,,transcriber',s ,,note ,italic text is denoted by underscores4 ,one superscript was converted to lowercase '#bcrd'4 ,obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources4 ,more detail can be found at the end of the book4 ,,the ,,thoughts ,,of ,,blaise ,,pascal4 ,illustration3 7,colophon47 ,,the ,,thoughts ,,of ,,blaise ,,pascal ,illustration3 7,frontispiece--,blaise ,pascal47 ,,the ,,thoughts ,,of ,,blaise ,,pascal ,,translated ,,from ,,the ,,text ,,of ,m4 ,,auguste ,,molinier ,,by ,c4 ,,kegan ,,paul ,pendent opera interrupta ,illustration3 7,colophon47 ,,london ,,kegan ,,paul1 ,,trench ,,co4 ,,mdccclxxxv ,,contents4 ,,page ,,preface vii ,,general ,,introduction #a ,pascal's ,profession of ,faith #b ,general ,introduction #c ,notes for the ,general ,introduction #aa ,,the ,,misery ,,of ,,man ,,without ,,god #ae ,preface to the ,first ,part #ag ,man's ,disproportion #ai ,diversion #cc ,the ,greatness and ,littleness of ,man #dc ,of the ,deceptive ,powers of the ,imagination #ea ,of ,justice1 ,customs1 and ,prejudices #fa ,the ,weakness1 ,unrest1 and ,defects of ,man #gc ,,the ,,happiness ,,of ,,man ,,with ,,god #hi ,preface to the ,second ,part #ia ,of the ,need of ,seeking ,truth #ie ,the ,philosophers #aje ,thoughts on ,mahomet and on ,china #aae ,of the ,jewish ,people #aai ,the ,authenticity of the ,sacred ,books #abe ,the ,prophecies #aca ,of ,types in ,general and of their ,lawfulness #aeg ,that the ,jewish ,law was ,figurative #afg ,of the ,true ,religion and its ,characteristics #agi ,the ,excellence of the ,christian ,religion #ahc ,of ,original ,sin #aia ,the ,perpetuity of the ,christian ,religion #aig ,proofs of the ,christian ,religion #bjc ,proofs of the ,divinity of ,jesus ,christ #bac ,the ,mission and ,greatness of ,jesus ,christ #bbe ,the ,mystery of ,jesus #bca ,of the ,true ,righteous ,man and of the ,true ,christian #bcg ,the ,arrangement #bec ,of ,miracles in ,general #beg ,jesuits and ,jansenists #bgc ,thoughts on ,style #cja ,various ,thoughts #cjg ,,notes #cag ,,index #cci ,,preface4 ,those to whom the ,life of ,pascal and the ,story of ,port ,royal are unknown1 must be referred to works treating fully of the subject1 since it were impossible to deal with them adequately within the limits of a preface4 ,sainte-,beuve's great work on ,port ,royal1 especially the second and third volumes1 and ,port ,royal1 by ,charles ,beard1 ,b4,a41 ,london1 #ahfc1 may best be consulted by any who require full1 lucid1 and singularly impartial information4 ,but for such as1 already acquainted with the time and the man1 need a recapitulation of the more important facts1 or for those who may find an outline map useful of the country they are to study in detail1 a few words are here given4 ,blaise ,pascal was born at ,clermont-,ferrand in ,auvergne1 on ,june #ai1 #afbc4 ,he sprung from a well-known legal family1 many members of which had held lucrative and responsible positions4 ,his father1 ,etienne ,pascal1 held the post of intendant1 or provincial administrator1 in ,normandy1 where1 and at ,paris previously1 ,pascal lived from the age of sixteen to that of twenty-five2 almost wholly educated by his father on account of his precarious health4 ,his mother died when he was eight years old4 ,etienne ,pascal was a pious but stern person1 and by no means disposed to entertain or allow any undue exaltation in religion1 refusing as long as he lived to allow his daughter ,jaqueline to take the veil4 ,but he had the usual faiths and superstitions of his time1 and believing that his son's ill-health arose from witchcraft1 employed the old woman who was supposed to have caused the malady to remove it1 by herbs culled before sunrise1 and the expiatory death of a cat4 ,this made a great impression on his son1 who in the ,thoughts employs an ingenious argument to prove that wonders wrought by the invocation of the devil are not1 in the proper sense of the term1 miracles4 ,at any rate the counter-charm was incomplete1 as the child's feeble health remained feeble to the end4 ,intellectually1 ,blaise ,pascal grew rapidly to the stature and strength of a giant2 his genius showing itself mainly in the direction of mathematics2 at the age of fifteen his studies on conic sections were thought worthy to be read before the most scientific men of ,paris1 and in after years of agonizing pain mathematical research alone was able to calm him1 and distract his mind from himself4 ,his actual reading was at all times narrow1 and his scholarship was not profound4 ,in #afdf1 his father1 having broken his thigh at ,rouen1 came under the influence of two members of the ,jansenist school of thought at that place1 who attended him in his illness1 and from that time dated the more serious religious views of the family4 ,jaqueline was from the first deeply affected by the more rigorous opinions with which she came in contact4 ,forbidden to enter the cloister1 she lived at home as austere a life as though she had been professed1 but after her father's death won her brother's reluctant consent to take the veil at ,port ,royal1 and became one of the strictest nuns of that rigid rule4 ,blaise ,pascal went through a double process of conversion4 ,when the family first fell under ,jansenist influence he threw himself so earnestly into the study of theology that he seriously injured his frail health1 and being advised to refrain from all intellectual labour1 he returned to the world of ,paris1 where his friends the ,duc de ,roannez1 the ,chevalier de ,mr and ,m4 ,miton were among the best known and most fashionable persons4 ,his father's death put him in possession of a fair fortune1 which he used freely1 not at all viciously1 but with no renunciation of the pleasures of society4 ,there is some evidence of a proposal that he should marry the ,duc de ,roannez' sister1 and no doubt with such a scheme before him he wrote his celebrated ,discours sur les ,passions de l',amour4 ,this1 however1 resulted only in the conversion of the duke and his sister1 the latter of whom for a time1 the former for the whole of his life1 remained subject to the religious feelings then excited4 ,in the autumn of #afed1 whether after deliverance in a dangerous accident1 or from some hidden cause of which nothing can now be even surmised1 there came a second sudden conversion from which there was no return4 ,that hour wrought a complete change in ,pascal's life2 austerity1 self-denial1 absolute obedience to his spiritual director1 boundless alms-giving succeeded to what at most had been a moderate and restrained use of worldly pleasure1 and he threw himself into the life1 controversy and interests of ,port ,royal1 with all the passion of one who was not only a new convert1 but the champion of a society into which those dearest to him had entered even more fully than he4 ,he became1 for a time1 one of the solitaries of ,port ,royal before the close of that same year4 ,the ,cistercian ,abbey of ,port ,royal des ,champs was situated about eighteen miles from ,paris4 ,it had been founded early in the thirteenth century1 and would have faded away unremembered but for the grandeur of its closing years4 ,the rule of the community had been greatly relaxed1 but it was reformed with extreme rigour by ,jaqueline ,arnauld1 its young abbess1 known in religion as ,la ,mre ,anglique4 ,the priest chosen as ,director of the community was ,jean du ,vergier de ,hauranne1 ,abb de ,st4 ,cyran1 a close friend of ,cornelius ,jansen1 ,bishop of ,ypres4 ,they had together devoted themselves to the study of ,saint ,augustine2 and the ,augustinus1 the work to which ,jansen gave his whole life1 was planned with the assistance of ,st4 ,cyran4 ,certain propositions drawn from this work were afterwards condemned1 and the controversy which raged between the two schools of the ,jesuits and the ,jansenists divided itself into two parts1 first1 whether the propositions were heretical1 and secondly1 whether as a fact they were contained in1 or could fairly be deduced from1 ,jansen's book4 ,the strife1 which raged with varying fortunes for many years1 need not here detain us4 ,after the reform of ,port ,royal1 and when the ,society1 however assailed and in danger1 was at the height of its renown1 the whole establishment consisted of two convents1 the mother house of ,port ,royal des ,champs1 and one in ,paris to which was attached a school for girls4 ,to ,port ,royal des ,champs1 as to a spiritual centre1 and to be under the guidance of the three great directors1 who in succession ruled the abbey1 ,m4 de ,st4 ,cyran1 ,m4 ,singlin1 and ,m4 de ,saci1 there came men and women1 not under monastic vows1 but living for a time the monastic or even the eremitical life4 ,the women1 for the most part1 had rooms in the convent1 the men built rooms for themselves hard by1 or shared between them ,la ,grange1 a farm belonging to the abbey4 ,it need scarcely be said that in so strict a community the sexes were wholly separate2 a common worship1 and the confidence of the same confessor1 together with similarity of views in religion1 were the ties which bound together the whole society4 ,when ,pascal formally joined ,port ,royal1 the ,abbey and all that was attached to it greatly needed aid from without4 ,a ,bull in condemnation of ,jansen had been gained from the ,pope1 and a ,formulary1 minimising its effect as far as possible1 was drawn up by the ,general ,assembly in ,france1 which was ultimately accepted by ,port ,royal itself4 ,but if the ,port ,royalists minimized the defeat1 and1 with great intellectual dexterity1 showed that the condemned propositions were not in precise terms what they had held1 and were not in ,jansen's book1 their adversaries exaggerated the victory4 ,a confessor in ,paris refused absolution to a parishioner because he had a ,jansenist living in his house1 and had sent his grand-daughter to school at ,port ,royal4 ,antoine ,arnauld1 known as ,le ,grand ,arnauld1 brother of ,la ,mre ,anglique1 himself in danger of condemnation by the ,sorbonne1 drew up a statement of the case intended to instruct the public on the points in dispute4 ,on reading this to the ,port ,royal solitaries before printing it1 he saw that it would not do1 and turning to ,pascal1 who had then been a year under ,m4 ,singlin's direction1 he suggested to him as a younger man with a lighter pen to see what he could do4 ,the next day ,pascal produced the first of the ,provincial ,letters1 or to give it the correct title1 ,a ,letter written to a ,provincial by one of his friends4 ,in these ,letters ,pascal formed his true style1 and took rank at once among the great ,french writers4 ,they contributed largely to turn the scale of feeling against his adversaries2 they1 and an occurrence in which he saw the visible finger of ,god1 saved ,port ,royal for a time4 ,but the history of the ,provincial ,letters must be read elsewhere1 as must also in its fulness the miracle of the ,holy ,thorn1 on which a few words are needed4 ,the ,provincial ,letters were in course of publication1 but ,m4 ,arnauld had been condemned by the ,sorbonne just as the first was issued1 and his enemies said he was excommunicated1 which was not technically true2 he was in danger of arrest1 and was in hiding2 the solitaries of ,port ,royal were almost all dispersed2 the schools were thinned of their pupils and on the point of closing1 the confessors were about to be withdrawn and the nuns sent to various other convents1 when the miracle took place4 ,marguerite ,perier1 a child of ten years old1 daughter of ,pascal's elder sister1 was one of the pupils at ,port ,royal in ,paris1 not as yet dismissed to her home4 ,she was tenderly nursed by the nuns for an ulcer in the lachrymal gland1 which had destroyed the bones of the nose1 and produced other horrors of which there is no need to speak4 ,a relic of the ,saviour1 one of the thorns of his crown of mockery1 which had been intrusted to the nuns1 was specially venerated during a service in its honour1 and as it would seem was passed from hand to hand in its reliquary4 ,when the turn of the scholars came1 ,sister ,flavia1 their mistress1 moved by a sudden impulse said1 ,my child1 pray for your eye1 and touched the ulcer with the reliquary4 ,the child was cured1 and the effect on the community was immediate4 ,the remaining solitaries were not dispersed1 some of those who had gone returned1 the confessors were not removed1 the school was not closed1 and ,port ,royal was respited4 ,the miracle was to ,pascal at once a solemn matter of religion and a family occurrence2 he took henceforward as his cognizance an eye encircled with a crown of thorns and the motto ,scio cui credidi1 he jotted down various thoughts on the miracle1 and the manner in which as it seemed to him ,god had by it given as by a voice of thunder his judgment in favour of ,port ,royal1 and he sketched a plan of a work against atheists and unbelievers4 ,in the year between the spring of #afeg1 and that of #afeh1 the last year of his good health1 if that can be called good which was at best but feeble1 he indicated the plan1 and wrote the most finished paragraphs of his intended work4 ,the detached thoughts which make up the bulk of it were scribbled1 as they occurred to him during the last four years of his life1 on scraps of paper1 or on the margin of what he had already written1 often when he was quite incapable of sustained employment4 ,many were dictated1 some to friends1 and some to a servant who constantly attended him in his illness4 ,towards the end of his life he was obliged to move into ,paris again1 where he was carefully nursed by his sister ,madame ,perrier1 to whose house he was moved at the last1 where he died on ,august #ith1 #affb1 at the age of thirty-nine1 having spent his last years in an ecstasy of self-denial1 of charity1 and of aspiration after ,god4 ,not for six years after his death were his family and friends able to consider in what form his unfinished work should be given to the world4 ,then ,port ,royal had a breathing space1 what was known as the ,peace of the ,church was established by ,clement ,,ix41 and it was considered that the time had come to set in order these precious fragments4 ,the duty of giving an author's works to the world as he left them was little understood in those days1 and the ,duc de ,roannez even suggested that ,pascal's whole work should be re-written on the lines he had laid down4 ,some editing was1 on all hands1 allowed to be needful2 thus the arrangement of chapters1 and the fragments to be included in chapters1 were matter for fair discussion4 ,but the committee of editors went further1 and even when the text had been settled by them1 it had to undergo a further censorship by various theologians4 ,finally1 in ,january1 #afgj1 the ,penses appeared as a small duodecimo1 with a preface by the ,perrier family1 and no mention of ,port ,royal in the volume4 ,for a full account of this and other editions1 the reader must be referred to the preface to ,m4 ,molinier's edition1 ,paris1 #ahgg-ahgi1 and to that of ,m4 ,faugre1 ,paris1 #ahdd4 ,m4 ,victor ,cousin was the first to draw attention to the need of a new edition of ,pascal in #ahdb4 ,he showed that great liberties had been taken with and suppressions made in the text1 and the labour to which he invited was first undertaken by ,m4 ,prosper ,faugre4 ,m4 ,havet adopting his text departed from his arrangement1 reverted in great measure to that of the old editors1 and accompanied the whole by an excellent commentary and notes1 #bnd edition1 ,paris1 #ahff4 ,m4 ,molinier has again consulted the ,,mss4 word for word1 and while in a degree following ,m4 ,faugre's arrangement has yet been guided by his own skill and judgment4 ,it must always be remembered that each editor must necessarily follow his own judgment in regard to the position he should give to fragments not placed by the writer4 ,but provided that an editor makes no changes merely for the sake of change and that he loyally enters into the spirit of his predecessors1 each new comer1 till the arrangement is finally fixed1 has a great advantage4 ,such an editor is ,m4 ,molinier1 and in his arrangement the text of ,pascal would seem to be mainly if not wholly fixed2 so that for the first time we have not only ,pascal's ,thoughts1 but we have them approximately arranged as he designed to present them to his readers4 ,the course of an ,english translator is clear2 his responsibility is confined to deciding which text to follow1 he has no right to make one for himself4 ,in the present edition1 therefore1 ,m4 ,molinier's text and arrangement are scrupulously followed except in two places4 ,in regard to one1 ,m4 ,molinier has himself adopted a different reading in his notes made after the text was printed1 the second is an obvious misprint4 ,pascal's ,profession of ,faith1 or ,amulet1 is transferred from the place it occupies in ,m4 ,molinier's edition to serve as an introduction to the work1 striking as it does the key-note to the ,thoughts4 ,pascal's quotations from the ,bible were made of course from the ,vulgate1 but very often indeed from memory1 and incorrectly1 while he often gave the substance alone of the passage he used4 ,no one version of the ,bible therefore has been used exclusively1 but the ,authorised ,version and the ,douai or ,rheims versions have been used as each in turn most nearly afforded the equivalent of the quotations made by ,pascal4 ,the notes are mainly based on those of ,,mm4 ,faugre1 ,havet1 and ,molinier4 ,,general ,,introduction4 ,,pascal',s ,,profession ,,of ,,faith4 ,illustration37,small crucifix47 ,this year of ,grace #afed1 ,monday1 ,november #bcrd1 day of ,saint ,clement1 pope and martyr1 and others in the martyrology1 ,eve of ,saint ,chrysogonus1 martyr1 and others2 ,from about half past ten at night1 to about half after midnight1 ,fire4 ,god of ,abraham1 ,god of ,isaac1 ,god of ,jacob1 ,not of the philosophers and the wise4 ,security1 security4 ,feeling1 joy1 peace4 ,god of ,jesus ,christ ,deum meum et ,deum vestrum4 ,thy ,god shall be my ,god4 ,forgetfulness of the world and of all save ,god4 ,he can be found only in the ways taught in the ,gospel4 ,greatness of the human soul4 ,o righteous ,father1 the world hath not known thee1 but ,i have known thee4 ,joy1 joy1 joy1 tears of joy4 ,i have separated myself from him4 ,dereliquerunt me fontem aqua viv4 ,my ,god1 why hast thou forsaken me8444 ,that ,i be not separated from thee eternally4 ,this is life eternal3 ,that they might know thee the only true ,god1 and him whom thou hast sent1 ,jesus ,christ1 ,jesus ,christ1 ,jesus ,christ4 ,i have separated myself from him2 ,i have fled1 renounced1 crucified him4 ,may ,i never be separated from him4 ,he maintains himself in me only in the ways taught in the ,gospel4 ,renunciation total and sweet4 etc4 ,,general ,,introduction4 ,let them at least learn what is the ,religion they assail1 before they assail it4 ,if this religion claimed to have a clear view of ,god1 and to possess it openly and unveiled1 then to say that we see nothing in the world which manifests him with this clearness would be to assail it4 ,but since on the contrary it affirms that men are in darkness and estranged from ,god1 that he has hidden himself from their knowledge1 that the very name he has given himself in the ,scriptures is ,deus absconditus2 and if indeed it aims equally at establishing these two points1 that ,god has set in the ,church evident notes to enable those who seek him in sincerity to recognise him1 and that he has nevertheless so concealed them that he can only be perceived by those who seek him with their whole hearts2 what advantages it them1 when1 in their professed neglect of the search after truth1 they declare that nothing reveals it to them8 ,for the very obscurity in which they are1 and for which they blame the ,church1 does but establish one of the points which she maintains1 without affecting the other1 and far from destroying1 establishes her doctrine4 ,in order to assail it they ought to urge that they have sought everywhere with all their strength1 and even in that which the ,church proposes for their instruction1 but without avail4 ,did they thus speak1 they would indeed assail one of her claims4 ,but ,i hope here to show that no rational person can thus speak1 and ,i am even bold to say that no one has ever done so4 ,we know well enough how men of this temper behave4 ,they believe they have made great efforts for their instruction1 when they have spent a few hours in reading some book of ,scripture1 and have talked with some ,ecclesiastic on the truths of the faith4 ,whereupon they boast that they have in vain consulted books and men4 ,but indeed ,i will tell them what ,i have often said1 that such carelessness is intolerable4 ,we are not here dealing with the light interest of a stranger1 that we should thus treat it2 but with that which concerns ourselves and our all4 ,the immortality of the soul is a matter of so great moment to us1 it touches us so deeply1 that we must have lost all feeling if we are careless of the truth about it4 ,our every action and our every thought must take such different courses1 according as there are or are not eternal blessings for which to hope1 that it is impossible to take a single step with sense or judgment1 save in view of that point which ought to be our end and aim4 ,thus our first interest and our first duty is to gain light on this subject1 whereon our whole conduct depends4 ,therefore among unbelievers1 ,i make a vast difference between those who labour with all their power to gain instruction1 and those who live without taking trouble or thought for it4 ,i can have nothing but compassion for all who sincerely lament their doubt1 who look upon it as the worst of evils1 and who1 sparing no pains to escape it1 find in that endeavour their principal and most serious occupation4 ,but as for those who pass their life without thought of the ultimate goal of life1 who1 solely because they do not find within themselves the light of conviction1 neglect to seek it elsewhere and to examine thoroughly whether the opinion in question be among those which are popularly received with credulous simplicity1 or among those which1 although in themselves obscure1 have yet a solid and indestructible basis1--of those1 ,i say1 my thoughts are very different4 ,this neglect of a matter in which themselves are concerned1 their eternity1 and their all1 makes me angry rather than compassionate2 it astonishes and terrifies me1 it is to me something monstrous4 ,i do not say this out of the pious zeal of a spiritual devotion4 ,i mean on the contrary that such a feeling should spring from principles of human interest and self-love2 and for this we need see no more than what is seen by the least enlightened persons4 ,we need no great elevation of soul to understand that here is no true and solid satisfaction1 that all our pleasures are but vanity1 our evils infinite1 and lastly that death1 which threatens us every moment1 must infallibly and within a few years place us in the dread alternative of being for ever either annihilated or wretched4 ,nothing is more real than this1 nothing more terrible4 ,brave it out as we may1 that is yet the end which awaits the fairest life in the world4 ,let us reflect on this1 and then say if it be not certain that there is no good in this life save in the hope of another1 that we are happy only in proportion as we approach it1 and that as there is no more sorrow for those who have an entire assurance of eternity1 so there is no happiness for those who have not a ray of its light4 ,assuredly then it is a great evil thus to be in doubt1 but it is at least an indispensable duty to seek when we are in such doubt2 he therefore who doubts and yet seeks not is at once thoroughly unhappy and thoroughly unfair4 ,and if at the same time he be easy and content1 profess to be so1 and in fact pride himself thereon2 if even it be this very condition of doubt which forms the subject of his joy and boasting1 ,i have no terms in which to describe a creature so extravagant4 ,whence come such feelings8 ,what delight can we find in the expectation of nothing but unavailing misery8 ,what cause of boasting that we are in impenetrable darkness8 ,how can such an argument as the following occur to a reasoning man8 ,i know not who has sent me into the world1 nor what the world is1 nor what ,i myself am2 ,i am terribly ignorant of every thing2 ,i know not what my body is1 nor my senses1 nor my soul1 nor even that part of me which thinks what ,i say1 which reflects on all and on itself1 yet is as ignorant of itself as of all beside4 ,i see those dreadful spaces of the universe which close me in1 and ,i find myself fixed in one corner of this vast expanse1 without knowing why ,i am set in this place rather than elsewhere1 nor why this moment of time given me for life is assigned to this point rather than another of the whole ,eternity which was before me or which shall be after me4 ,i see nothing but infinities on every side1 which close me round as an atom1 and as a shadow which endures but for an instant and returns no more4 ,i know only that ,i must shortly die1 but what ,i know the least is this very death which ,i cannot avoid4 ,as ,i know not whence ,i come1 so ,i know not whither ,i go2 only this ,i know1 that on departing this world1 ,i shall either fall for ever into nothingness1 or into the hands of an offended ,god1 without knowing which of these two conditions shall eternally be my lot4 ,such is my state1 full of weakness and uncertainty2 from all which ,i conclude that ,i ought to pass all the days of my life without thought of searching for what must happen to me4 ,perhaps ,i might find some ray of light in my doubts1 but ,i will not take the trouble1 nor stir a foot to seek it2 and after treating with scorn those who are troubled with this care1 ,i will go without foresight and without fear to make trial of the grand event1 and allow myself to be led softly on to death1 uncertain of the eternity of my future condition4 ,who would wish to have for his friend a man who should thus speak2 who would choose him rather than another for advice in business2 who would turn to him in sorrow8 ,and indeed to what use in life could we put him8 ,in truth1 it is the glory of ,religion to have for enemies men so unreasoning1 whose opposition is so little dangerous to her1 that it the rather serves to establish her truths4 ,for the ,christian faith goes mainly to the establishment of these two points1 the corruption of nature1 and the ,redemption by ,jesus ,christ4 ,now ,i maintain that if these men serve not to demonstrate the truth of ,redemption by the holiness of their morals1 they at least serve admirably to show the corruption of nature by sentiments so unnatural4 ,nothing is so important to man as his condition1 nothing so formidable to him as eternity2 and thus it is not natural there should be men indifferent to the loss of their being1 and to the peril of an endless woe4 ,they are quite other men in regard to all else2 they fear the veriest trifles1 they foresee them1 they feel them2 and the very man who spends so many days and nights in rage and despair for the loss of office or for some imaginary insult to his honour1 is the same who1 without disquiet and without emotion1 knows that he must lose all by death4 ,it is a monstrous thing to see in one and the same heart and at the same time this sensibility to the meanest1 and this strange insensibility to the greatest matters4 ,it is an incomprehensible spell1 a supernatural drowsiness1 which denotes as its cause an all powerful force4 ,there must be a strange revolution in the nature of man1 before he can glory at being in a state to which it seems incredible that any should attain4 ,experience however has shown me a large number of such men1 a surprising fact did we not know that the greater part of those who meddle with the matter are not as a fact what they declare themselves4 ,they are people who have been told that the manners of good society consist in such daring4 ,this they call shaking off the yoke1 this they try to imitate4 ,yet it would not be difficult to convince them how much they deceive themselves in thus seeking esteem4 ,not so is it acquired1 even among those men of the world who judge wisely1 and who know that the only way of worldly success is to show ourselves honourable1 faithful1 of sound judgment1 and capable of useful service to a friend2 because by nature men love only what may prove useful to them4 ,now in what way does it advantage us to hear a man say he has at last shaken off the yoke1 that he does not believe there is a ,god who watches his actions1 that he considers himself the sole master of his conduct and accountable for it only to himself4 ,does he think that thus he has brought us to have henceforward confidence in him1 and to look to him for comfort1 counsel and succour in every need of life8 ,do they think to delight us when they declare that they hold our soul to be but a little wind or smoke1 nay1 when they tell us so in a tone of proud content8 ,is this a thing to assert gaily1 and not rather to say sadly as the saddest thing in all the world8 ,did they think on it seriously1 they would see that this is so great a mistake1 so contrary to good sense1 so opposed to honourable conduct1 so remote in every respect from that good breeding at which they aim1 that they would choose rather to restore than to corrupt those who might have any inclination to follow them4 ,and indeed if they are obliged to give an account of their opinions1 and of the reasons they have for doubts about ,religion1 they will say things so weak and base1 as rather to persuade the contrary4 ,it was once happily said to such an one1 ,if you continue to talk thus you will really make me a ,christian4 ,and the speaker was right1 for who would not be horrified at entertaining opinions in which he would have such despicable persons as his associates6 ,thus those who only feign these opinions would be very unhappy were they to put force on their natural disposition in order to make themselves the most inconsequent of men4 ,if1 in their inmost hearts1 they are troubled at their lack of light1 let them not dissemble3 the avowal will bring no shame2 the only shame is to be shameless4 ,nothing betrays so much weakness of mind as not to apprehend the misfortune of a man without ,god1 nothing is so sure a token of an evil disposition of heart as not to desire the truth of eternal promises1 nothing is more cowardly than to fight against ,god4 ,let them therefore leave these impieties to persons who are so ill-bred as to be really capable of them1 let them at least be men of honour if they cannot be ,christians1 and lastly1 let them recognise that there are but two classes of men who can be called reasonable2 those who serve ,god with their whole heart because they know him1 or those who seek him with their whole heart because they know him not4 ,but as for those who live without knowing him and without seeking him1 they judge themselves to deserve their own care so little1 that they are not worthy the care of others1 and it needs all the charity of the ,religion they despise1 not to despise them so utterly as to abandon them to their madness4 ,but since this ,religion obliges us to look on them1 while they are in this life1 as always capable of illuminating grace1 and to believe that in a short while they may be more full of faith than ourselves1 while we on the other hand may fall into the blindness which now is theirs1 we ought to do for them what we would they should do for us were we in their place1 and to entreat them to take pity on themselves and advance at least a few steps1 if perchance they may find the light4 ,let them give to reading these words a few of the hours which otherwise they spend so unprofitably3 with whatever aversion they set about it they may perhaps gain something2 at least they cannot be great losers4 ,but if any bring to the task perfect sincerity and a true desire to meet with truth1 ,i despair not of their satisfaction1 nor of their being convinced of so divine a ,religion by the proofs which ,i have here gathered up1 and have set forth in somewhat the following order4444 ,before entering upon the proofs of the ,christian ,religion1 ,i find it necessary to set forth the unfairness of men who live indifferent to the search for truth in a matter which is so important to them1 and which touches them so nearly4 ,among all their errors this doubtless is the one which most proves them to be fools and blind1 and in which it is most easy to confound them by the first gleam of common sense1 and by our natural feelings4 ,for it is not to be doubted that this life endures but for an instant1 that the state of death is eternal1 whatever may be its nature1 and that thus all our actions and all our thoughts must take such different courses according to the state of that eternity1 as to render it impossible to take a single step with sense and judgment1 save in view of that point which ought to be our end and aim4 ,nothing is more clear than this1 and therefore by all principles of reason the conduct of men is most unreasonable if they do not alter their course4 ,hence we may judge concerning those who live without thinking of the ultimate goal of life1 who allow themselves to be guided by their inclinations and their pleasures without thought or disquiet1 and1 as if they could annihilate eternity by turning their minds from it1 consider only how they may make themselves happy for the moment4 ,yet this eternity exists2 and death the gate of eternity1 which threatens them every hour1 must in a short while infallibly reduce them to the dread necessity of being through eternity either nothing or miserable1 without knowing which of these eternities is for ever prepared for them4 ,this is a doubt which has terrible consequences4 ,they are in danger of an eternity of misery1 and thereupon1 as if the matter were not worth the trouble1 they care not to examine whether this is one of those opinions which men in general receive with a too credulous facility1 or among those which1 themselves obscure1 have yet a solid though concealed foundation4 ,thus they know not whether the matter be true or false1 nor if the proofs be strong or weak4 ,they have them before their eyes1 they refuse to look at them1 and in that ignorance they choose to do all that will bring them into this misfortune if it exist1 to wait for death to verify it1 and to be in the meantime thoroughly satisfied with their state1 openly avowing and even making boast of it4 ,can we think seriously on the importance of this matter without being revolted at conduct so extravagant8 ,such rest in ignorance is a monstrous thing1 and they who live in it ought to be made aware of its extravagance and stupidity1 by having it revealed to them1 that they may be confounded by the sight of their own folly4 ,for this is how men reason when they choose to live ignorant of what they are and do not seek to be enlightened4 ,i know not1 say they4444 ,,notes ,,for ,,the ,,general ,,introduction4 ,to doubt is then a misfortune1 but to seek when in doubt is an indispensable duty4 ,so he who doubts and seeks not is at once unfortunate and unfair4 ,if at the same time he is gay and presumptuous1 ,i have no terms in which to describe a creature so extravagant4 ,a fine subject of rejoicing and boasting1 with the head uplifted in such a fashion4444 ,therefore let us rejoice2 ,i see not the conclusion1 since it is uncertain1 and we shall then see what will become of us4 ,is it courage in a dying man that he dare1 in his weakness and agony1 face an almighty and eternal ,god8 ,were ,i in that state ,i should be glad if any one would pity my folly1 and would have the goodness to deliver me in despite of myself6 ,yet it is certain that man has so fallen from nature that there is in his heart a seed of joy in that very fact4 ,a man in a dungeon1 who knows not whether his doom is fixed1 who has but one hour to learn it1 and this hour enough1 should he know that it is fixed1 to obtain its repeal1 would act against nature did he employ that hour1 not in learning his sentence1 but in playing piquet4 ,so it is against nature that man1 etc4 ,it is to weight the hand of ,god4 ,thus not the zeal alone of those who seek him proves ,god1 but the blindness of those who seek him not4 ,we run carelessly to the precipice after having veiled our eyes to hinder us from seeing it4 ,between us and hell or heaven1 there is nought but life1 the frailest thing in all the world4 ,if it be a supernatural blindness to live without seeking to know what we are1 it is a terrible blindness to live ill while believing in ,god4 ,the sensibility of man to trifles1 and his insensibility to great things1 is the mark of a strange inversion4 ,this shows that there is nothing to say to them1 not that we despise them1 but because they have no common sense3 ,god must touch them4 ,we must pity both parties1 but for the one we must feel the pity born of tenderness1 and for the other the pity born of contempt4 ,we must indeed be of that religion which man despises that we may not despise men4 ,people of that kind are academicians and scholars1 and that is the worst kind of men that ,i know4 ,i do not gather that by system1 but by the way in which the heart of man is made4 ,to reproach ,miton1 that he is not troubled when ,god will reproach him4 ,is this a thing to say with joy8 ,it is a thing we ought then to say with sadness4 ,nothing is so important as this1 yet we neglect this only4 ,this is all that a man could do were he assured of the falsehood of that news1 and even then he ought not to be joyful1 but downcast4 444 ,suppose an heir finds the title-deeds of his house4 ,will he say1 ,perhaps they are forgeries8 and neglect to examine them8 ,we must not say that this is a mark of reason4 ,to be so insensible as to despise interesting things1 and to become insensible to the point which most interests us4 ,what then shall we conclude of all these obscurities1 if not our own unworthiness8 ,,the ,,misery ,,of ,,man ,,without ,,god2 ,,or ,,that ,,nature ,,is ,,naturally ,,corrupt4 ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,first ,,part4 ,to speak of those who have treated of the knowledge of self1 of the divisions of ,charron which sadden and weary us1 of the confusion of ,montaigne2 that he was aware he had no definite system1 and tried to evade the difficulty by leaping from subject to subject2 that he sought to be fashionable4 ,his foolish project of self-description1 and this not casually and against his maxims1 since everybody may make mistakes1 but by his maxims themselves1 and by his main and principal design4 ,for to say foolish things by chance and weakness is an ordinary evil1 but to say them designedly is unbearable1 and to say of such that4444 ,montaigne4--,montaigne's defects are great4 ,lewd expressions4 ,this is bad1 whatever ,mademoiselle de ,gournay may say4 ,he is credulous1 people without eyes2 ignorant1 squaring the circle1 a greater world4 ,his opinions on suicide and on death4 ,he suggests a carelessness about salvation1 without fear and without repentance4 ,since his book was not written with a religious intent1 it was not his duty to speak of religion2 but it is always a duty not to turn men from it4 ,we may excuse his somewhat lax and licentious opinions on some relations of life1 but not his thoroughly pagan opinions on death1 for a man must give over piety altogether1 if he does not at least wish to die like a ,christian4 ,now through the whole of his book he looks forward to nothing but a soft and indolent death4 ,what good there is in ,montaigne can only have been acquired with difficulty4 ,what is evil in him1 ,i mean apart from his morality1 could have been corrected in a moment1 if any one had told him he was too prolix and too egoistical4 ,not in ,montaigne1 but in myself1 ,i find all that ,i see in him4 ,let no one say ,i have said nothing new1 the disposition of my matter is new4 ,in playing tennis1 two men play with the same ball1 but one places it better4 ,it might as truly be said that my words have been used before4 ,and if the same thoughts in a different arrangement do not form a different discourse1 so neither do the same words in a different arrangement form different thoughts4 ,,man',s ,,disproportion4 ,this is where our intuitive knowledge leads us4 ,if it be not true1 there is no truth in man2 and if it be1 he finds therein a great reason for humiliation1 because he must abase himself in one way or another4 ,and since he cannot exist without such knowledge1 ,i wish that before entering on deeper researches into nature he would consider her seriously and at leisure1 that he would examine himself also1 and knowing what proportion there is4444 ,let man then contemplate the whole realm of nature in its full and exalted majesty1 and turn his eyes from the low objects which hem him round2 let him observe that brilliant light set like an eternal lamp to illumine the universe1 let the earth appear to him a point in comparison with the vast circle described by that sun1 and let him see with amazement that even this vast circle is itself but a fine point in regard to that described by the stars revolving in the firmament4 ,if our view be arrested there1 let imagination pass beyond1 and it will sooner exhaust the power of thinking than nature that of giving scope for thought4 ,the whole visible world is but an imperceptible speck in the ample bosom of nature4 ,no idea approaches it4 ,we may swell our conceptions beyond all imaginable space1 yet bring forth only atoms in comparison with the reality of things4 ,it is an infinite sphere1 the centre of which is every where1 the circumference no where4 ,it is1 in short1 the greatest sensible mark of the almighty power of ,god1 in that thought let imagination lose itself4 ,then1 returning to himself1 let man consider his own being compared with all that is2 let him regard himself as wandering in this remote province of nature2 and from the little dungeon in which he finds himself lodged1 ,i mean the universe1 let him learn to set a true value on the earth1 on its kingdoms1 its cities1 and on himself4 ,what is a man in the infinite8 ,but to show him another prodigy no less astonishing1 let him examine the most delicate things he knows4 ,let him take a mite which in its minute body presents him with parts incomparably more minute2 limbs with their joints1 veins in the limbs1 blood in the veins1 humours in the blood1 drops in the humours1 vapours in the drops2 let him1 again dividing these last1 exhaust his power of thought2 let the last point at which he arrives be that of which we speak1 and he will perhaps think that here is the extremest diminutive in nature4 ,then ,i will open before him therein a new abyss4 ,i will paint for him not only the visible universe1 but all that he can conceive of nature's immensity in the enclosure of this diminished atom4 ,let him therein see an infinity of universes of which each has its firmament1 its planets1 its earth1 in the same proportion as in the visible world2 in each earth animals1 and at the last the mites1 in which he will come upon all that was in the first1 and still find in these others the same without end and without cessation2 let him lose himself in wonders as astonishing in their minuteness as the others in their immensity2 for who will not be amazed at seeing that our body1 which before was imperceptible in the universe1 itself imperceptible in the bosom of the whole1 is now a colossus1 a world1 a whole1 in regard to the nothingness to which we cannot attain4 ,whoso takes this survey of himself will be terrified at the thought that he is upheld in the material being1 given him by nature1 between these two abysses of the infinite and nothing1 he will tremble at the sight of these marvels2 and ,i think that as his curiosity changes into wonder1 he will be more disposed to contemplate them in silence than to search into them with presumption4 ,for after all what is man in nature8 ,a nothing in regard to the infinite1 a whole in regard to nothing1 a mean between nothing and the whole2 infinitely removed from understanding either extreme4 ,the end of things and their beginnings are invincibly hidden from him in impenetrable secrecy1 he is equally incapable of seeing the nothing whence he was taken1 and the infinite in which he is engulfed4 ,what shall he do then1 but discern somewhat of the middle of things in an eternal despair of knowing either their beginning or their end8 ,all things arise from nothing1 and tend towards the infinite4 ,who can follow their marvellous course8 ,the author of these wonders can understand them1 and none but he4 ,of these two infinites in nature1 the infinitely great and the infinitely little1 man can more easily conceive the great4 ,because they have not considered these infinities1 men have rashly plunged into the research of nature1 as though they bore some proportion to her4 ,it is strange that they have wished to understand the origin of all that is1 and thence to attain to the knowledge of the whole1 with a presumption as infinite as their object4 ,for there is no doubt that such a design cannot be formed without presumption or without a capacity as infinite as nature4 ,if we are well informed1 we understand that nature having graven her own image and that of her author on all things1 they are almost all partakers of her double infinity4 ,thus we see that all the sciences are infinite in the extent of their researches1 for none can doubt that geometry1 for instance1 has an infinite infinity of problems to propose4 ,they are also infinite in the number and in the nicety of their premisses1 for it is evident that those which are finally proposed are not self-supporting1 but are based on others1 which again having others as their support have no finality4 ,but we make some apparently final to the reason1 just as in regard to material things we call that an indivisible point beyond which our senses can no longer perceive any thing1 though by its nature this also is infinitely divisible4 ,of these two scientific infinities1 that of greatness is the most obvious to the senses1 and therefore few persons have made pretensions to universal knowledge4 ,i will discourse of the all1 said ,democritus4 ,but beyond the fact that it is a small thing to speak of it simply1 without proving and knowing1 it is nevertheless impossible to do so1 the infinite multitude of things being so hidden1 that all we can express by word or thought is but an invisible trace of them4 ,hence it is plain how foolish1 vain1 and ignorant is that title of some books3 ,de omni scibili4 ,but the infinitely little is far less evident4 ,philosophers have much more frequently asserted they have attained it1 yet in that very point they have all stumbled4 ,this has given occasion to such common titles as ,the ,origin of ,creation1 ,the ,principles of ,philosophy1 and the like1 as presumptuous in fact though not in appearance as that dazzling one1 ,de omni scibili4 ,we naturally think that we can more easily reach the centre of things than embrace their circumference4 ,the visible bulk of the world visibly exceeds us1 but as we exceed little things1 we think ourselves more capable of possessing them4 ,yet we need no less capacity to attain the nothing than the whole4 ,infinite capacity is needed for both1 and it seems to me that whoever shall have understood the ultimate principles of existence might also attain to the knowledge of the infinite4 ,the one depends on the other1 and one leads to the other4 ,extremes meet and reunite by virtue of their distance1 to find each other in ,god1 and in ,god alone4 ,let us then know our limits2 we are something1 but we are not all4 ,what existence we have conceals from us the knowledge of first principles which spring from the nothing1 while the pettiness of that existence hides from us the sight of the infinite4 ,in the order of intelligible things our intelligence holds the same position as our body holds in the vast extent of nature4 ,restricted in every way1 this middle state between two extremes is common to all our weaknesses4 ,our senses can perceive no extreme4 ,too much noise deafens us1 excess of light blinds us1 too great distance or nearness equally interfere with our vision1 prolixity or brevity equally obscure a discourse1 too much truth overwhelms us4 ,i know even those who cannot understand that if four be taken from nothing nothing remains4 ,first principles are too plain for us1 superfluous pleasure troubles us4 ,too many concords are unpleasing in music1 and too many benefits annoy1 we wish to have wherewithal to overpay our debt4 ,beneficia eo usque lta sunt dum videntur exsolvi posse2 ubi multum antevenere1 pro gratia odium redditur4 ,we feel neither extreme heat nor extreme cold4 ,qualities in excess are inimical to us and not apparent to the senses1 we do not feel but are passive under them4 ,the weakness of youth and age equally hinder the mind1 as also too much and too little teaching4444 ,in a word1 all extremes are for us as though they were not2 and we are not1 in regard to them3 they escape us1 or we them4 ,this is our true state2 this is what renders us incapable both of certain knowledge and of absolute ignorance4 ,we sail on a vast expanse1 ever uncertain1 ever drifting1 hurried from one to the other goal4 ,if we think to attach ourselves firmly to any point1 it totters and fails us2 if we follow1 it eludes our grasp1 and flies from us1 vanishing for ever4 ,nothing stays for us4 ,this is our natural condition1 yet always the most contrary to our inclination2 we burn with desire to find a steadfast place and an ultimate fixed basis whereon we may build a tower to reach the infinite4 ,but our whole foundation breaks up1 and earth opens to the abysses4 ,we may not then look for certainty or stability4 ,our reason is always deceived by changing shows1 nothing can fix the finite between the two infinites1 which at once enclose and fly from it4 ,if this be once well understood ,i think that we shall rest1 each in the state wherein nature has placed him4 ,this element which falls to us as our lot being always distant from either extreme1 it matters not that a man should have a trifle more knowledge of the universe4 ,if he has it1 he but begins a little higher4 ,he is always infinitely distant from the end1 and the duration of our life is infinitely removed from eternity1 even if it last ten years longer4 ,in regard to these infinites all finites are equal1 and ,i see not why we should fix our imagination on one more than on another4 ,the only comparison which we can make of ourselves to the finite troubles us4 ,were man to begin with the study of himself1 he would see how incapable he is of proceeding further4 ,how can a part know the whole8 ,but he may perhaps aspire to know at least the parts with which he has proportionate relation4 ,but the parts of the world are so linked and related1 that ,i think it impossible to know one without another1 or without the whole4 ,man1 for instance1 is related to all that he knows4 ,he needs place wherein to abide1 time through which to exist1 motion in order to live2 he needs constituent elements1 warmth and food to nourish him1 air to breathe4 ,he sees light1 he feels bodies1 he contracts an alliance with all that is4 ,to know man then it is necessary to understand how it comes that he needs air to breathe1 and to know the air we must understand how it has relation to the life of man1 etc4 ,flame cannot exist without air1 therefore to know one1 we must know the other4 ,all that exists then is both cause and effect1 dependent and supporting1 mediate and immediate1 and all is held together by a natural though imperceptible bond1 which unites things most distant and most different4 ,i hold it impossible to know the parts without knowing the whole1 or to know the whole without knowing the parts in detail4 ,i hold it impossible to know one alone without all the others1 that is to say impossible purely and absolutely4 ,the eternity of things in themselves or in ,god must also confound our brief duration4 ,the fixed and constant immobility of ,nature in comparison with the continual changes which take place in us must have the same effect4 ,and what completes our inability to know things is that they are in their essence simple1 whereas we are composed of two opposite natures differing in kind1 soul and body4 ,for it is impossible that our reasoning part should be other than spiritual2 and should any allege that we are simply material1 this would far more exclude us from the knowledge of things1 since it is an inconceivable paradox to affirm that matter can know itself1 and it is not possible for us to know how it should know itself4 ,so1 were we simply material1 we could know nothing whatever1 and if we are composed of spirit and matter we cannot perfectly know what is simple1 whether it be spiritual or material4 ,for how should we know matter distinctly1 since our being1 which acts on this knowledge1 is partly spiritual1 and how should we know spiritual substances clearly since we have a body which weights us1 and drags us down to earth4 ,moreover what completes our inability is the simplicity of things compared with our double and complex nature4 ,to dispute this point were an invincible absurdity1 for it is as absurd as impious to deny that man is composed of two parts1 differing in their nature1 soul and body4 ,this renders us unable to know all things2 for if this complexity be denied1 and it be asserted that we are entirely material1 it is plain that matter is incapable of knowing matter4 ,nothing is more impossible than this4 ,let us conceive then that this mixture of spirit and clay throws us out of proportion4444 ,hence it comes that almost all philosophers have confounded different ideas1 and speak of material things in spiritual phrase1 and of spiritual things in material phrase4 ,for they say boldly that bodies have a tendency to fall1 that they seek after their centre1 that they fly from destruction1 that they fear a void1 that they have inclinations1 sympathies1 antipathies2 and all of these are spiritual qualities4 ,again1 in speaking of spirits1 they conceive of them as in a given spot1 or as moving from place to place2 qualities which belong to matter alone4 ,instead of receiving the ideas of these things simply1 we colour them with our own qualities1 and stamp with our complex being all the simple things which we contemplate4 ,who would not think1 when we declare that all that is consists of mind and matter1 that we really understood this combination8 ,yet it is the one thing we least understand4 ,man is to himself the most marvellous object in ,nature1 for he cannot conceive what matter is1 still less what is mind1 and less than all how a material body should be united to a mind4 ,this is the crown of all his difficulties1 yet it is his very being3 ,modus quo corporibus adhret spiritus comprehendi ab homine non potest et hoc tamen homo est4 ,these are some of the causes which render man so totally unable to know nature4 ,for nature has a twofold infinity1 he is finite and limited4 ,nature is permanent1 and continues in one stay2 he is fleeting and mortal4 ,all things fail and change each instant1 he sees them only as they pass1 they have their beginning and end1 he conceives neither the one nor the other4 ,they are simple1 he is composed of two different natures4 ,and to complete the proof of our weakness1 ,i will finish by this reflection on our natural condition4 ,in a word1 to complete the proof of our weakness1 ,i will end with these two considerations4444 ,the nature of man may be considered in two ways1 one according to its end1 and then it is great and incomparable2 the other according to popular opinion1 as we judge of the nature of a horse or a dog1 by popular opinion which discerns in it the power of speed1 et animum arcendi2 and then man is abject and vile4 ,these are the two ways which make us judge of it so differently and which cause such disputes among philosophers4 ,for one denies the supposition of the other2 one says1 ,he was not born for such an end1 for all his actions are repugnant to it2 the other says1 ,he cannot gain his end when he commits base deeds4 ,two things instruct man about his whole nature1 instinct and experience4 ,inconstancy4--,we think we are playing on ordinary organs when we play upon man4 ,men are organs indeed1 but fantastic1 changeable1 and various1 with pipes not arranged in due succession4 ,those who understand only how to play upon ordinary organs make no harmonies on these4 ,we should know where are the4444 ,nature4--,nature has placed us so truly in the centre1 that if we alter one side of the balance we alter also the other4 ,this makes me believe that there is a mechanism in our brain1 so adjusted1 that who touches one touches also the contrary spring4 ,lustravit lampade terras4--,the weather and my moods have little in common4 ,i have my foggy and my fine days within me1 whether my affairs go well or ill has little to do with the matter4 ,i sometimes strive against my luck1 the glory of subduing it makes me subdue it gaily1 whereas ,i am sometimes wearied in the midst of my good luck4 ,it is difficult to submit anything to the judgment of a second person without prejudicing him by the way in which we submit it4 ,if we say1 ,i think it beautiful1 ,i think it obscure1 or the like1 we either draw the imagination to that opinion1 or irritate it to form the contrary4 ,it is better to say nothing1 so that the other may judge according to what really is1 that is to say1 as it then is1 and according as the other circumstances which are not of our making have placed it4 ,we at least shall have added nothing of our own1 except that silence produces an effect1 according to the turn and the interpretation which the other is inclined to give it1 or as he may conjecture it1 from gestures or countenance1 or from the tone of voice1 if he be a physiognomist2 so difficult is it not to oust the judgment from its natural seat1 or rather so rarely is it firm and stable6 ,the spirit of this sovereign judge of the world is not so independent but that it is liable to be troubled by the first disturbance about him4 ,the noise of a cannon is not needed to break his train of thought1 it need only be the creaking of a weathercock or a pulley4 ,do not be astonished if at this moment he argues incoherently1 a fly is buzzing about his ears1 and that is enough to render him incapable of sound judgment4 ,would you have him arrive at truth1 drive away that creature which holds his reason in check1 and troubles that powerful intellect which gives laws to towns and kingdoms4 ,here is a droll kind of god6 ,o ridicolosissimo eroe6 ,the power of flies1 which win battles1 hinder our soul from action1 devour our body4 ,when we are too young our judgment is at fault1 so also when we are too old4 ,if we take not thought enough1 or too much1 on any matter1 we are obstinate and infatuated4 ,he that considers his work so soon as it leaves his hands1 is prejudiced in its favour1 he that delays his survey too long1 cannot regain the spirit of it4 ,so with pictures seen from too near or too far2 there is but one precise point from which to look at them1 all others are too near or too far1 too high or too low4 ,perspective determines that precise point in the art of painting4 ,but who shall determine it in truth or morals8 ,when ,i consider the short duration of my life1 swallowed up in the eternity before and after1 the small space which ,i fill1 or even can see1 engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces whereof ,i know nothing1 and which know nothing of me1 ,i am terrified1 and wonder that ,i am here rather than there1 for there is no reason why here rather than there1 or now rather than then4 ,who has set me here8 ,by whose order and design have this place and time been destined for me8--,memoria hospitis unius diei prtereuntis4 ,it is not well to be too much at liberty4 ,it is not well to have all we want4 ,how many kingdoms know nothing of us6 ,the eternal silence of these infinite spaces alarms me4 ,nothing more astonishes me than to see that men are not astonished at their own weakness4 ,they act seriously1 and every one follows his own mode of life1 not because it is1 as a fact1 good to follow1 being the custom1 but as if each man knew certainly where are reason and justice4 ,they find themselves constantly deceived1 and by an amusing humility always imagine that the fault is in themselves1 and not in the art which all profess to understand4 ,but it is well there are so many of this kind of people in the world1 who are not sceptics for the glory of scepticism1 to show that man is thoroughly capable of the most extravagant opinions1 because he is capable of believing that his weakness is not natural and inevitable1 but that1 on the contrary1 his wisdom comes by nature4 ,nothing fortifies scepticism more than that there are some who are not sceptics4 ,if all were so1 they would be wrong4 ,two infinites1 a mean4 ,if we read too quickly or too slowly1 we understand nothing4 ,too much and too little wine4 ,give a man none1 he cannot find truth1 give him too much1 the same4 ,chance gives thoughts1 and chance takes them away2 there is no art for keeping or gaining them4 ,a thought has escaped me4 ,i would write it down4 ,i write instead1 that it has escaped me4 ,in writing down my thought it now and then escapes me1 but this reminds me of my weakness1 which ,i constantly forget4 ,this teaches me as much as my forgotten thought1 for my whole study is to know my nothingness4 ,are men so strong1 as to be insensible to all which affects them8 ,let us try them in the loss of goods or honour4 ,ah6 the charm is worked4 ,to fear death out of danger1 and not in danger1 for we must be men4 ,sudden death is the only thing to fear1 therefore confessors live in the houses of the great4 ,we know ourselves so little1 that many think themselves near death when they are perfectly well1 and many think themselves well when they are near death1 since they do not feel the fever at hand1 or the abscess about to form4 ,why is my knowledge so restricted1 or my height1 or my life to a hundred years rather than to a thousand8 ,what was nature's reason for giving me such length of days1 and for choosing this number rather than another1 in that infinity where there is no reason to choose one more than another1 since none is preferable to another8 ,the nature of man is not always to go forward1 it has its advances and retreats4 ,fever has its hot and cold fits1 and the cold proves as well as the hot how great is the force of the fever4 ,the inventions of men from age to age follow the same plan4 ,it is the same with the goodness and the wickedness of the world in general4 ,plerumque grat principibus vices4 ,the strength of a man's virtue must not be measured by his occasional efforts1 but by his ordinary life4 ,those great spiritual efforts to which the soul sometimes attains are things on which it takes no permanent hold4 ,it leaps to them1 not as to a throne1 for ever1 but only for an instant4 ,i do not admire the excess of a virtue as of valour1 unless ,i see at the same time the excess of the opposite virtue1 as in ,epaminondas1 who had exceeding valour and exceeding humanity1 for otherwise we do not rise1 but fall4 ,grandeur is not shown by being at one extremity1 but in touching both at once1 and filling the whole space between4 ,but perhaps this is only a sudden motion of the soul from one to the other extreme1 and in fact it is always at one point only1 as when a firebrand is whirled4 ,be it so1 but at least this marks the agility if not the magnitude of the soul4 ,we do not remain virtuous by our own power1 but by the counterpoise of two opposite vices1 we remain standing as between two contrary winds2 take away one of these vices1 we fall into the other4 ,when we would pursue the virtues to their extremes on either side1 vices present themselves1 which insinuate themselves insensibly there1 in their insensible course towards the infinitely great1 so that we lose ourselves in vices1 and no longer see virtues4 ,it is not shameful to man to yield to pain1 and it is shameful to yield to pleasure4 ,this is not because pain comes from without us1 while we seek pleasure1 for we may seek pain1 and yield to it willingly without this kind of baseness4 ,how comes it then that reason finds it glorious in us to yield under the assaults of pain1 and shameful to yield under the assaults of pleasure8 ,it is because pain does not tempt and attract us4 ,we ourselves choose it voluntarily1 and will that it have dominion over us4 ,we are thus masters of the situation1 and so far man yields to himself1 but in pleasure man yields to pleasure4 ,now only mastery and empire bring glory1 and only slavery causes shame4 ,all things may prove fatal to us1 even those made to serve us1 as in nature walls may kill us and stairs may kill us1 if we walk not aright4 ,the slightest movement affects all nature1 the whole sea changes because of a rock4 ,thus in grace1 the most trifling action has effect on everything by its consequences2 therefore everything is important4 ,provided we know each man's ruling passion we are sure of pleasing him2 yet each man has his fancies1 contrary to his real good1 even in the very idea he forms of good2 a strange fact which puts all out of tune4 ,when our passions lead us to any act we forget our duty4 ,if we like a book we read it1 when we should be doing something else4 ,but as a reminder we ought to propose to ourselves to do something distasteful2 we then excuse ourselves that we have something else to do1 and thus remember our duty4 ,sneezing absorbs all the faculties of the soul1 as do certain bodily functions1 but we do not draw therefrom the same conclusions against the greatness of man1 because it is against his will4 ,and if we make ourselves sneeze we do so against our will4 ,it is not in view of the act itself1 but for another end1 and so it is not a mark of the weakness of man1 and of his slavery to that act4 ,scaramouch1 who thinks of one thing only4 ,the doctor1 who speaks for a quarter of an hour after he has said all he has to say1 so full is he of the desire of talking4 ,the parrot's beak1 which he dries though it is clean already4 ,the sense of falseness in present pleasures1 and our ignorance of the vanity of absent pleasures1 are the causes of inconstancy4 ,he no longer loves the person he loved ten years ago4 ,i can well believe it4 ,she is no longer the same1 nor is he4 ,he was young1 and so was she2 she is quite different4 ,he would perhaps love her still were she what she then was4 ,reasons1 seen from afar1 appear to restrict our view1 but not when we reach them2 we begin to see beyond4 444 ,we look at things not only from other sides1 but with other eyes1 and care not to find them alike4 ,diversity is so ample1 that all tones of voice1 all modes of walking1 coughing1 blowing the nose1 sneering4 ,we distinguish different kinds of vine by their fruit1 and name them the ,condrieu1 the ,desargues1 and this stock4 ,but is this all8 ,has a vine ever produced two bunches exactly alike1 and has a bunch ever two grapes alike8 etc4 ,i never can judge of the same thing exactly in the same way4 ,i cannot judge of my work while engaged on it4 ,i must do as the painters1 stand at a distance1 but not too far4 ,how far1 then8 ,guess4 ,diversity4--,theology is a science2 but at the same time how many sciences6 ,man is a whole1 but if we dissect him1 will man be the head1 the heart1 the stomach1 the veins1 each vein1 each portion of a vein1 the blood1 each humour of the blood8 ,a town1 a champaign1 is from afar a town and a champaign2 but as we approach there are houses1 trees1 tiles1 leaves1 grass1 emmets1 limbs of emmets1 in infinite series4 ,all this is comprised under the word champaign4 ,we like to see the error1 the passion of ,cleobuline1 because she is not aware of it4 ,she would be displeasing if she were not deceived4 ,what a confusion of judgment is that1 by which every one puts himself above all the rest of the world1 and loves his own advantage and the duration of his happiness or his life above those of all others4 ,,diversion4 ,diversion4--,when ,i have set myself now and then to consider the various distractions of men1 the toils and dangers to which they expose themselves in the court or the camp1 whence arise so many quarrels and passions1 such daring and often such evil exploits1 etc41 ,i have discovered that all the misfortunes of men arise from one thing only1 that they are unable to stay quietly in their own chamber4 ,a man who has enough to live on1 if he knew how to dwell with pleasure in his own home1 would not leave it for sea-faring or to besiege a city4 ,an office in the army would not be bought so dearly but that it seems insupportable not to stir from the town1 and people only seek conversation and amusing games because they cannot remain with pleasure in their own homes4 ,but upon stricter examination1 when1 having found the cause of all our ills1 ,i have sought to discover the reason of it1 ,i have found one which is paramount1 the natural evil of our weak and mortal condition1 so miserable that nothing can console us when we think of it attentively4 ,whatever condition we represent to ourselves1 if we bring to our minds all the advantages it is possible to possess1 ,royalty is the finest position in the world4 ,yet1 when we imagine a king surrounded with all the conditions which he can desire1 if he be without diversion1 and be allowed to consider and examine what he is1 this feeble happiness will never sustain him2 he will necessarily fall into a foreboding of maladies which threaten him1 of revolutions which may arise1 and lastly1 of death and inevitable diseases2 so that if he be without what is called diversion he is unhappy1 and more unhappy than the humblest of his subjects who plays and diverts himself4 ,hence it comes that play and the society of women1 war1 and offices of state1 are so sought after4 ,not that there is in these any real happiness1 or that any imagine true bliss to consist in the money won at play1 or in the hare which is hunted2 we would not have these as gifts4 ,we do not seek an easy and peaceful lot which leaves us free to think of our unhappy condition1 nor the dangers of war1 nor the troubles of statecraft1 but seek rather the distraction which amuses us1 and diverts our mind from these thoughts4 ,hence it comes that men so love noise and movement1 hence it comes that a prison is so horrible a punishment1 hence it comes that the pleasure of solitude is a thing incomprehensible4 ,and it is the great subject of happiness in the condition of kings1 that all about them try incessantly to divert them1 and to procure for them all manner of pleasures4 ,the king is surrounded by persons who think only how to divert the king1 and to prevent his thinking of self4 ,for he is unhappy1 king though he be1 if he think of self4 ,that is all that human ingenuity can do for human happiness4 ,and those who philosophise on the matter1 and think men unreasonable that they pass a whole day in hunting a hare which they would not have bought1 scarce know our nature4 ,the hare itself would not free us from the view of death and our miseries1 but the chase of the hare does free us4 ,thus1 when we make it a reproach that what they seek with such eagerness cannot satisfy them1 if they answered as on mature judgment they should do1 that they sought in it only violent and impetuous occupation to turn their thoughts from self1 and that therefore they made choice of an attractive object which charms and ardently attracts them1 they would leave their adversaries without a reply4 ,but they do not so answer because they do not know themselves2 they do not know they seek the chase and not the quarry4 ,they fancy that were they to gain such and such an office they would then rest with pleasure1 and are unaware of the insatiable nature of their desire4 ,they believe they are honestly seeking repose1 but they are only seeking agitation4 ,they have a secret instinct prompting them to look for diversion and occupation from without1 which arises from the sense of their continual pain4 ,they have another secret instinct1 a relic of the greatness of our primitive nature1 teaching them that happiness indeed consists in rest1 and not in turmoil4 ,and of these two contrary instincts a confused project is formed within them1 concealing itself from their sight in the depths of their soul1 leading them to aim at rest through agitation1 and always to imagine that they will gain the satisfaction which as yet they have not1 if by surmounting certain difficulties which now confront them1 they may thereby open the door to rest4 ,thus rolls all our life away4 ,we seek repose by resistance to obstacles1 and so soon as these are surmounted1 repose becomes intolerable4 ,for we think either on the miseries we feel or on those we fear4 ,and even when we seem sheltered on all sides1 weariness1 of its own accord1 will spring from the depths of the heart wherein are its natural roots1 and fill the soul with its poison4 ,the counsel given to ,pyrrhus to take the rest of which he was going in search through so many labours1 was full of difficulties4 ,a gentleman sincerely believes that the chase is a great1 and even a royal sport1 but his whipper-in does not share his opinion4 ,dancing4--,we must think where to place our feet4 ,but can you say what object he has in all this8 ,the pleasure of boasting to-morrow among his friends that he has played better than another4 ,thus others sweat in their closets to prove to the learned world that they have solved an algebraical problem hitherto insoluble1 while many more expose themselves to the greatest perils1 in my judgment as foolishly1 for the glory of taking a town4 ,again1 others kill themselves1 by their very application to all these studies1 not indeed that they may grow wiser1 but simply to prove that they know them2 these are the most foolish of the band1 because they are so wittingly1 whereas it is reasonable to suppose of the others1 that were they but aware of it1 they would give over their folly4 ,a man passes his life without weariness in playing every day for a small stake4 ,give him each morning1 on condition he does not play1 the money he might possibly win1 and you make him miserable4 ,it will be said1 perhaps1 that he seeks the amusement of play1 and not the winnings4 ,make him then play for nothing1 he will not be excited over it1 and will soon be wearied4 ,mere diversion then is not his pursuit1 a languid and passionless amusement will weary him4 ,he must grow warm in it1 and cheat himself by thinking that he is made happy by gaining what he would despise if it were given him not to play2 and must frame for himself a subject of passion and excitement to employ his desire1 his wrath1 his fear1 as children are frightened at a face they themselves have daubed4 ,whence comes it that a man who within a few months has lost his only son1 or who this morning was overwhelmed with law suits and wrangling1 now thinks of them no more8 ,be not surprised2 he is altogether taken up with looking out for the boar which his hounds have been hunting so hotly for the last six hours4 ,he needs no more4 ,however full of sadness a man may be1 he is happy for the time1 if you can only get him to enter into some diversion4 ,and however happy a man may be1 he will soon become dispirited and miserable if he be not diverted and occupied by some passion or pursuit which hinders his being overcome by weariness4 ,without diversion no joy1 with diversion no sadness4 ,and this forms the happiness of persons in high position1 that they have a number of people to divert them1 and that they have the power to keep themselves in this state4 ,take heed to this4 ,what is it to be superintendent1 chancellor1 first president1 but to be in a condition wherein from early morning a vast number of persons flock in from every side1 so as not to leave them an hour in the day in which they can think of themselves8 ,and if they are in disgrace and dismissed to their country houses1 though they want neither wealth nor retinue at need1 they yet are miserable and desolate because no one hinders them from thinking of themselves4 ,thus man is so unhappy that he wearies himself without cause of weariness by the peculiar state of his temperament1 and he is so frivolous that1 being full of a thousand essential causes of weariness1 the least thing1 such as a cue and a ball to strike with it1 is enough to divert him4 ,diversions4--,men are charged from infancy with the care of their honour1 their fortunes1 and their friends1 and more1 with the care of the fortunes and honour of their friends4 ,they are overwhelmed with business1 with the study of languages and bodily exercises2 they are given to understand that they cannot be happy unless their health1 their honour1 their fortune and that of their friends be in good condition1 and that a single point wanting will render them unhappy4 ,thus we give them business and occupations which harass them incessantly from the very dawn of day4 ,a strange mode1 you will say1 of making them happy4 ,what more could be done to make them miserable8 ,what could be done8 ,we need only release them from all these cares1 for then they would see themselves2 they would think on what they are1 whence they come1 and whither they go1 and therefore it is impossible to occupy and distract them too much4 ,this is why1 after having provided them with constant business1 if there be any time to spare we urge them to employ it in diversion and in play1 so as to be always fully occupied4 ,how comes it that this man1 distressed at the death of his wife and his only son1 or who has some great and embarrassing law suit1 is not at this moment sad1 and that he appears so free from all painful and distressing thoughts8 ,we need not be astonished1 for a ball has just been served to him1 and he must return it to his opponent4 ,his whole thoughts are fixed on taking it as it falls from the pent-house1 to win a chase2 and you cannot ask that he should think on his business1 having this other affair in hand4 ,here is a care worthy of occupying this great soul1 and taking away from him every other thought of the mind4 ,this man1 born to know the ,universe1 to judge of all things1 to rule a ,state1 is altogether occupied and filled with the business of catching a hare4 ,and if he will not abase himself to this1 and wishes always to be highly strung1 he will only be more foolish still1 because he wishes to raise himself above humanity2 yet when all is said and done he is only a man1 that is to say capable of little and of much1 of all and of nothing4 ,he is neither angel nor brute1 but man4 ,one thought alone occupies us1 we cannot think of two things at once2 a good thing for us from a worldly point of view1 but not as regards ,god4 ,diversion4--,death is easier to bear without the thought of it1 than is the thought of death without danger4 ,diversion4--,men1 unable to remedy death1 sorrow1 and ignorance1 determine1 in order to make themselves happy1 not to think on these things4 ,notwithstanding these miseries1 man wishes to be happy1 and wishes for happiness only2 unable to wish otherwise1 he knows not how to gain happiness4 ,for this he must needs make himself immortal2 but unable to effect this1 he sets himself to avoid the thought of death4 ,the miseries of human life are the cause of all this2 having a perception of them men take to diversion4 ,diversion4--,if man were happy he would be the more so the less he was diverted1 like the ,saints and ,god4 ,yes3 but is not the power of being pleased with diversion in itself a happiness8 ,no2 for that comes from elsewhere and from without1 so it is dependent1 and therefore liable to be troubled by a thousand accidents1 which make afflictions inevitable4 ,misery4--,the one thing which consoles us for our miseries is diversion1 yet this itself is the greatest of our miseries4 ,for this it is which mainly hinders us from thinking of ourselves1 and which insensibly destroys us4 ,without this we should be weary1 and weariness would drive us to seek a more abiding way out of it4 ,but diversion beguiles us and leads us insensibly onward to death4 ,this is all they have been able to discover to console them in so many evils4 ,but it is a miserable consolation1 since it does not serve for the cure of the evil1 but simply for the concealment of it for a short time1 and its very concealment prevents the thought of any true cure4 ,thus by a strange inversion of man's nature he finds that the weariness which is his most sensible evil1 is in some measure his greatest good1 because more than any thing else it contributes to make him seek his true healing1 and that the diversion which he regards as his greatest good is in fact his greatest evil1 because more than any thing else it prevents his seeking the remedy for his evils4 ,both of these are admirable proofs of man's misery and corruption1 and at the same time of his greatness1 since man is only weary of all things1 and only seeks this multitude of occupations because he has the idea of a lost happiness4 ,and not finding this in himself1 he seeks it vainly in external things1 without being able to content himself1 because it is neither in us1 nor in the creature1 but in ,god alone4 ,thoughts4--,in omnibus requiem qusivi4 ,were our condition truly happy we need not turn our minds from it in order to become happy4 ,a little matter consoles us1 because a little matter afflicts us4 ,strife alone pleases us and not the victory4 ,we like to see beasts fighting1 not the victor furious over the vanquished4 ,we wish only to see the victorious end1 and as soon as it comes1 we are surfeited4 ,it is the same in play1 and in the search for truth4 ,in all disputes we like to see the clash of opinions1 but care not at all to contemplate truth when found4 ,if we are to see truth with pleasure1 we must see it arise out of conflict4 ,so in the passions1 there is pleasure in seeing the shock of two contraries1 but as soon as one gains the mastery it becomes mere brutality4 ,we never seek things in themselves1 but only the search for things4 ,so on the stage1 quiet scenes which raise no emotion are worthless1 so is extreme and hopeless misery1 so are brutal lust and excessive cruelty4 ,continuous eloquence wearies4 ,princes and kings sometimes unbend4 ,they are not for ever on their thrones1 where they grow weary4 ,grandeur to be felt must be abandoned1 continuity in any thing is displeasing4 ,cold is pleasant1 that we may seek warmth4 ,weariness4--,nothing is so insupportable to man as to be completely at rest1 without passion1 without business1 without diversion1 without study4 ,he then feels his nothingness1 his loneliness1 his insufficiency1 his dependence1 his weakness1 his emptiness4 ,at once1 from the depth of his soul1 will arise weariness1 gloom1 sadness1 vexation1 disappointment1 despair4 ,agitation4--,when a soldier complains of his work1 or a ploughman1 etc41 force them to be idle4 ,diversion4--,is not the royal dignity itself so truly great as to make its possessor happy by the mere contemplation of what he is8 ,must he be diverted from this thought like ordinary people8 ,i see well enough that a man may be made happy by diverting him from the thought of his domestic sorrows so that he apply all his care to excel in dancing4 ,but will it be the same with a king1 and will he be happier if he devote himself to these idle amusements rather than to the contemplation of his greatness8 ,and what more satisfactory object can he offer to his mind8 ,might it not be to lessen his content that he occupy his soul in thinking how to suit his steps to the cadence of an air1 or how to throw a bar skilfully1 rather than allow it to enjoy peacefully the contemplation of the majesty which wraps him round8 ,let us make the experiment1 let us leave a king all alone1 without any gratifications of sense1 or any occupation for the mind1 without companions1 reflecting on himself at leisure1 and it will be seen that a king without diversion is a man full of miseries4 ,this is therefore carefully avoided1 and there are always about the persons of kings a great number of people who watch to see that diversion succeeds to business1 and look after their every hour of leisure to furnish them with pleasures and games1 so that no vacancy may be left in life2 that is1 they are surrounded with persons who take wonderful pains that the king is never alone and able to think of self1 knowing well that he will be miserable1 king though he is1 if he think of self4 ,in all this ,i am not speaking of ,christian kings as ,christians1 but simply as kings4 ,men busy themselves in pursuing a ball or a hare1 and this is the pleasure even of kings4 ,csar1 as it seems to me1 was too old to set about amusing himself with the conquest of the world4 ,such a pastime was good for ,augustus or ,alexander1 who were still young men1 and these are difficult to restrain1 but ,csar should have been more mature4 ,the weariness we experience in leaving occupations to which we are attached4 ,a man lives with pleasure in his home1 but if he see a woman who charms him1 or if he take pleasure in play for five or six days1 he is miserable if he return to his former mode of life4 ,nothing is more common than that4 ,frivolity4--,it is plain that the frivolity of the world is so little known1 that it is a strange and surprising thing to say it is foolish to seek for greatness1 and this is great cause for wonder4 ,whoso does not see the frivolity of the world is himself most frivolous4 ,and indeed all see it save young people1 who are engaged in turmoil1 diversion1 and the thought of the future4 ,but take away their diversion and you will see them consumed with weariness2 then they feel their nothingness without knowing it4 ,for it is indeed to be unhappy to be intolerably sad as soon as we are reduced to the thought of self1 without any diversion4 ,,the ,,greatness ,,and ,,littleness ,,of ,,man4 ,greatness1 ,littleness4--,the more light we have1 the more greatness and the more baseness we discover in man4 ,ordinary men4444 ,the more cultivated4444 ,philosophers4 ,they astonish ordinary men4 ,christians4 ,they astonish ,philosophers4 ,who then will be surprised to see that ,religion only makes us know deeply what we already know in proportion to our light4 ,for ,port ,royal4 ,greatness and ,littleness4 ,littleness being correlative to greatness1 and greatness to littleness1 some have inferred man's littleness all the more because they have taken his greatness as a proof of it1 and others have inferred his greatness with all the more force1 because they have inferred it from his littleness2 all that the one party was able to say for his greatness having served only as an argument of his littleness to others1 because we are low in proportion to the height from which we have fallen1 and the contrary is equally true4 ,so that the one party returns on the other in an endless circle1 for it is certain that in measure as men possess light the more they discern both the greatness and the littleness of man4 ,in a word1 man knows he is little4 ,he is then little because he is so2 but he is truly great because he knows it4 ,man knows not in what rank to place himself4 ,he has evidently gone astray and fallen from his true place1 unable to find it again4 ,disquieted and unsuccessful he seeks it everywhere in impenetrable darkness4 ,though we see all the miseries which close upon us and take us by the throat1 we have an irrepressible instinct which raises us4 ,the greatness of ,man4--,we have so great an idea of the human soul that we cannot bear to be despised1 or to lie under the disesteem of any soul1 and all the happiness of men consists in that esteem4 ,the search after glory is the greatest vileness of man4 ,yet it is also the greatest mark of his excellence1 for whatever riches he may have on earth1 whatever health and advantage1 he is not satisfied if he have not the esteem of men4 ,he rates human reason so highly that whatever privileges he may have on earth1 he is not content unless he stand well in the judgment of men4 ,this is the finest position in the world1 nothing can turn him from this desire1 which is the most indelible quality of the human heart4 ,and those who most despise men1 and place them on the level of the brutes1 still wish to be admired and believed by men1 and are in contradiction with themselves through their own feelings2 their nature1 which is stronger than all else1 convincing them of the greatness of man more powerfully than reason convinces them of their vileness4 ,the vileness of man in that he submits himself to the brutes1 and even worships them4 ,instinct and reason1 marks of two natures4 ,description of man4 ,dependence1 desire of independence1 bodily needs4 ,contradiction4 ,to despise existence1 to die for nothing1 to hate our existence4 ,man is neither angel nor brute1 and the misfortune is that whoever would play the angel plays the brute4 ,if man is not made for ,god1 why is he happy only in ,god8 ,if man is made for ,god1 why is he so contrary to ,god8 ,contraries4 ,man is naturally credulous and incredulous1 timid and rash4 ,a corrupt nature4--,man does not act by reason1 which constitutes his essence4 ,the nature of man is his whole nature1 omne animal4 ,there is nothing we cannot make natural1 nothing natural we cannot lose4 ,the true nature being lost1 all becomes natural4 ,as the true good being lost1 all becomes truly good4 ,misery4--,solomon and ,job best knew1 and have best spoken of human misery2 the former the most fortunate1 the latter the most unfortunate of men2 the one knowing by experience the vanity of pleasure1 the other the reality of evil4 ,it is dangerous to prove to man too plainly how nearly he is on a level with the brutes without showing him his greatness2 it is also dangerous to show him his greatness too clearly apart from his vileness4 ,it is still more dangerous to leave him in ignorance of both4 ,but it is of great advantage to show him both4 ,how comes it that we have so much patience with those who are maimed in body1 and so little with those who are defective in mind8 ,because a cripple recognises that we have the true use of our legs1 but the fool maintains that we are they whose understanding halts2 were it not so we should feel pity and not anger4 ,epictetus puts it yet more strongly3 ,how comes it that we are not angry if a man says we have an headache1 but are angry if told we use a weak argument or make a wrong choice8 ,the reason of this is that we are quite certain we have no headache1 or are not lame1 but we are not equally sure that our judgment is correct4 ,so having no assurance but that we see with our whole powers of sight1 we are startled and confounded when another with equal powers sees the exact opposite1 especially when a thousand others laugh at our decision2 for then we must prefer our light to that of so many others1 a daring and difficult matter4 ,there is never this contradiction in feeling as to a cripple4 ,man is so framed that by dint of telling him he is a fool he believes it1 and by dint of telling it to himself he makes himself believe it4 ,for man holds a secret communing with himself1 which it behoves him well to regulate3 ,corrumpunt mores bonos colloquia prava4 ,we must keep silent as much as possible1 and converse with ourselves only of ,god1 whom we know to be true1 and thus we persuade ourselves of truth4 ,i will not suffer him to rest on himself1 nor on another1 so that being without a resting place or repose4444 ,if he exalt himself ,i humble him1 if he humble himself ,i exalt him1 and ever contradict him1 till he comprehend that he is an incomprehensible monster4 ,the greatness of man consists in thought4 ,a thinking reed4--,not from space must ,i seek my dignity1 but from the ruling of my thought4 ,i should have no more if ,i possessed whole worlds4 ,by space the ,universe encompasses and swallows me as an atom1 by thought ,i encompass it4 ,man is but a reed1 weakest in nature1 but a reed which thinks4 ,it needs not that the whole ,universe should arm to crush him4 ,a vapour1 a drop of water is enough to kill him4 ,but were the ,universe to crush him1 man would still be more noble than that which has slain him1 because he knows that he dies1 and that the ,universe has the better of him4 ,the ,universe knows nothing of this4 ,all our dignity therefore consists in thought4 ,by this must we raise ourselves1 not by space or duration which we cannot fill4 ,then let us make it our study to think well1 for this is the starting-point of morals4 ,the greatness of man is great in that he knows he is miserable4 ,a tree does not know that it is miserable4 ,it is therefore little to know ourselves little1 and it is great to know ourselves little4 ,thus his very infirmities proves man's greatness4 ,they are the infirmities of a great lord1 of a discrowned king4 ,the greatness of man is so evident that it is even proved by his littleness4 ,for what in animals is nature we call in man littleness1 whereby we recognise that his nature being now like that of animals he is fallen from a better nature which once was his4 ,for what man ever was unhappy at not being a king1 save a discrowned king8 ,was ,paulus ,emilius unhappy at being no longer consul8 ,on the contrary1 all men thought him happy in having filled that office1 because it was involved in it that it should be but temporary4 ,but ,perseus was thought so unhappy in being no longer king1 because the condition of royalty involved his being always king1 that it was thought strange he could bear to live4 ,no man thinks himself unhappy in having but one mouth1 but any man is unhappy if he have but one eye4 ,no man was ever grieved at not having three eyes1 but any man is inconsolable if he have none4 ,perseus1 ,king of ,macedon4--,paulus ,emilius reproached ,perseus for not killing himself4 ,there is no misery apart from sensation4 ,a ruined house is not miserable4 ,man only is miserable4 ,ego vir videns4 ,it is then thought which makes man's being1 and without this we cannot conceive him4 ,what is it in us which feels pleasure8 ,the hand8 ,the arm8 ,the flesh8 ,the blood8 ,we see that it roust be something immaterial4 ,i can easily conceive a man without hands1 feet1 head1 for it is only experience which teaches us that the head is more necessary than the feet4 ,but ,i cannot conceive a man without thought2 he would be a stone or a brute4 ,man is evidently made for thought1 this is his whole dignity and his whole merit2 his whole duty is to think as he ought4 ,now the order of thought is to begin with self1 and with its author and its end4 ,now of what thinks the world8 ,never of these things1 but of dancing1 playing the lute1 singing1 making verses1 tilting at the ring1 etc41 of fighting1 making ourselves kings1 without thinking what it is to be a king1 or what to be a man4 ,thought4--,the whole dignity of man lies in thought ,but what is this thought8 how foolish it is6 ,thought is then in its nature admirable and incomparable4 ,it must have strange defects to be despicable1 but it has these1 and so nothing is more ridiculous4 ,how great it is in essence1 how vile in defects6 ,contraries4 ,after having shown the vileness and the greatness of man4--,let man now estimate his value4 ,let him love himself1 because he has a nature capable of good1 but let him not therefore love the vileness which exists in that nature4 ,let him despise himself1 because this capacity is void1 but let him not therefore despise his natural capacity4 ,let him hate himself1 let him love himself3 he has in himself the power of knowing the truth and being happy1 and yet has found no truth either permanent or satisfactory4 ,i would then lead man to the desire of finding it2 to be free from passions and ready to follow it where he may find it1 knowing how his knowledge is obscured by the passions4 ,i would that he should hate in himself the desires which bias his judgment1 that they may neither blind him in making his choice1 nor obstruct him when he has chosen4 ,i blame equally those who take on themselves to praise man1 those who take on themselves to blame him1 and those who merely amuse themselves2 ,i can approve those only who seek with tears4 ,the stoics say1 ,retire within yourselves1 there will you find your rest2 which is not true4 ,others say1 ,go out of yourselves1 seek your happiness in diversion2 nor is that true1 for sickness may come4 ,happiness is neither without us nor within us2 it is in ,god1 both without us and within us4 ,,of ,,the ,,deceptive ,,powers ,,of ,,the ,,imagination4 ,of the deceptive powers4--,man is only a subject full of natural error1 which is indelible without grace4 ,nothing shows him the truth1 everything deceives him4 ,these two principles of truth1 reason and the senses1 in addition to the fact that they are both wanting in sincerity1 reciprocally deceive each other4 ,the senses trick the reason by false appearances1 and gain from reason in their turn the same deception with which they deceive2 reason avenges herself4 ,the passions of the soul trouble the senses1 and make on them false impressions4 ,they lie and deceive1 outvying one another4 ,but beyond those errors which come by accident1 and by a lack of intelligence1 with these heterogeneous faculties4444 ,to begin thus the chapter on the deceptive powers4 ,imagination4--,this is that deceitful part of man1 the mistress of error and falsity1 the more knavish that she is not always so1 for she would be an infallible rule of truth1 if she were an infallible rule of lying4 ,but being for the most part false1 she gives no mark of her character1 stamping the true and the false with the same die4 ,i speak not of fools1 but of the wisest men1 and it is among them that imagination has the great gift of persuasion4 ,reason protests in vain1 for she can make no true estimate4 ,this proud potentate1 who loves to rule and domineer over her enemy1 reason1 has established in man a second nature in order to show her wide-spread influence4 ,she makes men happy and miserable1 sound and sick1 rich and poor2 she obliges reason to believe1 doubt and deny2 she dulls the senses1 or sharpens them2 she has her fools and wise2 and nothing vexes us more than to see that she fills her votaries with a satisfaction far more full and entire than does reason4 ,those whose imagination is active feel greater complacency than the truly wise can reasonably allow themselves to feel4 ,they look down on other men as from the height of empire1 they argue with assurance and confidence1 others with diffidence and fear1 and this gaiety of countenance often gives the former an advantage in the minds of their hearers2 such favour do the imaginary wise find from judges like-minded4 ,imagination cannot make fools wise1 but it makes them content1 and so triumphs over reason1 which can only make its friends miserable2 the one covers them with glory1 the other with shame4 ,what but this faculty of imagination dispenses reputation1 assigns respect and veneration to persons1 works1 laws1 and the great8 ,how valueless are all the treasures of earth without her consent6 ,you would say that this magistrate whose reverend age commands the respect of a whole people is swayed by pure and lofty reason1 that he judges all causes according to their true nature1 unmoved by those mere accidents which only affect the imagination of the weak4 ,see him go to sermon with devout zeal1 strengthening his firm and impartial reason by the ardour of his divine love4 ,he is ready to listen with exemplary respect4 ,the preacher appears2 but if nature have given him a hoarse voice or a comic face1 if his barber have shaven him ill1 or if his clothes be splashed more than is wont1 then however great the truths he announces1 ,i wager that our statesman lose his gravity4 ,set the greatest philosopher in the world on a plank really wider than he needs1 but hanging over a precipice1 and though reason convince him of his security1 imagination will prevail4 ,many will scarce bear the thought without a cold sweat4 ,i will not name all its effects4 ,every one knows that the sight of cats1 and rats1 or the crushing of a coal1 etc41 may quite unhinge the reason4 ,the tone of voice will affect the wisest and change the whole force of a speech or a poem4 ,love or hate will change the aspect of justice1 and an advocate retained with a large fee has an increased confidence in the right of the cause he pleads1 while the assurance of his demeanour commends it to the judges1 duped in their turn by appearances4 ,how ridiculous is reason1 swayed by a breath in every direction6 ,i should have to enumerate almost every action of men who seldom stagger but under her shocks4 ,for reason has been forced to yield1 and the wisest reason accepts as her own those principles which the imagination of men has everywhere casually introduced4 ,our magistrates are well aware of this mystery4 ,their scarlet robes1 the ermine in which they wrap themselves like furred cats1 the halls in which they administer justice1 the fleurs-de-lis1 and all their august apparatus are most necessary2 if the doctors had not their cassocks and their mules1 if the lawyers had not their square caps1 and their robes four times too wide1 they would never have duped the world1 which cannot resist so authoritative an appearance4 ,soldiers alone are not disguised after this fashion1 because indeed their part is the more essential1 they establish themselves by force1 the others by fraud4 ,so our kings seek out no disguises4 ,they do not mask themselves in strange garments to appear such1 but they are accompanied by guards and halberdiers4 ,those armed puppets who have hands and power for them alone1 those trumpets and drums which go before them1 and those legions round about them1 make the firmest tremble4 ,they have not dress only1 but power2 we need an highly refined reason to regard as an ordinary man the ,grand ,turk1 in his superb seraglio1 surrounded with forty thousand janissaries4 ,we cannot even see an advocate in his long robe and with his cap on his head1 without an enhanced opinion of his ability4 ,if magistrates had true justice1 and if doctors had the true art of healing1 they would have no need of square caps1 the majesty of these sciences were of itself venerable enough4 ,but having only imaginary knowledge1 they must take these instruments1 idle1 but striking to the imagination with which they have to deal1 and by that in fact they gain respect4 ,imagination is the disposer of all things1 it creates beauty1 justice and happiness1 and these are the world's all4 ,i should much like to see an ,italian work1 of which ,i know the title only1 but such a title is worth many books3 ,della opinione ,regina del mondo4 ,i accept the book without knowing it1 save the evil in it1 if there be any4 ,these are for the most part the effects of that deceptive faculty1 which seems to have been given us expressly to lead us into necessary error4 ,of error however we have many other sources4 ,not only are old impressions capable of deceiving us1 the charms of novelty have the same power4 ,hence arise all the disputes of men1 who charge each other either with following the false impressions of childhood or of running rashly after new4 ,who rightly keeps a middle way8 ,let him appear and make good his pretensions4 ,there is no principle1 however natural to us even from childhood1 which may not be made to pass for a false impression either of education or of sense4 ,because1 say some1 you have believed from childhood that a box was empty when you saw nothing in it1 you have therefore believed the possibility of a vacuum4 ,this is an illusion of your senses1 strengthened by custom1 which science must correct4 ,because1 say others1 you were taught at school that there is no such thing as a vacuum1 your common sense1 which clearly comprehended the matter before1 is corrupted1 and you must correct this false impression by returning to your primitive nature4 ,which has deceived you1 your senses or your education8 ,diseases are another source of error4 ,they impair our judgment and our senses1 and if the more violent produce a sensible change1 ,i do not doubt that slighter ailments produce each its proportionate impression4 ,our own interest is again a wonderful instrument for putting out our eyes in a pleasant way4 ,the man of greatest probity can not be judge in his own cause2 ,i know some who that they may not fall into this self love are1 out of opposition1 thoroughly unjust4 ,the certain way of ruining a just cause has been to get it recommended to these men by their near relatives4 ,justice and truth are two such subtle points1 that our instruments are too blunt to touch them accurately4 ,if they attain the point they cover it so completely that they rest more often on the wrong than the right4 ,there is internecine war in man between the reason and the passions4 ,if he had only reason without passions4444 ,if he had only passions without reason4444 ,but having both he must have continual strife1 since he cannot be at peace with one unless he be at war with the other4 ,hence he is always divided against and contrary to himself4 ,the habit of seeing kings accompanied by guards1 drums1 officers and all those things which mechanically incline man to respect and terror1 causes their countenance1 when now and then seen alone1 and without these accompaniments1 to impress respect and terror on their subjects1 because our thought cannot separate their personality from those surroundings with which it is ordinarily joined4 ,and the world which does not know that the effect arises from habit1 believes that it arises from natural force1 and hence come such expressions as3 ,the character of ,divinity is imprinted on his countenance1 etc4 ,the power of kings is based both on the reason and the folly of the people1 and mainly on their folly4 ,the greatest and most important matter in the world has weakness for its foundation1 and this foundation is admirably sure1 for there is nothing more sure than this1 that the people will be weak4 ,what is founded on sound reason is very ill founded1 as the value of wisdom4 ,the chancellor is grave1 and clothed with ornaments1 for his position is unreal4 ,not so the king1 he has power and nothing to do with imagination4 ,judges1 doctors1 etc41 depend solely on imagination4 ,empire founded on opinion and imagination lasts some time1 the rule is gentle and willingly accepted2 that founded on power lasts for ever4 ,thus opinion is1 as it were1 queen of the world1 but power is its tyrant4 ,power is the queen of the world1 not opinion1 but opinion makes use of power4 ,power creates opinion4 ,gentleness is beautiful1 as we think4 ,why8 ,because he who goes to extremes will be alone1 and ,i will make a stronger cabal of people who will say it is inexpedient4 ,the cords attached by the respect of man for man1 are1 for the most part1 cords of necessity1 for there must be different degrees1 all men wishing to rule1 but not all being able to do so1 though some are able4 ,let us suppose then we see men beginning to form a society4 ,they will no doubt fight till the stronger party gets the better of the weaker1 and a dominant party is constituted4 ,but so soon as this is once settled1 the masters not wishing that the strife should continue1 declare that the power in their hands shall be transmitted as they please1 some placing it in the choice of the people1 others in the succession of birth1 etc4 ,and here imagination begins to play her part4 ,till now power has constrained facts1 now power is upheld by imagination in a certain party1 in ,france that of the nobles1 in ,switzerland that of the burgesses1 etc4 ,the cords therefore which bind the respect of men to any given man are the cords of imagination4 ,our imagination so enlarges the present by dint of continually reflecting on it1 and so contracts eternity1 by never reflecting on it1 that we make a nothing of eternity and an eternity of nothing2 and all this has such living roots in us1 that all our reason cannot suppress them1 and that4444 ,the imagination enlarges little objects so as to fill our soul with its fantastic estimate1 and by a rash insolence belittles the great to its own measure1 as when it speaks of ,god4 ,things which have the greatest hold on us1 as the concealing our small possessions1 are often a mere nothing4 ,it is a nothing which our imagination magnifies into a mountain1 another turn of imagination would make us discover its nothingness without difficulty4 ,two faces which resemble each other1 neither of which alone causes our laughter1 make us laugh1 when together1 by their resemblance4 ,children who are frightened at the face they have daubed are mere children1 but how shall one who is so weak when a child grow truly strong as he grows old8 ,we only change our fancies4 ,all that is brought to perfection by progress perishes also by progress4 ,all that has been weak can never be absolutely strong4 ,it is in vain to say1 ,he has grown1 he has changed4 ,he is also the same4 ,my fancy makes me hate a man who breathes hard when he is eating4 ,fancy has great weight4 ,will you profit by yielding to this weight because it is natural8 ,no2 but by resisting it4 ,prejudice leading into error4--,it is a deplorable thing to see all men deliberating on means alone1 and not on the end4 ,every man thinks how he may acquit himself in his condition1 but as for the choice of condition or of country1 chance gives them to us4 ,it is a pitiable thing1 to see so many ,turks1 heretics and infidels1 follow the way of their fathers for the simple reason that each has been told it is the best4 ,and that fixes for each man his condition1 locksmith1 soldier1 etc4 ,therefore savages would care nothing for ,provence4 ,ferox gens1 nullam esse vitam sine armis rati4 ,they love death rather than peace1 other men love death rather than war4 ,every opinion may be held in preference to life1 of which the love seems so strong and so natural4 ,thoughts4--,all is one1 all is diverse4 ,how many natures in that of man1 how many vocations6 ,and by what a chance does each man take ordinarily what he has heard praised4 ,a well turned heel4 ,the heel of a slipper4--,how well this is turned1 here is a clever workman1 how brave is this soldier6 ,such is the source of our inclinations and of the choice of conditions4 ,how much this man drinks1 how little that man6 ,that is what makes men sober or drunken1 soldiers1 cowards1 etc4 ,glory4--,admiration spoils everything from infancy4 ,how well said1 how well done1 how clever he is6 etc4 ,the children of ,port ,royal1 who are not urged with this spur of envy and glory1 become careless4 ,glory4--,the brutes have no admiration for each other4 ,a horse does not admire his companion4 ,not but that they have their rivalries in a race1 but that entails no consequences1 for once in the stable the heaviest and most ill-formed does not yield his oats to another1 as men would expect from others in their own case4 ,their virtue is satisfied with itself4 ,first degree3 to be blamed for doing evil1 and praised for doing good4 ,second degree3 to be neither praised nor blamed4 ,brave deeds are most estimable when hidden4 ,when ,i see some of these in history they please me much4 ,but after all they have not been wholly hidden1 since they have become known4 ,and though all has been done to hide them that could be done1 the little whereby they have appeared has spoiled all1 for what was finest in them was the desire to hide them4 ,we are not content with the life we have in ourselves and in our own being1 we wish to live an imaginary life in the idea of others1 and to this end we strive to make a show4 ,we labour incessantly to embellish and preserve this imaginary being1 and we neglect the true4 ,and if we have either calmness1 generosity1 or fidelity1 we hasten to let it be known1 that we may attach these virtues to that imaginary being2 we would even part with them for this end1 and gladly become cowards for the reputation of valour4 ,it is a great mark of the nothingness of our own being that we are not satisfied with the one without the other1 and that we often renounce one for the other4 ,for he would be infamous who would not die to preserve his honour4 ,vocations4--,the sweetness of glory is so great that join it to what we will1 even to death1 we love it4 ,evil is easy1 and its forms are infinite2 good is almost unique4 ,but a certain kind of evil is as difficult to find as what is called good2 and often on this account this particular kind of evil gets passed off as good4 ,there is even needed an extraordinary greatness of soul to attain to it as well as to good4 ,we are so presumptuous that we would fain be known by the whole world1 even by those who shall come after1 when we are no more4 ,and we are such triflers that the esteem of five or six persons about us diverts and contents us4 ,vanity is so anchored in the heart of man that a soldier1 a camp-follower1 a cook1 a porter makes his boasts1 and is for having his admirers2 even philosophers wish for them4 ,those who write against it1 yet desire the glory of having written well1 those who read1 desire the glory of having read2 ,i who write this have1 may be1 this desire1 and perhaps those who will read it4444 ,in towns through which we pass we care not whether men esteem us1 but we do care if we have to live there any time4 ,how long is needed8 ,a time in proportion to our vain and fleeting life4 ,the condition of man2 inconstancy1 weariness1 unrest4 ,whoever will know fully the vanity of man has but to consider the causes and the effects of love4 ,the cause is an unknown quantity1 and the effects are terrible4 ,this unknown quantity1 so small a matter that we cannot recognise it1 moves a whole country1 princes1 armies1 and all the world4 ,cleopatra's nose3 had it been shorter1 the face of the world had been changed4 ,nothing better shows the frivolity of men than to consider what are the causes and what the effects of love1 for all the universe is changed by them4 ,cleopatra's nose4 ,frivolity4--,the cause and the effects of love4 ,cleopatra4 ,pride is a counterpoise1 and turns the scale against all woes4 ,here is a strange monster1 a very visible aberration4 ,behold him fallen from his place1 and anxiously seeking it4 ,that is what all men do4 ,let us see who has found it4 ,contradiction4--,pride is a counterpoise to all miseries4 ,man either conceals them1 or if he display them1 glories in the knowledge of them4 ,of the desire of being esteemed by those with whom we are4--,pride has a natural possession of us in the midst of our miseries1 errors1 etc4 ,we can even lose our life with joy1 if men will but talk of it4 ,vanity1 play1 hunting1 visiting1 false pretences1 a lasting name4 ,pride4--,curiosity is mere frivolity4 ,for the most part we want to know only for the sake of talking4 ,people would not make voyages if they were never to speak of them1 for the sole pleasure of seeing1 without hope of ever communicating their impressions4 ,,of ,,justice1 ,,customs1 ,,and ,,prejudices4 ,on what shall man found the economy of the world which he would fain govern8 ,if on the caprice of each man1 all is confusion4 ,if on justice1 man is ignorant of it4 ,certainly had he known it1 he would not have established the maxim1 most general of all current among men1 that every one must conform to the manners of his own country2 the splendour of true equity would have brought all nations into subjection1 and legislators would not have taken as their model the fancies and caprice of ,persians and ,germans instead of stable justice4 ,we should have seen it established in all the ,states of the world1 in all times1 whereas now we see neither justice nor injustice which does not change its quality upon changing its climate4 ,three degrees of latitude reverse all jurisprudence1 a meridian decides what is truth1 fundamental laws change after a few years of possession1 right has its epochs1 the entrance of ,saturn into the ,lion marks for us the origin of such and such a crime4 ,that is droll justice which is bounded by a stream6 ,truth on this side of the ,pyrenees1 error on that4 ,it is admitted that justice is not in these customs1 but that it resides in natural laws common to every country4 ,this would no doubt be maintained with obstinacy if the rash chance which has disseminated human laws had lighted upon even one that is universal1 but the singularity of the matter is that owing to the vagaries of human caprice there is not one4 ,theft1 incest1 infanticide1 parricide1 all have found a place among virtuous actions4 ,can there be any thing more absurd than that a man should have the right to kill me because he lives across the water1 and because his prince has a quarrel with mine1 although ,i have none with him8 ,there are no doubt natural laws1 but fair reason once corrupted has corrupted all4 ,nihil amplius nostrum est2 quod nostrum dicimus1 artis est4 ,ex senatus consultis1 et plebiscitis crimina exercentur4 ,ut olim vitiis1 sic nunc legibus laboramus4 ,from this confusion it results that one declares the essence of justice to be the authority of the legislator1 another1 the convenience of the sovereign1 another1 existing custom1 and this is the most sure2 nothing which follows reason alone is just in itself1 all shifts and changes with time2 custom creates equity1 by the simple reason that this is received4 ,it is the mystical foundation of its authority1 whoever carries it back to first principles annihilates it4 ,nothing is so faulty as those laws which correct faults4 ,whoever obeys them because they are just1 obeys an imaginary justice1 not law in its essence2 it is altogether self-contained1 it is law and nothing more4 ,whoever will examine its motive will find it so feeble and so slight that if he be not used to contemplate the marvels of human imagination1 he will wonder that a single century has gained for it so much pomp and reverence4 ,it is the art of disturbance and of revolution to shake established customs1 sounding them to their source1 to mark their want of authority and justice4 ,we must1 it is said1 return to the primitive and fundamental laws of the ,state1 abolished by unjust custom4 ,it is a game wherein we are sure to lose all2 in this balance nothing would be true1 yet the people easily lends an ear to such talk as this4 ,they shake off the yoke as soon as they recognise it1 and the great profit by its ruin1 and by the ruin of those who have too curiously examined recognised customs4 ,this is why the wisest of law givers said that it was often necessary to cheat men for their good1 and another1 a good politician1 ,quum veritatem qua liberetur ignoret1 expedit quod fallatur4 ,we ought not to feel the truth that law is but usurpation2 it was once introduced without reason1 and has become reasonable2 it is necessary to cause it to be regarded as eternal and authoritative1 and to conceal the beginning if we do not wish it should soon come to an end4 ,i have passed much of my life believing that justice existed1 and in this ,i did not deceive myself1 for there is justice according as ,god has willed to reveal it to us4 ,but ,i did not take it so1 and in that ,i deceived myself1 for ,i believed that our justice was essentially just1 and that ,i had that whereby ,i was able to know and judge of it4 ,but ,i so often find that my right judgment was at fault1 that at last ,i have begun to distrust myself1 and then others4 ,i saw in all countries that men change1 and thus after many changes of judgment concerning true justice1 ,i recognised that our nature was a continual change1 and ,i have not changed since2 were ,i to change ,i should but strengthen my opinion4 ,the sceptic ,archesilas became a dogmatist4 ,the most unreasonable things in the world become most reasonable1 because of the unruly lives of men4 ,what is less reasonable than to choose the eldest son of a queen to guide a state8 for we do not choose as steersman of a ship that one of the passengers who is of the best family4 ,such a law would be ridiculous and unjust2 but since they are so themselves1 and ever will be1 it becomes reasonable and just4 ,for would they choose the most virtuous and able1 we at once fall to blows1 since each asserts that he is the most virtuous and able4 ,let us then affix this quality to something which cannot be disputed4 ,this man is the king's eldest son4 ,that is clear1 and there is no dispute4 ,reason can do no better1 for civil war is the worst of evils4 ,men of unruly lives assert that they alone follow nature1 while those who are orderly stray from her paths2 as passengers in a ship think that those move who stand upon the shore4 ,both sides say the same thing4 ,there must be a fixed point to enable us to judge4 ,the harbour decides the question for those who are in the vessel1 but where can we find the harbour in morals8 ,when all moves equally1 nothing seems to move1 as in a ship4 ,when all tend to vice1 none appears to do so4 ,whoever stops draws attention to the onward movement of others1 as does a fixed point4 ,justice is what is established1 and thus all our established laws are necessarily held to be just without being examined1 because they are established4 ,justice4--,as fashion makes what is agreeable1 so it makes what is just4 ,our natural principles are but principles of custom4 ,in children natural principles are those which they have received from the habits of their fathers1 as hunting in animals4 ,a different custom will produce different natural principles4 ,this experience testifies1 and if there are some natural principles ineradicable by custom1 so are there some customs opposed to nature ineradicable by nature1 or by a second custom4 ,this depends on constitution4 ,fathers fear that the natural love of their children may be effaced4 ,now what sort of thing is that nature which is liable to be effaced4 ,custom is a second nature which destroys the former4 ,but what is nature1 for is not custom natural8 ,i am greatly afraid that nature itself may be only our first custom1 as custom is second nature4 ,montaigne was wrong3 custom should only be followed because it is custom1 and not because it is reasonable or just2 but most men follow it for the simple reason that they think it just4 ,otherwise they would not follow it though it were the custom1 for our only desire is to be subjected to reason or to justice4 ,without this1 custom would pass for tyranny1 but the empire of reason and justice is no more tyrannical than that of choice4 ,these are principles natural to man4 ,it is then good to obey laws and customs because they are laws1 but we ought to know that there is neither truth nor justice to introduce into them1 that we know nothing about these1 and can therefore only follow what is recognised1 and thus we should never transgress them4 ,but most men cannot receive this doctrine1 and since they believe that truth can be found1 and that it resides in law and custom1 they believe these laws1 and take their antiquity as a proof of their truth1 and not merely of their authority apart from truth4 ,thus they obey the laws1 but are liable to revolt when these are shown to be of no value2 and this may be proved of all of them1 looked at from a certain point of view4 ,injustice4--,the authority of the judge is not given him for his sake1 but for that of the judged4 ,it is dangerous to say this to the people1 but the people have too much faith in you2 that will not harm them1 and may serve you4 ,you must then say it openly4 ,pasce oves meas1 not tuas4 ,you owe me pasturage4 ,injustice4--,it is dangerous to say to the people that the laws are not just1 for men obey them only because they think them just4 ,therefore it is necessary to say at the same time that they must be obeyed because they are laws1 as superiors must be obeyed1 not because they are just1 but because they are superiors4 ,all sedition is averted1 if this principle be established and it be understood what is rightly the definition of justice4 ,if ,god gave us masters direct from himself1 how heartily ought we to obey them6 ,circumstances and necessity are infallible masters4 ,custom is our nature4 ,whoever is accustomed to the faith believes in it1 can no longer even fear hell1 and believes in nothing else4 ,whoever accustoms himself to believe that the king is terrible 444 etc4 ,who doubts then that our soul1 being accustomed to see number1 space1 and motion1 believes that and nothing else8 ,veri juris2 we have it no longer2 had we it1 we should not take the manners of our country as our rule of justice4 ,here1 not finding justice1 we fall back on force1 etc4 ,it is a ridiculous thing to consider that there are people in the world who1 having renounced all the laws of ,god and nature1 have yet made laws for themselves which they exactly obey1 as1 for instance1 the soldiers of ,mahomet1 thieves1 heretics1 etc41 and thus logicians4444 ,it seems as though their licence must be without limit or barrier1 since they have broken down so many that are just and holy4 ,weakness4--,the whole employment of men is to gain wealth2 yet they have no title to show that they justly possess it but human caprice1 nor have they power to hold it securely4 ,it is the same with knowledge1 of which disease deprives us4 ,we are incapable both of truth and of goodness4 ,the ,swiss are offended if they are called noble1 and bring proof of their plebeian race that they may be judged worthy of office4 ,when the question is of judging whether we ought to make war and kill so many men1 condemning so many ,spaniards to death1 there is only one man who is the judge1 and he an interested party2 there ought to be a third1 and he disinterested4 ,why do you kill me8--,what6 ,do not you live on the other side of the stream1 my friend8 ,if you lived on this side ,i should be an assassin1 and it were unjust to kill you in this fashion1 but since you live on the other side1 ,i am a brave soldier1 and it is just4 ,justice1 ,power4--,it is just that what is just should be obeyed1 it is of necessity that what is strongest should be obeyed4 ,justice without power is unavailing1 power without justice is tyrannical4 ,justice without power is gainsaid1 because the wicked always exist1 power without justice is condemned4 ,we must therefore combine justice and power1 making what is just strong1 and what is strong just4 ,justice is subject to dispute1 power is easily recognised and cannot be disputed4 ,thus we cannot give power to justice1 because power has arraigned justice1 saying that justice is unjust1 and she herself truly just2 so since we are unable to bring about that what is just should be strong1 we have made the strong just4 ,the sole universal rules are the laws of the country in ordinary affairs1 and the law of the majority in others4 ,and this comes from the power which is in them4 ,thus it comes that kings1 whose power is of another kind1 do not follow the majority of their ministers4 ,no doubt equality of goods is just1 but since they are unable to bring about that power should obey justice1 people have judged it right to obey power2 not being able to add power to justice they have justified power1 so that justice and power should coalesce1 and peace1 the sovereign good1 result4 ,do we follow the majority because they have more reason8 ,no2 but because they have more power4 ,do we follow ancient laws and opinions because they are more sound8 ,no2 but because they stand alone and take from us the root of diversity4 ,summum jus1 summa injuria4 ,the way of the majority is the best way1 because it is plain1 and has power to make itself obeyed2 yet it is the opinion of the least able4 ,if men could have done so1 they would have placed power in the hands of justice1 since we cannot deal with power as we please1 because it is a tangible quality1 while justice is a spiritual quality of which we dispose as we please1 they have placed justice in the hands of power1 and thus that is called just which we are forced to obey4 ,thence arises the right of the sword1 for the sword gives a true right4 ,otherwise we should see violence on one side and justice on the other4 ,the end of the twelfth ,provincial4 ,thence the injustice of the ,fronde1 which raises its so-called justice against power4 ,it is not the same in the ,church1 for there is true justice and no violence4 ,injustice4--,that presumption should be joined to insignificance is extreme injustice4 ,tyranny consists in the desire of universal rule outside its sphere4 ,there are different societies1 in which are the strong1 the fair1 the judicious1 the devout1 in which each man rules at home1 not elsewhere4 ,sometimes they meet1 and the strong and the fair contend for the mastery1 foolishly1 for their mastery is each in a different kind4 ,they do not agree1 and their fault is that each aims at universal dominion4 ,none can obtain this1 not even power1 which is of no avail in the realm of the wise2 she is only mistress of our external actions4 ,tyranny4--,thus the following expressions are false and tyrannical3 ,i am beautiful1 therefore ,i should be feared2 ,i am strong1 therefore ,i should be loved4 ,i am4444 ,tyranny is the wishing to have in one way what can only be had in another4 ,divers duties are owing to divers merits1 the duty of love to the pleasant1 of fear to the strong1 of belief to the wise4 ,these duties should be paid1 it is unjust to refuse them1 unjust also to require others4 ,in the same way it is false and tyrannous to say1 ,he is not strong1 therefore ,i will not esteem him2 he is not clever1 therefore ,i will not fear him4 ,it is necessary that men should be unequal4 ,true2 but that being granted1 the door is open1 not only to the greatest domination1 but to the greatest tyranny4 ,it is necessary to relax the mind a little1 but that opens the door to extreme dissipation4 ,we must mark the limits4--,there are no fixed boundaries in these matters1 law wishes to impose them1 but the mind will not bear them4 ,mine1 ,thine4--,this is my dog1 say poor children1 that is my place in the sunshine4 ,here is the beginning and the image of the usurpation of the whole earth4 ,good birth is a great advantage1 for it gives a man a chance at the age of eighteen1 making him known and respected as an ordinary man is on his merits at fifty4 ,here are thirty years gained at a stroke4 ,it is the result of power and not of custom4 ,for those who are able to originate are few1 the greater number will only follow1 and refuse glory to those inventors who seek it by their inventions4 ,and if they persist in wishing to gain glory1 and in despising those who do not originate1 the others will give them ridicule and would fain give them blows4 ,let no one then pride himself on this subtle capacity1 or else let him keep his content to himself4 ,the reason of effects4--,it is strange that men would not have me honour a man clothed in brocade1 and followed by seven or eight footmen6 ,yet he will have them give me the strap if ,i do not salute him4 ,this custom is a power4 ,it is the same with a horse in fine trappings compared with another4 ,it is odd that ,montaigne does not see what difference there is1 wonders that we find any1 and asks the reason4 ,indeed1 he says1 how comes it1 etc4444 ,when power attacks craft1 when a mere soldier takes the square cap of a first president1 and flings it out of the window4 ,injustice4--,men have found no means to gratify their sensuality without wrong to others4 ,the greatness of man even in his sensuality1 to have known how to extract from it an admirable code1 and to have drawn from it a picture of love to others4 ,greatness4--,the reasons of effects mark the greatness of man1 in having formed so fair an order out of sensuality4 ,the reason of effects4--,sensuality and power are the source of all our actions2 sensuality causes those which are voluntary1 power the involuntary4 ,from sensuality men have found and drawn excellent rules of policy1 of morals1 and of justice4 ,but after all1 this evil root of man1 this figmentum malum1 is only hidden1 it is not removed4 ,all men by nature hate each other4 ,they have used sensuality as best they could to make it serve the public weal1 but this is only a feint1 and a false image of charity1 for at bottom it is but hate4 ,to pity the unfortunate is not contrary to sensuality1 rather is it easy to render this evidence of friendship1 and to gain the reputation of a tender heart1 without giving4 ,the people have very sound opinions1 for instance3 #a4 ,in having preferred diversion and hunting to poetry4 ,the half educated deride this1 and are triumphant over the folly of the world1 but the people are right by a reason which the others do not understand4 #b4 ,in distinguishing men by outward marks1 as birth or wealth4 ,the world is again triumphant in showing how unreasonable this is1 yet it is thoroughly reasonable4 ,savages laugh at an infant king4 #c4 ,in taking offence at a blow1 or in desiring glory so strongly4 ,but it is very desirable1 on account of the other essential goods which are joined to it1 and a man who has received a blow without resenting it is overwhelmed with abuse and indignity4 #d4 ,in working for an uncertainty1 in going on a sea voyage1 in walking over a plank4 ,sound opinions of the people4--,civil wars are the greatest of all evils4 ,they are certain1 if we try to reward desert1 for all will say they deserve4 ,the evil to fear from a fool who succeeds by right of birth1 is neither so great nor so certain4 ,sound opinions of the people4--,to be well dressed is not altogether foolish1 for it proves that a great number of people work for us4 ,it shows by our hair1 that we have a valet1 a perfumer1 etc42 by our band1 our thread1 our trimming1 etc4 ,now it is not merely superficial nor simply outward show to have many arms at our disposal4 ,the more arms we have the stronger we are4 ,to be well dressed is to show our power4 ,the reason of effects4--,continual alternation of pro and con4 ,we have then shown that man is frivolous1 by the estimation he has of non-essentials4 ,and all these opinions are destroyed4 ,we have next shown that all these opinions were perfectly sound1 and that thus all these frivolities being well founded1 the people are not so frivolous as is said4 ,and thus we have destroyed the opinion which destroyed that of the people4 ,but we must now destroy this last proposition1 and show that it remains always true that the people are frivolous1 though its opinions are sound1 because it does not feel the truth where it is1 and placing it where it is not1 its opinions are always very false and very unsound4 ,the reason of effects4--,it is1 then1 true to say that all men are under an illusion1 for even though the opinions of the people be sound1 they are not so as they hold them1 for they think that truth is where it is not4 ,truth is indeed in their opinions1 but not at the point where they imagine it4 ,thus1 it is true that we should honour men of birth1 but not because good birth is in itself an advantage1 etc4 ,the reason of effects4--,gradation4 ,the people honours persons of high birth4 ,the half-educated despise them1 saying that birth is not a personal1 but a chance advantage4 ,the educated honour them1 not from the motives of the people1 but from another motive4 ,devout persons of more zeal than knowledge despise them1 in spite of that consideration which makes them honoured by the educated1 because they judge by a new light arising from their piety4 ,but true ,christians honour them by a still higher light4 ,so there is a succession of opinions for and against1 according to the measure of our light4 ,how rightly do men distinguish by exterior rather than by interior qualities6 ,which of us twain shall take the lead8 ,who will give place to the other8 ,the least able8 ,but ,i am as able as he is4 ,we should have to fight about that4 ,he has four footmen1 and ,i have but one2 that is something which can be seen2 there is nothing to do but to count2 it is my place to yield1 and ,i am a fool if ,i contest it4 ,so by this means we remain at peace1 the greatest of all blessings4 ,deference is shown by submitting to personal inconvenience4 ,this is apparently foolish but really just1 for it is to say1 ,i would certainly put myself to inconvenience did you need it1 since ,i do so when it can be of no service to you4 ,respect1 moreover1 is for the purpose of marking distinctions of rank4 ,now if it showed respect to be seated in an arm-chair1 we should pay respect to every body1 and thus no distinction would be made1 but being put to inconvenience we distinguish very well4 ,the reason of effects4--,we should keep our own secret thoughts1 and judge of all by those1 while speaking like every one else4 ,king and tyrant4--,i too will have my secret thoughts4 ,i will take care on every journey4 ,the reason of effects4--,epictetus4 ,those who say ,you have a headache1 this is not the same thing4 ,we are assured of health1 and not of justice1 and indeed his own was folly4 ,yet he believed it demonstrable when he said1 it is either in our power or it is not4 ,but he did not see that it is not in our power to regulate the heart1 and he was wrong to draw this conclusion from the fact that some were ,christians4 ,the reason of effects4--,it is owing to the weakness of man that so many things are esteemed beautiful1 as to be well skilled in playing the lute4 ,it is only an evil because of our weakness4 ,,the ,,weakness1 ,,unrest1 ,,and ,,defects ,,of ,,man4 ,the ,misery of ,man4--,we care nothing for the present4 ,we anticipate the future as too slow in coming1 as if we could make it move faster2 or we call back the past1 to stop its rapid flight4 ,so imprudent are we that we wander through the times in which we have no part1 unthinking of that which alone is ours2 so frivolous are we that we dream of the days which are not1 and pass by without reflection those which alone exist4 ,for the present generally gives us pain2 we conceal it from our sight because it afflicts us1 and if it be pleasant we regret to see it vanish away4 ,we endeavour to sustain the present by the future1 and think of arranging things not in our power1 for a time at which we have no certainty of arriving4 ,if we examine our thoughts1 we shall find them always occupied with the past or the future4 ,we scarcely think of the present1 and if we do so1 it is only that we may borrow light from it to direct the future4 ,the present is never our end2 the past and the present are our means1 the future alone is our end4 ,thus we never live1 but hope to live1 and while we always lay ourselves out to be happy1 it is inevitable that we can never be so4 ,we are so unhappy that we cannot take pleasure in a thing1 save on condition of being troubled if it turn out ill1 as a thousand things may do1 and do every hour4 ,he who should find the secret of rejoicing in good without being troubled at its contrary evil1 would have hit the mark4 ,it is perpetual motion4 ,our nature exists by motion2 perfect rest is death4 ,when we are well we wonder how we should get on if we were sick1 but when sickness comes we take our medicine cheerfully1 into that the evil resolves itself4 ,we have no longer those passions and that desire for amusement and gadding abroad1 which were ours in health1 but are now incompatible with the necessities of our disease4 ,so then nature gives us passions and desires in accordance with the immediate situation4 ,nothing troubles us but fears1 which we1 and not nature1 make for ourselves1 because fear adds to the condition in which we are the passions of the condition in which we are not4 ,since nature makes us always unhappy in every condition1 our desires paint for us a happy condition1 joining to that in which we are1 the pleasures of the condition in which we are not1 and were we to gain these pleasures we should not therefore be happy1 because we should have other desires conformable to this new estate4 ,we must particularize this general proposition4444 ,what difference in point of obedience is there between a soldier and a ,carthusian8 ,for both are alike under rule and dependent1 both engaged in equally irksome labours4 ,but the soldier always hopes to bear rule1 and though he never does so1 for even captains and princes are always slaves and dependents1 he ever hopes and ever works to attain mastery1 whereas the ,carthusian makes a vow never to be aught else than dependent4 ,thus they do not differ in their perpetual servitude1 which is the same always for both1 but in the hope which one always has1 the other never4 ,the example of ,alexander's chastity has not made so many continent as that of his drunkenness has made intemperate4 ,it is not shameful to be less virtuous than he1 and it seems excusable to be no more vicious4 ,we do not think ourselves wholly partakers in the vices of ordinary men1 when we see that we share those of the great1 not considering that in such matters the great are but ordinary men4 ,we hold on to them by the same end by which they hold on to the people1 for at whatsoever height they be1 they are yet united at some point to the lowest of mankind4 ,they are not suspended in the air1 abstracted from our society4 ,no1 doubly no2 if they are greater than we1 it is because their heads are higher2 but their feet are as low as ours4 ,there all are on the same level1 resting on the same earth1 and by the lower extremity are as low as we are1 as the meanest men1 as children1 and the brutes4 ,great men and little have the same accidents1 the same tempers1 the same passions1 but one is on the felloe of the wheel1 the other near the axle1 and so less agitated by the same revolutions4 ,would he who had enjoyed the friendship of the ,king of ,england1 the ,king of ,poland1 and the ,queen of ,sweden have thought he should come to want1 and need a retreat or shelter in the world8 ,man is full of wants1 and cares only for those who can satisfy them all4 ,such an one is a good mathematician1 it is said4 ,but ,i have nothing to do with mathematics1 he would take me for a proposition4 ,this other is a good soldier4 ,he would treat me as a besieged city4 ,i need then an honourable man who can lend himself generally to all my wants4 ,men say that eclipses presage misfortune1 because misfortunes are common1 so that as evil often happens they often divine it2 whereas to say that they presage happiness would often prove false4 ,they attribute happiness only to rare planetary conjunctions1 and thus they seldom fail in their divination4 ,we are fools if we rest content with the society of those like ourselves2 miserable as we are1 powerless as we are1 they will not aid us1 we shall die alone4 ,we ought therefore to act as though we were alone1 and should we in that case build superb mansions1 etc48 ,we should search for truth unhesitatingly1 and if we refuse it1 we show that we value the esteem of men more than the search for truth4 ,the last act is tragic1 how pleasantly soever the play may have run through the others4 ,at the end a little earth is flung on our head1 and all is over for ever4 ,i feel that ,i might not have been1 for the ',i' consists in my thought2 therefore ,i1 who think1 had not been had my mother been killed before ,i had life4 ,so ,i am not a necessary being4 ,neither am ,i eternal nor infinite1 but ,i see plainly there is in nature a necessary being1 eternal and infinite4 ,as duchies1 kingships1 and magistracies are real and necessary1 because power rules all1 these exist every where and always4 ,but since it is only caprice which makes one or another duke or king1 the rule is not constant1 and may vary1 etc4 ,cromwell was about to ravage the whole of ,christendom1 the royal family had been brought to nought1 and his own dynasty for ever established1 but for a little grain of sand in his bladder4 ,rome herself began to tremble under him1 but this scrap of gravel having got there1 he dies1 his family falls from power1 peace is established1 and the king restored4 ,scepticism4--,excessive or deficient mental powers are alike accused of madness4 ,nothing is good but mediocrity4 ,the majority has settled that1 and assails whoever escapes it1 no matter by which extreme4 ,i make no objection1 would willingly consent to be in the mean1 and ,i refuse to be placed at the lower end1 not because it is low1 but because it is an extreme1 for ,i would equally refuse to be placed at the top4 ,to leave the mean is to leave humanity4 ,the greatness of the human soul consists in knowing how to keep the mean4 ,so little is it the case that greatness consists in leaving it1 that it lies in not leaving it4 ,discourses on humility give occasion for pride to the boastful1 and for humility to the humble4 ,those on scepticism give occasion for believers to affirm4 ,few men speak humbly of humility1 chastely of chastity1 few of scepticism doubtingly4 ,we are but falsehood1 duplicity and contradiction1 using even to ourselves concealment and guile4 ,there are vices which only take hold of us by means of others1 and these1 like branches1 fall with the removal of the trunk4 ,for we must not mistake ourselves1 we have as much that is automatic in us as intellectual1 and hence it comes that the instrument by which persuasion is brought about is not demonstration alone4 ,how few things are demonstrated6 ,proofs can only convince the mind2 custom makes our strongest proofs and those which we hold most firmly1 it sways the automaton1 which draws the unconscious intellect after it4 ,who has demonstrated that there will be a to-morrow1 or that we shall die2 yet what is more universally believed8 ,it is then custom that convinces us of it1 custom that makes so many men ,christians1 custom that makes them ,turks1 heathen1 artisans1 soldiers1 etc4 ,lastly1 we must resort to custom when once the mind has seen where truth is1 in order to slake our thirst1 and steep ourselves in that belief1 which escapes us at every hour1 for to have proofs always at hand were too onerous4 ,we must acquire a more easy belief1 that of custom1 which without violence1 without art1 without argument1 causes our assent and inclines all our powers to this belief1 so that our soul naturally falls into it4 ,it is not enough to believe only by force of conviction if the automaton is inclined to believe the contrary4 ,both parts of us then must be obliged to believe1 the intellect by arguments which it is enough to have admitted once in our lives1 the automaton by custom1 and by not allowing it to incline in the contrary direction4 ,inclina cor meum1 ,deus4 ,the intellect believes naturally1 and the will loves naturally1 so that for lack of true objects1 they must needs attach themselves to the false4 ,eritis sicut dii1 scientes bonum et malum4--,every one plays the god in judging whether anything be good or bad1 and in being too much afflicted or rejoiced at circumstances4 ,even if people have no interest in what they say1 it must not therefore be certainly concluded they are not lying1 for there are those who lie simply for lying's sake4 ,men are of necessity so mad1 that not to be mad were madness in another form4 ,we cannot think of ,plato and ,aristotle1 save in professorial robes4 ,they were honest men like others1 laughing with their friends1 and when they amused themselves with writing the ,laws or the ,politics1 they did it as a pastime4 ,that part of their life was the least philosophic and the least serious2 the most philosophic was to live simply and quietly4 ,if they wrote on politics it was as though they were laying down rules for a madhouse1 and if they made as though they were speaking of a great matter1 it was because they knew that the madmen to whom they spoke fancied themselves kings and emperors4 ,they entered into their views in order to make their folly as little harmful as possible4 ,the most important affair in life is the choice of a trade1 yet chance decides it4 ,custom makes men masons1 soldiers1 tilers4 ,he is a good tiler1 says one1 and soldiers are fools4 ,but others3 ,there is nothing great but war1 all but soldiers are rogues4 ,we choose our professions according as we hear this or that praised or despised in our childhood1 for we naturally love truth and hate folly4 ,these words move us1 the only fault is in their application4 ,so great is the force of custom that out of those who by nature are only men1 are made all conditions of men4 ,for some countries are full of masons1 others of soldiers1 etc4 ,nature is certainly not so uniform4 ,custom then produces this effect and gains ascendency over nature1 yet sometimes nature gets the upper hand1 and obliges man to act by instinct in spite of all custom1 whether good or bad4 ,men by nature are tilers and of all callings1 except in their own closets4 ,we never teach men to be gentlemen1 but we teach them everything else1 and they never pique themselves so much on all the rest as on knowing how to be gentlemen4 ,they pique themselves only on knowing the one thing they have not learnt4 ,people should not be able to say of a man1 he is a mathematician1 or a preacher1 or eloquent1 but he is a gentleman2 that universal quality alone pleases me4--,when you think of a man's book as soon as you see himself1 it is a bad sign4 ,i would rather that none of his qualities should be recognised till you meet them1 or have occasion to avail yourself of them4 ,ne quid nimis1 for fear some one quality gain the mastery and stamp the man4 ,let not people think of him as an orator1 unless oratory be in question1 then let them think of it4 ,no man passes in the world as an expert in verse unless he hang out the sign of a poet1 a mathematician1 etc4 ,but people who are generally accomplished need no sign and scarce recognise any difference between the trade of a poet and that of an embroiderer4 ,people of general accomplishment are not called poets or geometricians1 etc41 though they are so1 and judges of all these4 ,you do not guess what they are4 ,when they enter a society they join in the general conversation4 ,they do not exhibit one quality rather than another1 except when they have to make use of it4 ,then we remember it1 for it is natural to such characters that we do not say of them that they are fine speakers when it is not a question of oratory1 and that we give them the praise of eloquence if occasion call for it4 ,it is false praise then to say of a man as soon as he enters a society that he is a clever poet1 and it is a bad sign when a man is never called on to give his opinion on such a subject as verse4 ,inconstancy4--,things have different qualities1 and the soul different inclinations2 for nothing is simple which presents itself to the soul1 and the soul never presents itself simply to any subject4 ,hence it comes that men laugh and weep at the same thing4 ,greatness of establishment1 respect for establishment4 ,the pleasure of the great is to be able to make people happy4 ,the property of riches is to be given liberally4 ,the property of each thing should be sought out4 ,the property of power is to protect4 ,saint ,augustine saw that we labour for an uncertainty1 at sea1 in a battle1 etc42 he did not see the doctrine of chances1 which demonstrates that we must do so4 ,montaigne saw that we are disgusted at a distorted mind1 and that custom can do all things1 but he did not see the reason of that effect4 ,all these men saw the effects1 but did not see the causes2 in relation to those who have discovered the causes they are as those who have only eyes are in regard to those who have intellect4 ,for the effects are as it were sensible1 and the causes are visible only to the intellect4 ,and though these effects too are apprehended through reason1 yet is it in relation to the reason which apprehends causes1 as the bodily senses are to the intellect4 ,suppose a man puts himself at a window to see the passers by4 ,if ,i pass ,i cannot say that he stood there to see me1 for he does not think of me in particular4 ,nor does any one who loves another on account of beauty really love that person1 for the small-pox1 which kills beauty without killing the person1 will cause the loss of love4 ,nor does one who loves me for my judgment1 my memory1 love me1 myself1 for ,i may lose those qualities without losing my identity4 ,where then is this ',i' if it reside not in the body nor in the soul1 and how love the body or the soul1 except for the qualities which do not make 'me1' since they are perishable8 ,for it is not possible and it would be unjust to love the soul of a person in the abstract1 and whatever qualities might be therein4 ,so then we do not love a person1 but only qualities4 ,we should not then sneer at those who are honoured on account of rank and office1 for we love no one save for borrowed qualities4 ,time heals all pain and misunderstanding1 because we change and are no longer the same persons4 ,neither the offender nor the offended are any more themselves4 ,it is like a nation which we have angered and meet again after two generations4 ,they are ,frenchmen still1 but not the same4 ,inconstancy and singularity4--,to live only by labour1 and to reign over the most powerful state in the world1 are very opposite things4 ,they are united in the person of the grand ,sultan of the ,turks4 ,it pleases us to say ',prince' to a king1 because it lessens his quality4 ,epigrams of ,martial4--,men like malice1 but not against one-eyed men1 nor against the unfortunate1 but against the fortunate and proud4 ,those who think otherwise make a mistake4 ,for concupiscence is the source of all our movements1 and humanity1 etc4 ,we must please those whose feelings are humane and tender4 ,that epigram about the two one-eyed people is valueless1 for it brings them no consolation1 and only gives a point to the author's glory4 ,all that is merely for the sake of the author is valueless4 ,ambitiosa recidet ornamenta4 ,i put it down as a fact that if all men knew what each said of the other1 there would not be four friends in the world4 ,this is evident from the quarrels which arise from indiscreet reports made from time to time4 ,those who are always hopeful in adversity1 and rejoice in good luck1 are suspected of being glad of failure should they not be correspondingly depressed under bad luck2 they are delighted to find pretexts for hoping1 in order to show that they are interested1 and to hide by the joy they pretend to feel that which they really feel at the ill success of the affair4 ,malignity when it has reason on its side becomes proud1 and displays reason in all its splendour4 ,if austerity or a rigid choice have not found the true good1 and we must needs return to follow nature1 it becomes proud by reason of this return4 ,a maker of epigrams1--a bad man4 ,do you wish men to believe good of you8 ,then say none4 ,we ought to be much obliged to those who tell us of our faults1 for they mortify us1 they teach us we have been despised1 they do not prevent our being so in the future1 for we have many other faults which are despicable4 ,they prepare for us the exercise of correction1 and freedom from a fault4 ,if we would reprove with success1 and show another his mistake1 we must see from what side he views the matter1 for on that side it is generally true1 and admitting that truth1 show him the side on which it is false4 ,he will be satisfied1 for he will see that he was not mistaken1 only that he did not see all sides4 ,now1 no one is vexed at not seeing every thing4 ,but we do not like to be mistaken1 and that perhaps arises from the fact that man by nature cannot see everything1 and that by nature he cannot be mistaken in the side he looks at1 since what we apprehend by our senses is always true4 ,i passed a long time in the study of the abstract sciences1 and was much discouraged at finding how few were my fellow-students4 ,when ,i began the study of man ,i saw that these abstract sciences were not fit for him1 and that ,i was wandering more from my true state in investigating them1 than others in ignoring them4 ,i forgave their scanty knowledge4 ,but ,i thought at least to find many fellow-students in the study of man1 and that this was the real study which befits us4 ,i was deceived1 for there are still fewer than those who study mathematics4 ,it is only for want of knowing how to pursue this study that we seek others4 ,but is it not that even here is not the knowledge that man should have1 and that it is better for him to be ignorant of himself in order to be happy8 ,the ,vanity of ,knowledge4--,the knowledge of external things will not console me for my ignorance of ethics in time of affliction1 but the science of morals will always console me for my ignorance of external knowledge4 ,there are plants on the earth1 we see them1 but they could not be seen from the moon4 ,on these plants are hairs1 and in these hairs tiny animals1 but beyond that1 nothing more4 ,o1 presumption6 ,compound bodies are made up of elements1 but not the elementary bodies themselves4 ,o presumption6 ,here is a fine distinction4 ,we must not assert the existence of what we cannot see1 we must then say what others say1 but not think with them4 ,the world's judgment is right1 for it is in that condition of natural ignorance which is man's best wisdom4 ,the sciences have two extremes which meet4 ,the first is that pure natural ignorance in which every man is born4 ,the other extreme is that reached by great minds1 who having run through all that men can know1 find that they know nothing1 and again come round to the same ignorance from which they started2 but this is a learned ignorance1 conscious of itself4 ,those between the two1 who have left their natural ignorance and not been able to reach the other1 have some tincture of this vain knowledge1 and assume to be wise4 ,these trouble the world1 and judge all things falsely4 ,the people and the wise make up the world2 these despise it1 and are despised2 they judge ill of all things1 and the world rightly judges of them4 ,nature has made all her truths self-contained4 ,our art encloses them one within another1 but that is not according to nature4 ,each holds its own place4 ,spongia solis4--,when we see the same effect invariably recur we conclude there is in it a natural necessity1 as that there will be a to-morrow1 etc4 ,but nature often gives us the lie1 and will not subject herself to her own rules4 ,nature always begins the same things again1 years1 days1 and hours1 and in like manner spaces and numbers follow each other1 end without end4 ,so is made a sort of infinity and eternity1 not that any thing of these is infinite and eternal1 but these finite entities are infinitely multiplied4 ,thus as it seems to me the number which multiplies them alone is infinite4 ,nature imitates herself4 ,a seed sown in good ground brings forth fruit4 ,a principle cast into a good mind brings forth fruit4 ,numbers imitate space1 which is of an wholly different nature4 ,all is made and guided by one and the same master1 root1 branch and fruits2 principles and consequences4 ,nature works by progress1 itus et reditus4 ,it goes and returns1 then it goes further1 then twice as much backwards1 then more forward than ever1 etc4 ,so is it with the tide of the sea1 and so apparently with the course of the sun4 ,every one is all in all to himself1 for he being dead1 all is dead to him4 ,hence it comes that each man believes that he is all to all4 ,we ought not to judge of nature by ourselves1 but by it4 ,self is hateful4 ,you ,miton1 conceal self1 but do not thereby destroy it1 therefore you are still hateful4 --,not so1 for in acting as we do1 to oblige every body1 we give no reason for hating us4--,true1 if we only hated in self the vexation which it causes us4 ,but if ,i hate it because it is unjust1 and because it makes itself the centre of all1 ,i shall always hate it4 ,in one word ,self has two qualities1 it is unjust in its essence because it makes itself the centre of all1 it is inconvenient to others1 in that it would bring them into subjection1 for each ',i' is the enemy1 and would fain be the tyrant of all others4 ,you take away the inconvenience1 but not the injustice1 and thus you do not render it loveable to those who hate injustice2 you render it loveable only to the unjust1 who find in it an enemy no longer4 ,thus you remain unjust and can please none but the unjust4 ,of ,self-love4--,the nature of self-love and of this human ',i' is to love self only1 and consider self only4 ,but what can it do8 ,it cannot prevent the object it loves from being full of faults and miseries2 man would fain be great and sees that he is little1 would fain be happy1 and sees that he is miserable1 would fain be perfect1 and sees that he is full of imperfections1 would fain be the object of the love and esteem of men1 and sees that his faults merit only their aversion and contempt4 ,the embarrassment wherein he finds himself produces in him the most unjust and criminal passion imaginable1 for he conceives a mortal hatred against that truth which blames him and convinces him of his faults4 ,desiring to annihilate it1 yet unable to destroy it in its essence1 he destroys it as much as he can in his own knowledge1 and in that of others2 that is to say1 he devotes all his care to the concealment of his faults1 both from others and from himself1 and he can neither bear that others should show them to him1 nor that they should see them4 ,it is no doubt an evil to be full of faults1 but it is a greater evil to be full of them1 yet unwilling to recognise them1 because that is to add the further fault of a voluntary illusion4 ,we do not like others to deceive us1 we do not think it just in them to require more esteem from us than they deserve2 it is therefore unjust that we should deceive them1 desiring more esteem from them than we deserve4 ,thus if they discover no more imperfections and vices in us than we really have1 it is plain they do us no wrong1 since it is not they who cause them2 but rather they do us a service1 since they help us to deliver ourselves from an evil1 the ignorance of these imperfections4 ,we ought not to be troubled that they know our faults and despise us1 since it is but just they should know us as we are1 and despise us if we are despicable4 ,such are the sentiments which would arise in a heart full of equity and justice4 ,what should we say then of our own heart1 finding in it an wholly contrary disposition8 ,for is it not true that we hate truth1 and those who tell it us1 and that we would wish them to have an erroneously favourable opinion of us1 and to esteem us other than indeed we are8 ,one proof of this fills me with dismay4 ,the ,catholic religion does not oblige us to tell out our sins indiscriminately to all1 it allows us to remain hidden from men in general1 but she excepts one alone1 to whom she commands us to open the very depths of our heart1 and to show ourselves to him as we are4 ,there is but this one man in the world whom she orders us to undeceive2 she binds him to an inviolable secrecy1 so that this knowledge is to him as though it were not4 ,we can imagine nothing more charitable and more tender4 ,yet such is the corruption of man1 that he finds even this law harsh1 and it is one of the main reasons which has set a large portion of ,europe in revolt against the ,church4 ,how unjust and unreasonable is the human heart which finds it hard to be obliged to do in regard to one man what in some degree it were just to do to all men4 ,for is it just that we should deceive them8 ,there are different degrees in this dislike to the truth1 but it may be said that all have it in some degree1 for it is inseparable from self-love4 ,this false delicacy causes those who must needs reprove others to choose so many windings and modifications in order to avoid shocking them4 ,they must needs lessen our faults1 seem to excuse them1 mix praises with their blame1 give evidences of affection and esteem4 ,yet this medicine is always bitter to self-love1 which takes as little as it can1 always with disgust1 often with a secret anger against those who administer it4 ,hence it happens1 that if any desire our love1 they avoid doing us a service which they know to be disagreeable2 they treat us as we would wish to be treated3 we hate the truth1 and they hide it from us2 we wish to be flattered1 they flatter us2 we love to be deceived1 they deceive us4 ,thus each degree of good fortune which raises us in the world removes us further from truth1 because we fear most to wound those whose affection