and of               
excommunicating as heretics all those   
who showed themselves unteachable4 ,it  
is thus that the author of the ,acts of 
the ,apostles1 only speaks1 as it were1 
of his master1 of ,st4 ,paul1 and       
glances very slightly over the ,acts of 
the ,apostles of the contrary party4    
,the same author 7,st4 ,luke7 is        
presumed to have composed his gospel    
from the notes furnished him by ,st4    
,paul1 though he had neither known nor  

seen ,jesus ,christ4  ,faustus1 the     
,manichean1 said on the subject of the  
gospels1 that they had been composed a  
long time after the ,apostles1 by some  
obscure individuals1 who fearing that   
faith would not be given to histories of
 facts with which they must have been   
unacquainted1 published under the name  
of the ,apostles their own writings1 so 
filled with mistakes and discordant     
relations and opinions1 that we can find
 in them neither connection nor         
agreement with themselves4  ,a little   
further on he loudly accuses his        
adversaries1 who had the credit of being
 orthodox1 and says to them1 ,it is thus
 that predecessors have inserted in the 
writings of our ,lord many things which1
 though they bear his name1 do not  at  
all agree with his doctrine4 ,that is   
not surprising since we have often      
proved that these things have not been  
written by himself nor by his ,apostles1
 but that for the greater part they are 
founded on tales1 on vague reports1 and 

collected by ,i know not who1 half      
,jews1 but little agreed among          
themselves1 who have nevertheless       
published them under the name of our    
,lord1 and thus have attributed to him  
their own errors and deceptions4        
,origeo informs us1 that ,celsus        
exclaimed against the licence that the  
,christians of his time1 had taken of   
altering many times imprudently the     
originals of their gospels1 in order to 
be able to deny or to retract those     
things1 which embarrassed them4         
,,chapter ,,iii4 ,of the ,authority of  
the ,councils1 of the ,fathers of the   
,church1 and of ,tradition  ,it is only 
in the ,fathers of the ,church1 and the 
,councils1 that we can find the proofs  
of the authenticity of the ,christian   
traditions1 and according to the proofs 
which remain it appears1 that they only 
approved or rejected opinions1 as they  
found them favourable or injurious to   
the interests of the party which they   
had embraced4 ,every ecclesiastical     

writer1 and every assembly of ,bishops1 
adopted as canonical the writings in    
which they found their own particular   
dogmas1 the others they treated as      
apocryphal or suppositious4 ,a slight   
acquaintance with the writings of the   
,fathers1 will show us that we cannot   
rely on them for any facts2 we shall    
find that their books are filled with   
negligences1 tales1 impertinences and   
falsehoods2 we shall see them buried in 
the thickest darkness of superstition   
and prejudice4 ,every word announces    
their incredulity or their insincerity4 
,st4 ,clement the ,roman1 believed the  
fable of the phoenix reviving from its  
ashes1 and cites it as a proof of the   
resurrection4  ,papias1 who was the     
master of ,st4 ,irenus1 was1 in the     
opinion of ,eusebius himself1 a man of  
weak mind1 a fabulous author1 who had   
contributed to lead many men into error1
 and amongst others ,st4 ,irenus who was
 his disciple1 whom ,eusebius regards as
 a very credulous man1 though he was the

 first ecclesiastical historian of note4
 ,it is not surprising that those who   
have followed such guides have fallen   
into error4  ,on the other side1 we     
should never finish1 were we to enter   
into a detail of the excesses committed 
by the ,fathers of the ,church and the  
,councils3 their history would only     
serve to prove their ambition their     
pride1 their infatuation1 their         
seditious spirit1 their cheats1 their   
intrigues1 and their cruelties in the   
persecutions which they excited against 
their adversaries4 ,it is nevertheless  
on the probity and on the knowledge of  
these great personages that we are      
called to rely6 ,it is pretended that it
 is from them that we hold the pure     
oracles of truth2 must we then take     
lessons of mildness1 of charity1 of1    
holiness1 from the writings of some     
factious individuals1 who were          
perpetually quarrelling and treating    
their adversaries with the utmost       
cruelty1 whose works were filled with   

gall1 whose conduct it is admitted even 
by their own friends and admirers1 was  
almost always unjust1 violent1 and      
criminal8 ,how can it be expected that  
we should find any point of unity in the
 canons and decrees of assemblies       
agitated by intrigue1 discord1 and      
animosity8 ,how can we regard as saints1
 and infallible doctors1 as persons     
worthy of our confidence1 perverse men1 
continually involved in disputations    
with others1 and in contradictions with 
themselves8 ,what guide can we expect to
 find in turbulent priests whose        
ambition1 avarice1 and intriguing and   
persecuting spirit are every where      
visible8 ,it is only necessary to read  
ecclesiastical history to be convinced  
that the picture which we have drawn of 
the ,councils and ,fathers is no ways   
exaggerated4  ,on the other hand the    
writers and ,councils on whose          
authority1 ,christians are called upon  
to found their belief1 do1 in all their 
traditions1 but blindly follow and copy 

each other2 we see them devoid of the   
arts of reasoning1 of logic1 and of     
criticism2 hence their works are found  
filled with fables1 vulgar errors1 and  
forgeries4 ,is it possible to believe   
the traditions of such a man as ,st4    
,jerome1 who in his life of ,st4        
,anthony1 assures us that this holy man 
had a conference with satyrs with goats 
feet8 ,do we not justly doubt the       
sincerity of ,st4 ,augustine1 when he   
says1 that he had seen a nation composed
 of men1 who had eyes in the middle of  
their stomachs8 ,are such authors more  
entitled to credit1 than those of       
,robinson ,crusoe1 and of the ,thousand 
and ,one ,nights8  ,supposing even that 
at the commencement of ,christianity1   
there had been authentic books in which 
the actions and the discourses of ,jesus
 ,christ and his ,apostles had been     
faithfully related1 should we be        
justified in supposing that they have   
been handed down to us such as they were
 originally8 ,prior to the invention of 

printing1 it was doubtless much easier  
to impose upon the public than it is    
now1 and notwithstanding1 we see that   
the ,press gives currency to innumerable
 falsehoods4  ,the spirit of party      
causes every thing to be adopted that is
 useful to its own cause4 ,that granted1
 how easy was it for the heads of the   
,church1 who were once the only         
guardians of the holy books1 either from
 pious fraud1 or a determined wish to   
deceive1 to insert falsehoods and       
articles of faith1 in the books         
entrusted to their care4  ,the learned  
,dodwell admits1 that the books which   
compose the ,new ,testament did not     
appear in public1 until at least #ajj   
,years after ,christ4 ,if this fact be  
certain1 how shall we convince ourselves
 that they existed prior to this time8  
,these books were solely entrusted to   
the care of the ecclesiastical gentry1  
till the third or fourth century1 that  
is to say1 to the guardianship of men1  
whose conduct was universally regulated 

by self interest and party spirit1 and  
who possessed neither the probity nor   
knowledge requisite for discovering the 
truth1 or of transmitting it in its     
original purity4 ,thus each doctor had  
the power of making such holy books as  
he pleased1 and when1 under             
,constantine1 the ,christians saw       
themselves supported by the ,emperor1   
their chiefs were able to accept1 and   
cause to be accepted as authentic1 and  
of rejecting as apocryphal1 such books  
as suited their interest1 or did not    
agree with the prevailing doctrine4 ,but
 were we even sure of the authenticity  
of the books1 which the church of this  
day adopts1 we are nevertheless1 without
 any other guarantee of the authority of
 the scriptures than the books          
themselves4 ,is there a history which   
has the right to prove itself by itself8
 ,can we rely upon witnesses who give no
 other proof of what they advance than  
their own words8 ,yet the first         
,christians have rendered themselves    

famous by their deceptions1 their       
factions1 and their frauds1 which are   
termed pious when they tend to the      
advantage of religion4 ,have not these  
pious falsehoods been ascribed to the   
works of ,jesus ,christ himself and to  
the ,apostles his successors8 ,have we  
not1 in their manner1 sybilline verses1 
which are evidently all ,christian      
prophecies1 made afterwards1 and often  
copied word for word into the ,old and  
,new ,testament8 ,if it had pleased the 
,fathers at the council of ,nice1 to    
regard these prophecies as divinely     
inspired1 what or who should have       
prevented them from inserting them into 
the canon of the ,scriptures8 ,and from 
that the ,christians would not have     
failed to regard them in the present    
day1 as indubitable proofs of the truth 
of their religion4  ,if the ,christians 
at the commencement of ,christianity1   
gave credit to works filled with        
reveries1 such as the ,shepherd of      
,hermas1 the ,gospel of the ,infancy1   

the ,letter of ,jesus ,christ to        
,algarus1 what confidence can we have in
 such of their books as remain8 ,can we 
flatter ourselves1 with having even     
these such as they were originally      
written8 ,how can we at the present     
time1 distinguish the true from the     
false1 in books1 in which enthusiasm1   
roguery and credulity pervade every     
page4  ,since the gospels themselves    
fail in the proofs necessary to         
establish their authenticity1 and the   
truth of the facts which they relate1 ,i
 do not see that the epistles of ,st4   
,paul1 or the ,acts of the ,apostles1   
enjoy in this respect a greater         
advantage4 ,if the first ,christians had
 no difficulty in attributing works to  
,jesus1 would they have been over       
scrupulous1 in doing the same to his    
apostles1 or in making for them romantic
 legends1 which length of time has      
caused to pass for respectable books8   
,if a body of powerful men1 had it in   
their power to command the credulity of 

the people1 and found it their interest1
 they would succeed1 at the end of a few
 centuries1 in establishing the belief  
that the adventures of ,don ,quixote    
were perfectly true1 and that the       
prophecies of ,nostradamus were         
inspirations of the divinity4 ,by means 
of glossaries1 commentaries and         
allegories1 we may find and prove       
whatever we desire2 however glaring an  
imposture may be1 it may1 by the aid of 
time1 deception1 and force1 pass in the 
end for a truth1 which it is not        
permitted to doubt2 ,determined cheats  
supported by public authority may cause 
ignorance1 which is always credulous to 
believe whatever they choose1 especially
 by persuading it that there is merit in
 not perceiving inconsistencies1        
contradictions1 and palpable            
absurdities1 and that there is danger in
 reasoning4     ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,life of
 ,st4 ,paul1 according to the ,acts of  
the ,apostles  ,i have thus far shewn   
that nothing was more destitute of proof

 than the authenticity of the books     
which contain the life and writings of  
,st4 ,paul4 ,i have shewn that the ,acts
 of the ,apostles1 and the ,epistles of 
,st4 ,paul1 were rejected by some       
,christian sects which subsisted from   
the earliest times of the church4 ,it   
must have been seen that the opinion of 
the authenticity of these books was     
founded solely on traditions1 to which  
it is very difficult to give credit1    
considering the characters of those by  
whom these traditions have been         
transmitted1 it is however upon such    
suspicious guarantees1 that the         
authority of these works has been       
pretended to be established2 it will    
then be necessary to admit them at once 
and without examination1 or else recur  
to reason in order to examine for       
ourselves1 what we ought to think       
concerning them4  ,to form our ideas of 
,st4 ,paul1 let us then consult only    
these works1 however suspected their    
origin may appear to us1 which contain  

the detail of his life2 there are no    
others to which we can have recourse4   
,the author of the ,acts of the         
,apostles1 whoever he be1 relates the   
miraculous conversion of ,saul1         
afterwards called ,paul1 in the ninth   
chapter4 ,we find him already named in  
the two preceding chapters1 first as    
approving of the death of ,st4 ,stephen1
 the first martyr for the ,christian    
religion1 and next as persecuting and   
desolating the church4 ,not contented   
with tormenting the ,christians of      
,jerusalem1 he furnished himself with   
letters from the ,high ,priest which    
authorised him to seize those whom he   
might find at ,damascus2 but1 while on  
the road a miracle caused him to change 
all his projects2 he is suddenly        
surrounded by a divine light1 without   
seeing any one1 he hears the voice of   
,jesus of ,nazareth1 who demands of him 
the motives of his persecutions4 ,saul  
trembling enquired what conduct he ought
 to pursue4 ,jesus tells him1 that at   

,damascus he would be informed of his   
intentions4 ,our persecutor on this     
occasion is struck blind1 but his heart 
is converted1 and sight is miraculously 
restored to him by a ,christian of      
,damascus named ,ananias1 who had been1 
by a particular revelation informed of  
his hostile designs against the church1 
and of the great designs of ,god1 who1  
of this persecutor1 would form a vessel 
of election1 that is to say the ,apostle
 of the ,gentiles4  ,soon after this    
conversion and cure1 ,saul is baptized  
and commences preaching ,christ in the  
synagogues1 confounding the ,jews to    
such a degree that they came to the     
resolution to take away his life4 ,but  
the new missionary deceived their       
vigilance by saving himself during the  
night by means of a basket1 in which he 
was lowered1 and made his escape from   
,damascus4 ,he returned to ,jerusalem   
where the disciples of ,jesus were      
thrown into consternation at his        
appearance2 but ,barnabas presented him 

to the ,apostles1 informed them of his  
conversion1 and enrolled him to their   
college4 ,in consequence he preached the
 ,gospel2 this conduct soon raised      
troubles and persecutions against him on
 the part of the ,jews1 who again formed
 the design of putting him to death4    
,but he found means of escaping from    
their fury by the assistance of some    
disciples who conducted him to ,cesarea1
 whence they afterward sent him to      
,tarsus4 ,barnabas came and joined ,saul
 in the latter city1 whence he led him  
to ,antioch4 ,here ,saul and ,barnabas  
remained during a year1 they there made 
a great number of converts2 it was there
 that the proselytes first took the name
 of ,christians4 ,to warm the zeal of   
the new converts1 they sent for prophets
 from ,jerusalem1 one of these named    
,agabus predicted a great famine1 which 
determined the disciples of ,antioch to 
distribute alms to their brethren of    
,judea2 ,saul and ,barnabas were the    
bearers of these marks of generosity1   

and the ,apostles1 whom the first       
faithful made the depositaries of their 
riches1 knew1 without doubt1 the price  
of the acquisition that the sect had    
made in the person of the new           
missionary994       99 ,acts of         
,apostles1 chap4 #ab4     ,,chapter ,v4 
,st4 ,paul styles himself the ,apostle  
of the ,gentiles--,causes of his        
,success4  ,all proves to us that ,paul 
and his associate ,barnabas found it    
much easier to convert the ,gentiles    
than the ,jews1 who showed themselves   
almost always rebels to their lessons4  
,the docility of the first1 and         
indocility of the latter may be traced  
to very natural causes2 the idolators   
were destitute of instruction1 their    
priests1 content with exacting from them
 their offerings and sacrifices1 never  
thought of instructing them in their    
religion2 thus our missionaries         
encountered few obstacles in persuading 
them of the truth of the novelties which
 they came to announce to them4 ,it was 

not thus with the ,jews1 who had a law1 
to which they were very strongly        
attached1 since they were convinced that
 it had been dictated by ,god himself4  
,in consequence our preach-4 ers could  
not make themselves listened to1 but1 in
 proportion1 as the doctrine they       
preached agreed with the notions with   
which the ,jews were previously imbued4 
,the ,apostles were therefore compelled 
to reason with the ,jews1 according to  
their own system1 to shew them that the 
,christ whom they announced was the     
,messiah which they expected from their 
own prophets2 in a word1 in preaching   
the ,gospel to the ,jews1 the preachers 
were driven into embarrassing           
discussions1 and perpetually exposed to 
cavils and contradictions which they had
 no fear of on the part of the          
,gentiles1 who received without         
disputing the novelties which they      
broached to them1 and which besides     
agreed well enough with the notions of  
the pagan mythology1 as we have shewn in

 another work4  ,on the other side also1
 the idolators had not the exclusive    
ideas of religion peculiar to the ,jews2
 they were tolerant1 they admitted every
 species of worship1 and were disposed  
to pay homage to every ,god that was    
proposed to them4 ,the ,hebrews were not
 of this disposition1 they believed     
themselves alone in the possession of   
the knowledge of the true ,god1 and     
rejected with horror strange ,gods and  
worships4  ,these reflections are       
sufficient to explain to us the reason  
of the great success that the ,apostles 
had in preaching to the ,gentiles1      
compared with their endeavours amongst  
the ,jews2 they likewise show us        
especially the true motives of ,paul's  
conduct4 ,in fact1 repulsed by the      
cavils and opposition of the ,jews1 we  
see ,paul and ,barnabas turn themselves 
to the side of the ,pagans1 who listened
 to them with more attention and        
declared to the ,jews1 that ,god had    
forsaken them994       99 ,acts of      

,apostles1 chap4 xiii4 ver4 #de1 c1     
,the ,gentiles were apparently flattered
 by the preference2 numbers of them     
adopted the religion announced to them1 
which did not hinder the ,jews from     
exciting1 against our missionaries1 the 
zeal of the female devotees whose       
clamour obliged them to quit ,antioch4  
,from thence our two associates1 after  
having shook the dust of their feet     
against their opposers1 repaired to     
,iconium1 where they again met with     
opposition on the part of the ,jews who 
even irritated the ,gentiles against    
them1 which compelled them to fly to    
,lystra in ,lycaonia4 ,there according  
to the ,acts of the ,apostles1 ,paul    
thought it necessary to perform a       
miracle1 well knowing that nothing is   
more efficacious than a prodigy in      
making an impression on the minds of the
 vulgar4  ,he then cured a lame man4    
,this miracle convinced the idolators1  
who took ,paul and his comrade for      
,gods1 and under this idea would have   

offered them sacrifices4 ,however this  
wonder did not produce the same effect  
upon the ,jews2 these apparently        
regarded it as a deception1 or some     
trick of which they were not the dupes4 
,in fact we see that the ,jews1 who     
nevertheless yielded to no people in    
credulity1 so far from being moved by   
,paul's miracle1 that they stoned him as
 a malefactor and left him for dead4    
,from this unlucky affair he however    
extricated himself and returned to      
,antioch1 whence he set out in order to 
give an account of the success of his   
mission1 from which it appears that he  
had no reason for self congratulation1  
since1 if he made a number of recruits  
for ,jesus1 he had succeeded at the     
expence of much personal ill usage4     
,nevertheless the ,nazarenes1 or        
,ebionites1 i4 e4 the first of the      
,jews1 who had embraced the doctrine of 
the ,apostles1 were persuaded that the  
religion of ,christ was merely a        
reformed ,judaism4 ,always attached to  

the practices of the ,mosaic law1 they  
believed themselves called upon to      
evince their zeal in its favour2 in     
consequence of which they pretended that
 the ,gentiles1 converted by the        
,apostles1 ought1 like themselves1 to   
submit to the rite of circumcision4 ,but
 ,paul and ,barnabas strongly opposed   
this opinion992 they were well aware    
that so painful an operation1 especially
 after a certain age1 would be very     
likely to dishearten the heathen whom   
they had drawn to their sect4 ,but as   
the affair appeared very important they 
referred the decision to the ,apostles  
who remained at ,jerusalem4 ,in         
consequence ,paul and ,barnabas1 and    
also the partisans of circumcision1     
repaired1 thither1 each with the view of
 maintaining their own opinion4 ,the    
question was argued1 and our two        
missionaries convinced the ,apostolic   
,college of the necessity of freeing the
 ,gentiles from a rite at which they    
revolted4 ,thus1 according to the author

 of the ,acts of the ,apostles1 7who    
appears to have been devoted to ,st4    
,paul's party7 it was decided1 that the 
newly converted ,gentiles should be     
exempted from a ceremony which1 until   
now1 had been regarded as highly        
essential1 since it had been ordained by
 the ,divinity himself4       99 ,see   
,acts of ,apostles1 chap4 xv4 ver4 #e2  
see also in the      second chapter1 of 
this work what is said of the           
,nazarenes4  ,there is reason to believe
 that the old ,apostles did not         
subscribe without great reluctance to a 
decision which seemed to annul one of   
the capital points of the ,mosaic law1  
and had the appearance of rectifying the
 ordinances1 of the ,most ,high4 ,jesus 
himself in his infancy underwent the    
ceremony of circumcision2 during his    
life he practised the customs prescribed
 to his nation2 he formerly declared    
that he was come1 not to destroy1 but to
 accomplish the law of the ,jews2 and   
nevertheless we see ,st4 ,paul and his  

