,transcriber's note3 ,this production is
 based on                               
https3_/_/archive4org_/details_/meditati
onsoness#jj;guiz_/page_/n#f  ,additional
 citations indicated by ,,usccb1 are    
based on the ,united ,states ,conference
 of ,catholic  ,bishops ,bible found at 
http3_/_/usccb4org_/bible_/books-of-the-
bible4           i                      
,meditations    ii    iii               
,meditations ,on        ,the ,essence   
,of ,christianity1                      
,and ,on       ,the ,religious          
,questions ,of ,the ,day4               
,by ,m4 ,guizot4            ,translated 
,from ,the ,french1 ,under ,the         
,superintendence ,of ,the ,author4      
,london3         ,john ,murray1         
,albemarle ,street4                     
#ahfd4      iv                          
,london3      ,bradbury ,and ,evans1    
,printers1 ,whitefriars4    v           
,contents4                              
,page    ,i4    ,natural ,problems      
#a    ,,ii4   ,christian ,dogmas        

#aa    ,,iii4  ,the ,supernatural       
#hd    ,,iv4   ,the ,limits ,of ,science
                   #aji    ,v4          
,revelation                             
#acb    ,,vi4   ,the ,inspiration ,of   
,holy ,scripture       #adb    ,,vii4   
,god ,according ,to ,the ,bible         
#aeg    ,,viii4 ,jesus ,christ          
,according ,to ,the ,gospels   #bcj     
,note                                   
#bii    vi    vii                       
,preface4      ,during the last nineteen
 centuries1 ,christianity has been often
  assailed1 and has successfully        
resisted every attack4 ,of these        
attacks1 some have been more violent1   
but none more serious than  that of     
which it is1 in these days1 the object4 
,for eighteen hundred years ,christians 
were in turn persecutors  and           
persecuted2 ,christians persecuted as   
,christians1 ,christians  persecutors of
 every one who was not                  
,christian--,christians  mutually       
persecuting each other4 ,this           

persecution varied1 it is  true1 in     
degree of cruelty with the age and the  
country1 as it  also did in the degree  
of inflexibility evinced and success    
attained in the prosecution of its      
object2 but whatever the  diversity of  
state1 church1 or punishment1 whatever  
the degree of  severity or laxity in the
 application of the principle1 this     
principle was ever the same4  viii      
,after having had to endure proscription
 and martyrdom under the  imperial      
government of ,paganism1 the ,christian 
religion lived1 in  its turn1 under the 
guard of the civil law1 defended by the 
arms  of secular power4    ,in these    
days it exists in the very presence of  
,liberty4 ,it has  to deal with free    
thought1--with free discussion4 ,it is  
called  upon to defend1 to guard itself1
 to prove incessantly and against  every
 comer its moral and historical         
veracity1 to vindicate its  claims upon 
man's intelligence and man's soul4      
,roman ,catholics1  ,protestants1 or    

,jews1 ,christians or philosophers1 all1
 at least  in our country1 are sheltered
 from every persecution2 for no one     
without incurring the risk of ridicule  
could characterise as  persecution the  
sacrifices or the inconveniences to     
which the  expression of his opinion may
 occasionally subject him4 ,to every    
man such expression of opinion is       
permitted1 and can never lead  to the   
forfeiture1 on the part of any single   
individual1 of any  of his political    
rights or privileges4  ix  ,religious   
,liberty--that is to say1 the liberty of
 believing2 of  believing differently or
 of disbelieving--may be but imperfectly
  accepted and guaranteed as a principle
 in certain states2 but it  still is    
evident that it is becoming so every day
 more and more1  and that it will       
eventually become the ,common ,law of   
the  civilised world4    ,one of the    
circumstances that render this fact     
pregnant with  importance is that it    
does not stand isolated2 but holds its  

place in the great ,intellectual and    
,social ,revolution1 which1  after the  
fermentation and the preparation of     
centuries1 has  broken out and is in    
course of accomplishment in our own     
days4  ,the scientific spirit1 the      
preponderance of the democratic         
principle1 and that of political        
liberty1 are the essential              
characteristics and invincible          
tendencies of this revolution4  ,these  
new forces may fall into enormous errors
 and commit  enormous faults1 the       
penalty for which they will ever dearly 
pay2  still they are definitively       
installed in modern society2 the        
sciences will continue to develop       
themselves in its bosom in the  full    
independence of their methods and of    
their results2 the  democracy will      
establish itself in the positions which 
it has  conquered1 and on the ground    
which has been opened to it2  political 
liberty in the midst of its storms and  
its  disappointments will still1 sooner 

or later1 cause itself to be  accepted  
as the necessary guarantee for all the  
acquisitions and  all the progress      
possible in society4  x  ,these are the 
grand predominant facts to which all    
public  institutions will now have to   
adapt themselves1 and with which  all   
authority whose action is upon the mind 
requires to live at  peace4             
,christianity also must submit to the   
same tests and trials4 ,as it  has      
surmounted all others1 so also will it  
surmount this2 its  essence and origin  
would not be divine did they not permit 
it to  adapt itself to all the different
 forms of human institutions1 to  serve 
them now as a guide1 now as a support in
 their vicissitudes  whether of         
adversity or prosperity4  xi  ,it is1   
however1 of the most serious importance 
for ,christians not  to deceive         
themselves1 either as to the nature of  
the struggle  which they will have to   
sustain1 or as to its perils and the    
legitimate arms which they may use to   

combat them4 ,the attack  directed      
against the ,christian religion is one  
hotly carried on1  now with a brutal    
fanaticism1 now with a dexterous        
learning2 at  one time with the appeal  
to sincere convictions1 and at another  
invoking the worst passions2 some       
contest ,christianity as false1  others 
reject it as too exacting and imposing  
too much restraint2  the greater part   
apprehend it as a tyranny4 ,injustice   
and  suffering are not so soon          
forgotten2 nor does one readily recover 
from the effect of terror4 ,the memory  
of religious persecutions  still lives1 
and this it is that maintains1 in       
multitudes1 whose  opinions vacillate1  
aversion1 prejudice1 and a lively       
sentiment  of alarm4 ,christians on     
their side are loth to recognise and    
accommodate themselves to the new order 
of society2 every moment  they are      
shocked1 irritated1 terrified by the    
ideas and language  to which that       
society gives utterance4  xii  ,men do  

not so readily pass from a state of     
privilege to one of  community of       
rights--from a state of dominion to one 
of liberty2  they do not resign         
themselves without a struggle to the    
audacious  obstinacy of contradiction1  
to the daily necessity of resisting  and
 conquering4 ,government according to   
principles of liberty is  still more    
influenced by passion1 and entails a    
necessity of  still more exertion in the
 sphere of religion than of civil       
politics3 believers find it still more  
difficult to support  incredulity than  
governments to bear with oppositions2   
and1  nevertheless1 these themselves are
 forced to do so1 and can only  find in 
free discussion and in the full exercise
 of their  peculiar liberties the force 
which they require to rise above  their 
perilous condition1 and reduce--not to  
silence1 for that  is impossible1 but to
 an idle warfare--their inveterate      
enemies4    ,to leave that civil        
society1 in which the different sects of

  religion are now-a-days compelled to  
live in peace and side by  side1 and to 
enter religious society itself1 the     
,christian ,church  of our days3--what  
is its actual position with respect to  
these  grand questions which it has to  
discuss with the spirit of human        
liberty and audacity8  xiii  ,does it   
comprehend properly1 does it suitably   
carry on the  warfare in which it is    
engaged8 ,does it tend in its           
proceedings  to a re-establishment of a 
real peace1 and active harmonious       
relations between itself and that       
general society in the midst of  which  
it is living8    ,i say ,christian      
,church4 ,it is1 in effect1 the whole   
,church  of ,christ1 and not such or    
such a church that is in these days     
attacked1 and vitally attacked4 ,when   
men deny the ,supernatural  ,world1 the 
,inspiration of the ,scriptures1 and the
 ,divinity of  ,jesus ,christ1 they     
really assail the whole body of         
,christians--,romanists1 ,protestants or

 ,greeks3 they are virtually  destroying
 the foundations of faith in all the    
belief of  ,christians1 what ever their 
particular difference of religious      
opinion or forms of ecclesiastical      
government44  xiv  ,it is by faith that 
all ,christian ,churches live2 there is 
no form  of government1 monarchical or  
republican1 concentrated or  diffused1  
that suffices to maintain a church2     
there is no  authority so strong1 no    
liberty so broad1 as to be able in a    
religious society to dispense with the  
necessity of faith4 ,for  what is it    
that unites in a church if it is not    
faith8 ,faith is  the bond of souls4    
,when then the foundations of their     
common  faith are attacked1 the         
differences existing between ,christian 
,churches upon special questions1 or the
 diversities of their  organization or  
government1 become secondary interests2 
it is  from a common peril that they    
have to defend themselves2 or they  must
 reconcile themselves to see dried up   

the common source from  which they all  
derive sustenance and life4    ,i fear  
that the sentiment of this common peril 
is not1 in all the  ,christian          
,churches1 as clear and well defined1 as
 deep and  predominant1 as their common 
safety requires4 ,in presence of        
similar questions everywhere varied1 of 
identical attacks  everywhere directed  
against the vital facts and dogmas of   
,christianity1 ,i dread ,christians of  
the different communions not            
concentrating all their forces upon the 
mighty struggles in which  they are1    
all1 to engage4  xv  ,my dread1 however1
 is unattended by astonishment4         
,although the  danger is the same for   
all1 the traditional opinions and       
habits1  and consequently the actual    
dispositions1 are very different4  ,many
 ,romanists feel the persuasion that    
,faith would be saved were  they only   
delivered from liberty of thought4 ,many
 ,protestants  believe that they are but
 employing their right of free          

examination1 and do not lose their title
 to be regarded as  ,christians1 when   
they are in effect abandoning the       
foundations  and withdrawing from the   
source of ,faith4 ,roman ,catholicism   
has  not sufficient reliance on its     
roots1 and respects too much its        
branches2 no tree exists that does not  
need culture and clearing  in accordance
 with climate and season1 if it is to be
 expected to  continue to bear always   
good fruit2 but the roots should be     
especially defended from every attack4  
,protestantism is too  forgetful that it
 also has roots from which it cannot be 
separated without perishing1 and that   
religion is not what an  annual is in   
vegetation3 a plant that men cultivate  
and renew at  their pleasure4  xvi      
,whilst the ,romanists dread freedom of 
thought too much1 the  ,protestants on  
their side have too great a fear of     
authority4  ,some believe that inasmuch 
as religious ,faith has firm and fixed  
points1 movement and progress are       

incompatible with religious  society2   
others affirm that a religious society  
can never have  fixed points1 and that  
religion consists in religious sentiment
  and individual belief4 ,what would    
have become of ,christianity1  had it   
from its birth been condemned to the    
immobility which the  former recommend2 
and what would become of it at the      
present day1  were it surrendered1 as   
the latter would have it1 to the caprice
  of every mind1 and the wind of every  
day8    ,happily1 ,god permits not that1
 at this crisis1 the true  principles   
and the true interests of the ,christian
 ,religion  should remain without       
sufficient defenders4  xvii  ,romanists 
there are who understand their age and  
the new  constitution of society1 who   
accept frankly its liberty1  religious  
and politic3 it is precisely they who   
have most boldly  testified their       
attachment to the faith of ,rome1 who   
have claimed  with most ardor the       
essential liberties of their church1 and

  defended with most energy the rights  
of its chief4 ,nor are  ,protestants    
wanting who have used with the most     
untiring zeal all  the liberty acquired 
in our days by ,protestantism2 they have
  founded all those associations and    
originated all those  undertakings which
 have manifested the vital energy and   
extended  the action of the ,protestant 
,church2 they have demanded and they    
continue to demand1 for this church1 the
 reestablishment of its  ,synods1 that  
is to say1 its religious autonomy4      
,amongst these  ,protestants1 where men 
have appeared who have not found in the 
,protestant ,church as by law           
established the entire satisfaction  of 
their convictions1 they have felt no    
hesitation to separate  from it and to  
found1 with their own means alone1      
independent  churches4  xviii  ,it may  
be affirmed also of the ,protestants    
that they have most  largely put in     
practice all the rights and all the     
liberties of  ,protestantism1 in the    

internal ordeal through which           
,christianity  is at present passing2 it
 is precisely they who assert most      
loudly the dogmas of the ,christian     
,faith and maintain most  inflexibly the
 authoritative rights established by law
 in the  bosom of their church4 ,the    
,liberal ,romanists of the present day  
are the most zealous defenders of the   
fundamental traditions and  institutions
 of ,catholicism4 ,the ,protestants who 
have been the  most active during the   
last half-century in the exercise of the
  liberties of ,protestantism are the   
firmest maintainers of its  doctrines   
and of its vital rules4    ,humanly     
speaking1 it is upon the influence      
exercised and to be  exercised in their 
respective churches and on the public1  
by  these two classes of ,christians1   
that depends the peaceable issue  of the
 crisis through which ,christianity is  
in these days  passing4  xix  ,our      
society is1 doubtless1 far from meriting
 the title of a  ,christian one2 still  

it cannot be characterised as           
anti-,christian2 considered as one vast 
whole1 it has no hostile  or general    
prejudice against the ,christian        
religion3 it maintains  the habits1 the 
instincts1 ,i would willingly add the   
longings1 of  ,christians2 it is        
conscious that ,christian ,faith and    
,ordinance  serve powerfully its        
interests with respect to order and     
peace2  the fanatical opponents of      
,christianity exercise upon it far more 
disquieting than seductive influences1  
for it has already had  experience of   
their empire2 and where society appears 
to offer a  silent acquiescence or even 
to pride itself upon them1 still at     
bottom it dreads their progress4        
,such being the state of the case1 and  
such the constitution of  society1 how  
are we to draw men away from their      
apathy and their  ignorance in matters  
of religion8 ,how lead them back to     
,christianity8 ,they alone can          
accomplish this object1 who1 in  their  

defence and propagation of the religion 
of ,jesus1 shall not  wound society     
itself in the ideas1 sentiments1 rights 
and  interests which have at present    
rooted themselves in its very  life and 
energies4  xx  ,like religion1 modern   
society has also its fixed points and   
its  invincible tendencies3 it can never
 be set on terms of harmony  with the   
former unless by the concurring action  
of men who have  with each of them a    
genuine and deep sentiment of sympathy4 
,since  the ,christian ,religion lives  
in these times confronting civil        
liberty1 those alone can be efficient   
champions of religion who  at the same  
time profess fully the ,christian ,faith
 and accept  with sincerity the tests of
 ,liberty4    ,but in pursuing their    
pious and salutary enterprise1 let not  
these liberal ,christians flatter       
themselves with the probability  of any 
prompt or complete success3 maintain and
 propagate the  ,christian faith they   
may1 but they will never be able in the 

bosom of society to get rid either of   
incredulity or doubt2 even  while       
combating them they must learn to endure
 their presence2 in  institutions of    
freedom there is essentially an         
intermixture of  good and evil1 of truth
 and error2 contrary ideas and          
dispositions produce and develop        
themselves in it simultaneously4  xxi   
,think not that ,i am come to send peace
 on earth3 ,i came not1  said ,jesus to 
his apostles1 to send peace1 but a      
sword4  ,footnote #a ,the sword of      
,jesus ,christ1 that is1 ,christianity1 
at  war with human error and            
shortcomings2 a victory1 still a victory
  ever incomplete in an incessant       
struggle1--that is the  condition to    
which those must submit with resignation
 who1 in the  bosom of liberty1 defend  
the truth of ,christianity4             
,footnote #a3 ,matthew x4 #cd4    ,were 
these valiant and intelligent champions 
of the faith of  ,jesus not adopted and 
accredited as such in the churches to   

which  they belong2 did the ,church of  
,rome furnish ground for thinking  her  
essentially hostile to the fundamental  
principles and rights  of modern        
society1 and that she only tolerates    
them as ,moses  tolerated divorce       
amongst the ,jews1 because of the       
hardness of  their heart2 and1 on the   
other hand1 did the rejectors of the    
,supernatural1 of the ,inspiration of   
the ,scriptures1 and of the  ,divinity  
of ,jesus ,christ1 predominate in the   
bosom of  ,protestantism2 and finally1  
did the latter then become nought but  a
 hesitating system of philosophy2  xxii 
if all these deplorable things were to  
be realised1 ,i am far from  thinking   
that1 owing to such faults1 such        
disasters1 the religion  of ,christ     
would vanish from the world and         
definitively withdraw  from men its     
light and its support3 the destinies of 
religion are  far above human errors2   
but still1 beyond all doubt1 for mankind
  to be turned back from them1 and for  

the light to return to their  soul and  
harmony to modern society1 there would  
have again to  burst out in the human   
soul and in society one of those immense
  troubles1 one of those revolutionary  
whirlwinds1 whose evils man  is         
compelled actually to undergo before he 
can derive benefit  from its lessons4   
,on the point of addressing myself to   
questions more profound and  of a less  
transitory nature1 ,i content myself    
with having merely  indicated what ,i   
think of the crisis that agitates       
,christendom at  the present day1 as    
also of its main cause1 its perils1 and 
the  chances1 good or bad1 that it holds
 out for the future4  xxiii  ,in the    
work of which the first part is now     
before the public1 ,i  omit all the     
circumstantial facts and details as well
 as the  discussions that grow out of   
them1 and it is only with the           
,christian ,religion as it is in itself1
 with its fundamental  belief and its   
reasonableness1 that ,i occupy myself2  

it has been  my purpose to illustrate   
the truth of ,christianity by           
contrasting  it with the systems and the
 doubts that men set in array against   
it4 ,it is my intention to avoid all    
direct and personal polemics2  express  
reference to individuals embarrasses and
 envenoms all  questions in controversy1
 and gives rise to ill-judged deference 
or unjust invective1 two descriptions of
 falsity for which alike  ,i feel no    
sympathy3 let me have then for          
adversaries ideas alone2  and whatever  
these may be1 ,i admit beforehand the   
possibility of  sincerity on the part of
 those that prefer them4 ,without this  
admission all serious discussion is out 
of the question2 and  neither the       
intellectual enormity of the error1 nor 
its awful  practical consequences1      
positively precludes sincerity on the   
part of him that promulgates it4  xxiv  
,the mind of man is still more easily   
led astray than his heart1  and is still
 more egotistical2 after having once    

conceived and  expressed an idea1 it    
attaches itself to it as to its own     
offspring1 takes a pride in imprisoning 
itself in it1 as if it  were so taking  
possession of the pure and entire truth4
    ,these ,meditations will be divided 
into four series4 ,in the  first1 which 
forms this volume1 ,i explain and       
establish what  constitutes1 in my      
opinion1 the essence of the ,christian  
religion2 that is to say1 what those    
natural problems are1 that  correspond  
with the fundamental dogmas that offer  
their solution1  the supernatural facts 
upon which these same dogmas            
repose--,creation1 ,revelation1 the     
,inspiration of the ,scriptures1  ,god  
according to the ,biblical account1 and 
,jesus according to the  ,gospel        
narrative4  xxv  ,next to the ,essence  
of the ,christian religion comes its    
history2  and this will be the subject  
of a second series of  ,meditations1 in 
which ,i shall examine the authenticity 
of  the ,scriptures1 the primary causes 

of the foundation of  ,christianity1    
,christian ,faith1 as it has always     
existed  throughout its different ages  
and in spite of all its  vicissitudes2  
the great religious crisis in the       
sixteenth century  which divided the    
,church and ,europe between ,roman      
,catholicism and  ,protestantism2       
finally those different anti-,christian 
crises1  which at different epochs and  
in different countries have set in      
question and imperilled ,christianity   
itself1 but which dangers it  has ever  
surmounted4 ,the third ,meditation will 
be  consecrated to the study of the     
actual state of the ,christian          
religion1 its internal and external     
condition3 ,i shall retrace  the        
regeneration of ,christianity which     
occurred amongst us at the  commencement
 of the nineteenth century1 both in the 
,church of  ,rome and in the ,protestant
 churches2 the impulse imparted to it   
at the same epoch by the ,spiritualistic
 ,philosophy that then  began again to  

flourish1 and the movement in the       
contrary  direction which showed itself 
very remarkably soon afterwards in  the 
resurrection of ,materialism1 of        
,pantheism1 of ,scepticism1 and  in     
works of historical criticism4  xxvi  ,i
 shall attempt to determine the idea1   
and consequently1 in my  opinion1 the   
fundamental error of these different    
systems1 the  avowed and active enemies 
of ,christianity4 ,finally1 in the      
fourth  series of these ,meditations ,i 
shall endeavour to  discriminate and to 
characterise the future destiny of the  
,christian religion1 and to indicate by 
what course it is called  upon to       
conquer completely and to sway morally  
this little corner  of the universe     
termed by us our earth1 in which unfold 
themselves the designs and power of     
,god1 just as1 doubtless1 they  do in an
 infinity of worlds unknown to us4    ,i
 have passed thirty-five years of my    
life in struggling1 on a  bustling      
arena1 for the establishment of         

political liberty and  the maintenance  
of order as established by law4 ,i have 
learnt1 in  the labours and trials of   
this struggle1 the real worth of        
,christian ,faith and of ,christian     
,liberty4  xxvii  ,god permits me1 in   
the repose of my retreat1 to consecrate 
to  their cause what remains to me of   
life and of strength4 ,it is the  most  
salutary favour and the greatest honour 
that ,i can receive  from ,his goodness4
          ,guizot4        ,val-,richer1 
,june1 #ahfd4    xxviii    #a           
,meditations                ,on ,the    
,essence ,of             ,the ,christian
 ,religion4                    ,first   
,meditation4                ,natural    
,problems4      ,from the very origin of
 the human race1 wherever man has       
existed1  or still exists1 certain      
questions have peculiarly and           
irresistibly fixed his attention1 and   
they continue to do so at  the present  
hour4  #b  ,this arises not alone from a
 feeling of natural curiosity1 or the   

ardent thirst for knowledge1 but from a 
deeper and more powerful  motive3 the   
destiny of man is intimately involved in
 these  questions2 they contain the     
secret not only of all that he sees     
around him1 but of his own being2 and   
when he aspires to solve  them1 it is   
not merely because he desires to        
understand the  spectacle of which he is
 a beholder1 but because he feels1 and  
is  conscious of being himself an actor 
in the great drama of  existence1 and   
because he seeks to ascertain his own   
part there1  and comprehend his own     
destiny4 ,his present conduct and his   
future lot are as much at issue as the  
satisfaction of his  thought4 ,these    
great problems are1 for man1 not        
questions of  science1 but questions of 
life3 in considering them he feels      
himself compelled to say1 with ,hamlet1 
,to be or not to be1 that  is the       
question4    ,whence does the world     
proceed1 and whence does man appear in  
the  midst of it8 ,what is the origin of

 each1 and whither does each  tend8     
,what are their beginning and their end8
 ,laws there are  which govern them2--is
 there a legislator8  #c  ,under the    
empire of these laws1 man feels and     
calls himself free3  is he so in        
reality8 ,how is his liberty compatible 
with the laws  which govern him and the 
world8 ,is he a passive instrument of   
fate1 or a responsible agent8 ,what are 
the ties and relations  which connect   
him with the ,legislator of the world8  
,the world and man himself present a    
strange and painful  spectacle4 ,good   
and evil1 both moral and physical1 order
 and  disorder1 joy and sorrow1 are here
 intimately blended and yet in          
continual antagonism4 ,whence come this 
commingling and this  strife8 ,is good  
or is evil the condition and the law of 
man and  of the world8 ,if good1 how    
then has evil found admission8          
,wherefore suffering and death8 ,why    
this moral disorder8--the  calamities   
which so frequently befall the good1 and

 the  prosperity1 so abhorrent to our   
feelings1 which attends the  wicked8 ,is
 this the normal and definitive state of
 man and of the  world8    #d    ,man is
 conscious that he is at the same time  
great and little1  strong and feeble1   
powerful and impotent4 ,he finds in     
himself  matter for admiration and for  
love1 and yet he suffices not to        
himself in any respect2 he seeks an aid1
 a support1 beyond and  above himself3  
he asks1 he invokes1 he prays4 ,what    
mean these  inward disquietudes1--these 
alternate impulses of pride and         
weakness8 ,have they1 or not1 a meaning 
and an object8 ,why prayer8    ,such are
 the natural problems1 now dimly felt1  
now clearly  defined1 which in all ages 
and among all nations1 in every form    
and in every degree of civilization1 by 
instinct or by reflexion1  have arisen1 
and still arise1 in the human mind4 ,i  
indicate only  the greatest1 the most   
apparent3 ,i might recall many others   
which  are connected with them4    ,not 

only are these problems natural to man2 
they appertain to him  alone2 they are  
his peculiar privilege4 ,man alone1     
among all  creatures known to us1       
perceives and states them1 and feels    
himself imperiously called upon to solve
 them4  #e  ,i borrow the following     
admirable observations from ,m4 de      
,chteaubriand3--,why does not the ox as 
,i do8 ,it can lie down  upon the grass1
 raise its head toward heaven1 and in   
its lowings  call upon that unknown     
,being who fills this immensity of      
space4  ,but no3 content with the turf  
on which it tramples1 it  interrogates  
not those suns in the firmament above1  
which are the  grand evidence of the    
existence of ,god4 ,animals are not     
troubled  with those hopes which fill   
the heart of man2 the spot on which     
they tread yields them all the happiness
 of which they are  susceptible2 a      
little grass satisfies the sheep2 a     
little blood  gluts the tiger4 ,the only
 creature that looks beyond himself1 and

  is not all in all to himself1 is man4 
,footnote #b        ,footnote #b3 ,genie
 du ,christianisme1 vol4 i4 p4 #bjh1    
edit1 of      #ahca4    ,from these     
problems1 natural and peculiar to man1  
all religions  have sprung4 ,the object 
of them all is to satisfy man's thirst  
for their solution4 ,as these problems  
are the source of religion1  the        
solutions they receive are its substance
 and foundation4  #f  ,there prevails in
 our days a very general tendency to    
regard  religion as consisting          
essentially--,i might say wholly--in    
religious sentiment1 in those lofty and 
vague aspirations which  are termed the 
poetry of the soul1 beyond and above the
 realities  of life4 ,through the       
religious sentiment1 the soul enters    
into  relation with the ,divine order of
 things2 and this relation1 of a  wholly
 personal and intimate character1       
independent of all  positive dogma1 of  
any organized ,church1 is deemed to be  
all-sufficient for man1 the true and    

needful religion4    ,unquestionably the
 religious sentiment1 the intimate and  
personal  relation of the soul with the 
,divine order1 is essential and         
necessary to religion2 but religion is  
more than this--much more4  ,the human  
soul is not to be divided and restricted
 to certain  faculties selected and     
exalted1 whilst the rest are condemned  
to  slumber4 ,man is not a mere         
sensitive and poetic being1 aspiring  to
 rise above the present and material    
world by love and  imagination3 he not  
only feels1 but he thinks2 he requires  
to  know and believe as well as love2 it
 is not enough that his soul  should be 
capable of emotion and aspiration2 he   
requires that it  should be fixed1 and  
rest upon convictions in harmony with   
his  emotions4  #g  ,this it is that man
 seeks in religion2 he requires         
something more  than a pure and noble   
rapture2 he requires enlightenment1 as  
well  as sympathy4 ,but if the moral    
problems that beset his thought are  not

 solved1 what he experiences may be     
poetry1--it is not  religion4    ,i     
cannot contemplate unmoved the troubles 
of men of lofty minds1  seeking in the  
religious sentiment alone a refuge      
against doubt  and impiety4 ,it is well 
to preserve1 in the shipwreck of faith  
and the chaos of thought1 the great     
instincts of our nature1 and  not to    
lose sight of the sublime requirements  
which remain  unsatisfied4 ,i know not  
to what extent1 men of eminent minds may
  thus compensate1 by their sincerity   
and fervour of sentiment1 for  the void 
in their belief2 but let them not       
deceive themselves2  barren aspirations 
and specious doubts satisfy a man as    
little as  to his future spiritual      
interests as with respect to his        
condition in the present life2 the      
natural problems to which ,i  have      
alluded will ever be the great weight   
pressing upon the  soul1 and religious  
sentiment will never alone suffice to be
 the  religion of mankind4    #h        

,besides this apotheosis of religious   
sentiment1 some at the  present day have
 essayed a different1 a more serious and
 more  daring theory4 ,far from sounding
 the natural problems to which          
religions correspond1 schools of        
philosophy1 occupying a  prominent      
intellectual position1--the ,pantheistic
 ,school1 and the  so-called ,positive  
,school1--suppress and deny them        
altogether4 ,in  their view1 the world  
has existed1 of itself1 from all        
eternity1  as have the laws also by     
which it is sustained and developed4 ,in
  their elementary principles1 and taken
 altogether1 all things  have ever been 
what they now are1 and what they will   
ever  continue to be4 ,there is no      
mystery in this universe2 there exist   
only facts and laws1 naturally and      
necessarily linked together2  and these 
furnish the field for human science1    
which1 although  incomplete1 is yet     
indefinitely progressive1 in its power  
as well  as in its operations4    #i    

,according to these views1 ,divine      
,providence and human liberty1  the     
origin of evil1 the commingling and the 
strife of good and  evil in the world1  
and in man1 the imperfection of the     
present  order of things1 and the       
destiny of man1 the prospect of the     
re-establishment of order in the        
future--these are all mere  dreams1     
freaks of man's thought3 no such        
questions indeed exist1  inasmuch as the
 world is eternal1 it is in its actual  
state  complete1 normal1 and definitive1
 though at the same time  progressive4  
,the remedy for the moral and physical  
evils which  afflict mankind1 must then 
be sought1 not in any power superior  to
 the world1 but simply in the progress  
of the sciences and the  advance of     
human enlightenment4    #aj    ,i shall 
not here discuss this system2 ,i do not 
even qualify it by  its true name2 ,i   
merely recapitulate its tenets4 ,but1 at
 the  first and simple aspect1 what     
contempt does it manifest of the        

spontaneous and universal instincts of  
man6 ,what heedlessness of  the facts   
which fill and never cease to           
characterize the  universal history of  
the human race6    ,nevertheless to this
 we are come3 not a solution1 but the   
negation of the natural problems1 which 
irresistibly occupy the  human soul1 is 
presented to man for his full           
satisfaction and  repose4 ,let him      
follow the mathematical or physical     
sciences2 let  him be a mechanician1    
chemist1 critic1 novelist1 or poet2 but 
let  him not enter upon what is termed  
the sphere of religious and  theological
 inquiry3 here are no real questions to 
solve1 nought  to investigate1 nothing  
to do1--nothing to expect1--absolutely  
nothing4    #aa              ,second    
,meditation4              ,christian    
,dogmas4      ,the ,christian religion  
knows man better1 and treats man better3
  it has other answers to his questions2
 and it is between the  absolute        
negation of the problems of religion and

 the ,christian  solution of these      
problems that the discussion lies at the
  present day4    ,some words there are 
which we now regard with distrust and   
alarm3  we suspect their masking        
illegitimate pretensions and tyranny4   
,such1 in our days1 has been the lot of 
the word dogma4 ,to  many this word     
imparts an imperious necessity to       
believe1 at once  offending and         
disquieting4 ,singular contrast6 ,on all
 sides we  seek for principles1 and we  
take alarm at dogmas4    #ab    ,this   
sentiment1 however absurd in itself1 is 
in no way strange2  ,christian dogmas   
have served as motive and pretext for so
 much  iniquity1 so many acts of        
oppression and cruelty1 that their very 
name has become tainted and suspected4  
,the word bears the penalty  of the     
reminiscences which it awakens3 and     
justly4 ,all attacks  upon the liberty  
of conscience1 all employment of force  
to  extirpate or to impose religious    
belief1 is1 and ever has been1  an      

iniquitous and tyrannical act4 ,all     
powers1 all parties1 all  churches1 have
 held such acts to be not only          
permissible1 but  enjoined by the       
,divine ,law3 all have deemed it not    
merely their  right1 but their duty1 to 
prevent and to punish by law and human  
force1 error in matters of religion4    
,they may all allege in  excuse1 the    
sincerity of their belief in the        
legitimacy of this  usurpation4 ,the    
usurpation is not the less enormous and 
fatal1  and perhaps indeed it is1 of all
 human usurpations1 the one which  has  
inflicted on men the most odious        
torments and the grossest  errors4  #ac 
,it will constitute the glory of our    
time to have discarded this  pretension3
 nevertheless it yet exists1 with       
persistency1 in  certain states1 in     
certain laws1 in certain recesses of the
 human  soul and of ,christian society2 
and there is1 and ever will be1  need to
 watch and to combat it1 to render its  
banishment  unconditional and without   

appeal4 ,subdued1 however1 it is3 civil 
freedom in matters of faith and         
religious life has become a  fundamental
 principle of civilization and of law4  
,these  questions1 affecting the        
relations of man to ,god1 are no longer 
discussed or adjusted in the arena and  
by a recourse to the hand  of political 
and executive power2 but they are       
transported to the  sphere of the       
intellect and left to the uncontrolled  
working of  the mind itself4    ,but    
again1 in this sphere of the intellect1 
these questions still  start up and call
 loudly for their peculiar              
solution--that is1  for the fundamental 
facts and ideas1 the principles in      
effect  which their nature requires4    
,the ,christian religion has its own    
principles1 which constitute the        
rational basis of the faith it          
inculcates and the life which it        
enjoins4 ,these are termed its  dogmas4 
#ad  ,the  ,christian dogmas are the    
principles of the ,christian religion1  

and the ,christian solutions of the     
problems of natural religion4    ,let   
men of a serious mind1 who have not     
entirely rejected the  ,christian       
religion1 and who still admire it1      
whilst denying its  fundamental dogmas1 
beware of this3 the flowers whose       
perfume  captivates them will quickly   
fade1 the fruits they delight in  will  
soon cease to grow when the axe shall   
have been applied to  the roots of the  
tree that bears them4    ,for myself1   
arrived at the term of a long life1 one 
of labour1 of  reflection1 and of       
trials1--of trials in thought as well as
 in  action1--,i am convinced that1 the 
,christian dogmas are the  legitimate   
and satisfactory solutions of those     
religious problems  which1 as ,i have   
said1 nature suggests and man carries in
 his own  breast1 and from which he     
cannot escape4    #ae    ,i beg1 at the 
outset1 ,theologians1 whether ,catholic 
or  ,protestant1 to pardon me4 ,i have  
no design to cite or to explain1  or to 

maintain1 all the various doctrinal     
points1 all the  articles of faith1     
which have been included in the term of 
,christian dogmas4 ,during eighteen     
centuries1 ,christian theology  has very
 often ventured to advance out of and   
beyond the limits  of the ,christian    
religion3 man has confounded his own    
labours  with the work of ,god4 ,it is  
the natural consequence of the union  of
 human activity and human imperfection4 
,this same result may be  traced        
throughout the history of the world1    
especially in the  history of the       
society and religion upon which ,god has
 grafted  the ,christian religion4      
,at the time when ,god raised up ,jesus 
,christ among the ,jews1 the  faith and 
the law of the ,jews were no longer     
solely and purely  the faith and law    
which ,god had given to them by ,moses3 
the  ,pharisees1 the ,sadducees1 and    
many others1 had essentially  modified1 
enlarged1 and altered both4             
,christianity too has had  its          

,pharisees and its ,sadducees2 in its   
turn it has been made to  feel the      
workings of human thought and the       
influence of human  passions on its     
,divine revelation4  #af  ,i cannot     
recognize1 in all the uncertain fruits  
of these labours1  the claim to the     
title of ,christian dogmas4             
,nevertheless ,i have  no intention here
 to specify particularly and to combat  
such  tenets in the ,church and in      
,christian theology1 as ,i can neither  
accept nor defend4 ,it is not for       
me--and ,i venture to say1 it is  not   
for any ,christian--to scan critically  
the interior of the  ,edifice1 at a     
moment when its foundations are ardently
 attacked4  ,far rather ,i prefer to    
rally in a common defence all who abide 
within its walls4 ,i shall here allude  
only to the dogmas common  to them all1 
which ,i sum up in these terms3--,the   
,creation1  ,providence1 ,original ,sin1
 the ,incarnation1 and the ,redemption4 
,these constitute the essence of the    

,christian religion1 and all  who       
believe in these dogmas ,i hold to be   
,christians4    ,one leading and common 
characteristic in these dogmas strikes  
me  at the outset3 they deal frankly    
with the religious problems  natural to 
and inherent in man1 and offer at once  
the solution4  #ag  ,the dogma of       
,creation attests the existence of ,god1
 as ,creator  and ,legislator1 and it   
attests also the link which unites man  
with ,god4 ,the dogma of ,providence    
explains and justifies prayer1  that    
instinctive recourse of man to the      
living ,god1 to that  supreme ,power    
which is ever present with him in life1 
and which  influences his destiny4 ,the 
dogma of ,original ,sin accounts for    
the presence of evil and disorder in    
mankind and in the world4  ,the dogmas  
of the ,incarnation and of ,redemption1 
rescue man from  the consequences of    
evil1 and open to him a prospect in     
another  life of the re-establishment of
 order4 ,unquestionably1 the system  is 

grand1 complete1 well connected1 and    
forcible3 it answers to  the            
requirements of the human soul1 removes 
the burden which  oppresses it1 imparts 
the strength which it needs1 and the    
satisfaction to which it aspires4 ,has  
it a rightful claim to all  this power8 
,is its influence legitimate1 as well as
 efficacious8    #ah    ,in my own mind 
,i have borne the burthen of the        
objections to the  ,christian system1   
and to each of its essential dogmas2 ,i 
have  experienced the anxieties of      
doubt3 ,i shall state how ,i have       
escaped from doubt1 and the ground upon 
which my convictions have  been founded4
                    ,i4 ,creation4      
,the only serious opponents of the dogma
 of the ,creation are those  who        
maintain that the universe1 the earth1  
the man upon the  earth1 have existed   
from all eternity1 and1 collectively1 in
 the  state in which they now are4 ,no  
one however can hold this  language1 to 
which facts are invincibly opposed4 ,how

 many ages  man has existed on the      
earth1 is a question that has been      
largely  discussed1 and is still under  
discussion4 ,the inquiry in no way      
affects the dogma of the ,creation      
itself3 it is a certain and  recognized 
fact1 that man has not always existed on
 the earth1  and that the earth has for 
long periods undergone different        
changes incompatible with man's         
existence4 ,man therefore had a         
beginning3 man has come upon the earth4 
,how has he come there8    #ai    ,here 
the opponents of the dogma of ,creation 
are divided3 some  uphold the theory of 
spontaneous generation2 others1 the     
transformation of species4 ,according to
 one party1 matter  possesses1 under    
certain circumstances and by the simple 
development of its own proper power1 the
 faculty of creating  animated beings4  
,according to others1 the different     
species of  animated beings which still 
exist1 or have existed at various       
epochs and in the different conditions  

of the earth1 are derived  from a small 
number of primitive types1 which have   
possessed1  through the lapse of        
millions and thousands of millions of   
ages1  the power of developing and      
perfecting themselves1 so as to gain    
admission1 through transformation1 into 
higher species4 ,hence  they conclude1  
with more or less hesitation1 that the  
human race  is the result of a          
transformation1 or a series of          
transformations4    #bj    ,the attempt 
to establish the theory of spontaneous  
production  dates from a remote period4 
,science has ever baffled it3 the more  
its observations have been exact and    
profound1 the more have they  refuted   
the hypothesis of the innate creative   
power of matter4  ,this result has been 
again recently established by the       
attentive  examination of men of eminent
 scientific attainments1 within and     
without the walls of the ,academy of    
,sciences4 ,but were it even            
otherwise1--could the advocates of the  

theory of spontaneous  production refer 
to experiments hitherto irrefutable1    
these would  furnish no better          
explanation of the first appearance of  
man upon  earth1 and ,i should retain my
 right to repeat here what ,i have      
advanced elsewhere on this              
subject3,footnote #c--        ,footnote 
#c3 ,l',eglise et la ,socit ,chrtienne  
en #ahfa1      p4 #bg4    #ba    ,such a
 mode of generation cannot1 nor ever    
could1 produce any  but infant beings1  
in the first hour and in the first state
 of  incipient life4 ,it has1 ,i        
believe1 never been asserted1 nor will  
any person ever affirm1 that1 by        
spontaneous generation1 man--  that is  
to say1 man and woman1 the human        
couple--can have issued1  or that they  
have issued at any period1 from matter1 
of full form  and stature1 in possession
 of all their powers and faculties1 as  
,greek paganism represented ,minerva    
issuing from the brain of  ,jupiter4    
,yet it is only upon this supposition1  

that man1  appearing for the first time 
upon earth1 could have lived there  to  
perpetuate his species and to found the 
human race4 ,let any  one picture to    
himself the first man1 born in a state  
of the  earliest infancy1 alive but     
inert1 devoid of intelligence1          
powerless1 incapable of satisfying his  
own wants even for a  moment1 trembling1
 sobbing1 with no mother to listen to or
 feed  him6 ,and yet we have in this a  
picture of the first man1 as  presented 
by the system of spontaneous generation4
 ,it is  manifestly not thus that the   
human race first appeared upon  earth4  
,the system of the transformation of    
species is no less refuted by  science  
than by the instincts of common sense4  
,it rests upon no  tangible fact1 on no 
principle of scientific observation or  
historic tradition4  #bb  ,all the facts
 ascertained1 all the monuments         
collected in  different ages and        
different places1 respecting the        
existence of  living species1 disprove  

the hypothesis of their having undergone
  any transformation1 any notable and   
permanent change3 we meet  with them a  
thousand1 two thousand1 three thousand  
years ago1 the  same as they are at the 
present day4 ,in the same species the   
races may vary and undergo mutual       
changes3 the species do not  change2 and
 all attempts to transform them         
artificially1 by  crossings with allied 
species1 have only resulted in          
modifications1 which1 after two or three
 generations1 have been  struck with    
barrenness1 as if to attest the         
impotence of man to  effect1 by the     
progressive transformation of existing  
species1 a  creation of new species4    
,man is not an ape transformed and      
perfected by some dim imperceptible     
fermentation of the elements  of nature 
and by the operation of ages3 this      
assumed explanation  of the origin of   
the human species is a mere vague       
hypothesis1  the fruit of an imagination
 ill comprehending the spectacle that   

nature presents1 and therefore easily   
seduced to form ingenious  conjectures3 
these their authors sow in the stream of
 events  unknown and of time infinite1  
and trust to them for the  realization  
of their dreams4  #bc  ,the principle of
 the fundamental diversity and the      
permanence of  species--firmly upheld by
 ,m4 ,cuvier1 ,m4 ,flourens1 ,m4 ,coste1
 ,m4  ,quatrefages1 and by all exact    
observers of facts--remains  dominant in
 science as in reality4 ,footnote #d    
,footnote #d3 ,cuvier--,discours sur les
 ,rvolutions du ,globe1      pp4 #aag1  
#abj1 #abd 7edit4 #ahbe72               
,flourens--,ontologie      ,naturelle1  
pp4 #aj-hg 7#ahfa72 ,journal des        
,savants 7,october1      ,november1 and 
,december1 #ahfc72 three articles on the
 work of      ,ch4 ,darwin1 ,on the     
,origin of ,species and the ,laws of    
,progress      among ,organised ,beings2
 ,coste--,histoire ,gnrale et           
,particulire du ,dveloppement des ,corps
 ,organiss2 ,discours      ,prliminaire1

 vol4 i4 p4 #bc2                        
,quatrefages--,metamorphoses de         
l',homme et des ,animaux1 p4 #bbe       
7#ahfb72 and his articles ,on      the  
,unity of the ,human ,species1 published
 in the ,revue des      ,deux ,mondes1  
in #ahfj and #ahfa1 and collected in one
 volume      7#ahfa74    #bd    ,besides
 these vain attempts to supersede ,god  
the ,creator1 and to  explain by the    
inherent and progressive power of       
matter1 the  origin of man and of the   
world1 the ,christian dogma of ,creation
  has yet other adversaries4 ,one party1
 to combat it1 seizes its  arms from the
 ,bible itself1 alleging the account    
there given of  the successive facts of 
the creation1 of which the world and man
  were the result2 they cite and        
enumerate the difficulties of           
reconciling this account with the       
observations and the  conclusions of    
science4 ,i shall weigh the force of    
this class of  objections in treating of
 the inspiration of the ,holy           