is most useful1 and whose dislike is most dangerous4 ,a prince may be the by-word of all ,europe1 yet he alone know nothing of it4 ,i am not surprised2 to speak the truth is useful to whom it is spoken1 but disadvantageous to those who speak it1 since it makes them hated4 ,now those who live with princes love their own interests more than that of the prince they serve1 and thus they take care not to benefit him so as to do themselves a disservice4 ,this misfortune is1 no doubt1 greater and more common in the higher classes1 but lesser men are not exempt from it1 since there is always an interest in making men love us4 ,thus human life is but a perpetual illusion1 an interchange of deceit and flattery4 ,no one speaks of us in our presence as in our absence4 ,the society of men is founded on this universal deceit3 few friendships would last if every man knew what his friend said of him behind his back1 though he then spoke in sincerity and without passion4 ,man is then only disguise1 falsehood1 and hypocrisy1 both in himself and with regard to others4 ,he will not be told the truth1 he avoids telling it to others1 and all these tendencies1 so far removed from justice and reason1 have their natural roots in his heart4 ,,the ,,happiness ,,of ,,man ,,with ,,god2 ,,or1 ,,that ,,the ,,scripture ,,shows ,a ,,redeemer4 ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,second ,,part4 ,to speak of those who have treated of this subject4 ,i wonder at the boldness with which these persons undertake to speak of ,god1 in addressing their words to the irreligious4 ,their first chapter is to prove ,divinity by the works of nature4 ,i should not be astonished at their undertaking if they addressed their argument to the faithful1 for it is certain that those who have a lively faith in their heart see at once that all that exists is none other than the work of the ,god whom they adore4 ,but for those in whom this light is extinguished1 and in whom we desire to revive it1 men destitute of faith and grace who1 seeking with all their light whatever they see in nature to lead them to this knowledge1 find only clouds and darkness1--to tell them they need only look at the smallest things which surround them in order to see ,god unveiled1 to give them as the sole proof of this great and important subject1 the course of the moon and planets1 and to say that with such an argument we have accomplished the proof2 is to give them ground for belief that the proofs of our ,religion are very feeble4 ,indeed ,i see by reason and experience that nothing is more fitted to excite contempt4 ,not after this fashion speaks the ,scripture1 which knows better than we the things of ,god4 ,it says1 on the contrary1 that ,god is a ,god who hides himself1 and that since nature became corrupt1 he has left men in a blindness from which they can only escape by ,jesus ,christ1 and except through him we are cut off from all communication with ,god4 ,nemo novit ,patrem1 nisi ,filius1 et cui voluerit ,filius revelare4 ,this is what ,scripture indicates when it says in so many places that those who seek ,god find him4 ,it is not of a light like the sun at noonday that they thus speak4 ,no one says that those who seek the sun at noonday1 or water in the sea shall find them1 and thus it follows that the evidence for ,god is not of that kind4 ,therefore it says to us elsewhere3 ,vere tu es ,deus absconditus4 ,the metaphysical proofs of ,god are so apart from man's reason1 and so complicated that they are but little striking1 and if they are of use to any1 it is only during the moment that the demonstration is before them1 but an hour afterwards they fear they have been mistaken4 ,quod curiositate cognoverint1 superbia amiserunt4 ,such is the outcome of the knowledge of ,god gained without ,jesus ,christ1 for this is to communicate without a mediator with the ,god whom they have known without a mediator4 ,instead of which those who have known ,god by a mediator know their own wretchedness4 ,jesus ,christ is the goal of all1 and the centre to which all tends4 ,who knows him knows the reason of all things4 ,those who go astray only do so from failing to see one of these two things4 ,it is then possible to know ,god without knowing our wretchedness1 and to know our wretchedness without knowing ,god2 but we cannot know ,jesus ,christ without knowing at the same time ,god and our wretchedness4 ,therefore ,i do not here undertake to prove by natural reasons either the existence of ,god or the ,trinity1 or the immortality of the soul1 nor anything of that sort1 not only because ,i do not feel myself strong enough to find in nature proofs to convince hardened atheists1 but also1 because this knowledge without ,jesus ,christ is useless and barren4 ,though a man should be persuaded that the proportions of numbers are immaterial truths1 eternal1 and dependent on a first truth in whom they subsist1 and who is called ,god1 ,i should not consider him far advanced towards his salvation4 ,the ,god of ,christians is not a ,god who is simply the author of mathematical truths1 or of the order of the elements1 as is the god of the heathen and of ,epicureans4 ,nor is he merely a ,god who providentially disposes the life and fortunes of men1 to crown his worshippers with length of happy years4 ,such was the portion of the ,jews4 ,but the ,god of ,abraham1 the ,god of ,isaac1 the ,god of ,jacob1 the ,god of ,christians1 is a ,god of love and consolation1 a ,god who fills the souls and hearts of his own1 a ,god who makes them feel their inward wretchedness1 and his infinite mercy1 who unites himself to their inmost spirit1 filling it with humility and joy1 with confidence and love1 rendering them incapable of any end other than himself4 ,all who seek ,god apart from ,jesus ,christ1 and who rest in nature1 find no light to satisfy them1 but form for themselves a means of knowing ,god and serving him without a mediator4 ,thus they fall either into atheism1 or into deism1 two things which the ,christian religion almost equally abhors4 ,the ,god of ,christians is a ,god who makes the soul perceive that he is her only good1 that her only rest is in him1 her only joy in loving him2 who makes her at the same time abhor the obstacles which withhold her from loving him with all her strength4 ,her two hindrances1 self-love and lust1 are insupportable to her4 ,this ,god makes her perceive that the root of self-love destroys her1 and that he alone can heal4 ,the knowledge of ,god without that of our wretchedness creates pride4 ,the knowledge of our wretchedness without that of ,god creates despair4 ,the knowledge of ,jesus ,christ is the middle way1 because in him we find both ,god and our wretchedness4 ,,of ,,the ,,need ,,of ,,seeking ,,truth4 ,second ,part4 ,that man without faith cannot know the true good1 nor justice4 ,all men seek happiness4 ,to this there is no exception1 what different means soever they employ1 all tend to this goal4 ,the reason that some men go to the wars and others avoid them is but the same desire attended in each with different views4 ,our will makes no step but towards this object4 ,this is the motive of every action of every man1 even of him who hangs himself4 ,and yet after so many years1 no one without faith has arrived at the point to which all eyes are turned4 ,all complain1 princes and subjects1 nobles and commons1 old and young1 strong and weak1 learned and ignorant1 sound and sick1 of all countries1 all times1 all ages1 and all conditions4 ,a trial so long1 so constant and so uniform1 should surely convince us of our inability to arrive at good by our own strength1 but example teaches us but little4 ,no resemblance is so exact but that there is some slight difference1 and hence we expect that our endeavour will not be foiled on this occasion as before4 ,thus while the present never satisfies1 experience deceives us1 and from misfortune to misfortune leads us on to death1 eternal crown of sorrows4 ,this desire1 and this weakness cry aloud to us that there was once in man a true happiness1 of which there now remains to him but the mark and the empty trace1 which he vainly tries to fill from all that surrounds him1 seeking from things absent the succour he finds not in things present2 and these are all inadequate1 because this infinite void can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object1 that is to say1 only by ,god himself4 ,he only is our true good1 and since we have left him1 it is strange that there is nothing in nature which has not served to take his place2 neither the stars1 nor heaven1 earth1 the elements1 plants1 cabbages1 leeks1 animals1 insects1 calves1 serpents1 fever1 pestilence1 war1 famine1 vices1 adultery1 incest4 ,and since he has lost the true good1 all things can equally appear good to him1 even his own destruction1 though so contrary to ,god1 to reason1 and to the whole course of nature4 ,some seek good in authority1 others in research and knowledge1 others in pleasure4 ,others1 who indeed are nearer the truth1 have considered it necessary that the universal good which all men desire should not consist in any of those particular matters which can only be possessed by one1 and which if once shared1 afflict their possessor more by the want of what he has not1 than they gladden him by the joy of what he has4 ,they have apprehended that the true good should be such as all may possess at once1 without diminution1 and without envy1 and that which none can lose against his will4 ,and their reason is that this desire being natural to man1 since it exists necessarily in all1 and that all must have it1 they conclude from it4444 ,infinite1 nothing4--,the soul of man is cast into the body1 in which it finds number1 time1 dimension2 it reasons thereon1 and calls this nature or necessity1 and cannot believe aught else4 ,unity joined to infinity increases it not1 any more than a foot measure added to infinite space4 ,the finite is annihilated in presence of the infinite and becomes simply nought4 ,thus our intellect before ,god1 thus our justice before the divine justice4 ,there is not so great a disproportion between our justice and that of ,god1 as between unity and infinity4 ,the justice of ,god must be as vast as his mercy1 but justice towards the reprobate is less vast1 and should be less amazing than mercy towards the elect4 ,we know that there is an infinite1 but are ignorant of its nature4 ,as we know it to be false that numbers are finite1 it must therefore be true that there is an infinity in number1 but what this is we know not4 ,it can neither be odd nor even1 for the addition of an unit can make no change in the nature of number2 yet it is a number1 and every number is either odd or even1 at least this is understood of every finite number4 ,thus we may well know that there is a ,god1 without knowing what he is4 ,we know then the existence and the nature of the finite1 because we also are finite and have dimension4 ,we know the existence of the infinite1 and are ignorant of its nature1 because it has dimension like us1 but not limits like us4 ,but we know neither the existence nor the nature of ,god1 because he has neither dimension nor limits4 ,but by faith we know his existence1 by glory we shall know his nature4 ,now ,i have already shown that we can know well the existence of a thing without knowing its nature4 ,let us now speak according to the light of nature4 ,if there be a ,god1 he is infinitely incomprehensible1 since having neither parts nor limits he has no relation to us4 ,we are then incapable of knowing either what he is or if he is4 ,this being so1 who will dare to undertake the solution of the question8 ,not we1 who have no relation to him4 ,who then will blame ,christians for not being able to give a reason for their faith2 those who profess a religion for which they cannot give a reason8 ,they declare in putting it forth to the world that it is a foolishness1 stultitiam1 and then you complain that they do not prove it4 ,were they to prove it they would not keep their word1 it is in lacking proof that they are not lacking in sense4--,yes1 but although this excuses those who offer it as such1 and takes away from them the blame of putting it forth without reason1 it does not excuse those who receive it4--,let us then examine this point1 and say ,god is1 or he is not4 ,but to which side shall we incline8 ,reason can determine nothing about it4 ,there is an infinite gulf fixed between us4 ,a game is playing at the extremity of this infinite distance in which heads or tails may turn up4 ,what will you wager8 ,there is no reason for backing either one or the other1 you cannot reasonably argue in favour of either4 ,do not then accuse of error those who have already chosen1 for you know nothing about it4--,no1 but ,i blame them for having made1 not this choice1 but a choice1 for again both the man who calls 'heads' and his adversary are equally to blame1 they are both in the wrong2 the true course is not to wager at all4-- ,yes1 but you must wager2 this depends not on your will1 you are embarked in the affair4 ,which will you choose8 ,let us see4 ,since you must choose1 let us see which least interests you4 ,you have two things to lose1 truth and good1 and two things to stake1 your reason and your will1 your knowledge and your happiness2 and your nature has two things to avoid1 error and misery4 ,since you must needs choose1 your reason is no more wounded in choosing one than the other4 ,here is one point cleared up1 but what of your happiness8 ,let us weigh the gain and the loss in choosing heads that ,god is4 ,let us weigh the two cases3 if you gain1 you gain all2 if you lose1 you lose nothing4 ,wager then unhesitatingly that he is4--,you are right4 ,yes1 ,i must wager1 but ,i may stake too much4--,let us see4 ,since there is an equal chance of gain and loss1 if you had only to gain two lives for one1 you might still wager4 ,but were there three of them to gain1 you would have to play1 since needs must that you play1 and you would be imprudent1 since you must play1 not to chance your life to gain three at a game where the chances of loss or gain are even4 ,but there is an eternity of life and happiness4 ,and that being so1 were there an infinity of chances of which one only would be for you1 you would still be right to stake one to win two1 and you would act foolishly1 being obliged to play1 did you refuse to stake one life against three at a game in which out of an infinity of chances there be one for you1 if there were an infinity of an infinitely happy life to win4 ,but there is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to win1 a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss1 and what you stake is finite2 that is decided4 ,wherever the infinite exists and there is not an infinity of chances of loss against that of gain1 there is no room for hesitation1 you must risk the whole4 ,thus when a man is forced to play he must renounce reason to keep life1 rather than hazard it for infinite gain1 which is as likely to happen as the loss of nothingness4 ,for it is of no avail to say it is uncertain that we gain1 and certain that we risk1 and that the infinite distance between the certainty of that which is staked and the uncertainty of what we shall gain1 equals the finite good which is certainly staked against an uncertain infinite4 ,this is not so4 ,every gambler stakes a certainty to gain an uncertainty1 and yet he stakes a finite certainty against a finite uncertainty without acting unreasonably4 ,it is false to say there is infinite distance between the certain stake and the uncertain gain4 ,there is in truth an infinity between the certainty of gain and the certainty of loss4 ,but the uncertainty of gain is proportioned to the certainty of the stake1 according to the proportion of chances of gain and loss1 and if therefore there are as many chances on one side as on the other1 the game is even4 ,and thus the certainty of the venture is equal to the uncertainty of the winnings1 so far is it from the truth that there is infinite distance between them4 ,so that our argument is of infinite force1 if we stake the finite in a game where there are equal chances of gain and loss1 and the infinite is the winnings4 ,this is demonstrable1 and if men are capable of any truths1 this is one4 ,i confess and admit it4 ,yet is there no means of seeing the hands at the game8--,yes1 the ,scripture and the rest1 etc4 --,well1 but my hands are tied and my mouth is gagged3 ,i am forced to wager and am not free1 none can release me1 but ,i am so made that ,i cannot believe4 ,what then would you have me do8 ,true4 ,but understand at least your incapacity to believe1 since your reason leads you to belief and yet you cannot believe4 ,labour then to convince yourself1 not by increase of the proofs of ,god1 but by the diminution of your passions4 ,you would fain arrive at faith1 but know not the way2 you would heal yourself of unbelief1 and you ask remedies for it4 ,learn of those who have been bound as you are1 but who now stake all that they possess2 these are they who know the way you would follow1 who are cured of a disease of which you would be cured4 ,follow the way by which they began1 by making believe that they believed1 taking the holy water1 having masses said1 etc4 ,thus you will naturally be brought to believe1 and will lose your acuteness4--,but that is just what ,i fear4--,why8 what have you to lose8 ,but to show you that this is the right way1 this it is that will lessen the passions1 which are your great obstacles1 etc4-- ,what you say comforts and delights me1 etc4--,if my words please you1 and seem to you cogent1 know that they are those of one who has thrown himself on his knees before and after to pray that ,being1 infinite1 and without parts1 to whom he submits all his own being1 that you also would submit to him all yours1 for your own good and for his glory1 and that this strength may be in accord with this weakness4 ,the end of this argument4--,now what evil will happen to you in taking this side8 ,you will be trustworthy1 honourable1 humble1 grateful1 generous1 friendly1 sincere1 and true4 ,in truth you will no longer have those poisoned pleasures1 glory and luxury1 but you will have other pleasures4 ,i tell you that you will gain in this life1 at each step you make in this path you will see so much certainty of gain1 so much nothingness in what you stake1 that you will know at last that you have wagered on a certainty1 an infinity1 for which you have risked nothing4 ,objection4--,those who hope for salvation are so far happy1 but they have as a counterpoise the fear of hell4 ,answer4--,who has most reason to fear hell1 the man who is in ignorance if there be a hell1 and who is certain of damnation if there be2 or he who is certainly convinced that there is a hell1 and has a hope of being saved if there be8 ,i would soon have given up pleasure1 say they1 had ,i but faith4 ,but ,i say to you1 you would soon have faith did you leave off your pleasures4 ,now it is for you to begin4 ,if ,i could1 ,i would give you faith4 ,i cannot do this1 nor discover therefore if what you say is true4 ,but you can easily give up pleasure1 and discover if what ,i say is true4 ,probabilities4--,we must live differently in the world1 according to these different suppositions3 #a4 ,that we could always remain in it4 #b4 ,that it is certain we cannot remain here long1 and uncertain if we shall remain here an hour4 ,this last supposition is the case with us4 ,instability4--,it is horrible to feel all that we possess slipping away from us4 ,by the law of probabilities you are bound to take pains to seek the truth2 for if you die without adoring the true source of all things you are lost4 ,but1 say you1 had he willed that ,i should adore him1 he would have left me tokens of his will4 ,he has done so1 but you neglect them4 ,seek them then1 it is well worth your while4 ,dungeon4--,i admit that it is not necessary to fathom the opinion of ,copernicus1 but this3 ,it is all our life is worth to know if the soul be mortal or immortal4 ,fascinatio nugacitatis4--,in order that passion may do no hurt1 we should act as though we had but a week to live4 ,if we ought to give a week we ought to give our whole life4 ,in short1 what is it you promise me if not ten years of self-love spent in trying hard to please without success1 besides the troubles which are certain8 ,for ten years is the probability4 ,let us imagine a number of men in chains1 all condemned to death1 of whom some are strangled every day in the sight of the others1 while those who remain see their own condition in that of their fellows1 and wait their turn looking at each other sorrowfully and without hope4 ,this is an image of the lot of man4 ,we must know ourselves1 and if that does not serve to discover truth1 it at least serves to regulate our lives1 and there is nothing more just4 ,there are but three classes of persons3 those who having found ,god1 serve him2 those who not having found him1 diligently seek him2 those who not having found him1 live without seeking him4 ,the first are happy and wise1 the last are unhappy and fools1 those between are unhappy1 but they are wise4 ,it is certain that there is no good without the knowledge of ,god1 that only as we approach him are we happy1 and that the ultimate good is to know him certainly2 that we are unhappy in proportion as we are removed from him1 and that the greatest evil would be certainty of the opposite4 ,the ordinary world has the power of not thinking about what it does not choose to think about4 ,do not reflect on those passages about the ,messiah1 said the ,jew to his son4 ,so our people often act4 ,thus false religions are preserved1 and the true also1 as regards many people4 ,but there are those who have not thus the power of preventing thought1 and who think the more the more we forbid them4 ,these get rid of false religions1 and of the true also1 if they do not find solid reasons4 ,if we ought to do nothing save on a certainty1 we ought to do nothing for ,religion1 for this is not certain4 ,but how much we do on an uncertainty1 as sea voyages1 battles6 ,i say then if this be the case we ought to do nothing at all1 for nothing is certain1 and that there is more certainty in ,religion than that we shall see another day1 for it is not certain that we shall see to-morrow1 but it is certainly possible that we shall not see it4 ,we cannot say so much about ,religion4 ,it is not certain that it is1 but who will dare to say that it is certainly possible that it is not8 ,but when we work for to-morrow1 therefore for the uncertain1 we act reasonably4 ,for we should work for the uncertain by the doctrine of chances already laid down4 ,we know truth1 not only by the reason1 but also by the heart1 and it is from this last that we know first principles2 and reason1 which has nothing to do with it1 tries in vain to combat them4 ,the sceptics who desire truth alone labour in vain4 ,we know that we do not dream1 although it is impossible to prove it by reason1 and this inability shows only the weakness of our reason1 and not1 as they declare1 the general uncertainty of our knowledge4 ,for our knowledge of first principles1 as space1 time1 motion1 number1 is as distinct as any principle derived from reason4 ,and reason must lean necessarily on this instinctive knowledge of the heart1 and must found on it every process4 ,we know instinctively that there are three dimensions in space1 and that numbers are infinite1 and reason then shows that there are no two square numbers one of which is double of the other4 ,we feel principles1 we infer propositions1 both with certainty1 though by different ways4 ,it is as useless and absurd for reason to demand from the heart proofs of first principles before it will admit them1 as it would be for the heart to ask from reason a feeling of all the propositions demonstrated before accepting them4 ,this inability should serve then only to humiliate reason1 which would fain judge of all things1 but not to shake our certainty1 as if only reason were able to instruct us4 ,would to ,god1 on the contrary1 that we never needed reason1 and that we knew every thing by instinct and feeling6 ,but nature has denied us this advantage1 and has on the contrary given us but little knowledge of this kind1 all the rest can be acquired by reason only4 ,therefore those to whom ,god has given ,religion by an instinctive feeling1 are very blessed1 and justly convinced4 ,but to those who have it not we can give it only by reasoning1 waiting for the time when ,god shall impress it on their hearts1 without which faith is human only1 and useless for salvation4 ,those to whom ,god has given ,religion by an instinctive feeling are very blessed1 and quite convinced4 ,but as for those who have it not1 we can give it them only by reasoning1 waiting for the time when ,god himself shall impress it on their heart1 without which faith is useless for salvation4 ,is then the soul too noble a subject for the feeble light of man8 ,let us then abase the soul to matter1 and see if she knows whereof is made the very body which she animates1 and those others which she contemplates and moves at her will4 ,on this subject what have those great dogmatists known who are ignorant of nothing8 ,harum sententiarum4 ,this would no doubt suffice if reason were reasonable4 ,she is reasonable enough to admit that she has never found anything stable1 but she does not yet despair of reaching it2 on the contrary1 she is as ardent as ever in the search1 and is sure that she has in herself all the necessary powers for this conquest4 ,we must therefore make an end1 and after having examined these powers in their effects1 recognise what they are in themselves1 and see if reason has power and grasp capable of seizing the truth4 ,the ,preacher shows that man without ,god is wholly ignorant1 and subject to inevitable misery4 ,for to will and to be powerless is to be miserable4 ,now he wills to be happy1 and to be assured of some truth1 yet he can neither know1 nor not desire to know4 ,he cannot even doubt4 ,this is what ,i see and what troubles me4 ,i look on all sides1 and see nothing but obscurity1 nature offers me nothing but matter for doubt and disquiet4 ,did ,i see nothing there which marked a ,divinity ,i should decide not to believe in him4 ,did ,i see every where the marks of a ,creator1 ,i should rest peacefully in faith4 ,but seeing too much to deny1 and too little to affirm1 my state is pitiful1 and ,i have a hundred times wished that if ,god upheld nature1 he would mark the fact unequivocally1 but that if the signs which she gives of a ,god are fallacious1 she would wholly suppress them1 that she would either say all or say nothing1 that ,i might see what part ,i should take4 ,instead of this1 in my present state1 ignorant of what ,i am1 and of what ,i ought to do1 ,i know neither my condition nor my duty4 ,my heart is wholly bent to know where is the true good in order to follow it1 nothing would seem to me too costly for eternity4 ,,the ,,philosophers4 ,the principal arguments of the sceptics--to omit those of less importance--are that we have no certainty of the truth of these principles apart from faith and revelation1 save so far as we naturally perceive them in ourselves4 ,now this natural perception is no convincing evidence of their truth1 since1 having no certainty apart from faith1 whether man was created by a good ,god1 by an evil demon1 or by chance1 it may be doubted whether these principles within us are true or false or uncertain according to our origin4 ,and more than this3 ,that no one has any certainty1 apart from faith1 whether he wake or sleep1 seeing that in sleep we firmly believe we are awake1 we believe that we see space1 figure1 and motion1 we are aware of the lapse and measure of time2 in a word we act as though we were awake4 ,so that half of our life being passed in sleep1 we have by our own avowal1 no idea of truth1 whatever we may suppose4 ,since then all our sentiments are illusions1 who can tell but that the other half of life wherein we fancy ourselves awake be not another sleep somewhat different from the former1 from which we wake when we fancy ourselves asleep8 ,and who doubts that if we dreamt in company1 and if by chance men's dreams agreed1 which is common enough1 and if we were always alone when awake1 we should believe that the conditions were reversed8 ,in a word1 as we often dream that we dream1 and heap vision upon vision1 it may well be that this life itself is but a dream1 on which the others are grafted1 from which we wake at death2 having in our lifetime as few principles of what is good and true1 as during natural sleep1 the different thoughts which agitate us being perhaps only illusions like those of the flight of time and the vain fantasies of our dreams4444 ,these are the principal arguments on one side and the other1 setting aside those of less importance1 such as the talk of the sceptics against the impressions of custom1 education1 manners1 climate1 and the like2 and these though they influence the majority of ordinary men1 who dogmatise only on vain foundations1 are upset by the least breath of the sceptics4 ,we have only to see their books if we are not convinced on this point1 and we shall soon become assured of it1 perhaps only too much4 ,i pause at the only strong point of the dogmatists1 namely1 that speaking sincerely and in good faith we cannot doubt of natural principles4 ,against this the sceptics set in one word the uncertainty of our origin1 which includes that of our nature4 ,which the dogmatists have been trying to answer ever since the world began4 ,so then war is opened among men1 in which each must take a side1 ranging himself either for dogmatism or for scepticism1 since neutrality1 which is the part of the wise1 is the oldest dogma of the sceptical sect4 ,whoever thinks to remain neutral is before all things a sceptic4 ,this neutrality is the essence of the sect2 who is not against them is pre-eminently for them4 ,they are not for themselves1 they are neutral1 indifferent1 in suspense as to all things1 themselves included4 ,what then shall man do in such a state8 ,shall he doubt of all1 doubt whether he wake1 whether you pinch him1 or burn him1 doubt whether he doubts1 doubt whether he is8 ,we cannot go so far as that1 and ,i therefore state as a fact that there never has been a perfect finished sceptic2 nature upholds the weakness of reason1 and prevents its wandering to such a point4 ,shall he say on the contrary that he is in sure possession of truth1 when if we press him never so little1 he can produce no title1 and is obliged to quit his hold8 ,what a chimra then is man6 how strange and monstrous6 a chaos1 a contradiction1 a prodigy4 ,judge of all things1 yet a weak earth-worm2 depositary of truth1 yet a cesspool of uncertainty and error2 the glory and offscouring of the ,universe4 ,who will unravel such a tangle8 ,this is certainly beyond the power of dogmatism and scepticism1 and all human philosophy4 ,man is incomprehensible by man4 ,we grant to the sceptics what they have so loudly asserted1 that truth is not within our reach nor to our taste1 that her home is not on earth but in heaven1 that she dwells within the breast of ,god1 and that we can only know her so far as it pleases him to reveal her4 ,let us then learn our true nature from truth uncreate and incarnate4 ,nature confounds the sceptics1 and reason the dogmatists4 ,what then will become of you1 ,o men6 who by your natural reason search out your true condition8 ,you can neither avoid both these sects nor live in either4 ,know then1 proud man1 how great a paradox thou art to thyself4 ,bow down thyself1 weak reason2 be silent1 thou foolish nature2 learn that man is altogether incomprehensible by man1 and learn from your master your true condition which you ignore4 ,hear ,god4 ,for in a word1 had man never been corrupt he would innocently and securely enjoy truth and happiness4 ,and had man never been other than corrupt he would have no idea of virtue or blessedness4 ,but wretched as we are1 and even more than if there were no greatness in our condition1 we have an idea of happiness and cannot attain it1 we feel an image of truth and possess a lie only1 alike incapable of absolute ignorance and of certain knowledge1 so manifest is it that we once were in a degree of perfection from which we have unhappily fallen6 ,yet it is an astonishing thing that the mystery most removed from our knowledge1 that of the transmission of sin1 should be a thing without which we can have no knowledge of ourselves4 ,for it is certain that nothing more shocks our reason than to say that the sin of the first man rendered those culpable1 who1 being so distant from the source1 seem incapable of participation in it4 ,this transfusion does not only seem to us impossible1 but even most unjust1 for there is nothing so repugnant to the rules of our miserable justice as to damn eternally an infant incapable of will1 for a sin in which he seems to have so scanty a share1 that it was committed six thousand years before he was in being4 ,certainly nothing shocks us more rudely than this doctrine1 and yet without this mystery1 the most incomprehensible of all1 we are incomprehensible to ourselves4 ,the tangle of our condition takes its plies and folds in this abyss1 so that man is more inconceivable without the mystery than the mystery is inconceivable to man4 ,whence it appears that ,god1 willing to render the difficulty of our being unintelligible to us1 has concealed the knot so high1 or rather so low1 that we cannot reach it2 so that it is not by the arrogant exertion of our reason1 but by the simple submission of reason1 that we can truly know ourselves4 ,these foundations solidly established on the inviolable authority of ,religion make us understand that there are two truths of faith equally constant--the one1 that man in his state at creation or in that of grace is elevated above the whole of nature1 made like unto ,god and sharer of his divinity--the other1 that in the state of corruption and sin he has fallen from his former state and is made like unto the brutes4 ,these two propositions are equally fixed and certain4 ,the ,scripture declares this plainly to us when it says in some places3 ,delici me esse cum filiis hominum4 ,effundam spiritum meum super omnen carnem4 ,dii estis1 etc42 and in other places1 ,omnis caro fnum4 ,homo assimilatus est jumentis insipientibus et similis factus est illis4 ,dixi in corde meo de filiis hominum4444 ,eccles4 iii4 ,by which it clearly appears that man by grace is made like unto ,god1 and a sharer in his divinity1 and that without grace he is like the brute beasts1 etc4 ,scepticism4--,i shall here write my thoughts without order1 yet not perhaps in undesigned confusion1 that is true order1 which will always denote my object by its very disorder4 ,i should do too much honour to my subject if ,i treated it with order1 because ,i wish to show that it is incapable of it4 ,scepticism4--,all things here are true in part1 and false in part4 ,essential truth is not thus1 it is altogether pure and true4 ,this mixture dishonours and annihilates it4 ,nothing is purely true1 and therefore nothing is true1 understanding by that pure truth4 ,you will say it is true that homicide is an evil1 yes1 for we know well what is evil and false4 ,but what can be named as good8 ,chastity8 ,i say no1 for then the world would come to an end4 ,marriage8 ,no1 a celibate life is better4 ,not to kill8 ,no1 for lawlessness would be horrible1 and the wicked would kill all the good4 ,to kill then8 ,no1 for that destroys nature4 ,goodness and truth are therefore only partial1 and mixed with what is evil and false4 ,were we to dream the same thing every night1 this would affect us as much as the objects we see every day1 and were an artisan sure to dream every night1 for twelve hours at a stretch1 that he was a king1 ,i think he would be almost as happy as a king who should dream every night for twelve hours at a stretch that he was an artisan4 ,should we dream every night that we were pursued by enemies1 and harassed by these painful phantoms1 or that we were passing all our days in various occupations1 as in travelling1 we should suffer almost as much as if the dream were real1 and should fear to sleep1 as now we fear to wake when we expect in truth to enter on such misfortunes4 ,and1 in fact1 it would bring about nearly the same troubles as the reality4 ,but since dreams are all different1 and each single dream is diversified1 what we see in them affects us much less than what we see when awake1 because that is continuous1 not indeed so continuous and level as never to change1 but the change is less abrupt1 except occasionally1 as when we travel1 and then we say1 ,i think ,i am dreaming1 for life is but a little less inconstant dream4 ,instinct1 reason4--,we have an incapacity of proof which no dogmatism can overcome4 ,we have an idea of truth1 which no scepticism can overcome4 ,nothing more strengthens scepticism than that some are not sceptics2 were all so1 they would be in the wrong4 ,this sect draw their strength from their enemies more than from their friends1 for the weakness of man appears much more in those who are not1 than in those who are conscious of it4 ,against scepticism4--,we suppose that we all conceive of things in the same way1 but it is a gratuitous supposition1 of which we have no proof4 ,i see indeed that the same words are applied on the same occasions1 and that every time two men see a body change its place1 they both express their view of the same object by the same word1 both saying that it has moved1 and from this sameness of application we have a strong conviction of a sameness of idea2 but this1 though it may be enough to justify us in wagering the affirmative1 is not finally or completely convincing1 since we know that we often draw the same conclusions from different premisses4 ,this is enough1 at any rate1 to confuse the matter1 not that it wholly extinguishes the natural light which assures us of these things2 the academicians would have won1 but this obscures it1 and troubles the dogmatists to the glory of the sceptical cabal1 which consists in this ambiguous ambiguity1 and in a certain doubtful haze1 from which our doubts cannot take away all the light1 nor our natural light banish all the darkness4 ,good sense4--,they are obliged to say1 ,you do not act in good faith2 we are not asleep1 etc4 ,how ,i like to see this proud reason humiliated and suppliant4 ,for this is not the language of a man whose right is disputed1 and who defends it with the mailed power of his hand4 ,he does not trifle by saying that men are not acting in good faith1 but he punishes this bad faith with might4 ,it may be that there are true demonstrations1 but it is not certain4 ,thus this proves nothing but that it is not certain that all is uncertain1 to the glory of scepticism4 ,ex senatus consultis et plebiscitis scelera exercentur4 ,nihil tam absurde dici potest quod non dicatur ab aliquo philosophorum4 ,quibusdam destinatis sententiis consecrati qu non probant coguntur defendere4 ,ut omnium rerum sic litterarum quoque intemperanti laboramus4 ,id maxime quemque decet quod est cujusque suum maxime4 ,hos natura modos primum dedit4 ,paucis opus est litteris ad bonam mentem4 ,si quando turpe non sit1 tamen non est non turpe quum id a multitudine laudetur4 ,mihi sic usus est1 tibi ut opus est facto1 fac4 ,the falsity of those philosophers who do not discuss the immortality of the soul4 ,the falsity of their dilemma in ,montaigne4 ,it is beyond doubt that the mortality or immortality of the soul must make an entire difference in morals2 yet philosophers have treated morality independently of the question4 ,they discuss to pass the time4 ,plato1 to dispose towards ,christianity4 ,the soul is immaterial4 ,philosophers have subdued their passions4 ,what matter could do that8 ,atheists should say things which are perfectly clear1 but it is not perfectly clear that the soul is material4 ,atheism is a mark of strength of mind1 but only to a certain degree4 ,against those philosophers who believe in ,god without ,jesus ,christ4--,they believe that ,god alone is worthy to be loved and admired1 and they have desired to be loved and admired of men1 and know not their own corruption4 ,if they feel themselves full of feelings of love and adoration1 and if they find therein their chief joy1 let them think themselves good1 and welcome6 ,but if they find themselves averse from him1 if they have no inclination but the wish to establish themselves in the esteem of men1 and if their whole perfection consists not in constraining1 but yet in causing men to find their happiness in loving them1 ,i say that such a perfection is horrible4 ,what6 they have known ,god1 and have not desired solely that men should love him1 but that men should stop short at loving them4 ,they have wished to be the object of the voluntary joy of men4 ,all the principles of sceptics1 stoics1 atheists1 etc4 are true2 but their conclusions are false1 because the opposite principles are also true4 ,but perhaps the subject goes beyond the reach of reason4 ,we will therefore examine what she has to say on questions within her powers4 ,if there be anything to which her own interest must have made her apply herself most seriously1 it is the search after her sovereign good4 ,let us see then in what these strong and clearsighted souls have placed it1 and whether they agree4 ,one says that the sovereign good consists in virtue1 another in pleasure1 another in the knowledge of nature1 another in truth3 ,felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas1 another in total ignorance1 another in indolence1 others in neglect of appearances1 another in the lack of wonder1 nihil mirari prope res una qu possit facere et servare beatum1 the true sceptics in their indifference1 doubt and perpetual suspense1 and others1 more wise1 think they can find a better way4 ,and this is all we get from them6 ,we must needs see if this fine philosophy has gained nothing certain from a research so lengthy and so wide1 at least perhaps the soul has learned to know herself4 ,we will hear the rulers of the world on this matter4 ,what have they thought of her substance8 ,have they been more happy in fixing her seat8 ,what have they discovered about her origin1 duration and departure8 ,search for the true good4--,ordinary men place their good in fortune and external goods1 or at least in amusement4 ,philosophers have shown the vanity of all this1 and have placed it where best they could4 ,philosophers reckon two hundred and eighty-eight sovereign goods4 ,the sovereign good4 ,dispute about the sovereign good4--,ut sis contentus temetipso et ex te nascentibus bonis4 ,there is a contradiction1 for finally they advise suicide4 ,ah6 happy life indeed1 from which we are to free ourselves as from the plague4 ,it is well to be weary and harassed by the useless search after the true good1 that we may stretch our arms to the ,redeemer4 ,conversation4--,great words3 ,religion4 ,i deny it4 ,conversation4--,scepticism aids ,religion4 ,philosophers4--,we are full of matters which take us out of ourselves4 ,our instinct suggests that we must seek our happiness outside ourselves2 our passions hurry us abroad1 even when there are no objects to excite them4 ,the objects outside us tempt and call us1 even when we do not think of them4 ,and thus it is in vain for philosophers to say1 ,enter into yourselves1 and you will find your good there2 we believe them not1 and those who believe them are the most empty and the most foolish4 ,this civil war between reason and passion divides those who desire peace into two sects1 the one1 of those who would renounce their passions and become gods1 the other1 of those who would renounce their reason and become brute beasts4--,des ,barreaux4--,but neither has succeeded1 and reason still exists1 to condemn the baseness and injustice of the passions1 and to trouble the repose of those who give themselves over to their sway1 and the passions are still vigorous in those who desire to renounce them4 ,the ,stoics4--,they conclude that what has been done once may be done always1 and that because the desire of glory gives some degree of power to those possessed by it1 others can easily do the same4 ,these are the movements of fever1 which health cannot imitate4 ,epictetus concludes that since there are consistent ,christians all men can easily be so4 ,the three kinds of lust have made three sects1 and philosophers have done no other thing than follow one of the three lusts4 ,what the ,stoics propose is so difficult and so idle4 ,the ,stoics lay down that all who are not at the highest degree of wisdom are equally frivolous and vicious1 as those who are in two inches under water4444 ,philosophers4--,a fine thing to cry to a man who does not know himself1 that of himself he should come to ,god4 ,and a fine thing also to say to a man who knows himself4 ,,thoughts ,,on ,,mahomet ,,and ,,on ,,china4 ,jesus ,christ4 ,heathens4 ,mahomet4 _/ _/ ,ignorance _/ of ,god4 ,the foundation of our faith4--,the heathen religion has no foundation at the present day4 ,we are told that it once had such a foundation by the voice of the oracles1 but what are the books which certify this8 ,are they worthy of credence on account of the virtue of their writers1 have they been kept with such care that we may feel certain none have tampered with them8 ,the ,mahomedan religion has for its foundation the ,koran and ,mahomet4 ,but was this prophet1 who was to be the last hope of the world1 foretold8 ,what mark has he that every other man has not who chooses to call himself prophet8 ,what miracles does he himself tell us that he wrought8 ,what mystery has he taught8 ,even according to his own tradition1 what was the morality1 what the happiness he offered8 ,the ,jewish religion must be differently regarded in the tradition of the sacred books and in the tradition of the people4 ,its morality and happiness are ridiculous in the tradition of the people1 but admirable in that of their saints4 ,the foundation is admirable1 it is the most ancient book in the world1 and the most authentic1 and whereas ,mahomet1 in order to ensure the lasting existence of his book forbade men to read it1 ,moses with the same object commanded everyone to read his4 ,and it is the same with all religions1 for the ,christianity of the sacred books is quite different to that of the casuists4 ,our religion is so divine that another divine religion is only the foundation of it4 ,the difference between ,jesus ,christ and ,mahomet4--,mahomet was not foretold2 ,jesus ,christ was foretold4 ,mahomet that he slew2 ,jesus ,christ that he caused his own to be slain4 ,mahomet forbade reading2 the apostles ordered it4 ,in fact the two systems are so contrary that if ,mahomet took the way1 humanly speaking1 to succeed1 ,jesus ,christ took1 humanly speaking1 the way to perish4 ,and instead of concluding from ,mahomet's success that ,jesus ,christ might well have succeeded1 we should rather say that since ,mahomet succeeded1 ,jesus ,christ ought to have perished4 ,the ,psalms are chanted throughout all the world4 ,who renders testimony to ,mahomet8 ,himself4 ,jesus ,christ wills that his testimony to himself should be of no avail4 ,the quality of witnesses demands that they should exist always and everywhere1 and the wretch stands alone4 ,the falsity of other religions4--,mahomet had no authority4 ,his reasons ought to be most cogent1 having nothing but their own force4 ,what does he say then in order to make us believe him8 ,any man can do what ,mahomet did1 for he wrought no miracles1 he was confirmed by no prophecies4 ,no man can do what ,jesus ,christ did4 ,against ,mahomet4--,the ,koran is not more of ,mahomet than the ,gospel is of ,saint ,matthew1 for it is cited by many authors from age to age4 ,even its very enemies1 ,celsus and ,porphyry1 never disavowed it4 ,the ,koran says that ,saint ,matthew was an honest man4 ,therefore ,mahomet was a false prophet for calling honest men wicked1 or for not admitting what they have said of ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is not by the obscurities in ,mahomet which may be interpreted in a mysterious sense1 that ,i would have him judged1 but in what he speaks clearly1 as of his paradise1 and the rest1 he is ridiculous4 ,and because what is clear is so absurd1 it is not just to take his obscurities for mysteries4 ,it is not the same with the ,scripture4 ,it may be admitted that in it are obscurities as strange as those of ,mahomet1 but much is admirably clear1 and prophecies are manifestly fulfilled4 ,the cases are not the same4 ,we must not confound and compare things which only resemble each other in their obscurity1 and not in that clearness1 which should induce us to reverence the obscurities4 ,suppose two persons tell foolish stories1 one whose words have a two-fold sense1 understood only by his own followers1 the other which has only the one sense1 a stranger not being in the secret1 who hears them both speak in this manner1 would pass on them a like judgment4 ,but if afterwards in the rest of their conversation one speak with the tongue of angels1 and the other mere wearisome common-places1 he will judge that the one spoke in mysteries and not the other2 the one having sufficiently shown that he was incapable of absurdity1 and capable of being mysterious1 the other that he is incapable of mystery1 and capable of absurdity4 ,the ,old ,testament is a cipher4 ,history of ,china4--,i believe those histories only1 whose witnesses let themselves be slaughtered4 ,it is not a question of seeing this in bulk4 ,i say there is in it a something to blind and something to enlighten4 ,in this one word ,i destroy all your reasoning4 ,but ,china obscures1 you say1 and ,i answer1 ,china obscures1 but there is light to be found2 seek it4 ,thus all that you say makes for one of these designs1 and not at all against the other4 ,so this serves1 and does no harm4 ,we must then look at this in detail1 the papers must be laid on the table4 ,against the history of ,china1 the historians of ,mexico4 ,the five suns1 of which the last is but eight hundred years old4 ,,of ,,the ,,jewish ,,people4 ,i see the ,christian ,religion founded on an earlier ,religion1 and this is what ,i find of positive fact4 ,i do not here speak of the miracles of ,moses1 of ,jesus ,christ1 and of the ,apostles1 because they do not at first seem convincing1 and because ,i only wish here to adduce in evidence all those foundations of the ,christian ,religion which are beyond a doubt1 and on which doubt cannot be cast by any person soever4 ,it is certain that we see in many places in the world a peculiar people1 separated from all other peoples of the world1 which is called the ,jewish people4 ,i see then a mass of religions in many countries1 and in all times1 but they neither please me by their morality1 nor convince me by their proofs4 ,thus ,i should equally have refused the religion of ,mahomet and of ,china1 of the ancient ,romans and of the ,egyptians1 for the sole reason1 that none having more marks of truth than another1 nor any thing which necessarily decides me1 reason cannot incline to one rather than the other4 ,but while ,i consider this vacillating and strange variety of morals and beliefs at different times1 ,i find in one corner of the world a peculiar people1 separated from all other nations upon earth1 the oldest of all1 and whose histories are earlier by many ages than the most ancient in our possession4 ,i find then this great and numerous people1 sprung from a single man1 who adore one ,god1 and guide themselves by a law1 given them as they say1 by his own hand4 ,they maintain that to them alone in the world ,god has revealed his mysteries1 that all men are corrupt and under the wrath of ,god1 are all abandoned to their senses and imagination1 whence arise the strange errors and continual changes among them1 both of religions and of manners1 whereas this nation remains unshaken in its conduct3 but that ,god will not leave other nations in darkness for ever1 that there will come a ,saviour for all1 that they are in the world to announce his coming1 that they were expressly formed to be the forerunners and heralds of this great advent1 and to call on all nations to join with them in the expectation of this ,redeemer4 ,advantages of the ,jewish people4--,in this search the ,jewish people at first attracts my attention by a number of wonderful and singular things which appear among them4 ,i see first that they are a people wholly composed of brethren1 and whereas all others are formed by the assemblage of an infinity of families1 this1 though so prodigiously fruitful1 has sprung from one man only1 and being thus all one flesh1 and members one of another1 they form a powerful state consisting of one family1 a fact without example4 ,this family or nation is the most ancient known to men1 a fact which seems to invest it with a peculiar veneration1 especially in regard to our present enquiry1 because if ,god has during all time revealed himself to men1 these are they from whom we must learn the tradition4 ,this people is not peculiar only by their antiquity1 but also remarkable by their duration1 which has been unbroken from their origin till now4 ,for while the nations of ,greece and ,italy1 of ,lacedmon1 ,athens and ,rome1 and others who came after1 have long been extinct1 these still remain1 and in spite of the endeavours of many powerful princes who have a hundred times striven to destroy them1 as their historians testify1 and as we can easily understand by the natural order of things during so long a space of years1 they have nevertheless been preserved1 and extending from the earliest times to the latest1 their history comprehends in its duration all our histories4 ,the ,law by which this people is governed is at once the most ancient law in the world1 the most perfect1 and the only one which has been kept without interruption in a state4 ,this is what ,josephus excellently shows1 against ,apion1 as does ,philo the ,jew in many places1 where they point out that it is so ancient that the very name of law was only known by the men of old more than a thousand years afterwards1 so that ,homer1 who has treated the history of so many ,states1 has not once used the word4 ,and it is easy to judge of the perfection of the ,law by simply reading it1 for it plainly provides for all things with so great wisdom1 equity and judgment1 that the most ancient legislators1 ,greek and ,roman1 having had some glimpse of it1 have borrowed from it their principal laws1 as appears by those called ,of the ,twelve ,tables1 and by the other proofs given by ,josephus4 ,yet this law is at the same time severe and rigorous beyond all others in respect to their religious worship1 constraining the people1 in order to keep them in their duty1 to a thousand peculiar and painful observances1 on pain of death4 ,whence it is a most astonishing fact1 that it has been constantly preserved during many ages by a people so rebellious and impatient1 while all other states have changed their laws from time to time1 although they are far more lenient4 ,the book containing this law1 the first of all laws1 is itself the most ancient book in the world1 those of ,homer1 ,hesiod and others dating from six or seven hundred years later4 ,falsity of other religions4--,they have no witnesses2 this people has them4 ,god challenges other religions to produce such marks4 ,is4 xliii4 #i1--xliv4 #h4 ,this is fact4 ,while all philosophers separate into different sects1 there is found in one corner of the world1 a people1 the most ancient in the world1 declaring that all the world is in error1 that ,god has revealed to them the truth1 that they will abide always on the earth4 ,in fact1 all other sects come to an end1 this one still endures1 and has done so for four thousand years4 ,they assert that they hold from their ancestors that man has fallen from communion with ,god1 is entirely separated from ,god1 but that he has promised to redeem them1 that their doctrine shall always exist on the earth2 ,that their law has a twofold sense1 that during sixteen hundred years they have had people whom they believed prophets foretelling both the time and the manner2 ,that four hundred years after they were scattered everywhere in order that ,jesus ,christ should be everywhere announced1 ,jesus ,christ came in the manner and time foretold2 ,that the ,jews have since been scattered abroad under a curse1 yet nevertheless still exist4 ,the creation and the deluge being past1 and ,god not intending any more to destroy the world1 nor to create it anew1 nor to give any such great proofs of himself1 he began to establish a people on the earth1 formed of set purpose1 which should last until the coming of that people whom ,messiah should mould by his spirit4 ,the ,jews who were called to subdue the nations and their kings were slaves of sin1 and the ,christians whose calling has been to be servants and subjects1 are free children4 ,the devil troubled the zeal of the ,jews before ,jesus ,christ1 because he would have been their salvation1 but not since4 ,the ,jewish people mocked of the ,gentiles1 the ,christian people persecuted4 ,republic4--,the ,christian and even the ,jewish ,republic has only had ,god for master1 as ,philo the ,jew notices1 ,on ,monarchy4 ,when they fought1 they did so for ,god alone1 their chief hope was in ,god alone1 they considered their towns as belonging to ,god1 and they kept them for ,god4 ,i ,chron4 xix4 #ac4 ,the sceptre was not interrupted by the carrying away into ,babylon1 because the return was promised and foretold4 ,a single phrase of ,david or of ,moses1 as for instance that ,god will circumcise the heart1 enables us to judge of their spirit4 ,if all the rest of their language were ambiguous1 and left it doubtful whether they were philosophers or ,christians1 one single sentence of this kind would determine all the rest1 as one sentence of ,epictetus determines the character of the rest to be the contrary4 ,so far we may be in doubt1 but not afterwards4 ,while the prophets were for maintaining the law1 the people were negligent1 but since there have been no more prophets1 zeal has taken their place4 ,the zeal of the ,jewish people for the law1 especially since there have been no more prophets4 ,maccabees after they had no more prophets4 ,the ,masorah after ,jesus ,christ4 ,,the ,,authenticity ,,of ,,the ,,sacred ,,books4 ,the ,premiss4--,moses was a man of genius4 ,if then he ruled himself by his reason1 he should say nothing clearly which was directly against reason4 ,so all the apparent weaknesses are strength4 ,example3 the two genealogies in ,saint ,matthew and ,saint ,luke4 ,what can be more clear than that this was not concerted8 ,proof of ,moses4--,why should ,moses make the lives of men so long1 and their generations so few8 ,because it is not the length of years1 but the number of generations which renders matters obscure4 ,for truth is impaired only by the change of men4 ,and yet ,moses places two things1 the most memorable that can be imagined1 that is to say the creation and the deluge1 so near that we can reach from one to the other4 ,another proof4--,the longevity of the patriarchs1 instead of causing the loss of past history1 was the rather serviceable for its preservation4 ,for if we are not always well instructed in the history of our ancestors1 it is because we have never lived much with them1 and because they are often dead before we have ourselves attained the age of reason4 ,but when men lived so long1 children lived long with their parents1 and long conversed with them4 ,now1 their conversation could only be of the history of their ancestors1 since to that all history was reduced1 and men did not study science or art1 which now take up so much of our daily discourse4 ,we see also that at that time men took special care to preserve their genealogies4 ,shem1 who saw ,lamech1 who saw ,adam1 saw also ,jacob1 who saw those who saw ,moses2 therefore the deluge and the creation are true4 ,this is conclusive among certain people who clearly understand it4 ,josephus conceals the shame of his nation4 ,moses does not conceal his own shame nor4444 ,quis mihi det ut omnes prophetent8 ,he was tired of the people4 ,when the creation of the people began to stand at a distance1 ,god provided a single contemporary historian1 and appointed a whole people as the guardians of this book1 in order that the history might be the most authentic in all the world1 that all men might learn a thing so necessary to know1 yet so impossible to be known in any other way4 ,if the story in ,esdras is credible1 then it must be believed that ,scripture is ,holy ,scripture4 ,for this story is founded only on the authority of those who allege that of the ,seventy1 which shows that the ,scripture is holy4 ,therefore if the tale be true1 we find our proof therein1 if not we have it elsewhere4 ,thus those who would ruin the truth of our ,religion1 founded on ,moses1 establish it by the same authority by which they attack it4 ,thus by this providence it still exists4 ,on ,esdras4--,the story that the books were burnt with the temple shown to be false by ,the ,book of ,maccabees4 ,jeremiah gave them the law4 ,the story that he recited the whole by heart4 ,josephus and ,esdras note that he read the book4 ,baronius1 ,ann4 #ahj4 ,nullus penitus ,hebrorum antiquorum reperitur qui tradiderit libros periisse et per ,esdram esse restitutos1 nisi in ,,iv4 ,esdr4 ,the story that he changed the letters4 ,philo1 in ,vita ,moysis3 ,illa lingua ac charactere quo antiquitus scripta est lex1 sic permansit usque ad ,,lxx4 ,josephus says the ,law was in ,hebrew when it was translated by the ,seventy4 ,under ,antiochus and ,vespasian1 when they wished to abolish the books1 and when there was no prophet1 they could not do so4 ,and under the ,babylonians when there had been no persecution1 and when there were so many prophets1 would they have allowed them to be burnt8 ,josephus derides the ,greeks who would not allow4444 ,tertullian4--,perinde potuit abolefactam eam violentia cataclysmi in spiritu rursus reformare1 quemadmodum et ,hierosolymis ,babylonia expugnatione deletis1 omne instrumentum ,judaic literatur per ,esdram constat restauratum4 ,lib4 ,i4 ,de ,cultu femin4 cap4 iii4 ,he says that ,noah might as easily have restored by the spirit the book of ,enoch1 destroyed by the deluge1 as ,esdras have restored the ,scriptures lost during the ,captivity4 1 1 4 ,he alleges this to prove that it is not incredible that the ,seventy should have explained the holy ,scriptures with that uniformity which we admire in them4 ,euseb4 lib4 v4 ,hist4 cap4 #h4 ,and he took that from ,saint ,irenus4 ,saint ,hilary in his preface to the ,psalms says that ,esdras arranged the ,psalms in order4 ,the origin of this tradition comes from the ,book of ,esdras4 ,deus glorificatus est1 et ,scriptur ver divin credit sunt1 omnibus eandem et eisdem verbis et eisdem nominibus recitantibus ab initio usque ad finem1 uti et prsentes gentes cognoscerent quoniam per inspirationem ,dei interpretat sunt ,scriptur1 et non esset mirabile ,deum hoc in eis operatum1 quando in ea captivitate populi qu facta est a ,nabuchodonosor corruptis ,scripturis et post septuaginta annos ,judis descendentibus in regionem suam1 et post deinde temporibus ,artaxexis ,persarum regis inspiravit ,hesdr sacerdoti tribus ,levi prteritorum prophetarum omnes rememorare sermones et restituere populo eam legem qu data est per ,moysen4 ,against the ,story in ,esdras1 ,,ii4 ,maccab4 #b4 ,josephus1 ,antiquities1 ,,ii4 #a4--;,cyrus took occasion from the prophecy of ,isaiah to release the people4 ,the ,jews held property in peace under ,cyrus in ,babylon1 therefore they might well have the ,law4 ,josephus1 in the whole history of ,esdras1 says not a single word of this restoration4--,,ii4 ,kings1 xvii4 #cg4 ,scripture has provided passages of consolation and warning for every condition of life4 ,nature seems to have done the same thing by her two infinities1 natural and moral1 for we shall always have those who are higher and lower1 who are more and less able1 who are noble and in low estate1 in order to abate our pride1 and raise our lowliness4 ,order1 against the objection that the ,scripture has no order4--,the heart has its own order2 the mind too has its own1 which is by premisses and demonstrations1 that of the heart is wholly different4 ,it were absurd to prove that we are worthy of love by putting forth in order the causes of love4 ,jesus ,christ and ,saint ,paul use the order of charity1 not of the intellect1 for they wish to warm1 not to teach2 the same with ,saint ,augustine4 ,this order consists mainly in digressions on each point which may illustrate the main end1 and keep it ever in view4 ,god and the ,apostles foreseeing that the seed of pride would cause heresies to spring up1 and not wishing to give them occasion to arise by defining them1 have placed in the ,scripture and the prayers of the ,church contrary words and sentences to produce their fruit in time4 ,so in morals he gives charity to produce fruits contrary to lust4 ,he who knows the will of his master will be beaten with more stripes1 because of the power he has by his knowledge4 ,qui justus est justificetur adhuc1 because of the power which he has by justice4 ,from him who has received most will the greatest account be demanded1 because the aid received has given him greater power4 ,there is an universal and essential difference between the actions of the will and all other actions4 ,the will is one of the chief organs of belief1 not that it forms belief1 but that things are true or false according to the side on which we view them4 ,the will which chooses one side rather than the other turns away the mind from considering the qualities of all that it does not like to see1 thus the mind1 moving in accord with the will1 stays to look at the side it chooses1 and so judges by what it sees4 ,all things work together for good to the elect1 even the obscurities of ,scripture1 which they honour because of what is divinely clear4 ,and all things work together for evil to the reprobate1 even what is clear1 which they blaspheme because of the obscurities they do not understand4 ,how many stars have telescopes discovered for us which did not exist for the philosophers of old4 ,men have roundly taken holy ,scripture to task in regard to the great multitude of stars1 saying3 ,we know that there are only a thousand and twenty-two4 ,the meaning changes according to the words which express it4 ,the meaning receives its dignity from words instead of giving it4 ,we must seek examples of this4 ,words differently arranged have different meanings1 and meanings differently arranged produce different effects4 ,,the ,,prophecies4 ,the prophecies are the strongest proofs of ,jesus ,christ4 ,for these therefore ,god has made the most provision2 since the event which has fulfilled them is a miracle existing from the birth of the ,church to the end4 ,therefore ,god raised up prophets during sixteen hundred years1 and during four hundred years afterwards he dispersed all these prophecies with all the ,jews1 who bore them into all regions of the world4 ,such was the preparation for the birth of ,jesus ,christ1 whose ,gospel exacting belief from every man made it necessary not only that there should be prophecies to inspire this belief1 but that these prophecies should be spread throughout the whole world1 so that the whole world should embrace it4 ,prophecies4--,if one man alone had made a book of predictions concerning ,jesus ,christ1 both as to the time and the manner of his coming1 and if ,jesus ,christ had come in agreement with these prophecies1 the fact would have had infinite force4 ,but in this case there is much more4 ,here is a succession of men for the space of four thousand years1 who without interruption or variation1 follow one another in foretelling the same event4 ,here is a whole people announcing it1 existing for four thousand years1 to testify in a body their certainty1 from which they cannot be diverted by all the threatenings and persecutions brought to bear against them2 this is in a far greater degree important4 ,but it was not enough that the prophecies existed1 they needed also distribution through all places1 and preservation through all time4 ,and in order that this agreement might not be taken as an effect of chance1 it was necessary it should be foretold4 ,it is much more glorious for the ,messiah that they should be spectators and even instruments of his glory1 beyond the fact that ,god had preserved him4 ,proof4--,prophecy with accomplishment4 ,that which preceded1 and that which followed ,jesus ,christ4 ,the prophecies concerning the ,messiah are mingled with some concerning other matters1 so that neither the prophecies of the ,messiah should be without proof1 nor the special prophecies without fruit4 ,non habemus regem nisi ,csarem4 ,therefore ,jesus ,christ was the ,messiah1 because they had no longer any king but a stranger1 and because they would have no other4 ,the eternal kingdom of the race of ,david1 ,,ii4 ,chron41 by all the prophecies1 and with an oath4 ,and it was not temporally accomplished4 ,jer4 xxxiii4 #bj4 ,zeph4 iii4 #i4--;,i will give my words to the ,gentiles1 that all may serve me with one consent4 ,ezekiel xxxvii #be4--,my servant ,david shall be their prince for ever4 ,exodus iv4 #bb4--;,israel is my first born4 ,we might easily think that when the prophets foretold that the sceptre would not depart from ,judah until the advent of the eternal king1 they spoke to flatter the people1 and that their prophecy was proved false by ,herod4 ,but to show that this was not their meaning1 and that on the contrary they well knew that the temporal kingdom should cease1 they said they would be without a king1 and without a prince1 and for a long time4 ,hosea iii4 #d4 ,prophecies4--,that ,jesus ,christ will sit on the right hand till ,god has put his enemies under his feet4 ,therefore he will not subject them himself4 ,the time of the first advent was foretold1 the time of the second is not so1 because the first was to be secret1 the second must be glorious1 and so manifest that even his enemies will recognise it4 ,but as his first coming was to be obscure1 and to be known only of those who searched the ,scriptures4444 ,the prophecies must be unintelligible to the wicked1 ,daniel xii4 #aj1 ,hosea xiv4 #i1 but intelligible to those who are well instructed4 ,the prophecies which represent him poor1 represent him master of the nations4--,is4 lii4 #af1 etc liii4 ,zech4 ix4 #i4 ,the prophecies which foretell the time foretell him only as master of the ,gentiles and suffering1 and not as in the clouds nor as judge4 ,and those which represent him thus as judge and in glory do not specify the time4 ,do you think that the prophecies cited in the ,gospel were reported to make you believe8 ,no1 but to prevent your believing4 ,prophecies4--,the time was foretold by the state of the ,jewish people1 by the state of the heathen world1 by the state of the temple1 by the number of years4 ,it is daring to predict the same affair in so many ways4 ,it was necessary that the four idolatrous or pagan monarchies1 the end of the kingdom of ,judah1 and the seventy weeks should coincide1 and all this before the second temple was destroyed4 ,prophecies4--,the seventy weeks of ,daniel are equivocal in the term of commencement1 because of the terms of the prophecy1 and in the term of conclusion because of the differences in the chronologists4 ,but all this difference extends only to two hundred years4 ,we understand the prophecies only when we see the events occur1 thus the proofs of retreat1 discretion1 silence1 etc41 are evidence only to those who know and believe them4 ,joseph so interior in a law so exterior4 ,exterior penances dispose to interior1 as humiliations to humility4 ,so the4444 ,the more ,i examine them the more ,i find truths in them1 both in those which preceded and those which followed1 both the synagogue which was foretold1 and the wretches who adhere to it1 and who1 being our enemies1 are admirable witnesses of the truth of these prophecies1 wherein their misery and even their blindness is foretold4 ,i find this sequence1 our ,religion wholly divine in its authority1 in its duration1 in its perpetuity1 in its morality1 in its conduct1 its doctrine1 and its effects4 ,the frightful darkness of the ,jews foretold4 ,eris palpans in meridie4 ,dabitur liber scienti literas1 et dicet3 ,non possum legere4 ,hosea i4 #i4 ,ye shall not be my people and ,i will not be your ,god1 when you are multiplied after the dispersion4 ,in the places where it was said3 ,ye are not my people1 ,i will call them my people4 ,predictions4--,that under the fourth monarchy1 before the destruction of the second temple1 before the dominion of the ,jews was taken away1 and in the seventieth week of ,daniel1 while the second temple was still standing1 the ,gentiles should be instructed1 and brought to the knowledge of the ,god worshipped by the ,jews1 that those who loved him should be delivered from their enemies1 and filled with his fear and love4 ,and it came to pass that under the fourth monarchy1 before the destruction of the second temple1 etc1 the ,gentiles in crowds worshipped ,god and lived an angelic life4 ,maidens dedicated their virginity and their life to ,god1 men gave up their pleasures1 what ,plato was only able to effect upon a few men1 chosen and instructed to that end1 a secret force1 by the power of a few words1 now wrought upon a hundred million ignorant men4 ,the rich left their wealth1 children left the luxurious homes of their parents to go into the austerity of the desert1 etc41 according to ,philo the ,jew4 ,all this was foretold long ages ago4 ,for two thousand years no ,gentile had worshipped the ,god of the ,jews1 and at the time foretold1 the crowd of ,gentiles worshipped this only ,god4 ,the temples were destroyed1 the very kings bowed themselves under the cross4 ,all this was of the ,spirit of ,god spread abroad upon the earth4 ,holiness4--,effundam spiritum meum4--,all nations had been in unbelief and lust2 the whole world was now ablaze with love4 ,princes quitted their state1 maidens suffered martyrdom4 ,this power sprang from the advent of ,messiah1 this was the effect and these the tokens of his coming4 ,predictions4--,it was foretold that in the time of ,messiah he would come and establish a new covenant1 such as should make them forget the coming out from ,egypt1 ,jer4 xxiii4 #e1 ,is4 xliii4 #af1 that he would put his ,law not in externals1 but in the heart1 that ,jesus ,christ would put his fear1 which had been only from without1 in the midst of the heart4 ,who does not see the ,christian law in all this8 ,prophecies4--,that the ,jews would reject ,jesus ,christ1 and would themselves be rejected of ,god because the choice vine brought forth only wild grapes2 that the chosen people should be disloyal1 ungrateful1 incredulous1 populum non credentem et contradicentem2 that ,god would strike them with blindness1 and that in full mid-day they would grope like blind men2 that his messenger should go before him4 444 ,then shall a man no more teach his neighbour1 saying1 ,there is the ,lord1 for ,god will make himself felt by all1 your sons shall prophesy4 ,i will put my spirit and my fear in your heart4 ,all that is the same thing4 ,to prophesy is to speak of ,god1 not by outward proofs1 but by a feeling interior and direct4 ,prophecies4--,transfixerunt1 ,zech4 xii4 #aj4 ,that there should come a deliverer to crush the demon's head1 and to free his people from their sins1 ex omnibus iniquitatibus4 ,that there should be a new and eternal covenant1 and a new and eternal priesthood after the order of ,melchisedek1 that the ,christ should be glorious1 powerful1 mighty1 and yet so miserable that he would not be recognised1 nor taken for what he is1 but be rejected and slain1 that his people which denied him should be no more his people1 that the idolaters would receive him and trust in him1 that he would quit ,zion to reign in the centre of idolatry1 that the ,jews should exist for ever1 that he would spring from ,judah1 and at a time when there should be no longer a king4 ,that ,jesus ,christ would be small in his beginnings1 and afterwards would increase4 ,the little stone of ,daniel4 ,that he would teach men the perfect way1 ,and never has there come before him nor after him any man who has taught anything divine approaching this4 ,that then idolatry would be overthrown1 that the ,messiah would cast down all idols1 and would bring men into the worship of the true ,god4 ,that the idol temples would be overthrown1 and that among all nations and in all places of the world men would offer to ,god a pure sacrifice1 not of beasts4 ,that he would be king of the ,jews and ,gentiles4 ,and we see this king of ,jews and ,gentiles oppressed by both1 both equally conspiring his death1 we see him bear rule over both1 destroying the worship established by ,moses in ,jerusalem its centre1 where he placed his earliest ,church1 as well as the worship of idols in ,rome its centre1 where he placed his chief ,church4 ,no ,gentile from ,moses to ,jesus ,christ according to the ,rabbis themselves4 ,the crowd of the ,gentiles after ,jesus ,christ believed in the books of ,moses and observed their essence and spirit1 casting away only what was useless4 ,omnis ,juda regio1 et ,jerosolomit universi et baptisabantur4--,because of all the conditions of men who came there4 ,these stones can become the children of ,abraham4 ,is4 i4 #ba4 ,change of good into evil and the vengeance of ,god4 ,is4 x4 #a4 ,v qui condunt leges iniquas4 ,is4 xxvi4 #bj4 ,vade populus meus1 intra in cubicula tua1 claude ostia tua super te1 abscondere modicum ad momentum1 donec pertranseat indignatio4 ,is4 xxviii4 #a4 ,v coron superbi4 ,miracles44--,is4 xxxiii4 #i4 ,luxit1 et elanguit terra3 confusus est ,libanus1 et obsorduit1 etc4 ,nunc consurgam1 dicit ,dominus3 nunc exaltabor1 nunc sublevabor4 ,is4 xl4 #ag4 ,omnes gentes quasi non sint4 ,is4 xli4 #bf4 ,quis annunciavit ab exordio ut sciamus3 et a principio ut dicamus3 ,justus es8 ,is4 xliii4 #ac4 ,operabor1 et quis avertet illud8 ,jer4 xi4 #ba4 ,non prophetabis in nomine ,domini1 et non morieris in manibus nostris4 ,propterea hc dicit ,dominus4 ,jer4 xv4 #b4 ,quod si dixerint ad te3 ,quo egrediemur8 dices ad eos3 ,hc dicit ,dominus3 ,qui ad mortem1 ad mortem3 et qui ad gladium1 ad gladium3 et qui ad famem1 ad famem3 et qui ad captivitatem1 ad captivitatem4 ,jer4 xvii4 #i4 ,pravum est cor omnium1 et inscrutabile3 quis cognoscet illud8 that is to say1 who can know all its evil1 for it is already known to be wicked4 ,ego ,dominus scrutans cor1 et probans renes4 ,et dixerunt3 ,venite et cogitemus contra ,jeremiam cogitationes1 non enim peribit lex a sacerdote1 neque sermo a propheta4 ,jer4 xvii4 #ag4 ,non sis tu mihi formidini1 spes mea tu in die afflictionis4 ,trust in exterior sacrifices4 ,jer4 vii4 #ad4 ,faciam domui huic1 in qua invocatum est nomen meum1 et in qua vos habetis fiduciam3 et loco1 quem dedi vobis et patribus vestris1 sicut feci ,silo4 ,exterior sacrifice is not the essential point4 ,tu ergo noli orare pro populo hoc4 ,jer4 vii4 #bb4 ,quia non sum locutus cum patribus vestris1 et non prcepi eis in die1 qua eduxi eos de ,terra gypti1 de verbo holocautomatum1 et victimarum4 ,sed hoc verbum prcepi eis1 dicens3 ,audite vocem meam1 et ero vobis ,deus1 et vos eritis mihi populus3 et ambulate in omni via1 quam mandavi vobis1 ut bene sit vobis4 ,et non audierunt4 ,exterior sacrifice is not the essential point4 ,jer4 xi4 #ac4 ,secundum numerum enim civitatum tuarum erant dii tui ,juda3 et secundum numerum viarum ,jerusalem posuisti aras confusionis4 ,tu ergo noli orare pro populo hoc4 ,a multitude of doctrines4 ,is4 xliv4 #bj4 ,neque dicet3 ,forte mendacium est in dextera mea4 ,is4 xliv4 #ba1 etc4 ,memento horum ,jacob1 et ,israel1 quoniam servus meus es tu4 ,formavi te1 servus meus es tu ,israel1 ne obliviscaris mei4 ,delevi ut nubem iniquitates tuas1 et quasi nebulam peccata tua3 revertere ad me1 quoniam redemi te4 xliv4 #bc1 #bd4 ,laudate cli1 quoniam misericordiam fecit ,dominus34441 quoniam redemit ,dominus ,jacob1 et ,israel gloriabitur4 ,hc dicit ,dominus redemptor tuus1 et formator tuus ex utero3 ,ego sum ,dominus1 faciens omnia1 extendens clos solus1 stabiliens terram1 et nullus mecum4 ,is4 liv4 #h4 ,in momento indignationis abscondi faciem meam parumper a te1 et in misericordia sempiterna misertus sum tui3 dixit redemptor tuus ,dominus4 ,is4 lxiii4 #ab4 ,qui eduxit ad dexteram ,moysen brachio majestatis su1 qui scidit aquas ante eos1 ut faceret sibi nomen sempiternum4 #ad4 ,sic adduxisti populum tuum ut faceres tibi nomen glori4 ,is4 lxiii4 #af4 ,tu enim pater noster1 et ,abraham nescivit nos1 et ,israel ignoravit nos4 ,is4 lxiii4 #ag4 ,quare 444 indurasti cor nostrum ne timeremus te8 ,is4 lxvi4 #ag4 ,qui sanctificabantur1 et mundos se putabant 444 simul consumentur1 dicit ,dominus4 ,jer4 ii4 #ce4 ,et dixisti3 ,absque peccato et innocens ego sum3 et propterea avertatur furor tuus a me4 ,ecce ego judicio contendam tecum1 eo quod dixeris3 ,non peccavi4 ,jer4 iv4 #bb4 ,sapientes sunt ut faciant mala1 bene autem facere nescierunt4 ,jer4 iv4 #bc1 #bd4 ,aspexi terram1 et ecce vacua erat1 et nihili3 et clos1 et non erat lux in eis4 ,vidi montes1 et ecce movebantur3 et omnes colles conturbati sunt4 ,intuitus sum1 et non erat homo3 et omne volatile cli recessit4 ,aspexi1 et ecce ,carmelus desertus3 et omnes urbes ejus destruct sunt a facie ,domini1 et a facie ir furoris ejus4 ,hc enim dicit ,dominus3 ,deserta erit omnis terra1 sed tamen consummationem non faciam4 ,jer4 v4 #d4 ,ego autem dixi3 ,forsitan pauperes sunt et stulti1 ignorantes viam ,domini1 judicium ,dei sui4 ,ibo ad optimates1 et loquar eis3 ipsi enim cognoverunt viam ,domini3 et ecce magis hi simul confregerunt jugum1 ruperunt vincula4 ,idcirco percussit eos leo de silva1 pardus vigilans super civitates eorum4 ,jer4 v4 #bi4 ,numquid super his non visitabo1 dicit ,dominus8 aut super gentem hujuscemodi non ulciscetur anima mea8 ,jer4 v4 #cj4 ,stupor et mirabilia facta sunt in terra3 ,jer4 v4 #ca4 ,prophet prophetabant mendacium1 et sacerdotes applaudebant manibus suis3 et populus meus dilexit talia3 quid igitur fiet in novissimo ejus8 ,jer4 vi #af4;,hc dicit ,dominus3 ,state super vias1 et videte1 et interrogate de semitis antiquis1 qu sit via bona1 et ambulate in ea3 et invenietis refrigerium animabus vestris4 ,et dixerunt3 ,non ambulabimus4 ,et constituti super vos speculatores4 ,audite vocem tub4 ,et dixerunt3 ,non audiemus4 ,ideo audite ,gentes1 quanta ego faciam eis4 ,audi terra3 ,ecce ego adducam mala1 etc4 ,jer4 xxiii4 #ae4;,a prophetis enim ,hierusalem egressa est pollutio super omnem terram4 ,jer4 xxiii4 #ag4 ,dicunt his1 qui blasphemant me3 ,locutus est ,dominus1 ,pax erit vobis1 et omni qui ambulat in pravitate cordis sui1 dixerunt3 ,non veniet super vos malum4 ,the ,jews witnesses for ,god4 ,is4 xliii4 #i1 xliv4 #h4 ,prophecies accomplished4--,malachi i4 #aa4 ,the sacrifice of the ,jews rejected1 and the sacrifice of the ,gentiles1 even out of ,jerusalem1 and in all places4 --,moses before his death foretold the calling of the ,gentiles1 ,deut4 xxxii4 #ba1 and the reprobation of the ,jews4 ,moses foretold what would happen to each tribe4 ,prophecy4--,amos and ,zechariah4 ,they sold the just one1 and therefore were not recalled4 --,jesus ,christ betrayed4 ,they shall no more remember ,egypt4 ,see ,is4 xliii4 #af-ai1 ,jerem4 xxiii4 #g4 ,the ,jews shall be scattered abroad4 ,is4 xxvii4 #f4 ,a new law4 ,jer4 xxxi4 #ca4 ,malachi4 ,grotius4--,the second temple glorious4 ,jesus ,christ will come to it4 ,haggai ii4 #g-aj4444 ,the calling of the ,gentiles4 ,joel ii4 #bh4 ,hos4 ii4 #bd4 ,deut4 xxxii4 #ba4 ,mal4 i4 #aa4 ,moses first taught the ,trinity1 original sin1 the ,messiah4 ,david was a great witness4 ,a king1 good1 merciful1 a fair soul1 a fine mind1 powerful4 ,he prophesied1 and his wonders came to pass4 ,this is infinite4 ,he had only to say that he was the ,messiah1 had he been vain enough1 for the prophecies are clearer about him than about ,jesus ,christ4 ,the same with ,saint ,john4 ,special predictions4--,they were strangers in ,egypt without any private possessions1 in that country or in any other1 when ,jacob dying and blessing his twelve children declared to them that they should possess a great land1 and foretold in particular to the family of ,judah that the kings who would one day govern them should be of his race1 and that all his brethren should be subject to him4 ,this same ,jacob disposing of the future land as though he were its master1 gave a portion to ,joseph more than to the others4 ,i give thee1 said he1 a portion more than to thy brethren4 ,and blessing his two children1 ,ephraim and ,manasseh1 whom ,joseph had presented to him1 the elder1 ,manasseh1 on his right1 and the young ,ephraim on his left1 he put his arms cross-wise1 and placing his right hand on the head of ,ephraim1 and the left on ,manasseh1 he blessed them thus4 ,and when ,joseph represented to him that he was preferring the younger he answered him with admirable decision1 ,i know it well1 my son1 ,i know it1 but ,ephraim shall increase in a way quite other than ,manasseh4 ,this has been in fact so true in the result that1 being alone almost as abundant as the two entire lines which compose a whole kingdom1 they have been usually called by the name of ,ephraim alone4 ,this same ,joseph when dying commanded his children to bear his bones with them into that land to which they did not come for two hundred years afterwards4 ,moses1 who wrote all these things so long before they happened1 himself made for each family the partition of the land before they entered it1 as though he had been master of it4 ,he gave them judges to divide it1 he prescribed the entire political form of government which they should observe1 the cities of refuge which they should build1 and4444 ,daniel ii4 ,all thy sooth-sayers and wise men cannot show unto thee the secret which thou hast demanded4 ,but there is a ,god in heaven1 who can do so1 and he has revealed in thy dream the things which shall be in the latter days4 ,this dream must have caused him great uneasiness4 ,and it is not by my own wisdom that ,i have knowledge of this secret1 but by the revelation of this same ,god who has discovered it to me1 to make it manifest in thy presence4 ,thy dream was of this kind4 ,thou sawest a great image1 high and terrible1 which stood before thee4 ,his head was of gold1 his breast and his arms of silver1 his belly and his thighs of brass4 ,his legs of iron1 his feet part of iron and part of clay4 ,thus thou sawest till a stone was cut out without hands1 which smote the image upon his feet1 that were of iron and clay and brake them to pieces4 ,then was the iron1 the clay1 the brass1 the silver1 and the gold1 broken to pieces together1 and the wind carried them away1 but this stone which smote the image became a great mountain1 and filled the whole earth4 ,this is the dream1 and now ,i will give thee the interpretation4 ,thou who art the greatest of kings1 and to whom ,god has given a power so extended that thou art renowned among all people1 art the golden head of the image which thou hast seen4 ,but after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee1 and another of brass1 which shall bear rule over all the earth4 ,but the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron1 and even as iron breaketh in pieces1 and subdueth all things1 so this empire shall break in pieces and bruise4 ,and whereas thou sawest the feet and toes1 part of clay and part of iron1 the kingdom shall be divided2 and it shall be partly strong and partly broken4 ,but as iron cannot be firmly mixed with clay1 so they who are represented by the iron and by the clay1 cannot cleave one to another though united by marriage4 ,now in the days of these kings will ,god raise up a ,kingdom1 which shall never be destroyed1 nor ever be delivered up to another people4 ,it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms1 and it shall stand for ever1 according as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands1 and that it fell from the mountain1 and brake in pieces the iron1 the clay1 the silver and the gold4 ,this is what ,god has revealed to thee of the things which must come in the fulness of time4 ,this dream is true and the interpretation thereof is faithful4 ,then ,nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face towards the earth1 etc4 ,daniel viii4 ,daniel having seen the combat of the ram and of the he-goat1 who vanquished him and ruled over the earth1 whereof the principal horn being broken four others came up towards the four winds of heaven1 and out of one of them came forth a little horn1 which waxed exceeding great toward the ,south and toward the ,east1 and toward the land of ,israel1 and it waxed great1 even to the host of heaven1 and it cast down some of the stars1 and stamped upon them1 and at last overthrew the prince1 and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away and the place of his sanctuary was cast down4 ,this is what ,daniel saw4 ,he asked the explanation and a voice cried in this manner1 ',gabriel1 make this man to understand the vision4' ,and ,gabriel said1 ,the ram which thou sawest is the king of the ,medes and ,persians1 and the he-goat is the king of ,greece1 and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king of this monarchy4 ,now that being broken1 whereas four stood up for it1 four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation1 but not with his strength4 ,now in the latter time of their kingdom when iniquities shall be grown up1 there shall arise a king insolent and strong1 but his power shall be not his own4 ,to him all things shall succeed after his will1 and he shall destroy the holy people1 and through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand1 and he shall destroy many4 ,he shall also stand up against the ,prince of ,princes1 but he shall perish miserably1 and nevertheless by a violent hand4 ,daniel ix4 #bj4 ,as ,i was praying ,god with all my heart1 and confessing my sin and the sin of all my people1 and prostrating myself before ,god1 even ,gabriel1 whom ,i had seen in the vision at the beginning1 came to me and touched me about the time of the evening oblation1 and he informed me and said1 ,o ,daniel1 ,i am now come forth to teach thee that thou mightest understand4 ,at the beginning of thy prayer ,i came to show thee that which thou didst desire1 for thou art greatly beloved3 therefore understand the matter and consider the vision4 ,seventy weeks are determined upon thy people1 and upon thy holy city1 to finish the transgression1 and to make an end of sins1 and to abolish iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness2 to accomplish the vision and the prophecies1 and to anoint the ,most ,holy4 ,after which this people shall be no more thy people1 nor this city the holy city4 ,the times of wrath are passed and the years of grace shall come for ever4 ,know therefore1 and understand1 that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build ,jerusalem unto the ,messiah the ,prince1 shall be seven weeks1 and three score and two weeks3 the street shall be built again1 and the wall1 even in troublous times4 ,the ,hebrews were accustomed to divide numbers1 and to place the smaller first1 so that seven and sixty-two make sixty-nine4 ,of this seventy there will then rest the seventieth3 that is to say the seven last years of which he will speak next1 and after these sixty-two weeks which have followed the seven first1 the ,christ should be killed1 and a people would come with its prince1 who should destroy the city1 and the sanctuary1 and overwhelm all1 and the end of that war will accomplish the desolation4 ,christ shall be killed after the sixty-nine weeks1 that is to say1 in the last week4 ,now one week1 which is the seventieth1 which remains1 shall confirm the covenant with many1 and in the midst of the week1 that is to say the last three years and a half1 he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease1 and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate1 even until the consummation1 and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate4 ,daniel xi4 ,the angel said to ,daniel3 ,there shall stand up yet1--after ,cyrus1 under whom all this still is1--three kings in ,persia1--,cambyses1 ,smyrdis1 ,darius2--and the fourth1--,xerxes1 who shall then come1--shall be far richer than they all1 and far stronger1 and shall stir up all his people against the ,greeks1 and a mighty king shall stand up1--,alexander1--that shall rule with great dominion1 and do according to his will4 ,and when he shall stand up1 his kingdom shall be broken1 and shall be divided in four parts toward the four winds of heaven1--see also vii4 #f vii4 #h--;but not to his posterity1 and his successors shall not equal his power1 for his kingdom shall be plucked up1 even for others beside these1--his four principal successors4 ,and the king--,ptolemy son of ,lagos1--of the south1--,egypt1--shall be strong1--but one of his princes shall be strong above him1--,seleucus king of ,syria1--and his dominion shall be a great dominion1--,appian says that he was the most powerful of ,alexander's successors4 ,and in the end of years they shall join themselves together1 and the king's daughter of the ,south1--,berenice1 daughter of ,ptolemy ,philadelphus1 son of the other ,ptolemy--shall come to the king of the ,north to make peace between these princes--to ,antiochus ,deus1 king of ,syria and of ,asia1 son of ,seleucus ,lagidas4 ,but neither she nor her seed shall have a long authority1 for she and they that sent her and they that brought her1 and her children and her friends1 shall be delivered to death1--,berenice and her son were killed by ,seleucus ,callinicus4 ,but out of a branch of her roots--,ptolemy ,euergetes was the son of the same father as ,berenice--shall one stand up in his estate1 who shall come with an army into the land of the king of the north1 and shall put all under subjection1 and carry captives into ,egypt their gods1 their princes1 their gold1 their silver1 and all their precious spoils1 and shall continue many years when the king of the ,north can do nought against him4--,if he had not been called into ,egypt by domestic reasons1 says ,justin1 he would have entirely ruined ,seleucus4 ,and thus he shall return into his kingdom1 but his sons shall be stirred up and shall prepare an exceeding great multitude--,seleucus ,ceraunus1 ,antiochus the ,great4 ,and their army shall come and overthrow all1 whereat the king of the ,south being moved with choler1 shall come forth and fight with him and conquer1--,ptolemy ,philopator against ,antiochus the ,great at ,raphia--and his troops shall become insolent1 and his heart shall be lifted up1--this ,ptolemy desecrated the temple--,josephus--and he shall cast down many ten thousands1 but he shall not be strengthened by it4 ,for the king of the ,north--,antiochus the ,great--shall return with a greater multitude than before1--in the reign of the young ,ptolemy ,epiphanes--and then a great number of enemies shall stand up against the king of the south1 also the apostates and robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision2 but they shall perish--those who abandon their religion to please ,euergetes1 when he will send his troops to ,scopas4 ,for ,antiochus will again take ,scopas and conquer them4 ,and the king of the ,north shall destroy the fenced cities and the armies of the south shall not withstand1 and all shall yield to his will4 ,he shall stand in the land of ,israel and it shall yield to him4 ,and thus he will think to render himself master of all the empire of ,egypt1--despising the youth of ,epiphanes1 says ,justin4 ,and for that he will make alliance with him and give his daughter1--,cleopatra1 in order that she may betray her husband4 ,on which ,appian says that doubtful of being able to make himself master of ,egypt by force1 because of the protection of the ,romans1 he wished to attempt it by craft4 ,he would fain corrupt her1 but she shall not stand on his side1 neither be for him4 ,after this shall he turn his face unto the isles1--that is to say1 the sea-ports1--and shall take many1--as ,appian relates4 ,but a prince shall oppose his conquests and cause the reproach offered by him to cease1--,scipio ,africanus1 who stopped the progress of ,antiochus the ,great because he offended the ,romans in the person of their allies4--,he will return into his kingdom and perish and be no more4--,he was killed by his soldiers4 ,and he who stands in his place shall be a tyrant1 a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom1 that is the people1 ,seleucus ,philopator or ,soter1 the son of ,antiochus the ,great--but within a few days he shall be destroyed1 neither in anger nor in battle2 ,and in his place shall stand up a vile person1 unworthy of the honour of the kingdom1 but he shall come in by skilful flatteries4 ,all armies shall bend before him1 he will conquer them1 and even the prince with whom he has made a league4 ,for having renewed the league with him1 he will deceive him1 and come in with a few tribes into his province1 calm and without fear4 ,he will take the best places1 and shall do that which his fathers have not done1 and ravage on all sides4 ,he will forecast devices1 during his time4 ,the zeal of the ,jews for their law and their temple4 ,josephus and ,philo the ,jew ad ,caium4 ,what other people has so great a zeal1 but for them it was a necessity4 ,jesus ,christ foretold as to the time and the state of the world4 ,the leader taken from the thigh1 and the fourth monarchy4 ,how fortunate we are to have such light amid such darkness4 ,how grand it is to see by the eye of faith1 ,darius and ,cyrus1 ,alexander1 the ,romans1 ,pompey and ,herod working1 though unconsciously1 for the glory of the ,gospel6 ,how grand to see by the eye of faith the histories of ,herod1 of ,csar4444 ,the reprobation of the ,jews and conversion of the ,gentiles4--,isaiah lxv4 ,i am sought of them that asked not for me2 ,i am found of them that sought me not3 ,i said1 ,behold me1 behold me1 unto a nation that did not call upon my name4 ,i have spread out my hands all the day unto an unbelieving people1 which walketh in a way that was not good1 after their own thoughts2 a people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face2 that sacrificeth to idols1 etc4 ,these shall be scattered like smoke in the day of my wrath1 etc4 ,your iniquities1 and the iniquities of your fathers will ,i gather1 and will requite you according to your works4 ,thus saith the ,lord1 ,as the new wine is found in the cluster1 and one saith1 ,destroy it not2 for a blessing is in it4 ,so will ,i take a seed of ,jacob and ,judah to possess my mountains1 and mine elect and my servants shall inherit it1 and my fertile and abundant plains1 but ,i will destroy all others1 because you have forgotten your ,god to follow strange gods4 ,i have called you and you have not answered1 ,i have spoken and you have not heard1 and you have chosen the things which ,i forbade4 ,therefore thus saith the ,lord1 ,behold1 my servants shall eat1 but ye shall be hungry2 my servants shall rejoice1 but ye shall be ashamed2 my servants shall sing for joy of heart1 but ye shall cry and howl for vexation of spirit4 ,and ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen3 for the ,lord shall slay thee1 and call his servants by another name1 that he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in ,god1 etc42 because the former troubles are forgotten4 ,for1 behold1 ,i create new heavens and a new earth3 and the former things shall not be remembered1 nor come into mind4 ,but be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which ,i create3 for1 behold1 ,i create ,jerusalem a rejoicing1 and her people a joy4 ,and ,i will rejoice in ,jerusalem1 and joy in my people3 and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her1 nor the voice of crying4444 ,before they call1 ,i will answer2 and while they are yet speaking1 ,i will hear4 ,the wolf and the lamb shall feed together1 and the lion shall eat straw like the ox3 and dust shall be the serpent's meat4 ,they shall not hurt nor kill in all my holy mountain4 ,is4 lvi4 ,thus saith the ,lord1 ,keep ye judgment1 and do justice3 for my salvation is near to come1 and my righteousness to be revealed4 ,blessed is the man that doeth this1 and the son of man that keepeth my salvation and holdeth his hand from doing any evil4 ,neither let the strangers1 that have joined themselves to the ,lord1 say1 ,god will separate me from his people4 ,for thus saith the ,lord3 ,whoso will keep my sabbaths1 and choose the things that please me1 and take hold of my covenant2 ,even unto them will ,i give in mine house a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters3 ,i will give them an everlasting name1 that shall not be cut off4444 ,therefore is judgment far from us3 we wait for light1 but behold obscurity2 for brightness1 but we walk in darkness4 ,we grope for the wall like the blind3 we stumble at noon day as in the night2 we are in desolate places as dead men4 ,we roar all like bears1 and mourn sore like doves3 we look for judgment1 but there is none2 for salvation1 but it is far from us4 ,isaiah lxvi4 #ah4 ,but ,i know their works and their thoughts3 ,i come that ,i may gather all nations and tongues1 and they shall see my glory4 ,and ,i will set a sign among them1 and ,i will send of them that shall be saved unto the nations1 to ,africa1 to ,lydia1 to ,italy1 to ,greece1 and to the people that have not heard my name1 neither have seen my glory4 ,and they shall bring your brethren4 ,jer4 vii4 ,reprobation of the ,temple4 ,but go ye to ,shiloh1 where ,i set my name at the first1 and see what ,i did to it for the wickedness of my people4 ,and now1 because ye have done all these works1 saith the ,lord1 ,i will do unto this house1 in which my name is called upon1 wherein ye trust1 and unto the place which ,i gave to your priests1 as ,i have done to ,shiloh4 ,for ,i have rejected it and made myself a temple elsewhere4 ,and ,i will cast you out of my sight1 as ,i have cast out all your brethren1 the whole seed of ,ephraim4 ,rejected absolutely4 ,therefore pray not thou for this people4 ,jer4 vii4 #ba4 ,what avails it you to add sacrifice to sacrifice8 ,for ,i spake not unto your fathers1 when ,i brought them out of the land of ,egypt1 concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices3 ,but this thing commanded ,i them1 saying1 ,obey my voice1 and ,i will be your ,god1 and ye shall be my people4 ,for it was only after they had sacrificed to golden calves that ,i gave myself sacrifices to turn into good an evil custom4 ,jer4 vii4 #d4 ,trust not in lying words1 saying1 ,the temple of the ,lord1 ,the temple of the ,lord1 ,the temple of the ,lord1 are these4 ,proofs by the ,jews4--,captivity of the ,jews without restoration4 ,jeremiah xi4 #aa4 ,i will bring evil on ,judah which they shall not be able to escape4 ,types4--,isaiah v4 ,the ,lord had a vineyard from which he looked for grapes1 and it brought forth wild grapes4 ,i will therefore uproot and destroy it1 the earth shall produce nothing but thorns1 and ,i will forbid the heaven4444 ,the vineyard of the ,lord is the house of ,israel1 and the men of ,judah his pleasant plant4 ,i looked that they should do justice1 and they bring forth only iniquities4 ,isaiah viii4 ,sanctify the ,lord with fear and trembling1 and let him be your fear2 but he shall be for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of ,israel1 for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of ,jerusalem4 ,and many among them shall stumble against that stone1 and fall1 and be broken1 and be snared1 and be taken1 and perish4 ,hide my words and cover my law for my disciples4 ,and ,i will wait upon the ,lord1 that hideth his face from the house of ,jacob4 ,isaiah xxix4 ,be astonished1 and wonder1 ,o people of ,israel2 waver and stagger3 be drunken1 but not with wine2 stagger1 but not with strong drink4 ,for the ,lord hath mingled for you the spirit of deep sleep4 ,he will shut up your eyes3 he will cover your prophets and princes that see visions4 ,daniel xii4 ,the wicked shall not understand1 but the wise shall understand4 ,hosea1 the last chapter1 the last verse1 after many temporal blessings says3 ,who is wise1 and he shall understand these things1 etc4 ,and the visions of all the prophets are become unto you as a book that is sealed1 which men deliver to one that is learned1 and who can read3 and he saith1 ,i cannot read it2 for it is sealed3 ,and when the book is delivered to him that is not learned1 he saith1 ,i am not learned4 ,wherefore the ,lord said1 ,forasmuch as this people with their lips do honour me1 but have removed their heart far from me1--there is the reason and the cause1 for they adore ,god in their heart1 and understand the prophecies1--and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men4 ,therefore1 behold1 ,i will proceed to do among this people a marvellous work and a wonder3 for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish1 and the understanding4444 ,prophecies4 ,proof of divinity4 ,isaiah xli4 ,shew the things that are to come hereafter1 that we may know that ye are gods3 and we will incline our heart unto your words4 ,teach us the things that have been from the beginning and prophecy those that are to come4 ,by this we shall know that ye are gods4 ,yea1 do good1 or do evil1 if you can4 ,come now and let us reason together4 ,behold1 ye are of nothing1 and an abomination1 etc4 ,who hath declared from the beginning1 that we may know8 and beforetime1 that we may say1 ,he is righteous8 yea1 there is none that sheweth1 yea1 there is none that declareth the future4 ,is4 xlii4 ,i am the ,lord3 and my glory will ,i not give to another4 ,i have foretold the former things which have come to pass1 and declare those which are to come4 ,sing a new song to ,god in all the earth4 ,bring forth the blind people that have eyes and see not1 and the deaf that have ears and hear not4 ,let all the nations be gathered together4 ,who among them and their ,gods can declare this1 and shew us former things1 and things to come8 ,let them bring forth their witnesses1 that they may be justified3 or let them hear1 and say1 ,it is truth4 ,ye are my witnesses1 saith the ,lord1 and my servant whom ,i have chosen3 that ye may know and believe me1 and understand that ,i am he4 ,i have declared1 and have saved1 and ,i have shewed wonders in your eyes3 therefore ye are my witnesses1 saith the ,lord1 that ,i am ,god4 ,for your sake ,i have sent to ,babylon1 and have brought down all their nobles4 ,i am the ,lord1 your sanctifier and creator4 ,i have made a way in the sea1 and a path in the mighty waters2 ,i am he that destroyed for ever the powerful enemies who have resisted you4 ,remember ye not the former things1 neither consider the things of old4 ,behold1 ,i will do a new thing2 now it shall spring forth2 shall ye not know it8 ,i will even make a way in the wilderness1 and rivers in the desert4 ,this people have ,i formed for myself2 they shall shew forth my praise1 etc4 ,i1 even ,i1 am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake1 and will not remember thy sins4 ,put me in remembrance3 let us plead together3 declare thou1 that thou mayest be justified4 ,thy first father hath sinned1 and thy teachers have transgressed against me4 ,is4 xliv4 ,i am the first and the last1 saith the ,lord4 ,whoso will equal himself to me1 let him declare the order of things since ,i formed the first peoples1 and the things which are to come4 ,fear ye not1 have ,i not declared all these things1 ye are my witnesses4 ,prophecy of ,cyrus--,because of ,jacob whom ,i have chosen ,i have called thee by thy name1 ,come and let us reason together4 ,who has declared this from ancient time1 and foretold things to come8 have not ,i1 the ,lord4 ,is4 xlvi4 ,remember the former things of old1 and know that there is none like me4 ,declaring the end from the beginning1 and from ancient times the things that are not yet done1 saying1 ,my counsel shall stand1 and ,i will do all my pleasure4 ,is4 xlii4 #i4 ,behold1 the former things are come to pass1 and new things do ,i declare3 before they spring forth ,i tell you of them4 ,is4 xlviii4 #c4 ,i have declared the former things from the beginning2 and ,i shewed them2 and they came to pass4 ,because ,i knew that thou art obstinate1 that thy spirit is rebellious1 and thy brow brass2 ,i have even before it came to pass shewed it thee3 lest thou shouldst say1 that it was the work of thy ,gods and the effect of their commands4 ,thou hast seen all this2 and will not ye declare it8 ,i have shewed thee new things from this time1 even hidden things1 and thou didst not know them4 ,they are created now1 and not from the beginning2 even before the day when thou heardst them not2 lest thou shouldst say1 ,behold1 ,i knew them4 ,yea1 thou heardest not2 yea1 thou knewest not2 yea1 from that time that thine ear was not opened3 for ,i knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously1 and wast called a transgressor from the womb4 --,prophecies4 ,in ,egypt4--,pugio ,fidei1 #fei4 ,talmud4 ,it is a tradition among us that when the ,messiah shall come1 the house of ,god1 destined for the dispensation of his word1 shall be full of filth and impurity1 that the wisdom of the scribes shall be corrupt and rotten2 that those who fear to sin shall be reproved by the people1 and treated as fools and madmen4 ,is4 xlix4 ,listen1 ,o isles1 unto me1 and hearken ye people from far3 ,the ,lord hath called me by my name even from the womb of my mother2 he hath hid me in the shadow of his hand1 he hath made my words like a sharp sword1 and said3 ,thou art my servant1 in whom ,i will be glorified4 ,and ,i said1 ,lord1 have ,i laboured in vain8 have ,i spent my strength for nought8 yet is my judgment with thee1 ,o ,lord1 and my work before thee4 ,when the ,lord1 who has formed me from the womb of my mother to be wholly for himself1 in order to bring ,jacob and ,israel again to him1 said unto me3 ,thou shalt be glorious in my sight1 and ,i will be thy strength4 ,it is a light thing that thou shouldst convert the tribes of ,jacob2 ,i will also give thee for a light to the ,gentiles1 that thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of the earth4 ,these are the things which the ,lord hath said to him that humbleth his soul to him whom the nation abhorreth1 to a servant of rulers4 ,princes and kings shall worship thee because the ,lord is faithful that hath chosen thee4 ,again the ,lord said unto me3 ,i have heard thee in the days of salvation and of mercy1 and ,i have established thee for a covenant of the people1 and to cause thee to inherit the desolate nations1 that thou mayest say to those who are in chains3 ,go forth1 and to those that are in darkness3 ,come into the light1 and possess these abundant and fertile lands4 ,they shall no more labour1 nor hunger1 nor thirst1 neither shall the sun smite them2 for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them1 even by the springs of waters shall he guide them1 and make the mountains plain before them4 ,behold1 the peoples shall come from all parts1 from the ,east and from the ,west1 from the ,north and from the ,south4 ,let the heaven give glory to ,god1 let the earth rejoice1 for it hath pleased the ,lord to comfort his people1 and he will have mercy on the poor who hope in him4 ,yet ,sion hath dared to say3 ,the ,lord hath forsaken and hath forgotten me4 ,can a woman forget her sucking child1 that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb1 but if she forget1 yet will ,i not forget thee1 ,o ,sion4 ,i will bear thee always between my hands1 and thy walls shall be ever before me4 ,thy builders are come1 thy destroyers shall go forth of thee4 ,lift up thy eyes round about1 and see all these are gathered together1 to come to thee3 as ,i live1 saith the ,lord1 thou shall be clothed with all these as with an ornament1 thy deserts1 and thy desolate places1 and the land of thy destruction shall now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants1 and the children of thy barrenness shall still say in thy ears3 the place is too strait for me1 make me room to dwell in4 ,and thou shall say in thy heart3 ,who hath begotten these8 ,i was barren and brought not forth1 led away1 and captive3 and who hath brought up these8 ,i was destitute and alone3 and these1 where were they8 ,and the ,lord shall say3 ,behold1 ,i will lift up my hand to the ,gentiles1 and will set up my standard to the people4 ,and they shall bring thy children in their arms1 and in their bosoms4 ,and kings shall be thy nursing fathers1 and queens thy nursing mothers3 they shall worship thee with their face toward the earth1 and they shall lick up the dust of thy feet4 ,and thou shall know that ,i am the ,lord1 for they shall not be confounded that wait for him4 ,shall the prey be taken from the strong and mighty8 ,but even if the captivity be taken away from the strong3 nothing can hinder me to judge those that have judged thee1 and thy children ,i will save4 ,and all flesh shall know1 that ,i am the ,lord thy ,saviour1 and thy ,redeemer the mighty ,one of ,jacob4 ,thus saith the ,lord3 ,what is this divorcement1 wherewith ,i have put away the synagogue1 and why have ,i delivered it into the hands of your enemies2 is it not for your iniquities and your transgressions that ,i have put it away8 ,for ,i came1 and no man would receive me1 ,i called and none would hear4 ,is my arm shortened that ,i cannot save8 ,therefore will ,i show the tokens of my anger1 ,i will clothe the heavens with darkness1 and will make sackcloth their covering4 ,the ,lord hath given me the tongue of the learned that ,i should know how to uphold by word him that is weary4 ,he hath wakened my ear1 and ,i have heard him as a master4 ,the ,lord hath revealed his will and ,i was not rebellious4 ,i gave my body to the smiters1 and my cheeks to outrage1 ,i hid not my face from shame and spitting1 but the ,lord has helped me1 therefore ,i was not confounded4 ,he is near that justifieth me2 who will contend with me1 and accuse me of sin1 since ,god himself is my protector8 ,all men shall pass and be consumed by time1 let those that fear the ,lord hearken to the words of his servant1 let him that languisheth in darkness put his trust in the ,lord4 ,but as for you1 you do but set alight upon you the wrath of ,god1 you walk upon the coals and among the flames you have kindled4 ,this ye have of my hand1 ye shall perish in sorrow4 ,hearken to me1 ye that follow after righteousness1 ye that seek the ,lord3 look unto the rock whence ye are hewn1 and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged4 ,look unto ,abraham your father1 and unto ,sarah that bare you3 for ,i called him when he was alone1 and childless1 and increased him4 ,for the ,lord has comforted ,zion3 and has heaped on her blessings and consolations4 ,hearken unto me1 my people2 and give ear unto me1 for a law shall proceed from me1 and ,i will make my judgment to rest for a light of the ,gentiles4 ,amos viii4 ,the prophet having enumerated the sins of ,israel1 said that ,god had sworn to take vengeance on them4 ,he saith also3 ,and it shall come to pass in that day1 saith the ,lord1 that the sun shall go down at mid-day1 and ,i will make the earth dark in the day of light3 ,and ,i will turn your feasts into mourning1 and all your songs into lamentation4 ,you shall have sorrow and suffering1 and ,i will make the sorrow as the mourning of an only son1 and the latter end thereof as a bitter day4 ,behold the days come1 saith the ,lord1 and ,i will send forth a famine into the land3 not a famine of bread1 nor a thirst of water1 but of hearing the words of the ,lord4 ,and they shall move from sea to sea1 and from the ,north to the ,east3 they shall go about seeking the word of the ,lord1 and shall not find it4 ,in that day their fair virgins1 and their young men shall faint for thirst4 ,they that have followed the idols of ,samaria1 and sworn by the god of ,dan2 who have followed the worship of ,beersheba2 they shall fall1 and shall rise no more4 ,amos iii4 #b4 ,of all nations of the earth1 ,i have chosen you only to be my people4 ,daniel xii4 #g4 ,daniel having described all the extent of ,messiah's reign1 says1 ,all these things shall be done when the dispersion of my people shall be accomplished4 ,haggai ii4 #c4 ,you who compare this second house with the glory of the first and despise it4 ,yet now take courage1 ,o ,zerubbabel1 saith the ,lord1 and take courage ,o ,jesus the high priest1 and take courage1 all ye people of the land1 and cease not to work4 ,the word that ,i covenanted with you when you came out of the land of ,egypt stands yet3 and my spirit shall be in the midst of you3 ,lose not hope4 ,for thus saith the ,lord of hosts3 ,yet one little while1 and ,i will move the heaven and the earth1 and the sea1 and the dry land1--a mode of speech to denote a great and extraordinary change4 ,and ,i will move all nations3 and the desired of all nations shall come3 and ,i will fill this house with glory3 saith the ,lord4 ,the silver is mine1 and the gold is mine1 saith the ,lord1--that is to say1 it is not by that that ,i will be honoured1 as it is said in another place4 ,all the beasts of the field are mine1 what good is it to me that they are offered me in sacrifice8--,greater shall be the glory of this latter house than of the first1 saith the ,lord of hosts3 and in this place ,i will establish my house1 saith the ,lord4 ,according to all that you desired of the ,lord ,god in ,horeb in the day of the assembly1 saying1 ,let us not hear again the voice of the ,lord1 neither let us see this fire any more1 that we die not4 ,and the ,lord said unto me1 ,their prayer is just4 ,i will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren1 like unto thee1 and ,i will put my words in his mouth2 and he shall speak unto them all that ,i shall command him4 ,and it shall come to pass1 that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name1 ,i will require it of him4 ,genesis xlix4 ,judah1 thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise1 and thou shall vanquish thine enemies2 thy father's children shall bow down before thee4 ,judah1 lion's whelp1 thou art gone up to the prey1 ,o my son1 and art couched as a lion1 and as a lioness awakened4 ,the sceptre shall not depart from ,judah1 nor a lawgiver from between his feet1 until ,shiloh come2 and unto him shall the gathering of the people be4 ,,of ,,types ,,in ,,general ,,and ,,of ,,their ,,lawfulness4 ,proof of the two ,testaments at once4--,to prove both the ,testaments at one stroke we need only see if the prophecies in one are accomplished in the other4 ,to examine the prophecies we must understand them4 ,for if we believe they have only one sense it is certain that ,messiah has not come2 but if they have two senses1 it is certain that he has come in ,jesus ,christ4 ,the whole question then is to know if they have two senses4444 ,that the ,scripture has two senses1 which ,jesus ,christ and his ,apostles have given1 the following are the proofs3 #a4 ,proof by ,scripture itself4 #b4 ,proofs by the ,rabbis4 ,moses ,maimonides says that it has two faces1 and that the prophets have prophesied ,jesus ,christ only4 #c4 ,proofs by the ,cabala4 #d4 ,proofs by the mystical interpretation which the rabbis themselves have given to the ,scripture4 #e4 ,proofs by the principles laid down by the rabbis that there are two senses1 that there are two advents of the ,messiah2 one in glory1 and one in humiliation1 according to their deserts2 that the prophets have prophesied of ,messiah only4 ,the ,law is not eternal1 but must change when ,messiah comes2 that then they shall no more remember the ,red ,sea2 that the ,jews and the ,gentiles shall be mingled4 ,it is as those among whom there is a certain secret language4 ,those who do not understand it can see in it only a foolish sense4 ,typical4--,the figures of a sword1 a shield4 ,potentissime4 ,to change the type1 because of our weakness4 ,types4--,the prophets prophesied by figures of a girdle1 a beard and burnt hair1 etc4 ,two errors3 #a1 to take all literally2 #b1 to take all spiritually4 ,the veil which is upon these books for the ,jews is there also for bad ,christians1 and for all who do not hate themselves4 ,but those who truly hate themselves are in a disposition to understand the ,scriptures and to know ,jesus ,christ4 ,types4--,to show that the ,old ,testament is only figurative1 and that by temporal possessions the prophets understood others1 this is the proof3 #a1 that this were unworthy of ,god2 #b1 that their discourses express very clearly the promise of temporal possessions1 and that they say nevertheless that their discourses are obscure1 and that their sense will not be understood4 ,whence it appears that this secret sense is not that which they openly expressed1 and that consequently they meant to speak of other sacrifices1 of another deliverer1 etc4 ,they say that they will be understood only in the fulness of time4 ,jer4 xxxiii4 ,the third proof is that their discourses are contradictory and destroy each other1 so that if we think they did not mean by the words law and sacrifice aught else than those of ,moses1 there is a gross and obvious contradiction4 ,therefore they meant something else1 occasionally contradicting themselves in the same chapter4 ,now to understand the sense of an author4444 ,a type brings with it absence and presence1 pleasure and pain4 ,a cipher with a double sense1 one clear1 and in which it is said that the sense is hidden4444 ,a portrait brings with it absence and presence1 pleasure and pain4 ,the reality excludes absence and pain4 ,types4--,to know if the law and the sacrifices are real or figurative1 we must see if the prophets in speaking of these things limited their view and their thoughts to them1 so that they saw only the old covenant2 or if they saw in them somewhat else of which they were the semblance1 for in a portrait we see the thing figured4 ,for this we need only examine what they say4 ,when they speak of it as eternal1 do they mean that same covenant which they elsewhere say will be changed2 so of the sacrifices1 etc48 ,a cipher has two senses4 ,if we intercept an important letter in which we see an obvious meaning1 wherein it is nevertheless declared that the sense is veiled and obscure1 that it is concealed1 so that the letter might be read without discovering it1 and understood without understanding1 we can but think that here is a cipher with a double sense1 and all the more if we find manifest contradictions in the literal sense4 ,how greatly we ought to value those who interpret the cipher1 and explain to us the hidden sense1 especially if the principles they extract are wholly natural and clear4 ,this is what ,jesus ,christ did1 and the ,apostles4 ,they broke the seal1 he rent the veil1 and revealed the spirit4 ,they have thereby taught us that man's enemies are his passions2 that the ,redeemer is to be spiritual and his reign spiritual2 that there are to be two advents1 one in lowliness to abase the proud1 the other in glory to exalt the humble2 that ,jesus ,christ is ,god and man4 ,the prophets said clearly that ,israel would be always the beloved of ,god1 that the law would be eternal1 they have said also that their meaning would not be understood1 and that it was veiled4 ,types4--,when the word of ,god1 which cannot lie1 is false literally1 it is true spiritually4 ,sede a dextris meis1 is false literally1 therefore it is true spiritually4 ,in these expressions ,god is spoken of after the manner of men1 and this means only that the intention which men have in giving a seat at their right hand1 ,god will also have4 ,it is then a mark of the intention of ,god1 not of his mode of carrying it out4 ,thus when it is said ,god has received the odour of your incense and will in return give you a fat land1 this means that the same intention which a man will have1 who1 pleased with your perfumes1 will give you a fat land1 ,god will have towards you1 because you have had towards him the same intention as a man has for him to whom he offers a sweet savour4 ,so iratus est1 a jealous ,god1 etc41 for the things of ,god being inexpressible1 they cannot be said otherwise4 ,and the ,church uses them still3 ,quia confortavit seras1 etc4 ,difference between dinner and supper4 ,in ,god the word differs not from the intention1 for he is true1 nor the word from the effect1 for he is powerful1 nor the means from the effect1 for he is wise4 ,bern4 ult4 sermo in ,missam4 ,aug41 de ,civit4 v4 #aj4 ,this rule is general4 ,god can do all1 except those things which if he could do he would not be almighty1 as dying1 being deceived1 lying1 etc4 ,many evangelists for the confirmation of the truth4 ,their differences are useful4 ,the ,eucharist after the ,lord's ,supper4 ,truth after the type4 ,the ruin of ,jerusalem1 a type of the ruin of the world1 forty years after the death of ,jesus4 ,i know not as a man or as an ambassador4 ,matt4 xxiv4 #cf4 ,jesus condemned by the ,jews and the ,gentiles4 ,the ,jews and the ,gentiles figured by the two sons4 ,aug4 de ,civit4 xx4 #bi4 ,the figures of the ,gospel for the state of the sick soul are sick bodies1 but because one body cannot be sufficiently sick to express it well1 several are needed4 ,thus there are the deaf1 the dumb1 the blind1 the paralytic1 the dead ,lazarus1 the possessed2 all this together is in the sick soul4 ,isaiah1 li4 ,the ,red ,sea an image of the ,redemption4 ,ut sciatis quod filius hominis habet potestatem remittendi peccata1 tibi dico3 ,surge4 ,god1 willing to show that he was able to form a people holy with an invisible holiness1 and to fill them with an eternal glory1 made visible things4 ,as nature is an image of grace1 he has done in the excellences of nature what he would accomplish in those of grace1 in order that men might judge that he could make the invisible since he made the visible so well4 ,thus he saved this people from the deluge1 he has raised them up from ,abraham1 redeemed them from their enemies1 and caused them to enter into rest4 ,the object of ,god was not to save them from the deluge1 and raise up a whole people to ,abraham1 only in order to bring them into a fat land4 ,and so grace itself is but the figure of glory1 for it is not the ultimate end4 ,it was symbolised by the law1 and itself symbolises grace1 but it is the figure of it1 and the origin or cause4 ,the ordinary life of man is like that of the saints4 ,they all seek their satisfaction1 and differ only in the object wherein they place it2 they call those their enemies who hinder them1 etc4 ,god then has shown the power which he has to give invisible possessions1 by the power which he has shown over things visible4 ,and yet this covenant1 made to blind some and enlighten others1 marked in those very men whom it blinded the truth which should be recognised by others4 ,for the visible possessions which they received from ,god were so great and so divine that it certainly appeared he was able to give them those which are invisible1 as well as a ,messiah4 ,for nature is an image of grace1 and visible miracles are the image of the invisible4 ,ut sciatis1 tibi dico3 ,surge4 ,isaiah1 li41 says that ,redemption will be as the passage of the ,red ,sea4 ,god then has shown by the deliverance from ,egypt1 and from the sea1 by the defeat of the kings1 by the manna1 by the whole genealogy of ,abraham1 that he was able to save1 to send down bread from heaven1 etc41 so that the people at enmity with him is the type and the representation of the very ,messiah whom they know not1 etc4 ,he has then shown us at last that all these things were only types1 and what is true freedom1 a true ,israelite1 true circumcision1 true bread from heaven1 etc4 ,in these promises each man finds what he chiefly desires1 temporal possessions or spiritual1 ,god or the creatures2 but with this difference1 that those who therein seek the creatures find them1 but attended by many contradictions1 with a prohibition against loving them1 with the injunction to worship ,god only1 and to love him only1 which is the same thing1 and finally that the ,messiah came not for them2 whilst on the contrary those who therein seek ,god find him1 without any contradiction1 with the injunction to love him only1 and that the ,messiah came in the time foretold1 to give them the possessions which they ask4 ,thus the ,jews had miracles and prophecies1 of which they saw the accomplishment1 and the teaching of their law was that they should love and worship ,god alone2 it was also perpetual4 ,thus it had all the marks of the true religion1 as indeed it was1 but we must distinguish between the teaching of the ,jews1 and the teaching of the ,jewish law4 ,now the teaching of the ,jews was not true1 although it had miracles and prophecy and perpetuity1 because it had not this further point1 the worship and love of ,god only4 ,the reason of types4 ,they had to deal with a carnal people1 and to render them the depositary of a spiritual covenant4 ,to give faith in the ,messiah it was necessary there should have been antecedent prophecies1 in the charge of persons above suspicion1 diligent1 faithful1 singularly zealous1 and known to all the world4 ,that all this might be accomplished1 ,god chose this carnal people1 to whom he entrusted the prophecies which foretell the ,messiah as a deliverer1 and as a dispenser of those carnal possessions which the people loved4 ,and thus they have had an extraordinary zeal for their prophets1 and1 in sight of the whole world1 have had charge of these books which foretell their ,messiah1 assuring all the nations that he should come1 and in the manner foretold in their books1 which they held open to all the world4 ,but this people deceived by the poor and ignominious advent of the ,messiah have been his most cruel enemies4 ,so that they1 who were of all nations in the world the least open to the suspicion of favouring us1 the most scrupulous and most zealous that can be named for their law and their prophets1 have kept the records incorrupt4 ,therefore the prophecies have a hidden and spiritual sense1 which this people hated1 under the carnal sense which they loved4 ,had the spiritual sense been disclosed1 it being such as they were unable to love1 or even to bear1 they would not have been zealous to preserve their books and their ceremonies2 and if they had loved these spiritual promises1 and had preserved them incorrupt till ,messiah came1 their witness would have had no force1 because they had been his friends4 ,therefore it was well that the spiritual sense should be concealed2 but on the other hand1 had the sense been so hidden as not to be at all apparent1 it could not have served as a proof of the ,messiah4 ,what then was done8 ,in a crowd of passages the spiritual was concealed under the temporal sense1 and has been clearly revealed in a few2 again1 the time and the state of the world were so clearly foretold that the sun is not so evident4 ,and in some passages this spiritual sense is so dearly expressed that no less a blindness than that which the flesh imposes on the spirit when enslaved1 can keep us from discerning it4 ,see then what ,god has done4 ,this sense is concealed under another in an infinite number of passages1 in some1 though rarely1 it is revealed1 yet so that the passages in which it is concealed are equivocal1 and can suit both senses1 while those in which it is disclosed are unequivocal1 and can agree with the spiritual sense alone4 ,so that this cannot lead us into error1 and could only be misunderstood by so carnal a people4 ,for when possessions are promised in abundance1 what could hinder them from understanding the true possessions1 save their covetousness1 which limited the sense to the good things of this world8 ,but those whose only good was in ,god referred the sense to him alone4 ,for there are two qualities which divide the will of man1 covetousness and charity4 ,not that covetousness cannot coexist with faith in ,god1 nor charity with worldly possessions1 but covetousness uses ,god1 and enjoys the world1 while the opposite is the case with charity4 ,now the end we pursue gives names to things4 ,all which hinders the attainment of this end1 is said to be at enmity with us4 ,thus the creatures1 however good1 are the enemies of the just1 when they turn them aside from ,god1 and ,god himself is the enemy of those whose greed he opposes4 ,hence the word enemy being interpreted according to the end proposed1 the just understood by it their passions1 and the carnal understood the ,babylonians1 so that the term is obscure only for the unrighteous4 ,and this is what ,isaiah says3 ,signa legem in electis meis1 and that ,jesus ,christ shall be a stone of stumbling4 ,but1 ,blessed are they who shall not be offended in him6 ,hosea1 xiv4 #i1 says excellently3 ,where is the wise1 and he shall understand these things4 ,the just shall know them1 for the ways of ,god are right1 but the transgressors shall fall therein4 ,so that those who rejected and crucified ,jesus ,christ1 being offended at him1 are the same people who bear the books which witness of him1 and which say that he will be rejected and a stumbling stone1 so that their refusal has given an additional mark that it is he1 and he has been proved both by the just ,jews who received him1 and the unjust ,jews who rejected him1 both of whom were foretold4 ,one of the main reasons why the prophets put a veil on the spiritual possessions which they promised under the figure of temporal possessions is1 that they had to do with a carnal people whom they must make the keepers of the spiritual covenant4 ,jesus ,christ1 prefigured by ,joseph1 the beloved of his father1 sent by his father to visit his brethren1 etc41 innocent1 sold by his brethren for twenty pieces of silver1 and thereby becoming their lord1 their saviour1 the saviour of strangers1 and the saviour of the world2 all which had not been brought about but for the plot for his destruction1 their sale and rejection of him4 ,in prison ,joseph innocent between two criminals2 ,jesus ,christ on the cross between two thieves4 ,joseph foretold deliverance to the one1 and death to the other1 from the same omens4 ,jesus ,christ saves the elect1 and condemns the reprobate after the same crimes4 ,joseph foretold only1 ,jesus ,christ acts4 ,joseph asked of him who is saved to be mindful of him when he has come into his glory1 and he whom ,jesus ,christ saved asked that he would remember him when he came into his ,kingdom4 ,types4--,saviour1 father1 sacrificer1 sacrifice1 food1 king1 wise1 lawgiver1 afflicted1 poor1 having to create a people1 which he must lead and nourish1 and bring into the land4 ,fascination4--,somnum suum4 ,figura hujus mundi4 ,the ,eucharist4--,comedes panem tuum4 ,panem nostrum4 ,inimici ,dei terram lingent4 ,the sinners lick the dust1 that is to say1 love earthly pleasures4 ,the ,old ,testament contained the types of future joy1 and the ,new contains the means of attaining it4 ,the types were of joy1 the means of penitence1 and nevertheless the ,paschal ,lamb was eaten with bitter herbs1 cum amaritudinibus4 ,singularis sum ego donec transeam4 ,jesus ,christ before his death was almost the only martyr4 ,to speak against too greatly figurative expressions4 ,there are some types clear and demonstrative1 but others which seem far-fetched1 and which bring proof only to those already persuaded4 ,these may seem like the sayings of the ,apocalyptics4 ,but the difference is that these have none which are not doubtful1 so that nothing is so unjust as to pretend that theirs are as well founded as some of ours1 for they have none so demonstrative as some of ours4 ,there is no comparison possible4 ,we have no right to compare and confound things because they agree in one point1 while they are so different in another4 ,what is clear in things divine forces us to revere what is obscure4 ,i do not say that the mem is a mystery4 ,we may not attribute to the ,scripture the sense which it has not revealed to us that it contains4 ,thus1 to say that the closed mem of ,isaiah means six hundred1 has not been revealed4 ,it might be said that the final tsad and the he deficientes signify mysteries4 ,but we are not allowed to say so1 and still less to say this is the way of the philosopher's stone4 ,but we say that the literal sense is not the true sense1 because the prophets said so themselves4 ,extravagances of the ,apocalyptics1 ,preadamites1 ,millenarians1 etc4--,whoever would found extravagant opinions on the ,scripture will for instance found them on the fact that3 ,it is said that ,this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled4 ,on that ,i will say that after that generation will come another generation1 and so in constant succession4 ,the ,second ,book of ,chronicles speaks of ,solomon and the ,king as if they were two different persons4 ,i say that they were two4 ,against those who misuse passages of ,scripture1 and who are puffed up when they find one which seems to favour their error4 ,the chapter for ,vespers1 on ,passion ,sunday1 the prayer for the ,king4 ,explanation of these words3 ,he that is not with me is against me4 ,and these others3 ,he that is not against you is with you4 ,a person who says3 ,i am neither for nor against2 we ought to answer him4444 ,one of the ,antiphons for ,vespers at ,christmas3 ,exortum est in tenebris lumen rectis corde4 ,,that ,,the ,,jewish ,,law ,,was ,,figurative4 ,contradiction4--,it is not possible to give a good expression to a portrait save by bringing all contraries into harmony1 and it is not enough to dwell upon a series of accordant qualities1 without reconciling the contraries4 ,to understand the meaning of an author we must harmonise all the contrary passages4 ,thus1 to understand ,scripture1 we must find a sense in which all the contrary passages are reconciled2 it is not enough to have one which agrees with many consonant passages1 but we must find one which reconciles even dissonant passages4 ,every author has a sense in which all the contradictory passages agree1 or he has no meaning at all4 ,the latter cannot be said of ,scripture and the prophets1 which assuredly abound in good sense4 ,we must then seek for a meaning which harmonises all contraries4 ,the true sense then is not that of the ,jews1 but in ,jesus ,christ all dissonances are brought into harmony4 ,the ,jews could not make the cessation of the royalty and principality foretold by ,hosea accord with the prophecy of ,jacob4 ,if we take the law1 the sacrifices1 the kingdom as realities1 we cannot reconcile all the passages4 ,of necessity then they are but figures4 ,we cannot even reconcile the passages of the same author1 nor of the same book1 nor sometimes of the same chapter1 which abundantly denotes what was the meaning of the author4 ,as when ,ezekiel1 chap4 xx41 says that man will live by the commandments of ,god and will not live by them4 ,it was not lawful to sacrifice elsewhere than at ,jerusalem1 the place which the ,lord had chosen1 nor even to eat the tithes in any other place4 ,deut4 xii4 #e1 etc42 ,deut4 xiv4 #bc1 etc42 xv4 #bj2 xvi4 #b-ae4 ,hosea foretold that the ,jews should be without king1 without prince1 without sacrifice and without idols1 which is accomplished at this day1 since they are not able to make a lawful sacrifice out of ,jerusalem4 ,types4--,if the law and the sacrifices are the truth it must be pleasing to ,god1 and not displeasing to him4 ,if they are figures they must be both pleasing and displeasing4 ,now through the whole of ,scripture they are both pleasing and displeasing4 ,it is said that the law shall be changed1 that the sacrifice shall be changed1 that they shall be without law1 without a prince and without sacrifices1 that a new covenant shall be made1 that the law shall be renewed1 that the precepts which they have received are not good1 that their sacrifices are abominations1 that ,god has required none of them4 ,it is said1 on the contrary1 that the law shall abide for ever1 that the covenant shall be eternal1 that sacrifice shall be eternal1 that the sceptre shall never depart from among them1 because it shall not depart from them till the coming of the eternal ,king4 ,now are all these passages obviously literal8 ,no4 ,are they obviously typical8 ,no1 they are obviously either real or typical4 ,but the first set1 which bar a literal interpretation1 prove that the whole are typical4 ,all these passages together cannot apply to the thing signified1 all can apply to the type1 therefore they are not spoken of the thing signified1 but of the type4 ,agnus occisus est ab origine mundi4 ,a sacrificing judge4 ,types4--,god willing to form to himself an holy people1 whom he should separate from all other nations1 whom he should deliver from their enemies1 and should establish in a place of rest1 has not only promised this1 but has foretold by his prophets the time and the manner of his coming4 ,and yet1 to confirm the hope of his elect through all ages1 he made them to see it in a figure1 but never left them without assurances of his power and of his will to save them4 ,for at the creation of man1 ,adam was the witness1 and the guardian of the promise made concerning the ,saviour who should be born of the woman1 when men were still so near the creation that they could not have forgotten their creation and their fall4 ,when those who had seen ,adam were no longer in the world1 ,god sent ,noah1 whom he saved1 and drowned the whole earth by a miracle which marked sufficiently both the power which he had to save the world1 and the will which he had to do so2 and to raise up of the seed of the woman him whom he had promised4 ,this miracle was enough to confirm the hope of men4 ,the memory of the deluge being fresh among men while ,noah was still living1 ,god made promises to ,abraham1 and while ,shem was still living ,god sent ,moses1 etc4444 ,types4--,god1 willing to deprive his own of perishable possessions1 made the ,jewish people in order to show that this arose from no lack of power4 ,the ,jews had grown old in these earthly thoughts1 that ,god loved their father ,abraham1 his flesh1 and all that would spring from it2 that for this reason he had multiplied them1 and set them apart from all other peoples1 without allowing them to intermingle2 that when they were languishing in ,egypt he brought them out with many wonderful signs in their favour2 that he fed them with manna in the wilderness1 and brought them out into a very fat land2 that he gave them kings and a well-built temple1 there to offer beasts before him1 by the shedding of whose blood they were purified2 that at last he would send ,messiah to make them masters of the whole world1 and foretold the time of his coming4 ,the world having grown old in these carnal errors1 ,jesus ,christ came at the time foretold1 but not with the expected glory1 and therefore men did not think it was he4 ,after his death ,saint ,paul came to teach that all these things had happened in figures1 that the ,kingdom of ,god was not in the flesh1 but in the spirit2 that the enemies of men were not the ,babylonians1 but the passions2 that ,god delighted not in temples made with hands1 but in a pure and contrite heart2 that bodily circumcision was unprofitable1 but that of the heart was needed2 that ,moses gave them not that bread from heaven1 etc4 ,but ,god1 not willing to disclose these things to a people unworthy of them1 yet nevertheless willing to foretell them1 in order that they might be believed1 foretold the time dearly1 and expressed the things sometimes clearly1 but generally in figures1 so that those who loved the emblems might rest in them1 and those who loved the things figured might see them therein4 ,all that tends not to charity is figurative4 ,the sole aim of the ,scripture is charity4 ,all which tends not to that only end is figurative1 for since there is but one end1 all which does not refer to it in express terms is figurative4 ,god has so varied that sole precept of charity to satisfy our curiosity1 which seeks for diversity1 by that diversity which still leads us to the one thing needful4 ,for one only thing is needful1 yet we love diversity1 and ,god satisfies both by these diversities1 which lead to the one thing needful4 ,the ,jews so loved the mere shadows1 and waited for them so entirely1 that they misunderstood the substance1 when it came in the time and manner foretold4 ,the rabbis take the breasts of the ,spouse for figures1 as they do every thing which does not express the only aim they had1 that of temporal good4 ,and ,christians take even the ,eucharist as a type of the glory for which they strive4 ,charity is no figurative precept4 ,it is horrible to say that ,jesus ,christ1 who came to take away the figure and establish the truth1 came only to establish the type of charity and take away the existing reality4 ,if the light be darkness1 what must the darkness be8 ,when ,david foretold that ,messiah would deliver his people from their enemies1 we may believe that these according to the flesh were the ,egyptians1 and then ,i know not how to show that the prophecy was fulfilled4 ,but we may well believe also that the enemies were their sins1 for in truth the ,egyptians were not their enemies1 and their sins were4 ,this word enemies is therefore equivocal4 ,but if he say1 as in fact he does elsewhere1 that he will save his people from their sins1 as do also ,isaiah and others1 the ambiguity is removed1 and the double sense of enemies is reduced to the single sense of iniquities4 ,for if he had sins in his mind he might well denote them by the word enemies1 but if he thought of enemies1 he could not designate them by the word iniquities4 ,now ,moses1 ,david1 and ,isaiah employ the same terms4 ,who will say then that they have not all the same meaning1 and that the sense of ,david which is plainly that of iniquities when he spoke of enemies1 is not the same as that of ,moses when speaking of enemies4 ,daniel prays that the people may be delivered from the captivity of their enemies1 but he was thinking of sins1 and to show this1 he says that ,gabriel came to tell him that his prayer was heard1 and that there were only seventy weeks to wait1 after which the nation would be delivered from iniquity1 that sin would have an end1 and the ,redeemer1 the ,most ,holy1 should bring in eternal righteousness1 not legal1 but eternal4 ,the ,jews had a doctrine of ,god as we have one of ,jesus ,christ1 and confirmed by miracles2 they were forbidden to believe every worker of miracles1 and more1 they were ordered to have recourse to the chief priests1 on whom only they should rely4 ,thus1 in regard to their prophets1 they had all those reasons which we have for refusing to believe the workers of miracles4 ,and yet they were very blameworthy in refusing the prophets because of their miracles1 and had not been blameworthy had they not seen the miracles4 ,nisi fecissem1 peccatum non haberent4 ,therefore all belief rests on miracles4 ,whoever estimates the ,jewish religion by its coarser minds will know it but ill4 ,it is to be seen in the sacred books1 and in the tradition of the prophets1 who have made it plain enough that they did not understand the law according to the letter4 ,so our ,religion is divine in the ,gospel1 in the ,apostles1 and in tradition1 but ridiculous in those who corrupt it4 ,the ,messiah1 according to the carnal ,jews1 was to be a mighty temporal prince4 ,jesus ,christ1 according to carnal ,christians1 has come to dispense us from the love of ,god1 and to give us sacraments which shall operate without our concurrence4 ,this is no more the ,christian religion than was the other the ,jewish4 ,true ,jews and true ,christians have always expected a ,messiah who should inspire them with the love of ,god1 and by that love should make them triumph over all their enemies4 ,the carnal ,jews hold a midway place between ,christians and ,pagans4 ,the ,pagans know not ,god1 and love this world only4 ,the ,jews know the true ,god1 and love this world only4 ,christians know the true ,god1 and love not the world4 ,jews and ,pagans love the same good4 ,jews and ,christians know the same ,god4 ,the ,jews were of two kinds1 one having merely ,pagan1 the other having ,christian affections4 ,the carnal ,jews understood neither the greatness nor the humiliation of ,messiah as foretold by their prophecies4 ,they misunderstood him in his foretold greatness1 as when he said that ,messiah should be lord of ,david1 through his son1 and that he was before ,abraham who yet had seen him4 ,they did not believe him so great as to be eternal1 and so too they misunderstood him in his humiliation and in his death4 ,messiah1 said they1 abideth for ever1 and this man has said that he shall die4 ,they believed him then neither mortal nor eternal1 and they only looked in him for a carnal greatness4 ,typical4--,god availed himself of the lust of the ,jews to make them avail for ,jesus ,christ4 ,typical4--,nothing is so like charity as covetousness1 and nothing is so contrary to it4 ,thus the ,jews1 full of possessions which flattered their covetousness1 were very like ,christians and very contrary4 ,and by this means they had the two qualities which were necessary to them1 to be very like the ,messiah in order to be figures of him1 and very contrary that they might not be suspected witnesses4 ,antiquity of the ,jews4--,what difference there is between book and book4 ,i am not surprised that the ,greeks made the ,iliad1 nor the ,egyptians and the ,chinese their histories4 ,we have only to see how this comes about4 ,these fabulous historians are not contemporaneous with the facts they narrate4 ,homer writes a romance1 which he puts forth as such1 and which is received as such1 for no one supposed that ,troy or ,agamemnon existed more than did the golden apple4 ,so he thought not of making a history1 but solely a book to amuse2 he is the only man who wrote in his time1 the beauty of his work has made it last1 every one learns it and talks of it1 we are bound to know it1 and we each get it by heart4 ,four hundred years afterwards the witnesses of these things are no more1 no one knows of his own knowledge if it be fable or history2 he has only learnt it from his ancestors1 and this may pass for true4 ,the sincerity of the ,jews4--,they preserve with faithfulness and zeal the book in which ,moses declares that they have been all their life ungrateful to ,god1 and that he knows they will be still more so after his death2 that he therefore calls heaven and earth to witness against them1 and that he has taught them enough4 ,he declares that finally ,god1 being angry with them1 would scatter them among all the nations of the earth1 that as they have angered him1 in worshipping gods who were not their ,god1 so he will provoke them by calling a people which is not his people1 and wills that all his words shall be eternally preserved1 and that his book shall be placed in the ,ark of the ,covenant to serve for ever as a witness against them4 ,isaiah says the same thing1 xxx4 #h4 ,however1 they have kept at the cost of their life this very book which dishonours them in so many ways4 ,this is a sincerity which has no example in the world1 and no root in nature4 ,every history which is not contemporaneous is open to suspicion1 thus the books of the ,sibyls and ,trismegistus and so many others which have been credited by the world are false1 and found to be false in course of time4 ,it is not so with contemporaneous authors4 ,there is a great difference between a book written by a private man1 and dispersed among a whole people1 and a book which itself creates a people4 ,we cannot doubt that the book is as old as the people4 ,the sincerity of the ,jews4 ,defective and final letters4 ,sincere against their honour1 and dying in its defence2 this has no example in the world's history1 and no root in nature4 ,they are visibly a people expressly formed to serve as witnesses to the ,messiah1 ,isaiah xliii4 #i2 xliv4 #h1 they bear the books1 and love them while they understand them not4 ,and all this was foretold1 that ,god's judgments might be entrusted to them1 but as a sealed book4 ,types4--,when once the secret is disclosed it is impossible not to see it ,if the ,old ,testament be read in this light1 we shall see if the sacrifices were real2 if the fatherhood of ,abraham was the true cause of the friendship of ,god2 that the promised land was not the true place of rest4 ,these were then but types4 ,if in the same way we examine all those ordained ceremonies1 and all those commandments which are not of charity1 we shall see that they are types4 ,all these sacrifices and ceremonies were then either figures or absurdities4 ,but there are things which are clear1 and yet too lofty for us to think them absurdities4 ,adam forma futuri4 ,six days to form the one1 six ages to form the other4 ,the six days which ,moses represents for the formation of ,adam1 are but the representation of the six ages to form ,jesus ,christ and the ,church4 ,if ,adam had not sinned1 and ,jesus ,christ had not come1 there had been only one covenant1 only one age of men1 and the creation would have been represented as done at one single time4 ,the six ages1 the six ,fathers of the six ages1 the six miracles at the opening of the six ages1 the six mornings at the opening of the six ages4 ,types4--,the ,jewish and ,egyptian peoples were visibly foretold by the two men whom ,moses met1 the ,egyptian beating the ,jew1 ,moses avenging him and slaying the ,egyptian while the ,jew was ungrateful4 ,the conversion of the ,egyptians1 ,isaiah xix4 #ai4 ,an altar in ,egypt to the true ,god4 ,the sabbath was only a sign1 ,exodus xxxi4 #ac1 and in memory of the deliverance from ,egypt4 ,deut4 v4 #ai4 ,therefore it is no more necessary1 for we ought to forget ,egypt4 ,circumcision was only a sign1 ,gen4 xvii4 #ac1 therefore it came to pass that in the desert they were not circumcised1 because they could not be confounded with other peoples1 and after ,jesus ,christ came it was no longer needful4 ,those who ordained these sacrifices knew their uselessness1 and those who have declared their uselessness1 ceased not to practise them4 ,your name shall be accursed to my elect1 and ,i will give them another name4 ,harden their heart4 ,how8 ,by flattering their lust1 and making them hope to accomplish it4 ,fac secundum exemplar quod tibi ostensum est in monte4 ,the ,jewish religion then was formed on its likeness to the truth of the ,messiah1 and the truth of the ,messiah was recognised by the religion of the ,jews which was the figure of it4 ,among the ,jews the truth was only prefigured4 ,in heaven it is revealed4 ,in the ,church it is hidden1 yet recognised by its correspondence with the type4 ,the type was made according to the truth1 and the truth is recognised according to the type4 ,saint ,paul says himself that people would forbid to marry1 and he himself speaks to the ,corinthians1 in a way which is a trap4 ,for if a prophet had said the one1 and ,saint ,paul had afterwards said the other1 he would have been accused4 ,typical4--,make all things like unto the pattern which was showed thee in the mount4 ,on which ,saint ,paul says that the ,jews shadowed forth heavenly things4 ,typical4 ,the key of the cipher4 ,veri adoratores4 ,ecce agnus ,dei qui tollit peccata mundi4 ,that the law was typical4 ,types4--,the letter kills4 ,all happened in a figure4 ,this is the cipher which ,saint ,paul gives us4 ,christ must suffer4 ,an humiliated ,god4 ,circumcision of the heart1 a true fast1 a true sacrifice1 a true temple4 ,the prophets indicated that all these must be spiritual4 ,not the meat which perishes1 but that which perishes not4 ,you shall be free indeed4 ,then the former liberty was only a type of liberty4 ,i am the true bread from heaven4 ,particular types4-- ,a double law1 double tables of the law1 a double temple1 a double captivity4 ,the ,synagogue did not perish because it was a type1 but because it was no more than a type it fell into servitude4 ,the type subsisted till the reality came1 in order that the ,church should be always visible1 either in the representation which promised it1 or in the substance4 ,in the time of the ,messiah the people were divided4 ,those that were spiritual embraced the ,messiah1 the carnal remained to serve as witnesses of him4 ,,of ,,the ,,true ,,religion ,,and ,,its ,,characteristics4 ,for ,port ,royal4 ,the ,beginning1 after having explained the incomprehensibility4--,since the greatness and the vileness of man are so evident1 it is necessary that the true religion should declare both that there is in man some great principle of greatness1 and a great principle of vileness4 ,it must therefore explain these astonishing contradictions4 ,in order to make man happy1 it must show him that there is a ,god2 that we ought to love him2 that our true happiness is to be in him1 our sole evil to be separated from him2 it must recognise that we are full of darkness which hinders us from knowing and loving him2 and that thus1 as our duties oblige us to love ,god1 and our lusts turn us from him1 we are full of injustice4 ,it must explain to us our opposition to ,god and to our own good2 it must teach us the remedies for these infirmities1 and the means of obtaining them4 ,we must therefore examine all the religions of the world from this point of view1 and see if there be any other than the ,christian which is sufficient for this end4 ,shall it be that of the philosophers1 who proposed as the only good the good which is in ourselves8 ,is this the true good8 ,have they found a remedy for our evils8 ,is the pride of man cured by equalling him with ,god8 ,have those who would level us to the brutes1 or the ,mahomedans who present us with pleasures of the world as the sole good1 even in eternity1 found any remedy for our lusts8 ,what religion then will teach us to cure our pride and our lust8 ,what religion will teach us our good1 our duty1 the infirmity which turns us from it1 the cause of this infirmity1 the remedies which can cure it1 and the means of obtaining those remedies8 ,all other religions have failed1 let us see what the wisdom of ,god can do4 ,look neither for truth1 she says1 nor consolation from men4 ,i am she who framed you1 and who alone can teach you what you are4 ,but you are not now in the state in which ,i framed you4 ,i created man holy1 innocent1 perfect2 ,i filled him with light and intelligence2 ,i communicated to him my glory and my wondrous acts4 ,the eye of man beheld then the majesty of ,god2 he was not then in the darkness which blinds him1 nor subject to death and the miseries which afflict him4 ,but he could not bear so great a glory without falling into pride4 ,he would make himself his own centre1 and independent of my aid4 ,he withdrew himself from my rule2 and when he made himself equal to me by the desire of finding his happiness in himself1 ,i gave him over to self4 ,then setting in revolt the creatures that were subject to him1 ,i made them his enemies2 so that man is now become like the beasts1 and removed from me until there scarce remains to him a confused ray of his ,creator1 so far has all his knowledge become extinguished or disturbed4 ,his senses1 never the servants1 and often the masters of reason1 have carried him astray in pursuit of pleasure4 ,all creatures either torment or tempt him2 and have dominion over him1 either as they subdue him by their strength1 or as they melt him by their charms1 a tyranny more terrible and more imperious4 ,such is the present state of man4 ,there remains to him some feeble instinct of the happiness of his primitive nature1 and he is plunged in the misery of his blindness and his lusts1 which have become his second nature4 ,from this principle which ,i have here laid open to you1 you may discern the cause of those contradictions which1 while they astonish all men1 have divided them among such various opinions4 ,now mark all the movements of greatness and glory which the trials of so many miseries are unable to stifle1 and see if the cause of them must not be in another nature4444 ,for ,port ,royal to-morrow4 ,prosopopa4--,it is in vain1 ,o men1 that you seek from yourselves the remedy for your miseries4 ,all your light can only enable you to know that not in yourselves will you find truth or good4 ,the ,philosophers promised you these1 but gave them not4 ,they neither apprehend what is your true good nor what is4444 ,how could they then apply remedies to your diseases1 since they did not even know them8 ,your chief maladies are pride1 which alienates you from ,god1 and lust1 which binds you down to earth2 and they do nought else but nourish one or the other of these disorders4 ,if they presented ,god as your end it was only done to gratify your pride2 by making you think that you are by nature like him and conformed to him4 ,those who saw the extravagance of such an assertion did but set you on an opposite precipice1 by tempting you to believe that your nature was of a piece with that of the beasts1 and by inclining you to seek your good in the lusts which are shared by brutes4 ,this is not the way to cure you of your unrighteousness1 which these sages never knew4 ,i alone can teach you who you are4444 ,if you are united to ,god it is by grace1 not by nature4 ,if you are abased it is by penitence1 not by nature4 ,so this twofold capacity4444 ,you are not in the state wherein you were created4 ,these two states being presented to you1 you cannot but recognise them4 ,follow your own movements1 observe yourselves1 and see if you do not trace the lively characters of these two natures4 ,could so many contradictions be found in a subject that was simple8 ,i do not mean that you should submit your belief to me without reason1 neither do ,i aim at your subjection by tyranny4 ,i do not aim at giving you a reason for everything4 ,and to reconcile these contradictions1 ,i wish to make you see by convincing proofs1 those divine tokens in me1 which will assure you who ,i am and will verify my authority by wonders and proofs which you cannot reject2 so that you may then have a reasonable belief in what ,i teach you1 when you find no other ground for refusing it1 but that you cannot know of yourselves whether it is true or not4 ,the true nature of man1 his true good1 true virtue and true religion are things of which the knowledge is inseparable4 ,after having understood the whole nature of man4--,that a religion may be true1 it must show knowledge of our nature4 ,it must know its greatness and meanness1 and the cause of both4 ,what religion but the ,christian has shown this knowledge8 ,the true religion teaches our duties2 our weaknesses1 pride and lust2 and the remedies1 humility and mortification4 ,the true religion must teach greatness and misery2 must lead to the esteem and despising of self2 to love and to hate4 ,the note of true religion must be that it obliges man to love his ,god4 ,this is very right1 and yet no other religion than ours has thus commanded2 ours has done so4 ,it must also be cognizant of man's lust and weakness1 ours is so4 ,it must have applied remedies for these defects2 one is prayer4 ,no other religion has asked of ,god the power to love and obey him4 ,if there be one only origin of all things1 there must be one only end of all things2 all by him1 all for him4 ,the true religion then must teach us to adore him only1 and to love him only4 ,but since we find ourselves unable to adore what we know not1 or to love aught but ourselves1 the same religion which instructs us in these duties must instruct us also of this inability1 and teach us also the remedies for it4 ,it teaches us that by one man all was lost1 and the bond broken between ,god and us1 and that by one man the bond has been repaired4 ,we are born so contrary to this love of ,god1 and it is so necessary that we must be born sinful1 or ,god would be unjust4 ,every religion is false which as to its faith does not adore one ,god as origin of all things1 and as to its morals does not love one sole ,god as the object of all things4 ,in every religion we must be sincere1 true heathens1 true ,jews1 true ,christians4 ,,the ,,excellence ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,religion4 ,when ,i see the blindness and the misery of man1 when ,i survey the whole dumb ,universe1 and man without light1 left to himself1 and lost1 as it were1 in this corner of the ,universe1 not knowing who has placed him here1 what he has come to do1 what will become of him when he dies1 and incapable of any knowledge whatever1 ,i fall into terror like that of a man who1 having been carried in his sleep to an island desert and terrible1 should awake ignorant of his whereabouts and with no means of escape2 and thereupon ,i wonder how those in so miserable a state do not fall into despair4 ,i see other persons around me1 of like nature1 ,i ask them if they are better informed than ,i am1 and they say they are not2 and thereupon these miserable wanderers1 having looked around them1 and seen some objects pleasing to them1 have given and attached themselves to these4 ,as for me1 ,i cannot attach myself to them1 and considering how strongly appearances show that there is something else than what is visible to me1 ,i have sought to discover whether this ,god have not left some impress of himself4 ,i see many contrary religions1 and consequently all false but one4 ,each wishes to be believed on its own authority1 and menaces the unbeliever1 but ,i do not therefore believe them4 ,every one can say the same1 and every one can call himself a prophet4 ,but ,i see the ,christian religion fulfilling prophecy1 and that is what every one can not do4 ,without this divine knowledge what could men do but either uplift themselves by that inward conviction of their past greatness still remaining to them1 or be cast down in view of their present infirmity8 ,for1 not seeing the whole truth1 they could not attain to perfect virtue4 ,some considering nature as incorrupt1 others as incurable1 they could not escape either pride or idleness1 the two sources of all vice2 since they cannot but either abandon themselves to it by cowardice1 or escape it by pride4 ,for if they were aware of the excellency of man1 they were ignorant of his corruption1 so that they very easily avoided idleness1 but only to fall into pride4 ,and if they recognized the infirmity of nature1 they knew not its dignity1 so that though they might easily avoid presumption1 it was only to plunge into despair4 ,thence come the various sects of the ,stoics and ,epicureans1 the ,dogmatists1 ,academicians1 etc4 ,the ,christian religion alone has been able to cure these two distempers1 not so as to drive out the one by the other according to the wisdom of the world1 but so as to expel them both by the simplicity of the ,gospel4 ,for it teaches the righteous that it lifts them even to a participation of the divine nature2 that in this exalted state they still bear within them the fountain of all corruption1 which renders them during their whole life subject to error and misery1 to death and sin2 and at the same time it proclaims to the most wicked that they can receive the grace of their ,redeemer4 ,thus making those tremble whom it justifies1 and consoling those whom it condemns1 religion so justly tempers fear with hope by means of that double capacity of grace and of sin which is common to all1 that it abases infinitely more than reason alone1 yet without despair2 and exalts infinitely higher than natural pride1 yet without puffing up3 hereby proving that alone being exempt from error and vice1 it alone has the office of instructing and of reforming men4 ,who then can withhold credence and adoration to so divine a light8 ,for it is clearer than day that we feel within ourselves indelible characters of goodness2 and it is equally true that we experience every hour the effects of our deplorable condition4 ,this chaos then1 this monstrous confusion1 does but proclaim the truth of these two states1 with a voice so powerful that it cannot be resisted4 ,the ,philosophers never prescribed feelings proper to these two states4 ,they inspired motions of simple greatness1 and that is not the state of man4 ,they inspired motions of simple vileness1 and that is not the state of man4 ,there must be motions of abasement1 yet not from nature1 but from penitence1 not to rest in them1 but to go onward to greatness4 ,there must be motions of greatness1 not from merit1 but from grace1 and after having passed through abasement4 ,this double nature of man is so evident1 that there are those who have imagined us to have two souls4 ,one single subject seemed to them incapable of so great and sudden variations from unmeasured pride to an horrible dejection of spirit4 ,all these contradictions which seemed to have taken me further from the knowledge of religion1 are what most rapidly led me into truth4 ,did we not know ourselves full of pride1 ambition1 lust1 weakness1 misery and injustice1 we were indeed blind4 ,and if knowing this we did not desire deliverance1 what could be said of a man4444 ,what then can we feel but esteem for that ,religion which is so well acquainted with the defects of man1 and desire for the truth of a religion which promises remedies so precious4 ,the corruption of reason is shown by the number of differing and extravagant customs2 it was necessary that truth should come in order that man should no longer live in himself4 ,incomprehensible4--,not all that is incomprehensible is therefore non existent4 ,infinite number4 ,an infinite space equal to a finite4 ,it is incredible that ,god should unite himself to us4--,this consideration is drawn only from the view of our vileness4 ,but if it be sincere1 follow it as far as ,i have done1 and recognise that we are in fact so vile as to make us by ourselves incapable of knowing whether his mercy may not render us capable of him4 ,for ,i would know how this animal1 who is aware of his weakness1 has the right to measure the mercy of ,god and set to it bounds suggested by his fancy4 ,he knows so little what ,god is that he does not even know what himself is1 and troubled with the view of his own state1 boldly declares that ,god cannot render man capable of communion with him4 ,but ,i would ask if ,god demands aught else from him than to know him and to love him1 and why1 since man is by nature capable of love and knowledge1 he believes that ,god cannot make himself known and loved by him4 ,he certainly knows at least that he is1 and that he loves something4 ,therefore if he see anything in his darkness1 and if among the things of earth he find any subject of his love1 why1 if ,god impart to him some ray of his essence1 should he not be capable of knowing and of loving him in the manner in which it shall please him to communicate himself to us8 ,there must be then an intolerable arrogance in these sort of arguments1 though they seem founded on apparent humility1 which is neither sincere nor reasonable1 unless it makes us confess that not knowing of ourselves what we are1 we can learn it from ,god alone4 ,for myself1 ,i declare that so soon as the ,christian religion reveals the principle that human nature is corrupt and fallen from ,god1 my eyes are opened to see everywhere the characters of this truth3 for nature is such that she everywhere indicates1 both within man and without him1 a ,god whom he has lost and a corrupt nature4 ,whatever may be said1 it must be conceded that the ,christian religion has something astonishing in it4 ,perhaps someone will say3 ,this is because you were born in it4 ,it may be3 then ,i stiffen myself against it by this very reason1 for fear this prejudice should bias me2 but although ,i am born in it ,i cannot but find it so4 ,the whole course of things must have for its object the establishment and the grandeur of ,religion3 that there should be implanted in men sentiments conformable to its precepts1 and in a word1 that it should be so completely the aim and the centre to which all things tend1 that whoever understands its principles can give an explanation as of human nature in particular1 so in general of the whole order of the world4 ,our religion is wise and foolish4 ,wise1 because it is the most learned1 and the most founded on miracles1 prophecies1 etc4 ,foolish1 because it is not all this which causes us to belong to it2 this makes us indeed condemn those who are not of it1 but is not the cause of belief in those who are4 ,it is the cross that makes them believe1 ne evacuata sit crux4 ,and thus ,saint ,paul1 who came with wisdom and signs1 says that he came neither with wisdom nor with signs1 for he came to convert4 ,but those who come only to convince may say that they come with wisdom and with signs4 ,that religion1 great as she is in miracles1 with holy and blameless ,fathers1 learned and great witnesses1 with martyrs and kings1 as ,david1 and ,isaiah1 a prince of the blood2 great as she is in science1 after having displayed all her miracles and all her wisdom1 rejects it all1 and says she has neither wisdom nor signs1 but only the cross and foolishness4 ,for those1 who by these signs and that wisdom have deserved your belief1 and who have proved to you their character1 declare to you that nothing of all this can change you1 and render you capable of knowing and loving ,god1 but the power of the foolishness of the cross without wisdom and signs1 and not the signs without this power4 ,thus our ,religion is foolish when we consider the effective cause1 wise when we consider the wisdom which has prepared it4 ,how strange is ,christianity6 ,it enjoins man to acknowledge himself vile1 even abominable1 and enjoins him to aspire to be like ,god4 ,without such a counterpoise1 this elevation would make him horribly vain1 or that vileness would make him terribly abject ,misery counsels despair1 pride counsels presumption4 ,the incarnation shows man the greatness of his misery by the greatness of the remedy of which he stood in need4 ,not a vileness such as renders us incapable of good1 nor a holiness exempt from evil4 ,no doctrine is more suited to man than this2 for it teaches him his double capacity of receiving and losing grace1 because of the double peril to which he is always exposed1 of despair and of pride4 ,no other religion has enjoined hate of self4 ,no other religion then can be pleasing to those who hate themselves1 and who seek a ,being wholly to be loved4 ,and these1 if they had never heard of the religion of an humiliated ,god1 would embrace it at once4 ,no other has recognised that man is of all creatures the most excellent4 ,some1 having apprehended the reality of his excellence1 have blamed as mean and ungrateful the low opinion which men naturally have of themselves1 and others1 well aware how real is this vileness1 have treated with haughty ridicule those sentiments of greatness which are no less natural to man4 ,lift your eyes to ,god1 say these1 see him in whose image you are1 who has made you to worship him4 ,you can make yourselves like unto him2 wisdom will equal you to him if you will follow it4 ,but others say3 ,bend your eyes to the earth1 poor worm that you are1 and look upon the brutes your comrades4 ,what then will man become8 ,will he equal ,god or the brutes8 ,what an awful gulf6 ,what then shall we be8 ,who does not see from all this that man has gone astray1 that he has fallen from his place1 that he seeks it with disquiet1 that he cannot regain it8 ,and who shall direct him1 since the greatest men have not availed8 ,what men could scarcely know by their greatest light1 this ,religion has taught to babes4 ,other religions1 as those of heathendom1 are more popular since they consist only in externals1 but they have no effect on the educated4 ,a purely intellectual religion would be more adapted to the educated1 but it would be of no use to the people4 ,the ,christian religion alone is fitted for all1 being composed of externals and internals4 ,it elevates the people to interior acts1 it abases the proud to external rites1 and it is not complete without both1 for the people must understand the spirit which is in the letter1 and the educated must submit their spirit to the letter4 ,philosophers have consecrated vices in attributing them to ,god himself1 ,christians have consecrated virtues4 ,,of ,,original ,,sin4 ,there are two truths of faith equally sure3 the one1 that man in the state of creation1 or in that of grace1 is raised above all nature1 is made like unto ,god and is a sharer in divinity2 the other1 that in the state of corruption and sin1 he has fallen from the higher state and is made like unto the beasts4 ,these two propositions are equally firm and certain4 ,the ,scripture declares it plainly1 as when it says in certain places3 ,delici me1 esse cum filiis hominum4 ,effundam spiritum meum super omnem carnem4 ,dii estis1 etc42 and when it says in others3 ,omnis caro fnum4 ,homo comparatus est jumentis insipientibus1 et similis factus est illis4 ,dixi in corde meo de filiis hominum1 ut probaret eos ,deus et ostenderet similes esse bestiis1 etc4 ,the wicked1 who abandon themselves blindly to their passions1 without the knowledge of ,god1 and without taking the trouble to seek him1 themselves confirm this foundation of the faith which they attack1 that the nature of man is corrupt4 ,and the ,jews1 who so obstinately assail the ,christian religion1 again confirm that other foundation of the same faith which they assail1 namely1 that ,jesus ,christ is the true ,messiah1 who has come to redeem men1 and deliver them from the corruption and misery in which they were1 as much by the condition in which we see them at this day1 and which was foretold by the prophets1 as by these same prophecies which they possess and keep so inviolably as the tokens whereby the ,messiah is to be recognised4 ,i would ask them if it is not true that they themselves confirm this foundation of the faith they assail1 which is that the nature of man is corrupt4 ,marton sees indeed that nature is corrupt1 and that men are opposed to honourable conduct1 but he knows not why they cannot fly higher4 ,the meaning of the words good and evil4 ,original sin is foolishness to men1 but it is admitted to be so4 ,this doctrine must not then be reproached with want of reason1 since ,i admit that it has no reason4 ,but this foolishness is wiser than all the wisdom of men1 sapientius est hominibus4 ,for without this how can we say what man is8 ,his whole state depends on this imperceptible point1 and how should it be perceived by his reason1 since it is a thing against reason1 and since reason1 far from finding it out by her own ways1 revolts from it when it is offered her8 ,there is nothing on earth which does not show either human misery or divine mercy2 either the weakness of man without ,god1 or the power of man with ,god4 ,thus the whole universe teaches man1 either that he is corrupt1 or that he is redeemed2 every thing teaches him his greatness or his misery2 the abandonment by ,god is shown in the heathen1 the protection of ,god is shown in the ,jews4 ,nature has her perfections to show that she is the image of ,god1 and her defects to show that she is no more than his image4 ,men being unaccustomed to form merit1 but only to recompense it when they find it formed1 judge of ,god by themselves4 ,when we wish to think of ,god1 there is a something which turns us aside1 and tempts us to think on other subjects2 all this is evil and born with us4 ,lust has become natural to us1 and has made our second nature4 ,thus there are two natures in us1 one good1 the other evil4--,where is ,god8 ,where you are not1 and the kingdom of ,god is within you4--,the ,rabbis4 ,it is then true that everything instructs man concerning his condition1 but the statement must be clearly understood1 for it is not true that all reveals ,god1 and it is not true that all hides him4 ,but it is true both that he hides himself from those who tempt him1 and that he reveals himself to those who seek him1 because men are both unworthy and capable of ,god2 unworthy by their corruption1 capable by their original nature4 ,we cannot conceive the glorious state of ,adam1 nor the nature of his sin1 nor the transmission of it to us4 ,these things took place under the conditions of a nature quite different to our own1 transcending our present capacity4 ,the knowledge of all this would be of no use in helping us to escape from it1 and all we need know is that we are miserable1 corrupt1 separate from ,god1 but ransomed by ,jesus ,christ1 and of this we have on earth wonderful proofs4 ,thus the two proofs of corruption and redemption are drawn from the wicked1 who live indifferent to religion1 and from the ,jews who are its irreconcilable enemies4 ,all faith consists in ,jesus ,christ and in ,adam1 and all morality in lust and in grace4 ,shall he only who knows his nature know it only to his misery8 ,shall he alone who knows it be alone miserable8 ,he must not see nothing whatever1 nor must he see so much as to believe he possesses it1 but he must see enough to know that he has lost it2 for to be aware of loss he must see and not see1 and that is precisely the state in which he is by nature4 ,we wish for truth1 and find in ourselves only uncertainty4 ,we seek after happiness1 and find only misery and death4 ,we cannot but wish for truth and happiness1 and we are incapable neither of certainty nor of happiness4 ,this desire is left to us1 as much to punish us as to make us feel whence we are drawn4 ,will it be asserted that because men have spoken of righteousness as having fled from the earth1 therefore they knew of original sin8--,nemo ante obitum beatus est4--,that therefore they knew death to be the beginning of eternal and essential happiness8 ,the dignity of man while innocent consisted in using and having dominion over the creatures1 but now in separating himself from them1 and subjecting himself to them4 ,source of contradictions4--,a ,god humbled1 even to the death of the cross1 a ,messiah by his death triumphing over death4 ,two natures in ,jesus ,christ1 two advents1 two states of human nature4 ,of original sin4--,ample tradition of original sin according to the ,jews4 ,on the word in ,genesis1 viii4 #ba4 ,the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth4 ,r4 ,moses ,haddarschan3 ,this evil leaven is placed in man from the time that he is formed4 ,massechet ,succa3 ,this evil leaven has seven names in ,scripture4 ,it is called evil1 an unclean prepuce1 an enemy1 a scandal1 a heart of stone1 the north wind2 all this signifies the malignity which is concealed and ingrained in the heart of man4 ,midrasch ,tillim says the same thing1 and that ,god will free the good nature of man from the evil4 ,this malignity is renewed every day against man1 as it is written1 ,psalm xxxvii4 ,the wicked watcheth the just1 and striveth to kill him1 but ,god will not abandon him4 ,this malignity tries the heart of man in this life1 and will accuse him in the other4 ,all this is found in the ,talmud4 ,midrasch ,tillim on ,ps4 iv43 ,stand in awe and sin not4 ,stand in awe and be afraid of your lust1 and it will not lead you into sin4 ,and on ,ps4 xxxvi4 ,the wicked has said in his heart3 ,let not the fear of ,god be before me4 ,that is to say that the malignity natural to man has said that to the wicked4 ,misdrasch el ,kohelet3 ,better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king who cannot foresee the future4 ,the child is virtue1 and the king is the malignity of man4 ,it is called king because all the members obey it1 and old because it is in the heart of man from infancy to old age1 and foolish because it leads man in the way of perdition which he does not foresee4 ,the same thing is in ,misdrasch ,tillim4 ,bereschist ,rabba on ,ps4 xxxv43 ,lord1 all my bones shall bless thee1 who deliverest the poor from the tyrant4 ,and is there a greater tyrant than the evil leaven8 ,and on ,proverbs xxv41 ,if thine enemy be hungry1 feed him4 ,that is to say1 if the evil leaven hunger1 give him the bread of wisdom of which speaks ,prov4 ix41 and if he be thirsty1 give him the water of which speaks ,isaiah lv4 ,misdrasch ,tillim says the same thing1 and that the ,scripture in that passage speaking of our enemy1 means the evil leaven1 and that in giving it that bread and that water1 we heap coals of fire on his head4 ,misdrasch ,kohelet on ,ecclesiastes ix4 ,a great king besieged a little city4 ,this great king is the evil leaven1 the great engines with which he surrounds it are temptations1 and there has been found a poor wise man who has delivered it1 that is to say virtue4 ,and on ,ps4 xli4 ,blessed is he that considereth the poor4 ,and on ,ps4 lxxviii4 ,the spirit goeth and returneth not again1 whereof some have taken occasion of error concerning the immortality of the soul2 but the sense is that this spirit is the evil leaven1 which accompanies man till death1 and will not return at the resurrection4 ,and on ,ps4 ciii4 the same thing4 ,and on ,ps4 xvi4 ,chronology of ,rabbinism4 ,the citations of pages are from the book ,pugio4 ,page #bg1 ,r4 ,hakadosch1 anno #bjj1 author of the ,mischna or vocal law1 or second law4 ,commentaries on the ,mischna1 anno #cdj3 ,the one1 ,siphra4 ,barajetot4 ,talmud ,hierosol4 ,tosiphtot4 ,bereschit ,rabah1 by ,r4 ,osaiah ,rabah1 commentary on the ,mischna4 ,bereschit ,rabah1 ,bar ,naconi1 are subtle and agreeable discourses1 historical and theological4 ,the same author wrote the books called ,rabot4 ,a hundred years after the ,talmud ,hierosol4 anno #ddj1 was made the ,babylonian ,talmud1 by ,r4 ,ase1 by the universal consent of all the ,jews1 who are necessarily obliged to observe all that is contained therein4 ,the addition of ,r4 ,ase is called the ,gemara1 that is to say the commentary on the ,mischna4 ,and the ,talmud as a whole comprises the ,mischna and the ,gemara4 ,,the ,,perpetuity ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,religion4 ,perpetuity4--,that religion has always existed on earth1 which consists in believing that man has fallen from a state of glory and of communion with ,god into a state of sorrow1 penitence1 and estrangement from ,god1 but that after this life we shall be restored by a ,messiah who was to come4 ,all things have passed away1 and this has subsisted for which are all things4 ,men in the first age of the world were carried away into every kind of misconduct1 and yet there were holy men1 as ,enoch1 ,lamech and others1 who awaited with patience the ,christ promised from the beginning of the world4 ,noah saw the evil of men at its height2 and he was found worthy to save the world in his person1 by the hope of the ,messiah of whom he was the type4 ,abraham was compassed round about by idolaters1 when ,god revealed to him the mystery of the ,messiah1 whom he greeted from afar4 ,in the days of ,isaac and ,jacob abomination was spread over the whole earth1 but these holy men lived in faith1 and ,jacob dying and blessing his children1 cried in a transport which made him break off his discourse1 ,i await1 ,o my ,god1 the ,saviour whom thou hast promised4 ,salutare tuum expectabo1 ,domine4 ,the ,egyptians were infected both with idolatry and magic1 even the people of ,god were led astray by their example4 ,yet ,moses and others saw him whom they saw not1 and adored him1 looking to the eternal gifts which he was preparing for them4 ,the ,greeks and ,latins then enthroned false deities1 the poets made a hundred divers theologies1 the philosophers separated into a thousand different sects1 and yet in the heart of ,juda were always chosen men who foretold the advent of this ,messiah1 known to them alone4 ,he came at length in the fulness of time1 and since then1 notwithstanding the birth of so many schisms and heresies1 so many revolutions in government1 such great changes in all things1 this ,church1 adoring him who has ever been adored1 has subsisted without a break4 ,it is a wonderful1 incomparable and wholly divine fact1 that this ,religion which has ever endured1 has ever been assailed4 ,a thousand times has it been on the eve of an universal ruin1 and whenever it has been in that state ,god has restored it by extraordinary manifestations of his power4 ,this is marvellous1 so also that it has survived without yielding to the will of tyrants4 ,for it is not strange that a ,state subsists when its laws sometimes give way to necessity1 but that4444 ,states would perish if they did not often make their laws bend to necessity1 but ,religion has never suffered this or practised it4 ,and indeed there must be either compromise or miracles4 ,there is nothing unusual in being saved by yielding1 and strictly speaking this is not endurance1 besides in the end they perish utterly3 there is none which has endured a thousand years4 ,but that this ,religion1 although inflexible1 should always have been maintained1 shows that it is divine4 ,the religion which alone is contrary to our nature1 to common sense1 and to our pleasures1 is that alone which has always existed4 ,the science which alone is contrary to common sense and human nature1 is that alone which has always subsisted among men4 ,to show that the true ,jews and the true ,christians have one and the same ,religion4--,the religion of the ,jews seemed to consist essentially in the fatherhood of ,abraham1 in circumcision1 sacrifices and ceremonies1 in the ark1 in the temple at ,jerusalem1 and lastly1 in the ,law1 and the ,covenant with ,moses4 ,i say that it consisted in none of these1 but solely in the love of ,god1 and that all else was rejected by him2 ,that ,god did not accept the posterity of ,abraham2 ,that the ,jews if they transgressed were to be punished like strangers4 ,deut4 viii4 #ai4 ,if thou at all forget the ,lord thy ,god1 and walk after other gods1 ,i testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish as the nations which ,god has destroyed before you4 ,that strangers if they loved ,god were to be received by him as the ,jews4 ,isaiah lvi4 #c4 ,let not the stranger say1 ,the ,lord will not receive me4--,the strangers that join themselves unto the ,lord ,god to serve him and love him1 will ,i bring unto my holy mountain1 and accept their sacrifices1 for mine house is an house of prayer4 ,that the true ,jews ascribed all their merit to ,god1 and not to ,abraham4 ,isaiah lxiii4 #af4 ,doubtless thou art our ,father1 though ,abraham be ignorant of us1 and ,israel acknowledge us not4 ,thou art our ,father and our ,redeemer4 ,moses himself said that ,god would not accept the person of any4 ,deut4 x4 #ag4 ,god1 said he1 accepteth neither persons nor sacrifices4 ,that the circumcision commanded was that of the heart4 ,deut4 x4 #af2 ,jeremiah iv4 #d4 ,be ye circumcised in heart4 ,cut off the superfluities of your heart1 harden not your hearts1 for your ,god is a great ,god1 strong and terrible1 who accepteth not the person of any4 ,that ,god said he would one day do it4 ,deut4 xxx4 #f4 ,god will circumcise thine heart1 and thy children's heart1 that thou mayest love him with all thine heart4 ,that the uncircumcised in heart should be judged4 ,jer4 ix4 #bf4 ,for ,god will judge the uncircumcised peoples1 and all the people of ,israel1 because he is uncircumcised in heart4 ,that the exterior is nothing in comparison of the interior4 ,joel4 ii4 #ac4 ,scindite corda vestra1 etc4 ,isaiah lviii4 #c1d1 etc4 ,the love of ,god is commanded in the whole of ,deuteronomy1 ,deut4 xxx4 #ai3 ,i call heaven and earth to witness that ,i have set before you death and life1 that you may choose life1 and that you may love ,god1 and obey him1 for ,god is your life4 ,that the ,jews1 for lack of their love1 should be rejected for their crimes1 and the ,gentiles chosen in their stead4 ,hosea i4 #aj4 ,deut4 xxxii4 #bj4 ,i will hide myself from them in view of their latter sins1 for they are a froward generation4 ,they have provoked me to anger by things which are no gods1 and ,i will provoke them to jealousy by a people which is not my people1 by an ignorant and foolish nation4 ,isaiah lxv4 #a4 ,that temporal goods are false1 and that the true good is to be united to ,god4 ,psalm cxliii4 #ae4 ,that their feasts were displeasing to ,god4 ,amos v4 #ba4 ,that the sacrifices of the ,jews were displeasing to ,god4 ,isa4 lxvi4 #a-c2 l4 #aa2 ,jerem4 vi4 #bj4 ,david1 ,miserere4 ,even on the part of the good1 ,expectavi4 ,psalm xlix4 #h-ad4 ,that he has established them only for their hardness4 ,micah1 admirably1 vi4 #f-h4 ,i4 ,kings xv4 #bb2 ,hosea vi4 #f4 ,that the sacrifices of the ,gentiles should be accepted of ,god1 and that ,god would none of the sacrifices of the ,jews4 ,malachi i4 #aa4 ,that ,god would make a new covenant with the ,messiah1 and that the ,old should be disannulled4 ,jer4 xxxi4 #ca4 ,mandata non bona4 ,ezek4 xx4 #be4 ,that the old things should be forgotten4 ,isa4 xliii4 #ah1 #ai2 lxv4 #ag1 #ah4 ,that the ark should come no more to mind4 ,jer4 iii4 #ae1 #af4 ,that the temple should be rejected4 ,jer4 vii4 #ab-ad4 ,that the sacrifices should be rejected1 and purer sacrifices established4 ,malachi i4 #aa4 ,that the order of ,aaron's priesthood should be rejected and that of ,melchizedek introduced by the ,messiah4 ,dixit ,dominus4 ,that this sacrifice should be eternal4 ,ib4 ,that ,jerusalem should be rejected1 and ,rome admitted4 ,that the name of the ,jews should be rejected and a new name given4 ,isa4 lxv4 #ae4 ,that this new name should be more excellent than that of the ,jews1 and eternal4 ,isa4 lvii4 #e4 ,that the ,jews should be without prophets1 ,amos1 without a king1 without princes1 without sacrifice1 without an idol4 ,that the ,jews should nevertheless always remain a people4 ,jer4 xxxi4 #cf4 ,perpetuity4--,men have always believed in a ,messiah4 ,the tradition from ,adam was still fresh in ,noah and in ,moses4 ,after these the prophets bore witness1 at the same time foretelling other things which being from time to time fulfilled in the eyes of all1 demonstrated the truth of their mission1 and consequently that of their promises touching the ,messiah4 ,jesus ,christ worked miracles1 and the ,apostles also1 who converted all the ,gentiles2 and the prophecies being thus once accomplished1 the ,messiah is for ever proved4 444 ,on that account ,i reject all other religions4 ,in that ,i find an answer to all objections4 ,it is just that a ,god so pure should only disclose himself to those whose hearts are purified4 ,therefore that religion is lovable to me1 and ,i find it sufficiently authorized by so divine a morality1 but ,i find yet more4444 ,i find it a convincing fact that since the memory of man has lasted1 it was constantly declared to men that they were universally corrupt1 and that a ,redeemer should come2 ,that it was not one man who said it1 but an infinity of men1 and a whole nation lasting for four thousand years1 prophesying1 and created for that very purpose4444 ,so ,i stretch out my arms to my ,redeemer1 who having been foretold for four thousand years1 has come to suffer and to die for me on earth at the time and under all the circumstances which had been foretold1 and by his grace ,i await death in peace1 in the hope of being eternally united to him2 yet ,i live with joy1 whether in the good which it pleases him to bestow on me1 or in the ill which he sends for my good1 and which he has taught me to bear by his example4 ,the ,synagogue preceded the ,church1 the ,jews preceded the ,christians1 the prophets foretold the ,christians1 ,saint ,john foretold ,jesus ,christ4 ,no religion but our own has taught that man is born in sin2 no sect of philosophers ever said this1 therefore none has said the truth4 ,no sect or religion has always existed on earth1 except the ,christian religion4 ,the ,christian religion is that alone which renders man lovable and happy at once4 ,living in the world he cannot be lovable and happy at the same time4 ,in all times either men have spoken of the true ,god1 or the true ,god has spoken to men4 ,there are two foundations1 one interior and the other exterior1 grace and miracles1 and both are supernatural4 ,,proofs ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,religion4 ,proofs of ,religion4 ,morals--,doctrine--,miracles--,propheci es--,figures4 ,proof--#a4 ,the ,christian religion having established itself so strongly1 yet so quietly1 whilst contrary to nature4--#b4 ,the sanctity1 the dignity1 and the humility of a ,christian soul4--#c4 ,the wonders of holy ,scripture4--#d4 ,jesus ,christ in particular4--#e4 ,the apostles in particular4--#f4 ,moses and the prophets in particular4--#g4 ,the ,jewish people4--#h4 ,the ,prophecies4--#i4 ,perpetuity4 ,no religion has perpetuity4--#aj4 ,the ,doctrine1 which explains all4--#aa4 ,the sanctity of this law4--#ab4 ,by the course of the world4 ,it is beyond doubt that after considering what is life and what is religion we cannot refuse to act on the inclination to follow it1 if it comes into our heart1 and it is certain there is no ground for jeering at those who follow it4 ,the general conduct of the world towards the ,church4--,god willing both to blind and enlighten4--,the event having proved that these prophecies were divine1 the remainder ought to be believed1 and hence we see that the order of the world is on this manner4 ,the miracles of the creation and the deluge being forgotten1 ,god sent the law and the miracles of ,moses1 the prophets who prophesied particular things1 and to prepare an abiding miracle he prepares prophecies and their fulfilment4 ,but as the prophecies might be suspected he wishes to make them beyond suspicion1 etc4 444 ,but even those who seem most opposed to the glory of religion are not in that respect useless for others4 ,we draw from them the first argument1 that here is something supernatural1 for a blindness of that kind is not natural1 and if their folly renders them so opposed to their own good1 it will serve to guarantee others against it1 by the horror of an example so deplorable1 and a folly so worthy of compassion4 444 ,men revile what they do not understand4 ,the ,christian religion consists in two points4 ,it is of equal moment to men to know them both1 and equally dangerous to ignore either4 ,and it is equally of ,god's mercy that he has given marks of both4 ,yet they take occasion to conclude that one of these points does not exist from that which is intended to make them certain of the other4 ,those sages who have said there is a ,god have been persecuted1 the ,jews were hated1 and still more the ,christians4 ,they saw by the light of nature1 that if there be a true religion on earth1 the course of all things must tend to it as to a centre4 ,and on this ground they venture to revile the ,christian religion because they misunderstand it4 ,they imagine that it consists simply in the adoration of a ,god conceived as great1 powerful and eternal2 which is in fact deism1 almost as far removed from the ,christian religion as atheism1 its exact opposite4 ,and hence they infer the falsehood of our religion1 because they do not see that all things concur to the establishment of this point1 that ,god does not manifest himself to man with all the evidence which is possible4 ,but let them conclude what they will against deism1 they can conclude nothing on that account against the ,christian religion1 which properly consists in the mystery of the ,redeemer1 who1 uniting in himself the two natures human and divine1 has withdrawn men from the corruption of sin that he might in his divine person reconcile them to ,god4 ,true religion then teaches these two truths to men1 that there is a ,god whom they are capable of knowing1 and that there is such corruption in their nature as to render them unworthy of him4 ,it is of equal importance to men that they should apprehend the one and the other of these points1 and it is alike dangerous for man to know ,god without the knowledge of his own worthlessness1 and to know his own worthlessness without the knowledge of the ,redeemer who may deliver him from it4 ,to apprehend the one without the other begets either the pride of philosophers1 who knew ,god1 but not their own wretchedness2 or the despair of atheists1 who know their own wretchedness1 but not the ,redeemer4 ,and as it is alike necessary for man to know these two points1 so it is alike of the mercy of ,god to have given us the knowledge4 ,the ,christian religion does this2 it is in this that it consists4 ,let us herein examine the order of the world1 and see if all things do not tend to establish these two main points of our ,religion4 ,it is a remarkable fact that no canonical writer has ever employed nature to prove ,god4 ,all tend to make him be believed4 ,david1 ,solomon and others have never said3 ,there is no vacuum1 therefore there is a ,god4 ,they must have been cleverer than the cleverest in after days who have all used this argument4 ,this is well worth considering4 ,if it be a mark of weakness to prove ,god by nature1 despise not the ,scripture for not doing so3 if it be a mark of power to know these contradictions1 value the ,scriptures on that account4 ,what6 ,do you not say yourself that the sky and the birds prove ,god8--,no4--,and does not your religion say so8--,no4 ,for however it may be true in a sense for some souls to whom ,god has given this light1 it is nevertheless false in regard to the majority4 ,think you it is impossible that ,god is infinite1 without parts8--,yes4--,i will then make you see something which is infinite and indivisible4 ,a point moving everywhere with infinite swiftness1 for it is in all places1 and is whole and entire in each situation4 ,perhaps this effect of nature1 which seems to you impossible beforehand1 may teach you to know that there may be others also which you know not as yet4 ,do not then draw this conclusion from your apprenticeship1 that nothing remains for you to know1 but rather that an infinity remains for you to know4 ,it is incomprehensible that there should be a ,god1 and incomprehensible that there should not be2 that there should be a soul in the body1 and that we should have no soul2 that the world should have been created1 and that it should not1 etc42 that original sin should be1 and that it should not be4 ,if we choose to say that man is too little to merit communion with ,god1 we must be indeed great to form a judgment on the subject4 ,the ,eternal is for ever1 if he is at all4 ,but it is impossible that ,god should ever be the end1 if he is not the beginning4 ,we look above1 but lean upon the sand1 and the earth will melt1 and we shall fall whilst looking towards heaven4 ,objection4 ,the ,scripture is plainly full of matters which were not dictated by the ,holy ,spirit4 ,answer4 ,then they do no harm to faith4 ,objection4 ,but the ,church has decided that all is of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,answer4 ,i answer two things3 #a4 ,that the ,church has never so decided2 #b4 ,that if she should so decide it might be maintained4 ,my ,god6 what trash is all this talk3 ,has ,god made the world but to condemn it8 will he ask so much of creatures so weak8 etc4 ,scepticism is the remedy for this evil1 and will lower this vanity4 ,god has willed to redeem mankind and to open salvation to those who seek him4 ,but men render themselves so unworthy of it1 that it is just that ,god should refuse to some because of their hardness of heart what he grants to others out of a mercy not their due4 ,had it been his will to overcome the stubbornness of the most hardened1 he could have rendered them unable to doubt the truth of his essence1 in revealing himself manifestly to them as he will appear at the last day1 amid thunderings and lightnings1 and so great a convulsion of nature1 that the dead will rise again1 and the blindest shall see him4 ,not thus willed he to appear in his gentle advent1 because since so many men make themselves unworthy of his mercy1 he willed to leave them deprived of the good which they refuse4 ,it had not then been just that he should appear in a manner plainly divine1 and wholly capable of convincing all men1 but neither had it been just that he should come in so hidden a manner as not to be recognised of those who sincerely sought him4 ,he has willed to reveal himself wholly to these1 and thus willing to appear openly to those who seek him with their whole heart1 and to hide himself from those who fly him with all their heart1 he has so tempered the knowledge of himself as to give signs of himself visible to those who seek him1 and obscure to those who seek him not4 ,there is enough light for those who wish earnestly to see1 and enough obscurity for those of a contrary mind4 ,therefore let men recognise the truth of religion in the very obscurity of religion1 in the little light we have of it1 and in our indifference to the knowledge of it4 ,the prophecies1 the very miracles and proofs of our ,religion1 are not of such a nature that we can say they are absolutely convincing4 ,but they are also of such a kind1 that none can say that it is unreasonable to believe in them4 ,thus there is both evidence and obscurity to enlighten some and blind others2 but the evidence is such that it surpasses or at least equals the evidence to the contrary1 so that it is not reason which can determine us not to follow it1 and therefore it can only be lust and malice of heart4 ,and by this means there is evidence enough to condemn1 and not enough to convince2 so it appears in those who follow it1 that it is grace and not reason which causes them to follow it2 and in those who fly it1 it is lust1 not reason1 which causes them to fly it4 ,who can help admiring and embracing a religion which thoroughly knows that which we recognise more and more in proportion to our light8 ,that ,god has willed to hide himself4--,if there were only one ,religion ,god would certainly be manifest2 so also if there were no martyrs but in our own ,religion4 ,god being thus hidden1 every religion which does not say that ,god is hidden is not the true religion1 and every religion which does not show the reason of it is unedifying4 ,our religion does all this3 ,vere tu es ,deus absconditus4 ,religion is so great a thing1 that it is right that those who will not take the trouble to seek if it be obscure should be deprived of it4 ,why then should any complain1 if it be such as to be found by seeking8 ,the obscurity would be too great1 if truth had not visible signs4 ,this is a marvellous one1 that it has always been preserved in a ,church and a visible assembly4 ,the clearness would be too great if there were only one opinion in this ,church1 but to recognise what is true is only to see what has always existed1 for it is certain that truth has always existed1 and that nothing false has been always in existence4 ,recognise then the truth of religion even in the obscurity of religion1 in the little light we have of it1 and in the indifference we have to its knowledge4 ,god chooses rather to sway the will than the intellect4 ,perfect clearness would be useful to the intellect but would harm the will4 ,to humble pride4 ,were there no obscurity man would not be sensible of his corruption2 were there no light man would despair of remedy4 ,thus it is not only just1 but useful for us1 that ,god should be partly hidden and partly revealed1 because it is equally dangerous for man to know ,god without the knowledge of his misery1 and to know his misery without the knowledge of ,god4 ,if the mercy of ,god is so great that his teaching is salutary even when he hides himself1 what great light may we not expect when he reveals himself8 ,we shall understand nothing of the works of ,god if we do not take it as a principle that he has willed to blind some and enlighten others4 ,what say the prophets of ,jesus ,christ8 ,that he will be manifestly ,god8 ,no3 but that he is a ,god truly hidden1 that he will be misunderstood2 that none would think it was he2 that he would be a stone of stumbling on which many would fall1 etc4 ,let us no longer then be reproached with want of clearness1 since we make profession of it4 ,but1 it is said1 there are obscurities4--,and without that1 no one would have stumbled at ,jesus ,christ1 which is one of the formal announcements of the prophets3 ,excca4444 ,instead of complaining that ,god is hidden1 you will give him thanks for having revealed so much of himself2 and you will give him thanks again for not having revealed himself to the proudly wise1 who are unworthy to know so holy a ,god4 ,two sorts of persons know3 those whose heart is humble1 and who love lowliness1 whatever their order of intellect1 whether high or low1 and those who have understanding enough to see the truth1 whatever opposition they may feel to it4 ,i may well love total darkness1 but if ,god keep me in a state of semi-obscurity1 this partial darkness is unpleasant to me1 and because ,i do not see in it the advantages of total darkness it pleases me not4 ,this is a fault1 and a proof that ,i am making an idol of darkness apart from ,god's order4 ,now his order alone is to be worshipped4 ,did the world exist to instruct man concerning ,god1 his divinity would shine out incontestably from every part of it1 but as it exists only by ,jesus ,christ1 and for ,jesus ,christ1 and to instruct men concerning their corruption and their redemption1 proofs of these two truths start up everywhere4 ,what is seen does not denote either the total exclusion or the manifest presence of divinity1 but the presence of a ,god who hides himself4 ,all bears this character4 ,had nought of ,god ever appeared1 this eternal deprivation would have been equivocal1 and might as well be interpreted of the total absence of divinity1 as of man's unworthiness to know him2 but by occasional and not continual appearances he has taken away all ambiguity4 ,if he have appeared once1 he is for ever1 and thus it must be concluded both that there is a ,god1 and that men are unworthy of him4 ,god1 that he may reserve to himself alone the right to instruct us and that he may render the difficulty of our being unintelligible to us1 has hidden the knot so high1 or rather so low1 that we cannot reach it4 ,so that it is not by the efforts of our reason1 but by the simple submission of our reason1 that we can truly know ourselves4 ,wisdom sends us to childhood3 nisi efficiamini sicut parvuli4 ,a miracle1 says one1 would strengthen my faith4 ,he says so when he does not see one4 ,reasons seen from afar seem to limit our view1 but as we reach them we begin to see beyond4 ,nothing stops the activity of our spirit4 ,there is no rule1 we say1 which has not its exception1 no truth so general but that there is a side on which it is lacking4 ,if it be not absolutely universal1 we have a pretext for applying the exception to the matter in hand1 and for saying3 ,this is not always true1 hence there are cases in which it is not so4 ,it only remains to show that this is one of them4 ,and we must be very awkward or unlucky if we do not find one some day4 ,contradictions4 ,infinite wisdom and wisdom of ,religion4 ,contradiction is a bad mark of truth4 ,much that is certain is contradicted4 ,much that is false passes without contradiction4 ,contradiction is not a mark of falsehood1 nor the want of contradiction a mark of truth4 ,there is a pleasure in being in a vessel beaten about by a storm1 provided we are certain it will not founder4 ,the persecutions which try the ,church are of this kind4 ,the history of the ,church should rightly be called the history of truth4 ,those who find difficulties of belief seek an excuse in the unbelief of the ,jews4 ,if it was so clear1 say they1 why did not the ,jews believe8 ,and they almost wish the ,jews had believed1 that they might not be deterred by the example of their refusal4 ,but their very unbelief is the foundation of our faith4 ,we should be much less disposed to believe if they were on our side4 ,we should then have a far more ample pretext4 ,this is the wonderful point1 to have made the ,jews great lovers of the things foretold1 and great enemies of their accomplishment4 ,what could the ,jews1 his enemies1 do8 ,receiving him they give proof of him by that reception1 for then the ,messiah is acknowledged by those to whom was committed the expectation of his coming2 rejecting him they prove his truth by that rejection4 ,on the fact that the ,christian ,religion does not stand alone4--,this is so far from being a reason against believing it the true one that1 on the contrary1 it proves it to be so4 ,those who love not the truth take as a pretext that it is contested1 and that a multitude deny it2 and thus their error comes from this alone1 that they love neither truth nor charity4 ,so they are without excuse4 ,the wicked who profess to follow reason1 ought to be extremely strong in reason4 ,what then do they say8 ,do we not see1 say they1 beasts live and die like men1 and ,turks like ,christians8 ,they have their ceremonies1 their prophets1 their doctors1 their saints1 their religious1 as well as we1 etc4 ,but how is this contrary to the ,scripture8 ,does it not say all this8 ,if you care but little to know the truth1 here is enough for your peace4 ,but if you desire to know it with your whole heart1 this is not enough1 look to the details4 ,this would suffice for a question in philosophy1 but not here1 where your all is concerned4 ,and yet1 after a slight meditation of this kind1 we shall go off to amuse ourselves1 etc4 ,we should acquaint ourselves with this religion2 even if it does not disclose the reason for such obscurity1 it will perhaps teach it to us4 ,if ,god had permitted one only ,religion1 it would have been too easily recognised4 ,but when we look at it near we can easily see the true through the confusion4 ,,proofs ,,of ,,the ,,divinity ,,of ,,jesus ,,christ4 ,perpetuity4--,let it be considered that from the beginning of the world the expectation or the worship of the ,messiah has subsisted without a break2 that there have been men who said that ,god had revealed to them the future birth of a ,redeemer who should save his people2 that afterwards came ,abraham saying he had had a revelation that the ,messiah was to spring from him by a son who should be born2 that ,jacob declared that of his twelve sons the ,messiah would spring from ,judah2 that ,moses and the prophets then came to declare the time and the manner of his advent2 that they said their law was only provisional till that of the ,messiah1 that it should last till then but the other should endure eternally2 that thus either their law or that of the ,messiah1 of which it was the promise1 would be always upon earth2 that in fact it has always endured2 that at last ,jesus ,christ has come with all the circumstances foretold4 ,how wonderful is this6 ,the two most ancient books in the world are those of ,moses and ,job1 the one a ,jew1 the other a ,gentile1 both of whom regard ,jesus ,christ as their common centre and object3 ,moses in reporting the promises of ,god to ,abraham1 ,jacob1 etc41 and his prophecies4 ,and ,job1 ,quis mihi det ut1 etc4 ,scio enim quod redemptor meus vivit1 etc4 ,i believe that ,joshua was the first of ,god's people who had this name1 as ,jesus ,christ was the last of ,god's people4 ,what man had ever so great renown6 ,the whole ,jewish people foretold him before his coming4 ,the ,gentile world worships him after his coming4 ,the two worlds1 ,gentile and ,jewish1 regard him as their centre4 ,yet what man ever had less enjoyment of his renown6 ,of thirty-three years he spent thirty in retirement4 ,for three years he passed as an impostor1 the priests and rulers rejected him1 his friends and kinsmen despised him4 ,at the end he died1 betrayed by one of his own disciples1 denied by another1 abandoned by all4 ,what part then had he in all this renown8 ,never man had more glory1 never man more ignominy4 ,all this renown was for our sakes1 to enable us to recognise him1 he took none of it for himself4 ,office of ,jesus ,christ4--,he alone was to produce a great people1 elect1 holy1 and chosen1 to lead it1 to nourish it1 to bring it into a place of rest and holiness1 to make it holy to ,god1 to make it the temple of ,god1 to reconcile it to ,god1 to save it from the wrath of ,god1 to deliver it from the slavery of sin1 which visibly reigns in man1 to give laws to this people1 to engrave these laws on their heart1 to offer himself to ,god for them1 to sacrifice himself for them1 to be a victim without spot1 himself the priest1 needing to offer himself1 his body and his blood1 and yet to offer bread and wine to ,god4444 ,after many persons had come before1 at last came ,jesus ,christ1 to say3 ,here am ,i and this is the hour1 that which the prophets had said was to come in the fulness of time4 ,i tell you what my apostles will do4 ,the ,jews shall be cast out1 ,jerusalem shall be soon destroyed1 and the ,gentiles shall enter into the knowledge of ,god4 ,my apostles shall do this after you have slain the heir of the vineyard4 ,then the ,apostles said to the ,jews1 ,you shall be accursed1 and to the ,gentiles1 ,you shall enter into the knowledge of ,god2 and that came to pass4 ,celsus laughed at it4 ,then ,jesus ,christ came to tell men that they had no enemies but themselves1 that their passions cut them off from ,god1 that he came to destroy these1 and give them his grace to unite them all in an holy ,church1 that he came to call into this ,church ,gentiles and ,jews1 that he came to destroy the idols of the former and the superstition of the latter4 ,to this all men are opposed1 not only by the natural opposition of lust2 but above all1 the kings of the earth1 as had been foretold1 gathered together to destroy this religion in its infancy4 ,quare fremuerunt gentes4 ,reges terr adversus ,christum4 ,all that was great on earth was united together1 the learned1 the wise1 the kings4 ,the first wrote1 the second condemned1 the last slew4 ,yet notwithstanding all these oppositions1 these men1 so simple and so weak1 resisted all these forces1 subduing even the mighty1 the learned and the wise1 and removed idolatry from all the earth4 ,and all this was done by the power which had foretold it ,and prediction crowns all this1 so that none may say that chance has done it all4 ,whosoever having only a week to live1 does not perceive that belief is the right side to take1 and that all this is not a stroke of chance4444 ,now were we not slaves to passion1 a week and a hundred years would seem one and the same thing4 ,the prophets foretold1 and were not foretold4 ,the saints were foretold1 but were not foretellers4 ,jesus ,christ was foretold and foreteller4 ,if ,i had never heard anything of the ,messiah1 yet after the admirable predictions of the course of the world which ,i see accomplished1 ,i see that it is divine4 ,and if ,i knew that these same books foretold a ,messiah1 ,i should be certain that he would come4 ,and seeing that they place his time before the destruction of the second temple1 ,i should say that he had come4 ,ingrediens mundum4 ,stone upon stone4 ,that which preceded1 that which followed4 ,all the ,jews still exist1 and are wanderers4 ,why did not ,jesus ,christ come in a visible manner1 instead of drawing proof from the prophecies which went before him8 ,and why did he cause himself to be foretold in figures8 ,god1 to enable the ,messiah to be recognised by the good and unrecognised by the wicked1 caused him to be so foretold4 ,if the manner of the ,messiah had been clearly foretold there had been no obscurity1 even for the wicked4 ,if the time had been obscurely foretold1 there had been obscurity even for the good1 for their goodness of heart would not have made them understand1 for instance1 that the closed mem means six hundred years4 ,but the time has been foretold clearly and the manner in figures only4 ,by this means the wicked1 mistaking the promised for material blessings1 have gone astray1 in spite of clear indications of the time1 and the good have not gone astray2 for the interpretation of the promised blessings depends on the heart1 wont to call that good which it loves1 but the interpretation of the promised time does not depend on the heart4 ,thus the clear prediction of the time1 and the obscure intimation of the blessings1 deceives only the wicked4 ,if ,jesus ,christ had come only for sanctification1 the whole of ,scripture and all things would tend to this end1 and it would be easy to convince unbelievers4 ,if ,jesus ,christ had come only to blind1 all his conduct would be confused1 and we should have no means of convincing unbelievers4 ,but as he came in sanctificationem et in scandalum1 as says ,isaiah1 we cannot convince unbelievers1 and they cannot convince us2 but by that very fact we overcome them because we say that there is nothing in his conduct conclusive on one side or the other4 ,jesus ,christ has come to blind those who saw clearly1 and to give sight to the blind2 to heal the sick and let the sound perish2 to call sinners to repentance and justification1 and leave the just in their sins2 to fill the hungry with good things and to send the rich empty away4 ,we can have nothing but veneration for a man who clearly foretells events which take place1 and who declares his design both to blind and to enlighten1 and who mixes obscurities among the clear things which happen4 ,during the life of the ,messiah4--nigmatis4--,ezek4 xvii4--,his forerunner4 ,malachi ii4 ,he will be born an infant4 ,is4 ix4 #f4 ,he will be born at ,bethlehem4 ,micah v4 ,he will appear chiefly in ,jerusalem1 and will spring from the family of ,judah and of ,david4 ,he will blind the learned and the wise1 ,is4 vi #h1 #bi1 and preach the ,gospel to the poor and the lowly1 will open the eyes of the blind1 restore health to the sick1 and bring light to those who languish in darkness4 ,is4 lxi4 ,he must show the perfect way1 and be the teacher of the ,gentiles4 ,is4 lv4 ,the prophecies must be unintelligible to the wicked1 ,dan4 xii41 ,hos4 xiv4 #aj1 but intelligible to those who are well instructed4 ,he must be the precious corner stone4 ,is4 xxviii4 #af4 ,he must be the stone of stumbling and offence4 ,is4 viii4 ,jerusalem must dash against this stone4 ,the builders must reject this stone4 ,ps4 cxvii4 #bb4 ,god will make of this stone the head of the corner4 ,and this stone will grow into a mountain1 and fill the whole earth4 ,dan4 ii4 ,thus he must be rejected1 disowned1 betrayed1 sold1 ,zach4 xi4 #ab1 spit upon1 buffeted1 mocked1 afflicted in a thousand ways1 be given gall to drink1 ,ps4 lxviii41 pierced1 ,zach4 xii41 his feet and his hands pierced1 killed1 and lots cast upon his vesture4 ,he must rise again1 ,ps4 xv41 the third day4 ,hos4 vi4 #c4 ,he must ascend to heaven to sit on the right hand4 ,ps4 cx4 ,the kings will arm themselves against him4 ,ps4 ii4 ,being on the right hand of the ,father1 he will have victory over all his enemies4 ,the kings of the earth1 and all nations shall worship him4 ,is4 lx4 ,the ,jews will remain as a nation4 ,jer4 ,they will be dispersed1 without kings1 etc41 ,hos4 iii2 without prophets4 ,amos2 ,waiting for salvation and finding it not4 ,is4 ,the calling of the ,gentiles by ,jesus ,christ4 ,is4 lii41 ,ps4 lxxi4 ,the ,jews in slaying him that they might not receive the ,messiah1 stamped him with the final proof of his ,messiahship4 ,and by continuance in denial1 they made themselves unimpeachable witnesses2 and in slaying him1 and continuing to reject him1 they have fulfilled the prophecies4 ,the word ,galilee1 which the ,jewish rabble pronounced as if by chance1 in their accusation of ,jesus ,christ before ,pilate1 gave ,pilate a reason for sending ,jesus ,christ to ,herod1 so that the mystery was accomplished1 that he should be judged by ,jews and ,gentiles4 ,chance was apparently the cause that the mystery was accomplished4 ,the conversion of the ,gentiles was only reserved for the grace of the ,messiah4 ,the ,jews so long opposed them without success2 all that ,solomon and the prophets had said was useless4 ,wise men like ,plato and ,socrates could not persuade them4 ,if this was so clearly foretold to the ,jews1 why did they not believe it1 or why were they not exterminated for resisting what was so clear8 ,i answer first3 it was foretold both that they would not believe what was so clear1 and that they would not be exterminated4 ,and nothing is more glorious to the ,messiah1 for it is not enough that there should be prophets1 they must be kept above suspicion4 ,now1 etc4 ,had the ,jews been all converted by ,jesus ,christ1 we should have none but doubtful witnesses1 and had they been entirely destroyed we should have had no witnesses at all4 ,the ,jews rejected him1 but not all4 ,the saints receive him1 but not carnal men4 ,yet this is far from being against his glory1 it is the last stroke which perfects it4 ,the argument on their side1 the only one which is found in the ,talmud and the rabbinical writings1 is that ,jesus ,christ has not subdued the nations sword in hand1 gladium tuum1 potentissime4 ,is this all they can allege8 ,jesus ,christ has been slain1 they say1 he was subdued1 he has not had dominion over the heathen by his power1 he has not distributed the spoil among us1 he does not give riches4 ,is this all they have to allege8 ,this is the very point wherein he seems to me so lovable4 ,i would none of such an one as they represent4 ,it is plain that his life only hinders them from receiving him1 by their refusal they become irreproachable witnesses1 and what is more1 they thereby fulfil the prophecies4 ,there are those who see clearly that man has no other enemy than lust1 which turns him from ,god1 and not ,god1 and that there is no other good but ,god1 not a fat land4 ,let those who believe that the good of man is in the flesh1 and evil that which turns him away from sensual pleasures1 besot themselves with them and die in them4 ,but those who seek ,god with their whole heart1 whose only ill is not to see him1 whose only desire is to possess him1 whose only enemies are those who would turn them from him1 who are afflicted when they are surrounded and overwhelmed by such enemies1 may take comfort1 for ,i declare to them this joyful news3 there is for them a ,redeemer1 whom ,i will show them2 ,i will show them that there is for them a ,god1 and ,i will not show him to others4 ,i will show them that a ,messiah has been promised1 who will deliver them from their enemies1 and that one has come to deliver them from their iniquities1 not from their enemies4 ,it is a wonderful thing1 and worthy of all attention1 to see the ,jewish nation existing so many years in constant misery1 it being necessary as a proof of ,jesus ,christ1 both that they should exist to be his witnesses1 and should be miserable because they crucified him1 and though to be miserable and to exist1 are contradictory1 this nation still exists in spite of its misery4 ,when ,nebuchadnezzar carried away the people1 for fear they should believe that the sceptre had departed from ,judah1 they were assured beforehand that they would be but a short time in captivity1 and would be restored4 ,they were never without the comfort of their prophets1 or the presence of their kings4 ,but the second destruction is without promise of restoration1 without prophets1 without kings1 without comfort1 without hope1 for the sceptre is taken away for ever4 ,proofs of ,jesus ,christ4--,to have been captive with the assurance of deliverance in seventy years was no true captivity4 ,but now they are captives without hope4 ,god has promised them that even though he should disperse them to the ends of the earth1 nevertheless if they were faithful to the law he would gather them together4 ,they are now very faithful to it1 yet remain oppressed4 ,blindness of ,scripture4--,the ,scripture1 say the ,jews1 says that we know not whence ,christ should come4 ,john vii4 #bg and xii #cd4 ,the ,scripture says that ,christ abideth for ever1 and he said that he should die4 ,therefore1 says ,saint ,john1 they believed him not1 though he had done so many miracles1 that the word of ,isaiah might be fulfilled3 ,he hath blinded them1 etc4 ,contradictions4--,the sceptre until ,messiah come4 ,without king or prince4 ,the eternal law1 changed4 ,the eternal covenant1 a new covenant4 ,the good law1 evil precepts1 ,ezekiel xx4 ,apparent discord of the ,evangelists4 ,proofs of ,jesus ,christ4 ,why the book of ,ruth was preserved4 ,why the story of ,tamar4 ,the genealogy of ,jesus ,christ in the ,old ,testament is intermixed with so many that are useless1 that it cannot be distinguished4 ,if ,moses had kept only the register of the ancestors of ,jesus ,christ1 that had been too plain4 ,if he had not marked that of ,jesus ,christ1 it had not been plain enough4 ,but after all1 whoso looks closely sees that of ,jesus ,christ distinctly traced through ,tamar1 ,ruth1 etc4 ,jesus ,christ in an obscurity--as the world calls obscurity--so great1 that the historians who wrote only the important matters of ,states hardly perceived him4 ,on the fact that neither ,josephus1 nor ,tacitus1 nor other historians1 have spoken of ,jesus ,christ4--,so far from this being any argument against1 it is rather one for us4 ,for it is certain that ,jesus ,christ has existed1 that his religion has made a great noise1 and that these people were not ignorant of it2 thus it is plain that they designedly concealed it1 or perhaps that they did speak of it1 and what they said has been suppressed or altered4 ,when ,augustus learnt that ,herod's own son was among the children under the age of two years whom he had commanded to be slain1 he said that it was better to be ,herod's pig than his son4 ,macrob4 ,saturn4 ,lib4 ii41 c4 #d4 ,macrobius1 on the ,innocents slain by ,herod4 ,prophecies4--,great ,pan is dead4 ,herod believed to be the ,messiah4 ,he had taken away the sceptre of ,judah1 but he was not of ,judah4 ,this was held by a considerable sect4 ,both ,barcoseba and another received by the ,jews4 ,and the rumour which was everywhere in those times4 ,suetonius1 ,tacitus1 ,josephus4 ,in what sort should ,messiah come1 seeing that by him the sceptre should be eternally in ,judah1 and at his coming the sceptre should depart from ,judah8 ,to the end that seeing they should not see1 and understanding they should not understand1 nothing could be better done4 ,curse of the ,greeks against those who count periods of time4 ,proofs of ,jesus ,christ4--,jesus ,christ said great things so simply that he seems not to have considered them1 and yet so tersely that it is clear he had considered them4 ,this clearness joined with simplicity is wonderful4 ,who taught the evangelists the qualities of an entirely heroic soul1 that they should paint it so perfectly in ,jesus ,christ8 ,why did they describe him weak in his agony8 ,did they not know how to paint a steadfast death8 ,no doubt they did1 for the same ,saint ,luke paints the death of ,saint ,stephen as braver than that of ,jesus ,christ4 ,they describe him therefore as capable of fear before the need of dying came1 and then wholly strong4 ,but when they represent him as so afflicted1 it is when he afflicts himself1 and when men afflict him1 then is he wholly strong4 ,the style of the ,gospel is wonderful in many ways1 and in this among others1 that it contains no invectives against the executioners and enemies of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the historians do not rail against ,judas1 ,pilate1 nor any of the ,jews4 ,if this modesty of the evangelical writers had been simulated1 as well as many other traits of a beautiful character1 and they had only simulated it to attract observation1 even if they had not dared to draw attention to it themselves1 they would not have failed to procure friends1 who would have remarked on it to their advantage4 ,but as they acted thus without dissimulation1 and from perfectly disinterested motives1 they pointed it out to no one1 and ,i believe that many points of this kind have never been noticed till now1 which is an evidence of how dispassionately all was done4 ,the apostles were either deceived or deceivers4 ,both hypotheses are difficult2 for it is not possible to mistake a man raised from the dead4444 ,while ,jesus ,christ was with them1 his presence might sustain them1 but after that1 what gave them force to act if he did not appear to them8 ,proof of ,jesus ,christ4--,the supposition that the apostles were deceivers is thoroughly absurd4 ,suppose we follow it out1 and imagine these twelve men assembled after the death of ,jesus ,christ1 making a plot to say that he was risen again4 ,by this they attack all earthly powers4 ,the heart of man is strangely inclined to fickleness and change1 swayed by promises and by wealth4 ,had one of these men contradicted themselves under these temptations1 nay more1 had they done so in prison1 in torture and in death1 they were lost4 ,let that be followed out4 ,hypothesis that the apostles were deceivers4 ,the time clearly4 ,the manner obscurely4 ,five typical proofs4 #a1fjj prophets4 #b1jjj #djj scattered4 ,atheists4--,what reason have they to say it is not possible to rise again8 ,which is the more difficult1 to be born or to rise again2 that that which has never been should be1 or that what has been should be again8 ,is it more difficult to come into being than to return to it8 ,habit causes the one to seem easy to us1 the want of habit causes the other to seem impossible4 ,the popular way of judging4 ,why should not a virgin bear a child8 does not a hen lay eggs without a cock8 ,what distinguishes these outwardly from others8 and who has told us that the hen may not form the germ as well as the cock8 ,what have they to say against the resurrection1 or against the child-bearing of the ,virgin8 which is the more difficult2 to produce a man or an animal1 or to reproduce it8 ,and if they had never seen any species of animal1 could they guess that they were not produced without connection with each other8 ,how ,i hate these follies of not believing in the ,eucharist1 etc4444 ,if the ,gospel be true1 if ,jesus ,christ be ,god1 what difficulty is there8 ,it is impiety not to believe in the ,eucharist on the ground that we do not see it4 ,,the ,,mission ,,and ,,greatness ,,of ,,jesus ,,christ4 ,we know ,god only by ,jesus ,christ4 ,without this mediator all communion with ,god is taken away1 by ,jesus ,christ we know ,god4 ,all who have thought to know ,god1 and to prove him without ,jesus ,christ1 have had but feeble proofs4 ,but for proof of ,jesus ,christ we have the prophecies1 which are solid and palpable proofs4 ,and these prophecies1 accomplished and proved true by the event1 mark the certainty of these truths1 and consequently the divinity of ,jesus ,christ4 ,in him then1 and by him we know ,god2 apart from him1 and without the ,scripture1 without original sin1 without a necessary mediator1 foretold and come1 we could not absolutely prove ,god1 nor teach sound doctrine and sound morality4 ,but by ,jesus ,christ1 and in ,jesus ,christ we prove ,god and teach morality and doctrine4 ,jesus ,christ is then the true ,god of men4 ,but we know at the same time our misery1 for this ,god is none other than he who repairs our misery4 ,thus we can only know ,god well by knowing our sins4 ,therefore those who have known ,god without knowing their misery1 have not glorified him1 but have glorified themselves4 ,quia non cognovit per sapientiam1 placuit ,deo per stultitiam prdicationis salvos facere4 ,not only do we know ,god by ,jesus ,christ alone1 but we know ourselves by ,jesus ,christ alone4 ,we know life and death by ,jesus ,christ alone4 ,apart from ,jesus ,christ we know not what is our life1 nor our death1 nor ,god1 nor ourselves4 ,thus without the ,scripture1 which has ,jesus ,christ alone for its object1 we know nothing1 and see only obscurity and confusion in the nature of ,god1 and in our own nature4 ,without ,jesus ,christ man must be plunged in vice and misery2 with ,jesus ,christ man is free from vice and misery1 in him is all our virtue and all our happiness4 ,apart from him is nought but vice and misery1 error and darkness1 death and despair4 ,without ,jesus ,christ the world would not exist1 for it could only be either destroyed1 or a very hell4 ,it is not only impossible but useless to know ,god without ,jesus ,christ4 ,they have not withdrawn from him1 but drawn near2 they have not abased themselves1 but4444 ,quo quisque optimus est1 pessimus1 si hoc ipsum1 quod sit optimus1 ascribat sibi4 ,the ,gospel only speaks of the virginity of the ,virgin up to the time of the birth of ,jesus ,christ4 ,all with reference to ,jesus ,christ ,jesus ,christ1 whom the two ,testaments regard1 the ,old as its end1 the ,new as its model1 both as their centre4 ,scepticism is the truth4 ,for1 after all1 men before ,jesus ,christ did not know either where they were or if they were great or little4 ,and those who said one or the other knew nothing about it1 and guessed without reason and by chance1 yet they always erred in excluding one or the other4 ,quod ergo ignorantes quritis1 ,religio annuntiat vobis4 ,if ,epictetus had seen the way with certainty he would have said to men3 ,you follow a false road2 he shows that there is another1 but he does not lead there2 it is the way of willing what ,god wills2 ,jesus ,christ alone leads thither1 via1 veritas4 ,jesus ,christ did nothing but teach men that they were lovers of themselves1 that they were slaves1 blind1 sick1 miserable1 and sinners1 that he would deliver them1 enlighten1 bless1 and heal them1 that this would be brought about by hatred of self1 and by following him through poverty and the death of the cross4 ,an artisan who speaks of riches1 a lawyer who speaks of war1 or of kingship1 etc41 but the rich man rightly speaks of riches1 a king speaks slightingly of a great gift he has just made1 and ,god rightly speaks of ,god4 ,hosea iii4 ,isaiah xlii1 xlviii41 liv41 lx41 lxi4 ,the last verse4 ,i have foretold it long since1 that they might know that it is ,i4 ,jaddus to ,alexander4 ,man is not worthy of ,god1 but he is not incapable of being rendered worthy4 ,it is unworthy of ,god to unite himself to miserable man1 but it is not unworthy of ,god to raise him from his misery4 ,the infinite distance between body and mind is a figure of the infinitely more infinite distance between mind and charity1 for this is supernatural4 ,all the splendour of greatness has no lustre for those who seek understanding4 ,the greatness of men of understanding is invisible to kings1 to the rich1 to conquerors1 and to all the great according to the flesh4 ,the greatness of wisdom1 which has no existence save in ,god1 is invisible to the carnal and to men of understanding4 ,these are three orders differing in kind4 ,men of great genius have their empire1 their glory1 their grandeur1 their victory1 their lustre1 and do not need worldly greatness1 with which they have nothing to do4 ,they are seen1 not by the eye1 but by the mind2 and that is enough4 ,the saints have their empire1 their glory1 their victory1 their lustre1 and want no glory of the flesh or of the mind1 with which they have nothing to do1 for these add nothing to them neither do they take away4 ,they are seen of ,god and the angels1 and not by the bodily eye1 nor by the curious spirit2 ,god suffices them4 ,archimedes without worldly pomp would have had the same reverence4 ,he fought no battles for the eye to gaze on1 but he left his discoveries to all minds4 ,o6 how brilliant was he to the mind4 ,jesus ,christ1 without riches1 and without any exterior manifestation of science1 is in his own order of holiness4 ,he gave forth no scientific inventions to the world1 he never reigned2 but he was humble1 patient1 holy2 holy before ,god1 terrible to devils1 without spot of sin4 ,o6 in what great pomp1 and with what transcendent magnificence did he come to the eyes of the heart1 which discern wisdom4 ,it would have been needless for ,archimedes1 though of princely birth1 to have played the prince in his books on geometry4 ,it would have been needless to our ,lord ,jesus ,christ for the purpose of shining in his kingdom of holiness1 to come as kings come2 but he did come in the glory proper to his order4 ,it is most unreasonable to be offended at the lowliness of ,jesus ,christ1 as if this lowliness were in the same order as was the greatness which he came to display4 ,let us consider this greatness in his life1 in his passion1 in his obscurity1 in his death1 in the choice of his disciples1 in their desertion of him1 in the secrecy of his resurrection1 and the rest1 and it will seem so vast as to give no room for offence at a lowliness in another order4 ,but there are those who can only admire carnal as though there were no mental greatness1 and others who only admire mental greatness1 as though there were not infinitely greater heights in wisdom4 ,all bodies1 the firmament1 the stars1 the earth and the kingdoms thereof1 are not comparable to the lowest mind1 for mind knows all these1 and itself2 the body nothing4 ,all bodies together and all minds together1 and all they can effect1 are not worth the least motion of charity4 ,this is of an order infinitely more exalted4 ,from all bodies together1 we cannot extract one little thought3 this is impossible and in another order4 ,from all bodies and minds it is impossible to produce a single motion of true charity1 it is impossible1 it is in another and a supernatural order4 ,the ,jews1 in testing if he were ,god1 have shown that he was man4 ,the ,church has had as much difficulty in showing that ,jesus ,christ was man1 against those who denied it1 as in showing that he was ,god4 ,and the evidences were equally great4 ,jesus ,christ is a ,god to whom we draw near without pride1 and before whom we abase ourselves without despair4 ,jesus ,christ for all1 ,moses for a people4 ,the ,jews were blessed in ,abraham4 ,i will bless those that bless thee4 ,but all nations are blessed in his seed4 ,parum est ut1 etc4 ,isaiah4 ,lumen ad revelationem gentium4 ,non fecit taliter omni nationi1 said ,david in speaking of the ,law4 ,but in speaking of ,jesus ,christ it must be said3 ,fecit taliter omni nationi4 ,so it is the property of ,jesus ,christ to be universal2 even the ,church offers the sacrifice only for the faithful4 ,jesus ,christ offered that of the cross for all4 ,the victory over death4 ,what advantageth it a man that he gain the whole world and lose his own soul8 ,he that will save his soul shall lose it4 ,i am not come to destroy the law1 but to fulfil4 ,lambs took not away the sins of the world1 but ,i am the lamb who take away sins4 ,moses gave you not that bread from heaven4 ,moses has not led you out of captivity1 and made you truly free4 ,types4--,jesus ,christ opened their mind to understand the ,scriptures4 ,there are two great revelations4 #a4 ,all things happened to them in figures3 vere ,israelit1 vere liberi1 true bread from heaven4 #b4 ,a ,god humbled to the cross4 ,it was necessary that ,christ should suffer and enter into glory1 that he should conquer death by death4 ,two advents4 ,the types of the completeness of redemption1 as that the sun gives light to all1 denote only completeness1 but they figuratively imply exclusions1 as the ,jews elected to the exclusion of the ,gentiles denote exclusion4 ,jesus ,christ the ,redeemer of all4--,yes1 for he has offered1 like a man who has ransomed all who willed to come to him4 ,it is the misfortune of those who die on the way1 but as far as he is concerned1 he offers them redemption4--,that holds good in the example1 where he who ransoms and he who hinders from dying are two1 but not in ,jesus ,christ1 who does both one and the other4--,no1 for ,jesus ,christ in his quality of ,redeemer1 is not perhaps master of all1 and thus so far as in him lies1 he is the ,redeemer of all4 ,jesus ,christ would not be slain without the forms of justice1 for it is much more ignominious to die by justice than by an unjust sedition4 ,the elect will be ignorant of their virtues and the reprobate of the greatness of their crimes4 ,lord1 when saw we thee an hungered or athirst8 etc4 ,jesus ,christ would none of the testimony of devils1 nor of those who were not called1 but of ,god and ,john the ,baptist4 ,jesus ,christ says not that he is not of ,nazareth1 to leave the wicked in their blindness2 nor that he is not the son of ,joseph4 ,the calling of the ,gentiles by ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ruin of the ,jews and heathen by ,jesus ,christ4 ,,the ,,mystery ,,of ,,jesus4 ,jesus suffered in his passion the torments which men inflicted on him1 but in his agony he suffered torments which he inflicted on himself3 turbare semetipsum4 ,this is a suffering from no human1 but an almighty hand1 and he who bears it must also be almighty4 ,jesus sought some comfort at least in his three dearest friends1 and they were asleep4 ,he prayed them to watch with him awhile1 and they left him with utter carelessness1 having so little compassion that it could not hinder their sleeping even for a moment4 ,and thus ,jesus was left alone to the wrath of ,god4 ,jesus was without one on the earth not merely to feel and share his suffering1 but even to know of it2 he and heaven were alone in that knowledge4 ,jesus was in a garden1 not of delight as the first ,adam1 in which he destroyed himself and the whole human race2 but in one of agony1 in which he saved himself and the whole human race4 ,he suffered this sorrow and this desertion in the horror of night4 ,i believe that ,jesus never complained but on this single occasion1 but then he complained as if he could no longer restrain his extreme sorrow4 ,my soul is sorrowful1 even unto death4 ,jesus sought companionship and consolation from men4 ,this was the only time in his life1 as it seems to me2 but he received it not1 for his disciples were asleep4 ,jesus will be in agony even to the end of the world4 ,we must not sleep during that time4 ,jesus in the midst of this universal desertion1 even that of his own friends chosen to watch with him1 finding them asleep1 was vexed because of the danger to which they exposed1 not him1 but themselves2 he warned them of their own safety and of their good1 with a heartfelt tenderness for them during their ingratitude1 and warned them that the spirit is willing and the flesh weak4 ,jesus1 finding them still sleeping1 unrestrained by any consideration for themselves or for him1 had the tenderness not to wake them but to let them sleep on4 ,jesus prayed1 uncertain of the will of his ,father1 and feared death2 but so soon as he knew it he went forward to offer himself to death3 ,eamus4 ,processit4 ,john4 ,jesus asked of men1 and was not heard4 ,jesus1 