adherents1 of their own authority1 annul
 at one blow a ceremony of divine       
institution1 approved of and observed by
 their master and that for political and
 worldly considerations1 which saints   
ought never to regard4  ,however this   
may be1 by this decision1 which ,paul   
extorted from the ,apostles1 it seemed  
from that time to give the signal of the
 schism1 which in the end totally       
separated the ,jews from the            
,christians4 ,nevertheless we shall soon
 see ,paul1 who on this occasion took in
 hand the cause of the ,gentiles1       
prepare 7resuming the old errors7 and   
circumcise a disciple himself4 ,so true 
it is1 that the greatest saints are not 
always consistent in their opinions1 nor
 uniform in their conduct4  ,the        
,apostles having shewn so much          
indulgence in the article of the        
circumcision of the ,gentiles1 were1    
however desirous of giving a kind of    
satisfaction to the partisans of        
,judaism2 with this view they prohibited

 the new converts from worshipping      
idols1 from giving themselves up to     
fornication2 and ordered them to abstain
 from things strangled and from the     
blood of animals4 ,by these means they  
sought to conciliate every one2 the     
,gentiles were not circumcised1 and     
submitted themselves1 in part1 to the   
ordinances of the ,jews1 who thus saw a 
deference always paid to the law of     
their fathers1 to which they were ever  
strongly attached 994       99 ,see     
,acts of ,apostles1 chap4 xv4 ,all seems
 to prove that      the ,apostles soon  
repented of the weakness they had been  
guilty of in ceding to ,st4 ,paul1 for  
we find he formed a      separate party1
 who preached the ,gospel in his own    
manner1      that is to say1 the ,gospel
 of the uncircumcision4  ,furnished with
 this decision of the council of        
,jerusalem1 in which the ,apostles      
declare themselves authorised by the    
,holy ,spirit1 ,paul and ,barnabas      
returned to ,antioch1 whence they were  

desirous of visiting the towns where    
they had already preached2 but a contest
 respecting the choice of an associate  
of their labours1 made a breach between 
our two missionaries and caused a       
separation between them4 ,barnabas      
accompanied by ,mark embarked for the   
,isle of ,cyprus1 whilst ,paul with     
,silas1 his new companion1 traversed    
,syria and ,cilicia to confirm in the   
faith those who had been recently       
converted 994       99 ,it ought here to
 be remarked1 that there exists yet a   
,gospel of the ,nazarenes1 the honour of
 which has been      decreed to ,st4    
,barnabas1 and in which ,paul is roughly
      handled4 ,in fact this ,apostle   
preached1 as we have shewn1      besides
 uncircumcision1 a doctrine very        
different from that      of the         
,nazarenes1 ,ebionites1 or first        
,christians1 who1      according to ,st4
 ,irenus1 ,st4 ,epiphanius1 and         
,eusebius1      regarded ,jesus merely  
as a man1 the son of ,joseph and ,mary1 

and who was called the ,son of ,god1    
only on account of his      virtues4    
,this may enable us to guess at the     
cause of ,paul's      quarrel with      
,barnabas1 whose ,gospel insinuates that
 ,paul was      in error in teaching    
that ,jesus was ,god4     ,,chapter     
,,vi4 ,paul preaches in ,asia ,minor1   
,macedonia1 and ,greece  ,upon his      
arrival at ,lystra1 ,st4 ,paul1         
notwithstanding the indulgence of the   
,council of ,jerusalem1 thought it good 
policy to circumcise a proselyte named  
,timothy1 who was born of a ,gentile    
father and a ,jewish mother4 ,the ,acts 
of the ,apostles inform us of the motive
 of this circumcision 7chap4 xvi4 ver4  
#c7 it being done because of the ,jews  
which were in those quarters4  ,our two 
,missionaries now travelled over several
 provinces of ,asia ,minor1 such as     
,phrygia and ,galatia1 and yet we find  
that the ,holy ,ghost forbade them to   
announce the word of ,god in ,asia4 ,we 
may indeed suppose1 that in this        

passage1 the ,holy ,ghost is only       
intended to indicate that our           
missionaries themselves perceived1 that 
it would be dangerous for them to preach
 their doctrine2 for in the ,holy       
,scriptures the persons of whom it      
speaks are always supposed to act from  
divine impulse4  ,paul had a vision1    
which persuaded him to go to ,macedonia4
 ,being arrived at ,phillippi1 he       
preached to the women with such success1
 that he had the happiness of converting
 a dealer in purple1 named ,lydia1 who1 
from gratitude1 invited them pressingly 
to lodge in her house4 ,they were well  
accommodated no doubt1 since devotees   
take great care of their directors2 but 
our holy personages had the misfortune  
to perform a miracle which deranged all 
their affairs4 ,paul cast out the evil  
spirit from a damsel1 who having a      
spirit of divination1 brought great     
profit to her masters by soothsaying4   
,the cure1 or perhaps conversion1 of    
this slave1 displeased her masters1 they

 carried their complaint to the         
magistrates2 the people took a part     
against our preachers1 who were beaten  
with rods and then sent to prison4 ,an  
earthquake retrieved their affairs1 they
 gained over the gaoler whom they       
converted to the faith4 ,in the meantime
 the magistrates sent him an order to   
release our prisoners4 ,but ,paul1      
bearing in mind the scourging they had  
received1 required that the magistrates 
should come in person and release them1 
asserting that they were ,roman         
citizens3 at these words the magistrates
 were intimidated1 and came with        
apologies to set them free1 begging them
 to leave their city1 which request they
 complied with1 after having been to    
console ,lydia the devout1 and the      
brethren1 who according to appearances  
did not suffer them to depart           
empty-handed4 ,this bad success did not 
discourage our missionaries who were    
aware doubtless1 that they were         
inconveniences attached to their        

profession4 ,they now went to           
,thessalonica1 where ,paul had the good 
luck to make some proselytes both among 
,jews and ,gentiles2 he converted       
especially1 some ladies of quality2 but 
the hardened ,jews were very much       
irritated at his successes2 they        
endeavoured to apprehend ,paul and      
,silas1 but not being able to find them1
 they dragged ,jason1 their host1 and   
some of the brethren1 before the        
magistrates1 accusing them of treason1  
and of acknowledging another king       
besides ,csar4  ,this uproar obliged our
 missionaries to decamp during the night
 from ,thessalonica1 and take the road  
to ,berea1 where they were well received
 by the ,jews1 since ,paul succeeded in 
convincing them that the ,gospel which  
he announced was clearly predicted in   
their own ,scriptures3 there is reason  
to believe that this was effected by the
 aid of mystical1 cabalistical1 and     
allegorical senses1 of which he so well 
knew the use1 in finding in the ,old    

,testament sufficient to establish      
whatever he was desirous of proving4    
,he gained in this city a great number  
of recruits from amongst the ,greek     
females of quality1 women1 according to 
,st4 ,jerome are best fitted to         
propagate a sect2 their levity makes    
them easily caught by novelties2 their  
ignorance renders them credulous2 their 
talkativeness spreads the opinions with 
which they are imbued2 and1 in short1   
their obstinacy strongly attaches them  
to the way of thinking they have once   
adopted4 ,in a word we see1 that in all 
times the ,christian religion has been  
under the greatest obligations to women2
 it is to them that innovators ought    
especially to address themselves when   
they have opinions to establish1 it is  
by their aid that fanatics and devout   
impostors succeed in giving importance  
to their doctrine1 and sow the seeds of 
discord in society4 ,it appears that in 
the time of ,paul1 women had the right  
of speaking or of prophesying in the    

church1 of this1 they have since been   
deprived1 and they are only allowed the 
privilege of bawling in public1 in      
favour of the systems of their holy     
directors1 whom they always believe     
infallible1 without so much as knowing  
the state of the question4 ,the ,quakers
 are now the only sect which permits    
women to preach 994       99 ,there     
appears some little ambiguity in this   
paragraph1      since if the levity of  
women renders them so easily            
susceptible to the embracing new        
opinions1 the obstinacy      with which 
they are charged in adhering to old     
ones1 would      seem to neutralize the 
opposite propensity1 and like the       
infinite attributes of ,justice and     
,mercy in the ,christians'      ,god1   
they would annihilate each other4 ,the  
fact is1 that the      ignorant of      
either sex1 are always the most         
credulous1 and      their opinions1 when
 imbibed1 are seldom to be dignified    
with any other term than prejudice4 ,of 

the great influence      of woman in    
society1 no one can doubt1 and it is the
 duty of      all who think1 and who    
desire a reformation of the present     
semi-barbarous state of society1 to     
endeavour to inform and      enlighten  
the female mind2 it belongs to man to   
war against      old systems1 and errors
 rendered sacred by their antiquity1    
and perhaps to lay down some few        
elementary principles1      founded upon
 a more rational basis1 but so long as  
the      infant mind is under the       
controul of woman1 it is to her         
that we must look to see those          
principles implanted3 it is      by the 
aid of woman that the mass of mankind   
will 7if ever      it be done7 be       
transformed from a herd of slaves1 to a 
race      of happy and intelligent      
beings1 knowing their rights1 and       
daring to defend them4  ,the ,jews of   
,thessalonica proceeded to trouble our  
preachers1 in their apostolic labours1  
to such a degree that ,paul was under   

the necessity of flying4 ,he1 however1  
took care to leave two missionaries at  
,berea1 to watch over the flock which he
 had gathered4 ,nevertheless these soon 
received orders to join him at ,athens4 
,in this celebrated city the zeal of our
 ,apostle kindled1 he had conferences   
with the philosophers3 desirous to learn
 the nature of the discoveries which    
this man had come to announce to them1  
they conducted him to the ,areopagus1   
there ,paul harangued them and spoke to 
them of his ,god1 in a manner something 
conformable to the notions already      
entertained by some of the ,greek       
philosophers of the ,divinity4 ,to      
confirm his discourse he cited to them a
 passage from the poet ,aratus1 who     
nevertheless appears to suppose1        
according to the doctrine of ,plato1    
that ,god is the soul of the world4 ,he 
inveighed against gods made of stone and
 metal1 which did not shock the         
philosophers1 whose ideas were more     
refined than those of the vulgar4  ,thus

 far our orator was attentively heard1  
but the sages of ,athens would no longer
 listen to him1 when he began to speak  
of the last judgment1 and of the        
resurrection1 which they regarded as an 
absurd and ridiculous notion4           
,nevertheless the preaching of ,paul was
 not totally useless at ,athens1 the    
dogma of the resurrection was no        
obstacle to the conversion of           
,dionysius1 the ,areopagite1 a woman    
named ,damaris1 and some others4 ,these 
were none of them shocked at this       
doctrine1 which was so revolting to     
philosophers1 who were accustomed to the
 study of nature1 and who refused to    
adopt1 without examination1 such        
marvellous and romantic ideas4          
,,chapter ,,vii4 ,preaching of ,st4     
,paul at ,corinth and ,ephesus  ,after  
leaving ,athens our ,apostle came to    
,corinth4 ,it appears that at first he  
had not much success1 for he took to his
 old trade of tent-making4 ,however1 he 
ventured to preach in the synagogue1    

where the ,jews were indignant at his   
discourse3 they carried him to the      
tribunal of the proconsul of ,achate1   
who had sufficient prudence to refuse to
 interfere in their contests4 ,the ,jews
 did not imitate his moderation2 they   
ill-treated ,sostenus1 the chief of     
their synagogue1 either for having      
allowed ,paul to preach there1 or for   
having been converted by his discourse4 
,paul1 after some days1 departed from   
,corinth1 he cut off his hair to fulfil 
a vow he had made1 and which apparently 
obliged him to be present at ,jerusalem1
 in order to sacrifice in the temple1   
according to the law4 ,whence we see    
that our ,apostle had not yet totally   
abandoned the ,jewish religion1 and that
 he judged it good policy1 occasionally 
to manoeuvre with the ,jews4 ,in fact we
 continually see him sometimes          
practising1 and at others decrying1     
,judaism4 ,from ,jerusalem1 ,paul went  
to ,antioch1 where he remained some     
time1 but the activity of his mind soon 

put him in motion4 ,after having crossed
 the high provinces of ,asia he came to 
,ephesus1 where he found the secret of  
uniting to his sect the disciples of    
,st4 ,john the ,baptist1 whom he        
rebaptized1 and made them acquainted    
with the ,holy ,ghost of whom they had  
no idea4 ,having now increased his party
 by these new recruits1 ,paul set about 
preaching in the synagogue1 but finding 
the ,jews rather untractable1 he        
withdrew himself1 and separated his     
disciples from them4 ,he then commenced 
teaching in a separate school and       
performing miracles to confirm his      
discourses2 he cured the sick1 and      
especially those possessed1 in which he 
succeeded much better than those of the 
,jews1 who endeavoured from his example 
to attempt such cures4 ,these miracles  
converted many persons4  ,nevertheless1 
the preaching of ,paul at ,ephesus gave 
rise to an affair1 which had nearly     
proved very troublesome4 ,the           
,goldsmiths of this city derived much   

profit from the manufacture of little   
silver shrines of ,diana1 the patroness 
of the ,ephesians ,these artisans were  
much disturbed with the preaching of our
 apostle1 who decried the gods1 and     
might thus occasion the ruin of their   
trade2 their clamour alarmed the people1
 and caused a great commotion2 the      
public1 as is generally the case1 when  
the affair relates to religion1 grew    
very violent1 without knowing why4 ,they
 comprehended1 in general terms1 that   
their religion and its patroness were   
attacked2 and there needed nothing more 
to inflame their zeal4 ,however the     
town-clerk of the city having explained 
to them that their goddess was in no    
danger1 succeeded in calming the fury of
 the superstitious populace1 and thus   
extricated our apostle from his         
embarassments4  ,paul1 however1 thought 
proper to quit a city1 in which he had  
run such a risk1 and again put himself  
in motion4 ,arrived at ,troas he        
recommenced preaching1 when his sermon1 

being a little too long1 sent a young   
man to sleep1 who fell from the third   
story into the street3 they took him up 
for dead1 when our ,apostle having      
embraced him1 assured them that he      
lived1 the author of the ,acts1 takes   
this fact for a miracle1 and tells us   
gravely that ,paul raised a dead man on 
this occasion4  ,notwithstanding this   
pretended miracle1 which if it had been 
true ought to have converted the whole  
town1 ,paul went directly away1 and     
recommenced his travels4 ,at ,miletus he
 took leave of the priests of all the   
adjacent places1 after having made them 
a pathetic exhortation1 in which he     
boasts of his humility and              
disinterestedness1 and desires them to  
watch over the flock which he had       
gathered together by his preaching and  
indefatigable exertions4     ,,chapter  
,,viii4 ,the ,apostle gets into         
embarrassments at ,jerusalem1 and is    
sent to ,rome  ,paul now embarked for   
,jerusalem2 notwithstanding his own     

presentiments1 the warnings that were   
given him1 and the prayers of his       
adherents1 he was obstinately determined
 to resort to this city1 where the ,jews
 irritated by his successes1 prepared   
him an unpleasant reception4 ,he was    
welcomed by the brethren1 to whom he    
related the progress of the new sect1   
but these informed him of the bad       
designs of the ,jews1 who pretended1 and
 not without reason1 that he taught a   
doctrine contrary to that of ,moses4 ,to
 silence these rumours1 and to calm the 
anger of the populace1 they advised him 
to fulfil some of the ,jewish ceremonies
 in public1 and to give to these acts of
 religion much solemnity4  ,paul        
consented to this counsel1 but the ,jews
 of ,asia1 were not thus duped1 they    
knew what to keep to respecting the     
doctrine which had disgusted them2 they 
then excited the ,jews of ,jerusalem1 by
 saying1 that he brought the ,gentiles  
into the ,temple4 ,all the city was soon
 in an uproar1 the devout people seized 

,paul1 drew him out of the ,temple1 the 
gates of which were closed against this 
profaner4 ,they were going to kill him1 
had not a tribune rescued him out of    
their hands1 and shut him up in a       
fortress1 in the midst of the clamour of
 an enraged populace1 which demanded his
 death4  ,the ,apostle ready to enter   
his prison1 asked of the tribune        
permission to harangue the mob1 which   
was granted after his ,conductor was    
probably assured that he was not the    
brigand who had lately excited an       
insurrection in the country4  ,in his   
discourse1 which he pronounced in       
,hebrew1 ,paul related to the people the
 history of his miraculous conversion1  
nearly in the manner in which it has    
been narrated4 ,this recital far from   
softening the ,jews1 made them lose all 
patience1 especially when our ,apostle  
told them he was sent to the ,gentiles4 
,they then broke silence1 crying out1   
away with such a fellow from the earth1 
it is not fit that he should live4 ,the 

tribune then shut him up in prison1 and 
commanded that he should be scourged1 in
 order to draw from him an              
acknowledgment of the crime which had   
excited the fury of the ,jews4 ,paul    
then declared himself a ,roman citizen1 
and represented to the centurion charged
 with the execution of these orders1    
that it was contrary to law1 thus to    
treat a citizen without a trial4 ,the   
centurion informed the tribune1 who was 
fearful of having acted with too much   
precipitation4 ,he was desirous of      
knowing for a certainty of what he was  
accused by the ,jews1 and the next      
morning1 freeing him from his chains1   
presented him to the priests and council
 of the nation4 ,paul then began to     
harangue the council4 ,he first declared
 that in all he had done1 he had        
followed strictly the dictates of his   
conscience4 ,at these words the ,high   
,priest gave him a box on the ear1 at   
which ,paul being irritated1 instead of 
turning the other cheek1 according to   

the precept of ,jesus1 abused the ,high 
,priest1 treated him as a hypocrite1 or 
whitened wall4 ,but as he perceived that
 he had given offence by his insolence  
to a man respected by the ,jews1 he     
moderated himself1 and alleged that he  
was ignorant that it was the ,high      
,priest whom he had thus addressed in   
such terms2 an ignorance1 however1 which
 cannot fail to excite surprise1        
considering that he was a man1 who must 
have been informed respecting the place 
where he was1 and the quality of those  
before whom he was speaking4 ,our orator
 was more of an adept1 in managing the  
opinions of his auditory3 aware that the
 council was composed of ,sadducees1 who
 denied the doctrine of the             
resurrection2 and of ,pharisees1 who    
supported it1 he knew how to profit by  
this circumstance1 by sowing the seed of
 discord among his judges4 ,in order to 
this he pretended that he was a         
,pharisee1 and the son of a ,pharisee1  
and asserted that they sought his life1 

because of his hope in the resurrection 
of the dead1 ,this stratagem produced   
the desired effect1 the ,pharisees      
declared in his favour1 and acknowledged
 his innocence1 saying1 ,we find no evil
 in this man1 but if a spirit or an     
angel hath spoken to this man1 let us   
not fight against ,god4 ,the tumult     
increased1 and the tribune fearing that 
the orator would be torn in pieces1 put 
him under a guard of soldiers1 and      
carried him back to prison4  ,during the
 following night1 ,paul had a vision1 in
 which he thought he saw the ,lord1 who 
told him to be of good courage2 and     
prophecied that he should go to ,rome to
 bear witness4 ,on the other hand forty 
fanatical ,jews1 made a vow neither to  
eat nor drink till they had assassinated
 ,paul4 ,this resolution had the        
approbation of the princes and priests1 
who1 according to the clerical spirit1  
found nothing more just than            
assassination in order to get rid of an 
enemy4 ,the senators also consented to  