,scriptures1  of their real object and  
true meaning2 but ,i at once raise the  
dogma of ,creation above this           
attack1--placing it at its proper       
height and isolation3 it is the general 
fact1 it is the very  principle of      
creation which constitutes the dogma2   
what ever may  be the obscurities or the
 scientific difficulties presented by   
the biblical narrative1 the principle   
and the general fact of the  ,creation  
remain unaffected3 ,god the ,creator    
does not the less  remain in possession 
of ,his work4 ,the ,christian religion1 
in its  essence1 asserts and demands    
nothing more4    #be    ,but lastly1 the
 ,christian dogma of ,creation is met by
 the general  objection raised against  
all the facts and all the acts which are
  termed supernatural3 that is to say1  
against the existence of ,god  as well  
as the dogma of ,creation1 against all  
religions in common  with ,christianity4
 ,such a question requires to be        
considered1 not  with reference to any  

particular dogma1 or with a view to     
defend  one side only of the edifice of 
,christianity4 ,this point1 then1 ,i    
shall presently examine frankly and in  
all its bearings4                  ,,ii4
 ,providence4    ,god the ,creator is   
also ,god the ,preserver4 ,he lives1 and
 is at  the same time the source of     
life4 ,the union between ,him and his   
creature does not cease when the        
creature is brought into  existence4    
,the dogma of ,providence is consequent 
upon that of  ,creation4    #bf         
,prayer is more than the mere outburst  
of the desires or sorrows  of the soul1 
seeking that satisfaction1 strength1 or 
consolation  which it does not find     
within itself2 it is the expression of a
  faith1 instinctive or reflective1     
obscure or clear1 wavering or           
steadfast1 in the existence1 the        
presence1 the power1 and the  sympathy  
of the ,being to whom prayer is         
addressed4 ,without a  certain measure  
of faith and trust in ,god1 prayer would

 not burst  forth1 or would suddenly be 
dried up in the soul4 ,if faith         
everywhere resists1 and everywhere      
outlives all the denials1 all  the      
doubts1 and all the darkness which      
oppress mankind1 it is  that man bears  
within himself an imperishable          
consciousness of  the enduring bond     
which connects him with ,god1 and ,god  
with him4    ,far from destroying this  
sentiment1 experience and the spectacle 
of life explain and confirm it4 ,in     
reflecting on his destiny1 man          
recognises in it three different        
sources1 and divides1 so to say1  into  
three classes the facts which make up   
the whole4 ,he is  conscious of being   
subject to events which are the         
consequence of  laws1 general1          
permanent1 and independent of his will1 
but which  by his intelligence he       
observes and comprehends4  #bg  ,by the 
act of his free will he also himself    
creates events1 of  which he knows      
himself to be author1 and these have    

their own  consequences and enter too   
into the tissue of his life4 ,lastly1   
he passes through events1 in his view1  
neither the result of  those general    
laws from which nothing can withdraw    
him1 nor the  act of his own            
liberty1--events of which he perceives  
neither the  cause1 the reason1 nor the 
author4    ,man attributes this last    
class of events sometimes to a blind    
cause1 which he terms chance2 at        
another1 to an intelligent and  supreme 
intention which is in ,god4 ,his mind at
 times revolts at  the inanity of this  
word chance1 which explains and  defines
 nothing2 and he then pictures to       
himself a mysterious1  impenetrable     
power1 a merely necessary chain of      
unknown facts1 to  which he gives the   
name of fatality1 destiny4 ,to account  
for this  obscure and accidental part of
 human life1 which originates  neither  
from any general and conceivable laws1  
nor from the free  will of man himself1 
we must choose between fatality and     

,providence1 chance and ,god4    #bh    
,i express my meaning without           
hesitation4 ,who ever accepts as a      
satisfactory explanation the theory of  
fatality and chance1 does  not truly    
believe in ,god4 ,whoever believes truly
 in ,god1 relies  upon ,providence4 ,god
 is not an expedient1 invented to       
explain the  first link in the chain of 
causation1 an actor called to open by   
creation the drama of the world1 then to
 relapse into a state of  inert         
uselessness4 ,by the very fact of his   
existence1 ,god is  present with his    
work1 and sustains it4 ,providence is   
the natural  and necessary development  
of ,god's existence2 his constant       
presence and permanent action in        
creation4 ,the universal and            
insuperable instinct which leads man to 
prayer1 is in harmony  with this great  
fact2 he who believes in ,god cannot but
 have  recourse to ,him and pray to     
,him4    #bi    ,objections are raised  
to the name itself of ,god4 ,he acts1 it

 is  said1 only by general and permanent
 laws3 how can we implore ,his          
interference in favour of our special   
and exceptional desires8 ,he  is        
immutable1 ever perfect1 and ever the   
same3 how is it  conceivable that ,he   
lends ,himself to the fickleness of     
human  sentiments and wishes8 ,the      
prayer which ascends to ,him is         
forgetful of his real nature4 ,men have 
treated the attributes of  ,god as      
furnishing an objection to his          
,providence4    ,this objection1 so     
often repeated1 never fails to astonish 
me4  ,the majority of those who urge it1
 assert at the same time that  ,god is  
incomprehensible1 and that we cannot    
penetrate the secret  of his nature4    
,what then is this but to pretend to    
comprehend  ,god8 and by what right do  
they oppose his nature to his           
providence1 if his nature is1 to us1 an 
impenetrable mystery8 ,i  refrain from  
reproaching them for their ambition2    
ambition is the  privilege and the glory

 of man2 but in retaining it1 let them  
not  overlook its legitimate limits4    
,there is only this alternative3  either
 man must cease to believe in ,god1     
because he cannot  comprehend ,him1 or  
in effect admit his incomprehensibility1
 and  still at the same time believe in 
,him4  #cj  ,he cannot pass and repass  
incessantly from one system to the      
other1 now declaring ,god to be         
incomprehensible2 now speaking of  ,him1
 of his nature and his attributes1 as if
 ,he were within the  province of human 
science4 ,great as is the question of   
,providence1 the one ,i have here to    
consider is still greater1 for  it is   
the question of the very existence of   
,god2 and the  fundamental inquiry is to
 know whether ,he exists1 or does not   
exist4 ,god is at once light and        
mystery3 in intimate relation  with man1
 and yet beyond the limits of his       
knowledge4 ,i shall  presently endeavour
 to mark the limit at which human       
knowledge  stops1 and indicate its      

proper sphere2 but this ,i at once      
assume  as certain3 whoever1 believing  
in ,god and speaking of ,him as         
incomprehensible1 yet persists in       
endeavouring to define ,him             
scientifically1 and seeks to penetrate  
the mystery1 which he has  yet admitted1
 is in great risk of destroying his own 
belief1 and  of setting ,god aside1     
which is one way of denying ,him4    #ca
    ,but ,i leave for a moment these two
 simultaneous propositions1  namely1 the
 impossibility of comprehending ,god1   
and the necessity  of believing in ,him2
 and ,i proceed at once to that         
objection to  the special providence of 
,god which is drawn from the general    
character of the laws of nature4 ,this  
objection results from  confounding very
 different things1 and overlooking a    
fundamental  one1--the fact             
characteristic indeed of human nature4  
,it is true  that the providence of ,god
 presides over the order of the world   
which ,he governs by general and        

permanent laws3 these laws would  be    
more accurately designated by another   
name2 they are the ,will  of ,god1      
continually acting upon the world1 for  
not only the laws  but the ,lawgiver are
 there ever present4 ,but when ,god     
created  man1 ,he created him different 
from the physical world2 free1 and  a   
moral agent2 and hence there is a       
fundamental difference  between the     
action of ,god on the physical world1   
and his action  on man4  #cb  ,i shall  
subsequently state my opinion as to the 
full meaning of  the expression1 ,man is
 a free being1 and as to the nature of  
the consequences to which it leads2 for 
the present1 ,i assume1 as  a certain   
and incontestable fact1 this principle  
of human  liberty1--of the free         
determination of man considered as a    
moral  agent4 ,admitting this1 it cannot
 be said that ,god governs mankind  at  
large by general and permanent laws2 for
 what would this be  but to ignore or   
annul the liberty granted to man1 that  

is to  say1 to misconceive and mutilate 
the ,work of ,god himself4 ,man         
exercises a free determination1 and in  
his own life actually  gives birth to   
events which are not the result of any  
general and  external laws4 ,divine     
,providence watches the operations of   
man's  volition1 and records the manner 
in which it has been exercised4  ,it    
does not treat man as it deals with the 
stars in heaven and  the waves of the   
ocean1 which have neither thought nor   
will2 with  man it has other relations  
than with nature1 and employs a         
different mode of action4    #cc        
,there is little wisdom in instituting  
comparisons between objects  or facts   
not essentially analogous2 and the idea 
of ,god has been  so often disfigured by
 representing ,him in the image of man1 
that  ,i mistrust the efficacy of any   
analogies borrowed from humanity  to    
convey a conception of ,god4 ,i cannot1 
however1 overlook the  fact1 that ,god  
has created man in his own image1 nor   

can ,i  absolutely refrain from seeking1
 in nature or the life of man1  some    
type to shadow forth the features of    
,god4 ,let us consider  the human       
family3 the father and mother assist in 
directing the  active development of the
 child2 they watch over it with         
authority and tenderness2 they control  
its liberty without  annulling it1 and  
they listen to its little prayers--now  
granting  them1 now refusing them1 as   
their reason dictates1 and with a  view 
to the child's main and future          
interests4  #cd  ,the child1 without    
thought or design1 by the spontaneous   
instinct  of its nature1 recognizes the 
authority and feels the tenderness  of  
its parents2 as it advances in age1 it  
sometimes obeys and  sometimes resists  
their injunctions1 using or misusing its
  natural liberty2 but in all the       
fickleness of its will1 it asks1  it    
entreats1 full of confidence--joyous and
 thankful when it  obtains from its     
parents what it desires2 yet1 when      

denied1 still  ready again to ask and to
 entreat with the same confidence as    
before4    ,this is what takes place in 
the government of the human family  when
 ruled according to the dictates of     
nature and right4 ,an  image we have    
here1 imperfect but still true--a       
shadowing-forth1  faint yet faithful--of
 ,divine ,providence4 ,thus it is that  
the  ,christian religion qualifies and  
describes the action of ,god in  the    
life of man4 ,it exhibits ,god as ever  
present and accessible  to man1 as a    
father to his child2 it exhorts1        
encourages1 invites  man to implore1 to 
confide in1 to pray to ,god4 ,it        
reserves  absolutely the answer of ,god 
to that prayer2 ,he will grant1 or ,he  
will refuse3 we cannot penetrate his    
motives--,the ways of ,god  are not our 
ways4  #ce  ,nevertheless1 to prayer1   
ceaseless and ever renewed1 the         
,christian dogma associates the firm    
hope that nothing is  impossible with   
,god4 ,this dogma is thus in full and   

intimate  harmony with the nature of    
man2 whilst recognizing his liberty1  it
 does homage to his dignity2 in         
tendering to him the resource  of an    
appeal to ,god it provides for his      
weakness4 ,in science1 it  suppresses   
not the mystery which cannot be         
suppressed2 but1 in  man's life1 it     
solves the natural problem which weighs 
upon the  soul4                         
,,iii4 ,original ,sin4    ,the dogmas of
 ,creation and ,providence bring us into
 the presence  of ,god2 it is the action
 of ,god upon the world and man that    
they  proclaim and affirm4 ,the dogma of
 ,original ,sin brings us back to  man2 
it is the act of man towards ,god1 which
 stands at the very  beginning of the   
history of mankind4    #cf    ,in what  
does this dogma consist8 ,what are the  
elements and the  essential facts which 
constitute it1 and upon which it is     
founded8    ,the dogma of ,original ,sin
 implies and affirms these propositions3
    #a4 ,that ,god1 in creating man1 has

 created him an agent1 moral1  free1 and
 fallible2    #b4 ,that the will of ,god
 is the moral law of man1 and obedience 
to  the will of ,god is the duty of man1
 inasmuch as he is a moral and  free    
agent2    #c4 ,that1 by an act of his   
own free will1 man has knowingly failed 
in his duty1 by disobeying the law of   
,god2    #d4 ,that the free man is a    
responsible being1 and that             
disobedience to the law of ,god has     
justly entailed on him  punishment2     
#e4 ,that that responsibility and that  
punishment are hereditary1  and that the
 fault of the first man has weighed and 
does weigh  upon the human race4    #cg 
,the authority of ,god1 the duty of     
obedience to the law of ,god1  the      
liberty and responsibility of man1 the  
heritage of human  responsibility are1  
in their moral chronology1 the          
principles and  the facts comprised in  
the dogma of ,original ,sin4    ,i turn 
away my attention for a moment from the 
dogma itself1 its  source1 its history1 

the ,biblical and ,christian tradition  
of this  first step in evil of the human
 race4 ,and considering man1 his        
nature1 and his destiny in their actual 
and general state1 ,i  investigate and  
verify the moral facts as they manifest 
themselves at the present day1 to the   
eyes of good sense1 amidst  the disputes
 of the learned4    ,man1 at his birth1 
is subjected to the moral authority1 as 
well  as the physical power of the      
parents who1 humanly speaking1  created 
him4 ,obedience is to him a duty1 and at
 the same time a  necessity4 ,this      
physical necessity and this moral       
obligation1  however ultimately         
connected with each other1 are not one  
and  identical2 and the child1 in its   
spontaneous development1  instinctively 
feels the moral obligation long before  
it is  conscious of the physical        
necessity4  #ch  ,the instinctive       
feeling of the obligation is united with
 the  growing sentiment of affection2   
and the child obeys the look1 the  voice

 of its mother1 unconscious of its      
absolute dependence upon  her4 ,as the  
sentiment of affection and the instinct 
of obligatory  obedience are the first  
dawn of moral good in the development of
  the child1 so the impulse to          
disobedience is the first symptom1  the 
first appearance of moral evil4 ,it is  
with the voluntary  disobedience of the 
child to the will of its mother that the
  moral infraction commences1 and it is 
in disobedience that it  resides4 ,it   
considers neither the motives nor the   
consequences of  its act2 it is simply  
conscious that it disobeys1 and regards 
its  mother with a mingled feeling of   
restlessness and defiance2 it  tries1   
with hesitation1 the maternal authority2
 it strives to be1  and especially to   
appear1 independent of the natural and  
legitimate power which rules it1 and    
which it recognises at the  very moment 
when it opposes its own will to that    
higher law4    #ci    ,as the child1 so 
is the man4 ,as man is born free1 so he 

lives  free2 and as he is born subject1 
so he lives subject4 ,liberty  co-exists
 with authority and resists without     
annulling it4  ,authority exists before 
liberty1 and as it does not yield to it1
  so neither does it supersede it4 ,man1
 inasmuch as he knows that  he disobeys1
 renders homage to authority by the very
 fact of his  disobedience4 ,authority1 
on its side1 recognizes the liberty of  
man1 by the condemnation which it passes
 on him for having  misused it2 for he  
would not be responsible for his acts   
were he  not free4 ,in the co-existence 
of these two powers1 authority and      
liberty1 at one time in accordance1 at  
another in conflict1 lies  the great    
secret of nature and of human destiny1  
the fundamental  principle of man and of
 the world4    ,let it be clearly       
understood that ,i speak here of the    
moral  world1 of the world of thought   
and of will4 ,in the physical world     
there is neither authority nor liberty2 
there are merely certain  forces1 forces

 acting inevitably and unequally4  #dj  
,if the question concerned the material 
world1 could ,i do better  than repeat  
what ,pascal has admirably said3 ,man is
 but a  reed--the weakest in nature--but
 he is a reed which thinks2 the         
universe need not rise in arms to crush 
him2 a vapour1 a drop of  water suffices
 to kill him4 ,but were the universe to 
crush him1  man would still be nobler   
than the power which killed him1 for he 
knows that he dies2 and of the advantage
 which the universe has  over him1 the  
universe knows nothing4 ,when man obeys 
or  disobeys1 he knows just as well that
 authority confronts him1 as  that      
liberty of action abides with himself4  
,he knows what he  does1 and he charges 
himself with the responsibility4 ,moral 
order  is here complete4    ,throughout 
all times and in all places1 in all men1
 as in the  first man1 disobedience to  
legitimate authority is the principle   
and foundation of moral evil1 or1 to    
call it by its religious  name1 of sin4 

#da    ,disobedience has various and    
complicated sources2 it may spring  from
 a thirst for independence1 from        
ambition or presumptuous  curiosity1 or 
from giving rein to human inclinations  
and  temptations2 but1 whatever its     
origin1 disobedience is ever the        
essential characteristic of that free   
act which constitutes sin1  as it is    
also the source of the responsibility   
which accompanies  it4    ,eminent men1 
eminently pious men1 have combated the  
doctrine of  human liberty2 unable to   
reconcile it with what they term the    
divine prescience1 they have denied the 
fundamental fact of the  nature of man1 
rather than fully acknowledge the       
mystery of the  nature of ,god4 ,others1
 equally eminent and sincere1 have      
limited  themselves to raising doubts   
regarding human liberty1 and denying  it
 the value of an absolute and peremptory
 fact4 ,in my opinion1  they have       
confounded facts essentially different1 
although  intimately blended2 they have 

ignored the special and simple          
character of the very fact of free will4
 ,during a course of  lectures which ,i 
delivered thirty-five years ago at the  
,sorbonne1  on the history of           
civilization in ,france1 having occasion
 to  examine the controversy of ,st4    
,augustine with ,pelagius on free  will1
 predestination1 and grace1 ,i explained
 these subjects in  terms which ,i      
repeat here1 finding no others which    
appear to me  more exact and more       
complete3--    #db      ,the fact which 
lies at the foundation of the whole     
dispute1 ,i    said in #ahbi1 is        
liberty1 free will1 the human will4 ,to 
comprehend this fact exactly1 we must   
divest it of every    foreign element1  
and confine it strictly to itself4 ,it  
is the    want of this precaution that  
has led to such frequent                
misconception of the thing itself2 men  
have not looked simply    at the fact of
 liberty1 and at that alone4 ,it has    
been viewed    and described1 so to     

speak1 ple-mle with other facts1        
closely connected to it1 it is true1 in 
the moral life of man1    but which are 
no less essentially different4 ,for     
example1 human    liberty has been said 
to consist in the act of deliberating   
upon and choosing between motives2 that 
deliberation1 and that    choice and    
judgment consequent upon it1 have been  
regarded as    the essence of free will4
  #dc    ,not so at all4 ,these are acts
 of the intellect1 not of liberty2    it
 is before the intellect that the       
various motives of    resolution and    
action1 interests1 passions1 opinions1  
and such    like1 present themselves2   
the intellect considers1 compares1      
estimates1 weighs1 and judges them4     
,this is a preparatory task1    which   
precedes the act of volition1 but which 
does not in any    way constitute it4   
,when1 after deliberation1 man has taken
 full    cognisance of the motives      
presented to him1 and of their value1   
there takes place a process entirely    

new1 and wholly different1    that of   
free will2 man forms a resolution--that 
is to say1 he    commences a series of  
facts having their source in himself1 of
    which he regards himself as the     
author2 and these are    effectuated    
because he wills them2 they would have  
no existence    did he not will it1 and 
would be different if he desired to     
produce them otherwise4 ,now1 let us    
imagine all remembrance of    this      
process of intellectual deliberation    
obliterated1 the    motives so known and
 appreciated1 forgotten2 concentrate    
your    thought1 and that of the man who
 takes a resolution1 upon the    moment 
when he says1 ',it is my will1 therefore
 ,i shall do so2    and ask yourself1   
ask too the man1 whether he could not   
will    and act otherwise4  #dd         
,without doubt1 you will reply1 as he   
will do1 ',assuredly1' and    this it is
 that reveals the fact of liberty2 it   
consists wholly    in the resolution    
which man takes after the deliberation  

is at    an end2 it is the resolution   
that is the proper act of man1    which 
is through him and through him alone2 a 
simple act1    independent of all the   
facts which precede or accompany it1    
identical in the most varied            
circumstances1 always the same1         
whatever be its motives or its results4 
,at the same time that man feels himself
 free1 and is conscious    of the power 
of commencing by his own will alone a   
series of    facts1 he recognises that  
his will is subjected to the empire     
of a certain law1 which takes different 
names1 according to the    circumstances
 to which it is applied--moral law1     
reason1 good    sense1 c 444 ,man is    
free1 but according even to man's own   
way    of thinking1 his will is not     
arbitrary2 he may use it in an          
absurd1 senseless1 unjust1 and culpable 
manner1 and whenever he    uses it a    
certain rule must govern it4 ,the       
observance of this    rule is his duty1 
the task assigned to his liberty4    #de

    ,it is that act of a will 7that is  
to say of a will strictly  brought back 
to its central and essential limits7    
acting freely  in the intimate recesses 
of his being1 which1 in the case of     
disobedience to the law of duty1        
constitutes in man sin1 and  entails on 
him its responsibility4    ,is this     
responsibility exclusively personal1 and
 limited to the  author of the act1 or  
communicated1 so to say1 by contagion1  
and  transmitted in a certain measure to
 his descendants8    ,i am still        
considering only actual appreciable     
acts1 such as they  produce and manifest
 themselves in the moral life of the    
human  race4    ,we find the poetry and 
mythology of nearly all nations         
expressing  the idea of an ,utopian     
state of existence1 referred to times   
remote and primitive1 to which they     
assign different names1 as  the ,golden 
,age1 the ,age of the ,gods1 and which  
they picture as an  epoch when there    
existed no moral and physical evil in   

the  world1--an era of peace1 bliss1 and
 innocence4  #df  ,this is the more     
remarkable1 as it has no foundation1 and
 finds  no pretext in any tradition of  
historical times1 however remote2  for  
from the commencement of history1 from  
the time that we can  discern any trace 
of facts at all precise and authentic1  
it is  not the ,golden ,age1 on the     
contrary1 it is the ,iron ,age which    
appears--an epoch of violence and       
ignorance and barbarism1 in  which war  
and force are rampant1 and which has not
 in effect the  least resemblance to    
those beautiful dreams of ancient       
poetry4  ,without now seeking to        
establish any relation between these    
mythological dreams and the ,biblical   
traditions2 or1 for the  moment1 drawing
 from the ,golden ,age any argument in  
support of  the ,garden of ,eden2 ,i    
merely point it out as a great fact1 as 
evidence of a general instinct1 so to   
say1 of the human  imagination4 ,what is
 the meaning of this8 ,whence comes this

  ,utopia of innocence and bliss in the 
cradle of the human race8  #dg  ,to what
 does this idea of a primal time1       
without strife1 without  sin1 and       
without pain1 correspond8    ,but from  
this cradle of man and this primitive   
poetry1 to revert  to the present time1 
to real life1 to the cradle of the      
infant1  why is it that1 apart from all 
personal affection1 we so readily  term 
infancy the age of innocence8 ,how is it
 that we find it so  charming to give it
 this name1 and regard it under this    
aspect8  ,physical ill is already       
present1 for it begins with the very    
beginning of life2 but moral ill has not
 yet appeared2 life has  not yet brought
 to the soul its trials1 nor called     
forth its  failings1 and the idea of the
 soul without spot or stain has for  us 
an inexpressible attraction2 we feel a  
deep joy in witnessing  innocence1 or at
 least its image in the child1 when we  
no longer  see it around us1 nor find it
 within ourselves4    ,what means this  

universal instinct1 which in the dreams 
of the  imagination1 as well as in the  
intimate scenes of domestic life1       
whether we turn in thought to the cradle
 of the human race or to  that of the   
infant1 leads us to regard innocence as 
the primitive  and normal state of man1 
and makes us place in the spot where    
innocence resides that which some term  
,paradise1 and others the  ,golden ,age8
    #dh    ,manifestly between the soul 
without spot and the soul tainted  with 
evil1 between the creature who is merely
 fallible and the  creature who has     
sinned1 there is a very great change of 
state1 a  distance immense1 an abyss4   
,we have a secret feeling of this       
deplorable change1 of the fall into this
 abyss2 and it is without               
premeditation1 by the mere impulse of   
our nature1 that we suffer  our thoughts
 to bear us far--far beyond that abyss1 
and to pause  on the rapturous          
contemplation of a state anterior to the
 fall4  ,hence spring1 and thus are     

explained1 the power and the charm      
which the idea of innocence has for us2 
absolute innocence we  have never seen1 
but the idea is still vouchsafed to us2 
and so  it appears to us in the cradle  
of the world1 and in the cradle of  the 
infant1 and the pleasure is infinite    
which we derive from the  ideal         
spectacle of purity which they each     
suggest4    #di    ,is this a pleasure  
foreign to all personal sentiment1 to   
all  secret reference to ourselves1 the 
pleasure1 that is to say1 of a  simple  
spectator8 ,no3 these impressions1 which
 the picture of  innocence awakens in   
us1 are connected with and carry us back
 to  ourselves2 this change in the state
 of man1 that mysterious ,past  which   
has thrown him so far from innocence1   
leaving him1  nevertheless1 the idea and
 the worship of it--these were not the  
lot of the first man alone3 the entire  
human race was1 and  remains1 subject to
 them4 ,our present evil does not       
proceed  solely from ourselves2 we have 

received it as a heritage before  having
 brought it upon us as a penalty3 we are
 not merely  fallible beings1 we are the
 children of a being who has sinned4    
#ej    ,how can we feel surprise at this
 inheritance of woe6 ,have we not  daily
 the example and the spectacle before   
our eyes8 ,it is an  incontestable and  
undisputed fact1 that two elements enter
 into  the moral life of man3 on the one
 side1 his innate dispositions1  his    
natural and involuntary                 
inclinations1--on the other1 his  inmost
 and individual will4 ,the natural      
inclinations of a man do  not destroy   
his moral liberty nor enslave his will1 
but they  render its exercise more      
laborious and more difficult to him2 it 
is not a chain which he carries1 it is a
 burden that he bears4  ,equally        
incontestable and undisputed is it that 
the natural  dispositions of men are    
different and unequally distributed2 no 
one is entirely exempt from evil        
inclinations2 every man is not  only    

fallible1 but prone to transgress1 and  
prone not only to  transgress1 but to   
transgress in some particular direction 
or  other4 ,nor can the fact be         
disputed1 although appreciable with     
more difficulty1 that the natural and   
special dispositions of the  individual 
descend to him in a certain measure from
 his origin1  and that parents transmit 
to their children such or such moral    
propensities just as they do such or    
such physical temperament1  or such or  
such features4 ,hereditary transmission 
enters into the  moral as well as the   
physical order of the world4    #ea     
,this inheritance must take effect1 it  
has done so from the first  days of     
man's existence upon earth1 for man has 
been created  complete in his whole     
nature4 ,and whilst1 at the same time as
  complete1 he has been created         
fallible1 ,i ask1 who shall measure  the
 distance between man fallible1 but     
still without fault1 and  the first     
transgression8 ,who shall sound the     

depth of the fall1  and of the change   
which it brought into the moral         
condition of  its author8 ,who shall    
weigh the consequences of this change to
  the state and the moral dispositions  
of man's descendants8 ,to  appreciate   
the extent and gravity of this awful    
fact1 of this  first appearance and this
 first heritage of moral evil1 we have  
but one test1--the instinct we still    
preserve of a state of  innocence1 and  
of the immense space which this instinct
  irresistibly compels us to place      
between native innocence and  man's     
first transgression2 but this test is   
unexceptionable2 it  dimly reveals to   
us1 in this fatal transformation1 the   
whole  infirmity and responsibility of  
the human race4    #eb    ,an objection 
is raised to this as an injustice3 how1 
it is said1  can each man be responsible
 for a fault which he has not himself   
committed--for the transgression of     
another man1 separated from  himself by 
so many ages8 ,i consider this objection

 weak and  frivolous4 ,such an objection
 would attach to all the inequalities   
which exist among men1 to the inequality
 of the destinies as well  as that of   
the nature of man1 to the inequality of 
his moral  disposition as well as to    
that of his physical powers4 ,the       
objection would attach to the solidarity
 of successive  generations1 and the    
controlling influence which the ideas1  
the  acts1 the destiny of each of them  
exert on the ideas1 the acts1  the      
destiny of those which follow it4 ,the  
objection would attach  to the ties     
which unite the child with its parents1 
and which are  the cause of its         
sometimes inheriting their evil         
dispositions1  and sometimes suffering  
for their faults4 ,it is in short the   
general order of the world to which such
 an objection must apply2  it is the    
very existence of evil1 and its unequal 
distribution in  a manner wholly        
independent of individual merit which   
assumes the  character of a monstrous   

iniquity4  #ec  ,and when we come to    
this point1 that we no longer refer the 
source of evil to the fault and the     
responsibility of man1 placed  here on  
earth in a scene and period of          
transition and of trial1  see to what   
alternative we are brought4 ,we must    
either regard  evil as natural1 eternal1
 necessary1 in the future as in the     
past1 as the normal state of man and of 
the world2 that is to  say1 we must deny
 ,god1 the creation1 the ,divine        
,providence1 human  morality1 liberty1  
responsibility and hope2 or1 on the     
other  hand1 it is to ,god ,himself that
 we must impute evil1 and whom we  must 
render accountable4    ,the dogma of    
,original ,sin alone relieves the human 
mind from this  odious and unacceptable 
alternative3 far from being in          
contradiction either with the history of
 humanity1 or with the  facts and       
instincts which constitute man's moral  
nature1 this  dogma admits1 illustrates1
 and explains them4  #ed  ,the fact of  

original sin presents nothing strange1  
nothing  obscure2 it consists           
essentially in disobedience to the will 
of  ,god1 which will is the moral law of
 man4 ,this disobedience1 the  sin of   
,adam1 is an act committed everywhere   
and every day1  arising from the same   
causes1 marked by the same characters1  
and  attended by the same consequences  
as the ,christian dogma assigns  to it4 
,at the present day1 as in the ,garden  
of ,eden1 this act is  occasioned by a  
thirst for absolute independence1 the   
ambitious  aspirings of curiosity and   
pride1 or weakness in the face of       
temptation4 ,at the present day1 as in  
the ,garden of ,eden1 it  produces an   
immense change in the inmost state of   
man1 a change1  the mere idea of which  
seizes upon the human soul1 and disturbs
  it to its very depths2 it transports  
man from the state of  innocence to the 
state of sin4 ,at the present day1 as in
 the  ,garden of ,eden1 the act which   
produces this change involves and       

entails the responsibility not only of  
its author but of his  descendants2 sin 
is contagious in time as in space1 it is
  transmitted1 as well as diffused4  #ee
  ,the ,christian dogma exhibits the    
first man created fallible1 but  born   
innocent2 innocent at the age of man1   
proud in the plenitude  of his          
faculties1 not the subject of any evil  
and fatal heritage4  ,all at once1 for  
the first time1 of his own will1 man    
disobeys  ,god4 ,here lies ,original    
,sin1 the same in its nature as sin at  
the  present day1 for they both consist 
in disobedience to the law of  ,god1 but
 it is the first in date in the history 
of man's liberty1  and the human source 
of that evil for which the ,christian   
religion1 whilst pointing it out1 offers
 to man the remedy and  the cure4       
,,iv4 ,the ,incarnation4    ,all        
religions have given a prominent place  
to the problem of  existence and the    
origin of evil2 all have attempted its  
solution4  #ef  ,the good and the evil  

genius1 ,ormuzd and ,ahriman among the  
,persians2 ,god the ,creator1 ,god the  
,preserver1 and ,god the                
,destroyer--,brahma1 ,vishnu1 and       
,siva--in ,india2 the ,titans           
overwhelmed by the thunderbolts of ,jove
 while scaling ,olympus2  ,prometheus   
chained to the rock for having snatched 
fire from  heaven2 all are so many      
hypotheses to explain the conflict      
between good and evil1 between order and
 disorder in the world  and in man4 ,but
 all these hypotheses are complicated1  
confused1  and encumbered with chimeras 
and fables2 all attribute the           
derivation of evil to incongruous       
causes1 none assign any term to  the    
conflict1 nor find a remedy for the     
evil4 ,the ,christian  religion alone   
clearly states and effectually solves   
the  question2 it alone imputes to man  
himself1 and to him alone1 the  origin  
of evil2 it alone represents ,god as    
intervening to raise  man from his fall1
 and to save him from his peril4    #eg 

,in the course of the sixth and fifth   
centuries before the  ,christian era1 a 
great fact appears in history2 a breath 
of  reform1 religious1 moral and social1
 arises1 and spreads from  east to west1
 among all the nations then at all      
progressing in  the path of             
civilization4 ,notwithstanding the      
uncertainties of  chronology1 it may be 
said1 according to the most recent and  
accurate researches1 that ,confucius in 
,china1 the ,buddha  ,ckya-,mouni in    
,india1 ,zoroaster in ,persia1          
,pythagoras and  ,socrates in ,greece1  
are all included in the limits of this  
epoch2  ,footnote #e men as dissimilar  
as they are celebrated1 but who  have   
all1 in different ways and in unequal   
degrees1 undertaken a  great work of    
reforming both the men and the social   
institutions  of their times4           
,footnote #e3 ,these researches give the
 following dates3--#a4      ,confucius1 
from #eea to #dgh ,b4,c42 #b4           
,zoroaster1 from #efd to      #dhg1 or  

from #ehi to #eab ,b4,c42 #c4 ,buddha   
,ckya-,mouni1 in the      seventh and   
sixth centuries ,b4,c4 7he died1        
according to      ,burnouf1 #edc        
,b4,c472 #d4 ,pythagoras1 from #ehj to  
#ejj ,b4,c42 #e4      ,socrates1 #dgj to
 #djj or #cii ,b4,c4    #eh             
,confucius was above all a practical    
moralist1 skilled in  observation1      
counsel1 and discipline2 ,buddha        
,ckya-,mouni1 a  dreamer1 and a mystical
 and popular preacher2 ,zoroaster1 a    
legislator1 religious and political2    
,pythagoras and ,socrates1              
philosophers1 bent upon instructing the 
distinguished bands of  disciples whom  
they gathered around them4 ,there is no 
doubt1  notwithstanding the trials of   
their life1 that neither power nor      
glory amongst their contemporaries was  
wanting to them4 ,confucius  and        
,zoroaster were the favourites and      
counsellors of kings4  ,buddha          
,ckya-,mouni1 himself the son of a king1
 became the idol of  innumerable        

multitudes4 ,pythagoras and ,socrates   
formed schools  and pupils who were an  
honour to the human mind4 ,by their     
personal genius and by the excellence of
 some of their ideas and  actions1 these
 men have ensured themselves the        
admiration of all  posterity4 ,did they 
act up to their teachings1 and          
accomplish  what they attempted8 ,did   
they really change the moral and social 
condition of nations8 ,did they cause   
humanity to make any great  progress1   
and open to it horizons which it had not
 before known8  #ei  ,by no means4      
,whatever fame attaches to the names of 
these men1  whatever influence they may 
have exerted1 what ever trace of  their 
passage may have remained1 they rather  
appeared to have  power than really to  
possess it2 they agitated the surface   
far  more than they stirred the depths2 
they did not draw nations out  of the   
beaten tracks in which they had lived4  
,they did not  transform souls4 ,in     
considering the facts at large1 and     

notwithstanding the political and       
material revolutions which they         
underwent1 ,china after ,confucius1     
,india after ,buddha1 ,persia  after    
,zoroaster1 ,greece after ,pythagoras   
and ,socrates1 followed  in the same    
ways1 retained the same propensities1 as
 before4  ,still more1 among these very 
different nations1 stagnation was  only 
be succeeded by decay4 ,where are these 
nations at the  present day1 more than  
two thousand years after the appearance 
of  these glorious characters in their  
history8 ,what great progress1  what    
salutary changes1 have been effected8   
,what are they in  comparison and in    
contact with ,christian nations8  #fj   
,outside of ,christianity there have    
been grand spectacles of  activity and  
force1 brilliant phenomena of genius and
 virtue1  generous attempts at reform1  
learned philosophical systems1 and      
beautiful mythological poems2 no real   
profound or fruitful  regeneration of   
humanity and of society4    ,a few ages 

only after these barren efforts among   
the great  nations of the world1 ,jesus 
,christ appears among a small1 obscure  
people1 weak and despised4 ,he ,himself 
is weak and despised in the  midst of   
his people2 ,he neither possesses nor   
seeks any social  power1 any temporal   
means of action and of success2 ,he     
collects  around ,him only disciples    
weak and despised as ,himself4 ,not only
  are they weak and despised1 they      
proclaim it themselves1 and1 far  from  
being troubled at this1 they glory in   
it1 and derive from it  confidence4 ,st4
 ,paul writes to the ,corinthians3 ,and 
,i1 brethren1  when ,i came to you1 came
 not with excellency of speech or of    
wisdom1 declaring unto you the testimony
 of ,god4 ,for ,i determined  not to    
know any thing among you1 save ,jesus   
,christ1 and him  crucified4  #fa  ,and 
,i was with you in weakness1 and in     
fear1 and in much  trembling4 444       
,therefore ,i take pleasure in          
infirmities1 in  reproaches1 in         

necessities1 in persecutions1 in        
distresses for  ,christ's sake2 for when
 ,i am weak1 then ,i am strong4         
,footnote  #f        ,footnote #f3 #a   
,corinthians ii4 #ac2 #b ,corinthians   
xii4 #aj4    ,and in truth1 ,jesus      
,christ1 the ,master of ,st4 ,paul1 is  
strong in  his sufferings1 and imparts  
his strength to his disciples2 from  his
 cross1 ,he accomplishes what erewhile1 
in ,asia and ,europe1  princes and      
philosophers1 the powerful of the earth1
 and sages1  attempted without success2 
,he changes the moral state and the     
social state of the world2 ,he pours    
into the souls of men new  enlightenment
 and new powers2 for all classes1 for   
all human  conditions1 ,he prepares     
destinies before his advent unknown2 ,he
  liberates them at the same time that  
,he lays down rules for their  guidance2
 ,he quickens them and stills them2 ,he 
places the divine  law and human liberty
 face to face1 and yet still in harmony2
 ,he  offers an effectual remedy for the

 evil which weighs upon  humanity2 to   
sin ,he opens the path of salvation1 to 
unhappiness  the door of hope4    #fb   
,whence comes this power8 ,what are its 
source and its nature8 ,how  did those  
who were its witnesses and instruments  
think and speak  of it at the moment    
when it was manifested8    ,they all1   
unanimously1 saw in ,jesus ,christ1     
,god2 most of them1  from the first     
moment1 suddenly moved and enlightened  
by his  presence and his words2 some1   
with rather more surprise and           
hesitation1 but soon penetrated and     
convinced in their turn4  ,when ,jesus  
came into the coasts of ,csarea         
,philippi1 he asked  his disciples1     
saying1 ,whom do men say that ,i the    
,son of man am8  ,and they said1 ,some  
say that thou art ,john the ,baptist2   
some1  ,elias2 and others1 ,jeremias1 or
 one of the prophets4 ,he saith  unto   
them1 ,but whom say ye that ,i am8 ,and 
,simon ,peter answered  and said1 ,thou 
art the ,christ1 the son of the living  

,god4  #fc  ,and ,jesus answered and    
said unto him1 ,blessed art thou1 ,simon
  ,barjona2 for flesh and blood hath not
 revealed it unto thee1 but  my ,father 
which is in heaven4 ,footnote #g        
,another day1 meeting  with a similar   
instance of doubt1 ,jesus says to       
,thomas1 ,if ye  had known me1 ye should
 have known my ,father also3 and from   
henceforth ye know him1 and have seen   
him4 ,philip saith unto him1  ,lord1    
shew us the ,father1 and it sufficeth   
us4 ,jesus saith unto  him1 ,have ,i    
been so long time with you1 and yet hast
 thou not  known me1 ,philip8 he that   
hath seen me hath seen the ,father4     
,footnote #h        ,footnote #g3       
,matthew xvi4 #ac-ag4        ,footnote  
#h3 ,john1 xiv4 #g-i4    ,it has been   
remarked1 that there are certain        
variations in the  language of the      
,apostles1 and certain shades of        
difference in  their leading            
impressions2 and this is indeed true3   
they call  ,jesus ,christ at one time   

the ,son of ,god1 at another the ,son of
  ,man2 they regard ,him and represent  
,him now under his divine  aspect1 at   
another under his human aspect2 they do 
not present  exactly the same image of  
,him2 they do not all equally dwell upon
  the same traits of his nature1 or the 
same facts of his earthly  life4  #fd   
,st4 ,matthew is more a narrator and    
moralist2 it is he who relates  with    
fuller details the birth and childhood  
of ,jesus ,christ1 and  who gives at the
 greatest length the ,sermon on the     
,mount4 ,st4  ,john is more in the habit
 of contemplating and depicting the     
divine nature of ,jesus ,christ and his 
relation to ,god3 ,in the  beginning was
 the ,word1 and the ,word was with ,god1
 and the ,word  was ,god4 444 ,and the  
,word was made flesh1 and dwelt amongst 
us1  and we beheld his glory1 the glory 
as of the only-begotten of the  ,father1
 full of grace and truth4 444 ,no man   
hath seen ,god at any  time2 the        
only-begotten ,son1 which is in the     

bosom of the ,father1  he hath declared 
him4 ,footnote #i        ,footnote #i3  
,john1 i4 #a1 #ad1 #ah4    #fe    ,it is
 also ,st4 ,john who relates the        
testimony of the ,forerunner1  ,st4     
,john the ,baptist1 answering to those  
who had said to him that  all men come  
to ,jesus ,christ3 ,ye yourselves bear  
me witness1  that ,i said1 ,i am not the
 ,christ1 but that ,i am sent before    
him4  444 ,he that cometh from above is 
above all4 444 ,he whom ,god hath  sent 
speaketh the words of ,god3 for ,god    
giveth not the ,spirit by  measure unto 
him4 444 ,the ,father loveth the ,son1  
and hath given  all things into his hand
 ,footnote #aj ,st4 ,paul is more       
systematic1 and enters more fully into  
the questions and  principles of the    
,christian doctrine1 and he regards the 
divinity  of ,jesus ,christ as the first
 of these principles4 ,he writes to  the
 ,philippians3 ,let this mind be in you1
 which was also in  ,christ ,jesus3 who1
 being in the form of ,god1 thought it  

no  usurpation to be equal with ,god3   
but made himself of no  reputation1 and 
took upon him the form of a servant1 and
 was made  in the likeness of men3 and  
being found in fashion as a man1 he     
humbled himself1 and became obedient    
unto death1 even the death  of the      
cross4 ,footnote #aa        ,footnote   
#aj3 ,john iii4 #bh1 #ca1 #cd1 and #ce4 
,footnote #aa3 ,philippians ii4 #e-f4 ,i
 have given this verse in               
,osterwald's translation1 which is also 
that of the ,vulgate2      but my son   
,guillaume1 who is following out a      
careful course      of study of ,latin  
and ,greek philology in sacred and      
profane      literature1 reminds me that
 the text of this passage presents      
a difficulty which furnished a field for
 the labours of      ,erasmus1 ,cameron1
 ,grotius1 ,mric ,casaubon1 in the      
sixteenth      century1 as well as many 
others before and after them4 ,the      
,greek word ,greek text admits of two   
meanings1 an active and      a passive  

sense--it may designate the action of   
ravishing1 of carrying off by force1 or 
the object      carried off--the act of 
depredation1 or the spoil4              
,substantives derived from verbs        
frequently waver between      these two 
acceptations1 and the word ,greek text1 
which is      merely another form of    
,greek text1 is unquestionably a case   
in point4 schylus1 ,euripides1          
,herodotus1 have employed it in      the
 first sense2 schylus1 ,euripides1      
,thucydides1 and      ,polybius in the  
second sense4 ,now1 in the passage of   
,st4      ,paul1 accordingly as one or  
the other sense is adopted1 these       
words must either be translated thus3   
,he did not consider it      a          
usurpation to be equal to ,god2 or thus1
 ,he did not      display as a trophy   
his equality to ,god2 that is to say3   
,he      did not display ,his equality  
with ,god as the conquerors of      the 
earth display the spoils and booty which
 they have      amassed2 ,he did not    

make use of ,his divinity to reign1 to  
triumph1 to pride himself in it2 ,he was
 not the ,messiah whom      the carnal  
,jews expected1 a visible king and      
victorious in      arms2 but1 on the    
contrary1 he humbled himself1 and took  
upon him the form of a servant1 etc41   
etc4 ,this second      interpretation   
seems more probable2 the reasoning on   
which it      is founded is thus more   
connected and flowing2 and at the       
same time1 it leaves the doctrine of the
 ,apostle intact2 it      changes       
nothing in his conception or his        
conclusions4 ,in this      passage1 as  
in many others1 ,st4 ,paul likewise     
affirms the      divinity of the        
,saviour whom he announces to men2 and  
it is      from this majesty1 subjected 
to a voluntary humiliation1      veiled 
under the form of a servant1 obedient   
unto the death      of the cross1 that  
,he presents an august example and an   
imperative lesson for ,christians of    
humility and mutual      support4 ,it is

 thus that this interpretation has been 
admitted and defended by two eminent    
men1 a scholar of the      sixteenth and
 a theologian of the nineteenth century1
 both of      whom were strongly        
attached to the dogma of the divinity of
      ,jesus ,christ--,i allude to ,mric
 ,casaubon 7,de ,verborum ,usu1      pp4
 #ach-adf1 at the end of the letters of 
his father71 and ,m4      ,a4 ,vinet    
7,homiltique1 p4 #aaf74    #ff    4444  
,it is he who is the image of the       
invisible ,god1 the  first-born of every
 creature3 for by him were all things   
created1  that are in heaven1 and that  
are in earth1 visible and invisible1    
whether they be thrones1 or dominions1  
or principalities1 or  powers3 all      
things were created by him1 and for him3
 and he is  before all things1 and by   
him all things consist4 ,footnote #ab   
,footnote #ab3 ,colossians i4 #ae-ag4   
#fg    ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,john1 in   
their ,epistles1 speak in the same      
terms as ,st4 ,paul4 ,st4 ,peter says1  

