,,the ,,non-,,religion    ,,of ,,the    
,,future      ,a ,,sociological ,,study 
,,translated ,,from ,,the ,,french      
,,of    ,m4 ,,guyau      ,illustration  
,,new ,,york    ,,henry ,,holt ,,and    
,,company    #ahig                      
,,copyright1 #ahig1    ,,by    ,,henry  
,,holt  ,,co4        ,,the ,,mershon    
,,company ,,press1    ,,rahway1 ,n4 ,j4 
,,table ,,of ,,contents4                
,,introduction4      ,i4 ,sociality the 
basis of religion--,its definition4     
,,ii4 ,the connection between religion1 
sthetics1 and morals4      ,,iii4 ,the  
inevitable decomposition of all systems 
of dogmatic    religion2 the state of   
8non-religion0 toward which the human   
mind    seems to tend--,the exact sense 
in which one must understand the        
non-religion as distinguished from the  
8religion of the future40      ,,iv4    
,the value and utility1 for the time    
being1 of religion2 its    ultimate     
insufficiency1                          
#a        ,part ,first4      ,,the      

,,genesis ,,of ,,religions ,,in         
,,primitive ,,societies4                
,,chapter ,i4      ,,religious          
,,physics4      ,,importance ,,of ,,the 
,,problem ,,of ,,the ,,origin ,,of      
,,religion--,,universality      ,,of    
,,religious ,,beliefs ,,or              
,,superstitions--,,variability ,,of     
,,religions ,,and      ,,religious      
,,evolution4      ,i4 ,idealist theory  
which attributes the origin of religion 
to    a notion of the                   
infinite--,henotheism of ,max ,mller and
 ,von    ,hartmann--,m4 ,renan's        
,instinct for ,divinity4      ,,ii4     
,theory of a worship of the dead and of 
spirits--,herbert                       
,spencer--,spencer's objections to the  
theory of the attribution of a    soul  
to natural forces4      ,,iii4 ,answer  
to objections--,religious physics       
sociological in    form1 and the        
substitution of relations between       
malevolent    or beneficent conscious   
beings for relations between natural    

forces--,sociomorphism of primitive     
,peoples1                        #ba    
,,chapter ,,ii4      ,,religious        
,,metaphysics4      ,i4 ,animism or     
polydemonism--,formation of the dualist 
conception of    spirit--,social        
relations with spirits4      ,,ii4      
,providence and miracles--,the evolution
 of the dualist    conception of a      
special providence--,the conception of  
miracles--,the supernatural and the     
natural--,scientific explanation    and 
miracles--,social and moral             
modifications in the character    of    
man1 owing to supposed social relations 
with a special                          
providence--,increasing sentiment of    
irresponsibility and passivity    and   
8absolute dependence40      ,,iii4 ,the 
creation--,genesis of the notion of     
creation--,the dualistic    elements in 
this idea--,monism--,classification of  
systems of    religious                 
metaphysics--,criticism of the          
classification proposed by    ,von      

,hartmann--,criticism of the            
classification proposed by ,auguste     
,comte1                                 
#hj        ,,chapter ,,iii4             
,,religious ,,morals4      ,i4 ,the laws
 which regulate the social relations    
between gods and    men--,morality and  
immorality in primitive                 
religions--,extension of    friendly and
 hostile relations to the sphere of the 
gods--,primitive    inability in matters
 of conscience1 as in matters of art1 to
    distinguish the great from the      
monstrous4      ,,ii4 ,the moral        
sanction in the society which includes  
gods and    men--,patronage--,that      
divine intervention tends always to be  
conceived after the model of human      
intervention and to sanction it4        
,,iii4 ,worship and religious           
rites--,principles of reciprocity and   
proportionality in the exchange of      
services--,sacrifice--,principle    of  
coercion and incantation--,principle of 
habit and its relation    to            

rites--,sorcery--,sacerdotalism--,prophe
cy--,the externals of                   
worship--,dramatization and religious   
sthetics4      ,,iv4 ,subjective        
worship--,adoration and love2 their     
psychological    origin1                
#aac        ,part ,second4      ,,the   
,,dissolution ,,of ,,religions ,,in     
,,existing ,,societies4        ,,chapter
 ,i4      ,,dogmatic ,,faith4      ,i4  
,narrow dogmatic faith--,the credulity  
of primitive man3 ,first1    spontaneous
 faith in the senses and imagination2   
,second1 faith in    the testimony of   
superior men2 ,third1 faith in the      
divine word1 in    revelation1 and in   
the sacred texts--,the literalness of   
dogmatic    faith--,inevitable          
intolerance of narrow dogmatic          
faith--,belief    in dogma1 revelation1 
salvation1 and damnation all result in  
intolerance--,modern tolerance4         
,,ii4 ,broad dogmatic faith--,orthodox  
,protestantism--,dogmas    of orthodox  
,protestantism--,rational consequences  

of these    dogmas--,logical failure of 
orthodox ,protestantism4      ,,iii4    
,the dissolution of dogmatic faith in   
modern society--,reasons    that render 
this dissolution                        
inevitable--,comparative influence of   
the various sciences2 influence of      
public instruction1 of means    of      
communication1 of industry even and of  
commerce1 etc4--,the    disappearance of
 belief in oracles and                  
prophecies--,gradual    disappearance of
 the belief in miracles1 in devils1     
etc41         #acf        ,,chapter     
,,ii4      ,,symbolic ,,and ,,moral     
,,faith4      ,i4 ,substitution of      
metaphysical symbolism for              
dogma--,liberal                         
,protestantism--,comparison with        
,brahmanism--,substitution    of moral  
symbolism for metaphysical              
symbolism--,moral                       
faith--,kant--,mill--,matthew           
,arnold--,a literary explanation of the 
,bible substituted for a literal        

explanation4      ,,ii4 ,criticism of   
symbolic faith--,inconsequence of       
liberal    ,protestantism--,is ,jesus of
 a more divine type than other great    
geniuses8--,does the ,bible possess a   
greater authority in matters of         
morals than any other masterpiece of    
poetry8--,criticism of ,matthew         
,arnold's system--,final absorption of  
religions by morality1       #afg       
,,chapter ,,iii4      ,,dissolution ,,of
 ,,religious ,,morality4      ,i4 ,the  
first durable element of religious      
morality3    ,respect--,alteration of   
respect by the addition of the notion of
 the    fear of ,god and divine         
vengeance4      ,,ii4 ,second durable   
element of religious morality3          
,love--,alteration of this element by   
the addition of ideas of    grace1      
predestination1 damnation--,caducous    
elements of religious                   
morality--,mysticism--,antagonism of    
divine love and human                   
love--,asceticism--,excesses of         

asceticism--,especially in the          
religions of the ,east--,conception of  
sin in the modern mind4      ,,iii4     
,subjective worship and prayer--,the    
notion of prayer from    the point of   
view of modern science and              
philosophy--,ecstasy--,the    survival  
of prayer1                              
#aie        ,,chapter ,,iv4             
,,religion ,,and ,,non-,,religion       
,,among ,,the ,,people4      ,i4 ,is    
religious sentiment an innate and       
imperishable possession of              
humanity--,frequent confusion of a      
sentiment for religion with a           
sentiment for philosophy and            
morals--,renan--,max ,mller--,difference
    between the evolution of belief in  
the individual and the evolution    of  
belief in the race--,will the           
disappearance of faith leave a void     
behind8      ,,ii4 ,will the dissolution
 of religion result in a dissolution    
of morality among the people8--,is      
religion the sole safeguard    of social

 authority and public                   
morality8--,christianity and            
socialism--,relation between            
non-religion and immorality1 according  
to statistics4      ,,iii4 ,is          
,protestantism a necessary transition   
stage between religion    and           
free-thought8--,projects for            
,protestantizing ,france--,michelet1    
,quinet1 ,de ,laveleye1 ,renouvier1 and 
,pillon--,intellectual1    moral1 and   
political superiority of                
,protestantism--,utopian    character of
 the project--,uselessness1 for purposes
 of morals1    of substituting one      
religion for another--,is the possession
 of    religion a condition sine qua non
 of superiority in the struggle    for  
existence8--,objections urged against   
,france and the ,french    ,revolution  
by ,matthew ,arnold2 ,greece and ,judea 
compared1 ,france    and ,protestant    
nations compared--,critical examination 
of ,matthew    ,arnold's theory--,cannot
 free-thought1 science1 and art evolve  

their    respective ideals from within8 
#bbf        ,,chapter ,v4               
,,religion ,,and ,,non-,,religion ,,and 
,,the ,,child4      ,i4 ,decline of     
religious education--,defects of this   
education1    in especial in ,catholic  
countries--,means of lightening these   
defects--,the priest--,the possibility  
of state-action on the priest4          
,,ii4 ,education provided by the        
state--,primary instruction--,the       
schoolmaster--,secondary and higher     
instruction--,should the history    of  
religion be introduced into the         
curriculum8      ,,iii4 ,education at   
home--,should the father take no part in
 the    religious education of his      
children--,evils of a preliminary       
religious education to be followed by   
disillusionment--,the special           
question of the immortality of the soul3
 what should be said to    children     
about death1                            
#bgb        ,,chapter ,,vi4             
,,religion ,,and ,,non-,,religion       

,,among ,,women4      ,are women        
inherently predisposed toward religion  
and even toward    superstition8--,the  
nature of feminine                      
intelligence--,predominance    of the   
imagination--,credulity--,conservatism--
,feminine    sensibility--,predominance 
of sentiment--,tendency to              
mysticism--,is    the moral sentiment   
among women based upon                  
religion--,influence    of religion and 
of non-religion upon modesty and        
love--,origin of    modesty--,love and  
perpetual virginity--,m4 ,renan's       
paradoxes on    the subject of monastic 
vows--,how woman's natural proclivities 
may be turned to account by             
free-thought--,influence exercised by   
the wife's faith over the               
husband--,instance of a conversion to   
free-thought1                           
#bie        ,,chapter ,,vii4      ,,the 
,,effect ,,of ,,religion ,,and          
,,non-,,religion ,,on ,,population ,,and
 ,,the      ,,future ,,of ,,the ,,race4 

,i4 ,importance of the problem of       
population--,antagonism between         
numerical strength and                  
wealth--,necessity of numbers for the   
maintenance and progress of the         
race--,necessity of giving the          
advantage of numbers to the superior    
races--,problem of population    in     
,france--,its relation to the religious 
problem--,are the reasons    for the    
restriction of the number of births     
physiological1 moral1    or             
economic8--,malthusianism in            
,france--,the true national peril4      
,,ii4 ,remedies--,is a return to        
religion possible8--,religious          
powerlessness and growing tolerance in  
the matter--,the    influence that the  
law might exercise upon the causes of   
small    families--,enumeration of these
 causes--,reform of the law in    regard
 to filial duty--7,support of           
parents7--,reform of the law    of      
inheritance--,reform of the military law
 for the purpose of    favouring large  

families and of permitting emigration to
 the ,french    colonies4      ,,iii4   
,influence of public education3 its     
necessity as a substitute    for        
religious sentiment1                    
#cae        ,part ,third4               
,,non-,,religion ,,of ,,the ,,future4   
,,chapter ,i4      ,,religious          
,,individualism4      ,i4 ,is a         
renovation of religion possible8 #a4 ,is
 a unification of the    great religions
 to-day existing possible8 #b4 ,is the  
appearance of a    new religion to be   
expected8--,future miracles             
impossible--,religious    poetry not to 
be expected--,men of genius capable of  
sincerely    and navely labouring in the
 creating of a new religion not to    be
 expected--,impossibility of adding to  
the original stock of    religious      
ideas--,no new cult possible--,last     
attempts at a new cult    in ,america   
and in ,france--,the ,positivist        
cult--,ethical culture--,can            
socialism renew religion8--,advantages  

and defects of socialistic              
experiments4      ,,ii4 ,religious anomy
 and the substitution of doubt for      
faith--#a4    ,will the absence of      
religion result in scepticism8 ,will the
 number    of sceptics increase with the
 disappearance of religion8 #b4         
,substitution of doubt for              
faith--,genuinely religious character of
    doubt4      ,,iii4 ,substitution of 
metaphysical hypothesis for             
dogma--,difference between religious    
sentiment and instinct for              
metaphysics--,imperishable character of 
the latter--,sentiment    at once of the
 limits of science and of the infinity  
of our    ideal--,spencer's attempted   
reconciliation of science and           
religion--,confusion of religion with   
metaphysics1                 #cej       
,,chapter ,,ii4      ,,association4     
,,the ,,permanent ,,element ,,of        
,,religions ,,in ,,social ,,life4       
,,social ,,aspect ,,of                  
,,religions--,,religious ,,communities  

,,and      ,,churches--,,ideal ,,type   
,,of ,,voluntary ,,association--,,its   
,,diverse ,,forms4      ,i4             
,associations for intellectual          
purposes--,how such associations        
might preserve the most precious        
elements of religions--,societies    for
 the advancement of science1 philosophy1
 religion--,dangers to                  
avoid--,popularization of scientific    
ideas2 propagandism in the    interests 
of science4      ,,ii4 ,associations for
 moral purposes--,tendency of religion  
in the    best minds to become one with 
charity--,pity and charity will         
survive dogma--,rle of enthusiasm in    
moral propagandism--,necessity    of    
hope to sustain enthusiasm--,possibility
 of propagating moral    ideas3 #a4     
,apart from myths and religious dogmas2 
#b4 ,apart from    any notion of a      
religious sanction--,baudelaire's       
conception of a    criminal and happy   
hero--,criticism of that                
conception--,worship of    the memory of

 the dead4      ,,iii4 ,associations for
 sthetic purposes--,worship of art and  
nature--,art and poetry will sever their
 connection with religion    and will   
survive it--,necessity of developing the
 sthetic sentiment    and the worship of
 art1 as the religious sentiment becomes
 more    feeble--,poetry1 eloquence1    
music2 their rle in the future--,final  
substitution of art for rites--,worship 
of nature--,feeling    for nature       
originally an essential element of the  
religious    sentiment--,superiority of 
a worship of nature over worship of     
human    art--,nature is the true temple
 of the future1                     #cia
        ,,chapter ,,iii4      ,,theism4 
,,review ,,of ,,the ,,principal         
,,metaphysical ,,hypotheses ,,which     
,,will ,,replace      ,,dogma4      ,i4 
,introduction--,progress of metaphysical
 hypotheses--,metaphysical    hypotheses
 destined to increasing diversity in    
details1 and    increasing agreement on 
essential points--,importance of the    

moral element in metaphysical           
hypotheses--,the part played by         
conscience in human morality will not   
diminish1 as ,mr4 ,spencer              
says--,sympathetic groups under which   
divers systems of metaphysics    will be
 ranged4      ,,ii4 ,theism--#a4        
,probable fate of the creation          
hypothesis--,the author    of the world 
conceived as a prime mover--,eternity of
 movement--,the    author of the world  
conceived as a creator properly so      
called--,illusion involved in the       
conception of nothing--,criticism    of 
the creation hypothesis from the point  
of view of morals3 the    problem of    
evil and of the responsibility of the   
creator--,attempts    to save           
optimism--,hypothesis of a ,god creating
 free agents1    8workmen0 and not      
8work0--,reciprocal determinism and the 
illusion    of spontaneity--,immorality 
of the temptation--,hypothesis of the   
fall1 its impossibility--,god the       
tempter--,lucifer and ,god--#b4         

,probable fate of the notion of         
,providence--,hypotheses to explain    a
 special ,providence and miracles thus  
insufficient--,hypothesis    of a       
non-omnipotent ,god proposed by ,john   
,stuart ,mill--,the ,god of             
,comtism--,religion should be not solely
 human but cosmic--,the fate    of the  
philosophical idea of ,god--,rational   
religion proposed by the                
neo-,kantians--,ultimate transformation 
of the notion of divinity and    of     
,providence--,human ,providence and     
progressive divinity in the    world1   
#dbd        ,,chapter ,,iv4             
,,pantheism4      ,,review ,,of ,,the   
,,principal ,,metaphysical ,,hypotheses 
,,which ,,will ,,replace                
,,dogma4--,continued4      ,i4          
,optimistic pantheism--,transformation  
of transcendent ,deism    into immanent 
theism and                              
pantheism--,disanthropomorphized        
,god1 according to ,messrs4 ,fiske and  
,spencer--,diverse forms    of          

pantheism--,optimistic and              
intellectualistic pantheism of          
,spinoza--,objections1 ,spinoza's       
fatalism--,the moral significance       
that might be lent to pantheism by the  
introduction of some notion    of a     
final cause--,qualities and defects of  
pantheism--,conception    of unity upon 
which it is founded--,this conception   
criticised--,its    possible            
subjectivity4      ,,ii4 ,pessimistic   
pantheism--,pessimistic interpretation  
of religions    in ,germany--#a4 ,causes
 of the progress of pessimism in the    
present    epoch--,progress of          
pantheistic metaphysics and of positive 
science--,penalties incident to thought 
and reflection--,mental    depression   
and sense of powerlessness1 etc4--#b4   
,is pessimism    curable8--,possible    
remedies--,the labour problem and the   
future    of society--,illusions        
involved in pessimism--,inexactitude of 
its    estimate of pleasures and        
pains--,quotation from                  

,leopardi--,criticism    of the         
practical results of                    
pessimism--,nirvna--,an experiment in   
,nirvna--,will pessimistic pantheism be 
the religion of the    future8          
#deb        ,,chapter ,v4               
,,idealism1 ,,materialism1 ,,monism4    
,,review ,,of ,,the ,,principal         
,,metaphysical ,,hypotheses ,,which     
,,will ,,replace                        
,,dogma4--,concluded4      ,i4          
,idealism--,different forms of idealism3
 subjective idealism1    objective      
idealism3 ,the whole of existence       
resolved into a mode    of mental       
existence--,value of idealism considered
 from point of    view of the religious 
sentiment--,most specious of            
contemporary    idealisms3 ,possibility 
of universal progress in the hypothesis 
of radical spontaneity and of           
8freedom0--,reconciliation between      
determinism and the conception of       
freedom--,moral idealism as a           
possible substitute for religious       

sentiment3 ,dependence of the           
universe on the principle of goodness4  
,,ii4 ,materialism--,difficulty in      
defining absolute materialism3          
,matter--,the atom--,nebular            
hypothesis--,hydrogen--,necessity of    
supplementing materialism by some theory
 of the origin of    life--,the latest  
conception of materialism3 ,conception  
of infinite    divisibility and infinite
 extensibility4      ,,iii4 ,monism and 
the fate of worlds--,current of         
contemporary systems    toward          
monism--,scientific interpretation of   
monism--,the world    conceived         
monistically as a becoming and as a     
life--,scientific    formul for         
life--,progress consists in the gradual 
confusion    of these two formul--,that 
the rise of morality and religion    can
 be accounted for without the           
presupposition of any final             
cause--,metaphysical and moral          
expectations in regard to the    destiny
 of the world and of humanity1 it may   

be1 founded on    scientific            
monism--,facts which appear to be       
inconsistent with    these              
expectations--,pessimistic conception of
 dissolution that is    complementary to
 the conception of evolution--,is the   
immanence of    dissolution             
demonstrable8--,natural devices for the 
perpetuation of    the 8fittest0--,rle  
of intelligence1 of numbers1            
etc4--,calculation    of                
probabilities--,is eternity a parte post
 a ground of    discouragement or of    
hope--,probable existence of thinking   
beings in    other worlds3 the planets1 
possibility of the existence of beings  
superior to man--,survival of the       
conception of gods--,hypothesis of      
intercosmic consciousness and of a      
universal society4      ,,iv4 ,destiny  
of the human race--,the hypothesis of   
immortality    from the point of view of
 monism--,two possible conceptions of   
immortality--,eternal or untemporal     
existence and continuation of    life in

 some superior forms--,i4 ,hypothesis of
 eternal life--its    function in       
antique religions1 in ,platonism1 and in
 the systems of    ,spinoza1 ,kant1 and 
,schopenhauer--,eternal life and the    
subsistence    of the                   
individual--,distinction made by        
,schopenhauer and various    other      
philosophers between individuality and  
personality--,eternal    life           
problematical and                       
transcendent--,aristocratic tendency    
of the theory of eternal                
life--,hypothesis of conditional        
immortality--,criticism of the          
hypothesis of conditional               
immortality2 incompatibility of this    
notion with that of divine              
goodness--,,ii4 ,hypothesis of a        
continuation of the present    life and 
its evolution into some superior        
form--,what sort    of immortality the  
theory of evolution permits us to hope  
for--,immortality of one's labours and  
conduct--,true conception of    such    

immortality--,its relation to the laws  
of heredity1 atavism1    natural        
selection--,immortality of the          
individual--,objections    drawn from   
science--,protestations of affection    
against the    annihilation of the      
person--,resulting antinomy--,,iii4     
,modern    opposition between the       
conception of function and the          
conception    of simple substance1 in   
which ancient philosophy endeavours to  
find a proof of                         
immortality--,peripatetic theory of     
,wundt and    modern philosophers on the
 nature of the soul--,immortality as    
a continuation of function1 proved not  
by the simplicity1 but    by the        
complexity of consciousness--,relation  
between complexity    and               
instability--,three stages of social    
evolution--,analogy of    conscience    
with a society1 collective character of 
individual    consciousness--,conception
 of progressive immortality--,last      
product    of evolution and natural     

selection3 7#a7 ,no necessary relation  
between the compositeness and complexity
 of consciousness and its               
dissolubility3 indissoluble compounds in
 the physical universe--7#b7            
,relation between consciousnesses1 their
 possible fusion in a    superior       
consciousness--,contemporary psychology 
and the religious    notion of the      
interpenetration of souls--,possible    
evolution of    memory and              
identification of it with               
reality--,palingenesis by    force of   
love--,problematic character of those   
conceptions and of    every conception  
relative to existence1 of consciousness 
and the    relation between existence   
and consciousness--,,iv4 ,conception of 
death appropriate to those who1 in the  
present state of evolution1    do not   
believe in the immortality of the       
individual--,antique and    modern      
stoicism--,acceptance of death3 element 
of melancholy and    of greatness in    
it--,expansion of self by means of      

philosophical    thought1 and scientific
 disinterestedness1 to the point of to  
some    extent approving one's own      
annihilation1                           
#dgg          ,,introduction4        ,i4
 ,sociality the basis of religion--,its 
definition4        ,,ii4 ,the connection
 between religion1 sthetics1 and morals4
        ,,iii4 ,the inevitable          
decomposition of all systems of dogmatic
        religion2 the state of          
8non-religion0 toward which the         
human mind seems to tend--,the exact    
sense in which one        must          
understand the non-religion as          
distinguished from the        8religion 
of the future40        ,,iv4 ,the value 
and utility1 for the time being1 of     
religion2        its ultimate           
insufficiency4      ,i4 ,we shall meet1 
in the course of this work1 many        
different  definitions that have at one 
time or another been given to religion4 
,some were assigned from the point of   
view of physics1 others from that  of   

metaphysics1 others from that of morals1
 almost none from that of  sociology4   
,and yet1 upon closer scrutiny1 the     
notion of a social bond  between man and
 the powers superior to him1 but        
resembling him1 is  precisely the point 
in which all religious conceptions are  
at one4 ,man  becomes truly religious1  
in our judgment1 only when above the    
human  society in which he lives he     
superimposes in his scheme of the world 
another society1 more powerful and more 
cultured1 a universal and1 so  to speak1
 a cosmic society4 ,the sphere of       
sociality1 which is one of  the         
characteristics of humanity1 must be    
enlarged till it reaches to  the stars4 
,sociality is the firm foundation of the
 religious sentiment1  and a religious  
being might be defined as a being       
disposed to be  sociable1 not only with 
all living creatures with whom          
experience makes  him acquainted1 but   
also with the creatures of thought with 
whom he  peoples the world4    ,that    

religion consists essentially in the    
establishment of a bond--at  first      
mythical1 and subsequently mystic1 in   
the first instance  between man and the 
forces of the universe1 then between man
 and the  universe itself1 and          
ultimately between man and the elements 
of the  universe--is distinctly the     
outcome of every study of religion2 but 
what we wish especially here to consider
 is the precise way in which  this bond 
has been conceived4 ,well 7it may appear
 more clearly at the  close of this     
inquiry71 the religious bond has been   
conceived ex  analogia societatis human3
 the relations1 amicable and inimical1  
of  men to each other were employed     
first for the explanation of physical   
phenomena and natural forces1 then for  
the metaphysical explanation  of the    
world1 of its creation1 conservation1   
and government2 in  short1 sociological 
laws were universalized1 and the state  
of war  or peace which existed among    
men1 families1 tribes1 and nations was  

conceived as existing also among the    
volitions which were fancied  to exist  
beneath or beyond the forces of nature4 
,a mythic or mystic  sociology1         
conceived as containing the secret of   
all things1 lies at  the basis of all   
religions4 ,religion is not simply the  
expression of an                        
anthropomorphism--animals and fantastic 
beings of various sorts have  played no 
inconsiderable rle in different cults2  
it is an imaginative  extension1 a      
universalization of all the good or evil
 relations which  exist among conscious 
beings1 of war and peace1 friendship and
 enmity1  obedience and rebellion1      
protection and authority1 submission1   
fear1  respect1 devotion1 love3 religion
 is a universal sociomorphism4  ,social 
relations with animals1 with the dead1  
intellectual and social  relations with 
good and evil genii1 with the forces of 
nature1 are  nothing more nor less than 
various forms of this universal         
sociology  in which religion has sought 

to find the reason of things--of        
physical  phenomena such as thunder1    
storm1 sickness1 death1 as well as of   
metaphysical relations--the origin and  
destiny of things1 and of moral         
relations--virtue1 vice1 law1 and       
sanction4    ,if1 therefore1 we were    
forced to condense the theory of this   
book into  a single definition1 we      
should say that religion is the outcome 
of an  effort to explain all            
things--physical1 metaphysical1 and     
moral--by  analogies drawn from human   
society1 imaginatively and symbolically 
considered4 ,in short it is a universal 
sociological hypothesis1  mythical in   
form4    ,to justify this conception we 
shall review the various definitions    
that have been put forth of the         
religious sentiment2 we shall see that  
each of them needs completion by the    
rest1 and that1 too1 from the           
sociological point of view4    ,the     
definition which has perhaps been most  
widely adopted of late  years1 with     

divers modifications by ,strauss1 by    
,pfleiderer1 by ,lotze1  and by ,m4     
,rville1 is that of ,schleiermacher4    
,according to him1 the  essence of      
religion consists in the feeling that we
 all have of our own  absolute          
dependence4 ,the powers in respect to   
which this dependence is  felt we call  
divinities4 ,on the other hand1         
according to ,feuerbach1 the  origin1   
nay the essence even of religion is     
desire3 if man possessed  no needs1 no  
desires1 he would possess no gods4 ,if  
grief and evil did  not exist1 says     
,hartmann later on1 there would be no   
religion2 the  gods1 even the gods of   
history1 are no more than the powers to 
whom  man looks for what he does not    
possess1 and wants1 to whom he looks    
for relief1 for salvation1 for          
happiness4 ,the respective definitions  
of ,schleiermacher and ,feuerbach1 taken
 separately1 are incomplete2 it  is at  
least necessary1 as ,strauss suggests1  
to superpose them4 ,the  religious      

sentiment is primarily1 no doubt1 a     
feeling of dependence2  but this feeling
 of dependence1 really to give birth to 
religion1 must  provoke in one a        
reaction--a desire of deliverance4 ,to  
feel one's own  weakness2 to be         
conscious of limitations of all sorts   
which bound  one's life1 and then to    
desire to augment one's power over one's
 self  and over the material universe2  
to enlarge one's sphere of action2  to  
attain once more to a comparative       
independence in face of the  necessities
 of every kind which hem one in--such is
 the course of the  human mind in the   
presence of the universe4    ,but here  
an objection occurs3 precisely the same 
course seems to be  followed by the mind
 in the establishment of science4 ,in a 
scientific  period man feels himself as 
profoundly dependent as in a religious  
period1 and this feeling of dependence  
is accompanied by a no less  vivid      
reaction in the one case than in the    
other4 ,the man of science  and the     

believer alike aim at enfranchisement1  
but by different means4  ,must one be   
content1 then1 with an external and     
negative definition1  and say with ,m4  
,darmesteter3 8,religion embraces all   
knowledge and all  power not            
scientific08#a ,a knowledge not         
scientific possesses all  the attributes
 of a contradiction in terms1 and1 as   
for a power not  scientific1 it is      
indispensable to distinguish it in some 
positive way  from the power which is   
afforded us by science4 ,well1 to keep  
close  to the facts1 the power of       
religion is that which we frankly do not
  possess1 while the power of science is
 that which we do possess and  know that
 we possess4 ,one might indeed fall back
 on the distinction  between belief and 
certainty2 but the man of science also  
has his  beliefs1 his preferences for   
such and such a cosmological hypothesis1
  which1 however1 is not a religious    
belief1 properly so called4  ,religious 
and moral 8faith10 as opposed to        

scientific 8hypothesis10 is  an ultimate
 and very complete manifestation of the 
religious sentiment1  which we shall    
examine later1 though it carries with it
 no suggestion  of its primitive origin4
          #a ,see an account given of   
the ,prolgomnes of ,m4 ,albert          
,rville1 by ,m4 ,darmesteter1 ,revue    
philosophique1 seventh        year1 vol4
 i4 p4 #gf4    ,from the sociological   
point of view the distinction is plain4 
,the  religious sentiment begins at the 
point where mechanical determinism      
seems to offer an opportunity in the    
world for a sort of moral and  social   
reciprocity--a possible exchange of     
sentiments and even  of desires1 between
 man and the powers of the universe1    
whatever they  may be4 ,that point once 
reached1 man no longer conceives it     
possible to  measure the consequences of
 an act--of using an axe1 for example1  
on a  sacred tree--in the exact terms of
 mere mechanical reaction2 for over  and
 above the simple brute fact of what he 

has done1 the sentiment or  intention   
that it indicates must be taken into    
account and the probable  effect of that
 for good or evil upon the gods4        
,religious sentiment  is a feeling of   
dependence1 on the part of primitive    
man1 in respect  to the intelligences1  
the volitions1 with which he has peopled
 the  universe and which he believes    
capable of being affected agreeably  or 
disagreeably by his conduct4 ,religious 
sentiment is not a feeling  of mere     
physical dependence upon the universal  
frame of things2 it  is more than all a 
physical dependence1 a moral1 and in    
especial1 a  social dependence4 ,this   
relation of dependence consists really  
of two  reciprocal terms3 if man is     
bound by it in some sort to the powers  
of  nature1 they in turn are bound by it
 to man2 man has more or less of  a hold
 on them1 he can offend them morally1   
just as he might offend  a fellow-man4  
,if man is in the hand of the gods1 he  
can in a measure  force the hand to open

 or shut4 ,the divinities are in a sense
 dependent  also on man2 they           
experience1 as the result of his        
conduct1 a measure  of pleasure or of   
pain4 ,it is only later that this idea  
of reciprocal  dependence becomes       
metaphysical2 it reaches its ultimate   
development  in the concept of the      
8absolute10 and in the sentiment of     
adoration or  simple 8respect40         
,besides the consciousness of dependence
 and the correlative need  of a         
liberation of some sort from it1 we find
 in the religious  sentiment the        
expression of another social need not   
less important2  the need of affection1 
of tenderness1 of love4 ,our            
sensibility1  developed by hereditary   
instincts of sociality and by the force 
even  of our imagination stretching out 
beyond the limits of this world1        
instinctively seeks for a person1 a     
commanding figure to lean on1 to        
confide in4 ,when we are happy we need  
to bless some one2 when we are          

wretched1 we need some one to complain  
to1 to groan to1 even to curse4  ,it is 
hard to resign ourselves to the belief  
that no one hears us1  that no one a    
long way off sympathizes with us1 that  
this swarming  universe spins in the    
void4 ,god is the friend with us at the 
first  hour and at the last1 with us    
always and in all places1 even where no 
other friend can follow1 even in death4 
,to whom can we speak of those  we have 
loved and lost8 ,of the people about us1
 some hardly remember  them1 others did 
not even know them2 but in this divine  
and omnipresent  ,being we find the     
society1 which is constantly broken by  
death1 once  more reunited3 ,in eo      
vivimus1 in ,him we cannot die4 ,from   
this point  of view1 ,god1 the object of
 the religious sentiment1 no longer     
seems  a guardian and master simply4 ,he
 is better than a friend2 ,he is a      
father2 in the beginning a severe father
 and all-powerful1 as very  young       
children imagine their fathers to be4   

,children readily believe  that their   
father can do anything1 even work       
miracles3 a word from him  and the world
 moves2 fiat lux1 and the day is born2  
the distinction  between evil and good  
lies in his will2 disobedience to him   
naturally  involves punishment4 ,they   
judge his power by their weakness2 and  
so the  primitive race of man felt      
toward ,god4 ,but later a superior      
conception  arose2 as man developed he  
developed his ,god1 endowed him with a  
more  generous list of moral attributes2
 and this ,god is ours4 ,we feel the    
need of a smile from ,him after a       
sacrifice1 the thought of ,him sustains 
us4 ,woman especially1 who is more      
immature in this respect than man1      
experiences a greater need of a 8,father
 in heaven40 ,when one wishes  to       
deprive us of a god1 to deliver us from 
celestial tutelage1 we  suddenly find   
ourselves orphans4 ,one might recognize 
a profound truth  in the great symbol of
 ,christ1 the ,god1 dying for the       

enfranchisement  of human thought4 ,this
 modern version of the 8passion0 is     
enacted1 it  is true1 only in the heart1
 but it is none the less agonizing2 it  
stirs  one's indignation none the less1 
it dwells in one like the image of a    
father who is dead4 ,one cares less for 
the promised freedom than for  the      
protection and affection that are gone4 
,carlyle--whimsical1 unhappy            
genius--could eat no bread that his     
wife's own hands1 nay his wife's  own   
heart1 had not prepared2 and we are all 
like that2 we all have need  of daily   
bread kneaded with love and tenderness2 
and they that have no  loving hand from 
which to look for it1 ask it of their   
god1 of their  ideal1 of their dream2   
they create for themselves a family in  
the realm  of imagination1 they fill out
 the bosom of infinity by the addition  
of  a heart4    ,the social need for    
protection and love was evidently not so
 dominant  in primitive times4 ,the     
tutelary functions attributed to        

divinities  were at first confined to   
the more or less vulgar accidents of    
this  life4 ,later they were more       
especially directed toward one's moral  
emancipation and extended even beyond   
the tomb4 ,need of protection and       
affection leads ultimately to           
considerations on the destiny of man and
  the world2 and thus it is that        
religion1 nearly physical in origin1    
issues in systems of metaphysics4       
99       99       99       99       99  
,,ii4 ,this book is intimately related  
to two others that we have  published on
 sthetics and on morals4 ,we believe    
that the sthetic  sentiment is identical
 with self-conscious life1 with life    
that is  conscious of its own subjective
 intensity and harmony2 beauty we  have 
said may be defined as a perception or  
an act that stimulates  life            
simultaneously on its three             
sides--sensibility1 intelligence1       
will--and that produces pleasure by the 
immediate consciousness of this  general

 stimulation4 ,moral sentiment1 on the  
other hand1 is identical1  we believe1  
with a consciousness of the powers and  
possibilities in  the sphere of practice
 of a life ideal in intensity and       
breadth of  interest4 ,the bulk of these
 possibilities relates to one's power1  
in some form or other1 of serving other 
people4 ,finally1 religious  sentiment  
appears when this consciousness of the  
social aspect of life  is extended to   
the totality of conscious beings1 and   
not only of real  and living1 but also  
of possible and ideal beings4 ,it is1   
therefore1  in the very notion of life1 
and of its various individual or social 
manifestations1 that the essential unity
 of sthetics with morals and  religion  
is to be found4    ,in the first part of
 this work we shall trace the origin and
 evolution  of sociological mythology4  
,in the succeeding portions we shall    
consider  whether1 if we once set aside 
the mythical or imaginative element     
which  is essential to religion and     

which distinguishes it from philosophy1 
the sociological theory does not offer  
the most probable1 and most             
comprehensive1 metaphysical explanation 
of the universe4#b          #b ,the     
importance which ,auguste ,comte        
attributed to sociology        is well  
known1 but in his horror of metaphysics 
the founder        of positivism        
excluded from his science everything    
really        universal and cosmic that 
it contained1 in order to reduce it     
to limits exclusively human4 ,messrs4   
,spencer and ,lilienfeld1               
,schaeffle and ,espinas1 improving on   
the sociology of ,comte1        have    
extended social laws and have shown that
 every living        organism is an     
embryonic society1 and1 vice versa1 that
 every        society is an organism4 ,a
 contemporary philosopher goes still    
further and attributes to sociology a   
certain metaphysical                    
significance4 ,m4 ,alfred ,fouille says3
 8,since biology and        sociology   

are so closely related1 may not the laws
 that are        common to them be      
expected to suggest still more universal
 laws        of nature and thought8 ,is 
the entire universe anything more       
than a vast society in process of       
formation1 a vast system        of      
conscious and consciously striving atoms
 which is working        itself out1 and
 little by little falling into shape8   
,the laws        which govern the       
grouping of individual atoms in the body
 are1        no doubt1 at bottom the    
same as those that govern the grouping  
of individuals in society2 and the very 
atoms themselves1 which        are      
supposed to be indivisible1 are1 it may 
be1 diminutive        societies4 ,if so1
 social science1 the crown of human     
sciences1        may some day give us1  
in its ultimate formula1 the secret of  
universal life4444 ,it is conceivable   
that the universal type        of       
existence of the world may be found in  
sociology--that the        universe may 

come to be conceived as a society in    
process        of formation2 miscarrying
 here and succeeding there1 in its      
effort to transmute the reign of        
mechanics into a reign of               
justice1 and to substitute fraternity   
for antagonism4 ,if so1        the      
essential and immanent power at the     
heart of beings1        always ready to 
manifest itself as soon as circumstances
 give        it access to the light of  
consciousness1 might be expressed       
by the single word1 sociability40       
7,alfred ,fouille1 ,la        ,science  
sociale contemporaine1 #b;d edition1    
introduction        and conclusion47 ,m4
 ,fouille has not applied this theory to
        religion2 he has noted its      
suggestiveness in the domain of         
metaphysics and of ethics simply2 we    
believe1 and we shall        endeavour  
to show1 that it is not less suggestive 
in the domain        of religion4       
,this book was finished1 and in part    
printed1 when there        appeared in  

the ,revue philosophique ,m4            
,lesbazeilles'        interesting       
article on ,les bases psychologiques de 
la        religion4          ,although  
the author's point of view1 as the title
 indicates1 is        throughout        
strictly psychological1 he has given his
 attention        also to social        
relations and 8conditions of collective 
adaptation10 which he regards as        
prefigured1 anticipated1        and     
sanctified by religious rites and myths4
 ,this1 we think1        implies some   
confusion between religion and morality4
 ,morality        deals with collective 
human life1 but religion deals with     
collective life generally1 and          
undertakes at the same time to          
provide a physical and a metaphysical   
explanation of things4 ,we        shall 
see that in the beginning religion was a
 superstitious        physics1 in which 
the forces of nature were regarded      
simply as        the expression of some 
unknown person or person's volitions1   

and that it thus naturally assumed a    
sociological form4           99       99
       99       99       99    ,,iii4   
,it is important that there should be no
 misunderstanding in regard  to this    
non-religion of the future1 as          
contradistinguished from  the multitude 
of religions of the future that have    
been recently  expounded4 ,it has seemed
 to us that these various expositions   
are based  on a number of equivocations4
 ,in the first place religion1 properly 
so-called1 has sometimes been confused  
with metaphysics1 sometimes with        
morals1 sometimes with both2 and it is  
owing to this confusion that  religion  
has been conceived to be indestructible4
 ,is it not by an abuse  of language    
that ,mr4 ,spencer1 for example1 gives  
the name of religion  to speculations   
concerning the unknowable and thence    
readily deduces  the conclusion that    
religion1 by which he means metaphysics1
 possesses  an impregnable stronghold in
 the human mind8 ,in the same way many  

other  contemporary philosophers1 like  
,herr von ,hartmann1 the theologian  of 
the unconscious1 have not resisted the  
temptation of describing  for us a      
religion of the future1 which resolves  
itself simply into  their own system1   
whatever it may be1 of philosophy4      
,others again1  especially among liberal
 ,protestants1 preserve the name of     
religion  for purely rationalistic      
systems of thought4 ,there is1 of       
course1 a  sense in which one may admit 
that metaphysics and morals constitute a
  religion1 or form at least the        
vanishing point toward which religion   
tends4 ,but1 in many books1 the         
8religion of the future0 is no more     
than a somewhat hypocritical compromise 
with some form of positive  religion4   
,under cover of the symbolism dear to   
the ,germans1 they save  in appearance  
what they in reality destroy4 ,it is in 
opposition to  this species of          
subterfuge that we have adopted the less
 misleading  term of the 8,non-religion 

of the ,future40 ,thus we separate      
ourselves  from ,von ,hartmann and the  
other prophets who reveal to us1 point  
by  point1 the religion of the fiftieth 
century4 ,when one approaches an  object
 of such ardent controversy it is better
 to employ words with  exactness4       
,everything1 first and last1 has been   
included within the  limits of          
philosophy2 even the sciences1 on the   
pretext that all  scientific researches 
were in the beginning undertaken by     
philosophy2  and philosophy1 in turn1   
has been included in religion1 on the   
pretext  that originally religion       
embraced within its limits the whole of 
philosophy and of science4 ,given a     
religion of some kind1 even that of  the
 ,fuegians1 there is nothing to prevent 
one from reading into its  myths the    
last dictum of modern metaphysics2 by   
this means a religion  may apparently   
continue in existence until there is no 
more left of it  than a mere envelope of
 religious phraseology covering and     

discovering  a wholly metaphysical and  
purely philosophical system4 ,better    
still1  on this method1 since           
,christianity is the highest form of    
religion1  all philosophers must        
ultimately become ,christians2 and      
finally1 since  universality and        
catholicity are the ideal of            
,christianity1 we shall  all be         
,catholics before we are aware of it4   
,for the investigator who1 without      
denying such analogies as may           
ultimately be found to exist1 proposes  
to take as his point of  departure the  
specific differences of religion 7which 
is the true  method71 every positive and
 historical religion presents three     
distinctive and essential elements3 7#a7
 ,an attempt at a mythical  and         
non-scientific explanation of natural   
phenomena 7divine  intervention1        
miracles1 efficacious prayers1 etc471 or
 of historical  facts 7incarnation of   
,jesus ,christ or of ,buddha1           
revelations1 and  so forth72 7#b7 ,a    

system of dogmas1 that is to say1 of    
symbolic  ideas1 of imaginative beliefs1
 forcibly imposed upon one's faith as   
absolute verities1 even though they are 
susceptible of no scientific            
demonstration or philosophical          
justification2 7#c7 ,a cult and a system
  of rites1 that is to say1 of more or  
less immutable practices regarded  as   
possessing a marvellous efficacy upon   
the course of things1 a  propitiatory   
virtue4 ,a religion without myth1       
without dogma1 without  cult1 without   
rite is no more than that somewhat      
bastard product1  8natural religion10   
which is resolvable into a system of    
metaphysical  hypotheses4 ,by these     
three different1 and really organic     
elements1  religion is clearly marked   
off from philosophy4 ,also1 instead of  
being nowadays what it was at a former  
period1 a popular philosophy  and       
popular science1 mythical and dogmatic  
religion tends to become a  system of   
antiscientific and antiphilosophical    

ideas4 ,if this character  is not always
 apparent1 it is owing to the sort of   
symbolism of which  we have spoken1     
which preserves the name and abandons   
the ideas or  adapts them to the        
progress of the modern mind4    ,the    
elements which distinguish religion from
 metaphysics or from  ethics1 and which 
constitutes a positive religion properly
 so-called1  are1 in our judgment1      
essentially caducous and transitory1    
and1 if so1  we reject the religion of  
the future1 as we should reject an      
alchemy  of the future1 or astrology of 
the future4 ,but it does not follow that
  non-religion or a-religion--which is  
simply the negation of all dogma1  of   
all traditional and supernatural        
authority1 of all revelation1  of all   
miracle1 of all myth1 of all rite       
erected into a duty--is  synonymous with
 impiety1 with a contempt for the moral 
and metaphysical  elements of ancient   
faiths4 ,not in the least2 to be        
non-religious or  a-religious is not to 

be anti-religious4 ,more than that1 as  
we shall  see1 the non-religion of the  
future may well preserve all that is    
pure in the religious sentiment3 an     
admiration for the cosmos and  for the  
infinite powers which are there         
displayed2 a search for an  ideal not   
only individual1 but social1 and even   
cosmic1 which shall  overpass the limits
 of actual reality4 ,as it may be       
maintained that  modern chemistry is a  
veritable alchemy--but an alchemy shorn 
of the  presuppositions which caused its
 miscarriage--as modern contemporary    
chemists may pronounce a sincere        
eulogium upon the ancient alchemists    
and their marvellous intuitions2 just so
 it may be affirmed that the  true      
religion1 if the word must be preserved1
 consists in no longer  maintaining a   
narrow and superstitious religion4 ,the 
absence of  positive and dogmatic       
religion is1 moreover1 the very form    
toward which  all particular religions  
tend4 ,in effect they strip themselves1 

little  by little 7except ,catholicism  
and ,turkish ,mohammedanism71 of their  
sacred character1 of their              
antiscientific affirmations2 they       
renounce  the oppressive control that   
they have traditionally exercised over  
the individual conscience4 ,the         
developments of religion and those of   
civilization have always proceeded hand 
in hand2 the developments of  religion  
have always proceeded in the line of a  
greater independence  of spirit1 of a   
less literal and less narrow dogmatism1 
of a freer  speculation4 ,non-religion1 
as we here understand it1 may be        
considered  as a higher degree simply of
 religion and of civilization4    ,the  
absence of religion thus conceived is   
one with a reasoned  but hypothetical   
metaphysics1 treating of men and the    
universe4  ,one may designate it as     
religious independence1 or anomy1 or    
individualism4#c ,it has1 moreover1 been
 preached in some degree by  all        
religious reformers from ,sakia-,mouni  

and ,jesus to ,luther and  ,calvin1 for 
they have all of them maintained liberty
 of conscience  and respected so much   
only of tradition as1 in the then state 
of  contemporary religious criticism1   
they could not help admitting4          
,catholicism1 for example1 was founded  
in part by ,jesus1 but also in  part in 
spite of ,jesus2 intolerant ,anglicanism
 was founded in part by  ,luther1 but   
also in part in spite of ,luther4 ,the  
non-religious man1 the  man simply      
without a religion1 may therefore admire
 and sympathize with  the great founders
 of religion1 not only in that they were
 thinkers1  metaphysicians1 moralists1  
and philanthropists1 but in that they   
were reformers of established belief1   
more or less avowed enemies of          
religious authority1 of every           
affirmation which should be that of a   
sacred body and not of an individual4   
,every positive religion possesses  as  
one of its essential characters that of 
transmitting itself from  one generation

 to another1 by virtue of the authority 
which attaches  to domestic or national 
traditions2 its mode of transmission is 
thus  totally different from that of    
science and of art4 ,new religions      
themselves are obliged more often than  
not to present themselves in  the guise 
of simple reforms1 in the guise of      
simple returns to the  rigour of former 
teaching and precept1 to avoid giving   
too great a  shock to the principle of  
authority1 but in spite of these        
disguises  every new religion has shaken
 it2 the return to an alleged primitive 
authority has always been a real outleap
 in the direction of ultimate  liberty4 
,there exists1 then1 in the bosom of    
every great religion a  dissolving      
force2 namely1 the very force which     
served in the beginning  to constitute  
it and to enable it to triumph over its 
predecessor3  the right of private      
judgment4 ,it is upon this force1 this  
right1  that one may count for the      
ultimate establishment1 after the       

gradual  decomposition of every system  
of dogmatic belief1 of a final absence  
of  religion4#d          #c ,see pt4 #c1
 chap4 ii4          #d ,see pt4 #c1     
chap4 i4    ,over and above the         
confusion between the perpetuity of     
metaphysics  and morals and that of     
positive religion1 there is another     
tendency  among our contemporaries      
against which we have wished to protest4
  ,it is the belief1 which many profess1
 in the final unification of  existing  
religions into a religion of the future1
 either a perfected  ,judaism1 or a     
perfected ,christianity1 or a perfected 
,buddhism4 ,to  this predicted religious
 unity we oppose rather a future        
plurality of  beliefs1 a religious      
individualism4 ,a pretension to         
universality is1  no doubt1             
characteristic of every great religion2 
but the dogmatic  and mythological      
element which constitutes a religion    
positive is  precisely irreconcilable1  
even under the elastic form of          

symbolism1  with the very universality  
to which they aspire4 ,such a           
universality  cannot be realized even in
 metaphysics and morals1 for the element
  of insolubility and unknowability1    
which cannot be eliminated1 will  always
 attract different minds in different   
directions4 ,the notion of  a dogma     
actually catholic1 that is universal1 or
 even a belief actually  catholic1 seems
 to us a belief contrary to the         
indefinite progress  for which each of  
us ought to work according to his       
strength and his  opportunities4 ,a     
thought is not really personal1 does    
not1 properly  speaking1 even exist or  
possess the right to exist1 unless it be
  something more than a mere repetition 
of the thoughts of somebody else4       
,every eye must have its own point of   
view1 every voice its own accent4  ,the 
very progress of intelligence and of    
conscience must1 like all  progress1    
proceed from the homogeneous to the     
heterogeneous1 nor seek  for an ideal   

unity except in an increasing variety4  
,would one recognize  the absolute power
 of the savage chief or the ,oriental   
monarch in the  federative republican   
government1 which1 after a certain      
number of  centuries1 will probably be  
that of all civilized nations8 ,no2 and 
yet humanity will have passed from the  
one to the other by a series  of        
gradations sometimes scarcely visible4  
,we believe that humanity  will progress
 in the same way generally1 from        
dogmatic religion with  pretensions to  
universality1 catholicity1 and          
monarchy--of which  the most curious    
type has precisely been achieved in our 
days with  the dogma of                 
infallibility--toward that state of     
individualism and  religions1 which we  
consider as the human ideal1 and which1 
moreover1  does not in the least exclude
 the possibility of diverse religious   
associations or federations1 nor of free
 and continuous progress toward         
ultimate unity of belief on the most    

general subjects of human inquiry4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,the day when positive religions shall  
have disappeared1 the spirit  of        
curiosity in matters of cosmology and   
metaphysics1 which has been  more or    
less paralyzed by an effort to dwell    
within the unyielding  limits of        
indomitable formula1 will be more       
vivacious than ever before4  ,there will
 be less of faith1 but more of free     
speculation2 less of  contemplation1 but
 more of reasoning1 of hardy induction1 
of an active  outleap of thought2 the   
religious dogma will be extinct1 but the
 best  elements of religious life will  
be propagated1 will be augmented in     
intensity and extent4 ,for he alone is  
religious1 in the philosophical  sense  
of the word1 who searches for1 who      
thinks about1 who loves the  truth4     
,christ might have said3 ,i came not to 
bring peace into human  thought1 but an 
incessant battle of ideas2 not repose1  
but movement and  progress of spirit2   

not universal dogma1 but liberty of     
belief1 which  is the first condition of
 growth4#e          #e ,see pt4 #c1     
chaps4 i4 and ii4           99       99 
99       99       99    ,,iv4 ,to-day1  
when the very value of religion is      
increasingly called in  doubt1 it has   
been defended by sceptics1 who support  
it1 sometimes in  the name of the poetry
 and beauty of religious legend1        
sometimes in  the name of its practical 
utility4 ,there is sometimes a reaction 
in  the modern mind toward fiction and  
away from the reality4 ,the human  mind 
becomes weary of regarding itself as a  
too passively clear mirror  in which the
 world throws its image2 and takes      
pleasure in breathing  on the glass and 
obscuring it2 and thence it comes that  
certain  refined philosophers raise the 
question whether truth and clearness    
are advantageous in art1 in science1 in 
morals1 in religion2 and they  go the   
length even of preferring religious or  
philosophical error on  sthetic grounds4

 ,for our part1 we are far from         
antagonizing poetry1  and believe it to 
be excessively beneficial for humanity1 
but on  condition that it be not the    
dupe of its own symbols and do not erect
  its intentions into dogmas4 ,at this  
price1 we believe that poetry may  very 
often be truer1 and better1 than certain
 too narrowly scientific1  or too       
narrowly practical truths4 ,we shall not
 take ourselves to task  for having     
frequently1 in this book1 mingled poetry
 and metaphysics4  ,in so doing we      
preserve1 in so far as it is legitimate1
 one of the  aspects of every religion1 
its poetic symbolism4 ,poetry is often  
more  philosophic1 not only than        
history1 but than abstract philosophy1  
but  on condition of being sincere and  
of making no pretensions to being  what 
it is not4    ,but the partisans of     
8beneficent error0 will object3 ,why    
endeavour  to dissipate poetic illusion 
and to call things by their names8 ,are 
there not for peoples1 for men1 for     

children1 certain useful errors  and    
permissible illusions8#f ,surely a great
 number of errors may  be considered as 
having been necessary in the history of 
humanity2  but has not progress         
precisely consisted in restricting the  
number of  these useful errors8 ,there  
have been also organs in the body which 
have become superfluous1 and have       
disappeared or been fundamentally       
transformed2 such1 for example1 are the 
muscles which1 no doubt1 served  our    
ancestors to move their ears4 ,there    
exist evidently also1 in the  human     
mind1 instincts1 sentiments1 and beliefs
 which have already  atrophied and are  
destined to disappear or to be          
transformed4 ,to show  the deep roots   
that religion has sent down into the    
depths of the human  mind is not to     
demonstrate the perpetuity of religion1 
for the human  mind itself is           
incessantly changing4 8,our fathers10   
said ,fontenelle1  8made the mistake of 
hoarding up their errors for our        

benefit02 and  in effect1 before        
arriving at the truth1 a certain number 
of false  hypotheses must be tried2 to  
discover the true is in some sense to   
have  exhausted the possibilities of the
 false4 ,religions have rendered the    
human mind this immense service1 they   
have exhausted a whole class of         
side-issues in science1 metaphysics1 and
 ethics2 one must cross the  marvellous 
to attain the natural1 one must cross   
direct revelation and  mystical         
intention to attain to rational         
induction and deduction4 ,all  the      
fantastic and apocalyptical ideas with  
which religion has peopled  the human   
mind once possessed their utility1 just 
as the incomplete  and often grotesque  
sketches with which the studio of the   
artist is  filled once possessed theirs4
 ,this straying of the human mind was  a
 sort of reconnoitering1 this play of   
imagination was a veritable  labour1 a  
preliminary labour2 but the products of 
it must not be  presented as final4 ,the

 false and even the absurd have always  
played  so great a rle in human affairs 
that it would assuredly be dangerous  to
 attempt abruptly to proceed without    
them2 transitions are useful1  even in  
passing from darkness into light1 and   
one needs to become  accustomed even to 
the truth4 ,it is for that reason that  
society has  always rested in a great   
measure upon error4 ,to-day this portion
 of its  foundation is being withdrawn1 
and conservatives are sadly frightened  
lest the whole social equilibrium be    
destroyed2 but we repeat1 this          
diminution of the number of errors is   
precisely what constitutes  progress1   
and in some sort defines it4 ,progress  
in effect is not simply  a sensible     
amelioration of life1 it is also the    
achievement of a better  intellectual   
formulation of life1 it is a triumph of 
logic2 to progress  is to attain to a   
more complete consciousness of one's    
self and of  the world1 and by that very
 fact to a more complete inner          

consistency  of one's theory of the     
world4 ,in the beginning1 not only moral
 and  religious life1 but civil and     
political life1 rested upon the grossest
  errors1 on absolute monarchy1 divine  
right1 caste1 and slavery2 all  this    
barbarity possessed a certain utility1  
but its utility precisely  consisted in 
its leading to its own extinction2 it   
served as a means  of handing us on to  
something better4 ,what distinguishes   
the living  mechanism from other        
mechanisms is that the outer springs    
precisely  labour to cause themselves to
 be superseded2 that the movement once  
produced is perpetual4 ,if we possessed 
means of projection powerful  enough to 
rival those of nature1 we might convert 
a cannon ball into  an eternal satellite
 of the earth1 without its being        
necessary to  impart movement to it a   
second time4 ,a result accomplished in  
nature  is accomplished once for all4 ,a
 step forward if it is real and not     
illusory1 and in especial if it is      

completely conscious1 renders           
impossible a step backward4          #f 
,see pt4 #b1 chap4 iv4    ,in the       
eighteenth century the attack on        
religion was directed by  philosophical 
partisans of a priori principles1 who   
were persuaded  that the instant a faith
 was proved to be absurd that was the   
end  of it4 ,in our days the attack is  
led by historians who possess an        
absolute respect for fact1 which they   
are inclined to erect into a  law1      
historians who pass a learned existence 
in the midst of absurdity  in all its   
forms1 and for whom the irrational1     
instead of condemning  a belief in which
 it appears1 is often a condition of its
 duration4  ,therein lies the difference
 between the attitude of the eighteenth 
century and that of the nineteenth      
toward religion4 ,the eighteenth        
century hated religion and wished to    
destroy it4 ,the nineteenth century     
endeavours to understand religion and   
cannot reconcile itself to seeing  so   

charming an object of study disappear4  
,the historian's device is1  8,what has 
been1 will be02 he is naturally inclined
 to model his  conception of the future 
on his knowledge of the past4 ,a witness
 of the  futility of revolutions1 he    
sometimes forgets that complete         
evolution  is possible3 an evolution    
which transforms things to their very   
roots  and metamorphoses human beings   
and their beliefs to an extent that     
renders them unrecognizable4#g          
#g 8,you are occupied with religion10 a 
cultivated unbeliever        writes me4 
8,there is then some such thing6 ,so    
much the        better for those who    
cannot do without it40 ,this witticism  
precisely sums up the state of mind of a
 great many enlightened                 
,frenchmen3 they are profoundly         
astonished that religion should         
still be on its legs1 and out of their  
astonishment they draw        the       
conviction that it is necessary4 ,their 
surprise thereupon        becomes a     

respect1 almost a reverence4 ,assuredly 
positive        religions still exist   
and long will exist2 and as long as they
        exist they will no doubt do so  
for reasons2 but these reasons          
diminish day by day and the number of   
believers diminishes        along with  
them4 ,instead of bowing down before the
 fact as        before something sacred1
 one must rather say to one's self      
that by modifying the fact one will     
modify and suppress the        raisons  
d'tre of that fact2 by driving religions
 before it1        the modern mind      
demonstrates that they have less and    
less the        right to live4 ,that    
certain people have not as yet learned  
to do without them is true1 and as long 
as they do not learn        to do       
without them religions will for them    
exist2 we have        not the least     
anxiety on that score2 and just in so   
far as        they find their certitude 
in regard to them shaken1 they will     
have proved that their intelligence is  

so far enfranchised as        to have no
 further need of an arbitrary rule4     
,similarly for        peoples3 nothing  
is more nave than to urge the very      
necessity        of transitions as a bar
 to progress3 it is as if one should    
call attention to the shortness of human
 steps1 and conclude        therefrom   
that movement is impossible2 that man   
stands still        like a shell-fish   
attached to a stone or a fossil buried  
in a        rock4    ,one of the masters
 of religious criticism1 ,m4 ,renan1    
wrote to  ,sainte-,beuve3 8,no1         
assuredly ,i did not wish to detach from
 the old  trunk a soul which was not    
ripe40 ,we1 also1 are not of those who  
believe in shaking the tree and         
gathering a green and bruised crop2  but
 if one ought not to make the green     
fruit fall1 one may at least  take means
 to hasten its ripening upon the branch4
 ,the human brain is  a transmutation of
 solar heat2 one must dissipate this    
heat1 to become  once more a ray of the 

sun4 ,such an ambition is very gentle1  
is not at  all exorbitant1 when one     
remembers how small a thing a ray of the
 sun  is and how lost in infinite space2
 a relatively small portion of these    
wandering rays1 however1 has sufficed to
 fashion the earth and all  mankind4    
,i often meet1 near my home1 a          
missionary with a black beard1 a hard1  
sharp eye1 lit sometimes by a mystic    
gleam4 ,he seems to maintain a          
correspondence with the four corners of 
the world2 assuredly he works  and works
 precisely at building up what ,i am    
endeavouring to pull down4  ,and must   
our opposite strivings therefore be     
regarded as hostile8 ,why  so8 ,are we  
not both brothers and humble            
collaborators in the work  of humanity8 
,to convert primitive peoples to        
,christian dogma and to  deliver those  
who have arrived at a higher stage of   
civilization from  a positive and       
dogmatic faith1 are two tasks which1 far
 from excluding  each other1 complete   

each other4 ,missionaries and           
freethinkers  cultivate different       
plants1 in different places1 but at     
bottom both are  labouring to make the  
field of humanity more fertile4 ,it is  
said that  ,john ,huss1 when tied to the
 stake at ,constance1 wore a smile of   
supreme  joy when he perceived a peasant
 in the crowd1 bringing straw from the  
roof of his hut to light the fire3      
,sancta simplicitas6 ,the martyr        
recognized in this man a brother in     
sincerity2 he was glad to find  himself 
in the presence of a disinterested      
conviction4 ,we are no longer  in the   
times of ,john ,huss1 of ,bruno1 of     
,servetius1 of ,st4 ,justin1 or  of     
,socrates2 it constitutes a reason the  
more for showing ourselves  tolerant1   
and sympathetic even1 toward those whom 
we regard as being in  error1 provided  
that the error be sincere4    ,there is 
an anti-religious fanaticism which is   
almost as dangerous  as religious       
fanaticism4 ,erasmus compares humanity  

to a drunken man  seated on a horse and 
lurching first to the right and then to 
the  left4 ,the enemies of religion have
 often committed the mistake of         
despising their adversaries2 it is the  
worst of faults4 ,there is a  power of  
elasticity in human beliefs which causes
 their resistance to  increase in       
proportion to the compression which is  
exerted upon them4  ,formerly1 when a   
city was attacked by some scourge1 the  
first care of  the notable inhabitants1 
of the chiefs of the city1 was to order 
public  prayers2 to-day the practical   
means of battling with epidemics and    
other scourges are better known1 but    
nevertheless1 in #ahhe1 when there  was 
cholera in ,marseilles the municipal    
council devoted its attention  almost   
singly to removing the religious mottoes
 from the walls of the  public schools2 
it is a remarkable example of what one  
may call a  counter-superstition4 ,thus 
the two species of fanaticism1 religious
  and anti-religious1 may equally       

distract the timid from the employment  
of scientific means against natural     
evils2 an employment which is  after    
all1 par excellence1 the business of    
man2 these two kinds of  fanaticism are 
paralyso-motors in the great body of    
humanity4    ,among cultivated people   
there has now and then taken place a    
violent  reaction against religious     
prejudice1 and this reaction frequently 
persists till death2 but in a certain   
number of cases this reaction is        
followed in the course of time by a     
counter-reaction2 it is only1 as        
,spencer has remarked1 when this        
counter-reaction has been sufficient1   
that one may formulate1 with anything   
like completeness1 judgments  somewhat  
less narrow and more comprehensive upon 
the question of  religion4 ,time makes  
us generous1 enlarges our minds each    
year1 as it  does the concentric circles
 in the trunk of a tree4 ,life also     
pacifies  us as death does2 reconciles  
us with those who do not think and feel 

as we do4 ,when you become indignant at 
some antique1 absurd prejudice1         
remember that it has been a travelling  
companion of humanity for  perhaps ten  
thousand years1 that it has lent men aid
 when the ways  were bad and has been   
the occasion of many joys1 and has      
lived1 so to  speak1 the life of        
humanity2 one might well find a certain 
element of  fraternity in every human   
thought4    ,we do not believe that the 
readers of this sincere book will be    
able  to accuse us of partiality or of  
injustice1 for we have not sought to    
disguise either the good or the evil    
aspects of religion1 and have  even     
taken a certain pleasure in setting the 
former in relief4 ,on the  other hand1  
we shall hardly be taxed with ignorance 
of the religious  problem which we have 
patiently studied on its every side4 ,we
 shall  perhaps be reproached with      
belonging something too manifestly to   
the  country of our birth1 with         
introducing into the solutions here     

offered  something of the ,french excess
 of logic1 of an indisposition to yield 
to half measures1 of the determination  
to have all or nothing1 of the  spirit  
which was unable to stop midway with    
,protestantism and which  for the past  
two centuries has been the home of the  
most ardent free  thought in the world4 
,we reply that if the ,french mind has a
 defect1  this defect is not logic but a
 certain nimble trenchancy1 a certain   
narrowness of view which is the reverse 
of the spirit of logic and  analysis2   
logic1 after all1 has always the last   
word here below4  ,concessions to       
absurdity1 or at least to relativity1   
may sometimes be  necessary in human    
affairs--and the ,french ,revolutionists
 were wrong  not to recognize it--but   
such concessions are always transitory4 
,error  is not the end and aim of the   
human mind2 if one cannot make up one's 
account with it1 if it is useless to    
disparage it bitterly1 it is also       
unnecessary to venerate it4 ,minds at   

once logical and capacious are  always  
sure to be followed1 provided one gives 
humanity time enough2  and the truth can
 wait2 it always remains young and is   
certain some  day to be recognized4     
,sometimes during long night marches    
soldiers  fall asleep without ceasing on
 that account to go forward2 they march 
on in their dreams and do not awaken    
till they have reached their            
destination on the battlefield4 ,it is  
thus that ideas advance in the  human   
mind2 they are so drowsy that they seem 
unable to stand upright1  one discovers 
their strength and their vitality only  
by the distance  they traverse1 and     
finally day breaks and they appear on   
the field and  are victorious4          
,,the ,,non-,,religion ,,of ,,the       
,,future4          ,part ,first4        
,,the ,,genesis ,,of ,,religions ,,in   
,,primitive ,,societies4                
,,chapter ,i4    ,,religious ,,physics4 
,,importance ,,of ,,the ,,problem ,,of  
,,the ,,origin ,,of                     

,,religion--,,universality ,,of         
,,religious ,,beliefs ,,or              
,,superstitions--,,variability ,,of     
,,religions ,,and      ,,religious      
,,evolution4        ,i4 ,idealist       
,theory which ,attributes the ,origin of
 ,religion to        a ,notion of the   
,infinite--,henotheism of ,max ,mller   
and ,von        ,hartmann--,m4 ,renan's 
,instinct for ,divinity4        ,,ii4   
,theory of a ,worship of the ,dead and  
of ,spirits--,herbert                   
,spencer--,spencer's ,objections to the 
,theory of the        ,attribution of a 
,soul to ,natural ,forces4        ,,iii4
 ,answer to ,objections--,religious     
,physics ,sociological in        ,form1 
and the ,substitution of ,relations     
between ,malevolent        or           
,beneficent ,conscious ,beings for      
,relations between        ,natural      
,forces--,socio-morphism of ,primitive  
,peoples4      ,sidenote3 ,importance of
 inquiry into genesis of religion4      
,the question of the genesis of religion

 is more important than any  other      
historical inquiry4 ,it involves not    
only the truth or falsity  of past      
events1 but the value or the reverse of 
our ideas and present  beliefs4 ,each of
 us has something at stake in this      
investigation4 ,the  causes which       
formerly gave rise to a belief are      
still1 in the majority  of cases1 those 
which maintain it in existence in our   
days1 and to  take stock of these causes
 is1 whether one intends it to be so or 
not1  to pass judgment on the belief    
itself4 ,history1 if it should ever be  
complete1 would possess here the power  
of effacing in the future what  it had  
failed to justify in the past4          
,perfectly to ascertain the  origin of  
religions would be at the same time     
either to condemn them or  to fortify   
and preserve them4    ,sidenote3        
,established fact that every known race 
of people is  religious4    ,one point  
may legitimately be regarded as attained
 by contemporary  criticism4 ,after the 

labours of ,herr ,roskoff1 ,m4 ,rville1 
and ,m4 ,girard  de ,rialle1 it is      
impossible to maintain that there exist 
nowadays on  the surface of the earth   
whole peoples absolutely without        
religion  or superstition1 which among  
non-civilized people amount to the same 
thing4#h ,the reason why man is a       
superstitious or religious being is     
simply that he possesses a high degree  
of intelligence4 ,megalithic  monuments 
7menhirs1 cromlechs1 dolmens71          
sepulchres1 amulets1 are  trustworthy   
evidence of the existence of religion in
 prehistoric times2  and those fragments
 of bone detached from the skull and    
pierced with  holes to pass a string    
through--8cranial rounds0--belong1 no   
doubt1  to the same category4#i         
,manifestations of the religious spirit 
date  back thus to the age of polished  
stone4 ,and to pass from facts to       
hypotheses it is conceivable that at the
 beginning of the quaternary  period1   
perhaps two hundred and fifty thousand  

years ago1 man was  already feeding upon
 vague and elementary superstitions1    
though he does  not appear to have felt 
sufficient respect for his dead to have 
dug  sepulchres1 and although no        
fetiches belonging to that period have  
been  discovered4          #h ,herr     
,roskoff1 ,das ,religionswesen der      
rohesten        ,naturvoelker 7,leipzig1
 #ahhj72 ,m4 ,girard de ,rialle1        
,mythologie        compare 7,paris1     
#ahgh72 ,m4 ,rville1 ,les religions des 
peuples        non civiliss 7,paris1    
#ahhj74          #i ,see ,m4 ,g4 ,de    
,mortillet1 ,le prhistorique4 ,antiquit 
de        l'homme 7,paris1 #ahhc74      
,sidenote3 ,established fact that       
religion is of natural origin4    ,a    
second point which may be regarded as   
equally established1 and which  results 
in important consequences in the matter 
of method of research1  is that         
religion1 being of natural origin1 must 
have developed slowly  and in accordance
 with universal and regular laws2 it    

must have  originated in simple and     
vague notions of some sort1 accessible  
to  the most primitive intelligence4    
,and from that starting point it must   
have risen by gradual evolution to the  
complex and precise conceptions  which  
characterize it to-day4 ,it is in vain  
for religions to believe  themselves    
immutable2 they have all of them been   
borne forward  unwittingly by the       
movement of universal evolution4 ,the   
great ,egyptian  ,sphinx1 who has not   
changed her position in the desert these
 four  thousand years1 might believe    
herself to be stationary1 but she has   
never ceased for an instant to whirl    
through space1 borne along by the       
earth's motion around the sun4          
,sidenote3 ,two contrasted theories of  
its origin4    ,it remains to determine 
what these primary notions that lay at  
the  bottom of all religions were4 ,and 
here begins the disagreement among  the 
principal authorities on the science of 
religion4 ,some of them  explain the    

birth of religion by a sort of          
mysterious intuition of  supra-sensible 
verity1 by a divination of ,god2 others 
regard it as an  intellectual error1 a  
false hypothesis1 which was natural1    
however1  and perhaps inevitable to     
primitive intelligence4 ,the first look 
upon  religion as an immense leap on the
 part of the human mind over and  beyond
 the limits of the physical world in    
which we are confined1  the second      
believe it to be born in the beginning  
of an inexact  interpretation of the    
commonest phenomena of the world1 of    
objects  of our senses or of our        
consciousness2 for the first1 religion  
is  more than science2 for the second1  
religion is pseudo-science4 ,all        
idealists--,strauss1 ,renan1 ,matthew   
,arnold--discover in every religion  the
 germ of their own especial form of     
refined idealism1 and bow down  before  
it with a respect that might well appear
 ironical if they did  not affirm       
themselves to be quite sincere2 they see

 in religions  generally the noblest and
 most lasting product of the human mind4
 ,their  extreme adversaries1 on the    
contrary1 see no more in the origin of  
religions than1 as ,auguste ,comte would
 have said1 the expression of a  gross  
fetichism4    ,sidenote3 ,is religion a 
species of illusion8    ,it is evident  
that the problem of the origin of       
religion1 in the new  form in which it  
presents itself to-day1 is quite as     
grave as ever it  was2 formerly the     
question was whether religion is        
revealed or natural2  to-day the        
question is whether religion is or is   
not true--whether  it is or is not the  
product of an intellectual error1 of a  
sort of  inevitable optical illusion    
which it is the business of science to  
explain and to correct2 whether1 in     
effect1 the god of mythical and         
symbolical religion is not simply a     
magnified idol4    ,sidenote3 ,the      
positivist theory no longer in          
possession of the field4    ,the        

positivist theory of religion seemed    
some years ago close upon its  ultimate 
triumph4#aj ,many had accepted it1 but  
without having fully  perceived all of  
its consequences4 ,at the present moment
 it is1 on the  contrary1 strongly      
contested4 ,new elements have been      
introduced into  the problem and the    
whole question must be gone over again4 
,max ,mller  in especial has made what  
might be almost called a desperate      
effort  to make out a case for the      
objectivity and essential rationality of
  religion1 which had both been         
compromised by positivism4#aa ,from a   
different point of view ,herbert        
,spencer also1 in his 8,sociology10 has 
criticised theories which regard        
fetichism or naturism as the principle  
of religion4          #aj ,we find it   
adopted or almost so even by            
spiritualists1        like ,m4          
,vacherot1 ,la religion1 ,paris1 #ahfi4 
#aa ,see ,origin and ,development of    
,religion1 by ,f4 ,max        ,mller1   

,m4 ,a4    ,sidenote3 ,max ,mller's     
theory4    ,according to ,max ,mller    
some notion of divinity1 in especial in 
the  form of a notion of the infinite1  
must have preceded the conception of    
,god4 ,gods are simply subsequent       
personifications of this great innate   
idea2 our ancestors kneeled in worship  
long before they possessed a  name for  
,him before whom they were kneeling4    
,even at the present day  we recognize  
in the last resort the vanity of all the
 titles of the  unknown ,god whom we    
must adore really in silence4 ,religion1
 which is  responsible for the origin of
 the gods of history1 may therefore well
  survive them4 ,we say religion2 for in
 effect1 according to ,max ,mller1  all 
religions amount in the end to one1     
since they may all be traced  back      
through the long course of their        
development to a single original        
conception1 that namely of the infinite1
 which from the very beginning  was     
present in the mind of man4 ,this       

universal conception1 however1  ,max    
,mller does not regard as in any sense  
mystical or innate1 in the  old         
acceptation of that word4 ,he willingly 
adopts the axiom3 ,nihil  in fide quod  
non antea fuerit in sensu4#ab ,but in   
his opinion some  perception of the     
infinite is logically involved in a     
perception of  the finite1 and this     
conception of infinity1 with its basis  
at once in  sense and reason1 is the    
true foundation of religion4 ,given the 
five  senses of a savage1 ,max ,mller   
undertakes to make him sensible of or at
  least experience some presentiment of 
the infinite1 make him desire it1  feel 
some aspiration toward it4 ,take the    
sense of sight for example3  8,man sees1
 he sees to a certain point2 and then   
his eyesight breaks  down4 ,but exactly 
where his eyesight breaks down there    
presses upon  him1 whether he likes it  
or not1 the perception of the unlimited 
or  the infinite40 8,it may be said10 he
 adds1 8that this is not perception  in 

the ordinary sense of the word4 ,no more
 it is1 but still less is it  mere      
reasoning40 8,if it seems too bold to   
say that man actually sees  the         
invisible1 let us say that he suffers   
from the invisible1 and  the invisible  
is only a special name for the          
infinite40 ,man not only  necessarily   
divines the infinite as existing beyond 
the limits of the  finite1 and as it    
were enveloping it2 he perceives it     
within the limits  of the finite1 and as
 it were penetrating it2 the infinite   
divisibility  of matter is manifest to  
the senses1 the fact that science seems 
to  demand the existence of an          
irreducible atom as a necessary         
postulate  to the contrary              
notwithstanding4 ,and what is true of   
space is equally  true of time1 applies 
equally to quality and quantity4        
8,beyond1 behind1  beneath1 and within  
the finite1 the infinite is always      
present to our  senses4 ,it presses upon
 us1 it grows upon us from every side4  

,what we  call finite in space and time1
 in form and word1 is nothing but a veil
  or net which we ourselves have thrown 
over the infinite40 ,and let it  not be 
objected that primitive languages supply
 no means of expressing  the idea of    
infinity1 of the beyond1 which is given 
in every finite  sensation4 ,do the     
languages of antiquity supply a means of
 designating  the infinite shades and   
variety of colour8 ,democritus was      
acquainted  with but four colours3      
black1 white1 red1 and yellow4 ,shall we
 say1  therefore1 that the ancients did 
not perceive the blue of heaven8  ,the  
sky was as blue for them as it is for   
us1 but they had not yet  established a 
conventional designation for the        
sensation it afforded  them4 ,and       
similarly in the case of the infinite   
for the primitive man2  it existed for  
him although he had not as yet invented 
a name for it4  ,well1 what is this     
infinite1 in the last resort1 but the   
object to  which every religion         

addresses itself8 ,a religious being is 
essentially  one who is not satisfied   
with such and such a finite sensation2  
who  looks everywhere for the           
beyond--looks for it in life1 in death1 
in  nature1 in himself4 ,to be divinely 
aware of a vague somewhat that  one     
cannot quite understand1 to feel a      
veneration for it and then to  endeavour
 to fit it with a name1 to call to it   
stammeringly1 these  are the beginnings 
of every system of religious worship4   
,the religion  of the infinite          
comprehends and precedes all others1 and
 since the  infinite itself is given in 
sensation1 it follows that 8,religion is
  simply another development of sensuous
 perception1 quite as much as  reason   
is40#ac          #ab ,origin and        
,development of ,religion1 p4 #baj4     
#ac ,origin of ,religion1 p4 #be4       
,sidenote3 ,equally opposed to          
positivists and orthodox monotheists4   
,max ,mller is equally critical in his  
attitude toward positivists1 who  regard

 fetichism as the primitive religion1   
and toward the orthodox1  who find in   
monotheism the natural uncorrupted type 
of religion4 ,in  his opinion1 to name a
 god or gods implies antecedently the   
possession  of a notion of the divine1  
of the infinite2 gods are simply the    
different forms1 more or less imperfect 
indeed1 in which divers peoples  have   
bodied forth one and the same idea2     
religion is1 so to speak1  a language   
into which men have endeavoured to      
translate one and the  same internal    
aspiration--that of comprehending the   
great unknown2 if  man's tongue and     
intelligence have gone astray1 if the   
diversity and  inequality of religions  
are comparable to the diversity and     
inequality  of languages1 that does not 
necessarily mean that at bottom the     
veritable principle and object of all   
these different religions1 as of  all   
these different languages1 are not very 
nearly the same4 ,according  to ,max    
,mller a fetich1 in the proper sense of 

the word 7factitius71  is no more than a
 symbol which presupposes an idea       
symbolized2 the  idea of ,god cannot    
come out of a fetich unless it has      
already been put  there4 ,casual        
objects1 such as stones1 shells1 the    
tail of a lion1  a tangle of hair1 or   
any such rubbish1 do not possess in     
themselves  a theogonic or god-producing
 character4 ,the phenomena of fetichism1
  therefore1 are always historically and
 psychologically secondary4  ,religions 
do not begin in fetichisms1 it is truer 
to say that they end  in it2 not one of 
them has shown itself capable of        
maintaining its  original purity in     
connection with fetichism4 ,portuguese  
,catholics who  reproach negroes with   
the feitios were the first 7were they   
not87 to  have their rosaries1 their    
crosses1 their sacred images1 blessed by
 the  priests1 before their departure   
from their native land4    ,sidenote3   
,henotheism4    ,if fetichism1          
understood as ,max ,mller understands   

it1 is not the  primitive form of       
religion1 if self-conscious monotheism  
is equally  incapable of maintaining its
 claim to be so1 it is more exact to say
  that the earliest religion1 at least  
in ,india1 consisted in the worship  of 
different objects1 accepted one after   
the other as representing a  god 77 and 
not the unique and sole ,god 774 ,it is 
this that  ,max ,mller calls by a word  
invented by him3 henotheism 71 1  in    
opposition to 71 or better1             
kathenotheism4#ad ,in ordinary          
polytheism the gods are arranged in     
hierarchies1 belong to different  ranks2
 order reigns in heaven2 but in the     
beginning no such system of             
subordination could have existed4 ,each 
god must have seemed in turn  the most  
powerful to whoever invoked him2 ,indra1
 ,varuna1 ,agni1 ,mitra1  ,somah were   
accustomed to hear the same epithets    
addressed to them2  religious anarchy   
preceded religious monarchy4 8,among    
you1 ,o ,gods10  says ,rishi ,manu      

,vaivasvata1 8there is none that is     
large1 there is none  that is small1    
there is none that is old nor young3 you
 are all great  indeed40 ,they are all  
but different symbols of the same idea1 
of an  adoration for that which         
overpasses the limits of the human mind1
 for  the mysterious infinite whose     
existence our senses prove by their very
  incapacity of taking cognizance of it4
          #ad ,this word has met with   
success in ,germany4 ,hartmann also     
adopts a theory of henotheism4          
,sidenote3 ,the evolution of the ,hindu 
faith typical4    ,max ,mller endeavours
 to trace the evolution of ,hindu       
thought from  a period long previous to 
the birth of ,buddhism1 which was the   
,protestantism of ,india4 ,the learned  
philologist sees in the development  of 
religion in ,india one of the essential 
types of the development of  human      
religions generally4 ,it may be even1 he
 thinks1 that the ,hindus1  who started 
from as low a plane as we1 have in some 

respects reached a  more considerable   
height4 ,let us follow him in this      
inquiry1 which has  nowhere been        
conducted more anxiously and            
indefatigably than in the  great country
 which may almost be called the home of 
meditation4 ,let us  take with him a    
8bird's-eye view0 of what may be        
regarded as an epitome  of human        
history4    ,sidenote3 ,progress from   
the semi-tangible to the intangible4    
' 1 said ,homer4 ,it was not within  the
 domain of the wholly tangible that     
,india sought for its gods2             
understanding by tangible whatever one  
can touch on all sides1  stones1 shells1
 bones1 etc42 and ,max ,mller sees in   
this fact 7which1  by the way1 may be   
contested7 a fresh argument against the 
fetich  theory4 ,on the contrary1 in the
 presence of his great1 snow-capped     
mountains1 of which our comparatively   
level ,europe can scarcely afford  us   
even an idea1 in the presence of his    
immense beneficent rivers with  their   

rumbling cataracts1 their eddies1 their 
unknown sources1 in the  presence of the
 ocean1 stretching away beyond the line 
of vision1 the  ,hindu found himself    
surrounded by things1 of which he could 
touch  and understand but some          
inconsiderable portion--of which the    
origin  and destiny baffled him4 ,it was
 in the domain of the semi-tangible     
that ,india found its semi-deities4 ,one
 step beyond1 ,hindu thought            
domesticated itself in the region of the
 intangible1 that is to say1  in the    
region of things which1 though visible1 
lie entirely beyond our  reach--the     
visible heaven1 the stars1 the sun1 the 
moon1 the dawn1  which were regarded in 
,india1 as also elsewhere1 as true      
divinities4  ,add to these thunder1     
which for the ,hindus also descends from
 heaven  with a 8howl10 the wind        
sometimes so terrible1 which1 however1  
in  the hot days of summer 8pours honey0
 upon man1 and the rain1 sent  by the   
beneficent rain god1 ,indra4 ,having    

thus created their deities  and peopled 
heaven somewhat at haphazard1 the       
,hindus were not slow  to distribute    
them into classes and families--to      
invent for them a  necessary background 
of genealogy4 ,there is a record of     
certain efforts  to establish in the    
,hindu heaven1 as in the ,olympus of the
 ,greeks1 a  system of government1 a    
supreme authority2 in a number of hymns 
the  notion of the one ,god1 ,creator   
and ,master of the world1 is clearly    
expressed3 ,he is 8the ,father that     
begat us1 the ,ruler who knows the  laws
 and the worlds1 in ,him alone all      
creatures repose40    ,sidenote3 ,and   
from the intangible to the unreal4      
,but the ,hindu mind was destined to    
rise at a bound above ,greek  polytheism
 and ,hebrew monotheism4 ,it is well to 
see ,god in nature4  ,there lies still a
 step beyond3 to ignore nature4 ,a firm 
belief in  the reality of this world1 in
 the value of this life1 enters as an   
essential element into the belief in a  

personal ,god1 superior to  the world   
and distinct from it1 like the ,javeh of
 the ,hebrews4 ,the  distinguishing     
characteristic of the ,hindu mind is    
precisely a certain  scepticism in      
regard to the world1 a persuasion of the
 vanity of  nature2 so that the ,hindu  
god possesses and can possess nothing in
  common with ,jupiter or ,javeh4 ,he   
who sees no more in material force  than
 a play of the senses1 will see no more 
in the power which is  supposed to      
direct that force than a play of the    
imagination2 faith  in a ,creator shares
 the fate of faith in a creation4 ,it is
 in vain  for ,hindu poets to vindicate 
sraddh faith1 for the gods4 ,indra in   
especial1 the most popular of the       
divinities1 to whom the supreme  epithet
 of ,visvakarman1 the maker of all      
things1 is given1 is of all  others most
 subject to be doubted4 8,there is no   
,indra4 ,who has seen  him8 ,whom shall 
we praise80 7,rig4 vii4 #hi1 #c47 ,it is
 true that the  poet after these bitter 

words represents ,indra as appearing in 
person1  as in the book of ,job4 8,here 
,i am1 ,o worshipper6 behold me here4   
,in  might ,i overcome all creatures40  
,but the faith of the poet and of  the  
thinker takes fire but for a moment2 we 
enter into a period of  doubt which ,max
 ,mller designates by the name of       
adevism and which he  carefully         
distinguishes from atheism properly so  
called4 ,and in effect  ,hindus did not 
reject the very notion of a god1 the    
,greek 2  they sought ,god simply back  
of and beyond the personal and          
capricious  deities that up to that time
 they had adored2 such deities became   
for  them names simply1 but names of    
some thing1 of some being1 unknown4     
8,there is only one being1 although the 
poets call him by a thousand  names40   
,buddhism itself1 which came later and  
did no more than develop  tendencies    
already existing in ,brahmanism1 was    
not1 in ,max ,mller's  judgment1        
originally atheistic4 ,adevism was no   

more for ,india1 with  some slight      
exceptions1 than a period of transition2
 the ,hindu mind  passed it as a step   
toward a higher level4 ,and yet what    
anxiety1 what  incertitude1 is expressed
 in certain hymns which belong1 no      
doubt1  to this unhappy epoch4 ,the     
,vedic poets no longer glorify the sky  
nor  the dawn1 they do not celebrate the
 powers of ,indra1 nor the wisdom  of   
,visvakarman and ,pragpati4 ,they move  
about1 as they themselves  say1 8as if  
enveloped in mist and idle speech40     
,another says3 8,my  ears vanish1 my    
eyes vanish1 and the light also which   
dwells in my  heart2 my mind with its   
far off longing leaves me2 what shall ,i
 say1  and what shall ,i think8444 ,who 
knows from whence this great creation   
sprang8 and whether it is the work of a 
,creator or not8 ,the most ,high  ,seer1
 that is in the highest heaven1 he knows
 it1 or perchance even  he knows not40  
7,rig4 x4 #abi47 ,there is profoundness 
in these last  words1 and how the       

problem of the creation has been probed 
by the human  intellect since that      
epoch6 ,the evolution of the ideas      
indicated in  the passages of the hymns 
reaches its climax in what are called   
the  ,upanishads1 the last literary     
compositions which still belong to the  
,vedic period1 where all the philosophy 
of the time is found condensed1  and    
where one catches glimpses of the modern
 doctrine of ,schopenhauer  and of ,von 
,hartmann4 ,after having meditated a    
long time the ,hindu  believed himself  
to have succeeded4 ,max ,mller cites the
 surprising  dialogue between ,pragpati 
and ,indra1 in which the latter         
acquires1  after a long effort1 an      
acquaintance with the 8self hidden      
within the  heart10 the ,atman1 what    
,kant would call 8the transcendental    
ego40 ,in  the beginning ,indra supposed
 this ego to be the visible reflection  
of  his body1 covered with its splendid 
raiment1 in the water4 ,but no2  for    
when the body suffers or perishes1      

,atman would perish4 8,i see no  good in
 this doctrine40 ,indra then entertained
 the hypothesis that the  ,atman reveals
 itself in dreams1 when the mind is     
given over to the  control of one knows 
not what invisible power1 and forgets   
the pains  of life4 ,but no1 for in     
dreams one still weeps1 still suffers4  
,or may  not the ,atman1 the supreme    
ego1 be simply the man in dreamless     
sleep1  in perfect repose8 ,the ideal of
 repose1 forgetfulness1 of profound and 
sweet sleep1 has always possessed great 
charm for the ,orient4 ,but no1  8for he
 who sleeps does not know himself 7his  
self71 that he is ,i1 nor  does he know 
anything that exists4 ,he is gone to    
utter annihilation4  ,i see no good in  
this doctrine40 ,it is only after       
passing through all  these successive   
stages1 that the ,hindu mind comes at   
last to formulate  what seems to it     
altogether the most profound truth and  
the supreme  ideal4 ,atman is the self1 
leaving the body and freeing itself from

  pleasure and pain1 taking cognizance  
of its own eternity 7,upan4 viii4       
#g-ab72 recognizing the ,old1 who is    
difficult to be seen1 who has  entered  
into darkness4444 ,it is smaller than   
small1 greater than great2  hidden in   
the heart of the creature4 7ii4 #ab1    
#bj47 ,atman the 8highest  person10 whom
 the sage finally discovers in himself1 
lies also at the  bottom of all other   
beings than himself4 ,atman1 the        
subjective ego1 is  identical with      
,brahma1 the objective ego4 ,brahma is  
in us1 and we are  in all things1 the   
distinction between individuals         
vanishes1 nature  and its gods are      
absorbed in ,brahma1 and ,brahma is 8the
 very ether of  our hearts40 8,thou art 
it1 tat tvam1 is the word of life and of
 the  whole world40 ,to find one's self 
in everything1 to feel the eternity  of 
everything1 is the supreme religion2 it 
is the religion of ,spinoza4  8,there is
 one eternal thinker1 thinking the      
non-eternal thoughts2 he1  though one1  

fulfils the desires of many4444 ,brahma 
cannot be reached  by speech1 by mind1  
or by eye4 ,he cannot be apprehended1   
except by him  who says3 ,he is40 ,this 
,brahma in whom everything vanishes as a
 dream1  8is a great terror1 like a     
drawn sword02 but he is also the highest
  joy to him who has once found him2 he 
is the appeaser of desire and           
intelligence4 8,those who know him      
become immortal40    ,sidenote3 ,hindu  
tolerance4    ,we have at last reached  
with ,max ,mller 8the end of the long   
journey  which we undertook to trace40  
,we have seen the ,hindu religion1 which
  is typical of human religions1 develop
 gradually1 endeavour to cope  with the 
infinite in its various forms1 until it 
attains the height  of conceiving it as 
,brahma1 the eternal thinker1 of whom   
the world  is no more than a transitory 
thought4 ,the gods are dead2 sacrifices1
  rites1 observances of all sorts are   
useless2 the sole rite which  is        
appropriate as an offering to the       

infinite is meditation and  detachment4 
,do the dbris therefore of the earlier  
stages of the faith  disappear and the  
temples fall in dust1 and ,agni1 ,indra1
 and all these  splendid titles pass    
into oblivion8 ,not at all1 and here1   
following ,max  ,mller1 we may find in  
the history of the religions of ,india a
 lesson  for ourselves in tolerance and 
generosity4 ,the ,brahmans understood   
that1 as man grows from infancy to old  
age1 the idea of the divine must  grow  
in him from the cradle to the grave2 a  
religion which does not  live and grow  
is a dead religion4 ,the ,hindus        
accordingly have divided  the life of   
the individual into distinct            
periods--sramas1 as they say2  in the   
earlier sramas the believer invokes     
gods1 offers sacrifices1  puts up       
prayers2 it is only later1 when he has  
accomplished these  nave duties and     
tempered his soul by long contact with  
the juvenile  aspects of the faith1 that
 in his mature reason he rises above the

  gods1 and regards all sacrifices and  
ceremonies as vain forms1 and           
thenceforth finds his cult in the       
highest science which is to him the     
highest religion1 the ,vedanta4 ,thus in
 the life of the individual the  various
 stages of religion exist in an         
harmonious hierarchy4 ,even in  our days
 in a ,brahman family one may see the   
grandfather at the summit  of the       
intellectual ladder looking down without
 disdain upon his son1  who fulfils each
 day his sacred duties1 and at his      
grandson learning  by heart the ancient 
hymns4 ,all generations live in peace1  
side by  side4 ,the different castes1   
each of which follows a system of belief
  adapted to its degree1 do the same4   
,all adore1 at bottom1 the same  god1   
but this god takes care to make himself 
accessible to everyone1  to stoop for   
those whose station does not lift them  
above the earth4  8,it is thus10 says   
,max ,mller1 8that every religion1 if it
 is a bond  of union between the wise   

and the foolish1 the old and the young1 
must  be pliant1 must be high1 and deep1
 and broad2 bearing all things1         
believing all things1 enduring all      
things40 ,let us be as tolerant as  our 
fathers in ,india1 let us not be        
indignant against the superstitions     
above which we ourselves have risen and 
which served us in their day as         
stepping stones4 ,let us learn how to   
discover the element of goodness  and   
truth in all the creeds of humanity4 ,it
 may be that all human  religions1 if   
they could once be freed from the       
legends which drape  them1 would unite  
to furnish for the cultivated portion of
 mankind a  religion really complete4   
8,who knows but that their very         
foundation may  serve once more1 like   
the catacombs1 or like the crypts       
beneath our old  cathedrals1 for those  
who1 to whatever creed they may belong1 
long for  something better1 purer1      
older1 and truer than what they can find
 in  the statutable sacrifices1         

services1 and sermons of the days in    
which  their lot on earth has been      
cast40           99       99       99   
99       99    ,sidenote3 ,criticism of 
,max ,mller's theory4    ,is this       
elevated theory exact8 ,in the first    
place it seeks erroneously  to find in  
,hindu civilization the type of         
primitive religion2 more  than that it  
inverts the order of evolution by       
presupposing at the  beginning the      
existence of complex notions and        
profound symbols which  have been       
misconceived1 it holds1 by later        
generations only through  an inability  
correctly to interpret the language in  
which they lay  embalmed4#ae ,the       
capital defect in the theory1 however1  
is that it  discovers the origin of     
religion in the vaguest and most modern 
of  metaphysical ideas1 that namely of  
the infinite4 ,max ,mller holds that    
this idea is furnished even by the      
senses2 his system presents itself  to  
us as an effort at a reconciliation     

between the sensualists and  the        
idealists4 ,but the doctrine rests upon 
a confusion4 ,a perception  of          
relativity is one thing1 a perception of
 infinity is another2 some  objects are 
great1 some are small1 and any object is
 great or small  according to the       
standard of comparison--that is what the
 senses1 or  rather the memory1 informs 
us of2 and unless the metaphysical      
subtlety  of a modern scholar whispers  
something in their ear1 that is all they
  tell us4 ,max ,mller seems to believe 
that the perception of space  supplies  
us directly with a perception of        
infinity2 but over and above  any       
question of the psychological           
inexactitude of this account1 it  is    
irreconcilable with the historical      
facts4 ,the infinity of space  is an    
idea which metaphysicians alone1 and    
that too in comparatively  late times1  
have succeeded in realizing4 ,the       
horizon is1 on the face  of it1 a       
physical limit4 ,the child fancies that 

he can go close up to  the horizon and  
touch the beginnings of the celestial   
dome with his  finger2 the ancients     
conceived the heavens as an inverted    
bowl of hard  crystal1 sown with        
luminous points4#af ,for us who have    
been told since  we were children that  
the stars are greater than the earth1   
and are  separated from us by a distance
 unimaginably great1 the spectacle of   
the heavens by a necessary association  
gives rise to a feeling of the          
incommensurable and the infinite4 ,there
 is no reason to suppose that  anything 
analogous took place in the mind of     
primitive man when he  lifted his eyes  
on high4 ,primitive man has not the     
least idea that the  power of vision is 
limited1 that the vault of heaven is the
 vault of  his incapacity and that      
infinite space stretches beyond2        
habitually1  primitive man locates the  
end of the world at the extremity of his
 line  of vision1 which forms on all    
sides of him a visible and motionless   

sphere4 ,it is difficult for him to     
understand that heavenly space  is      
greater than the visible world4 ,he     
finds it equally difficult to  conceive 
the infinitely little2 the infinite     
divisibility of matter  of which1       
according to ,max ,mller1 the senses    
take cognizance1 is a  conception which 
results only from the most abstract     
reasoning4 ,man's  natural belief is    
that the divisibility of matter stops at
 the same  point that his power of      
taking cognizance of it does--at the    
visible  atom4          #ae ,max ,mller1
 as is well known1 goes the length of   
believing        that the authors of the
 first myths were perfectly conscious   
that they were speaking in parables2 and
 that subsequent        generations     
misunderstood them1 because they        
personified the        figures and the  
names by which the ,divine was referred 
to2 so        that mythology becomes    
literally the science of a disease of   
language4          #af ,among the most  

ingenious and least contestable of ,max 
,mller's suggestions1 we cite the       
paragraph devoted to the        ,vedic  
deity ,aditi1 one of the names of the   
dawn3 8,you will be        as surprised 
as ,i certainly was surprised when the  
fact first        presented itself to   
me1 that there really is a deity in the 
,veda who is simply called the boundless
 or the infinite1 in        ,sanscrit   
,a-diti4 ,aditi is derived from diti1   
and the        negative particle a4     
,diti1 again1 is regularly derived from 
a root ,d 7dyati71 to bind1 from which  
dita1 the participle1        meaning    
bound1 and diti1 a substantive1 meaning 
binding        and bound4 ,aditi1       
therefore1 must originally have meant   
without bounds1 not chained nor         
inclosed1 boundless1 infinite1          
infinitude40          ,this etymology1  
on the contrary1 seems to us rather to  
be        calculated to show precisely  
that the conception of infinity is      
not primitive1 and that the first time  

the ,hindus invoked the        dawn     
under the name of ,aditi1 they were far 
from possessing any        distinction  
between finite and infinite4 ,the night 
was for them        a prison-house1 the 
return of day was their deliverance4 ,it
 is        well known that they         
represented day as a luminous cow1 which
        moved slowly out of the stable  
at night and stepped across        the  
fields of heaven and of earth4          
,sometimes these cows are               
represented as stolen and confined in   
sombre caverns4 ,aurora        herself  
is retained in the depths of ,rita2     
night threatens        to reign without 
end1 but the gods set out in search of  
her1        ,indra discovers and        
delivers her1 and with her aid1 the cows
        bellowing for liberty are       
discovered in their cavern4 ,it         
seems to us that for one who enters into
 the spirit of these        primitive   
legends1 it is easy to determine the    
primitive sense        of ,aditi4 ,aditi

 is the dawn who1 confined one knows not
 where1        succeeds at last in      
breaking bonds and appears radiantly in 
the open heaven1 delivering and         
delivered1 breaking the jail        in  
which the hours of darkness have        
confined the world4 ,aditi        is the
 dawn1 freed and giving freedom4 ,and1  
by an extension        of meaning1 it   
comes to signify the immortal and       
imperishable        light which no power
 can veil or hide for more than a day4  
,whereas1 ,diti signifies what is mortal
 and perishable and        prisoned in  
the bounds of matter4 ,this construction
 is simple1        and what is more1 is 
confirmed by the legends to which we    
have just alluded2 after having         
advocated it in the ,revue              
philosophique 7,december1 #ahgi71 we    
find it adopted by ,m4        ,rville1  
,prolgomnes  l'histoire des religions1  
#ahha4    ,sidenote3 8,suffering from   
the invisible10 a modern malady4    ,as 
to this 8suffering from the invisible0  

of which ,max ,mller speaks1  it is an  
altogether modern disease1 which1       
instead of giving rise  to the idea of  
the infinite1 is1 on the contrary1 a    
late product of  this notion which was  
itself acquired by force of knowledge   
and of  reasoning2 far from marking the 
point from which religions spring1  the 
8suffering from the unknown0 stamps     
their insufficiency1 is the  beginning  
of their end4 ,primitive man troubles   
himself little about  the infinity of   
nature and the eternal silence of       
infinite space2 he  constructs a world  
after the model of his own houses and   
shuts himself  safely up in it4 ,it is  
only the visible world that troubles    
him2 he  finds in it an object more than
 sufficient for his utmost physical  and
 intellectual activity2 he does not go  
far afield in search of  his gods2 he   
finds them1 so to speak1 under his hand1
 touches them  with his finger1 lives in
 their company4 ,the essence of their   
power  over him lies in the fact that   

they are neighbours of his4 ,to his     
gross intelligence the greatness of the 
gods is not commensurate with  their    
intrinsic infinity1 but with their power
 over him2 if heaven  neither lighted   
him nor warmed him with its sun1 it     
would not be the  universal father1 the 
,dyaush-pit1 the 1 the ,jupiter4 ,we do 
not mean to say with ,feuerbach that    
religion strikes root in gross          
self-interest and brutal egoism simply2 
in his relations with the gods1  as in  
his relations with his fellows1 man is  
partly selfish1 partly  unselfish3 what 
we maintain is that primitive man is not
 an advanced  rationalist of the type of
 ,max ,mller1 that the conception of    
infinity  was attained independently of 
religious faith1 and1 more than that1   
is in conflict with religious faith and 
will ultimately destroy it4  ,when in   
the progress of human thought the       
universe is once conceived  as infinite1
 it overpasses the gods and unseats     
them4 ,this happened  in ,greece at the 

time of ,democritus and ,epicurus4      
,positive religion  demands a finite    
world3 primitive people did not rear    
temples to the  ,infinite in the hopes  
of domesticating ,him4 ,max ,mller      
pronounces  a eulogy upon the ,hindus   
for their adevism2 was it really to     
their  conception of the infinite that  
they owed their wisdom1 and might not   
the idea of infinity alone have quite as
 well led them to atheism8  ,when one   
learns to contemplate the world as an   
eternally lengthening  chain of         
phenomena1 one no longer hopes1 by a    
futile prayer1 to stop  or to modify the
 march of such inflexible determinism2  
one contents  one's self with           
investigating it by science or entering 
into it in some  field of action4       
,religion disappears in science or      
morality4 ,there  remains1 it is true1 a
 final hypothesis that one may maintain3
 one may  apotheosize the infinite1 make
 over to it1 after the manner of the    
,brahmans1 of the ancient and modern    

,buddhists1 of the ,schopenhauers  and  
the ,hartmanns1 a donation of some      
mysterious unity of essence2  but if so1
 prayer expires in meditation1 in       
ecstasy1 in a monotonous  rocking of the
 cradle of thought to the rhythm of the 
phenomenal  world1 and religion becomes 
a religion of monism4 ,but this religion
  does not spring in any proper sense   
from the notion of infinity1 it1  so to 
speak1 hooks on to it rather2 it is     
another example of man's  need1 if not  
to personify1 at least to individualize 
and to unify the  infinite--so great is 
man's need to project his individuality 
by main  force1 if need be1 into the    
world6 ,one is bent on endowing this    
great  material body that one calls     
nature with some sort of a soul1 one is 
bent on conceiving it in some fashion or
 other on the model of the  human       
organism2 and is not that1 too1 a       
species of anthropomorphism8            
,sidenote3 ,the conception of infinity a
 scientific discovery4    ,it is only   

later that human thought1 carried away  
upon an endless  voyage of discovery    
analogous to the migration of a         
primitive people1  after having         
traversed the length of visible space   
and leaped the  bound of its own        
intellectual horizon1 attains the       
presence of the  unfathomable ocean of  
the infinite4 ,the infinite is for the  
human mind  such a discovery as the     
ocean was for peoples who had wandered  
to its  shores from the mountains and   
the plains4 ,just as for the newborn    
child  the different planes of vision   
are indistinct and equally near2 just   
as it is by the sense of touch that one 
learns little by little to  recognize   
the depth of space and to acquire the   
conception of distance2  just as1 so to 
speak1 it is with one's own hand that   
one opens the  horizon before one2 in   
the same way to the uncultivated        
intelligence  everything seems finite   
and limited2 and it is only by moving   
forward  that it perceives the breadth  

and depth of its domain4 ,it is only to 
a mind upon the march that the great    
perspective of the infinite is  thrown  
open4 ,at bottom this conception of     
infinity is less due to any  direct     
experience of mere things than to a     
sense of one's own personal  activity1  
to a belief in the perpetual progress   
open to human thought2  action1 as      
somebody has said1#ag is the real       
infinite or at least what  appears as   
such4 ,in this sense it may be admitted 
that there is in  every human thought   
some vague presentiment of infinity1 for
 there is  a consciousness of a fund of 
activity which will not be exhausted in 
any given act nor in any given thought2 
to be conscious that one lives  is thus 
in some sort to be conscious that one is
 infinite3 illusion  or reality1 this   
notion forms a part of all our thoughts1
 turns up in  every proposition of      
science2 but it does not produce        
science1 it is1  on the contrary1 born  
of it2 it does not produce religion1    

which is  the science of primitive ages1
 but descends from it4 ,the conception  
of infinity in many respects resembles  
the ignorance of ,socrates1 the  refined
 ignorance which was really in disguise 
the last development of  intelligence4  
,one of the antiscientific traits of    
existing religions is  precisely that   
they display no sufficient sentiment of 
our ignorance  in the presence of the   
unknowable1 that the window they have   
open  upon the infinite is decidedly too
 contracted4 ,if1 as we have seen1      
religious physics tends little by little
 to transform itself into a             
metaphysics2 if the gods have retreated 
from phenomenon to phenomenon1  to the  
region of the supersensible2 if heaven  
has separated itself  from earth1       
positive religion nevertheless still    
lives in fear of  throwing open to human
 thought a perspective really infinite4 
,its eyes  are always fixed upon a more 
or less1 determinate being1 a creator1  
a unity in which the spirit may find    

repose and safety from the  infinite4   
,religious metaphysics1 like religious  
physics1 has remained  more or less     
anthropomorphic1 and rests more or less 
on a foundation  of miracle2 a          
foundation1 that is to say1 which limits
 and suspends  the exercise of          
intelligence4 ,and as the object of     
adoration1 in the  majority of          
religions1 is anything rather than the  
infinite1 in the  same way religious    
faith itself leads to a disposition to  
arrest the  march of thought and impose 
upon it an immutable barrier2 it leads  
to the negation of infinity and of the  
indefinite progress of human  research4 
,stricken by an arrest of development   
the majority of positive  religions     
settled once for all on the first formul
 that occurred to  them2 they erected   
them into the practical object of a cult
 and left  the intangible infinite      
unmolested in outer vagueness4          
#ag ,alfred ,fouille1 ,la libert et le  
dterminisme1 #b;e partie4    ,sidenote3 

,conception of an all-embracing unity1  
also modern4    ,over and above the     
conception of the infinite there is     
another and  a similar notion that it is
 equally impossible to discover at the  
roots of religious thought2 it is that  
of unity in plurality1 of  totality4    
,this pantheistic1 monistic concept ,von
 ,hartmann believes  to be the          
starting-point of all religions4 ,as a  
partial disciple of  ,hegel and of      
,schopenhauer1 ,von ,hartmann inevitably
 attributes to  humanity and applies to 
the interpretation of history the formul
 of  his dialectic4 8,henotheism10 he   
says1 8is founded on a recognition  of  
the positive identity at bottom of all  
the divinities of nature2  an identity  
which permits one to adore in the person
 of every god  individually1 and        
principally in the person of each of the
 leading  gods1 absolute divinity1 the  
divine god4 ,it becomes therefore a     
matter  of indifference1 in some        
measure1 under which of its particular  

aspects  one worships ,divinity2 when   
,indra is represented imaginatively in  
the  form of a buffalo1 the right to    
represent him immediately afterward in  
the form of an eagle1 or a falcon1 is   
not for an instant abrogated2  when     
henotheism offers its homage to the     
supreme deity under the name  of ,indra1
 god of the tempest1 it does not        
incapacitate itself from  adoring him a 
moment afterward under the name of      
,surya1 god of the  sun2 or of          
,rudra-,varuna1 god of the heavens4     
,henotheism does not owe  its origin1   
therefore1 to a failure in the          
association of ideas1 and  to a chance  
forgetfulness1 an incredible lapse of   
memory on the part  of polytheists1 when
 they were addressing their homage to   
,surya as the  supreme god1 that there  
were still other gods in existence who  
were  adored by other people1 and even  
sometimes by themselves40 ,imagine      
primitive humanity 8up0 in the latest   
developments of the philosophy  of      

monism1 with its symbolism and its      
notion of conceiving diverse  powers as 
metaphorical manifestations of the      
fundamental unity of  things6 ,even for 
,india1 the home of pantheistic         
metaphysics1 such a  philosophy is the  
reluctant product of a civilization     
already refined4  ,people never take the
 first steps in thought by means of     
abstractions4  ,to conceive divinity in 
general1 and subsequently represent it  
by  ,indra1 ,surya1 or ,rudra-,varuna1  
as by aspects1 no one of which  exhaust 
the totality of it--by a sort of litany 
in which the unity of  things appears   
successively under diverse names and    
forms--implies a  subtlety of           
intelligence and a mastery of the       
henotheistic conception  of the universe
 that is one of the latest products of  
metaphysical  speculation4 ,in the      
beginning the form and figure of the god
 was not  distinguished from the god    
himself4 ,the distinction between body  
and mind was one that humanity attained 

with great difficulty2 and1  a fortiori1
 any notion of a unity of the supreme   
and world soul1  existing under a       
multiplicity of forms1 must of necessity
 have made its  appearance much later4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,m4 ,renan's religious       
instinct4    ,another and later form of 
this vague idealism1 that ,max ,mller   
and ,von  ,hartmann1 and also ,strauss1 
have advocated1 is presented in the     
theory  of ,m4 ,renan concerning the    
8religious instinct10 or the 8revelation
  of the ideal40 ,by religious instinct 
,m4 ,renan understands something        
mysterious and mystical1 a heavenly     
voice in one's bosom1 a sudden  and     
almost sacred revelation4 8,the         
construction of a religion10 he  cries1 
8is for humanity what the construction  
of a nest is for a bird4  ,a mysterious 
instinct awakens in the heart of a      
being1 who heretofore  has lived totally
 unaware of the existence in himself of 
any such  possibilities4 ,the bird which

 has never itself laid an egg nor seen  
an egg laid1 possesses a secret         
foreknowledge of the natural function   
which it is going to perform4 ,it lends 
itself with a species of pious  and     
devoted joy to an end which it does not 
understand4 ,the birth of  the religious
 idea in man is something quite         
analogous4 ,mankind is  moving forward  
unsuspectingly in its allotted course1  
and suddenly  a little period of silence
 comes upon it1 a lapse of sensation1   
and  it cries to itself3 #8,o ,god1 how 
strange is the destiny of man6 ,is  it  
indeed true that ,i exist8 ,what is the 
world8 ,am ,i the sun1 and  does its    
heat and light feed upon my heart8444 ,o
 ,father1 ,i see thee  beyond the       
clouds1' and the noise of the outer     
world begins again1  and the window1    
open out upon the infinite1 closes once 
more1 but1  from that moment1 a being to
 all appearance egoistic will perform   
inexplicable deeds and will experience a
 need to bow the knee and  to adore40   

,this charming passage1 set off by the  
unction and the  ecstasy of ,gerson and 
,fnelon1 is a capital instance of the   
mental  attitude of a number of people  
nowadays who are endeavouring to        
transmute a reverence for some tottering
 religion into a reverence  for the     
religious sentiment4 ,unhappily1 ,m4    
,renan's account is purely              
mythological2 primitive man never       
experienced anything of the kind4  ,m4  
,renan completely confounds the ideas   
and sentiments which he1 the  historian 
of religion1 the refined thinker1 might 
have experienced  himself1 with those   
which primitive man was really subject  
to4 ,this  species of supreme doubt on  
the matter of our own existence and that
  of the world1 this sentiment of the   
strangeness of our destiny1 this        
communion of the soul with the totality 
of nature1 this outbreak of  refined    
sensibility1 excited and tormented by   
modern life1 possesses  nothing in      
common with the sentiment of primitive  

religion1 with its  robust and crude    
faith reposing upon palpable fact and   
visible miracle4  ,mysticism1 far from  
explaining the origin of religion1 marks
 rather  its period1 its decomposition4 
,a mystic is a person1 who1 feeling     
vaguely the insufficiency1 the void1 of 
a positive and finite religion1         
endeavours to compensate himself for the
 narrowness and poverty of  established 
dogma by superabundance of sentiment4   
,mystics1 substituting  a more or less  
personal sentiment and spontaneous      
outburst of emotion  for a faith in     
authority1 have always played the rle in
 history of  unconscious heretics4      
,sentimental epochs are epochs of       
inaction1 of  concentration upon one's  
self1 of comparative independence of    
thought4  ,on the contrary1 there       
presided nothing sentimental or         
meditative at  the origin of religion1  
there was a stampede simply of a        
multitude of  souls in mortal terror or 
hope1 and no such thing as independence 

of  thought2 it is less of sentiment    
properly so-called1 than of sensation   
and of action1 that religions have been 
born4 ,primitive religion was  not a    
means of escape out of this world1 a    
port-hole into the blue2  the earliest  
gods were not in the least ethereal1    
they were possessed  of solid muscles1  
of arms capable of dealing blows4 ,to   
explain the  origin of primitive beliefs
 by a nascent idealism1 is to explain   
them  by their precise opposite4 ,one   
becomes an idealist when one is on  the 
point of ceasing to believe2 after      
having rejected a multitude of  alleged 
realities one consoles one's self by    
adoring1 for a time1 the  figments of   
one's own imagination2 the spirit of    
early times is much  more positive1 as  
the ,comtists say4 ,a preoccupation with
 the infinite1  a divine vertigo1 a     
sentiment of the abysses of life1 are   
wanting to  man in early times4 ,the    
modern mind with its intenser vision now
 and  again perceives in nature an      

endless perspective down which we look  
with agony2 we feel ourselves carried   
forward to the verge of a chasm2  we are
 like navigators who1 in the ,antilles1 
under the intense light  of the sun1 can
 see the bottom and the depth of the sea
 and measure  the gulf above which they 
hang suspended4 ,but for less           
enlightened  intelligences nature is    
opaque1 vision is limited to the surface
 of  things1 and one floats upon the    
rhythm and pulse of the sea without     
asking what lies beneath4    ,sidenote3 
,a late phenomenon4    ,before the need 
for mystical belief can occur to one1   
one must have  been reared in an        
atmosphere of faith1 or else in an      
atmosphere of  doubt2 and both these    
states of mind are equally unknown to   
the  earlier and simpler races of       
humanity4 ,or1 more accurately1 they are
  perfectly acquainted with faith1 but  
it is the nave faith of eye and  ear2   
they possess the perfect confidence that
 every sentient being  has in his five  

senses1 and in all that there is nothing
 religious  properly so-called4 ,i      
remember the astonishment ,i felt in my 
infancy  when ,i first saw the words    
doubt and faith2 it was in some verses1 
and  the poet was singing1 with much    
eloquence1 all the horrors of doubt4  ,i
 perfectly understood what it was to    
doubt a fact1 or to believe in  it1 but 
,i bothered my head in vain to discover 
what one meant by doubt  simply3 ,what  
was there so terrible about being in    
doubt on matters with  which one was    
insufficiently acquainted8 ,the word    
faith was equally  unintelligible to me1
 for ,i had as yet no conception of     
believing in  anything except what was  
certain4 ,the case of primitive man is  
exactly  the same4 ,he no more          
experiences a mystical need to believe  
than he  experiences a mystical need to 
get drunk before having tasted wine4    
,religious sentiment does not make its  
appearance in him suddenly1  does not   
simply step out on the stage4 ,there are

 no lacun in the  human soul1 it is a   
prey to invincible continuity4 ,such a  
sentiment  must come gradually by a slow
 adaptation of the spirit to the inexact
  ideas supplied to one by the senses4  
,man1 imagining himself to live in  the 
bosom of a society of gods1 inevitably  
accommodates himself to so  novel a     
habitat4 ,every society1 human or       
divine1 creates the individual  member  
in its own image2 draft the labourer for
 a soldier1 let the  villager become a  
citizen1 they acquire of necessity new  
gestures and  sentiments which1 upon    
their return to their former habitat1   
they  once more in a measure lose4 ,the 
case is inevitably the same for  mankind
 and religion4 ,as the most sociable of 
beings1 man is also the  most readily   
subject to the influence of those with  
whom he lives or  believes himself to   
live4 ,the gods1 whom we create more or 
less in our  own image1 thereupon1 by an
 inevitable reaction1 return the        
compliment4  ,a religious instinct1 such

 as ,m4 ,renan describes1 is in a large 
part  the work of this sort of reaction 
and of education2 if it possesses       
profound roots in our being1 the reason 
is that it was planted in us  in our    
infancy1 that it speaks to us with the  
voice of our childhood1  and takes us   
back to our earliest years2 often a     
word1 a thought with  which we have been
 struck at some former time1 without1   
however1  having understood it1         
unexpectedly reawakens in us1           
reverberates in  our memory2 it is but  
an echo1 and it appeals to us as if it  
were a  voice4 ,the rle played by       
heredity in the formation of one's      
character  has been noticeably          
exaggerated2 the influence of education 
is at the  present day not estimated at 
its full value4#ah ,even among animals1 
instinct amounts to little without      
education4 ,a bird1 no doubt1 does  not 
actually need to see an egg laid to     
acquit itself with 8devotion0  of that  
new function2 but when it is a question 

of building the nest1  the case is not  
so simple3 birds reared in a cage1 who  
have never seen  a nest1 are often at a 
loss what to do2 instinct whispers      
indeed to  them still1 but its voice is 
no longer clear1 no definite image of   
the ideal nest presents itself to their 
eyes4 ,nature's 8devotion0 is  at fault4
 ,add that these instincts1 so          
8mysterious0 in ,m4 ,renan's  opinion1  
act on the individual by means of a     
somewhat gross mechanism1  and that it  
suffices to tamper with the mechanism1  
to excite the  instinct or to suspend   
it4 ,to transform1 for example1 a capon 
into a  setting hen1 it suffices simply 
to pluck the feathers off the belly2  it
 then squats upon eggs--or upon         
pebbles--with pleasure4 ,really there   
is mystery enough in nature without     
going out of one's way to add to  it2 it
 is not philosophic to trace everything 
back to instinct1 and  then presently to
 regard these instincts as unconscious  
intentions1 and  in these intentions to 

see the proof of a plan1 and in this    
plan the  proof of a god4 ,with a logic 
so accommodating as that1 ,m4 ,renan    
might  well find in the religious       
instinct a peremptory demonstration of  
the  existence of ,god4          #ah    
,see the authors ,morale anglaise       
contemporaine1 #b;e partie4             
,sidenote3 ,the only instincts involved 
the instincts of  self-preservation and 
sociability4    ,in our judgment there  
was1 in the beginning1 no other instinct
 involved  than the instinct of         
self-preservation1 and the instinct of  
sociality1  which is closely allied to  
the former4 ,more than that1 the        
intellectual  procedure upon which      
primitive men relied was no other than a
 simple  association by contiguity and  
similarity1 together with such reasoning
  by induction or analogy as is         
inseparably bound up with association4  
,this species of intellectual procedure 
is precisely that which1 in its  highest
 stages1 gives birth to the scientific  

explanation of things4  ,religion1 as we
 shall show presently1 originates as    
science does1 in  a certain astonishment
 that an intelligent being experiences  
in the  face of certain phenomena and in
 the fears and desires which result     
therefrom1 and in the consequent        
voluntary reaction4           99        
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,mller and ,spencer agree in 
rejecting the fetich hypothesis4        
,,ii4 ,herbert ,spencer1 who is almost  
at the antipodes from ,max ,mller1  by a
 conscious return to euhemerism regards 
the gods simply as heroes  transfigured 
in the memories of their descendants1   
reduces religion to  an ancestor        
worship1 and thus implicitly denies that
 a presentiment  of the divine or of the
 infinite has played any part in its    
origin4  ,nevertheless1 ,max ,mller and 
,herbert ,spencer1 in spite of such     
divergences1 agree in rejecting the     
theory which attributes the birth  of   
religion to the mingled astonishment and

 fear of an intelligent  being in the   
face of certain natural phenomena1 and  
to the need of  explanation and         
protection that he experiences before   
what is puissant  and powerful4         
,sidenote3 ,necessity of relying upon a 
number of principles4    ,we willingly  
concede to ,mr4 ,spencer that ancestor  
worship has played  its part in the     
genesis of human beliefs2 heroes have   
been deified not  only after their      
death1 but even in their lifetime4 ,but 
why rely upon  this single principle for
 the explanation of so complex a        
phenomenon  as religion8 ,why wish to   
see in every detail a realization of it1
 even  when no positive fact seems to   
authorize one's doing so8 ,spencer's    
system1 which resolves the whole body of
 our beliefs into one1 reminds  one a   
little of ,genesis1 and of the theory   
that all mankind are  descended from the
 first couple1 ,adam and ,eve1 after    
,eve had herself  been fashioned out of 
one of ,adam's ribs4 ,if it is an       

excellent  characteristic of ,mr4       
,spencer's to look for the origin of    
heterogeneous  and later beliefs in some
 vague and homogeneous conception1 this 
primitive conception must at least be   
sufficiently ample to be able  fairly to
 accommodate within its own limits the  
whole body of its  successors1 and ,mr4 
,spencer is somewhat too much inclined  
to confound  the homogeneity of a notion
 with its amplitude2 it is only by a    
prodigy  of artifice that he succeeds in
 extracting from his principle a        
completely furnished religious theory of
 the universe4    ,sidenote3 ,spencer's 
theory wantonly clever4    ,mr4 ,spencer
 endeavours1 first1 to prove1 by three  
examples1 that a  cult for the dead     
exists among three tribes of savages    
very low in the  scale of civilization  
and not possessed1 so far as has been   
observed1  of any other form of         
religion2 he thereupon infers that a    
cult for  the dead is the earliest form 
of worship4 ,these examples are open to 

discussion1 but even if they were not1  
it in nowise follows that all  other    
forms of religion spring from a cult for
 the dead4 ,death is1  no doubt1 so     
frequent and brutal a fact that it early
 engages the  attention of primitive    
peoples2 some germ of the notion of     
burial may  be discovered among animals4
 ,ants have frequently been observed1   
after  their battles1 carrying off the  
corpses of their soldiers2 but from the 
fact that human intelligence must       
necessarily have been engaged in one    
direction1 does it follow that it can   
have been engaged in no other8  ,for the
 manufacture of a god ,mr4 ,spencer     
requires first a corpse1  second the    
conception of a spiritual double of the 
corpse1 third a  belief that this spirit
 is capable of inhabiting1 not only the 
body1  that it has just quitted1 but    
another body1 an inanimate effigy1 a    
bee1  a stone1 etc4 ,what a             
complication6 ,one knows ,mr4 ,spencer's
 ingenious  device for explaining       

tree-worship2 sometimes he would have us
 conceive  trees as the resting-places  
of departed souls1 who for some reason  
or  other have taken a notion to inhabit
 them2 sometimes he would have  us rely 
on a theory of misinterpreted legend3 a 
tribe that in former  years inhabited   
the forest1 a tribe come from the       
forest1 ultimately  believes itself to  
be descended from trees1 ultimately     
believes that  its ancestors were trees4
 ,really1 all that strikes us as        
particularly  artificial4 ,a tall tree  
is venerable in and of itself4 ,a       
certain  8sacred horror0 is an essential
 attribute of a dense forest4 ,night    
and obscurity play a notable part in the
 genesis of religion2 well1 a  forest is
 the very incarnation of eternal night  
with its element of  the unforeseen1 its
 terrors1 the sigh of the wind in the   
branches like  a voice1 the cry of the  
wild beast which seems sometimes to come
 from  the trees themselves4 ,and what  
intense and silent life in and about a  

tree1 if one but studies it closely6 ,an
 animal does not observe with           
sufficient attention to see plants grow 
and the sap rise2 but how  astonished   
man must have been when first he        
remarked that the roots of  trees make  
their way even into rock1 that their    
trunks break all bonds3  that they rise 
year by year1 and are at the very       
beginnings of their  maturity at an age 
when man is old6 ,forest vegetation is  
alive1 but  with a life so different    
from ours that it must naturally have   
filled  our ancestors with surprise and 
reverence4 ,remember1 too1 that the  sap
 of certain trees1 when it flows from a 
wound1 is of the colour of  blood1 or of
 the colour and almost of the taste of  
milk4    ,sidenote3 ,superfluity of     
effort to explain zoolatry by ancestor  
worship4    ,similarly1 why resort to an
 ancestor worship to explain zoolatry8  
,what  is more natural1 for example1    
than the universal veneration for the   
snake8 ,this mysterious creature which  

glides away among the shadows1  appears1
 and disappears1 and carries with it    
power of life and death8  ,or instead of
 a serpent1 consider the lion1 or any   
other ferocious  animal4 ,he makes his  
appearance in a country and creates     
havoc among  the flocks2 one pursues    
him1 but for some reason or other no    
shot  reaches him2 he is invulnerable4  
,he becomes increasingly audacious and  
terrible2 he disappears for weeks       
together1 nobody knows where2 he        
reappears suddenly1 nobody knows why2 he
 defies the hunters with the  majesty   
that wild beasts sometimes show1 in     
perfect consciousness of  their power4  
,behold6 a veritable god4    ,it is well
 known that the aborigines worshipped   
the horses which the  ,spaniards        
imported into ,america2 according to    
,prescott1 they preferred  to attribute 
the invention of firearms to the horses 
rather than to  the ,spaniards4 ,the    
fact is simply that the ,spaniards were 
men like  themselves1 and that the      

aborigines took their measure           
accordingly2  but an unknown animal came
 to them armed with an indefinite power4
  ,men adore nothing but what they are  
comparatively ignorant of1 and  it is   
for that reason1 whatever ,mr4 ,spencer 
may say1 that nature1  so long          
imperfectly known1 afforded to religion 
a more generous and  inexhaustible      
aliment than humanity4    ,sidenote3    
,narrowness and insufficiency of        
,spencer's formula4    ,at bottom what  
,mr4 ,spencer regards as the true       
confirmation of his  doctrine is the    
relation it bears to the rest of his    
system2 it  is for him an example simply
 of a universal law1 a consequence of   
evolution4 ,according to this doctrine1 
everything seems to spring from  a      
primordial unity1 from a single         
homogeneous belief--the belief in  a    
power more or less vague1 exercised by  
the souls of the dead2 this  belief1    
once given1 undergoes a complete series 
of integrations and  differentiations1  

and ultimately becomes a belief in the  
regular action  of an unknown and       
universal power4 ,mr4 ,spencer seems to 
us to be right  in pitching upon the one
 homogeneous belief from which all      
others arise  by a process of evolution2
 but the formula of this belief that he 
presents us with seems to us altogether 
too narrow and insufficient4  ,if one   
wishes to discover the idea which       
dominates both the cult for  the dead   
and the cult for the gods1 one will find
 in it a natural  persuasion that       
nothing is absolutely and definitively  
inanimate1 that  everything lives and   
possesses1 therefore1 intentions and    
volitions4  ,man has deified the        
phenomena of nature1 as he has          
immortalized his  ancestors1 for the    
sole and only reason that1 as a living  
being  possessed of a will1 the most    
difficult thing in the beginning for him
  to understand is the invincible       
determinism and absolute inertia of the 
phenomena of the external world4#ai     

#ai ,see our ,morale anglaise           
contemporaine1 p4 #egi4    ,sidenote3   
,criticism of fetichism commonly a play 
on words4    ,the adoration of natural  
forces1 conceived as more or less       
analogous  to powerful living beings    
possessed of volition1 has been         
denominated  sometimes fetichism1       
sometimes naturism4 ,messrs4 ,mller and 
,spencer  are agreed that fetichism is  
one of the later forms of religion1 and 
decline to treat it as primitive4 ,on   
both sides of this interesting          
discussion one desideratum seems to us  
to be beautifully conspicuous  by its   
absence1 namely1 precision of formula   
and agreement as to the  exact sense of 
terms4 ,the words fetich1 animate being1
 inanimate  being1 and so forth1 seem to
 us to have given rise to a number of   
misunderstandings1 on the part both of  
those who are defending the  fetich     
theory and of those who are attacking   
it4 ,let us cite some  examples3 ,max   
,mller has undertaken to define the word

 fetichism2  as was natural for a       
philologist he went in search of an     
etymology1  and he found1 relying on    
,tylor1 that fetichism 7from the        
,portuguese  feitio1 derived from the   
,latin factitius1 artificial7 could not 
designate anything but a superstitious  
reverence felt or shown for  certain    
knick-knacks that possessed no apparent 
title to any such  honourable           
distinction4 ,the definition of ,tylor  
and of ,max ,mller may  be              
philologically exact2 unhappily1 none of
 the philosophers who have  regarded    
fetichism as the basis of religion have 
ever employed that  word in the narrow  
and rigorous sense which ,max ,mller    
puts upon it2  they understood by it1 as
 de ,brosses and ,a4 ,comte did1 the    
primitive  tendency to conceive external
 objects as animated by a life analogous
  to that of man4 ,they comprehended    
also1 under the title of fetichism1     
what ,max ,mller distinguishes from it  
so carefully under the names of         

physiolatry1 or the worship rendered to 
natural objects other than  gimcracks1  
and of zoolatry1 or the worship of      
animals4 ,the result is  that ,max      
,mller's refutations really do not      
concern the doctrine which  they are    
designed to combat1 and over against    
which he sets up his own  doctrine4     
,similarly in regard to the definitions 
of ,m4 ,rville4#bj  ,to demonstrate that
 a cult for knick-knacks is not the     
primitive and  unique original of all   
human religions does not help us        
forward2 the  problem remains where it  
was4 ,let us consider1 therefore1 not   
the  words1 but the theory itself of the
 animation of nature1 and let us        
examine the objections that have been   
urged against it4          #bj          
,fetichism1 ,m4 ,rville also says1 is   
logically a later        belief4 8,a    
fetich is a vulgar object1 possessing no
 value in        itself1 but which a    
negro preserves1 venerates1 adores1     
because        he believes that it is   

the dwelling place of a spirit4 ,and    
the choice of the said object is not    
absolutely arbitrary4        ,a fetich  
possesses this very special distinction1
 that it        is the property of the  
person who adores it4 ,it is in this    
element of individual                   
ownership--ownership by the tribe or    
the family--that the difference clearly 
appears between the        object of a  
naturist religion1 and the fetich1      
properly so        called4 ,however     
humble it may be--tree1 rock1 or        
rivulet--the        first is            
independent1 is accessible to all1 to   
strangers as        to indigenes1 on the
 sole condition that they conform to the
        exigencies of the ritual or the 
cult4 ,the sun shines for               
everybody1 the mountain is accessible to
 all who scale its        sides1 the    
spring refreshes the passer-by1 whatever
 be his        tribe2 the very tree     
which rises in the midst of the desert  
asks of the traveller some mark of      

deference1 and does not        trouble  
itself about his origin4 ,one cannot    
appropriate a        natural object4 ,it
 is otherwise with a fetich4 ,once      
adopted by        a family1 it is in    
some sort in the service of that family 
and        has nothing to do with       
others40 ,this definition of fetichism  
is        quite special1 and in no wise 
concerns primitive fetichism1           
conceived as an ascription of something 
analogous to the human        will in   
all inanimate things4    ,sidenote3     
,children and even animals distinguish  
between animate and  inanimate4         
,according to ,messrs4 ,spencer and     
,mller the savage may legitimately  be  
compared to a child who mistakes a      
well-dressed doll for a living  being1  
or who punishes a door against which he 
has stumbled2 the savage  is not so     
nave4 ,the very child is far from       
possessing all the navet  that is       
ascribed to him1 in general he perfectly
 distinguishes between  the animate and 

the inanimate2 and when he talks to his 
play-things1  and conducts himself      
before them as if they were alive he is 
not a dupe  of his own words1 he is     
composing a diminutive drama simply1 in 
which  he is an actor2 he is making     
poetry and not mythology4 8,if his doll 
should step up to him and bite him1 he  
would be the first person to be         
astonished40#ba ,in the same way1 a dog 
plays with a stick--the comedy  of the  
chase--he bites it1 he tears it into    
pieces1 he warms to his  game1 which is 
still for him1 when all is said1 no more
 than a game4  ,even the famous example 
of a child's rage at inanimate objects  
against  which it has stumbled1 an      
example which has done service in the   
pages  of all those who have written on 
religion1#bb is seriously damaged by    
,mr4 ,spencer2 according to him1 mothers
 and nurses suggest to the child  absurd
 ideas which1 but for them1 it would not
 have2 it is they1 who1  if it has hurt 
itself against an inanimate object1     

affect to be angry2  and1 to distract   
its attention from the pain1 endeavour  
to excite its  anger also4 ,the little  
comedy of the inanimate object is one in
 which  the child displays no           
initiative4 ,in any event the example   
deals with  an ill-observed             
psychological phenomenon1 which1 for the
 present1 can  be employed to support no
 theory whatever4          #ba ,spencer1
 ,principles of ,sociology4          #bb
 ,see1 among others1 ,m4 ,vacherot1 ,la 
religion4    ,sidenote3 ,savages        
mistaking a watch1 etc41 for animate    
lends no  support to fetichism4         
,similarly1 according to ,mr4 ,spencer1 
no employment can be made of the        
mistakes committed by a savage in the   
presence of certain complex  products of
 the arts and of civilization2 he       
believes these objects  to be alive1 but
 how should he do otherwise8 ,if he is  
deceived1 it is  rather due to the      
degree of perfection attained by our art
 than to any  defect in his own         

intelligence4 ,when the indigenes of    
,new ,zealand saw  ,cook's ship1 they   
took it for a sailing whale4 ,anderson  
relates that  the ,bushmen supposed that
 a carriage was an animate being and    
must be  provided with fodder2 the      
complexity of its structure1 the        
symmetry of  its parts1 its moving      
wheels1 naturally suggested no fragment 
of their  own experience of inanimate   
things4 ,just so the ,esquimaux believed
  that a music-box and a hand-organ were
 living beings4 ,all these errors  are  
in a measure rational1 but they are     
errors of a kind that really  primitive 
man would have no opportunity to commit4
 ,to suppose that he  was dominated by a
 natural tendency to assign life to     
things which were  not alive1 to imagine
 that he went out of his way to confound
 things  which animals of a lesser      
degree of intelligence perfectly        
distinguish1  is to invert the whole    
course of evolution4    ,sidenote3      
,primitive man incurious4    ,there are1

 in ,mr4 ,spencer's opinion1 still other
 prejudices relative  to primitive man  
from which we should free ourselves4 ,we
 believe him  to be voluntarily and     
incessantly occupied1 as the modern     
infant  is1 with the why of things2 we  
fancy him perpetually endeavouring  to  
satisfy a restless curiosity4           
,unhappily1 if we are to trust our      
experience of the lower races of man1 it
 appears that the sentiment  of         
curiosity decreases directly as one     
approaches the savage state4  ,to awaken
 curiosity demands surprise2 ,plato was 
correct in regarding  astonishment as   
the beginning of philosophy4 ,well1 what
 produces  astonishment is an unexpected
 breach in the chain of causation2 but  
for a primitive intelligence which has  
not yet achieved scientific  maturity1  
there is no such thing as natural       
causation and no such  thing as rational
 surprise4#bc ,the ,fuegians1 the       
,australians1 show  the most complete   
indifference in the presence of matters 

for them  absolutely new and essentially
 surprising4 ,according to ,dampier1 the
  ,australians whom he took on board    
paid no attention to anything in the    
vessel except what was given them to    
eat4 ,the very mirrors did not  succeed 
in astonishing savages of inferior race2
 they were amused with  them1 but       
evinced neither surprise nor curiosity4 
,when ,park inquired  of the negroes1   
8,what becomes of the sun at night8 ,is 
it the same sun  that rises the next day
 or another80--they made him no reply   
and found  the question puerile4 ,spix  
and ,martius report1 that the minute one
  begins to question a ,brazil ,indian  
about his language he shows signs  of   
impatience1 complains of headache1 and  
proves himself incapable  of mental     
labour4 ,similarly the ,abipones1 when  
they find themselves  unable to         
understand anything at a glance1 soon   
become fatigued and  cry1 8,what1 after 
all1 does it amount to80 8,it seems10   
,sir ,john ,lubbock  says1 8as if the   

mind of the savage lives in a perpetual 
come and  go of pure feebleness1        
incapable of fixing itself upon         
anything4 ,he  accepts what he sees as  
an animal does2 he adapts himself to the
 world  about him spontaneously2        
astonishment1 admiration1 the very      
conditions  of worship are above him4   
,accustomed to the regularity of nature 
he  patiently awaits the succession of  
such phenomena as he has observed1      
mechanical habit overbears all          
intelligence in him40          #bc      
,spencer1 ,principles of ,sociology4    
,sidenote3 ,inexactitude of facts on    
which the fetich theory is founded4     
,in effect1 according to ,mr4 ,spencer1 
all of the observed facts upon  which   
the old fetichistic theory was founded  
are chargeable with  inexactitude2 they 
were taken from the narratives of the   
earlier  travellers1 who rarely came    
into contact with any but races already 
debauched and half civilized4 ,little by
 little1 he says1 the idea  that        

fetichism is primordial took possession 
of men's minds and1 as  prepossession   
constitutes nine-tenths of belief1 it   
has rested master  of the field almost  
without a contest2 ,i myself accepted   
it1 although1  as ,i remember1 with a   
vague feeling of discontent4 ,this      
discontent  became positive doubt when  
,i was better informed with regard to   
the  ideas of the savage4 ,from doubt ,i
 passed to negation when ,i had once    
tabulated the whole body of the facts   
relating to the most degraded  races4   
,sidenote3 ,a priori demonstration of   
the priority of animism4    ,mr4        
,spencer undertakes even to demonstrate 
a priori the falsity  of the fetich     
theory4 ,what1 he asks1 is a fetich8 ,an
 inanimate  object supposed to contain a
 being1 of which the senses do not take 
cognizance2 such a conception is        
extremely complex1 and above the  reach 
of primitive minds4 ,the savage is so   
incapable of abstraction  that he can   
neither conceive nor express a colour as

 distinct from  some coloured object1 a 
light as distinct from some light       
object--star  or fire1 an animal which  
shall be neither a dog nor a cow nor a  
horse2 and he is asked to imagine an    
animate being in the heart of an        
inanimate thing1 an invisible power in  
the heart of a visible object1  in      
effect1 a soul6 ,nothing less than the  
conception of a soul1 in ,mr4           
,spencer's judgment1 will serve the     
fetich hypothesis2 and primitive man    
certainly could not attain the notion of
 a soul by mere observation of  nature4 
,before projecting this complex idea    
into the heart of things1  he must      
previously have constructed it1 and as  
preparation for that1  ,mr4 ,spencer    
says1 he must have supplied himself with
 a theory of  death1 and conceived the  
mind as surviving the body1 and         
therefore as  separable from the body   
and as the motive principle of the body4
 ,it  is to his notions on death that   
man must look for any conception of     

life in inanimate nature4 ,every fetich 
is a spirit1 no spirit can be  for a    
primitive intelligence anything else    
than the spirit of someone  who is dead4
 ,necessarily1 therefore1 a cult for the
 dead1 spiritism1  must precede         
fetichism2 the latter is no more than an
 extension1 a  by-product1 of the       
former4#bd          #bd ,mr4 ,spencer's 
,principles of ,sociology4           99 
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,spencer's attack not against
 a vital spot4    ,,iii4 ,such is the   
theory of ,mr4 ,spencer4 ,and he would  
be right if the  partisans of primitive 
fetichism understood by fetich1 as he   
does1 a  material object at the heart of
 which the adorer imagines the existence
  of a mysterious agent distinct from   
this object itself4 ,but is this  notion
 of distinctness a necessary part1 at   
least in the beginning1 of  fetichism1  
or1 as one says to-day1 of naturism8    
,imagine a rock which  should detach    
itself unexpectedly from the mountain   

side1 and roll  down to the hut of a    
savage2 it stops suddenly just as it is 
on the  point of crushing his dwelling1 
it remains there pendent1 menacing1 to  
all appearance ready at an instant's    
notice to begin rolling again2  the     
savage fairly trembles at the sight of  
it4 ,do you believe that he  needs      
really to suppose the presence of some  
foreign agent1 of a soul1  of an        
ancestral spirit in that stone to regard
 it as an object of fear  and of        
respect8 ,not at all4 ,it is the rock   
itself which constitutes  his fetich1 it
 is to the rock that he bows2 he        
venerates it precisely  because he is   
far from supposing it1 as you do1       
essentially and  eternally inert and    
passive2 he ascribes to it possible     
intentions1  a maleficent or beneficent 
will4 ,he says to himself3 8,it is      
asleep  to-day1 but it was awake        
yesterday2 yesterday it could have      
killed  me1 and it did not want to40    
,let the lightning strike a savage's hut

  three times in succession within a    
month1 and he will easily recognize     
that the thunder is ill-disposed toward 
him and1 quite without any  preliminary 
need of personification in the way of   
endowing it with a  departed soul1 he   
will set about adoring the thunder and  
conjuring it  not to do him harm4 ,mr4  
,spencer does not perceive that1 at the 
very  beginning of his exposition1 he   
ascribes to primitive man a conception  
of nature analogous to the abstract     
mechanism of ,descartes4 ,such a        
conception once pre-supposed1 it is     
plain that to regard an object or  a    
natural phenomenon as the centre of a   
cult1 some new conception must  be added
 to it1 and this new conception may well
 be that of a spirit4  ,mr4 ,spencer1 as
 he himself admits1 looks upon fetichism
 as quite  analogous to modern          
spiritualism1 which sees in turning     
tables and  oscillating chairs the work 
of disembodied souls2 but nothing could 
be  more arbitrary than this analogy4   