this treachery4 ,but ,paul's nephew     
having informed him of this plot1 he    
made the tribune acquainted with it1 who
 to secure the safety of his prisoner1  
and to rescue him from the fury of the  
,jews1 conducted him under a good escort
 to ,csarea1 and put him under the      
protection of ,felix1 the governor of   
that province4  ,paul1 and his accusers1
 made their appearance before the pagan 
governor1 who1 little versed in the     
theological disputes of the ,jews1 told 
them that he should decide the affair   
when he was more fully acquainted with  
the particulars4 ,however some days     
after1 he caused the ,apostle to be     
brought before himself1 and his wife    
,drusilla1 who was a ,jewess2 they heard
 what he had to say to them of faith in 
,jesus ,christ4 ,but when ,paul1 after  
having preached to them of justice1     
charity1 and repentance1 spoke of the   
last judgment1 they were afraid1 and    
ordered him to retire1 postponing the   
hearing till a future time4 ,felix      

hoping to draw some money from his      
prisoner1 often sent for him to converse
 with him4 ,this conduct lasted two     
years1 at the end of which period this  
,governor was replaced by ,festus4  ,the
 ,jews proceeded to accuse ,paul before 
the new governor1 and demanded that he  
should be sent to ,jerusalem4 ,the      
accused1 well knowing that the place of 
this scene would be unfavourable to him1
 and fearing that ,festus would yield to
 the importunities of his enemies1      
appealed from him to ,csar4 ,this appeal
 suspended all proceedings4 ,however    
,festus having spoken of his prisoner to
 ,king ,agrippa1 who had the curiosity  
to see a man that had made so much noise
 in ,judea4 ,paul appeared before this  
prince1 justified himself from the      
accusations brought against him1 and    
finished by preaching the resurrection  
of ,jesus ,christ4 ,this doctrine       
appeared so strange to ,festus that he  
did not doubt a moment of his being     
deranged4 ,however as folly did not seem

 to him a crime worthy of death1 he     
would instantly have acquitted him1 had 
he not made an appeal to ,csar4 ,in     
consequence of this appeal1 ,paul was   
put on board a ship about to sail for   
,italy4 ,after many difficulties he was 
shipwrecked on the coast of the isle of 
,malta1 where the author of the ,acts1  
from whom we have taken this narrative1 
does not fail to make him perform       
miracles1 a necessary seasoning to      
legends4  ,amongst other wonders which  
,paul wrought in the isle of ,malta1 he 
cured himself1 in a very natural manner1
 of the bite of a viper2 in fact1 it    
appears that he applied fire to it      
immediately1 a simple and well known    
remedy1 but which was such a prodigy in 
the eyes of the poor ,maltese1 that they
 took him1 who was in possession of so  
fine a secret1 for a ,god994 ,there was 
apparently nothing more wonderful in the
 ,apostle curing the son of his host1   
whom he found ill of a fever and        
dysentery2 disorders which we find yield

 to very simple remedies4 ,still this   
cure gained ,paul great reputation1 they
 soon brought him a great number of     
sick1 who1 according to our historian1  
he did not fail to cure4 ,they rendered 
him great honours1 furnished him with   
the necessary provisions for his voyage1
 and he embarked for ,italy4       99   
,acts chap4 xxviii4 ver4 #c-f4  ,upon   
his arrival at ,rome1 ,paul was         
permitted to confer with the            
,christians1 and to preach to the ,jews1
 whom he endeavoured to convert to the  
faith of ,christ by the law of ,moses   
and the prophets1 which he had the      
talent of applying wonderfully to his   
views3 ,some smitten with the mystical1 
cabalistical1 and allegorical           
explications1 that our ,apostle gave    
them1 adopted his opinions1 while many  
others resisted his arguments4          
,indignant against the latter1 he told  
them that their hardness of heart had   
been predicted by ,isaiah2 he then gave 
them to understand1 that ,god had formed

 the project of blinding them1 in order 
to have a fair pretext for rejecting    
them1 and transferring to the ,gentiles1
 the light and salvation of which the   
,jews had made themselves unworthy1 by  
the obstinacy in which it was the will  
of ,god that they should persist4  ,this
 conduct of the ,divinity must doubtless
 have appeared very strange to the      
,jews4 ,so the ,acts inform us1 that    
there arose from these preachings of    
,paul1 great contests among them4 ,they 
turned apparently upon predestination   
and grace2 questions upon which         
,christian theologians1 have not after  
eighteen centuries been able to come1   
either to an understanding or agreement4
  ,it appears that notwithstanding the  
obscurity of his doctrine our ,apostle  
succeeded in gaining proselytes to his  
sect2 this obscurity itself1 has charms 
for many persons1 who believe that a    
doctrine1 is so much the more marvellous
 or divine1 as it is above the power of 
the understanding4 ,he preached during  

two years to the ,romans1 without any   
person throwing obstacles in his way1   
and thus laboured to spread this        
religion in the capital of the world4   
,the ,acts of the ,apostles1 which the  
church orders us to receive as of divine
 inspiration1 informs us nothing more4  
,st ,luke to whom this work is generally
 attributed1 has transmitted to us1     
neither the actions1 miracles nor death 
of his heroes4 ,we are reduced to seek  
our information thereupon from          
traditions1 which the interests of the  
clergy would wish us to regard1 almost  
as sacred as divine inspirations4       
,according to these respectable         
traditions1 our ,apostle shed his blood 
for the faith in the propagation of     
which he had laboured2 he was1 say they1
 beheaded in the reign of ,nero1 and in 
the sixty-sixth year of the ,christian  
era4  ,after what has been said1 we     
ought naturally to regard ,st4 ,paul as 
the true founder of the pontifical see  
of ,rome4 ,nevertheless certain         

traditions1 useful to the ,roman        
,pontiffs1 oblige us to believe that it 
was ,st4 ,peter1 who established his    
throne in the capital of the world2 the 
popes have thought1 that their interests
 required1 that they should pass for the
 authorized successors of this ,prince  
of the ,apostles1 to whom ,christ       
himself according to the ,gospel1       
granted immense rights and privileges4  
,these traditions then make ,st4 ,peter 
travel to ,rome1 prior to ,st4 ,paul1   
and only regard the latter as the       
subaltern associate in the ,apostolic   
labours of the former4  ,nevertheless   
some critics have ventured to doubt of  
the reality of ,st4 ,peter's voyage to  
,italy1 and his foundation of the first 
see in the world1 some authors otherwise
 very orthodox1 without regarding the   
interests of the ,pope1 or respect for  
the traditions which favour them1 have  
treated those pretensions as chimeras3  
as to the heretics1 the sworn enemies of
 the authority of the ,roman ,pontiff1  

they have asserted1 that the voyage of  
,st4 ,peter to ,rome was a fable        
invented by the supporters and          
partizans1 with a design to exalt his   
authority4 ,both parties found their    
doubts or assertions upon these grounds4
 ,first1 ,that the books which the      
church considers as inspired1 make no   
mention of the voyage of ,simon ,peter1 
although the circumstance of going to   
plant the faith in the capital of the   
world1 was sufficiently remarkable to   
claim a notice in preference to all the 
minor cities1 which the ,acts inform us 
that he visited to preach2 in fact1 the 
,holy ,ghost1 or ,st4 ,luke his organ1  
wishing to inform us in this history of 
the means made use of by ,god1 to       
propagate the ,gospel1 could not without
 injustice1 omit such a signal success1 
nor fail to give the honour of it to    
,st4 ,peter1 in case he had a claim to  
it4  ,secondly1 ,st4 ,paul who was at   
,rome at the same time1 that ,peter was 
supposed to have been there1 never once 

mentions this ,prince of the ,apostles1 
in the epistles to the faithful at      
different places1 while he speaks to    
them of many other disciples of much    
less consideration than his illustrious 
colleague3 we ought piously to suppose  
that if ,st4 ,peter had really          
established the faith at ,rome1 the     
,apostle of the ,gentiles would have    
been too equitable to ravish from him   
the glory1 that must have accrued to him
 from so fine a conquest4  ,thirdly1    
,our two ,apostles1 after the disputes1 
which they had at ,antioch would not    
have been desirous of meeting1 or       
exhibiting in the same place4 ,st4      
,peter would naturally avoid a haughty  
colleague1 who resisted him to his face1
 and who publicly reproved him in a     
manner sufficiently disagreeable4       
,besides ,rome being a pagan city1      
naturally fell into the department of   
the ,apostle of the ,gentiles4 ,in short
 according to the ,acts of the          
,apostles1 ,st4 ,paul was too hasty to  

agree long with an associate greater    
than himself4 ,his quarrel with         
,barnabas1 for a slight difference1     
proves that ,paul was easily irritated4 
,fourthly1 ,st4 ,peter wrote his first  
epistle from ,babylon1 and not from     
,rome4 ,it is true that the advocates of
 this voyage of ,peter's1 pretend that  
,babylon is the same city as ,rome1 but 
this is a geographical error1 that      
without a great share of faith can never
 be admitted for a truth4 ,again1 the   
city of ,babylon in ,syria1 no longer   
existed in the time of ,peter1 there was
 then only a ,babylon in ,egypt2 it is  
only there that we can suppose ,peter to
 have written this first epistle4       
,fifthly1 ,the traditions which make    
,st4 ,peter travel to ,rome1 are filled 
with fables1 which make them very       
suspicious1 such as his dispute with    
,simon the magician1 who having raised  
himself into the air1 by virtue of his  
art1 fell down and broke his limbs by   
virtue of the ,apostles prayers4 ,we may

 also place in the list of fables1 the  
apparition of ,christ to ,peter1 when he
 fled from ,rome1 and his crucifixion   
with his head downwards4 ,these facts   
are related neither by inspired authors1
 nor eye witnesses1 they are founded on 
traditions only1 that is to say1 popular
 rumour1 which many persons do not      
respect so much as the ,pope1 and the   
clergy seem to desire4  ,at the risk    
then of uncovering ,peter to cover ,paul
 we say that all these reasons1 seem at 
least to authorize a doubt respecting   
the voyage of ,st4 ,peter to ,rome1 at  
any rate the ,acts of the ,apostles     
appears to insinuate that ,paul was the 
true founder of the see of ,rome4 ,he   
must then be regarded as the first      
,pope4 ,besides the popes have adopted  
his maxims1 and faithfully imitate his  
policy in many respects2 this would     
easily be proved by comparing the almost
 constant principles of the church of   
,rome1 with those of our ,apostle1 which
 we shall soon have occasion to examine4

     ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,reflections on the
 ,life and ,character of ,st4 ,paul     
,such is in a few words the life of ,st4
 ,paul whom we are justly entitled to   
regard as the principal founder of the  
,christian ,religion4 ,in fact it       
appears that without him1 the ignorant  
and rude disciples of ,jesus1 would     
never have been able to spread their    
sect4 ,in order to succeed they required
 a man of greater information and       
activity1 more enterprising and         
enthusiastic1 and possessing more       
dexterity than any of those1 who        
composed the apostolic college1 before  
it was joined by ,paul4 ,in him we see  
all those qualities united1 which made  
him of all others1 the most fitted to   
lay the foundation of a new sect4 ,he   
knew how to profit by the lessons he had
 received from ,gamaliel2 from him he   
had acquired a profound knowledge of the
 ,jewish ,scriptures1 and learnt the art
 of explaining them in an allegorical   
sense1 or1 in other words1 the ,cabala  

by which we may find in these books     
whatever we desire4  ,it can hardly be  
doubted that our ,apostle1 possessed    
much energy and ambition4 ,we first see 
him persecuting the disciples of ,jesus 
with ardour2 and with the view of       
gaining his ends1 and making court to   
the priests1 stoop to the trade of      
informer and spy4 ,apparently he        
expected by these means to advance      
himself1 but seeing the futility of     
these ambitious hopes1 and probably     
despised and neglected even by those    
whom he had thus zealously served2 he   
changes his batteries1 threw himself    
upon the enemies side1 and seeing the   
abilities of those whom he found at the 
head of the new sect1 he felt how easily
 he could eclipse them1 and constitute  
himself the chief4  ,there is reason to 
believe that these were the true motives
 of ,paul's conversion2 a mind of his   
stamp in declaring itself on the side of
 the new sect1 at once satisfied its    
vengeance and ambition4 ,it was then    

very easy for ,ananias to make him      
listen to reason4 ,the apostles were not
 slow in discovering the value of their 
new acquisition2 they acknowledged the  
superiority of such a man2 they foresaw 
the advantages the rising sect would    
derive from his knowledge1 his active   
and persevering genius and intrepidity  
of character4 ,thus we see the new      
,apostle1 from the moment that he was   
enrolled in the ,apostolic ,college1    
perform the principal part1 and throw   
his coadjutors completely in the shade4 
,these contented with preaching at      
,jerusalem1 seldom showed themselves at 
a distance from this city1 whilst our   
hero1 continually traversed the         
provinces1 made spiritual conquests1 and
 strengthened in a hundred places the   
cause of the disciples of ,christ1 now  
become his own4 ,in a word ,paul now    
becomes the soul of his sect2 his       
enthusiasm extends itself2 he braves    
danger when it is necessary to increase 
the number of his partizans2 his        

ambition is flattered by the empire that
 he has gained2 crosses1 fatigues1      
imprisonments1 and blows are not capable
 of abating his ardour2 determined to   
succeed at any cost he sacrifices every 
thing to the desire that he has of      
extending those opinions1 which give him
 the power of reigning over the minds of
 men4 ,he knew well that no-empire upon 
earth is more grateful or stronger than 
that of opinion4  ,nothing appears that 
ought to induce us to regard the        
activity1 obstinate constancy1 and      
courage of ,paul as miraculous or       
supernatural effects4 ,we find the same 
zeal1 and frequently the same           
intrepidity and obstinacy in all those  
strongly animated by ambition or any    
other passion4 ,obstacles but serve     
generally to irritate energetic minds1  
more and more1 they make a merit of     
braving dangers2 torture1 and even      
death1 cannot restrain those who are    
thoroughly enamoured with any object in 
which they have placed their happiness4 

,st4 ,paul has been held up to us as a  
man divested of all personal views4 ,his
 humility1 constancy1 disinterestedness1
 and patience1 have been advanced1 as   
undoubted proofs of his sincerity1 and  
pure zeal for his religion4 ,but we say 
that all these things prove nothing but 
his violent desire for success4 ,the    
preachers of an infant and oppressed    
sect1 destitute of power1 must always   
announce themselves with much           
suppleness1 mildness and humility2 an   
ambitious man must in order to gain     
men's hearts1 effect much moderation and
 appear disinterested2 besides he is    
sure of losing nothing1 when he shall   
succeed in establishing his empire over 
the mind4 ,do devotees ever neglect     
their spiritual guides8 ,in short       
patience and constancy are necessary in 
all enterprises2 every man who would    
crown a great adventure with success1   
ought to avoid hastiness4 ,nevertheless 
if we turn to the history of ,st4 ,paul1
 we shall see that patience was not     

always his ruling virtue2 he very often 
spoiled his plans by his eagerness1 and 
especially he alienated the minds of the
 ,jews1 rather than converted them to   
his opinions4 ,he would perhaps have    
succeeded much better with them1 had he 
kept a better government over his       
impetuous temper1 at which it appears   
his coadjutors often revolted4 ,devotees
 generally mistake that for zeal1 which 
is but a vice in their character1 and an
 imprudence in their conduct4 ,the      
bitter reply that ,paul made to the     
,high ,priest1 proves that our ,apostle 
was not excessively enduring1 and       
forgot1 at least1 on some occasions his 
,christian patience4     ,,chapter ,x4  
,of the ,enthusiasm of ,st4 ,paul  ,it  
appears certain that this apostle was   
filled with enthusiasm and zeal4 ,it    
will perhaps be asked whether we have a 
right to regard him as an impostor8 a   
thousand examples prove to us1 that     
nothing is more common1 than to witness 
enthusiasm1 zeal and imposture united in

 the same person4 ,the most sincere     
enthusiast is generally a man whose     
passions are turbulent1 and capable of  
blinding him2 he takes his passions for 
divine impulses1 be deludes himself1 and
 if we may be allowed the expression1   
gets intoxicated with his own wine4 ,a  
man who at first engages in a particular
 cause from motives of interest1 or     
ambition1 very frequently finishes by   
attaching himself to it with sincerity  
and with strength proportioned to the   
sacrifices he may have made for it4 ,if 
he succeed in persuading himself1 that  
the cause of his passions is the cause  
of ,god1 he will make no scruple of     
supporting it by all sorts of means1 he 
will sometimes allow the use of         
artifice1 deceit1 and oblique ways of   
maintaining the opinions of which he    
happens to be convinced4 ,it is thus we 
daily see very zealous devotees1 employ 
deception1 fraud1 and sometimes crime1  
in support of the interests of religion1
 i4 e4 of the cause they have embraced4 

,thus although in the first instance the
 desire of being revenged on the        
priests1 or ambitious views1 may have   
determined ,st4 ,paul to join the sect  
of ,christians1 he might have been able 
by degrees to attach himself strongly to
 it1 to persuade himself that it was    
preferable to the religion of the ,jews1
 and to employ objectionable means1 in  
order to make it succeed in the world4  
,the examination that now remains for us
 to make of some features in the conduct
 of our apostle1 and of some passages in
 the writings which are attributed to   
him1 will serve better than any         
reasoning to determine the judgment1 we 
ought to come to respecting this person4
 ,let us then hear what he has to say   
for himself4 ,this analysis will shew us
 whether ,paul was so sincere1          
disinterested1 humble1 mild1 and upright
 as his partizans1 maintain him to have 
been4  ,st4 ,paul in speaking of himself
 says3 ,that he knew a man who was      
caught up into the third heaven1 and    

that there he heard unspeakable words1  
which it was not lawful for man to      
utter994 ,it appears in the first place 
that no one but a man of a very heated  
imagination could with sincerity pretend
 to have been caught up into the third  
,heaven2 and no one but an impostor1    
could assert such a fact without being  
persuaded of it4 ,in the second place we
 may ask of what use could it be to     
mankind that ,st4 ,paul should hear in  
the third heaven1 unspeakable words1    
that is to say1 such as it was unlawful 
for man to utter8 ,what should we think 
of a man who should come and assure us1 
that he possessed a secret most         
important to our happiness1 but yet one 
which he was not permitted to divulge8  
,thus the voyage of ,st4 ,paul is either
 a chimera engendered by a sickly brain1
 or a fable1 contrived by a cheat1 who  
sought to make himself respected by     
boasting of the peculiar favours of the 
almighty4 ,this voyage then was         
perfectly useless1 since it was not     

permitted him who made it to relate that
 which he learnt from it4 ,in short     
there is malice in ,st4 ,paul thus      
irritating the curiosity of his hearers 
and refusing to satisfy it4 ,under      
whatever point of view then we behold   
this history or tale of ,paul's         
ravishment into the third heaven1 it can
 be of no utility to us1 and reflects   
but little honour upon himself4       99
 #b ,corinthians1 chap4 xii4 ver4 #b1   
#c1 #d4     ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,of the     
,disinterestedness of ,st4 ,paul  ,in   
narrowly examining into the conduct of  
our ,apostle1 we shall have much        
difficulty in discovering that          
disinterestedness with which his        
partizans are so desirous of investing  
him4 ,we have already exposed the       
natural motives which may have          
contributed to his conversion4 ,if it be
 true as the ,acts of the ,apostles1    
adopted by the ,ebionites or ,nazarenes1
 asserts1 that ,st4 ,paul flattered     
himself with the idea of marrying the   

