,,the ,,system ,,of ,,nature2 or1 ,,the ,,laws of the ,,moral ,,and ,,physical ,,world4 ,,translated ,,from ,,the ,,original ,,french ,,of ,m4 ,,de ,,mirabaud ,,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,production ,,notes3 ,first published in ,french in #aggj under the pseudonym of ,mirabaud4 ,this e-book based on a facsimile reprint of an ,english translation originally published #ahbj-ba4 ,this e-text covers the second of the original two volumes4 ,,contents ,,part ,,ii4 ,of the ,divinity4--,proofs of his existence4-- ,of his attributes4--,of his influence over the happiness of man4 ,,chap4 ,i4 ,the origin of man's ideas upon the ,divinity4 ,,chap4 ,,ii4 ,of mythology4--,of theology ,,chap4 ,,iii4 ,of the confused and contradictory ideas of theology4 ,,chap4 ,,iv4 ,examination of the proofs of the existence of the ,divinity1 as given by ,clarke4 ,,chap4 ,v4 ,examination of the proofs offered by ,descartes1 ,malebranche1 ,newton1 c4 ,,chap4 ,,vi4 ,of ,pantheism2 or of the natural ideas of the ,divinity4 ,,chap4 ,,vii4 ,of ,theism--,of the ,system of ,optimism--,of ,final ,causes ,,chap4 ,,viii4 ,examination of the ,advantages which result from ,man's ,notions on the ,divinity2--of their ,influence upon ,morals2--upon ,politics2--upon ,science2--upon the ,happiness of ,nations1 and that of individuals4 ,,chap4 ,,ix4 ,theological ,notions cannot be the ,basis of ,morality4--,comparison between ,theological ,ethics and ,natural ,morality--,theology prejudicial to the ,human ,mind4 ,,chap4 ,x4 ,man can form no ,conclusion from the ,ideas which are offered him of the ,divinity4--,of their want of just ,inference4--,of the ,inutility of his ,conduct4 ,,chap4 ,,xi ,defence of the ,sentiments contained in this ,work4--,of ,impiety4--,do there exist ,atheists8 ,,chap4 ,,xii4 ,is what is termed ,atheism1 compatible with ,morality8 ,,chap4 ,,xiii4 ,of the motives which lead to what is falsely called ,atheism4--,can this ,system be dangerous8--,can it be embraced by the ,illiterate8 ,,chap4 ,,xiv4 ,a summary of the ,code of ,nature4 ,a ,brief ,sketch of the ,life and ,writings of ,m4 de ,mirabaud ,,mirabaud',s ,,system ,,of ,,nature ,translated from the ,original ,,by ,,samuel ,,wilkinson ,,part ,,ii4 ,,on ,,the ,,divinity3--,,proofs ,,of ,,his ,,existence3--,,of ,,his ,,attributes3 ,,of ,,his ,,influence ,,over ,,the ,,happiness ,,of ,,man4 ,,chap4 ,i4 ,the ,origin of ,man's ,ideas upon the ,divinity4 ,if man possessed the courage1 if he had the requisite industry to recur to the source of those opinions which are most deeply engraven on his brain2 if he rendered to himself a faithful account of the reasons which make him hold these opinions as sacred2 if he coolly examined the basis of his hopes1 the foundation of his fears1 he would find that it very frequently happens1 those objects1 or those ideas which move him most powerfully1 either have no real existence1 or are words devoid of meaning1 which terror has conjured up to explain some sudden disaster2 that they are often phantoms engendered by a disordered imagination1 modified by ignorance2 the effect of an ardent mind distracted by contending passions1 which prevent him from either reasoning justly1 or consulting experience in his judgment2 that this mind often labours with a precipitancy that throws his intellectual faculties into confusion2 that bewilders his ideas2 that consequently he gives a substance and a form to chimeras1 to airy nothings1 which he afterwards idolizes from sloth1 reverences from prejudice4 ,a sensible being placed in a nature where every part is in motion1 has various feelings1 in consequence of either the agreeable or disagreeable effects which he is obliged to experience from this continued action and re-action2 in consequence he either finds himself happy or miserable2 according to the quality of the sensations excited in him1 he will love or fear1 seek after or fly from1 the real or supposed causes of such marked effects operated on his machine4 ,but if he is ignorant of nature1 if he is destitute of experience1 he will frequently deceive himself as to these causes2 for want of either capability or inclination to recur back to them1 he will neither have a true knowledge of their energy1 nor a clear idea of their mode of acting3 thus until reiterated experience shall have formed his ideas1 until the mirror of truth shall have shewn him the judgment he ought to make1 he will be involved in trouble1 a prey to incertitude1 a victim to credulity4 ,man is a being who brings with him nothing into the world save an aptitude to feeling in a manner more or less lively according to his individual organization3 he has no innate knowledge of any of the causes that act upon him3 by degrees his faculty of feeling discovers to him their various qualities2 he learns to judge of them2 time familiarizes him with their properties2 he attaches ideas to them1 according to the manner in which they have affected him2 these ideas are correct or otherwise1 in a ratio to the soundness of his organic structure3 his judgment is faulty or not1 as these organs are either well or ill-constituted2 in proportion as they are competent to afford him sure and reiterated experience4 ,the first moments of man are marked by his wants2 that is to say1 the first impulse he receives is to conserve his existence2 this he would not be able to maintain without the concurrence of many analogous causes3 these wants in a sensible being1 manifest themselves by a general languor1 a sinking1 a confusion in his machine1 which gives him the consciousness of a painful sensation3 this derangement subsists1 is even augmented1 until the cause suitable to remove it re-establishes the harmony so necessary to the existence of the human frame4 ,want1 therefore1 is the first evil man experiences2 nevertheless it is requisite to the maintenance of his existence4 ,was it not for this derangement of his body1 which obliges him to furnish its remedy1 he would not be warned of the necessity of preserving the existence he has received4 ,without wants man would be an insensible machine1 similar to a vegetable2 like that he would be incapable of preserving himself2 he would not be competent to using the means required to conserve his being4 ,to his wants are to be ascribed his passions2 his desires2 the exercise of his corporeal functions2 the play of his intellectual faculties3 they are his wants that oblige him to think2 that determine his will1 that induce him to act2 it is to satisfy them or rather to put an end to the painful sensations excited by their presence1 that according to his capacity1 to the natural sensibility of his soul1 to the energies which are peculiar to himself1 he gives play to his faculties1 exerts the activity of his bodily strength1 or displays the extensive powers of his mind4 ,his wants being perpetual1 he is obliged to labour without relaxation1 to procure objects competent to satisfy them4 ,in a word1 it is owing to his multiplied wants that man's energy is kept in a state of continual activity3 as soon as he ceases to have wants1 he falls into inaction--becomes listless--declines into apathy--sinks into a languor that is incommodious to his feelings or prejudicial to his existence3 this lethargic state of weariness lasts until new wants1 by giving him fresh activity1 rouse his dormant faculties--throw off his stupor--re-animate his vigour1 and destroy the sluggishness to which he had become a prey4 ,from hence it will be obvious that evil is necessary to man2 without it he would neither be in a condition to know that which injures him2 to avoid its presence2 or to seek his own welfare3 without this stimulus1 he would differ in nothing from insensible1 unorganized beings3 if those evanescent evils which he calls wants1 did not oblige him to call forth his faculties1 to set his energies in motion1 to cull experience1 to compare objects1 to discriminate them1 to separate those which have the capabilities to injure him1 from those which possess the means to benefit him1 he would be insensible to happiness--inadequate to enjoyment4 ,in short1 without evil man would be ignorant of good2 he would be continually exposed to perish like the leaf on a tree4 ,he would resemble an infant1 who1 destitute of experience1 runs the risque of meeting his destruction at every step he takes1 unguarded by his nurse4 ,what the nurse is to the child1 experience is to the adult2 when either are wanting1 these children of different lustres generally go astray3 frequently encounter disaster4 ,without evil he would be unable to judge of any thing2 he would have no preference2 his will would be without volition1 he would be destitute of passions2 desire would find no place in his heart2 he would not revolt at the most disgusting objects2 he would not strive to put them away2 he would neither have stimuli to love1 nor motives to fear any thing2 he would be an insensible automaton2 he would no longer be a man4 ,if no evil had existed in this world1 man would never have dreamt of those numerous divinities1 to whom he has rendered such various modes of worship4 ,if nature had permitted him easily to satisfy all his regenerating wants1 if she had given him none but agreeable sensations1 his days would have uninterruptedly rolled on in one perpetual uniformity2 he would never have discovered his own nakedness2 he would never have had motives to search after the unknown causes of things--to meditate in pain4 ,therefore man1 always contented1 would only have occupied himself with satisfying his wants2 with enjoying the present1 with feeling the influence of objects1 that would unceasingly warn him of his existence in a mode that he must necessarily approve2 nothing would alarm his heart2 every thing would be analogous to his existence3 he would neither know fear1 experience distrust1 nor have inquietude for the future3 these feelings can only be the consequence of some troublesome sensation1 which must have anteriorly affected him1 or which by disturbing the harmony of his machine1 has interrupted the course of his happiness2 which has shewn him he is naked4 ,independent of those wants which in man renew themselves every instant2 which he frequently finds it impossible to satisfy2 every individual experiences a multiplicity of evils--he suffers from the inclemency of the seasons--he pines in penury--he is infected with plague--he is scourged by war--he is the victim of famine--he is afflicted with disease--he is the sport of a thousand accidents1 c4 ,this is the reason why all men are fearful2 why the whole human race are diffident4 ,the knowledge he has of pain alarms him upon all unknown causes1 that is to say1 upon all those of which he has not yet experienced the effect2 this experience made with precipitation1 or if it be preferred1 by instinct1 places him on his guard against all those objects from the operation of which he is ignorant what consequences may result to himself4 ,his inquietude is in proportion2 his fears keep pace with the extent of the disorder which these objects produce in him2 they are measured by their rarity1 that is to say1 by the inexperience he has of them2 by the natural sensibility of the soul2 and by the ardour of his imagination4 ,the wore ignorant man is1 the less experience he has1 the more he is susceptible of fear2 solitude1 the obscurity of a forest1 silence1 and the darkness of night1 desolate ruins1 the roaring of the wind1 sudden1 confused noises1 are objects of terror to all who are unaccustomed to these things4 ,the uninformed man is a child whom every thing astonishes2 who trembles at every thing he encounters3 his alarms disappear1 his fears diminish1 his mind becomes calm1 in proportion as experience familiarizes him1 more or less1 with natural effects2 his fears cease entirely1 as soon as he understands1 or believes he understands1 the causes that act2 or when he knows how to avoid their effects4 ,but if he cannot penetrate the causes which disturb him1 if he cannot discover the agents by whom he suffers1 if he cannot find to what account to place the confusion he experiences1 his inquietude augments2 his fears redouble2 his imagination leads him astray2 it exaggerates his evil2 paints in a disorderly manner these unknown objects of his terror2 magnifies their powers2 then making an analogy between them and those terrific objects1 with whom he is already acquainted1 he suggests to himself the means he usually takes to mitigate their anger2 to conciliate their kindness2 he employs similar measures to soften the anger1 to disarm the power1 to avert the effects of the concealed cause which gives birth to his inquietudes1 which fills him with anxiety1 which alarms his fears4 ,it is thus his weakness1 aided by ignorance1 renders him superstitious4 ,there are very few men1 even in our own day1 who have sufficiently studied nature1 who are fully apprised of physical causes1 or with the effects they must necessarily produce4 ,this ignorance1 without doubt1 was much greater in the more remote ages of the world1 when the human mind1 yet in its infancy1 had not collected that experience1 taken that expansion1 made those strides towards improvement1 which distinguishes the present from the past4 ,savages dispersed1 erratic1 thinly scattered up and down1 knew the course of nature either very imperfectly or not at all2 society alone perfects human knowledge3 it requires not only multiplied but combined efforts to unravel the secrets of nature4 ,this granted1 all natural causes were mysteries to our wandering ancestors2 the entire of nature was an enigma to them2 all its phenomena was marvellous1 every event inspired terror to beings who were destitute of experience2 almost every thing1 they saw must have appeared to them strange1 unusual1 contrary to their idea of the order of things4 ,it cannot then furnish matter for surprise1 if we behold men in the present day trembling at the sight of those objects which have formerly filled their fathers with dismay4 ,eclipse1 comets1 meteors1 were1 in ancient days1 subjects of alarm to all the people of the earth3 these effects1 so natural in the eyes of the sound philosopher1 who has by degrees fathomed their true causes1 have yet the right1 possess the power1 to alarm the most numerous1 to excite the fears of the least instructed part of modern nations4 ,the people of the present day1 as well as their ignorant ancestors1 find something marvellous1 believe there is a supernatural agency in all those objects to which their eyes are unaccustomed2 they consider all those unknown causes as wonderful1 that act with a force of which their mind has no idea it is possible the known agents are capable4 ,the ignorant see wonders prodigies1 miracles1 in all those striking effects of which they are unable to render themselves a satisfactory account2 all the causes which produce them they think supernatural2 this1 however1 really implies nothing more than that they are not familiar to them1 or that they have not hitherto witnessed natural agents1 whose energy was equal to the production of effects so rare1 so astonishing1 as those with which their sight has been appalled4 ,besides the ordinary phenomena to which nations were witnesses without being competent to unravel the causes1 they have in times very remote from ours1 experienced calamities1 whether general or local1 which filled them with the most cruel inquietude2 which plunged them into an abyss of consternation4 ,the traditions of all people1 the annals of all nations1 recal1 even at this day1 melancholy events1 physical disasters1 dreadful catastrophes1 which had the effect of spreading universal terror among our forefathers1 ,but when history should be silent on these stupendous revolutions1 would not our own reflection on what passes under our eyes be sufficient to convince us1 that all parts of our globe have been1 and following the course of things1 will necessarily be again violently agitated1 overturned1 changed1 overflowed1 in a state of conflagration8 ,vast continents have been inundated1 seas breaking their limits have usurped the dominion of the earth2 at length retiring1 these waters have left striking1 proofs of their presence1 by the marine vestiges of shells1 skeletons of sea fish1 c4 which the attentive observer meets with at every step1 in the bowels of those fertile countries we now inhabit--subterraneous fires have opened to themselves the most frightful volcanoes1 whose craters frequently issue destruction on every side4 ,in short1 the elements unloosed1 have at various times1 disputed among themselves the empire of our globe2 this exhibits evidence of the fact1 by those vast heaps of wreck1 those stupendous ruins spread over its surface4 ,what1 then1 must have been the fears of mankind1 who in those countries believed he beheld the entire of nature armed against his peace1 menacing with destruction his very abode8 ,what must have been the inquietude of a people taken thus unprovided1 who fancied they saw nature cruelly labouring to their annihilation8 ,who beheld a world ready to be dashed into atoms2 who witnessed the earth suddenly rent asunder2 whose yawning chasm was the grave of large cities1 whole provinces1 entire nations8 ,what ideas must mortals1 thus overwhelmed with terror1 form to themselves of the irresistible cause that could produce such extended effects8 ,without doubt they did not attribute these wide spreading calamities to nature2 neither did they conceive they were mere physical causes2 they could not suspect she was the author1 the accomplice of the confusion she herself experienced2 they did not see that these tremendous revolutions1 these overpowering disorders1 were the necessary result of her immutable laws2 that they contributed to the general order by which she subsists2 that1 in point of fact1 there was nothing more surprising in the inundation of large portions of the earth1 in the swallowing up an entire nation1 in a volcanic conflagration spreading destruction over whole provinces1 than there is in a stone falling to the earth1 or the death of a fly2 that each equally has its spring in the necessity of things4 ,it was under these astounding circumstances1 that nations1 bathed in the most bitter tears1 perplexed with the most frightful visions1 electrified with terror1 not believing there existed on this mundane ball1 causes sufficiently powerful to operate the gigantic phenomena that filled their minds with dismay1 carried their streaming eyes towards heaven1 where their tremulous fears led them to suppose these unknown agents1 whose unprovoked enmity destroyed1 their earthly felicity1 could alone reside4 ,it was in the lap of ignorance1 in the season of alarm1 in the bosom of calamity1 that mankind ever formed his first notions of the ,divinity4 ,from hence it is obvious that his ideas on this subject are to be suspected1 that his notions are in a great measure false1 that they are always afflicting4 ,indeed1 upon whatever part of our sphere we cast our eyes1 whether it be upon the frozen climates of the north1 upon the parching regions of the south1 or under the more temperate zones1 we every where behold the people when assailed by misfortunes1 have either made to themselves national gods1 or else have adopted those which have been given them by their conquerors2 before these beings1 either of their own creation or adoption1 they have tremblingly prostrated themselves in the hour of calamity1 soliciting relief2 have ignorantly attributed to blocks of stone1 or to men like themselves1 those natural effects which were above their comprehension2 the inhabitants of many nations1 not contented with the national gods1 made each to himself one or more gods1 which he supposed presided exclusively over his own household1 from whom he supposed he derived his own peculiar happiness1 to whom he attributed all his domestic misfortunes4 ,the idea of these powerful agents1 these supposed distributors of good and evil1 was always associated with that of terror2 their name was never pronounced without recalling to man's wind either his own particular calamities or those of his fathers4 ,in many places man trembles at this day1 because his progenitors have trembled for thousands of years past4 ,the thought of his gods always awakened in man the most afflicting ideas4 ,if he recurred to the source of his actual fears1 to the commencement of those melancholy impressions that stamp themselves in his mind when their name is announced1 he would find it in the conflagrations1 in the revolutions1 in those extended disasters1 that have at various times destroyed large portions of the human race2 that overwhelmed with dismay those miserable beings who escaped the destruction of the earth2 these in transmitting to posterity1 the tradition of such afflicting events1 have also transmitted to him their fears2 have delivered down to their successors1 those gloomy ideas which their bewildered imaginations1 coupled with their barbarous ignorance of natural causes1 had formed to them of the anger of their irritated gods1 to which their alarm falsely attributed these sweeping disasters4 ,if the gods of nations had their birth in the bosom of alarm1 it was again in that of despair that each individual formed the unknown power that he made exclusively for himself4 ,ignorant of physical causes1 unpractised in their mode of action1 unaccustomed to their effects1 whenever he experienced any serious misfortune1 whenever he was afflicted with any grievous sensation1 he was at a loss how to account for it2 he therefore attributed it to his household gods1 to whom he made an immediate supplication for assistance1 or rather for forbearance of further affliction3 this disposition in man has been finely pourtrayed by ,aesop in his fable of the ,waggoner and ,hercules4 ,the motion which in despight of himself was excited in his machine1 his diseases1 his troubles1 his passions1 his inquietude1 the painful alterations his frame underwent1 without his being able to fathom the true causes2 at length death1 of which the aspect in so formidable to a being strongly attached to existence1 were effects he looked upon either as supernatural1 or else he conceived they were repugnant to his actual nature2 he attributed them to some mighty cause1 which maugre all his efforts1 disposed of him at each1 moment4 ,thus palsied with alarm1 benumbed with terror1 he pensively meditated upon his sorrows2 agitated with fear1 he sought for means to avert the calamities that threatened him with destruction2 his imagination1 thus rendered desperate by his endurance of evils which he found inevitable1 formed to him those phantoms which he called gods2 before whom he trembled from a consciousness of his own weakness2 thus disposed1 he endeavoured by prostration1 by sacrifices1 by prayers1 to disarm the anger of these imaginary beings to which his trepidation had given birth2 whom he ignorantly imagined to be the cause of his misery1 whom his fancy painted to him as endowed with the power of alleviating his sufferings3 it was thus in the extremity of his grief1 in the exacerbation of his mind1 weighed down with misfortune1 that unhappy man fashioned those chimeras which filled him with the most gloomy ideas1 which he transmitted to his posterity1 as the surest means of avoiding the evils to which he had been himself subjected4 ,man never judges of those objects of which he is ignorant1 but through the medium of those which come within his knowledge3 thus man1 taking himself for the model1 ascribed will1 intelligence1 design1 projects1 passions2 in a word1 qualities analogous to his own1 to all those unknown causes of which he experienced the action4 ,as soon as a visible or supposed cause affects him in an agreeable manner1 or in a mode favourable to his existence1 he concludes it to be good1 to be well intentioned towards him3 on the contrary1 he judges all those to be bad in their nature1 evilly disposed1 to have the intention of injuring him1 which cause him any painful sensations4 ,he attributes views1 plans1 a system of conduct like his own1 to every thing which to his limited ideas appears of itself to produce connected effects2 to act with regularity2 to constantly operate in the same manner2 that uniformly produces the same sensations in his own person4 ,according to these notions1 which he always borrows from himself1 from his own peculiar mode of action1 he either loves or fears those objects which have affected him2 he in consequence approaches them with confidence or timidity2 seeks after them or flies from them in proportion as the feelings they have excited are either pleasant or painful4 ,having travelled thus far1 he presently addresses them2 he invokes their aid2 prays to them for succour2 conjures them to cease his afflictions2 to forbear tormenting him2 as he finds himself sensible to presents1 pleased with submission1 he tries to win them to his interests by humiliation1 by sacrifices2 he exercises towards them the hospitality he himself loves2 he gives them an asylum2 he builds them a dwelling2 he furnishes them with costly raiment2 he makes their altars smoke with delicious food2 he proffers to their acceptance the earliest flowers of spring2 the finest fruits of autumn2 the rich grain of summer2 in short he sets before them all those things which he thinks will please them the most1 because he himself places the highest value on them4 ,these dispositions enable us to account for the formation of tutelary gods1 of lares1 of larvae1 which every man makes to himself in savage and unpolished nations4 ,thus we perceive that weak superstitious mortals1 ignorant of truth1 devoid of experience1 regard as the arbiters of their fate1 as the dispensers of good and evil1 animals1 stones1 unformed inanimate substances1 which the effort of their heated imaginations transform into gods1 whom they invest with intelligence1 whom they clothe with desires1 to whom they give volition4 ,another disposition which serves to deceive the savage man1 which will equally deceive those whom reason shall not enlighten on these subjects1 is his attachment to omens2 or the fortuitous concurrence of certain effects1 with causes which have not produced them2 the co-existence of these effects with certain causes1 which have not the slightest connection with them1 has frequently led astray very intelligent beings2 nations who considered themselves very enlightened2 who have either been disinclined or unable to disentangle the one from the other3 thus the savage attributes bounty or the will to render him service1 to any object whether animate or inanimate1 such as a stone of a certain form1 a rock1 a mountain1 a tree1 a serpent1 an owl1 c4 if every time he encounters these objects in a certain position1 it should so happen that he is more than ordinarily successful in hunting1 that he should take an unusual quantity of fish1 that he should be victorious in war1 or that he should compass any enterprize whatever that he may at that moment undertake3 the same savage will be quite as gratuitous in attaching malice1 wickedness1 the determination to injure him1 to either the same object in a different position1 or any others in a given posture1 which way have met his eyes on those days when he shall have suffered some grievous accident1 have been very unsuccessful in his undertakings1 unfortunate in the chace1 disappointed in his draught of fish3 incapable of reasoning he connects these effects with causes1 that reflection would convince him have nothing in common with each other2 that are entirely due to physical causes1 to necessary circumstances1 over which neither himself nor his omens have the least controul3 nevertheless he finds it much easier to attribute them to these imaginary causes2 he therefore deifies them2 looks upon them as either his guardian angels1 or else as his most inveterate enemies4 ,having invested them with supernatural powers1 he becomes anxious to explain to himself their mode of action2 his self-love prevents his seeking elsewhere for the model3 thus he assigns them all those motives that actuate himself2 he endows them with passions2 he gives them design--intelligence--will--imagines they can either injure him or benefit him1 as he may render them propitious or otherwise to his views3 he ends with worshipping them2 with paying them divine honours2 he appoints them priests2 or at least always consults them before he undertakes any object of moment3 such is their influence1 that if they put on the evil position1 he will lay aside the most important undertaking4 ,the savage in this is never more than an infant1 that is angry with the object that displeases him2 just like the dog who gnaws the stone by which he has been wounded1 without recurring to the hand by which it was thrown4 ,such is the foundation of man's faith1 in either happy or unhappy omens3 devoid of experience1 unaccustomed to reason with precision1 fearing to call in the evidence of truth1 he looks upon them either as gods themselves1 or else as warnings given him by his other gods1 to whom he attributes the faculties of sagacity and foresight1 of which he is himself miserably deficient4 ,ignorance1 when involved in disaster1 when immersed in trouble1 believes a stone1 a reptile1 a bird1 much better instructed than himself4 ,the slender observation of the ignorant only serves to render him more superstitious2 he sees certain birds announce by their flight1 by their cries1 certain changes in the weather1 such as cold1 heat1 rain1 storms2 he beholds at certain periods1 vapours arise from the bottom of some particular caverns8 there needs nothing further to impress upon him the belief1 that these beings possess the knowledge of future events2 enjoy the gifts of prophecy3 he looks upon them as supernatural agents1 employed by his gods3 it is thus he becomes the dupe to his own credulity4 ,if by degrees the truth flashing occasionally on his mind1 experience and reflection arrive at undeceiving him1 with respect to the power1 the intelligence1 the virtues actually residing in these objects2 he at least supposes them put in activity by some secret1 some hidden cause2 that they are the instruments1 employed by some invisible agent1 who is either friendly or inimical to his welfare4 ,to this concealed agent1 therefore1 he addresses himself2 pays him his vows2 emplores his assistance2 deprecates his wrath2 seeks to propitiate him to his interests2 is willing to soften his anger2 for this purpose he employs the same means1 of which he avails himself1 either to appease or gain over the beings of his own species4 ,societies in their origin1 seeing themselves frequently afflicted by nature1 supposed either the elements1 or the concealed powers who regulated them1 possessed a will1 views1 wants1 desires1 similar to their own4 ,from hence1 the sacrifices imagined to nourish them2 the libations poured out to them2 the steams1 the incense to gratify their olfactory nerves4 ,their superstition led them to believe these elements or their irritated movers were to be appeased like irritated man1 by prayers1 by humiliation1 by presents4 ,their imagination was ransacked to discover the presents that would be most acceptable in their eyes2 to ascertain the oblations that would be most agreeable1 the sacrifices that would most surely propitiate their kindness3 as these did not make known their inclinations1 man differed with his fellow on those most suitable2 each followed his own disposition2 or rather each offered what was most estimable in his own eyes2 hence arose differences never to be reconciled the bitterest animosities2 the most unconquerable aversions2 the most1 destructive jealousies6 ,thus some brought the fruits of the earth1 others offered sheaves of corn3 some strewed flowers over their fanes2 some decorated them with the most costly jewels2 some served them with meats2 others sacrificed lambs1 heifers1 bulls2 at length such was their delirium1 such the wildness of their imaginations1 that they stained their altars with human gore1 made oblations of young children immolated virgins1 to appease the anger of these supposed deities4 ,the old men1 as having the most experience1 were usually charged with the conduct of these peace-offerings1 from whence1 the name ,,priest2 ,greek letters1 presbos1 in the ,greek meaning an old man4 ,these accompanied them with ceremonies1 instituted rites1 used precautions by consulting omens2 adopted formalities1 retraced to their fellow citizens the notions transmitted to them by their forefathers2 collected the observations made by their ancestors2 repeated the fables they had received2 added commentaries of their own2 subjoined supplications to the idols at whose shrine they were sacrificing4 ,it is thus the sacerdotal order was established2 thus that public worship was established2 by degrees each community formed a body of tenets to be observed by the citizens2 these were transmitted from race to race2 held sacred out of reverence for their fathers2 at length it was deemed sacrilege to doubt these pandects in any one particular2 even the errors1 that had crept into them with time1 were beheld with reverential awe2 he that ventured to reason upon them1 was looked upon as an enemy to the commonwealth2 as one whose impiety drew down upon them the vengeance of these adored beings1 to which alone imagination had given birth2 not contented with adopting the rituals1 with following the ceremonies invented by themselves1 one community waged war against another1 to oblige it to receive their particular creeds2 which the old men who regulated them1 declared would infallibly win them the favor of their tutelary deities3 thus very often to conciliate their favor1 the victorious party immolated on the altars of their gods1 the bodies