,it is quite impossible that primitive  
man should stand in the same position   
that we do in the face of any  natural  
phenomenon2 as he does not possess the  
modern metaphysical  idea of inert      
matter1 he experiences no need to invent
 an indwelling  spirit before he can    
ascribe volition to it4 ,if a savage    
should see a  table turn1 he would say  
simply that the table was turning1 no   
doubt1  because it wanted to turn1 and  
that1 for him1 would be the end of it2  
and if by chance it should be a matter  
of interest to him whether the  table   
turned or not1 it would immediately     
become a fetich to him4 ,the  conception
 of a fetich does not in the least      
presuppose1 as ,mr4 ,spencer  maintains1
 the conception of a soul2 there is no  
such metaphysical  element in fetichism1
 and it is precisely on that account    
that this  form of religion must have   
preceded spiritism1 which is always     
founded  on a more or less rudimentary  
metaphysics4    ,sidenote3 ,for savages 

and children nature a society4    ,for  
animals and savages1 as for very young  
children1 nature is  absolutely the     
opposite of what it appears to be       
nowadays to the  scholar and the        
philosopher3 for them it is not a cold  
and neuter  habitat1 in which man alone 
possesses aims and bends everything to  
the fulfilment of his wishes2 it is not 
a physical laboratory full  of inert    
instruments for the service of man4 ,on 
the contrary1 nature  is a society2     
primitive people see intention in       
everything4 ,friends  or enemies        
surround them on all sides2 the struggle
 for existence is  one long pitched     
battle with imaginary allies against    
adversaries not  infrequently only too  
real4 ,how should they understand that  
there is  a profound unity in nature    
which rigidly excludes from the chain of
  things anything like individuality or 
independence8 ,the only cause of        
movement with which they are acquainted 
is desire2 they reckon desire  or       

intention as the cause of every movement
 in nature1 as of every  movement in    
their fellow-men and in animals2 and    
they conceive that the  intentions of   
all of the diverse beings by which they 
find themselves  surrounded may be      
equally modified by prayer and          
offerings4 ,their  conception of nature 
is at once anthropomorphic and          
sociomorphic1 as  is subsequently their 
conception of ,god4 ,nothing is more    
natural and  inevitable than this       
fashion of modeling the external world  
on the  internal1 and the relations of  
things on the relations of men4         
,sidenote3 ,panthelism4    ,if the word 
fetichism is too vague to designate this
 primitive state  of mind and gives rise
 to confusion1 take another word2 if the
 word  panthelism were not a little     
barbarous it would better express this  
stage of human intelligence in which one
 is inclined to ascribe to all  the     
phenomena of nature not indeed souls1 as
 distinct from bodies1 but  simply      

intentions1 desires1 volitions1 as      
naturally inhering in the  objects      
themselves4    ,sidenote3 ,english      
classification of things4    ,but here  
we shall perhaps be reminded that1 as   
,mr4 ,spencer says1 the  distinction    
between things animate and inanimate is 
quite clear even  to the brute1 and1 a  
fortiori1 to primitive man2 so that     
primitive  man will not attribute desire
 or volition to a thing which he knows  
to be inanimate--animate1 inanimate2 how
 we do come back to the  vague6 ,under  
each of these terms the modern man      
ranges a group of ideas  absolutely     
inaccessible to primitive man and to the
 lower animals4  ,personally we deny    
that the distinction between animate and
 inanimate  was present in the earliest 
stages of intellectual evolution4       
,certainly  both the animal and the     
savage recognized a division of the     
phenomena  of nature into two classes2  
one is composed of the things which are 
disposed to do them good or evil1 the   

other is composed of those  which ignore
 them simply2 that is the primitive     
distinction4 ,as to an  acquaintance    
with animate and inanimate they are     
innocent of anything  of the kind2 on   
this point1 as on all others1 they      
confine themselves  to the grossest     
sense-experience4 ,their senses inform  
them that certain  objects are beings   
who are altogether inoffensive1 who eat 
nobody and  are not themselves good to  
eat2 one gives them no further          
attention2  practically they do not     
exist4 ,i one day asked a peasant woman 
the  name of a small plant4 ,she looked 
at me with frank astonishment and       
replied1 with a shake of the head1 8,ce 
n'est rien--it is nothing2  it is not   
good to eat60 ,that woman was on a level
 with primitive man4  ,in the eyes of   
the latter1 as in the eye of an animal1 
one-half the  phenomena of nature are   
nothing--they do not count2 one scarcely
  sees them4 ,the fruits on a tree1 on  
the contrary1 are good to eat4  ,the    

savage1 however1 perceives immediately  
that the fruit makes no  active         
resistance1 does not cry out when he    
bites into it2 and he  considers it1    
therefore1 as on all accounts absolutely
 indifferent1  except that it is good to
 eat4 ,but given a fruit that poisons   
him1 he  promptly fears it and venerates
 it4 ,similarly with animals3 stones    
and vegetation hold equally aloof from  
the carnivora1 are practically  as      
distant as the moon and the stars4 ,the 
herbivora1 on the contrary1  pay no     
attention to anything but vegetation4   
,natural objects being  thus parcelled  
off into two classes1 the class of the  
indifferent and  inoffensive1 and the   
class of the useful and hurtful1 the    
animal soon  learns to recognize that in
 the second class the most important    
objects  are those which possess        
spontaneity of movement4 ,but in his    
eyes--and  this is a fact of capital    
importance--spontaneity of movement is  
not  the exclusive sign of life1 of     

interior activity2 it is a sign simply  
of utility1 or of heightened danger for 
him4 ,he is wholly preoccupied  with    
personal and practical consequences2 he 
indulges in no superfluity  of inference
 in regard to the object itself2 he does
 not speculate4  ,moreover1 a moving    
object which in nowise affects his      
sensibility  rapidly becomes quite as   
indifferent to him as a motionless      
object4  ,animals soon become accustomed
 to the passage of railway trains3 cows 
browse tranquilly1 partridges on the    
brow of a hill scarcely lift their      
heads2 and why8 ,because they have      
recognized in the locomotive an         
inanimate mechanism8#be ,not in the     
least2 they observe simply that the     
locomotive never goes out of its way to 
damage them4          #be ,according to 
,mr4 ,spencer1 the movement of a train  
does not        appear spontaneous to   
animals because it is continuous2 and   
therein lies the ground of their        
exemption from fright4 ,on this         

reasoning1 animals who live in the      
neighbourhood of stations        should 
display fright at the arrival and       
departure of trains4        ,nothing of 
the kind is observable4 ,they are       
equally incurious        in regard to   
horses harnessed to wagons on a         
high-road4        ,speculative          
disinterestedness is altogether lacking 
in animals        and savages2 they live
 locked in the arms of sensation and    
desire2 they spontaneously draw a circle
 about their ego1 and        whatsoever 
lies beyond lies beyond their           
intelligence4    ,sidenote3 ,belief that
 all things are animate natural to      
animals4    ,this being the primitive   
conception of the world1 we believe that
 the  more incapable an uncivilized     
being is of observing and reasoning  the
 more natural it should be for him to   
acquire the conviction that  objects    
which at first struck him as indifferent
 are not genuinely  inanimate1 but are  
sometimes malevolent in their intentions

 toward him1  sometimes benevolent2 that
 they possess in effect over him a quite
  respectable degree of power4 ,in other
 words the more intelligent an  animal  
or a savage becomes1 the more           
superstitious he will be1 and thus  by  
the very progress of mental evolution   
the primitive distinction  of objects   
into two classes will become dim--the   
distinction of  objects into those which
 are altogether indifferent and outside 
of the  society in which one lives1 and 
those which are more or less worthy  of 
attention1 more or less closely in      
practical relations with us4  ,mental   
evolution has proceeded1 believe us1 in 
precisely the opposite  direction to    
that imagined by ,mr4 ,spencer4         
,sidenote3 ,motion a material sign of   
life in them4    ,let us speak first of 
the more intelligent animals1 before    
passing  to man4 ,the more intelligent  
animals are often obliged to give their 
attention to a class of objects in      
appearance indifferent to them  and to  

modify the imperfect ideas which they   
had at first conceived  in regard to    
them4 ,generally speaking1 objects of   
this sort are  motionless2 if immobility
 be not their essential distinguishing  
characteristic1 it is at least one of   
their principal distinguishing          
characteristics4 ,the instinct of       
self-preservation in a being  inevitably
 bestirs itself in the presence of every
 movement that looks  like a menace4    
,well1 an animal is soon obliged to     
recognize that  indifferent objects     
possess in certain circumstances the    
attribute  of spontaneous movement1 an  
attribute which is for him so vitally   
interesting4 ,i remember the surprise a 
kitten once showed when it  perceived   
the dead leaves rise in the wind and    
circulate about it2  at first it ran    
away1 and then came back and pursued the
 leaves1 and  smelt them1 and touched   
them with its paw4 ,darwin relates that 
a dog  was one day lying near an open   
parasol on the lawn2 the parasol moved  

in the breeze1 the dog began to bay1 to 
growl furiously1 and1 every  time that  
the parasol moved again1 began to growl 
afresh4 ,evidently it  was a new thing  
to ,darwin's dog that such an object as 
a parasol might  change its place       
without the visible intervention of some
 person2 all  the dog's classifications 
were thrown into disorder1 he was no    
longer  certain whether he must class   
the parasol with things indifferent or  
with things harmful4 ,he would have     
experienced an analogous impression  if 
he had seen a paralytic patient1 always 
theretofore motionless in  his armchair1
 suddenly rise and walk4 ,an animal's   
surprise is still  more strong when an  
object regarded as till then indifferent
 approaches  him and manifests its      
activity by an infliction of sudden     
pain4 ,i  witnessed the astonishment of 
a cat which1 having seen a red-hot coal 
roll out of the stove door1 leaped      
forward to play with it2 he caught  it  
simultaneously with snout and paw1 gave 

a cry of pain1 and fled in  such fear   
that it was two days before he returned 
to the house4 ,mr4  ,spencer himself    
cites another example which he has      
observed4 ,the beast  was a formidable  
creature1 half mastiff1 half hound1 who 
was playing  with a cane2 he was leaping
 and gambolling1 and holding it by the  
ferule end4 ,suddenly the handle of the 
cane touched the ground and the  ferule 
was pushed forcibly back toward the     
dog's palate4 ,the animal  groaned1 let 
the cane fall1 and fled some distance   
away2 and there  he manifested1 it      
appears1 a degree of alarm truly comic  
in a beast  apparently so ferocious4 ,it
 was only after many cautious approaches
  and much hesitation that he yielded to
 the temptation of taking hold  of the  
cane4 ,mr4 ,spencer1 who supplies us    
with this fact1 with great  impartiality
 concludes from it1 as we also do1 that 
it was the unusual  conduct of the cane 
which suggested to the dog the notion   
that it was  animate2 but he hastens to 

add that before the vague idea of       
animation  thus given rise to in an     
animal could become definite in a man1  
the intervention of some spiritualistic 
theory would be absolutely  necessary4  
,one may well ask one's self what       
spiritualism has to do with  the        
case4#bf          #bf ,principles of    
,sociology4    ,sidenote3 ,instruments  
supposed to be animate by animals4      
,one may learn from the preceding       
example something like what animals     
conceive the inert instruments to be    
which they see us handling and  with    
which we sometimes strike them4 ,the    
notion of an instrument1 as  such1 is   
relatively modern and was altogether    
unknown in the early  stages of         
evolution4 ,an instrument1 in the eyes  
of an animal as in  the eyes of         
primitive man1 is almost a companion and
 an accomplice2  neither the one nor the
 other possesses any other notion in    
especial  of causation than that of a   
co-operation1 mute agreement between two

  associated beings4 ,a lion1 which     
,livingstone shot at and did not hit1   
ran first to bite the stone which the   
bullet had struck2 it was only          
subsequently that he threw himself upon 
the hunter2 the ball1 the  gun1 the     
hunter1 were so many distinct and       
separate enemies that he  was bent on   
punishing in succession4 ,similarly1 in 
an ancient list of  pains and penalties1
 one finds that the warrior is to lose  
his hand1  the blasphemer his tongue1   
the spy his ears4 ,at this moment my dog
  is at my side2 the whip with which ,i 
corrected him this morning lies  upon a 
chair2 the dog walks about that chair   
sniffing the air with  defiance and     
respect1 and ,i do not believe he would 
have the courage  to touch it4 ,he is   
aware1 however1 that when the whip hurt 
him1 the  circumstances were quite      
different1 that ,i was holding that     
dangerous  object in my hand1 and that  
,i was1 in a sense1 the first cause of  
his  chastisement4 ,still he is not     

perfectly reassured1 as he would be in  
the presence of an inert object4 ,the   
impression he seems to have got  strikes
 me as comparable to that which a child 
receives from a serpent  behind a pane  
of glass2 the child knows perfectly that
 under the actual  circumstances he is  
safe1 but he cannot help saying to      
himself1 8,if the  circumstances were   
otherwise60#bg ,recollect that the      
,australian savage  treats the white    
man's gun as a living and powerful being
 which he  adores and crowns with       
flowers and supplicates not to kill him4
 ,legend  attributes a magic power to   
the swords of great captains1 to        
,joyeuse  or to ,durandal4 ,in our own  
days1 even1 one sees combatants spend   
their  force not only against their     
enemies but against everything which    
pertains to them2 it is as if something 
were supposed to have passed  from the  
man into everything he possesses4       
,nothing is more difficult to  recognize
 than the profound indifference of      

nature4          #bg ,add that when an  
animal or primitive man has recognized  
that a certain object possesses a       
particular attribute1 he        often   
finds it difficult to recognize that    
simply analogous        objects possess 
the same attribute4 ,i was one day      
making a        kitten run after a      
wooden ball as a dog would do2 the ball 
struck it and hurt it2 it cried out and 
,i petted it and then        wanted to  
begin playing once more2 it would run   
willingly even        after large stones
 when ,i threw them1 but obstinately    
refused        to run after the ball4   
,so that it evidently conceived that    
the ball alone possessed the attribute  
of power to injure it2        the kitten
 looked upon the ball1 no doubt1 with an
 evil eye1        regarded it perhaps as
 an evil being who was unwilling to     
play2        by a fault of              
generalization the kitten created for   
itself a        sort of fetich which it 
did not adore indeed1 but which it      

feared1 and fear is a step toward       
adoration4          ,mr4 ,spencer       
himself admits in savages a certain     
inaptitude        for generalization4   
,this opinion1 paradoxical as it may    
seem1        is perhaps an important    
truth4 ,if primitive intelligences1     
as ,m4 ,taine among others remarked1 are
 especially prompt at        noticing   
the superficial resemblances of things1 
that fact is        not always a mark of
 genuine perspicacity1 for the          
resemblance        perceived between two
 sensations may be explicable less as   
an intelligent generalization than as a 
sort of confusion of        the         
sensations themselves2 if sensations are
 analogous or        indistinct1 they   
may naturally be mistaken for each other
        without any exercise whatsoever 
of intelligence4 ,thence the            
comparative insignificance of many      
examples taken from the case        of  
language4 ,true generalization seems to 
consist1 more than        anything else1

 in the reduction of facts to law2 that 
is to        say1 in a conscious        
abstraction of differences1 in a        
conscious        recognition of the     
fundamental determinism which binds     
things        up together and which     
precisely eludes both savages and       
animals4          ,note finally that the
 majority of animals and of savages1    
when        they have once been         
deceived1 are slow to recover from their
        error1 are for a long time      
distrustful toward the object which     
has deceived them4 ,a dog1 coming home  
one evening1 perceived        an empty  
cask in an unusual place4 ,he was       
extremely frightened        and barked  
for a long time2 it was only by day that
 he dared        approach near the      
object of his alarm1 and he examined and
        moved about it1 and finally1    
like the frog in ,la ,fontaine's        
fable1 recognized that the thing was    
inoffensive4 ,if the cask        in     
question had disappeared during the     

night1 the dog would        evidently   
have remembered it as a redoubtable     
being seen the        evening before in 
the yard4 ,a monkey1 which ,i left in   
the room        with a cardboard sheep  
one entire day1 proved unable to the    
end entirely to satisfy itself that the 
sheep was inanimate4 ,i        believe1 
however1 that this persuasion was       
ultimately achieved1        for the     
monkey began finally to pluck the       
sheep's wool and to        treat it     
something too familiarly4 ,but nature   
seldom permits us        equally        
extended tte--tte with objects that     
alarm us4          ,messrs4 ,spencer and
 ,mller will call our attention to the  
fact1        it is true1 that cardboard 
sheep1 no more than hand-organs         
or watches1 exist in rerum natura4 ,we  
reply that nature        supplies       
primitive man with things much more     
astonishing3 with        rocks1 and     
forests which can talk 7the echo71 with 
springs of        hot water1 with       

intermittent fountains4 ,mr4 ,fergusson 
7,tree        and ,serpent ,worship7    
relates that in ,india he saw with his  
own eyes a tree which saluted the rising
 and setting sun1 by        lifting or  
lowering its boughs4 ,temples had       
formerly been        reared in its      
neighbourhood4 ,people came from all    
sides to        see the marvellous tree4
 ,this tree was an old date-palm1 half  
decayed1 which hung above the road2 in  
order to pass below it1        it had   
been held back by a rope2 but during    
this operation the        fibres which  
composed the trunk were twisted like the
 threads        in a rope4 ,these fibres
 contracted toward midday in the heat of
        the sun2 the tree untwisted and 
rose4 ,it relaxed under the dew         
at evening and once more bowed down4    
7,see ,m4 ,girard de ,rialle1           
,mythologie compare1 t4 i47             
,sidenote3 ,conduct generates beliefs   
that justify it4    ,mr4 ,spencer1 who  
denies that the child spontaneously     

strikes the table  which has wounded    
him1 is not1 however1 unaware that a    
savage--the  ,indian ,tupis1 for        
example--if he has bruised his foot     
against a stone1  leaps against it in   
fury and bites it like a dog4 ,mr4      
,spencer sees in  such facts a          
phenomenon wholly physical1 the need for
 spending one's  rage in violent        
muscular action2 but this very need can 
but favour  the birth of a psychological
 illusion1 of which the tenacity will be
  proportionate to the intensity of the 
sentiment4 ,the physical and the  moral 
are too closely bound up together for a 
physical expression of  anger not to be 
accompanied by a moral belief           
corresponding to the  action2 if a      
powerful instinct induces us to treat a 
stone as an enemy1  we shall very really
 see an enemy in this stone4            
,sidenote3 ,romanes' experiments4       
,mr4 ,romanes made some observations1 of
 the same kind as those of ,mr4         
,spencer1 upon a very intelligent ,skye 

terrier4 ,this terrier1 like many  other
 dogs1 was accustomed to play with dried
 bones1 throwing them  into the air and 
endowing them with an appearance of     
life1 for the  pleasure of chasing them 
afterward4 ,mr4 ,romanes attached a long
 slender  thread to a dried bone which  
he gave the dog to play with4 ,after he 
had  played for some time ,mr4 ,romanes 
chose an opportune moment1 when the     
bone had fallen to the ground some      
distance away1 and the terrier was      
approaching it2 he drew the bone gently 
away1 by means of the thread  attached  
to it4 ,the attitude of the terrier     
changed entirely4 ,the  bone1 which he  
had been pretending to regard as living1
 appeared to  him to be really so1 and  
his surprise knew no bounds4 ,he        
approached it  nervously and cautiously1
 as ,mr4 ,spencer describes in the      
observation  which he made2 but the slow
 motion of the bone continued1 and the  
dog  became more and more certain that  
the movement could not be explained  as 

resulting from the impulsion which he   
had communicated2 his surprise  became  
terror1 and he ran away and hid himself 
under the table1 to  study from a       
distance the disconcerting spectacle of 
dried bones coming  to life again6      
,sidenote3 ,soap-bubble experiment4     
,another of ,mr4 ,romanes' experiments  
on the same dog shows that the          
sentiment of the mysterious was1 in this
 animal1 quite powerful  enough to serve
 as an explanation of his conduct4      
,having taken the  terrier into a       
carpeted room1 ,mr4 ,romanes rolled some
 soap-bubbles  which an unsteady draft  
of air blew about the carpet4 ,the dog  
took a  great interest in the matter1   
and seemed unable to decide whether the 
bubbles were alive or not4 ,at first he 
was very prudent1 and followed  the     
bubbles at a distance1 but as he was    
encouraged to examine them  more        
closely1 he approached them with his    
ears up and his tail down1  in evident  
apprehension2 the instant the bubble    

moved he drew back4  ,after a time1     
however1 during which there was at least
 one bubble on  the floor1 he took      
courage1 and1 the scientific spirit     
gaining the  upper hand over the        
sentiment of mystery1 he became brave   
enough to  draw slowly near one of them 
and to put his paw upon it1 not without 
anxiety4 ,naturally the bubble burst1   
and his astonishment was vivid in  the  
extreme4 ,mr4 ,romanes made other       
bubbles1 but could not persuade  the dog
 to approach them for a long time4      
,after a while1 however1 he  started    
again in pursuit of one1 and endeavoured
 with much caution  to put his paw upon 
it4 ,the result was the same as before4 
,after the  second attempt it was       
impossible to induce him to make a      
third1 and  he ultimately ran out of the
 room and could not be coaxed back4 ,the
  same experiment1 tried by ,professor  
,delbuf on his dog ,mouston1 gave  a    
still more striking result4 ,at the     
blowing of the fourth bubble1  his wrath

 knew no bounds1 but he no longer sought
 to seize it1 he  contented himself with
 barking at it1 in all the accents of   
rage1 until  it burst4 ,professor       
,delbuf wished to continue the          
experiment1 and  attempted to do so1    
but1 to his great regret1 was obliged to
 break off  because of the frenzy into  
which the dog had worked himself4 ,the  
moment  that ,professor ,delbuf laid his
 hand upon the vessel containing the    
soap-suds1 the dog was no longer under  
his control4 ,his condition was         
evidently due1 ,professor ,delbuf says1 
to a contradiction between the  fact and
 his experience1 that everything which  
is coloured is tangible4  ,he was in the
 presence of the unknown1 with all its  
mysteries and  menaces2 the unknown1    
which is the source of fear and of      
superstition4    ,sidenote3 ,fear of    
thunder in animals due to sense of      
mystery4    ,according to ,mr4 ,romanes 
the fear that many animals have of      
thunder  is due1 in some sort1 to a     

sentiment of mystery4 ,he once possessed
 a  setter1 which1 he says1 had not     
heard thunder until it had reached the  
age of eighteen months1 when it almost  
died of fear4 ,he has observed  the same
 phenomenon in other animals1 in diverse
 circumstances4 ,the  fright of the     
setter in question was so strong that1  
subsequently1  when he heard some       
artillery practice and mistook it for   
thunder1 his  aspect was positively     
pitiable1 and in the midst of the chase 
he  endeavoured to hide himself1 or to  
gain the house4 ,after two or three     
experiences of thunder his horror of    
cannon became greater than ever1  so    
much so that1 in spite of his love for  
the chase1 it was impossible  to coax   
him out of his kennel1 so great was his 
fear that the artillery  practice might 
recommence and he be distant from the   
house4 ,but the  keeper1 who had had a  
wide experience of dogs1 assured ,mr4   
,romanes  that1 if the dog were once    
taken to the battery and shown the      

veritable  cause for a noise analogous  
to that of thunder1 he would become once
  more fit for the hunt4 ,mr4 ,romanes  
does not doubt that such would have     
been the case1 for once1 when sacks of  
apples were being emptied1 it  made a   
noise in the house like distant thunder2
 the setter was very  restless1 but when
 ,mr4 ,romanes took him where the sacks 
were being  opened and showed him the   
real cause of the noise1 his terror left
  him1 and on his return to the house he
 listened to the low rumbling in        
perfect quietude4    ,sidenote3 ,all    
natural phenomena tend to seem          
artificial to primitive  man4    ,when  
one looks close one is surprised to see 
how many causes would  naturally lead   
one to attribute life1 and life of an   
extraordinary and  mysterious character1
 to such and such really passive        
objects4 ,such  causes act evidently    
with greatly additional power upon the  
savage1 the  primitive man1 the man of  
the quaternary epoch1 or upon the       

anthropoid1  as yet undiscovered1 whose 
instruments have been found in the      
tertiary  period4 ,common animals1 in   
effect1 are almost lacking in attention2
  from which it results that to produce 
any durable mental effect on  them1 a   
prolonged repetition of the same        
sensation is necessary2 they  must be   
accustomed to it4 ,moreover their crude 
intelligence takes  no impression from  
evanescent facts1 they are unacquainted 
with the  external world except by      
averages4 ,exceptional facts strike them
 for  an instant1 but presently glance  
off into oblivion4 ,in this imperfect   
machine1 wear and tear is very rapid and
 the traces of phenomena  inevitably    
blur and become confounded4 ,if animals 
possess a memory  for sensations1 they  
lack an intellectual memory altogether2 
they are  capable of surprise1 but not  
of remembering a surprise4 ,to produce  
in them a tenacious memory demands a    
setting of pain or pleasure1 and  even  
then1 if they recollect the sensation   

they experienced1 they  readily forget  
the grounds of it4 ,they feel passively1
 instead of  observing4 ,from the moment
 where1 with man1 the spirit of         
observation  enters upon the scene      
everything is different2 an exceptional 
fact1  for the same reason that it      
becomes rapidly effaced in an animal    
intelligence1 penetrates the more deeply
 into the memory of a man4  ,moreover1  
man's sphere of action is much wider    
than that of any animal1  and           
consequently the field of his experience
 is much more vast2 the  more he        
modifies1 voluntarily1 the face of      
nature1 the more capable he  becomes of 
recognizing and observing the variations
 which it presents1  independently of   
his interventions4 ,man possesses a     
notion unknown to  animals1 the notion  
of artificial things1 of results        
deliberately  attained by self-conscious
 volition4 ,one remembers that fetich   
comes  from factitius1 artificial4 ,man1
 being acquainted with the use of  fire1

 will regard1 for example1 a forest set 
ablaze by lightning from  entirely a    
different point of view from what any   
animal could3 the  animal will flee     
without any other sentiment than that of
 alarm2 the  man will naturally suppose 
the existence of some person who set it 
on  fire--who was acting1 who was doing 
on a grand scale what he himself        
sometimes does4 ,similarly with a       
boiling spring2 this phenomenon lies    
too far beyond the limits of animal     
intelligence to be especially  striking2
 but a man1 on the other hand1 who      
habitually goes to some  trouble to     
provide himself with boiling water1     
infers the existence of  some           
subterranean person who is heating water
 for purposes of his own4  ,all natural 
phenomena tend thus to appear artificial
 to the eyes of a  being who has once   
familiarized himself with the notion of 
artifice4  ,i was present recently among
 some members of the lower classes at   
the  flowing of an intermittent spring2 

not one of them was inclined to  believe
 the phenomenon a natural one1 they     
regarded it as an effect  of some       
mechanism1 of some artifice4 ,the same  
belief is evidently  common among       
primitive people1 with this difference1 
that artificial1  instead of suggesting 
mechanics1 implies the notion of a      
superhuman and  marvelous power4        
,sidenote3 ,fetichism a logical theory  
to primitive man4    ,just as the animal
 finds the rationale of all things in a 
notion of  life and of activity1 man    
tends to find a rationale of all things 
in a  conception of art and of scheming 
intelligence4 ,for the one1 surprising  
phenomena are simply inexplicable       
conduct2 for the other1 they are the    
complex effects of deliberative         
intelligence1 they are master-pieces4   
,but the notion of activity1 far from   
becoming effaced in the progress  of    
evolution1 becomes simply more definite 
and more precise4 ,given  his incomplete
 experience1 primitive man is perfectly 

logical in  attributing intelligence and
 consciousness to nature1 he could not  
rationally do otherwise2 his mind is    
imprisoned in a blind alley1 and        
superstition is the sole outlet4 ,at a  
given moment in human evolution1        
superstition was perfectly rational4    
,sidenote3 ,seeming immanence of        
conscious life in nature4    ,even in   
our days1 men of science are greatly    
embarrassed by their  inability to point
 out the precise line of demarcation    
between the  animate and the inanimate2 
and how should primitive man have       
grappled  with this problem8 ,how       
distinguish1 for example1 between sleep 
and  death during one entire portion of 
life2 during sleep1 living bodies  lie  
inert1 and why should not inert bodies  
sometimes prove to be alive8  ,at night 
especially1 the whole becomes           
transformed1 everything becomes         
animate1 a breath of wind suffices to   
make everything palpitate2 it  seems as 
if all nature awakened after its day's  

sleep2 it is the hour  when wild beasts 
go in search of prey1 and mysterious    
noises fill the  forest4 ,the calmest   
imagination1 under such circumstances1  
yields to  a temptation to see fantastic
 objects that are not4 ,one night ,i was
  walking on the sea-shore1 and saw     
distinctly a gigantic beast moving  some
 distance away2 it proved to be a       
perfectly motionless rock1 in  the midst
 of others like it1 but the waves1 which
 alternately covered  and discovered it 
in part1 lent it1 to my eyes1 some      
portion of  their own mobility4 ,how    
many things in nature borrow thus from  
some  circumstance--from the wind1 from 
a more or less uncertain light--an      
appearance of life6#bh ,even when the   
eyes themselves would be  incapable of  
self-deception1 the influence of the    
foolish terrors so  frequent among      
children and beings habituated to savage
 life would  count enormously4          
,emotional susceptibility is the more   
highly developed  among savages1 in that

 it forms for them frequently a means of
 safety4  ,and primitive man is much    
more subject than we are to             
hallucinations  of the sort that are due
 to terror1 and are not wholly          
fantastic1 but  result from a fantastic 
interpretation of some genuine sense    
stimulus4  ,the traveller ,park met two 
negroes on horseback2 they fled from him
 at  a gallop in extreme terror1 and    
meeting his followers in the course of  
their flight reported that they had seen
 him dressed in the floating  robes of  
some redoubtable spirit4 ,one of them   
affirmed that at sight  of ,park he had 
felt himself enveloped in a breath of   
cold air from  heaven1 which was like a 
jet of cold water4 ,suppress the word   
spirit in  this passage1 which implies a
 pre-existing belief in the soul1 and   
you  will perceive how hallucinations   
due to terror may well give birth to    
beliefs all the more tenacious for the  
element of truth they contain4          
#bh ,mr4 ,h4 ,russell1 the explorer of  

the ,pyrenees1 remarks the              
fantastic effects produced by the       
moonlight in the mountains4        ,as  
the moonlight replaced the previous     
shadow on the faces        and the      
angles of the rocks1 he says1 in an     
account of the        ascension of the  
peak of ,eriste1 they seemed so plainly 
to        move that once he mistook one 
of them for a bear and cocked        the
 revolver at his side4 ,the same        
explorer remarks also the               
surprising transformations which natural
 objects undergo at        nightfall and
 at daybreak4 ,at dawn1 he says1 there  
is a sort of        universal shiver    
which seems to animate everything2 the  
sound        of the neighbouring cascade
 changed frequently2 at break of        
day1 after having groaned and thundered 
alternately1 it begins        to scold4 
,for in the morning in the mountains1 he
 says1 sounds        gain magnitude1    
they swell1 and torrents in especial    
lift their        voices as if angry2   

with the arrival of the day the air     
becomes        sonorous and sound       
carries farther4 ,he has experienced    
this1 he        says1 frequently1 but   
does not understand the cause4--,alpine 
,club1 #ahhg4    ,sidenote3 ,dreams4    
,dreams also have played a considerable 
rle in the genesis of  superstitions1 as
 ,epicurus and ,lucretius remarked1 and 
the labours of  ,messrs4 ,tylor and     
,spencer have proved4 ,primitive        
language supplies  no means of saying1  
8,i dreamt that ,i saw02 one must say   
simply1 8,i  saw40 ,well1 in the dreams 
which the savage himself can scarcely   
distinguish from reality1 he sees       
nothing but a perpetual series of       
metamorphoses1 of the transformation of 
men into ferocious beasts1  and of      
ferocious beasts into men2 he dreams    
that he picks up a stone1  and that it  
comes to life in his hand2 he looks out 
upon a motionless  lake1 and it becomes 
suddenly a crawling mass of crocodiles  
and of  serpents4#bi ,how can ,mr4      

,spencer maintain1 after that1 that     
primitive  man can distinguish with some
 degree of certainty the animate from   
the  inanimate8 ,not only during dreams1
 but during wakefulness1 everything     
suggests to primitive man the notion of 
changes of substance and magic          
metamorphoses4 ,eggs1 which are         
inanimate1 change into birds or insects2
  dead flesh becomes living worms2 an   
effigy1 under the influence of  memory1 
seems to live again and to respire4#cj  
#bi ,spencer's ,sociology4          #cj 
,savages imagine that they see the eyes 
of portraits move4        ,i myself saw 
a child of two years old1 accustomed to 
play        with engravings1 one day in 
a great fright snatch away its          
grandmother's finger1 which was resting 
on the picture of a        ferocious    
beast4 8,big beast bite grandmamma60    
,these ideas1        which totally      
ignore the profound and definitive      
difference        between animate and   
inanimate1 are fixed in the human mind4 

,a man of distinguished education once  
maintained to me quite        seriously 
that certain petrifactive springs in the
 ,pyrenees        possessed the power of
 changing sticks into serpents4 ,for one
        capable of imagining that a bit 
of wood might thus become a             
serpent1 what difficulty would there be 
in believing that        the bit of wood
 is alive 7even a bit of dead wood71    
that the        spring is alive 7in     
especial a spring with such marvellous  
properties71 and finally that the       
mountain itself is alive2               
everything is animate to eyes like that1
 and possessed of magic        power4   
,sidenote3 ,primitive man humanizes     
nature4    ,an animal is not            
sufficiently master of its sensations to
 follow their  course throughout their  
successive modifications2 it is not in  
any  proper sense a witness1 as man is1 
of the progress1 of the perpetual       
movement and transformation of all      
things2 nature is1 for it1 a  series of 

detached pictures of which it does not  
seize the contrasts4  ,when man1 on the 
contrary1 follows attentively the more  
or less slow  evolution of things1 he   
perceives the effacement of every       
fundamental  difference between the     
animate and the inanimate1 he observes a
  process of blind mechanical labour1   
which produces life in objects in       
appearance quite inert4 ,is there not   
something rationally profound  and      
justifiable in the very navet with which
 he interprets nature8  ,poetry is often
 philosophy in its most penetrating     
form4 ,who has not  asked himself       
sometimes if a puissant and hidden      
spring of life does  not circulate      
unknown to us in the high mountains1 in 
the still trees1  and in the restless   
ocean1 and if mute nature does not live 
in one long  course of meditation upon  
themes unknown to us8 ,and since even   
nowadays  we ourselves are full of such 
vague doubts as that1 do we imagine that
  it would be easy to convince one of   

these primitive men of his error1  when 
he fancies that he feels the beating of 
what the ,germans call the  8heart of   
nature08 ,after all is the primitive man
 wrong8 ,everything  about us does live1
 nothing is inanimate except in         
appearance1 inertia  is a word simply2  
all nature is one universal aspiration1 
modern  science alone can measure with  
some approach to accuracy the activity  
with which all things are saturated1 and
 show it to us1 here existent  in a     
state of diffusion1 there in a state of 
concentration1 and  self-conscious1 and 
make us acquainted with the difference  
between  the higher organisms and the   
lower organisms1 and between the latter 
and mechanisms and rudimentary groupings
 of bits of matter4 ,for  primitive man1
 to whom all these distinctions1 all the
 gradations are  impossible1 there is   
but one thing evident1 and that is that 
the whole  of nature lives2 and he      
naturally conceives this life on the    
model of  his own1 as accompanied by    

self-consciousness1 by an intelligence  
the  more astonishing in that it is     
mysterious4 ,moreover he is a man1 and  
humanizes nature2 he lives in society   
with other men1 and conceives  all      
things in terms of social relations of  
friendship or of enmity4    ,sidenote3  
,and divinizes it4    ,from the         
humanization to the divinization there  
is but one step2 let us  endeavour to   
make it4 ,whoever says god1 means a     
living and powerful  being worthy1 in   
some especial degree1 of fear1 of       
respect1 or of  gratitude4 ,primitive   
man possesses already1 let us suppose1  
some notion  of life2 he needs now to be
 supplied with some notion of power1    
which  alone is capable of inspiring him
 with reverence1 and this notion it     
does not seem difficult for a being to  
obtain1 who sees in all nature  an      
expression of a manifold conscious life1
 and who must recognize in  certain     
great phenomena the manifestation of a  
will much more powerful  than that of   

any man1 and consequently more          
redoubtable and worthy of  respect4     
,here also1 however1 we encounter       
serious objections from ,mr4  ,spencer  
and from anthropologists like ,m4 ,le   
,bon2 the question becomes  more        
complex4    ,sidenote3 ,natural         
phenomena quite striking enough to be   
adored on  their own account4           
,according to ,mr4 ,spencer1 as we have 
seen1 the most important phenomena  of  
nature1 and among others the rising and 
the setting of the sun1  are precisely  
those which must be least striking to   
primitive man2  they cannot appear to   
him to be extraordinary because they    
happen  every day2 so that he           
experiences before them neither surprise
 nor  admiration4 ,this argument is very
 ingenious1 but is it not also a  little
 sophistical8 ,if it were pushed to the 
end it would amount simply  to the fact 
that there is nothing surprising or     
unusual in nature1  nothing which breaks
 with the preconceived association of   

ideas1  nothing which seems to manifest 
the sudden intervention of strong  or   
violent powers4 ,the fact1 however1 is  
quite the contrary2 nature  is full of  
surprises and of terrors4 ,the day may  
be fine2 suddenly  the clouds gather and
 the thunder rolls--the fear of thunder 
felt by  animals has already been spoken
 of2 in the mountains especially the    
rumbling1 re-echoing1 fills them with   
unspeakable terror4 ,droves of  cattle  
lose all control of themselves and throw
 themselves headlong  down precipices4  
,it is with great difficulty that the   
herdsman by  his presence and           
exhortations keeps his herd in order2   
probably the  beasts see in the herdsman
 a powerful friend1 capable of          
protecting  them against this terrible  
being whom the ,hindus call the         
8howler40 ,if  animals tremble thus     
before the thunder1 it is unlikely that 
primitive  man should see nothing in it 
abnormal and extraordinary4 ,similarly  
with the hurricane1 which seems like an 

enormous respiration1 as of  a universe 
out of breath4 ,similarly with the      
tempest3 one knows the  ,basque proverb3
 8,if you want to learn to pray1 go to  
sea40 ,everyone  who finds himself in   
the hands of a victorious enemy is      
naturally  inclined to beg for mercy4   
,let there supervene a sudden calm2 at  
the  moment when the tempest was about  
to break1 let the sun reappear like  a  
great smiling face1 chasing away the    
cloud with his arrow of gold1  and will 
it not seem a benevolent auxiliary2 will
 it not be received  with cries of joy  
and enthusiasm8 ,nature is incessantly  
showing us thus  some unexpected change 
of scene1 producing some theatrical     
effect which  inevitably suggests some  
anthropomorphic drama1 in which the     
elements  and the stars are the actors4 
,how many strange things happen in the  
sky  when once the attention is directed
 thither6 ,eclipses of the moon and  of 
the sun1 and the very phases of the     
moon1 are abundantly calculated  to     

astonish the very savages whom ,messrs4 
,spencer and ,mller declare to  be      
incapable of astonishment4 ,note1 too1  
that the simple view of the  stars at   
night provokes a lively admiration in   
anyone who is accustomed  to sleep under
 a roof4 ,i remember still my surprise1 
when1 as a child1  ,i was awake for the 
first time in the night and lifted my   
eyes by  chance on high and perceived   
the heaven glittering with stars2 it was
  one of the most striking impressions  
of my life4#ca          #ca ,let us     
remember in this connection that1       
according to        ,wuttke1 ,j4 ,g4    
,mller1 and ,schultze1 a cult for the   
moon and        nocturnal stars must    
have preceded that of the sun1 contrary 
to the weight of opinion heretofore4    
,the moon's phases were                 
calculated to take the attention of     
primitive people1 and must        early 
have done so4 ,one must1 however1 in    
this connection be on        one's guard
 against generalizing too quickly and   

believing that        the evolution of  
human thought has in all places followed
 the        same route4 ,habitats differ
 too widely for there not to have       
been in the beginning an infinite       
diversity in the religious              
conceptions entertained by different    
peoples4 ,in ,africa1 for               
example1 it is evident a priori that the
 sun does not possess        all the    
characteristics of a divinity4 ,it is   
never desired or        regretted1 as in
 a northern country2 it is1 to all      
appearance        at least1 rather      
maleficent than beneficent2 and the     
,africans        adore by preference the
 moon and stars1 the gentle radiance of 
which affords them light without        
oppressive heat1 refreshes        and   
reposes them from the fatigues of the   
day4 ,the moon is        considered by  
them as a male and all-powerful being1  
of which        the sun is the female4  
,it is when the new moon arises1 after  
its period of absence from the heavens1 

and begins once more        the round of
 its visible phases1 that it is received
 and        saluted with an especial    
demonstration of cries and dances4      
,the ,congo blacks go the length of     
seeing in the moon a symbol        of   
immortality 7,m4 ,girard de ,rialle1    
,mythologie compare1        p4 #adh74   
,america1 on the contrary1 has been the 
centre of the        worship of the sun4
 ,in general it seems that agriculture  
must        of necessity result in the  
triumph of sun worship over moon        
worship1 for the labourer is more       
dependent upon the sun than        the  
hunter or the warrior4 ,according to ,j4
 ,g4 ,mller1 savage        and warlike  
races have displayed a preference for   
the moon4    ,in effect1 earth and sky  
incessantly furnish mankind with new    
impressions capable of stimulating the  
most torpid imagination1 and  of        
appealing to the whole round of human   
and social sensibilities3  fear1        
respect1 gratitude4 ,with these three   

elements it is easy to  account for the 
genesis of the religious sentiment4#cb  
,if1 then1 our  ancestors adored the    
dawn1 we do not believe1 with ,max      
,mller1 that it  was because it seemed  
to open the gates of heaven and reveal  
to them a  vision of the infinite2 we do
 not admit1 with ,mr4 ,spencer1 that a  
cult  for the stars is reducible in the 
last resort to a simple confusion of    
names1 and was originally but an        
off-shoot from ancestor worship due     
originally to the soul of some ancestor1
 who was metaphorically called  in his  
lifetime by the name of the sun or of   
some star4 ,it seems to us  that one    
might quite well worship the sun and the
 stars on their own  account1 or rather 
on account of the relation they bear to 
us4          #cb ,as has been remarked1 
the adoration of natural forces has     
been observed under two forms4 ,it has  
been addressed sometimes        to      
regular and calm phenomena 7,chaldeans1 
,egyptians71 sometimes        to        

changing and portentous phenomena       
7,jews1 ,indo-,europeans74 ,it          
almost always results in the            
personification of these forces4        
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,summary4    ,to sum up1 the 
simplest1 the most primitive conception 
that man can  form of nature is to      
regard it1 not as a manifold of         
interdependent  phenomena1 but as a     
multitude of conscious and voluntary    
beings1 more  or less independent and   
endowed with extreme power1 capable of  
acting  upon each other and upon        
mankind4 ,scientific determinism cannot 
but be  a much later conception1        
incapable of suggesting itself in the   
early  stages of human thought4 ,the    
world once conceived thus as a          
collection  of physically powerful1     
voluntary beings1 man comes1 in the     
course  of time1 to endow these beings1 
morally and socially1 with qualities    
according to the manner in which they   
conduct themselves toward him4  8,the   

moon is naughty this evening10 a child  
said to me2 8it will not  show itself40 
,primitive man said also that the       
hurricane was naughty1  the thunder was 
naughty1 and so forth1 whereas the sun1 
the moon1 the  fire1 when they gave him 
pleasure1 were good and beneficent4     
,well1  given a world of voluntary      
beings sometimes good1 sometimes evil1  
armed  with irresistible power1 easy to 
irritate1 prompt to take vengeance as   
man is himself1 are they not gods8 ,and 
if primitive man thus possesses  gods1  
does he not also possess a religion as  
the ceremonial which  regulates his     
social relations with the gods8 ,to     
create a religion we  need1 in effect1  
to add but one idea to those already    
dealt with--the  idea that it is        
possible by such and such conduct1 by   
offerings1 by  supplications1 to        
influence the superior beings with which
 nature  is peopled2 but this idea1     
which seems to us quite simple1 did not1
  however1 appear before a relatively   

advanced stage of intellectual          
evolution4 ,a savage animal is scarcely 
acquainted with any other means  of     
influencing other beings than biting1   
growling1 and menacing2  if these means 
fail1 he counts on flight4 ,a mouse has 
no hope of  influencing a cat in any    
manner whatsoever2 once between the     
cat's  paws1 it knows there is but one  
resource1 to run away2 still the animal 
ultimately1 and in especial at the      
period of courtship1 learns to          
recognize the power of caresses and     
attentions2 it does not1 however1  occur
 to him to employ these means toward any
 but individuals of the  same species4  
,moreover1 the animals must be social   
before the language  of manners can     
attain even a very humble degree of     
development2 the  animal confines itself
 generally to caresses with the tongue1 
with the  head1 with the tail4          
,evidently1 also1 such means would be   
inappropriate  in regard to beings which
 did not possess a hide and coat of     

hair2 an  animal would not lick a tree  
or a stone1 even if it attributed to    
them  an unwonted degree of power4 ,so  
that even if the brute1 as ,auguste     
,comte supposed1 really possessed       
fetichistic conceptions more or  less   
vague1 it would experience a complete   
inability to manifest its  goodwill in  
any manner whatsoever toward its        
rudimentary fetiches4    ,superstitious 
fear is one of the elements of religion 
which1 after  all1 is well within the   
capacity of an animal1 but this fear    
cannot  in an animal produce even the   
first steps of an embryo cult4 ,an      
animal is ignorant of the means of      
touching1 of captivating1 of the        
infinitely complex language of affection
 and reverence4 ,comparatively          
inaccessible to pity himself1 he has no 
notion how to act to excite  pity in    
another2 the conception of a gift1 of an
 offering1 so essential  to the         
relations of men to each other and to   
their gods is1 save in  rare instances1 

to it unknown4 ,the most primitive cult 
is always  essentially a counterfeit of 
an advanced social state2 an imitation1 
in an imaginary commerce with the gods1 
of a commerce already existing  among   
men united by complex ties4 ,religion   
implies a nascent art of  sociability1  
an elementary acquaintance with the     
springs which regulate  the conduct of  
beings in society2 there is a certain   
rhetoric in  prayer1 in genuflections   
and prostrations4 ,everything of that   
kind  is far beyond the range of the    
lower animals4 ,one may discover among  
them1 however1 some traces of the       
process of evolution which man  must    
have followed4 ,it is1 in especial1     
under domestication that an  animal's   
manners reach their highest development4
 ,their association  with a superior    
being resembles1 more closely than      
anything else in  nature1 the state in  
which primitive man believed himself to 
live with  his gods4 ,the dog seems at  
times to put up a veritable prayer to   

the  master who is beating it1 when it  
crawls at his feet and whimpers4  ,this 
attitude1 however1 provoked by the fear 
of a blow1 is perhaps in  a large       
measure instinctive and not reflectively
 designed to excite  pity4 ,the true    
prayer of the dog consists in licking   
the hand which  wounds him2 the story is
 well known of the dog that licked the  
fingers  of his master while the latter 
was pitilessly practising upon him an   
experiment in vivisection4 ,i myself    
observed an analogous fact in an        
enormous dog from the ,pyrenees whose   
eye ,i had to cauterize2 he might  have 
crushed my hand1 and he simply licked it
 feverishly4 ,it is almost  an example  
of religious submission2 the sentiment  
which is observable  in embryo in the   
dog is the same as that which in its    
complete  development appears in the    
,psalms and the book of ,job4 ,the lower
  animals display such a sentiment      
toward no other being but man4 ,as to   
man himself1 he displays it only toward 

his gods1 toward an absolute  chief or a
 father4 ,profound1 however1 as this    
sentiment is in some  animals1 their    
expression of it is quite imperfect2    
though ,i remember a  case in which the 
action of licking1 so habitual with     
dogs1 was almost  like a human kiss4 ,i 
was embracing my mother1 at the door of 
the house1  before leaving for a        
journey1 when my ,pyrenees dog ran up to
 us1 and1  placing his paws upon our    
shoulders literally kissed both of us4  
,from  that time on 7we have tried the  
experiment7 he never sees us embrace    
each other without coming to demand his 
kiss4    ,sidenote3 ,notion of          
,compensation4    ,another well-known   
fact1 and worthy of remark1 is the      
following3 when a  dog or even a cat has
 committed some reprehensible act1 has  
eaten the  roast or done something      
clumsy1 it comes toward one with a      
thousand  little attentions2 in so much 
that ,i have found myself able to divine
  when my dog had committed a peccadillo

 simply by observing his unwonted       
demonstrations of friendship4 ,the      
animal hopes therefore1 by force of  his
 social graces and attentions1 to       
prevent his master from holding a       
grudge against him1 to deprecate the    
wrath that his culpable conduct  ought  
legitimately to arouse1 and to awaken in
 its stead some degree  of benevolence  
by his demonstrations of submission and 
affection4  ,this notion of compensation
 becomes later an important element in  
the  religious cult4 ,the ,neapolitan   
brigand who dedicates a wax candle to   
the altar of the ,virgin2 the medival   
lord1 who1 after having killed  his next
 of kin1 rears a chapel to some saint1  
the hermit who lacerates  his chest with
 his hair shirt in order to avoid the   
more redoubtable  pangs of hell1 reason 
precisely after the same fashion as my  
dog1 they  are endeavouring1 like him1  
to conciliate their judge1 and1 to be   
quite  frank1 to corrupt him2 for       
superstition rests in a great measure   

upon  the belief that it is possible to 
corrupt ,god4    ,sidenote3 ,notion of  
conscious gift4    ,the most difficult  
notion to discover among animals is that
 of the  voluntary and conscious gift2  
the solidarity observed among certain   
insects1 for example the ant1 which     
causes them to hold all their  goods in 
common1 is something too instinctive and
 irreflective2 a  veritable gift must   
address itself to some determinate      
person1 and not  to an entire society2  
it must possess a degree of spontaneity 
that  excludes any hypothesis of pure   
instinct2 and finally1 it must be as    
far as possible a sign of affection1 a  
symbol4 ,and the more symbolic  its     
character1 the more religious1 properly 
speaking1 it will be2  religious        
offerings are more than anything else a 
symbolic testimony of  respect2 piety   
scarcely plays a part in them1 one does 
not in general  believe that they answer
 to any real need on the part of the    
gods1  one believes that they will be   

rather accepted by them than seized     
upon with avidity4 ,the notion of a     
gift1 therefore1 presupposes a  certain 
delicacy and refinement4 ,some germ of  
this sentiment1 however1  we discover   
precisely in a dog observed by ,mr4     
,spencer4 ,this dog1 a  very intelligent
 and very valuable spaniel1 met one     
morning1 after an  absence of some      
hours1 a person of whom he was very     
fond4 ,he amplified  his ordinary       
greeting by an addition which was not   
habitual2 he drew  back his lips in a   
sort of smile1 and1 once out of doors1  
offered other  demonstrations of        
fidelity4 ,as a hunter he had been      
trained to bring  game to his master4   
,he no doubt regretted that there was no
 game at the  moment for him to bring as
 a means of expressing his affection2   
however  he rummaged about1 and seizing 
presently a dead leaf1 carried it to    
his master with a multitude of caressing
 gestures4#cc ,evidently the  leaf      
possessed for the dog no more than a    

symbolic value2 he knew that  it was his
 duty to retrieve game1 and that the    
action of retrieving  gave pleasure to  
his master1 and he wished to accomplish 
this action  under his eyes1 as to the  
object itself it made little difference2
 it  was his goodwill that he wished to 
show4 ,the dead leaf was a veritable    
offering1 it possessed a sort of moral  
value4          #cc ,h4 ,spencer1       
,appendix to the ,principles of         
,sociology4    ,sidenote3 ,elements of  
which religion is compounded within the 
reach of  the lower animals4    ,thus   
animals may acquire1 by contact with    
man1 a certain number of  sentiments    
which enter later into human religion4  
,the monkey in  this respect1 as in all 
others1 seems much in advance of the    
other  animals4 ,even in the savage     
state a number of simi display gestures 
of  supplication to deprecate the firing
 of a gun at them3#cd ,they possess  the
 sentiment of pity1 since they ascribe  
it to others4 ,who knows but  that there

 may be in this mute prayer more of real
 religious sentiment  than exists       
sometimes in the psittacism of certain  
believers8 ,animals  in general employ  
in their relations with man the maximum 
of the means  of expression at their    
disposal1 and it is not their fault if  
the means  are limited2 they seem to    
consider man as a really royal being1 a 
thing  apart in nature4#ce ,must one    
conclude1 as is sometimes done1 that man
  is a god in the eyes of the rest of   
the animal kingdom8 ,not altogether2    
the lower animals see man too close2    
even in an embryonic religion one  must 
not be able to touch ,god with one's    
finger2 in religion as in art1  there is
 an advantage in perspective4 ,my dog   
and ,i are companions2  sometimes he is 
jealous1 sometimes he pouts4 ,i am      
unhappily in no  respect1 in his eyes1  
on a pedestal4 ,there are1 however1     
evidently  exceptions1 cases in which   
the master seems to preserve his        
prestige4  ,i believe that under certain

 circumstances man has appeared to some 
members of the lower animals as endowed 
with a power so extraordinary  that he  
must have awakened some vague religious 
sentiments2 if man  is sometimes a god  
to his fellow-men1 he may well be so to 
the lower  animals4 ,i am aware that in 
the judgment of certain philosophers1   
and  even of certain men of science1    
religion is the exclusive appanage  of  
the human race1 but up to this point we 
have found in primitive  religion no    
more than a certain number of simple    
ideas1 not one of  which1 taken         
separately1 is above the reach of the   
lower animals4 ,just  as industry1 art1 
language1 and reason1 so religion also  
has its roots  in the nebulous and      
confused consciousness of the animal4   
,the animal1  however1 rises to such    
ideas only at moments4 ,he is unable to 
maintain  himself at their level1 to    
synthesize them1 to reduce them to a    
system4  ,his attention is too mobile   
for him to regulate his conduct by them4

  ,even if an animal were quite as      
capable of conceiving a god as is the   
lowest of savages1 he would remain      
forever incapable of a religious  cult4 
#cd ,brehm1 ,revue scientifique1 p4     
#igd1 #ahgd4          #ce ,espinas1     
,socitis animales1 p4 #aha4           99
       99       99       99       99    
,sidenote3 ,primitive religion a        
paraphysics4    ,we have seen that the  
birth of religion is not a species of   
theatrical  effect in nature1 that      
preparation is being made for it among  
the  higher animals1 and that man       
himself achieves it gradually1 and      
without shock4 ,in this rapid effort to 
trace the genesis of primitive          
religions1 we have found no need to rely
 upon the conceptions of  the soul1 of  
spirit1 of the infinite1 of a first     
cause1 nor upon  any metaphysical       
sentiment4 ,these ideas are of later    
date2 they are  the product of religion1
 rather than the roots of it4 ,the basis
 of  religion was in the beginning quite

 positive and natural2 religion is      
simply a mythical and sociomorphic      
theory of the physical universe1  and it
 is only at its summit1 at an advanced  
degree of evolution1  that it comes into
 contact with metaphysics4 ,religion    
lies beyond  and at the side of science4
 ,superstition1 in the strict sense of  
the word1 and primitive religion were   
one1 and it is not without  reason that 
,lucretius compares the two3 relligio1  
superstitio4  ,to be present at the     
birth of religion is to perceive an     
erroneous  scientific conception1       
gathering other errors or incomplete    
verities  to itself1 entering into one  
body of belief with them1 and           
ultimately1  little by little1          
subordinating them4 ,the earliest       
religions were  systematized and        
organized superstitions4 ,be it added   
that in our  judgment superstition      
consists simply in an ill-conducted     
scientific  induction1 in a mistaken    
effort of human reason2 and we do not   

wish to  be understood as intending by  
that the mere play of the imagination2  
we do not wish to be understood as      
holding that religion is founded  in the
 last resort on a species of recreation 
of the mind4 ,how often  the birth of   
religion has been attributed to an      
alleged appetite for  the marvellous1   
for the extraordinary1 which is supposed
 to seize upon  young peoples as upon   
infants6 ,a singularly artificial       
explanation for  a very natural and     
profound tendency4 ,to say the truth1   
what primitive  peoples were in search  
of when they built up their different   
religions  was an explanation1 and the  
least surprising explanation possible1  
the explanation most in harmony with    
their rude intelligence1 the  most      
rational explanation4 ,it was infinitely
 less marvellous for an  ancient to     
suppose that the thunder came from the  
hand of ,indra or  of ,jupiter1 than to 
believe it to be the product of a       
certain force  called electricity2 the  

myth was for him a much more satisfying 
explanation2 it was the most plausible  
one that he could hit upon1  given his  
intellectual habitat4 ,so that if       
science consists in relating  things1   
,jupiter and ,jehovah may be regarded as
 rudimentary scientific  conceptions4   
,if they are no longer such1 the reason 
is simply that we  have discovered the  
natural and regular laws which supersede
 them4  ,when a task1 so to speak1      
begins to perform itself1 one dismisses 
the  employee who had previously been   
charged with it2 but one should be      
careful not to say that he was          
previously good for nothing1 that he    
had been stationed there by caprice or  
by favour4 ,if our gods seem  nowadays  
to be purely honorary1 the fact was     
otherwise at a previous  period4        
,religions are not the work of caprice2 
they correspond to an  invincible       
tendency in man1 and sometimes in the   
lower animals1 to try  to understand    
what passes before his eyes4 ,religion  

is nascent science1  and it was with    
purely physical problems that it at     
first essayed to  grapple4 ,it was a    
physics  ct1 a paraphysics1 before      
becoming a  science au del1 a           
metaphysics4          ,,chapter ,,ii4   
,,religious ,,metaphysics4        ,i4   
,animism or polydemonism--,formation of 
the dualist        conception of        
spirit--,social relations with spirits4 
,,ii4 ,providence and miracles--,the    
evolution of the dualist                
conception of a special providence--,the
 conception of        miracles--,the    
supernatural and the                    
natural--,scientific        explanation 
and miracles--,social and moral         
modifications        in the character of
 man owing to supposed social relations 
with a special providence--,increasing  
sentiment of        irresponsibility and
 passivity and 8absolute dependence40   
,,iii4 ,the creation--,genesis of the   
notion of creation--,the                
dualistic elements in this              

idea--,monism--,classification        of
 systems of religious                   
metaphysics--,criticism of the          
classification proposed by ,von         
,hartmann--,criticism of the            
classification proposed by ,auguste     
,comte4      ,i4 ,animism4    ,sidenote3
 ,legitimate and illegitimate           
metaphysics4    ,the upshot of the      
preceding chapter is that every religion
 in its  beginning consisted of a       
mistaken system of physics2 and between 
a  mistaken system of physics and       
certain forms of metaphysics there  is  
often no difference but one of degree   
simply4 ,magnify some  scientific error1
 reduce it to a system1 explain heaven  
and earth  by it1 and it will be a      
metaphysics--in the bad sense4 ,whatever
 one  universalizes--error or           
truth--acquires metaphysical            
significance1 and  possibly it is more  
easy to universalize in this way the    
false than  the true2 truth possesses   
always a greater concreteness than      

error1  and therefore offers greater    
resistance to arbitrary fashioning4 ,let
 a  modern man of science develop his   
knowledge as he will1 and enlarge the   
circle of known phenomena2 so long as he
 holds vigorously by scientific  methods
 he will never be able to pass at a     
bound from the sphere of  phenomena to  
the sphere of things in themselves4 ,the
 conscientious  man of science is       
prisoned within the limits of knowledge1
 his  thought has no outlet4 ,but let   
him once break the chain of logic which 
confines him1 and behold him free4 ,his 
false hypothesis grows without  obstacle
 or check from reality2 he lands at a   
bound up to his neck in  metaphysics4   
,the fact is1 one may arrive at a system
 of metaphysics  in two                 
ways--incontinently1 by a logical       
solecism and an exaggeration  of some   
false premise ad infinitum1 or by       
following the chain of  known truth to  
the point at which it disappears in     
eternal night1 and  by endeavouring to  

peer into the darkness by the light of  
hypothesis3  in the first case          
metaphysics is simply a logically       
developed mistake  which gains in       
magnitude what it loses in reality1 an  
illegitimate  negation of science2 in   
the second case it is a hypothetical    
extension  of truth1 in some sort a     
legitimate supplement to science4    ,we
 are approaching the moment when        
religious physics became transformed    
into metaphysics2 the period when the   
gods retreated from phenomenon  to      
phenomenon1 and took refuge ultimately  
in the supersensible2 the  period when  
heaven and earth first became distinct  
and separate2  although1 to be quite    
accurate1 the distinguishing            
characteristic of  religion even at the 
present day is an incoherent mixture of 
physics  and metaphysics1 of            
anthropomorphic or sociomorphic theories
 in regard  to nature and to the        
supernatural4 ,the foundation of every  
primitive  religion is reasoning by     

analogy1 that is to say1 the vaguest and
 least  sound of logical methods4 ,at a 
later date the mass of nave analogies   
constituting any one religion is        
criticised and systematized and         
completed by tentative induction or     
regular deduction4           99       99
       99       99       99             
,sidenote3 ,primitive metaphysics a     
fetichistic monism4    ,man1 as we have 
seen1 begins by creating a natural      
society1 including  animals1 plants1 and
 even minerals1 which he endows with a  
life similar  to his own3 he believes   
himself to be in communication with them
 in  matters of volition and intention1 
just as he is in communication with     
other men and animals4 ,but in thus     
projecting something analogous to  his  
own life1 to his power of volition and  
of his social relations and             
responsibilities1 into the existence of 
external things1 he does not1  at first1
 dream of any distinction between the   
animating principle and  the body which 

it animates2 he conceives as yet no such
 distinction in  his own case4 ,the     
earliest stage of religious metaphysics1
 therefore1  is not a sort of vague     
monism relative to the divine principle1
 the  indwelling divinity of things1  1 
as ,messrs4 ,mller and ,von  ,hartmann  
affirm1 but a vague monism in regard to 
the soul and body1  which at first are  
conceived as one4 ,the whole world is a 
society of  living bodies4    ,sidenote3
 ,becomes a dualistic animism4 ,separate
 existence of the soul4    ,the         
conception which is most analogous to   
the preceding is that of  distinct and  
separate souls animating each its body1 
of spirits capable  of quitting each its
 dwelling-place4 ,it is this that       
historians of  religion mean by animism4
 ,what is remarkable in this conception 
is its  dualistic character4 ,it        
contains the germ of the opposition     
between  soul and body4 ,the dualistic  
conception arises slowly from a number  
of  nave analogies4 ,the first are      

borrowed from the fact of respiration4  
,does not one fairly hear the departure 
of the breath animating a living  body1 
in what one calls the last gasp8 ,other 
analogies are borrowed  from the        
physical fact of the shadow cast by the 
sun2 one seems to see  the spirit       
marching side by side with the body1 and
 even changing its  place when the body 
is motionless4 ,shadow has played a     
large rle in  the paraphysics of        
primitive peoples2 shadows people the   
other world4  ,in the third place1      
during sleep it is incontestable1 on the
 premises  that primitive man has at his
 disposal1 that the spirit sometimes    
makes  long journeys1 for the sleeper   
often recollects wandering1 hunting1  or
 making war in distant countries1 at a  
time when his companions are  perfectly 
aware that his body has lain motionless4
 ,fainting also seems  to be a case in  
which something dwelling in us suddenly 
leaves and  presently comes back again4 
,lethargy is a more striking example of 

the  same thing4 ,visions in delirium1  
hallucinations in madness1 or even  in  
dreams1 deal with beings who are        
invisible to others2 fantastic  beings  
who appear to savages as real as any    
others4 ,also it is well  known that    
fools and innocents were regarded1 until
 modern times1 as  inspired and sacred4 
,other nervous maladies--hysteria1      
8possession10  somnambulism--add their  
quota of precision to the conception of 
a  spirit animating the body1 dwelling  
in it1 quitting it more or less at      
will1 tormenting it1 etc4    ,thus1 by  
degrees1 there arises the conception of 
a subtle mode of being  eluding touch1  
and commonly vision even1 capable of a  
life independent  of the body it        
inhabits1 and more powerful than the    
body4 ,man comes to  believe himself to 
be living in a society with beings other
 than those  who appeal directly and    
grossly to his senses2 he believes      
himself to  be living in a society of   
spirits4    ,sidenote3 ,ghosts4    ,that

 is not all4 ,the problem of death early
 engaged the attention of  primitive    
people4 ,they considered it altogether  
as a physical affair2  they explained   
it1 as ,messrs4 ,tylor and ,spencer     
7following ,lucretius7  have shown1 by a
 number of inductions drawn from        
observations on sleep1  lethargy1 and   
dream4 ,a sleeping body awakes1 it seems
 to follow that a  dead body will awake2
 that is the line of reasoning4         
,moreover1 the dead  come back in       
dreams1 or in the demi-hallucinations of
 the night and of  fear4 ,the modern    
conception of pure spirit is an indirect
 and later  consequence of a belief in  
immortality1 it is not itself the       
principle  of it4 ,a cult for the dead1 
for the manes1 as the ,romans said1 is  
partly explicable on moral or           
psychological grounds1 as1 for example1 
by a prolongation of filial respect and 
fear1 and partly on grounds  altogether 
material and gross4 ,a cult for the dead
 rests on a nave  theory based on       

sentiment2 it is semi-physical and      
semi-psychological4  ,the nature of a   
departed soul has been conceived in very
 different  ways4 ,among the ,dakota    
,indians of ,north ,america1 one's      
double goes up  into the air1 one's     
third rejoins the spirits1 one's fourth 
and last  soul stays by the body2 an    
instance of a very complicated theory   
formed  out of elements altogether      
primitive4 ,in general1 the belief is   
that  the souls of the dead go to join  
ancestral souls in another world1  which
 is commonly a distant land from which  
the tribe has migrated  in former       
times--affording an example of a social 
tie which survives  death4 ,the ,greeks 
and ,romans believed that1 if the body  
was deprived  of sepulture1 its shadow  
could not penetrate into its proper     
place of  abode2 it remained on earth   
and haunted the living--a remnant of    
former  beliefs in the necessity of     
sepulture and the maintenance of        
friendly  relations with the society of 

the dead4#cf          #cf ,see the      
author's ,morale d'picure 7,des ides    
antiques        sur la mort7 #c;d       
edition1 p4 #aje4    ,sidenote3         
,analogies between ghosts and living    
people4    ,the dead were to be         
conciliated by the same means as the    
living1 by  supplications and gifts4    
,the gifts were the same as those which 
are  acceptable to the living--food1    
arms1 costumes1 horses1 servants4 ,in   
,dahomey1 when a king dies1 a hundred of
 his soldiers are immolated on  his tomb
 as a body guard4 ,much the same thing  
was done among the ,incas  of ,peru4 ,at
 ,bali all the women of the harem are   
immolated upon the  grave of the defunct
 sultan4 ,in ,homer1 ,achilles          
slaughtered his ,trojan  prisoners on   
the funeral pyre of ,patroclus1 together
 with the horses  and the dogs of his   
dead friend4 ,the ,fiji islanders used  
to immolate a  man at the foot of each  
pillar in the home of a chief1 as a     
guard for  the edifice4 ,in our days1   

spirits are still so numerous1 in the   
eyes  of certain people1 that an ,arab1 
for example1 when he throws a stone1    
breathes an apology to such spirits as  
he may strike4#cg ,the universe  is     
populated by anthropomorphic societies4 
#cg ,see ,le ,bon1 ,l',homme et les     
,socits1 t4 ii4    ,sidenote3 ,care of  
vengeance committed to ghosts4    ,it   
was to spirits that the care of one's   
vengeances was confided4  ,according to 
,tylor1 two ,brahmans1 believing that a 
man had robbed them  of fifty rupees1   
took their own mother and1 with her     
consent1 cut off  her head in order that
 her shadow might torment and pursue the
 robber  till death4 ,among the         
,alfourous of ,moluccas children are    
buried alive  up to the neck1 and left  
there under the scorching sun with their
  mouths full of pepper and salt1 so    
that1 dying in an agony of thirst1      
their souls may go in a state of fury in
 search of the enemy against  whom they 
have been sent4 ,it is always some      

social exigency1 some  hatred1 some     
vengeance1 some punishment1 that leads  
one to enter into  commerce with        
spirits4    ,sidenote3 ,summary4    ,in 
effect1 all historical treatises unite  
to show that animism or  polydemonism   
has at one time or other been universal4
 ,it immediately  succeeded fetichism or
 concrete naturism1 the primitive       
belief1 in  which animating soul and    
animated body were not distinguished4   
,a belief in separately existing        
spirits1 or spiritism1 as ,mr4 ,spencer 
calls it1 which contains the germ of the
 belief in revisitants from  the other  
world1 constitutes the primitive origin 
of the more refined  metaphysical system
 called spiritualism4 ,this last system1
 founded also  upon the notion of the   
fundamental duality of man1 and of every
 living  being1 leads to the notion of a
 society of spirits4    ,let us now     
consider the inherent necessity under   
which animism lies of  developing into  
theism4      ,,ii4 ,providence and      

,miracles4    ,sidenote3 ,from ghosts to
 divinity a single step4    ,from the   
notion of a spirit to that of a divinity
 is but one step4  ,it suffices to      
conceive the spirit as sufficiently     
powerful and  redoubtable to reduce us  
in some considerable measure to a state 
of  dependence4 ,spirits1 manes1 gods1  
subsist in the beginning on an          
indistinct sentiment of terror4 ,the    
instant that spirits can separate       
themselves from the body and perform    
mysterious actions of which we are      
incapable1 they begin to be divine2 it  
is for this reason that death  may      
change a man into a species of god4     
,sidenote3 ,development of notion of    
special providence4    ,spirits are not 
only powerful1 however2 they are also   
clairvoyant1  prevoyant--they are       
acquainted with things that lie beyond  
our  knowledge4 ,more than that1 they   
are benevolent or hostile2 they  are    
related to us in various social or      
antisocial ways4 ,here we  have the     

elements of the notion of divine        
providence4 ,the second                 
semi-metaphysical idea1 which lies in   
germ at the bottom of every  religion1  
is1 therefore1 this of perspicacious    
spirits1 of favouring  or unfavouring   
deities1 of providences4 8,this being is
 well or ill  disposed toward me2 he may
 work me good or harm40 ,such is the    
first  nave formulation of the theory of
 divine providence4 ,one must  not      
expect to find1 in the beginning1 the   
notion of a general1  directing         
intelligence1 but simply that of a      
social tie between  particular          
voluntary1 well-disposed or ill-disposed
 beings4 ,the notion  of providence1    
like all other religious notions1 was at
 first a  superstition4 ,a savage1 on   
his way to some undertaking1 meets a    
serpent  and succeeds in his enterprise2
 it was the serpent that brought him    
luck3 behold a providential accident6   
,gamblers at the present time  are quite
 as superstitious4 ,the fetich theory of

 providence still  subsists1 in the     
belief in medals1 scapularies1 and so   
forth4#ch  ,observation inevitably      
results in the perception of causal     
relations  among phenomena2 the trouble 
is1 simply1 that to the primitive mind  
every coincidence appears to be a cause2
 post hoc1 ergo propter hoc4  ,any      
object that is a party to any such      
coincidence is a lucky object1  good to 
have in one's power1 a portable         
providence1 so to speak4 ,thus  there   
arises the notion of a destiny1 a bias  
in phenomena toward good  or evil1 which
 imposes itself upon the previously     
existing conception  of nature as       
animated or peopled by spirits4 ,the    
post hoc1 ergo  propter hoc--that is to 
say1 the belief in the influence of     
phenomena  immediately preceding or     
concomitant to the main event1 and in   
the  influence of a present action upon 
some future event--is the germ of       
superstitions both in regard to         
providence and to destiny4 ,and out of  

the idea of destiny1 of fortune1 of     
necessity1 grows in process of time  the
 scientific notion of determinism and   
universal reciprocity4          #ch ,a  
belief in relics1 pushed so far by the  
earlier        ,christians and by so    
many ,catholics to-day1 is1 too1 a sort 
of faith in fetiches or amulets4 ,from  
the earliest period of                  
,christianity the faithful were         
accustomed to go to the ,holy           
,land to obtain water from the ,jordan1 
and gather dust from the        soil    
that the feet of ,christ had trod1 and  
to break pieces from        the true    
cross1 which ,st4 ,paulin of ,nole says1
 8possesses in        all its parts a   
vital force in so much that although its
 wood        be every day clipped off by
 innumerable pilgrims1 it remains       
intact40 ,relics are supposed not only  
to cure the body1 but        the soul of
 those who touch them3 ,gregory sent to 
a barbarous        king the chains that 
had served to manacle the apostle ,paul2

        assuring him that the same      
chains which had manacled the body      
of the saint could deliver the heart    
from sin4          ,this superstition   
for relics1 common in the ,middle ,ages1
 was        held in all its navet by    
,bishop ,gregory of ,tours4 ,he relates 
that one day when he was suffering from 
a pain in the temples1        a touch   
from the hangings about the tomb of ,st4
 ,martin cured        him4 ,he repeated 
the experiment three times with equal   
success4        ,once1 he tells1 he was 
attacked by a mortal dysentery2 he      
drank a glass of water in which he had  
dissolved a pinch of        dust scraped
 up on the tomb of the saint1 and his   
health was        restored4 ,one day a  
bone stuck in his throat1 he began      
praying        and groaning1 and kneeled
 before the tomb2 he stretched out      
his hand and touched the hangings and   
the bone disappeared4        8,i do not 
know10 he says1 8what became of it1 for 
,i neither        threw it up nor felt  

it pass downward into my stomach40 ,at  
another time his tongue became swollen  
and tumefied2 he licked        the      
railing of the tomb of ,st4 ,martin and 
his tongue became        of its natural 
size4 ,st4 ,martin's relics go the      
length even        of curing toothache4 
8,oh1 ineffable theriac60 cries ,gregory
        of ,tours1 8ineffable pigment6  
admirable antidote6 celestial           
purge6 superior to all the drugs of the 
faculty6 sweeter than        aromatics1 
stronger than all unguents together6    
,thou cleanest        the stomach like  
scammony1 the lungs like hyssop2 thou   
purgest        the head like pyrethrig40
    ,sidenote3 ,systematic subordination
 among the gods4    ,little by little1  
by the growth of experience1 man        
achieves the  conception of an orderly  
subordination among the different       
voluntary  beings with whom he peoples  
the earth1 a sort of unification of     
special providences1 a more or less     
regular organization of the world4      

,responsibility for current events      
retreats from cause to cause into the   
distance1 from powerful being to still  
more powerful being2 primitive  man     
still insists on believing that every   
event is still the sign1  the expression
 of a volition4 ,once more his faith is 
dualistic3 he  conceives the world as   
dependent upon the will of some one or  
more  superior beings who direct it1 or 
suspend at need the ordinary course  of 
things4    ,sidenote3 ,development of   
belief in miracle4    ,it is at this    
stage in the evolution of religion that 
the conception  of miracles appears4    
,the notion of miracles is at first very
 vague in  primitive religions2 the     
period at which this notion begins to   
become  definite marks the initiation of
 a further step in the development  of  
religion4 ,if1 in effect1 the marvellous
 has in all times formed  a necessary   
element in the constitution1 it did not 
possess in the  beginning the same      
character as nowadays2 it was not so    

definitely  distinguished from the      
natural order of things4 ,human         
intelligence  had not yet distinguished 
scientific determinism and              
supernaturalism4  ,a natural phenomenon6
 ,the bare idea is almost modern2 that  
is to  say1 the idea of a phenomenon    
subject to immutable laws1 bound up     
together with the whole body of other   
phenomena and forming with them  a      
single unit4 ,what a complex conception1
 and how far above the reach  of        
primitive intelligence6 ,what we call a 
miracle is a natural  phenomenon to a   
savage1 he sees miracles every hour2    
properly speaking1  he sees nothing else
 but miracles1 that is to say1          
surprising events4  ,primitive man1 in  
effect1 takes no notice of what does not
 surprise  him 7surprise1 it has been   
said1 is the father of science71 and one
 of  the immediate characteristics1 in  
his opinion1 of what surprises him1  is 
that it is intentional4#ci ,that it     
should be so no more shocks  him1 than a

 paradox shocks a philosopher4 ,the     
savage is not acquainted  with the laws 
of nature1 he has no notion of their    
being universal  to prevent his         
admitting exceptions to them4 ,a miracle
 is simply to  him a sign of a power    
like his own1 acting by methods unknown 
to him  and producing effects above the 
limits of his own capacity4 ,are such   
effects infinitely above his capacity8  
,no such notion enters into the         
question2 it suffices that they be above
 it at all to make him bow down  and    
adore4          #ci ,etymologically1    
miracle signifies simply surprising4    
,the        ,hindus do not even possess 
a special word for a supernatural       
event2 miracle and spectacle in their   
language are one4 ,the                  
supernatural1 that is to say1 is for    
them simply an object        of         
contemplation and admiration1 an event  
which stands out        prominently from
 the general monotony which attracts the
 eye4    ,sidenote3 ,marks a degree of  

intellectual progress4    ,the belief in
 miracles1 so anti-scientific nowadays1 
marks a  considerable progress in the   
intellectual evolution4 ,it amounts1 in 
effect1 to a limitation of divine       
intervention to a small number of       
extraordinary phenomena4 ,a conception  
of universal determinism is1 in  fact1  
beginning to make its appearance4 ,the  
belief in dualism1 in the  separation   
between spirit and body1 becoming       
constantly more marked1  ends in the    
belief in distinct and separate powers4 
,sidenote3 ,conception of ,god as       
,providence more essential than that of 
,him as ,first ,cause4    ,belief in a  
power miraculously distributing good and
 evil1 in a  ,providence1 is the most   
vital element in religion4 ,the most    
important  act in every religion1       
indeed1 is propitiation and entreaty2   
well1  this act is not simply directed  
toward ,god as such1 but toward ,god as 
a presiding divinity1 a power capable of
 favouring or disfavouring  us4 ,and the

 great ,oriental religions have reached 
their present state  of perfection      
without any special effort to make the  
notion of ,god  precise1 without        
specially insisting upon any of his     
distinguishing  attributes except such  
as are subsidiary to this notion of a   
,providence  awarding good and evil2 and
 popular fancy hastens to ascribe the   
accomplishment of this distribution to  
genii1 to good and evil spirits2  it    
need go no further1 it need not         
penetrate to the ,great ,being1 to  the 
infinite1 so to speak1 to the noumenon1 
and to the abyss which1  in effect1 is  
to it a comparative matter of           
indifference4 ,even in  religions of    
,christian origin--in especial1 in      
,catholicism1 and the  ,greek           
,church--,god is not always addressed   
directly2 saints1 angels1  the ,virgin1 
the ,son1 the ,holy ,spirit1 are much   
more frequently invoked  as mediators4  
,there is something vague1 and obscure1 
and terrible1  in ,god the ,father2 ,he 

is the creator of heaven and hell1 the  
great  and somewhat ambiguous principle 
of goodness1 and1 in some dim way1  of  
evil4 ,one may see in ,him the germ of  
an indirect personification  of nature1 
which is so indifferent to man1 so hard1
 so inflexible4  ,christ1 on the        
contrary1 is the personification of the 
best elements  of humanity4 ,the        
responsibility for ferocious laws1      
maledictions1  eternal punishments1 is  
laid upon the shoulders of the ,old     
,testament  ,deity hidden behind ,his   
cloud1 revealed only in the lightning   
and  the thunder1 reigning by terror1   
and demanding the life even of ,his     
,son as an expiatory sacrifice4 ,at     
bottom1 the real ,god adored by the     
,christians is ,jesus1 that is to say1 a
 mediating ,providence whose  function  
is to soften down the asperities of     
natural law1 a ,providence  who         
distributes nothing but good and        
happiness1 whereas nature  distributes  
good and evil with equal indifference4  

,it is ,jesus we  invoke1 and it is to  
the personification of ,providence      
rather than to  that of the first cause 
of the world that humanity has kneeled  
these  two thousand years4    ,sidenote3
 ,increasing opposition between notion  
of ,providence and  science4    ,a      
belief in miracles and in a ,providence 
comes1 in the course of its             
development1 into sharper and sharper   
conflict with a belief in the  order of 
nature4 ,man gives himself up to an     
exclusive preoccupation  with what he   
supposes to be the means of ameliorating
 his destiny and  that of his fellows3  
providential interference with the      
course of  nature1 sacrifice1 and prayer
 are his great means of action on the   
world4 ,he lives in the supernatural4   
,there exists always1 in the early      
stages of every religion1 a certain     
sentiment of evil1 of suffering1  of    
terror2 and to correct it the believer  
takes refuge in miracles4  ,providence  
is thus the primitive means of progress1

 and man's first  hope lay in the       
superhuman4    ,sidenote3 ,practical    
evil of belief in ,providence4    ,fear 
of evil1 and belief that it can be cured
 by divine intervention1  were the      
origin of prayer4 ,a positive religion1 
even in our days1 can  scarcely rest    
content with the conception of a ,god   
who simply sits at  a distance and      
watches the march of a world which he   
regulated1 once  for all1 at the        
beginning of time4 ,he must absolutely  
show himself  from time to time in our  
midst1 we must feel the proximity of his
 hand  ready to sustain us1 he must be  
able to suspend the course of nature to 
our profit4 ,piety requires the stimulus
 of a belief in the immediate  and      
present possibility of miracles1 in     
their past existence1 in their  present 
existence even1 and in one's power of   
invoking them by prayer4  ,thus the     
believer opposes to the conception of   
ordinary determinism1  as the regulating
 principle of the external world1 a     

faith in a being  capable at any moment 
of tampering with it2 and he counts upon
 this  power being exercised1 he counts 
upon invoking it1 he puts his hope in   
supernatural means not less than in     
natural means1 and sometimes even  to   
the neglect of the latter4           99 
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,miracles not frauds4    ,as 
,littr remarked1 the mind may behave in 
three ways in regard to  miracles3 adore
 them1 reject them as a mystification1  
or explain them  by natural means4      
,primitive times1 ,antiquity1 and the   
,middle ,ages  adored miracles2 the     
eighteenth century rejected them as     
impostures  and made game of them4 ,it  
was then that the theory1 that the      
founders  of religion were impostors    
simply1 was generally prevalent4 ,one of
  the most necessary and most serious   
incidents in the human drama was  simply
 mistaken for a bit of comedy4 ,it was  
forgotten that men do not  devote a     
whole lifetime to falsehood2 the theory 

of imposture was a  psychological as    
well as historical error4 ,a man--even  
an actor or a  politician--is always    
sincere on some side or other2 at some  
period or  other a man inevitably says  
what he thinks1 even if only by mistake4
  ,even certain palinodes1 provoked by  
self-interest1 are explicable by an     
unconscious deviation1 under the        
influence of some passion1 rather than  
by an altogether conscious and brazen   
determination to deceive2 and  even when
 one lies with all one's heart1 one     
inevitably believes1 or  soon comes to  
believe1 some part of one's own         
falsehood4 ,the reproach  of hypocrisy1 
of comedy and falsehood1 has been       
uttered a hundred  times in the course  
of history1 and it has usually been a   
mistake4  ,in the eighteenth century the
 same men who prepared and achieved the 
,french ,revolution were fond of        
accusing the prophets and ,apostles1    
the revolutionists of an early date1 of 
insincerity and fraud4 ,to-day  such an 

accusation can no longer be sustained   
against the sacred  books1 and the men  
of the eighteenth century are themselves
 accused  of hypocrisy4 ,for ,m4 ,taine1
 for example1 almost all the leaders of 
the ,french ,revolution lie under the   
reproach of insincerity1 and the  very  
people who sustained them were not1 in  
his judgment1 moved by  the ideas which 
they proclaimed1 but by the grossest    
self-interest4  ,the fact is1 there are 
always two points of view from which    
historic  events may be regarded3 that  
of personal interests1 which come to the
  surface as seldom as possible1 and    
that of the general and generous  ideas 
which1 on the contrary1 are complacently
 given prominence in  public speeches   
and writings4 ,if it is useful for the  
historian to  divine the interested     
motives which contributed to the        
production of  a historical event1 it is
 irrational to refuse to lend some      
measure  of credence to the higher      
motives which justified it and which may

  well have lent their influence to that
 of self-interest4 ,the human  heart is 
not a one-stringed instrument4 ,the     
revolutionists had faith  in the        
,revolution1 in the rights which they   
were vindicating1 in  equality and      
fraternity2 they even believed1         
sometimes1 in their own                 
disinterestedness1 as the ,protestants  
believed in the ,reformation1 as        
,christ and the prophets believed in    
their own inspiration2 as even in  our  
days1 by a belated superstition1 the    
,pope believes in his own               
infallibility4 ,there is in every faith 
some element of the navet  which a child
 shows in its little semi-conscious     
hypocrisies1 in its  caresses which mask
 a demand and its smiles which are the  
efflorescence  of satisfied desire4 ,but
 without a certain element of           
genuineness1  a certain element of real 
navet in the faith of the believers1 no 
religion could exist1 no revolution     
would be achieved1 no important  change 

would be produced in the life of        
humanity4 ,intellectual  affirmation and
 action are always proportionate3 to act
 is to believe  and to believe is to    
act4    ,sidenote3 ,but illusions4      
,in our days1 miracles are beginning to 
be scientifically explained4  ,they are 
phenomena simply2 frequently they were  
witnessed and described  in good faith1 
but with insufficient knowledge4        
,everyone is acquainted1  for example1  
with the biblical miracle according to  
which ,isaiah  8brought again the       
shadows of the degrees1 which was gone  
down in the  sun dial of ,ahaz1 ten     
degrees backward02 indeed the miracle   
has been  reproduced4 ,mr4 ,guillemin#dj
 demonstrates by geometrical reasonings 
that1 by inclining the dial slightly    
toward the horizon1 the shadow  may be  
made gradually to creep a certain       
distance backward4 ,in the  same way1   
the successive appearances of ,jesus    
after his burial have  been paralleled  
by a recent event in the ,united        

,states3 a criminal1  at whose execution
 all his fellow-prisoners were present1 
appeared to  all of them successively   
the next day1 or the day after4 ,the    
latter is  a remarkable instance of     
collective hallucination1 which shows   
that  a group of individuals living in1 
so to speak1 the same emotional  habitat
 may well be struck at the same time by 
the same vision1 without  there being1  
on their part1 either conscious or      
unconscious fraud or  collusion4 ,a     
third miracle1 of an altogether         
different kind1 has also  been          
scientifically explained3 ,i mean the   
colouring of the fleece of  the flocks  
of ,laban and of ,jacob2 the effect was 
obtained by a process  well-known to the
 ,egyptians1 and mentioned by ,pliny4   
,matthew ,arnold  believes that the     
miraculous cures also are not pure      
legend simply1  that they bear witness  
to the great influence of mind over     
matter4  ,jesus really did exorcise     
devils1 that is to say1 the mad passions

  which howled about him4 ,and thus may 
be understood in their true sense  the  
words3 8,what does it matter whether ,i 
say1 ,thy sins are forgiven  thee6 or   
whether ,i say ,arise and walk80 and    
again3 8,thou art made  whole2 sin no   
more1 lest a worse thing befall thee40  
,jesus himself  must have known1 as     
,socrates and ,empedocles did1 though   
even in a more  extraordinary degree1   
that he possessed a moral and physical  
power1 a  virtue1 which he himself did  
not understand and which seemed to him a
  divine gift4 ,he knew himself to be   
morally and symbolically the healer  of 
the deaf1 the blind1 the paralytic1 a   
physician of souls2 and the  cures that 
he wrought in cases of hysteria1 more or
 less temporary but  real1 forced him to
 attribute to himself a superhuman power
 over the  body also4          #dj      
,actes de la ,socit helvt4 des sc4 nat41
 ,august1 #ahgg4    ,sidenote3 ,usually 
explicable by the science of nervous    
phenomena4    ,the science of the       

nervous system1 which dates almost      
entirely from our  days1 may be taken as
 a perpetual running commentary on the  
history  of miracles4 ,perhaps a full   
quarter of the marvellous facts observed
  and revered by humanity fall into     
place within the limits of this  new    
science4 ,a physician1 or observer1 in  
the midst of his subjects  is like a    
prophet2 those who surround him are     
incessantly obliged to  recognize in him
 an occult power1 which he himself does 
not understand2  physician and patient1 
observer and observed1 live equally in  
the realm  of the extraordinary4 ,the   
facts of partial insensibility1 of      
catalepsy  followed by a reawakening    
like a rising from the dead1 of mental  
suggestion taking place even at a       
distance1 all these facts1 which are    
well known1 and are each day becoming   
more and more explicable1 are  even for 
us at the present moment on the confines
 of the miraculous2  they are detaching 
themselves1 under our very eyes1 from   

the sphere of  religion1 and falling    
within the compass of science4 ,the     
observer who  notices for the first time
 that he can transmit an almost         
compulsive  command by a look1 by a     
pressure of the hand1 and even1 it      
appears  nowadays1 by a simple tension  
of his will1 must experience a species  
of  surprise1 even of fright1 of almost 
religious disquietude at finding        
himself armed with such a power4 ,he    
must begin to understand that  the      
mythical and mystical interpretation of 
such facts is an affair  of delicate    
discrimination1 that lay beyond the     
stretch of primitive  intelligence4     
,sidenote3 ,often by less recondite     
knowledge4    ,even the miracles which  
do not belong simply to the less        
explicable  phenomena of the nervous    
system tend increasingly to appear to   
the  historian as having been possessed 
of some foundation in fact4 ,all  that  
was subjective in them is the element of
 the marvellous and the  providential4  

,the miracles really were produced1 but 
in the human  heart2 and instead1 in any
 proper sense1 of engendering faith they
  proceeded from it and are explicable  
by it4 ,an ,english missionary#da  who  
made a journey in ,siberia relates that 
at the moment of his  arrival at        
,irkutsk a fire was consuming           
three-fourths of the town2 a  chapel1   
however1 had been spared and the        
,russian clergy saw in this  fact a     
miracle2 the ,english missionary        
explained it very simply by the         
observation that the rest of the town   
had been built up of wood1 and  that the
 chapel was of brick4 ,but the          
missionary1 who denies anything  like   
providential intervention in the above  
mentioned case1 admits  providential    
intervention the same day in regard to  
another point2 for  he relates that but 
for one of his horses having run away he
 would have  arrived too soon at        
,irkutsk1 and would have had his baggage
 burned in  the fire1 and offers thanks 

to ,god because his horse had been      
inspired  to break the traces4 ,the same
 natural causes which suffice1 according
  to this excellent gentleman1 to       
explain why the ,russian church was     
spared1 suffice no longer when the      
luggage of an ,anglican missionary1  the
 special protg1 is involved4 ,every     
believer is inclined thus to  interpret 
miraculously the mercies that have been 
shown to him4 ,from  the height of a    
stall or the pulpit of a church one sees
 the events of  this world at a         
particular angle2 from the stall or     
pulpit of another  church one sees them 
at another angle1 and for purposes of   
scientific  verity the events must be   
looked down upon from the stalls and    
pulpits  of every church--unless one    
rejects churches altogether4            
#da ,through ,siberia1 by ,henry        
,lansdell1 with illustrations        and
 maps2 ,london1 #ahhb4    ,sidenote3    
,miracles essential to religion4        
,religions create miracles by the very  

need that they themselves feel  for     
them1 they create them as evidence in   
their own support2 miracles  enter as a 
necessary element into the process of   
mental evolution which  engenders       
religion4 ,the distinguishing mark of   
the word of ,god is that  it alters the 
order of natural phenomena4             
,mohammedanism alone made its  way in   
the world without the assistance of     
visible and gross evidence  in its      
favour1 appealing not to the eyes but to
 the spirit1 as ,pascal  would say2 and 
in this respect it may perhaps claim an 
intellectual  elevation that ,judaism   
and ,christianity cannot4 ,but if       
,mohammed refused  the gift of miracles1
 with a good faith that ,moses seems not
 to have  possessed1 his disciples      
hastened to force it upon him1 and have 
supplied his life and death with an     
appropriate setting of marvellous       
legend4 ,ground of belief must be had2  
the messenger of ,god must present  some
 visible sign by which he may be        

recognized4    ,sidenote3 ,prevalence of
 belief in special providence4    ,it is
 evident that divine providence or      
protection must have been  conceived in 
the beginning as quite special1 and not 
as acting by  general laws4 ,the course 
of the world was one continual series of
  divine interventions in the natural   
order of things1 and in the affairs  of 
men2 divinities lived in the midst of   
mankind1 in the midst of  the family1 in
 the midst of the tribe4 ,this result   
may be explained  as due to the very    
character of primitive humanity4        
,primitive man1  who is the most        
credulous1 is evidently also the least  
responsible  of mankind2 incapable of   
governing himself1 he is always willing 
to abandon himself to the management of 
somebody else2 in every  circumstance of
 life he needs to share some part of his
 burden4 ,if a  misfortune happens to   
him1 he relies on anybody or anything   
rather  than on himself4 ,this          
characteristic1 which has been remarked 

in a  number of races of mankind1 is    
especially visible in infants and in    
infant peoples4 ,they lack patience to  
follow without skipping a link  in the  
chain of cause and effect2 they do not  
understand how any  human action can    
produce any great effect1 and are1 in   
general1 much  astonished at the        
disproportion which exists between      
effects and their  causes--a            
disproportion which is only explicable  
in their eyes by the  intervention of   
some foreign cause4 ,hence the need1 so 
remarkable in  feeble minds1 to discover
 some other than the real explanation   
for  a phenomenon2 the real explanation 
is never1 in their eyes1 truly          
sufficient4 ,for a vanquished soldier1  
the defeat is never sufficiently        
explained by scientific grounds2 for    
example1 by his own cowardice1 by  the  
ill-management of the men on the field1 
by the ignorance of the  leaders2 before
 the explanation is complete the notion 
of treason must  always be added4 ,just 

so1 if one of the lower classes has an  
attack  of indigestion1 he will not     
admit that he has eaten too much2 he    
will  complain of the quality of the    
food1 and perhaps even suggest that     
somebody has tried to poison him4 ,in   
the ,middle ,ages1 when there was       
pestilence1 it was the fault of the     
,jews2 at ,naples the people beat the   
images of the saints when the harvest is
 not good4 ,all these facts are         
explicable in the same way2 an          
uncultivated mind cannot bring itself   
to accept a result which is disagreeable
 to it1 cannot resign itself  to having 
been unexpectedly disconcerted by the   
mere brute course of  things1 to say    
with ,turenne1 when he was asked how he 
lost a battle3  8,by my own fault40 ,the
 notion of a special providence allies  
itself  with his natural disposition2 it
 permits man to wash his hands of all   
responsibility1 no matter what happens4 
,a result which it would be  too much   
trouble to foresee1 and to obtain by    

mere natural means1 can  always be      
demanded at the hand of ,providence2 one
 waits for it instead  of working for   
it2 and if one is deceived in one's     
expectations one  lays the blame on the 
,deity4 ,in the ,bible1 kings are never 
guilty  except toward ,god1 their       
incapacity is simply impiety2 but it is 
always  easier to be pious than to be   
capable4    ,sidenote3 ,belief in       
,providence tames people for absolute   
monarchy4    ,at the same time that the 
nave irresponsibility of primitive      
people  thus accommodates itself to the 
providential government of the world1   
it accommodates itself no less to the   
despotic government of a monarch  or of 
an aristocracy4 ,the principle of       
despotism is at bottom identical  with  
that of a supernatural1 external        
providence2 the latter also  demands a  
certain renunciation or abdication in   
the direction of  events4 ,one lets     
one's self go1 one confides one's self  
to someone  else1 and by this means one 

winks at the cruellest of frauds1 the   
defraudment of one's own volition2      
another wills and determines in  one's  
stead4 ,one limits one's self to        
desiring and hoping1 and prayers  and   
supplications take the place of action  
and of work4 ,one floats with  the      
stream in a state of relaxation2 if     
things turn ill there is always  someone
 for one to blame1 to curse1 or to      
wheedle2 if1 on the contrary1  things   
turn out well1 one's heart overflows    
with benedictions1 not to  mention that 
one secretly attributes some part 7man  
is so made7 of  the result obtained to  
one's self4 ,instead of saying1 8,i     
determined  that it should be so10 one  
says1 8,i asked1 ,i prayed for it40 ,it 
is so  easy to believe that one is      
helping to manage the state1 or govern  
the earth1 when one has murmured two    
words into the ear of a king  or a      
god--when1 like the fly in the fable1   
one has simply buzzed an  instant about 
the great rolling wheel of the world4   

,propitiatory prayer  possesses a power 
which is great in proportion to its     
vagueness2 it  seems to be able to do   
everything precisely because it cannot  
ever do  anything in especial4 ,it      
exalts man in his own eyes because it   
enables  him to obtain the maximum of   
effect with the minimum of effort4 ,what
 a  penchant the people have always felt
 for destiny and men of destiny6  ,how  
every appeal to the people1 in behalf of
 men of destiny1 has in all  times      
succeeded in taking the suffrage of the 
masses6 ,a sentiment of  submission to  
the decrees of ,providence1 who is      
destiny personified1  has been the      
excuse of every form of indolence1 of   
every cowardly  adherence to custom4    
,and if one carries it to its logical   
conclusion1  to what else does the      
indolent sophism of the ,orientals      
amount8 ,it is  true that the precept1  
8,heaven will aid thee10 is habitually  
corrected  by the precept1 8,aid        
thyself40 ,but efficiency to aid one's  

self demands  initiative1 and audacity1 
and a spirit of revolt against an       
unwelcome  course of things2 efficiently
 to aid one's self one must not say1    
8,god's will be done10 but 8,my will be 
done02 one must be a rebel in  the midst
 of the passive multitude1 a sort of    
,prometheus or ,satan4 ,it  is difficult
 to say to one1 8,whatever happens1     
whatever exists1 is what  it is1 by the 
irresistible and special will of ,god10 
and nevertheless  to add1 8,do not      
submit to the accomplished facts40 ,in  
the ,middle ,ages  men consoled         
themselves in the midst of tyranny and  
poverty by thinking  that it was ,god   
himself who was oppressing them1 and    
dared not rise  against their masters   
for fear they might be rising really    
against ,god4  ,to preserve social      
injustice it had to be apotheosized4    
,what was really  no more than a human  
right had to be made divine4            
,sidenote3 ,personal initiative a       
defiance of the gods4    ,the sentiment 

of personal initiative1 like that of    
personal  responsibility1 is quite      
modern and incapable of being developed 
in  the atmosphere of bigotry and       
narrowness in which man has long lived  
with his gods4 ,to say to one's self1   
8,i can undertake something new2  ,i    
shall have the audacity to introduce a  
change into the world2 to  make an      
advance2 in the combat against brute    
nature ,i shall shoot the  first arrow1 
without waiting1 like the soldier of    
antiquity1 till the  auspices have been 
consulted0--would have looked like an   
enormity to  men of former times2 to men
 who did not take a step without        
consulting  their gods and carrying     
their images before them to show the    
way4  ,personal initiative was1 on the  
face of it1 a direct offence against    
,providence1 an encroachment on ,his    
rights2 to strike the rock as ,moses    
did1 before having received the order to
 do so from ,god1 would have  been to   
expose one's self to ,his wrath4 ,the   

world was the private  property of the  
,most ,high4 ,it was not permitted to a 
man to employ  the forces of nature     
without special leave2 man was in the   
position  of a child1 who is not allowed
 to play with the fire2 except that the 
reason for prohibiting the child is not 
the same--we do not prohibit  children  
from playing with the fire because we   
are 8jealous0 of them4  ,the jealousy of
 the gods is a conception which has     
survived till the  present day1 although
 it is incessantly retreating before the
 progress  made by human initiative4    
,machinery1 the product of modern times1
 is  the most powerful enemy that the   
notion of a ,providence has ever had to 
wrestle with4 ,one knows how the        
innocent winnowing machine was cursed   
by the priests1 and looked upon with an 
eye of hatred by the peasants1  because 
it imprisoned and employed in the       
service of man an essentially           
providential force--that of the wind4   
,but malediction was useless1  the wind 

could not refuse to winnow the wheat2   
the machine vanquished  the gods4       
,there1 as everywhere1 human initiative 
carried the day4  ,science found itself 
in direct opposition to the special     
intervention  of ,providence1 and       
appropriated and subdued the forces of  
nature to  an end1 in appearance1 not   
divine but natural4 ,a man of science is
 a  disturbing element in nature1 and   
science an anti-providence4             
,sidenote3 ,man practically a domestic  
animal in the house of the gods3        
resulting enfeeblement of character4    
,before the earliest developments of    
science1 primitive man found  himself1  
as a result of his imagination1 in a    
state of domesticity  in the world1     
analogous to that to which he had       
himself reduced  certain animals2 and   
this state exerted a profound influence 
upon  the character of such animals1    
deprived them of certain capacities  and
 endowed them1 in turn1 with others4    
,some of them--certain birds1  for      

example--become under domestication     
almost incapable of finding  and        
providing themselves with their         
necessary food4 ,more intelligent       
animals like the dog1 who might in a    
case of absolute necessity rely  upon   
himself for indispensables1 contract    
nevertheless a habit of  subjection to  
man which creates a corresponding need3 
my dog is not  at ease except when he   
knows that ,i am near2 if anything      
causes me  to go away1 he is restless   
and nervous2 in the presence of danger  
he  runs between my legs1 instead of    
taking refuge in flight1 which would  be
 the primitive instinct4 ,thus every    
animal which knows itself to be  watched
 and protected in the details of its    
life by a superior being1  necessarily  
loses its primitive independence1 and if
 its primitive  independence should be  
once more restored1 it would be unhappy1
 would  experience an ill-defined fear1 
a vague sentiment of enfeeblement4      
,just so in the case of primitive and   

uncultivated man3 once he is  habituated
 to the protection of the gods1 this    
protection becomes  for him a veritable 
need2 if he is deprived of it1 he falls 
into  a state of inexpressible          
discomfiture and inquietude4 ,add that1 
in  this case1 he will soon provide     
himself with a substitute2 to escape    
from the intolerable solitude which     
doubt creates within him1 he  will take 
refuge in his gods or his fetiches1     
under the influence of  a sentiment     
identical with that which sends the dog 
to take refuge  between the legs of his 
master4 ,to attain some idea of the     
force of  such a sentiment among        
primitive human beings1 one must        
remember that  the surveillance of the  
gods is much more extended and more     
scrupulous  even than that of man over  
domestic animals1 or of a master over   
his  slaves4 ,primitive man feels his   
god or his genii at his side at every   
step1 in all the circumstances of life2 
he is accustomed to being  never alone1 

to the presence of someone by him       
keeping step with him2  he believes that
 every word that he says and every act  
that he does  is witnessed and judged4  
,no domestic animal is accustomed to so 
high  a degree of subjection2 he knows  
perfectly that our protection is not    
always efficacious and that we are      
sometimes mistaken about him1 that  we  
caress him when he ought to be punished1
 etc4 ,cats1 for instance1  know that   
man cannot see in the dark3 one evening 
a white cat made  ready to commit an    
abominable misdemeanour within two steps
 of me1  not suspecting that its colour 
would betray it to an attentive eye1    
even in the obscurity4 ,primitive men   
sometimes practised an analogous        
cunning in regard to their gods2 they   
did not yet believe in the  complete    
sovereignty1 in the absolute ubiquity1  
of ,providence4 ,but by  a process of   
logical development1 ,providence is     
ultimately believed  to extend to       
everything1 to envelop one's whole life2

 the fear of ,god  becomes to man a     
perpetual prohibition against his       
passions1 a hope in  ,god's aid his     
perpetual recourse4 ,religion and       
science possess this  much in common1   
that they result in enveloping us       
equally in a network  of necessities2   
but what distinguishes science is that  
it makes us  acquainted with the real   
order and causes of phenomena1 and by   
that  fact permits us to modify that    
order at will2 by showing us the fact   
and nature of our dependence1 science   
supplies us with the means of           
conquering a comparative independence4  
,in religion1 on the contrary1  the     
mythical and miraculous element         
introduces an unforeseen factor1  the   
divine will1 a special providence1 into 
the midst of events1 and  by that fact  
deceives one as to the true means of    
modifying the real  course of things4   
,the instant one believes one's self to 
be dependent  upon ,jupiter or ,allah1  
one ascribes a greater efficacy to      

propitiation  than to action2 and it    
follows that the greater one perceives  
one's  dependence to be the more        
completely one believes one's self to be
  without defence against it2 the more  
complete the submission is to ,god1  the
 more complete one's resulting          
submission becomes to the established   
fact4 ,the feeling of an imaginary      
dependence upon supernatural beings     
thus increases the general dependence of
 man in relation to nature4  ,thus      
understood1 the notion of a special     
providence1 of a divine  tutelage1 has  
resulted in the protracted maintenance  
of the human  soul in a state of genuine
 minority2 and this state of minority1  
in its turn1 has rendered the existence 
and surveillance of divine  protectors a
 necessity4 ,when1 therefore1 the       
believer refuses an offer  of           
emancipation from the dependence which  
he has voluntarily accepted1  the reason
 is that he feels a vague sentiment of  
his own insufficiency1  of his          

irremediably belated coming of age2 he  
is a child1 who does not  dare stray far
 from the paternal roof2 he does not    
possess the courage  to walk alone4 ,the
 child who should show a precocious     
independence1  and should early learn to
 go its own road1 would not improbably  
become  simply dissipated2 his precocity
 might well be depravity in disguise4   
,similarly in history1 the irreligious1 
the sceptics1 the atheists1  have been  
frequently spoiled children1 precocious 
in the bad sense2  their freedom of     
spirit was only a high form of mischief4
 ,the human  race1 like the individual1 
long needed surveillance and tutelage2  
so  long as it experienced this need it 
leaned inevitably upon a belief  in a   
providence external to itself and to the
 universe1 capable of  interfering in   
the course of things1 and of modifying  
the general laws  of nature by          
particular acts of volition4            
,subsequently1 by the progress  of      
science1 ,providence has been deprived  

day by day of some of its  special and  
miraculous powers1 of its supernatural  
prerogatives4 ,by  the evolution of     
human thought piety has been            
transformed2 it tends  to-day to regard 
as an object of filial affection what   
was formerly an  object of terror1 of   
deprecation1 of propitiation4 ,science1 
enveloping  ,providence in a network of 
inflexible laws1 is day by day reducing 
it  to a state of immobility and1 so to 
speak1 paralyzing it4 ,providence  is   
becoming like an old man whom age has   
rendered incapable of  movement--who but
 for our aid could not raise a hand or  
foot1 who lives  with our assistance1   
and who1 nevertheless1 is only the more 
beloved1  as if his existence became to 
us more precious in proportion to its   
uselessness4      ,,iii4 ,creation4     
,sidenote3 ,conception of creation      
dualistic4    ,after the notion of      
,providence one must deal1 in running   
through the  metaphysical principles of 
religion1 with the notion of a creator1 

which has acquired in our days an       
importance that it did not possess      
formerly4 ,this conception1 like that of
 the soul and of a special  providence1 
presented itself originally under the   
form of dualism4 ,man  conceived in the 
beginning a god as fashioning a world   
more or less  independent of himself1   
out of some pre-existing material4 ,it  
was only  later that this crude dualism 
was refined into the notion of creation 
ex nihilo1 which represented the        
traditional duality as produced by  a   
primitive unity--,god1 who had at first 
existed alone1 created out of  nothing a
 world distinct and separate from       
himself4    ,sidenote3 ,conception of   
creation natural4    ,the following     
conversation1 of which ,i can guarantee 
the authenticity1  affords an example of
 nave metaphysic4 ,the two interlocutors
 were  a little peasant girl1 four years
 old1 who had always lived in the       
country1 and a young girl from town1 the
 daughter of the owner  of the farm4    

,they had gone out into the garden where
 a number of  flowers had opened that   
morning2 the little peasant girl admired
  them enthusiastically1 and addressing 
her companion1 for whom she  had long   
entertained a species of cult3 8,it is  
you1 mistress1 is it  not10 she cried1  
8who makes these flowers80 ,this        
interrogation did  not embody an        
incipient speculation in a sphere of    
physics2 the child  simply attributed an
 unknown power to a visible and palpable
 being4  ,her mistress replied          
laughingly1 8,no1 not ,i4 ,i haven't the
 power40  8,who does it then80 the child
 asked4 ,one perceives the persistence1 
in primitive intelligences1 of the      
impulse to explain things by the  direct
 action of somebody's volition1 the     
impulse to place somebody  behind every 
event4 8,it is ,god10 replied the elder 
girl4 8,and where  is ,god8 ,have you   
ever seen ,him80 ,no doubt the little   
peasant1 who  regarded the city as a    
very surprising place1 supposed one     

might meet  ,god there1 face to face1   
and ,god did not1 as yet1 represent to  
her  anything supra-physical4 ,but how  
admirably disposed she was for the      
reception of a more or less illegitimate
 metaphysic6 8,i have never  seen ,god10
 replied her mistress1 8and nobody has  
ever seen ,him4 ,he  lives in heaven1   
and at the same time lives among us2 ,he
 sees us and  hears us2 it is ,he who   
made the flowers1 who made you and me1  
and  everything that exists40 ,i shall  
not report the child's replies1 for  ,i 
believe that she was too much astonished
 really to say anything4  ,she was in a 
situation such as a savage finds himself
 in when a  missionary comes and talks  
with him about ,god1 the supreme being1 
creator of all things1 a spirit existing
 without a body4 ,savages  sometimes    
refuse to understand1 and point to their
 heads and declare  that they suffer2   
sometimes they believe that one is      
making fun of  them1 and even among our 
children there is a good deal of        

persistent  and mute astonishment1 which
 wears off slowly with the lapse of     
time4 ,what is striking in the little   
conversation reported above1  is the way
 in which the metaphysical myth         
necessarily rises out of  the scientific
 error4 ,an inexact induction first     
gives rise to the  notion of a human    
being acting by means to us unknown and 
mysterious2  this notion1 once obtained1
 fastens upon the body of such and such 
an individual1 the object antecedently  
of especial veneration2 from  this      
individual it retreats in course of time
 to another more distant1  from country 
to town1 from earth to heaven1 from     
visible heaven to the  invisible essence
 of things1 the omnipresent substratum  
of the world4  ,simultaneously with this
 retrograde movement1 the being endowed 
with  marvellous powers becomes         
increasingly vague and abstract4 ,the   
human  intelligence1 in developing its  
conception of the supernatural being1   
employs what theologians call the       

negative method1 which consists  in     
abstracting one known attribute after   
another4 ,if men and races of  men have 
always followed this procedure1 it is   
less because of any  refinement of      
thought on their part than in obedience 
to the pressure  of an external         
necessity4 ,directly as man becomes     
acquainted with  nature1 he sees all    
traces of his god fly before him2 he is 
like a  miner who1 thinking that he     
recognizes the presence of gold in the  
soil  beneath his feet1 begins to dig1  
and finding nothing1 cannot make up  his
 mind to believe that the earth contains
 no treasure2 he sinks his  shafts      
deeper and deeper in an eternal         
hopefulness4 ,just so1 instead  of      
breaking with his gods1 man exiles them 
to a greater and greater  distance as he
 advances in knowledge4 ,what nature    
excludes tends to  take on a            
metaphysical character2 every error     
which persists in spite  of the progress
 of experience takes refuge in heaven1  

in some sphere  more and more completely
 inaccessible4 ,thus the somewhat gross 
origins  of religions are not           
irreconcilable with the refined         
speculations  incident to their period  
of development4 ,human intelligence1    
once  launched into infinite space1     
inevitably describes a wider and wider  
orbit about reality4 ,a mythical        
religion is not a completely rational   
and a priori construction2 it always    
rests upon alleged experience1  upon    
observations and analogies1 which are   
tainted with error2 it is1  therefore1  
false a posteriori1 and therein lies the
 explanation of  the invincible and     
increasing divergence between myth and  
verity4    ,sidenote3 ,god conceived as 
orderer rather than as creator4    ,in  
the beginning men conceived ,god rather 
as an orderer of the  universe1 as a    
workman fashioning a pre-existing       
matter1 than as a  creator2 we find this
 notion still predominant among the     
,greeks4  ,its genesis was probably     

something as follows3 ,whoever supposes 
the  existence of ,god regards the world
 as an instrument in ,his hands2 ,god   
employs the thunder1 the wind1 the stars
 for purposes of his own1 as  man       
employs his arrows and his hatchet4     
,does it not naturally result  from that
 conception that ,god fashions these    
marvellous instruments  just as man     
fashions his arrows and hatchet8 ,if the
 little peasant  girl1 of whom we spoke 
above1 had not seen her father repair or
 make  his tools1 make a fire1 make     
bread1 till the soil1 she would never   
have asked who made the flowers in the  
garden4 ,the child's first  why involves
 the following reasoning3 ,somebody has 
acted on this  thing as ,i myself have  
acted on such and such another thing2   
who1  then1 in the present case is it8  
,the abstract notion of causality is  a 
consequence of the practical development
 of our own causality2 the  greater the 
number of things that one can make one's
 self1 the greater  one's astonishment  

at seeing things done by other people   
with greater  rapidity or on a larger   
scale4 ,the more bound down one is one's
 self1  to the employment of tedious    
artifice1 the more one admires what is  
produced suddenly by a power which is   
apparently extraordinary4 ,so that  the 
notion of a miracle thus more naturally 
arose from one's experience  of the     
practical arts1 than1 so to speak1 from 
brute experience1 and  for the rest     
contained no element which was          
contradictory to the nave  science of   
the earliest observers4 ,every question 
presupposes a certain  kind and amount  
of action on the part of the questioner2
 one does  not demand the cause of an   
event until one has one's self been the 
conscious cause of such and such another
 event4 ,if man possessed no  influence 
in the world1 he would not ask himself  
who made the world4  ,the mason's trowel
 and carpenter's saw have played a      
considerable part  in the development of
 religious metaphysics4    ,sidenote3   

,notion of creation ex nihilo of        
empirical origin4    ,remark1 also1 how 
easy it is1 even at the present day1 to 
confound the  word make with the word   
create1 which indeed did not exist in   
primitive  times4 ,how should one       
distinguish precisely what one fashions 
from what  one creates8 ,there is a     
certain element of creation in          
fashioning2  and this element sometimes 
positively assumes a magical character1 
seems to rise ex nihilo4 ,what a marvel1
 for example1 is a spark of  fire       
obtained from stone or wood6 ,the       
,hindus see in it the symbol of         
generation4 ,in fire the earliest races 
of men laid their fingers on  the       
miraculous4 ,in appearance the pebble   
one strikes or the dried wood  one rubs 
to produce a spark is not itself        
consumed2 it gives without  loss1 it    
creates4 ,the first man who discovered  
the secret of producing  fire seemed to 
have introduced something genuinely new 
into the world1  to have ravished the   

power of creation from the gods4 ,in    
general1 what  distinguishes the artist1
 properly so called1 from the simple    
workman  is the feeling that he         
possesses a power which he does not     
understand1  that he produces in some   
sense more than he aims at1 that he is  
lifted  above himself2 genius is not    
fully conscious1 as simple talent is1 of
  its resources2 it contains an element 
of the unforeseen1 a force which  is not
 calculable in advance1 a creative      
power2 and therein lies the  secret of  
the true artist's personal pride4 ,even 
in a matter of purely  physical power a 
superexcitation of the nervous system   
may place at  one's disposal an amount  
of muscular energy one did not suppose  
one  possessed3 the athlete1 no more    
than the thinker1 at such times knows   
the limits of his own strength and the  
marvels of which he is capable4  ,each  
of us possesses thus1 during certain    
hours of his existence1  the            
consciousness of a more or less creative

 power1 of the direct  production of    
something out of nothing4 ,one feels    
that one has produced  by force of will 
a result that one's intelligence cannot 
wholly account  for1 that one cannot    
rationally explain4 ,therein lies the   
foundation  and in a measure the        
justification of a belief in miracles1  
in the  extraordinary power of certain  
men1 and1 in the last analysis1 in a    
power of creating4 ,this indefinite     
power that man sometimes feels well  up 
within him1 he naturally ascribes to his
 gods4 ,since he conceives  them as     
acting upon the world in a manner       
analogous to himself1 he  conceives them
 as capable of giving rise to new       
elements in the world2  and this notion 
of creative power once introduced       
continuously develops  till the day when
 it leads one1 from induction to        
induction1 to the  belief that the      
entire world is the work of a divinity1 
that the  earth and the stars have been 
fashioned and created by a supernatural 

volition4 ,if man can strike fire out of
 a stone1 why might not ,god  strike a  
sun out of the firmament8 ,the          
conception of a creator1 which  seems at
 first a remote consequence from a chain
 of abstract reasoning1  is thus one of 
the innumerable manifestations of       
anthropomorphism2  one of the ideas     
which1 at least originally1 seems to    
have been rather  paraphysical than     
metaphysical4 ,it rests at bottom upon  
an ignorance  of the possible           
transformation and actual equivalents of
 forces1 owing  to which every apparent 
creation is resolvable into a           
substantial  equivalence and every      
apparent miracle into an exemplification
 of  immutable order4    ,sidenote3     
,summary4    ,to sum up1 the creative   
power once ascribed to ,god is in our   
opinion  an extension of the notion of  
special ,providence1 which itself is of 
empirical origin4 ,when theologians     
nowadays begin by establishing the      
creation1 in order therefrom to deduce a

 special ,providence1 they  are         
precisely inverting the order of things 
as they appeared in the  beginning4 ,it 
is only through the continually         
increasing preoccupation  of abstract   
thought and metaphysical speculation    
with the question  of the first cause1  
that the idea of a creative deity has   
acquired  thus a sort of preponderance1 
and constitutes in our day an essential 
element in religion4 ,dualism1 as we    
have seen1 is of the essence of  this   
notion2 dualism is the principal form   
under which the union of  souls and     
bodies1 the relation of a special       
providence to natural laws1  the        
relation of creator to created has been 
conceived4 ,the notion1  however1 of a  
supreme unity running through all things
 has been caught  more or less vague    
glimpses of1 from remote times down to  
the present  day4 ,and it is on this    
notion that pantheistic and monistic    
religions1  principally those of ,india1
 are based4 ,brahmanism and ,buddhism   

tend to  what has been called 8absolute 
illusionism0 for the benefit of a unity 
in which the supreme being takes for us 
the form of non-existence4    ,sidenote3
 ,dangers of effort to classify systems 
of religious  metaphysics4    ,the      
temptation is natural systematically to 
class diverse systems of  religious     
metaphysics and to represent them as    
evolving1 one after the  other in a     
regular order1 conformable to a more or 
less determinate  scheme2 but one must  
be on one's guard here against two      
things3 first1  the seduction of a      
system1 with the metaphysical           
abstractions to which  it leads2 second1
 the pretense of finding everywhere a   
regular progress  constantly headed     
toward religious unity4 ,religious      
philosophers have  erred in both these  
respects2 ,hegel1 for example1 yielded  
to the  temptation of imposing upon the 
history of religion his monotonous      
trilogy1 of thesis1 antithesis1 and     
synthesis4 ,in ,von ,hartmann the       

,hegelian spirit1 influenced by         
,schopenhauer1 still survives4 ,we have 
seen ,von ,hartmann borrowing from ,max 
,mller the abstract conception  of a    
divinity at once unified and multiple1 a
 species of primitive  synthesis out of 
which historical religions were to arise
 by a process  of differentiation3 out  
of henotheism1 as out of matter still   
void  and without form1 was to arise    
polytheism1 and then by a process of    
degenerescence was to arise polydemonism
 or animism1 and finally  fetichism4#db 
,this order of development1 as we have  
seen1 is contrary  to matter of fact4   
#db 8,henotheism10 says ,von ,hartmann1 
8rests upon a        contradiction4 ,man
 goes forth in search of divinity1 and  
finds        gods4 ,he addresses each of
 these divinities in succession in      
the hope that he may be the divinity    
sought for1 and confers        upon him 
a multitude of predicates which call in 
question the        divinity of the     
other gods4 ,obliged1 however1 as he is 

to        look to different gods for the
 fulfilment of his respective           
demands he is unable to remain faithful 
to any one of them2        he changes   
his object of adoration repeatedly and  
each time        acts toward the god he 
is addressing as if he were god par     
excellence1 without indeed himself      
observing at the time that        he is 
denying the supreme divinity of any god 
by attributing it        in turn to each
 of them4 ,what renders the origin of   
religion        possible is that this   
contradiction is not at first remarked2 
a persistent failure to recognize such a
 contradiction would        not be      
possible in the midst of the progress of
 civilization1        except in the case
 of an extreme intensity of religious   
sentiment1 which shields all religious  
subjects from rational        criticism4
 ,such intensity of religious sentiment 
neither exists        in all places nor 
at all times1 and a spirit of           
intellectual        criticism1 operating

 intermittently1 suffices in the long   
run        to render the point of view  
of henotheism untenable4 ,two ways      
of avoiding the contradiction in        
question offer themselves4        ,one  
may maintain the unity of ,god at the   
expense of the        plurality1 or1 on 
the contrary1 plurality of ,god at the  
expense        of the unity4 ,the first 
way leads to abstract monism1 the       
second to polytheism2 and out of        
polytheism1 by a process of             
degeneration1 arise polydemonism or     
animism and then fetichism40            
,fetichism1 understood simply as the    
ascription of life to natural  objects1 
is primitive4 ,animism1 or the          
conception of indwelling spirit1  arises
 subsequently4 ,polytheism1 or the      
worship of a certain number  of         
analogous objects1 such as the trees of 
a forest1 implies some  distinction     
between the deity and the forest1       
whereas fetichism limits  itself        
strictly to the animation of each       

particular tree1 and finally            
henotheism1 or the vague conception of  
an indwelling divinity in all  things1  
is ulterior and derivative4 ,monistic   
pantheism or monism lies  but one step  
beyond4    ,sidenote3 ,logically        
posterior often historically prior4     
,remark also that ,von ,hartmann1 who   
endeavours to prove that a vague  monism
 is the primitive form of religion1     
regards the ,vedas as a fair  example of
 the earliest form of natural religion1 
traces of which  remain more or less    
distinctly manifest in all mythologies4 
,but this  is positively to forget that 
for an anthropologist the ,vedas are    
quite modern compositions1 and that     
,hindu literature belongs to a  period  
of high refinement and civilization4    
,monistic metaphysics may  be the       
ultimate goal toward which all religions
 tend1 but it is at  least not the point
 of departure4 ,finally1 ,von ,hartmann 
endeavours to  establish the fact of a  
certain logical order in religious      

development1  a progress4 ,this progress
 does not exist in history nor anywhere 
outside of the abstract system          
constructed by ,von ,hartmann2 it is    
dialectic1 not historic4 ,the divers    
religious points of view have often     
coincided in history2 and sometimes a   
logically superior point of view  has   
even preceded an inferior4    ,sidenote3
 ,comte's classification logical1 not   
psychological4    ,another              
classification1 not less open to        
suspicion than that of ,von  ,hartmann1 
is the celebrated ,comtist progression  
from fetichism to  polytheism and from  
polytheism to monism4 ,in this          
classification the  framework no longer 
consists of metaphysical abstractions1  
but of  numbers4 ,but numbers also      
possess their artificial and superficial
  side2 they do not express the most    
fundamental aspects of religion4  ,in   
the first place1 it is a matter of      
extreme difficulty to perceive  any     
radical difference between naturistic   

fetichism and polytheism4  ,multiplicity
 of divinities is a characteristic      
common to both4 ,the  sole difference   
that ,comte was able to establish is    
that in polytheism  a whole class of    
objects1 for example all the trees of a 
forest1 or a  whole class of phenomena1 
as lightning and storm1 is represented  
by  one divinity4 ,but this species of  
abstraction and generalization is  much 
less important1 much more exterior and  
purely logical1 than the  psychological 
and metaphysical progression from a     
grossly unitarian  and concrete naturism
 to a dualistic animism4 ,this latter   
line of  development is in the direction
 of naturalistic and spiritualistic     
metaphysics1 which possess a deeper     
significance than a system of           
mathematical enumeration and logical    
generalization4 ,the passage from       
polytheism to monotheism is also        
conceived by ,comte somewhat too        
mathematically4 ,polytheism early       
resulted in a certain hierarchy and     

subordination of the whole body of      
individual deities to some one  powerful
 god3 ,jupiter1 ,fate1 etc4 ,on the     
other hand1 monotheism has  always      
provided some place for secondary       
divinities--angels1 devils1  spirits of 
every kind1 to say nothing of the       
trinitarian conception of  the ,godhead 
itself4 ,mathematical terms1 in this    
connection1 obscure  profound problems  
which belong really to metaphysics and  
to morals4    ,sidenote3 ,the real      
classification4    ,from the point of   
view of metaphysics the great question  
is that of the  relation which exists   
between the divinity and the world and  
mankind2  a relation of immanence or of 
transcendence1 of duality or of unity4  
,we have seen that1 from this point of  
view1 religions have passed from  an    
extremely vague primitive immanence to a
 relation of transcendence  and of      
separation1 ultimately to return1       
sometimes with comparative  rapidity 7as
 in ,india71 sometimes very slowly 7as  

among ,christian  nations71 to the      
notion of an immanent ,god in whom we   
live and move and  have our being4      
,sidenote3 ,progressive encroachment of 
deterministic conception4    ,along with
 this difference of conception there    
necessarily goes  a corresponding       
difference in the parts ascribed        
respectively to  determinism and natural
 law1 and to the arbitrary will of the  
deity or  deities4 ,that is to say1 the 
conflict between religion and science1  
or what will one day become such1 exists
 implicitly in the earliest  conceptions
 of the world4 ,in the beginning1 to be 
sure1 there being  no such thing as     
science properly so called1 no conflict 
is apparent2  one explains whatever one 
chooses as the product of an arbitrary  
will1  then little by little the        
regularity1 the determinism1 the        
orderliness  of certain phenomena are   
remarked4 ,divinities cease to be       
absolute  princes1 and become more or   
less constitutional sovereigns4 ,therein

  lies the law of religious evolution1  
which is much more significant  than the
 law promulgated by ,comte2 humanity    
tends progressively to  restrict the    
number of the phenomena with the natural
 course of which  the gods are supposed 
to interfere2 the sphere of natural law 
tends  progressively to become more and 
more nearly all-comprehensive4 ,the     
,catholic nowadays no longer believes   
that a goddess brings his crops to      
maturity or that a particular god       
launches a thunder-bolt1 though he  is  
still profoundly inclined to imagine    
that ,god blesses his fields or         
punishes him by destroying his house by 
a flash of lightning2 arbitrary  power  
tends to be concentrated in a single    
being placed on a height  above nature4 
,at a still further stage in the course 
of evolution1 the  will of this being is
 conceived as expressed in the laws of  
nature  themselves without allowing for 
the existence of miraculous exceptions2 
,providence1 the ,divinity1 becomes     

immanent in the scientific ordering  and
 determinism of the world4 ,in this     
respect the ,hindus and the ,stoics  are
 far in advance of the ,catholics4      
,sidenote3 ,unification of creeds       
incidental to that encroachment4    ,the
 absorption of the respective worships  
of a number of deities into  the worship
 of one deity has been an incidental    
consequence of the  progress of science4
 ,humanity began by offering up a       
multitude of  special services to a     
multitude of special gods4 ,if one were 
to believe  certain linguists1 it is    
true1 natural objects--the sun1 fire1   
the  moon--were at first adored as      
impersonal entities2 their subsequent   
personification being due to a too      
literal interpretation of figurative    
impressions habitually employed to      
designate them1 such as 1  the          
brilliant4 ,certain myths1 no doubt1 did
 spring from this source3  nomina1      
numina2 but humanity does not usually   
progress from the  general to the       

particular4 ,primitive religion1 on the 
contrary1 was  at first subdivided or   
rather simply divided into cults of all 
sorts2  it was only later that          
simplifications and generalizations     
arose4 ,the  passage from fetichism to  
polytheism and to monotheism was simply 
the  consequence of a progressively     
scientific conception of the world2 of  
the progressive absorption of the       
several transcendent powers into a      
single power immanent in the laws of the
 universe4    ,sidenote3 ,development of
 sociological and moral sides of        
religion4    ,more important still than 
this metaphysical and scientific        
evolution  of religion is the           
sociological and moral evolution4 ,what 
is really  important in a religious     
theory is less the conceived relation of
 the  primary substance to its          
manifestations in the universe1 than the
  attributes ascribed to this substance 
and to the inhabitants of the  universe4
 ,in other words1 what sort of a society

 does the universe  constitute8 ,what   
sort of social relation more or less    
moral between  the various members are  
derivable from the fundamental tie which
 binds  them to the principle which is  
immanent in all of them8 ,that is the   
great problem for which the others      
simply constitute a preparation4 ,the   
problem is to interpret the true        
foundation of beings and of being1      
independently of numerical1 logical1 and
 even metaphysical relations4  ,well1   
such an interpretation cannot be other  
than psychological and  moral4          
,psychologically1 power was the first   
and essential attribute of  divinity1   
and this power was conceived as         
redoubtable4 ,intelligence1  knowledge1 
foreknowledge1 were only at a later     
period ascribed to  the gods4 ,and      
finally1 divine morality1 under the     
twofold aspects of  justice and         
goodness1 is a very late conception     
indeed4 ,we shall see it  develop side  
by side with the development of the     

systems of practical  morals that are   
incident to religion4          ,,chapter
 ,,iii4    ,,religious ,,morals4        
,i4 ,the laws which regulate the social 
relations between        gods and       
men--,morality and immorality in        
primitive        religions--,extension  
of friendly and hostile relations to    
the sphere of the gods--,primitive      
inability in matters of                 
conscience1 as in matters of art1 to    
distinguish the great        from the   
monstrous4        ,,ii4 ,the moral      
sanction in the society which includes  
gods and        men--,patronage--,that  
divine intervention tends always to     
be conceived after the model of human   
intervention and to        sanction it4 
,,iii4 ,worship and religious           
rites--,principles of        reciprocity
 and proportionality in the exchange    
of services--,sacrifice--,principle of  
coercion and                            
incantation--,principle of habit and its
 relation to                            

rites--,sorcery--,sacerdotalism--,prophe
cy--,the externals of                   
worship--,dramatization and religious   
sthetics4        ,,iv4 ,subjective      
worship--,adoration and love2 their     
psychological origin4      ,i4 ,the laws
 which regulate the social relations    
between gods and men4    ,sidenote3     
,religion and morals not originally     
related4    ,we are to-day inclined to  
see everywhere a very intimate relation 
between religion and morals1 since ,kant
 recognized in ethics the aim  and sole 
foundation of the conception of ,god4   
,in the beginning nothing  of the sort  
existed4 ,it is plain from the preceding
 chapters that  religion was at first a 
physical explanation of events1 and     
above all  of events in their relation  
to the interests of mankind1 by a theory
  of causes acting for ends of their own
 after the manner of the human  will2 an
 explanation1 that is to say1 by causes 
at once efficient and  final2 and       
theology is the development of a        

primitive teleology4 ,man  imagined     
himself to be living in society with    
beneficent or maleficent  beings1 at    
first visible and tangible1 then        
progressively invisible and  separate   
from the objects they inhabited4        
,therein1 as we have said1  lay the     
first step of religion4 ,religion was in
 the beginning nothing  more than an    
imaginative extension of human society2 
the explanation of  things by a theory  
of volitions analogous to the volitions 
by means of  which man himself acts on  
the world1 but of another order1 of a   
higher  degree of power4 ,well1 these   
volitions are sometimes good1 sometimes 
evil1 sometimes friendly1 sometimes     
hostile3 friendship and hatred are  the 
two categories under which man          
inevitably classified the superior      
powers with whom he believed himself to 
be in relations4 ,morality was  in no   
sense one of the distinguishing         
characteristics of these powers2  man   
was quite as naturally inclined to      

attribute to them wickedness as         
goodness1 or rather he felt vaguely that
 the rules of conduct by which  he was  
himself bound were not necessarily those
 by which these beings1  at once        
analogous to men and so different from  
them1 were themselves  bound4 ,also in  
his relations with the gods1 with the   
powers of nature1  man in nowise        
believed that the rules of mere human   
society1 of the  family1 of the tribe1  
of the nation1 were always and in every 
respect  applicable4 ,thence it came    
that to render the gods propitious1 man 
had  recourse to practices which he     
would have blamed in mere human morals3 
human sacrifices1 anthropophagy1        
sacrifices of virginity1 etc4#dc        
#dc ,it has been remarked that peoples  
who for centuries        have renounced 
anthropophagy have long persisted in    
human        sacrifices3 that thousands 
of women in certain sanctuaries         
have offered the painful sacrifices of  
their chastity to gods        of a      

furious sensuality4 ,the gods of        
paganism are dissolute1                 
arbitrary1 vindictive1 pitiless1 and    
still their adorers        rise little  
by little to a conception of moral      
purity1 of        clemency1 and of      
justice4 ,javeh is vindictive and       
ferocious1        and yet it is in the  
midst of his people that the religion   
par excellence of benignity and         
forgiveness took its rise4        ,also 
the real morality of men was never      
proportionate to the        frequently  
fanatic intensity of their religious    
sentiments4 ,see        ,m4 ,rville     
7,prolgomnes1 p4 #bha74    ,sidenote3   
,religion much less moral than society4 
,if one stops to recollect that moral   
laws are in a great measure  the        
expression of the very necessities of   
human life1 and that the  generality of 
certain rules is due to the uniformity  
of the conditions  of life on the       
surface of the globe1 one will          
understand why it was  that one's       

relations to the gods1 that is to say to
 creatures of  the imagination1 were not
 dominated so directly as one's         
relations  to one's fellow-men by the   
exigencies of practical life1 but were  
regulated by much more variable and     
fantastic laws containing often  a      
visible germ of immorality4 ,the divine 
society was an imaginary  extension of  
human society1 not an imaginative       
perfection of it4 ,it was  physical     
fear1 timor1 and not moral reverence1   
which gave being to  the first gods4    
,the human imagination1 labouring thus  
under the empire  of fear1 naturally    
gave birth to a prodigy more often than 
to an ideal4  ,for the primitive        
conscience1 as for primitive art1 the   
distinction  between the great and the  
monstrous was by no means sufficiently  
marked4 ,the germ of immorality1        
therefore1 not less than of morality    
lies at the root of every religion4     
,once more1 it would be an error to     
believe that religions are immoral in   

that they are anthropomorphic1 or       
sociomorphic2 rather the contrary is    
true1 they are not moral except  in so  
far as they are sociomorphic4           
,mutilation1 for example1 cruelty1      
obscenity are foreign to the conceptions
 which dominate human conduct4  ,one may
 verify in every religion what is       
observed in ,christianity1  that the    
truly moral ,god is precisely the       
man-,god1 ,jesus1 whereas ,god  the     
,father1 who pitilessly sacrifices his  
own son1 is anti-human and  immoral1    
precisely in that he is superhuman4     
,sidenote3 ,summary4    ,in effect we   
find our fundamental proposition        
confirmed afresh3  religion is a        
sociology conceived as a physical1      
metaphysical1 and  moral explanation of 
all things2 it is the reduction of all  
natural1  and even supernatural forces  
to a human type1 and the reduction of   
their relations to social relations4    
,also the progress of religion  has been
 exactly parallel to the progress in    

social evolution1 which  has itself been
 dominated by the progress of subjective
 morals and  conscience4 ,the gods were 
at first divided into two classes3 the  
beneficent and the maleficent1 who      
ultimately came to be recognized  as    
respectively virtuous and wicked4 ,then 
these two classes were  absorbed into   
their respective chiefs1 into ,ormuzd   
and ,ahriman1 into  ,god and ,satan1    
into a principle of good and a principle
 of evil4 ,thus  by a fresh dualism     
spirits themselves were separated and   
ranged into  classes1 as the spirit     
itself had previously been separated    
from the  body4 ,finally the principle  
of goodness subsisted victoriously under
  the name of ,god4 ,he became the      
personification of the moral law and    
the moral sanction1 the sovereign       
legislator and judge1 in a word1 the    
living law of universal society1 as a   
king is the living law in a human       
society4 ,to-day ,god tends to be       
identified with the human conscience    

purified ad infinitum1 and adequate with
 the universe4 ,for these  last and most
 subtle representations of the religious
 sentiment1 ,god  is no more than a     
symbol of the moral and the ideal4 ,one 
may see in  this evolution of religious 
ideas the gradual triumph of            
sociomorphism1  since it is             
characterized by an extension to the    
universe at large of  social relations  
which are incessantly progressing toward
 perfection  among men4      ,,ii4 ,the 
moral sanction in the society which     
includes gods and men4    ,sidenote3    
,the gods inevitably become protectors  
of social justice4    ,to the           
personification of the law1 religious   
morals inevitably  joined that of the   
sanction which plays so capital a rle in
 every  human society4 ,the celestial   
government has always been a projection 
of the human government1 with a penalty 
at first terrible and  subsequently     
softened4 ,to say the truth1 the theory 
of a sanction  is the systematization of

 that of a providence4 ,the             
distinguishing  characteristic of a     
providence is that it awards or         
recompenses1  insomuch that one may     
bring down upon one's self or avoid its 
anger1  by such and such conduct4 ,well1
 the instant a man admits that a divine 
power is governing him1 this power will 
inevitably appear to him to be          
exercising a control over his conduct1  
and1 as it were1 sanctioning  it4 ,this 
control will at first be exercised only 
in regard to the  personal relations of 
the individual1 with his god and his    
gods4 ,but  the individual will soon    
recognize that if the gods take an      
interest  in him they may well take an  
interest also in the other members of   
the  tribe1 provided that these last    
know how to render them propitious2  and
 to injure the other worshippers of a   
god would be indirectly to  injure the  
god himself1 and provoke his anger4 ,all
 the members of a  tribe therefore find 
themselves protected against each other 

by their  association with the gods1    
religion lends support to social        
justice1  and whoever violates social   
justice expects the gods to punish him4 
,this expectation also must have been   
confirmed by the facts1 for if          
antisocial and unjust conduct had       
habitually prevailed among men1  social 
life would have been impossible4        
,injustice must then always on  an      
average have carried its sanction with  
it1 and this sanction must  have        
appeared to be the direct work of the   
gods1 passing judgment from  on high on 
the social conduct of their clients1 as 
,roman patrons did1  seated beneath the 
columns of the atrium4    ,sidenote3    
,and of human justice4    ,as religions 
intermingled and grew in extent1 the    
clientage of a god1  at first extended  
to the members of a single tribe1 passed
 beyond its  bounds4 ,men1 of no matter 
what origin1 might become citizens of   
the  celestial city1 of the superhuman  
association which took charge of each   

of its members1 so that the divine      
sanction tended increasingly to  become 
confounded with the moral sanction1 and 
one understood that ,god  protected     
justice not only within the bosom of a  
tribe1 but everywhere  within the limits
 of humanity4    ,sidenote3 ,natural    
desire to have the scales loaded on the 
side of  rectitude4    ,while in the    
matter of the sanction the sociomorphic 
conception of the  world tended thus to 
become a moral conception1 morality     
itself must  have tended1 in order to   
eke out its own insufficiency1 to ally  
itself  with religion4 ,human society1  
powerless to make itself always         
respected  by every one of its members1 
inevitably invoked the aid of the       
society of superior beings which        
enveloped it on all sides4 ,man being   
essentially a social animal1  1 could   
not be resigned  in the presence of the 
success of antisocial conduct1 and      
whenever  it seemed that such conduct   
had succeeded humanly1 the very nature  

of mankind tended to make it turn toward
 the superhuman to demand a  reparation 
and a compensation4 ,if the bees should 
suddenly see their  hives destroyed     
before their eyes without there being   
any hope of ever  reconstructing them1  
their whole being would be shaken1 and  
they would  instinctively await for an  
intervention of some kind1 which should 
re-establish an order as immutable and  
sacred for them as that of the  stars is
 for us4 ,man1 by virtue of the moral   
nature with which heredity  has         
furnished him1 is thus inclined to      
believe that wickedness ought  not to   
have the last word in the universe2 the 
triumph of evil and of  injustice always
 stirs his indignation4 ,this species of
 indignation  is observable in infants  
almost before they can talk1 and        
numerous  traces of it may be found even
 among animals4 ,the logical result of  
this instinctive protest against evil is
 a refusal to believe in its  definitive
 triumph4#dd          #dd ,see the      

author's ,esquisse d'une morale 7,i41   
iii472        ,besoin psychologique     
d'une sanction4    ,sidenote3 ,results  
in victory being given in heaven to     
principle of  light4    ,man1 in whose  
eyes the society in which the gods live 
corresponds so  closely to human        
society1 must almost inevitably imagine 
the existence  among them of antisocial 
beings1 of ,ahrimans and ,satans1       
protectors of  evil in heaven and on    
earth1 but it is natural that he should 
give the  victory in the end to the     
8principle of good0 over the 8principle 
of  evil40 ,of all things it is the most
 repugnant to him to believe that  the  
universe is fundamentally indifferent to
 the distinction between  good and evil2
 a divinity may be irascible1           
capricious1 and even  intermittently    
wicked1 but man cannot understand an    
impassible and cold  nature4            
,sidenote3 ,gods legitimated by alliance
 with the moral forces of  society4     
,the most powerful of the gods had thus 

served to reconcile force and  justice1 
a barbarous justice appropriate to the  
spirit of primitive man4    ,through the
 idea of sanction grafted thus upon that
 of providence1  religion assumes a     
really systematic character1 and becomes
 attached  to the very fibres of the    
human heart4 ,as instruments of goodness
  in the universe1 the gods1 or at least
 the sovereign gods1 serve to  confirm  
human morality2 they become in some sort
 the life of morality4  ,their existence
 is no longer simply a physical fact2 it
 is a physical  fact1 morally justified 
by a social instinct which relies upon  
it as  its main safeguard4 ,henceforth  
the power of the gods is legitimate4 ,a 
divine king1 like a human king1 requires
 a certain mystic consecration2  it is  
religion which consecrates human kings1 
it is morality which  consecrates the   
king of the gods4    ,sidenote3         
,importance of conception of immortality
 in the moral  evolution of religion4   
,the notion of a divine intervention to 

trim the balance of the social  order1  
to punish and to recompense1 was at     
first altogether foreign to  the belief 
in a continuation of life after death2  
it became allied to  this belief much   
later4 ,even among a people so advanced 
as the ,hebrews  in matters of religious
 evolution1 reward and punishment beyond
 this  life played no rle1 and yet there
 has scarcely ever been a people  who   
believed more heartily in the will of   
,god as directing the life  of mankind2 
but in their eyes ,god achieved his     
victory in this life2  they possessed no
 need for an immortality as a means of  
redressing the  moral balance of the    
world4#de ,it was only later1 when the  
critical  sense had attained a higher   
development1 that it was recognized that
  the sanction did not always come in   
this life2 the chastisement of  the     
culpable1 the hoped-for recompense of   
the virtuous1 gradually  retreated from 
the present world into a distant future4
 ,hell and heaven  were thrown open to  

correct the manifest imperfections of   
this life4  ,the notion of immortality  
thus assumed an extraordinary           
importance1  insomuch that it seemed as 
if modern life would be destroyed if it 
were  deprived of this belief1 which    
former times had1 however1 succeeded in 
doing without4 ,at bottom a clear and   
reflective conception of a life  after  
death1 in which one is rewarded or      
punished for one's life here1  is a very
 complex and remote deduction from the  
notion of sanction4          #de ,the   
question whether the ,hebrews believed  
in the        immortality of the soul   
has long been discussed1 and ,m4 ,renan 
has been reproached with his negative   
attitude in the matter2        but ,m4  
,renan never denied the existence1 among
 the ,hebrews1 of        a belief in a  
sojourn for the shadows or manes of the 
dead2 the        whole question was     
whether the ,hebrews believed in a      
system        of reward and punishment  
after death1 and ,m4 ,renan was right   

in maintaining that any such notion is  
foreign to primitive        ,judaism4   
,it is equally foreign to primitive     
,hellenism4 ,though        the living   
endeavoured to conciliate the dead1 they
 did not        envy their fate which1  
even in the case of the just1 was worse 
than the fate of the living4 8,seek not 
to console me for death1        noble   
,ulysses10 ,achilles says1 when he      
arrives in ,tartarus4 8,i        would  
rather be a hired labourer and till a   
poor man's field        than reign over 
all the regions of the dead40 7,see     
,morale        d'picure1 #c;d ed42 ,des 
ides antiques sur la mort47             
,sidenote3 ,religious sanction at first 
conceived as a vengeance4    ,the       
religious sanction1 being fundamentally 
an extension of human  social relations 
to the life of the gods1 successively   
assumed the  three forms of human       
penalty4 ,at first it was only          
vengeance1 as in  the case of the lower 
animals and of savage man4 ,it is evil  

rendered  in return for evil4 ,the      
sentiment of vengeance has subsisted1   
and  still subsists1 in the bosom of    
every religion which admits a divine    
sanction2 vengeance is confided to ,god1
 and becomes only the more  terrible4   
8,do not avenge yourselves10 ,st4 ,paul 
says1 8but rather give  place unto      
wrath3 for it is written1 ,vengeance is 
mine2 ,i will repay1  saith the ,lord4  
,therefore1 if thine enemy hunger1 feed 
him2 if he  thirst1 give him to drink3  
for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of
  fire on his head40 8,our patience10   
,st4 ,cyprian wrote1 8comes from our    
certainty that we shall be avenged2 it  
heaps coals of fire upon the  heads of  
our enemies4 ,the day on which the ,most
 ,high shall number the  faithful shall 
see the culpable in ,gehenna1 and our   
persecutors shall  be consumed in       
eternal fire6 ,what a spectacle for my  
transports1 my  admiration1 and my      
laughter60 ,and by way of a refinement1 
one of the  martyrs at ,carthage told   

the pagans to look him well in the face 
so  that they might recognize him on the
 day of judgment at the right  hand of  
the ,father1 while they were being      
precipitated into eternal  flame4#df    
#df ,the most orthodox theologians1 of  
course1 mean by fire a        veritable 
flame4    ,sidenote3 ,then as an        
expiation4    ,the notion of vengeance1 
as it becomes more subtle and passes1 so
  to speak1 from the domain of passion  
into that of intelligence is            
transformed into the notion of          
expiation1 which is exclusively         
religious1 although spiritualistic      
philosophers believe that it  contains  
moral and rational elements4 ,expiation 
is a sort of nave  compensation by which
 one fancies one may counterbalance     
moral evil by  accepting physical evil  
along with it4 ,expiation is a penalty  
which  possesses no utility in the way  
of benefiting the culprit or those who  
might follow his example2 it is neither 
corrective nor preventive2  it is an    

alleged satisfaction of the law1 the    
re-establishment of  an apparent        
symmetry for the delight of pure        
intelligence1 a public  prosecution pure
 and simple4 ,in a singular passage in  
the ,penses  chrtiennes1 ,father        
,bouhours has clearly and innocently set
 in relief  the inutility of religious  
expiation3 8,penitence of the damned1   
thou  art rigorous1 and how useless2    
could the anger of ,god go further than 
to punish pleasure so brief by torments 
which shall never end8 ,when  a damned  
soul shall have shed tears enough to    
fill all the rivers of  the world1 even 
if he should only have shed one a       
century1 he will be  no farther ahead   
after so many millions of years2 he will
 only have  begun to suffer1 and even   
when he shall have recommenced as often 
as  there are grains of sand upon the   
shores of the sea1 he shall even  then  
have done nothing40 ,the highest degree 
of the notion of expiation  is in effect
 this of eternal damnation4 ,in this    

theory of the penalty  of damnation1 and
 the pains of fire without end1 one     
recognizes the  barbarism of former time
 and the torments inflicted on the      
vanquished  by the vanquisher1 on the   
rebel by the chief of the tribe4 ,a sort
  of atavism attaches even to the       
religion of love in this perpetual      
inheritance of hatred1 of the customs of
 a savage period erected into  an       
eternal and divine institution4         
,,iii4 ,worship and religious rites4    
,sidenote3 ,the cult an expression of   
supposed reciprocity between gods  and  
men4    ,the cult1 which1 so to speak1  
is no more than the religion become     
visible and tangible1 is1 like the      
religion itself1 simply the  apotheosis 
of a certain social relation3 the       
exchange of services  between men living
 in society4 ,man1 who believes himself 
to receive  benefits from the gods1     
feels himself obliged to give something 
in  exchange4 ,he conceives a sort of   
reciprocity of action as appropriate    

between ,god and man1 a possible return 
in good or evil conduct2 man  possesses 
a certain hold on his ,god1 he is       
capable of procuring ,him a  certain    
satisfaction or causing ,him a certain  
pain1 and ,god will reply  a hundred    
fold in kind--pain for pain1 pleasure   
for pleasure4    ,sidenote3 ,is so1 even
 to-day4    ,one knows how gross the    
external forms of worship in the        
beginning  were4 ,they simply consisted 
in a practical application of the social
  economy3 the gods were given to eat   
and drink2 an altar was a  butcher's    
stall or the stall of a wine merchant1  
and the cult was a  veritable commerce  
between heaven and earth--a sort of a   
market1 in  which man offered lambs or  
sheep and received in exchange riches   
and  health4 ,in our days1 the cult is  
refined2 the exchange has become  more  
and more symbolic1 the gift is simply an
 expression of moral  homage1 for which 
the worshipper expects no immediate     
return2 still the  principle of the cult

 is always the same1 one believes that  
an act on  man's part possesses a direct
 influence on the will of ,god1 and this
  act consists in offerings or prayers  
fixed on beforehand4    ,sidenote3      
,governed by the law of the market4     
,another principle of primitive cult is 
proportionality4 ,one can expect  no    
more from another than a proportionate  
return2 bow three times  before him1 and
 he will be better disposed toward you  
than if you bow  but once2 offer him a  
beef1 and he will be more grateful than 
if you  offer an egg4 ,accordingly1 to  
an uncultivated and superstitious mind1 
it follows that quantity and number     
should regulate our relations with  the 
gods as they regulate our relations with
 our fellow-men2 multiply  your prayers1
 and you will multiply your chances of  
favours2 three  ,paternosters go farther
 than one1 a dozen candles will produce 
a much  greater effect than a single    
candle4 ,a prayer that you go to a      
temple  to say in public1 a cantique    

chanted in a sonorous voice1 will       
attract  more attention than a silent   
demand formulated at the bottom of one's
  heart4 ,similarly1 if one wishes to   
obtain rain or sun for the crops1  it is
 into the fields that one must go to    
offer up one's prayer1 in a  motley file
 of chanting worshippers2 it is always  
serviceable to point  one's finger at   
what one wants1 and to make the demand  
in person4  ,the better to stimulate the
 memory of one's idol primitive man was 
accustomed to drive a nail into him1 and
 the custom still survives in  ,brittany
 in the form of thrusting pins into the 
bodies of the saints4  ,out of sight1   
out of mind1 holds good both of gods and
 saints4 ,to  simple minds it would be  
contrary to the law of proportionate    
exchange  for a simple thought1 a silent
 prayer1 to receive such favour in the  
eyes of the gods as an overt act4       
,sidenote3 ,embodied in fixed forms4    
,every religion insists upon some quite 
determinate exterior form of  worship1 a

 precise manifestation1 a creed2 it     
endeavours to incorporate  itself into a
 certain number of rites and customs1   
which are numerous  and inviolable in   
proportion as the religion is primitive4
 ,the  universality of an external form 
of worship in the different religions   
of the world is the consequence and the 
most striking proof of their            
sociomorphic origin4 ,man has always    
believed that he might be useful  and   
agreeable to his gods so long as he has 
conceived them as analogous  to himself 
and to his neighbours4           99     
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,which soon came to be       
conceived as coercive4    ,add that to  
the notion of seducing the gods that of 
constraining is  soon joined4 ,to the   
conception of an exchange of services is
 soon  joined that of a species of      
coercion exercised in some vague manner 
by  the intermediation of some friendly 
god or even by some simple magic        
formula which has once succeeded1 once  

procured the object demanded6  ,formul  
consecrated by custom appear to be      
equally binding on gods  and men4       
,accordingly the cult1 at first more or 
less loose1 more or  less arbitrary1    
ultimately becomes minutely regulated2  
ultimately  becomes what one knows as a 
rite4 ,a rite1 at its lowest1 is simply 
the result of a tendency to repeat      
indefinitely an act which1 at some  time
 or other1 has seemed to render a god or
 a fetich propitious4  ,after           
propitiation comes mechanical custom4   
,religion1 as ,pascal well  said1 is to 
a large extent habit4 ,rites are born of
 the need to  perform again and again   
the same act1 under the same            
circumstances2  a need which is the     
foundation of custom1 and without which 
all life  would be impossible4          
,moreover1 there is something sacred in 
every  habit whatsoever1 and every act1 
whatever it may be1 tends to become  a  
habit and by that fact to become        
respectable1 to be in some sort         

self-consecrated4 ,rites1 therefore1    
strike root in the very foundations  of 
our being2 the need for rites manifests 
itself very early in  the life of the   
child4 ,children not only imitate other 
people and  themselves1 repeat other    
people and themselves1 but exact a      
scrupulous  precision in these          
repetitions2 in general they do not     
distinguish the  end from the means by  
which1 and the circumstances under      
which1 it is  pursued2 they do not yet  
possess a sufficiently exercised        
intelligence  to understand that the    
same line of action may lead to the same
 result  in different ways and under    
different circumstances4 ,i once        
observed  a child of from eighteen      
months to two years old3 if ,i got up   
from my  armchair and paraded about the 
room for its amusement1 and stopped1 it 
was necessary before beginning once more
 that ,i should return to my  seat2 the 
child's pleasure was much diminished if 
the repetition was  not exact4 ,the     

child was accustomed to be fed by a     
number of people  indifferently2 still  
if ,i had given it some one thing--milk 
to drink1  for example--a number of     
times1 it was no longer satisfied to    
receive  milk from anybody else1 and    
insisted that the same person should    
always  give it the same thing4 ,if1 on 
leaving the house1 ,i took another cane 
than my own1 the child would take it    
away from me to put it back where  it   
belonged4 ,it was unwilling that one    
should wear one's hat in the  house or  
go bare-headed out of doors4 ,and       
finally1 ,i saw it achieve a  veritable 
bit of ceremonial on its own account4   
,it had been accustomed  to be told to  
call a domestic at the top of the       
servants' stairway2  one day the        
domestic was in the room when the child 
was told to call  her2 the child looked 
at her1 turned about1 went to the top of
 the  stairway where it usually called  
her1 and there only shouted out her     
name4 ,all the conduct of life1 in      

effect the most important as the most   
insignificant1 is classified in a       
child's head1 rigorously defined1  and  
modelled on the type of the first act of
 that kind that has caught  its         
attention1 without the child's ever     
being able to distinguish the  object of
 an act from its form4 ,this confusion  
between purpose and  form exists in a no
 less striking degree among savages and 
primitive  peoples1 and it is upon this 
very confusion that the sacred character
  of religious rites is founded4        
,sidenote3 ,primitive man possesses a   
repugnance not to novelty but to a      
breach of custom4    ,the trouble that  
is apparent in a child or an            
uncultivated man in the  presence of    
whatever deranges his established       
association of ideas1  has been         
explained by a pure and simple horror of
 novelty4 ,lombroso  has even coined a  
word to designate this psychological    
state2 he has  called it misoneism4 ,but
 let us not confound two quite distinct 

things1 a horror of a breach of custom  
and a horror of novelty2 there  are new 
perceptions1 and habits that may be     
added to the whole body  of already     
existing perceptions and habits without 
deranging them  much or at all2 and     
against these neither the savage nor the
 child  rebels4 ,though the child never 
wearies of listening to the same  tale  
and becomes irritated the moment one    
alters its least detail1  it will listen
 no less passionately to a new tale2 and
 new toys and  new walks delight it4    
,the same taste for novelty is          
observable among  savages1 just in so   
far as it can be gratified without      
disturbing  their preconceived ideas4   
,primitive man is like the miser who    
will  not part with any of his acquired 
treasure1 but asks nothing better  than 
to increase it4 ,he is naturally        
curious1 but he has no desire to  push  
his curiosity to the point of           
contradicting what he knows already  or 
believes he knows4 ,and in a measure he 

is right1 he is simply  obeying the     
powerful instinct of intellectual       
self-preservation2 his  intelligence is 
not sufficiently supple constantly to   
knit and unknit  the associations of    
ideas which experience has established  
in him4 ,a  black1 out of an attachment 
for ,livingstone1 wished to accompany   
him to  ,europe2 a few days on the      
steamer drove him insane4 ,it is1       
therefore1  in obedience to a certain   
branch of the instinct of               
self-preservation  that primitive       
peoples are so conservative in their    
customs and rites2  but they show       
themselves no less willing to           
appropriate the customs and  rites of   
other people whenever they can do so    
without abandoning their  own4 ,the     
,romans ultimately came to accept the   
cult of all the peoples  in the world   
without1 however1 any abandonment of    
their national cult2  and ftes1 which   
are properly survivals of paganism1     
subsist even at  the present day2 one   

acquires superstition1 and customs1 much
 more  easily than one loses them4      
,sidenote3 ,worship in public confirms  
cult4    ,the power of example          
contributes also to lend an additional  
stability  to the public cult2 an       
individual becomes hardened in a        
practice which  he finds universal in   
the society in which he lives4 ,thence  
comes the  importance of public worship2
 the practice of public worship makes   
those who abstain from it conspicuous4  
,public worship is a viva voce  poll4   
,everyone sits in judgment upon you1 all
 of your acquaintances  become your     
accusers1 and all men who worship ,god  
are your enemies4  ,not to think as     
everybody else does is                  
comprehensible--but not to act  as      
everybody else does6 ,to wish to break  
away from the servitude of  action      
which1 once established1 tends to       
perpetuate itself6 ,in the  end the     
machine bends2 one becomes brutalized4  
,even among people of  superior minds   

the force of habit is incredible4 ,in   
the hours of doubt1  in his youth1 ,m4  
,renan wrote to his adviser3 8,i recite 
the ,psalms2 ,i  could pass hours and   
hours1 if ,i but followed my own        
inclination1 in  the churches4444 ,i    
experience lively returns of            
devotion4444 ,at times  ,i am           
simultaneously both ,catholic and       
rationalist6 ,when one cuts loose  from 
such beliefs1 beliefs which have become 
a second nature to one1  it seems as if 
one has severed one's self from one's   
whole past4 ,one  has in some sense     
lived them1 and one is attached to them 
as to one's  own life2 to abandon them  
is to resolve to die to one's self4 ,it 
seems  as if one's entire strength had  
come from them and that one will be as  
feeble as a child when one has lost     
them2 they are to one what ,samson's    
hair was to him4 ,happily they will grow
 again40    ,sidenote3 ,priesthood a    
consequence of established rites4       
,priesthood is a consequence of the     

establishment of rites4 ,the priest  is 
the man supposed to be most capable of  
influencing the divinity  by a minute   
and learned observation of the sacred   
rites4 ,rites1 in  effect1 the moment   
they become complicated by an           
accumulation of  diverse customs lie    
beyond the knowledge and power of the   
ordinary man2  it requires a special    
education to talk to the gods in the    
complex  language which alone they      
understand1 in the formul which coerce  
their  wills4 ,whoever possesses this   
imagination is a species of magician or 
sorcerer2 and the priesthood arose out  
of sorcery1 of which it was  simply the 
regular organization4#dg          #dg   
8,sorcery1 in the beginning purely      
individual and        fantastic10 says  
,m4 ,rville1 8gradually develops into   
sacerdotalism and by that change1 having
 become a permanent        public       
institution1 sacerdotal sorcery becomes 
systematic1        develops a ritual    
which becomes traditional1 imposes upon 

those who aspire to the honour of       
conducting the conditions        of     
initiation1 proof of efficiency1 a      
novitiate1 receives        privileges1  
defends them if they are attacked1      
endeavours        to augment them4 ,this
 is the history of all sacerdotal       
institutions1 which are certainly       
descended from a capricious1            
fantastic1 disorderly1 practice of      
sorcery in previous ages40    ,sidenote3
 ,tendency of priest to become a sacred 
person4    ,the externals of worship    
remain to-day1 in special in the        
,catholic and  ,greek religions1 a      
collection of traditional1 inflexible   
formul1 which  could not be trusted to  
produce their effect if a word or a     
gesture in  them were changed2 certain  
ceremonies are really veritable         
traditional  forms of incantation4      
,rites resemble the invisible bonds in  
which ,faust  held the ,devil2 but it is
 ,god himself in this case that is      
enchanted1  charmed1 and overpowered4   