high priest's daughter1 and failed in   
the project1 the disappointment might to
 a man of his passionate and hasty      
temper1 be a motive sufficient to       
determine him to change sides1 and from 
being as we have shewn him to have been 
the spy and satellite of the priests1   
basely seeking to gain their good will1 
by becoming the agent in their furies   
against the disciples of ,jesus2 to     
declare himself in favour of those1 who 
were their greatest enemies4 ,it was    
perhaps the ill success of ,paul's      
amours1 that determined him to a life of
 celibacy1 and to boast of it as        
meritorious1 whilst according to the    
,jewish law1 nothing was held in less   
repute than this state4 ,this holy man  
would doubtless transform into a virtue1
 a conduct1 which in him was nothing but
 chagrin and ill temper4 ,he asserts    
that it is good for men to abstain from 
women2 consequently our clergy have     
regarded celibacy as a virtue3 they have
 fancied themselves obliged to imitate  

the great ,st4 ,paul even in his        
resentments against the sex4 ,they have 
flattered themselves with the idea of   
being able to resist like him the       
temptations of the flesh1 which often   
torments them2 if they have indulgently 
permitted marriage to the profane1 it is
 because ,paul has said1 it is better to
 marry than to burn4 ,it is             
notwithstanding probable that the       
conversion of ,st4 ,paul was occasioned 
by other motives than the anecdote      
related by the ,acts of the ,ebionites1 
which appears exposed to many           
objections4 ,in fact1 according to these
 ,acts1 ,paul was a pagan born1 was made
 a proselyte1 and consequently he could 
not1 without having been guilty of great
 folly1 pretend to the daughter of a    
high priest1 whose dignity was so       
eminent amongst the ,jews4 ,on the other
 hand according to the writings adopted 
by the ,christians of our time1 ,st4    
,paul was of the tribe of ,benjamin1 and
 would not have been permitted to marry 

the daughter of a high priest1 who must 
necessarily have been of the tribe of   
,levi4 ,again ,paul was a mechanic1 a   
tent-maker1 a situation which must have 
deprived him of all hope of an alliance 
so illustrious as that of a sovereign   
,pontiff4 ,thus unless we suppose that  
love had totally blinded our hero1 to   
the obstacles which naturally opposed   
themselves to his desires1 there is     
reason to believe that his conversion1  
or change of party1 originated from     
other motives1 than the chagrin of      
seeing his amours frustrated4 ,there is 
reason to believe that ,paul being of a 
very unquiet genius1 was tired of his   
trade3 desirous of trying his fortune1  
and living without work1 he became the  
spy of the priests and the informer     
against the ,christians4 ,dissatisfied  
with the priests1 who perhaps had not   
rewarded him to the extent of his       
expectations1 he joined the new sect1   
which assisted by his talents promised  
good success1 or even a probability that

 he might become the head2 at least he  
might fairly calculate on an easy and   
honourable subsistence without being    
obliged to make tents1 ,in fact he saw1 
that the apostles1 who were vulgar men  
much inferior to himself1 lived very    
well at the expence of the new converts1
 who eagerly brought their wealth and   
laid it at the apostles feet1           
consequently ,paul was sensible1 how    
easy it was for him to live in the same 
way1 and provide himself a very         
comfortable birth1 in a sect1 in which  
he felt himself capable of playing a    
very important part4 ,his ambition must 
have been more gratified with occupying 
one of the first posts1 even amongst    
beggars1 than of cringing in an infamous
 and dishonourable capacity1 under      
avaricious1 haughty and disdainful      
priests4 ,indeed ,paul himself tells us 
that he had relations of considerable   
note among the apostles1 who having     
embraced the faith before him1 might    
have laboured with success for the      

conversion of a man so disposed499      
99 ,epis1 to ,romans1 chap4 xvi4 verse  
#g4  ,the persecutions that he had      
excited against the disciples could not 
have put any very serious obstacles in  
the way of his admission into the       
apostolic college3 nothing was required 
but to explain and agree upon facts4    
,the chiefs of the sect were very much  
flattered at seeing the conquest made by
 their party of an inconvenient         
adversary1 who came of his own accord1  
and offered his services4 ,his          
conversion1 effected by a miracle1 did  
honour to his mission1 and showed the   
vulgar the protection of heaven1 which  
changed the heart of the most bitter    
enemy of the ,christians4 ,as ,paul was 
not ignorant that in this sect great    
value was set upon miracles1 visions and
 revelations1 he thought this was the   
most favourable door by which he could  
enter1 and render himself acceptable to 
the ,apostles2 they received him with   
open arms well assured of the sincerity 

of a man who after having made such an  
uproar could not recede without making  
himself equally odious both to ,jews and
 ,christians4 ,st4 ,paul amongst other  
talents which rendered him a fit person 
to propagate the new religion1          
understood1 according to appearances1   
,hebrew1 ,greek1 and ,latin1 whilst in  
spite of the gift of tongues1 we do not 
find1 that the other apostles possessed 
these advantages4 ,in fact we see them  
remain at ,jerusalem1 preaching to the  
,jews only1 whilst the new apostle      
extended his spiritual conquests1 into  
the provinces of ,asia and ,greece1     
where it appears that without him the   
,gospel would not have been preached so 
soon4  ,once connected with the new     
sect1 ,paul had doubtless a great       
interest in spreading it1 in            
strengthening his party1 and making     
converts in order to gain support1 and  
have the pleasure of reigning over a    
great number of devotees4 ,thus1 under  
every point of view1 we see that our    

,apostle1 whether in his conversion1 or 
in his preaching1 was every thing but   
negligent of his interest4 ,all         
missionaries have necessarily ambition2 
they propose to themselves the pleasure 
of governing minds1 and every thing     
proves that ,paul was not exempt from a 
passion inherent in all founders of     
sects4 ,and further having once         
established his ecclesiastical power1 we
 often see him taking care of his       
temporal interests1 and making his flock
 feel how just it is that the priest    
should live by the altar2 in a word to  
occupy himself with the emoluments of   
his preaching4 ,let him1 says he1 that  
is taught in the word communicate unto  
him that teacheth in all good things499 
,he speaks in the same tone to the      
,thessalonicans 7chap4 v4 ver4 #ab47 ,he
 likewise recommends them an abundant   
charity4       99 ,epis1 to ,galatians1 
chap4 vi4 ver4 #f4  ,it remains to be   
observed1 ,st4 ,paul is not like his    
successors ungrateful for the benefits  

which he has received4 ,he thanks the   
,philippians for having twice assisted  
him in his need4 ,it appears that in his
 time the ,apostles did not possess the 
divine right that men had the goodness  
to give them3 but the clergy have since 
asserted that they hold from ,god alone1
 that which they obtained from the      
generosity of princes and people1 which 
evidently frees them from the necessity 
of showing gratitude to any one4        
,,chapter ,,xii4 ,of the imperious ,tone
 and political ,views of ,st4 ,paul  ,it
 appears by the writings attributed to  
,paul himself that the empire which he  
exercised over the members whom he had  
added to his sect1 was not one of       
mildness4 ,in proof of this1 may be     
cited the manner in which this spiritual
 despot speaks to the faithful of       
,corinth4 ,moreover 7says he7 ,i call   
,god for a record upon my soul1 that to 
spare you1 ,i came not as yet into      
,corinth499 ,again1 ,for to this end    
also did ,i write1 that ,i might know   

the proof of you1 whether ye be obedient
 in all things99994 ,he threatens the   
,corinthians1 and says to them1 if ,i   
come again ,i will not spare4 ,again he 
justifies the tone in which he talks1 by
 saying1 ,therefore ,i write these      
things being absent1 lest being present 
,i should use sharpness1 according to   
the power which the ,lord hath given me 
to edification1 and not to              
destruction4999999 ,it is probably by   
virtue of this right of chastising1 here
 assumed by ,st4 ,paul1 that the        
,pontiffs and ,priests of the           
,christians have since arrogated to     
themselves an unlimited spiritual power 
over1 the thoughts of their subjects4   
,their empire extended itself by degrees
 over their persons2 ,christian priests1
 exceeding the ,apostle to whom the     
,lord had given this power to edify1    
availed themselves of it to destroy     
those whom they found not sufficiently  
submissive to their decisions4 ,if ,st4 
,paul did not exercise over his sheep a 

power so extensive1 it is doubtless     
because he had not1 like our pastors1   
princes1 magistrates and soldiers under 
his orders1 capable of executing his    
holy will3 with his imperious temper we 
may justly conclude that he would have  
conducted himself much in the same      
manner as some fathers of the church1   
the ,pontiffs of ,rome1 or the ,holy    
,inquisition4  ,we see also that the    
,apostle1 not satisfied with being sole 
judge in spiritual affairs1 was desirous
 of the power of deciding in civil      
suits4 ,dare any of you having a matter 
against another go to law before the    
unjust1 and not before the saints8 ,do  
ye not know that the saints shall judge 
the world899999999 ,this passage        
evidently proves that the ,apostle in   
the depth of his policy had already     
formed the design of making the saints1 
i4 e4 the clergy1 masters of the        
fortunes as well as the consciences of  
the faithful4 ,in fact1 he adds1 know ye
 not that we shall judge angels8 ,how   

much more1 things that pertain to this  
life8 ,we cannot sufficiently admire the
 moderation of the ,christian clergy1 in
 not having rigorously acted up to the  
letter of this decisive text1 which     
formally gives them the right of judging
 in all temporal affairs1 or the        
concerns of this life4 ,indeed it       
appears according to this passage1 that 
,christians in their transactions1 ought
 to have no other judges1 or even       
sovereigns1 than the church4 ,it is from
 these maxims1 that our priests have    
become censors1 or a kind of            
magistrates1 who interfere with every   
thing1 and set themselves up for the    
judges of the legitimacy of civil acts1 
of births and marriages1 of which they  
have made themselves masters2 in a few  
words1 they seize upon man the moment he
 is born1 and regulate all his motions  
until his death4 ,it is from these      
pretences1 that the popes have          
impudently arrogated the power of       
disposing of crowns1 of exciting        

insurrections and wars1 and of deciding 
upon the rights of sovereigns and       
people4       99 #b ,corinthians1 chap4 
i4 ver4 #bc4       9999 #b ,corinthians1
 chap4 ii4 ver4 #i4       999999  #b    
,corinthians1 chap4 xiii4 ver4 #b4 and  
#aj4       99999999 #a ,corinthians1    
chap4 vi4 ver4 #a4 and #b4  ,it is by no
 means surprising that the heads of the 
,christian church1 have at all times    
held up ,st4 ,paul1 as a man divinely   
inspired2 have for a distinction        
entitled him1 the ,apostle1 have        
inculcated for his writings the most    
profound veneration1 and have caused    
them to be considered1 as the oracles of
 the ,holy ,ghost4 ,this ,apostle was   
evidently the architect of the church4  
,we may consider him especially as the  
founder of the ecclesiastical hierarchy4
 ,it is to him that are owing the       
prerogatives1 privileges1 divine rights 
and pretences of the clergy4 ,st4 ,paul 
established bishops1 assigned them their
 rights1 and in his writings laid the   

foundations of that spiritual power1    
which has since become so formidable to 
temporal authority4 ,how could the      
inventor of so many useful things1 fail 
to be regarded as the organ of the      
divinity4  ,nevertheless1 if we read the
 gospels with the slightest attention1  
we shall find that ,jesus has no where  
spoken of this hierarchy or power1 nor  
of the prerogatives of the clergy2 on   
the contrary1 we see him' incessantly   
preaching to his apostles1 equality1    
humility and poverty4 ,but in that as in
 many other instances1 our ,apostle     
thought himself at liberty to correct   
the institutions of ,christ1 who on all 
occasions shewed himself unfavourable to
 priests4 ,these changes effected by    
,paul are sufficient to make us         
acquainted with his secret policy4 ,he  
endeavoured apparently to make himself  
the spiritual and temporal head of the  
churches1 which he had by his labours1  
founded among the ,gentiles1 with whom1 
as we have shewn1 he had more success   

than amongst the ,jews4 ,it was to gain 
them over that he became all things to  
all men1 that he dispensed them1 as we  
have said1 from the most essential      
ordinances of the ,mosaic law4 ,in short
 he had the secret of insinuating       
himself1 into the minds of idolators1   
whom he sometimes took by surprize      
accommodating himself to their          
capacities1 and giving them as he       
himself has said1 sometimes milk1 and at
 others1 solid food4 ,as we have already
 sufficiently shewn1 ,paul after his    
successes with the ,gentiles1 gave      
himself little trouble respecting the   
converted ,jews1 or with his elder      
brethren in the apostle-ship2 and openly
 declared himself against the ,mosaic   
law4 ,as we have seen be went himself to
 ,jerusalem1 to solicit a decree1 to    
dispense the ,gentiles from the rite of 
circumcision2 this he had much at heart1
 feeling how necessary this indulgence  
was1 in order to secure his new         
subjects4 ,thus it was he who enlarged  

the breach1 though small in its origin1 
which separated the ,jews from the      
,christians1 or ,nazarenes4 ,this       
conduct naturally displeased the rest of
 the apostles1 who appeared1 even after 
the council1 always attached to the     
,jewish ordinances1 but who on this     
occasion1 found themselves compelled to 
cede to ,paul1 or at least to temporize 
with a man who had gained an ascendancy 
over them4     ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,of the
 ,humility1 of ,st4 ,paul  ,with the    
ability and ambitious conduct which we  
have just remarked in ,st4 ,paul it is  
difficult to conceive that humility     
could have been his ruling passion4     
,perusing his writings1 we shall without
 much difficulty discover that when he  
humbles himself it is generally with a  
view of exalting himself in the eyes of 
his adherents2 he does not fail to boast
 of the penalties1 sufferings1 and      
labours that he has submitted to for    
love of them1 it is upon this1 that he  
founds his claims to their respect and  

gratitude4 ,let a man so account of us1 
as of the ministers of ,christ1 and     
stewards of the mysteries of ,god3      
further on he adds1 for ,i think that   
,god hath set forth us1 the apostles    
last1 as it were appointed to death3 for
 we are made a spectacle unto the world1
 and to angels1 and to men4  ,st4 ,paul 
then reproaches the ,corinthians1 with  
their ease1 their luxury1 and their     
pretences1 and compares their happy     
situation with his own4 ,we are1 7says  
he to them17 fools for ,christ's sake1  
but ye are wise in ,christ3 we are weak1
 but ye are strong2 ye are honourable1  
but we are despised4 ,even unto this    
present hour we both hunger and thirst1 
and are buffeted1 and have no certain   
dwelling place1 and labour1 working with
 our own hands4 ,he then enumerates the 
evils he has suffered1 and adds ,i write
 not these things to shame you1 but as  
my beloved sons to warn you4 ,of what8  
,he explains himself1 and says1 ,for    
though you have ten thousand instructors

 in ,christ1 yet have ye not many       
fathers2 for in ,christ ,jesus ,i have  
begotten you through the gospel4 ,our   
humble missionary sends them his        
lieutenant1 ,timothy1 to bring them back
 to their duty1 i4 e4 to the obedience  
they owed to their spiritual father1 he 
threatens them himself1 and mildly      
demands of them1 ,what will ye8 ,shall  
,i come unto you with a rod1 or in love1
 and in the spirit of meekness8  ,in all
 this remarkable tirade there are no    
traces of that profound humility1 for   
which credit has been given to ,paul3 on
 the contrary1 all discovers a          
domineering spirit1 and a desire of     
exclusive power over the faithful whom  
he had converted4 ,it is generally the  
proudest men who complain the most      
bitterly of being despised and treated  
with contempt2 and1 amongst devotees1   
,pride knows how to cover appearances   
with the garb of humility4 ,however1 our
 ,apostle does not give himself the     
trouble to mask his self-love3 in fact1 

when he compares himself to the rest of 
the ,apostles1 he makes us understand1  
that though he terms himself the last1  
he has a right to be considered as the  
first4 ,he says1 ,for ,i suppose ,i was 
not a whit behind the very chiefest     
apostles4 ,it seems that the            
,corinthians were shocked with the      
harshness of his tone2 for he adds1 but 
though ,i be rude in speech1 yet not in 
knowledge3 but we have been thoroughly  
made manifest among you in all things4  
,then feeling that they might be        
disgusted with these imprudent self     
commendations1 he says1 ,seeing that    
many glory after the flesh1 ,i will     
glory also4  ,it is easy to see that our
 ,evangelical ,doctors propose to       
themselves ,paul's humility as a model  
for their own4 ,it is doubtless1 in     
imitation of this great ,saint1 that the
 ,pope calls himself the ,servant of the
 ,servants of ,god1 which does not1     
however1 prevent him from making those  
who refuse to acknowledge his unlimited 

power1 and blindly subscribe to his     
infallible decisions1 feel his pastoral 
rod2 but when the rulers of the ,church 
make use of this rod1 it is only to shew
 their great zeal for the interests of  
the ,lord4     ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,of the 
,zeal of ,st4 ,paul2 ,reflections on    
this ,christian ,virtue  ,that passion  
which in common life is termed1 anger1  
fury1 vengeance or delirium1 becomes    
zeal as soon as its object is religion1 
or the cause of ,god4 ,it is a maxim    
among ,christian devotees1 that we      
cannot love ,god too much1 consequently 
we cannot sin in excess of zeal4        
,according to these principles1 our     
doctors in their quarrels1 injure1      
defame1 calumniate1 and asperse1 and    
when they have the power1 persecute and 
exterminate each other4 ,each sect1     
firmly persuaded that it is in the      
right1 and that its peculiar way of     
thinking is the only one that ,god can  
approve1 thinks itself justified in     
destroying the opinions of its          

adversaries1 which displeasing to       
itself1 must consequently displease the 
divinity4 ,thus in attentively examining
 the thing1 we find that religious zeal 
is nothing but anger1 excited in a bigot
 by opinions adverse to his own1 or     
those of the party he has espoused4 ,in 
a word1 zeal is the gall which          
contradiction secretes in the souls of  
bigots4 ,there can be no doubt1 but that
 ,st4 ,paul has left a model of this    
sort1 which our evangelical doctors1    
have in all times faithfully copied4 ,if
 this great ,apostle did not go to the  
extent of persecuting those who resisted
 his arguments1 or refused blindly to   
submit to his supreme decisions1 it is  
because he was not sufficiently strong2 
otherwise judging from the warmth of his
 temperament we may reasonably presume1 
that he would have been easily carried  
to extremities1 well calculated to      
justify the holy passion to which the   
heads of the church have since given    
themselves up on all occasions1 when    

they have had sufficient power to give a
 lustre to their zeal4  ,in fact we     
find1 that ,paul's self love1 did not   
suffer contradiction with too much      
patience4 ,he delivers over to ,satan   
those who refuse to obey him1 he        
pretended that any other ,gospel1 than  
his own1 was abominable4 ,i marvel that 
you are so soon removed from him that   
called you into the grace of ,christ    
unto another gospel4 ,he pretends and   
affirms that he alone taught the true   
doctrine1 and that all others are       
impostors1 false prophets1 and          
disturbers2 we are obliged to believe on
 his own word that he possesses         
infallibility4  ,he goes so far as to   
say in the heat of his self-love ,but   
though we1 or an angel from heaven      
preach any other gospel unto you1 than  
that which we have preached unto you1   
let him be accursed4 ,as we said before1
 so say ,i now again1 if any man preach 
any other gospel unto you1 than that ye 
have received1 let him be accursed499   