of their unhappy captives2 frequently they carried their savage barbarity the length of exterminating whole nations1 who happened to worship gods different from their own3 thus it frequently happened1 that the friends of the serpent1 when victorious1 covered his altars with the mangled carcases of the worshippers of the stone1 whom the fortune of war had placed in their hands3 such were the unformed1 the precarious elements of which rude nations every where availed themselves to compose their superstitions3 they were always a system of conduct invented by imagination3 conceived in ignorance1 organized in misfortune1 to render the unknown powers1 to whom they believed nature was submitted1 either favorable to their views1 or to1 induce them to cease those afflictions1 which natural causes1 for the wisest purposes1 were continually heaping upon them2 thus some irascible1 at the same time placable being1 was always chosen for the basis of the adopted superstition2 it was upon these puerile tenets1 upon these absurd notions1 that the old men or the priests rested their doctrines2 founded their rights2 established their authority3 it was to render these fanciful beings friendly to the race of man1 that they erected1 temples1 raised altars1 loaded them with wealth2 in short1 it was from such rude foundations1 that arose the magnificent structure of superstition2 under which man trembled for thousands of years3 which governed the condition of society1 which determined the actions of the people1 gave the tone to the character1 deluged the earth with blood1 for such a long series of ages4 ,but although these superstitions were originally invented by savages1 they still have the power of regulating the fate of many civilized nations1 who are not less tenacious of their chimeras1 than their rude progenitors4 ,these systems1 so ruinous in their principles1 have been variously modified by the human mind1 of which it is the essence1 to labour incessantly on unknown objects2 it always1 commences by attaching to these1 a very first-rate importance1 which it afterwards never dares coolly to examine4 ,such was the course of man's imagination1 in the successive ideas which he either formed to himself1 or which he received from his fathers1 upon the divinity4 ,the first theology of man was grounded on fear1 modelled by ignorance3 either afflicted or benefitted by the elements1 he adored these elements themselves2 by a parity of reasoning1 if reasoning it can be called1 he extended his reverence to every material1 coarse object2 he afterwards rendered his homage to the agents he supposed presiding over these elements2 to powerful genii2 to inferior genii2 to heroes2 to men endowed with either great or striking qualities4 ,time1 aided by reflection1 with here and there a slight corruscation of truth1 induced him in some places to relinquish his original ideas2 he believed he simplified the thing by lessening the number of his gods1 but he achieved nothing by this towards attaining to the truth2 in recurring from cause to cause man finished by losing sight of every thing2 in this obscurity1 in this dark abyss1 his mind still laboured1 he formed new chimeras1 he made new gods1 or rather he formed a very complex machinery2 still1 as before1 whenever he could not account for any phenomenon that struck his sight1 he was unwilling to ascribe it to physical causes2 and the name of his ,divinity1 whatever that might happen to be1 was always brought in to supply his own ignorance of natural causes4 ,if a faithful account was rendered of man's ideas upon the ,divinity1 he would be obliged to acknowledge1 that for the most part the word ,gods has been used to express the concealed1 remote1 unknown causes of the effects he witnessed2 that he applies this term when the spring of natural1 the source of known causes ceases to be visible3 as soon as he loses the thread of these causes1 or as soon as his mind can no longer follow the chain1 he solves the difficulty1 terminates his research1 by ascribing it to his gods2 thus giving a vague definition to an unknown cause1 at which either his idleness1 or his limited knowledge1 obliges him to stop4 ,when1 therefore1 he ascribes to his gods the production of some phenomenon1 the novelty or the extent of which strikes him with wonder1 but of which his ignorance precludes him from unravelling the true cause1 or which he believes the natural powers with which he is acquainted are inadequate to bring forth2 does he1 in fact1 do any thing more than substitute for the darkness of his own mind1 a sound to which he has been accustomed to listen with reverential awe8 ,ignorance may be said to be the inheritance of the generality of men2 these attribute to their gods not only those uncommon effects that burst upon their senses with an astounding force1 but also the most simple events1 the causes of which are the most easy to be known to whoever shall be willing to meditate upon them4 ,in short1 man has always respected those unknown causes1 those surprising effects which his ignorance prevented him from fathoming4 ,but does this afford us one single1 correct idea of the ,divinity8 ,can it be possible we are acting rationally1 thus eternally to make him the agent of our stupidity1 of our sloth1 of our want of information on natural causes8 ,do we1 in fact1 pay any kind of adoration to this being1 by thus bringing him forth on every trifling occasion1 to solve the difficulties ignorance throws in our way8 ,of whatever nature this great cause of causes may be1 it is evident to the slightest reflection that he has been sedulous to conceal himself from our view2 that he has rendered it impossible for us to have the least acquaintance with him1 except through the medium of nature1 which he has unquestionably rendered competent to every thing3 this is the rich banquet spread before man2 he is invited to partake1 with a welcome he has no right to dispute2 to enjoy therefore is to obey2 to be happy is to render that worship which must make him most acceptable2 to be happy himself is to make others happy2 to make others happy is to be virtuous2 to be virtuous he must revere truth3 to know what truth is1 he must examine with caution1 scrutinize with severity1 every opinion he adopts3 this granted1 is it at all consistent with the majesty of the ,divinity1 is it not insulting to such a being to clothe him with our wayward passions2 to ascribe to him designs similar to our narrow view of things2 to give him our filthy desires2 to suppose he can be guided by our finite conceptions2 to bring him on a level with frail humanity1 by investing him with our qualities1 however much we may exaggerate them2 to indulge an opinion that he can either act or think as we do2 to imagine he can in any manner resemble such a feeble play-thing1 as is the greatest1 the most distinguished man8 ,no6 it is to degrade him in the eye of reason2 to violate every regard for truth2 to set moral decency at defiance2 to fall back into the depth of cimmerian darkness4 ,let man therefore sit down cheerfully to the feast2 let him contentedly partake of what he finds2 but let him not worry the ,divinity with his useless prayers1 with his shallow-sighted requests1 to solicit at his hands that which1 if granted1 would in all probability be the most injurious for himself2 these supplications are1 in fact1 at once to say1 that with our limited experience1 with our slender knowledge1 we better understand what is suitable to our condition1 what is convenient to our welfare1 than the mighty ,cause of all causes who has left us in the hands of nature3 it is to be presumptuous in the highest degree of presumption2 it is impiously to endeavour to lift up a veil which it is evidently forbidden man to touch2 that even his most strenuous efforts attempt in vain4 ,it remains1 then1 to inquire1 if man can reasonably flatter himself with obtaining a perfect knowledge of the power of nature2 of the properties of the beings she contains2 of the effects which may result from their various combinations8 ,do we know why the magnet attracts iron8 ,are we better acquainted with the cause of polar attraction8 ,are we in a condition to explain the phenomena of light1 electricity1 elasticity8 ,do we understand the mechanism by which that modification of our brain1 which we tall volition1 puts our arm or our legs into motion8 ,can we render to ourselves an account of the manner in which our eyes behold objects1 in which our ears receive sounds1 in which our mind conceives ideas8 ,all we know upon these subjects is1 that they are so4 ,if then we are incapable of accounting for the most ordinary phenomena1 which nature daily exhibits to us1 by what chain of reasoning do we refuse to her the power of producing other effects equally incomprehensible to us8 ,shall we be more instructed1 when every time we behold an effect of which we are not in a capacity to develope the cause1 we may idly say1 this effect is produced by the power1 by the will of ,god8 ,undoubtedly it is the great ,cause of causes must have produced every thing2 but is it not lessening the true dignity of the ,divinity1 to introduce him as interfering in every operation of nature2 nay1 in every action of so insignificant a creature as man8 ,as a mere agent executing his own eternal1 immutable laws2 when experience1 when reflection1 when the evidence of all we contemplate1 warrants the idea1 that this ineffable being has rendered nature competent to every effect1 by giving her those irrevocable laws1 that eternal1 unchangeable system1 according to which all the beings she contains must eternally act8 ,is it not more worthy the exalted mind of the ,,great ,,parent ,,of ,,parents1 ens entium1 more consistent with truth1 to suppose that his wisdom in giving these immutable1 these eternal laws to the macrocosm1 foresaw every thing that could possibly be requisite for the happiness of the beings contained in it2 that therefore he left it to the invariable operation of a system1 which never can produce any effect that is not the best possible that circumstances however viewed will admit3 that consequently the natural activity of the human mind1 which is itself the result of this eternal action1 was purposely given to man1 that he might endeavour to fathom1 that he might strive to unravel1 that he might seek out the concatenation of these laws1 in order to furnish remedies against the evils produced by ignorance4 ,how many discoveries in the great science of natural philosophy has mankind progressively made1 which the ignorant prejudices of our forefathers on their first announcement considered as impious1 as displeasing to the ,divinity1 as heretical profanations1 which could only be expiated by the sacrifice of the enquiring individuals2 to whose labour their posterity owes such an infinity of gratitude8 ,even in modern days we have seen a ,,socrates destroyed1 a ,,gallileo condemned1 whilst multitudes of other benefactors to mankind have been held in contempt by their uninformed cotemporaries1 for those very researches into nature which the present generation hold in the highest veneration4 ,whenever ignorant priests are permitted to guide the opinions of nations1 science can make but a very slender progress3 natural discoveries will be always held inimical to the interest of bigotted superstitious men4 ,it may1 to the minds of infatuated mortals1 to the shallow comprehension of prejudiced beings1 appear very pious to reply on every occasion our gods do this1 our gods do that2 but to the contemplative philosopher1 to the man of reason1 to the real adorers of the great ,cause of causes1 it will never be convincing1 that a sound1 a mere word1 can attach the reason of things2 can have more than a fixed sense2 can suffice to explain problems4 ,the word ,,god is for the most part used to denote the impenetrable cause of those effects which astonish mankind2 which man is not competent to explain4 ,but is not this wilful idleness8 ,is it not inconsistent with our nature8 ,is it not being truly impious1 to sit down with those fine faculties we have received1 and give the answer of a child to every thing we do not understand2 or rather which our own sloth1 or our own want of industry has prevented us from knowing8 ,ought we not rather to redouble our efforts to penetrate the cause of those phenomena which strike our mind8 ,is not this1 in fact1 the duty we owe to the great1 the universal ,parent8 ,when we have given this answer1 what have we said8 nothing but what every one knows4 ,could the great ,cause of causes make the whole1 without also making its part8 ,but does it of necessity follow that he executes every trifling operation1 when he has so noble an agent as his own nature1 whose laws he has rendered unchangeable1 whose scale of operations can never deviate from the eternal routine he has marked out for her and all the beings she embraces8 ,whose secrets1 if sought out1 contain the true balsam of life--the sovereign remedy for all the diseases of man4 ,when we shall be ingenuous with ourselves1 we shall be obliged to agree that it was uniformly the ignorance in which our ancestors were involved1 their want of knowledge of natural causes1 their unenlightened ideas on the powers of nature1 which gave birth to the gods they worshipped2 that it is1 again1 the impossibility which the greater part of mankind find to withdraw1 themselves out of this ignorance1 the difficulty they consequently find to form to themselves simple ideas of the formation of things1 the labour that is required to discover the true sources of those events1 which they either admire or fear1 that makes them believe these ideas are necessary to enable them to render an account of those phenomena1 to which their own sluggishness renders them incompetent to recur4 ,here1 without doubt1 is the reason they treat all those as irrational who do not see the necessity of admitting an unknown agent1 or some secret energy1 which for want of being acquainted with ,nature1 they have placed out of herself4 ,the phenomena of nature necessarily breed various sentiments in man3 some he thinks favorable to him1 some prejudicial1 while the whole is only what it can be4 ,some excite his love1 his admiration1 his gratitude2 others fill him with trouble1 cause aversion1 drive him to despair4 ,according to the various sensations he experiences1 he either loves or fears the causes to which he attributes the effects1 which produce in him these different passions3 these sentiments are commensurate with the effects he experiences2 his admiration is enhanced1 his fears are augmented1 in the same ratio as the phenomena which strikes his senses are more or less extensive1 more or less irresistible or interesting to him4 ,man necessarily makes himself the centre of nature2 indeed he can only judge of things1 as he is himself affected by them2 he can only love that which he thinks favorable to his being2 he hates1 he fears every thing which causes him to suffer3 in short1 as we have seen in the former volume1 he calls confusion every thing that deranges the economy of his machine2 he believes all is in order1 as soon as he experiences nothing but what is suitable to his peculiar mode of existence4 ,by a necessary consequence of these ideas1 man firmly believes that the entire of nature was made for him alone2 that it was only himself which she had in view in all her works2 or rather that the powerful cause to which this nature was subordinate1 had only for object man and his convenience1 in all the stupendous effects which are produced in the universe4 ,if there existed on this earth other thinking beings besides man1 they would fall exactly into similar prejudices with himself2 it is a sentiment founded upon that predilection which each individual necessarily has for himself2 a predilection that will subsist until reason1 aided by experience1 in pointing out the truth1 shall have rectified his errors4 ,thus1 whenever man is contented1 whenever every thing is in order with respect to himself1 he either admires or loves the causes to which he believes he is indebted for his welfare2 when he becomes discontented with his mode of existence1 he either fears or hates the cause which he supposes has produced these afflicting effects4 ,but his welfare confounds itself with his existence2 it ceases to make itself felt when it has become habitual1 when it has been of long continuance2 he then thinks it is inherrent to his essence2 he concludes from it that he is formed to be always happy2 he finds it natural that every thing should concur to the maintenance of his being4 ,it is by no means the same when he experiences a mode of existence that is displeasing to himself3 the man who suffers is quite astonished at the change which his taken place in his machine2 he judges it to be contrary to the entire of nature1 because it is incommodious to his own particular nature2 he1 imagines those events by which he is wounded1 to be contrary to the order of things2 he believes that nature is deranged every time she does not procure for him that mode of feeling which is suitable to his ideas3 he concludes from these suppositions that nature1 or rather that the agent who moves her2 is irritated against him4 ,it is thus that man1 almost insensible to good1 feels evil in a very lively manner2 the first he believes natural1 the other he thinks opposed to nature4 ,he is either ignorant1 or forgets1 that he constitutes part of a whole1 formed by the assemblage of substances1 of which some are analogous1 others heterogeneous2 that the various beings of which nature is composed1 are endowed with a variety of properties1 by virtue of which they act diversely on the bodies who find themselves within the sphere of their action2 that some have an aptitude to attraction1 whilst it is of the essence of others to repel2 that even those bodies that attract at one distance1 repel at another2 that the peculiar attractions and repulsions of the particles of bodies perpetually oppose1 invariably counteract the general ones of the masses of matter3 he does not perceive that these beings1 as destitute of goodness1 as devoid of malice1 act only according to their respective essences2 follow the laws their properties impose upon them2 without being in capacity to act otherwise than they do4 ,it is1 therefore1 for want of being acquainted with these things1 that he looks upon the great ,author of nature1 the great ,cause of causes1 as the immediate cause of those evils to which he is submitted2 that he judges erroneously when he imagines that the ,divinity is exasperated against him4 ,the fact is1 man believes that his welfare is a debt due to him from nature2 that when he suffers evil she does him an injustice2 fully persuaded that this nature was made solely for himself1 he cannot conceive she would make him1 who is her lord paramount1 suffer1 if she was not moved thereto by a power who is inimical to his happiness2 who has reasons with which he is unacquainted for afflicting1 who has motives which he wishes to discover1 for punishing him4 ,from hence it will be obvious1 that evil1 much more than good1 is the true motive of those researches which man has made concerning the ,divinity--of those ideas which he has formed to himself--of the conduct he has held towards him4 ,the admiration of the works of nature1 or the acknowledgement of its goodness1 seem never alone to have determined the human species to recur painfully by thought to the source of these things2 familiarized at once with all those effects which are favourable to his existence1 he does not by any means give himself the same trouble to seek the causes1 that he does to discover those which disquiet him1 or by which he is afflicted4 ,thus1 in reflecting upon the ,divinity1 it was generally upon the cause of his evils that man meditated2 his meditations were fruitless1 because the evil he experiences1 as well as the good he partakes1 are equally necessary effects of natural causes1 to which his mind ought rather to have bent its force1 than to have invented fictitious causes of which he never could form to himself any but false ideas2 seeing that he always borrowed them1 from his own peculiar mariner of existing1 acting1 and feeling4 ,obstinately refusing to see any thing1 but himself1 he never became acquainted with that universal nature of which he constitutes such a very feeble part4 ,the slightest reflection1 however1 would have been sufficient to undeceive him on these erroneous ideas4 ,everything tends to prove that good and evil are modes of existence that depend upon causes by which a man is moved2 that a sensible being is obliged to experience them4 ,in a nature composed of a multitude of beings infinitely varied1 the shock occasioned by the collision of discordant matter must necessarily disturb the order1 derange the mode of existence of those beings who have no analogy with them3 these act in every thing they do after certain laws1 which are in themselves immutable2 the good or evil1 therefore1 which man experiences1 are necessary consequences of the qualities inherent to the beings1 within whose sphere of action he is found4 ,our birth1 which we call a benefit1 is an effect as necessary as our death1 which we contemplate as an injustice of fate3 it is of the nature of all analogous beings to unite themselves to form a whole3 it is of the nature of all compound beings to be destroyed1 or to dissolve themselves2 some maintain their union for a longer period than others2 some disperse very quickly1 as the ephemeron2 some endure for ages1 as the planets2 every being in dissolving itself gives birth to new beings2 these are destroyed in their turn2 to execute the eternal1 the immutable laws of a nature that only exists by the continual changes that all its parts undergo4 ,thus nature cannot be accused of malice1 since every thing that takes place in it is necessary--is produced by an invariable system1 to which every other being1 as well as herself1 is eternally subjected4 ,the same igneous matter that in man is the principle of life1 frequently becomes the principle of his destruction1 either by the conflagration of a city1 the explosion of a volcano1 or his mad passion for war4 ,the aqueous fluid that circulates through his machine1 so essentially necessary to his actual existence1 frequently becomes too abundant1 and terminates him by suffocation2 is the cause of those inundations which sometimes swallow up both the earth and its inhabitants4 ,the air1 without which he is not able to respire1 is the cause of those hurricanes1 of those tempests1 which frequently render useless the labour of mortals4 ,these elements are obliged to burst their bonds1 when they are combined in a certain manner2 their necessary but fatal consequences are those ravages1 those contagions1 those famines1 those diseases1 those various scourges1 against which man1 with streaming eyes and violent emotions1 vainly implores the aid of those powers who are deaf to his cries3 his prayers are never granted2 but the same necessity which afflicted him1 the same immutable laws which overwhelmed him with trouble1 replaces things in the order he finds suitable to his species3 a relative order of things which was1 is1 and always will be the only standard of his judgment4 ,man1 however1 made no such simple reflections3 he either did not or would not perceive that every thing in nature acted by invariable laws2 he continued stedfast in contemplating the good of which he was partaker1 as a favor2 in considering the evil he experienced1 as a sign of anger in this nature1 which he supposed to be animated by the same passions as himself or at least that it was governed by secret agents1 who acted after his own manner1 who obliged it to execute their will1 that was sometimes favourable1 sometimes inimical to the human species4 ,it was to these supposed agents1 with whom in the sunshine of his prosperity he was but little occupied1 that in the bosom of his calamity he addressed his prayers2 he thanked them1 however1 for their favours1 fearing lest their ingratitude might farther provoke their fury3 thus when assailed by disaster1 when afflicted with disease1 he invoked them with fervor3 he required them to change in his favor the mode of acting which was the very essence of beings2 he was willing that to make the slightest evil he experienced cease1 that the eternal chain of things might be broken2 and the unerring1 undeviating course of nature might he arrested4 ,it was upon such ridiculous pretensions1 that were founded those supplications1 those fervent prayers1 which mortals1 almost always discontented with their fate1 never in accord in their respective desires1 addressed to their gods4 ,they were unceasingly upon their knees before the altars1 were ever prostrate before the power of the beings1 whom they judged had the right of commanding nature2 who they supposed to have sufficient energy to divert her course2 who they considered to possess the means to make her subservient to their particular views2 thus each hoped by presents1 by humiliation1 to induce them to oblige this nature1 to satisfy the discordant desires of their race4 ,the sick man1 expiring in his bed1 asks that the humours accumulated in his body should in an instant lose those properties which renders them injurious to his existence2 that by an act of their puissance1 his gods should renew or recreate the springs of a machine worn out by infirmities4 ,the cultivator of a low swampy country1 makes complaint of the abundance of rain with which his fields are inundated2 whilst the inhabitant of the hill1 raises his thanks for the favors he receives1 solicits a continuance of that which causes the despair of his neighbour4 ,in this1 each is willing to have a god for himself1 and asks according to his momentary caprices1 to his fluctuating wants1 that the invariable essence of things1 should be continually changed in his favour4 ,from this it must be obvious1 that man every moment asks a miracle to be wrought in his support4 ,it is not1 therefore1 at all surprising that he displayed such ready credulity1 that he adopted with such facility the relation of the marvellous deeds which were universally announced to him as the acts of the power1 or the effects of the benevolence1 of the various gods which presided over the nations of the earth3 these wonderful tales1 which were offered to his acceptance1 as the most indubitable proofs of the empire of these gods over nature1 which man always found deaf to his entreaties1 were readily accredited by him2 in the expectation1 that if he could gain them over to his interest1 this nature1 which he found so sullen1 so little disposed to lend herself to his views1 would then be controuled in his own favor4 ,by a necessary consequence of these ideas1 nature was despoiled of all power2 she was contemplated only as a passive instrument1 who acted at the will1 under the influence of the numerous1 all-powerful agents to whom the various superstitions had rendered her subordinate4 ,it was thus for want of contemplating nature under her true point of view1 that man has mistaken her entirely1 that he believed her incapable of producing any thing by herself2 that he ascribed the honor of all those productions1 whether advantageous or disadvantageous to the human species1 to fictitious powers1 whom he always clothed with his own peculiar dispositions1 only he aggrandized their force4 ,in short1 it was upon the ruins of nature1 that man erected the imaginary colossus of superstition1 that he reared the altars of a ,jupiter1 the temples of an ,apollo4 ,if the ignorance of nature gave birth to such a variety of gods1 the knowledge of this nature is calculated to destroy them4 ,as soon as man becomes enlightened1 his powers augment1 his resources increase in a ratio with his knowledge2 the sciences1 the protecting arts1 industrious application1 furnish him assistance2 experience encourages his progress1 truth procures for him the means of resisting the efforts of many causes1 which cease to alarm him as soon as he obtains a correct knowledge of them4 ,in a word1 his terrors dissipate in proportion as his mind becomes enlightened1 because his trepidation is ever commensurate with his ignorance1 and furnishes this great lesson1 that man1 instructed by truth1 ceases to be superstitious4 ,,chap4 ,,ii4 ,of ,mythology1 and ,theology4 ,the elements of nature were1 as we have shewn1 the first divinities of man2 he has generally commenced with adoring material beings2 each individual1 as we have already said1 as may be still seen in savage nations1 made to himself a particular god1 of some physical object1 which he supposed to be the cause of those events1 in which he was himself interested2 he never wandered to seek out of visible nature1 the source either of what happened to himself1 or of those phenomena to which he was a witness4 ,as he every where saw only material effects1 he attributed them to causes of the same genus2 incapable in his infancy of those profound reveries1 of those subtle speculations1 which are the fruit of time1 the result of leisure1 he did not imagine any cause distinguished from the objects that met his sight1 nor of any essence totally different from every thing he beheld4 ,the observation of nature was the first study of those who had leisure to meditate3 they could not avoid being struck with the phenomena of the visible world4 ,the rising and setting of the sun1 the periodical return of the seasons1 the variations of the atmosphere1 the fertility and sterility of the earth1 the advantages of irrigation1 the damage caused by floods1 the useful effects of fire1 the terrible consequences of conflagration1 were proper and suitable objects to occupy their thoughts4 ,it was natural for them to believe that those beings they saw move of themselves1 acted by their own peculiar energies2 according as their influence over the inhabitants of the earth was either favorable or otherwise1 they concluded them to have either the power to injure them1 or the disposition to confer benefits4 ,those who first acquired the knowledge of gaining an ascendancy over man1 then savage1 wandering1 unpolished1 or dispersed in woods1 with but little attachment to the soil1 of which he had not yet learned to reap the advantage1 were always more practised observers--individuals more instructed in the ways of nature1 than the people1 or rather the scattered hordes1 whom they found ignorant and destitute of experience3 their superior knowledge placed them in a capacity to render these services--to discover to them useful inventions1 which attracted the confidence of the unhappy beings to whom they came to offer an assisting hand2 savages who were naked1 half famished1 exposed to the injuries of the weather1 obnoxious to the attacks of ferocious beasts1 dispersed in caverns1 scattered in forests1 occupied with hunting1 painfully labouring to procure themselves a very precarious subsistence1 had not sufficient leisure to make discoveries calculated to facilitate their labour1 or to render it less incessant4 ,these discoveries are generally the fruit of society3 isolated beings1 detached families1 hardly ever make any discoveries--scarcely ever think of making any4 ,the savage is a being who lives in a perpetual state of infancy1 who never reaches maturity unless some one comes to draw him out of his misery4 ,at first repulsive1 unsociable1 intractable1 he by degrees familiarizes himself with those who render him service2 once gained by their kindness1 he readily lends them his confidence2 in the end he goes the length of sacrificing to them his liberty4 ,it was commonly from the bosom of civilized nations that have issued those personages who have carried sociability1 agriculture1 art1 laws1 gods1 superstition1 forms of worship1 to those families or hordes as yet scattered2 who united them either to the body of some other nations1 or formed them into new nations1 of which they themselves became the leaders1 sometimes the king1 frequently the high priest1 and often their god4 ,these softened their manners--gathered them together--taught them to reap the advantages of their own powers--to render each other reciprocal assistance--to satisfy their wants with greater facility4 ,in thus rendering their existence more comfortable1 thus augmenting their happiness1 they attracted their love2 obtained their veneration1 acquired the right of prescribing opinions to them1 made them adopt such as they had either invented themselves1 or else drawn up in the civilized countries from whence they came4 ,history points out to us the most famous legislators as men1 who1 enriched with useful knowledge they had gleaned in the bosom of polished nations1 carried to savages without industry1 needing assistance1 those arts1 of which1 until then1 these rude people were ignorant3 such were the ,bacchus's1 the ,orpheus's1 the ,triptolemus's1 the ,numa's1 the ,zamolixis's2 in short1 all those who first gave to nations their gods--their worship--the rudiments of agriculture1 of science1 of superstition1 of jurisprudence1 of religion1 c4 ,it will perhaps be enquired1 ,if those nations which at the present day we see assembled1 were all originally dispersed8 ,we reply1 that this dispersion may have been produced at various times1 by those terrible revolutions1 of which it has before been remarked our globe has more than once been the theatre2 in times so remote1 that history has not been able to transmit us the detail4 ,perhaps the approach of more than one comet may have produced on our earth several universal ravages1 which have at each time annihilated the greater portion of the human species4 ,these hypotheses will unquestionably appear bold to those who have not sufficiently