,,christianity ,,unveiled ,being ,an ,examination of ,the ,principles ,and ,effects of ,the ,christian ,religion ,by ,nicolas-,antoine ,boulanger ,translated ,from ,the ,french ,by ,w4 ,m4 ,johnson4 ,slave to no ,sect1 who takes no private read1 ,but looks through ,nature up to ,nature's ,god2 ,and knows where faith1 law1 morals1 all began1 ,all end in love of ,god1 and love of ,man4 ,pope ,london ,printed ,published ,by ,r4 ,carlile1 #ef1 ,fleet ,street4 #ahai ,,translator',s ,,preface4 ,in this philosophic age1 when nature1 reason1 and the rights of man have resumed their empire2 when the genius of a great1 generous1 and brave people is giving the last blow to superstition and despotism1 the publication of a work which has greatly contributed to these glorious events1 must be highly acceptable1 not only to the literary world1 but even to the community at large1 who eagerly seek after instruction1 the moment they believe it necessary for their happiness4 ,this publication bears a conspicuous rank among those works whose free and independent sentiments have introduced a happy change in the public mind1 and concurred with the writings of ,rousseau1 ,mably1 ,raynal1 and ,voltaire1 in bringing forward the ,french ,revolution3 a revolution which will probably prove the harbinger of the complete triumph of reason4 ,persecutions and wars will then cease for ever throughout the civilized world4 ,in offering this translation to the public1 ,i pay a tribute that every member of society owes to his fellow-citizens1 that of endeavouring to acquaint them with their true rights and duties1 and1 consequently1 the means most conducive to their happiness4 ,new ,york1 #ahjd4 ,,letter ,,from ,,the ,,author ,,to ,a ,,friend4 ,i receive1 ,sir1 with gratitude1 the remarks which you send me upon my work4 ,if ,i am sensible to the praises you condescend to give it1 ,i am too fond of truth to be displeased with the frankness with which you propose your objections4 ,i find them sufficiently weighty to merit all my attention4 ,he but ill deserves the title of philosopher1 who has not the courage to hear his opinions contradicted4 ,we are not divines2 our disputes are of a nature to terminate amicably2 they in no way resemble those of the apostles of superstition1 who endeavour to overreach each other by captious arguments1 and who1 at the expence of good faith1 contend only to advocate the cause of their vanity and their prejudices4 ,we both desire the happiness of mankind1 we both search after truth2 this being the case1 we cannot disagree4 ,you begin by admitting the necessity of examining religion1 and submitting opinions to the decision of reason4 ,you acknowledge that ,christianity cannot sustain this trial1 and that in the eye of good sense it can never appear to be any thing but a tissue of absurdities1 of unconnected fables1 senseless dogmas1 puerile ceremonies1 and notions borrowed from the ,chaldeans1 ,egyptians1 ,phenicians1 ,grecians1 and ,romans4 ,in one word1 you confess that this religious system is only1 the deformed offspring of almost all ancient superstitions1 begotten by oriental fanaticism1 and diversely modified by the circumstances and prejudices of those who have since pretended to be the inspired ambassadors of ,god1 and the interpreters of his will4 ,you tremble at the horrors which the intolerant spirit of ,christians has caused them to commit1 whenever they had power to do it2 you feel that a religion founded on a sanguinary deity must be a religion of blood4 ,you lament that phrenzy1 which in infancy takes possession of princes and people1 and renders them equally the slaves of superstition and her priests2 which prevents their acquaintance with their true interests1 renders them deaf to reason1 and turns them aside from the great objects by which they ought to be occupied4 ,you confess that a religion founded upon enthusiasm or imposture can have no sure principles2 that it must prove an eternal source of disputes1 and always end in causing troubles1 persecutions1 and ravages2 especially when political power conceives itself indispensibly obliged to enter into its quarrels4 ,in fine1 you go so far as to agree that a good ,christian who follows literally the conduct prescribed to him as the most perfect by the gospel1 knows not in this world any thing of those duties on which true morality is founded2 and that if he wants energy he must prove an useless misanthrope1 or if his temper be warm a turbulent fanatic4 ,after acknowledging all this1 how could it happen that you should pronounce my work a dangerous one6 ,you tell me that a-wise man ought to think only for himself2 that to the populace a religion is necessary1 be it good or bad2 that it is a restraint necessary to gross and ignorant minds1 which1 without it1 would have no longer any motive for abstaining from vice4 ,you look upon a reform of religious prejudices as impossible1 because it is the interest of many of those persons who alone can effect it1 to continue mankind in that ignorance of which themselves reap the advantage4 ,these1 if ,i mistake not1 are the weightiest of your objections4 ,i will endeavour to remove them4 ,books are generally written for that part of a nation whose circumstances1 education1 and sentiments1 place them above the commission of crimes4 ,this enlightened portion of society1 which governs the other1 reads and judges of writings2 if they contain maxims false or injurious1 they are soon either condemned to oblivion1 or held up to public execration2 if they contain only truth1 they are not in danger4 ,fanatics and ignorant people are the disturbers of society4 ,sensible1 enlightened1 and disinterested persons are ever the friends of peace4 ,you are not1 ,sir1 of the number of pusillanimous thinkers1 who believe that truth is capable of doing harm4 ,it does harm to those only who deceive mankind1 and to the rest of the human species it will always be useful4 ,you ought long to have been convinced that the evils with which mankind are afflicted1 arise only from our errors1 our prejudices1 our interests misunderstood1 and the false ideas we attach to objects4 ,in fine1 it is easy to see that the policy and morality of man have been particularly corrupted by their religious prejudices4 ,was it not religious and supernatural ideas which caused sovereigns to be looked upon as gods8 ,it is then religion which raised up tyrants and despots2 tyrants and despots made wicked laws2 their example corrupted the great1 the great corrupted the lower classes of mankind2 these vitiated beings became unhappy slaves1 employed either in injuring themselves1 flattering the great1 or struggling to get clear of their misery4 ,kings were styled images of ,god3 they were absolute like him they created justice and injustice2 their wills often sanctified oppression1 violence1 and rapine4 ,the means of obtaining their favours were vice and meanness4 ,thus nations became filled with perverted citizens1 who1 under leaders corrupted by religious notions1 made continually a war1 either open or clandestine1 and were left destitute of any motive for practising virtue4 ,has this religion influenced the manners of sovereigns1 who derive their divine power from it8 ,do we not behold princes1 overflowing with faith1 continually undertaking the most unjust wars2 wasting the blood and treasure of their subjects2 wrenching the bread from the hands of the poor2 permitting and even commanding every species of injustice8 ,does this religion1 considered by so many sovereigns as the support of their thrones1 render them more humane1 temperate1 chaste1 or faithful to their oaths8 ,alas6 when we consult history1 we there find sovereigns who were orthodox1 zealous1 and religious to a scruple1 and at the same time guilty of perjury1 usurpation1 adultery1 robbery1 and murder2 men who1 in fine1 behaved as if they feared not the ,god whom they honoured with their mouths4 ,among the courtiers who surrounded them1 we see a continual alliance of ,christianity and vice1 devotion and iniquity1 religion and treason4 ,among the priests of a poor and crucified ,god1 who found their existence upon religion1 and pretend that without it there could be no morality1 do we not see reigning amongst them1 pride1 avarice1 wantonness1 and revenge8 ,amongst us1 education is very little attended to by the government1 which shews the most profound indifference concerning an object the most essential to the happiness of states4 ,with most modern nations public education is confined to teaching of languages1 useless to most who learn them4 ,christians1 instead of morality1 inculcate the marvellous fables and incomprehensible dogmas of a religion extremely repugnant to right reason4 ,at the first step a young man makes in his studies1 he is taught that he ought to renounce the testimony of his senses1 to reject his reason as an unfaithful guide1 and blindly conform himself to the dictates of his masters8 ,but who are these masters8 ,priests1 whose interest it is to continue mankind in errors1 of which they alone reap the advantage4 ,can the abject and isolated mind of these mercenary pedagogues be capable of instructing their pupils in that of which themselves are ignorant8 ,will they teach then to love the public good1 to serve their country1 to know the duties of the man and citizen8 ,certainly not2 we can expect nothing from the hands of such teachers but ignorant and superstitious pupils1 who1 if they have profited of the lessons they have received1 are unacquainted with every thing necessary in society1 of which they must consequently become useless members4 ,on whatever side we cast our eyes1 we see the study of the object most important to man totally neglected4 ,morality1 in which ,i also comprehend policy1 is considered of very little importance in ,european education4 ,the only morality taught by ,christians is1 the enthusiastic1 impracticable1 contradictory1 and uncertain morality contained in the gospel4 ,this is calculated only to degrade the mind1 to render virtue odious1 to form abject slaves1 and break the spring of the soul2 or1 if it is sown in warm and active minds1 to produce turbulent fanatics1 capable of shaking the foundations of society4 ,notwithstanding the inutility and perversity of the morality which ,christianity teaches mankind1 its partisans presume to tell us1 that without this religion we cannot have morals4 ,but what is it to have morals1 in2 the language of ,christians8 ,it is to pray without ceasing1 to frequent churches1 to do penance1 and to3 abstain from pleasure2 it is to live in selfishness and solitude4 ,what good results to society from these practices1 all of which may be observed by a man who has not the shadow of virtue8 ,if such morals lead to heaven1 they are very useless on earth4 ,but certain it is1 that a man may be a faithful observer of all that ,christianity enjoins1 without possessing any of the virtues which reason shews to be necessary to the support of political society4 ,it is necessary1 then1 to carefully distinguish ,christian morality from political morality2 the former makes saints1 the latter citizens3 one makes men useless1 or even hurtful to the world2 the other has for its object the formation of members useful to society2 men active and vigorous1 who are capable of serving it1 who fulfil the duties of husbands1 fathers1 friends1 and companions1 whatever may be their metaphysical opinions1 which1 let theologists say what they will1 are much less sure than the invariable rules of good sense4 ,in fact1 it is certain1 that man is a social being1 who in all things seeks his own happiness2 that he does good when he finds it his interest2 that he is not commonly bad1 because that would be contrary to his welfare4 ,this being premised1 let education teach men to know the relations which exist among themselves1 and the duties arising from those relations2 let governments1 calling to their aid laws1 rewards1 and punishments1 confirm the lessons given by education2 let happiness accompany useful and virtuous actions1 let shame1 contempt1 and chastisement be the rewards of vice4 ,then would mankind have a true morality1 founded in their own nature upon their mutual wants1 and the interest of nations at large4 ,this morality1 independent of the sublime notions of ,theology1 might perhaps have very little in common with ,christian morality2 but society has nothing to lose from this circumstance1 as has already been proved4 ,when the people receive a proper education1 which1 by inspiring them early in life with virtuous principles1 will habituate them to do homage to virtue1 detest crimes1 contemn vice1 and shrink from infamy2 such an education cannot be vain1 when continual example shall prove to the citizens that talents and virtue are the only means of arriving at honour1 fortune1 distinction1 consideration1 and favour2 and that vice conducts only to contempt and ignominy4 ,if the clergy have usurped from the sovereign power the right of instructing the people1 let the latter re-assume its rights1 or at least not suffer the former to enjoy the exclusive liberty of governing the manners of mankind1 and dictating their morality4 ,let them teach1 if they please1 that their ,god transforms himself into bread1 but let them never teach that we ought to hate or destroy those who refuse to believe this ineffable mystery4 ,let no individual in society have the power of exciting citizens to rebellion1 of sowing discord1 breaking the bands which unite the people amongst one another1 and disturbing the public tranquillity for the sake of opinions4 ,if it be said that all governments think it their interest to support religious prejudices1 and manage the clergy through policy1 although they themselves are undeceived2 ,i answer1 that it is easy to convince enlightened government1 that it is their true interest to govern a happy people2 that upon the happiness it procures the nation1 depends the stability and safety of the government2 in one word1 that a nation composed of wise and virtuous citizens1 are much more powerful than a troop of ignorant and corrupted slaves1 whom the government is forced to deceive in order to satisfy1 and to deluge with impositions that it may succeed in any enterprise4 ,thus let us not despair1 that truth will one day force its way even to thrones4 ,if the light of reason and science reaches princes with so much difficulty1 it is because interested priests and starveling courtiers endeavour1 to keep them in a perpetual infancy1 point out to them chimerical prospects of power and grandeur1 and thus turn away their attention from objects necessary to their true happiness4 ,every government must feel that their power will always be tottering and precarious1 so long as it depends for support on the phantoms of religion1 the errors of the people1 and the caprices of the priesthood4 ,it must feel the inconveniencies resulting from fanatic administrations1 which have hitherto produced nothing but ignorance and presumption1 nothing but obstinate1 weak citizens1 incapable of doing service to-the state1 and ready to receive the false impressions of guides who would lead them astray44 ,it must perceive what immense resources might be derived from the wealth1 which has been accumulated by a body of useless men1 who1 under pretensions of teaching the nation1 cheat and devour it4#a ,upon this foundation 7which to the shame of mankind be it said1 has hitherto served only to support sacerdotal pride7 a wise government might raise establishments which would become useful to the state in forming the youth1 cherishing talents1 rewarding virtuous services1 and comforting the people4 ,i flatter myself1 ,sir1 that these reflections will exculpate me in your eyes4 ,i do not hope for the suffrages of those who feel themselves1 interested in the continuance of the evils suffered by their fellow-citizens2 it is not such whom ,i aim to convince nothing can be made to appear evident to vicious and unreasonable men4 ,but ,i presume to hope1 that you will cease to look upon my book as dangerous1 and my expectations as altogether chimerical4 ,many immoral men have attacked the ,christian religion1 because it opposed their propensities2 many wise men3 have despised it1 because to them it appeared1 ridiculous2 many persons have looked upon it with indifference1 because they did not feel its real inconveniencies4 ,i attack it as a citizen1 because it appears to me to be injurious to the welfare of the state1 an enemy to the progress1 of the human1 mind1 and opposed to the principles of true morality1 from which political interests can never be separated4 ,it remains only for me to say1 with a poet1 who was1 like myself1 an enemy1 to superstition3 444444444,si tibi vera videtur ,dede menus1 et si falsa est1 accingere contra4 ,i am1 c4 #a ,some have thought that the clergy might one day serve as a barrier against despotism1 but experience sufficiently proves that this body always stipulates for itself alone4 ,,christianity ,,unveiled ,,chap4 ,i4--,,introduction4 ,,of ,,the ,,necessity ,,of ,,an ,,inquiry ,,respecting ,,religion1 ,,and ,,the ,,obstacles ,,which ,,are ,,met ,,in ,,pursuing ,,this ,,inquiry4 ,a reasonable being ought in all his actions to aim at his own happiness and that of his fellow-creatures4 ,religion1 which is held up as an object most important to our temporal and eternal felicity1 can be advantageous to us only so far as it renders our existence happy in this world1 or as we are assured that it will fulfil the flattering promises which it makes us respecting another4 ,our duty towards ,god1 whom we look upon as the ruler of our destinies1 can be founded1 it is said1 only on the evils which we fear on his part4 ,it is then necessary that man should examine the grounds of his fears4 ,he ought1 for this purpose1 to consult experience and reason1 which are the only guides to truth4 ,by the benefits which he derives from religion in the visible world which he inhabits1 he may judge of the reality of those blessings for which it leads him to hope in that invisible world1 to which it commands him to turn his views4 ,mankind1 for the most part1 hold to their religion through habit4 ,they have never seriously examined the reasons why they are attached to it1 the motives of their conduct1 or the foundations of their opinions4 ,thus1 what has ever been considered as most important to all1 has been of all things least subjected to scrutiny4 ,men blindly follow on in the paths which their fathers trod2 they believe1 because in infancy they were told they must believe2 they hope1 because their progenitors hoped2 and they tremble1 because they trembled4 ,scarcely ever have they deigned to render an account of the motives of their belief4 ,very few men have leisure to examine1 or fortitude to analyse1 the objects of their habitual veneration1 their blind attachment1 or their traditional fears4 ,nations are carried away in the torrent of habit1 example1 and prejudice4 ,education habituates the mind to opinions the most monstrous1 as it accustoms the body to attitudes the most uneasy4 ,all that has long existed appears sacred to the eyes of man2 they think it sacrilege to examine things stamped with the seal of antiquity4 ,prepossessed in favour of the wisdom of their fathers1 they have not the presumption to investigate what has received their sanction4 ,they see not that man has ever been the dupe of his prejudices1 his hopes1 and his fears2 and that the same reasons have almost al ways rendered this enquiry equally impracticable4 ,the vulgar1 busied in the labours necessary to their subsistence1 place a blind confidence in those who pretend to guide them1 give up to them the right of thinking1 and submit without murmuring to all they prescribe4 ,they believe they shall offend ,god1 if they doubt1 for a moment1 the veracity of those who speak to them in his name4 ,the great1 the rich1 the men of the world1 even when they are more enlightened than the vulgar1 have found it their interest to conform to received prejudices1 and even to maintain them2 or1 swallowed up in dissipation1 pleasure1 and effeminacy1 they have no time to bestow on a religion1 which they easily accommodate to their passions1 propensities1 and fondness for amusement4 ,in childhood1 we receive all the impressions others wish to make upon us2 we have neither the capacity1 experience1 or courage1 necessary to examine what is taught us by those1 on whom our weakness renders us dependent4 ,in youth1 the ardour of our passions1 and the continual ebriety of our senses1 prevent our thinking seriously of a religion1 too austere and gloomy to please2 if by chance a young man examines it1 he does it with partiality1 or without perseverance2 he is often disgusted with a single glance of the eye on an object so disgusting4 ,in riper age1 new passions and cares1 ideas of ambition1 greatness1 power1 the desire of riches1 and the hurry of business1 absorb the whole attention of man1 or leave him but few moments to think of religion1 which he never has the leisure to scrutinize4 ,in old age1 the faculties are blunted1 habits become incorporated with the machine1 and the senses are debilitated by time and infirmity2 and we are no longer able to penetrate back to the source of our opinions2 besides1 the fear of death then renders an examination1 over which terror commonly presides1 very liable to suspicion4 ,thus1 religious opinions1 once received1 maintain their ground1 through a long succession of ages2 thus nations transmit from generation to generation ideas which they have never examined3 they imagine their welfare to be attached to institutions in which1 were the truth known1 they would behold the source of the greater part of their misfortunes4 ,civil authority also flies to the support of the prejudices of mankind1 compels them to ignorance by forbidding inquiry1 and holds itself in continual readiness to punish all who attempt to undeceive themselves4 ,let us not be surprised1 then1 if we see error almost inextricably interwoven with human nature4 ,all things seem to concur to perpetuate our blindness1 and hide the truth from us4 ,tyrants detest and oppress truth1 because it dares to dispute their unjust and1 chimerical titles2 it is opposed by the priesthood because it annihilates their superstitions4 ,ignorance1 indolence1 and passion render the great part of mankind accomplices of those who strive to deceive them1 in order to keep their necks beneath the yoke1 and profit by their miseries4 ,hence nations groan under hereditary evils1 thoughtless of a remedy2 being either ignorant of the cause1 or so long accustomed to disease1 that they have lost even the desire of health4 ,if religion be the object most important to mankind1 if it extends its influences not only over our conduct in this life1 but also over our eternal happiness1 nothing can demand from us a more serious examination4 ,yet it is of all things1 that1 respecting which1 mankind exercise the most implicit credulity4 ,the same man1 who examines with scrupulous nicety things of little moment to his welfare1 wholly neglects inquiry concerning the motives which determine him to believe and perform things1 on which1 according to his own confession1 depend both his temporal and eternal felicity4 ,he blindly abandons himself to those whom chance has given him for guides2 he confides to them the care of thinking for him1 and even makes a merit of his own indolence and credulity4 ,in matters of religion1 infancy and barbarity seem to be the boast of the greater part of the human race4 ,nevertheless1 men have in all ages appeared1 who1 shaking off the prejudices of their fellows1 have dared to lift before their eyes the light of truth4 ,but what could their feeble voice effect against errors imbibed at the breast1 confirmed by habit1 authorised by example1 and fortified by a policy1 which often became the accomplice of its own ruin8 ,the stentorian clamours of imposture soon overwhelm the calm exhortations of the advocates of reason4 ,in vain shall the philosopher endeavour to inspire mankind with courage1 so long as they tremble beneath the rod of priests and kings4 ,the surest means of deceiving mankind1 and perpetuating their errors1 is to deceive them in infancy4 ,amongst many nations at the present day1 education seems designed only to form fanatics1 devotees1 and monks2 that is to say1 men either useless or injurious to society4 ,few are the places in which it is calculated to form good citizens4 ,princes1 to whom a great part of the earth is at present unhappily subjected1 are commonly the victims of a superstitious education1 and remain all their lives in the profoundest ignorance of their own duties1 and the truest interests of the states which they govern4 ,religion seems to have been invented only to render both kings and people equally the slaves of the priesthood4 ,the latter is continually busied in raising obstacles to the felicity of nations4 ,wherever this reigns1 other governments have but a precarious power2 and citizens become indolent1 ignorant1 destitute of greatness of soul1 and1 in short1 of every quality necessary to the happiness of society4 ,if1 in a state where the ,christian religion is professed1 we find some activity1 some science1 and an approach to social manners2 it is1 because nature1 whenever it is in her power1 restores mankind to reason1 and obliges them to labour for their own felicity4 ,were all ,christian nations exactly conformed to their principles1 they must be plunged into the most profound inactivity4 ,our countries would be inhabited by a small number of pious savages1 who would meet only to destroy each other4 ,for why should a man mingle with the affairs of a world1 which his religion informs him is only a place of passage8 ,what can be the industry of that people1 who believe themselves commanded by their ,god to live in continual fear1 to pray1 to groan1 and afflict themselves incessantly8 ,how can a society exist which is composed of men who are convinced that1 in their zeal for religion1 they ought to hate and destroy all whose opinions differ from their own8 ,how can we expect to find humanity1 justice1 or any virtue1 amongst a horde of fanatics1 who copy in their conduct a cruel1 dissembling1 and dishonest ,god8 ,a ,god who delights in the tears of his unhappy creatures1 who sets for them the ambush1 and then punishes them for having fallen into it8 ,a ,god who himself ordains robbery1 persecution1 and carnage8 ,such1 however1 are the traits with which the ,christian religion represents the ,god which it has inherited from the ,jews4 ,this ,god was a sultan1 a despot1 a tyrant1 to whom all things were lawful4 ,yet he is held up to us as a model of perfection4 ,crimes1 at which human nature revolts1 have been committed in his name2 and the greatest villanies have been justified by the pretence of their being committed1 either by his command1 or to merit his favour4 ,thus the ,christian religion1 which boasts of being the only true support of morality1 and of furnishing mankind with the strongest motives for the practice of virtue1 has proved to them a source of divisions1 oppressions1 and the blackest crimes4 ,under the pretext of bringing peace on earth1 it has overwhelmed it with hate1 discord1 and war4 ,it furnishes the human race with a thousand ingenious means of tormenting themselves1 and scatters amongst them scourges unknown before4 ,the ,christian1 possessed of common sense1 must bitterly regret the tranquil ignorance of his idolatrous ancestors4 ,if the manners of nations have gained nothing by the ,christian religion1 governments1 of which it has pretended to be the support1 have drawn from it advantages equally small4 ,it establishes to itself in every state a separate power1 and becomes the tyrant or the enemy of every other power4 ,kings were always the slaves of priests2 or if they refused to bow the knee1 they were proscribed1 stripped of their privileges1 and exterminated either by subjects whom religion had excited to revolt1 or assassins whose hands she had armed with her sacred poignard4 ,before the introduction of the ,christian religion1 those who governed the state1 commonly governed the priesthood2 since that period1 sovereigns have dwindled into the first slaves of the priesthood1 the mere executors of its vengeance and its decrees4 ,let us then conclude1 that the ,christian religion has no right to boast of procuring advantages either by policy or morality4 ,let us tear aside the veil with which it envelopes itself4 ,let us penetrate back to its source4 ,let us pursue it in its course1 we shall find that1 founded on imposture1 ignorance1 and credulity1 it can never be useful but to men who wish to deceive their fellow-creatures4 ,we shall find1 that it will never cease to generate the greatest evils among mankind1 and that instead of producing the felicity it promises1 it is formed to cover the earth with outrages1 and deluge it in blood2 that it will plunge the human race in delirium and vice1 and blind their eyes to their truest interests and their plainest duties4 ,,chap4 ,,ii4--,,sketch ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,jews4 ,in a small country1 almost unknown to others1 lived a nation1 the founders of which having too long been slaves among the ,egyptians1 were delivered1 from their servitude by a priest of ,heliopolis1 who1 by means of his superior genius and knowledge1 gained the ascendancy over them4#a ,this man1 known by the name of ,diodorus ,siculus also relates the history of ,moses--,vide translation of ,abbe ,terrasson4 #a ,maneton and ,cheremon1 ,egyptian historians1 respecting whom testimonies have been transmitted to us by ,joseph the ,jew1 inform us that