,this language might well appear        
insolent1 presumptuous1 and even impious
 to those who have not faith1           
nevertheless it is that which is        
invariably held by the chiefs of every  
sect2 we see them1 upon their own       
authority1 continually anathematizing1  
excommunicating1 damning and delivering 
over to the devil1 whoever has the      
temerity to understand the ,gospel in   
any other way but their own4 ,every     
doctor like ,paul1 declares himself and 
even believes himself to be infallible2 
nothing in the world1 7not even the     
angels of heaven7 could make him        
renounce opinions which his self-love1  
his obstinacy1 and his vanity1 cause him
 to behold as the only true4       99   
,epistle to ,gal4 ,chap4 i4 ver4 #h and 
#i4  ,the history of ,paul1 however     
furnishes us with an embarrassing       
circumstance4 ,ardent in dispute and    
obstinately attached to his own ideas1  
we see this infallible ,apostle boasted 
of having resisted ,cephas1 i4e4 ,peter1

 to his face1 who nevertheless appears  
to have had titles to infallibility1    
still better established than those of  
our ,apostle2 in fact if ,paul1 in order
 to prove his own infallibility1        
supports it by his visions1             
inspirations1 revelations1 and miracles3
 ,st4 ,peter might in favour of his own1
 oppose to him a great number of        
visions1 dreams1 and prodigies equally  
authentic with those of his brother4 ,if
 ,paul founded the divinity of his      
mission1 and the truth of his particular
 way of thinking on his own testimony1  
could not ,st4 ,peter cite1 in support  
of his authority1 the testimony of      
,jesus ,christ1 who had declared him the
 chief of the apostles1 who had         
established him1 as the first shepherd  
of his flock1 and the rock on which1 he 
would found his church8 ,is it not upon 
this authentic evidence1 that the ,pope1
 who stiles himself the successor of    
,peter1 founds his infallibility1       
acknowledged and maintained by the      

greater part of the ,roman ,catholic    
,clergy8 ,there is then reason to be    
astonished that ,paul1 with titles not  
so well established1 should have dared  
to resist ,peter to his face1 or that he
 should have boasted of such resistance2
 and it is not less surprising that the 
latter should have ceded to his junior  
in the apostleship1 having such powerful
 arguments to support his claim to      
infallibility4  ,all may however be     
explained by the supposition that upon  
this occasion ,st4 ,paul showed himself 
more headstrong than ,st4 ,peter1 who   
for the sake of peace1 yielded to the   
eagerness of his adversary1 and would   
not support his own infallibility at the
 risk of exciting a schism in the rising
 sect4 ,we have seen in our time pious  
,jansenists avail themselves of ,st4    
,paul's example1 to resist to the face  
the infallible decisions of the ,roman  
,pontiff2 but he1 less moderate than his
 predecessor ,st4 ,peter1 would not     
cede1 but remained obstinate in         

maintaining his irrefragable authority1 
and by this means produced and fomented 
divisions1 which the determined zeal    
displayed by both parties1 has rendered 
very dangerous4 ,the successor of ,st4  
,peter anathematizes1 and finding       
himself the strongest1 persecutes the   
imitators of ,st4 ,paul1 for daring to  
resist him3 these of course strongly    
attached to their principles which they 
deem infallible1 are obstinate in their 
resistance1 detest the opinions of their
 tyrants1 and in spite of charity1 very 
cordially damn those who do not think   
like themselves1 whilst these last from 
attachment to the infallibility of the  
,pope1 whom they have on their side1    
believe themselves compelled1 in        
conscience1 to make their adversaries   
submit to the most inhuman and          
unreasonable treatment4  ,such are the  
salutary effects which zeal has produced
 in the ,church of ,jesus ,christ1 from 
the first preaching of the gospel to the
 present day4 ,the zeal of ,st4 ,paul   

not contented with exercising itself    
against his brethren the apostles1      
shewed itself strongly in all           
situations4 ,we see him excite trouble  
and clamour in whatever cities he       
happened to be4 ,we generally term a man
 a public disturber1 who troubles the   
peace of his neighbours2 but1 in        
religion1 a saint is a man who dares to 
preach his own opinions1 as those of    
,god himself1 at the risk of exciting   
the most disastrous revolutions in      
society4 ,his self-love becomes         
legitimate as soon as its object is     
religion2 proves to him in the most     
convincing manner that he is always     
right2 that his way of thinking is      
necessary to salvation1 and that all    
considerations ought to give way to such
 an important object4 ,if religious zeal
 is able one day to procure advantages  
in the other world2 it is at least very 
evident that it causes many misfortunes 
here below4 ,in the eyes of reason it is
 always equally dangerous1 even when it 

is the fruit of the most sincere        
devotion4 ,if the impostor1 the         
ambitious man and the hypocrite1 avail  
themselves of it as a cloak to cover all
 crimes1 the sincere bigot thinks that  
zeal justifies the greatest excesses1   
and often makes a merit1 and even a     
duty1 of detesting his fellows and      
troubling society4  ,it is in fact      
difficult to reconcile zeal with the    
spirit of union1 concord1 and peace1    
that ,christianity recommends1 or with  
that charity which ,st4 ,paul places    
above all virtues1 and without which1 he
 assures us that all the others are     
useless4 ,but did this ,apostle himself 
possess much charity1 when not satisfied
 with carrying trouble into every place 
where he preached1 he inveighed against 
those whom he found not disposed to     
believe998       99 ,epistle to ,tim4   
,chap4 i4 ver4 #bj4  ,it is doubtless   
nothing but a lively faith1 which can   
reconcile the violent conduct of this   
great ,apostle1 with the charity which  

he incessantly recommends4 ,it appears  
at least difficult to have a sincere    
regard for men whom zeal obliges us to  
hate1 either as our own enemies1 or as  
the enemies of ,god4 ,the subtle        
theology of the ,christians1 can alone  
reconcile these incompatible            
dispositions4  ,it is only the ministers
 of the ,church1 who have the talent of 
proving1 that without a violation of    
,christian charity1 it is lawful to     
harass1 persecute1 and destroy ones     
neighbours4 ,they can in fact clearly   
show that we may burn the body of a man1
 out of tenderness for his soul4 ,they  
think they have a right to excommunicate
 a man1 or anathematize him1 that is to 
say1 exclude him for ever from spiritual
 grace1 to put him in short into the    
road to damnation1 to deliver him to    
,satan1 for the destruction of the      
flesh1 in order to save him1 according  
to the spirit4 ,this conduct is not the 
least inconceivable mystery of the      
,christian religion2 faith is doubtless 

necessary to find it either charitable  
or intelligible4 ,how can we conceive1  
for example1 that the desire of saving  
the soul of an heretic1 or an impious   
man1 can determine the inquisition or   
,christian magistrates to consign him to
 the flames1 even while be persists in  
those opinions1 which they suppose must 
plunge him into hell8     ,,chapter     
,,xv4 ,of the ,deceptions or ,apostacy  
of ,st4 ,paul  ,by the aid of faith we  
never find any thing to condemn in the  
conduct of those1 whom we have been     
accustomed to regard as saints2 their   
obstinacy1 seditious spirit1 pride1 even
 their ferocity1 are justified1 by      
saying that they are animated with a    
holy zeal4 ,in a word1 a saint may      
violate with impunity1 the most sacred  
rules of morality1 without his bigoted  
admirers permitting themselves to       
criticise his conduct4 ,saints have     
always been in the habit of terming     
those chastisements1 which they have    
drawn upon themselves 7oftentimes       

justly7 by their unruly passions or     
indiscreet zeal1 persecution4 ,those    
whom a devout phrensy excites to tumult 
and disorder are honoured as confessors 
and martyrs1 and we find the ,jews and  
,pagans were the most unjust and cruel  
of men1 for having treated the          
,christians1 whom they could not        
consider but as disturbers of the public
 peace1 in the same manner as the       
,christians now treat the ,jews1        
heretics1 and infidels4 ,bigots1        
accustom themselves to regard their     
saints as irreproachable characters1 or 
if they cannot justify their conduct1   
they say that ,god has permitted them to
 sin1 to humiliate them1 in order that  
he might have an opportunity of         
pardoning them4 ,it is thus that every  
good ,christian regards a brigand in    
revolt against his legitimate sovereign1
 an usurper1 a monster of cruelty1 an   
infamous adulterer1 an assassin1 in a   
word1 a ,david1 as a great saint2 or    
even by excellence1 as the man after    

,god's own heart6 ,faith in the mind of 
a bigot1 is able to reverse1 even the   
most simple rules of morality and       
virtue4 ,religion encourages the most   
perverse men to give themselves up to   
the blackest crimes1 the most shameful  
vices1 and the most shocking            
irregularities1 by setting before them  
the examples of scoundrels1 who were    
nevertheless the friends of ,god4  ,it  
cannot be pretended that ,st4 ,paul of  
whom we are now speaking1 was guilty of 
excesses1 similar to those committed by 
the king of the ,jews1 whose whole      
history is a series of horrors3 but     
without faith it is difficult to        
consider our ,apostle as an             
irreproachable character2 though the    
historian1 whoever he be1 to whom we are
 indebted for the ,acts of the          
,apostles1 has designed to hold him up  
as a model of virtue1 we find that by a 
singular oversight he did not seem      
aware1 that he made him tell an untruth 
in public1 and in the most solemn manner

 in presence of the ,sanhedrim or great 
council of the ,jews4 ,in fact as we    
have already remarked1 perceiving that  
his audience was composed of ,sadducees 
and ,pharisees1 with the view of        
dividing them and gaining friends1 ,paul
 cried out that he was a ,pharisee1 the 
son of a ,pharisee1 and that they sought
 to kill him1 because of his hope in the
 resurrection4  ,in this assertion we   
may detect two deceptions4 ,in the first
 place ,paul was not a ,pharisee1 at the
 moment he spoke he was a ,christian1 he
 was an ,apostle1 he preached ,jesus    
,christ1 he laboured effectually to make
 proselytes to his sect1 he had         
disgusted the ,jews in announcing to    
them a new law1 contrary to that of     
,moses1 he had procured in the council  
at ,jerusalem the abolition of the      
practice of circumcision so strictly    
ordained by their law4 ,in a word he    
preached ,christianity and not ,judaism 
in the same moment that he declared     
himself a ,pharisee4 ,on this occasion  

his conduct was in fact that of an      
apostate1 at least it cannot be denied1 
that he conducted himself as a coward1  
who did not care to acknowledge his real
 belief in the presence of the council1 
and who had recourse to an artifice to  
outwit his ,judges4 ,in fact the conduct
 of ,paul on this occasion has no       
resemblance to that of a great number of
 martyrs1 who freely acknowledge        
themselves ,christians at the risk of   
their lives1 and boldly confessed ,jesus
 ,christ1 in the presence of their      
persecutors and executioners4 ,the      
presence of the ,high ,priest and       
council so much imposed on ,st4 ,paul1  
that he declared himself a ,pharisee2   
fear troubled his memory to such a      
degree1 that he forgot he had just      
acknowledged himself a ,christian1 and  
missionary of ,jesus to the ,gentiles in
 the presence of the people collected   
before the gate of the fortress1 who    
indignant at his discourse1 cried out1  
away with such a fellow from the earth  

for it is not fit that he should live4  
,nothing then but theological subtilty1 
can clear ,paul from deception1         
apostacy1 and cowardice on this         
occasion4  ,in the second place it was  
not true1 that it was because of the    
hope of another life1 and of the        
resurrection of the dead1 that ,paul was
 persecuted by the ,jews4 ,it was for   
having preached a new doctrine1 contrary
 to the law of ,moses2 this great       
legislator has in no part taught us what
 we ought to believe concerning the     
resurrection of the dead or of another  
life4 ,the ,jews without ceasing to be  
,jews1 embraced respecting it whatever  
opinion they pleased1 the ,sadducees    
rejected it without however being on    
that account1 excluded from the         
synagogue1 and without ceasing to       
observe the ,judaic law2 the ,pharisee  
admitted it without its appearing to    
cause a schism between them1 ami those  
who did not think1 as they did4 ,it is  
true that ,paul had preached the        

resurrection1 but it was that of ,jesus1
 on which he endeavoured to establish a 
new sect very different from the ,jewish
 religion4 ,thus the words of ,st4 ,paul
 were merely a subterfuge unworthy of a 
man1 whom grace ought to have endued    
with sufficient courage to maintain     
before the council1 at the peril of his 
liberty and his life1 the same          
sentiments that he had taught the people
 and preached in all those places where 
he had planted the faith4 ,it was then  
for having preached ,christianity1 and  
for having 7in spite even of his        
brethren the apostles7 desired in favour
 of the ,gentiles the abolition of the  
,jewish customs1 that ,paul was         
persecuted1 the priests were doubtless  
irritated against a man who sought to   
abrogate a law and a priesthood which a 
divine revelation had so many times     
taught them was to endure eternally1    
whilst the authors of the ,epistle to   
the ,hebrews formerly assures us that   
they have been set4 aside by the        

,gospel4     ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,st4      
,paul's ,hypocrisy  ,we cannot avoid    
perceiving still more of the insincerity
 and profound hypocrisy of ,paul's      
conduct at ,jerusalem4 ,after having    
preached in a great number of towns in  
,asia and ,greece1 a doctrine revolting 
to the feelings of the ,jews1 and which 
every where caused disturbances amongst 
them1 after having in favour of the     
,gentiles abolished circumcision so     
particularly ordained by the law of     
,moses1 and deemed so essential to the  
proselytes of the gate2 we see this     
great ,apostle1 by the advice of his    
brethren1 submit himself1 during seven  
days1 to the ,jewish ceremonies2 purify 
himself with affectation4 ,then ,paul   
took the men1 and the next day purifying
 himself with them1 entered into the    
temple1 to signify the accomplishing of 
the days of purification1 until that an 
offering should be offered for every one
 of them994 ,but the ,jews of ,asia1 who
 knew the real sentiments of our        

missionary1 from having heard him preach
 when amongst them1 were not the dupes  
of his hypocrisy3 they excited the      
people crying out1 men of ,israel1 help3
 this is the man that teacheth all men  
every where against the people1 and the 
laws of this place2 and further brought 
,greeks also into the temple1 and hath  
polluted this holy placet49999 ,these   
were the true charges of the ,jews      
against ,paul1 and without denying what 
we find in the ,acts of the ,apostles1  
we must acknowledge1 that they were well
 founded4       99 ,acts of ,apostles1  
chap4 xxi4 ver4 #f4       9999  ,acts of
 ,apostles1 chap4 xxi4 ver4 #bh4  ,what 
should we say in the present day of a   
bishop1 who1 whilst pretending to be a  
,christian1 should go for a period of   
seven days into a synagogue in ,london  
or ,amsterdam1 to fulfil ,jewish        
ceremonies in the sight of the public8  
,we should not fail to regard him as an 
apostate1 or a knave1 who had sinister  
intentions at any rate1 the most        

favourable construction1 we would put   
upon his motives1 would be to suppose   
him a fool4 ,we are however to admire   
this conduct in ,paul1 he pretends to   
justify himself by the necessity of     
becoming all things to all men4 ,it is  
thus we see that hypocrisy1 falsehood1  
and imposture1 are legitimate means1 by 
which to advance the cause of ,god and  
gain souls4  ,nevertheless there is     
every reason to think that ,st4 ,paul in
 acting in such a singular manner1 had  
his own interest and safety1 more at    
heart than the cause of the divinity4   
,his conduct has been faithfully copied 
by a great number of ,christian         
missionaries1 and especially by the     
,jesuits1 whom their adversaries often  
reproach with having frequently         
assimilated the worship of ,jesus with  
that of those idolatrous people1 whom   
they were endeavouring to convert4      
,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,st4 ,paul accused of 
,perjury1 or the ,author of the ,acts of
 the ,apostles1 convicted of ,falsehood4

  ,not contented with pursuing this     
oblique or hypocritical conduct1 we     
again see1 our great ,apostle1          
evidently1 wilfully guilty of perjury1  
or a false oath4 ,to convince ourselves 
of this we have only to read the        
commencement of his ,epistle to the     
,galatians2 to prove to them1 that the  
gospel which he announced to them2 was  
divinely inspired1 he says ,but certify 
to you brethren1 that the gospel which  
was preached of me1 is not after man4   
,for ,i neither received it of man1     
neither was ,i taught it1 but by the    
revelation of ,jesus ,christ4 ,further  
on he proves what he advances by saying1
 ,but when it pleased ,god1 who         
separated me from my mother's womb1 and 
called me by his grace1 to reveal his   
son in me1 that ,i might preach him     
among the heathen2 immediately ,i       
conferred not with flesh and blood2     
neither went ,i up to ,jerusalem to them
 which were apostles before me but ,i   
went into ,arabia1 and returned again   

into ,damascus4 ,then after three years1
 ,i went up to ,jerusalem to see ,peter1
 and abode with him fifteen days4 ,but  
other of the apostles1 saw ,i none1 save
 ,james the ,lord's brother4 ,now the   
things which ,i write unto you behold   
before ,god ,i lie not994 ,but if ,paul 
did not lie1 in what he related to the  
,galatians1 it is clear that the author 
of the ,acts of the ,apostles1 whom the 
,christian church regards as an inspired
 writer equally with ,st4 ,paul1 has    
lied4 ,in fact in the ninth chapter of  
the ,acts1 it is said that ,paul after  
his conversion1 and after having        
recovered his sight remained some days  
with the disciples who were at          
,damascus2 which proves that he was     
instructed by men1 or that he took      
counsel of flesh and blood4 ,believing  
himself sufficiently fortified in his   
theology1 by ,ananias or others1 he     
began to preach ,christ in the          
synagogue1 at which conduct the ,jews   
were so shocked that they sought to take

 away his life3 but ,saul escaped from  
their fury by means of a basket1 and    
without mention made of his journey to  
,arabia1 he directly returns to         
,jerusalem1 where the disciples were in 
the first instance fearful of him1 but  
,barnabas1 encouraged them1 and         
presented him to the apostles1 at the   
same time relating to them his          
miraculous conversion1 and his          
courageous preaching at ,damascus4 ,in  
consequence it is said that ,paul was   
added to the number of the faithful4    
7,acts ix74       99 ,this passage      
proves very forcibly that ,paul preached
 a      different gospel from that of   
the other apostles1  i4 e4      from the
 ,ebionites or ,nazarenes4  ,it is easy 
to see1 how little this recital of the  
inspired historian of the ,acts1 agrees 
with that of the inspired ,apostle1 who 
wrote to the ,galatians1 and confirmed  
his narration by an oath4 ,besides the  
journey of ,st4 ,paul to ,arabia upon   
leaving ,damascus1 and which preceded   

his arrival at ,jerusalem by three      
years1 becomes very improbable1 as well 
as his stay in this country4 ,in fact   
the disciples at ,jerusalem must have   
been in habits of correspondence with   
those of ,damascus1 consequently they   
would thus have heard of an event so    
interesting to their sect1 as the       
conversion of ,st4 ,paul and the pains  
he took to propagate their doctrines2   
thus the presence of our ,apostle would 
not have created any uneasiness1 and    
there could have been no need of        
,barnabas becoming his surety4 ,it      
appears then that the new convert upon  
leaving ,damascus went directly to      
,jerusalem1 that he had there an        
opportunity of conversing with the      
apostles1 and that his theology was not 
intuitive4  ,but even supposing that the
 journey and sojourn of three years in  
,arabia1 really took place1 it would be 
no less certain that ,paul took a false 
oath to the ,galatians1 or that the     
author of the ,acts is deceived4 ,in    

fact ,st4 ,paul writes that at the end  
of three years he returned to ,jerusalem
 to visit ,peter1 and that he remained  
fifteen days with him without seeing any
 other of the apostles4 ,this is quite  
at variance with the author of the      
,acts1 who informs us that ,paul being  
come to ,jerusalem1 sought to join      
himself to the disciples1 who were      
afraid of him1 not knowing that he was a
 disciple4 ,our ,saint contradicts all  
this by a different tale which he       
confirms by an oath4  ,moreover by this 
oath ,paul himself contradicts the      
discourse which the author of the ,acts1
 puts into his mouth in the presence of 
,king ,agrippa1 of ,queen ,berenice1 and
 the governor ,festus994  ,in relating  
to them his conversion1 he says to them1
 ,whereupon1 ,o ,king ,agrippa1 ,i was  
not disobedient unto the heavenly       
vision2 but shewed first unto them at   
,damascus and at ,jerusalem1 and        
throughout all the coasts of ,judea1 and
 then to the ,gentiles that they should 