meditated on nature1 but to the philosophic enquirer they are by no means inconsistent4 ,there may not only have been one general deluge1 but even a great number since the existence of our planet2 this globe itself may have been a new production in nature2 it may not always have occupied the place it does at present4 ,whatever idea may be adopted on this subject1 if it is very certain that1 independent of those exterior causes1 which are competent to totally change its face1 as the impulse of a comet may do1 this globe contains within itself1 a cause adequate to alter it entirely1 since1 besides the diurnal and sensible motion of the earth1 it has one extremely slow1 almost imperceptible1 by which every thing must eventually be changed in it3 this is the motion from whence depends the precession of the equinoctial points1 observed by ,hipparchus and other mathematicians1 now well understood by astronomers2 by this motion1 the earth must at the end of several thousand years change totally3 this motion will at length cause the ocean to occupy that space which at present forms the lands or continents4 ,from this it will be obvious that our globe1 as well as all the beings in nature1 has a continual disposition to change4 ,this motion was known to the ancients1 and was what gave rise to what they called their great year1 which the ,egyptians fixed at thirty-six thousand five hundred and twenty-five years3 the ,sabines at thirty-six thousand four hundred and twenty-five1 whilst others have extended it to one hundred thousand1 some even to seven hundred and fifty-three thousand years4 ,again1 to those general revolutions which our planet has at different times experienced1 way he added those that have been partial1 such as inundations of the sea1 earthquakes1 subterraneous conflagrations1 which have sometimes had the effect of dispersing particular nations1 and to make them forget all those sciences with which they were1 before acquainted4 ,it is also probable that the first volcanic fires1 having had no previous vent1 were more central1 and greater in quantity1 before they burst the crust of earth2 as the sea washed the whole1 it must have rapidly sunk down into every opening1 where1 falling on the boiling lava1 it was instantly expanded into steam1 producing irresistible explosion3 whence it is reasonable to conclude1 that the primaeval earthquakes wore more widely extended1 and of much greater force1 than those which occur in our days4 ,other vapours may be produced by intense heat1 possessing a much greater elasticity1 from substances that evaporate1 such as mercury1 diamonds1 c42 the expansive force of these vapours would be much greater than the steam of water1 even at red hot heat consequently they1 way have had sufficient energy to raise islands1 continents1 or even to have detached the moon from the earth2 if the moon1 as has been supposed by some philosophers1 was thrown out of the great cavity which now contains the ,south ,sea2 the immense quantity of water flowing in from the original ocean1 and which then covered the earth1 would much contribute to leave the continents and islands1 which might be raised at the same time1 above the surface of the water4 ,in later days we have accounts of huge stones falling1 from the firmament1 which may have been thrown by explosion from some distant earthquake1 without having been impelled with a force sufficient to cause them to circulate round the earth1 and thus produce numerous small moons or satellites4 ,those who were able to escape from the ruin of the world1 filled with consternation1 plunged in misery1 were but little conditioned to preserve to their posterity a knowledge1 effaced by those misfortunes1 of which they had been both the victims and the witnesses3 overwhelmed with dismay1 trembling with fear1 they were not able to hand down the history of their frightful adventures1 except by obscure traditions2 much less to transmit to us the opinions1 the systems1 the arts1 the sciences1 anterior to these petrifying revolutions of our sphere4 ,there have been perhaps men upon the earth from all eternity2 but at different periods they may have been nearly annihilated1 together with their monuments1 their sciences1 and their arts2 those who outlived these periodical revolutions1 each time formed a new race of men1 who by dint of time1 labour1 and experience1 have by degrees withdrawn from oblivion the inventions of the primitive races4 ,it is1 perhaps1 to these periodical revolutions of the human species1 that is to be ascribed the profound ignorance in which we see man yet plunged1 upon those objects that are the most interesting to him4 ,this is1 perhaps1 the true source of the imperfection of his knowledge--of the vices of his political institutions--of the defect in his religion--of the growth of superstition1 over which terror has always presided2 here1 in all probability1 is the cause of that puerile inexperience1 of those jejune prejudices1 which almost every where keep man in a state of infancy1 and which render him so little capable of either listening to reason or of consulting truth4 ,to judge by the slowness of his progress1 by the feebleness of his advance1 in a number of respects1 we should be inclined to say1 the human race has either just quitted its cradle1 or that he was never destined to attain the age of virility--to corroborate his reason4 ,however it may be with these conjectures1 whether the human race may always have existed upon the earth1 whether it may have been a recent production of nature1 whether the larger animals we now behold were originally derived from the smallest microscopic ones1 who have increased in bulk with the progression of time1 or whether1 as the ,egyptian philosophers thought1 mankind were originally hermaphrodites1 who like the aphis produced the sexual distinction after some generations1 which was also the opinion of ,plato1 and seems to have been that of ,moses1 who was educated amongst these ,egyptians1 as may be gathered from the #bgth and #bhth verses of the first chapter of ,,genesis3 ,so ,god created man in his own image1 in the image of ,god created he him2 male and female created he them--,and ,,god blessed them1 and ,,god said unto them1 be fruitful1 and multiply1 and replenish the earth1 and subdue it3 and have dominion over the fish of the sea1 and over the fowl of the air1 and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth3 it is not therefore presuming too much to suppose1 as the ,egyptians were a nation very fond of explaining their opinions by hieroglyphics1 that that part which describes ,eve as taken out of ,adam's rib1 was an hieroglyphic emblem3 showing that mankind was in the primitive state of both sexes1 united1 who was afterwards divided into males and females4 ,however1 ,i say1 this may be1 it is extremely easy to recur to the origin of many existing nations3 we shall find them always in the savage state2 that is1 to say1 dispersed2 composed of families detached from each other2 of wandering1 hordes2 these were collected together1 approximated at the voice of some missionary or legislator1 from whom they received great benefits1 who gave them gods1 opinions1 and laws4 ,these personages1 of whom the people newly congregated readily acknowledged the superiority1 fixed the national gods1 leaving to each individual1 those which he had formed to himself1 according to his own peculiar ideas1 or else substituting others brought from those regions1 from whence they themselves had emigrated4 ,the better to imprint their lessons on the minds of their new subjects1 these men became the guides1 the priests1 the sovereigns1 the masters of these infant societies2 they formed discourses by which they spoke to the imagination of their willing auditors4 ,,poetry seem best adapted to strike the mind of these rude people1 to engrave on their memory those ideas with which they were willing to imbue them3 its images1 its fictions1 its numbers1 its rhyme its harmony1 all conspired to please their fancy1 to render permanent the impressions it made3 thus1 the entire of nature1 as well as all its parts1 was personified1 by its beautiful allegories3 at its soothing voice1 trees1 stones1 rocks1 earth1 air1 fire1 water1 by imagination took intelligence1 held conversation with man1 and with themselves2 the elements were deified by its songs1 every thing was figuratively detailed in harmonious lays4 ,the sky1 which according to the then philosophy1 was an arched concave1 spreading over the earth1 which was supposed to be a level plain2 7for the doctrine of antipodes is of rather modern date7 was itself made a god2 was considered a more suitable residence1 as making a greater distinction for these imaginary deities than the earth on which man himself resided4 ,thus the firmament was filled with deities4 ,time1 under the name of ,saturn1 was pictured as the son of heaven2 or ,coelus by earth1 called ,terra1 or ,thea2 he was represented as an inexorable divinity--naturally artful1 who devoured his own children--who revenged the anger of his mother upon his father2 for which purpose she armed him with a scythe1 formed of metals drawn from her own bowels1 with which he struck ,coelus1 in the act of uniting himself to ,thea1 and so mutilated him1 that he was ever after incapacitated to increase the number of his children3 he was said to have divided the throne with ,janus king of ,italy1 his reign seems to have been so mild1 so beneficent1 that it was called the golden age2 human victims were sacrificed on his altars1 until abolished by ,hercules1 who substituted small images of clay4 ,festivals in honor of this god1 called ,saturnalia1 were instituted long antecedent to the foundation of ,rome they were celebrated about the middle of ,december1 either on the #afth1 #agth1 or #ahth2 they lasted in latter times several days1 originally but one4 ,universal liberty prevailed at the celebration1 slaves were permitted to ridicule their masters--to speak freely on every subject--no criminals were executed--war never declared2 the priests made their human offerings with their heads uncovered2 a circumstance peculiar to the ,saturnalia1 not adopted at other festivals4 ,the igneous matter1 the etherial electric fluid1 that invisible fire which vivifies nature1 that penetrates all beings1 that fertilizes the earth1 which is the great principle of motion1 the source of heat1 was deified under the name of ,jupiter3 his combination with every being in nature was expressed by his metamorphoses--by the frequent adulteries imputed to him4 ,he was armed with thunder1 to indicate he produced meteors1 to typify the electric fluid that is called lightning4 ,he married the winds1 which were designated under the name of ,juno1 therefore called the ,goddess of the ,winds1 their nuptials were celebrated with great solemnity2 all the gods1 the entire brute creation1 the whole of mankind attended1 except one young woman named ,chelone1 who laughed at the ceremonies1 for which impiety she was changed by ,mercury into a tortoise1 and condemned to perpetual silence4 ,he was the most powerful of all the gods1 and considered as the king and father both of gods and men3 his worship was very extended1 performed with greater solemnity1 than that of any other god4 ,upon his altars smoked goats1 sheep1 and white bulls1 in which he is said to have particularly delighted2 the oak was rendered sacred to him1 because he taught mankind to live upon acorns2 he had many oracles where his precepts were delivered1 the most celebrated of these were at ,dodona and ,ammon in ,lybia2 he was supposed to be invisible to the inhabitants of the earth2 the ,lacedemonians erected his statue with four heads1 thereby indicating1 that he listened readily to the solicitations of every quarter of the earth4 ,minerva is represented as having no mother1 but to have come completely armed from his brains1 when his head was opened by ,vulcan2 by which it is meant to infer that wisdom is the result of this ethereal fluid4 ,thus1 following the same fictions1 the sun1 that beneficent star which has such a marked influence over the earth1 became an ,osiris1 a ,belus1 a ,mithras1 an ,adonis1 an ,apollo4 ,nature1 rendered sorrowful by his periodical absence1 was an ,isis1 an ,astarte1 a ,venus1 a ,cybele4 ,astarte had a magnificent temple at ,hieropolis served by three hundred priests1 who were always employed in offering sacrifices4 ,the priests of ,cybele1 called ,corybantes1 also ,galli1 were not admitted to their sacred functions without previous mutilation4 ,in the celebration of their festivals these priests used all kinds of indecent expressions1 beat drums1 cymbals1 and behaved just like madmen3 his worship extended all over ,phrygia1 and was established in ,greece under the name of ,eleusinian mysteries4 ,in short1 every thing was personified3 the sea was under the empire of ,neptune2 fire was adored by the ,egyptians under the name of ,serapis2 by the ,persians1 under that of ,ormus or ,oromaze2 and by the ,romans1 under that of ,vesta and ,vulcan4 ,such was the origin of mythology3 it may be said to be the daughter of natural philosophy1 embellished by poetry2 only destined to describe nature and its parts4 ,if antiquity is consulted1 it will be perceived without much trouble1 that these famous sages1 those legislators1 those priests1 those conquerors1 who were the instructors of infant nations1 themselves adored active nature1 or the great whole considered relatively to its different operations or qualities2 that this was what they caused the ignorant savages whom they had gathered together to adore4 ,it was the great whole they deified2 it was its various parts which they made their inferior gods2 it was from the necessity of her laws they made fate4 ,the ,greeks called it ,nature1 a divinity who had a thousand names4 ,varro says1 ,i believe that ,god is the soul of the universe1 and that the universe is ,god4 ,cicero says that in the mysteries of ,samothracia1 of ,lemnos1 of ,eleusis1 it was nature much more than the gods1 they explained to the initiated4 ,pliny says1 we must believe that the world1 or that which is contained under the vast extent of the heavens1 is the ,divinity2 even eternal1 infinite1 without beginning or end4 ,it was these different modes of considering nature that gave birth to ,polytheism1 to idolatry4 ,allegory masqued its mode of action3 it was at length parts of this great whole1 that idolatry represented by statues and symbols4 ,to complete the proofs of what has been said2 to shew distinctly that it was the great whole1 the universe1 the nature of things1 which was the real object of the worship of ,pagan antiquity1 hardly any thing can be more decisive than the beginning of the hymn of ,orpheus addressed to the god ,pan4 ,o ,pan6 ,i invoke thee1 ,o powerful god6 ,o universal nature6 the heavens1 the sea1 the earth1 who nourish all1 and the eternal fire1 because these are thy members1 ,o all powerful ,pan1 c4 ,nothing can be more suitable to confirm these ideas1 than the ingenious explanation which is given of the fable of ,pan1 as well as of the figure under which he is represented4 ,it is said1 ,pan1 according to the signification of his name1 is the emblem by which the ancients have designated the great assemblage of things or beings3 he represents the universe2 and1 in the mind of the wisest philosophers of antiquity1 he passed for the greatest and most ancient of the gods4 ,the features under which he is delineated form the portrait of nature1 and of the savage state in which she was found in the beginning4 ,the spotted skin of the leopard1 which serves him for a mantle1 imagined the heavens filled with stars and constellations4 ,his person was compounded of parts1 some of which were suitable to a reasonable animal1 that is to say1 to man2 and others to the animal destitute of reason1 such as the goat4 ,it is thus1 says he1 that the universe is composed of an intelligence that governs the whole1 and of the prolific1 fruitful elements of fire1 water1 earth1 air4 ,pan1 loved to drink and to follow the nymphs2 this announces the occasion nature has for humidity in all her productions1 and that this god1 like nature1 is strongly inclined to propagation4 ,according to the ,egyptians1 and the most ancient ,grecian philosophers1 ,pan had neither father nor mother2 he came out of ,demogorgon at the same moment with the ,destinies1 his fatal sisters2 a fine method of expressing that the universe was the work of an unknown power1 and that it was formed after the invariable relations1 the eternal laws of necessity2 but his most significant symbol1 that most suitable to express the harmony of the universe1 is his mysterious pipe1 composed of seven unequal tubes1 but calculated to produce the nicest1 the most perfect concord4 ,the orbs which compose the seven planets of our solar system1 are of different diameters2 being bodies of unequal mass1 they describe their revolutions round the sun in various periods2 nevertheless it is from the order of their motion that results the harmony of the spheres1 c4 ,here then is the great macrocosm1 the mighty whole1 the assemblage of things adored and deified by the philosophers of antiquity2 whilst the uninformed stopped at the emblem under which this nature was depicted2 at the symbols under which its various parts1 its numerous functions were personified2 his narrow mind1 his barbarous ignorance1 never permitted him to mount higher2 they alone were deemed worthy of being1 initiated into the mysteries1 who knew the realities masqued under these emblems4 ,indeed1 it is not to be doubted for an instant1 that the wisest among the ,pagans adored nature2 which ethnic theology designated under a great variety of nomenclature1 under an immense number of different emblems4 ,apuleius1 although a decided ,platonist1 accustomed to the mysterious1 unintelligible notions of his master1 calls ,nature the parent of all2 the mother of the elements1 the first offspring of the world2 again1 the mother of the stars1 the parent of the seasons1 and the governess of the whole world4--,she was worshipped by many under the appellation of the mother of the gods4 ,indeed1 the first institutors of nations1 and their immediate successors in authority1 only spoke to the people by fables1 allegories1 enigmas1 of which they reserved to themselves the right of giving an explanation3 this1 in fact1 constituted the mysteries of the various worship paid to the ,pagan divinities4 ,this mysterious tone they considered necessary1 whether it was to mask their own ignorance1 or whether it was to preserve their power over the uninformed1 who for the most part only respect that which is above their comprehension4 ,their explications were generally dictated either by interest1 or by a delirious imagination1 frequently by imposture2 thus from age to age1 they did no more than render nature and its parts1 which they had originally depicted1 more unknown1 until they completely lost sight of the primitive ideas2 these were replaced by a multitude of fictitious personages1 under whose features this nature had primarily been represented to them4 ,the people1 either unaccustomed to think1 or deeply steeped in ignorance1 adored these personages1 without penetrating into the true sense of the emblematical fables recounted to them4 ,these ideal beings1 with material figures1 in whom they believed there resided a mysterious virtue1 a divine power1 were the objects of their worship1 the source of their fears1 the fountain of their hopes4 ,the wonderful1 the incredible actions ascribed to these fancied divinities1 were an inexhaustible fund of admiration1 which gave perpetual play to the fancy2 which delighted not only the people of those days1 but even the children of latter ages4 ,thus were transmitted from age to age1 those marvellous accounts1 which1 although necessary to the existence of the power usurped by the ministers of these gods1 did1 in fact1 nothing more than confirm the blindness of the ignorant3 these never supposed that it was nature1 its various operations1 its numerous component parts--that it was the passions of man and his diverse faculties that lay buried under an heap of allegories2 they did not perceive that the passions and faculties of human nature were used as emblems1 because man was ignorant of the true cause of the phenomena he beheld4 ,as strong passions seemed to hurry man along1 in despite of himself1 they either attributed these passions to a god1 or deified them2 frequently they did both3 it was thus love became a deity2 that eloquence1 poetry1 industry1 were transformed into gods1 under the names of ,hermes1 ,mercury1 ,apollo2 the stings of conscience were called the ,furies3 the people1 bowed down in stupid ignorance1 had no eyes but for these emblematical persons1 under which nature was masked3 they attributed to their influence the good1 to their displeasure the evil1 which they experienced3 they entered into every kind of folly1 into the most delirious acts of madness1 to render them propitious to their views2 thus1 for want of being acquainted with the reality of things1 their worship frequently degenerated into the most cruel extravagance1 into the most ridiculous folly4 ,thus it is obvious1 that every thing proves nature and its various parts to have every where been the first divinities of man4 ,natural philosophers studied these deities1 either superficially or profoundly1--explained some of their properties1 detailed some of their modes of action4 ,poets painted them to the imagination of mortals1 either in the most fascinating colours1 or under the most hideous deformities2 embodied them--furnished them with reasoning faculties--recounted their exploits--recorded their will4 ,the statuary executed sometimes with the most enrapturing art1 the ideas of the poets1--gave substance to their shadows--form to their airy nothings4 ,the priest decorated these united works with a thousand marvellous qualities--with the most terrible passions--with the most inconceivable attributes2 gave them1 a local habitation and a name4 ,the people adored them2 prostrated themselves before these gods1 who were neither susceptible of love or hatred1 goodness1 or malice2 they became persecuting1 malevolent1 cruel1 unjust1 in order to render themselves acceptable to powers generally described to them under the most odious features4 ,by dint of reasoning upon these emblems1 by meditating upon nature1 thus decorated1 or rather disfigured1 subsequent speculators no longer recollected the source from whence their predecessors had drawn their gods1 nor the fantastic ornaments with which they had embellished them4 ,natural philosophers and poets were transformed by leisure into metaphysicians and theologians2 tired with contemplating what they could have understood1 they believed they had made an important discovery by subtilly distinguishing nature from herself--from her own peculiar energies--from her faculty of action4 ,by degrees they made an incomprehensible being of this energy1 which as before they personified1 this they called the mover of nature1 divided it into two1 one congenial to man's happiness1 the other inimical to his welfare2 these they deified in the same manner as they had before done nature with her various parts4 ,these abstract1 metaphysical beings1 became the sole object of their thoughts2 were the subject of their continual contemplation2 they looked upon them as realities of the highest importance3 thus nature quite disappeared2 she was despoiled of her rights2 she was considered as nothing more than an unwieldy mass1 destitute of power2 devoid of energy1 as an heap of ignoble matter purely passive3 who1 incapable of acting by herself1 was not competent to any of the operations they beheld1 without the direct1 the immediate agency of the moving powers they had associated with her3 which they had made the fulcrum necessary to the action of the lever4 ,they either did not or would not perceive1 that the great ,cause of causes1 ens entium1 ,parent of parents1 had1 in unravelling chaotic matter1 with a wisdom for which man can never be sufficiently grateful1 with a sagacity which he can never sufficiently admire1 foreseen every thing that could contribute not only to his own individual happiness1 but also to that of all the beings in nature2 that he had given this nature immutable laws1 according to which she is for ever regulated2 after which she is obliged invariably to act2 that he has described for her an eternal course1 from which it is not permitted her to deviate1 even for an instant2 that she is therefore1 rendered competent to the production of every phenomena1 not only that he beholds1 but of an infinity that he has never yet contemplated2 that she needs not any exterior energy for this purpose1 having received her powers from a hand far superior to any the feeble weak imagination of man is able to form2 that when this nature appears to afflict him1 it is only from the contraction of his own views1 from the narrowness of his own ideas1 that he judges2 that1 in fact1 what he considers the evils of nature1 are the greatest possible benefits he can receive1 if he was but in a condition to be acquainted with previous causes1 with subsequent effects4 ,that the evils resulting to him from his own vices1 have equally their remedies in this nature1 which it is his duty to study2 which if he does he will find1 that the same omnipotent goodness1 who gave her irrefragable laws1 also planted in her bosom1 balsams for all his maladies1 whether physical or moral3 but that it is not given him to know what this great1 this universal cause is1 for purposes of which he ought not to dispute the wisdom1 when he contemplates the mighty wonders that surround him4 ,thus man ever preferred an unknown power1 to that of which he was enabled to have some knowledge1 if he had only deigned to consult his experience2 but he presently ceases to respect that which he understands2 to estimate those objects which are familiar to him3 he figures to himself something marvellous in every thing he does not comprehend2 his mind1 above all1 labours to seize upon that which appears to escape his consideration2 in default of experience1 he no longer consults any thing1 but his imagination1 which feeds him with chimeras4 ,in consequence1 those speculators who have subtilly distinguished nature from her own powers1 have successively laboured to clothe the powers thus separated with1 a thousand incomprehensible qualities3 as they did not see this power1 which is only a mode1 they made it a spirit--an intelligence--an incorporeal being2 that is to say1 of a substance totally different from every thing of which we have a knowledge4 ,they never perceived that all their inventions1 that all the words which they imagined1 only served to mask their real ignorance2 that all their pretended science was limited to saying1 in what manner nature acted1 by a thousand subterfuges which they themselves found it impossible to comprehend4 ,man always deceives himself for want of studying nature2 he leads himself astray1 every time he is disposed to go out of it2 he is always quickly necessitated to return2 he is even in error when he substitutes words which he does not himself understand1 for things which he would much better comprehend if he was willing to look at them without prejudice4 ,can a theologian ingenuously believe himself more enlightened1 for having substituted the vague words spirit1 incorporeal substance1 c4 to the more intelligible terms nature1 matter1 mobility1 necessity8 ,however this may be1 these obscure words once imagined1 it was necessary to attach ideas to them2 in doing this1 he has not been able to draw them from any other source than the beings of this despised nature1 which are ever the only beings of which he is enabled to have any knowledge4 ,man1 consequently1 drew them up in himself2 his own soul served for the model of the universal soul1 of which indeed according to some it only formed a portion2 his own mind was the standard of the mind that regulated nature2 his own passions1 his own desires1 were the prototypes of those by which he actuated this being2 his own intelligence was that from which he formed that of the mover of nature2 that which was suitable to himself1 he called the order of nature2 this pretended order was the scale by which he measured the wisdom of this being2 in short1 those qualities which he calls perfections in himself1 were the archetypes in miniature1 of the perfections of the being1 he thus gratuitously supposed to be the agent1 who operated the phenomena of nature4 ,it was thus1 that in despite of all their efforts1 the theologians were1 perhaps always will be1 true ,anthropomorphites4 ,a sect of this denomination appeared in #cei1 in ,egypt1 they held the doctrine that their god had a bodily shape4 ,indeed it is very difficult1 if not impossible to prevent man from making himself the sole model of his divinity4 ,montaigne says man is not able to be other than he is1 nor imagine but after his capacity2 let him take what pains he may1 he will never have a knowledge of any soul but his own4 ,xenophanes said1 if the ox or the elephant understood either sculpture or painting1 they would not fail to represent the divinity under their own peculiar figure that in this1 they would have as much reason as ,polyclitus or ,phidias1 who gave him the human form4 ,it was said to a very celebrated man that ,god made man after his own image2 man has returned the compliment1 replied the philosopher4 ,indeed1 man generally sees in his ,god1 nothing but a man4 ,let him subtilize as he will1 let him extend his own powers as he may1 let him swell his own perfections to the utmost1 he will have done nothing more than make a gigantic1 exaggerated man1 whom he will render illusory by dint of heaping together incompatible qualities4 ,he will never see in such a god1 but a being of the human species1 in whom he will strive to aggrandize the proportions1 until he has formed a being totally inconceivable4 ,it is according to these dispositions that he attributes intelligence1 wisdom1 goodness1 justice1 science1 power1 to his divinity1 because he is himself intelligent2 because he has the idea of wisdom in some beings of his own species2 because he loves to find in them ideas favourable to himself3 because he esteems those who display equity2 because he has a knowledge1 which he holds more extensive in some individuals than himself2 in short1 because he enjoys certain faculties which depend on his own organization4 ,he presently extends or exaggerates all these qualities in forming his god2 the sight of the phenomena of nature1 which he feels he is himself incapable of either producing or imitating1 obliges him to make this difference between the being he pourtrays and himself2 but he knows not at what point to stop2 he fears lest he should deceive himself1 if he should see any limits to the qualities he assigns1 the word infinite1 therefore1 is the abstract1 the vague term which he uses to characterize them4 ,he says that his power is infinite1 which signifies that when he beholds those stupendous effects which nature produces1 he has no conception at what point his power can rest2 that his goodness1 his wisdom1 his knowledge are infinite3 this announces that he is ignorant how far these perfections ma be carried in a being whose power so much surpasses his own2 that he is of infinite duration1 because he is not capable of conceiving he could have had a beginning or can ever cease to be2 because of this he considers a defect in those transitory beings of whom he beholds the dissolution1 whom he sees are subjected to death4 ,he presumes the cause of those effects to which he is a witness1 of those striking phenomena that assail his sight1 is immutable1 permanent1 not subjected to change1 like all the evanescent beings whom he knows are submitted to dissolution1 to destruction1 to change of form4 ,this mover of nature being always invisible to man1 his mode of action being1 impenetrable1 he believes that1 like his soul or the concealed principle which animates his own body1 which he calls spiritual1 a spirit1 is the moving power of the universe2 in consequence he makes a spirit the soul1 the life1 the principle of motion in nature4 ,thus when by dint of subtilizing1 he has arrived at believing the principle by which his body is moved is a spiritual1 immaterial substance1 he makes the spirit of the universe immaterial in like manner3 he makes it immense1 although without extent2 immoveable1 although capable of moving nature3 immutable1 although he supposes him to be the author of all the changes1 operated in the universe4 ,the idea of the unity of ,god1 which cost ,socrates his life1 because the ,athenians considered those ,atheists who believed but in one1 was the tardy fruit of human meditation4 ,plato himself did not dare to break entirely the doctrine of ,polytheism2 he preserved ,venus1 an all-powerful ,jupiter1 and a ,pallas1 who was the goddess of the country4 ,the sight of those opposite1 frequently contradictory effects1 which man saw take place in the world1 had a tendency to persuade him there must be a number of distinct powers or causes independent of each other4 ,he was unable to conceive that the various phenomena he beheld1 sprung from a single1 from an unique cause2 he therefore admitted many causes or gods1 acting upon different principles2 some of which he considered friendly1 others as inimical to his race4 ,such is the origin of that doctrine1 so ancient1 so universal1 which supposed two principles in nature1 or two powers of opposite interests1 who were perpetually at war with each other2 by the assistance of which he explained1 that constant mixture of