a multitude of lepers were drawn out of ,egypt by king ,amenophis2 and that these exiles elected for their leader a priest of ,heliopolis whose name was ,moses1 and who formed for them a religion and a code of laws4 ,joseph contre ,appion4 liv4 i4 chap4 ix4 ,,ii1 #ab4 ,be this as it may1 ,moses1 by the confession of the ,bible itself1 began his career by assassinating an ,egyptian1 who was quarrelling with an ,hebrew2 after which he fled into ,arabia1 and married the daughter of an idolatrous priest1 by whom he was often reproached for his cruelty4 ,thence he returned into ,egypt1 and placed himself at the head of his nation1 which was dissatisfied with king ,pharaoh4 ,moses reigned very tyrannically2 the examples of ,korah1 ,dathan1 and ,abirain1 prove to what kind of people he had an aversion4 ,he at last disappeared like ,romulus1 no one being able to find his body1 or the place of his sepulture4 ,moses1 being educated in the mysteries of a religion1 which was fertile in prodigies1 and the mother of superstitions1 placed himself at the head of a band of fugitives1 whom he persuaded that he was an interpreter of the will of their ,god1 whose immediate commands he pretended to receive4 ,he proved his mission1 it is said1 by works which appeared supernatural to men ignorant of the operations of nature1 and the resources of art4 ,the first command that he gave them on the part of his ,god was to rob their masters1 whom they were about to desert4 ,when he had thus enriched them with the spoils of ,egypt1 being sure of their confidence1 he conducted them into a desert1 where1 during forty years1 he accustomed them to the blindest obedience1 he taught them the will of heaven1 the marvellous fables of their forefathers1 and the ridiculous ceremonies to which he pretended the ,most ,high attached his favours4 ,he was particularly careful to inspire them with the most envenomed hatred against the gods of other nations1 and the most refined cruelty to those who adored them4 ,by means of carnage and severity1 he rendered them a nation of slaves1 obsequious to his will1 ready to second his passions1 and sacrifice themselves to gratify his ambitious views4 ,in one word1 he made the ,hebrews monsters of phrenzy and ferocity4 ,after having thus animated them with the spirit of destruction1 he shewed them the lands and possessions of their neighbours1 as an inheritance assigned them by ,god himself4 ,proud of the protection of ,jehovah1 the ,hebrews marched forth to victory4 ,heaven authorised in them knavery and cruelty4 ,religion1 united to avidity1 rendered them deaf to the cries of nature2 and1 under the conduct of inhuman chiefs1 they destroyed the ,canaanitish nations with a barbarity1 at which every man must revolt1 whose reason is not wholly annihilated by superstition4 ,their fury destroyed every thing1 even infants at the breast1 in those cities whither these monsters carried their victorious arms4 ,by the commands of their ,god1 or his prophets1 good faith was violated1 justice outraged1 and cruelty exercised4 ,this nation of robbers1 usurpers1 and murderers1 at length established themselves in a country1 not indeed very fertile1 but which they found delicious in comparison with the desert in which they had so long wandered4 ,here1 under the authority of the visible priests of their hidden ,god1 they founded a state1 detestable to its neighbours1 and at all times the object of their contempt or their hatred4 ,the priesthood1 under the title of a theocracy1 for a long time governed this blind and ferocious people4 ,they were persuaded that in obeying their priests they obeyed ,god himself4 ,notwithstanding their superstition1 the ,hebrews at length1 forced by circumstances1 or perhaps weary of the yoke of priesthood1 determined to have a king1 according to the example of other nations4 ,but in the choice of their monarch they thought themselves obliged to have recourse to a prophet4 ,thus began the monarchy of the ,hebrews4 ,their princes1 however1 were always crossed in their enterprises by inspired priests and ambitious prophets1 who continually laid obstacles in the way of every sovereign whom they did not find sufficiently submissive to their own wills4 ,the history of the ,jews at all times shews us nothing but kings blindly obedient to the priesthood1 or at war with it1 and perishing under its blows4 ,the ferocious and ridiculous superstitions of the ,jews rendered them at once the natural enemies of mankind1 and the object of their contempt4 ,they were always treated with great severity by those who made inroads upon their territory4 ,successively enslaved by the ,egyptians1 the ,babylonians1 and the ,grecians1 they experienced from their masters the bitterest treatment1 which was indeed but too well deserved4 ,often disobedient to their ,god1 whose own cruelty1 as well as the tyranny of his priests frequently disgusted them1 they were never faithful to their princes4 ,in vain were they crushed beneath sceptres of iron2 it was impossible to render them loyal subjects4 ,the ,jews were always the dupes of their prophets1 and in their greatest distresses their obstinate fanaticism1 ridiculous hopes1 and indefatigable credulity1 supported them against the blows of fortune4 ,at last1 conquered with the rest of the earth1 ,judah submitted to the ,roman yoke4 ,despised by their new masters1 the ,jews were treated hardly1 and with great haughtiness2 for their laws1 as well as their conduct1 had inspired the hearts of their conquerors with the liveliest detestation4 ,soured by misfortune1 they became more blind1 fanatic1 and seditious4 ,exalted by the pretended promises of their ,god2 full of confidence in oracles1 which have always announced to them a felicity which they have never tasted2 encouraged by enthusiasts1 or by impostors1 who successively profit by their credulity2 the ,jews have1 to this day1 expected the coming of a ,messiah1 a monarch1 a deliverer1 who shall free them from the yokes beneath which they groan1 and cause their nation to reign over all other nations in the universe4 ,,chap4 ,,iii4--,,sketch ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,religion4 ,in the midst of this nation1 thus disposed to feed on hope and chimera1 a new prophet arose1 whose sectaries in process of time have changed the face of the earth4 ,a poor ,jew1 who pretended to be descended from the royal house of ,david1#a after being long unknown in his own country1 emerges from obscurity1 and goes forth to make proselytes4 ,he succeeded amongst some of the most ignorant part of the populace4 ,to them he preached his doctrines1 and taught them that he was the ,son of ,god1 the deliverer of his oppressed nation1 and the ,messiah announced by the prophets4 ,his disciples1 being either impostors1 or themselves deceived1 rendered a clamorous testimony of his power1 and declared that his mission had been proved by miracles without number4 ,the only prodigy which he was incapable of effecting1 was that of convincing the ,jews1 who1 far from being touched with his beneficent and marvellous works1 caused him to suffer an ignominious death4 ,thus the ,son of ,god died in the sight of all ,jerusalem2 but his followers declare that he was secretly resuscitated three days after his death4 ,visible to them alone1 and invisible to the nation which he came to enlighten and convert to his doctrine1 ,jesus1 after his resurrection1 say they1 conversed some time with his disciples1 and then ascended into heaven1 where1 having again become equal to ,god the father1 he shares with him the adorations and homages of the sectaries of his law4 ,these sectaries1 by accumulating superstitions1 inventing impostures1 and fabricating dogmas and mysteries1 have1 by little and little1 heaped up a distorted and unconnected system of religion which is called ,christianity1 after the name of ,christ its founder4 #a ,the ,jews say that ,jesus was the son of one ,pandira1 or ,panther1 who had seduced his mother ,mary1 a milliner1 the wife of ,jochanan4 ,according to others1 ,pandira1 by some artifice1 enjoyed her several times1 while she thought him her husband2 after which1 she becoming pregnant1 her husband1 suspicious of her fidelity1 retired into ,babylon4 ,some say that ,jesus was taught magic in ,egypt1 from whence he went and exercised his art in ,galilee1 where he was put to death4--,vide ,peiffer1 ,theol4 ,jud4 and ,mahom4 c4 ,principia4 ,lypsiae1 #afhg4 ,the different nations1 to which the ,jews were successively subjected1 had infected them with a multitude of ,pagan dogmas4 ,thus the ,jewish religion1 ,egyptian in its origin1 adopted many of the rites and opinions of the people1 with whom the ,jews conversed4 ,we need not then be surprised1 if we see the ,jews1 and the ,christians their successors1 filled with notions borrowed of the ,phenicians1 the ,magi or ,persians1 the ,greeks1 and the ,romans4 ,the errors of mankind respecting religion have a general resemblance2 they appear to differ only by their combinations4 ,the commerce of the ,jews and ,christians with the ,grecians made them acquainted with the philosophy of ,plato1 so analogous to the romantic spirit of the orientals1 and so conformable to the genius of a religion which boasts in being inaccessible to reason4#a ,paul1 the most ambitious and enthusiastic of the apostles1 carried his doctrines1 seasoned with the sublime and marvellous1 among the people of ,greece and ,asia1 and even the inhabitants of ,rome4 ,he gained proselytes1 as every man who addresses himself to the imagination of ignorant people may do2 and he may be justly styled the principal founder of a religion1 which1 without him1 could never have spread far2 for the rest of its followers were ignorant men1 from whom he soon separated himself to become the leader of his own sect4#b #a ,origen says1 that ,celsus reproached ,christ with having borrowed many of his maxims from ,plato4 ,see ,origen contra ,cel4 chap4 i4 #f4 ,augustin confesses1 that he found the beginning of the ,gospel of ,john1 in ,plato4 ,see ,s4 ,aug4 ,conf4 ,i4 vii4 ch4 #i1 #aj1 #aa4 ,the notion of the word is evidently taken from ,plato2 the church has since found means of transplanting a great part of ,plato1 as we shall hereafter prove4 #b ,the ,ebionites1 or first ,christians1 looked upon ,st4 ,paul as an apostate and an heretic1 because he wholly rejected the law of ,moses1 which the other apostles wished only to reform4 ,the conquests of the ,christian religion were1 in its infancy1 generally limited to the vulgar and ignorant4 ,it was embraced only by the most abject amongst the ,jews and ,pagans4 ,it is over men of this description that the marvellous has the greatest influence4#a ,an unfortunate ,god1 the innocent victim of wickedness and cruelty1 and an enemy to riches and the great1 must have been an object of consolation to the wretched4 ,the austerity1 contempt of riches1 and apparently disinterested cares of the first preachers of the gospel1 whose ambition was limited to the government of souls2 the equality of rank and property enjoined by their religion1 and the mutual succours interchanged by its followers2 these were objects well calculated to excite the desires of the poor1 and multiply ,christians4 ,the union1 concord1 and reciprocal affection1 recommended to the first ,christians1 must have been seductive to ingenious minds3 their submissive temper1 their patience in indigence1 obscurity1 and distress1 caused their infant sect to be looked upon as little dangerous in a government accustomed to tolerate all sects4 ,thus1 the founders of ,christianity had many adherents among the people1#b and their opposers and enemies consisted chiefly of some idolatrous priests and ,jews1 whose interest it was to support the religion previously established4 ,by little and little1 this new system1 covered with the clouds of mystery1 took deep root1 and became too strong and extensive to be suppressed4 ,the ,roman government saw too late the progress of an association it had despised4 ,the ,christians now become numerous1 dared to brave the ,pagan gods1 even in their temples4 ,the emperors and magistrates1 disquieted at such proceedings1 endeavoured to extinguish the sect which gave them umbrage4 ,they persecuted such as they could not reclaim by milder means1 and whom their fanaticism had rendered obstinate4 ,the feelings of mankind are ever interested in favour of distress2 and this persecution only served to increase the number of the friends of the ,christians4 ,the fortitude and constancy with which they suffered torment1 appeared supernatural and divine in the eyes of those who were witnesses to it2 their enthusiasm communicated itself1 and produced new advocates for the sect1 whose destruction was attempted4 #a ,the first ,christians were1 by way of contempt1 called ,ebionites1 which signifies beggars or mendicants4 ,see ,origen contra ,celsum1 lib4 ii4 et ,euseb4 ,hist4 ,eccles4 lib4 iii4 c4 #cg4 ,ebion1 in ,hebrew1 signifies poor4 ,the word ,ebion has since been personified into the meaning of an heretic1 or the leader of a sect1 who were excluded from sacred things1 and scarcely considered as men4 ,it promised them that they should one day have their turn1 and that1 in the other life1 they should be happier than their masters4 #b ,le peuple4 ,after this explanation1 let ,christians no longer boast the marvellous progress of their religion4 ,it was the religion of poverty2 it announced a ,god who was poor4 ,it was preached by the poor1 to the poor and ignorant4 ,it gave them consolation in their misery4 ,even its gloomy ideas were analogous to the disposition of indigent and unhappy men4 ,the union and concord so much admired in the earlier ,christians1 is by no means surprising4 ,an infant and oppressed sect naturally remain united1 and dread a separation of interests4 ,it is astonishing that1 in those early days1 men who were themselves persecuted and treated as malcontents1 should presume to preach intolerance and persecution4 ,the tyranny exercised against them wrought no change in their sentiments4 ,tyranny only irritates the human mind1 which is always invincible1 when those opinions are attacked to which it has attached its welfare4 ,such is the inevitable effect of persecution4 ,yet ,christians1 who ought to be undeceived by the example of their own sect1 have to this day been incapable of divesting themselves of the fury of persecution4 ,the ,roman emperors1 having themselves become ,christians1 that is to say1 carried away by a general torrent1 which obliged them to avail themselves of the support of a powerful sect1 seated religion on the throne4 ,they protected the church and its ministers1 and endeavoured to inspire their courtiers with their own ideas4 ,they beheld with a jealous eye those who retained their attachment to the ancient religion4 ,they1 at length1 interdicted the exercise of it1 and finished by forbidding it under the pain of death4 ,they persecuted without measure those who held to the worship of their ancestors4 ,the ,christians now repaid the ,pagans1 with interest1 the evils which they had before suffered from them4 ,the ,roman empire was shaken with convulsions1 caused by the unbridled zeal of sovereigns and those pacific priests1 who had just before preached nothing but mildness and toleration4 ,the emperors1 either from policy or superstition1 loaded the priesthood with gifts and benefactions1 which indeed were seldom repaid with gratitude4 ,they established the authority of the latter2 and at length respected as divine what they had themselves created4 ,priests were relieved from all civil functions1 that nothing might divert their minds from their sacred ministry4#a ,thus the leaders of a once insignificant and oppressed sect became independent4 ,being at last more powerful than kings1 they soon arrogated to themselves the right of commanding them4 ,these priests of a ,god of peace1 almost continually at variance with each other1 communicated the fury of their passions to their followers2 and mankind were astonished to behold quarrels and miseries engendered1 under the law of grace1 which they had never experienced under the peaceful reign of the ,divinities1 who had formerly shared without dispute the adoration of mortals4 ,such was the progress of a superstition1 innocent in its origin1 but which1 in its course1 far from producing happiness among mankind1 became a bone of contention1 and a fruitful source of calamities4 ,peace upon earth1 and good will towards men4 ,thus is the gospel announced1 which has cost the human race more blood than all other religions of the earth taken collectively4 #a ,see ,tillemont's ,life of ,constantine4 ,vol4 ,,iv4 ,art4 #cb4 ,love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy strength1 and thy neighbour as thyself4 ,this1 according to the ,god and ,legislator of the ,christians1 is the sum of their duties4 ,yet we see it is impossible for ,christians to love that severe and capricious ,god whom they worship4 ,on the other hand1 we see them eternally busied in tormenting1 persecuting1 and destroying their neighbours and brethren4 ,to find an explanation of these contradictions1 it is sufficient to cast our eyes upon the ,god which the ,christians inherited from the ,jews4 ,not contented with the shocking colours in which he was painted1 the ,christians have still more disfigured his portrait4 ,the ,legislator of the ,hebrews speaks only of the transient punishments of this life2 the ,christian represents his ,god as pouring out unbounded vengeance to all eternity4 ,in one word1 ,christian fanaticism feeds itself with the idea of an hell1 where its ,god1 transformed into a ferocious executioner1 as unjust as implacable1 shall bathe himself in the tears of his wretched creatures1 and perpetuate their existence1 to render them eternally miserable4 ,there1 clothed in vengeance1 he shall mock at the torments of sinners1 and listen with rapture to the groans with which they shall make the brazen roofs of their prisons resound2 not the smallest hope of some distant termination of their pains shall give them an interval of imaginary relief4 ,the ,christians in adopting the terrible ,god of the ,jews1 have sublimed his cruelty4 ,they represent him as the most capricious1 wicked1 and cruel tyrant which the human mind can conceive1 and suppose him to treat his subjects with a barbarity and injustice truly worthy of a demon4 ,in order to be convinced of this truth1 let us contemplate1 for a moment1 a picture of the ,jewish mythology1 adopted and rendered still more extravagant by the ,christians4 ,,chap4 ,,iv4--,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,mythology1 ,,or ,,the ,,ideas ,,of ,,god1 ,,and ,,his ,,conduct1 ,,given ,,us ,,by ,,the ,,christian ,,religion4 ,god1 by an inconceivable act of his omnipotence1 created the universe out of nothing4#a ,he made the earth for the residence of man1 whom he created in his own image4 ,scarcely had this man1 the prime object of the labours of his ,god1 seen the light1 when his ,creator set a snare for him1 into which he undoubtedly knew that he must fall4 ,a serpent1 who speaks1 seduces a woman1 who is not at all surprised at the phenomenon4 ,she1 being persuaded by the serpent1 solicits her husband to eat of a fruit forbidden by ,god himself4 ,adam1 the father of the human race1 by this light fault1 draws upon himself and his innocent posterity innumerable evils1 which are followed1 but not terminated by death4 ,by the offence of only one man1 the whole human race incurs the wrath of ,god1 and they are at length punished for involuntary faults with an universal deluge4 ,god repents having peopled the earth1 and he finds it easier to drown and destroy the human race1 than to change their hearts4 ,a small number of the just1 however1 escaped this destructive flood2 but the deluged earth1 and the destruction of mankind1 did not satiate the implacable vengeance of their ,creator4 ,a new generation appeared1 ,these1 although descended from the friends of ,god1 whom he had preserved in the general shipwreck of the world1 incense him by new crimes4 ,the almighty is represented as having been incapable of rendering his creature such as he desired him4 ,a new torrent of corruption carries away mankind2 and wrath is again excited in the bosom of ,jehovah4 #a ,ex nihilo nihil fit1 was considered as an axiom by ancient philosophers4 ,the creation1 as admitted by the ,christians of the present day1 that is to say1 the eduction of all things from nothing1 is a theological invention1 not1 indeed1 of very remote date4 ,the word ,barah1 which is used in ,genesis1 signifies to compote1 arranges to dispose matter already existing4 ,partial in his affections and his preferences1 he1 at length1 casts his eyes on an idolatrous ,assyrian4 ,he enters into an alliance with this man1 and covenants that his posterity shall be multiplied to the number of the stars of heaven1 or the sands of the sea1 and that they shall for ever enjoy the favour of ,god4 ,to this chosen race he reveals his will2 for them1 unmindful of his justice1 he destroys whole nations4 ,nevertheless1 this favoured race is not the more happy or the more attached to their ,god4 ,they fly to strange gods1 from whom they seek succours1 which are refused to them by their own4 ,they frequently insult the ,god who is able to exterminate them4 ,sometimes he punishes1 sometimes consoles them2 one while he hates them without cause1 and another caresses them with as little reason4 ,at last1 finding it impossible to reclaim this perverse people1 for whom he continues to feel the warmest tenderness1 he sends amongst them his own son4 ,to this son they will not listen4 ,what do ,i say8 ,this beloved son1 equal to ,god his father1 is put to an ignominious death by his favourite nation4 ,his father1 at the same time1 finds it impossible to save the human race1 without the sacrifice of his own son4 ,thus an innocent ,god becomes the victim of a just ,god1 by whom he is beloved4 ,both consent to this strange sacrifice1 judged necessary by a ,god1 who knows that it will be useless to an hardened nation1 which nothing can reclaim4 ,we should expect that the death of this ,god1 being useless to ,israel1 must serve1 at least1 to expiate the sins of the rest of the human race4 ,notwithstanding the eternal alliance with the ,hebrews1 solemnly sworn to by the ,most ,high1 and so many times renewed1 that favourite nation find themselves at last deserted by their ,god1 who could not reduce them to obedience4 ,the merits of the sufferings and death of his ,son1 are applied to the nations before excluded from his bounty4 ,these are reconciled to heaven1 now become more just in regard to them1 and return to grace4 ,yet1 in spite of all the efforts of ,god1 his favours are lavished in vain4 ,mankind continued to sin1 enkindle the divine wrath1 and render themselves worthy of the eternal punishments1 previously prepared and destined for the greater part of the human race4 ,such is the faithful history of the ,god1 on whom the foundation of the ,christian religion is laid4 ,his conduct being so strange1 cruel1 and opposite to all reason1 is it surprising to see the worshippers of this ,god ignorant of their duties1 destitute of humanity and justice1 and striving to assimilate themselves to the model of that barbarous divinity which they adore8 ,what indulgence have mankind a right to expect from a ,god1 who spared not even his own son8 ,what indulgence can the ,christian1 who believes this fable1 shew to his fellow-creature8 ,ought he not to imagine that the surest means of pleasing his ,god1 is to imitate his ferocity and cruelty8 #a #a ,the sacrifice of the ,son of ,god is mentioned as a proof of his benevolence4 ,is it not rather a proof of his ferocity1 cruelty1 and implacable vengeance8 ,a good ,christian1 on his death-bed said1 he had never been able to conceive how a good ,god could put an innocent ,god to death1 to appease a just ,god4 ,it is at least evident1 that the sectaries of such a ,god must have a precarious morality1 founded on principles destitute of all firmness4 ,this ,god1 in fact1 is not always unjust and cruel2 his conduct varies4 ,sometimes he appears to have created all nature for man alone2 at others1 he seems to have created man only as an object1 whereon to exercise his arbitrary rage4 ,sometimes they are cherished by him1 notwithstanding all their faults2 at others1 the whole species is condemned to eternal misery for an apple4 ,this unchangeable ,god is alternately agitated by anger and love1 revenge and pity1 benevolence and fury4 ,his conduct is continually destitute of that uniformity which characterises wisdom4 ,partial in his affections1 he makes it the duty of his favourite people to commit deliberately the most atrocious crimes4 ,he commands them to violate good faith1 and contemn the rights of nations4 ,he enjoins upon them the commission of robbery and murder4 ,on other occasions1 we see him forbidding the same crimes1 ordaining justice1 and prescribing to mankind abstinence from whatever disturbs the good order of society4 ,this ,god1 who is in turn styled the ,god of ,vengeance1 the ,god of ,mercies1 the ,god of ,arms1 and the ,god of ,peace1 is ever at variance with himself4 ,his subjects are consequently each one at liberty to copy that part of his conduct which he finds most congenial to his humour4 ,hence their morality becomes arbitrary4 ,it is surprising1 that ,christians have never yet been able to agree amongst themselves1 whether it would be most pleasing to their ,god to tolerate the various opinions of mankind1 or to exterminate all who differ from themselves4 ,it is1 in fact1 a problem with them1 whether it be most expedient to persecute and assassinate those who think not as they do1 or to treat them with humanity1 and suffer them to live in peace4 ,christians1 however1 do not fail to justify the strange and often iniquitous conduct attributed to their ,god in the ,scriptures4 ,this ,god1 say they1 being of right the absolute master of his creatures1 can dispose1 of them at his pleasure1 and for this no one can accuse him of injustice1 or demand an account of his conduct4 ,his justice is not the justice of mankind1 and they have no right to censure any of his actions4 ,it is easy to perceive the insufficiency of this answer4 ,mankind in making justice an attribute of their ,god1 can have no idea of this virtue1 but by supposing that it resembles the justice of their fellow-creatures4 ,if ,god have a justice1 which in its essence differs from that of man1 we know not what it is1 and we attribute to him a quality of which we have no idea4 ,if it be said1 that ,god owes nothing to his creatures1 he is supposed to be a tyrant1 whose conduct has no rule but his own caprice1 and who cannot continue to be a model for us1 having no longer any relation with us1 seeing all relations must be reciprocal4 ,if nothing be due from ,god to his creatures1 how can any thing be due from them to him8 ,if1 as we are continually told1 men are to ,god1 as the clay in the hands of the potter1 no moral relation can exist between them4 ,it is1 nevertheless1 upon those relations that all religion is founded4 ,therefore1 to say that ,god has no duty towards his creatures1 and that his justice is different from that of mankind1 is to sap the foundations of all religion and justice1 which necessarily suppose that punish them for doing evil4 ,in fine1 how can the followers of the ,christian system reconcile that barbarous conduct1 and those sanguinary commands1 attributed to him in the ,scriptures1 with his goodness or his wisdom8 ,and how can goodness be an attribute of a ,god1 who has created most of the human race only to damn them eternally8 ,god ought to reward mankind for doing good4 ,here we shall be told that the conduct of ,god is1 to us1 an impenetrable mystery1 that we have no right to scrutinize it1 and that our feeble reason must be lost whenever it attempts to sound the depth of divine wisdom4 ,we are informed that we must adore in silence1 and tremblingly submit to the oracles of a ,god1 who has himself sufficiently made known his will in his holy ,scriptures4 ,this is what they call revelation1 to which we proceed in the next chapter4 ,,chap4 ,v4--,,of ,,revelation4 ,how can we know1 without the aid of reason1 that ,god hath spoken8 ,but1 on the other side1 is not reason proscribed by the ,christian religion8 ,is not the use of reason forbidden1 in the examination of the marvellous dogmas with which we are presented by this religion8 ,does it not continually exclaim against a profane reason1 which it accuses of insufficiency1 and often regards as rebellious to heaven8 ,in order to be capable of judging of divine revelation1 we must have a just idea of the ,divinity4 ,but seeing human reason is too weak and grovelling to exalt itself to an acquaintance with the ,supreme ,being1 from what source shall we derive that idea1 beside revelation itself8 ,thus revelation itself is to become the proof of the authority of revelation4 ,let us pass on from this conjuror's circle1 and open the sacred books1 destined to enlighten mankind1 and before which reason must fall prostrate4 ,do they exhibit any precise ideas of the ,god1 whose oracles they announce8 ,can we draw from them any just conceptions of its attributes8 ,is not this ,god represented as a mass of extraordinary qualities1 which form an inexplicable enigma8 ,if this revelation be1 as is supposed1 an emanation from ,god himself1 who can confide in him8 ,does he not paint himself as false1 unjust1 deceitful1 and ,cruel2 as setting snares for mankind2 seducing1 hardening1 and leading them astray8 #a #a ,by the ,scriptures and the ,fathers of