repent and turn to ,god1 and do works   
meet for repentance4 ,thus according to 
the author of the ,acts1 ,st4 ,paul     
himself acknowledges that he first      
preached at ,damascus1 then at          
,jerusalem before addressing himself to 
the ,gentiles4  ,if he had preached     
during a period of three years in       
,arabia1 he would have spoken of the    
circumstance1 of which no mention is    
made in all the ,acts of the ,apostles1 
whilst we find there the most minute    
details of the continual journeyings4   
,we shall just remark here a visible    
contradiction in the ,acts of the       
,apostles2 ,the author of this work in  
relating the miraculous conversion of   
,st4 ,paul1 says that those who         
accompanied him1 were speechless1       
hearing a voice but seeing no man99994  
,however the same author1 forgetting    
himself makes ,paul say in his discourse
 to the ,jews1 ,and they that were with 
me saw indeed the light and were afraid1
 but they heard not the voice of him    

that spake to me9999994  ,it belongs to 
the impartial reader to judge what      
degree of confidence is due to writers  
who are so often at variance4 ,in the   
first instance ,paul solemnly attests by
 an oath1 the truth of a fact1 not only 
omitted1 but even formally contradicted 
by ,st4 ,luke1 his historian and        
disciple4 ,in the second instance the   
historian contradicts himself4 ,this    
ought at least to shake the implicit    
faith1 that so many persons put in works
 which possess neither the consistence  
nor harmony required in ordinary        
writers4 ,as to our doctors they tell us
 their ways of saving the honour of     
these two inspired ones2 whom they have 
much interest in washing from so grave  
an accusation1 and such a taint upon the
 ,christian religion4       99 ,acts1   
xxvi4 ver4 #bi4       9999,acts1 ix4    
ver4 #g4       999999,acts1 xxii4 ver4  
#i4     ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,examination 
of ,st4 ,paul's ,miracles  ,though ,st4 
,paul as we have just seen1 has himself 

taken care to shake the credit of the   
author of the ,acts of the ,apostles1 it
 is nevertheless on the word of this    
writer that ,christians think themselves
 obliged to believe in the miracles of  
our great ,apostle4 ,in fact1 like all  
those who have endeavoured to establish 
new sects1 our preacher could not       
dispense with performing prodigies3 this
 is the most certain method of exciting 
the admiration of the vulgar4 ,incapable
 of reasoning1 of judging of the        
soundness of a doctrine1 and frequently 
unable in the least to comprehend it1   
miracles always become the most powerful
 of arguments2 they are indubitable     
proofs that he who works them is the    
favourite of the divinity1 that         
consequently he cannot be in the wrong1 
nor capable of a wish to deceive4       
,miracles were more especially necessary
 amongst the ,jews2 they demanded signs 
from all those who spoke to them in the 
name of the ,lord1 and there was little 
difficulty in working them1 before an   

ignorant and credulous people1 ready to 
receive as such every thing that was    
shewn to them4 ,in spite of a           
disposition so favourable to            
miracle-mongers1 we do not find that    
those of ,jesus himself and afterwards  
of his apostles1 produced on the ,jews  
those effects which we have a right to  
expect from them4 ,we find that at the  
time they were performed they convinced 
nobody and drew those who worked them1  
into difficult situations4 ,it was not  
until a long time had elapsed that these
 prodigies produced their effects1 and  
by a miracle that we can never cease to 
admire1 we find1 that these prodigies1  
which were discarded by those who saw   
them1 were most firmly believed by those
 who did not see them1 and are now      
ranked amongst the strongest evidences  
of the divinity of the ,christian       
religion4 ,there are only some reasoners
 who persist in judging of these ancient
 miracles in the same manner as the     
contemporaries who did not see them1 or 

who1 if they did see them1 regarded them
 as so many instances of deception and  
slight of hand1 incapable of imposing on
 them4 ,it is only the simplicity1 of   
faith1 that is to say1 an implicit      
confidence in the assertions of our     
guides1 which can make us see miracles1 
or cause us to believe in those we have 
not seen4 ,but this simple faith is the 
effect of an especial grace that ,god   
grants only to those who are poor in    
spirit1 and harshly refuses to those who
 think and reason4 ,as soon as we want  
confidence in the operators1 we see no  
more miracles1 or at least we doubt of  
those that are shewn to us4  ,it does   
not appear that ,st4 ,paul performed    
miracles at ,jerusalem after his        
conversion2 this city was not in his    
department3 it belonged to ,st4 ,peter  
and the other ,jewish apostles1 who1    
according to the ,acts1 did not cease to
 work miracles there4 ,our ,apostle of  
the uncircumcised1 or of the district in
 which the ,gentiles were converted1    

having quitted his brethren1 commenced  
his course of miracles at ,paphos4 ,he  
was upon the point of converting        
,sergius1 proconsul of the province1 had
 not a cursed sorcerer of a ,jew1 named 
,barjesus1 and surnamed ,elymas1 i4e4   
magician1 endeavoured to prevent the    
magistrate from believing in ,jesus     
,christ4 ,indignant at the obstacle that
 this man opposed to the divine will1   
instead of converting and convincing    
him1 ,paul abused him according to the  
present practice of theologians1 and    
called him a child of the devil1 and    
finished with striking him with         
blindness4 ,if this conduct was         
conducive to the salvation of the       
proconsul1 who according to the author  
of the ,acts1 having seen this miracle1 
believed1 being astonished at the       
doctrine of the ,lord1 there are many   
who will not be so edified1 at this     
prodigy1 so contrary to ,christian      
charity and mildness4 ,in fact would it 
not have been more kind of ,st4 ,paul   

armed with divine power1 to have        
enlightened the eyes of the sorcerer's  
mind1 than to have struck those of his  
body with darkness8 ,but we always see  
that the miracle that the apostles as   
well as their divine master had most    
difficulty in working was that of       
convincing those who were not disposed  
to believe every thing4  ,it appears    
that on the present occasion1 the       
sorcerer was stronger1 in point of      
reasoning1 than ,st4 ,paul1 which put   
him in a passion4 ,logic was not in     
fact1 the most prominent quality in our 
,apostle1 any more than in his brethren 
and successors4 ,besides1 this holy     
,missionary was of too impetuous a      
temper to reason with moderation1 and   
argue in a clear and precise manner4    
,thus to terminate the dispute with     
,elymas1 he abused him1 and perhaps     
relying on the protection of the        
proconsul1 whom he saw wavering in      
favour of his doctrine1 ventured to     
strike his antagonist1 which deprived   

him of his sight for a period1 for it is
 easy to deprive a man of the use of his
 eyes without a miracle994       99     
,this1 it must in candour be            
acknowledged1 is an inference      which
 the text will not warrant us to draw1  
and is unworthy      ,boulanger's pen4  
,it seems to be compromising the dignity
      of truth1 to impose upon itself   
the necessity of accounting      for all
 the hocus pocus tricks1 or wilful      
falshoods1 which      the ignorance1    
bigotry1 and knavery of a deplorable    
superstition1 have handed down through  
the mist of eighteen                    
centuries4--,translators  ,we learn that
 our ,apostle and his associate         
,barnabas1 wrought such miracles at     
,iconiura1 that all the city was        
divided1 one part being in favour of the
 ,jews1 and the other for the ,apostles4
 ,but immediately after we are informed1
 that when there was an assault made1   
both of the ,gentiles and also of the   
,jews1 with their rulers1 to use them   

despite-fully1 and to stone them1 the   
,apostles were aware of it1 and fled to 
,lystra and ,derbe4  ,this conduct of   
the inhabitants of ,iconiura is         
certainly inconceivable4 ,pagans and    
,jews unite to ill treat and stone our  
,apostles1 who in spite of the divine   
power which they possess have no other  
expedient1 than to seek safety in       
flight4  ,in spite of the inutility of  
his miracles1 ,paul worked more at      
,lystra2 he there cured a lame man1 in  
whom by mere inspection he discovered   
much faith4 ,this gives rise to a       
suspicion that this might have been a   
miracle concerted between them4 ,he said
 to him1 with a loud voice1 stand       
upright on thy feet1 and he leaped and  
walked4 ,the people of ,lystra were so  
struck by this prodigy1 that they took  
our two missionaries for gods1 and would
 have offered them sacrifices1 but ,paul
 and ,barnabas forbade them with great  
modesty4 ,this great miracle must have  
been believed1 even by the priest of    

,jupiter1 since it is said1 that he     
brought oxen and garlands unto the      
gates1 and would have sacrificed with   
them4 ,this circumstance clearly proves 
that nobody at ,lystra doubted the truth
 of this miracle4 ,however some ,jews   
who had arrived from ,iconium were able 
to undeceive a whole city1 which had    
seen the miracle of the lame man4 ,the  
poor ,st4 ,paul1 who had just before    
been taken for ,jupiter1 was stoned1 and
 dragged out of the city for dead2 he   
revived1 however1 and1 in spite of his  
miracle1 he saved himself1 with         
,barnabas by fleeing to ,derbe4  ,the   
miracle wrought by our saint at         
,philippi in ,macedonia1 did not meet   
with more success1 he there cured a     
girl1 who had a spirit of ,python1 and  
being by that means possessed of the    
power of divination1 gained great profit
 to her masters4 ,these1 far from       
acknowledging and admiring the power of 
a man who reduced to silence ,apollo1   
one of the most powerful gods of        

paganism1 brought ,paul and ,silas      
before the magistrates1 and excited the 
people against them4 ,it is right to    
remark in this place1 that ,apollo 7i4  
e4 the ,devil7 who resided in this      
prophetess1 laboured to destroy his own 
empire4 ,in fact having perceived ,paul 
and his comrade1 the girl followed them1
 crying1 these men are the servants of  
the ,most ,high ,god1 which shew unto us
 the way of salvation4 ,and this did she
 many days4 ,but ,paul being grieved1   
turned and said to the spirit1 ,i       
command thee in the name of ,jesus      
,christ to come out of her1 and he came 
out the same hour994  ,it is surprising 
that ,paul was grieved at a declaration 
so favourable to his mission1 and that  
he should impose silence on a demon1    
whose testimony was so honourable1 and  
likely to draw adherents6 but the       
conduct of saints is always             
inexplicable4  ,in these unhappy times  
in which faith is so cold1 no credit is 
given1 either to those possessed1 or to 

soothsayers2 it is difficult to know    
what the nature of the spirit of        
,python1 which inhabited the ,macedonian
 girl could have been99994 ,if we might 
hazard a conjecture on the subject1 it  
might be supposed that our ,apostles1 to
 give themselves some relief1 gained her
 over1 and employed her to play her     
part1 by giving her to understand that  
it would be her interest to attach      
herself to the new sect1 rather than    
work for masters1 who1 probably1 paid   
her very poorly for her services from   
which they drew all the profit4       99
 ,acts xvi4 #ag1 #ah4       9999 ,some  
critics have been very much embarrassed1
 to      conjecture what the nature of  
this spirit of ,python could      have  
been3 several have thought that those   
who had this      spirit1 were such as  
are known to us in the present day by   
the name of ventriloquists1 who have the
 power of      articulating words1 more 
or less distinctly1 without any         
motion of the lips being perceptible4   

,there are such      persons1 who create
 much surprise to those unacquainted    
with      this faculty1 and we cannot be
 astonished that the vulgar1      who   
doat upon the marvellous1 should        
attribute this power to                 
supernatural causes4  ,the magistrates  
of ,philippi on the complaint of those  
masters1 as we have seen1 caused our    
exorcists to be flogged1 and sent them  
to prison4 ,an earthquake happened very 
opportunely1 the jailor was gained over 
or converted2 the magistrates1 thinking 
the ,missionaries had been sufficiently 
punished1 permitted them to depart2 but 
then1 as we have seen1 they declared    
themselves ,roman citizens1 and refused 
to go1 until the magistrates1 who were  
now intimidated1 consented to make them 
an honourable reparation4               
,notwithstanding the miracles wrought by
 ,paul during his mission1 disagreeable 
reports every where accompanied him1 or 
followed him1 so closely in all the     
cities through which he passed1 that    

neither himself nor his comrades could  
remain long in the same place4 ,they    
only passed through ,amphipolis and     
,apollonia1 and repaired to             
,thessalonica1 where1 in a very short   
time1 the whole city was in an alarm4   
,jason1 their host1 was1 as we have     
already seen1 ill treated on their      
account1 it was alleged against our     
,missionaries1 that they overthrew every
 thing1 and in preaching another king   
than ,caesar1 seemed desirous of        
plotting a conspiracy4 ,in consequence  
of this1 as it was a serious accusation1
 the brethren contrived the escape of   
,paul and ,silas during the night4      
,arrived at ,berea1 our two adventurers1
 soon excited similar disturbances4     
,paul repaired to ,athens1 where the    
philosophers who heard him1 took him for
 a talker whose brain was unsound4      
,however in spite of his success1 which 
was doubtless very slow1 he had the     
mortification of being compelled to     
labour at his original trade of         

tent-making1 which was very hard for a  
preacher ordained to live by the altar1 
that is to say1 one whose trade it was  
to sell spiritual wares1 to those who   
bound themselves to provide him1        
wherewith to subsist on credit ,such is 
clerical traffic4 ,further1 ,st4 ,paul  
takes special care to boast to the      
,corinthians of his great               
disinterestedness4 ,he makes them       
understand he would not be chargeable   
upon them2 by which he appears to have  
intended some indirect reproaches1      
calculated to pique their pride and     
excite their generosity1 towards the    
holy man who laboured for their         
salvation994 ,the ,corinthians probably 
imagined that men who performed         
miracles1 had no need of assistance3 but
 our miracle-mongers were under the     
necessity of satisfying their wants by  
ordinary methods4 ,they were like the   
adepts1 who were always in poverty      
though offering to others the secret of 
making gold4  ,there is reason to       

believe that ,paul performed great      
miracles amongst the ,corinthians1 at   
least he says to them himself ,truly the
 signs of an apostle1 were wrought among
 you in all patience1 in signs and      
wonders and in mighty deeds99994        
,however we find that these miracles had
 not yet sufficiently convinced the     
,corinthians1 since ,paul says to them  
,seek ye a proof of ,christ speaking in 
me1 which to you ward is not weak1 but  
is mighty in you9999994       99 ,see   
#b4 ,corinthians1 chap4 xi4 ver4 #g1 #h1
 #i1 #af4 ,chap4 xii4      ver4 #ac1 and
 also #a4 ,corinthians chap4 ix4 ver    
#aa1ac1 #ad1       9999 #b ,corinthians 
xii4 #ab4       999999 #b ,corinthians  
xiii4 #c4  ,respecting the miracles     
wrought by ,st4 ,paul at ,corinth1 we   
have only his own evidence1 and that is 
sufficient2 the author of the ,acts     
though very free upon this article does 
not inform us1 that he wrought any in   
this city1 this was most likely the     
case1 since he remained there a long    

time1 an unusual circumstance1 where he 
condescended to perform miracles1 which 
generally compelled him to remove1 in   
consequence of the disturbance they     
excited4 ,he was obliged to quit        
,ephesus1 where we are assured1 that he 
performed a great number1 and where     
handkerchiefs1 linen1 c4 which had      
touched him1 cured the sick1 and        
expelled devils4 ,he departed from      
,troas directly after having raised a   
dead man to life1 or at least after     
having asserted that a young man1 who   
was thought so1 was in reality not so4  
,in short in the isle of ,malta he cured
 himself of the bite1 either because the
 reptile had not in fact bitten him1 or 
by applying fire to the wound1 a remedy 
which though common1 might be unknown to
 the inhabitants of the island1 as we   
have already remarked4     ,,chapter    
,,xix4 ,analysis of the writings        
attributed to ,st4 ,paul  ,after having 
examined the character of ,st4 ,paul by 
,his conduct1 it will be proper to make 

some reflections on his writings2 they  
will serve to place in a still clearer  
light1 this celebrated man1 to whom     
,christianity owes so many obligations4 
,if we confine ourselves to those works 
attributed to him1 the ,apostle of the  
,gentiles must have been a very         
extraordinary compound of discordant    
qualities1 which when united must have  
produced an inexplicable whole4 ,he     
himself informs us1 that he had within  
him two men1 the new man and the old    
man2 the just man1 and the sinner4 ,he  
had two bodies1 the one natural and the 
other spiritual2 the body of sin and    
death1 and the body of justification and
 life4 ,he had within him1 two laws1    
which regulated his actions1 the law of 
sin1 and the law of justice1 the law of 
the flesh1 and the law of the spirit4   
,never was poor mortal so perplexed and 
teazed1 than was our ,apostle according 
to his own account1 by these two        
opposite laws1 which he had within      
himself4 ,the carnal man makes him say1 

7see ,romans1 chapter vii4 verse #ah1 to
 the end of the chapter47  ,in other    
places the spiritual man1 makes him hold
 another language1 he assures the       
,galatians1 that he is one with ,christ 
and crucified with him 7see ,galatians4 
chapter vii4 verse #ai and #bj47 ,in    
another place he says to the ,romans4   
,for the law of the spirit of life in   
,christ ,jesus hath made me free from   
the law of sin and death4 ,it is clear  
that this duplicity of nature and law in
 ,st4 ,paul as acknowledged by himself  
is calculated to throw us into much     
embarrassment4 ,in fact how can we      
distinguish in his conduct or discourse1
 that which springs from the old1 from  
that which arises from the new man1 or  
the spirit of life and the grace of     
,christ8 ,is it very easy at this time1 
to determine which governed ,st4 ,paul  
in those moments in which he spoke1     
acted1 or wrote8 ,perhaps those maxims  
and dogmas most admired by ,christians  
have been the suggestions of the flesh1 

the fruits of the old man1 and that this
 old man often influenced his conduct1  
which1 as we have shewn was not at all  
times free from reproach4 ,in short the 
acknowledgments are of a nature well    
calculated to plunge the most firm      
,christians into uncertainties from     
which1 without supernatural assistance1 
they will have great difficulty in      
extricating themselves4 ,these          
confessions may further serve to shew us
 the inconsistencies1 contradictions1   
absurdities1 the sophistry and          
superficial reasoning1 and disjointed   
ideas1 which we meet with at every page 
of the writings attributed to ,st4      
,paul4 ,it is to be presumed1 that it is
 the ,holy ,ghost1 or ,christ1 who      
speaks when he appears reasonable1 it   
would be blasphemous to say or think1   
that they could talk nonsense3 in this  
case we shall say1 that it is ,st4 ,paul
 or the flesh1 who speaks1 when we find 
him using bad arguments1 extravagancies1
 and unintelligible nonsense4 ,we cannot

 imagine that the spirit of ,god would  
have made him utter contradictions1 or  
inspired him with a language            
incomprehensible to those whom he       
designed to enlighten and instruct by   
the mouth of this ,apostle4 ,in fact1   
,st4 ,peter himself complains of the    
obscurities of ,paul's epistles1 in     
which1 says he1 are some things hard to 
be understood499       99 #b ,epis4     
,peter1 chap4 iii4 ver4 #af  ,the       
distinction which we have just made will
 enable us to judge of the works of ,st4
 ,paul1 and explain the obscurities     
which we find in them1 as well as the   
continual variations1 which we must     
remark in his principles4 ,he tells the 
,galatians that he was angry with       
,peter1 and withstood him to his face1  
and that he was offended1 with the other
 apostles1 because they temporized and  
used dissimulation1 sometimes advocating
 the usages of the ,jews1 and at others 
the customs of the ,gentiles994         
,elsewhere he says 7here see #a         