good and evil1 that blending of prosperity with misfortune1 in a word1 those eternal vicissitudes to which in this world the human being1 is subjected4 ,this is the source of those combats which all antiquity has supposed to exist between good and wicked gods1 between an ,osiris and a ,typhoeus2 between an ,orosmadis and an ,arimanis2 between a ,jupiter and the ,titanes2 in these rencounters man for his own peculiar interest always gave the palm of victory to the beneficent deity2 this1 according to all the traditions handed down1 ever remained in possession of the field of battle2 it was so far right1 as it is evidently for the benefit of mankind that the good should prevail over the wicked4 ,when1 however1 man acknowledged only one ,god1 he generally supposed the different departments of nature were confided to powers subordinate to his supreme orders1 under whom the sovereign of the gods discharged his care in the administration of the world4 ,these subaltern gods were prodigiously multiplied2 each man1 each town1 each country1 had their local1 their tutelary gods2 every event1 whether fortunate or unfortunate1 had a divine cause2 was the consequence of a sovereign decree2 each natural effect1 every operation of nature1 each passion1 depended upon a divinity1 which a theological imagination1 disposed to see gods every where1 mistaking nature1 either embellished or disfigured4 ,poetry tuned its harmonious lays1 on these occasions1 exaggerated the details1 animated its pictures2 credulous ignorance received the portraits with eagerness--heard the doctrines with submission4 ,such is the origin of ,polytheism3 indeed the ,greek word ,theos1 ,greek letters1 is derived from ,theaomai1 ,greek letters1 which implies to contemplate1 or take a view of secret or hidden things4 ,such are the foundations1 such the titles of the hierarchy1 which man established between himself and his gods1 because he generally believed he was incapable of the exalted privilege of immediately addressing himself to the incomprehensible ,being whom he had acknowledged for the only sovereign of nature1 without even having any distinct idea on the subject3 such is the true genealogy of those inferior gods whom the uninformed place as1 a proportional means between themselves and the first of all other causes4 ,in consequence1 among the ,greeks and the ,romans1 we see the deities divided into two classes1 the one were called great gods1 because the whole world were nearly in accord in deifying the most striking parts of nature1 such as the sun1 fire2 the sea1 time1 c4 these formed a kind of aristocratic order1 who were distinguished from the minor gods1 or from the multitude of ethnic divinities1 who were entirely local2 that is to say1 were reverenced only in particular countries1 or by individuals2 as in ,rome1 where every citizen had his familiar spirit1 called lares2 and household god1 called penates4 ,nevertheless1 the first rank of these ,pagan divinities1 like the latter1 were submitted to ,fate1 that is1 to destiny1 which obviously is nothing more than nature acting by immutable1 rigorous1 necessary laws2 this destiny was looked upon as the god of gods2 it is evident1 that this was nothing more than necessity personified2 that therefore it was a weakness in the heathens to fatigue with their sacrifices1 to solicit with their prayers1 those divinities whom they themselves believed were submitted to the decrees of an inexorable destiny1 of which it was never possible for them to alter the mandates4 ,but man1 generally1 ceases to reason1 whenever his theological notions are either brought into question1 or are the subject of his inquiry4 ,what has been already said1 serves to show the common source of that multitude of intermediate powers1 subordinate to the gods1 but superior to man1 with which he filled the universe3 they were venerated under the names of nymphs1 demi-gods1 angels1 daemons1 good and evil genii1 spirits1 heroes1 saints1 c4 ,among the ,romans they were called ,dei medioxumi1 intermediate angels2 they were looked upon as intercessors1 as mediators1 as powers whom it was necessary to reverence1 in order either to obtain their favour1 appease their anger1 or divert their malignant intentions2 these constitute different classes of intermediate divinities1 who became either the foundation of their hopes1 the object of their fears1 the means of consolation1 or the source of dread to those very mortals who only invented them when they found it impossible to form to themselves distinct1 perspicuous ideas of the incomprehensible ,being who governed the world in chief2 or when they despaired of being able to hold communication with him directly4 ,meditation and reflection diminished the number of those deities which composed the ethnic polytheism3 some who gave the subject more consideration than others1 reduced the whole to one all-powerful ,jupiter2 but still they painted this being in the most hideous colours1 gave him the most revolting features1 because they were still obstinately bent on making man1 his action and his passions1 the model3 this folly led them into continual perplexities1 because it heaped together contradictory1 incompatible1 extravagant qualities2 it was quite natural it should do so3 the limited views1 the superficial knowledge1 the irregular desires of frail1 feeble mortals1 were but little calculated to typify the mind of the real ,divinity2 of that great ,cause of causes1 that ,parent of parents1 from whom every thing must have emanated4 ,although they persuaded themselves it was sinning to give him rivals1 yet they described him as a jealous monarch who could not bear a division of empire2 thus taking the vanity of earthly princes for their emblem1 as if it was possible such a being could have a competitor like a terrestrial monarch4 ,not having contemplated the immutable laws with which he has invested nature1 to which every thing it contains is subjected1 which are the result of the most perfect wisdom1 they were puzzled to account for the contrariety of those effects which their weak minds led them to suppose as evils2 seeing that sometimes those who fulfilled in the most faithful manner their duties in this life1 were involved in the same ruin with the boldest1 the most inconsiderate violaters3 thus in making him the immediate agent1 instead of the first author1 the executive instead of the formative power1 they caused him to appear capricious1 as unreasonably vindictive against his creatures1 when they ought to have known that his wisdom was unlimited1 his kindness without bounds1 when he infused into nature that power which produces these apparently contradictory effects2 which1 although they seem injurious to man's interests1 are1 if he was but capacitated to judge fairly1 the most beneficial advantages that he can possibly derive4 ,thus they made the ,divinity appear improvident1 by continually employing him to destroy the work of his own hands3 they1 in fact1 taxed him with impotence1 by the perpetual non-performance of those projects of which their own imbecillity1 their own erring judgment1 had vainly supposed him to be the contriver4 ,to solve these difficulties1 man created enemies to the ,divinity1 who although subordinate to the supreme ,god1 were nevertheless competent to disturb his empire1 to frustrate his views4 ,can any thing be worse conceived1 can any thing be more truly derogatory to the great ,parent of parents1 than thus to make him resemble a king1 who is surrounded with adversaries1 willing to dispute with him his diadem8 ,such1 however1 is the origin of the ,fable of the ,titanes1 or of the rebellious angels1 whose presumption caused them to be plunged into the abyss of misery--who were changed into demons1 or into evil genii3 these according to their mythology1 had no other functions1 than to render abortive the projects of the ,divinity2 to seduce1 to raise to rebellion1 those who were his subjects4 ,miserable invention1 feeble subterfuge1 for the vices of mankind1 although decorated with all the beauty of language4 ,can then sublimity of versification1 the harmony of numbers1 reconcile man to the idea that the puny offspring of natural causes is adequate for a single instant to dispute the commands1 to thwart the desires1 to render nugatory the decrees of a ,being whose wisdom is of the most polished perfection2 whose goodness is boundless2 whose power must be more capacious than the human mind can possibly conceive8 ,in consequence of this ,fable of the ,titanes1 the monarch of nature was represented as perpetually in a scuffle with the enemies he had himself created2 as unwilling totally to subdue those with whom these fabulists have described him as dividing his authority--partaking his supreme power4 ,this again was borrowed from the conduct of earthly monarchs1 who1 when they find a potent enemy1 make a treaty with him2 but this was quite unnecessary for the great ,cause of causes2 and only shows that man is utterly incapable of forming any other ideas than those which he derives from the situation of those of his own race1 or of the beings by whom he is surrounded4 ,according to this fable the subjects of the universal ,monarch were never properly submitted to his authority2 like an earthly king1 he was in a continual state of hostility1 and punished those who had the misfortune to enter into the conspiracies of the enemies of his glory3 seeing that human legislators put forth laws1 issued decrees1 they established similar institutions for the ,divinity2 established oracles2 his ministers pretended1 through these mysterious mediums1 to convey to the people his heavenly mandates1 to unveil his concealed intentions3 the ignorant multitude received these without examination1 they did not perceive that it was man1 and not the ,divinity1 who thus spoke to them2 they did not feel that it must be impossible for weak creatures to act contrary to the will of ,god4 ,the ,fable of the ,titanes1 or rebellious angels1 is extremely ancient2 very generally diffused over the world2 it serves for the foundation of the theology of the ,brachmins of ,hindostan3 according to these1 all living bodies are animated by fallen angels1 who under these forms expiate their rebellion4 ,these contradictory notions were the basis of nearly all the superstitions of the world2 by these means they imagined they accounted for the origin of evil--demonstrated the cause why the human species experience misery4 ,in short1 the conduct of the most arbitrary tyrants of the earth was but too frequently brought forth1 too often acted upon1 in forming the character of the ,divinity1 held forth to the worship of man3 their imperfect jurisprudence was the source from whence they drew that which they ascribed to their god4 ,pagan theology was remarkable for displaying in the character of their divinities the most dissolute vices2 for making them vindictive2 for causing them to punish with extreme rigour those1 crimes which the oracles predicted2 to doom to the most lasting torments those who sinned without knowing their transgression2 to hurl vengeance on those who were ignorant of their obscure will1 delivered in language which set comprehension at defiance2 unless it was by the priest who both made and fulminated it4 ,it was upon these unreasonable notions1 that the theologians founded the worship which man ought to render to the ,divinity4 ,do not then let us be at all surprised if the superstitious man was in a state of continual alarm3 if he experienced trances--if his mind was ever in the most tormenting dread2 the idea of his gods recalled to him unceasingly1 that of a pitiless tyrant who sported with the miseries of his subjects2 who1 without being conscious of their own wrong1 might at each moment incur his displeasure3 he could not avoid feeling that although they had formed the universe entirely for man1 yet justice did not regulate the actions of these powerful beings1 or rather those of the priests2 but he also believed that their elevated rank placed them infinitely above the human species1 that therefore they might afflict him at their pleasure4 ,it is then for want of considering good and evil as equally necessary2 it is for want of attributing them to their true causes1 that man has created to himself fictitious powers1 malicious divinities1 respecting whom it is found so difficult to undeceive him4 ,nevertheless1 in contemplating nature1 he would have been able to have perceived1 that physical evil is a necessary consequence of the peculiar properties of some beings2 he would have acknowledged that plague1 contagion1 disease1 are due to physical causes under particular circumstances2 to combinations1 which1 although extremely natural1 are fatal to his species2 he would have sought--in the bosom of nature herself the remedies suitable to diminish these evils1 or to have caused the cessation of those effects under which he suffered3 he would have seen in like manner that moral evil was the necessary consequence of defective institutions2 that it was not to the ,divinity1 but to the injustice of his fellows he ought to ascribe those wars1 that poverty1 those famines1 those reverses of fortune1 those multitudinous calamities1 those vices1 those crimes1 under which he so frequently groans4 ,thus to rid himself of these evils he would not have uselessly extended his trembling hands towards shadows incapable of relieving him2 towards beings who were not the authors of his sorrows2 he would have sought remedies for these misfortunes in a more rational administration of justice--in more equitable laws--in more ,i reasonable institutions--in a greater degree of benevolence towards his fellow man--in a more punctual performance of his own duties4 ,as these gods were generally depicted to man as implacable to his frailties as they denounced nothing but the most dreadful punishments against those who involuntarily offended1 it is not at all surprising that the sentiment of fear prevailed over that of love3 the gloomy ideas presented to his mind were calculated to make him tremble1 without making him better2 an attention to this truth will serve to explain the foundation of that fantastical1 irrational1 frequently cruel worship1 which was paid to these divinities2 he often committed the most cruel extravagancies against his own person1 the most hideous crimes against the person of others1 under the idea that in so doing1 he disarmed the anger1 appeased the justice1 recalled the clemency1 deserved the mercy of his gods4 ,in general1 the superstitious systems of man1 his human and other sacrifices1 his prayers1 his ceremonies1 his customs2 have had only for their object either to divert the fury of his gods1 whom he believed he had offended2 to render them propitious to his own selfish views2 or to excite in them that good disposition towards himself1 which his own perverse mode of thinking made him imagine they bestowed exclusively on others3 on the other hand1 the efforts1 the subtilties of theology1 have seldom had any other end1 than to reconcile in the divinities it has pourtrayed1 those discordant ideas which its own dogmas has raised in the minds of mortals4 ,from what has preceded1 it may fairly be concluded that ethnic theology undermined itself by its own inconsistencies2 that the art of composing chimeras may therefore with great justice be defined to be that of combining those qualities which are impossible to be reconciled with each other4 ,,chap4 ,,iii4 ,of the confused and contradictory ,ideas of ,theology4 ,every thing that has been said1 proves pretty clearly1 that1 in despite of all his efforts1 man has never been able to prevent himself from drawing together from his own peculiar nature1 the qualities he has assigned to the ,being who governs the universe4 ,the contradictions necessarily resulting from the incompatible assemblage of these human qualities1 which cannot become suitable to the same subject1 seeing that the existence of one destroys the existence of the other1 have been shewn3--the theologians themselves have felt the insurmountable difficulties which their divinities presented to reason3 they were so substantive1 that as they felt the impossibility of withdrawing themselves out of the dilemma1 they endeavoured to prevent man from reasoning1 by throwing his mind into confusion--by continually augmenting the perplexity of those ideas1 already so discordant1 which they offered him of the gods4 ,by these means they enveloped them in mystery1 covered them with dense clouds1 rendered them inaccessible to mankind3 thus they themselves became the interpreters1 the masters of explaining1 according either to their fancy or their interest1 the ways of those enigmatical beings they made him adore4 ,for this purpose they exaggerated them more and more--neither time nor space1 nor the entire of nature could contain their immensity--every thing became an impenetrable mystery4 ,although man has originally borrowed from himself the traits1 the colours1 the primitive lineaments of which he composed his gods2 although he has made them jealous1 powerful1 vindictive monarchs1 yet his theology1 by force of dreaming1 entirely lost sight of human nature4 ,in order to render his divinities still more different from their creatures1 it assigned them1 over and above the usual qualities of man1 properties so marvellous1 so uncommon1 so far removed from every thing of which his mind could form a conception1 that he lost sight of them himself4 ,from thence he persuaded himself these qualities were divine1 because he could no longer comprehend them2 he believed them worthy of his gods1 because no man could figure to himself any one distinct idea of them4 ,thus theology obtained the point of persuading man he must believe that which he could not conceive2 that he must receive with submission improbable systems2 that he must adopt1 with pious deference1 conjectures contrary to his reason2 that this reason itself was the most agreeable sacrifice he could make on the altars of his gods1 who were unwilling he should use the gift they had bestowed upon him4 ,in short1 it had made mortals implicitly believe that they were not formed to comprehend the thing of all others the most important to themselves4 ,thus it is evident that superstition founded its basis upon the absurd principle that man is obliged to accredit firmly that which he is in the most complete impossibility of comprehending4 ,on the other hand1 man persuaded himself that the gigantic1 the truly incomprehensible attributes which were assigned to these celestial monarchs1 placed between them and their slaves a distance so immense1 that these could not be by any means offended with the comparison2 that these distinctions rendered them still greater2 made them more powerful1 more marvellous1 more inaccessible to observation4 ,man always entertains the idea1 that what he is not in a condition to conceive1 is much more noble1 much wore respectable1 than that which he has the capacity to comprehend4 ,the more a thing is removed from his reach1 the more valuable it always appears4 ,these prejudices in man for the marvellous1 appear to have been the source that gave birth to those wonderful1 unintelligible qualities with which superstition clothed these divinities4 ,the invincible ignorance of the human mind1 whose fears reduced him to despair1 engendered those obscure1 vague notions1 with which mythology decorated its gods4 ,he believed he could never displease them1 provided he rendered them incommensurable2 impossible to be compared with any thing1 of which he had a knowledge2 either with that which was most sublime1 or that which possessed the greatest magnitude1 ,from hence the multitude of negative attributes with which ingenious dreamers have successively embellished their phantoms1 to the end that they might more surely form a being distinguished from all others1 or which possessed nothing in common with that which the human mind had the faculty of being acquainted with3 they did not perceive that after all their endeavours1 it was nothing wore than exaggerated human qualities1 which they thus heaped together1 with no more skill than a painter would display who should delineate all the members of the body of the same size1 taking a giant for dimension4 ,the theological attributes with which metaphysicians decorated these divinities1 were in fact nothing but pure negations of the qualities found in man1 or in those beings of which he has a knowledge2 by these attributes their gods were supposed exempted from every thing which they considered weakness or imperfection in him1 or in the beings by whom he is surrounded3 they called every quality infinite1 which has been shewn is only to affirm1 that unlike man1 or the beings with whom he is acquainted1 it is not circumscribed by the limits of space2 this1 however1 is what he can never in any manner comprehend1 because he is himself finite4 ,hobbes in his ,leviathan1 says1 whatsoever we imagine is finite4 ,therefore there is no idea1 or conception of any thing we call infinite4 ,no man can have in his mind an image of infinite magnitude1 nor conceive infinite swiftness1 infinite time1 infinite force1 or infinite power4 ,when we say any thing is infinite1 we signify only1 that we are not able to conceive the ends and bound of the thing named1 having no conception of the thing1 but of our own inability4 ,sherlock says1 the word infinite is only a negation1 which signifies that which has neither end1 nor limits1 nor extent1 and1 consequently1 that which has no positive and determinate nature1 and is therefore nothing2 he adds1 that nothing but custom has caused this word to be adopted1 which without that1 would appear devoid of sense1 and a contradiction4 ,when it is said these gods are eternal1 it signifies they have not had1 like man or like every thing that exists1 a beginning1 and that they will never have an end3 to say they are immutable1 is to say1 that unlike himself or every thing which he sees1 they are not subject to change3 to say they are immaterial1 is to advance1 that their substance or essence is of a nature not conceivable by himself1 but which must from that very circumstance be totally different from every thing of which he has cognizance4 ,it is from the confused collection of these negative qualities1 that has resulted the theological gods2 those metaphysical wholes of which it is impossible for man to form to himself any correct idea4 ,in these abstract beings every thing is infinity1--immensity1-- spirituality1--omniscience1--order1--wis dom1--intelligence1-- omnipotence4 ,in combining these vague terms1 or these modifications1 the ethnic priests believed they formed something1 they extended these qualities by thought1 and they imagined they made gods1 whilst they only composed chimeras4 ,they imagined that these perfections or these qualities must be suitable to their gods1 because they were not suitable to any thing of which they had a knowledge2 they believed that incomprehensible beings must have inconceivable qualities4 ,these were the materials of which theology availed itself to compose those inexplicable shadows before which they commanded the human race to bend the knee4 ,nevertheless1 experience soon proved that beings so vague1 so impossible to be conceived1 so incapable of definition1 so far removed from every thing of which man could have any knowledge1 were but little calculated to fix his restless views2 his mind requires to be arrested by qualities which he is capacitated to ascertain2 of which he is in a condition to form a judgment4 ,thus after it had subtilized these metaphysical gods1 after it had rendered them so different in idea1 from every thing that acts upon the senses1 theology found itself under the necessity of again assimilating them to man1 from whom it had so far removed them3 it therefore again made them human by the moral qualities which it assigned them2 it felt that without this it would not be able to persuade mankind there could possibly exist any relation between him and such vague1 ethereal1 fugitive1 incommensurable beings2 that it would never be competent to secure for them his adoration4 ,it began to perceive that these marvellous gods were only calculated to exercise the imagination of some few thinkers1 whose minds were accustomed to labour upon chimerical subjects1 or to take words for realities2 in short it found1 that for the greater number of the material children of the earth it was necessary to have gods more analogous to themselves1 more sensible1 more known to them4 ,in consequence these divinities were re-clothed with human qualities2 theology never felt the incompatibility of these qualities with beings it had made essentially different from man1 who consequently could neither have his properties1 nor be modified like himself4 ,it did not see that gods who were immaterial1 destitute of corporeal organs1 were neither able to think nor to act as material beings1 whose peculiar organizations render them susceptible of the qualities1 the feelings the will1 the virtues1 that are found in them4 ,the necessity it felt to assimilate the gods to their worshippers1 to make an affinity between them1 made it pass over without consideration these palpable contradictions--this want of keeping in their portrait3 thus ethnic theology obstinately continued to unite those incompatible qualities1 that discrepancy of character1 which the human mind attempted in vain either to conceive or to reconcile3 according to it1 pure spirits were the movers of the material world2 immense beings were enabled to occupy space1 without however excluding nature2 immutable deities were the causes of those continual changes operated in the world3 omnipotent beings did not prevent those evils which were displeasing to them2 the sources of order submitted to confusion3 in short1 the wonderful properties of these theological beings every moment contradicted themselves4 ,there is not less discrepancy1 less incompatibility1 less discordance in the human perfections1 less contradiction in the moral qualities attributed to them1 to the end that man might be enabled to form to himself some idea of these beings4 ,these were all said to be eminently possessed by the gods1 although they every moment contradicted each other3 by this means they formed a kind of patch-work character1 heterogeneous beings1 discrepant phenomena1 entirely inconceivable to man1 because nature had never constructed any thing like them1 whereby he was enabled to form a judgment4 ,man was assured they were eminently good--that it was visible in all their actions4 ,now goodness is a known quality1 recognizable in some beings of the human species2 this is1 above every other1 a property he is desirous to find in all those upon whom he is in a state of dependence2 but he is unable to bestow the title of good on any among his fellows1 except their actions produce on him those effects which he approves--that he finds in unison with his existence--in conformity with his own peculiar modes of thinking4 ,it was evident1 according to this reasoning1 these ethnic gods did not impress him with this idea2 they were said to be equally the authors of his pleasures1 as of his pains1 which were to be either secured or averted by sacrifices3 thus when man suffered by contagion1 when he was the victim of shipwreck1 when his country was desolated by war1 when he saw whole nations devoured by rapacious earthquakes1 when he was a prey to the keenest sorrows1 he at least was unable to conceive the bounty of those beings4 ,how could he perceive the beautiful order which they had introduced into the world1 while he groaned under such a multitude of calamities8 ,how was he able to discern the beneficence of men whom he beheld sporting as it were with his species8 ,how could he conceive the consistency of those who destroyed that which he was assured they had taken such pains to establish1 solely for his own peculiar happiness8 ,but had his mind been properly enlightened1 had he been taught to know1 that nature1 acting by unerring laws1 produces all the phenomena he beholds as a necessary consequence of her primitive impulse--that like the rest of nature he was himself subjected to the general operation--that no peculiar exemption had been made in his behalf--that sacrifices were useless--that the great ,parent of parents1 equally mindful of all his creatures1 had set in action with the most consummate wisdom an invariable system1 the apparent1 casual evils of which were ever counterbalanced by the resulting good2 that without repining1 it was his duty1 his interest1 to submit2 at the same time to examine with sedulity1 to search with earnestness1 into the recesses of this nature for remedies to the sorrows he endured4 ,if he had been thus instructed1 we should never behold him arraigning either the kindness1 the wisdom1 or the consistency of the gods2 he would neither have ascribed his sufferings to the malicious interference of inferior deities1 so derogatory to the divine majesty of the ,great ,cause of causes1 nor would he have taxed with either inconsistency or unkindness1 that nature which cannot act otherwise than she does4 ,perhaps of all the ideas that can be infused into the mind of man1 none is more really subversive of his true happiness1 none more incompatible with the reality of things1 than that which persuades him he is himself a privileged being1 the king of a nature where every thing is submitted to laws1 the extent of which his finite mind cannot possibly conceive4 ,even admitting it should ultimately turn out to be a fact1 he has yet no one positive evidence to justify the assumption2 experience1 which after all must always prove the best criterion for his judgment1 daily proves1 that in every thing he is subjected1 like every other part of nature1 to those invariable decrees from which nothing that he beholds is exempted4 ,feeble monarch6 of whom a grain of sand1 some atoms of bile1 some misplaced humours1 destroy at once the existence and the reign3 yet thou pretendest every thing was made for thee6 ,thou desirest that the entire of nature should be thy domain1 and thou canst not even defend thyself from the slightest of her shocks6 ,thou makest to thyself a god for thyself alone2 thou supposest that he unceasingly occupieth himself only for thy peculiar happiness2 thou imaginest every thing was made solely for thy pleasure2 and1 following up thy presumptuous ideas1 thou hast the audacity to call nature good or bad as thy weak intellect inclines3 thou darest to think that the kindness exhibited towards thee1 in common with other beings1 is contradicted by the evil genii thy fancy has created6 ,dost thou not see that those beasts which thou supposest submitted to thine empire1 frequently devour thy fellow-creatures2 that fire consumeth them2 that the ocean swalloweth them up2 that those elements of which thou sometimes admirest the order1 which sometimes thou accusest of confusion1 frequently sweep them off the face of the earth2 dost thou not see that all this is necessarily what it must be2 that thou art not in any manner consulted in any of this phenomena8 ,indeed1 according to thine own ideas1 if thou wast to examine them with care1 dost thou not admit that thy gods are the universal cause of all2 that they maintain the whole by the destruction of its parts4 ,are they not then according to thyself1 the gods of nature--of the ocean--of rivers--of mountains--of the earth1 in which they occupiest1 so very small a space--of all those other globes that thou seest roll in the regions of space--of those orbs that revolve round the sun that enlighteneth thee8--,cease1 then1 obstinately to persist in beholding nothing but thy sickly self in nature2 do not flatter thyself that the human race1 which reneweth itself1 which disappeareth like the leaves on the trees1 can absorb all the care1 can ingross all the tenderness of that universal being1 who1 according to thyself1 properly understood1 ruleth the destiny of all things4 ,submit thyself in silence to mandates which thy unavailing prayers2 can never change2 to a wisdom which thy imbecility cannot fathom2 to the unerring shafts of a fate1 which nothing but thine own vanity1 aided by thy perverse ignorance1 could ever question1 being the best possible good that can befall thee6 which if thou couldst alter1 thou wouldst with thy defective judgment render worse6 ,what is the human race compared to the earth8 ,what is this earth compared to the sun8 ,what is our sun compared to those myriads of suns which at immense distances occupy the regions of space8 not for the purpose of diverting thy weak eyes2 not with a view to excite thy stupid admiration1 as thou vainly imaginest2 since multitudes of them are placed out of the range of thy visual organs3 but to occupy the place which necessity hath assigned them4 ,mortal1 feeble and vain6 restore thyself to thy proper sphere2 acknowledge every where the effect of necessity2 recognize in thy benefits1 behold in thy sorrows1 the different modes of action of those various beings endowed with such a variety of properties1 which surround thee2 of which the macrocosm is the assemblage2 and do not any longer suppose that this nature1 much less its great cause1 can possess such incompatible qualities as would be the result of human views or of visionary ideas1 which have no existence but in thyself4 ,as long as theologians shall continue obstinately bent to make man the model of their gods2 as long ask they shall pertinaciously undertake to explain the nature of these gods1 which they will never be able to do1 but after human ideas1 although they may associate the most heterogeneous properties1 the most discrepant functions2 so long1 ,i say1 experience will