the ,church1 ,god is always represented as a seducer4 ,he permits ,eve to be seduced by a serpent4 ,he hardens the heart of ,pharaoh4 ,christ himself is a stone of stumbling4 ,such are the points of view under which the ,divinity is exhibited to us4 ,thus the man1 desirous of being assured of the truth of ,christian revelation1 finds himself1 at the first step of enquiry1 plunged into distrust and perplexity1 which is increased by the indeterminable disputes of his sacred guides1 who have never been able to agree upon the manner of understanding the oracles of a ,divinity which they say has revealed itself4 ,the hesitation and fear of the man who honestly examines the revelation adopted by ,christians1 must redouble1 when he sees their ,god represented as revealing himself only to a few favourites of the human race1 while he carefully conceals himself from the remainder1 to whom1 notwithstanding this1 revelation is equally necessary4 ,he must be uncertain whether or not he is of the number1 to whom this partial ,god deigns to make himself known4 ,must not his heart be troubled at the sight of a ,god1 who vouchsafes to discover himself1 and announce his decrees1 only to a number of men1 inconsiderable in comparison with the whole human race8 ,is he not tempted to accuse this ,god of a malevolence too dark1 when he finds that for want of revealing himself to so many millions of mankind1 he has caused their inevitable misery through an endless succession of ages8 ,what ideas must he form to himself of a ,god who inflicts this punishment upon them for their ignorance of secret laws1 which he has published by stealth in an obscure and unknown corner of ,asia8 ,thus ,christians1 even when they consult the ,scriptures1 find all things conspiring to put them on their guard against the ,god exhibited therein4 ,every thing inspires distrust of his moral character4 ,all things float in an uncertainty4 ,this ,god1 in concert with the pretended interpreters of his will1 seems to have formed the design of redoubling the darkness of his ignorance4 ,he is1 however1 told1 in order to appease his doubts1 that the revealed will of ,god consists of mysteries2 that is to say1 things inaccessible to human understanding4 ,in this case what need was there of having spoken8 ,ought a ,god to reveal himself to mankind for the sole purpose of not being comprehended8 ,is not such conduct as ridiculous as it is unreasonable8 ,to say that ,god has revealed himself only to announce mysteries1 is to say that he has revealed himself in order to remain unknown1 to conceal from us his views1 embarrass our understandings1 and augment our ignorance and uncertainty4 ,a true revelation1 proceeding from a just and good ,god1 and necessary to all mankind1 ought to be clear enough to be understood by all the human race4 ,but will the revelation1 upon which ,judaism and ,christianity are founded1 bear the test of this criterion8 ,the ,elements of ,euclid are intelligible to all who endeavour to understand them4 ,this work excites no dispute among geometricians4 ,is it so with the ,bible8 and do its revealed truths occasion no disputes among divines8 ,by what fatality have writings revealed by ,god himself still need of commentaries8 and why do they demand additional lights from on high1 before they can be believed or understood8 ,is it not astonishing1 that what was intended as a guide for mankind1 should be wholly above their comprehending8 ,is it not cruel1 that what is of most importance to them should be least known8 ,all is mystery1 darkness1 uncertainty1 and matter of dispute1 in a religion intended by the ,most ,high to enlighten the human race4 ,far from contenting themselves with the pretended mysteries contained in the ,scriptures1 the priests of the ,christian religion have1 from age to age1 invented new ones1 which1 though never mentioned by their ,god1 their disciples are forced to believe4 ,no ,christian can entertain a doubt concerning the mysteries of the ,trinity1 the ,incarnation1 and the efficacy of sacraments2 and yet ,christ never explained these subjects4 ,among ,christians every thing seems to be abandoned to the imagination1 caprice1 and arbitrary decision of priests1 who arrogate to themselves the right of fabricating mysteries and articles of faith1 as their interests occasionally require4 ,thus1 this revelation perpetuates itself by means of the ,church1 which pretends to be inspired by ,god1 and which1 far from enlightening the minds of her children1 delights to confound1 and plunges them in a sea of uncertainty6 ,such are the effects of this revelation1 which forms the basis of the ,christian religion1 and of the reality of which we are not permitted to doubt4 ,god1 it is said1 has spoken to mankind4 ,but when has he spoken8 ,thousands of years ago1 by prophets and inspired men1 whom he has chosen as organs of communication with mankind4 ,but how can it be proved to have been ,god himself who spoke1 except by having recourse to the testimony of the very persons who pretend to have received his commands8 ,these interpreters of the divine will were then men2 and are not men liable to be deceived themselves1 and prone to deceive others8 ,how then can we discover what confidence is due to the testimony which these organs of heaven give in favour of their own mission8 ,how shall we be made sure that they have not been the dupes of some illusion1 or an overheated imagination8 ,at this remote period1 how can we be certain that ,moses conversed with ,god1 and received from him the law which he communicated to the ,hebrews8 ,what was the temperament of this ,moses8 ,was he phlegmatic or enthusiastic1 honest or knavish1 ambitious or disinterested1 a practiser of truths or of falsehood8 ,what confidence can be placed in the testimony of a man1 who1 after pretending to have performed so many miracles1 could not convert his people from idolatry2 and who1 after having caused forty-seven thousand ,israelites to perish by the sword1 has the effrontery to assume the title of the meekest of mankind8 ,is it certain that the books which are attributed to ,moses1 and report so many miraculous circumstances1 are perfectly authentic8 ,in fine1 what proof have we of his mission1 except the testimony of a number of superstitious1 ignorant1 and credulous ,israelites1 who were probably the dupes of a ferocious legislator8 ,what proofs does the ,christian religion give us of the mission of ,jesus ,christ8 ,are we acquainted with his character and temperament8 ,what degree of confidence can we place in the testimony of his disciples1 who1 by their own confession1 were ignorant and unlearned men1 and1 consequently1 liable to be imposed upon by the artifices of a dexterous impostor8 ,ought not the testimony of the most learned in ,jerusalem to have greater weight with us1 than that of the lowest vulgar1 whose ignorance always renders them the dupes of those who endeavour to deceive them8 ,these enquiries bring us to an examination of the proofs which are adduced in support of the ,christian religion4 ,,chap4 ,,vi4--,,of ,,the ,,proofs ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,religion4 ,,miracles1 ,,prophecies1 ,,and ,,martyrs4 ,we have seen1 in the preceding chapters1 what just reasons there are to doubt the authenticity of the revelation of the ,jews and ,christians4 ,and further1 relative to this article1 ,christianity has no advantage over any other religion4 ,all the religions on earth1 notwithstanding their discordance1 declare that they have emanated from ,god1 and pretend to possess an exclusive right to his favours4 ,the ,indian asserts1 that the ,brama himself is the author of his worship4 ,the ,scandinavian derives his from the awful ,odin4 ,if the ,jew and the ,christian have received theirs from ,jehovah by the ministry of ,moses and ,jesus1 the ,mahometan affirms1 that he has received his from his prophet1 inspired by the same ,god4 ,thus1 all religions pretend to a divine origin2 and they all interdict the use of reason in the examination of their sacred titles4 ,each pretends to be the only true one1 to the exclusion of all others4 ,all menace with the wrath of heaven those who refuse to submit to their authority1 and all acquire the character of falsehood by the palpable contradictions with which they are filled2 by the mis-shapen1 obscure1 and often odious ideas which they give of the ,godhead2 by the whimsical laws which they attribute to him1 and by the disputes which they generate among their sectaries4 ,in fine1 they all appear to be a mass of impostures and reveries1 equally disgusting to reason4 ,thus1 on the score of pretensions1 the ,christian religion has no advantage over the other superstitions with which the world is infected2 and its divine origin is contested by all others with as much propriety as theirs is denied by it4 ,how then shall we decide in its favour8 ,how prove the validity of its pretensions8 ,has it any superior qualities1 by which it merits the preference8 ,and if so1 what are they8 ,does it1 better than any other1 make us acquainted with the nature and essence of ,god8 ,alas6 it only renders them more incomprehensible4 ,it represents him as a capricious tyrant1 whose whimsies are sometimes favourable1 but more commonly injurious to mankind4 ,does it render mankind better8 ,alas6 it arms them against each other1 renders them intolerant1 and forces them to butcher their brethren4 ,does it render empires flourishing and powerful8 ,wherever it reigns1 do we not see the people debased1 destitute of energy1 and ignorant of true morality8 ,what then are the proofs which are to establish the superiority of the ,christian religion over all others8 ,we are answered1 miracles1 prophecies1 and martyrs4 ,but these are to be found in all religions of the earth4 ,there are in all nations men1 who1 being superior to the vulgar in science and cunning1 deceive them with imposture1 and dazzle them with performances which are judged to be supernatural1 by men ignorant of the secrets of nature and the resources of art4 ,if the ,jew cite the miracles of ,moses1 ,i see them performed before a people most ignorant1 abject1 and credulous1 whose testimony has no weight with me4 ,i may1 also1 suspect that these pretended miracles have been inserted in the sacred books of the ,hebrews long after the death of those who might have testified the truth concerning them4 ,if the ,christians cite ,jerusalem1 and the testimony of ,gallilee1 to prove the miracles of ,christ1 ,i see them attested only by an ignorant populace2 or ,i demand how it could be possible that an entire people1 who had been witnesses to the miracles of ,christ1 should consent to his death1 and even earnestly demand it8 ,would the people of ,london1 or ,paris1 suffer a man who had raised the dead1 restored the blind to sight1 and healed the lame and paralytic1 to be put to death before their eyes8 ,if the ,jews demanded the death of ,jesus1 all his miracles are at once annihilated in the mind of every unprejudiced person4 ,may not we1 also1 oppose to the miracles of ,moses1 and ,christ1 those performed by ,mahomet in presence of all ,mecca and ,arabia assembled8 ,the effect of his miracles was1 at least1 to convince the ,arabians that he was a divine person4 ,the miracles of ,jesus convinced nobody of his mission4 ,saint ,paul himself1 who afterwards became the most ardent of his disciples1 was not convinced by the miracles1 of which1 in his time1 there existed so many witnesses4 ,a new one was necessary for his conviction4 ,and by what right do they at this day demand belief of miracles2 which could not convince even in the time of the ,apostles2 that is to say1 a short time after they were wrought8 ,let it not be said that the miracles of ,christ are as well attested as any fact in profane history1 and that to doubt them is as ridiculous as to doubt the existence1 of ,scipio or ,csar1 which we believe only on the report of the historians by whom they are mentioned4 ,the existence of a man1 of the general of an army1 or an hero1 is not improbable2 neither is it a miracle4#a ,we believe the probable facts1 whilst we reject1 with contempt1 the miracles recounted by ,titus ,livius4 ,the most stupid credulity is often joined to the most distinguished talents4 ,of this1 the ,christian religion furnishes us with innumerable examples4 ,in matters of religion1 all testimony is liable to suspicion4 ,the most enlightened men see but ill1 when they are intoxicated with enthusiasm1 and dazzled by the chimeras of a wild imagination4 ,a miracle is a thing impossible in the order of nature4 ,if this be changed by ,god1 he is not immutable4 ,it will probably be said1 that1 without changing1 the order of things1 ,god and his favourites could not find resources in nature unknown to mankind in general4 ,but then their works would no longer be supernatural1 and would have nothing of the marvellous4 ,a miracle is an effect contrary to the established laws of nature4 ,god himself1 therefore1 cannot perform miracles without counteracting the institutions1 of his own wisdom ,a wise man1 having seen a miracle1 might with propriety doubt the evidence of his own senses4 ,he ought carefully to examine1 whether1 the extraordinary effect1 which he does not comprehend1 proceeds not from some natural cause1 whose manner of acting he does not understand4 #a ,a supernatural event requires1 in order to be believed1 much stronger proofs than a fact in no-wise contradictory to probability4 ,it is easy to believe1 upon the testimony of ,philostrates1 that ,appollonius existed1 because his existence has nothing in it that shocks reason2 but ,i will not believe ,philostrates1 when he tells me1 that ,appollonius performed miracles4 ,i believe that ,jesus ,christ died2 but ,i do not believe that he arose from the dead4 ,but let us suppose1 for a moment1 that miracles may exist1 and that those of ,christ were real1 or1 at least1 that they were inserted in the ,gospels by persons who imagined they had seen them4 ,are the witnesses who transmitted1 or the ,apostles who saw them1 extremely deserving of credit8 ,and have we not a right to refuse their testimonies8 ,were those witnesses very deserving men8 ,by the confession of the ,christians themselves they were ignorant men1 taken from the dregs of the people1 and consequently credulous and incapable of investigation4 ,were those witnesses disinterested8 ,no2 it was1 undoubtedly1 their chief interest to support those miracles1 upon which were suspended the divinity of their master1 and the truth of the religion they were endeavouring to establish4 ,are those miracles confirmed by the testimony of cotemporary historians8 ,not one of them has mentioned those extraordinary facts4 ,we find not a single ,jew or ,pagan in the superstitious city of ,jerusalem who heard even a word of the most marvellous facts that ever were recorded1 and facts which happened in the midst of them4 ,the miracles of ,christ were ever attested by ,christians only4 ,we are requested to believe that1 at the death of the ,son of ,god1 the earth quaked1 the sun was darkened1 and the dead arose4 ,how does it happen that such extraordinary events have been noticed only by a handful of ,christians8 ,were they the only persons who perceived them8 ,we are told1 also1 that ,christ arose from the dead2 to prove which1 they appeal to the testimony of his ,apostles and followers4 ,would not one solemn apparition1 in some public place1 have been more decisive than all those clandestine ones1 made to persons interested in the formation of a new sect8 ,the ,christian faith1 according to ,st4 ,paul1 is founded on the resurrection of ,christ4 ,this1 then1 ought to have been demonstrated to mankind1 in the clearest and most indisputable manner4#a #a ,the ,barilidians and ,corinthians1 heretics who lived in the infancy of ,christianity1 maintained that ,jesus was not dead1 and that ,simon the ,cyrenian was crucified in his place4 ,see ,epiph4 ,haer4 c4 #bh4 ,thus1 there were men1 from the birth of the church1 who doubted the crucifixion1 and1 consequently1 the resurrection of ,christ2 and yet we are exhorted to believe them at the present day4 ,have we not room to accuse the ,saviour of the world with want of benevolence1 in shewing himself only to his disciples and favourites8 ,it seems that he did not desire that all the world should believe in him4 ,the ,jews1 it is said1 deserve to be blinded for putting ,christ to death4 ,but1 if this be the case1 why did the apostles preach to them the gospel8 ,could it be expected that the ,jews would believe the report of the apostles1 rather than their own eyes8 ,miracles appear to have been invented to supply the want of good reasons4 ,truth and evidence have no need of miracles to ensure their reception4 ,is it not very astonishing that ,god ,almighty should find it easier to derange the order of nature1 than to convince mankind of truths the most evident1 and calculated to force their assent8 ,miracles were made to prove things which it is impossible to believe4 ,there is no need of miracles when we talk of reason4 ,things incredible are here adduced in proof of incredible things4 ,almost all impostors who have fabricated religions1 have announced incredibilities to mankind4 ,they have afterwards fabricated miracles in proof of those incredibilities4 ,you cannot comprehend1 said they1 what ,i tell you2 but ,i will clearly prove to you that ,i tell the truth1 by doing things that you cannot comprehend4 ,people have in all ages been overcome by this brilliant reasoning4 ,a passion for the marvellous has prevented enquiry4 ,mankind have not perceived that miracles could neither prove impossibilities1 nor change the essence of truth4 ,whatever wonders a man1 or1 if you please1 a ,god may perform1 they can never prove that two and two are not four1 or that three are no more than one4 ,they cannot prove that an immaterial being1 destitute of organs1 has spoken to man2 or that a good1 wise1 and just ,being has commanded the execution of injustice1 folly1 and cruelty4 ,it appears1 therefore1 that miracles prove nothing1 unless it be the address and impostures of those who are desirous of profiting by the stupid credulity of mankind1 and endeavour to seduce them into a belief of the most extravagant falsehoods4 ,such men have always began by falsely pretending to have an intimate commerce with ,god1 in order to prove which1 they have performed wonders that they attribute to the ,being by whom they say they were commissioned4 ,every man1 who performs miracles1 endeavours to establish1 not truth1 but falsehood4 ,truth is simple and evident2 the marvellous is ever to be suspected4 ,nature is always true to herself2 she acts by unvarying laws4 ,to say that ,god performs miracles1 is to say that he contradicts himself1 and violates the laws which he has prescribed to nature4 ,it is to say1 that he renders useless human reason1 of which he is the author4 ,impostors alone can pronounce it necessary to discredit experience and reject reason4 ,thus1 the pretended miracles of the ,christian1 as well as all other religions1 have no foundation1 but the ignorance1 credulity1 and enthusiasm of mankind1 and the cunning of impostors4 ,the same may be said of prophecies4 ,mankind are ever anxious to pry into futurity2 and there are always some kind individuals disposed to aid them in the gratification of this desire4 ,there have been enchanters1 diviners1 and prophets1 in all the nations of the earth4 ,the ,jews have not been happier1 in this respect1 than others4 ,tartars1 ,negroes1 and ,indians have their share of impostors1 ,all societies will find deceivers enough1 so long as they are willing to pay for deception4 ,these inspired men have not been ignorant1 that their prophecies ought to be extremely vague and ambiguous1 in order that they might not1 in process of time1 appear to have been falsehoods4 ,we need not1 therefore1 be surprised1 that the ,jewish prophecies are very dark1 and of such a nature1 that any thing may be found in them which interpreters think proper to seek4 ,those which are attributed to ,christ1 by his followers1 are not considered in the same light by the ,jews1 who still expect the ,messiah1 whom the former believe to have been on earth eighteen centuries ago4 ,the ,jewish prophecies uniformly announce the deliverer of a discontented and oppressed nation4 ,such a one was also expected by the ,romans1 and almost all the nations of the earth4 ,all mankind have a natural propensity to hope for a termination of the evils they suffer1 and believe that ,providence cannot1 in justice1 fail to render them1 one day1 happy4 ,the ,jews1 the most superstitious nation on earth1 building upon the supposed promise of their ,god1 have always expected the coming of a monarch or conqueror1 who is to elevate them from disgrace1 and crown them with triumph4 ,it was impossible for them to see this deliverer in the person of ,jesus1 who1 instead of being the restorer of the ,hebrew nation1 was its destroyer2 and since whose coming1 they seem to have lost all favour with ,god4 ,it is asserted1 that the destruction of the ,jewish nation1 and the dispersion of the ,jews1 were themselves foretold1 and that they furnish a convincing proof of the truth of ,christian prophecy4 ,to this ,i answer1 it was easy to foretel the dispersion and destruction of a restless1 turbulent1 and rebellious people1 continually torn and convulsed by intestine divisions4 ,besides1 this people was often conquered and dispersed4 ,the temple destroyed by ,titus1 had previously suffered the same fate from ,nebuchadnezzar1 who carried the captive tribes into ,assyria1 and spread them through his territories4 ,the dispersion of the ,jews is more perceptible than that of other conquered nations1 because they have generally1 after a certain time1 become confounded with their conquerors2 whereas the ,jews refuse to intermingle1 by domestic connections1 with the nations where they reside1 and have religiously maintained this distinction4 ,it is not the same with the ,cuebres or ,parsis1 of ,persia and ,indostan1 as well as the ,armenians1 who dwell in ,mahometan countries4 ,the ,jews remain dispersed1 because they are unsocial1 intolerant1 and blindly attached to their superstitions4#a ,thus ,christians have no reason to boast of the prophecies contained in the books of the ,jews1 nor to make invidious applications of them to that nation1 because they detest its religion4 ,judea was always subjected to priests1 who had great influence over affairs of state4 ,they were always meddling with politics1 and undertook to foretel the events1 fortunate or unfortunate1 which were to befal the nation4 ,no country was ever more fertile in prophets4 ,this description of men instituted schools1 where they initiated into the mysteries of their art those who proved themselves worthy of that honour1 by discovering a wish to deceive a credulous people1 and by such honest means acquire riches and respect4#b ,the art of prophesying was then an actual profession1 or an useful and profitable branch of commerce in that miserable nation1 which believed ,god to be incessantly busied in their affairs4 ,the great gains resulting from this traffic of imposture must have caused divisions among the ,jewish prophets4 ,accordingly1 we find them crying down each other4 ,each one treated his rivals as false prophets1 inspired by evil spirits4 ,there have always been quarrels among impostors1 to decide who should have the exclusive right of deceiving mankind4 #a ,the ,acts of the ,apostles evidently prove1 that1 even before the time of ,jesus1 the ,jews began to be dispersed4 ,jews came from ,greece1 ,persia1 ,arabia1 c4 to the feast of ,pentecost4 ,acts1 c4 ii4 #h4 ,so that1 after ,jesus1 the inhabitants of ,judea only were dispersed by the ,romans4 #b ,saint ,jerome says1 that the ,sadducees did not adopt the prophets1 but contented themselves with believing the five books of ,moses4 ,dodwell1 ,de ,jure ,laicorum1 asserts1 that the prophets prepared themselves to prophesy by drinking wine4 ,see page #bei4 ,it seems they were jugglers1 poets1 and musicians1 who had made themselves masters of their trades1 and knew how to exercise them profitably4 ,if we examine the conduct of the boasted prophets of the ,old ,testament1 we shall find them far from being virtuous persons4 ,we see arrogant priests continually meddling with affairs of state1 and interweaving them with religion4 ,we see in them seditious subjects1 incessantly caballing against all sovereigns1 who were not sufficiently submissive to them4 ,they cross their projects1 excite their subjects to rebellion1 effect their destruction1 and thus accomplish the fatal predictions1 which they had before made against them4#a ,such is the character of most of the prophets1 who have played a part in the history of the ,jews4 ,the studied obscurity of the prophecies is such1 that those which are commonly applied to the ,messiah1 or the deliverer of ,israel1 are equally applicable to every enthusiast or prophet that appeared in ,jerusalem or ,judea4 ,christians1 heated with the idea of ,christ1 think they meet him in all places1 and pretend to see him in the darkest passages of the ,old ,testament4 ,deluding themselves by force of allegories1 subtilties1 commentaries1 and forced interpretations1 they have discovered the most formal predictions in all the vague oracles and nonsensical trash of the prophets4#b #a ,the prophet ,samuel1 displeased with ,saul1 who refused to second his cruelty1 declared that he had forfeited the crown1 and raised up a rival to him in the person of ,david4 ,elias appears to have been a seditious subject1 who1 finding himself unable to succeed in his rebellious designs1 thought proper to escape due punishment by flight4 ,jeremiah himself gives us to understand that he conspired with the ,assyrians against his besieged country4 ,he seems to have employed himself in depriving3 his fellow-citizens of both the will and the courage to defend themselves4 ,he purchased a field of his relations1 at the very time when he informed his countrymen that they were about to be dispersed1 and led away in captivity4 ,the king of ,assyria recommends this prophet to his general1 ,nebuzaradan1 whom he commands to take great care of him4--,see ,jeremiah4 #b ,any thing may be found in the ,bible1 if it be read with the imagination of ,saint ,augustine1 who pretended to see all the ,new ,testament in the ,old4 ,according to him1 the death of ,abel is a type of that of ,christ2 the two wives of ,abraham are the synagogue and the church2 a piece of red cloth held up by an harlot1 who betrayed ,jericho1 signifies the blood of ,christ2 the lamb1 goat1 and lion1 are figures of ,jesus ,christ2 the brazen serpent represents the sacrifice on the cross4 ,even the mysteries of the ,christian religion are announced in the ,old ,testament4 ,manna represents the ,eucharist1 c4 ,see ,s4 ,aug4 ,serm4 #gh4 and ,ep4 #aef4 ,how can a man1 in his senses1 see1 in the ,immanuel announced by ,isaiah1 the ,messiah1 whose name is ,jesus8 ,isaiah c4 vii4 v4 #ad4 ,how discover1 in an obscure and crucified ,jew1 a leader who shall govern ,israel8 ,how see a royal deliverer and restorer of the ,jews1 in one1 who1 far from delivering his nation1 came only to destroy their laws2 and after whose coming their land was desolated by the ,romans8 ,a man must be sharp-sighted indeed to find the ,messiah in their predictions4 ,jesus himself does not seem to have been more clear1 or happy1 in his prophecies4 ,in the ,gospel of ,luke1 chap4 xxi4 he speaks of the last judgment3 he mentions angels1 who1 at the sound of the trumpet1 assemble mankind together before him4 ,he adds1 ,verily ,i say unto you1 this generation shall not pass away1 until these things are accomplished4 ,the world1 however1 still stands1 and ,christians have been expecting the last judgment for eighteen hundred years4 ,men are not scrupulous respecting things which accord with their desires4 ,when we examine1 without prejudice1 the prophecies of the ,hebrews1 we find them to be a mis-shapen mass of rhapsodies1 the offspring of fanaticism and delirium4 ,we find them obscure and enigmatical1 like the oracles of the ,pagans4 ,in fine1 it is evident that these pretended divine oracles are the vagaries and impostures of men1 who imposed on the credulity of a superstitious nation which believes in dreams1 visions1 apparitions1 and sorceries1 and received with avidity any deception1 provided it were sufficiently decorated with the marvellous4 ,wherever mankind are ignorant1 there will be found prophets and workers of miracles1 and these two branches of commerce will always decay in the same proportion as mankind become enlightened4 ,among the proofs of the authenticity of their religion1 ,christians enumerate a multitude of martyrs1 who have sealed with their blood their belief of the opinions they had embraced4 ,there is no religion destitute of ardent defenders1 who would sacrifice their lives for the opinions to which they believe their eternal happiness attached4 ,superstitious and ignorant men are obstinate in their prejudices4 ,their credulity prevents them from suspecting any deception in their spiritual guides4 ,their vanity persuades them that they are incapable of wavering2 and if1 in fine1 their imaginations be strong enough to see the heavens open1 and a recompense prepared therein for their courage1 there is no torment they will not brave and endure4 ,in their intoxication they will despise all torments of short duration2 they will smile upon their executioners2 and their souls1 alienated from earthly things1 will become insensible to pain4 ,in such scenes1 the hearts of spectators are