,corinthians1 chap4 ix4 ver4 #ai to     
#bb47 ,according to these passages1 is  
it right to temporize1 or not8 ,it      
remains for our doctors to decide which 
of these two principles has been        
divinely inspired to ,st4 ,paul1 and in 
which of them we ought to imitate this  
great ,saint4 ,our doctors however are  
not much in the habit of temporizing    
with their enemies unless they find     
themselves1 too weak to cope with them4 
,our ,apostle declares1 formally to the 
,galatians that circumcision1 is useless
 and will avail them nothing1 he says   
the same thing to the ,corinthians1 ,yet
 we find him circumcising his dear      
,timothy1 and he tells the ,romans that 
circumcision is useful to those who     
fulfil the law4  ,he writes to ,timothy1
 that ,god is the saviour of all men    
expecially of the faithful1 which       
evidently supposes that the unfaithful1 
will not be excluded from ,salvation4   
,he had also said1 that ,god willed that
 all should be saved4 ,but speaking to  

the ,romans1 he will not allow that the 
gates of ,paradise1 shall be opened to  
all the world99994       99 ,galatians  
chap4 ii4 ver4 #aa1 c4       9999       
,romans1 chap4 xi4 ver4 #g4  ,we should 
never finish1 were we to relate all the 
contradictions which are to be found in 
the writings attributed to ,st4 ,paul4  
,it is clear that if he be really the   
author of them1 he exhibits himself to  
us1 as a fanatical writer1 whose        
disordered head prevents him from seeing
 that he is eternally contradicting     
himself4 ,he says that black is white4  
,he follows only the impulses of a      
heated imagination2 he establishes      
principles to destroy them immediately2 
in a word from his want of logic1 and   
the little connexion of his ideas       
without a most lively faith we should   
suspect1 that he was in a continual     
state of delirium4  ,it cannot be denied
 that this great ,saint was of a        
temperament too ardent to allow him to  
reason connectedly1 or to speak with    

coolness4 ,the tumultuous ideas which   
presented themselves in crowds to his   
brain1 did not permit him to put them   
into any thing like an orderly          
arrangement2 he incessantly wandered    
from his subject1 so much so that an    
imagination1 as warm as his own1 is     
necessary in order to follow him in his 
flights4 ,perpetually involved in       
figures1 allusions and allegories1 it is
 nearly impossible to guess what are his
 real sentiments4 ,according to his     
doctrine he appears to establish in the 
strongest manner the dreadful doctrine  
of absolute predestination and          
reprobation4 ,according to him ,god     
grants grace to whom he pleases1 and    
whom he pleases he hardens4 ,if we      
demand how this doctrine can be         
reconciled with the goodness and justice
 of ,god2 or how a ,god who operates in 
man the will and the deed1 can be       
offended with the wills and actions of  
men8 ,he extricates himself by asking if
 the vessel shall say to him who made   

it1 why hast thou fashioned me thus8    
,thus ,st4 ,paul1 and after him all     
,christian doctors1 explain the conduct 
of a ,god1 whom they pretend to love1 at
 the same time that they hold him up as 
a tyrant1 who is not accountable for his
 most unjust caprices1 and despot-like  
is restrained by no rule6  ,st4 ,paul   
being divinely inspired should have     
taught us something of the nature of the
 soul1 an object which so embarrasses   
alt philosophers who not being illumined
 from above1 have formed ideas upon this
 subject1 so much at variance with those
 of our ,christian doctors4 ,but far    
from throwing any light upon this       
important matter1 our ,apostle1 who     
appears strongly tinctured with the     
platonic philosophy so universally      
taught in his time1 distinguishes the   
body1 soul and spirit1 and thus obscures
 the thing still more4 ,but it is the   
essense of theology to confound every   
thing1 and the interest of theologians  
to plunge mankind into a labyrinth1 from

 which nothing but faith can extricate  
them4     ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,of ,faith1 in
 what this ,virtue consists  ,generally 
speaking it is ,st4 ,paul1 or the author
 of the ,epistles1 7wherever he be7 that
 are attributed to him1 that ought to be
 regarded as the true founder of        
,christian theology4 ,the mysterious    
obscurity of his works1 the tone of     
fanaticism which reigns in them1 and the
 unintelligible oracles with which they 
are filled1 render them well suited to  
impose on the vulgar1 who respect things
 only in proportion as they are         
impossible to be comprehended4 ,devout  
enthusiasm and pious melancholy there   
finds a continual feast for its sickly  
brain4 ,oracles and enigmas are taken   
for divine mysteries1 which without a   
strong dose of faith we should conclude 
were the production of delirium or the  
inventions of imposture1 which seeks to 
put reason to flight4 ,reason had no    
means of examining ideas which are      
totally unreasonable2 thus they         

persuaded men that it was necessary to  
renounce reason in order to become a    
good ,christian4 ,in consequence of this
 principle1 so humiliating to mankind   
and derogatory to the character of a    
,god1 the author of reason1 it was no   
longer permitted to examine anything2   
man was commanded blindly to subscribe  
to the most incomprehensible reveries1  
and it was considered meritorious to    
renounce common sense and adopt fables  
and opinions revolting to every thinking
 being4 ,thus delirium was changed into 
wisdom1 deception into truth1 and       
frequently crime became virtue4 ,they   
closed the mouths of reasoners by citing
 the language of ,paul1 who had said    
that the foolishness of ,god is wiser   
than men1 and the weakness of ,god is   
stronger than men4 ,according to the    
same ,apostle ,god himself had predicted
 by the mouth of a prophet1 the         
revolution that ,christianity was to    
produce in the minds of mankind4 ,i will
 destroy the wisdom of the wise1 and    

will bring to nothing the understanding 
of the prudent4 ,where is the wise8     
,where is the scribe8 where is the      
disputer of this world8 ,hath not ,god  
made foolish the wisdom of this world1  
c499 ,and he concludes by saying1 ,but  
we preach ,christ crucified1 unto the   
,jews a stumbling block1 and unto the   
,greeks foolishness4       99 #a        
,corinth1 chap4 i4 ver4 #ai4  ,however  
violent ,paul's enthusiasm may have     
been1 he well knew how odd the doctrine 
he preached1 must appear to reasonable  
beings4 ,he must have been aware1 that  
it overturned all received ideas2 that  
it would not bear the test of           
examination2 that it was a difficult    
enterprise to persuade sensible beings  
that a ,god could die1 that this ,god   
had arisen again1 that an immutable ,god
 had changed and annulled the eternal   
alliance he had made with the ,jews1 and
 which been so repeatedly confirmed with
 oaths1 c4 ,thus our ,apostle in order  
to pass such improbable opinions1       

believed it requisite1 to substitute    
folly in the place of reason1 and to    
fortify his disciples against the       
weapons of logic4 ,for the evidence     
which results from the testimony of the 
senses be substituted faith1 which      
according to him is the evidence of     
things not seen1 and evidence which can 
only be founded on the most stupid      
credulity4  ,thus this prudent orator   
took care to guard against the          
philosophy of common sense1 and against 
all science1 seeing clearly that they   
opposed1 invincible obstacles to the    
religion that he sought to establish1   
and of which he pretended to be the soul
 and chief4 ,hence we find he attached  
the greatest merit to faith1 that is to 
say1 to a blind submission to his       
authority2 and such an unbounded        
confidence in himself as prevented any  
doubt of those things1 the truth of     
which he attested4  ,as science was     
injurious to the establishment of his   
empire he decried it4 ,knowledge puffeth

 up1 but charity edifieth4 ,by charity1 
we may here understand that affection to
 a spiritual director which closing the 
eyes against those defects1 which in    
common with other men he may possess1   
convinces us that he is always right1   
that he is incapable of the wish to     
deceive1 and in short1 that he ought to 
be believed in preference to the        
evidence of our senses4  ,it is thus    
that this great ,apostle laboured       
incessantly to establish his own        
authority on the ruins of wisdom1       
reason1 and science4 ,however we may    
reply to his doctrine1 so useful to     
those whose interest it is to maintain  
absurd opinions and incredible fables1  
that ,god who1 is1 according to them1   
the author of reason could not have     
destroyed his own work4 ,we shall demand
 of ,st4 ,paul and of those who like him
 preach up implicit faith1 if folly is  
more able than wisdom to attain to the  
knowledge of ,god8 ,we shall ask of     
them1 if ,god has given wisdom to men on

 condition of their never using it1 and 
if it is not by the aid of human wisdom1
 that man gains some idea of the divine 
wisdom8 ,we shall ask if ,god can1      
without absolutely changing the nature  
of things1 make wisdom folly1 and folly 
wisdom8 ,in short we shall ask them1 if 
in order to become a ,christian it is   
necessary to renounce common sense1 or  
how far our folly must prevail to have a
 religion8  ,to all these questions     
theologians1 faithfully treading in the 
steps of ,st4 ,paul1 will reply1 that we
 must believe1 and that as soon as they 
speak1 we must submit to their          
authority4 ,faith says ,paul comes by   
hearing1 whence it results that have    
faith1 we must sacrifice our reason1 to 
the wills of our spiritual pastors4     
,charity ought to convince us1 that     
these infallible guides1 can neither    
deceive nor desire to lead us into      
error4  ,according to this firm         
persuasion we shall never be            
embarrassed1 unless1 by chance1 those   

pastors should happen to disagree in    
their opinions4 ,this however often     
occurs in the church1 and has done from 
the commencement4 ,in fact we have seen 
,st4 ,paul himself resist ,st4 ,peter to
 his face and differ from him in        
opinion4 ,their quarrels like many      
others had fatal results1 and produced a
 true schism between the partizans of   
,peter1 and those of ,paul1 the ,apostle
 of the ,gentiles4  ,the latter has     
acknowledged himself1 that there must be
 heresies in a church1 perpetually      
guided by the most high4 ,this prophecy 
has been verified in the ,christian     
religion1 which from its foundation has 
been incessantly agitated by quarrels1  
divisions1 animosities1 troubles1 and   
paroxysms of fury mat would induce a    
belief1 that the gospel was given to    
nations only to excite in them1         
fermentations unknown to ,paganism1 and 
show them to what a degree of madness   
credulity could lead4  ,the writings of 
,paul especially have furnished in all  

ages ample matter1 for disputes to the  
,christian doctors4 ,the obscure dogmas 
they contain1 have of necessity been    
diversely understood by profound        
dreamers1 who have passed their time in 
meditation4 ,each pretended to have     
discovered the true sense of this       
infallible and divinely inspired doctor4
 ,each found in his writings a          
confirmation of his own sentiments4     
,works filled with contradiction        
continually gave rise to parties the    
most opposite to each other1 and        
virulently bent upon mutual destruction4
 ,the authority of ,st4 ,paul was       
opposed to himself1 and in the          
impossibility of deciding upon questions
 totally out of the power of reason to  
discuss1 recourse was had to violence1  
and the strongest always made the weak  
feel1 that they alone comprehended the  
true sense of the great ,apostle4 ,they 
disputed continually on predestination1 
on grace1 and on the liberty of man2    
they understood neither themselves nor  

,st4 ,paul4 ,the most headstrong1 the   
most wicked1 and the most powerful1     
enforced their opinions as the only ones
 which the ,holy ,ghost had dictated4   
,to conclude1 the incredulous1 are not  
those1 who alone find the writings of   
,paul obscure and unintelligible1 as we 
have seen in the the case of ,st4 ,peter
 already quoted4 ,if this prince of the 
,apostles founded difficulties in the   
work of ,st4 ,paul1 what shall we think 
of the presumption of modern            
commentators when they pretend to       
explain to us1 the enigmatical and      
confused passages that we meet with in  
the epistles of this doctor of the      
,gentiles4     ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,of the 
,holy ,ghost1 and ,divine ,inspiration  
,it would however have been wiser in the
 first instance to examine into the     
degree of confidence due to the real or 
pretended writings of this wonderful    
man1 whose history we have been         
developing4 ,before disputing it would  
have been better to have been certain of

 the authority of an ,apostle whose     
works appear to us infallible only on   
his own word1 or on that of the written 
to whom we owe the ,acts of the         
,apostles4 ,in fact we are told that    
,st4 ,paul was inspired by the ,holy    
,ghost4 ,but what is the ,holy ,ghost8  
,how can it inspire a man8 ,what        
certainty have we that it has ever      
inspired anyone8 ,by what signs shall we
 distinguish these invisible            
inspirations8 ,as it is upon these      
inspirations only that the ,christian   
religion is established1 these questions
 are well worth the trouble of being    
discussed4  ,there is no mention made of
 the ,holy ,ghost in the ,old           
,testament2 there is mention made of the
 spirit of the ,lord1 which possessed1  
or resided in the prophets1 and other   
holy personages charged with speaking to
 the ,jewish people2 but in no place of 
the ,old ,testament is the ,holy ,ghost 
announced as a being distinct from the  
,divinity1 it is only in the ,new       

,testament that we find this            
metaphysical being deified1 or this     
divine breath personified4 ,in fact it  
is only in the history of ,jesus        
,christ1 that the ,holy ,ghost begins to
 perform1 a part2 we there find him     
commissioned to overshadow ,mary1 and   
produce the savour of the world1 who    
was1 as we are told1 begotten by the    
operation of the ,holy ,ghost4  ,this   
same ,holy ,ghost descended in the form 
of a dove upon ,jesus ,christ at the    
moment of his baptism in the river      
,jordan by ,john the ,baptist4 ,in the  
,gospel according to ,st4 ,john1 the    
author of which appears to have drawn   
his ideas from the platonic philosophy1 
there is much talk of the ,holy ,ghost  
which is never defined4 ,jesus promises 
to send him to the disciples when he    
himself shall have left them4 ,this     
spirit is described under term of the   
,paraclete or ,comforter4 ,jesus assures
 them that he proceeded from the father1
 and that he will send him on the part  

of the father1 to bear witness of him   
,jesus4 ,further on he promises them1   
that when this spirit shall come1 he    
shall guide them into all truth4        
,according to the promise of ,jesus1    
this comforter did in fact descend upon 
the ,apostles at the feast of           
,pentecost1 see ,acts ari4 ver4 #b1 #c1 
#ac4 ,many were astonished at the       
prodigy there related1 but it seems not 
to have convinced others1 who had       
probably less faith than the first4     
,these sceptics pretended that the      
inspired ,apostles were drunken with new
 wine4 ,but ,peter filled with the      
spirit1 made them a long prophetic      
harangue2 which1 according to the author
 of the ,acts1 produced a great effect  
upon many of his hearers1 who were      
converted upon the spot4  ,in           
consequence of the descent of the ,holy 
,ghost1 the ,apostles received the      
power1 not only of speaking divers      
tongues1 but likewise of driving out    
devils and performing miracles4 ,however

 we do not find by their history1 though
 written by one favourable to their     
cause1 that the ,holy ,ghost gave them  
the power to cast out the demon of      
incredulity1 especially from the minds  
of the ,jews2 these resisted constantly 
the ,holy ,ghost and made those who said
 they were filled with it1 to suffer    
cruel treatment4  the ,apostles had not 
only received the ,holy ,ghost1 but they
 had also received the power of         
communicating it to others by the       
imposition of hands4 ,it is difficult1  
without a submissive faith1 to conceive 
a clear idea of this invisible          
communication of the ,holy ,ghost1 or   
the manner in which an indivisible      
spirit1 divides itself among so many    
different individuals4 ,however it is   
not allowed us to doubt that this       
transmission of the ,holy ,ghost has    
been perpetuated down from the ,apostles
 to our time4 ,it is still by imposition
 of hands that the guides of the        
,christian ,church receive the ,holy    

,ghost1 and the right to teach4 ,if our 
bishops and and priests who represent in
 our eyes the ,apostles and disciples1  
have not received the gift of tongues   
and miracles they have1 at least1       
received the faculty of pretending1 that
 the ,holy ,ghost does not cease to     
illuminate them1 in their frequently    
contradictory decisions1 which ought to 
be regarded as a great prodigy4  ,a     
,christian would run the risk of being  
damned if he should dare to doubt1 that 
the ,holy ,ghost invisibly presided in  
the church and will reside in the brains
 of its chiefs until the consummation of
 all things4 ,what can be more          
calculated to inspire us with regard and
 respect for those1 who themselves      
assure us1 that they are the living     
temples of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,in        
gratitude for these advantages which the
 ,holy ,ghost procured to the ministers 
of the ,christian religion1 they felt   
themselves bound to deify him4 ,it was  
the least they could do for a being from

 whom their power clearly emanated4 ,in 
fact if the ,holy ,ghost1 charged with  
inspiring the church had not been a     
,god1 the authority of the church might 
have been contested4 ,but it being      
clearly decided1 that the ,holy ,ghost  
is a ,god1 men are no longer permitted  
to dispute his rights2 it only remains  
to them to subscribe blindly to the     
decisions of those whom he has chosen   
for his organs2 to contradict them1     
would be to revolt against ,god4  ,we   
see then how important it was to the    
heads of the church to apotheosise the  
,holy ,ghost4 ,it was necessary to make 
him a ,god at any rate2 otherwise the   
church would not have been infallible1  
its infallibility being founded1 solely 
on the continued inspirations of the    
,holy ,ghost2 and that he himself should
 be infallible1 it was necessary that he
 should be a ,god4 ,thus the church has 
wisely made the ,god which makes her    
infallible4  ,however useful this       
deification was to the church1 it was   

attended with some difficulties4 ,in    
fact how could they reconcile this new  
,god1 this ,mercury1 this messenger of  
the father and son1 with the unity of   
,god8 ,to cut short all dispute upon so 
important a matter1 the heads of the    
church decided that the ,holy ,ghost    
proceeded from the father and son1 and  
yet made but one ,god with them4 ,they  
closed the mouths of those who cried out
 against this unintelligible oracle1 by 
saying it was a mystery1 that man was   
made to adore and believe1 without being
 able to comprehend2 they added that the
 church was infallible had thus decided1
 that being inspired by the ,holy ,ghost
 7i4e4 by a ,god7 it was impossible to  
avoid believing that she had the right  
to decide1 that the ,holy ,ghost was a  
,god4  ,this is sufficient to show us   
upon what the authority of church1 and  
the divinity of the ,holy ,ghost is     
founded4 ,the church has deified the    
,holy ,ghost1 and the divinity of the   
,holy ,ghost serves as the basis of the 

authority of the church4 ,we thus see   
the true foundations of ,ecclesiastical 
power2 we see the solidity of the titles
 of the church1 we see the true origin  
of the mystery of the trinity1 now held 
in such veneration by the faithful4 ,in 
short we see what we ought to think of  
the inspirations of the ,holy ,ghost    
from the time of its origin until now4  
,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,of the ,inspiration  
of the ,prophets of the ,old ,testament 
,it does not appear1 as we have already 
observed1 that the ,jews had any precise
 ideas of the ,holy ,ghost similar to   
those of the ,christian theologians4    
,moreover there is reason to believe1   
that the ,apostles had not yet imagined 
such subtle notions of it1 as the church
 has invented since their time4 ,amongst
 the ,hebrews1 every man who1 during his
 sleep1 had dreams1 every enthusiast who
 had1 or pretended to have visions1     
believed himself inspired by the ,lord1 
or at least gave himself out as such4   
,he regarded the fancies of his brain1  

as warnings from heaven2 he delivered   
his pious nonsense as oracles to        
credulous hearers1 who did not doubt for
 an instant1 that the unintelligible    
delirium of these harangues1 was the    
effect of some divine illumination from 
the ,almighty4 ,as in dreams1 madness1  
in ebriation1 in enthusiasm1 man does   
not appear master of himself1 they      
believed that what he uttered in these  
divers states must1 of necessity1       
spring1 from some supernatural force    
acting in him1 without his knowledge1   
and in spite of himself2 the sentences  
and discourse1 which issued from his    
mouth1 were regarded as inspirations    
from on high1 and received as divine    
commands4 ,their obscurity only served  
to excite curiosity1 redouble terror1   
and confuse the imagination4 ,it was    
supposed that ,god1 who spoke by these  
demoniacs1 did not choose to express    
himself in a clearer manner4  ,these    
reflections founded upon the nature of  
credulous1 ignorant1 and superstitious  