,we have not followed  cunningly devised
 fables1 when we made known unto you the
 power  and coming of our ,lord ,jesus  
,christ1 but were eyewitnesses of his   
majesty4 ,for he received from ,god the 
,father honour and glory1  when there   
came such a voice to him from the       
excellent glory1  ,this is my beloved   
,son1 in whom ,i am well pleased2 hear  
ye him4  ,footnote #ac        ,footnote 
#ac3 #b ,peter i4 #af1 #ag4    #fh      
,st4 ,john writes3 ,whosoever denieth   
the ,son1 the same hath not  the        
,father2 but he that acknowledgeth the  
,son hath the ,father  also4 ,footnote  
#ad ,hereby know ye the ,spirit of ,god3
 every  ,spirit that confesseth that    
,jesus ,christ is come in the flesh is  
of ,god2 and every spirit that          
confesseth not that ,jesus ,christ is   
come in the flesh is not of ,god4       
,footnote #ad        ,footnote #ac3 #a  
,john ii4 #bc4        ,footnote #ad3 #a 
,john iv4 #b1 #c4    ,such is the       
language of the ,apostles2 such are1 at 

the same time1  its shades of variance  
and its harmony4 ,they have all         
evidently  the same conception of ,jesus
 ,christ1 they have all the same faith  
in ,him4 ,st4 ,matthew1 as well as ,st4 
,john1 ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul1      
alike regard ,jesus ,christ as at once  
,god and man1 the  representative of    
,god on earth1 and the ,mediator between
 ,god and  men--come from ,god1 and     
re-ascended unto ,him as the source and 
centre of ,his being4 ,the dogma of the 
,incarnation1 that is to  say1 of the   
divinity of ,jesus ,christ1 pervades the
 ,holy  ,scriptures--the ,gospels1 the  
,acts of the ,apostles1 the ,epistles   
of the ,apostles1 the writings of the   
first ,fathers4 ,it is the  common and  
fixed basis1 the source and essence of  
the ,christian  faith4    #fi    ,this  
was affirmed and declared by ,jesus     
,christ himself4 ,what ,his  disciples  
believed and related of ,him1 is what   
,he himself told  them of himself1 as   
well as what they themselves witnessed  

and  thought of ,him3 ,all things are   
delivered unto me of my ,father3  and no
 man knoweth the ,son1 but the ,father3 
neither knoweth any  man the ,father1   
save the ,son1 and he to whomsoever the 
,son will  reveal him4 ,footnote #ae    
--,i and my ,father are one4 ,footnote  
#af        ,footnote #ae3 ,matthew xi4  
#bg4        ,footnote #af3 ,john x4 #cj4
    ,and when ,he approaches the term of
 ,his mission1 when1 after  having      
announced to ,his disciples that the    
hour was coming when  they would be     
dispersed1 each going his own way1      
leaving ,him  alone1 ,jesus ,christ     
raises ,his thoughts to ,god and says1  
,father1  the hour is come2 glorify thy 
,son1 that thy ,son also may glorify    
thee3 as thou hast given him power over 
all flesh1 that he should  give eternal 
life to as many as thou hast given him4 
#gj  ,and this is life eternal1 that    
they might know thee the only true      
,god1 and ,jesus ,christ whom thou hast 
sent4 ,i have glorified thee  on the    

earth3 ,i have finished the work which  
thou gavest me to  do4 ,and now1 ,o     
,father1 glorify thou me with thine own 
self with  the glory which ,i had with  
thee before the world was4 ,i have      
manifested thy name unto the men which  
thou gavest me out of the  world3 thine 
they were1 and thou gavest them me2 and 
they have  kept thy word4 ,now they have
 known that all things whatsoever  thou 
hast given me are of thee4 ,for ,i have 
given unto them the  words which thou   
gavest me2 and they have received them1 
and have  known surely that ,i came out 
from thee1 and they have believed  that 
thou didst send me4 ,i pray for them3 ,i
 pray not for the  world1 but for them  
which thou hast given me2 for they are  
thine4  ,and all mine are thine1 and    
thine are mine2 and ,i am glorified in  
them4 ,and now ,i am no more in the     
world1 but these are in the  world1 and 
,i come to thee4 ,holy ,father1 keep    
through thine own  name those whom thou 
hast given me1 that they may be one1 as 

we  are4 ,footnote #ag        ,footnote 
#ag3 ,john xvii4 #a-aa4    #ga    ,i    
might multiply these texts2 but these   
surely suffice to show  that the words  
of ,jesus ,christ in relation to        
himself1 and those  of ,his ,apostles1  
are in perfect unison2 ,he speaks of    
himself as  they speak of ,him2 ,he     
qualifies himself as they qualify ,him2 
,he  calls ,god ,his ,father1 as ,his   
disciples call ,him the ,son of  ,god4  
,he has the same faith in himself1 in   
,his nature1 and in ,his  mission1 as   
,st4 ,matthew1 ,st4 ,john1 ,st4 ,peter1 
and ,st4 ,paul had in  ,him4    ,it is a
 great source of error1 in the study of 
facts1 not to know  how to stop at their
 general and essential features1 and1   
losing  sight of these1 to give         
prominence to partial and secondary     
features4 ,on the subject of the        
divinity of ,jesus ,christ1 that        
fundamental principle of the ,christian 
religion1 the precise  meaning and      
import of such or such a word may be    

disputed2 such  or such an expression   
may be thought an interpolation1 and so 
eliminated in any particular ,gospel1 in
 any particular ,epistle2  nevertheless 
there will always remain infinitely more
 than  sufficient evidence of the fact  
that those who at the present day       
believe in the divinity of ,jesus       
,christ1 believe simply what the        
,apostles believed and said1 and that   
the ,apostles themselves only  believed 
and said1 nearly nineteen centuries ago1
 what ,jesus  ,christ himself said to   
them4    #gb    ,the opponents of the   
dogma of the ,incarnation and of the    
divinity  of ,jesus ,christ disregard   
equally man and history1 the complex    
elements of human nature1 and the       
meaning of the great facts  which mark  
the religious life of the human race4   
,what is man himself1 but an incomplete 
and imperfect incarnation  of ,god8 ,the
 materialists who deny the soul1 and the
 naturalists  who deny creation1 are    
alone consistent in rejecting the       

,christian dogma4 ,all who believe in   
the distinction of spirit and  matter1  
who do not believe that man is the      
result of the  fermentation of matter1  
or of the transformation of species1 are
  constrained to admit the presence in  
human nature of the divine  element1 and
 they must necessarily accept these     
words in ,genesis3  ,god created man in 
his own image2 that is to say1 they must
  acknowledge the presence of ,god in   
frail and fallible humanity4    #gc     
,i open the histories of all religions1 
of all mythologies1 the  most refined as
 well as the grossest2 ,i find at every 
step the  idea and the assertion of the 
,divine ,incarnation4 ,brahmanism1      
,buddhism1 ,paganism1 all faiths1 all   
religious idolatries1 abound  in        
incarnations of every kind and date1    
primitive or successive1  connected with
 this or that historical event1 adapted 
to explain  this or that fact1 to       
satisfy this or that human propensity4  
,it  is the natural and universal       

instinct of men to picture to           
themselves the action of ,god upon the  
human race under the form  of the       
incarnation of ,god in man4    #gd      
,like all religious instincts1 that of  
the belief in the ,divine  ,incarnation 
may engender1 and has engendered1 the   
most absurd  superstitions1 the most    
extravagant hypotheses4 ,in the same way
  as the natural faith in ,god has been 
the source of all  idolatries1 so the   
tendency to incarnate ,god in man has   
given  rise to1 and admitted1 every kind
 of strange imagining and  spurious     
tradition4 ,are we then to pronounce all
 divine  incarnation false1 every       
tradition of it spurious8 ,rather let us
  say that it proceeds from the         
infirmity of the human mind1 if we  see 
realities and mere chimeras1 truths and 
errors1 in such close  proximity1 if we 
find them calling one another by the    
same names  and unceasingly confounding 
one another's attributes4 ,the          
pretended incarnation of ,brahma1 or of 

,buddha1 proves no more  against the    
divinity of ,jesus ,christ than the     
adoration of idols  proves against the  
existence of ,god4 ,jesus ,christ1 ,god 
and ,man1  has characteristics which    
appertain to ,him alone4 ,these have    
founded ,his power and occasioned the   
success of ,his works1 a  power and a   
success which belong to ,him alone4  #ge
  ,it is not a human reformer1 but ,god 
himself1 who1 through ,jesus  ,christ1  
has accomplished what no human reformer 
has ever  accomplished1 or even         
conceived1--the reform of the moral and 
social condition of the world1 the      
regeneration of the human  soul1 and the
 solution of the problems of human      
destiny4 ,it is by  these signs1 by     
these results1 that the divinity of     
,jesus ,christ  is manifested4 ,how was 
the ,divine ,incarnation accomplished in
  man8 ,here1 as in the union of the    
soul and the body1 as in the  creation1 
arises the mystery2 but if we cannot    
fathom the reason  of it1 the fact not  

the less exists4 ,when this fact has    
taken the  form of dogma1 theology has  
sought to explain it4 ,in my opinion1   
this was a mistake2 theology has        
obscured the fact in developing  and    
commenting upon it4 ,it is the fact     
itself of the ,incarnation  which       
constitutes the ,christian faith1 and   
which rises above all  definitions and  
all theological controversies4 ,to      
disregard this  fact--to deny the       
divinity of ,jesus ,christ--is to deny1 
to  overthrow the ,christian religion1  
which would never have been  what it is1
 and would never have accomplished what 
it has1 but  that the ,divine           
,incarnation was its principle1 and     
,jesus  ,christ--,god and ,man--its     
author4    #gf                  ,v4 ,the
 ,redemption4      ,i enter into the    
sanctuary of the ,christian faith4      
,god has done more than manifest himself
 in ,jesus ,christ4 ,he has  done more  
than place upon the earth and before men
 ,his own living  image1 the type of    

sanctity and the model of life4 ,the    
,creator  has accomplished1 through     
,jesus ,christ1 toward man1 ,his        
creature1  an act of ,his beneficence   
and at the same time of ,his sovereign  
power4 ,jesus ,christ is not only ,god  
made man to spread the divine  light    
upon men2 ,he is ,god made man to       
conquer and efface in man  moral evil1  
the fruit of the sin of man4 ,he brings 
not only light  and law1 but pardon and 
salvation4  #gg  ,and it is at the price
 of ,his own suffering1 of ,his own     
sacrifice1 that ,he brings these to     
them4 ,he is the type of  self-devotion 
at the same time as of sanctity4 ,he has
 submitted  to be a victim in order to  
be a saviour4 ,the ,incarnation leads to
  the ,cross1 and the ,cross to the     
,redemption4    ,here are the supreme   
dogma and mystery4 ,here are revealed   
plainly  the sense and the import of    
,christianity4 ,by what ways did ,jesus 
,christ penetrate the human soul to     
accomplish this great work8  ,how did   

,he win the human soul to the ,christian
 faith1 in order to  snatch it from evil
 and to save it8    ,when man fails in  
the duty of which he recognises the     
law1--when  he commits the wrong which  
he is bound to shun1--when1 after sin1  
repentance arises within him1 and a     
sense of the necessity of  expiation is 
soon joined with this sentiment of      
repentance1 the  moral instinct of man  
teaches that repentance does not suffice
 to  efface the fault1 and that it      
requires to be expiated3 reparation     
supposes suffering4    #gh    ,and when 
the religious sentiment is joined to the
 moral  sentiment1--when man believes in
 ,god1 and sees in ,him the author  and 
dispenser of the moral law1 he regards  
himself as guilty of  transgression     
toward ,god whom he has disobeyed1 he   
feels the need  of being pardoned and of
 being restored to the favour of the    
,sovereign ,master whom he has offended4
    ,among all nations1 in all          
religions1 under all social forms1      

these two instincts--as to the necessity
 of expiation to ensue  upon the fault1 
and the necessity of pardon to follow   
the  transgression--appear natural and  
inherent in the human soul4  ,they have 
been at all times and in all places1 the
 source of a  multitude of beliefs and  
practices2 some pure and touching1      
others foolish and odious3 these may all
 be briefly comprised in  the single    
expression1 sacrifices4 ,the histories  
of all  nations1 barbarous or civilized1
 ancient or modern1 teem with           
sacrificial rites of every description1 
whether they be of a  nature gross or   
mystical1 of a performance mild or      
bloody2 rites  invented and celebrated  
either to expiate the sins of man1 or to
  appease the anger of ,god and regain  
,his favour4    #gi    ,nor is this all2
 we have here to note another moral     
fact1 not  less real although it seems  
stranger to the eyes of superficial     
reason4 ,mankind has believed that a    
fault might be expiated by  another than

 its author1 that innocent victims might
 be  efficaciously offered up to        
influence ,god1 and to save the  guilty4
 ,this belief has led to sacrifices no  
less absurd than  atrocious3 the        
pretended expiation has become an       
additional  crime3 it has at the same   
time been also the source of heroic     
acts and sublime examples of            
self-devotion4 ,both the domestic       
records of families and the public      
histories of nations have  furnished us 
with admirable instances of innocence   
voluntarily  offering itself as a       
sacrifice1 taking upon itself the       
penalty1  the suffering1 the death1 to  
expiate the sin of others1 and to  win  
from ,divine ,justice--now              
satisfied--the pardon of the  offender4 
#hj    ,and are we then to regard this  
merely as a pious1 a generous  illusion1
 a devotedness as vain as admirable8    
,yes1 such is the  view that all those  
must adopt who believe neither in       
,providence  nor prayer1 nor in the     

existence of any efficacious relation   
between the actions of man and the      
purposes of ,god2 no solidarity  between
 men1 no connection between the         
sacrifice of him who  practises the act 
of self-devotion1 and the destiny of him
 who is  its object4 ,but those who have
 faith in the living ,god1 in ,his      
continued presence1 and ,his            
never-sleeping providence1 those who    
believe that nothing in man1 whether it 
be good or whether it be  evil1 is in   
vain1 that every moral act bears its    
fruit visible or  invisible1 immediate  
or remote1 such as these cannot fail to 
feel1 to have1 as it were1 a            
presentiment1 that in such              
self-sacrifice of the innocent for the  
salvation of the guilty1  there exists a
 mysterious virtue4 ,the secret of this 
it may not  be given them to fathom1 but
 it nevertheless gives life in their    
bosom to the hope that such sublime     
devotion will not fail of its  object4  
#ha    ,and now1 to pass from this      

feeling1 and from the acts of man1      
whose reality no one can dispute1 to the
 corresponding dogmas of  ,christianity1
 let me1 by the side of these acts of   
devotedness  and self-sacrifice of the  
human creature in his innocence seeking 
to atone for the sins of the human      
creature who is guilty1 place  the      
self-devotion and the self-sacrifice of 
,jesus ,christ1 the  ,man-,god1 tendered
 to ransom from sin the race of mankind 
and to  open to it the way of salvation2
 who is not struck by this  sublime     
analogy8 ,what connection and harmony   
between the purest1  the most generous1 
instincts of the human soul1 and the    
dogma of  ,god's ,redemption8 ,i touch  
upon none of the questions1 ,i enter    
into none of the controversies which    
have sprung up with respect  to this    
dogma of ,redemption2 ,i do not weigh   
with a view to  compare faith and works1
 nor do ,i essay to assign the part due 
to  divine grace or to human virtue2 ,i 
do not define or seek to  number the    

elect1 but ,i pause upon the fact itself
 of the  ,redemption by ,jesus ,christ1 
the fact upon which the dogma itself    
reposes4  #hb  ,all that the most       
renowned heroes1 the most glorious      
saints of  humanity have striven to     
accomplish1 in order to expiate the sins
  of any creature or any nation1 ,jesus 
,christ the ,elect of ,god1 the  ,son of
 ,god1 the ,god-,man1 came to effect for
 all mankind1 by means  of incomparable 
sorrow1 humiliation1 and sufferings4    
,and1 as was  affirmed by ,st4 ,paul in 
the first century1 and by ,bossuet in   
the  seventeenth1 this very suffering1  
this humiliation1 this  martyrdom of    
,jesus ,christ1 have constituted his    
victory and his  empire4 ,and ,i would  
ask1 what other spectacle than that of  
,god  made man to constitute himself    
victim--made victim to become the       
saviour--could have excited in the soul 
of mankind those  outbursts of          
admiration1 of respect1 and of love1    
that ardent1  invincible1 and contagious

 faith1 of which the ,apostles and the  
primitive ,christians have left us the  
evidences and the example8  ,it was     
requisite that the victim and the       
sacrifice should be  equal to the work4 
#hc  ,that work was the ,christian      
religion1 that incomparable system of   
facts1 dogmas1 precepts1 promises1      
which1 in the midst of all the  doubts  
and all the controversies of the mind of
 man1 have for  nineteen centuries      
afforded satisfaction and solution to   
those  aspirings of the human race1     
which nature prompts1 whether they      
assume the form of religious instincts  
or religious problems4    #hd           
,third ,meditation4               ,the  
,supernatural4      ,to a system so     
grand1 and in such profound harmony with
 man's own  nature1 an objection is made
 which is thought decisive2 that  system
 proclaims the ,supernatural1 has the   
,supernatural for its  principle and    
foundation4 ,it is objected that the    
,supernatural  itself has no existence4 

,this objection is not novel1 but it has
 at this moment in  appearance assumed a
 more serious and formidable shape than 
ever4  ,it is in the name of science    
itself1 of all the human sciences1  of  
the physical sciences1 historical       
science1 philosophical  science1 that   
the pretension is made that is to reduce
 the  ,supernatural to a nonentity1 and 
to banish it from the world and  from   
man4    #he    ,the reverence that ,i   
feel for science is infinite4 ,i would  
have  it as free and unshackled as ,i   
would desire to see it honoured4  ,but  
,i would at the same time like to see it
 deal somewhat more  rigorously and     
logically with itself4 ,i would like to 
see it less  exclusively absorbed by its
 own peculiar labours and occupations1  
its momentary successes2 more careful   
not to forget or omit any  of the ideas 
or any of the facts which bear upon the 
subject with  which it deals1 and for   
which in its solution it has still to   
account4    ,in whatever quarter1 at    

this day1 the wind may be1 the abolition
  of the ,supernatural is a difficult   
enterprise1 for the belief in  the      
,supernatural is a fact natural1        
primitive1 universal1  constant in the  
life and history of the human race4 ,we 
may  interrogate mankind in all times   
and places1 in all states of  society   
and degrees of civilization1 we find it 
always and  everywhere spontaneously    
believing in facts and causes beyond the
  sphere of this palpable world1 of this
 living piece of mechanism  termed      
nature4 ,in vain do we extend1 explain1 
amplify nature  itself2 the instinct of 
man1 the instinct of human masses1 has  
never suffered that nature to confine   
it3 it has always sought  and seen      
something beyond4    #hf    ,it is this 
belief--instinctive1 and hitherto       
indestructible--which is qualified as a 
radical error2 this  universal and      
enduring fact in man's history it is    
which men seek  to abolish4 ,they go    
farther2 they affirm that it is already 

abolished--that the people no longer    
believe in the  ,supernatural1 and that 
any attempt to bring them back to it    
would  be vain4 ,incredible conceit of  
man6 ,what1 because in a corner of  the 
world in one day among ages brilliant   
progress may have been  made in natural 
and historical science--because in the  
name of  the sciences1 and in brilliant 
books1 the ,supernatural has been       
combated1 they proclaim the             
,supernatural vanquished1 abolished2    
and we hear the judgment pronounced1 not
 merely in the name of  the learned1 but
 of the people6 ,have you then          
completely  forgotten1 or have you never
 thoroughly comprehended1 humanity  and 
the history of humanity8  #hg  ,do you  
ignore absolutely what the people really
 is1 and what all  those nations are    
that cover the surface of the earth8    
,have you  never then penetrated into   
those millions of souls in which the    
belief in the ,supernatural is and      
abides1 present and active even  when   

the words which move their lips disown  
it8 ,are you then  unconscious of the   
immense distance which there is between 
the  depths and the surface of those    
souls1 between the variable  breaths    
which only ruffle the minds of men1 and 
the immutable  instincts which preside  
over their very being8 ,true1 there are1
  in our days1 amongst the people1 many 
fathers1 mothers1 children1  who believe
 themselves incredulous1 and mock scorn 
fully at  miracles2 but follow them in  
the intimacy of their homes1 amongst    
the trials of their lives1 how do these 
parents act1 when their  child is ill1  
those farmers when their crops are      
threatened1  those sailors when they    
float upon the waters a prey to the     
tempest8 ,they elevate their eyes to    
heaven1 they burst forth in  prayer1    
they invoke that ,supernatural power    
said by you to be  abolished in their   
very thought4 ,by their spontaneous and 
irresistible acts they give to your     
words and to their own a  striking      

disavowal4    #hh    ,but to advance a  
step towards you1 admitted that the     
faith in the  ,supernatural is          
abolished2 let us enter together that   
society and  those classes to whom this 
moral ruin is a triumph and a vaunt4    
,what then ensues8 ,in the place of     
,god's miracles1 man's miracles  make   
their appearance4 ,they are searched    
for1 they are called  for2 men are found
 to invent them1 and to contrive them to
 be  recognised by thousands of         
beholders4 ,it is not necessary to go   
either far in time or wide in space to  
see the ,supernatural of  ,superstition 
raising itself in the place of the      
,supernatural of  ,religion1 and        
,credulity hurrying to meet ,falsehood  
half-way4    #hi    ,but away with these
 unhealthy paroxysms of humanity2 and to
  return to its sober and enduring      
history4 ,we will admit that the        
instinctive belief in the ,supernatural 
has been the source and  abides the     
foundation of all religions1 of religion

 in the most  general sense of the word1
 and of essential religion4 ,the most   
serious1 at the same time the most      
perplexed1 of the thinkers who  in our  
days have approached the subject1 ,m4   
,edmond ,scherer1 saw  plainly enough   
that that was the question at issue1 and
 he has so  put it in the third of his  
,conversations ,thologiques1 noble  yet 
sad imaging forth of the fermentation in
 his own ideas and  the struggles which 
they occasion in his soul4 ,the         
,supernatural  is not a something       
external to religion1 says one of the   
two  speakers between whom ,m4 ,scherer 
supposes the discussion1 it is  religion
 itself4 ,no1 says the other1 the       
,supernatural is not  the peculiar      
element of religion1 but rather of      
superstition3 the  ,supernatural fact   
has no relation with the human soul1 for
 it is  the essence of the ,supernatural
 that it goes beyond all those          
conditions which constitute credibility2
 its essence indeed is  the being       

anti-human4  #ij  ,the discussion       
continues and becomes animated3 the     
contrary  nature of the perplexities    
experienced by the two speakers  becomes
 manifest4 ,perhaps1 says the           
,rationalist1 the  ,supernatural was a  
necessary form of religion for ill      
cultivated  minds3 but rightly or       
wrongly1 our modern civilization rejects
  miracles2 without positive denial1 it 
remains indifferent to  them4 ,even the 
preacher knows not how to deal with     
them2 the more  he is in earnest1 the   
more his ,christian feeling has         
inwardness  and vitality1 the more does 
the miracle also disappear from his     
teaching4 ,miracles formerly constituted
 the great force of the  sermon1 at the 
present day what are they but a secret  
source of  embarrassment8 ,everybody    
feels vaguely when confronted by the    
marvellous accounts in our sacred       
volumes1 what he feels when  confronted 
by the ,legends of the ,saints2 it is   
impossible for  that to be religion1 it 

is only its superfoetation4 ,it is      
true1 exclaims with sorrow the          
hesitating ,christian1 we believe  no   
longer in miracles2 you might have added
 that neither do we  any more believe in
 ,god himself2 the two things go        
together4  #ia  ,we hear much now-a-days
 of ,christian ,spiritualism--of the    
religion of the conscience1 and you     
yourself seem to see that men  in giving
 up miracles are making progress in     
religion4 ,ah6 why is  it that the      
intimate experience of my own heart     
cannot express  itself in a forcible    
protest against any such opinion8       
,whenever ,i  find my faith in          
miraculous agency vacillating within me1
 the  image of my ,god seems to be      
fading away from my eyes3 ,he ceases  to
 be for me ,god the free1 the living1   
the personal2 the ,god with  whom the   
soul converses1 as with a master and    
friend2 and this  holy dialogue once    
interrupted1 what is left us8 ,how does 
life  become sad8 how does it lose its  

illusions8 ,reduced to the  satisfaction
 of mere physical wants1 to eat1 to     
drink1 to sleep1  to make money1        
deprived of all horizon1 how puerile    
does our  maturity appear1 how sorrowful
 our old age1 how meaningless our       
anxieties6    #ib    ,no more mystery1  
no more innocence1 no more infinity1 no 
longer  any heaven above our heads1 no  
more poesy4 ,ah6 be sure3 the           
incredulity which rejects the miracle   
has a tendency to unpeople  heaven1 and 
to disenchant the earth4 ,the           
,supernatural is the  natural sphere of 
the soul4 ,it is the essence of its     
faith1 of  its hope1 of its love4 ,i    
know how specious criticism is1 how     
victorious its arguments often appear2  
but ,i know one thing  besides1 and     
perhaps ,i might here even appeal to    
your own  testimony2 in ceasing to      
believe in what is miraculous1 the soul 
finds that it has lost the secret of    
divine life2 henceforth it  is urged    
downwards towards the abyss1 soon it    

lies on the earth1  and not seldom in   
the dirt4    ,in his turn the           
disbeliever in the ,supernatural is     
troubled and  saddened3 ,listen1 he     
says3 the history of humanity seems to  
be  sometimes moving in obedience to the
 following scheme4 ,the world  begins   
with religion1 and1 referring all       
phenomena to a first  cause1 it sees    
,god everywhere4  #ic  ,then comes      
philosophy1 which1 having discovered the
 connection of  secondary causes1 and   
the laws of their operation1 makes a    
corresponding deduction from the direct 
intervention of divinity1  and then     
founding itself upon the idea of        
necessity 7for it is  only necessity    
which falls within the domain of        
science1 and  science is in fact but the
 knowledge of what is necessary72       
philosophy tends in its very fundamental
 principle to exclude ,god  from the    
world4 ,it does more2 it finishes by    
denying human  liberty as it has denied 
,god4 ,the reason is evident3 liberty is

 a  cause beyond the sphere of the      
necessary connection of causes1 a  first
 cause1 a cause which serves as cause to
 itself3 and from  that moment          
philosophy1 unequal to any explanation1 
feels itself  disposed to deny that     
first cause4 ,a philosophy true to      
itself  will ever be fatalistic4 ,for   
from that moment philosophy corrupts    
and destroys itself4 ,when it has no    
other ,god than the universe1  no other 
man than the chief of the mammalia1 what
 is it but a  mere system of ,zoology8  
#id  ,zoology constitutes the whole     
science of the epoch1 of the            
,materialists1 and to speak plainly1    
that is our position at the  present    
day4 ,but materialism can never be the  
be-all and the  end-all of the human    
race4 ,corrupt and enervated1 society is
  passing through immense catastrophes1 
is falling in ruins2 the  iron harrow of
 ,revolution is breaking up mankind like
 the clods  of the field2 in the bloody 
furrows germinate new races2 the soul   

in the agony of its distress believes   
once more2 it resumes its  faith in     
virtue1 it finds again the language of  
prayer4 ,to the  age of the ,renaissance
 succeeded that of the ,reformation2 to 
the  ,germany of ,frederick the ,great1 
the ,germany of #ahab4 ,so faith        
springs up for ever and ever out of its 
ashes4 ,ah1 that ,i must  add it1       
humanity rises again but to resume the  
march which ,i have  just described4    
,but can it be said of it besides1 that 
like this  ,globe of ours it is making  
any movement in advance whilst it is  so
 turning round itself1 and if it does so
 advance1 towards what  is it           
gravitating8    #ie      ',whither1     
whither1 ,o ,lord1     marches the earth
 in the heavens8' ,footnote #ah         
,footnote #ah3 ,mlange de ,critique     
,religieuse1 par ,edmond                
,scherer--,conversations ,thologiques1  
pp4 #afi-ahg4    ,but it is not towards 
heaven that the earth would march if it 
followed the path in which the          

adversaries of the ,supernatural  are   
impelling it4 ,it is this peculiarity1  
they say1 of the  ,supernatural1 that   
being incredible1 it is in its very     
essence  anti-human4 ,now it is         
precisely to something not anti-human   
but  superhuman that the human soul     
aspires1 and there seeks to  realize    
these aspirations in the ,supernatural4 
,we should be never  weary of repeating 
it2 the whole finite world in its       
entirety1  with all its facts and all   
its laws1 comprising indeed man         
himself1 suffices not for the soul of   
man2 it requires something  grander and 
more perfect for the subject of its     
contemplation1  the object of its love2 
it desires to fix its trust in something
  more stable2 to lean upon something   
less fragile4  #if  ,this supreme and   
sublime ambition it is to which         
religion1 in its  widest sense1 gives   
birth and supplies nourishment2 and this
  supreme and sublime ambition it is    
also that the religion of  ,christ more 

particularly responds to and satisfies4 
,let those1  therefore1 who flatter     
themselves that although abolishing the 
belief in the ,supernatural1 they leave 
,christians still  ,christians1         
undeceive themselves2 what they are     
abolishing1  destroying1 is very        
religion1 for their arguments assail all
  religion in general1 and ,christianity
 in particular4 ,it may be  that they do
 not inflict upon themselves all this   
evil1 and that  in retaining a sincere  
religious sentiment they really believe 
themselves nearly ,christians2 the soul 
struggles against the  errors of the    
thought1 and a moral suicide is a rare  
spectacle4  ,but the evil even in       
spreading unveils more plainly its      
nature  and increases in intensity2     
besides men1 in masses1 draw from  error
 far more logical conclusions than the  
man ever did in whom  the error had its 
origin4 ,the people are not the learned1
 neither  are they philosophers1 and    
only once succeed in destroying in  them

 all faith in the ,supernatural1 and you
 may consider it  certain that the faith
 in ,christ must have previously        
disappeared4  #ig  ,have you well       
weighed all this8 ,have you pictured to 
yourself  what a man1 what mankind1 what
 the soul of man1 what human  society   
itself would become if religion were in 
effect abolished1  if religious faith   
entirely disappeared8 ,i will not give  
way to  anguish of soul or sinister     
presentiments1 but ,i do not hesitate   
to affirm that no imagination can       
represent with adequate  fidelity what  
would take place in us and around us if 
the place  at present occupied by       
,christian belief were on a sudden to   
become vacant1 and its empire           
annihilated4 ,no one could pronounce  to
 what degree of disorder and degradation
 humanity would be  precipitated4 ,but  
awful indeed would be the result if all 
faith  in the ,supernatural were extinct
 in the soul1 and if man had in a       
supernatural state neither trust nor    

hope4    ,it is not my design1 however1 
to confine myself here to the  question 
regarded merely in its moral1 practical 
light2 ,i  approach the ,supernatural as
 viewed with the eyes of free and       
speculative reason4    #ih    ,it is    
condemned for its very name's sake4     
,nothing is or can be1  it is said1     
beyond and above nature4 ,nature is one 
and complete2  everything is comprised  
in it2 in it1 of necessity1 all things  
cohere1 enchain1 and develop themselves4
    ,we are here in thorough            
pantheism--that is to say1 in absolute  
atheism4 ,i do not hesitate to give to  
pantheism its real name4  ,amongst the  
men who at the present day declare      
themselves the  opponents of the        
,supernatural1 most1 certainly1 do not  
believe  that they are nor do they      
desire to be atheists4 ,but let me tell 
them that they are leading others       
whither they neither think nor  wish    
themselves to go4 ,the negation of the  
,supernatural1 and that  in the name of 

the unity and universality of nature1 is
  pantheism1 and pantheism is nothing   
more nor less than atheism4  #ii  ,in   
the sequel of these ,meditations1 when  
,i come to speak  particularly of the   
actual state of the ,christian religion1
 and  of the different systems which    
combat it1 ,i will in this respect      
justify my assertion2 at present1 ,i    
have to repel direct attacks  upon the  
,supernatural--attacks less fundamental 
than those of  pantheism1 but not less  
serious1 for in truth1 whether men know 
it or not1 and whether they mean it or  
not1 all attacks in this  warfare reach 
the same object1 and as soon as the     
,supernatural is  the aim it is religion
 itself that receives the shaft4    ,the
 fixity of the laws of nature is        
appealed to2 that1 say they1  is the    
palpable and incontestable fact         
established by the  experience of       
mankind1 and upon which rests the       
conduct of human  life4 ,in presence of 
the permanent order of nature and the   

immutability of its laws1 we cannot     
admit any partial1 any  momentary       
infractions2 we cannot believe in the   
,supernatural1 in  miracles4    ,true1  
general and constant laws do govern     
nature4 ,are we1  therefore1 to affirm  
that those laws are necessary1 and that 
no  deviation from them is possible in  
nature8 ,who is there that does  not    
discern an essential1 an absolute       
difference between what is  general and 
what is necessary8  #ajj  ,the          
permanence of the actual laws of nature 
is a fact established  by experience1   
but it is not the only fact possible1   
the only  fact conceivable by reason2   
those laws might have been other  laws1 
they may change4 ,several of them have  
not always been what  they now are1 for 
science itself proves that the condition
 of the  universe has been different    
from what it is at present2 the         
universal and permanent order of which  
we form part1 and in which  we confide1 
has not always been what we now see it2 

it has had a  beginning2 the creation of
 the actual system of nature and of its 
laws is a fact as certain as the system 
itself is certain4 ,and  what is        
creation but a supernatural fact1 the   
act of a ,power  superior to the actual 
laws of nature1 and which has power to  
modify them just as much as it has had  
power to establish them8  ,the first of 
miracles is ,god himself4    #aja       
,there is a second miracle--man4 ,i     
resume what ,i have already  said2 by   
his title as a moral being and free     
agent1 man lives  beyond and above the  
influence of the general and permanent  
laws  of nature2 he creates by his will 
effects which are not at all  the       
necessary consequence of any            
pre-existent law2 and those  effects    
take their place in a system absolutely 
distinct and  independent from the      
visible order which governs the         
universe4  ,the moral liberty of man is 
a fact as certain1 and natural1 as  the 
order of nature1 and it is at the same  

time a supernatural  fact--that is to   
say1 essentially foreign to the order of
 nature  and to its laws4    ,god is the
 being moral and free par excellence1   
that is to  say1 the being excellently  
capable of acting as first cause  beyond
 the influence of causation4 ,by his    
title as a moral being  and free agent1 
man is in intimate relation with ,god4  
,who shall  define the possible         
contingencies1 or fathom the mysteries  
of  this relation8 ,who dare to say that
 ,god cannot modify1 that ,he  never    
does modify1 according to his plans with
 respect to the  moral system and to    
man1 the laws which ,he has made and    
which ,he  maintains in the material    
order of nature8    #ajb    ,some have  
hesitated absolutely to deny the        
possibility of  supernatural facts2 and 
so their attack is indirect4 ,if those  
facts1 say they1 are not impossible1    
they are incredible1 for no  particular 
testimony of man in favour of a miracle 
can give a  certitude equal to that     

which1 on the opposite side1 results    
from  the experience which men have of  
the fixity of the laws of  nature4      
,it is experience only1 says ,hume1     
which gives authority to  human         
testimony2 and it is the same experience
 which assures us  of the laws of       
nature4 ,when therefore these two kinds 
of  experience are contrary1 we have    
nothing to do1 but subtract the  one    
from the other1 and embrace an opinion1 
either on one side or  the other1 with  
that assurance which arises from the    
remainder4  ,but according to the       
principles here explained1 this         
subtraction1  with regard to all popular
 religions1 amounts to an entire        
annihilation3 and therefore we may      
establish it as a maxim1 that  no human 
testimony can have such force as to     
prove a miracle1 and  make it a just    
foundation for any such system of       
religion4  ,footnote #ai                
,footnote #ai3 ,essays and ,treatises on
 ,several ,subjects1 by      ,david     

,hume2 ,essay on ,miracles1 vol4 iii4 p4
 #aai-ade1 ,ble1      #agic4 ,same work1
 p4 #ia1 ,london1 #afmo1                
#ahfj4--,,translator4  #ajc    ,it is in
 this reasoning of ,hume that the       
opponents of miracles  shut themselves  
up as in an impregnable fortress to     
refuse them  all credence4    ,what     
confusion of facts and ideas6 ,what a   
superficial solution of  one of the     
grandest problems of our nature6 ,what6 
a simple  operation of arithmetic1 with 
respect to two experimental             
observations1 estimated in ciphers1 is  
to decide the question  whether the     
universal belief of the race of man in  
the  ,supernatural is well-founded or   
simply absurd2 whether ,god only  acts  
upon the world and upon man by laws     
established once for  all1 or whether   
,he still continues to make1 in the     
exercise of  his power1 use of his      
liberty6  #ajd  ,not only does the      
sceptic ,hume here show himself         
unconscious of  the grandeur of the     

problem2 he mistakes even in the motives
 upon  which he founds his shallow      
conclusion2 for it is not from human    
experience alone that human testimony   
draws her authority3 this  authority has
 sources more profound1 and a worth     
anterior to  experience3 it is one of   
the natural bonds1 one of the           
spontaneous sympathies which unite with 
one another men and the  generations of 
men4 ,is it by virtue of experience that
 the child  trusts to the words of its  
mother1 that it has faith in all she    
tells it8 ,the mutual trust that men    
repose in what they say or  transmit to 
each other is an instinct1 primitive1   
spontaneous1  which experience confirms 
or shakes1 sets up again or sets bounds 
to1 but which experience does not       
originate4    ,i find in the same essay 
of ,hume1 ,footnote #bj this other      
passage3 ,the passion of surprise and   
wonder1 arising from  miracles1 being an
 agreeable emotion1 gives a sensible    
tendency  towards the belief of those   

events from which it is derived4        
,footnote #bj3 ,hume's ,essay on        
,miracles1 p4 #abh1      ubi supra4     
#aje    ,thus1 if we are to credit      
,hume1 it is merely for his pleasure1   
for the diversion of the imaginative    
faculty1 that man believes  in the      
,supernatural2 and beneath this         
impression--though real1  still only of 
a secondary nature--which does no more  
than skim  the surface of the human     
soul1 the philosopher has no glimpse at 
all of the profound instincts and       
superior requisitions which  have sway  
over him4    ,but why an attack of this 
character1 so indirect and little       
complete8 ,why should ,hume limit       
himself to the proposition that         
miracles can never be historically      
proved1 instead of at once  affirming   
the impossibility of miracles           
themselves8 ,this is what  the opponents
 of the ,supernatural virtually think2  
and it is  because they commence by     
regarding miracles as impossible that   

they apply themselves to destroy the    
value of the evidences by  which they   
are supported4  #ajf  ,if the evidence  
which surrounds the cradle of           
,christianity1 if  the fourth1 if even  
the tenth part of it were adduced in    
support  of facts of a nature           
extra-ordinary1 unexpected1 or unheard  
of1  but still not having a character   
positively supernatural1 the  proof     
would be accepted as unexceptionable3   
the facts for  certain4 ,in appearance1 
it is merely the proof by witnesses of  
the ,supernatural that is contested2    
whereas1 in reality1 the very           
possibility of the thing is denied that 
is sought to be proved4  ,the question  
ought to be put as it really is1 instead
 of such a  solution being offered as is
 a mere evasion4    ,lately1 however1   
men of logical minds and daring spirits 
have not  hesitated to speak more       
frankly and plainly4 ,the new dogma1    
they  say1 the fundamental principle of 
criticism1 is the negation of  the      

,supernatural4 444 ,those still disposed
 to reject this  principle have nothing 
to do with our books1 and we1 on our    
side1  have no cause to feel disquietude
 at their opposition and their  censure1
 for we do not write for them4 ,and if  
this discussion is  altogether avoided1 
it is because it is impossible to enter 
into  it with out admitting an          
unacceptable proposition1 viz41 one     
which presumes that the ,supernatural   
can in any given case be  possible4     
,footnote #ba        ,footnote #ba3     
,conservation1 ,involution1 et          
,positivisme1 par      ,m4 ,littr1      
,preface1 p4 xxvi1 and following        
pages--,m4 ,havet1      ,revue des ,deux
 ,mondes1 #a ,aot1 #ahfc4    #ajg    ,i 
do not reproach the disciples of the    
school of ,hume for having  evinced     
greater timidity3 if they attacked the  
,supernatural by a  side way1 not as    
being impossible in itself1 but as being
 merely  incapable of proof by human    
testimony1 they did not do so           

designedly and with deceitful purpose4  
,let us render them more  justice1 and  
do them more honour4 ,a prudent and an  
honest  instinct held them back on the  
declivity upon which they had  placed   
themselves2 they felt that to deny even 
the possibility of  the ,supernatural1  
was to enter at full sail into pantheism
 and  fatalism1 that is to say1 was the 
same thing as at once  dispensing with  
,god and doing away with the free agency
 of man4  ,their moral sense1 their good
 sense1 withheld them from any such     
course4  #ajh  ,the fundamental error of
 the adversaries of the ,supernatural is
  that they contest it in the name of   
human science1 and that they  class the 
,supernatural amongst facts within the  
domain of  science1 whereas the         
,supernatural does not fall within that 
domain1 and the very attempt so to treat
 it has led1 indeed1 to  its being      
entirely rejected4    #aji              
,fourth ,meditation4               ,the 
,limits ,of ,science4      ,an eminent  

moralist1 who was at the same time not  
only a  theologian1 but a philosopher   
well versed in the physical  sciences1  
,i mean ,dr4 ,chalmers1 professor at the
 ,university of  ,edinburgh1 and        
corresponding member of the ,institute  
of ,france1  wrote in his work on       
,natural ,theology1 a chapter entitled3 
,on man's partial and limited knowledge 
of divine things4  ,the first pages are 
as follows3--      ,the true modern     
philosophy never makes more             
characteristic    exhibition of itself1 
than at the limit which separates the   
known from the unknown4 ,it is there    
that we behold it in a    twofold       
aspect--that of the utmost deference and
 respect for    all the findings of     
experience within this limit2 that1 on  
the    other hand1 of the utmost        
disinclination and distrust for all     
those fancies of ingenious or plausible 
speculation which have    their place in
 the ideal region beyond it4  #aaj      
,to call in the aid of a language which 

far surpasses our own in    expressive  
brevity1 its office is 'indagare' rather
 than    'divinare4' ,the products of   
this philosophy are copies    and not   
creations4 ,it may discover a system of 
nature1 but not    devise one4 ,it      
proceeds first on the observation of    
individual    facts and if these facts  
are ever harmonised into a system1      
this is only in the exercise of a more  
extended observation4 ,in    the work of
 systematising1 it makes no excursion   
beyond the    territory of actual       
nature--for they are the actual         
phenomena    of nature which form the   
first materials of this                 
philosophy--and they are the actual     
resemblances of these    phenomena that 
form1 as it were1 the cementing         
principle1 to    which the goodly       
fabrics of modern science owe all the   
solidity    and all the endurance that  
belong to them4  #aaa    ,it is this    
chiefly which distinguishes the         
philosophy of the    present day from   

that of by-gone ages4 ,the one was      
mainly an    excogitative1 the other    
mainly a descriptive process--a         
description however extending to the    
likenesses as well as to    the         
peculiarities of things2 and1 by means  
of these likenesses1    these observed  
likenesses alone1 often realising a more
    glorious and magnificent harmony    
than was ever pictured forth    by all  
the imaginations of all the theorists4  
,in the mental characteristics of this  
philosophy1 the strength    of a        
full-grown understanding is blended with
 the modesty of    childhood4 ,the ideal
 is sacrificed to the actual--and1      
however    splendid or fondly cherished 
a hypothesis may be1 yet if but    one  
phenomenon in the real history of nature
 stand in the way1    it is forthwith   
and conclusively abandoned4 ,to some the
    renunciation may be as painful as   
the cutting off a right hand1    or the 
plucking out a right eye--yet1 if true  
to the great    principle of the        