,at bottom the belief which makes the   
,chinese  priest turn his praying       
machine1 the belief which makes the     
devotee  tell her beads1 the belief     
which makes the priest thumb his        
breviary  or say salaried masses for    
unknown peoples1 which in the ,midi     
makes  rich people pay beggars to mumble
 prayers before their doors1 all rest   
upon one and the same principle3 they   
all rest on a faith in a power of  the  
rite1 of the traditional formula in and 
of itself1 no matter who  pronounces it4
 ,the efficacity of the interested      
prayers does not seem  to depend solely 
on the legitimacy of what one demands   
but on the form  employed in demanding  
them2 and this form has been determined 
at bottom  by experience2 the majority  
of devotees perform minute experiments  
on the comparative virtue of individual 
prayers1 masses1 offerings1             
pilgrimages1 miraculous waters1 etc42   
they amass the result of their          
observations and transmit them to their 

children4 ,the invocation of  certain   
privileged ,madonnas1 such as the       
,madonna at ,lourdes1 is even  to-day a 
vestige of primitive sorcery4 ,the      
priest inherits all these  nave         
experiments as to the conditions        
appropriate to induce a miracle1  and he
 systematizes them4 ,priests being men  
picked for their capability  in the     
function which was regarded as the most 
useful of all others for  the           
preservation of society1 necessarily    
came to constitute a really  superior   
caste and to be personally in some sense
 the object of the  cult which they     
administered4 ,the perfect type of      
sacerdotal privilege  is hereditary     
priesthood as it existed in ancient     
,judaism1 as it still  exists in ,india2
 every ,brahman is born a priest and    
needs no special  education4 ,the       
thirty-seven great priests of ,vishnu in
 ,gujerat are  honoured even to-day as  
the visible incarnation of ,vishnu4#dh  
#dh ,it is an honour for which one pays 

dear to be permitted        to          
consecrate to them one's soul1 one's    
body1 or the soul and        body of    
one's wife4 ,one pays five rupees for   
the privilege of        contemplating   
them1 twenty for the privilege of       
touching them1        thirteen for the  
privilege of being whipped by them1     
seventeen        for the privilege of   
eating betel that they have chewed1     
nineteen for the privilege of drinking  
the water in which they        have     
bathed1 thirty-five for the privilege of
 washing their        great toes1       
forty-two for the privilege of rubbing  
them with        perfumed oil1 and from 
one hundred to two hundred for tasting  
in their company the essence of delight4
    ,sidenote3 ,antagonism between      
priest and prophet4    ,historically the
 priest has always found a rival1       
sometimes an  adversary1 in the prophet1
 from ,buddha to ,isaiah and ,jesus4    
,the prophet  is not a priest bound to a
 sanctuary and slave to a tradition1 but

  an individual4 8,prophecy10 says ,m4  
,albert ,rville1 8is to religion  what  
lyrism is to poetry40 ,the prophet and  
the lyric poet1 in effect1  both speak  
in the name of their own inspiration4   
,the prophet is often  a revolutionist1 
the priest is essentially a             
conservative2 the one  represents       
innovation1 the other custom4           
,sidenote3 ,dramatic element in cult4   
,exterior forms of worship and rites    
allying themselves with refined  and    
elevated sentiments have in all         
religions taken on a symbolic  and      
expressive character that they did not  
possess in the practice  of primitive   
sorcery2 they have become sthetic and by
 that fact  rendered durable4 ,for      
whoever looks upon the most ancient     
religious  ceremonies with the eye of an
 artist1 they consist in the            
reproduction1  nowadays too mechanically
 and unconsciously1 of a work of art    
which  once was not without its         
significance and its beauty4 ,they are  

nowadays like a hand-organ playing      
admirable compositions by some  old     
master4 ,pfleiderer1 in his 8,philosophy
 of ,religion10 has shown  that the     
dominant element in the externals of    
worship is dramatic1  the dramatization 
of some mythological or legendary       
scenes4 ,it is  especially among the    
,aryans that this element predominates2 
the ,aryans  are especially susceptible 
to the charm of great epics and dramas4 
,the ,semites are lyric rather1 and     
thence arises the importance of         
prophecy among them2 although the lyric 
element was also represented  among the 
,greek poets and ,pythonesses4 ,the     
dramatic element1 on the  contrary1 is  
visible in certain symbolic ceremonies  
of ,christianity  and ,judaism4 ,the    
,mass was formerly a veritable drama of 
the ,passion in  which the spectators   
also took part2 the half pagan1 half    
,christian  processions that still      
subsist to-day possess for the crowd    
something  of the attractiveness of the 

opera4 ,the ,communion is a             
dramatization  of the ,lord's ,supper4  
,catholicism especially is distinguished
 by  the possession of dramatic and     
sthetic 7too often gross7 elements1     
which explain1 not less than historical 
reasons1 its victory over               
,protestantism among the nations of     
southern ,europe1 which are more        
artistic than those of the north1 and   
more sensually artistic4 ,the  sthetic  
superiority of a religion is not to be  
disdained by the  thinker4 ,it is the   
sthetic element in every rite which1 as 
we shall  see1 is its most respectable  
characteristic4 ,moreover1 religious    
sentiment and sthetic sentiment have    
always gone hand in hand2  and this     
union has been one of the most important
 factors in the  development of the     
sthetic sentiment2 it is thus that      
dramas and  epics dealt in the beginning
 with gods and demi-gods rather than    
with  men2 the earliest romances were   
religious legends2 the first odes were  

sacred chants and songs4 ,music and     
religion have always been allied4  ,but 
in the end1 the sthetic element becomes 
feeble and is replaced1  as religion    
loses its vitality1 by a species of     
mechanical routine4 ,in  the ,east1 even
 more than among us1 this phenomenon is 
manifest1 the  whole tendency there is  
toward monotonous and interminable      
ceremonials4  ,the ,parsees1 the        
representatives of the oldest existing  
religion1  pass six hours a day in      
prayer4 ,and according to the ,indian   
,mirror  the following is a description 
of the festival of the ,lord1 a part  of
 the cult of ,brahmaism1 the altogether 
modern and wholly deistical  religion   
founded by ,ram ,mohun ,roy and ,keshub3
 8,at precisely six o'clock  a hymn was 
intoned in chorus in the upper gallery  
of the mandir to  announce the day's    
solemnity4 ,others followed to the      
accompaniment of  the harmonium1 and    
thus1 after a succession of hymns1 the  
sacred office  was reached1 which1      

counting in the sermon1 lasted from     
seven to ten  o'clock4 ,a part of the   
congregation then retired to take some  
rest1  but those who remained intoned   
the vedi to demand of the minister      
explanations in regard to several points
 of his sermon4 ,at noon1 the  assembly 
having convened1 four pundits came out  
successively and  recited ,sanskrit     
texts4 ,at one o'clock the minister gave
 a conference40  ,then came the         
exposition of a number of philosophical 
and religious  theses1 delivered by     
their respective authors4 ,hymns1       
meditations1 and  prayers in common     
lasted till nearly seven o'clock1 when  
the initiation  of seven new ,brahmaists
 was celebrated4 ,this ceremony1        
including a  sermon1 lasted not less    
than two hours1 and the assembly1 which1
 if one  may believe the reporter1 did  
not show any sign of fatigue after these
  fifteen hours of continuous devotion1 
separated with a hymn to the  effect    
that it had not yet had enough3 8,the   

heart wishes not to return  home40      
,,iv4 ,subjective worship--,adoration   
and love4    ,sidenote3 ,subjective     
worship a refinement on public and      
external  worship4    ,subjective       
worship has grown out of1 and been a    
refinement upon1 the  external cult1    
which in the beginning was in the eyes  
of mankind much  the more important of  
the two4 ,to the incantation1 to the    
material  offering1 to the sacrifices of
 the victims succeeded subjective prayer
  and the subjective offering of love1  
and the subjective sacrifice  of        
egoistic passion4 ,to external homage1  
to evidences of fear and  respect by    
which one was supposed to recognize the 
superior power of  the gods1 as one bows
 down in recognition of the superior    
power of  kings1 succeeded a mental     
adoration1 in which a god is recognized 
as  all-powerful but also as            
all-beneficent4 ,the mental bowing down 
of the  entire soul before ,god is the  
last refinement of ritual2 and ritual   

itself in the higher religions comes to 
be the simple sign and symbol  of this  
adoration4#di ,thus the primitive       
sociomorphic character of  the cult     
becomes progressively more subtle3 the  
semi-material society1  consisting of   
gods and men1 becomes a wholly moral    
society1 composed  of men and the       
principle of goodness1 which still      
continues to be  represented as a       
person1 as a master1 as a father1 as a  
king4          #di ,among the ,hindus1  
,tapas1 that is to say fire1 the ardour 
of devotion1 and of voluntary           
renouncement1 signified in the          
beginning simply the incantation        
intended to constrain the        ,devas 
to obedience1 and to deprive them of a  
part of their        power4 ,out of a   
crude conception has grown an extremely 
refined        one4 ,see ,manuel de     
l',histoire des religions1 par ,c4 ,p4  
,tiele1        p4 #ai 7translated by    
,maurice ,vernes74    ,sidenote3 ,the   
love of ,god an outlet for the surplus  

of human love4    ,the highest form of  
subjective worship is love of ,god1 in  
which all the  duties of religious      
morality may be regarded as summed up4  
,adoration  contains in it a vitiating  
element of respect for power2 love is a 
more  intimate union4 ,the love of ,god 
is a partial manifestation of the need  
to love which exists in every human     
being4 ,this need is so great that  it  
cannot always find satisfaction in real 
life2 it tends therefore to  stretch    
beyond1 and not finding upon earth an   
object which completely  suffices for   
it1 it seeks one in heaven4 ,the love of
 ,god appears thus  to be an expression 
of the superabundance of the love of    
man4 ,our heart  sometimes feels too big
 for the world and seeks to overpass its
 limits4  ,let us not forget1 for the   
rest1 that the world has been strangely 
contracted by religious ignorance1      
intolerance1 and prejudice2 the  sphere 
left open to the need of loving was     
formerly a very narrow one3  it is not  

astonishing that the latter should have 
stretched out its  arms toward a        
celestial and supernatural being4       
,sidenote3 ,nourished by isolation1     
feebleness1 and misfortune4    ,the same
 thing happens when human affections are
 shipwrecked in us1  lose their object1 
no longer find anything to which they   
can attach  themselves4 ,in ,france1 as 
in ,england and ,america1 the habitual  
devotion  of spinsters has long since   
been observed1 though it often coincides
  with a certain pining away of the     
heart4 ,in our times a virtuous         
unmarried woman is1 so to speak1        
predestined to devotion2 divine love  is
 for her 7on an average1 of course7 a   
necessary compensation4 ,remark  also   
that old men are generally more inclined
 to devotion than young4  ,there are1 no
 doubt1 a number of reasons for it3 the 
approach of death1  the enfeeblement of 
the body and of the intelligence1 the   
increasing  need for a support1 etc42   
but there exists also a more profound   

reason4  ,the old man1 always more      
isolated than the young1 and deprived of
 the  excitations of the sexual         
instinct1 possesses a smaller outlet for
 his  instinct for affection and for    
love4 ,thus there accumulates in him an 
amount of treasure which he is free to  
apply as to him seems best2  well1 the  
service of ,god is that which demands   
least effort1 which  is most appropriate
 to the natural indolence of the old1 to
 their  preoccupation with themselves2  
they become therefore devotees1 partly  
out of egoism1 partly out of a need for 
some disinterested occupation4  ,a grain
 of incense burns in every heart1 and   
when the perfume of it  can no longer be
 given to the earth we let it mount to  
heaven4 ,note  also that the loss of    
beloved beings1 misfortunes of every    
sort1 and  irreparable infirmities all  
provoke an expansion of the heart toward
  ,god4 ,in the ,middle ,ages           
unhappiness was frequently one of the   
most  important factors of piety2 when a

 great and unmerited misfortune         
happened to a man1 the chances were that
 he would enter the ,church or  else    
become an atheist2 it depended often on 
his strength of mind1 his  habits1 and  
his education4 ,when one strikes an     
animal it is equally  possible that it  
may bite one or crouch at one's feet4   
,every time the  heart is violently     
bruised there comes an inevitable       
reaction2 we  must reply from within to 
the blows from without1 and this reply  
is  sometimes revolt and sometimes      
adoration4 ,the feeble1 the             
disinherited1  the suffering1 all those 
to whom misfortune has not left strength
  enough for rebellion1 have but one    
resource3 the sweet and consoling       
humility of divine love4 ,whoever does  
not love1 or is not loved  completely   
and sufficiently1 on earth will always  
turn toward heaven3  the proposition is 
as regular as the parallelogram of      
forces4    ,sidenote3 ,power of         
mysticism a perversion of love4    ,just

 as we have seen in an error of the     
senses one of the objective  principles 
of religious physics1 so perhaps may we 
find in a perversion  of love one of the
 most essential subjective principles of
 mysticism4  ,it is by love that this   
unction1 this penetrating sweetness     
which makes  the mystic tremble to the  
marrow of his bones1 is to be explained4
  ,profound love1 even the most         
terrestrial1 tends to envelop the object
  with respect and veneration2 an effect
 which is due to a number of  causes1   
and among others to the psychological   
law according to which  desire magnifies
 the desired object4 ,to love is always 
a little to  adore4 ,if it is a human   
being that is the object of the love1   
the  divinization incidental to it will 
be confined within certain limits1  but 
if the love stretch up from the earth   
into heaven1 it may command  the full   
powers of the imagination2 the soul1    
seeking at a distance  for some vague   
object to which to attach itself1 will  

go out in mystic  outbursts of emotion  
and ecstasy4 ,the soul will personify   
its ideal1  will supply it with figure  
and speech3 its ideal will be ,jesus    
with  ,mary ,magdalene at his feet1 or  
the ,virgin weeping at the foot of the  
cross1 or ,moses in the midst of the    
clouds1 or the child ,buddha before     
whom the statues of the gods rose and   
made obeisance4 ,thus mystical          
religions are formed of great images and
 passionate sentiments and the  heart of
 man1 the very life blood of which they 
turn to their profit4  ,what appears    
often to be the most intellectual of    
tastes is only love  in disguise4 ,the  
most earthly love is often a religion in
 its earliest  stages4 ,henri ,beyle1   
visiting the salt-mines at ,salzburg1   
found in a  shaft a branch covered with 
incomparable diamonds scintillating in  
the light4 ,it was a dead timber on     
which the salt had crystallized2  in the
 timber thus transformed ,beyle saw the 
symbol of what happens  in every loving 

heart2 every object one finds there has 
taken on an  extraordinary brilliancy1 a
 marvellous beauty4 ,he calls this      
phenomenon  crystallization2 we should  
prefer to call it divinization4 ,love   
always  divinizes its object2 partially 
and provisionally when this object  is  
placed upon earth and close to one's    
eyes1 but definitively when  this object
 is lost in the distance of heaven4 ,our
 gods are like those  mysterious beings 
who spring1 in legend1 from a drop of   
generous blood  or a loving tear let    
fall upon the earth2 it is with our own 
substance  that we nourish them2 their  
beauty1 their goodness come out of our  
love1 and if we love them as we do1 the 
reason is that we must love  something2 
must lift up to the four corners of the 
horizon1 even if  they be deaf1 a       
supreme appeal4 ,this outcome of love   
and religious  sentiment is most visible
 in exalted minds1 both in the ,middle  
,ages  and in our own days4 ,the true   
element of originality in ,christian    

literature is that one there finds1 for 
the first time1 a sincere  and warm     
accent of love1 scarcely divined1 here  
and there1 by the  great spirits of     
antiquity1 by ,sappho and ,lucretius4   
,in a page of ,st4  ,augustine one finds
 the expression of a franker and more   
profound  ardour than in all the elegant
 affectations of ,horace or the languors
  of ,tibullus4 ,nothing in pagan       
antiquity is comparable to the chapter  
in the 8,imitation0 on love4 ,the       
passion1 confined and held in check1    
mounts to heights till then unknown1    
like a dammed river2 but it is  no less 
genuinely itself4 ,what shall we say of 
the visionary mystics  of the people    
like ,st4 ,theresa1 and ,chantal1 and   
,guyon8 ,among them  piety1 in its most 
exaggerated form1 verges upon the       
madness of love4  ,st4 ,theresa might   
have been a courtesan of genius equally 
as well as  a saint4 ,physiologists and 
physicians have often observed1 in our  
days1 analogous pathological cases1 in  

which the religious effusion is  simply1
 so to speak1 a case of mistake in      
identity4#ej          #ej ,ribot1 de    
l',hrdit1 #cfd2 ,moreau de ,tours1      
,psych4        morbide1 #bei4           
,sidenote3 ,worship of ,christ to a     
considerable extent a perversion of     
love4    ,in ,christianity the          
conception of ,jesus1 the beautiful1    
gentle young  man1 the ,holy ,spirit    
incarnate in the purest and most ideal  
form1  favours more directly than any   
corresponding conception in any rival   
religion this particular perversion of  
love4 ,christianity is the most         
anthropomorphic belief in existence1 for
 it is the one of all others  which1    
after having conceived the most elevated
 idea of ,god1 abases  it1 without      
degrading it1 to the most human of human
 conditions4 ,by  a much more refined1  
much more profound paganism than the    
paganism  of antiquity1 the ,christian  
religion has succeeded in making ,god   
the  object of an ardent love1 without  

ceasing to make ,him an object of       
respect4 ,by a myth much more seductive 
and poetic even than that of  ,psyche1  
we see ,god1 the true ,god1 descended   
upon earth in the form of  a blond and  
smiling young man2 we hear him speak low
 in the ear of  ,mary ,magdalene at the 
fall of evening2 and then this vision   
suddenly  disappears and we see in the  
gathering shadow two mutilated arms     
extended toward us1 and a heart which   
bleeds for humanity4 ,in this  legend   
all the powers of the imagination are   
called in play1 all the  fibres of the  
heart are moved2 it is an accomplished  
work of art4 ,what  is there astonishing
 in the fact that ,christ has been and  
is still the  great seducer of souls8   
,in the ears of a young girl his name   
appeals  at once to all her instincts1  
even to the maternal instinct1 for      
,jesus  is often represented as a child 
with the dimpled1 rosy cheeks which  the
 ,greeks ascribed to ,eros4 ,the heart  
of the woman is thus besieged  on all   

sides at once3 her wavering and timid   
imagination wanders from  the cherub to 
the youth1 and from the youth to the    
pale figure1 with  the bowed head1 upon 
the cross4 ,it is possible that from the
 birth of  ,christianity down to the    
present day there has not been one      
single  woman of an exalted piety whose 
heart has not first beat for her ,god1  
for ,jesus1 for the most lovable and    
loving type that the human mind has     
ever conceived4    ,sidenote3 ,moral    
element in the law of ,god4    ,side by 
side with its somewhat sentimental      
element the love of ,god  contains a    
moral element1 which is progressively   
detaching itself  with the march of     
ideas4 ,god being the very principle of 
goodness1  the personification of the   
moral ideal1 the love of ,god ultimately
  becomes a moral love properly so      
called1 the love of virtue1 of  sanctity
 at its height4 ,the subjective act of  
charity thus becomes  the religious act 
par excellence1 in which morality and   

subjective  worship are identified2 good
 works and the externals of worship are 
simply a translation into the outer     
world of the moral consciousness4  ,at  
the same time1 in the highest           
speculations of philosophic theology1   
charity has been conceived as embracing 
simultaneously all beings in  the divine
 love1 and by consequence as beginning  
to realize the sort of  perfect society 
in which 8all exist in all and all in   
every part40 ,the  social and moral     
character of religion thus attains its  
highest degree  of perfection and ,god  
appears as a sort of mystic realization 
of the  universal society1 sub specie   
terni4          ,part ,second4    ,,the 
,,dissolution ,,of ,,religions ,,in     
,,existing ,,societies4                 
,,chapter ,i4    ,,dogmatic ,,faith4    
,i4 ,narrow dogmatic faith--,the        
credulity of primitive man3             
,first1 spontaneous faith in the senses 
and imagination2        ,second1 faith  
in the testimony of superior men2       

,third1        faith in the divine word1
 in revelation1 and in the sacred       
texts--,the literalness of dogmatic     
faith--,inevitable        intolerance of
 narrow dogmatic faith--,belief in      
dogma1        revelation1 salvation1 and
 damnation all result in                
intolerance--,modern tolerance4         
,,ii4 ,broad dogmatic faith--,orthodox  
,protestantism--,dogmas of              
orthodox ,protestantism--,rational      
consequences of these                   
dogmas--,logical failure of orthodox    
,protestantism4        ,,iii4 ,the      
dissolution of dogmatic faith in modern 
society--,reasons that render this      
dissolution                             
inevitable--,comparative influence of   
the various sciences3        influence  
of public instruction1 of means of      
communication1        of industry even  
and of commerce1 etc4--,the             
disappearance        of belief in       
oracles and prophecies--,gradual        
disappearance        of the belief in   

miracles1 in devils1 etc4      ,i4      
,narrow dogmatic faith4    ,if faith has
 not varied especially in and of itself 
as a mode of  feeling1 the objects with 
which it is concerned have differed from
  generation to generation4 ,hence the  
various forms of doctrine which we      
shall pass in review as showing the     
evolution and dissolution of faith4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,primitive faith more        
properly a credulity4    ,in primitive  
religions1 faith was altogether         
experimental and physical2  it was not  
opposed to scientific belief1 which1 to 
say the truth1 did  not exist4 ,it was a
 credulity rather than a faith2 and     
religious faith1  in our day1 is still a
 credulity1 an obligatory credulity1    
primarily in  the authority of superior 
men1 secondarily in that of ,god        
himself4    ,sidenote3 ,subordination of
 the marvellous in primitive faith4     
,the origin of religious faith has been 
attributed solely to an appetite  for   

the marvellous and the extraordinary2   
but we have already shown  that         
religions do everything in their power  
to regulate the imagination  even in the
 very act of stimulating it1 and to     
bring the unknown to the  touchstone of 
the known4 ,the marvellous must aid in  
making something at  least apparently   
comprehensible2 with marvel for marvel's
 sake religion  holds no commerce4 ,so  
much so1 that primitive people have     
sought in  religion1 less to multiply   
the marvellous1 in the modern sense of  
the word1 than partially to suppress it2
 they have been in search of  an        
explanation of some sort4 ,an           
explanation by superior powers1 by      
spirits1 by occult virtues1 seemed      
clearer to them than an explanation  by 
scientific law4    ,sidenote3 ,rationale
 of primitive man's faith in the        
marvellous4    ,for the rest1 any       
explanation once given1 primitive man   
never dreamed  of disputing it1 he was  
essentially a 8man of faith40 ,the      

delicate  shades of thought we designate
 as verisimilitude1 probability1        
possibility1 were as little known to    
primitive man as to children4  ,the     
voluntary suspension of judgment that we
 call doubt indicates  an extremely     
advanced state of mind4 ,with children  
and savages1 to  conceive and to believe
 are one2 they know nothing about       
reserving  their approbation1 or        
mistrusting their own intelligence or   
that of  others4 ,a certain humility1   
which young minds do not possess1 is    
necessary before one can say3 ,that may 
be true but also it may not1  or in     
other words1 ,i don't know4 ,and also   
one must have patience to  verify with  
care what one believes1 and patience is 
courage of the most  difficult kind4    
,finally1 man always feels the need to  
declare that what  is attractive1 what  
satisfies his mind1 is real3 when one   
tells an  interesting story to a child1 
he says1 8,it is true1 is it not80 ,if1 
on  the contrary1 it is a sad story he  

will cry out3 8,that is not true60 ,a   
man of the people to whom one should    
demonstrate1 with the evidence in  one's
 hand1 that a thing he thought true was 
false1 would reply with a  shake of the 
head1 8,if it is not true1 it ought to  
be40 ,all primitive  people were like   
that4 ,in a memorandum on ,the          
,development of ,language  and          
,intelligence among ,children1 ,e4      
,egger characterized this state of  mind
 as 8rebellion against the notion of    
doubt and even that of simple           
probability40 ,felix1 a child of five   
and one-half years1 took a lively       
interest in sacred history1 but he could
 not understand why all the  lacun had  
not been filled in1 or why doubtful     
points should be marked  as such4 8,the 
actual state of his mind10 adds ,e4     
,egger1 8corresponds in  a manner to    
that of the ,greek mind during the      
period when the effort  was made        
painfully to set in order the chaos of  
ancient legend40 ,two  years later the  

same child received a present of a      
collection of  stories4 ,he found in the
 preface that the author gave the       
stories out  as true2 he asked nothing  
further1 and was promptly astonished to 
find  anybody else in doubt4 8,his      
trustfulness displayed no disposition to
 go  behind the letter of his text1 in  
especial as the stories sounded to  him 
sufficiently probable40 ,in my own      
experience with children1 ,i have       
noticed that nothing irritates them like
 uncertainty2 a thing must be  true or  
false1 and generally they prefer that it
 should be true4 ,for  the rest1 a child
 does not know the limits of his own    
power1 and still  less that of others2  
and too1 he has no clear sense of the   
marvellous  and the improbable4 ,a child
 saw a horse galloping by one day1 and  
said  to me seriously1 8,i could run as 
fast as that40 ,thus again the little   
peasant girl1 of whom we spoke above1   
asked her mistress why she might  not   
have made the flowers in the garden4 ,a 

sense of the possible is  lacking in    
primitive intelligences3 because you    
seem to a child or  a savage to be able 
to do more things than he1 he readily   
comes to  believe that you can do       
everything2 so that what we call        
miracles seem  to primitive people      
simply the visible and necessary sign of
 superior  power2 so much so1 indeed1   
that to them a man of mark ought to be  
able to perform miracles2 they expect   
them from him as their due1 and  become 
indignant if they are not forthcoming1  
as a child is indignant  when one does  
not help him carry a burden that is too 
heavy for his  strength4 ,the ,hebrews  
precisely expected ,moses to perform    
miracles and1  so to speak1 obliged him 
to do them4 ,the people believe in their
 great  men1 and the belief in miracles 
is but a corollary from their general   
confidence4    ,sidenote3 ,absoluteness 
of primitive faith4    ,moreover1 faith 
reaches a height among primitive nations
 that it never  does among cultivated   

intelligences3 they believe immeasurably
 things  that it is out of all measure  
to believe at all2 the happy inter      
utrumque is as lacking in the belief    
itself as in the thing believed4  ,mr4  
,spencer1 in his 8,sociology10 cites the
 example of a young woman who           
attributed to a certain amulet the      
magical virtue of preserving her        
against injuries4 ,she thought herself  
as invulnerable as ,achilles4 ,the      
chief of the tribe1 astonished that so  
precious an amulet should exist1  and   
wishing no doubt to acquire it1 asked to
 have its virtues verified  before his  
eyes4 ,the woman was brought to him1 a  
warrior prepared his  hatchet1 and in   
perfect confidence she put out her arm4 
,the blow fell  and the woman uttered a 
cry of astonishment not less than of    
pain as  her hand fell to the ground4   
,who in our day has such absolute faith8
  ,very few among us would risk his     
life1 or even his hand1 to maintain     
such and such a dogma4 ,this woman      

belonged to the race of martyrs2 her    
intense credulity bordered on heroism4  
,sidenote3 ,confusion of sincerity with 
verity by primitive man4    ,man's      
natural confidence in his fellow-men1   
especially when there is no  very       
evident reason why the latter should    
mislead him1 is the origin  of the      
credence we give to the testimony and   
authority of those who  claim to be     
inspired2 which all seemed very human   
and natural in the  beginning1 and only 
later came to be regarded as            
supernatural4 ,this  spontaneous        
disposition to believe is an elementary 
instinct which  plays a large rle in    
religious sociomorphism4 ,suspicious as 
primitive  man is when his material     
interests are at stake1 in all other    
matters  he is apt to be credulous to a 
fault4 ,moreover1 he scarcely knows what
  one means by error1 and does not      
distinguish it from deception2 he  puts 
trust in his own judgment and in that of
 other people4 ,when you  tell him      

something extraordinary1 his first      
thought is that you are  making sport of
 him2 he is less inclined to believe    
that you have  deceived yourself1 that  
you have reasoned falsely2 sincerity and
 verity  are confused in his mind4 ,it  
has taken all the experience of modern  
life to make clear to us the difference 
between these two things2 to  induce us 
to verify the affirmations even of those
 whose characters we  esteem most       
highly2 to contradict1 without          
offending1 those who are  dearest to us4
 ,primitive man never distinguished his 
belief in the  8law0 from his faith in  
the 8prophets40 ,those whom he esteemed 
and  admired seemed to him of necessity 
to know the facts4 ,add that man is     
always inclined to make much of anything
 that is a material fact1 of  anything  
that appeals to his eyes and to his     
ears4 ,the sacred word1 and  the sacred 
writings that embody it1 are to him not 
merely indications1  but proofs of what 
they affirm4 ,i overheard it given in a 

church one  day as an incontestable     
proof that ,moses conversed with the    
,lord that  ,mt4 ,sinai is still in     
existence2 that is the sort of argument 
that is  successful with the people4    
,livingstone says that the negroes      
listened  and believed from the moment  
he showed them the ,bible and told them 
that the celestial ,father had written  
,his will on the pages of that  book2   
they touched the pages and believed at  
once4    ,sidenote3 ,inference from     
reality of the sign to reality of the   
thing  signified the essence of faith in
 revelation4    ,in effect1 blind       
confidence in a word1 in a              
sign--precipitate induction  from which 
one infers from the reality of the sign 
to the reality of  the thing signified3 
a second induction to the effect that   
any doctrine  relatively elevated1 from 
the social and moral point of view1 and 
put  forth by men one respects1 is      
probably true1 even if it be in many    
points irrational--these are the        

principal elements of the primitive     
faith in revelation4 ,and this faith1 in
 all its crudity1 exists at the  present
 day4 ,it wins its way through the eyes 
and ears2 therein lies  its power4 ,it  
is much less mystical than we are       
inclined to fancy2 it  is incarnate in  
its monuments1 its temples1 its books2  
it walks about  and breathes in the     
person of its priests1 its saints1 its  
gods2 we  cannot look about us without  
realizing its existence in one form or  
another4 ,it has been of great service  
to human thought1 in spite of its       
pitfalls1 thus to have been able to     
express itself1 to fashion objects  in  
its own image1 to penetrate marble and  
stone1 to provide that it  shall itself 
be borne back in upon us from without4  
,how can one doubt  what is visible and 
tangible8    ,sidenote3 ,results in     
8credo quia ineptum40    ,faith in      
testimony and authority leads to faith  
in sacred texts and in  the very letter 
of these texts4 ,this is what one means 

by literal  faith4 ,it exists still in  
our day1 among many civilized people4   
,it  constitutes the basis of the       
,catholicism of the masses4 8,in order  
to silence restless spirits10 said the  
council of ,trent1 8it is  decreed that 
no one may1 in the interpretation of the
 ,scriptures1 444  deviate from the     
construction sanctioned by the ,church1 
to seek for a  supposedly more exact    
rendering40 ,faith lies thus in a       
renunciation  of thought1 an abdication 
of liberty2 imposes upon itself a rule  
not  of logic but of morals1 and        
subjects itself to dogmas as to         
immutable  principles4 ,it restricts    
intelligence beforehand to precise      
limits1  and imposes a general direction
 on it1 with instructions not to swerve 
from it4 ,it is at this point that faith
 comes really to be opposed  to         
scientific belief for which in the      
beginning it was a substitute4          
,according to the council of the        
,vatican1 those who have faith do not   

believe 8because of the intrinsic truth 
of the things revealed10 but  8because  
of the divine authority that revealed   
them40 ,if you reason  with a person of 
that stamp1 he will listen1 understand1 
and follow  you--but only to a certain  
point2 there he stops1 and nothing in   
the  world can make him go beyond4 ,or  
rather from that point he will declare  
himself inexpugnable1 and will assure   
you that you have absolutely  no hold on
 him2 and in effect1 no scientific or   
philosophical reason  could turn him    
from his belief1 since he places the    
object of his  faith in a sphere        
superior to reason1 and makes his faith 
an affair of  8conscience40 ,nothing can
 force a man to think rightly when he   
does not  propose rectitude of thought  
to himself as a supreme aim1 and nothing
  can oblige him to follow the dictates 
of reason to the bitter end1  if he     
believes that the instant he calls      
certain dogmas and certain  authorities 
in question he is committing a sin4     

,thus1 faith gives a  certain sacred and
 inviolable character to what it        
sanctions1--converts  it into a sacred  
ark that one may not touch without      
sacrilege or  danger1 neither may one   
look at it too closely nor touch it with
 one's  fingers1 even to lend it support
 now and then when it seems ready  to   
fall4 ,free-thought and science never   
consider a thing as true  except        
provisionally1 and so long as it is not 
seriously doubted by  someone4 ,dogmatic
 faith1 on the contrary1 affirms as true
 not only the  things that are          
uncontested1 but those which1 according 
to it1 are  conclusively presumed1 and  
therefore above discussion4 ,it follows 
that1  if reasons for belief diminish1  
faith must be none the less strong4 ,it 
was this that ,pascal endeavoured to    
demonstrate4 ,in effect1 the less  a    
belief seems rational to our finite     
minds1 the more merit there is  in      
lending credence to 8divine authority40 
,it would be too simple to  believe no  

more than what one sees or what sounds  
probable to one2 to  affirm the         
improbable1 to believe in what seems    
incredible1 is much  more meritorious4  
,our courage rises in proportion as our 
intelligence  becomes humble2 the more  
absurd one is the greater one is--credo 
quia  ineptum2 the more difficult the   
task1 the greater the merit4 ,the       
strength of our faith is estimated1 in  
the mysticism of ,pascal1 by  the       
weakness of its 8reasons40 ,the ideal1  
on this theory1 would be to  possess no 
more than the metaphysical minimum of   
reason for belief1  the weakest         
conceivable of motives1 a mere nothing2 
that is to say1  one should be attached 
to the supreme object of one's faith by 
the  slenderest of bonds4 ,the          
,albigensian priests1 the parfaits1 wear
 a  simple white cord around their      
waists as an emblem of their vow2 all   
mankind wears this cord1 and it is in   
reality more solid and often  heavier   
than any chain4    ,sidenote3 ,complete 

intellectual rest incident to faith4    
,scepticism tends toward a complete     
intellectual indifference with  regard  
to all things2 dogmatic faith produces a
 partial indifference1  an indifference 
limited to certain points1 determined   
once for all2  it is no longer anxious  
on these heads1 but rests and delights  
in  established dogma4 ,the sceptic and 
the man of faith abandon themselves     
thus to a more or less extensive        
abstinence from thought4 ,religious     
faith is a determination to suspend the 
flight of the imagination1  to limit the
 sphere of thought4 ,we all know the    
,oriental legend that  the world is held
 up by an elephant1 which stands on a   
tortoise1  which floats on a sea of     
milk4 ,the believer must always refrain 
from  asking what supports the sea of   
milk8 ,he must never notice a point of  
which there is no explanation2 he must  
constantly repeat to himself  the       
abortive incomplete idea that has been  
given him without daring  to recognize  

that it is incomplete4 ,in a street     
through which ,i pass  every day1 a     
blackbird whistles the same melodic     
phrase2 the phrase  is incomplete1 ends 
abruptly1 and for years ,i have heard   
him lift his  voice1 deliver himself of 
his truncated song1 and stop with a     
satisfied  air1 with no need to complete
 his musical fragment1 which ,i never   
hear  without a feeling of impatience4  
,it is thus with the true believer2     
accustomed as he is in the most         
important questions to dwell within  the
 limits of the customary1 without any   
curiosity about the beyond1  he sings   
his monotonous little note without      
dreaming that it lacks  anything--that  
his phrase is as clipped as his wings   
are1 and that the  narrow world of his  
belief is not the universe4             
,sidenote3 ,wilful blindness of faith4  
,the people who still hold to this kind 
of faith represent the antique  world   
endeavouring to perpetuate itself       
without a compromise in the  bosom of   

the new world1 the world of modern      
society4 ,the barbarian  does not wish  
to yield to the progress of ideas and of
 manners2 if  such people formed the    
majority of the nation they would       
constitute  the greatest danger to human
 reason1 to science1 and to truth4      
,literal  faith1 in effect1 makes naked 
truth a subject of pudicity2 one does   
not dare to look it in the face or lift 
the sacred veil that hides its  beauty2 
you find yourself in the midst of a     
conspiracy1 mysterious  beings surround 
you1 putting their hands before your    
eyes and a finger  on your lips4 ,dogma 
holds you1 possesses you1 masters you in
 spite of  yourself2 it is fixed in your
 heart and petrified in your            
intelligence3  it is not without reason 
that faith has been compared to an      
anchor  that has caught on the bottom   
and checked the vessel in its course1   
while the open and free ocean stretches 
beyond as far as the eye can  reach4    
,and who shall break the anchor from his

 heart8 ,when you shake  it loose in one
 place1 faith settles to its hold       
somewhere else2 you  have a thousand    
weak points at which it attacks you4    
,you can completely  abandon a          
philosophical doctrine2 but you cannot  
break away absolutely  from a collection
 of beliefs in which blind and literal  
faith has  borne sway2 there is always  
something left2 you will carry the scars
  and marks from it as slaves who are   
freed still carry on their flesh  the   
signs of their servitude4 ,you are      
branded in the heart1 you shall  feel   
the effects of it always2 you shall have
 moments of dread and  shuddering1 of   
mystic enthusiasm1 of distrust of       
reason1 of need to  represent things as 
being other than they really are1 to see
 what is  not1 and not to see what is4  
,the fiction that was early forced upon 
your soul shall often seem to you       
sweeter than the sound and rugged       
truth1 you need to know2 you shall hate 
yourself for the sin of  knowledge4     

99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,intolerance incident to     
faith4    ,there is a story of a        
,brahman who was talking with a         
,european of his  religion1 and among   
other dogmas mentioned the scrupulous   
respect due  to animals4 8,the law10    
said he 8not only forbids one's doing   
evil1  voluntarily1 to the smallest     
creature even for the purpose of        
supplying  one's self with food1 it even
 bids one walk with extraordinary       
circumspection with one's eyes down1    
that one may avoid stepping on the      
humblest ant40 ,without trying to refute
 this nave faith the ,european  handed  
the speaker a microscope4 ,the ,brahman 
looked through the  instrument and saw  
on everything about him1 on the fruits  
that he was  about to eat1 in the       
beverage that he was about to drink1    
everywhere  that he might put his hand  
or foot1 the movement of a multitude of 
little animals of whose existence he had
 never dreamed3 creatures that  he had  

totally left out of account4 ,he was    
stupefied and handed the  microscope    
back to the ,european4 8,i give it to   
you10 the latter said4  ,the ,brahman   
with a movement of joy took it and threw
 it on the ground1  and broke it1 and   
departed satisfied2 as if by that stroke
 he had  destroyed the truth and saved  
his faith4 ,happily1 in our day1 one may
  without great loss destroy an optical 
or physical instrument1 it can  be      
replaced2 but what is to become of an   
intelligence in the hands of  the       
fanatical believer8 ,would he not crush 
it1 in case of need1 as the  instrument 
of glass was crushed1 and sacrifice it  
the more gaily that  a more limpid gleam
 of truth might well filter through it8 
,in ,india  we have an example of the   
philosophical doctrine1 very inoffensive
 in  appearance and upheld1 with various
 modifications1 by great thinkers1  of  
the transmigration of souls1 becoming a 
religious dogma1 producing  as a direct 
result intolerance1 contempt of science1

 and all the  usual effects of blind    
dogmatism4 ,dogmatic and absolute faith 
in its  every form tends to check       
thought2 thence springs its             
intolerance--a  consequence that may    
well be insisted on4    ,sidenote3 ,and 
even logically resulting from it4       
,intolerance is only an outward         
realization of the tyranny exercised    
within by dogmatic faith4 ,belief in a  
revelation1 which all religion  rests   
upon1 is the very opposite of           
progressive discovery2 the  instant one 
affirms that the first exists1 the      
latter becomes useless1  dangerous1 and 
ends in being condemned4 ,intolerance1  
first theoretic1  then practical1 is the
 legitimate offspring of absolute faith 
of every  kind4 ,in all revealed        
religion doctrine first appears in the  
form of  dogma1 then of dogmatic and    
categorical commandment4 ,there have    
always been things that must be         
believed1 and practices that must be    
observed1 under pain of perdition4 ,the 

sphere of dogmas and sacred  rites may  
be widened or narrowed1 the discipline  
may be loose or so  strict that it      
extends to the very items of one's diet2
 but there is  always at least a minimum
 of dogma that is absolute and of       
practice  that is rigidly obligatory1   
without which no truly religious church 
could exist4 ,and this is not all4      
,theological sanction is by its  very   
nature always in extremes2 it presents  
one with no mean between  absolute good 
and absolute evil1 both conceived as    
eternal4 ,and this  being granted1 how  
should believers1 who are dominated by  
an exclusive  preoccupation with an     
ardent and profound faith1 hesitate to  
employ  constraint in case of need when 
the matter at stake is so great--is of  
absolute and eternal good or of absolute
 and eternal evil8 ,for them the  only  
value of free-will lies in its use--in  
its use toward its proper  object1 which
 is the fulfilment of the divine will4  
,in the presence of  an eternity of     

penalties to be avoided1 everything     
seems permissible2  any means seems good
 provided it be successful4 ,possessed  
of that  implicit certitude which is    
inseparable from an absolute and        
explicit  faith1 what really            
enthusiastic soul would hold back before
 the  employment of force8 ,accordingly1
 as a matter of fact1 every religion    
which is at once new and powerful is    
intolerant4 ,the appearance of          
tolerance marks a decline of faith2 a   
religion which allows for the  existence
 of another is a religion in decay4 ,one
 cannot believe  anything 8with all     
one's heart0 without a sentiment of pity
 and even of  horror for those who      
believe differently4 ,if ,i were        
absolutely certain  of possessing the   
supreme and ultimate verity1 should ,i  
hesitate to  turn the world upside-down 
to make it prevail8 ,one puts blinkers  
on a  horse to keep him from seeing to  
the right or left2 he looks straight    
ahead and runs forward under the whip   

with the hardiness and vigour of        
ignorance2 it is in the same fashion    
that the partisans of an absolute  dogma
 move through life4 8,every positive    
religion1 every immutable  form10 says  
,benjamin ,constant1 8leads directly to 
intolerance1  providing one reasons     
logically40    ,sidenote3 ,use of force 
as justifiable in a priest as in a      
physician4    ,the reply to ,benjamin   
,constant is that it is one thing to    
believe that  one knows the way to      
salvation and another thing to force    
others to  walk in that way4 ,the priest
 looks upon himself as the physician of 
the  soul2 to wish to minister by       
violence to an ailing soul1 8is quite as
  if10 it has been said1 8the physician 
of the body for greater certainty       
should take the precaution of having his
 patient condemned to death  or to hard 
labor in case of disobedience to his    
prescriptions40#ea  ,assuredly it would 
involve a contradiction in terms for the
 physician  of the body to wish to bring

 it to death2 but it in nowise involves 
a  contradiction for the physician of   
the soul to wish to put constraint  upon
 the body4 ,the objection falls of its  
own weight4 ,for the rest1  let us not  
deceive ourselves2 if the physicians of 
the body leave  their patients free1 it 
is sometimes that they cannot help so   
doing1  simply2 in certain grave cases  
they insist on having the patient under 
their control in a hospital1 which is1  
after all1 a sort of prison4  ,if a     
,european physician had to prescribe for
 one of those ,american  ,indians1 whose
 habit it is in an attack of smallpox1  
when the fever  reaches forty degrees1  
to plunge into the water to refresh     
themselves1  the first thing he would do
 would be to strap his patient to his   
cot4  ,and every physician would like   
really to be able to proceed after the  
same fashion1 even in ,europe1 even at  
the present day1 with people  like      
,gambetta1 ,mirabeau1 and many others   
less illustrious1 who kill  themselves  

by negligence4          #ea ,m4 ,franck1
 ,des rapports de la religion et de     
l'tat4    ,sidenote3 ,intolerance a     
perverted charity4    ,besides1 one must
 not reason as if the believer could    
isolate himself  and act only for       
himself4 ,for example1 to a ,catholic   
what is the  meaning of absolute liberty
 of choice in education8 ,it means the  
right  of parents to damn their         
children4 ,is this right thus           
permissible in  their eyes8 ,there are  
books calculated to destroy faith2 books
 by  ,voltaire1 or ,strauss1 or ,renan2 
books which1 if circulated1 result  in  
our losing our souls1 8a thing far more 
grave than the death of  the body10 as  
,thodore de ,bze said1 after ,st4       
,augustine4 ,can a  nation truly        
penetrated by a ,christian charity allow
 such books to  be circulated on the    
pretext of liberty of conscience8 ,no2  
one must  before all else deliver the   
very will from the bonds of heresy and  
error2 it is on this condition only that

 it can be free4 ,moreover1 one  must   
prevent the corrupt conscience from     
corrupting others4 ,we see  plainly that
 charitable intolerance is justified    
from an exclusively  theological point  
of view4 ,it rests on logical reasonings
 of which the  point of departure alone 
is vicious4#eb          #eb ,it is easy 
to understand the high ecclesiastical   
authorities in the ,catholic ,church1   
who maintain as an article        of    
faith the right to repress error4       
,recollect the well-known        pages  
in which ,st4 ,augustine speaks of what 
good effects he        had observed to  
result from the employment of constraint
 in        religious matters4 8,a great 
many of those who have been brought     
back into the ,church by force confess  
themselves to be greatly        rejoiced
 at having been delivered from their    
former errors1        who1 however1 by  
,i know not what force of custom1 would 
never        have thought of changing   
for the better if the fear of the       

law had not put them in mind of the     
truth4 ,good precepts and               
wholesome fear must go together so that 
not only the light of        truth may  
drive away the gloom of error1 but that 
charity may        break the bonds of   
bad custom1 so that we may rejoice over 
the        salvation of the many4444 ,it
 is written3 #8,bid them to enter       
in4' 444 ,god ,himself did not spare his
 son1 but delivered        ,him for our 
sake to the executioners40 ,schiller    
makes the        great inquisitor in    
,don ,carlos say the same thing4 ,see   
,st4        ,augustine1 ,epist4 cxiii4  
#ag1 #e--,st4 ,paul1 ,ephes41 vi4 #e1   
#f1 #i4 ,lastly1 recollect also the     
reasoned decision of the        doctors 
and councils4 8,human government10 said 
,st4 ,thomas1        8is derived from   
divine government and should imitate    
it4 ,now although ,god is all-powerful  
and infinitely good1 ,he                
nevertheless permits in the universe    
that ,he has made the        existence  

of evils which ,he could prevent2 ,he   
permits them for        fear that in    
suppressing them more than equivalent   
goods might        be suppressed        
incidentally along with them and greater
 evils        provoked in their stead4  
,the same is true in human government2  
rulers naturally tolerate certain evils 
for fear of putting        an obstacle  
in the way of certain goods1 or of      
causing greater        evils1 as ,st4   
,augustine said in the treatise on      
,order4 ,it        is thus that         
infidels1 though they sin in their      
rites1 may        be tolerated1 either  
because of some good coming from them1  
or to avoid some evil4 ,the ,jews       
observe their rites1 in which           
formerly the truth of the faith that we 
hold was prefigured2        the result  
is advantageous in this1 that we have   
the testimony        of our enemies in  
favour of our faith1 and that the object
        of our faith is1 so to speak1   
shown in a reflected image4 ,as         

for the worship of the other            
unbelievers1 which is opposed in        
every way to truth and is entirely      
useless1 it would merit        no       
tolerance if it were not to avoid some  
evil1 such as the        scandal or the 
trouble which might result from the     
suppression        of this worship2 or  
again as an impediment to the salvation 
of those who1 under cover of this       
species of tolerance1 come        little
 by little into the faith4 ,it is for   
that reason that        the ,church has 
occasionally tolerated even the worship 
of        heretics1 and heathens1 when  
the number of infidels was great40      
7,summa theol41 #b a2 q4 x1 a4 ,,ii47   
,one readily perceives the        nature
 of tolerance in that sense4 ,it does   
not in the least        recognize the   
right of those who are the object of it3
 if it        does not maltreat them1 it
 is simply to avoid a greater evil1     
or rather because its power is too      
small1 and the number of        infidels

 is too large4          ,a professor of 
theology at the ,sorbonne has recently  
contested        the charge of ,catholic
 intolerance4 7,m4 ,alfred ,fouille had 
just spoken of it in his ,social        
,science47 ,he did so for        reasons
 that may be cited as further proof4    
8,neither to-day1        nor ever1 in   
any epoch of its history1 has the       
,catholic        ,church intended to    
impose acceptance of the truth by       
violence4 ,all great theologians have   
taught that the act of        faith is a
 voluntary act1 which presupposes an    
illumination        of the mind2 but    
they have also taught that constraint   
may        favour this illumination1 and
 in especial may preserve others        
from a bad example1 from a contagious   
darkness4 ,the ,christian        ,church
 has had no need of the sword to        
evangelize the nations2        if it has
 shed blood in its triumph1 it has been 
its own40        ,has it1 then1 not shed
 the blood of others8 ,if one counts all

        the murders committed by        
intolerance in the name of absolute     
dogma1 in every country in the world2 if
 one could measure        all the       
bloodshed2 if one could gather together 
all the dead        bodies--would the   
pile not mount higher than the spires of
        the cathedrals and the domes of 
the temples1 where man still            
goes1 with unalterable fervour1 to      
invoke and bless the 8,god        of    
,love08 ,faith in a ,god who talks and  
acts1 who has a history        of ,his  
own1 ,his ,bible1 ,his prophet and ,his 
priest1 will always        end by being 
intolerant4 ,by adoring a jealous and   
vengeful ,god1        one becomes in the
 end ,his accomplice4 ,one tacitly      
approves all        the crimes committed
 in ,his name and often 7if one believes
 the        ,holy ,scriptures7 commanded
 by ,him4 ,one endeavours to forget     
these things when they are too stained  
with blood and filth4        ,the       
monuments of such bloody scenes have    

been razed1 and the        places to    
which the strongest memories are        
attached have been        purified and  
transformed3 the partisans of certain   
dogmas need        to wash their hearts 
also in lustral water4    ,sidenote3    
,and a half-caste public spirit4    ,in 
order to understand how legitimate      
religious intolerance appears  from its 
own point of view1 we must remember with
 what perfect calm  we forbid and punish
 acts that are directly contrary to the 
actual  conditions of our social life   
7for example1 the public outrage of     
good morals1 etc474 ,now we know that   
all religion superposes another  society
 upon the actual one2 it conceives men's
 life as enveloped and  bounded by the  
life of the gods2 it must therefore seek
 to maintain  the conditions of this    
supernatural society with not less      
energy than  we employ to maintain our  
human society1 and the conditions of    
this  superior society lead to the      
multiplication of all the prohibitive   

rules that we have previously imposed on
 our existence with our  fellows2       
imaginary walls cannot avoid being added
 to the walls and  ditches already      
impeding circulation on the earth's     
surface2 if we  live with the gods1 we  
must expect to be jostled by them1 and  
curbed  in their name4 ,this state of   
things cannot disappear entirely until  
we  cease to believe we are co-members  
of a society with the gods1 until we    
see them transmuted into simple ideals4 
,ideals never necessitate the           
exclusiveness and intolerance that      
realities do4    ,sidenote3 ,tolerance  
highly intellectual4    ,on the whole1  
one must distinguish two kinds of virtue
 on which  religion has influence4 ,the 
first are the virtues that may be called
  positive and active1 of the heart and 
of instinct1 like charity and           
generosity2 at all times and in all     
countries they have existed among  men2 
religion exalts them1 and to            
,christianity the honour is due of      

having developed them to their highest  
degree4 ,the second category  includes  
the purely intellectual virtues1 whose  
operation consists  rather in checking  
and confining than in extending the     
sphere of  one's activity--the virtues  
of self-possession1 of abstinence1 and  
of  tolerance1 which are quite modern   
really and the result of science1  which
 has brought about a clearer knowledge  
of its own limitations  even4 ,tolerance
 is a very complex virtue1 much more    
intellectual than  charity2 it is a     
virtue of the head rather than of the   
heart2 the  proof of it is that charity 
and intolerance are often found         
together1  forming an alliance rather   
than opposing each other4 ,when         
tolerance  is not philosophical and     
wholly reasoned1 it takes on the aspect 
of  a simple good-humour that greatly   
resembles moral weakness4 ,really to    
demonstrate the greatness of tolerance1 
one must put to the front the  objective
 reasons drawn from the relativity of   

human knowledge and  not the subjective 
reasons drawn from our own hearts4#ec   
,up to the  present time tolerance has  
been founded on respect for the person  
and the will of another3 8,it is        
necessary10 it is said1 8for man to  be 
free--free to deceive himself and to do 
evil1 if need be20 and  nothing is      
truer1 but there is another source of   
tolerance which is  more substantial and
 tends to gain ground more and more     
rapidly as  dogmatic faith disappears4  
,this source is distrust of human       
thought and  conscience1 which are not  
free not to deceive themselves1 and to  
which  every article of absolute faith  
must necessarily be also an article  of 
error4 ,so that1 at the present day1    
tolerance is no longer a virtue1  but   
simply an affair of the intelligence2   
the further one goes1 the  more one sees
 that one does not in the least         
understand2 the more one  sees that the 
beliefs of one's neighbour are a        
complement to one's own1  that no one of

 us can be right alone1 to the exclusion
 of all others4  ,by the mere           
development of the intelligence which   
makes us aware of the  infinite variety 
of the world and the impossibility of   
any one solution  of eternal problems1  
each individual opinion comes to have a 
value in  our eyes3 it is nothing more  
nor less than a bit of evidence bearing 
on the theory of the universe1 and it   
goes without the saying that no  one    
item of evidence can be made the basis  
of a definitive judgment1 a  dogmatic   
conclusion1 without appeal4          #ec
 ,see ,a4 ,fouille1 ,systmes de morale  
contemporains4      ,,ii4 ,broad        
dogmatic faith4    ,sidenote3 ,conflict 
between intelligence and dogmatism4     
8,the aim of most men10 as an ,english  
writer says1 8is to pass through  life  
with as little expenditure of thought as
 possible30 but what is  to become of   
those who think1 and of intellectual men
 in general8 ,even  without suspecting  
it1 one will ultimately allow an        

interpretation more  or less broad of   
the texts to which one has seemed to    
cling in a narrow  and literal faith4   
,there is almost no such thing as a     
perfectly  orthodox believer4 ,heresy   
enters by one door or another1 and      
strange  to say it is that precise fact 
that keeps traditional faith alive in   
face of the progress of science4 ,an    
absolute and immutably literal  faith   
would be too offensive to last long4    
,orthodoxy either kills the  nations in 
which it entirely stifles freedom of    
thought or it kills  faith in itself4   
,intelligence can never stand still2 it 
is a light that  moves1 like that cast  
by the sun on the dripping oars as the  
boat is  being lustily rowed along4     
,sidenote3 ,dogmatism doubly irrational4
    ,the partisans of literal           
interpretation and authority seem sooner
  or later to accept two irrational     
hypotheses instead of one2 it is  not   
enough for them that there have been    
certain revelations from on  high1 they 

insist that the very terms in which the 
divine thought is  incorporated shall be
 divine1 sacred1 and immutable1 and of  
an absolute  exactitude4 ,they divinize 
human language4 ,they never think of the
  difficulties that someone might feel  
who was not a god but simply a          
,descartes1 a ,newton1 or a ,leibnitz1  
to express his great thoughts in  an    
unformed and half-savage tongue4 ,genius
 is always superior to the  language    
that it makes use of1 and the words     
themselves are responsible  for many of 
the errors in its thoughts2 and a       
8divine inspiration10  brought down to  
the level of our language1 would be     
perhaps more  embarrassed than an even  
purely human inspiration4 ,nothing      
therefore  can be stranger1 to those who
 examine the matter calmly1 than to see 
civilized nations seeking for a complete
 expression of the divine  thought in   
the literatures of ancient peoples and  
semi-barbarous  nations1 whose language 
and intelligence were infinitely        

inferior  to ours2 their god1 talking   
and dictating1 would nowadays hardly  be
 given a certificate of competency in a 
primary examination4 ,it  is the        
grossest anthropomorphism to conceive a 
divinity not in the  type of an ideal   
man but in the type of a barbarous man4 
,also1 it is  not simply that a literal 
faith 7the primitive form of all        
revealed  faith7 ultimately appears to  
be entirely irrational2 it is that this 
characteristic becomes constantly more  
marked1 for the reason that  faith      
stands still1 or tries to stand still1  
while humanity marches on4    ,sidenote3
 ,dogmatism is intellectual indifference
 or death4    ,but for a certain number 
of heresies born and circulated among   
them1  but for a constant stream of     
fresh thought1 people holding by a      
literal religion would be a caput       
mortuum in history1 a little  8like the 
faithful ,tibetians of ,dala-lama10 as  
,von ,hartmann says4  ,literal religions
 cannot last and perpetuate themselves  

except by a  series of compromises4     
,there are always in the minds of the   
sincere  and intelligent believer       
periods of advancement and of reaction1 
steps  forward followed by a recoil4    
,confessors know these sudden changes   
well1 and are prepared to deal with them
 and keep them within certain  limits4  
,they themselves are subject to such    
changes2 how many of them  have thought 
they believed and been suspected of     
heresy6 ,if we could  see into the      
bottom of their minds what              
reconciliations should we not  perceive1
 what secret accommodations and         
compliances6 ,there is in every  one of 
us something that protests against      
literal faith1 and if this  protestation
 is not explicit1 it is often none the  
less real4 ,no one  can hope to read    
more exactly than he who reads between  
the lines4 ,when  one venerates and     
admires everything1 it is generally what
 one simply  does not understand4 ,very 
many minds positively like vagueness and

  accommodate themselves to it1 they    
believe in gross and arrange the        
details to suit themselves2 sometimes   
even1 after accepting a thing as  a     
whole1 they eliminate one by one all its
 parts4 ,generally speaking1  those who 
aspire to literal faith nowadays are    
divisible into three  classes3 the      
indifferent1 the blind1 and unconscious 
,protestants4    ,sidenote3             
,protestantism and liberty of           
conscience4    ,the ,protestantism of   
,luther and ,calvin was a compromise    
replacing  a despotism2 it was a broad  
faith1 although it is at the same time  
intolerant and orthodox2 for there are  
certain things even in  ,protestantism  
which do not admit of compromise2 it    
contains dogmas  that it is impious to  
reject1 and which1 to the free-thinker1 
seem  scarcely less contrary to calm    
reason than the dogmas of ,catholicism2 
it contains a system of metaphysical or 
historical theses regarded  not as      
merely human1 but as divine4 ,the most  

desirable thing in a  religion that is  
to be progressive is that the sacred    
texts should be  ambiguous2 and the text
 of the ,bible is not ambiguous enough4 
,how are  we to doubt1 for example1 the 
divinity of ,christ's mission8 ,how     
doubt  the miracles8 ,a belief in the   
divinity of ,christ1 and the genuineness
  of the miracles1 are the very         
foundation of the ,christian religion2  
,luther was obliged to accept them1 and 
in our day even they bear  down with    
their full weight on orthodox           
,protestantism4 ,so that what  seemed at
 first a generous concession to liberty 
of thought amounts  in the end to       
little4 ,the circle one moves about in  
is so contracted6  ,protestants1 too1   
are fettered2 the chain is simply longer
 and more  flexible4 ,protestantism has 
rendered services of great importance to
  law and to liberty of conscience2 but 
alongside of the concessions to  liberty
 that it enforced1 it contains dogmas   
from which the use of  8charitable      

constraint0 may logically be deduced4   
,these dogmas which  are essential to   
true ,protestantism are3 original sin1  
conceived as  even more radical than it 
appears in ,catholicism1 and as         
destructive  of freedom of the will2 the
 redemption1 which recognizes the death 
of  ,god the ,son as necessary to redeem
 man from the vindictiveness of ,god    
the ,father2 predestination in all its  
rigour2 grace and election in  their    
most fatalistic and mystical form2 and  
last and most important1  an eternity of
 suffering without purgatory6 ,if all   
these dogmas are  simply philosophical  
myths1 ,christian is a purely verbal    
title1 and one  might as well call one's
 self a heathen1 for all the myths of   
,jupiter1  ,saturn1 ,ceres1 ,proserpine1
 and the 8divinities of ,samothrace10   
are also  susceptible of becoming       
symbols of higher metaphysics2 we refer 
the  reader to ,jamblicus and           
,schelling4 ,we must thus assume that   
orthodox  ,protestants believe in hell1 

redemption1 and grace2 and if so1 the   
consequences that we have deduced from  
these dogmas become inevitable4  ,also  
,luther1 ,calvin1 ,thodore de ,bze1 have
 preached and practised  intolerance for
 the same reasons as did the ,catholics4
 ,they claimed the  right of private    
judgment for themselves alone1 and only 
in so far as  they felt need of it2 they
 never raised it to the level of an     
orthodox  doctrine4 ,calvin burned      
,servetius1 and the ,puritans in        
,america in #afib  punished witchcraft  
with death4    ,sidenote3 ,every heresy 
serves liberty of conscience4    ,if    
,protestantism has in the long run      
served the cause of liberty of          
conscience1 the reason is simply that   
every heresy is an instance of  liberty 
and of that enfranchisement which brings
 in its train a series  of additional   
heresies4 ,in other words1 heresy is the
 victory of  doubt over faith4 ,by doubt
 ,protestantism serves the cause of     
liberty2  by faith it would cease to    

serve it and would menace it--if it were
  logical4 ,but the characteristic of   
certain minds is precisely to come  to a
 halt halfway between freedom and       
liberty1 between faith and  reason1     
between the past and the future4        
,sidenote3 ,protestantism a mark of     
logical feebleness in those who hold    
it4    ,over and above the dogmas       
admitted in common1 the true ,protestant
  demands further some fixed objective  
expression of his belief3 he            
attempts--he also--to incorporate it in 
a certain number of customs  and rites  
which create the need they satisfy and  
incessantly give  fresh life to a faith 
incessantly on the point of a decline2  
he  demands temples1 priests1 a         
ceremonial4 ,in the item of ceremonial  
as  well as in the item of dogmas1      
orthodox ,protestants nowadays feel     
themselves to be much superior to       
,catholics2 and they have really        
rejected a considerable number of nave  
beliefs and of useless rites  not       

infrequently borrowed from paganism4    
,you should hear an excited             
,protestant1 in a discussion with a     
,catholic1 speak of the ,mass1 that     
degrading superstition in which 8the    
most material and barbarous             
interpretation possible0 is put upon the
 words of ,christ--,he that  eateth me  
shall live by me4 ,but does not this    
same ,protestant admit  with the        
,catholic the miracle of the redemption1
 of ,christ sacrificing  himself to save
 mankind8 ,if you admit one miracle1    
what reason is there  to stop with that 
or any succeeding miracle8 8,once more  
in this order  of ideas10 says ,mr4     
,matthew ,arnold1 8and what can be more 
natural and  beautiful than to imagine  
this miracle every day repeated1 ,christ
  offered in thousands of places1       
everywhere the believer enabled to      
enact the work of redemption and unite  
himself with the ,body whose  sacrifice 
saves him40 ,a beautiful conception1 you
 acknowledge1 for a  legend1 but you    

refuse to put faith in it on the ground 
that it shocks  your reason2 very good1 
but you reject in the same breath all   
the  rest of the irrationalities that   
are part and parcel of ,christianity4   
,if ,christ sacrificed himself for the  
human race1 why should not he  sacrifice
 himself for me8 if he came to a world  
that did not call  him1 why should he   
not come to me who call upon him and    
pray to him8  if ,god once took on a    
form of flesh and blood1 if ,he once    
inhabited a  human body1 why find it    
strange that ,he should be present in my
 flesh  and blood8 ,you want miracles1  
on condition that you are not to see    
them2 what is the meaning of such false 
modesty8 ,when one believes a  thing1   
one must live in the heart of this      
belief1 one must see it and  feel it    
everywhere2 when one possesses a god1 it
 is in order that he  may walk and      
breathe on earth4 ,he whom we adore must
 not be relegated  to a corner of the   
heavens1 or forbidden to appear in our  

midst2 and  they must not be made sport 
of1 who see him1 and feel him1 and touch
  him4 ,free-thinkers may laugh1 if they
 have the courage1 at the priest  who   
believes that ,god is present in the    
,host that he holds in his  hands1 and  
present in the temple when he           
officiates4 ,they may laugh  at the     
peasant children who believe that       
,saints or the ,virgin present          
themselves before them to listen to     
their wants1 but a true believer  cannot
 do otherwise than take all this        
seriously4 ,protestants take  baptism   
very seriously1 and think it absolutely 
necessary to salvation4  ,luther        
certainly believed in the devil2 he saw 
him everywhere1 in  storms1 in fires1 in
 the tumult that his passage along the  
streets  often excited1 in the          
interruptions that occurred in his      
sermons2 he  challenged1 and threatened 
all devils1 8were they as numberless as 
the  tiles of the roofs40 ,one day he   
even exorcised the ,evil ,one1 who had  

been vociferating in the person of the  
audience1 so efficiently that  the      
sermon1 which opened in the midst of the
 greatest disturbance1  was finished in 
peace2 the devil had been frightened4   
,why1 then1 do  orthodox ,protestants1  
especially in our day1 so genuinely wish
 to  stop arbitrarily short in their    
faith8 ,why believe that ,god or the    
devil appeared to men two thousand years
 ago1 and at no time since8  ,why       
believe in the ,gospel cures and not in 
the nave legends that  are related of   
the ,communion1 or in the miracles at   
,lourdes8 ,all  things hold together in 
a faith1 and if you propose outraging   
human  reason1 why not do it thoroughly8
 ,as ,mr4 ,matthew ,arnold observes1 the
  orthodox ,protestant doctrine1 in     
admitting that the ,son of ,god could   
substitute himself as an expiatory      
victim for man1 condemned for the  fault
 of ,adam1--in other words that he could
 suffer for a crime that  he had not    
committed for men who had not committed 

it either1--is only  to accept the      
following passage literally and rudely3 
8,the son of man  is come to give his   
life as a ransom unto many40 ,from the  
moment that  one holds literally to a   
single text1 why not do the same in     
regard to  others8 ,in introducing a    
certain share of liberty into their     
faith1  the ,protestants have also      
introduced a spirit of inconsequence2   
this  is its characteristic and its     
defect4 ,someone said to me once3 8,if  
,i  should try to believe everything1 ,i
 should end by believing nothing40      
,this was ,luther's reasoning2 he wished
 to make some allowances for            
enlightenment2 he hoped to preserve the 
faith by minimizing it4 ,but  the limits
 are artificial4 ,only listen to        
,pascal1 who possesses the  ,french     
talent for logic1 and is at the same    
time a mathematician1  making light of  
,protestantism4 8,how ,i detest such    
nonsense60 he cries3  that is1 not to   
believe in the ,eucharist1 etc4 8,if the

 ,gospel is true1  if ,jesus ,christ is 
,god1 what difficulty is there in all   
that80 ,nobody  saw more clearly than   
,pascal the things that1 as he says1 are
 8unjust0  in certain ,christian dogmas1
 that are 8shocking10 are 8far-fetched10
  the 8absurdities02 he saw it all and  
accepted it all4 ,he accepted           
everything or nothing4 ,when one makes a
 bargain with faith1 one does  not pick 
and choose2 one takes all and gives all4
 ,it was ,pascal who  said that atheism 
was a sign of strength of mind1 but a   
strength  displayed in one direction    
only4 ,one might turn that round and say
  that ,catholicism implies strength of 
mind1 at least on one point4            
,protestantism1 though of a higher order
 in the evolution of belief1  remains   
to-day a mark of a certain weakness of  
mind in those who1  having made the     
first step toward freedom of thought1   
rest there2 it  is a halt midway4 ,at   
bottom1 however1 the two rival          
orthodoxies1 over  which nowadays       

civilized nations dispute1 are equally  
astonishing to  those who have passed   
beyond them4      ,,iii4 ,the           
dissolution of dogmatic faith in modern 
society4    ,sidenote3 ,dogmatic faith  
distanced by science4    ,can a dogmatic
 faith1 whether narrow or broad1        
indefinitely coexist  with modern       
science8 ,we think not4 ,science        
consists of two portions3  the          
constructive and the destructive4 ,the  
constructive portion is  already far    
enough advanced1 in modern society1 to  
provide for certain  desiderata which   
dogma undertook formerly to supply4 ,we 
have to-day1  for example1 more extended
 and detailed information about the     
genesis  of the world than is found in  
the ,bible4 ,we are attaining by degrees
 a  certain number of facts relating to 
the affiliation of species4 ,and all    
the celestial or terrestrial phenomena  
which strike the eye are already        
completely explained4 ,the definitive   
why has not been given1 no  doubt2 we   

even ask ourselves if there is one4 ,but
 the how has already  been in a great   
part dealt with4 ,let us not forget that
 religions  in the beginning took the   
place of physics2 that physical theories
  constituted for a long time an        
essential and preponderant part of them4
  ,nowadays physics and religion have   
been distinguished1 and religion has    
lost by the separation a large part of  
its power1 which has passed over  to    
science4    ,sidenote3 ,and undermined4 
,the dissolvent and destructive aspect  
of science is not less important4  ,the 
first to present it in high relief were 
the physical sciences and  astronomy4   
,all the ancient superstitions about the
 trembling of the  earth1 eclipses1     
etc41 which were a constant occasion of 
religious  exaltation1 are destroyed1 or
 nearly so1 even among the populace4    
,geology has overturned with a single   
stroke the traditions of most           
religions4 ,physics has done away with  
miracles4 ,the same almost may  be said 

of meteorology1 which is so recent and  
has such a brilliant  future4 ,god is   
still to a man of the people too often  
the sender of  rain and good weather1   
the ,indra of the ,hindus4 ,a priest    
told me the  other day1 in the best     
faith in the world1 that the prayers of 
his  parishioners had brought the       
country three days of sunshine4 ,in a   
religious town if rain falls the day of 
a religious procession1 and  stops      
shortly before the time of setting out1 
the people unhesitatingly  believe that 
a miracle has been performed4 ,sailors1 
who depend  so entirely on atmospheric  
perturbations1 are more inclined to     
superstition4 ,the minute the weather   
can be more or less accurately  foretold
 and guarded against1 all these         
superstitions are doomed4 ,it  is thus  
that fear of thunder is rapidly         
subsiding at the present day2  this fear
 formed an important factor in the      
formation of the ancient  religions4 ,by
 inventing the lightning-rod1 ,franklin 

did more to destroy  superstition than  
the most active propaganda could have   
done4    ,sidenote3 ,experiment in      
miracles4    ,as ,m4 ,renan has         
remarked1 we might even in our day      
demonstrate  scientifically the         
non-existence of miraculous interference
 in the  affairs of this world and the  
inefficiency of requests to ,god to     
modify the natural course of things2 one
 might1 for example1 minister  to       
patients according to the same methods1 
in two adjoining rooms of  a hospital2  
for the one set of patients a priest    
might pray1 and one  might see whether  
the prayer would appreciably modify the 
means of  recovery4 ,the result of this 
sort of experiment on the existence of a
  special providence is moreover easy to
 foretell1 and it is doubtful  whether  
any educated priest would lend himself  
to it4    ,sidenote3 ,religion and      
physiology and psychology4    ,the      
sciences of physiology and psychology   
have explained to us in  a natural way a

 multitude of phenomena of the nervous  
system which  we were forced until      
recently to attribute to the marvelous1 
or to  trickery1 or to divine influence1
 or to the devil4    ,sidenote3         
,religion and history4    ,finally1     
history is attacking not only the object
 of religion1  but religions themselves1
 by displaying all the sinuosities and  
uncertainties of the thought that       
constructed them2 the primitive         
contradictions1 corrected for better or 
for worse at some later period1  the    
genesis of the precisest dogmas by the  
gradual juxtaposition of  vague and     
heterogeneous ideas4 ,religious         
criticism1 the elements of  which will  
sooner or later find their way into     
elementary instruction1  is the most    
terrible weapon that could be used      
against religious  dogmatism2 it has    
produced and will produce its effect in 
,protestant  countries1 where theology  
passionately engages the multitude4     
,religious  faith tends to give place to

 curiosity about religion2 we understand
  more readily the things we do not so  
absolutely believe1 and we can be  more 
disinterestedly interested in the things
 that no longer fill us  with a sacred  
horror4 ,but the explanation of positive
 religion seemed  destined to be        
absolutely the opposite of its          
justification3 to write  the history of 
religions is to write a damaging        
criticism of them4  ,when one endeavours
 to come to close quarters with their   
foundation in  reality1 one finds it    
retire before one little by little and  
ultimately  disappear like the place    
where the rainbow rests upon the earth3 
one  believes that one has discovered in
 religion a bond between heaven and     
earth1 a pledge of alliance and hope2 it
 is an optical illusion which  science  
at once corrects and explains4          
,sidenote3 ,religion undermined by      
primary instruction4    ,primary        
instruction1 which is sometimes made1   
nowadays1 a subject of  ridicule1 is    

also an altogether recent institution of
 which in former  times there scarcely  
existed a trace1 and which profoundly   
modifies  all of the terms of every     
social and religious problem4 ,the      
modicum  of elementary instruction that 
the modern schoolboy possesses1 in      
especial if one adds some few notions of
 religious history1 would  alone suffice
 to put him on his guard against a great
 many forms of  superstition4 ,formerly 
it was the custom for a ,roman soldier  
to embrace  the religion of any1 and of 
every country1 in which he was stationed
  for a considerable space of time2 on  
his return home he would set up an      
altar to the distant gods that he had   
made his own3 ,sabazius1 ,adonis1  the  
goddess of ,syria1 or ,asiatic ,bellona1
 the ,jupiter of ,baalbec1 or  the      
,jupiter of ,doliche4 ,to-day our       
soldiers and mariners bring back  from  
their travels little more than an       
incredulous tolerance1 a gently         
disrespectful smile in relation to gods 

in general4    ,sidenote3 ,and by the   
perfection of the means of              
communication4    ,the perfection of    
means of communication is also one of   
the great  obstacles to the maintenance 
of a dogmatic faith2 nothing shelters  a
 belief like the abyss of a deep valley 
or the meanderings of an  unnavigable   
river4 ,the last surviving believers in 
the religions of  antiquity were the    
peasants--pagani2 whence the word pagan4
 ,but  to-day the country is being      
thrown open1 mountains are being        
pierced1  the perpetually increasing    
activity in the movement of things and  
of people results in the circulation of 
ideas1 in a lowering of the  pretensions
 of the faith1 and this levelling down  
must inevitably  continue step by step  
with the progress of science4 ,in all   
times it  has been observed that the    
effect of travelling alters one's       
beliefs4  ,to-day one travels standing  
still3 the intellectual horizon changes 
for one1 whether one will or not4 ,men  

like ,papins1 ,watts1 ,stephenson1  have
 done as much for the propagation of    
free-thought as the boldest of          
philosophers4 ,even in our days the     
piercing of the ,isthmus of ,suez will  
probably have done more for the         
enlightenment of the ,hindus than the   
conscientious efforts of ,rm ,mohun ,roy
 or of ,keshub4    ,sidenote3 ,and by   
the development of commerce and         
industry4    ,among the causes which    
will tend in the future to eliminate the
 dogma  of a special providence1 let us 
note the development of the arts--even  
the art of commerce and of industry1    
which is still in its very  beginnings4 
,merchants and workmen1 equally1 have   
learned already to  rely upon no one but
 their own individual selves1 to rely   
each upon  his own initiative1 his      
personal ingenuity2 he knows that to    
work  is to pray1 not in the sense that 
his labour possesses some sort of       
mystical value but because its value is 
real and within his reach2  and he      

acquires by that very fact a vivid and  
increasing sense of  responsibility4    
,compare1 for instance1 the life of a   
pointsman 7that  of a working-man7 with 
the life of a soldier1 and you will see 
that  the conduct of the first is of    
necessity reflective1 and develops  in  
him a sense of responsibility1 whereas  
the second--accustomed to  march he     
knows not where1 to obey1 he knows not  
why1 to vanquish  or be vanquished he   
knows not how--lives among circumstances
 which  naturally inspire in him a      
conception of irresponsibility1 of      
divine  chance1 or of hazard4 ,moreover1
 whenever industry does not treat the   
workman like a machine but forces him to
 act consciously and with  reflection1  
its natural effect is to enfranchise the
 mind4 ,and the  same thing is true of  
commerce2 although in commerce a more   
important  rle is played1 by mere lying 
in wait--mere passivity2 the merchant   
waits for a purchaser1 and his coming or
 not coming depends upon  something     

else4 ,the superstitions of commerce1   
however1 will grow  feebler as the      
functions of personal initiative and    
activity become  more extensive4 ,thirty
 years ago in a very religious town     
there existed  a number of small        
merchants who looked upon it as a matter
 of duty  not to examine their account  
book till the end of the year3 it would 
be1 they said1 a distrust of ,god to    
ascertain too often whether they  were  
losing or gaining2 it would bring bad   
luck2 the less attention  you pay to    
your income the greater it grows4 ,add  
that1 thanks to this  sort of reasoning1
 which for the rest was not altogether  
without a  certain nave logic1 the      
merchants spoken of did not do an       
especially  brilliant business4 ,in     
modern commerce the 8positive0          
spirit--restless  intelligence and      
calculation outstripping chance--tends  
to become the  true and sole element of 
success2 as to the risks which1 in spite
 of  every precaution1 still remain1    

they are covered by insurance4          
,sidenote3 ,and by the practice of      
insurance4    ,insurance1 then1 is a    
conception altogether modern1 whose     
operation is  to substitute the direct  
action of man for the intervention of   
,god in  private affairs1 and which     
looks to the recompense for a misfortune
  before it has happened4 ,it is        
probable that insurance1 which dates    
only  some few years back and is        
spreading rapidly1 will be applied some 
day to almost every form of accident to 
which man is liable1 will be  adapted to
 every circumstance of life1 will       
accompany us everywhere1  will envelop  
us in a protecting net2 and agriculture 
and navigation1  and those pursuits     
generally in which human initiative     
plays the  smallest part1 in which one  
must dance attendance upon the special  
benediction of heaven and ultimate      
success is always contingent1 will      
become increasingly independent and     
free4 ,it is possible that the  notion  

of a special providence will some day be
 completely eliminated  from the sphere 
of economics2 everything that in any    
manner whatsoever  is capable of being  
estimated in terms of money will be     
covered by an  insurance1 shielded from 
accident1 made independent of divine    
favour4    ,sidenote3 ,and the progress 
of medical knowledge4    ,there remains 
the purely personal sphere1 the physical
 and moral  accidents which may befall  
us1 the maladies that may come upon     
ourselves and those who belong to us4   
,that is the sphere in which  the       
majority of men feel their will most    
feeble1 their perspicacity  most at     
fault4 ,listen to a member of the lower 
classes on the subject  of physiology or
 medicine1 and you will understand how  
deep is the  abasement of their         
intelligence in this matter2 and often1 
indeed1 even  men of a more extended    
education are possessed of no more      
knowledge  than they on such points4    
,speaking generally1 our ignorance of   

hygiene  and the most elementary notions
 of medicine is such that we are        
helpless in the presence of physical    
evil2 and it is because of this         
helplessness1 at the very spot precisely
 where we most need help1 that  we seek 
for an outlet for an embarrassed        
volition and a restless hope  and find  
it in a petition addressed to ,god4     
,many people never think of  praying    
except when ill1 or when they see       
persons dear to them ill4 ,as  always1  
so here1 a sense of an absolute         
dependence provokes a return  of        
religious sentiment4 ,just in proportion
 as instruction spreads1  just in       
proportion as the natural sciences      
become of service1 we feel  ourselves   
armed with a certain power1 even in the 
face of physical  accident4 ,in more    
than usually pious families1 the        
physician scarcely  assumed formerly any
 other character than that of an        
instrument of  special providence2 one  
had confidence in him1 less on the score

 of  his talent than of his sanctity2   
that confidence was absolute2 one       
washed one's hands of all               
responsibility1 as primitive people do  
in the  presence of the sorcerers and   
8priest physicians40 ,nowadays1 however1
  the physician is beginning to be      
looked upon as a man like another1 who  
must rely upon himself1 who receives no 
inspiration from on high1 and  who must1
 in consequence1 be chosen with care1   
and aided and sustained  in his task4   
,it is understood that the remedies     
employed by him are  innocent of        
mystery1 that their operation is        
uniform1 that the matter  is altogether 
one of intelligence in their use2 and   
instead of putting  one's self1 like so 
much brute matter1 into the physician's 
hands1 one  does one's best to          
co-operate with him4 ,when we hear      
someone calling  for help and are free  
to run to him1 does it ever occur to us 
nowadays  to fall upon our knees8 ,no2  
we should even consider a passive prayer

  as an indirect form of homicide4 ,the 
epoch is past when ,ambroise ,par  could
 say modestly3 8,i poulticed him1 ,god  
cured him40 ,the fact is1 ,god  does not
 cure those whom the physician does not 
poultice properly4 ,the  progress of    
natural science will result really in a 
sort of preventive  insurance1 no longer
 confined wholly to the sphere of       
economics2 and  we shall be able some   
day to insure ourselves1 not simply     
against the  economical consequences of 
such and such an accident1 but against  
the accident itself2 we shall foresee it
 and avoid it1 as we not  infrequently  
nowadays foresee and avoid poverty4 ,and
 finally1 in  respect even to           
unavoidable evils1 it will occur to no  
one to rely upon  anything but human    
science and human effort4    ,sidenote3 
,progress in matters of belief since    
heathen antiquity and  the ,middle      
,ages4    ,owing to the causes above    
enumerated1 how far we have travelled   
since  the time of the ancients and the 

,middle ,ages6 ,in the first place we no
  longer lend credence to oracles or to 
predictions4 ,the law at least no       
longer goes the length of lending       
credence to them1 and even punishes     
those who endeavour to speculate upon a 
navet of their more innocent            
neighbours4 ,soothsayers at the present 
day are no longer lodged in  ,temples4  
,and in no case are philosophers and    
higher personages among  their clients4 
,we are far from the time when ,socrates
 and his disciples  made a pilgrimage to
 consult the oracle1 when the gods      
spoke1 and  gave advice1 and regulated  
the conduct of men1 and took the place  
of  attorneys1 of physicians1 of judges1
 and decided upon peace and war4  ,if it
 had been affirmed to a pagan that the  
day would come when man  would find the 
oracle at ,delphi a superfluity1 he     
would have been as  frankly surprised as
 a ,christian is to-day when he hears it
 affirmed  that cathedrals1 priests1 and
 religious ceremonies will some day     

become  a superfluity4    ,sidenote3    
,tendency toward simplicity and         
uniformity4    ,the rle which prophecies
 played in the religion of the ,hebrews 
is  well known4 ,in the ,middle ,ages   
certain prophecies1 such as that of the 
millennium1 were publicly and miserably 
put to the proof4 ,since that  time     
dogmatic religion1 in the fear of       
compromising itself1 has stood  aloof   
from oracles and prophecies1 preferring 
increase of security to  extent of      
influence4 ,thus by degrees             
authoritative religion has come  to     
renounce its sway over one of the most  
important portions of human  life1 which
 it pretended formerly to possess a     
knowledge of1 and to  regulate--the     
future4 ,it contents itself to-day with 
the present4 ,its  predictions1 ever    
vaguer and more vague1 nowadays bear    
only on the  period beyond the grave2 it
 contents itself with promising heaven  
to  the faithful--which the ,catholic   
religion indeed goes the length of in   

some measure securing for them by       
absolution4 ,and one may recognize  in  
the confessional a certain substitute   
for the divination of former  times4    
,the hand of the priest opens or shuts  
the door of heaven for  the believer    
kneeling in the shadow of the           
confessional2 he wields a  power in some
 respects greater than that of the      
,pythoness who might  determine with a  
word the fate of battles4 ,confession   
itself1 however1  has disappeared in the
 stronger and younger offshoots of      
,christianity4  ,in orthodox            
,protestantism one is one's self the    
judge of one's own  future1 and         
possesses no other clew to one's destiny
 than the dictum  of one's own          
conscience1 with all its uncertainty    
upon its head4 ,owing  to this          
transformation dogmatic faith in the    
word of a priest or a  prophet tends to 
become a simple reliance on the voice of
 conscience1  which becomes ever less   
and less authoritative1 ever more and   

more  feeble in the face of doubt4      
,faith in oracles and in the visible    
finger of ,providence in this world has 
become to-day simply a somewhat         
hesitating reliance upon an inner oracle
 and an together transcendental         
,providence4 ,this is one of the items  
in respect to which religious  evolution
 may be considered as already something 
like complete1 and  religious           
individualism as on the point of        
replacing obedience to the  priest1 and 
the negation of the marvellous as       
substituted for antique  superstition4  
,sidenote3 ,belief in ,god falls with   
belief in devils4    ,the strength of   
the belief in a personal ,god has been  
in all times  proportionate to the      
strength of the belief in a devil--we   
have just  seen an illustration of it in
 the case of ,luther4 ,in effect these  
two beliefs are correlatives2 they are  
the opposite faces of one and  the same 
anthropomorphism4 ,well1 in our days1   
belief in the devil  is incontestably   

becoming feebler2 and this enfeeblement 
is even  especially characteristic of   
the present epoch2 there has at no other
  time been anything to equal it4 ,there
 is not an educated person to be  found 
in whom the notion of a devil does not  
excite a smile4 ,that1  believe me1 is a
 sign of the times1 a manifest proof of 
the decline  of dogmatic religion4      
,wherever the power of dogmatic religion
 by an  exception to the general course 
of things has retained its vitality1    
and retained it1 as in ,america1 even to
 the point of giving birth  to new      
dogmas1 the fear of the devil has       
subsisted in its entirety2  wherever1 as
 in more enlightened regions than       
,america1 this fear no  longer exists   
except as a symbol or a myth1 the       
intensity and the  fecundity of the     
religious sentiment decline inevitably  
in the same  degree4 ,the fate of ,javeh
 is bound up with that of ,lucifer2     
angels  and devils go hand in hand1 as  
in some fantastic medival dance4 ,the   

day when ,satan and his followers shall 
be definitively vanquished and          
annihilated in the minds of the people1 
the celestial powers will not  have long
 to live4           99       99       99
       99       99    ,sidenote3        
,results4    ,to sum up1 in all these   
relations1 dogmatic faith--and in       
especial1  such as is narrow1           
authoritative1 intolerant1 and at enmity
 with a  spirit of science--seems on    
every account destined to disappear1 or 
to  survive1 if at all1 among a small   
number of believers4 ,every doctrine1   
no matter how moral or how elevating1   
seems to us nowadays to lose  these     
attributes and to become degraded from  
the moment it proposes  to impose itself
 upon the human mind as a dogma4 ,dogma 
happily--that  crystallization of       
faith--is an unstable compound2 like    
certain complex  crystals1 it is apt to 
explode1 under a concentrated ray of    
light1 into  dust4 ,modern criticism    
supplies the ray4 ,if ,catholicism1 in  

pursuit of  religious unity1 logically  
results in the doctrine of              
infallibility1  modern criticism in the 
course of its establishment of the      
relativity  of human knowledge and of   
the essential fallibility of            
intelligence  in general1 tends toward  
religious individualism and toward the  
dissolution of every universal or       
8,catholic0 dogma4 ,and on that score   
orthodox ,protestantism is itself       
menaced with ruin1 for it also has      
preserved in its dogmas an element of   
,catholicity1 and by that very  fact of 
intolerance1 if not practical and civil1
 at least theoretical  and religious4   
,,chapter ,,ii4    ,,symbolic ,,and     
,,moral ,,faith4        ,i4             
,substitution of metaphysical symbolism 
for dogma--,liberal                     
,protestantism--,comparison with        
,brahmanism--,substitution        of    
moral symbolism for metaphysical        
symbolism--,moral                       
faith--,kant--,mill--,matthew           

,arnold--,a literary explanation        
of the ,bible substituted for a literal 
explanation4        ,,ii4 ,criticism of 
symbolic faith--,inconsequence of       
liberal        ,protestantism--,is      
,jesus of a more divine type than       
other great geniuses--,does the ,bible  
possess a greater        authority in   
matters of morals than any other        
masterpiece        of poetry--,criticism
 of ,matthew ,arnold's system--,final   
absorption of religions by morality4    
,sidenote3 ,inevitable tendency of      
religion toward non-religion4    ,every 
illogical position being in its nature  
unstable1 the very  inconsequence of a  
religion obliges it to a perpetual      
evolution  in the direction of an       
ultimate non-religion1 which it         
approaches  incessantly by almost       
insensible steps4 ,the ,protestant knows
 nothing  of the ordeal of a ,catholic  
obliged to accept everything or to      
reject  everything2 he knows nothing of 
prodigious revolutions and subjective   

coups d'tat2 he possesses instinctively 
the art of transition1 his  credo is    
elastic4 ,there are so many different   
creeds1 each a little  more             
thorough-going than the last1 that he   
may pass through1 that he  has time to  
habituate his spirit to the truth before
 being obliged to  profess it in its    
simplicity4 ,protestantism is the only  
religion1 in  the ,occident at least1 in
 which it is possible for one to become 
an  atheist unawares and without having 
done one's self the shadow of a         
violence in the process3 the subjective 
theism of ,mr4 ,moncure ,conway1  for   
example1 or any such ultra-liberal      
,unitarian is so near a neighbour  to   
ideal atheism that really the two cannot
 be told apart1 and yet the             
,unitarians1 who as a matter of fact are
 often simply free-thinkers1  hold1 so  
to speak1 that they still believe4 ,the 
truth is that an  affectionate faith    
long retains its charm1 even after one  
is persuaded  that it is an error and   

dead in one2 one caresses the lifeless  
illusions and cannot bring one's self   
altogether to abandon them1 as  in the  
land of the ,slavs it is the custom to  
kiss the pale face of the  dead in the  
open coffin before throwing upon it the 
handful of earth  which severs          
definitely the last visible bonds of    
love4    ,sidenote3 ,exemplified in the 
case of ,brahmanism and ,buddhism4      
,long before ,christianity1 other great 
religions1 ,brahmanism and  ,buddhism1  
which are much more comprehensive and   
less arrested in their  development1    
followed the course of evolution by     
which a literal  faith comes to be      
transformed into a symbolic faith4 ,they
 have been  reconciled successively with
 one metaphysical system after          
another--a  process which has been      
inevitably carried forward with a fresh 
impulse  under the ,english rule4       
,to-day ,sumangala1 the ,buddhist       
high-priest of  ,colombo1 interprets in 
a symbolic sense the at once profound   

and nave  doctrine of the               
transmigration2 he pretends to reject   
miracles4 ,other  enlightened ,buddhists
 freely accept modern doctrines1 from   
those of  ,darwin to those of ,spencer4 
,on the other hand1 in the bosom of     
,hinduism  there has grown up a really  
new and wholly theistical religion1     
that of the ,brahmaists4#ed ,rm ,mohum  
,roy founded1 at the beginning  of the  
century1 a very deeply symbolical and   
wide-spread faith2  his successors have 
gone the length1 with ,debendra ,nth    
,tgore1 of  denying the authenticity    
even of the very texts which they were  
in the  beginning most concerned to     
interpret mystically4 ,this last step   
was  taken suddenly1 under circumstances
 which it is worth while to detail1     
because they sum up in a few            
characteristic strokes the universal    
history of religious thought4 ,it       
happened about #ahdg4 ,the disciples of 
,rm ,mohum ,roy1 the ,brahmaists1 had   
been for a long time engaged in a       

discussion about the ,vedas1 and1 quite 
as in the case of our liberal           
,protestants1 had been giving especial  
prominence to texts in which  they      
imagined they found an unmistakable     
affirmation of the unity of  the        
,godhead2 and they rid themselves of all
 concern with the passages  that        
seemingly contradicted this notion by   
denying their authenticity4             
,ultimately1 somewhat alarmed at their  
own progress1 they sent four  ,pundits  
to ,benares to collate the sacred texts3
 it was in ,benares that1  according to 
the tradition1 the only so-called       
complete and authentic  manuscript was  
preserved4 ,during the two years that   
the labour of the  ,pundits covered1 the
 ,hindus waited for the truth in the    
same spirit  that the ,hebrews had done 
at the foot of ,sinai4 ,finally the     
authentic  version1 or what purported to
 be such1 was brought to them2 and they 
possessed the definitive formula of     
revelation4 ,their disappointment  was  

great1 and they took the matter into    
their own hands1 realizing  at one blow 
the revolution which the liberal        
,protestants are pursuing  gradually in 
the bosom of ,christianity3 they        
rejected definitively the  ,vedas and   
the antique religion of the ,brahmans1  
and proclaimed in its  stead a          
theistical religion1 which rests in no  
sense whatsoever upon  revelation4 ,the 
new faith must in time develop1 not     
without heresy  and schism1 but its     
adherents constitute to-day in ,india an
 important  element in progress4        
#ed ,m4 ,goblet d',alviella1 ,evolution 
religieuse contemporaine4    ,sidenote3 
,preservation of the letter while       
tampering with the spirit  of the       
,bible4    ,in our days very estimable  
persons have essayed to push            
,christianity  also into a new path4 ,in
 according the right of interpretation  
to  private individuals1 ,luther gave   
them the right of clothing their own    
individual thoughts in the language of  

the antique dogmas and the  texts of the
 sacred books4 ,insomuch that by a      
singular revolution1  the 8,word10 which
 was considered in the beginning as the 
faithful  expression of the divine      
thought1 has tended to become for each  
of us  the expression of our own        
personal thought4 ,the sense of the     
words  depending really upon ourselves1 
the most barbarous language can be  made
 at a pinch to serve us for the         
conveyance of the noblest ideas4  ,by   
this ingenious expedient texts become   
flexible1 dogmas become  acclimated more
 or less to the intellectual atmosphere 
in which they  are placed1 and the      
barbarism of the sacred books becomes   
disguised4 ,by  virtue of living with   
the people of ,god we civilize them1 we 
lend them  our ideas1 inoculate them    
with our aspirations1 everyone          
interprets  the ,bible to suit himself1 
and the result is that the commentary   
ultimately overgrows and half obscures  
the text itself2 we no longer  read with

 undimmed vision--we look through a     
medium which disguises  everything that 
is hideous1 and lends a fresh beauty to 
everything  that is beautiful4 ,at      
bottom the veritable sacred ,word is no 
longer  the one which ,god pronounced   
and sent forth reverberating1 eternally 
the same1 down the centuries2 it is the 
one which we pronounce or  rather       
whisper--for is it not the sense which  
one puts upon it  that constitutes the  
real value of an utterance8 and it is we
 who  determine the sense4 ,the ,divine 
,spirit has passed into the believer    
and1 at certain times at least1 the true
 ,god would seem to be one's  own       
thought4 ,this attempt at a             
reconciliation between religion and     
free-thought is a masterpiece of tact4  
,religion seems always to lag  a little 
behind1 but free-thought by exercise of 
a little ingenuity  always find means1  
in the end1 of helping it forward4 ,the 
progress of  the two consists of a      
series of arrangements1 compromises1    

something  like what takes place between
 a conservative ,senate and a           
progressive  ,chamber of ,deputies1     
honestly in search of a modus vivendi4  
,sidenote3 ,extension of symbolic       
interpretation to essential dogmas4     
,by a procedure which ,luther would     
never have dared to emulate             
,protestants have taken the liberty of  
employing on essential dogmas  this     
power of symbolical interpretation which
 ,luther reserved for texts  of a       
secondary importance4 ,the most         
essential of dogmas1 that upon  which   
all others depend1 is the dogma of      
revelation4 ,if1 since ,luther's  time1 
an orthodox ,protestant feels himself at
 liberty to discuss at  his ease whether
 the sense of the sacred ,word is really
 this1 that1 or  the other1 he never for
 an instant questions whether the ,word 
itself  is really sacred in effect1 or  
whether it really possesses any meaning 
that can properly be called divine4     
,when he holds the ,bible he has no     

doubt but that he has his hand upon the 
truth2 he has only to discover  it      
beneath the words in which it is        
contained1 has only to dig for it  in   
the sacred ,book as a labourer might dig
 in a field in search of a  buried      
treasure4 ,but is it then quite certain 
that the treasure is  really there1 that
 the truth lies ready-made somewhere    
between the  covers of the ,book8 ,that 
is the question which the liberal       
,protestant  is asking himself1 and he  
has already taken possession of         
,germany1 of  ,england1 of the ,united  
,states1 and possesses even in ,france a
 large  number of representatives4      
,previous to his advent all ,christians 
were  at one in the belief that the     
sacred ,word really exists somewhere2 at
  the present day this belief itself    
tends to become symbolic4 ,no doubt     
there was in ,jesus a certain element of
 divinity1 but is there not in  all of  
us1 in one sense or another1 a certain  
element of divinity8 8,why  should we be

 surprised10 writes a liberal clergyman1
 8at finding ,jesus  a mystery1 when we 
are all of us ourselves a mystery80     
,according to  the new ,protestants     
there is no longer any reason for taking
 anything  at its face value1 not even  
what has hitherto been considered as the
  spirit of ,christianity4 ,for the most
 logical of them1 the ,bible is         
scarcely more than a book like another2 
custom has consecrated it2  one may find
 ,god in it if one seeks ,him there1    
because one may find  ,god anywhere and 
put ,him there1 if by chance ,he be     
really not there  already4 ,the divine  
halo has dropped from ,christ's head1 or
 rather  he shares it with all the      
angels and all the saints4 ,he has lost 
his  celestial purity or rather we share
 it with him1 all of us2 for is not     
original sin also a symbol1 and are we  
not all of us born innocent sons  of    
,god8 ,the miracles are but fresh       
symbols which represent1 grossly  and   
visibly1 the subjective power of faith4 

,we are no longer to look  for orders   
directly from ,god2 ,god no longer talks
 to us by a single  voice1 but by all   
the voices of the universe1 and it is in
 the midst  of the great concert of     
nature that we must seize and           
distinguish the  veritable ,word4 ,all  
is symbolic except ,god1 who is the     
eternal truth4    ,sidenote3 ,and even  
to the conception of ,god4    ,well1 and
 why stop at ,god8 ,liberty of thought1 
which has been  incessantly turning and 
adapting dogma to its progress1 has it  
in its  power to make a step beyond4    
,immutable faith is hemmed in by a      
circle  which is daily shrinking4 ,for  
the liberal ,protestant this contraction
  has reached its extreme1 and centre   
and circumference are one and the       
process is continuing4 ,why should not  
,god ,himself be a symbol8 ,what is     
this mysterious ,being1 after all1 but a
 popular personification of the  divine 
or even of ideal humanity2 in a word1 of
 morality8    ,sidenote3 ,the result    

practically a religion of morals4       
,perceived to be  so in ,germany4       
,thus a purely moral symbolism comes in 
process of time to be  substituted for a
 metaphysical symbolism4 ,we are close  
upon the ,kantian  conception of a      
religion of duty1 resting upon a simple 
postulate or  even a simple             
generalization of human conduct1 to the 
effect that  morality and happiness are 
in the last resort in harmony4 ,a faith 
in  morals1 thus understood1 has been   
adopted by many ,germans as the basis   
of religious faith4 ,hegelians have     
converted religion into a moral         
symbolism4 ,strauss defines morality as 
the 8harmonization0 of man with  his    
species1 and defines religion as the    
harmonization of man with the  universe2
 and these definitions1 which seem at   
first sight to imply  a difference in   
extent and a certain opposition between 
morality and  religion1 aim in reality  
at showing their ultimate unity2 the    
ideal of  the species and the purpose of

 the universe are one1 and if by chance 
they should be distinct1 it would be the
 more universal ideal that  morality    
itself would command us to follow4 ,von 
,hartmann1 also1 in  spite of his       
mystical tendencies1 concludes that     
there is no religion  possible except   
one which will consecrate the moral     
autonomy of the  individual1 his        
salvation by his own effort and not by  
that of somebody  else 7autosoterism as 
distinguished from heterosoterism74     
,from which  it follows that1 in ,von   
,hartmann's opinion1 the essence of     
religious  adoration and gratitude      
should be one's respect for the         
essential and  impersonal element in    
one's self2 in other words1 piety is1   
properly  speaking1 no more than a form 
of morality and of absolute             
renouncement4    ,sidenote3 ,also in    
,france4    ,in ,france1 as is well     
known1 ,m4 ,renouvier follows ,kant and 
bases  religion upon morality4 ,m4      
,renan also makes of religion a little  

more  than an ideal morality3           
8,abnegation1 devotion1 sacrifice of the
 real  to the ideal1 such10 he says1 8is
 the very essence of religion40 ,and    
elsewhere3 8,what is the state but      
egoism organized8 what is religion  but 
devotion organized80 ,m4 ,renan forgets1
 however1 that a purely  egoistic state1
 that is to say a purely immoral state1 
could not  continue to exist4 ,it would 
be more accurate to say that the state  
is  justice organized2 and since justice
 and devotion are in principle the      
same1 it follows that the state as well 
as religion rests ultimately  upon      
morality3 morality is the very          
foundation of social life4    ,sidenote3
 ,also in ,england4    ,in ,england1    
also1 the same process of the           
transformation of a  religious faith    
into a purely moral faith may be        
observed4 ,kant  through the            
intermediation of ,coleridge and of     
,hamilton has exercised  a great        
influence upon ,english thought and upon

 the course of this  transformation4    
,coleridge brought down the ,kingdom of 
,god from ,heaven  and domesticated it  
upon earth2 the reign of ,god for him1  
as for ,kant1  became that of morality4 
,for ,john ,stuart ,mill1 whose point of
 approach  was widely different from    
that of ,coleridge1 the outcome of the  
study  of religions was the same--that  
their essential value has always        
consisted in the moral precepts they    
inculcate2 the good that they have  done
 should be attributed rather to the     
stimulus they have given to the  moral  
sentiment than to the religious         
sentiment properly so called4  ,and it  
is to be added1 ,mill says1 that the    
moral principles furnished  by religions
 labour under this double disability1   
that 7#a7 they are  tainted with        
selfishness1 and operate upon the       
individual by promises  or menaces      
relating to the life to come without    
entirely detaching him  from a          
preoccupation with his own interest1    

and1 7#b7 they produce a  certain       
intellectual apathy1 and even an        
aberration of the moral sense1  in that 
they attribute to an absolutely perfect 
being the creation of  a world so       
imperfect as our own1 and thus in a     
certain measure cloak  evil itself in   
divinity4 ,nobody could adore such a god
 willingly  without having undergone a  
preliminary process of degeneration4    
,the  true religion of the future1      
according to ,john ,stuart ,mill1 will  
be  an elevated moral doctrine1 going   
beyond an egoistic utilitarianism  and  
encouraging us to pursue the good of    
humanity in general2 nay1  even of      
sentient beings in general4 ,this       
conception of a religion of  humanity1  
which is not without analogy to the     
,positivist conception1  might be       
reconciled1 ,john ,stuart ,mill adds1   
with the belief in a divine  power--a   
principle of goodness present in the    
universe4 ,a faith in ,god  is immoral  
only when it supposes ,god to be        

omnipotent1 since it1 in  that case1    
charges him with responsibility for     
existing evil4 ,a good  god can exist   
only on condition that he is less than  
omnipotent1 that  he encounters in      
nature1 nay in human nature1 obstacles  
which hinder  him from effecting the    
good that he desires4 ,once conceive    
,god thus1  and the formula of duty     
reads simply3 ,help ,god2 work with ,him
 for the  production of what is good1   
lend ,him the concurrence that ,he      
really  needs since ,he is not          
omnipotent4 ,labour also with all great 
men--all  men like ,socrates1 ,moses1   
,marcus ,aurelius1 ,washington--do as   
they do1  all that you can and ought to 
do4 ,this disinterested collaboration on
  the part of all men with each other   
and with the principle of goodness1  in 
whatsoever manner that principle may be 
conceived or personified1  will be1 in  
,john ,stuart ,mill's judgment1 the     
ultimate religion4 ,and  it is evidently
 no more than a magnified system of     

morality1 erected  into a universal law 
for the world4 ,what is it that we call 
the divine1  except this that is the    
best in ourselves8 8,god is good10 cried
  ,feuerbach1 8signifies3 goodness is   
divine2 ,god is just signifies3  justice
 is divine40 ,instead of saying3 there  
have been divine agonies1  divine       
deaths1 one has said1 ,god has suffered1
 ,god has died4 8,god is  the apotheosis
 of the heart of man40#ee          #ee  
,mr4 ,seeley1 in his work entitled      
,natural ,religion        7#ahhb71 takes
 pains to establish that of the three   
elements        which compose the       
religious idea--the love of truth or    
science1 the sentiment of beauty or art1
 the notion of duty or        morals--it
 is the last only that can to-day be    
reconciled with        ,christianity4   
,sidenote3 ,matthew ,arnold's           
8,literature and ,dogma40    ,an        
analogous thesis is maintained with     
great cleverness in a book which  caused
 considerable stir in ,england3 ,mr4    

,matthew ,arnold's 8,literature  and    
,dogma40 ,the author1 in common with    
religious critics generally1  remarks   
the growing tension that nowadays exists
 between science  and dogma4 8,an       
inevitable revolution1 of which we all  
recognize the  beginnings and signs1 but
 which has already spread1 perhaps1     
farther  than most of us think1 is      
befalling the religion in which we have 
been  brought up40 ,mr4 ,arnold is      
right4 ,at no former period have        
unbelievers  appeared to have so strong 
a hold in right reason2 the old         
arguments  against providence1 miracles1
 and final causes1 that the ,epicureans 
brought into prominence1 seem as nothing
 beside the arguments furnished  in our 
days by the ,laplaces and the ,lamarcks1
 and quite recently by  ,darwin1 the    
8evictor of miracles10 in ,strauss'     
phrase4 ,one of the  sacred prophets    
whom ,mr4 ,arnold is fond of quoting    
once said3 8,behold1  the days come1    
that ,i will send a famine in the land1 

not a famine  of bread1 nor a thirst for
 water1 but of hearing the words of the 
,lord3 and they shall wander from sea to
 sea1 and from the north even  to the   
east1 they shall run to and fro to seek 
the word of the ,lord1  and shall not   
find it40 ,the time predicted by the    
prophet ,mr4 ,arnold  might well        
recognize as our own2 might it not with 
truth be said of  the present that it   
lacks the word of the ,eternal1 or soon 
will lack  it8 ,a new spirit animates   
our generation2 not only are we in doubt
  whether the ,eternal ever did speak or
 ever does speak to man1 but  many of us
 believe in the existence of no other   
eternity than that of  a universe of    
mute and unfeeling matter which keeps   
its own secret  except as against those 
who have the wit to find it out4 ,there 
are of  course1 even to-day1 some few   
faithful servants in the houses of the  
,lord2 but the ,master seems to have    
departed for the far countries of  the  
past1 to which memory alone has access4 

,in ,russia in the older  seigniorial   
estates1 a disc of iron is fastened to  
the wall of the  mansion of the lord of 
the soil2 and when he returns from a    
journey1  the first night he passes in  
his dominion1 some follower runs to the 
disc of iron and in the silence of the  
night beats upon the metal to  announce 
his vigilance and the presence of the   
master4 ,who will awaken  nowadays the  
voice of the bells in the               
church-steeples to announce  the return 
to ,his temple of the living ,god1 and  
the vigilance of the  faithful8 ,to-day 
the sound of the church-bells is as     
melancholy as  a cry in the void2 they  
tell of the deserted house of ,god1 of  
the  absence of the lord of the soil1   
they sound the knell of the believers4  
,and is there nothing that can be done  
to domesticate religion once  more in   
the heart of man8 ,there is but one     
means3 to see in ,god no  more than a   
symbol of what exists always at the     
bottom of the human  heart--morality4   

,and it is to this expedient that       
,matthew ,arnold also  turns his        
attention4 ,but he is not content with a
 purely philosophic  system of morals1  
he aims at the preservation of religion1
 and in  especial of the ,christian     
religion2 and to that end he brings     
forward  a new method of interpretation1
 the literary and sthetic method1 the   
purpose of which is to glean from the   
sacred texts whatever they may  contain 
of moral beauty1 in the hope that it may
 incidentally prove  to contain also    
what is true4 ,it aims at reconstructing
 the primitive  notions of              
,christianity1 in whatsoever they       
possessed of vagueness1  of indecision1 
and at the same time of profundity1 and 
to set them  in opposition over against 
the gross precision of popular views4   
,in  matters of metaphysic or religion  
there is nothing more absurd than an    
excessive precision2 the truth in such  
matters is not to be rounded in  an     
epigram4 ,epigram can at best serve1 not

 as a definition1 but as a  suggestion  
of the infinities that it really does   
not circumscribe4 ,and  just as the     
verity in such matters overpasses the   
measure of language1  so it overpasses  
the personalities and the figures which 
humanity has  chosen as representative  
of it4 ,when an idea is powerfully      
conceived1  it tends to become definite1
 to take unto itself a visage1 a voice2 
our ears seem to hear and our eyes to   
see what our hearts feel4 8,man  never  
knows10 said ,goethe1 8how              
anthropomorphic he is40 ,what is there  
so surprising in the fact that humanity 
has personified that which in  all      
climes claimed its allegiance--the idea 
of goodness and of justice8  ,the       
,eternal1 the eternally ,just1 the      
,omnipotent who squares reality  with   
justice1 ,he who parcels out evil and   
good1 the ,being who weighs  all        
actions1 who does all things by weight  
and measure1 or rather who  is ,himself 
weight and measure--that is the ,god of 

the ,jewish people1  the ,javeh of adult
 ,judaism1 as ,he ultimately appears in 
the mist of  the unknown4 ,in our days  
,he has become transmuted into a simple 
moral  conception1 which1 having        
forcibly taken possession of the human  
mind1  has at last clothed itself in a  
mystical form--has become personified   
by alliance with a crowd of             
superstitions that the 8false science of
  theologians0 regards as inseparable   
from it and from which a more           
delicately discriminating               
interpretation--an interpretation more  
literary and less literal--should set it
 free4 ,god having become  one with the 
moral law1 a further step may be taken2 
one may regard  ,christ who immolated   
,himself to save the world as a moral   
symbol of  self-sacrifice1 as the       
sublime type in which we find united all
 the  suffering of human life and all   
the ideal grandeur of morality4 ,in ,his
  figure the human and the divine are   
reconciled4 ,he was a man1 for ,he      

suffered1 but ,his devotion was so great
 that ,he was a god4 ,and what  then is 
that ,heaven which is reserved for those
 who follow ,christ and  walk in the    
path of self-sacrifice8 ,it is moral    
perfection4 ,hell is the  symbol of that
 depth of corruption to which1 by       
hypothesis1 they will  fall who1 by a   
persistent choice of evil1 ultimately   
lose all notion  even of goodness4 ,the 
terrestrial paradise is a charming      
symbol for  the primitive innocence of  
the child3 he has done as yet no evil1  
he  has done as yet no good2 his        
earliest disobedience is his first sin2 
when desire is awakened in him for the  
first time1 his will has been           
conquered1 he has fallen1 but this fall 
is precisely the condition of  his being
 set upon his feet again1 of his        
redemption by the moral law2  behold him
 condemned to labour1 to the hard labour
 of man upon himself1  to the struggle  
of self-mastery2 without that contest to
 strengthen  him he would never see the 

god descend in him1 ,christ the         
,saviour1 the  moral ideal4 ,thus it is 
in the evolution of the human conscience
 that a  key to human symbolism must be 
found4#ef ,of them must be said what the
  philosopher ,sallust said of religious
 legends generally in his treatise  8,on
 the ,gods and the ,world03 ,such things
 have never happened1 but they  are     
eternally true4 ,religion is the        
morality of the people2 it shows to     
them1 realized and divinized1 the higher
 types of conduct which they  should    
force themselves to imitate here below2 
the dreams with which  it peoples the   
skies are dreams of justice1 of equality
 of goods1 of  fraternity3 ,heaven pays 
for earth4 ,let us then no longer employ
 the  names of ,god1 of ,christ1 of the 
,resurrection except as symbols1 vague  
as hope itself4 ,then1 according to ,mr4
 ,matthew ,arnold1 and those who        
maintain the same thesis1 we shall begin
 to love these symbols1 our  faith will 
find a resting place in the religion    

which before seemed  to be but a tissue 
of gross absurdities4 ,beneath dogma1   
which is but  the surface1 we shall find
 the moral law1 which is the substance4 
,this  law1 it is true1 has in religion 
become concrete2 it has1 so to speak1   
taken on colour and form4 ,that1        
however1 is simply owing to the fact    
that people are poets2 they think in    
images or not at all4 ,you can  only    
attract their attention by pointing your
 finger at something4  ,after all1 what 
harm is there in the fact that the      
apostles1 opening  the blue ether1      
showed the gaping nations of the earth  
the thrones of  gold and seraphim and   
white wings1 and the kneeling multitude 
of the  elect8 ,this spectacle          
fascinated the ,middle ,age1 and at     
times1 when  we shut our eyes1 we seem  
to see it still4 ,this poetry1 spread   
upon  the surface of the moral law1     
lends it an attractiveness that it did  
not possess in its bare austerity4      
,sacrifice becomes less difficult  when 

it presents itself crowned with a halo4 
,the early ,christians  were not fond of
 representing ,christ as bleeding under 
the crown of  thorns1 but as            
transfigured and triumphant2 they       
preferred to keep  his agony in the     
background4 ,such pictures as ornament  
our ,churches  would have filled them   
with horror2 their young faith would    
have been  shaken by the image of the   
8agony upon the cross10 which caused    
,goethe  also a sort of a repugnance4   
,when they represented the cross it was 
no longer burdened with the ,god1 and   
they took care even to cover  it with   
flowers and ornaments of every kind4    
,you may see it in the  rude figures1   
the designs and sculptures found in the 
catacombs4 ,to  hide the cross beneath  
an armful of flowers is precisely the   
marvel  realized by religion4 ,and when 
religions are regarded from this  point 
of view1 all ground vanishes for looking
 with disdain upon the  legends which   
constitute the material of popular      

faith4 ,they become  comprehensible1    
they become lovable1 one feels one's    
self enveloped in  an 8infinite         
tenderness0 for this spontaneous product
 of nave thought  in quest of goodness1 
in pursuit of the ideal1 for these      
fairy-tales  of human morality1         
profounder and sweeter than all other   
fairy-tales4  ,it was necessary that    
religious poetry should prepare the     
earth long  beforehand for the coming of
 the mysterious ideal2 should embellish 
the place where it was to descend1 as   
the mother of the ,sleeping  ,beauty1   
seeing the eyes of her daughter grow    
heavy with the sleep of  a hundred      
years1 placed with confidence at the    
side of the bed the  embroidered        
cushion1 on which the enamoured prince  
would one day kneel  to reawaken her    
with a kiss4          #ef ,besides ,mr4 
,matthew ,arnold1 consult ,m4 ,l4       
,mnard1 ,sources        du dogme        
,chrtien 7,critique religieuse1 janvier1
 #ahgi47    ,sidenote3 ,historical      

religions to be regarded historically4  
,we have come a long way in all this    
from the servile interpretation of  the 
blind leaders who fasten upon particular
 texts and lose sight of  their subject 
as a whole4 ,if one approaches a picture
 too near1 the  perspective disappears  
and all the colours lose their proper   
value2  one must stand back a certain   
distance and see it in a favourable     
light3 and then alone the richness of   
the colours and the unity of  the work  
appear4 ,religions must be looked upon  
in the same way4 ,if  the spectator     
stands sufficiently above them and aloof
 from them1 he  loses all prejudice1 all
 hostility1 in respect to them2 their   
sacred  books come even in time to merit
 in his eyes the name of sacred1 and  he
 finds in them1 ,mr4 ,arnold says1 a    
providential 8secret10 which is  the    
8secret of ,jesus40 ,why not recognize1 
adds ,mr4 ,arnold1 that the  ,bible is  
an inspired book1 dictated by the ,holy 
,spirit8 ,after all1  everything that is

 spontaneous is more or less divine1    
providential2  whatever springs from the
 very sources of human thought is       
infinitely  venerable4 ,the ,bible is a 
unique book1 corresponding to a peculiar
  state of mind1 and it can no more be  
made over or corrected than a  work of  
,phidias or ,praxiteles4 ,in spite of   
its moral lapses and its  frequent      
disaccord with the conscience of our    
epoch1 it is a necessary  complement of 
,christianity2 it manifests the spirit  
of ,christian  society1 it represents   
the tradition of it1 and attaches the   
beliefs  of the present to those of the 
past4#eg ,the ,bible and the dogmas of  
the ,church1 having been formerly the   
point of departure for religious        
belief1 have come nowadays1 no doubt1 in
 the face of modern faith1 to  be in    
need of justification2 and this         
justification they will obtain2  to be  
understood is itself to be forgiven4    
#eg ,see ,m4 ,l4 ,mnard1 ibid4 7,crit4  
relig41 #ahgi47    ,sidenote3 ,the moral

 doctrine of the ,new ,testament the    
main strength of  ,christianity4    ,if 
the ,new ,testament contains at all a   
more or less reflective moral  theory1  
it is assuredly that of love4 ,charity1 
or rather affectionate  justice 7charity
 is always justice1 absolutely          
considered71 such is  the 8secret0 of   
,jesus4 ,the ,new ,testament may then be
 considered1  according to the opinion  
of ,mr4 ,matthew ,arnold1 as before all 
else a  treatise on symbolical morality4
 ,the actual superiority of the ,new    
,testament1 as compared with ,paganism  
and with pagan philosophy1 is a  moral  
superiority2 therein lay the secret of  
its success4 ,there is no  theology in  
the ,new ,testament unless it be the    
,jewish theology1 and  the ,jewish      
theology had proved itself incapable of 
the conquest of  the world4 ,the power  
of the ,new ,testament lay in its       
morality1 and it  is its morality which 
even in our times survives still1 more  
or less  transformed by modern progress4

 ,and it is upon the morality of the    
,new  ,testament that modern ,christian 
societies must of necessity lean1 it  is
 in the morality of the ,new ,testament 
that they will find their true          
strength2 the morality of the ,new      
,testament is the principal argument    
that they can invoke in proof of the    
legitimacy of religion itself and1  so  
to speak1 of ,god4    ,sidenote3        
,logical outcome of ,matthew ,arnold's  
position4    ,mr4 ,matthew ,arnold and  
the group of liberal critics1 who1 like 
him1  are inspired by the spirit of the 
age 7,zeitgeist71 seem thus to have     
guided faith to the ultimate point      
beyond which nothing remains but to     
break definitively with the past and its
 texts and dogmas4    ,religious thought
 in these pages is bound by the         
slenderest threads to  religious        
symbolism4 ,at bottom1 if one looks     
close1 liberal ,christians  suppress    
religion1 properly so called1 and       
substitute a religious  morality in its 

stead4 ,the believer of other times     
affirmed the  existence of ,god first1  
and then made ,his will the rule of     
conduct2 the  liberal believer of our   
day affirms the existence1 first of all1
 of  the moral law1 and cloaks it in    
divinity afterward4 ,he1 like ,matthew  
,arnold1 treats with ,javeh on equal    
terms1 and speaks to ,him almost as     
follows3 8,art ,thou a person8 ,i do not
 know4 ,hast ,thou had prophets1 a      
,messiah8 ,i no longer believe so4 ,hast
 ,thou created me8 ,i doubt it4 ,dost   
,thou watch over me--me in              
especial--dost ,thou perform miracles8  
,i deny  it4 ,but there is one thing1   
and one alone1 in which ,i do believe1  
and  that is in my own conception of    
morality2 and if ,thou art willing to   
become a surety for that and to bend the
 reality into harmony with my  ideal1 we
 will make a treaty of alliance2 and by 
the affirmation of my  existence as a   
moral being1 ,i will affirm ,thine into 
the bargain40 ,we  are far away from the

 antique ,javeh1 the ,power1 with whom  
no bargain  could be made2 the jealous  
,god1 who wished man's every thought to 
point  toward ,him alone1 and who would 
make no treaty with ,his people unless  
,he could precisely dictate the terms4  
,sidenote3 ,practical attenuation of    
,christian faith4    ,the more          
distinguished ,german1 ,english1 and    
,american clergymen thrust  theology so 
far into the background for the purpose 
of forwarding  practical morality that  
one may apply to all of them the words  
of an ,american periodical1 the ,north  
,american ,review3 that a  pagan1       
desirous of making himself acquainted   
with the doctrines of  ,christianity1   
might frequent our most fashionable     
churches for an  entire year and not    
hear one word about the torments of hell
 or the  wrath of an incensed ,god4 ,as 
to the fall of man and the expiatory    
agony of ,christ1 just so much would be 
said as to fall short of giving  umbrage
 to the most fanatical believer of the  

theory of evolution4  ,listening and    
observing for himself1 he would reach   
the conclusion  that the way to         
salvation lies in confessing one's      
belief in certain  abstract doctrines1  
beaten out as thin as possible by the   
clergyman  and by the believer1 in      
frequenting assiduously the church and  
extra-religious meetings1 in dropping an
 obolus every ,sunday into the          
contribution box1 and in imitating the  
attitudes of his neighbours4  ,all the  
terms of theology are so loosely        
employed that all those are  considered 
,christians whose character has been    
formed by ,christian  civilization1 all 
those who have not remained total       
strangers to the  current of ideas set  
up in the ,occident by ,jesus and ,paul4
 ,it was an  ,american clergyman who had
 abandoned the narrow dogmas of         
,calvin#eh  that1 after having employed 
a long life in becoming more and more   
liberal1 discovered1 in his seventieth  
year1 this large formula for his  faith3

 8,nobody ought to be regarded as an    
infidel who sees in justice  the great  
creed of human life1 and who aims at an 
increasingly complete  subjection of his
 will to his moral sense40          #eh 
,mr4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher4    ,,ii4    
,what is the possible value and the     
possible duration of this moral  and    
metaphysical symbolism to which it is   
being attempted to reduce  religion8    
,sidenote3 ,logical hollowness of the   
position of the liberal  ,protestants4  
,let us speak first of the liberal      
,protestants4 ,liberal ,protestantism1  
which resolves the very dogmas of its   
creed into mere symbols1 stands  no     
doubt in the scale of progress in about 
the same relation to  orthodox          
,protestantism as the latter does in    
relation to ,catholicism4  ,but far as  
it seems in advance of them from the    
point of view of morals  and society1 it
 is inferior to them in logic4          
,catholicism has been  irreverently     
called a perfectly embalmed corpse1 a   

,christian mummy1  in an admirable state
 of preservation beneath the cold       
embroidered  chasubles and surplices    
which envelop it2 ,luther's             
,protestantism tears  the body to       
shreds1 liberal ,protestantism reduces  
it to dust4 ,to  preserve ,christianity 
while suppressing ,christ the son1 or at
 least  the messenger of ,god1 is an    
undertaking of which they alone will be 
capable who are little disposed to make 
much of what is known as logic4         
,whoever does not believe in ,revelation
 ought frankly to confess himself  a    
philosopher1 and to hold the ,bible and 
the ,new ,testament as little           
authoritative as the dialogues of       
,plato1 or the treatises of ,aristotle1 
or the ,vedas1 or the ,talmud4 ,liberal 
,protestants1 as ,herr von ,hartmann1   
one of their bitterest adversaries1     
remarks1 seize upon the whole body  of  
modern ideas and label them             
,christianity4 ,the process is not very 
consistent4 ,if you are absolutely      

determined to rally round a flag1  let  
it at least be your own4 ,but the       
liberal ,protestants wish1 and          
honestly1 to be and to remain           
,protestants2 in ,germany1 they         
obstinately  remain in the ,united      
,evangelical ,church of ,prussia1 where 
they about  as truly belong as a sparrow
 does in the nest of a swallow4 ,herr   
von  ,hartmann1 whose zeal against them 
is unflagging1 compares them to a  man  
whose house is riven in many places and 
going to ruin1 and who  perceives and   
does all that in him lies still further 
to shatter it1  and continues1          
nevertheless1 tranquilly to sleep in it 
and even to  call in passers-by and     
offer them board and lodging4 ,or       
again--always  according to ,herr von   
,hartmann--they are like a man who      
should seat  himself in perfect         
confidence upon a chair after having    
first sawed  through all four legs of   
it4 ,strauss had already said3 8,the    
instant  that ,jesus is regarded as no  

more than a man1 one has no longer any  
right to pray to him1 to retain him as  
the centre of a cult1 to preach  the    
whole year through on him1 on his       
actions1 on his adventures  and maxims2 
in especial1 if the more important of   
his adventures  and actions have been   
recognized as fabulous1 and if his      
maxims are  demonstrably incompatible   
with our present views on human life and
  the world40 ,to understand what is    
peculiar in the majority of liberal     
communions which always stop halfway1 it
 is necessary to observe that  they are 
generally the work of ecclesiastics who 
have broken with the  dominant church1  
and that they preserve to the end some  
suggestion of  their former belief2 they
 can no more think1 except in the terms 
of the  formul of some dogma1 than we   
can speak in the words of a language    
with which we are unacquainted2 and even
 when they endeavour to acquire  a new  
language they speak it always with an   
accent which betrays their  nationality4

 ,for the rest they feel instinctively  
that the name of  ,christ lends them a  
certain authority1 and they find it     
impossible to  abandon their profession 
and its emoluments4 ,in ,germany1 and   
even in  ,france1 over and above the    
liberal ,protestants1 who in the latter 
place  are few in number1 former        
,catholics have sought to abandon       
orthodox  ,catholicism1 but they have   
not dared to abandon ,christianity4 ,the
 case  of ,father ,hyacinthe#ei is      
sufficiently well known4 ,it is in vain 
for  those who are born ,christians to  
try their hand at logic1 and to make  an
 effort to rid themselves of their      
faith4 ,they make one think1 in  spite  
of one's self1 of a fly caught in a     
spider-web1 who has freed  one wing and 
one leg1 and only one4          #ei ,dr4
 ,junqua1 whose name almost became      
celebrated a few        years ago1 also 
tried to found a church1 the ,church of 
,liberty2        those who entered were 
at liberty to believe almost anything   

they liked1 not even the atheist1       
properly so called1 being               
excluded4 ,the church in question was to
 have been purely        symbolic3      
baptism it was to recognize as the      
symbol of        initiation into        
,christian civilization2 confirmation as
 the        symbol of an enrolment among
 the soldiers of ,liberty2 and          
the eucharist1 that is to say a         
religious love feast1 as the            
symbol of the brotherhood of man4 ,it is
 to be added that these                 
sacraments were not obligatory and that 
the members might        abstain from   
them entirely if they chose4 ,still1    
they would be        members of a       
communion4 ,their faith would be        
designated by a        common name1 they
 would be in relations with a priest who
 would        comment in their presence 
on texts of the ,new ,testament1 and    
would talk of ,christ if he and they    
believed in ,him4 ,the church        of 
,dr4 ,junqua might easily have succeeded

 in ,england with ,mr4        ,moncure  
,conway and the secularists4            
,sidenote3 ,neo-,christianity4    ,let  
us endeavour1 however1 to enter more    
intimately into the thoughts  of those  
who may be called the ,neo-,christians1 
and let us seek for the  element of     
truth1 if such there be1 that their     
much-criticised doctrine  contains4 ,if 
,jesus is only a man1 they say1 he is at
 least the most  extraordinary of men2  
at one bound1 by an intuition at once   
natural  and divine1 he discovered the  
supreme truth necessary to the life of  
humanity2 he is in advance of all times1
 he spoke not only for his own  people1 
nor for his own century1 nor even for a 
score of centuries2  his voice rolled   
beyond the restricted circle of his     
auditors1 and the  twelve apostles1     
beyond the people of ,judea prostrate   
before him1 to us  in whose ears it     
sounds the eternal truth2 and it finds  
us even still  attentive1 listening1    
trying to understand it1 incapable of   

finding a  substitute for it4 8,in      
,jesus10 writes ,pastor ,bost in his    
work on 8,le  ,protestantisme libral10  
8the mingling of the human and the      
divine  was accomplished in proportions 
not seen elsewhere4 ,his relation to    
,god is the normal and typical relation 
of humanity to the ,creator4444  ,jesus 
stands forever as the model40 ,professor
 ,herman ,schultz in a  conference in   
,gttingen1 some years ago1 also         
expressed the same idea1  that ,jesus is
 really the ,messiah1 properly so       
called1 in the sense  that the ,jews    
attached to that word4 ,he did found the
 kingdom of ,god1  not it is true by    
marvellous exploits like those of ,moses
 or of ,elias1  but by an exploit       
surpassing theirs1 by the sacrifice of  
love1 by the  voluntary gift of himself4
 ,the apostles and ,christians in       
general  did not believe in ,jesus      
because of the miracles he performed3   
they  accepted his miracles owing to    
their previous faith in him1 a faith    

the true foundation of which lay in     
,christ's moral superiority1 and  that  
subsists still even if one deny the     
miracles4 ,professor ,schultz           
concludes1 against ,strauss and ,m4     
,renan1 that 8a belief in ,christ is    
wholly independent of the results of a  
historical criticism of his  life40     
,every one of the actions attributed to 
,jesus may be mythical1  but there      
remain to us his words and his thoughts1
 which find in us  an eternal echo4     
,there are things which one discovers   
once for all1  and whosoever has found  
love has made a discovery that is not   
illusory  nor of brief duration4 ,is it 
not just that men should group          
themselves  about him1 range themselves 
under his name8 ,he himself loves to    
call  himself the ,son of ,man2 it is   
under this title that humanity should   
revere him4 ,it is not destruction but  
reconstruction that is the  outcome of  
contemporary biblical exegesis1 one of  
the representatives  of ,english        

,unitarianism1 the ,rev4 ,a4 ,armstrong1
 said in #ahhc4 ,it adds  to our love of
 ,jesus to recognize in him a brother   
and to see in the  marvellous legends   
associated with him no more than the    
symbol of a  love more nave than ours1  
that namely of his disciples4 ,proof by 
miracle is but the ultimate form of a   
temptation from which humanity  should  
escape4 ,in the symbolic story of the   
temptation in the desert1  ,satan says3 
8,command that these stones be made     
bread20 he urged ,christ  to be guilty  
of a miracle1 of the prestidigitation   
which the ancient  prophets had employed
 so frequently to strike the imagination
 of the  people4 ,but ,jesus refused4   
,and on another occasion he said to the 
people indignantly3 ,if you did not see 
prodigies and miracles you do  not      
believe1 and to the ,pharisees3 8,ye    
hypocrites1 ye can discern the  face of 
the sky and of the earth1 444 and why   
even of yourselves judge  ye not what is
 right80 ,it is by the testimony of our 

own souls1 say  the ,neo-,christians2 it
 is by our own individual conscience1   
our own  individual reason1 that we     
shall find justice in the word of       
,christ1  and that we shall revere it2  
and this word is not true because it is 
divine1 it is divine because it is true4
    ,sidenote3 ,modern ,german          
historical criticism and liberal        
,protestantism4    ,thus understood1    
liberal ,protestantism is a doctrine    
that merits  discussion2 only it is     
sadly in lack of any distinguishing     
characteristic especially to mark it off
 from the numerous  philosophical sects 
which1 in the course of history1 have   
gathered  about the opinions of some man
 and endeavoured to identify his        
teachings with the truth and to lend to 
them an authority more than  human4     
,pythagoras was for his disciples what  
,jesus is to the liberal  ,protestant4  
,the traditional respect also of the    
,epicureans for their  master is well   
known1 the sort of worship they rendered

 him1 the  authority that they lent to  
his words4#fj ,pythagoras brought to    
light  a great idea1 that of the harmony
 which governs the physical and moral   
universe2 ,epicurus1 another1 that of   
the happiness which is the true  aim of 
rational conduct1 the measure of        
goodness1 and even of truth2  and by    
their disciples these two great ideas   
came to be looked upon not  as parts of 
the truth but as truth itself in its    
entirety2 they saw  no ground for       
further search4 ,in the same way1 in our
 own times1 the  ,positivists see in    
,auguste ,comte not a profound thinker  
simply1 but one  who has laid his       
finger1 so to speak1 on the definitive  
verity1 one who  has traversed at a dash
 the whole domain of intelligence and   
traced out  once for all its limits4 ,it
 is rigorously exact to say that        
,auguste  ,comte is a sort of ,christ   
for bigoted ,positivists--a ,christ a   
trifle  too recent1 who did not have the
 happiness of dying on the cross4 ,each 

of these sects reposes on the following 
belief3 ,before ,pythagoras1  ,epicurus1
 or ,comte1 nobody had seen the truth2  
after them nobody will  ever see it more
 clearly4 ,such a creed implicitly      
denies3 #a4 ,historical  continuity1 the
 inevitable result of which is that the 
man of genius is  always more or less   
the expression of his century and that  
the honour  of his discoveries is not   
due wholly to himself2 #b4 ,human       
evolution1  the inevitable result of    
which is that the man of genius cannot  
be the  expression of all the centuries 
to come--that his point of view must    
necessarily be some day passed by--that 
the truth discovered by him is  not the 
whole truth but simply a stage in the   
infinite progress of the  human mind4 ,a
 deus dixit is comprehensible1 or if not
 comprehensible  at least conceivable2  
but to resuscitate in favour of some    
mere human  being1 were it ,jesus       
himself1 the magister dixit of the      
,middle ,ages1  is a bit of an          

anachronism4 ,geometers have always held
 ,euclid in the  highest respect1 but   
each of them has done his best to       
contribute some  new theorem to the body
 of doctrine that he left behind2 and is
 the  rule for moral truth not the same 
as that for mathematical truth8 ,is  it 
within the compass of one man's powers  
to know and to utter all  that there is 
to be known8 ,is an autocracy the only  
form of government  in the sphere of    
mind8 ,liberal ,protestants speak to us 
of the 8secret  of ,jesus02 but there   
are many secrets in this world1 and each
 of us  carries his own2 and who shall  
utter the secret of secrets1 the last   
word1 the supreme verity8 ,nobody in    
particular1 probably2 truth is the      
product of a prodigious co-operation1 at
 which all peoples and all  generations 
must work4 ,the horizon of truth can    
neither be taken in at  a single glance 
nor contracted2 to perceive the whole of
 it one must  move forward incessantly1 
and at every step a new perspective is  

laid  bare4 ,for humanity1 to live is to
 learn2 and before any individual  human
 being can tell us the great secret1 he 
must have lived the life  of humanity1  
the lives of all existing beings and    
even of all existing  things1 which seem
 scarcely to deserve the name of beings2
 he must have  concentrated in himself  
the universe4 ,there can therefore      
properly be  no religion centred about a
 man4 ,a man1 be he ,jesus himself1     
cannot  attach the human spirit to      
himself as to a fixed point4 ,liberal   
,protestants think that they have seen  
the last of the ,strausses and  ,renans 
and their destructive criticism1 because
 they have admitted  once for all that  
,jesus was not a god1 but criticism will
 object to  them that the               
non-supernatural ,messiah that they     
cherish is himself  a pure figment of   
the imagination4 ,according to the      
rationalistic  exegesis1 the doctrine of
 ,christ1 like his life1 belongs more or
 less  to the domain of legend4 ,jesus  

never so much as conceived an idea of   
the redemption--the very conception that
 is which lies at the root of           
,christianity2 he never so much as      
conceived an idea of the ,trinity4 ,if  
one may rely upon works which stand     
perhaps shoulder to shoulder with  that 
of ,strauss--the works of ,f4 ,a4       
,mller1 of ,professor ,weiss1 of ,m4    
,havet--,jesus was a ,jew with the      
spiritual limitations of a ,jew4 ,his   
dominant idea was that the end of the   
world was at hand and that on a         
new-created earth would soon be realized
 the national kingdom looked  for by the
 ,jews in the form of an altogether     
terrestrial theocracy4  ,the end of the 
world being near1 it was naturally not  
worth while  to set up an establishment 
on earth for the short time that it was 
still to exist2 one's entire business   
was properly with penitence and  the    
amendment of one's conduct1 in order not
 to be devoured by fire  at the day of  
judgment and excluded from the kingdom  

to be founded  on the new-created earth4
 ,moreover1 ,jesus preached neglect of  
the  state1 of the administration of    
justice1 of the family1 of labour  and  
of property2 in effect1 of all the      
essential elements of social  life4     
,evangelical morality itself presents to
 the critics of this  school little more
 than a disorderly mixture of the       
precepts of ,moses  on disinterested    
love with the doctrine of ,hillel more  
or less well  founded on enlightened    
self-interest4 ,the original element in 
the ,new  ,testament consisted less in  
the logical coherence of its teachings  
than in a certain unction in the        
language employed1 in a persuasive      
eloquence which often took the place of 
reasoning4 ,all that ,christ said       
others had said before him1 but not with
 the same accent4 ,in effect1  ,german  
historical criticism at once professes  
the greatest admiration  for the        
numerous founders of ,christianity and  
leads its followers a  long way from the

 ideal man conceived by the             
,neo-,christians as being  the man-,god 
whom primitive ,christians adored4      
,there exists accordingly  no more      
reason to attribute an element of       
revelation or of sacred  authority to   
the ,new ,testament than to the ,vedas  
or to any other  religious book4 ,if    
,christianity is a symbolic faith1 the  
myths of ,india  may quite as well be   
adopted as a basis of symbolism as the  
myths of  the ,bible4 ,and contemporary 
,brahmaists with their eclecticism1     
confused  and mystic as it often is1    
must be regarded as even nearer to the  
truth  than the liberal ,protestants who
 still look for shelter and salvation   
nowhere but under the diminishing shadow
 of the cross4          #fj ,see the    
author's work on la ,morale d'picure et 
ses        rapports avec les doctrines  
contemporaines1 p4 #ahf4           99   
99       99       99       99           
,abandoning1 then1 all effort to        
attribute a sacred authority to the     

sacred books and to the ,christian      
tradition1 may one ascribe to them  at  
least a superior moral authority8 ,do   
they lend themselves in any  especial   
degree to such a purely sthetic and     
moral symbolism as that  suggested by   
,mr4 ,arnold8    ,sidenote3 ,futility of
 ,mr4 ,arnold's method considered as an 
instrument  of historical criticism4    
,a purely moral symbolism may be        
regarded from either of two points of   
view3 the concrete1 which is that of    
history2 or the abstract1 which  is that
 of philosophy4 ,historically nothing   
could be more inexact than  ,mr4        
,arnold's method1 which essentially     
consists in making a present  of the    
most refined conceptions of our epoch to
 primitive peoples4 ,it  gives us to    
understand1 for example1 that the ,javeh
 of the ,hebrews  was not regarded as a 
perfectly definite person1 a            
transcendent power  altogether distinct 
and separate from the world and         
manifesting  himself by acts of         

capricious volition1 a king of the      
skies1 a lord  of battles1 bestowing on 
his people victory or defeat1 abundance 
or  famine1 sickness or health4 ,it     
suffices to read one page of the ,bible 
or the ,new ,testament to convince one's
 self that a doubt as to the  personal  
existence of ,javeh never for an instant
 crossed the ,hebrew  mind4 ,so be it1  
,mr4 ,arnold will say1 but ,javeh was in
 their eyes no  more1 after all1 than   
the personification of justice1 because 
they  believed powerfully in justice4   
,it would be more exact to say that  the
 ,hebrews had not as yet a very         
philosophic notion of justice2 that     
they conceived it as an order received  
from without1 a command which  it would 
be dangerous to disobey1 a hostile will 
forcibly imposed  upon one's own4       
,nothing could be more natural in the   
sequel than  to personify such a will4  
,but is that precisely what we          
understand  nowadays by justice2 and    
does it not really seem to ,mr4 ,arnold 

himself  that he is playing on words1   
when he endeavours to make us believe   
all that8 ,fear of the ,lord is not     
justice4 ,there are matters that one    
cannot express in the form of legend    
when one has once really conceived      
them--matters the true poetry of which  
consists in their very purity1  in their
 simplicity4 ,to personify justice1 to  
represent it as external  to ourselves  
under the form of a menacing power1 is  
not to possess a  8high idea0 of it2 is 
not in the least1 as ,mr4 ,arnold       
phrases it1 to  be aglow with it1       
illuminated by it2 it is1 on the        
contrary1 not yet  really to have formed
 a conception of justice4 ,what ,mr4    
,arnold regards  as the sublimest       
expression of an altogether modern moral
 sentiment  is1 on the contrary1 a      
partial negation of it4 ,mr4 ,arnold's  
aim1 as  he says1 is a 8literary0       
criticism2 but the literary method      
consists  in resetting the great works  
of human genius in the circumstances    

among which they were conceived2 in     
discovering in them the spirit of  the  
age in which they were written1 and not 
of the present age4 ,if we  endeavour to
 interpret history by the light of      
modern ideas we shall  never understand 
a jot of it4 ,mr4 ,arnold is pleasantly 
satirical at  the expense of those who  
find in the ,bible allusions to         
contemporary  events1 to such and such a
 modern custom1 to such and such a dogma
  unknown to primitive times4 ,a        
commentator1 he says1 finds a prediction
  of the flight to ,egypt in the        
prophecy of ,isaiah3 8,the ,lord rideth 
upon a swift cloud and shall come into  
,egypt02 this light cloud being  the    
body of ,jesus born of a virgin4        
,another1 more fantastic1 perceives  in 
the words3 8,woe unto them that draw up 
iniquity with cords of  vanity0--a      
malediction of ,god against church      
bells4 ,that assuredly  is a singular   
method of interpreting the sacred texts1
 but at bottom  it is no more logical to

 look in the sacred texts for modern    
ideas1  good or evil1 than to search    
them for the announcement of such and   
such a distant event or for a commentary
 on such and such a trait of            
contemporary manners4 ,really to        
practise the literary method--and the   
scientific method at the same time--one 
must a little forget one's  self1 one's 
nation1 one's century2 one must live the
 life of past  times--must become a     
,greek when one reads ,homer1 a ,hebrew 
when one  reads the ,bible1 and not     
desire that ,racine should be a         
,shakespeare1  nor ,boccaccio a ,st4    
,benedict1 nor ,jesus a free-thinker1   
nor ,isaiah an  ,epictetus or a ,kant4  
,all things and all ideas are           
appropriate in their  own times and     
circumstances4 ,gothic cathedrals are   
magnificent1 our  small houses to-day   
are very comfortable2 there is no reason
 why we  should not admire the one and  
inhabit the other2 the only thing that  
is  really inexcusable is to be         

absolutely unwilling that cathedrals    
should  be what alone they are4         
,sidenote3 ,philosophical insufficiency 
of ,mr4 ,arnold's position4             
,considered not from the point of view  
of history but purely from  that of     
philosophy1 ,mr4 ,arnold's doctrine is  
much more attractive1  for its aim is   
precisely to enable us to discover our  
own ideas in  the ancient books as in a 
mirror4 ,nothing could be better1 but   
are  we really in want of this mirror8  
,do we really need to rediscover  our   
modern conceptions embodied in the form 
of myth and more or less  distorted in  
the process8 ,do we really need         
voluntarily to go back to  the state of 
mind of primitive peoples8 ,do we really
 need to dwell  upon the somewhat narrow
 conception that they possessed of      
justice and  of morality before we shall
 be capable of conceiving a justice more
  generous in its proportions and a     
morality more worthy of its name8       
,would it not be much the same sort of  

thing as for one who was teaching       
children physics to begin by seriously  
inculcating the classic theory  of      
nature's abhorrence of a vacuum1 of     
immobility of the earth1 etc48  ,the    
authors of the ,talmud in their nave    
faith said that ,javeh1 filled  with    
veneration for the book which he had    
himself dictated1 would  devote the     
first three hours of every day to a     
study of the sacred law4  ,the most     
orthodox ,jews do not to-day oblige     
their ,god to this recurrent  period of 
meditation2 might not one without danger
 permit mankind a  somewhat similar     
economy of time8 ,mr4 ,arnold1 whose    
mind moves so  easily1 although with so 
plentiful a lack of directness and of   
logic1  criticises somewhere or other   
those who feel a need of a foundation   
of fable for their faith1 a foundation  
of supernatural intervention  and       
marvellous legend1 and he says that many
 religious men resemble  readers of     
romances or smokers of opium2 the       

reality becomes insipid  to them1       
although it is really more grand than   
the fantastic world of  opium and       
romance4 ,mr4 ,arnold does not perceive 
that1 if the reality  is1 as he says1   
the greatest and most beautiful of      
things1 we have no  further need of the 
legend of ,christianity1 not even       
interpreted as  he interprets it3 the   
real world1 and by the real world ,i    
understand  the moral not less than the 
physical universe1 should prove         
abundantly  sufficient for us4          
,ithuriel1 ,mr4 ,arnold says1 has       
punctured miracles  with his spear2 and 
did he not at the same stroke puncture  
symbolism8  ,we prefer to see truth     
naked rather than tricked out in        
parti-coloured  vestments2 to clothe    
truth is to degrade it4 ,mr4 ,arnold    
compares a too  absolute faith to       
intoxication2 one might willingly       
compare ,mr4 ,arnold  to ,socrates1 who 
could drain off more than any other     
guest at the table  without becoming    

intoxicated4 ,not to become intoxicated 
was1 for the  ,greeks1 one of the       
prerogatives of the sage4 ,with this    
reservation they  permitted him to      
drink1 but in our days the sages make   
small use of the  permission2 they      
admire ,socrates without imitating him1 
and find that  sobriety is still the    
best means of keeping one's head4 ,one  
might say  as much to ,matthew ,arnold4 
,the ,bible with its scenes of massacre1
 of  rape1 and of divine vengeance is in
 his judgment bread for the soul2  the  
soul can no more do without it than we  
can ourselves do without  eating4 ,the  
reply is that he has himself proved it  
to be a dangerous  form of nourishment1 
and that it is sometimes better to fast 
than to  eat poison4    ,sidenote3      
,buddhism more deeply symbolic than     
,christianity4    ,for the rest1 if one 
persists in seeking in the sacred books 
of by-gone  ages for the expression of  
primitive morality1 it is not in the    
,bible1 but rather in the ,hindu books  

that a literary or philosophical        
interpretation will find the most       
extraordinary example of moral          
symbolism4 ,the entire world appears to 
the ,buddhist as the realization  of the
 moral law1 since in his opinion beings 
take rank in the universe  according to 
their virtues or vices1 mount or descend
 on the ladder of  life according to    
their moral elevation or abasement4     
,buddhism is in  certain respects an    
effort to find in morals a theory of the
 universe4           99       99        
99       99       99    ,sidenote3      
,dependence of religion upon morality4  
,in spite of the partial lapses from    
logical consistency that have  been here
 pointed out in the theory of moral     
symbolism1 there is one  conclusion that
 is logically insisted on in the books  
just examined1  and in especial ,mr4    
,arnold's book1 namely3 that the        
solidest support  of every religion is a
 more or less imperfect system of       
morals2 that  the power of              

,christianity1 as of ,buddhism1 has lain
 in its moral  injunctions1 and that if 
one suppressed this moral injunction    
there  would nothing remain of the two  
great 8universal0 religions brought     
forth by human intelligence4 ,religion  
serves1 so to speak1 as an  envelope for
 morality2 it protects morality against 
the period of its  ultimate development 
and efflorescence1 but when once moral  
beliefs  have gained strength enough    
they tend to protrude from this         
envelope1  like a flower bursting out of
 the bud4 ,some years ago what was at   
that  time called ,independent ,morality
 was much discussed2 the defenders of   
religion maintained that the fate of    
morality is intimately bound up  with   
it--that if morality were separated from
 religion it must decline4  ,they were  
perhaps right in pointing out the       
intimate connection between  morality   
and religion1 but they were mistaken in 
maintaining that it  is the former that 
is dependent2 it would be truer to say  

the precise  opposite1 that it is       
religion that depends upon morality1    
that the  latter is the principal and   
the former the subordinate4 ,the        
,ecclesiast  says somewhere1 8,he hath  
set the world in their heart40 ,it is   
for that  reason that man should first  
look into his own heart1 and should     
first  of all believe in himself4       
,religious faith might more or less     
logically  issue out of moral faith1 but
 could not produce the moral faith1 and 
if  it should go counter to the moral   
faith it would condemn itself4 ,the     
religious spirit cannot therefore       
accommodate itself to the new order  of 
things except by abandoning1 in the     
first place1 all the dogmas  of a       
liberal faith1 and then all the symbols 
of a more enlightened  faith and holding
 fast by the fundamental principle which
 constitutes  the life of religion and  
dominates its historical evolution2 that
  is to say1 the moral sentiment of     
,protestantism in spite of all its      

contradictions has really introduced    
into the world a new principle2 it  is  
this1 that conscience is its own judge1 
that individual initiative  should be   
substituted for objective authority4#fa 
,such a principle  includes as a logical
 consequence not only the suppression of
 real  dogmas and of mysteries1 but also
 that of precise and determinate        
symbols2 of everything1 in a word1 which
 proposes to impose itself  upon the    
conscience as a ready-made truth4       
,protestantism unwittingly  contained in
 its own bosom the germ of the negation 
of every positive  religion that does   
not address itself exclusively and      
directly to  private judgment1 to the   
moral sense of the individual4 ,in our  
days  no one is willing to believe      
simply what he is told to believe2 he   
must accept it independently3 he        
believes that the danger of private     
judgment is only apparent1 and that in  
the intellectual world1 as in  the world
 of civil liberty1 it is out of liberty 

that all authority  worthy of respect   
takes its rise4 ,the revolution which   
tends thus  to replace a religious      
faith1 founded on the authority of texts
 and  symbols1 by a moral faith founded 
upon the right of private judgment      
recalls the revolution accomplished     
three centuries ago by ,descartes1  who 
substituted evidence and reasoning for  
authority4 ,humanity is  increasingly   
anxious to reason out its own beliefs1  
to see with its  own eyes4 ,the truth is
 no longer exclusively locked up in     
temples2  it addresses itself to        
everybody1 communicates with everybody1 
gives  everybody the right to act4 ,in  
the cult of scientific truth everyone1  
as in the early days of ,christianity1  
is capable of officiating in  his turn2 
there are no seats reserved in the      
sanctuary1 there is no  jealous ,god1 or
 rather the temples of truth are those  
which each of  us rears in his own      
heart--temples which are no more truly  
,christian  than ,hebrew or ,buddhist4  

,the absorption of religion into        
morality is  one with the dissolution of
 all positive and determinate religion1 
of  all traditional symbolism and of all
 dogmatism4 ,faith1 said ,heraclitus    
profoundly1 is a sacred malady1  4 ,for 
us moderns it is no  longer a sacred    
malady1 and it is one from which all of 
us wish to be  delivered and cured4     
#fa ,toward the end of his life ,luther 
felt an increasing        discouragement
 and disquietude on the subject of the  
reform        inaugurated by him3 8,it  
is by severe laws and by superstition10 
he wrote with bitterness1 8that the     
world desires to be guided4        ,if  
,i could reconcile it with my conscience
 ,i would labour        that the ,pope  
with all his abominations might become  
once        more our master40           
,responsibility to one's own conscience 
was        indeed ,luther's fundamental 
idea--the idea which justifies the      
,reformation in the eyes of history1 as 
formerly in the eyes of        its own  

author4          ,,chapter ,,iii4       
,,dissolution ,,of ,,religious          
,,morality4        ,i4 ,the first       
durable element of religious morality3  
,respect--,alteration of respect by the 
addition of the        notion of the    
fear of ,god and divine vengeance4      
,,ii4 ,second durable element of        
religious morality3                     
,love--,alteration of this element by   
the addition of        ideas of grace1  
predestination1 damnation--,caducous    
elements of religious                   
morality--,mysticism--,antagonism       
of divine love and human                
love--,asceticism--,excesses        of  
asceticism--,especially in the religions
 of the        ,east--,conception of sin
 in the modern mind4        ,,iii4      
,subjective worship and prayer--,the    
notion of        prayer from the point  
of view of modern science and           
philosophy--,ecstasy--,the survival of  
prayer4      ,having traced the         
dissolution of dogma and religious      

symbolism it is  appropriate to consider
 the fate of that system of religious   
morality  which rests upon dogma and    
upon faith4 ,there are in religious     
morality  some durable elements and some
 caducous ones which stand out in       
sharper  and sharper opposition in the  
course of the progress of human society4
  ,the two stable elements of religious 
morality which will occupy us  first are
 respect and love2 these are the        
elements indeed of every  system of     
morality1 those which are in nowise     
related to mysticism or  symbolism1 and 
which tend progressively to part company
 with them4           99       99       
99       99       99    ,sidenote3      
,superiority of element of love over    
that of respect4    ,i4 ,kant regarded  
respect or reverence as the moral       
sentiment par  excellence2 the moral    
law1 in his opinion1 was a law of       
reverence  and not of love1 and therein 
lay its pretensions to universality3 for
  if it had been a law of love1 there   

would have been a difficulty in         
imposing it upon all reasonable beings4 
,i can insist on your respecting  me but
 not on your loving me4 ,in the sphere  
of society ,kant is right2  the law     
cannot provide that men shall love each 
other1 but only that  they shall respect
 each other's rights4 ,but is the same  
thing true  in the sphere of pure       
morality--have not the two great        
8universal0  religions1 ,buddhism and   
,christianity1 been right in regarding  
love  as the controlling principle in   
ethics8 ,respect is no more than the    
beginnings of ideal morality2 in the    
attitude of respect the soul  feels     
itself restricted1 held in check1       
embarrassed4 ,and what in  effect       
essentially is respect1 but the ability 
to violate a right on  the one hand and 
on the other a right to go inviolable8  
,well1 there  is another sentiment which
 does away with the very possibility of 
violence and which therefore is even    
purer than respect1 that is to  say     

love1 and ,christianity has so          
understood it4 ,be it remarked also     
that respect is necessarily implied in a
 properly understood moral  love2 love  
is superior to respect not because it   
suppresses it but  because it completes 
it4 ,genuine love inevitably presents   
itself under  the form of respect1 but  
this conception of respect1 abstractly  
taken1  is an empty form without        
content2 and can be filled with love    
alone4  ,what one respects in the       
dignity of another person is--is it     
not8--a  personal power held in check1 a
 sort of moral autonomy4 ,it is possible
  to conceive a cold hard respect that  
is not absolutely free from some        
suggestion of mechanical necessity4     
,what one loves1 on the contrary1  in   
the dignity of another person is the    
element in his character which  beckons 
and welcomes one4 ,is it possible to    
conceive a cold love8  ,respect is a    
species of check1 love is an outleap of 
emotion2 respect  is the act by which   

will meets will2 in love there is no    
sense of  opposition1 of calculation1 of
 hesitation2 one gives one's self simply
  and entirely4    ,sidenote3 ,the      
mistake of ,christianity4    ,let it not
 therefore be made a reproach to        
,christianity that it sees in  love the 
very principle of relationship between  
reasonable beings1 the  very principle  
of the moral law and of justice4 ,paul  
says with reason  that he who loves     
others fulfils the law4 ,in effect1 the 
commandments3  thou shalt not commit    
adultery1 thou shalt not kill1 thou     
shalt not  covet1 and the rest1 were    
summed up in3 thou shalt love thy       
neighbor  as thyself4 ,the defect of    
,christianity--a defect from which      
,buddhism  is free--is that the love of 
men is there conceived as disappearing1 
in the last analysis1 in the love of    
,god4 ,man is not beloved except in     
,god and for ,god1 and human society as 
a whole possesses no foundation  nor    
rule of life except in the relationship 

of men to ,god4 ,well1 if  the love of  
man for man1 properly understood1       
actually implies respect  for rectitude1
 the same thing cannot be said with the 
same degree  of emphasis for the love of
 man for ,god1 and in ,god's sight4 ,the
  conception of a society founded on the
 love of ,god contains the seeds  of    
theocratic government with all its      
abuses4    ,moreover1 if in ,christian  
morality love of man resolves itself1 in
 the  last resort1 into love of ,god1   
love of ,god is always adulterated with 
fear2 the ,old ,testament insists upon  
it with positive complacency4 ,the  fear
 of the ,lord plays an important rle in 
the celestial sanction1  and justice    
also1 which is essential to             
,christianity1 and which more  or less  
definitely antagonizes and sometimes    
even paralyzes it4 ,it is  thus that1   
after having traced the sentiment of    
respect itself and of  justice to a     
foundation in love1 ,christianity       
suddenly reinstates the  former1        

re-endows it with precedence and that   
under its most primitive  and savage    
form--the form of fear in man and       
vengeance in ,god4    ,sidenote3        
,respect for the welfare of sentient    
beings in general the  essence of       
morality4    ,this sanction1 we have    
seen1 is a special form of the notion of
 a  ,providence4 ,those who believe in a
 special ,providence distributing good  
and evil admit1 in the last resort1 that
 this distribution takes place  in      
conformity with the conduct of the      
receivers and the sentiments of         
approval or disapproval that that       
conduct inspires in the divinity4 ,the  
idea of a ,providence1 in the natural   
course of its development1 becomes      
therefore one with the notion of        
distributive justice1 and this latter1  
on the other hand1 becomes one with the 
idea of divine sanction4 ,the  idea of  
divine sanction has been conceived up to
 this point as one of  the essential    
elements of morality1 and it seems1 at  

first glance1  that religion and        
morality here coincide1 that their      
respective needs  here unite1 or rather 
that morality reaches completeness only 
by  the aid of religion4 ,the notion of 
distributive justice naturally  involves
 the notion of a celestial distributor1 
but we have seen in  a preceding work   
that the notion of a sanction properly  
so called1  and the notion of a divine  
penal code1 have in reality no essential
  connection with morality2 that on the 
contrary they possess a character  of   
immorality and irrationality2 and that  
thus the religion of the  vulgar in no  
respect coincides with the highest      
morality1 but that1 on  the contrary1   
the very fundamental idea of the        
religion of the vulgar  is opposed to   
morality4#fb ,the founders of religion  
believe that the  most sacred law is the
 law of the strongest2 but the idea of  
force  logically resolves itself into   
the relation between power on the one   
hand and resistance on the other1 and   

physical force is always1 in  the sphere
 of morals1 a confession of weakness4   
,the summum bonum  therefore can contain
 no suggestion of force of this especial
 kind4  ,if human law1 if civil law be  
condemned to rely upon a backing of     
physical force1 it is therein precisely 
that it lies under the reproach  of     
being merely civil and human4 ,the case 
stands otherwise with the  moral law1   
which is immutable1 eternal1 and in some
 sort inviolable2  and in the presence  
of an inviolable law one can in no sense
 assume an  attitude even of suppressed 
violence4 ,force is powerless against   
the  moral law1 and the moral law has   
therefore no need on its own side of  a 
show of force4 ,the sole sanction of    
which the moral law stands in  need1 the
 author has said elsewhere1 as against  
the man who supposes  himself to have   
abrogated it1 is and ought to be the    
mere fact of its  continued existence   
face to face with him1 rising up before 
him ever  anew1 as the giant ,hercules  

believed himself to have vanquished rose
  ever stronger to his embrace4 ,to     
possess the attribute of eternity in    
the face of violence is the only revenge
 that goodness personified or  not1     
under the figure of a god1 can permit   
itself as against those who  violate    
it4#fc ,in human societies one of the   
distinguishing traits  of high          
civilization is slowness to take        
offence2 with the progress of  knowledge
 one finds less and less ground for     
indignation in the conduct  of one's    
fellow-men4 ,when the being involved is 
by definition the very  personification 
of love the idea of offence becomes     
ridiculous2 it is  impossible for any   
philosophic mind to admit the bare      
conception of  offending ,god1 or of    
drawing down upon one1 in the ,biblical 
phrase1  his anger or his vengeance4    
,fear of an external sanction1 or of any
  sanction other than that of           
conscience1 is therefore an element that
  the progress of the modern mind tends 

to exclude from morality4 ,it is  in    
vain for the ,bible to say that fear of 
the ,lord is the beginning  of wisdom2  
morality does not truly begin until fear
 ceases to exist1  fear being1 as ,kant 
said1 pathological1 not moral4 ,fear of 
hell may  have possessed in former times
 a certain social utility1 but it is    
essentially a stranger in modern        
society1 and1 a fortiori1 will be  in   
the society of the future4 ,moreover1   
respect for the happiness  of people in 
general is becoming less and less       
adulterated by any  admixture of fear4  
,this respect1 mingled with love and    
even engendered  by love1 is coming to  
be an altogether moral1 and an          
altogether  philosophic sentiment1      
purified of anything in the nature of   
mysticism1  and in the best sense       
religious4          #fb ,see the        
author's ,esquisse d'une morale sans    
obligation ni        sanction1 p4 #ahh1 
etc4          #fc 8,if ,god had         
consciously created the human will of   

such        essential perversity as to  
find its natural expression in          
thwarting ,him1 ,he would be impotent in
 the face of it2 could        only show 
,himself compassionate2 could only      
regret ,his own act        in creating  
it4 ,his duty would not be to punish    
mankind but        to the utmost        
possible degree to lighten their        
sufferings1 to        show ,himself     
gentle and good directly in proportion  
to this        evil2 and the damned1 if 
they were truly incurable1 would be in  
greater need of the joys of heaven than 
the elect themselves4        ,either the
 sinner can be reclaimed2 and in that   
event hell        would be nothing more 
than an immense school1 an immense house
        of correction for preparing the 
culpable with the utmost        possible
 rapidity for heaven2 or the sinner is  
incorrigible1        is analogous to an 
incurable maniac 7which is absurd71 and 
then he is eternally to be pitied and a 
supreme ,goodness would        endeavour

 to compensate him for his misery by    
every imaginable        means by        
showering upon him every bliss that he  
was capable of        enjoying4 ,turn it
 as one will1 the dogma of hell stands  
thus in        direct opposition to the 
truth4          8,for the rest1 by the  
very act of damning a soul1 that is to  
say shutting it out forever from ,his   
presence1 or1 in terms        less      
mystical1 excluding it forever from a   
knowledge of the        truth1 would not
 ,god in turn be shutting ,himself out  
from the        soul1 limiting ,his own 
power1 and so to speak in some measure  
damning ,himself also8 ,the penalty of  
the damnation would fall        in part 
on ,him who inflicted it4 ,as to the    
physical torment        of which        
theologians speak1 interpreted          
metaphorically1 it        becomes even  
more inadmissible4 ,instead of damning  
mankind ,god        ought eternally to  
gather about ,him those who have strayed
        from ,him2 it is for the        

culpable above all others that1 as      
,michel ,angelo said1 ,god opened wide  
his arms upon the cross4 ,we            
represent ,him as looking down upon the 
sinning multitude from        too great 
a height for them ever to be anything to
 ,him but the        incarnation of     
misfortune4 ,well1 just in so far as    
they are        unfortunate must they   
not logically be the especial favourites
        of divine goodness80--,esquisse 
d'une morale sans obligation ni         
sanction1 p4 #ahi4    ,sidenote3        
,unstable equilibrium of the ,christian 
notion of absolute  love4    ,,ii4      
,having seen how readily the notion of  
respect became corrupt in               
,christianity1 let us consider the fate 
of the notion of love4 ,if the          
importance which it gave to this        
principle constitutes the chief  honour 
of ,christianity is not the ,god of the 
,christians1 nevertheless1  conceived in
 a manner inconsistent with the very    
essence of ,his  being8 ,the ,god of    