contradict at every moment the beneficent views they1 attach to their divinities2 it will be in vain that they call them good3 man1 reasoning thus1 will never be able to find good but in those objects which impel him in a manner favourable to his actual mode of existence2 he always finds confusion in that which fills him with grievous sensations2 he calls evil every thing that painfully affects him1 even cursorily2 those beings that produce in him two modes of feeling1 so very opposite to each other1 he will naturally conclude are sometimes favourable1 sometimes unfavourable to him2 at least1 if he will not allow that they act necessarily1 consequently are neither one nor the other1 he will say that a world where he experiences so much evil cannot be submitted to men who are perfectly good2 on the other hand1 he will also assume that a world in which man receives so many benefits1 cannot be governed by those who are without kindness4 ,thus he is obliged to admit of two principles equally powerful1 who are in hostility with each other2 or rather1 he must agree that the same persons are alternately kind and unkind2 this after all is nothing more than avowing they cannot be otherwise than they are2 in this case it would be useless to sacrifice to them--to make solicitation2 seeing it would be nothing but destiny--the necessity of things submitted invariable rules4 ,in order to justify these beings1 constructed upon mortal principles1 from injustice1 in consequence of the evils the human species experience1 the theologian is reduced to the necessity of calling them punishments inflicted for the transgressions of man4 ,but then these general calamities include all men4 ,some1 at least1 may be supposed not to have offended4 ,thus he involves contradictions he finds it difficult to reconcile2 to effectuate this he makes his anthropomorphites immaterial--incorporeal2 that is1 he says they are the negation of every thing of which he has a knowledge2 consequently1 beings who can have no relation with corporeal beings3 and this avails him no better1 as will be evident by reasoning on the subject4 ,to offend any one1 is to diminish the sum of his happiness2 it is to afflict him1 to deprive him of something1 to make him experience a painful sensation4 ,how is it possible man can operate on such beings2 how can the physical actions of a material substance have any influence over an immaterial substance1 devoid of parts1 having no point of contact4 ,how can a corporeal being make an incorporeal being experience incommodious sensations8 ,on the other hand1 justice1 according to the only ideas man can ever form of it1 supposes1 a permanent disposition to render to each what is due to him2 the theologian will not admit that the beings he has jumbled together owe any thing to man2 he insists that the benefits they bestow are all the gratuitous effects of their own goodness2 that they have the right to dispose of the work of their hands according to their own pleasure2 to plunge it if they please into the abyss of misery2 in short1 that their volition is the only guide of their conduct4 ,it is easy to see1 that according to man's idea of justice1 this does not even contain the shadow of it2 that it is1 in fact1 the mode of action adopted by what he calls the most frightful tyrants4 ,how then can he be induced to call men just who act after this manner8 ,indeed1 while he sees innocence suffering1 virtue in tears1 crime triumphant1 vice recompensed1 and at the same time1 is told the beings whom theology has invented are the authors1 he will never be able to acknowledge them to have justice4 ,but he will find no such contradictory qualities in nature1 where every thing is the result of immutable laws3 he will at once perceive that these transient evils produce more permanent good2 that they are necessary to the conservation of the whole1 or else result from modifications of matter1 which it is competent for him to change1 by altering his own mode of action2 a lesson that nature herself teaches him when he is willing to receive her instructions4 ,but to form gods with human passions1 is to make them appear unjust2 to say that such beings chastise their friends for their own ,i good1 is at once to upset all the ideas he has either of kindness or unkindness3 thus the incompatible human qualities ascribed to these beings1 do in fact destroy their existence4 ,if it be insisted they have the knowledge and power of man1 only that they are more extended1 then it becomes a very natural reply1 to say1 since they know every thing1 they ought at least to restrain mischief2 because this would be the observation of man upon the action of his fellows2--if it be urged these qualities are similar to the same qualities possessed by man1 then it may be fairly asked in what do they differ8 ,to this1 if any answer be given1 be what it may1 it will still be only changing the language3 it will be invariably another method of expressing the same thing2 seeing that man with all his ingenuity1 will never be able to describe properties but after himself or those of the beings by whom he is surrounded4 ,where is the man filled with kindness1 endowed with humanity1 who does not desire with all his heart to render his fellow creatures happy8 ,if these beings1 as the theologians assert1 really have man's qualities augmented1 would they not1 by the same reasoning1 exercise their infinite power to render them all happy8 ,nevertheless1 in despite of these theologists1 we scarcely find any one who is perfectly satisfied with his condition on earth3 for one mortal that enjoys1 we behold a thousand who suffer2 for one rich man who lives in the midst of abundance1 there are thousands of poor who want common necessaries3 whole nations groan in indigence1 to satisfy the passions of some avaricious princes1 of some few nobles1 who are not thereby rendered more contented--who do not acknowledge themselves more fortunate on that account4 ,in short1 under the dominion of these beings1 the earth is drenched with the tears of the miserable4 ,what must be the inference from all this8 ,that they are either negligent of1 or incompetent to1 his happiness4 ,but the mythologists will tell you coolly1 that the judgments of his gods are impenetrable6 ,how do we understand this term8 ,not to be taught--not to be informed--impervious--not to be pierced3 in this case it would be an unreasonable question to inquire by what authority do you reason upon them8 ,how do you become acquainted with these impenetrable mysteries8 ,upon what foundation do you attribute virtues which you cannot penetrate8 ,what idea do you form to yourself of a justice that never resembles that of man8 ,or is it a truth that you yourself are not a man1 but one of those impenetrable beings whom you say you represent8 ,to withdraw themselves from this1 they will affirm that the justice of these idols are tempered with mercy1 with compassion1 with goodness3 these again are human qualities3 what1 therefore1 shall we understand by them8 ,what idea do we attach to mercy8 ,is it not a derogation from the severe rules of an exact1 a rigorous justice1 which causes a remission of some part of a merited punishment8 ,here hinges the great incompatibility1 the incongruity of those qualities1 especially when augmented by the word omni2 which shews how little suitable human properties are to the formation of divinities4 ,in a prince1 clemency is either a violation of justice1 or the exemption from a too severe law3 nevertheless1 man approves of clemency in a sovereign1 when its too great facility does not become prejudicial to society2 he esteems it1 because it announces humanity1 mildness1 a compassionate1 noble soul2 qualities he prefers in his governors to rigour1 cruelty1 inflexibility3 besides1 human laws are defective2 they are frequently too severe2 they are not competent to foresee all the circumstances of every case3 the punishments they decree are not always commensurate with the offence3 he therefore does not always think them just3 but he feels very well1 he understands distinctly1 that when the sovereign extends his mercy1 he relaxes from his justice--that if mercy he merited1 the punishment ought not to take place--that then its exercise is no longer clemency1 but justice3 thus he feels1 that in his fellow creatures these two qualities cannot exist at the same moment4 ,how then is he to form his judgment of beings who are represented to possess both in the extremest degree8 ,is it not1 in fact1 announcing these beings to be men like ourselves1 who act with our imperfections on an enlarged scale8 ,they then say1 well1 but in the next world these idols will reward you for all the evils you suffer in this3 this1 indeed1 is something to look to1 if it could be contemplated alone2 unmixed with all they have formerly asserted3 if we could also find that there was an unison of thinking on this point--if there was a reasonable comprehensible view of it held forth3 but alas6 here again human pleasures1 human feelings1 are the basis on which these rewards are rested2 only they are promised in a way we cannot comprehend them2 houris1 or females who are to remain for ever virgins1 notwithstanding the knowledge of man1 are so opposed to all human comprehension1 so opposite to all experience1 are such mystic assertions1 that the human mind cannot possibly embrace an idea of them3 besides this is only promised by one class of these beings2 others affirm it will be altogether different3 in short1 the number of modes in which this hereafter reward is promised to him1 obliges man to ask himself one plain question1 ,which is the real history of these blissful abodes8 ,at this question he staggers--he seeks for advice3 each assures him that the other is in error--that his peculiar mode is that which will really have place2 that to believe the other is a crime4 ,how is he to judge now8 ,take what course he will1 he runs the chance of being wrong2 he has no standard whereby to measure the correctness of these contradictory assurances2 his mind is held suspended2 he feels the impossibility of the whole being right2 he knows not that which he ought to elect6 ,again1 they have positively asserted these beings owe nothing to man3 how then is he to expect in a future life1 a more real happiness than he enjoys in the present8 ,this they parry1 by assuring him it is founded upon their promises1 contained in their revealed oracles4 ,granted3 but is he quite certain these oracles have emanated from themselves8 ,if they are so different in their detail1 may there not be reasonable ground for suspecting some of them are not authentic8 ,if there is1 which are the spurious1 which are the genuine8 ,by what rule is he to guide himself in the choice2 how1 with his frail methods of judging1 is he to scrutinize oracles delivered by such powerful beings--to discriminate the true from the false8 ,the ministers of each will give you an infallible method1 one that1 is according to their own asseveration1 cannot err2 that is1 by an implicit belief in the particular doctrine each promulgates4 ,thus will be perceived the multitude of contradictions1 the extravagant hypotheses which these human attributes1 with which theology clothes its divinities1 must necessarily produce4 ,beings embracing at one time so many discordant qualities will always be undefinable--can only present a train of ideas calculated to displace each other2 they will consequently ever remain beings of the imagination4 ,these beings1 say their ministers1 created the heavens1 the earth1 the creatures who inhabit it1 to manifest their own peculiar glory2 they have neither rivals1 nor equals in nature2 nothing which can be compared with them4 ,glory is1 again1 a human passion3 it is in man the desire of giving his fellow-creatures an high opinion of him2 this1 passion is laudable when it stimulates him to undertake great projects--when it determines him to perform useful actions--but it is very frequently a weakness attached to his nature2 it is nothing more than a desire to be distinguished from those beings with whom he compares himself1 without exciting him to one noble1 one generous act4 ,it is easy to perceive that beings who are so much elevated above men1 cannot be actuated by such a defective passion4 ,they say these beings are jealous of their prerogatives4 ,jealousy is another human passion1 not always of the most respectable kind3 but it is rather difficult to conceive the existence of jealousy with profound wisdom1 unlimited power1 and the perfection of justice4 ,thus the theologians by dint of heaping quality on quality1 aggrandizing each as is added1 seem to have reduced themselves to the situation of a painter1 who spreading all his colours upon his canvas together1 after thus blending them into an unique mass1 loses sight of the whole in the composition4 ,they will1 nevertheless1 reply to these difficulties1 that goodness1 wisdom1 justice1 are in these beings qualities so pre-eminent1 so distinct1 have so little affinity with these same qualities in man1 that they are totally dissimilar--have not the least relation4 ,admit this to be the case1 ,how then can he form to himself any idea of these perfections1 seeing they are totally unlike those with which he is acquainted8 ,they surely cannot mean to insinuate that they are the reverse of every thing he understands2 because that would1 in effect1 bring them to a precise point which would not need any explanation2 it is therefore a matter of certainty this cannot be the case3 then if these qualities1 when exercised by the beings they have described1 are only human actions so obscured1 so hidden1 as not to be recognizable by man1 ,how can weak mortals pretend to announce them1 to have a knowledge of them1 to explain them to others8 ,does then theology impart to the mind the ineffable boon of enabling it to conceive that which no man is competent to understand8 ,does it procure for its agents the marvellous faculty of having distinct ideas of beings composed of so many contradictory properties8 ,does it1 in fact1 make the theologian himself one of these incomprehensible beings4 ,they will impose silence1 by saying the oracles have spoken2 that through these mystical means they have made themselves known to mortals4 ,the next question would naturally be1 ,when1 where1 or to whom have these oracles spoken8 ,where are these oracles8 ,an hundred voices raise themselves in the same moment2 hands of ,briaraeus are immediately stretched forth to shew them in a number of discordant collections1 which each maintains1 with an equal degree of vehemence1 is the true code--the only doctrine man ought to believe3 he runs them over1 finds they scarcely agree in any one particular2 but that in all the heaviest penalties are denounced against those who doubt the smallest part of any one of them4 ,these beings of consummate wisdom are made to speak an obscure1 irrational language2 some of them1 although their goodness is proclaimed1 have been cruel and sanguinary2 others1 although their justice is held forth1 have been partial1 unjust1 capricious2 some1 who are represented as all merciful1 destine to the most hideous punishments the unhappy victims to their wrath3 examine any one of them more closely1 he will find that they have never in any two countries held literally the same language3 that although they are said to have spoken in many places1 that they have always spoken variously3 ,what is the necessary result8 ,the human mind1 incapable of reconciling such manifest contradictions1 unable to obtain from their ministers any corroborative evidence1 that is not disputed by the others1 falls into the strangest perplexity2 is involved in doubts1 entangled in a labyrinth to which no clue is to be found4 ,thus the relations1 which are supposed to exist between man and these theological idols1 can only be founded on the moral qualities of these beings3 if these are not known to him1 if he cannot in any manner comprehend them1 they cannot by any ingenuity of argument serve him for models4 ,in order that they may be imitated1 it is needful that these qualities were cognizable by the being who is to imitate them4 ,how can he imitate that goodness1 that justice1 that mercy1 which does not resemble either his own1 or any thing he can conceive8 ,if these beings partake in nothing of that which forms man--if the properties they do possess1 although different1 are not within the reach of his comprehension--if1 he cannot embrace the most distant idea of them1 which the theologian assures him he cannot1 ,how is it possible he can set about imitating them8 ,how follow a conduct suitable to please them--to render himself acceptable in their sight8 ,what can in effect be the motive of that worship1 of that homage1 of that obedience1 which these beings are said to exact--which he is informed he should offer at their altars1 if he does not establish it upon their goodness--their veracity--their justice3 in short1 upon qualities which he is competent to understand8 ,how can he have clear1 distinct ideas of those qualities1 if they are no longer of the same nature as those which he has learned to reverence in the beings of his own species8 ,to this they will reply1 because none of them ever admit the least doubt of the rectitude of their own individual creed1 that there can be no proportion between these idols and mortals1 who are the work of their hands2 that it is not permitted to the clay to demand of the potter who has formed it1 why ye have fashioned me thus2--but if there can be no common measure between the workman and his work--if there can be no analogy between them1 because the one is immaterial1 the other corporeal1 ,how do they reciprocally act upon each other8 ,how can the gross organs of the one1 comprehend the subtile quality of the other8 ,reasoning in the only way he is capable1 and it surely will never be seriously argued that he is not to reason1 will he not perceive that the earthen vase could only have received the form which it pleased the potter to give2 that if it is formed badly1 if it is rendered inadequate to the use for which it was designed1 the vase is not in this instance to be blamed2 the potter certainly has the power to break it2 the vase cannot prevent him2 it will neither have motives nor means to soften his anger2 it will be obliged to submit to its destiny2 but he will not be able to prevent his mind from thinking the potter harsh in thus punishing the vase1 rather than by forming it anew1 by giving it another figure1 render it competent to the purposes he intended4 ,according to these notions the relations between man and these theological beings have no existence1 they owe nothing to him1 are dispensed from shewing him either goodness or justice2 that man1 on the contrary1 owes them every thing3 but contradictions appear at every step4 ,if these have promised by their oracles any thing to man1 it is rather difficult for him to believe1 that what is so solemnly promised does not belong to him if he fulfils the condition of the promise4 ,the difference a theologian may choose to find in these relations will hardly be convincing to a reasonable mind4 ,the duties of man towards these beings can1 according to their own shewing1 have no other foundation than the happiness he expects from them3 thus the relation has a reciprocity1 it is founded upon their goodness1 upon their justice1 it demands obedience on his part1 a conduct suitable to the benefits he receives4 ,thus1 in whatever manner the theological system is viewed1 it destroys itself4 ,will theology never feel that the more it endeavours to exaggerate the human qualities1 the less it exalts the beings it pictures2 the more incomprehensible it renders them1 the more it contributes to swell its own ocean of contradictions2 that to take human passions1 mortal faculties at all1 is perhaps the worst means it can pursue to form a perfect being2 but that if it must persist in this method1 then the further they remove them from man1 the more they debase him1 the more they weaken the relations subsisting between them3 that in thus aggregating human properties1 it should carefully abstain from associating in these pictures those qualities which man finds detestable in his fellows4 ,thus1 despotism in man is looked upon as an unjust1 unreasonable power2 if it introduces such a quality into its portraits1 it cannot rationally suppose them suitable to cultivate the esteem1 to attract the voluntary homage of the human race3 if1 however1 the canvas be examined1 we shall frequently be struck1 with perceiving this the leading feature2 we shall equally find a want of keeping through the whole2 that shadows are introduced1 where lights ought to prevail2 that the colouring is incongruous--the design without harmony4 ,the discrepancy of conduct which theology imputes to these idols1 is not less remarkable than the contrariety of qualities it ascribes to them1 or the inconsistency of the passions with which it invests them2 sometimes1 according to this1 they are the friends to reason1 desirous of the happiness of society2 sometimes they are inimical to virtue2 interdict the use of reason2 flattered with seeing society disturbed1 they sometimes afflict man without his being able to guess the cause of their displeasure2 sometimes they are favourable to mankind--at others1 indisposed towards the human species3 sometimes they are represented as permitting crimes for the pleasure of punishing them--at others1 they exert all their power to arrest crime in its birth2 sometimes they elect a small number to receive eternal happiness1 predestinating the rest to perpetual misery--to everlasting torments2 at others1 they throw open the gates of mercy to all who choose to enter them2 sometimes they are pourtrayed as destroying the universe--at others1 as establishing the most beautiful order in the planet we inhabit2 sometimes they are held forth as countenancing deception--at others1 as having the highest reverence for truth--as holding deceit in abomination4 ,this1 again1 is the necessary result of the human faculties1 the mortal passions1 the frail qualities of which they compose the beings they hold forth to the admiration1 to the worship1 to the homage of the world4 ,perhaps the most fatal consequences have arisen from founding the moral character of these divinities upon that of man4 ,those who first had the confidence to tell man that in these matters it was not permitted him to consult his reason1 that the interests of society demanded its sacrifice1 evidently proposed to themselves to make him the sport of their own wantonness--to make him the blind instrument of their own unworthiness4 ,it is from this radical error that has sprung all those extravagances which the various superstitions have introduced upon the earth3 from hence has flowed that sacred fury which has frequently deluged it with blood3 here is the cause of those inhuman persecutions which have so often desolated nations3 in short1 all those horrid tragedies which have been acted on the vast theatre of the world1 by command of the different ministers of the various systems1 whose gods they have said ordained these shocking spectacles4 ,the theologians themselves have thus been the means1 of calumniating the gods they pretended to serve1 under the pretext of exalting their name--of covering them with glory2 in this they may have been said to be true atheists1 since they seem only to have been anxious to destroy the idols they themselves had raised1 by the actions they have attributed to them--which has debased them in the eye of reason--rendered their existence more than doubtful to the man of humanity4 ,indeed1 it would require more than human credulity to accredit the assertion that these beings ever could order the atrocities committed in their name4 ,every time they have been willing to disturb the harmony of mankind--whenever they have been desirous to render him unsociable1 they have cried out that their gods ordained that he should be so4 ,thus they render mortals uncertain1 make the ethical system fluctuate by founding it upon changeable1 capricious idols1 whom they represent much more frequently cruel and unjust1 than filled with bounty and benevolence4 ,however it may be1 admitting if they will for a moment that their idols possess all the human virtues in an infinite degree of perfection1 we shall quickly be obliged to acknowledge that they cannot connect them with those metaphysical1 theological1 negative attributes1 of which we have already spoken4 ,if these beings are spirits that are immaterial1 how can they be able to act like man1 who is a corporeal being8 ,pure spirits1 according to the only idea man can form of them1 having no organs1 no parts1 cannot see any thing2 can neither hear our prayers1 attend to our solicitations1 nor have compassion for our miseries4 ,they cannot be immutable1 if their dispositions can suffer change3 they cannot be infinite1 if the totality of nature1 without being them1 can exist conjointly with them3 they cannot be omnipotent1 if they either permit or do not prevent evil3 they cannot be omnipresent1 if they are not every where3 they must therefore be in the evil as well as in the good4 ,thus in whatever manner they are contemplated1 under whatever point of view they are considered1 the human qualities which are assigned to them1 necessarily destroy each other2 neither can these same properties in any possible manner combine themselves with the supernatural attributes given to them by theology4 ,with respect to the revealed will of these idols1 by means of their oracles1 far from being a proof of their good will1 of their commisseration for man1 it would rather seem evidence of their ill-will4 ,it supposes them capable of leaving mankind for a considerable season unacquainted with truths highly important to their interests2 these oracles communicated to a small number of chosen men1 are indicative of partiality1 of predilections1 that are but little compatible with the common ,father of the human race4 ,these oracles were ill imagined1 since they tend to injure the immutability ascribed to these idols1 by supposing that they permitted man to be ignorant at one time of their will1 whilst at another time they were willing he should be instructed on the subject4 ,moreover1 these oracles frequently predicted offences for which afterwards severe punishments were inflicted on those who did no more than fulfil them4 ,this1 according to the reasoning of man1 would be unjust4 ,the ambiguous language in which they were delivered1 the almost impossibility of comprehending them1 the inexplicable mysteries they contained1 seemed to render them doubtful2 at least they are not consistent with the ideas man is capable of forming of infinite perfection3 but the fact clearly is1 they were thus rendered capable of application to the contingency of events--could be made to suit almost any circumstances3 this would render it not a very improbable conjecture1 that these oracles were solely delivered by the priests themselves4 ,it these were tried by the only test of which he has any knowledge--,,his ,,reason1 it would naturally occur to the mind of man1 that mystery could never1 on any occasion1 be used in the promulgation of substantive decrees meant to operate on the obedience1 to actuate the moral conduct of man3 it is quite usual with most legislators to render their laws as explicit as possible1 to adapt them to the meanest understanding2 in short1 it would be reckoned want of good faith in a government1 to throw a thick1 mysterious veil over the announcement of that conduct which it wished its citizens to adopt2 they would be apt to think such a procedure was either meant to cover its own peculiar ignorance1 or else to entrap them into a snare2 at best1 it would be considered as furnishing a never-failing source of dispute1 which a wise government would endeavour to avoid4 ,it will thus be obvious1 that the ideas which theology has at various times1 under various systems1 held forth to man1 have for the most part been confused1 discordant1 incompatible1 and have had a general tendency to disturb the repose of mankind4 ,the obscure notions1 the vague speculations of these multiplied creeds1 would be matter of great indifference1 if man was not taught to hold them as highly important to his welfare--if he did not draw from them conclusions pernicious to himself--if he did not learn from these theologians that he must sharpen his asperity against those who do not contemplate them in the same point of view with himself3 as he perhaps1 then1 will never have a common standard1 a fixed rule1 a regular graduated scale1 whereby to form his judgment on these points--as all efforts of the imagination must necessarily assume divers shapes1 undergo a variety of modifications1 which can never be assimilated to each other1 it was little likely that mankind would at all times be able to understand each other on this subject2 much less that they would be in accord in the opinions they should adopt4 ,from hence that diversity of superstitions which in all ages have given rise to the most irrational disputes2 which have engendered the most sanguinary wars2 which have caused the most barbarous massacres2 which have divided man from his fellow by the most rancorous animosities1 that will perhaps never be healed2 because he has been impelled to consider the peculiar tenets he adopted1 not only as immediately essential to his individual welfare1 but also as intimately connected with the happiness1 closely interwoven with the tranquillity of the nation of which he was a citizen4 ,that such contrariety of sentiment1 such discrepancy of opinion should exist1 is not in the least surprising2 it is1 in fact1 the natural result of those physical causes to which1 as long as he exists1 he is at all times submitted4 ,the man of a heated imagination cannot accommodate himself to the god of a phlegmatic1 tranquil being3 the infirm1 bilious1 discontented1 angry mortal1 cannot view him under the same aspect as he who enjoys a sounder constitution1--as the individual of a gay turn1 who enjoys the blessing of content1 who wishes to live in peace4 ,an equitable1 kind1 compassionate1 tender-hearted man1 will not delineate to himself the same portrait of his god1 as the man who is of an harsh1 unjust1 inflexible1 wicked character4 ,each individual will modify his god after his own peculiar manner of existing1 after his own mode of thinking1 according to his particular mode of feeling4 ,a wise1 honest1 rational man will always figure to himself his god as humane and just4 ,nevertheless1 as fear usually presided at the formation of those idols man set up for the object of his worship2 as the ideas of these beings were generally associated with that of terror as the recollections of sufferings1 which he attributed to them1 often made him tremble2 frequently awakened in his mind the most afflicting1 reminiscence2 as it sometimes filled him with inquietude1 sometimes inflamed his imagination1 sometimes overwhelmed him with dismay1 the experience of all ages proves1 that these vague idols became the most important of all considerations--was the affair which most seriously occupied the human race3 that they every where spread consternation--produced the most frightful ravages1 by the delirious inebriation resulting from the opinions with which they intoxicated the mind4 ,indeed1 it is extremely difficult to prevent habitual fear1 which of all human passions is the most incommodious1 from becoming a dangerous leaven2 which in the long run will sour1 exasperate1 and give malignancy to the most moderate temperament4 ,if a misanthrope1 in hatred of his race1 had formed the project of throwing man into the greatest perplexity1--if a tyrant1 in the plenitude of his unruly desire to punish1 had sought out the most efficacious means2 could either the one or the other have imagined that which was so well calculated to gratify their revenge1 as thus to occupy him unceasingly with objects not only unknown to him1 but which no two of them should ever see with precisely the same eyes2 which notwithstanding they should be obliged to contemplate as the centre of all their thoughts--as the only model of their conduct--as the end of all their actions--as the subject of all their research--as a thing of more importance to them than life itself2 upon which all their present felicity1 all their future happiness1 must necessarily depend8 ,could the gods themselves1 in their solicitude to punish the impious ,prometheus1 for having stolen fire from the sun1 have imagined a more certain method of executing their wishes8 ,was not ,pandora's box1 though stuffed with evils1 trifling when compared with this8 ,that at least left hope1 to the unfortunate ,epimetheus2 this effectually cut it off4 ,if man was subjected to an absolute monarch1 to a sultan who should keep himself secluded from his subjects2 who followed no rule but his own desires2 who did not feel himself bound by any duty2 who could for ever punish the offences committed against him2 whose fury it was easy to provoke2 who was irritated even by the ideas1 the thoughts of his subjects2 whose displeasure might be incurred without even their own knowledge2 the name of such a sovereign would assuredly be sufficient to carry trouble1 to spread terror1 to diffuse consternation into the very souls of those who should hear it pronounced2 his idea would haunt them every where--would unceasingly afflict them--would plunge them into despair4 ,what tortures would not their mind endure to discover this formidable being1 to ascertain the secret of pleasing him6 ,what labour would not their imagination bestow1 to discover what mode of conduct might be able to