,baconian school1 it must be submitted  
to4  #aab    ,with its hardy disciples  
one valid proof outweighs a thousand    
plausibilities--and the resolute        
firmness wherewith they bid    away the 
speculations of fancy is only equalled  
by the    childlike compliance wherewith
 they submit themselves to the          
lessons of experience4      ,it is thus 
that the same principle which guides to 
a just and    a sound philosophy in all 
that lies within the circle of human    
discovery1 leads also to a most         
unpresuming and unpronouncing    modesty
 in reference to all that lies beyond   
it4 ,and should    some new light spring
 up on this exterior region1 should the 
information of its before hidden        
mysteries break in upon us    from some 
quarter that was before inaccessible1 it
 will be at    once perceived 7on the   
supposition of its being a genuine and  
not an illusory light7 that1 of all     
other men1 they are the    followers of 
,bacon and ,newton who should pay the   

most    unqualified respect to all its  
revelations4  #aac    ,in their case it 
comes upon minds which are without      
prejudice1    because on that very      
principle1 which is most characteristic 
of    our modern science1 upon minds    
without preoccupation4 444 ,the         
strength of his confidence in all the   
ascertained facts of the    terra       
cognita is at one or in perfect harmony 
with the    humility of his diffidence  
in regard to all the conceived          
plausibilities of the terra incognita4  
,and let it further be remarked of the  
self-denial which is    laid upon us by 
,bacon's ,philosophy1 that1 like all    
other    self-denial in the cause of    
truth or virtue1 it hath its    reward4 
,in giving ourselves up to its guidance1
 we have often    to quit the           
fascinations of beautiful theory2 but in
 exchange    for them1 we are at length 
regaled by the higher and    substantial
 beauties of actual nature4 ,there is a 
stubbornness    in facts before which   

the specious imagination is compelled to
    give way2 and perhaps the mind never
 suffers more painful    laceration than
 when1 after having vainly attempted to 
force    nature into a compliance with  
her own splendid generalizations1       
she1 on the appearance of some          
rebellious and impracticable            
phenomenon1 has to practise a force upon
 herself--when she thus    finds the    
goodly speculation superseded by the    
homely and    unwelcome experience4     
#aad    ,it seemed at the outset a cruel
 sacrifice1 when the world of           
speculation1 with all its manageable and
 engaging simplicities1    had to be    
abandoned2 and on becoming the pupils of
 observation1    we1 amid the varieties 
of the actual world around us1 felt as  
if bewildered1 if not lost1 among the   
perplexities of a chaos4    ,this was a 
period of greatest sufferance2 but it   
has had a    glorious termination4 ,in  
return for the assiduity wherewith the  
study of nature hath been prosecuted1   

she hath made a more    abundant        
revelation of her charms4 ,order hath   
arisen out of    confusion1 and in the  
ascertained structure of the universe   
there are now found to be a state and a 
sublimity beyond all    that was ever   
pictured by the mind in the days of her 
adventurous and unfettered imagination4 
#aae    ,even viewed in the light of a  
noble and engaging spectacle for    the 
fancy to dwell upon1 who would ever     
think of comparing with    the system of
 ,newton1 either that celestial         
machinery of ,des    ,cartes1 which was 
impelled by whirlpools of ether1 or that
    still more cumbrous planetarium of  
cycles and epicycles which    was the   
progeny of a remoter age8 ,it is thus   
that at the    commencement of the      
observational process there is the      
abjuration of beauty4 ,but it soon      
reappears in another form1    and       
brightens as we advance1 and at length  
there arises on    solid foundation1 a  
fairer and goodlier system than ever    

floated in airy romance before the eye  
of genius4 ,nor is it    difficult to   
perceive the reason of this4 ,what we   
discover by    observation is the       
product of divine imagination bodied    
forth    by creative power into a stable
 and enduring reality4 ,what we         
devise by our own ingenuity is but the  
product of human    imagination4 ,the   
one is the solid archetype of those     
conceptions which are in the mind of    
,god3 the other is the    shadowy       
representation of those conceptions     
which are in the    mind of man4 ,it is 
just as with the labourer1 who1 by      
excavating the rubbish which hides and  
besets some noble    architecture1 does 
more for the gratification of our taste1
    than if by his unpractised hand he  
should attempt to regale us    with     
plans and sketches of his own4  #aaf    
,and so the drudgery of experimental    
science1 in exchange for    that beauty 
whose fascinations it withstood at the  
outset of    its career1 has evolved a  

surpassing beauty from among the        
realities of truth and nature4 444      
,the views contemplated through the     
medium of observation1 are    found not 
only to have a justness in them1 but to 
have a grace    and a grandeur in them  
far beyond all the visions which are    
contemplated through the medium of      
fancy1 or which ever regaled    the     
fondest enthusiast in the enchanted     
walks of speculation    and poetry4 ,but
 neither the grace nor the grandeur     
alone would1    without evidence1 have  
secured acceptance for any opinion4 ,it 
must first be made to undergo1 and      
without ceremony1 the freest            
treatment from human eyes and human     
hands4 ,it is at one time    stretched  
on the rack of an experiment1 at another
 it has to    pass through fiery trial  
in the bottom of a crucible4  #aag      
,in another it undergoes a long         
questioning process among the    fumes  
and the filtrations and the intense heat
 of a laboratory2    and not till it has

 been subjected to all this             
inquisitorial    torture and survived   
it1 is it preferred to a place in the   
temple of ,truth1 or admitted among the 
laws and lessons of a    sound          
philosophy4    ,no one certainly will   
contest that this is the language of a  
fervent disciple of science4 ,it is     
impossible to have a keener             
apprehension of its beauty1 and to      
accept more completely its  laws4 ,what 
mathematician1 natural philosopher1     
physiologist1 or  chemist1 could speak  
in terms of greater respect and         
submission  of the necessity of         
observation1 and of the authority of    
experience8 ,dr4 ,chalmers is not the   
less for that a true and  fervent       
,christian2 his religious faith equals  
his scientific  exactitude3 he receives 
,christ1 and professes ,christ's        
doctrine  with as firm a voice as he    
does ,bacon and ,bacon's method4  #aah  
,not that for him religious belief is   
the mere result of  education1 of       

tradition1 of habit2 but it1 on the     
contrary1  springs as much from         
reflection and learning1 as his         
acquirements  in natural science        
themselves2 in each sphere he has probed
 the  very sources and weighed the      
motives of his convictions4 ,how did    
he1 in each instance1 reach such a haven
 of repose8 ,whence in him  this harmony
 between the philosopher and the        
,christian8    ,let us again allow ,dr4 
,chalmers to speak for himself3--       
,it is of importance here to remark that
 the enlargement of our    knowledge in 
all the natural sciences1 so far from   
adding to    our presumption1 should    
only give a profounder sense of our     
natural incapacity and ignorance in     
reference to the science of    theology4
 ,it is just as if in studying the      
policy of some    earthly monarch we had
 made the before unknown discovery of   
other empires and distant territories   
whereof we knew nothing    but the      
existence and the name4 ,this might     

complicate the study    without making  
the object of it at all more            
comprehensible1 and    so of every new  
wonder which philosophy might lay open  
to the    gaze of inquirers4  #aai      
,it might give us a larger perspective  
of the creation than    before1 yet1 in 
fact1 cast a deeper shade of obscurity  
over the counsels and ways of the       
,creator4 ,we might at once    obtain a 
deeper insight into the secrets of the  
workmanship1    and yet feel1 and       
legitimately feel1 to be still more     
deeply    out of reach1 the secret      
purposes of ,him who worketh all in     
all4 ,every discovery of an addition to 
the greatness of his    works may bring 
with it an addition to the              
unsearchableness of    his ways4 4444   
,that telescope which has opened our way
 to suns and systems    innumerable1    
leaves the moral administration         
connected with    them in deepest       
secrecy4 ,it has made known to us the   
bare    existence of other worlds2 but  

it would require another    instrument  
of discovery ere we could understand    
their relation    to ourselves1 as      
products of the same ,almighty ,hand1 as
 parts    or members of a family under  
the same paternal guardianship4    ,this
 more extended survey of the ,material  
,universe just tells    us how little we
 know of the ,moral or ,spiritual       
,universe4  #abj    ,it reveals nothing 
to us of the worlds that roll in space1 
but    the bare elements of ,motion1 and
 ,magnitude1 and ,number--and so        
leaves us at a more hopeless distance   
from the secret of the    ,divine       
administration than when we reasoned of 
the ,earth as the    ,universe1 of our  
species as the alone rational family of 
,god    that ,he had implicated with    
body1 or placed in the midst of a       
corporeal system4 444      ,to know that
 we cannot know certain things1 is in   
itself    positive knowledge1 and a     
knowledge of the most safe and          
valuable nature4 444 ,there are few     

services of greater value to    the     
cause of knowledge than the delineation 
of its boundaries4    ,footnote #bb     
,footnote #bb3 ,chalmers's ,works3      
,natural ,theology1 pp4 #bdi-bfe2       
,glasgow4    ,in holding this language1 
what in effect is ,dr4 ,chalmers doing8 
,he is separating what is finite from   
what is infinite1 the thing  created    
from the ,creator1 the world subject to 
government from  the ,sovereign that    
governs it2 and in marking this line of 
demarcation1 he says in his modesty to  
science1 what ,god in his  power says to
 the ocean3 ,thus far shalt thou go1 and
 no  farther4    #aba    ,doctor        
,chalmers was right2 the limits of the  
finite world are  those also of human   
science3 how far within these vast      
limits  science may extend her empire1  
who shall affirm8 ,but what we          
certainly may assert is1 that she never 
can exceed them4 ,the  finite world     
alone is within her reach1 the only     
world that she  can fathom4 ,it is only 

in the finite world that man's mind can 
fully grasp the facts1 observe them in  
all their extent1 and  under all their  
aspects1 discriminate their relations   
and their  laws 7which constitute also a
 species of facts71 and so verify  the  
system to which they should be referred4
 ,this it is that  makes what we term   
scientific processes and labour1 and    
human  sciences are the results4        
,what need to mention that in speaking  
of the finite world1 ,i do  not mean to 
speak of the material world alone8      
,moral facts there  also are which fall 
under observation1 and enter into the   
domain  of science4  #abb  ,the study of
 man in his actual condition1 whether   
considered as  an individual or as      
forming a member of a nation1 is also a 
scientific study1 subject to the same   
method as that of the  material world3  
and it is its legitimate province also  
to detect  in the actual order of this  
world the laws of those particular      
facts to which it addresses itself4     

,but if the limits of the finite world  
are those of human science1  they are   
not those of the human soul4 ,man       
contains in himself  ideas and ambitious
 aspirations extending far beyond and   
rising  far above the finite world1     
ideas of and aspirations towards the    
,infinite1 the ,ideal1 the ,perfect1 the
 ,immutable1 the ,eternal4  ,these ideas
 and aspirations are themselves         
realities admitted by  the human mind2  
but even in admitting them man's mind   
comes to a  halt2 they give him a       
presentiment of1 or to speak with more  
precision1 a revelation of1 an order of 
things different from the  facts and    
laws of the finite world which lies     
under his  observation2 but whilst man  
has of this superior order the  instinct
 and the perspective1 he can have of it 
no positive  knowledge4  #abc  ,it      
proceeds from the sublimity of his      
nature if he has a glimpse  of          
,infinity--if he aspires to it2 whereas 
it results from the  infirmity of his   

actual condition if his positive        
knowledge is  limited by the world in   
which he exists4    ,i was born in the  
south1 under the very sun4 ,i have yet1 
for the  most part1 lived in regions    
either of the north1 or bordering  upon 
the north1 regions so frequently        
immersed in mists4 ,when  under their   
pale sky we look towards the horizon1 a 
fog of  greater or less density limits  
the view2 the vision itself might       
penetrate much farther1 but an external 
obstacle arrests it2 it  does not find  
there the light it needs4 ,regard now   
the horizon  under the pure and         
brilliant sky of the south2 the plains1 
distant as well as near1 are bathed in  
light2 the human eye can  penetrate     
there as far as its organization        
permits4 ,if it pierces  no farther1 it 
is not for want of light1 but because   
its proper  and natural force has       
attained its limit3 the mind knows that 
there are spaces beyond that which the  
eye traverses1 but the eye  penetrates  

them not4  #abd  ,this is an image of   
what happens to the mind itself when    
contemplating and studying the universe3
 it reaches a point where  its clear    
sight1 that is to say its positive      
appreciation1 halts1  not that it finds 
there the end of things themselves1 but 
the  limit of man's scientific          
appreciation of them2 other realities   
present themselves to him2 he has a     
glimpse of them2 he believes  in them   
spontaneously and naturally2 it is not  
given to him to  grasp them and to      
measure them2 but he can neither ignore 
them1  nor know them1 neither have      
positive knowledge of them1 nor  refrain
 from having faith in them4    ,i cannot
 deny myself the pleasure of citing what
 ,i wrote thirteen  years ago upon the  
same subject1 when philosophically      
examining  the real meaning of the word 
faith4 ,the object of every  religious  
belief1 said ,i1 is in a certain1 a     
large measure1  inaccessible to human   
science4 ,human science may establish   

that  object's reality2 it may arrive at
 the boundary of this  mysterious world2
 and assure itself of the existence     
there of  facts with which man's destiny
 is connected2 but it is not given  to  
it so to attain the facts themselves as 
to subject them to its  examination4    
#abe    ,their incapacity to do so has  
struck more than one philosopher1  and  
has led them to the conclusion that no  
such reality exists1  that every        
religious belief contemplates subjects  
simply  chimerical4 ,others1 shutting   
their eyes to their own  incompetency1  
have dashed daringly forwards towards   
the sphere of  the supernatural2 and    
just as if they had succeeded in        
penetrating into it1 they have described
 its facts1 resolved its  problems1     
assigned its laws4 ,it is difficult to  
say who shows  more foolish arrogance1  
the man who maintains that that of which
  he cannot have positive knowledge has 
no real existence1 or the  man who      
pretends to be able to know everything  

that actually  exists4 ,however this may
 be1 mankind has never for a single day 
assented to either assertion3 man's     
instincts and his actions  have         
constantly disavowed both the negation  
of the disbeliever  and the confidence  
of the theologian4  #abf  ,in spite of  
the former1 he has persisted in         
believing in the  existence of the      
unknown world1 and in the reality of the
  relations which connect him with it3  
and notwithstanding the  powerful       
influences of the latter1 he has refused
 to admit their  having attained their  
object--raised the veil2 and so man has 
continued to agitate the same problems1 
to pursue the same  truths1 as ardently 
and as laboriously as at the first day1 
just  as if nothing had been done at    
all4 ,footnote #bc        ,footnote #bc3
 ,meditations et tudes ,morales1      p4
 #agj4 ,paris1 #ahea4    ,i have just   
read again the excellent compendium     
given by ,m4  ,cousin in his ,general   
,history of ,philosophy from the most   

,ancient ,times to the ,end of the      
,eighteenth ,century4 ,he  establishes  
that all the philosophical labours of   
the human  understanding have terminated
 in four great systems--sensualism1     
idealism1 scepticism1 and mysticism--the
 sole actors in that  intellectual arena
 where1 in all ages and amongst all     
nations1  they are in turn in the       
position of combatants and of           
sovereigns4  #abg  ,and1 after having   
clearly characterised in their origin   
and their  development these four       
systems1 ,m4 ,cousin adds1 ,as for their
  intrinsic merits1 habituate yourselves
 to this principle3 they  have existed2 
therefore they had their reason to      
exist2 therefore  they are true at least
 in part4 ,error is the law of our      
nature3  to it we are condemned2 and in 
all our opinions and all our words      
there is always a large allowance to be 
made for error1 and too  often for      
absurdity4 ,but absolute absurdity does 
not enter into  the mind of man2 it is  

the excellence of man's thought1 that   
without some leaven of truth it admits  
nothing1 and absolute  error is         
impossible4 ,the four systems which have
 just been  rapidly laid before you have
 had each their existence2 therefore    
they contain truth1 still without being 
entirely true4 ,partially  true1 and    
partially false1 these systems reappear 
at all the  great epochs4 ,time cannot  
destroy any one of them1 nor can it     
beget any new one1 because time develops
 and perfects the human  mind1 though   
without changing its nature and its     
fundamental  tendencies4  #abh  ,time   
does no more than multiply and vary     
almost infinitely the  combinations of  
the four simple and elementary systems4 
,hence  originate those countless       
systems which history collects and      
which it is its office to explain4      
,footnote #bd        ,footnote #bd3     
,histoire ,gnrale de la ,philosophic    
depuis les      temps les plus anciens  
jusqu' la fin du ,,xviii ,sicle1 par ,m4

      ,victor ,cousin1 pp4 #d-ca4 #ahfc4
    ,m4 ,cousin excels in explaining    
these numberless philosophical          
combinations1 and in tracing them all   
back to the four great  systems which he
 has defined2 but there is a fact still 
more  important than the variety of     
these combinations1 and which calls     
itself for explanation4 ,why did these  
four essential  systems--sensualism1    
idealism1 scepticism1 and mysticism1    
appear  from the most ancient times8 why
 have they continued to reproduce       
themselves always and everywhere1 with  
deductions more or less  logical1 with  
greater or less ability1 but still      
fundamentally  always and everywhere the
 same8 ,why1 upon these supreme         
questions1 did the human mind achieve at
 so early a period1 what  may be termed1
 it is true1 but essays at a solution1  
but which  essays in some sort have     
exhausted the mind rather than satisfied
  it8  #abi  ,how is it that these      
different systems1 invented with such   

promptitude1 have never been able either
 to come to an accord1  nor has any one 
been able to prevail decidedly against  
another  and to cause itself to be      
received as the truth8 ,why has         
philosophy1 or1 to speak more precisely1
 why have metaphysics1  remained        
essentially stationary2 great at their  
birth1 but  destined not to grow3       
whereas the other sciences--those styled
  natural sciences--have been           
essentially progressive3 at first       
feeble1 and making in succession        
conquest after conquest2 these  they    
have been able to retain1 until they    
have formed a domain  day by day more   
extended and less contested8    ,the    
very fact that suggests these questions 
contains the answer  to them4 ,man has1 
upon the fundamental subject of         
metaphysics1 a  primitive light1 rather 
the heritage and dowry of human nature1 
than the conquest of human science4     
#acj  ,the metaphysician appropriates it
 as a torch to lighten him on  his      

obscure and ill-defined path4 ,he finds 
in man himself a point  of departure at 
once profound and certain2 but his aim  
is ,god2  that is to say1 an aim above  
his reach4    ,must we1 then1 renounce  
the study of the great questions which  
form the subject of metaphysics as a    
vain labour1 where the human  mind is   
turning indefinitely in the same circle1
 incapable not  only of attaining the   
object which it is pursuing1 but of     
making  any advance in its pursuit8     
,often1 and with more ability than has  
been evinced by the  ,positive school of
 the present day1 has this judgment been
  pronounced against metaphysics4 ,but  
that judgment man's mind has  never     
accepted1 and never will accept2 the    
great problems which  pass beyond the   
finite world lie propounded before him2 
never  will he renounce the attempt to  
solve them2 he is impelled to it  by an 
irresistible instinct1 an instinct full 
of faith and of  hope1 in spite of the  
repeated failure of his efforts4  #aca  

,as man is in the sphere of action1 so  
is he also in that of  thought2 he      
aspires higher than it is possible to   
achieve3 this  is his nature and his    
glory2 to renounce his aspirations would
 be  declaring his own forfeiture4 ,but 
without any such abdication1 it  is     
still necessary that he should know     
himself1 it is necessary  that he should
 understand that his strength here below
 is  infinitely less than his ambition1 
and that it is not given him  to have   
any positive scientific knowledge of    
that infinite and  ideal world towards  
which he dashes4 ,the facts and the     
problems  which he there encounters are 
such1 that the methods and the laws     
which direct the human mind in the study
 of the finite world are  inapplicable4 
,the infinite is for us the object not  
of science  but belief1 and it is alike 
impossible for us either to reject or   
penetrate it4  #acb  ,let man1 then1    
feel a profound sentiment of that double
 truth3  let him1 without sacrificing   

the ambitious aspirations of his        
intelligence1 recognise the limits      
imposed upon his achievements  in       
science2 he will not then be long in    
also recognising that1 in  the relations
 of the finite with the infinite--of    
himself with  ,god--he stands in need of
 superhuman assistance1 and that this   
does not fail him4 ,god has given to man
 what man never can  conquer1 and       
revelation opens to him that world of   
the infinite  over which1 by its own    
exertions and of itself alone1 man's    
mind  never could spread light4 ,the    
light man receives from ,god  himself4  
#acc                 ,fifth ,meditation4
                    ,revelation4        
,when it was objected to ,leibnitz that 
there is nothing in the  intelligence   
that has not first been in the sense1   
,leibnitz  replied1 if not the          
intelligence itself4 ,footnote #be      
,footnote #be3 ,nihil est in intellectu 
quod non prius fuerit      in           
sensu4--,nisi intellectus ipse4    ,in  

the answer of ,leibnitz ,i will change  
but a single word1 and  substitute for  
intelligence1 soul4 ,soul is a term     
more comprehensive and more complete    
than intelligence2 it  embraces         
everything in the human being that is   
not body and  matter2 it is not the mere
 intelligence1 a special faculty of     
man2 it is all the intellectual and     
moral man4    #acd    ,the soul         
possesses itself and carries with it    
into life native  faculties and an      
inborn light3 these manifest and develop
  themselves more and more as they come 
into relation with the  exterior world2 
but they had still an existence prior to
 those  relations1 and they exercise an 
important influence upon what  results4 
,the external world does not create nor 
essentially  change the intellectual and
 moral being that has just come into    
life1 but it opens to it a stage where  
that being acts in  accordance at once  
with its proper nature1 and the         
conditions and  influences in the midst 

of which the action takes place4 ,the   
hypothesis of a statue endowed with     
sensibility is a  contradiction2 in     
seeking to explain man's first growth1  
it loses  sight of the entire           
intellectual and moral being4    ,when1 
as ,i said before1 man first entered the
 world1 he did not  enter it1 he could  
not enter it1 as a new-born babe1 with  
the  mere breath of life2 he was created
 full grown1 with instincts  and        
faculties complete in their power and   
capable of immediate  action4  #ace  ,we
 must either deny the creation and be   
driven to monstrous  hypotheses1 or     
admit that the human being who now      
develops  himself slowly and            
laboriously1 was at his first appearance
  mature in body and in mind4    ,the   
creation implies then the ,revelation1 a
 revelation which  lighted man at his   
entrance into the world1 and qualified  
him  from that very moment to use his   
faculties and his instincts4 ,do  we1   
can we1 picture to ourselves the first  

man1 the first human  couple1 with a    
complete physical development1 and yet  
without the  essential conditions of    
intellectual activity1 physically strong
  and morally a nonentity1 the body of  
twenty years and the soul in  the first 
hour of infancy8 ,such a fact is        
self-contradictory1 and  impossible of  
conception4    ,what was the positive   
extent of this primal revelation1 the   
necessary attendant upon creation1 which
 occurred in the first  relation of ,god
 with man8 ,no man can say4 ,i open the 
book of  ,genesis and there ,i read3    
#acf    ,and the ,lord ,god took the    
man1 and put him into the garden of     
,eden to dress it and to keep it4 ,and  
the ,lord ,god commanded the  man1      
saying1 ,of every tree of the garden    
thou mayest freely eat3  ,but of the    
tree of the knowledge of good and evil1 
thou shalt not  eat of it3 for in the   
day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt 
surely die4 ,and the ,lord ,god said1   
,it is not good that the man  should be 

alone2 ,i will make him an help meet for
 him4 ,and out of  the ground the ,lord 
,god formed every beast of the field1   
and  every fowl of the air2 and brought 
them unto ,adam to see what he  would   
call them3 and whatsoever ,adam called  
every living  creature1 that was the    
name thereof4 ,and ,adam gave names to  
all  cattle1 and to the fowl of the air1
 and to every beast of the  field2 but  
for ,adam there was not found an help   
meet for him4 ,and  the ,lord ,god      
caused a deep sleep to fall upon ,adam1 
and he slept3  and he took one of his   
ribs1 and closed up the flesh instead   
thereof2 and the rib1 which the ,lord   
,god had taken from man1 made  he a     
woman1 and brought her unto the man4    
#acg  ,and ,adam said1 ,this is now bone
 of my bones1 and flesh of my  flesh4   
444 ,therefore shall a man leave his    
father and his mother1  and shall cleave
 unto his wife3 and they shall be one   
flesh4  ,footnote #bf      ,footnote    
#bf3 ,genesis ii4 #ae-bd4    ,according1

 then1 to the ,bible1 the primitive     
revelation  essentially bore upon the   
three points1--marriage1 language1 and  
the duty of man's obedience to ,god his 
,creator3 ,adam received at  the hand of
 ,god the moral law of his liberty1 the 
companion of  his life1 and the faculty 
by which he was enabled to name the     
creatures that were around him3 in other
 words1 the three sources  of religion1 
of family1 and of science were          
immediately unclosed  to him4 ,it is not
 necessary here to enter upon any of the
  questions which have been raised1 as  
to the human origin of  language1 the   
primitive language1 or the formation of 
families1  with their influence upon the
 great organisation of society3 the     
limits of the primitive revelation      
cannot be determined  scientifically2   
the fact of the revelation itself is    
certain4  #ach  ,this is the light which
 lighted the first man from his first   
entrance upon life1 and without which it
 is impossible to  conceive that he     

could have survived4    ,the primitive  
revelation did not abandon mankind on   
its  development and dispersion2 it     
accompanied it everywhere1 as a  general
 and permanent revelation4 ,the light   
which had lighted the  first man spread 
amongst all nations and throughout all  
ages1  assuming the character of ideas1 
universal and uncontested2 of           
instincts1 spontaneous and              
indestructible4 ,no nation has been     
without this light1 none left to its own
 unassisted efforts to  grope its way   
through the darkness of life4 ,let not  
the human  understanding pride itself   
too much upon its works2 the glory  does
 not belong to it alone3 what it has    
accomplished it has  accomplished by aid
 of the primitive principles received   
from  ,god2 in all his works and all his
 progress man has had for point  of     
departure and support that primitive    
revelation4  #aci  ,all the grand       
doctrines1 all the mighty institutions1 
which have  governed the world1 whatever

 intermixture of monstrous and fatal    
errors they may have contained1 have    
preserved a trace of the  fundamental   
verities which were the dowry of        
humanity at its  birth4 ,god has        
forsaken no portion of the human race2  
and not  less amidst the errors into    
which it has fallen1 than in the  noble 
developments which constitute its glory1
 we recognise signs  of the primitive   
teaching derived from its ,divine       
,author4    ,after the revelation made  
to the first man1 and in the midst of   
the general revelation diffused over all
 mankind1 a great event  occurs in      
history3 a special revelation takes     
place1 and has for  its seat the bosom  
of an inconsiderable nation1 that had   
been  shut in during sixteen centuries  
in a little corner of the world2  and it
 was thence that1 nineteen centuries    
ago1 that revelation  proceeded to      
enlighten and to subdue1 according to   
the  predictions of its ,author1 all the
 human race4    #adj    ,a man of an    

imagination as fertile as his knowledge 
is profound1  who1 with an admirable    
candour has in his works associated     
hypothesis and faith1 ,m4 ,ewald1       
professor at the ,university of         
,gttingen1 has recently thus            
characterised this event3--,the  history
 of the old ,jewish people is           
fundamentally the history of  the true  
religion1 proceeding from step to step  
to its complete  development1 rising    
through all kinds of struggles1 until it
  achieves a supreme victory1 and       
finally manifesting itself in all  its  
majesty and power1 in order to spread   
irresistibly1 by its  proper virtue1 so 
as to become the eternal possession and 
blessing of all nations4 ,footnote #bg  
,footnote #bg3 ,h4 ,ewald1 ,geschichte  
des ,volkes ,israel1 bis      ,christus4
 #bnd ed41 vol4 i4 p4 #i4 ,gttingen1    
#ahea4     ,how is the great event thus 
characterised by ,m4 ,ewald proved8 ,by 
what marks can we distinguish the       
,divine origin of this special          

revelation that became the ,christian   
religion8 ,what does it  affirm itself  
in support of its claim to the moral    
conquest of  mankind8    #ada    ,at the
 very outset1 in proving her dogmas and 
precepts to have  come from ,god1 the   
,christian revelation asserts that the  
documents in which it is written are    
themselves of divine origin4  ,the      
divine inspiration of the sacred volume 
is the first basis of  the ,christian   
,faith1 the external title of           
,christianity to  authority over souls4 
,what is the full import of this title8 
,what  the signification of the         
inspiration of the sacred volumes8      
#adb                 ,sixth ,meditation4
        ,the ,inspiration ,of ,the      
,scriptures4      ,i have read the      
sacred volumes over and over again1 ,i  
have  perused them in very different    
dispositions of mind1 at one time       
studying them as great historical       
documents1 at another admiring  them as 
sublime works of poetry4 ,i have        

experienced an  extraordinary           
impression1 quite different from either 
curiosity  or admiration4 ,i have felt  
myself the listener of a language  other
 than that of the chronicler or the     
poet2 and under the  influence of a     
breath issuing from other sources than  
human4 ,not  that man does not occupy a 
great place in the sacred volumes2 he   
displays himself there1 on the contrary1
 with all his passions1  his vices1 his 
weaknesses1 his ignorance1 his errors2  
the ,hebrew  people shows itself rude1  
barbarous1 changeable1 superstitious1   
accessible to all the imperfections1 to 
all the failings1 of  other nations4    
#adc ,but the ,hebrew is not the sole   
actor in his history2 he has  an ,ally1 
a ,protector1 a ,master1 who intervenes 
incessantly to  command1 inspire1       
direct1 strike1 or save4 ,god is there1 
always  present1 acting--      ,et ce   
n'est pas un ,dieu comme vos dieux      
frivoles1    ,insensibles et sourds1    
impuissants1 mutils1    ,de bois1 de    

marbre1 ou d'or1 comme vous le voulez4  
,footnote #bh      ,not such a god as   
are your friv'lous gods1    ,insensible 
and deaf1 weak1 mutilated1    ,of wood1 
or stone1 or gold1 as you will have     
them4        ,footnote #bh3 ,corneille1 
,polyeucte1 acte iv4 sc4 #c4    ,it is  
the ,god ,one and ,supreme1 ,all        
,powerful1 the ,creator1 the  ,eternal4 
,and even in their forgetfulness and    
their disobedience1  the ,hebrews       
believe still in ,god3 ,he is still the 
object at once  of their fear1 of their 
hope1 and of a faith that persists in   
the  midst of the infidelity of their   
lives4 ,the ,bible is no poem in  which 
man recounts and sings the adventures of
 his ,god combined  with his own2 it is 
a real drama1 a continued dialogue      
between  ,god and man personified in the
 ,hebrews2 it is1 on the one side1      
,god's will and ,god's action1 and1 on  
the other1 man's liberty and  man's     
faith1 now in pious association1 now at 
fatal variance4    #add    ,the more ,i 

have perused the ,scriptures1 the more  
surprised ,i feel  that earnest readers 
should not have been impressed as ,i    
have  been1 and that several should have
 failed to see the  characteristic of   
divine inspiration1 so foreign to every 
other  book1 so remarkable in this one4 
,that men who absolutely deny all       
supernatural action of ,god in the      
world1 should not be more  disposed to  
admit it in the sources of the ,bible   
than elsewhere1  is perfectly           
comprehensible2 but the attack upon the 
divine  inspiration of the sacred books 
has another motive1 and one more  likely
 to prove contagious4 ,it is not without
 deep regret that ,i  proceed in this   
place to contradict ancient traditions1 
at once  respected and respectable1 and 
perhaps to offend sober and  sincere    
convictions4 ,but my own conviction is  
stronger than my  regret1 and it is     
still more so because accompanied by    
another  conviction1 which is1 that the 
system that it is my intention to       

contest1 has occasioned1 continues to   
occasion1 and may still  occasion1 an   
immense ill to ,christianity4    #ade   
,whoever reads without prejudice in the 
,hebrew and ,greek the  original texts  
of the ,scriptures1 whether of the ,old 
or ,new  ,testament1 meets there often  
in the midst of their sublime  beauties1
 ,i do not say merely faults of style1  
but of grammar1 in  violation of those  
logical and natural rules of language   
common  to all tongues4 ,are we to infer
 that these faults have the same  origin
 as the doctrines with which they are   
intermixed1 and that  they are both     
divinely inspired8 ,footnote #bi        
,footnote #bi3 ,i indicate1 in a note   
placed at the end of this      volume1  
some instances of these grammatical     
faults met with      in the ,scriptures1
 and to which it is impossible to assign
      the character of divine           
inspiration4    ,and yet this is what is
 pretended by fervent and learned men1  
who  maintain that all1 absolutely all1 

in the ,scriptures is divinely          
inspired--the words as well as the      
ideas1 all the words used  upon all     
subjects1 the material of language as   
well as the  doctrine which lies at its 
base4    #adf    ,in this assertion ,i  
see but deplorable confusion1 leading to
  profound misapprehension both of the  
meaning and the object of  the sacred   
books4 ,it was not ,god's purpose to    
give instruction to  men in grammar1 and
 if not in grammar1 neither was it1 any 
more  ,god's purpose to give instruction
 in geology1 astronomy1  geography1 or  
chronology4 ,it is on their relations   
with their  ,creator1 upon duties of men
 towards ,him and towards each other1   
upon the rule of faith and of conduct in
 life1 that ,god has  lighted them by   
light from heaven4 ,it is to the subject
 of  religion and morals1 and to these  
alone1 that the inspiration of  the     
,scriptures is directed4    ,amongst the
 principal arguments alleged to prove   
that everything  in the sacred volumes  

is divinely inspired1 particular use has
  been made of the ,second ,epistle of  
,st4 ,paul to ,timothy1 where in  effect
 we find the passage3--      ,all       
,scripture is given by inspiration of   
,god1 and is    profitable for doctrine1
 for reproof1 for correction1 for       
instruction in righteousness3      ,that
 the man of ,god may be perfect1        
thoroughly furnished unto    all good   
works4 ,footnote #cj        ,footnote   
#cj3 #b ,timothy iii4 #af1 #ag4    #adg 
,is it possible to determine in words of
 greater precision the  religious and   
moral object of the inspiration8        
,appeal is made to a consideration of a 
different description4 ,if1  it is said1
 we at the same time admit1 on the one  
side1 the  inspiration of the sacred    
books1 and on the other1 that this      
inspiration is not universal and        
absolute1 who shall make the  selection 
between these two parts8--who mark the  
limit of the  inspiration8--who say     
which texts1 which passages are         

inspired1  and which are not8 ,so to    
divide the ,holy ,scriptures is to strip
  them of their supernatural character1 
to destroy their  authenticity1 by      
surrendering them to all the            
incertitudes1 all  the disputes of men3 
a complete and uninterrupted inspiration
  alone is capable of commanding faith4 
#adh    ,never-dying pretension of man's
 weakness6 ,created intelligent and     
free1 he proposes to use largely his    
intelligence and his  freedom2 at the   
same time1 conscious how feeble his     
means are1  how inadequate to his       
aspirations1 he invokes a guide1 a      
support2  and from the very moment that 
his hope fixes upon it1 he will  have it
 immutable1 infallible4 ,he searches a  
fixed point to which  to attach himself 
with absolute and permanent assurance4  
,in  creating man1 ,god did not leave   
him without fixed points2 the  ,divine  
revelation1 and the inspiration of the  
,scriptures1 had  precisely for object  
and effect to supply these1 but not on  

all  subjects alike and without         
distinction4 ,i refer here again to     
what ,i lately said respecting the      
separation of the finite and  the       
infinite1 of the world created1 and of  
its ,creator4 ,at the  same time that   
the limits of the finite world are those
 of human  science1 it is to human study
 and human science that ,god has        
surrendered the finite world2 it is not 
there that ,god has set up  his divine  
torch2 ,he has dictated to ,moses the   
laws which  regulate the duties of man  
towards ,god1 and of man towards man2   
but ,he has left to ,newton the         
discovery of the laws which preside     
over the universe4  #adi  ,the          
,scriptures speak upon all subjects2    
circumstances connected  with the finite
 world are there incessantly mixed with 
perspectives of infinity2 but it is only
 to the latter1 to that  future of which
 they permit us to snatch a view1 and to
 the laws  which they impose upon men1  
that the divine inspiration addresses   

itself2 ,god only pours his light in    
quarters which man's eye and  man's     
labour cannot reach2 for all that       
remains1 the sacred books  speak the    
language used and understood by the     
generations to whom  they are addressed4
 ,god does not1 even when ,he inspires  
them1  transport into future domains of 
science the interpreters ,he  uses1 or  
the nations to whom ,he sends them2 ,he 
takes them both as  ,he finds them1 with
 their traditions1 their notions1 their 
degree  of knowledge or ignorance as    
respects the finite world1 of its       
phenomena and its laws4  #aej  ,it is   
not the condition1 the scientific       
progress of the human  understanding2 it
 is the condition and moral progress of 
the  human soul which are the object of 
the ,divine action1 and ,god  requires  
not for the exercise of his power on the
 human soul1  science either as a       
precursor or a companion2 ,he addresses 
himself to instincts and desires the    
most intimate and most  sublime as well 

as the most universal in man's nature1  
to  instincts and desires of which      
science is neither the object nor  the  
measure1 and which require to be        
satisfied from other  sources4 ,whatever
 true or false science we find in the   
,scriptures  upon the subject of the    
finite world1 proceeds from the writers 
themselves or their contemporaries2 they
 have spoken as they  believed1 or as   
those believed who surrounded them when 
they  spoke3 on the other hand1 the     
light thrown over the infinite1 the  law
 laid down1 and the perspective opened  
by that same light1  these are what     
proceed from ,god1 and which ,he has    
inspired in the  ,scriptures4 ,their    
object is essentially and exclusively   
moral and  practical2 they express the  
ideas1 employ the images1 and speak  the
 language best calculated to produce a  
powerful effect upon  the soul1 to      
regenerate and to save it4 ,i open the  
,gospel  according to ,st4 ,luke1 and ,i
 there read the admirable parable3--    

#aea      ,there was a certain rich man1
 which was clothed in purple and    fine
 linen1 and fared sumptuously every day3
      ,and there was a certain beggar   
named ,lazarus1 which was laid    at his
 gate1 full of sores1      ,and desiring
 to be fed with the crumbs which fell   
from the    rich man's table3 moreover  
the dogs came and licked his sores4     
,and it came to pass1 that the beggar   
died1 and was carried by    the angels  
into ,abraham's bosom3 the rich man also
 died1 and    was buried2      ,and in  
hell he lift up his eyes1 being in      
torments1 and seeth    ,abraham afar    
off1 and ,lazarus in his bosom4         
,and he cried and said1 ,father         
,abraham1 have mercy on me1 and    send 
,lazarus1 that he may dip the tip of his
 finger in water1    and cool my tongue2
 for ,i am tormented in this flame4     
,but ,abraham said1 ,son1 remember that 
thou in thy lifetime    receivedst thy  
good things1 and likewise ,lazarus evil 
things2    but now he is comforted1 and 

thou art tormented4      ,and beside all
 this1 between us and you there is a    
great gulf    fixed3 so that they which 
would pass from hence to you cannot2    
neither can they pass to us1 that would 
come from thence4      ,then he said1 ,i
 pray thee therefore1 father1 that thou 
wouldest send him to my father's house3 
#aeb      ,for ,i have five brethren2   
that he may testify unto them1 lest     
they also come into this place of       
torment4      ,abraham saith unto him1  
,they have ,moses and the prophets2 let 
them hear them4      ,and he said1 ,nay1
 father ,abraham3 but if one went unto  
them    from the dead1 they will repent4
      ,and he said unto him1 ,if they   
hear not ,moses and the prophets1       
neither will they be persuaded1 though  
one rose from the dead4    ,footnote #ca
        ,footnote #ca3 ,luke xvi4       
#ai-ca4    ,was it the intention of     
,jesus1 and of the ,evangelist who has  
repeated his words1 to describe1 as they
 really are1 the  condition of men after

 their earthly existence1 their positive
  local position after ,god's judgment1 
and their relations either  with each   
other or with the world which they have 
quitted8  ,certainly not2 the material  
circumstances intermixed with this      
dialogue are only images borrowed from  
actual common life4 ,but  what images so
 strike1 so penetrate the soul8 ,what   
more solemn  warning addressed to men in
 this life1 to rouse them to a sense  of
 their duties towards ,god and their    
fellow creatures1 in the  name of the   
mysterious future that awaits them8     
#aec    ,nothing is further from my     
thought than to see in the sacred  books
 mere poetical images and symbols2 those
 books are really1  with respect to the 
religious problems that beset man's     
thoughts1  the ,light and the voice of  
,god2 still1 that ,light only lights1   
that voice only reveals revelations of  
,god with man1 duties which  ,god       
enjoins men in the course of their      
present life1 and  prospects which ,he  

opens to them beyond the imperfect and  
limited  world where this life passes4  
,as for this life itself1 it is the     
object of human study and science1 not  
of the inspiration of the  sacred       
,scriptures4 ,in disregarding this      
limit1 in pretending to  attribute to   
the language of the ,scriptures1 used   
with reference  to the phenomena of the 
finite world1 the character of divine   
inspiration1 men have fallen with       
respect both to thought and act  into   
deplorable errors4 ,hence proceeded the 
trial of ,galileo1 and  numerous other  
controversies1 numerous other           
condemnations still  more absurd1 still 
more to be regretted1 in which          
,christianity  was immediately placed in
 opposition to human science1 and       
constrained to inflict or receive       
remarkable disavowals4  #aed  ,the same 
is the case at the present day with     
respect to numerous  objections made in 
the name of the natural sciences to     
,christianity1 and which from the       

learned circles where they have  their  
birth1 spread over a world at once      
curious and frivolous1  where they cause
 the ,christian faith itself to be      
regarded as  ignorant credulity4        
,nothing of this kind could ever occur1 
no  necessity of such conflict could    
await the ,christian religion1 if  on   
the one side the limits of human        
science1 and on the other  those of     
divine inspiration1 were recognised as  
they really are1  and respected         
according to their rightful claims4     
,i might cite in aid of the opinion ,i  
support numerous and great  authorities4
 ,i will refer to but three1 appealed to
 by ,galileo  himself in #afae in his   
letters to the ,grand ,duchess          
,christina of  ,lorraine ,footnote      
#cb--7who could appeal to authorities   
more  august87--,many things1 says ,st4 
,jerome1 are recounted in the           
,scriptures according to the judgment of
 the times when they  happened1 and not 
according to the truth4 ,footnote #cc   