,christianity1 or at least of orthodox  
,christianity1  is a conception of      
absolute love which involves a          
contradiction and  the destruction of   
all true fraternity4 ,for the love      
affirmed to be  absolute is in fact     
limited1 since it has to do with a world
 that  is marred by evil1 metaphysical1 
sensible1 moral4 ,the love is not  even 
universal1 since it is conceived as an  
especial grace more or  less arbitrarily
 bestowed or withheld1 according to the 
dogma of  predestination4 ,the doctrine 
of grace1 round which theology has      
played  with such excess of subtlety1   
completes the highest principle of      
morality1 the principle of love by the  
addition of the grossest notion  of     
anthropomorphism3 that of favour4 ,god  
is always conceived on the  model of    
absolute kings who accord favour and    
disfavour capriciously2  one of the most
 vulgar of sociomorphic relations being 
chosen1 as one  perceives1 as the true  
analogue of ,god's relation to ,his     

creatures4 ,the  two elements of the    
notion of grace are antagonistic to each
 other4  ,absolute love is in its nature
 universal1 favouritism is in its nature
  particular4 ,there are1 according to  
theology1 a certain number of  beings   
who are excluded from universal love2   
the sentence of damnation  is in its    
very essence such an exclusion4 ,thus   
understood1 divine  charity is          
incompatible with true fraternity1 with 
true charity2 for  true charity ,god    
does not possess--sets us no example of 
it4 ,if we  believe that ,god hates and 
damns1 it will be in vain for ,him to   
forbid  personal vengeance4 ,we shall   
inevitably espouse ,his hatreds1 and the
  very principle of vengeance will find 
its support and its highest  realization
 in ,him4 ,when ,st4 ,paul said3 8,let  
thyself not conquer by  the             
instrumentality of evil1 but overcome   
evil by goodness10 the  precept was     
admirable4 ,unhappily ,god was the first
 to violate it1 to  decline to overcome 

evil by good4 ,do as ,i bid thee and not
 as ,i myself  do is the very spirit of 
,christian teachings4 ,is it not in the 
midst  of a sort of hymn to charity and 
forgiveness that the characteristic     
phrase of ,st4 ,paul occurs3 8,if thine 
enemy have hunger give him to eat  and  
thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his  
head40 ,thus the apparent  forgiveness  
becomes transmuted into a refined form  
of vengeance1 which  the divine sanction
 serves only to make more terrible1 and 
which1 under  the cloak of benefits1 nay
 even of caresses1 pours upon the head  
of  one's enemy an avenging flame2 one's
 very charity sets the torch to the     
fires of hell4 ,this indelible stain of 
barbarism on the page of love1  this    
atavistic animal instinct of vengeance  
ascribed to ,god1 shows the  dangerous  
side of the theological element         
introduced into the morality  of love4  
,sidenote3 ,conflict between divine and 
human love4    ,another danger to which 
a religion founded upon a divine love is

  subject is mysticism2 a sentiment     
destined to an increasing antagonism    
with the modern mind and condemned1     
therefore1 ultimately to disappear4     
,the heart of man1 in spite of its      
fertility in giving birth to passions   
of all sorts1 has nevertheless always   
concentrated itself upon a small  number
 of objects which find their own level4 
,god and the world are  two antagonists 
between which our sensibility is        
portioned out4 ,one  or the other of    
them inevitably receives the greater    
share4 ,in all  times religious sects   
have felt a possible opposition between 
absolute  love of ,god and love of man4 
,in a number of religions ,god has shown
  himself jealous of the affection      
devoted to others1 and thus in a  sense 
stolen from ,him4 ,he was not content   
with the superfluity of the  human      
heart1 ,he was bent on appropriating the
 soul in its entirety4  ,among the      
,hindus1 as we know1 the very essence of
 supreme piety lies  in detachment from 

the world1 in a life of solitude in the 
midst  of great forests1 in the         
rejection of all earthly affection1 in a
  mystical indifference in regard to all
 mortal things4 ,in the western  world1 
when ,christianity had made its way1    
this thirst of solitude1  this          
home-sickness for the desert seized once
 more upon the soul1 and  thousands of  
men fled the faces of their fellows1    
quitting their  families and their      
homes1 renouncing all other love but    
that of ,god1  feeling themselves more  
intimately in ,his presence when they   
were  distant from all beings else but  
,him4 ,the whole of the ,middle ,ages   
were tormented by this antagonism       
between divine and human love4 ,in  the 
end1 with the immense majority of men1  
human love carried the day4  ,it could  
not be otherwise2 the very ,church could
 not preach complete  detachment for    
everybody under pain of having nobody to
 preach to4 ,but  among scrupulous and  
strenuous souls the opposition between  

divine and  human love manifested itself
 in all the circumstances of life4 ,one 
remembers ,mme4 ,prier's account of     
,pascal4 ,she was surprised at times    
that her brother repulsed her1 became   
suddenly cold to her1 turned away  from 
her when she approached to soothe him in
 his pain2 she began to  think he did   
not love her1 she complained of it to   
her sister1 but it  was in vain to try  
to undeceive her4 ,finally the enigma   
was explained  on the very day of       
,pascal's death by ,domat1 one of his   
friends4 ,mme4  ,prier learned that in  
,pascal's opinion the most innocent and 
fraternal  friendship is a fault for    
which one habitually fails to take one's
 self  sufficiently to task1 because one
 underestimates its magnitude4 8,by     
fomenting and suffering these           
attachments to grow up1 one is giving   
to someone else some portion of what    
belongs to ,god alone2 one is in  a     
manner robbing ,him of what is to ,him  
the most precious thing in all  the     

world40 ,it would be impossible better  
to express the mystical  antagonism     
between divine and human love4 ,this    
principle occupied so  prominent a place
 in the foreground of ,pascal's mind    
that1 the more  readily to keep it      
always before him1 he wrote with his own
 hand upon  a piece of paper3 8,it is   
unjust in me to permit anyone to form an
  attachment for me1 however            
voluntarily1 and with whatever pleasure 
they may do it4 ,in the long run ,i     
should deceive them1 for ,i belong  to  
nobody but to ,god1 and have not the    
wherewithal to satisfy a human          
affection4444 ,i should therefore be    
culpable1 if ,i should allow anyone  to 
love me1 if ,i should attract people    
toward me4444 ,they should pass  their  
lives and employ their effort in        
pleasing and searching for ,god40  ,the 
instant ,god is conceived as a person   
and not as a simple ideal1  there       
inevitably arises in souls tinged with  
mysticism1 a rivalry  between ,his      

claims and those of other persons4 ,how 
can the ,absolute  admit any human being
 to a share of what essentially is ,his8
 ,he must  dwell in as absolute a       
solitude at the bottom of man's heart as
 on the  height of heaven4    ,sidenote3
 ,exists at the present day4    ,the    
rivalry between divine and human love   
perceived by the ,jansenists1  as by    
many of the early ,christians and by    
mystics generally1 exists  even to-day  
for a large number of men4 ,in certain  
religious houses  any excessively       
affectionate demonstration toward their 
parents is  forbidden to children1 and a
 fraternal or filial kiss is made the   
basis  of a case of conscience4 ,if     
,protestant education and custom are not
 at  one on this point with ,catholic   
education and custom1 the reason is     
that ,protestantism1 as has already been
 observed1 has no talent for  ultimate  
logical consequences4 ,catholicism1 on  
the contrary1 holds  logic in scrupulous
 respect4 ,to cite but one example3 is  

not the  interdiction of marriage in the
 case of the clergy a logical deduction 
from the conception of a religion which 
is founded on the theory of the  fall of
 man1 and whose purpose in the world is 
essentially anti-carnal8  ,love for a   
woman is too absorbing1 too exclusive1  
to coexist in the  heart of a priest1   
side by side with an undiminished love  
for ,god4  ,of all the sentiments of the
 soul1 love is the one which fills it   
most nearly to the limit of its         
capacity4 ,it is1 in this respect1 in   
diametric opposition to the theological 
sentiment which consists in the         
recognition of a sort of subjective void
 and personal insufficiency4  ,two      
lovers are of all the world the beings  
who are most sufficient unto            
themselves1 they are of all the world   
those who experience least the  need of 
,god4 ,well1 for mystics1 love that is  
not given to ,god is love  wasted4 ,the 
lightest veil is enough to screen them  
once and forever  from the 8intelligible

 sun40 ,it is of the very essence of    
such a ,god to  be relegated to some    
region above the world1 exiled in a     
manner from  the soul of man2 there are 
regions of love in which ,he does not   
exist  and never will exist4 ,he calls  
me1 and if ,i do not turn my face in    
,his  direction precisely1 ,i lose ,him4
    ,sidenote3 ,conflict between        
mysticism and egoism4    ,the absolute  
detachment of the mystic leads to       
another consequence  which is equally in
 opposition to modern tendencies2 it    
treats1 that  is to say1 as an absolute 
zero a being who has at least the value 
of  unity1 to wit3 the ego4 ,if ,i aim  
at the welfare of all sentient beings   
indiscriminatingly1 ,i aim also in some 
measure at my own1 who am one  of them2 
and moreover1 it is for my own that ,i  
can labour to best  advantage4 ,this ego
 counts for something in this world1 it 
is a unit  in the sum4 ,the pure love   
inculcated by mysticism1 on the         
contrary1  lets the ego go for nothing1 

after the manner of the muleteer1 who1  
in reckoning his mules1 always forgot to
 count the one he was sitting  on2 the  
missing mule never turned up except when
 he dismounted1 so  that he ultimately  
resolved to go forward on foot4 ,the    
transcendent  and chimerical morality of
 mysticism might be compared to a purely
  humanitarian theory of politics2 it is
 indeed even more abstract4             
,patriotism1 no doubt1 leans upon a     
delusion when it regards one's  native  
country as the centre of the world1 but 
does not humanitarianism  lean not upon 
one but upon a whole series of          
illusions8 ,in the item  of illusions   
here below one must put up with the     
least false and most  useful4 ,well1 it 
is probably not wholly without utility  
that each  nation in the universe should
 act for itself2 if each should attempt 
to act exclusively for the universe as a
 whole and for the love of the  whole1  
either it would not act at all or it    
would conceive the future  of the       

universe practically on the model of its
 own future and would  commit an        
uninterrupted succession of mistakes4   
,very frequently in this  world         
unconscious and indirect collaboration  
is more efficacious than  that which is 
conscious and direct4 ,men often do more
 for the best aims  of humanity by      
directing their attention in a spirit of
 rivalry toward  needs comparatively    
immediate but which for that very reason
 stimulate  their efforts and their     
hopes1 than by uniting for the          
attainment of  an object so distant that
 it discourages them4 ,in morals and    
politics  one has not only to hit upon  
the best means of combining the forces  
of humanity1 but also upon what is the  
best means of exciting human  effort2   
and on that score there is something to 
be said even for the  love of the parish
 in which one is born4 ,one's parish is 
at least a  definite object3 one knows  
where it is1 one cannot lose one's way1 
one  may entertain a hope1 nay even a   

certitude1 of reaching it1 and hope  and
 certitude are great allies4 ,and the   
same is true of self-love and  love for 
those with whom one identifies one's    
self4 ,it is precisely  this that       
mysticism ignores and by that means puts
 itself in opposition  to the scientific
 spirit4 ,for mysticism there is no     
compromise possible  between the fact   
and its ideal which denies the fact4    
,logically  mysticism ought to address  
its efforts toward total annihilation1  
much  after the manner of the followers 
of ,schopenhauer and of ,hartmann4  ,it 
would be better for the world to go off 
in smoke1 so to speak2 to  become       
sublimated like the corpses which the   
worshippers of the sun  used to expose  
to its rays1 to be converted1 as far as 
possible1 into  vapour4    ,sidenote3   
,love of ,god on the decline4    ,excess
 destroys itself4 ,if pleasure ends in  
disgust1 mysticism  possesses also its  
seamy side in a certain disenchantment  
with ,god  himself1 in a certain        

home-sickness for unknown joys1 in that 
sadness  peculiar to the cloister for   
which ,christians were obliged to invent
 a  new name1 in the ,latin language1 to
 designate--acedia4 ,when in the        
,middle ,ages all one's preoccupations  
and affections were turned toward       
heaven1 human tenderness was            
impoverished to precisely that extent4  
,the  intellectual and moral evolution  
of our days has moved in a contrary     
direction2 love of ,god is on the       
decline4 ,love of mankind1 on the       
contrary1 and love of living beings in  
general1 is on the increase4 ,a  sort of
 substitution of the one for the other  
is taking place4 ,does  it not seem as  
if earth's turn had come1 and that much 
of the force  previously spent in futile
 adoration1 devoted toward the clouds1  
is  being more and more practically     
employed in the service of humanity8    
,sidenote3 ,love of man to take its     
place4    ,formerly1 ideas of human     
fraternity and loving equality were     

promoted  in especial by the            
,christians4 ,the explanation is simple3
 ,god was  conceived by them as an      
actual father1 a genitor2 men seemed to 
the early ,christians all of one family1
 having a common ancestor4 ,so  that    
divine love and human love were regarded
 by them as inseparably  bound up with  
each other4 ,it is to be added that     
,christianity1 which  made its way into 
the world through the lower classes of  
society1  had everything to gain by     
giving prominence to notions of         
fraternity  and equality2 it was by this
 means among others that it conciliated 
the masses1 who were for a long time its
 main support4 ,but from  the moment it 
found itself able to rely upon the      
higher classes of  society1 how quickly 
it changed its language is well known1  
and at  the present moment the position 
of ,christianity is precisely opposite  
to that which it occupied in the ancient
 world4 ,ardent advocates of  the ideas 
of fraternity are often adversaries of  

religion1 are often  free-thinkers1     
sometimes decided atheists4 ,the system 
of thought which  founded the love of   
men for each other upon a community of  
origin is  almost universally rejected4 
,social doctrines1 which in former times
  were so often based upon the element  
of socialism in the ,new ,testament1    
are nowadays being formed and inculcated
 in complete independence of  religious 
faith and often in positive antagonism  
to any religious  faith whatever4       
,religion sometimes presents itself as  
an additional  obstacle1 simply1 to the 
brotherhood of man1 in that it creates  
more  stubborn divisions among them than
 differences of class or even of        
language4 ,by an inevitable evolution   
religion has to-day come to  represent  
among certain nations the spirit of     
caste and intolerance1  and consequently
 of jealousy and enmity1 whereas        
non-religion has come  to be the        
recognized champion of social equality1 
of tolerance1 and of  fraternity4       

,behind ,god1 rightly or wrongly1 as    
behind their natural  defender1 the     
partisans of the old order of things1 of
 privilege and  hereditary enmities1    
have ranged themselves2 in the breast of
 the  faithful a mystical love for ,god 
corresponds to-day as in other days  to 
an anathema and malediction on mankind4 
,it was long ago remarked  that those   
whose blessing is most fluent can also  
show themselves at  need the most fluent
 to curse2 the most mystical are the    
most violent4  ,nothing can equal the   
violence of the gentle ,jesus himself   
when he  is speaking of the ,pharisees1 
whose doctrines possessed so close an   
analogy to his own4 ,whoever believes   
himself to have felt the breath  of ,god
 upon his forehead becomes bitter and   
obstinate in his relations  with mere   
men2 he is no longer one of them4 ,so   
that the notion of the  divine1 of the  
superhuman tends toward that of the     
antinatural and  antihuman4             
,sidenote3 ,and also love of family4    

,the aim of progress in modern societies
 is to domesticate peace  within their  
limits as well as without1 to suppress  
mysticism1 and to  concentrate upon the 
real universe1 present or to come1 the  
whole body  of our affections2 to bind  
our hearts together in so intimate a    
union  that they shall be sufficient    
unto themselves and unto each other1 and
  that the human world1 magnified by the
 eyes of love1 may gather to  itself the
 totality of things4 ,in the first place
 the love of family1  which scarcely    
existed at all in ancient times1 and    
which in the ,middle  ,ages was almost  
entirely absorbed by the conception of  
authority and of  subordination1 can    
scarcely be said to have acquired before
 our days  a considerable hold on human 
life4 ,it is only since the eighteenth  
century and the spread of the theory of 
equality that the father of a  family1  
in especial in ,france1 has ceased to   
consider himself as a sort  of          
irresponsible sovereign1 and begun to   

treat his wife in some sort as  his     
equal and to exercise over his children 
no more than the minimum of  possible   
authority4 ,whenever women shall receive
 an education almost  equivalent to that
 given to men1 the moral equality       
between them and  men will have been    
consecrated1 and as love is always more 
complete and  more durable between      
beings who consider each other as       
morally equal1  it follows that the love
 of family will increase1 will draw to  
itself  a greater proportion of the     
desires and aspirations of the          
individual4  ,in positive opposition to 
religion1 which has undertaken to combat
 the  love of woman by restraining it   
within narrow limits1 the love of woman 
has attained little by little an        
intensity that it never possessed in    
ancient times3 it suffices to read our  
poets to become convinced of  it1 and it
 will continue to increase with the     
intellectual development  of women1     
which will make a closer and more       

complete union between men  and women   
possible than exists at present4 ,the   
association of man and  woman being     
capable thus of becoming in a manner a  
sort of intellectual  association and   
fellowship1 it will result in a         
fertility of a new  species3 love will  
no longer act upon the intelligence     
solely as the  most powerful of         
stimulants1 it will contribute positive 
elements  hitherto unknown4 ,it is      
impossible to predict the sort of work  
that  the combined labour of man and    
woman will produce when they possess  a 
preparation for it that will be         
practically upon both sides equal4      
,some hint of what one means may be     
gathered from examples actually  under  
one's eyes4 ,in the present century men 
and women of talent are  tending to come
 into closer relations with each other2 
and ,i might  cite the names of         
,michelet and ,mme4 ,michelet1 of ,john 
,stuart ,mill  and his wife1 of ,lewes  
and ,george ,eliot1 and other names     

besides4  ,but not to give an undue     
prominence to great names like these1   
which  are after all exceptions in the  
human race1 it is not too much to       
assert that from the very top of the    
social ladder to the bottom the  family 
tends increasingly to become a unity1 a 
more and more perfect  organism in which
 man will one day find scope for all of 
his powers  and capabilities4 ,the      
importance of the family increases1 as  
that of  the city and of the despotic   
tutelage of the state decreases4 ,this  
importance1 which is almost non-existent
 in purely military societies  7of which
 ,lacedmon may serve as the accomplished
 exemplar71 becomes  greater and greater
 in free and industrial societies such  
as those of  the future1 and thus there 
opens a new field for human activity and
  sensibility4 ,the love of men and     
women for each other and of both for    
their children1 heightened by the       
growing sentiment of equality1 is       
destined in the author's judgment to    

create a new and non-mystical  sort of  
religion1 the worship of the family4 ,if
 a cult for the gods  of the hearth was 
one of the earliest religions1 perhaps  
it will also  be actually the last3 the 
family hearth possesses in and of itself
 an  element of sacredness1 of religion1
 since it binds together as about a     
common centre beings so diverse in      
origin and sex4 ,and thus the modern    
family1 founded on the law of equality1 
seems by its very spirit1  and by the   
sentiments which it excites1 to be in   
growing opposition  to religious        
mysticism4 ,the true type of the priest1
 whatever  ,protestantism may say1 is   
the solitary man1 the missionary here   
below1  devoted body and soul to ,god2  
whereas the type of the practical       
philosopher and the modern sage is a    
loving1 thinking1 labouring man1        
devoted to those who are dear to him4   
,sidenote3 ,and love of country4    ,a  
similar antagonism may be seen between  
the sentiment of mysticism  and of      

allegiance to the state4 ,the citizen   
who knows that the fate of  his country 
lies in his arms1 who loves his country 
with an active and  sincere love1 is a  
worshipper in a social religion4 ,great 
politicians  have almost always been    
large and liberal minds4 ,the ancient   
republics  were comparatively           
non-religious for their time2 the       
disappearance  of monarchy coincides in 
general1 in the history of mankind1 with
  enfeeblement of faith4 ,when everybody
 shall feel himself as equally and      
truly a citizen as anybody else1 and    
shall be able to devote himself  with an
 equal love to the good of the state1   
there will no longer be  so great a     
store of unemployed activity1 of surplus
 sensibility lying  ready to the hand of
 mysticism4 ,for the rest1 let us       
magnify a little  the sphere of human   
activity2 not only the family and the   
state are  nowadays demanding an        
increasingly large share of one's       
attention and  affection1 but the human 

race itself is coming to be each day    
more and  more intimately present to the
 mind of each of us4 ,we find it more   
and more difficult even in thought to   
isolate ourselves1 to become  absorbed  
either in ourselves1 or in ,god4 ,the   
human world has become  infinitely more 
human than formerly2 all the bounds     
which separated  men from each other    
7religion1 language1 nationality1 race7 
are  regarded already by superior men as
 artificial4 ,the human race itself  is 
coming to be recognized as a part only  
of the animal kingdom1 the  entire world
 claims the attention of science1 offers
 itself to our love  and opens for the  
devotees of mysticism the perspective of
 a species  of universal fraternity4    
,just in so far as the universe thus    
grows  larger1 it becomes less and less 
insufficient in our eyes2 and this      
surplus of love1 which formerly mounted 
toward heaven in search of some         
transcendent resting place1 finds ample 
room upon the surface of the  earth and 

of heavenly bodies not unknown to       
astronomy4 ,if the mystical  tendency of
 the human mind be not destined         
completely to disappear1 if  it         
possesses any element of permanency1 it 
will at least change its  direction1 and
 indeed1 little by little is changing   
it4 ,christians were  in no sense wrong 
in finding society in ancient times too 
narrow and  the ancient world too       
cabined and confined under its dome of  
crystal2  the very reason for the       
existence of ,christianity lay in this  
vicious  conception of society and of   
nature4 ,to-day the one thing needful is
  to magnify the world till it shall    
satisfy the needs of man2 until  an     
equilibrium be established between the  
universe and the human  heart4 ,the aim 
of science is not to extinguish the need
 to love which  constitutes so          
considerable an element of the religious
 sentiment1 but  to supply that need    
with an actually existing object2 its   
function is  not to put a check upon the

 outleap of human affection but to      
justify  it4    ,sidenote3 ,but the love
 of a personal ,god must be             
distinguished in all  this from love of 
the ideal ,god4    ,and remark1 also1   
that if the love of a personal ,god     
mystically  conceived tends to become   
dim in modern societies1 the same is not
  true of the love of an ideal ,god     
conceived as the practical type of      
conduct4 ,the ideal ,god1 in effect1 in 
no sense exists in opposition  to the   
world1 ,he surpasses it simply2 ,he is  
at bottom identical with  the progress  
of human thought which1 with its point  
of departure in  brute fact1 outstrips  
the actual and foresees and prepares the
 way  for perpetual progress4 ,in human 
life the real and the ideal are         
harmonized1 for life as a whole both is 
and becomes4 ,whoever says life1  says  
evolution2 and evolution is the ,jacob's
 ladder resting both on  heaven and on  
earth2 at the base of it we are brutes1 
at the summit  of it we are gods1 so    

that religious sentiment cannot be said 
so much  to be in opposition to science 
and philosophy as to complete them2  or 
rather1 it is at bottom identical with  
the spirit that animates  them4 ,we have
 spoken of religion as science1--in its 
beginnings as  unconscious science2 in  
the same way science may be called      
religion  headed back toward reality2   
headed1 that is to say in the normal    
direction4 ,religion says to the human  
race3 ,bind yourselves together  into a 
single whole2 science shows the human   
race that all mankind are  inevitably   
parts of a single whole already1 and the
 teaching of the two  is practically    
one4    ,sidenote3 ,summary4    ,in     
effect there is taking place a certain  
substitution in our  affections2 we are 
coming to love ,god in man1 the future  
in the  present1 the ideal in the real4 
,the man of evolution is precisely the  
man-,god of ,christianity4 ,and this    
love of the ideal harmonized with the   
love of humanity1 instead of finding its

 vent in vain contemplation and         
ecstasy1 will fill the limbs with       
energy4 ,we shall love ,god all the     
more that ,he will be1 so to speak1 the 
work of our own hands4 ,and if  there be
 really at the bottom of the human heart
 some indestructible  element of        
mysticism1 it will be employed as an    
important factor in the  service of     
evolution2 our heart will go out to our 
ideas1 and we shall  adore them in      
proportion as we shall realize them4    
,religion having  become the purest of  
all things--pure love of the ideal--will
 at the  same time have become the      
realest and in appearance the humblest  
of all  things--labour4           99    
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,mysticism and asceticism4   
,the natural and practical complement of
 mysticism is asceticism2 and           
asceticism is another of the elements of
 religious morality that are  becoming  
daily feebler in the presence of the    
modern spirit4    ,sidenote3 ,asceticism

 in the good and the bad sense4         
,austerity is of two kinds1 the one     
quite mystical in origin1 despising     
art1 beauty1 science2 the other founded 
on a certain moral stoicism1  a certain 
respect for one's self4 ,the latter is  
in no sense ascetic1  it is composed for
 the most part of the very love for     
science and art1  but it is the highest 
art only that it loves1 and science for 
science's  sake that it pursues4 ,the   
excess of austerity1 to which religions 
have  so often led1 bears the same      
relation to virtue that avarice does to 
economy4 ,austerity alone does not      
constitute a merit or an element of     
superiority4 ,life may be much more     
gentle1 more social1 better on many     
accounts among a people of loose manners
 like the ancient ,greeks1 than  among a
 people who regard existence as hard and
 dry1 and who make it so  by the        
brutality of their faith and ignore the 
lightening of the burden  of life that  
lies in smiles and tears4 ,one would    

rather live with  prodigals than with   
misers4 ,avarice1 however1 which may be 
regarded  in the life of a people or of 
a family as a state of transition1 is   
economically and morally superior to    
prodigality4 ,the same may be said  of  
excessive rigour4 ,excessive rigour and 
avarice are defects which  are rendered 
tolerable by their consequences1 which  
impoverish life  in order subsequently1 
with a freer hand1 to enrich it4 ,it is 
better  for the race if not always so   
for the individual to be economical to  
excess than to dissipate its resources  
intemperately4 ,an impulse held  in     
check gathers force4 ,austerity1 like   
avarice1 is a means of defence  and of  
protection1 a weapon4 ,conquerors have  
often in the course of  history been the
 sons of misers who have amassed        
treasure and blood for  their benefit4  
,from time to time it is good to regard 
one's self as an  enemy1 and to live and
 sleep in a coat of mail4 ,for the rest1
 there  are temperaments that can be    

held in check by nothing lighter than   
bars of iron1 that find no mean between 
pure water and pure alcohol2  between a 
bed of roses and a crown of thorns2     
between moral law and  military         
discipline2 between a moralist and a    
corporal4 ,still1 one  must not         
represent such a state of mind at least 
as ideal4 ,the ascetic  hates himself2  
but one must hate nobody1 not even one's
 self2 one must  understand all things  
and regulate them4 ,hatred of self      
springs from  feebleness of will2       
whoever is gifted with self-control need
 not hate  himself4 ,instead of giving  
one's self a bad name one's duty is to  
make  one's self worthy of a better4    
,there may well be a certain legitimate 
element of rigour1 of inner discipline1 
in every system of morality2  but this  
discipline should be reasonable1        
rationally directed toward  an end which
 explains and justifies it3 one's       
business is not to break  the body but  
to fashion it1 to bend it4 ,the savant1 

for example1  should aim to develop his 
brain1 to refine his nervous system1 to 
reduce his circulatory and nutritive    
system to their lowest terms4 ,you  may 
call that asceticism if you like1 but it
 is a fertile1 a useful  asceticism2 it 
is at bottom a moral hygiene            
simply--which ought to be  made a part  
of physical hygiene4 ,a surgeon knows   
that he must lead a  severe and         
continent life1 or his hand will lose   
its cunning4 ,the very  condition of his
 being able to aid other people is that 
he in a measure  suffer privation       
himself2 he must choose4 ,and to make   
this choice  he experiences no need of a
 religious injunction1 he requires only 
the voice of conscience4 ,it suffices   
for him to know enough of moral  hygiene
 to foresee the distant results of his  
conduct and to possess  a sufficient    
measure of firmness to be               
self-consistent4 ,it is after  this     
fashion that1 in plotting out one's life
 according to scientific  laws1 one may 

regulate it1 may render it almost as    
hard as that of  the most self-denying  
monk4 ,every profession that is freely  
chosen is  in the nature of a           
self-imposed discipline4 ,as to the     
choice of no  profession1 as to         
voluntary idleness--that is in and of   
itself immoral  and necessarily leads to
 immorality1 whatever may be the        
religion that  one holds4    ,sidenote3 
,asceticism results in a preoccupation  
with sin4    ,the ultimate consequence  
of excessive rigourism is morbid        
preoccupation  with sin3 an obsession   
which1 with the fear of the millennium1 
is one  of the greatest of the futile   
tortures that have afflicted humanity4  
,it is as dangerous for man to magnify  
his vices as his virtues2 to  believe   
one's self a monster possesses no       
greater exemption from evil             
consequences than to believe one's self 
perfect4 ,sin in itself1 and            
philosophically considered1 is a        
conception difficult to reconcile  with 

the modern idea of scientific           
determinism1 which1 when it has         
explained everything1 goes far1 if not  
toward justifying everything1 at  least 
toward pardoning everything4 ,neither   
the pangs nor the vanity of  sin are    
permissible to us nowadays when we are  
hardly certain really  that our own sins
 belong to us4 ,temptation comes to us  
in the guise of  the reawaking of an    
hereditary appetite1 handed down to us  
not only  from the first man1 but from  
the ancestors of the first man1 or more 
accurately from life itself1 from the   
universe1 from the ,god who is  immanent
 in the world or who transcends it1 and 
has created it2 it is  not the devil    
that tempts us1 it is ,god4 ,like       
,jacob1 of whom we were  speaking a     
moment ago1 we must vanquish ,god1 must 
subject life to  thought1 must give the 
victory to the higher forms of life1 as 
against  the lower4 ,if we are wounded  
in this struggle1 if we are branded with
  the mark of sin1 if we mount haltingly

 up the steps of goodness1 we  ought not
 to be immeasurably terrified3 the      
essential thing is to go  upward4       
,temptation is not in and of itself a   
blot1 it may be even  an emblem of      
nobility so long as one does not yield  
to it4 ,our first  fathers were not     
subject to temptation1 properly so      
called1 because  they yielded to all    
their desires1 because they made no     
struggle  against them4 ,sin or moral   
evil is explicable3 first by the        
antagonism  between instinct and        
reflection2 second1 by the antagonism   
between  egoistic instincts and         
altruistic instincts4 ,this double      
antagonism  between instinct and        
conscious purpose1 between egoism and   
altruism1  is a necessary incident of   
self-knowledge and a condition of       
progress3  to know one's self is to be  
aware more or less uneasily of a        
manifold1  and succession of            
inconsistent desires of which the moving
 equilibrium  constitutes life itself2  

self-knowledge1 and knowledge in        
general1 is  the equivalent of          
temptation4 ,life is in some sort always
 sin1 for one  cannot eat1 one cannot   
even breathe without some measure of    
affirmation  of low and egoistic        
instincts4 ,moreover asceticism         
logically leads  nowhere1 to negation of
 life2 the most thorough-going ascetics 
are the  ,yoghis of ,india1 who attain  
the point of living without air or food 
and  of going down alive into the       
tomb4#fd ,and in believing himself thus 
to  have realized absolute renunciation1
 what the ascetic actually realized  is 
complete and perfect egoism1 for the    
last drops of vegetative life  which    
flow in his veins circulate for him     
alone and not a shiver of his  heart is 
directed beyond himself2 by             
impoverishing and annihilating his      
life1 he has suppressed the generosity  
that fulness of life produced2  in his  
endeavour to kill sin he has slaughtered
 charity4 ,the real moral  and religious

 ideal does not consist in denying one's
 self everything  in order to deny one's
 self what is sinful4 ,there is nothing 
absolutely  evil in us1 except excess2  
when we apply the knife to our hearts1  
we  should have but one aim1 the one    
which the gardener has in view in       
pruning trees1 to increase our real     
power4 ,our manifold desires should  all
 be satisfied at one time or another2 we
 should take example from  the mother   
who forces herself to eat that she may  
watch to the end at  the bedside of her 
dying child4 ,whoever purposes to live  
for others  besides himself1 will find  
no time to sulk2 for whoever possesses a
  heart sufficiently great no function  
in life is impure4 ,every moral  rule   
should be a reconciliation between      
egoism and altruism1 original  sin and  
ideal sanctity2 and to accomplish this  
reconciliation it  suffices to show that
 each of our manifold and mutually      
exclusive  desires1 if carried to the   
extreme1 contradicts itself2 that our   

desires need each other1 that when      
nature endeavours to rise above  herself
 she inevitably falls headlong4 ,to     
govern one's self means to  reconcile   
all parties4 ,ormuzd and ,ahriman1      
spirit and nature1 are  not so hostile  
to each other as seems to be believed1  
and either of  them indeed is powerless 
without the other4 ,they are two gods   
whose  origin is the same1 they are     
immortal1 and for immortals some means  
of  accommodation must be found4        
,complete and unremunerated sacrifice   
never  can be adopted as a rule of life2
 never can be more than a sublime       
conception1 a spark in some individual  
existence1 consuming the fuel it  feeds 
upon and then disappearing and leaving  
behind1 face to face1 the  two great    
principles1 a conscious reconciliation  
of which constitutes  the moral mean4   
#fd ,the fact has been verified by the  
,english authorities and        has been
 commented on by the physiologist ,w4   
,preyer 7ber die        ,erforschung des

 ,lebens1 ,jena1 and ,sammlung          
physiologischer        ,abhandlungen74  
,yoghis who have attained the highest   
degree of        perfection1 and are    
insensible to cold and to heat and have 
contracted1 by a series of experiments1 
the habit of breathing        almost not
 at all1 have been buried alive and     
resuscitated at        the end of some  
weeks4 ,when they were reawakened a     
heightening        of the temperature   
was noticed as in the case of the       
reawaking        of hibernating mammals1
 and it is indeed to the phenomena of   
hibernation that this strange voluntary 
suspension of animation        most     
closely approaches--this mystical return
 to a life merely        vegetative1    
this absorption in the bosom of the     
unconscious1        where the ,yoghis   
hopes to find ,god4 ,as a preliminary   
discipline        the ,yoghis diminishes
 little by little the quantity of air   
and        light necessary to his life2 
he lives in a cell which is lit         

and ventilated by no more than a single 
chink2 he minimizes all        movement 
in order to minimize the necessity of   
respiration2        he does not speak   
except to repeat to himself twelve      
thousand        times a day the mystic  
name of ,om2 he remains for hours       
together motionless as a statue4 ,he    
practises breathing over        again   
and again the same body of air1 and the 
longer the        period between        
inspiration and expiration1 the greater 
his        sanctity6 ,finally he        
carefully seals all the openings of his 
body with wax and cotton and closes the 
opening of the throat        with the   
tongue1 which certain incisions permit  
him to fold        over backward1 and   
finally falls into a lethargy in which  
the        movements of respiration may 
be suspended without the thread of      
life positively being severed4          
,sidenote3 ,results a priori from the   
nature of ideas4    ,the very nature of 
the conceptions confirms what we have   

just said  respecting temptation and    
sin4 ,directly or indirectly1 every idea
  is a suggestion1 an incitement to     
action2 it tends even to take  exclusive
 possession of us1 to become a fixed    
idea1 to employ us as  a means to its   
own end1 to realize itself often in     
spite of us2 but  as our thought        
embraces all things in the universe1    
high and low1 we  are incessantly       
solicited to act in opposite directions2
 temptation1  from this point of view1  
is simply the law of thought1 and the   
law of  sensibility4 ,and ascetics and  
priests have endeavoured as a means of  
struggling against temptation to confine
 human thought1 to prevent it  from     
playing freely about the things of this 
world4 ,but the things  of this world   
are precisely those which are always    
present1 which  solicit us most strongly
 and constantly4 ,and the greater our   
effort  to exclude them from the mind1  
the greater their power over us4 ,there 
is nothing one sees more clearly than   

what one resolves not to look  at2 there
 is nothing that makes the heart beat so
 quickly as what one  resolves not to   
love4 ,the cure for temptation1 so      
persistently demanded  by essentially   
religious people1 is not restriction of 
thought but  enlargement of thought4    
,the visible world cannot be hidden1 it 
is  folly to attempt it1 but it can be  
magnified indefinitely4 ,incessant      
discoveries may be made in it and the   
peril of certain points of view         
counteracted by the novelty and         
attractiveness of certain others1  and  
the known universe lost sight of in the 
abyss of the unknown4  ,thought bears   
its own antidote--a science sufficiently
 great is more  trustworthy than        
innocence2 a boundless curiosity is the 
cure for all  petty curiosities4 ,an eye
 which reaches the stars will not aim   
long  at a low mark2 it is protected by 
its command of space and light1 for     
light is purifying4 ,by making          
temptation infinite one makes it        

salutary  and in the best sense divine4 
,asceticism1 and the artificial maturity
  that comes of a dissolute life1 often 
amount to the same thing4 ,one  must    
keep one's youth and memory green1 and  
one's heart open4 8,i  was not a man    
before years of manhood10 said ,marcus  
,aurelius4 ,both  asceticism and        
debauchery make men precociously old1   
wean them from  love and enthusiasm for 
the things of this world4 ,the island of
 ,cythere  and the desert of ,thebes are
 alike deserts4 ,to remain young long1  
to  remain a child even in the          
spontaneity and affectionateness of     
one's  heart1 to preserve not in        
externals1 but in 8internals10 something
 of  lightness and gaiety is the best   
means of dominating life2 for what  is  
more powerful than youth8 ,one must     
neither stiffen one's self1 nor  bristle
 up against life1 nor cowardly abandon  
one's self to it2 one  must take it as  
it is1 that is to say1 according to the 
popular maxim1  8as it comes10 and      

welcome it with an infant's smile       
without any other  care than to maintain
 one's possession of one's self1 in     
order that one  may possess all things4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,prayer4    ,,iii4 ,morality 
and religion are inseparable in all     
historical faiths1  and the essential   
act of subjective worship1 the          
fundamental rite  commanded by religious
 morality1 is prayer4    ,sidenote3     
,kinds of prayer distinguished4    ,to  
analyze prayer into all its component   
elements would be very  difficult and   
far from simple4 ,prayer may be an      
almost mechanical  accomplishment of the
 rite1 the babbling of vain words1 and  
as such  it is despicable even from the 
point of view of religion4 ,it may be   
an egoistic demand1 and as such it is   
mean1 simply4 ,it may be an act  of nave
 faith in beliefs more or less popular  
and irrational1 and on  this score its  
value is so slight that it may be       
neglected4 ,but it may  be also the     

disinterested outpouring of a soul which
 believes itself  to be in some fashion 
or other serving someone else1 acting   
upon the  world by the ardour of its    
faith1 conferring a gift1 an offering1  
devoting something of itself to someone 
else4 ,therein lies the grandeur  of    
prayer3 it is then no more than one of  
the forms of charity and  the love of   
mankind4 ,but suppose it should be      
demonstrated that this  especial form of
 charity is illusory1 does one imagine  
that the very  principle of charity     
itself will by that fact receive a      
check8    ,sidenote3 ,superficiality of 
most pleas in its behalf4    ,many      
arguments have been urged in favour of  
prayer1 but the majority  of them are   
quite external and superficial4 ,prayer1
 it has been said1  as being a demand on
 a special ,providence1 is sovereignly  
consoling2  it is one of the sweetest of
 the satisfactions incident to religious
  faith4 ,one who had been converted to 
free-thought said to me recently1       

8,there is but one thing in my former   
faith that ,i regret1 and that is  that 
,i can no longer pray for you and       
imagine that ,i am serving you40        
,assuredly it is sad to lose a faith    
which consoled one2 but suppose  that   
someone believed himself to possess the 
fairy-wand and to be able  to save the  
world4 ,some fine morning he finds      
himself undeceived1 he  finds himself   
alone in the world with no power at his 
disposal more  mysterious than that of  
his ten fingers and his brain4 ,he      
cannot but  regret his imaginary power1 
but he will labour nevertheless to      
acquire  a real power and the loss of   
his illusions will but serve as a       
stimulus  to his will4 ,it is always    
dangerous to believe that one possesses 
a  power that one has not1 for it       
hinders one in some degree from knowing 
and exercising those that one has4 ,the 
men of former times1 the times  of      
absolute monarchy1 who had access to the
 ear of princes1 possessed a  power     

analogous to that which the believers on
 their knees in temples  still believe  
themselves to possess2 this power1 in   
the case of  kings1 their confidential  
ministers have lost as the result of    
purely  terrestrial revolutions2 and    
have they thereby been diminished in    
their  dignity as moral beings8 ,no1 a  
man is morally greater as a citizen than
  as a courtier2 one is greater as the  
result of what one does one's self      
only1 or attempts to do1 and not as the 
result of what one endeavours  to obtain
 from a master4    ,sidenote3 ,arguments
 for its utility equally good for       
auricular  confession4    ,will the     
individual never be able to do without  
prayers conceived as a  constant        
communication with ,god1 as a daily     
confession1 a faith in ,him  and before 
,him8 ,he will probably not renounce it 
until he is capable  of existing without
 it4 ,arguments to prove the practical  
utility of  prayer1 conceived as a      
direct communication with one's living  

ideal1  would all hold equally good in  
favour of ,catholic confession before   
the priest as a realization of the moral
 ideal4 ,nevertheless1 when             
,protestants suppressed the confession  
they gave a fresh development  to moral 
austerity3 the morality of ,protestant  
peoples1 which is  defended only by the 
voice of conscience1 is not inferior to 
that of  ,catholic peoples4#fe ,is it   
any more necessary for the purpose of   
ascertaining one's faults and curing    
them to kneel before a personified  and 
anthropomorphic ,god than before a      
priest beneath the roof of  a church8   
,experience alone can decide1 and a     
number of men seem  already successfully
 to have tried the experiment4 ,the     
scrutiny of a  philosophical conscience 
has been proved to be sufficient4       
#fe ,see below chapter iv4    ,sidenote3
 ,prayer as a subjective relief4        
,finally it has been said that prayer1  
even conceived as destitute of          
objective effect1 nevertheless justifies

 itself by the comfort it  affords2 one 
has attempted to argue in its favour on 
purely subjective  grounds1 but prayer  
runs the risk precisely of losing its   
power as a  consoler the instant one    
ceases to believe in its objective      
efficiency4  ,if nobody hears us1 who   
will continue to offer up petitions     
simply to  ease the burden of his own   
heart8 ,if the orator is uplifted by the
  sympathy of the assembly which listens
 to him1 does it follow that he  will   
experience the same effect if he deliver
 his oration in the void  with the      
knowledge that his thought1 his word1   
his emotion1 are lost1  and spend       
themselves in space8    ,sidenote3      
,subjective charity the durable element 
in prayer4    ,if prayer is really to be
 its own reward1 it must not consist of 
a  demand addressed to some ,being      
exterior to one's self1 it must be a    
subjective act of love1 what            
,christianity calls an act of charity4  
,charity is the eternal element in      

prayer4 ,to ask for something for  one's
 self is a thing difficult to justify2  
to ask for something for  someone else  
is at least a beginning of disinterested
 conduct4 8,how  much longer thy prayers
 grow1 grandmama1 day by day60 8,the    
number  of those for whom ,i pray       
increases day by day40 ,over and above  
this  element of charity1 prayer        
contains a certain beauty--a beauty     
which  will not disappear with the      
disappearance of the superstitions which
  have clustered about it4 ,the moral   
beauty of prayer is intimately bound  up
 with certain profound human sentiments3
 one prays for somebody whom  one loves2
 one prays out of pity or of affection2 
one prays in despair1  in hope1 in      
gratitude2 so that the most elevated of 
human sentiments  sometimes ally        
themselves with prayer and colour it4   
,this tension of  one's whole being at  
such times finds its way out upon the   
visage1  and transfigures it with the   
intense expression that certain painters

  have loved to catch and to            
perpetuate4#ff ,what is most beautiful  
and  probably also what is best in      
prayer is1 more than all else1 the human
  and moral element in it4 ,if there is 
thus an essential charity in  genuine   
prayer1 charity of the lips is not      
enough1 that of the heart  and hands    
must be added to it1 and that is to say 
in the last resort  action must be      
substituted for it4          #ff ,this1 
however1 is exceptional2 in church1     
during the        services1 the majority
 of the faces remain inexpressive1 for  
the reason that prayer with the majority
 of the faithful is        almost always
 mechanical4    ,sidenote3 ,increasing  
tendency for such prayer to express     
itself in  action4    ,prayer for love  
and charity tends increasingly to find  
vent in action3  a verification of this 
fact may be found in history4 ,formerly1
 in a  moment of distress1 a pagan woman
 would have thought only of appeasing   
the anger of the ,gods by some blood    

sacrifice1 by the murder of some        
innocent member of the larger mammals2  
in the ,middle ,ages she would  have    
made a vow or founded a chapel--things  
still vain and powerless  to alleviate  
the misery of this world2 in our days   
she would think  rather1 if she were a  
person of some elevation of spirit1 of  
giving  money in charity1 of founding an
 establishment for the instruction of   
the poor or the care of the infirm4 ,one
 sees in that fact the march  of        
progress in religious ideas2 the time   
will come when such actions  will no    
longer be accomplished for a directly   
interested end but as a  sort of        
exchange with the divinity1 a traffic of
 kindness2 they will  constitute a      
recognized part of public worship1 the  
essence of worship  will be charity4    
,pascal asks1 somewhere1 why ,god has   
bestowed prayer  upon man1 why ,god has 
commanded man to pray2 and he replies   
profoundly  enough3 8,to give him the   
dignity of seeing himself as a cause02  

but  if he who demands benefits by      
prayer possessed formerly the dignity   
of being1 in his own right1 a cause1 how
 much greater is the dignity  of him who
 by the exercise of his own moral will  
procures the object  of his desire8 ,and
 if to be the cause of one's own        
well-being be thus  the essence of      
prayer1 of that which brings man nearest
 to ,god1 of  that which lifts man      
nearest to ,his level--may one not say  
that the  most disinterested1 the most  
sacred1 the most human1 the most divine 
of prayers is moral conduct8 ,in        
,pascal's opinion1 it is true1 moral    
conduct presupposes two terms1 duty and 
power1 and man cannot always  do what he
 should2 but one must break with the    
antique opposition  established by      
,christianity1 between the sentiment of 
duty and the  practical powerlessness of
 a man shorn of all adventitious        
aid--shorn  of grace4 ,in reality the   
sentiment of duty is1 in and of itself1 
the  first vague consciousness of a     

power existent in us1 of a force which  
tends to achieve its own realization4#fg
 ,consciousness of his power  for good  
and of the power of the ideal unite in  
man1 for this ideal is  no more than the
 projection1 the objectification1 of the
 highest power  within1 the form that   
that power takes in reflective          
intelligence4  ,every volition is at    
bottom no more than a capability of some
 sort in  labour1 an action in the stage
 of germination3 the will to do good1 if
  it is conscious of its own power1 has 
no need to await the prompting  of      
external grace2 it is itself its own    
grace2 by the very fact of  its birth it
 becomes efficacious2 by the very fact  
of wishing1 nature  creates4 ,pascal    
conceived the moral end1 which duty     
places before us1  too much after the   
manner of a physical and external       
object1 that one  might be able to look 
upon but not to attain4 8,one directs   
one's looks  on high10 says he1 in his  
8,penses10 8but one rests upon the sand 

and  the earth will slip from under one1
 and one shall fall with one's eyes  on 
heaven40 ,but might not one respond that
 the heaven of which ,pascal  is here   
speaking1 the heaven we carry in our own
 bosoms1 is something  quite different  
from the heaven which we perceive spread
 out above our  heads8 ,must it not here
 be said that to see is to touch and to 
possess2  that a sight of the moral end 
renders possible a progress toward it2  
that the resting point one finds in the 
moral will1 the most invincible  of all 
the forms of volition1 will not give way
 beneath one1 and that  one cannot fall1
 in one's progress toward goodness and  
that in this  sense to lift one's eyes  
toward heaven is already to have set    
one's  feet on the way thither4         
#fg ,see on this point our ,esquisse    
d'une morale sans        obligation1 p4 
#bg4    ,sidenote3 ,ultimate claim for  
prayer4    ,there remains one more      
aspect under which prayer may be        
considered4 ,it  may be regarded as a   

species of spiritual elevation1 a       
communication  with the universe or with
 ,god4#fh ,prayer has in all times been 
glorified as a means of uplifting the   
whole being to a plane that it          
otherwise would have been unable to     
attain4 ,the best of us1 as ,amiel  said
 not long since1 find complete          
development and self-knowledge in       
prayer alone4          #fh 8,oh1 ,god0  
said ,diderot1 at the end of his        
,interprtation        de la nature1 8,i 
do not know if ,thou existest1 but ,i   
shall        bear myself as if ,thou    
sawest into my soul2 ,i shall act as if 
,i        felt myself in ,thy           
presence4444 ,i ask nothing of ,thee in 
this        world1 for the course of    
things is necessary in and of its own   
nature1 if ,thou dost not exist1 and    
necessary if ,thou dost1 by        ,thy 
decree40    ,sidenote3 ,distinction     
between religious ecstasy and           
philosophical  meditation4    ,one must 
be on one's guard against a multitude of

 illusions in this  connection1 and must
 carefully distinguish between two very 
different  things3 religious ecstasy and
 philosophical meditation4 ,one of the  
consequences of our profounder knowledge
 of the nervous system is an  increasing
 contempt for ecstasy and for all of    
those states of nervous  intoxication or
 even of intellectual intoxication which
 were formerly  regarded by the         
multitude1 and sometimes even by        
philosophers1 as  superhuman1 and truly 
divine4 ,religious ecstasy1 so called1  
may be  a phenomenon so purely physical 
that it suffices to apply a bit of      
volatile oil of cherry laurel to induce 
it in certain subjects1 and  to fill    
them with ecstatic beatitude1 and make  
them pray and weep  and kneel4 ,such was
 the fact in the case of a hysteric     
patient1 a  hardened courtesan of       
,jewish origin2 it sufficed even to     
induce in  her definite visions1 even   
such as that of the girl with golden    
hair  in the blue robe starred with     

gold4#fi ,the intoxication indulged in  
by the followers of ,dionysius in       
,greece1 like that indulged in by       
hasheesh-eaters1 was no more than a     
violent means of inducing ecstasy  and  
of entering into communication with the 
supernatural world4#gj  ,in ,india1#ga  
and among the ,christians1 fasting is   
practised to attain  the same end1      
namely a nervous excitation of the      
nervous systems4 ,the  macerations of   
the anchorite were1 says ,wundt1 a      
solitary orgie1 in the  course of which 
monks and nuns ardently pressed in their
 arms fantastic  images of the ,virgin  
and the ,saviour4 ,according to a legend
 of  ,krishnasm1 the ,queen ,udayapura1 
,mira ,bai1 being pressed to abjure her 
,god1 threw herself at the feet of the  
statue of ,krishna and made this        
prayer3 8,i have quitted for thee my    
love1 my possessions1 my crown2 ,i  come
 to thee1 oh1 my refuge6 ,take me40 ,the
 statue listened motionless2  suddenly  
it opened and ,mira disappeared inside  

of it4 ,to vanish thus  into the bosom  
of one's ,god is--is it not8--the       
perfect ideal of the  highest human     
religions4 ,all of them have proposed it
 to man1 as a  prime object of desire1  
to die in ,god2 all of them have seen   
the  higher life as a form of ecstasy2  
whereas the fact is that1 in a state  of
 ecstasy1 one descends on the contrary  
to a lower and a vegetative  plane of   
existence1 and that this apparent fusion
 with ,god is no more  than a return to 
a primitive inertia1 to a mineral       
impassibility1 to a  statuesque         
petrifaction4 ,one may believe one's    
self uplifted in a state  of ecstasy1   
and mistake for an exaltation of thought
 what is in reality  no more than a     
sterile nervous excitement4 ,the trouble
 is that there  is no means of measuring
 the real force and extent of thought4  
,under  normal circumstances the only   
means that exist are action2 one who    
does  not act is inevitably inclined to 
exaggerate the value of his thought4    

,amiel himself did not escape from this 
danger4 ,fancied superiority  disappears
 the moment a thought seeks expression  
of whatsoever kind4  ,the dream that is 
told becomes absurd2 the ecstasy in     
which one retains  complete control of  
one's mind1 in which one endeavours to  
take stock  of the confused emotions one
 experiences1 vanishes before us and    
leaves  behind no more than a fatigue1 a
 certain subjective obscurity1 like a   
winter twilight1 which precipitates a   
frost upon the window-panes that        
intercepts the last rays of the sun4 ,my
 most beautiful verses will  never be   
written1 the poet says3 8,of my work1   
the better part lies  buried in         
myself40#gb ,that is an illusion by     
which dream seems always  superior to   
reality2 an illusion of the same sort as
 that which makes  us attach so much    
value to certain hours of religious     
exaltation4 ,the  truth is that the     
poet's best verses are those which he   
has written  with his own hand1 his best

 thought is that which has possessed    
vitality enough to find its formula and 
its music2 the whole of him  lies in his
 poetry4 ,and we also1 we are in our    
actions1 in our words1  in the glance of
 an eye or the accent of a word1 in a   
gesture1 in the  palm of a hand open in 
charity4 ,to exist is to act1 and a     
thought which  is incapable of          
expression is an abortion which has     
never really been  alive and has never  
merited to live4 ,in the same way the   
true ,god is  also the one who can be   
domesticated in one's own heart1 who    
does not  fly the face of reflective    
consciousness1 who does not show himself
  in dreams alone1 whom one does not    
invoke as a phantom or a demon4  ,our   
ideal ought not to be some passing and  
fantastic apparition1 but  a positive   
creation of our spirit2 we must be able 
to contemplate it  without destroying   
it1 to feed our eyes upon it as upon a  
reality4  ,for the rest this ideal of   
goodness and of perfection1 persisting  

as  it does in the face of inner        
scrutiny1 has no need of an objective   
existence in some sort material1 to     
produce its proper effect upon  the     
spirit4 ,the profoundest love subsists  
for those who have been1 as  well as for
 those who are1 and reaches out into the
 future as well as  into the present4   
,nay1 it even in a manner outstretches  
the measure  of existence and develops a
 power of divining and loving the ideal 
that shall some day be4 ,maternal love  
is a model now as always for all  moral 
beings1 in that it does not await the   
birth of its object before  making the  
first steps in its service4 ,long before
 the child is born  the mother forms an 
image of it in her fancy1 and loves it  
and gives  herself to it in advance4    
#fi ,report of ,,mm4 ,bourru and ,burot 
au ,congrs scientifique de              
,grenoble1 ,august #ah1 #ahhe4          
#gj ,a defender of the use of hasheesh  
scientifically employed1        ,m4     
,giraud1 who conceives that it is       

possible to induce ecstasy        at    
will1 and to regulate it by medical     
doses1 writes us        with enthusiasm3
 8,a bit of hasheesh dispenses with     
painful        mystical expedients to   
induce ecstasy4 ,there is no further    
need of asceticism2 the result is an    
intoxication1 but a        sacred       
intoxication1 which is nothing else than
 an excess of        activity in the    
higher centres40 ,we believe that every 
sort        of drunkenness1 far from    
possessing a sacred character1 will     
constitute for ever and always1 in the  
eyes of science1 a        morbid state1 
in no sense enviable from any rational  
point        of view1 by an individual  
in normal health2 the constant          
employment of stimulants will exhaust   
the nervous system and        throw it  
out of order1 as the daily employment of
 nux vomica        will1 in the long    
run1 destroy the power of a healthy     
stomach4          #ga ,see above what we
 have already said in regard to the     

,yoghis and asceticism4          #gb ,m4
 ,sully-,prudhomme4    ,sidenote3 ,the  
highest form of prayer4    ,for a truly 
elevated spirit the hours consecrated to
 the formation  of its ideal will always
 be precious hours of patient attention 
and  meditation1 not only upon what one 
knows or does not know1 but upon  what  
one hopes and will attempt2 upon the    
ideal seeking for birth  through one's  
instrumentality1 and leaning upon one's 
heart4 ,the  highest form of prayer is  
thought4 ,every form of philosophic     
meditation  possesses1 like prayer1 an  
element of consolation1 not directly1   
for it  may well deal with the saddest  
of realities1 but indirectly because it 
enlarges the heart4 ,every aperture     
broken open upon the infinite braces  us
 like a current in the open air4 ,our   
personal sorrows are lost in the        
immensity of the infinite1 as the waters
 of the earth are lost in the  immensity
 of the sea4    ,as for those who are   
not capable of thinking for themselves1 

of  standing spiritually on their own   
feet2 it will always be good for them   
to retrace the thoughts which appear to 
them to be the highest and  the noblest 
product of the human mind4 ,on this     
account the ,protestant  custom of      
reading and of meditating on the ,bible 
is1 in principle1  excellent2 the book  
however is ill-chosen4 ,but it is good  
that man  should habituate himself to   
read or to re-read a certain number of  
times a day1 or a week1 something else  
than a newspaper or a novel2  that he   
should turn now and then to some serious
 subject of meditation  and dwell on it4
 ,perhaps the day will come when every  
one independently  will compose a ,bible
 of his own2 will select from among the 
works of  the greatest human thinkers   
the passages which especially appeal to 
him1 and will read them and re-read and 
assimilate them4 ,to read a  serious and
 high-minded book is to deal at first   
hand with the greatest  of human        
thoughts2 to admire is to pray1 and it  

is a form of prayer  that is within the 
power of all of us4          ,,chapter  
,,iv4    ,,religion ,,and               
,,non-,,religion ,,among ,,the ,,people4
        ,i4 ,is religious sentiment an  
innate and imperishable                 
possession of humanity8--,frequent      
confusion of a sentiment        for     
religion with a sentiment for philosophy
 and        morals--,renan--,max        
,mller--,difference between the         
evolution        of belief in the       
individual and the evolution of belief  
in the race--,will the disappearance of 
faith leave a void        behind8       
,,ii4 ,will the dissolution of religion 
result in a        dissolution of       
morality among the people8--,is religion
        the sole safeguard of social    
authority and public                    
morality8--,christianity and            
socialism--,relation between            
non-religion and immorality1 according  
to statistics4        ,,iii4 ,is        
,protestantism a necessary transition   

stage        between religion and       
free-thought8--,projects for            
,protestantizing ,france--,michelet1    
,quinet1 ,de ,laveleye1                 
,renouvier1 and ,pillon--,intellectual1 
moral1 and political        superiority 
of ,protestantism--,utopian character of
        the project--,uselessness1 for  
purposes of morals1 of                  
substituting one religion for           
another--,is the possession        of   
religion a condition sine qua non of    
superiority in        the struggle for  
existence8--,objections urged against   
,france and the ,french ,revolution by  
,matthew ,arnold2        ,greece and    
,judea compared1 ,france and ,protestant
 nations        compared--,critical     
examination of ,matthew ,arnold's       
theory--,cannot free-thought1 science1  
and art evolve their        respective  
ideals from within8      ,we have seen  
the dissolution which menaces religious 
dogmatism1 and  even religious morality1
 in modern societies4 ,and from the very

 fact  of such dissolution certain more 
or less disturbing social problems      
arise4 ,is it really a perilous thing1  
this gradual enfeeblement of  what has  
so long served as the basis of social   
and domestic virtue8  ,certain people   
delight in subjecting nine-tenths of the
 human race to  a sort of ostracism4    
,they declare in advance that the       
people1 and all  women and children1 are
 incapable of rising to a conception    
which it  is recognized that a large    
number of men have attained4 ,the mass  
of  the people1 it is said1 and women   
and children1 must be appealed to on    
the side of the imagination2 only1 one  
must take care to choose the  least     
dangerous form of appeal possible1 for  
fear of injuring those  whom one means  
to serve4 ,let us consider to what      
extent this incapacity  of the people1  
of women and children1 for philosophy is
 capable of  demonstration4 ,it is the  
more necessary in this book1 in that it 
is the sociological aspect of religion  

that is here the subject of             
investigation4      ,i4 ,is religious   
sentiment an innate and imperishable    
possession of  humanity8    ,sidenote3  
,tendency to regard religious beliefs as
 necessary in  proportion to their      
absurdity4    ,in our days1 be it       
remarked1 religious sentiment has found 
defenders  among those who1 like ,renan1
 ,taine1 and so many others1 are most   
firmly convinced of the absurdities of  
the dogmas themselves4 ,so  long as such
 men occupy a purely intellectual point 
of view--that  is to say1 their real    
point of view--the whole of the contents
 of  religion1 all the dogmas1 all the  
rites appear to them to be so many      
astounding errors1 a vast system of     
unconscious1 mutual deception2  but the 
instant1 on the contrary1 they regard   
religion from the point  of view of     
sensibility--that is to say1 from the   
point of view of  the masses--everything
 becomes justifiable in their eyes2     
everything  that they would attack      

without scruple as a bit of reasoning   
becomes  sacred to them as a bit of     
sentiment1 and by a strange optical     
illusion  the absurdity of religious    
beliefs becomes an additional proof of  
their necessity2 the greater the abyss  
which separates them from the           
intelligence of the masses1 the greater 
their fear of having this  abyss filled 
up4 ,they do not for themselves feel the
 need of religious  beliefs1 but on this
 very account they regard them as       
indispensable for  other people4 ,they  
say1 8,how many irrational beliefs the  
people do have  that we get along very  
well without60 ,and they conclude1      
therefore1  8,these beliefs must be     
extremely necessary to the existence of 
social  life and must correspond to a   
real need1 in order thus firmly to have 
implanted themselves in the life of the 
masses40#gc          #gc ,moreover when 
one has passed one's life1 or even many 
years1 in any study whatsoever1 one is  
inclined extremely to        exaggerate 

the importance of this study4 ,greek    
professors        believe that ,greek is
 necessary to the best interests of     
humanity4 ,when any question arises of  
drawing up a curriculum1        if the  
professors of the several studies are   
interrogated1 each        wishes to see 
his own especial branch of science in   
the first        rank4 ,i remember that 
after ,i myself had been making ,latin  
verses for some years ,i would have     
ranged myself voluntarily        among  
the defenders of ,latin verse4 ,whenever
 anyone makes an        especial study  
of some work of genius1 that of an      
individual1        or a fortiori that of
 a people--,plato1 ,aristotle or ,kant1 
the        ,vedas or the ,bible1 this   
work tends to become in his eyes the    
very centre of human thought2 the book  
of which one makes a        special     
study tends to become the book4 ,a      
priest looks upon        the whole of   
human life as an affair of faith simply2
 knowledge        to a priest means     

simply a knowledge of the ,fathers of   
the        ,church4 ,it is not          
astonishing that even members of the    
laity1        who have made religion the
 principal object of their studies1     
should be inclined to magnify its       
importance for humanity1        or that 
the historian of religious thought      
should regard it        as including the
 whole of human life1 and as acquiring1 
even        independently of any notion 
of revelation1 a sort of inviolable     
character4    ,sidenote3 ,free-thought  
for an intellectual aristocracy4        
,frequently1 along with this belief in  
the omnipotence of the religious        
sentiment1 there goes a certain contempt
 for those who are the victims  of it2  
they are the serfs of thought1 they must
 remain attached to  the soil1 bound    
within the limits of their own narrow   
horizon4 ,the  aristocracy of science is
 the most jealous of aristocracies1 and 
a certain number of our contemporary men
 of science are bent on  carrying their 

coat of mail in their brain4 ,they      
profess toward the  mass of the people a
 somewhat contemptuous charity1 and     
propose to  leave it undisturbed in its 
beliefs1 immersed in prejudice as being 
the sole habitat in which it is capable 
of existing4 ,for the rest1  they       
sometimes envy the people its eternal   
ignorance1 platonically  of course4 ,the
 bird no doubt possesses vague regrets1 
vague desires1  when he perceives from  
on high a worm trailing tranquilly      
through  the dew1 oblivious of heaven2  
but the bird1 as a matter of fact1 is   
always careful to retain his wings1 and 
our superior men of science  do the     
same4 ,in their judgment1 certain       
superior minds are capable of           
enfranchising themselves from religion1 
without evil results following2  the    
mass of the people cannot4 ,it is       
necessary to reserve freedom of         
conscience and free-thought for a       
certain select few2 the intellectual    
aristocracy should defend itself by a   

fortified camp4 ,just as the  ancient   
,roman people demanded bread and        
spectacles1 so modern people  demand    
temples1 and to give them temples is    
sometimes the sole means  of making them
 forget that they have not enough bread4
 ,the mass of  humanity must1 as a mere 
necessity of existence1 adore a god1 and
 not  simply god in general1 but a      
certain ,god whose commandments are to  
be  found in a pocket ,bible4 ,a sacred 
book1 that is what is necessary4  ,we   
are reminded of ,mr4 ,spencer's saying1 
that the superstition of  the present   
day is the superstition of the printed  
page2 we believe  that some mystical    
virtue inheres in the four and twenty   
letters of  the alphabet4 ,when a child 
asks questions concerning the birth of  
his  younger brother1 he is told that   
one found him under a bush in the       
garden2 and the child is content4 ,the  
mass of the people is a big child       
simply1 and must be dealt with after the
 same fashion4 ,when the mass  of the   

people asks questions about the origin  
of the world1 hand it  the ,bible--it   
will there see that the world was made  
by a determinate  ,being1 who carefully 
adjusted its parts to each other2 it    
will learn  the precise amount of time  
that was consumed in the work2 seven    
days1  neither more nor less2 and it    
needs learn nothing further4 ,its mind  
is  walled in by a good solid barrier   
which it is forbidden to overleap  even 
by a look--the wall of faith4 ,its brain
 is carefully sealed1 the  sutures      
become firm with age1 and there is      
nothing to do but to begin  the same    
thing over again with the next          
generation4    ,is it then true that    
religion is thus1 for the mass of       
mankind1 either  a necessary good or a  
necessary evil1 rooted in the human     
heart8           99       99       99   
99       99    ,sidenote3 ,confusion of 
religious sentiment with need for       
philosophy  and morality4    ,the belief
 that the religious sentiment is innate 

and perpetual rests  upon a confusion of
 the religious sentiment with the need  
that exists  in mankind for philosophy  
and morality2 and however closely bound 
up  together philosophy and morality and
 religion may be1 they are in           
themselves distinct and separate1 and   
tend progressively to become more  and  
more manifestly so4    ,sidenote3       
,religious sentiment not innate4    ,in 
the first place1 how universal soever   
the religious sentiment may  appear to  
be1 it must be admitted that it is not  
innate4 ,persons who  have passed their 
childhood without any communication with
 other  human beings1 owing to some     
corporal defect1 display no signs of the
  possession of religious ideas4 ,dr4   
,kitto1 in his book on the loss of  the 
senses1 cites the case of an ,american  
woman who was congenitally  deaf and    
dumb1 and who later1 after she was      
capable of communicating  with the      
people about her1 was found not to      
possess the slightest  notion of a      

divinity4 ,the ,rev4 ,samuel ,smith1    
after twenty-three  years intercourse   
with deaf mutes1 says that1 education   
apart1 they  possess no notion of a     
divinity4 ,lubbock and ,baker cite a    
great number  of examples of savages who
 are in the same case4 ,according to the
  conclusions set forth above1 in the   
beginning religions did not spring      
ready-made out of the human heart3 they 
were imposed on man from  without1 they 
reached him through his eyes and through
 his ears2 they  contained no element of
 mysticism--in their first steps4 ,those
 who  derive mysticism from an innate   
religious sentiment reason a little     
after the manner of those who in        
politics should derive royalty from     
some supposed innate respect for a royal
 race4 ,such a respect is the  work of  
time1 of custom1 of the sympathetic     
tendencies of a body of men  long       
trained in some one direction2 there is 
contained in it no single  primitive    
element1 and yet the power of the       

sentiment of loyalty to  a royal race is
 considerable4 ,the ,revolution showed  
as much1 in the  wars of the ,vende4    
,but this power wears out some day or   
other1 the  cult for royalty disappears 
with the disappearance of royalty       
itself2  other habits are formed1       
creating other sentiments1 and the      
spectator  is surprised to see that a   
people which was royalist under monarchy
  becomes republican under              
republicanism4 ,the reign of sensibility
 over  intelligence is not perpetual2   
sooner or later1 the position of the two
  must be reversed2 there is an         
intellectual habitat to which we must as
  inevitably adapt ourselves as to our  
physical habitat4 ,the perpetuity  of   
the religious sentiment depends upon its
 legitimacy4 ,born1 as it is1  of       
certain beliefs and certain customs1 its
 fate is one with theirs4  ,so long as a
 belief is not completely compromised   
and dissolved1 the  sentiment attaching 
to it may no doubt possess the power of 

preserving  it1 for sentiment always    
plays the rle of protector and          
preserver4  ,the human soul in this     
respect is analogous to society4        
,religious or  political sentiments     
resemble iron braces buried in some wall
 menaced  with ruin2 they bind together 
the disjointed stones1 and may well     
sustain the edifice for some time longer
 than1 but for them1 it would  have     
stood2 but let the wall once be         
undermined1 so that it begins  to give  
way1 and they will fall with it4 ,no    
better method could be  employed for    
securing the complete and absolute      
extinction of a dogma  or an institution
 than to maintain it till the last      
possible instant2  its fall under such  
circumstances becomes a veritable       
annihilation4  ,there are periods in    
history when to preserve is not to save 
but  definitely to ruin4    ,sidenote3  
,post hoc ergo propter hoc4    ,the     
perpetuity of religion has therefore in 
nowise been demonstrated4  ,from the    

fact that religions always have existed 
it cannot be concluded  that they always
 will exist2 by ratiocination like that 
one might  indeed achieve singular      
consequences4 ,humanity has always1 in  
all  times and places1 associated       
certain events with others which chanced
  to accompany them2 post hoc ergo      
propter hoc is a universal sophism  and 
the principle of all superstition4 ,it  
is the basis of the belief  that        
thirteen must not sit down at table1    
that one must be careful  not to spill  
the salt1 etc4 ,certain beliefs of this 
kind1 such as  that ,friday is an       
unlucky day1 are so widespread that they
 suffice  sensibly to affect the average
 of travellers arriving in ,paris on    
that day of the week by train and       
omnibus2 a number of ,parisians are     
averse to beginning a journey on        
,friday1 or to attending to business    
that can be postponed2 and it must be   
remembered that the intelligence  of    
,parisians1 at least of the men1 stands 

high in the scale4 ,what can  one       
conclude from that if not that          
superstition is tenacious of life  in   
the bosom of humanity and will long be  
so8 ,let us reason1 then1 in  regard to 
superstition as in regard to            
mythological religion4 ,must we  not    
admit that the need of superstition is  
innate in man1 that it is  part of his  
nature1 that his life would really be   
incomplete if he  ceased to believe that
 the breaking of a mirror is a sign that
 someone  will die8 ,let us therefore   
set about finding some modus vivendi    
with superstition2 let us combat        
superstitions which are harmful not  by 
exposing their irrationality but by     
substituting in their stead             
superstitions which are contrary to them
 and inoffensive4 ,let us  declare that 
there are political superstitions and   
instruct women and  children in them2   
let us inoculate1 for example1 feeble   
minds with  that ingenious ,mohammedan  
aphorism1 that the duration of one's    

life is  determined in advance and that 
the coward gains absolutely nothing by  
fleeing from the field of battle2 if he 
was fated to die1 he will die  on his   
own doorstep4 ,does not that strike one 
as a useful belief for an  army to hold 
and more inoffensive than a great many  
religious beliefs8  ,perhaps it even    
contains an element of truth4           
,sidenote3 ,that religious beliefs have 
been useful no reason for  retaining    
them4    ,one might go far along that   
path and discover a number of necessary 
or at least useful illusions1 a number  
of 8indestructible0 beliefs4  8,it is10 
says ,m4 ,renan1 8more difficult to     
hinder mankind's believing  than to     
induce it to believe40 ,certainly it is4
 ,in other words1 it is  more difficult 
to instruct than to deceive4 ,if it were
 not so1 what  merit would there be in  
the communication of knowledge8         
,knowledge is  always more complex than 
prejudice4 ,a knowledge sufficiently    
complete  to put one on one's guard     

against lapses of judgment demands years
  of patience4 ,happily1 humanity has   
long centuries before it1 long          
centuries and treasures of perseverance2
 for there is no creature more          
persevering than man and no man more    
obstinate than the savant4 ,but  it may 
be said that religious myths1 being     
better adapted than pure  knowledge to  
popular intelligence1 possess after all 
the advantage of  symbolizing a portion 
of the truth2 and that on this score one
 may  permit them to the vulgar4 ,it is 
as if one should say that the 8vulgar0  
should be permitted to believe that the 
sun moves round the earth  because the  
common man is incapable of conceiving1  
with accuracy1 the  infinite complexity 
of the motion of the stars4 ,but every  
theory1 every  attempted explanation1   
however crude it may be1 is in some     
degree a  symbol of the truth4 ,it is   
symbolic of the truth to say that nature
  experiences a horror of a vacuum1 that
 the blood lies motionless in  the      

arteries1 that the line of vision runs  
from the eye to the object1  instead of 
from the object to the eye4 ,all these  
primitive theories are  incomplete      
formulations of the reality1 more or    
less popular efforts to  8render0 it2   
they rest upon visible facts not yet    
correctly interpreted  by a completer   
scientific knowledge2 and does that     
constitute a reason  for respecting all 
these symbols1 and for condemning the   
popular  intelligence to fatten upon    
them8 ,primitive and mythical           
explanations  served in the past to     
build up the truth2 they ought not      
nowadays to  be employed to obscure it4 
,when a scaffolding has served its      
purpose  in aiding one to erect an      
edifice1 one tears it down4 ,if certain 
tales are good to amuse children with1  
one at least should be careful  that    
they are not taken too seriously4 ,let  
us not take outworn dogmas  too         
seriously1 let us not regard them with  
excessive complacency and  tenderness2  

if they are still legitimately objects  
of admiration to us  when we reset them 
among the circumstances to which they   
owed their  birth1 they cease to be so  
the instant one endeavours to perpetuate
  them among the circumstances of modern
 life where they are quite out of       
place4    ,sidenote3 ,preliminary       
acquisition of falsehood not necessary  
to  recognition of truth4    ,like ,m4  
,renan1 ,mr4 ,max ,mller almost sees an 
example to be followed  in the castes   
established by the ,hindus among the    
minds1 as among the  classes of the     
people1 in the regular periods or asrmas
 through which  they oblige the         
intelligence successively to pass1 in   
the hierarchy of  religions with which  
they burden the spirit of the faithful4 
,for them  traditional error is sacred  
and venerable2 it serves as a           
preparation  for the truth2 one must    
place a bandage on the eyes of the      
neophyte in  order to be able to take it
 off again afterward4 ,the tendencies of

 the  modern mind are precisely the     
opposite2 it likes to supply the present
  generation at once1 and without       
superfluous preliminary1 with the whole 
body of truth acquired by the           
generations which have passed away1     
without false respect or false courtesy 
for the errors it replaces2  it is not  
enough that the light should filter into
 the mind through  some secret rift1 the
 doors and windows must be thrown wide  
open4  ,the modern mind fails to see in 
what respect a deliberate effort to     
inculcate absurdity in a portion of the 
community can serve to secure  rectitude
 of judgment in the remaining portions2 
or in what respect it  is necessary to  
build a house of truth upon a foundation
 of falsehood2  or to run down the part 
of the hill that we have already        
climbed1 as a  preparation for climbing 
higher4    ,sidenote3 ,transformation of
 faith inevitable4    ,if the religious 
sentiment should disappear1 it may be   
objected1 it  would leave a void which  

it would be impossible to fill1 and     
humanity's  horror of a vacuum is even  
greater than nature's4 ,humanity1       
therefore1  would satisfy somehow or    
other1 even with absurdities1 that      
eternal  need of believing of which we  
have spoken above4 ,the instant one     
religion is destroyed another takes its 
place2 it will be always so  from age to
 age1 because the religious sentiment   
will always exist as  a continuing need 
for some object of worship which it will
 create and  re-create in spite of all  
the ratiocination in the world4 ,no     
victory  over nature can be lasting2 no 
permanent need in the human breast  can 
be long silenced4 ,there are periods in 
human life when faith is  as imperious  
as love2 one experiences a hunger to    
embrace something1  to give one's       
self--even to a figment of the          
imagination2 one is a  victim to a fever
 of faith4 ,sometimes this mood lasts   
throughout  one's whole life1 sometimes 
it lasts some days only or some hours2  

there are cases in which it does not    
present itself till late1 and  even very
 late1 in life4 ,and the priest has     
taken note of all these  vicissitudes2  
he is always there1 patient1 waiting    
tranquilly for the  moment when the     
symptoms shall appear1 and the sleeping 
sentiment  shall awaken and become      
masterful2 he has the ,host ready1 he   
has  great temples reverberating with   
sacred prayers1 where man may come  to  
kneel1 and breathe in the spirit of     
,god1 and arise strengthened4  ,the     
reply is that it is a mistake to regard 
all humanity as typified  in the person 
of the recently disabused believer4 ,it 
has often been  made a subject of       
reproach to free-thinkers that they     
endeavour to  destroy without replacing1
 but one cannot destroy a religion in   
the  breasts of a people4 ,at some      
certain moment in its history it falls  
of  its own weight1 with the            
disappearance of the pretended evidences
 on  which it was resting2 it does not1 

properly speaking1 die2 it ceases       
simply--becomes extinct4 ,it will cease 
definitely when it shall have  become   
useless1 and there is no obligation to  
replace what is no longer  necessary4   
,among the masses1 intelligence is never
 far in advance  of tradition2 one never
 adopts a new idea until one has by     
degrees  become accustomed to it4 ,it   
all takes place without violence1 or at 
least without lasting violence2 the     
crisis passes1 the wound closes         
quickly1 and leaves no trace behind2 the
 forehead of the masses bears  no scar4 
,progress lies in wait for the moment of
 least resistance1 of  least pain4 ,even
 revolutions do not succeed except in so
 far as they  are purely beneficial1 as 
they constitute a universally           
advantageous  evolution4 ,for the rest1 
there is no such thing as a revolution1 
or a  cataclysm1 properly so called1 in 
human belief4 ,each generation adds a   
doubt to those which existed before in  
the minds of their parents1 and  thus   

faith falls away bit by bit1 like the   
banks of a river worn by the  stream2   
the sentiments which were bound up with 
the belief go with it1  but they are    
incessantly replaced by others1 a new   
wave sweeps forward  to fill the void1  
and the human soul profits by its losses
 and grows  larger1 like the bed of a   
river4 ,the adaptation of a people to   
its  environment is a beneficent law4   
,it has often been said1 and justly1    
that there is food for the soul as well 
as food for the body2 and the  analogy  
may be pursued by remarking that it is  
difficult to induce  a people to change 
its national diet4 ,for centuries the   
inhabitants  of ,brittany have lived    
upon imperfectly cooked buckwheat cakes1
 as  they live by their simple faith and
 infantine superstitions4 ,it may1      
however1 be affirmed1 a priori1 that the
 day will come when the reign  of the   
buckwheat cake in ,brittany will be at  
an end1 or at least will  be shared by  
other1 and better prepared1 and more    

nourishing foods2 it  is equally        
rational to affirm that the faith of    
,brittany will some day  come to an end1
 that the somewhat feeble minds of the  
inhabitants will  sooner or later seek  
nourishment in solider ideas and        
beliefs1 and that  the whole of their   
intellectual life will1 by degrees1 be  
transformed  and renewed4    ,sidenote3 
,the disenchantment that accompanies it 
temporary4    ,it is only those who have
 been reared in a faith1 and then       
disabused  of it1 that preserve1 along  
with their primitive sentiments1 a      
certain  home-sickness for a belief to  
correspond to these sentiments4 ,the    
reason is that they have been violently 
hastened in their passage from  belief  
to incredulity4 ,the story of the       
passing disenchantment with  life1 which
 the recent disbeliever experiences1 has
 often been told4  8,i felt horribly    
exiled10 ,m4 ,renan once said1 in       
speaking of the moral  crisis through   
which he himself had passed4 8,the fish 

in ,lake ,baikal  have taken thousands  
of years1 it is said1 to transform      
themselves from  salt-water to          
fresh-water fish4 ,i had to achieve my  
own transformation  in the course of    
some weeks4 ,catholicism surrounds the  
whole of life  like an enchanted circle 
with so much magic that1 when one is    
deprived  of it1 everything seems       
insipid and melancholy2 the universe    
looked to  me like a desert4 ,if        
,christianity was not true1 everything  
else seemed  to me to be indifferent1   
frivolous1 scarce worthy of attention2  
the  world looked mediocre1 morally     
impoverished to me4 ,the world seemed   
to me to be in its dotage and decadence2
 ,i felt lost in a nation of  pigmies40 
,this pain incident to metamorphosis1   
this sort of despair at  renouncing     
everything that one has believed and    
loved up to that time1  is not peculiar 
to the ,christian who has fallen away   
from ,christianity2  it exists in       
diverse degrees1 as ,m4 ,renan well     

knew1 whenever a love of  any sort comes
 to an end in us4 ,for him who1 for     
example1 has placed  his whole life in  
the love of a woman and feels himself   
betrayed by  her1 life seems not less   
disenchanted than for the believer who  
sees  himself abandoned by his ,god4    
,even simple intellectual errors may    
produce an analogous sentiment4         
,archimedes no doubt would have felt    
his life crumble away beneath him1 if he
 had discovered irremediable  lacun in  
his chain of theorems4 ,the more        
intimately a god has been  personified  
and humanized1 the more intimately he   
comes to be beloved1  and the greater   
must be the wound he leaves behind when 
he deserts the  heart4 ,but even though 
this wound be in certain instances      
incurable1  that fact constitutes no    
argument in support of the religion of  
the  masses1 for an illegitimate and    
unjustifiable love may cause as  much   
suffering when one is deprived of it as 
a legitimate love4 ,the  bitterness of  

truth lies less in truth itself than in 
the resistance  offered to it by        
intrenched and established error4 ,it is
 not the world  which is desert when    
deprived of the god of our dreams1 it is
 our own  heart2 and we have ourselves  
to blame if we have filled our hearts   
with  nothing better than dreams4 ,for  
the rest1 in the majority of cases1 the 
void1 the sense of loss which a religion
 leaves behind1 is not lasting2  one    
adapts one's self to one's new moral    
environment1 one becomes  happy again2  
no doubt not in the same manner--one is 
never happy twice  in the same          
manner--but in a manner less primitive1 
less infantine1  more stable4 ,m4 ,renan
 is an example of it4 ,his transmutation
 into a  fresh-water fish was achieved  
in reality tranquilly enough2 it is     
doubtful whether he ever dreams now of  
the salt-water stretches of the  ,bible1
 and nobody has ever declared so        
forcibly that he is happy4 ,one  might  
almost make it a matter of reproach to  

him1 and suggest that the  profoundest  
happiness is sometimes not so precisely 
aware of itself4 ,if  every absolute    
faith is a little nave1 one is not      
absolutely without  navet when one is   
too confident of one's own happiness4   
,sidenote3 ,the essential cheapness of  
religious speculation4    ,to the       
surprise and to the disenchantment which
 a former ,christian  experiences in the
 presence of scientific truth may be    
opposed the  even more profound         
astonishment which those who have been  
exclusively  nourished on science       
experience in the presence of religious 
dogma4  ,the man of science can         
understand religious dogmas1 for he can 
follow  the course of their birth and   
development century by century2 but he  
experiences1 in his effort to adapt     
himself to this narrow environment1     
something of the difficulty that he     
might feel in an effort to enter  a     
,liliputian fairy palace4 ,the world of 
religion--with the ridiculous           

importance which it ascribes to the     
earth as the centre of the  universe1   
with the palpable moral errors that the 
,bible contains1 with  its whole body of
 legend1 which is affecting only to     
those who believe  in them1 with its    
superannuated rites--all seems so poor1 
so powerless  to symbolize the infinite1
 that the man of science is inclined to 
see  in these infantine dreams the      
repugnant and despicable side rather    
than the elevated and attractive side4  
,livingstone says that one day1  after  
having preached the ,gospel to a new    
tribe1 he was taking a walk  in the     
neighbouring fields when he heard near  
him1 behind a bush1 a  strange noise    
like a convulsive cough2 he there found 
a young negro who  had been taken by an 
irresistible desire to laugh by the     
account of  the ,biblical legends1 and  
had hidden himself there out of respect 
for  ,livingstone1 and in the shadow of 
the bush was writhing with laughter  and
 unable to reply to the questions of the

 worthy pastor4 ,certainly  the         
surprising legends of religion can give 
rise to no such outburst  of gaiety as  
this in one who has spent his life among
 the facts of  science and the reasoned 
theories of philosophy4 ,he feels rather
 a  certain bitterness1 such as one     
feels generally in the presence of      
human feebleness1 for man feels         
something of the same solidarity in the 
presence of human error as in the       
presence of human suffering4 ,if the    
eighteenth century ridiculed            
superstition1 if the human mind was then
  8dancing10 as ,voltaire said1 8in     
chains10 it is the distinction of our   
epoch more accurately to have estimated 
the weight of those chains2 and  in     
truth1 when one examines coolly the     
poverty of the popular attempts  that   
have been made to represent the world   
and the ideal of mankind1  one feels    
less inclination to laugh than to weep4 
,sidenote3 ,inevitable extinction of    
fanaticism4    ,but1 however that may   

be1 the evolution of human belief must  
not be  judged by the painful           
revolutions of individual belief2 in    
humanity  such transformations are      
subject to regular laws4 ,the very      
explosions  of the religious sentiment1 
explosions even of fanaticism1 which    
still occur and have so often occurred  
in the course of religious              
degeneration1 enter as an integral part 
into the formula of the very  process of
 degeneration itself4 ,after having been
 so long one of the  most ardent        
interests of humanity1 religious faith  
must1 of necessity1  be slow in cooling4
 ,every human interest resembles those  
stars which  are gradually declining at 
once in light and heat1 and which from  
time to time present a solid exterior   
and then1 as the result of some  inner  
disturbance1 burst through their outer  
rind and become once  more brilliant to 
a degree that they had not rivalled for 
hundreds  of centuries2 but this very   
brilliancy is itself an expenditure of  

light and heat1 a phase simply of the   
process of cooling4 ,the star  hardens  
once more on its surface1 and1 after    
every fresh cataclysm and  illumination1
 it becomes less brilliant and dies in  
its efforts to  revive4 ,a spectator who
 should be watching it from a sufficient
 height  might even find a certain      
comfort in the triumphs of the very     
spirit  of fanaticism and reaction which
 result in a prolonged subsequent       
enfeeblement and a more rapid approach  
toward final extinction4 ,just  as haste
 is sometimes more deliberate than      
deliberation1 so a violent  effort to   
reanimate the past sometimes results in 
hastening its death4  ,you cannot heat a
 cold star from the outside4      ,,ii4 
,will the dissolution of religion result
 in a dissolution of  morality among the
 people8    ,the general enfeeblement of
 the religious instinct will set free1  
for  employment in social progress1 an  
immense amount of force hitherto  set   
aside for the service of mysticism2 but 

it may well be asked also  whether there
 are not a number of forces hurtful to  
society1 and  hitherto held in check or 
annulled by the religious instinct1     
which  upon its disappearance will be   
given free play4    ,sidenote3 ,one must
 respect what is respectable only4      
8,christianity10 ,guizot said1 8is a    
necessity for mankind2 it is  a school  
of reverence40 ,no doubt2 but less so   
perhaps than ,hindu  religions1 which go
 the length of proposing the absolute   
division of  mankind into castes as an  
object for reverence2 however contrary  
it may  be to the natural sentiments of 
mankind and the operation of social     
laws4 ,assuredly no society can subsist 
if its members neither respect  nor     
reverence what is respectable and       
venerable2 respect is decidedly  an     
indispensable element in national life2 
the fact is one which we too  easily    
forget in ,france2 but society is barred
 from progress if one  respects what is 
not respectable1 and progress is a      

condition of life  for a society4 ,tell 
me what you respect1 and ,i will tell   
you what you  are4 ,the progress of     
human reverence for objects ever higher 
and more  high is symbolic of all other 
kinds of progress achieved by the human 
mind4    ,sidenote3 ,christianity quite 
the opposite of a defence against       
communism4    ,but for religion1 say the
 ,guizot school1 the property-question  
would  sweep away the masses of the     
people2 it is the ,church which holds   
them in check4 ,if there is a           
property-question1 let us not seek to   
ignore it2 let us labour sincerely and  
actively at its solution4 ,qui          
trompe-t-on ici8 ,is ,god simply a means
 of saving the capitalist8 ,more  than  
that1 the property-question is not one  
which is more intimately  bound up      
to-day with religion than with          
free-thought4 ,christianity1  which     
implicitly contains within it the       
principles of communism1  is itself     
responsible for spreading ideas among   

the people which  have inevitably       
germinated in the course of the great   
intellectual  germination which         
distinguishes the present epoch4 ,m4 de 
,laveleye1  one of the defenders of     
liberal ,christianity1 confesses as     
much4  ,it was well known that among the
 first ,christians all property was     
held in common1 and that communism was  
the immediate consequence  of           
baptism4#gd 8,we hold everything in     
common except our women10  ,tertullian  
and ,st4 ,justin say2 8we share         
everything40#ge ,it is well  known with 
what vehemence the ,fathers of the      
,church have attacked the  right of     
private property4 8,the earth10 says    
,st4 ,ambrose1 8was given  to the rich  
and poor in common4 ,why1 oh1 ye rich6  
should ye arrogate  to yourselves alone 
the ownership of it80 8,nature created  
rights in  common1 usurpation has       
created private rights40 8,wealth is    
always the  product of robbery10 says   
,st4 ,jerome4 8,the rich man is a       

robber10  says ,st4 ,basil4 8,iniquity  
is the basis of private property10 says 
,st4  ,clement4 8,the rich man is a     
brigand10 says ,st4 ,chrysostom4        
,bossuet  himself cries1 in a sermon on 
the distribution of the necessities  of 
life3 8,the murmurs of the poor are     
just3 why this inequality of            
condition80 ,and1 in the sermon on the  
eminent dignity of the poor3  8,the     
politics of ,jesus are directly opposed 
to those of this century40  ,and finally
 ,pascal1 summing up in an illustration 
all the socialistic  ideas which compose
 the bulk of ,christian doctrine3       
8#8,that dog is  mine1' say these poor  
children2 #8that place there is my place
 in the  sun4' ,behold the beginning and
 the type of the usurpation of the      
earth40 ,when 8these poor children0 are 
men1 they do not always view  the       
usurpation of the earth with            
resignation2 from the ,middle ,ages     
down they have1 from time to time1 risen
 in revolt and there have  been         

resulting massacres4 ,men like          
,pastoureaux and ,jacques in ,france    
and ,wat ,tyler in ,england1 the        
anabaptists and ,john of ,leyden in     
,germany1 are examples of what we mean4 
,but1 these great explosions of  popular
 clamour once at an end1 the ,christian 
priest had always at his  disposal1 to  
subdue the crowd1 a robust doctrine of  
compensation in  heaven for one's       
sufferings on earth2 all the beatitudes 
are summed up  in 8,blessed are the     
poor1 for they shall see ,god40 ,in our 
days1 owing  to the progress of the     
natural sciences1 anything like         
certitude on the  subject of            
compensation in heaven has disappeared2 
even the ,christian1  less sure of      
,paradise1 aspires to see the justice   
and compensations of  heaven realized in
 this world4 ,the most durable element  
in ,christianity  is1 therefore1 less   
the check that it imposes upon the      
masses than  the contempt for the       
established order with which it inspires

 them4  ,religion is nowadays obliged to
 call in social science to aid it in    
its struggle against socialism4 ,the    
true principle of private property  as  
of social authority cannot be religious2
 it lies essentially in  the sentiment  
of the rights of other people and in an 
increasingly  scientific acquaintance   
with the conditions of social and       
political  life4          #gd ,acts ii4 
#dd1 #de2 iv4 #cb1 sqq4          #ge    
,tertull4 ,apolog4 c4 #ci1 ,justin41    
,apolog4 ,i1 #ad4    ,sidenote3         
,religion not necessary to morality4    
,but is not religion a safeguard of     
popular morality8 ,it is true  that     
immorality and crime are habitually     
conceived as associated  with           
non-religion1 and as products of it4    
,criminologists1 however1  have         
demonstrated that no proposition could  
be less tenable4 ,if one  considers the 
mass of the delinquents in any country1 
one will find  that irreligion among    
them is an exception1 and a rare        

exception4 ,in  unusually religious     
countries like ,england delinquents are 
not less  numerous1 and the average of  
belief among them is higher2 the greater
  number1 ,mayhew says1 profess to      
believe in the ,bible4 ,in ,france1     
where non-religion is so common1 it is  
natural that it should also  be common  
among the criminal classes1 but it is   
far from being the  rule2 it is most    
frequent among the leaders1 the         
organizers of crime1  those1 in effect1 
who rise above the mass of their        
fellows1 like  ,mandrin in the last     
century1 ,la ,pommerais1 ,lacenaire4 ,if
 sociologists  find themselves obliged  
to attribute a positive antisocial bias 
to  certain criminals1 it is not        
surprising that they should recognize   
in a number of them an amount of        
instruction and a degree of talent      
amply sufficient to disembarrass them of
 the superstitious beliefs of  the      
multitude1 which are shared by their    
companions in crime4 ,neither  their    

talents nor their culture have sufficed 
absolutely to check  their evil         
disposition1 but certainly they have not
 been responsible  for it4              
,criminologists cite a number of facts  
which go to prove that  the most minute 
and sincere practice of religion may go 
along with the  greatest crimes4        
,despine relates that ,bourse had       
scarcely finished a  robbery and a      
homicide1 before he went to kneel and   
take part in a  church service4 ,g41 a  
courtesan1 as she set fire to her       
lover's house1  cried3 8,god and the    
ever blessed ,virgin do the rest60 ,the 
wife of  ,parency1 while her husband was
 killing an old man as a preliminary to 
robbery1 was praying ,god for her       
husband's success4 ,it is well known    
how religious the ,marquise of          
,brinvilliers was2 her very condemnation
  was facilitated by the fact of her    
having written with her own hands  a    
secret confession of her sins in which  
she made mention1 along with            

parricides1 fratricides1 arsons1 and    
poisonings without number1 of the  list 
of the number of times that she had been
 remiss or negligent in  confession4#gf 
,religion is no more responsible for all
 these crimes  than non-religion is2 the
 higher elements of both are equally    
debarred  of entrance into the brain of 
a criminal4 ,although the moral sense   
and religious sentiment are in origin   
distinct1 they act and react            
incessantly upon each other4 ,it may be 
announced1 as a law1 that no one  whose 
moral sense is obliterated can be       
capable of experiencing genuine         
religious sentiment in all its purity1  
though such a person may well  be more  
than usually apt to attach a value to   
the superstitious forms  of a cult4 ,the
 religious sentiment1 at its height1    
always rests upon a  refined moral      
sense1 although1 when religious         
sentiment goes further  and becomes     
fanaticism1 it may react on and debase  
the moral sense4 ,on  a person who is   

deficient in moral sense1 religion      
produces no effects  but such as are    
evil--fanaticism1 formalism1 and        
hypocrisy--because it  is of necessity  
ill-comprehended and misconstrued4      
#gf ,it must not be believed that even  
prostitutes1 who        as a class are  
so closely allied to criminals1 are     
wholly        non-religious4 ,a case is 
cited of a number of prostitutes who    
subscribed the money to have one of     
their companions1 who was        on the 
point of death1 removed from a house of 
ill-fame to        some place where the 
priest might visit her2 others          
subscribed        money for a great     
number of masses to be said for the soul
 of        a companion who was dead4 ,at
 all events prostitutes are quite       
superstitious1 and their religion swarms
 with strange and        ridiculous     
beliefs4          ,in ,italy criminals  
are usually religious4 ,quite recently  
the        ,tozzi family of butchers1   
after having killed and dismembered a   

young man1 sold his blood1 mixed with   
sheep's blood1 in their        shop1 and
 went none the less to perform their    
devotions to the        ,madonna1 and to
 kiss the statue of the ,virgin4 ,the   
,caruso band1        ,lombroso says1    
habitually placed sacred images in the  
caves        and woods in which they    
lived1 and burned candles before them4  
,verzeni1 who strangled three women1 was
 an assiduous frequenter        of the  
church and the confessional1 and he came
 of a family        which was not only  
religious but bigoted4 ,the companions  
of        ,la ,gala1 who were imprisoned
 at ,pisa1 obstinately refused to       
take food on ,friday during ,lent1 and  
when the keeper tried        to persuade
 them to do so1 they replied1 8,do you  
think we        have been               
excommunicated80 ,masini1 with his band1
 met three        countrymen and among  
them a priest2 he slowly sawed open the 
throat of one of them with an           
ill-sharpened knife1 and then1          

with his hands still bloody1 obliged the
 priest to give him the                 
consecrated ,host4 ,giovani ,mio and    
,fontana went to confession             
before going out to commit a murder4 ,a 
young ,neapolitan        parricide1     
covered with amulets1 confessed to      
,lombroso that        he had invoked the
 aid of the ,madonna de la ,chane in the
        accomplishment of his horrible  
crime4 8,and that she really            
helped me ,i conclude from this1 that at
 the first blow of the        stick my  
father fell dead1 although ,i am myself 
personally        weak40 ,another       
murderer1 a woman1 before killing her   
husband1        fell on her knees and   
prayed to the blessed ,virgin to give   
her        the strength to accomplish   
her crime4 ,still another announced     
his acceptance of a line of action      
devised by his companion in        these
 words1 8,i will come1 and ,i will do   
that with which ,god        has inspired
 thee40    ,sidenote3 ,ignorance1 not   

,catholicism1 responsible for           
immorality4    ,catholic countries often
 supply an unusually high percentage of 
criminals1 because ,catholic countries  
are more ignorant than ,protestant      
countries4 ,in ,italy1 for example1 as  
many as sixteen out of every  hundred   
deaths in the ,papal ,states and        
,southern ,italy1 have at times  been   
deaths by violence1 whereas in ,liguria 
and ,piedmont only two  or three out of 
every hundred are deaths by violence4   
,the population  of ,paris is not1 on   
the whole1 more immoral than that of any
 other  great ,european city1 although  
it is distinctly less religious2 what  a
 difference1 for example1 between       
,london and ,paris6 ,the churches1      
temples1 and synagogues in ,paris would 
not hold one-tenth of the  population1  
and1 as they are half empty in time of  
services1 a  statistician may with some 
show of reason conclude that only about 
a  twentieth of the population fulfil   
their religious duties4 ,whereas  ,paris

 contains only #afi places of worship1  
,london1 in #ahhb1 possessed            
#abca--without counting the religious   
assemblies which regularly gather  in   
the parks1 the public squares1 and even 
under the railway viaducts4             
,sidenote3 ,non-religion not responsible
 for ,french ,revolution and the        
,commune4    ,but should not the crimes 
of the ,commune and those of the ,french
  ,revolution be set down to            
non-religion8 ,one might1 with more show
 of  truth1 render religion responsible 
for the massacres of ,st4 ,bartholomew  
and of the ,dragonnades1 for1 in the    
wars of the ,huguenots1 of the          
,vaudois1 of the ,albigenses1 the issue 
was a religious issue1 whereas in  the  
case of the ,commune the issue was      
wholly a social one2 religion was  only 
very indirectly involved in it4 ,the    
analogy for the ,commune is to  be found
 in the wars concerning the agrarian    
laws of ancient ,rome1 or  in           
contemporary strikes which are so often 

accompanied by bloodshed1 or  in any of 
the brutal uprisings of the labourer or 
the peasant against  the capitalist or  
the owner of the soil4 ,be it remarked1 
moreover1  that in all these and the    
like contests the stronger party--the   
representative of society and1 it is    
alleged1 of religion--commits1  in the  
name of repression1 violences comparable
 to and sometimes less  excusable than  
those with which they charge the party  
of disorder4    ,sidenote3 ,labour for  
labour's sake4    ,what demoralizes     
races and peoples is not so much the    
downfall of  religion as the luxury and 
idleness of the few and the discontented
  poverty of the many4 ,in society      
demoralization begins at the two        
extremes1 top and bottom4 ,the law of   
labour is open to two species  of       
revolt2 the revolt of the discontented  
working man who curses the  law of      
labour even while he obeys it1 and the  
revolt of the idle  noble1 or man of    
fortune1 who ignores it simply4 ,the    

richest classes  in society are often   
those whose lives show a minimum of     
devotion1 of  disinterestedness1 of true
 moral elevation4 ,for a fashionable    
woman1  for example1 the duties of life 
too frequently consist in an unbroken   
round of trifles2 she is utterly        
ignorant of what it means to take       
pains4 ,to bear a child or two 7to      
exceed the number of three1 one of  them
 has said1 is the height of immorality71
 to have a nurse to take  care of them1 
to be faithful to one's husband1 at     
least within the  limits of             
coquetry--behold the whole duty of      
woman6 ,too frequently1  in the upper   
classes1 duty comes to be conceived     
simply as a matter  of abstinence1 of   
not being as nasty or as wicked as one  
might4  ,temptations to do evil increase
 in number as one mounts in the social  
scale1 whereas what one may call        
temptations to do good decrease in      
number4 ,fortune enables one to hire a  
substitute1 so to speak1 in  all the    

duties of life--in caring for the sick1 
in nursing children1  in rearing them1  
and so forth2 the rich are not obliged  
to pay1 as  the saying is1 with their   
person--payer de la personne6 ,wealth   
too  often produces a species of        
personal avarice1 of miserliness of     
one's  self1 a restriction of moral and 
physical activity1 an impoverishment  of
 the individual and of the race4 ,the   
shopkeeping class constitute  the least 
immoral section of the rich1 and that   
because they preserve  their habits of  
work2 but they are constantly affected  
by the example  of the higher classes1  
who take a pride in being useless4 ,the 
remnant  of morality1 which exists among
 the middle class1 is partly due to  the
 love of money2 money does1 in effect1  
possess one advantage1 that  it must in 
general be worked for4 ,nobles and      
business men love money  but in         
different ways4 ,young men of good      
family love it as a means of  expense   
and of prodigality1 people in a small   

way of business love it  for its own    
sake1 and out of avarice4 ,avarice is a 
powerful safeguard  for the remnants of 
morality in a people4 ,it coincides1 in 
almost all  its results1 with a         
disinterested love of labour2 it        
exercises no evil  influence except in  
the matter of marriage1 where the       
question of the  girl's portion becomes 
paramount1 and in the matter of         
children1  of which it tends to restrict
 the number4 ,all things considered1 as 
between prodigality and avarice1 the    
moralist is obliged to cast  his vote   
for the latter on the ground that it is 
not favourable to  debauchery1 and does 
not therefore tend to dissolve society2 
both are  maladies which benumb and may 
destroy one1 but the former is          
contagious  and is transmitted by       
contact4 ,we may add that love of       
expense rarely  serves to encourage     
regular labour3 it produces1 rather1 an 
appetite  for gambling and even for     
robbery2 clever strokes on the          

stock-exchange  amount1 in certain      
cases1 to robbery pure and simple4      
,thence arises a  secondary demoralizing
 influence4 ,prodigals are necessarily  
attracted  to the more or less shaky    
forms of financial speculation1 by      
which1  absolutely without labour       
properly so called1 more money can be   
amassed  than by labour2 the miser1 on  
the contrary1 will hesitate1 will prefer
  effort to risk1 and his effort will be
 more beneficial to society4 ,in        
effect1 the only thing that can maintain
 society in a healthy state  is that    
love of labour for its own sake which is
 so rarely met with1  and which one must
 endeavour to develop2 but this love of 
intellectual  and physical labour is in 
nowise bound up with religion2 it is    
bound  up with a certain broad culture  
of the mind and heart which render      
idleness insupportable4    ,sidenote3   
,religion the creature of circumstance4 
,similarly with the other moral and     
social virtues which are alleged  to be 

inseparable from religion4 ,in all times
 humanity has found a  certain average  
of vice1 as of virtue1 necessary4       
,religions themselves  have always been 
obliged to give way before certain      
prevalent habits  and passions4 ,if we  
had been living at the time of the      
,reformation1  we should have heard     
,catholic priests maintaining1 with all 
the  seriousness in the world1 that1 but
 for ,catholic dogmas and the  authority
 of the ,pope1 society would dissolve   
and perish4 ,happily  experience has    
proved that these dogmas and that       
authority are not  indispensable to     
social life2 the conscience of mankind  
has attained  its majority and no longer
 needs the services of a guardian4 ,the 
day  will come1 no doubt1 when          
,frenchmen will no more feel an         
inclination to  enter into a house of   
stone and invoke ,god to the sound of a 
hymn than  an ,englishman or a ,german  
experiences to-day an inclination to    
kneel  before a priest and confess to   

him4      ,,iii4 ,is ,protestantism a   
necessary transition stage between      
religion  and free-thought8             
,sidenote3 ,dependence of ,catholicism  
on power4    ,over and above            
free-thinkers1 properly so called1 there
 exists in every  country a class of men
 who understand perfectly the defects in
 the  religions in force about them1 but
 have not the power of mind necessary   
to lift them above revealed dogma       
generally1 and every form of external   
cult and rite4 ,they begin accordingly  
to dabble in the religions  of          
neighbouring peoples4 ,a religion which 
is not in force in one's  immediate     
neighbourhood always possesses the      
advantage of being seen  from a         
distance4 ,at a distance its faults are 
scarcely distinguishable1  and the      
imagination freely endows it with all   
excellent qualities4  ,how many things  
and persons gain thus by aloofness6     
,when one has seen  one's ideal1 it is  
sometimes good not to approach it too   

near if one is  to preserve one's       
reverence for it4 ,a number of          
,englishmen1 indignant  at the aridity  
of the hard and blind fanaticism of the 
extreme  ,protestants1 cast envious     
glances across the ,channel1 where a    
religion  seems to reign that is more   
friendly to art1--at once more sthetic  
and more mystical1 capable of affording 
a completer satisfaction to  certain    
human needs4 ,among those who are thus  
favourable to a properly  understood    
,catholicism may be cited ,matthew      
,arnold and ,cardinal ,newman2  and one 
might even add the ,queen of ,england   
herself4 ,in ,france1 as  might be      
expected1 quite the opposite disposition
 obtains4 ,wearied of  the ,catholic    
,church and of its intolerance1 we      
should gladly escape  its dominion3     
compared with the objections against    
,catholicism which  assail our eyes1 the
 objections against ,protestantism      
appear to us as  trifling4 ,and the same
 notion has occurred simultaneously to a

 number  of distinguished ,frenchmen3   
why should ,france remain ,catholic1 at 
least  in name8 ,why should not ,france 
adopt the religion of the more robust   
people who have recently vanquished her2
 the religion of ,germany1 of  ,england1
 of the ,united ,states1 of all the     
young1 strong1 and active  nations8 ,why
 not begin again the labour interrupted 
by the massacre  of ,st4 ,bartholomew   
and the ,edict of ,nantes8 ,even if one 
should not  succeed in converting the   
masses1 it would suffice1 according to  
the  partisans of ,protestantism1 to    
propagate the new religion among the    
lite of the population very sensibly to 
modify the general course  of our       
government1 of our national spirit1 even
 of our laws4 ,the  laws regulating the 
relations of ,church and ,state would   
promptly be  corrected2 they would be   
reconstructed so as to offer protection 
to  the development of the ,protestant  
religion1 as they at this moment do  in 
a thousand ways to the outworn religion 

of ,catholicism4 ,ultimately            
,protestantism would be declared to be  
the national religion of ,france2  the  
religion1 in other words1 toward which  
she ought to endeavour  to move1 and    
which constitutes her real ideal1 her   
sole hope of the  future1 the sole means
 open to ,latin nations to escape death1
 and  to outlive1 in some sense1        
themselves4 ,add that1 in the judgment  
of  the authors of this hypothesis1 the 
,protestant religion1 once fairly       
entered in the lists against            
,catholicism1 must inevitably and       
speedily  win the day2 the iron pot     
would make short work of the earthen    
pot4  ,the partisans of ,protestantism  
invoke history in support of their      
conclusions2 ,protestantism was         
vanquished among us by force1 and  not  
by persuasion2 its defeat is therefore  
not definitive4 ,wherever  ,catholicism 
has not employed violence1 persecution1 
and crime to  maintain itself1 it has   
always succumbed2 its only tenable      

argument  has been to put its opponents 
to death2 to-day this comfortable method
  of backing the syllogism by the sword 
is out of date1 and ,catholicism  is    
condemned the instant it is attacked4   
,it contains1 moreover1  an essential   
and irremediable vice1 auricular        
confession4 ,by the  confessional it    
excites the open or secret hostility of 
every husband  and every father1 who    
sees the priest interposing between him 
and his  wife1 between him and his      
children4 ,the confessor is a           
supernumerary in  every family2 a member
 who has neither the same interests nor 
the same  ideas1 and who1 nevertheless1 
is perfectly informed of everything the 
other members do1 and can1 in a thousand
 ways1 oppose their projects1  and1 at  
the moment when they least expect it1   
bar their path4 ,when one  takes into   
consideration the mute state of war     
which so often exists  between the      
married man and the ,catholic priest2   
when one analyzes the  other causes of  

dissolution which are working in        
,catholicism2 when  one considers1 for  
example1 that the dogma of infallibility
 is simply  inacceptable to anyone whose
 conscience is not absolutely distorted1
  one must admit that the project of    
,protestantizing ,france1 how strange   
soever it may seem at first glance1 is  
worthy of serious attention4            
,sidenote3 ,proposal to ,protestantize  
,france4    ,it is not astonishing that 
it should have won to its side a number 
of partisans1 and should have provoked a
 certain intellectual  fermentation4    
,michelet and ,quinet were desirous that
 ,france should  become ,protestant1 at 
least transitorily6 ,in #ahdc1 during a 
journey  to ,geneva1 ,michelet discussed
 with some clergymen the means of       
accelerating the progress of            
,protestantism in ,france and of        
creating  a really national church4 ,two
 men1 whose names are known to all those
  who have laboured in philosophy or in 
social science1 ,,mm4 ,renouvier  and   

,de ,laveleye1 are among the promoters  
of this movement4 ,convinced            
free-thinkers1 like ,m4 ,louis ,mnard1  
acquiesce in it1 making use of  the     
names of ,turgot and ,quinet2 and ,m4   
,pillon also has sustained the  project4
 ,many ,protestant ministers have turned
 the whole of their  activity in this   
channel1 have founded journals and      
written for the  reviews2 pamphlets1    
works often remarkable in their kind1   
have been  composed and circulated4     
,protestants are more disposed than     
,catholics  to propagandism1 because    
their faith is more personal4 ,they feel
  that in a number of provinces they    
form an important nucleus which  may    
grow in time like a snowball4 ,a number 
of villages1 of ,yonne1 la  ,marne1     
l',aude1 etc41 have already been        
converted2 in spite of all the          
obstacles raised by the civil and       
religious authorities1 in spite of      
vexations and annoyances of every sort1 
the neophytes have finally  succeeded in

 establishing a ,protestant pastor among
 them4 ,materially  considered1 these   
results are small2 their consequences1  
however1 may  some day be of great      
importance4 ,one never suspects how many
 people  there are ready to listen and  
to believe2 how many people there are   
ready to preach and to convert4 ,it need
 not be a matter of surprise1  some day 
or other1 to see ,protestant clergymen  
fairly rise out of  the soil and overrun
 our country districts4 ,the ,catholic  
clergy1 who  present an almost unbroken 
front of incapacity1 will scarcely be   
able  to hold their own against a new   
and ardent adversary4    ,sidenote3     
,contrary to the tendency of ,french    
history4    ,the most serious opposition
 to ,protestantism in ,france is not to 
be  looked for from the ,catholics1 but 
from the free-thinkers4 ,it is in the   
name of free-thought that we shall      
consider the following question3  ,ought
 ,france really to accept as its ideal  
any religion whatsoever1  even though it

 be superior to the one professedly in  
possession at  the present day8 ,is not 
the acceptance of any religion as an    
ideal  precisely contrary to the whole  
movement of the ,french mind since the  
,revolution8    ,sidenote3 ,french      
,revolution still being accomplished4   
,it has been said that1 if the ,french  
,revolution was put down before it  had 
produced all of the results which were  
expected of it1 the reason  was that it 
was undertaken1 not in the name of a    
liberal religion1  but in antagonism to 
all religion4 ,the nation rose as a body
 against  ,catholicism1 but it had      
nothing to offer in its stead2 it was an
  effort in the void and resulted       
necessarily in a fall4 ,to address  such
 a reproach to the ,revolution1 is      
precisely to fail to recognize  its     
distinguishing peculiarity4 ,theretofore
 religion had usually been  involved in 
the political discussions of men2 the   
,english ,revolution1  for example1 was 
in part religious4 ,and when an uprising

 was1 as it  happened1 wholly religious1
 its purpose was to pull down one cult  
and  set up another2 the aid of a new   
,god had to be called in to expel the   
old2 but for ,jesus or some other       
unknown divinity1 ,jupiter would still  
have been enthroned on ,olympus4 ,also  
the result of these religious           
revolutions was easy to predict2 at the 
end of a certain number of  years some  
new cult was bound to carry the day1 to 
intrench itself1 and  to become quite as
 intolerant as its predecessor2 and the 
revolution  was achieved--that is to    
say1 everything was practically in the  
same  state that it was before4 ,a      
determinate end1 close at hand1 had been
  pursued and attained2 a little chapter
 in the history of the universe  had    
been written1 and one was ready to close
 it with a period and to  say that was  
all4 ,what drives the historian to      
despair in the case  of the ,french     
,revolution1 is precisely the           
impossibility of writing  a peroration1 

of reaching a final stop1 of saying1    
8,that is all40  ,the great fermentation
 persists1 and passes on from generation
 to  generation4 8,the ,french          
,revolution has come to nothing10 it is 
said2  but the reason is perhaps simply 
that it has not miscarried4 ,the ,french
  ,revolution is still in its earliest  
stages2 if we are still unable to  say  
where it is leading us1 we may at least 
affirm with confidence  that it is      
leading us somewhere4 ,it is precisely  
the incertitude and  the remoteness of  
their aim that constitute the nobility  
of certain  enterprises2 if one wants   
something very big1 one must be resigned
 to  want something a little vague4 ,one
 must be resigned also to a settled     
discontent with everything that is      
offered one as a substitute for the     
fleeing ideal that constitutes one's    
aim4 ,never to be satisfied--behold  a  
comparatively unknown state of mind in  
many parts of the world6 ,some          
thousands of years ago there were a     

number of revolutions in ,china1  which 
brought forth results so precise and so 
incontestable that they  have come down 
in a state of absolute preservation to  
the present day4  ,is ,china the ideal  
of those who wish a people to achieve   
once for  all a state of satisfaction1  
of stable equilibrium1 of established   
environment1 of unalterable outline and 
form8 ,certainly the bent of  the       
,french mind is precisely the opposite  
of that of the ,chinese4  ,horror of    
routine1 of tradition1 of the           
established fact in the face  of reason1
 is an attribute that we possess to a   
fault4 ,to carry reason  into politics1 
into law1 into religion was precisely   
the aim of the  ,french ,revolution4 ,it
 is no easy thing1 it is even futile1 to
 attempt  to introduce simultaneously   
logic and light into everything2 one    
makes  mistakes1 one reasons ill1 one   
has one's days of weakness1 one succumbs
  to concordats and empires4 ,in spite1 
however1 of so many temporary           

divergences from the straight path1 it  
is already easy to recognize the        
direction toward which the ,revolution  
tends1 and to affirm that this          
direction is not religious4 ,the ,french
 ,revolution affords an example1  for   
the first time in the world1 of a       
liberal movement disassociated  from    
religion4 ,to wish1 with ,quinet1 that  
the ,revolution should become           
,protestant is simply not to understand 
it4 ,republican in the sphere  of       
politics1 the ,revolution tends to      
enfranchise man1 in the sphere  of      
thought also1 from every species of     
religious domination1 and of  uniform   
and irrational dogmatic belief4 ,the    
,revolution did not achieve  this end at
 the first attempt2 it was guilty even  
of imitating the  intolerance of the    
,catholics2 therein lay its prime fault1
 its great  crime2 we suffer from it    
still4 ,but the remedy does not consist 
in  adopting a new religion1 which would
 simply be a disguised return to  the   

past4    ,sidenote3 ,advantages of      
,protestantism4    ,let us examine1     
however1 the substantial apology for    
,protestantism1  presented by ,m4 de    
,laveleye4 ,he maintains the superiority
 of  ,protestantism principally in      
regard to three points3 #a4 ,it is      
favourable to education2 #b4 ,it is     
favourable to political and religious   
liberty2 #c4 ,it does not possess a     
celibate clergy living outside of the   
family1 and even outside of the country4
 ,let us pass these different  points in
 review4 ,in ,protestantism the need of 
instruction1 and  therefore of a        
knowledge of how to read1 is inevitable1
 for the reason  that1 as has been often
 remarked1 the reformed religion is     
founded on  the interpretation of a     
book1 the ,bible4 ,the ,catholic        
religion1 on the  contrary1 rests upon  
the sacraments and certain practices1   
such as the  confession1 and the ,mass1 
which presuppose no knowledge of        
reading4  ,luther's first and last word 

was1 8,god commands you to educate your 
children40 ,in the eyes of the ,catholic
 priest an ability to read is  not1 so  
far as religion is concerned1 an        
unqualified advantage1 it  exposes the  
possessor to certain dangers1 it is a   
path that may lead  to heresy4 ,the     
organization of popular instruction     
dates from the  ,reformation4 ,the      
consequence is that ,protestant         
countries are far in  advance of        
,catholic countries in the matter of    
popular instruction4#gg  ,wherever      
popular instruction attains its height1 
labour will be  directed with more      
intelligence1 and the economic situation
 will  be better2 ,protestantism        
therefore gives rise to a superiority   
not  only in instruction1 but in        
commerce and industry1 in order and in  
cleanliness4#gh          #gg ,in        
,saxony1 ,denmark1 ,sweden1 ,prussia1   
,scotland 7not        ,england71        
illiteracy is at a minimum4 ,even in the
 most favoured        ,catholic         

countries1 such as ,france and ,belgium1
 at least a        third of the         
population are illiterate4 ,in this     
comparison race        goes for nothing2
 ,switzerland proves as much2 purely    
,latin but        also ,protestant      
cantons ,neuchtel1 ,vaux1 and ,geneva   
are on a        level with the ,germanic
 cantons of ,zrich and ,bern1 and are   
superior to such as ,tessin1 ,valais1   
and ,lucerne4          #gh ,in          
,switzerland the cantons of ,neuchtel1  
,vaux1 and ,geneva        are strikingly
 in advance of ,lucerne1 ,valais1 and   
the forest        cantons2 they are not 
only superior in matters of education1  
but in matters of industry1 of commerce1
 and of wealth2 and        their        
artistic and literary activity is       
greater4 8,in the ,united               
,states10 says ,de ,tocqueville1 8the   
majority of the ,catholics        are   
poor40 ,in ,canada the larger order of  
business interests1                     
manufacturing1 commerce1 the principal  

shops in the cities1 are        in the  
hands of ,protestants4 ,m4 ,audiganne1  
in his studies on        the labouring  
population in ,france1 remarks on the   
superiority        of the ,protestants  
in respect to industry1 and his         
testimony        is the less suspicious 
because he does not attribute that      
superiority to ,protestantism4 8,the    
majority of the labourers        in     
,nmes1 notably the silk-weavers1 are    
,catholics1 while the        captains of
 industry and of commerce1 the          
capitalists in a        word1 belong to 
the ,reformed religion40 8,when a family
 has        split into two branches1 one
 of which has clung to the faith        
of its fathers1 while the other has     
become ,protestant1 one        almost   
always remarks in the former a          
progressive financial                   
embarrassment1 and in the other an      
increasing wealth40 8,at                
,mazamet1 the ,elbuf of the south of    
,france1 all the captains of            

industry with one exception are         
,protestants1 while the great           
majority of the labourers are           
,catholics4 ,and ,catholic working      
men are1 as a class1 much less well     
educated than ,protestant        working
 men40 ,before the revocation of the    
,edict of ,nantes        members of the 
,reformed church had taken the lead in  
all        branches of labour1 and the  
,catholics1 who found themselves        
unable to maintain a competition with   
them1 had the practice of        a      
number of different industries in which 
the latter excelled        forbidden    
them by a series of edicts beginning    
with the year        #affb4 ,after their
 expulsion from ,france the ,huguenots  
carried        into ,england1 into      
,prussia1 into ,holland1 their spirit of
        enterprise and of economy2 and  
enriched the districts in which         
they settled4 ,the ,germans owe some    
portion of their progress        to     
,huguenot exiles4 ,refugees from the    

,revocation introduced        different 
industries into ,england1 among others  
the silk        industry2 and it was    
certain disciples of ,calvin who        
civilized        ,scotland4 7,see ,m4 de
 ,laveleye ,de l'avenir des peuples     
catholiques47    ,sidenote3             
,protestantism favours self-government4 
,similarly in civil and political       
matters1 ,protestants have always been  
partisans of self-government1 of        
liberty1 of local autonomy1 and of      
decentralization4 ,side by side with the
 advance of the ,reformation  in        
,switzerland1 in ,holland1 in ,england  
and ,america there went a  dissemination
 of the principles of liberty which     
later became the  articles of faith of  
the ,french ,revolution4 ,calvinists1   
notably1 have  always been inclined to  
an ideal of liberty and equality which  
has  rightfully rendered them objects of
 suspicion to the ,french monarchy2     
they realized this ideal only beyond the
 seas in the ,american  ,constitution1  

which may be regarded1 in some sort1 as 
the product  of ,calvinistic ideas4 ,as 
early as the year #afcc an ,american1   
,roger  ,williams1 proclaimed universal 
liberty1 and liberty of conscience  in  
particular2 he proclaimed the complete  
equality of all modes of  religious     
worship before the law1 and on these    
principles founded  the democracy of    
,rhode ,island and the town of          
,providence4 ,the ,united  ,states1 with
 the local autonomy and decentralization
 which characterize  its government1    
still forms the type of the ,protestant 
state4 ,in such  a state the widest     
liberty exists only1 to say the truth1  
within the  limit of ,christianity3 the 
founders of the ,american ,constitution 
scarcely foresaw the day when a wider   
tolerance would be necessary4  ,and it  
would be to form an extremely false idea
 of the ,united ,states  to imagine that
 the civil power and religion are wholly
 disassociated4  ,the separation between
 ,church and state is far from being as 

absolute  in ,america as is often       
supposed1 and ,m4 ,goblet d',alviella   
very justly  corrects the too           
enthusiastic assertions1 on this point1 
of ,m4 ,guizot  and ,m4 de ,laveleye4#gi
          #gi 8,public institutions are 
still deeply impregnated with           
,christianity4 ,congress1 the ,state    
legislatures1 the navy1 the        army1
 the prisons1 are all supplied with     
chaplains2 the ,bible        is still   
read in a large number of schools4 ,the 
invocation of        ,god is generally  
obligatory in an oath in a court of law1
 and        even in an oath of office4  
,in ,pennsylvania the ,constitution     
requires that every public employee     
shall believe in ,god1 and        in a  
future state of reward and punishments4 
,the ,constitution        of ,maryland  
awards liberty of conscience to deists  
only4 ,the        laws against blasphemy
 have never been formally abrogated4    
,in certain ,states1 more or less       
stringent ,sunday laws are              

enforced4 ,in #ahhj a court declined to 
recognize1 even as a        moral       
obligation1 a debt contracted on        
,sunday1 and a traveller1        injured
 in a railway accident1 was refused     
damages on the        ground that he was
 travelling on the ,lord's ,day4 ,and1  
finally1        church property and     
funds are in a considerable degree      
exempt        from taxation40 7,m4      
,goblet d',alviella1 volution           
religieuse1        p4 #bcc47            
,similarly1 in ,switzerland1 in the     
month of ,february1 #ahhf1 the          
criminal court of ,glaris1 the chief    
place in a canton of #gjjj              
inhabitants1 at #acj kilometers from    
,bern1 rendered a singular              
judgment4 ,a mason named ,jacques       
,schiesser1 who was obliged to          
work in water of an excessively low     
temperature1 shivering        with cold1
 his hands blue1 made a movement of     
impatience        at the cold1 and      
uttered irreverential words toward ,god4

 ,a        procs-verbal was made out    
against him4 ,he appeared before        
the judges1 who condemned him for       
blasphemy to two days'                  
imprisonment4 ,it is surprising to see  
,switzerland carried1        actually by
 ,protestantism1 back to the ,middle    
,ages4    ,sidenote3 ,intellectual and  
moral superiority of ,protestant clergy4
    ,finally1 to the political          
superiority of ,protestantism must be   
added  the intellectual and moral       
superiority of its clergy4 ,the         
obligation  to read and interpret the   
,bible has given rise1 in the           
universities of  ,protestant theology1  
to a work of exegesis which has resulted
 in a new  science1 the ,science of     
,religion4 ,the ,protestant clergymen   
are better  educated than our priests1  
and have moreover families and children1
  and lead a life like that of any other
 citizen2 they are national1  because   
their church is a national church2 they 
do not receive orders  from abroad1 and1

 more than all1 they do not possess the 
terrible power  which the ,catholic     
priest owes to the confessional2 a power
 which  cost ,france the ,revocation of 
the ,edict of ,nantes and so many other 
deplorable measures4#hj          #hj    
8,by means of the confessional10 says   
,m4 de ,laveleye1        the 8priest    
holds the sovereign1 the magistrates1   
and the        electors1 and through the
 electors the legislative chamber1 in   
his power2 so long as the priest        
presides over the sacraments1        the
 separation of ,church and ,state is    
only a dangerous        illusion4 ,the  
absolute submission of the entire       
ecclesiastical        hierarchy to a    
single will1 the celibacy of the clergy1
 and        the multiplication of       
monastic orders1 constitute a danger in 
,catholic countries of which ,protestant
 countries know nothing40    ,sidenote3 
,but ,protestantism is not a necessary  
step toward  free-thought4    ,the      
several advantages which ,protestantism 

enjoys by comparison  with ,catholicism 
are so incontestable that1 if one must  
absolutely  choose between the two      
religions1 one could not hesitate4 ,but 
such  a choice is not necessary2 one can
 avoid both horns of the dilemma4       
,free-thought is even more intimately   
dependent upon1 and more disposed  to   
favour1 science than ,protestantism is1 
for free-thought absolutely  depends    
upon science4 ,free-thought is more     
intimately dependent upon  practical and
 civil liberty than ,protestantism is1  
by the very fact  that free-thought is  
the complete realization of liberty in  
the sphere  of theory4 ,finally         
free-thought renders the clergy         
superfluous1 or  rather to reinstate a  
medival term it tends to replace the    
priest by  the clerk1 that is to say by 
the savant1 the professor1 the man  of  
letters1 the man of culture1 to whatever
 state of society he may  belong4 ,the  
best thing that has been said about     
,protestantism in ,france  is ,m4 de    

,narbonne's remark to ,napoleon4 8,there
 is not enough religion  in ,france to  
make two40 ,instead of a national       
religion we possess in  ,france a       
national non-religion2 that very fact   
constitutes our claim  to originality   
among the nations4 ,in ,france          
two-thirds at least of the  male        
population live outside the limits of   
religious tradition4 ,in the  country1  
as in the town1 there is scarcely one   
man for every ten women  to be found in 
church1 sometimes not more than one for 
a hundred1 and  sometimes none at all4  
,in the majority of the departments1    
scarcely  one man can be found          
fulfilling his religious duties4 ,in the
 great  cities1 the labourer is the     
avowed enemy of religion1 in the country
  the peasant is simply indifferent4    
,the peasantry displays a certain       
respect for the exterior forms of       
worship2 but the reason is that the     
peasantry comes in contact with the     
priest1 its intercourse with him  is    

constant1 it generally fears or esteems 
him enough not to laugh  at him1 except 
behind his back4 ,the results of the    
,french ,revolution  cannot be arrested 
in this country2 sooner or later they   
will suffice  to give birth to a        
complete religious1 political1 and civil
 liberty3  even to-day in politics it is
 not in the direction of a lack of      
liberty  that our failure lies1 it is   
quite the reverse4 ,for the ,french1 it 
is  useless to talk of adopting         
,protestantism under the pretext that it
 is  favourable to civil and political  
liberty1 to diffusion of modern ideas   
and science4    ,sidenote3 ,no          
sufficient evidence that ,protestant    
countries are more  moral than          
,catholic4    ,there remains the        
consideration of public morality in     
,france4 ,but it  is impossible to      
demonstrate that the morality of        
,protestant people  is superior to that 
of ,catholics2 nay1 in respect to a     
certain number  of items1 statistics    

tend rather to prove the contrary1 if   
anything  can be proved of morality by  
statistics4 ,drunkenness1 for example1  
is a much less terrible scourge among   
,catholic peoples who inhabit  climates 
in which alcohol constitutes a much     
smaller temptation4  ,illegitimate      
births are much more frequent in        
,germany than in ,france2  no doubt     
because of the laws that regulate       
marriage4 ,the average of  crimes and   
offences is not very variable from      
country to country1  and such variations
 as there are1 are attributable to      
difference of  climate1 of race1 of     
greater or less density of population1  
and not  to differences of religion4    
,to-day1 on account of the increasing   
perfection of means of communication1   
vice tends to find its level4  ,vices   
spread like contagious diseases3        
everyone whose system is in a  state    
which is favourable to poison becomes   
contaminated1 to whatsoever  race or    
whatsoever religion he may belong4 ,the 

effect of any given  religion upon the  
morality of any given people is         
certainly not to  be overlooked1 but it 
is altogether relative to the character 
of the  people in question1 and proves  
nothing as to the absolute moral quality
  of the religion itself4 ,mohammedanism
 is of great service to barbarous       
tribes1 because it prohibits            
drunkenness1 and travellers generally   
agree as to the moral superiority of    
,mohammedan tribes as compared with     
tribes converted to ,christianity2 the  
first are composed of shepherds  and    
relatively honest merchants1 the second 
are composed of drunkards1  whom alcohol
 has transformed into beasts and        
pillagers4 ,does it follow  that we must
 all become converted to ,mohammedanism1
 or even that the  prohibitions of the  
,koran1 all-powerful as they are over   
the savage  mind1 would act with the    
same force upon a drunkard of ,paris or 
of  ,london8 ,alas1 no6 and in the      
absence of any such possibility one may 

take refuge in this means3 sobriety is  
even more important for the  masses of  
the people than continence1 its absence 
borders more nearly  on bestiality2     
moreover the labouring man and          
especially the peasant  possesses less  
opportunity to run to excesses of       
incontinence than of  drink1 for the    
simple reason that women cost more than 
drink4 ,even  among the followers of    
,mohammed1 the poor are obliged to      
restrict  themselves to one wife4       
,sidenote3 ,and religion is not the sole
 factor that determines  morality4      
,and finally religion does not          
constitute the sole cause of morality2  
still less is it capable of             
re-establishing a morality which is on a
  decline2 the utmost it can do is to   
maintain morality somewhat longer  in   
existence than it otherwise would be1 to
 confirm custom and habit by  a backing 
of faith4 ,the power of custom and of   
the accomplished fact  is so            
considerable that even religion can     

scarcely make head against  it4 ,when a 
new religion takes possession of a      
people it never destroys  the mass of   
the beliefs which have taken root in    
their hearts2 it  fortifies them rather 
by adapting itself to them4 ,to conquer 
paganism1  ,christianity was obliged to 
transform itself3 it became ,latin in   
,latin  countries1 ,german in ,german   
countries4 ,mohammedanism in ,persia1 in
  ,hindustan1 in the island of ,java    
serves simply as a vestment and a veil  
for the old ,zoroastrian1 or ,brahman1  
or ,buddhistic beliefs4 ,manners1       
national characters1 and superstitions  
are more durable than dogmas4  ,the     
character of northern peoples is always 
hard and all of a piece1 to  an extent  
that produces a certain external        
regularity in their lives1 a  certain   
submission to discipline1 sometimes also
 a certain savageness  and brutality4   
,the men of southern ,europe1 on the    
contrary1 are mobile1  malleable1 open  
to temptation4 ,the explanation is to be

 looked for  in their climate1 not in   
their religion4 ,the rigid fir-tree     
grows in  the north2 flexible1 tall     
reeds in the south4 ,the discipline of  
the  ,prussian army and administration  
does not result from the religion  of   
,prussia1 but from the worship of       
discipline4 ,throughout the whole  life 
of the north there runs a certain       
stiffness which shows itself  in the    
smallest details1 in the manner of      
walking1 of speaking1 of  directing the 
eyes2 and the northern conscience is    
brusque and rough1  it commands1 and one
 must obey or disobey2 in the south of  
,europe it  argues4 ,if ,italy were     
,protestant1 there would probably be few
 ,quakers4  ,we believe therefore that  
the effect is often taken for the cause1
  where a preponderant influence is     
attributed to the ,protestant or        
,catholic religion on public or private 
morality1 and1 that is to say1  on the  
vital power of a people4 ,this influence
 formerly was enormous1  it is          

diminishing day by day1 and it is       
science to-day which tends to  become   
the principal arbiter of the destinies  
of a nation4           99       99      
99       99       99    ,sidenote3 ,is  
the possession of a religion            
indispensable for the best  interests of
 humanity4    ,if it be so1 what must   
one think of the doubts1 as to the      
future  of ,france1 which seem to be    
entertained in certain quarters8 ,those 
who regard religion as the condition    
sine qua non of life and of  superiority
 in the struggle for existence among    
nations1 must naturally  consider       
,france as in danger of disappearing4   
,but is this criterion of  national     
vitality admissible8    ,sidenote3      
,matthew ,arnold's theory4    ,we find  
ourselves here once more in the presence
 of ,mr4 ,matthew  ,arnold4 ,in his     
judgment1 the modern world has been made
 what it is by  the influence of two    
peoples1 the ,greeks and the ,jews1     
representing  respectively two distinct 

and almost opposed ideas1 which are     
contending with each other for the      
possession of the modern mind4 ,for     
,greece--the brilliant1 but in spite of 
its subtlety of spirit1 somewhat        
superficial ,greece--art and science    
fill the measure of life4 ,for the      
,hebrews life might be summed up in one 
word1 justice4 ,and by justice  must not
 be understood a rigid respect for the  
rights of others1 but  a willingness to 
renounce one's own interest1 one's own  
pleasure1  a self-effacement in the     
presence of the eternal law of sacrifice
  personified in ,javeh4 ,greece and    
,judea are dead2 ,greece faithful to the
  last moment to its belief in the      
all-sufficiency of art and science1     
,judea faithless at the last moment to  
its belief in the all-sufficiency  of   
justice1 and falling by reason of that  
very infidelity4 ,mr4 ,matthew  ,arnold 
finds the two nations symbolized in an  
,old ,testament story4 ,it  was before  
the birth of ,isaac1 the veritable      

inheritor of the divine  promise1 who   
was humble but elect4 ,abraham looked   
upon his first son  ,ishmael1 who was   
young1 vigorous1 brilliant1 and daring1 
and implored  ,god3 8,oh1 that ,ishmael 
might live before ,thee60 ,but it could 
not be4  ,greece1 the ,ishmael among    
nations1 has perished4 ,later the       
,renaissance  appeared as its successor2
 the ,renaissance was full of vitality1 
of  future2 the dream1 the sombre       
nightmare had passed away1 there was  to
 be no more religious asceticism1 we    
were to return to nature4 ,the          
,renaissance held in horror the tonsured
 and hooded ,dark ,ages1 whose  spirit  
was renouncement and mortification4 ,for
 the ,renaissance itself  the ideal was 
fulness of life1 growth of the          
individual1 the free and  joyous        
satisfaction of all our instincts1 of   
art and science2 ,rabelais  was the     
personification of it4 ,alas6 the       
,renaissance fell1 as ,greece  fell1 and
 the natural successor of the           

,renaissance1 in ,mr4 ,matthew          
,arnold's judgment1 is ,george ,fox1 the
 first ,quaker1 the open contemner  of  
arts and sciences4 ,finally1 in our     
days1 a people in ,europe has  taken up 
the succession2 the modern ,greece1 dear
 to the enlightenment  of all nations1  
the friend of art and science1 is       
,france4 ,how often1  and with what     
ardour1 has this prayer in its favour   
been raised to ,god  in heaven3 8,oh1   
that ,ishmael might live before ,thee60 
,france is the  average sensual man1 and
 ,paris is his city1 and who of us does 
not feel  himself attracted8 ,the       
,french possess this element of         
superiority over  the ,renaissance1 that
 they are more balanced than other      
peoples1 and  though ,france has aimed  
to liberate mankind and to enfranchise  
them  from the austere rule of          
sacrifice1 she has not conceived man as 
a  monster1 nor liberty as a species of 
madness4 ,her ideas are formulated  in a
 system of education which lies in the  

regular1 complete1 and  harmonious      
development of all the faculties4       
,accordingly the ,french  ideal does not
 shock other nations1 it seduces them2  
,france is for  them the land of tact1  
of measure1 of good sense1 of logic4 ,we
 aim in  perfect confidence at          
developing the whole human being without
 violence  to any part of it4 ,it is in 
this ideal that we have found our famous
  gospel of the rights of man4 ,the     
rights of man consist simply in a       
systematization of ,greek and ,french   
ideas1 in a consecration of the         
supremacy of self1 as against abnegation
 and religious sacrifice4 ,in  ,france1 
,mr4 ,matthew ,arnold says1 the desires 
of the flesh1 and current  ideas1 are   
mistaken for the rights of man4 ,while  
we are pursuing one  ideal1 other       
peoples1 more tightly chained to        
,hebraism1 continue to  cultivate that  
justice which is founded on             
renouncement4 ,from time  to time they  
look with envy out of their own austere 

and dull life1  and with admiration upon
 the ,french ideal which is so positive1
 so  clear1 so satisfying2 they are half
 inclined at times to make a trial  of  
it4 ,france has exerted a charm on the  
entire world4 ,everyone at  some period 
or other of his life has thirsted for   
the ,french ideal1  has desired to make 
a trial of it4 ,the ,french wear the    
guise of the  people to whom has been   
intrusted the beautiful1 the charming   
ideal  of the future1 and other nations 
cry3 8,oh1 that ,ishmael might live     
before ,thee60 ,and ,ishmael seems to   
grow more and more brilliant each  day1 
seems certain of success1 is on the     
point of making the conquest  of the    
world4 ,but at this moment a disaster   
occurs1 the ,crisis1 the  ,biblical     
judgment arrives at the moment of       
triumph2 behold the judgment  of the    
world6 ,the world1 in ,mr4 ,matthew     
,arnold's opinion1 was judged  in #ahgj3
 the ,prussians were ,javeh's           
substitute4 ,and once more ,ishmael1    

the spirit of ,greece1 the spirit of the
 ,renaissance1 the spirit of  ,france1  
free-thought1 and free conduct were     
conquered by ,israel1 by  the spirit of 
the ,bible1 by the spirit of the ,middle
 ,ages4 ,a brilliant  but superficial   
civilization was crushed beneath the    
weight of the  barbarous and unyielding 
asceticism of a more or less nave faith4
  ,javeh is even in the present century 
the god of battles1 and woe to the      
individuals who do not believe1 with the
 ancient ,jew1 that abnegation          
constitutes three-fourths of life1 and  
that art and science together  barely   
fill the other fourth4    ,sidenote3    
,victorious superiority of ,hellenism4  
,rightly to estimate this philosophy of 
history let us occupy ,matthew          
,arnold's point of view1 which is not   
without some shade of truth4  ,assuredly
 ,greece and ,judea1 although their     
ideas dissolved into and  became a part 
of ,christianity1 are1 so to speak1 two 
antithetical  nations representing      

respectively two opposed conceptions of 
life and  of the world4 ,these two      
nations have unceasingly struggled      
against each  other in intellectual     
battle1 and one may accept as most      
honourable  for ,france the rle that    
,mr4 ,arnold has assigned to her1 that  
of being  the modern ,greece1 of        
representing the struggle of art and    
science  against mystical and ascetic   
faith4 ,greece and ,france were         
conquered1  it is true1 but it does not 
follow from that fact that the spirit of
  ,greece and ,france1 of art and       
science1 has been conquered by faith4   
,the battle is on the definitive issue  
still uncertain4 ,if one must  trust to 
a calculation of probabilities1 all the 
probabilities are in  favour of science2
 if the ,french were conquered in #ahgj1
 it was not by  ,german religion but by 
,german science4 ,in general it is very 
difficult  to say that a doctrine is    
inferior because the people who         
maintained  it have been vanquished in  

history4 ,history is a succession of    
events  whose causes are so complex that
 we never can affirm that we know       
absolutely all of the reasons which     
produced any given historical fact4     
,there are1 moreover1 in the life of any
 people a number of currents  of thought
 running side by side1 and sometimes in 
opposite directions4  ,the land of      
,rabelais is also that of ,calvin4 ,more
 than that1 in other  nations we see a  
species of official doctrine professed  
by a series  of remarkable thinkers1    
which seems more or less in opposition  
to the  more unconscious doctrine of the
 people1 in which the conduct and       
thoughts of the great multitude may be  
regarded as summarized4 ,what1  for     
example1 is to be considered as the true
 doctrine of the ,jewish  people8 ,is it
 the passionate faith of ,moses1 of     
,elijah1 or of ,isaiah2  is it the      
scepticism of the ,ecclesiast1 already  
foreshadowed in the  book of ,job2 is it
 the explosion of sensuality in the     

,song of ,songs8 ,it  is difficult to   
decide2 it may be affirmed with some    
show of truth that  the temperament of  
the ,jewish people as a whole is rather 
more sensual  than mystic4 ,the official
 doctrine handed down to us in the      
,bible  may be regarded as a reaction   
against popular tendencies2 a reaction  
whose violence is the measure of the    
strength and stubbornness of the        
tendencies against which it was         
directed4 ,the great days of the ,hebrew
  people were rather those when1 under  
the reign of ,solomon1 the arts  of ease
 and life were flourishing than those   
when the prophets were  bewailing the   
disappearance of so much splendour4 ,or 
what was really  the spirit of the      
people in the ,middle ,ages8 ,is it to  
be found in the  mystical books of the  
monks of the times8 ,and are the ,middle
 ,ages1  apart from the ,renaissance1 to
 be regarded as constituting a great    
and completed epoch8 ,even if we        
supposed1 with ,mr4 ,matthew ,arnold1   

that every brilliant age1 such as the   
,renaissance1 every age of art  and     
science1 harbours in its own bosom the  
germs of death1 does that  fact         
constitute a reason for lowering one's  
estimate of such epochs of  intense     
life1 and is it not better for a people 
to have lived1 even  though but for a   
few years1 than to have slept through   
centuries8    ,sidenote3 ,analogy       
between life of nation and that of      
individual4    ,nothing is eternal4     
,when a nation has enjoyed a brilliant  
life  during a certain number of years  
or centuries1 when it has produced      
great artists or great scholars1 there  
necessarily comes a period of           
comparative exhaustion4 ,religions also 
are subject to the law of birth1        
maturity1 and decay4 ,where does the    
responsibility lie8 ,on the very  laws  
of life1 which do not permit plants to  
blossom eternally1 and  which in general
 provide1 in all the kingdoms of the    
natural world1  that there shall be     

nothing so fragile as a flower4 ,but if 
all human  things are transitory1 to    
labour for the efflorescence of         
intelligence1  to regard art and science
 as the supreme aim of life1 is         
precisely  to pursue that which is least
 perishable4 ,art1 science1 the last    
achievements of the human mind do not   
decay2 man alone1 the individual        
disappears1 and the ancient adage is    
eternally true3 8,art is long1 and  life
 is short40 ,as to true justice1 it also
 is surely eternal2 but if  by true     
justice be understood the hard law of   
,jehovah1 the worship of  this law has  
always fallen upon the insignificant    
epochs of history1  and precisely upon  
the epochs of injustice and barbarism4  
,therein lies  the explanation of the   
fact that that cult has flourished at   
periods  when nations were the most     
robust and difficult to subdue4 ,the    
manners  of such nations are ferocious1 
their life at bottom is quite contrary  
to the ideal of justice1 and their      

religious faith resembles their         
manners1 and is violent and savage1 and 
inclines them to intolerance1  to       
fanaticism1 to massacre2 but all these  
elements of injustice none  the less    
constitute1 in the people that unites   
them all1 so many  additional chances of
 victory over other people4 ,later1 when
 manners  become more civilized1 when   
faith diminishes and art and science are
  born1 a nation often becomes weaker1  
directly as it becomes nobler2 the      
finer an organism is1 the more delicate 
it becomes1 the easier it is to  break4 
,renouncement of self1 submission of the
 weak to the strong1 and  of the        
strongest to an all-powerful priest1 the
 species of hierarchy  that obtained in 
,judea1 in ,india1 and ,europe during   
the ,middle ,ages1  formerly gave a     
people a superiority in the struggle for
 existence1  like that of a rock over a 
vegetable1 of an oak over a sensitive   
plant1 of a bull or an elephant over    
man2 but is precisely that kind  of     

effectiveness the ideal of humanity1 and
 the aim to be proposed  to human       
effort8 ,to raise art and science to    
their highest possible  development     
exacts a considerable expense of force2 
art and science  fatigue and exhaust the
 people who give them birth4 ,after     
epochs of  effervescence1 follow epochs 
of repose and of recuperation1 epochs1  
so  to speak1 of intellectual lying     
fallow4 ,these alternations of repose   
and productivity1 of sterility and      
fecundity will continue to recur  until 
some means be found of maintaining the  
human mind continuously  in its state of
 highest vitality1 as one fertilizes the
 earth1 and1  so to speak1 thus secures 
a constant flow of sap and a perpetual  
efflorescence4 ,the day perhaps will    
come when the psychic analogue  of the  
rotation of crops may be discovered4    
,however that may be1 the  greatness of 
a people has in the past too often      
exhausted it4 ,but it  does not follow1 
from that fact1 that history must be    

read backward1  and that periods of mere
 preparation and barbarism and despotism
 must  be regarded as those which are   
the incarnation of the law of justice   
and have saved the race of mankind4     
,sidenote3 ,hellenism contains the cure 
of its own evils4    ,if greatness kills
 it is beautiful to die for greatness2  
but when it is  the death of a nation   
that is in question1 mortality is never 
complete4  ,which is the more completely
 alive to-day1 whatever ,mr4 ,matthew   
,arnold  may say1 ,greece or ,judea8    
,which will be more alive to-morrow1    
,france1  which to-day seems trampled   
underfoot1 or the nations which seem to 
be ,france's superiors8 ,if we were     
perfectly sure that ,france1 better     
than any other nation1 represents art   
and science1 we might affirm  with      
perfect certitude that she will possess 
the future1 and say with  confidence    
that ,ishmael will live4 ,it is true    
that1 in ,mr4 ,matthew  ,arnold's       
opinion1 ,ishmael represents not only   

the man of intellect  but the man of the
 senses1 of the desires of the flesh4   
,of a truth  it is strange to see anyone
 regarding the conquerors of ,france as 
,quakers1 and ,paris can lay no better  
claim than ,london or ,berlin to  being 
dubbed the modern ,babylon4 ,mr4        
,matthew ,arnold's mystic terrors  in   
this connection are really deserving of 
raillery4 ,what is just in  his position
 is that the ,french1 even in the       
pursuit of pleasure1  display a certain 
moderation and measure1 display a degree
 of art that  is unknown to other       
people2 and by that very fact they      
achieve1 if not  the substance1 at least
 the form of morality1 which is1 as     
,aristotle  has said1 a just mean       
between two vicious extremes4 ,in ,mr4  
,matthew  ,arnold's judgment1 however1  
this specious morality serves simply as 
a cloak for the lowest degree of        
immorality1 that namely of seeking      
one's rule of life not in ,god but in   
human nature1 with all its diverse      

tendencies1 high and low4 ,this         
immorality constitutes in its turn a    
sort of social danger1 that of a        
softening or enfeeblement of the        
national character of a people4 ,this   
danger appears to us illusory1  or      
rather1 if one may so speak1 it is a    
question which belongs rather  to       
hygiene than to morals2 what is really  
wanted is that science  itself should   
discover in the matter a rule of        
conduct4 ,in reality1  genuine men of   
science actually are those who know best
 how to direct  themselves in life1 and 
a whole people of men of science could  
leave  little to desire on the score of 
conduct2 and that fact shows that       
science itself contains an element of   
practical wisdom and morality4  ,note   
also that there exists an antagonism    
between cerebral labour and  the        
violence of the physical appetites4 ,the
 prohibitions which are  based upon a   
mystical law too often season desire    
simply1 as it is  easy to prove by      

examples drawn from the clergy of the   
,middle ,ages4  ,a much more certain    
method may be employed1 namely1 to      
extinguish  desire1 to substitute a sort
 of intellectual disdain in place of    
religious terror4 ,the ,mohammedan      
religion prohibits the use of wine2  but
 it is very easy to distinguish between 
wine and alcohol1 which  ,mohammed did  
not formerly forbid for the sufficient  
reason that he was  unacquainted with   
its existence4 ,moreover1 religious     
faith is not only  subject to subtleties
 of interpretation1 it is subject to    
periods of  weakness2 but if1 on the    
contrary1 you issue no mystical         
prohibition  but cultivate a man to a   
certain degree of intellectual          
development1  he will simply not desire 
to drink2 education will have           
transformed  him more perfectly than    
religion could have done4 ,far from     
diminishing  the value that individuals 
set upon pleasure1 religions in reality 
frequently augment it considerably1     

because1 over and against such and  such
 a pleasure1 and1 as it were1 holding   
the balance level against it1  they     
establish an eternity of pain4 ,when a  
religious devotee yields  to temptation1
 he conceives the desired indulgence as1
 in some sort1  of an infinite value1 as
 condensing into an instant such an     
eternity  of joy as may compensate an   
eternity of suffering4 ,this conception1
  which unconsciously dominates the     
entire conduct of the believer1 is      
fundamentally immoral4 ,fear of         
chastisement1 as psychologists have     
frequently remarked1 lends a certain    
additional charm to the forbidden       
pleasure2 magnify the chastisement1 you 
heighten the charm4 ,therein  lies the  
explanation of the fact that1 if a      
devotee is immoral at all1  he is       
infinitely more so than a sceptic2 he   
will indulge in monstrous  refinements  
in his pleasures1 analogous to the      
monstrous refinements  in which his god 
indulges1 in the item of punishments2   

and his virtue1  consisting largely in  
fear1 is itself fundamentally immoral4  
,in epochs  of scientific development   
this mystical and diabolical heightening
 of  pleasure will disappear4 ,the man  
of science is acquainted with the       
causes of pleasure1 they fall into place
 in his scheme of things1 in  the       
general network of causes and effects2 a
 pleasure is a desirable  effect1 but   
only in so far as it does not exclude   
such and such another  equally desirable
 effect4 ,the pleasures of the senses   
take their  legitimate rank in the      
classified and subordinated list of     
human aims4  ,a man of large            
intelligence holds desire in check by   
means of its  natural and sole          
all-powerful antagonist--disdain4       
,sidenote3 ,hellenism more just than    
justice4    ,to sum it all up1 ,ishmael 
is quite capable of regulating his own  
conduct without ,jehovah's help4        
,justice is salvation1 said the ,hebrew 
people2 but science also is salvation1  

and justice too1 and justice  not       
infrequently more just and more certain 
than any other kind4 ,if  ,ishmael      
sometimes strays into the desert1       
sometimes loses his way and  falls1 he  
knows how to get up again2 he has       
strength enough in his own  heart to    
help himself1 and to make him           
independent of ,jehovah1 who  left him  
alone in infinite space without even    
sending to his aid the  angel mentioned 
in the ,bible4 ,if ,france has really1  
as ,mr4 ,arnold says1  formulated the   
new gospel of ,ishmael1 this profoundly 
human gospel is  indubitably destined to
 outlive the other1 for there is often  
nothing  more provisional1 more         
unlasting1 more fragile1 than what men  
have  crowned with the adjective divine4
 ,the surest method of finding what  is 
really eternal is to look for the best  
and most universal elements  in the     
human character4 ,but the gospel of the 
rights of man1 ,mr4 ,arnold  objects1 is
 the ideal of the average1 sensual man  

only4 ,one wonders  what the meaning of 
the word 8sensual0 in this place can be1
 and what  sensuality can have to do    
with an unwillingness to disregard the  
rights  of other people or to have one's
 own rights disregarded by other        
people4 ,as if the rights of man had    
anything to do with sensuality6  ,mr4   
,arnold forgets that the word 8right0   
always implies some measure  of         
sacrifice4 ,but the sacrifice is        
precisely proportionate--it is not  the 
sacrifice of all for the benefit of one 
or of the few2 it is not a  sterile     
sacrifice1 it is not a vain expense of  
force1 it is the partial  sacrifice of  
all for the benefit of all1 it is the   
renunciation in  our own conduct of     
everything which might interfere with   
like conduct  on the part of other      
people2 so that1 instead of being a     
waste of  social power1 it is in the    
best sense an organization and an       
increase  of social power4 ,the people  
who first truly realize the gospel of   

the rights of man will not only be the  
most brilliant1 the most  enviable1 the 
happiest of peoples1 but also the       
justest of peoples1  with a justice     
which will be not only national and     
passing1 but1 so  to speak1 universal   
and indestructible2 not even the hand of
 ,jehovah  will be able to shiver its   
power1 for what is really divine in     
power  will dwell in its own heart4 ,the
 ,french ,revolution was not so purely  
sensual and earthly as ,mr4 ,matthew    
,arnold affirms4 ,it was an uprising    
not in the name of the senses but of the
 reason4 ,the ,declaration of  ,rights  
is a series of formul a priori1         
constituting a sort of  metaphysics or  
religion of civil government1 founded   
upon a revelation  by the human         
conscience4 ,it is easily comprehensible
 that positive  and empirical thinkers1 
such as ,bentham and ,john ,stuart ,mill
 and  ,taine1 should have a word of     
blame for this novel species of         
religious  ,utopia2 but a person like   