while his disciples slept1 wrought their salvation4 ,he has wrought that of each of the just while they slept both in their nothingness before their birth1 and in their sins after their birth4 ,he prayed only once that the cup should pass away1 and then with submission2 but twice that it should come if need were4 ,jesus was weary4 ,jesus1 seeing all his friends asleep and all his enemies wakeful1 gave himself over entirely to his ,father4 ,jesus did not regard in ,judas his enmity1 but ,god's order1 which he loves and admits1 since he calls him friend4 ,jesus tore himself away from his disciples to enter into his agony2 we must tear ourselves from our nearest and dearest to imitate him4 ,jesus being in agony and in the greatest sorrow1 let us pray longer4444 ,console thyself1 thou wouldest not seek me hadst thou not found me4 ,i thought of thee in mine agony1 such drops of blood ,i shed for thee4 ,it is tempting me rather than proving thyself1 to think if thou wouldest act well in a case which has not occurred1 ,i will act in thee if it occur4 ,let my rules guide thy conduct2 see how ,i have led the ,virgin and the saints who have let me act in them4 ,the ,father loves all that ,i do4 ,must ,i ever shed the blood of my humanity and thou give no tears8 ,thy conversion is my affair2 fear not and pray with confidence as for me4 ,i am present with thee by my word in the ,scriptures1 by my ,spirit in the ,church and by inspiration1 by my power in the priest1 by my prayer in the faithful4 ,physicians will not heal thee1 for thou wilt die at last4 ,but it is ,i who heal thee and make the body immortal4 ,suffer chains and bodily servitude1 ,i deliver thee now only from what is spiritual4 ,i am to thee more a friend than such or such an one1 for ,i have done for thee more than they2 they have not borne what ,i have borne from thee1 they have not died for thee as ,i have done in the time of thine infidelities and thy cruelties1 and as ,i am ready to do and do in my elect and at the ,holy ,sacrament4 ,if thou knewest thy sins thou wouldest lose heart4--,i shall lose it then ,o ,lord1 for on thy word ,i believe their malice4--,no1 for ,i by whom thou learnest it can heal thee of them1 and what ,i tell thee is a sign that ,i will heal thee4 ,as thou dost expiate them1 thou wilt know them1 and it will be said to thee3 ,behold1 thy sins are forgiven thee6 ,repent then for thy secret sins1 and for the hidden malice of those which thou knowest4 ,lord1 ,i give thee all4-- ,i love thee more ardently than thou hast loved thine uncleannesses1 ut immundus pro luto4 ,to me be the glory1 not to thee1 thou worm of earth4 ,ask thy director1 when my own words are to thee occasion of evil1 or vanity1 or curiosity4 ,i see the depths which are in me of pride1 curiosity and lust4 ,there is no relation between me and ,god1 nor ,jesus ,christ the ,just ,one4 ,but he has been made sin for me1 all thy scourges are fallen upon him4 ,he is more abominable than ,i1 and far from abhorring me he holds himself honoured that ,i go to him and succour him4 ,but he has healed himself1 and still more will he heal me4 ,i must add my wounds to his1 and join me to him1 and he will save me in saving himself4 ,but this must not be put off to a future day4 ,do little things as though they were great1 because of the majesty of ,jesus ,christ who does them in us1 and who lives our life2 do great things as though they were small and easy1 because of his omnipotence4 ,the ,sepulchre of ,jesus ,christ4--,jesus ,christ was dead1 but seen on the ,cross4 ,he was dead1 and hidden in the sepulchre4 ,jesus ,christ was buried by the saints alone4 ,jesus ,christ worked no miracles at the sepulchre4 ,only the saints entered it4 ,there1 not on the ,cross1 ,jesus ,christ took a new life4 ,it is the last mystery of the passion and the redemption4 ,jesus ,christ had no where to rest on earth but in the sepulchre4 ,his enemies only ceased to persecute him at the sepulchre4 ,i consider ,jesus ,christ in all persons and in ourselves4 ,jesus ,christ as a father in his father1 ,jesus ,christ as a brother in his brethren1 ,jesus ,christ as poor in the poor1 ,jesus ,christ as rich in the rich1 ,jesus ,christ as doctor and priest in priests1 ,jesus ,christ as sovereign in princes1 etc4 ,for by his glory he is all that is great1 since he is ,god2 and he is by his mortal life all that is miserable and abject4 ,therefore he has taken this wretched state1 to enable him to be in all persons1 and the model of all conditions4 ,the false justice of ,pilate only caused the suffering of ,jesus ,christ2 for he caused him to be scourged by his false justice1 and then slew him4 ,it would have been better that he had slain him at first4 ,thus is it with those who are falsely just4 ,they do good works or evil to please the world1 and show that they are not altogether of ,jesus ,christ1 for they are ashamed of him4 ,then at last in great temptations and on great occasions1 they slay him4 ,it seems to me that ,jesus ,christ after his resurrection allowed his wounds only to be touched3 ,noli me tangere4 ,we must unite ourselves to his sufferings only4 ,at the ,last ,supper he gave himself in communion as one about to die2 to the disciples at ,emmaus as one risen from the dead2 to the whole ,church as one ascended into heaven4 ,compare not thyself with others1 but with me4 ,if thou findest me not in those with whom thou comparest thyself1 thou comparest thyself with him that is abominable4 ,if thou findest me there compare thyself to me4 ,but who is it that thou dost compare8 ,thyself1 or me in thee8 ,if it be thyself it is one that is abominable2 if it be me thou comparest me to myself4 ,now ,i am ,god in all4 ,i speak and often counsel thee because thy ,guardian can not speak to thee1 for ,i will not that thou shouldest lack a guide4 ,and perhaps ,i do so at his prayers1 and thus he leads thee without thy seeing it4 ,thou wouldest not seek me unless thou didst possess me4 ,therefore be not troubled4 ,be comforted2 it is not from yourself that you must expect it2 but on the contrary1 expecting nothing from yourself1 you must await it4 ,pray that ye enter not into temptation4 ,it is dangerous to be tempted1 and those alone are tempted who do not pray4 ,et tu conversus confirma fratres tuos4 ,but before1 conversus ,jesus respexit ,petrum4 ,saint ,peter asked permission to strike ,malchus1 and struck before having the answer2 ,jesus ,christ answered afterwards4 ,i love poverty because he loved it4 ,i love wealth because it gives the power of helping the miserable4 ,i keep my troth to everyone2 rendering not evil to those who do me wrong2 but ,i wish them a lot like mine1 in which ,i receive neither good nor evil from men4 ,i try to be just1 true1 sincere1 and faithful to all men2 ,i have a tender heart for those to whom ,god has more closely bound me2 and whether ,i am alone or seen of men ,i place all my actions in the sight of ,god1 who shall judge them1 and to whom ,i have consecrated them all4 ,such are my opinions1 and each day of my life ,i bless my ,redeemer who has implanted them in me1 who has transformed me1 a man full of weakness1 misery1 and lust1 of pride and ambition1 into a man exempt from all these evils1 by the power of his grace1 to which all the glory is due2 since of myself ,i have only misery and sin4 ,,of ,,the ,,true ,,righteous ,,man ,,and ,,of ,,the ,,true ,,christian4 ,members4 ,to begin with that4--,to regulate the love which we owe to ourselves1 we must imagine a body full of thinking members1 for we are members of the whole1 and see how each member should love itself1 etc4444 ,if the feet and the hands had each a separate will they could only be in their order in submitting this separate will to the primary will which governs the whole body4 ,apart from that they are in disorder and misfortune1 but in willing only the good of the body they find their own good4 ,morality4--,god having made the heavens and the earth1 which cannot feel the happiness of their being1 he has been pleased to make beings who should know it1 and who should compose a body of thinking members4 ,for our members do not feel the happiness of their union1 of their admirable intelligence1 of the care which nature has taken to infuse into them a mind1 and to make them grow and endure4 ,how happy would they be if they could see and feel it4 ,but in order to this they must needs have intelligence to know it1 and good will to consent to that of the universal soul4 ,for if1 having received intelligence1 they used it to retain nourishment for themselves without allowing it to pass to the other members1 they would be not only unjust but also miserable1 and would hate rather than love themselves1 their blessedness as well as their duty consisting in their consent to the guidance of the general soul to which they belong1 who loves them better than they love themselves4 ,to be a member1 is to have neither life1 being1 nor movement save by the spirit of the body1 and for the body2 the separate member1 seeing no longer the body to which it belongs1 has only a waning and dying existence4 ,yet it believes it is a whole1 and seeing not the body on which it depends1 it believes it depends only on self and wills to constitute itself both centre and body4 ,but not having in itself a principle of life1 it only goes astray1 and is astonished in the uncertainty of its being2 fully aware that it is not a body1 yet not seeing that it is a member of a body4 ,then when at last it arrives at the knowledge of self1 it has returned as it were to its own home1 and loves itself only for the body's sake1 bewailing that in the past it has gone astray4 ,it cannot by its nature love aught else1 if not for itself and to subject it to self1 since each thing loves itself above all4 ,but in loving the body it loves itself1 because it has no being but in it1 by it1 and for it4 ,qui adhret ,deo unus spiritus est4 ,the body loves the hand1 and the hand1 if it had a will1 should love itself in the same proportion as that in which it is loved by the soul4 ,all love beyond this is unjust4 ,adhrens ,deo unus spiritus est4 ,we love ourselves because we are members of ,jesus ,christ4 ,we love ,jesus ,christ because he is the body of which we are members4 ,all is one1 one is in the other1 like the ,three ,persons4 ,the examples of the noble deaths of the ,lacedmonians and others scarce touch us1 for what good do they to us8 ,but the example of the death of the martyrs touches us1 for they are our members4 ,we have a common tie with them1 their resolution can form ours1 not only by example1 but because it has perhaps merited ours4 ,there is nothing of this in the examples of the heathen2 there is no bond between us4 ,as we do not become rich by seeing a rich stranger1 but by seeing a father or a husband who is so4 ,we must love ,god only1 and hate self only4 ,if the foot had always been ignorant that it belonged to the body1 and that there was a body on which it depended1 if it had only had the knowledge and the love of self1 and if it came to know that it belonged to a body on which it depended1 what regret1 what confusion for the past life1 for having been useless to the body from which its whole life was derived1 which would have reduced it to nothing if it had rejected it and separated it from itself1 as it held itself apart from the body4 ,what prayers for its preservation in the body1 with what submission would it allow itself to be governed according to the will which rules the body1 even to consent1 if need be1 that it should be cut off1 or it would lose its character of member4 ,for each member must be content to perish for the body1 for which alone the whole exists4 ,to ensure the happiness of the members1 they must have one will1 and submit it to the body4 ,it is false that we are worthy of the love of others1 it is unjust that we should desire it4 ,if we were born reasonable and impartial1 knowing ourselves and others1 we should not give this bias to our will4 ,but we are born with it2 we are therefore born unjust1 for all tends to self4 ,this is contrary to all order4 ,we should look to the general advantage1 and the inclination to self is the beginning of all disorder1 in war1 in politics1 in economy1 and in man's own body4 ,the will therefore is depraved4 ,if the members of natural and civil communities tend towards the well-being of the body1 the communities themselves should tend to the welfare of another more general body of which they are members4 ,we should therefore look to the whole4 ,we are therefore born unjust and depraved4 ,he who hates not in himself his self-love1 and that instinct which leads him to make himself a ,god1 is indeed blinded4 ,all must see that nothing is so opposed to justice and truth4 ,for it is false that we deserve this1 and it is unjust and impossible to attain it1 since all demand the same4 ,manifestly then injustice is innate in us1 from which we cannot free ourselves1 yet from which we ought to free ourselves4 ,but no religion has pointed out that this is a sin1 or that we are born in it1 or that we are bound to resist it1 or has thought of offering us a cure4 ,it is unjust that any should attach themselves to me1 even though they do it with pleasure1 and voluntarily4 ,i should deceive those in whom ,i aroused this desire1 for ,i am not the final end of any1 nor have ,i that which can satisfy them4 ,am ,i not about to die8 ,and thus the object of their attachment will die4 ,thus as it would be blameworthy in me to cause a falsehood to be believed1 though ,i should gently insinuate it1 though it should be believed with pleasure1 and though it should give me pleasure2 in like manner it is blameworthy in me if ,i make myself beloved1 and if ,i draw persons to attach themselves to me4 ,i ought to warn those who are ready to consent to a lie1 that they should not believe it1 whatever advantage accrues to me from it2 and in the same way that they should not attach themselves to me2 for they ought to spend their life and their pains in pleasing ,god1 or in seeking him4 ,self-will never will be satisfied1 though it should have power for all it would2 but we are satisfied from the moment we renounce it4 ,without it we cannot be discontented1 with it we cannot be content4 ,to hate self1 and to seek a truly lovable being to love1 is therefore the true and only virtue1 for we are hateful because of lust4 ,but as we cannot love what is outside us1 we must love a being which is in us1 yet not ourselves1 and that is true of each and all men4 ,now the universal ,being is alone such4 ,the ,kingdom of ,god is within us2 the universal good is within us1 is our very selves1 yet not ourselves4 ,if there be a ,god we ought to love him alone1 and not the creatures of a day4 ,the reasoning of the wicked in the ,book of ,wisdom is only founded on the non-existence of ,god4 ,given that there is no ,god1 say they1 let us take delight in the creature4 ,it is because there is nothing better4 ,but were there a ,god to love they would not have come to this conclusion1 but to the contrary4 ,and this is the conclusion of the wise3 ,there is a ,god1 therefore we ought not to take delight in the creature4 ,therefore all that leads us to attach ourselves to the creature is evil1 because it hinders us from serving ,god if we know him1 and from seeking him if we know him not4 ,now we are full of lust4 ,therefore we are full of evil1 therefore we should hate ourselves and all which urges us to attach ourselves to aught but ,god only4 ,that we must love one ,god only is a thing so plain1 that no miracles are needed to prove it4 ,that is a good state of the ,church in which it is upheld by ,god alone4 ,two laws suffice to regulate the whole ,christian republic better than all political laws4 ,against those who trusting in the mercy of ,god live carelessly1 without doing good works4--,as the two sources of our sins are pride and indolence1 ,god has revealed to us two of his attributes for their cure1 mercy and justice4 ,the property of justice is to abase our pride1 however holy may be our works1 et non intres in judicium1 etc42 and the property of mercy is to combat indolence by exciting to good works1 according to that passage3 ,the goodness of ,god leads to repentance1 and that other of the ,ninevites3 ,let us do penance to see if peradventure he will pity us4 ,thus mercy is so far from authorising slackness1 that it is on the contrary the quality which formally assails it1 so that instead of saying3 ,were there not mercy in ,god1 we must make every effort after virtue1 we should say1 on the contrary1 that because there is mercy in ,god we must make every effort4 ,the world exists for the exercise of mercy and judgment1 not as if men were in it as they came from the hands of ,god1 but as the enemies of ,god1 to whom he gives by grace light enough to return1 if they will seek him and follow him1 and to punish them1 if they refuse to seek him and follow him4 ,we implore the mercy of ,god1 not that he may leave us in peace in our vices1 but that he may free us from them4 ,there are but two kinds of men1 the righteous1 who believe themselves sinners1 and sinners1 who believe themselves righteous4 ,there are two kinds of men in each religion4--,among the heathen1 worshippers of beasts1 and the worshippers of the one ,god revealed by natural religion4 ,among the ,jews1 the carnal and the spiritual1 who were the ,christians of the old law4 ,among the ,christians1 those coarser ones1 who are the ,jews of the new law4 ,the carnal ,jews looked for a carnal ,messiah1 and the coarser ,christians believe that the ,messiah has dispensed them from the love of ,god4 ,true ,jews and true ,christians adore a ,messiah who makes them love ,god4 ,carnal ,jews and the heathen have their miseries1 and ,christians also4 ,there is no ,redeemer for the heathen1 for they do not even hope for one4 ,there is no ,redeemer for the ,jews1 who hope for him in vain4 ,there is a ,redeemer only for the ,christians4 ,the lust of the flesh1 the lust of the eyes1 pride1 etc4 ,there are three orders of things3 the flesh1 the spirit1 and the will4 ,the carnal are the rich and kings1 who have the body as their object4 ,enquirers and men of science1 who have mind for their object4 ,the wise1 who have right for their object4 ,god must reign over all1 and all must be referred to him4 ,in things of the flesh lust reigns especially1 in men of intellect curiosity especially1 in wisdom pride especially4 ,not that a man may not boast of wealth or knowledge1 but there is no room for pride1 for in granting that a man is learned there will be no difficulty in proving to him that he is wrong to be proud4 ,pride finds its proper place in wisdom1 for it cannot be granted to a man that he has made himself wise and that he is wrong to be proud of it4 ,for that is just4 ,now ,god alone gives wisdom1 and therefore qui gloriatur in ,domino1 glorietur4 ,all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh1 the lust of the eyes1 or the pride of life2 libido sentiendi1 libido sciendi1 libido dominandi4 ,woe to the accursed land which these three rivers of flame enkindle rather than moisten4 ,happy they who are on these rivers1 not overwhelmed nor carried away1 but immovably fixed upon the floods1 not standing1 but seated1 and on a firm and sure base1 whence they rise not before the dawn2 but where1 having rested in peace1 they stretch forth their hands to him who will lift them up1 and cause them to stand firm and upright in the porches of the heavenly ,jerusalem1 where pride may no more assail nor cast them down2 and who yet weep1 not to see all those perishable things crumble which the torrents sweep away1 but at the remembrance of their dear country1 that heavenly ,jerusalem1 which they remember without ceasing while the days of their exile are prolonged4 ,the rivers of ,babylon rush and fall and sweep away4 ,o holy ,sion1 where all is firm and nothing falls4 ,we must sit upon the floods1 not under them or in them1 but on them2 not standing but seated1 being seated to be humble1 and above them in security4 ,but in the porches of ,jerusalem we shall stand4 ,let us see if our pleasure is stable or transitory1 if it pass away1 it is a river of ,babylon4 ,there are few true ,christians1 ,i say this even in regard to faith4 ,there are many who believe1 but from superstition4 ,there are many who believe not1 out of reckless living2 few are between the two4 ,i do not include here those whose morality is true holiness1 nor those whose belief springs from the heart4 ,it is not a rare thing to have to blame the world for too much docility1 it is a vice as natural as unbelief1 and as pernicious4 ,superstition4 ,abraham took nothing for himself1 but only for his servants2 so the just man takes for himself nothing of the world1 nor of the applause of the world1 but only for his passions1 which he uses as their master1 saying to the one1 ',go1' and to another1 ',come4' ,sub te erit appetitus tuus4 ,the passions thus subdued are virtues4 ,god himself attributes to himself avarice1 jealousy1 anger2 and these are virtues as well as kindness1 pity1 constancy1 which are also passions4 ,we must treat them as slaves1 and leaving to them their food hinder the soul from taking any of it4 ,for when the passions gain the mastery they are vices1 then they furnish nutriment to the soul1 and the soul feeds on it and is poisoned4 ,the just man acts by faith in the smallest things2 when he blames his servants1 he wishes for their conversion by the spirit of ,god1 and prays ,god to correct them2 for he expects as much from ,god as from his own blame1 and he prays ,god to bless his corrections4 ,and so with all his other actions4 ,of all that is in the world he takes part only in what is unpleasant1 not in what is pleasant4 ,he loves his neighbours1 but his charity does not restrict itself within these bounds1 but flows out to his enemies1 and then to those of ,god4 ,this is common to ordinary life and that of the saints1 that all endeavour after happiness1 and differ only in the object in which they place it4 ,both call those their enemies who hinder them from attaining it4 ,we should judge of what is good or bad by the will of ,god1 who cannot be either unjust or blind2 and not by our own will1 which is always full of malice and error4 ,joh4 viii4 ,multi crediderunt in eum4 ,dicebat ergo ,jesus3 ,si manseritis4441 vere mihi discipuli eritis1 et veritas liberabit vos4 ,responderunt3 ,semen ,abrahae sumus et nemini servimus unquam4 ,there is a great difference between disciples and true disciples4 ,they are recognised by saying to them that the truth will make them free2 for if they answer that they are free1 and that it is in their power to come out of slavery to the devil1 they are indeed disciples1 but not true disciples4 ,might ,i but see a miracle1 men say1 ,i would become a ,christian4 ,how can they be sure they would do that of which they are ignorant8 ,men imagine that conversion consists in making of the worship of ,god such a transaction and way of life as they picture to themselves4 ,true conversion consists in the annihilation of self before that universal ,being whom we have so often provoked1 and who might with justice destroy us at any moment2 in recognising that we can do nought without him1 and have merited nothing from him but his wrath4 ,it consists in knowing that there is unconquerable opposition between us and ,god1 and that without a mediator there could be no communion with him4 ,comminutum cor4 ,saint ,paul4 ,there is the ,christian character4 ,albe vous a nomm1 je ne vous connais plus4 ,corneille4 ,that is the inhuman character4 ,the human character is the contrary4 ,with how little pride a ,christian believes himself united to ,god1 with how little abasement does he rank himself with the worms of earth4 ,what a way is this to receive life and death1 good and evil4 ,it is true there is difficulty in entering into a devout life1 but this difficulty does not arise from the religion which begins in us1 but from the irreligion which is still there4 ,if our senses were not opposed to penitence1 and if our corruption were not opposed to the purity of ,god1 there would be nothing in this painful to us4 ,we suffer only in proportion as the vice which is natural to us resists supernatural grace2 our heart feels torn asunder by these conflicting efforts1 but it would be most unjust to impute this violence to ,god1 who draws us1 instead of attributing it to the world1 which holds us back4 ,as a child which a mother tears from the robbers' arms1 in the anguish it suffers should love the loving and legitimate violence of her who procures its liberty1 and detest only the imperious and tyrannical violence of those who retain it unjustly4 ,the most cruel war which ,god can make against men in this life is to leave them without that war which he came to bring4 ,i came to bring war1 he says1 and to inform them of this war1 ,i came to bring fire and the sword4 ,before him the world lived in a false peace4 ,the exterior must be joined to the interior to obtain aught from ,god1 that is to say1 we must kneel1 pray with the lips1 etc41 in order that proud man1 who would not submit himself to ,god1 should now be subject to the creature4 ,to expect succour from these externals is superstition1 to refuse to join them to interior acts is pride4 ,external works4--,there is nothing so perilous as that which is pleasing to ,god and to man2 for those conditions which are pleasing to ,god and man1 have one side which is pleasing to ,god1 and another which is pleasing to man2 as the greatness of ,saint ,theresa4 ,that which was pleasing to ,god was her profound humility under her revelations1 what was pleasing to men was her light4 ,and thus we torment ourselves to imitate her discourses1 thus thinking to imitate her condition1 and thereby to love what ,god loves1 and to place ourselves in a state which ,god loves4 ,it is better not to fast1 and be thereby humbled1 than to fast and be puffed up therewith4 ,the pharisee and the publican4 ,what will memory avail me if it be alike hurtful and helpful1 since all depends upon the blessing of ,god1 who gives only to things done for him according to his rules and in his ways1 the manner being thus as important as the thing1 and perhaps more2 since ,god can bring good out of evil1 and because without ,god we bring evil out of good4 ,the hope which ,christians have of possessing an infinite good is mingled with actual enjoyment as well as with fear2 for it is not as with those who should hope for a kingdom1 of which they being subjects would have nothing2 but they hope for holiness1 and freedom from injustice1 of which they possess somewhat4 ,none is so happy as a true ,christian1 none so reasonable1 none so virtuous1 none so amiable4 ,we remove ourselves from ,god only by removing ourselves from love4 ,our prayers and our virtues are abomination before ,god if they are not the prayers and the virtues of ,jesus ,christ4 ,and our sins will never be the object of the mercy1 but of the justice of ,god1 if they are not those of ,jesus ,christ4 ,he has adopted our sins1 and has admitted us into covenant with him1 for virtues are his own1 and sins are strange to him2 while virtues are strange to us1 and sins are our own4 ,let us change the rule which we have hitherto adopted for judging what is good4 ,we have had our own will as our rule in this respect1 let us now take the will of ,god1 all that he wills is good and right to us1 all that he wills not is evil4 ,all that ,god allows not is forbidden2 sins are forbidden by the general declaration that ,god has made1 that he allows them not4 ,other things which he has left without general prohibition1 and which for that reason are said to be permitted1 are nevertheless not always permitted2 for when ,god removes any one of them from us1 and when1 by the event1 which is a manifestation of the will of ,god1 it appears that ,god allows not that we should have a thing1 that is then forbidden to us as sin1 since the will of ,god is that we should not have one more than the other4 ,there is this sole difference between these two things1 that it is certain ,god will never allow sin1 while it is not certain that he will never allow the other4 ,but so long as ,god allows it not1 we must look upon it as sin1 so long as the absence of ,god's will1 which alone is all goodness and all justice1 renders it unjust and evil4 ,true ,christians nevertheless submit to folly1 not because they respect folly1 but the commandment of ,god1 who for the punishment of men has put them in subjection to their follies4 ,omnis creatura subjecta est vanitati4 ,liberabitur4 ,thus ,saint ,thomas explains the passage in ,saint ,james on giving place to the rich1 that if they do it not in the sight of ,god the commandment of religion is set at naught4 ,all great amusements are dangerous to the ,christian life1 but among all those which the world has invented none is so much to be feared as the theatre4 ,it is so natural and so delicate a representation of the passions that it moves them1 and makes them spring up in our heart1 above all that of love1 principally when it is represented as very chaste and very honourable4 ,for the more innocent it seems to innocent souls1 the more are they capable of being touched by it2 its violence pleases our self-love1 which at once forms the desire of causing the same effects which we see so well represented1 and at the same time we make for ourselves a conscience founded on the honour of the feelings which we see there4 ,and this extinguishes the fear of pure souls which imagine there is no harm to purity in loving with a love which seems to them so moderate4 ,thus we leave the theatre with our heart so full of all the beauty and tenderness of love1 the soul and the mind so persuaded of its innocence1 that we are fully prepared to receive its first impressions1 or rather to seek occasion to let them be born in the heart of some one1 in order that we may receive the same pleasures and the same sacrifices which we have seen so well depicted in the theatre4 ,the circumstances in which it is easiest to live according to the world are those in which it is most difficult to live according to ,god1 and vice vers4 ,nothing is so difficult according to the world as the religious life2 nothing is more easy according to ,god4 ,nothing is easier than to live in great office and great wealth according to the world2 nothing is more difficult than to live in them according to ,god1 and not to take part in them and love them4 ,those who believe without having read the ,old and ,new ,testaments1 do so because they have a saintly frame of mind1 with which all that they hear of our ,religion agrees4 ,they feel that a ,god has made them2 their will is to love ,god only1 their will is to hate themselves only4 ,they feel that they have no power of themselves1 that they are unable to come to ,god1 and if ,god come not to them1 they can have no communion with him4 ,and they hear our ,religion declare that men must love ,god only1 and hate self only1 but that all being corrupt1 and unfit for ,god1 ,god made himself man to unite himself to us4 ,no more is needed to convince men who have such a disposition and have a knowledge of their duty and of their incompetence4 ,those whom we see to be ,christians without the knowledge of the prophecies and evidences1 are able to judge of their religion as well as those who have that knowledge4 ,they judge of it by the heart1 as others by the understanding4 ,god himself inclines them to believe1 and thus they are effectually persuaded4 ,i admit that one of those ,christians who believe without proof is not perhaps qualified to convince an infidel who will say the same of himself2 but those who know the proofs of religion can prove without difficulty that such a believer is truly inspired by ,god1 though he cannot prove it himself4 ,for ,god having said by his prophets1 who are beyond a doubt prophets1 that in the reign of ,jesus ,christ he will spread his spirit abroad among all nations1 that the young men and maidens and the children of the ,church will prophesy1 there is no doubt that the spirit of ,god is upon these1 and not upon the others4 ,wonder not to see simple souls believe without reasoning4 ,god gives to them the love of him1 and the hate of self1 he inclines their heart to belief4 ,no man will ever believe with true and saving faith if ,god incline not the heart1 but each will believe as soon as he inclines it ,and this is what ,david knew well3 ,inclina cor meum1 ,deus1 in testimonia tua4 ,romans iii4 #bg3 ,boasting is excluded1 by what law8 ,of works8 no1 but by that of faith4 ,therefore faith is not in our power1 like the works of the law1 and it is given us in another way4 ,faith is a gift of ,god1 do not suppose us to say it is a gift of reason4 ,other religions do not say this of their faith1 they proffered only reason as a means of attaining to it1 which after all does not lead to it4 ,faith1 it is true1 says what the senses do not say1 but not the contrary of what they perceive4 ,it is above them1 not contrary to them4 ,i am envious of those whom ,i see professing the true faith1 but living and abusing a gift of which it seems to me ,i should make a very different use4 ,the law imposed what it did not bestow2 grace bestows that which it imposes4 ,the law has not destroyed ,nature1 but has instructed it2 grace has not destroyed the law1 but has called it into action4 ,faith received at baptism is the source of the whole life of the ,christian and of the converted4 ,we make an idol of truth itself1 for truth apart from charity is not ,god1 it is his image and idol1 which we must neither love nor adore2 still less must we love and adore its opposite1 which is falsehood4 ,submission and use of reason1 in which consists true ,christianity4 ,the last process of reason is to recognise that there is an infinity of things which transcend it2 it is but weak if it does not go so far as to know that4 ,and if natural things transcend it1 what shall we say of the supernatural8 ,submission4--,we must know when to doubt1 when to feel certain1 when to submit4 ,who fails in this understands not the force of reason4 ,there are those who offend against these three rules1 either by accepting everything as evidence1 for want of knowing what evidence is2 or by doubting everything1 for want of knowing when to submit2 or by yielding in everything1 for want of knowing when to use their judgment4 ,there are three means of belief2 reason1 habit1 inspiration4 ,the ,christian religion1 which only has reason1 does not admit as her true children those who believe without inspiration2 not that she excludes reason or habit1 rather the contrary1 but it is necessary to open the mind to proofs1 to confirm ourselves by habit1 and then to offer ourselves humbly to inspiration1 which alone can produce a true and salutary effect4 ,ne evacuetur crux ,christi4 ,there are two ways of urging the truths of our religion2 one by the force of reason1 the other by the authority of the speaker4 ,we use not the last1 but the first4 ,we do not say3 ,you must believe this1 for the ,scripture which says so is divine1 but we say3 ,you must believe for such and such a reason1 which are weak arguments1 since reason bends itself to all4 ,if we submit all to reason our religion will have nothing in it mysterious or supernatural4 ,if we violate the principles of reason1 our religion will be absurd and ridiculous4 ,saint ,augustine4 ,reason would never submit if it did not judge that on some occasions submission is a duty4 ,it is then right that it should submit1 when it judges that it ought to submit4 ,piety is different from superstition4 ,to carry piety as far as superstition is to destroy it4 ,heretics reproach us with this superstitious submission4 ,this is to do that with which they reproach us4 ,there is nothing so conformable to reason as the disavowal of reason4 ,two excesses3 to exclude reason1 and to admit reason only4 ,superstition and lust4 ,scruples1 evil desires1 evil fear4 ,fear1 not such as arises from a belief in ,god1 but that which springs from doubt whether he is or is not4 ,true fear comes from faith1 false fear from doubt4 ,true fear is allied to hope1 because it is born of faith1 and because men hope in the ,god in whom they behave2 false fear is allied to despair1 because they fear the ,god in whom they do not believe4 ,the one class fears to lose him1 the other fears to find him4 ,a person said to me one day that when he came from confession he felt great joy and confidence4 ,another said to me that he was still fearful1 whereupon ,i thought that these two together would make one good man1 and that each was so far wanting in that he had not the feelings of the other4 ,the same is often true in other matters4 ,the knowledge of ,god is very far from the love of him4 ,we are not wearied of eating and sleeping every day1 because hunger and drowsiness are renewed2 without that we should be weary of them4 ,thus without the hunger of spiritual things we grow weary of them4 ,hunger after righteousness1 the eighth beatitude4 ,the conduct of ,god1 who disposes all things gently1 is to put religion into the mind by reason1 and into the heart by grace4 ,but to will to put it into the mind and heart by force and menace is not to put religion there1 but terror1 terrorem potius quam religionem4 ,,the ,,arrangement4 ,first part3 ,misery of man without ,god4 ,second part3 ,the happiness of man with ,god4 ,or4 ,first part3 ,that ,nature is naturally corrupt4 ,second part3 ,that the ,scripture shows a ,redeemer4 ,the arrangement by dialogues4--,what ought ,i to do8 ,i see only obscurity everywhere4 ,shall ,i believe that ,i am nothing1 shall ,i believe that ,i am ,god8 ,all things change and succeed each other4--,you are mistaken2 there is4444 ,a letter to lead to the search after ,god4 ,and then to cause him to be sought for among the philosophers1 sceptics and dogmatists1 who trouble all who seek them4 ,to pity those atheists who seek1 for are they not unhappy enough8--,to rail against those who make a boast of it4 ,to begin by pitying unbelievers1 they are miserable enough by their condition4 ,we ought not to revile them except where it may be serviceable1 but it does them harm4 ,the arrangement4 ,a letter of advice to a friend to lead him to seek1 and he will answer3 ,what is the good of seeking1 since nothing comes to light4--,then to answer him3 ,do not despair4--,and he will answer that he would be glad to find some light1 but that according to this very ,religion1 thus to believe1 will be of no use to him3 and that therefore he would as soon not seek4 ,and to answer to that3 ,the machine4 ,the arrangement4 ,after the letter that we ought to seek ,god1 to write the letter on the removal of obstacles2 which is the discourse on the machine1 on preparing the machine1 on seeking by reason4 ,the letter which shows the use of proofs by the machine4 ,faith is different from proof2 the one is human1 the other the gift of ,god4 ,justus ex fide vivit4 ,it is this faith that ,god himself puts into the heart1 of which the proof is often the instrument1 fides ex auditu2 but this faith is in the heart1 and makes us say not scio1 but credo4 ,in the letter on ,injustice may come the absurdity of the rule that the elder takes all4 ,my friend1 you were born on this side the mountain1 it is therefore just that your elder brother should take all4 ,the arrangement4--,why should ,i take on myself to divide my moral qualities into four rather than into six8 ,why should ,i rather establish virtue in four1 in two1 in one8 ,why into ,abstine et sustine rather than into ,follow nature1 or1 ,conduct your private affairs without injustice1 as ,plato1 or anything else8 ,but there1 you will say1 is everything contained in one word4 ,yes1 but that is useless1 if not explained1 and when we begin to explain it1 as soon as the precept is opened which contains all the others1 they issue in that first confusion which you wished to avoid4 ,thus when they are all enclosed in one they are concealed and useless1 as in a box1 and never appear but in their natural confusion4 ,nature has established them all without enclosing one in the other4 ,the arrangement4--,men despise ,religion1 they hate it1 and fear it may be true4 ,to cure this we must begin by showing that ,religion is not contrary to reason2 then that it is venerable1 to give respect for it2 then to make it lovable1 to make good men hope that it is true2 then to show that it is true4 ,venerable because it knows man well1 lovable because it promises the true good4 ,the arrangement4--,i should be far more afraid of making a mistake myself1 and of finding that the ,christian religion was true1 than of not deceiving myself in believing it true4 ,the arrangement4--,after corruption to say3 ,it is right that those who are in that state should know it1 both those who are contented with it1 and those who are discontented2 but it is not right that all should see ,redemption4 ,the arrangement4--,to see what is clear and indisputable in the whole state of the ,jews4 ,to the chapter on ,fundamentals must be added that on ,things figurative touching the reason of types4 ,why ,jesus ,christ was foretold at his first coming1 why foretold obscurely as to the manner4 ,a letter1 on the folly of human knowledge and philosophy4 ,this letter before ,diversion4 ,the arrangement4--,i might well have taken this discourse in some such order as the following3 ,to show the vanity of every state of life1 to show the vanity of ordinary lives1 and then the vanity of philosophic lives1 sceptics1 stoics2 but the order would not have been kept4 ,i know a little what it is1 and how few people know it4 ,no human science can keep it4 ,saint ,thomas did not keep it4 ,mathematics keep it1 but these are useless by reason of their depth4 ,without examining each particular occupation it will be enough to class them under ,diversion4 ,,of ,,miracles ,,in ,,general4 ,,the ,,miracle ,,of ,,the ,,holy ,,thorn4 ,the beginning4--,miracles are the test of doctrine1 and doctrine is the test of miracles4 ,of these there are false and true4 ,there must be a mark whereby to know them1 or they would be useless4 ,now they are not useless1 and are on the contrary fundamental ,now it must be that the rule which he gives us be such as shall not impair the proof afforded by true miracles to the truth1 which is the principal end of miracles4 ,moses has given two2 that the prediction does not come to pass1 ,deut4 xviii41 and that they do not lead to idolatry1 ,deut4 xiii42 and ,jesus ,christ one4 ,if doctrine regulate miracles1 miracles are useless for doctrine4 ,if miracles regulate4444 ,objection to the rule4 ,discrimination between times4 ,one rule in ,moses's day1 another at present4 ,miracle4 ,an effect which exceeds the natural force of the means employed1 and non-miracle an effect not exceeding the natural force of the means employed4 ,thus those who heal by invocation of the devil work no miracle1 for that does not exceed the natural power of the devil ,but4444 ,the combinations of miracles4 ,a second miracle may suppose a first1 but a first cannot suppose a second4 ,no one has ever suffered martyrdom for the miracles he says he has seen2 the folly of men would perhaps go as far as martyrdom1 for those which the ,turks believe by tradition1 but not for those they have seen4 ,were there no false miracles there would be certainty4 ,were there no rule to test them1 miracles would be useless1 and there would be no reason for belief4 ,now1 humanly speaking1 there is no human certainty1 but reason4 ,it is said3 ,believe the ,church1 but it is not said3 ,believe in ,miracles1 because the last is natural and not the first4 ,the one had need of a precept1 not the other4 ,miracles4--,how ,i hate those who make men doubt of miracles4 ,montaigne speaks of them as he should in the two passages4 ,in one we see how careful he is1 yet in the other he believes1 and laughs at unbelievers4 ,however it may be1 the ,church has no proofs if they are right4 ,montaigne against miracles4 ,montaigne for miracles4 ,the reason why men do not believe4 ,joh4 xii4 #cg4 ,cum autem tanta signa fecisset1 non credebant in eum1 ut sermo ,isaye impleretur4 ,excecavit1 etc4 ,hc dixit ,isaias1 quando vidit gloriam ejus1 et locutus est de eo4 --,judi signa petunt1 et ,grci sapientiam qurunt4 ,nos autem ,jesum crucifixum4 ,sed plenum signis1 sed plenum sapientia4 ,vos autem ,christum non crucifixistis1 et religionem sine miraculis et sine sapientia4 ,the ground of disbelief in true miracles is want of charity4 ,joh4 ,sed vos non creditis quia non estis ex ovibus4 ,the ground of belief in false miracles is want of charity4 #b ,thess4 ii4 ,the foundation of religion4 ,this is miracle4 ,does ,god then speak against miracles1 against the foundations of the faith which we have in him8 ,if there be a ,god1 faith in ,god must exist on earth4 ,now the miracles of ,jesus ,christ are not foretold by ,antichrist1 but the miracles of ,antichrist are foretold by ,jesus ,christ4 ,thus if ,jesus ,christ were not the ,messiah he would have certainly led into error1 but ,antichrist could not certainly lead into error4 ,when ,jesus ,christ foretold the miracles of ,antichrist1 did he think of destroying faith in his own miracles8 ,moses foretold ,jesus ,christ1 and commanded to follow him2 ,jesus ,christ foretold ,antichrist1 and forbade to follow him4 ,it was impossible that in the time of ,moses any should assert their faith in ,antichrist1 who was unknown to them1 but it is easy in the time of ,antichrist to believe in ,jesus ,christ1 already known4 ,there is no reason to believe in ,antichrist which there is not to believe in ,jesus ,christ1 but there are reasons for believing in ,jesus ,christ1 which do not exist for the other4 ,title3 ,how it happens that men believe so many liars1 who say they have seen miracles1 and do not believe any of those who say they have secrets to make men immortal or render them young again4--,having considered how it happens that men have believed so many impostors1 who pretend they have remedies1 often to the length of putting their lives into their hands1 it appears to me that the true cause is that there are true remedies4 ,for it would not be possible there should be so many false1 to which so much credence is given1 were there none true4 ,were there no remedy for any evil1 and were all diseases incurable1 it is impossible that men should ever have imagined that they could give remedies1 and still more impossible that so many others should have believed those who boasted that they had them4 ,just as if a man boasted that he could prevent death1 no one would believe him because there is no example of this4 ,but as there are a number of remedies which are approved as true1 even by the knowledge of the greatest men1 the belief of men is thereby inclined2 and since the thing was known to be possible1 it has been therefore concluded that it was4 ,for the public as a rule reasons thus3 ,a thing is possible1 therefore it is2 because the thing cannot be denied generally1 since there are particular effects which are true1 the people1 who cannot discriminate which among particular effects are true1 believe them all4 ,this is the reason that so many false effects are attributed to the moon1 because there are some true1 such as the tide4 ,it is the same with prophecies1 miracles1 divination by dreams1 casting lots1 etc4 ,for if in all these matters nothing true had ever taken place1 nothing of them had ever been believed2 and so instead of concluding that there are no true miracles1 because so many are false1 we must on the contrary say that there are certainly true miracles because there are false1 and that the false only exist because some are true4 ,we must reason in the same way about ,religion1 for it would not be possible that men should have imagined so many false religions had there not been one that is true4 ,the objection to this is that savages have a religion1 but we answer that they have heard speak of the true1 as appears by the deluge1 circumcision1 ,saint ,andrew's cross1 etc4 ,having considered how it comes that there are so many false miracles1 false revelations1 castings of lots1 etc41 it has appeared to me that the real cause is that there are true ones1 for it would not be possible that there should be so many false miracles unless there were true1 nor so many false revelations unless there were true1 nor so many false religions unless there were one that is true4 ,for if all this had never been1 it is impossible that men should have imagined it1 and still more impossible that so many others should have believed it4 ,but as there have been very great things which are true and as they have been believed by great men2 this impression has been produced1 that almost everybody has been made capable of believing the false also2 and thus instead of concluding that there are no true miracles since there are so many false1 we must on the contrary say that there are true miracles since there are so many false1 and that false miracles only exist for the reason that there are true2 so also that there are false religions only because there is one that is true4--,the objection to this is that savages have a religion4 ,but this is because they have heard speak of the true1 as appears by ,saint ,andrew's cross1 the deluge1 the circumcision1 etc4--,this comes from the fact that the spirit of man1 finding itself inclined to that side by truth1 becomes therefore susceptible of all the falsehoods of that4444 ,i should not be a ,christian were it not for the miracles1 said ,saint ,augustine4 ,but for the miracles there would have been no sin in not believing in ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is not possible to believe reasonably against miracles4 ,miracles have so great a force that it was needful that ,god should warn us not to credit them against him1 clear as it may be that there is a ,god2 without this they would have been able to disturb4 ,and thus so far from these passages1 ,deut4 xiii41 making against the authority of miracles1 nothing more marks their force4 ,the same with ,antichrist2 to seduce if it were possible even the very elect4 ,abraham and ,gideon are above revelation4 ,the ,jews blinded themselves in judging of miracles by the ,scripture4 ,god has never left his true worshippers4 ,i prefer to follow ,jesus ,christ than any other1 because he has miracle1 prophecy1 doctrine1 perpetuity1 etc4 ,the ,donatists4 ,no miracle which obliged them to say it was the devil4 ,the more we specialise ,god1 ,jesus ,christ and the ,church4 ,jesus ,christ worked miracles1 then the apostles1 and the early saints in great number1 because the prophecies not being yet fulfilled1 but only in the way of fulfilment by them1 miracles were their only witness4 ,it was foretold that the ,messiah should convert the nations1 and this prophecy could not be fulfilled without the conversion of the nations4 ,nor could the nations be converted to ,messiah unless they saw the final effect of the prophecies concerning him4 ,till therefore he died and rose again1 and had converted the nations1 all was not fulfilled1 wherefore miracles were needed during that time4 ,we now need no more miracles against the ,jews1 for the fulfilment of prophecy is an enduring miracle4 ,prophecy is not called miracle1 as ,saint ,john speaks of the first miracle in ,cana1 then of what ,jesus ,christ said to the woman of ,samaria1 revealing to her all her hidden life4 ,then he healed the centurion's son1 and ,saint ,john calls this the second sign4 ,jesus ,christ has verified that he was the ,messiah1 never in verifying his doctrine by ,scripture and the prophecies1 but always by his miracles4 ,he proves by a miracle that he remits sins4 ,rejoice not that you work miracles1 said ,jesus ,christ1 but rather that your names are written in heaven4 ,if they believe not ,moses1 neither will they believe one risen from the dead4 ,nicodemus recognised by his miracles1 that his doctrine was of ,god4 ,scimus quia venisti a ,deo1 magister1 nemo enim potest facere qu tu facis1 nisi ,deus fuerit cum eo4 ,he judged not of the miracles by the doctrine1 but of the doctrine by the miracles4 ,here is no country for truth1 she wanders unknown among men4 ,god has covered her with a veil which leaves her unrecognised by those who hear not her voice2 the way is open for blasphemy even against those truths which are at the least very apparent4 ,if the truths of the ,gospel are published1 the contrary is also published1 and questions are obscured1 so that the people cannot discern1 and they ask us1 ,what have you to make you believed rather than others8 what sign do you give8 you have words only1 so have we1 if you have miracles1 good4 ,that doctrine must be supported by miracle is a truth of which they make a pretext to blaspheme against doctrine4 ,and if miracles happen1 it is said that miracles are not enough without doctrine1 and that is another way of blaspheming against miracles4 ,jesus ,christ healed the man born blind1 and worked many miracles on the sabbath day1 and thus he blinded the ,pharisees who said that miracles must be tested by doctrine4 ,we have ,moses1 but as for this man1 we know not whence he is4 ,it is wonderful that you know not whence he is1 and yet he works such miracles4 ,jesus ,christ spoke neither against ,god1 nor against ,moses4 ,antichrist and the false prophets foretold by both ,testaments1 will speak openly against ,god1 and against ,jesus ,christ1 who is not hidden4 ,whoever will be a secret enemy1 ,god will not permit that he work miracles openly4 ,in a public dispute where the two parties declare themselves on the side of ,god1 of ,jesus ,christ1 or the ,church1 there have never been miracles on the side of the false ,christians1 while the other party has remained without miracle4 ,he hath a devil1 ,john x4 #ba4 ,and others said1 ,can a devil open the eyes of the blind8 ,the proofs which ,jesus ,christ and the ,apostles draw from ,scripture are not decisive1 for they say only that ,moses foretold that a prophet would come2 but they do not thereby prove that ,jesus ,christ was that prophet1 which is the whole question4 ,these passages1 then1 serve only to show that we are not contrary to ,scripture1 and that there is no contradiction1 not that there is accord4 ,now this is enough1 there is no contradiction2 and there are miracles4 ,it follows1 then1 that he judged miracles to be certain proofs of what he taught1 and that the ,jews were bound to believe him4 ,and as a fact1 it was the miracles especially which made the unbelief of the ,jews so blameworthy4 ,there is a reciprocal duty between ,god and men4 ,we must forgive him this saying3 ,quid debui4 ,accuse me1 said ,god in ,isaiah4 ,god must accomplish his promises1 etc4 ,men owe it to ,god to receive the ,religion which he sends them4 ,god owes it to men not to lead them into error4 ,now they would be led into error1 if the workers of miracles should announce a doctrine which did not appear visibly false to the light of common sense1 and if a greater worker of miracles had not already given warning not to believe in them4 ,thus if there were division in the ,church1 and the ,arians1 for example1 who no less than ,catholics said they were founded on ,scripture1 had worked miracles1 and the ,catholics had worked none1 men had been led into error4 ,for1 as a man1 who announces to us the secret things of ,god is not worthy to be believed on his private testimony1 and on that very ground the wicked doubt him2 so when a man as a sign of the communion which he has with ,god raises the dead1 foretells the future1 moves the seas1 heals the sick1 there is none so wicked as not to yield1 and the incredulity of ,pharaoh and the ,pharisees is the effect of a supernatural hardening4 ,when1 therefore1 we see miracles and doctrine not open to suspicion both on one side1 there is no difficulty4 ,but when we see miracles and suspicious doctrine on the same side we must see which is the clearest4 ,jesus ,christ was suspected4 ,barjesus was blinded4 ,the power of ,god is above that of his enemies4 ,the ,jewish exorcists were beaten by devils1 who said1 ,jesus we know1 and ,paul we know1 but who are ye8 ,miracles are for doctrine1 and not doctrine for miracles4 ,but if miracles are true we cannot persuade men of all doctrine1 for that will not come to pass3 ,si angelus4444 ,rule4 ,we must judge of doctrine by miracles1 we must judge of miracles by doctrine4 ,all this is true1 but there is no contradiction4 ,for we must distinguish the times4 ,you are glad to know general rules1 thinking by that to introduce difficulties1 and render all useless4 ,we shall stop you1 my good father2 truth is one1 and strong4 ,it is impossible from the duty ,god owes us1 that a man1 concealing his evil doctrine1 and only allowing the good to appear1 pretending that he is in conformity with ,god and the ,church1 should work miracles to insinuate insensibly a false and subtle doctrine4 ,this cannot be4 ,still less1 that ,god who knows the heart1 should work miracles in favour of such an one4 ,there is much difference between temptation and leading into error4 ,god tempts1 but he leads not into error4 ,to tempt is to present occasions which impose no necessity2 if we love not ,god we shall do a certain thing4 ,to lead into error1 is to place a man in a necessity of forming and following false conclusion4 ,this is what ,god cannot do1 which nevertheless he would do1 if in an obscure question he wrought miracles on the side of falsehood4 ,in the ,old ,testament1 when they would turn you from ,god1 in the ,new when they would turn you from ,jesus ,christ4 ,such are the occasions on which we exclude certain miracles from credence4 ,there need be no other exclusions4 ,but it does not therefore follow that they had the right to exclude all the prophets who came to them4 ,they would have sinned in not excluding those who denied ,god1 and would also have sinned in excluding those who denied him not4 ,so soon1 then1 as we see a miracle we should at once either acquiesce or have signal marks against it4 ,we must see if it denies either a ,god1 or ,jesus ,christ1 or the ,church4 ,miracles avail not for conversion1 but for condemnation4 ,i ,p4 ix4 #aac1 a4 #aj1 ad4 #b4 ,si tu es ,christus1 dic nobis4 ,opera qu ego facio in nomine patris mei1 hc testimonium perhibent de me4 ,sed non vos creditis quia non estis ex ovibus meis4 ,oves mei vocem meam audiunt4 ,joh4 vi4 #cj4 ,quod ergo tu facis signum ut videamus1 et credamus tibi8 ,non dicunt3 ,quam doctrinam prdicas8 ,nemo potest facere signa qu tu facis1 nisi ,deus fuerit cum illo4 #b ,mach4 xiv4 #ae4 ,deus qui signis evidentibus suam portionem protegit4 ,volumus signum videre de clo tentantes eum4 ,luc4 xi4 #af4 ,generatio prava signum qurit2 sed non dabitur4 ,et ingemiscens ait2 ,quid generatio ista signum qurit4 ,marc4 viii4 #ab4 ,they asked a sign with a bad intent4 ,et non poterat facere4 ,and nevertheless he promises them the sign of ,jonah1 the great and incomparable evidence of his resurrection4 ,nisi videritis signa non creditis4 ,he does not blame them for not believing without there having been miracles1 but without their having been themselves witnesses of them4 ,antichrist in signis mendacibus1 says ,st ,paul4 #b ,thess4 ii4 ,secundum operationem ,satan4 ,in seductione ii qui pereunt eo quod charitatem veritatis non receperunt ut salvi fierent4 ,ideo mittet illis ,deus operationem erroris ut credant mendacia4 ,as in the passage of ,moses3 ,tentat enim vos ,deus1 utrum diligatis eum4 ,ecce prdixi vobis1 vos ergo videte4 ,the ,church has three kinds of enemies1 the ,jews1 who have never been of her body2 the heretics1 who have withdrawn from it2 and bad ,christians1 who rend her from within4 ,these three different kinds of enemies generally assail her in different ways1 but here they assail her in the same fashion4 ,as they are all without miracles1 and as the ,church has always had miracles against them1 they have all had the same interest in eluding them2 and all avail themselves of this pretext1 that we must not judge of doctrine by miracles1 but of miracles by doctrine4 ,there were two parties among those who heard ,jesus ,christ1 those who followed his doctrine by reason of his miracles2 others who said4444 ,there were two parties in the time of ,calvin4 ,there are now the ,jesuits1 etc4 ,miracles are the test in doubtful matters1 between ,jew and ,gentile1 ,jew and ,christian1 catholic and heretic1 slanderer and slandered1 between the two crosses4 ,but miracles would be useless to heretics1 for the ,church1 authorised by miracles which have already obtained credence1 tells us that they have not the true faith4 ,there is no doubt that they are not in it1 because the first miracles of the ,church exclude belief in theirs4 ,thus there is miracle against miracle1 and the first and greatest are on the side of the ,church4 ,controversy4 ,abel1 ,cain2--,moses1 the ,magicians2--,elijah1 the false prophets2--,jeremiah1 ,hananiah2--,micaiah1 the false prophets2--,jesus ,christ1 the ,pharisees2--,saint ,paul1 ,barjesus2--the ,apostles1 the ,exorcists2--the ,christians and the infidels2--,catholics1 heretics2--,elijah1 ,enoch1 ,antichrist4 ,in the trial by miracles truth always prevails4 ,the two crosses4 ,miracles are no longer needful1 because they have already been4 ,but when we listen no more to tradition1 when the pope alone is proposed to us1 when he has been taken by surprise1 and when the true source of truth1 which is tradition1 is thus excluded1 the pope1 who is its guardian1 is thus prejudiced1 truth is no longer allowed to appear2 then1 since men speak no longer of truth1 truth herself must speak to men4 ,this is what happened in the time of ,arius4 ,religion is adapted to every kind of intellect4 ,some consider only its establishment1 and this ,religion is such that its very establishment is enough to prove its truth4 ,some trace it as far as the apostles2 the more learned go back to the beginning of the world2 the angels see it better still1 and from earlier time4 #a4 ,objection4 ,an angel from heaven4 ,we must not judge of truth by miracles1 but of miracles by truth4 ,therefore miracles are useless4 ,now they serve1 and cannot be against the truth4 ,therefore what ,father ,lingende says1 that ,god will not allow a miracle to lead into error4444 ,when there shall be a dispute in the same ,church1 miracle will decide4 #b4 ,objection4 ,but ,antichrist will work miracles4 ,the ,magicians of ,pharaoh did not lead into error4 ,thus on ,antichrist we cannot say to ,jesus ,christ3 ,you have led me into error4 ,for ,antichrist will work them against ,jesus ,christ1 and thus they cannot lead into error4 ,either ,god will not permit false miracles1 or he will procure greater4 ,if in the same ,church a miracle should occur on the side of those in error1 men would be led into error4 ,a schism is visible1 a miracle is visible4 ,but a schism is more a mark of error than a miracle is a mark of truth1 therefore a miracle cannot lead into error4 ,but apart from schism the error is not so visible as the miracle is visible4 ,therefore miracle may lead into error4 ,ubi est ,deus tuus8--,miracles show him and are a light to him4 ,joh4 vi4 #bf4 ,non quia vidisti signum1 sed quia saturati estis4 ,those who follow ,jesus ,christ because of his miracles honour his power in all the miracles which it produces4 ,but those who1 making profession to follow him because of his miracles1 only follow him indeed because he consoles them and satisfies them with worldly goods1 disparage his miracles when they are contrary to their own convenience4 ,joh4 ix3 ,non est hic homo a ,deo1 quia sabbatum non custodit4 ,alii3 ,quomodo potest homo peccator hc signa facere8 ,which is the most clear8 ,this house is not of ,god1 for they do not there believe that the five propositions are in ,jansenius4 ,others3 ,this house is of ,god1 for in it strange miracles are done4 ,which is the most clear8 ,tu quid dicis8 ,dico quia propheta est4--,nisi esset hic a ,deo1 non poterat facere quidquam4 ,there is much difference between not being for ,jesus ,christ1 and saying it1 and not being for ,jesus ,christ1 yet feigning to be so4 ,the one party can work miracles1 not the others1 for it is clear that the one party are against the truth1 but not that the others are2 and thus miracles are the more clear4 ,if you believe not in me1 believe at least in the miracles4 ,he puts them forward as the strongest4 ,he had said to the ,jews as well as to the ,christians1 that they should not always believe the prophets2 but nevertheless the pharisees and scribes made much of his miracles1 and tried to show that they were false or worked by the devil1 since they were bound to be convinced1 if they admitted that these were of ,god4 ,we are not in these days obliged so to discriminate4 ,yet it is very easy to do so2 those who deny neither ,god nor ,jesus ,christ work no miracles which are not quite certain4 ,nemo facit virtutem in nomine meo1 et cito possit de me male loqui4 ,but we have not to use this discrimination4 ,here is a sacred relic1 here is a thorn from the crown of the ,saviour of the world1 on whom the prince of this world has no power1 which works miracles by the immediate power of the blood that was shed for us4 ,thus ,god has himself chosen this house wherein openly to show forth his power4 ,here are not men who work miracles by an unknown and doubtful virtue1 obliging us to a difficult discrimination2 it is ,god himself1 it is the instrument of the passion of his only ,son1 who being in many places chose this1 and made men come from all sides1 there to receive miraculous succour in their weaknesses4 ,if the devil were to favour the doctrine which destroys him1 he would be divided against himself1 as ,jesus ,christ said4 ,if ,god favoured the doctrine which destroys the ,church1 he would be divided against himself4 ,omne regnum divisum4 ,for ,jesus ,christ acted against the devil1 and destroyed his empire over the heart1 of which exorcism is the figure1 to establish the kingdom of ,god4 ,and so he adds3 ,si in digito ,dei1 regnum ,dei ad vos4 ,either ,god has confounded the false miracles or he has foretold them1 and both by the one and the other he has raised himself above the supernatural in regard to us1 and has raised us also4 ,jer4 xxiii4 #cb4 ,the miracles of the false prophets4 ,in the ,hebrew and ,vatable they are called trifles4 ,miracle does not always mean miracle4 #a ,kings xiv4 #ae4 ,miracle signifies fear1 and is the same in ,hebrew4 ,the same plainly in ,job xxxiii4 #g4 ,so in ,isaiah xxi4 #d4 ,jeremiah xliv4 #ab4 ,portentum means images1 ,jer4 l4 #ch1 and it is the same in ,hebrew and ,vatable4 ,isaiah viii4 #ah4 ,jesus ,christ says that he and his will be in miracles4 ,jesus ,christ said that the ,scriptures bear witness of him1 but he did not show in what respect4 ,even the prophecies could not prove ,jesus ,christ during his life1 and thus if miracles had not sufficed without doctrine1 men would not have been blameworthy who did not believe in him before his death4 ,now those who did not believe in him during his life were sinners1 as he says himself1 and without excuse4 ,therefore they must have resisted a conclusive proof4 ,now they had not our proof1 but only miracles1 therefore miracles are enough when doctrine is not contrary1 and they ought to be believed4 ,john vii4 #dj4 ,controversy among the ,jews as among ,christians of our day4 ,the one party believed in ,jesus ,christ1 the other believed not1 because of the prophecies which said he should be born in ,bethlehem4 ,they should have enquired more diligently whether he was not4 ,for his miracles being convincing1 they ought to have been quite certain of these alleged contradictions of his doctrine to the ,scripture1 and this obscurity did not excuse1 but blinded them4 ,thus those who refuse to believe miracles in our day on account of an alleged but unreal contradiction1 are not excused4 ,when the people believed on him because of his miracles1 the pharisees said3 ,this people1 which doeth not the law1 is accursed1 but there is none of the princes or the pharisees who has believed on him1 for we know that out of ,galilee ariseth no prophet4 ,nicodemus answered1 ,doth our law judge any man before it heareth him8 ,judges xiii4 #bc4 ,if the ,lord were pleased to kill us1 he would not have shewed us all these things4 ,hezekiah1 ,sennacherib4 ,jeremiah1 ,hananiah1 the false prophet1 died in seven months4 #b ,macc4 iii4 ,the temple1 ready for pillage1 miraculously succoured4--#b ,macc4 xv4 #a ,kings xvii4 ,the widow to ,elijah1 who had restored her son4 ,by this ,i know that thy words are true4 #a ,kings xviii4 ,elijah1 with the prophets of ,baal4 ,never in a contention concerning the true ,god or of the truth of ,religion has any miracle happened on the side of error and not of truth4 ,miracle4--,the people believe this of themselves1 but if the reason must be given you4444 ,it is troublesome to be an exception to the rule4 ,we ought strictly to hold the rule and oppose the exception1 yet as it is certain there are exceptions to every rule1 we ought with this strictness to be just4 ,is it not enough that miracles are done in one place1 and that ,god's providence is shown on one people8 ,good breeding goes so far as to have no politeness1 and true piety to have politeness for others4 ,this is not well bred4 ,the incredulous are the most credulous4 ,they believe the miracles of ,vespasian in order that they may not believe those of ,moses4 ,on the ,miracle4--,as ,god has made no family more happy1 he should also find none more grateful4 ,,jesuits ,,and ,,jansenists4 ,the ,church has always been assailed by contrary errors1 but perhaps never at the same time1 as now2 and if she suffer more because of the multiplicity of errors1 she receives this advantage from it1 that they destroy each other4 ,she complains of both1 but much the most of the ,calvinists1 because of the schism4 ,it is certain that many of the two opposite parties are deceived2 they must be disabused4 ,faith embraces many truths which seem contradictory4 ,there is a time to laugh1 and a time to weep1 etc4 ,responde1 ne respondeas1 etc4 ,the source of this is the union of the two natures in ,jesus ,christ4 ,and also the two worlds4 ,the creation of a new heaven and a new earth1 a new life1 a new death1 all things double1 and the same names remaining4 ,and finally1 the two natures which are in the righteous man1 for they are the two worlds1 and a member and image of ,jesus ,christ4 ,and thus all the names suit them1 righteous1 sinners2 dead though living1 living though dead1 elect1 reprobate1 etc4 ,there are then a great number of truths in faith and in morals1 which seem contrary to each other1 which yet all subsist together in a wonderful order4 ,the source of all heresies is the exclusion of some of these truths4 ,and the source of all the objections made by heretics against us is the ignorance of some of these truths4 ,and for the most part it happens that1 unable to conceive the relation of two opposite truths1 and believing that admission of one involves the exclusion of the other1 they embrace the one and exclude the other1 thinking that we on the other hand4444 ,now exclusion is the cause of their heresy1 and ignorance that we hold the other truth causes their objections4 #ast example3 ,jesus ,christ is ,god and man4 ,the ,arians1 unable to reconcile these things which they believe incompatible1 say that he is man1 and so far they are ,catholics4 ,but they deny that he is ,god1 and so far they are heretics4 ,they assert that we deny his humanity1 and so far they are ignorant #bnd example1 on the subject of the ,holy ,sacrament4 ,we believe that the substance of bread being changed1 and consubstantially that of the body of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ is therein really present4 ,that is one truth4 ,another is that this sacrament is also a figure of that of the cross and of glory1 and a commemoration of the two4 ,that is the ,catholic faith1 which comprehends these two truths which seem opposed4 ,the heresy of our day1 not conceiving that this sacrament contains at one and the same time both the presence of ,jesus ,christ and a figure of his presence1 that it is a sacrifice and a commemoration of a sacrifice1 believes that neither of these truths can be admitted without1 by this very reason1 the exclusion of the other4 ,they adhere to this only point1 that this sacrament is figurative1 and so far they are not heretics4 ,they think that we exclude this truth1 hence it comes that they found so many objections on those passages of the ,fathers which assert it4 ,lastly they deny the presence1 and so far they are heretics4 #crd example4 ,indulgences4 ,therefore the shortest way to hinder heresies is to teach all truths1 and the surest means of refuting them is to declare them all4 ,for what will the heretics say8 ,if the ancient ,church was in error1 the ,church is fallen2 if she is so now it is not the same thing1 for she has always the superior maxim of tradition from the hand of the ancient ,church2 and thus this submission and conformity to the ancient ,church prevails and corrects all4 ,but the ancient ,church did not postulate the future ,church1 and did not regard her1 as we postulate and regard the ancient4 ,all err the more dangerously because they follow each a truth1 their fault is not that they follow an error1 but that they do not follow another truth4 ,that which hinders us in comparing what formerly took place in the ,church with what we now see1 is that we are wont to regard ,saint ,athanasius or ,saint ,theresa and others as crowned with glory1 and acting in regard to us as gods4 ,now that time has cleared our vision we see that they are so4 ,but when this great saint was persecuted he was a man called ,athanasius1 and ,saint ,theresa was a nun4 ,elias was a man like ourselves and subject to the same passions as ourselves1 says ,saint ,peter1 to disabuse ,christians of that false notion that we must reject the examples of the saints as disproportioned to our state4 ,they were saints1 say we1 they are not like us4 ,what was the case then8 ,saint ,athanasius was a man called ,athanasius1 accused of many crimes1 condemned by such and such a council for such and such a crime4 ,all the bishops assented to it1 and at last the pope4 ,what did they say to those who resisted his condemnation8 ,that they were disturbing the peace1 that they were creating a schism1 etc4 ,four lands of persons3 zeal without knowledge1 knowledge without zeal1 neither knowledge nor zeal1 zeal and knowledge4 ,the first three condemned him1 the last absolved him1 were excommunicated by the ,church and yet saved the ,church4 ,the three notes of ,religion3 perpetuity1 a good life1 miracles4 ,they destroy perpetuity by probability1 good life by their morality1 miracles in destroying either their truth or their consequence4 ,if we believe them1 the ,church has nothing to do with perpetuity1 a holy life1 or miracles4 ,heretics deny them or deny the consequences2 they do the same4 ,but those must be devoid of sincerity who deny them or again have lost their senses if they deny the consequences4 ,perpetuity4--,is your character founded on ,escobar8 ,perhaps you have reasons for not condemning them2 it is enough that you approve of those ,i address to you on the subject4 ,would the pope be dishonoured by gaining his light from ,god and tradition2 and does it not dishonour him to separate him from this sacred union and4444 ,tertullian3 ,nunquam ,ecclesia reformabitur4 ,perpetuity4 ,molina4 ,novelty4 ,heretics have always assailed these three notes which they have not4 ,those wretches1 who have obliged me to speak on the foundations of ,religion4 ,sinners purified without penitence1 just men sanctified without charity1 all ,christians without the grace of ,jesus ,christ1 ,god without power over the will of men1 a predestination without mystery1 a redemption without certainty4 ,sinners without penitence1 just men without charity1 a ,god without power over the wills of men1 a predestination without mystery4 ,those who love the ,church complain that they see morals corrupted1 but laws at least exist4 ,but these corrupt the laws4 ,the model is spoiled4 ,there is a contradiction2 for on the one side they say tradition must be followed1 and would not dare disavow it1 and on the other they will say whatever pleases them4 ,the former will always be believed in1 and indeed it would be going against them not to believe it4 ,politics4--,we have found two obstacles to the design of comforting men4 ,the one the interior laws of the ,gospel1 the other the exterior laws of the ,state and of ,religion4 ,we are masters of the one set of laws1 the others we have dealt with in this wise3 ,amplienda1 restringenda1 a majori ad minus4 ,junior4 ,generals4--,it is not enough for them to introduce such morals into our churches1 templis inducere mores4 ,not only do they wish to be tolerated in the ,church1 but as though they had become the stronger1 they would expel those who are not of them4444 ,mohatra4 ,he who is astonished at this is no theologian4 ,who would have told your generals that the time was so near when they would give laws to the ,church universal1 and would call the refusal of such disorders war1 tot et tanta mala pacem4 ,they cannot have perpetuity1 and they seek universality2 therefore they make the whole ,church corrupt1 that they may be saints4 ,you abuse the credence which the people has in the ,church1 and make them believe untruth4 ,i suppose that men believe the miracles3 ,you corrupt ,religion either in favour of your friends1 or against your enemies4 ,you dispose of all at your will4 ,so that if it be true on the one hand that some lax religious1 and some corrupt casuists1 who are not members of the hierarchy1 are steeped in these corruptions1 it is on the other hand certain that the true pastors of the ,church1 who are the true depositories of the divine word1 have preserved it unchangeably against the efforts of those who have striven to ruin it4 ,and thus the faithful have no pretext to follow that laxity which is only offered them by the stranger hands of these casuists1 instead of the sound doctrine which is presented to them by the fatherly hands of their own pastors4 ,and the wicked and heretics have no reason to put forward these abuses as marks of the defective providence of ,god over his ,church1 since the ,church having her true existence in the body of the hierarchy1 it is so far from the present condition of things being a proof that ,god has abandoned her to corruption1 that it has never so plainly appeared as at the present day that ,god visibly defends her from corruption4 ,for if some of these men1 who by an extraordinary vocation have made profession of retirement from the world1 and have adopted the religious dress1 that they might live in a more perfect state than ordinary ,christians1 have fallen into disorders which horrify ordinary ,christians1 and have become among us what the false prophets were among the ,jews2 this is a private and personal matter1 which we must indeed deplore1 but from which we can conclude nothing against the care which ,god takes for his ,church2 since all these things are so clearly foretold1 and it has been long since announced that temptations would arise on account of such persons1 so that when we are well instructed we see therein rather the notes of the guidance of ,god than his forgetfulness in regard to us4 ,you are ignorant of the prophecies if you do not know that all this must needs happen1 princes1 prophets1 pope1 and even the priests4 ,and yet the ,church must abide4 ,by the grace of ,god we are not so far gone4 ,woe to these priests4 ,but we hope that ,god will of his mercy grant us that we be not among them4 #b ,saint ,peter ii4 ,false prophets in the past the image of the future4 ,is ,est and non est received in faith as well as in miracles1 and is it inseparable in the others8444 ,when ,saint ,xavier works miracles4444 ,saint ,hilary4--,these wretches who have obliged us to speak of miracles4 ,v qui conditis leges iniquas4 ,unjust judges1 make not your laws on the moment1 judge by those which are established1 and by yourselves4 ,to weaken your adversaries you disarm the whole ,church4 ,if they say that our safety depends on ,god1 they are heretics4 ,if they say they are under obedience to the pope1 that is hypocrisy4 ,if they are ready to assent to all the articles1 that is not enough4 ,if they say that no man should be killed for an apple1 they assail the morality of ,catholics4 ,if miracles are wrought among them1 it is no mark of holiness1 but rather a suspicion of heresy4 ,the hardness of the ,jesuits therefore surpasses that of the ,jews1 since those refused to believe ,jesus ,christ innocent only because they doubted if his miracles were of ,god4 ,but on the contrary1 though the ,jesuits cannot doubt that the ,port ,royal miracles were of ,god1 they still continue to doubt the innocency of that house4 ,men never commit evil so fully and so gaily as when they do so for conscience sake4 ,experience shows us a vast difference between devoutness and goodness4 ,the two contrary reasons4 ,we must begin with that2 without that we understand nothing and all is heretical2 in the same way we must even add at the close of each truth that the opposite truth is to be remembered4 ,if there was ever a time in which it were necessary to make profession of two contraries1 it is when we are reproached for omitting one4 ,therefore the ,jesuits and the ,jansenists are wrong in concealing them1 but the ,jansenists most1 for the ,jesuits have better made profession of the two4 ,m4 de ,condran4 ,there is1 he says1 no comparison between the union of the saints and that of the ,holy ,trinity4 ,jesus ,christ says the opposite4 ,that we have treated them as kindly as is possible while keeping ourselves in the mean1 between the love of truth and the duty of charity4 ,that piety does not consist in never opposing our brethren1 it would be very easy1 etc4 ,it is false piety to keep peace to the prejudice of the truth4 ,it is also false zeal to keep truth and wound charity4 ,neither have they complained4 ,their maxims have their