,footnote #cb3 ,opere ,complete di      
,galileo-,galilei1 t4 ii4 chap4    ii4  
pp4 #bf-fd4 ,florence1 #ahdc4           
,footnote #cc3 ,o,euvres de ,st4 ,jrme1 
,comment1 in ,jeremiam1 ed4    ,vallars4
 t4 ix4 p4 #ajdj4    #aee      ,the     
purpose of the ,holy ,scriptures1 says  
the ,cardinal    ,baronius1 is to teach 
us how to go to heaven1 and not how the 
heavens go4 ,this1 says ,kepler1 is the 
counsel ,i give to the    man so ill    
informed as not to understand the       
science of    astronomy1 or so weak as  
to regard adhesion to ,copernicus as    
proof of want of piety3--,let him at    
once leave the study of    astronomy and
 the examination of the opinions of     
philosophers2    instead of devoting    
himself to those arduous researches1 let
    him remain at home1 till his fields1
 and occupy himself with    his proper  
business2 and thence1 raising towards   
the admirable    vault of heaven his    
eyes1 which constitute for him his sole 
mode of vision1 let him pour forth his  

heart in thanksgivings    and praises to
 ,god his ,creator4 ,he may rest assured
 that he is    thus rendering to ,god a 
worship as perfect as that of the       
astronomer himself1 to whom ,god has    
accorded the gift of seeing    clearer  
with the eyes of his intelligence2 but  
who1 above all    the worlds and all the
 heavens that he attains1 knows and     
wills    to find his ,god4 ,footnote #cd
        ,footnote #cd3 ,kepler1 ,nova   
,astronomia1 ,introductio1 p4 #i4       
,prague1 #afji4    #aef    ,i discard1  
then1 as absolutely foreign to the grand
 question that  occupies me1 all the    
difficulties suggested to the           
,scriptures in  the name of those       
sciences whose province is finite       
nature4 ,i  seek and consider in these  
books only what is their sole           
object1--the relations of ,god with man1
 and the solution of those  problems    
which these relations cause to weigh    
upon the human  soul4 ,the deeper we go 
in the study of the sacred volumes1     

restored to their real object1 the more 
the divine inspiration  becomes manifest
 and striking4 ,god and man are there   
ever both  present1 both actors in the  
same history4 ,of this history it is  my
 present object to illustrate the grand 
features4    #aeg               ,seventh
 ,meditation4           ,god ,according 
,to ,the ,bible4      ,it is far from my
 intention to evade the questions which 
concern  the authenticity of the ,bible1
 and of the respective books which      
compose it4 ,i shall enter upon them in 
the second series of these              
,meditations1 when ,i touch upon the    
history of the  ,christian religion4    
,those questions1 however1 have no      
bearing  upon the subject which occupies
 me at the present moment2 the  ,bible1 
whatever its antiquity1 whatever the    
comparative antiquity  of its different 
parts1 has been ever that witness of    
,god in  which the ,hebrews believed1   
and under the law of which they  lived1 
the great monument of the religion in   

the bosom of which  the ,christian      
religion took its birth4 ,it is this    
,god of whom in  the ,bible1 and in the 
,bible alone1 it is my purpose to seek  
the  peculiar and true character4       
#aeh    ,the nations of ,semitic origin 
have been honoured for their  primitive 
and persistent faith in the unity of    
,god4 ,under  different forms1 and      
amidst events very dissimilar1 nearly   
all  nations have been polytheistic2 the
 ,semitic nations alone have  believed  
firmly in the one ,god4 ,this great     
moral fact has been  attributed to      
different and to complex causes2 but the
 fact  itself is generally acknowledged 
and admitted4    ,in two respects in    
this assertion there is exaggeration4   
,on one  side1 among the nations of     
,semitic origin1 several were           
polytheistic2 the descendants of        
,abraham1 the ,hebrews1 and the  ,arab  
,ishmaelites1 alone remained really     
monotheistic2 on the  other side1 the   
idea of the unity of ,god was not       

entirely strange  even to the           
polytheistic nations4 ,the greater part1
 like the  ,hindoos and the ,greeks1    
admitted one sole and primordial ,power 
anterior and superior to their          
gods2--idea1 vague and searched  from   
afar1 derived from the instinct of man  
or the reflection of  the philosopher1  
and which amongst those nations became  
neither  the basis of any religion that 
deserves the name1 nor any  efficacious 
obstacle to idolatry4  #aei  ,the ,god  
of the ,bible is no such sterile        
abstraction2 ,he is the  one ,god at the
 present time as in the origin of all   
things1 the  personal ,god1 living1     
acting1 and presiding efficiently over  
the  destinies of the world that ,he has
 created4    ,he has besides another    
characteristic1 one far more striking1  
which belongs to ,him more exclusively  
than that of ,unity4 ,the  gods of the  
polytheistic nations have histories     
filled with  events1 vicissitudes1      
transformations1 adventures4 ,the       

mythology  of the ,egyptians1 of the    
,hindoos1 of the ,greeks1 of the        
,scandinavians1 and numerous others1 is 
but the poetical or  symbolical recital 
of the varied and agitated lives of     
their  gods4 ,we detect in these        
recitals sometimes the personification  
of the fancies of nations described in  
accordance with their  actual phenomena1
 some times the reminiscences of human  
personages who have struck the          
imagination of the people4  #afj  ,but  
whatever their origin1 whatever their   
name1 each of those  gods has his       
individual history more or less         
overladen with  incidents and acts1 now 
heroic1 now licentious1 now elegantly   
fantastic1 now grossly eccentric4 ,all  
the polytheistic religions  are         
collections of biographies1 divine or   
legendary1 allegorical  or completely   
fabulous1 in which the careers and the  
passions1  the actions and the dreams of
 men1 reproduce themselves under the    
forms and names of deities4    ,the ,god

 of the ,bible has no biography1 neither
 has ,he any  personal adventures4      
,nothing occurs to ,him and nothing     
changes in  ,him2 ,he is always and     
invariably the same1 a ,being real and  
personal1 absolutely distinct from the  
finite world and from  humanity1        
identical and immutable in the bosom of 
the universal  diversity and movement4  
,i ,am ,that ,i ,am1 is the sole        
definition  that ,he vouchsafes of      
himself1 and the constant expression of 
what ,he is in all the course of the    
history of the ,hebrews1 to  which ,he  
is present and over which ,he presides  
without ever  receiving from it any     
reflex of influence4  #afa  ,such is the
 ,god of the ,bible1 in evident and     
permanent contrast  with all the gods of
 polytheism1 still more distinct and    
more  solitary by his nature than by his
 ,unity4    ,this is1 indeed1 so        
peculiarly the proper and essential     
character  of the ,god of the ,bible1   
that this character has passed into the 

very language of the ,hebrews1 and has  
become there the very name  of ,god4    
,several words are employed in the      
,bible as appellations  of ,god4 ,one of
 these ,el1 ,eloah1 in the plural       
,elohm1 expresses force1 creative power1
 and is  applied to the manifold gods of
 ,paganism as well as to the one  ,god  
of the ,hebrews4 ,el ,shadda is         
translated by the  all-powerful4 ,adonai
 signifies ,lord4 ,the word  ,yahwe or  
,yehwe1 which becomes in ,hebrew        
pronunciation ,jehovah1 means simply ,he
 is1 and  means self-existence1 the     
,being ,absolute and ,eternal4  #afb    
,this name occurs in no other of the    
,semitic languages1 and it is  at the   
epoch of ,moses that it appears for the 
first time amongst  the ,hebrews3 ,and  
,god spake unto ,moses1 and said unto   
him1 ,i am  the ,eternal 7,yahwe1       
,jehovah74 ,and ,i appeared unto        
,abraham1 ,isaac1 and unto ,jacob1 by   
the name of the ,all-powerful  7,el     
,shadda71 but by my name ,eternal was ,i

 not known to  them4 ,footnote #ce      
,yahwe1 ,jehovah1 is at once the true   
,god and the national ,god of ,israel4  
,footnote #cf        ,footnote #ce3     
,exodus vi4 #b1 #c4        ,footnote    
#cf3 ,i have consulted respecting the   
precise sense      and the different    
shades of meaning of the terms          
expressing      ,god in ,hebrew1 my     
learned confrre at the ,academy of      
,inscriptions1 ,m4 ,munk1 who has       
replied to all my inquiries      with as
 much clearness as courtesy4    ,the    
history of the ,hebrews is neither less 
significant nor less  expressive than   
their language2 it is the history of the
  relations of the ,god1 ,one and       
,immutable with the people chosen by    
,him to be the special representative of
 the religious principle1  and the      
regenerating source of religious life in
 the human race4  #afc  ,this people    
undergoes the destiny and trials common 
to all  nations2 it demands1 and becomes
 subject to1 a variety of  different    

governments2 it falls into the errors   
and faults usual  to nations2 it        
frequently succumbs to the temptations  
of  idolatry2 like the others1 it has   
its days of virtue and of vice1  of     
prosperity and of reverses1 of glory and
 of abasement4 ,amidst  all the         
vicissitudes and errors of the people of
 the ,bible1 the  ,god of the ,bible    
remains invariably the same1 without any
  tincture of anthropomorphism1 without 
any alteration in the idea  which the   
,hebrews conceive of his nature1 either 
during their  fidelity or disobedience  
to his ,commandments4 ,it is always the 
,god who has said1 ,i ,am ,that ,i ,am1 
of whom his people demand no  other     
explanation of himself1 and who1 ever   
present and  sovereign1 pursues the     
designs of his providence with men1 who 
either use or abuse the liberty of      
action which that ,god had  accorded to 
them at their creation4 ,i wish to      
retrace1 according  to the ,bible1 the  
principal phases and the principal      

actors in  this history4  #afd  ,the    
more ,i study1 the more ,i feel that ,i 
am watching1 as ,m4 ,ewald  has         
expressed it1 the career of the true    
religion1 advancing  step by step to its
 complete development1 that is to say1  
that ,i  am there observing the action  
of ,god upon the first steps and  upon  
the religious progress of the human     
race4                 ,i4 ,god ,and     
,abraham4      ,the history of the      
,hebrews1 temporal and spiritual1 opens 
with  ,abraham4 ,at his first appearance
 in the ,bible1 ,abraham is a nomad     
chief1 who has quitted ,chalda and the  
town of ,haran1 where his  father1      
,terah1 descended from ,shem1 is still  
living4 ,he is  wandering with his      
family1 his servants1 and his flocks1 at
 first  on the frontiers and afterwards 
in the interior of the land of  ,canaan1
 halting wherever he finds water and    
pasturage1 and  conducting his tents and
 his tribe at one time through the      
mountainous districts1 at another along 

the plains below4 ,why has  he left     
,chalda8  #afe  ,according to the ,bible
 itself1 his father was an idolater3    
,your  fathers1 said ,joshua to the     
people of ,israel1 dwelt on the  other  
side of the flood 7the ,euphrates7 in   
old time1 even  ,terah1 the father of   
,abraham1 and the father of ,nachor3 and
 they  served other gods4 ,footnote #cg 
,the book of ,judith contains a  similar
 assertion2 ,footnote #ch and the       
,jewish and ,arabian  traditions        
confirm1 at the same time that they     
amplify1 the  statement3 the father of  
,abraham1 they say1 was an idolatrous   
fanatic1 and his son ,abraham1 having   
set himself against the  practice of    
idolatry1 was upon his charge thrown    
into a burning  furnace1 from which a   
miracle alone preserved him4 ,the       
historian  ,josephus speaks of the      
insurrections which took place amongst  
the  ,chaldans on the occasion of their 
religious dissensions4        ,footnote 
#cg3 ,joshua xxiv4 #b4        ,footnote 

#ch3 ,judith v4 #f-i4         ,,usccb3  
,judith v4 #f-i4      ,these people are 
descendants of the ,chaldeans4 ,they    
formerly      dwelt in ,mesopotamia1 for
 they did not wish to follow the        
gods of their forefathers who were born 
in the land of the      ,chaldeans4     
,since they abandoned the way of their  
ancestors1      and acknowledged with   
divine worship the ,god of heaven1 their
      forefathers expelled them from the
 presence of their gods4 ,so      they  
fled to ,mesopotamia and dwelt there a  
long time4 ,their      ,god bade them   
leave their abode and proceed to the    
land of      ,canaan4 ,here they        
settled1 and grew very rich in gold1    
silver1 and a great abundance of        
livestock4    ,the ,bible makes no      
allusion to these traditions2 from the  
very  beginning ,god intervenes in the  
history of the father of the  ,hebrews4 
#aff  ,the ,eternal had said unto       
,abram1 ,get thee out of thy country1   
and from thy kindred1 and from thy      

father's house1 unto a land  that ,i    
will shew thee3 ,i will make thee a     
great nation1 and ,i  will bless thee1  
and make thy name great2 444 and in thee
 shall  all families of the earth be    
blessed4 444 ,so ,abram departed1 444   
and ,abram took ,sarai his wife1 and    
,lot his brother's son1 and all  their  
substance that they had gathered1 and   
the sons that they  had gotten in       
,haran2 and they went forth to go into  
the land of  ,canaan2 and into the land 
of ,canaan they came4 ,footnote #ci     
,footnote #ci3 ,genesis xii4 #a-e4      
,how had ,god spoken to ,abraham8 ,by a 
voice from without or by an  internal   
inspiration8 ,the writer of the         
,biblical narrative  occupies himself in
 no respect with the question4 ,god is  
for him1  present and an actor in the   
history just as much as ,abraham is2    
the intervention of ,god has in his eyes
 nothing but what is  perfectly simple  
and natural4 ,the same faith animates   
,abraham2 he  issues forth from ,chalda 

and wanders through ,palestine1         
according to the word and under the     
direction of the ,eternal4    #afg      
,he wanders through the midst of        
populations already established  upon   
the land of ,canaan1 and with these he  
lives in peace1 but  still1 not uniting 
with them2 bringing them succour when   
attacked  by foreign chieftains2        
fighting in their behalf as a faithful  
ally1 sometimes1 perhaps1 in the        
character of a valiant  condottiere     
mercenary1 but remaining isolated in his
  capacity of nomad ,patriarch1 with his
 family and his tribe2  repelling even  
the gifts and favours which might       
perhaps lower  his character or affect  
his independence4 ,everywhere that he   
halts1 or that any incident of          
importance occurs to him1 at  ,sichem1  
,bethel1 ,beersheba1 ,hebron1 he raises 
an altar to his ,god4  ,in his wandering
 uncertain life a famine impels him on  
one  occasion even as far as            
,egypt3--the first perhaps of those     

shepherd chiefs who issued from ,asia1  
and who were so soon to  invade that    
rich country4 ,abraham passes in ,egypt 
several years1  well treated by the     
reigning ,pharaoh2 on excellent terms   
with the  ,egyptian priests1 imparting  
to them and receiving from them such    
knowledge of astronomy or of natural    
philosophy as they mutually  possessed2 
but maintaining ever carefully the      
isolation of his  family1 of his tribe1 
and of his religion4 ,of his own accord1
 or  at the instance of the ,pharaoh1 he
 quits ,egypt1 carrying with him  not   
only his flocks and his camels1 but his 
,egyptian slaves1 and  amongst others   
,hagar4  #afh  ,he returns to the       
country of ,canaan1 again wanders       
through  several of its districts1 takes
 part in different  events--internal    
troubles or foreign wars1 and finally   
settles  with his family and dependents 
at ,hebron1 near the oaks of ,mamre1    
amongst the tribe of the children of    
,heth2 but still always in  his capacity

 as a foreigner1 and always careful as  
such to  preserve his character and his 
independence4 ,when his wife ,sarah     
died1 the book of ,genesis tells us     
that1      ,abraham stood up from before
 his dead1 and spake unto the sons    of
 ,heth1 saying1      ,i am a stranger   
and a sojourner with you3 give me a     
possession    of a buryingplace with    
you1 that ,i may bury my dead out of my 
sight4      ,and the children of ,heth  
answered ,abraham1 saying unto him1     
#afi      ,hear us1 my lord3 thou art a 
mighty prince among us3 in the    choice
 of our sepulchres bury thy dead2 none  
of us shall    withhold from thee his   
sepulchre1 but that thou mayest bury thy
    dead4      ,and ,abraham stood up1  
and bowed himself to the people of the  
land1 even to the children of ,heth4    
,and he communed with them1 saying1 ,if 
it be your mind that ,i    should bury  
my dead out of my sight2 hear me1 and   
entreat for    me to ,ephron the son of 
,zohar1      ,that he may give me the   

cave of ,machpelah1 which he hath1      
which is in the end of his field2 for as
 much money as it is    worth he shall  
give it me for a possession of a        
buryingplace    amongst you4      ,and  
,ephron dwelt among the children of     
,heth3 and ,ephron the    ,hittite      
answered ,abraham in the audience of the
 children of    ,heth1 even of all that 
went in at the gate of his city1 saying1
      ,nay1 my lord1 hear me3 the field 
give ,i thee1 and the cave    that is   
therein1 ,i give it thee2 in the        
presence of the sons of    my people    
give ,i it thee3 bury thy dead4         
,and ,abraham bowed down himself before 
the people of the land4      ,and he    
spake unto ,ephron in the audience of   
the people of the    land1 saying1 ,but 
if thou wilt give it1 ,i pray thee1 hear
 me3 ,i    will give thee money for the 
field2 take it of me1 and ,i will       
bury my dead there4      ,and ,ephron   
answered ,abraham1 saying unto him1     
,my lord1 hearken unto me3 the land is  

worth four hundred    shekels of silver2
 what is that betwixt me and thee8 bury 
therefore thy dead4    #agj      ,and   
,abraham hearkened unto ,ephron2 and    
,abraham weighed to    ,ephron the      
silver1 which he had named in the       
audience of the    sons of ,heth1 four  
hundred shekels of silver1 current money
    with the merchant4      ,and the    
field of ,ephron1 which was in          
,machpelah1 which was    before ,mamre1 
the field1 and the cave which was       
therein1 and    all the trees that were 
in the field1 that were in all the      
borders round about1 were made sure     
,unto ,abraham for a possession in the  
presence of the children    of ,heth1   
before all that went in at the gate of  
his city4      ,and after this1 ,abraham
 buried ,sarah his wife in the cave of  
the field of ,machpelah before ,mamre3  
the same is ,hebron in the    land of   
,canaan4      ,and the field1 and the   
cave that is therein1 were made sure    
unto ,abraham for a possession of a     

buryingplace by the sons of    ,heth4   
,footnote #dj        ,footnote #dj3     
,genesis xxiii4 #c-bj4    ,little       
importance does ,abraham attach to his  
precarious condition  as a wanderer and 
a stranger2 he has faith in ,god4 ,god  
commands1  and ,abraham obeys4 ,god     
promises1 and ,abraham trusts4 ,one day1
  however1 with a feeling of anxious    
humility1 ,abraham makes the  following 
prayer to ,god3--    ,lord ,eternal1    
what wilt thou give me1 seeing ,i go    
childless1    and there is ,eliezer of  
,damascus shall be my heir8  #aga       
,and behold the word of the ,lord came  
unto him1 saying1 ,this    shall not be 
thine heir1 but he that shall come forth
 out of    thine own bowels shall be    
thine heir4 ,i am ,god1 the mighty1     
all-powerful2 walk before my face1 be   
thou perfect4 ,i will    establish my   
covenant between me and thee1 and thy   
seed after    thee1 in their generation1
 for an everlasting possession1 and ,i  
will be their ,god4 ,but thou shalt keep

 my covenant therefore1    thou and thy 
seed after thee1 in their generations4  
,and ,abraham    believed in the ,lord2 
and the ,eternal counted it to him for  
righteousness4 ,footnote #da            
,footnote #da3 ,genesis xv4 #a-f4 and   
xvii4 #a-i4    ,in these days1 in the   
bosom of ,christian civilization1       
obedience  to ,god and confidence in    
,god are the first precepts1 the first  
virtues of ,christianity4 ,they were    
also the virtues of ,abraham1  and the  
precepts inculcated by ,abraham's       
history in the ,bible4  #agb  ,and the  
,god of ,abraham1 the ,god of the       
,bible1 is the same who is  the object  
of adoration to the ,christian of the   
present day2 the  same conception as    
that of those philosophers of the       
present day  who believe in ,god1 and   
believe in ,him as in ,god ,absolute and
  ,perfect1 ,self-dependent1 ,eternal1  
without the possibility or  attempt to  
define ,him otherwise4 ,thousands of    
years have changed  nothing as to the   

biblical notion of ,god in the human    
soul1 nor  as to the essential laws     
regulating the relation of man with     
,god4    ,historical tradition fully    
confirms the moral fact here  mentioned4
 ,abraham has not been the object of any
 mystical  conception1 or any           
mythological metamorphosis2 nowhere has 
he  been transformed into demigod or son
 of ,god2 he has ever remained  the     
model of religious faith and submission1
 the type of the  pious man in intimate 
relation with ,god4 ,throughout all     
antiquity1 and in all the ,east1 as much
 for the primitive  ,christians as for  
the ,jews and ,arabs1 as much for the   
,mussulmans  as for the ,jews and       
,christians1 ,god is the ,god of        
,abraham2  ,abraham is the friend of    
,god1 the father and the prince of      
believers2 these are the very names that
 the ,gospel gives him2  ,footnote #db  
and the ,koran1 too1 celebrates him in  
these  words3--        ,footnote #db3   
,st4 ,paul's ,epistle to the ,romans    

iv42 ,galatians      iii42 ,epistle of  
,st4 ,james ii4 #bc4    #agc      ,and  
when the night overshadowed him1 he saw 
a star1 and he    said1 ,this is my     
,lord2 but when it set1 he said1 ,i like
 not    gods which set4 ,and when he saw
 the moon rising1 he said1 ,this    is  
my ,lord2 but when he saw it set1 he    
said1 ,verily1 if my ,lord    direct me 
not1 ,i shall become one of the people  
who go astray4    ,and when he saw the  
sun rising1 he said1 ,this is my ,lord1 
this    is the greatest2 but when it    
set1 he said1 my people1 verily ,i    am
 clear of that which ye associate with  
,god4 ,i direct my face    unto him who 
hath created the heavens and the earth4 
,footnote    #dc        ,footnote #dc3  
,koran vi4    ,the ,eternal1 the ,god   
,one and ,immutable1 is the ,god of     
,abraham2  ,abraham is the servant and  
adorer of the true ,god4    #agd        
,,ii4 ,god ,and ,moses4      ,the true  
idea of ,god1 and the faith in his      
effectual and  continued providence1 are

 the two great religious principles     
which the name of ,abraham suggests4    
,this is the beginning of the  history  
of the ,hebrews1 and the origin of that 
ancient ,covenant  which1 in passing    
from the ,pentateuch to the ,gospel1 has
 become  the new ,covenant1 the         
,christian ,religion4    ,about five    
centuries later1 we find the ,hebrews   
settled in ,egypt1  in the land of      
,goshen1 between the lower ,nile1 the   
,red ,sea1 and  the ,desert1 in a       
condition very different from that in   
which they  had first been when         
attracted to the court of ,pharaoh by   
the  prosperity of ,joseph1 the         
great-grandson of ,abraham4 ,the new    
,pharaoh oppresses them cruelly2 they   
are a prey to the miseries  of slavery1 
the contagion of idolatry1 to all the   
evils1 all the  perils1 physical and    
moral1 which can afflict a nation       
numerically weak1 fallen under the yoke 
of one powerful and  civilized4  #age   
,the ,hebrews nevertheless persist in   

their religious faith1 cling  to their  
national reminiscences2 they do not     
suffer their  nationality to be lost in 
and confounded with that of their       
masters2 they endure without offering   
any active resistance2 they  will not   
deliver themselves1 but they have never 
ceased to  believe in their ,god1 and   
they await their ,deliverer4    ,moses  
has been saved from the waters of the   
,nile by ,pharaoh's own  daughter4 ,he  
has been brought up at ,heliopolis1 in  
the midst of  the pomp of the court1 and
 instructed in the sciences of the      
,egyptian priests4 ,he has served the   
sovereign of ,egypt2 he has  commanded  
his troops and made war for him against 
the thiopians4  ,he has received an     
,egyptian name1 ,osarsiph1 or ,tisithen4
  ,everything seems to concur to make   
him an ,egyptian4 ,but he  remains a    
faithful ,israelite3 true to the faith  
and to the  fortunes of his brethren4   
,their oppression rouses his            
indignation2 he avenges one of them by  

killing his oppressor4  #agf  ,the      
victims of oppression1 alarmed1 disavow 
,moses1 instead of  supporting him4     
,moses flees from ,egypt and takes      
refuge in the  ,desert1 amongst a tribe 
of wandering ,arabs1 the ,midianites1   
sprung1 like himself1 from ,abraham4    
,their chief1 the sheick of  the tribe1 
,jethro1 called also ,hobab1 receives   
him as a son1 and  gives him his        
daughter ,zipporah in marriage4 ,the    
proud ,israelite1  who has declined to  
remain an ,egyptian1 becomes an ,arab1  
and  leads1 several years1 the nomadic  
life of the hospitable tribe4  ,it is   
now in the peninsula of ,sinai that     
,moses wanders with the  servants and   
flocks of his father-in-law4 ,in the    
centre of that  peninsula1 of yore a    
province in the empire of the ,pharaohs1
 but  which had fallen into the         
possession of the pastoral ,arabs1 rises
  ,sinai1 a mount with which from time  
immemorial1 among the  neighbouring     
tribes1 have been connected as many     

sacred  traditions as have ever been    
assigned to ,mount ,ararat in ,armenia1 
or the ,himalayas in ,india4 ,in this   
venerable spot1 before a  burning bush1 
,moses1 with a heart full of faith1     
hears ,god  calling him and commanding  
him to lead his people1 the children  of
 ,israel1 out of ,egypt4  #agg  ,moses  
is humble1 distrustful of himself1 just 
as ,abraham before  him had been4 ,who  
am ,i1 that ,i should go unto ,pharaoh1 
and that  ,i should bring forth the     
children of ,israel out of ,egypt8 444  
,when ,i come unto the children of      
,israel1 and shall say unto them1  ,the 
,god of your fathers hath sent me unto  
you2 and they shall say  to me1 ,what is
 his name8 ,what shall ,i say unto them8
 ,and ,god said  unto ,moses ,i ,,am    
,,that ,i ,,am3 and he said1 ,thus shalt
 thou say unto  the children of ,israel1
 ,i ,,am hath sent me unto you4         
,footnote  #dd        ,footnote #dd3    
,exodus iii4 #aa1 #ac1 #ad4    ,moses   
receives his mission from ,jehovah1 and 

feels no other  disquietude than arises 
from the desire to accomplish it4    ,in
 presence of such facts1 with this      
association of ,god and man  in the same
 work1 the opponents of the             
,supernatural still  clamour3 ,why1 ask 
they1 this confusion of divine action   
and of  human action8 ,has ,god need of 
man's concurrence8  #agh  ,can ,he not1 
if ,he will1 accomplish all his designs 
by himself1  and through the fulness of 
his omnipotence8 ,in my turn1 ,i would  
ask them if they know why ,god created  
man1 and if ,god has put  them into the 
secret of his intentions towards the    
instrument  whom ,he employs for his    
designs8 ,there precisely lies the      
privilege of humanity3 man is ,god's    
associate1 subject to ,him1  yet a free 
agent independent of ,him2 he intervenes
 by his proper  action in plans of which
 only an infinitely small part is       
revealed to his intelligence and        
reserved for his execution4  ,western   
,asia and its history are full of the   

name of ,moses3 ,jews1  ,christians1 and
 ,mahometans style him the ,first       
,prophet1 the ,great  ,lawgiver1 the    
,great ,theologian2 everywhere1 in the  
scene of the  events themselves1 the    
places retain a memory of him3 the      
traveller meets there the ,well of      
,moses1 the ,ravine of ,moses1 the      
,mountain of ,moses1 the ,valley of     
,moses4  #agi  ,in other countries and  
other ages1 this name has been given as 
the most glorious that the saints could 
receive3 ,st4 ,peter has  been styled   
the ,moses of the ,christian ,church2   
,st4 ,benedict1 the  ,moses of the      
,monastic ,orders2 ,ulphilas1 the ,moses
 of the ,goths4  ,what did ,moses do to 
obtain a renown so great and so         
enduring8 ,he  gained no battles2 he    
conquered no territory2 he founded no   
cities2 he governed no state2 he was not
 even a man in whom  eloquence replaced 
other sources of influence and power3   
,and  ,moses said unto the ,lord1 my    
,lord1 ,i am not eloquent1 neither      

heretofore1 nor since thou hast spoken  
unto thy servant3 but ,i am  slow of    
speech1 and of a slow tongue4 ,footnote 
#de        ,footnote #de3 ,exodus iv4   
#aj4    ,there is not in this whole     
history a single grand human action1 a  
single grand event1 proceeding from     
human agency2 all1 all is the  work of  
,god2 and ,moses is nothing on any      
occasion but the  interpreter and       
instrument of ,god3 to this mission he  
has  consecrated soul and life2 it is   
only by virtue of this title  that he is
 powerful1 and that he shares1 as far as
 his capacity  as a man permits1 a work 
infinitely grander and more enduring    
than that accomplished by all the heroes
 and all the masters that  the world    
ever acknowledged4    #ahj    ,i know no
 more striking spectacle than that of   
the unshakeable  faith and inexhaustible
 energy of ,moses in the pursuit of a   
work  not his own1 in which he executes 
what he has not conceived1 in  which he 
obeys rather than commands4 ,obstacles  

and  disappointments meet him at each   
turn2 he has to struggle with           
weaknesses1 infidelity1 caprices1       
jealousies1 and seditions1 and  these   
not merely in his own nation1 but in his
 own family4 ,he has  himself his       
moments of sadness1 of disquietude3 ,and
 ,moses cried  unto the ,lord1 saying1  
,what shall ,i do unto this people8 they
 be  almost ready to stone me4444       
,footnote #df ,i beseech thee1 shew  me 
thy glory4        ,footnote #df3 ,exodus
 xvii4 #d2 xxxiii4 #ah-bj4    ,and ,god 
answers him1 ,i will make all my        
goodness pass before  thee4 444 ,thou   
canst not see my face3 for there shall  
no man see  me1 and live4 ,and ,moses   
trusts in ,god1 and continues to triumph
  whilst he obeys ,him4    #aha    ,the 
work of deliverance is consummated2     
,moses has led the people  of ,israel   
out of ,egypt1 has surmounted the first 
perils and the  first sufferings of the 
,desert4 ,they advance through the group
 of  mountains in the peninsula of      

,sinai ,passing from valley to  valley1 
they arrive at the entrance of a large  
basin surrounded  by lofty peaks4 ,of   
these the one which commands the most   
extensive view is covered with enormous 
blocks1 as if the  mountain had been    
overthrown by an earthquake4 ,a deep    
cleft  divides the peak into two4    ,no
 one who has approached the ,rs ,sufsfeh
 through that noble  plain1 or who has  
looked down upon the plain from that    
majestic  height1 will willingly part   
with the belief that these are the  two 
essential features of the view of the   
,israelitish camp4 ,that  such a plain  
should exist at all in front of such a  
cliff is so  remarkable a coincidence   
with the sacred narrative1 as to furnish
  a strong internal argument1 not merely
 of its identity with the  scene1 but of
 the scene itself having been described 
by an  eyewitness4  #ahb  ,the awful and
 lengthened approach1 as to some natural
 sanctuary1  would have been the fittest
 preparation for the coming scene4 ,the 

low line of alluvial mounds at the foot 
of the cliff exactly  answers to the    
'bounds' which were to keep the people  
off from  'touching the ,mount4'        
,footnote #dg        ,footnote #dg3     
,exodus xix4 #ab4    ,the plain itself  
is not broken and uneven1 and narrowly  
shut in1  like almost all others in the 
range1 but presenting a long  retiring  
sweep1 against which the people could   
remove and stand  afar off4' ,the cliff1
 rising like a huge altar in front of   
the  whole congregation1 and visible    
against the sky in lonely  grandeur from
 end to end of the whole plain1 is the  
very image of  the 'mount that might not
 be touched1' and from which 'the voice'
  of ,god might be heard far and wide   
over the stillness of the  plain below1 
widened at that point to its utmost     
extent by the  confluence of all the    
contiguous valleys4  #ahc  ,here1 beyond
 all other parts of the peninsula1 is   
the adytum1  withdrawn1 as if in the end
 of the world1' from all the stir and   

confusion of earthly things4 ,footnote  
#dh ,such was three  thousand five      
hundred years ago1 and such is still1   
the place  where ,moses received from   
,god and gave to the people of ,israel  
that law of the ,ten ,commandments which
 resound still through all  the         
,christian ,churches as the first       
foundation of their faith and  the first
 moral rule of ,christian nations4      
,footnote #dh3 ,sinai and ,palestine in 
connection with their      ,history4 ,by
 ,arthur ,stanley1 ,dean of             
,westminster1 pp4 #db1 #dc4             
,london1 #ahfb4    ,the ,hebrews1 at the
 moment when the ,decalogue became their
  fundamental law1 were in a crisis of  
social transformation2 they  were upon  
the point of passing from the pastoral  
nomadic  condition to that of farmers   
and settlers4 ,it seems that1 at such   
an epoch1 the political institutions of 
a people would1 as the  basis of their  
government1 be its most natural and most
 urgent  business4  #ahd  ,the          

,decalogue leaves the subject entirely  
untouched2 makes to it  not the         
remotest1 the most indirect allusion4   
,it is a law  exclusively religious and 
moral1 which only busies itself about   
the duties of man to ,god and to his    
fellow-creatures1 and admits  by its    
very silence all the varying forms of   
government that the  external or        
internal state of society may seem to   
require4  ,characteristic1 grand1 and   
original1 not to be met with in the     
primitive laws of any other nascent     
state1 and an admirable and  remarkable 
manifestation of the ,divine origin of  
this one6 ,it is  to man's natural and  
his moral destiny that the ,decalogue   
addresses itself2 it is to guide man's  
soul and his inmost will  that it lays  
down rules2 whereas it surrenders his   
external1 his  civil condition to all   
the varying chances of place and of     
time4    #ahe    ,another characteristic
 of this law is not less original or    
less  urgent3 it places ,god1 and man's 

duties towards ,god1 at the head  and   
front of man's life and man's duties2 it
 unites intimately  religion and        
morality1 and regards them as           
inseparable4 ,if  philosophers1 in      
studying1 discriminate between them2 if 
they  seek in human nature the special  
principle or principles of  morality2 if
 they consider the latter by itself and 
apart from  religion1 it is the right of
 science to do so4 ,but still the       
result is but a scientific work--only a 
partial dissection of  man's soul1      
addressed to only one part of its       
faculties1 and  holding no account of   
the entirety and the reality of the     
soul's  life4 ,the ,human ,body1 taken  
as one whole1 is by nature at once      
moral and religious2 the moral law that 
he finds in himself needs  an author and
 a judge2 and ,god is to him the source 
and  guarantee1 the ,alpha and ,omega of
 morality4    ,a metaphysician may1 from
 time to time1 affirm the moral law1 and
  yet forget its ,divine ,author4 ,a man

 may1 now and then1 admit1 may  respect 
the principles of morality1 and yet     
remain estranged from  religion2 all    
this is possible1 for all this we see4  
#ahf  ,so small a portion of ,truth     
sometimes satisfies the human mind6     
,man is so ready and so prone to        
misconceive and to mutilate  himself6   
,his ideas are by nature so incomplete  
and inconsequent1  so easily dimmed or  
perverted by his ,passions or the action
 of  his free will6 ,these are but the  
exceptional conditions of the  human    
mind1 mere scientific abstractions2 if  
men admit them1  their influence is     
neither general nor durable4 ,in the    
natural  and actual life of the human   
race1 ,morality and ,religion are       
necessarily united2 and it is one of the
 divine characteristics  of the         
,decalogue1 as it is also one of the    
causes of that  authority which has     
remained to it after the lapse of so    
many  centuries1 that it has proclaimed 
and taken as its foundation  their      

intimate union4    ,this is not the     
place to consider the laws of ,moses in 
civil and  penal matters1 nor to refer  
to his ordinances respecting the        
worship1 or to those that regard the    
organization of the  priesthood of the  
,hebrews4 ,in the former of these two   
branches of  the ,mosaic code1 numerous 
dispositions1 singularly moral1         
equitable1 and humane1 are found in     
connection with circumstances           
indicating a state of manners gross and 
cruel even to barbarism4    #ahg    ,the
 legislator is evidently under the      
empire of ideas and  sentiments         
infinitely superior to those of the     
people1 to whom1  nevertheless1 his     
strong sympathies attach him4 ,when we  
consider  the ,mosaic ,legislation1 we  
find that in everything which concerns  
the external forms and practices of     
worship1 the ideas of ,egypt  have made 
great impression upon the mind of the   
,lawgiver1 and the  frequent use that he
 has made of ,egyptian customs and      

ceremonies  is not less visible4 ,but   
far above these institutions and these  
traditions1 which seem not seldom out of
 place and incoherent1  soars and       
predominates constantly the ,idea of the
 ,god of ,abraham  and of ,jacob1 of the
 ,god ,one and ,eternal1 of the ,true   
,god4 ,the  ,laws of ,moses omit no     
occasion of inculcating the belief in   
that  ,god1 and of recalling ,him to the
 recollection of the ,hebrews4 ,and     
this1 not as if they were recalling a   
principle1 an institution1  a system2   
but as if they propose to place a       
sovereign1 a lawful  and living         
sovereign1 in the presence of those whom
 he governs1  and to whom they owe      
obedience and fidelity4    #ahh         
,moses never speaks in his own name1 or 
in the name of any human  power1 or of  
any portion of the ,hebrew nation4 ,god 
alone speaks  and commands4 ,god's word 
and his commands ,moses repeats to the  
people4 ,at his first ascending ,mount  
,sinai1 when he had received  the first 

inspiration from the ,eternal1 ,moses   
came and called  for the elders of the  
people1 and laid before their faces all 
these words which the ,lord commanded   
him4 ,and all the people  answered      
together1 and said1 ,all that the ,lord 
hath spoken we  will do4 ,footnote #di  
,footnote #di3 ,exodus xix4 #g1 #h4     
,when ,moses1 again ascending ,mount    
,sinai1 had received from ,god  the     
,decalogue1 he returned1 ,and he took   
the book of the  covenant1 and read in  
the audience of the people3 and they    
said1  ,all that the ,lord hath said    
will we do1 and be obedient4  ,footnote 
#ej        ,footnote #ej3 ,exodus xxiv4 
#g4    #ahi    ,as the events develop   
themselves1 the ,hebrews are found far  
from  rendering a constant obedience3   
they forget1 they infringe--and  that   
frequently--these laws of ,god which    
they have accepted2 and  ,god sometimes 
punishes1 sometimes pardons them2 still 
it is  always ,god alone that is acting2
 it is from ,him alone that all         

emanates2 neither the priests who       
preside over the ceremonies of  his     
worship1 nor the elders of ,israel whom 
,he summons to  prostrate themselves    
from afar before ,him1 nor ,moses       
himself--his  sole and constant         
interpreter--do anything by themselves1 
demand  anything for themselves4 ,the   
,pentateuch is the history and the      
picture of the personal government by   
,god of the ,israelites4 ,our           
legislator1 says the historian          
,josephus1 had in his thoughts  not     
monarchies1 nor oligarchies1 nor        
democracies1 nor any one of  those      
political institutions3 he commanded    
that our government  should be 7if it is
 permitted to make use of an expression 
somewhat exaggerated7 what may be styled
 a ,theocracy4 ,footnote  #ea           
,footnote #ea3 ,joseph4 contra ,apionem1
 ii4 c4 #ag4    #aij    ,the eminent    
writers who have recently studied most  
profoundly the  ,mosaic system--,m4     
,ewald in ,germany1,footnote #eb ,mr4   

,milman and  ,mr4 ,arthur ,stanley in   
,england1 ,m4 ,nicolas in ,france--have 
adopted  the expression of ,josephus1   
attaching to it its real and complete   
sense4 ,the term ,theocracy1 says ,mr4  
,stanley1 has been often  employed since
 the time of ,moses1 but in the sense of
 a  sacerdotal government3 a sense the  
very contrary to that in which  its     
first author conceived it4 ,the         
theocracy of ,moses was not at  all a   
government by priests1 or opposed to    
kings2 it was the  government by ,god   
himself1 as opposed to a government by  
priests  or by kings4 ,footnote #ec     
,footnote #eb3 ,geschichte des ,volkes  
,israel1 bis ,christus1 ii4      #ahh4  
,gttingen1 #ahec4        ,footnote #ec3 
,lectures on the ,jewish ,church1 p4    
#aeg    #aia    ,mosaism1 says ,m4      
,nicolas1 is a theocracy in the proper  
sense  of the word4 ,it would be a      
complete error to understand this word  
in the sense which usage has given to it
 in our language4 ,there  is no question

 here in effect of a government         
exercised by a  sacerdotal caste in the 
name and under the inspiration1 real or 
pretended1 of ,god4 ,in the ,mosaic     
legislation the priests are not  the    
ministers and instruments of the ,divine
 ,will2 ,god reigns and  governs by     
himself4 ,it is ,he who has given his   
laws to the  ,hebrews4 ,moses has been1 
it is true1 the medium between the      
,eternal and the people1 but the people 
has taken part in the  grand spectacle  
of the ,revelation of the ,law2 of this 
the people1  in the exercise of its     
freedom1 has evinced its acceptance2 and
  in the covenant set on foot between   
the ,eternal and the family of  ,jacob1 
,moses has been1 if ,i may be allowed   
the expression1 only  the public officer
 who has propounded the contract4 ,he   
was  himself1 besides1 not within the   
pale of the sacerdotal caste2  and the  
charge of keeping1 amending1 and seeing 
to the carrying  out of the body of laws
 was not confided to the priests4       