disarm his anger6 ,what fears would assail them1 lest they might not have justly hit upon the means of assuaging his wrath6 ,what disputes would they not enter into upon the nature1 the qualities of a ruler1 equally unknown to them all6 ,what a variety of means would not be adopted1 to find favour in his eyes2 to avert his chastisement6 ,such is the history of the effects superstition has produced upon the earth4 ,man has always been panic-struck1 because the systems adopted never enable him to form any correct opinion1 any fixed ideas1 upon a subject so material to his happiness2 because every thing conspired either to give his ideas a fallacious turn1 or else to keep his mind in the most profound ignorance2 when he was willing to set himself right1 when he was sedulous to examine the path which conducted to his felicity1 when he was desirous of probing opinions so consequential to his peace1 involving so much mystery1 yet combining both his hopes and his fears1 he was forbidden to employ the only proper method1--,,his ,,reason1 guided by his experience2 he was assured this would be an offence the most indelible4 ,if he asked1 ,wherefore his reason had then been given him1 since he was not to use it in matters of such high behest8 he was answered1 those were mysteries of which none but the initiated could be informed2 that it sufficed for him to know1 that the reason which he seemed so highly to prize1 which he held in so much esteem1 was his most dangerous enemy--his most inveterate1 most determined foe4 ,where can be the propriety of such an argument8 ,can it really be that reason is dangerous8 ,if so1 the ,turks are justified in their predilection for madmen3 but to proceed1 he is told that he must believe in the gods1 not question the mission of their priests2 in short1 that he had nothing to do with the laws they imposed1 but to obey them3 when he then required that these laws might at least be made comprehensible to him2 that he might be placed in a capacity to understand them2 the old answer was returned1 that they were mysteries2 he must not inquire into them4 ,but where is the necessity for mystery in points of such vast importance8 ,he might1 indeed1 from time to time consult these oracles1 when he was able to make the sacrifices demanded2 he would then receive precepts for his conduct3 these were always1 however1 given in such vague1 indeterminate terms1 that he had scarcely the chance of acting right4 ,at different times the same oracles delivered different opinions3 thus he had nothing1 steady2 nothing permanent1 whereby to guide his steps2 like a blind man left to himself in the streets1 he was obliged to grope his way at the peril of his existence4 ,this will serve to shew the urgent necessity there is for truth to throw its radiant lustre on systems big with so much importance2 that are so calculated to corroborate the animosities1 to confirm the bitterness of soul1 between those whom nature intended should always act as brothers4 ,by the magical charms with which these idols were surrounded1 the human species has remained either as if it was benumbed1 in a state of stupid apathy1 or else he has become furious with fanaticism3 sometimes1 desponding with fear1 man cringed like a slave who bends under the scourge of an inexorable master1 always ready to strike him2 he trembled under a yoke made too ponderous for his strength3 he lived in continual dread of a vengeance he was unceasingly striving to appease1 without ever knowing when he had succeeded3 as he was always bathed in tears1 continually enveloped in misery--as he was never permitted to lose sight of his fears--as he was continually exhorted to nourish his alarm1 he could neither labour for his own happiness nor contribute to that of others2 nothing could exhilirate him2 he became the enemy of himself1 the persecutor of his fellow-creatures1 because his felicity here below was interdicted2 he passed his time in heaving the most bitter sighs2 his reason being forbidden him1 he fell into either a state of infancy or delirium1 which submitted him to authority2 he was destined to this servitude from the hour he quitted his mother's womb1 until that in which he was returned to his kindred dust2 tyrannical opinion bound him fast in her massive fetters2 a prey to the terrors with which he was inspired1 he appeared to have come upon the earth for no other purpose than to dream--with no other desire than to groan--with no other motives than to sigh2 his only view seemed to be to injure himself2 to deprive himself of every rational pleasure1 to embitter his own existence2 to disturb the felicity of others4 ,thus1 abject1 slothful1 irrational1 he frequently became wicked1 under the idea of doing honour to his gods2 because they instilled into his mind that it was his duty to avenge their cause1 to sustain their honour1 to propagate their worship4 ,mortals were prostrate from race to race1 before vain idols to which fear had given birth in the bosom of ignorance1 during the calamities of the earth2 they tremblingly adored phantoms which credulity had placed in the recesses of their own brain1 where they found a sanctuary which time only served to strengthen2 nothing could undeceive them2 nothing was competent to make them feel1 it was themselves they adored--that they bent the knee before their own work--that they terrified themselves with the extravagant pictures they had themselves delineated2 they obstinately persisted in prostrating themselves1 in perplexing themselves1 in trembling2 they even made a crime of endeavouring to dissipate their fears2 they mistook the production of their own folly2 their conduct resembled that of children1 who having disfigured their own features1 become afraid of themselves when a mirror reflects the extravagance they have committed4 ,these notions so afflicting for themselves1 so grievous to others1 have their epoch from the calamities of man2 they will continue1 perhaps augment1 until their mind1 enlightened by discarded reason1 illumined by truth1 shall set in their true colours these various systems2 until reflection guided by experience1 shall attach no more importance to them1 than is consistent with the happiness of society2 until man1 bursting the chains of superstition--recalling to mind the great end of his existence--taking a rational view of that which surrounds him1 shall no longer refuse to contemplate nature under her true character2 shall no longer persist in refusing to acknowledge she contains within herself the cause of that wonderful phenomena which strikes on the dazzled optics of man3 until thoroughly persuaded of the weakness of their claim to the homage of mankind1 he shall make one pious1 simultaneous1 mighty effort1 and overthrow the altars of ,moloch and his priests4 ,,chap4 ,,iv4 ,examination of the ,proofs of the ,existence of the ,divinity1 as given by ,,clarke4 ,the unanimity of man in acknowledging the ,divinity1 is commonly looked upon as the strongest proof of his existence4 ,there is not1 it is said1 any people on the earth who have not some ideas1 whether true or false1 of an all-powerful agent who governs the world4 ,the rudest savages as well as the most polished nations1 are equally obliged to recur by thought to the first cause of every thing that exists2 thus it is affirmed1 the cry of ,nature herself ought to convince us of the existence of the ,godhead1 of which she has taken pains to engrave the notion in the minds of men3 they therefore conclude1 that the idea of ,god is innate4 ,perhaps there is nothing of which man should be more sedulously careful than permitting a promiscuous assemblage of right with wrong--of suffering false conclusions to be drawn from true propositions2 this will not improbably be found to be pretty much the case in this instance2 the existence of the great ,cause of causes1 the ,parent of parents1 does not1 ,i think1 admit of any doubt in the mind of any one who has reasoned3 but1 if this existence did not rest upon better foundations than the unanimity of man on this subject1 ,i am fearful it would not be placed upon so solid a rock as those who make this asseveration may imagine3 the fact is1 man is not generally agreed upon this point2 if he was1 superstition could have no existence2 the idea of ,god cannot be innate1 because1 independent of the proofs offered on every side of the almost impossibility of innate ideas1 one simple fact will set such an opinion for ever at rest1 except with those who are obstinately determined not to be convinced by even their own arguments3 if this idea was innate1 it must be every where the same2 seeing that that which is antecedent to man's being1 cannot have experienced the modifications of his existence1 which are posterior4 ,even if it were waived1 that the same idea should be expected from all mankind1 but that only every nation should have their ideas alike on this subject1 experience will not warrant the assertion1 since nothing can be better established than that the idea is not uniform even in the same town2 now this would be an insuperable quality in an innate idea4 ,it not unfrequently happens1 that in the endeavour to prove too much1 that which stood firm before the attempt1 is weakened2 thus a bad advocate frequently injures a good cause1 although he may not be able to overturn the rights on which it is rested4 ,it would1 therefore1 perhaps1 come nearer to the point if it was said1 that the natural curiosity of mankind have in all ages1 and in all nations1 led him to seek after the primary cause of the phenomena he beholds2 that owing to the variations of his climate1 to the difference of his organization1 the greater or less calamity he has experienced1 the variety of his intellectual faculties1 and the circumstances under which he has been placed1 man has had the most opposite1 contradictory1 extravagant notions of the ,divinity1 but that he has uniformly been in accord in acknowledging both the existence1 and the wisdom of his work--,,nature4 ,if disengaged from prejudice1 we analyze this proof1 we shall see that the universal consent of man1 so diffused over the earth1 actually proves little more than that he has been in all countries exposed to frightful revolutions1 experienced disasters1 been sensible to sorrows of which he has mistaken the physical causes2 that those events to which he has been either the victim or the witness1 have called forth his admiration or excited his fear2 that for want of being acquainted with the powers of nature1 for want of understanding her laws1 for want of comprehending her infinite resources1 for want of knowing the effects she must necessarily produce under given circumstances1 he has believed these phenomena were due to some secret agent of which he has had vague ideas--to beings whom he has supposed conducted themselves after his own manner2 who were operated upon by similar motives with himself4 ,the consent then of man in acknowledging a variety of gods1 proves nothing1 except that in the bosom of ignorance he has either admired the phenomena of nature1 or trembled under their influence2 that his imagination was disturbed by what he beheld or suffered2 that he has sought in vain to relieve his perplexity1 upon the unknown cause of the phenomena he witnessed1 which frequently obliged him to quake with terror3 the imagination of the human race has laboured variously upon these causes1 which have almost always been incomprehensible to him2 although every thing confessed his ignorance1 his inability to define these causes1 yet he maintained that he was assured of their existence2 when pressed1 he spoke of a spirit1 7a word to which it was impossible to attach any determinate idea7 which taught nothing but the sloth1 which evidenced nothing but the stupidity of those who pronounced it4 ,it ought1 however1 not to excite any surprise that man is incapable of forming any substantive ideas1 save of those things which act1 or which have heretofore acted upon his senses2 it is very evident that the only objects competent to move his organs are material1--that none but physical beings can furnish him with ideas1--a truth which has been rendered sufficiently clear in the commencement of this work1 not to need any further proof4 ,it will suffice therefore to say that the idea of ,god is not an innate1 but an acquired notion2 that it is the very nature of this notion to vary from age to age2 to differ in one country from another2 to be viewed variously by individuals4 ,what do ,i say8 ,it is1 in fact1 an idea hardly ever constant in the same mortal4 ,this diversity1 this fluctuation1 this change1 stamps it with the true character of an acquired opinion4 ,on the other hand1 the strongest proof that can be adduced that these ideas are founded in error1 is1 that man by degrees has arrived at perfectioning all the sciences which have any known objects for their basis1 whilst the science of theology has not advanced2 it is almost every where at the same point2 men seem equally undecided on this subject2 those who have most occupied themselves with it1 have effected but little2 they seem1 indeed1 rather to have rendered the primitive ideas man formed to himself on this head more obscure1--to have involved in greater mystery all his original opinions4 ,as soon as it is asked of man1 what are the gods before whom he prostrates himself1 forthwith his sentiments are divided4 ,in order that his opinions should be in accord1 it would be requisite that uniform ideas1 analogous sensations1 unvaried perceptions1 should every where have given birth to his notions upon this subject3 but this would suppose organs perfectly similar1 modified by sensations which have a perfect affinity3 this is what could not happen3 because man1 essentially different by his temperament1 who is found under circumstances completely dissimilar1 must necessarily have a great diversity of ideas upon objects which each individual contemplates so variously4 ,agreed in some general points1 each made himself a god after his own manner2 he feared him1 he served him1 after his own mode4 ,thus the god of one man1 or of one nation1 was hardly ever that of another man1 or of another nation4 ,the god of a savage1 unpolished people1 is commonly some material object1 upon which the mind has exercised itself but little2 this god appears very ridiculous in the eyes of a more polished community1 whose minds have laboured more intensely upon the subject4 ,a spiritual god1 whose adorers despise the worship paid by the savage to a coarse1 material object1 is the subtle production of the brain of thinkers1 who1 lolling in the lap of polished society quite at their leisure1 have deeply meditated1 have long occupied themselves with the subject4 ,the theological god1 although for the most part incomprehensible1 is the last effort of the human imagination2 it is to the god of the savage1 what an inhabitant of the city of ,sybaris1 where effiminacy and luxury reigned1 where pomp and pageantry had reached their climax1 clothed with a curiously embroidered purple habit of silk1 was to a man either quite naked1 or simply covered with the skin of a beast perhaps newly slain4 ,it is only in civilized societies1 that leisure affords the opportunity of dreaming--that ease procures the facility of reasoning2 in these associations1 idle speculators meditate1 dispute1 form metaphysics3 the faculty of thought is almost void in the savage1 who is occupied either with hunting1 with fishing1 or with the means of procuring a very precarious subsistence by dint of almost incessant labour4 ,the generality of men1 however1 have not more elevated notions of the divinity1 have not analyzed him more than the savage4 ,a spiritual1 immaterial ,god1 is formed only to occupy the leisure of some subtle men1 who have no occasion to labour for a subsistence4 ,theology1 although a science so much vaunted1 considered so important to the interests of man1 is only useful to those who live at the expense of others2 or of those who arrogate to themselves the privilege of thinking for all those who labour4 ,this science becomes1 in some polished societies1 who are not on that account more enlightened1 a branch of commerce extremely advantageous to its professors2 equally unprofitable to the citizens2 above all when these have the folly to take a very decided interest in their unintelligible system--in their discordant opinions4 ,what an infinite distance between an unformed stone1 an animal1 a star1 a statue1 and the abstracted ,deity1 which theology hath clothed with attributes under which it loses sight of him itself6 ,the savage without doubt deceives himself in the object to which he addresses his vows2 like a child he is smitten with the first object that strikes his sight--that operates upon him in a lively manner2 like the infant1 his fears are alarmed by that from which he conceives he has either received an injury or suffered disgrace2 still his ideas are fixed by a substantive being1 by an object which he can examine by his senses4 ,the ,laplander who adores a rock1--the negro who prostrates himself before a monstrous serpent1 at least see the objects they adore4 ,the idolater falls upon his knees before a statue1 in which he believes there resides some concealed virtue1 some powerful quality1 which he judges may be either useful or prejudicial to himself2 but that subtle reasoner1 called a metaphysician1 who in consequence of his unintelligible science1 believes he has a right to laugh at the savage1 to deride the ,laplander1 to scoff at the negro1 to ridicule the idolater1 doth not perceive that he is himself prostrate before a being of his own imagination1 of which it is impossible he should form to himself any correct idea1 unless1 like the savage1 he re-enters into visible nature1 to clothe him with qualities capable of being brought within the range of his comprehension4 ,for the most part the notions on the ,divinity1 which obtain credit even at the present day1 are nothing more than a general terror diversely acquired1 variously modified in the mind of nations1 which do not tend to prove any thing1 save that they have received them from their trembling1 ignorant ancestors4 ,these gods have been successively altered1 decorated1 subtilized1 by those thinkers1 those legislators1 those priests1 who have meditated deeply upon them2 who have prescribed systems of worship to the uninformed2 who have availed themselves of their existing prejudices1 to submit them to their yoke2 who have obtained a dominion over their mind1 by seizing on their credulity1--by making them participate in their errors1--by working on their fears2 these dispositions will always be a necessary consequence of man's ignorance1 when steeped in the sorrows of his heart4 ,if it be true1 as asserted1 that the earth has never witnessed any nation so unsociable1 so savage1 to be without some form of religious worship--who did not adore some god--but little will result from it respecting the ,divinity4 ,the word ,,god1 will rarely be found to designate more than the unknown cause of those effects which man has either admired or dreaded4 ,thus1 this notion so generally diffused1 upon which so much stress is laid2 will prove little more than that man in all generations has been ignorant of natural causes1--that he has been incompetent1 from some cause or other1 to account for those phenomena which either excited his surprise or roused his fears4 ,if at the present day a people cannot be found destitute of some kind of worship1 entirely without superstition1 who do not acknowledge a ,god1 who have not adopted a theology more or less subtle1 it is because the uninformed ancestors of these people have all endured misfortunes--have been alarmed by terrifying effects1 which they have attributed to unknown causes--have beheld strange sights1 which they have ascribed to powerful agents1 whose existence they could not fathom2 the details of which1 together with their own bewildered notions1 they have handed down to their posterity who have not given them any kind of examination4 ,it will readily be allowed1 that the universality of an opinion by no means proves its truth4 ,do we not see a great number of ignorant prejudices1 a multitude of barbarous errors1 even at the present day1 receive the almost universal sanction of the human race8 ,are not nearly all the inhabitants of the earth imbued with the idea of magic--in the habit of acknowledging occult powers--given to divination--believers in enchantment--the slaves to omens--supporters of witchcraft--thoroughly persuaded of the existence of ghosts8 ,if some of the most enlightened persons are cured of these follies1 they still find very zealous partizans in the greater number of mankind1 who accredit them with the firmest confidence4 ,it would not1 however1 be concluded by men of sound sense1 in many instances not by the theologian himself1 that therefore these chimeras actually have existence1 although sanctioned with the credence of the multitude4 ,before ,copernicus1 there was no one who did not believe that the earth was stationary1 that the sun described his annual revolution round it4 ,was1 however1 this universal consent of man upon a principle of astronomical science1 which endured for so many thousand years1 less an error on that account8 ,yet to have doubted the truth of such a generally-diffused opinion1 one that had received the sanction of so many learned men--that was clothed with the sacred vestments of so many ages of credulity--that had been adopted by ,moses1 acknowledged by ,solomon1 accredited by the ,persian magi--that ,elijah himself had not refuted--that had obtained the fiat of the most respectable universities1 the most enlightened legislators1 the wisest kings1 the most eloquent ministers2 in short1 a principle that embraced all the stability that could be derived from the universal consent of all ranks3 to have doubted1 ,i say1 of this1 would at one period have been held as the highest degree of profanation1 as the most presumptuous scepticism1 as an impious blasphemy1 that would have threatened the very existence of that unhappy country from whose unfortunate bosom such a venomous1 sacrilegious mortal could have arisen4 ,it is well known what opinion was entertained of ,gallileo for maintaining the existence of the antipodes4 ,pope ,gregory excommunicated as atheists all those who gave it credit4 ,thus each man has his ,god3 ,but do all these gods exist8 ,in reply it will be said1 somewhat triumphantly1 each man hath his ideas of the sun1 do all these suns exist8 ,however narrow may be the pass by which superstition imagines it has thus guarded its favourite hypothesis1 nothing will perhaps be more easy than the answer3 the existence of the sun is a fact verified by the daily use of the senses2 all the world see the sun2 no one bath ever said there is no sun2 nearly all mankind have acknowledged it to be both luminous and hot3 however various may be the opinions of man1 upon this luminary1 no one has ever yet pretended there was more than one attached to our planetary system4 ,but we may perhaps be told1 there is a wide difference between that which can be contemplated by the visual organs1 which can be understood by the sense of feeling1 and that which does not come under the cognizance of any part of the organic structure of man4 ,we must confess theology here has the advantage2 that we are unable to follow it through its devious sinuosities2 amidst its meandering labyrinths3 but then it is the advantage of those who see sounds1 over those who only hear them2 of those who hear colours1 over those who only see them2 of the professors of a science1 where every thing is built upon laws inverted from those common to the globe we inhabit2 over those common understandings1 who cannot be sensible to any thing that does not give an impulse to some of their organs4 ,if man1 therefore1 had the courage to throw aside his prejudices1 which every thing conspires to render as durable as himself--if divested of fear he would examine coolly--if guided by reason he would dispassionately view the nature of things1 the evidence adduced in support of any given doctrine2 he would1 at least1 be under the necessity to acknowledge1 that the idea of the ,divinity is not innate--that it is not anterior to his existence--that it is the production of time1 acquired by communication with his own species--that1 consequently1 there was a period when it did not actually exist in him3 he would see clearly1 that he holds it by tradition from those who reared him3 that these themselves received it from their ancestors3 that thus tracing it up1 it will be found to have been derived in the last resort1 from ignorant savages1 who were our first fathers4 ,the history of the world will shew that crafty legislators1 ambitious tyrants1 blood-stained conquerors1 have availed themselves of the ignorance1 the fears1 the credulity of his progenitors1 to turn to their own profit an idea to which they rarely attached any other substantive meaning than that of submitting them to the yoke of their own domination4 ,without doubt there have been mortals who have dreamed they have seen the ,divinity4 ,mahomet1 ,i believe1 boasted he had a long conversation with the ,deity1 who promulgated to him the system of the ,mussulmans4 ,but are there not thousands1 even of the theologians1 who will exhaust their breath1 and fatigue their lungs with vociferating this man was a liar2 whose object was to take advantage of the simplicity1 to profit by the enthusiasm1 to impose on the credulity of the ,arabs2 who promulgated for truths1 the crazy reveries of his own distempered imagination8 ,nevertheless1 is it not a truth1 that this doctrine of the crafty ,arab1 is at this day the creed of millions1 transmitted to them by their ancestors1 rendered sacred by time1 read to them in their mosques1 adorned with all the ceremonies of superstitious worship2 of which the inhabitants of a vast portion of the earth do not permit themselves for an instant to doubt the veracity2 who1 on the contrary1 hold those who do not accredit it as dogs1 as infidels1 as beings of an inferior rank1 of meaner capacities than themselves8 ,indeed that man1 even if he were a theologian1 would not experience the most gentle treatment from the infuriated ,mahometan1 who should to his face venture to dispute the divine mission of his prophet4 ,thus the ancestors of the ,turk have transmitted to their posterity1 those ideas of the ,divinity which they manifestly received from those who deceived them2 whose impositions1 modified from age to age1 subtilized by the priests1 clothed with the reverential awe inspired by fear1 have by degrees acquired that solidity1 received that corroboration1 attained that veteran stability1 which is the natural result of public sanction1 backed by theological parade4 ,the word ,god is1 perhaps1 among the first that vibrate on the ear of man2 it is reiterated to him incessantly2 he is taught to lisp it with respect2 to listen to it with fear2 to bend the knee when it is reverberated3 by dint of repetition1 by listening to the fables of antiquity1 by hearing it pronounced by all ranks and persuasions1 he seriously believes all men bring the idea with them into the world2 he thus confounds a mechanical habit with instinct2 whilst it is for want of being able to recal to himself the first circumstances under which his imagination was awakened by this name2 for want of recollecting all the recitals made to him during the course of his infancy2 for want of accurately defining what was instilled into him by his education2 in short1 because his memory does not furnish him with the succession of causes that have engraven it on his brain1 that he believes this idea is really inherent to his being2 innate in all his species4 ,iamblicus1 indeed1 who was a ,pythagorean philosopher not in the highest repute with the learned world1 although one of those visionary priests in some estimation with theologians1 7at least if we may venture to judge by the unlimited draughts they have made on the bank of his doctrines7 who was unquestionably a favourite with the emperor ,julian1 says1 that anteriorly to all use of reason1 the notion of the gods is inspired by nature1 and that we have even a sort of feeling of the ,divinity1 preferable to the knowledge of him4 ,it is1 however1 uniformly by habit1 that man admires1 that he fears a being1 whose name he has attended to from his earliest infancy4 ,as soon as he hears it uttered1 he without reflection mechanically associates it with those ideas with which his imagination has been filled by the recitals of others2 with those sensations which he has been instructed to accompany it4 ,thus1 if for a season man would be ingenuous with himself1 he would concede that in the greater number of his race1 the ideas of the gods1 and of those attributes with which they are clothed1 have their foundation1 take their rise in1 are the fruit of the opinions of his fathers1 traditionally infused into him by education--confirmed by habit--corroborated by example--enforced by authority4 ,that it very rarely happens he examines these ideas2 that they are for the most part adopted by inexperience1 propagated by tuition1 rendered sacred by time1 inviolable from respect to his progenitors1 reverenced as forming part of those institutions he has most learned to value4 ,he thinks he has always had them1 because he has had them from his infancy2 he considers them indubitable1 because he is never permitted to question them--because he never has the intrepidity to examine their basis4 ,if it had been the destiny of a ,brachman1 or a ,mussulman1 to have drawn his first breath on the shores of ,africa1 he would adore1 with as much simplicity1 with as much fervour1 the serpent reverenced by the ,negroes1 as he does the ,god his own metaphysicians have offered to his reverence4 ,he would be equally indignant if any one should presumptuously dispute the divinity of this reptile1 which he would have learned to venerate from the moment he quitted the womb of his mother1 as the most zealous1 enthusiastic fakir1 when the marvellous wonders of his prophet should be brought into question2 or as the most subtile theologian when the inquiry turned upon the incongruous qualities with which he has decorated his gods4 ,nevertheless1 if this serpent god of the ,negro should be contested1 they could not at least dispute his existence4 ,simple as may be the mind of this dark son of nature1 uncommon as may be the qualities with which he has clothed his reptile1 he still may be evidenced by all who choose to exercise their organs of sight2 not so with the theologian2 he absolutely questions the existence of every other god but that which he himself has formed2 which is questioned in its turn by his brother metaphysician4 ,they are by no means disposed to admit the proofs offered by each other4 ,descartes1 ,paschal1 and ,doctor ,samuel ,clarke himself1 have been accused of atheism by the theologians of their time4 ,subsequent reasoners have made use of their proofs1 and even given them as extremely valid4 ,doctor ,bowman published a work1 in which he pretends all the proofs hitherto brought forward are crazy and fragile3 he of course substitutes his own2 which in their turn have been the subject of animadversion4 ,thus it would appear these theologians are not more in accord with themselves than they are with ,turks or ,pagans4 ,they cannot even agree as to their proofs of existence3 from age to age new champions arise1 new evidence is adduced1 the old discarded1 or treated with contempt2 profound philosophers1 subtle metaphysicians1 are continually attacking each other for their ignorance on a point of the very first importance4 ,amidst this variety of discussion1 it is very difficult for simple winds1 for those who steadily search after truth1 who only wish to understand what they believe1 to find a point upon which they can fix with reliance--a standard round which they may rally without fear of danger--a common measure that way serve them for a beacon to avoid the quicksands of delusion--the sophistry of polemics4 ,men of very great genius have successively miscarried in their demonstrations2 have been held to have betrayed their cause by the weakness of the arguments by which they have supported it2 by the manner in which they have attempted to establish their positions4 ,thus many of them1 when they believed they had surmounted a difficulty1 had the mortification to find they had only given birth to an hundred others4 ,they seem1 indeed1 not to be in a capacity to understand each other1 or to agree among themselves1 when they reason upon the nature and qualities of beings created by such a variety of imaginations1 which each contemplates diversely1 upon which the natural self-love of each disputant induces him to reject with vehement indignation every thing that does not fall in with his own peculiar mode of thinking--that does not quadrate either with his superstition or his ignorance1 or sometimes with both4 ,the opponents of ,clarke charge him with begging the question in his work on ,the ,being and ,attributes of ,god4 ,they say he has pretended to prove this existence a priori1 which they deem impossible1 seeing there is nothing anterior to the first of causes2 that therefore it can only be proved a posteriori1 that is to say1 by its effects4 ,law1 in his ,inquiry into the ,ideas of ,space1 ,time1 ,immensity1 c4 has attacked him very triumphantly1 for this manner of proof1 which is stated to be so very repugnant to the school-men4 ,his arguments have been treated with no more ceremony by ,thomas ,d',aquinas1 ,john ,scott1 and others of the schools4 ,at the present day ,i believe he is held in more respect--that his