,mr4 ,matthew ,arnold1 who prides       
himself on  being religious1 ought not  
to draw back from it1 ought even to     
admire  it4 ,theodore ,parker1 a        
,christian not less liberal than ,mr4   
,matthew  ,arnold1 did so4 ,writing on  
the subject of the ,french ,revolution1 
,theodore ,parker said3 that the ,french
 were more transcendental than  the     
,americans4 ,to the intellectual        
conception of liberty and to the  moral 
conception of equality they joined the  
religious conception of  fraternity1 and
 thus supplied politics as well as      
legislation with a  divine foundation as
 incontestable as the truths of         
mathematics4 ,they  declare that rights 
and duties precede and dominate human   
law4 ,america  says3 8,the ,constitution
 of the ,united ,states is above the    
,president2  the ,supreme ,court is     
above ,congress40 ,france says3 8,the   
constitution of  the universe is above  
the ,constitution of ,france60 ,that is 
what forty  millions of men declare4 ,it

 is the greatest proclamation that a    
nation  has ever made in history4       
,sidenote3 ,good and evil sides of      
,french gaiety4    ,what we may         
reasonably be reproached with is not our
 love for art and  science1 but our love
 for a facile art and a superficial     
science4 ,we  may rightfully be         
reproached also with a somewhat ,attic  
lightness1  a lack of perseverance and  
of seriousness4 ,naturally1 one does not
  mean that we should imitate the       
superstitious ,slave who attributes  an 
involuntary burst of laughter to the    
devil1 and who1 after having  laughed1  
expectorates indignantly to exorcise the
 sweet spirit of  gaiety whom he regards
 as a spirit of evil4 ,if ,french gaiety
 is one  of our weaknesses it is also   
one of the elements of our national     
strength2 but let us be quite clear     
about the sense to be put upon  the     
word4 ,the gaiety which is genuine and  
charming consists simply in             
high-heartedness and vivacity of mind4  

,one's courage is strong enough1        
confident enough1 to be able to afford  
not to look at things on their  painful 
side4 ,everything has two handles1 says 
the ,greek sage2 and by  one handle it  
is light and easy to manage2 it is by   
that handle that  the ,french are fond  
of taking destiny and fortune4 ,gaiety  
of that  kind is simply a form of hope2 
thoughts which come from the heart1     
great thoughts are often the most       
smiling4 ,what one calls aptness1  that 
swift fitness and appropriateness in    
which the ,french delight1  is itself an
 evidence of mental detachment1 an      
affirmation to the  effect that things  
which appeared at first so enormous     
really possess  slight importance1 a    
mark of high courage in the face of     
disaster2 it  is simply a less          
theatrical rendering of the ancient non 
dolet4 ,a  ,french officer1 in a        
guerilla war 7in ,new ,caledonia1 ,i    
think71 felt  himself struck in the     
breast by a bullet2 8,well aimed1 for a 

savage10  he said1 as he fell4 ,that is 
,french heroism2 not going the length of
  ignoring the fact1 but maintaining a  
just appreciation of it as it is4  ,but 
there is a gaiety that cannot be too    
much blamed or too steadily  repressed1 
a gaiety undistinguished by subtlety or 
high courage1 and  one to which other   
peoples are quite as inclined as the    
,french1 the  gross laugh which follows 
horse-play like an echo1 and inhabits   
taverns  and cafs chantants4 ,that      
species of gaiety is the vicious gaiety 
of peasants out for a holiday1 of       
commercial travellers at dinner4 ,it  is
 undeniable that the ,gaul has a        
weakness for gaudriole4 ,i know a       
promising young physician who was       
obliged to leave ,paris1 where he had   
won a name as a hospital surgeon1       
obliged to quit work and to go to a     
distant country for his health2 in a    
moment of expansion he confided  to me  
that what he regretted most were the    
jolly evenings at the  ,palais-,royal4  

,there are thousands of distinguished   
young men subjected  to this species of 
education1 of discipline in 8chaff10 and
 it is  inevitable that it should result
 in a loss1 for them1 of something  that
 is fine4 ,the ,palais-,royal1 the      
vaudeville1 cafs-concerts are  places   
which corrupt the taste as the palate is
 corrupted by drinking  wood eau-de-vie4
 ,it is difficult to be a really        
remarkable man and  at the same time to 
possess a serious taste for the gross   
pleasantry  of second-class theatres4   
,the two are irreconcilable4 ,and it is 
a  melancholy thing to think that the   
pick of the young men of ,france  should
 be exposed to precisely that influence1
 should pass a number of  years in such 
an environment and lose their taste as  
surely as their  ear for music4         
,whatever is anti-sthetic in laughter is
 degrading2  witticisms must be         
spiritual1 must really expand the heart 
with healthy  mirth2 laughter should    
positively embellish the face4 ,nihil   

inepto  risu ineptius est2 the reason is
 that in such cases laughter is simply  
an explosion of silliness4 ,the wise    
man1 says the ,bible1 laughs with an    
inner laugh4 ,laughter should illuminate
 and not disfigure the visage1  because 
it reveals the soul1 and the soul should
 be beautiful1 should  resemble an      
outburst of frankness1 of sincerity4    
,the charm of laughter  lies1 in a great
 measure1 in the sincerity of the joy   
which renders  us1 for the time being1  
transparent to those about us4 ,human   
thought  and the human heart1 with the  
entire world that they contain1 may be  
embodied in a tear4    ,sidenote3       
,parisian wit an epitome of all that is 
evil in ,french  gaiety4    ,parisian   
wit1 which in some quarters is regarded 
as the very type and  ideal of ,french  
wit1 is in some respects no more than an
 epitome of  its defects2 among the     
working classes it consists in chaff1   
what they  call blague2 among the upper 
classes it consists in a superficial    

varnish1 an inability to fix the mind on
 a logical succession of ideas4  ,in the
 salon frivolity is a convention1 it has
 positively attained  the height of     
being good manners4 ,my attention was   
attracted a minute  ago by a fly buzzing
 about my window1 its transparent wings 
described  curve after curve on the     
luminous surface that arrested its      
flight4 ,its  graceful and futile       
progress reminded me of the conversation
 of a lady  to whom ,i had just been    
listening in the salon1 and who for an  
hour  had described a series of scarcely
 larger circles1 upon the surfaces  of  
everything1 and beneath the surface of  
nothing4 ,the whole world of  ,parisian 
frivolity was typefied by the shimmering
 flight of the fly on  the window-pane1 
ignorant of the open air1 playing with  
stray rays of  the great sun toward     
which it was unable to mount4           
,sidenote3 ,true inwardness4    ,but    
must one be serious to the point of     
ennui8 ,certainly not1 it  is not       

necessary4 ,it does not belong to our   
temperament4 ,let us  recognize1        
however1 that to be enduring of ennui is
 a great power2  it is the secret of    
slow1 patient1 painstaking labour1 which
 spares  no detail1 which guarantees    
solidity in the foundations and remote  
and hidden elements of knowledge2 it is 
the secret of the superiority  of men of
 northern race over men of southern4 ,in
 the south1 owing to  an impatience of  
what is tedious1 there is manifested an 
inability  to stick to one thing1 to    
follow one pursuit1 to venture into the 
darkness beyond where the light stops4  
,tasks pursued with obstinacy  in the   
certitude of an ultimate success1       
indefatigable labour at the  desk1      
reading understood as the absolute      
appropriation of every word  and thought
 between the covers of the book in hand1
 are unknown to  those superficial      
intelligences which are quick to take a 
birds-eye  view of a subject in its     
entirety1 but are impatient of details  

and  of course among others of essential
 details4 ,there are races of men  who  
are incapable of anything exacting more 
attention than 8skimming02  they skim   
their books1 they skim the world1 they  
turn the leaves of  life4 ,neither true 
art nor true science is within their    
reach4 8,live  inwardly10 says the      
8,imitation40 ,it is an ideal which     
,frenchmen1 who  are particularly       
inclined to lose themselves in external 
details1  might well pursue4 ,but true  
inwardness does not necessarily consist 
in sterile meditation on a dogma4 8,live
 inwardly0 should signify1 be  serious1 
be yourself1 be original1 independent1  
and free2 bestir your  own powers of    
thought1 take a pleasure in developing  
them and yourself2  bloom inwardly like 
certain plants which lock up within     
themselves  their pollen1 their perfume1
 their beauty2 but give out your fruit4 
,the  natural expansiveness which leads 
a ,frenchman to be so communicative  is 
one of his good qualities2 the bad side 

of it1 where there is a bad  side1      
consists simply in not having anything  
serious to communicate4    ,sidenote3   
,remedy for ,french levity4    ,our     
defects are curable1 and their remedy   
does not lie in a sort of  religious    
asceticism1 but in a more profound and  
complete understanding  of the great    
objects of love that have always        
attracted the ,french  mind--science1   
art1 law1 liberty1 universal fraternity4
 ,there is a  ,japanese legend of a     
young girl who procured some flower     
seeds and was  surprised to find them   
nothing but little black prickly grains2
 she  offered them to her playmates1 who
 would not accept them2 then she  sowed 
them1 in some anxiety as to the results1
 and by and by a superb  flower sprang  
from every grain and all her playmates  
begged for the  seeds that they had     
refused4 ,philosophic and scientific    
truths are just  such seeds2 they are   
unattractive at first1 but the day will 
come when  mankind will prize them at   

their just worth4          ,,chapter ,v4
    ,,religion ,,and ,,non-,,religion   
,,and ,,the ,,child4        ,i4 ,decline
 of religious education--,defects of    
this education1        in especial in   
,catholic countries--,means of          
lightening        these defects--,the   
priest--,the possibility of state-action
        on the priest4        ,,ii4     
,education provided by the              
state--,primary instruction--,the       
schoolmaster--,secondary and higher     
instruction--,should the        history 
of religion be introduced into the      
curriculum4        ,,iii4 ,education at 
home--,should the father take no part in
 the        religious education of his  
children--,evils of a preliminary       
religious education to be followed by   
disillusionment--,the        special    
question of the immortality of the soul3
 what        should be said to children 
about death4      ,i4 ,decline of       
religious education4    ,sidenote3      
,unfitness of religious dogma as        

material for education4    ,the         
religious education given to children by
 the priest possesses  defects and even 
dangers which it is important to set in 
a clear  light1 and which explain the   
gradual decline in secular education4   
,an opinion regarded as divine is an    
opinion which is as unfit for  purposes 
of education as for purposes of science4
 ,the great opposition  which obtains   
between religion and philosophy--in     
spite of their  outward resemblances--is
 that the one is seeking and that the   
other  declares that it has found2 the  
one is anxious to hear1 the other  has  
already heard2 the one weighs evidence1 
the other puts forth  assertions and    
condemnations2 the one recognizes it as 
its duty to  raise objections and to    
reply to them2 the other to shut its    
eyes  to objections and to difficulties4
 ,from these differences result         
corresponding differences in methods of 
instruction4 ,a philosopher1  a         
metaphysician1 aims to convince1 the    

priest inculcates2 the former           
instructs1 the latter reveals2 the      
former endeavours to stimulate and  to  
train the reasoning1 the latter to      
suppress it or at least to turn  it     
aside from primitive and fundamental    
dogmas2 the former awakens  the         
intelligence1 the latter in some measure
 lays it asleep4 ,it is  inevitable that
 revelations should be opposed to       
spontaneity and  liberty of mind4 ,when 
,god has spoken man should be silent1 in
 especial  when the man is a child4 ,and
 errors1 which are often inoffensive if 
taught by a philosopher1 are grave and  
dangerous if taught by a priest  who    
speaks in the name and with the         
authority of ,god4 ,in the first        
instance the remedy lies always at hand3
 an insufficient reason may  always be  
made to give way before a sufficient    
reason2 the child holds  the standards  
of weight and measure in his own hands4 
,and indeed it  is not always easy to   
teach error at all by reason and        

reasoning3 to  attempt to give reasons  
for a prejudice is an excellent means of
 making  its essential untruth          
prominent4 ,it has always been some     
attempt on the  part of humanity to     
demonstrate its beliefs that has        
resulted in their  disproof4 ,whoever   
endeavours to examine a dogma is close  
upon the point  of contradicting it1 and
 the priest1 who regards contradiction  
as a  failure in faith1 is always       
obliged1 in the nature of things1 to    
avoid  an examination of it1 to         
interdict a certain number of questions1
 to  take refuge in mystery4 ,when a    
priest has filled a brain with faith he 
seals it4 ,doubt and investigation1     
which are the life of philosophy1  the  
priest regards as a mark of distrust and
 suspicion1 as a sin1  as an impiety2 he
 lifts his eyes to ,heaven at the bare  
notion of  anybody's thinking for       
himself4 ,god is both judge and party in
 every  discussion2 at the very time    
when you are endeavouring to find       

reasons  for believing in his existence1
 ,he commands you to affirm it4 ,the    
believer who hesitates at a dogma is a  
little in the position of the  sheep in 
the fable1 who wished to reason with the
 wolf and to prove to  him that the     
water was not muddy2 he proved it       
indeed1 but he was eaten  up for his    
pains2 he would have done just as well  
to hold his peace and  yield4 ,also     
there is nothing more difficult than to 
shake yourself free  from a faith that  
was fastened upon you in your childhood 
and that has  been confirmed by the     
priest1 by custom1 by example1 by fear4 
,fear1 in  especial1 is a capital       
guardian to watch over the interests of 
positive  religion and a religious      
education1 a guardian who is always on  
the  qui vive2 but for it the body of   
belief which is known as dogma would    
soon fall into decay and blow away in   
dust4 ,one person would reject  this1   
another that2 everybody would rise in   
open revolt1 running hither  and thither

 gaily like a lot of schoolchildren out 
for a holiday4  ,happily they are always
 accompanied by a tutor1 who keeps them 
in order  and brings them home like a   
flock of lambs to the sheepcote4 ,what  
power  can reasoning have over anybody  
who is afraid8 ,how can you be expected 
to see anything as in itself it really  
is1 if you have been accustomed  from   
childhood to walk with your eyes closed8
 ,truth becomes for you as  variable and
 unstable as your own sensibility4 ,at  
an audacious moment  you deny           
everything1 the next day you are        
prepared to affirm more than  you were  
before4 ,it is very easy to understand2 
nobody is obliged to  be brave always1  
and1 more than all1 one's conscience is 
involved4  ,conscience1 like government1
 is conservative2 it is naturally       
inimical  to revolution and change4 ,it 
is early taken in hand1 and taught its  
little lesson2 it becomes uneasy the    
instant you call in question a  line on 
the map2 you cannot take an independent 

step without some inner  voice crying   
out to you to take care4 ,accustomed as 
you are to hear  people anathematized   
who do not think as you do1 you shudder 
at the  thought of incurring such       
anathemas yourself4 ,the priest has     
corrupted  to his interest every        
sentiment in your soul--fear1 respect1  
remorse2  he has fashioned your soul1   
your character1 your morals to his hand4
  ,insomuch that if you call religion in
 question1 you call everything in       
question4    ,sidenote3 ,impropriety of 
suppressing the clergy4    ,subsidence  
of thought1 benumbment of the spirit of 
liberty1 love of  routine1 of blind     
tradition1 of passive obedience1 of     
everything1 in  a word1 which is        
directly opposed to the spirit of modern
 science are  the results of a too      
exclusively clerical education4 ,these  
dangers are  being more and more        
distinctly felt1 especially in          
,france--perhaps  too much so4 ,we go   
the length of demanding that religious  

education  shall be suppressed and that 
immediately1 as being hostile to liberty
  and to progress4 ,an irresistible     
movement has begun toward lay           
education1 a movement to which          
,catholics must some day or other adjust
  themselves4 ,but it should be done    
slowly1 transition should not be  pushed
 too rapidly4 ,to suppress at a blow the
 whole clergy who once  had complete    
control of the national education1 and  
still have charge  of some portion of   
it1 ought not to be the aim of          
free-thinkers2 the  clergy will suppress
 themselves if they are but given time2 
they will  simply become extinct4 ,at   
bottom it is not a bad thing that       
fifty-five  thousand people should be or
 appear to be occupied with something   
else than their personal wants4 ,no     
doubt one never lives completely  up to 
one's ideal1 and the ideal of           
disinterestedness that the priest       
proposes to himself is rarely realized2 
still it is good that a certain  number 

of men here below should labour at a    
task which is above their  strength2 so 
many others labour at tasks only which  
are beneath them4    ,sidenote3 ,a      
religion at its best only in            
competition4    ,it must be confessed1  
however1 that no religion is at its best
 in a  country in which it reigns       
supreme2 really to estimate it1 one must
 see  it struggling for supremacy       
against some rival faith1 ,catholic     
against  ,protestant1 for example4      
,under such circumstances the priest and
 the  pastor in a sense run a race with 
each other1 compete with each other  in 
activity and intelligence4 ,one may see 
the results in the ,dauphin1  in        
,alsace1 and in a number of foreign     
countries4 ,the zeal of the priest      
profits immensely by some such struggle 
for existence on the part of  the       
religion to which he belongs2 whoever   
does the most good1 gives the  best     
advice1 the best education1 to the      
children in his charge1 wins a  victory 

for his faith4 ,the result1 which is    
easy to foresee1 is that  a mixed       
population of ,protestants and          
,catholics is better instructed1  more  
enlightened1 is possessed of a higher   
morality than many other  countries     
wholly ,catholic4    ,sidenote3         
,proposed reform in ,catholic countries4
    ,one very desirable step in         
,catholic countries is that the priest  
should be given complete civil liberty1 
should be allowed to leave  the ,church 
if he choose1 without becoming an       
outcast in society1  should be free to  
marry1 and to enjoy absolutely all the  
rights of  citizenship4 ,a second       
desirable step1 and an essential one1 is
 that the  priest1 who is one of the    
schoolmasters of the nation1 should     
himself  receive a higher education than
 he does to-day4 ,the state1 far from   
endeavouring to diminish the income of  
the priesthood--a very slight           
economy--might well1 at need1 augment it
 and exact diplomas analogous  to those 

demanded of other instructors1 and      
sufficient evidences of  competence in  
extended historical and scientific      
inquiries and in  religious history4#ha 
,already a number of priests in country 
districts  are studying botany1         
mineralogy1 and1 in some instances1     
music4 ,the  ranks of the clergy contain
 a great quantity of live force1 which  
is  neutralized by a defective primary  
education1 by lack of initiative1  by   
lack of habits of freedom4 ,instead of  
endeavouring to separate  church and    
state by a species of surgical          
operation1 free-thinkers  might well    
take their stand on the concordat1 and  
profit by the fact  that the state      
controls the income of the clergy1 and  
endeavour to  reawaken the priesthood to
 the conditions of modern life4 ,in     
sociology1  as in mechanics1 it is      
sometimes easier to make use of the     
obstacles  to one's advancement than to 
try to batter them down4 ,whatever is1  
is  in some measure useful2 from the    

very fact that clerical education  still
 maintains its existence it may be      
argued that it still plays a  certain   
rle in maintaining the social           
equilibrium1 even if it be but  a       
passive rle1 the rle of counterpoise4   
,but whatever possesses some  degree of 
utility may well acquire a higher       
degree2 whatever is may  be transformed4
 ,we must not endeavour to destroy the  
priesthood but  to transform it2 to     
supply it with other practical and      
theoretical  pursuits than the          
mechanical handling of the breviary4    
,between the  literal religion which the
 majority of the ,french clergy teach1  
and  a national and human ideal1 there  
exist innumerable degrees which  must be
 achieved successively and slowly1 by a 
gradual intellectual  progress1 by an   
almost insensible widening of the       
intellectual horizon4  ,meanwhile1 until
 the priest shall have passed through   
these successive  degrees and have      
become aware of his essential           

superfluousness1 it is  good that he    
should make himself useful in the manner
 in which he  still believes himself    
capable of being of use3 but one thing  
should  be exacted of him1 that he      
should not make himself harmful by      
stepping  outside of the limits within  
which he is properly confined4          
#ha ,would it not be possible at once to
 raise the income of        all priests 
who are possessed of certain lay        
diplomas such as        those of        
bachelor1 licentiate1 etc41 and who1 by 
that very        fact1 would be plainly 
competent to conduct a lay or religious 
education in a more modern and          
scientific spirit8      ,,ii4 ,education
 provided by the state4    ,sidenote3   
,state neutrality in religious matters4 
,the task undertaken by a state that is 
endeavouring to substitute a  lay for a 
clerical education is one of increasing 
importance4 ,the law  ought1 no doubt1  
to recognize all religions as equal1    
but1 as has been  remarked1#hb there are

 two ways in which this recognition may 
be  conducted3 the one passive1 the     
other active4 ,the government may stand 
neutral simply1 and abstain from either 
refuting or from giving comfort  to the 
pretensions of any given system of      
theology2 or it may be  actively neuter1
 that is to say1 it may pursue its task 
of scientific  and philosophical        
achievement in complete indifference to 
any and every  system of theology4#hc   
,it is a neutrality of the latter sort  
that  should be practised in primary and
 secondary instruction1 and that  should
 govern the conduct of the instructor4  
#hb ,m4 ,goblet d',alviella4            
#hc 8,lay education10 said ,littr1      
8ought not to avoid dealing        with 
anything which is essential2 and what   
could be more        essential in       
considering the moral government of     
society than        the religions which 
have dominated or still dominate it80   
,sidenote3 ,importance of the           
schoolmaster4    ,the schoolmaster has  

always been a mark for raillery1 and    
sometimes  justly so2 to-day he is      
slightly regarded by everyone with any  
pretensions to high acquirements4 ,renan
 and ,taine1 and partisans  generally of
 an intellectual aristocracy1 can       
scarcely suppress a  smile at the       
mention of this representative of       
democracy1 of science  for small        
children4 ,university professors show   
small tolerance for  the pedantry of    
their humble assistant1 who is sometimes
 ignorant of  ,greek4 ,men of culture1  
with any tincture of poetry or of art1  
regard  the man as something very       
prosaic and utilitarian whose main      
ambition  is to instruct some thousands 
of peasants in the alphabet1 grammar1   
and  the names of the principal cities  
of ,europe1 and of the geographical     
localities from which we obtain pepper  
and coffee4 ,and yet this  despised     
schoolmaster1 whose importance is daily 
increasing1 is the  sole middle-man     
between the belated masses and the      

intellectual lite1  who are moving ever 
more and more rapidly forward4 ,he has  
the advantage  of being necessary and   
the disadvantage of knowing it2 buried  
in his  remote village1 his             
accomplishments impress him almost as   
much as they  do the children and the   
peasantry about him2 the optical        
illusion is  a natural one4 ,but if an  
exaggerated estimate of his own         
importance  sometimes gives rise in him 
to an offensive pedantry1 it supplies   
him with the sort of devotion that      
enables a humble functionary to  rise to
 the height of the duties to which he   
has been called4 ,and  who1 after all1  
but society1 is responsible for the     
fashioning and  instruction of the      
schoolmaster8 ,and cannot society raise 
the level  of his intelligence in       
proportion as it increases the magnitude
 of  his task8 ,a little knowledge makes
 a pedant1 much knowledge makes  a      
scholar4 ,there will always be          
schoolmasters who will be as well       

educated as one could wish1 provided    
only that their salaries are  raised    
side by side with the list of required  
studies4 ,it is strange  that a society 
should not do its best to form those    
whose function it  is in turn to form   
it4 ,the great question of popular      
education becomes  in certain aspects a 
question of shillings and pence4 ,the   
practical  instruction of schoolmasters 
has already been carried to a certain   
degree of perfection2 he has been       
initiated into an apprenticeship1 and   
introduced1 as it were1 into the kitchen
 of certain sciences2 he has  been      
supplied with notions on agriculture and
 chemistry which often  enable him to   
give excellent advice to the peasantry4 
,it would be very  easy a little to     
perfect his theoretical knowledge1 to   
give him a  broader knowledge of the    
sciences which he considers too         
exclusively  on their practical side1 to
 give him some conception of things as  
a whole1 to raise him above an exclusive

 adoration of the isolated  facts of    
historical or grammatical minuti4 ,a    
little philosophy would  make a better  
historian and a less tedious geographer4
 ,he might be  introduced to the great  
cosmological hypotheses1 to some        
sufficient  notions of psychology1 and  
in especial of child-psychology1 and    
finally  a little history of religion   
would familiarize him with the principal
  metaphysical speculations that the    
human mind has put forth in its         
endeavour to pass beyond the bounds of  
science2 he would become1 as a  result  
of it1 more tolerant in all matters of  
religious belief4 ,this  more extended  
instruction would permit him to follow  
at a distance the  progress of science2 
his intelligence would not stand still1 
he would  not come to his complete      
maturity somewhere between the          
,,abc-book and  the grammar4 ,moreover1 
intellectual elevation is always        
accompanied  by a moral elevation which 
manifests itself in all the conduct of  

life1 and sometimes a word from a       
schoolmaster may change all the  rest of
 a pupil's existence4 ,the greater one's
 intellectual1 and in  especial1 one's  
moral superiority1 the greater one's    
influence over  those about one4 ,even  
at the present time the very modest     
amount of  knowledge at the disposal of 
the ordinary teacher gives him a very   
genuine influence2 he is believed in1   
his words are listened to and  accepted4
 ,the peasant--that doubting            
,thomas--who nowadays shakes his  head  
over what the priest says1 is becoming  
accustomed to consult  the schoolmaster2
 the schoolmaster has shown him how to  
make more  grain grow in the same amount
 of ground2 the quivering of a blade of 
grass in the wind is for a man of the   
people the most categorical  of         
affirmations2 to accomplish something is
 to prove3 action is  ratiocination     
enough4 ,moreover the schoolmaster      
demonstrates the  practical power of    
science by fashioning successive        

generations of  mankind1 by converting  
them into men4 ,it is at the            
schoolmaster's hands  that everyone     
receives the provision of knowledge that
 must last him  and maintain his        
strength throughout his whole life2 he  
prepares one  for life as the priest    
prepares one for death1 and in the eyes 
of the  peasant1 preparation for life is
 much more important than preparation   
for death4 ,life has its mystery as well
 as death1 and in the former  case the  
fact of one's capability is certain2 the
 schoolmaster often  determines the     
future of the pupil in a manner that is 
visible and  verifiable2 and nothing    
like so much can be said for the priest4
 ,the  power of the latter also has     
diminished with the change that has     
taken  place in the popular notion of   
punishment after death4 ,the priest's   
power lies in ceremonies1 in            
propitiatory or expiatory sacrifices2   
the virtue of sacrifices of both kinds  
equally is to-day looked on             

sceptically4 ,knowledge is better than  
prayer1 and the priest is  gradually    
losing his ascendency over the people4  
,the schoolmaster is  often the butt of 
raillery1 but the country priest1 whom  
it was so much  the fashion to idealize 
at the beginning of the century1 is     
to-day  a mark for open mirth4 ,the     
reaction was natural and in some measure
  legitimate2 perfection is not of this 
world1 and dwells neither in  the state 
nor the school1 but the rle of the      
schoolmaster and the  priest in humanity
 is important1 for they are the sole    
dispensers of  science and metaphysics  
to the multitude4 ,we have seen how much
 it is  to be hoped that the priest1 who
 is so ignorant to-day in ,catholic     
countries1 will soon receive a better   
education1 will soon begin to  create a 
reason for his continued existence in   
modern society4 ,if he  falls too far   
behind the intellectual movement of the 
times1 he will  drop out simply1 and the
 schoolmaster will inherit his power4   

,after all  there are all kinds of      
apostles1 in blouse and frock-coat as   
well as  in priestly robes2 and the     
proselytism of some of them is based    
upon a  mystical disinterestedness1 and 
of others on a certain practical aim2   
there are some who travel about the     
world1 and some who sit by the fire  and
 are none the less active for all that4 
,what may be affirmed safely  is that in
 all times apostles have been even more 
disposed to address  little children    
than men1 and it is notable that the    
modern ,vincent de  ,paul was a         
schoolmaster-,pestalozzi4    ,sidenote3 
,moral education the legitimate         
successor of religious  education4      
,what is taking the place of religious  
education1 in existing societies1  is   
moral education4 ,the moral sentiment1  
as we know1 is the least  suspicious    
element in the modern religious         
sentiment1 and metaphysical  hypotheses1
 based in the last resort upon moral    
conceptions1 are  the ultimate and      

highest outcome of religious hypotheses4
 ,to the  elements of philosophic       
morality it has been proposed to add1 in
  secondary and even in primary         
instruction1 some notion of the history 
of religions#hd4 ,if this proposition is
 to be made acceptable it  must be      
reduced within just limits4 ,let us     
cherish no illusion2 ,m4  ,vernes is    
wrong if he believes that a professor1  
and in especial a  schoolmaster1 ever   
could dwell with insistence upon the    
history of the  ,jews without coming    
into conflict with the clergy4 ,a truly 
scientific  criticism of the legends    
which are usually taught children under 
the  name of sacred history positively  
batters down the very foundations  of   
,christianity4 ,clergymen and priests   
would not endure it2 they  would protest
 and with some show of reason against   
it1 in the name of  religious           
neutrality3 religion is not less certain
 in their eyes than  science1 and the   
ignorant faith that distinguishes many  

of them has  not yet been tempered by a 
habit of free criticism2 so that        
anything  like a genuine historical     
education which should openly controvert
  portions of the traditional theology  
must be considered in advance as        
impossible4 ,there must be no question  
in the matter of openly refuting        
anybody2 the course of instruction must 
simply be such as to furnish  those who 
follow it with a criterion of truth1 and
 to teach them to  make use of it4 ,we  
believe therefore that if the history of
 religions  is ever made a part of the  
regular course of instruction1 it will  
deal  principally with everything but   
the history of the ,jews4 ,it might     
furnish elementary instruction on the   
moral system of ,confucius1 on  the     
moral metaphysical notions involved in  
,indo-,european religions1  on the      
antique ,egyptian religion1 on the      
,greek myths1 and finally on  the       
religious and moral atmosphere in which 
,christianity took its  rise1 and on    

which it in some sort depended and      
throve4 ,it would be  well even to make 
scholars in primary schools acquainted  
with the  names of some of the great    
sages in the history of the world1 with 
their actual or legendary biography1    
with the moral maxims which are         
attributed to them4 ,what harm could it 
do to instruct our children in  the     
aphorisms uttered by ,confucius1        
,zoroaster1 ,buddha1 ,socrates1 ,plato1 
and ,aristotle1 and to let them see     
something of what humanity really       
believed before the time of ,christ8    
,one cannot destroy the old faith       
openly and in a minute1 but one may do  
much to undermine and justly to         
undermine it by showing where and how it
 borrowed much of all that is  best in  
it--that it is not an exception in the  
history of human thought  nor even1 in  
all respects1 unsurpassed in its kind4  
#hd ,by ,m4 ,maurice ,vernes 7approved  
by ,littr1 and later by ,m4        ,paul
 ,bert74    ,sidenote3 ,helplessness of 

religion in the face of argument4       
,the ,church possesses two means of     
educating children in its dogmas1 and   
only two2 the first is that of patristic
 or ecclesiastical authority3  #8,the   
fact is thus and such because ,i say    
so'2 the second is the  testimony of    
miracles4 ,these two1 even at the       
present day1 constitute  the whole      
effective contents of the priests'      
armoury4 ,the moment they  step outside 
this little circle of ideas they lose   
their power4 ,and to  destroy these two 
arguments it suffices to show3 #ast1    
that other men  have said something     
different from the teachings of         
,christianity2 #b;d1  that other gods   
than ,jehovah have also performed       
miracles2 or1 in other  words1 there are
 no miracles whatever that have been    
scientifically  ascertained4 ,a number  
of ,french schools were founded in      
,kabail1 and  were prospering1 when by  
degrees they were abandoned4 ,in one of 
them1 which was the last deserted1 some 

exercises of the pupils were            
discovered3 they dealt with a story     
about ,fredegunde4 ,this anecdote       
illustrates current notions on          
instruction in classical history3       
,history means facts1 and facts often   
monstrous and immoral2 not content  with
 teaching them to young ,frenchmen we   
export them to ,kabail2 but we  do not  
export our ideas1 nor even employ them  
at home4 ,we should have  done better to
 teach the young ,algerians what we know
 about ,mohammed  and his religion and  
about ,jesus and the other prophets1 the
 divinity  of whose inspiration         
,mohammed himself admitted4 ,the        
slightest traces  that a really rational
 education should leave in a half-savage
 mind  would be more useful than a heap 
of absurd facts perfectly remembered4   
,at bottom it is more important even    
that a ,french child should know        
something of ,mohammed or ,buddha than  
of ,fredegunde4 ,although ,mohammed  and
 ,buddha never lived on ,french soil1   

their influence on us is  infinitely    
more great and their relation to us     
infinitely closer than  that of         
,chilperic or ,lothaire4    ,sidenote3  
,place of religion in state education4  
,the place in which the history of      
religions really belongs1 is in the     
higher education4 ,it is not enough to  
have introduced it with success  into   
the ,collge de ,france1 and quite       
recently to have secured its            
recognition in a small part of the      
higher studies in the cole4 ,if  we     
should replace our faculties of theology
 by chairs of religious  criticism we   
should do no more than follow the       
example of ,holland4#he  ,mr4 ,max      
,mller introduced the science of        
religions into the ,university  of      
,oxford with success4 ,similarly in     
,switzerland at the organization  of the
 ,university of ,geneva1 in #ahgc1 there
 was created in the faculty  of letters 
a chair of the history of religions1    
although there already  existed in the  

university a faculty of theology4 ,in   
,germany the history  of religions is   
taught independently1 notably at the    
,university of  ,wurtzburg1 under the   
name of ,comparative ,symbolism4 ,just  
as a complete  course of instruction in 
philosophy should include the principles
 of  the philosophy of law and the      
philosophy of history1 it will some day 
include also the principles of the      
philosophy of religion4 ,after all1     
even from the point of view of          
philosophy1 ,buddha and ,jesus possess a
  much greater importance than          
,anaximander or ,thales4#hf          #he
 ,some years ago1 as is well known1 on  
the #ast of ,october1        #ahgg1 the 
faculty of theology in the three state  
universities        of ,leyden1         
,utrecht1 and ,groningen1 and in the    
,communal        ,university of         
,amsterdam1 was declared to be a lay    
faculty and        was freed from all   
association and connection with the     
,church1        and was required to give

 purely scientific and philosophic      
instruction on the history of religion1 
without practical        discipline4    
7,see ,m4 ,steyn ,parv1 ,organisation de
 l'instruction        primaire1         
secondaire et suprieure dans le royaume 
des        ,pays-,bas1 ,leyden1 #ahgh1  
and ,m4 ,maurice ,vernes1 ,mlanges de   
critique religieuse1 p4 #cje47          
,the following is the programme of this 
faculty3 #a4 ,general        theology2  
#b4 ,history of doctrines concerning    
divinity2 #c4        ,history of        
religions in general2 #d4 ,history of   
the ,israelite        religion2 #e4     
,history of ,christianity2 #f4          
,literature of the        ,israelites1  
and the ancient ,christians2 #g4 ,old   
and ,new        ,testament exegesis2 #h4
 ,history of the dogmas of the          
,christian        church2 #i4           
,philosophy of religion2 #aj4 ,ethics4  
#hf ,as ,m4 ,vernes has remarked1 the   
preparation for teaching        the     
history of religions might well be the  

same as that for        teaching        
philosophy1 history1 and letters4 ,it   
should include        the studies in the
 upper classes1 of the philosophical    
section        of the cole normale1 and 
a preparatory course in the divers      
other faculties3 a real normal course4  
,in this course the        professor    
should point out the general principle  
of the history        of religions and  
should confine himself to indicating    
them very        summarily in the case  
of the religions of ,greece and ,rome1  
to        which a general literary      
education will have given the pupil     
access2 he should deal1 without         
excessive attention to detail1          
with the other ,indo-,european religions
 7those of ,india1 ,persia1             
etc471 with the religions of ,egypt1 of 
,assyria1 of ,phnicia1 of        ,islam2
 and should spend his greatest efforts  
on the criticism        of ,judaism and 
the early stages of ,christianity1 on   
the history        of the principal     

,christian dogmas and their development4
    ,sidenote3 ,education of            
instructors4    ,it has been said1 after
 ,m4 ,laboulaye1 that a professor of the
 history  of religion should be at once 
an archologist1 an epigraphist1 a       
numismatist1 a linguist1 an             
anthropologist1 and versed in ,hindu1   
,phnician1 ,slavonic1 ,germanic1        
,celtic1 ,etruscan1 ,greek1 and ,roman  
antiquities2 he should be nothing less  
than a ,pico della ,mirandola4 ,at  that
 rate one might show also that neither  
schools nor colleges can be  expected to
 include a course on natural history or 
on the political  history of some seven 
or eight nations--nay1 even that it is  
impossible  to teach children to read3  
the art of reading is so difficult in   
its  perfection6 ,really is it necessary
 that the historian of religion  should 
be a master of all the historical       
sciences8 ,he is under no  obligation to
 discover new materials1 he has simply  
to make use of  those which philologists

 and epigraphists have put at his       
disposal2  such materials are now       
abundant enough and well enough         
ascertained  to require a course        
specially devoted to them4 ,there is no 
need for  the instructor to master such 
and such a particular division of the   
history of religion2 he is simply       
required to furnish students in our     
universities1 in the course of one or   
two years1 with a general view  of the  
development of religious ideas in       
history4 ,the professor will  no doubt  
encounter certain difficulties in       
dealing with religious  questions       
because of the amount of feeling that   
such problems always  involve1 but the  
same difficulty is met with in every    
course which  deals with contemporary   
questions1 and almost every course does 
deal  with them4 ,a professor of history
 has to deal with contemporary facts1   
to describe the successive changes in   
the form of government in  ,france1 etc4
 ,a professor of philosophy has to deal 

with questions of  theodicy and morals2 
and even in pure psychology1            
materialistic and  deterministic        
theories have to be passed upon2 even a 
mere professor  of rhetoric is obliged1 
in treating of literature and of        
,voltaire and  of the eighteenth and    
nineteenth centuries1 to touch on       
questions  which are burning4           
,similarly1 a professor in the law      
school must find  a thousand occasions  
for praising1 or blaming1 or criticising
 the laws  of the ,state4 ,and must one1
 because of dangers of this sort which  
are  met with at every step1 cease      
teaching history1 philosophy1 and law8  
,no1 and we do not believe that one     
should be debarred from teaching        
religious history4 ,the whole question  
is one of fact rather than of           
principle2 it should be the master's    
business to avoid digressions  beyond   
the limits of pure science1 and to be on
 his guard against  seeming to mean     
something more than he says1 and masking

 a criticism of  the existing order of  
things under a course on abstract       
theory4#hg          #hg ,works in       
religious criticism would naturally find
 their        place in the school and   
college libraries4 ,they might be       
supplemented by a more or less extensive
 museum of religious        curiosities1
 beginning with the fetiches of savage  
tribes and        extending down to the 
present day4          ,to the mass of   
the ,french public the solid results    
already        achieved by an           
independent criticism of the ,bible     
constitute a        terra incognita2    
they must be disseminated4 ,m4          
,lenormant's        effort might serve  
as an example for other efforts of the  
same kind4 ,in order to make it apparent
 at a glance how the        ,pentateuch 
has been formed1 by the combination and 
fusion        of the earlier sets of    
documents1 ,m4 ,lenormant undertook     
to publish a translation from the       
,hebrew1 in which he                    

distinguishes the extracts from the     
respective sets of        documents by  
different kinds of type4 ,thus one has  
before one        the natural           
explanation of the way in which all the 
episodes in        ,genesis are         
presented in the two parallel versions1 
sometimes        juxtaposed1 sometimes  
mingled4    ,sidenote3 ,legitimate      
object of religious instruction4    ,the
 aim of this impartial course of        
instruction should be to supply  each   
religion with its proper historical     
setting1 to show how it  was born1      
developed1 opposed to others2 it should 
be described1 not  refuted4 ,the bare   
introduction of historical continuity   
into the course  of religious thought is
 itself a considerable step in advance2 
whatever  is continuous ceases to be    
marvellous4 ,nobody is astonished at a  
brook  which gradually becomes bigger2  
our ancestors adored great rivers of    
whose sources they were ignorant4       
,,iii4 ,education at ,home4    ,it has  

often been asked1 as a question of      
practical conduct1 whether  the head of 
a household ought not to have a         
religion1 at least if not  for himself1 
for his wife and children1 and if his   
wife is religious  ought he to abandon  
the education of his children to her8   
,sidenote3 ,father's duty in regard to  
religious instruction4    ,we believe it
 is the duty of the head of a household 
to rear his family  in the ideas in     
which he believes4 ,whatever solution of
 the religious  problem he may have     
attained1 he ought to hide it from no   
one1 and  in especial not from his      
family4 ,moreover1 even if he should    
wish to  keep his opinions secret1 he   
would be unable to do so1 at least for  
the whole of his life4 ,his             
dissimulation would simply result in    
such  an association in the minds of his
 children between moral precepts  and   
religious dogmas that the chances would 
be that they would stand1  or rather    
fall1 together4 ,of all people in the   

world the child is  precisely the one   
who is likely to suffer most from a     
belief that  religion and morality are  
inseparably bound up together4 ,of all  
human  beings children are least        
philosophical1 least metaphysical1 least
  familiar with scientific ideas1 and   
therefore of all others the most  easily
 biassed once for all by the inculcation
 of false or doubtful  notions presented
 as certain4 ,in ,china1 at the         
periodical conferences1  certain        
mandarins dilate upon the following     
theme in the presence of  the more      
notable among the inhabitants3 8,do your
 duty as a citizen and  beware of       
religion40 ,that is precisely what a    
father ought to say again  and again to 
his children4 ,it is a good principle of
 education to take  it for granted that 
the child is rational1 and to treat it  
as such1 in  order ultimately and       
gradually to develop the spirit of      
reason in it4  ,what a child lacks is   
much less intensity of attention than   

continuity4  ,very often among country  
people1 and almost always among inferior
 races  7as also among animals71 the    
young are more wide-awake1 more curious1
  more quick-minded than the mature men2
 but their attention must be  seized in 
transit2 teaching them resembles        
teaching a bird on the wing4  ,their    
schoolmaster must have the gifts of a   
bird-fancier2 and it is his  fault much 
oftener than the child's if the latter  
does not understand1  does not ask      
questions1 is inert and incurious4 ,the 
scientific  education of the child      
should begin with its first question2   
truth is  a debt that one owes to it1   
and truth accessible to its             
intelligence4  ,the moment a child asks 
a question out of its own head1 it is at
 least  in part prepared to understand  
the reply2 the duty of the person       
interrogated is to reply1 as fully and  
as truly as he believes the  child      
capable of understanding1 and if he     
leaves gaps he must at least  never fill

 them with lies4 ,it is so easy to tell 
the child to wait  until it is bigger4  
,there should be no fear of precociously
 developing  the child's reason in its  
two essential forms1 the instinct of    
inquiry1  of why and how1 and the       
instinct of perception1 of logical      
cogency  in the reply to the 8why0 and  
8how40 ,one need not be afraid that the 
child will fatigue its brain by abstract
 reasoning2 ,pascals are rare4  ,the    
danger does not lie in a premature      
development of the reason1 which  it is 
always easy moreover to check1 but in a 
premature development of  the           
sensibility4 ,the child must not be     
encouraged to feel too strongly4  ,to   
subject it to vain fears such as those  
of hell and the devil1 or to  beatific  
visions and mystic enthusiasms such as  
young girls experience  at the time of  
the first communion1 is to do it much   
greater harm than  to teach it to reason
 justly and to develop in it a certain  
intelligent  virility4 ,races become    

effeminate by excess of sensibility1    
never by  excess of scientific and      
philosophic power4    ,sidenote3        
,impossible to leave the child in       
ignorance4    ,it will perhaps be said1 
with ,rousseau1 that if the child is not
  to be trammelled with religious       
prejudice it may at least wait for      
reasoned instruction on religion until  
it has attained its intellectual        
maturity4 ,we reply that it is          
impossible to do so in the present state
  of society4 ,if the father does not   
teach his child it will absorb the      
prejudices of those it associates with1 
and to disabuse it of them  afterward   
will demand a veritable crisis1 which is
 always painful and  often the cause of 
permanent suffering4 ,the great art of  
education  should consist precisely in  
avoiding crises of this sort in the     
orderly  growth of the intellect4 ,the  
father who postpones the decisive moment
  will be the first person to be        
surprised at the amount of pain he will 

be obliged to subject his child to in   
order to root up the error which  he has
 placidly permitted to grow under his   
very eyes4    ,sidenote3 ,one must begin
 early4    ,m4 ,littr has given an      
account of a case of conscience of this 
kind2  after having voluntarily held    
aloof from the religious education of   
his daughter till she had reached years 
of discretion1 he found her  at last so 
sincerely convinced1 so completely      
fashioned by religion  for religion1    
that he recoiled before so              
thorough-going a change2 like  a surgeon
 whose hand should tremble at the       
thought of an operation  upon a body    
that love had rendered sacred to him2   
like an oculist who  should feel that   
light was not worth the pain that he    
would have to  inflict on eyes that were
 dear to him4 ,the intellectual operator
 has  not at his command even the       
resource of chloroform2 he must practise
  his surgery upon a subject who is     
fully conscious and even excited  by    

attention and reflection4 ,prevention is
 better than expectant  treatment1 which
 allows the disease to develop in the   
hopes of curing  it afterward4 ,the     
competent educator1 like the competent  
physician1  may be known by his ability 
in avoiding the necessity of operations4
  ,it is a mistake to allow a child to  
grow up in complete belief in  religious
 legends1 with the intention of         
undeceiving it afterward4 ,it  will be  
undeceived not without regret nor       
without effort4 ,and often  the effort  
put forth will itself be too great1 will
 overshoot itself1  and from excess of  
faith the child will pass at a bound to 
sceptical  indifference and will suffer 
for it4 ,treasures in heaven are        
treasures  in fiat money2 the           
disappointment which must some day come1
 when  one learns the truth1 will be    
bitter4 ,it would be better always to   
have known that one was poor4 ,a child  
may early be accustomed to the          
conception of the infinite2 it makes up 

its account with it as with  the notion 
of the antipodes1 or of the absence of  
an absolute up and  down in the         
universe4 ,the first sensation one      
experiences when one  learns that the   
earth is spherical is of terror1 a fear 
of the void1  of tumbling off into the  
abyss of open space4 ,the same nave fear
 lies  at the bottom of the religious   
sentiment in certain minds1 and is due  
to factitious associations of ideas     
which are a matter of education  wholly4
 ,a fish born in an aquarium becomes    
accustomed to its habitat1  as the      
ancients were accustomed to the inverted
 crystal ball of the  heavens2 it would 
be lost in the ocean4 ,birds reared in  
the cage often  die if they are abruptly
 given their liberty4 ,a period of      
transition is  always necessary1 one    
needs time to become accustomed to      
intellectual  expanses as well as to    
expanses of air and water4 ,if mankind  
is to live  without religion it must    
receive a non-religious education1 and  

this  education will spare it a great   
deal of the suffering that those who    
have been educated in the faith and have
 subsequently broken away by  their own 
efforts have undergone4 ,the            
wood-cutter's child experiences  no     
sentiment of fear in the solitude and   
obscurity of the forest1 in  the arched 
lanes and alleys1 among the trees among 
which it was born4 ,a  town-born child  
would feel lost in such a place and     
would begin to cry4  ,the world of      
science1 with its shadowy labyrinths and
 limitless extent  and its numberless   
obstacles which must be removed one at a
 time1 is  such a forest2 the child who 
is born in it will not be frightened1   
will  live in it always happily4        
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,what to say to the child    
about death4 ,m4 ,louis ,mnard's        
position4    ,of all the problems of    
education which lie on the borders of   
religious  metaphysics the most         
interesting is1 unquestionably1 what to 

say to  the child about death and human 
destiny4 ,when these questions are      
discussed before him1 is a rational and 
truly philosophical method to  be       
employed8 ,is he to be informed         
dogmatically1 or is it a matter of      
indifference what is said to him8 ,this 
problem has been discussed1  in the     
8,critique philosophique10 by ,m4 ,louis
 ,mnard1 who deals with  the            
hypothetical case of a child that has   
lost its mother and is                  
cross-questioning its father4 ,that is  
ingenious1 but it is a specious  way of 
raising the problem4 ,when a young child
 loses its mother we  regard it as the  
first duty of the father to console and 
spare its  delicate organism the strain 
of all strong emotions4 ,the question   
is one of moral hygiene1 in which       
philosophy and religion are not         
concerned1 in which the age and         
temperament of the child are the sole   
things to consider4 ,truth is not       
equally valuable at all periods of      

life2 one does not tell a man abruptly  
that his wife has just died4  ,the most 
convinced materialist will hesitate to  
announce to a nervous  child that it    
will never see its mother again4 ,but   
the materialist  in question would      
always do wrong to put forth a          
categorical  affirmation in a case in   
which there exists at best nothing more 
than  probabilities2 the most dangerous 
method of deception is to present as  a 
recognized certainty what is really     
nothing of the kind4 ,in any event      
there is one form of immortality1 that  
of memory1 and that species of          
immortality we may ourselves secure by  
implanting it in the mind of  the       
child4#hh ,the father ought repeatedly  
to talk to the orphan child  of the dead
 mother4 ,he can create a recollection  
in the child as vivid  and as detailed  
as his own2 whether the child behaves   
well or ill he  can always say1 8,if    
your mother were but here60 ,the child  
will thus  become accustomed to find a  

recompense or a punishment in its       
mother's  approbation or                
disapprobation4#hi          #hh 8,memory
 is no doubt an affliction for the grown
 man        much more than for the      
child1 but it is also a consolation4    
,cultivation of one's memories supplies 
powerful means of        moral education
 for all ages1 and for nations as well  
as for        individuals4 ,it was quite
 to be expected that we should find an  
ancestor worship in the early history of
 every people40 7,felix                 
,henneguy1 ,critique philosophique1 #hth
 year1 vol4 ii4 p4 #bah47          #hi  
,ibid4    ,sidenote3 ,should talk with  
child as with a grown person4    ,to    
raise the problem more fairly1 let us   
suppose the circumstances  somewhat less
 tragic than those which ,m4 ,mnard has 
chosen1 and let us  ask how1 in general1
 the child must be spoken to about      
death4 ,when the  child is capable of   
following a more or less complex bit of 
exposition1  toward the age of ten or   

twelve for example1 ,i confess that ,i  
see no  reason why its questions should 
not be answered exactly as if they  were
 those of a grown person4 ,at that age  
it will no longer believe  in fairies1  
it will no longer need to believe in    
legends1 not even  in those of          
,christianity4 ,the scientific and      
philosophic spirit will  have begun to  
develop and must not be either checked  
or distorted4 ,if  its intelligence     
leads it toward philosophical problems1 
so much the  better2 one must meet its  
need as simply as if the problems in    
question  were historical4 ,i have seen 
a child much tormented by a desire to   
know  whether such and such an          
historical personage died a natural     
death or  was poisoned4 ,the child was  
told that the thing was doubtful1 but   
that  the probability was so and so4    
,the same method should be pursued in   
reference to more important problems4   
,sidenote3 ,no difficulty in making the 
child understand4    ,but how1 it may be

 asked1 is one to form replies1 that the
 child can  understand1 to questions    
which relate to the life beyond the     
grave8  ,is not the sole language that  
it understands that of ,christianity1   
which deals with men raised to heaven1  
with happy souls seated among  the      
angels and the seraphim1 etc48 ,we reply
 that people in general  seem to have a 
strange conception of the child's       
intelligence2 they  expect it to        
understand the most refined subtleties  
of grammar1 the  most unexpected turns  
and shifts of theology1 and are afraid  
to say  a word to it of philosophy4 ,a  
little girl of twelve years1 of my      
acquaintance1 replied with much         
ingenuity to this unexpected question3  
,what is the difference between a       
perfect and an imperfect ,christian8    
,it was evident that she would not have 
experienced greater difficulty  in      
replying to a metaphysical question4 ,i 
recollect having myself  followed1 at   
the age of eight1 a discussion on the   

immortality of the  soul2 nay1 ,i even  
pronounced an interior judgment in      
favour of him  who was maintaining the  
cause of immortality4 ,our system of    
education  is full of contradictions1   
which consist at once in mechanically   
burdening the child's memory with things
 it cannot understand1 and  in depriving
 its intelligence of subjects in which  
it might take an  interest4 8,but10 ,m4 
,mnard will object1 8a child must not be
 put into  a position of being able to  
oppose its father's belief to that of   
its  mother or of its grand-mother40    
,why not8 ,it happens1 necessarily1     
every  day4 ,there are1 on all subjects1
 incessantly going on in the bosom of   
the family a series of discussions1 of  
small disagreements which in  nowise    
fundamentally disturb the harmony of the
 household2 why should  it be otherwise 
when more important and uncertain       
questions simply  are involved8 8,but   
the child will lose respect for its     
parents40 ,it  is certainly better that 

it should lose respect for them than    
that  it should believe everything they 
say1 even when they deceive it4         
,happily1 respect for one's parents is  
not at all the same thing as  belief in 
their infallibility4 ,children early    
make use of liberty  of judgment1 they  
may early be taught to sift out the     
truth from a  mass of more or less      
contradictory affirmations1 their       
judgment may  be developed instead of   
being supplied1 as is at present        
attempted1  ready and completely made4  
,the essential thing is to avoid rousing
  their passions and converting them    
into fanatics4 ,the child needs an      
atmosphere of calm for the harmonious   
development of its faculties2  it is a  
delicate plant that must not be too soon
 exposed to wind and  weather2 but it   
does not follow that it should be kept  
in the obscurity  or half light of      
religious legend4 ,the sole means of    
sparing the child  the trouble of       
passion and fanaticism is to place it   

outside of all  religious communion and 
to habituate it to examine things       
coolly1  philosophically2 to take       
problems of religion for what they are2 
that  is to say1 for problems simply1   
with ambiguous solutions4#ij ,nothing   
serves better to awake the intellectual 
spontaneity of the child than  to say to
 it3 ,this is what ,i believe1 and these
 are my reasons for  believing it2 ,i   
may be wrong4 ,your mother1 or such and 
such a person1  believes something else 
for certain other reasons1 right or     
wrong4 ,the  child acquires thus a rare 
quality1 that of tolerance2 its respect 
for its parents attaches to the diverse 
doctrines that it sees them  professing2
 it learns1 in its earliest years1 that 
every sincere and  reasoned belief is in
 the highest degree respectable4 ,i am  
intimately  acquainted with a child that
 has been reared in this way1 and it has
  never had any occasion for anything   
but satisfaction with the education  it 
has received4 ,it has never been        

presented on the subject of human       
destiny1 or the destiny of the world1   
with any opinion in the nature of  an   
article of faith2 instead of religious  
certitudes it has heard only  of        
metaphysical possibilities and          
probabilities4 ,toward the age of       
thirteen and a half the problem of the  
destiny of mankind was abruptly         
suggested to it2 the death of a very    
dear aged relative caused it to  do more
 thinking than is customary at that age1
 but its philosophic  beliefs proved    
themselves sufficient4 ,they still are  
sufficient1  although the child in      
question has been obliged several times 
to face  the possibility1 and the       
immediate possibility1 of its own death4
 ,i  cite the example as an experiment  
which bears on the question under       
discussion4          #ij ,among the     
greatest causes of difficulty with a    
child1 let        us note the following3
 the father is apt to be a free-thinker1
        the mother a ,catholic4 ,it     

hears every day at ,church that those   
who do not practise their religious     
duties will go to hell3        the child
 therefore reasons that if its father   
dies it will        never see him again1
 unless it goes to hell with him1 and   
then        it will never see its mother
 again4 ,a full and complete belief     
in annihilation would be less painful   
and less annoying than        this      
belief in eternal damnation4 ,add that  
in this respect many        ,protestant 
clergymen1 in especial in ,england and  
in the ,united        ,states1 are not  
less intolerant than ,catholic priests4 
,sidenote3 ,summary4    ,how then should
 death be spoken of to a child8 ,i reply
 confidently1 as  one would speak of it 
to a grown person1 allowing for the     
difference  between abstract and        
concrete language4 ,i naturally suppose 
the child  to be semi-rational1 more    
than ten years old1 and capable of      
thinking  of something else than its top
 or its doll4 ,i believe it should then 

be talked with openly1 and told what we 
ourselves think most probable  on these 
terrible questions4 ,the free-thinker   
who leans toward  naturalistic doctrines
 will say to his son or his daughter    
that he  believes death to be a         
resolution of the person into its       
constituent  elements1 a return to a    
blind material existence1 a fresh       
beginning  in the perpetual round of    
evolution2 that all that we leave behind
 is  the good that we have done and that
 we live in humanity by our good        
actions and our good thoughts1 and that 
immortality is productivity  for the    
best interests of humanity4 ,the        
spiritualist will say that1  owing to   
the distinction between the soul and the
 body1 death is simply  a deliverance4  
,the pantheist or the monist will repeat
 the formula  consecrated by the use of 
three thousand years3 ,tat tvam         
asi--,thou  art that2 and the modern    
child will recognize1 as the young      
,brahman  does1 that beneath the surface

 of things there lies a mysterious unity
  into which the individual may fade4   
,finally the ,kantian will endeavour  to
 make his child understand that the     
conception of duty involves  something  
anterior and superior to the present    
life2 that to be aware  of the moral law
 is to be conscious of immortality4     
,everyone will say  what he believes1   
and take care not to pretend that his   
opinion is the  absolute truth4 ,the    
child1 thus treated like a human being1 
will early  learn to make up its own    
mind1 to provide itself with a creed    
without  having received it from any    
traditional religion or any immutable   
doctrine2 it will learn that a really   
sacred belief is one which is           
reflective and reasoned and seemingly   
personal2 and if at times1 as it        
advances in age1 it experiences a       
greater or less anxiety about the       
unknown1 so much the better2 such an    
anxiety1 when the senses are not        
involved and thought alone is concerned1

 is in no sense dangerous4 ,the  child  
who experiences it will be of the stuff 
out of which philosophers  and sages are
 made4          ,,chapter ,,vi4         
,,religion ,,and ,,non-,,religion       
,,among ,,women4        ,are women      
inherently predisposed toward religion  
and even toward superstition8--,the     
nature of        feminine               
intelligence--,predominance of the      
imagination--,credulity--,conservatism--
,feminine                               
sensibility--,predominance of           
sentiment--,tendency to                 
mysticism--,is the moral sentiment among
 women based upon                       
religion8--,influence of religion and of
 non-religion upon        modesty and   
love--,origin of modesty--,love and     
perpetual        virginity--,m4 ,renan's
 paradoxes on the subject of monastic   
vows--,how woman's natural proclivities 
may be turned        to account by      
free-thought--,influence exercised by   
the        wife's faith over the        

husband--,instance of a conversion to   
free-thought4      ,among free-thinkers 
themselves there are a certain number   
who  believe that women are by the very 
nature of their minds devoted to        
superstition and to myth4 ,is the       
incapacity of the female mind for       
philosophy more demonstrable than that  
of the child's mind to which it  has so 
frequently been compared8    ,sidenote3 
,woman's attention to details4    ,we   
are not obliged to decide the question  
whether women's mental powers  are or   
are not inferior to those of men4#ia ,we
 are obliged to consider  only whether  
the limits of female intelligence are so
 tightly drawn  that religion1 and even 
superstition1 are for it inevitable4    
,those  who maintain that women are in  
some sort condemned to error argue  from
 certain essential elements in her      
character2 let us examine  accordingly  
the peculiarity of her intelligence and 
of her sensibility4  ,the female mind1  
it has been said1 is less abstract than 

that of the  male2 women are more       
impressionable on the side of the senses
 and of  the imagination1 are more      
readily appealed to by what is beautiful
 and  striking and coloured3 thence     
arises their need for myths1 for        
symbols1  for a cult1 for rites that    
speak to the eye4 ,we reply that this   
need is  not absolute3 are not          
,protestant women content with a cult   
which does  not appeal to the senses8   
,and in any event1 an imaginative spirit
 is  not necessarily superstitious4     
,superstition is a matter of education1 
not of nature2 there is a certain       
maturity of mind which lends no         
encouragement to superstition4 ,i have  
known a number of women who did  not    
possess one superstition among them and 
were incapable of acquiring  one2 there 
was no distinction in this respect to be
 observed between  their intelligence   
and that of a man2 the conception of the
 world as  an orderly succession of     
phenomena1 once really accepted by the  

human  mind1 maintains itself by its own
 power1 without aid from without1 as    
the fact in the long run always does4   
#ia ,as a general rule1 ,darwin says1   
men go farther than women1              
whether the matter be one of profound   
meditation1 of reason1        or        
imagination1 or simply of the use of the
 senses or even of        the hands4    
,according to certain statistical       
investigations        it appears that   
the modern female brain has remained    
almost        stationary1 while the male
 brain has developed notably4 ,the      
brain of a ,parisian woman is no larger 
than that of a ,chinese        woman1   
and the ,parisian woman labours under   
the additional        disadvantage of   
possessing a larger foot4               
,admitting these facts one may still    
refuse to infer from them        the    
existence of a congenital incapacity1   
for the way in which        women have  
always been treated by men and the      
education that        they have received

 may well have left results which have  
become        hereditary4 ,the education
 of women has in all times been less    
strenuous than that of men2 and their   
mind1 perhaps naturally        less     
scientific1 has never been developed by 
direct contact        with the external 
world4 ,in the ,orient and in ,greece1  
among the        nations from whom we   
derive our civilization1 women 7at least
        in families in easy             
circumstances7 were always restricted to
 a        subordinate rle1 confined to  
woman's quarters1 or withdrawn          
from all direct contact with the real   
world4 ,thence arose a        sort of   
tradition of ignorance and intellectual 
abasement which        has been handed  
down to us4 ,there is nothing like the  
brain of        a young girl reared at  
home for gathering to itself completely1
        and without loss1 the whole     
residue of middle-class silliness1      
of nave and self-satisfied prejudice1 of
 strutting ignorance        that does   

not see itself as others see it1 of     
superstition        transformed into a  
rule of conduct4 ,but change the        
education        and you will in a great
 measure change these results4 ,even    
according to ,darwin's own theory1      
education and heredity can in        the
 long run undo anything that they have  
done4 ,even if there        should      
remain a certain balance of intelligence
 in favor of        the male1 even if   
the female should prove to be in the    
end1 as        ,darwin says1 incapable  
of pushing invention as far in advance  
as man1 it would not follow that her    
heart and intelligence        should be 
filled with another order of ideas and  
sentiments        than those which are  
beneficial to men4 ,it is one thing to  
invent and to widen the domain of       
science1 and another thing        to    
assimilate the knowledge already        
acquired2 it is one thing        to     
widen the intellectual horizon1 and     
another thing to adapt        one's eyes

 and heart to this more open habitat4   
,sidenote3 ,female credulity4    ,a     
second trait of female intelligence1    
which has also been made use  of1 is its
 credulity--by which religion has so    
largely profited4 ,women  are more      
credulous than men1 in this sense3 they 
possess a certain  confidence in men1   
whom they recognize as stronger and more
 widely  experienced than themselves2   
they willingly believe whatever grave   
men1  whom they are accustomed to       
venerate1 men like priests1 assert4     
,their  credulity is thus in a great    
part a mere form of their natural need  
to  lean on some member of the opposite 
sex4 ,conceive a religion originated    
and administered solely by women2 it    
would be looked upon with great         
distrust by women1 in general4 ,the day 
men cease to believe1 female            
credulity--in especial that of the      
average woman1 who is accustomed  to    
judge with the eyes and intelligence of 
someone else--will be  profoundly       

affected4 ,i once asked a maid who had  
remained thirty years  in the same house
 what were her beliefs4 8,those of my   
master10 she  replied2 her master was an
 atheist4 ,the same question was put to 
the  wife of a member of the ,institute4
 ,she replied3 8,i was a ,catholic      
until ,i was married4 ,after ,i was     
married ,i began to appreciate the      
superiority of my husband's mind1 ,i saw
 that he did not believe in  religion1  
and ,i ceased to believe in it entirely 
myself40    ,sidenote3 ,female          
conservatism4    ,a third trait of the  
feminine character is its               
conservativeness1 its  friendliness to  
tradition1 its indisposition to         
initiative4 ,respect for  power and     
authority1 ,spencer says1 predominates  
in women1 influences  their ideas and   
sentiments in regard to all             
institutions1 and tends  to strengthen  
political and ecclesiastical            
governments4 ,for the same  reason women
 are particularly inclined to put faith 

in whatever is  imposing2 doubt1        
criticism1 a disposition to question    
whatever is  established is rare among  
them1 ,mr4 ,spencer thinks4 ,women      
certainly do  possess a more            
conservative disposition than men in    
religion and in  politics2 it has been  
so found in ,england where women vote on
 municipal  questions1 and in our       
judgment the rle that woman should play 
in this  world is precisely that of     
conservatism2 as a young girl1 she must 
guard her person as a treasure1 must be 
always suspicious of she knows  not     
precisely what2 then as a wife she must 
watch over her child1 her  house1 her   
husband2 must preserve1 retain1 defend1 
embrace somebody  or something4 ,is it a
 thing to be complained of8 ,is it not  
to this  instinct that we owe our life1 
and if difference in sex1 or sexual     
functions1 involves grave differences in
 character1 must we conclude  from this 
fact that women possess an irremediable 
civil and religious  incapacity8 ,no2   

conservatism may be of service in the   
ranks of truth  as in the ranks of      
error2 all depends on what is given to  
conserve4  ,if women are more           
philosophically and scientifically      
educated1 their  conservatism may do    
good service4    ,sidenote3 ,female     
timidity4    ,a final trait of the      
feminine mind1 very like the preceding1 
is that  women are more given to an     
absorption in detail1 are less          
courageous1  are more capable of dealing
 with particular details than with      
general  ideas and things as a whole1   
and are more inclined to narrow and     
literal interpretations than men4 ,if a 
woman1 for example1 is intrusted  with  
any administrative office she will      
execute every rule to the  letter with  
an exaggerated conscientiousness and a  
nave anxiety4 ,the  conclusion is that  
women will always lend comfort to       
literal religions  and to superstitious 
practices4 ,in our opinion this penchant
 for  minuti and for scrupulousness     

which is so frequently observed among   
women may become1 on the contrary1 an   
important factor of incredulity  when   
women are sufficiently instructed to    
perceive at first hand the  innumerable 
contradictions and ambiguities of the   
texts they are  dealing with4 ,an       
enlightened scruple is a keener         
instrument of doubt  than of faith4     
,we confess we do not yet see that the  
differences1 native or acquired1        
between the male and the female brain   
suffice to constitute women a  sort of  
inferior caste1 devoted by their birth  
to religion and the  service of myth1   
while men are reserved for science and  
philosophy4    ,sidenote3 ,is sentiment 
a badge of servitude to error8    ,let  
me now examine the more profound reasons
 based on the nature of  women's        
sentimental proclivities4 ,in general1  
it is said that women are  dominated not
 by reason but by sentiment4 ,they      
respond quickly to a  call made in the  
name of pity or of charity1 and not so  

quickly to one  made in the name of     
equity4 ,but is sentiment the exclusive 
possession  of religions8 ,and are there
 not also men of sentiment as well as   
men of  thought8 ,and are the first on  
that account condemned to a life of     
error  while the second live in the     
presence of the truth8    ,sidenote3    
,women and mysticism4    ,but it is     
insisted that in women sentiment        
naturally tends toward  mysticism4      
,among the ,greeks1 ,spencer says1 the  
women were more  accessible than the men
 to religious excitation4#ib ,it may be 
replied  that the greatest mystics have 
not been women4 ,st4 ,theresas have been
  much less numerous than men like      
,plotinus 7it was ,plotinus who first   
gave the word  its current sense71      
,porphyry1 ,iamblicus1  ,dionysius the  
,areopagite1 ,st4 ,bonaventure1 ,gerson1
 ,richard de ,saint  ,victor1 ,eckhart1 
,tauler1 ,swedenborg4 ,mysticism        
develops in proportion  to the          
restriction of the individual's         

activity4 ,women's life1 which is  less 
active than that of men1 allows more    
space for the development of  mystic    
impulses and exercises of piety4 ,but   
activity cures the diseases  of         
contemplation1 in especial of vain and  
empty contemplation in which  only      
average and ignorant minds can take     
delight4 ,woman's religious  activity   
will diminish in proportion as a wider  
field of activity is  opened up to her1 
and in proportion as an intellectual and
 sthetic  education is supplied to her  
and she becomes interested in all the   
human questions and realities of this   
world4 ,it has been desired even  to    
render political life accessible to     
woman1 to restore to her the  rights    
which have hitherto been denied her4 ,m4
 ,secrtan has recently  advocated this  
measure1 which was formerly advocated by
 ,john ,stuart  ,mill4 ,to do so at the 
present moment would be to hand over    
politics  directly to the priesthood1   
who at present control women4 ,but when 

by gradual degrees women's religious    
emancipation shall have been  completed1
 it is possible that a certain political
 emancipation may  be the natural       
consequence of it4 ,her civil           
emancipation in any event  is only a    
matter of time4 ,the equality of women  
before the law is a  necessary          
consequence of democratic ideas4 ,when  
they shall be forced  thus to occupy    
themselves more actively in the affairs 
of this world  the new employment of    
their energy will protect them more and 
more from  mystical tendencies4         
#ib ,sir ,rutherford ,alcock says also1 
that in ,japan it is        very rare to
 see any other worshippers in the       
temples than        women and children2 
the men are always extremely few in     
number        and belong to the lower   
classes4 ,at least five-sixths and      
often nine-tenths of the pilgrims who   
come to the temple of        ,juggernaut
 are women4 ,among the ,sikhs the women 
are said to        believe in more gods 

than the men4 ,these examples1 borrowed 
as they are from different races1 and at
 different epochs1        show          
sufficiently1 in ,spencer's opinion1    
that1 when we find an        analogous  
state of things in ,catholic countries1 
and even in        some measure in      
,england1 we are not to attribute it    
solely to        the education of women2
 the cause1 he thinks1 is deeper1 lies  
in their nature4 7,see ,spencer's ,study
 of ,sociology47    ,if an opportunity  
be given them to influence society they 
will no  doubt exercise it              
philanthropically4 ,well1 pity is one of
 the most  powerful derivatives of      
mysticism4 ,even among religious orders 
it has  been remarked how much less     
exalted the devotion of the members of  
the philanthropic orders is than of     
those who restrict themselves to        
sterile meditation in the cloister4     
,sidenote3 ,female moral sentiment4     
,if mysticism is no more truly          
indispensable to women than to men1 can 

it be maintained that their moral       
sentiment is incapable of subsistence   
apart from some religion8 ,is women's   
moral power less than that of men1  and 
is it only in religion that they can    
find the additional increment  of       
strength of which they are in need8     
,resistance to physical or moral  pain  
supplies a sufficiently exact measure of
 power4 ,well1 women show  in maternity1
 with all its consequences1 in          
pregnancy1 in childbirth1  in nursing1  
accompanied as it is by continual       
watchfulness and care1  a patience of   
physical pain which is perhaps greater  
than anything  that the average man is  
capable of4 ,just so in respect to      
patience of  moral pain3 women may      
suffer much from poverty1 and sadness   
follows the  flying needle1 but love and
 pity are the great sources of          
restraint4 ,as  the sphere of her       
intelligence widens1 a large field will 
be supplied  for the exercise of women's
 power of love which is so highly       

developed4  ,the genuine remedy for     
every kind of suffering is increased    
activity of  mind1 which means increased
 instruction4 ,action is always an      
anodyne  of pain4 ,therein lies the     
explanation of the power of charity to  
calm  personal suffering1 which is      
always in some degree egoistic4 ,the    
best  way to console one's self1 for    
women and men alike1 will always be to  
minister to someone else2 hope revives  
in a heart which gives hope to  others4 
,pains become gentle as they become     
fertile in beneficence1 and             
productivity is an appeasement4         
,sidenote3 ,best side of female levity4 
,and finally1 by way of compensation1   
there are other respects in which  women
 would suffer perhaps less than men from
 the disappearance of  religious        
beliefs4 ,women live more completely in 
the present than men  do1 they are      
somewhat bird-like in their composition1
 and forget the  tempest the instant it 
is passed4 ,women laugh as easily as    

they cry1  and their laughter soon dries
 their tears3 they are to be forgiven   
for at least one aspect of this divine  
levity4 ,moreover they have  their      
household1 all the tender and practical 
preoccupations of life1  which absorb   
them more completely1 heart and soul1   
than men4 ,a woman's  happiness is      
probably complete the instant she       
believes herself to be  beautiful and   
feels that she is loved2 a man's        
happiness is a much  more complex       
product and contains a much larger      
number of intellectual  elements4 ,women
 live more wholly within the limits of  
their own  generation than men1 and     
experience a sort of contemporary       
immortality  in the hearts of those they
 love4    ,sidenote3 ,modesty and love4 
,among the most developed sentiments of 
women there are two which  constitute   
the strength of their disposition to    
propriety3 modesty1  the dignity of     
their sex1 and love1 which is exclusive 
when it is  true4 ,but for these two    

powerful causes religious motives would 
always  have weighed lightly with her4  
,if religion exercises a great control  
over women1 it is by taking possession  
of these two motives3 the  surest means 
of making women listen1 and almost the  
sole means1 is to  awaken their love1 or
 to appeal to their modesty3 to give    
themselves  or to refuse themselves are 
the two great acts which dominate their 
lives1 and immorality among them        
generally increases directly with  the  
diminution of their modesty4 ,thence    
arises a new and delicate  problem1     
whether modesty1 that compound of power 
and grace1 is not  rather a religious   
than a moral virtue1 and if religion has
 maintained  it1 would it not disappear 
with the disappearance of religion1 and 
be enfeebled by a religion increasingly 
scientific and1 in a sense1  positive8  
,note in the first place1 that if the   
essence of all feminine  virtue is      
modesty1 as of all male virtue it is    
courage1 that very  fact constitutes an 

additional reason for doing everything  
in one's  power to make modesty         
independent of religion1 in order that  
it may  stand unaffected by the doubts  
which necessarily1 in the modern world1 
will overwhelm the latter4 ,certainly   
modesty is capable of serving           
remarkably well as a safeguard for      
beliefs1 and even for irrational        
beliefs2 it always prevents one from    
pushing reason1 as from pushing  desire 
to the end1 but there is a true and a   
false1 a useful and a  harmful modesty4 
,the first1 as we shall see1 is not     
bound up with  religion1 either in its  
origin or in its destiny4    ,sidenote3 
,origin of modesty4    ,in the first    
place is modesty of religious origin8   
,every young girl  feels vaguely that   
she has at her disposal a treasure which
 a number  of people desire4 ,this      
sentiment1 which is confused with some  
obscure  consciousness of sex1 was      
necessary to enable the female to attain
  complete physical development before  

giving herself4 ,precocious  immodesty  
must inevitably1 in effect has1 resulted
 in an arrested  development4 ,it might 
easily have produced also a comparative 
sterility4 ,modesty is thus a guarantee 
for the continuance of the  species1 one
 of the sentiments that natural         
selection must inevitably  have tended  
to preserve and to increase4 ,it is a   
condition1 moreover1  of sexual         
selection2 if the female had been       
disposed to give herself                
indiscriminately1 the species would have
 suffered4 ,happily desire is  checked  
by modesty1 an obstacle which it can    
remove only on condition  of the woman's
 being strongly attracted by the object 
desired2 a  quality which will          
subsequently be transmissible to the    
species4 ,from  the point of view of    
sexual selection there is in modesty a  
great deal  of coquetry--a coquetry     
which is unaware of its aim1 which is   
half  unconscious1 and often mistakes   
for a duty what is really but a bit of  

management4 ,the art of provisional     
refusal1 and of attractive flight1  must
 inevitably have attained a high        
development among superior  beings1 for 
it is a powerful medium of seduction and
 selection4 ,modesty  has developed side
 by side with it1 and really constitutes
 but a  fugitive moment in the eternity 
of female coquetry4 ,coquetry originates
  in the young girl who is yet too      
ignorant to be really modest1 but too   
much of a woman not to love to attract  
and to retreat2 and at the other        
extreme it constitutes the last remnant 
of modesty in women who really  possess 
none4 ,finally1 modesty is also composed
 largely of an element  of fear1 which  
has been very useful in the preservation
 of the race4  ,among animals the female
 almost always runs some risk in the    
presence  of the male1 which is         
generally stronger than she2 love-making
 is  not only a crisis but a danger1 and
 she must mollify the male before       
surrendering herself to him1 must seduce

 him before satisfying him4  ,even in   
the human race1 in primitive times1     
women were not always safe  from        
violence from men4 ,modesty secures a   
sort of expectant love which  was       
necessary in primitive times1 a proof1 a
 period of mutual scrutiny4  ,lucretius 
has remarked that children1 by their    
weakness and by their  fragility1 have  
contributed to the softening of human   
manners2 the same  remark applies to    
women and to this sense of their own    
comparative  weakness1 which they       
experience so acutely in modesty1 and   
which they  to some degree communicate  
to men4 ,women's fears and scruples have
 made  man's hand less hard2 their      
modesty has given rise in him to a      
certain  form of respect1 to a form of  
desire which is less brutal and more    
gentle2 they have civilized love4       
,modesty is analogous to the species  of
 fright that inclines a bird to flee    
one's caresses1 which bruise  it4 ,one's
 very look possesses some element of    

hardness for a bird2  and is it not a   
prolongation of touch8 ,in addition to  
these various  elements there goes1 to  
the composition of a young girl's or a  
young  man's modesty1 a higher and more 
properly human element2 the fear of     
love itself1 the fear of something new  
and unknown1 of the profound  and       
powerful instinct which is awakening in 
one after having up to  that time lain  
asleep1 which abruptly arises in one and
 struggles for  dominance with the other
 forces and impulses of one's being4    
,the young  man1 unaccustomed as yet to 
submit to the domination of this        
instinct1  finds in it something        
stranger and more mysterious than in any
 other2  c'est l'interrogation anxieuse 
de chrubin4#ic          #ic ,shame is   
usually regarded as constituting the    
essence of        modesty1 but shame can
 have been but one of the elements in   
its        formation2 such shame as     
actually exists is readily explicable   
as a sense of the uncleanness attaching1

 in especial in the        case of the  
woman 7of whom the ,hebrews required a  
periodic        purification71 to       
certain animal functions4 ,but modesty  
must        have been developed also by 
the use of clothing and the growth      
of the habit of covering1 first the     
loins and then more and        more of  
the entire person2 and indeed the       
development of        modesty and of the
 habit of wearing clothes must each have
 been        aided by the other4 ,the   
habit of going covered gives rise very  
soon to shame at being seen uncovered4  
,the little negresses        whom       
,livingstone supplied with shifts       
became1 in a few days1        so        
accustomed to having the upper half of  
their bodies hidden        that1 when   
they were surprised in their chambers in
 the        morning1 they hastily       
covered their breasts4    ,sidenote3    
,religious education and modesty4    ,to
 sum up1 the sentiment of modesty       
neither originates in religion nor      

depends upon it2 it is only very        
indirectly allied to it4 ,even from the 
point of view of modesty a religious    
education is not above reproach4  ,among
 ,protestants1 is the reading of the    
,bible always a good school8 ,m4        
,bruston has contended for the propriety
 of reading the ,song of ,songs  in an  
epoch like ours when marriages are often
 made out of interest  rather than of   
inclination2 and indeed we agree with   
him that the  reading of the ,song of   
,songs does tend to develop certain     
inclinations  in young girls1 but hardly
 an inclination to a regular and        
complicated  church marriage4 ,among    
,catholics how many indiscreet questions
 the  confessor puts to the young girl6 
,how many prohibitions1 as dangerous  in
 their way as suggestions6 ,and even in 
the item of modesty excess is  a defect2
 a little wholesome liberty in education
 and manners would  do no harm4         
,catholic education sometimes distorts  
the woman's mind by  making it too      

different from that of the man1 and by  
accustoming it to  a perpetual timidity 
and discomposure in the presence of the 
being with  whom she must pass her life1
 and by rendering her modesty somewhat  
too  indeterminate and savage1 and      
converting it into a sort of religion4  
,sidenote3 ,true modesty4    ,there is  
also sometimes manifest a sort of       
perversion of modesty in the  mystical  
tendencies of woman1 which are          
especially strong at the age  of        
puberty4 ,these tendencies1 exploited by
 the priesthood1 give rise  to convents 
and cloisters4 ,a ,catholic education   
too often constitutes  for young girls a
 sort of moral mutilation2 one          
endeavours to keep them  virgins1 and   
one succeeds in converting them into    
imperfect women4  ,religions are too    
inclined to consider the union of the   
sexes under ,i  know not what mystical  
aspect1 and1 from the point of view of  
morals1  as a stain4 ,certainly purity  
is a power2 it is with a little diamond 

point that mountains1 and even          
continents1 are nowadays pierced1 but   
,christianity has confounded chastity   
with purity4 ,true purity is that  of   
love1 true chastity is chastity of      
heart2 chastity of heart survives       
chastity of body1 and stops at the point
 beyond which it would become  a        
restriction1 an obstacle to the free    
development of the entire  being4 ,an   
eunuch or a young man studying for the  
priesthood may well  be destitute of    
chastity2 the smile of a young girl at  
the thought  of her fianc may be        
infinitely more virginal than that of a 
nun4  ,nothing moreover stains the mind 
like a too exclusive preoccupation  with
 the things of the body2 incessant      
attention to them necessarily  evokes a 
chain of immodest imagery4 ,st4 ,jerome 
in his desert1  believing1 as he        
relates1 that he saw the ,roman         
courtesans dancing  naked in the        
moonlight1 was less pure in heart and   
brain than ,socrates  unceremoniously   

paying a visit to ,theodora4 ,a too     
self-conscious  modesty is immodest4    
,the whole grace of virginity is        
ignorance2 the  instant virginity       
becomes aware of itself it is tarnished2
 virginity1  like certain fruits1 can   
only be preserved by a process of       
desiccation4  ,love and sunshine        
transform the universe4 ,modesty is     
simply a coat of  mail which presupposes
 a state of war between the sexes1 and  
aims at  preventing a blind promiscuity2
 the mutual self-abandonment of love  is
 more chaste than the modest inquietude 
and the immodest suspicion  which       
precede it2 there grows up between two  
people who love each  other a sort of   
confidence that results in their neither
 wishing nor  being able to keep back   
anything from each other2               
self-constraint1  suspicion1            
consciousness of antagonism of interest1
 all disappear4 ,this  is assuredly the 
characteristic of the most perfect form 
of reunion  that can exist in this      

world2 ,plato believed that the human   
body is  the prison of the spirit and   
cuts it off from immediate communication
  with its fellow-spirits2 paradoxical  
as it may seem1 it is in love that  the 
body becomes less opaque1 and effaces   
itself1 and soul communicates  with     
soul4 ,nay1 marriage itself preserves in
 women a sort of moral  virginity1 as   
one may recognize on the scarred and    
discoloured hands of  old women the     
white line that has been protected for  
thirty years1 by  the wedding ring1     
against the wear and tear of life4      
,sidenote3 ,m4 ,renan on celibacy4      
,modesty is a sentiment which has       
survived1 as we have seen1 because  it  
was useful to the propagation of the    
species2 mysticism perverts  and        
corrupts it and enlists it precisely    
against the propagation  of the species4
 ,between a ,carmelite nun and a        
courtesan like ,ninon  de ,lenclos the  
sociologist might well hesitate2        
socially they are  almost equally       

worthless1 their lives are almost       
equally miserable  and vain2 the        
excessive macerations of the one are as 
foolish as the  pleasures of the other2 
the moral desiccation of the one is     
often  not without some analogy to the  
corruption of the other4 ,vows or       
habits of perpetual chastity1 the       
monastic life itself1 have found  in our
 days an unexpected defender in ,m4     
,renan4 ,it is true he does  not regard 
such matters from the point of view of  
,christianity4 ,if he  has a word to say
 in favour of perpetual chastity1 it is 
strictly in  the name of physiological  
induction2 he considers chastity simply 
as  a means of heightening the capacity 
of the brain and of increasing  one's   
intellectual fertility4 ,he does not    
absolutely blame impurity1  he delights 
in a sense1 as he himself says1 in the  
joys of the  debauchee and the          
courtesan2 he possesses the boundless   
curiosity and  the accomplished         
impudicity of the man of science4 ,but  

he believes  that there exists a sort of
 intellectual antinomy between complete 
intellectual development and bodily     
love4 ,the true man of science  should  
concentrate his entire vitality in his  
brain1 should devote  his life to       
abstractions and chimeras2 by this      
reservation of his  entire strength for 
the service of his head1 his            
intelligence will  flower in double     
blossoms1 the monstrous beauty of which1
 produced  by the transformation of     
stamens into petals1 is the achievement 
of  sterility4 ,love is a heavy tax to  
pay for the vanities of the world1  and 
in the budget of the human race women   
count almost exclusively on  the side of
 expense4 ,science1 economical of time  
and force1 should  teach one to         
disembarrass one's self of women and    
love1 and to leave  such futilities to  
the drones4 ,these paradoxes that ,m4   
,renan puts  forth rest on a well-known 
scientific fact3 that the most          
intelligent  species are those in which 

reproduction is least active2 fertility1
  generally speaking1 varies inversely  
to cerebral energy4 ,but love must  not 
quite be confounded with sexual         
activity1 unless one is to draw the     
somewhat strange conclusion that among  
animals hares are those who are  best   
acquainted with love1 and among men     
,frenchmen are those who know  least of 
it4 ,from the fact that excessive       
commerce with the other sex  paralyses  
the intelligence1 it does not in the    
least follow that the  sentiment of love
 produces the same effect and that one's
 intellectual  power diminishes with the
 growth of one's heart4    ,sidenote3   
,love a cerebral stimulant4    ,we      
believe that love may be sufficiently   
defended on intellectual as  well as on 
moral grounds4 ,if it in certain        
respects involves an expense  of force1 
it in others so heightens the entire    
vital energy1 that the  expense must be 
regarded as one of those fruitful       
investments which are  inseparable from 

the very continuance of life4 ,to live1 
after all1 in  the physical as well as  
in the moral sense of the word1 is not  
only to  receive but to give1 but above 
all to give one's self to love2 it is   
difficult to pervert one of the most    
primitive elements of the human         
character1 without also perverting the  
heart and the intelligence4  ,love is   
above all things a stimulant to the     
entire being and to the  brain itself2  
it takes possession of the whole man2 it
 plays upon man  as upon a harp and     
sounds the whole compass of his being4  
,it cannot be  replaced by coffee or    
hasheesh4 ,women not only complete men1 
and form  by union with them a more     
complete1 more rounded existence1 more  
justly  epitomizing the possibilities of
 life2 they are capable also1 by their  
mere presence1 by their mere smile1 of  
doubling our individual powers  and     
carrying them to the highest point of   
energy of which they are  capable4 ,our 
manhood leans upon their grace4 ,all    

other motives which  inspire man--love  
of reputation1 of glory1 even of        
,god--are slight as  compared with the  
love of a woman who understands her rle4
 ,even the  most abstract passion1 the  
passion for science1 often fails to     
acquire  its entire strength until it   
has called to its aid the love of a     
woman1  which wrings a smile out of the 
grave alembics and fills the crucibles  
with the gaiety of hope4 ,nothing is    
simple in our being2 all things         
amalgamate and unite together4 ,they who
 invented the monk aimed at  simplifying
 human life2 they succeeded only in     
unnaturally complicating  it or         
mutilating it4    ,sidenote3 ,love makes
 for sanity4    ,but love does not only 
play1 in the life of the man of science 
and of  the thinker1 the rle of         
stimulant2 over and above its function  
in  inciting such men to work1 it       
contributes indirectly to rectify the   
product of their labours4 ,love lives in
 reality1 and to live in reality  helps 

one to think justly4 ,rightly to        
understand the world in which  we live1 
we must not dwell beyond its bounds1    
must not make a world  of our own1 an   
unnatural and frigid world1 rounded by  
the walls of a  monastery4 8,to aim at  
being an angel is to be a beast10 says  
,pascal2  and not only to be a beast1   
but in a measure to brutalize one's     
self1  to dim the precision and vivacity
 of one's intelligence4 ,a complete     
acquaintance with the details of the    
lives of great minds would  reveal      
surprising traces of love in the        
audacity and sweep of great             
metaphysical and cosmological           
hypotheses1 in profound generalizations1
  in passionate exactitude of           
demonstration4 ,love reaches everywhere2
  and as the philosopher who is also a  
lover pushes audaciously forward  in the
 domain of thought1 he moves more       
easily1 more lightly1 more  confidently1
 with a heightened faith in himself1 in 
others1 and in this  mysterious and mute

 universe4 ,love inspires one with that 
gentleness of  heart which inclines one 
to an interest in the smallest things   
and in  their place in the universe4    
,there is great kindliness in the heart 
of  the true philosopher4    ,sidenote3 
,love the essence of art4    ,then1 too1
 what is science without art8 ,the most 
intimate relations  exist between the   
intellectual and artistic faculties4#id 
,could art  exist without love8 ,love   
becomes1 in matters of art1 of the very 
tissue  of thought4 ,to compose verses  
or music1 to paint or model1 is simply  
to transmute love by diverse methods and
 into diverse forms4 ,whatever  the more
 or less sincere defenders of the       
monastic spirit and religious  mysticism
 may say1 love1 which is as old as the  
world1 is not upon the  point of        
quitting it2 and it is in the hearts and
 minds of the greatest  of mankind that 
it dwells most securely4 8,human        
frailty60 someone will  murmur4 8,no10  
we reply3 8source of strength and       

strength itself40 ,if  love is the      
science of the ignorant it constitutes  
some part also  of the science of the   
sage4 ,eros is of all the gods the one  
on whom  ,prometheus is most dependent1 
for it is from ,eros that he steals the 
sacred flame4 ,eros will survive in     
every heart1 and in especial in  every  
woman's heart1 when all religions shall 
have decayed4          #id ,see the     
author's ,problmes de l'esthtique       
contemporaine1 livre ii4    ,sidenote3  
,importance of early education in woman4
    ,we may conclude1 therefore1 that   
the characteristic tendencies of woman  
may be employed in the services of      
truth1 science1 free-thought1 and       
social fraternity4 ,everything depends  
on the education that is given  her1 and
 on the influence of the man whom she   
marries4 ,woman must  be begun with in  
childhood4 ,the life of a woman is more 
orderly and  continuous than that of a  
man2 for that reason the habits of      
childhood  exercise a more permanent    

influence over her4 ,there is but one   
great  revolution in a woman's life3    
marriage4 ,and there are women for whom 
this revolution does not exist2 and     
there are others for whom it exists  in 
its most attenuated form1 as when1 for  
example1 the husband's manner  of life  
and his beliefs are practically the same
 as those of the wife's  mother and     
family4 ,in a tranquil environment1 such
 as the majority of  women exist in1 the
 influence of early education may       
persist to the  end2 the small number of
 religious or philosophical ideas that  
were  planted in a woman's brain in her 
childhood may be found there years      
afterward1 practically unchanged4 ,the  
home is a protection1 a sort of         
hot-house in which plants flourish that 
could not live in the open air2  the    
film of glass or of veiling behind which
 women habitually stand to  look out    
into the street does not protect them   
against sun and rain  alone4 ,a woman's 
soul1 like her complexion1 preserves    

something of its  native whiteness4     
,sidenote3 ,husband responsible for     
wife's education4    ,in ,france1 in the
 majority of instances1 women are       
children up to the  time of their       
marriage2 and children inclined to      
regard the man to whom  their parents   
wish them to give their hand with a     
certain mixture of  fear and of respect4
 ,such a woman's intelligence is almost 
as virgin  as her body1 and in the first
 months of marriage the husband may     
acquire1 if he chooses1 a decisive      
influence over his wife1 model her  as  
yet imperfectly developed brain almost  
to his will4 ,if he waits1  if he       
temporizes1 he will find his task       
difficult--the more so as his  wife will
 some day gain over him some such       
influence as he might at  first have    
gained over her4 ,the instant a woman   
becomes fully aware of  her power1 she  
almost always becomes the controlling   
influence in the  household2 if her     
husband has not formed her1 if he has   

left her with  all the prejudices and   
ignorances of a child1 and often of a   
spoiled  child1 she will1 in the course 
of time1 form or rather deform him--will
  oblige him at first to tolerate1 and  
ultimately to accept1 her childish      
beliefs and errors1 and perhaps in the  
end1 profiting by the decline of  his   
intelligence1 with the coming on of old 
age1 she will convert him1  and by that 
fact retard the intellectual progress of
 the household by  an entire generation4
 ,the priesthood positively count on the
 growing  influence of the wife in every
 household2 but they are helpless in    
the first months1 or perhaps years1 of  
marriage against the influence  that the
 husband may exercise4 ,and once        
fashioned by him the wife may  continue 
to exist to the end of her life in his  
image1 and to give him  back his own    
ideas and instil them into his children4
    ,sidenote3 ,free-thinker's          
difficulty4    ,the free-thinker1 it is 
true1 labours under a great disadvantage

 in  the work of conversion3 a believer 
may always decline to reason2  whenever 
an intellectual duel seems to him to be 
disadvantageous he may  decline to      
fight2 a high degree of indulgent       
tenacity and of prudence  is necessary  
in a discussion with anyone who is thus 
ready to take  refuge in flight at the  
slightest alarm4 ,what can one do       
against a  gentle and obstinate         
determination to say nothing1 to        
intrench one's  self in ignorance1 to   
allow argument to shatter itself against
 an outer  wall4 8,it seemed to me10 a  
,russian novelist cries1 8as if all my  
words  bounded off her like peas shot at
 a marble statue40 ,one of ,shakspere's 
heroines proposes to essay matrimony as 
an exercise of patience4 ,if  patience  
is1 in the management of the household1 
the great virtue of  the wife1 the man's
 virtue should be perseverance and      
active obstinacy  in an effort to       
fashion and create her to his desire and
 ideal4 ,i  once questioned a woman who 

had married a free-thinker with a secret
  intention of converting him4 ,the     
upshot of the matter was the precise    
opposite1 and ,i quote below her own    
account1 as she gave it to me1  of the  
successive phases of this moral crisis4 
,it is of course only  an isolated      
example1 but it may serve to illustrate 
the character of  women1 and the more or
 less great facility with which they may
 be made  to accept scientific or       
philosophic ideas4    ,sidenote3 ,wife's
 effort to convert her husband4    8,the
 double aim of every ,christian woman is
 to save souls1 in general1  and to save
 her own in particular4 ,to aid ,christ1
 by bringing back into  the fold the    
sheep who have strayed away1 is her     
great dream1 and to  preserve her own   
purity is her constant preoccupation4   
,when the moment  came for me to try my 
powers1 a lively solicitude took        
possession of  me3 should ,i really     
succeed in winning over the man to whom 
,i was to  unite my life1 or would he   

succeed in winning me over8 ,great is   
the  power of evil1 and whoever exposes 
himself to temptation will perish1  but 
if evil is powerful1 ,god1 ,i assured   
myself1 is still more powerful1  and    
,god never abandons those who confide in
 him1 and ,i confided in ,god4  ,to     
convince the incredulous who had        
systematized their incredulity into  a  
reasoned whole was no slight task1 and  
,i did not hope to accomplish  it in    
four and twenty hours4 ,my plan was     
this3 to be faithful in the  midst of   
the unfaithful1 immutable and confident 
in my religion which  was the religion  
of the humble1 the simple1 and the      
ignorant2 to do the  utmost good        
possible1 according to the first of     
,christ's commandments2  to practise my 
religion in silence but openly2 to      
domesticate it in my  household2 to     
inaugurate a secret1 slow1 incessant    
combat which should  last1 if necessary1
 till the end of my life4 ,and then to  
rely upon the  infinite mercy of ,god4  

8,with this disposition of mind ,i had  
no difficulty in standing mute  whenever
 my husband attacked my beliefs4 ,my    
first object was to prove  the          
uselessness of all discussion1 the      
firmness of my faith4 ,i knew  perfectly
 well that ,i really was unable to      
reply1 that he knew so much  and ,i so  
little4 ,but if ,i had only been a      
doctor of theology ,i would  have       
accepted the challenge1 ,i would have   
heaped up proof on proof6  ,with the    
truth and ,god for me1 how could ,i have
 been vanquished8 ,but  ,i was not in   
the least like a doctor of theology1 and
 the result  was that1 fortified in my  
ignorance1 ,i listened placidly to all  
his  arguments1 and the livelier1 the   
more cogent they were1 the more         
profoundly ,i was convinced of the truth
 of my religion1 which stood  erect     
under so much battering and triumphed in
 its immunity4    8,i was inexpugnable1 
and the siege might have lasted long if 
my husband  had not recognized the      

strength of my position and changed his 
tactics4  ,his object was to force me to
 discuss1 to follow his objections1 to  
understand them in spite of myself1 to  
turn them over in my own mind4  ,he told
 me that it would be a help to him in   
his work if ,i should  epitomize        
sometimes in writing1 sometimes viva    
voce1 a certain number  of works on     
religion4 ,he put into my hands ,m4     
,renan's #8,vie de ,jsus1'  ,m4         
,reville's wise and conscientious little
 book on #8,l',histoire du dogme  de la 
divinit de ,jsus ,christ1' often full of
 abstract inquiries in  which the       
sincerity of the author was evident and 
contagious1 even  when the reader was   
looking for sophisms4#ie ,i could not   
refuse to  read the books without       
abandoning my most cherished ambition1  
which  was to aid my husband in his     
work4 ,my conscience was involved1 and  
,i  could not consult my confessor      
because we were then abroad2 moreover   
my faith1 although profound1 had always 

been1 or pretended to be1  generous and 
enlightened4 ,if ,i was ever to hand my 
religion on ,i must  not be intolerant2 
and ,i read6 ,m4 ,renan did not         
especially scandalize  me1 he was a     
follower of ,jesus1 writing of ,jesus2  
his book1 which has  charmed many women 
as much as a romance1 saddened me       
without repelling  me4 ,i was obliged to
 make a written abstract of the entire  
book and had  to put myself into the    
author's place1 to see things with his  
eyes1  to think his thoughts2 and1 in   
spite of myself1 ,i sometimes saw in my 
own heart1 side by side with the        
impeccable and perfect ,christ ,god1    
the figure of the imperfect1 suffering1 
worn man1 out of patience and  cursing4 
,the other books1 which were much more  
abstract1 called for a  much greater    
effort on my part1 but the very effort  
that ,i put forth  constrained me more  
completely to assimilate their contents4
 ,every day  ,i lost ground1 and my once
 passive faith became slowly transformed

 into  an anxious desire to know1 into a
 hope that a more complete knowledge    
would re-establish my broken defences4  
#ie 8,among the polemical works on      
,christianity ,i shall cite        one  
which is perhaps somewhat old1 but      
precious1 in that it        sums up with
 great impartiality the whole mass of   
secular        objections1 including a  
large number of modern objections to    
,christianity1 the book of ,m4 ,patrice 
,larroque1 entitled ,examen             
critique des doctrines de la religion   
,chrtienne40    8,one day1 my husband   
said to me abruptly3 #8,you will not    
refuse to  read the ,bible1 which is the
 source of your religion1 from one end  
to  the other8' ,i acceded with         
pleasure1 ,i did not wait for           
permission--,i  was beyond that2 it     
seemed to me that to read the ,bible    
must be the  beginning of that profound 
knowledge which ,i envied my ideal      
doctor of  theology4 ,it was with       
trembling fingers that ,i opened the    

black-bound  book1 with its closely     
printed pages dictated by ,god ,himself1
 alive  still with the divine ,word6 ,i 
held in my hands the truth1 the         
justification of human life1 the keys of
 the future2 it seemed to me  that the  
tablets of ,sinai had been committed to 
me as to the prostrate  multitude of the
 ,hebrews at the foot of the mountain1  
and ,i also would  have kneeled humbly  
to receive it4 ,but1 as ,i made my way  
through the  book1 the immorality of    
certain pages seemed to me so evident   
that  my whole heart rose in revolt     
against them4 ,i had not been hardened  
from my childhood1 as ,protestant girls 
are1 to all these tales4 ,the  ,catholic
 education1 which does what it can to   
keep the ,sacred ,books  out of sight1  
seems to me in this respect1 and only in
 this respect1  much superior to the    
,protestant religion4 ,in any event1 it 
prepares one  who reads the ,bible for  
the first time in mature years to feel  
much  more acutely the profound         

immorality of sacred history4           
,catholicism  often perverts the        
intelligence2 ,protestantism might      
naturally go the  length of perverting  
the heart4 ,unbelievers have often made 
the moral  monstrosities in the ,bible a
 subject of raillery2 ,i felt nothing   
but  indignation when ,i came across    
them1 and ,i closed with disgust the    
book  which ,i had so long regarded with
 respect4    8,what should ,i think of  
it2 what should ,i believe8 ,the words  
of  infinite love and charity which the 
,new ,testament contains came back  to  
me4 ,if ,god was anywhere ,he must be   
there1 and once more ,i opened  the     
sacred book--the book which has so often
 tempted humanity4 ,after  all1 it was  
,christ that ,i had adored rather than  
the ,lord of ,hosts4  ,my acquaintance  
had been almost wholly limited to the   
,gospel of ,st4  ,john1 which ,i had    
learned was of disputable authenticity4 
,i read the  ,gospels from end to end4  
,even in ,st4 ,john ,i could not find   

the model  man above reproach1 the      
incarnate ,god1 the divine ,word2 in the
 very  midst of the beauties and        
sublimities of the text1 ,i myself began
 to  perceive innumerable               
contradictions1 navets1 superstitions1  
and moral  failings4 ,my beliefs no     
longer existed1 ,i had been betrayed by 
my ,god1  my whole previous intellectual
 life looked to me more and more like a 
dream4 ,this dream had its beautiful    
aspects2 even to-day ,i sometimes       
regret the consolation that it once     
afforded me and can never afford  me    
again4 ,nevertheless1 in all sincerity1 
if ,i had the chance to sleep  once more
 the intellectual sleep of my girlhood1 
to forget all that  ,i have learned1 to 
return to my errors--,i would not for   
the world  consent to take it1 ,i would 
not take a step backward4 ,the memory of
 the  illusions that ,i have lost has   
never disturbed the line of reasoning by
  means of which ,i lost them4 ,when    
once ,i had come face to face with the  

reality1 it maintained itself from that 
moment on1 sometimes painfully1  but    
steadily in my imagination4 ,the last   
thing that a human being can  willingly 
consent to is to be deceived40          
,,chapter ,,vii4    ,,the ,,effect ,,of 
,,religion ,,and ,,non-,,religion ,,on  
,,population ,,and ,,the ,,future ,,of  
,,the ,,race4        ,i4 ,importance of 
the problem of population--,antagonism  
between numerical strength and          
wealth--,necessity of numbers        for
 the maintenance and progress of the    
race--,necessity        of giving the   
advantage of numbers to the superior    
races--,problem of population in        
,france--,its relation to        the    
religious problem--,are the reasons for 
the restriction        of the number of 
births physiological1 moral1 or         
economic8--,malthusianism in            
,france--,the true national peril4      
,,ii4 ,remedies--,is a return to        
religion possible8--,religious          
powerlessness and growing tolerance in  

the matter--,the        influence that  
the law might exercise upon the causes  
of        small families--,enumeration  
of these causes--,reform of the         
law in regard to filial duty--7,support 
of parents7--,reform        of the law  
of inheritance--,reform of the military 
law for        the purpose of favouring 
large families and of permitting        
emigration to the ,french colonies4     
,,iii4 ,influence of public education3  
its necessity as a        substitute for
 religious sentiment4      ,one of the  
most important of the problems to which 
the gradual  enfeeblement of the        
religious sentiment has given rise is   
that of  race fertility and the question
 of population4 ,almost all religions   
have attached a considerable importance 
to the rapid increase of  population4   
,with the diminution of the influence of
 religions among the  superior races of 
mankind1 shall we not lose an important 
aid in their  maintenance and           
multiplication8           99       99   

99       99       99    ,sidenote3      
,antagonism between wealth and          
population4    ,i4 ,in the beginning1   
for the earliest aggregations of        
mankind1 number  was a condition of     
power and consequently of security4 ,the
 power of  wealth1 which can be         
concentrated in the possession of a     
single man1  did not1 so to speak1      
exist4 ,in our days wealth has become a 
power  which is sufficient unto itself1 
and which division and distribution     
often inevitably dissipate4 ,therein    
lies the source of the reasoning  which 
appeals nowadays to the heads of        
families3 8,to render a family  powerful
 one must transmit one's capital in as  
undivided a state as  possible2 that is 
to say1 one must restrict the numbers of
 one's  descendants to the utmost       
feasible limits40 ,capital and          
capitalistic  egoism is therefore the   
enemy of population1 because            
multiplication of  men always implies a 
more or less minute subdivision of      

wealth4    ,sidenote3 ,importance of    
rapid increase of population4           
,religion has always held the power of  
capital1 in this respect1 in  check4    
,the ,christian1 the ,hindu1 the        
,mohammedan religion all correspond  to 
a state of things very different from   
that of the modern world2 to  a state of
 society in which number constitutes a  
great power1 in which  large families   
possess an immediate and visible        
utility4 ,the greater  number of the    
great religions are at one in the       
precept3 8,increase  and multiply40     
,according to the laws of ,manou1 one of
 the conditions  of salvation is the    
large number of male descendants4 ,the  
religious  and national tradition of the
 ,jews on the point is well known4      
,every  religion of ,jewish origin being
 thus favourable to increase in the     
size of the family1 and expressly       
prohibiting means of prevention1  it    
follows that1 other things equal1 a     
sincerely ,christian or ,jewish  people 

will multiply more rapidly than a       
free-thinking people4 ,the  infertility 
of the higher races1 over and above the 
influence of the  opposition between    
religion and the modern spirit1 is      
induced also by  a sort of antinomy     
between civilization and race           
propagation3 rapid  civilization is     
always accompanied by a certain race    
corruption4 ,this  antinomy must be     
remedied under penalty of extinction4   
,life is intense  in proportion to the  
number of young1 ambitious people who   
engage  in it2 the struggle for         
existence is fertile just so far as it  
is  carried on by young men rather than 
by men who are fatigued and who no      
longer possess an enthusiasm for work2 a
 young and rapidly increasing  nation   
constitutes a richer and more powerful  
organism1 a steam-engine  working at a  
high pressure4 ,one-half1 perhaps       
three-fourths of the  distinguished men 
have come of numerous families2 some    
have been the  tenth1 some the twelfth  

child2 to restrict the number of        
children is  to restrict the production 
of talent and genius1 and that1 too1 out
  of all proportion to the restriction  
of the family4 ,an only son1 far  from  
having1 on the average1 a greater number
 of chances of being a  remarkable man1 
really possesses fewer2 in especial if  
he belongs to  the upper classes4 8,both
 the mother and father1 it has been     
said1 watch  over this first child and  
enfeeble it by superfluous care1 and    
spare  it1 by yielding to its wishes1   
all moral gymnastic40 ,every child who  
expects to be the sole inheritor of a   
small fortune will put forth  less      
energy1 in the struggle for existence1  
than he otherwise would4  ,and finally1 
it is a physiological fact that the     
first children are  often less vigorous 
and less intelligent2 maternity is a    
function which  becomes perfect1 as     
other functions do1 by repetition2 a    
mother's first  effort is as rarely a   
masterpiece as a poet's4 ,to limit the  

number of  children is1 therefore1 in a 
certain measure to dwarf their physical 
and intellectual powers4    ,sidenote3  
,fallacy of ,malthusianism4    ,as an   
increase of population heightens the    
intensity of the physical  and mental   
life of a nation1 so also it heightens  
the intensity of the  economic life of a
 nation1 stimulates the circulation of  
wealth1 and  ultimately increases the   
public treasure instead of diminishing  
it4 ,it  is happening under our very    
eyes in ,germany and ,england1 where    
public  wealth has increased side by    
side with the population4 ,in ,germany1 
in  a period of nine years 7#ahgb-ahha71
 the average annual revenue of each     
individual increased six per cent41     
while the population rolled up by       
millions4 ,the economical doctrine which
 regards overpopulation as the          
principal cause of poverty is a very    
superficial one4 ,as long as there  is  
an available plot of ground unoccupied1 
and perhaps even after the  entire earth

 shall be cultivated 7for science may be
 able to create  new sources of wealth  
and even of food7 a man will always     
constitute a  bit of living capital1 of 
a higher value than a horse or a cow1   
and to  increase the numbers of citizens
 of a nation will be to increase the    
sum of its wealth4#if          #if ,what
 economists have really established1 and
 what ,,mm4        ,maurice ,block1     
,courcelles-,seneuil1 ,paul             
,leroy-,beaulieu1 ,othenin              
d',haussonville are right in            
maintaining1 is that it is harmful      
to society to add to the non-working    
classes1 to the number        of feeble 
beings who are incapable of labour1 to  
the number        of beggars1 and of    
non-combatants generally1 whoever they  
may        be4 ,well1 poverty favours   
the birth of those who are dependent    
upon society1 and the birth of those who
 are dependent upon        society tends
 still further to increase poverty2 that
 is the        circle from which so many

 economists have believed that the      
precepts of ,malthus offered them an    
issue4 ,unhappily1 if there        is   
one universal attribute of poverty1 it  
is its fertility2        for in all     
nations the poorest classes are those   
that have the        greatest number of 
children4 ,malthus has never been       
listened to        by the poorer        
classes1 but precisely by those only    
who1 from        the point of view of a 
sagacious political economy1 ought to be
        encouraged to leave as many     
children behind them as possible1       
because they alone would educate them   
well3 that is to say1 the               
economical peasantry and the prosperous 
middle class4 ,insomuch        that a   
fertility of the poor is absolutely     
without remedy        7except by way of 
charity or emigration72 but it          
constitutes in        the end a much    
less considerable evil than the         
infertility of a        nation as a     
whole1 and is an ultimate evil only     

because1 in the        last analysis1 it
 results in a genuine unproductivity4   
,poverty1        especially in the      
cities1 rapidly kills out the most      
prolific        races4    ,sidenote3    
,menace to modern civilization4         
,formerly the struggle for existence    
between two races or nations ended  in a
 single violent crisis3 the vanquished  
were massacred or reduced  to slavery1  
and slavery usually resulted in the     
gradual extinction  of the inferior     
race2 it was a slow massacre4 ,famine1  
produced by  methodical devastation1    
achieved what war had begun--whole races
  disappeared abruptly from the face of 
the globe and left not a trace  behind3 
the most recent and most striking       
example is that of the  great ,american 
empires of ,mexico and ,peru4 ,thus the 
strongest and  most intelligent races   
alone survived1 and had only to confirm 
their  victory with all its consequences
 by clearing the earth before them4     
,existence was a monopoly in the hands  

of the strong4 ,it is no longer  so4    
,to-day the vanquished are no longer    
massacred2 on the contrary1  when an    
uncivilized country is conquered1 it is 
supplied with good  laws1 with police   
and hygiene4 ,inferior races increase   
and multiply  under the rule of superior
 races4 ,the ,cape negroes1 the         
,chinese1 the  negroes in the ,united   
,states1 and even the last surviving    
red-skins1  who seem disposed to-day to 
take heart1 are examples of what ,i     
mean4  ,well1 the ,orient contains1 in  
the ,chinese ,empire1 a veritable       
reservoir  of men1 which some day or    
other will overflow the entire earth4   
,in the  face of this compact multitude1
 which is increasing rapidly1 and with  
advancing civilization will increase    
more rapidly1 the four or five  great   
nations of ,europe1 and the ,united     
,states and ,australia1 seem  a small   
matter4 ,the future of humanity depends 
mathematically upon  the proportions in 
which the more intelligent races are    

represented  in the complex composition 
of the man of the future4 ,and every son
 of  one of the more highly endowed     
races of the globe1 such as the ,french1
  ,german1 or ,english1 commits a       
positive fault in not labouring for the 
multiplication of his race2 he          
contributes to lower the future level   
of human intelligence4 ,men of science  
have already established it as  a law   
that the power of reproduction decreases
 with the increase of  cerebral         
activity1 and that intelligent races    
reproduce themselves  with increasing   
difficulty2 to augment this natural     
difficulty by a  voluntary restriction  
is daily to labour for the brutalization
 of the  human race4    ,sidenote3 ,duty
 of civilized races to multiply4    ,the
 followers of ,malthus1 supposing that  
there at present exists an  equilibrium 
between population and the means of     
subsistence1 look  with anxiety upon    
every new arrival in the world2 but even
 admitting  that the struggle for       

existence has already reached that acute
 stage1  it might still be hoped that   
only the more intelligent would leave   
children behind them4 ,malthus' law     
should possess no force for the         
educated men of ,europe1 who alone are  
acquainted with it1 but only for  the   
negroes or the ,chinese1 who are        
absolutely ignorant of it4 ,malthus'    
law is not meant for us2 in reality it  
is not meant for anyone4 ,by the  very  
fact that one is acquainted with it1 and
 possesses foresight and  self-control  
enough to put it into practice1 one     
proves that one stands  beyond the      
circle of its applicability4            
,malthusians1 who endeavour to  apply to
 the reproduction of mankind the        
principles of animal-breeders1  forget  
that the dominant principle in all      
breeding is to favour the               
multiplication of the superior species4 
,one ,durham bull is worth  ten common  
bulls4 ,what is true of bulls and sheep 
is true of men3 a  ,frenchman1 with the 

scientific and sthetic aptitude of his  
race1  represents on the average a      
social capital a hundred times greater  
than that represented by a negro1 an    
,arab1 a ,turk1 a ,cossack1 or a        
,chinaman4 ,to leave few ,french        
descendants1 in order that ,cossacks and
  ,turks may increase and multiply1 is  
to commit an absurdity1 even on  the    
principles of a ,malthusian4 ,be it     
remembered that it was among the        
,aryans1 and in especial among the      
,greeks1 that science and art worthy  of
 the name took their rise2 from them    
they passed to the other ,aryans1  and  
then to the other human races4          
,sidenote3 ,bad outlook for the future4 
,michelet compares the treasure of      
science and truth1 amassed by the  human
 mind1 to the egg that a slave carried  
into the ,roman circus1  at the end of  
the entertainment1 into the midst of the
 great lions1  who were gorged and      
asleep4 ,if one of the wild beasts      
opened his eyes  and was seized once    

more by desire at sight of the man with 
the egg1  which is the symbol of human  
genius1 the slave was lost4 ,in our     
times  genius is infinitely less        
persecuted than heretofore1 and is no   
longer  in danger of the arena or of the
 headsman1 and it seems as if the       
sacred egg out of which the future is to
 arise has nothing further to  fear2 but
 this is a mistake4 ,precisely because  
the human mind is year  by year growing 
richer1 its treasure is becoming so     
considerable1 so  delicate1 and         
difficult to preserve in its entirety1  
that it may well  be asked whether a    
succession of people sufficiently well  
endowed  will arise to retain and to    
augment the acquisitions of science4 ,up
  to the present day those truths alone 
have survived the wear and tear  of time
 which were simple2 at the present epoch
 the rapidity of the  progress of       
science may well make us anxious as to  
its permanence4 ,the  extreme complexity
 of science may well make us fear that  

the peoples  of the future may not      
possess mental elevation enough to      
embrace it  in its entirety1 and to add 
to it by a constant increase4 ,suppose1 
for example1 that the world should be   
reduced abruptly to ,africa1  ,asia1 and
 ,south ,america1 where the ,spanish    
race has not yet produced  a single     
scientific genius2 must not the         
scientific labours of our  century      
inevitably miscarry8 ,happily their     
safety is bound up with that  of certain
 great nations4 ,the ,anglo-,saxon and  
,germanic peoples to-day  cover the     
earth with their children and their     
colonies4 ,but it is sad  to think that 
one of the three or four great ,european
 peoples1 which  alone count for much in
 the progress of humanity1 should be    
dancing  gaily toward annihilation4     
,sidenote3 ,danger from ,asia4    ,a    
fusion of races will sooner or later    
take place in humanity2 it is  already  
taking place in the ,united ,states1 and
 the perfection of means  of            

communication is hastening its          
consummation throughout the entire      
world4 ,europe is pouring out its       
surplus upon ,america1 ,africa1 and     
,australia2 ,asia will some day overflow
 ,europe and ,america2 what is  taking  
place to-day1 fifty years after the     
invention of railways1 can  scarcely    
give us an idea of the mixture and      
amalgamation of races which  will some  
day be realized on the earth4 ,such a   
mixture1 even though  it raise the      
level1 in some small degree1 of races   
intellectually  ill-endowed1 may well   
abase the level of races intellectually 
well-endowed1 if the latter are greatly 
outnumbered by the former4    ,sidenote3
 ,money the modern patent of nobility4  
,it may be objected1 it is true1 that   
the superior races of mankind  may      
remain isolated in the midst of the     
multiplication of the other  branches of
 humanity in a sort of jealous          
aristocracy1 served and  respected by   
those whom they dominate by their       

intelligence4 ,this is  one of the      
dreams of ,m4 ,renan1 who sees in the   
,chinese the future slave  of the       
,europeans--gentle1 docile slaves1 with 
just enough intelligence  to be         
marvellous industrial machines4         
,unhappily we have learned1 to our      
expense1 that the ,chinese are also     
excellent instruments of war4 ,in the   
industrial society in which we live1    
money constitutes1 in the long  run1 the
 basis of aristocracy4 ,to-day money is 
the true force and title  of nobility4  
,to lay up treasures demands a very     
average intelligence1  of which a great 
number of inferior people are no doubt  
capable3 once  rich and they will be our
 equals2 richer1 they will be our       
superiors  and our masters4 ,if they    
have money enough they can purchase     
every  privilege1 even that of mixing   
their blood with ours1 even that of     
marrying our daughters and of           
confounding our race and theirs4 ,the   
only means by which intelligence can    

preserve its power is by means of       
numbers4 ,genius itself must leave a    
posterity behind it1 and in spite  of   
prejudice to the contrary1 if we are to 
be eternal it must be by  means of our  
children rather than by our works4      
,sidenote3 ,religion of the family4     
,positivists propose to substitute a    
religion of humanity for existing  and  
rapidly disappearing religions2 there is
 a still more accessible  religion1 and 
more practical1 and more useful1 which  
was one of the  first religions of      
humanity3 the religion of the family1   
the worship of  the little group of     
beings bound together by ties of blood  
and memory  and name and honour1 which  
form an epitome of a nation2 to permit  
one's  family to die out or to diminish 
in number is to labour1 to the extent   
that in one lies1 to diminish the power 
of one's native country and  of humanity
 itself4 ,patriotism has been made a    
subject of ridicule1  but patriotism is 
a beautiful thing1 and befitting in the 

head of a  household4 ,paternity in its 
completest sense1 that is to say1 the   
responsibility for the education of a   
new generation from birth to the  age of
 manhood1 is1 after all1 the surest     
element of patriotism1 and is  within   
the reach of everyone4    ,sidenote3    
,gradual impoverishment of ,france4     
,in ,france especially1 as we have seen1
 the population question is an          
important one1 and should be insisted   
on4 ,it has been said with reason  that 
,france to-day is not threatened by a   
multitude of dangers1 but  by one only1 
which actually constitutes a national   
peril3 that of  extinction from lack of 
children4#ig ,a nation may increase its 
capital  in two ways2 #a4 ,by productive
 expenditure and productive labour2 #b4 
,by  the utmost possible diminution of  
both1 of labour and of expenditure4     
,france has been employing the second   
means since the beginning of the        
present century2 she has been           
economizing in children and diminishing 

the rapidity of the circulation of      
national life4 ,she has1 by this        
process1 amassed a great treasure1 but  
the results of her economy  have been in
 part consecrated to the payment of an  
indemnity of five  billions1 and in part
 to loans1 as in ,mexico1 ,turkey1 and  
,egypt1 and to  speculation of every    
kind1 and the result of these blind     
economies has  been a gradual           
impoverishment4          #ig ,m4        
,richet4    ,sidenote3 ,classes in      
,france that maintain the population4   
,over and above those who are           
unreflective1 or who simply trust to    
luck1 there exists no considerable class
 of people in ,france1 except           
,catholics1 ,protestants1 and ,jews1 who
 can be counted on to maintain  the     
race4 ,there exists no doubt a certain  
number of bons vivants  who are         
determined to take their pleasure at all
 hazards1 and who find  in the          
restriction of the family a limitation  
of their pleasure2 but  they are rare4  

,the disciples of ,malthus are nowadays 
much more numerous  than those of       
,rabelais4 ,people who have children1   
not out of pleasure  nor by chance1 but 
out of patriotism and philosophy1 are so
 rare that  they need not at present be 
taken into account4 ,the more the       
property  in ,france is subdivided1 the 
greater the number of small proprietors1
  the fewer children there are4 ,since  
#ahff the agricultural inquiry  has     
demonstrated the invasion of            
,malthusianism and the progress of      
voluntary infertility in almost every   
department side by side with  the       
subdivision of the soil4 ,from that time
 on the movement has gone  forward      
unchecked4 8,in certain communes the    
words brother and sister  have almost   
fallen out of use4 ,primogeniture1 which
 was abolished  in #aghi1 has been      
replaced by unigeniture40#ih ,labourers 
only are  anti-malthusians1 and that out
 of carelessness for the future4 ,a     
,malthusian was one day remonstrating   

with a poor labourer1 who was  the      
father of twelve children and ambitious 
to become the father of  a thirteenth4  
8,what will you have80 said the latter1 
8it is the only  pleasure in the world  
that ,i get for nothing2 ,i would not   
diminish it  on any account40           
#ih ,toubeau1 ,la ,rpartition des impts1
 t4 ii4    ,sidenote3 ,power of religion
 to stimulate population4    ,it has    
been maintained that a greater or less  
restriction of the number  of births is 
essentially due1 not to a diminution in 
the religious  devotion of the people1  
but simply to an increase of prudence4  
,whoever  does not live simply in the   
present moment1 but takes account of the
  future1 will restrict the number of   
his children according to the  figure of
 his income4 ,and yet where faith is    
sincere and rigid1 it does  not permit  
one to hesitate on mere grounds of      
economics4 ,in ,brittany  prudence      
neither checks religion nor fertility4  
,engaged couples1  knowing that they    

will have children after marriage1      
postpone their  union till they shall   
have laid by a certain amount of money1 
purchased  a house and a plot of ground4
 ,in the department of                  
,ille-et-,vilaine1  men do not generally
 become engaged before their            
twenty-fourth year1  nor women before   
their nineteenth year4 ,marriage does   
not last as  long therefore in ,brittany
 as in ,normandy2 it lasts on the       
average  twenty-seven years and a half  
in ,normandy and twenty-one in          
,brittany1  and yet the fertility of the
 women of ,brittany1 as compared with   
that  of the women of ,normandy1 is     
almost as that of a hundred to sixty4   
,in ,brittany the result of religion and
 prudence1 before marriage1  combined1  
is a constant increase of population2 in
 ,normandy the effect  of incredulity   
and prudence1 after marriage1 combined1 
is a constant  diminution of the        
population2 although1 of the two        
peoples1 the ,normans  are more         

vigorous1 and owing to the greater      
frequency of twins1  naturally more     
fertile4#ii          #ii ,see ,m4       
,baudrillart1 ,les ,populations rurales 
de la        ,bretagne4    ,sidenote3   
,condition of population in ,france not 
due to aversion to  marriage4    ,the   
weakness of the ,french as a nation does
 not lie in the smallness of  the number
 of marriages4 ,practically the average 
number of marriages  in ,france is the  
same as in ,germany1 something like     
eight a year for  every thousand        
inhabitants1 so that marriages are about
 as frequent in  ,france as elsewhere4  
,there is no question of immorality     
involved1 but  simply one of the        
prudence of married people4             
,illegitimate births are  less numerous 
in ,france than in ,italy or in ,germany
 and in especial in  ,catholic ,germany4
 ,in ,paris scarcely more than          
twenty-five per cent4 of  the children  
are illegitimate1 at ,osmultz in        
,moravia fully seventy per  cent4 are   

illegitimate4 ,m4 ,bertillon has        
established the fact that1  since the   
beginning of the century1 the percentage
 of marriage has  been maintained1 and  
even has increased rather than          
diminished up to  #ahfe2 but that the   
percentage of births has diminished     
continuously1  and regularly4 ,according
 to statistics every marriage averages  
five  children in ,germany1 five in     
,england1 or almost five1 and three only
 in  ,france4    ,sidenote3 ,nor to     
degree of civilization in ,france4      
,certain thinkers have been inclined to 
believe that the comparative  slowness  
in the increase of the ,french people   
was due to a relatively  high           
development of the brain4 ,we have      
already remarked the antagonism  which  
exists between reproduction and the     
development of the nervous or  cerebral 
system1 but it is somewhat precipitate  
to apply to a special  group of men what
 is true of the species as a whole2 and 
there is a  touch of fatuity in the     

notion that the ,french people have     
achieved so  high a point of development
 that there exists in certain provinces 
not  only a decrease in the rate of     
reproduction1 but an absolute decrease  
of population4 ,a statistical           
investigation has shown1 it is true1    
that  members of the ,institute do not  
average more than one or two children   
apiece1 but this statistical inquiry    
proves simply that members of  the      
,institute have not desired to have     
large families1 and that their  conduct1
 which is generally not influenced by   
religion1 has been  comformable to their
 desire4 ,an ordinarily healthy man     
could become the  father of a hundred   
children every year2 and to imagine that
 his sexual  needs diminish under the   
influence of intellectual labour to the 
extent  of his having but one child in  
forty years would be more apropos in a  
comic opera than in a serious book4     
,remark1 however1 that the fertility  is
 less great among peasants1 whose       

cerebral activity is at a minimum1  than
 in our cities1 in which it is          
relatively great2 but in cities         
fertility is balanced unhappily by      
mortality4 ,the antagonism between      
fertility and development of the brain  
should be at its greatest in  women2 but
 ,frenchwomen1 whose education has long 
been neglected1 do not  appear to       
possess on the average any intellectual 
superiority over the  women of other    
countries4 ,and in our provinces        
population advances most  slowly in     
,normandy1 where the women are so       
vigorous that the percentage  of twins  
is higher than elsewhere4    ,sidenote3 
,malthusianism the cause4               
,malthusianism therefore is the cause of
 the evil1 and malthusianism  is a worse
 scourge than pauperism2 it is in a     
sense the pauperism of  the middle      
classes4 ,just as an excessive          
impoverishment may kill out a  whole    
social class1 malthusianism is the death
 of the middle classes4  ,it is rare to 

find a middle-class family with more    
than two or three  children2 two        
children1 at least1 are necessary to    
replace the father  and the mother1 and 
to maintain the population2 a certain   
number of  celibates and of married     
people who are sterile must be allowed  
for4  ,the middle classes therefore are 
approaching extinction3 the result of   
restricting their number is suicide4    
,to sum up1 the population question in  
,france is purely and simply a  moral   
question2 but more than any other       
question of the like nature  it is      
closely bound up with religion because1 
up to the present time1  religion has   
been the sole power which has dared to  
check popular  inclination in this      
regard4 ,it is in respect to population 
that lay  morality has been most        
negligent4           99       99        
99       99       99    ,sidenote3      
,futility of effort to bring about a    
return of religion4    ,,ii4 ,if the    
question is really one of a return to   

some traditional  religion or a gradual 
extinction of the race1 free-thinkers   
may well  hesitate between a number of  
lines of conduct4 ,they may1 in the     
first  place1 take refuge in            
resignation3 8,after me the ,deluge40   
,many of the  middle classes and a great
 number even of economists1 who regard  
the  future of their race and of their  
country as much too distant to be  taken
 into account and consider present      
comfort as the sole rational  aim of    
man1 accept this position4 ,a more      
radical alternative is to  join the     
,church3 both the ,catholic and the     
,protestant churches1 in  spite of the  
eccentricity of their legends1 are      
useful as an aid in  making a nation    
numerous and strong and prolific2 and   
the ,french  of all nations needs       
religion1 so that1 instead of           
endeavouring to  destroy the ,christian 
faith1 it is our duty to endeavour to   
propagate  it4 ,there is an element of  
hypocrisy and even of cowardice in this 

effort to revive a bygone error in the  
name of present utility4 ,and  it       
involves the affirmation that error is  
at the bottom more useful  than truth1  
and that truth is fundamentally         
irreconcilable with the  continued      
existence of the human race--an         
affirmation which is somewhat           
precipitate4 ,above all1 the effort to  
arrest scepticism is simply             
futile--futile for humanity1 for a      
people1 for a family4 ,when it is  time 
to regret that certain things have been 
learned it is too late to  set about    
ignoring them4 ,the ,french people1 in  
especial1 possess a fund  of incredulity
 which is based upon the practical and  
logical character  of their temperament3
 they rose in #aghi against the clergy1 
in the name  of liberty2 nowadays they  
will struggle with the same stubbornness
 in  the name of comfort against the    
prescriptions of religion1 against the  
very instincts of human nature1 and will
 make themselves sterile in  order to   

become rich without immoderate labour4  
,the re-establishment  of religion is   
simply out of the question2 sincerely   
religious men  themselves1 if they      
happen also to be intelligent1 recognize
 it4 ,this  rational sterility1 produced
 by a triumph of the intellect over     
natural  instinct and religious dogma1  
is a charming theme for declamation2    
but declamation is also sterile1 and    
does not date from yesterday2 it  was   
tried before the ,revolution and        
succeeded neither in augmenting         
religious sensibility nor in diminishing
 ,french infertility4 ,in a  pamphlet on
 the ,erreurs de ,voltaire1 the ,abb    
,nonotte wrote in #agff3  8,present     
notions and practices on the subject of 
population are as  melancholy for       
morality as for statesmanship4 ,people  
are content  nowadays with a single     
heir4 ,pleasure and libertinism carry   
the day4  ,the fortunes of a great      
number of the first families in ,paris  
rest  on the shoulders of a single      

child4 ,it was better in former times2  
for families were not afraid of a number
 of children1 and were not  so          
extravagant but that they could provide 
them with a means of  subsistence40     
,sidenote3 ,inability of priest to cope 
with question of population4    ,neither
 the priest nor the confessor can be    
counted on4 ,has the priest  ever power 
enough1 even in countries like ,brittany
 where devotion is at  its height1 to   
suppress the grossest vice2 drunkenness1
 for example1  and that1 too1 among     
women8 ,how can a priest be expected to 
maintain  an influence over men who     
confess hardly more than once a year--at
  ,easter8 ,how can the priest1 under   
such circumstances1 be expected to be   
really a governor of the conscience1 and
 in especial a physician of the  soul8  
,he receives a general confession from  
each of his parishioners1  he is in a   
hurry1 he is obliged to restrict his    
attention to the  most enormous of the  
sins confessed to him1 and the whole    

ends in  absolution1 followed by        
communion4 ,some days afterward the men 
get  drunk again1 and do just as they   
did before1 till the year comes round4  
,prejudices and habits are stronger than
 anything else4    ,sidenote3 ,pliancy  
of religion4    ,they who1 with the ,abb
 ,nonotte1 regard religion as the cure  
of all  evils1 forget that religion     
itself is very compliant1 that it can be
  made to stand for a multitude of      
things4 ,if the mass of the ,french     
people should allow themselves to be    
persuaded by the ,abb ,nonotte  and his 
disciples to return to the traditional  
faith1 the traditional  faith itself    
would soon cease to be so austere4      
,confessors would  become more discreet4
 ,are they not to-day obliged to        
tolerate polkas  and waltzes1 and young 
people whirling about the room in each  
other's  arms1 which was formerly so    
severely prohibited8 ,the letter of     
religion  remains in vain the same1 the 
spirit of the worshippers changes4 ,at  

the  present day ,jesuits willingly     
close their eyes to the sterility of the
  family2 they have even been accused of
 whispering to advice for the           
preservation of certain inheritances4   
,do you imagine that confessors  in the 
,faubourg ,saint-,germain ask especially
 embarrassing questions8  ,heaven can be
 compromised with4    ,sidenote3 ,even  
of ,protestantism4    ,this sort of     
tolerance1 like all tolerance1 will grow
 with time4 ,even  in ,protestant       
families in which a more extreme        
rigidity reigns1 the  spirit of the     
times is dominant4 ,orthodoxy is        
everywhere becoming less  ferocious1    
sterility is everywhere on the increase4
 ,even clergymen do  not have as large  
families as formerly4 ,statistics on    
this head would  be very instructive2   
one might find in the very bosom of     
,protestantism  sterility increasing    
directly with liberalism of belief4 ,if 
,darwin and  ,spencer have partisans in 
the ,english clergy1 and among the      

,american  ,protestants1 why should not 
,malthus also8 ,in especial1 since      
,malthus  was a grave and religious man4
    ,sidenote3 ,decrease of population  
encouraged by the ,catholic ,church4    
,the ,catholic religion has itself been 
guilty by its advocacy of  religious    
celibacy4 ,in ,france one hundred and   
thirty thousand persons  of both sexes  
are devoted to celibacy4#ajj ,it is to  
be regretted that  ,catholicism1 which  
during a number of centuries 7in the    
time when  ,st4 ,sidonius ,apollinaris1 
the son-in-law of the ,emperor ,avitus1 
was  ,bishop of ,clermont-,ferrand7 did 
not impose celibacy upon ecclesiastics1 
should have felt obliged later to exact 
it1 and should have come to  consider   
absolute continence superior to         
marriage1 contrary to all  physiological
 and psychological laws4 8,continence as
 a profession10  says ,m4 ,montesquieu1 
8has destroyed more men than pestilence 
and war  together4 ,every religious     
house constitutes a family which never  

gives  birth to a child1 and which      
continues in existence only by adopting 
children from without4 ,such houses are 
open like so many abysses1 to  swallow  
up the future of the race40 ,religious  
celibacy results in  another evil       
consequence3 although priests do not    
to-day constitute  the lite of society1 
they are still among the most           
intelligent1 the  best educated1 the    
least ill-disposed members of society4  
,and they  gaily consent to be          
annihilated1 to disappear1 and to leave1
 like the  heretics they used to burn1  
no trace behind4 ,they form as constant 
a  drain on the body-politic as the     
victims of the ,inquisition formed      
during so many years in ,spain4 ,if we  
should count the sons only of  clergymen
 who have become distinguished or even  
great men1 from ,linnus  to ,wurtz and  
,emerson1 we might see how much we lose 
by the celibacy of  our priesthood4     
#ajj ,dr4 ,lagneau1 ,remarques          
dmographiques sur le clibat en          

,france4    ,but religion apart1        
sterility may be combated by law1 by    
morals1 and by  education4    ,sidenote3
 ,legal remedy4    ,religion is the law 
of primitive peoples2 when it becomes   
feeble1 its  precepts split into two    
parts3 one of which1 regarded as        
useless1  is neglected and loses its    
entire value1 while the other1 which is 
regarded as the guarantee of social     
life1 becomes formulated into moral  or 
civilized laws obligatory in character4 
,this is the history of a  number of    
hygienic measures prescribed by         
,oriental religion which have  become   
simple police regulations in the laws of
 modern ,europe4 ,in the  present       
question it is evident that the law     
should take the place that  religion    
once held2 the legislator should assume 
the function of the  priest4 ,such a    
substitution is not unexampled2 it took 
place among the  ,greeks2 the citizen   
was obliged1 by law1 to have children4  
,socrates in  ,athens was obliged by law

 to take a second wife4 ,in ,sparta the 
young  husband lived at the public table
 until he had supplied the state with   
three sons4 ,he was subject to military 
service until he had supplied  the state
 with four4#aja ,nowadays of course such
 radical laws are  not to be thought of1
 and indeed no simple and direct law    
could reach  the evil2 an entire system 
of mutually completing laws is          
necessary4  ,the whole series of reasons
 which prevent the head of a household  
from  having a large family must first  
be known2 then they must be met in      
detail by a series of laws devised to   
suppress them or counterbalance  them2  
so that whenever one interest makes for 
sterility1 another and  equivalent      
interest shall make for fertility4 ,it  
is accordingly in the  very bosom of the
 family that the law1 and that          
progressive reform of  morals to which  
the law is so capable of contributing1  
must operate4          #aja ,aristotle1 
,politica1 ii4 #f1 #ac4    ,sidenote3   

,worship of comfort a reason for small  
families4    ,the head of a family      
to-day abandons the notion of having    
many children  for a number of reasons1 
sometimes mutually contradictory1 which 
it  is necessary we should make         
ourselves fully acquainted with before  
endeavouring to devise means of         
counteracting them4 ,there exist in  the
 first place1 though not very           
frequently1 physical reasons3 the       
ill-health of the mother1 the fear of   
her dying through frequent  pregnancies4
 ,when this fear is justified in the    
judgment of a physician  it is          
respectable2 it is defensible even from 
the point of view of  society1 for      
children born under such conditions     
would be delicate  and useless as       
members of society4 ,but in almost the  
whole number of  cases1 the grounds of  
sterility are economical and egoistic4  
,french  sterility is an economical1    
much more than a physiological          
phenomenon4  ,the head of a family      

calculates the cost of rearing a        
numerous family1  calculates that       
instead of being able to lay by money   
while he is in  the vigour of his life1 
he will have to spend it on his         
children1 and  to pass his old age in   
poverty2 having a large family he       
regards simply  as a bit of prodigality4
 ,our budget of #d1bjj1jjj1jjj          
represents an  average of #aac francs a 
head2 with such taxes1 decidedly1 if one
 is to  bring up a numerous family1 one 
must have a considerable fortune or     
must deftly manipulate one's poverty4   
,sidenote3 ,worship of land another4    
,also the small proprietor regards the  
earth somewhat as a savage does  his    
fetich3 his field1 his house1 are sacred
 entities which he wishes  to confide to
 sure hands4 ,if he has a number of     
children1 it will be  necessary to share
 these treasures and perhaps to sell    
them in case  they cannot otherwise be  
divided equally4 ,the peasant no more   
regards  such a division of property as 

possible than a gentleman under the old 
rgime would have admitted the           
possibility of selling his ancestral    
chateau4 ,both of them would regard a   
mutilation of their family as a  less   
evil than the mutilation of their       
domain4 ,but to rear a child is  to     
create a bit of capital1 and fertility  
is a form of social economy4  ,both     
economists and ,french peasants admit   
willingly that to rear a calf  or a     
sheep is to add to one's wealth1 and a  
fortiori they should  admit that to rear
 a child is4 ,but there is a difference3
 the calf1  once reared1 labours solely 
for the person who reared it1 whereas   
the  child ultimately comes to labour   
for itself4 ,from the selfish point of  
view of the father1 it is better to     
raise cattle and sheep4 ,from the  point
 of view of society1 it is incontestably
 better to rear men4 ,in  all new       
countries the ,french race is prolific1 
because a large number  of children     
under such circumstances is not a charge

 but a profitable  investment4 ,in      
,canada sixty thousand ,frenchmen have  
grown into a people  of two millions and
 a half4 ,in ,algeria the birth-rate is 
from #cj to #ce  per #ajjj2 in ,normandy
 it is not #bj per thousand4 ,finally1 a
 striking  example of the influence of  
emigration has been discovered in       
,france  itself1 in the ,department of  
the ,basses-,pyrnes1 where the          
birth-rate  varies with the rate of     
emigration1 to fill the places of those 
who  have gone to ,america4             
,sidenote3 ,women of fashion imitate the
 demi-monde4    ,let us consider1 on the
 other hand1 the causes which influence 
women4  ,it is natural that1 in a       
certain stage of society1 women should  
be  unwilling to be mothers4 ,motherhood
 represents the sole task which it  is  
left to them to perform1 and this task  
they find the harder because  fortune   
has relieved them of every other4 ,they 
are not even obliged  to nourish their  
children3 the maternal breast can find a

 substitute2  they are not obliged      
either to rear their children or to     
teach them3  governesses can be hired2  
but nobody can give birth to their      
children1  and in their life of         
frivolity childbirth is the one serious 
function  that remains4 ,they protest   
against it and they are right4 ,the     
ambition  of women of the grandmonde    
being too often1 as has been said1 to   
mimic women of the demi-monde1 it is    
well that they should imitate  them in  
this respect as in all others1 and that 
they should endeavour  to establish     
between marriage and prostitution this  
final bond of  similarity--sterility4   
,sidenote3 ,women of the lower classes  
fear labour4    ,even among the women of
 the people gestation and childbirth1   
being1 as  they are1 painful1 are also  
objects of the liveliest repugnance and 
of  protestations of every kind4 ,i have
 never seen a woman of the people  who  
did not complain at being pregnant and  
who would not have preferred  any other 

malady4 ,ah6 ,nous ne faisons pas1 nous 
recevons--8,we women  have no voice in  
the matter10 said one of them to me--8if
 but we  had60 ,she epitomized in a word
 the physiological and psychological    
position of the poor woman4 ,those who  
have not had children1 far from         
complaining of it1 congratulate         
themselves1 and in any event they       
rarely desire more than one4            
,sidenote3 ,large families among the    
poor traceable to ignorance4    ,in     
,picardy and in ,normandy1 as ,m4       
,baudrillart remarks1 a woman who has   
many children is made the butt of       
raillery4 ,and if other provinces  are  
less sterile1 it is owing to religion or
 to ignorance4 ,the women  have not yet 
become acquainted with ,malthus4 ,they  
know of but one  remedy against an evil 
that they fear--to keep out of the way  
of  their husbands4 ,the wife of such   
and such a labouring man prefers a      
beating to the risk of having another   
child3 but as she is the weaker  she    

often succeeds in bringing upon herself 
both the beating and the  child4 ,fear  
of pregnancy is more often than is      
commonly believed the  cause of         
dissension in poor households1 and for  
that matter in rich  households also4   
,the instant a woman reasons1 instead of
 submitting to  the law1 she inevitably 
feels the disproportion that exists1 for
 her1  between the pleasures of love and
 the pains of maternity4 ,she must be   
supplied with a new conception of duty1 
and that not simply in the way  of a    
religious obligation which the husband  
can ridicule but of a moral  obligation4
    ,sidenote3 ,girls should be educated
 for maternity4    ,catholic education1 
as we have already remarked1 does great 
harm in  rearing young girls in a false 
modesty1 in never speaking to them of   
the duties of marriage for fear of      
awakening their imagination in the      
direction of their future husband4 ,the 
actual result is precisely the  opposite
 of the calculated result4 ,young girls 

see nothing in marriage  but the future 
husband and unknown pleasures4 ,they    
never think of any  matter of painful   
duty which they must accept in advance2 
they do  not consider children as a     
question of duty but of necessity       
simply1  they are actuated by but one   
ambition1 that of diverting themselves4 
,girls should be educated and prepared  
for motherhood2 our present  education  
is adapted to the formation of nuns or  
old maids1 sometimes  of courtesans1 for
 we neglect early to inspire woman with 
a feeling of  duty for her proper       
function1 which constitutes also a large
 portion of  all that is moral in her   
life--the duty of maternity4 ,happily1  
married  women cannot remain sterile    
simply by wishing it1 their husbands    
must  become their accomplices2 it is   
their husbands1 who1 in the last        
resort1 are responsible4 ,if the        
husband1 out of complaisance to his     
wife or to his wife's relatives1        
undertakes to be a ,malthusian malgr    

lui1 he plays almost as ridiculous a rle
 as that of ,georges ,dandin3  the man  
who permits himself to be dictated to in
 the matter of not  having children is  
almost as complaisant as the man who    
acknowledges  the children of other     
people4    ,sidenote3 ,paternal love    
tends to restrict the number of         
children4    ,another cause which       
explains the low birth-rate in ,france  
is that  paternal and maternal love is  
more tender and more exclusive there    
than in other countries4 ,the ,french   
family1 whatever may be said  to the    
contrary1 is much more closely united   
than the ,english or  ,german family3 in
 it a sort of fraternity obtains between
 parents and  children4 ,members of a   
family separate with regret1 and the    
ideal of  the father is to have so few  
children that he may always keep them by
  him4 ,we are too refined1 too far     
advanced from a state of nature1 to     
submit without suffering to the rupture 
which puberty naturally brings  about in

 the animal family1 to the flight of the
 young bird whose wings  are grown2 we  
have not the courage to accept the      
dismemberment of the  household1 far    
less to wish it as a necessity and1 on  
the whole1 a good  thing4 ,this         
affection has of course its egoistic    
side1 and it is on  that side that it   
results in sterility4 ,parents rear     
children less for  the children's sake  
than for their own4    ,sidenote3 ,two  
legal remedies4    ,having thus passed  
in review the principal causes which    
restrict the  number of children in     
,french families let us consider what   
influence  law and morals might exert in
 counteracting them4 ,legal reforms     
should  be directed especially toward   
the two following points3 #a4 ,reform of
  the law relating to filial duties     
7maintenance of parents72 #b4 ,reform   
of the law of inheritance2 #c4 ,reform  
of the military law1 so as to  favour   
numerous families and permit emigration 
to the ,french colonies4    ,sidenote3  

,present state of the law does not      
sufficiently protect  parents against   
ingratitude4    ,rearing children being 
a considerable trouble and expense it is
  necessary that it should be made      
profitable1 that it should be  converted
 into a species of loan for a long term 
of years4 ,the law can  bring this about
 in various ways4 ,french legislation   
has protected  children by a provision  
that their fathers cannot completely    
disinherit  them2 it should also have   
protected fathers against children's    
ingratitude4 ,it often happens1 in the  
country especially1 that after  an aged 
couple have reared a numerous generation
 they find themselves  dependent upon   
their sons or upon their sons-in-law and
 are ill-fed  and greeted with abuse4   
,the law provides that children must    
maintain  their parents1 no doubt1 but  
maintenance may be supplied in a manner 
which renders it little better than     
assassination4 ,the law which has       
endeavoured to establish the moral      

independence of the son as against  the 
father might well endeavour to establish
 on a firm basis the moral  independence
 of the parents themselves4 ,if a father
 to-day cannot  disinherit his son1 is  
it not shocking that a son should be    
able1 in a  sense1 to disinherit his    
father--to accept life1 nourishment1    
education  from him and to give         
derision1 abusive language1 and         
sometimes blows  in return8 ,observers  
who have lived among the people1 in     
especial in  country districts1         
uniformly bear witness to the deplorable
 situation  of certain old men who are  
obliged to beg on the highroad1 or of   
their neighbours1 for means of support  
which are refused them in  their own    
houses4 ,the present ,french law is     
helpless in the presence  of filial     
ingratitude which takes the form1 not of
 overt act1 but of  abusive language and
 disrespectful conduct4 ,it annuls a    
donation made  to an ungrateful child1  
but it cannot annul the donation of     

life1 and  ungrateful children benefit  
by the inability4 ,a father should be   
able  to count at least on a certain    
minimum of revenue from his children1   
whoever they may be4#ajb          #ajb  
,we are not obliged here to enter into  
details of        administration4       
,perhaps it would be no more than just  
to give        parents their choice     
between living with their children1     
which is often so painful1 and an annual
 sum1 proportional        to the salary 
and resources of the children4 ,this sum
 might        be taxed by the state or  
the commune1 and paid by it to the      
father4 ,every head of a family would at
 once reflect that if        he some day
 becomes poor and has but one child he  
will have        but one source of      
income1 whereas1 if he has ten children1
        he will have ten sources of     
income1 and ten chances that one        
of them may be considerable2 as it would
 be if any of one's        children     
should have become wealthy4 ,a numerous 

family would        thus constitute a   
guarantee of independence for the       
father2 on        the other hand1 the   
more he expended in educating them1 the 
greater chance he would have of later   
obtaining an equivalent        return   
for it4 ,in labouring for the           
augmentation of the social              
capital he would thus be securing an    
insurance for his old        age4 ,even 
supposing that the execution of a law of
 this kind        should be difficult1  
the right of parents to some really     
active        gratitude on the part of  
their children should be recognized     
and consecrated formally by the letter  
of the law1 which should                
prescribe a line of conduct for children
 and even fix a certain                 
appropriate ratio between their income  
and the amount of their                 
remittances to their parents4 ,the law  
should even do what in        it lies to
 efface from the language1 in especial  
in their        applicability to those  

who have generously fulfilled their     
duties of paternity1 the shameful words3
 tre  la charge de        ses           
enfants--dependent on his children for  
support2 the public        should be    
made accustomed to consider this sort of
 dependence        not as an accident to
 the children1 and as a misfortune1 and 
almost a disgrace1 to the parents1 but  
as a natural consequence        of the  
relation of parent and child4           
,sidenote3 ,the state owes parents a    
debt4    ,if1 as is probable1 the       
principle of social insurance is        
ultimately  to prevail1 and if a certain
 amount of the regular income of every  
labourer is to be retained and laid by  
to form a provision for his  old age1   
which his employer or the state will    
increase in certain  proportions1 we    
believe that it would be equitable to   
increase the  provision laid by for the 
father of a family in a larger ratio    
than  the provision laid by for a       
celibate4 ,the father of a family having

  done more for the state than the      
celibate--having contributed to the     
state his time and trouble and expense  
in rearing certain members of  the new  
generation--it would be legitimate for  
the state to make a  restitution to him 
of some small portion of the money he   
has laid out  in a disinterested manner2
 in a manner which did not benefit him  
and  has benefited the state4           
,sidenote3 ,tax on celibacy4            
,meanwhile this consummation is somewhat
 distant1 and there is a reform         
immediately practicable3 a tax on       
celibacy4 ,whenever this tax has been   
mentioned it has been made the subject  
of universal ridicule2 it has  been     
represented1 as ,m4 ,ch4 ,richet        
remarked1 as a sort of penalty1  a fine 
for not being willing or not being able 
to marry4 ,this is a  very unfair       
statement of the case2 the measure would
 be simply strict  justice4 ,with       
anything like an equality in the matter 
of fortune  a celibate pays smaller     

taxes 7indirect taxes1 taxes on doors   
and  windows1 etc472 and the tax of     
rearing a family1 by which the married  
man serves the state in a number of ways
 at once1 the celibate avoids           
altogether4 ,the celibate therefore is  
an altogether privileged person1  he    
avoids almost everything in the way of  
social duties4 ,in regard to  all taxes1
 direct and indirect1 he enjoys         
dispensations which are not  without    
analogy to those formerly admitted to   
priests and nobles4 ,the  same thing    
holds good of married people who do not 
have children2 they  are1 so to speak1  
encouraged by the law3 it is a state of 
things which  should not and cannot     
last4    ,sidenote3 ,in principle       
identical with certain provisions at    
time of  ,revolution4    ,by a tax on   
celibacy one would simply be reverting  
to the ideas of  the ,french            
,revolution4 ,the ,revolution took care1
 by a number of laws1  to favour the    
married man at the expense of the       

unmarried4 ,thus every  celibate was    
ranked1 for purposes of taxation1 in a  
higher class than  that to which1       
according to his income1 he would have  
been placed had  he been married4 ,if he
 demanded assistance for some of the    
causes for  which assistance was        
granted1 he would be given but half the 
amount  that a married man in his       
situation would have received2 if he was
 more  than thirty years old the laws   
obliged him to pay twenty-five per      
cent4 additional to all ground tax2 the 
taxable value of his property  was      
estimated at fifty per cent4 higher than
 it would otherwise have  been4 ,a      
manufacturer was obliged to declare     
whether he was celibate or  married4    
,the law considered every man a celibate
 who was thirty years  old and was not  
married1 or a widower4#ajc          #ajc
 ,see the tudes sur le clibat en        
,france1 by ,dr4 ,g4        ,lagneau    
7,acadmie des sciences morales et       
politiques1 p4 #hce1        #ahhe47     