,footnote #ed         ,footnote #ed3    
tudes ,critiques sur la ,bible--,ancien 
,testament1 p4 #agb4    #aib    ,let the
 learned men who thus characterise the  
,mosaic theocracy  pause here and       
measure the whole bearing of the fact   
which they  comprehend so well4 ,it is a
 fact unique in the history of the      
world4 ,the idea of ,god is1 amongst all
 nations1 the source of  religions2 but 
in every case1 except that of the       
,hebrews1  scarcely has the source      
appeared before it deviates and becomes 
troubled2 men take the place of ,god2   
,god's name is made to cover  every kind
 of usurpation and falsehood2 sometimes 
sacerdotal  corporations take possession
 of all government1 civil and           
religious2 sometimes secular power      
overrules and enslaves  ,religious      
,faith and ,religious ,life4 ,in the    
,mosaic ,dispensation we  have nothing  
of the kind2 its very origin and its    
fundamental  principles condemn and     
prohibit even the attempt at any such   

deviations4 ,no paramount priesthood    
here2 no secular power  playing the part
 of the oppressor4 ,god is constantly   
present1 and  sole ,master4 ,all passes 
between ,god and the people2 all1 ,i    
say1  so passes through the agency of a 
single man whom ,god inspires1  and in  
whom the people have faith1 asking no   
other authority than  that of the       
revelation which he receives4  #aic  ,no
 sign here of a fact of human origin3   
just as the ,god of the  ,bible is the  
true ,god1 the religion that descended1 
by ,moses1  from ,sinai upon the elect  
people of ,god is the true ,religion    
destined to become1 when ,jesus ,christ 
ascends ,calvary1 the  ,religion of the 
,human ,race4                ,,iii4 ,god
 ,and ,the ,kings4    ,moses having     
brought out of ,egypt the people of     
,israel1 and  having conducted it       
through the ,desert as far as the       
eastern bank  of the ,jordan1 in sight  
of ,canaan1 the ,promised ,land1 his    
mission  terminates4 ,get thee up1 says 

the ,eternal to him2 get thee up  into  
the top of ,pisgah1 and lift up thine   
eyes westward1 and  northward1 and      
southward1 and eastward1 and behold it  
with thine  eyes3 for thou shalt not go 
over this ,jordan4 ,but charge ,joshua1 
and encourage him1 and strengthen him3  
for he shall go over  before this       
people1 and he shall cause them to      
inherit the land  which thou shalt see4 
,footnote #ee        ,footnote #ee3     
,deuteronomy iii4 #bg1 #bh4    #aid     
,moses has been1 in the name of         
,jehovah1 the liberator and the         
legislator2 ,joshua is the conqueror1   
the rough warrior1 of yet  signal piety 
and modesty1 the ardent servant of      
,jehovah1 the  faithful disciple of     
,moses4 ,after passing the ,jordan1     
traversing  the land of ,canaan in every
 direction1 and giving battle in        
succession to the greater part of the   
tribes that inhabit it1 he  destroys1 or
 expels1 or negotiates with them1 and   
divides their  lands among the twelve   

tribes of ,israel4 ,these exchange their
  wandering life for that settled       
agricultural life of which ,moses  has  
given them the law4 ,the descendants of 
,abraham settle as  masters in the soil 
in which ,abraham had demanded as a     
favour the  privilege of purchasing a   
tomb4    #aie    ,the consequences of   
this new situation are not long in      
showing  themselves4 ,the conquest is   
protracted and difficult3 the  violence 
and rapine that characterise a state of 
war--one of  dispossession and of       
extermination--replace amongst the      
,hebrews  the adventures and the pious  
emotions of the ,desert4 ,in spite of   
their successes1 the conquest           
nevertheless remains incomplete3        
several of the ,canaanitish tribes      
defend themselves  efficaciously1 and   
cling1 side by side with the new comers1
 to  their territory1 their laws1 their 
gods4 ,the twelve tribes of  ,israel    
disperse and settle1 each on its own    
account1 upon  different and distant    

points1 some being even separated by the
  ,jordan4 ,the unity of the ,hebrew    
nation1 of its faith1 of its law1  of   
its government1 and of its destiny      
weakens rapidly2 the  tendency to       
idolatry1 which the ,hebrews had so     
often evinced when  wandering in the    
,desert1 reappears and developes itself1
 fomented  by the vicinity of the       
,polytheistic tribes of ,canaan4 ,not1  
however1 that we can precisely say that 
,polytheism prevails  against the ,one  
,god2 but rather that material images of
 ,jehovah  become1 in the midst of      
particular tribes1 the object of the    
idolatrous worship so strongly          
prohibited by the ,decalogue4 ,and  the 
children of ,israel did evil in the     
sight of the ,lord1 and  forgat the     
,lord their ,god1 and served ,baalim and
 the groves4  ,footnote #ef             
,footnote #ef3 ,judges iii4 #g4    #aif 
,under such influences the moral and    
social state of the people of  ,israel  
undergoes profound changes2 the         

barbarism1 which had been  formerly     
amongst them fanatical and austere1     
becomes unruly and  licentious2 their   
chiefs1 their ,judges1 during the epoch 
which  bears their name1 no longer      
possess1 sometimes no longer merit1     
their confidence2 even the heroic acts  
of some amongst them--of  ,gideon1 of   
,deborah1 of ,samson1--present rather a 
strange than an  august character4 ,the 
,mosaic ,theocracy veils itself2 the    
,hebrew  nation becomes disorganized2   
day by day1 the religious and  political
 anarchy in ,israel extends and becomes 
aggravated4    #aig    ,but where the   
,divine ,light has once shone1 it is    
never completely  extinguished2 and when
 the voice of ,god has once spoken1 the 
sound is never entirely lost1 even to   
ears that no longer listen4  ,it has    
been affirmed that after ,joshua1 in the
 lapse of time that  took place between 
the government of the ,judges and the   
end of  the reign of ,solomon1 the      
recollection of ,moses1 of his actions  

and his laws1 had almost entirely       
disappeared--had lost all  authority in 
,israel4 ,some passages from the        
biblical narrative  will suffice to     
remove this error4 ,i read in the ,book 
of ,judges1  with respect to the        
,canaanitish tribes who resisted and    
survived  in their countries the        
conquest and settlement of the ,hebrew  
tribes3--,these nations were to prove   
,israel1 to know whether  they would    
hearken unto the commandments of the    
,lord1 which he  commanded their fathers
 by the hand of ,moses4 ,footnote #eg   
,footnote #eg3 ,judges iii4 #d4    ,and 
again1 in the ,book of ,samuel1 it is   
the ,eternal that  advanced ,moses and  
,aaron 4444 which brought forth your    
fathers  out of the land of ,egypt1 and 
made them dwell in this place4          
,footnote #eh  #aih  ,and in the ,book  
of ,kings1,footnote #ei ,david1 on the  
point of  expiring1 says to his son     
,solomon1 ,keep the charge of the ,lord 
thy ,god1 to walk in his ways1 to keep  

his statutes1 and his  commandments1 and
 his judgments1 and his testimonies1 as 
it is  written in the law of ,moses4    
,footnote #eh3 #a ,samuel xii4 #f1 #h4  
,footnote #ei3 #a ,kings ii4 #c4    ,and
 when ,solomon1 after the solemn        
dedication of his ,temple1 had          
addressed to ,god his prayer of         
thanksgiving1 he stood1 and  blessed all
 the congregation of ,israel with a loud
 voice1 saying1  ,blessed be the ,lord1 
that hath given rest unto his people    
,israel1  according to all that he      
promised3 there hath not failed one word
  of all his good promise1 which he     
promised by the hand of ,moses  his     
servant4 ,footnote #fj        ,footnote 
#fj3 #a ,kings viii4 #ee1 #ef4    ,in   
the customs and lives of the ,israelites
 these good promises  had not           
practically1 it is true1 preserved all  
their efficacy3  the worship of ,jehovah
 and the legislation of ,moses had      
fallen  into sad oblivion1 and undergone
 serious changes4 ,but1 in the  national

 sentiment1 ,jehovah the ,eternal was   
ever the ,one ,god1 the  ,true ,god2 and
 ,moses his interpreter4  #aii  ,moral  
and social disorder had invaded the     
,hebrew ,confederation2  the ,divine    
,law and ,tradition were incessantly    
violated1 still not  ignored3 they ever 
continued the ,divine ,law and          
,tradition1 the  objects of the faith   
and veneration of ,israel4    ,when the 
evil of anarchy had brought with it     
great national  reverses1--when the     
,philistines on the south1 the          
,ammonites on  the east1 and the        
,mesopotamians on the north1 had placed 
in  jeopardy the ,hebrew settlement in  
,canaan1--a general cry arose2  on all  
sides1 the tribes demanded a strong     
government1 a single  chief1 one capable
 of maintaining order within1 and       
supporting  abroad the position and the 
honour of ,israel4 ,a great and         
faithful servant of ,jehovah1 the last  
of the judges1 and the  greatest of the 
prophets since ,moses1--,samuel1--had   

recently  governed ,israel1 and         
strenuously struggled to arrest the     
progress  of popular vice and           
misfortune2 but he had become old1 and  
his  sons whom he had made judges over  
,israel 444 walked not in his  ways1 but
 turned aside after lucre1 and took     
bribes1 and  perverted judgment4  #bjj  
,then all the elders of ,israel gathered
 themselves together1 and  came to      
,samuel unto ,ramah1 and said unto him1 
,behold1 thou art  old1 and thy sons    
walk not in thy ways3 now make us a king
 to  judge us like all the nations4     
,footnote #fa         ,footnote #fa3 #a 
,samuel viii4 #a-e4    ,the demand had  
in it nothing singular2 even at the     
epoch when  ,god1 by his servant ,moses1
 was personally governing ,israel1 the  
chance of the establishment of a human  
kingdom had been foreseen  and provided 
for beforehand by the ,divine ,law3     
,when thou art  come unto the land which
 the ,lord thy ,god giveth thee1 and    
shalt  possess it1 and shalt dwell      

therein1 and shalt say1 ,i will set a   
king over me1 like as all the nations   
that are about me2 thou  shalt in any   
wise set him king over thee1 whom the   
,lord thy ,god  shall choose3 one from  
among thy brethren shalt thou set king  
over thee3 thou mayest not set a        
stranger over thee1 which is not  thy   
brother4 ,footnote #fb        ,footnote 
#fb3 ,deuteronomy xvii4 #ad1 #ae4       
#bja    ,although thus provided for by  
the ,divine ,law1 the demand of a  king 
was extremely displeasing to ,samuel2   
for the kingly rule  was odious to him1 
says the historian ,josephus2 he had an 
innate love of justice1 and was ardently
 attached to the  aristocratical form of
 government1 as to the form of polity   
which  rendered men happy and worthy of 
,god4 ,footnote #fc        ,footnote    
#fc3 ,josephus1 ,ant4 ,jud4 vol4 vi4 ch4
 iii4 #c4    ,but the ,eternal said unto
 ,samuel1 ,hearken unto the voice of the
  people in all that they say unto thee3
 for they have not rejected  thee1 but  

they have rejected me1 that ,i should   
not reign over  them 444 ,now therefore 
hearken unto their voice2 howbeit yet   
protest solemnly unto them1 and shew    
them the manner of the king  that shall 
reign over them4 ,footnote #fd          
,footnote #fd3 #a ,samuel viii4 #g-i4   
,samuel predicted to the ,hebrews how   
much the kingly form of  government     
would cost them1 all that they would    
have to suffer in  their families1 their
 property1 and their liberties3         
,nevertheless the people refused to obey
 the voice of ,samuel2 and  they said1  
,nay2 but we will have a king over us2  
that we also may  be like all the       
nations2 and that our king may judge us1
 and go  out before us1 and fight our   
battles4  #bjb  ,and ,samuel heard all  
the words of the people1 and he         
rehearsed  them in the ears of the      
,lord4 ,and the ,lord said to ,samuel1  
,hearken unto their voice1 and make them
 a king4 ,footnote #fe        ,footnote 
#fe3 #a ,samuel viii4 #ai-bb4    ,the   

world's history offers no example where 
the merits and  defects of absolute     
monarchy were so rapidly developed1     
where  they were displayed so           
strikingly1 as in this little ,hebrew   
monarchy1 instituted with the view of   
escaping from anarchy by  the express   
desire of the people itself4 ,three     
kings succeed to  the throne1 in origin1
 character1 conduct1 and reign          
absolutely  dissimilar4 ,saul is a      
warrior1 chosen by ,samuel for his      
strength1  bodily beauty1 and courage2  
ever ready for the combat1 but  without 
foresight1 without perseverance in his  
military  operations2 easily intoxicated
 with good fortune2 hurried away by     
brutal1 capricious1 or jealous passions2
 now engaged in furious  struggles1 now 
appearing in a dependent position1 with 
his patron  ,samuel1 his son ,jonathan1 
his son-in-law ,david2 a genuine        
barbarian king1 arrogant1 changeable of 
humour1 impatient of  control1 prone to 
superstition1 a moment serving ,israel  

against  her enemies1 but incapable of  
governing ,israel in the name of its    
,god4    #bjc    ,david1 on the         
contrary1 is the faithful and consistent
  representative of religious faith and 
religious life in ,israel2  the fervent 
and submissive adorer of the ,eternal2  
he is so at all  the epochs and in the  
most varying aspects of his career1     
whether  of humility or of grandeur2 at 
once warrior1 king1 prophet1 poet2  as  
ardent to celebrate his ,god in his     
character of poet1 as to  serve ,him in 
the capacity of warrior1 or to obey ,him
 in that of  king2 equally sublime in   
his thanksgiving to the ,eternal for his
  triumphs as in his invocation to ,him 
in his distresses2  accessible to the   
most culpable human weaknesses1 but     
prompt to  repent the offence once      
committed2 and giving always to impulses
  of joy or pious sadness the first     
place in his soul2 very king of  the    
nation that adores the very ,god4  #bjd 
,david accomplishes the work of his     

time3 he obtains the object  for which  
the monarchy had been demanded and      
instituted3 he  leaves behind him the   
tribes of ,israel reunited at home1 and 
reassured against foreign enemies1      
proceeding too in the path of  good     
order and confidence4 ,heir to his      
father's work1 his  father's success1   
,solomon comes next1 and reigns forty   
years--years of almost as much repose as
 splendour3 ,god gave  ,solomon wisdom  
and understanding exceeding much1 and   
largeness of  heart1 even as the sand   
that is on the sea shore4 ,footnote #ff 
,and he had peace on all sides round    
about him4 ,and ,judah and  ,israel     
dwelt safely1 every man under his vine  
and under his fig  tree1 from ,dan even 
to ,beersheba1 all the days of ,solomon4
  ,footnote #fg        ,footnote #ff3 #a
 ,kings iv4 #bi4        ,,usccb3        
,footnote #ff should be3 #a ,kings iv4  
#i4        ,footnote #fg3 ,ibid4 #bd1   
#be4        ,,usccb3 ,footnote #fg      
should be3 #a ,kings iv4 #d1 #e4    ,the

 kingdom and the kingly authority rose  
under the government of  ,solomon1 and  
throughout all ,western ,asia1 to a     
degree of power  and splendour before   
unknown to the ,hebrews4 ,a prosperity  
out of  all proportion with the position
 of a new king and a small state1  and  
which reminds us of the rapid histories 
and the political  comets of the ,east4 
#bje  ,solomon at this point lost sight 
of both wisdom and virtue3 the  first   
hereditary prince of the ,hebrew        
monarchy terminated his  life like a    
voluptuous sovereign of ,ecbatana or of 
,nineveh2 the  son of the pious ,king   
,david became a sceptical moralist2     
although  a profound observer of the    
nature and destiny of man1 such         
observation had led but to feelings of  
disgust4 ,nor did the  monarchy survive 
the monarch3 the nation became          
effeminate and  corrupt1 in the         
effeminacy and corruption of its        
sovereign4  ,scarcely was ,solomon dead1
 when his monarchy was divided into two 

kingdoms1 which1 at first rivals1 became
 soon openly hostile to  each other2    
sometimes a prey to tyranny1 sometimes  
to anarchy1  and almost always to war4  
,it was not1 as formerly1 merely a bad  
phase of transition in the history of   
the ,hebrew nation2 it was  the         
commencement of national                
decline--decline irremediable1          
hopeless4    #bjf    ,but what1 in this 
decline1 will become of the law revealed
 on  ,sinai to ,moses8 ,is it destined  
to fall with the monarchy of  ,solomon1 
or to languish and die out in the midst 
of the struggles  and disasters of      
,judah and of ,israel8 ,quite the       
contrary3 the  religious faith and law  
of the ,hebrews will not only perpetuate
  themselves1 but will again shine forth
 at this epoch of political  ruin4      
,above the fortune of states are the    
designs of ,god1 to which  instruments  
are never wanting2 the kings continue to
 perpetrate  acts of violence1 and the  
people to show marks of weakness2 but   

amidst all1 the prophets of ,israel will
 maintain the ancient  ,covenant1 and   
prepare the coming of that new ,covenant
 which is to  make of the ,god of       
,israel the ,god of mankind4            
,,iv4 ,god ,and ,the ,prophets4      ,a 
celebrated political writer--a          
freethinker belonging to the  ,radical  
school1 somewhat also to the school of  
,positivism--,mr4  ,john ,stuart ,mill1 
has recently said1 in his work on       
,government1  ,the ,egyptian hierarchy1 
the paternal despotism of ,china1 were  
very fit instruments for carrying those 
nations up to the point  of civilisation
 which they attained4  #bjg  ,but1      
having reached that point1 they were    
brought to a permanent  halt1 for want  
of mental liberty and individuality2    
requisites of  improvement which the    
institutions that had carried them thus 
far1 entirely incapacitated them from   
acquiring2 and1 as the  institutions did
 not break down and give place to       
others1 further  improvement stopped4   

,in contrast with these nations1 let us 
consider the example of an opposite     
character afforded by another  and a    
comparatively insignificant ,oriental   
people--the ,jews4  ,they1 too1 had an  
absolute monarchy and a hierarchy1 and  
their  organised institutions were as   
obviously of sacerdotal origin as  those
 of the ,hindoos4 ,these did for them   
what was done for other  ,oriental races
 by their institutions--subdued them to 
industry  and order1 and gave them a    
national life4 ,but neither their kings 
nor their priests ever obtained1 as in  
those other countries1 the  exclusive   
moulding of their character4  #bjh      
,their religion1 which enabled persons  
of genius and a high  religious tone to 
be regarded and to regard themselves as 
inspired from ,heaven1 gave existence to
 an inestimably precious  unorganized   
institution--the ,order 7if it may be so
 termed7 of  ,prophets4 ,generally under
 the protection--it was not always      
effectual--of their sacred character1   

the prophets were a power  in the       
nation1 often more than a match for     
kings and priests1 and  kept up in that 
little corner of the earth the          
antagonism of  influence1 which is the  
only real security for continued        
progress4 ,religion consequently was not
 there--what it has been  in so many    
other places--a consecration of all that
 was once  established1 and a barrier   
against further improvement4 ,the       
remark of a distinguished ,hebrew1 ,m4  
,salvador1 that the prophets  were1 in  
,church and ,state1 the equivalent to   
the modern liberty  of the press1 gives 
a just but not an adequate conception of
 the  part fulfilled in national and    
universal histories by this great       
element of ,jewish life2 by means of    
which1 the canon of  inspiration never  
being complete1 the persons most eminent
 in  genius and moral feeling could not 
only denounce and reprobate1  with the  
direct authority of the ,almighty1      
whatever appeared to  them deserving of 

such treatment1 but could give forth    
better and  higher interpretations of   
the national religion4  #bji            
,conditions more favourable to progress 
could not easily exist2  accordingly the
 ,jews1 instead of being stationary like
 other  ,asiatics1 were1 next to the    
,greeks1 the most progressive people  of
 antiquity1 and1 jointly with them1 have
 been the  starting-point and main      
propelling agency of modern cultivation4
  ,footnote #fh        ,footnote #fh3   
,considerations on ,representative      
,government4 ,by      ,john ,stuart     
,mill1 pp4 #da-dc4 ,london4    ,mr4     
,mill is right1 only he does not go far 
enough4 ,modern  civilization is in     
effect derived from the ,jews and from  
the  ,greeks4 ,to the latter it is      
indebted for its human and              
intellectual1 to the former for its     
,divine and moral1 element4 ,of  these  
two sources1 we owe to the ,jews1 if not
 the more brilliant1  at all events the 
more sublime and dearly acquired one4   

#baj  ,after the development of power   
and grandeur which took place  amongst  
the ,jews in the reigns of ,david and   
,solomon1 their  history is but a long  
series of misfortunes and reverses1--an 
eventful1 painful decline4 ,the ,hebrew 
state is divided into two  kingdoms1    
almost constantly at war with each      
other4 ,and whilst  the kingdom of      
,israel is a prey to continual          
usurpations and  revolutions1 making it 
the scene of all the violence and all   
the  vicissitudes of a tyranny1 the     
kingdom of ,judah has a line of         
princes1 in turn good or bad1 who keep  
it unceasingly in a state  of trouble   
and of jeopardy4 ,religion falls beneath
 the yoke of  secular government2       
idolatry appears in the kingdom of      
,israel1  and braves audaciously the    
ancient national faith4 ,the kingdom of 
,judah1 however1 remains more faithful  
to ,jehovah and his law1 to  the        
traditions of ,moses1 and to the race of
 ,david2 but its  languishing faith is  

no longer strong enough to arrest its   
march  in the path of decline4  #baa    
,in the two kingdoms1 internal disorders
 are aggravated by  reverses abroad2 in 
the meantime1 around them mighty empires
  spring up and succeed to each other4  
,first ,israel and then ,judah  are     
invaded by strangers2 they are          
subjugated in turn by the  ,assyrians1  
the ,egyptians1 the ,syrians1 the       
,babylonians4 ,the  ,hebrews are not    
only vanquished and reduced to          
subjection1 but  exiled1 transported1   
led captive far from their country4 ,a  
new  conqueror1 ,cyrus1 permits them to 
return to ,jerusalem2 but not to  resume
 their independence2 at first subjects  
of the ,persian  kings1 they soon pass  
from their empire to that of the ,greek 
generals1 who have divided amongst one  
another the conquests of  ,alexander2   
then to the rule of the ,greeks succeeds
 that of the  ,romans4 ,during this     
succession of servitudes1 scarcely are  
they  allowed any moments of existence  

as a free nation1 and even this  freedom
 is more apparent than real4 ,judea1    
like ,greece1 is  subjugated1 but under 
circumstances of greater humiliation and
  distress4    #bab    ,and shall1 then1
 the ,hebrews oppose no efficacious     
resistance to  these reverses8 ,what is 
to become1 in this absolute ruin of the 
nationality of the ,jews1 of their ,god1
 and their faith8 ,shall the  miracles  
of ,sinai have no more virtue than the  
mysteries of  ,eleusis1 and ,jehovah    
languish away and vanish in the routine 
of  sacerdotal ceremonies1 or in        
philosophical scepticism8    ,by no     
means3 in the midst of his people's     
decay1 the ,god of  ,israel maintains   
interpreters who struggle with          
indomitable  fidelity against public    
calamities and popular errors4 ,the     
first  of the prophets1 ,moses1 had     
spoken in the name and according to  the
 commandment of ,jehovah4 ,after him    
there never were wanting to  ,israel men
 who inherited or pretended to the      

heritage of the same  ,divine mission4  
,i will raise them up a ,prophet from   
among their  brethren1 like unto thee1  
said the ,eternal unto ,moses1 and will 
put my words in his mouth2 and he shall 
speak unto them all that  ,i shall      
command him4 444  #bac  ,but the        
prophet1 which shall presume to speak a 
word in my name1  which ,i have not     
commanded him to speak1 or that shall   
speak in  the name of other gods1 even  
that prophet shall die4 ,footnote  #fi  
,footnote #fi3 ,deuteronomy xviii4 #ah1 
#bj4    ,from ,moses to ,samuel1 the    
series of the prophets is continued2    
some of them are of renown1 like ,nathan
 in the reigns of ,david  and ,solomon2 
but the greater number1 without name in 
history1 and  appearing scattered over a
 long course of years4 ,they are called 
the ,seers1 ,footnote #gj or the        
,inspired4 ,footnote #ga                
,footnote #gj3 ,roh or ,chozeh1 in      
,hebrew4        ,footnote #ga3 ,nabi4   
,their speech gushes forth like a well  

under the breath of ,god4  ,when the    
government of the ,judges gives place to
 that of the  ,kings1 the great actor in
 this drama of transition1 ,samuel1     
opens  for the prophets a new era2      
dedicated from his infancy to ,god's    
service1 he feels beforehand and abides 
the divine inspiration3  ,speak1 ,lord2 
for thy servant heareth4 ,footnote #gb  
,footnote #gb3 #a ,samuel iii4 #i1 #aj4 
#bad    ,not long after1 his renown     
spreads amongst the people2 he is not   
pontiff1 he is not even priest4         
,footnote #gc        ,footnote #gc3     
,samuel propheta fuit1 judex fuit1      
levita fuit1      non pontifex1 ne      
saoerdos quidem4--,st4 ,jerom adv4      
,jovinianum4    ,but he is pre-eminently
 the seer3 ,is not the seer here8 ,such 
is  the question addressed to some young
 maidens by the men who are  in search  
of ,samuel4 ,saul meets him without     
knowing him1 and says  to him1 ,i pray  
thee tell me where the house of the seer
 is4 ,i  am the seer1 replied ,samuel2  

and soon after1 it is ,samuel  himself1 
who1 in compliance with the popular     
vote1 approved by  ,god1 proclaims ,saul
 king4 ,but at the moment when he thus  
changes  the theocracy in ,israel into a
 monarchy1 he foresees the vices  and   
perils attendant upon the new           
government1 and opposes to them  the    
element of resistance drawn from their  
national beliefs and  traditions2 he    
transforms the order of prophets into a 
permanent  institution2 he founds       
schools of prophets1 independent        
servants  of ,jehovah1 consecrated to   
the defence of his law and the          
enunciation of his will2  #bae          
constituting a sort of congregation     
independent of both ,church  and ,state2
 leading1 in fixed and appointed        
places1--at ,rama1  ,bethel1 ,jericho1  
,jerusalem1--a life in common1 but with 
out  exclusive privileges2 the sons of  
the prophets are brought up  near their 
fathers2 but still the mission of       
prophecy is  accessible to all who have 

the call from ,god3 ,go1 thou seer1     
said the priest ,amaziah1 in his anger1 
to the prophet ,amos1 flee  thee away   
into the land of ,judah1 and there eat  
bread1 and  prophesy there3 but prophesy
 not again any more at ,bethel3 for it  
is the king's chapel1 and it is the     
king's court4 ,then answered  ,amos1 and
 said to ,amaziah1 ,i was no prophet1   
neither was ,i a  prophet's son3 but ,i 
was a herdman1 and a gatherer of        
sycomore  fruit3 and the ,eternal took  
me as ,i followed the flock1 and the    
,lord said unto me1 ,go1 prophesy unto  
my people ,israel4 ,footnote  #gd       
,footnote #gd3 ,amos vii4 #ab-ae4       
#baf    ,the prophets are neither       
priests nor monks3 sprung from all the  
classes of the ,jewish nation1 their    
vocation is essentially  independent4   
,they belong to ,god alone1 and await   
divine  inspiration to oppose1 as it may
 happen1 at one time the tyranny  of the
 kings1 at another the passions of the  
populace1 at another  the corruption of 

the priesthood3 their only arms1 the    
commands  of ,god and the gift of       
prophecy4 ,the functions assigned to    
them  are as different as the places and
 circumstances of their life2  but they 
are ready to take any part and to       
encounter any peril3  some of them1 like
 ,elijah and ,elisha1 are men of action 
and of  combat2 the others1 like        
,isaiah1 ,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel1 ,amos1 are
  narrators1 moralists1 prophets2 some  
devote themselves to attacks  upon the  
acts of violence and impiety committed  
by the kings1 the  others to the vices  
and corruption of the people2 the same  
spirit1 however1 animates them all2 they
 are all interpreters and  labourers of 
,jehovah2 they defend1 all of them1 the 
faith of ,god  against idolatry1 justice
 and right against tyranny1 the national
  independence against foreign dominion4
  #bag  ,in the name of the ,god of     
,abraham and of ,jacob1 they labour and 
succeed in maintaining or in reanimating
 religious and moral life  amidst the   

decay and servitude of ,israel4 ,all the
 time1 says  ,st4 ,augustine1 from the  
epoch when the holy ,samuel began to    
prophesy1 to the day when the people of 
,israel was led captive  into           
,babylonia1 is the period of the        
prophets4 ,footnote #ge        ,footnote
 #ge3 ,de ,civitate ,dei1 l4 xvii4 ch4  
#a4    ,to accomplish their mission1 to 
ensure their hard-earned  successes1    
they had other arms than lamentations   
and  exhortations1 arising out of what  
was past and inevitable2 other          
expedients than pious reproaches and    
expressions of regret4 ,these  defenders
 of the ancient faith of ,moses do not  
shut themselves up  within the external 
forms and rites of their religion2 they 
pursue the moral object that it         
proposes2 they insist upon the  spirit  
that vivifies it4 ,your new moons and   
your appointed  feasts my soul hateth   
7said the ,lord1 according to ,isaiah73 
they are a trouble unto me2 ,i am weary 
to bear them4  #bah  ,and when ye spread

 forth your hands1 ,i will hide mine    
eyes from  you3 yea1 when ye make many  
prayers1 ,i will not hear3 your hands   
are full of blood4 ,wash you1 make you  
clean2 put away the evil of  your doings
 from before mine eyes2 cease to do     
evil2 learn to do  well2 seek judgment1 
relieve the oppressed1 judge the        
fatherless1  plead for the widow4       
,footnote #gf        ,footnote #gf3     
,isaiah i4 #ad-ag4    ,wherewith shall  
,i come before the ,lord 7said the      
prophet  ,micah71 and bow myself before 
the high ,god8 shall ,i come before  him
 with burnt offerings1 with calves of a 
year old8 ,will the  ,lord be pleased   
with thousands of rams1 or with ten     
thousands of  rivers of oil8 shall ,i   
give my firstborn for my transgression1 
the fruit of my body for the sin of my  
soul8 ,he hath shewed thee1  ,o man1    
what is good2 and what doth the ,lord   
require of thee1 but  to do justly1 and 
to love mercy1 and to walk humbly with  
thy  ,god8 ,footnote #gg                

,footnote #gg3 ,micah vi4 #f-h4    #bai 
,even whilst calling the people of      
,israel back to the faith of  their     
fathers1 the prophets open to them new  
perspectives3 whilst  reproaching them  
with the errors that have led to their  
decay and  servitude1 they permit them  
yet to see the future delivery and      
regeneration4 ,it is their divine       
character to live at once in the  past  
and in the future2 to confide alike to  
the ordinances of the  ,eternal and to  
his promises3 they move forward1 but    
they change  not2 they believe1 they    
hope2 they are faithful to ,moses whilst
  they announce the ,messiah4           
,v4 ,expectation ,of ,the ,messiah4     
,controversy has the mischievous power  
of the ,homeric ,jupiter3 it  collects  
clouds amidst which the light that we   
seek for  disappears4    ,the ,old and  
the ,new ,testament1 the history of the 
,jews and the  history of ,jesus        
,christ1 lie before us4 ,do these two   
monuments  form but one single edifice8 

,that second history1 is it comprised   
and written beforehand in the first8    
#bbj  ,such is the question which has   
for the last eighteen centuries         
occupied and divided the learned4 ,some 
affirm that ,jesus ,christ  was foreseen
 and predicted among the ,jews1 and that
 the series of  prophecies continued    
from the very time of ,moses until the  
advent  of ,christ4 ,others lay stress  
upon the hiatus--the want of  connection
 and cohesion--the contradictions to be 
detected here  between the ,old and ,new
 ,testament2 and thence they conclude   
that  the text of the ,old ,testament by
 no means contains the facts that       
appear in the ,new ,testament1 and that 
the miraculous history of  ,jesus       
,christ was1 in the bosom of ,israel1   
neither miraculously  foreseen nor      
predicted4    ,why was it1 and how was  
it possible1 that two assertions so     
contradictory came to be both adopted   
and maintained by men most  of them as  
sincere as learned8    #bba    ,they    

have all committed the fault of plunging
 into the petty  details of facts and   
texts1 searching in all places1 without 
exception1 for the complete             
demonstration of their particular       
theses1 and losing sight of the great   
fact1 the general and  dominant fact to 
which we should refer as alone capable  
of  solving the question4 ,they descend 
into the mazy paths which  perplex the  
plain below1 instead of grasping from   
the summit of  the mountains1 the whole 
comprehensive view1 and the grand road  
leading to the goal itself4 ,believers  
have insisted upon  discovering1 fact by
 fact1 in the biblical prophecies the   
whole  mission and all the life of      
,jesus4 ,the incredulous1 on the other  
hand1 have minutely adverted to all the 
discrepancies1 all the  difficulties1   
suggested by a comparison of the texts  
of the ,old  ,testament and of the      
,gospel narrative2 they have contrasted 
the  glories of the ,messiah1 the       
powerful ,king of ,israel1 so often     

announced by the prophets1 with the     
humble life1 the cruel death  of ,jesus1
 and with the ruin of ,jerusalem4  #bbb 
,in my opinion1 they have on both sides 
lost sight of the inward  and essential 
characteristic of this sublime history2 
the special  action of ,god is revealed 
therein1 but without suppressing the    
action of men2 miracles take their place
 in the midst of the  natural course of 
events2 the ambitious aspirations of the
 ,jews  connect themselves with the     
religious perspective opened to them  by
 the prophets2 the divine and the human1
 the inspiration from  on high and the  
impulse of the national imagination1    
appear  together4 ,these two elements   
should be disentangled3 the mind  should
 be raised above the perplexing         
influences which they  exercise1 and the
 attention directed to that heavenly    
beam which  pierces the vapours of this 
earthly atmosphere4 ,thus1 all the      
embarrassment that controversy          
occasioned vanishing1 the history       

yields to us its profound meanings1 and1
 in spite of  complications having their
 origin in the wordy explanations of    
man1 the design of ,god makes itself    
manifest in all its majestic            
simplicity4    ,discarding all          
discussion and commentary1 let us merely
 collect1  from epoch to epoch1 the     
principal texts which speak of the      
advent of the future ,messiah4 ,i might 
here multiply citations1  but ,i limit  
myself to those where the allusion is   
evident4 ,it is  the ,bible1 and the    
,bible alone1 that is speaking4    #bbc 
,the first act of disobedience to ,god1 
the act of original sin1  has just been 
committed4 ,the ,eternal ,god says to   
the serpent that  has seduced ,eve3     
,because thou hast done this1 thou art  
cursed  above all cattle1 and above     
every beast of the field4 444 ,and ,i   
will put enmity between thee and the    
woman1 and between thy seed  and her    
seed2 it shall bruise thy head1 and thou
 shalt bruise his  heel4 ,footnote #gh  

,footnote #gh3 ,genesis iii4 #ad1 #ae4  
,he that shall bruise the head of the   
serpent shall belong1 says  the ,book of
 ,genesis1 to the race of ,shem1 to the 
posterity of  ,abraham and ,jacob1 to   
the kingdom of ,judah4 ,but thou1       
,beth-lehem  ,ephratah1 though thou be  
little among the thousands of ,judah1   
yet  out of thee shall he come forth    
unto me that is to be ,ruler in         
,israel4 ,footnote #gi        ,footnote 
#gi3 ,genesis ix4 #bf2 xii4 #c2 xlix4   
#aj2 ,micah v4 #b4    #bbd    ,israel is
 at its apogee of splendour3 ,david     
prophesies alike the  sufferings and the
 glory of that ,saviour of the world who
 is to  be not merely the ,king of      
,zion1 but the ,son and the ,anointed of
  the ,eternal3 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why  
hast thou forsaken me8 is the           
expression attributed to him by the     
prophet king4 444 ,all they  that see me
 laugh me to scorn3 they shoot out the  
lip1 they shake  the head4 444 ,they    
gave me also gall for my meat1 and in my

  thirst they gave me vinegar to drink4 
444 ,they part my garments  among them1 
and cast lots upon my vesture4 444 ,he  
trusted on the  ,lord that he would     
deliver him2 let him deliver him1 seeing
 he  delighted in him4 444 ,ye that fear
 the ,lord1 praise him2 all ye  the seed
 of ,jacob1 glorify him2 and fear him1  
all ye the seed of  ,israel4 444 ,all   
the ends of the earth shall remember and
 turn  unto the ,lord3 and all the      
kindreds of the nations shall worship   
before thee4 ,footnote #hj              
,footnote #hj3 ,psalms ii4 #b1 #f1 #g2  
xxii4 #a1 #g2 lxix4 #ba2 xxii4      #ah1
 #h1 #bc1 #bg4    #bbe    ,the kingdom  
of ,david and of ,solomon has begun to  
decay2 ,judah and  ,israel are          
separating2 both kingdoms have their    
prophets1 who at  one time struggle     
against the crimes and evils of their   
respective ages1 and1 at another1 occupy
 themselves in disclosing  prospects of 
the future4      ,hear ye now1 ,o house 
of ,david4 444      ,therefore the ,lord

 himself shall give you a sign2 ,behold1
 a    virgin shall conceive1 and bear a 
son1 and shall call his name            
,immanuel4 444      ,the people that    
walked in darkness have seen a great    
light3    they that dwell in the land of
 the shadow of death1 upon them    hath 
the light shined4 444      ,for unto us 
a child is born1 unto us a son is given3
 and the    government shall be upon his
 shoulder3 and his name shall be        
called ,wonderful1 ,counsellor1 ,the    
mighty ,god1 ,the everlasting           
,father1 ,the ,prince of ,peace4 444    
,and there shall come forth a rod out of
 the stem of ,jesse1 and    a ,branch   
shall grow out of his roots3      ,and  
the spirit of the ,lord shall rest upon 
him1 the spirit of    wisdom and        
understanding1 the spirit of counsel and
 might1 the    spirit of knowledge and  
of the fear of the ,lord2      444 and  
he shall not judge after the sight of   
his eyes1    neither reprove after the  
hearing of his ears3      ,but with     

righteousness shall he judge the poor1  
and reprove    with equity1 for the meek
 of the earth4 444    #bbf      ,listen1
 ,o isles1 unto me2 and hearken1 ye     
people1 from far2    ,the ,lord hath    
called me from the womb2 from the bowels
 of my    mother hath he made mention of
 my name4 444      ,and said unto me1   
,thou art my servant1 ,o ,israel1 in    
whom ,i    will be glorified4      ,then
 ,i said1 ,i have laboured in vain1 ,i  
have spent my strength    for nought1   
and in vain3 yet surely my judgment is  
with the    ,lord1 and my work with my  
,god4      ,and now1 saith the ,lord    
that formed me from the womb to be his  
servant1 to bring ,jacob again to him1  
,though ,israel be not    gathered1 yet 
shall ,i be glorious in the eyes of the 
,lord1 and    my ,god shall be my       
strength4      ,and he said1 ,it is a   
light thing that thou shouldest be my   
servant to raise up the tribes of       
,jacob1 and to restore the    preserved 
of ,israel3 ,i will also give thee for a

 light to the    ,gentiles1 that thou   
mayest be my salvation unto the end of  
the    earth4 444      ,rejoice greatly1
 ,o daughter of ,zion2 shout1 ,o        
daughter of    ,jerusalem3 behold1 thy  
,king cometh unto thee3 he is just1 and 
having salvation2 lowly1 and riding upon
 an ass1 and upon a    colt the foal of 
an ass4      444 ,for he shall grow up  
before him as a tender plant1 and as    
a root out of a dry ground3 he hath no  
form nor comeliness2 and    when we     
shall see him1 there is no beauty that  
we should desire    him4      ,he is    
despised and rejected of men2 a man of  
sorrows1 and    acquainted with grief3  
and we hid as it were our faces from    
him2 he was despised1 and we esteemed   
him not4    #bbg      ,surely he hath   
borne our griefs1 and carried our       
sorrows3 yet    we did esteem him       
stricken1 smitten of ,god1 and          
afflicted4      ,but he was wounded for 
our trangressions1 he was bruised for   
our iniquities3 the chastisement of our 

peace was upon him2 and    with his     
stripes we are healed4      ,all we like
 sheep have gone astray2 we have turned 
every one    to his own way2 and the    
,lord hath laid on him the iniquity of  
us all4      ,he was oppressed1 and he  
was afflicted1 yet he opened not his    
mouth3 he is brought as a lamb to the   
slaughter1 and as a sheep    before her 
shearers is dumb1 so he openeth not his 
mouth4      ,he was taken from prison   
and from judgment3 and who shall        
declare his generation8 for he was cut  
off out of the land of    the living3   
for the transgression of my people was  
he stricken4    444      ,yet it pleased
 the ,lord to bruise him2 he hath put   
him to    grief3 when thou shalt make   
his soul an offering for sin1 he        
shall see his seed1 he shall prolong his
 days1 and the pleasure    of the ,lord 
shall prosper in his hand4      ,he     
shall see of the travail of his soul1   
and shall be    satisfied3 by his       
knowledge shall my righteous servant    

justify    many2 for he shall bear their
 iniquities4      ,therefore will ,i    
divide him a portion with the great1 and
 he    shall divide the spoil with the  
strong2 because he hath poured    out   
his soul unto death3 and he was numbered
 with the    transgressors2 and he bare 
the sin of many1 and made               
intercession for the transgressors4     
,footnote #ha        ,footnote #ha3     
,isaiah vii4 #ac-ad2 ix4 #bf2 xi4 #ad2  
xlix4 #a-f2      ,zechariah ix4 #i2     
,isaiah liii4    #bbh    ,whatever      
controversies may arise out of these    
texts1 and many  others which ,i might  
cite1 one fact subsists and rises above 
all  question and all controversy4      
,seventeen centuries passed in the      
interval between the ,decalogue being   
received by ,moses upon ,mount  ,sinai1 
and the actual approach of the ,messiah 
announced by the  prophets2 and at the  
end of these seventeen centuries1 the   
,god1  from whom ,moses received the    
,decalogue1 ,he who defined himself to  

be ,i am that ,i am4 ,jehovah1 still is1
 has never ceased to be  the ,god1 the  
sole ,god of ,israel4 ,israel has passed
 through all  governments1 undergone all
 vicissitudes1 fallen into all the      
errors to which it is possible for a    
nation to succumb3 the ,jews  have had a
 hierarchy1 and judges1 and kings2 they 
have been  alternately conquerors and   
conquered1 masters and slaves2 they     
have had their days of power and their  
days of humiliation1 their  temptation  
to idolatry and paroxysms of impiety2   
still they have  ever returned to the   
,one ,god3 to the true ,god2 their faith
 has  survived all their faults and all 
their misfortunes2 and after  those     
seventeen centuries1 ,israel is waiting 
at the hand of  ,jehovah a ,messiah1 to 
be1 according to the affirmation of its 
greatest prophets1 the ,liberator and   
the ,saviour1 not of ,israel  alone1 but
 of all nations4  #bbi  ,fact without   
parallel in history6 ,in vain shall men 
exhaust  against it all their science1  

and all their scepticism3 there is  here
 more than the work of man2 the fact    
itself is not human4 ,but  what more    
shall that fact become1 and what shall  
be our belief1  when all shall have     
received its consummation1--the         
prophecies  their accomplishment1--when 
,jehovah shall have given to the  world 
,jesus ,christ8    #bcj                 
,eighth ,meditation4       ,jesus       
,christ ,according ,to ,the ,gospel4    
,need ,i say that by the words1 the     
,gospel1 here used1 ,i  understand the  
four ,gospels1 the ,acts of the         
,apostles1 the  ,epistles1 all the      
books1 in fact1 which compose the ,canon
 of the  ,new ,testament as it is       
received by all ,christians8    ,these  
books have been variously studied3 now  
with the design of  disproving1 now of  
explaining the life of ,jesus ,christ2  
now with  the object of a               
,controversialist1 now with that of a   
,commentator4  ,i approach the subject  
in neither character4 ,i would wish to  

study ,jesus ,christ in the ,new        
,testament solely to know ,him well1    
and to make ,him well known2 to place   
,him before the reader1 and  to depict  
,him faithfully according to the        
evidence of his  history4  #bca  ,i     
propose hereafter1 in a second series of
 these  ,meditations1 to examine its    
authenticity1 and the degree  of credit 
to which it is entitled4 ,for the moment
 ,i assume the  testimony as good and   
valid4 ,beyond all doubt1 at the outset1
 it  is at least entitled to this       
respect4 ,the powerful influence of     
these books1 and of the accounts which  
they contain1 such as they  remain to   
us1 has been put to the test and proved4
 ,they have  overcome ,paganism4 ,they  
have conquered ,greece1 ,rome1 and      
barbarous ,europe4 ,they are actually   
overcoming the world4 ,and the          
sincerity of the authors is no less     
certain than the virtue of  the books3  
however possible it may be to contest   
the  enlightenment1 the critical        

sagacity of the original historians  of 
,jesus ,christ1 their good faith is     
beyond all question3 it  appears in     
their language2 they believed what they 
said2 they  sealed their assertions with
 their blood3 ,i believe1 said  ,pascal1
 only those histories1 the witnesses to 
which confirm  their attestation by     
submitting to death4 ,although not      
always a  sufficient reason to believe  
an account1 it constitutes a  decisive  
motive to believe in the sincerity of   
the witness4    #bcb    ,i have before  
cited from the ,old ,testament some of  
the texts  which contain the promises   
made to ,israel of the ,messiah4 ,these 
promises had evidently excited lively   
attention amongst the ,jews2  the       
satisfaction felt at their              
accomplishment expressed itself  loudly 
at the birth of ,jesus ,christ3 ,and    
behold1 there was a man  in ,jerusalem1 
whose name was ,simeon 444 waiting for  
the  consolation of ,israel3 and the    
,holy ,ghost was upon him4 444 ,lord1   

now lettest thou thy servant depart in  
peace1 according to thy  word3 ,for mine
 eyes have seen thy salvation1 which    
thou hast  prepared before the face of  
all people2 a light to lighten the      
,gentiles1 and the glory of thy people  
,israel4 ,footnote #hb        ,footnote 
#hb3 ,luke ii4 #be-cb4    #bcc          
,besides ,simeon1 a pious woman1 ,anna1 
of about fourscore and four  years1     
which departed not from the temple1 but 
served ,god with  fastings and prayers  
night and day4 ,and she coming in that  
instant gave thanks unto the ,lord1 and 
spake of him to all them  that looked   
for redemption in ,jerusalem4 ,footnote 
#hc        ,footnote #hc3 ,luke ii4 #cg1
 #ch4    ,but there was far more than   
merely the demonstrations of ,simeon    
and ,anna1--than these impulses of joy  
on the part of the faithful  followers  
of ,jehovah3 ,in those days came ,john  
the ,baptist1  preaching in the         
wilderness of ,juda4 444 ,and the same  
,john had  his raiment of camel's hair1 

and a leathern girdle about his  loins2 
and his meat was locusts and wild honey4
 444 ,and saying1  ,repent ye1 for the  
kingdom of heaven is at hand4 ,for this 
is he  that was spoken of by the prophet
 ,esaias1 saying1 ,the voice of  one    
crying in the wilderness1 ,prepare ye   
the way of the ,lord1  make his paths   
straight4 444 ,i indeed baptize you with
 water unto  repentance4 444 ,but there 
standeth one among you1 whom ye know    
not4  #bcd  ,he it is who1 coming after 
me1 is preferred before me1 whose       
shoe's latchet ,i am not worthy to      
unloose4 444 ,and ,i knew him  not3 but 
that he should be made manifest to      
,israel1 therefore am  ,i come baptizing
 with water4 444 ,and ,i saw1 and bare  
record that  this is the ,son of ,god4  
,footnote #hd        ,footnote #hd3     
,matthew iii4 #a-e2 ,mark i4 #b-aa2     
,luke iii4 #a-ah2      ,john i4 #bf-cd4 
,attempts have sometimes been made1     
although with no very great  confidence 
on the part of the propounders of the   

theory1 to  represent ,jesus as the most
 eminent among several reformers1 who1  
about the same epoch1 aspired to the    
title and character of the  ,messiah    
predicted by the prophets and expected  
by ,israel4  ,reference has been        
particularly made to one of ,his        
predecessors1  ,judas the ,gaulonite1   
who1 a few years after the birth of     
,jesus1  on the occasion of a census    
ordered by the ,imperial ,legate        
,quirinius1 undertook to raise ,juda in 
insurrection against this               
measure--against the tribute that it    
imposed1 and against the  ,emperor      
himself--proclaiming that to ,god alone 
belonged the  appellation ,master1 and  
that liberty was worth more than  life4 
,footnote #he        ,footnote #he3     
,joseph4 ,antiq4 ,jud4 #a4 xvii4 ch4 #f2
 #a4 xviii4      ch4 #a4 ,acts of the   
,apostles1 ch4 v4 #cd-ci4    #bce       
,these comparisons--,i forbear to use   
the word assimilations--are  entirely   
without foundation4 ,these men1 who1 as 

it is pretended1  anticipated the career
 of ,jesus1 were simply men who opposed 
the  ,roman dominion1 and who stood up1 
like the ,maccabees before them1  in the
 name of national independence1 and in a
 spirit of reaction  in favor of the    
,mosaic government4 ,jesus was not so   
anticipated3  ,his mission had no       
relation with any previous essay2 and   
his sole  forerunner was ,john the      
,baptist1 as strange as himself to any  
political view or conspiracy1 and as    
humble before ,him--before  the true1   
the sole ,messiah--as ,judas the        
,gaulonite and his  adherents were bold 
and daring towards the ,emperor4    #bcf
    ,there is an interval of thirty     
years between the birth of ,jesus  and  
the day when ,he enters actively on the 
performance of his  divine mission4     
,footnote #hf        ,footnote #hf3 ,the
 question as to the precise epoch of the
      birth of ,jesus ,christ1 as well  
as of the commencement and the          
duration of ,his public career1 has been

 well and concisely      considered in  
the ,synopsis ,evangelica of ,m4        
,constantin      ,tischendorf 7p4       
#af-ai4 ,leipzig1 #ahfd74 ,the          
preferable      conclusion from these   
researches is1 that ,jesus ,christ was  
born in the year of ,roma #gej1 that he 
commenced his divine      mission       
towards the end of the year of ,rome    
#ghj1 and that his      death took place
 in the fourth month of the year of     
,rome      #ghc4    ,these thirty years1
 however1 were not idly passed1 nor were
 they  without their peculiar testimony 
to ,christ and the future in  store for 
,him3--      ,and ,joseph and his mother
 marvelled at those things which were   
spoken of him4 444      ,and the child  
grew1 and waxed strong in spirit1 filled
 with    wisdom3 and the grace of ,god  
was upon him4      ,now his parents went
 to ,jerusalem every year at the feast  
of    the ,passover4      ,and when he  
was twelve years old1 they went up to   
,jerusalem    after the custom of the   

feast4      ,and when they had fulfilled
 the days1 as they returned1 the        
child ,jesus tarried behind in          
,jerusalem2 and ,joseph and his         
mother knew not of it4      ,but they1  
supposing him to have been in the       
company1 went a    day's journey2 and   
they sought him among their kinsfolk and
    acquaintance4    #bcg      ,and when
 they found him not1 they turned back   
again to    ,jerusalem1 seeking him4    
,and it came to pass1 that after three  
days they found him in    the temple1   
sitting in the midst of the doctors1    
both hearing    them1 and asking them   
questions4      ,and all that heard him 
were astonished at his understanding    
and answers4      ,and when they saw    
him1 they were amazed3 and his mother   
said    unto him1 ,son1 why hast thou   
thus dealt with us8 ,behold1 thy        
father and ,i have sought thee          
sorrowing4      ,and he said unto them1 
,how is it that ye sought me8 wist ye   
not that ,i must be about my ,father's  

business8      ,and they understood not 
the saying which he spake unto them4    
,and he went down with them1 and came to
 ,nazareth1 and was    subject unto     
them3 but his mother kept all these     
sayings in her    heart4      ,and      
,jesus increased in wisdom and stature1 
and in favour with    ,god and man4     
,footnote #hg        ,footnote #hg3     
,luke ii4 #cc1 #dj-eb4    #bch    ,thus 
begins that manifestation in the person 
of the child ,jesus  ,christ1 that      
mixture of humanity and divinity1 of    
natural life  and miraculous life1 which
 is his peculiar and sublime            
characteristic4 ,in the opinion of the  
men who1 in principle1  reject the      
supernatural1 this mixed divine-human   
nature1 and  consequently ,jesus ,christ
 himself1 is at once incomprehensible   
and inadmissible4 ,what wonder if       
,christ has in these days to  encounter 
such adversaries8 ,had ,he not to do so 
when invested  with the attributes of   
humanity1 among contemporaries1 and even

  in his own family8 ,in his first days 
of human existence1 his  mother1 ,mary1 
saw ,him and understood ,him not4 ,and  
nevertheless  ,mary kept all these      
sayings in her heart4 ,expression1 at   
once  profound and touching2 revealing  
the mysterious complication of  the     
nature of man6 ,man is not content to   
resign himself to the  limits imposed by
 the actual laws of the finite world2   
his  aspirations tend elsewhere4 ,and   
still1 when called upon to rise  above  
the present order of nature--that order 
which he is able to  appreciate--he     
experiences a certain astonishment1 a   
certain  hesitation2 he does not know if
 he ought to believe in that            
supernatural that he was recently       
invoking1 and that he never  ceases to  
invoke2 for1 like ,mary1 he preserves   
the instinct in  his heart6  #bci  ,it  
is just at the present day as it was    
nineteen centuries ago4  ,jesus has ever
 to encounter such contradictory moods  
of human  nature3 ,he is confronted at  

once by the hope of1 the thirsting      
after1 the supernatural inherent in the 
human soul1 and by all  the objections1 
all the doubts that the supernatural    
itself  suggests to the human mind4 ,he 
has to satisfy that hope1 to  surmount  
those doubts4 ,the ,gospel opens the    
history of this  solemn struggle1 that  
gave rise to ,christianity1 and is the  
source of all those agitations which    
afflict ,christians at the  present day4
           ,i4 ,jesus ,christ ,and ,his 
,apostles4      ,on entering upon the   
active purposes of his mission1 it is   
the  will of ,jesus to have1 and ,he has
 ,disciples--,apostles4 ,he knows  the  
power of an association founded upon    
faith and love4 ,he knows  also that    
faith and love are virtues as rare as   
they are  efficacious4 ,it is not       
numbers that ,he seeks4 ,he surrounds   
himself with a select band of believers1
 and lives with them in a  complete and 
enduring intimacy4    #bdj    ,in the   
midst of these intimate relations1      