authority outweighs that of all his antagonists together4 ,be that as it may1 those who have followed him have done nothing more than either repeat his ideas1 or present his evidence under a new form4 ,tillotson argues at great length1 but it would be rather difficult to understand which side of the question he adopts on this momentous subject2 whether he is a ,necessitarian1 or among the opposers of ,fatalism4 ,speaking of man1 he says1 he is liable to many evils and miseries1 which he can neither prevent or redress2 he is full of wants1 which he cannot supply1 and compassed about with infirmities which he cannot remove1 and obnoxious to dangers which he can never sufficiently provide against3 he is apt to grieve for what he cannot help1 and eagerly to desire what he is never able to obtain4 ,if the proofs of ,clarke1 who has drawn them up in twelve propositions1 are examined with attention1 ,i think they may be fairly shielded from the reproach with which they have been loaded2 it does not appear that he has proved his positions a priori1 but a posteriori1 according to rule4 ,it seems clear1 however1 that he has mistaken the proof of the existence of the effects1 for the proof of the existence of the cause3 but here he seems to have more reason than his critics1 who in their eagerness to prove that ,clarke has not conformed to the rules of the schools1 would entirely overlook the best1 the surest foundation whereon to rest the existence of the ,great ,cause of causes1 that ,parent of ,parents1 whose wisdom shines so manifestly in nature1 of which ,clarke's work may be said to be such a masterly evidence4 ,we shall follow1 step by step1 the different propositions in which this learned divine developes the received opinions upon the ,divinity2 which1 when applied to nature1 will be found to be so accurate1 so correct1 as to leave no further room to doubt either the existence or the wisdom of her great author1 thus proved through her own existence4 ,dr4 ,clarke sets out with saying3 #ast4 ,something has existed from all eternity4 ,this proposition is evident--hath no occasion for proofs4 ,matter has existed from all eternity1 its forms alone are evanescent2 matter is the great engine used by nature to produce all her phenomena1 or rather it is nature herself4 ,we have some idea of matter1 sufficient to warrant the conclusion that this has always existed4 ,first1 that which exists1 supposes existence essential to its being4 ,that which cannot1 annihilate itself1 exists necessarily2 it is impossible to conceive that that which cannot cease to exist1 or that which cannot annihilate itself1 could ever have had a beginning4 ,if matter cannot be annihilated1 it could not commence to be4 ,thus we say to ,dr4 ,clarke1 that it is matter1 it is nature1 acting by her own peculiar energy1 of which no particle is ever in an absolute state of rest1 which hath always existed4 ,the various material bodies which this nature contains often change their form1 their combination1 their properties1 their mode of action3 but their principles or elements are indestructible--have never been able to commence4 ,what this great scholar actually understands1 when he makes the assertion that an eternal duration is now actually past1 is not quite so clear2 yet he affirms1 that not to believe it would be a real and express contradiction4 ,we may1 however1 safely admit his argument1 that when once any proposition is clearly demonstrated to1 be true1 it ought not to disturb us that there be perhaps some perplexing difficulties on the other side1 which merely for want of adequate ideas of the manner of the existence of the things demonstrated1 are not easily to be cleared4 #bnd1 ,there has existed from eternity some one unchangeable and independent ,being4 ,we may fairly inquire what is this ,being8 ,is it independent of its own peculiar essence1 or of those properties which constitute it such as it is8 ,we shall further inquire1 if this ,being1 whatever it may be1 can make the other beings which it produces1 or which it moves1 act otherwise than they do1 according to the properties which it has given them8 ,and in this case we shall ask1 if this ,being1 such as it way be supposed to be1 does not act necessarily2 if it is not obliged to employ indispensible means to fulfil its designs1 to arrive at the end which it either has1 or may be supposed to have in view8 ,then we shall say1 that nature is obliged to act after her essence2 that every thing which takes place in her is necessary2 but that she is independent of her forms4 ,a man is said to be independent1 when he is determined in his actions only by the general causes which are accustomed to move him2 he is equally said to be dependent on another1 when he cannot act but in consequence of the determination which this last gives him4 ,a body is dependent on another body when it owes to it its existence1 and its mode of action4 ,a being existing from eternity cannot owe his existence to any other being2 he cannot then be dependent upon him1 except he owes his action to him2 but it is evident that an eternal or self-existent ,being contains in his own nature every thing that is necessary for him to act3 then1 matter being eternal1 is necessarily independent in the sense we have explained2 of course it hath no occasion for a mover upon which it ought to depend4 ,this eternal ,being is also immutable1 if by this attribute be understood that he cannot change his nature2 but if it be intended to infer by it that he cannot change his mode of action or existence1 it is without doubt deceiving themselves1 since even in supposing an immaterial being1 they would be obliged to acknowledge in him different modes of being1 different volitions1 different ways of acting2 particularly if he was not supposed totally deprived of action1 in which case he would be perfectly useless4 ,indeed it follows of course that to change his mode of action he must necessarily change his manner of being4 ,from hence it will be obvious1 that the theologians1 in making their gods immutable1 render them immoveable1 consequently they cannot act4 ,an immutable being1 could evidently neither have successive volition1 nor produce successive action2 if this being hath created matter1 or given birth to the universe1 there must have been a time in which he was willing that this matter1 this universe1 should exist2 and this time must have been preceded by another time1 in which he was willing that it might not yet exist4 ,if ,god be the author of all things1 as well as of the motion and of the combinations of matter1 he is unceasingly occupied in producing and destroying2 in consequence1 he cannot be called immutable1 touching his mode of existing4 ,the material world always maintains itself by motion1 and the continual change of its parts2 the sum of the beings who compose it1 or of the elements which act in it1 is invariably the same2 in this sense the immutability of the universe is much more easy of comprehension1 much more demonstrable than that of an other being to whom1 they would attribute all the effects1 all the mutations which take place4 ,nature is not more to be accused of mutability1 on account of the succession of its forms1 than the eternal ,being is by the theologians1 by the diversity of his decrees4 ,here we shall be able to perceive that1 supposing the laws by which nature acts to be immutable1 it does not require tiny of these logical distinctions to account for the changes that take place3 the mutation which results1 is1 on the contrary1 a striking proof of the immutability of the system which produces them2 and completely brings mature under the range of this second proposition as stated by ,dr4 ,clarke4 #c;dly1 ,that unchangeable and independent ,being which has existed from eternity without any eternal cause of its existence1 must be self-existent1 that is1 necessarily existing4 ,this proposition is merely a repetition of the first2 we reply to it by inquiring1 ,why matter1 which is indestructible1 should not be self-existent8 ,it is evident that a being who had no beginning1 must be self-existent2 if he had existed by another1 he would have commenced to be2 consequently he would not be eternal4 #dthly1 ,what the substance or essence of that ,being which is self-existent1 or necessarily existing1 is1 we have no idea2 neither is it at all possible for us to comprehend it4 ,dr4 ,clarke would perhaps have spoken more correctly if he had said his essence is impossible to be known3 nevertheless1 we shall readily concede that the essence of matter is incomprehensible1 or at least that we conceive it very feebly by the manner in which we are affected by it2 but without this we should be less able to conceive the ,divinity1 who would then be impervious on any side4 ,thus it must necessarily be concluded1 that it is folly to argue upon it1 since it is by matter alone we can have any knowledge of him2 that is to say1 by which we can assure ourselves of his existence1--by which we can at all guess at his qualities4 ,in short we must conclude1 that every thing related of the ,divinity1 either proves him material1 or else proves the impossibility in which the human mind will always find itself1 of conceiving any being different from matter2 without extent1 yet omnipresent2 immaterial1 yet acting upon matter2 spiritual1 yet producing matter2 immutable1 yet putting every thing in activity1 c4 ,indeed it must be allowed that the incomprehensibility of the ,divinity does not distinguish him from matter2 this will not be more easy of comprehension when we shall associate it with a being much less comprehensible than itself2 we have some slender knowledge of it through some of its parts4 ,we do not certainly know the essence of any being1 if by that word we are to understand that which constitutes its peculiar nature4 ,we only know matter by the sensations1 the perceptions1 the ideas which it furnishes2 it is according to these that we judge it to be either favorable or unfavourable1 following the particular disposition of our organs4 ,but when a being does not act upon any part of our organic structure1 it does not exist for us2 we cannot1 without exhibiting folly1 without betraying our ignorance1 without falling into obscurity1 either speak of its nature1 or assign its qualities2 our senses are the only channel by which we could have formed the slightest idea of it2 these not having received any impulse1 we are1 in point of fact1 unacquainted with its existence4 ,the incomprehensibility of the ,divinity ought to convince man that it is a point at which he is bound to stop2 indeed he is placed in a state of utter incapacity to proceed3 this1 however1 would not suit with those speculators who are willing to reason upon him continually1 to shew the depth of their learning1--to persuade the uninformed they understand that which is incomprehensible to all men2 by which they expect to be able to submit him to their own views4 ,nevertheless1 if the ,divinity be incomprehensible1 ,it would not be straining a point beyond its tension1 to conclude that a priest1 or metaphysician1 did not comprehend him better than other men3 it is not1 perhaps1 either the wisest or the surest way to become acquainted with him1 to represent him to ourselves1 by the imagination of a theologian4 #ethly1 ,though the substance1 or essence of the self-existent ,being1 is in itself absolutely incomprehensible to us1 yet many of the essential attributes of his nature are strictly demonstrable1 as well as his existence4 ,thus1 in the first place1 the self-existent ,being must of necessity be eternal4 ,this proposition differs in nothing from the first1 except ,dr4 ,clarke does not here understand that as the self-existent ,being had no beginning1 he can have no end4 ,however this may be1 we must ever inquire1 ,why this should not be matter8 ,we shall further observe1 that matter not being capable of annihilation1 exists necessarily1 consequently will never cease to exist2 that the human mind has no means of conceiving how matter should originate from that which is not itself matter3 is it not obvious1 that matter is necessary2 that there is nothing1 except its powers1 its arrangement1 its combinations1 which are contingent or evanescent8 ,the general motion is necessary1 but the given motion is not so2 only during the season that the particular combinations subsist1 of which this motion is the consequence1 or the effect3 we may be competent to change the direction1 to either accelerate or retard1 to suspend or arrest1 a particular motion1 but the general motion can never possibly be annihilated4 ,man1 in dying1 ceases to live2 that is to say1 he no longer either walks1 thinks1 or acts in the mode which is peculiar to human organization3 but the matter which composed his body1 the matter which formed his mind1 does not cease to move on that account3 it simply becomes susceptible of another species of motion4 #fthly1 ,the self-existent ,being must of necessity be infinite and omnipresent4 ,the word infinite presents only a negative idea--which excludes all bounds3 it is evident that a being who exists necessarily1 who is independent1 cannot be limited by any thing which is out of himself2 he must consequently be his own limits2 in this sense we may say he is infinite4 ,touching what is said of his omnipresence1 it is equally evident that if there be nothing exterior to this being1 either there is no place in which he must not be present1 or that there will be only himself and the vacuum4 ,this granted1 ,i shall inquire if matter exists2 if it does not at least occupy a portion of space8 ,in this case1 matter1 or the universe1 must exclude every other being who is not matter1 from that place which the material beings occupy in space4 ,in asking whether the gods of the theologians be by chance the abstract being which they call the vacuum or space1 they will reply1 no6 ,they will further insist1 that their gods1 who are not matter1 penetrate that which is matter4 ,but it must be obvious1 that to penetrate matter1 it is necessary to have some correspondence with matter1 consequently to have extent2 now to have extent1 is to have one of the properties of matter4 ,if the ,divinity penetrates matter1 then he is material2 by a necessary deduction he is inseparable from matter2 then if he is omnipresent1 he will be in every thing4 ,this the theologian will not allow3 he will say it is a mystery2 by which ,i shall understand that he is himself ignorant how to account for his own positions2 this will not be the case with making nature act after immutable laws2 she will of necessity be every where1 in my body1 in my arm1 in every other material being1 because matter composes them all4 ,the ,divinity who has given this invariable system1 will without any incongruous reasoning1 without any subterfuge1 be also present every where1 inasmuch as the laws he has prescribed will unchangeably act through the whole2 this does not seem inconsistent with reason to suppose4 #gth1 ,the ,self-existent ,being must of necessity be but one4 ,if there he nothing exterior to a being who exists necessarily1 it must follow that he is unique4 ,it will be obvious that this proposition is the same with the preceding one2 at least1 if they are not willing to deny the existence of the material world4 #hth1 ,the self-existent and original ,cause of all things1 must be an intelligent being4 ,here ,dr4 ,clarke most unquestionably assigneth a human quality3 intelligence is a faculty appertaining to organized or animated beings1 of which we have no knowledge out of these beings4 ,to have intelligence1 it is necessary to think2 to think1 it is requisite to have ideas2 to have ideas1 supposes senses2 when senses exist they are material2 when they are material1 they cannot be a pure spirit1 in the language of the theologian4 ,the necessary ,being who comprehends1 who contains1 who produces animated beings1 contains1 includes1 and produceth intelligence4 ,but has the great whole a peculiar intelligence1 which moveth it1 which maketh it act1 which determineth it in the mode that intelligence moves and determines animated bodies2 or rather1 is not this intelligence the consequence of immutable laws1 a certain modification resulting from certain combinations of matter1 which exists under one form of these combinations1 but is wanting under another form8 ,this is assuredly what nothing is competent absolutely1 and demonstrably to prove4 ,man having placed himself in the first rank in the universe1 has been desirous to judge of every thing after what he saw within himself1 because he hath pretended that in order to be perfect it was necessary to be like himself4 ,here is the source of all his erroneous reasoning upon nature--the foundation of his ideas upon his gods4 ,he has therefore concluded1 perhaps not with the most polished wisdom1 that it would be indecorous in himself1 injurious to the ,divinity1 not to invest him with a quality which is found estimable in man--which he prizes highly--to which he attaches the idea of perfection--which he considers as a manifest proof of superiority4 ,he sees his fellow-creature is offended when he is thought to lack intelligence2 he therefore judges it to be the same with the ,divinity4 ,he denies this quality to nature1 because he considers her a mass of ignoble matter1 incapable of self-action2 although she contains and produces intelligent beings4 ,but this is rather a personification of an abstract quality1 than an attribute of the ,deity1 with whose perfections1 with whose mode of existence1 he cannot by any possible means become acquainted according to the fifth proposition of ,dr4 ,clarke himself4 ,it is in the earth that is engendered those living animals called worms2 yet we do not say the earth is a living creature4 ,the bread which man eats1 the wine that he drinks1 are not themselves thinking substances2 yet they nourish1 sustain1 and cause those beings to think1 who are susceptible of this modification of their existence4 ,it is likewise in nature1 that is formed intelligent1 feeling1 thinking beings2 yet it cannot be rationally said1 that nature feels1 thinks1 and is intelligent after the manner of these beings1 who nevertheless spring out of her bosom4 ,how6 cries the metaphysician1 the subtilizing philosopher1 what6 refuse to the ,divinity1 those qualities we discover in his creatures8 ,must1 then1 the work be more perfect than the workman8 ,shall ,god1 who made the eye1 not himself see8 ,shall ,god1 who formed the ear1 not himself hear6 ,this at a superficial view appears insuperable3 but are the questioners1 however triumphantly they may make the inquiry1 themselves aware of the length this would carry them1 even if their queries were answered with the most unqualified affirmative8 ,have they sufficiently reflected on the tendency of this mode of reasoning8 ,if this be admitted as a postulatum1 are they prepared to follow it in all its extent8 ,suppose their argument granted1 what is to be done with all those other qualities upon which man does not set so high a value8 ,are they also to be ascribed to the ,divinity1 because we do not refuse him qualities possessed by his creatures8 ,by a parity of reasoning we should attach faculties that would be degrading to the ,divinity4 ,thus it ever happens with those who travel out of the limits of their own knowledge2 they involve themselves in perpetual contradictions which they can never reconcile2 which only serve to prove that in arguing upon points1 on which universal ignorance prevails1 the result is constantly that all the deductions made from such unsteady principles1 must of necessity be at war with each other1 in hostility with themselves4 ,thus1 although we cannot help feeling the profound wisdom1 that must have dictated the system we see act with such uniformity1 with such constancy1 with such astonishing power1 we cannot form the most slender idea of the particular nature of that wisdom2 because if we were for an instant to assimilate it to our own1 weak and feeble as it is1 we should from that instant be in a state of contradiction2 seeing we could not then avoid considering the evil we witness1 the sorrow we experience1 as a dereliction of this wisdom1 which at least proves one great truth1 that we are utterly incapable of forming an idea of the ,divinity4 ,but in contemplating things as our own experience warrants in whatever we do understand1 in considering nature as acting by unchangeable laws1 we find good and evil necessarily existing1 without at all involving the wisdom of the great ,cause of causes2 who thus has no need to remedy that1 which the further progress of the eternal system will regulate of itself1 or which industry and patient research on our parts will enable us to discover the means of futurely avoiding4 #ith1 ,the self-existent and original ,cause of all things1 is not a necessary agent1 but a being endued with liberty and choice4 ,man is called free1 when he finds within himself motives that determine him to action1 or when his will meets no obstacle to the performance of that to which his motives have determined him4 ,the necessary ,being of which question is here made1 doth he find no obstacles to the execution of the projects which are attributed to him8 ,is he willing1 adopting their own hypothesis1 that evil should be committed1 or can he not prevent it8 ,in this latter case he is not free2 if his will does meet with obstacles1 if he is willing to permit evil2 then he suffers man to restrain his liberty1 by deranging his projects2 if he has not these projects1 then they are themselves in error who ascribe them to him4 ,how will the metaphysicians draw themselves out of this perplexing intricacy8 ,the further a theologian goes1 whilst considering his gods as possessed of human qualities1 as acting by mortal motives1 the more he flounders--the greater the mass of contradiction he heaps together3 thus if it be asked of him1 can ,god reward crime1 punish virtue1 he will immediately answer1 no6 ,in this answer he will have truth3 but then this truth1 and the freedom which is ascribed to him1 cannot1 according to human ideas1 exist together2 because if this being cannot love vice1 cannot hate virtue1 and it is evident he cannot1 he is in fact not more free than man himself4 ,again1 ,god is said to have made a covenant with his creatures2 now it is the very essence of a covenant to restrict choice2 and that being must be considered a necessary agent who is under the necessity of fulfilling any given act4 ,as it is impossible to suppose the ,divinity can act irrationally1 it must be conceded that as he made these laws1 he is himself obliged to follow them3 because if he was not1 as we must again suppose he does nothing without a good reason1 he would thereby imply1 that the mode of action he adopted would be wiser2 which would again involve a contradiction4 ,the theologians fearing1 without doubt1 to restrain the liberty of the ,divinity1 have supposed it was necessary that he should not be bound by his own laws1 in which they have shewn somewhat more ignorance of their subject than they imagined4 #ajth1 ,the self-existent ,being1 the supreme ,cause of all things1 must of necessity have infinite power4 ,as nature is adequate to produce every thing we see--as she contains the whole united power of the universe1 her power has consequently no limits3 the being who conferred this power cannot have less4 ,but if the ideas of the theologians were adopted1 this power would not appear quite so unlimited2 since1 according to them1 man is a free agent1 consequently has the means of acting contrary to this power1 which at once sets a boundary to it4 ,an equitable monarch is perhaps nothing less than he is a free agent2 when he believes himself bound to act conformably to the laws1 which he has sworn to observe1 or which he cannot violate without wounding his justice4 ,the theologian is a man who may be very fairly estimated neuter2 because he destroys with one hand what he establishes with the other4 #aath1 ,the ,supreme ,cause and ,author of all things1 must of necessity be infinitely wise4 ,as nature produces all things by certain immutable laws1 it will require no great difficulty to allow that she may be infinitely wise3 indeed1 whatever side of the argument may be taken1 this fact will result as a necessary consequence4 ,it will hardly admit of a question that all things are produced by nature3 if1 therefore1 we do not allow her wisdom to be first rate1 it would be an insult to the ,divinity1 who gave her her system4 ,if the theologian himself is to take the lead1 he also admits that nature operates under the immediate auspices of his gods2 whatever she does1 must then1 according to his own shewing1 be executed with the most polished wisdom4 ,but the theologian is not satisfied with going thus far3 he will insist1 not only that he knows what these things are1 but also that he knows the end they have in view3 this1 unfortunately1 is the rock he splits upon4 ,according to his own admission1 the ways of ,god are impenetrable to man4 ,if we grant his position1 what is the result8 ,why1 that it is at random he speaks4 ,if these ways are impenetrable1 by what means did he acquire his knowledge of them8 ,how did he discover the end proposed by the ,deity8 ,if they are not impenetrable1 they then can be equally known to other men as to himself4 ,the theologian would be puzzled to shew he has any more privileges in nature than his fellow mortals4 ,again1 if he has asserted these things to be impenetrable1 when they are not so1 he is then in the situation that he has himself placed ,mahomet3 he is no longer worthy of being attended to1 because he has swerved from veracity4 ,it certainly is not very consistent with the sublime idea of the ,divinity that he should be clothed with that weak1 vain passion of man1 called glory3 the being who had the faculty of producing such a system as it operated in nature1 could hardly be supposed to have such a frivolous passion as we know this to be in our fellows3 and as we can never reason but after what we do know1 it would appear nothing can be more inconsistent than thus continually heaping together our own feeble1 inconsistent views1 and then supposing the great ,cause of causes acts by such futile rules4 #abth1 ,the supreme ,cause and ,author of all things must of necessity be a being of infinite goodness1 justice1 and truth1 and all other moral perfections1 such as become the supreme governor and judge of the world4 ,we must again repeat that these are human qualities drawn from the model of man himself2 they only suppose a being of the human species1 who should be divested of what we call imperfections3 this is certainly the highest point of view in which our finite minds are capable of contemplating the ,divinity3 but as this being has neither species nor cause1 consequently no fellow creatures1 he must necessarily be of an order so different to man1 that human faculties can in no wise be appropriately assigned to him4 ,the idea of perfection1 as man understands it1 is an abstract1 metaphysical1 negative idea1 of which he has no archetype whereby to form a judgment3 he would call that a perfect being1 who1 similar to himself1 was wanting in those qualities which he finds prejudicial to him2 but such a being would after all be no wore than a man4 ,it is always relatively to himself1 to his own mode of feeling and of thinking1 that a thing is either perfect or imperfect2 it is according to this1 that in his eyes a thing is more or less useful or prejudicial2 agreeable or disagreeable4 ,justice includes all moral perfections4 ,one of the most prominent features of justice1 in the ideas of man1 is the equity of the relations subsisting between beings1 founded upon their mutual wants4 ,according to the theologian1 his gods owe nothing to man4 ,how then does he measure out his ideas of justice8 ,for a monarch to say he owed nothing to his subjects1 would be considered1 even by this theologian himself1 as rank injustice2 because he would expect the fulfilment of duties on their part1 without exercising those which devolved upon himself4 ,duties1 according to the only idea man can form of them1 must be reciprocal4 ,it is rather stretching the human capabilities1 to understand the relations between a pure spirit and material beings--between finity and infinity--between eternal beings and those which are transitory3 thus it is1 that metaphysics hold forth an inconceivable being by the very attributes with which they clothe him2 for either he has these attributes1 or he has them not3 whether he has them or has them not1 man can only understand them after his own powers of comprehension4 ,if he does at all understand them1 he cannot have the slightest idea of justice unaccompanied by duties1 which are the very basis1 the superstructure1 the pillars upon which this virtue rests4 ,whether we are to view it as self-love or ignorance in the theologian1 that he thus dresses up his gods after himself1 it certainly was not the happiest effort of his imagination to work by an inverse rule3 for1 according to himself1 the qualities he describes are all the negation of what he calls them4 ,doctor ,clarke himself stumbles a little upon these points2 he insists upon free agency1 and uses this extraordinary method to support his argument2 he says1 ,god is1 by necessity1 a free agent3 and he can no more possibly cease to be so1 than he can cease to exist4 ,he must of necessity1 every moment choose to act1 or choose to forbear acting2 because two contradictories cannot possibly be true at once4 ,man also is by necessity1 not in the nature of things1 but through ,god's appointment1 a free agent4 ,and it is no otherwise in his power to cease to be such1 than by depriving himself of life4 ,will ,doctor ,clarke permit us to put one simple question3 ,if to be obligated to do a certain given thing1 is to be free1 what is it to be coerced8 ,or if two contradictories cannot be true at once1 by what rule of logic are we to measure the idea of that freedom which arises out of necessity4 ,supposing necessity to be what ,dr4 ,johnson1 7using ,milton as his authority7 says it is1 compulsion1 fatality1 would it be considered a man was less restrained in his actions because he was only compelled to do what was right8 ,the restraint would undoubtedly he beneficial to him1 but it would not therefore render him more a free agent4 ,if the ,divinity cannot love wickedness1 cannot hate goodness1 7and surely the theologians themselves will not pretend he can17 then the power of choice has no existence as far as these two things are concerned2 and this upon ,clarke's own principle1 because two contradictories cannot be true at once4 ,nothing could1 ,i think1 appear a greater contradiction1 than the idea that the ,great ,cause of causes could by any possibility love vice3 if such a monstrous principle could for a moment have existence1 there would be an end of all the foundations of religion4 ,the ,doctor is very little happier in reasoning upon immateriality4 ,he says1 by way of illustrating his argument1 that it is possible to infinite power to create an immaterial cogitative substance1 endued with a power of beginning motion1 and with a liberty of will or choice4 ,again1 that immaterial substances are not impossible2 or1 that a substance immaterial is not a contradictory notion4 ,now1 whoever asserts that it is contradictory1 must affirm that whatever is not matter is nothing2 and that1 to say any thing exists which is not matter1 is saying that there exists something which is nothing1 which in other words is plainly this1--that whatever we have not an idea of1 is nothing1 and impossible to be4 ,it could1 ,i am apt to believe1 never have entered into any reasonable mind that a thing was impossible because he could have no idea of it3--many things1 on the contrary1 are possible1 of which we have not the most slender notion3 but it does not1 ,i presume1 flow consecutively out of this admission1 that therefore every thing is1 which is not impossible4 ,doctor ,clarke then1 rather begs the question on this occasion4 ,in the schools it is never considered requisite to prove a negative2 indeed1 this is ranked by logicians amongst those things impossible to be1 but it is considered of the highest importance to soundness of argument1 to establish the affirmative by the most conclusive reasoning4 ,taking this for granted1 we will apply the doctor's own reasoning4 ,he says1 ,nothing is that of which every thing1 can truly be affirmed4 ,so that the idea of nothing1 if ,i may so speak1 is absolutely the negative of all ideas2 the idea1 therefore1 either of a finite or infinite nothing is a contradiction in terms4 ,to affirm1 of a thing with truth1 it must be necessary to be acquainted with that thing4 ,to have ideas1 as we have already proved1 it is necessary to have perceptions2 to have perceptions1 it is requisite to have sensations2 to have sensations1 requires organs4 ,an idea cannot be1 and not be1 at the same moment3 the idea of substance1 it will scarcely be denied1 is that of a thing solid1 real1 according to ,dryden2 capable of supporting accidents1 according to ,watts2 something of which we can say that it is1 according to ,davies2 body1 corporeal nature1 according to ,newton2 the idea of immaterial1 according to ,hooker1 is incorporeal4 ,how then am ,i to understand immaterial substance8 ,is it not1 according to these definitions1 that which cannot couple together8 ,if a thing be immaterial1 it cannot be a substance2 if a substance1 it cannot be immaterial3 those ,i apprehend will not have many ideas1 who do not see this is a complete negative of all ideas4 ,if1 therefore1 on the outset1 the doctor cannot find words1 by which