,sidenote3 ,parents should be taxed     
inversely to number of children4        
,over and above the special tax on      
celibacy1 a more equitable  distribution
 of the tax on families might be        
realized4 ,as ,m4 ,richet  remarks1 if  
the father of a family cannot be        
assisted by indirect  taxes1 the direct 
tax on him should at least be inversely 
proportional  to the number of his      
children4#ajd ,not only so1 but         
compulsory road  labour--this unpopular 
tax1 which constitutes the last vestige 
of the  corve--might well be suppressed 
entirely for the fathers of more  than  
four or even of more than three         
children4#aje          #ajd 8,direct    
taxes10 says ,m4 ,javal1 8are in a great
 measure a        tax on children3      
compulsory road labour is forced on     
young men        before they are adult4 
,the tax on doors and windows is a tax  
on        air and light1 the            
inconvenience of which increases        
directly        with the increase in the

 size of the family and the consequent  
necessity of occupying a larger         
apartment4 ,the license itself1         
which applies to the amount of the rent 
of one's habitation1        is in a     
great measure proportional to the       
necessary expenses        and not to the
 resources of the person taxed40 7,revue
        scientifique1 ,no4 #ah1         
,november #a1 #ahhd1 p4 #efg47 8,it is  
well        known10 says ,m4 ,bertillon1
 8that the city of ,paris pays to       
the state the tax on apartments that    
rent for less than four        hundred  
francs4 ,in principle nothing could be  
better1 but in        practice3 suppose 
two neighbours1 one of them an unmarried
        man1 possesses a comfortable    
lodging of two rooms with the           
accessories2 one of these two rooms can 
scarcely be called a        necessity   
for him and is distinctly a simple      
addition to his        comfort1 and the 
city pays his tax4 ,his neighbour has a 
family        and four children1 and    

lives in three rooms which constitute   
a very narrow1 and hardly a sufficient  
lodging1 but the rent        of it is   
five hundred francs and the unhappy man 
must pay3 7#a7        ,six times greater
 taxes on what he consumes than his     
neighbour2        7#b7 ,a furniture tax2
 7#c7 ,some portion of the tax that the 
city        pays on the apartment of the
 celibate neighbour4 ,evidently         
the result is precisely the opposite of 
what it should be40        7,bertillon1 
,la statistique humaine de la ,france47 
#aje ,if a purse should be given by the 
state to one of every        seven      
children in the same family 7according  
to a law at the        time of the      
,revolution which has recently been     
revived and        corrected7 it would  
be no more than justice1 nay1 it would  
be        almost an act of simple       
reparation2 although it must not be     
supposed that the practical results     
would be considerable4        ,the      
benefit that it would do to the father  

of the family is        too uncertain1  
and the prospect of such an advantage   
could        influence only a man who   
had six children and was hesitating     
about the seventh2 but he who has had   
six children is not a        follower of
 ,malthus and is not likely to be4      
,sidenote3 ,injustice of present law of 
inheritance4    ,everybody is agreed    
nowadays as to the defects in the law   
regulating  the taxation of             
inheritances4 ,we believe that it is    
more than anything  else by a           
modification of this law that the       
practice of malthusianism  can be       
checked4 ,the tax on every inheritance  
which is to be divided  up among a great
 number of children ought as far as     
possible to be  reduced1 whereas the tax
 on inheritances which are to go        
undivided to a  single inheritor ought  
to be increased4 ,the small proprietor  
who limits  himself to one child1 in    
order to avoid dividing his field1 would
  soon learn that he is making a bad    

calculation if by that very act he      
subjects his estate to a heavy tax4 ,on 
the contrary1 whoever lays out  his     
fortune in rearing a number of children 
would at least have the  satisfaction of
 thinking that almost the whole of his  
fortune could be  handed down to them1  
that the public treasury would take     
little of it1  and that if his property 
had to be divided after his death it    
would at  least not be seriously        
diminished2 almost nothing would 8go out
 of the  family40#ajf          #ajf     
,suppose1 to take almost the first      
figures that occur to        one1 that  
the law taxed an only son's inheritance 
twenty per        cent42 it might tax an
 inheritance to be handed down to two   
children only fifteen per cent41 an     
inheritance to be handed        down to 
three children ten per cent41 to four   
children eight        per cent41 to five
 children six per cent41 to six children
        four per cent41 to seven        
children two per cent41 and to any      

greater number of children nothing4     
,remark that this gradation             
actually exists to-day but inversely1   
because just in so far        as an     
inheritance has to be divided up among a
 large number        of children1 the   
expenses of the sale and partition tend 
to        increase and the value of the 
property1 which is thus split up        
into bits1 tends to decrease4 ,a number 
of cases may be cited in        which   
inheritances that had to be divided     
among seven or eight        children    
have lost1 by partition1 not only twenty
 but even        twenty-five or fifty   
per cent4 of their value4 ,on the       
contrary1        an inheritance         
transmitted to a single inheritor is    
burdened        with the direct tax     
only1 and that amounts at most to ten   
per        cent4 ,here1 as elsewhere1   
the law protects small families and     
encourages sterility4    ,sidenote3 ,tax
 on inheritances falling to celibates4  
,every reform of the law of inheritance 

must make up its account with  the two  
motives which alone inspire a man to    
amass a fortune3 a  personal interest1  
and an interest in his wife and         
children4 ,so that1  whenever a man is a
 widower without children1 his property 
might be  made subject at his death to a
 considerable tax1 without his industry1
  which society is interested in        
stimulating1 being thereby especially   
discouraged4 ,a considerable tax        
therefore on the property left by       
celibates1 and married couples without  
children1 would be evidently  equitable1
 and1 no more than in the case of a tax 
on celibacy1 to be  regarded as a       
penalty4 ,the simple fact is that a man 
who has not  reared children has        
expended much less of his income for the
 benefit  of society1 and that society  
has the right during his lifetime or at 
his death to trim the scales against    
him4 ,indeed proportionate taxation     
ought positively to be a matter of      
conscience with society4    ,sidenote3  

,french law of inheritance tends toward 
minute subdivision of  estates4         
,given the importance of large fortunes 
in modern society1 religion and  the    
patriarchal spirit together devised in  
former times a compromise  between the  
necessity of having a large family and  
of keeping the  family possessions      
undivided2 ,i refer to primogeniture4   
,to attempt to  re-establish the law of 
primogeniture in nations which have     
rejected  it would be impracticable and 
unjust1 even though one should recognize
  that the traditional superstition and 
prejudices on this point were  not      
without some justification4 ,but1 to    
reassure those who dislike the  thought 
of the inevitable partition of their    
territorial possessions1  the present   
laws in regard to inheritances might be 
made less  stringent4 ,every land-owner1
 every owner of a factory or a          
commercial  house1 might be left free to
 designate which of his children he     
considered most competent to succeed him

 in the possession of such real         
property1 and the law of partition might
 be considered as applicable  to the    
rest of his property only4 ,it would be 
a sort of liberty of  bequest1 within   
the limits of the family4 ,the authors  
of our civil  code broke the line of    
succession as it had existed in the     
families  of the nobility2 and they did 
well1 in that they dispersed masses of  
unproductive capital1 and by that very  
fact rendered them productive2  but they
 did less well1 in that they rendered it
 difficult to bequeath  large farming or
 manufacturing establishments from      
father to son4 ,they  have necessitated 
the subdivision of capitals which were  
much more  productive in their entirety2
 and as a result families of farmers and
  manufacturers who remain1 from father 
to son1 for generations in the  same    
pursuit and are thereby enabled to carry
 it to its highest degree  of           
perfection1 have almost disappeared in  
,france4 ,such commercial  or           

land-owning dynasties constitute the    
greatness of ,england and of  ,germany4 
,a great commercial house or a great    
farming enterprise is  not to be created
 in a day1 and if after one's death     
one's labour is  to be destroyed by     
partition1 so much the worse for the    
country4 ,le  ,play has depicted in     
lively colours the despair of the farmer
 who  has laboured all his life to      
perfect a system of cultivation1 of the 
manufacturer who has created a          
prosperous house1 who see their work    
menaced with destruction if they have a 
number of children4 ,such men  have but 
one resource2 to withdraw enough money  
from their business  to satisfy the     
requirements of the law in regard to the
 children  who are not to succeed them1 
and thus to prevent the sale of their   
establishment4 ,the result of this      
manuvre often is that the child who     
inherits this establishment is left too 
poor to carry on the business  and finds
 ruin where his father found wealth4    

,the law1 in its endeavour  to divide   
the produce of the father's labour among
 his children1 too  often annihilates   
the most valuable part of the father's  
labour2 in the  effort to obtain an     
apparent equity in the partition of the 
revenues1  it destroys the source of    
them4 ,the law cuts down the tree to    
gather  the fruit4    ,sidenote3 ,large 
families should be partly exempted from 
military  service4    ,military service1
 which is perhaps the heaviest burden   
that the state  lays on the individual1 
also constitutes the state's principal  
means of  influencing him4 ,the most    
,malthusian native of ,normandy would   
become  amenable at once if a question  
of five years' military service1 more   
or less1 were involved4 ,to-day the     
father of four living children is       
exempt from the twenty-eight days'      
military service 7the law does not  seem
 to be well known1 but ought to be72 he 
ought to be exempt from all  reserve    
service1 even in time of war4           

,similarly1 as has already been         
demanded1 a family which has furnished  
two soldiers to the army ought  to be   
exempt from further military duty4 ,the 
younger sons should be  definitively    
excused from military service by the    
fact of their two  elder brothers having
 marched under the flag4 ,as a matter of
 fact1  families in which there are more
 than two sons are so rare that such  a 
measure would hardly diminish the annual
 recruits4#ajg ,more than  that the     
,budget is unequal to the needs of the  
whole number of possible  recruits even 
as the case stands2 it is therefore     
irrational to make  one's selection from
 among them by an appeal to chance4     
,such a device  is an appeal to         
inequality and that under the disguise  
of equality  and law2 the future of     
every society depends upon the          
decreasing part  played in it by the    
injustices of chance4 ,the military     
service required  of each family should 
therefore be regulated with some        

rational  reference to the number of    
children in it4#ajh          #ajg ,m4   
,javal in #ahhe proposed1 in the        
,chamber1 to substitute        for      
,article #ai of the commission another  
article1 according        to the terms  
of which when two or three sons of the  
same        family were enrolled they   
should be held to only three years      
of service all told1 and that when there
 were more than three        brothers   
enrolled they should each be required to
 give but        one year's service4    
,the amendment was due to the fact that 
population in ,france is not increasing4
          #ajh ,young soldiers also1 as 
,m4 ,richet says1 might be              
permitted to marry under certain        
conditions4 ,they are precisely         
at the age when fertility is at its     
greatest4    ,sidenote3 ,emigration to  
be encouraged4    ,emigration tends to  
augment fertility2 emigration must      
therefore  be favoured by law4 ,it is   
soberly estimated at present that from  

thirty to forty thousand ,frenchmen     
emigrate each year2 the figure is       
relatively small1 but that number of    
emigrants a year is enough to  settle   
important colonies4#aji ,it is          
unscientific to maintain at this  late  
day that the ,french are incapable of   
colonizing when they have  so powerfully
 aided in forming the great ,english    
colonies in ,canada1  ,india1 and ,egypt
 and are actually colonizing ,algeria   
and ,tunis4 ,what  we lack is not the   
ability to establish colonies1 but the  
habit of  emigration4 ,emigration1 in   
spite of its importance for us1 obtains 
mainly in certain poor districts in     
,france2 it is not general enough  to   
have any considerable influence1 as yet1
 in raising the birth-rate2  the law    
should here be looked to1 to correct the
 habits of the people4  ,in ,england out
 of every family of four sons it is     
almost to be expected  that one of them 
will go to ,india1 another to           
,australia1 a third to  ,america2 there 

is nothing surprising in it1 it is the  
custom4 ,a sense  of distance is almost 
unknown on the opposite side of the     
,channel4 ,in  ,france1 if a single     
child leaves the country1 even as the   
secretary  of an embassy1 he is as      
solemnly bid good-bye as if he were     
going  never to return1 as if he were   
dying even4 ,there is a great deal of   
prejudice and ignorance in paternal     
anguish of this kind4 ,such and such  a 
sedentary profession1 for example that  
of a physician1 is subject  to perils   
that are perfectly well known to        
statisticians and which  we nevertheless
 do not hesitate to choose for our      
children precisely  because it permits  
them to live next door to us1 rather    
than at the  other end of the world4    
,such national prejudices will give way 
before  education1 the increasing habit 
of travelling1 and the progressively    
rapid circulation of society2 laws might
 favour it4 ,the spirit of  enterprise  
and colonization1 which seems at first  

sight so foreign to  love of family1 is 
capable of being allied with it2 nay1   
becomes1 under  certain circumstances1  
the very condition of it4 ,to rear a    
numerous  family is always in a certain 
sense to colonize1 even though all the  
children live within the limits of their
 native country4 ,to rear a  large      
family is to launch one's children upon 
unknown ways1 and demands  the activity 
of mind and fertility of resource which 
are of the essence  of colonization4    
,the creation of a numerous family is   
positively a  social enterprise1 as the 
creation of a great commercial house or 
a  great farming industry is an         
economical enterprise2 success in both  
cases demands constant effort and brings
 a various profit in return4  ,suppose a
 couple have reared ten children to     
labour and honesty2 the  children form a
 protecting phalanx about the parents   
and give them1  in return for the       
rearing1 if not gross and direct        
benefits1 at least  happiness and       

honour4 ,we do not wish to disguise the 
fact1 however1  that to rear a family   
involves a certain amount of risk2 but  
every  enterprise involves a risk4 ,and 
indeed the prime need in this whole     
matter is to develop the spirit of      
enterprise and audacity which was       
formerly so powerful in the ,french     
nation4 ,a great many people to-day     
remain celibate for the same reason that
 they are content to live  within a     
small income without endeavouring to    
increase their fortune  by investing it 
in commerce or manufacture2 they are    
afraid of the  risks of the family1 just
 as they are afraid of commercial risks4
 ,they  consume instead of producing1   
because producing is inseparable from a 
certain preliminary investment of money 
and activity4 ,similarly a great  many  
people1 once they are married1          
endeavour1 so to speak1 to reduce       
marriage to a minimum2 they do not dare 
to have children2 they are  afraid of   
the preliminary outlay1 they are afraid 

of emerging from the  shell of their    
short-sighted egoism4          #aji     
,rightly to appreciate the ability of   
,france to maintain        colonies1    
this figure must not be compared with   
the rate of        emigration from other
 countries1 but with the average excess 
of        births over deaths in ,france4
 ,thus considered1 the number of        
forty thousand emigrants 7adopted by ,m4
 ,paul ,leroy-,beaulieu7        becomes 
relatively large1 since the annual      
excess of our births        is not one  
hundred thousand4    ,sidenote3 ,to     
,french colonies4    ,it is1 of course1 
emigration to ,french colonies that the 
law ought  especially to favour1 and for
 that purpose there is one respect in   
which the military law should be        
reformed4 ,as a matter of fact1 in      
spite of the law of ,july #bg1 #ahgb1   
the government is obliged to grant      
pardon to the numerous ,basques and     
,savoyards who emigrate to escape       
military service4 ,more than that1 the  

sole important current that  exists in  
,france flows toward foreign colonies1  
and often creates on  their shores      
industries which rival our own1 while   
they rarely open  advantageous markets  
for our commerce4 ,is it not a matter of
 urgent  necessity to make our colonies 
as attractive to the ,french emigrants  
as the colonies of any foreign          
nationality8 ,if the young man of       
twenty who has made up his mind to pass 
some years of his life in  ,brazil finds
 himself de facto exempt from military  
service1 ought  he not to be de jure    
exempt if he wishes to emigrate to      
,algiers1  to ,tunis1 to ,tonquin1 to   
,madagascar8 ,emigration is itself a    
sort of  military service4 ,colonists   
defend and enlarge the frontiers of the 
countries2 a really rational law should 
recognize them as a portion  of the     
military power of the country4          
,fifty-four chambers of commerce  in our
 principal cities1 8considering that it 
is of the greatest  importance to       

encourage1 by every means possible1     
intelligent and  well-educated young    
people1 intending to emigrate1 to       
establish  themselves in our colonies10 
demanded justly 8that1 in times of      
peace1  young men residing in the       
colonies should be granted a delay of   
five  years in the call to military     
service1 a delay which should become a  
definitive exemption after a further    
residence of five consecutive  years40  
,we believe that this period of ten     
years might be shortened1  and that a   
residence of seven years in the         
colonies1 or even of five  in certain   
distant colonies1 like ,tonquin1 might  
be infinitely more  profitable to the   
mother country than a three-years'      
military service  at home4#aaj ,we are  
much less in need of soldiers to guard  
our  colonies than of colonists2 indeed 
our colonies are too often 8colonies    
without colonists40 ,more than that1 we 
travel too little1 we are not  as well  
acquainted as we should be with our own 

possessions2 whoever  had spent five of 
the most active years of his life in the
 colonies  would be tempted to return   
there or to send his friends and        
relatives  there4 ,an amendment1 looking
 to this exemption from military        
service1  was discussed in the ,chamber 
of ,deputies in ,may and ,june1 #ahhd4  
,if it  should ever be passed1 it might 
have a considerable influence upon the  
destinies of the ,french people4#aaa    
#aaj ,the legal minimum of required     
residence should not be        taken as 
representing the real duration of actual
 residence3        people do not come   
back from distant countries merely for  
the        wishing2 but the legislature 
should take advantage of the            
psychological effect of a definite      
figure2 an emigrant rarely        leaves
 ,france without a determination to be  
gone only so long4        ,the majority 
of the ,basques who emigrate in such    
large numbers        to ,america expect 
to return soon2 three-fourths of them   

become        good citizens of the      
,argentine ,republic4          #aaa     
,among the secondary causes which tend  
to lower the        ,french birth-rate1 
and which the law might counteract1 let 
us notice that of abortion1 which is    
practised in ,france not        less    
commonly than in ,germany1 but bears    
much worse results        here than     
there1 because of the small number of   
children that        are born in        
,france4 ,paris positively enjoys a     
reputation for        the art of        
miscarriage1 and ladies come there from 
various        parts of the world to be 
relieved of their children4 8,one of    
the professors of our schools said this 
year1 in one of his        courses1 that
 a midwife had confessed to him that she
 produced        on an average one      
hundred miscarriages a year40 7,dr4     
,verrier1        ,revue scientifique1   
,june #ba1 #ahhd47 ,pajot affirms that  
there        are more miscarriages than 
births4 ,might not this state of        

things be remedied3 #a4 ,by the         
re-establishment of the revolving       
boxes 7tours72 #b4 ,by a more constant  
inspection of the books        and      
offices of midwives and accoucheurs1    
such as furnished        lodgings in    
,paris are subject to4          ,among  
the principal reasons which prevent     
marriage let us        mention the      
preliminary formalities1 which are too  
numerous        even when both parties  
are ,french1 and are simply numberless  
when one party is a foreigner4 ,the law 
of marriages when        both parties   
are ,french ought to be simplified to   
the utmost        possible extent1 so   
that an impatience of the preliminaries 
could in nowise influence engaged       
couples4 ,more than that        every   
effort should be made to facilitate     
marriages between        ,french        
subjects and foreigners1 unions the     
results of which are        generally   
good for the race and which are hindered
 by all sorts        of legal obstacles 

in certain countries2 this last question
 is        a subject to be dealt with by
 diplomacy4 ,still other causes         
that the law might modify operate in    
,france1 if not to diminish        the  
birth-rate1 at least--what amounts to   
the same thing--to        increase the  
mortality among children4 ,in the first 
place is to        be reckoned the      
employment of wet-nurses1 who should be 
subject        to a much more rigorous  
surveillance than they are at present1  
under the ,roussel law4 ,in the second  
place1 there is the        deplorable   
condition of illegitimate children1 the 
mortality        among whom is greater  
in ,france than in any other country3   
some of them are reported as stillborn1 
who medical statistics        would go  
to show are the victims of murder2      
others die of        hunger in the      
second week of their birth owing to     
negligence or        cruelty on the part
 of the mother4 ,the re-establishment of
 the        revolving boxes 7tours7     

would here also be of prime service4    
,in the third place1 let us mention the 
exceptional mortality in        ,france 
of adults from twenty to twenty-five    
years of age1 which        must result  
from bad administration in the army4    
,legislators        and administrators  
should direct their attention           
simultaneously        to all these      
points1 if they are to check the current
 of        depopulation in ,france4     
,sidenote3 ,dangers of depopulation     
should be taught4    ,,iii4 ,apart from 
the laws1 the great means of influencing
 races is  public education3 it is by   
that means that the ideas and feelings  
may  be moulded4 ,the ,french people    
must be enlightened1 therefore1 on the  
disastrous consequences of depopulation2
 sentiments of patriotism1  of honour1  
of duty1 must in every possible way be  
appealed to4 ,the  schoolmaster1 the    
physician1 and the mayor may all be of  
help4 ,there  are a whole multitude of  
such means of instruction that are being

  neglected4    ,sidenote3 ,in the army 
by conferences4    ,in the first place  
there are military conferences4         
,conferences of a  half hour each1 with 
striking facts and examples and a few   
significant  figures1 might exercise a  
considerable influence on the army1     
which  is to-day the nation4 ,military  
conferences will some day certainly be  
one of the great means for the          
dissemination of knowledge2 they have   
recently been employed with success in  
,belgium during the strikes1 to         
inculcate notions of political economy  
in the army and to fortify the  military
 against certain communistic arguments4 
,sidenote3 ,in the country by           
proclamations4    ,then1 in the second  
place1 posters might be used4 ,certain  
speeches  delivered in the ,chamber or  
the ,senate have a much feebler title   
to be placarded on the walls of remote  
villages than such and such  economical1
 statistical1 and geographical          
information4 ,in the country  placarding

 might be supplemented by viva voce     
reading by some  important functionary  
of the village1 or even by the public   
crier4 ,the  ,bulletin des ,communes1 if
 it were composed more carefully than it
 is  and filled with examples1 might be 
read every ,sunday in front of the  town
 hall4 ,if the schoolmaster were        
intrusted with this function the        
reading would be the germ of a weekly   
conference1 which considering  the      
emptiness and monotony of country life  
might well succeed in  attracting a     
certain number of the public4           
,statistical and economical  information
 on the depopulation of certain         
provinces2 on the dangers  of such      
depopulation2 on the enormous growth of 
the ,english1 ,german1  and ,italian    
peoples2 on the social consequences of  
the enfeeblement  of a race--might thus 
be placarded1 read aloud1 and commented 
on in  order to call to the attention of
 everyone the economical and political  
ruin which is menacing us4 ,the         

influence of religious instruction  is  
diminishing2 it is essential to supply  
its place by a moral and  patriotic     
education which shall combat prejudice1 
egoism1 imprudence1  and false prudence4
    ,sidenote3 ,tastes of parents and of
 children not the same4    ,one of the  
commonest psychological illusions that a
 better education  might dispel is the  
belief that one's children are going to 
depend for  their happiness on precisely
 the same circumstances that constitute 
one's own happiness4 ,a miser1 whose    
happiness consists in adding to  his    
wealth1 does not perceive that his      
posterity will not lay the same         
emphasis that he does on the possession 
of an immense and undivided  capital4   
,the peasant1 who has passed his life in
 rounding out his plot  of ground1 by   
obtaining here a bit and there a bit of 
real estate at  the expense of infinite 
stratagem1 conceives his son as finding 
his  highest happiness in a continuation
 of the same process4 ,his vision  does 

not stretch beyond the hedge that bounds
 his own meadow1 or rather  the hedge   
that bounds the neighbouring meadow     
which he is ambitious  to acquire4 ,a   
village butcher will have but one child1
 so that he may  make him a butcher like
 himself1 and his successor2 if he had  
two1 the  second might be forced to     
become a baker or a carpenter or a      
locksmith4  ,what a misfortune6--how    
could one consent to live if one were   
not a  butcher6 ,the idle man of        
leisure1 who passes the first forty     
years of  his life between women and    
horses1 dreams of nothing better for his
  heir than idleness4 ,those1 on the    
contrary1 who feel such and such a      
thorn in their present mode of life     
imagine that they are securing  perfect 
happiness for their son if they secure  
him an immunity from  that particular   
source of suffering4 ,the hard-working  
day labourer1  the small shopkeeper1 the
 functionary who has laboured all his   
life  ten or twelve hours out of every  

twenty-four1 and has never had but  one 
desire in his life--that of taking his  
fill of rest--imagines  that his son    
will naturally be much happier than     
himself if he does  not have to work so 
much4 ,ninety-five per cent4 of the     
human race are  bound to hard labour and
 imagine that the pinnacle of happiness 
would  be to do nothing4 ,the majority  
are absolutely ignorant of the fact     
that1 other things equal1 happiness is  
never exactly proportionate to  wealth1 
and that1 according to one of ,laplace's
 theorems1 if fortune  should increase  
by geometrical progression1 happiness   
would increase by  arithmetical         
progression2 the millionaire controls   
but a fraction more  happiness than a   
workman who makes enough to live on4    
,and too1 wealth  is never known at its 
best except by the man who has made it1 
who knows  what it is worth1 who looks  
upon it with the satisfaction of an     
artist  contemplating his work1 of a    
house-owner examining his house1 of a   

peasant measuring his field4 ,a fortune 
is always more precious to the  man who 
has got it together than to his son1 who
 will perhaps dissipate  it4 ,if there  
is one axiom that fathers ought to take 
the trouble to  master1 it is this3 ,a  
robust1 intelligent young man with the  
advantage  of a good education1 which   
to-day is indispensable1 runs a greater 
chance of being happy in life if he is  
busy1 and he will not be busy  if a     
fortune is handed to him when he comes  
of age4 ,if a young man is  to be made  
happy1 the surest means is not to give  
him a fortune but  to supply him with an
 opportunity of acquiring one1 if       
fortune be his  aim4#aab          #aab  
,we conceive1 for example1 that a father
 who proposes        to enrich his son  
might often do well to take as the      
measure        of his generosity the sum
 that his son can lay by1 and does      
really lay by1 during a year of labour4 
,the father might double        or even 
sextuple that sum1 but he ought at least

 to make it        the basis of his     
calculations instead of taking counsel  
with        some vague and often        
deceptive notion of equality1 or with   
his        affection for his child1     
which is often an extreme instance      
of inequality4 ,we know a young man who 
at his twenty-eighth        year had    
already amassed by ten years of labour  
forty thousand        francs2 his       
parents tripled the amount4             
,sidenote3 ,relation between ample means
 of subsistence and population4    ,the 
peasantry and the middle classes of     
,france1 when they become more          
enlightened1 will begin to understand   
that the universe stretches  beyond     
their village or their street2 that     
their children1 when once  they have    
been sufficiently educated1 will have a 
multitude of careers  open to them1 and 
notably that of emigration to the       
colonies4 ,whenever  a limitless field  
of action is thrown open to a race1 its 
birth-rate  increases4 ,people who live 

near unoccupied land1 or who see        
numerous  careers open to their         
children1 are like people who live on   
the coast  in the presence of the wealth
 of the ocean4 ,what is the explanation 
of  the well-known fertility of the     
fishing population1 even in ,france8    
,it has been attributed to differences  
of food2 it is more probably  due1 as   
has been remarked1 to the fact that the 
produce of fishing is  proportionate to 
the number of fishermen and that the sea
 is large  enough and deep enough for   
all4           99       99       99     
99       99    ,sidenote3 ,summary4     
,to sum up1 the relation of religious   
beliefs to the maintenance of  the race 
is the foundation of one of the gravest 
problems that the  decline of           
,christianity gives rise to4 ,if we have
 insisted at length  upon this problem1 
the reason is that it is almost the only
 one in  regard to which neither morals 
nor politics have as yet seriously      
attempted to supply the place of        

religion4 ,in regard to such questions  
morals have hitherto been afraid to     
insist1 and politics have been          
unpardonably negligent4 ,religion alone 
is afraid of nothing and has  neglected 
nothing4 ,this state of things must be  
changed2 some solution  must be found   
for so vital a problem--a problem which 
becomes every  year more and more vital 
as instinct declines in power and       
reflective  intelligence becomes        
stronger4#aac ,shall we be obliged some 
day to  adopt the most radical          
imaginable solution2 shall those who    
have  no children be obliged to pay for 
the rearing and education of the        
children of those who have many8 ,no2   
before reaching so extreme a  point as  
that a number of palliatives will have  
been tried1 and we  have endeavoured to 
suggest some of them4 ,what is essential
 is that  politics1 morals1 education1  
and hygiene should all do their duty in 
this matter1 in especial since religion 
is nowadays beginning to be  powerless  

in it4 ,science must do in the future   
what religion has done  in the past2    
must secure the fertility of the race   
and its physical1  moral1 and economical
 education4          #aac ,see ,esquisse
 d'une morale sans obligation ni        
sanction1        p4 #ec1 and ,morale    
anglaise contemporaine1 #b;e partie4    
,part ,third4    ,,non-,,religion ,,of  
,,the ,,future4          ,,chapter ,i4  
,,religious ,,individualism4        ,i4 
,is a renovation of religion possible8  
#a4 ,is a unification        of the     
great religions to-day existing         
possible8 #b4 ,is        the appearance 
of a new religion to be                 
expected8--,future        miracles      
impossible--,religious poetry not to be 
expected--,men of genius capable of     
sincerely and navely        labouring in
 the creating of a new religion not to  
be expected--,impossibility of adding to
 the original        stock of religious 
ideas--,no new cult possible--,last     
attempts at a new cult in ,america and  

in ,france--,the        ,positivist     
cult--,ethical culture--,can socialism  
renew        religion8--,advantages and 
defects of socialistic                  
experiments4        ,,ii4 ,religious    
anomy and the substitution of doubt for 
faith--#a4 ,will the absence of religion
 result in        scepticism8 ,will the 
number of sceptics increase with the    
disappearance of religion8 #b4          
,substitution of doubt for              
faith--,genuinely religious character of
 doubt4        ,,iii4 ,substitution of  
metaphysical hypothesis for             
dogma--,difference between religious    
sentiment and        instinct for       
metaphysics--,imperishable character of 
the latter--,sentiment at once of the   
limits of science        and of the     
infinity of our ideal--,spencer's       
attempted        reconciliation of      
science and religion--,confusion of     
religion with metaphysics4      ,i4 ,is 
a renovation of religion possible8      
,sidenote3 ,is contemporary scepticism  

final8    ,we have seen that the        
influence of dogma and of religious     
morality is  on the wane in actually    
existing societies2 but will not this   
period of  decline be followed by a     
reaction in the opposite direction8     
,sidenote3 ,consolidation of existing   
religions not possible4    ,such a      
reaction could take place in two ways   
only3 #a4 ,by the  unification of       
religions2 #b4 ,by the appearance of a  
new religion4  ,the unification of      
existing religions is not to-day to be  
thought  of2 each of them has shown     
itself to be incapable of assimilating  
the others4 ,the different ,christian   
confessions hold each other in  mutual  
respect1 but they do the same with the  
great religions of the  ,east4 ,islamism
 alone has made notable progress among  
tribes still  imbued with primitive     
animism1 and for them it represents a   
manifest  progress4 ,as for ,christian  
missionaries they have never been able  
to make many proselytes among the       

,mussulmans1 the ,buddhists1 or  the    
,hindus4 ,the ,hindu who has been       
instructed in ,european science         
necessarily comes to doubt the revealed 
foundation of his national  religion1   
but he is not on that account any the   
more inclined to  believe in the        
,christian revelation4 ,he ceases simply
 to be religious  and becomes a         
free-thinker4 ,all peoples alike are in 
that position2  the principal great     
religions possess an approximate value  
as symbols  of the unknowable1 and      
worshippers perceive no advance in      
passing from  one of them to the other3 
mankind in general does not welcome     
change  for change's sake4 ,missionaries
 themselves to-day lack faith in their  
religion2 they possess either enthusiasm
 minus talent or talent minus           
enthusiasm1 and the time is at hand when
 the spirit of propagandism1  which has 
hitherto constituted the power of       
religion1 will abandon  it4 ,few people 
can cry to-day in the words of the      

unbelieving ,jesuit  missionary3 8,ah1  
you have no conception of the pleasure  
of convincing  men of what you do not   
believe yourself60 ,where absolute faith
 is  lacking1 and absolute faith in the 
very details of the dogmas is  lacking1 
sincerity1 which constitutes the        
essential power of all  propagandism1 is
 lacking too4 ,bishop ,colenso was one  
day asked1 by his  neophytes in ,natal1 
some questions on the ,old ,testament4  
,after having  followed him up from     
question to question they asked him1 on 
his word  of honour1 if all that was    
true4 ,seized by a scruple1 the ,bishop 
fell  into a profound train of          
reflection1 studied the question1 read  
,strauss  and the ,german commentators1 
and finally published a book in which   
he treats ,biblical history as a series 
of myths4 ,to this celebrated  example  
of ,colenso among the ,kaffirs1 must be 
joined that of ,mr4  ,francis ,newman in
 ,syria1 and of the ,rev4 ,adams in     
,india1 and of others  less well known4 

,efficiently to combat religions as well
 organized  as those of ,india1 for     
example1 our missionaries would be      
obliged to  become seriously proficient 
in the history of religion4 ,but the day
  they sincerely study comparative      
religion in the hopes of converting     
somebody else1 they will themselves     
undergo conversion1 or at least  will   
rapidly learn to reject a belief in a   
special revelation4#aad  ,the great     
religions1 and principally the          
8universal0 religions1 which  to-day    
have attained their full development1   
hold each other in  check4 ,these vast  
bodies show almost no signs of life     
except within1  by the formation of new 
centres of activity which detach        
themselves  from the primitive nucleus1 
as we see daily happening in the bosom  
of  ,protestantism1 which is constantly 
being subdivided into new sects2 as     
also within the bosom of ,hinduism1     
insomuch that the only sign of life     
that these religions give is that they  

are beginning to disintegrate4          
#aad ,see ,m4 ,goblet d',alviella1      
,l'volution religieuse4                 
,anglo-,saxon religious proselytism has 
achieved the distinction        of      
contradicting and paralyzing itself4    
,the ,theosophist        ,society of the
 ,united ,states1 in #ahgi1 sent to     
,india certain        missionaries1 or  
rather counter-missionaries1 who were   
commissioned 8to preach the majesty and 
glory of all ancient        religions   
and to fortify the ,hindu1 the          
,cingalese1 the ,parsee1        against 
all efforts to induce him to accept a   
new faith instead        of the ,vedas1 
of the ,tri-,pitka and of the ,zend     
,avest40 ,in        ,india and in the   
island of ,ceylon these                 
counter-missionaries        have        
succeeded in bringing back to the       
primitive faith some        thousands of
 converts to ,christianity4           99
       99       99       99       99    
,sidenote3 ,analogy between nineteenth  

century and times of the  ,antonines    
superficial4    ,the increasing         
multiplicity of sects1 for example of   
the ,protestant  sects2 the courageous  
efforts of certain disciples of ,comte  
and of  ,spencer1 the birth of          
,mormonism in ,america and of ,brahmaism
 in ,india1  have been regarded as      
symptoms of a religious fermentation    
analogous  to that which disturbed the  
world at the time of the ,antonines and 
very possibly destined1 like that1 to   
result in a renovation4 8,all  things in
 nature spring from humble beginnings1  
and no one can to-day  say whether the  
unconscious mission of the fisherman and
 publicans1  gathered eighteen centuries
 ago on the borders of ,lake ,tiberias  
about  a gentle and mystical idealist1  
will not to-morrow be handed on to  such
 and such an association of             
spiritualists prophesying in a gorge  of
 the ,rocky ,mountains2 to such and such
 an illuminated gathering  of socialists
 in some back shop in ,london2 to such  

and such a band  of ascetics1           
meditating1 like the ,essenes of old on 
the miseries of  the world1 in some     
jungle of ,hindustan4 ,perhaps all they 
need is to  discover on the road to     
,damascus another ,paul1 to give them a 
passport  to future ages40#aae ,these   
analogies between our century and that  
of  the ,antonines are very superficial2
 between the century which1 as a  whole1
 is of an unexampled incredulity and the
 century which was of an  unexampled    
credulity--which accepted all religion  
from that of ,isis  and ,mithra to that 
of ,christ2 from that of the talking    
serpent to that  of ,christ incarnate in
 the body of a virgin4 ,during the past 
eighteen  hundred years a new thing has 
been born into the world--science2 and  
science is not compatible with          
supernatural revelations1 which are the 
foundation of religions4          #aae  
,l'volution religieuse contemporaine1 by
 ,m4 ,goblet        d',alviella1 p4     
#daa4    ,sidenote3 ,attempt to found a 

religion to-day on miracles desperate4  
,will it be objected that miracles still
 happen8 ,possibly one or two  notable  
ones in a century6 ,the surprising thing
 is not that miracles  still happen1 but
 that1 with millions of believers1      
including in their  ranks thousands of  
excited women and children1 they do not 
happen  frequently4 ,every day ought to 
bring forth its duly authenticated      
miracle1 but unhappily daily miracles no
 longer happen--except in  mad-houses   
and hospitals for the hysterical1 where 
they are observed  and reported nowadays
 by incredulous men of science4 ,when   
they happen  elsewhere1 true believers  
themselves are almost afraid of them and
  do not care to talk about them4 ,of   
old a king forbade ,god to perform      
miracles2 the ,pope has done almost as  
much to-day2 they are regarded  as      
objects of doubt and suspicion1 rather  
than of edification4 ,among  orthodox   
,protestant nations1 miracles do not    
happen2 enlightened  theologians among  

them no longer insist on the marvellous 
elements  in the early ,christian       
tradition2 they regard them as more     
likely to  enfeeble than to confirm the 
authority of the ,scriptures4 ,add that 
as  a means of founding a new religion1 
or of reviving old religions1 a  miracle
 or two would do no good2 they would    
rather result in the total  destruction 
of the faith they were intended to      
establish4 ,a whole  series of miracles 
would be necessary1 a sort of marvellous
 atmosphere  in which the whole face of 
nature should be transformed1 a mystic  
halo  not only visibly resting on the   
head of the prophet1 but reflected  on  
the believers who surround him4 ,in     
other words1 the ,messiah must  be in   
his lifetime quite as wonderful as he is
 always reported to  be afterward1 and  
that without deception or finesse1      
either on his  part or on the part of   
those who surround him and are supported
 by  his divinity4 ,unhappily1 in our   
days great men are immediately taken    

account of by history1 which verifies   
everything1 describes everything1  sets 
down in plain print the contemporary    
fact1 otherwise so likely  to settle1   
with time1 into some fantastic shape4   
,even the legend of  ,napoleon1 which he
 himself laboured with all the resources
 of despotic  power and brutal force to 
establish1 did not last thirty years in 
,europe2 in the ,east it exists still1  
transfigured4 ,personalities  shrink    
beneath the touch of history4 ,if ,jesus
 had lived to-day his  letters would    
have been published1 and it is          
impossible to believe in  the divinity  
of anybody after one has read his       
correspondence4 ,the  slightest facts of
 an interesting man's life are          
ascertainable3 state  records enable us 
to ascertain important dates1 what he   
did from year  to year and even         
sometimes from day to day2 sometimes a  
mere appearance  in court1 such as      
happened in the life of ,shakspeare's   
father1 may  serve to fix a date2 and in

 the life of a prophet there would be   
no lack of appearances in court since   
unlicensed assemblies are  interdicted4 
,life to-day is so hemmed in by reality1
 so disciplined1  that it is difficult  
for the marvellous to find entrance1 or 
to make  good its lodgment even if it   
should get in4 ,we live in little       
numbered  and windowed boxes1 in which  
the least disturbance attracts          
attention2  we are watched like soldiers
 living in barracks2 we have every      
evening  to be present at the roll-call1
 with no possibility of dropping out of 
the society of men1 of returning into   
ourselves1 of avoiding the big  eye of  
society4 ,we are like bees living under 
a glass2 the observer can  watch them at
 work1 watch them constructing their    
hive1 watch them  making their honey2   
and the sweetest of honey1 even the     
honey with  which the ancients nourished
 the baby ,jupiter1 ceases to be        
marvellous  when one has been present at
 its tardy and painstaking elaboration4 

,we are far from the time when ,pascal  
could say 8,miracles are as a flash  of 
lightning that reveals40 ,the lightning 
no longer flashes4 ,science  stands     
ready to explain the first miracle that 
arises in support of a  new religion4   
,sidenote3 ,genius has deserted the     
service of religion4    ,metaphysical   
and poetic genius also1 upon which      
religions were so  dependent in their   
earliest stages in the past1 have also  
withdrawn  from their service4 ,read the
 descriptions of the latest miracles1   
those  at ,lourdes1 for example3 the    
little girl taking off her stockings to 
step into the rivulet1 the words of the 
,virgin1 the vision repeated  as a      
spectacle before witnesses who saw      
nothing--all of it is trivial  and      
insignificant2 how far we have travelled
 from the ,lives of the  ,saints1 the   
,gospel1 the great ,hindu legends6 ,the 
poor in spirit may see  ,god or the     
,virgin1 but they cannot make others see
 them2 the poor in  spirit cannot found 

or revive religion2 it requires genius1 
and genius1  which bloweth where it     
listeth1 bloweth to-day elsewhere4 ,if  
the ,bible  and the ,gospels had not    
been sublime poems they would not have  
made  the conquest of the world4        
sthetically considered1 they are epics  
greater than the ,iliad4 ,what ,odyssey 
equals that of ,jesus8 ,refined  ,greeks
 and ,romans did not at first appreciate
 the simple1 impassioned  poetry of the 
,gospels2 it was long before they       
admired the style of  the ,scriptures4  
,st4 ,jerome1 transported in a dream to 
the feet of the  ,sovereign ,judge1     
heard a menacing voice cry3 8,thou art  
naught but a  ,ciceronian60 ,after this 
dream ,st4 ,jerome applied himself to   
the study  of the beauties of the ,bible
 and the ,new ,testament1 and came      
ultimately  to prefer them to the       
balanced periods of the great ,latin    
orator3 the  ,sermon on the ,mount1 in  
spite of some inconsistencies 7in part  
the work  of the disciples71 is more    

eloquent than the most eloquent of      
,cicero's  orations1 and the invectives 
against the ,pharisees1 authentic or    
not1  are better literature than the    
denunciations against ,catiline4 ,m4    
,havet1 in our judgment1 entirely misses
 the point1 when he asks how  8so great 
a revolution could have taken its rise  
from such commonplace  literature as the
 ,new ,testament40 ,the literary        
excellence of the ,new  ,testament is of
 a new kind1 unparalleled among the     
,greeks or the  writers of the ,old     
,testament2 it possesses the grace of   
tenderness  and of unction1 which is    
well worth the lyrical fire of the      
prophets2  it is a profound and nave    
manual of popular morality1 and every   
word  makes one's heart vibrate4 ,the   
literary success of the ,new ,testament 
was fully merited4 ,the ,hebrew people1 
who had not produced one man  of        
science1 had evidently produced a       
succession of sombre1 tender1  puissant 
poets unparalleled among any other      

people2 a fact which in a  great part   
explains the victorious progress of     
,hebrew religion4 ,poetry1  like hope1  
is the sister of faith1 and is more     
necessary than hope to  faith1 for one  
may forego the distant grace of hope    
when one is under  the present charm of 
an illusion4    ,sidenote3 ,and the     
conditions in which alone genius could  
succeed are  wanting4    ,to found a    
great religion has demanded and will    
always demand the  services of men of   
genius such as ,jesus was1 or1 to be    
quite historic1  as ,st4 ,paul was4 ,but
 if genius is to found religion it can  
do so  only under two essential         
conditions4 ,it must in the first place 
be  absolutely sincere2 we no longer    
live in a period when religion can be   
benefited by imposture2 it must1 in the 
second place1 distinctly impose  upon   
itself2 it must be the dupe of its own  
inspiration1 of its own  interior       
illuminations1 disposed to see in them  
something superhuman1  to feel itself in

 direct communication with ,god1 or at  
least especially  designated by ,god4   
,this second condition was easy to      
realize in ancient  times when1 in their
 ignorance of psychological and         
physiological  phenomena1 not only men  
like ,jesus but philosophers like       
,socrates and  ,plotinus believed that  
they felt within them something         
supernatural1  took their visions and   
their ecstasies seriously2 and1 unable  
to  explain their own very genuine      
genius1 regarded it as a proof of some  
mysterious or miraculous communication  
with ,god4 ,purely and simply to  rank  
these great men among lunatics would be 
absurd2 they were simply  seeking to    
explain phenomena which overtaxed their 
knowledge and gave  what1 after all1 was
 the most plausible explanation for the 
times  in which they lived4 ,with the   
scientific knowledge that we possess    
nowadays1 and which every man who       
attains a certain intellectual  level   
inevitably will possess1 men like ,moses

 and ,jesus1 men who  are inspired1 will
 be obliged1 so to speak1 to choose     
between two  alternatives2 to see in    
their inspiration simply the natural    
impulse of  genius1 to speak in their   
own name1 to make no pretences to       
revelation  or prophecy1 to be1 in      
effect1 philosophers1 or actively to    
allow  themselves to be deceived by     
their own exaltation1 to objectify it1  
to  personify it1 to become madmen in   
downright earnest4 ,at the present  day 
those who are not capable of naming the 
force that is acting in  them and       
declaring it to be natural and human1   
and of preserving their  self-mastery1  
are definitively regarded as of unsound 
mind2 prophets  who believe in their own
 prophecies are sent to ,charenton4 ,we 
are  familiar with distinctions that    
were unknown in ancient times1 even to  
the promoters of religious ideas2 the   
great men who founded religions  were   
carried away by the movement they had   
themselves called into  being2 were     

divinized by the ,god that they         
themselves had brought  to men4 ,genius 
is as capable of going to school as     
stupidity2 and1  like stupidity1 it has 
been to school in the nineteenth century
 and  is familiar with                  
nineteenth-century science4 ,a time will
 come--nay1  probably has come for      
,europe--when prophets1 apostles1 and   
,messiahs  will be extinct among men4   
,it is a species which is dying out4    
8,who  of us1 who of us will become a   
god80 ,none of us will become a god1    
and more than that none of us wants to4 
,science has killed the  supernatural in
 us even in the very centre of our      
being1 in our deepest  ecstasies2       
visions no longer put on the shape of   
apparition but of  simple hallucination1
 and the day they become so strong that 
we believe  in them we lose all power to
 make anybody else believe in them1 and 
become1 not uncommonly1 amenable to the 
law4 ,the middle term between  the man  
of genius and the fool1 the man of      

inspiration1 of revelation1  the        
,messiah1 the ,god1 has disappeared4    
,sidenote3 ,dissemination of knowledge  
has weakened the religious  sentiment4  
,add that inspiration nowadays1 and     
forever more1 lacks and will lack  its  
appropriate environment4 ,intensity of  
religious emotion in a  people1 an      
intensity which sometimes rises to the  
height of fanaticism1  depends1 in a    
great measure1 upon ignorance and upon  
the level of  intelligence achieved by  
average human life4 ,when problems of   
the  origin and destiny1 and reason of  
things1 are suddenly presented to an    
ignorant people1 it experiences profound
 terrors1 ecstasies1 a general          
heightening of the sensibility which is 
due to the fact that a state of         
metaphysical and philosophical curiosity
 is utterly unfamiliar to it1           
constitutes a positive revolution in its
 ordinary habits of mind4 ,when  the    
average level of intellectual activity  
is once raised1 metaphysical  emotion   

loses its revolutionary character       
precisely because the whole  extent of  
human existence has become imbued with  
it4 ,a calm1 high1  continuous enjoyment
 takes the place of a brief1 stormy     
ecstasy2 people  who pass their lives on
 the shore of the ocean cease to fear   
it1 or  at least do not experience so   
violent an emotion in its presence as   
they did at the sight of their first    
tempest4 ,if we had never looked  upon  
the starry heavens1 the first time we   
lifted our eyes to them we  should be   
filled with fear2 the spectacle of them 
to-day calms us1  gently inspires us4   
,to appease the violence of religious   
sentiment1 it  must1 when it has been   
purified1 be permitted to permeate the  
whole of  human existence1 be always    
present with us1 and domesticate us in  
the  infinite4    ,sidenote3 ,a new     
religion must be both novel and         
significant4    ,a final condition      
precedent to the success of a new       
religion would be  that it should be    

really new1 that it should contribute a 
new idea to  the treasury of the human  
mind4 ,among the wretched attempts at   
starting  a new faith which have been   
made from one end of the world to the   
other  in our days1 nothing original has
 made its appearance4 ,in ,america a    
religion new in appearance1 ,mormonism1 
has had some success2 it is1  of all    
modern attempts1 the only one which has 
relied upon miraculous  prophecy and    
revelation1 such as are indispensable to
 a genuine  dogmatic religion3 it has   
also its book1 its ,bible1 and even     
includes  in its legend some prosaic    
tale of marvellous pair of spectacles   
destined for the deciphering of the     
book4 ,the ,god of ,mormonism1 who  is  
rather better educated than the ,god of 
the ,bible1 possesses some  notion of   
optics4 ,but at bottom ,mormonism is    
simply a modern edition of  ,jewish     
ideas and customs3 the whole religion is
 a bit of plagiarism1  a resuscitation  
of superanuated legends and beliefs1 to 

which it has  added nothing but what is 
trivial2 it is a religious anachronism4 
,it  seems also to have reached the     
limit of its development1 the number  of
 its adherents is not increasing4 ,hindu
 ,brahmaism is an eclectic  and mystic  
spiritualism without one really new     
idea4 ,comtism1 which  consists of the  
rites of religion and nothing else1 is  
an attempt  to maintain life in the body
 after the departure of the soul4 ,the  
spiritualists are charlatans1 or        
empirics1 who have been impressed with  
certain1 as yet obscure1 phenomena of   
the nervous system which they           
themselves are unable to explain        
scientifically4 ,but charlatanism has   
never founded anything durable in the   
domain of religion4 ,to compare         
,american ,mormonism or spiritualism to 
nascent ,christianity is to make  one's 
self ridiculous4 ,humble as the         
beginnings of ,christianity were  one   
must not be the dupe of historical      
illusion1 nor believe that              

,christianity owed its triumph to a     
simple concurrence of happy events2     
that the world1 for example1 according  
to ,m4 ,renan's hypothesis1 might  quite
 easily have become ,mithraic4 ,the     
disciples of a certain ,chrestus1       
mentioned for the first time by         
,suetonius1 could present1 as the basis 
of their as yet vague beliefs1 two      
incomparable epic poems1 the ,old       
,testament and ,gospels2 they introduced
 into the world a new system  of        
morality1 which was admirable even in   
its errors1 and original at  least for  
the mass of mankind2 and they           
contributed1 finally1 to the  common    
stock of ideas a great metaphysical     
conception1 that of the  resurrection1  
which1 combined with current            
philosophical conceptions1  necessarily 
gave birth to the doctrine of personal  
immortality4  ,christianity conquered by
 its own weight1 it was inevitable that 
it  should find its ,st4 ,paul2 the ,old
 ,testament and the ,gospels were too   

eminent to be forgotten1 or to remain   
without influence on human life4  ,there
 is not a single example in the history 
of the world of a great  masterpiece1 at
 once literary or philosophical1 which  
has gone its  way unperceived1 without  
exerting an influence upon the progress 
of  humanity4 ,every work which is      
sufficiently endowed with beauty or     
virtue is sure of the future4           
,sidenote3 ,no great religion could     
nowadays take its rise among the        
masses4    ,it is among the masses that 
religious movements have hitherto begun4
  ,but a new religion could not come to 
us to-day from the ignorant  masses of  
an ,oriental people nor from the lower  
classes of any country  of ,europe4 ,in 
heathen antiquity1 all social classes   
were united in a  belief in nave        
superstitions4 ,marcus ,aurelius himself
 was obliged  to preside in great pomp  
over a ceremony in honour of the serpent
 of  ,alexander of ,abonoteichos which  
numbered believers among his friends4   

,to-day a bishop in ,australia can      
refuse to order a prayer for rain1 and  
declare that atmospheric phenomena are  
regulated by inflexible natural  laws1  
and persuade the believers in his       
diocese1 if they want a remedy  against 
drought1 to ameliorate their system of  
irrigation4 ,these two  facts indicate  
the thorough-going difference between   
the ancient and  modern world4 ,the     
contemptuous title of ,barbarians1 which
 the ,greeks  and ,romans applied to all
 other peoples1 was less than exact1 for
 the  ,hebrews and the ,hindus at least 
possessed a more profound religion  than
 the ,greeks and ,romans and even in    
certain respects a superior  literature4
 ,greek and ,roman civilization is a    
rare historical example1  which proves  
that religion is not necessarily the    
measure of the  intellectual development
 of a people4 ,greece excels principally
 by her  art and science2 but the       
superiority which she conceived herself 
to  possess in other respects was a pure

 illusion founded on ignorance4  ,the   
superiority that we attribute to        
ourselves is demonstrated by  our       
knowledge2 we are better acquainted     
to-day with the religion of  most       
,oriental peoples than they are         
themselves2 and we have earned  a right 
to sit in judgment on them1 and admire  
them1 and criticise  them1 that the     
ancients did not possess4 ,the          
distinction between those  who know and 
those who do not is to-day the sole     
really serious line  of demarcation     
between classes and nations4 ,and the   
line is one that  religion cannot pass1 
for every complete religion involves a  
general  conception of the world1 and no
 such nave conception of the world  as a
 man of the people is capable of can    
ever find acceptance by a  cultivated   
mind4 ,no great religion can germinate  
and achieve complete  development in    
modern society4    ,sidenote3           
,impossibility of improving on existing 
religions in their  kind4    ,the       

impossibility of finding anything new in
 the domain of mythical  religion might 
almost be demonstrated a priori2 nothing
 more  attractive will ever be          
discovered in the way of a metaphysical 
myth  than the sovereign happiness      
obtained in this life in the ,buddhists 
,nirvna1 or obtained in the life after  
death in ,christian immortality4  ,in   
these two conceptions1 the metaphysical 
imagination of humanity  has once for   
all achieved its masterpiece1 as the    
plastic imagination  once for all       
achieved its masterpiece in ,greek      
statuary4 ,something  may be demanded in
 another order of ideas1 one may exact  
less nave  hypotheses1 hypotheses more  
neighbour to the truth2 but these       
hypotheses will never seduce humanity   
nor pass over the world like a  wave of 
light1 nor become transfigured in the   
form of a revelation4  ,the multitude   
never listens to a revelation that does 
not announce  some glad tidings1 some   
salvation in this world1 or the next2 to

 be  a prophet1 and to be listened to1  
imperatively requires one to be a       
prophet of good augury4 ,religious      
metaphysics1 after its two immense      
efforts in ,buddhism and ,christianity  
7,mohammedanism is simply a             
vulgarization of these two71 is         
condemned in the future to sterility  or
 repetition1 so long as severe and truly
 philosophical hypotheses1  based on    
scientific generalization1 engage the   
attention of mankind4  ,infantine       
hypotheses1 which resolve the problems  
of the destiny of  mankind and of the   
world in a manner altogether consoling  
to human  vanity1 are condemned to      
uniformity and banality4 ,to discover   
anything  new in the realm of           
metaphysics1 the religious spirit will  
have to  abandon the conditions which   
have hitherto existed2 will have to deal
  with ideas that lie beyond the        
primitive intellectual range of a       
,hottentot1 and even abandon all notion 
of universality1 of ,catholicity1  in   

the sphere of speculation4    ,sidenote3
 ,impossibility of improving existing   
religious morality as  such4    ,the    
same is true in the sphere of morals4   
,so far as an exalted and  attractive   
system of morality is concerned1 can one
 go farther than  ,christianity and     
,buddhism1 both of which preach         
exclusive altruism1  absolute           
self-abnegation8 ,all that one can do is
 really to take a few  steps backward to
 moderate certain exaggerated outbursts 
of devotion in  the void1 to fit        
,christian and ,buddhistic morality to  
the real world1  to supply this         
beautiful mysticism with a material     
body2 but for such  a task a new        
,messiah would be powerless1 simple good
 sense does not  charm humanity2 the    
cold1 humble1 commonplace duties of     
everyday life  cannot be made the basis 
of a great popular movement4            
,common-sense  is not contagious after  
the fashion of religious exaltation1    
which  passes from man to man like      

wildfire4 ,moral sentiment may well1 in 
the  course of time1 filter into us1    
pass slowly from man to man1 rise like  
a rising tide1 but so gradually as      
scarcely to be perceptible4 ,the  most  
lasting approaches to perfection are    
often the most unconscious4  ,it is a   
difficult matter by a simple impulse of 
faith to climb sheer  up on the ladder  
of civilization4 ,true moral perfection 
is often the  precise opposite of heroic
 paroxysm4 ,as the passion for goodness 
becomes triumphant1 it ceases to be a   
passion3 it becomes1 and must  become1 a
 portion of our normal life1 of the     
flesh that the mystics  curse2 the man  
must become good from the roots of his  
hair to the  soles of his feet4 ,thus   
,buddhism and ,christianity1 in many    
respects1  have miscarried4 ,if the     
first apostles1 who preached these      
religions1  should return among men1 how
 unchanged and untransmuted they would  
find humanity1 after so many thousands  
of years6 ,there has been1 no  doubt1 an

 intellectual progress which has        
confirmed a certain number  of moral    
ideas1 but this very complex            
intellectual progress has not  entirely 
been effected by religions4 ,there was  
as yet no sign of it in  the small      
number of simple-hearted people gathered
 about the 8new word0  in which the     
apostles saw their moral and religious  
ideal realized4 ,as  the primitive      
virtues of this small knot of wholly    
religious and not  at all scientific    
people overspread humanity1 they        
necessarily became  corrupt3 and a      
morality of exalted self-abnegation     
could not succeed  beyond a small group1
 a family1 a convent1 artificially      
sequestered  from the rest of the world 
it necessarily failed when it undertook 
to  appeal to all mankind4 ,the great   
world is too inhospitable and shifting  
a soil2 one does not sow seed in the    
sea4 ,a revival or a repetition of  the 
religious epics of ,christianity or of  
,buddhism would to-day meet  with an    

immediate check2 for it is the very     
essence of their influence  to develop  
the heart disproportionately to the     
brain1 and1 such an  effect being a sort
 of disturbance of equilibrium1 a sort  
of natural  monstrosity1 can be produced
 in individuals indeed1 but not in      
races4  ,the investigator to-day1 who   
adds the least item of truth to the mass
  of scientific and philosophic         
knowledge already acquired1 performs a  
much less brilliant but probably more   
definitive work than the purely         
religious work of a ,messiah4 ,he is of 
those who construct not in three  days1 
but during successive ages1 the sacred  
edifice which will not  fall4           
,sidenote3 ,growing antagonism to       
externals of worship4    ,the most      
essential incident of every dogmatic    
religion1 the cult1 is  not less foreign
 to the spirit of modern society than   
dogma itself  is4 ,the foundation of    
outer forms of worship1 as we have seen1
 is a  crystallization of custom and    

tradition into the form of rites4 ,well1
  as has been said1 one of the          
characteristic marks of the innovating  
spirit1 and of intellectual superiority1
 is the power of breaking up            
associations of ideas1 of liberating    
one's self in a measure from            
established collocations of ideas1 of   
being slow to contract invincible       
habits of thought1 of precisely not     
possessing a ritualistic mind4 ,if  such
 be one of the great signs of           
superiority in an individual1 it is     
none the less so in a people4 ,progress 
in humanity may be estimated by  the    
degree of perfection that the faculty of
 psychic disassociation  has achieved4  
,the instinct for novelty is then no    
longer held in  check by the instinct   
for ritualism2 curiosity may be pushed  
to its  extreme without any sense of    
innovating impiety such as primitive    
peoples regard it with4 ,the importance 
of ritualism in the material  and       
religious life of a people indicates the

 predominance among them  of obscure and
 unconscious associations of ideas1     
their brain is  caught and enveloped in 
a closely woven network of tradition1 in
 a  tissue impenetrable to the light of 
conscience4 ,on the contrary1 the       
progress of reflection and of conscience
 which is manifested among  modern      
people is accompanied by an enfeeblement
 of established custom1  of unconscious 
habit1 of the discipline and power of   
the past4 ,there  is often a certain    
danger1 on the practical side1 in this  
change1  because reflection becomes     
strong enough to dissolve habits before 
it  is capable of making head against   
the passions of the moment4 ,the power  
of disassociation is intellectual1 and  
is not in itself adequate to  the moral 
domination and direction of the         
individual1 and whatever may  be the    
objections1 from the point of view of   
morals1 to the progress  of reflection1 
it is certain that it sooner or later   
strips rites1  religious ceremonies1 and

 the whole machinery of worship1 of     
their  sacred character4 ,etiquette in  
the presence of kings and gods alike  is
 destined to disappear4 ,whatever is an 
observance ceases to be a  duty1 and the
 rle of the priest by that fact is      
seriously changed4  ,the distant ideal  
toward which we are marching includes   
among other  things the disappearance of
 the priesthood1 which is rite          
personified2  the god of the priesthood1
 who in certain respects is no more than
 an  apotheosis of custom1 has to-day   
grown old and maintains his power only  
by the prestige of the accomplished     
fact4 ,it is in vain for men like       
,german1 ,english1 or ,american         
clergymen1 or ,hindu deists1 who still  
possess a religion1 to endeavour to     
throw over revelation and dogma1  and   
reduce their faith to a system of       
personal and progressive beliefs1  to be
 accompanied by a ritual4 ,the ritual is
 an excrescence simply1  an almost      
superstitious habit1 mechanically       

practised and destined to  disappear4   
,sidenote3 ,the liberal movement in     
religion a movement of  disintegration4 
,the movement which1 in certain         
countries1 inclines religion to be shy  
of dogmas and rites1 is in reality a    
movement of disintegration1 not  of     
reconstruction4 ,human beliefs1 when    
they shall have taken their  final form 
in the future1 will bear no mark of     
dogmatic and ritualistic  religion1 they
 will be simply philosophical4 ,among   
certain people1  it is true1 every      
philosophical system tends to assume the
 practical  and sentimental form of a   
system of beliefs and aspirations4 ,the 
ideas of ,kant and ,schelling1 when they
 passed into ,america1 gave  birth to   
,emerson's and ,parker's                
transcendentalism2 ,spencer's theory  of
 evolution became1 in ,america1 a       
religion of ,cosmism1 represented  by   
,messrs4 ,fiske1 ,potter1 and ,savage4  
,but all such alleged religions  are    
simply the moving shadow1 in the domain 

of sentiment and action1  of the        
substance of intellectual speculation4  
,it is not enough to be  of the same    
opinion on some sociological or         
metaphysical theory and  then to        
congregate to the number of ten or a    
hundred in some theatre  or temple1 to  
found a new religion and a new cult4    
,the majority of  these pretended       
religions1 which are simply philosophies
 and sometimes  very bad philosophies1  
are open to ,mark ,pattison's           
observation on the  congregation of     
,comtists in their chapel in ,london3   
8,three persons and  no ,god40          
,sidenote3 ,secularism4    ,the defects 
of these modern cults appear in their   
most exaggerated form  in secularism1   
which had its hour of success in        
,england4 ,secularism is  a purely      
atheistic and utilitarian religion1     
which has borrowed all it  could from   
the ritual of the ,english ,church4     
,this contradiction between  the outer  
form and the inner void resulted in a   

positive parody4#aaf          #aaf ,see 
the secularist version of the ,ite missa
 est4    ,sidenote3 ,comtists4    ,in   
,france the ,comtists have made the same
 attempt to preserve the  rites1 without
 the background1 of belief4 ,the        
,comtist doctrine of  fetichism contains
 a certain amount of truth as           
characterizing  primitive religion1 but 
it is insufficient in its application to
  actual1 existing religions4 ,the      
religions of the present day have       
developed1 gradually1 from a primitive  
system of physics to a complete  system 
of metaphysics3 the fetiches have been  
transmuted into symbols  of the ,first  
,cause1 or of the ,final ,cause4        
,positivism can offer us  no symbol of  
this kind2 its 8,great ,fetich0 is      
genuinely a fetich1  and appropriate for
 primitive peoples only4 8,humanity0    
does not  afford complete satisfaction  
to one's conception of causality1 nor   
to one's conception of finality4 ,in    
regard to the first1 humanity is  a     

simple link in the infinite chain of    
phenomena2 in regard to the  second1    
humanity constitutes an end which is    
practically inexact and  theoretically  
insufficient3 practically inexact       
because almost the  whole of one's      
activity relates to such and such a     
restricted group  of human beings and   
not to humanity as a whole2 and         
theoretically  insufficient1 because    
humanity looks small in the presence of 
the great  universe4 ,its life is a     
point in space1 a point in time2 it     
constitutes  a contracted ideal1 and to 
say the truth1 it is as vain for a race 
to  regard itself as its own end as for 
an individual4 ,one cannot eternally    
contemplate one's own image and cannot1 
in especial1 eternally adore  it4 ,love 
of humanity is the greatest of virtues  
and the most ridiculous  of fetichisms4 
,the marriage of positive science and   
blind sentiment  cannot produce         
religion2 the attempt to return to      
fetichism is an  attempt to foist the   

religion of a savage upon the most      
civilized of  mankind4 ,moreover1 what  
we believe destined to subsist in the   
future in  a multitude of forms1 and to 
replace religions1 is not pure and      
simple  sentiment1 but sentiment roused 
by metaphysical symbols1 by speculation 
and thought4 ,religious metaphysics may 
consist in involuntary illusion1  in    
error1 in dream2 but unmetaphysical     
fetichism consists in voluntary         
illusion1 in cherished error1 in        
day-dream4 ,auguste ,comte seemed to    
believe that we should always need as   
the centre of our system of  worship1 an
 imaginary personification of humanity1 
a great ,being1 a  great ,fetich2 such a
 fetichism would be a species of new    
category1 in  the ,kantian sense4       
,fetichism has never imposed itself upon
 humanity  after that fashion2          
intellectually considered1 it was based 
on reasons  which can be shown to be    
false2 emotionally considered1 it was   
based on  feelings which can be shown to

 be perverted1 and can be rectified4 ,if
  love sometimes stretches out toward   
personification1 toward fetiches1  it is
 only in default of real persons and    
living individuals2 such in  our opinion
 is1 in its simplest form1 the law which
 will gradually  result in the          
disappearance of every fetichistic cult4
 ,we must find  gods of flesh and bone1 
living and breathing among us--not      
poetical  creations like those of       
,homer1 but visible realities4 ,we must 
discover  the kingdom of heaven in the  
human soul1 a future providence in      
science1 absolute goodness in the       
foundation of life4 ,we must not        
project our ideas and subjective images 
of things into the outer world1  and    
beyond the limits of the outer world1   
and love them with a sterile  love2 but 
must love the beings of this world with 
an active affection  in so far as they  
are capable of conceiving and realizing 
the same  ideas as we4 ,just as         
patriotism1 in so far as it is an       

abstract love1  tends to disappear1 and 
to resolve itself into a general        
sympathy for  all our fellow-citizens1  
just so far the love of ,god tends to   
overflow  the surface of the earth and  
to include all living beings4 ,to know  
living beings is to love them2 and thus 
science1 in so far as it is  science of 
the observation of life1 is one with the
 sentiment which  constitutes what is   
best in religion1 is one with love4     
,sidenote3 ,ethical ,culture ,society4  
,another religion of humanity1 or rather
 a religion of ethics1 has  recently    
been founded in ,new ,york by ,mr4      
,felix ,adler1 the son of an  ,american 
rabbi2 but ,mr4 ,adler1 who is more     
consistent than ,comte1 has  determined 
to do away with religious ceremonial1   
not less than with  religious dogma4 ,he
 has abandoned almost everything in the 
way of  ceremony2 he has abandoned the  
catechism1 and professes allegiance to  
no sacred book4 ,as a metaphysician he  
is a follower of ,kant1 rather  than of 

,comte1 but makes no positive           
affirmation on the subject of  ,god and 
immortality2 he admits only the         
existence of an unknowable  noumenon1 of
 an ultimate reality which lies behind  
all appearances1  and is responsible for
 the harmony of the world4 ,so long as  
divergence  in matters of belief        
continues to become increasingly great1 
,mr4  ,adler regards it as necessary to 
concentrate attention on the moral  law 
itself1 apart from any theory of its    
origin or justification4 ,men  have so  
long disputed1 he thinks1 about the     
basis of the law1 that the  law itself  
has not received its due share of       
notice4 ,his movement is  essentially a 
practical movement and appeals to the   
conscience1 a cry  for more justice1 an 
exhortation for the performance of duty4
    ,sidenote3 ,its object4    ,the     
primary aim of the society should be1   
according to ,mr4 ,adler1  to reform the
 lives of its own members4 ,he has      
founded3 #a4 ,a  ,sunday-school1 where  

instruction is given in practical       
morality1 in  the history of the most   
important religions1 and in the elements
 of  the philosophy of religion2 #b4 ,a 
public kindergarten organized on the    
,froebel method2 #c4 ,a school1 for     
working people's children between the   
ages of three and nine4#aag             
#aag ,indigent pupils are clothed and   
fed2 the instruction is                 
gratuitous2 the school contains at      
present one hundred pupils1             
having begun with eight4 ,an industrial 
museum is attached to        it4 ,the   
society also sends out district nurses  
to attend the        sick in the poorer 
quarters of ,new ,york4    ,sidenote3   
,is of a type destined to survive4      
,mr4 ,adler's following at first        
consisted of ,jews2 subsequently a      
number  of people1 without distinction  
of race1 gathered about him4 ,they are  
left entirely free in the matter of     
their personal beliefs1 and are  united 
only in an ardent desire for the        

regeneration of mankind4  ,every ,sunday
 the faithful congregate1 to listen to a
 discourse and  then disperse2 none but 
members of the society are permitted to 
join  in the management of the          
institutions founded and maintained by  
the  society4 ,this religion1 which is1 
l'amricaine1 wholly practical1  is      
acceptable to the philosopher2 at bottom
 it is simply a great mutual  aid       
temperance society4 ,the only objection 
that can be urged against it  is that it
 is somewhat prosaic1 but it is         
certainly one of the forms of  social   
activity which are destined to succeed  
ritualistic religions4           99     
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,antiquity of faith in       
socialism as a panacea4    ,certain     
partisans of religious revival regard   
socialism as their last  hope4          
,socialistic ideas ought1 in their      
judgment1 to give religion  a fresh     
start and supply it with an impetus     
hitherto unknown4 ,this  conception     

wears an air of originality1 but1 as a  
matter of fact1 it is  quite the reverse
 of original4 ,the great catholic       
religions1 ,buddhism  and ,christianity1
 were in the beginning socialistic1 they
 preached  universal partition of goods1
 and poverty2 it was by means of so     
doing  that they were in part enabled to
 spread with such rapidity4 ,in reality 
the instant that the period of          
propagandism succeeded the period of    
struggle for permission to exist1 these 
religions did everything  within their  
power to become individualistic even at 
the expense of  inconsistency2 they     
ceased to promise equality on earth and 
relegated  it to heaven or to ,nirvna4  
,sidenote3 ,socialism unrealizable      
except by a select few4    ,do we       
therefore believe that socialistic ideas
 will play no part in  the future1 and  
is it not conceivable that a certain    
mysticism might  form an alliance with  
socialism1 and both lend and borrow     
force by so  doing8 ,a mystical         

socialism is by no means unrealizable   
under certain  conditions1 and1 far from
 constituting an obstacle to religious  
free-thought1 it might become one of its
 most important manifestations4  ,but   
what has hitherto rendered socialism    
impracticable and utopian is  that it   
has aimed at subjugating the whole of   
mankind1 rather than  some small social 
group4 ,what has been aimed at is state 
socialism2  the case has been the same  
in the matter of religion4 ,but systems 
of  socialism and of religious doctrine 
must1 in the future at least1 be        
addressed to small groups and not to    
confused masses2 must be made the  basis
 of manifold and various associations in
 the bosom of society4 ,as  its most    
earnest partisans recognize1 socialism  
presupposes for its  success a certain  
average of virtue1 that may well obtain 
among some  hundreds of men but not     
among some millions4 ,it endeavours to  
establish  a sort of special providence1
 which would be quite incompetent to    

manage the affairs of the world but may 
well watch over the interests  of a     
neighbourhood4 ,socialism aims more or  
less at playing the part of  fate1 at   
predetermining the destiny of the       
individual1 at supplying  each          
individual with a certain average amount
 of happiness which he can  neither     
increase nor diminish4 ,socialism is the
 apotheosis of state  interference1 and 
the world in general is not disposed to 
worship it2  its ideal is a life which  
is completely foreseen1 insured1 with   
the  element of fortune and of hope left
 out1 with the heights and the  depths  
of human life levelled away--an         
existence somewhat utilitarian  and     
uniform1 regularly plotted off like the 
squares on a checker board1  incapable  
of satisfying the ambitious desires of  
the mass of mankind4  ,socialism is     
to-day advocated by the rebels in       
society4 ,its success1  however1 would  
depend on the most peaceable1 the most  
conservative1 the  most bourgeois people

 in the world2 it supplies no sufficient
 outlet  for the love of risk1 of       
staking one's everything1 of playing for
 the  height of fortune against the     
depth of misery1 which is one of the    
essential factors of human progress4    
,sidenote3 ,experiments in socialism4   
,practical experiments in socialism are 
being made every day2 there  is in      
,france the phalansterian association of
 ,m4 ,godin2 in ,america  there are the 
associations by the followers of ,cabet1
 not to speak  of others of a more      
purely religious character1 such as     
those of the  ,quakers1 ,shakers1 etc42 
and finally1 there are co-operative     
societies  of various kinds4 ,these     
avowedly or unavowedly socialistic      
experiments  have never succeeded except
 when their promoters were willing very 
rigorously to limit their numbers2      
certain intellectual and moral  defects 
in the members must inevitably in every 
case have proved fatal  to them4        
,socialism is possible only in a small  

society of the elect4  ,even the        
theorists who once regarded             
profit-sharing as the universal  panacea
 recognize to-day that profit-sharing   
constitutes a remedy in  some cases     
only2 that the labouring classes are    
not1 as a whole1 either  patient1 or    
painstaking enough to fulfil the very   
simple conditions  that profit-sharing  
demands4 ,they are unfit for corporate  
life1 they  are hard repellent          
individuals1 they are elements of       
disintegration2  when a small           
socialistic society finds them on its   
list of members1  it excludes them2 if  
mankind as a whole formed one great     
socialistic  society1 it also would be  
obliged to exclude them4 ,to            
universalize  socialism is to destroy   
it4    ,sidenote3 ,future of socialism4 
,every scientific discovery passes      
through three distinct stages3  the     
stage of pure theory1 of application on 
a small scale in the  laboratory1 of    
application on a grand scale in the     

world of business4  ,it frequently      
happens that the development of an idea 
is arrested  in the sphere of theory1   
that it does not enter into the sphere  
of  practice at all1 or that1 completely
 successful in the laboratory1  it      
miscarries when the attempt is made to  
apply it to business4 ,if  this holds   
true of scientific ideas1 of devices    
that depend for their  success upon the 
plasticity of inert matter only1 which  
we may bend  to our will1 a fortiori it 
must be true of sociological ideas1 of  
experiments1 of devices that depend for 
their success on the plasticity  of so  
variable1 so heterogeneous a substance  
as human nature4 ,socialism  is still1  
for the most part1 at the theoretical   
stage2 and even as  a theory socialism  
is very vague and not very consistent   
and1 when  the effort is made to put it 
into practice1 the difference between   
experiments in the laboratory1 among    
conditions that the experimenter  can in
 a measure determine and control1 and in

 the great world in which  everything is
 determined and controlled for him1 must
 be remembered4  ,the state which yields
 to the seduction of some charming      
socialistic  theory1 and endeavours1 as 
it will endeavour1 to realize it1 will  
inevitably be ruined4 ,social           
experiments cannot be attempted by the  
state--not even if they are experiments 
in religion1 or rather in  especial not 
if they are experiments in religion4    
,some experiments may  at most be       
observed by the state and followed with 
interest by it2 nay1  the state may even
 in certain cases encourage the most    
interesting of  them and subsidize them 
as it does certain industrial           
enterprises4  ,we are persuaded that    
socialism in the future1 like religion  
in the  past1 will appear in many       
different forms4 ,there will arise a    
number  of conceptions of an ideal      
society1 each of which is realizable in 
special circumstances1 and by people of 
some special disposition4 ,human        

society which to-day1 beyond the limits 
of convents and monasteries  7which     
consist in artificial groupings of      
individuals of the same sex71  presents 
a certain uniformity of type1 may well  
at some later date1  owing to complete  
liberty of association1 and to the      
spread of personal  initiative1 present 
a great variety of types4 ,socialism    
will not result  in the founding of a   
religion1 but it may well result in the 
founding  of a number of associations   
dominated respectively by some          
metaphysical  or moral idea4 ,socialism 
will thus contribute to that            
multiplicity and  diversity of beliefs  
which does not exclude but rather       
encourages their  practical application4
    ,sidenote3 ,necessity of allowing   
for a multiplicity of conflicting       
ideals4    ,the future1 therefore1 will 
leave the human mind1 as time goes on1  
more  and more at liberty2 will permit  
the individual to do increasingly as  he
 likes so long as he does not violate   

the rights of anybody else4  ,what is   
the highest social ideal8 ,does it lie  
purely and simply in the  practice of   
the necessary virtues or of a half      
conscious morality1 an  unreflecting    
benignity1 compounded of ignorance and  
custom8 ,this social  ideal is realized 
in certain countries in the ,orient1    
where ,buddhism  is dominant1 and the   
people are so gentle that years pass    
without a  homicide2 and yet life in    
these countries in nowise appeals to us 
as ideal4 ,to this sort of morality must
 be added some satisfaction  of the     
principal desire of mankind1 of the     
desire for economic ease  and for       
practical happiness1 and even that would
 not be enough2 for  that much is       
realized in corners of ,switzerland1 of 
,portugal1 in  primitive countries like 
,costa ,rica1 where poverty is unknown4 
,artists  dream of a life devoted       
entirely to art1 to the beautiful1 of a 
life  which is hostile to prosaic and   
practical virtue1 and this ideal was    

realized in the ,renaissance3 the       
,renaissance was distinguished by an    
extraordinary efflorescence of sthetic  
instinct and moral depravity1  and we in
 nowise desire to return to it4 ,and if 
science1 which is  the modern ideal1    
should become absolute1 we should see a 
society of  blass ,fausts which would   
not be more enviable perhaps than other 
societies4 ,no2 a complete social ideal 
must neither consist in bare  morality  
nor in simple economic well-being1 nor  
in art alone1 nor in  science alone--it 
must consist in all of these together2  
its ideal must  be the greatest and most
 universal conceivable4 ,this ideal is  
that  of progress1 and progress cannot  
take place in one direction only at  a  
time2 whoever advances in one direction 
only will soon retreat4 ,a  point of    
light shines in all directions          
simultaneously4 ,the excellence  of     
religion cannot be demonstrated by      
showing that it favours some  one       
species of human activity2 morality1 for

 example1 or art4 ,it is  not enough to 
make man moral as ,christianity and     
,buddhism did1 nor to  excite his       
sthetic imagination as ,paganism did4   
,not one but all of his  faculties must 
be stimulated1 and there is but one     
religion that can  do it2 and that      
religion each must create for himself4  
,whoever feels  attracted by a life     
similar to that of a priest will do well
 to become  a ,christian and even a     
,quaker1 and the artist will do well to 
become a  pagan4 ,what is certain is    
that no one of the deities which mankind
 has  created and worshipped is         
all-sufficing2 mankind needs all of them
 and  something more1 for human thought 
has outgrown its gods4    ,sidenote3    
,liberty the condition of knowledge4    
,under the sounding domes of old        
cathedrals1 the echoes are so numerous  
that an immense screen has sometimes to 
be stretched across the nave to  break  
the reverberations and enable the       
priest's voice alone to reach  the      

faithful4 ,this screen which is         
invisible from below1 which isolates    
the sacred word and deadens all other   
sound1 is stretched not only  across the
 cathedral nave but across the heart of 
every true believer4  ,it must be torn  
away2 every voice and word must be free 
to attain  the ear of man2 the sacred   
word rises from no one throat1 but is   
the  symphony of all the voices that    
sound beneath the dome of heaven4       
,sidenote3 ,decline of the power of     
religion4    ,i was talking one day with
 ,m4 ,renan upon the gradual decrease in
 the  power of religion1 on the silence 
that has fallen on the divine word1     
which formerly drowned all other sounds4
 ,to-day1 it is the word of  nature and 
humanity1 of free-thought and free      
sentiment1 which is  taking the place of
 oracles and of supernatural revelation1
 of dogmatic  religion4 ,m4 ,renan1 with
 the openness of mind which is habitual 
with  him1 and which partakes indeed    
largely of scepticism1 took up at  once 

my point of view4 8,yes10 he said1 8we  
are all marching toward  non-religion4  
,after all1 why should not humanity do  
without religious  dogmas8 ,speculation 
will take the place of religion4 ,even  
at the  present day1 among advanced     
peoples1 dogmas are disintegrating1 the 
incrustations of human thought are      
breaking up4 ,most people in ,france    
are already non-religious2 men of the   
people hardly believe more than         
professed men of science2 they possess  
their little fund of ideas1 more  or    
less profound1 on which they live1      
without help from the priest4  ,in      
,germany the work of decomposition is   
far advanced4 ,in ,england it  is only  
in its beginnings1 but it is moving     
rapidly4 ,christianity is  everywhere   
giving place to free-thought4 ,buddhism 
and ,hinduism are  doing the same2 in   
,india the mass of intelligent men are  
free-thinkers1  in ,china there is no   
state religion4 ,it will take a long    
while1 but  religion will in the end    

disappear1 and one may already imagine  
for  ,europe a time when it will be a   
thing of the past4444 ,islam is the one 
black spot on the horizon4 ,the ,turks  
are narrow1 rebellious against          
reasoning1 hostile to everything that   
lies beyond literal faith 444  but if   
they will not follow us we shall simply 
leave them behind1 and  ,i think we     
shall be obliged to do so40 ,we should  
add that1 if some  ,christians and      
,buddhists show themselves as backward  
as the ,turks1 we  shall leave them     
behind also4 ,those members of mankind  
who think1 see1  and move forward1 are  
always obliged to drag a long train of  
those who  neither see1 nor think1 nor  
wish to move forward4 ,they do move     
forward1  however1 in the long run4     
,professed advocates of the different   
positive  and dogmatic religions count  
every day for less and less among the   
truly active members of the human       
species2 and we ask nothing better4     
,whoever does not count for progress    

practically does not exist1 and         
ultimately will not exist4 ,activity of 
thought is becoming more and  more a    
condition of existence2 the preponderant
 rle that religions  played in the past 
is to be explained by the fact that     
religion offered  almost the sole field 
of intellectual and moral activity--the 
sole  issue for the most elevated       
tendencies of our being4 ,at that time  
there  lay beyond the limits of religion
 nothing but the grossest and most      
material occupations2 there was no known
 middle ground between heaven  and      
earth4 ,to-day this middle ground has   
been discovered--the ground  of thought4
 ,science and art are born2 and open    
before us an infinite  perspective1     
where each of us may find an opportunity
 to employ the  best of our gifts4      
,science offers a field for             
disinterestedness and  research1 but    
does not tolerate vagaries of the       
imagination4 ,it  encourages enthusiasm1
 but not delirium1 and possesses a      

beauty of its  own1 the beauty of truth4
      ,,ii4 ,religious anomy and the    
substitution of doubt for faith4        
,sidenote3 ,religious anomy4    ,i4 ,we 
have proposed as the moral ideal what we
 have called moral  anomy--the absence  
of any fixed moral rule4#aah ,we believe
 still  more firmly that the ideal      
toward which every religion ought to    
tend  is religious anomy1 the complete  
enfranchisement of the individual in    
all religious matters1 the redemption of
 his thought1 which is more  precious   
than his life1 the suppression of       
dogmatic faith in every  form4 ,instead 
of accepting ready-made dogmas1 we      
should each of us be  the makers of our 
own creed4 ,whatever ,montaigne may say1
 faith is a  softer pillow for idleness 
than doubt4 ,faith is a species of nest 
in  which idleness lies in shelter1 and 
hides its head under the warmth  and    
darkness of a protecting wing2 nay1 it  
is a nest prepared in  advance1 like    
those that are sold in the markets and  

made by men1 for  birds that are kept in
 cages4 ,we believe that in the future  
man will  be increasingly unwilling to  
live in cages and that1 if he needs a   
nest1 he will construct it himself twig 
by twig in the open air1 and  abandon it
 when he is weary of it1 and remake it1 
if necessary1 every  springtime1 at each
 new stage of his thought4          #aah
 ,see our ,esquisse d'une morale sans   
obligation ni        sanction4          
,sidenote3 ,religious anomy and         
scepticism4    ,is religious anomy1 or  
the absence of religion1 synonymous with
  scepticism8 ,since the disappearance  
of ,pyrrhonism and nesideinism1         
scepticism is simply a word which serves
 as a label for the most  dissimilar    
doctrines4 ,greek sceptics were fond of 
calling themselves  seekers1 2 a name   
which is appropriate to every           
philosopher  as distinguished from      
believer4 ,but how the term scepticism  
in its  modern negative acceptation is  
abused6 ,if you do not belong to some   

definite system of thought1 you are at  
once set down as a sceptic4  ,but       
nothing is further removed from a       
superficial scepticism than  the        
sympathetic mind which1 precisely       
because it embraces so large a  horizon1
 refuses to confine itself to some one  
narrow point of view1 as  in a glade a  
hundred feet square or in a diminutive  
valley between two  mountains4 8,you are
 not dogmatic enough10 the philosopher  
is sometimes  told4 8,to what system do 
you belong80 8,in what class of thinking
  insects do you belong80 8,to what card
 in our collection must you be  pinned80
 ,a reader always wants to ask an author
 a certain number of  conventional      
questions4 ,what do you think of such   
and such a problem8  ,of such and such  
another8 ,you are not a spiritualist2   
are you then a  materialist8 ,you are   
not an optimist2 are you then a         
pessimist8 ,one  must reply1 yes or no1 
without explanatory amplification4 ,but 
what ,i  think is of small importance1  

even for myself2 my point of view is    
not the centre of the universe4 ,what ,i
 am seeking to learn1 what  you are     
seeking to learn1 is the contents of    
human thought in all  its variety and   
complexity4 ,if ,i study myself it is   
not because ,i am  myself1 but because  
,i am a man like other men4 ,if ,i watch
 my own little  soap bubble1 it is      
because it contains a ray of the sun2 my
 object is  precisely to pass beyond the
 limits of my own horizon and not to    
remain  within them4 ,more than that1   
people whose ideas are fixed1 clear-cut1
  absolute1 are exactly those who have  
no ideas of their own4 ,revelation1     
intuition1 religion1 categorical and    
exclusive affirmation1 are notions      
hostile to modern thought1 which is in  
its very essence progressive4  ,there   
are two sorts of men3 those who remain  
on the surface of things  and those who 
sound the depths of things4 ,there are  
superficial minds  and serious minds4   
,in ,france almost all those whom we    

designate as  sceptics or as blass are  
superficial minds1 with an affectation  
of  profundity4 ,they are also often    
practical ,epicureans4 ,there will      
always  be people ready to say1 with a  
certain hero of ,balzac's3 8,a good     
fire1  a good table2 behold the ideal of
 human life60 ,waiting for dinner is    
the sole occupation of the day4 ,but    
there will always be other people  for  
whom life consists in an indefatigable  
activity4    ,sidenote3 ,feebleness of  
scepticism4    ,the number of sceptics  
will not necessarily be increased by the
 final  decay and disappearance of      
religious scepticism1 which is a        
compound of  lightness and ignorance1   
resting on the same foundation as       
religious  prejudice1 on the absence of 
a solid philosophical education4 ,really
  serious minds are either positive or  
speculative2 a too positive1            
common-sense spirit might1 if it became 
general in society1 menace  it with a   
certain intellectual debasement2 but    

religion would not  hinder its          
development3 witness ,america4 ,the true
 means of checking  the positive spirit 
is to cultivate the sense of beauty and 
the love  of art4 ,to speculative minds1
 on the other hand1 belongs the future  
of humanity2 but far from being         
dependent upon dogma1 speculation  can  
flourish only in its absence4 ,it is the
 life of speculation  to ask questions  
about the deepest concerns of human     
life2 dogma  provides ready-made        
answers1 and speculation cannot accept  
them4  ,the disappearance of positive   
religions will give scientific and      
metaphysical speculation a fresh        
impulse4 ,the speculative spirit is  the
 extreme opposite both of the spirit of 
faith and of the spirit  of absolute    
negation4 ,an inquirer may suspect his  
own resources1 may  recognize his own   
powerlessness1 but he will never give up
 the search4  ,strong minds will never  
be discouraged or disgusted1 will never 
be  followers of ,mrime or ,beyle4 ,in  

active mental labour there is  something
 which is worth more than faith and     
doubt together1 as there  is in genius  
something which is worth more at once   
than the somewhat  silly admiration of  
the multitude and the disdainful        
criticism of  pretended connoisseurs2   
excess of criticism and excess of       
credulity  are alike powerless4 ,it is  
good to be aware of one's own weakness1 
but  from time to time only2 one must   
turn one's eyes toward the limits of    
human intelligence1 but not rest them   
there1 on pain of paralysis4  8,man10   
says ,goethe1 8should believe firmly    
that the incomprehensible  will become  
comprehensible2 but for that he would   
cease to scrutinize  and to try40 ,in   
spite of the number of ideas which make 
their entrance  into and exit from the  
human mind1 which rise and set on the   
human  horizon1 which flame up and burn 
out1 there is1 in every human mind1  an 
element of eternity4 ,on certain autumn 
nights one may observe a  veritable     

shower of aerolites2 hundreds of stars  
detach themselves  from the zenith like 
luminous flakes of snow2 the dome of    
heaven  itself seems to have given way1 
the worlds hung above the earth seem  to
 have broken loose1 and all the stars at
 once to be descending and  about to    
leave the great firmament of night      
unvariegated1 opaque2 but  the falling  
stars go out one by one1 and the serene 
brilliancy of the  fixed stars still    
remains2 the storm has passed beneath   
them and has  not troubled the tranquil 
splendour of their rays1 nor the        
incessant  appeal of their fixity and   
glory4 ,the appeal is one that man will 
always respond to2 under the open sky   
and the pressure of the problem  brought
 home to him by the great stars1 man    
does not feel himself  feeble unless he 
pusillanimously shuts his eyes4         
,humanity will lose  none of its        
intellectual power by the disappearance 
of religious faith2  its horizon will   
grow wider simply1 and the luminous     

points in the  immensity of space will  
grow more numerous4 ,true genius is     
speculative1  and in whatever           
environment true genius is placed it    
will speculate2 it  has speculated      
hitherto despite of all that orthodox   
faith could do1 it  will speculate still
 more actively in spite of all that     
scepticism can  do4    ,sidenote3       
,speculation and practice4    ,and the  
practical side of human life has nothing
 to fear from the  growth of the        
speculative spirit4 ,given minds        
sufficiently large1 and  the fact that  
they look down upon the earth from a    
height1 does not  prevent them from     
seeing human life as it is and as it    
should be4  ,decidedly one must be a    
man1 a patriot1 a 8tellurian10 as ,amiel
 said1  with some contempt2 to be so may
 appear to be a small function in the   
totality of things1 but an upright      
spirit will not fulfil it with  less    
exactitude because he perceives its     
limits and its restricted  importance4  

,nothing is in vain1 and a fortiori no  
being is in vain2  small functions are  
as necessary as great4 ,if a man of     
intelligence  happens to be a porter or 
a scavenger1 he should apply himself to 
that  profession with as much devotion  
as to any other4 ,to do well what one   
has to do1 however humble it may be1 is 
the first of duties4 ,an ant of  genius 
ought not to bring to the ant-hill a    
grain the less1 even though  he were    
capable of taking cognizance of the     
eternities of time and  space4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,doubt as distinguished from 
scepticism4    ,,ii4 ,although the      
suppression of religious dogma does not 
lead to  scepticism1 it decidedly does  
lead to doubt1 and we believe that the  
modern sense of doubt represents a      
higher stage of civilization than  the  
faith in dogma that distinguished former
 times4 ,religious faith is             
distinguished from philosophic belief by
 a subjective difference4 ,if  the man  

of faith is not altogether blind1 at    
least he perceives but one  point in the
 intellectual horizon2 he has focussed  
his intelligence  upon some one plot of 
ground1 and the rest of the world does  
not  exist for him2 he returns day after
 day to his chosen corner1 to the       
little nest he has made for his thoughts
 to dwell in1 as we said  above--returns
 as a dove returns to the dovecote and  
sees but it in  the immensity of space4 
,fanaticism marks a still further degree
 of  contraction in one's intellectual  
vision4 ,on the contrary1 the greater   
the progress of reflection in the       
history of the human race1 the more     
completely religious faith becomes      
merged in1 and subordinated to1         
philosophic conviction2 the two cease to
 be distinguishable except by  a        
difference in the degree of doubt that  
they involve1 a doubt which  itself     
rests upon a clearness in one's vision  
of things4 ,as reflection  becomes more 
profound1 it manifests here as          

everywhere its destructive  influence   
upon instinct2 everything that is       
instinctive1 primitive1  and nave in    
faith disappears1 and1 along with it1   
disappears  everything that constituted 
its strength1 that made it so powerful  
in  the human heart4 ,true strength lies
 in the human reason1 in complete       
self-consciousness1 in a consciousness  
of the problems of life1 of  their      
complexity1 of their difficulties4      
,sidenote3 ,ideal gradation of faith4   
,faith1 as we have seen1 consists in    
affirming things not capable of         
objective verification1 with the same   
subjective satisfaction as if  they     
could be verified3 in attributing to the
 uncertain as great a  value as to the  
certain--nay1 perhaps a greater value4  
,the ideal of the  philosopher1 on the  
contrary1 would be a perfect            
correspondence between  conclusiveness  
of evidence and degree of belief4 ,the  
intellectual  satisfaction that we take 
in our beliefs1 the degree of tenacity  

with  which we hold them1 should vary   
precisely with the completeness and     
certainty of our knowledge4 ,a primitive
 intelligence cannot be content  to     
remain in suspense1 it must decide one  
way or the other2 it is the  mark of a  
more perfect intelligence to remain in  
doubt in reference to  what is doubtful4
 ,credulity is intellectual original    
sin4    ,sidenote3 ,uncertainty of      
metaphysics4    ,employing the word     
certitude strictly for what is certain1 
and meaning  by belief what is plausible
 or probable only1 when one is          
investigating  some mere matter of fact1
 one may in the end be able to say      
positively  such and such is certain1 is
 what the future will affirm on this    
point2  but1 when the degree of         
certitude involved amounts to no more   
than to  probability or even            
possibility1 and to metaphysical        
possibility at  that1 it is ridiculous  
to say3 8,i believe such and such a     
thing2 such  and such is therefore the  

dogma that everybody ought to adopt40   
,such  positive basis for metaphysical  
inductions as exists is too uneven  not 
to result in a divergence in the lines  
of the hypotheses which  rise from it   
into the obscure heights of the unknown2
 no two of our  glances toward the      
infinite are parallel2 our attempts at  
solving  metaphysical problems are      
little more than rockets shot           
capriciously  into the sky4 ,the        
philosopher can do little more than take
 cognizance  of the divergence of rival 
hypotheses1 and of their equality and   
equal  insufficiency in the eye of      
reason4    ,sidenote3 ,postulates for   
purposes of practice4    ,but the       
problem of action presents itself to the
 philosopher no less  than to the rest  
of mankind4 ,for purposes of conduct    
some one among  the diverging lines of  
human speculation must be chosen2       
philosophic  thought must be left to    
describe its curves and circles above   
our  heads while we walk1 if not        

sure-footedly at least in some definite 
direction1 upon the earth4 ,one is      
sometimes for practical purposes        
obliged to rely on doubtful premises as 
if they were certain4 ,such  a choice1  
however1 is simply an inferior and      
exceptional means of  choosing among    
hypotheses which one has neither the    
time nor the power  exactly to test4    
,one cuts loose from one's doubts1 but  
the expedient  is a purely practical    
one2 cutting the ,gordian knots of life 
cannot be  adopted as one's habitual    
intellectual procedure4 ,faith which    
leans  with an equal sense of security  
upon the certain and the uncertain1  the
 evident and the doubtful1 should be but
 a provisional state of  mind forced    
upon one by some practical necessity4   
,one ought never1  so to speak1 to      
believe once for all1 to subscribe one's
 allegiance  forever4 ,faith should     
never be regarded as more than a second 
best1  and a provisional second best4   
,the instant that action is no longer   

necessary1 one must revert to one's     
doubt1 to one's scruples1 to all  the   
precautions of science4 ,kant did       
violence to the natural order  of things
 when he ascribed to faith and morals a 
predominance over  reasoning2 when he   
gave to the practical reason1 whose     
commandments may  be the expression     
simply of acquired habits1 control over 
the critical  and scientific reason4    
,his moral philosophy consists in       
erecting a  foregone conclusion into a  
rule1 whereas1 as a matter of fact1 one 
ought not to make up one's mind         
definitely until all the evidence is    
in1 until every alternative choice has  
been considered and rejected1 if  at    
all1 on good grounds2 our beliefs should
 be relied upon in practice  exactly in 
proportion to their probability in the  
actual state of  our knowledge4         
,alternatives do not exist in the outer 
world1 they do  not exist in a state of 
complete knowledge4 ,the moral ideal is 
not  to multiply them1 nor to make a    

leap in the dark the habitual method  of
 intellectual procedure4 ,there is no   
such thing as a categorical  imperative 
or a religious credo for the traveller  
under unknown  skies2 he is not to be   
saved by faith but by active and        
constant  self-control1 by the spirit of
 doubt and criticism4    ,sidenote3     
,doubt and the religious sentiment4     
,doubt is not1 at bottom1 as profoundly 
opposed as might be believed to  what is
 best in the religious sentiment1 it is 
even a product of the  religious        
sentiment4 ,for doubt is simply a       
consciousness that one's  thought is not
 absolute--cannot seize the absolute    
either directly or  indirectly2 and so1 
consequently1 doubt is the most         
religious attitude  of the human mind4  
,even atheism is often less irreligious 
than a  positive belief in the imperfect
 and inconsistent ,god of religion4 ,to 
be in doubt about ,god is a form of the 
sense of the divine4 ,moreover1  the    
constant inquiry that doubt provokes    

does not necessarily exclude  the       
erection of an altar to the unknown     
,god1 but it excludes everything  in the
 nature of a determinate religion1 the  
erection of an altar that  bears a name1
 the establishment of a cult that       
consists in rites4 ,in  the cemeteries  
in ,tyrol1 a little marble basin rests  
on each tomb2  it gathers water from the
 rain and the swallows from the eaves of
  the neighbouring church come and drink
 from it2 this clear water1  that comes 
from on high1 is a thousand times more  
sacred1 more deeply  blessed than that  
which sleeps in the holy-water vessel in
 the church1  and over which the priest 
has stretched his hands4 ,why should    
religion1  so to speak1 sequestrate1    
retire from public circulation1         
everything  it touches8 ,that alone is  
truly sacred which is consecrated to the
  use of mankind as a whole1 which      
passes from hand to hand1 which is  worn
 out in process of time in the service  
of humanity4 ,there has been  enough and

 to spare of closed houses1 closed      
temples1 closed souls--of  cloistered   
and walled-in lives1 of smothered or    
extinguished hearts2  what is wanted is 
an open heart and life under the open   
sky1 under the  incessant benediction of
 the sun and clouds4    ,sidenote3      
,modesty of doubt4    ,philosophy is    
often accused of pride because it       
rejects faith1 but it  was the father of
 philosophy1 ,socrates1 who first said3 
8,i know but one  thing1 that ,i know   
nothing40 ,it is precisely because the  
philosopher  knows how much he does not 
know that he is not certain in regard to
  all things1 but is reduced to remain  
in doubt1 to wait anxiously and         
reverentially for the germination of the
 seed of truth in the distant  future4  
,to regard as certain what one does not 
positively know is to  violate one's    
intellectual conscience4 ,from the point
 of view of the  individual1 as from the
 point of view of society1 doubt is in  
certain  cases a duty--doubt1 or if you 

prefer1 methodical ignorance1 humility1 
self-abnegation in matters intellectual4
 ,where philosophy is ignorant  it is   
morally obliged to say to others and to 
itself3 8,i do not know2 ,i  doubt1 ,i  
hope1 nothing more40    ,sidenote3      
,morality of doubt4    ,the most        
original1 and one of the most profoundly
 moral products of  the present century1
 of the century of science1 is precisely
 this  sincere sense of doubt1 of the   
seriousness of every act of faith1  of  
its not being a matter to be undertaken 
lightly1 of its being a  graver         
engagement than many others that one    
hesitates to assume2 to  give in one's  
faith to an opinion has come to be like 
attesting one's  allegiance to it by the
 medival signature1 which was written in
 one's  blood and bound one for all     
eternity4 ,at the point of death        
especially1  which is the very period   
when religion says to a man1 8,abandon  
thyself  for an instant1 yield to the   
force of example1 of custom1 to the     

natural disposition to affirm as certain
 what thou dost not know1 to  fear of   
damnation1 and thou shalt be saved0--at 
the point of death when  a blind act of 
faith is a last weakness and a last     
cowardice1 doubt is  assuredly the      
highest and most courageous position the
 human thought  can assume3 it is a     
fight to the finish without surrender2  
it is death  with all one's wounds      
before1 in the presence of the problem  
still  unsolved1 but faced to the end4  
,,iii4 ,substitution of metaphysical    
hypotheses for dogma4    ,sidenote3     
,scope of metaphysics4    ,beyond the   
limits of science there lies still a    
field for hypothesis1  and for that     
other science called metaphysics1 the   
aim of which is to  estimate the        
comparative value of hypotheses2 to     
know1 to suppose1 to  reason1 to        
inquire1 are of the essence of the      
modern mind2 we no longer  need dogma4  
,religion1 which in the beginning was a 
nave science1 has  ultimately become the

 enemy of science2 in the future it must
 give  way before science or must become
 merged in some really scientific       
hypothesis2 an hypothesis1 that is to   
say1 which acknowledges itself  to be   
such1 which declares itself to be       
provisional1 which measures  its utility
 by the amount it explains2 and aspires 
to nothing better  than to give place to
 an hypothesis that shall be more       
inclusive4  ,science and research       
outweigh stationary adoration4 ,the     
eternal  element in religion is the     
tendency which produced there the need  
of  an explanation1 of a theory that    
shall bind mankind and the world        
together2 the indefatigable activity of 
mind which declines to stop  at the     
brute fact which produced in former     
times the tangle of  contradictory myths
 and legends now transmuted into the    
co-ordinate  and harmonious body of     
science4 ,what is respectable in        
religion  is precisely the germ of the  
spirit of metaphysics and scientific    

investigation1 which is to-day proving  
fatal to religions4    ,sidenote3       
,distinction between metaphysical and   
religious sentiment4    ,religious      
sentiment properly so called must not be
 confounded with  the instinct for      
metaphysics1 the two are utterly        
distinct4 ,the first  is destined to    
decline with the extension of knowledge2
 the other1  under some form or other1  
will always continue4 ,the instinct for 
free  speculation corresponds in the    
first place to an indestructible sense  
of the limits of positive knowledge3 it 
is an echo in us of the undying  mystery
 of things4 ,it corresponds to an       
invincible tendency in the  human mind  
to the need for an ideal2 to the need1  
not only of the  intelligence but of the
 heart1 to pass beyond the limits of the
 visible  and tangible world4 ,the wings
 of the soul are too long to fly close  
to  the earth1 the soul is formed to    
move in long swoops and circles in  the 
open sky4 ,all it needs is to be lifted 

above the earth2 often it  is unable to 
do this of itself1 and its long wings   
beat and trail in  the dust4 ,and to    
what power is it to look for its        
preliminary start8  ,to its very desire 
for unknown spaces1 to its desire for an
 infinite  and insecure ideal4 ,nature1 
as positive science reveals it to us1   
is1  no doubt1 the sole incontestable   
divinity1 the deus certus1 as the       
,emperor ,aurelius called the ,sun2 but 
its very certitude constitutes an       
element of inferiority4 ,sun-light is   
not the most brilliant light2 the       
reality can have no lasting pretensions 
to be regarded as divine4 ,the  ideal   
,god is necessarily the deus incertus1 a
 problematical1 perhaps  even fictitious
 ,god4    ,sidenote3 ,persistence of    
metaphysical problems4    ,this sense at
 once of the limits of science and of   
the infinity of  human aspirations makes
 it forever inadmissible for man to     
abandon  all effort to solve the great  
problem of the origin and destiny  of   

the universe4 ,the child1 ,spencer says1
 may hide his head under  the           
bed-clothes1 and for an instant escape  
consciousness of the  darkness outside2 
but in the long run the consciousness   
subsists1 the  imagination continues to 
dwell upon what lies beyond the limits  
of  human conception4 ,the progress of  
human thought has consisted less  in    
discovering answers to ultimate problems
 than in discovering more  precise      
methods of formulating the problems     
themselves2 the enigmas  are no longer  
stated in primitive terms4 ,this change 
in statement is a  proof of the progress
 and growth in the human mind2 but the  
problems  unhappily are as difficult as 
ever to solve4 ,up to the present moment
  no sufficient answer has been         
suggested1 the mystery has simply been  
transposed from one place to another2 so
 much so that ,spencer says  the        
scientific interpretation of the        
universe is as full of mysteries  as    
theology2 and he compares human         

knowledge to a luminous globe in  the   
midst of infinite darkness4 ,the larger 
the globe becomes the  greater the depth
 and extent of darkness that it reveals1
 insomuch that  increase of science but 
enlarges the abyss of our ignorance4    
,sidenote3 ,possible finiteness of the  
unknown4    ,one must1 however1 be on   
one's guard against exaggeration4 ,the  
universe  is infinite1 no doubt1 and    
consequently the material of human      
science  is infinite1 but the universe  
is dominated by a certain number of     
simple laws with which we may become    
continuously better and better          
acquainted4 ,many generations of men    
would be necessary to master in  all    
their complexity the vedic epics1 but we
 are able even to-day to  formulate the 
principles which dominate them1 and it  
is not impossible  that we may some day 
be able to do the same for the epic of  
the  universe4 ,we may be able even to  
go the length of achieving precision  in
 our ignorance1 of marking in the       

infinite chain of phenomena the  links  
which must forever be hidden from us4   
,it is not accurate1  therefore1 to say 
that our ignorance increases with our   
knowledge1  although it may be          
considered as probable that our         
knowledge will  always be aware of      
something that escapes it1 and may come 
in time to  be able more and more       
distinctly to define1 however           
negatively1 the  nature of this         
residuum4 ,the infinity of the          
unknowable1 even1 is no  more than      
hypothetical4 ,we perhaps flatter       
ourselves in the belief  that we possess
 anything that is infinite--even        
ignorance4 ,perhaps  the sphere of our  
knowledge is like the terrestrial globe1
 enveloped  by but a thin atmosphere of 
the unknowable and unknown2 perhaps     
there  is no basis and foundation of the
 universe1 just as there is no basis    
and foundation of the earth2 perhaps the
 ultimate secret of things is  the      
gravitation of phenomena4 ,the unknown  

is the air we breathe1 but  it is       
perhaps no more infinite than the       
earth's atmosphere1 and one's           
consciousness of an unknowable infinity 
can no more be regarded as the  basis of
 knowledge than the atmosphere of the   
earth can be regarded as  the foundation
 upon which the earth rests4#aai        
#aai ,the notion of the unknowable has  
been the subject of a        lively     
discussion in ,england and in ,france4  
,see on this point        the work of   
,m4 ,paulhan in the ,revue              
philosophique1 t4 vi4 p4        #bgi4   
,sidenote3 ,distinction between religion
 and metaphysics4    ,unknowable or not1
 infinite or finite1 the unknown will   
always be the  object of metaphysical   
hypotheses4 ,but is to admit the        
perpetuity of  metaphysical hypotheses  
to admit the eternity of religion8 ,the 
question  involves an ambiguity of      
words4 ,spencer defines religious       
thought as  that which deals with all   
that lies beyond the sphere of the      

senses1  but that is precisely the field
 of philosophic thought2 philosophy  in 
its entirety1 therefore1 and not        
religion only1 is included in           
,spencer's definition4 ,nay more1       
science itself is in part included in   
,spencer's definition1 for science1     
which takes cognizance of everything    
within the reach of perception and      
reasoning1 by that very fact  undertakes
 to fix the limit of their power1 and   
thus indirectly touches  upon the field 
of the unknowable--if not to enter it1  
at least to  outline it1 and that itself
 constitutes a sort of negative         
acquaintance  with it4 ,knowledge is    
essentially critical and self-critical4 
,the  eternity of philosophy and of     
science must1 no doubt1 be admitted2 but
  the eternity of religion1 as that word
 is usually understood1 in nowise       
follows from that admission4            
,sidenote3 ,spencer's unknowable4       
,according to ,spencer1 the unknowable  
itself is not absolutely  unknowable4   

,among the mysteries1 which become more 
mysterious as they  are more deeply     
reflected upon1 there will remain1      
,spencer thinks1  for man one absolute  
certitude--that he is in the presence of
 an  infinite and eternal energy which  
is the source of all things4 ,the       
formula of human certitude is open to   
discussion4 ,the man of science  is more
 inclined to believe in an infinite     
number of energies than in  an infinite 
energy1 in a sort of mechanical atomism1
 a subdivision of  force ad infinitum   
rather than in monism4 ,moreover1 no    
religion can  stop with the bare        
affirmation of the existence of an      
eternal energy or  infinity of energies4
 ,it must maintain the existence of some
 relation  between these energies and   
human morality1 between the direction of
  these energies and that of the moral  
impulse in mankind4 ,but a relation  of 
this sort is the last thing in the world
 that can be deduced from  the doctrine 
of evolution4 ,hypotheses in regard to  

the matter may of  course be devised1   
but1 far from possessing a character of 
certitude1  such hypotheses would       
rather1 from the point of view of pure  
science1  display a positive            
improbability4 ,human morality1 if it be
 considered  scientifically1 is a       
question that concerns the struggle for 
existence  and not a question that      
concerns the universe4 ,what            
distinguishes the  natural forces1 with 
which science deals1 from gods1 is      
precisely  that the former are          
indifferent to the morality or          
immorality of our  lives4 ,in spite of  
our increasing admiration for the       
complexity of the  phenomena of the     
world1 for the solidarity that obtains  
among them1  for the latent or active   
life which animates all things1 we have 
not  yet demonstrably discovered in the 
world a single element of divinity4     
,science does not reveal to us a        
universe spontaneously labouring for    
the realization of what we call         

goodness3 goodness is to be realized1   
if at all1 only by our bending the world
 to our purposes1 by enslaving  the gods
 that we once adored1 by replacing the  
reign of ,god by the  reign of man4     
,sidenote3 ,spencer's followers in      
,france4    ,the alleged reconciliation 
of science and religion in ,spencer's   
pages  is not made out except by virtue 
of an ambiguity in terms4 ,partisans of 
religion have1 however1 hastened to     
welcome these apparent concessions  in  
their favour and have based on them an  
argument for the perpetuity  of dogmas4 
,jouffroy has told us how dogmas become 
extinct2 recently  one of his successors
 at the ,sorbonne endeavoured to show   
8how dogmas  come into being again10 and
 he took his stand with ,spencer on an  
ambiguity in terms4 ,by dogmas ,m4 ,caro
 meant the principal points of the      
original doctrine of the soul--as if one
 could apply the name dogma  to         
philosophical hypotheses1 even though   
they be eternal hypotheses6  ,the       

important thing1 however1 is to         
understand each other2 if problems      
which constantly recur1 and constantly  
receive hypothetical solutions1  are to 
be called dogmas1 then dogmas do come to
 life again1 and may  be expected always
 to do so2 multa renascentur qu jam     
cecidere1  cadentque4444 ,but if terms  
be employed as a philosopher should     
employ  them1 with precision1 how can   
metaphysical conclusions be regarded as 
dogmas8 ,examine the writings of        
,heraclitus1 the evolutionist2 ,plato1  
the contemplator of ideas2 ,aristotle1  
the formulater of the laws of  thought2 
,descartes1 the inquirer who sought in  
an abyss of doubt for  the absolute     
criterion of truth2 ,leibnitz1 who      
regarded himself as  the mirror of the  
universe2 ,spinoza1 lost in the heart of
 infinite  substance2 ,kant1 resolving  
the universe into thought and thought   
into the moral law2 where are the dogmas
 in these great metaphysical  poems8    
,they are not systems of dogma1 they are

 systems marked by the  individuality of
 genius1 although containing something  
of the eternal  philosophy1 the perennis
 philosophia of ,leibnitz4 ,every       
system1 as  such1 is precisely the means
 of demonstrating the insufficiency of  
the central idea which dominates it1 and
 the necessity for the human  mind of   
passing beyond it4 ,to systematize is to
 develop a group of  ideas to their     
logical conclusion1 and1 by that very   
fact1 to show how  much they do not     
include1 how far they fall short of     
exhausting human  thought as a whole2 to
 construct is to demonstrate the weight 
of the  material one is building with1  
and the impossibility of piling it up   
to heaven4 ,every system requires a     
certain number of years to bring it  to 
completion1 and then1 when the edifice  
is achieved1 one may one's  self mark   
the points where it will begin to crack1
 what columns will  yield first1 where  
its ultimate decay will begin4 ,to      
recognize that  the subsidence and decay

 of a thing is rational1 is to be       
resigned  to it and in some measure     
consoled for it2 but whatever is useful 
is  necessarily transitory1 for it is   
useful for an end2 and it is thus  that 
the utility of a system implies that it 
will some day make way for  something   
else4 8 10 says dogma2 8  10  the       
philosopher says4 ,systems die and      
dogmas die2 sentiments and ideas        
survive4 ,whatever has been set in order
 falls into disorder1 boundaries  become
 obliterated1 structures fall into dust2
 what is eternal is the  dust itself1   
the dust of doctrine1 which is always   
ready to take on a  new form1 to fill a 
new mould1 and which1 far from receiving
 its life  from the fugitive forms it   
fills1 lends them theirs4 ,human        
thoughts  live1 not by their contours   
but from within4 ,to understand them    
they  must be taken1 not as they appear 
in any one system1 but as they appear   
in a succession of different and often  
diverse systems4    ,sidenote3          

,instability of metaphysics4    ,as     
speculation and hypothesis are eternal1 
so also is the instinct for  philosophy 
and metaphysics which corresponds to    
them eternal1 though  it is perpetually 
changing4 ,it appears at the present day
 as something  widely different from the
 intimate certitude of dogma1 of        
confident and  placid faith4 ,if        
independence of mind and freedom of     
speculation are  not without their      
sweetness1 their attractiveness1 their  
intoxication1  they are not without     
their bitterness and disquietude4 ,we   
must make up  our minds to-day to accept
 a certain modicum of intellectual      
suffering  as inseparable from our      
treasure of intellectual joy2 for the   
life of  the spirit1 like that of the   
body1 follows a just mean between       
pleasure  and pain4 ,intense            
metaphysical emotion1 like intense      
sthetic emotion1  possesses always an   
element of sadness4#abj ,the day will   
come when  the graver moods of the human

 heart will sometimes demand            
satisfaction  as they demanded and found
 satisfaction in ,heraclitus and        
,jeremiah4  ,it is inevitable that there
 should be an element of melancholy in  
the  emotional setting of metaphysical  
speculation--as there inevitably  is in 
the perception of the sublimity we feel 
ourselves incapable of  attaining1 in   
the experience of doubt1 of intellectual
 evil1 of moral  evil1 of sensible evil 
which are mingled with all our joys1 and
 of  which doubt itself is but a        
reverberation in consciousness4 ,there  
is  an element of suffering in all      
profound philosophy as in all profound  
religion4          #abj ,see our        
,problmes de l'esthtique contemporaine1 
#ast        part4    ,sidenote3         
,communion with the universe4    ,one   
day when ,i was seated at my desk my    
wife came up to me and  exclaimed3 8,how
 melancholy you look6 ,what is the      
matter with you8  ,tears1 mon ,dieu6 ,is
 it anything that ,i have done80 8,of   

course it is  not2 it is never anything 
that you have done4 ,i was weeping over 
a bit  of abstract thought1 of          
speculation on the world and the destiny
 of  things4 ,is there not enough misery
 in the world to justify an aimless     
tear8 and of joy to justify an aimless  
smile80 ,the great totality of  things  
in which man lives may well demand a    
smile or a tear from him1  and it is his
 conscious solidarity with the universe1
 the impersonal  joy and pain that he is
 capable of experiencing1 the faculty1  
so to  speak1 of impersonalizing        
himself1 that is the most durable       
element  in religion and philosophy4 ,to
 sympathize with the whole universe1 to 
inquire the secret of it1 to wish to    
contribute to its amelioration1 to      
overpass the limits of our egoism and   
live the life of the universe1 is  the  
distinguishing pursuit of humanity4     
,sidenote3 ,summary4    ,religion1      
therefore1 may pass away without in the 
least affecting the  metaphysical       

instinct1 or the emotion which          
accompanies its exercise4  ,when the    
,hebrews were marching toward the       
promised land they felt that  ,god was  
with them1 ,god had spoken and had told 
them what lay beyond1  and at night a   
pillar of fire lighted them on their    
way4 ,the pillar  of fire has burned    
out1 and we are no longer sure that ,god
 is with  us2 we possess no other fire  
to light us on our way through infinite 
night but that of our intelligence4 ,if 
we could but be sure that there  is a   
promised land--that others may attain it
 as well as we--that the  desert really 
has an end6 ,but we are not certain even
 of that2 we are  seeking for a new     
world and are not positive that it      
exists2 nobody  has journeyed thither1  
nobody has returned thence1 and our sole
 hope  of repose lies in discovering it4
 ,and we shall go forward forever1 the  
puppets of an indefatigable hope4       
,,chapter ,,ii4    ,,association4 ,,the 
,,permanent ,,element ,,of ,,religions  

,,in ,,social ,,life4    ,,social       
,,aspect ,,of ,,religions--,,religious  
,,communities ,,and ,,churches--,,ideal 
,,type ,,of ,,voluntary                 
,,association--,,its ,,diverse ,,forms4 
,i4 ,associations for intellectual      
purposes--,how such        associations 
might preserve the most precious        
elements        of religions--,societies
 for the advancement of science1        
philosophy1 religion--,dangers to       
avoid--,popularization of               
scientific ideas2 propagandism in the   
interests of science4        ,,ii4      
,associations for moral                 
purposes--,tendency of religion         
in the best minds to become one with    
charity--,pity        and charity will  
survive dogma--,rle of enthusiasm       
in moral propagandism--,necessity of    
hope to sustain                         
enthusiasm--,possibility of propagating 
moral ideas3        #a4 ,apart from     
myths and religious dogmas2 #b4 ,apart  
from any notion of a religious          

sanction--,baudelaire's                 
conception of a criminal and happy      
hero--,criticism of that                
conception--,worship of the memory of   
the dead4        ,,iii4 ,associations   
for sthetic purposes--,worship of art   
and        nature--,art and poetry will 
sever their connection with             
religion and will survive it--,necessity
 of developing the        sthetic       
sentiment and the worship of art1 as the
 religious        sentiment becomes more
 feeble--,poetry1 eloquence1 music2     
their rle in the future--,final         
substitution of art for                 
rites--,worship of nature--,feeling for 
nature originally an        essential   
element of the religious                
sentiment--,superiority        of a     
worship of nature over worship of human 
art--,nature is        the true temple  
of the future4      ,sidenote3          
,association and religion4    ,the most 
durable practical idea in possession of 
the religious  spirit1 as of the spirit 

of reform1 is that of association4 ,in  
the  beginning1 as we have seen1        
religion was essentially sociological1  
by  its conception of a society of gods 
and men4 ,the element of various        
religions that will survive in the      
non-religion of the future is  precisely
 this conception1 that the ideal of     
humanity and even of  nature consists in
 the establishment of closer and closer 
social  relations between all kinds of  
beings4 ,religions1 therefore1 have     
justly chosen to call themselves        
associations and glises1 that is  to    
say1 assemblies4 ,it is by force of     
assemblies1 secret or open1 that  the   
great ,jewish and ,christian religions  
have conquered the world4  ,christianity
 has even resulted in the notion of an  
universal church1  first militant1 then 
triumphant1 and united in love2         
although1 by a  strange aberration1     
instead of regarding universality as an 
ideal1 as  the inaccessible limit of an 
indefinite evolution1 ,catholicity has  

been  presented as already realized in a
 system of dogmas which there was       
nothing to do but to disseminate1 and   
that1 if need be1 by force4 ,this       
mistake has been the ruin of dogmatic   
religions1 and it still subsists1  even 
in religions which have transmuted their
 dogmas into symbols2 for  an universal 
symbol is less conceivable than an      
universal dogma4 ,the  only universal   
thing is and should be precisely the    
liberty accorded  to individuals of     
conceiving the eternal enigma in any    
manner whatever  that appeals to them1  
and of associating themselves with those
 who  share the same hypothesis4        
,sidenote3 ,ideal type of association4  
,the right of association1 which has    
hitherto been checked by law1 by        
ignorance1 by prejudice1 by difficulties
 of communication1 etc41 had  scarcely  
begun to manifest its full importance   
till in the present  century4           
,associations of every kind will some   
day cover the globe1  or rather         

everything1 so to speak1 will be        
accomplished by associate  enterprise2  
and within the limits of the great body 
of society  innumerable groups of the   
most diverse kinds will form and        
dissolve  with an equal facility1       
without impeding the general movement4  
,the  ideal type of every form of       
association is a compound of the ideal  
of socialism and of the ideal of        
individualism--such a form of           
association1 that is to say1 as will    
afford the individual at once the       
maximum of present and future security1 
and the maximum of personal  liberty4   
,every insurance company is an          
association of this kind2 the           
individual member is protected by the   
immense power of the association2  his  
contribution to the associate funds is  
of the slightest1 he is free  to join   
the association or to withdraw from it1 
and to lead his life  absolutely as he  
chooses4    ,sidenote3 ,its various     
forms4    ,the mistake of religions1 and

 of systems of socialism also1 as we    
have  already remarked1 is that they    
presuppose a society of individuals     
morally and intellectually of the same  
type4 ,but human beings are1  neither   
within nor without1 copies of each      
other2 the comparative  psychology and  
physiology of races and nations1        
sciences which are  still embryonic1    
will one day demonstrate the diversity  
which exists  between different         
divisions of the human species and1     
owing to atavisms  of various kinds1    
even between individuals of the most    
strictly  homogeneous divisions and     
groups4 ,religious1 metaphysical1 and   
moral  sentiment will one day appear in 
very various forms1 and give rise to    
associations of every kind--some        
individualistic1 some socialistic--so   
that men of the same stamp may mutually 
aid and encourage each other1  under    
condition1 however1 of preserving their 
complete independence1  their perfect   
right to change their beliefs when they 

will4 ,union and  independence should go
 hand in hand2 everything should be     
shared1 but  nobody should be compelled 
to give or to receive2 minds may be made
  transparent without losing their      
freedom of movement4 ,the future1 in a  
word1 belongs to association1 providing 
it be voluntary association1  for the   
augmentation1 and not for the sacrifice 
of personal liberty4    ,if we pass from
 these general principles to their      
particular  applications we find three  
essential kinds of voluntary association
  that seem destined to survive         
religions3 associations for intellectual
  purposes1 for moral purposes1 for     
emotional purposes4      ,i4            
,associations for intellectual purposes4
    ,sidenote3 ,associations for the    
advancement of research4    ,it will    
always be possible for men of science to
 associate for the  purpose of verifying
 and collecting evidence in regard to   
doctrines  and beliefs which they       
themselves recognize as provisional     

only4  ,there are divisions and         
subdivisions in the world of thought1   
which  resemble the geographical        
division of the earth2 these divisions  
practically result from the division of 
labour2 each person has a  distinct task
 to fulfil1 a distinct object to which  
he must apply his  intelligence4 ,the   
whole body of labourers united in one   
and the same  effort of thought1 and    
turned toward the same point in the     
intellectual  horizon1 tend naturally to
 gravitate toward each other2 every form
 of  co-operation tends to become an    
association4 ,we all of us belong to    
some intellectual province1 we have all 
of us a mental native land1  in which we
 find our fellow-citizens1 our brothers 
toward whom we are  impelled by a       
natural sympathy4 ,this sympathy is     
explicable as a vague  consciousness of 
the solidarity existing between the     
whole body of  intelligent human beings 
who inevitably take an interest in each 
other1  who love to share truth or      

error1 as they love to share pleasure or
  pain3 it is good to see men draw      
together and agree1 providing they  do  
not thereby lose flexibility2 providing 
their solidarity becomes a  condition of
 progress and not of immobility4 ,men   
will always delight in  contributing    
their store of ideas to the common      
stock1 as the disciples  of ,socrates   
brought their dinners and shared them in
 the little house  in ,athens2          
knowledge1 supposition1 or prejudice1 in
 common1 draws  people together like a  
common love4 ,our hearts should go out  
first  to those who are nearest to us1  
to those who are our neighbours in  the 
field of intelligence4 ,labour not only 
fashions the object it  is expended on1 
it fashions the labourer2 similarity of 
occupation  pursued with the same ardour
 ends by producing similarity of heart4 
,companionship in labour1 of whatsoever 
kind it may be1 constitutes one  of the 
strongest ties among men4 ,in our days  
associations are formed  among men of   

science or investigators1 as among      
journeymen following  the same trade4   
,there are societies for the pursuit of 
scientific1  medical1 biological        
studies1 etc42 and societies for the    
pursuit of  literary and philological   
studies1 of philosophical1              
psychological1  and moral studies2 of   
economic and social studies1 and finally
 of  religious studies4 ,these societies
 are genuine glises1 churches1  but     
churches for community of labour and not
 for associate repose  in a conventional
 faith2 and they will increase in number
 with the  subdivision and              
specialization of each of these several 
branches of  study4 ,such associations  
are typical of future associations      
generally1  religious associations      
included4 ,community of inquiry1 which  
no less  than community of faith gives  
rise to a feeling of fraternity1 is     
often  superior to community of faith   
and more fertile than it4 ,the highest  
religious associations will1 no doubt1  

some day be associations for the        
pursuit of religious and metaphysical   
studies4 ,thus the best elements  of    
individualism and socialism will be     
reconciled4 ,the infinite  extensibility
 of science1 the opportunity that it    
offers inquirers of  appropriating the  
results of each other's labours1 make   
association for  the acquisition of     
knowledge the type of a perfect         
association1 of an  association that    
exists for the benefit both of the      
individuals and of  the society4        
,sidenote3 ,scientific fanaticism4      
,there is one thing1 however to be      
avoided4 ,opinions1 and in especial     
opinions on morals1 social matters1 or  
metaphysical subjects1 acquire1  like   
the sticks in the fable1 a prodigious   
power1 when a number of  people holding 
them in common once associate1 which is 
out of all  relation to the intrinsic   
value of the opinions themselves4       
,novalis  said3 8,my faith gained an    
infinite value in my eyes the moment ,i 

saw  it shared by someone else40 ,the   
psychology of that remark is just2 it   
calls attention to a dangerous illusion 
against which precaution should  be     
taken2 for in a certain state of the    
emotions it is easier for two  people1  
and even for a thousand1 to make        
mistakes than for any one of  them      
separately4 ,science has its            
enthusiasts1 and also its fanatics1  and
 might have at need its advocates of    
intolerance and violence4  ,happily it  
carries the remedy for all this with it2
 increase science1  and it becomes the  
very principle of tolerance1 for the    
greatest  science is best aware of its  
own limits4    ,sidenote3 ,association  
for purposes of propagandism4    ,while 
distinguished minds will thus associate 
and carry on their  labours and         
speculations in common1 men who are     
occupied rather with  manual labour will
 associate for the communication of     
their more or  less vague1 more or less 
irreflective beliefs1 which1 however1   

will be  increasingly free from all     
element of the supernatural as          
instruction  spreads among the people4  
,these beliefs1 which among certain     
peoples  will be metaphysical1 among    
certain others1 such as the ,latin      
nations1  will be social and moral4     
,such associations will be of every     
possible  kind1 according to the        
opinions which preside over their       
formation2  they will1 however1 possess 
this trait in common1 that they will    
more  and more rigorously exclude       
anything in the nature of dogma and of  
revelation4 ,they will aim also at      
becoming like the associations of       
thinkers and men of science of which we 
have just spoken4 ,it will be  the duty 
of people of education1 in such         
societies1 to hand on the  results of   
the scientific and metaphysical         
inquiries conducted by  associations    
higher in the intellectual scale4 ,every
 temple will thus  be built in stages1  
nave on nave1 as in certain ancient     

churches1  and the highest of these     
temples from which the inspired word    
will  descend will be open to the sky   
and inhabited not by believers but  by  
unbelievers in every limitation of      
research--by minds restlessly  active1  
in quest of a more extended and         
demonstrable knowledge3 ad  lucem per   
lucem4    ,sidenote3 ,association for   
the dissemination of useful knowledge4  
,one of the principal effects of        
association for intellectual purposes1  
thus conducted1 would be the diffusion  
of scientific ideas among  the people4  
,if religions may be considered as so   
many expressions  of the earliest       
scientific theories1 the surest means of
 combating  the errors and of preserving
 the good sides of religion would be the
  dissemination of the established      
principles of modern science4 ,to       
disseminate is in a sense 8to convert10 
but to convert the believer  to a faith 
in indubitable virtues2 the task is one 
which is most  tempting to a            

philosopher2 one is sure that truth can 
do no harm1  when it is handed on in all
 its purity4 ,a really capital bit of   
statement1 a really capital book1 is    
often better than a good action2  it    
carries farther1 and if an imprudent act
 of heroism sometimes has  a melancholy 
ending1 words that speak to the heart   
never have4 ,there  are already in      
existence books for children1 and for   
the people1  that are masterpieces2 they
 supply the public1 for which they are  
intended1 with ideas on morality and on 
certain sciences and supply  those ideas
 undisfigured2 and such books constitute
 more or less  scientific catechisms1   
which are altogether superior to        
religious  catechisms4 ,at some future  
day such books will be written in regard
  to the great cosmological and         
metaphysical theories1 epitomizing in   
simple language1 made simpler by telling
 illustrations1 the body of  acquired   
facts or of probable hypotheses on the  
prime subjects of human  interest4 ,the 

dissemination of knowledge1 standing    
thus on the middle  plane between       
original inquiry and research and       
popular ignorance1 will  take the place 
held by religions1 which are themselves 
founded on a  collection of exoteric    
notions--a gross and symbolic epitome of
 what  once was profound1 and to-day is 
nave1 in the realm of knowledge4        
,modern science1 if it is to progress1  
must be popularized2 like a great       
river1 if it is to grow larger1 its bed 
must be deepened and widened4           
,sidenote3 ,scientific research open to 
everybody4    ,one of the great         
advantages of science is that it can    
employ half  talent and modest          
capacity--a manifest advantage for it as
 compared  with art4 ,a mediocre poet is
 a zero in the universe--at least       
sometimes2 but a very ordinary mind may 
be capable of rendering a  genuine      
service by some almost insignificant    
improvement in the  method of covering  
the wires in an electric coil or in the 

gear  of a steam-engine2 it will have   
done its work in this world1 will  have 
paid its tribute1 have won its place in 
the sun4 ,art cannot  endure mediocrity1
 science may rely upon it--and find     
collaborators  everywhere4 ,owing to    
that fact1 science is capable of a      
degree of  democratization that art does
 not always possess--and that religion  
alone has equalled4 ,art is capable of  
being and remaining aristocratic2       
science disdains nothing1 gathers       
together all kinds of observations1     
makes use of all kinds and grades of    
intellectual power4 ,like the  great    
,buddhistic and ,christian religions1   
science favours equality1  needs the    
support of the multitude1 needs to be   
named legion4 ,no  doubt a small number 
of commanding men of genius are always  
necessary  to conduct the work1 to      
synthesize the materials in their       
totality1  to make the more fundamental 
inductions4 ,but if these men of genius 
were isolated1 they would be powerless4 

,every man must contribute a  stone1    
somewhat at haphazard1 and the          
construction settles firmly on  its     
foundation beneath the added weight of  
all of them1 and becomes  really        
indestructible4 ,dikes made of irregular
 stones are the solidest  of all4 ,when 
one walks along such a dike1 one feels  
the sea rumble  and break not only near 
one but under one's very feet2 the water
 plays  vainly against the uncemented1  
undressed blocks of stone without being 
able to detach them1 bathes them all and
 destroys none2 such1 in the  history of
 the human mind1 is science1 which is   
formed of a multitude  of little facts1 
gathered in very much at haphazard1     
which generations  of mankind have piled
 up in disorder1 and which ultimately   
become so  solidly united that no effort
 of the imagination can disjoin them4   
,the  human mind1 in the midst of its   
eternal ebb and flow1 feels something   
solid and indestructible in its         
possession that its waves beat against  

in vain4      ,,ii4 ,associations for   
moral purposes and moral propagandism4  
,sidenote3 ,association for uplifting   
the masses4    ,there is another element
 of religion that will survive4 ,men not
 only  associate for intellectual       
purposes1 they will continue to do so   
for  the purpose of ministering to human
 suffering1 of correcting errors1  of   
disseminating moral ideas4 ,such        
associations1 like those for            
intellectual purposes1 are based on a   
consciousness of the solidarity  and    
fraternity of mankind1 although1 of     
course1 so far as the future  is        
concerned1 there will be no question of 
a fraternity conceived  superstitiously1
 or anti-philosophically1 as arising out
 of a community  of origin1 from the    
same terrestrial or celestial father1   
but only of  a rational and moral       
fraternity1 arising out of an identity  
of nature  and interest4 ,the true      
philosopher should say not only1        
8,nothing that  is human is strange to  

me20 but also1 8,nothing that lives1    
suffers1  and thinks is strange to me40 
,the heart feels at home wherever it    
finds another heart1 though it even be  
in a lower order of being1 and  a       
fortiori1 if it be in an equal or higher
 order of being4 ,a ,hindu  poet1 says  
the legend1 saw a wounded bird fall     
struggling at his feet2  the heart of   
the poet1 sobbing with pity1 struggled  
with the struggles  of the dying bird3  
it is this fluttering of the heart1 this
 measured  and modulated rhythm of pain1
 which was the origin of verse4 ,like   
poetry1 religion also originated in the 
highest and most beautiful              
manifestation of pity4 ,human love for  
human beings does not demand1 as  a     
condition precedent1 perfect spiritual  
accord2 it is love itself  that produces
 such accord as is necessary4 ,love one 
another1 and you  will understand one   
another2 light springs from the true    
union of  hearts4    ,sidenote3 ,love of
 mankind in the future4    ,universal   

sympathy is a sentiment which is        
destined increasingly  to develop in    
future societies4 ,even to-day1 as the  
result of an  inevitable evolution1     
religion has come to be confounded in   
the best  minds with charity4 ,hard and 
sterile among primitive peoples1 little 
more than a collection of formul of     
propitiation1 religions have  come1     
through their alliance with morality1 to
 be one of the essential  sources of    
human tenderness4 ,buddhism and         
,christianity have headed1  first and   
last1 the principal charitable          
organizations established  among        
mankind4 ,fatally condemned as they are1
 at the end of a longer  or shorter     
period1 to intellectual sterility1 these
 two religions  are endowed with the    
genius of the heart4 ,men like ,vincent 
de ,paul  have little by little come to 
replace men like ,st4 ,augustine or ,st4
  ,athanasius1 not without profit to    
humanity4 ,this evolutionary process    
will1 no doubt1 continue2 to-day1 for   

example1 few really talented            
theological works are produced by the   
priesthood1#aba but a great many        
practical charities are excellently     
conceived and executed by them4  ,the   
day1 no doubt1 will come when the       
experience of personal suffering  will  
always result in a desire to relieve the
 suffering of others4  ,physical pain   
usually produces a need of physical     
movement2 sthetic  instinct introduces  
rhythm into the movement1 transforms    
disorderly  gestures into a beautiful   
regularity1 and discordant cries into   
songs  of pain2#abb moral instinct turns
 this need of movement toward the       
service of other people1 and every      
misfortune thus becomes a source  of    
pity for the misfortunes of others1 and 
grief is transmuted into  charity4      
#aba ,none in ,france4          #abb    
,see the author's ,problmes d'esthtique1
 i4 #c4    ,sidenote3 ,must find        
expression in action4    ,as in the case
 of artistic sentiment1 religious       

sentiment at its best  must be          
productive1 must stimulate one's        
activity4 ,religion1 according  to ,st4 
,paul1 means charity1 love2 but there is
 no charity that is not  charity for    
someone1 and a really rich love cannot  
be confined within  the limits of       
contemplation and mystic ecstasy1 which1
 scientifically  considered1 are simply 
perversions and1 as it were1 spiritual  
miscarriages4 ,true love must act4      
,the ancient opposition between faith   
and works is thus effaced4 ,there  is no
 powerful faith without works1 any more 
than there is any such  thing as a      
sterile genius or an unproductive talent
 for art4 ,if ,jesus  preferred ,mary1  
who was motionless at his feet1 to      
,martha1 who was  moving about the      
house1 it was1 no doubt1 because he     
perceived in the  former a treasure of  
moral energy in reserve for the service 
of some  great devotion2 in reserve and 
therefore only waiting2 silent1 with a  
silence of sincere love which speaks    

more fervently than words4    ,sidenote3
 ,charity4    ,charity will always      
constitute the point of meeting between 
the most  audacious theoretic           
speculation and the least audacious     
practical  activity4 ,to identify one's 
self1 thought and heart1 with someone   
else  is to speculate in the most       
charming sense of the word1 is to stake 
one's all4 ,and the risk of staking his 
all is one that man will always  wish to
 run4 ,he is pushed to it by the most   
vivacious impulses in his  nature4      
,goethe said that a man is not really   
worthy of the name till  he has         
8begotten a child1 built a house1 and   
planted a tree40 ,the  details chosen   
are somewhat trivial1 but the aphorism  
embodies the  need for productivity     
which is inherent in every being1 the   
need to  give or to develop life1 to    
found something2 the being who does not 
obey this impulse is dclass1 is degraded
 below the rank of man2 he  will suffer 
from it some day or other1 and die of it

 body and soul4  ,happily absolute      
egoism is less frequent than is         
believed2 to live  solely for one's self
 is a sort of utopia that may be summed 
up in the  nave formula3 ,everybody for 
me and ,i for nobody4 ,the humblest of  
us1  the instant we undertake a work of 
charity1 come into possession of  a     
completer self2 we belong at once wholly
 to the enterprise1 to the  idea        
involved in it1 to an idea more or less 
impersonal2 we are drawn  forward in    
spite of ourselves1 like a swimmer by   
the current of the  stream4             
,sidenote3 ,enthusiasm4    ,the         
promotion of every enterprise great and 
small and of almost every  human work   
depends on enthusiasm1 which has played 
so important a  rle in religion4        
,enthusiasm presupposes a belief in the 
possible  reality of an ideal1 an active
 belief to be manifested in effort4     
,there  is generally but one way of     
demonstrating what is merely possible1  
and that is by realizing it1 by         

converting it from possibility  into    
actuality4 ,excessively matter-of-fact  
minds--minds immersed  in matter--are   
condemned to short-sightedness in the   
realm of the  possible2 analysts        
distinguish too exactly between what is1
 and what is  not1 to be able to be of  
the best service in the labour of       
increasingly  transforming the one into 
the other4 ,there is1 no doubt1 a point 
of  junction between the present and the
 future1 but pure intelligence  finds it
 difficult to lay its finger on it3 it  
is everywhere and  nowhere1 or rather it
 is not an inert point but a flying     
point1 a  direction1 a volition in      
pursuit of an end4 ,the world belongs to
  the enthusiast1 who deliberately deals
 with the 8not yet0 as the  8already10  
and treats the future as if it were the 
present2 the world  belongs to the      
synthetic mind1 which confounds the real
 and the ideal  in its embrace2 the     
world belongs to men of the voluntary   
type1 who do  violence to reality1 and  

break up its rigid outlines1 and force  
it to  yield up from within what might  
beforehand1 in pure reason1 have with   
equal justice been pronounced the       
possible and the impossible4 ,the  world
 belongs to the prophets and messiahs of
 science2 enthusiasm is  necessary to   
mankind1 it is the genius of the masses 
and the productive  element in the      
genius of individuals4    ,sidenote3    
,courage4    ,the essence of enthusiasm 
is hope1 and the basis of hope is       
manliness1  is courage4 ,courage of     
despair is not so intense a phrase as   
courage of  hope4 ,hope and true and    
active charity are one4 ,if ,hope alone 
remained  in the bottom of ,pandora's   
box it was not because she had lost her 
wings and was unable to desert the      
society of men for the open spaces  of  
the sky2 it was that pity1 charity1     
devotion1 are very elements of  her     
nature2 to hope is to love1 and to love 
is to wish to minister  to those who    
suffer4 ,upon the half-open box of      

,pandora1 from which  ,hope in her      
devotion to mankind refused to make her 
escape1 should be  inscribed1 as upon   
the leaden coffer in the 8,merchant of  
,venice10 8,who  chooseth me1 must give 
and hazard all he hath40    ,sidenote3  
,proselytism4    ,the object of         
enthusiasm varies from age to age3 it   
was once religion1  it may be scientific
 doctrine and discovery1 it may above   
all be  moral and social beliefs4 ,it   
results therefrom that the spirit of    
proselytism1 that seems so peculiar to  
religion1 is destined to survive        
religion3 it will be transformed simply4
 ,every sincere and enthusiastic  man   
with a surplus of moral energy is at    
heart a missionary1 a  propagandist of  
ideas and beliefs4 ,next to the joy of  
possessing a  truth or a system which   
seems to be true1 is that of            
disseminating  this truth1 of feeling it
 speak and act in us1 of exhaling it    
with  our breath4 ,there have been more 
than twelve apostles in the history  of 

humanity2 every heart that is young1 and
 strong1 and loving is  the heart of an 
apostle4 ,there is not an idea in our   
brain that does  not possess some       
element of sociality1 of fraternity2    
that does not  struggle for expression4 
,propagandism will be as ardently       
pursued1 in  the society of the future1 
as discovery4 ,moral proselytism will   
aim  at communicating enthusiasm for the
 good and the true1 at uplifting  the   
moral level of mankind as a whole and   
mainly of the masses of the  people4    
,sidenote3 ,morality apart from religion
 difficult to teach4    ,but here we    
shall be met by an objection2 we shall  
be told that  independently of religion 
it will be difficult to disseminate a   
system  of practical morality1          
conformable to the scientific ideas of  
our  times4 ,a professor of the         
,sorbonne was one day maintaining1 in my
  hearing1 that in the present crisis   
anything like systematic moral          
instruction is gravely in danger4       