,jesus declares his  authority primitive
 and supreme3--,ye have not chosen me1  
but ,i  have chosen you1 and ordained   
you1 that ye should go and bring  forth 
fruit4 ,footnote #hh        ,footnote   
#hh3 ,john xv4 #af4    ,but the         
authority of the ,master does not       
prevent ,him from  evincing a tenderness
 full of trust1 and from respecting     
himself  the dignity of his             
disciples3--,henceforth ,i call you not 
servants2 for the servant knoweth not   
what his lord doeth3 but ,i  have called
 you friends2 for all things that ,i    
have heard of my  ,father ,i have made  
known unto you4 ,footnote #hi           
,footnote #hi3 ,john xv4 #ae4    #bda   
,he evinces on all occasions towards his
 apostles the trust that  ,he feels in  
them1 and shows his sense of the        
superiority of the  position to which   
,he has elevated them4 ,his language    
sometimes  fills them with astonishment1
 and they are more peculiarly struck  by
 the numerous parables in which1 whilst 

addressing the  assembled multitude1 ,he
 clothes his precepts3--,and the        
disciples  came1 and said unto him1 ,why
 speakest thou unto them in parables8   
,he answered and said unto them1        
,because it is given unto you to  know  
the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven1 
but to them it is  not given4 444 ,but  
unto those that are without1 all these  
things  are done in parables4 ,footnote 
#ij        ,footnote #ij3 ,matthew xiii4
 #aj1 #aa2 ,mark iv4 #aj1 #aa4    ,the  
confidingness of ,jesus1 however1 never 
descends to weak  compliance2 when1 in  
an impulse of vanity and ambition1 one  
of  his apostles asks for a particular  
favour1 ,jesus rebukes him with         
severity3--,james and ,john1 the sons of
 ,zebedee1 come unto him1  saying1      
,master1 we would that thou shouldest do
 for us whatsoever  we shall desire4    
,and he said unto them1 ,what would ye  
that ,i  should do for you8 ,they said  
unto him1 ,grant unto us that we may    
sit1 one on thy right hand1 and the     

other on thy left hand1 in  thy glory4  
,but ,jesus said unto them1 ,ye know not
 what ye ask3 can  ye drink of the cup  
that ,i drink of8 and be baptized with  
the  baptism that ,i am baptized with8  
#bdb  ,and they said unto him1 ,we can4 
,and ,jesus said unto them1 ,ye  shall  
indeed drink of the cup that ,i drink   
of2 and with the  baptism that ,i am    
baptized withal shall ye be baptized3   
,but to  sit on my right hand and on my 
left hand is not mine to give2 but  it  
shall be given to them for whom it is   
prepared4 444 ,ye know  that they which 
are accounted to rule over the ,gentiles
 exercise  lordship over them2 and their
 great ones exercise authority upon     
them4 ,but so shall it not be among you3
 but whosoever will be  great among you1
 shall be your minister4 ,footnote #ia  
,footnote #ia3 ,mark x4 #ce-dc2 ,matthew
 xx4 #bj-bf4    ,jesus having thus      
selected and intimately attached to ,him
 his  apostles1 commissions them to     
carry forth his law3--,go not into  the 

way of the ,gentiles1 and into any city 
of the ,samaritans  enter ye not3 ,but  
go rather to the lost sheep of the house
 of  ,israel4 ,and as ye go1 preach1    
saying1 ,the kingdom of heaven is at    
hand4  #bdc  ,heal the sick1 cleanse the
 lepers1 raise the dead1 cast out       
devils3 freely ye have received1 freely 
give4 ,provide neither  gold1 nor       
silver1 nor brass in your purses1 nor   
scrips for your  journey1 neither two   
coats1 neither shoes1 nor yet staves3   
for  the workman is worthy of his meat4 
444 ,behold1 ,i send ye forth as  sheep 
in the midst of wolves3 be ye therefore 
wise as serpents  and harmless as doves4
 ,footnote #ib        ,footnote #ib3    
,matthew x4 #e-aj1 #af2 ,luke x4 #a-ab4 
,it is1 in effect1 prudence side by side
 with absolute  self-denegation that    
,jesus1 in his first instructions1      
enjoins  upon his disciples2 at the very
 commencement of their mission ,he      
limits its object2 ,he recommends to    
them particularly the lost  sheep of the

 house of ,israel2 ,he declares his will
 to be that1  instead of a pertinacity  
with out bounds1 they should depart1    
shaking off the dust from their feet1   
out of the city that should  not receive
 them nor hear their words4 ,but ,he    
adds immediately1  as if to give to     
their mission all its grandeur3--,what  
,i tell  you in darkness1 that speak ye 
in light3 and what ye hear in the  ear1 
that preach ye upon the house-tops4 ,and
 fear not them which  kill the body1 but
 are not able to kill the soul3 but     
rather fear  him which is able to       
destroy both soul and body in hell4     
,footnote #ic        ,footnote #ic3     
,matthew x4 #bg1 #bh4    #bdd    ,jesus 
knows that his disciples will need the  
firmest courage1  and1 far from         
promising them any of the goods of this 
world1 any  temporal successes1 ,he     
discloses to them unceasingly all the   
perils they will incur1 all the         
invectives they will have to  endure4   
,but beware of men3 for they will       

deliver you up to the  councils1 and    
they will scourge you in their          
synagogues2 and ye  shall be brought    
before governors and kings for my sake1 
for a  testimony against them and the   
,gentiles 444 ,and ye shall be  betrayed
 both by parents1 and brethren1 and     
kinsfolks and  friends2 and some of you 
shall they cause to be put to death4    
,and  ye shall be hated of all men for  
my name's sake4 ,footnote #id           
,footnote #id3 ,matthew x4 #ag-bb4 ,luke
 xxi4 #ab-ag4    #bde    ,what          
,reformer1 other than ,jesus ,christ1   
ever held to his  followers such        
language8 ,who else than ,god could have
 imparted to  their language such virtue
 that they would in obedience to it     
sacrifice with joy not merely all the   
good things of this life1  but life     
itself8 ,nevertheless1 one of those     
apostles1 and the  first of them all1   
,peter1 evinces some disquietude1 if not
 at  their lot in this world1 at least  
at their destinies in the  kingdom of   

heaven4 ,then answered ,peter and said  
unto him1  ,behold1 we have forsaken    
all1 and followed thee2 what shall we   
have therefore8 ,and ,jesus said unto   
them1 ,verily ,i say unto you1  ,that ye
 which have followed me1 in the         
regeneration when the ,son  of man shall
 sit in the throne of his glory1 ye also
 shall sit  upon twelve thrones1 judging
 the twelve tribes of ,israel4 ,and     
every one that hath forsaken houses1 or 
brethren1 or sisters1 or  father1 or    
mother1 or wife1 or children1 or lands1 
for my name's  sake1 shall receive an   
hundredfold1 and shall inherit          
everlasting  life4 ,footnote #ie        
,footnote #ie3 ,matthew xix4 #bg-bi4    
#bdf    ,but ,jesus does not intend that
 the prospect of their lofty            
inheritance should inspire in the minds 
of any of his apostles1  and not more in
 that of ,peter than the rest1 any proud
  presumptuousness1 and ,he immediately 
adds1 ,but many that are  first1 shall  
be last2 and the last shall be first4   

,footnote #if        ,footnote #if3     
,matthew xix4 #cj4    ,the world's      
history may be perused and reperused2   
the causes of  all the revolutions that 
have taken place in the world1 whether  
religious or political1 may be probed   
and investigated2 but we  shall nowhere 
be able to trace in the dealings of     
chiefs and  accomplices1 of originators 
and fellow-workmen1 the divine          
characteristics of absolute and         
uncompromising sincerity that  reign    
throughout the actions and language of  
,jesus ,christ in ,his  conduct towards 
,his apostles4 ,them ,he has chosen and 
loved2 to  them ,he has entrusted ,his  
work2 but ,he practises with them no    
arts of worldly wisdom2 ,he withholds   
nothing from them2 here is  no faltering
 encouragement1 no exaggeration in the  
promises that  ,he makes or in the hope 
that ,he holds forth2 ,he speaks to them
  the language of pure truth1 and it is 
in the name of that truth  that ,he     
gives them ,his commands and transfers  

to them ,his  mission4 ,never did man   
speak like this man1 ,footnote #ig nor  
so deal with men4        ,footnote #ig3 
,john vii4 #df4    #bdg       ,,ii4     
,jesus ,christ ,and ,his ,precepts4     
,jesus speaks3--and it is at one time   
with ,his disciples alone1 at  another  
surrounded by eager1 astonished         
multitudes2 now from the  mount1 now on 
the shore of the sea of ,gennesareth1   
from a bark2  by the road side2 in the  
house of the ,pharisee1 ,simon1 and the 
toll-gatherer1 ,levi2 in the synagogue  
of ,nazareth1 in the ,temple  of        
,jerusalem3--,jesus speaks1 not like the
 scribes1 not like  the philosophers2   
,he expounds no system2 ,he discusses no
  question2 ,he does not pace up and    
down like ,socrates with his  learned   
friends in the gardens of the ,academy1 
nor lose himself  in the mazes of the   
human understanding4 ,jesus speaks to   
men1 to  all men without distinction2   
,he speaks to them of man's life1  man's
 soul1 man's destiny1 of matters that   

touch all alike4 ,and  ,he speaks to    
them as one having authority4    #bdh   
,what does ,he say to them8 ,what teach1
 what command1 in that  speech full of  
authority8    ,he teaches them1 ,he     
enjoins them1 to have faith1 hope1      
charity3  those virtues which have now  
borne ,his name nineteen centuries1     
those virtues which are essentially     
,christian4    ,is it1 then1 in ,his own
 name that ,jesus ,christ teaches and   
commands8 ,by no means3 ,my doctrine is 
not mine1 but his that  sent me4 ,if any
 man will do his will1 he shall know of 
the  doctrine1 whether it be of ,god1 or
 whether ,i speak of myself4    ,he that
 speaketh of himself seeketh his own    
glory3 but he that  seeketh his glory   
that sent him1 the same is true1 and no 
unrighteousness is in him4 444 ,then    
cried ,jesus in the ,temple as  he      
taught1 saying1 ,ye both know me1 and ye
 know whence ,i am3 ,i am  not come of  
myself1 but he that sent me is true1    
whom ye know  not4    #bdi    ,but ,i   

know him3 for ,i am from him1 and he    
hath sent me4  ,footnote #ih            
,footnote #ih3 ,john vii4 #af-ah1 #bh1  
#bi4    ,whilst ,he refers everything to
 ,god1 ,jesus ,christ seeks not to      
define or explain ,him2 ,he affirms ,him
 and demonstrates ,him2 ,god  is the    
first cause1 the point from which all   
things spring2 faith  in ,god is the    
paramount source of virtue1 and of      
power1 as well  as virtue1 of hope and  
of resignation4    ,for ,jesus ,christ  
has not only a perfect faith in ,god1   
,he has also  a profound knowledge of   
man3 ,he knows that1 unaided1 man's soul
  cannot1 with out despair1 without     
withering1 bear the burthen  imposed by 
the injustice of the world and of life1 
of the  miseries and erroneous          
appreciation of mankind4 ,to this       
injustice  and this wretchedness ,jesus 
,christ never ceases to oppose ,god1    
,god's justice1 ,god's benevolence1     
,god's succour3 ,he recommends to  ,him 
all the forsaken1 all the oppressed1 all

 the wretched1 all  the victims of      
society4 ,he enjoins to these not       
resignation  alone1 but ,hope as the    
sister and companion of ,faith4  #bej   
,nor does ,he hold forth to those that  
suffer the realization of  earthly      
expectations1 the restoration of worldly
 prosperity1 as  their resource and     
their consolation4 ,he has nothing to do
 with  remedies deceitful like these4   
,he acts with the most perfect          
truthfulness and sincerity towards      
mankind in general1 as ,he also  does   
with ,his disciples3 ,he only promises  
them the  re-establishment of justice1  
and the reward of virtue1 in that       
mysterious future where ,god alone      
reigns1 and of which ,he  discloses to  
them the perspective without unfolding  
the secrets4    ,nothing strikes me more
 in the ,gospel than this double        
character  of austerity and of love1 of 
severe purity and tender sympathy1      
which constantly appears1 which reigns  
in the actions and the  words of ,jesus 

,christ in everything that touches the  
relation of  ,god and mankind4  #bea    
,to ,jesus ,christ the law of ,god is   
absolute1 sacred2 the violation  of the 
law1 and sin1 are odious to ,him2 but   
the sinner himself  irresistibly moves  
him and attracts him3 ,what man of you1 
having  an hundred sheep1 if he lose one
 of them1 doth not leave the  ninety and
 nine in the wilderness1 and go after   
that which is  lost1 until he find it8  
,and when he hath found it1 he layeth it
  on his shoulders1 rejoicing4 ,and when
 he cometh home1 he calleth  together   
his friends and neighbours1 saying unto 
them1 ,rejoice  with me2 for ,i have    
found my sheep which was lost4 ,i say   
unto  you1 that likewise joy shall be in
 heaven over one sinner that  repenteth1
 more than over ninety and nine just    
persons1 which  need no repentance4     
,footnote #ii        ,footnote #ii3     
,luke xv4 #d-g4    ,jesus said unto     
them1 ,they that are whole need not a   
physician1  but they that are sick4 444 

,for ,i am not come to call the         
righteous1 but sinners to repentance4   
,footnote #ajj        ,footnote #ajj3   
,matthew ix4 #ab1 #ac4    ,what is the  
signification of this sublime fact2 what
 the meaning  in ,jesus of this union1  
this harmony of severity and of love1 of
  saint-like holiness and of human      
sympathy8 ,it is ,heaven's  revelation  
of the nature of ,jesus him-self1 of the
 ,god-man4  #beb  ,god1 he made himself 
man4 ,god is his father1 men are his    
brethren4 ,he is pure and holy like     
,god3 ,he is accessible and  sensible to
 all that man feels4 ,thus the vital    
principles of the  ,christian faith1 the
 divine and the human nature united in  
,jesus1  start to evidence1 in his      
sentiments and language respecting the  
relations between ,god and man4 ,the    
dogma is the foundation of the          
principles4    ,another fact is not less
 significant4 ,at the same time that the
  divine and mysterious character of    
,jesus ,christ appears in the  ,gospel1 

his acts and his words have a character 
essentially  simple and practical4 ,he  
pursues no learned object1 no scientific
  plan2 ,he develops no system2 his     
object is something infinitely  grander 
than the triumph of any logical         
abstraction3 it is to  pervade the human
 soul1 to establish himself in it--to   
save it4  ,he speaks the language--,he  
appeals to the ideas most calculated  to
 ensure ,him success4  #bec  ,sometimes 
,he addresses himself to the task of    
inspiring in men  the most poignant     
disquietude as to their future destiny1 
if they  violate the laws of ,god2 at   
other times ,he causes to shine before  
their eyes the realisation of the most  
magnificent hopes1 if with  sincerity   
they persist in faith4 ,he knows the    
generation that ,he  is addressing2 ,he 
knows human nature in its universality1 
and  what it will be in future          
generations3 his object is to produce   
upon it an effect at once positive1     
general1 durable2 ,he chooses  the      

ideas1 ,he employs the images suitable  
to his design for the  regeneration and 
the salvation of all4 ,god's ,ambassador
 is the  most penetrating and able of   
human moralists4    ,more than once1 the
 attempt has been made to find ,him at  
fault1  to detect in his language       
exaggerations1 contradictions1          
incoherencies irreconcilable with his   
divine authority4 ,surprise1  for       
instance1 has been expressed1 that ,he  
should have one day  said1 according to 
,st4 ,matthew3 ,he that is not with me  
is  against me2 and he that gathereth   
not with me scattereth abroad2          
,footnote #aja and that ,he should      
another day1 according to ,st4  ,mark1  
have used the expression1 ,for he that  
is not against us is  on our part4      
,footnote #ajb        ,footnote #aja3   
,matthew xii4 #cj4        ,footnote     
#ajb3 ,mark ix4 #dj4    #bed    ,these  
two passages have been characterised as 
furnishing two  rules of proselytism    
entirely opposed to each other1 and as  

involving a contradiction growing out of
 some impassioned  struggle4 ,footnote  
#ajc        ,footnote #ajc3 ,vie de     
,jesus1 par ,m4 ,renan1 p4 #bbi4    ,in 
my turn ,i observe that it astonishes me
 how earnest men can  fall into any such
 error4 ,jesus does not lay down in     
these two  passages two contradictory   
rules of proselytism1 ,he merely        
observes and refers in turn to two      
different facts3 who has not  learnt1 in
 the course of actual life1 that1       
according to the  difference of         
circumstances and persons1 the man who  
abstains  from active concurrence1 who  
keeps himself aloof1 by that very  fact 
may at one time give support and        
strength1 and at another  injure and    
impede8 ,these two assertions1 far from 
being in  contradiction1 may be both    
true1 and ,jesus ,christ1 in uttering   
them1 spoke as a sagacious observer1 not
 as a moralist who is  enunciating      
precepts4  #bee  ,i have heard other    
critics reproachfully regard another    

passage  as a sort of blasphemy4        
,according to ,st ,luke3 ,there was in a
  city a judge1 which feared not ,god1  
neither regarded man3 and  there was a  
widow in that city2 and she came unto   
him1 saying1  ,avenge me of mine        
adversary4 ,and he would not for a      
while3 but  afterward he said within    
himself1 ,though ,i fear not ,god1 nor  
regard man2 yet because this widow      
troubleth me1 ,i will avenge  her1 lest 
by her continual coming she weary me4   
,footnote #ajd        ,footnote #ajd3   
,luke xviii4 #a-e4    ,is it possible to
 infer from these words an intention on 
the part  of ,jesus to liken ,god to an 
unjust judge1 and to make the mere      
importunate persistence in praying a    
claim to ,god's grace8 ,he  only cited  
an occurrence which made noise in his   
time1 in order  to instil a lively      
impression of the utility of            
perseverance4 ,to  attain his end1 ,he  
never makes use of out-of-the-way or    
impure  expedients2 but ,he draws from  

the ordinary events of human life       
examples and reasons to illustrate and  
render intelligible the  divine         
precepts1 and to insure their           
acceptance4 ,all the parables  have this
 meaning and object4    #bef    ,next to
 the precepts which refer to the        
relations of man with ,god  come those  
which respect the relations of men with 
one another4  ,whilst ,faith and ,hope  
regard ,god1 ,charity has man for its   
object4    ,charity1 it has often been  
repeated1 is the great principle of     
,jesus ,christ1 pre-eminently the       
,christian virtue4 ,i know1 not1        
however1 whether the source whence      
,christian charity derives its          
character and grandeur has been         
adequately perceived or remarked4    ,in
 the different pagan religions1 whether 
of character gross or  learned1 we have 
deifications of the different forces of 
nature  or of men themselves4 ,and even 
in those religions in which gods  in    
their turn are said to assume man's     

shape1 it is man  particularly that is  
predominant1 and that lives in the      
incarnation of ,god4  #beg  ,whereas in 
,christianity1 it is not a god sprung   
from nature or of  human origin that    
becomes man1 but the ,god self-existent1
  anterior1 and superior to all beings1 
the ,god1 ,one1 ,eternal4 ,the  ,hebrew 
religion1 alone of all religions1 shows 
,god essentially  and eternally distinct
 from the nature and the mankind that   
,he  has created1 and that ,he governs4 
,the ,christian ,faith alone shows  ,god
 one and eternal2 the ,god of ,abraham  
and of ,moses making  himself man1 and  
the divine nature uniting itself to the 
human  nature in the person of ,jesus4  
,and in this union it is the divine     
nature that shines forth1 that speaks1  
that sets in movement4 ,and  this       
incarnation is unparalleled like the    
,god its author4    ,and why did ,god   
make himself man8 ,what is the object of
 this  unparalleled1 this mysterious    
incarnation8 ,it is ,god's purpose to   

rescue man from the evil and the peril  
which have continued to  weigh upon him 
since the fault committed by his first  
progenitor4  ,it is ,god's purpose to   
ransom the human race from the sin of   
,adam1 the heritage of ,adam's children1
 and to bring it back to  the ways of   
eternal life4 ,these are the designs1   
loudly  proclaimed1 of the divine       
incarnation in ,jesus1 and the price of 
all the sufferings and agonies which ,he
 endured in its  accomplishment4    #beh
    ,need ,i say more8 ,who does not see
 how this sublime fact exalts  man's    
dignity at the same time that it        
illustrates the worth of  man's nature8 
,by the mere fact of ,god having assumed
 his form is  man's nature glorified2   
and all men1 so to say1 have their share
  of the honour done by ,god to humanity
 in uniting himself with it1  and in    
accepting1 for a moment of time1 all the
 conditions of  humanity4 ,but as far as
 mankind is here concerned1 it is far   
more  than a mere accession of an honour

 or a glorifying of his nature3  it is a
 striking manifestation of the value    
that all men have in  the eyes of ,god4 
,for it is not for some of them only1   
for some  class or nation1 or portion of
 humanity1 it is for all humanity  that 
,god became incarnate in ,jesus ,christ1
 and that ,jesus ,christ  has submitted 
to all human sufferings4 ,every human   
soul is the  object of this divine      
sacrifice1 and called upon to gather the
  fruit4    #bei    ,this is the source1
 this the privilege of ,christian       
charity4 ,the  dogma makes the force of 
the precept itself4 ,jesus crucified is 
,god's charity towards man4 ,impossible 
that men should not feel  themselves    
bound to act towards each other as ,god 
has done to  them2 and towards what man 
is not charity a duty8 ,without the     
divinity and sacrifice of ,jesus        
,christ1 the value of man's soul1  if ,i
 may be pardoned the expression1        
sinks1--neither his  salvation nor the  
example of his ,saviour is any longer   

the  question1--charity becomes nothing 
more than human goodness2 a  sentiment1 
however noble and useful1 still limited 
both in  impulsive energy and in        
efficacy2 having its source in man      
alone1  it can but incompletely solace  
the unequally distributed  sufferings of
 mortality4 ,it is not suited to inspire
 any long  effort or great sacrifice3 it
 is not adequate to convert the  longing
 desire for the moral amendment1 the    
physical relief of  humanity1 into that 
inextinguishable sympathy and untiring  
and  impassioned emotion which really   
constitute charity1 and which  the      
,christian ,faith1 in the history of the
 world1 has alone been  able to inspire4
    #bfj    ,thus the essential precepts
 of ,jesus1 the virtues which ,he       
commands as the basis and source of all 
the others1 have an  intimate connection
 with his doctrine1 a doctrine which is 
not1  ,he tells us himself1 his1 but of 
him that sent him2 that  is to say1 they
 are connected with the fundamental     

dogmas of the  ,christian religion4 ,no 
one denies the perfection1 the sublimity
  of the ,gospel morality2 men indeed   
seem to feel a sort of                  
self-complacency1 a satisfaction in     
celebrating it1 with a view  to the     
conclusion1 more or less explicitly     
stated1 that that  morality constitutes 
the whole ,gospel4 ,this is1 however1   
not less  than absolutely to mistake the
 bond which unites in man thought  with 
sentiment1 and belief with action4 ,man 
is grander and less  easy to satisfy    
than superficial moralists pretend2 the 
law of  his life is for him1 in the     
profound instinct of his soul1          
necessarily connected with the secret of
 his destiny2 and it is  only the       
,christian dogma that gives to          
,christian ethics the ,royal  authority 
of which they stand in need to govern   
and to regenerate  humanity4    #bfa    
,,iii4 ,jesus ,and ,his ,miracles4    ,i
 have called myself one of those who    
admit the supernatural2 and  ,i have    

stated my reasons4 ,i might stop there  
and enter into no  special reflection as
 to the ,gospel ,miracles4 ,the         
possibility of  miracles once accorded  
in principle1 nothing remains but to    
weigh  the value of the testimony in    
their support4 ,in the second series  of
 these ,meditations1 where ,i treat of  
the authenticity of  the localities     
specified in the ,holy ,scriptures1 ,i  
shall occupy  myself with this          
examination4 ,it is not1 however1 my    
wish to  elude1 upon the subjects that  
lie at the bottom of this question1  any
 of the difficulties that it presents3  
for here we find the  point of attack   
sought by the adversaries of the        
,christian faith4  ,the image of ,christ
 as it results from the ,gospel would be
  besides singularly unfaithful1 did we 
not range in it his  miracles by the    
side of his precepts4    #bfb    ,i avow
 once more my belief in ,god1 in ,god   
the ,creator1 the  ,sovereign ,master of
 the ,universe1 who orders it and       

governs it by  that independent and     
constant action of his providence and   
power  styled the ,laws of ,nature4 ,to 
those who regard nature as having       
existed from all eternity of itself1 and
 governed by laws  immutable and        
proceeding from fate1 ,i have nothing to
 say of  ,jesus or his miracles2 the    
question at issue between them and me   
is more important than that which       
respects miracles2 it involves  the very
 question of ,pantheism or              
,christianity1 of ,fatalism or          
,liberty1 affecting both ,god and man4  
,upon these subjects ,i have  already   
expressed my general opinion and its    
grounds4 ,i propose  to enter further   
upon it in the third series of these    
,meditations1 when ,i come to speak of  
the different systems  which are now in 
conflict throughout ,christendom4 ,but  
at this  moment ,i address myself to    
,deists and to men of wavering minds1   
and to these alone4    #bfc    ,one     
thing is beyond all doubt3 the perfect  

sincerity of the  apostles and of the   
primitive ,christians as to their faith 
in the  miracles of ,jesus4 ,sincerity  
still more striking that it is  united  
to every sort of hesitation in the mind 
and weakness in  the conduct1 and that  
it only triumphs gradually and slowly   
when  ,jesus has quitted his disciples  
and has left them alone charged  with   
his work4 ,whilst ,he was with them1    
,st4 ,peter has failed1 ,st4  ,thomas   
has doubted2 after several miracles have
 been performed by  ,jesus1 his         
disciples are astonished1 put questions 
to ,him1 yet  still doubt of ,him and of
 his power4 ,upon several occasions     
,jesus  addresses them as men of little 
faith1 and at the moment when  ,he is   
arrested1 they abandon ,him1 they fly   
from ,him4 ,no  impassioned enthusiasm1 
no exaggeration in their trustfulness   
and  their devotedness2 even with them  
,jesus sees himself confronted  by all  
the vacillations and pusillanimity of   
humanity2 ,he  persuades them1 ,he wins 

them1 ,he preserves them only by great  
exertion1 and by dint1 so to say1 of    
divine power and divine  virtue4  #bfd  
,they only really believe in ,him after 
having witnessed the  accomplishment of 
his sacrifice and his last miracle1 when
 they  had seen his ,crucifixion and his
 ,resurrection4 ,only then they         
believed2 but from that moment their    
faith became absolute1  superior to all 
perils and all trials3 full of the ,holy
 ,spirit1  and associated in a certain  
measure to their divine ,master1 they   
pursue his work with unshaken confidence
 and firmness1 without  pretending to   
any merit1 without any impulse of       
personal pride4  ,before the gate of the
 ,temple which is called ,beautiful1    
,st4  ,peter has healed a lame man and  
made him to walk4 ,and as the  lame man 
which was healed held ,peter and ,john1 
all the people ran  together unto them  
in the porch that is called ,solomon's1 
greatly  wondering4 ,and when ,peter saw
 it1 he answered unto the people1 ,ye   

men of ,israel1 why marvel ye at this8  
or why look ye so earnestly  on us1 as  
though by our own power or holiness we  
had made this  man to walk8 444 ,ye     
killed the ,prince of life1 whom ,god   
hath  raised from the dead2 whereof we  
are witnesses4  #bfe  ,and his name     
through faith in his name hath made this
 man strong1  whom ye see and know3 yea1
 the faith which is by him hath given   
him this perfect soundness in the       
presence of you all4 ,footnote  #aje    
,footnote #aje3 ,acts iii4 #a-af4    ,it
 was not the people only that felt      
astonishment1 but the  rulers and       
elders2 the scribes1 the high priest1   
and all those  who were of the kindred  
of the high priest1 were gathered       
together at ,jerusalem1 and set in their
 midst ,peter and ,john1  and after a   
deliberation full of anxiety1 they      
commanded them  not to speak at all1 nor
 teach in the name of ,jesus4 ,but      
,peter  and ,john answered and said unto
 them1 ,whether it be right in the      

sight of ,god to hearken unto you more  
than unto ,god1 judge ye4  ,for we      
cannot but speak the things we have seen
 and heard4  ,footnote #ajf             
,footnote #ajf3 ,acts iv4 #e1 #f1       
#ah-bj4    ,what sincerity and what     
firmness ever showed themselves more    
strikingly than those that grew out of  
the faith of ,st4 ,paul8  ,from such    
faith he had been originally farther    
removed than the  other apostles2 he had
 done far more than merely err like     
,peter  or doubt like ,thomas2 he had   
hotly persecuted the first followers  of
 ,christ4  #bff  ,in his turn penetrated
 and subdued on the road to ,damascus by
 the  voice of ,jesus1 he devotes       
himself to ,him life and soul2 he       
recounts himself his miraculous         
conversion1 ,footnote #ajg and as       
little doubt can be entertained of the  
authenticity of his  ,epistles as of the
 sincerity that dictated them4          
,footnote #ajg3 #a ,corinthians xv4 #h4 
#b ,corinthians xi4 #cb1 #cc2      xii4 

#a-e4 ,galatians i4 #a-d4    ,the       
history of all religions abounds in     
miracles2 but in all  religions except  
the ,christian1 the miracles recounted  
by their  historians are evidently      
either contrivances of the founder to   
induce persuasion1 or they spring from  
the play of the human  imagination1 ever
 disposed to delight in the marvellous1 
ever  particularly prone to give way in 
the sphere of religion to its  fantastic
 suggestions4 ,in the ,gospel miracles1 
on the contrary1  we have nothing of the
 kind2 no artifice in their ,author2    
none of  the marvellous machinery of    
poetry1 nor any hasty credulity in  the 
historians4  #bfg  ,the miraculous      
agency of ,christ is essentially simple1
 practical1  and moral3 ,he does not go 
in search of miracles2 neither does ,he 
make any vain display of them3 they are 
wrought when a pressing  emergency or a 
natural occasion calls for them2 and    
when they are  demanded in faith and in 
trust1 ,he then works them without      

ostentation and in right of his divine  
mission2 whilst at the  very moment ,he 
makes the doubt and the coldness with   
which ,he is  received1 the subject of  
complaint3 ,woe unto thee1 ,chorazin6 wo
  unto thee1 ,bethsaida6 for if the     
mighty works1 which were done in  you1  
had been done in ,tyre and ,sidon1 they 
would have repented  long ago in        
sackcloth and ashes4 ,footnote #ajh     
,jesus has full  confidence in himself1 
in the miracles that ,he effects1 in the
  doctrine that ,he inculcates4 ,he     
feels no astonishment1 but merely       
sorrow1 that ,his work1 the work of     
light and of salvation1  pursued by ,him
 in accordance with the will of ,god his
 ,father1  should not obtain a more     
rapid1 a more general success4          
,footnote #ajh3 ,matthew xi4 #ba4       
#bfh    ,as for us1 remote spectators1  
the astonishment must be not the        
slowness or limited nature of that      
success1 but its rapidity and  its      
extent4 ,all religions that have taken  

place in the world's  history1 have been
 established by moral and by material   
agency2  all appealed from their very   
commencement as much to force as to     
persuasion1 as much to the arm as to the
 tongue4 ,christianity  alone lived and 
grew during three centuries by its own  
single  native virtue1 without any other
 appeal than that made to ,truth1       
without any other aid than that of      
,faith4 ,during those three  centuries  
the dogmas1 the precepts1 and the       
miracles of its  ,author constituted its
 only weapons1 and weapons which have   
prevailed against all other arms4 ,those
 dogmas1 those precepts1  and those     
miracles effected the conquest of man's 
mind and of  human society in spite of  
the resistance of ,greek philosophy1    
,roman power1 and all the poetical or   
mystical mythologies of  antiquity      
marshalled against them4  #bfi  ,the    
victory has not1 it is true1 put an end 
to all struggle of  man's intelligence3 
neither has the light from ,christ      

dissipated  all darkness1 nor satisfied 
all minds2 the explanation and          
commentaries of man have obscured the   
doctrines of ,christ2 human  prejudices 
have mistaken his precepts2 and legends 
have been  grafted upon his miracles4   
,but the fact does not the less exist1  
that the dogmas1 the precepts1 and the  
miracles of ,christ1  without any aid   
from human sources1 sufficed to found   
and ensure  the triumph of the          
,christian religion3 this is a fact     
primitive  and supreme4 ,and from this  
single result shines forth the divine   
character of the ,christian religion1   
for its triumph without the  miraculous 
agency of ,god1 would be of all miracles
 the most  impossible to receive4       
,,iv4 ,jesus1 ,the ,jews1 ,and ,the     
,gentiles4        ,think not that ,i am 
come to destroy the law1 or the         
prophets3 ,i  am not come to destroy1   
but to fulfil4 ,footnote #aji           
,footnote #aji3 ,matthew v4 #ag4        
#bgj    ,do not think that ,i will      

accuse you to the ,father3 there is one 
that accuseth you1 even ,moses1 in whom 
ye trust4 ,for had ye  believed ,moses1 
ye would have believed me3 for he wrote 
of me4  ,but if ye believe not his      
writings1 how shall ye believe my       
words8 ,footnote #aaj        ,footnote  
#aaj3 ,john v4 #de-dg4    ,this was the 
language that ,jesus used to the ,jews4 
,it was in the  name of their history   
and of their faith1 in the name of the  
,god  of ,abraham and of ,jacob1 that   
,he called them to ,him1 presenting     
himself to them in the double capacity  
of conservative and  reformer1 and      
appealing to the ancient law against    
those who1  whilst observing it         
outwardly1 really changed its character4
  ,then came to ,jesus scribes and      
,pharisees1 which were of  ,jerusalem1  
saying1 ,why do thy disciples transgress
 the tradition  of the elders8 for they 
wash not their hands when they eat      
bread4  ,but ,he answered and said unto 
them1 ,why do ye also transgress  the   

commandment of ,god by your tradition8  
,for ,god commanded1  saying1 ,honour   
thy father and mother3 and1 ,he that    
curseth father  or mother1 let him die  
the death4  #bga  ,but ye say1          
,whosoever shall say to his father or   
his mother1 ,it  is a gift1 by          
whatsoever thou mightest be profited by 
me2 and  honour not his father or his   
mother1 he shall be free4 ,thus ye  have
 made the commandment of ,god of none   
effect by your  tradition6,footnote #aaa
 444 ,woe unto you1 scribes and         
,pharisees1  hypocrites6 for ye pay     
tithe of mint and anise and cummin1 and 
have omitted the weightier matters of   
the law1 judgment1 mercy1  and faith3   
these ought ye to have done1 and not to 
leave the  other undone4 ,footnote #aab 
,footnote #aaa3 ,matthew xv4 #a-f4      
,footnote #aab3 ,matthew xxiii4 #bc4    
,jesus was incessantly warning1 making  
appeals to the ,jews2 and  when ,he saw 
that they pertinaciously disavowed and  
rejected ,him1  ,he cried1 in an impulse

 of patriotic1 affectionate sadness3--,o
  ,jerusalem1 ,jerusalem1 which killest 
the prophets1 and stonest  them that are
 sent unto thee2 how often would ,i have
 gathered thy  children together1 as a  
hen doth gather her brood under her     
wings1 and ye would not6 ,footnote #aac 
,footnote #aac3 ,matthew xxiii4 #cg4    
,luke xiii4 #cd4    #bgb    ,i know     
nothing more imposing than the          
apparition of a grand idea1  a divine   
idea rising and mounting rapidly upon   
the human horizon4  ,such is the        
spectacle afforded to us in its short   
duration by the  history of ,jesus      
,christ4 ,in his first instructions to  
his  apostles1 ,he said to them1 ,go not
 to the ,gentiles and enter not  into   
any city of the ,samaritans2 but go ye  
rather to the lost  sheep of the people 
of ,israel4 ,thus he carefully avoided  
offending the sentiments of the day1 and
 only enjoined upon his  apostles what  
they might do with success at the very  
beginning of  their mission4 ,but soon  

the light increases that issues from the
  words and the actions of ,jesus2 as ,i
 advance in the books of the  ,gospel1  
,i there read3 ,and when ,jesus was     
entered into ,capernaum1  there came    
unto him a centurion1 beseeching him1   
and saying1  ,lord1 my servant lieth at 
home sick of the palsy1 grievously      
tormented4  #bgc  ,and ,jesus saith unto
 him1 ,i will come and heal him4 ,the   
centurion  answered and said1 ,lord1 ,i 
am not worthy that thou shouldest come  
under my roof3 but speak the word only1 
and my servant shall be  healed4 ,for ,i
 am a man under authority1 having       
soldiers under me3  and ,i say to this  
man1 ,go1 and he goeth2 and to another1 
,come1  and he cometh2 and to my        
servant1 ,do this1 and he doeth it4     
,when  ,jesus heard it1 he marvelled1   
and said to them that followed1  ,verily
 ,i say unto you1 ,i have not found so  
great faith1 no1 not  in ,israel4 ,and  
,i say unto you1 ,that many shall come  
from the east  and west1 and shall sit  

down with ,abraham1 and ,isaac1 and     
,jacob1  in the kingdom of heaven4      
,footnote #aad        ,footnote #aad3   
,matthew viii4 #e-aa4    ,thus a great  
stride has been made2 it is no longer   
for the sheep  of the house of ,israel  
that ,jesus has come2 from the ,east and
  from the ,west will men come to ,him1 
and ,he will receive them all4  ,to     
continue the ,gospel narrative3         
departing from the borders of  the lake 
of ,gennesareth1 ,jesus departed into   
the coasts of ,tyre  and ,sidon4  #bgd  
,and1 behold1 a woman of ,canaan came   
out of the same coasts1 and  cried unto 
him1 saying1 ,have mercy on me1 ,o      
,lord1 thou son of  ,david2 my daughter 
is grievously vexed with a devil4 ,but  
he  answered her not a word4 ,and his   
disciples came and besought him1        
saying1 ,send her away2 for she crieth  
after us4 ,but he answered  and said1 ,i
 am not sent but unto the lost sheep of 
the house of  ,israel4 ,then came she   
and worshipped him1 saying1 ,lord1 help 

me4  ,but he answered and said1 ,it is  
not meet to take the children's  bread1 
and to cast it to dogs4 ,and she said1  
,truth1 ,lord3 yet the  dogs eat of the 
crumbs which fall from their master's   
table4 ,then  ,jesus answered and said  
unto her1 ,o woman1 great is thy faith3 
be  it unto thee even as thou wilt4     
,footnote #aae        ,footnote #aae3   
,matthew xv4 #ba-bh4    #bge    ,another
 day1 near the city ,sychar and the well
 of ,jacob1 ,jesus  conversed with a    
woman of ,samaria1 who had come there to
 draw  water3--,the woman saith unto    
him1 ,sir1 ,i perceive that thou art  a 
prophet4 ,our fathers worshipped in this
 mountain2 and ye say1  that in         
,jerusalem is the place where men ought 
to worship4 ,jesus  saith unto her1     
,woman1 believe me1 the hour cometh1    
when ye shall  neither in this mountain1
 nor yet at ,jerusalem1 worship the     
,father4 444 ,but the hour cometh1 and  
now is1 when the true  worshippers shall
 worship the ,father in spirit and in   

truth3 for  the ,father seeketh such to 
worship him4 ,god is a ,spirit3 and they
  that worship him must worship him in  
spirit and in truth4  ,footnote #aaf    
,footnote #aaf3 ,john iv4 #e-bd4        
,thus disappears gradually1 in the name 
of the ,god of the ,jews  himself1 the  
exclusive privilege of the ,jews to the 
divine  revelation and to divine grace4 
,and thus1 too1 the restricted  religion
 of ,israel gives place to the grand    
catholicity of the  religion of ,christ4
 ,the benefit of the true faith and of  
salvation is no longer limited to one   
people1 whether great or  small1 ancient
 or modern2 but is imparted to all the  
races of  mankind4  #bgf  ,go ye        
therefore1 and teach all nations1       
baptizing them in the  name of the      
,father1 and of the ,son1 and of the    
,holy ,ghost4  ,footnote #aag ,and he   
said unto them1 ,go ye into all the     
world1  and preach the gospel to every  
creature4,footnote #aah        ,footnote
 #aag3 ,matthew xxviii4 #ai4            