softened2 they admire the astonishing firmness of the martyr2 they catch his enthusiasm1 and believe his cause just4 ,his courage appearing to them supernatural and divine1 becomes an indubitable proof of the truth of his opinions4 ,thus1 by a sort of contagion1 enthusiasm communicates itself4 ,men are always interested in the fate of those who shew the greatest firmness2 and tyranny always multiplies the friends of those whom it persecutes4 ,the constancy of the first ,christians must1 therefore1 have produced proselytes1 by a natural effect of their conduct4 ,martyrs prove nothing1 unless it be the strength of the enthusiasm1 error1 and obstinacy produced by superstition1 and the barbarous folly of those who persecute their fellow-creatures for religious opinions4 ,every violent passion has its martyrs4 ,pride1 vanity1 prejudice1 love1 patriotism1 and even vice itself1 produces martyrs2 or1 at least1 a contempt of every kind of danger4 ,is it1 then1 surprising1 that enthusiasm and fanaticism1 the strongest passions of mankind1 have so often enabled men1 inspired with the hopes they give1 to face and despise death8 ,besides1 if ,christians can boast a catalogue of martyrs1 ,jews can do the same4 ,the unfortunate ,jews1 condemned to the flames by the ,inquisition1 were martyrs to their religion2 and their fortitude proves as much in its favour1 as that of the ,christians can do in favour of ,christianity4 ,if martyrs demonstrate the truth of a religion1 there is no religion or sect which may not be looked upon as true4 ,in fine1 among the perhaps exaggerated number of martyrs1 boasted by ,christians1 many were rather the victims of an inconsiderate zeal1 a turbulent and seditious spirit1 than a real love of religion4 ,the church itself does not presume to justify some1 who1 transported by a volcanic zeal1 have troubled the peace of the earth1 and poured out flaming destruction on all who differed in opinion from themselves2 until mankind1 consulting their own tranquillity and safety1 have destroyed them4 ,if men of this description were to be considered as martyrs1 every disturber of society1 when punished1 would acquire a right to this title4 ,,chap4 ,,vii4--,,of ,,the ,,mysteries ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,religion4 ,to reveal any thing to a man1 is to discover to him secrets of which he was before ignorant4 ,if we ask ,christians what the secrets were1 the importance of which rendered it necessary that they should be revealed by ,god himself1 we shall be told that the greatest of those secrets1 and the one most necessary to mankind1 is the ,unity of the ,godhead2 a secret which1 say they1 human wisdom could never have discovered1 of itself4 ,but are we not at liberty to doubt the truth of this assertion8 ,moses1 undoubtedly1 declared an only ,god to the ,hebrews1 and did all in his power to render them enemies to the idolatry and polytheism of other surrounding nations1 whose belief and whose modes of worship he represented as abominable in the eyes of the celestial ,monarch1 who had brought them out of the land of ,egypt4 ,but have not many wise men among the heathens discovered1 without the assistance of the ,jewish revelation1 one supreme ,god1 superior to all others8 ,moreover1 was not ,fate1 to which all the other gods of the heathens were subordinate1 an only ,god1 to whose sovereign law all nature was subject8 ,as to the colours in which ,moses paints his ,godhead1 neither ,jews nor ,christians have a right to pride themselves therein4 ,he is represented as a capricious and irascible despot1 full of cruelty1 injustice1 partiality1 and malignity4 ,what kind of being shall we contemplate1 when we add to this the ineffable attributes ascribed to him in the ,christian theology8 ,is the ,godhead described when it is said that it is a spirit1 an immaterial being1 which resembles nothing presented to us by our senses8 ,is not human understanding confounded with the negative attributes of infinity1 immensity1 eternity1 omnipotence1 and omniscience1 with which he has been decorated1 only to render him still more incomprehensible8 ,how can the wisdom1 the goodness1 justice1 and other moral qualities of this ,god1 be reconciled with that strange and often atrocious conduct1 which are attributed to him in almost every page of the ,old and ,new ,testament8 ,would it not have been better to have left mankind in entire ignorance of the ,godhead1 than to reveal to him a ,god made up of contradictions1 which lead to eternal dispute1 and serve only to trouble his repose8 ,to reveal such a ,god to mankind1 is only to discover to them the means to embarrass and render themselves wretched1 and quarrel with and injure one another4 ,but1 be this as it may1 is it true that ,christianity admits but one ,god1 the same which was revealed by ,moses8 ,do we not see ,christians adore a threefold divinity1 under the name of the ,trinity8 ,the supreme ,god begat from all eternity a son equal to himself2 from these two proceeds a third equal to the two first2 these three ,gods1 equal in perfection1 divinity1 and power1 form1 nevertheless1 only one ,god4 ,to overturn this system1 it seems sufficient only to shew its absurdity4 ,is it but to reveal such mysteries as these that the ,godhead has taken pains to instruct mankind8 ,have opinions more absurd and contrary to reason ever existed among the most ignorant and savage nations8l ,in the mean time1 however1 the writings of ,moses contain nothing that could authorise the construction of a system so wild4 ,it is only by having recourse to the most forced explanations1 that the doctrine of the ,trinity is pretended to be found in the ,bible4 ,as to the ,jews1 contented with the only ,god which their legislator has declared to them1 they have never attempted to create a threefold one4 #a ,the dogma of the ,trinity is evidently borrowed from the reveries of ,plato1 or from the allegories under which that romantic philosopher chose to conceal his doctrine4 ,it appears that to him the ,christian religion is indebted for the greater part of its dogmas4 ,plato admitted three ,hypostases1 or modes of being in the ,divinity4 ,the first constituted the supreme ,god2 the second the ,logos1 ,word1 or divine intelligence proceeding from the first2 the third is the ,spirit1 or ,soul of the ,world4 ,the early teachers of the ,christian religion appear to have been ,platonics2 their enthusiasm probably found in ,plato a doctrine analogous to their feelings2 had they been grateful1 they would have recorded him as a prophet1 or1 at least1 as one of the fathers of the church4 ,the ,jesuitical missionaries found a ,divinity1 nearly similar to that of the ,christians1 at ,thibet4 ,among the ,tartars1 ,god is called ,kon-cio-cik1 the only ,god1 and ,kon-cio-sum1 the threefold ,god4 ,they also give him the titles ,on1 ,ha1 ,hum1 intelligence1 might1 power or words1 heart1 love4 ,the number three was always revered among the ancients2 because ,salom1 which in the ,oriental languages signifies three1 signifies also health1 safety1 salvation4 ,the second of these ,gods1 or1 according to the ,christians1 the second person of the ,trinity1 having clad himself with human nature1 and become incarnate in the womb of a virgin1 he submitted himself to the infirmities of our species1 and even suffered an ignominious death to expiate the sins of the earth4 ,this is what ,christians call the mystery of ,incarnation4 ,he must be indeed blind1 who cannot see these absurd notions are borrowed from the ,egyptians1 ,indians1 and ,grecians1 whose ridiculous mythologies describe gods as possessing human forms1 and subject to infirmities1 like mankind4#a #a ,the ,egyptians appear to have been the first who pretended that their gods had assumed material bodies4 ,foe1 the ,god of the ,chinese1 was born of a virgin1 who was fecundated by a ray of the sun4 ,in ,indostan nobody doubts the incarnations of ,vistnou4 ,it seems that theologists of all nations1 despairing to exalt themselves to a level with ,god1 have endeavoured to debase him to a level with themselves4 ,thus1 we are commanded by ,christianity to believe that a ,god having become man without doing injury to his divine nature1 has suffered1 died1 and offered himself a sacrifice to himself2 and all this was absolutely and indispensibly necessary to appease his own wrath4 ,this is what ,christians denominate the mystery of the redemption of the human race4 ,this dead ,god1 however1 was resuscitated4 ,thus the ,adonis of the ,phenicians1 the ,osiris of the ,egyptians1 and the ,atys of the ,phrygians1 are represented as periodically resigning and re-assuming life4 ,the ,god of the ,christians rises again1 re-animated1 and bursts the tomb1 triumphant4 ,such are the wondrous secrets1 or sublime mysteries1 that the ,christian religion unfolds to its disciples4 ,so great1 so abject1 and so ever incomprehensible are the ideas it gives us of the divine ,being4 ,such is the illumination our minds receive from revelation6 ,a revelation which only serves to render still more impenetrable the clouds which veil the divine essence from human eyes4 ,god1 we are told1 is willing to render himself inconsistent and ridiculous1 to confound the curiosity of those whom1 we are at the same time informed1 he desires to enlighten by his special grace4 ,what must we think of a revelation which1 far from teaching us any thing1 is calculated to darken and puzzle the clearest ideas8 ,thus1 notwithstanding the boasted revelation of the ,christians1 they know nothing of that ,being whom they make the basis of their religion4 ,on the contrary1 it only serves to obscure all the notions which might otherwise be formed of him4 ,in ,holy ,writ he is called an hidden ,god4 ,david tells us1 that he places his dwelling in darkness1 that clouds and troubled waters form the pavilion with which he is covered4 ,in fine1 ,christians1 although enlightened1 as they say1 by ,god himself1 have only ridiculous and inconsistent ideas of him1 which render his existence doubtful1 or even impossible1 in the eyes of every man who consults his reason4 ,what notions1 indeed1 can we form of a ,god1 who1 after having created the world solely for the happiness of mankind1 nevertheless suffers the greater part of the human race to be miserable both in this world and that which is to come8 ,how can a ,god1 who enjoys a supreme felicity1 be offended with the actions of his creatures8 ,this ,god is then susceptible of grief2 his happiness can be disturbed2 he is then dependent on man1 who can1 at pleasure1 delight or afflict him6 ,how can a benevolent ,god bestow on his creatures a fatal liberty by the abuse of which they may incur his anger1 and their own destruction8 ,how can that ,being1 who is himself the author of life and nature1 suffer death8 ,how can an only ,god become triple without injuring his unity8 ,we shall be answered1 that all these matters are mysteries2 but such mysteries destroy even the existence of ,god4 ,it would be more reasonable to admit1 with ,zoroaster1 or ,manes1 two principles or opposite powers in nature1 than to believe1 with ,christians1 that there is an omnipotent ,god1 who cannot prevent the existence of evil2 a ,god who is just1 and yet partial2 a ,god all-merciful1 and yet so implacable1 that he will punish through an eternity the crimes of a moment2 an only ,god1 who is threefold2 a ,god1 the chief of beings1 who consents to die1 being unable to satisfy by any other means his divine justice4 ,if1 in the same subject1 contraries cannot subsist at the same time1 either the existence of the ,god of the ,jews1 or that of the ,christians1 must undoubtedly be impossible4 ,whence we are forced to conclude1 that the teachers of ,christianity1 by means of the attributes with which they have decorated1 or rather disfigured their ,godhead1 have1 in fact1 annihilated the ,god of the ,jews1 or1 at least1 so transformed him1 that he is no longer the same4 ,thus1 revelation1 with all its fables and mysteries1 has only embarrassed the reason of mankind1 and rendered uncertain the simple notions which they might form to themselves of that necessary ,being1 who governs the universe with immutable laws4 ,though the existence of a ,god cannot be denied1 it is yet certain that reason cannot admit the existence of the one which the ,christians adore1 and whose conduct1 commands1 and qualities1 their religion pretends to reveal4 ,if they are ,atheists1 who have no ideas of the ,supreme ,being1 the ,christian theology must be looked upon as a project invented to destroy his existence4#a #a ,divines have always disagreed among themselves respecting the proofs of the existence of a ,god4 ,they mutually style each other ,atheists1 because their demonstrations have never been the same4 ,few ,christians have written on the existence of ,god1 without drawing upon themselves an accusation of ,atheism4 ,descartes1 ,clarke1 ,pascal1 ,arnauld2 and ,nicole1 have been considered as ,atheists4 ,the reason is plain4 ,it is impossible to prove the existence of a ,being so inconsistent as the ,god of the ,christians4 ,we shall be told that men have no means for judging of the ,divinity1 and that our understandings are too narrow to form any idea of him4 ,why then do they dispute incessantly concerning him8 ,why assign to him qualities which destroy each other8 ,why recount fables concerning him8 ,why quarrel and cut each others throats1 because they are differently interpreted by different persons8 ,,chap4 ,,viii4--,,mysteries ,,and ,,dogmas ,,of ,,christianity4 ,not content with having enveloped their ,god in mysterious clouds and ,judaic fables1 the teachers of ,christianity seen to be still busied in the multiplication of mysteries1 and embarrassing more and more the reason of their disciples4 ,religion1 designed to enlighten mankind1 is only a tissue of enigmas2 a labyrinth which sound sense can never explore4 ,that which ancient superstitions found most incomprehensible1 seems not unaptly to be interwoven with a religious system1 which imposes eternal silence on reason4 ,the fatalism of the ,grecians has been transformed1 in the hands of ,christian priests1 into predestination4 ,according to this tyrannic dogma1 the ,god of mercies has destined the greatest part of mankind to eternal torments4 ,he places them in this world that they1 by the abuse of their faculties and liberty1 may render themselves worthy of the implacable wrath of their ,creator4 ,a benevolent and prescient ,god gives to mankind a free will1 of which he knows they will make so perverse an use1 as to merit eternal damnation4 ,thus1 instead of furnishing them with the propensities necessary to their happiness1 he permits them to act1 only that he may have the pleasure of plunging them into hell4 ,nothing can be more horrid than the description given us by ,christians of this place1 destined to be the future residence of almost all mankind4 ,there a merciful ,god will1 throughout an eternity1 bathe himself in the tears of wretches1 whom he created for misery4 ,sinners1 shut up in this awful dungeon1 will be delivered up for ever to devouring flames4 ,there shall be heard weeping1 and wailing1 and gnashing of teeth4 ,the torments of this place shall1 at the end of millions of years1 have only begun4 ,the consoling hope of a distant mitigation of pain shall be unknown4 ,in one word1 ,god1 by an act of his omnipotence1 shall render man capable of miseries uninterrupted1 and interminable4 ,his justice will punish finite crimes1 the effects of which are limited by time1 by torments infinite in degree and duration4 ,such is the idea a ,christian forms of the ,god that demands his love4 ,this tyrant1 creates him only to render him miserable2 he gives him reason to deceive him1 and propensities to lead him astray4 ,he gives him liberty1 that he may incur eternal ruin4 ,he gives him advantages above the beasts1 that he may be subjected to torments1 which beasts1 like inanimate substances1 are incapable of suffering4 ,the dogma of predestination represents the lot of man as worse than that of brutes and stones4#a #a ,the doctrine of predestination was also a tenet of the ,jews4 ,in the writings of ,moses1 a ,god is exhibited1 who1 in his decrees1 is partially fond of a chosen people1 and unjust to all others4 ,the theology and history of the ,greeks represent men as punished for necessary crimes1 foretold by oracles4 ,of this ,orestes1 ,oedipus1 ,ajax1 c4 are examples4 ,mankind have always described ,god as the most unjust of all beings4 ,according to the ,jansenists1 ,god bestows his grace on whom he pleases1 without any regard to merit4 ,this is much more conformable to the ,christian1 ,pagan1 and ,jewish fatalism1 than the doctrine of the ,molinists1 who say that ,god grants his grace to all who ask and deserve it4 ,it is certain that ,christians in general are true fatalists4 ,they evade this accusation1 by declaring that the designs of ,god are mysteries4 ,if so1 why do they eternally dispute about them8 ,it is true1 the ,christian religion promises a blissful residence to those whom ,god shall have chosen to be objects of his love4 ,but this place is reserved only for a small number of elect1 who1 without any merit in themselves1 shall1 nevertheless1 have unbounded claims upon the grace of ,god4 ,thus1 the ,tartarus and ,elysium of the heathen mythology1 invented by impostors to awe and seduce mankind1 have been transplanted into the system of the ,christians1 who have given them the new appellation of ,heaven and ,hell4 ,the followers of the ,christian religion believe in a race of invisible beings1 different from man and subordinate to ,god1 part of whom is employed in executing the wrath of ,god upon offenders2 and part in watching over his works1 and particularly the preservation of man4 ,the former1 being malevolent spirits1 are called devils1 demons1 c4 the latter1 being benevolent spirits1 are called angels4 ,they are supposed to have the faculty of rendering themselves sensible1 and taking the human form4 ,good angels are1 in the imagination of ,christians1 what the ,nymphs1 ,lares1 and ,penates1 were imagined to be by the heathens1 and what the ,fairies were with writers of romances4 ,the sacred books of the ,jews and ,christians are replete with these marvellous beings1 whom ,god has sent to his favourites to be their guides1 protectors1 and tutelar deities4 ,devils are considered as the enemies and seducers of the human race1 and perpetually busied in drawing them into sin4 ,a power is attributed to them of performing miracles1 similar to those wrought by the ,most ,high2 and1 above1 a power that counteracts his1 and renders all his projects abortive4 ,in fact1 the ,christian religion does not formally allow the same power to the devil as to ,god2 nevertheless1 it supposes that malevolent being prevents mankind from entering into the enjoyment of the felicity destined them by the goodness of ,god1 and leads most of them into eternal perdition4 ,christians1 however1 do virtually attribute to the devil an empire much more extensive than that of the ,supreme ,being4 ,the latter1 with difficulty1 saves a few elect2 while the former carries off1 in spite of him1 the greater part of mankind1 who listen to his destructive temptations1 rather than the absolute commands of ,god4 ,this ,satan1 the cause of so much terror to ,christians1 was evidently borrowed from the doctrine of two principles1 formerly admitted in ,egypt and all the ,east4 ,the ,osyris and ,typhon of the ,egyptians1 the ,orosmades and ,aharimanes of the ,persians and ,chaldeans1 have undoubtedly given birth to the continual war between the ,god of ,christians and his formidable adversary4 ,by this system mankind have endeavoured to account for all the good and evil with which life is chequered4 ,an ,almighty ,devil serves to justify the ,supreme ,being with respect to all necessary and unremitted evils which afflict the human race4 ,such are the dreadful and mysterious doctrines upon which ,christians in general are agreed4 ,there are many others which are peculiar to different sects4 ,thus1 a numerous sect of ,christians admit an intermediate state between heaven and hell1 where souls1 too sinful for the former and too innocent for the latter1 are subjected for a time1 in order to expiate by their sufferings the sin they commit in this life2 after undergoing this punishment1 they are received into the abodes of eternal felicity4 ,this doctrine1 which was evidently drawn from the reveries of ,plato1 has1 in the hands of the ,roman priests1 been converted into an inexhaustible source of riches4 ,they have arrogated to themselves the power of opening the gates of purgatory1 and pretend that1 by their prayers1 they can mitigate the rigour of the divine decrees1 and abridge the torments of the souls1 condemned to this place by a just ,god4#a #a ,it is evident that the ,roman ,catholics are indebted to ,plato for their purgatory4 ,that great philosopher divided souls into three classes3 the pure1 the curable1 and the incurable4 ,the first returned1 by refusion1 to the universal soul of the world1 or the divinity1 from which they had emanated2 the second went to hell1 where they passed in review every year before the judges of that dark empire1 who suffered them to return to light when they had sufficiently expiated their faults2 the incurables remained in ,tartarus1 where they were to suffer eternal torment4 ,plato1 as well as1 ,christian casuists1 described the crimes1 faults1 c4 which merit those different degrees of punishment4 ,protestant divines1 jealous probably of the riches of the ,catholic clergy1 have imprudently rejected the doctrine of a purgatory1 whereby they have much diminished their own credit4 ,it would1 perhaps1 have been wiser to have rejected the doctrine of an hell1 whence souls can never be released1 than that of purgatory1 which is more reasonable1 and from which the clergy can deliver souls by means of that all-powerful agent1 money4 ,the preceding remarks shew1 that the ,christian religion has been often inculcated and spread by dint of terror4 ,by striking mankind with horror they render them submissive1 and remove all his dependence on his reason4#a #a ,mahomet perceived1 as well as ,christian divines1 the necessity of frightening mankind1 in order to govern them4 ,those1 says the ,koran1 who do not believe1 shall be clothed in a garment of fire2 boiling water shall be poured on their heads2 their skins and their entrails shall be smitten with rods of iron4 ,whenever they shall strive to escape from hell1 and avoid its torments1 they shall be thrust again into it2 and the devils say unto them1 'taste the pain of burning'4 ,see ,alcoran1 ch4 viii4 ,,chap4 ,,ix4--,,of ,,the ,,rites ,,and ,,mysterious ,,ceremonies ,,or ,,theurgy ,,of ,,the ,,christians4 ,if the doctrines of the ,christian religion be mysteries inaccessible to reason2 if the ,god it announces be inconceivable1 we ought not to be surprised at seeing the rites and ceremonies of this religion mysterious and unintelligible4 ,concerning a ,god1 who hath revealed himself only to confound human reason1 all things must necessarily be incomprehensible and unreasonable4 ,the most important ceremony of the ,christian religion is called baptism4 ,without this1 no man1 it is held1 can be saved4 ,it consists in pouring water on the infant or adult1 with an invocation on the name of the ,trinity4 ,by the mysterious virtue of this water1 and the words by which it is accompanied1 the person is spiritually regenerated4 ,he is cleansed from the stains1 transmitted through successive generations1 from the father of the human race4 ,in a word1 he becomes a child of ,god1 and is prepared to enter into his glory at death4 ,now1 it is said1 that the death of man is the effect of the sin of ,adam2 and if1 by baptism1 sin be effaced1 why is man still subject to death8 ,but here we are told1 it is from the spiritual1 not bodily death1 that ,christ has delivered mankind4 ,yet this spiritual death is only the death of sinfulness4 ,in this case1 how does it happen that ,christians continue to sin1 as if they had never been redeemed and delivered from sin8 ,whence it results1 that baptism is a mystery impenetrable to reason2 and its efficacy is disproved by experience4#a ,in some ,christian sects1 a bishop or pontiff1 by pronouncing a few words1 and applying a few drops of oil to the forehead1 causes the spirit to descend upon whom he pleases4 ,by this ceremony the ,christian is confirmed in the faith1 and receives invisibly a profusion of graces from the ,most ,high4 ,those who wandering farthest from reason1 have entered most deeply into the spirit of the ,christian religion1 not contented with the dark mysteries common to other sects1 have invented one still darker and more astonishing1 which they denominate transubstantiation4 ,at the all-powerful command of a priest1 the ,god of the ,universe is forced to descend from the habitation of his glory1 and transform himself into a piece of bread4 ,this bread is afterwards worshipped by a people1 who boast their detestation of idolatry4#b #a ,the ceremony of baptism was practised in the mysteries of ,mythias1 and those initiated were thereby regenerated4 ,this ,mythias was also a mediator4 ,although ,christian divines consider baptism necessary to salvation1 we find ,paul would not suffer the ,corinthians to be baptised4 ,we also learn that he circumcised ,timotheos4 #b ,the ,bramas of ,indostan distribute a kind of grain in their pagodas3 this distribution is called ,prajadnn1 or ,eucharist4 ,the ,mexicans believe in a kind of transubstantiation1 which is mentioned by father ,acosta4 ,see his ,travels1 chap4 xxiv4 ,the ,protestants have had the courage to reject transubstantiation1 although it is formally established by ,christ1 who says1 ,take1 eat2 this is my body4 ,averoes said1 ,anima mea fit cum philosophie1 non vero cum ,christianis1 gente stolidissima1 qui ,deuni faciunt et comedunt4 ,the ,peruvians have a religious ceremony1 in which after sacrificing a lamb1 they mingle his blood with flour1 and distribute it amongst the people4-- ,aluetanae ,quest1 lib4 ii4 cap4 #bj4 ,in the puerile ceremonies1 so highly valued by ,christians1 we cannot avoid seeing the plainest traces of the ,theurgy practised among the ,orientals1 where the ,divine ,being1 compelled by the magic power of certain words and ceremonies uttered1 by priests1 or other persons initiated into the necessary secret1 descends to earth and performs miracles4 ,this sort of magic is also exercised among ,christian priests4 ,they persuade their disciples that1 by certain arbitrary actions1 and certain movements of the body1 they can oblige the ,god of ,nature to suspend his laws1 give himself up to their desires1 and load them with every favour they choose to demand4 ,thus1 in this religion1 the priest assumes the right of commanding ,god himself4 ,on this empire over their ,god1 this real ,theurgy1 or mysterious commerce with heaven1 are founded those puerile and ridiculous ceremonies which ,christians call sacraments4 ,we have already seen this ,theurgy in ,baptism1 ,confirmation1 and the ,eucharist4 ,we find it1 also1 in penitence1 or the power which the priests of some sects arrogate to themselves1 of remitting1 in the name of ,heaven1 all sins confessed to them4 ,it is seen in orders1 that is to say1 in the ceremony which impresses on certain men a sacred character1 by which they are ever after distinguished from profane mortals4 ,it is seen in the rites and functions which torture the last moments of the dying4 ,it is seen in marriage1 which natural union1 it is supposed1 cannot meet with the approbation of ,heaven1 unless the ceremony of a priest render it valid1 and procure it the sanction of the ,most ,high4#a #a ,the number of ,roman ,catholic sacraments1 seven2 a cabalistic1 magic1 and mysterious number4 ,we see this ,theurgy1 or white magic1 in the prayers1 forms1 liturgies1 and1 in short1 in all the ceremonies of the ,christians4 ,we find it in their opinion1 that words disposed in a certain manner can influence the will of ,god1 and oblige him to change his immutable decrees4 ,its efficacy is seen in exorcisms1 that is1 ceremonies1 in which1 by means of a magic water and some mysterious words1 it is pretended that evil spirits which infest mankind can be expelled4 ,holy water1 which has taken the place of the aqua lustralis of the ,romans1 is believed by certain ,christians to possess astonishing virtues4 ,it renders sacred1 places and things which were profane4 ,in fine1 the ,christian ,theurgy being employed by a pontiff in the consecration of a king1 renders him more respectable in the eyes of men1 and stamps him with a divine character4 ,thus all is magic and mystery1 all is incomprehensible1 in a religion revealed by ,god himself1 to enlighten the darkened understanding of mankind4 ,,chap4 ,x4--,,of ,,the ,,inspired ,,writings ,,of ,,the ,,christians4 ,christians endeavour to prove the divine origin of their religion by certain writings1 which they believe to be sacred1 and to have been inspired by ,god himself4 ,let us then see if these writings do really exhibit marks of that wisdom1 omniscience1 and perfection which we attribute to the ,divinity4 ,the ,bible1 every word of which ,christians believe to have been dictated by inspiration1 is composed of an incongruous collection of the sacred writings of the ,hebrews1 called the ,old ,testament2 to which are added1 a number of works1 more recent indeed1 but of equal inspiration1 known by the name of the ,new ,testament4 ,at the head of this collection are five books which are attributed to ,moses1 who was1 it is said1 in writing them1 the secretary of ,god4 ,he