time and place4 ,he will be condemned indeed who is so by ,escobar4 ,their vanity tends to grow out of their errors4 ,conformed to the fathers by their faults1 and to the martyrs by their sufferings4 ,moreover they do not disavow any of4444 ,they had only to take the passage1 and disavow it4 ,sanctificavi prlium4 ,m4 ,bourseys4 ,at least they cannot disavow that they are opposed to the condemnation4 ,i have re-read them since1 for ,i had not known them4444 ,the world must be blind indeed if it believe you4 ,if men knew themselves1 ,god would heal and pardon4 ,ne convertantur1 et sanem eos1 et dimittantur eis peccata4 ,isaiah4 ,matt4 xiii4 ,truth is so obscure in these days1 and falsehood so established1 that unless we love the truth we shall be unable to know it4 ,as ,jesus ,christ remained unknown among men1 so his truth remains among ordinary opinions without external difference4 ,thus the ,eucharist among ordinary bread4 ,all faith consists in ,jesus ,christ and in ,adam1 and all morals in lust and in grace4 ,i have reserved me seven thousand4 ,i love the worshippers unknown to the world and even to the prophets4 ,to trust in forms is superstition1 but to refuse to submit to forms is pride4 ,as peace in ,states has for its sole object the safe preservation of the property of the people1 so the peace of the ,church has for its sole object the safe preservation of truth1 her property and the treasure where her heart is4 ,and as to allow the enemy to enter into a ,state1 and pillage without opposition1 for fear of troubling repose1 would be to work against the good of peace1 because peace1 being only just and useful for the security of property1 it becomes unjust and harmful when it suffers property to be destroyed1 while war in the defence of property becomes just and necessary4 ,so in the ,church1 when truth is assailed by the enemies of faith1 when men would tear it from the heart of the faithful1 and cause error to reign there1 to remain in peace is rather to betray than to serve the ,church1 to ruin rather than defend4 ,and as it is plainly a crime to trouble peace where truth reigns1 so is it also a crime to rest in peace when truth is destroyed4 ,there is then a time when peace is just1 and another when it is unjust4 ,and it is written that there is a time for peace and a time for war1 and it is the interest of truth to discern them4 ,but there is not a time for truth and a time for error1 and it is written1 on the contrary1 that the truth of ,god abideth for ever2 and this is why ,jesus ,christ1 who said that he came to bring peace1 said also that he came to bring war4 ,but he did not say that he came to bring both truth and falsehood4 ,truth is then the first rule and the ultimate end of things4 ,as the two principal interests of the ,church are the preservation of the piety of the faithful and the conversion of heretics1 we are overwhelmed with grief at the sight of factions now arising1 to introduce those errors which more than any others may close for ever against heretics the entrance into our communion1 and fatally corrupt those pious and catholic persons who remain to us4 ,this enterprise1 made at the present day so openly against those truths of ,religion most important for salvation1 fills us not only with displeasure1 but also with fear and even terror1 because1 besides the feeling which every ,christian must have of these disorders1 we have further an obligation to remedy them1 and to employ the authority which ,god has given1 to cause that the peoples which he has committed to us1 etc4 ,we must let heretics know1 who gain advantage from the doctrine of the ,jesuits1 that it is not that of the ,church 444 the doctrine of the ,church1 and that our divisions separate us not from the altar4 ,they hide themselves in the crowd1 and call numbers to their aid4 ,tumult4 ,in corrupting the bishops and the ,sorbonne1 if they have not had the advantage of making their judgment just1 they have had that of making their judges unjust4 ,and thus1 when in future they are condemned1 they will say ad hominem that they are unjust1 and thus will refute their judgment4 ,but that does no good4 ,for as they cannot conclude that the ,jansenists are rightly condemned because they are condemned1 so they cannot conclude then that they themselves will be wrongly condemned because they will be so by corruptible judges4 ,for their condemnation will be just1 not because it will be given by judges always just1 but by judges just in that particular1 which will be shown by other proofs4 ,these are the effects of the sins of the peoples and of the ,jesuits1 great men have wished to be flattered1 the ,jesuits have wished to be loved by the great4 ,they have all been worthy to be given up to the spirit of lying1 the one party to deceive1 the others to be deceived4 ,they have been greedy1 ambitious1 pleasure loving3 ,coacervabunt tibi magistros4 ,the ,jesuits4 ,the ,jesuits have wished to unite ,god and the world1 and have gained only the scorn of ,god and the world4 ,for1 on the side of conscience this is plain1 and on the side of the world they are not good partisans4 ,they have power1 as ,i have often said1 but that is in regard to other religious4 ,they will have interest enough to get a chapel built1 and to have a jubilee station1 not to make appointments to bishoprics and government offices4 ,the position of a monk in the world is a most foolish one1 and that they hold by their own declaration4--,father ,brisacier1 the ,benedictines4--,yet 444 you yield to those more powerful than yourselves1 and oppress with all your little credit those who have less power for intrigue in the world than you4 ,venice4--,what advantage will you draw from it1 except the princes' need of it1 and the horror the nations have had of it4 ,if these had asked you and1 in order to obtain it1 had implored the assistance of all ,christian princes1 you might have boasted of this importunity4 ,but not that during fifty years all the princes have exerted themselves for it in vain1 and that it required such a pressing need to obtain it ,if by differing we condemned1 you would be right4 ,uniformity without diversity is useless to others1 diversity without uniformity is ruinous for us4 ,the one injures us without2 the other within4 ,we ought to hear both parties1 and on this point ,i have been careful4 ,when we have heard only one party we are always on that side1 but the adverse party makes us change1 whereas in this case the ,jesuit confirms us4 ,not what they do1 but what they say4 ,they cry out against me only4 ,i am content ,i know whom to blame for it4 ,jesus ,christ was a stone of stumbling4 ,condemnable1 condemned4 ,jesus ,christ never condemned without a bearing4 ,to ,judas3 ,amice1 ad quid venisti8 ,to him who had not on the wedding garment1 the same4 ,unless they give up probability their good maxims are as little holy as the bad4 ,for they are founded on human authority1 and thus if they are more just they will be more reasonable1 but not more holy1 they take after the wild stock on which they are graffed4 ,if what ,i say serves not to enlighten you1 it will aid the people4--,if these hold their peace1 the stones will cry out4 ,silence is the greatest persecution2 the saints never held their peace4 ,it is true that a vocation is needed1 it is not from the decrees of the ,council that we must learn whether we are called1 but from the compulsion to speak4 ,now after ,rome has spoken1 and we think that she has condemned the truth1 and they have written it1 and the books which have said the contrary are censured2 we must cry so much the louder the more unjustly we are censured1 and the more violently they try to stifle speech1 until there come a pope who listens to both sides1 and who consults antiquity to do justice4 ,so good popes will find the ,church still in an uproar4 ,the ,inquisition and the ,society are the two scourges of the truth4 ,why do you not accuse them of ,arianism8 ,for if they have said that ,jesus ,christ is ,god1 perhaps it is not with a natural meaning1 but as it is said3 ,dii estis4 ,if my ,letters are condemned at ,rome1 what ,i condemn in them is condemned in heaven4 ,ad tuum1 ,domine ,jesu1 tribunal appello4 ,you are yourselves corruptible4 ,i feared that ,i had written ill when ,i saw myself condemned1 but the example of so many pious writings makes me believe the contrary4 ,good writing is no longer permitted1 so corrupt or ignorant is the ,inquisition4 ,it is better to obey ,god than men4 ,i have neither fear nor hope4 ,not so the bishops4 ,port ,royal fears1 and it is a bad policy to dissolve the community1 for they will fear no longer and will inspire greater fear4 ,i fear not even your censures1 444 if they be not founded on those of tradition4 ,do you censure all8 ,what1 even my respect8--,no4--,say then1 what it is1 or you will do nothing1 since you do not point out the evil1 and why it is evil4 ,and this is what they will have some trouble to do4 ,unjust persecutors of those whom ,god visibly protects4 ,if they reproach you with your excesses they speak as do the heretics4 ,if they say that the grace of ,jesus ,christ separates us1 they are heretics4 ,if miracles are wrought1 it is the mark of their heresy4 ,ezekiel1 ,they say1 these are the people of ,god who thus speak4 ,hezekiah1 ,my reverend father1 all this was done in figures4 ,other religions perish1 this one perishes not4 ,miracles are more important than you think1 they have served for the foundation1 and will serve for the continuance of the ,church till the coming of ,antichrist1 till the end4 ,the two witnesses4 ,in the ,old ,testament and the ,new1 miracles are wrought in connection with types4 ,salvation or an useless thing1 if not to show that we must submit to the creature4--,figure of the sacraments4 ,the synagogue was a figure and so it perished not1 and it was only the figure and so it has perished4 ,it was a figure which contained the truth1 and so it subsisted till it contained the truth no longer4 ,the exaggerated notion which you have of the importance of your society has made you establish these horrible ways4 ,it is very plain that it has made you follow the way of slander1 since you blame in me as horrible the same impostures which you excuse in yourselves1 because you regard me as a private person1 and yourselves as imago4 ,it plainly appears that your praises are follies1 by those which are crazy1 as the privilege of the uncondemned4 ,is this giving courage to your children to condemn them when they serve the ,church8 ,it is an artifice of the devil to turn in another direction the arms with which these people used to combat heresies4 ,you are bad politicians4 ,the history of the man born blind4 ,what says ,saint ,paul8 ,does he constantly speak of the bearing of prophecies8 ,no1 but of his miracles4 ,what says ,jesus ,christ8 ,does he expound the bearing of the prophecies8 ,no1 his death had not fulfilled them2 but he says1 si non fecissem3 believe the works4 ,si non fecissem qu alius non fecit4 ,these wretches who have obliged us to speak of miracles6 ,abraham and ,gideon confirmed faith by miracles4 ,there are two supernatural foundations of our wholly supernatural ,religion1 the one visible1 the other invisible4 ,miracles with grace1 miracles without grace4 ,the synagogue1 which has been treated with love as a figure of the ,church1 and with hatred because it was only the figure1 has been restored1 being about to fall when it was well with ,god1 and thus a figure4 ,the miracles prove the power which ,god has over hearts by that which he exercises over the body4 ,the ,church has never approved a miracle among heretics4 ,miracles are a support of religion4 ,they have been the test of ,jews1 of ,christians1 of saints1 of innocents1 and of true believers4 ,a miracle among schismatics is not much to be feared1 for schism which is more evident than miracle1 evidently marks their error2 but when there is no schism1 and error is in question1 miracle is the test4 ,judith4 ,god speaks at length in their extreme oppression4 ,if because charity has grown cold the ,church is left almost without true worshippers1 miracles will raise them up4 ,this is one of the last effects of grace4 ,if only a miracle were wrought among the ,jesuits6 ,when a miracle deceives the expectation of those in whose presence it occurs1 and when there is a disproportion between the state of their faith and the instrument of the miracle it must lead them to change2 but with you it is the opposite4 ,there would be as much reason in saying that if the ,eucharist raised a dead man one ought to turn ,calvinist rather than remain a ,catholic4 ,but when he crowns the expectation1 and those who have hoped that ,god would bless the remedies see themselves cured without remedies4444 ,the wicked4--,no sign was ever given on the part of the devil without a stronger sign on the part of ,god1 at least unless it were foretold that this would be so4 ,these nuns1 amazed at what is said1 that they are in the way of perdition1 that their confessors are leading them to ,geneva1 and teach them ,jesus ,christ is not in the ,eucharist1 nor on the right hand of the ,father1 know all this to be false1 and offer then themselves to ,god in that state4 ,vide si via iniquitatis in me est4 ,what happens thereupon8 ,the place1 which is said to be the temple of the devil1 ,god makes his own temple4 ,it is said that the children must be taken away1 ,god heals them there4 ,it is said to be hell's arsenal1 ,god makes of it the sanctuary of his graces4 ,lastly1 they are threatened with all the furies and all the vengeance of heaven1 and ,god loads them with favours4 ,those must have lost their senses1 who therefore believe them in the way of perdition4--,we have1 without doubt1 the same tokens as ,saint ,athanasius4-- ,the five propositions were equivocal2 they are so no longer4 ,with so many other signs of piety they have that of persecution also1 which is the best mark of piety4 ,by showing the truth we gain belief for it1 but by showing the injustice of ministers1 we do not correct it4 ,conscience is made secure by a demonstration of falsehood2 our purse is not made secure by the demonstration of injustice4 ,miracles and truth are both needful1 as we have to convince the whole man1 body and soul alike4 ,it is good that their deeds should be unjust1 for fear it should not appear that the ,molinists have acted justly4 ,thus there is no need to spare them1 they are worthy to commit them4 ,the ,church1 the ,pope4--,unity1 plurality4 ,considering the ,church as unity1 the pope its head1 is as the whole2 considered as plurality1 the pope is only a part of it4 ,the ,fathers have considered the ,church now in this way1 now in that1 and thus they have spoken in divers ways of the pope4 ,saint ,cyprian1 sacerdos ,dei4 ,but in establishing one of these two truths1 they have not excluded the other4 ,plurality which cannot be reduced to unity is confusion4 ,unity which depends not on plurality is tyranny4 ,there is scarce any where left but ,france in which it is allowable to say that a council is below the pope4 ,we may not judge of what the pope is by some words of the ,fathers--as the ,greeks said in a council1 important rules--but by the acts of the ,church and the ,fathers1 and by the canons4 ,unity and plurality3 ,duo aut tres in unum4 ,it is an error to exclude one of the two1 as the papists do who exclude plurality1 or the ,huguenots who exclude unity4 ,the pope is chief1 who else is known of all1 who else is recognised by all8 ,having power to insinuate himself into all the body1 because he holds the leading shoot1 which extends itself everywhere4 ,how easy to cause this to degenerate into tyranny4 ,this is why ,jesus ,christ has laid down for them this precept3 ,vos autem non sic4 ,god works not miracles in the ordinary conduct of his ,church4 ,it would be a strange miracle1 did infallibility reside in one1 but that it should dwell in a multitude appears so natural that the ways of ,god are concealed under nature1 as all his other works4 ,men desire certainty1 they like the pope to be infallible in faith1 grave doctors to be infallible in morals1 in order to have certainty4 ,the pope hates and fears men of science1 who are not at once submissive to him4 ,kings are masters of their own power1 not so the popes4 ,whenever the ,jesuits take the pope unawares1 they will make all ,christendom perjured4 ,it is very easy to take the pope unawares1 because of his occupations1 and the trust which he has in the ,jesuits1 and the ,jesuits are very capable of taking him unawares by means of calumny4 ,the five propositions condemned1 yet no miracle1 for truth was not attacked1 but the ,sorbonne and the bull4 ,it is impossible that those who love ,god with all their heart1 should misunderstand the ,church1 which is so evident4 ,it is impossible that those who love not ,god should be convinced of the ,church4 ,let us look to the discourses on the #bnd1 #dth1 and #eth of the ,jansenist4 ,they are lofty and grave4 ,we would not make a friend of either4 ,the ear only is consulted because the heart is wanting4 ,beauty of omission1 of judgment4 ,the rule is that of honourable conduct4 ,poet and not honourable man4 ,these men want heart4 ,we would not make a friend of him4 ,for this name of honourable man4 ,canonical4--,the heretical books in the early age of the ,church serve to prove the canonical4 ,heretics4--,ezekiel4 ,all the heathens spake evil of ,israel1 and the ,prophet did the same1 yet the ,israelites were so far from having a right to say to him1 ,you speak as the heathen1 that he made it his strongest point that the heathens said the same as he4 ,those are feeble souls who know the truth1 and uphold it only so far as their interest is concerned1 but beyond that abandon it4 ,annat4 ,he makes the disciple without ignorance1 and the master without presumption4 ,there is such great disproportion between the merit which he thinks he has and his stupidity1 that it is hard to believe he mistakes himself so completely4 ,and will this one scorn the other8 ,who should scorn8 ,yet he scorns not the other1 but pities him4 ,port ,royal is surely as good as ,voltigerod4 ,so far as your proceeding is just according to this bias1 so far is it unjust on the side of ,christian piety4 ,montalte4--,lax opinions are so pleasing to men1 that it is strange that theirs displease4 ,it is because they have exceeded all bounds2 and more1 there are many persons who see the truth1 yet cannot attain to it2 but there are few who do not know that the purity of religion is contrary to our corruptions4 ,it is absurd to say that eternal reward is offered to the morals of ,escobar4 ,but is it probable that probability gives certainty8--,difference between rest and security of conscience4 ,nothing but truth gives certainty4 ,nothing gives rest but a sincere search after truth4 ,probability4 ,they have oddly explained certainty1 for after having established that all their ways are sure1 they no longer call that sure which leads to heaven without danger of not arriving thereby1 but that which leads there without danger of going out of the road4 ,now probability is necessary for the other maxims1 as for that of the friend and the slanderer4 ,a fructibus eorum1 judge of their faith by their morals4 ,probability is little without corrupt means1 and means are nothing without probability4 ,there is pleasure in being able to do good1 and in knowing how to do good1 scire et posse4 ,grace and probability give this pleasure1 for we can render our account to ,god in reliance upon their authors4 ,probability4 ,everyone can impose it1 none can take it away4 ,probable4--,if as bad reasons as these are probable1 all would be so4 #a4 ,reason4 ,dominus actuum conjugalium4 ,molina4 #b4 ,reason4 ,non potest compensari4 ,lessius4 ,to oppose not with holy1 but with abominable maxims4 ,they reason as those who prove that it is night at midday4 ,bauny1 the burner of barns4 444 ,the ,council of ,trent for priests in mortal sin3 quam primum4444 ,probable4--,let us see if we seek ,god sincerely1 by the comparison of things we love4 ,it is probable that this meat will not poison me4 ,it is probable that ,i shall not lose my law suit if ,i do not bring it4 ,if it were true that grave authors and reasons would suffice1 ,i say that they are neither grave nor reasonable4 ,what6 a husband may make profit of his wife according to ,molina4 ,is the reason he gives reasonable1 and the contrary one of ,lessius reasonable also8 ,would you dare thus to trifle with the edicts of the ,king1 as by saying that to go for a walk in a field and wait for a man is not to fight a duel2 ,that the ,church has indeed forbidden duelling1 but not taking a walk8 ,and usury too1 but not4444 ,and simony1 but not4444 ,and vengeance1 but not4444 ,and unnatural crime1 but not4444 ,and quam primum1 but not4444 ,take away probability1 and you can no longer please the world1 give probability1 and you can no longer displease it4 ,universal4--,morals and language are special but universal sciences4 ,probability4--,the zeal of the saints to seek the truth1 was useless if the probable is certain4 ,the fear of the saints who have always followed the surest way4 ,saint ,theresa having always followed her confessor4 ,probability4--,they have some true principles1 but they abuse them4 ,now the abuse of truth should be as much punished as the introduction of falsehood4 ,as if there were two hells1 one for sins against charity1 the other for sins against justice4 ,men who do not keep their word1 without faith1 without honour1 without truth1 double hearted1 double tongued1 like the reproach once flung at that amphibious creature in the fable1 who kept itself in a doubtful position between the fish and the birds4 ,it is of importance to kings and princes to be supposed pious1 and therefore they must take you for their confessors4 ,state super vias et interrogate de semitis antiquis1 et ambulate in eis4 ,et dixerunt3 ,non ambulabimus1 sed post cogitationem nostram ibimus4 ,they have said to the nations3 ,come to us1 we will follow the opinions of the new authors1 reason shall be our guide1 we will be as the other nations who follow each their natural light4 ,philosophers have4444 ,all religions and sects in the world have had natural reason for a guide4 ,christians alone have been obliged to take their rules from without themselves1 and to acquaint themselves with those which ,jesus ,christ left to men of old time to be transmitted to the faithful4 ,this constraint is wearisome to these good fathers4 ,they desire like the rest of the world to have liberty to follow their imaginations4 ,in vain we cry to them1 as the prophets to the ,jews of old3 ,enter into the ,church1 enquire of the ways which men of old have left to her1 and follow those paths4 ,they have answered1 as did the ,jews1 ,we will not walk in them1 but we will follow the thoughts of our hearts2 and they have said1 ,we will be as the nations round about us4 ,can it be any thing but the desire to please the world which makes you find things probable8 ,will you make us believe that it is truth1 and that if duelling were not the fashion1 you would find it probable they might fight1 looking at the matter in itself8 ,the whole society of their casuists cannot give assurance to a conscience in error1 and therefore it is important to choose safe guides4 ,thus they will be doubly guilty1 both in having followed ways which they should not follow1 and in having hearkened to teachers to whom they should not hearken4 ,casuists submit the decision to corrupt reason1 and the choice of decisions to corrupt will1 so that all that is corrupt in the nature of man may help to rule his conduct4 ,they allow lust free play1 and restrict scruples1 whereas they should do the exact contrary4 ,must we slay in order that the wicked may cease to be8 ,this is to make two wicked instead of one4 ,vince in bono malum4 ,saint ,augustine4 ,the servant does not know what the master does1 for the master tells him only the act and not the purpose2 this is why he is so often slavishly obedient and often sins against the purpose4 ,but ,jesus ,christ tells us the purpose4 ,and you destroy this purpose4 ,art thou less a slave because thy master loves and caresses thee8 ,thou art indeed well off1 slave4 ,thy master caresses thee1 he will presently beat thee4 ,those who wrote thus in ,latin speak in ,french4 ,the evil having been done of patting these things in ,french1 we ought to do the good of condemning them4 ,there is one only heresy1 which is differently explained in the schools and in the world4 ,on confessions and absolutions without signs of regret4 ,god looks at the heart alone1 the ,church looks at outward actions2 ,god absolves as soon as he sees penitence in the heart1 the ,church when she sees it in works4 ,god will make a ,church pure within1 which puts to confusion by its interior and perfect spiritual holiness the interior impiety of proud philosophers and ,pharisees1 and the ,church will make an assembly of men whose external morals are so pure that they put to confusion heathen morals4 ,if some are hypocrites1 but so well disguised that she does not recognise their venom1 she bears with them1 for though they are not accepted of ,god1 whom they cannot deceive1 they are of men1 whom they deceive4 ,and thus she is not dishonoured by their conduct which appears holy4 ,but you will have it that the ,church should judge neither of the heart1 for that belongs to ,god alone1 nor of works1 because ,god looks at the heart alone2 and so taking away from her all choice of men1 you retain in the ,church the most debauched and those who so greatly dishonour her1 that the synagogues of the ,jews and the sects of the philosophers would have cast them out as unworthy1 and have abhorred them as impious4 ,god has not willed to absolve without the ,church4 ,as she has part in the offence he wills that she should have part in the pardon4 ,he associates her with this power as kings their parliaments2 but if she binds or looses without ,god1 she is no more the ,church1 as in the case of parliament4 ,for even if the king have pardoned a man1 it is necessary that it should be ratified2 but if the parliament ratifies without the king1 or refuses to ratify on the order of the king1 it is no more the parliament of the king1 but a revolutionary body4 ,the ,church teaches and ,god inspires1 both infallibly4 ,the operation of the ,church serves only to prepare for grace or for condemnation4 ,what it does suffices for condemnation1 not for inspiration4 ,the ,church has in vain established these words1 anathema1 heresies4 ,they are used against herself4 ,it is not absolution only which remits sins by the ,sacrament of ,penance1 but contrition1 which is not a true contrition if it does not frequent the sacrament4 ,thus1 again1 it is not the nuptial benediction which hinders sin in generation1 but the desire of begetting children for ,god1 which is no true desire except in marriage4 ,and as a contrite man without the sacrament is more disposed for absolution than an impenitent man with the sacrament1 so the daughters of ,lot1 for instance1 who had only the desire for children1 were more pure without marriage than married persons without desire for children4 ,casuists4--,much almsgiving1 reasonable penance2 even when we cannot assign what is just1 we see plainly what is not4 ,it is strange that casuists believe they can interpret this as they do4 ,people who accustom themselves to speak ill and to think ill4 ,their great number1 far from marking their perfection1 marks the contrary4 ,the humility of one makes the pride of many4 ,they make a rule of the exception4 ,if the ancient fathers gave absolution before penance2 do this only as an exception4 ,but of the exception you make a rule without exception1 so that you will not even have it that the rule is exceptional4 ,priest still who will1 as under ,jeroboam4 ,it is a horrible thing that they submit to us the discipline of the ,church in our days as so excellent that it is made a crime to wish to change it ,formerly it was infallibly good1 and it was found it might be changed without sin1 and now1 such as it is1 we ought not to wish it changed6 ,it has indeed been allowed to change the custom of not making priests save with such great circumspection1 that there were scarcely any who were worthy1 yet we are not allowed to complain of the custom which makes so many who are unworthy4 ,two sorts of people place things on the same level1 as feasts and working days1 ,christians and priests1 all sins among themselves1 etc4 ,therefore the one set conclude that what is bad for priests is so for ,christians1 and the other that what is not bad for ,christians is permissible for priests4 ,the ,jansenists are like the heretics in the reformation of their morals1 but you are like them in evil4 ,superstition to believe propositions1 etc4 ,faith1 etc4 ,if ,saint ,augustine came at this day1 and was as little authorised as his defenders1 he would do nothing4 ,god governs his ,church well1 in that he sent him before with authority4 ,grace is needed to make a man into a saint1 and if any man doubt this he knows not what is a saint1 nor what is a man4 ,the motions of grace1 hardness of heart1 external circumstances4 ,grace will ever be in the world1 and nature also1 so that grace is in some sort natural4 ,thus there will be always ,pelagians1 always ,catholics1 always strife4 ,because the first birth constitutes the one1 and the grace of regeneration the other4 ,it will be one of the confusions of the damned to see themselves condemned by their own reason1 by which they have thought to condemn the ,christian religion4 ,when it is said that ,jesus ,christ died not for all1 you take advantage of a defect inherent in men who immediately apply this exception to themselves1 which is to favour despair instead of turning men from it to favour hope4 ,for so we accustom ourselves to interior virtues by exterior customs4 ,there is heresy in always explaining omnes by 'all1' and heresy in not explaining it sometimes by 'all4' ,bibite ex hoc omnes1 the ,huguenots are heretics in explaining it by 'all4' ,in quo omnes peccaverunt1 the ,huguenots are heretics in excepting the children of the faithful4 ,we must then follow the ,fathers and tradition to know when to do so1 since there is heresy to be feared on one side or the other4 ,a point of form4--,when ,saint ,peter and the apostles consulted about the abolition of circumcision1 when it was a question of acting in contradiction to the law of ,god1 they did not consult the prophets1 but considered simply the reception of the ,holy ,spirit in the persons uncircumcised4 ,they judged it more certain that ,god approved those whom he filled with his spirit1 than it was that the law must be observed4 ,they knew that the end of the ,law was none other than the ,holy ,spirit1 and thus as men certainly had this without circumcision1 circumcision was not needful4 ,but to preserve pre-eminence to himself he gives prayer to whom he pleases4 ,why ,god has established prayer4 #a4 ,to communicate to his creatures the dignity of causality4 #b4 ,to teach us from whom our virtue comes4 #c4 ,to make us deserve other virtues by work4 ,objection4 ,but we believe that prayer comes from ourselves4 ,this is absurd1 for since before we have faith1 we cannot have virtues1 how should we have faith8 ,is there a greater distance between infidelity and faith than between faith and virtue8 ,merit4 ,this word is ambiguous4 ,meruit habere ,redemptorem4 ,meruit tam sacra membra tangere4 ,digna tam sacra membra tangere4 ,non sum dignus1 qui manducat indignus4 ,dignus est accipere4 ,dignare me4 ,god is only bound according to his promises4 ,he has promised to do justice to prayer1 he has never promised prayer only to the children of promise4 ,si does not mark indifference4 ,malachi1 ,isaiah4 ,isaiah4 ,si volumus1 etc4 ,in quacumque die4 ,ne timeas1 pusillus grex4 ,timore et tretmore4--,quid ergo8 ,ne timeas1 modo timeas4 ,fear not1 provided you fear1 but if you fear not1 then fear4 ,qui me recipit1 non me recipit1 sed eum qui me misit4 ,nemo scit neque ,filius4 ,nubes lucida obumbravit4 ,saint ,john was to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children1 and ,jesus ,christ was to sow division4 ,in this there is no contradiction4 ,the effects in communi and in particulari4 ,the semi-,pelagians err in saying of in communi what is true only in particulari1 and the ,calvinists in saying in particulari what is true in communi4 ,so it seems to me4 ,saint ,augustine has said expressly that power would be taken away from the righteous4 ,but it is by chance that he said it1 for it might have been that the chance of saying it did not occur4 ,but his principles make us see that when the occasion for it presented itself1 it was impossible he should not say so1 or that he should say anything to the contrary4 ,it is then rather that he was forced to say it1 when the occasion offered itself1 than that he said it1 the occasion having offered itself1 the one being of necessity1 the other of chance4 ,but the two are all that we could ask4 ,the end4 ,are we certain8 ,is this principle certain8 ,let us examine4 ,the testimony of a man's self is naught ,saint ,thomas4 ,the image alone of all these mysteries has been openly showed to the ,jews and by ,saint ,john the forerunner1 and then the other mysteries1 to mark that in each man as in the world at large this order must be observed4 ,it is1 in technical language1 wholly the body of ,jesus ,christ1 but it cannot be said to be the whole body of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the union of two things without change cannot enable us to say that one becomes the other4 ,thus the soul is united to the body1 the fire to the fuel1 without change4 ,but change is necessary to make the form of the one become the form of the other4 ,thus the union of the ,word to man4 ,because my body without my soul would not make the body of a man1 then my soul united to any matter whatsoever would make my body4 ,it distinguishes for me the necessary condition with a sufficient condition1 the union is necessary1 but not sufficient4 ,the left arm is not the right4 ,impenetrability is a property of matter4 ,identity of number in regard to the same time requires the identity of matter4 ,thus if ,god united my soul to a body in ,china1 the same body1 idem numero would be in ,china4 ,the same river which runs there is idem numero as that which runs at the same time in ,china4 ,,thoughts ,,on ,,style4 ,eloquence is an art of saying things in such a manner1 #a1 that those to whom we speak can hear them without pain1 and with pleasure2 #b1 that they feel themselves interested1 so that self-love leads them more willingly to reflect upon what is said4 ,it consists therefore in a correspondence which we endeavour to establish between the mind and the heart of those to whom we speak on the one hand1 and1 on the other1 the thoughts and the expressions employed2 this supposes that we have thoroughly studied the heart of man so as to know all its springs1 and to find at last the true proportions of the discourse we wish to suit to it4 ,we should put ourselves in the place of those who are to listen to us1 and make experiment on our own heart of the turn we give to our discourse1 to see whether one is made for the other1 and whether we can be sure that our auditor will be as it were forced to yield4 ,so far as possible we must confine ourselves to what is natural and simple1 not aggrandise that which is little1 or belittle that which is great4 ,it is not enough that a phrase be beautiful1 it must be fitted to the subject1 and not have in it excess or defect4 ,eloquence is painted thought1 and thus those who1 after having painted it1 add somewhat more1 make a picture1 not a portrait4 ,eloquence4--,we need both what is pleasing and what is real1 but that which pleases must itself be drawn from the true4 ,eloquence1 which persuades by gentleness1 not by empire1 as a tyrant1 not as a king4 ,there is a certain pattern of charm and beauty which consists in a certain relation between our nature1 such as it is1 whether weak or strong1 and the thing which pleases us4 ,whatever is formed on this pattern delights us1 whether house1 song1 discourse1 verse1 prose1 woman1 birds1 rivers1 trees1 rooms1 dresses1 etc4 ,whatever is not made on this pattern displeases those who have good taste4 ,and as there is a perfect relation between a song and a house which are made on a good pattern1 because they are like this unique pattern1 though each after its kind1 there is also a perfect relation between things made on a bad pattern4 ,not that the bad is unique1 for there are many2 but every bad sonnet1 for instance1 on whatever false pattern it is constructed1 is exactly like a woman dressed on that pattern4 ,nothing makes us understand better the absurdity of a false sonnet than to consider nature and the pattern1 and then to imagine a woman or a house constructed on that pattern4 ,when a natural discourse paints a passion or an effect1 we feel in our mind the truth of what we read1 which was there before1 though we did not know it1 and we are inclined to love him who makes us feel it4 ,for he has not made a display of his own riches1 but of ours1 and thus this benefit renders him pleasant to us1 besides that such a community of intellect necessarily inclines the heart to love4 ,all the false beauties which we blame in ,cicero have their admirers and in great number4 ,the last thing we decide on in writing a book is what shall be the first we put in it4 ,language4--,we ought not to turn the mind from one thing to another save for relaxation1 at suitable times1 and no other1 for he that diverts out of season wearies1 and he who wearies us out of season repels us1 and we simply turn away4 ,so much it pleases our wayward lust to do the exact contrary of what those seek to obtain from us who give us no pleasure1 the coin for which we will do whatever we are asked4 ,when we meet with a natural style1 we are charmed and astonished1 for we looked for an author1 and we found a man4 ,but those who have good taste1 and who seeing a book expect to find a man1 are altogether surprised to find an author3 plus poetice quam humane locatus es4 ,those pay great honour to nature1 who show her that she is able to discourse on all things1 even on theology4 ,languages are ciphers1 where letters are not changed into letters1 but words into words1 so that an unknown language can be deciphered4 ,when in a discourse we find words repeated1 and in trying to correct them find we cannot change them for others without manifest disadvantage1 we must let them stand1 for this is the true test2 our criticism came of envy which is blind1 and does not see that repetition is not in this place a fault1 for there is no general rule4 ,miscellaneous4 ,language4--,those who force words for the sake of antitheses are like those who make false windows for symmetry4 ,their rule is not to speak accurately1 but in accurate form4 ,to put a mask on nature and disguise her4 ,no more ,king1 pope1 bishop1 but sacred majesty1 no more ,paris1 but the capital of the ,kingdom4 ,there are places in which we should call ,paris1 ,paris1 and others in which we ought to call it the capital of the ,kingdom4 ,there are those who speak well and write ill4 ,because the place and the audience warm them1 and draw from their minds more than would have been produced without that warmth4 ,miscellaneous4--,a figure of speech1 ,i should have wished to apply myself to that4 ,the aperitive virtue of a key1 the attractive virtue of a crook4 ,to guess4 ,the part that ,i take in your sorrow4 ,the ,cardinal did not choose to be guessed4 ,my mind is disquieted within me4 ,i am disquieted is better4 ,to extinguish the torch of sedition1 too luxuriant4 ,the restlessness of his genius4 ,two striking words too much4 ,a coach upset or overturned1 according to the meaning4 ,spread abroad1 or upset1 according to the meaning4 ,the argument by force of ,m4 le ,m4 over the friar4 ,symmetry4 ,is what we see at one glance4 ,founded on the fact that there is no reason for any difference4 ,and founded also on the face of man4 ,whence it comes that symmetry is only wanted in breadth1 not in height or depth4 ,sceptic1 for obstinate4 ,descartes useless and uncertain4 ,no one calls another a courtier but he who is not one himself1 a pedant save a pedant1 a provincial but a provincial1 and ,i would wager it was the printer who put it on the title of ,letters to a ,provincial4 ,the chief talent1 that which rules all others4 ,if the lightning were to strike low-lying places1 etc41 poets1 and those whose only reasonings are on things of that nature would lack proofs4 ,poetical beauty4--,as we talk of poetical beauty1 so ought we to talk of mathematical beauty and medical beauty2 yet we do not use those terms1 because we know perfectly the object of mathematics1 that it consists in proofs1 and the object of medicine1 that it consists in healing1 but we do not understand wherein consists charm which is the object of poetry4 ,we do not know what is the natural model to be imitated1 and for want of that knowledge we invent a set of extravagant terms1 the golden age1 the wonder of our times1 fatal1 etc41 and fall this jargon poetic beauty4 ,but if we imagine a woman on that pattern1 which consists in saying little things in great words1 we shall see a pretty girl bedecked with mirrors and chains absurd to our taste1 because we know better wherein consists the charm of woman than the charm of verse4 ,but those who do not know1 would admire her in such trimmings1 and in many villages she would be taken for the queen1 wherefore sonnets made on such a pattern have been called ,the ,village ,queens4 ,those who judge of a work without rule are in regard to others as those who possess a watch are in regard to others4 ,one says1 it was two hours ago1 another1 it is only three-quarters of an hour4 ,i look at my watch and say to the one1 you are weary of us1 and to the other1 time flies fast with you1 for it is only an hour and a half4 ,and ,i laugh at those who say that time goes slowly with me1 and that ,i judge by fancy4 ,they do not know that ,i judge by my watch4 ,,various ,,thoughts4 ,mathematics1 ,tact4--,true eloquence makes light of eloquence1 true morality makes light of morality1 that is to say1 the morality of the judgment makes light of the morality of the intellect1 which has no rules4 ,for perception belongs to judgment1 as science belongs to the intellect4 ,tact is the part of judgment1 mathematics of the intellect4 ,to make light of philosophy is to be a true philosopher4 ,the nourishment of the body is little by little1 too much nourishment gives little substance4 ,there is an universal and essential difference between the actions of the will and all others4 ,the will is one of the principal organs of belief1 not that it forms belief1 but because things are true or false according to the side from which we regard them4 ,the will1 pleased with one rather than the other1 turns the mind from the consideration of that which has the qualities it cares not to see1 and thus the intellect1 moving with the will1 stays to regard the side it loves1 and thus judges by what it sees4 ,the heart has its reasons1 which reason knows not1 as we feel in a thousand instances4 ,i say that the heart loves the universal ,being naturally1 and itself naturally1 according as it gives itself to each1 and it hardens itself against one or the other at its own will4 ,you have rejected one and kept the other1 does reason cause your love8 ,it is the heart which is conscious of ,god1 not the reason4 ,this then is faith2 ,god sensible to the heart1 not to the reason4 ,reason acts slowly and with so many views1 on so many principles1 which it ought always to keep before it1 that it constantly slumbers and goes astray1 from not having its principles at hand4 ,the heart does not act thus1 it acts in a moment1 and is always ready to act4 ,we must then place our faith in the heart1 or it will be always vacillating4 ,men often mistake their imagination for their heart1 and they believe they are converted as soon as they think of being converted4 ,those who are accustomed to judge by the heart do not understand the process of reasoning1 for they wish to understand at a glance1 and are not accustomed to seek for principles4 ,and others on the contrary1 who are accustomed to reason by principles1 do not at all understand the things of the heart1 seeking principles and not being able to see at a glance4 ,if we wished to prove those examples by which we prove other things1 we should have to take those other things to be examples4 ,for as we always believe the difficulty is in the matter we wish to prove1 we find the examples clearer and aids to demonstration4 ,thus when we wish to demonstrate a general proposition1 we must give the rule special to a case1 but if we wish to demonstrate a particular case1 we must begin with the particular rule4 ,for we always find the thing obscure which we wish to prove1 and that clear which we employ as proof2 for when a matter is proposed for proof we first fill ourselves with the imagination that it is therefore obscure1 and on the contrary that what is to prove it is clear1 and so we understand with ease4 ,far from believing a thing because you have heard it1 you ought to believe nothing without having put yourself in the same position as if you had never heard it4 ,what should make you believe is your own assent to yourself1 and the constant voice of your reason1 not that of others4 ,belief is so important6 ,a hundred contradictions might be true4 ,if antiquity were the rule of faith then the men of old time had no rule4 ,if general consent1 if men had perished4444 ,false humility is pride4 ,lift the curtain4 ,you may try as you please4 ,you must either believe1 or deny1 or doubt4 ,have we then no rule8 ,we judge that animals do well what they do4 ,is there no rule whereby to judge men8 ,to deny1 to believe1 and to doubt well are to a man what paces are to a horse4 ,memory is necessary for every operation of the reason4 ,memory and joy are feelings1 and even mathematical propositions become so1 for reason makes what is felt natural1 and natural feelings are effaced by reason4 ,all our reasoning is reduced to yielding to feeling4 ,but fancy is like yet contrary to feeling1 so that we cannot distinguish between these contraries4 ,one man says that my feeling is fancy1 another that his fancy is feeling4 ,we must have a rule4 ,reason offers herself1 but she is pliable in all directions1 and so there is no rule4 ,reason commands us much more imperiously than a master1 for in disobeying the one we are unhappy1 and in disobeying the other we are fools4 ,when we are accustomed to use bad reasons for proving natural effects1 we do not wish to receive good reasons even when they are discovered4 ,an example may be taken from the circulation of the blood1 to give a reason why the vein swells below the ligature4 ,we are usually better persuaded by reasons which we have ourselves discovered1 than by those which have come into the mind of others4 ,m4 de ,roannez said3 ,reasons come afterwards1 but at first a thing pleases or shocks me1 without my knowing the reason1 and yet it displeased me for the reason which ,i only discover later4 ,but ,i believe1 not that he was displeased for those reasons which he afterwards discovered1 but that those reasons were only discovered because the thing was displeasing4 ,the difference between the mathematical mind and the practical mind4--,in the one the premisses are palpable1 but removed from ordinary use1 so that from want of habit it is difficult to look in that direction1 but if we take the trouble to look1 the premisses are fully visible1 and we must have a totally incorrect mind if we draw wrong inferences from premisses so plain that it is scarce possible they should escape our notice4 ,but in the practical mind the premisses are taken from use and wont1 and are before the eyes of every body4 ,we have only to look that way1 there is no difficulty in seeing them2 it is only a question of good eyesight1 but it must be good1 for the premisses are so numerous and so subtle1 that it is scarce possible but that some escape us4 ,now the omission of one premiss leads to error1 thus we must have very clear sight to see all the premisses1 and then an accurate mind not to draw false conclusions from known premisses4 ,all mathematicians would then be practical if they were clear-sighted1 for they do not reason incorrectly on premisses known to them4 ,and practical men would be mathematicians if they could turn their eyes to the premisses of mathematics to which they are unaccustomed4 ,the reason therefore that some practical men are not mathematical is that they cannot at all turn their attention to mathematical premisses4 ,but the reason that mathematicians are not practical is that they do not see what is before them1 and that1 accustomed to the precise and distinct statements of mathematics and not reasoning till they have well examined and arranged their premisses1 they are lost in practical life wherein the premisses do not admit of such arrangement1 being scarcely seen1 indeed they are felt rather than seen1 and there is great difficulty in causing them to be felt by those who do not of themselves perceive them4 ,they are so nice and so numerous1 that a very delicate and very clear sense is needed to apprehend them1 and to judge rightly and justly when they are apprehended1 without as a rule being able to demonstrate them in an orderly way as in mathematics2 because the premisses are not before us in the same way1 and because it would be an infinite matter to undertake4 ,we must see them at once1 at one glance1 and not by process of reasoning1 at least up to a certain degree4 ,and thus it is rare that mathematicians are practical1 or that practical men are mathematicians1 because mathematicians wish to treat practical life mathematically2 and they make themselves ridiculous1 wishing to begin by definitions and premisses1 a proceeding which this way of reasoning will not bear4 ,the mind does indeed the same thing1 but tacitly1 naturally and without art1 in a way which none can express1 and only a few can feel4 ,practical minds on the contrary1 being thus accustomed to judge at a glance1 are amazed when propositions are presented to them of which they understand nothing and the way to which is through sterile definitions and premisses1 which they are not accustomed to see thus in detail1 and therefore are repelled and disheartened4 ,but inaccurate minds are never either practical or mathematical4 ,mathematicians who are only mathematicians have exact minds1 provided all things are clearly set before them in definitions and premisses1 otherwise they are inaccurate and intolerable1 for they are only accurate when the premisses are perfectly clear4 ,and practical men1 who are only practical1 cannot have the patience to condescend to first principles of things speculative and abstract1 which they have never seen in the world1 and to which they are wholly unaccustomed4 ,there are various kinds of good sense1 there are some who judge correctly in a certain order of things1 and are lost in others4 ,some are able to draw conclusions well from a few premisses1 and this shows a penetrative intellect4 ,others draw conclusions well where there are many premisses4 ,for instance1 the first easily understand the laws of hydrostatics1 where the premisses are few1 but the conclusions so nice1 that only the greatest penetration can reach them4 ,and these persons would perhaps not necessarily be great mathematicians1 because mathematics embrace a great number of premisses1 and perhaps a mind may be so formed that it searches with ease a few premisses to the bottom1 yet cannot at all comprehend those matters in which there are many premisses4 ,there are then two kinds of mind1 the one able to penetrate vigorously and deeply into the conclusions of certain premisses1 and these are minds true and just4 ,the other able to comprehend a great number of premisses without confusion1 and these are the minds for mathematics4 ,the one kind has force and exactness1 the other capacity4 ,now the one quality can exist without the other1 a mind may be vigorous and narrow1 or it may have great range and no strength4 ,when we do not know the truth of a thing1 it is not amiss that there should be a common error to fix the mind of men1 as for instance the moon1 to which is attributed the change of seasons1 the progress of diseases1 etc4 ,for the principal malady of man is that restless curiosity about matters which he can not understand1 and it is not so bad for him to be mistaken1 as to be so idly curious4 ,the way in which ,epictetus1 ,montaigne1 and ,salomon de ,tultie wrote1 is the most usual1 the most insinuating1 the most easily remembered1 and the most often quoted2 because it is wholly composed of thoughts which arise out of the ordinary conversations of life4 ,as when a man speaks of the vulgar error that the moon is the cause of all1 we never fail to say that ,salomon de ,tultie says1 that when we know not the truth of a matter1 it is well there should be a common error1 etc2 which is the thought above4 ,to write against those who plunged too deep into science4 ,descartes4 ,descartes4 ,we must say in general3 ,this is made by figure and motion for it is true4 ,but to say what these are1 and to compose the machine1 is ridiculous1 for it is useless1 uncertain1 and painful4 ,and if it were true we do not think that all philosophy is worth one hour of pain4 ,i cannot forgive ,descartes4 ,if an animal did by mind what it does by instinct1 and if it spoke by mind what it speaks by instinct1 in hunting1 and warning its companions that the quarry is found or lost1 it would certainly also speak in regard to those things which affect it more strongly1 as for instance1 ,gnaw me this cord which hurts me1 and which ,i cannot reach4 ,the story of the pike and frog of ,liancourt4 ,they do it always and never otherwise1 nor any other thing of mind4 ,the calculating machine works results which approach nearer to thought than any thing done by animals1 but it does nothing which enables us to say it has any will1 as animals have4 ,when it is said that heat is only the motion of certain molecules1 and light the conatus recedendi which we feel1 we are surprised4 ,and shall we think that pleasure is but the buoyancy of our spirits8 ,we have conceived so different an idea of it1 and these sensations seem so removed from those others which we say are the same as those with which we compare them4 ,the feeling of fire1 the warmth which affects us in a manner wholly different from touch1 the reception of sound and light1 all this seems to us mysterious1 and yet it is as material as the blow of a stone4 ,it is true that the minuteness of the spirits which enter into the pores touch different nerves1 yet nerves are always touched4 ,what is more absurd than to say that inanimate bodies have passion1 fear1 horror1 that insensible bodies1 without life1 and even incapable of life1 have passions1 which presuppose at least a sensitive soul to feel them1 nay more1 that the object of their terror is a vacuum8 ,what is there in a vacuum which should make them afraid8 ,what can be more base and more ridiculous8 ,nor is this all2 it is said they have in themselves a principle of motion to avoid a vacuum4 ,have they arms1 legs1 muscles1 nerves8 ,how foolish is painting1 which draws admiration by the resemblance of things of which we do not admire the originals4 ,in the same way that we injure the understanding we injure the feelings also4 ,the feelings and the understanding are formed by society1 and are perverted by society4 ,thus good or bad society forms or perverts them4 ,it is then of the first importance to know how to choose in order to form and not to pervert them1 and we cannot make this choice if they be not already formed and not perverted4 ,thus a circle is formed1 and happy are those who escape it4 ,have you never seen persons1 who1 in order to complain of the little you make of them1 bring before you the example of people in high position who esteem them8 ,to such ,i answer1 ,show me the merit by which you have charmed these persons1 and ,i will esteem you too4 ,the world is full of good maxims4 ,all that is needed is their right application4 ,for instance1 no one doubts that we ought to risk our lives for the common weal1 and many do so4 ,but for ,religion1 none4 ,nature diversifies and imitates1 art imitates and diversifies4 ,the more intellect we have ourselves1 the more originality do we discover in others4 ,ordinary people find no difference between men4 ,since we cannot be universal1 and know all that is to be known of everything1 we should know a little of everything4 ,for it is far better to know something of all than to know the whole of one thing1 this universality is the best4 ,if we can have both1 still better1 but if we must choose1 let us choose the first4 ,the world feels and acts on this1 and the world is often a good judge4 ,certain authors speaking of their works1 say3 ,my book1 my commentary1 my history1 etc4 ,they are like the middle-class people who have a small house of their own1 and have my house always on the tongue4 ,they would do better to say3 ,our book1 our commentary1 our history1 etc42 because there is in them generally more of other people's than their own4 ,a true friend is so great an advantage1 even for the greatest lords1 in order that he may speak well of them1 and uphold them in their absence1 that they ought to do all that is possible to have one4 ,but they should choose well1 for spite of all they may do for fools1 whatever good these say of them would be useless1 and they would not even speak well of them if they found themselves in the minority1 for they are without authority4 ,and thus they would abuse them in company4 ,you are ungraceful1 excuse me1 ,i beg4 ,without that excuse ,i had not known there was aught amiss4 ,with reverence be it spoke4444 ,the only evil is the excuse4 ,i always dislike such compliments as these3 ,i have given you a great deal of trouble4 ,i fear ,i am tiring you4 ,i fear this is too long4 ,for we either have our audience with us1 or we provoke them4 ,rivers are roads which move and carry us whither we wish to go4 ,in every action we must look beyond the action at our past1 present and future state1 and at others whom it affects1 and see the relations of all these things4 ,and then we shall be very careful4 ,in every dialogue and discourse we ought to be able to say to those who are offended1 ,of what do you complain8 ,there are many people who listen to the sermon as they listen to vespers4 ,when a strong man armed keepeth his palace1 his goods are in peace4 ,,notes4 ,,notes4 ,p4 #b4 ,pascal's ,profession of ,faith4 ,a few days after ,pascal's death1 a servant discovered this profession sewed into a fold of his master's waistcoat1 pourpoint4 ,it was written on parchment1 with a copy on paper4 ,his family believed that he had carefully placed this in each new garment1 desiring to have always about him the memorial of the great spiritual crisis4 ,p4 #c1 l4 #cb4 ,dereliquerunt me4 ,jer4 li4 #ac4 ,p4 #c4 ,general ,introduction4 ,in this are apparently two drafts of the same preface1 the second beginning with the paragraph ,before entering1 p4 #i1 l4 #f4 ,m4 ,faugre was the first to recognize the true character of this sketch1 which has borne various titles4 ,the ,port ,royal edition called it3 ,against the ,indifference of ,atheists2 ,condorcet headed it3 ,on the ,need of ,concern for the ,proofs of a ,future ,life2 ,bossut3 ,on the ,need of a ,study of ,religion4 ,see note on p4 #fa4 ,p4 #c1 l4 #h4 ,deus absconditus4 ,is4 xlv4 #ae4 ,vere tu es ,deus absconditus1 ,deus ,israel salvator4 ,p4 #aa4 ,notes for the ,general ,introduction4 ,the fragments following are thus arranged by ,molinier as having been in his judgment intended for and many of them expanded in the preceding ,preface4 ,p4 #ab1 l4 #bc4 ,miton was a man of fashion at ,paris1 a friend of ,pascal's friend1 the ,chevalier de ,mr4 ,p4 #ag4 ,preface to the ,first ,part4 ,this is ,pascal's own title to the section4 ,p4 #ag1 l4 #b4 ,charron1 ,pierre1 was born at ,paris in #aeda4 ,he was a friend of ,montaigne1 whose philosophy he adopted4 ,his ,trait de la ,sagesse1 ,bordeaux1 #afja1 is the work of whose elaborate divisions ,pascal complains4 ,p4 #ag1 l4 #ab4 ,montaigne's defects4 ,mademoiselle de ,gournay1 ,montaigne's adopted daughter1 defends the ,essayist in regard to this matter1 in the preface to her edition of the ,essays1 ,paris1 #aeie4 ,p4 #ag1 l4 #ad4 people without eyes4 ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xii4 ,p4 #ag1 l4 #ae4 squaring the circle4 ,ib41 l4 ii4 ch4 xiv4 ,p4 #ag1 l4 #ae4 a greater world4 ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xii4 ,p4 #ag1 l4 #af4 on suicide and on death4 ,ib41 l4 i4 ch4 iii4 ,p4 #ag1 l4 #ag4 without fear and without repentance4 ,ib41 l4 iii4 ch4 ii4 ,p4 #ai4 ,man's ,disproportion4 ,pascal's own title4 ,p4 #ai1 l4 #cd4 the centre of which is every where1 the circumference no where4 ,voltaire attributed this famous saying to the pseudo-,timus of ,locris1 an abridgement of ,plato's ,timus1 but in neither work is the whole sentence to be found4 ,the saying1 however1 is not originally ,pascal's4 ,it is probably borrowed from ,mlle4 de ,gournay's preface to her edition of ,montaigne1 ,paris1 #afce1 and was taken by her from ,rabelais1 bk4 iii4 ch4 #ac1 where it is attributed to ,hermes ,trismegistus4 ,m4 ,havet1 who gives these1 and many more details1 finally traces it1 on the authority of ,vincent de ,beauvais1 #abjj-abfd1 to ,empedocles4 ,p4 #ba1 l4 #cf4 ,i will discourse of the all4 ,this saying of ,democritus is taken by ,pascal from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xii4 ,p4 #bb1 l4 #d4 ,de omni scibili4 ,the title given to nine hundred propositions1 put forth at ,rome by ,pico della ,mirandola1 then aged twenty-three1 in #adhf4 ,p4 #bb1 l4 #h4 ,the ,principles of ,philosophy4 ,descartes wrote a work with this title1 ,principia ,philosophi4 ,p4 #bb1 l4 #ch4 ,beneficia eo usque lata sunt4 ,tacitus1 ,ann4 lib4 iv4 c4 xviii4 ,taken by ,pascal from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 iii4 ch4 viii4 ,p4 #bd1 l4 #bg4 ,and what completes our inability4 ,compare for the whole of the passage on matter and spirit1 ,descartes1 ,discours de la ,mthode4 ,p4 #be1 l4 #cd4 ,modus quo corporibus adhret spiritus4 ,s4 ,aug4 ,de ,civitate ,dei1 xxi4 #aj4 ,taken by ,pascal from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xii4 ,p4 #bf1 l4 #ca4 ,lustravit lampade terras4 ,the full couplet is ,tales sunt hominum mentes1 quali pater ipse ,jupiter auctiferas lustravit lampade terras4 ,s4 ,aug4 ,de ,civitate ,dei1 v4 #h1 a translation by ,cicero of two lines in the ,odyssey1 xviii4 #acf4 ,the quotation is borrowed from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xii4 ,p4 #bg1 l4 #bj4 a fly is buzzing4 ,borrowed from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 iii4 ch4 xiii4 ,p4 #bg1 l4 #bf4 flies which win battles4 ,montaigne relates that the ,portuguese besieging the town of ,tamly were obliged to raise the siege on account of the clouds of flies4 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xii4 ,p4 #bh1 l4 #ab4 ,memoria hospitis unius diei prtereuntis4 ,lib4 ,sap4 v4 #ad4 ,p4 #cj1 l4 #d4 ,plerumque grat1 altered from ,hor4 ,carm4 iii4 #bi1 v4 #ac4 plerumque grat divitibus vices4 ,p4 #cj1 l4 #ac4 ,epaminondas4 ,the example is taken from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xxxvi4 ,p4 #ca1 l4 #bb4 ,sneezing absorbs all the faculties4 ,a paraphrase of a passage in ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 iii4 ch4 v4 ,p4 #ca1 l4 #bh4 ,scaramouch4 ,one of the traditional parts in ,italian ,comedy1 at that time played by the well-known actor ,tiberio ,fiorelli1 whom ,pascal had probably seen4 ,p4 #ca1 l4 #bi4 ,the doctor1 also a common character in ,italian forces4 ,molire has borrowed from the ,italian stage his doctor1 so often a pedant and a fool1 of whom le docteur ,pancrace1 in ,le ,marriage ,forc1 is perhaps the most notable example1 though that comedy was produced after the death of ,pascal4 ,p4 #cb1 l4 #aa4 the ,condrieu1 the ,desargues4 ,gerard ,desargues was a mathematician at ,condrieu on the ,rhone1 who had been ,pascal's teacher4 ,among the ,muscat grapes grown at ,condrieu1 ,pascal distinguishes a special variety of ,desargues1 and among these a particular vine4 ,p4 #cb1 l4 #bh4 the ,passion of ,cleobuline4 ,in ,artamne1 on le ,grand ,cyrus1 the celebrated romance of ,mademoiselle de ,scudery1 ,cleobuline1 princess1 afterwards queen of ,corinth1 is one of the principal characters4 ,she is represented as in love with ,myrinthe1 one of her subjects1 but she loved him without thinking of love2 and remained so long in her error1 that when she became aware of it1 her affection was no longer in a condition to be overcome4 ,p4 #cc4 ,diversion4 ,under this heading ,pascal comprises not only trivial occupations1 and the distractions of idle society1 but all which1 save truth alone1 can form the study or the research of man4 ,the main idea of the chapter is borrowed from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 iii4 chap4 x4 ,p4 #ce4 l4 #ag4 ,the counsel given to ,pyrrhus4 ,ib41 l4 i4 ch4 xliii4 ,p4 #cf1 l4 #aa4 as children are frightened at a face4 ,borrowed from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 iii41 and ,montaigne in his turn borrowed it from ,seneca1 ,ep4 #bd4 ,p4 #cf1 l4 #bh4 superintendent4 ,of finances4 ,the last who held this office was ,fouquet1 still in office when this was written4 ,he was dismissed in disgrace in #affa4 ,p4 #cf1 l4 #bi4 first president4 ,of the ,parliament of ,paris4 ,p4 #cf1 l4 #cb4 dismissed to their country houses4 ,at that date1 and for a long time afterwards1 a ,minister of ,state rarely fell from ,office without receiving a ,lettre de cachet which banished him to the seclusion of his country estate4 ,p4 #ci1 l4 #ag4 ,in omnibus requiem qusivi4 ,eccles4 xxiv4 #g4 ,p4 #dj1 l4 #i4 will arise weariness4 ,compare ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 iii4 ,p4 #da1 l4 #g4 ,csar was too old4 ,see ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xxxiv4 ,p4 #dc4 ,the ,greatness and ,littleness of ,man4 ,the title suggested by ,pascal1 in many passages of the autograph ,,ms4 ,p4 #dc1 l4 #aa4 for ,port ,royal4 ,the letters ,a4 ,p4 ,r4 occur in several places in ,pascal's ,,ms4 ,it is generally thought that they mean ,port-,royal1 and are intended to indicate subjects to be developed later in confrences or lectures at that house4 ,p4 #de1 l4 #a4 ,man is neither angel nor brute4 ,this is closely borrowed from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 iii4 ch4 xiii4 ,p4 #df1 l4 #ae4 ,corrumpunt mores bonos colloquia prava4 #a ad ,cor4 xv4 #cc1 but the ,vulgate reading has mala4 ,p4 #dg1 l4 #ah4 ,paulus ,emilius4 ,the example is taken from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 i4 ch4 xix4 ,see also ,cic4 ,tuscul4 v4 #dj4 ,p4 #dg1 l4 #ca4 ,ego vir videns1 ,lament1 iii4 #a4 ,ego vir videns paupertatem meam in virga indignationis ejus4 ,p4 #ea4 ,of the deceptive powers1 etc4 ,this is ,pascal's own title for this section4 ,p4 #ea1 l4 #ad4 ,imagination4 ,pascal uses this word in an extended sense already given to it by ,montaigne1 and means that faculty by which we attribute a value to those things which in fact have none4 ,p4 #ec1 l4 #aa4 furred cats4 ,rabelais1 bk4 v4 ch4 #aa4 ,p4 #ed1 l4 #b4 ,della ,opinione4 ,no work is known under this name4 ,pascal possibly means a work of ,carlo ,flosi1 ,l',opinione tiranna1 moralmente considerata ne gli affari del mondo1 ,mondovi1 #afij4 ,but it is not certain that this edition is the reprint of a work extant before ,pascal wrote4 ,p4 #ed1 l4 #bg4 ,diseases are another source of error4 ,taken from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xii4 ,p4 #ef1 l4 #bj4 in ,switzerland that of the burgesses4 ,this may be compared with p4 #ff1 l4 #f4 ,in the majority of ,swiss towns every candidate for municipal office must needs possess the freedom of the town1 but the intention was not to set aside those of noble birth1 as ,pascal supposes1 but foreigners1 and those of other towns1 each of which was considered as a separate state4 ,p4 #eg1 l4 #bg4 would care nothing for ,provence4 ,compare ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 i4 ch4 xxii4 ,c'est par l'entremise de la coustume que chascun est contant du lieu o nature l'a plant3 et les sauvages d',escosse n'ont que faire de la ,touraine1 ny les ,scythes de la ,thessalie4 ,p4 #eg1 l4 #bh4 ,ferox gens4 ,livy1 l4 xxxiv4 c4 #ag4 ,p4 #eh4 l4 #bj4 ,brave deeds4 ,borrowed from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 i4 ch4 xl4 ,p4 #fa4 ,of ,justice1 etc4 ,these fragments1 now among the best known of ,pascal's ,thoughts1 but for the most part brought to notice in the ,edition of ,bossut1 #aggi1 have their present arrangement and title from ,molinier4 ,p4 #fa1 l4 #cj4 ,nihil amplius4 ,these sentences1 borrowed from ,montaigne1 are quoted1 the first of them wrongly1 from ,cicero1 ,de ,finibus1 v4 #ba2 the second from ,seneca1 ,ad ,lucilium1 ,ep4 #ie2 the third from ,tacitus1 ,annales1 iii4 #be4 ,compare with the whole passage ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xii4 and l4 iii4 ch4 xiii4 ,p4 #fb1 l4 #bi4 ,quum veritatem4 ,s4 ,aug41 ,de ,civit4 ,dei1 iv4 #ca4 ,from ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 iii4 ,p4 #fb1 l4 #bg4 the wisest of law givers4 ,socrates1 in the ,republic of ,plato4 ,p4 #fc1 l4 #i4 ,archesilas4 ,born at ,pitane in olis of a ,scythian father1 about #cjj ,b4,c4 ,he was founder of the ,school known as the ,second ,academy4 ,see ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 iii4 ,p4 #fd1 l4 #ai4 ,for all that is here said on ,custom1 see ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 i4 ch4 xxii4 ,p4 #fe1 l4 #g4 ,pasce oves meas4 ,joh4 xxi4 #ag4 ,the words are those taken as the foundation of papal authority4 ,you owe me pasturage1 i4e4 you owe me justice4 ,p4 #fe1 l4 #cj4 the soldiers of ,mahomet1 thieves1 heretics4 ,pascal boldly joins heretics and thieves1 for those who did not hold his creed appeared to him as men sans foi ni loi1 faithless and lawless4 ,in his eyes a ,turk was scarce a man4 ,see the ,provincial ,letters1 let4 xiv4 ,sont-ce des religieux et des prtres qui parlent de cette sorte8 ,sont-ce des ,chrtiens8 ,sont-ce des ,tures8 ,sont-ce des demons8 ,and ,thoughts1 p4 #baa1 l4 #cj4 ,do we not see beasts live and die like men1 and ,turks like ,christians4 ,p4 #ff1 l4 #f4 ,the ,swiss4 ,see note on p4 #ef1 l4 #bj4 ,p4 #ff1 l4 #aj4 condemning so many ,spaniards to death4 ,possibly an allusion to the battle of the ,dunes1 #afei1 which led to the ,peace of the ,pyrenees1 so long desired by all but ,spain1 then obliged to consent4 ,p4 #fg1 l4 #ac4 ,summum jus1 summa injuria4 ,charron1 ,trait de la ,sagesse1 etc4 ch4 xxvii4 art4 #h4 ,p4 #fg1 l4 #bf4 ,the end of the ,twelfth ,provincial4 ,the following is the passage to which ,pascal alludes4 ,c'est une etrange et longue guerre que celle o la violence essaye d'opprimer la vrit4 ,tons les efforts de la violence ne peuvent affaiblir la vrit1 et ne servent qu' la relever davantage4 ,toutes les lumires de la vrit ne peuvent rien pour arrter la violence et ne font que l'irriter encore plus 444 la violence et la vrit ne peuvent rien l'une sur l'autre4 ,p4 #fg1 l4 #bg4 ,the ,fronde4 ,this was the name given to the party which rose against ,mazarin and the ,court during the minority of ,louis ,,xiv41 and plunged ,france into civil war4 ,p4 #fi1 l4 #aj4 give me the strap4 ,this is no exaggeration1 since fifty years after ,pascal wrote1 ,voltaire was beaten by the servants of the ,duc de ,rohan4 ,p4 #fi1 l4 #ab4 ,it is odd that ,montaigne4 ,essais1 l4 i4 ch4 xlii4 ,p4 #fi1 l4 #af4 ,when power attacks craft4 ,satyre ,menippe1 ,harangue du ,sire de ,rieux3 il n'y a ny bonnet quarr1 ny bourlet1 que je ne face voler4 ,p4 #fi1 l4 #cj4 figmentum malum4 ,ps4 ciii4 #ac4 ,quomodo miseretur pater filiorum1 misertus est ,dominus timentibus se3 ,quoniam ipse cognovit figmentum nostrum4 ,p4 #gj1 l4 #ad4 ,savages laugh at an infant king4 ,pascal is alluding to the story in ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 i4 ch4 xxx41 of the savages presented to ,charles ,,ix4 at ,rouen1 who were astonished to see bearded men obey a child4 ,p4 #gb1 l4 #af4 ,epictetus4 ,see p4 #de1 l4 #cj1 in order to understand this somewhat enigmatic fragment4 ,in the next paragraph is an allusion to the passage in which ,epictetus says1 l4 iv4 ch4 #g1 that the philosopher may well be constant and detached from life by wisdom1 as were the ,galilans by their fanaticism4 ,p4 #gc4 ,weakness1 unrest1 and defects of man4 ,the arrangements of these fragments under this title is ,molinier's4 ,p4 #gc1 l4 #a4 ,we anticipate the future4 ,compare ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 i4 ch4 iii4 ,p4 #gd1 l4 #bh4 ,alexander's chastity4 ,to attribute this virtue to ,alexander is strange1 but no doubt the circumstance in ,pascal's thought was his generous conduct to the family of ,darius1 after the battle of ,issus4 ,p4 #ge1 l4 #ab4 the ,king of ,england4 ,probably ,charles ,,ii41 then living in exile1 rather than ,charles ,i4 ,the ,king of ,poland was ,jean ,casimir1 driven from his throne by ,charles ,x4 of ,sweden1 after the battle of ,warsaw in #afef4 ,the ,queen of ,sweden was ,christina1 daughter of ,gustavus ,adolphus1 who abdicated in favour of her cousin1 ,charles ,x41 in #afed4 ,p4 #ge1 l4 #bi4 we shall die alone1 on mourra seul4 ,it is a curious instance of the fact how little ,pascal is known in ,england1 that ,keble having quoted this sentence wrongly1 probably from memory1 in the first edition of the ,christian ,year1 as ,je mourrai seul1 it has remained uncorrected and apparently unnoticed to this day4 ,p4 #gf1 l4 #ab4 ,cromwell4 ,as ,charles ,,ii4 was restored in #affj1 this fragment was written about that date1 two years before ,pascal's death4 ,cromwell's death did not arise from the cause stated in the text4 ,p4 #gg1 l4 #h4 the automaton4 ,the expression of ,descartes and his school for the animal body4 ,p4 #gg1 l4 #be4 ,inclina cor meum1 ,deus4 ,ps4 cxix4 #cf4 ,inclina cor meum in testimonia tua1 et non in avaritiam4 ,p4 #gg1 l4 #cj4 ,eritis sicut dii4 ,gen4 iii4 #e4 ,p4 #gi1 l4 #cj4 men laugh and weep at the same thing4 ,the thought is from ,charron1 ,trait de la ,sagesse1 l4 i4 ch4 xxxviii4 ,p4 #hj1 l4 #ce4 the grand ,sultan4 ,none of ,pascal's editors have discovered whence he drew this purely fictitious description of the ,sultan4 ,p4 #ha1 l4 #i4 ,that epigram about the two one-eyed people4 ,this is not ,martial's4 ,it is found in ,epigrammatum ,delectus1 published by ,port ,royal in #afei4 ,lumine ,acon dextro1 capta est ,leonilla sinistro1 ,et potis est forma vincere uterque ,deos4 ,blande puer1 lumen quod habes concede parenti2 ,si tu ccus ,amor1 sic erit illa ,venus4 ,p4 #ha1 l4 #ab4 ,ambitiosa recidet ornamenta4 ,horace1 ,de ,arte ,poetica1 v4 #ddg4 ,p4 #hc1 l4 #bb4 ,spongia solis4 ,the spots on the sun4 ,du ,cange explains spongia by macula4 ,pascal seems to mean that the spots on the sun prepare us for its total extinction2 that the sun will eventually expire1 so that1 contrary as it seems to the course of nature1 there will come a day when there will be no sun4 ,p4 #hi4 ,the title given to this second part is furnished by ,pascal4 ,in the first part he has wished to prove the fallen state of man1 and his weakness2 he now maintains that man may be restored by faith in ,jesus ,christ1 and the practice of religion4 ,p4 #ia1 l4 #bf4 ,nemo novit4 ,matt4 xi4 #bg4 ,et nemo novit ,filium nisi ,pater3 neque ,patrem quis novit1 nisi ,filius1 et cui voluerit ,filius revelare4 ,p4 #ib1 l4 #c4 ,vere tu es4 ,is4 xlv4 #ae1 see p4 #c1 l4 #h4 ,p4 #ib1 l4 #aj4 ,quod curiositate cognoverint4 ,probably cited from recollection of ,saint ,augustine1 but the passage is not verbally to be found4 ,p4 #if1 l4 #f4 neither the stars4 ,porrum et cpe nefas violare et frangere morsu ,o sanctas gentes1 quibus hc nascuntur in hortis ,numina6 ,juvenal1 ,sat4 xv4 #i4 ,see also ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 i4 ch4 xlii4 ,p4 #ig1 l4 #bh4 stultitiam4 #a ,cor4 i4 #ai4 ,p4 #aja1 l4 #ab4 the opinion of ,copernicus4 ,pascal no doubt refers to a passage in ,montaigne1 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xii41 in which he abstains from deciding between the rival systems of astronomy4 ,pascal1 however1 had no doubt on the matter himself1 as is plain from the passage on ,galileo in the ,eighteenth ,provincial4 ,p4 #aja1 l4 #af4 ,fascinatio nugacitatis4 ,lib4 ,sap4 iv4 #ab4 ,fascinatio enim nugacitatis obscurat bona4 ,see note on p4 #afe4 ,p4 #ajb1 l4 #ab4 ,so our people often act4 ,fnlon1 ,lettre l',evque d',arras1 says1 ,toutes les difficults s'evanouissent sans peine des qu'on a l'esprit gueri de la prsomption4 ,alors suivant le rgle de ,saint ,augustin1 ,epist4 ad ,hier41 on passe sur tout ce que l'on n'entend pas1 et on s'edifie de tout ce qu'on entend4 ,see also ,de ,imitatione ,christi1 l4 i4 ch4 v4 ,p4 #ajd1 l4 #d4 ,harum sententiarum4 ,harum sententiarum qu vera sit ,deus aliquis viderit4 ,cic4 ,tuscul4 i4 #aa4 ,p4 #ajd1 l4 #ad4 ,the ,preacher shows4 ,the precise thought as ,pascal has it here is not easy to find in ,ecclesiastes4 ,it is probably a reminiscence of ,eccles4 viii4 #ag4 ,p4 #aje4 ,the ,philosophers4 ,the title of this chapter is that given by ,molinier to the collection of fragments contained in it4 ,a few expressions and thoughts are from ,montaigne1 many more from ,descartes1 ,discours de la ,mthode4 ,p4 #ajh1 l4 #af4 ,delici me4 ,prov4 viii4 #ca4 ,p4 #ajh1 l4 #ag4 ,effundam spiritum4 ,joel ii4 #bh4 ,p4 #ajh1 l4 #ag4 ,dii estis1 ,ps4 lxxxii4 #f4 ,p4 #ajh1 l4 #ah4 ,omnis caro fnum4 ,is4 xl4 #f4 ,p4 #ajh1 l4 #ah4 ,homo assimilatus est4 ,ps4 xlix4 #bj4 ,p4 #ajh1 l4 #bj4 ,dixi in corde meo4 ,eccl4 iii4 #ah4 ,p4 #aaj1 l4 #bh4 ,ex senatus consultis4 ,seneca1 ,ep4 xcv41 sec4 #cj4 ,p4 #aaj1 l4 #bi4 ,nihil tam absurde4 ,cic4 ,de ,divia4 ii4 #eh4 ,p4 #aaj1 l4 #cb4 ,ut omnium rerum4 ,seneca1 ,ep4 cvi4 ,but the real reading is ,quemadmodum--omnium rerum4 ,p4 #aaj1 l4 #cd4 ,id maxime4 ,cic4 ,de ,off4 i4 #ca4 ,p4 #aaj1 l4 #ce4 ,hos natura modos4 ,virg4 ,georg4 ii4 #bj4 ,p4 #aaa1 l4 #d4 ,mihi sic usus est4 ,ter4 ,hea4 i4 #a1 #bh4 ,p4 #aaa1 l4 #f4 falsity of their dilemma in ,montaigne4 ,essais1 l4 ii4 ch4 xii4 ,si l'me est mortelle1 il est absurde de craindre la mort1 si elle est immortelle elle ne peut aller qu'en s'ameliorant4 ,p4 #aab1 l4 #aa4 ,felix qui potuit4 ,virg4 ,georg4 ii4 l4 #dhi4 ,p4 #aab1 l4 #ac4 nihil mirari4 ,hor4 ,epist4 #a1 vi4 l4 #a4 ,the whole passage is1 ,nil admirari prope res est una1 ,numici1 ,solaque1 qu possit facere et servare beatum4 ,p4 #aac1 l4 #ae4 two sects4 ,epicureans and ,stoics4 ,p4 #aac1 l4 #ag4 ,des ,barreaux4 ,jacques ,desbarreaux was an ,epicurean poet born at ,paris in #afjb1 died in #afgc1 who in his poems paraded his unbelief4 ,curiously enough1 his only extant verses were written when he lay ill1 and are addressed to ,god4 ,p4 #aac1 l4 #bh4 ,epictetus concludes4 ,encheiridion1 iv4 #g4 ,p4 #aac1 l4 #cj4 three sects4 ,pascal no doubt refers the libido sentiendi to the ,epicureans1 the libido dominandi to the ,stoics1 and the libido sciendi to the dogmatic schools of ,plato and ,aristotle1 of which ,cicero always speaks as though they taught one and the same philosophy4 ,p4 #aad1 l4 #c4 two inches under water1 are equally drowned with those who are at the bottom4 ,p4 #aae4 ,the fragments collected in this chapter are here placed by ,molinier according to the plan which ,pascal had traced out for his work1 in which after he had laid the various philosophical systems before his supposed unbeliever1 he brought forward for examination the other religions4 ,p4 #aae1 l4 #bj4 forbade men to read it4 ,it is not known whence ,pascal obtained this statement1 which is a complete mistake4 ,p4 #aaf1 l4 #ae4 ,jesus ,christ wills that his testimony to himself should be of no avail4 ,john v4 #ca4 ,if ,i bear witness of myself1 my witness is not true4 ,p4 #aaf1 l4 #cj4 ,the ,koran says that ,saint ,matthew4 ,the ,koran does not name ,saint ,matthew1 but says in general terms that ,mahomet regarded the apostles of ,jesus as holy4 ,p4 #aag1 l4 #bg4 whose witnesses let themselves be slaughtered4 ,after this ,pascal had written1 but erased the words which of the two is most to be blamed1 ,moses or ,china8 and these aid us in the explanation of this enigmatic passage4 ,the ,jesuits had established themselves in ,china at the end of the sixteenth century1 and when ,pascal wrote their missions were in a flourishing state4 ,they had studied the language1 history1 and literature of ,china4 ,but the difficulty presented itself of reconciling the cosmogony and chronology of the ,bible with those of the ,chinese sages4 ,it is probable that this passage was inspired by a private conversation with some one who had read letters from a missionary1 for no book on the subject appears to have existed in ,pascal's day4 ,p4 #aah1 l4 #d4 ,the five suns1 etc4 ,montaigne1 from whom this is taken1 ,essais1 l4 iii4 ch4 iv41 probably borrowed it from some ,spanish book now forgotten4 ,p4 #aai4 ,of the ,jewish ,people4 ,this position in his intended treatise1 before the sections on the ,sacred ,books and on ,prophecy1 is that which ,pascal himself designed for his remarks on the ,jews4 ,p4 #abc1 l4 #e4 ,the ,masorah4 ,the unwritten tradition of the ,jews4 ,p4 #abf1 l4 #i4 ,quis mihi det4 ,num4 xi4 #bi4 ,the true reading is1 ,quis tribuat ut omnis populus prophetet4 ,p4 #abf1 l4 #ag4 ,if the story in ,esdras is credible4 ,in the #adth ,chapter of the ,second ,book of ,esdras ,god appears to ,esdras in a bush1 and orders him to assemble the people and deliver the message4 ,esdras replies1 ,i will go as thou hast commanded me1 and reprove the people which are present1 but they that shall be born afterward who shall admonish them8444 ,for thy law is burnt1 therefore no man knoweth the things that are done