,footnote #aah3 ,mark xvi4 #ae4         
,these were the last words which ,christ
 addressed to his apostles1  and the    
apostles execute faithfully the         
instructions of their  divine ,master2  
they go forth in effect1 preaching in   
all places  and to all nations his      
history1 his doctrine1 his precepts1 and
  his parables4 ,st4 ,paul is the       
special apostle of the ,gentiles4  ,from
 ,jesus1 says this apostle1 ,we have    
received grace and  apostleship1 for    
obedience to the faith among all        
nations1 for  his name4 ,is he the ,god 
of the ,jews only8 is he not also of the
  ,gentiles8 ,yes1 of the ,gentiles     
also4 ,for there is no difference       
between the ,jew and the ,greek3 for the
 same ,lord over all is rich  unto all  
that call upon him4 ,footnote #aai      
,footnote #aai3 ,romans i4 #e42 iii4    
#bi2 x4 #ab4    #bgg    ,in spite of his
 prejudices as a ,jew1 and of the       
differences that  took place in the     
infancy of the ,church1 ,st4 ,peter     

adheres to ,st4  ,paul2 the apostles and
 the elders assembled at ,jerusalem     
adhere  to ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul4  
,the ,god of ,abraham and of ,jacob is  
now  not merely the ,one ,god1 ,he is   
the ,god of the whole human race2 to    
all men alike ,he prescribes the same   
faith1 the same law1 and  promises the  
same salvation4    ,another question1   
more temporal in its nature1 still a    
great1 a  delicate one1 is raised in the
 presence of ,jesus ,christ4 ,he        
withdraws from the ,jews their exclusive
 privilege to the  knowledge and the    
grace of the true ,god2 but what does   
,he think  of that which touches their  
existence as a nation1 and as a great   
one8 ,does ,he direct them to rebel and 
to struggle against their  earthly      
governor and sovereign8--,then went the 
,pharisees1 and  took counsel how they  
might entangle him in his talk4 ,and    
they  sent out unto him their disciples 
with the ,herodians1 saying1  ,master1  
we know that thou art true1 and teachest

 the way of ,god  in truth1 neither     
carest thou for any man3 for thou       
regardest not  the person of men4 ,tell 
us therefore1 ,what thinkest thou8  #bgh
  ,is it lawful to give tribute unto    
,cesar1 or not8 ,but ,jesus  perceived  
their wickedness1 and said1 ,why tempt  
ye me1 ye  hypocrites8 ,shew me the     
tribute money4 ,and they brought unto   
him  a penny4 ,and he saith unto them1  
,whose is this image and                
superscription8 ,they say unto him1     
,cesar's4 ,then saith he unto  them1    
,render therefore unto ,cesar the things
 which are ,cesar's2  and unto ,god the 
things that are ,god's4 ,when they had  
heard these  words1 they marvelled1 and 
left him1 and went their way4  ,footnote
 #abj        ,footnote #abj3 ,matthew   
xxii4 #ae-bb4      ,mark xii4 #ab-ag4   
,luke xx4 #ai-be4    #bgi    ,in this   
reply of ,christ there was much more    
matter for admiration  than the         
,pharisees supposed2 it was in effect   
much more than an  adroit evasion of the

 snare that had been extended for ,him2 
it  defined in principle the distinction
 of man's life as it regards  religion1 
and man's life as it concerns society2  
the bounds1 in  fact1 of ,church and of 
,state4 ,csar has no right to intervene1
  with his laws and material force1     
between the soul of man and his  ,god2  
and on his side1 the faithful worshipper
 of ,god is bound to  fulfil towards    
,csar the duties which the necessity of 
the  maintenance of civil order imposes4
 ,the independence of religious  faith1 
and at the same time its subjection to  
the laws of  society1 are alike the     
sense of ,christ's reply to the         
,pharisees1  and the divine source of   
the greatest progress ever made by human
  society since it began to feel the    
troubles and agitations of  this earth4 
,i take again these two grand           
principles1 these two great acts of     
,jesus1--the abolition of every         
privilege in the relations of ,god  and 
man1 and the distinction of man's       

religious and his civil  life3 ,i       
confront with these two principles all  
the history1 and  every state of society
 previous to the advent of ,jesus       
,christ1  and ,i am unable to discover  
in those essentially ,christian         
principles any kindred1 any human       
origin4 ,everywhere before  ,christ1    
religions were national local religions2
 they were  religions which established 
between nations1 classes1  individuals1 
enormous differences and inequalities4  
#bhj ,everywhere1 also1 before ,christ1 
man's civil life and his  religious life
 were confounded1 and mutually oppressed
 each  other2 that religion or those    
religions were institutions             
incorporated in the state1 which the    
state regulated or repressed  as its    
interest dictated4 ,but in this         
catholicity of religious  faith1 in this
 independence of religious communities1 
,i am  constrained to recognise new and 
sublime principles1 and to see  in them 
flashes from the light of heaven4 ,it   

needed many  centuries before mental    
vision was capable of receiving that    
light2 and no one shall pronounce how   
many centuries will be  needed before it
 will pervade and penetrate the entire  
world4 ,but  whatever difficulties and  
shortcomings may be reserved in the     
womb of the future for the two great    
truths to which ,i have just  referred1 
it is clear that ,god caused them first 
to beam forth  from the life and        
teaching of ,jesus ,christ4    #bha     
,v4 ,jesus ,and ,women4      ,at the    
very source of all religions1 as well as
 in their  subsequent history1 women    
find a place to fill and a part to      
perform4 ,at one time they constitute   
the material and furnish the  ornament  
of licentious systems of mythology4 ,at 
another1 on the  contrary1 they are1 for
 the heroes of those religions1 objects 
either of pious horror or of observances
 at once rigorous and  austere3 women   
are considered by them as creatures full
 of evil  and of peril2 and they are    

accordingly thrust from their lives as  
men thrust from them what is a          
temptation and an impurity4  ,voluptuous
 pictures and adventures on the one     
hand1 and zealous  impulses of rigid    
asceticism on the other1 constitute the 
two  extremes to which religions in     
their ages of youth and of vigour  are  
alternately prone4  #bhb                
,sometimes--and it is more fortunate for
 women when it is the  case--they are   
described in the narrative of these     
religions1  such as they really are in  
human life1 charmers and at the same    
time charmed1 seducers and seduced1     
idols and slaves2 at first  votaries of 
the enthusiasm1 the victims of the      
errors and the  passions which they at  
once inspire and feel4 ,whether ,asiatic
 or  ,european1 rude or refined1 such   
are the striking features with  which   
all systems of religion1 excepting      
,christianity1 have  characterised the  
women whom they have introduced in their
  narratives4    ,neither of these      

characteristics1 nor anything analogous1
 is met  with in the ,gospel and in the 
relations of ,jesus with women4 ,they   
seem irresistibly attracted towards     
,him1 with hearts moved1  imaginations  
struck by his manner of life1 his       
precepts1 his  miracles1 his language4  
,he inspires them with feelings of      
tender  respect and confiding           
admiration4 ,the ,canaanitish woman     
comes and  addresses to ,him a timid    
prayer for the healing of her daughter4 
,the woman of ,samaria listens to ,him  
with eagerness1 though she  does not    
know ,him3 ,mary seats herself at his   
feet1 absorbed in  reflections suggested
 by his words2 and ,martha proffers to  
,him  the frank complaint that her      
sister assists her not1 but leaves  her 
unaided in the performance of her       
domestic duties4  #bhc  ,the sinner     
draws near to ,him in tears1 pouring    
upon his feet a  rare perfume1 and      
wiping them with her hair4 ,the         
adulteress1  hurried into his presence  

by those who wished to stone her in     
accordance with the precepts of the     
,mosaic ,law1 remains  motionless in his
 presence1 even after her accusers have 
withdrawn1 waiting in silence what ,he  
is about to say4 ,jesus  receives the   
homage1 and listens to the prayers of   
all these  women1 with the gentle       
gravity and impartial sympathy of a     
being  superior and strange to earthly  
passion4 ,pure and inflexible           
interpreter of the ,divine law1 ,he     
knows and understands man's  nature1 and
 judges it with that equitable severity 
which nothing  escapes1 the excuse as   
little as the fault4 ,faith1 sincerity1 
humanity1 sorrow1 repentance1 touch ,him
 without biassing the  charity and the  
justice of his conclusions2 and ,he     
expresses  blame or announces pardon    
with the same calm serenity of          
authority1 certain that his eye has read
 the depths of the heart  to which his  
words will penetrate4  #bhd  ,in his    
relations with the women who approach   

,him1 there is1 in  short1 not the      
slightest trace of man2 nowhere does the
 ,godhead  manifest itself more         
winningly and with greater purity4 ,and 
when  there is no longer any question of
 these particular relations and         
conversations1 when ,jesus has no longer
 before him women  suppliants and       
sinners1 who are invoking his power or  
imploring  his clemency2 when it is with
 the position and the destiny of  women 
in general that ,he is occupying        
himself1 ,he affirms and  defends their 
claims and their dignity with a sympathy
 at once  penetrating and severe4 ,he   
knows that the happiness of mankind1  as
 well as the moral position of women1   
depends essentially upon  the married   
state2 ,he makes of the sanctity of     
marriage a  fundamental law of          
,christian religion and society2 ,he    
pursues  adultery even into the recesses
 of the human heart1 the human  thought2
 ,he forbids divorce2 ,he says of men1  
,have ye not read1  that he which made  

them at the beginning made them male and
  female8 444 ,for this cause shall a   
man leave father and mother1  and shall 
cleave to his wife3 and they twain shall
 be one flesh4  #bhc  ,wherefore they   
are no more twain1 but one flesh4 ,what 
therefore  ,god hath joined together1   
let not man put asunder4 ,they say unto 
him1 ,why did ,moses then command to    
give a writing of divorcement1  and to  
put her away8 ,he saith unto them1      
,moses because of the  hardness of your 
hearts suffered you to put away your    
wives3 but  from the beginning it was   
not so4 ,and ,i say unto you1 ,whosoever
  shall put away his wife1 except it be 
for fornication1 and shall  marry       
another1 committeth adultery3 and whoso 
marrieth her which  is put away doth    
commit adultery4 ,footnote #aba         
,footnote #aba3 ,matthew xix4 #d-i2 v4  
#bg1 #bh ,mark x4 #b-ab4      ,romans   
vii4 #b1 #c4 #a ,corinthians vi4 #af-ah2
 vii4 #a-aa4    ,signal and striking    
testimony to the progressive action of  

,god  upon the human race6 ,jesus       
,christ restores to the divine law of   
marriage the purity and the authority   
that ,moses had not enjoined  to the    
,hebrews because of the hardness of     
their hearts4    #bhf        ,,vi4      
,jesus ,christ ,and ,children4      ,the
 sentiments expressed by ,jesus ,christ 
towards children1 and  the language that
 ,he uses towards them1 as these appear 
in the  ,gospel narrative1 must strike  
even the most careless reader4 ,let  me 
refer to the passages themselves3--     
,and they brought young children to him1
 that he should touch    them3 and his  
disciples rebuked those that brought    
them4 ,but    when ,jesus saw it1 he was
 much displeased1 and said unto them1   
,suffer the little children to come unto
 me1 and forbid them    not3 for of such
 is the kingdom of ,god4 ,verily ,i say 
unto you1    ,whosoever shall not       
receive the kingdom of ,god as a little 
child1 he shall not enter therein4 ,and 
he took them up in his    arms1 put his 

hands upon them1 and blessed them4      
,footnote    #abb        ,footnote #abb3
 ,mark x4 #ac-af2 ,matthew xix4 #ac-ae4 
,luke xviii4 #ae-ag4    #bhg    ,another
 day1 came the disciples unto ,jesus1   
saying1 ,who is the  greatest in the    
kingdom of heaven8 ,and ,jesus called a 
little  child unto him1 and set him in  
the midst of them1 and said1  ,verily ,i
 say unto you1 ,except ye be converted1 
and become as  little children1 ye shall
 not enter into the kingdom of heaven4  
,whosoever therefore shall humble       
himself as this little child1  the same 
is greatest in the kingdom of heaven4   
,footnote #abc        ,footnote #abc3   
,matthew xviii4 #a-d2 ,mark ix4 #cc-cg4 
,again another day1 ,jesus1 deploring   
the coldness that his  preaching and his
 miracles frequently encountered1 and   
that even  in his closest vicinity1     
exclaimed1 here no longer addressing his
  disciples1 but ,god himself1 ,i thank 
thee1 ,o ,father1 ,lord of  heaven and  
earth1 because thou hast hid these      

things from the  wise and prudent1 and  
hast revealed them unto babes4 ,footnote
  #abd        ,footnote #abd3 ,matthew  
xi4 #be4    ,what is the full meaning of
 these words8 ,they are not simply the  
expression of that impulse of gentle    
benevolence excited in all  hearts at   
the sight of children1 and their        
innocent confidence in  all who come    
near them4  #bhh  ,jesus ,christ no     
doubt experienced the influence of this 
feeling1  for ,he was strange to none of
 man's noble emotions2 but his  thoughts
 passed far beyond the children whose   
approach he  permitted1 and they merely 
furnished ,him with the living occasion 
to address to men themselves his solemn 
warnings4    ,the child1 ,i have already
 mentioned in these                     
,meditations1,footnote #abe is1 for us1 
the image of innocence1  the type of the
 creature fallible1 yet who has not yet 
sinned1  who knows not yet either error 
of understanding1 or the seduction  of  
passion1 or the blinding influence of   

pride1 or the troubles  of doubt1 or the
 extreme folly of sin1 or the anguish of
  repentance2 who follows in the first  
impulses of infancy only the            
spontaneous instincts of tender         
confidence in the parent to whom  he is 
indebted for security and for love1 for 
the first joys and  the earliest        
blessings4        ,footnote #abe3       
,meditation ,,ii41 ,christian ,dogmas1  
p4 #dh4    #bhi    ,jesus does not      
pretend to bring men back to that fair  
condition1  to restore to them their    
primitive innocence3 but ,he comes to   
ransom them from sin2 ,he brings them   
the hope of pardon and  salvation4      
,confidence in ,god1 a confidence       
sincere1 unpretending1  and loving1 is  
that disposition which opens the soul of
 man to  the divine blessing4 ,this is  
also the disposition that the child     
evinces towards its parents2 he calls   
upon them1 and he hopes in  them4 ,hence
 those words of ,jesus3 ,suffer little  
children to come  unto me1 and forbid   

them not1 for of such is the kingdom of 
heaven4 ,the way of innocence is a far  
better way than that of  science to lead
 man up to ,god4    ,science is a       
splendid thing2 it is also a noble      
privilege of man  that ,god1 in creating
 him an intelligent and a free agent1   
has  given him a capacity to desire and 
to pursue through study the  truths of  
science1 and even to attain them in a   
certain measure1  and in a certain      
sphere4  #bij  ,but when science        
attempts to exceed that measure and to  
quit that  sphere2 when it ignores and  
scorns the instincts1--natural1         
universal1 and permanent instincts1 of  
the human soul2 when it  essays to set  
up everywhere its own torch in the place
 of that  primitive light that lights   
mankind3 then1 and from that cause      
alone1 science fills itself with error2 
and this is the very case  which called 
forth those words of ,jesus3 ,i praise  
thee1 ,father1  ,lord of heaven and of  
earth1 that thou hast hidden these      

things  from the wise and prudent1 and  
hast revealed them unto babes4          
,footnote #abf        ,footnote #abf3   
,matthew xi4 #be4 ,the words ,greek text
 are      better rendered1 from the     
learned and the prudent1 than      wise 
and intelligent2 sages et intelligents1 
as in the      ,french version by       
,osterwald4           ,,vii4 ,jesus     
,christ ,himself4    ,i have sought to  
gather from the ,gospels the scattered  
facts that  constitute the life of      
,jesus4 ,i have searched for them in his
  acts1 his precepts1 his words3 in his 
different relations in  life4 ,i have   
added nothing1 exaggerated nothing2 on  
the contrary1  the life of ,jesus is    
infinitely grander and more sublime than
 ,i  have made it2 his words are        
infinitely more profound and admiral    
than ,i have described them4 ,and ,i    
have said nothing of the seal  affixed  
to his work and his mission by his      
,passion2  nor have ,i shown ,jesus at  
,gethsemane and upon the ,cross4    #bia

    ,according to the ,bible1 ,god is   
without parallel--ever the same4  ,jesus
 is also so according to the ,gospel4   
,the most perfect1 the  most constant   
unity reigns in ,him3 in his life as in 
his soul2 in  his language as in his    
acts4 ,his action is progressive1 and   
proportionate to the circumstances which
 call it forth and in the  midst of     
which ,he lives2 but his progress never 
entails any  change of character or     
purpose4 ,as ,he appears at the age of  
twelve1 in the ,temple1 already full of 
the sentiment of his  divine nature1 in 
his reply to his mother who was         
searching for  ,him with disquietude1   
,knowest thou not that ,i must be about 
my  ,father's business8 the same ,he    
remains and manifests himself in  the   
whole course of his active mission--in  
,galilee and at  ,jerusalem1 with his   
apostles and with the people1 amongst   
the  ,pharisees and the ,publicans1     
whether they be men1 or women1 or       
children who approach ,him2 alike before

 ,caiaphas and ,pilate1 and  under the  
eyes of the crowd pressing around to    
listen to ,him4  #bib  ,everywhere and  
in every circumstance1 the same spirit  
animates  ,him2 ,he diffuses the same   
light1 proclaims the same law4 ,perfect 
and immutable1 always at once ,son of   
,god and ,son of ,man1 ,he  pursues and 
consummates amidst all the trials and   
all the sorrows  of human existence his 
divine work for the salvation of        
mankind4    ,what need to add more8 ,how
 speak in detail of ,jesus himself when 
one believes in ,him1 when one sees in  
,him ,god made man1 acting as  ,god     
alone can act1 and suffering all that   
man can suffer to  ransom mankind from  
sin1 and save it by bringing it back to 
,god8  ,how sound closely the mysteries 
of such a person and such a  purpose8   
,what passed in that divine soul during 
that human  existence8 ,who shall       
explain those cries of agony of ,jesus  
in the  bosom of the most absolute faith
 in ,god his father and in  himself1 and

 those moments of horror at the approach
 of the  sacrifice without the slightest
 hesitation in the sacrifice1  without  
the smallest doubt as to its            
efficaciousness8  #bic  ,this sublime   
fact1 this intimate and continual       
intermixture of  the divine and human   
finds no competent1 no adequate         
expression  in human speech1 and the    
more we consider it the more difficult  
we find it to speak of it4    ,those who
 have no faith in ,jesus1 who admit not 
the supernatural  character of his      
person1 of his life1 and of his work1 do
 not  feel this difficulty4 ,having     
beforehand done away with ,god and  with
 miracles1 the history of ,jesus is for 
them nothing more than  an ordinary     
history1 which they narrate and explain 
like any  other biography of man4 ,but  
such historians fall into a far         
different difficulty1 and wreck         
themselves on a far different  rock4    
,the supernatural being and power of    
,jesus may be disputed1  but the        

perfection1 the sublimity of his actions
 and of his  precepts1 of his life and  
of his moral law1 are incontestable4    
#bid  ,and in effect1 not only are they 
not contested1 but they are  admired and
 celebrated enthusiastically1 and       
complacently1 too2  it would seem as if 
it were desired to restore to ,jesus as 
man1  and man alone1 the superiority of 
which men deprive ,him in  refusing to  
see in ,him the ,godhead4 ,but then1    
what incoherence1  what contradictions1 
what falsehood1 what moral impossibility
 in  his history1 such as they make it2 
what a series of suppositions1          
irreconcilable with fact1 nevertheless  
admitted6 ,the man they  make so        
perfect1 so sublime1 becomes by turns a 
dreamer or a  charlatan2 at once dupe   
and deceiver3 dupe of his own mystical  
enthusiasm in believing in his own      
miracles2 deceiver in  tampering with   
evidence in order to accredit himself4  
,the history  of ,jesus ,christ is thus 
but a tissue of fables and falsehood4   

,and  nevertheless the hero of this     
history remains perfect1 sublime1       
incomparable2 the greatest genius1 the  
noblest heart that the  world ever saw2 
the type of virtue and moral beauty1 the
 supreme  and rightful chief of mankind4
  #bie  ,and his disciples1 in their    
turn justly admirable1 have braved      
everything1 suffered everything1 in     
order to abide faithful to  ,him and to 
accomplish his work4 ,and1 in effect1   
the work has been  accomplished3 the    
pagan world has become ,christian1 and  
the whole  world has nothing better to  
do than to follow the example4    ,what 
a contradictory and insolvable problem  
they present to us  instead of the one  
they are so anxious to suppress6        
,history reposes upon two               
foundations--positive written evidence  
as to facts and persons1 and presumptive
 evidence resulting from  the connection
 of facts and the action of persons4    
,these two  foundations are entirely    
lost sight of in the history of ,jesus  

such as it is recounted1 or rather      
constructed1 in these days2 it  is1 on  
the one hand1 in evident and shocking   
contradiction with  the testimony of the
 men who saw ,jesus1 or of the men who  
lived  nearly in the time of those who  
had seen ,him2 on the other side1  with 
the natural laws presiding over the     
actions of men and the  course of       
events4  #bif  ,this does not deserve   
the name of historical criticism2 it is 
a  philosophical system and a romantic  
narrative substituted for the           
substantial proof and the circumstantial
 evidence2 it is a ,jesus  false and    
impossible1 made by the hand of man     
pretending to  dethrone the real living 
,jesus--the ,son of ,god4    ,the choice
 lies between the system and the        
mystery2 between the  romance of man and
 the purpose of ,god4 ,even in revealing
 himself  ,god still interposes veils1  
but these veils are no falsehoods4  ,the
 ,gospel history of ,jesus shows us ,god
 acting in ways which are  not his ways 

of every day4 ,this special action of   
,god  characterises also many other     
facts in the history of the  universe2  
amongst others1 the great fact of the   
actual creation1  where man1 at his     
appearance upon earth1 received the     
first  divine revelation4 ,the          
supernatural does not merely date from  
,jesus ,christ2 and if a man from this  
motive rejects the history  of ,jesus1  
he will have to deny also a far         
different thing4  #big  ,to escape this 
fatal necessity1 men of learning have   
recently  striven to curtail            
indefinitely the proportion of the      
supernatural in the history of ,jesus1  
and to explain by natural  means1 most  
of the acts and circumstances of his    
life4 ,a puerile  attempt1 which has    
altogether failed in the details1 still 
leaving untouched the substance of the  
problem4 ,no better success  will attend
 the new attempt that has in these days 
been made1 and  which consists in       
placing the ,ideal in the place of the  

,supernatural1 and in elevating         
religious sentiment upon the ruins  of  
the ,christian faith4 ,this is doing    
either too much or too  little4 ,the    
human soul is not satisfied with these  
leavings1 nor  human pride with such    
refusals1 ,when one is so hardy as to   
pretend1 in the name of the science of  
man in this finite world1  to determine 
the limits of the power of ,god1 one    
must be still  more hardy and--dethrone 
,god himself4    #bih    #bii           
,note4    ,i said 7p4 #ade7 that ,i     
would indicate some instances of        
grammatical faults to be met with in the
 ,scriptures1 to which the  character of
 divine inspiration cannot be assigned4 
,upon the  subject of the books of the  
,old ,testament ,i have consulted my    
learned confrre1 ,m4 ,munk2 his reply is
 in the precise words  which follow3    
,the biblical authors1 he writes to me1 
whose style is most    incorrect1 are   
,ezekiel and ,jeremiah4 ,these authors1 
and    particularly the first1 err      

frequently against grammar and          
orthography2 they are not merely        
influenced by the ,aramean    dialect1  
but they disclose grammatical faults    
capable of being    traced to no source 
in any of the ,semitic dialects4 ,this  
remark    has also been made by ,hebrew 
grammarians of the middle ages1    and  
,isaac ,abrabanel 7towards the close of 
the #aeth century71 in    the preface to
 his commentary upon ,ezekiel1 does not 
hesitate    to declare that this prophet
 was but superficially acquainted       
with ,hebrew grammar and orthography4   
#cjj    ,nevertheless1 neither ,jeremiah
 nor ,ezekiel1 of whom both are         
distinguished by a certain originality  
of style1 unlike that of    any of the  
other ,hebrew writers1 is wanting in    
elegance1    energy1 and boldness in    
images1 and they display in the highest 
degree their proficiency in the art of  
composition4 ,the    following are some 
instances of the grave faults against   
grammar to be met with in their         

writings3--      ,examples of ,incorrect
 ,expressions in ,ezekiel4              
,transcriber's note3 ,hebrew text is    
indicated by ,,hhhhhh4    ,some ,latin  
characters are not exact4 ,see the html 
version    for the original text4       
,,hhhhhh 7mischta' hawithem71 and they  
worshipped 7viii4    #af71 a barbarism  
for ,,hhhhhh 7mischta'hawm74            
,,hhhhhh 7we-nschaar ani71 and ,i       
remained 7xi4 #h71 for    ,,hhhhhh      
7wa-schar7 or ,,hhhhhh 7we-nischarti74  
7,there are here faults both of         
orthography and grammar47      ,,hhhhhh 
7ischth71 women 7xxiii4 #dd71 for       
,,hhhhhh    7nesch74 ,,hhhhhh 7schib'a71
 his seven burnt    offerings 7xl4 #bf71
 for ,,hhhhhh 7scheba'74 ,in the number 
seven the masculine is used instead of  
the feminine4      ,,hhhhhh             
7bi-benthayikh71 in that thou buildest  
7xvi4    #ca71 instead of ,,hhhhhh      
7bi-benotihkh74      ,,hhhhhh           
7be-schoubni71 when ,i returned 7xlvi4  
#g71    instead of ,,hhhhhh             

7be-schoubi74      ,,hhhhhh 7gabeh71 his
 height was exalted 7xxxi4 #e71         
instead of ,,hhhhhh 7gabeh74 ,the last  
letter is    aleph1 for h4    #cja      
,the ,chaldean plural is used in several
 words1 for instance3      ,,hhhhhh     
7'hittn71 wheat 7iv4 #i71 for ,,hhhhhh  
7'hittm72 ,,hhhhhh 7ha-iyyn71 the isles1
 or the    isles in the sea 7xxvi4 #ah71
 instead of ,,hhhhhh    7ha-iyyim71 an  
error in both orthography and grammar4  
,examples of ,incorrect ,expressions in 
,jeremiah4        ,,hhhhhh 7bd71 ,i will
 destroy 7xlvi4 #h71 for ,,hhhhhh       
7aabd74      ,,hhhhhh 7nibbetha71 hast  
thou prophesied 7xxvi4 #i71    instead  
of ,,hhhhhh 7nibbetha74 ,the syllable b 
has    a yod instead of an aleph4       
,,hhhhhh 7athanou7 we come 7iii4 #bb71  
instead of ,,hhhhhh    7athinou474      
,,hhhhhh 7att71 thee in the feminine    
7terminating with    yod mute71 for     
,,hhhhhh 7att71 a ,syriasm very         
frequent in ,jeremiah1 who often forms  
the second person of the    perfect fem4

 in ,,hhhhhh 7t followed by yod7        
instead of ,,hhhhhh 7t74 ,,hhhhhh 7l    
written with    waw quiescent71 not very
 often for ,,hhhhhh 7l    without the   
waw74      ,,hhhhhh 7hoglath71 shall be 
carried away captive 7xiii4    #ai71    
instead of ,,hhhhhh 7hogleth74 ,the     
latter ,chaldaism    we meet also in the
 ,pentateuch 7,leviticus xxv4 #bb71     
,,hhhhhh    7we'asath71 her fruits      
7shall7 come in4 for ,,hhhhhh           
7we'asetah71 and ibid xxvi4 #cd2        
,,hhhhhh    7we-hirzath71 she shall     
enjoy1 for ,,hhhhhh    7we-hirceth74    
#cjb    ,with respect to the ,new       
,testament1 ,i have required a similar  
notice from my son ,william1 who has    
made the ,greek language in  general1   
and its deviations in the writings of   
the ,gospel1 the  object of particular  
and careful study4 ,i insert1 also1 the 
note  which he has drawn up upon the    
subject3--      ,on first approaching   
the text of the ,new ,testament1 after  
having learnt the ,greek language and   

grammar in the classical    writers1 we 
are struck by numerous irregularities of
    expression3 amongst these1 however1 
we must carefully    distinguish those  
which constitute merely particular and  
singular modes of expression from those 
which are real faults4    ,the former   
are susceptible of explanation and      
justification by    different examples  
and different arguments2 the latter are 
not    capable of being reconciled with 
the elementary and necessary    laws of 
language4 ,thus we may justify such or  
such a strange    form of conjugation or
 of declension1 which would be accounted
    a barbarism by a school boy1 but    
which was nevertheless in    actual use 
in some one or other of the local       
dialects1 written    and spoken by the  
,greeks4  #cjc    ,again1 however it may
 have been the rule in ,greek to set the
    verb in the singular when used with 
a neuter substantive in the    plural1  
the rule has not been invariably        
observed even by the    purest classical

 writers1 and we may justify by         
exceptions    collected here and there  
in their compositions1 several          
passages of the ,new ,testament which1  
at first sight1 might    appear amenable
 to a charge of solecism4 ,thus1 in     
short1 after    our attention having1 at
 first sight1 been arrested and our     
minds disconcerted by other passages in 
which the sacred writer    has          
confounded the sense of two words which 
resemble each    other1 as ,greek text1 
which signifies summon a    witness1 and
 which ,st4 ,peter employs instead of   
,greek    text which means1 give        
testimony1,footnote #abg as    ,greek   
text1 which signifies to be incapable1  
and which    ,st4 ,matthew and ,st4     
,mark employ in the sense of being      
impossible1 ,footnote #abh--;as ,greek  
text1 which    signifies the meridian or
 zenith of a star1 and which1    on     
three occasions in the ,new ,testament1 
is used in the sense    of in the middle
 of the air1--or1 even when we meet     

words1 not merely strange to the ear1   
but formed without    attention to the  
rules and in contradiction to analogy1  
as    ,greek text for ,greek            
text,footnote #abi--we may again1       
without any departure from logical      
rules1 by judicious or    subtle        
distinctions1 escape from the           
difficulties which the    passages      
suggest1 and have a perfect right to do 
so4 ,but after    having made allowances
 for the irregularities susceptible of  
explanation in the language of the ,new 
,testament1 there still    remain some  
which are real faults4 ,the same word   
cannot be    written by the same hand1  
at an interval of but three pages1      
both masculine and feminine1 as the word
 ,greek text1    rainbow1 in the        
,apocalypse4 ,footnote #acj ,when    the
 substantive is feminine1 the adjective 
cannot be masculine1    as ,greek text4 
,footnote #aca        ,footnote #abg3 #a
 ,peter i4 #aa4        ,footnote #abh3  
,matthew xvii4 #bj2 ,luke i4 #cg4       

,footnote #abi3 #a ,corinthians ii #a4  
,footnote #acj3 ,compare iv4 #c1 and x4 
#a4        ,footnote #aca3 ,apocalypse  
xiv4 #ai4    #cjd    ,when the          
substantive is in the accusative1 the   
adjective cannot  be in the nominative4 
,in such an employment of words we are  
able  to trace in the sacred writings   
the hand of man1 marks of human         
imperfection and error2 and we must not 
forget that these faults  become more   
numerous and grosser the greater the    
antiquity of the  ,,ms4 in which we find
 them1 and the purer the ,jewish origin 
of the  writer4 ,thus the ,greek of the 
,apocalypse is singularly incorrect1  at
 the same time that the imaginative turn
 of the expression is  remarkably       
,hebraic4 ,footnote #acb ,in the text1  
styled the  received text1 and which was
 fixed in the #afth century1 many of    
these faults have disappeared1 because  
it has borrowed from ,,mss4  of then    
recent date4 ,but now that biblical     
philosophy has mounted  higher1 we can  

discern how the copyists1 one after the 
other1  actuated by pious scruples1 or  
thinking only to correct some  error of 
their predecessors1 have little by      
little effaced what  appeared to them   
too great a departure from rules to have
 been  written by an evangelist or an   
apostle4 ,at the present day1 these     
admitted irregularities are an element  
indispensible to every  serious         
discussion respecting the nature and    
extent of the divine  inspiration to be 
met with in the sacred volume4          
,footnote #acb3 ,apocalypse i4 #af2 iii4
 #ab2 iv4 #g2      ix4 #ac  #ad2 xiv4   
#ab2 xvi4 #ac2 xx4 #b1 c4               
,,the ,,end4      ,bradpury ,and ,evans1
 ,printers1 ,whitefriars4    #cje       
,albemarle ,street1            ,july1   
#ahfd                  ,mr4 ,murray's   
,list ,of ,new ,works4      ,the        
,quarterly ,review1 ,no4 ,,ccxxxi4 #hvo4
 #fs4      ,contents3        ,i4 ,words 
,and ,places4        ,,ii4 ,ludwig      
,uhland4        ,,iii4 ,free ,thinking2 

,its ,history ,and ,tendencies1         
,,iv4 ,the ,circassian ,exodus4         
,v4 ,lacordaire4        ,,vi4 ,christian
 ,art4        ,,vii4 ,public ,schools4  
,,viii4 ,travelling ,in ,england4       
,,ix4 ,the ,house ,op ,commons4         
,the ,archbishop ,of ,york's ,pastoral  
,letter ,to ,the ,clergy ,and    ,laity 
,of ,the ,province ,of ,york4 #hvo4 #as4
        ,the ,bishop ,of ,london's      
,second ,series ,of ,discourses ,on ,the
 ,word    ,of ,god ,and ,ground ,of     
,faith1 #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4        ,the    
,diary ,of ,a ,dutiful ,son4 ,by ,t4 ,g4
 ,fonnereau4    ,fcap4 #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 
,the ,shilling ,edition ,of ,the ,prince
 ,consort's ,speeches ,and              
,addresses4 ,portrait4 ,fcap4 #hvo4     
,on ,the ,introduction ,of ,a ,gold     
,currency ,for ,india4 ,by ,lieut4      
,gen4 ,mansfield4 #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4      
,sir ,william ,napier's ,life1 ,letters1
 ,and ,journals4 ,edited by the         
,right4 ,hon4 ,h4 ,a4 ,bruce1 ,m4 ,f4   
,portraits4 #b vols4 ,post #hvo4        

#bhs4        ,diary ,of ,mary ,countess 
,cowper1 ,lady ,of ,the ,bedchamber ,to 
,caroline1 ,princess ,of ,wales4        
,portrait4 #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4            
,rawlinson's ,ancient ,eastern          
,monarchies4 ,vols4 ,i4 and ,,ii4       
,chaldea ,and ,assyria4 ,with #djj      
,illustrations4 #hvo4 #afs4 each4       
,rambles ,in ,the ,deserts ,of ,syria1  
,and ,among ,the ,turkomans ,and        
,bedaweens4 ,post #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4     
,life ,and ,times ,of ,cicero2 ,his     
,character ,as ,a ,statesman1 ,orator1  
,and ,friend4 ,by ,william ,forsyte1    
,q4,c4 ,illustrations4 #b vols4    ,post
 #hvo4 #ahs4        ,siam1 ,cambojia1   
,and ,lao3 ,a ,narrative ,of ,travels   
,and    ,discoveries4 ,by ,henri        
,mouhot4 ,with #hj ,illustrations4 #b   
vols4    #hvo4 #cbs4        ,dean       
,milman's ,history ,of ,christianity1   
,from ,the ,birth ,of ,christ    ,to    
,the ,abolition ,of ,paganism ,in ,the  
,roman ,empire4 ,revised    ,edition4 #c
 vols4 #hvo4 #cfs4        ,the ,river   

,amazons3 ,a ,record ,of ,adventures    
,during ,eleven ,years    ,of ,travel4  
,by ,henry ,w4 ,bates4 ,second ,edition4
    ,illustrations4 ,post #hvo4 #abs4   
,life ,of ,sir ,howard ,douglas4 ,from  
,his ,notes1 ,conversations1 ,and       
,correspondence4 ,by ,s4 ,w4 ,fullom4   
,portrait4 #hvo4 #aes4        ,history  
,of ,charles ,the ,bold1 ,duke ,of      
,burgundy4 ,by ,j4 ,foster    ,kirk4    
,portraits4 #b vols4 #hvo4 #cjs4        
,mr4 ,gladstone's ,financial            
,statements1 #ahec1 '#fj1 '#fc1 and     
'#fd2    also his ,speeches ,on         
,tax-bills1 #ahfa1 and ,charities1      
#ahfc4 #hvo4    #abs4        ,metallurgy
 ,of ,iron ,and ,steel4 ,by ,john       
,percy1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,with #d    large     
,plans and #bjj ,illustrations to       
,scale4 #hvo4 #dbs4        ,lord        
,houghton's ,selections ,from ,his      
,poetical ,works1    ,published and     
,unpublished4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #fs4         
,tartar ,steppes ,and ,their            
,inhabitants4 ,described ,from ,letters 

,addressed ,to ,friends4 ,by ,mrs4      
,atkinson4 ,illustrations4 ,post4       
#hvo4 #abs4        ,the ,antiquity ,of  
,man1 ,from ,geological ,evidences2     
,with ,remarks    ,on ,theories ,of ,the
 ,origin ,of ,species ,by ,variation4   
,by ,sir    ,charles ,lyell1 ,f4,r4,s4  
#crd ,edition4 ,illustrations4 #hvo4    
#ads4        ,dr4 ,wm4 ,smith's         
,dictionary ,of ,the ,bible2 ,its       
,antiquities1    ,biography1 ,geography1
 ,and ,natural ,history4 ,by ,various   
,writers4    ,complete ,in #c ,vols4    
,illustrations4 ,medium #hvo4 #ajes4    
,aids ,to ,faith3 ,a ,series ,of        
,theological ,essays1 ,by ,various      
,writers4 ,edited ,by ,the ,lord        
,archbishop ,of ,york4 #hvo4 #ie4       
,history ,of ,england ,from ,the ,death 
,of ,charles ,i4 ,to ,the ,battle    ,of
 ,dunbar1 #afdh-ej4 ,chiefly ,from the  
,mss4 ,in ,the ,state ,paper    ,office4
 ,by ,andrew ,bissett4 #hvo4 #aes4      
,wedgwood3 ,an ,address ,by ,mr4        
,gladstone4 ,woodcuts4 ,post #hvo4 #bs4 

,the ,bampton ,lectures1 #ahfc2 ,the    
,relations ,between ,the ,divine    ,and
 ,human ,elements ,in ,holy ,scripture4 
,by ,rev4 ,j4 ,hannah1 ,d4,c4,l4        
#hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4        ,mr4 ,smiles's 
,industrial ,biography3 ,iron4 ,workers 
,and ,tool    ,makers4 ,a companion     
volume to ',self ,help4' #aeth          
,thousand4  ,post #hvo4 #fs4        ,the
 ,story ,of ,lord ,bacon's ,life4 ,by   
,w4 ,hepworth ,dixon4 ,portrait4        
,post #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4        ,rev4     
,canon ,cook's ,lincoln's ,inn ,and     
,other ,sermons4 #hvo4 #is4             
,history ,of ,the ,debates ,on ,the     
,grand ,remonstrance1 #afda4 ,by ,john  
,forster4 #bnd ,edition4 ,post #hvo4    
#abs4        ,lispings ,from ,low       
,latitudes3 ,an ,illustrated ,tour ,to  
,the ,east4    ,by ,the ,hon4 ,impulsia 
,gushington4 ,edited ,by ,lord          
,duffeuin4 ,with    #bd ,illustrations4 
#dto4        ,arthur ,hallam's ,remains4
 ,with ,preface and ,memoir4 #crd       
,edition4 ,portrait4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #gs4  

#f;d4        ,secularia2 or ,surveys ,on
 ,the ,main ,stream ,of ,history4 ,by   
,samuel    ,lucas1 ,m4 ,a4 #hvo4 #abs4  
,bishop ,blomfield's ,memoirs4 ,with    
,selections ,from ,his                  
,correspondence4 ,by ,his ,son4         
,portrait4 ,post #hvo4        ,the      
,fertilization ,of ,orchids ,by         
,insects1 ,and ,on ,the ,good           
,effects ,of ,intercrossing4 ,by        
,charles ,darwin4 ,illustrations4       
,post #hvo4 #is4        ,life ,of       
,william ,pitt1 ,with ,extracts ,from   
,his ,ms4 ,papers4 ,by    ,earl         
,stanhope4 #bnd ,edition4 ,portrait4 #d 
vols4 ,post #hvo4    #dbs4        ,sir  
,edward ,cust's ,annals ,of ,the ,wars  
,of ,x,v,i,i,ith and ,x,i,xth           
,centuries2 #agjj-ahae4 ,complete in #i 
vols4 ,maps4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4    each4 
,lives ,of ,british ,engineers2 ,from   
,the ,earliest ,period down to    the   
,death of ,george and ,robert           
,stephenson4 ,by ,samuel ,smiles4       
,with #g portraits and #cjj woodcuts4 #c

 vols4 #hvo4 #fcs4        ,denmark ,and 
,germany ,since #ahae4 ,by ,charles ,a4 
,gosch4 ,with #d    ,maps4 #hvo4 #ajs4  
#f;d4        ,general ,sir ,robert      
,wilson's ,autobiographical ,memoirs1   
,from    ,early ,life ,down ,to ,the    
,peace ,of ,tilsit4 ,portrait4 #b vols4 
#hvo4    #bfs4        ,history ,of ,the 
,modern ,styles ,of ,architecture4 ,by  
,james    ,fergusson4 ,illustrations4   
#hvo4 #cas4 #f;d4        ,laws ,of      
,nature1 ,the ,foundation ,of ,morals4  
,by ,david ,rowland4    ,post #hvo4 #fs4
        ,mr4 ,brace's ,popular ,history 
,of ,the ,races ,of ,the ,old ,world4   
,post    #hvo4 #is4        ,history ,of 
,the ,taeping ,rebellion ,in ,china4 ,by
 ,commander ,brine1    ,r4,n4 ,post     
#hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4        ,gongora's     
,poetical ,works4 ,translated1 ,with ,an
 ,historical ,and    ,critical ,essay1  
,by ,archdeacon ,churton4 ,portrait4 #b 
vols4 ,small    #hvo4 #aes4             
--------------------------------------- 
,john ,murray1 ,albemarle ,street4