,abstract theories cannot be taught1    
for they end in scepticism2 absolute    
precepts cannot be taught1 for  they are
 false2 nothing can be taught but facts1
 but history3 one may  be certain about 
facts4 ,that is to say1 morality cannot 
be taught at  all4    ,sidenote3 ,but   
not impossible4    ,we believe1 on the  
contrary1 that1 even at the present day1
 the various  theories in regard to the 
principles of morals possess a certain  
fund  of ideas in common1 which might   
well be made the subject of popular     
instruction4 ,even the most sceptical   
and egoistic moral theories admit  that 
the individual cannot live by himself   
and for himself solely2  that egoism    
involves a narrowing of the sphere of   
human activity that  results in the     
impoverishment of life4 ,to live fully  
and completely  one must live for       
others4 ,our actions are like a shadow  
which we  project upon the universe2 the
 shadow can only be contracted by a     
diminution of our height2 and the best  

way to enlarge it is to become          
generous--the principle of egoism is    
interior littleness4 ,the idea and  the 
sentiment which lie at the bottom of all
 human morality are the  idea and       
sentiment of generosity2 even the       
systems of ,epicurus and of  ,bentham   
become generous and philanthropic when  
they are looked at from  a certain      
height4 ,it is this spirit of generosity
 which is inherent in  every system of  
morals that a moralist ought always to  
endeavour to  elicit and to communicate 
to his auditors4 ,what1 after all1      
constitutes  the outcome of the years of
 instruction to which we devote our     
youth8  ,abstract forms8 ,more or less  
scholastic ideas inculcated with so much
  difficulty8 ,no1 that sort of thing   
fades rapidly away2 what subsist  are   
certain sentiments4 ,from history one   
acquires a certain cult for  the past   
and for our natural tradition1 which is 
useful but may become  dangerous if it  
is carried to extremes2 from the study  

of philosophy  we acquire a certain     
openness of mind1 a disinterested       
preoccupation  with the causes of       
things1 a love of hypothesis1 a         
tolerance for  difference of opinion2   
and from a study of ethics we           
acquire--what8  ,a generosity of heart  
that causes us1 if not to forget        
ourselves1 at  least not to forget other
 people4 ,other studies enlarge the     
mind1 this  one enlarges the heart4 ,it 
is unreasonable1 therefore1 to be       
appalled  by diversity of moral systems1
 for they are all of them obliged in    
one way or other to beat up to the      
physiological and psychological  verity 
of love1 which is the principle of all  
altruism and presents  mankind with this
 alternative3 to desiccate or to expand4
 ,exclusively  egoistic conduct is a    
rotten fruit4 ,egoism is eternal        
illusion and  avarice1 afraid to open   
its hands1 ignoring the necessity of    
mutual  credit1 and the productivity of 
wealth in circulation4 ,in morals as  in

 political economy1 circulation is      
necessary2 the individual must  share in
 the life of the society4 ,moralists    
have been wrong1 perhaps1  in           
overestimating self-sacrifice4 ,it may  
be denied that virtue is at  bottom1 in 
any rigorous sense of the word1 a       
sacrifice1 but it cannot  be denied that
 it is at bottom an enlargement of one's
 self1 a form  of generosity4 ,and this 
sentiment of generosity1 by means of    
which  one embraces all humanity and the
 universe1 is what constitutes the      
solid base of all great religions1 as of
 all systems of morality2 and  therein  
lies the reason why one may1 without    
danger1 study the infinite  diversity of
 human beliefs in regard to the moral   
ideal--the summum  bonum4 ,there is a   
unity in the variety1 a unity that      
centres in the  idea of love4 ,to be    
generous in thought and deed is to be at
 the centre  of all great speculation on
 morals and religion4    ,sidenote3     
,necessity of disinterestedness4    ,for

 the rest1 is there any need of calling 
in the aid of mythical  and mystical    
ideas in our effort to understand human 
society and  its necessities1 and among 
them the necessity of disinterestedness8
  ,the profounder one's intelligence    
becomes1 the more adequately one        
perceives the necessity1 the inherent   
rationality of the function one         
accomplishes in human society2 the more 
absolutely one understands  one's self  
and one's self as a social being4 ,a    
functionary above  reproach is always   
ready to risk his life for the          
accomplishment of the  duty with which  
he is charged1 even though it be a      
relatively humble  one--that of a       
policeman or a customs officer1 of a    
signal man1 of a  railway employee or   
telegraph operator4 ,whoever does not   
feel himself  ready to die at a given   
moment is inferior to these4 ,one may   
sit in  judgment on one's self and on   
one's ideal1 by asking one's self this  
question3 for what idea1 for what person

 would ,i risk my life8 ,whoever  has   
not a reply ready has an empty or vulgar
 heart1 he is incapable  either of      
sympathizing with or of achieving       
anything that is great in  life1 for he 
is hidebound to the limits of his own   
individuality2 he is  feeble and        
sterile1 and lives in his egoism like   
the tortoise in his  shell4 ,on the     
contrary1 he who is conscious of a      
willingness to face  death for his ideal
 is willing and anxious to maintain his 
ideal to  the height of this possible   
sacrifice1 and finds in the fact of the 
risk a supreme and constant tension1 an 
indefatigable energy and power  of will4
 ,the sole means of being great in life 
is to be conscious of  indifference to  
death4 ,and this courage in the presence
 of death is not  the privilege of      
religions2 its germ exists in every     
intelligent and  loving volition1 in the
 very sense for the universal which     
gives us  science and philosophy2 it    
shows itself in the spontaneous impulses

 of  the heart1 in the moral            
inspirations 7which are as truly        
inspirations  as those of the poet7 that
 art and morality seek to give rise to  
in us4  ,independently of any religious 
conception1 morality is privileged to   
belong to the poetry of the world and to
 the reality of the world4 ,this        
poetry1 instead of being purely         
contemplative1 exists in action and in  
movement1 but the sentiment of the      
beautiful is none the less one of  the  
essential elements of it4 ,a virtuous   
life1 as the ,greeks said1 is  at once  
both beautiful and good4 ,virtue is the 
profoundest of the arts1  is that in    
which the artist and the work of art are
 one4 ,in the old oak  choir stalls in  
our churches1 lovingly sculptured in the
 ages of faith1  the same slab of wood  
sometimes represents on one side the    
life of a  saint and on the other a     
pattern of roses and flowers1 so        
arranged that  each event in the saint's
 life corresponds to a petal or the     

corolla of  a flower2 his self-sacrifice
 or his martyrdom lies on a background  
of  lilies or roses4 ,to live and to    
flower side by side1 at once to suffer  
and to blossom1 to unite in one's self  
the reality of goodness and the  beauty 
of the ideal1 is the double aim of life2
 and we also1 like the  saints in the   
choir stalls1 should present both sides4
    ,sidenote3 ,religious sanction a    
superfluity4    ,it will be objected    
that if the dissemination of moral ideas
 should  be attempted in independence of
 religion1 it will lack an element of   
sovereign power3 the idea of a sanction 
after death1 or at least the  certitude 
of that sanction4 ,it may be replied    
that the moral sentiment  in its purity 
implies precisely doing good for its own
 sake4 ,and if  it be rejoined that any 
such notion is chimerical1 we reply that
 the  power of the moral ideal in future
 societies will be proportionate  to its
 height4#abc ,it is commonly believed   
that the highest ideals  are those which

 it is least easy to disseminate among  
the masses2  the future will1 we        
believe1 demonstrate the opposite4      
,everything  depends on the talent of   
the propagandist4 ,jesus and the        
evangelists  did more to diffuse        
morality by embodying moral ideas in a  
form at  once simple and sublime than by
 menacing men with divine vengeance  and
 the flames of ,gehenna4 8,love ye one  
another2 by this shall all  men know    
that ye are my disciples1 if ye have    
love one to another40  ,in this         
admirable and eternal precept there is  
more of inexhaustible1  practical power 
than in3 ye shall be cast into the fire2
 there shall  be wailing and gnashing of
 teeth4 ,even in the past1 it is by     
favour of  great sentiments that great  
religious revolutions have been         
achieved2  and these great sentiments   
will persist in the future1 shorn of the
  superstitions with which they have    
long been associated4 ,thousands of     
martyrs have gone gaily to death for    

religion2 and martyrdom to simple       
honesty and goodness of heart is1 no    
doubt1 more difficult though not  less  
realizable than martyrdom to death4     
,morality will lose none of its         
practical power by revealing itself more
 and more as it is2 that is1 as  the    
supreme end that a man can propose to   
himself4 ,the true ideal of  morality is
 charity1 and charity is absolute       
disinterestedness1 which  looks for a   
recompense neither from man nor ,god4   
,recompense ought never  to enter into  
one's calculations in life nor into the 
hopes with which  one regards the       
future2 besides1 the calculation would  
probably be bad4  ,recompense should be 
taken1 when it comes1 as a gift2 as     
something  distinctly over and above    
what one has earned4 ,it is even good   
and  reasonable never to do right with  
any other expectation than that of      
ingratitude1 and to resign one's self to
 receiving after death no  reward of    
merit4 ,the most practical religious    

instruction is an appeal  to generous   
sentiments4          #abc ,see the      
author's ,esquisse d'une morale1 pp4    
#bcf1 #bcg4    ,sidenote3 ,baudelaire's 
triumphant criminal4    ,to maintain the
 necessity of the idea of sanction in   
moral instruction  and propagandism1 the
 following argument has been employed4  
,baudelaire1  it is said1 in the last   
days of his intellectual life1 sketched 
a great  drama1 destined to astonish the
 partisans of middle-class morality4    
,the  hero of the drama1 stripping      
himself of vulgar prejudice1 was to     
commit  one after another1 and with an  
equal success1 the crimes which are     
supposed to be the most terrible--was to
 kill his father1 to dishonour  his     
brother1 to violate his sister and his  
mother1 to betray his  country1 and     
finally1 his work in the world          
accomplished1 in possession  of fortune 
and reputation1 was to retire to some   
charming site1 under  some soft sky1 and
 to exclaim with all the tranquillity in

 the world3  8,let us now enjoy in peace
 the fruits of our crime40 ,what reply  
could  you make1 it is asked1 to such a 
man and to those who might be tempted   
to imitate him1 if you had not at hand  
the menaces of religion and the         
prospect of future punishment8 ,how     
could you disturb the criminal's        
promised joy8    ,sidenote3 ,his life   
punishes itself4    ,let us consider    
first in what the criminal's promised   
joy can consist4  ,baudelaire's hero is 
naturally incapable of appreciating the 
pleasures  of the hearth2 a man who has 
killed his father can find little       
delight  in the birth of a son4 ,he is  
equally incapable of appreciating a love
  of science for science's sake1 for the
 man who could love science for         
science's sake would never be tempted to
 become a great criminal1 and  as for   
pure sthetic pleasures1 moral delicacy  
and sthetic delicacy  in general go hand
 in hand2 it is not probable that a     
being incapable  of remorse and         

insensitive to all the shades and       
varieties of the  moral life would be   
apt to be sensible of all the shades and
 varieties  of beauty and of sthetic    
enjoyment4 ,the capacity for a sincere  
admiration of the beautiful corresponds 
always to a possibility of  strong      
repugnances to the ugly1 and repugnance 
for the ugly is scarcely  conceivable   
apart from a repugnance for what is ugly
 in immorality4  ,it is true that ,byron
 depicted certain satanic heroes        
accomplishing  the blackest of crimes   
without any loss to their elegance1 to  
their  good manners1 to their high      
spirit and courage1 but his heroes1 not 
to  raise the question of their         
possibility in real life1 are extremely 
unhappy2 they1 like ,byron himself and  
his disciples1 are the victims  of a    
refined remorse1 distaste of life1      
misanthropy2 the only art  that lies    
within their range is pessimistic art1  
which but aggravates  their malady4     
,their sthetic joys are veritable       

agonies4 ,or if1 ,byron  and ,byronism  
apart1 one keeps close to the truth1 one
 may well doubt  whether true sthetic   
pleasures are more within the reach of a
 genuine  criminal than of an educated  
butcher's boy4 ,his pleasure would be   
confined to the monotonous round of     
wine1 women1 and play2 and he could  not
 take wine with a light heart1 for men  
talk under the influence of  wine2 and  
he must play but little1 for men ruin   
themselves at play2  so that there      
remains nothing but women who           
constitute1 as a matter  of fact1 the   
habitual consolation of criminals4 ,in  
all times police  have looked for       
criminals1 and found them1 the day after
 their offence  in places of ill-repute4
 ,very well1 the defence of society     
apart1 we  see no reason for depriving  
the poor wretches of the restricted joys
  that remain to them4 ,it would be     
doing too much honour to ,baudelaire's  
hero to give him an immortality in the  
next life1 simply as a means  of making 

him pay dearer than he has already done 
in this for the few  kisses that he has 
purchased with his blood-stained gold4  
,he suffers  enough as it is1 the only  
additional suffering that could be      
wished  for him is that of remorse1 but 
remorse is a sign of superiority4 ,real 
criminals1 temperamental criminals1     
those who are the victims of what  is   
known as moral insanity1 are absolutely 
ignorant of remorse1 because  they are  
perfectly adapted to crime2 they are    
made for the immoral  environment in    
which they live1 and live at ease1 and  
experience no  desire for a change4 ,to 
perceive that a door is low1 one's      
stature  must be great4 ,if ,lady       
,macbeth's hand had been rude and her   
eye dull1  she never would have desired 
to wash off the drop of blood4 ,to      
suffer  is to pass beyond the bounds of 
one's environment2 the criminal who     
experiences remorse has strayed less far
 from the human type than the  one who  
does not feel remorse4 ,the first may   

become a man once more1  the second is  
incapable of crossing the line of       
demarcation which  separates man and    
beast1 for he is incapable of perceiving
 it2 he is  walled in with his crime1   
and is a brute or a madman4             
,sidenote3 ,and will in the future be   
viewed with horror4    ,but1 it will be 
objected1 if this brute or this madman  
sees no divine  menace above his head1  
would not many people regard his        
situation  as enviable1 and labour as   
they are labouring1 to destroy the moral
  and human instincts in themselves1 to 
place themselves precisely in  the      
position of ,baudelaire's hero8 ,we do  
not believe that faith in  a religious  
sanction could greatly change anybody's 
attitude toward  such an abnormal being4
 ,crime offers man but one attraction1  
that of  wealth2 but wealth1 whatever   
value it may have in the eyes of the    
people1 is but one among the good things
 of the world4 ,offer a poor  man a     
million dollars coupled with the gout1  

and if he had an atom of  common-sense  
he would refuse4 ,propose to make him   
rich1 on condition  of his being        
bandy-legged or humpbacked1 and he would
 probably refuse  also2 in especial1 if 
he were young4 ,all women would refuse4 
,the  difficulty experienced in finding 
people to fill certain situations  which
 are in themselves well paid--that1 for 
instance1 of public                     
executioner--demonstrates that1 even in 
the eyes of the people1 money  is not   
everything4 ,if it were1 no menace of   
punishment after death  could prevent   
men generally from becoming             
assassins4#abd ,i know women1  and men  
also1 who would refuse a fortune if they
 were obliged to  acquire it by becoming
 butchers--so great are certain         
repugnances1 even  purely sentimental   
and sthetic repugnances4 ,the moral     
horror of crime1  which is in the       
generality of cases stronger than any   
other repugnance1  will always separate 
us from criminals1 whatever the         

prevailing beliefs  as to life after    
death4          #abd ,m4 de ,molinari   
has calculated the chances of death to  
which the profession of assassin is     
exposed1 as compared with        certain
 dangerous occupations1 as that of      
miner4 ,he reaches the        following 
result3 that an assassin runs less risk 
of death than        a miner2 an        
insurance company might demand a smaller
 premium        of assassins than it    
would be obliged to demand of miners4   
7,see ,esquisse d'une morale1 the       
chapter on ,le risque et la             
lutte1 i4 #d47    ,sidenote3 ,and with  
pity4    ,this horror will be still     
stronger when for the habitual hatred1  
anger1 and desire for revenge1 that the 
presence of a criminal now  causes us1  
shall be substituted by degrees a       
feeling of pity--the pity  which we feel
 for inferior or malformed beings1 for  
the unconscious  monstrosities of       
nature4 ,one may sometimes envy the life
 of what one  hates2 but one can never  

envy the life of what one pities4       
,hatred  signifies the presence of some 
element of attraction in the object     
hated2 but pity is the highest and most 
definitive moral barrier that  can exist
 between two beings4    ,sidenote3 ,the 
durable element in this notion of       
sanction4    ,the sole respectable and  
durable element in the idea of sanction 
is  neither the notion of recompense nor
 of penalty1 but that of the ideal  of  
goodness as possessed of sufficient     
force to impose itself upon  nature1 and
 to envelop the world2 it seems to us   
good that the just  and gentle man      
should have the last word in the        
universe1 but this  kingdom of goodness 
of which humanity dreams does not need  
for its  establishment the procedure of 
a human kingdom4 ,the moral sentiment   
may be considered the great power in the
 universe4 ,the inherent  tendency of   
morality gradually to subdue nature to  
its purposes by the  instrumentality of 
mankind is the most striking fact in the

 realm of  philosophy1 and the one which
 is1 of all others1 the most appropriate
  to excite the spirit of proselytism4  
,no myth is necessary to arouse an      
ardour for goodness and a sense of      
universal fraternity4 ,what is great    
and beautiful is self-sufficing4        
,sidenote3 ,cult for the dead4          
,whatever may be the beliefs that men   
will one day hold on a life after       
death1 and the conditions which render  
possible the final triumph  of goodness1
 the notion of such a triumph is an     
ultimate moral and  social idea1 which  
will always lend itself readily to      
propagandism1  because it is the        
foundation of all religions without     
being in any  wise essentially bound up 
with religious dogma2 it is in essence a
  cult for memory1 for veneration and   
love of ancestry1 for respect for  death
 and for the dead4 ,far from necessarily
 declining with the decline  of         
religion1 a reverence for the dead may  
rapidly increase because  the           

metaphysical sentiment of the unknown in
 death will increase4 ,the  spirit of   
democracy itself inclines the masses to 
an uneasy admiration  in the presence of
 death1 the great democrat1 the great   
leveller  who wanders incessantly about 
humanity1 and planes down equally all   
excesses of misery and happiness2 casts 
us1 without distinction of  persons1    
into the great abyss from the depths of 
which the attentive  ear has caught no  
sound of an arrested fall4    ,sidenote3
 ,among the ,greeks4    ,the ,greeks1   
who of all ancient people are supposed  
to have been the  least religious1 were 
of all ancient people those who showed  
most  reverence for the dead4 ,the most 
irreligious city in modern times1       
,paris1 is that in which the fte for the
 dead is most solemn1 in which  the     
entire people rise to celebrate it1 and 
that also in which we see  the most     
flippant street ,arab take off his hat  
in the presence of a  funeral and salute
 the visible image of the eternal       

enigma4 ,a respect  for the dead which  
binds the generations of mankind        
together1 which is  the essence of the  
most certain form of immortality1 that  
of memory and  example1 will not        
disappear with the decay of religion4   
,corpus ,christi  may be forgotten1 but 
,all ,souls' ,day will be observed till 
the end of  human time4      ,,iii4     
,associations for sthetic               
purposes--,worship of art and nature4   
,sidenote3 ,association for enjoyment of
 products of sthetic genius4    ,i4 ,the
 third notion which is destined to      
survive historic religions1  and which  
has been as yet imperfectly realized1 is
 that of voluntary  association for the 
purpose of enjoying in common some      
sthetic  pleasure of a high and morally 
refining kind2 therein lies what  will  
survive of the ceremonial of diverse    
religions4 ,the artistic  elements pent 
up in various religions will disengage  
themselves1 will  become independent of 
tradition1 of symbolism taken seriously1

 and of  superstition4 ,science1        
metaphysics1 and morals all have their  
poetical  side1 and in so far are       
analogous to religion4    ,sidenote3    
,destined prevalence of admiration4     
,the pure abstraction by which the      
thinker escapes beyond the limits  of   
sentiment is an unstable and unlasting  
state of mind2 abstraction  contains    
something fictitious1 for nothing       
abstract exists in nature2  abstraction 
is of value only as an instrument2 its  
aim is to grapple  with some one side of
 the reality1 to enable one subsequently
 more  easily to embrace the reality as 
a whole4 ,every general result  that    
abstraction can achieve may sooner or   
later become the object  of a sentiment4
 ,the progress of science1 as ,mr4      
,spencer says1 has  always been         
accompanied side by side by a           
corresponding progress  in the faculty  
of admiration2 this faculty must        
inevitably develop1  in the future1 when
 man will have attained a less          

fragmentary and  more genuinely         
synthetic conception of the universe4   
,admiration is  one of the surviving    
elements of the religious sentiment4    
,man will  always be subject to         
astonishment1 and will always           
contemplate the  universe in a spirit of
 wonder1 although1 no doubt1 the time   
must  come when he will cease to kneel4 
,artistic genius1 even when inspired  by
 great philosophical and cosmological   
ideas1 remains essentially  different   
from religious genius properly so       
called1 the distinctive  character of   
which is to be dogmatic4 ,the ,greeks   
were of all peoples  the most poetical  
and the least religious4 ,poetry1 like  
metaphysics1  consists in constructions 
in the realm of imagination and thought1
  which are capable of infinite variety 
and tend to overrun the whole  compass  
of the human mind4 ,dogmatic religion1  
on the contrary1  tends continually to  
limit the fertility of the imagination  
and of  philosophic thought2 it implies 

a certain poverty of mind to cling      
always to the same conception1 to feel  
no desire to pass beyond it1  to create4
 ,metaphysical hypothesis1 unshackled by
 dogma1 gifted with  variety and        
liberty1 must inevitably be fertile even
 in the domain of  art2 it cannot dwell 
forever among abstractions1 it must     
produce a  corresponding sentiment1 a   
poetic sentiment which will not be the  
nave  assurance of faith but the proper 
emotional reaction in the presence  of a
 transformation of the real world under 
the influence of thought  conceiving the
 ideal4 ,for the philosopher1 as for the
 poet1 every  surface that science      
touches1 every form and figure in the   
world that  the finger of knowledge     
taps1 gives forth a sound1 not of the   
void1  but1 so to speak1 of the         
8essential inwardness of life40 ,they   
resemble  the marbles in ,italy which   
give forth1 beneath a blow1 a sound as  
harmonious as their forms4 ,there is an 
inner harmony that may well go  along   

with harmony of surface2 science shows  
us the laws of surfaces1  philosophy and
 poetry put us into sympathy with what  
lies below the  surface4 ,if it is      
impossible to deny1 as pure idealists   
attempt to  deny1 the objective         
character of the world in which we live1
 one can1  at least1 not say where      
objectivity begins and subjectivity     
ends4  ,between ,naghiri and ,yarkand   
there exists an almost unknown tribe    
called  ,hunza1 whose language presents 
a peculiarity which it is impossible to 
separate from one's notion of humanity2 
one cannot1 in their speech1  express   
the idea of a horse simply1 but must say
 my horse or thy horse  or his horse4   
,our language is more perfect than that 
of the ,hunza1 but  we are absolutely   
incapable of conceiving things in       
abstraction from  all notion of human   
personality2 in especial1 when we are   
dealing1 not  with individual1 external 
objects1 but with the cosmos as a whole4
  ,there is no such thing as a world    

existing in isolation2 there is only    
your world1 my world1 the human world4  
,man is so inseparably associated  with 
his conception of the universe that it  
is impossible to know  what our universe
 would be apart from us1 or what we     
should be apart  from it4 ,the          
metaphysician and the poet are at one in
 celebrating the  projection of humanity
 into all things4 ,at their highest     
points poetry  and philosophy coincide4 
,metaphysics is the poetry of pure      
reason1  poetry is the metaphysics of   
the senses and of the heart4 ,the two   
supply us with our conception of the    
world1 and1 after all1 since we  are the
 product of the world1 it must be in    
some sense akin to all  that we contain4
 ,the fundamental secret of things lies 
at the bottom  of human thought4 ,poetry
 is a light and winged creature1 ,plato 
says1  but he was speaking of the poetry
 of the poet1 of his sonorous and       
harmonious words2 but the poetry of the 
metaphysician1 the poetry of  profound  

ideas and hidden causes1 is also a      
winged thing1 but winged  not to be     
enabled to skim the surfaces of things  
as a land bird skims  the surface of    
land and sea1 but to be enabled to dive 
as 8divers0 do  when they plunge into   
the limpid waves1 and1 at the risk of   
asphyxia1  walk upon the opaque bottom  
of the sea and tear it up with their    
beaks  in search of food and come up    
shaking their feathers from none knows  
where4 ,sometimes their search has been 
in vain1 sometimes they bring up  buried
 treasure2 and they alone of all beings 
employ their wings not  to skim and to  
touch the surface of things1 but to     
penetrate to the  depths of them4 ,the  
last word of poetry1 as of thought1 will
 be to  dive beneath the moving flood   
and sweep of things1 and seize the      
secret  of the material universe which  
is also the secret of the spiritual     
universe4    ,sidenote3 ,art in a       
measure to take the place of religion4  
,,ii4 ,the more feeble dogmatic         

religions become1 the greater the       
necessity for a stronger and higher art4
 ,humanity needs a certain  amount of   
distraction1 and even1 as ,pascal said1 
of 8diversion40 ,a  human beast1 such as
 an ,english or ,german labouring man1  
knows but one  distraction in the world3
 eating and drinking1 especially        
drinking4  ,many ,english labourers     
never go to the theatre or to church1   
never  read1 know nothing of the        
pleasures of home2 the gin-palace and   
gin  take the place of art1 religion1   
and the family4 ,opium plays the same   
role in ,china4 ,they who do not know   
how to amuse themselves brutalize       
themselves2 self-brutalization is1 at   
least1 a change1 an element of  variety 
in the monotony of life1 a break in the 
continuity of the  chain of misery4     
,oblivion from time to time is          
imperative4 ,one of  the ancients said  
that he would rather be a master in the 
science of  oblivion than in that of    
memory4 ,the only porches of            

forgetfulness  that are open to the more
 debased portions of mankind are sleep  
and  intoxication2 people at a higher   
stage of civilization may approach art  
and adoration2 and these two forms of   
distraction are the highest and         
sweetest4#abe          #abe ,slaves1    
exiles1 and unfortunates generally      
drink4 ,the        ,irish and ,poles    
are1 according to statistics1 the most  
drunken        peoples in ,europe4      
,sidenote3 ,art as a diversion4    ,the 
amount of activity devoted by men to    
religion and sthetics  may appear at    
first sight useless and even harmful2   
but it must be  recognized that humanity
 is always possessed of a surplus which 
must be  expended in some way or other4 
,prayer and religious exercises1        
regarded  as occupations simply1 are of 
the least harmful of pastimes1 are of   
the  least vain of the various forms of 
distraction4 ,prayer and the church     
have hitherto been the art and theatre  
of the poor4 ,no doubt art and  prayer  

cannot be made to constitute alone the  
whole of life2 mystics  have believed   
that it is practical life that is the   
diversion1 and that  the serious element
 in things is religious contemplation4  
,precisely  the opposite is true3       
preoccupation with art and metaphysics  
should  dominate human life1 but not    
absorb it4 ,religion in especial1 with  
its  myths1 is too generously compounded
 of illusion and downright fiction  to  
be made the centre of life2 religion is 
a radiant coloured cloud  that wreaths  
the summit of the mountain4 ,if we climb
 up into it we  perceive that it is     
empty and sombre within1 that it is a   
cloud1 damp  and cold like other clouds 
and radiant only from below4            
,sidenote3 sthetic element in religion4 
,the poetry of religion may survive the 
dogmatism of religion2 as  articles of  
faith1 religious ideas are to-day       
anachronisms2 as  practical and         
philosophical conceptions they are like 
all works of art1  in a measure         

imperishable4 ,who1 asks ,lange1 could  
wish to refute a ,mass  of ,palestrina  
or accuse the ,madonna of ,raphael of   
error8 ,religions have  inspired        
literary and artistic labours--products 
which will survive  them at least in    
part1 and will constitute ultimately    
their best  justification4 ,what remains
 of the ,crusades to-day8 ,among the    
best  things that they gave us must be  
counted certain flowers that they       
brought back with them and propagated   
among us1 for example1 ,damascus  roses1
 and certain colours and perfumes which 
have survived the great  rising of      
,europe against ,asia in support of     
certain ideas and passions  which are   
to-day forever extinct4    ,sidenote3   
,defects of sthetic side of religion4   
,looked at from a certain point of view1
 priests are the artists of  the people1
 but the genuine artist ought to move   
with the times1  understand new motives 
and not repeat indefinitely1 from       
generation  to generation1 the same     

musical or poetical theme4 ,the feeble  
side of  religious asthetics is that its
 repertoire of incident and mystery is  
severely limited1 that it has repeated  
itself for centuries4 ,it must  enlarge 
the number of its pieces1 must abandon  
those it has4 ,nothing  could be better 
than to assemble for the purpose of     
experiencing in  common an emotion at   
once asthetic and serious1 seeing and   
hearing  something beautiful2 but it is 
impossible that this emotion should be  
indefinitely prolonged by a repetition  
of the same stimulus4 ,rites are        
irreconcilable with the double aim of   
art3 variety and progress in the        
expression of the emotions themselves4  
,sooner or later the rudimentary  art of
 ritual must give place to genuine and  
progressive art1 just as  the           
instinctive and eternally monotonous    
architecture practised by bird  and     
insect has become the infinitely varied 
architecture which has  produced and    
will produce masterpieces of the most   

varied kind1 from  ,notre ,dame de      
,paris to the ,alhambra4    ,sidenote3  
,transformation of the sermon4    ,in   
general1 men gather together to listen4 
,conferences1 sermons1 songs  are the   
most permanent features in religious    
cult4 ,they will probably  exist in some
 form or other in future associations as
 in those of the  past4 ,one point will 
become increasingly important in every  
spoken word  addressed to the people1   
and that is the instructive aspect of   
what is  said2 if one is to address the 
people1 one must teach them something4  
,well1 there are three kinds of         
instruction1 scientific1 literary  and  
moral1 or metaphysical4 ,the first will 
have to be more and more  generously    
given1 not only in school but wherever  
adults congregate4  ,the two other sorts
 may be given simultaneously by         
lectures4 ,the most  interesting        
elements in many sermons and conferences
 are the texts and  citations brought to
 the hearers' attention by the speaker4 

,the choice  of these texts1 the manner 
in which they are expounded and         
introduced  to the comprehension of the 
multitude1 constitute the value of the  
sermon4 ,in other words1 the best sermon
 consists simply in the reading  and    
exposition of some choice page from a   
good book4 ,in ,germany1 in  ,england1  
in the ,indies preachers of certain     
liberal sects choose their  texts       
indifferently from among the whole      
number of the sacred books of  humanity4
 ,a still more liberal epoch may be     
conceived1 when texts will  be selected 
not only from among the writings of the 
poets of ancient  times but also from   
among the writings of men of genius of  
all times2  every great work will be    
read and commented on as a sacred book4 
,the  most complete expression of the   
so-called religious sentiment1 apart    
from the vast ,hindu or ,jewish epochs1 
is1 after all1 to be found in  certain  
profane masterpieces1 from the works of 
,plato and ,marcus  ,aurelius to ,kant's

 8,hymn to ,duty02 from the dramas of   
schylus to  the 8,hamlet0 of            
,shakespeare1 to the 8,polyeucte0 of    
,corneille1 and the  8,contemplations0  
of ,victor ,hugo4    ,sidenote3         
,transformation of the prophet4         
,religious prophets1 like priests1 will 
be replaced by great poets1  great      
metaphysicians1 great men of science4   
,each of us will be able to  choose our 
prophet1 to prefer the genius which is  
best adapted to our  personal           
intelligence and best serves as an      
intermediary between us and  the eternal
 truth1 and each of us will be in the   
last resort our own  priest4#abf        
#abf 8,prophecy is not dead1 it         
flourishes under another name4          
,religious reforms1 emancipation from   
oppressive authority1 war        against
 corrupt institutions1 religious poetry1
 philosophy of        history--are all  
represented under various titles in the 
modern        world4 ,the old trunk has 
branched again simply40 7,m4 ,albert    

,rville1 p4 #bbi1 ,prolgomnes de        
l',histoire des religions47             
,sidenote3 ,music4    ,apart from poetry
 and eloquence1 the most religious of   
the arts1 the  most capable of inspiring
 the multitude with an elevated sympathy
 has  been1 and will be music4 ,wagner  
was not absolutely wrong in his notion  
that music will be the religion of the  
future1 or1 at least1 the cult  of the  
future4 ,we do not speak of instrumental
 music only1 but also  and in especial  
of vocal music1 of choruses such as are 
often met with  in ,germany1 in which   
many voices unite in producing the same 
chant1 in  beating the same rhythm which
 has been regulated in advance by       
genius4  ,thus conceived1 music is truly
 religious and socially significant4#abg
          #abg ,music at the present day
 forms a part of the cult2 but          
either it is supplied by members of the 
faithful1 in which        event it is   
sufficiently bad1 for the majority of   
the faithful        are ignorant of     

music2 or it is provided by mercenaries1
        and it is then more commonly    
good1 but is generally ill              
chosen4 ,musical education will one day 
probably be much more        wide-spread
 than it is to-day2 it would not be more
 difficult1        and would always be  
more useful1 to teach children the      
elements        of music than to teach  
them the mystery of the ,incarnation4   
,more than that1 if religious music were
 chosen not only from        so-called  
sacred works but from the works of      
classical masters        generally1 one 
might be certain of hearing good music1 
varied        in style and movement1 and
 capable of pleasing all those in       
whom the sthetic sense is developed4    
,sidenote3 ,kinship of sthetic and      
religious sentiment4    ,for the rest1  
almost every art is reconcilable with   
the gravity of  religious sentiment1 for
 every art at its best awakens1 no less 
than  poetry and music1 a contemplative 
and philosophical mood4 ,one may  agree 

with ,strauss that religion will        
gradually be transmuted into  art1 and  
even at the present day profane art and 
sacred art are rather  different than   
opposed4 ,these differences will always 
subsist2 it is  evident that a pas      
redoubl1 for example1 can never be the  
symbol of  a really profound idea of    
nature or of humanity or of the         
infinite4  ,religious sthetics1 even    
though it becomes continuously larger   
and  more tolerant1 will exclude to the 
end certain inferior forms of art4      
,sidenote3 ,necessary reforms in lay    
art4    ,if art is to take the place of 
religion1 it must progress in certain   
directions1 not only in its forms but in
 its material methods of  appeal4 ,note 
how much better church services are     
presented1 from the  point of view of   
hygiene1 than art exhibitions are4      
,moderation is  practised in the matter 
of light2 the rooms are large and well  
supplied  with fresh air1 are of an     
almost constant temperature2 and the    

sthetic  services are restful rather    
than exhausting4 ,compare with all this 
the  entertainment given in concert     
halls and theatres1 where multitudes    
are packed together under unnecessarily 
brilliant lights1 where the  spectators 
are wrought up and excited and exhausted
 in a hundred ways  and pass out1       
finally1 fatigued1 enfeebled1 nervously 
keyed up1 and  pursued by a host of     
sensual images4 ,church architects are  
infinitely  more conversant with hygiene
 than those who build our theatres2 they
  understand that if the heavens are to 
be shut out at all1 space enough  must  
be shut in to give the heart and chest  
room to expand4 ,among the  ,greeks1    
where art really did form a sort of     
religion1 the theatres were  open to the
 sky so that the spectators might really
 repose in body  while they gave up     
their minds to be played upon by the    
poet4    ,sidenote3 ,in religious art4  
,just as existing profane art must      
undergo certain transformations  before 

it can be expected fully to satisfy a   
sane and well-balanced  nature1 so      
religious art1 if it is to be true to   
its highest  tendencies1 must transform 
itself1 must rid itself of precisely the
  elements which to-day seem            
distinctively to constitute it1 namely  
its  marvellous subject-matter and      
conventional handling4 ,the marvellous  
in  art was long necessary1 as we have  
seen1 to capture men's attention2       
contemporaneous art does not need to    
make this appeal4 ,all art took its     
rise from convention1 from ceremonial1  
but has enfranchised itself by  degrees4
 ,it might even be established as a     
general law that the more  perfect1 the 
more expressive1 arts become--the more1 
that is to say  they seek precisely to  
body forth the sentiment of the artist2 
and the  more expressive they are the   
less conventional and less pompous they 
must be4 ,amplification and exaggeration
 are suppressed4 ,the artist  occupies  
toward his emotions the same relation   

that the translator of a  great work    
does to his text3 his translation will  
be regarded nowadays  as perfect in     
proportion as it is close1 as it follows
 the text1 line  by line and word by    
word2 formerly the tradition was        
otherwise1 and  every translator felt   
himself obliged to amplify4 ,art        
possesses great  means of inspiring     
emotion1 but not gross means4 ,public   
speakers at  the present day make much  
less frequent use of gesture2 the actor 
no  longer steps out on the stage in the
 cothurnus2 the language of verse  is   
approaching the language of ordinary    
life2 music is breaking away  from the  
conventions of counterpoint4 ,what is   
true of the diverse arts  is true also  
of religious sthetics1 which will one   
day abandon the  fictitious ornaments   
and vain ceremonies of ritualism4 ,if an
 sthetic  expression of some profound   
sentiment is to be true and durable1 it 
must itself be profound1 must be like   
what it expresses1 must be  murmured    

rather than articulate4 ,what renders   
certain verse eternal  is its           
simplicity3 the more overcharged an art 
is the more caducous  it proves1 like   
the architecture of the ,jesuit style1  
which is to-day  so ridiculous1 with its
 gilding and false ornaments4           
,ceremonies1  properly so called1 will  
become more and more simple in religious
 or  moral associations2 the day will   
come1 no doubt1 when they will not be   
employed at all except to celebrate the 
three great events of human  life3      
birth1 marriage1 and death2 nay1 perhaps
 they will disappear  altogether as     
emotion becomes too profound to be      
translated by any  objective device1 by 
any conventional ceremony whatever4     
8,une larme en dit plus que vous n'en   
pourriez dire40    ,in cemeteries the   
tombs of distinguished people may be    
recognized  by their simplicity1 by     
their freedom from conventional         
ornament4 ,a  marble slab under a wreath
 of flowers is enough to produce upon   

the  passer-by a more vivid impression  
than crosses1 burning lamps1 images  of 
the saints1 infantine gewgaws1 and      
ridiculous inscriptions4 ,eternal       
enigmas need not be supplied with excess
 of language2 they are quite  capable of
 making themselves heard without raising
 their voices4 ,the  silence of the     
stars is more impressive than speech1   
and the highest  religious instruction  
could not do better than teach men to   
listen to  such science4 ,meditation1   
which1 after all1 is recommended by     
every  religion1 implies the negation of
 rite4           99       99       99   
99       99    ,sidenote3 ,enjoyment of 
natural beauty4    ,,iii4 ,a feeling for
 nature was1 in the beginning1 an       
important element  in the composition of
 the religious sentiment4 ,hindu        
ascetics went up  into the valleys of   
the ,himalayas1 ,st4 ,antoine went into 
the desert  at ,thebes1 ,st4 ,bruno went
 to ,la ,grande ,chartreuse1 in search  
of  something more than simple solitude2

 they all of them experienced an        
ill-defined need to eke out monotony of 
contemplation by admiration  of the     
beautiful in nature2 a need to fill the 
void of ecstasy with  harmonious and    
powerful sensations4 ,they were         
unconscious poets1  painters without    
hands1 astronomers without special      
knowledge1 and  their sentiment for     
nature made part of their religious     
sentiment2  the profane mingled with the
 divine1 and they ascribed to ,god alone
  the intense emotion that forest and   
mountain summit had given rise to  in   
them4 ,to-day1 the sthetic sentiment    
exists apart from religious  sentiment2 
although every sthetic sentiment of an  
especially elevated  kind is both       
contemplative and philosophical1 it     
contains no suggestion  of any          
particular religion3 no tabernacle can  
roof in heaven2 sthetic  sentiment is   
foreign to the definite and             
anthropomorphic notion of a  personal   
,god4 ,when we contemplate nature we    

have no sense of communion  with the    
personality of ,god2 the artist has     
definitively supplanted the  religious  
hermit4 ,the power of theological       
sentiment has weakened2 the  power of   
sympathy for nature has increased4      
,sidenote3 ,should be cherished4        
,this sense of natural beauty1 which is 
so strong in many men at the  present   
day1 is destined to a much greater      
future4 ,like sthetic  faculties        
generally1 a sense for the beauty of    
nature must be  cultivated and developed
 by a well-directed education4 ,no germ 
of it  apparently is to be found in     
certain cases among the peasantry1 where
  a mechanical habit of life has dulled 
the emotions1 nor among dwellers  in    
cities1 in whom antagonistic tastes have
 been developed4 ,a genuine  ,parisian  
cares little for the country2 he can    
pass an hour or two in  the fields1 as  
he might in the ,bois de ,boulogne4 ,an 
open-air landscape  would not so readily
 appeal to him as a picture of it in a  

gold frame2  his eye is not educated for
 dealing with the dimensions of nature4 
,sidenote3 ,the most wholesome form of  
enjoyment4    ,of all sthetic           
sentiments1 love of nature possesses the
 advantage of  being the one which1 even
 though pushed to excess1 does not      
disturb  the equilibrium of body and    
mind4 ,love of nature is the sole       
emotion  which is absolutely hygienic4  
,one may die of an exaggerated love of  
the theatre1 of music and so forth2 one 
simply becomes healthy from  an         
exaggerated love of nature4 ,air and    
light6 ,the ,greeks were right1  were   
they not8 to philosophize in the open   
air1 in gardens and groves4  ,a ray of  
sunlight sometimes helps one more to    
understand the world  than an eternity  
of meditation in some gray room in the  
midst of open  volumes4#abh             
#abh ,every library reading room ought  
to open on a garden        where one    
could read and write on fine days in the
 open air4        ,for all men whose    

labour is physical--for example1 for a  
factory hand--the proper recreation is  
repose in the open        air1 and1 if  
need be1 intellectual labour in the open
 air4        ,for men who work with     
their minds1 the proper recreation is   
bodily exercise in the open air1 in the 
sunlight4 ,for children        every    
holiday ought to be spent in the        
country4 ,lighted        rooms1         
children's entertainments in the house  
even on ,sunday        afternoons1      
theatrical representations1 are1        
hygienically        speaking1           
absurdities4 ,all boarding-schools1     
moreover1 ought to        be beyond the 
city limits and if possible on some     
commanding        height4 ,if there     
existed in ,france1 as in ,germany for  
example1        great colleges in       
country districts hard by forests1 or   
still        better1 in the highlands of
 ,dauphiny or the ,pyrenees1 such       
places would ultimately be adopted by   
the better classes for        their     

children's education1 and thus might be 
combated the        degeneracy of the   
middle class1 which is so much more     
rapid in        ,france than elsewhere1 
because the custom of restricting the   
number of children interferes with      
natural selection4    ,sidenote3        
,superior to enjoyment of human art4    
,compare the appeal that nature makes to
 the sthetic sense with that  made by   
human art1 and you will at once perceive
 the superiority of  the former4 ,art1  
even great art1 even that which seems   
closest to the  truth1 can never be more
 than a very insufficient representation
 of the  real world1 because it is      
forced to a selection2 it is forced to  
ignore  nine-tenths of life in order to 
set in a clear light what is extreme1   
what appeals to laughter or to tears4   
,average human life is neither          
ridiculous nor tragic2 life1 as it      
appears in art1 is generally one or  the
 other4 ,the reason is that art         
subordinates truth to interest1 while   

life is truth4 ,thence results the      
movement toward pessimism in art1  and  
in especial in modern art2 the more     
masterly the artist is1 the  more he    
will be inclined to seek for the        
ridiculous or the melancholy  aspects of
 life2 his aim is to move pity or mirth1
 and existence in his  pages must take  
the form of tragedy or comedy4 ,to live 
too exclusively  in the world of art is 
to live in a factitious environment as  
if one  should pass one's whole         
existence in a theatre4 ,the most       
beautiful  poem1 the most beautiful work
 of art1 contains pitfalls which one    
must  avoid4 ,the imagination usually   
plays with loaded dice4 ,whoever lives  
too exclusively on human art becomes1   
therefore1 a little unhealthy1 a  little
 unbalanced4 ,the great source of       
sthetic appeal is and should be  nature1
 which is always sincere1 always shows  
for what it is1 without  deception and  
ornament4 ,a higher sthetic culture will
 increase one's  sensibility to natural 

beauty1 and it is in a contemplation of 
the  cosmos that sthetic sentiment1 and 
a purified religious sentiment1  will   
find it possible most completely to     
coincide4 ,the emotion that  arises from
 the contemplation of a landscape1 of a 
sunset1 of a stretch  of blue sea1 of a 
snow-capped mountain outlined against   
the sky1 or  even the blue dome of the  
sky itself1 is absolutely pure1 sane1   
neither  too depressing1 nor too        
immoderately gay4 ,in the presence of   
nature  one's sthetic sensibilities     
become the means of refreshing and      
resting one instead of fatiguing        
one--nature smiles but never grimaces2  
and its smile penetrates the soul as the
 sunlight penetrates the eye2  and if   
nature has its moods of sadness1 they   
contain a touch of the  infinite which  
enlarges the heart4 ,the immensity of   
nature and of the  all-enveloping       
heavens becomes1 for those who feel it1 
a constant  source of a certain stoical 
serenity4          ,,chapter ,,iii4     

,,theism4    ,,review ,,of ,,the        
,,principal ,,metaphysical ,,hypotheses 
,,which ,,will ,,replace  ,,dogma4      
,i4 ,introduction--,progress of         
metaphysical                            
hypothesis--,metaphysical hypotheses    
destined to increasing        diversity 
in details1 and increasing agreement on 
essential        points--,importance of 
the moral element in metaphysical       
hypotheses--,the part played by         
conscience in human morality        will
 not diminish1 as ,mr4 ,spencer         
says--,sympathetic groups        under  
which divers systems of metaphysics will
 be ranged4        ,,ii4 ,theism--#a4   
,probable fate of the creation          
hypothesis--,the        author of the   
world conceived as a prime              
mover--,eternity        of              
movement--,the author of the world      
conceived as a        creator properly  
so called--,illusion involved in the    
conception of nothing--,criticism of the
 creation hypothesis        from the    

point of view of morals3 the problem of 
evil        and of the responsibility of
 the creator--,attempts        to save  
optimism--,hypothesis of a ,god creating
 free        agents1 8workmen0 and not  
8work0--,reciprocal determinism         
and the illusion of                     
spontaneity--,immorality of the         
temptation--,hypothesis of the fall1 its
 impossibility--,god        the         
tempter--,lucifer and ,god--#b4         
,probable fate of the        notion of  
,providence--,hypotheses to explain a   
special        ,providence and miracles 
thus insufficient--,hypothesis of       
a non-omnipotent ,god proposed by ,john 
,stuart ,mill--,the        ,god of      
,comtism--,religion should be not solely
 human but        cosmic--,the fate of  
the philosophical idea of               
,god--,rational        religion proposed
 by the neo-,kantians--,ultimate        
transformation of the notion of         
,divinity and of                        
,providence--,human ,providence and     

progressive ,divinity in        the     
world4      ,i4 ,introduction--,progress
 of metaphysical hypothesis4            
,sidenote3 ,trend visible in            
metaphysical speculation4    ,to say    
that humanity1 in its search for a      
plausible explanation  of the world1    
finds itself in the presence of a great 
number of  hypotheses among which it    
must choose does not mean that these    
hypotheses should be regarded with a    
benevolent neutrality1 that they  are   
equivalent in the eyes of reason4 ,far  
from it3 we believe that  metaphysical  
hypotheses already are following a      
certain general  direction and will     
continue to do so in the future4 ,our   
conception  of the unknown will become  
precise as our knowledge of the knowable
  becomes complete4 ,even morals1 which 
vary so markedly from country to        
country1 tend to approach a single type 
and to become identical among  all      
civilized peoples4 ,the same may be said
 of the practical part of  all          

religions4 ,rites become every day      
simpler1 and dogmas do the same1  and   
metaphysical hypotheses will do the     
same4 ,by the progress of human         
thought1 the avenues that lead to truth 
will be better known4 ,we regard  it as 
certain1 for example1 that all effort   
will be abandoned1 if it  has not been  
abandoned already1 to conceive mankind's
 ideal as embodied  in the jealous and  
evil ,god of the ,bible4    ,sidenote3  
,number of metaphysical hypotheses not  
destined to decrease4    ,the angle at  
which different human beings look out   
upon the ideal  will continually        
diminish2 and as the angle diminishes1  
the power of  vision will increase1 and 
this unexpected result will follow3 that
  metaphysical hypotheses concerning the
 world1 and its destiny will  never be  
less numerous nor less varied1 in spite 
of the increasing  convergence4 ,human  
thought may even become more personal1  
more  original1 fuller of delicate      
distinctions1 and at the same time less 

inconsistent as one passes from mind to 
mind4 ,as mankind approximates  the     
truth its details will become more      
various1 and the beauty of  the whole   
more marked4 ,an approach to certitude  
augments the dignity  and probability of
 the possible hypotheses without        
diminishing their  number4 ,astronomy1  
for example1 has increased the sum of   
the known  truths about celestial bodies
 and at the same time multiplied the    
number of possible hypotheses concerning
 them2 the most definite  knowledge may 
thus be the most fertile in views of    
every sort1 even  of obscure ones4 ,as  
the human mind progresses it will see   
the aspects  of nature diversify and the
 laws of nature unify4 ,this evening    
from  ,sermione1 the peninsula dear to  
,catullus1 ,i saw on the surface of     
,lago  di ,garda the reflection of as   
many stars as ,i could have seen had  ,i
 lifted my eyes to heaven4 ,each star   
reflected in the lake was in  reality   
nothing but a brilliant drop of water1  

close to my hand2 each  of the stars in 
heaven is a world separate from me by an
 infinite  reach of space2 the stars of 
heaven and of the lake were1 however1 to
  me the same4 ,the real distance of    
things and the depth of the universe    
escape the human eye4 ,but science      
corrects the eye1 measures distances  at
 their just worth1 probes ever deeper   
into the vault of heaven1               
distinguishing objects from their       
reflections4 ,science takes account  at 
once of the place of the ray in the     
water and of its origin in the  sky4 ,it
 will perhaps one day discover1 in an   
infinitely magnified  expanse of        
thought1 the primitive and central      
spring of light which as  yet           
communicates with us only by reflection 
and broken rays and flying              
scintillations from some unstable       
mirror4           99       99       99  
99       99    ,sidenote3 ,moralism4    
,since the ,stoics and ,kant1           
metaphysical hypotheses have come to be 

regarded from a new point of view4 ,what
 to-day has come to be the  great charm 
of such hypotheses is that they         
endeavour to lend a moral  significance 
to the world1 to impress upon the course
 of universal  evolution a direction    
conformable to that of our conscience as
  affectionate and sociable beings4 ,the
 future history of religion may  be     
summed up in this law3 that religious   
dogmas1 transformed at first  into      
simple metaphysical conjectures1 reduced
 later to a certain number  of definite 
hypotheses1 among which the individual  
made his choice on  increasingly        
rational grounds1 ultimately came to    
bear principally on  the problem of     
morals4 ,religious metaphysics1 in      
effect1 will result in  a transcendental
 theory of universality1 an ideal       
sociology embracing  in its sweep all   
the beings that constitute the universe2
 and this  sociology will be founded1   
not upon physical inductions1 like that 
of the earliest religions1 nor upon     

ontological inductions like that  of the
 first system of metaphysics1 but upon  
the moral conscience of  mankind4       
,animism1 theism1 pantheism1 are        
destined to fall under the  domination  
of what may be called moralism4         
,sidenote3 ,increasing interest in      
moralism4    ,such diverse solutions as 
may be given of the moral problem thus  
understood will always interest mankind1
 but they will occupy a  smaller and    
smaller place in its practical life2    
they will lose the  extraordinary       
influence that religions have often     
possessed over  the conduct of men4 ,as 
society progresses the moral agent will 
find  less and less need to appeal for  
support in the conduct of life to       
metaphysical hypotheses and systematic  
uncertainty4 ,positive morality  will   
more and more completely suffice for the
 ordinary exigencies of  life4          
,generosity of heart will be less       
dependent on the intelligence  for its  
adventurous impulses2 it will produce   

them unassisted4  ,metaphysical         
speculations will tend to become1 like  
the highest  sthetic products1 a luxury2
 they will be sought for their own      
sakes1  and for the general elevation of
 mind that they bestow1 rather than for 
guidance in particular matters of       
conduct4 ,the destiny of the world  will
 interest us quite apart from any       
question of our own destiny1 and  our   
voyages into the unknown will be        
prompted not by selfishness but by      
disinterested curiosity4    ,sidenote3  
,and in reflective rectitude4    ,we do 
not believe1 however1 with ,mr4 ,spencer
 that the part to be  played by the     
reflective conscience in human life is  
destined to  diminish1 nor that man will
 come to do what is right in obedience  
to  a blind instinct--to rush into the  
fire or throw himself into the  water to
 save the life of a fellow-creature     
almost as irreflectively  as he would   
lift his hat to a friend in the street4 
,on the contrary1  man will become more 

and more reflective and philosophical in
 all  things1 and among others1 in      
regard to the directing principles of   
his conduct4 ,and there is no room in   
all this for the belief that the        
dissolving influence exercised by       
reflection upon primitive instincts     
will seriously hinder the growth of the 
social instinct4 ,intelligence          
paralyzes instincts only when it is     
obliged to oppose them1 when it  does   
not justify them1 when it aims really at
 displacing them4#abi  ,but speculative 
thought will always justify social      
instinct1 even  considered purely from  
the scientific and positive point of    
view4 ,as  we have shown1 the most      
extraordinary manifestation of the      
social  instinct1 devotion1 belongs to  
the general law of life1 and does not   
in the least possess the abnormal       
character that has sometimes been       
attributed to it2 to run a risk for     
someone else is not to be purely        
unselfish1 for one is attracted by the  

sublimity of danger and of risk1  and a 
capacity for this attraction has been   
developed and rendered  powerful by     
natural selection in the higher species 
of the animal  kingdom2 the desire to   
expose one's self is almost normal in a 
morally  well-constituted individual4   
,in morals as in sthetics sublimity is  
allied to beauty4#acj ,the speculative  
instinct will1 therefore1  not          
counteract the social instinct2 it will 
rather fortify it1 and  human           
disinterestedness generally1 for        
speculation itself is the most          
disinterested act of the mental life4   
,generally speaking1 reflective         
conscience is always more disinterested 
than irreflective action1 which  is     
typified in reflex action2 it is less   
directly useful to life on  its simplest
 terms4 ,parallel to the development of 
conscience and of  speculative          
intelligence there goes always a        
development of our moral  activity4 ,the
 more truly intelligent a human being is

 the more active  he is2 and the more   
active he is1 the less self-sufficing he
 becomes1  the greater his need to live 
for someone else4 ,antisocial beings are
  almost always mentally and physically 
dawdlers1 who are incapable of          
continuous mental or physical labour4   
,activity of mind must inevitably1      
therefore1 indirectly fortify the moral 
instincts4 ,sociality is  developed by  
thought4          #abi ,see upon this   
point the author's ,problmes            
d'esthtique1 p4 #aci 7,de l'antagonisme 
entre l'esprit        scientifique et   
l'instinct47          #acj ,esquisse    
d'une morale sans obligation1 p4 #bae4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,possible to classify the    
diverse systems of future4    ,although 
by the progress of analysis the         
complication of the great  mental and   
moral hypotheses must increase1 it is   
possible1 even at  the present day1 to  
foresee the main synthetic groups under 
which the  several systems will be      

classifiable4    ,sidenote3 ,present    
interest in such systems4    ,this book 
is not a treatise on metaphysics3 an    
exposition and criticism  of these      
systems will not1 therefore1 here be    
expected2 but their  characteristic     
spirit1 which has also been the spirit  
of the great  religions1 is of interest 
to us here1 and1 for us1 constitutes    
their  value4 ,it is this spirit which  
is at once speculative and religious1   
in the true sense of the word1 that it  
is important1 accordingly1 to  elicit1  
and that wholly without dogmatical or   
polemical aim of any  kind4 ,absolute   
sincerity1 impersonal and passionate    
sincerity1 is  the first duty of the    
philosopher4 ,to arrange the world      
according to  one's personal            
preferences1 to be on the lookout1 not  
for the most  probable1 but for the most
 consoling hypotheses1 is to resemble a 
merchant who should count his credits   
only when he is making up his  books and
 should indulge in none but consoling   

additions4 ,the strictest  probity is   
demanded of him who balances the great  
book of life2 the  philosopher should   
hide nothing either from others or from 
himself4 ,we  shall endeavour1          
therefore1 to set forth1 what are in our
 judgment the  diverse aspects under    
which the knowable as a whole1 and      
therefore also  the unknowable1 or if   
you prefer1 the great unknown1 present  
themselves  to-day4 ,we shall endeavour 
to interpret the great metaphysical     
systems  sympathetically1 without1      
however1 any illusions in regard to     
their  incompleteness and their errors4 
,in a certain church in ,verona sacred  
texts are inscribed on the marble slabs 
of which the floor is composed2  they   
interpret and complete each other1 and1 
however obscure at first1  gradually    
become plain as one advances under the  
high arched roof2 thus  it is in life3  
the religious and philosophical beliefs 
in the midst  of which we live seem to  
us at first enigmatical and mysterious1 

we  trample them under foot without     
understanding them2 but1 as we advance1 
we discover their hidden meaning1 their 
navet1 and their profoundity4  ,at every
 step in life a new perspective into the
 heart of humanity is  thrown open to   
us2 to live is to understand1 and to    
understand is not  only to tolerate but 
to love4 ,such love1 however1 is not    
incompatible  with clearness of vision1 
nor with an effort to transform and     
ameliorate the beloved object2 on the   
contrary1 a really active love  ought to
 be1 more than all else1 a desire for   
transformation and for  progress4 ,to   
love a being or a belief is to seek to  
make it better4      ,,ii4 ,theism4     
,sidenote3 ,theism and religion         
distinct4    ,the majority of people    
scarcely see any possible alternative to
 such  and such a determinate religion  
except atheism4 ,the fact is1 of course1
  quite otherwise4 ,religious thought   
manifests itself in a hundred  forms2   
why should free-thought be restricted to

 a single conception of  the universe8  
,i have known a multitude of            
free-thinkers who believed  more        
sincerely in the existence of ,god1 in  
the immortality of the  soul1 and1 in   
general1 in spiritual principles than a 
great many  professed worshippers4 ,were
 they right to do so8 ,was ,voltaire1   
for  example1 who based his affirmation 
of the existence of ,god upon the       
splendour of a sunrise1 somewhat nave1  
and inclined to mistake an  emotion for 
a bit of proof8 ,it makes little        
difference2 what we wish  to set in     
relief is that faith in a priest is not 
necessarily part and  parcel of faith in
 a ,god1 and that the disappearance of  
the former may  lend an increase of     
power and of refinement to the latter4  
,no single  philosophic doctrine is to  
be regarded as standing alone in        
opposition  to the whole body of        
religions2 religions and philosophies   
together  are all philosophic doctrines1
 all hypotheses1 and none of them above 

discussion4 ,we say to the individual3  
8,weigh and choose40 ,and among  these  
hypotheses we include that of which     
modern religions constitute  the        
symbolic expression1 theism4 ,if the    
religious anomy which we regard  as the 
ideal implies the suppression of        
everything in the nature of an  external
 revelation1 it does not on that account
 exclude a subjective  and personal     
intuition of divinity4 ,even mystics may
 find their account  in the religious   
individualism of the future4 ,intuition1
 however1 in  metaphysics as in morals1 
is every day losing ground4 ,the        
progress  of ideas will result in the   
gradual triumph of scientific induction 
over alleged natural intuition1 of      
probability over faith4 ,subjective     
revelation will disappear as objective  
revelation is doing1 and give  place by 
degrees to reasoning4 ,dogmatic theism1 
like all dogma1 is  doomed2 but what is 
purest in the theistic spirit may       
survive4    ,sidenote3 ,god conceived as

 prime mover a superfluity according to 
modern physics4    ,i4 ,let us first    
consider the probable fate of the dogma 
of the ,creator1  which belongs to the  
great ,jewish1 ,christian1 and ,islamite
 religions4  ,science follows the law of
 parsimony2 nature economizes force1    
science  economizes ideas4 ,the first   
economy to be undertaken might well     
relate  precisely to the idea of the    
creation4 ,the author of the world may  
be conceived as the universal motor4    
,but the conception of cause as  a      
source of movement1 or as a prime motor1
 is full of contradictions  and is      
becoming more and more foreign to modern
 philosophy4 ,for the  conception of a  
first cause implies a pre-existing state
 of repose1 and  repose is no more      
primitive and absolute than nothingness4
 ,nothing is  in repose1 nothing has    
ever been in repose4 ,the most          
motionless atom  in the atmosphere      
describes in its vibration1 according to
 ,clausius1  four hundred and           

forty-seven metres a second in a space  
of ninety-five  millionths of a         
millimetre2 it receives during this time
 four billion  seven hundred million    
shocks4 ,the vibrating atom of hydrogen 
describes  one thousand eight hundred   
and eighty-four metres in a second4     
,repose  is an illusion of the human    
mind1 and the conception of a divine    
first  mover is a second illusion based 
on the first4 ,the eternal movement     
that stirred the molecules of the       
primitive substance1 later grouped  them
 into spheres1 and the spheres began    
whirling of their own accord  in the    
ether without need of a preliminary push
 from the sacred beetle  7as the        
,egyptian legend has it7 that rolls his 
sacred ball1 which is  the image of the 
universe4 ,where1 as ,strauss remarked1 
,newton felt  called upon to assume a   
8divine first impulse10 and ,buffon was 
obliged  to resort to the hypothesis of 
a comet colliding with the primitive    
sphere and breaking it up into the      

fragments which now constitute the      
earth and the planets1 we need invoke   
nothing but the fixity of natural  laws4
 ,since ,kant1 ,descartes1 and ,laplace1
 we possess an approximate  explanation 
of the formation of the stars1 which are
 alternately  produced and dissolved by 
the concentration and resolution of     
material  masses--are born to be        
8devoured10 as ,kant said1 in the abyss 
of  eternity4 ,one and the same cause1  
resistance of the ether1 explains the   
agglomeration of nebulous matter into   
nucle1 and the slowing down of  the     
motion of the spheres thus formed1 and  
the ultimate fall of these  spheres upon
 some neighbouring centre of attraction 
and the resulting  dispersion into      
nebul4    ,sidenote3 ,and with          
physiology4    ,more than that1 by the  
progress of physiology and natural      
history1  the organic and the inorganic 
worlds have come to be conceived  as so 
closely related that a true explanation 
of the first would  probably include a  

true explanation of the second4 ,the    
chasm that once  existed between life   
and what sustains life has been closed4 
,if our  laboratories do not enable us  
to catch spontaneous generation in the  
act1 the reason is simply that their    
resources are not equal to those  of    
nature1 that they have not the same     
means at their disposal1 that  the      
so-called primitive beings that we      
endeavour to produce in the  laboratory 
are really not primitive4 ,men of       
science who have attempted  such        
experiments resemble the followers of   
,darwin who have tried to  transform an 
anthropoid ape into a human being4      
,nature permits of an  infinite         
convergence of forces upon a determinate
 point1 that cannot  be realized in a   
laboratory4 ,more than that1 time1 which
 we are always  inclined to neglect1 is 
a necessary factor in the evolution of  
things2  what is natural is slow4 ,to   
find the earliest stages of organic     
life1  as to find the early stages in   

the formation of a star1 we must go far 
back into the remote past4    ,sidenote3
 ,god conceived as a ,creator worse than
 superfluous4    ,if there is no        
necessity for the conception of ,god as 
a prime mover1  is there any necessity  
for the conception of ,god as the       
,creator of  the universe8 ,a creative  
cause seems to the modern mind less and 
less  needed for the explanation of the 
world1 for the fact of existence  stands
 in no need of explanation2 what rather 
needs explanation is  non-existence4    
,death1 repose1 are all relative and    
derived4 ,death  implies life1 and is   
itself only a provisional stage1 an     
interval  between two metamorphoses4    
,there exists no punctum mortuum1 no    
one really dead point in the universe4  
,it is by a pure artifice of  thought   
that religions have conceived the       
universe as beginning in  annihilation1 
in death 7which is a remote consequence 
of life71 in  order to afford an        
opportunity for the intervention of a   

creative  power3 creation is a          
resurrection following on a fictitious  
death4    ,sidenote3 ,nothingness an    
aspect of existence4    ,the real state 
of the case is not that existence       
springs from  non-existence1 but that   
non-existence is a simple aspect of     
existence1  or rather an illusion of    
thought4 ,the notion of creation will be
 more  and more widely displaced by that
 of evolution and variation4 ,different 
worlds are eternal variations on the    
same theme1 the tat tvam asi of  the    
,hindus tends to become a scientific    
variety4 ,a substantial unity  of the   
world and the solidarity of all the     
beings in the world will1  undoubtedly1 
be more and more clearly demonstrated4  
,sidenote3 ,god responsible for evil4   
,the creation may be considered1 since  
,kant's time1 as a demonstrably         
indemonstrable and even inconceivable   
hypothesis2 but ,kant did not  stay to  
inquire whether the ,biblical dogma of  
the creation will not  tend to appear to

 us increasingly immoral2 a tendency    
which1 according  to ,kant's principles1
 would suffice to cause it to be        
rejected in the  future4 ,a doubt1 which
 some thinkers of antiquity felt keenly1
 has come  to be widely diffused in our 
days2 a ,creator is a being in whom all 
things find their reason and their      
cause1 and who1 consequently1 is        
ultimately responsible for everything4  
,he is responsible for all the  evil in 
the universe4 ,as the idea of infinite  
power1 of supreme liberty  of action    
became inseparable from the conception  
of ,god1 ,god was  deprived of every    
excuse1 for the ,absolute is dependent  
upon nothing4  ,everything1 on the      
contrary1 depends on ,him and finds its 
reason in  ,him4 ,in the last resort ,he
 alone is culpable2 ,his work1 in the   
manifold  series of its effects1        
presents itself to modern thought as one
 sole  action1 and this action1 like any
 other1 is capable of being sat upon  in
 moral judgment2 the author is to be    

judged by his work1 the world  passes   
judgment on ,god4 ,well1 as evil and    
immorality in the universe1  with the   
progress of the moral sense1 become more
 shocking1 it seems  that to admit the  
creation hypothesis is to centralize1 to
 concentrate1  all the immorality of the
 world in one being1 and to justify the 
paradox3 8,god is evil40 ,to admit the  
doctrine of a ,creator is1 in a  word1  
to banish evil from the world to ,god1  
its primordial source2 to  absolve men  
and the universe and accuse the author  
of both4    ,sidenote3 ,evil of denying 
the existence of evil to exculpate ,god4
    ,there is something still worse than
 referring the source of all evil  thus 
to a creative will1 and that is1 for the
 purpose of exculpating  the ,creator1  
to deny the evil itself1 and to declare 
that this world  is the best of all     
possible worlds4 ,such is the choice    
that ,leibnitz  and the theologians     
made4 ,religions are obliged to         
apologize for  the universe1 to profess 

an admiration for the divine plan2 they 
hold in reserve excuses for the         
existence of injustice1 and labour      
unconsciously to falsify the moral      
sense1 in order to relieve ,god of  his 
responsibility4    ,sidenote3 ,doctrine 
that physical or intellectual evil are  
conditions  of well-being4    ,many     
hypotheses have been devised in the     
service of optimism to excuse  the      
,creator1 without compromising the moral
 sense1 and mankind's  instinct for     
progress4 ,physical evil 7suffering71   
intellectual evil  7error and doubt71   
have been declared to be a condition    
sine qua  non of moral good2 which would
 justify them4 ,moral evil would thus   
remain the sole verifiable evil in the  
universe1 and as moral evil  consists   
simply in evil intentions on the part of
 men1 men alone1 on  this hypothesis1   
would be responsible4 ,the universe     
itself1 that is  to say1 would contain  
no evil except in the person of the man 
who is  purposely evil by his own free  

choice1 and the possibility of moral    
evil might be considered as a supreme   
condition of moral goodness1  the latter
 presupposing freedom of choice1 a      
selection by the will1  and an          
alternative to be refused4 ,the evil in 
the universe would thus  be compensated 
for by morality1 suffering would be     
compensated for by  virtue1 mistakes by 
good will4 ,the world itself would be   
simply a means  of producing morality   
and1 in its apparent imperfection1 it   
would be  the best world possible1      
because its apparent imperfection would 
be  necessary to produce what is best in
 it4    ,sidenote3 ,doctrine that the   
dignity of the world lies in its        
spontaneity4    ,the world1 it has been 
said1 cannot be in every respect        
absolute1  for it would then be ,god2 it
 must always be in the position of a    
recipient2 the less it receives--the    
more it acts in independence  of        
external aid1 the more it develops from 
within1 and the more it  approaches the 

,absolute1 insomuch that the very       
poverty of the earth  constitutes its   
grandeur1 since it is the condition of  
its real  wealth1 a wealth not borrowed 
from another but acquired by its own    
effort4 ,everything1 therefore1 becomes 
transfigured according to this          
hypothesis1 every suffering becomes a   
merit2 ,god wished to create the  most  
spontaneous world possible1 that is to  
say at bottom to create  as little as   
possible1 to leave as large an          
initiative as possible to  his          
creatures4 ,laissez faire is ,god's     
device1 as it is the device of  all good
 government4 ,a small result1 but       
obtained by spontaneity1 is  superior to
 a greater result obtained by mechanical
 artifice4 8,divine  art10 says a       
philosopher1 in commenting on some      
doctrines of ,plato1  8is infinitely    
superior to human art2 it creates       
individuals who are  ends unto          
themselves and self-evolved4 ,these     
individuals are not1 as  ,leibnitz      

believed1 automata 444 true perfection  
is autonomous4 ,if ,god  is only a      
demiurge1 he may be accused1 and ought  
to be accused1 of  being a bad workman4 
,is the world not full of unsuccessful  
attempts1  of unfortunate combinations1 
of ends either missed altogether or ill 
achieved8 ,the critics of ,providence   
will always have enough to say1 but     
these unfinished sketches are the work  
not of ,god but of his creatures1  of   
the forces and individual souls that he 
has set in operation4 ,in a  word ,god  
is not a workman who produces works1 but
 a workman who creates  workmen40#aca   
,this formula sums up in a striking     
manner what may be  called transfigured 
optimism4 ,the new hypothesis does not  
deny evil1  but1 on the contrary1       
hastens to admit it2 but by converting  
evil into  a consequence of spontaneity1
 it subordinates it to good itself1     
makes  it labour in the service of its  
opposite2 the most fragmentary sketch   
becomes respectable when it is a step1  

and a necessary step1 toward a          
masterpiece4          #aca ,a4 ,fouille1
 ,philosophie de ,platon1 t4 ii4 p4     
#fci4 ,see        also ,m4 ,secrtan1    
,philosophie de la libert1 and ,vallier1
        ,l',intention morale4           
,sidenote3 ,criticised4    ,the         
hypothesis in question is certainly one 
which1 within the realm of  theism1 may 
well continue to be long the most       
plausible4 ,it gives rise1  however1 to 
a great many difficulties4 ,in the first
 place it assumes  the superiority of   
what is spontaneous to what is not2 of  
what1 so to  speak1 does itself1 as     
compared with what is done4 ,be it so1  
but in  what respect can beings in this 
world be said to lead a spontaneous     
existence2 in what respect can ,i be    
said to lead a spontaneous  existence8  
,am ,i not the result of a multitude of 
causes8 ,i was born  and am maintained  
by the consilience of a multitude of    
little cellular  or atomic volitions4   
,should ,i be less than ,i am if ,i were

 the result of  a single volition1 and  
that a divine volition8 ,over and above 
myself  there always exist my           
antecedents1 the causes of me2 my true  
cause does  not lie within the limits of
 myself3 what difference does it make to
  me1 therefore1 whether those causes   
lie within the universe or beyond8      
,whether the world is the more or less  
harmonious work of a multitude of  blind
 spontaneities or the work of a single  
intelligent will1 neither  diminishes   
nor increases the value of any given    
individual that is the  product of the  
world4 ,my ancestors are indifferent to 
me the instant ,i  become dependent upon
 ancestors at all4 ,should the statue of
 ,pygmalion  reproach the sculptor with 
having made it beautiful1 and having    
made it  with his own hands1 and        
definitively fashioned it for life8     
,providing  it lives and is happy1 it   
matters little whence its life comes4   
,obscurity lies behind1 light and life  
lie before1 and it is forward  that     

one's face is set4    ,sidenote3        
,results in determinism4    ,in the new 
,platonic hypothesis1 transfigured as   
above1 the organization  of the         
individual always becomes1 in the last  
resort1 the work of a  reciprocal       
determinism4 ,according to the ordinary 
hypothesis1 it is  the work of a single1
 absolute1 determining will2 but the    
absolute or  relative character of the  
determining principle in nowise affects 
the  nature of what is determined4 ,the 
actual world is no more passive1  if it 
is produced directly by the operation of
 the first cause1 than  if it is        
produced indirectly by the              
intermediation of a multitude  of       
derivative causes1 even if these causes 
present individually the  character of  
spontaneity4 ,after all1 since the      
individual must always  be solidary1    
solidarity between it and divine        
perfection is preferable  to solidarity 
with derivative imperfection4           
,sidenote3 ,and contradicts itself4     

,there is1 however1 in the ,platonic and
 ,aristotelian notion of  spontaneity an
 element of profundity and of           
verisimilitude1 but it  leads precisely 
to the refutation of the doctrine of    
creation3 once  carry the hypothesis of 
the spontaneity of existence to its     
ultimate  conclusion1 and the original  
fund of existence must be impoverished  
until nothing but nude unqualifiable    
substance be left2 but that is to  say1 
one must go back to ,aristotle's pure   
force1 to ,hegel's pure being1  which is
 identical with not being2 the          
masterpiece of spontaneity  would be    
self-creation4 ,the instant such a      
spontaneity is possible ,god  is a      
superfluity2 it is easier to say that   
becoming arose out of the  identity of  
being and not being1 or rather that     
becoming is eternal on  its own account4
 ,becoming thus becomes ,god and theism 
becomes atheism  or pantheism4          
,sidenote3 ,summary4    ,to sum up1 the 
,creator unable to create bare1 virtual 

substance1 must  have created beings    
endowed with some real quality2 but1 if 
so1 they  are once for all his works and
 not simply independent workmen4 ,more  
than that1 such a substance with such   
qualities once created1 such and  such  
effects necessarily follow2 qualities   
are determinations which  determine     
subsequent determinations in their turn4
 ,behold therefore the  present1 big    
with the future4 ,the world becomes a   
determined succession  of 8works0 which 
develop fatally from their earliest     
stage4    ,sidenote3 ,doctrine that ,god
 has created beings free to choose      
criticized4    ,m4 ,secrtan will tell us
 that ,god simply created free wills but
 not  substances2 but it must be        
confessed that these free wills have    
been  immersed in a deterministic       
universe which leaves them little       
liberty  of action4 ,why1 therefore1 did
 ,he not create us freer and still      
freer and as free as ,himself8 ,but we  
should have been gods1 it is            

objected3--so much the better1 might be 
replied2 there could not be  too many   
gods2 we do not see why ,god should have
 reduced himself to  a unity1 8as if the
 laws of number constituted a limitation
 of ,his  power40#acb ,it does not      
appear why the ,creator should be unable
 to  create a double of ,himself2 why   
,he should be obliged to hand on the    
divine life1 that ,he wishes to share1  
on lower terms only2 we do not  see why 
,god's productivity should involve a    
certain degeneration4          #acb ,m4 
,fouille has effectively stated this in 
his ,systmes        de morale           
contemporains1 where he in some measure 
attacks the        hypothesis that he   
had incidentally proposed in his        
commentary        on ,plato4            
,sidenote3 ,a maximum of liberty4    ,in
 any event1 in default of other         
attributes1 we ought to be given the    
maximum of possible liberty2 admitting  
that we could not be created  free and  
equal to ,god1 our liberty should differ

 from ,his by a minimum4  ,this minimum1
 being susceptible of infinite          
diminution1 might become  less than any 
conceivable difference2 it might become1
 that is to say1  infinitely little1    
practically zero2 but we are far from   
any such  exalted station1 and if ,god  
gave us liberty ,he was very miserly    
about  it4    ,sidenote3 ,an abuse of   
language to call us free4    ,to say the
 truth1 it is only by an abuse of       
language that any such  ideal liberty is
 ascribed to us as is attributed to     
,god1 and regarded  as of infinite      
value4 ,the freedom that religion       
ascribes to us is  freedom of the will1 
power to do evil or good1 a power the   
very  consequence of which is           
irreconcilable with the notion of ,god4 
,without  entering upon a consideration 
of what such a power would be and of its
  moral worth1 why does our free-will   
exist in the midst of conditions so     
unfavourable to it1 so calculated to    
render it ineffective8 ,the sole        

response is the classic theory of the   
temptation4 ,the temptation1 as  an     
explanation of the world1 practically   
involves the hypothesis of a  father    
exposing his children1 as a means of    
testing their virtue1 to  temptations of
 vice and crime1 and knowing beforehand 
that they will  succumb4 ,morally1 the  
conception is simply inadmissible2 is   
worthy of  the distant times when hearts
 were harder than they are to-day4 ,more
  than that1 the only beings that could 
in any proper sense be put to  the proof
 are truly conscientious beings1 for    
they alone are capable  of entertaining 
a moral alternative4 ,a reflective      
conscience is so  rare in the world6 ,by
 virtue of what temptation resisted are 
minerals  and vegetables permitted to   
exist in unconsciousness and sleep1     
while  animals are torn by the miseries 
of life and death without being able  to
 convert their sufferings into a        
confirmation of the moral will or       
amelioration of their lot8    ,sidenote3

 ,doctrine of the fall4    ,the supreme 
resource of ,christianity and of        
religions generally is  the doctrine of 
the fall1 but this explanation of evil  
as the result  of a primitive           
imperfection is an explanation of evil  
by evil4 ,the  fall must have been      
preceded by some defect in the will     
itself1 or  the will would not have     
failed4 ,original sin is not an         
ultimate2 one  does not stumble if there
 is no obstacle in the way1 and one's   
legs  are well made1 and one is walking 
in the eye of the ,lord4 ,sin involves  
temptation1 and the doctrine of the     
temptation necessarily implies  that    
,god was the first tempter2 morally1 it 
was ,god himself who fell  in the fall  
of ,his creatures by ,him planned4 ,to  
explain original  sin1 which is the root
 of all sin1 the sin of ,lucifer1       
theologians  have resorted not to a     
temptation within the realm of sense1   
but to  a temptation within the realm of
 intelligence4 ,it was by pride that    

the angels fell4 ,their sin rose thus   
out of the very centre of their  minds4 
,but pride is incidental only to        
short-sightedness4 ,complete  science is
 aware of its own limitations4 ,pride1  
therefore1 results from  insufficiency  
of knowledge4 ,the pride of the angels  
was due to ,god4 ,one  may have reasons 
for wishing to do and for doing evil1   
but reasons do  not hold in the face of 
reason itself4 ,if1 according to the    
partisans  of free-will1 human          
intelligence is capable by virtue of    
pride and  inner perversity of creating 
out of nothing motives for evil-doing1  
it  is at least incapable of so doing   
except in so far as its knowledge  is   
limited1 ambiguous and uncertain4       
,practically1 nobody hesitates  except  
in the absence of absolute knowledge4   
,there is no such thing  as rationally  
and consciously flying in the face of   
reason4 ,lucifer  was1 therefore1 by his
 very nature impeccable4 ,the will to do
 evil is  borne of the opposition which 

an imperfect intelligence fancies it    
perceives1 in a world hypothetically    
perfect1 between its own advantage  and 
the advantage of everybody else4 ,but if
 ,god and his works are  really perfect1
 such an antinomy between the good of   
the individual  and the universal good1 
which even to the best human            
intelligences  appears provisional only1
 would a fortiori appear so to one of   
the  archangels of the intelligence1 to 
the ,light-bearer of thought4 ,to  know 
is to participate in the supreme truth1 
in the divine conscience2  to possess   
all knowledge would be to possess1 among
 other things1 the  moral insight of    
,god2 and how out the midst of all that 
divinity should  anything ,satanic      
arise8    ,sidenote3 ,god always        
responsible in the last resort4         
,to-day1 when a sin is committed among  
men and it cannot be traced  to any     
fault of education1 or of environment1  
or of overwhelming  temptation1 men of  
science look for the explanation among  

the ancestors  of the guilty person1 in 
the conviction that they must be in the 
presence of a case of atavism4 ,no such 
explanation could exist in the  case of 
,god's firstborn4 ,when the world was   
young and beautiful and  good1 original 
sin was as wonderful as the first       
appearance of the  world itself2 it was 
a veritable creation of something out of
 nothing4  ,satan's creation was        
superior to ,god's4 ,his moral fiat nox 
was  greater in genius and creative     
power than ,god's fiat lux4 ,in effect1 
every religious explanation of evil     
ultimately leads to the ascription  of  
it to ,god himself or to a being more   
powerful than ,god1 and in  both cases  
equally the ,creator is debased4 ,that  
fact constitutes the  principal reason  
that compromises the creation           
hypothesis1 properly so  called1 for    
every philosophical mind4           99  
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,special ,providence and     
miracles4    ,,ii4 ,the second notion of

 theism is that of ,providence1 which   
may  be either general or special4      
,along with the notion of a special     
,providence governing the world from    
without1 we have seen that the  notion  
of miracle must be included4 ,the sole  
means by which these two  decrepit      
conceptions can be defended are the     
following3 ,conceive1  with ,pascal1 two
 worlds1 a physical world and above it  
the moral  world enveloping it1 and in  
places penetrating it4 ,the points of   
intersection1 so to speak1 between the  
moral and physical world are  miracles4 
,they are not so much breaches in the   
laws of nature as  affirmations of      
superior laws4 ,such is the argument2   
but we reply  that the so-called        
superior laws are inevitably1 in certain
 respects1  contradictory to those of   
nature1 in the very respects in         
reference to  which the miracle has     
happened4 ,one cannot1 for example1     
suppose that  a saint1 precipitated from
 the height of a rock1 resists the law  

of  gravitation and floats up to heaven1
 without a manifest contradiction1  so  
far as natural laws are concerned2      
without a destruction1 indeed1 of  those
 laws4 ,more than that1 a moral law is  
such precisely in so far as  it differs 
in the lines of its applicability from  
natural law2 just in  so far as a       
conflict between it and natural laws is 
inconceivable4 ,only  a natural law can 
suspend 7and that apparently only7 the  
operation of a  natural law4            
,sidenote3 ,attempt to limit its        
activity to the subjective side4    ,it 
has been fancied that the difficulty    
about miracles may be done  away with by
 conceiving that ,providence acts1 not  
upon the material  universe1 but upon   
human thought1 by means of suggestion1  
inspirations  from on high1 providential
 ideas2 but contemporary science has    
established so intimate a connection    
between motion and thought that  it is  
impossible to distinguish between an    
influence exerted in the  spiritual and 

an influence exerted in the material    
world4 ,it is  hopeless to attempt to   
immaterialize ,providence in order to   
save it4  ,the special intervention of  
,providence must be material or not at  
all4    ,sidenote3 ,universal           
,providence4    ,the old conception of  
miracles and of the supernatural and    
special  ,providence was therefore1 in a
 certain sense1 logical4 ,religions had 
not been mistaken2 they had perceived   
that the day ,providence became  too    
exclusively universal religion would be 
absorbed in metaphysics1  and this      
result1 in effect1 will be produced in  
the future4 ,religions  have never      
supported the theory of a general       
,providence1 and it is  certain that if 
a general ,providence sufficed for the  
abstract reason  of a ,malebranche1 with
 his sense of order1 symmetry1 and law1 
it would  not suffice for the human     
heart1 with its sense of justice and its
  desire1 if it is to sacrifice itself  
for ,god1 to find in the ,god at  least 

a defender and a benefactor4 ,a benefit 
loses its value as such  by being too   
indirect2 humanity has little           
understanding of justice in  general    
which treats the individual as a means  
of securing the good of  the whole and  
sacrifices him at need--at least1 for a 
time4 ,charity1  like justice1 it seems 
to him1 should be individual and        
special4 ,a  universal ,providence is so
 universal that no traces of it exist in
  the details of life1 and in especial  
in the particular evils and  sufferings 
which form so large a part of life4 ,the
 ,god of ,malebranche1  who is incapable
 of showing ,his effective benevolence  
to any of us  individually1 is          
paralyzed1 as ,louis ,,xiv4 was1 by ,his
 very greatness4  ,he is the sole being 
who cannot move without breaking a      
natural law1  and who consequently is   
condemned to eternal immobility4 ,the   
least of  ,his interventions being a    
miracle1 ,he cannot employ the means    
that  other beings employ without       

derogating from ,his dignity and ,his   
power2  so that ,god is reduced1 if ,he 
is to remain ,god1 either to standing   
inert or to contradicting our           
intelligence4 ,by that very fact ,he    
ceases  to be lovable1 unless one       
pretend to love ,him precisely for what 
,he  cannot do1 for the benevolence that
 ,he cannot show1 as for the prayers    
,he cannot grant4 ,pity is the sole     
sentiment that can be roused in us by  a
 being who is so good that ,he cannot   
wish evil1 and so powerless that  ,he is
 obliged to see nothing but evil        
accomplished in the world4 ,no  human   
misery could be comparable to a divine  
misery like that4 ,the very  height of  
suffering must be experienced by a ,god 
who should at once  be conscious of ,his
 own infinity and should feel the       
distance which  separates ,him from the 
world which ,he has created4 ,only the  
clear and  profound vision of such a    
,god could penetrate the abyss of evil  
to the  bottom1 and it is ,he of all    

beings in the world who would suffer    
from  an eternal vertigo4           99  
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,god's omnipotence4    ,what 
is most unacceptable in the traditional 
notion of ,providence is  the attribute 
of omnipotence4 ,in the first place1    
divine omnipotence  is inconsistent with
 the existence of evil2 in the second   
place1 it  leads logically to the       
possibility of supernatural intervention
 in this  world1 which1 if it is to be  
of any service1 must be special and not 
general4 ,to avoid these implications of
 the conception of ,providence1  ,john  
,stuart ,mill has conceived a superior  
and divine being who should  not be     
all-powerful4 ,this being would be the  
principle of good1 acting  in the       
universe according to natural laws1 but 
hindered and retarded in  his action by 
these laws themselves1 which bring      
suffering and death4  ,the existence of 
such a being once established1 religion 
would be saved  and morality confirmed4 

,virtue would consist in a sort of      
co-operation  with this great unknown   
being1 who is struggling against evil4  
,the good  man would feel that he was   
aiding ,god and that ,god was aiding him
 in  so far as ,he found it possible4   
,sidenote3 ,non-omnipotent ,god4        
,this amended conception of ,providence 
is more admissible and more             
reconcilable with the real and imperfect
 world that we are familiar  with4 ,but 
it must be confessed that the amendment 
amounts to an almost  complete          
cancellation4 ,if ,providence is to be  
reduced thus simply to  one of the      
forces at work in nature1 to the force  
that makes more or  less partially and  
provisionally for goodness1 there is    
nothing to  distinguish it from the     
power that makes for evolution1 from    
natural  selection1 or from any other   
beneficent natural law4 ,to personify   
such  laws is futile scientifically2    
and1 practically1 is it so very useful8 
,or conceive the being as existent side 

by side with these laws and  watching   
their operation1 but unable to          
contravene it2 but so to do  is to      
return to the conception of an          
ineffective1 immobile ,god4 ,the  prime 
condition of existence for a ,god is to 
be good for something2 a  non-omnipotent
 ,god soon comes to be an impotent ,god4
 ,the actual world  marks the extreme   
limits of the power of such a ,god1 and 
at some stage  in the course of         
evolution the unconscious forces of     
nature1 leagued  together against the   
principle of goodness1 may succeed in   
paralyzing  it entirely4    ,sidenote3  
,is such a ,god to be conceived as      
eternal8    ,more than that1 is a       
non-omnipotent ,god to be conceived as  
eternal8  ,if not1 ,he is in no very    
striking respect superior to man4 ,his  
power  is so slight that ,he has not    
even been able to make it very clearly  
manifest to mankind that it exists at   
all4 ,or if ,he is eternal1 and         
eternally present in all things1 then   

,his lack of power is growing and       
becoming radical4 ,one may in any event 
congratulate one's self that a  blind   
and indifferent universe has1 among all 
possible combinations1  fallen by chance
 into the one which constitutes our     
present world2 but  a ,god who has      
pursued goodness conscientiously through
 a whole eternity  demonstrates ,his    
complete incapacity1 if ,he has         
succeeded in producing  nothing better  
than such a miscarriage of the ideal as 
this universe4  ,the judgment that may  
fairly be passed upon the world is      
altogether  dependent upon the question 
who made it and who created life2 if the
  world is self-evolved1 it may well    
appear to us as possessing a certain    
beauty1 as giving an earnest of better  
things2 but if it is the work  of an    
intelligent will1 present in all things1
 and persisting in its  designs         
throughout the eternity of the past1 it 
is inevitable that  one should feel that
 this volition has not been possessed of

 great  power1 that the importance of   
the victory is not in proportion to the 
duration of the struggle1 that such a   
,god does not constitute a very  solid  
support1 and that ,his existence is a   
matter of indifference to  the future of
 the universe4 ,is such a ,god more     
powerful than humanity1  or even so     
powerful8 ,his eternity is but a proof  
of voluntary or forced  inaction2 far   
from dignifying ,him it debases ,him4   
,on the surface of  the earth there are 
many species of insects which were      
probably in  existence before the race  
of man4 ,in the transparent amber that  
belongs  to tertiary strata may be seen 
the little corselet of the melipones    
caught and held there these past five   
hundred thousand years4 ,are these      
distant predecessors of the human race  
on that account more venerable8         
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,the religion of humanity4   
,john ,stuart ,mill1 a disciple of      
,auguste ,comte1 put forth this theory  

of  a non-omnipotent ,providence1       
conceived on the model of the human     
will1  with a certain mental            
reservation2 his real meaning was that  
for many  cultivated men such a being1  
labouring for goodness1 according to the
  utmost of its limited power1 would be 
confounded with humanity1 taken  as a   
whole4 ,humanity is1 in effect1         
according to ,comte1 a great being  of  
divine aspirations1 to whom one might1  
with all one's heart1 render  homage2 in
 especial1 if one leaves out of account 
the individuals who  are1 properly      
speaking1 only parasites1 and do not    
co-operate for the  production of the   
common result1 whom progress consists   
precisely in  excluding from society4   
,religion1 on this theory1 is the state 
of  spiritual unity resulting from the  
convergence of all our thoughts and  all
 our actions toward the service of      
humanity4 ,this1 as ,mill said1  is a   
genuine religion1 quite capable of      
resisting sceptical attack  and of      

undertaking the labour of the older     
cults4 ,according to this  doctrine1    
,providence is simply humanity1 looking 
after the interest of  its individual   
members4 ,such a ,providence1 regarded  
as one with human  volition1 might      
assuredly be accepted by any            
philosopher2 it marks1 as  we shall see 
later1 the extreme limit of which the   
development of the  notion of a ,special
 ,providence is susceptible1 the point  
at which this  notion and the conception
 of human morality become one4 ,the     
precept  to love mankind in ,god becomes
 transformed into the precept to love   
,god in mankind4 ,for a philosopher who 
identifies ,god with his ideal1  both   
precepts are equally true and beautiful4
 ,we have ourselves shown  how the      
religious sentiment in the course of its
 evolution tends to  become one with the
 respect and love of humanity1 and how  
religious  faith tends to develop into a
 moral faith1 and a simple and active   
hopefulness in the triumph of moral     

goodness4    ,sidenote3 ,criticised4    
,john ,stuart ,mill's and ,comte's ideas
 are thus shielded against  criticism so
 long as they are taken in a general and
 almost  metaphorical sense2 but if they
 are to be interpreted literally and    
made the basis of a cult and a religion 
of humanity1 they are puerile  simply4  
,precisely because ,providence can be   
realized by humanity1 the  cult for     
,providence1 with all its ceremonies1   
invocations1 adorations1  which are     
manifest and ridiculous paganism1 must  
be suppressed4 ,every  organism         
exemplifies a certain sort of           
,providence--even the social  organism1 
which is the equilibrium of the laws of 
life4 ,the totality of  an organism is  
truly admirable1 and one may readily    
understand how any  individual member1  
if he is endowed with consciousness1    
might admire  the whole to which he     
belongs2 but how could he make it the   
object of  a cult8 ,the cellules which  
constitute me might well be interested  

in  the preservation of what ,i call    
myself and help each other1 and by  that
 very fact help me to that end1 but they
 could not adore me4 ,love  of humanity 
is one thing1 and idolatry of humanity1 
or sociolatry1  according to ,comte's   
term1 is another4 ,a really sincere and 
enlightened  love of humanity is the    
very opposite of such idolatry2 would be
  by it compromised and corrupted4 ,the 
cult for humanity reminds one  of the   
antique1 nave cult for the family1 for  
the lares1 for the  hearth1 for the     
sacred fire kept alive beneath the      
ashes4 ,to preserve  respect and love   
to-day does not require a resuscitation 
of all these  superstitions2 respect and
 love pass from heart to heart without  
need  of ceremonial as a medium4 ,the   
,positivist religion1 far from being a  
step in advance1 is a step backward     
toward the superstitious beliefs  which 
have been banished because they were    
useless1 and consequently  harmful4     
99       99       99       99       99  

,sidenote3 ,religion must be cosmic4    
,religion ought to be not only human but
 cosmic1 and such it will be by  the    
very nature of the case as the result of
 reflection4 ,theism will be  obliged1  
if it is to subsist at all1 to confine  
itself to the vaguest  possible         
affirmation of a principle analogous to 
the soul as the  mysterious origin of   
the world and of its development4 ,the  
essential  character of this principle  
must be that it is not really separate  
from the world nor opposed to its       
determinism4 ,beliefs in the creation   
and in a special ,providence will give  
place more and more to belief in  some  
spontaneous action1 which is essential  
to beings generally1 and  in especial to
 those who are endowed with             
consciousness4 ,religion has  gradually 
come to be a metaphysics of immanent    
finality1 consisting in  the single     
general proposition3 the world possesses
 a significance1 and  is making toward  
an end and aim of its own2#acc the world

 is a society  of beings who may come to
 discover in themselves an identity of  
moral  impulse4#acd ,god is the term by 
which we designate what renders the     
movement of the world toward a state of 
peace1 concord1 and harmony  possible4  
,and since for human intelligence the   
possible and the  real#ace are confused1
 a belief in the possibility of a better
 world  becomes the belief in something 
divine which is immanent in this world4 
#acc ,kant's ,kritik der                
,urtheils-,kraft4          #acd ,see ,m4
 ,a4 ,fouille1 ,les systmes de morale   
contemporains4          #ace ,see       
,aristotle1 ,metaphysica1 and ,hegel's  
,logik4    ,sidenote3 ,theism and       
atheism insensibly pass into each other4
    ,between idealistic theism and      
atheism the distance may be  diminished 
ad infinitum4 ,many atheists1 language  
to the contrary  notwithstanding1 are   
already at one with theists1 intoxicated
 with ,god4  ,if the actual existence of
 ,god be called in question1 at least   

,his  progressive existence1 the        
progressive realization of an ideal1 the
  gradual descent of ,christ from heaven
 to earth1 may be admitted4 ,the        
presentiment of progress thus becomes   
merged in a sense of the actual         
presence of the divine4 ,the ideal seems
 to live and palpitate in the  world    
about one2 it is as if an artist's      
vision of his work should be  so intense
 that it should seem to float out of his
 brain and take its  place upon the     
untouched canvass before him4           
,sidenote3 ,theism must be furnished    
with a new vocabulary4    ,the power of 
words is limited2 there are shades and  
subtleties of  thought that cannot be   
expressed in language4 ,what possible   
verbal  reply can be given to questions 
like those that ,marguerite asks of     
,faust8 8,it is a long time since thou  
wert at mass 444 dost thou believe  in  
,god80 8,my beloved10 replies ,faust1   
8who would dare to say ,i believe  in   
,god80 444 8,so thou dost not believe in

 ,him8444 ,who would dare to say  that  
he does not believe when he listens to  
the voice of his heart1  when a sense of
 tenderness and happiness fills his     
soul8 ,pronounce  the first words that  
occur to thee4 ,what difference what    
thou callest  it3 happiness1 heart1     
love1 ,god8 ,the feeling is everything1 
the word  is vain40 ,the deist          
philosopher who holds words cheap seems 
to the  superficial multitude to be     
simply a hypocritical sceptic2 whereas  
the  rigid atheist displays the         
narrowness of a sectary4 ,what is       
certain is  that the name of ,god has   
sometimes been associated with the      
greatest  of human conceptions1         
sometimes with the most barbarous4 ,the 
theistic  hypothesis cannot continue to 
subsist unless it be freed once for all 
from puerile and gross associations4    
,sidenote3 ,rational religion4    ,it is
 toward this consummation that theism1  
at its best1 and in  particular what    
,kant calls religion1 within the limits 

presented by  reason1 is tending4 ,it   
merits a special examination4           
,sidenote3 ,neo-,kantianism4    ,the    
neo-,kantian religion ascribes the      
supreme place to moral goodness  as the 
directing principle of every reasonable 
will4 ,from that  premise the           
neo-,kantians deduce 8moral liberty0 as 
the condition of  goodness4 ,for        
goodness1 in their judgment1 is simply  
freedom conceived  as appearing to      
itself in its intellectual purity1 and  
dominating  the phenomenal self4        
,freedom thus conceived occupies a place
 above  phenomena1 which belong         
essentially to necessity and to         
determinism4  ,kantians found also      
implied in the notion of absolute       
liberty1 subject  to the condition of   
time1 the attribute of eternity4 ,they  
say1 with  ,spinoza3 8,i feel1 and ,i   
know that ,i am eternal2 eternity is one
 with  divinity40 ,is it not the eternal
 that all the nations of men have       
adored8 ,i feel ,god therefore present  

in myself4 ,he reveals himself to  me in
 the moral ideal4 ,but is this ,god that
 my conscience reveals to me  really    
myself8 ,is he each of us1 and must one 
believe that the universe  in the last  
resort is1 as has been said1 a republic 
of free-wills--that  there are thus as  
many ,gods as individuals1 and that we  
are all ,gods8  ,or does this           
multiplicity of individuals and of      
personalities exist  only in appearance1
 and is the universe at bottom the      
expression of a  single will8 ,theism   
may choose between these two            
hypotheses--between  a sort of          
metaphysical and moral polytheism and a 
sort of monotheism1  and may            
subsequently arrange to its liking the  
relations which it may  suppose to exist
 between the absolute will and the world
 of phenomenon4  ,but a belief in a     
moral ideal does not in the least       
involve anything  more than a belief in 
something eternal and divine1 as shaping
 the  universal course of things4 ,one  

cannot bend it to the service of any    
one determinate religion1 rather than of
 any other4 ,within certain  limits1    
however1 it may lend some support to the
 moral and religious  sentiments4 ,the  
most acceptable form of theistic        
doctrine in the future  will1 no doubt1 
be some moral philosophy analagous to   
that of ,kant4  ,kantianism itself1     
however1 is too closely bound up with   
the notion of  duty1 properly so called1
 and with the categorical imperative4   
,it1 like  ,judaism1 is a religion of   
law4 ,instead of the law1 one will      
content  one's self1 in all probability1
 in the future1 with an ideal conceived 
as supreme above all things1 and as     
exercising upon our thought and  will   
the highest attraction that can be      
exercised by what has been  called the  
power of an ideal4#acf          #acf    
,see the criticism of ,kantianism in the
 ,systmes de        morale              
contemporains1 by ,m4 ,alfred ,fouille4 
,sidenote3 ,belief consists not in      

worship1 but in action4    ,a belief in 
the divine will then no longer consist  
in passive  adoration1 but in action4 ,a
 belief in ,providence will no longer   
consist in a justification of the       
existing world and of its evils in  the 
name of the divine intention1 but in an 
effort to introduce by  human           
intervention a greater amount of justice
 and of goodness into  the world4 ,we   
have seen that the notion of ,providence
 was based among  ancient peoples on the
 conception of an exterior finality1    
forcibly  imposed upon things1 of a     
secret and transcendent aim1 which the  
universe was warped to serve by force of
 some unknown will4 ,with such  a theory
 of things1 man was incessantly checked 
in his activity1  since he conceived it 
to be impossible to prevent the course  
of the  world from achieving its aim4   
,the world seemed to him to be organized
  definitively2 he had no hope1 except  
in prayer and miracle2 everything  about
 him seemed to him to be sacred2 the    

inviolability of nature  was both a     
principle and a consequence of the      
notion of ,providence  thus understood4 
,and1 as we have seen1 science was long 
regarded as  sacrilegious4 ,it created  
both surprise and scandal to see science
  intervene in the affairs of this      
world1 disturbing everything1 changing  
the direction of natural forces1        
transforming the divine rulers of the   
world into humble ministrants to human  
wants4 ,in our days1 however1  science  
is coming to be more and more held in   
honour4 ,for the past  century nature   
has been1 to the best of human ability1 
turned upside  down4 ,humanity's long   
quietism has been succeeded by a        
feverish  activity4 ,everybody wishes to
 lend a hand in the universal mechanism1
  and to contribute his part in the     
modification of the direction of the    
whole2 everybody wishes to bend things  
to his own views1 and to become1  so far
 as in him lies1 a minor ,providence4   
,sidenote3 ,increasing power of mankind 

in the universe4    ,just as the        
individual is coming to feel himself    
more and more a  citizen of the state1  
so he is coming to feel himself more and
 more a  citizen of the universe1       
inseparably bound by relations of cause 
and  effect with the universal sum of   
phenomena4 ,he recognizes that there  is
 nothing in the world that does not     
concern him1 and that on every  side he 
can exert an influence1 great or small1 
and leave his mark on  the great world4 
,he perceives with astonishment the     
extent of the power  of his will and    
intelligence4 ,just in so far as his    
rational faculties  establish a         
connection between phenomena1 they      
establish by that very  fact a          
connection between phenomena and        
himself1 and he no longer  feels himself
 alone in the universe4 ,since1         
according to a celebrated  theory1 the  
centre of the world is in each and every
 distinct being1  it follows that if    
this centre were exhaustively           

self-conscious it  would see all the    
rays in infinite space focussing in it1 
and all the  chains of phenomenal       
causation meeting in it1 and the effects
 of its  volition stretching out into   
infinity1 and its every action          
possessing  an influence upon the       
totality of things4 ,it would perceive  
itself to  be a sort of universal       
,providence4    ,sidenote3 ,a           
consequence of liberty of thought4      
,if human beings are not so exhaustively
 self-conscious as all that1  the       
progress of science is carrying them    
forward in that direction4  ,a portion  
of the government of nature is in our   
hands1 some part of  the responsibility 
for what takes place in the universe is 
on our  heads4 ,at the beginning man    
conceived himself as living in a state  
of  dependence on the world1 in a state 
which ancient religions symbolize2  at  
present he perceives that the world is  
equally dependent upon him4  ,the       
substitution of a human providence for  

the omnipresent influence of  a divine  
providence might be given as being1 from
 this point of view1  the formula of    
progress2 the increasing independence of
 mankind1 in the  face of the natural   
universe1 will thus result in an        
increasing inner  independence1 in a    
growing independence of mind and        
thought4    ,sidenote3 ,mankind to be   
its own special providence4    ,the     
vulgar conception of a special and      
exterior providence which1 as  we have  
seen1 is so closely bound up with the   
conception of man's  place in the       
universe as one of subjection--nay1 even
 the most refined  conception of        
providence as transcendent and distant  
and as assigning  to each being its     
determinate place in the totality of    
things--may  thus1 without ground of    
regret1 be displaced in the mind of     
humanity4  ,we shall some day perceive  
that we are stronger when we stand on   
our  feet1 shoulder to shoulder1 hand in
 hand1 than when we kneel with bowed    

heads and implore the unfeeling sky4    
,among the ancient ,germans1 when  one  
of the faithful was about to enter a    
sacred forest he had his hands  bound   
together as a symbol of his subjection  
to the gods2 if he had  the misfortune  
to fall as he was making his way into   
the forest1 he did  not dare to get up  
again2 so to do would have been an      
affront to the  gods2 he was reduced to 
squirming and rolling like a reptile out
 of the  immense temple4 ,to this       
primitive conception of religious       
servitude1  the modern conception of    
mankind as free in the presence of its  
,god1  of its beloved ideal1 of its     
conceived work in the world1 of its     
dream  of progress1 is more and more    
opposed4 ,even at the present day a true
  sense of the divine may be recognized 
by its giving man a consciousness  of   
his liberty and his dignity rather than 
his subjection2 the true  gods are those
 who make us lift our heads higher in   
the struggle for  existence2 adoration  

no longer consists in prostration but in
 standing  upright4    ,sidenote3 ,story
 of the anchorite4    ,to borrow once   
more from the classic land of symbolism1
 from ,india1  whence our ,german or    
,gallic ancestors came1 the great epic  
of ,ramayana  tells us of a sainted and 
sage anchorite who exemplified in his   
own  person the whole sum of human      
virtue and piety4 ,one day1 confiding   
in the justice of heaven1 he was        
invoking ,indra and the whole chorus  of
 the gods1 and the gods were capricious 
and did not listen to him2  his prayer  
fell back from the heavens unheard4 ,the
 man1 perceiving  the indifference of   
the gods1 was moved with indignation2   
and  gathering together the power that  
he had hoarded1 by his sacrifices  and  
renunciation1 and1 feeling himself more 
powerful than his gods1  more powerful  
than ,indra himself1 began to issue     
forth commands to  the high heavens4    
,and at his voice new stars rose and    
shone in the  crystal sphere2 he said1  

8,let there be light60 and there was    
light2  he refashioned the world2 his   
goodness became a creative providence4  
,nor was this all3 he conceived the     
notion of creating new and better  gods2
 and ,indra himself was trembling toward
 his fall1 for not even he  that        
commands the air and the skies shall    
prevail against sanctity4  ,indra1 the  
powerful1 therefore hastened to yield   
and cried out to the  saint1 8,thy will 
be done60 and he left a place in the    
heavens for the  new stars1 and their   
light bears eternal witness to the      
omnipotence of  goodness1 which is the  
supreme ,god and object of adoration    
among men4          ,,chapter ,,iv4     
,,pantheism4    ,,review ,,of ,,the     
,,principal ,,metaphysical ,,hypotheses 
,,which ,,will ,,replace                
,,dogma4--,continued4        ,i4        
,optimistic pantheism--,transformation  
of transcendent ,deism        into      
immanent theism and                     
pantheism--,disanthropomorphized        

,god1 according to ,messrs4 ,fiske and  
,spencer--,diverse        forms of      
pantheism--,optimistic and              
intellectualistic        pantheism of   
,spinoza--,objections1 ,spinoza's       
fatalism--,the        moral significance
 that might be lent to pantheism by the 
introduction of some notion of a final  
cause--,qualities        and defects of 
pantheism--,conception of unity upon    
which        it is founded--,this       
conception criticised--,its possible    
subjectivity4        ,,ii4 ,pessimistic 
pantheism--,pessimistic interpretation  
of religions in ,germany--#a4 ,causes of
 the progress of        pessimism in the
 present epoch--,progress of pantheistic
        metaphysics and of positive     
science--,penalties incident        to  
thought and reflection--,mental         
depression and sense of                 
powerlessness1 etc4--#b4 ,is pessimism  
curable8--,possible                     
remedies--,the labour problem and the   
future of        society--,illusions    

involved in pessimism--,inexactitude    
of its estimate of pleasures and        
pains--,quotation        from           
,leopardi--,criticism of the practical  
results of                              
pessimism--,nirvna--,an experiment in   
,nirvna--,will        pessimistic       
pantheism be the religion of the future8
      ,sidenote3 ,conception of ,god    
being disanthropomorphized4    ,as      
theism becomes immanent1 the personality
 of ,god comes to be more and  more     
vaguely conceived4 ,it is the very      
existence of ,god's personality  that   
pantheism either denies or confounds    
with that of the universe4  ,according  
to ,mr4 ,spencer and ,mr4 ,fiske1 the   
movement which led  humanity to conceive
 its ,god anthropomorphically will be   
succeeded by  a movement in the opposite
 direction2 ,god will be deprived of all
 of  ,his human attributes1 will be     
disanthropomorphized4 ,he will first be 
shorn of ,his lower impulses1 and then  
of everything which is analogous  to    

human sensibility2 the highest human    
sentiments will be regarded  as too     
gross to be attributed to ,him4         
,similarly with the attributes  of      
intelligence and will2 every human      
faculty will in its turn be  abstracted 
and divinity1 as it becomes relieved of 
its limitations1  will lose1 one after  
the other1 every item of its            
significance to the  intelligence2 it   
will be conceived ultimately as a vague 
unity simply1  which eludes the forms of
 distinct thought4 ,pantheism lends     
itself to  this notion of an            
indeterminate and indeterminable        
disanthropomorphized  divinity4         
,nevertheless1 the crudest and most nave
 speculations1  anthropomorphism and    
fetichism1 in ,mr4 ,spencer's judgment1 
contained  a part of the truth1 namely1 
that the power that manifests itself in 
consciousness is simply a different form
 of the mysterious power that  manifests
 itself beyond consciousness4 ,the last 
result attained by  human science1 ,mr4 

,spencer thinks1 is that the unknown    
force which  exists outside of          
consciousness is1 if not similar to the 
known force  that exists in             
consciousness1 at least a simple mode of
 the same force1  since the two are     
convertible into each other4 ,so that   
the final result  of the line of        
speculation begun by primitive man is   
that the power  which manifests itself  
in the material universe is the same as 
that  which manifests itself in us under
 the form of consciousness4             
,sidenote3 ,pantheism4    ,if pantheism 
goes the length of denying the          
personality and  individuality of ,god1 
it is by way of compensation inclined to
  attribute a sort of individuality to  
the world4 ,in effect1 if ,god is       
present in every atom of the universe1  
the universe is a veritable  living     
being possessing an organic unity1 and  
developing1 like an  embryo1 according  
to a determinate law4 ,what             
distinguishes pantheism  from this point

 of view is1 therefore1 the substantial 
unity that it  ascribes to the world4   
,sidenote3 ,different forms of          
pantheism4    ,but1 of course1 pantheism
 is a very indefinite doctrine1         
susceptible  of many interpretations    
according to the manner in which the    
universal  energy1 the omnipresent      
unity1 and in especial1 the fundamental 
ground  of its activity1 which some     
regard as determinism simply and others 
as  the orderly achievement of a final  
cause1 are conceived4 ,nay1 more2  both 
necessity and the orderly achievement of
 a final cause may be  conceived        
optimistically or pessimistically4      
,i4 ,optimistic pantheism4    ,sidenote3
 ,spinozism4    ,the first kind of      
pantheism1 then1 that which conceives a 
single  substance as developing in an   
infinity of modes with no final cause   
in view1 may be typified by the purely  
intellectualistic pantheism of          
,spinoza4 ,this doctrine shows us1 as   
existing in the totality of things1  the

 immanent logic which presides over its 
development4 ,the essence of  human     
nature is reason1 since reason is the   
essence of man4 ,the proper  function of
 reason is understanding1 and to        
understand is to perceive  the necessity
 of things1 and the necessity of things 
is nature1 or1  if you will1 ,god4      
,reason serves no other purpose than to 
enable us  to understand2 and the soul1 
in so far as it employs reason1 regards 
that alone as useful which leads to     
understanding4 ,to conceive the         
absolute necessity of eternal nature is 
to conceive that which1 being  subject  
only to the law of its own being1 is    
free2 it is1 therefore1 to  conceive    
eternal freedom4 ,and by that very fact 
it is to participate  in eternal        
freedom1 to identify itself with it4 ,a 
consciousness of  necessity is thus one 
with the fact of freedom4 ,human thought
 thus  identifies itself with divine    
thought and becomes a consciousness  of 
eternity4 ,this consciousness1 which is 

supreme joy1 is love of  ,god4 ,the     
mystic ,hebrew and ,christian idea thus 
proves one with the  moral theories of  
antiquity in ,spinoza's vast synthesis4 
,intellectual  intuition is             
self-conscious nature2 the intellectual 
liberty1 as the  ,stoics taught it1 is  
consciousness of necessity1 and nature  
possessing  itself2 and mystic ecstasy1 
by which the individual is absorbed in  
universal being1 is nature returning to 
itself and rediscovering its  eternal   
existence beneath its passing modes4#acg
          #acg ,see the chapter on      
,spinoza in the author's ,morale        
d'picure1 p4 #bcj4    ,sidenote3 ,an    
optimistic fatalism4    ,the objection  
that moral and religious philosophy     
urged1 and always  will urge1 against   
,spinoza's pantheism1 considered as a   
possible  substitute for religion1 is   
that it is an optimistic fatalism1 that 
regards everything as achieved by the   
mechanical and brutal operation  of     
efficient causes1 and excludes the      

possibility of any conception of  final 
cause or of progress1 properly so       
called4 ,the evolution of the  modes of 
substance1 even when it results in pain1
 death1 and vice1 is  divine2 and the   
question arises1 why this universe1     
which is alleged to  be perfect and     
incapable of progress1 should not be    
wholly motionless1  and why this        
eternal1 aimless agitation in the bosom 
of absolute  substance should exist8    
,sidenote3 ,fiske's theory of a dramatic
 movement in the universe4    ,in ,mr4  
,fiske's judgment1 ,spinozism is the    
only pantheism1 properly so  called4    
,the remark seems to us unduly to       
restrict the application of  the term4  
,every system of theism that involves   
the notion of a final  cause tends to   
become pantheistic when it denies the   
transcendence and  admits the organic   
unity of the universe1 which is the     
,deus vivens1  the natura naturans1 with
 a law of progress which is superior to 
the necessary laws of pure logic and    

mathematics and mechanics4 ,the         
exclusion of any notion of the immanence
 of a final cause in things is  not     
essential to pantheism4 ,one might even 
conceive a sort of moral  pantheism     
which should recognize a certain moral  
significance in the  world1 or at least 
what ,mr4 ,fiske himself calls a        
dramatic tendency  toward a moral       
dnouement4 ,the instant men feel it to  
be a god that is  labouring in the      
universe1 they feel1 rightly or wrongly1
 reassured as  to the destiny of the    
moral ideal2 they feel that they have an
 aim to  march toward1 and seem to hear1
 in the shadow of things1 a multitude   
marching with them4 ,they no longer have
 a sense of the vanity of life2  all    
life1 on the contrary1 becomes divine1  
if not as it is1 at least as  it tends  
to be and ultimately will be4           
,sidenote3 ,criticised4    ,this system1
 according to its partisans1 may be     
regarded as an  induction which is      
justified by the modern doctrine of     

evolution4  ,mr4 ,fiske even goes the   
length of saying that ,darwinism has    
done as  much to confirm theology as to 
weaken it4 ,unhappily1 nothing is more  
problematic than such an interpretation 
of modern science4 ,science  reveals no 
element of divinity in the universe1 and
 the process of  evolution1 which       
results in the incessant construction   
and destruction  of similar worlds in an
 endless round1 moves toward no         
conscious or  unconscious natural end1  
so far as we can discover4              
,scientifically1  therefore1 the notion 
of a final cause of the universe may be 
no more  than a human conception1 than a
 bit of abstract anthropomorphism4 ,no  
scientific induction can justify one in 
ascribing to the universe  as such a    
conscious purpose4 ,and it is equally   
rash to conceive the  universe as a     
whole possessing a psychical and moral  
unity1 since the  universe1 as science  
reveals it to us1 is an infinity in no  
sense  grouped about a centre4          

,materially speaking1 the universe may  
perhaps  be regarded as the expression  
of a single power1 but not as possessing
  any moral or psychic unity4 ,whatever 
is organized1 living1 feeling1          
thinking1 is1 so far as we know1 finite1
 and the equivalence of forces  in the  
universe possesses nothing in common    
with the centralization  of these       
forces4 ,it is1 perhaps1 precisely      
because the forces of the  universe are 
not moving in the same direction that   
the struggle and  contest which are the 
life of the world exist4 ,who knows but 
that for  the universe to become a unity
 and a total would involve its becoming 
finite1 involve the acquisition of a    
centre1 and by that very fact1  perhaps1
 of a circumference which would arrest  
the eternal expansion of  matter and    
life in infinite space4    ,sidenote3   
,no unity in the so-called universe4    
,what constitutes the charm of          
pantheism1 for a number of its          
followers1  is precisely this conception

 of unity in the world2 but when one    
endeavours to make the conception       
precise1 it proves so evanescent  that  
it ultimately resolves itself into the  
absolute indetermination  of ,hegelian  
,non-,being4 ,the more one examines it1 
the more one asks  one's self whether   
the unity that pantheism ascribes to the
 universe  is not as purely a bit of    
anthropomorphism as is the design that  
pantheism attributes to the universe4   
,the character of definiteness  and of  
totality that the universe seems to     
possess may be simply a  form that the  
human mind imposes upon the world of    
experience4 ,project  on a wall--the    
wall of ,plato's cavern--shadows of     
numberless confused  objects1 of        
revolving atoms and formless clouds1 and
 they will all  fall into some certain  
figure2 will look like the fantastic    
shadow of  certain human constructions3 
will present the outline of towers and  
cities1 animals and what not4 ,the unity
 and figure of the world are  perhaps   

simply of the same nature4 ,apart from  
our conception of it1 the  world is     
perhaps infinite1 and infinity can never
 mean anything else  to the human mind  
than formlessness1 for we are1 by the   
very nature of  the case1 unable to     
describe its contours4 ,the unity of the
 world is  perhaps realized only in our 
minds2 it is1 perhaps1 only from our    
minds  that the mass of things obtain   
such unity as they seem to possess4     
,neither the world nor humanity are     
totals except in so far as we think  of 
them as such1 and act upon them1 and    
group them about our thought  and action
 as a centre4    ,sidenote3 ,summary4   
,to sum up1 if the need of unity seems  
to justify pantheism1 this  need        
receives1 at least1 but an illusory     
satisfaction in the two  principal forms
 of pantheism1 and1 in especial1 in the 
deterministic  form4 ,either the        
primordial and finite unity of the world
 is abstract  and indeterminate and     
therefore purely subjective2 or it      

becomes  determinate in attributes which
 are as human as those of the god of    
atheism4 ,the will which ,schopenhauer  
makes the basis of his system  is either
 the human will or simply force 7which  
itself is human or  animal71 or the     
sense of effort1 or1 finally1 pure      
abstraction4  ,the same is true of the  
eternal force which ,mr4 ,spencer       
regards as  immanent in the universe4   
,such conceptions are more meagre in    
content  but not necessarily more       
objective than those of the ,god of     
love1 the  ,world-,spirit1 the          
,world-,thought4      ,,ii4 ,pessimistic
 pantheism4    ,sidenote3 ,pessimism4   
,pantheism has travelled from ,spinoza's
 optimism to ,schopenhauer's  pessimism2
 its most recent form1 and in some      
respects one of its most  ancient forms4
 ,the pessimistic interpretation of     
religions with death  or ,nirvna        
regarded as the redemption1 is making   
incessant progress  in ,germany4 ,pascal
 long ago said3 8,of all creatures that 

inhabit the  earth1 the ,christian alone
 avoids pleasure and willingly embraces 
pain40 ,germany1 after having           
resuscitated ,buddhism with             
,schopenhauer1  ,von ,hartmann1         
,bahnsen1 is in a fair way to supply us 
with a sort of  pessimistic edition of  
,christianity which will far outdo      
,pascal4 ,but  for evil and sin1        
religion would not have existed1 ,von   
,hartmann thinks1  and as evil is of the
 essence of existence annihilation is   
the sole  salvation possible4 ,bahnsen1 
in his philosophy of despair reaches an 
analogous conclusion4 ,the most         
interesting representative of the new   
doctrine is ,philipp ,mainlaender1 the  
author of the 8,philosophy of the       
,redemption0 7,die ,philosophie der     
,erclsing74 ,he was the son of parents  
of an exalted piety1 and grandson of a  
mystic who died of nervous  fever in his
 thirty-third year1 and brother of      
another mystic who1 on  his arrival in  
,india1 was converted to ,buddhism and  

died soon after1  exhausted by the      
intensity of his mental life4           
,mainlaender found his  ,damascus in    
,italy2 the heavens opened upon him in a
 bookshop in ,naples  where he          
discovered the writings of              
,schopenhauer4 ,after having composed   
his system of pessimistic philosophy1 he
 supervised the printing of the  first  
volume1 and the day he received his     
first copy 7,march #ca1 #ahgf7  he      
hanged himself4#ach ,the sincerity of   
this pessimist's conviction  cannot be  
denied1 nor the power of abstract ideas 
implanted on a brain  prepared for them 
by heredity1 and by the intellectual    
tendencies of  the times4 ,mainlaender  
regarded philosophy as some day destined
 to  replace religion1 but the          
philosophy is to be pessimistic2        
,mainlaender  declared himself a        
,christian even while he was founding a 
scientific  system of atheism4 ,freedom 
to commit suicide is the modern         
substitute  for the beautiful illusion  

of immortality4 ,salvation by death     
will1  ,mainlaender thought1 take the   
place of salvation by eternal life4 ,the
  tree of science will thus become the  
legendary fig-tree of ,timon the        
misanthrope1 the branches of which were 
weighted every morning afresh  by the   
bodies of the dead1 who had come in     
search of oblivion from the  evil of    
life1 and had found it in               
self-destruction4          #ach ,see in 
the ,revue philosophique1 ,june1 #ahhe1 
an article        by ,m4 ,arrat on      
,mainlaender4    ,sidenote3 ,must find  
the causes of pessimism4    ,i4 ,to     
estimate the value and probable duration
 of the pessimistic  sentiment1 which   
has in some cases at the present day    
been identified  with the religious     
sentiment1 one must first consider its  
causes4    ,sidenote3 ,the growth of    
pantheistic metaphysics4    ,different  
reasons have brought about this         
transformation of pantheism1  which     
after having divinized the world1 now   

inspires the individual to  dream fondly
 on his annihilation and reabsorption   
into the unity of  things4 ,the first   
cause is the progress of pantheistic    
metaphysics4  ,after having adored      
nature as the product of immanent       
reason1  pantheists have come to regard 
it as a work of immanent unreason1  as  
the degeneration of an indeterminate and
 unconscious unity in  the misery and   
conflict of phenomenal selves1 of       
conscious beings  condemned to          
suffering4 ,at the very least1 nature is
 indifferent to  man4 ,eternal force1   
which is so much spoken of to-day1 is no
 more  comforting and reassuring to us  
than eternal substance4 ,right or wrong1
  the metaphysical instinct1 which is   
identical at bottom with the moral      
instinct1 demands not only the presence 
of life in all things1 but of  life in  
pursuit of an ideal of goodness and     
universal sociality4    ,sidenote3      
,persistence of anthropomorphism4    ,i 
was lying one day in the mountains1     

stretched on the grass2 a lizard  came  
out of a hole and mistook my motionless 
body for a rock1 and  climbed up on my  
leg and stretched himself out to bask in
 the sun4 ,the  confiding little        
creature lay on me enjoying the light1  
untroubled  by any suspicion of the     
relatively powerful stream of life which
 was  flowing noiselessly and amicably  
beneath him4 ,and ,i1 for my part1 began
  to look at the moss and the grass on  
which ,i was reposing1 and the  brown   
earth and the great rocks2 was ,i not   
myself1 after all1 a lizard  simply as  
compared with the great world1 and was  
,i not perhaps a victim  of the same    
mistake8 ,was there not a secret life   
throbbing everywhere  about me1         
palpitating beneath my feet1 sweeping   
forward confusedly in  the great        
totality of things8 ,yes1 but what      
difference did it make if  it was simply
 the blind egoistic life of a multitude 
of atoms1 each  striving for ends of its
 own4 ,little lizard1 why have ,i not1  

like thee1  a friendly eye in the       
universe to watch over me8    ,sidenote3
 ,the progress of science4    ,the      
second cause of contemporary pessimism  
is the rapid progress of  positive      
science1 and the revelations it is      
making in regard to the  natural world4 
,the movement has been so precipitate1  
new ideas have  been produced with such 
rapidity1 that the intelligence has     
found it  difficult to adapt itself to  
them2 we are going too fast1 we find it 
as difficult to get our breath as the   
rider of a runaway horse1 or an         
aeronaut swept away at a dizzy speed by 
the wind4 ,knowledge causes  thus1 at   
the present epoch1 a sense of discomfort
 which is due to a  disturbance of the  
inner equilibrium2 consciousness of the 
world1  so joyous in its beginnings at  
the time of the ,renaissance1 making    
its first appearance in the midst of    
,rabelais' uproarious fun1 has  come to 
be almost melancholy4 ,we have not yet  
become domesticated in  the infinities  

of the new world which has been revealed
 to us1 and  we feel a little lost2     
therein lies the secret of the          
melancholy of  the present epoch1 which 
was melodramatic and rapid in the pages 
of  ,chateaubriand and the youngest     
children of the century2 and has come to
  be serious and reflective in the pages
 of ,leopardi and of ,schopenhauer  and 
of the pessimists of the present day4   
,in ,india the ,brahmans are            
distinguished by a black point between  
their eyes2 our men of science1  our    
philosophers and artists1 carry this    
black point on their foreheads4         
,sidenote3 ,exaggerated development of  
thought4    ,the third cause of         
pessimism1 which results from the two   
preceding1  is the suffering caused by  
the exaggerated development of thought  
at  the present day1 and the            
disproportionate place that it occupies 
at  present in human life4 ,we are      
suffering from a sort of hypertrophy of 
the intelligence4 ,those who work with  

their brains1 who meditate upon  life   
and death1 who philosophize1 ultimately 
experience this suffering2  and the same
 is true of artists1 who pass their life
 in endeavouring  to realize a more or  
less inaccessible ideal4 ,one is drawn  
all ways  at once by the sciences and   
arts2 one wishes to devote one's self   
simultaneously to all of them1 and one  
is obliged to choose4 ,one's  whole     
vitality sets in toward one's brain2 one
 has to check it1 to beat  it back1 to  
resign one's self to vegetating instead 
of to living6 ,one  does not resign     
one's self--one prefers to abandon one's
 self to the  inner fire that consumes  
one4 ,one's thoughts gradually become   
feebler1  the nervous system becomes    
irritable1 becomes feminine2 but the    
will  remains virile1 is always on the  
stretch1 unsatisfied1 and the result  is
 an eternal struggle1 an endless        
dissatisfaction with one's self2  one   
must choose1 must have muscles or       
nerves2 be a man or a woman2  and the   

thinker and artist are neither the one  
nor the other4 ,if by a  simple immense 
effort we could but express the world of
 sentiment and  thought we carry within 
us1 with what joy1 what pleasure we     
should  do it2 even if the brain should 
be torn asunder in the process6 ,but  we
 must give it out by small fragments1   
squeeze it out drop by drop1  submit to 
all the interruptions of life1 and      
little by little the  organism becomes  
exhausted in the struggle between mind  
and body1 and  the intelligence flickers
 like a light in a rising wind1 until   
the  spirit is vanquished and the light 
goes out4    ,sidenote3 ,dissolving     
effect of subjective analysis on the    
emotions4    ,modern thought is not only
 more clear-sighted in matters of the   
external world1 but also in matters of  
the internal world4 ,john  ,stuart ,mill
 maintained that introspection and the  
progress of  psychological analysis     
possess a certain dissolving force that1
 along  with disillusionment1 induces   

sadness4 ,we come to be too well aware  
of the source of our feelings and the   
details of our character2 what  an      
antagonism between being gifted enough  
in matters of philosophy or  poetry to  
create a world to one's own mind1 to    
embellish and illuminate  the real      
world1 and1 nevertheless1 being too     
analytic and introspective  to profit by
 the pleasing illusion6 ,we build airy  
palaces of cards  and are the first to  
blow them down4 ,we are without pity for
 our own  hearts1 and sometimes wonder  
whether we should not have been better  
off  without them2 we are too           
transparent to our own eyes1 we see the 
hidden  springs of our own activity1 we 
have no sincere faith in objective      
reality1 nor faith enough in the        
rationality of our own joys to enable   
them to attain their maximum4           
,sidenote3 ,heightened sensibility4     
,at the same time that the intelligence 
is becoming more penetrating and        
reflective with the progress of         

knowledge1 sensibility of every kind  is
 becoming more delicate2 even sympathy1 
according to the pessimist1  is coming  
to be an instrument of torture by       
annexing the suffering of  others in    
addition to our own4 ,the echo and      
reverberation in us of the  sufferings  
of other people1 growing with the       
growing sociality1 seem  to be greater  
than the echo and reverberation in us of
 human joys4  ,social needs themselves1 
which have been so magnified at the     
present  day1 are so far from being     
satisfied that pessimists are asking    
whether  they ever can be satisfied and 
whether humanity is not destined to     
become simply more numerous in the      
struggle for existence1 and more        
wretched and more conscious of its      
wretchedness4    ,sidenote3 ,depression 
of vitality4    ,and1 finally1 a last   
cause of pessimism is the enfeeblement  
of the  will1 which accompanies an      
exaltation of the intelligence and the  
sensibility4 ,pessimism is in some sort 

a metaphysical suggestion  engendered by
 physical and moral powerlessness4      
,consciousness of  lack of power        
produces a disesteem1 not only for one's
 self1 but for  everything2 a disesteem 
which1 in certain speculative minds1    
must  inevitably crystallize into a     
priori formul4 ,it has been said that   
suffering embitters one2 and the same is
 true in an even greater degree  of a   
sense of powerlessness4 ,recent         
psychological observations confirm  this
 conclusion4#aci ,among the insane1 and 
among hypnotic subjects1  periods of    
satisfaction and optimism1 which are    
periods of benevolence  and amenity1    
coincide with a heightened muscular     
power1 whereas periods  of discontent   
and malevolence coincide with a state of
 depression of  the will which is       
accompanied by a lowering of the        
muscular powers1  sometimes by one-half4
 ,one may say1 with ,m4 ,fr1 that people
 in good  health1 at the maximum of     
their muscular vitality1 are incessantly

  disposed to estimate the world in     
terms of their own vigour1 whereas  the 
degenerate1 the physically or mentally  
enfeebled1 are incessantly  disposed to 
estimate the world and its possibilities
 in terms of their  own slackness and   
incompetency4 ,add that1 being          
themselves unequal  to the struggle with
 the universe1 it seems to them1 by a   
natural  illusion1 that the universe is 
unequal to their ideals and demands upon
  it2 they fancy that it is they that   
tip the scale1 whereas the fact is      
precisely the opposite4          #aci   
,m4 ,ch4 ,fr1 ,revue philosophique1     
,july1 #ahhf4    ,sidenote3 ,relation   
between powerlessness and pessimism4    
,in all the experiments in hypnotism a  
sense of powerlessness engenders        
dissatisfaction2 the patient who finds  
himself unable to obtain  possession of 
a desired object endeavours to explain  
his inability by  seeking in the object 
itself some quality which renders it    
repulsive4  ,we are inevitably inclined 

to objectify the limitations of our own 
power instead of recognizing them for   
what they are4 ,once started in  this   
path1 hypnotic patients would certainly1
 if they were competent1  go the length 
of constructing a metaphysical system to
 justify their  state of mind4#adj      
#adj ,a woman somnambulist was induced  
to believe that she        could not    
lift her worsted neckerchief off the    
back of a chair2        her shoulders   
were cold and she wanted it2 she put out
 her        hand1 and finding herself   
unable to overcome the subjective       
obstacle1 she translated it into the    
outer world and declared        that the
 neckerchief was unclean1 or of an      
offensive colour1        etc41 and      
ultimately became violently terrified4  
,another        subject1 also a woman1  
was persuaded that she could not pull   
open a drawer2 she touched the button   
and then let go of it        shivering1 
and exclaiming that it was cold4 8,no   
wonder10 she        added1 as a rational

 justification of her repulsion1 8it is 
of        iron60 ,she was given an iron 
compass2 she endeavoured to handle      
it1 but soon dropped it4 8,you see10 she
 said1 8it is as cold as        the     
handle1 ,i cannot hold it40 ,thus the   
objective explanation        of a       
subjective fact1 once entertained1 tends
 by force of        logic to become     
general1 to include a whole class of    
similar        phenomena1 to become a   
system1 and1 if need be1 a cosmological 
and metaphysical system4    ,sidenote3  
,sense of powerlessness destined to     
increase4    ,pessimism thus probably   
originates1 for the individual1 in a    
sense of  lack of power4 ,sometimes this
 sense possesses indisputably a certain 
element of universality2 a consciousness
 of the limits of human power1  as of   
human intelligence1 must as inevitably  
increase by the very  progress of our   
knowledge and capacity4 ,pessimism is   
not1 therefore1  pure madness1 nor pure 
vanity2 or1 if it is madness1 the       

madness is  natural1 and is induced     
sometimes by nature itself4 ,at certain 
periods  nature seems to go insane1 to  
revel in folly1 although the power of   
logic1 which is identical in the last   
resort with the overruling  principle of
 things1 always has the last word in the
 universe1 as it  ought to have also in 
the human mind4    ,sidenote3 ,summary4 
,to sum up3 in this century of          
transition1 of religious and moral and  
social transformation1 of reflection and
 dissolving analysis1 causes  of        
suffering are abundant and ultimately   
assume the guise of motives  of despair4
 ,every new step in intelligence and    
sensibility brings new  modes of        
suffering within our reach4 ,the desire 
of knowledge1 in  especial1 which is the
 most dangerous of all human desires1   
because the  object of it is really     
infinite1 becomes every day more        
insatiable and  enslaves not only       
isolated individuals1 but entire        
nations2 it is the  desire of knowledge 

that is the disease of the century1 a   
disease which  is growing1 and becoming 
for the philosopher the disease of      
humanity4  ,the seat of the disease is  
in the head2 it is the brain of mankind 
that  is attacked4 ,we are far from the 
navet of primitive people1 who1 when    
they are asked for the seat of thought1 
point to the stomach or the  bosom6 ,we 
are well aware that we think with our   
heads1 for it is in our  heads that we  
suffer from a preoccupation with the    
unknown1 with the  ideal1 with an       
incessant endeavour to overtake the     
progress of a winged  and devouring     
thought4 ,on the mountains of ,tartary  
one sometimes sees  a strange animal    
pass through the morning mist at a      
breathless speed2  its eyes are those of
 a frightened antelope1 and while it    
gallops with  a foot that trembles as it
 strikes the soil1 two great wings      
stretch  out from the sides of its head 
and seem on the point of lifting it from
  the ground each time that they        

pulsate4 ,it sweeps down the valleys1   
and  its path is marked by traces of    
blood1 and suddenly it falls1 and the   
two great wings rise from the body1 and 
an eagle1 which was feeding  leisurely  
upon its brain1 takes its way off into  
the sky4    ,sidenote3 ,is pessimism the
 last word of philosophy8    ,,ii4 ,is  
pessimism curable8 ,a sense of evil     
constitutes a legitimate  element in the
 metaphysical or religious sentiment2   
but is that a  sufficient reason for    
recognizing it not simply as a part1 but
 as the  whole of metaphysics and of    
religion8 ,such is the problem4         
,sidenote3 ,pessimism only part of the  
truth4    ,von ,hartmann has endeavoured
 to discover in all religion a basis of 
pessimism4 ,to do so is to judge all    
humanity too narrowly1 according to     
one's observation of it at the present  
day4 ,to maintain that religion  is     
founded on a radical pessimism is like  
affirming that medicine is  based not on
 a theory of the curability1 but of the 

incurability of  disease4               
,schopenhauer's pessimism1 like         
,spinoza's optimism1 contains1  no      
doubt1 a certain indestructible element 
of truth1 but immensely  overstated and 
magnified4 ,if science cannot regard the
 world as  divine1 neither can it regard
 the world as diabolical4 ,there is no  
more ground for cursing the objective   
universe than for adoring it4  ,and the 
subjective causes of unhappiness1 which 
we have analyzed1  are provisional      
simply4 ,human knowledge1 which at      
present is so  considerable in its      
dimensions that it actually embarrasses 
the brain1  may well come to be so      
organized 7as1 indeed1 in some cases1 it
 is even  now7 that it will produce a   
sense of well-being and of largeness of 
life only4 ,there is need1 however1 for 
a wholly new science1 that of           
intellectual hygiene1 of intellectual   
therapeutics1 a science which1  once    
created1 might prevent or cure the      
mental depression which seems  to result

 from exaggerated nervous excitation1   
such as pessimism seems  to be          
incidental to1 and such as ,greece was  
unacquainted with4    ,sidenote3        
,resignation4    ,for the rest1 the     
desire of knowledge1 which is1 as we    
have seen1  among the most profound of  
the desires of the century1 may become  
the  source of1 perhaps1 the most       
trustworthy and most infallible cure for
  a great number of human ills4 ,some of
 us1 certainly1 who are of the          
physically and mentally disinherited1   
may cry3 8,i have suffered in all  my   
joys40 ,nescio quid amari was present   
for us in the first draught  of         
pleasure1 in the first smile1 in the    
first kiss1 and yet the present  life is
 not without its sweetness when we do   
not rebel against it1  when it is       
rationally accepted4 ,what makes up for 
the bitterness of  knowledge is the     
definiteness and clearness that it lends
 to the world4  ,as science becomes more
 perfect it may some day inspire the    

soul with  something of the serenity    
that is everywhere incidental to        
unfaltering  clear light4 ,therein lies 
the secret of ,spinoza's intellectual   
calm4  ,if his objective optimism is    
indefensible1 his subjective optimism is
  not without an aspect of truth in the 
consciousness of inner peace that       
belongs to breadth of intelligence and  
harmony of thought4    ,sidenote3       
,analysis destroys irrational joys only4
    ,so far as introspection is         
concerned1 and the dissolving force it  
exercises upon our joys1 introspection  
is destructive1 really1 of none  but    
irrational joys1 and by way of          
compensation1 it is destructive also  of
 irrational griefs4 ,truth resists      
analysis2 it is our business to  seek in
 truth not only for the beautiful1 but  
for the good4 ,take it  all in all1     
there is as much solid and enduring     
truth in enlightened  love of family1 of
 country1 of humanity1 as in the most   
unquestionable  scientific fact1 or in  

certain physical laws1 like that of     
gravitation4  ,the great remedy for     
excessive analysis1 such as ,amiel1 for 
example1  suffered from1 is a little to 
forget one's self1 to widen one's       
horizon1 and1 above all1 to do          
something4 ,action1 by its very nature1 
is a realized synthesis1 a decision     
which necessitates the solution of  a   
certain number of problems1 or the      
recognition that their solution is  not 
indispensable4 ,action is something too 
trenchant and provisional1  no doubt1   
but men must remember that they live in 
the provisional and  not the eternal1   
and that of their life1 after all1 what 
is least  provisional is action1 motion1
 the vibration of an atom1 the          
undulation  which traverses the great   
whole4 ,whoever lives immersed in the   
conduct  of life has no time for        
self-pity or self-dissection4 ,other    
forms of  oblivion are involuntary and  
sometimes lie beyond one's power1 but   
one  may always forget one's self4 ,the 

cure for all the sufferings of the      
modern brain lies in an enlargement of  
the heart4    ,sidenote3 ,the problem of
 distribution of wealth4    ,it has been
 urged1 it is true1 that we suffer      
increasingly from a  growing sympathy   
and pity for each other4 ,the problem of
 individual  happiness1 owing to the    
increasing sense of the solidarity of   
mankind1  is more than ever dependent   
to-day upon the happiness of society at 
large4 ,not only our immediate and      
personal griefs1 but the griefs of      
other people1 of society1 of humanity1  
present and to come1 influence  us4 ,so 
be it4 ,to discuss the future would be  
endless4 ,we have not  ,macbeth's       
privilege of being brought face to face 
with the file of  future generations1   
and cannot read in advance the destiny  
of our  descendants in their faces4 ,the
 mirror of human life shows us nothing  
but an image of ourselves1 and in this  
image we are inclined1 like the  poets1 
to emphasize the lines of pain4 ,the    

labour problem1 which at  present       
distresses us1 is infinitely complex2   
but we believe that the  optimists have 
even more right to regard it with       
tranquillity than the  pessimists have  
to declare it insoluble2 in especial    
when one considers  that it has assumed 
a threatening aspect only during        
something like  the last half century4  
,sidenote3 ,how the economic half of the
 problem will be dealt with4    ,the    
labour problem involves two distinct    
questions1 one of them  relating to a   
conflict of interests1 the other to a   
conflict of  intentions4 ,we believe    
that the strictly economic problem will 
one  day be solved by a simultaneous    
increase in the difficulty of the       
industrial situation and in the         
knowledge of how to deal with it1 which 
will lead the well-to-do classes to     
perceive that by endeavouring to  save  
everything they are running the risk of 
losing everything1 and  will lead the   
lower classes to perceive that by       

endeavouring to obtain  too much they   
are running the risk of gaining nothing 
and of seeing  society's coveted wealth 
melt away before their eyes1 and that   
dividing  capital is like dividing a    
germ1 and results in sterilization4 ,the
  remedy for socialism lies in          
science--even though the first effect of
  a wider dissemination of knowledge    
would be to increase the strength  of   
socialism4 ,out of the very intensity of
 the crisis the solution  will come4    
,the moment different interests are     
completely conscious of  their real     
points of antagonism1 they are close    
upon a compromise4 ,war  is never the   
result of anything but an incomplete    
knowledge of the  comparative powers and
 respective interests of the opposing   
parties2  people fight when they can no 
longer calculate1 and the march of      
armies  and pitched battles may         
themselves be regarded as a sort of     
higher  arithmetic4    ,sidenote3 ,the  
human half will settle itself4    ,when 

it has once come to be understood that  
there is no fundamental  conflict of    
interest between the classes1 the sense 
of antagonism  between them will        
gradually diminish4 ,the most reassuring
 promise of a  complete solution of the 
industrial problem lies in human        
sociality4  ,all asperity of temper in  
the matter will be smoothed away by the 
incontestable growth of sympathy and    
altruism4    ,sidenote3 ,love and       
admiration the panacea for pessimism4   
,if sympathy1 love1 labour in common1   
recreation in common1 sometimes  seem to
 augment the pains of life1 they more   
than proportionately  augment the joys4 
,moreover1 as is well known1 to share   
trouble is to  lessen it2 sympathy is   
itself a pleasure2 poets know it1       
dramatic poets  in especial2 even when  
pity is accompanied by a lively         
realization  of another's pain it       
nevertheless induces love1 and to that  
extent  still preserves a certain charm4
 ,that creature suffers1 therefore  ,i  

love it2 and there are infinite joys in 
love2 it1 multiplies the  value of life 
in one's own eyes1 by giving it a value 
in the eyes of  other people1 a social  
value1 which is in the best sense a     
religious  value4 ,man1 ,wordsworth     
says1 lives in admiration1 hope1 and    
love1  but he who possesses admiration  
and love will always possess an         
abundance of hope4 ,he who loves and    
admires will possess the lightness  of  
heart that carries one through the day  
without fatigue4 ,love and  admiration  
are the great remedies of despair4      
,love1 and you will wish  to live4      
,whatever may be the value of life from 
the point of view of                    
sensibility--knowledge and action1 and  
principally action in behalf of         
another1 will always constitute reasons 
for living4 ,and it is mainly  one's    
reasons for living that justify one's   
tenacity of life4    ,sidenote3         
,pessimism an optical illusion4         
,pessimism sees only the sensitive side 

of life2 but life presents also  an     
active and an intellectual side2 over   
and above the agreeable there  exist the
 great1 the beautiful1 and the generous4
 ,even from the mere  point of view of  
pleasure and pain1 pessimism is based on
 calculations  which are as open to     
discussion as ,bentham's hedonistic     
arithmetic4 ,we  have seen elsewhere#ada
 that happiness and unhappiness are ex  
post  facto mental constructions that   
are based upon a multitude of optical   
illusions4 ,even the disillusionment of 
pessimism is itself a sort of an        
illusion4          #ada ,esquisse d'une 
morale sans obligation ni sanction1 p4  
#hi4    ,leopardi hit upon an ingenious 
empirical argument in favour of         
pessimism in his dialogue between an    
almanac seller and a passer-by3         
,almanac ,seller4 ,almanacs6 ,new       
almanacs6 ,new calendars6 ,who wants new
  almanacs8    ,passer-by4 ,almanacs for
 the new year8    ,almanac ,seller4     
,yes1 sir4    ,passer-by4 ,do you think 

this year will be a happy one8          
,almanac ,seller4 ,yes1 to be sure1 sir4
    ,passer-by4 ,as happy as last year8 
,almanac ,seller4 ,much more so4        
,passer-by4 ,as the year before8        
,almanac ,seller4 ,still more so1 sir4  
,passer-by4 ,why1 should you not like   
the new year to resemble one of  the    
past two years8    ,almanac ,seller4    
,no1 sir1 ,i should not4    ,passer-by4 
,how many years have gone by since you  
began to sell  almanacs8    ,almanac    
,seller4 ,about twenty years1 sir4      
,passer-by4 ,which of the twenty should 
you wish the new year to be  like8      
,almanac ,seller4 ,i do not know4       
,passer-by4 ,do you not remember any    
particular year which you thought  a    
happy one8    ,almanac ,seller4 ,indeed1
 ,i do not1 sir4    ,passer-by4 ,and yet
 life is a fine thing1 is it not8       
,almanac ,seller4 ,so they say4         
,passer-by4 ,should you not like to live
 those twenty years1 and even  all your 
past life from your birth1 over again8  

,almanac ,seller4 ,ah1 dear sir1 would  
to ,god that ,i could6    ,passer-by4   
,but if you had to live over again the  
life you have  already lived1 with all  
its pleasures and sufferings8           
,almanac ,seller4 ,i should not like    
that4    ,passer-by4 ,then what other   
life would you like to live8 ,mine1 or  
that  of the prince1 or whose8 ,do you  
not think that ,i1 or the prince1 or    
anyone else would reply exactly as you  
have done1 and that no one would  wish  
to repeat the same life over again8     
,almanac ,seller4 ,yes1 ,i believe      
that4444    ,passer-by4 ,and it is clear
 that each person is of opinion that the
  evil he has experienced exceeds the   
good2 444 but with the new year  fate   
will commence treating you1 and me1 and 
everyone well1 and the  happy life will 
begin4444    ,almanac ,seller4          
,almanacs6 ,new almanacs6 ,new          
calendars6#adb          #adb ,dialogue  
cited by ,m4 ,caro in ,pessimisme4      
,sidenote3 ,persistent novelty in the   

universe4    ,many of us no doubt would 
reply to the poet as the almanac seller 
did--we should not wish to begin our    
life over again--but it is not  to be   
concluded from that that our past life1 
taken as a whole1 has  been unhappy     
rather than happy4 ,it is to be         
concluded simply that it  has lost its  
novelty1 and with its novelty a great   
part of its charm4  ,man1 in effect1 is 
not a purely sensitive being4 ,his      
pleasures are1  so to speak1 not blind4 
,he not only enjoys1 he knows that he   
enjoys1  and knows what he enjoys1 and  
each of his sensations constitutes an   
addition to his treasures of knowledge4 
,having once begun to amass  this       
treasure1 he desires incessantly to     
augment it1 though he cares  little     
enough futilely to handle and to        
contemplate the wealth already          
acquired4 ,our past life1 therefore1 is 
to some extent tarnished and            
deflowered4 ,the number of hours that   
were so rich1 so full that we  could not

 exhaust them at the time and desire to 
repeat them1 is not  great2 and1 barring
 such hours1 the principal charm of the 
rest of our  past existence lay in      
estimating its details1 in comparing    
them with  each other1 in exercising    
upon them our intelligence and our      
activity1  and in lightly passing them  
by2 they were not worth lingering over2 
they resembled the tracts of country    
that the traveller does not feel        
tempted to turn and look back upon4 ,if 
novelty possesses for mankind  a certain
 charm1 if a repetition of identically  
similar circumstances  rarely affords as
 great pleasure the second time as the  
first1 the  fact is owing in part to the
 very laws of desire1 but in part to the
  superiority of the human mind2 the    
desired object should always offer      
something new to the intelligence4      
,every desire contains an element of    
philosophic and sthetic curiosity that  
the past cannot satisfy2 the  flower of 
novelty cannot be gathered twice from   

the same branch4    ,sidenote3 ,and     
genuine novelty4    ,but ,leopardi might
 reply1 ,what is the charm of novelty   
but an  illusion8 ,for everything on    
earth is really old3 the future is but  
a repetition of the past and ought      
logically to be as repugnant as  the    
past4 ,abstract formul1 and precipitate 
inductions like that1  offer no         
resistance either to reason or to       
experience4 ,whatever  pessimistic poets
 may say to the contrary1 nothing is a  
repetition  of anything else1 either in 
human life or in the universe4 ,there is
  always something new under the sun1 if
 it be no more than the budding  leaves 
on a tree or the changing colour on a   
cloud4 ,no two sunsets are  the same4   
,fairy-stories tell of a marvellous     
picture book1 the pages  of which one   
may turn forever without weariness1 for 
the instant the  picture has been looked
 upon and the page turned1 its place is 
taken  by a new picture4 ,the universe  
is such a book2 when one wishes to turn 

back to a familiar page it is no longer 
the same nor are we ourselves  the same1
 and if we consider the matter narrowly1
 the world should  always possess for us
 its first freshness4    ,sidenote3     
,perception of difference the mark of   
high intelligence4    ,the distinctive  
sign of a really superior1 really human 
intellect is  to be interested in       
everything in the universe1 and in the  
difference  between things4 ,when we    
look straight before us without1        
properly  speaking1 seeing anything1 we 
perceive resemblances only2 when we     
look with attention1 with affectionate  
love of detail1 we perceive an  infinity
 of differences2 an intellectual        
activity1 always awake1 finds           
everywhere objects of interest4 ,to love
 anything is to find in it1             
incessantly1 elements of novelty4       
,sidenote3 ,the world inexhaustibly     
interesting4    ,when pessimists        
maintain that the charm of the future is
 an illusion1  it may be retorted that  

the illusion is theirs1 that they do not
  look at the world closely enough to   
see it as it is1 and do not love  it    
because they do not know it4 ,if one    
could view the ,alps from the  surface  
of a passing arolite1 the ,rigi1 the    
,faulhorn1 ,mont ,blanc1  ,monte ,rosa  
would all look alike1 would all appear  
to be indifferent  points on the earth's
 rind2 but what shall be said of the    
nave  traveller who confounds them1 and 
professes to have seen the whole  of the
 ,alps when he has climbed the ,rigi8   
,life1 also1 is a perpetual  ascent1 of 
which it is difficult to say one has    
seen the whole because  one has climbed 
the first peak4 ,from childhood to old  
age1 the horizon  grows larger and      
changes and is always new4 ,nature seems
 to repeat  itself only to a superficial
 gaze4 ,each of its works is original1  
like those of genius4 sthetically or    
intellectually considered1              
discouragement is voluntary or          
involuntary blindness4 ,if poets have   

wished to forget past experiences which 
were too painful1 even in  memory1 no   
true scholar or man of science has ever 
expressed the desire  to forget what he 
knew1 to make a blank space in his      
intelligence1 to  reject the knowledge  
so slowly acquired--unless1 indeed1 it  
were for  the refined pleasure of       
learning it all over again and of owing 
nothing  to the labour of previous      
generations4 ,beneath every human       
desire1  we repeat1 there exists this   
thirst for truth1 which is one of the   
essential elements of the religious     
sentiment1 and all other desires  may be
 satiated or fatigued1 but this one     
still subsists2 one may be  weary of    
life without being weary of knowledge2  
even those who have  been most bitterly 
wounded by the conditions of life may   
still accept  them for the light that   
the intelligence brings them at the     
price  of pain1 as a soldier1 whose eyes
 have been injured by some chance       
splinter1 nevertheless strains them     

beneath his eyelids to follow the       
course of the fight about him4          
,sidenote3 ,summary4    ,in effect1 the 
analysis that pessimism is based upon   
is1 in many  respects1 superficial4     
,even the word pessimism is inexact1 for
 the  doctrine ascribes no progress from
 bad to worse1 from pejus to  pessimum2 
it maintains simply that the world is   
bad and must be  recognized as such1 and
 that this recognition is the           
consequence and  the condition of       
progress1 of intellectual power and of  
knowledge4    ,sidenote3 ,suicide as a  
resource4    ,the practical rules for   
the conduct of life that pessimism      
prescribes  from its principles are     
still more open to discussion4 ,granted 
the  wretchedness of life1 the remedy   
that pessimists propose is the new      
religious salvation that modern         
,buddhists are to make fashionable4     
,this  novelty1 which is older than     
,skya-,muni itself1 is one of the most  
ancient of ,oriental ideas2 it to-day   

proves attractive to a number of        
,occidental peoples1 as it has several  
times proved attractive to them  in     
former days1 for traces of it may be    
found among the ,neo-,platonists  and   
the ,christian mystics4 ,the conception 
is that of ,nirvna4 ,to  sever all the  
ties which attach you to the external   
world2 to prune  away all the young     
offshoots of desire1 and recognize that 
to be rid  of them is a deliverance2 to 
practice a sort of complete psychical   
circumcision2 to recoil upon yourself   
and to believe that by so doing  you    
enter into the society of the great     
totality of things 7the  mystics would  
say of ,god72 to create an inner vacuum1
 and feel dizzy  in the void and1       
nevertheless1 to believe that the void  
is plentitude  supreme----these have    
always constituted temptations to       
mankind2 mankind has been tempted to    
meddle with them1 as it has been        
tempted to creep up to the verge of     
dizzy precipices and look over4 ,the    

pantheistic or monistic notion of       
,nirvna eludes criticism precisely      
because it is void of all precise       
content4 ,physiologically speaking1     
,nirvna corresponds to the period of    
repose and quietude which always        
follows a period of tension and of      
effort4 ,one cannot stop and take       
breath in the eternal forward march that
 constitutes the phenomenal  life of    
humanity2 it is good sometimes to feel  
lassitude1 it is good a  little to      
understand the comparative cheapness and
 vanity of everything  one has hitherto 
attained1 but good only on condition    
that such an  understanding of our past 
constitutes a spur to fresh effort in   
the  future4 ,to rest content with      
lassitude--to believe that the deepest  
existence is the meanest1 the coldest1  
the most inert--is equivalent to  a     
confession of defeat in the struggle for
 existence4 ,nirvna leads1 in  fact1 to 
the annihilation of the individual and  
of the race1 and to the  logical        

absurdity that the vanquished in the    
struggle for existence are  the victors 
over the trials and miseries of life4   
,sidenote3 ,trial of ,nirvna4    ,it    
would be interesting to perform a       
practical experiment in ,nirvna4  ,one  
of my acquaintances pushed the          
experiment as far as a ,european of     
scientific tendencies could4 ,he        
practised asceticism to the point of    
rejecting all variety in his diet1 he   
gave up meat 7as ,mr4 ,spencer  also did
 for some time71 wine1 every kind of    
ragout1 every form of  condiment1 and   
reduced to its lowest possible terms the
 desire that  is most fundamental in    
every living being--the desire of food1 
the  excitation of the famished animal  
in the presence of appetizing dishes1   
the moment of heightened expectation    
before dinner which constitutes  for so 
many people the event of the day4 ,for  
the protracted meals  that are          
customary1 he substituted a certain     
number of cups of pure  milk4 ,having   

thus blunted his sense of taste and the 
grosser of his  appetites1 having       
abandoned all physical activity1 he     
sought to find  a recompense in the     
pleasures of abstract meditation1 and of
 sthetic  contemplation4 ,he entered    
into a state which was not that of      
dreamland1  but neither was it that of  
real life1 with its definite details4   
,what  gives relief and outline to the  
life of each day1 what makes each day   
an epoch for us in our existence1 is the
 succession of our desires  and our     
pleasures4 ,one has no idea what a blank
 would be produced in  one's existence  
by the simple omission of some hundreds 
of meals4 ,by  a similar process of     
elimination1 employed in regard to      
pleasures  and desires generally1 he    
secured for his life a certain          
savourless1  colourless1 ethereal charm4
 ,the whole universe recoiled by degrees
  into the distance1 for the universe   
was composed of things that he  no      
longer came into forcible contact with1 

that he no longer handled  vigorously1  
and that1 therefore1 came less violently
 into contact with  him1 and left him1  
therefore1 more indifferent to them4 ,he
 entered the  cloud in which the gods   
sometimes envelop themselves1 and no    
longer  felt the firm earth beneath his 
feet1 but he soon found that1 if he no  
longer stood upon firm earth1 he was not
 on that account the nearer  heaven2    
what struck him most was the            
enfeeblement of his thoughts  precisely 
at the time when1 owing to his complete 
detachment from all  material cares1 he 
was inclined to believe himself most    
intellectually  competent4 ,the instant 
that thought ceased to rest upon a      
foundation  of solid reality it became  
incapable of abstraction2 the life of   
thought as of our whole being is        
contrast1 and it gathers power by       
dealing from time to time with objects  
which seem least readily to lend        
themselves to its purposes4 ,an         
endeavour to purify and to sublimate    

thought robs it of its precision2       
meditation gives place to dream1 and    
dream gives place to the ecstasy in     
which mystics lose all sense of  the    
distinction between   1 but in which a  
mind accustomed  to self-possession     
cannot long remain without a sense of   
vapidity4  ,then a feeling of revolt    
supervenes1 and one begins to understand
  that abstract thought needs1 if it is 
to achieve its highest point of         
lucidity and concentration1 to be       
spurred on by desire4 ,such at least    
was the experience of the friend        
mentioned above1 and ,i suggest his     
experiment for imitation to those who   
speak of ,nirvna from hearsay  only1 and
 have never practised absolute          
renunciation4 ,the only danger  to fear 
is lest renunciation produce a certain  
brutalization1 lest one  lose one's     
self-control and be overcome by a sort  
of vertigo before  having measured the  
depth of the abyss1 and having perceived
 that it is  bottomless4 ,the safest    

paths in the mountains are those that   
have been  trodden out by asses and     
mules4 8,follow the asses10 is the      
advice of  the guides4 ,the advice is   
often good in real life2 the good sense 
of  the multitude opens the way which   
must be followed1 whether one will or   
not1 and philosophers may well at times 
8follow the asses40    ,sidenote3       
,sanctity and egoism4    ,absorption in 
infinite substance1 renunciation of the 
desire to live1  and inert sanctity will
 always constitute the ultimate form and
  expression of human illusion4 ,if all 
is vanity1 nothing1 after all1 is  more 
vain than to be completely conscious    
that all is vanity2 if action  is vain1 
repose is still more vain2 life is vain1
 death is vainer4  ,even sanctity is not
 the equal of charity1 the equal1 that  
is to say1  of what binds the individual
 to other individuals1 and by that fact 
renders him once more the slave of      
desire and of pleasure--if not of  his  
own desires and pleasures1 at least of  

those of other people4 ,one  must always
 serve someone1 must always be in bonds 
to something1 even  if only to the      
flesh4 ,one must drag a chain1 if one is
 to draw others  after one4 ,nobody     
forms a sufficient end and aim for his  
own activity2  nobody can emancipate    
himself by living #8in and in1' by      
forming  an ideal circle like the coiled
 serpent1 by reflecting eternally1      
according to the ,hindu precept1 on his 
navel2 nothing is more like  servitude  
than liberty that is confined within the
 bounds of self4 ,the  perfect sanctity 
of the mystics1 ,buddhists1 and         
pessimists is a subtler  egoism simply2 
and the sole genuine virtue in the world
 is generosity1  which does not fear to 
set its foot in the dust1 in the service
 of  another4    ,sidenote3 ,pessimism  
not destined to prevail4    ,we do not  
therefore believe1 with ,schopenhauer   
and ,von ,hartmann1  that pessimism will
 be the religion of the future4 ,life   
will not be  persuaded to seek death1   

nor movement to prefer immobility4 ,we  
have  said elsewhere that what renders  
existence possible renders it also      
desirable2 if the sum of the pains of   
human life were greater than the  sum of
 the pleasures1 the species would become
 extinct by a gradual  decrease in the  
vitality of each succeeding generation4 
,occidental  nations1 or rather the     
active people in the world1 to whom the 
future  belongs1 will never become      
converts to pessimism4 ,whoever acts1   
feels1  has power1 and to be strong is  
to be happy4 ,even in the ,orient1 when 
their pessimism1 the great religions1 is
 addressed to the multitude1 it  is very
 superficial2 commonplace maxims on the 
ills of existence1 and  on the necessity
 for resignation1 result as a matter of 
fact in a far  niente which is          
appropriate to the manners of the       
,orient4 ,and1 when  it is addressed to 
thinkers1 pessimism is only             
provisional--it points  to its own      
remedy in ,nirvna2 but ,nirvna as a     

panacea and salvation  by negation1 or  
by violent self-destruction1 will not   
long captivate  modern common sense4 ,it
 is ridiculous to attribute to man the  
power  to destroy the sacred germ from  
which life1 with all its illusions1  has
 sprung1 and will always spring1 in     
spite of ascetics and partisans  of     
individual suicide1 and even1 if ,von   
,hartmann will1 of 8cosmic  suicide40   
,it is perhaps less difficult to create 
than to annihilate1 to  make ,god than  
to destroy ,him4          ,,chapter ,v4 
,,review ,,of ,,the ,,principal         
,,metaphysical ,,hypotheses ,,which     
,,will ,,replace  ,,dogma--,concluded4  
,,idealism1 ,,materialism1 ,,monism4    
,i4 ,idealism--,different forms of      
idealism3 subjective        idealism1   
objective idealism3 ,the whole of       
existence        resolved into a mode of
 mental existence--,value of            
idealism considered from point of view  
of the religious        sentiment--,most
 specious of contemporary idealisms3    