of thee1 or the works that shall begin4 ,but if ,i have found grace before thee1 send the ,holy ,ghost into me1 and ,i shall write all that hath been done in the world since the beginning4 444 ,then ,god ordered him to take five scribes1 to whom for forty days he dictated the ancient law4 ,the authenticity of this story1 coming into conflict as it does with many passages of the prophets1 and specially with ,jeremiah1 appeared open to such grave doubts1 that at the ,council of ,trent the last book of ,esdras1 called in the ,catholic ,church1 ,esdras ,,iv41 by ,protestants ,esdras ,,ii41 was then rejected from the ,canon4 ,p4 #abf1 l4 #bg4 ,jeremiah gave them the law4 ,see #b ,maccabees1 ch4 xi4 ,p4 #abh1 l4 #ca4 ,qui justus est justificetur adhuc4 ,apocal4 xvii4 #d4 ,p4 #abi1 l4 #ah4 a thousand and twenty-two4 ,this was the number of stars comprised in the ,catalogue of ,ptolemy1 according to the system of ,hipparchus4 ,p4 #acb1 l4 #i4 ,non habemus regem nisi ,csarem4 ,job4 xx4 #ae4 ,p4 #acd1 l4 #ab4 ,eris palpans in meridie4 ,incorrectly quoted from ,deut4 xxviii4 #bi4 ,p4 #acd1 l4 #ac4 ,dabitur liber4 ,incorrectly quoted from ,is4 xxix4 #ab4 ,p4 #ace1 l4 #f4 ,effundam spiritum meum4 ,is4 xliv4 #b4 ,p4 #ace1 l4 #ba4 populum non credentem4 ,is4 lxv4 #b4 ,p4 #acf1 l4 #b4 ex omnibus iniquitatibus4 ,probably a remembrance of ,is4 xliv4 #bb4 ,delevi ut nubem iniquitates tuas4 ,p4 #acf1 l4 #ac4 ,the little stone4 ,dan4 ii4 #cd4 ,p4 #acf1 l4 #cc4 ,omnis ,juda regio4 ,incorrectly quoted from ,matt4 iii4 #e4 ,p4 #acg1 l4 #c4 ,these stones can become4 ,matt4 iii4 #i4 ,p4 #adj1 l4 #ae4 ,grotius4 ,the allusion is no doubt to his work1 ,de ,veritate ,religionis ,christian1 which appeared in #affb4 ,p4 #adc1 l4 #f4 the king of the ,medes and ,persians is ,darius ,codomanus2 the ,king of the ,greeks1 ,alexander4 ,the four kings are1 ,seleucus1 ,king of ,syria2 ,ptolemy1 ,king of ,egypt2 ,lysimachus1 ,king of ,thrace1 and ,cassander1 ,king of ,macedonia1 after the battle of ,ipsus1 #cja ,b4,c4 ,p4 #adc1 l4 #ab4 ,this paragraph refers to ,antiochus ,epiphanes1 ,king of ,syria1 who died #afd ,b4,c4 ,see the account of his death1 #a ,macc4 c4 #f4 ,p4 #ade1 l4 #a4 ,and in the end of years4 ,the marriage of ,antiochus ,theos with ,berenice took place about #bdg ,b4,c4 ,berenice was assassinated by ,seleucus ,ceraunos soon afterwards1 and the war between ,ptolemy ,euergetes and the ,king of ,syria lasted during almost all the reign of the latter4 ,syria regained the ascendancy only after the death of ,ptolemy ,euergetes in #bbb ,b4,c4 ,p4 #ade1 l4 #bf4 ,raphia4 ,the ,battle of ,raphia was gained by ,ptolemy ,philopator over ,antiochus the ,great1 #bag ,b4,c4 ,p4 #ade1 l4 #cf4 ,euergetes1 a mistake for ,epiphanes4 ,p4 #adg1 l4 #b4 ,the leader taken from the thigh4 ,a literal translation of ,gen4 xlix4 #aj4 ,non auferetur sceptrum de ,juda1 et dux de femore ejus4 ,p4 #aeb1 l4 #bf4 ,pugio ,fidei4 ,the work so called1 which ,pascal first specifies in this place1 is one of which he made great use in all his speculations on the fulfilment of ,prophecy1 and on the meaning of the ,hebrew letters1 etc4 ,the book1 of which the full title is ,pugio ,fidei adversus ,mauros et ,judos1 was written in #abgh by ,raymond ,martin1 a ,catalonian monk4 ,it remained almost unknown for four hundred years1 and was first printed in #afea4 ,it was1 therefore1 as it were1 a new book when ,pascal became acquainted with it4 ,under the name ,mauri the author assails not the ,koran nor ,mahomet1 but ,arabic philosophy4 ,p4 #afa1 l4 #b4 ,ut sciatis quod filius hominis4 ,marc4 ii4 #aj-aa4 ,the words of ,jesus to the paralytic4 ,p4 #afd1 l4 #af4 ,signa legem in electis meis4 ,is4 viii4 #af1 where the ,vulgate has discipulis4 ,p4 #afe1 l4 #ae4 ,fascination4 i4e41 ,fascinatio nugacitatis1 see p4 #aja1 l4 #af4 ,the blindness produced by the love of temporal possessions1 or as the ,a4 ,v4 translates it1 the bewitching of naughtiness4 ,p4 #afe1 l4 #ae4 ,somnum suum4 ,ps4 lxxvi4 #e4 ,turbati sunt omnes insipientes corde4 ,dormierunt somnum suum3 et nihil invenerunt omnes viri divitiarum in manibus suis4 ,p4 #afe1 l4 #ae4 ,figura hujus mundi4 #a ad ,cor4 vii4 #ca4 ,et qui utuntur hoc mundo1 tanquam non utantur3 prterit enim figura hujus mundi4 ,p4 #afe1 l4 #af4 ,comedes panem tuum4 ,deut viii4 #i4 ,panem nostrum4 ,luc4 xi4 #c4 ,p4 #afe1 l4 #ag4 ,inimici ,dei terram lingent4 ,ps4 lxxii #h4 ,the ,psalm is of ,solomon1 ,inimici ejus terram lingent4 ,p4 #afe1 l4 #bb4 cum amaritudinibus4 ,ex4 xii4 #h1 where the ,vulgate has cum lactucis agrestibus4 ,p4 #afe1 l4 #bd4 ,singularis sum ego4 ,ps4 cxli4 #aj1 where the true reading is singulariter4 ,p4 #afe1 l4 #cd4 ,we have no right4 ,the following is the explanation of this and the next two paragraphs3 ,in ,is4 ix4 #f1 a prophecy which the ,rabbis apply to ,messiah1 and ,christian interpreters to ,jesus1 are the words3 ,parvulus enim natus est nobis 444 multiplicabatur ejus imperium4 ,in the ,hebrew words representing this latter clause1 the closed mem1 a letter ordinarily employed only at the end of a word1 occurs where an open mem should be used4 ,from this orthographic mistake the ,rabbis have concluded that ,messiah would be born of a virgin1 ex virgine clausa4 ,moreover1 as the closed mem in ,hebrew writing means six hundred1 the ,rabbis supposed that ,messiah was to come six hundred years after ,isaiah4 ,the final tsad has the same value as the closed mem4 ,p4 #aff1 l4 #h4 the way of the philosopher's stone1 no doubt the way of finding the philosopher's stone4 ,the dreams of the alchemists on this subject were early mingled with those of the ,rabbis on the ,messiah4 ,nor had the ,cabbala lost all credit in ,pascal's days4 ,in #afbi ,robert ,fludd1 in ,latin ,de ,fluctibus1 an ,englishman1 educated at ,oxford1 and a ,fellow of the ,college of ,physicians1 published at ,frankfort his ,medicina ,catholica4 ,in this1 sect #a4 pt4 ii4 b4 #a4 ch4 i4 he speaks of sicknesses and healing as both sent from ,god by angelic intermediaries1 and that all angelic natures are summed up in the great angel ,mittatron1 whom the ,scriptures call ,wisdom4 ,in a further passage he says that in him whom the ,cabalists call ,mittatron others recognise ,messiah1 and quotes the passage of ,isaiah in which occurs the closed mem4 ,in ,reuchlin's book ,de ,arte ,cabalistica the open mem is said to represent the sphere of ,jupiter1 and the closed mem the sphere of ,mars4 ,p4 #aff1 l4 #ab4 ,apocalyptics4 ,interpreters of the ,apocalypse4 ,p4 #aff1 l4 #ac4 ,preadamites4 ,those who hold that ,adam was the progenitor of the ,jews only1 and not of the whole human race4 ,p4 #aff1 l4 #ac4 ,millenarians4 ,the believers in the reign of ,christ on earth for a thousand years4 ,p4 #aff1 l4 #ai4 ,the allusion is probably to #b ,paralip4 i4 #ad4 ,et fecit eos esse in urbibus quadrigarum1 et cum rege in ,jerusalem4 ,p4 #aff1 l4 #ca4 ,exortum est lumen4 ,ps4 cxii4 #d4 ,but the word corde does not appear in the ,vulgate4 ,p4 #afh1 l4 #cj4 ,agnus occisus est4 ,apoc4 xiii4 #h4 ,p4 #agj1 l4 #bc4 the breasts of the ,spouse4 ,song of ,songs1 iv4 #e4 ,p4 #aga1 l4 #cb4 ,nisi fecissem4 ,a partial citation of ,joh4 xv4 #bd4 ,p4 #agd1 l4 #cb4 ,adam forma futuri1 ad ,rom4 v4 #ad4 ,p4 #age1 l4 #g4 the six mornings4 ,this passage is taken from ,s4 ,aug4 ,de ,genesi contra ,manichos1 i4 #bc4 ,pascal probably intending to write les six orients1 dawns or mornings1 his amanuensis has written les six arians1 a source of much misunderstanding4 ,the six mornings are1 the creation2 the deliverance from the ,ark2 the call of ,abraham2 the carrying away into ,babylon2 the preaching of ,jesus4 ,p4 #age1 l4 #bi4 ,fac secundum exemplar4 ,exod4 xxv4 #dj1 but the ,vulgate has monstratum4 ,p4 #agf1 l4 #i4 ,saint ,paul says4 #a ,cor4 vii42 #a ,tim4 iv4 #c4 ,p4 #agf1 l4 #ad4 ,on which ,saint ,paul says4 ,heb4 viii4 #e4 ,p4 #agf1 l4 #af4 ,veri adoratores4 ,joh4 iv4 #bc4 ,ecce agnus ,dei4 ,joh4 i4 #bi4 ,p4 #ahg1 l4 #aa4 ne evacuata sit crux4 #a ad ,cor4 i4 #ag4 ut non evacuetur crux ,christi4 ,p4 #ahg1 l4 #ab4 says that he came neither with wisdom nor with signs4 ,see however #b ,cor4 xii4 #ab4 ,truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience1 in signs and wonders and mighty deeds4 ,p4 #aia1 l4 #g4 ,delici me4 ,prov4 viii4 #ca4 ,effundam4 ,joel1 ii4 #bh4 ,dii estis4 ,ps4 lxxxii4 #f4 ,omnis caro fnum4 ,is4 xl4 #f4 ,homo comparatus est4 ,ps4 xlix4 #bj4 ,dixi in corde4 ,eccles4 iii4 #ah4 ,p4 #aib1 l4 #c4 ,marton4 ,probably a mistake of the amanuensis for ,miton4 ,see p4 #ab1 l4 #bb4 ,p4 #aib1 l4 #aj4 ,sapientius est hominibus4 #a ad ,cor4 i4 #be4 ,p4 #aid1 l4 #e4 ,nemo ante obitum beatus est4 ,ovid1 ,met4 iii4 #acf4 ,the passage runs3-- ,dicique beatus ,ante obitum nemo supremaque funera debet4 ,p4 #aid1 l4 #ai4 ,the citations from the ,rabbis are taken from the ,pugio ,fidei4 ,p4 #aie1 l4 #cf4 ,chronology of ,rabbinism4 ,the chronology here given is in many points at variance with modern scholarship4 ,p4 #aig1 l4 #ai4 ,salutare tuum expectabo4 ,gen4 xlix4 #ah4 ,p4 #bjj1 l4 #ab4 ,miserere4 ,the first word of ,ps4 li41 ,miserere mei ,deus4 ,expectavi4 ,the first word of ,ps4 xl41 ,expectans expectavi ,dominum4 ,p4 #bjj1 l4 #bi4 ,dixit ,dominus4 ,the first words of ,ps4 cx4 ,p4 #bji1 l4 #aa4 ,excca4 ,is4 vi4 #aj4 ,p4 #baj1 l4 #ac4 nisi efficiamini4 ,matt1 xviii4 #c4 ,p4 #bac1 l4 #ba4 ,quis mihi det ut4 ,job1 xix4 #bc-be4 ,p4 #bae1 l4 #e4 ,quare fremuerunt gentes4 ,ps4 ii4 #a1 #b4 ,p4 #bae1 l4 #cj4 ,ingrediens mundum4 ,probably a recollection of the meaning1 but not the words1 of ,heb4 i4 #f4 ,p4 #bae1 l4 #ca4 ,stone upon stone4 ,mark1 xiii4 #b4 ,p4 #baf1 l4 #bc4 in sanctificationem et in scandalum1 a partial quotation of ,isaiah1 viii4 #ad4 ,p4 #bag1 l4 #c4 nigmatis4 ,the word nowhere appears1 but the allusion is no doubt to #a ad ,cor4 xiii4 #ab4 ,videmus nunc per speculum in nigmate1 tunc autem facie ad faciem4 ,p4 #bai1 l4 #c4 gladium tuum4 ,ps4 xlv4 #c4 ,accingere gladio tuo super femur tuum1 potentissime4 ,p4 #bbj1 l4 #ba4 ,he hath blinded them4 ,is4 vi4 #aj4 ,p4 #bba1 l4 #bb4 ,great ,pan is dead4 ,plutarch ,de ,oraculis4 ,p4 #bba1 l4 #bf4 ,barcoseba1 or ,barcochebas1 a ,jewish impostor who claimed to be the ,messiah1 ,a4,d4 #ace4 ,p4 #bbb1 l4 #c4 ,curse of the ,greeks1 no doubt against those ,heretics who tried to discover the exact date of the end of the world4 ,p4 #bbe1 l4 #ai4 ,quia non cognovit4 ,the quotation is modified from #a ad ,cor4 i4 #ba1 and with the important omission of the final word credentes4 ,p4 #bbf1 l4 #bd4 ,quod ergo ignorantes quritis4 ,adapted from ,act4 ,ap4 xvii4 #bc4 ,quod ergo ignorantes colitis ego annuncio vobis4 ,p4 #bbf1 l4 #bh4 via1 veritas4 ,joh4 xiv4 #f4 ,p4 #bbg1 l4 #ab4 ,jaddus to ,alexander4 ,jaddus was the ,jewish ,high ,priest1 who on ,alexander's invasion of ,syria refused to aid him4 ,thereupon ,alexander marched on ,jerusalem4 ,jaddus came out to meet him in processional pomp1 when the conqueror prostrated himself at his feet1 saying he had seen such a man in a dream1 who had promised him the ,empire of ,asia4 ,p4 #bbh1 l4 #ad4 ,archimedes1 though of princely birth4 ,plutarch says that ,archimedes was of a family allied to that of ,hiero1 ,king of ,syracuse4 ,p4 #bbi1 l4 #aa4 ,i will bless those that bless thee4 ,gen4 xii4 #c4 ,benedicam benedicentibus tibi4 ,p4 #bbi1 l4 #ac4 ,parum est ut4 ,is4 xlix4 #f4 ,parum est ut sis mihi servus ad suscitandas tribus ,jacob et faeces ,israel convertendas4 ,ecce dedi te in lucem gentium4 ,p4 #bbi1 l4 #ae4 ,non fecit taliter4 ,ps4 cxlvii4 #bj4 ,p4 #bcj1 l4 #h4 ,jesus ,christ the ,redeemer of all4 ,jesu ,redemptor omnium is the first verse of the ,christmas ,vesper ,hymn4 ,p4 #bcj1 l4 #ba4 ,lord1 when saw we thee an hungered8 ,matt4 xxv4 #cd4 ,p4 #bca4 ,the ,mystery of ,jesus4 ,this fragment has only been included by more recent editors4 ,but it exists in the autograph ,,ms41 and unquestionably forms a part of the intended work4 ,p4 #bca1 l4 #c4 turbare semetipsum4 ,joh4 xi4 #cc4 ,in the text turbavit seipsum4 ,p4 #bcb1 l4 #i4 ,eamus4 ,processit4 ,a recollection of ,joh4 xviii4 #d1 but the word eamus does not occur in the verse1 being borrowed from the account in ,matt4 xxvi4 #df4 ,p4 #bcc1 l4 #be4 ut immundus pro luto4 ,possibly a reminiscence and misquotation of #b ,pet4 ii4 #bb4 ,sus lota in volutabro luti4 ,p4 #bcd1 l4 #cc4 ,noli me tangere4 ,joh4 xx4 #ag4 ,p4 #bce1 l4 #ba4 ,et tu conversus4 ,luc4 xxii4 #cb4 ,conversus ,jesus4 ib4 #fa4 before should be after4 ,p4 #bch1 l4 #af4 ,qui adhret ,deo4 #a ad ,cor4 v4 #ag4 ,qui autem adhret ,domino unus spiritus est4 ,p4 #bch1 l4 #bh4 because it has perhaps merited ours4 ,see ,bossuet's ,catechism4 ,qu'entendez vous par la ,communion des ,saints8 ,j'entends principalement la participation qu'ont tous les fidles au fruit des bonnes uvres les uns des autres4 ,p4 #bdj1 l4 #bh4 ,book of ,wisdom4 ,ch4 ii4 #f4 ,but the sense only1 and not the words1 is given4 ,p4 #bda1 l4 #af4 et non intres in judicium4 ,ps4 cxliii4 #b4 ,p4 #bda1 l4 #ai4 ,the goodness of ,god4 ,rom4 ii4 #d4 ,p4 #bda1 l4 #bj4 ,let us do penance4 ,jonah1 iii4 #i4 ,but the sense only1 not the words1 is quoted4 ,p4 #bdc1 l4 #b4 qui gloriatur1 in ,domino glorietur4 #a ad ,cor4 i4 #ca4 ,p4 #bdc1 l4 #d4 libido sentiendi4 ,from ,jansenius1 ,de statu natur laps1 ii4 #h4 ,p4 #bdc1 l4 #e4 ,woe to the accursed land4 ,this and the following paragraphs are taken from ,saint ,augustine's commentary on ,ps4 cxxxvii41 ,super flumina ,babylonis4 ,p4 #bdd1 l4 #a4 ,abraham took nothing for himself4 ,gen4 xiv4 #bd4 ,p4 #bdd1 l4 #e4 ,sub te erit appetitus tuus4 ,gen4 iv4 #g4 ,p4 #bdd1 l4 #bi4 ,multi crediderunt4 ,joh4 viii4 #cj-cc4 ,p4 #bde1 l4 #ag4 ,comminutum cor4 ,no doubt a misquotation of ,ps4 li4 cor contritum et humiliatum1 ,deus1 non despicies4 ,p4 #bde1 l4 #ah4 ,albe vous a nomm4 ,corneille1 ,horace1 act ii4 sc4 #c4 ,p4 #bdh1 l4 #a4 ,omnis creatura subjecta est vanitati4 ,eccles4 iii4 #ai1 but the true reading is cuncta subjacent vanitati4 ,p4 #bdi1 l4 #cc4 ,inclina cor meum4 ,ps4 cxix4 #cf4 ,p4 #bea1 l4 #ac4 ,ne evacuetur crux ,christi4 #a ad ,cor4 i4 #ag4 ,p4 #bec4 ,the ,arrangement4 ,scattered here and there in ,pascal's ,,ms4 were a number of notes concerning the plan1 form1 and matter of his intended treatise1 many of them marked with the word ,ordre4 ,these are gathered together by recent editors1 and some others which seem to cohere with them added1 but ,molinier's arrangement1 as well as that of ,faugre1 is necessarily somewhat arbitrary4 ,p4 #bed1 l4 #f4 ,justus ex fide vivit4 ,habac4 ii4 #d4 ,ad ,rom4 i4 #ag4 ,p4 #bed1 l4 #h4 fides ex auditu4 ,ad ,rom4 x4 #ag4 ,p4 #bed1 l4 #ad4 divide my moral qualities into four4 ,the classical division of ancient philosophy was into four3 prudence1 temperance1 justice1 magnanimity4 ,p4 #bed1 l4 #af4 ,abstine et sustine4 ,the ,stoic formula4 ,p4 #beg4 ,the ,miracle of the ,holy ,thorn4 ,marguerite ,perier1 ,pascal's niece1 aged ten1 was cured of lachrymal fistula on ,march #bd1 #afef1 after touching the diseased part with a reliquary containing a thorn from the ,saviour's crown4 ,this was at the time that ,port ,royal was suffering deeply from persecution1 and was considered by many a signal mark of the favour of heaven4 ,the ,jesuits did not deny the miracle1 but the conclusions drawn from it4 ,p4 #beg1 l4 #bj4 those who heal by invocation of the devil4 ,pascal1 when a child1 was supposed both to have been made ill and restored to health by a witch4 ,he desires to show that this was no miracle4 ,p4 #beh1 l4 #i4 ,believe the ,church4 ,matt4 xviii4 #ag4 ,p4 #beh1 l4 #ac4 ,montaigne4 ,cf4 ,essais1 i4 #bf4 ,p4 #beh1 l4 #bc4 ,judi signa petunt4 #a ad ,cor4 i4 #bb4 ,p4 #beh1 l4 #be4 ,sed plenum signis4 ,this and the following one are not to be found4 ,pascal is probably citing ,saint ,paul from memory4 ,p4 #beh1 l4 #bi4 ,sed vos non creditis4 ,joh4 x4 #bf4 ,p4 #bfa1 l4 #e4 ,saint ,augustine4 ,pascal does not appear to refer to any single passage1 but to the general teaching of ,saint ,augustine4 ,but see especially ,de ,civit4 ,dei1 xxii4 #i4 ,p4 #bfb1 l4 #ai4 ,scimus quia venisti a ,deo4 ,joh4 iii4 #b4 ,p4 #bfc1 l4 #c4 ,we have ,moses4 ,john ix4 #ba4 ,p4 #bfc1 l4 #cj4 ,quid debui4 ,is4 v4 #d4 ,quid est quod debui facere vine me et non feci ei4 ,p4 #bfd1 l4 #af4 ,barjesus was blinded4 ,acts xiii4 #f-aa4 ,p4 #bfd1 l4 #bb4 ,si angelus4 ,a reference to ad ,gal4 i4 #h4 ,p4 #bfd1 l4 #bh4 my good father4 ,probably ,father ,annat4 ,see p4 #bhi1 l4 #bh4 ,p4 #bfe1 l4 #ba4 #a ,p4 ix4 #aac1 a4 #aj1 ad4 #b4 ,these signs refer to the ,summa of ,saint ,thomas ,aquinas here quoted1 and mean ,parte #a1 qustione #aac1 articulo #aj1 ad objectionem #b4 ,p4 #bfe1 l4 #bb4 ,si tu es ,christus4 ,luc4 xxii4 #ff4 ,p4 #bfe1 l4 #bc4 ,opera qu ego facio4 ,joh4 v4 #cf4 ,p4 #bfe1 l4 #be4 ,sed non vos creditis4 ,joh4 x4 #bf4 ,p4 #bfe1 l4 #bi4 ,nemo potest facere signa4 ,joh4 iii4 #b4 ,p4 #bfe1 l4 #cd4 ,generatio prava4 ,matt4 xii4 #ci4 ,p4 #bff1 l4 #e4 ,nisi videritis signa non creditis4 ,joh4 iv4 #dh4 ,p4 #bff1 l4 #i4 ,secundum operationem ,satan4 #b ad ,thess4 ii4 #i4 ,p4 #bff1 l4 #ab4 ,tentat enim vos ,deus4 ,deut4 xiii4 #c4 ,p4 #bff1 l4 #ad4 ,ecce prdixi vobis4 ,matt4 xxiv4 #be4 ,p4 #bfg1 l4 #bf4 ,father ,lingende4 ,claude de ,lingendes1 #aeia-affj1 was a ,jesuit preacher4 ,his sermons were published in #afff4 ,p4 #bfh1 l4 #aa4 ,ubi est ,deus tuus4 ,ps4 xlii4 #c4 ,p4 #bfh1 l4 #bb4 do not believe that the five propositions are in ,jansenius4 ,to explain this fully would need a far longer note than can here be given4 ,it may be said shortly that the allusion is to the ,augustinus of ,cornelius ,jansen1 ,bishop of ,ypres4 ,two questions arose3 first1 whether the propositions condemned were heretical1 and second1 whether if heretical they were in ,jansen's book4 ,the second assertion was that which the nuns of ,port ,royal refused to make4 ,they had not read the book1 and could not affirm that of which they were ignorant4 ,the five propositions were on the ,doctrines of ,grace and ,free ,will4 ,p4 #bfh1 l4 #bg4 ,tu quid dicis4 ,these are partial quotations from ,joh4 iv4 #ai1 etc4 ,p4 #bfi1 l4 #i4 ,nemo facit virtutem4 ,marc4 ix4 #ch1 but incorrectly4 ,the true reading is ,nemo est enim qui faciat4 ,p4 #bfi1 l4 #be4 ,omne regnum divisum4 ,matt4 xii4 #be4 ,p4 #bfi1 l4 #bh4 ,si in digito ,dei4 ,luc4 xi4 #bj4 ,p4 #bfi1 l4 #ce4 ,vatable1 who died in #aeag1 was professor of ,hebrew at the ,collge ,royal established by ,francis ,i4 ,in #aeci ,robert ,etienne published an edition of the ,latin ,bible of ,leo of ,modena--,rabbi ,jehuda--to which he added under ,vatable's name1 notes which were not really ,vatable's1 but borrowed from various writers of the ,reformation4 ,these notes were condemned by the ,sorbonne4 ,the ,bible known as that of ,vatable contains the ,hebrew1 the ,vulgate ,version1 and that of ,rabbi ,jehuda4 ,p4 #bga1 l4 #bc4 miracles of ,vespasian4 ,tacitus1 ,hist4 iv4 #ha4 ,p4 #bgc4 ,jesuits and ,jansenists4 ,a collection of fragments on these subjects1 which perhaps might be considered rather as an appendix to1 or notes for the ,provincial ,letters1 than a part of the ,thoughts1 properly so called4 ,but they form part of the autograph ,,ms4 ,p4 #bgc1 l4 #i4 ,there is a time to laugh4 ,eccles4 iii4 #d4 ,responde1 ne respondeas4 ,prov4 xxvi4 #d4 ,p4 #bge1 l4 #i4 ,elias was a man like ourselves4 ,quoted by memory as from ,saint ,peter1 but really from ,saint ,james1 v4 #ag4 ,p4 #bge1 l4 #ad4 accused of many crimes4 ,athanasius was accused of rape1 of murder1 and of sacrilege4 ,he was condemned by the ,councils of ,tyre1 ,a4,d4 #cce1 of ,arles1 ,a4,d4 #cec1 and of ,milan ,a4,d4 #cee4 ,pope ,liberius1 after having long refused to ratify the condemnation1 was said to have finally done so ,a4,d4 #ceg4 ,but this is disputed by recent authorities4 ,for ,athanasius we are of course here to read ,jansenius and ,arnauld2 for ,saint ,theresa1 la mre ,anglique or la mre ,agns2 for ,liberius1 ,clement ,,ix4 ,p4 #bge1 l4 #cc4 ,antonio ,escobar y ,mendoza4 ,the ,spanish ,jesuit whose system of morals was so severely handled by ,pascal in the ,provincial ,letters4 ,he is among those whose names have given rise to a word3 escobarderie is a synonym for equivocation4 ,p4 #bgf1 l4 #f4 ,molina1 ,louis1 a ,spanish ,jesuit1 born #aece1 died #afja4 ,the ,jansenists accused his ,commentary on the ,summa of ,saint ,thomas ,aquinas of favouring a lax morality4 ,p4 #bgg1 l4 #d4 ,mohatra4 ,the contract ,mohatra1 by which a man buys cloth at a dear rate and on credit1 to re-sell it at once to the same person cheaply for ready money4 ,eighth ,provincial4 ,p4 #bgh1 l4 #ba4 ,est and non est4 ,p4 #bgh1 l4 #bf4 ,v qui conditis leges iniquas4 ,is4 x4 #a4 ,but the ,vulgate reads ,v qui condunt4 ,p4 #bgi1 l4 #bb4 ,m4 de ,condran4 ,no doubt ,charles de ,condren1 #aehh-afda1 doctor of the ,sorbonne1 and second ,general of the ,french ,oratory1 a society of priests founded by ,cardinal de ,brulle at ,paris in #afaa4 ,p4 #bhj1 l4 #g4 ,sanctificavi prlium4 ,mic4 iii4 #e4 ,p4 #bhj1 l4 #ab4 ,ne convertantur4 ,is4 vi4 #aj4 ,p4 #bhb1 l4 #ba4 ,coacervabunt tibi magistras4 #b ad ,tim4 iv4 #c1 where the ,vulgate has sibi4 ,p4 #bhb1 l4 #bh4 not to make appointments to bishoprics4 ,but a few years after this ,fathers ,la ,chaise and ,le ,tellier1 as ,confessors to the ,king1 had this power in their hands4 ,p4 #bhb1 l4 #ca4 ,father ,brisacier1 born #afjc1 a ,jesuit1 and a warm opponent of ,jansenism4 ,he wrote ,le ,jansnisme confondu1 and several minor works4 ,he is constantly quoted in the ,provincial ,letters4 ,p4 #bhc1 l4 #a4 ,venice4 ,the ,jesuits had just returned to ,venice in #afeg1 having been expelled thence in #afjf4 ,p4 #bhc1 l4 #bb4 ,amice1 ad quid venisti4 ,matt4 xxvi4 #ej4 ,p4 #bhc1 l4 #bd4 probability1 or1 technically1 probabilism4 ,probabilism teaches that it is permissible to act on an opinion which is less probable than the opinion opposed to it so long as there is a solid ground for regarding it as probable in itself4 ,thus1 if out of three moral theologians of recognised authority1 two give it as their opinion that a certain course of conduct is unlawful1 while the third asserts it to be lawful1 probabilism permits the adoption in practice of the third opinion in opposition to the other two4 ,a confessor would therefore have no right to forbid it under pain of sin4 ,p4 #bhd1 l4 #ab4 ,dii estis4 ,ps4 lxxxii4 #f4 ,p4 #bhd1 l4 #ac4 ,if my ,letters are condemned at ,rome4 ,the ,provincial ,letters were condemned at ,rome1 ,sept4 #f1 #afeg4 ,p4 #bhe1 l4 #bb4 imago4 ,an allusion to the famous panegyric on the ,jesuits called1 ,imago primi sculi4 ,see ,fifth ,provincial4 ,p4 #bhe1 l4 #cf4 ,si non fecissem qu alius non fecit4 ,jon4 xv4 #bd4 ,p4 #bhf1 l4 #ca4 ,these nuns4 ,the nuns of ,port ,royal were called upon to sign the ,formula which declared that the ,five ,propositions were in ,jansenius4 ,p4 #bhg1 l4 #d4 ,vide si via iniquitatis in me est4 ,ps4 cxxxix4 #bd4 ,p4 #bhg1 l4 #ae4 they are so no longer1 i4e4 since the miracle4 ,p4 #bhh1 l4 #ah4 ,vos autem non sic4 ,luc4 xxii4 #bf4 ,p4 #bhi1 l4 #bh4 ,annat1 #aeij-afgj1 a ,jesuit priest1 ,provincial of the ,order1 and ,confessor to ,louis ,,xiv41 #afed-afgj4 ,he wrote the well-known book1 ,le ,rabat-joie des ,jansnistes1 #afff1 and to him were addressed ,pascal's ,seventeenth and ,eighteenth ,provincials4 ,p4 #bij1 l4 #i4 ,montalte4 ,louis de ,montalte was the pseudonym adopted by ,pascal as the writer of the ,provincial ,letters4 ,p4 #bij1 l4 #bf4 ,a fructibus eorum4 ,matt4 vii4 #af4 ,p4 #bia1 l4 #f4 ,lessius1 ,leonard1 a ,jesuit born at ,brecht1 near ,antwerp1 #aeed1 died #afbc1 a pupil of ,suarez4 ,he was censured by the ,faculty of ,louvain in #aehd4 ,he wrote1 among others1 a treatise1 ,de licito usu quivocationum et mentalium restrictionum4 ,p4 #bia1 l4 #i4 ,bauny4 ,pascal in his ,eighth ,provincial quotes an opinion of ,father ,bauny on the question of restitution to be made by one who has caused the burning of his neighbour's barn4 ,p4 #bia1 l4 #aj4 quam primum4 ,a reference to the rule that if a priest personally disqualified from saying ,mass on account of any mortal sin is yet obliged to do so for the sake of his parishioners1 it is sufficient that he make an act of contrition1 and as soon as possible quam primum seek the ,sacrament of ,penance4 ,p4 #bib1 l4 #ah4 ,state super vias4 ,a partial quotation from ,jer4 vi4 #af4 ,p4 #bic1 l4 #bj4 ,vince in bono malum4 ,ad ,rom4 xii4 #ba4 ,p4 #big1 l4 #e4 ,bibite ex hoc omnes4 ,matt xvii4 #bg4 ,p4 #big1 l4 #g4 ,in quo omnes peccaverunt4 ,ad ,rom4 v4 #ab4 ,p4 #bih1 l4 #aj4 ,ne timeas1 pusillus grex4 ,luc4 xii4 #cb4 ,p4 #bih1 l4 #ac4 ,qui me recipit4 ,matt4 x4 #dj4 ,p4 #bih1 l4 #ad4 ,nemo scit neque ,filius4 ,luc4 x4 #bb4 ,p4 #bih1 l4 #ae4 ,nemo lucida obumbravit4 ,matt4 xvii4 v4 ,p4 #cjc1 l4 #f4 plus poetice quam humane locutus es4 ,petronius1 c4 #ij1 where the words have not the turn that ,pascal here gives them4 ,p4 #cjd1 l4 #b4 ,the part that ,i take in your sorrow4 ,the ,chevalier de ,mr1 in his ,discours de la ,conversation1 says1 that he had been witness to a bet1 that on opening a letter of condolence the set phrase condemned above would occur1 and that the lady to whom the letter was addressed could not help laughing in spite of her distress4 ,pascal's note is against writing mere formal phrases which can thus be easily guessed4 ,the ,cardinal is ,mazarin4 ,p4 #cjd1 l4 #i4 ,m4 le ,m4 ,le ,maistre1 ,antoine1 #afjh-afeh4 ,the allusion is to ,les ,plaidoyers et ,harangues de ,m4 le ,maistre1 ,paris1 #afeg4 ,on the first page of ,plaidoyer ,,vi41 ,pour un fils mis en religion par force1 we find ,dieu qui rpand des aveuglements et des tnbres sur les passions illgitimes1 and ,pascal probably refers to this passage as one in which the word rpandre could not be replaced by verser4 ,p4 #cje1 l4 #bc4 ,i judge by my watch4 ,mlle4 ,perier says1 that ,pascal always wore a watch attached to his left wrist-band4 ,p4 #cji1 l4 #bg4 ,an example may be taken from the circulation of the blood4 ,apparently taken from ,descartes1 ,discours de la ,mthode1 pt4 v41 in which ,descartes speaks of ,harvey's discovery4 ,p4 #cji1 l4 #cc4 ,m4 de ,roannez4 ,gouffier1 ,duc de ,roannez1 was a friend of ,pascal1 some seven or eight years younger than he4 ,he was a devoted adherent of ,port ,royal1 and died unmarried4 ,p4 #cab1 l4 #bc4 ,salomon de ,tultie4 ,an anagram for ,louis de ,montalte1 see p4 #bij1 l4 #i4 ,p4 #cac1 l4 #aa4 ,the story of the pike and frog4 ,this story has hitherto escaped research4 ,p4 #cac1 l4 #ag4 conatus recedendi4 ,centrifugal force4 ,p4 #caf1 l4 #c4 ,when a strong man armed4 ,luke xi4 #ba4 ,,index4 ,,index4 ,abel and ,cain1 #bfg ,abraham1 #aig ---- stones can become the children of1 #acg ---- promises made to1 #afi ---- foretold the coming of the ,messiah1 #bac ---- above revelation1 #bfa ,absolutions without signs of regret1 #bid1 #bie ,academicians1 #aaj1 #ahd ,action1 we must look beyond the1 at our past1 #cae ,actions1 virtuous1 all crimes have found place among1 #fa ,acuteness1 loss of1 #ajj ,adam1 #abf ---- witness of the ,messiah1 #afi1 #agd ---- his glorious state1 #aic ---- tradition from1 #bja ---- the first and the second1 #bca ,admiration spoils everything1 #eh ,advent of ,jesus ,christ1 #acc ,advents1 the two1 characters of each of them1 #acb ,agamemnon1 #agc ,age1 its influence on judgment1 #bg ,agitation1 in seeking repose we are only seeking1 #cd ,agony of ,jesus ,christ1 #bca ---- ---- lasts even to the end of the world1 #bca ,alexander1 compared to ,csar1 #da ---- his chastity1 #gd ---- and his successors1 foretold by ,daniel1 #add ---- working unconsciously for the ,gospel1 #adg ---- ,jaddus and1 #bbg ,amos1 translation of a passage in1 #aee ,ananias1 #bga ,animals1 mind and instinct of1 #cac ,annat1 ,father1 #bhi ,antichrist1 his miracles foretold by ,jesus ,christ1 #bei ---- he will speak openly against ,god1 #bfc ---- conclusions we may draw from his miracles1 #bfg ,apocalyptics1 the1 #aff ,apostles1 their miracles1 #aai ---- foresaw heresies1 #abh ---- gave us the key to interpretation of the ,old ,testament1 #aei ---- hypotheses that they were deceived or deceivers1 #bbc ---- and ,exorcists1 #bfg ,apple1 the golden1 #agc ,archesilas1 the sceptic1 #fc ,archimedes1 his greatness1 #bbh ,arians1 their doctrine1 #bgd ,aristotle1 #gh ,arius1 the miracles of his time1 #bfg ,artisan1 an1 who dreams1 #aji ,astrology1 folly of1 #ge ,atheism1 often produced by a false knowledge of the world's judgment1 #g ---- mark of force of mind only to a certain degree1 #aaa ,atheists1 carelessness of1 monstrous1 #d ---- two kinds of1 #d ---- their reasoning1 #e ---- are despicable1 #h ---- feelings they should inspire in true ,christians1 #h1 #ab ---- ought to say things perfectly clear1 #aaa ---- their objections against the ,resurrection1 #bbc ---- to pity and revile1 #bec ,athens1 #abj ,atom1 man is but an1 #e ,augustin1 ,saint1 quoted1 #hj1 #afj ---- what he says of miracles1 #bfa ---- authority of his opinion1 #bif ,augustus compared to ,julius ,csar1 #da ---- what he said on hearing of the ,massacre of the ,innocents1 #bba ,authors1 their vanity misplaced1 #cae ---- how to understand the meaning of1 #afg ,babylon1 carrying away into1 #abb ---- the rivers of1 #bdc ,babylonians1 the1 #abg ,barcoseba1 #bba ,barjesus1 #bfd ,barreaux1 ,des1 #aac ,bauny1 ,father1 quoted1 #bia ,beatitude1 the eighth1 #beb ,beauty1 to love on account of1 is not love1 #hj ---- certain kind of1 which suits our nature1 #cja ---- poetical1 what is meant by this1 #cjd ,belief1 three means of1 #bea ---- labour to come to1 #ii ---- what should be the rule of1 #cjh ,benedictines1 the1 #bhb ,bible1 the most ancient book1 #abj ,birth an advantage1 #ga ,blame and praise1 #eh ,blood1 circulation of the1 taken as an example1 #cji ,bodily functions1 #ca ,body1 relation of1 to its members1 #bcg ,bourseys1 ,m41 #bhj ,brave deeds1 which are the most estimable1 #eh ,brisacier1 ,father1 #bhb ,brutes1 no admiration for each other1 #eh ,cabala1 proofs of ,jesus ,christ by the1 #aeg ,csar1 ,julius1 #adg ---- compared to ,augustus and ,alexander1 #da ,calvin1 #bff ,calvinists1 their errors1 #bih ,canonical books1 proved by the heretical1 #bhi ,carnal1 those who are1 #bdb ,carthusian compared to a soldier1 #gd ,casuists1 the faithful cannot reasonably follow their maxims1 #bgg ---- cannot assure an erring conscience1 #bic ---- with reference to the reason and the will1 #bic ---- allow free action to lust1 #bic ---- their doctrines1 #bie ,catholics and heretics1 #bfg ,celsus1 #aaf1 #bad ,champaign1 taken as a comparison1 #cb ,chancellor1 taken as an example1 #ee ,chances1 doctrine of1 #hj1 #ih ,characters1 ,christian and human1 #bde ,charity and lust1 #abh ---- sole aim of the ,scripture1 #agj ---- is not a figurative precept1 #agj ---- supernatural distance of mind from1 #bbg ---- its superiority to minds and bodies1 #bbh ---- truth without1 is but the image of ,god1 #bej ,charron1 estimate of his work1 #ag ,children frightened at the face they have daubed1 #eg ,china1 #bii ---- thoughts on1 #aae ---- history of1 #aag ---- religion of1 #aai ,chinese1 their histories1 #agc ,choice1 that we must make a1 between belief and unbelief1 reasons for each alternative1 #ih ,christ1 contradictory predictions concerning1 #acf ---- promised and awaited from the beginning of the world1 #aig ---- came in the fulness of time1 #aig ,christianity1 in what it consists1 #bej ---- changes wrought at its coming1 #acd ---- elevates and abases man1 #ahg ,christians astonish philosophers1 #dc ---- true1 #ga ---- are the free children of ,god1 #abb ---- should look on themselves as members of a body1 #bcg ---- how the example of the martyrs touches a true1 #bch ---- two kinds of1 #bdb ---- there are few true1 #bdc ---- their hopes are mingled with enjoyment and fear1 #bdf ---- happiness and virtues of true1 #bdg ---- should unite themselves to ,jesus ,christ in order not to be hateful to ,god1 #bdg ---- true1 submit to folly1 #bdg ---- why they believe without having read the ,gospels1 #bdh ---- who believe without proofs cannot persuade an infidel1 though persuaded themselves1 #bdi ,church1 true justice found in the1 #fg ---- prefigured by the ,synagogue1 #agf ---- dangers it has run1 #aih ---- the1 when persecuted is like a vessel beaten about by a storm1 #baa ---- that is a good state of the1 in which it is upheld by ,god alone1 #bda ---- her miracles against her enemies1 #bff ---- ancient and modern1 influence of tradition1 #bgd ---- comparison of what took place in ancient1 and now1 #bge ---- defended by ,god against corruption1 #bgg ---- unity and plurality of the1 power of the ,pope1 #bhg ---- judges of men by outward actions1 #bid ---- power of the1 in confession1 compared to that of parliament1 #bid ---- teaches1 but ,god inspires1 #bid ---- discipline of the1 needs reform1 #bie ,cicero1 false beauties we admire in1 #cjb ---- quoted1 #aaj ,circumcision only a sign1 #age ,clearness1 why religion does not possess it1 #c ,cleobuline1 a character in a romance1 #cb ,cleopatra1 the nose of1 #fj ,communing1 secret1 of man with himself1 #df ,compliments1 dislike of1 #cae ,composition of a work1 #cjb ,concupiscence1 source of all our movements1 #ha ,condition1 our desires paint for us a happy1 #gd ,condran1 ,m4 de1 his opinions1 #bgi ,condrieu1 the grapes of1 #cb ,confession1 auricular1 defence of1 #he ---- joy and confidence felt after1 #beb ,confessors of the great1 #bi ,conscience1 evil done sometimes by1 #bgi ,contradiction in man1 #dd1 #fj1 #aha ---- does not prove that a thing is false1 #baj ---- apparent1 in ,scripture1 examples1 #afh ---- between different passages of ,scripture1 #bbj ,contrition is necessary in penitence1 absolution not enough1 #bie ,conversion1 in what it consists1 #bde ,copernicus1 #aja ,corneille1 quoted1 #bde ,corruption of nature1 one of the establishments of the ,christian religion1 #f ---- of man1 proved by the wicked and the ,jews1 #aia ---- those in1 should know it1 #bee ,covenant1 foretold by ,daniel1 #add ---- announced by ,scripture1 #afh ,craft1 when power attacks it1 #fi ,creatures1 we should not attach ourselves to them1 #bdj ,cripples do not irritate us1 #de ,cromwell1 reflections on his death1 #gf ,cross1 by it alone can we be saved1 #ahg ,curiosity is mere frivolity1 #fj ,custom1 a power1 #fi ---- belief arising from1 #gg ---- how established1 may be upset1 #fb ---- the creator of1 #fb ---- a second nature which destroys the former1 #fd ---- must be followed1 #fd ---- is our nature1 #fe ---- sways the automaton1 which draws the intellect after1 #gg ---- how useful to accustom us to truth1 #gg ---- leads to a choice of occupation1 #gh ,cypher1 types are a1 with a double sense1 #aeh ---- of the ,scripture as given us by ,saint ,paul1 #agf ,cyrus1 #abh1 #adg1 #aea ,damned1 the1 condemned by their own reason1 #bif ,dancing1 why pursued1 #ce ,daniel1 the seventy weeks of1 their calculation1 #acc1 #adc ---- the little stone of1 #acf ---- explanation of the dream of ,nebuchadnezzar in1 #ada ---- vision of the ram and he-goat in1 #adb ---- his prophecy1 #aga ,darius1 ,king of the ,persians1 #add ,david1 a single phrase of1 #abb ---- the kingdom of his race foretold by all the prophets1 #acb ---- witness of ,christ1 #adj ---- foretold the ,messiah1 #agj ,death1 to be dreaded by those who are careless of religion1 #e ---- ,montaigne's opinions on1 #ag ---- fear of1 #bi ---- the thought of1 is harder to bear than death itself1 #ch ---- feared ,death1 #bcb ,degrees1 why there are different1 among men1 #ef ,deism1 almost as far removed from ,christianity as atheism1 #bjd ,deluge is a miracle1 #afi ,democritus1 quoted1 #ba ,demonstration1 not the only means of persuasion1 #gi ,demonstrations1 not certain that there are true1 #aaj ,de omni scibili1 title of a thesis of ,pico della ,mirandola1 #bb ,desargues1 the grapes of1 #cb ,descartes useless and uncertain1 #cjd ---- criticism of his opinions on the machine1 #cab ,despair1 knowledge of our wretchedness without that of ,god creates1 #ic ,devoutness1 different to goodness1 #bgi ,devil1 the1 troubled the zeal of the ,jews1 #abb ---- what is done by invocation of1 no miracle1 #beg ---- ,jesus ,christ destroyed the empire of the1 over the heart1 #bfi ,dialogues1 the arrangement by1 #bec ,disciples and true disciples1 difference between1 #bdd ,discourse1 natural1 inclined to love him who makes a1 #cjb ,discourses on humility1 #gf ,disease1 source of error in man1 #ed ,disesteem1 the fear we have of1 of others1 #dd ,disproportion of man1 #ai ,disputes1 ended by miracles1 #bfg ,diversion1 #cc ---- is all that men can do for happiness1 #cd ---- why men seek it1 #cd ---- is the greatest of our miseries1 #ch ---- the search for1 proves that men are not happy1 #ch ---- what is meant by1 #bee ,diversity1 root of1 #fg ---- and uniformity1 #bhc ,divinity1 proof of1 by works of nature1 #ia ,docility1 too much1 is a vice as natural as unbelief1 #bdc ,doctor1 the1 a character in the drama1 #ca ,doctrine1 a test of miracles1 #beg ---- a false1 cannot be proved by miracles1 #bfd ,doctrines1 a multitude of1 #ach ,dogmatists1 their opinion on natural principles1 #ajf ,donatists1 have no miracles1 #bfa ,doubt in religion is a great evil1 #e ,drama1 life treated as a1 #ge ,dream1 life compared to a1 #aji ,duties1 divers1 owed to divers merits1 #fh ,eclipses1 why it is said they presage misfortune1 #ge ,egyptians1 their religion1 #aai ---- mean iniquities in the ,bible1 #aga ---- their histories1 #agc ---- their conversion foretold by ,isaiah1 #age ,elect1 all things work together for good to the1 #abi ,elijah and the false prophets1 #bfg ,eloquence1 continuous1 wearies1 #ci ---- definition of1 to be eloquent we must study the heart of man1 #cja ---- is painted thought1 #cja ---- there are those who speak well and write ill1 #cjc ,enemies1 what must be understood by this word in the prophecies1 #afd1 #agj ,england1 ,king of1 #ge ,enquirers and the wise1 #bdb ,epaminondas as an example of valour and humanity1 #cj ,epictetus1 #gb1 #bbf ---- his method of writing1 #cab ,epicureans1 #ib ,epigrams1 a maker of1 #ha ,equality of goods is just1 #fg ,error1 common1 sometimes useful to calm the curiosity of man1 #cab ,escobar1 #bge1 #bhj ,esdras1 the story in1 #abf ---- discussion on the book of1 #abf ,establishment1 greatness of1 #gi ,eucharist1 the1 #afe ---- a type of glory1 #agj ---- folly of not believing in the1 reason1 #bbd ---- wholly the body of ,jesus ,christ1 #bii ,eusebius1 quoted on ,esdras1 #abg ,evangelists painted in ,jesus ,christ an heroic soul1 #bbb ,evidence for ,god1 not in nature1 #ib ,evil is easy1 #ei ,examples1 those which are taken as proof are often more difficult than what they are meant to prove1 #cjh ,exception1 troublesome to be an1 to the rule1 #bga ,excuses sometimes bad1 #cae ,exorcists1 ,jewish1 beaten by devils1 #bfd ,experience1 #bf ,expressions1 false and tyrannical1 examples of1 #fh ,ezekiel1 spoke evil of ,israel1 like the heathens1 #bhi ,faith1 habit of1 #fe ---- man without1 cannot know the true good or justice1 #ie ---- that we must give up pleasure in order to gain1 #ajj ---- wherein it consists1 #aic1 #bhj ---- is not in our power1 #bdi ---- is a gift of ,god1 #bej ---- above the senses1 but not contrary to them1 #bej ---- received at baptism source of the whole life of the ,christian1 #bej ---- embraces contradictory truths1 why1 #bgc ---- ,pascal's profession of1 #bce ,falsehood1 man is only1 duplicity1 and contradiction1 #gf ,fancy1 called feeling by some1 #cji ,fascination1 #aja1 #afe ,faults1 we should recognise them1 #he ,fear1 to1 and not to fear1 #bih ---- a true1 is born of faith1 #beb ---- false1 comes from doubt1 #beb ,feeble souls1 #bhi ,figurative1 that the ,jewish law was1 #afg ,finite1 the1 annihilated in presence of the infinite1 #if ,flattery1 consequent on our desire not to know the truth1 #hf ,fly1 enough to render man incapable of sound judgment1 #bg ,fool1 a man believes he is a1 by dint of telling him so1 #df ,forms1 their value1 #bhj ,foundation1 supernatural of our1 #bhf ---- of our faith1 #aae ,france1 #ef ,francis ,xavier1 ,saint1 #bgh ,frenchman1 the1 #hj ,friend1 important to have a true1 and to choose him well1 #cae ,friendship only exists by concealment of truth1 #hf ,frivolity of the world1 little known1 #da ,fronde1 injustice of the1 #fg ,fundamentals1 chapter on1 #bee ,future1 our thoughts occupied with the1 #gc ,galilee1 the word1 pronounced by chance1 caused the accomplishment of a mystery1 #bah ,genealogies1 the two1 of ,jesus ,christ1 #abe ,genealogy of ,jesus ,christ in ,old ,testament designedly mixed with others1 #bbj ,gentiles1 their conversion foretold by ,jesus ,christ1 #acf1 #bad ---- prophecy of ,isaiah on conversion of1 #adg1 #adh ---- conversion of the1 reserved for the grace of the ,messiah1 #bah ,gentlemen1 we never teach men to be1 #gh ---- universal quality to be1 #gi ,germans1 the1 #fa ,glory1 the search after1 is a mark of the vileness and excellence of man1 #dd ---- sweetness of1 #ei ,god1 a1 who hideth himself1 #c ---- the greatest sensible mark of the power of1 #ai ---- unites in himself two infinites1 #bb ---- in1 alone is our happiness1 #ci ---- the1 of the ,christians1 who he is1 #ib ---- dangers which those run who seek1 apart from ,jesus ,christ1 #ic ---- of ,christians the only good1 the only rest of the soul is in him1 #ic ---- we may well know1 without knowing what he is1 #ig ---- that there is less risk in wagering that there is a1 than that there is not1 #ih ---- man without1 is in ignorance and misery1 #ajd ---- of the philosophers1 #aaa ---- man of himself cannot come to1 #aad ---- alone is master of the ,jews1 #abb ---- foresaw heresies1 #abh ---- sometimes spoke by figures1 #afj ---- the power of1 shown by his conduct to ,jewish people1 #afa ---- idea of1 that the true religion1 should present1 #agi ---- the ,christian religion commands that we should love and follow1 #ahb ---- that in spite of our vileness it is not incredible that1 should unite himself to us1 #ahe ---- reveals himself to1 and hides himself from man1 #aic ---- infinite1 without parts1 #bje ---- if1 is the end he is the beginning1 #bjf ---- why1 was hidden in his first advent1 #bjg ---- that1 willed to hide himself1 and that the religion which says so is true1 #bjh ---- chooses rather to sway the will than the intellect1 #bjh ---- why1 has permitted many religions to exist1 #bab ---- impossible and useless to know1 without ,jesus ,christ1 #bbf ---- speaks rightly of ,god1 #bbg ---- we must love1 only1 #bch ---- we should spend our life either in pleasing or in seeking1 #bdj ---- exercises at once his mercy and his judgment to the world1 #bda ---- has come to bring war among men1 #bdf ---- what is pleasing to1 is usually displeasing to man1 #bdf ---- forbids some things implicitly1 and not explicitly1 #bdg ---- can alone give faith to ,christians1 #bdi ---- knowledge and love of1 #beb ---- cannot lead men into error by miracles1 #bfc ---- cannot favour a doctrine which destroys the ,church1 #bfi ---- foretold the disorders which the ,church would undergo1 #bgh ---- heals those who know him1 #bhj ---- no sign ever given by ,devil without a stronger sign on the part of1 #bhf ---- the heart is conscious of1 not the reason1 #cjg ,good1 almost unique1 #ei ---- philosophers do not know what is the true1 #aha ---- and evil1 meaning of the words1 #aib ,good birth1 its advantages1 #fh ,good breeding1 #bga ,good sense1 argument against scepticism1 #aaj ,gospel1 prophecies cited in the1 their use1 #acc ---- the kings of old worked unconsciously for the glory of the1 #adg ---- figures of the1 their application1 #afj ---- all the1 has reference to ,jesus ,christ1 #bbf ,grace1 its action on man1 #ajh ---- the figure of glory1 #afa ---- law1 and nature1 #bej ---- needed to make a man a saint1 #bif ---- opposed to nature1 #bif ,grandeur to be felt must be abandoned1 #dj ,great men and little have the same accidents1 #ge ---- are allied to the people1 #gd ,greatness1 infinity of1 most obvious to the senses1 #ba ---- and littleness of man1 #dc ---- of man consists in knowing he is miserable1 #dg ---- of man even in sensuality1 #fi ---- of the human soul consists in knowing how to keep the mean1 #gf ---- has no lustre for those who seek understanding1 #bbg ,greece1 #abj ,greek legislators1 #aba ,greeks1 #aig1 #bbb ,grotius1 #adj ,haggai1 his prophecy1 #aef ,happiness of man1 in what it consists1 #di ---- all men seek1 #ie ---- there was once in man a true1 #ie ---- of man with ,god1 #hi ---- common aim of ordinary men and of saints1 but their ideals are different1 #bdd ,happy1 why man cannot be1 #gd ,hatred of self necessary1 #bch ---- ---- the true and only virtue1 #bdj ,heart and reason1 comparison between actions of1 #cjg ---- those who judge by the1 do not understand the process of reasoning1 #cjh ---- the1 we know truth by1 as well as by reason1 #ajb ---- believes for its own reasons1 #cjg ,heat1 what it is1 #cac ,hebrews1 the1 their manner of counting1 #add ,heel of a slipper1 #eh ,hell1 fear of1 #ajj ,heresies1 the source of all1 #bgc ---- the way to hinder1 #bgd ---- various1 #big ---- foreseen by ,god1 #abh ,heresy1 exclusion of a truth a source of1 #bgd ,heretics1 the ,jesuits hinder their conversion1 #bha ,herod1 #adg1 #bah1 #bba ,hesiod1 the book of1 #aba ,hilary1 ,saint1 #abg1 #bgh ,history1 all that is not contemporaneous is open to suspicion1 #agd ,holy ,sacrament1 ,catholic and heretical doctrines on1 #bgd ,holy ,thorn1 the miracle of the1 #beg ---- conclusion to be drawn from the miracle of the1 #bfi ,homer1 quoted1 #abj ,homer's writings1 romances1 #agc ,huguenots1 their errors concerning the ,pope1 #bhh ,hunting1 sought for the diversion1 #cd ---- is a royal sport1 #ce ,i1 the1 consists in my thought1 #gf ---- where does it reside1 #hj ---- each1 the enemy of all others1 #hd ,identity of number and matter1 #bii ,ignorance1 natural1 is the best wisdom of man1 #hc ---- of man1 #ajd ,iliad1 the1 #agc ,illusion1 all men under an1 #ga ,imaginary life1 the1 #eh ,imagination1 deceptive powers of the1 #ea ---- faculty of1 #ea ---- described1 #ea ---- great complacency of the active1 #eb ---- enlarges little objects and belittles the great1 #ef ---- cords of1 #ef ,immortality of the soul1 importance to be sure of this1 #aja ,impiety1 ill-bred people only incapable of1 #h ,impressions1 old1 man deceived by1 #ed ,inability of man to attain good1 #ie ,incapacity to prove truth1 #aji ,incarnation1 the1 shows man the greatness of his misery1 #ahh ,incomprehensible1 things which appear such1 #bje ,inconstancy of man1 #bf ---- its causes1 #ca ---- examples of1 #gi ,indifference1 unfairness of men who live in1 as to the truth1 #i ,indifferent1 the1 in religion not to be despised1 #h ,indulgences1 #bgd ,inequality is necessary among men1 but opens the door to tyranny1 #fh ,infallibility would be a strange miracle1 #bhh ,infinite1 nothing1 #if ---- ignorant of the nature of the1 and why1 #if ,injustice of self-love1 #bci ---- that others should attach themselves to us1 #bdj ---- letter on1 #bed ,innocents1 ,massacre of the1 #bba ,inquisition1 the1 and the ,society1 #bhd ,insensibility of man1 #ab ,instability1 #aja ,instinct and experience1 #bf ---- we have an1 which raises us1 #dd ---- and reason1 marks of two natures1 #dd ,intellect1 the1 believes naturally1 #gg ,intelligence1 place of human1 in the order of intelligible things1 #bb ,interest1 our own1 is a source of error1 #ed ,irenus1 ,saint1 #abg ,isaac1 #aig ,isaiah1 translation of a passage of1 #adg ---- translation of several prophecies of1 #aej ---- foretold the ,messiah1 #aed ---- foretold that miracles would not be believed1 #beh ,italy1 #abj1 #adh ,jacob1 #abf ---- his death-bed prophecy1 #adj ---- foretold the coming of ,jesus ,christ1 #aig ,jaddus1 #bbg ,jansenists1 and the ancient saints1 #bge ---- heretics1 and ,jesuits1 #bif ,jansenius1 #bfh ,jeremiah1 his prophecy concerning the reprobation of the ,temple and the sacrifices1 #adi ---- and ,hananiah1 #bfg ---- explanation of a word in1 #bgj ,jesuits and ,jansenists1 #bgc ---- destroy the three notes of religion1 #bge ---- are like heretics1 #bge ---- corrupt the laws of the ,church1 #bgf ---- corrupt religion1 #bgg ---- compared to false prophets1 #bgh ---- their injustice and hypocrisy1 #bgh ---- their hardness greater than that of the ,jews1 #bgi ---- vanity of the1 #bhj ---- in corrupting their judges they make them unjust1 #bhb ---- given up to the spirit of lying1 #bhb ---- exaggerated notion they have of their importance1 #bhe ---- it is good that their deeds should be unjust1 #bhg ---- their lax opinions displeasing because they have exceeded all bounds1 #bij ---- duplicity of the1 #bib ---- have abandoned the old rules and follow reason1 compared to the unbelieving ,jews1 #bib ,jesus ,christ1 redemption by1 one of the fundamentals of religion1 #f ---- apart from1 man has no communion with ,god1 #ia ---- the goal of all1 and the centre to which all tends1 #ib ---- knowledge of1 #ic ---- difference between1 and ,mahomet1 #aaf ---- no man can do what1 did1 #aaf ---- foretold by the ,jewish people1 #abb ---- used the order of charity1 not of the intellect1 #abh ---- foretold and announced by prophecies1 #aca ---- small in his beginnings1 #acf ---- betrayed1 #adj ---- foretold as to the time and the state of the world1 #adg ---- has given us the interpretation of the ,old ,testament cipher1 #aei ---- prefigured by ,joseph1 #afd ---- in1 all dissonances of ,scripture are brought to harmony1 #afg ---- according to carnal ,christians1 #agb ---- announced by ,adam1 #agd ---- proofs of the divinity of1 #bac ---- came with all the circumstances foretold1 #bac ---- no man has had so great renown1 none enjoyed it less1 #bad ---- all the glory of1 for our sakes1 to enable us to recognise him1 #bad ---- the office of1 #cad ---- foretold and foreteller1 #bae ---- why1 did not come in a visible manner1 why in figures1 #baf ---- has come to sanctify and to blind1 #baf ---- we can have nothing but veneration for1 #baf ---- special prophecies regarding1 #bag ---- is the more to be loved in not having done as the rabbis said1 #bai ---- not known by contemporary writers1 #bba ---- clearness and simplicity of the language of1 #bbb ---- why1 was weak in his agony1 #bbb ---- centre of the two ,testaments1 #bbf ---- has made known to men their misery1 and given the remedy1 #bbf ---- greatness and lowliness of1 #bbh ---- for all1 #bbi ---- compared to ,moses1 #bbi ---- the redeemer of all1 #bcj ---- would not have the testimony of devils1 #bcj ---- why he would be put to death with the forms of justice1 #bcj ---- leaves the wicked in their blindness1 #bcj ---- alone in his agony1 #bca ---- only once complained1 #bca ---- considered in all persons and in ourselves1 #bcd ---- how1 gives himself in communion1 #bcd ---- words of1 to man1 #bce ---- has adopted our sins1 and admitted us into covenant with him1 #bdg ---- worked miracles as witnesses of the prophecies1 #bfa ---- has verified by his miracles that he was the ,messiah1 #bfb ---- without the miracles not blameworthy not to believe in1 #bgj ---- the two natures of1 source of contradictions1 #bgc ---- all faith consists in1 and in ,adam1 #bhj ---- came to bring war1 #bha ---- a stone of stumbling1 #bhc ---- never condemned without a hearing1 #bhc ---- appeal to his tribunal from that of the ,pope1 #bhd ---- did not die for all1 heresy of1 #bif ,jews1 their situation in the midst of the world1 #aai ---- their expectation of a ,redeemer1 #abj ---- the most ancient nation known to men1 #abj ---- sprung from one man only1 #abj ---- declared that all the world is in error1 #aba ---- were slaves of sin1 #abb ---- their dispersion1 bore the prophecies into all regions of the world1 #aca ---- were a carnal people1 #afb ---- their religion the true1 #afb ---- the prophecies interpreted by the1 according to their carnal instincts1 #afc ---- their refusal of ,christ has given an additional mark of him1 #afd ---- their explanation of ,scripture defective1 #afg ---- type of the chosen people1 #afi ---- loved the shadow and misunderstood the substance1 #agj ---- hold a midway place between ,christians and pagans1 #agb ---- two kinds of1 #agb ---- antiquity of the1 #agc ---- sincerity of the1 proved by the care with which they preserved the ,bible1 #agc ---- formed to serve as witnesses of the ,messiah1 #agd ---- prove ,christianity by their present condition1 #aia ---- the religion of the true1 is the same as that of ,christians1 #aih ---- in slaying ,messiah afforded a final proof of him1 #bah ---- their perpetuity and miserable state prove ,jesus ,christ1 #bai ---- their second destruction will never end1 #bbj ---- bound to believe the miracles of ,jesus ,christ1 #bfc ---- the hardness of the ,jesuits surpasses that of the1 #bgi ,job knew the misery of man1 #de ---- the book of1 regards ,jesus ,christ as centre and object1 #bac ,john ,baptist1 ,saint1 #adj1 #bcj ---- and ,jesus ,christ1 #bja ,jonah1 a sign of the resurrection1 #bff ,joseph1 son of ,jacob1 ordered that he should not be buried in ,egypt1 #ada ,josephus on the ,jewish law1 #abj ,joshua1 the first of ,god's people who had this name1 #bac ,judas1 ,jesus did not regard in1 his enmity1 #bcb ,judge1 authority of the1 #fe ,judgment1 instability of the1 #bg ---- confusion of the judgment of man1 #cb ---- and the intellect1 #cjg ,justice1 what is the essence of1 #fb ---- what is1 #fg ---- of ,god1 #if ---- influenced by imagination and the passions1 #ec ---- and truth1 man cannot attain them1 #ed ---- man is ignorant of1 #fa ---- changes with the climate1 #fa ---- human is not the true justice1 #fb ---- is what is established1 #fd ---- the false1 of ,pilate1 #bcd ---- of ,god1 which abases the pride of man1 #bda ,just man1 takes for himself nothing of the world1 #bdd ---- compared to ,abraham1 #bdd ---- acts by faith in the smallest things1 #bdd ---- takes part only in unpleasant things1 #bdd ,king without diversion is full of miseries1 #dj ---- man a discrowned1 #dg ---- whence comes the respect paid a1 #ee ---- on what the power of a1 is based1 #ee ---- and tyrant1 #gb ---- what is the happiness of a1 #cd ,kingships1 duchies1 and magistracies real and necessary1 #gf ,knowledge of ,god our only good1 #if ---- intuitive1 where it leads us1 #ai ---- we should have of ourselves1 #aja ,koran1 foundation of the ,mahomedan religion1 #aae ---- and ,st4 ,matthew1 #aaf ,lacedmon1 #abj ,lacedmonians1 #bch ,lamech1 #abf1 #aig ,language1 examples of too careful1 #cjd ,latins1 #aig ,latitude1 three degrees of1 #fa ,law1 instance in which the1 was justly violated1 #big ---- of the ,jews1 served as model for the best laws of antiquity1 #aba ---- ---- severe and rigorous as to religious worship1 #aba ---- ---- is figurative1 #afg ---- ,christian1 foretold by the prophets1 #ace ---- and grace1 #bej ---- and nature1 #bej ,laws1 natural1 there is not a single universal1 #fa ---- why we follow ancient1 #fg ,lessius1 #bia ,letters1 arrangement by1 #bec ,liancourt1 the frog and the pike of1 #cac ,liars1 some are1 simply for lying's sake1 #gg ,life1 the frailest thing in the world1 #ab ---- its short duration1 #bh ---- the last act of1 #ge ---- a perpetual illusion1 #hf ---- compared to a dream1 #aje ---- religious1 both easy and difficult1 #bdh ,lingende1 ,father1 #bfg ,littleness of man1 what we call nature in animals is1 #dg ,logicians1 #fe ,love1 why it changes its object1 #cb ---- shows the frivolity of man1 #fj ---- representation of1 at the theatre1 #bdh ---- source of faith1 #bhi ,lust1 threefold division of1 #bdc ---- the three kinds of1 have made three sects1 #aac ,lusts1 compared to three rivers1 #bdc ,lute1 to be skilled in playing the1 #gb ,machine1 letter which shows the use of proofs by the1 #bed ---- of ,descartes2 defects of this hypothesis1 #cab ---- the calculating1 compared to animals1 #cac ,macrobius1 #bba ,mad1 men are of necessity1 #gh ,magistrate1 taken as an example of influence of imagination1 #eb ---- the pomp with which they are surrounded1 #ec ,mahomet1 the soldiers of1 #fe ---- thoughts on1 #aae ---- foundation of his religion1 #aae ---- difference between ,jesus ,christ and1 #aaf ---- forbade reading1 #aaf ---- renders testimony to himself1 #aaf ---- his doctrine is ridiculous1 #aag ---- religion of1 #aai ,maimonides1 ,moses1 #aeg ,malchus1 #bce ,man1 his ignorance1 #e ---- his destiny1 #f ---- unfairness of1 in living indifferent to ,religion1 #i ---- blindness of1 #ab ---- worthlessness of1 #ac ---- comparison between1 and nature1 #ai ---- presumption of1 in wishing to know nature1 #ba ---- thinks he is able to comprehend the infinitely little1 #bb ---- must not look for certainty or stability1 #bc ---- in order to know himself should know all that is in relation to him1 #bd ---- the two natures of1 bodily and spiritual1 excludes us from the knowledge of nature1 #bd ---- stamps with his complex being all simple things1 #be ---- twofold manner of considering the nature of1 #bf ---- nature has placed1 in the centre of things1 #bf ---- all is fatal to1 even those things made to serve him1 #ca ---- whence comes his happiness1 #cc ---- is surrounded with all that may divert him1 #cg ---- cannot think of two things at once1 #ch ---- seeks diversion as a remedy for his evils1 #ci ---- knows not in what rank to place himself1 #dc ---- cannot bear to be despised1 #db ---- vileness of1 in that he submits himself to the brutes1 #dd ---- neither angel nor brute1 #de ---- should know his greatness and his vileness1 but not one without the other yet is contrary to ,god1 #de ---- is only a reed1 but a reed which thinks1 #df ---- has fallen from a better nature1 #dg ---- whole dignity of1 lies in thought1 #dh ---- what he should desire1 #dh ---- is ignorant of true justice1 #fa ---- is incapable of truth and of goodness1 #ff ---- is full of wants1 and cares only for those who can satisfy them1 #ge ---- the honourable1 #ge ---- is not a necessary being1 #gf ---- automatic as well as intellectual1 #gg ---- only disguise1 falsehood1 and hypocrisy1 #hg ---- his defects and his incapacity1 #ajf ---- that he has fallen from his former state1 #ajh ---- is full of matters which take him out of self1 #aac ---- ordinary life of1 like that of the saints1 #afa ---- can be happy only in loving ,god and in union with him1 #agi ---- moral diseases of1 #aha ---- isolation1 blindness1 and misery of1 #ahc ---- double nature of1 #ahe ---- should know his defects1 and esteem that religion which promises precious remedies1 #ahe ---- should conform his sentiments to religion1 #ahf ---- his two states of grace and corruption proved from ,scripture1 #aia ---- his dignity while innocent and now1 #aid ---- without ,jesus ,christ is in vice and misery1 #bbf ---- before ,jesus ,christ knew nothing of himself1 #bbf ---- is not worthy of ,god1 but not incapable of being rendered worthy1 #bbg ---- often mistakes his imagination for his heart1 #cjh ---- cannot understand certain effects of nature1#cac ,martial1 #ha ,marton1 #aib ,martyrs1 why the example of their deaths touches us1 #bch ,masorah1 the1 #abc ,mathematics and the practical mind1 #caj ,matter cannot know itself1 #bd ,mediator1 ,god cannot be known without a1 #ib ---- without a1 there can be no communion between ,god and man1 #bde ,mediocrity1 nothing good but1 #gf ,mem1 discussion on the subject1 #aff ,members1 relation of the1 to the body1 #bcg ---- the body formed of thinking1 #bcg ---- must have the same will as the body1 #bci ,memory is necessary for every operation of the reason1 #cji ,men1 naturally hate each other1 #gj ---- epigram upon one-eyed1 #ha ,mercy of ,god1 its greatness1 #bjh ---- calls to repentance1 #bda ---- why we implore1 #bda ,merit1 man's judgment of1 #aib ---- an ambiguous word1 #big ,messiah1 that the1 should mould a new people by his spirit1 #abb ---- effect and tokens of the coming of the1 #ace ---- that the1 would convert the ,gentiles and cast down all idols1 #acf ---- what the rabbis expected of him1 #aeg ---- that1 would deliver his people from their enemies1 what this means1 #agj ---- the carnal ,jews' understanding as to the1 #agb ---- actual state of the ,jews proves ,jesus ,christ the true1 #aia ,mexico1 the historians of1 #aah ,millenarians1 their extravagances1 #aff ,mind and body1 union of1 a mystery to man1 #be ,mind1 infinite distance between body and1 #bbg ,mine1 thine1 #fh ,miracles1 in general1 #beg ---- all belief rests on1 #aga ---- strengthen faith1 #baj ---- not needed to prove that we must love ,god1 #bda ---- the importance of1 rules to recognise them1 #beg ---- are the test of doctrine1 #beg ---- unbelief in1 foretold1 #beh ---- that the existence of false1 proves that there are true1 #bei ---- ,jesus ,christ verified that he was the ,messiah by his1 #bfb ---- of ,jesus ,christ and the apostles prove that the prophecies are accomplished1 #bfb ---- never wrought in favour of error1 #bfc ---- when we are justified in excluding certain1 #bfe ---- are the test in doubtful matters1 #bff ---- against miracle1 #bff ---- of ,port ,royal prove the innocency of that house1 #bgi ---- not much to be feared among schismatics1 #bhf ,misery of man without ,god1 #ae ---- man is only happy in not thinking of his1 #ch ---- diversion is our greatest1 #ch ,mites1 taken as an example1 #bj ,miton1 #ab1 #hd ,molina1 #bgf1 #bia ,monks1 their position in the world foolish1 #bhb ,monster1 man is an incomprehensible1 #df ,montaigne1 his defects and qualities1 #ag ---- his opinion on custom1 #fd ---- for and against miracles1 #beh ,morality1 in what it consists1 #aic ---- of the judgment and of the intellect1 #cjg ,morals1 science of1 #hb ---- ,jesuits judge of their faith by their1 #bij ---- a special but universal science1 #bib ,moses commanded every one to read his books1 #aae ---- a man of genius1 #abe ---- the proof of the truth of1 #abe ---- foretold the calling of the ,gentiles and the reprobation of the ,jews1 #adj ---- his teaching1 #adj ---- his declarations against the ,jews1 #agc ---- his mystical sense of the ,creation1 #agd ---- compared with ,jesus ,christ1 #bbi ---- his rules for judging miracles1 #beg ,motion1 our nature exists by1 #gc ,natural principles are but principles of custom1 #fd ,nature offers nothing but matter for doubt and disquiet1 #ajd ---- comparison between ,scriptures and1 #abh ---- is an image of grace1 #afa ---- perfections and defects of1 #aib ---- canonical writers have never employed1 to prove ,god1 #bje ---- law1 and grace1 #bej ---- use of bad reasons for proving effects of1 #cji ---- the feelings and language of atheists contrary to1 #f ---- man should consider1 seriously and at leisure1 #ai ---- majesty and greatness of1 #ai ---- greatness in the infinitely little1 #bj ---- has her double infinity from author of1 #ba ---- immobility of1 compared to us1 #bd ---- reasons why man cannot know1 #be ---- of man a continual change1 #fc ---- is not always subject to her own rules1 #hc ---- imitates herself1 #hc ,nebuchadnezzar1 dream of1 #ada ,nicodemus recognised ,jesus ,christ by his miracles1 #bfb ---- the answer of1 to the ,pharisees1 #bgj ,ninevites1 repentance of1 #bda ,noah1 witness of the ,messiah1 #afi ,office of ,jesus ,christ1 #bad ,offices1 why men seek them1 #cc1 #cd ,old ,testament1 a cipher1 #aag ,opinion1 queen of the world1 #ed ,opinions of the people sound1 #gj ,organs1 men compared to1 #bf ,order1 against the objection that the ,scripture has no1 #abh ---- of charity and the intellect1 #abh ,outward marks1 men distinguished by them1 #gj ,pain1 not shameful to man to yield to1 #cj ,painting1 foolishness of1 #cad ,parrot1 as an example1 #ca ,parties1 we should hear both1 #bhc ,passions1 their influence on man1 #ca ---- the pleasure of1 in seeing the shock of two contraries1 #ci ---- of the soul trouble the senses1 #ea ---- internecine war between reason and the1 #ee ---- the enemies of man1 #afi ---- how they become vices1 #bbd ,pattern1 good and bad1 #cjb ,paul1 ,saint1 used the order of charity1 not of the intellect1 #abh ---- taught that all things had happened in figures1 #afi ---- explanation of ,old ,testament types by1 #agf ---- his opinions on marriage1 #agf ,paulus ,emilius1 an example1 #dg ,peace1 the sovereign good1 result of coalescence of justice and power1 #fg ---- should not be observed to the prejudice of truth1 #bgi ---- in the ,church1 when pernicious and unjust1 #bha ,pelagians and ,catholics will always exist1 #bif ,penances1 exterior and interior1 #acd ---- exterior1 dispose to interior1 #acd ,people1 most1 follow custom because they think it just1 #fd ---- dangerous to say to1 that laws are not just1 #fe ---- have very sound opinions1 #gj ,perpetuity of the worship of the ,messiah1 #bac ---- of the ,jewish law preserved by ,jesus ,christ1 #bac ,perseus1 ,king of ,macedon1 #dg ,persians1 the1 #fa ,persons1 three kinds of1 in religion1 #aja ,pharaoh1 magicians of1 #bfg ,philosophers1 they speak of material things in spiritual phrase and vice vers1 #be ---- do not know our nature when they blame the search after diversion1 #cd ---- falsity of those1 who do not discuss the immortality of the soul1 #aaa ---- against those1 who believe in ,god without ,jesus ,christ1 #aaa ---- their weakness1 #agi1 #ahj ---- have consecrated vices1 #ahi ,philosophy1 human1 incapable of explaining man1 #ajf ,pictures1 rules for perspective1 #bg ,piety1 differs from superstition1 #bea ,plato1 #bed ,play1 why sought after1 #cc ---- remarks on1 #ce ,pleasure1 shameful to man to yield to1 #cj ,poet1 the trade of a1 #gi ,poland1 the king of1 #ge ,portentum1 meaning of the word1 #bgj ,pompey1 #adg ,pope1 whence he has his light1 #bgf ---- his power in the ,church to be considered in two ways1 #bhh ---- may easily be taken unawares by the ,jesuits1 #bhh ,porphyry1 #aaf ,port ,royal1 children of1 #eh ---- bad policy to dissolve the community of1 #bhd ,power1 tyrant of the world1 #ee ---- creates opinion1 #ef ---- without justice is tyrannical1 #ff ---- why above justice1 #fg ---- result of1 #fi ,practical and mathematical mind1 difference between1 #caj ,prayer1 why ,god has established1 #big ,preacher1 the1 #ajd ,preadamites1 their extravagances1 #aff ,present1 we care nothing for the1 #gc ,president1 first1 #fi ,presumption of man1 #ei ---- joined to insignificance1 #fg ,pride1 a counterpoise to all miseries1 #fj ---- makes us wish to be esteemed1 #fj ---- knowledge of ,god without that of our wretchedness creates1 #ib ---- finds its proper place in wisdom1 #bdb ,primogeniture1 #fc ---- absurdity of1 #bed ,principles1 all1 may pass for false impressions1 #ed ---- our natural1 are but principles of custom1 #fd ---- first1 are known by the heart1 #ajb ---- arguments of the sceptics in truth of some1 #aje ---- all the1 of sceptics1 stoics1 atheists1 are true1 but their conclusions are false1 #aaa ,prison1 why so horrible a punishment1 #cd ,probability of the ,jesuits1 influence of the doctrine of1 #bhc ---- incapable of assuring the conscience1 #bij ---- corruptness of the doctrine1 #bij ,progress1 all that is brought to perfection by1 perishes also by it1 #eg ---- nature works by1 #hd ,promises of ,god in the ,old ,testament1 each finds in them what he most desires1 #afb ,proofs1 metaphysical1 of ,god1 #ib ---- of our religion not absolutely convincing1 but reasonable enough for those who wish to believe1 #bjh ,prophecies1 the strongest proof of ,jesus ,christ1 #aca ---- dispersed with the ,jews throughout the world1 #aca ---- their preservation and agreement1 #aca ---- concerning ,messiah1 #acb ---- unintelligible to the wicked1 #acc ---- understood only when the events occur1 #acc ---- accomplished1 #adj ---- a proof of divinity1 #aej ---- two senses of1 #aeg ---- confirmed by miracles1 #aga ---- special1 of ,jesus ,christ1 #bag ,prophecy is not called miracle1 #bfb ,prophets1 their part among the ,jews1 #abc ---- their words had a double sense1 #acb ---- prophesied by figures1 #aeh ---- their discourses were contradictory1 #aeh ---- foretold the ,christians1 #bja ---- what they say of ,jesus ,christ1 #bji ---- declared the advent of ,messiah1 #bac ---- foretold1 and were not foretold1 #bae ,propositions1 the five1 #bfh ,provence1 #eg ,provincial ,letters1 censures of the1 not founded on tradition1 #bhd ,pyrenees1 #fa ,pyrrhus1 #ce ,rabbinism1 chronology of1 cited from the ,pugio ,fidei1 #aie ,rabbis1 proofs given to the ,scriptures as to ,jesus ,christ by the1 #aeg ---- figures they employ1 #agj ---- their doctrines on original sin1 #aid ---- their objections against ,jesus ,christ1 #bai ,reason1 is the essence of man1 #dc ---- the senses deceive the1 #ea ---- yields to imagination1 #ec ---- internecine war between the passions and1 #ee ---- not a guide to first principles1 #ajb ---- is weak1 but would judge of all things1 #ajc ---- civil war between passion and1 #aac ---- its corruption1 #ahe ---- can truly know ourselves by submission of our1 #baj ---- acts slowly1 #cjg ---- its power over us1 #cji ,reasoning1 all our1 reduced to yielding to feeling1 #cji ,redeemer1 a1 only for ,christians1 #bdb ---- ,christian religion consists in the mystery of the1 #bjd ,redemption1 proofs of the1 drawn from the wicked and the ,jews1 #aic ---- not right that all should see1 #bee ,red ,sea1 an image of the ,redemption1 #afa ,reed1 a thinking1 #df ,religion1 the true1 and its characteristics1 #agi ---- explains the contradictions in man1 #agi ---- must show knowledge of our nature1 #ahb ---- the note of true1 #ahb ---- false proves that there is a true1 #bfj ---- need to learn the ,christian1 before assailing it1 #c ---- makes us know deeply the greatness and the baseness of man1 #dc ---- what it is1 #ig ---- is not certain1 #ajb ---- more enforced by feeling than by reason1 #ajc ---- founded on the ,jewish religion1 #aai ---- divine or ridiculous1 #agb ---- excellence of the ,christian1 #ahc ---- others but the ,christian1 false1 #ahc ---- wise and foolish1 #ahg ---- other than ,christian1 equal man sometimes to ,god and sometimes to the brutes1 #ahh ---- perpetuity of the ,christian1 #aig ---- which has always existed is that which is contrary to nature1 #aih ---- we should look to the details of1 #cab ---- two ways of urging the truth of our1 #bea ---- at once venerable and loveable1 #bed ---- miracle the foundation of1 #beh ---- the three notes of1 #bge ---- ,jewish1 to be differently regarded in tradition of its sacred books and in the tradition of the people1 #aae ---- is the figure of the ,messiah1 #agf ---- ,mahomedan1 its foundation1 #aae ---- heathen1 no foundation1 #aae ,religions1 pagan1 have no marks of truth1 #aai ,religions1 that there are some lax1 this proves nothing against religion1 #bgg ,repose1 men think they seek1 but only seek agitation1 #cd ,reprobate1 all things work for evil for the1 #abi ,republic1 ,christian and ,jewish1 have only had ,god for master1 #abb ---- ---- its laws1 #bda ,respect of men for each other1 #ee ---- what it is for1 #gb ,rest1 secret instinct which leads men to seek1 #ce ---- complete1 is insupportable1 why1 #dj ,righteous man1 the two natures in the1 #bgc ,rivers are moving roads1 #cae ,roannez1 ,m4 de1 #cji ,roman legislators1 #aba ,romans1 religion of the1 #aai ,rome began to fear ,cromwell1 #gf ---- chief church of ,christ1 #acf ---- must not stifle speech1 #bhd ,royalty1 without diversion1 is unhappy1 #cc ,rule1 to judge a work we need a1 #cje ---- special and particular1 #cjh ---- man must have a1 of faith1 #cji ,ruth1 book of1 #bbj ,sabbath1 only a sign1 #age ,sacrifices1 exterior1 not essential1 #ach ---- of the ,jews and ,gentiles1 #adj ---- uselessness of the1 #ge ,saints1 foretold1 but not foretellers1 #bae ---- their greatness and their empire1 #bbg ---- their union1 #bgi ,salomon de ,tultie1 pseudonym of ,pascal1 utility of his manner of writing1 #cab ,salvation1 ,jesus ,christ has wrought the1 of the just1 while they slept1 #bcb ,savages1 #gj ,scaramouch1 as an example1 #ca ,sceptic1 never has been a perfect finished1 #ajf ,sceptical cabal1 #aaa ,scepticism1 its reasonings1 #ajh ---- aids religion1 #aac ---- remedy for vanity1 #bjf ---- is true1 for men before ,jesus ,christ knew nothing1 #bbf ,sceptics1 indifference of the1 #aab ---- labour in vain1 #ajc ---- principal arguments of the1 drawn from the uncertainty of our natural principles1 #aje ---- lesser arguments of the1 #ajf ,schism1 a mark of error1 #bfh ,science1 infinite in its research and its premisses1 #ba ---- abstract1 not fit for man1 #hb ,scripture1 knows ,god better than we1 #ia ---- compared to the ,koran1 difference between the books1 #aaf ---- has provided passages for all conditions of life1 #abh ---- why contrary sentences are found in1 #abh ---- obscure and clear1 #abi ---- has two senses1 #aeg ---- against those who misuse passages of1 #aff ---- manner of understanding that contradictory passages of1 must agree1 #afg ---- superiority of1 over the most ancient books of other peoples1 #agc ---- preserved by the ,jews1 and is a witness of their sincerity1 #agc ---- full of matters not dictated by the ,holy ,spirit1 #bjf ---- without the1 we know nothing of the nature of ,god nor our own nature1 #bbf ,self1 hatred of1 necessary1 #bch ---- is hateful1 #hd ,self-love1 its nature1 #hd ---- how it should be regulated1 #bcg ---- source of all confusion1 #bci ,seneca1 quotations from1 #aaj ,sensation1 no misery apart from1 #dg ,sense of the prophecies always the same1 #aga ---- there are various kinds of good1 #caa ,senses deceive the reason1 #ea ,sensuality1 men have drawn rules from1 #fi ---- manner in which it is used1 #gj ,sepulchre of ,jesus ,christ1 #bcd ,sermon1 how some people listen to the1 #caf ,servant1 relation to his master1 #bic ,shem1 #abf1 #afi ,ship1 as an example1 #fc ,sibyls1 books of the1 #agd ,sickness1 resignation of man in time of1 #gd ,silence is the greatest persecution1 #bhc ,simplicity of things compared to our double and complex nature1 #be ,sin1 all is1 that is repugnant to the will of ,god1 #bdg ---- original1 #aib ---- mystery of the transmission of1 #ajg ---- foolishness of original1 to man1 #aib ---- tradition of original1 according to the ,jews1 #aid ,sincerity1 a necessary quality of every religion1 #ahb ,sinners1 enemies of ,god1 #afe ,sins1 called enemies by ,david1 #aga ---- the two sources of1 #bda ,six days and the six ages of the world1 #agd ,sleep1 life compared to1 #aje ,sneezing absorbs all the faculties of the soul1 #ca ,society1 a beginning of1 #ef ,socrates1 #bah ,solitude1 the pleasure of1 incomprehensible1 #cd ,sonnet1 a bad1 comparison of1 #cjb ,sorbonne1 corrupted by the ,jesuits1 #bhb ,soul1 immortality of the1 #d1 #aaa ---- is immaterial1 #aaa ---- how little she knows herself1 #aab ,sovereign good1 philosophers do not agree as to the1 #aab ---- ordinary men's idea of1 #aab ,space1 numbers imitate1 #hd ,spaniards1 #ff ,sphere1 infinite1 #ai ,spirit1 of men easily disturbed1 #bg ,spongia solis1 #hc ,state of man1 his weakness and uncertainty2 nothing so important to man as his condition1 #e1 #f ,stoics1 #di ---- what they propose is difficult and idle1 #aac ,stream may decide justice or injustice1 #ff ,strife alone pleases1 not the victory1 #ci ,study of man1 why so few undertake it1 #hb ,style1 thoughts on1 #cja ---- effect a natural1 produces1 we find a man instead of an author1 #cjc ---- examples of bad1 #cjd ,submission of the reason1 only by this can we truly know ourselves1 #ajh1 #bej ,suetonius1 #bba ,suicide1 advised by certain philosophers1 #aab ,sun1 course of the1 #hd ,suns1 the five1 of ,mexico1 #aah ,superstition1 piety compared with1 #bea ,sweden1 queen of1 #ge ,sword1 the right of the1 #fg ,symmetry1 definition of1 #cjd ,synagogues1 a type of the ,church1 #agf ,tacitus1 #bba ,talmud1 its predictions of the ,messiah1 #aeb ---- date of composition of1 #aif ,temple1 its reprobation prophesied by ,jeremiah1 #adi ,tennis1 #cg ,tertullian1 #abg ,testaments1 proof of the two1 at once1 #aeg ---- proof that the ,old1 is figurative1 #aeh ---- ,old and ,new1 their relations1 #afe ---- sacrifices and ceremonies of ,old1 either figures or absurdities1 #agd ,thamar1 story of1 #bbj ,theatre1 dangers of the1 for the ,christian soul1 #bdh ,theology1 taken as an example of diversity1 #cb ,theresa1 ,saint1 her double greatness1 #bdf ---- what she was when alive and now1 #bge ,thought1 greatness of man consists in1 #df ---- makes man's being1 #dg ---- the whole dignity of man lies in1 #dh ---- great in essence1 vile in defects1 #dh ,thoughts1 spring up by chance1 #bi ---- escape us in writing1 #bi ,tide of the sea1 #hd ,time1 our imagination enlarges the present1 #ef ,towns through which we pass1 #ei ,trades1 choice of1 #gh ,transmission of sin1 without this mystery we could not know ourselves1 #ajg ,trent1 ,council of1 #bia ,truth1 there is no1 in man1 #ai ---- we hate1 and those who tell it us1 #he ---- necessity of seeking1 #ie ---- we know1 by the heart as well as by reason1 #ajb ---- is not within our reach1 nor to our taste1 #ajg ---- we have an idea of1 which scepticism cannot overcome1 #aji ---- has visible signs1 #bjh ---- makes us free1 #bde ---- opposite truth to be remembered with a1 #bgi ---- unable to know1 unless we love truth1 #bhj ---- the first rule and ultimate end of things1 #bha ,truths of religion1 necessity of seeking1 #c ,turk1 the ,grand1 #ec ,turks1 their example alleged by the wicked1 #baa ---- miracles of the1 #beh ---- grand sultan of the1 #hj ,twelve tables1 law of the1 #aba ,types in general1 their lawfulness1 #aeg ---- unintelligible to the ,jews and bad ,christians1 #aeh ---- understood only in the fulness of time1 #aeh ---- compared to a portrait1 #aei ---- the word of ,god false literally1 true spiritually1 #aei ---- of ,old ,testament only figures1 #afb ---- the reason of1 #afb ---- of ,christ1 #afe ---- different kinds of1 some seem far-fetched1 #afe ---- reason for the use of1 #agj ---- of ,old ,testament either figures or absurdities1 #agd ---- made according to the truth1 #agf ---- particular1 #agf ---- the utility of1 #baf ,tyranny1 in what it consists1 #fh ,unbelievers1 we should pity them1 #bec ---- useful for the glory of religion1 #bjc ---- revile that which they do not understand1 #bjd ,uncertainty1 what we do for an1 #ajb ---- of condition of man1 #bc ,understanding1 greatness of men of1 invisible to the great1 #bbg ,unhappiness natural to man's condition1 makes him seek diversion1 #cc ---- proof of man's1 #gc ,union of mind and body a mystery to man1 #bh ---- of the ,word to man1 #bii ,universe1 how inferior and superior to man1 #df ---- the whole1 teaches man1 either of his corruptness or redemption1 #aib ,usurpation of the whole earth1 beginning and image of1 #fh ,vacuum1 an example taken from our notion of1 #ed ---- absurdity of the saying that nature abhors a1 #cac ,vanity of pleasure1 #e ,vatable1 #bfi1 #bgj ,venice1 the ,jesuits and1 #bhc ,vespasian1 persecution of1 #abg ---- miracles of1 #bga ,vices1 why we are indulgent to the1 of the great1 #gd ---- certain1 have hold on us only by means of others1 #gg ,victory pleases less than strife1 why1 #ci ,virgin birth1 weakness of the argument against the1 #bbc ,virtue may be excessive1 #cj ---- is the result of two opposite vices in counterpoise1 #cj ,vocations1 #ei ,war1 why men seek1 #cd ---- internecine1 in man1 between the reason and his passions1 #ee ---- civil1 is the worst of evils1 #fc1 #gj ---- decided by an interested party1 #ff ,weakness of man1 #bh1 #ff ---- ---- cause of so many esteemed beauties1 #gb ---- unrest1 and defects of man1 #gc ,weariness of ,jesus1 #bcb ---- inevitable in all conditions1 #ce ---- is man's most sensible evil and his greatest good1 #ci ---- arises from loss of occupation1 #dj ,well dressed1 not altogether foolish to be1 #gj ,wicked1 the1 reasoning of1 in the ,book of ,wisdom1 #bdj ---- prove the corruption of human nature by their conduct1 #aia ---- who profess to follow reason1 #baa ,will1 difference between the actions of the1 and other actions1 #abi ---- is depraved in wishing for the love of others1 #bci ---- self1 we must renounce it in order to be happy1 #bdj ---- of ,god1 we should judge of what is good or bad according to the1 #bdd ---- one of the principal organs of belief1 #cjg ,wine1 too much and too little1 #bi ,wisdom1 greatness of1 invisible to the carnal1 #bbg ---- ,god alone gives1 #bdc ,words1 meaning changes according to the1 #abi ,world1 vanity of the1 #dh ---- judges things rightly1 #hc ---- avoids thinking of what it does not choose to think about1 #ajb ---- indicates the presence of a ,god who hides himself1 #bji ---- would not exist without ,jesus ,christ1 #bbf ---- difference in living according to the1 and to ,god1 #bdh ---- is full of good maxims1 we only need their right application1 #cad ,worshippers1 unknown1 #bhj ,worthlessness of man1 #ac ,xerxes1 #add ,zeal of the ,jewish people1 #abb ,,chiswick ,,press3--,c4 ,,whittingham ,,and ,,co41 ,,tooks ,,court1 ,,chancery ,,lane4 ,,transcriber',s ,,note ,italic text is denoted by underscores4 ,one superscript was converted to lowercase '#bcrd'4 ,obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources4 ,except for those changes noted below1 misspelling by the author1 and inconsistent or archaic usage1 has been retained4 ,for example1 infinites1 infinities2 premiss2 any thing1 anything2 every body1 everybody4 p4 v ',general ,introduction #c' inserted in the ,to,c4 p4 #bc 'flies us' replaced by 'flies from us'4 p4 #cf 'face themselves' replaced by 'face they themselves'4 p4 #cf 'superintendant' replaced by 'superintendent'4 p4 #ci 'any thing thing else' replaced by 'any thing else'4 p4 #ea 'outvieing' replaced by 'outvying'4 p4 #ga 'people is' replaced by 'people are'4 p4 #aab 'have gained' replaced by 'has gained'4 p4 #abb 'people was' replaced by 'people were'4 p4 #abg ',de ,cultu fmin4' replaced by ,de ,cultu femin4' p4 #agb 'though his son' replaced by 'through his son'4 p4 #bbg 'artizan' replaced by 'artisan'4 p4 #bdf 'if be alike' replaced by 'if it be alike'4 p4 #cai ,note for ',p4 #ab' moved after note for ',p4 #aa'4 p4 #cbb ',ecclus4' replaced by ',eccles4'4 p4 #ccc ,note for ',p4 #bch'2 'principalment' replaced by 'principalement'4 p4 #cch ,note for ',p4 #cjd'2 accents added to rpand1 tnbres and rpandre4 p4 #cch ,note for ',p4 #cji'2 ',discours sur la ,mthode' replaced by ',discours de la ,mthode'4 ,,index3 ,two entries for ',chances1 doctrine of' combined into one4 ,entry for ',heresies'2 'tha way' replaced by 'the way'4 ,entry for ',laws'2 'isngle' replaced by 'single'4 ,entry for ',man cannot bear'2 'depised' replaced by 'despised'4 ,entry for ',thamar'2 refers to ',tamar' in the text4