therein goes back to the origin of things4 ,he attempts to initiate us into the mystery of the creation of the world1 of which he has only the most vague and confused ideas4 ,he betrays at every word a profound ignorance of the laws of ,nature4 ,god1 according to ,moses1 created the sun1 which1 in our planetary system1 is the source of light1 several days after he had created the light4 ,god1 who can be represented by no image1 created man in his own image4 ,he creates him male and female2 but1 soon forgetting what he had done1 he creates woman from one of the ribs of the man4 ,in one word1 we see1 at the very entrance of the ,bible1 nothing but ignorance and contradiction4#a ,it appears1 at once1 that the cosmogony of the ,hebrews is only a tissue of fables and allegories1 incapable of giving any true idea of things1 and calculated to please only a savage and ignorant people1 destitute of science1 and unqualified for reasoning4 ,in the rest of the writings of ,moses1 we see little but a string of marvellous and improbable stories1 and a mass of ridiculous and arbitrary laws4 ,the author concludes with giving an account of his own death4 ,the books posterior to ,moses exhibit equal ignorance4 ,joshua stops the sun1 which did not move4 ,sampson1 the ,jewish ,hercules1 has strength to overthrow a temple4--,but we should never finish the enumeration of the fables and falsehoods of these books1 which are audaciously attributed to the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the story of the ,hebrews presents us only with a mass of tales1 unworthy the gravity of history and the majesty of ,divinity ridiculous to reason1 it appears to have been invented only to amuse the credulity of a stupid and infant people4 #a ,st4 ,augustin confesses that there is no way of preserving the true sense of the three first chapters of ,genesis without wronging religion and attributing things to ,god which are unworthy of him2 and declares1 that recourse must be had to allegory4 ,aug4 de ,genesi1 contra ,machineos4 ,origen1 also1 grants1 if we take the history of the ,bible literally1 it is absurd and contradictory4--,philos4 p4 #ab4 ,this strange compilation is intermingled with obscure1 and unconnected oracles1 with which different prophets have1 from time to time1 enriched ,jewish superstition4 ,every thing in the ,old ,testament breathes enthusiasm1 fanaticism1 and delirium1 often decorated with pompous language4 ,there1 every thing is to be found1 except good sense1 good logic1 and reason1 which seems to be absolutely excluded from the books which guide the conduct of the ,hebrews and ,christians4 ,we have already mentioned the abject1 and often absurd ideas of ,god1 which are exhibited in the ,bible4 ,in this book1 all his conduct appears ridiculous4 ,he blows hot and cold1 and contradicts himself every moment4 ,he acts imprudently1 and then repents of what he had done4 ,he supports with one hand1 and destroys with the other4 ,after having punished all the human race with death1 for the sins of man1 he declares1 by ,ezekiel1 that he is just1 and will not render children responsible for the iniquities of their fathers4 ,he commands the ,hebrews1 by the mouth of ,moses1 to rob the ,egyptians4 ,in the decalogue1 published by ,moses1 theft and murder are forbidden4 ,in short1 ,jehovah1 ever in contradiction with himself1 varies with circumstances1 preserves no uniformity of conduct1 and is represented in the books1 said to be inspired by his spirit1 as a tyrant1 which the most decided villain would blush to be4 ,when we cast our eyes over the ,new ,testament1 there1 also1 we see nothing characteristic of that spirit of truth which is said to have dictated this work4 ,four historians1 or fabulists1 have written the marvellous history of the ,messiah4 ,seldom agreeing with respect to the circumstances of his life1 they sometimes contradict each other in the most palpable manner4 ,the genealogy of ,christ1 given us by ,matthew1 differs widely from that given us by ,luke4 ,one of the ,evangelists says1 that ,christ was carried into ,egypt2 whilst1 by another1 this event is not even hinted at4 ,one makes the duration of his mission three years1 while another represents it as only as many months4 ,we do not find them at all better accord respecting the facts in general which they report4 ,mark says that ,christ died at the third hour1 that is to say1 nine o'clock in the morning3 ,john says that he died at the sixth hour1 that is1 at noon4 ,according to ,matthew and ,mark1 the women who1 after the death of ,jesus1 went to his sepulchre1 saw only one angel2 whereas1 according to ,luke and ,john1 they saw two4 ,these angels were1 by some1 said to be within the tomb2 by others1 without4 ,several of the miracles of ,jesus are also differently reported by the ,evangelists4 ,this is likewise the case with his appearances after his resurrection4 ,ought not all these things to excite a doubt of the infallibility of the ,evangelists1 and the reality of their divine inspirations8 ,what shall we say of the false and forged prophecies1 applied to ,christ in the gospel8 ,matthew pretends that ,jeremy foretold that ,christ should be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver2 yet no such prophecy is to be found in ,jeremiah4 ,nothing is more singular than the manner in which ,christian divines evade these difficulties4 ,their solutions are calculated to satisfy only those who conceive it their duty to remain in blindness4#a #a ,jerome himself says1 that the quotations of ,matthew do not agree with the ,greek version of the ,bible4 ,erasmus is obliged to confess that the ,holy ,spirit permitted the ,apostles to go astray4 ,every man of sense must feel1 that all the industry and sophism on earth can never reconcile such palpable contradictions2 and the efforts of interpreters serve only to shew the weakness of their cause4 ,is it1 then by subterfuges1 subtilties1 and falsehoods1 that we are to render service to ,god8 ,we find equal errors and contradictions in the pompous gasconade and declamatory bombast of ,st4 ,paul4 ,the epistles and harangues of this man1 inspired by the ,spirit of ,god1 appear to be the enthusiastic ravings of a madman4 ,the most laboured commentaries have1 in vain1 endeavoured to reconcile the contradictions with which his work are filled1 and the inconsistency of his conduct1 which sometimes favoured and sometimes opposed ,judaism4#a ,we do not find ourselves more enlightened by the works attributed to the other ,apostles4 ,it seems as if these persons1 inspired by the ,holy ,ghost1 came on the earth only to prevent their disciples from comprehending what they had been sent to teach them4 #a ,st4 ,paul himself informs us1 that he was ravished up to the third heaven4 ,why was he transported thither1 and what did he learn by his journey8 ,things unspeakable1 which no man could1 comprehend4 ,what advantage are mankind to derive from all this8 ,st4 ,paul1 in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 is guilty of a falsehood1 in saying before the high-priest1 that he is persecuted1 because he is a ,pharisee1 and on account of the resurrection4 ,here3 are two untruths4 ,first1 because ,paul was1 at that time1 the most zealous ,apostle of the ,christian religion1 and consequently a ,christian4 ,secondly1 because the accusations brought against him did not refer to his opinion on resurrection4 ,if we know that the ,apostles sometimes wandered from the truth1 how shall we believe them at others8 ,further1 we see this great ,apostle continually changing his counsels and conduct4 ,at ,jerusalem1 he point-blank opposes ,peter1 who favoured ,judaism2 whereas he himself afterwards complied with ,jewish rites4 ,in fine1 he always accommodates himself to the circumstances of the time1 and becomes all things to all men4 ,he seems to have set an example to the ,jesuits1 of their conduct in the ,indies1 with which they are reproached1 where they unite the worship of the ,pagans to that of ,christ4 ,at the foot of the collection1 which forms the ,new ,testament1 we find the mystic work known by the name of the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john4 ,this is an unintelligible thing1 in which the author has endeavoured to collect and concentrate all the gloomy and dreadful ideas contained in the rest of the ,bible4 ,it exhibits to the wretched race of ,man the awful and approaching end of a perishing world4 ,it is filled with horrid pictures1 by gazing on which1 the trembling ,christian becomes petrified with fear and wonder1 indifferent to life1 and useless1 or an incumbrance to society4 ,thus1 in a manner not unworthy of itself1 terminates this compilation1 so inestimable and adorable to ,christians1 so ridiculous and contemptible to the man of reason1 so unworthy of a good and bounteous ,god2 so detestable to him who contemplates the unparalleled evils it has occasioned on the earth4 ,having taken for the rule of their conduct and opinions a book so full of blasphemous fables and striking1 contradictions concerning ,god1 ,christians have never agreed in the interpretation of his will1 or precisely known what he exacted from them4 ,thus they have made this obscure work a bone of contention1 an inexhaustible source of quarrels1 a common arsenal1 where all contending parties have supplied themselves with arms for mutual destruction4 ,geometricians dispute not concerning the fundamental principles of their science4 ,by what fatality does it happen that ,christian revelation1 the foundation of a religion on which depends the eternal felicity of man1 should be unintelligible1 subject to disputes1 and often deluge the earth with blood8 ,to judge by effects1 such a revelation ought rather to be thought the work of a malign spirit1 a genius of darkness and falsehood1 than of a ,god desirous to preserve1 enlighten1 and beautify mankind4 ,,chap4 ,,xi4--,,of ,,christian ,,morality4 ,were we to believe ,christians1 there could have been no true morality on earth before the coming of the founder of their sect4 ,they represent the world is having been plunged in darkness and vice at all times and places where ,christ was unknown4 ,yet morality was always necessary to mankind2 for1 without it1 no society can exist4 ,we find1 that before the time of ,christ1 there were flourishing and virtuous nations1 and enlightened philosophers1 who continually reminded mankind of their duties4 ,the precepts of ,socrates1 ,confucius1 and the ,gymnosophists of ,india1 are by no means inferior to those of the ,messiah of the ,christians4 ,we find1 amongst heathens1 innumerable instances of equity1 humanity1 temperance1 disinterestedness1 patience1 and meekness1 which flatly contradict the pretensions of the ,christians1 and prove that1 before ,christ was known on earth1 virtues flourished1 which were for more real than those he came to teach to men4 ,was a supernatural revelation necessary to inform mankind that society cannot exist without virtue1 and that1 by the admission of vice1 societies consent to their own destruction8 ,was it necessary that a ,god should speak1 to shew that they have need of mutual aid and mutual love8 ,was assistance from on ,high necessary to discover that revenge is an evil1 and an outrage upon the laws1 which1 when they are just1 assume to themselves the right of retribution8 ,is not the forgiveness of injuries connected with this principle8 ,and is not hatred eternalized where implacable revenge is exercised8 ,is not the pardoning of our enemies a greatness of soul1 which gives us an advantage over those who offend us8 ,when we do good to our enemies does it not give us a superiority over them8 ,is not such conduct calculated to multiply our friends8 ,does not every man1 who is desirous to live1 perceive that vice1 intemperance1 and voluptuousness must shorten the period of life8 ,has not experience demonstrated to every thinking being1 that vice is injurious and detestable1 even to those who are not free from its empire1 and that the practice of virtue is the only means1 of acquiring real esteem and love8 ,however little mankind may reflect on what they themselves1 their true interests1 and the end of society are1 they must feel what they ought to be to each other4 ,good laws will render them good2 and where these exist1 there is no need of flying to heaven for rules for the preservation and happiness of society4 ,reason is sufficient to teach us our duties to our fellow-creatures4 ,what assistance can it receive from a religion by which it is continually contradicted and degraded8 ,it is said1 that ,christianity1 far from counteracting morality1 is its chief support1 and renders its obligations more sacred1 by giving them the sanction of ,god4 ,in my opinion1 however1 the ,christian religion1 instead of supporting morality renders it weak and precarious4 ,it cannot possibly have any solid foundation on the commands of a ,god1 who is changing1 partial1 and capricious2 and ordains with the same mouth1 justice and injustice1 concord and carnage1 toleration and persecution4 ,it is impossible to follow the precepts of a rational morality1 under the empire of a religion1 which makes a merit of the most destructive zeal1 enthusiasm1 and fanaticism4 ,a religion1 which commands us to imitate the conduct of a despot who delights to ensnare his creatures1 who is implacable in his vengeance1 and devotes to flaming destruction all who have the misfortune to displease him1 is incompatible with all morality4 ,the innumerable crimes with which the ,christian1 more than any other religion1 has stained itself1 have always been committed under the pretext of pleasing the ferocious ,god whom the ,christians have inherited from the ,jews4 ,the moral character of this ,god1 must1 of necessity1 govern the moral conduct of those who adore him4 ,hence arises the uncertainty of ,christians1 whether it be most conformable to the spirit of their religion to tolerate1 or to persecute1 those who differ from them in opinion4 ,the two parties find themselves equally authorised in modes of conduct which are diametrically opposite4 ,at one time1 ,jehovah declares his detestation of idolaters1 and makes it a duty to exterminate them2 at another time ,moses forbids his people to speak ill of the ,god of nations4 ,the ,son of ,god forbids persecution1 after having said that men must be constrained to enter into his kingdom4 ,yet1 as the idea of a severe and cruel ,god makes a much deeper impression than that of a bounteous one1 true ,christians have generally thought it their duty to exert their zeal against those whom they have supposed to be enemies to their ,god4 ,they have imagined it impossible to offend him by espousing his cause with too much ardour4 ,toleration has seldom been practised1 except by indolent and phlegmatic ,christians1 of a temperament little analogous to that of the ,god whom they serve4 ,must not a true ,christian1 to whose imitation the example of the saints and heroes of the ,old ,testament are proposed1 become ferocious and sanguinary8 ,will he not find motives for cruelty in the conduct of ,moses1 who twice caused the blood of ,israel to stream1 and immolated to his ,god more than forty thousand victims8 ,to justify his own1 will he not appeal to the perfidious cruelty of ,phineas1 ,jabel1 and ,judith8 ,will he not see ,david to be a monster of barbarity1 adultery1 and rebellion1 which nevertheless does not prevent his being a man after ,god's own heart8 ,in short1 the whole ,bible informs the ,christian that his ,god is delighted with a furious zeal in his service2 and this zeal is sufficient to close his eyes on every species of crime4 ,let us not1 then1 be surprised to see ,christians incessantly persecuting each other4 ,if they are at any time tolerant1 it is only when they are themselves persecuted1 or too weak to persecute others4 ,whenever they have power they become the terror and destruction of each other4 ,since ,christianity first appeared on earth1 its different sects have incessantly quarrelled4 ,they have mutually exercised the most refined cruelty4 ,sovereigns1 in imitation of ,david1 have espoused the quarrels of discordant priests1 and served ,god by fire and sword4 ,kings themselves have often perished the victims of religious fanaticism1 which tramples on every moral duty in obedience to its ,god4 ,in a word1 the religion1 which boasts of having brought peace on earth1 and good will towards men1 has for eighteen centuries caused more ravages1 and greater effusions of blood1 than all the superstitions of heathenism4 ,it has raised walls of separation between the citizens of the same state4 ,it has abandoned concord and affection from families4 ,it has made a duty of injustice and inhumanity4 ,the followers of a ,god1 who was unjustly offended at mankind1 became as unjust as he4 ,the servants of a jealous and vindictive ,god1 conceived it their duty to enter into his quarrels and avenge his injuries4 ,under a ,god of cruelty1 it was judged meritorious to cause the earth to echo with groans1 and float in blood4 ,such are the important services which the ,christian religion has rendered to morality4 ,let it not be said1 that it is through a shameful abuse of this religion1 that these horrors have happened4 ,a spirit of persecution and intolerance is the spirit of a religion ordained by a ,god1 jealous of his power1 a ,god who has formally commanded the commission of murder2 a ,god1 who1 in the excess of his anger1 has not spared even his own ,son6 ,the servant of such a ,god is much surer to please him by exterminating his enemies1 than by permitting them to offend him in peace4 ,such a ,god must necessarily serve as a pretext to the most destructive excesses4 ,a zeal for his glory is used as a veil to conceal the passions of all impostors and fanatics who pretend to be interpreters of the will of heaven2 and the enthusiastic hopes to wash away the greatest crimes by bathing his hands in the blood of the enemies of his ,god4 ,by a natural consequence of the same principles1 an intolerant religion can be only conditionally submissive to the authority of temporal sovereigns4 ,jews and ,christians cannot be obedient to a temporal government1 unless its laws be conformed to the arbitrary and often ridiculous commands of their ,god4 ,but who shall decide whether the laws1 most advantageous to society1 are conformed to the will of this ,god8 ,without doubt1 his ministers1 the confidants of his secrets and interpreters of his oracles4 ,thus1 in a ,christian state1 the citizens must be subject rather to spiritual than temporal government1 to the priest rather than the magistrate4 ,hence must arise civil war1 bloodshed1 proscription1 and all that inspires the human breast with horror4 ,such is the support afforded to morality by a religion1 the first principle of which is to admit the ,god of the ,jews1 that is1 a tyrant1 whose fantastic commands annihilate every rule necessary to the tranquil existence of society4 ,this ,god creates justice and injustice1 his supreme will changes good into bad1 and vice into virtue4 ,his caprice overturns the laws which he himself had given to nature4 ,he destroys at his pleasure the moral relations among mankind4 ,in his own conduct he dispenses with all duties towards his creatures4 ,he seems to authorise them to follow no certain laws1 except those prescribed to them1 in different circumstances1 by the voice of his ministers and prophets4 ,these1 when in power1 preach nothing but submission4 ,if an attempt be made to abridge that power1 they preach arms and rebellion4 ,are they weak8 ,they preach toleration1 patience1 and meekness4 ,are they strong8 ,they preach persecution1 revenge1 rapine1 ,and cruelty4 ,they always find in ,holy ,writ arguments to authorise these different modes of conduct1 ,they find in the oracles of their just and immutable ,god1 arguments amply sufficient to justify actions diametrically opposite in their nature and offence4 ,to lay the foundation of morality on such a ,god1 or open books which contain laws so contradictory1 is to give it an unstable base2 it is to found it on the caprice of those who speak in the name of ,god2 it is to found it on the temperament of each one of his adorers4 ,morality should be founded upon invariable rules4 ,a ,god who destroys these rules destroys his own work4 ,if ,god be the creator of man1 if he intends their happiness and preservation1 he would have them to be just1 humane1 and benevolent1 and averse to injustice1 fanaticism1 and cruelty4 ,from what has been said1 we may see what we ought to think of those divines who pretend that1 without the ,christian religion there could be neither morality nor virtue among mankind4 ,the converse of this proposition would much higher approach the truth2 and it might be maintained1 that every ,christian who imitates his ,god1 and practises all his commands1 must necessarily be an immoral person4 ,if it be said1 that those commands are not always unjust1 and that the ,scriptures often breathe benevolence1 harmony1 and equity1 ,i answer1 ,christians must have an inconstant morality1 sometimes good and sometimes bad1 according to interest and individuals4 ,it appears that ,christians must either be wholly destitute of true morality1 ,or vibrate continually from virtue to vice1 and from vice to virtue4 ,the ,christian religion is but a rotten prop to morality4 ,it will not bear examination1 and every man who discovers its defects will be ready to believe that the morality founded on such a basis can be only a chimera4 ,thus we often behold men1 who have couched the neck beneath the yoke of religion1 break loose at once and abandon themselves to debauchery1 intemperance1 and every kind of vice4 ,escaping from the slavery of superstition1 they fly to complete anarchy1 and disbelieve the existence of all moral duties1 because they have found religion to be but a fable4 ,hence1 among ,christians1 the words infidel and libertine have become synonymous4 ,all these inconveniences would be avoided if mankind1 instead of being taught a theological1 were taught a natural morality4 ,instead of interdicting intemperance and vice1 because they are offensive to ,god and religion1 they should be prevented1 by convincing man that they are destructive to his existence1 and render him contemptible in society3 that they are disapproved and forbidden by reason and nature1 who aim at his preservation1 and direct him to take the path that leads to permanent felicity4 ,whatever may be the will of ,god1 and independently of the future rewards and punishments announced by religion1 it is easy to prove to every man that it is1 in this world1 his interest to preserve his health1 to respect virtue1 acquire the esteem of his fellow-creatures1 and1 in fine1 to be chaste1 temperate1 and virtuous4 ,those whose passions will not suffer them to attend to principles so clear and reasonable1 will not be more docile to the voice of a religion1 which they will cease to believe the moment it opposes their misguiding propensities4 ,let1 then1 the pretended advantages which the ,christian religion lends morality be no longer boasted4 ,the principles drawn from revelation tend to its destruction4 ,we have frequent examples of ,christian nations1 whose morals are far more corrupted than those of people whom they style infidels and heathens4 ,the former are1 at least1 most subject to religious fanaticism1 a passion calculated to banish justice and all the social virtues from society4 ,christianity creates intolerants and persecutors1 who are much more injurious to society than the most abandoned debauchees4 ,it is1 at least1 certain1 that the most ,christian nations of ,europe1 are not those where true morality is most felt and practised4 ,in ,spain1 ,portugal1 and ,italy1 where the most superstitious sect of ,christians has fixed its residence1 people live in the most shameful ignorance of their duties4 ,robbery1 assassination1 debauchery1 and persecution1 are there carried to their worst extreme2 and yet all men are full of religion4 ,few virtuous men exist in those countries4 ,religion itself there becomes an accomplice to vice1 furnishes criminals with an asylum1 and procures to them easy means of reconciliation with ,god4 ,presents1 prayers1 and ceremonies1 there furnish mankind with a dispensation from the practice of virtue4 ,amongst nations1 who boast of possessing ,christianity in all its purity1 religion has so entirely absorbed the attention of its sectaries1 that morality enters not into their thought2 and they think they fulfil all their duties by a scrupulous observation of the minutiae of superstitious ceremonies1 whilst they are strangers to all social affections1 and labour for the destruction of human happiness4 ,,chap4 ,,xii4--,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,virtues4 ,what has been said is sufficient to shew what we ought to think of ,christian morality4 ,if we examine the virtues recommended in the ,christian religion1 we find them but ill calculated for mankind4 ,they lift him above his sphere1 are useless to society1 and often of dangerous consequence4 ,in the boasted precepts1 which ,jesus ,christ came to give mankind1 we find little but extravagant maxims1 the practice of which is impossible1 and rules which1 literally followed1 must prove injurious to society4 ,in those of his precepts that are practicable1 we find nothing which was not as well or better known to the sages of antiquity1 without the aid of ,revelation4 ,according to the ,messiah1 the whole duty of man consists in loving ,god above all things1 and his neighbour as himself4 ,is it possible to obey this precept8 ,can man love a ,god above all things1 who is represented as wrathful1 capricious1 unjust1 and implacable8 who is said to be cruel enough to damn his creatures eternally8 ,can man love1 above all things1 an object the most dreadful that human imagination could ever conceive8 ,can such an object excite in the human heart a sentiment of love8 ,how can we love that which we dread8 ,how can we delight in the ,god under whose rod we tremble8 ,do we not deceive ourselves1 when we think we love a being so terrible1 and so calculated to excite nothing but horror8#a #a ,seneca says1 with much truth1 that a man of sense cannot fear the ,gods1 because no man can love what he fears4 ,de ,benef4 #d4 ,the ,bible says1 the fear of the ,lord is the beginning of wisdom4 ,i think it rather the beginning of folly4 ,is it even practicable for mankind to love their neighbours as themselves8 ,every man naturally loves himself in preference to all others4 ,he loves his fellow-creatures only in proportion as they contribute to his happiness4 ,he exercises virtue in doing good to his neighbour4 ,he acts generously when he sacrifices his self love to his love for another4 ,yet he will never love his fellow creatures but for the useful qualities he finds in them4 ,he can love them no farther than they are known to him1 and his love for them must ever be governed by the good he receives from them4 ,to love one's enemies is then impossible4 ,a man may abstain from doing evil to the person by whom he is injured2 but love is an affection which can be excited in our hearts only by an object which we supposed friendly to us4 ,politic nations1 who have enacted just and wise laws1 have always forbidden individual to revenge1 or do justice to themselves1 ,a sentiment of generosity1 of greatness of soul1 or heroism1 may induce mankind to do good to those from whom they suffer injuries4 ,by such means they exalt themselves above their enemies1 and may even change the disposition of their hearts4 ,thus1 without having recourse to a supernatural morality1 we feel that it is our interest to stifle in our hearts the lust of revenge4 ,christians may1 therefore1 cease to boast the forgiveness of injuries1 as a precept that could be given only by their ,god1 and which proves the divine origin of their morality4 ,pythagoras1 long before the time of ,christ1 had said1 let men revenge themselves upon their enemies1 only by labouring to convert them into friends4 ,socrates taught that it was not lawful for a man1 who had received an injury1 to revenge it by doing another injury4 ,christ must have forgotten that he spoke to men1 when1 in order to conduct them to perfection1 he commanded them to abandon their possessions to the avidity of the first who should demand them2 to turn the other cheek to receive a new insult2 to oppose no resistance to the most outrageous violence2 to renounce the perishable riches of this world2 to forsake houses1 possessions1 relations1 and friends to follow him2 and to reject even the most innocent pleasures4 ,who does not see1 in these sublime precepts1 the language of enthusiasm and hyperbole8 ,are not they calculated to discourage man1 and throw him into despair8 ,if literally practised1 would they not prove ruinous to society8 ,what shall we say of the morality1 which commands the human heart to detach itself from objects which reason commands it to love8 ,when we refuse the blessings offered us by nature1 do we not despise the benefactions of the ,one ,supreme8 ,what real good can result to society from the melancholy and ferocious virtues which ,christians consider indispensible8 ,can a man continue useful to society1 when his mind is perpetually agitated with imaginary terrors1 gloomy ideas1 and black inquietudes1 which incapacitate him for the performance of his duties to his family1 his country1 and mankind8 ,if the ,christian adhere strictly to the gloomy principles of his religion1 must he not become equally insupportable to himself1 and those by whom he is surrounded8 ,it cannot be said1 that1 in general1 fanaticism and enthusiasm