,possibility of universal progress on   
the hypothesis of        radical        
spontaneity and of                      
8freedom0--,reconciliation              
between determinism and the conception  
of freedom--,moral        idealism as a 
possible substitute for religious       
sentiment3        ,dependence of the    
universe on the principle of goodness4  
,,ii4 ,materialism--,difficulty in      
defining absolute materialism3          
,matter--,the atom--,nebular            
hypothesis--,hydrogen--,necessity       
of supplementing materialism by some    
theory of the origin        of          
life--,the latest conception of         
materialism3 ,conception        of      
infinite divisibility and infinite      
extensibility4        ,,iii4 ,monism and
 the fate of worlds--,current of        
contemporary        systems toward      
monism--,scientific interpretation of   
monism--,the world conceived            
monistically as a becoming and        as
 a life--,scientific formul for         

life--,progress consists        in the  
gradual confusion of these two          
formul--,that the        rise of        
morality and religion can be accounted  
for without        the presupposition of
 any final cause--,metaphysical         
and moral expectations in regard to the 
destiny of the        world and of      
humanity it may be founded on scientific
        monism--,facts which appear to  
be inconsistent with these              
expectations--,pessimistic conception of
 dissolution that        is             
complementary to the conception of      
evolution--,is the        immanence of  
dissolution demonstrable8--,natural     
devices for        the perpetuation of  
the 8fittest0--,rle of intelligence1    
of numbers1 etc4--,calculation of       
probabilities--,is        eternity a    
parte post a ground of discouragement or
        of hope--,probable existence of 
thinking beings in other        worlds3 
the planets1 possibility of the         
existence of        beings superior to  

man--,survival of the conception of     
gods--,hypothesis of intercosmic        
consciousness and of a        universal 
society4        ,,iv4 ,destiny of the   
human race--,the hypothesis of          
immortality from the point of view of   
monism--,two        possible conceptions
 of immortality--,eternal or            
untemporal existence and continuation of
 life in some        superior forms--,i4
 ,hypothesis of eternal life--its       
function in antique religions1 in       
,platonism1 and in the        systems of
 ,spinoza1 ,kant1 and                   
,schopenhauer--,eternal        life and 
the subsistence of the                  
individual--,distinction        made by 
,schopenhauer and various other         
philosophers        between             
individuality and personality--,eternal 
life        problematical and           
transcendent--,aristocratic tendency of 
the theory of eternal life--,hypothesis 
of conditional                          
immortality--,criticism of the          

hypothesis of conditional               
immortality2 incompatibility of this    
notion with that        of divine       
goodness--,,ii4 ,hypothesis of a        
continuation of        the present life 
and its evolution into some superior    
form--,what sort of immortality the     
theory of evolution        permits us to
 hope for--,immortality of one's labours
        and conduct--,true conception of
 such immortality--,its        relation 
to the laws of heredity1 atavism1       
natural        selection--,immortality  
of the individual--,objections          
drawn from science--,protestations of   
affection against        the            
annihilation of the person--,resulting  
antinomy--,,iii4        ,modern         
opposition between the conception of    
function        and the conception of   
simple substance1 in which              
ancient philosophy endeavours to find a 
proof of                                
immortality--,peripatetic theory of     
,wundt and modern        philosophers on

 the nature of the soul--,immortality as
 a        continuation of function1     
proved not by the simplicity1        but
 by the complexity of                   
consciousness--,relation between        
complexity and instability--,three      
stages of social                        
evolution--,analogy of conscience with a
 society1 collective        character of
 individual consciousness--,conception  
of        progressive immortality--,last
 product of evolution and        natural
 selection3 7#a7 ,no necessary relation 
between the        compositeness and    
complexity of consciousness and its     
dissolubility3 indissoluble compounds in
 the physical        universe--7#b7     
,relation between consciousnesses1 their
        possible fusion in a superior   
consciousness--,contemporary            
psychology and the religious notion of  
the interpenetration        of          
souls--,possible evolution of memory and
 identification        of it with       
reality--,palingenesis by force of      

love--,problematic character of those   
conceptions and of        every         
conception relative to existence1 of    
consciousness1        and the relation  
between existence and                   
consciousness--,,iv4        ,conception 
of death appropriate to those who1 in   
the        present state of evolution1  
do not believe in the        immortality
 of the individual--,antique and modern 
stoicism--,acceptance of death3 element 
of melancholy        and of greatness in
 it--,expansion of self by means of     
philosophical thought1 and scientific   
disinterestedness1        to the point  
of to some extent approving one's own   
annihilation4      ,sidenote3 ,the      
problem of the immanence of being4      
,naturalism consists in believing that  
nature1 together with the beings  which 
compose it1 make up the sum total of    
existence4 ,but even from  this point of
 view there still remains the problem1  
what existence  essentially is1 and what
 special mode of existence is most      

typical4  ,is nature material1 or       
mental1 or both8 ,the problem of the    
essence of  being is one that cannot be 
escaped4    ,sidenote3 ,the             
double-aspect theory4    ,the theory    
that seems to-day to be dominant is the 
8double-aspect0  theory--the theory of  
two inseparable correlatives subjective 
and  objective1 of consciousness and of 
motion4 ,we have1 as ,m4 ,taine#adc     
would say1 two texts of the eternal book
 instead of one4 ,the question  is1     
which of the two texts is original and  
sacred8 ,sometimes that which  is       
furnished by introspection alone1       
sometimes that which objective  science 
endeavours to decipher1 are respectively
 held to be primitive4  ,thence arise   
two opposed tendencies1 not alone in    
psychological but  in metaphysical      
speculation2 the one toward idealism1   
the other  toward materialism2 the one  
toward what lies within1 the other      
toward  what lies without4 ,but these   
two aspects may and should be conceived 

as possessing a certain unity2 there is 
an inevitable tendency in  the human    
mind to follow out two converging lines 
to their point  of intersection4 ,there 
are1 therefore1 three forms of          
naturalism3  idealism1 materialism1     
monism4 ,these three constitute the     
three genuine  systems of thought from  
which theism1 atheism1 and pantheism are
  respectively derived4          #adc   
,m4 ,ribot holds the same doctrine4     
,i4 ,idealism4    ,sidenote3 ,idealism  
defined4    ,if the words thought and   
idea be interpreted as ,descartes and   
,spinoza  understand them1 as           
designating the entire life of the mind1
 the sum  total of the possible content 
of consciousness1 idealism may be       
defined  as the system which resolves   
all reality into thought1 into psychical
  existence1 insomuch that to be is to  
think or to be thought2 to feel or  to  
be felt2 to will or to be willed2 to be 
the object or subject of a  conscious   
effort4    ,sidenote3 ,idealism and the 

religious instinct4    ,it is evident   
that idealism is one of the systems     
which is capable of  affording a certain
 satisfaction to the religious          
sentiment1 because  the religious       
sentiment is allied to the instinct for 
metaphysics1 and  the instinct for      
metaphysics finds itself at home among  
all things  of the spirit1 of thought1  
of the moral world4 ,the foundation of  
theism1 as we have said1 is moralism2   
the belief1 that is to say1  that the   
true power in nature is mental and      
moral4 ,god is simply a  representation 
of this power1 conceived as             
transcendent4 ,pantheism  itself1 after 
having divinized and materialized the   
universe and  resolved all things1 so to
 speak1 into ,god1 tends to become      
idealistic1  to resolve ,god into the   
thought which has conceived ,him1 to    
deny ,him  all existence over and above 
that which ,he possesses in thought1    
and for thought1 and by virtue of       
thought4 ,according to the ,hindu       

comparison1 the human mind is like the  
spider that can build its  mansion out  
of materials drawn from its own body1   
and then reabsorb  them4    ,sidenote3  
,subjective idealism criticised4    ,but
 how shall the mind itself1 the central 
fund of thought that is  the origin and 
end of all things1 be conceived8 ,is it 
individual or  impersonal8 ,english     
subjective or egoistic idealism1 as ,mr4
 ,huxley  defines it in his 8,life of   
,hume10 replies1 that in spite of all   
demonstration to the contrary1 the      
collection of perceptions which         
constitute our consciousness may be     
simply a phantasmagoria which1          
engendered and co-ordinated by the ego1 
unrolls its successive  scenes upon a   
background of nonentity4 ,mr4 ,spencer  
retorts that1  if the universe is thus  
simply a projection of our subjective   
sensations1 evolution is a dream2 but   
evolution may be formulated in          
idealistic quite as well as realistic   
terms3 and a coherent dream  is as good 

as reality4 ,subjective idealism is     
therefore difficult  to refute          
logically2 but in spite of that fact it 
will never have  many followers4 ,for   
this apparent simplification of the     
world is in  reality a complication4    
,for subjective idealism involves the   
ridiculous  hypothesis of a chance      
agreement between the impressions of any
 given  individual and of all other     
individuals3 a difficulty much harder to
  explain away than the preliminary one 
of the simple reflection in us  of an   
external world4 ,mental phenomena are   
always more complex than  material      
phenomena4    ,the reduction of the     
external world to subjective terms1 the 
explanation of the optical illusion of  
objectivity1 demands a much  greater    
display of vain ingenuity than any      
theory of simple perception4  ,more than
 that1 the least effort with the        
resistance that it encounters  is a     
refutation of egoistic1 or as the       
,english again say1 solipsistic         

idealism4 ,in the fact of resistance1   
subjective sensation and the  perception
 of an objective reality coincide4 ,even
 if the manner in  which our sensations 
of resistance are combined in           
tridimensional space  may be conceived  
as subjective1 it is difficult to admit 
that the  materials out of which the    
structure is made are1 as it were1      
suspended  in mid-air4 ,to explain the  
fact of resistance requires us          
absolutely  to pass beyond the limits of
 consciousness1 for even in the cases in
  which the sensation of resistance     
seems to be due to hallucination1  the  
cause of hallucination is always found  
to be some instance of  actual          
resistance1 of friction or stress inside
 the body4 ,the mistake  of a madman1   
who sees an unfamiliar form take shape  
and rise before  his eyes1 is not that  
of considering the power as existing    
outside  of himself1 but of locating it 
at the extremities of his nerves of     
touch2 whereas it is really in his      

brain1 at the point where the nerves    
intersect with the cerebral centres4 ,he
 is right in his sense of the  presence 
of an enemy1 but wrong in the direction 
in which he looks for  it4    ,sidenote3
 ,truth in subjective idealism4    ,we  
are obliged1 therefore1 to admit the    
hypothesis of a multitude  of           
microcosms1 of mine1 of yours1 of       
everybody's1 and of a single  macrocosm 
the same for everybody4 ,what is true is
 that between the  great world and every
 little world there is an incessant     
communication1  by means of which       
everything that passes in the one is    
echoed in the  other4 ,we live in the   
universe1 and the universe lives in us4 
,the  statement is not metaphorical1 but
 literal4 ,if we could look into the    
consciousness of a school child1 we     
should see a more or less faithful      
image of all the marvels of the world3  
skies1 seas1 mountains1 cities1  etc42  
we should perceive the germ of every    
elevated sentiment1 of  every kind of   

complex knowledge that the human brain  
contains4 ,if we  could look into the   
consciousness of some great man--some   
thinker1 some  poet--the spectacle would
 be quite different4 ,it would embrace  
the  whole of the visible and invisible 
universe1 with its facts and its  laws2 
it would embrace what is best in the    
whole of humanity4 ,if the  traces left 
by experience on the nervous system     
could be read1 like the  writing in a   
book1 the earth might disappear1 and its
 image and history  be handed down in   
certain chosen human brains4            
,sidenote3 ,realism destined to prevail4
    ,active and practical humanity will 
always believe in realism to the  extent
 of insisting that the world possesses  
an existence which is  independent of   
any individual thought4 ,we shall dwell 
no further  on subjective idealism1     
which is more important as a            
metaphysical  curiosity than for any    
comfort it gives to the religious       
sentiment4    ,sidenote3 ,objective     

idealism4    ,of objective idealism the 
same cannot be said4 ,in objective      
idealism1  too1 all material existence  
is regarded as a mode of mental         
existence2  being is identified either  
with the ideal law which presides over  
the  development of the universe1 or    
with the genuine foundation of our      
consciousness1 our sensations1 our      
desires4 ,the world1 as ,emerson has    
said1 is a precipitate of the soul4     
,sidenote3 ,criticised4    ,this        
hypothesis is certainly one of those    
that may best serve as a  substitute for
 theism1 if theism should ever          
disappear4 ,but idealism1  thus         
understood1 is open to the following    
objection3 ,is it of any  special use to
 objectify the soul1 if the existence of
 evil1 which  ,plato identified with    
matter1 is thereby left unchanged8 ,it  
is in  vain to translate evolution into 
psychic terms2 no difficulty can be     
avoided by so doing4 ,the mysterious    
imperfections of the exterior world  are

 transported bodily into the mind2 evil 
is spiritualized simply4  ,identifying  
things with the intellectual law which  
presides over their  evolution in nowise
 excuses us from explaining why that law
 is in so  many respects bad1 and why   
the intelligence that directs the       
universe  is so often self-contradictory
 and feeble4    ,sidenote3 ,objective   
idealism relatively capable of          
satisfying the  moral instincts4    ,in 
spite of this objection1 which will1    
perhaps1 never receive a  sufficient    
reply1 it is certain that1 so far as our
 moral and social  instincts are        
concerned1 idealism offers us greater   
ground for hope  than either of the     
remaining systems of thought4 ,in spite 
of evil and  pain1 the desire of        
progress and of salvation1 which is the 
basis of  all religious speculation1 may
 rely upon thought as its last resource4
  ,but thought1 if the doctrine of      
objective idealism is to be made        
acceptable1 must be understood as       

including not only intelligence1  but   
also sentiment1 desire1 and volition1   
and1 in effect1 the purely  intellectual
 idealism of a former time is at the    
present day being  succeeded by an      
idealism that regards the will as the   
fundamental  element in the             
universe4#add ,universal sensibility is 
an incident of  universal power of will1
 whereas intelligence1 properly so      
called1  at least in so far as the      
function of intelligence is regarded as 
representation1 is more superficial than
 sensibility or volition4#ade  ,these   
three inseparable forms of psychic      
life#adf constitute the great  forces to
 which moral and religious sentiment    
must always turn for  support4          
#add ,see ,schelling1 ,schopenhauer1    
,lotze1 ,wundt1 ,secrtan1 ,,mm4         
,ravaison1 ,a4 ,fouille1 ,lachelier1    
and1 to a certain extent1 ,m4           
,renouvier4          #ade ,see          
,schopenhauer1 ,horwicz1 and ,m4        
,fouille4          #adf ,see ,wundt's   

,psychologie physiologique4             
,sidenote3 ,hypothesis of moral progress
 immanent in the world4    ,idealism1   
thus understood1 constitutes one of the 
most tempting of the  solutions of the  
problem of evil4 ,optimism being1 as we 
have seen1  indefensible1 and pessimism 
being a caricature1 the most plausible  
religious and metaphysical hypothesis at
 the present day is the  conception of a
 8possible progress owing to the radical
 spontaneity  of all existing           
things40#adg ,the will1 according to    
this hypothesis1  with its tendency to  
indefinite self-expansion1 is par       
excellence  the primitive power1 the    
central element in man and in the       
universe4  ,freedom of the will in man  
means the consciousness of this         
progressive  power1 which is immanent in
 all things1 and this consciousness may 
be made the foundation of a moral being4
 ,this conception of freedom1  which is 
reconcilable with determinism1 becomes  
an additional motive  among the other   

motives that govern man's life1 and     
tends to be  realized by the very fact  
that it is conceived and desired4       
,through  the intermediation of this    
conception1 reality possesses a         
progressive  freedom1 that is to say1 a 
power of constant union with the whole1 
and  of moral enfranchisement4 8,in the 
beginning there obtains a universal     
antagonism among the forces of the      
universe1 a brutal fatality1 an         
infinite reign of shock and             
counter-shock1 between blind and blindly
  driven beings2 then there arises a    
progressive organization that makes  the
 evolution of consciousness1 and        
therefore of volition1 possible2  there 
arises a gradual union and fraternity   
among the particulars that  constitute  
the universe4 ,ill-will1 whether it     
originate in mechanical  necessity or in
 intellectual ignorance1 is transitory2 
good-will is  permanent1 radical1       
normal1 and fundamental4 ,to cultivate  
good-will  in one's self is to          

enfranchise one's self from the         
individual and  the transitory in favour
 of the universal and the permanent2 it 
is to  become truly free1 and by that   
very fact to become truly loving40#adh  
#adg ,alfred ,fouille1 ,la ,libert et le
 ,dterminisme1 #b;d        edition1 pp4 
#cec1 #ced1 #cef4          #adh ,alfred 
,fouille1 ,la ,libert et le             
,dterminisme1 #b;d        edition1 pp4  
#cec1 #ced1 #cef4    ,sidenote3         
,reconciliation between freedom and     
determinism4    ,between progressive    
freedom thus conceived1 and the         
determinism in  the midst of which it   
progresses1 there is no opposition2     
freedom and  determinism constitute two 
aspects of one and the same process of  
evolution4 ,determinism essentially     
consists in a series of actions and     
reactions existing between other beings 
and ourselves2 but these very  actions  
and reactions constitute the            
manifestation of the development  of    
our1 and their1 inner activities4 ,and  

the source of activity in the  universe 
is none other than an overflowing power1
 which is hostile to  limitation1 to    
impediment of every kind2 is1 in a word1
 none other than  a self-realizing      
volition4 ,freedom1 thus understood1    
may1 therefore1  be considered in the   
last resort as the origin of determinism
 and as  one with it4#adi ,necessity is1
 so to speak1 the outer surface of      
freedom--the point of contact between   
two or more free agents4 ,freedom  is   
inconceivable apart from a resulting    
determinism1 for to be free is  to      
possess power1 is to act and to react1  
is to determine and to be  determined4  
,determinism1 on the other hand1 that is
 to say1 reciprocal  action1 is         
inconceivable apart from freedom1 from  
internal action1 from  a spontaneous    
outbreak of power that tends to be free4
 ,so that one may  say1 without         
contradiction1 that determinism envelops
 the world1 and  that free-will         
constitutes it4          #adi ,a4       

,fouille1 op4 cit4    ,sidenote3 ,ideal 
liberty the aim of the universe4    ,if 
the shock of wills in the world is      
unusually brutal1 the reason  is that   
they are as yet but half conscious of   
their powers2 as  consciousness         
develops1 contest will give way to      
concurrence4 ,to  avoid violent         
concussion with obstacles in the way1   
the free agent  has less need of        
acquaintance with them than of          
acquaintance with  itself4 ,as there is 
nothing in the universe that is foreign 
to  volition1 there is nothing in the   
universe that is foreign to the ideal   
that every volition aims at4 ,it is     
probable that life is always and        
everywhere accompanied by consciousness 
in some slight degree2 and  wherever    
consciousness exists1 desire may exist4 
,nature's device1 as  a contemporaneous 
poet has said1 is 8,i aspire40 ,the     
human ideal is1  perhaps1 no more than  
the conscious formulation of this       
aspiration  which is common to the whole

 universe4 ,if so1 it follows that ideal
  freedom is the limit of evolution1 and
 that volition1 which aims at  ideal    
freedom1 is the principle of it4#aej    
#aej 8,the category of ,real ,existence 
does not seem        reconcilable with  
the notion of liberty2 the latter in its
        perfection must be conceived    
under the category of the ,ideal1       
and in its imperfection under that of   
,becoming40--,a4 ,fouille1        ,la   
,libert et le ,dterminisme1 conclusion4 
,sidenote3 ,objections answered4    ,it 
has been objected to this idealist      
theory of evolution that  progress      
implies an aim and the observance of    
certain principles  in its attainment1  
while evolution does not4#aea ,but the  
precise  object of the doctrine in      
question is to supply evolution with a  
name  and appropriate principles1 and to
 extend the notion of progress to  the  
universe as a whole4 ,it has also been  
objected to this somewhat  panthelistic 
hypothesis 771 that if everything is    

free1 nothing  is free4#aeb ,this       
objection is not exact1 for it would    
imply1 in  economics1 for instance1 that
 to increase everybody's well-being     
would  increase the well-being of       
nobody1 or that if everybody equally    
should be impoverished1 everybody would 
equally be enriched4 ,to  universalize a
 conception is one thing1 to suppress it
 is another4  ,the world cannot at the  
present day be conceived as distinct    
from the  human race3 the two are       
vitally and intimately related4 ,endow  
mankind  with an unbiassed freedom of   
will1 and ,epicurus would be right in   
holding that indeterminism is the basis 
of all things4#aec ,similarly1  suppose 
mankind endowed with 8a radical goodness
 of will1 which is  very distinct from  
freedom of the will1 but nevertheless   
constitutes a  sort of moral freedom in 
process of formation10#aed and the germ 
of  such goodness of will should be     
found in a more or less unconscious     
form throughout the entire universe4    

,before the human mind can really       
produce anything whatever1 the whole    
universe must be like it in  labour4    
,partisans of the theory of goodness of 
will as the basis of  human morality are
 therefore logical in regarding it as   
more or less  present in some degraded  
form throughout the whole of nature1    
even  in beings in which intelligence   
has not yet made its appearance2 and    
goodness of will in such cases is to be 
considered as accompanied  by the       
obscure beginnings of responsibility1 of
 implicit merit or  demerit--one must   
return in effect to a sort of re-reading
 of the ,hindu  theory1 according to    
which the several degrees that exist in 
nature  represent so many stages in     
morality4          #aea ,m4 ,franck1    
,essais de critique philosophique4      
#aeb ,m4 ,franck1 op4 cit4          #aec
 ,the author argued the point at length1
 in #ahgc1 in his        book on        
,epicurus4 ,see also his ,morale        
anglaise1 #b partie1 pp4                

#che-chf1 #b;d edition4          #aed   
,a4 ,fouille1 ,la ,libert et le         
,dterminisme1 #b;d edition4             
,sidenote3 ,moral idealism and the      
religious sentiment4    ,hypotheses     
fingo is the mother of metaphysics4     
,moral idealism of  the kind we have    
just epitomized from the pages of a     
contemporary  author is decidedly no    
more than a hypothesis1 and a hypothesis
 open  to discussion2 but it is         
assuredly the form of idealism that is  
least incompatible with the theory of   
evolution1 and with the facts  of       
natural history and of human            
history4#aee ,moreover1 it affords      
unusual scope for the religious         
sentiment1 freed from its mysticism  and
 transcendence4 ,if the unknown activity
 which lies at the basis  of the natural
 world has produced in the human race a 
consciousness  of goodness1 and a       
deliberate desire for it1 there is      
reason to hope  and to believe that the 
last word of ethics and metaphysics is  

not a  negative4          #aee ,this    
form of idealism is equally compatible  
with the        prevailing monistic     
doctrines1 and is in some cases1 as     
notably        in that of ,m4 ,fouille1 
confounded with them4 ,see below4       
,sidenote3 ,religion interpreted in the 
light of this hypothesis4    ,we have a 
number of times cited ,schleiermacher's 
definition of  religion3 the sense of   
our absolute dependence in regard to the
  universe and its principle4 ,when the 
religious sentiment becomes  transformed
 into a moral idealism its correct      
formula tends to be the  inverse of the 
preceding3 a sense of the dependence of 
the universe  upon the determination    
that goodness shall prevail1 of which we
 are  conscious in ourselves and which  
we conceive to be or to be capable of   
becoming the directing principle of     
universal evolution4 ,the notion  of the
 moral and social ideal of freedom is1  
therefore1 according to  this doctrine1 
not a mere superficial accident in the  

universe1 but  a revelation and growing 
consciousness of the most fundamental   
laws  of the universe1 of the true      
essence of things1 which is the same in 
all beings in different degrees and in  
diverse combinations4 ,nature           
represents an eternal ascent toward a   
more and more clearly conceived  ideal1 
which dominates its progress from       
beginning to end4 ,as one  climbs a     
height to survey a mountain range1 the  
snow-capped peaks rise  silently and    
take their places side by side along the
 horizon2 it seems  as if the enormous  
masses rise in obedience to an immense  
effort which  uplifts them2 it seems as 
if their immobility is only apparent1   
and one  feels borne aloft with them    
toward the zenith4 ,the heroes in the   
,indian  legend1 when they were weary of
 life and of the earth1 rallied their   
strength for a final effort1 and hand in
 hand scaled the ,himalayas1  and the   
mountains bore them away into the       
clouds4 ,ancient peoples  generally     

regarded the mountains as a transition  
between earth and sky2  it was from the 
mountains that the soul1 profiting by   
the impulse lent  it by the last touch  
of earth1 took its freest flight3 the   
mountains  constituted a pathway toward 
the open heavens4 ,and that may be an   
element of profundity in these nave     
ideas which ascribe to nature           
aspirations which are more properly     
human4 ,do there not exist in nature    
great unfinished sketches1 hints and    
lines leading upward8 ,nature has  done 
all that unconsciously1 has blindly     
piled block on block of stone  slowly   
toward the stars4 ,it is man's privilege
 to read a meaning into  her work1 to   
make use of her efforts1 to employ past 
centuries as the  materials out of which
 to build the future2 by scaling the    
heights of  nature man will reach the   
sky4      ,,ii4 ,materialism4           
,properly to estimate idealism it must  
be contrasted with its opposite1        
materialism4    ,sidenote3 ,materialism 

difficult to define4    ,we shall say   
but a few words on the subject of pure  
materialism1  because of all systems of 
thought materialism is the farthest     
removed  from those which give rise to  
religious and to metaphysical theories4 
,absolute materialism is somewhat       
difficult to define1 because matter  is 
one of the vaguest of words4 ,to aim at 
representing the ultimate  elements of  
matter as wholly independent of thought1
 of consciousness1  of life1 is         
evidently chimerical2 such an effort    
leads straight to  the pure             
indeterminism of matter as conceived by 
,plato1 ,aristotle1  and ,hegel2 to an  
indefinite dyad1 to a theory of         
virtuality and of  the identity of      
non-being4 ,also materialists are       
obliged to regard  as determinate and   
material the primitive force of which   
the world  constitutes simply a         
development4 ,if1 for example1 according
 to the  most recent theories1 all      
matter should prove to be reducible to  

hydrogen1 materialism would regard      
hydrogen as constituting a sort of      
material or substantial unity in the    
world4 ,variety would exist only  in the
 forms displayed by the primitive       
element1 hydrogen1 or1 if you  prefer1  
pre-hydrogen4    ,sidenote3 ,materialism
 criticised4    ,it must be confessed   
that this conception is somewhat nave   
and  nominalistic2 the word material or 
chemical can never express more  than   
the outside1 than the exterior          
properties of the primordial  element4  
,the hydrogen atom itself is probably in
 a high degree  composite1 is itself    
probably a world of little worlds1 held 
in  place by gravitation4 ,the very     
conception of an indivisible atom is    
philosophically infantine4 ,thomson and 
,helmholtz have shown that our  atoms   
are little vortices of energy1 and have 
succeeded in producing  experimentally  
analogous vortices formed of vapour2 for
 instance1 of  the vapour chlor-hydrate 
of ammonia4 ,each vortex is composed    

always of  the same particles2 no one   
particle can be separated from the      
others2  each vortex possesses1         
therefore1 a stable individuality4 ,when
 the  attempt is made to cut the        
vortices1 they fly the blade or bend    
about  it1 and prove to be indivisible4 
,they are capable of contraction1 of    
dilation1 of partial interpenetration   
and distortion1 but never of            
dissolution4 ,and certain men of science
 have thence inferred that we  possess  
thus a material proof of the existence  
of atoms4 ,and so indeed  we do1        
providing an atom be understood to be   
something as complex1 as  little        
primordial1 and as relatively enormous  
as a nebula4 ,atoms are  indivisible as 
a nebula is indivisible by a knife      
blade1 and the atom  of hydrogen is     
about as simple as the solar system4 ,to
 explain the  universe by hydrogen is   
like explaining it by the sun and the   
planets4  ,the rise of the actual world 
out of hydrogen can be conceived only   

on condition of ascribing to the alleged
 atoms of hydrogen something  more than 
physicists and chemists know them to    
possess4 ,materialism1  therefore1 must 
enlarge its principle if it is to prove 
productive3  enlarge1 as ,diderot would 
say1 your atheism and your materialism4 
,sidenote3 ,must be supplemented by some
 theory to account for life4    ,but the
 instant materialism is 8enlarged10 the 
universal element must  at once be      
regarded as alive and is not what is    
called brute matter4  ,every generation 
of physicists1 as ,mr4 ,spencer says1   
discovers in so  called brute matter    
forces the existence of which the best  
informed  physicist would some years    
previous have disbelieved4 ,when we     
perceive  solid bodies1 sensitive in    
spite of their inertia to the action of 
forces1 the number of which is infinite2
 when the spectroscope proves  to us    
that terrestrial molecules move in      
harmony with molecules in the  stars2   
when we find ourselves obliged to infer 

that the innumerable  vibrations        
traverse space in all directions1 the   
conception which is  forced upon us is  
not that of a universe of dead matter   
but rather  that of a universe          
everywhere alive2 alive in the general  
sense of the  word1 if not in the       
restricted4#aef ,the notion of life is  
perhaps  more human and more subjective1
 but after all more complete and        
concrete than the notion of movement and
 of force2 for we cannot hope  to       
discover the truth at any great distance
 from the subjective1 since             
subjectivity is the necessary form in   
which truth appears to us4          #aef
 ,mr4 ,spencer himself has a little     
forgotten this fact in a        number  
of his own somewhat too mechanical      
constructions4    ,sidenote3 ,must be   
supplemented by some sort of mind-stuff 
theory4    ,the second emendation to    
which materialism must submit1 if it is 
to  satisfy the metaphysical instincts  
of mankind1 is to include in the        

primordial element not only life but    
some germ of mind4 ,but primitive       
matter conceived as a force capable of  
living and ultimately of  thinking is   
not what is scientifically and vulgarly 
regarded as matter1  far less as        
hydrogen4 ,the pure materialist1        
thumping the rotundity of  the earth    
with his fist1 and relying grossly on   
his sense of touch1  cries3 8,matter is 
everything10 but matter is analyzable   
into force1 and  force is simply a      
primitive form of life4 ,materialism    
therefore issues  into a sort of        
animism2 in the presence of the circling
 world1 the  materialist is obliged to  
say it is alive4 ,nor can he stop there2
 the  world is force1 is action1 is     
life--and something more2 for in and by 
me the world thinks4 ,e pur si pensa6   
,sidenote3 ,passes readily into         
idealism4    ,behold us landed once more
 in idealism4 ,and1 indeed1 as ,lange   
and ,m4  ,taine have well shown1        
materialism easily passes to idealism2  

pure  materialism results in an abstract
 mechanism1 which is analyzable  into   
the laws of logic and of thought4 ,and  
the basis of this  mechanism--atoms and 
motion--consists in enfeebled subtilized
 and  rarefied tactual and visual       
sensations1 taken ultimately as the     
expression of the final reality4 ,the   
alleged foundation of objective  reality
 is simply a residuum of our most       
essential sensations4  ,materialism is  
advocated in the name of positive       
science2 but it1 not  less than         
idealism1 belongs really to the poetry  
of metaphysics2 its  poetry is recorded 
simply in terms of atoms and motion1    
instead of in  terms of the elements of 
consciousness4 ,materialistic symbols   
are more  matter of fact1 more neighbour
 to the visible reality1 possess a wider
  compass and generality1 but they are  
none the less symbols simply4           
,materialism is in some sort a tissue of
 metaphor in which scientific  terms    
lose their scientific signification1 and

 gain a metaphysical  signification in  
its stead1 transferred1 as they are1 to 
a domain that  lies beyond the range of 
experience4 ,the man of science who     
speculates  thus upon the nature of     
things is1 unknown to himself1 a modern 
,lucretius4    ,sidenote3 ,materialism  
and the notion of infinity4    ,and     
finally1 materialism1 properly so       
called1 has been invaded by  a notion   
which has been at all times peculiarly  
adapted to satisfy  the metaphysical and
 religious aspirations of mankind2 the  
notion of  infinity1 whether in the     
direction of greatness or the opposite4 
,men of  science go to the trouble of   
estimating the number of molecules in a 
drop of water2 they tell us that the    
thousandth part of a millimeter of      
water contains #bbh1jjj1jjj molecules2  
they say that a pinhead contains  the   
fourth power of #bj1jjj1jjj atoms1 and  
that1 if the atoms could be  counted a  
billion every second1 it would take     
#bec1fgh years to complete  the task4   

,but all such calculations are simply   
arithmetical jeux  d'esprit4 ,these     
figures1 which are so great in          
appearance1 really  amount to nothing1  
and a grain of sand1 no doubt1 contains 
literally an  infinite number of        
particles4    ,sidenote3 ,final         
breakdown of materialism4    ,the       
argument against the notion of infinity1
 based on the logical  impossibility of 
an infinite number1 is not decisive2#aeg
 it rests  upon a begging of the        
question1 namely1 that everything in the
  universe is innumerable--that is to   
say1 is capable of being precisely      
included within the limits of an        
intelligence like our own4 ,logic1 on   
the contrary1 insists that in           
homogeneous matter1 like space1 time1   
and quantity1 there is no limit to the  
possibility of division and             
multiplication1 and that1 consequently1 
they may proceed beyond any  given      
number4 ,if so called 8purely           
scientific0 materialism does not  admit 

that nature is coextensive with man's   
conception of what is  possible--if it  
denies the parallelism between thought  
and nature--it  by that very fact denies
 also the rationality of nature1 which  
is  precisely the principle upon which  
every philosophy that pretends to  be   
purely scientific ultimately relies4    
,whoever rejects the notion  of infinity
 is obliged1 in the last resort1 to     
suppose a species of  contradiction     
between the activity of the human mind1 
which is unable  to stop at any given   
point1 and nature1 which stops1 for no  
reason in  particular1 at a determinate 
point in time and space4 ,the conception
  of infinity may be said to be forced  
upon materialism1 and that very  notion 
contains one of the antinomies against  
which intelligence1 by  the very fact of
 its employment1 is ultimately brought  
to a standstill2  it is precisely in the
 act of counting that intelligence      
achieves  the conception of the         
innumerable2 it is by exhausting every  

given  quantity that it achieves the    
conception of the inexhaustible2 it is  
by reaching ever beyond the limits of   
the known that it comes in touch  with  
the unknowable2 and all these           
conceptions mark the point where  we    
feel our intelligence becoming feeble   
and beyond which our sight  grows dim4  
,back of matter1 which thought takes    
cognizance of1 and back  of thought1    
which takes cognizance of itself1 lies  
infinity1 which  envelops both of them1 
and which seems the most fundamental    
aspect  of matter itself4 ,it was not   
without reason that the ancients called 
matter1 abstractly considered1 as       
independent of its diverse forms1  the  
infinite 4 ,materialism thus leaves us1 
as other systems  do1 in the presence of
 that ultimate mystery which all        
religions have  symbolized in their     
myths1 and which metaphysics will always
 be obliged  to recognize1 and poetry to
 express1 by the instrumentality of     
images4          #aeg ,see ,renouvier's 

arguments and ,lotze's and ,fouille's   
replies to them in the ,revue           
philosophique4    ,sidenote3 ,apologue4 
,by the seaside stood a great1 upright  
mountain that pierced the sky  like an  
arrow-head1 and the waves beat upon its 
base4 ,in the morning1  when the first  
light of the sun touched the ancient    
rocks1 they  shivered1 and a voice rose 
from the gray stones and mingled with   
the  sound made by the blue sea2 and    
mountain and wave conversed together4   
,the sea said3 8,the heavens have been  
mirrored in my shifting waves  a million
 years1 and in all that time have held  
as high aloof from  me and stood as     
motionless40 ,and the mountain said3 8,i
 have climbed  toward the heavens a     
million years1 and they are still as    
high above  me as ever40 ,one day a ray 
of sun fell smiling upon the brow of the
  mountain1 and the mountain questioned 
it on the distant heavens from  which it
 came4 ,the ray was about to reply1 but 
was reflected suddenly  from the        

mountain to the sea1 and from a         
scintillating wave back to  the heavens 
from which it came4 ,and the ray is     
still en route across  the infinite1    
toward the nebul of ,maa1 in the        
,pleiades1 which were  so long          
invisible1 or toward some point farther 
still1 and has not yet  replied4        
,,iii4 ,monism4 ,the ,fate of ,worlds4  
,sidenote3 ,monism4    ,the word        
infinite1 1 which the ancients applied  
to matter1 the  moderns have applied to 
mind4 ,the reason1 no doubt1 is that    
matter and  mind are two aspects of one 
and the same thing4 ,the synthesis of   
these  two aspects is attempted by      
monism4    ,sidenote3 ,monism to-day    
prevalent4    ,i4 ,it is not our purpose
 here to pass judgment upon the         
theoretical  pretensions of monism as a 
system of metaphysics4 ,we observe      
simply  that the trend of modern thought
 is toward this system4 ,materialism is 
simply a mechanical monism1 the         
fundamental law of which is conceived   

as capable of being completely          
formulated in mathematical terms4       
,idealism is simply a monism the        
essential law of which is conceived as  
mental1 as pertaining to the            
intelligence or to the will4 ,this      
latter  form of monism numbers many     
adherents in ,germany and in ,england4  
,in  ,france it has been advocated by   
,m4 ,taine1 and we have just seen that  
it is maintained at the present moment  
under a somewhat different form  by ,m4 
,fouille1 who regards it as a           
reconciliation of naturalism and        
idealism1 and no doubt also as a        
possible reconciliation between what  is
 essential in pantheism and in          
theism4#aeh ,in our judgment the        
balance must be more evenly trimmed than
 the philosophers above cited  have     
done1 between the material and mental   
aspects of existence1  between objective
 science and subjective1 conscious      
knowledge4 ,monism1  therefore1         
essentially consists simply in a        

hypothesis that combines  the least     
questionable facts dealt with by        
science1 those which are  inseparable   
from the elementary facts of            
consciousness4 ,the fundamental  unity  
imported by the term monism is not to be
 confounded with  ,spinoza's unity of   
substance1 nor with the absolute unity  
advocated  by the ,alexandrians1 nor    
with ,spencer's unknowable force1 nor   
with  anything in the nature of a final 
cause1 such as is spoken of1 for        
example1 by ,aristotle4 ,neither do we  
affirm the existence of any  unity of   
figure and form in the universe4 ,we are
 content to admit1  by a hypothesis at  
once scientific and metaphysical1 the   
fundamental  homogeneity of all things1 
the fundamental identity of nature4     
,monism1  in our judgment1 should be    
neither transcendent nor mystical1 but  
immanent and naturalistic4 ,the world is
 one continuous ,becoming2 there  are   
not two kinds of existence nor two lines
 of development1 the  history of which  

is the history of the universe4         
#aeh ,see the preceding chapter4        
,sidenote3 ,the fundamental conception  
of philosophy is that of life4          
,instead of endeavouring to resolve     
matter into mind or mind into  matter1  
we recognize them both as united in this
 synthesis1 which  science itself 7and  
science is a stranger to anything in the
 nature of  moral or religious          
prejudice7 is obliged to recognize3 the 
synthesis  known as life4 ,science tends
 every day still further to extend the  
domain of life1 and there exists no     
fixed point of demarcation between  the 
organic and the inorganic world4 ,we do 
not know whether the  foundation of life
 is will1 or idea1 or thought1 or       
sensation1  although in sensation we no 
doubt approach the central point2 it    
seems  to us probable simply that       
consciousness1 which constitutes for us 
everything1 should count for something  
in every mode of being1 and  that there 
is1 so to speak1 no being in the        

universe which is entirely  abstracted  
from self4 ,but1 leaving these          
hypotheses to one side1 what  we can    
affirm with certainty is that life1 by  
the very fact of its  development1 tends
 to engender consciousness2 and that    
progress in life  ultimately comes to be
 one with progress in consciousness1 in 
which  what is movement in one aspect is
 sensation in another4 ,considered  from
 within everything1 even the            
intellectual forms of time and space1   
is resolvable by the psychologist into  
sensation and desire2#aei and1          
considered from without1 everything is  
resolvable by the physicist into        
emotion2 to feel and to move seem to be 
the two formul that express  the entire 
inner and outer universe1 the concave   
and convex aspects of  things2 but to   
feel that one's self moves is the       
formula that expresses  self-conscious  
life which is still so infrequent in the
 great totality  of things1 but which is
 becoming increasingly more common4 ,the

 very  meaning of progress in life      
consists in what is expressed by the    
gradual fusion of these two4 ,life      
means1 in fact1 development toward      
sensation and thought4          #aei    
,see the author's study on ,l'ide de    
temps 7,revue        philosophique1     
,april1 #ahhe74    ,sidenote3 ,life and 
activity4    ,side by side with the     
tendency which life thus displays to    
take  possession of itself by           
consciousness1 it seeks to widen the    
sphere  of its operation by a more and  
more profound activity4 ,life is        
productivity4 ,at the lowest stage of   
consciousness life leads only  to the   
inner development of the solitary cell2 
at the highest stage  of consciousness1 
life manifests itself in intelligent and
 moral  productivity4 ,expansion1 far   
from being opposed to the nature of     
life1 is in harmony with its nature1 is 
the very condition of life1  properly so
 called1 just as in generation the need 
to engender another  individual results 

in that individual's existence being1 as
 it were1  a condition of our own4 ,the 
fact is that life does not consist in   
nutrition only1 it consists in          
production1 and pure egoism involves not
  an expansion of self but a diminution 
and mutilation of self4 ,also the       
individual1 by the mere fact of growth1 
tends to become both social and         
moral4#afj ,it is this fact of the      
fundamental sociality of mankind  which 
is the basis of the moral instinct1 and 
of what is most profound  and durable in
 the religious and metaphysical         
instinct4 ,metaphysical  speculation1   
like moral action1 thus springs from the
 very source  of life4 ,to live is to   
become a conscious1 a moral1 and        
ultimately  a philosophical being4 ,life
 is activity in one or other of its more
  or less equivalent forms3 moral       
activity1 and what may be called        
metaphysical activity1 that is to say1  
activity of thought1 binds up  the      
individual with the universe4           

#afj ,see the author's ,esquisse d'une  
morale1 p4 #ddg1 et        seq4         
,sidenote3 ,no final cause in nature4   
,up to this point we have made no       
mention of anything in the nature of  a 
final cause4 ,morality1 in our judgment1
 is as independent as the  so-called    
religious instinct of anything in the   
nature of a primordial  end and aim4    
,morality in the beginning is simply a  
more or less blind1  unconscious1 or1 at
 best1 subconscious power4 ,as this     
power becomes  endowed with             
self-consciousness1 it directs itself   
toward more and more  rational objects3 
duty is self-conscious and organized    
morality4  ,just as humanity moves      
blindly forward without in the first    
instance  possessing any notion of its  
destination1 so also moves nature4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,monism and the problem of   
destiny4    ,all this being true1 what  
is the destiny of mankind in the world8 
,does  monism allow a place for the     

hopes on which the moral and            
metaphysical  sentiments have always    
relied in their effort to save thought  
and  good-will from the charge of       
vanity8    ,sidenote3 ,natural selection
 and the possible evolution of gods4    
,if evolution may be conceived as       
possessing from the beginning a  certain
 aim and as being on the whole          
providential1--a metaphysical           
hypothesis which unhappily is guiltless 
of the smallest trace of  scientific    
induction1--it may also be conceived as 
resulting in beings  capable of         
proposing to themselves a certain aim1  
and of dragging  nature after them      
toward it4 ,natural selection would thus
 finally be  converted into moral and1  
in some sort1 divine selection4 ,such an
  hypothesis is1 no doubt1 as yet a rash
 one1 but is at least in the  direction 
of the trend of scientific thought1 and 
it is not formally  in contradiction    
with present knowledge4 ,evolution1 in  
effect1 can and  will produce species   

and types superior to humanity as we    
know it2 it  is not probable that we    
embody the highest achievement possible 
in  life1 thought1 and love4 ,who knows1
 indeed1 but that evolution may  be able
 to bring forth1 nay1 has not already   
brought forth1 what the  ancients called
 gods8    ,sidenote3 ,possibility of    
arresting process of dissolution4       
,such speculation offers a permanent    
support for what is best in the         
religious sentiment for sociality1 not  
only with all living and knowing        
beings1 but with the creatures of       
thought and superior power with which   
we people the universe4 ,provided such  
beings are in no sense anti-real1       
provided they might somewhere exist1 if 
not in the present at least in  the     
future1 the religious sentiment may     
attach itself to them without  check    
from the scientific sentiment4 ,and in  
so doing it becomes one  with the       
metaphysical and poetic impulse4 ,the   
believer is transmuted  into a          

philosopher or a poet1 but into a poet  
whose poetry is his  life1 and who      
dreams of a universal society of real or
 possible beings  who shall be animated 
to a goodness of will analogous to his  
own4 ,the  statement that ,feuerbach    
proposed1 of what is essential in moral 
and  religious sentiment 7the reaction  
of human desire on the universe71  may  
then be interpreted in a higher sense as
 referring to a desire and  a hope both 
that1 first1 the sociality with which we
 feel ourselves  personally to be       
animated may1 as biology would lead us  
to believe1  be discovered in all beings
 that exist at the summit of universal  
evolution2 and second1 that these beings
 thus placed at the front by  evolution1
 will one day succeed in securing what  
they have gained1 in  preventing        
dissolution1 and that they may thereby  
permanently establish  in the universe  
the love of social or rather universal  
well-being4    ,sidenote3 ,the highest  
possible conception in the realms of    

morals4    ,thus understood1 the        
religious sentiment may still be        
regarded as  ultra-scientific1 but no   
longer as anti-scientific4 ,it is1 no   
doubt1  taking much for granted to      
suppose that beings who have arrived at 
a  high degree of evolution may         
determine from that point on the        
direction  that the evolutionary process
 is to take1 but1 after all1 since we   
are  unable to affirm with certitude    
that such is not or may not become the  
fact1 the moral and social sentiment    
urges us to act in such manner  as to   
turn as far as in us lies the process of
 evolution in that  direction4 ,if1 as  
we have said1 morality is a species of  
productivity1  every moral being must   
turn his eyes toward the future1 must   
hope that  his work will not die1 must  
watch over the safety of that portion of
  himself that he has delivered to      
someone else--of his love--by which  not
 only he has devoted himself to others1 
but has made others in a  sense his own2

 has acquired rights over them1 has     
conquered them1 so to  speak1 by        
subjecting himself to them4 ,by         
labouring for humanity and for  the     
universe with which humanity is bound   
up1 ,i acquire certain rights  over the 
universe4 ,there arises between us a    
relation of reciprocal  dependence4 ,the
 highest conception of morals and       
metaphysics is that  of a sort of sacred
 league between the higher beings of the
 earth1 and  even of the universe1 for  
the advancement of what is good4        
99       99       99       99       99  
,,ii4 ,what scientific facts may be     
urged in bar of such hopes as to the    
destiny of the universe and of humanity8
    ,sidenote3 ,immanence of            
dissolution4    ,the most discouraging  
aspect of the theory of evolution is    
that  of dissolution1 which seems to be 
inevitably incident to it4 ,from        
,heracleitus to ,mr4 ,spencer1          
philosophers have regarded these two    
ideas  as inseparable4 ,but does        

evolution necessarily result in         
dissolution8  ,our experience1 both of  
the life of individuals and of worlds1  
seems1 so far as the past is concerned1 
to make for a reply in the  affirmative4
 ,our whole acquaintance has been with  
worlds which have  gone or are going to 
shipwreck4 ,when the corpse of a sailor 
is thrown  into the sea1 his friends    
take notice of the exact point of       
latitude  and longitude at which his    
body disappeared in the ocean4 ,two     
figures  on a bit of paper are all that 
exists of what was a human life4 ,an    
analogous destiny may be supposed to be 
in reserve for the terrestrial  globe   
and for humanity as a whole4 ,they may  
some day sink out of sight  in space and
 dissolve beneath the moving waves of   
ether2 and at that  period1 if some     
neighbouring and friendly star observe  
us1 it may  take the latitude and       
longitude in infinite space of the point
 in the  celestial abyss where we       
disappeared--the angle made by the last 

rays  that left the earth2 and the      
measure of this angle1 made by two      
extinct  rays1 may be the sole trace to 
remain of the whole sum of human effort 
in the world of thought4    ,sidenote3  
,has been observed in the past only4    
,nevertheless1 the duty of science being
 equally in its denials and  in its     
affirmations to keep within the limits  
of certainty1 it is  important not to   
model our conception of the future too  
absolutely upon  our knowledge of the   
past4    ,sidenote3 ,the future may     
differ from the past4    ,up to the     
present time there has been no          
individual1 nor group of  individuals1  
nor world which has attained complete   
self-consciousness1  complete           
consciousness of its life and of the    
laws of its life4 ,we are  unable1      
therefore1 either to affirm or to       
demonstrate that dissolution  is        
essentially and eternally incident to   
evolution by the very law  of being3 the
 law of laws is to us simply x4 ,if     

thought is ever to  understand the law  
of laws1 it will be by realizing the law
 in its  own person4 ,and such a height 
of development is conceivable2 if it  is
 impossible to prove its existence1 it  
is still more impossible to  prove its  
non-existence4 ,it may be that if       
complete self-consciousness1  if        
complete consciousness is ever achieved1
 it will produce a  corresponding power 
great enough to arrest the process of   
dissolution4  ,beings who are capable1  
in their infinite complication of       
movements  in the world1 of             
distinguishing those which make for     
evolution as  against those which make  
for dissolution1 might be capable of    
defeating  the latter and of securing   
the unimpeded operation of the former4  
,if  a bird is to cross the sea it needs
 a certain breadth of wing2 its  destiny
 depends on some inches1 more or less1  
of feathers4 ,seabirds  that desert the 
shore before their wings have attained  
the proper  strength are one after      

another engulfed in the waves1 but when 
their  wings are full grown they can    
cross the ocean4 ,a world also needs1 so
  to speak1 a certain breadth of wing to
 secure its flight in infinite          
space--its fate depends on some small   
increments1 more or less1 in the        
development of consciousness2 beings may
 one day be produced capable of         
traversing eternity without danger of   
being engulfed1 and evolution may  be   
established once for all in security    
against a recoil2 for the first  time in
 the onward movement of the universe a  
definitive result may be  achieved4     
,according to the profound symbolism of 
the ,greek religion1  time is the father
 of worlds4 ,the power of evolution     
which the moderns  regard as ruling over
 all things is the ancient ,saturn who  
devours  his offspring4 ,which of his   
children shall deceive him and vanquish 
him--what ,jupiter shall some day prove 
strong enough to chain up the  divine   
and terrible power that engendered him8 

,the problem for him when  he shall     
arise--for this god of light and        
intelligence--will be to  check the     
eternal and blind impulse of destruction
 without at the same  time arresting the
 impulse of productivity4 ,nothing1     
after all1 can  justify one in affirming
 scientifically that such a problem is  
forever  insoluble4    ,sidenote3 ,the  
inexhaustible resources of nature4      
,the great resource of nature is number1
 the possible combinations of  which are
 infinite and constitute the secret of  
the eternal mechanism  of the universe4 
,fortuitous combination and selection1  
which have  produced so many marvels in 
the past1 may give rise to still greater
  marvels in the future4 ,it is on that 
fact that ,heracleitus1 ,empedocles1    
,democritus1 and later the men like     
,laplace1 ,lamarck1 and ,darwin based   
their conception of the part played by  
chance in the universe1 and of  the     
point of union between luck and destiny4
 ,there is in the history  of the       

world--as in the history of a people1 a 
belief1 or a science--a  certain number 
of partings of the way1 where the least 
impulse toward  one side or toward the  
other suffices to destroy or to preserve
 the  accumulated effort of centuries4  
,we must happily have passed an         
infinity of such cross-roads to have    
attained our present point of           
development4 ,and at each new point of  
the kind we encounter once more  the    
same danger and run the same risk of    
losing everything that we have  gained4 
,the number of times that a fortunate   
soldier has evaded death  will not make 
the next shot fired at him deviate a    
millimetre from its  appointed path1 but
 if our successes in the past are no    
guarantee of  success in the future1 our
 failures in the past do not constitute 
a  definitive proof of failure in the   
future4    ,sidenote3 ,even chances that
 the future may not resemble the past4  
,the gravest objection that can be urged
 against hopefulness1 an  objection     

which has hitherto not been sufficiently
 considered1  and which ,m4 ,renan has  
omitted to deal with in his something   
too  optimistic 8,dialogues0--is that of
 the eternity a parte post1 is the      
semi-abortion1 the partial miscarriage  
of a universe which1 throughout  an     
infinite past1 has proved itself        
incapable of a better world than        
this4#afa ,still1 if that fact          
constitutes a reason for looking with   
less confidence toward the future1 it   
cannot be regarded as a ground  for     
despair4 ,an infinite past has proved to
 be more or less sterile1  but an       
infinite future may prove to be         
otherwise4 ,even taking for  granted the
 total miscarriage hitherto of the      
labours of humanity and  of the infinity
 of extra-terrestrial beings who no     
doubt coperate with  us1 there remains1 
so far as the future is concerned1      
mathematically  one chance out of every 
two of success2 and that is enough to   
debar  pessimism forever of an ultimate 

triumph4 ,if the mere chances of the    
dice1 by which1 according to ,plato1 the
 universe is governed1 have as  yet     
produced nothing but crumbling worlds   
and caducous civilization1 a            
calculation of probabilities            
demonstrates that even after an infinite
  number of throws the result of the    
present cast or of the next cast  cannot
 be foreseen4 ,the future is not        
entirely determined by the past  which  
is known to us4 ,future and past are    
reciprocally related and  the one cannot
 be absolutely known without the other1 
and the one  cannot be absolutely       
divined from a knowledge of the other4  
,conceive a  flower in bloom at some    
point in infinite space--a sacred       
flower1 the  flower of thought3 hands   
have been groping for it in every       
direction  throughout an infinite past2 
some have touched it by chance and then 
lost it again before they could seize   
it4 ,is the divine flower never  to be  
plucked8 ,why not8 ,a negative answer   

would be simply the outcome  of         
discouragement1 not the expression of   
probability4 ,or conceive1  once more1 a
 ray of light following a straight line 
through space1  not reflected by any    
solid atom or molecule of air1 and an   
infinity  of eyes in an eternal         
obscurity seeking for this ray1 with no 
means  of discovering how near to them  
or how far from them it may1 at any     
moment1 be4 ,the ray pursues its way    
unimpeded1 and innumerable open1  ardent
 eyes long for it and sometimes seem to 
feel the presence of  the luminous wave 
moving forward on its victorious course4
 ,must  their search eternally be vain8 
,if there is no definitive reason for   
affirming it1 there is still less any   
categorical reason for denying  it4 ,it 
is a matter of chance1 the man of       
science might say2 it is a  matter1     
also1 of perseverance and intelligence1 
would be added by the  philosopher4     
#afa ,see on this subject the author's  
,vers d'un philosophe1        p4 #aih4  

,sidenote3 ,positive evidence of        
ultimate success4    ,the fact that we  
are to-day capable of stating such      
problems in regard  to the destiny of   
the universe seems to indicate something
 like an  advance in the direction of   
solving them2 thought is unable to      
advance  upon reality beyond a certain  
point2 the conception of an ideal       
presupposes the existence of a more or  
less imperfect realization of  it4 ,in  
the tertiary period no animal speculated
 about the universal  society4 ,a true  
conception of the ideal1 if the truth   
about the matter  could be known        
mathematically1 would be found to       
possess1 in all  probability1 an        
enormous number of chances of being     
realized2 properly  to state a problem  
is to have begun to solve it4 ,a purely 
mathematical  calculation of the        
external probabilities of the case does 
not1  therefore1 express the real value 
in the domain of intelligence and       
morality1 because in matters of         

intelligence and morality1 possibility1 
probability1 and the powers upon which  
the realization of the fact  depends1   
lie in thought which is a concentration 
of inner and1 so to  speak1 living      
chances4    ,sidenote3 ,in especial when
 the infinity of space is taken into    
account4    ,over and above infinity of 
number and eternity of time1 a field of 
hopefulness lies in the immensity of    
space1 which makes it irrational  for us
 to judge too absolutely of the future  
of the universe solely  from our        
experience of so small a portion of it  
as our solar1 and even  as our stellar  
system4 ,are we the only thinking beings
 in the universe8  ,we have already seen
 that1 without passing far beyond what  
science  holds to be certain1 one may   
even now reply in the negative4 ,there  
very probably exists an infinity of cold
 or cooling stars1 which have  arrived  
at about the same point in their        
evolution as our earth2 each  of these  
stars is physically and chemically      

analogous to the earth1  and they must  
have passed through analogous stages of 
vapourization1  and condensation1 and   
incandescence1 and cooling4 ,it is      
therefore  probable that they have given
 rise to forms of organic life more  or 
less analogous to those that we are     
acquainted with4 ,in effect1  the       
homogeneity of the organic matter of    
which our stellar system  is composed 7a
 fact which spectral analysis enables us
 to ascertain  in regard to even the    
most remote stars7 allows us to infer1  
by an  induction which is not too       
improbable1 a certain similitude in the 
most  fundamental types of organic life4
 ,analogous types of mineralization  and
 crystallization must have given rise to
 analogous types of  organization1      
although the number and richness of the 
forms that are  possible increase as    
existence grows more complex4 ,we do not
 see why  the primordial protoplasm     
should in such and such a satellite of  
,sirius  be especially different from   

that of our globe2 nay1 there may even  
obtain a certain cycle of forms and     
8living numbers10 as ,pythagoras  would 
say1 that periodically recur4 ,it is    
difficult in the actual state  of       
science to conceive life as appearing   
except in some form of matter  analogous
 to the cellule1 and to conceive        
consciousness as otherwise  than        
centralized in and manifesting itself by
 vibrations such as those  to which our 
nervous systems are subject4 ,conscious 
life implies a  society of living       
beings1 a sort of social consciousness  
which the  individual consciousness     
seems1 in a sort1 to presuppose4        
,organic and  conscious life1 the       
conditions of which are so much more    
determinate  than those of inorganic    
life1 must everywhere1 in spite of      
differences  in the circumstances1 have 
assumed in the course of evolution forms
  that1 in a number of respects1 must   
have been analogous to animals and      
human beings such as we are familiar    

with4 ,perhaps the most general  of the 
laws formulated by ,geoffrey            
,saint-,hilaire on the correlation  of  
organs might be found to hold good of   
the animals existing on the  satellites 
of distant stars of the twentieth       
magnitude4 ,in spite of the  infinite   
variety of the flora and fauna of our   
globe1 and the seemingly  inexhaustible 
ingenuity that nature has displayed in  
varying their  forms1 it may reasonably 
be surmised that the difference between 
the  types of life with which we are    
acquainted and those with which we are  
not acquainted is subject to certain    
considerable limitations4 ,in spite  of 
differences of temperature1 of light1 of
 attraction1 of electricity1  sidereal  
species1 how different soever they may  
be from terrestrial  species of living  
beings1 must1 by the necessities of the 
case1 have  been developed in the       
direction of sensitiveness and of       
intelligence1  and have gone in that    
direction sometimes not as far as we1   

sometimes  farther4 ,note also that even
 on our globe the excessively odd and   
monstrous types produced1 like those of 
the tertiary period1 as it were  in     
obedience to a sort of apocalyptic      
imagination1 have proved unable  to     
maintain themselves4 ,the most enduring 
species have generally been  the least  
eccentric1 the closest to a uniform and 
sthetic type4 ,it is  not excessively   
improbable1 therefore1 that the universe
 contains an  infinite number of human  
species analogous to humanity as we know
 it1  in all essential faculties1       
although1 perhaps1 very different in the
  form of their organs and in the degree
 of their intelligence4 ,they are  our  
planetary brothers4 ,perhaps by         
comparison with us they are gods2  and  
in that fact lies1 as we have said1 the 
kernel of possible or  actual truth in  
the ancient beliefs in regard to the    
divine inhabitants  of the skies4#afb   
#afb ,to understand the enormous        
differences which1 in spite        of   

the analogies1 may exist between the    
organization of the        planetary or 
stellar beings and our own1 it suffices 
to        consider the immense variety  
which obtains among terrestrial         
species4 ,ants have already achieved an 
advanced state of        society with   
their shepherd1 labouring1 and warrior  
castes4        ,suppose them to continue
 their intellectual development instead 
of halting at a mechanical life of      
instinct2 they might arrive        at a 
point of mental evolution analogous1    
mutatis mutandis1        to that of such
 and such a human society2 for example1 
that        of the ,chinese4 ,who knows1
 indeed1 but that they might rule       
the earth by virtue of substituting     
number and intelligence        for      
individual power8 ,their civilization   
would be in some sort                   
,liliputian1 and destined1 no doubt1 to 
exercise a smaller        influence on  
the course of things than that of which 
physically        stronger beings might 

prove capable2 or1 to pass from one     
extreme to the other1 in the dreamland  
in which ,fontenelle1        ,diderot1  
and ,voltaire have laboured1 conceive a 
race of human        beings developed   
not from anthropoids1 but from the next 
most        intelligent members of the  
animal kingdom--from elephants4         
,scientifically1 the supposition is not 
impossible1 when it is        considered
 that the elephant's trunk is at once   
one of the        strongest and most    
delicate organs of prehension known to  
us1        and that to possess a        
well-developed brain and good organs of 
prehension are perhaps the prime        
requisites for success in the           
struggle for existence4 ,a giant        
civilization1 therefore1 quite          
different from ours in externals1 if not
 in essentials1 might        well have  
been achieved on the earth or on some   
neighbouring        star4 ,however      
repugnant to our instinctive            
anthropomorphism1        we should      

familiarize ourselves with the thought  
that if        evolution is subject to  
necessary laws1 a simple series of      
accidents and favourable circumstances  
may give such and such        a species 
the advantage over such and such        
another1 and invert        the          
comparative dignity of the two without  
the general onward        movement of   
evolution being checked4                
,moreover1 the development of           
intelligence in a planet depends        
much less on the bodily form and number 
of the inhabitants        than on the   
nature of their life2 and as their life 
depends        upon phenomena of heat1  
light1 electricity1 and the chemical    
modifications that they produce1 it is  
these phenomena that        in some sort
 decide the intellectual future of the  
planet4        ,kant threw out the      
suggestion that in an astronomic system1
        for example--in our solar       
system--the intellectual and moral      
perfection of the inhabitants increases 

with their aloofness        from the    
central star1 and thus follows a        
lowering of the        temperature2 but 
such a hypothesis is much too simple to 
account for so complex an effect1 and   
one which is dependent        upon many 
other things than temperature4 ,what is 
probable1 from        the phenomena of  
life as we know them1 is that thought   
could        scarcely be developed      
either in a brazier or a glacier1 and   
that a certain mean is a necessary      
condition of organic and                
intellectual development4    ,sidenote3 
,objections answered4    ,but1 it has   
been said1 if other globes than ours are
 inhabited by  intelligent and          
affectionate beings who live as we do   
upon the daily  bread of science1 these 
beings cannot be notably superior to us1
 or  they would have given us before    
this time visible signs of their        
existence4 ,to argue thus is not        
sufficiently to take account of the     
terrible power of space to imprison     

beings in infinite isolation4  ,it may  
well be doubted whether beings of a     
relatively infinite  intelligence1 as   
compared with us1 would not find their  
power unequal  to dealing with such     
spaces as separate the stars4 ,our      
testimony on a  question of the         
existence of such beings has no more    
value than that of  a flower in the     
polar regions1 or a bit of moss on the  
,himalayas1 or a  bit of weed in the    
depths of the ,pacific ,ocean1 would    
have if it should  declare the earth to 
be void of really intelligent beings on 
the ground  that they had never been    
plucked by a human hand4 ,if1 therefore1
 the  universe somewhere contains beings
 really worthy of the name of gods1     
they are probably so distant from us    
that they are as unaware of our         
existence as we are of theirs4 ,they    
perhaps have realized our ideals1  and  
the fact of that realization will       
perhaps remain unknown to us to  the    
end4    ,sidenote3 ,possibility of      

discovering inhabitants in other        
spheres4    ,it is to-day admitted that 
every thought corresponds to a certain  
kind  of motion4 ,suppose that an       
analysis more delicate even than that of
  the spectrum should enable us to      
record and to distinguish1 not only     
vibrations of light but the invisible   
vibrations of thought in distant        
worlds4 ,we should1 perhaps1 be         
surprised to see that in proportion as  
the light and heat of the incandescent  
stars decrease1 there by degrees  arises
 consciousness1 and that the smallest   
and most obscure stars are  the first to
 produce it1 whereas the most brilliant 
and enormous1 like  ,sirius and         
,aldebaran1 are the last to feel these  
subtler vibrations1  but feel them      
ultimately with greater power1 and      
develop a humanity  with faculties and  
powers proportionate to their enormity4 
,sidenote3 ,slowness of spread of       
civilization from star to star4    ,the 
total amount of space which is known to 

us1 from our earth to  the farthest     
nebul that the telescope renders        
visible1 and to the  dark depths beyond1
 is no more than a mere point as        
compared with the  totality of the      
universe--supposing always that there is
 a totality4  ,eternity may1 therefore1 
be necessary for progress to traverse   
the  immensity of space1 if one         
conceives progress 7if such a thing     
exists  at all7 as starting from some   
one point of departure1 from a sort  of 
holy-land and elect people1 and         
spreading from them out in all          
directions into the infinite4 ,modern   
science1 of course1 scarcely  permits   
one to believe in so privileged a land4 
,illimitable nature  scarcely possesses1
 after the fashion of ,god1 exclusive   
election4  ,if the ideal has been       
achieved in one place1 it must also1 in 
all  probability1 have been achieved in 
a number of others1 although the  wave  
of progress has not yet spread to us4   
,intellectual light travels  less       

rapidly than solar and stellar light1   
and yet how long it takes a  ray to come
 to us from ,capricornus6    ,sidenote3 
,possibility of mind-acting on mind at a
 distance4    ,in our inferior          
organisms1 consciousness does not seem  
to pass from  one living molecule to    
another unless they are contiguous in   
space2  still1 according to the most    
recent discoveries in regard to the     
nervous system1 and to the propagation  
of thought by mental suggestion  from a 
distance1#afc it is not contrary to the 
facts to conceive the  possibility of a 
sort of radiation of consciousness      
through space by  means of undulations  
of a degree of subtlety as yet unknown  
to us4 ,it  is not utterly unpermissible
 to conceive a society of               
consciousnesses  not hemmed into some   
small corner of the universe1 each in a 
narrow  organism which is a prison1 but 
communicating freely with each other    
throughout the whole expanse of space2  
it is not utterly unpermissible  to     

conceive the ultimate realization of the
 ideal of universal  sociality which    
constitutes the basis of the religious  
instinct4 ,just  as out of a more       
intimate communication with individual  
consciousnesses  there may arise upon   
our earth a sort of collective          
consciousness1 so  it is not ridiculous 
to suppose that there may arise1 in an  
infinity of  ages1 a sort of intercosmic
 consciousness4          #afc ,see the  
,revue philosophique1 #ahhf4            
,sidenote3 ,patience4    ,god is patient
 because he is eternal1 theologians are 
fond of saying4  ,in an all-powerful    
being patience of evil would be a crime2
 patience1  which can scarcely be       
ascribed with any propriety to ,god1    
belongs  however most fitly to a being  
who is aware of his fundamental unity   
with the totality of things1 and is     
conscious of his eternity as a  member  
of the human species1 as a member of the
 brotherhood of living  beings of which 
the human species is simply an accident1

 as a part of  the evolution of this    
globe in which conscious life itself at 
first  appears as no more than an       
accident1 and of the evolution of the   
vast  astronomical systems in which our 
globe is no more than a point4 ,man  may
 be patient because1 as an inseparable  
part of nature1 he is eternal4          
,,iv4 ,the destiny of the human race and
 the hypothesis of immortality  from the
 point of view of monism4    ,sidenote3 
,theory of evolution and death4    ,next
 to the fate of the universe1 what      
interests us most vitally  is the       
question of our own destiny4 ,religion  
consists for the most  part in a        
meditation on death4 ,if death were not 
an incident of life  mankind would      
nevertheless be superstitious1 but      
superstition would  probably never have 
been systematized into religions4 ,the  
mass of  society possesses so slight an 
interest in metaphysics6 ,a problem must
  bruise and wound them to attract their
 attention2 and death prevents  such    

problems4 ,will the gates of the valley 
of ,jehoshaphat1 through  which the dead
 must pass1 open on the heavens like a  
rainbow made of  light and hope1 like a 
joyous triumphal arch1 or will it be low
 as the  door of the tomb1 and open upon
 infinite darkness8 ,such is the great  
question to which all religions have    
endeavoured to furnish a response4      
8,the last enemy that shall be          
vanquished is death10 says ,st4 ,paul2  
perhaps that also represents the last   
secret that shall be penetrated  by     
human thought4 ,the ideas which tend to 
become dominant in modern  philosophy   
seem1 however1 to exclude the notion of 
the perpetuity  of the self4 ,the       
conception of evolution principally is  
based on a  theory of mobility1 and     
appears to result in the dissolution of 
the  individual1 with even a greater    
certainty than in that of the species   
or the world4 ,the individual form1 and 
the species form1 are equally  unstable4
 ,on the walls of the catacombs may     

often be seen1 roughly  designed1 the   
dove1 bringing back to the ark the green
 bough1 the  symbol of the soul which   
has passed beyond the ocean and         
discovered the  eternal harbour2 at the 
present day the harbour recoils ad      
infinitum1  before human thought2       
limitless open sea stretches away before
 it3  where in the abyss of bottomless  
and limitless nature shall be found  the
 branch of hope4 ,death is a wider void 
than life4    ,sidenote3 ,the problem of
 life after death at the present day4   
,when ,plato approached the problem of  
destiny1 he did not hesitate  to launch 
out into philosophical hypotheses1 and  
even into poetical  myths4 ,it is our   
present purpose to examine what are     
to-day the  suppositions1 or1 if you    
choose1 the dreams that may still be    
entertained as to the future by a       
sincere believer in the dominant        
philosophy of the present day1 the      
philosophy of evolution4 ,given the     
present conception of nature1 would     

,plato have found himself cut off  from 
those beautiful expectations to the     
charm of which he said we  ought to     
submit ourselves8 ,in ,germany1 and in  
especial in ,england1  it is not        
uncommon to endeavour to discover how   
much of the antique  religious beliefs  
still subsists1 and is1 in however      
problematic and  uncertain a form1      
involved in the scientific and          
philosophic hypotheses  of the day4 ,it 
is our purpose to undertake here an     
analogous inquiry  in regard to         
immortality1 recognizing how conjectural
 any attempt to  solve the mystery of   
fate must be4 ,is it necessary to say   
that we  make no pretensions to         
8demonstrating0 either the existence or 
even  the scientific probability of a   
life after death8 ,our design is more   
modest2 it is enough to show that the   
impossibility of such a life is  not yet
 proven2 even in the presence of modern 
science immortality is  still a problem2
 if this problem has not received a     

positive solution1  no more has it      
received a negative solution4    ,it is 
our intention further to consider what  
bold1 and even adventurous  hypotheses  
may be necessary to enable one to       
translate into philosophic  language the
 sacred symbols of religion1 or the     
destiny of the soul4           99       
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,death and idealism4    ,i4  
,there are two possible conceptions as  
to life after death2 that  of eternal   
existence and that of immortality1      
properly so called1 or  continuation and
 evolution of life under a superior     
form4 ,the first  conception corresponds
 more particularly to the idealistic    
theories of  the world1 which we have   
analyzed above1 which1 regarding the    
basis  of things as an eternal thought1 
a thought of thought1 believe that  by  
identifying itself with it mankind might
 pass out of time into  eternity4       
,thought1 which seems at first no more  
than a reverberation  and image of      

things1 idealists believe1 turns out in 
the last analysis  to be the very       
reality of which all the rest of the    
world is but a  reflection2 but this    
conception of an eternal existence is   
not in the  least incompatible with the 
philosophy of evolution1 for evolution  
in time does not exclude a transcendent 
mode of existence out of  time4 ,such an
 existence1 however1 remains essentially
 problematic2 it  corresponds to ,kant's
 ,noumenon and ,spencer's ,unknowable2  
according  to this hypothesis1 corporal 
death is simply a stage in physical     
evolution1 and the final term to be     
attained by all beings is their         
fixation in the consciousness of        
eternity4 ,this point of fixation1      
accessible to every thinking being1 is  
to be attained only by the  highest1    
most disinterested1 impersonal1 and     
universal thought possible4             
,sidenote3 ,an eternal element in man4  
,such is the hope which lies at the     
bottom of the great religions1  and the 

great idealistic systems of metaphysics4
 ,according to ,plato  there is nothing 
durable in us but what relates to the   
eternal1 and  to the universal1 and is  
therefore of the same nature as they    
are4  ,all the rest is eliminated by    
,becoming1 by perpetual ,generation1    
that  is1 by evolution4 ,a flower is1 in
 our eyes1 a friend2 it owes its  colour
 and charm1 however simple1 to a ray of 
the sun2 but this ray1  to which our    
affection is due1 is wholly impersonal2 
it creates the  beauty of the flower1   
and passes on its way2 and it is the sun
 that  we should love1 both for the ray 
and the flower4 ,too exclusive and      
limited affection is always based on    
some mistake1 and is on that  account   
perishable4 ,it insists on our stopping 
at such and such a  link in the infinite
 chain of causes and effects4 ,it is the
 principle  of the universe1 it is the  
universal being that we must love1 if   
our  heart is big enough1 and it is that
 love alone1 according to ,plato1  which

 is eternal4 ,is not eternity the very  
form of existence in the  intelligible  
world1 in which ,goodness is the sun and
 the ,ideas are the  stars8 ,christian  
neo-,platonists1 over and above ,time   
and its incessant  mobility1 have       
dreamed of an intemporal and immutable  
somewhat1 that  they call the life      
eternal3 ,qu enim videntur1 temporalia  
sunt2 qu  autem non videntur1 terna4    
,spinoza has dealt with the same        
conception  of an existence under the   
form of eternity1 which does not exclude
  the perpetual development of changing 
modes4 ,kant also1 by his word          
,noumenon1 designated an intelligible1  
intemporal1 transcendent  somewhat1 that
 lay beyond the scope of physical       
evolution4 8,the eternal  evolution of  
the soul10 ,schelling has said in his   
turn1 8is not eternal  in the sense that
 it possesses neither a beginning nor an
 end1 but in  that it bears no relation 
to ,time40 ,and ,schopenhauer1 finally1 
believes  in an intemporal1 eternal     

will1 which is distinguished from the   
will  to live that belongs to time and  
to the evolution of temporal forms4     
8,we willingly recognize10 says         
,schopenhauer1 8that what remains after 
the complete abolition of the will is   
absolutely nothing to those who  are    
still full of the desire of life1 but   
for those in whom desire is  annihilated
 what does our evil world1 with its sun 
and its ,milky ,way1  amount to8        
,nothing40 ,it is with these words that 
,schopenhauer closes  his book4 ,he     
brings us once more into the presence of
 ,nirvna1  conceived not only as a      
refuge from life1 but also as a refuge  
from  death2 as an existence that shall 
be placeless and timeless1 and1 so to   
speak1 utopian 7in its primary          
intention7 and achronistic4             
,sidenote3 ,is such immortality personal
 or not8    ,but is this eternal life1  
the fact of which is1 as we have seen1  
problematic1 altogether impersonal or   
not8 ,no certain reply can be  given    

since we are as ignorant of the essence 
of individual being as  of the essence  
of universal being1 and consequently of 
the degree to  which it is possible for 
individuality to subsist in             
universality4  ,schopenhauer1 however1  
in his endeavour to ascribe to the      
individual  a greater amount of reality 
than ,plato allowed1 opposed the        
principle  of individuation to the      
natural individualities in which it     
manifests  itself1 and it may1 indeed1  
be asked1 whether genuine consciousness1
  genuine thought1 and genuine volition 
do not at once pass beyond the          
individual1 and preserve what is most   
essential in the individual4            
,individuality is always more or less   
physical1 but it is possible that  what 
makes individuality limited is not of   
the essence of personality1  of         
consciousness2 perhaps what is best in  
thought and will may become  universal1 
without ceasing in the best sense to be 
personal like the   of ,anaxagoras4#afd 

#afd ,at the very centre of one's being1
 universality and        personality    
increase side by side2 that is to say1  
the greater        the share of         
existence a being possesses1 the greater
 the        amount of existence that it 
is capable of sharing with other        
beings4 ,incommunicability or           
impenetrability represents the          
lowest degree of existence2 natural     
existence1 the existence        of      
forces as yet blind and fatal1 maintains
 by their mutual        antagonism an   
equilibrium in a state of inertia and   
torpor        444 ,the greater one's    
self-appropriation by intelligence1 the 
greater one's power of taking possession
 of other beings by        thought2 the 
being that best knows itself best knows 
other        beings 444 the spirit1 in  
so far as it is intelligent1 should     
be open1 penetrable1 participable1 and  
participant4 ,two minds1        in so   
far as they are perfect1 may            
interpenetrate each other by            

means of thought 7,a4 ,fouille1         
,philosophie de ,platon74          8,we 
must distinguish10 ,m4 ,janet also says1
 8between        personality and        
individuality4 ,individuality consists  
in all        the external circumstances
 which distinguish one man from         
another--circumstances of time1 place1  
organization1 etc4444        ,the root  
of personality lies in individuality1   
but it tends        incessantly to      
withdraw from it4 ,the individual is    
centred in        himself2 personality  
aspires to rise above itself4 ,the ideal
        of individuality is egoism1 the 
focussing of the whole in        self2  
the ideal of personality is devotion1   
the identification        of self with  
the whole4 ,personality1 properly so    
called1 is        consciousness of the  
impersonal0 7,moral1 #egc74             
,sidenote3 ,no positive knowledge to    
oppose to hypothesis of  immortality4   
,speculate as we may upon individual and
 universal being1 we are all  but       

brought face to face in the end with the
 same transcendental x4  ,such          
speculations1 however1 are not without a
 certain utility1 that  of impressing us
 afresh with the limits of our          
knowledge4 ,a belief  in a transcendent 
immortality1 as ,fiske says1 can be     
defined only  negatively1 as a refusal  
to believe that this world is           
everything4  ,the materialist maintains1
 ,fiske says1 that when we have         
described  the entire universe of       
phenomena1 of which we are capable of   
taking  cognizance under the conditions 
of this life1 the whole of the story    
has been told4 ,fiske himself believes1 
on the contrary1 that the whole  has not
 then been told4#afe ,we may at least   
say that it is possible  that the whole 
story has not then been told4 ,but to   
pass from the  possible to the probable1
 no conclusion of the kind can be       
considered  satisfactory that is not    
based upon more positive reason1        
psychological  or moral2 unsupported    

metaphysical speculations leave the mind
 simply  in the presence of a problem4  
#afe ,fiske1 ,the ,destiny of ,man1 p4  
#aac4           99       99       99    
99       99    ,sidenote3 ,the          
hypothesis of a conditional eternity4   
,theories in regard to an eternal life  
such as we above mentioned have  always 
proved in history more or less          
aristocratic and inclined to  limit the 
number of the elect4 ,in ,buddhism the  
sage alone is capable  of achieving     
eternal existence1 whereas all the rest 
of mankind are  condemned to life in    
time and illusion4 ,spinoza recognizes  
eternity  only in what he calls         
cognition of the third order1           
intellectual  intuition and love4 ,such 
cognition belongs properly to the true  
philosopher only4 ,the intelligence of  
the vulgar is passive and  perishable4  
8,the instant the vulgar cease 444 to   
suffer10 says ,spinoza1  8they cease to 
exist40 ,and ,goethe1 too1 was inclined 
to regard the  eternal life as reserved 

for an aristocracy4    ,sidenote3       
,criticised4    ,this theory of         
inequality is maintainable only in so   
far as it is based  upon an actual      
ascertainment of the difference in      
progress displayed  by different minds1 
and of the small number of those who    
achieve the  heights of wisdom4 ,the    
case is otherwise when such an observed 
fact  of natural or moral inequality is 
converted into a divine right1 and  ,god
 is conceived as creating and desiring  
precisely such a state of  things4 ,the 
latter1 however1 is the alternative that
 modern ,christian  theologians have    
adopted in their effort to offer a      
re-reading of  the sacred texts4 ,in    
their judgment the good alone are       
immortal1 or1  rather1 are immortalized 
by ,god2 the others are damned1 in the  
sense  that they are totally            
annihilated--an interpretation of the   
dogma of  eternal punishment that seems 
to them wholly to exculpate the ,deity4 
,any such notion is based upon a        

metaphysical illusion4 ,the hypothesis  
of traditional eternity is inconsistent 
with that of the existence of a         
creator1 since it is forever impossible 
on that hypothesis1 to escape  the      
contradiction involved in the notion of 
a being's creating only to  destroy--of 
a being's choosing among his creatures a
 certain number  for condemnation to    
death4 ,annihilation is simply damnation
 palliated2  it is the substitution of a
 celestial guillotine for the long      
miseries  that have preceded4 ,this     
theological hypothesis affords us no way
 out  of the difficulties involved in   
the doctrine of divine sanction that    
lies at the heart of all religions2 it  
is the sacrifice of ,isaac1 or of       
,jesus1 in another form simply4 ,will it
 be said that1 on the hypothesis  of    
conditional immortality1 the immoral    
being is alone responsible  for his own 
death8 ,yielding to passion1 or even to 
vice1 cannot be  assimilated to suicide1
 for in suicide one knows what one is   

doing and  is responsible for it2 one   
kills one's self because one wishes to  
die2  but one does not wish to die when 
one abandons one's self to a passion2   
and1 if the result therefore of so doing
 is annihilation1 death comes  upon one 
unforeseen and undesired1 takes one by  
surprise1 by a sort of  divine ruse1 and
 the responsibility for such            
annihilation lies and must  lie with    
,god4 ,moreover1 how can there exist    
between two individuals  of the same    
nature a sufficiently great natural or  
moral difference  to justify the one's  
being wholly annihilated1 and the       
other's being  permitted to live in     
ternum8 ,it may be said1 with ,plato in 
the  8,republic10 that1 if vice were a  
disease that is really mortal to the    
soul1 it would kill it in this life4    
,its destructive influence would  be    
felt long before the occurrence of      
death1 which1 so far as vice is         
concerned1 is an accidental circumstance
 simply4    ,sidenote3 ,is incompatible 

with human fellowship4    ,as the notion
 of conditional immortality is          
incompatible with the  notion of an     
omnipotent1 omniscient1 sovereignly     
loving creator1 so  also is it with that
 of a society of souls1 of a spiritual  
kingdom1  from which a certain number of
 mankind would be excluded forever4 ,an 
absolutely wicked and hateful soul1     
unpossessed of any element of  humanity1
 not to say of divinity1 and            
consequently unfit to live1 is a  pure  
figment of hate and amounts to          
transporting the caste of pariah  into  
the celestial city4 ,it is a            
contradiction in terms to enjoin us  to 
universal charity toward all men without
 exception1 and at the same  time to    
wish us to consent to the absolute      
annihilation and damnation  of some of  
them4 ,we are naturally and morally too 
intimately related  for certain of us to
 be condemned definitively to death     
without the  rest of us being impeded on
 our upward course2 we are bound to each

  other by our love of humanity like    
,alpine climbers by the cord that       
passes from waist to waist1 and one of  
us cannot slip but that the  rest of us 
feel it1 nor fall without all of us     
falling4 ,nihil humani  alienum2 one    
heart beats in the bosom of humanity1   
and if it stops  forever in a single    
human breast1 it will stop forever in   
the breasts  of those also who are      
supposed to be immortal4 ,the best of   
us1 those  who would be fit to receive  
baptism into immortality1 would do as   
the  barbarous and pagan chief1 who1    
after having washed away his sins in    
the holy water of the font1 with        
salvation in his hand and ,paradise     
before his eyes1 demanded suddenly what 
would be the fate of his former         
companions who had died unconverted1 and
 whether he should find them  in heaven4
 8,no10 replied the priest1 8they will  
be among the miserable  and the damned1 
and thou amongst the blessed40 8,i will 
go1 then1 among  the damned1 for ,i wish

 to go where ,i shall find my companions
 in arms4  ,adieu60 ,and he turned his  
back upon the font4    ,sidenote3       
,summary4    ,the hypothesis of         
conditional immortality can1 therefore1 
be maintained  only by eliminating from 
it the doctrine of a creator of absolute
  merit1 of virtue1 and of universal and
 infinite charity2 thus  diminished1 it 
becomes a belief in a sort of natural or
 metaphysical  necessity to which beings
 are subject according to their degree  
of  perfection simply4 ,this hypothesis 
is essentially anti-providential1  and  
in harmony only with systems more or    
less analogous to that of  ,spinoza4    
,in general the notion of eternal life  
is altogether transcendent and a  fit   
subject for mystical dreams only4 ,let  
us1 therefore1 abandon this  high ground
 and descend to nature and experience4  
,instead of talking  of eternity1 let us
 speak of life after death and of an    
immortality  not conditional1 but       
conditioned by the laws of matter and of

 mind and  attainable by everyone4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,does personality contain a  
permanent element8    ,,ii4 ,let us take
 our stand in the beginning on positive 
experience1 and  consider what sort of  
immortality the philosophy of evolution 
permits  us to hope for4 ,there exists  
in the sphere of consciousness1 so to   
speak1 a series of concentric circles   
which lie closer and closer about  an   
unfathomable centre1 personality4 ,let  
us pass in review the diverse           
manifestations of personality and see if
 they contain any imperishable  element4
    ,sidenote3 ,one's works immortal4   
,the most external1 and1 in some sort1  
the most observable aspect of  mankind1 
consists in their works and actions4    
,where material works  alone are        
concerned1 such as a house that one has 
built1 a picture that  one has painted1 
a statue that one has modelled1 it may  
be felt that  the distance between the  
worker and the work is too great1 and   

that  immortality in one's work is too  
much like a sort of optical illusion4   
,but when intellectual and moral works  
are concerned1 the effect and the  cause
 are more nearly one2 therein lies the  
element of truth contained  in the      
highly impersonal and disinterested     
doctrine that one lives  in one's works4
 ,intellectual and moral labours are    
more than their  mere material effect4  
,the good man's highest wish is to live 
and live  again in his good actions2 the
 thinker's highest wish is to live and  
live again in the thought that he has   
contributed to the inheritance  of      
humanity4 ,this doctrine may be found in
 almost all great religions  and is     
capable of subsistence in the domain of 
pure science4 ,according  to the modern 
,buddhists of ,india a man's actions are
 his soul1 and it  is this soul that    
survives his death1 and transmigration  
of souls  is simply the constant        
transformation of good into better1 and 
evil  into worse2 the immortality of    

one's soul is the immortality of one's  
actions1 which continue to operate      
forever in the world according to  their
 original force and direction4          
,sidenote3 ,continuity of human effort4 
,generation after generation labours at 
the task1 and passes the token  of hope 
from hand to hand4 ,heri meum1 tuum     
hodie1 yesterday was mine  and ,i spent 
it in doing good1 but not enough good2  
to-day is thine3  employ the whole of   
it1 do not lose an hour of it2 if an    
hour dies  sterile1 it is a chance lost 
of realizing the ideal4 ,thou art master
 of  to-day2 do what in thee lies to    
make to-morrow what thou wouldst have   
it1 let to-morrow be always in advance  
of to-day1 and the horizon that  men see
 each fresh morning be brighter and     
higher than the one they saw  before4   
,sidenote3 ,nothing lost4    ,the action
 must be followed into its effects1 or  
into the effect  of those effects1 and  
so on infinitely4 ,our conduct stretches
 away  ad infinitum1 beyond the reach of

 our knowledge4 ,even from the  purely  
physical and physiological point of     
view1 neither intended  nor attempted   
goodness is ineffective1 since both     
thought and desire  develop the mind4   
,the very notion of what is to-day      
chimerical  corresponds to a real       
movement in our brains2 it is a mental  
force  which contains its element of    
verity and influence4 ,we inherit not   
only  what our fathers did1 but what    
they could not do1 what they attempted  
and did not achieve4 ,we are still alive
 with the devotion and sacrifice  of our
 ancestors1 with the courage that       
perhaps they spent in vain1 as  we feel 
in the spring the breath of distant     
antedeluvian springs and  the loves of  
the tertiary period4    ,sidenote3      
,failure in the past the guarantee of   
success in the future4    ,the ability  
of the present generation has been made 
possible by the  stumbling and mistakes 
of generations in the past2 and this    
embryonic  and successless past         

constitutes the guarantee of our future4
 ,in the  moral1 as in the physiological
 world1 there are instances of fertility
  that are not yet explicable4          
,sometimes long after the death of the  
man who first loved her the woman brings
 forth a child that resembles  him2 and 
humanity may bring forth a civilization 
on the model of some  ideal cherished in
 the past1 even when the past seems to  
be buried  forever1 if the ideal        
contains some obscure element of truth  
and1  by consequence1 of imperishable   
force4 ,what has once really lived      
shall live again1 and what seems to be  
dead is only making ready to  revive4   
,the scientific law of atavism is a     
guarantee of resurrection4  ,to conceive
 and desire the best is to attempt the  
ideal1 is to  predetermine the path that
 all succeeding generations shall tread4
 ,our  highest aspirations1 which seem  
precisely the most vain1 are1 as it     
were1 waves which1 having had the power 
to reach us1 have the power to  pass    

beyond us1 and may1 by a process of     
summation with other waves1  ultimately 
shake the world4 ,i am satisfied that   
what is best in me  will survive1       
perhaps not one of my dreams shall be   
lost2 other men  will take them up1 will
 dream them over again in their turn    
until they  are realized4 ,it is by     
force of spent waves that the sea       
fashions the  immense bed in which it   
lies4    ,sidenote3 ,death not          
inevitable4    ,in effect1 in the       
philosophy of evolution life and death  
are recognized  as relative and         
correlative conceptions2 life is in one 
sense death1  and death is the triumph  
of life over one of its particular      
forms4  ,proteus in the fable could be  
prevented from changing his shape only  
by being caught in sleep1 which is the  
image of death2 thus it is  in nature2  
fixed form is sleep1 is death1 is a     
pause in the eternal  fluctuation of    
life4 ,becoming and life are alike      
formless4 ,form1  individuality1        

species1 mark a transitory stoppage in  
the channel of  life2 we can neither    
seize nor hold nature1 except when it is
 laid  asleep1 and what we call         
death--my death or yours--is itself a   
latent  pulse of universal life1 like   
one of the secret vibrations that pass  
through the germ during the months of   
apparent inertia during which it  is    
making ready for the later stages of its
 development4 ,the law of  nature is    
eternal germination4 ,a man of science  
was one day holding  a handful of wheat1
 that had been found in the tomb of an  
,egyptian  mummy4 8,five thousand years 
without sight of the sun6 ,unhappy      
grains  of wheat1 as sterile as death1  
of which they have so long been the     
companions1 never shall their tall      
stalks bow beneath the wind on the      
banks of the ,nile4 ,never8 ,what do ,i 
know of life1 of death80 ,as an         
experiment simply1 without much hope of 
success1 the man of science  sowed the  
grains of wheat that he had recovered   

from the tomb1 and the  wheat of the    
,pharaohs received the caress of the    
sun1 of the air1 and  came up green     
through the soil of ,egypt1 and bowed   
beneath the wind on  the banks of the   
sacred and inexhaustible flood of the   
,nile4 ,and shall  human thought1 and   
the higher life which stirs in us like  
the germ in  the seed1 and love that    
seems to sleep forever in the tomb1 not 
have  this reawakening in some          
unforeseen springtime1 and not be       
brought  face to face with eternity1    
which seems at present to be buried1    
once  and for all1 in darkness8 ,what is
 death1 after all1 in the universe1  but
 a lesser degree of vital heat1 a more  
or less transitory lowness  of          
temperature8 ,death cannot be powerful  
enough to hold life and its  perpetual  
youth in check1 and to prevent the      
infinite activity of  thought and of    
desire4           99       99       99  
99       99    ,sidenote3 ,is a more    
personal immortality possible8    ,,iii4

 ,yes1 ,i and my works shall survive2   
but is immortality in this  sense       
sufficient to satisfy the religious     
sentiment8 ,as an individual1  what do  
science and the philosophy of evolution 
promise me or permit me  to hope8 ,a    
somewhat external and impersonal        
immortality is1 as we have  seen1       
possible2 is anything in the nature of  
an internal or personal  immortality    
likewise possible8    ,sidenote3        
,science answers in the negative4       
,assuredly1 it is not of science that   
the individual can demand proofs  of his
 permanence4 ,the fact of generation is1
 in the eyes of the man  of science1 in 
and of itself a negative of individual  
immortality2 the  social instinct which 
opens our hearts to thousands of other  
beings  emphasizes the negation1 and the
 scientific and metaphysical instincts  
themselves1 which cause us to take an   
interest in the sensitive world1  in its
 laws and destinies1 diminish1 so to    
speak1 our importance as  limited       

individuals4 ,thought breaks the limits 
of the self in which it  is confined1   
and our breast is too narrow to contain 
our heart4 ,oh1  how rapidly one learns 
in science and in art to make small     
account of  one's self1 and this        
diminution of self-esteem neither       
lessens one's  enthusiasm nor one's     
ardour1 but adds to them only an element
 of manly  sadness such as a soldier    
might feel who says3 8,i count for but  
one in  the battle1 nay1 for less than  
that1 for but a hundred millionth1 and  
if ,i should disappear the result of the
 contest would no doubt not be  changed1
 and yet ,i shall stay and fight40      
,sidenote3 ,counsels resignation4       
,scientifically considered1             
individuality is a sort of provisional  
native land1 and one's native land is a 
sort of magnified individual  with a    
consciousness composed of ideas and     
sentiments1 and one's love  for one's   
country may be greater than one's love  
for such and such an  individual4 ,such 

a love does not prevent us from         
understanding that  our country will not
 be immortal as a nation1 that it will  
have its  periods of growth and of      
decay1 that the obstacles which keep    
peoples  apart are caducous1 and that   
nations incessantly disappear and lose  
old elements and take on new4 ,why1     
merely from the fact that we love  our  
own individuality1 should we not consent
 to the same reasoning in  regard to it2
 why should we wish to imprison it      
forever within the  limits of the same  
individuality8 ,if a nation dies1 why   
should not a  man8 ,if it sometimes     
amounts to divination to cry out as one 
falls on  the battlefield1 8,finis      
patri60 does it any the less surely     
amount  to divination to cry out in the 
presence of death1 8,finis individu08   
,could ,kosciusko feel that he himself  
had a right to live when ,poland  and   
the ideas and beliefs to which he had   
devoted his life were no more8          
,sidenote3 ,dignity of resignation4     

,a young girl1 a relative of mine1 on   
the point of death and unable  to       
articulate1 signified her wish for a    
piece of paper4 ,when it was  given to  
her1 she began to write1 8,i do not     
want----0 ,death suddenly  intervened   
and interrupted her volition before it  
could find expression  in words2 the    
thinking being and the expression of her
 thought seemed  to be annihilated by   
the same blow4 ,the child's protest1    
like her life1  was interrupted in the  
middle4 ,volition is powerless against  
death1  and it is useless to stiffen    
one's will against the final blow4 ,on  
the contrary1 man's sole superiority in 
death consists in acceptance4  ,pascal's
 conscious reed might not only be       
constrained to bend like  any other     
reed1 it might bend consentingly and    
respect the law that  requires its      
death4 ,next to consciousness of his own
 power1 the highest  of man's privileges
 is consciousness of the limits of his  
power1 at  least as an individual4 ,out 

of the very disproportion between the   
infinity that kills us1 and the nothing 
that constitutes us1 arises  the sense  
of a certain greatness in us2 we prefer 
to be stricken  by a mountain rather    
than by a pebble2 we should rather fall 
in a  struggle against a thousand than  
in a struggle against one2 so that      
intelligence1 by measuring the greatness
 of our adversary1 deprives us  of      
regret at our defeat4    ,sidenote3     
,desire to survive egoistic4    ,to     
desire to make the individual1 who is   
more or less physical even in  his moral
 nature1 eternal1 is1 in the eyes of the
 man of science1 a  remnant of egoism4  
,in his judgment1 the human mind should 
accept the  death of the individual by a
 species of intellectual devotion       
analogous  to that with which we accept 
the death of our native country4 ,modern
  men of science may be defined as those
 who have no hope1     1 as ,st4 ,paul  
said2 we are individually of too small  
account in the eyes of science to live  

always individually4           99       
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,but only when it relates to 
one's self4    ,ought we1 therefore1 to 
consent cheerfully to the sacrifice of  
self1  and to die willingly for the     
benefit of the universal life8 ,so far  
as one's self is concerned1 one can make
 the sacrifice lightly1 but  the        
annihilation of those one loves cannot  
be accepted by a conscious  and         
affectionate being4 ,it is in vain for  
scientific and philosophic  stoicism to 
urge with ,epictetus that it is natural 
for a vase1 which is  fragile1 to break1
 and for a man1 who is mortal1 to die4  
,the question  still remains1 whether   
what is natural and scientific ought1 as
 the  ,stoics alleged1 to satisfy my    
reason and my love4 ,as a matter of     
fact1  when one really loves another    
person1 what one endeavours to love is  
not the element of fragility1 the vase  
of clay1 but the intelligence  and the  
heart1 which ,epictetus declines to     

consider separately from  their         
perishable accompaniments4 ,one attaches
 one's self to them as  to something    
permanent2 one corrects and transfigures
 nature itself1  and passes in thought  
beyond the brutality of its laws1 and   
therein  lies1 perhaps1 the very essence
 of the love of another4 ,if the laws   
of nature1 after seeming for a moment to
 be suspended and vanquished  by the    
force of one's disinterested love1      
subsequently break the bond  that holds 
them in check1 is it surprising that    
one's love should  still hold out       
against them8 ,it is not only pain that 
,i experience  at being baffled by the  
laws of nature2 it is indignation1 it is
 the  sense of injustice4 ,the ,stoics  
regarded pain as a passive affection of 
the sensibility simply1 but moral pain  
implies a struggle of the will  against 
nature1 and an effort1 as they          
themselves admit1 to correct it4  ,it is
 on this ground that pain is not an     
evil2 its rle is incessantly  to impose 

our moral and social ideal on our       
physical nature1 to force  it to perfect
 itself2 pain is the principle of       
development in life1  and if there      
exists a means of vanquishing death1 it 
is perhaps by  virtue of pain that we   
shall arrive at it4 ,we are right1      
therefore1 in  rebelling against        
nature's powers of life and death1 in so
 far as she  exercises them for the     
purpose of annihilating what is morally 
best in  us and in others4    ,sidenote3
 ,love under the form of eternity4      
,true love should never be expressed in 
the language of time4 ,we say3 8,i      
loved my father during his lifetime2 ,i 
was deeply attached to my mother  or my 
sister40 ,why locate it in the past8    
,why not say always3 8,i love  my father
 or my mother80 ,does not1 and should   
not1 love lay claim to an  eternal      
present8    ,sidenote3 ,uniqueness of   
the individual4    ,how could one say to
 a mother that there is nothing truly   
and  definitively alive1 personal1      

unique1 in the at once smiling and      
meditative eyes of the child she holds  
upon her knees2 that the little  being  
that she dreams of mature1 and good1 and
 great1 is a simple  incident in the    
life of the species8 ,no2 her child is  
not like any  other that has ever lived 
or that ever will live2 none other could
  possess that look4 ,nowhere among the 
generations of men can there  exist a   
fac-simile of the beloved face before   
one4 ,all nature does not  possess the  
equivalent of the individual1 which it  
can destroy1 but  not replace4 ,it is   
not1 therefore1 without reason that love
 refuses  to consent to the substitution
 of one individual for another1 which   
constitutes the very movement of life2  
it cannot reconcile itself to  the      
eternal whirl in the dust of being2 it  
is bent on fixing life1 on  arresting   
the world in mid-progress4 ,but the     
world does not stop at  its bidding4    
,the future calls to generation after   
generation1 and this  powerful force of 

attraction is also a force of           
dissolution4 ,nature  gives birth by    
means of death1 and the joy of new loves
 is composed of  the fragments of the   
old4    ,sidenote3 ,the protest of love 
against death not limited to humanity4  
,this protest of love against death1    
against the dissolution of the          
individual1 attaches also to the lower  
animals4 ,a dog1 it seems1 has  only a  
market value1 and yet can ,i ever buy   
again one that shall be the  equivalent 
of this one that has died before my     
eyes8 ,he loved me with  all the power  
of his unhappy being1 and endeavoured to
 hold fast to me  while he was slipping 
away1 and ,i endeavoured to hold him    
fast4 ,does  not every being that loves 
acquire a right to immortality8 ,yes2   
the  ideal of affection would be to     
immortalize all conscious beings2 nay1  
more1 the poet who is delicately        
sensitive to the individuality of a     
flower1 or a ray of coloured light1 of  
the drop of dew that refracts  it1 would

 wish to immortalize all nature1 would  
wish to view under the  form of eternity
 the rainbow that quivers in a soap     
bubble2 for can  any two bubbles ever be
 the same8 ,and yet1 while the poet aims
 thus  at holding everything fast1 at   
preserving everything1 at fixing his    
dreams1 at enchaining the ocean of life1
 the man of science replies  that the   
eternal flood must be allowed to        
pulsate1 to engulf our tears  and our   
blood1 and that the world must be left  
free4 ,for the man of  science1 the flux
 and reflux and progress of life are    
more sacred than  the love of the       
individual4           99       99       
99       99       99    ,sidenote3      
,antagonism between love and science4   
,thus1 in the question of individual    
immortality1 two great forces drag      
human thought in opposite directions4   
,science is inclined everywhere  to     
sacrifice the individual in the name of 
natural evolution2 love  is inclined1 in
 the name of a higher moral and social  

evolution1 to  preserve the individual4 
,the antinomy is one of the most        
disquieting  that the philosophic mind  
has to deal with4    ,sidenote3 ,the    
best in one may survive4    ,should     
science be admitted to be wholly in the 
right1 or must we  believe that an      
element of truth exists in the social   
instinct  which lies at the basis of    
affection1 as there is a presentiment   
and anticipation of the truth in all    
great natural instincts8 ,the  social   
instinct possesses a greater value at   
the present day1 because  philosophers  
are beginning to consider even the      
individual as a  society1 and to        
recognize association as a universal law
 of nature4  ,love1 which is the power  
of cohesion at its highest degree1 is   
perhaps right in its desire for an      
element in the association between      
individuals4 ,its sole error is that of 
exaggerating its pretensions  and of    
misplacing its hopes4 ,after all1 one   
must not be too exacting  nor ask too   

much of nature4 ,a true philosopher1    
even for those that he  loves1 should   
not shrink from proof by fire1 and death
 is the flame  that purifies while it   
consumes4 ,if anything survives the     
ordeal that  alone is much1 and if what 
survives is precisely what is best in   
us1  what more can be asked8 ,one may   
break the vase1 of which ,epictetus     
speaks1 but the perfume remains1 and    
floats out into the air1 and  becomes1  
no doubt1 ultimately indistinguishable1 
but still subsists4    ,sidenote3       
,sociology and the problem of           
immortality4    ,the science which seems
 to offer the strongest opposition to   
the  preservation of the individual is  
mathematics1 which recognizes the       
existence of nothing in the world but   
variable and equivalent figures  and    
abstractions4 ,on the contrary1 perhaps 
the most concrete of the  sciences1     
sociology1 recognizes everywhere groups 
of realities2  sociology therefore      
cannot hold relations that arise out of 

association1 nor the terms between which
 they exist1 so cheap4 ,let us  consider
 whether1 from the point of view of a   
more complete and more  concrete        
science1 consciousness1 which is the    
principle of personality1  properly so  
called1 necessarily and forever excludes
 the possibility of  indefinite duration
 that all great sciences attribute to   
the spirit4           99       99       
99       99       99    ,sidenote3 ,the 
basis of existence not substance but    
activity4    ,,iii4 ,antique metaphysics
 gave too much attention to questions of
  substance1 to considering whether the 
soul is simple or complex4  ,the        
question amounts to whether the soul is 
made of indivisible  or divisible       
material2 it assumes as the basis of the
 phenomena of  mind1 an imaginary and in
 some sort extended substance4 ,it was  
upon  this doctrine of the simple       
substance that the demonstration of the 
immortality of the soul was founded4    
,evolutionist philosophy tends  to fix  

our attention nowadays1 not on the      
substance1 but on the  way the substance
 behaves1 that is to say1 in physical   
terms1 on  movements4#aff ,consciousness
 is a certain action accompanied by a   
certain collective unity of movements4  
,if it exists in a substance  it is not 
the duration of this substance that     
interests us1 but that  of its activity1
 since it is that activity which        
constitutes our  consciousness4         
#aff 8,whoever says that he cannot      
conceive an action without        a     
substratum confesses by his very words  
that the alleged        substratum which
 he conceives is a product of his       
imagination2        it is his own       
thought that he is obliged to place as a
 support        behind the reality of   
things4 ,by a pure illusion of the      
imagination1 after one has stripped off 
from an object the only        qualities
 that it possesses1 one affirms that    
something of it1        one knows not   
what1 still subsists40 7,schelling1     

,system of        ,transcendental       
,idealism47          8,to be10 said     
,berkeley1 8is to be this or that4      
,simply to be1        without           
explanatory addition1 is to be nothing2 
it is a simple        conception1 if not
 a word void of sense40                 
8,berkeley's object was to overthrow the
 hypothesis of a        substance lying 
beyond the range of spirit1 as an       
imperceptible        support of the     
qualities of which our senses take      
cognizance40        7,flix ,revaisson1  
,la ,philosophie en ,france1 #i47       
,see also ,m4 ,lachelier1 ,de           
l',induction4    ,sidenote3 ,continuity 
of existence means continuity of        
function4    ,wundt is one of the       
contemporary philosophers1 who1 after   
,aristotle1  ,hume1 ,berkeley1 and      
,kant1 has best shown the illusiveness  
of  endeavouring to discover a simple   
substance underlying consciousness4  ,it
 is only internal experience1 he says1  
only consciousness itself1  that comes  

to us guaranteed by immediate certainty4
 ,and this implies1  he adds1 8that all 
these substances which spiritualism     
regards as the  basis of subjective or  
objective experience are of the highest 
degree  of uncertainty1 for in no       
experience whatsoever are they given4   
,they  are deliberate fictions1 by the  
aid of which it has been attempted  to  
explain the unity of experience40 ,the  
true explanation of this  unity should  
be sought for elsewhere in continuity of
 function1 and  not in simplicity of    
substance4 8,the consecutive effects of 
anterior  states combine with those     
which arise later2 in this way there is 
caused a subjective continuity of states
 which corresponds to the  objective    
continuity of movement1 which is the    
condition of unity of  consciousness40  
,the binding together of successive     
mental states is  lacking in bodies1    
although they must possess the germ of  
action and  of sensation4 ,for this     
reason ,leibnitz was right in saying    

that bodies  are 8momentary spirits10   
which forget everything immediately1 and
 know  only a present1 uncomplicated by 
a past or a future4 ,conscious life1  on
 the contrary1 by the very means of     
changing elements1 realizes  a          
continuity of mental functions1 a memory
 of the past1 a certain  durability4    
,this continuity is not a result of     
simplicity1 but1 on the  contrary1 of   
the higher complexity that belongs to   
mental functions4  8,on the physical    
side1 as on the psychical side10 says   
,wundt1 8the  living body is a unity2   
this unity is not founded in simplicity 
but  in compositeness of a high degree  
of complexity4 ,consciousness1 with  its
 multitude of combined states1 is a     
unity analogous to that of the  bodily  
organism4 ,the absolute correlation     
between the physical and the  psychical 
suggests the following hypothesis3#afg  
that what we call the  soul is the      
internal aspect of what1 in its external
 aspect1 we call  the body that contains

 the soul4 ,this way of conceiving the  
problem  of correlation inevitably leads
 us to the belief that the essence of   
reality is intellectual1 and that the   
fundamental attribute of being is       
development or evolution4 ,human        
consciousness is the highest point of   
such evolution2 it constitutes the nodal
 point in the course of nature  where   
the world recollects itself4 ,it is not 
as a simple being but as a  product     
evolved out of innumerable elements that
 the human soul is1 as  ,leibnitz says1 
#8a mirror of the world4'0#afh          
#afg ,this hypothesis is identical with 
that of monism4          #afh ,wundt1   
,psychologie1 vol4 ii4    ,sidenote3    
,the problem of immortality at the      
present day4    ,from this modern point 
of view1 which is a development of that 
of  ,aristotle1#afi the question of     
immortality amounts to asking how  far  
the continuity of mental functions may  
be supposed to extend the  continuity of
 one's intellectual being1 which is the 

subjective unity  of a complex          
multiplicity aware of itself as such8   
#afi ,see ,m4 ,ravaisson1 ,la           
,mtaphysique d',aristote1 vol4 ii41     
and ,rapport sur la ,philosophie en     
,france4    ,sidenote3 ,indissoluble    
material compounds4    ,note1 first1    
that even in the external world we are  
not without  examples of indissoluble   
compounds2 certain simple atoms are     
compounds  of this sort4 ,the atom of   
hydrogen is a vortex of little worlds4  
,well1  is there nothing indissoluble in
 the universe except so-called atoms1   
so-called physical 8individuals10 and is
 it unpermissible to conceive1  on the  
subjective side1 individuals more worthy
 of the name1 whose  duration is        
guaranteed by the very fact of their    
complexity8    ,sidenote3 ,restatement  
of the problem4    ,according to the    
reigning doctrines in physiology and    
experimental  psychology1 individual    
consciousness is1 as we have said1 a    
compound of  the consciousnesses of all 

the cells that are united in the        
physical  organism4#agj ,the individual1
 consisting thus of a society1 the      
problem of death amounts to the         
question1 whether there can exist an    
association1 at once solid enough to    
endure forever1 and flexible  enough to 
adapt itself to the ever-shifting       
conditions of universal  evolution4     
#agj ,association or grouping is the    
general law of organic        and       
inorganic existence4 ,society1 properly 
so called1 is only        a particular  
case1 is only the most complex instance1
 of this        universal law4444 ,a    
consciousness is rather a ,we than an   
,i4 ,it is capable of union with other  
consciousnesses and        of forming1  
in conjunction with them1 a more        
comprehensive        and more durable   
consciousness1 from which it receives   
and        to which it communicates     
thought1 as a star both borrows         
and communicates motion in the system to
 which it belongs4        7,espinas1    

,des ,socits animales1 #abh4 ,see also  
,m4 ,fouille1        ,la ,science       
sociale contemporaine1 l4 iii47         
,sidenote3 ,the ideal type of           
association4    ,this problem1 be it    
observed in the first place1 is         
precisely that  which human societies   
are endeavouring to solve4 ,at the      
lowest stage  of social evolution       
solidity and flexibility are rarely     
united4 ,egypt1  for example1 was solid 
but not very progressive4 ,a stage      
higher in the  scale of evolution1 in   
proportion as science advances and      
personal  liberty comes to be           
recognized1 civilization becomes both   
more solid  and indefinitely flexible1  
and at some period in the future1 when  
scientific civilization shall have once 
mastered the globe1 it will  possess a  
power that the most compact1 and1 in    
appearance1 the solidest  masses cannot 
equal2 it will be firmer than the very  
pyramids1 and  will at the same time    
prove increasingly flexible1            

progressive1  capable of adaptation to  
every variation in the environment4 ,the
  synthesis of complexity and stability 
will then have been achieved4  ,the very
 character of thought is increasing     
adaptivity1 and the  more intellectual a
 being is1 the greater its power of     
displaying  the qualities which are most
 advantageous under any given set of    
circumstances4 ,the eye1 which is more  
intellectual than the sense of  touch1  
furnishes a power of adaptation to a    
wider and more diversified  environment4
 ,thought1 which is more intellectual   
than sight1 enables  one to adapt one's 
self to the universe itself1 to the     
immensity of  the stars1 as well as to  
the infinite pettiness of the atoms in a
 drop  of water4 ,if memory is a        
masterpiece of intellectual             
record-taking1  reasoning is a          
masterpiece of flexibility1 of mobility1
 and of  progress4 ,so that1 whether    
individuals or nations are in question1 
the  most intellectual are those which  

possess at once the greatest amount  of 
stability and of adaptability4 ,the     
problem of society is to unite  these   
two things1 the problem of immortality  
is at bottom the same2  the individual  
consciousness being1 as we have seen1   
itself a society4  ,from this point of  
view1 it seems probable that the more   
perfect  one's personal consciousness   
is1 the more absolutely it possesses    
both durability and a power of          
indefinite metamorphosis4 ,so that1     
even admitting what the ,pythagoreans   
insist upon1 that consciousness  is a   
number1 a harmony1 a musical chord1 we  
may still ask whether  certain harmonies
 may not become sufficiently perfect to 
endure forever  without1 on that        
account1 ceasing to enter as elements   
into richer and  more complex harmonies4
 ,a lyre might vibrate ad infinitum     
without  its several strings losing     
their respective tonalities amid the    
multitude of their variations4 ,there   
ought to exist an evolution in the      

organization of consciousness as in the 
organization of molecules and  living   
cells1 and the most vital and durable   
and flexible combinations  should       
possess the advantage in the struggle   
for existence4    ,sidenote3 ,the last  
stage in the struggle for existence4    
,consciousness is a collection of       
associations of ideas1 and1             
consequently1 of habits1 grouped about a
 centre2 and we know that  habits       
possess an indefinite duration2         
contemporary philosophy  regards the    
properties of elementary material       
substances as habits1  as instances of  
indissoluble association4 ,a vegetable  
or animal  species is a habit1 a type of
 grouping and organic form which        
subsists  century after century4 ,it is 
not proved that mental habits may not in
  the course of evolution achieve a     
fixity and a durability of which  we    
possess to-day no example4 ,it is not   
proved that instability is  the         
definitive and eternal characteristic of

 the highest functions  of              
consciousness4 ,a philosophic           
hopefulness in regard to immortality  is
 founded on the belief that1 in the last
 stages of evolution1  the struggle for 
existence will become a struggle for    
immortality4  ,nature will then come to 
realize1 not by virtue of simplicity1   
but of  judicious complexity1 a sort of 
progressive immortality1 the final      
product of natural selection2 and1 if   
so1 religious symbols will have  been   
simply an anticipation of this final    
period4 ,we shall have wings  to support
 us in our flight through life1 ,rckert 
says1 wings to  support us in our flight
 past death2 but the bird does not learn
 to  fly immediately nor at once2 the   
hereditary habit of flight must have    
been acquired and developed by the      
species because of the advantage it     
brings with it in the struggle for      
existence4 ,survival1 therefore1 must   
not be conceived as completed at a      
bound1 but as slowly perfected by a     

gradual and continuous lengthening of   
the average span of life4 ,it must  be  
shown1 however1 that such a survival    
would constitute a superiority1  not    
only for the individual1 but for the    
species4    ,sidenote3 ,psychology and  
the communion of souls4    ,and now let 
us consider consciousnesses in their    
relations to each  other4 ,contemporary 
psychology tends to the doctrine that   
different  consciousnesses1 or if you   
prefer1 different aggregates of states  
of consciousness1 may combine1 and even 
interpenetrate1 somewhat  analogously to
 what theologians mean by communion of  
souls4 ,and  if so1 it is permissible to
 ask whether1 if consciousnesses can    
interpenetrate1 they may not some day   
come to possess a continuity of         
existence2 may not be able to hand on   
their existence to each other1  and to  
communicate to each other a new sort of 
durability instead of  remaining1 as    
,leibnitz says1 more or less momentary2 
supposing always  that such durability  

would be advantageous to the species4   
,sidenote3 ,possible frequency of the   
phenomenon4    ,mystical intuitions     
sometimes contain a certain presentiment
 of the  truth4 ,st4 ,paul tells us that
 the heavens and the earth shall pass   
away1 that prophecies and languages     
shall pass away1 but that one thing     
shall not pass1 and that is charity1 or 
love4 ,if this doctrine is to be        
interpreted philosophically1 the bond of
 continual love1 which is of  all bonds 
the least primitive and the most        
complex1 must be conceived  as capable  
of ultimately becoming the most durable 
of bonds1 and as  tending progressively 
to embrace a larger and larger          
proportion of the  whole number of the  
inhabitants of the celestial city4 ,it  
is by what is  best1 what is most       
disinterested1 most impersonal1 and most
 loving in  one1 that one achieves      
communion with the consciousness of     
another1 and  such disinterestedness    
must coincide ultimately with           

disinterestedness  in others1 with      
others' love for one's self2 and there  
will arise thus  a possible fusion of   
souls1 a communion so intense that as   
one suffers  in the bosom of another1   
so1 too1 one may come to live in the    
heart of  another4 ,to be sure1 we have 
passed here into the limits of          
dreamland1  but it is to be remarked    
that such dreams are extra-scientific1  
and not  anti-scientific4    ,sidenote3 
,vision of the ideal society4    ,let us
 conceive ourselves as existing in this 
problematical1 though  not impossible1  
epoch when individual consciousnesses   
shall have  achieved a higher degree of 
complexity and of subjective unity1 and 
along with them a power of more intimate
 communion than they possess  to-day1   
without the fact of that communion      
altogether breaking down  the bounds of 
personality4 ,they will communicate thus
 with each other1  as the living cells  
in the same body sympathize with each   
other1 and  contribute each to form the 

collective consciousness2 they will be  
all  in all1 and all in every part4 ,and
 indeed one may readily conceive  means 
of communication and of sympathy1 much  
more subtle and direct  than those which
 exist to-day among different           
individuals4 ,the science  of the       
nervous system is in its earliest       
stages2 we are acquainted as  yet with  
exaltation as a state of disease only1  
and with suggestion at  a distance as an
 incident merely of hypnotism2 but we   
already begin  to be dimly aware of a   
whole world of phenomena that go to show
 the  possibility of a direct           
communication between different1 and    
even  under certain circumstances of a  
sort of reciprocal absorption of two    
personalities4 ,some such complete      
fusion of two consciousnesses1 that     
however still preserve their            
individuality1 is to-day the dream of   
love  which1 as one of the greatest of  
social forces1 ought not to labour  in  
vain4 ,supposing the power of communion 

with other consciousnesses  gradually to
 develop1 the death of the individual   
will manifestly  encounter a greater and
 greater resistance on the part of the  
several  minds with which such an       
individual is in communication4 ,and1 in
 any  event1 the minds with which an    
individual is in communication will     
tend to retain an increasingly vivid1   
and1 so to speak1 living memory  of him4
 ,memory at the present day is simply an
 absolutely distinct  representation of 
a certain being--an image1 as it were1  
vibrating  in the ether after the       
original has disappeared4 ,the reason is
 that  there does not as yet exist an   
intimate solidarity and continuous      
communication between one individual and
 another4 ,but it is possible  to       
conceive an image which would be        
scarcely distinguishable from the       
object represented2 would be the sum of 
what such and such an object  means to  
me2 would be1 as it were1 the           
prolongation of the effect  of another  

consciousness on my consciousness4 ,such
 an image might  be regarded as a point 
of contact between the two              
consciousnesses  involved4 ,just as in  
generation the two factors combine in a 
certain  third1 which represents them   
both1 so such an animated and beloved   
image1 instead of being passive1 would  
constitute a component part of  the     
collective energy and purpose of one's  
being2 would count for one  in the      
complex whole that one calls a mind or a
 consciousness4    ,sidenote3 ,personal 
immortality4    ,according to this      
hypothesis1 the problem would be1 to be 
at once  loving enough and beloved      
enough to live and survive in the minds 
of others4 ,the individual1 in so far as
 his external accidents are  concerned1 
would disappear2 but what is best in him
 would survive in  the souls of those he
 loves who love him4 ,a ray of sunlight 
may for  a time record upon a bit of    
dead paper the lines of a face that no  
longer exists among the living2 nay1    

human art may go farther1 and  impart to
 canvas or to stone the minutest        
resemblances to human life2  but art has
 not yet succeeded in imparting a soul  
to ,galatea4 ,love must  be added to art
 to achieve that miracle--men must love 
each other so  completely that they     
become identified in the universal      
consciousness4  ,when that consummation 
has been reached1 each of us will live  
completely1 and without loss1 in the    
love of our fellows4 ,the power of  love
 is not limited1 like that of light1 to 
giving permanence to the  outward       
appearances of life2 it is capable of   
lending stability to life  itself4      
,sidenote3 ,elimination of death4       
,separation on such an hypothesis would 
be as impossible as in the case  of     
those atomic vortices of which we spoke 
above1 which consisted each  in a single
 individual1 in the sense that no force 
could break them  up into their         
elements2 their unity lay not in their  
simplicity1 but  in their               

inseparability4 ,just so in the sphere  
of consciousness1 a  manifold of        
conscious states may conceivably form a 
luminous ring that  can neither be      
broken nor extinguished4 ,the atom1 it  
has been said1 is  inviolable1 and      
consciousness may come to be inviolable 
de facto4    ,sidenote3 ,triumph of     
love4    ,nay1 one's secondary and      
reflected life in the minds of other    
people  might even come to be more      
important than the original of which it 
is  a copy1 insomuch that a gradual     
process of substitution might take      
place1 a substitution of which death    
would simply mark the definitive  and   
tranquil accomplishment4 ,we might feel 
ourselves1 even in this  life1 entering 
into possession of an immortality in the
 hearts of  those who love us4 ,such an 
immortality would be a species of new   
creation4 ,morality1 and religion even1 
are in our judgment simply the  outcome 
of moral productivity2 such an          
immortality would be simply an  ultimate

 manifestation of the same thing4 ,and  
if it were once achieved1  the          
opposition that the man of science      
to-day perceives between the            
continuation of the species and the     
immortality of the individual would     
have disappeared in a final synthesis4  
,death closes one's eyes1 but  love     
stands by to open them again4           
,sidenote3 ,complete survival of the    
individual4    ,the point of contact    
might thus be found between life and    
immortality4  ,at the beginning of      
evolution1 death was the end of the     
individual and  the light of            
consciousness ended in obscurity4 ,by   
virtue of moral and  social progress1   
one's friends tend to remember one after
 death with  increasing intensity and   
for longer and longer periods2 the image
 that  survives the original fades only 
by degrees1 and more and more slowly1   
as the course of evolution advances4    
,and it may be that1 at some time  in   
the future1 the memory of beloved beings

 will so mingle with the  life and the  
blood of each new generation1 and will  
be so passed on  from one to the other1 
that it will become a permanent element 
in  the current of conscious existence4 
,such a persistent memory of the        
individual would be a gain in power for 
the species1 for they who  remember love
 more dearly than they who forget1 and  
to love dearly  is advantageous to the  
species4 ,it is not1 therefore1         
unpermissible  to conceive a gradual    
increase in the faculty of memory by    
natural  selection4 ,the day may come   
when the individual will survive in as  
detailed and complete a fac-simile of   
what he was in his lifetime as  can well
 be imagined1 and death may become less 
significant than a  period of absence2  
love will endow the beloved object with 
the mystery  of eternal presence4       
,sidenote3 ,exemplified to-day in       
isolated cases4    ,even at the present 
day individuals here and there are      
sometimes so  deeply loved that it is   

doubtful whether or no what is best in  
them  does not survive their death1 and 
their minds1 unhappily subject to  the  
weaknesses of humanity and unable as yet
 to break through the  limitations of   
the physical organism1 do not really    
succeed1 by virtue  of the love that    
surrounds them1 in achieving an almost  
complete  immortality even before their 
death4 ,it is in the hearts of those    
who love them that they really live1 and
 in all the world the corner  that it   
really concerns them to be able to call 
their own lies in the  affections of two
 or three people4    ,sidenote3         
,destined to become common4    ,this    
phenomenon of mental palingenesis1 which
 is at present isolated1  may gradually 
come to be extended to the whole of the 
human species4  ,immortality may be an  
ultimate possession acquired by the     
species1  as a whole1 for the benefit of
 all of its members4 ,every individual  
consciousness may come to survive as a  
constituent part in a more              

comprehensive consciousness4 ,fraternity
 may1 at some time in the  future1 be   
universal1 render soul transparent to   
soul1 and the ideal of  morals and of   
religion be realized4 ,every soul will  
be reflected and  mirrored in every     
other2 although it will not suffice for 
that purpose  simply to look into each  
other's eyes unless one's heart         
positively  shines through them4 ,one   
must project one's own image into the   
mirror  of the sea1 if one is to find it
 there4           99       99       99  
99       99    ,sidenote3 ,possibility  
of a still more literal immortality4    
,it must1 of course1 be admitted that1  
if such speculations do not  positively 
stretch away beyond the limits of       
possibility1 they  certainly do stretch 
away beyond the limits of actual science
 and  experience1 but precisely what    
renders all such hypotheses uncertain   
renders them also forever possible3     
namely1 our irremediable ignorance  of  
the basis of consciousness4 ,whatever   

discovery science may make in  regard to
 consciousness and its conditions1 it   
will never ascertain its  essence1 nor1 
consequently1 the limits of its possible
 subsistence4  ,psychologically and     
metaphysically considered1 what are     
conscious  action and volition8 ,nay1   
what is unconscious activity1 what is   
force1  what is efficient causality8 ,we
 do not know1 we are obliged to define  
subjective activity and power in terms  
of objective motion1 that is  to say1 in
 terms of their effect1 and it will     
always be permissible  for a philosopher
 to deny that motion1 as a simple change
 of relations  in space1 constitutes the
 whole of an action1 and that there are 
no  uncaused movements1 no relations    
between non-existent terms4 ,and1 if    
so1 how are we to know precisely to what
 extent activity is essentially         
enduring as the emanation of a          
subjective power of which motion is1 as 
it were1 the visible sign1 and of which 
consciousness is the immediate  and     

intimate 8apprehension40 ,neither word  
nor act expresses all of us1  something 
always remains unsaid1 and will1        
perhaps1 remain unsaid to  the end of   
our lives--and beyond4 ,it is possible  
that the foundation of  personal        
consciousness is a power as incapable of
 being exhausted by  any amount of      
activity as of being confined to any    
variety of forms4    ,sidenote3 ,can    
never be disproved4    ,in any event the
 matter is1 and always will be1 a       
mystery1 which arises  from the fact    
that consciousness is sui generis1 is   
absolutely  inexplicable1 and at bottom 
forever inaccessible to scientific      
formul  and a fit subject1 therefore1 of
 metaphysical hypotheses4 ,just as being
  is the supreme genus1 genus           
generalissimum1 in the objective world1 
so consciousness is the supreme genus in
 the subjective world2 so that  no reply
 can ever be given to these two         
questions3 ,what is being1 and  what is 
consciousness8 ,nor1 therefore1 to this 

third question1 which  depends upon the 
two preceding3 ,will consciousness      
continue to exist8    ,on an old dial1  
in a town in the south of ,france1 may  
be read the  legend3 ,sol non occidat6  
,may the light not fail6 ,such is1      
indeed1 the  proper epilogue to fiat    
lux4 ,of all things in this world light 
is the  one upon which we are most      
dependent2 it1 of all things1 should    
have  been created once for all1  2     
should pour down from the heavens       
through all eternity4 ,and the light of 
the mind1 which is more powerful  than  
the light of the sun1 may ultimately    
succeed in eluding the law of           
destruction which everywhere in the book
 of nature immediately follows  the law 
of creation1 and then only will the     
command1 fiat lux1 have  been           
accomplished4 ,lux non occidat in       
ternum6           99       99       99  
99       99    ,sidenote3 ,stoicism the 
last resort4    ,,iv4 ,but1 it will be  
asked1 what consolation and             

encouragement is  there in all this for 
those who do not feel the charm of these
 remote  hypotheses concerning the outer
 limits of existence1 for those who see 
death in all its brutality1 and lean1 as
 you yourself probably do1 in  the      
present state of the theory of          
evolution1 somewhat toward purely       
negative conclusions8 ,what can be said 
to them when they stand1 as they        
believe they do1 on the brink of        
annihilation8 ,nothing better could  be 
said than the simple and somewhat       
unfeeling words of the ancient  ,stoics1
 who1 be it remarked also1 were         
themselves disbelievers in  the         
immortality of the individual3 8,be not 
a coward60 ,deeply in the  wrong as     
,stoicism was in the presence of death1 
in its insensibility  to the pain of    
love which was the condition of its     
power and of its  progress among        
mankind1 when it interdicted attachment 
and commanded  impassibility1 it was    
right when it recommended insensibility 

to one's  own death4 ,a man needs no    
other consolation than to feel that he  
has  lived a complete life1 that he has 
done his work1 and that mankind  is not 
the worse1 nay1 is perhaps the better   
for his having existed2  and that       
whatever he has loved will survive1 that
 the best of his  dreams will somewhere 
be realized1 that the impersonal element
 in his  consciousness1 the portion of  
the immortal patrimony of the human     
race1  which has been intrusted to him  
and constitutes what is best in him1    
will endure and increase1 and be passed 
on1 without loss1 to succeeding         
generations2 that his own death is of no
 more importance1 no more  breaks the   
eternal continuity of things1 than the  
shivering of a bit of  a hand-glass     
does4 ,to gain a complete consciousness 
of the continuity  of life is to        
estimate death at its proper value1     
which is perhaps  that of the           
disappearance of a kind of living       
illusion4 ,once more1 in  the name of   

reason1 which is capable of             
understanding death1 and of  accepting  
it as it accepts whatsoever else is     
intelligible--be not a  coward6         
,sidenote3 ,dignity of resignation4     
,more than that1 despair is grotesque   
because it is useless2 cries and        
groans1 at least such as are not purely 
reflex1 originally served their  purpose
 in the life of the species of arousing 
attention or pity1 or  of summoning aid2
 it is to the fact that it was once     
useful that the  existence and          
propagation of the language of pain are 
due2 but as there  is no help against   
the inexorable1 and no pity to be asked 
for in a  matter that is in harmony with
 the interests of the totality of things
  and conformable to the dictates of our
 own thought1 resignation alone  is the 
proper attitude of mind1 or rather a    
certain inner assent1 or  still better1 
a smile of detachment and intelligence  
and comprehension1  and interest even in
 our own extinction4 ,what is beautiful 

in the  natural order of things cannot  
definitively excite despair4            
,sidenote3 ,of considering one's own    
case impersonally4    ,if anyone who has
 experienced the pangs of death should  
make light of  the sort of consolation  
here referred to1 we reply that we are  
not  ourselves speaking in absolute     
ignorance of the visage of the supreme  
moment4 ,we have ourselves had occasion 
more than once to look death in  the    
face1 less often no doubt than a soldier
 in active service2 but we  have had    
more time to consider it at our ease1   
and we have never found  reason to      
desire that it should be veiled by an   
irrational belief4  ,it is better to see
 and to know the truth2 it is better not
 to tread  the brink of the precipice   
with bandaged eyes4 ,to disguise death  
is  to pay it too great a compliment4   
,we have had more than one example  of  
it under our eyes4 ,we have seen our    
grandfather1 who1 by the way1  was      
himself not a believer1 stricken down by

 successive attacks of  apoplexy1 and he
 said to us1 smiling in the intervals of
 his pain1  that he felt but one regret1
 and that was that so many superstitions
  should be in existence1 and that      
,catholicism in particular 7it was at   
that time when ,france was aiding the   
,papacy7 should still be in power4      
,note also that the progress of         
science--in especial1 of physiological  
and medical sciences--tends to increase 
the number of instances in  which death 
is foreseen and is waited for almost    
with serenity4  ,the least stoical of   
mankind sometimes feel the inclination  
toward  an act of heroism1 which1 though
 in a measure forced upon them1 is      
nevertheless not without its dignity4   
,in the course of certain cases  of     
protracted disease1 such as consumption 
or cancer1 the patient1 if  he possesses
 the necessary scientific               
qualifications1 can calculate  the      
probabilities of his life and determine 
within a few days at what  time he will 

die4 ,bergot1 whom ,i knew1 was such a  
patient2 ,trousseau  was another1 and   
there have been many more4 ,knowing     
one's self to be  condemned1 feeling    
one's self to count for but one in the  
infinity of  the universe1 one can      
consider one's self and one's progress  
toward the  unknown in a sense          
impersonally4    ,sidenote3 ,sudden     
death a blessing4    ,if such a death is
 not without its bitterness1 it is      
nevertheless the  one which1 of all     
others perhaps1 is likely to prove      
attractive to a  philosopher1 to a mind 
with a passion for clearness1 for       
foresight1 for  comprehension4 ,for the 
rest1 in the majority of cases1 death   
takes its  victims in the height of     
their vigour1 in the midst of the       
struggle  for existence2 it is a matter 
of a few hours1 like birth2 its very    
suddenness renders it less redoubtable  
to the majority of mankind1 who  find it
 comparatively easy to be brave in the  
presence of a danger that  is brief1 and

 they hold out against the supreme enemy
 with the same  obstinate courage that  
they would display against any other4   
,on the  contrary1 when death approaches
 slowly1 and deprives us of our strength
  by degrees1 and each day leaves us in 
possession of something less than  the  
day before1 another source of           
consolation is open to us4    ,sidenote3
 ,decline in interest in life with      
decline in vitality4    ,it is a law of 
nature that diminution of vitality      
brings with it a  proportionate         
diminution of desire2 a man cares less  
keenly for what  he feels himself less  
capable of attaining4 ,illness and old  
age always  make us set less value upon 
the joys of which they deprive us which 
they first render bitter and then       
impossible2 and the last joy of all1    
that of bare existence1 is as subject to
 the law as its predecessors4           
,consciousness of one's inability to    
live brings with it inability to  desire
 to live2 it becomes a burden to draw   

one's breath4 ,one feels  one's self    
dispersing1 falling into dust1 and no   
longer possessing  the strength to check
 the process of decay4 ,moreover1 egoism
 declines  with declining strength2 as  
we approach the grave we gain a power of
  estimating ourselves more nearly at   
our just value1 of understanding  that a
 faded flower has no right to live2     
that1 as ,marcus ,aurelius  said1 8a    
ripe olive ought to fall from the tree40
 ,one sentiment alone  survives1 a sense
 of weariness1 of extreme weariness4 ,we
 long for rest1  long to relax the      
tension of life1 to lie at ease1 to have
 done with  it once for all4 ,oh6 to be 
no longer on one's feet4 ,the dying well
  know the supreme joy of looking       
forward to their last resting place6    
,they no longer envy the interminable   
file of the living whom they  perceive1 
as it were in a dream1 vainly marching  
and countermarching  upon the surface of
 the earth where they sleep4 ,they are  
resigned  to the solitude and           

abandonment of death4 ,they are like    
travellers  in the desert--worn with    
fever1 and fatigue1 and unwilling to    
make  another step in advance2 they are 
no longer borne up by the hope of       
revisiting familiar skies2 they are     
unable to surmount the remaining        
difficulties of the way and request     
their companions to leave them1 to      
march on without them1 and1 stretched   
upon the sand1 watch without a  tear1   
without a desire1 the departing caravan 
creeping away toward the  horizon4      
,sidenote3 ,persistence of curiosity4   
,naturally1 some of us will always      
shrink before death1 and wring our      
hands1 and lose our self-possession4    
,some temperaments are subject to       
vertigo1 to a horror of abysses1 and in 
especial to a horror of the  great abyss
 toward which all paths converge4       
,montaigne counsels such  people to     
throw themselves blindly over the verge2
 others counsel them  to fix their eyes 
till the end on some small mountain     

flower in the  crevice of the rock4 ,the
 manliest of mankind will give their    
attention  to the depths of space and to
 the heavens1 will fill their hearts    
with  the immensity of the universe1    
will magnify their souls to the limits  
of the abyss1 will subdue the rebellious
 individuality in themselves  before it 
is forcibly subdued for them1 and will  
scarcely be aware of  the precipice till
 they have fairly passed beyond its     
brink4 ,and for  the philosopher1 who is
 essentially a worshipper of the        
unknown1 death  possesses the attraction
 of novelty2 birth only excepted1 it is 
the  most mysterious incident in life4  
,death has its secret1 its enigma1 and  
we are haunted by a vague hope that1 as 
the final touch of irony1 it  may be    
revealed to us at the last moment2 that 
the dying1 according to  the ancient    
belief1 divine it and close their eyes  
only to shield them  from an intolerable
 brightness4 ,man's last agony and his  
last pulse of  curiosity are one4       

,,index4        ,a      ,absoluteness of
 primitive faith1 #aci    ,adler1       
,felix1 #cfg    ,all-embracing unity1   
modernity of concept of1 #ci            
,alviella1 ,m4 ,goblet d'1 #bed1 #bgg1  
#ceb    ,amiel1 #cgh1 #dff    ,analysis1
 effect of1 on emotions1 #dfa2          
destroys irrational joys only1 #dff     
,ancestor worship1 #dg    ,animal's     
prayer1 #gd2      religion in lower1 #gf
    ,animate and inanimate1 obviousness 
of distinction between1 #di    ,animism1
 priority of1 #eb2      dualistic1 #hb  
,anomy1 religious1 #cgd    ,antagonism  
between wealth and population1 #cae     
,arnold1 ,matthew1 #bc1 #ib1 #adc1 #aef1
 #agd1 #ahi1 #bdg1 #bei    ,art1 and    
religion1 #dad2      necessary reforms  
in1 #dah    ,asceticism1 #baa1 #dgc     
,asia1 danger from1 #cba                
,association1 ideal type of1 #cib       
,augustine1 ,saint1 #adg    ,aurelius1  
,marcus1 #cfj      ,b      ,baudelaire's
 criminal1 #djf    ,baudrillart1 #cbd1  
#ccb    ,beneficent error1 #ad          

,bentham1 #djc    ,bertillon1 ,m41 #cbd1
 #ccg    ,bost1 ,pastor1 #ahd           
,buddhism1 #cfb    ,byron1 #djg      ,c 
,caro1 ,m41 #chg    ,catholicism1 #bjc1 
#bdd1 #bdg    ,cause1 conception of ,god
 as first1 #hh    ,celibacy1 #cjf2      
tax on1 #ccf    ,charity1 intolerance a 
perverted1 #adg1 #djj    ,christianity1 
#cei1 #cfb2      main strength of1 #ahj2
      the error of1 #aif2      and      
communism1 #bdj    ,civilization1 menace
 to modern1 #cah    ,clergy1 impropriety
 of suppressing the1 #bgd    ,colenso1  
,bishop1 #ceg    ,commune1 ,the1 #bdd   
,communism and ,christianity1 #bdj      
,compensation1 notion of1 #ge    ,comte1
 ,a41 #aji    ,confessional1 the1 #bdh  
,conservatism1 feminine1 #g             
,constant1 ,benjamin1 #adf    ,conway1  
,moncure1 #afg    ,cosmism1 #cfe        
,creation hypothesis1 #ajb1 #dcc        
,credulity1 feminine1 #bi    ,crimes of 
,french ,revolution and ,commune not due
 to non-religion1 #bdd    ,criminal1    
,baudelaire's1 #djf    ,criminology and 

religion1 #bda      ,d      ,darwin1    
#bie    ,dead1 cult for the1 #daj       
,defect of ,french mind1 #bj            
,definition1 by ,schleiermacher and     
,feuerbach1 of religion1 #c             
,delirium1 #hb    ,dependence of        
religion upon morality1 #aib            
,determinism1 concept of1 #gb2          
reconciliation between indeterminism    
and1 #dhd    ,diderot1 #bbb             
,dissolution1 possibility of arresting1 
#dig    ,divine and human love1 conflict
 between1 #bja    ,divine ,providence1  
notion of a1 #he2      futility of      
doctrine of1 #ddj    ,divinization1 #fi 
,doctrine of ,divine ,providence1       
futility of1 #ddj    ,dogma1 unfitness  
as material for education of religions1 
#bgb    ,dogmatism and intelligence1    
#aej    ,doubt1 ,morality of1 #chb      
,dreams1 #fg1 #hb    ,dualistic animism1
 #hb    ,duty of civilized races to     
multiply1 #cai      ,e      ,ecstasy1   
religious1 #bbb    ,education1 unfitness
 of religious dogma as material for1    

#bgb2      by the priesthood1 #bgc1     
#bhb2      moral1 #bhj2      husband    
responsible for wife's1 #caj    ,egoism 
and mysticism1 conflict between1 #bjd   
,eighteenth century view of miracles1   
#ia    ,espinas1 #ebf    ,essence of    
religion1 #a1 #aj    ,ethical ,culture  
,society1 #cfg    ,evil of belief in a  
,divine ,providence1 #ig    ,evil1      
problem of1 #dcc    ,experiment in      
miracles1 #aeh      ,f      ,fainting1  
#hb    ,faith1 absoluteness of          
primitive1 #aci2      complete          
intellectual rest1 incident to1 #adb2   
willfully blind1 #adc2                  
transformation of inevitable1 #bcd      
,fall of man1 doctrine of the1 #dci     
,family1 religion of the1 #cbb          
,fanaticism1 possible scientific1 #cie  
,father's duty in regard to religious   
instruction1 #bhf    ,feminine          
credulity1 #big2      conservatism1     
#big2      timidity1 #bih    ,fr1 ,m4   
,ch41 #dfb    ,fetichism1 #dd1 #dh1 #fe 
,fetichistic monism1 primitive          

metaphysics a1 #ha    ,feuerbach's      
definition of religion1 #c    ,first    
cause1 concept of ,god as1 #hh          
,fiske1 ,mr4 ,john1 #deb1 #dee1 #eab    
,force1 use of justifiable1 #adf        
,fouille1 ,m4 ,alfred1 #g1 #cg1 #dce1   
#dhd1 #dhe1 #dic1 #ebf    ,france1      
proposal to ,protestantize1 #bdi2       
gradual improvement of1 #cbb    ,french1
 mind1 its defect1 #bj2                 
,revolution1 #bej2      gaiety1 #bfh    
,g      ,gaiety1 ,french1 #bfh          
,ghosts1 #hc    ,gift1 notion of1 #ge   
,god1 conceived as first cause1 #hh1    
#dca2      as ordered1 #ajd2      as    
creator1 #dcb2      responsible for     
evil1 #dcc2      ,his omnipotence1 #ddb2
      hypothesis of1 a non-omnipotent1  
#ddc2      disanthropomorphization of   
concept of1 #deb2      possible         
evolution of by natural selection1 #dif 
,god1 love of1 #aca2      belief in1    
falls with belief in devil1 #afe2       
love of1 on the wane1 #bje    ,goethe1  
#cgg1 #djj    ,grace1 doctrine of1 #bjj 

,h      ,hartmann1 ,von1 #ci1 #ajh1     
#aji1 #dfd    ,hasheesh1 use of1        
defended1 #bbc    ,havet1 ,m41 #cee     
,hellenism1 #bfa    ,henneguy1 ,felix1  
#bij    ,henotheism1 #bg1 #ci1 #ajh     
,hindu tolerance1 #cb    ,history and   
religion1 #aeh    ,human and divine     
love1 conflict between1 #bfa            
,humanity1 religion of1 #cfe            
,humanization1 #fh    ,husband          
responsible for wife's education1 #caj  
,huxley1 #dhj    ,hysteria1 #hc      ,i 
,ideal type of association1 #cib        
,idealism1 #dgi    ,incuriosity of      
primitive man1 #ea    ,indeterminism1   
reconciliation between determinism and1 
#dhd    ,individualism1 religious1 #ab  
,infinite1 concept of the1 #cd          
,inheritance1 injustice of present law  
of1 #cch    ,initiative1 sentiment of   
personal1 #ih    ,instinct1 religious1  
#dj1 #bbi2      of self-preservation and
 sociality1 #dd    ,instruction1        
father's duty in regard to1 #bhf        
,insurance and religion1 #afa           

,intolerance1 incident to faith1 #add2  
a perverted charity1 #adg    ,invisible1
 suffering from the1 a modern malady1   
#ce    ,immanence of conscious life in  
nature1 #ff    ,immortality1 importance 
of concept of1 #aai      ,j      ,javal1
 ,m41 #ccg1 #cda    ,jerome1 ,saint1    
#cee    ,jesus1 #acd1 #ahg1 #cef        
,junqua1 ,dr41 #ahc      ,k      ,kant1 
#aie1 #chj1 #dcc1 #ddg      ,l          
,lange1 #dae1 #dij    ,laveleye1 ,m4 de1
 #bdi1 #beb1 #bhd    ,lenormant1 ,m41   
#bhe    ,leopardi1 #dfh    ,lethargy1   
#hb    ,liberal ,protestantism1 #ahb    
,littr1 #bgg1 #bhh    ,livingstone1 #cjb
    ,love1 conflict between divine and  
human1 #bja2      a cerebral stimulant1 
#cjg2      makes for sanity1 #cjh2      
of mankind1 future of1 #cii    ,love of 
,god1 #aca2      on the wane1 #bje      
,lower animals1 religion in1 #gf        
,luther1 #aic      ,m      ,mainlaender1
 ,phillipp1 #deh    ,malthusianism1     
#cag2      fallacy of1 #cag2      in    
,france1 #cbe    ,marvellous1 primitive 

man's faith in the1 #acg                
,materialism1 #dhh    ,maternity1 girls 
should be trained for1 #ccc    ,medical 
knowledge1 progress of1 and religion1   
#afb    ,mnard1 ,m4 ,louis1 #bdi1 #bhi  
,metaphysics1 primitive1 a fetichistic  
monism1 #ha2      scope of1 #chc2       
instability of1 #chi2      present      
direction of1 #dbd    ,michelet1 #bdi1  
#cbj    ,mill1 ,john ,stuart1 #agc1     
#ddb1 #dfa    ,mind stuff1 #dij         
,misoneism1 #abe    ,miracles1          
conception of1 #hg2      not frauds1    
#ij2      eighteenth century view of1   
#ia2      but illusions1 #ib2           
experiment in1 #abh2      in modern     
times1 #cec    ,modesty1 nature or1 #cja
    ,mohammedanism1 #beg1 #cfa          
,molinari1 ,m4 de1 #dji    ,monism1 #dic
    ,montesquieu1 #cbi    ,moral        
sentiment defined1 #g    ,moralism1 #dbf
    ,morality and religion1 #aad1 #bda1 
#cfb2      dependence of religion upon1 
#aib2      essence of1 #aig2      apart 
from religion not hard to teach1 #djb   

,mormonism1 #ceh    ,mller1 ,max1 #bd1  
#di1 #bcc    ,mystery1 fear of thunder  
due to sense of1 #fb    ,mysticism a    
perversion1 #acb2      conflicts with   
egoism1 #bjd2      and asceticism1 #baa2
      and women1 #bii      ,n           
,natural phenomena non-existent for     
primitive man1 #fd    ,natural          
selection1 evolution of gods by1 #dif   
,nature a society1 #ee2      seeming    
menace of conscious life in1 #ff2       
love of1 #dba2      inexhaustible       
resources of1 #ejj                      
,neo-,christianity1 #ahd    ,neutrality1
 propriety in religious affairs of      
state1 #bgg    ,newman1 ,cardinal1 #bdg 
,newman1 ,mr4 ,francis1 #cea    ,nirvna1
 #dgc    ,nonotte1 ,abb1 #cbg           
,non-religion defined1 #h2      the goal
 of religion1 #afg2      not responsible
 for the crimes of the ,french          
,revolution and the        ,commune1    
#bdd    ,novelty1 persistent in the     
world1 #dgj      ,o      ,omnipotence1  
,god's1 #ddb      ,p      ,pantheism1   

#deb    ,panthelism1 #ee                
,paraphysics1 religion primarily a1 #gi 
,parents1 not protected against         
ingratitude1 #ccd2      should be taxed 
inversely to number of children1 #ccg   
,parv1 ,m4 ,steyn1 #bhc    ,pascal1     
#bjb1 #ddj    ,pattison1 ,mark1 #cfe    
,paul1 ,saint1 #cef    ,paul1 ,vincent  
de1 #cii    ,personal initiative1       
sentiment of1 #ih    ,pessimism1 #deg2  
an optical illusion1 #dfh    ,pillon1   
,m41 #bdi    ,polydemonism1 #he         
,population1 antagonism between wealth  
and1 #cae2      importance of1 #caf2    
inability of priest to cope with        
question of1 #cbg2      decrease of1    
encouraged by the church1 #cbh          
,positivism1 #bd1 #aji1 #cfe            
,possession1 #hc    ,prayer1 the        
animal's1 #gd2      kinds of1           
distinguished1 #bag2      durable       
element in1 #bag2      highest form of1 
#bbe    ,priest and prophet1 antagonism 
between1 #abh    ,priesthood1 origin of1
 #abf2      education by the1 #bgc1 #bhb

    ,primary instruction and religion1  
#aei    ,primitive man1 incurious1 #ea2 
unaware of natural phenomena as such1   
#fd2      and novelty1 #abe2      and   
the marvelous1 #acg    ,primitive       
metaphysics1 a fetichistic monism1 #ha  
,problem of evil1 #dcc    ,prophet and  
priest1 antagonism between1 #abh        
,protestantism1 #aeb1 #afg1 #beb2       
liberal1 #ahb    ,providence1 notion of 
a ,divine1 #he2      evil of belief in1 
#ig2      futility of doctrine of1 #ddj 
,r      ,realism1 #dhb                  
,reconciliation between determinism and 
indeterminism1 #dhd    ,relics1 belief  
in1 #hf    ,religion1 essence of1 #a1   
#aj2      and science1 difference       
between1 #c2      ,feuerbach's          
definition of1 #c2                      
,schleiermacher's definition of1 #c1    
#dhg2      of natural origin1 #bb2      
and superstition1 #gh2      primarily a 
paraphysics1 #gi2      morally          
retrograde1 #aad2      and physiology1  
psychology1 and history1 #aeh2      and 

primary instruction1 #aei2      and     
development of commerce1 #afj2      and 
insurance1 #afa2      and progress of   
medical knowledge1 #afb2      tends     
toward non-religion1 #afg2              
dependent upon morality1 #aib2      and 
crime1 #bda2      not essential to      
morality1 #bda2      deserted by genius1
 #cee2      of humanity1 #cfe2      and 
art1 #dad    ,religious individualism1  
#ab2      instinct1 #dj1 #bbi2          
ecstasy1 #bbb2      instruction1        
father's duty in regard to1 #bhf        
,renan1 #ag1 #bc1 #dj1 #aai1 #abf1 #aeh1
 #agb1 #bbg1 #bcb1 #bcf1 #cjf1 #cba1    
#cgc    ,renouvier1 #bdi    ,revelation1
 essence of faith in1 #adj    ,rville1  
,m41 #di1 #aad1 #abh1 #dag              
,revolution1 ,french1 #bdd1 #bej        
,richet1 ,m41 #ccg    ,romanes1 ,george1
 #fb      ,s      ,sanction1 superfluity
 of religious1 #dje    ,scepticism1     
feebleness of1 #cgf    ,schelling1 #ebd 
,schleiermacher's definition of         
religion1 #c1 #dhg    ,schoolmaster1    

importance of the1 #bgg    ,schultz1    
,professor ,hermann1 #ahd    ,science   
and religion1 difference between1 #c    
,secrtan1 ,m41 #dcg    ,secularism1 #cfe
    ,self-preservation1 and sociality1  
instincts of1 #dd    ,sentiment1        
definition of moral1 #g    ,sermon1     
transformation of the1 #daf    ,shadows1
 #hb    ,sin1 morbid preoccupation with1
 #bac    ,socialism1 #cfi    ,sociality1
 and self-preservation1 instincts of1   
#dd    ,society for ,ethical ,culture1  
#cfg    ,sociomorphism1 religion a1 #b  
,somnambulism1 #hc    ,special          
,providence1 #ddj2      mankind to be   
its own1 #dej    ,spencer1 ,herbert1    
#dd1 #chd1 #dbg1 #dea1 #dij             
,spinozism1 #ded    ,spirit1 genesis of 
concept of1 #hb    ,stoicism1 #ebj      
,strauss1 #bc1 #dag1 #dca    ,suffering 
from the invisible1 a modern malady1 #ce
    ,suicide1 as a resource1 #dgb       
,superstition and religion1 #gh         
,symbolism1 #i      ,t      ,taine1     
#bbg1 #dgi1 #dij1 #dic    ,tax on       

celibacy1 #cjf    ,theism1 #dbi         
,theresa1 ,saint1 #acd    ,thunder1     
sense of mystery responsible for fear   
of1 #fc    ,timidity1 feminine1 #bih    
,tolerance1 #adi2      ,hindu1 #cb      
,totality1 concept of1 #ci              
,transformation of the sermon1 #daf     
,trent1 ,council of1 #ada      ,u       
,unity1 modernity of concept of an      
all-embracing1 #ci    ,universal        
,providence1 #dda      ,v      ,vernes1 
,m4 ,maurice1 #bha1 #bhc    ,verrier1   
,dr41 #cdd      ,w      ,wealth1        
antagonism between population and1 #cae 
,wife1 husband responsible for education
 of1 #caj    ,women and mysticism1 #bii2
      importance of early education of1 
#cji    ,worship of ancestors1 #dg2     
public1 #abf2      subjective1 #acj     
,z      ,zolatry1 #dg      ,,the ,,end4 
,transcriber's note      ,words in      
italics have been surrounded with       
underscores and small  capitals have    
been replaced with all capitals4 ,the   
footnotes have been  renumbered and     

placed directly after the paragraph they
 belong to4    ,minor errors in spacing1
 capitalization etc4 have been corrected
  without note4 ,missing accents in the 
sidenotes have been added to be         
consistent with the main text4 ,also the
 following changes have been  made1 on  
page        #e 8as0 added 7just as he   
might offend a fellow-man7     #ah      
8adverversaries0 changed to             
8adversaries0 7the mistake of           
despising their adversaries7     #de    
8puisant0 changed to 8puissant0 7what is
 puissant and powerful7     #dh footnote
 anchor added 7the phenomena of the     
external world4#ai7     #fd             
8unaquainted0 changed to 8unacquainted0 
7they are unacquainted        with the  
external world7    #aeg 8terrestial0    
changed to 8terrestrial0 7the celestial 
or        terrestrial phenomena which7  
#afc 8neigbours0 changed to 8neighbours0
 7their more innocent        neighbours7
    #afg 8,protestanism0 changed to     
8,protestantism0 7,inconsequence of     

liberal ,protestantism7    #aia         
8abhorence0 changed to 8abhorrence0     
7theory of nature's        abhorrence7  
#bjg 8considerble0 changed to           
8considerable0 7a considerable hold on  
human life7    #bae 8mimimize0 changed  
to 8minimize0 7in order to minimize the 
necessity7    #bda 8,watt0 changed to   
8,wat0 7,pastoureaux and ,jacques in    
,france and        ,wat ,tyler in       
,england7    #bih 8sentitiment0 changed 
to 8sentiment0 7dominated not by reason 
but by sentiment7    #cjd 8cherubin0    
changed to 8chrubin0 7l'interrogation   
anxieuse de        chrubin7    #cjd     
8,songs0 changed to 8,song0 7reading the
 ,song of ,songs7    #cce 8tre0 changed 
to 8tre0 7tre  la charge de ses enfants7
    #ccg 8corve0 changed to 8corve0 7the
 last vestige of the corve7    #ccg     
8celibat0 changed to 8clibat0 7sur le   
clibat en ,france7    #cdg 8anxiom0     
changed to 8axiom0 7,if there is one    
axiom that fathers        ought to7     
#chi 8esthetique0 changed to 8esthtique0

 7,problmes de l'esthtique              
contemporaine7    #cii 8,budhism0       
changed to 8,buddhism0 7,buddhism and   
,christianity have        headed7       
#dec 8asscribes0 changed to 8ascribes0  
7unity that it ascribes to        the   
world7    #dgg 8,hydrogene0 changed to  
8,hydrogen0                             
7hypothesis--,hydrogen--,necessity      
of71 also in the table of contents      
#ecc 8,pyschologically0 changed to      
8,psychologically0 7,psychologically    
and metaphysically considered7    #edb  
8,reconcilation0 changed to             
8,reconciliation0 7,reconciliation      
between determinism and indeterminism7  
#edb 8,socialty0 changed to 8,sociality0
 7,sociality1 and                       
self-preservation7    #dfb 8,frr0       
changed to 8,fr0 7,one may say1 with ,m4
 ,fr1 that        people in good7       
#eci 8,comtes0 changed to 8,comte0      
7,comte1 ,a41 #aji7    #eci 8,feurbach0 
changed to 8,feuerbach0 7by             
,schleiermacher and        ,feuerbach7  

#eda 8,lavelaye0 changed to 8,laveleye0 
7,lavelaye1 ,m4 de1 #bdi1 #beb1         
#bhd7    #eda 8ascetism0 changed to     
8asceticism0 7and asceticism1 #baa7     
#eda 8,panthelism1 #ee-dec0 changed to  
8,pantheism1 #deb0 and                  
8,panthelism1 #ee0    #eda 8,parve0     
changed to 8,parv0 7,parv1 ,m4 ,steyn1  
#bhc7    and in footnote number         
#cf 8,epicure0 changed to 8picure0 7,see
 the author's ,morale        d'picure7  
#dj 8,societe0 changed to 8,socit0      
7,actes de la ,socit helvt4 des         
sc4 nat47     #dd 8a'une0 changed to    
8d'une0 7,esquisse d'une morale7     #gh
 8embarassment0 changed to              
8embarrassment0 7remarks in the former  
a progressive financial embarrassment7  
#he 8scondaire0 changed to 8secondaire0 
7l'instruction primaire1                
secondaire et suprieure7     #hg        
8,lenornant0 changed to 8,lenormant0    
7,m4 ,lenormant undertook to            
publish a translation7    #aci 8,frr0   
changed to 8,fr0 7,m4 ,ch4 ,fr1 ,revue  

philosophique1        ,july1 #ahhf474   
,otherwise the original was preserved1  
including inconsistencies  in spelling1 
hyphenation and capitalisation1 also    
possible errors  in foreign languages4  
,no italics were used in the sidenotes1 
this  has not been changed4 ,the index  
has not been checked for errors in      
alphabetization or pagenumbers4         
,additional3 ,m4 ,janet1 mentioned in   
footnote #afd is probably ,paul ,janet1 
8,la ,morale04