men1 may serve to fix our ideas of so   
many prophets and jugglers1 that we see 
play such a prominent part1 not only in 
,jewish history1 but in all ,pagan      
antiquity1 and even among all savage and
 uninformed people that are now         
scattered over the globe4 ,the trade of 
prophesying1 appears to have been very  
lucrative and respectable amongst the   
,jews1 a people degraded by             
superstition1 and whose priests always  
took care to keep them in a state of    
profound ignorance1 and credulity1      
well-suited for the ends of those who   
sought to direct them after their own   
fancies4 ,whoever desired to gain the   
attention of the ,jews1 announced       
himself as inspired1 threatened or      
promised them in the name of the ,lord1 
prophesied to them of evils calculated  
to intimidate1 or of happy events which 
seduced them into belief4 ,to draw the  
attention of the public1 and frequently 
to produce revolutions in the state1 it 
was enough for a prophet to say gravely1

 that the ,lord had spoken to him2 and  
assure them that heaven had intrusted   
him with its designs in a vision2 thus  
the brains of the ,jews were put into a 
fermentation4 ,the ,apostles desirous of
 establishing reform1 or exciting a     
revolution1 in men's minds1 felt the    
necessity of conforming to the          
prevailing liste of the nation4 ,in     
consequence they erected themselves into
 prophets1 gave themselves out for      
inspired1 spoke in an obscure manner1   
uttered oracles1 predicted the end of   
the world1 they preached a messiah1 they
 announced a kingdom in which their     
followers would enjoy a happiness1 which
 their subjugated country had long since
 been deprived of4 ,in short to prove   
the truth of their predictions1 and the 
legitimacy of their mission1 they       
performed miracles1 i4e4 works          
calculated to astonish so credulous a   
people as the ,jews4  ,the ,jews1       
however1 in spite of all their          
ignorance1 did not suffer themselves to 

be convinced by either the harangues and
 miracles of ,jesus1 nor by the         
preachings and prodigies of his         
,apostles4 ,all their efforts failed    
against the hardness of heart of a      
people so often the dupe of the         
numberless inspired who had so          
successfully deceived them4 ,there is   
then reason to think that ,jesus and his
 disciples did not perform their part   
well1 or else that in their time1 the   
,jews become more cautious1 had not so  
much faith as their ancestors had       
formerly exhibited4 ,indeed we do not   
find that the first preachers of        
,christianity made much impression upon 
their fellow citizens2 they had much    
more success1 and ,paul especially      
amongst idolators1 for whom their       
enthusiastic harangues1 their           
preachings1 and miracles was a more     
novel spectacle4 ,amongst the ,gentiles 
preaching was an unknown thing1 the     
people was held in disdain by the       
priests2 each formed such ideas of      

religion as he choose1 there was no     
theological system that they were       
compelled to adopt2 in short1 with the  
exception of ,esculapius1 the ,gods     
worked but few miracles for their       
worshippers4  ,thus1 as we have already 
observed1 circumstances were favourable 
for the mission of our ,apostle amongst 
the ,gentiles2 they were more disposed  
to listen than the ,jews1 and to regard 
him who performed such wonders before   
them1 as an extraordinary man favoured  
by heaven4 ,in fact ,st4 ,paul gave     
himself out for such4 ,and how can we   
doubt the veracity of a man who performs
 miracles8 ,it was then necessary to    
give him credit2 and without having seen
 these miracles we believe the same     
thing1 and especially his divine        
inspiration1 upon the authority of the  
writings1 attributed to him1 and upon   
the word of him who has transmitted to  
us an account of his actions in the     
,acts of the ,apostles1 works which the 
church enjoins us to regard as divinely 

inspired4 ,it would be1 ,i think1       
useless to make any long reflections on 
the validity of the titles of the       
church1 and the right1 that the writings
 which she has adopted have to the claim
 of divine inspiration4 ,it is enough to
 remark1 that if we admit those titles  
and rights1 we have no reason to refuse 
also to admit those of any man1 or body 
of men1 which shall give themselves out 
as divinely inspired4 ,if1 on the word  
of ,paul1 we believe that he was        
inspired1 why shall we not have the same
 deference for the word of ,mahomet1 who
 pretended to be the sent of the most   
high8 ,if1 after the decision of the    
,christian church1 we regard the books  
contained in the ,new ,testament as     
dictated by the ,holy ,ghost2 what right
 have we to refuse our assent to the    
decision of the body of ,imans and      
,mollahs1 that the ,koran was revealed  
by the angel ,gabriel to ,mahomet8 if it
 be permitted to one man1 or body of    
men1 to invest themselves with titles1  

and at the same time forbid the titles  
to be investigated1 we shall be obliged 
to admit all the reveries1              
extravagancies1 and fables that we see  
spread over the various countries of the
 earth4 ,priests every where show us    
books1 which they say were inspired by  
the divinity1 and weak and silly people 
adore and and follow without examination
 books thus announced4 ,all religions in
 the world are founded upon sacred hooks
 which contain the divine will1 and     
whose truth is proved by miracles4      
,,chapter4 ,,xxiii4 ,of the ,descent of 
the ,holy ,ghost upon the ,apostles1 or 
their ,divine ,inspiration  ,if we may  
believe the author of the ,acts of the  
,apostles1 the disciples assembled at   
,jerusalem on the the day of ,pentecost1
 were filled with the ,holy ,ghost4 ,but
 by what sign shall we be sure that they
 were filled with the ,holy ,ghost8 ,it 
is this that they began to speak divers 
languages4 ,but do these various        
languages prove the presence of the     

,holy ,ghost8 ,could not the disciples  
of ,jesus speak these languages         
naturally8 ,however the ,jews who had   
come from the different provinces of    
,asia to ,jerusalem to celebrate the    
feast all understood ,hebrew1 since it  
was the language in which their law was 
written2 nothing more then was requisite
 but to speak ,hebrew1 in order to be   
understood by all of them2 we cannot    
suppose that men assembled at ,jerusalem
 to celebrate the ,pentecost were       
,gentiles4 ,that granted of what use was
 the gift tongues8 ,in supposing that   
among the ,jews there were some who only
 understood ,greek1 which was at that   
time universal over all ,asia1 it is    
very possible that without a miracle1   
some of the disciples or ,apostles1     
might know this language by the aid of  
which they could make themselves        
understood in most of the provinces     
mentioned in the ,acts of the ,apostles4
  ,there is then reason for believing1  
that the ,apostles and disciples were on

 this occasion desirous of passing for  
inspired4 ,with this view1 according to 
the practice of the diviners and        
prophets amongst the ,jews1 they made   
noises contortions1 cries1 c1 and       
produced an extravagant cacophony1      
which1 many well disposed persons       
mistook for undoubted sign of           
inspiration1 while those who were less  
credulous took them for certain proofs  
of drunkenness or folly4 ,but ,st4      
,peter justified them1 and showed that  
what they received to be extravagancies 
ought to be considered as proofs of     
inspiration4 ,this he confirmed by      
quoting a prophecy of the prophet ,joel1
 7see ,acts of ,apostles1 chap4 ii4 ver4
 #ag47  ,but the question at issue is1  
whether visions1 dreams1 extravagancies1
 c4 are signs of divine inspiration4 ,it
 is true that from the contents of the  
books1 which ,christians regard as      
dictated by the ,holy ,ghost1 and       
examining the nonsense and              
contradictions found in the writings of 

,st4 ,paul1 we should be tempted to     
believe so4 ,if the absence of reason1  
probability1 logic1 and harmony1 is the 
distinguishing mark of divine           
inspiration1 we cannot deny that ,st4   
,paul has proved himself1 by his        
writings1 to have been divinely         
inspired4  ,however at this rate nothing
 can be more easy than to pass2 for     
inspired4 ,if madness be a sufficient   
qualification to cause a man to be      
regarded as one filled with the ,holy   
,ghost1 there are many men who have just
 pretensions to this faculty4 ,if we    
doubt it they have only to reply gravely
 that ,god hath confounded the wisdom of
 the wise2 that our rebellious reason   
ought to be submissive1 that the human  
mind becomes perverted by reasoning4    
,such is however the language           
continually repeated by the supporters  
of ,st4 ,paul and ,christianity4        
,according to them1 wisdom is folly1    
reason an uncertain guide1 common sense 
useless1 and contradictions are         

impenetrable mysteries1 which we must   
adore in silence2 and when our mind     
loses itself in the abyss of folly and  
imposture1 they cry out with their great
 ,apostle3 ,oh6 the depth of the riches1
 both of the wisdom and knowledge of    
,god6 ,how unsearchable are his ways1   
and his judgments past finding out6 ,a  
lucky quibble of which our theologians  
avail themselves with success1 in order 
to escape from the embarrassment into   
which they are thrown by any reasoning  
on the ways of providence4  ,it is thus 
that those who pretend to inspiration   
have the boldness to outrage the        
,divinity1 and make the ,holy ,ghost the
 accomplice of their blasphemies4 ,when 
they find it impossible to escape from  
the labyrinth into which impostures and 
ill-contrived fables have led them1 they
 make ,god responsible for their        
extravagancies2 they pretend that their 
own follies are the effects of divine   
wisdom1 they term their own perplexities
 mysteries2 and assent that the author  

of reason is at the same time1 the enemy
 of reason4  ,men however are not       
shocked by these impious propositions4  
,accustomed to regard ,st4 ,paul as     
inspired1 it never occurs to them that  
so great a ,saint may blaspheme4 ,but   
what authority have ,christians for     
their high opinion of ,st4 ,paul8 ,it is
 the ,acts of the ,apostles1 that is to 
say upon the suspected testimony of a   
partizan of ,paul's sect1 who has       
compiled a history of his hero1 filled  
with contradictions1 but embellished    
with prodigies and fable1 which however 
serve to establish his romance4 ,but    
what proofs have we of these miracles   
themselves8 ,we have no other evidence  
than the word of the ,romancer himself  
confirmed by the authority of the       
church1 i4e4 of a body of men interested
 in establishing the fable4  ,it is true
 that we have in addition the testimony 
of ,st4 ,paul himself1 to whom are      
attributed the epistles in which are    
found a great number of details of his  

life4 ,but does this ,apostle agree with
 his historian in his own narrative8    
,no1 doubtless1 they vary materially in 
many circumstances1 and frequently      
contradict each other in the most       
positive manner4 ,who then shall we find
 to reconcile them1 and show us what we 
ought to think of a history so          
differently related8 ,the church4 ,but  
what is the church8 ,a body composed of 
the spiritual guides of the ,christians4
 ,have these guides been witnesses of   
the actions and miracles so differently 
related by ,paul and his historian8 ,no2
 they know nothing of them but by a     
tradition1 contested even in the times  
of the first ,christians1 but since     
confirmed by a revelation of the ,holy  
,ghost1 who never1 according to them1   
ceases to enlighten his church4 ,how are
 we to know if the church is continually
 inspired8 ,she herself says so1 and    
there is1 she says1 the greatest danger 
in doubting this4 ,it would be to resist
 the ,holy ,ghost who is identified with

 the church1 and who makes common cause 
with her2 a crime which will never be   
forgiven either in this world or in the 
next4 ,of all sins the most unpardonable
 is to resist the clergy4     ,,chapter 
,,xxiv4 ,general reflections on the     
foundations of ,christian ,faith1 and on
 the ,causes of ,credulity  ,these then 
are the only foundations of faith6      
,christians are obliged to believe that 
,st4 ,paul was neither an enthusiast nor
 a cheat1 because the church has decided
 that he was divinely inspired3 the     
church has decided this important point 
of belief1 according to the ,acts of the
 ,apostles and epistles1 which1 as we   
have shown1 were both rejected by many  
sects of the primitive ,christians1 and 
which1 as we have proved in the course  
of this work1 are filled with           
contradictions and absurdities4         
,nevertheless no ,christian now dares to
 doubt of the authenticity of these     
books4 ,these works are regarded as     
sacred by the universal church1 by      

,christians of all sects1 who with the  
exception notwithstanding of some       
considerable and important variations1  
read them in the same manner and        
entertain for them the same veneration4 
,what can we oppose to this unanimity8  
,the example of ,mahomet4 ,this prophet 
who is at this day equally revered by   
all sects of ,mussulmen1 was at first   
regarded as an impostor at ,mecca1      
whence he was compelled to fly4 ,his    
,koran now become the rule and code of a
 clergy1 supported by princes and       
powerful nations1 was at first          
considered as a tissue of fables        
compiled by imposture4 ,this unanimity  
of the ,mahometans1 in acknowledging the
 sanctity of ,mahomet1 and the divinity 
of the ,koran proves no more in their   
favour1 than the agreement of all sects 
of ,christians in admitting the         
,saintship of ,paul1 and the inspiration
 of his writings1 proves in favour of   
the ,apostle and his wonderful epistles4
  ,it is the property of habit to change

 the appearance of things1 men by       
degrees become familiar with that which 
at first disgusted them2 time is able to
 confound truth and falsehood2 clearly  
proved deceptions1 finish by becoming   
undoubted facts to the ignorant1 the    
idle1 and those either too much         
occupied1 or involved in dissipation to 
examine1 and these are the majority of  
mankind4 ,the most palpable imposture   
when it has existed a length of time1   
acquires a solidity which nothing can   
shake3 that which has been believed by  
many for ages appears to have a real    
foundation1 and to have at least a claim
 to probability4 ,when once time has    
obliterated the traces of imposture1    
they are difficult to detect1 and most  
men find it easier to stick to received 
opinions than to undergo the painful    
task of examining what they ought to    
think4  ,such are the true causes of the
 indolence that men generally show1 as  
often as they are called upon to give a 
reason for their religious notions1 they

 are contented to follow the current4   
,besides when prejudice is supported by 
force1 and becomes necessary to the     
interests of a powerful body1 it is     
dangerous to combat it1 and few men have
 the courage to oppose deceptions1      
approved by the world1 and authorised by
 the governing powers4  ,on the other   
hand error1 when habitual passes for    
truth1 and is equally agreeable4 ,we    
hold fast to our vices and prejudices1  
the virtues and opinions which are      
opposed to them1 appear ridiculous or   
disagreeable4 ,it is this natural       
disposition of the human1 species1      
which1 by little and little1 imbue      
nations with the most extravagant       
opinions1 absurd fables1 and            
ill-digested systems4  ,no1 artifice    
was2 ever better imagined1 nor trick was
 ever more calculated to deceive the    
vulgar than that of divine inspiration4 
,upon this is founded all the religions 
in the world2 it is to this marvellous  
invention that the priests of the whole 

earth are indebted for their authority1 
their riches1 and their existence4 ,when
 a man tells us1 that he is divinely    
inspired1 it is difficult for most men  
to ascertain whether he lie1 or speak   
the truth4 ,god never contradicts those 
who make him speak1 on the contrary     
those impostors who deceive in his name 
generally perform miracles and          
prodigies1 and these miracles and       
prodigies1 are to the short sighted     
multitude undoubted signs of divine     
favor4  ,shall we then judge those who  
are inspired by their conduct8 ,they    
generally take care to impose on us by  
their disinterestedness1 patience1 and  
mildness of behaviour1 and it can hardly
 be supposed that such moderate men     
could have formed the design of         
deceiving or gaining power4 ,it is only 
when they have gently insinuated        
themselves into men's minds1 that we    
find ambition1 avarice1 and passions of 
the missionary develope themselves3 it  
is after having won over the multitude1 

that their empire discovers itself2 and 
they exact with pride1 the tribute and  
respect due to the organs of heaven1 and
 the messengers of the most high4       
,these are the means by which           
,christianity has been established1 the 
manoeuvres have been practised by our   
great ,apostle1 and all those who have  
assisted in disseminating his doctrine4 
,his own experience often made ,paul    
sensible1 that his pride and fiery      
disposition1 were frequently obstacles  
to his mission2 thus we see him         
sometimes doa violence to his character1
 take the air of mildness and humility1 
so much better suited1 to insinuate into
 mens good opinions than arrogance and  
pride4 ,he only assumes the tone of the 
master1 when he knows his ground2 then  
he threatens1 thunders1 and displays his
 authority4 ,does a dispute arise       
between himself and an associate8 ,he   
resists him to his face2 he makes the   
church feel how necessary he is to the  
cause2 and avails himself of it1 to     

exhibit his authority1 ,his example has 
been at all times faithfully followed by
 the heads of the ,christian religion4  
,humble1 mild1 patient1 tolerant1 and   
disinterested whenever they have been   
weak1 they become haughty1 quarrelsome1 
intolerant1 avaricious1 and rebellious  
subjects to princes whenever they were  
certain of their empire over the people4
 ,it was then that they prescribed laws1
 crushed their enemies1 plundered the   
people1 and caused kings to tremble at  
the name of the ,god whose interpreters 
they declared themselves to be4  ,the   
heads of the ,christian religion have at
 all times made those opinions1 most    
comfortable to their own interest pass  
for divine oracles4 ,the ,holy ,ghost   
has had no other function1 than to serve
 for a cloak to their intrigues1        
passions1 and pretensions4 ,the works of
 our ,apostle furnished quarrelsome     
priests with arguments for injuring each
 other2 his disjointed reveries1 his    
obscure mysteries1 and his ambiguous    

oracles1 were an arsenal whence the most
 opposite parties procured arms to      
combat incessantly4 ,in short the       
writings inspired by a ,god who was     
desirous of instructing mankind1 have   
only served to plunge nations in        
darkness4 ,guides enlightened by the    
,holy ,ghost saw no clearer than the    
ignorant1 into mysteries1 they          
continually presented to them by an     
unintelligible system4 ,these great     
doctors were agreed upon nothing1 each  
one sought to gain adherents whom he    
excited against the enemies of his own  
opinions1 which he regarded as those    
only approved by heaven4 ,thence arose  
animosities1 hatred1 persecutions1 and  
wars1 which have a thousand times spread
 trouble and desolation among           
,christians1 blind enough to follow men 
who pretended to be led by the ,holy    
,ghost1 while it was evident1 that the  
only spirit which inspired them1 was    
that of pride1 ambition1 obstinacy1     
vengeance1 avarice1 and rebellion4      

,,conclusion4  ,let us then be careful1 
oh6 my friends1 of allowing ourselves to
 be guided by inspired persons4         
,deceivers1 or enthusiasts1 they will   
only lead us into errors destructive of 
our peace4 ,let us consult reason1 so   
decried by men1 whose interest it is to 
extinguish a light which is able to show
 us the plots of their dark policy1 this
 reason will inform us that             
contradictory works do not merit our    
belief2 that a turbulent1 ambitious and 
enthusiastic ,apostle1 may have been a  
very useful ,saint to the church1 and a 
very bad citizen4 ,this reason will     
convince us1 that a ,god filled with    
wisdom could never inspire men with     
systems1 in which folly is the most     
prominent feature2 that a ,god who is   
the author of reason could never have   
called for its immolation1 before the   
shrine of fable1 and pretended mystery  
incapable of producing any thing but    
evil and dissension upon the earth4 ,let
 us be just1 benevolent1 peaceable1 let 

us leave to ,st4 ,paul1 and to those who
 take him for a model1 their lofty      
ambition1 their turbulent fanaticism1   
their obstinate vanity1 their           
persecuting spirit1 and above all things
 their bitter zeal1 which they term an  
interest for the salvation of souls4    
,let us show to all men not an evangelic
 charity which is converted into fury   
and hatred1 but a real charity which    
inspires us with love1 peace1           
indulgence1 and humanity4 ,may this     
charity so much boasted of1 and so      
little practised1 by ,st4 ,paul and his 
successors1 be the rule of our conduct1 
and the standard of our judgments on men
 and their opinions4 ,examine all       
things1 and hold fast that which is     
good4 ,let us not be blinded by the     
prejudices1 of infancy1 of habit1 or of 
authority4 ,let us not be imposed upon  
by the pompous names of ,paul1 of       
,cephas1 or of ,apollos2 but let us seek
 the truth and follow reason1 which can 
never lead astray1 nor render us        

troublesome members of society4         
,,finis4