are the bases of the morality of ,christ4 ,the virtues which he recommends tend to render men unsocial1 to plunge them into melancholy1 and often to render them injurious to their fellow-creatures4 ,among human beings1 human virtues are necessary2 ,christian virtues are not calculated on the scale of real life4 ,society has need of real virtues1 from which it may derive energy1 activity1 and support4 ,vigilance1 labour1 and affection1 are necessary to families4 ,a desire of enjoying lawful pleasures1 and augmenting the sum of their happiness1 is necessary to all mankind4 ,the ,christian religion is perpetually busied in degrading mankind by threatening them with dismaying terrors1 or diverting them with frivolous hopes2 sentiments equally proper to turn them from their true duties4 ,if the ,christian literally obey the precepts of his legislator1 he will ever be either an useless or injurious member of society4#a #a ,notwithstanding the eulogies lavished by ,christians on the precepts of their divine master1 some of them are wholly contrary to equity and right reason4 ,when ,jesus says1 make to yourselves friends in heaven with the mammon of unrighteousness1 does he not plainly insinuate1 that we may take from others wherewithal to give alms to the poor8 ,divines will say that he spoke in parables2 these parables are1 however1 easily unfolded4 ,in the mean time1 this precept is but too well followed4 ,many ,christians cheat and swindle during all their lives1 to have the pleasure of making donations at their death to churches1 monasteries1 c4 ,the ,messiah1 at another time1 treated his mother1 who with parental solicitude was seeking him1 extremely ill4 ,he commands his disciples to steal an ass4 ,he drowns an herd of swine1 c4 ,it must be confessed1 these things do not agree extremely well with good morality4 ,what real advantage can mankind derive from those ideal virtues1 which ,christians style evangelic1 divine1 c4 and which they prefer to the social1 humane1 and substantial virtues1 and without which they pretend no man can please ,god1 or enter into his glory8 ,let us examine those boasted virtues in detail4 ,let us see of what utility they are to society1 and whether they truly merit the preference which is given them1 to those which are pointed out by reason as necessary to the welfare of mankind4 ,the first of the ,christian virtues is faith1 which serves as a foundation for all the others4 ,it consists in an impossible conviction of the revealed doctrines and absurd fables which the ,christian religion commands its disciples to believe4 ,hence it appears that this virtue exacts a total renunciation of reason1 and impracticable assent to improbable facts2 and a blind submission to the authority of priests1 who are the only guarantees of the truth of the doctrines and miracles that every ,christian must believe under penalty of damnation4 ,this virtue1 although necessary to all mankind1 is nevertheless1 a gift of ,heaven1 and the effect of a special grace4 ,it forbids all doubt and enquiry2 and it deprives man of the liberty of exercising his reason and reflection4 ,it reduces him to the passive acquiescence of beasts in matters which he is1 at the same time1 told are of all things the most important to his happiness4 ,hence it is plain1 that faith is a virtue invented by men1 who1 shrinking from the light of reason1 deceived their fellow-creatures1 to subject them to their own authority1 and degraded them that they might exercise an empire over them4 ,if faith be a virtue1 it is certainly useful only to the spiritual guides of the ,christians1 for they alone gather its fruits4 ,it cannot but be injurious to other men1 who are taught by it to despise that reason1 which distinguishes them from brutes1 and is their only faithful guide in this world4 ,christians1 however1 represent this reason as perverted1 and as unfaithful guide2 by which they seem to intimate that it was not made for reasonable beings4 ,may we not1 however1 ask them how far this renunciation of reason ought to be carried8 ,do not they themselves1 in certain cases1 have recourse to reason8 ,do they not appeal to reason1 when they endeavour to prove the existence of their ,god8 ,be this as it may1 it is an absurdity to say we believe that of which we have no conception4 ,what1 then1 are the motives of the ,christian1 for pretending to such a belief8 ,his confidence in his spiritual guides4 ,but what is the foundation of this confidence8 ,revelation4 ,on what1 then1 is ,revelation itself founded8 ,on the authority of spiritual guides4 ,such is the manner in which ,christians reason4 ,their arguments in favour of faith are comprised in the following sentence4 ,to believe our religion it is necessary to have faith1 and to have faith you must believe in our religion4 ,or1 it is necessary to have faith already1 in order to believe in the necessity of faith4#a #a ,many divines have maintained1 that faith without works is sufficient for salvation4 ,this is the virtue which is1 in general1 most cried up by them4 ,it is1 at least1 the one most necessary to their existence4 ,it is not1 therefore1 surprising that they have endeavoured to establish it by fire and sword1 it was for the support of faith that the ,inquisition burned heretics and ,jews4 ,kings and priests persecute for the establishment of faith4 ,christians have destroyed those who were destitute of faith1 in order to demonstrate to them their error4 ,o wondrous virtue1 and worthy of the ,god of mercies6 ,his ministers punish mankind1 when he refuses them his grace666 ,the phantom ,faith vanishes at the approach of the sun of ,reason4 ,it can never sustain a calm examination4 ,hence it arises1 that certain ,christian divines are so much at enmity with science4 ,the founder of their religion declared1 that his law was made for ignorant men and children4 ,faith is the effect of a grace which ,god seldom grants to enlightened persons1 who are accustomed to consult their reason4 ,it is adapted only to the minds of men who are incapable of reflection1 tendered insane by enthusiasm1 or invincibly attached to the prejudices of ,childhood4 ,science must ever be at enmity with this religion2 for in proportion as either of them gains ground1 the other must lose4 ,another ,christian virtue1 proceeding from the former1 is ,hope4 ,founded on the flattering promises given by this religion to those who render themselves wretched in this life1 it feeds their enthusiasm4 ,it induces them firmly to believe that ,god will reward1 in heaven1 their gloominess1 inutility1 indolence1 prayers1 and detestation of pleasures on earth4 ,how can a man1 who1 being intoxicated with these pompous hopes1 becomes indifferent to his own happiness1 concern himself with that of his fellow-creatures8 ,the ,christian believes that he pleases his ,god by rendering himself miserable in this life2 and however flattering his hopes may be for the future1 they are here empoisoned by the idea of a jealous ,god1 who commands him to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling1 and who will plunge him into eternal torture1 if he for a moment has the weakness to be a man4 ,another of the ,christian virtues is ,charity4 ,it consists in loving ,god and our neighbour4 ,we have always seen how difficult1 not to say impossible1 it is to feel sentiments of tenderness for any being whom we fear4 ,it will1 undoubtedly1 be said1 that the fear of ,christians is a filial fear4 ,but words cannot change the essence of things4 ,fear is a passion totally opposite to love4 ,a son1 who fears the anger1 and dreads the caprices of a father1 can never love him sincerely4 ,the love1 therefore1 of a ,christian to his ,god can never be true4 ,in vain he endeavours to feel sentiments of tenderness for a rigorous master1 at whose idea his heart shrinks back in terror4 ,he can never love him but as a tyrant1 to whom his mouth renders the homage that his heart refuses4 ,the devotee is not honest to himself1 when he pretends to love his ,god4 ,his affection is a dissembled homage1 like that which men are forced to render to certain inhuman despots1 who1 while they tread their subjects in the dust1 demand from them the exterior marks of attachment4 ,if some tender minds1 by force of illusion1 feel sentiments of divine love1 it is then a mystic and romantic passion1 produced by a warm temperament1 and an ardent imagination1 which present their ,god to them dressed in smiles1 with all his imputed faults concealed4#a ,the love of ,god is not the least incomprehensible mystery of this religion4 #a ,it is an ardent and tender temperament that produces mystic devotion4 ,hysterical women are those who commonly love ,god with most vivacity1 they love him to distraction1 as they would love a man4 ,in monasteries1 particularly ,ste4 ,therese1 ,madeleine de ,pazzy1 ,marie a la ,coque1 most of the devotees are of this description4 ,their imagination grows wild1 and they give to their ,god1 whom they paint in the most captivating colours1 that tenderness which they are not permitted to bestow on beings of their own species4 ,it requires a strong imagination to be smitten with an object unknown4 ,charity1 considered as the love of mankind1 is a virtuous and necessary disposition4 ,it then becomes no more than that tender humanity which attaches us to our fellows1 and inclines us to love and assist them4 ,but how shall we reconcile this attachment with the commands of a jealous ,god1 who would have us to love none but himself1 and who came to separate the friend from the friend1 and the son from the father8 ,according to the precepts of the gospel1 it would be criminal to offer ,god a heart shared by an earthly object4 ,it would be idolatry thus to confound the creature with the ,creator4 ,and further1 how can the ,christian love beings who continually offend his ,god8 ,beings who would continually betray himself into offence8 ,how can he love sinners8 ,experience1 teaches us that the devout1 obliged by principle to hate themselves1 have very little more affection for others4 ,if this be not the case1 they have not arrived1 at the perfection of divine love4 ,we do not find that those who are supposed to love the ,creator most ardently1 shew much affection for his creatures4 ,on the contrary1 we see them fill with bitterness all who surround them2 they criticise with severity the faults of others1 and make it a crime to speak of human frailty with indulgence4#a ,a sincere love for ,god must be accompanied with zeal4 ,a true ,christian must be enraged when he sees his ,god offended4 ,he must aim himself with a just and holy severity to repress the offenders4 ,he must have an ardent desire to extend the empire of his religion4 ,a zeal1 originating in this divine love1 has been the source of the terrible persecutions of which ,christians have so often been guilty4 ,zeal produces murderers as well as martyrs4 ,it is this zeal that prompts intolerant man to wrest the thunder from the hand of the ,most ,high to avenge him of his enemies4 ,it is this zeal that causes members of the same state1 and the same family1 to detest and torment each other for opinions1 and puerile ceremonies1 which they are led to esteem as of the last importance4 ,it is this zeal that has a thousand times1 kindled those religious wars so remarkable for their atrocity4 ,finally1 it is this zeal for religion which justifies calumny1 treason1 carnage1 and1 in short1 the disorders most fatal to society4 ,it has always been considered as lawful to employ artifice1 falsehood1 and force1 in support of the cause of ,god4 ,the most choleric and corrupted men are commonly the most zealous4 ,they hope that1 for the sake of their zeal1 ,heaven will pardon the depravity of their manners1 be it ever so excessive4 #a ,devotees are generally considered as scourges of society4 ,a devout woman has seldom the talent of conciliating the love of her husband and his domestics4 ,a gloomy and melancholy religion cannot render its disciples very amiable4 ,a sad and sullen monarch must have sad and sullen subjects3 ,christians have judiciously remarked1 that ,jesus ,christ wept1 but never smiled4 ,it is from an effect of the same zeal that enthusiastic ,christians fly over every sea1 and ,continent to extend the empire of their ,god and make new proselytes4 ,stimulated by this zeal1 missionaries go to trouble the repose of what they call heathen nations1 whilst they would be astonished and enraged to find missionaries from those nations endeavouring to propagate a new religion in their country4#a ,when these propagators of the faith have had power in their hands1 they have excited the most horrid rebellions2 and have1 in conquered countries1 exercised cruelties calculated only to render the ,god detestable whom they pretended to serve4 ,they have thought that men who have so long been strangers to their ,god could be little better than beasts2 and1 therefore1 judged it lawful to exercise every kind of violence over them4 ,in the eyes of a ,christian1 an infidel is seldom worthier than a dog4 ,it is apparently in imitation of the ,jews that ,christian nations have usurped the possessions of the inhabitants of the new world4 ,the ,castilians and ,portuguese had the same right to the possession of ,america and ,africa1 that the ,hebrews had to make themselves masters of the land of ,canaan1 and exterminate its inhabitants1 or reduce them to slavery4 ,have not ,popes arrogated the right of disposing of distant empires to their favourite ,monarchs in ,europe8 ,these manifest violations of the law of nature and of nations appeared just to those ,christian ,princes1 in favour of whom religion sanctified avarice1 cruelty1 and usurpation4#b #a ,kambi1 ,emperor of ,china1 asked the ,jesuit missionaries at ,pekin1 what they would say1 if he should send missionaries to their nation4 ,the revolts excited by the ,jesuits in ,japan and ,ethiopia are well known4 ,a holy missionary has been heard to say1 that without muskets1 missionaries could never make proselytes4 #b ,st4 ,augustin says1 that of right divine1 all things belong to the just4 ,a maxim which is founded on a passage in the ,psalms1 which says1 the just shall eat the fruit of the labour of the unrighteous4 ,it is known that the ,pope1 by a bull given in favour of the kings of ,castile1 ,arragon1 and ,portugal1 fixed the line of demarcation which was to rule the conquests which each had gained over the infidels4 ,after such principles1 is not the whole earth to become a prey to ,christian rapacity8 ,humility is1 also1 considered by ,christians as a sublime virtue1 and of inestimable value4 ,no super-natural and divine revelations are necessary to teach us that pride does not become man1 and that it renders him disagreeable to others4 ,all must be convinced1 on a moment's reflection1 that arrogance1 presumption1 and vanity1 are disgusting and contemptible qualities4 ,but ,christian humility is carried to a more refined extreme4 ,the ,christian must renounce his reason1 mistrust his virtues1 refuse to do justice to his own good actions1 and repress all self-esteem1 however well merited4 ,whence it appears1 that this pretended virtue only degrades and debases man in his own eyes1 deprives him of all energy1 and stifles in him every desire of rendering himself useful to society4 ,to forbid mankind to esteem themselves and merit the esteem of others1 is to break the only powerful string that inclines them to study1 industry1 and noble actions4 ,this ,christian virtue is calculated only to render them abject slaves1 wholly useless to the world1 and make all virtue give place in them1 to a blind submission to their spiritual guides4 ,let us not be surprised1 that a religion which boasts of being supernatural should endeavour to unnaturalize man4 ,this religion1 in the delirium of its enthusiasm1 forbids mankind to love themselves4 ,it commands them to hate pleasures and court grief4 ,it makes a merit of all voluntary evils they do unto themselves4 ,hence those austerities and penances so destructive to health2 those extravagant mortifications1 cruel privations1 and gradual suicides1 by which fanatic ,christians think they merit heaven4 ,it must be confessed1 all ,christians do not feel themselves capable of such marvellous perfections1 but all believe themselves more or less obliged to mortify the flesh1 and renounce the blessings prepared for them by a bounteous ,god1 who1 they suppose1 offers his good things only that they may be refused1 and would be offended should his creatures presume to touch them4 ,reason cannot approve virtues which are destructive to ourselves1 nor admit a ,god who is delighted when mankind render themselves miserable1 and voluntarily submit to torments4 ,reason and experience1 without the aid of superstition1 are sufficient to prove1 that passions and pleasures1 pushed to excess1 destroy us2 and that the abuse of the best things becomes a real evil4 ,nature herself inculcates upon us the privation of things which prove injurious to us4 ,a being1 solicitous for his own preservation1 must restrain irregular propensities1 and fly whatever tends to his destruction4 ,it is plain1 that by the ,christian religion1 suicide is1 at least1 indirectly authorised4 ,it was in consequence of these fanatical ideas that1 in the earliest ages of ,christianity1 the forests and deserts were peopled with perfect ,christians1 who by flying from the world1 left their families destitute of support1 and their country of citizens1 to abandon themselves to an idle and contemplative life4 ,hence those legions of monks and cenobites1 who1 under the standards of different enthusiasts1 have enrolled themselves into a militia1 burthensome and injurious to society4 ,they thought to merit heaven1 by burying talents1 which might be serviceable to their fellow-citizens1 and vowing a life of indolence and celibacy4 ,thus1 in nations which are the most faithful to ,christianity1 a multitude of men render themselves useless and wretched all their lives4 ,what heart is so hard as to refuse a tear to the lot of the hapless victims taken from that enchanting sex which was destined to give happiness to our own6 ,unfortunate dupes of youthful enthusiasm1 or sacrificed to the ambitious views of imperious families1 they are for ever exiled from the world6 ,they are bound by rash oaths to unending slavery and misery4 ,engagements1 contradicted by every precept of nature1 force them to perpetual virginity4 ,it is in vain that riper feelings1 sooner or later1 warm their breasts1 and make them groan under the weight of their imprudent vows4 ,they regret their voluntary sterility1 and find themselves forgotten in society4 ,cut off from their families1 and subjected to troublesome and despotic gaolers1 they sink into a life of disgust1 of bitterness1 and tears4 ,in fine1 thus exiled from society1 thus unrelated and unbeloved1 there only remains for them the shocking consolation of seducing other victims to share with them the torments of their solitude and mortifications4 ,the ,christian religion seems to have undertaken to combat nature and reason in every thing4 ,if it admits some virtues1 approved by reason1 it always carries them to a vicious excess4 ,it never observes that just mean1 which is the point of perfection4 ,all illicit and shameful pleasures will be avoided by every man1 who is desirous of his own preservation1 and the esteem of his fellow-creatures4 ,the heathens knew and taught this truth1 notwithstanding the depravity of morals with which they are reproached by ,christians4#a ,the church even recommends celibacy as a state of perfection1 and considers the natural tie of marriage as an approach to sin4 ,god1 however1 declares in ,genesis1 that it is not good for man to be alone4 ,he also formally commanded all creatures to increase and multiply4 ,his ,son1 in the gospel1 comes to annul those laws4 ,he teaches that1 to attain to perfection1 it is necessary to avoid marriage1 and resist the strongest desire with which the breast of man is inspired--that of perpetuating his existence by a posterity1 and providing supports for his old age and infirmities4 #a ,aristotle and ,epictetus recommend chastity of speech4 ,menander said1 that a good man could never consent to debauch a virgin or commit adultery4 ,tibullus said1 casta placent superis4 ,mark ,anthony thanks the ,gods1 that he had preserved his chastity in his youth4 ,the ,romans made laws against adultery4 ,father ,tachard informs us1 that the ,siamans forbid not only dishonest actions1 but also impure thoughts and desires4 ,whence it appears1 that chastity and purity of manners were esteemed even before the ,christian religion existed4 ,if we consult reason1 we find1 that the pleasures of love are always injurious when taken in excess2 and that they are always criminal when they prove injurious4 ,we shall perceive1 that to debauch a woman is to condemn her to distress and infamy1 and annihilate to her all the advantages of society2 that adultery is destructive to the greatest felicity of human life1 conjugal union4 ,hence we shall be convinced1 that marriage1 being the only means of satisfying our desire of increasing the species and providing filial supports1 is a state far more respectable and sacred1 than the destructive celibacy and voluntary castration recommended as a virtue by the ,christian religion4 ,nature1 or its author1 invites man1 by the attraction of pleasure1 to multiply himself4 ,he has unequivocally declared1 that women are necessary to men4 ,experience shews1 that they are formed for society1 not solely for the purpose of a transient pleasure1 but to give mutual assistance in the misfortunes of life1 to produce and educate children1 form them into citizens1 and provide in them support for themselves in old age4 ,in giving man superior strength1 nature has pointed out his duty of labouring for the support of his family2 the weaker organs of his companion are destined to functions less violent1 but not less necessary4 ,in giving her a soul more soft and sensible1 nature has1 by a tender sentiment1 attached her more particularly to her children4 ,such are the sure bands which the ,christian religion would tear asunder4 ,such the blessings it would wrest from man1 while it substitutes in their place an unnatural celibacy1 which renders man selfish and useless1 depopulates society1 and which can be advantageous only to the odious policy of some ,christian priests1 who1 separating from their fellow-citizens1 have formed a destructive body1 which eternalizes itself without posterity4 ,gens oterna in qua nemo nascitur4 ,if this religion has permitted marriage to some sects1 who have not the temerity to soar to the highest pinnacle of perfection1 it seems to have sufficiently punished them for this indulgence1 by the unnatural shackles it has fixed on the connubial state4 ,thus1 among them1 we see divorce forbidden1 and the most wretched unions indissoluble4 ,persons once married1 are forced to groan under the weight of wedlock1 even when affection and esteem are dead1 and the place of these essentials to conjugal happiness is supplied by hatred and contempt4 ,temporal laws also conspiring with religion1 forbid the wretched prisoners to break their chains4 ,it seems as if the ,christian religion exerted all its powers to make us view marriage with disgust1 and give the preference to a celibacy which is pregnant with debauchery1 adultery1 and dissolution4 ,yet the ,god of the ,hebrews made divorce lawful1 and ,i know not by what right his ,son1 who came to accomplish the law of ,moses1 revoked an indulgence so reasonable4 ,such are the perfections which ,christianity inculcates on her children1 and such the virtues she prefers to those which are contemptuously styled human virtues4 ,she even rejects these1 and calls them false and sinful1 because their possessors are1 forsooth1 not filled with faith4 ,what6 the virtues of ,greece and ,rome1 so amiable1 and so heroic1 were they not true virtues8 ,if justice1 humanity1 generosity1 temperance1 and patience be not virtues1 to what can the name be given8 ,and are the virtues less because professed by heathens8 ,are not the virtues of ,socrates1 ,cato1 ,epictetus1 and ,antonine1 real and preferable to the zeal of the ,cyrills1 the obstinacy of ,athanasius1 the uselessness of ,anthony1 the rebellion of ,chrysostom1 the ferocity of ,dominic1 and the meanness of ,francis8 ,all the virtues admitted by ,christians1 are either overstrained and fanatic1 tending to render man useless1 abject1 and miserable2 or obstinate1 haughty1 cruel1 and destructive to society4 ,such are the effects of a religion1 which contemning the earth1 hesitates not to overwhelm it with trouble1 provided it thereby heightens the triumph of its ,god over his enemies4 ,no true morality can ever be compatible with such a religion4 ,,chap4 ,,xiii4--,,of ,,the ,,practice ,,and ,,duties ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,religion4 ,if the ,christian virtues be destitute of solidity1 and produce no effect which reason can approve1 we shall find nothing more estimable in a multitude of incommodious1 useless1 and often dangerous practices1 which ,christians consider as their sacred duties1 and by means of which they are confident of obtaining the pardon and favour of ,god1 and an eternal abode with him in unspeakable glory and felicity4 ,the first and most essential duty of ,christians is prayer4 ,to continual prayer their religion attaches its felicity4 ,their ,god1 whom they suppose to be overflowing with bounty1 refuses to bestow his blessings unsolicited4 ,he grants them only to importunity4 ,sensible to flattery1 like the kings of the earth1 he exacts an etiquette1 and hears no petitions unless they are presented in a certain form4 ,what should we say of a father who1 knowing the wants of his children1 should refuse to give them necessary food1 until wearied out with fervent supplications8 ,but in another view1 does not it imply mistrust of the wisdom of ,god to prescribe rules for his conduct8 ,does it not imply a doubt of his immutability1 to believe he can be prevailed on by his creatures to alter his designs8 ,if he knows all things1 what need is there of continually informing him what are the dispositions and desires of his subjects8 ,if he is almighty1 how can he be flattered with the submissions1 adorations1 and formalities with which ,christians prostrate themselves before him8 ,in one word1 prayer supposes a capricious ,god1 deficient in memory1 voracious of praise1 fond of seeing his creatures abased in the dust1 and anxious to receive at every instant the most abject marks of their submission4 ,can these ideas1 borrowed from earthly princes1 be with propriety applied to an omnipotent ,being1 who created the universe for man1 and desires only that he should be happy8 ,can it be supposed that such a ,being1 without equal and without rival1 should be jealous of his glory8 ,can the prayers of man add glory to a ,being beyond comparison superior to all others8 ,cannot ,christians see1 that1 in endeavouring to honour and exalt their ,god1 they only degrade and debase him8 ,it is also the opinion of ,christians1 that the prayers of one man may be serviceable to others4 ,partial to his favourites1 ,god hears petitions only from their lips4 ,he listens not to his people1 unless their prayers be offered up to him through his ministers4 ,he becomes a sultan1 accessible only to his ministers1 vizirs1 eunuchs1 and the women of his seraglio4 ,hence the millions of priests and cenobites1 who have no business on earth but to raise their idle hands to ,heaven1 and pray night and day for its blessings on society4 ,nations pay dearly for these important services1 and these pious impostors live in splendour and ease1 while real merit1 labour1 and industry languish in misery4 ,under the pretence of devoting himself to prayer and other ceremonies of his worship1 the ,christian1 particularly in some of the more superstitious sects1 is obliged to remain idle1 and stand with arms across during a great part of the year4 ,he is persuaded that he honours ,god by his inutility4 ,feasts and fasts1 multiplied by the interests of priests and the credulity of the people1 often suspended for long intervals the labours necessary to the subsistence of society4 ,men fly to temples to pray when they should stay at home and cultivate their fields4 ,there their eyes are fed with childish ceremonies1 and their ears are filled with fables and doctrines1 of which they can comprehend nothing4 ,this tyrannical religion makes it a crime for the poor labourer to endeavour1 during consecrated days1 to procure subsistence for a numerous and indigent family4 ,and civil authority1 in concert with religion1 punishes those who have the audacity to earn bread1 instead of praying or being idle4 ,can reason subscribe to the ridiculous obligation of abstaining from certain aliments and meats which is imposed by some sects of ,christians8 ,in consequence of these laws1 people1 who live by their labour1 are forced to content themselves1 during long intervals'1 with dear and unwholesome provisions1 more proper to generate disease than repair strength4 ,what abject and ridiculous ideas must they entertain of ,god1 who believe he can be offended by the quality of the food that enters into the stomachs of his creatures6 ,heaven1 however1 for a certain sum of money becomes sometimes more accommodating4 ,priests have been continually busied in straitening the path of their sectaries1 that they might transgress more frequently2 and that the revenue arising from their transgressions might thus become more ample4 ,all things1 even sin itself1 among ,christians1 contribute to the profit of the priests4 ,no religion ever placed its sectaries in more complete and continual dependance on priests1 than the ,christian4 ,those harpies never lose sight of their prey4 ,they take infallible measures for subjecting mankind1 and making all contribute to their power1 riches1 and dominion4 ,having assumed the office of mediator between the heavenly monarch and his subjects1 these priests were looked upon as courtiers in favour1 ministers commissioned to exercise power in his name1 and favourites to whom he could refuse nothing4 ,thus they became absolute masters of the destiny of the ,christians4 ,they gained establishments and rendered themselves necessary by the introduction of innumerable practices and duties1 which1 though puerile and ridiculous1 they had the address to make their flocks look upon as indispensibly necessary to their salvation4 ,they represented the omission of these pretended duties as a crime infinitely greater than an open violation of all the laws of morality and reason4 ,let us not then be surprized1 that1 in the most zealous1 that is to say the most superstitious sects1 we see mankind perpetually infested with priests4 ,scarcely are they born1 when1 under the pretext of washing away original sin1 their priests impose on them a mercenary baptism1 and pretend to reconcile them with a ,god whom they have as yet been unable to offend4 ,by means of a few words and magical ceremonies they are thus snatched from the dominion of ,satan4 ,from the tenderest infancy their education is frequently entrusted to priests1 whose principal care is to instil into them early the prejudices as necessary to the views of the church4 ,terrors are now introduced into their minds which increase during their whole lives4 ,they are instructed in the fables1 absurd doctrines1 and incomprehensible mysteries of a marvellous religion4 ,in one word1 they are formed into superstitious ,christians1 and rendered incapable of being useful citizens or enlightened men4 ,only one thing is represented to them as necessary1 which is to be in all things devoutly submissive to his religion4 ,be devout1 say his teachers1 be blind1 despise thy reason1 attend to ,heaven1 and neglect earth2 this is all thy ,god demands to conduct thee to eternal felicity4 ,to maintain the abject and fanatic ideas with which the priest has filled his pupils in their childhood1 he commands them to come frequently1 and deposit in his bosom their hidden faults1 their most secret actions and thoughts4 ,he obliges them to humiliate themselves at his feet1 and render homage to his power4 ,he frightens the criminals1 and afterwards1 if they are judged worthy1 he reconciles them to ,god1 who on the command of his ministers remits their sins4 ,the ,christian sects that admit this practice1 boast of it as extremely useful in regulating the manners and restraining the passions of men2 but experience proves1 that the countries in which this usage is most faithfully observed1 are distinguished rather for the dissolution than the purity of their manners4 ,by such easy expiations they are only emboldened in vice4 ,the lives of ,christians are circles of successive offences and concessions4 ,the priesthood reap the profit of this practice1 by means of which they exercise an absolute dominion over the consciences of mankind4 ,how great must be the power of an order of men1 who possess all the secrets of families1 can kindle at pleasure the destructive flame of fanaticism1 and open or shut the gates of heaven6 ,without the consent of his priests1 the ,christian cannot participate in the knowledge of the mysteries of his religion1 from which they have a right to exclude him entirely4 ,this privation1 however1 he has no great reason to lament4 ,but the anathemas or excommunications of the priests generally do a real mischief to mankind4 ,these spiritual punishments produce temporal effects1 and every citizen who incurs the disgrace of the church is in danger of that of the government1 and becomes odious to his fellow-citizens4 ,we have already remarked that priests have taken upon themselves the management of marriages4 ,without their consent1 a ,christian cannot1 become a father4 ,he must first submit to the capricious formalities of his religion1 without which his children must be excluded from the rank of citizens4 ,during all his life1 the ,christian is obliged to assist in the ceremonies of worship under the direction of his priests4 ,when he has performed this important duty1 he esteems himself the favourite of ,god1 and persuades himself that he no longer owes any thing to society4 ,thus frivolous practices take place of morality1 which is always rendered subordinate to religion4 ,when death approaches1 the ,christian1 stretched in agony on his bed1 is still assailed in those distressful moments by priests4 ,in some sects religion seems to have been invented to render the bitter death of man ten thousand times more bitter4 ,a malicious priest comes to the couch of the dying man1 and holds before him the spectacle of his approaching end1 arrayed in more than all its terrors4 ,although this custom is destructive to citizens1 it is extremely profitable to the priesthood1#a who owe much of their riches to legacies procured by it4 ,morality is not quite so highly advantaged by it4 ,experience proves1 that most ,christians live in security and postpone till death their reconciliation with ,god4 ,by means of a late repentance1 and largesses to the priesthood1 their faults are expiated1 and they are permitted to hope that ,heaven will forget the accumulated crimes of a long and wicked life4 #a ,in ,catholic countries4 ,death itself does not terminate the empire of the priesthood in certain sects1 which finds means to make money even out of the dead bodies of their followers4 ,these1 for a sufficient sum1 are permitted to be deposited in temples1 where they have the privilege of spreading infection and disease4 ,the sacerdotal power extends still further4 ,the prayers of the church are purchased at a dear rate1 to deliver the souls of the dead from their pretended torments in the other world1 inflicted for their purification4 ,happy they who are rich in a religion1 whose priests being favourites with ,god1 can be hired to prevail on him to remit the punishments which his immutable justice had intended to inflict6 ,such are the principal duties recommended by the ,christians2 and upon the observation of these they believe their salvation to depend4 ,such are the arbitrary1 ridiculous1 and hurtful practices substituted for the real duties of morality4 ,we shall not combat the different superstitious practices1 admitted by some sects and rejected by others2 such as the honours rendered to the memory of those pious fanatics and obscure contemplators whom ,roman pontiffs have ranked among the saints4 ,we say nothing of those pilgrimages which superstition has so often produced1 nor those indulgences by means of which sins are remitted4 ,we shall only observe1 that these things are commonly' more respected where they are admitted1 than the duties of morality1 which in those places frequently1 are wholly unknown4 ,mankind find their natural propensities much less thwarted by such rites1 ceremonies1 and practices1 than by being virtuous4 ,a good ,christian is a man who conforms exactly to all that his priests exact from him2 these substitute blindness and submission in the place of all virtues4 ,,chap4 ,,xiv4--,,of ,,the ,,political ,,effects ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,religion4 ,after having seen the inutility and even danger of the perfections1 virtues1 and duties proposed by the ,christian religion1 let us enquire whether its political influences be more happy1 and whether it can in reality promote the welfare of nations among whom it is established and faithfully observed4 ,we at once find1 that wherever this religion is admitted1 two opposite legislations1 ever at variance with each other1 establish themselves4 ,although this religion preaches love and peace1 it soon annihilates the effects of those precepts by the divisions which it necessarily sows among its sectaries1 who unavoidably interpret diversely the ambiguous oracles announced in ,holy ,writ4 ,we find1 that from the infancy of religion the most acrimonious disputes have continually taken place among divines4 ,the successive ages of ,christianity have been stained with schisms1 heresies1 persecutions1 and contests1 widely discordant from its boasted spirit of peace and concord2 which is in fact incompatible with a religion whose precepts are so dark and equivocal4 ,in all religious disputes1 each party believes that ,god is on its side1 and consequently they are obstinate4 ,indeed1 how can it be otherwise1 when they confound the cause of ,god with that of their own vanity8 ,thus1 mutually averse to concession1 they quarrel and fight until force has decided a contest in which they never appeal to reason1 in fact1 political authorities have ever been forced to interfere in all the dissensions which have arisen among ,christians4 ,governments have always taken in the frivolous disputes of priests1 and foolishly considered them as objects of the last importance4 ,they have conceived1 that in a religion established by ,god himself there could be nothing of a trifling nature4 ,thus1 princes have armed themselves against their own subjects1 whose opinions differed from theirs4 ,the way of thinking at court has decided the creed and the faith of subjects4 ,opinions supported by kings and priests have been the only true ones4 ,their creatures have been the guardians of orthodoxy1 and were commissioned to exterminate all whom they chose to denominate heretics and rebels4 ,the prejudices of princes or their false policy1 have caused them to look upon those of their subjects1 who differ from themselves in religious opinions1 as bad citizens1 dangerous to the state1 and enemies to their power4 ,if1 leaving to priests the business of finishing their own impertinent disputes1 they had not assisted their quarrels and persecutions1 they would have died away of themselves1 and never have disturbed the peace of nations4 ,if those kings had impartially recompensed the good and punished the bad1 without regard to their worship1 ceremonies1 and speculative opinions1 they would not have made many of their subjects such enemies to that power1 by which they found themselves oppressed4 ,christians have always attempted to reclaim heretics by injustice1 violence1 and persecution4 ,ought not they to have perceived1 that this conduct was calculated only to produce hypocrites and hidden enemies1 of open rebellions8 ,but these reflections are not designed for princes1 who from their infancy1 have been filled with fanaticism and prejudices2 ,they1 instead of being actuated by virtuous motives1 have formed obstinate attachments to frivolities1 and impetuous ardour for doctrines foreign to the welfare of their states1 and a boundless wrath against all who refuse to bend to their despotic opinions4 ,such sovereigns find it a shorter way to destroy mankind than reclaim them by mild means4 ,their haughty despotism will not condescend to reason4 ,religion assures them that tyranny is lawful1 and cruelty meritorious when they are employed in the cause of heaven4 ,the ,christian religion1 in fact1 always makes despots and tyrants of all the sovereigns by whom it is adopted4 ,it represents them as gods upon earth2 it causes their very caprices to be respected as the will of heaven itself4 ,it delivers mankind into their hands as an herd of slaves1 of whom they may dispose at their pleasure4 ,in return for their zeal for religion1 all the outrages upon justice that they can commit are forgiven1 and their subjects are commanded1 under pain of the wrath of the ,most ,high1 to submit without a murmur to the sword that strikes instead of protecting themselves4 ,it is not1 therefore1 matter of surprise1 that since the establishment of this religion1 we see so many nations groaning under devout tyrants1 who1 although obstinately attached to religion1 have been unjust1 licentious1 and cruel4 ,whatever were the oppressions and ravages of these religious or hypocritical princes1 the priests have not failed to preach submission to their subjects3 ,on the other hand1 let us not be surprised to see so many weak and wicked princes1 support in their turns the interest of a religion1 which their false policy judged necessary to the maintenance of their authority4 ,if kings were enlightened1 just and virtuous1 and knew and practised their real duties1 they would have had no need of the aid of superstition in governing nations4 ,but as it is more easy to conform to rites than to acquire talents or practise virtue1 this religion has1 in princes1 too often found support for itself1 and destruction for its enemies4 ,the ministers of religion have not had the same complaisance for princes1 who refused to make a common cause with them1 espouse their quarrels1 and become subservient to their passions4 ,they have arisen against those who have thwarted their views1 punished their excesses1 touched their immunities1 endeavoured to subject them to reason1 or repress their ambitious designs4 ,the priests on such occasions1 cry out1 ,impiety6 ,sacrilege6 ,then they pretend that the sovereign puts his hand to the censor1 and usurps the rights granted them by ,god himself4 ,then they endeavour to excite nations to rebellion4 ,they arm fanatics against sovereigns1 whom they declare tyrants1 for having been wanting in submission to the church4 ,heaven is always ready to revenge any injustice done to its ministers4 ,they are themselves submissive1 and preach submission to others1 only when they are permitted to share the authority1 or are too feeble to resist it4 ,this is the reason why the apostles1 in the infancy of ,christianity1 being destitute of power1 preached subordination4 ,no sooner had this religion gained sufficient strength1 than it preached resistance and rebellion2 dethroning some kings and assassinating others4 ,in every political body1 where this religion is established1 there are two rival powers1 which1 by incessant contention1 convulse and wound the state4 ,the citizens divide into opposite parties1 each of which fights1 or thinks it fights1 for ,god4 ,these contests at different times terminate differently1 but the triumphant party is always in the right4 ,by attentive examination of such events1 we shall escape the dominion of fanaticism4 ,it is by stimulating mankind to enquiry1 that they must be freed from the shackles of superstition4 ,let mankind think till they have thrown aside their prejudices1 and they will think justly4 ,the reign of the priesthood will cease when men cease to be ignorant and credulous4 ,credulity is the offspring of ignorance1 and superstition is the child of credulity4 ,but most kings dread that mankind should be enlightened4 ,accomplices with the priesthood1 they have formed a league with them to stifle reason1 and persecute all who confide in its guidance4 ,blind to their own interests1 and those of their subjects1 they wish only to command slaves1 forgetting those slaves are always at the disposal of the priests4 ,thus we see science neglected1 and ignorance triumphant1 in those countries where this religion holds the most absolute dominion4 ,arts and sciences are the children of liberty1 and separated from their parent they languish and die4 ,among ,christian nations1 the least superstitious are the most free1 powerful1 and happy4 ,in countries where spiritual and temporal despotism are leagued1 the people grovel in the most shameful ignorance and lethargic inactivity4 ,the ,european nations1 who boast of possessing the purest faith1 are not surely the most flourishing and powerful4 ,their kings1 enslaved themselves by priests1 have not energy and courage enough to make a single struggle for their own welfare or that of their subjects4 ,priests1 in such states1 are the only order of men who are rich2 other citizens languish in' the deepest indigence4 ,but of what importance are the power and happiness of nations to the sectaries of a religion who seek not for happiness in this world1 who believe riches injurious1 preach a ,god of poverty1 and recommend abasement to the soul1 and mortification of the flesh8 ,it is without doubt to oblige people to practise these maxims1 that the clergy1 in many ,christian states1 have taken possession of most of the riches1 and live in splendour1 while their fellow-citizens are set forward in the road to heaven1 unincumbered with any burthen of earthly wealth4 ,such are the advantages political society derives from the ,christian religion4 ,it forms an independent state within a state4 ,it renders the people slaves4 ,when sovereigns are obedient to it1 it favours their tyranny4 ,when they are disobedient1 it renders their subjects fanatic and rebellious4 ,when it accords with political power1 it convulses1 debases1 and impoverishes nations2 when not1 it makes citizens unsocial1 turbulent1 intolerant1 and mutinous4 ,if we examine in detail the precepts of this religion1 and the maxims which flow from its principles1 we shall find it interdicts every thing that can make a nation flourish4 ,we have already seen the ideas of imperfection that it attaches to marriage1 and its esteem of celibacy4 ,these notions are highly unfavourable to population1 which is1 incontrovertibly1 the first source of power in a state4 ,commerce is not less contradictory to the spirit of a religion1 the founder of which pronounced an anathema against riches1 and excluded them from his kingdom4 ,all industry is interdicted to perfect ,christians2 they live a provisory life on earth1 and never concern themselves with the morrow4 ,must it not be a great temerity and sin for a ,christian to serve in war8 ,is not the man1 who has never the right to believe himself absolutely in a state of grace1 extremely rash when he exposes himself to eternal damnation8 ,is not the ,christian1 who ought to have charity for all men1 and love even his enemies1 guilty of an enormous crime1 when he kills a man of whose dispositions he is ignorant1 and whom he1 perhaps1 precipitates at once into hell8 ,a ,christian soldier is a monster2 unless1 indeed1 he fights in the cause of religion4 ,then1 if he dies1 he dies a blessed martyr4 ,the ,christian religion has always declared war against science and all human knowledge4 ,these have been looked upon as obstacles to salvation4 ,neither reason nor study are necessary to men1 who are to submit their reason to the yoke of faith4 ,from the confession of ,christians themselves1 the founders of their religion were simple and ignorant men4 ,their disciples must be as little enlightened as they were to admit the fables and reveries they have received from them4 ,it has always been remarked1 that the most enlightened men seldom make the best ,christians4 ,science is apt to embarrass faith2 and it moreover turns the attention from the great work of salvation1 which is represented as the only necessary one4 ,if science be serviceable to political society1 ignorance is much more so to religion and its ministers44 ,those ages1 destitute of science and industry1 were the garden age of the church of ,christ4 ,then were kings dutifully submissive to priests2 then the coffers of priests held all the riches of society4 ,the priests of a very numerous sect have kept from the eyes of their followers even the sacred pages which contain the laws of their religion4 ,this conduct is1 undoubtedly1 very discreet4 ,reading the ,bible is the surest of all means to prevent its being respected4 ,in one word1 if the maxims of the ,christian religion were rigorously and universally followed1 no political society could subsist4 ,if this assertion be doubted1 listen to what was said by the earliest doctors of the church1 and it will be acknowledged1 that their precepts are wholly incompatible with the power and preservation of states4 ,according to ,lactantius1 no ,christian can become a soldier4 ,according1 to ,st4 ,justin1 no ,christian can be a magistrate4 ,according to ,st4 ,chrysostom1 no ,christian can meddle with commerce4 ,and1 according to a great number1 no man ought to study4 ,in fine1 join these maxims to those of ,christ1 apply them in practice1 and the result will be a perfect ,christian1 useless to his family1 his country1 and mankind2 an idle contemplator1 unconcerned in the interests of this world1 and occupied entirely with the other1 whither it is his most important business to go4 ,let us look into ,eusebius1 and see if the ,christian be not a real fanatic1 from whom society can derive no advantage4 ,the manner of life1 says he1 in the ,christian church1 surpasses our present nature1 and the ordinary life of man4 ,there they seek neither marriages1 children1 nor riches4 ,in fact1 it is wholly foreign to the human manner of living4 ,the church is given up to an immense love of heavenly things4 ,the members1 detached from earthly existence1 and leaving only their bodies below1 transfer their souls to heaven1 where they already dwell as pure and celestial intelligences1 and despise the life of other men4 ,a man strongly persuaded of the truth of ,christianity cannot1 in fact1 attach himself to any thing below4 ,every thing here is to him a cause of stumbling1 and calls away his attention from the great work of his salvation4 ,if ,christians were not1 fortunately1 inconsistent with themselves1 and wandered not incessantly from their fanatical perfections and sublime speculations1 no ,christian society could subsist1 and the nations illuminated by the gospel would return to their pristine barbarity4 ,we should see only wild beings1 broken loose from every social tie1 and wandering in solitude through this vale of tears1 whose only employment would be to groan1 to weep1 and pray1 and render themselves and others wretched1 in order to merit heaven4 ,in fine1 a religion whose maxims tend to render mankind in general intolerant1 to make kings persecutors1 and their subjects slaves or rebels2 a religion1 the obscure doctrines of which give birth to eternal disputes2 a religion which debases mankind1 and turns them aside from their true interests2 such a religion1 ,i say1 is destructive to every society4 ,,chap4 ,,xv4--,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,church1 ,,or ,,priesthood4 ,there have been1 in all ages1 men who know how to profit by the errors of mankind4 ,priests of all religions1 have laid the foundations of their greatness1 power1 and riches1 on the fears of the vulgar4 ,no religion has1 however1 had so many reasons as the ,christian1 for subjecting people to the priesthood4 ,the first preachers of the gospel1 the ,apostles1 are represented as divine men1 inspired by ,god1 and sharing his omnipotence4 ,if each individual among their successors has not enjoyed the same privileges in the opinion of all ,christians1 yet the body of priests1 or ,church1 is never abandoned by the ,holy ,ghost1 but always illuminated thereby4 ,they collectively1 at all times1 possess infallibility1 and consequently their decisions become perpetual revelations1 equally sacred with those of ,god himself4 ,such being the attributes of the priesthood1 this body must in virtue of the prerogatives they hold from ,christ himself have a right to unconditional submission from men and nations4 ,the enormous power they have so long exercised is not1 therefore1 surprising4 ,it should be unlimited1 since it is founded on the authority of the ,almighty4 ,it should be despotic1 because men have no right to resist divine power4 ,it must degenerate into abuse1 for the priesthood is exercised by men whom impunity always renders licentious and corrupt4 ,in the infancy of ,christianity1 the ,apostles1 commissioned by ,jesus ,christ1 preached the gospel to ,jews and ,gentiles4 ,the novelty of their doctrine1 as we have already seen1 procured them many proselytes among the vulgar4 ,the new ,christians1 inflamed with ardour for their new opinions1 formed in every city particular congregations1 under the government of men appointed by the ,apostles4 ,the latter having received the faith at first hand1 retained the inspection and direction of the different ,christian societies they had formed4 ,such appears to have been the origin of ,bishops or inspectors1 which are perpetuated in the ,church to this day2#a an origin in which the princes of modern ,christianity sufficiently pride themselves4 ,it is known that1 in this infant sect1 the associates held1 their goods in common4 ,this duty appears to have been rigorously exacted2 for1 by the command of ,st4 ,peter1 two new ,christians were smitten to death1 for having withheld some part of their own property4 ,the funds resulting from this practice1 were at the disposal of the ,apostles2 to this1 commission the ,bishops1 inspectors1 or priests succeeded1 when they became successors of the ,apostles2 and as the priests must live by the altar1 we may suppose that they paid themselves1 and not illiberally1 for their instructions1 out of the public treasury4 ,those who attempted new spiritual conquests were1 probably1 obliged to content themselves with the voluntary contributions of their converts4 ,however this may be1 the treasures accumulated1 through the credulous piety of the faithful1 became an object of the avarice of priests1 and begat discord among them4 ,each one wished to govern1 and have the disposal of the riches of the community4 ,hence the cabals and factions which we find growing up with the church of ,god4 ,the priests were always first to wander from the principles of their religion4 ,their own ambition and avarice always contradict the disinterested maxims they teach to others4 #a ,saint ,jerome highly disapproved the distinction of bishops and priests or curates4 ,he pretends1 that priests and bishops were according to ,st4 ,paul1 the same thing1 before1 says he1 by the instigation of the ,devil1 there were destinations in religion4 ,at this day1 bishops1 who do nothing1 enjoy great revenues2 while innumerable curates1 who labour1 are dying with hunger4 ,so long as the ,christian3 religion was much depressed and persecuted1 discordant ,bishops and priests combated in secret1 and the noise of their quarrels did not spread far abroad4 ,but when ,constantine wished to secure to himself a party1 the obscurity of which had favoured its increase1 until now become very numerous1 the face of every thing in the church was changed4 ,christian leaders1 transformed to courtiers2 and seduced by authority1 fought openly4 ,they engaged sovereigns in their quarrels1 and persecuted their rivals4 ,laden by degrees with riches and honours2 they would no longer be recognized as the successors of the poor and humble ,apostles1 sent by ,christ to preach his doctrine44 ,they became princes1 and1 supported1 by the strongest arms1 opinions1 they found themselves able to give laws to nations1 and put the world in confusion4 ,under ,constantine the ,pontificate had been by a shameful imprudence separated from the empire4 ,the ,emperors soon found they had cause to repent this oversight4 ,the ,bishop of ,rome1 that former mistress of the world1 whose name still sounded awful in the ears of nations1 knew how to make a skilful advantage of the troubles of the empire1 invaded by barbarians1 and the weakness of ,emperors1 too remote to watch over his conduct4 ,by dint of plots and intrigues1 the ,roman pontiff at length seated himself on the throne of the ,csars4 ,it was for him that ,emilius and ,scipio had fought4 ,he was1 in fine1 looked upon in the west1 as the monarch of the ,church1 the universal ,bishop1 the ,vicar of ,jesus4 ,christ upon earth1 and the infallible organ of ,god4 ,although these haughty titles were rejected in the ,east1 the ,roman1 pontiff reigned1 without contest1 in the greater part of the ,christian world4 ,he was a ,god upon earth2 through the imbecility of kings1 he became arbiter of their destinies1 and founded a theocracy or divine government1 of which himself was chief1 and they were his lieutenants4 ,when they had the audacity to become disobedient to him1 he dethroned them1 or excited their subjects to rebellion4 ,in a word1 his spiritual arms were1 through a long succession of ages1 stronger than the temporal ones of his opponents4 ,nations had the stupidity to obey him1 and the distribution of crowns was in his power4 ,to secure his dominion over princes1 he sowed divisions among them2 and his empire would still retain its extent and vigour1 if a gradual increase of knowledge had not1 in spite of religious opposition1 made its way among mankind1 and kings1 acting inconsistently with their religion1 listened to ambition rather than duty4 ,if the ministers of the church have received their power from ,christ himself1 to resist these his representatives is1 in feet1 to revolt against him4 ,kings1 as well as subjects1 cannot throw off allegiance to ,god without a crime4 ,the spiritual authority proceeding from ,god1 must1 of right1 have jurisdiction over temporal authority proceeding from man4 ,a prince1 who is a true ,christian1 must become a servant of the church1 and1 at best1 the first slave of the clergy4 ,let us not1 then1 be surprized1 that1 in the ages of ignorance1 priests1 being most readily obeyed by people1 more attached to heavenly than earthly interests1 were more powerful than kings4 ,among superstitious nations the pretended voice of ,god and his interests is more listened to than that of duty1 justice1 and reason4 ,a good ,christian1 piously submissive to the church1 must be blind and unreasonable1 whenever the church commands him to be so4 ,the power that has a right to render us absurd1 has the right to render us criminal4 ,besides1 those that derive their power from ,god can be subject to no other power4 ,thus1 the independence of the ,christian clergy is founded upon the principles of their religion4 ,of this circumstance1 they have taken care to profit1 and impressed with this idea1 they1 after being enriched by the generosity of kings and people1 have always proved ungrateful to the true sources of their own opulence and privileges4 ,what had been given this body1 through surprize or impudence1 it was found impossible to recover from their hands4 ,they foresaw1 that future generations1 breaking loose from the fetters of prejudice1 might tear from them the donations they had gained by the extortions of terror1 and the evils of imposture4 ,they1 therefore1 persuaded mankind that they held from ,god alone what had been given them by their fellow-mortals3 and by a miracle of credulity1 they were believed on their word4 ,thus the interests of the clergy became separated from those of society4 ,men devoted to ,god1 and chosen to be his ministers1 were no longer confounded with the profane4 ,laws and civil tribunals renounced all power over them4 ,they could be judged only by members of their own body4 ,hence the greatest excesses were often committed by them with impunity2 and their persons1 at the disposal of ,god alone1 were sacred and inviolable4 ,their possessions1 although they contributed nothing to public charges1 or1 at least1 no more than they pleased2 were defended and enlarged by fanatic sovereigns1 who hoped thereby to conciliate the favour of ,heaven4 ,in fact1 those reverend wolves in shepherds' clothing1 under pretence of feeding with instruction1 devoured with avarice1 and1 secure in their disguise1 fattened on the blood of their flocks1 unpunished and unsuspected4 ,from their instructions for eighteen hundred years past1 what advantages have nations derived8 ,have these infallible men found it possible to agree among themselves1 on the most essential points of a religion1 revealed by ,god himself8 ,strange1 indeed1 is that revelation1 which needs continual commentaries1 and interpretations4 ,what must be thought of these divine writings1 which every sect understands so differently8 ,those who are incessantly fed with the gospel1 do not understand these matters better1 nor are they more virtuous than others4 ,they are commanded to obey the ,church1 and the ,church is never at accord with itself4 ,she is eternally busied in reforming1 explaining1 pulling down1 and building up her holy doctrines4 ,her ministers have1 at will1 created new doctrines unknown to ,christ and the ,apostles4 ,every age has brought forth new mysteries1 new ceremonies1 and new articles of faith4 ,notwithstanding the inspirations of the ,holy ,ghost1 this religion has never attained to that clearness1 simplicity1 and consistency1 which are the only indubitable proofs of a good system4 ,neither councils1 nor canons1 nor the mass of decrees and laws1 which form the code of the ,church1 have ever yet been able to fix the objects of her belief4 ,were a sensible heathen desirous of embracing ,christianity1 he would be1 at the first step1 thrown into perplexity1 at the sight of the numerous variety of sects1 each of which pretends to conform precisely to the word of ,god1 and travel in the only sure road to salvation4 ,when he finds that these different-sects regard each other with horror that they all deal out damnation3 to all whose opinions differ from their own2 that they all unite their efforts to banish peace-from society2 that always1 when power is in their hands1 they persecute and inflict the most refined cruelties on each other1 for which shall he determine8 ,for1 let us not be deceived--,christians1 not satisfied with enforcing by violence an exterior submission to the ceremonies of their religion1 have invented an art unknown to heathen superstitions1 that of tormenting the conscience1 and exercising a tyranny over the mind itself4 ,the zeal of the ministers of the church is not limited to exteriors2 they steal into the foldings of the heart1 and insolently violate the most secret sanctuaries of thought4#a ,and-for this sacrilege1 their justification is a pretended interest in the salvation of souls4 #a ,spoken of the ,romish clergy4 ,such are the effects which necessarily result from the principles of a religion1 which teaches mankind that involuntary error is a crime that merits the wrath of ,god4 ,it is in consequence of such ideas1 that in certain countries1 priests1 with the permission of the civil governments1 pretend to a commission for maintaining the faith in its purity4 ,judges in their own cause1 they condemn to the flames all whose opinions appear to them dangerous4#a ,served by innumerable spies1 they watch the minutest actions of the people1 and inhumanly sacrifice all that have the misfortune to give them the smallest umbrage4 ,to excite suspicions in their minds1 is to rush upon inevitable destruction4 ,such are the blessings which the ,holy ,inquisition1 all mild and gentle1 pours upon mankind4 #a ,civil tribunals1 when they are just1 have a maxim to look for every thing that can contribute to the defence of the accused4 ,in the ,inquisition a method directly opposite has been adopted4 ,the accused is neither told the cause of his detention nor confronted with his accuser4 ,he is ignorant of his crime1 yet he is commanded to confess4 ,such are the maxims of ,christian priests4 ,the ,inquisition1 however1 condemns nobody to die4 ,priests cannot themselves shed blood4 ,that function is reserved for the secular arm2 and they have even the effrontery to intercede for criminals1 sure1 however1 of not being heard4 ,indeed1 it is probable1 they would make no small clamour1 should the magistrate take them at their word4 ,this conduct becomes men in whom ,almighty interest stifles humanity1 sincerity1 and modesty4 ,such are the principles of this sanguinary tribunal which perpetuates the ignorance and infatuation of the people wherever the false policy of governments permits its horrors to be exercised4 ,the disputes between ,christian priests have been sources of animosity1 hatred1 and heresy4 ,we find these to have existed from the infancy of the church4 ,a religion founded on wonders1 fables1 and obscure oracles1 could only be a fruitful source of quarrels4 ,priests attended to ridiculous doctrines instead of useful knowledge2 and when they should have studied true morality1 and taught mankind their real duties1 they only strove to gain adherents4 ,they busied themselves in useless speculations in a barbarous and enigmatical science1 which1 under the pompous title of the science of ,god1 or theology1 excited in the vulgar a reverential awe4 ,they invented a system1 bigoted1 presumptuous1 ridiculous1 and as incomprehensible as the ,god whom they affected to worship4 ,hence arose disputes on disputes concerning puerile subtilties1 odious questions1 and arbitrary opinions1 which far from being useful1 only served to poison the peace of society4 ,in these bickerings we find profound geniuses busied2 and we are forced to reject the prostitution of talents worthy a better cause4 ,the vulgar1 ever fond of riot1 entered into quarrels they could not understand4 ,princes undertook the defence of the priests they wished to favour1 and orthodoxy was decided by the longest sword4 ,their assistance the church never hesitated to receive in time of danger2 for on such occasions the church relies rather on human assistance than the promise of ,god1 who declared that the sceptre of the wicked should not rest upon the lot of the righteous4 ,the heroes1 found in the annals of the church1 have been obstinate fanatics1 factious rebels1 or furious persecutors4 ,they were monsters of madness1 faction1 and cruelty4 ,the world in the days of our ancestors1 was depopulated in defence of extravagancies which excite laughter in a posterity1 not indeed much wiser than they were4 ,in almost all ages complaints have been made of abuses in the church1 and reformation has been talked of4 ,notwithstanding this pretended reform1 in the head1 and in the members of the church1 it has always been corrupted4 ,avaricious1 turbulent1 and seditious priests have made nations to groan under the weight of their vices1 while princes were too weak to reclaim them to reason4 ,the divisions and quarrels which took place among those ecclesiastical tyrants did indeed at length diminish the weight of the yoke they had imposed on kings and nations4 ,the empire of the ,roman pontiff1 which endured many ages1 was at last shaken by irritated enthusiasts1 and rebellious subjects1 who presumed to examine the rights of this formidable despot4 ,some princes1 weary of their slavery and poverty1 readily embraced opinions which would authorise them to enrich themselves with the spoils of the clergy4 ,thus the unity of the church was destroyed1 sects were multiplied1 and each fought for the defence of his own system4 ,these founders of these new sects were treated by the ,roman pontiff as innovators1 heretics1 and blasphemers4 ,they1 it is true1 renounced some of their old opinions2 but content with having made a few steps towards reason1 they dared not to shake off entirely the yoke of superstition4 ,they continued to respect the sacred writ of the ,christian1 which they still looked upon as the only faithful guide4 ,upon them they pretended to found all their opinions4 ,in fine1 these books1 in which every man may find what he pleases1 as they became more common from time to time1 produced new sects4 ,men were lost in a dark labyrinth1 where each one groped his way in error1 and yet judged all but himself to be wrong4 ,the leaders of these sects1 the pretended reformers of the church1 gained but a glimpse at the truth1 and attended to nothing but minutiae4 ,they continued to respect the sacred oracles of the ,christians1 and believe in their cruel and capricious ,god4 ,they admitted their extravagant mythology1 and most of their unreasonable doctrines4 ,in fine1 although they rejected some mysteries that were incomprehensible1 they admitted others not less so4 ,let us not be surprized1 therefore1 that1 notwithstanding these reforms1 fanaticism1 controversy1 persecution1 and war1 continued to rage throughout ,europe4 ,the reveries of innovators only served to plunge nations into new misfortunes4 ,blood continued to stream1 and people grew neither more reasonable nor more happy4 ,priests of all sects have ever wished to govern mankind and impose on them their decisions as infallible and sacred4 ,they were always persecutors when in power1 involved nations in their fury1 and shook the world by their fatal opinions4 ,the spirit of intolerance and persecution will ever be the essence of every sect founded on the ,bible4 ,a mild and humane religion can never belong to a partial and cruel ,god8 whom the opinion of men can fill with wrath4 ,wherever ,christian sects exist1 priests will exercise a power which may prove fatal to the state1 and bodies of fanatical enthusiasts will be formed1 always ready to rush to slaughter1 when their spiritual guides cry1 the church or the cause of ,god is in danger4 ,thus1 in ,christian countries1 we see the temporal power servilely submissive to the clergy1 executing their commands1 exterminating their enemies1 and supporting their rights1 riches1 and immunities4 ,in almost all nations where the church prevails1 the most idle1 useless1 seditious1 and dangerous men are most liberally honoured and rewarded4 ,superstition thinks she can never do enough for the ministers of her gods4 ,these sentiments are the same in all sects4#a ,priests every where endeavour to instil them into kings1 and to make policy bend to religion1 in doing which they often oppose the best institutions4 ,they in all places aim at the superintendance of education1 and they fill their adherents with their fatal prejudices from their infancy4 #a ,except the ,quaker4 ,it is1 however1 in places that remained subject to the ,roman pontiff1 that the clergy have wallowed in the greatest profusion of riches and power4 ,credulity has even enlisted kings among their subjects1 and debased them into mere executioners of their will4 ,they were in readiness to unsheath the sword whenever the priest commanded it4 ,the monarchs of the ,roman sect1 blinder than all others1 had an unbounded confidence in the clergy of their church that generally rendered them mere tools of that body4 ,this sect1 by means of furious intoleration and atrocious persecutions1 became more numerous than any other one2 and their turbulent and cruel temper has justly rendered them odious to the most reasonable1 that is to say1 least ,christian nations4 ,the ,romish system was1 in fact1 invented to throw all the power into the hands of the clergy4 ,its priests have had the address to identify themselves with ,god4 ,their cause was always his2 their glory became the glory of ,god4 ,their decisions were divine oracles2 their possessions appertained to the kingdom of heaven4 ,their pride1 avarice1 and cruelty1 were rendered lawful1 because they were never actuated by other motives than the interest of their heavenly master4 ,in this sect1 the priest saw his king at his feet1 humbly confessing his sins1 and beseeching the holy man that he might be reconciled to his ,god4 ,seldom was the priest known to render his sacred ministry subservient to the good of mankind4 ,he thought not of reproaching monarchs with the abuse of their power1 the misery of their subjects1 and the tears of the oppressed4 ,too timid1 or too much of a courtier to thunder truth in their ears1 he mentioned not to them the insupportable oppressions1 the galling tyranny1 and useless wars under which their subjects groaned4 ,but such objects never interest the church1 which might indeed be of some utility1 if its influence were exercised in bridling the excesses of superstitious tyrants4 ,the terrors of the other world would not be unpardonable falsehoods1 could they make the herd of wicked kings to tremble4 ,this1 however1 has not been the object of the ministers of religion4 ,they never stickled for the interest of mankind4 ,they always burned incense at the altar of tyranny1 looked upon its crimes with indulgence1 and devised for them easy means of expiation4 ,tyrants were sure of the pardon and favour of heaven1 if they entered warmly into the quarrels of the clergy4 ,thus1 among the ,catholics1 priests governed kings1 and consequently all their subjects4 ,superstition and despotism formed an internal alliance1 and united their efforts1 to plunge mankind into slavery and wretchedness4 ,priests frightened nations with religious terror1 that they might be preyed upon by their sovereigns at leisure2 and1 in return1 those sovereigns loaded the priests with opulence and power1 and undertook1 from time to time1 to exterminate their enemies4 ,what shall we say of those subtle geniuses which ,christians call casuists1 those pretended moralists who have computed the number of sins against ,god which a man can commit without risking his salvation8 ,these men of profound wisdom have enriched ,christian morality with a ridiculous tarif of sins2 they know precisely the degree of wrath which each excites in the breast of the ,almighty4 ,true morality has but one criterion for judging the sins of man2 the greatest are those that injure society most4 ,the conduct which injures ourselves is imprudent and unreasonable4 ,that which injures others is unjust and criminal4 ,every thing1 even to idleness itself1 is rewarded in ,christian priests4 ,multitudes of these drones are maintained in ease and affluence1 while1 instead of serving society1 they only prey upon it4 ,they are paid with profusion for useless prayers which they make with negligence4 ,and while monks and lazy priests1 those blood-suckers of society1 wallow in an abundance shameful to the states by whom they are tolerated1 the man of talents1 the man of science1 and the brave soldier are suffered to languish in indigence1 and poorly exist on the mere necessaries of life4 ,in a word1 ,christianity makes nations accomplices in all the evils which are heaped upon them by the ,clergy4 ,neither the uselessness of their prayers demonstrated by the experience of so many ages1 the bloody effects of their fatal controversies1 nor even their licentious excesses1 have yet been sufficient to convince mankind how shamefully they are duped by that infallible ,church1 to the existence of which1 they have had the simplicity to believe1 their salvation4 ,,chap4 ,,xvi4--,,conclusion4 ,all which has hitherto been said1 demonstrates1 in the clearest manner1 that the ,christian religion is contrary to true policy1 and the welfare of mankind4 ,it can be advantageous only to ignorant and vicious princes1 who are desirous to reign over slaves1 and who1 in order to strip and tyrannize over them with impunity1 form a league with the priesthood1 whose function it has ever been to deceive in the name of heaven4 ,but such imprudent princes should remember1 that1 in order to succeed in their projects1 they must themselves become the slaves of the priesthood1 who 7should the former fail in due submission1 or refuse to be subservient to their passions7 will infallibly turn their sacred arms against their royal heads4 ,we have seen1 above1 that the ,christian religion is not1 on account of its fanatic virtues1 blind zeal1 and pretended perfections1 the less injurious to sound morality1 right reason1 the happiness of individuals1 and domestic harmony4 ,it is easy to perceive that a ,christian1 who proposes to himself as a model1 a gloomy and suffering ,god1 must take pains to afflict and render himself wretched4 ,if this world be only a passage1 if this life be only a pilgrimage1 it must be ridiculous for a man to attach himself to any thing here below4 ,if his ,god be offended with either the actions or opinions of his fellow-creatures1 he must do every thing in his power to punish them with severity1 or be wanting in zeal and affection to his ,god4 ,a good ,christian must fly the world1 or become a torment to himself and others4 ,these reflections are sufficient to answer those who pretend that the ,christian religion is the foundation of true policy and morality1 and that where it is not professed1 there can be neither good men nor good citizens4 ,the converse of this proposition is undoubtedly much truer2 for we may assert1 that a perfect ,christian1 who conforms to all the principles of his religion1 who faithfully imitates the divine men proposed to him as a model1 and practises their austerities in solitude1 or carries their fanatic enthusiasm and bigotry into society1 must be either useless to mankind1 or a troublesome and dangerous citizen4#a #a ,the clergy incessantly cry out against unbelievers and philosophers1 whom they style dangerous subjects4 ,yet1 if we open history1 we do not find that philosophers are those who have embroiled states and empires2 but that such events' have generally been produced by the religious4 ,the ,dominican1 who poisoned the emperor ,henry ,,xi4 ,james ,clement1 and ,ruvaillac1 were not unbelievers4 ,they were not philosophers1 but fanatic ,christians4 ,were we to believe the advocates of the ,christian religion1 it would appear1 that no morality can exist where this religion is not established4 ,yet we may perceive1 at a single glance1 that there are virtues in every corner of the earth4 ,no political society could exist without them4 ,among the ,chinese1 the ,indians1 and the ,mahometans1 there are1 undoubtedly1 good citizens1 tender fathers1 affectionate husbands1 and dutiful children4 ,and good people there1 as well as with us1 would be more numerous1 if they were governed by a wise policy1 which1 instead of causing children to be taught a senseless religion1 should give them equitable laws1 teach them a pure morality uncontaminated with fanaticism1 deter them from vice by suitable punishments1 and invite them to the practice of virtue by proper rewards4 ,in truth1 it seems 7,i repeat it7 that religion has been invented to relieve governments from the care of being just1 and reigning over equitable laws4 ,religion is the art of inspiring mankind with an enthusiasm1 which is designed to divert their attention from the evils with which they are overwhelmed by those who govern them4 ,by means of the invisible powers with which they are threatened1 they are forced to suffer in silence the miseries with which they are afflicted by visible ones4 ,they are taught to hope that1 if they consent to become miserable in this world1 they will for that reason be happy in the next4 ,thus religion has become the most powerful support of a shameful and iniquitous policy1 which holds it necessary to deceive mankind1 that they may the more easily be governed4 ,far from enlightened and virtuous governments be resources so base6 ,let them learn their true interests1 and know that these cannot be separated from that of the people4 ,let them know that no state can be truly potent1 except the citizens who compose it be courageous1 active1 industrious1 virtuous1 and attached to their government4 ,let governments know1 that the attachment of their constituents can have no other foundation than the happiness which the former procures the latter4 ,if governments were penetrated with these important truths1 they would need the aid of neither religion nor priests4 ,let them be just and equitable---let them be careful to reward talents and virtue1 to discourage inutility and punish vice1 and their states will soon be filled with worthy and sensible citizens1 who will feel it their own interest to serve and defend their country1 and support the government which is the instrument of their felicity4 ,they will do their duties1 without the influence of revelation1 or mysteries of paradise or hell4 ,morality will be preached in vain1 if it is not supported by the example of influential characters4 ,it belongs to magistrates to teach morality1 by practising it1 by inciting to virtue1 and repressing vice in every form4 ,their power is weakened the moment they suffer a power to arise1 in the state1 whose influence is exerted to render morality subservient to superstition and fanaticism4 ,in states where education is entrusted to a fanatic1 enthusiastic clergy1 we find citizens overwhelmed with superstition1 and destitute of every virtue1 except a blind faith1 a ferocious zeal1 a ridiculous submission to puerile ceremonies1 and1 in one word1 fantastic notions1 which never render them better men4 ,notwithstanding the happy influences attributed to the ,christian religion1 do we find more virtues in those who profess it1 than in those who are strangers to it8 ,are the men1 redeemed by the blood of even a ,deity1 more honest than others8 ,among ,christians1 impressed with their religion1 one would imagine we should search in vain for rapine1 fornication1 adultery1 and oppression4 ,among the orthodox courtiers1 who surround ,christian thrones1 do we see intrigues1 calumny1 or perfidy8 ,among the clergy1 who announce to others such redoubtable dogmas1 and such terrible chastisements1 do we find crimes that shun the day1 and every species of iniquity8 ,all these men are ,christians1 who1 unbridled by their religion1 continually violate the plainest duties of morality1 and knowingly offend a ,god1 whom they are conscious of having irritated4 ,yet they flatter themselves that they shall be able1 by a tardy repentance at death1 to appease that divine justice which they have insulted during the whole course of their lives4 ,in the mean time1 we shall not deny1 that the ,christian religion sometimes proves a restraint to timorous minds1 which are incapable of that fanaticism1 and destitute of that destructive energy1 which lead to the commission of great crimes4 ,but such minds would have been honest and harmless without this restraint4 ,the fear of rendering themselves odious to mankind1 of incurring contempt1 and losing their reputation1 would have been a chain of equal strength1 on the actions of such men4 ,those who are so blind as to tread these considerations under foot1 would never be deterred from it by the menaces of religion4 ,every man1 who has received a proper education1 experiences within himself a painful sentiment of mingled shame and fear1 whenever he soils himself with the guilt of a dishonest action4 ,he even condemns himself frequently1 with greater severity than others do4 ,he dreads1 and shuns the eyes of his fellow-creatures2 he even wishes to fly from himself4 ,this is what constitutes remorse4 ,in a word1 ,christianity puts no restraint upon the passions of mankind1 which might not be more efficaciously applied to them by reason1 education1 and sound morality4 ,if the wicked were sure of being punished1 as often as they think of committing dishonest actions1 they would be forced to desist4 ,in a society well constituted1 contempt will always follow vice1 and crimes will produce punishment4 ,education1 guided only by the good of society1 ought ever to teach mankind to esteem themselves1 to dread the contempt of others1 and fear infamy more than death itself4 ,but this kind of morality can never be consistent with a religion which commands men to despise themselves1 avoid the esteem of others1 and attempt to please only a ,god1 whose conduct is inexplicable4 ,in fine1 if the ,christian religion be1 as is pretended1 a restraint to the crimes of men1 if it produces salutary effects on some individuals2 can these advantages1 so rare1 so weak and doubtful1 be compared with the evident and immense evils which this religion has produced on the earth8 ,can some few trifling crimes prevented1 some conversions useless to society1 some sterile and tardy repentances1 enter into the balance against the continual dissensions1 bloody wars1 horrid massacres1 persecutions1 and cruelties1 of which the ,christian religion has been a continual cause and pretext8 ,for one secret sinful thought suppressed by it1 there are even whole nations armed for reciprocal destruction2 the hearts of millions of fanatics are inflamed2 families and states are plunged into confusion2 and the earth is bedewed with tears and blood4#a ,after this1 let common sense decide the magnitude of the advantages which mankind derive2 from the glad tidings which ,christians pretend to have received from their ,god4 #a ,witness1 even in this enlightened age1 the ,holy ,crusade against ,france1 for the purpose of restoring the ,christian religion4 ,many honest people1 although not ignorant of the ills produced among mankind by this religion1 nevertheless consider it a necessary evil1 and think it dangerous to attempt to uproot it4 ,mankind1 say they1 are naturally superstitious2 they must be amused1 with chimeras1 and become outrageous when deprived of them4 ,but1 ,i answer1 mankind are superstitious only because1 in infancy1 every thing contributes to render them so4 ,he is led to expect his happiness1 from1 chimeras1 because he is forbidden to seek for it from realities4 ,in fine1 it is for philosophers and for magistrates to conduct mankind back1 to reason4 ,the former will obtain the confidence and love of the latter1 when they endeavour to promote the public good4 ,undeceived themselves1 they may undeceive others by degrees4 ,governments will prevent superstition from doing harm1 when they despise it and stand aloof from its ridiculous disputes4 ,when they tolerate all sects1 and side with none1 those sects1 after quarrelling awhile1 will drop their masks1 and become contemptible even to themselves4 ,superstition falls beneath its own weight when1 freedom of conscience being restored to mankind1 reason is at liberty to attack their follies4 ,true toleration and freedom of thought are the most proper instruments for the destruction of religious fanaticism4 ,imposture is in nature timid1 and when she finds herself confronted with truth1 her arms fall from her hands4 ,if a criminal and undiscerning policy has1 hitherto1 in almost all parts of the earth1 had recourse to the aid of religion1 to enslave mankind and render them miserable1 let a virtuous and more enlightened policy hereafter destroy it by little and little to render them happy4 ,if education has hitherto formed enthusiasts and fanatics1 let it be hereafter calculated to form good citizens4 ,if a morality founded on miracles1 and looking to futurity1 has been unable to restrain the passions of mankind1 let a morality established upon their present and real wants demonstrate that1 in a well constituted society1 happiness is always the reward of virtue3 shame1 contempt1 and punishment the companions of vice1 and the wages of sin4 ,if error be an evil1 to it let truth be opposed4 ,if enthusiasm produce disorders in society1 let it be suppressed4 ,let us leave to ,asia a religion begotten by the ardent imaginations of the orientals4 ,let our milder climates be more reasonable1 more free1 and more happy4 ,let us make them the residence of honesty1 activity1 industry1 social affections1 and exalted minds4 ,may not reason be permitted to hope1 that she shall one day re-assume the power so long usurped from her by error1 illusion1 and deceit8 ,when will nations renounce chimerical hopes1 to contemplate their true interests8 ,will they never shake off the yokes of those hypocritical tyrants1 who are interested only in the errors of mankind8 ,let us hope it4 ,truth must at last triumph over falsehood4--,mankind1 fatigued with their own credulity1 will return to her arms4--,reason will break their chains--,reason1 which was created to reign1 with undivided empire1 over all intelligent beings4 ,,amen4