he can convey the idea of that of which he is so desirous to prove the existence1 by what chain of reasoning does he flatter himself that he is to be understood8 ,he will endeavour to draw out of this dilemma1 by assuring as there are things which we can neither see nor touch1 but which do not the less exist on that account4 ,granted3 but from thence we can neither reason upon them1 nor assign them qualities2 we must at least either feel them or something like them1 before we can have any idea of them3 this1 however1 would not prove they were not substances1 nor that substances can be immaterial4 ,a thing may with great possibility exist of which we have no knowledge1 and yet be material2 but ,i maintain until we have a knowledge of it1 it exists not for us1 any more than colours exist for a man born blind2 the man who has sight knows they do exist1 can describe them to his dark neighbour2 from this description the blind man may form some idea of them by analogy with what he himself already knows2 or1 perhaps1 having a finer tact than his neighbour1 he may be enabled to distinguish them by their surfaces2 it would1 therefore1 be bad reasoning in the man born blind1 to deny the existence of colours2 because although these colours may have no relation with the senses in the absence of sight1 they have with those who have it in their power to see and to know them3 this blind man1 however1 would-appear a little ridiculous if he undertook to define them with all their gradations of shade2 with all their variations under different masses of light4 ,again1 if those who were competent to discriminate these modifications of matter called colours1 were to define them to this blind man1 as those modifications of matter called sound1 would the blind man be able to have any conception of them8 ,it certainly would not be wise in him to aver1 that such a thing as colorific sound had no existence1 was impossible2 but at least he would be very justifiable in saying1 they appeared contradictions1 because he had some ideas of sound which did not at all aid him in forming those of colour2 he would not1 perhaps1 be very inconclusive if he suspected the competency of his informer to the definition attempted1 from his inability to convey to him in any distinct1 understood terms1 his own ideas of colours4 ,the theologian is a blind man1 who would explain to others who are also blind1 the shades and colours of a portrait whose original he has not even stumbled upon in the dark4 ,there is nothing incongruous in supposing that every thing which has existence is matter2 but it requires the complete inversion of all our ideas1 to conceive that which is immaterial2 because1 in point of fact1 this would be a quality of which nothing can with truth be affirmed4 ,it is1 indeed true1 that ,plato1 who was a great creator of chimeras1 says1 those who admit nothing but what they can see and feel1 are stupid ignorant beings1 who refuse to admit the reality of the existence of invisible things4 ,with all due deference to such an authority1 we may still venture to ask1 is there then no difference1 no shade1 no gradation1 between an admission of possibilities and the proof of realities4 ,theology would then be the only science in which it is permitted to conclude that a thing is1 as soon as it is possible to be4 ,will the assertion of either ,clarke or ,plato stand absolutely in place of all evidence8 ,would they themselves permit such to be convincing if used against them8 ,the theologians evidently hold this ,platonic1 this dogmatical language2 they have dreamed the dreams of their master2 perhaps if they were examined a little1 they would be found nothing more than the result of those obscure notions1 those unintelligible metaphysics1 adopted by the ,egyptian1 ,chaldean1 and ,assyrian priests1 among whom ,plato drew up his philosophy4 ,if1 however1 philosophy means that which we are led to suppose it does1 by the great ,john ,locke1 it is a system by which natural effects are explained4 ,taken in this sense we shall be under the necessity of agreeing1 that the ,platonic doctrines in no wise merit this distinction1 seeing he has only drawn the human mind from the contemplation of visible nature1 to plunge it into the unfathomable depths of invisibility--of intangibility--of suppositious speculation1 where it can find little other food except chimeras or conjecture4 ,such a philosophy is rather fantastical1 yet it would seem we are required to subscribe to its positions without being allowed to compare them with reason1 to examine them through the medium of experience1 to try the gold by the action of fire3 thus we have in abundance the terms spirits1 incorporeal substances1 invisible powers1 supernatural effects1 innate ideas1 mysterious virtues1 possessed by demons1 c4 c4 which render our senses entirely useless1 which put to flight every thing like experience2 while we are gravely told that nothing is that1 of which no thing can truly be affirmed4 ,whoever may be willing to take the trouble of reading the works of ,plato and his disciples1 such as ,proclus1 ,iamblicus1 ,plotinus1 and others1 will not fail to find in them almost every doctrine1 every metaphysical subject of the theologian2 in fact1 the theurgy of many of the modern superstitions1 which for the most part seems to be little more than a slight variation of that adopted by the ethnic priests4 ,dreamers have not had that variety in their follies1 that has generally been imagined4 ,that some of these things should be extensively admitted1 by no means affords proof of their existence4 ,nothing appears more facile than to make mankind admit the greatest absurdities1 under the imposing name of mysteries2 after having imbued him from his infancy with maxims calculated to hoodwink his reason--to lead him astray--to prevent him from examining that which he is told he must believe4 ,of this there cannot well exist a more decisive proof than the great extent of country1 the millions of human beings who faithfully and without examination have adopted the idle dreams1 the rank absurdities1 of that arch impostor ,mahomet4 ,however this may be1 we shall be obliged again to reply to ,plato1 and to those of his followers who impose upon us the necessity of believing that which we cannot comprehend1 that1 in order to know that a thing exists1 it is at least necessary to have some idea of it2 that this idea can only come to us by the medium of our senses2 that consequently every thing of which our senses do not give us a knowledge1 is in fact nothing for us2 and can only rest upon our faith2 upon that admission which is pretty generally1 even by the theologian himself1 considered as rather a sandy foundation whereon to erect the altar of truth3 that if there be an absurdity in not accrediting the existence of that which we do not know1 there is no less extravagance in assigning it qualities2 in reasoning upon its properties2 in clothing it with faculties1 which may or may not be suitable to its mode of existence2 in substituting idols of our own creation2 in combining incompatible attributes1 which will neither bear the test of experience nor the scrutiny of reason2 and then endeavouring to make the whole pass current by dint of the word infinite1 which we will now examine4 ,infinite1 according to ,dennis1 means boundless1 unlimited4 ,doctor ,clarke thus describes it3--he says1 ,the self-existent being must be a most simple1 unchangeable incorruptible being2 without parts1 figure1 motion1 divisibility1 or any other such properties as we find in matter4 ,for all these things do plainly and necessarily imply finiteness in their very notion1 and are utterly inconsistent with complete infinity4 ,ingenuously1 is it possible for man to form any true notion of such a quality8 ,the theologians themselves acknowledge he cannot4 ,further1 the ,doctor allows1 ,that as to the particular manner of his being infinite1 or every where present1 in opposition to the manner of created things being present in such or such finite places1 this is as impossible for our finite understandings to comprehend or explain1 as it is for us to form an adequate idea of infinity4 ,what is this1 then1 but that which no man can explain or comprehend8 ,if it cannot be comprehended1 it cannot be detailed2 if it cannot be detailed1 it is precisely that of which nothing can with truth be affirmed2 and this is ,dr4 ,clarke's own explanation of nothing4 ,indeed1 is not the human mind obliged by its very nature to join limited quantities to other quantities1 which it can only conceive as limited1 in order to form to itself a sort of confused idea of something beyond its own grasp1 without ever reaching the point of infinity1 which eludes every attempt at definition8 ,then it would appear that it is an abstraction1 a mere negation of limitation4 ,our learned adversary seems to think it strange that the existence of incorporeal1 immaterial substances1 the essence of which we are not able to comprehend1 should not be generally accredited4 ,to enforce this belief1 he says1 ,there is not so mean and contemptible a plant or animal1 that does not confound the most enlarged understanding1 upon earth3 nay1 even the simplest and plainest of all inanimate beings have their essence or substance hidden from us in the deepest and most impenetrable obscurity4 ,we shall reply to him1 ,first1 ,that the idea of an immaterial substance2 or being without extent1 is only an absence of ideas1 a negation of extent1 as we have already shewn2 that when we are told a being is not matter1 they speak to us of that which is not1 and do not teach us that which is2 because by insisting that a being is such1 that it cannot act upon any of our senses1 they1 in fact1 inform us that we have no means of assuring ourselves whether such being exists or not4 ,secondly1 ,we shall avow without the least hesitation1 that men of the greatest genius1 of the most indefatigable research1 are not acquainted with the essence of stones1 plants1 animals1 nor with the secret springs which constitute some1 which make others vegetate or act3 but then at least we either feel them or see them2 our senses have a knowledge of them in some respects2 we can perceive some of their effects2 we have something whereby to judge of them1 either accurately or inaccurately2 we can conceive that which is matter1 however varied1 however subtle1 however minute1 by analogy with other matter2 but our senses cannot compass that which is immaterial on any side2 we cannot by any possible means understand it2 we have no means whatever of ascertaining its existence2 consequently we cannot even form an idea of it2 such a being is to us an occult principle1 or rather a being which imagination has composed1 by deducting from it every known quality4 ,if we are ignorant of the intimate combination of the most material beings1 we at least discover1 with the aid of experience1 some of their relations with ourselves3 we have a knowledge of their surface1 their extent1 their form1 their colour1 their softness1 their density2 by the impressions they make on our senses1 we are capable of discriminating them--of comparing them--of judging of them in some manner--of seeing them--of either avoiding or courting them1 according to the different modes in which we are affected by them2 we cannot apply any of these tests to immaterial beings2 to spirits2 neither can those men who are unceasingly talking to mankind of these inconceivable things4 ,thirdly1 ,we have a consciousness of certain modifications in ourselves1 which we call sentiment1 thought1 will1 passions3 for want of being acquainted with our own peculiar essence2 for want of precisely understanding the energy of our own particular organization1 we attribute these effects to a concealed cause1 distinguished from ourselves2 which the theologians call a spiritual cause1 inasmuch as it appears to act differently from our body4 ,nevertheless1 reflection1 experience1 every thing by which we are enabled to form any kind of judgment1 proves that material effects can only emanate from material causes4 ,we see nothing in the universe but physical1 material effects1 these can only be produced by analogous causes2 it is1 then certainly more rational to attribute them to nature herself1 of which we may know something1 if we will but deign to meditate her with attention1 rather than to spiritual causes1 of which we must for ever remain ignorant1 let us study them as long as we please4 ,if incomprehensibility be not a sufficient reason for absolutely denying the possibility of immateriality1 it certainly is not of a cogency to establish its existence2 we shall always be less in a capacity to comprehend a spiritual cause1 than one that is material2 because materiality is a known quality2 spirituality is an occult1 an unknown quality2 or rather it is a mode of speech of which we avail ourselves to throw a veil over our own ignorance4 ,we are repeatedly told that our senses only bring us acquainted with the external of things2 that our limited ideas are not capable of conceiving immaterial beings3 we agree frankly to this position2 but then our senses do not even shew us the external of these immaterial substances1 ,which the theologians will nevertheless attempt to define to us2 upon which they unceasingly dispute among themselves2 upon which even until this day they are not in perfect unison with each other4 ,the great ,john ,locke in his familiar letters1 says1 ,i greatly esteem all those who faithfully defend their opinions2 but there are so few persons who1 according to the manner they do defend them1 appear fully convinced of the opinions they profess1 that ,i am tempted to believe there are more sceptics in the world than are generally imagined4 ,abady1 one of the most strenuous supporters of immaterialism1 says1 ,the question is not what incorporeity is1 but whether it be4 ,to settle this disputable point1 it were necessary to have some data whereon to form our judgment2 but how assure ourselves of the existence of that1 of which we shall never be competent to have a knowledge8 ,if we are not told what this is2 if some tangible evidence be not offered to the human mind2 how shall we feel ourselves capacitated to judge whether or not its existence be even possible8 ,how form an estimate of that picture whose colours elude our sight1 whose design we cannot perceive1 whose features have no means of becoming familiar to our mind1 whose very canvas refuses itself to our all research1 of which the artist himself can afford no other idea1 no other description1 but that it is1 although he himself can neither shew us how or where6 ,we have seen the ruinous foundations upon which men have hitherto erected this fanciful idea of immateriality2 we have examined the proofs which they have offered1 if proofs they can be called1 in support of their hypothesis2 we have sifted the evidence they have been willing to have accredited1 in order to establish their position2 we have pointed out the numberless contradictions that result from their want of union on this subject1 from the irreconcileable qualities with which they clothe their imaginary system4 ,what conclusion1 then1 ought fairly1 rationally1 consistently1 to be drawn from the whole8 ,can we1 or can we not admit their argument to be conclusive1 such as ought to be received by beings who think themselves sane8 ,will it allow any other inference than that it has no existence2 that immateriality is a quality hitherto unproved2 the idea of which the mind of man has no means of compassing8 ,still they will insist1 there are no contradictions between the qualities which they attribute to these immaterial substances2 but there is a difference between the understanding of man and the nature of these substances4 ,this granted1 are they nearer the point at which they labour8 ,what standard is it necessary man should possess1 to enable him to judge of these substances8 ,can they shew the test that will lead to an acquaintance with them8 ,are not those who have thus given loose to their imagination1 who have given birth to this system1 themselves men8 ,does not the disproportion1 of which they speak with such amazing confidence1 attach to themselves as well as to others8 ,if it needs an infinite mind to comprehend infinity--to form an idea of incorporeity--can the theologian himself boast he is in a capacity to understand it8 ,to what purpose then is it they speak of these things to others8 ,why do they attempt descriptions of that which they allow to be indescribable8 ,man1 who will never be an infinite being1 will never be able to conceive infinity2 if1 then1 he has hitherto been incompetent to this perfection of knowledge1 can he reasonably flatter himself he will ever obtain it2 can he hope under any circumstances to conquer that which according to the shewing of all is unconquerable8 ,nevertheless it is pretended1 that it is absolutely necessary to know these substances3 but how prove the necessity of having a knowledge of that which is impossible to be known8 ,we are then told that good sense and reason are sufficient to convince us of its existence3 this is taking new ground1 when the old has been found untenable3 for we are also told that reason is a treacherous guide2 one that frequently leads us astray2 that in religious matters it ought not to prevail3 at least then they ought to shew us the precise time when we must resume this reason4 ,shall we consult it again1 when the question is1 whether what they relate is probable2 whether the discordant qualities which they unite are consistently combined2 whether their own arguments have all that solidity which they would themselves wish them to possess8 ,but we have strangely mistaken them if they are willing that we should recur to it upon these points2 they will instead1 insist we ought blindly to be directed by that which they vouchsafe to inform us2 that the most certain road to happiness is to submit in all things to that which they have thought proper to decide on the nature of things1 of which they avow their own ignorance1 when they assert them to be beyond the reach of mortals4 ,thus it would appear that when we should consent to accredit these mysteries1 it would never arise of our own knowledge2 seeing this can no otherwise obtain but by the effect of demonstrable evidence2 it would never arise from any intimate conviction of our minds2 but it would be entirely on the word of the theologian himself1 that we should ground our faith2 that we should yield our belief4 ,if these things are to the human species what colours are to the man born blind1 they have at least no existence with relation to ourselves4 ,it will avail the blind man nothing to tell him these colours have no less existence1 because he cannot see them4 ,but what shall we say of that portrait whose colours the blind man attempts to explain1 whose features he is willing we should receive upon his authority1 whose proportions are to be taken from his description1 merely because we know he cannot behold them8 ,the ,doctor1 although unwilling to relinquish his subject1 removes none of the difficulty when he asks1 ,are our five senses1 by an absolute necessity in the nature of the thing1 all and the only possible ways of perception8 ,and is it impossible and contradictory there should be any being in the universe1 indued with ways of perception different from these that are the result of our present composition8 ,or are these things1 on the contrary1 purely arbitrary2 and the same power that gave us these1 may have given others to other beings1 and might1 if he had pleased have given to us others in this present state8 ,it seems perfectly unnecessary to the true point of the argument to reason upon what can or cannot be done3 ,i therefore reply1 that the fact is1 we have but five senses3 by the aid of these man is not competent to form any idea whatever of immateriality2 but he is also in as absolute a state of ignorance1 upon what might be his capabilities of conception1 if he had more senses4 ,it is rather acknowledging a weakness in his evidence1 on the part of the ,doctor1 to be thus obliged to rest it upon the supposition of what might be the case1 if man was a being different to what he is2 in other words1 that they would be convincing to mankind if the human race were not human beings4 ,therefore to demand what the ,divinity could have done in such a case1 is to suppose the thing in question1 seeing we cannot form an idea how far the power of the ,divinity extends3 but we may be reasonably allowed to use the theological argument in elucidation2 these men very gravely insist1 upon what authority must be best known to themselves1 that ,god cannot communicate to his works that perfection which he himself possesses2 at the same moment they do not fail to announce his omnipotence4 ,will it require any capacity1 more than is the common lot of a child1 to comprehend the absurd contradiction of the two assertions8 ,as beings possessing but five senses1 we must then1 of necessity1 regulate our judgment by the information they are capable of affording us3 we cannot1 by any possibility1 have a knowledge of those1 which confer the capacity to comprehend beings1 of an order entirely distinguished from that in which we occupy a place4 ,we are ignorant of the mode in which even plants vegetate1 how then be acquainted with that which has no affinity with ourselves8 ,a man born blind1 has only the use of four senses2 he has not the right1 however1 of assuming it as a fact1 there does not exist an extra sense for others2 but he may very reasonably1 and with great truth aver1 that he has no idea of the effects which would be produced in him1 by the sense which he lacks3 notwithstanding1 if this blind man was surrounded by other men1 whose birth had also left them devoid or sight1 might he not without any very unwarrantable presumption1 be authorized to inquire of them by what right1 upon what authority1 they spoke to him of a sense they did not themselves possess2 how they were enabled to reason1 to detail the minutiae of that sensation upon which their own peculiar experience taught them nothing8 ,in short1 we can again reply to ,dr4 ,clarke1 and to the theologians1 that following up their own systems1 the supposition is impossible1 and ought not to be made1 seeing that the ,divinity1 who according to their own shewing1 made man1 was not willing that he should have more than five senses2 in other words1 that he should be nothing but what he actually is2 they all found the existence of these immaterial substances upon the necessity of a power that has the faculty to give a commencement to motion4 ,but if matter has always existed1 of which there does not seem to exist a doubt1 it has always had motion1 which is as essential to it as its extent1 and flows from its primitive properties4 ,indeed the human mind1 with its five senses1 is not more competent to comprehend matter devoid of motion1 than it is to understand the peculiar quality of immateriality3 motion therefore exists only in and by matter2 mobility is a consequence of its existence2 not that the great whole can occupy other parts of space than it actually does2 the impossibility of that needs no argument1 but all its parts can change their respective situations--do continually change them2 it is from thence results the preservation1 the life of nature1 which is always as a whole immutable3 but in supposing1 as is done every day1 that matter is inert1 that is to say1 incapable of producing any thing by itself1 without the assistance of a moving power1 which sets it in motion1 are we by any means enabled to conceive that material nature receives this activity from an agent1 who partakes in nothing of material substance8 ,can man really figure to himself1 even in idea1 that that which has no one property of matter1 can create matter1 draw it from its own peculiar source1 arrange it1 penetrate it1 give it play1 guide its course8 ,is it not1 on the contrary1 more rational to the mind1 more consistent with truth1 more congenial to experience1 to suppose that the being who made matter is himself material3 is there the smallest necessity to suppose otherwise8 ,can it make man either better or worse1 that he should consider the whole that exists as material8 ,will it in any manner make him a worse subject to his sovereign2 a worse father to his children2 a more unkind husband2 a more faithless friend8 ,motion1 then1 is co-eternal with matter3 from all eternity the particles of the universe have acted and reacted upon each other1 by virtue of their respective energies2 of their peculiar essences2 of their primitive elements2 of their various combinations4 ,these particles must have combined in consequence of their affinity2 they must have been either attracted or repelled by their respective relations with each other2 in virtue of these various essences1 they must have gravitated one upon the other2 united when they were analagous2 separated when that analogy was dissolved1 by the approach of heterogeneous matter2 they must have received their forms1 undergone a change of figure1 by the continual collision of bodies4 ,in a material world the acting powers must be material3 in a whole every part of which is essentially in motion1 there is no occasion for a power distinguished from itself2 the whole must be in perpetual motion by its own peculiar energy4 ,the general motion1 as we have elsewhere proved1 has its birth from the individual motion1 which beings ever active must uninterruptedly communicate to each other4 ,thus every cause produces its effect2 this effect in its turn becomes a cause1 which in like manner produces an effect2 this constitutes the eternal chain of things1 which although perpetually changing in its detail1 suffers no change in its whole4 ,theology1 after all1 has seldom done more than personify this eternal series of motion2 the principle of mobility inherent to matter3 it has clothed this principle with human qualities1 by which it has rendered it unintelligible3 in applying these properties1 they have taken no means of understanding how far they were suitable or not3 in their eagerness to make them assimilate1 they have extended them beyond their own conception2 they have heaped them together without any judgment2 and they have been surprised when these qualities1 contradictory in themselves1 did not enable them satisfactorily to account for all the phenomena they beheld2 from thence they have wrangled2 accused each other of imbecility2 yet infuriated themselves against whoever had the temerity to question that which they did not themselves understand2 in short1 they have acted like a man who should insist that all other men should have precisely the same vision that he himself had dreamed4 ,be this as it may1 the greater portion of what either ,dr4 ,clarke or the theologians tell us1 becomes1 in some respects1 sufficiently intelligible as soon as applied to nature--to matter3 it is eternal1 that is to say1 it cannot have had a commencement1 it never will have an end2 it is infinite1 that is to say1 we have no conception of its limits4 ,nevertheless1 human qualities1 which must be always borrowed from ourselves1 and with others we have a very slender acquaintance1 cannot be well suitable to the entire of nature2 seeing that these qualities are in themselves modes of being1 or modes which appertain only to particular beings3 not to the great whole which contains them4 ,thus1 to resume the answers which have been given to ,dr4 ,clarke1 we shall say3 ,first1 we can conceive that matter has existed from all eternity1 seeing that we cannot conceive it to have been capable of beginning4 ,secondly1 that matter is independent1 seeing there is nothing exterior to itself2 that it is immutable1 seeing it cannot change its nature1 although it is unceasingly changing its form and its combinations4 ,thirdly1 that matter is self-existent1 since not being able to conceive it can be annihilated1 we cannot possibly conceive it can have commenced to exist4 ,fourthly1 that we do not know the essence1 or the true nature of matter1 although we have a knowledge of some of its properties2 of some of its qualities3 according to the mode in which they act upon us4 ,fifthly1 that matter not having had a beginning1 will never have an end1 although its numerous combinations1 its various forms1 have necessarily a commencement and a period4 ,sixthly1 that if all that exists1 or every thing our mind can conceive is matter1 this matter is infinite2 that is to say1 cannot be limited by any thing2 that it is omnipresent1 seeing there is no place exterior to itself1 indeed1 if there was a place exterior to it1 that would be a vacuum4 ,seventhly1 that nature is unique1 although its elements or its parts may be varied to infinity1 indued with properties extremely opposite2 with qualities essentially different4 ,eighthly1 that matter1 arranged1 modified1 and combined in a certain mode1 produces in some beings what we call intelligence1 which is one of its modes of being1 not one of its essential properties1 ,ninthly1 that matter is not a free agent1 since it cannot act otherwise than it does1 in virtue of the laws of its nature1 or of its existence2 that consequently1 heavy bodies must necessarily fall2 light bodies by the same necessity rise2 fire must burn2 man must experience good and evil1 according to the quality of the beings whose action he experiences4 ,tenthly1 that the power or the energy of matter1 has no other bounds than those which are prescribed by its own existence4 ,eleventhly1 that wisdom1 justice1 goodness1 c4 are qualities peculiar to matter combined and modified1 as it is found in some beings of the human species2 that the idea of perfection is an abstract1 negative1 metaphysical idea1 or mode of considering objects1 which supposes nothing real to be exterior to itself4 ,twelfthly1 that matter is the principle of motion1 which it contains within itself3 since matter alone is capable of either giving or receiving motion3 this is what cannot be conceived of immateriality or simple beings destitute of parts1 devoid of extent1 without mass1 having no ponderosity1 which consequently cannot either move itself or other bodies4 ,,chap4 ,v4 ,examination of the ,proofs offered by ,,descartes1 ,,malebranche1 ,,newton1 c4 ,if the evidence of ,clarke did not prove satisfactory--if the theologians of his day disputed the manner in which he handled his subject--if they were disposed to think he had not established his argument upon proper foundations1 it did not seem probable that either the system of ,descartes1 the sublime reveries of ,malebranche1 or the more methodical mode adopted by ,newton1 were at all likely to meet with a better reception2 the same objections will lie against them all1 that they have not demonstrated the existence of their immaterial substances2 although they have incessantly spoken of them1 as if they were things of which they had the most intimate knowledge4 ,unfortunately this is a rock which the most sublime geniuses have not been competent to avoid3 the most enlightened men have done little more than stammer upon a subject which they have all concurred in considering of the highest importance2 which they unceasingly hold forth as the most necessary for man to know2 without at the same time considering he is not in a condition to occupy himself with objects inaccessible to his senses--which his mind1 consequently1 can never grasp--which his utmost research cannot bring into that tangible shape by which alone he can be enabled to form a judgment4 ,to the end that we may be convinced of that want of solidity which the greatest men have not known how to give to the proofs they have offered1 but which they have successively imagined has established their positions1 let us briefly examine what the most celebrated philosophers1 what the most subtile metaphysicians have said4 ,for this purpose we will begin with ,descartes1 the restorer of philosophy among the moderns1 to whose sublime errors we are indebted for the effulgent truths of the ,newtonian system4 ,this great man himself tells us1 ,all the strength of argument which ,i have hitherto used to prove the existence of immaterial substances1 consists in this1 that ,i acknowledge it would not be possible1 my nature was such as it is1 that is to say1 that ,i should have in me the idea of immateriality1 if this incorporeity did not truly exist2 this same immateriality1 of which the idea is in me1 possesses all those high perfections of which our mind can have some slight idea1 without however being able to comprehend them4 ,in another place he says1 ,we must necessarily conclude from this alone1 that because ,i exist1 and have the idea of immateriality1 that is to say1 of a most perfect being1 the existence is therefore most evidently demonstrated4 ,there are not1 perhaps1 many except ,descartes himself1 to whom this would appear quite so conclusive2 who would be impressed with the conviction which he seems to imagine is so very substantive4 ,first1 ,we shall reply to ,descartes1 it is not a warrantable deduction1 that because we have an idea of a thing1 we must therefore conclude it exists2 to give validity to such a mode of reasoning would be productive of the greatest mischief2 would1 in fact1 tend to subvert all human institutions4 ,our imagination presents us with the idea of a sphinx1 or of an hippogriff1 besides a thousand other fantastical beings2 are we1 on that authority1 to insist that these things really exist8 ,is the mere circumstance of our having an idea of various parts of nature1 discrepantly jumbled together1 without any other evidence as to the assemblage1 a sufficient warrantry for calling upon mankind to accredit the existence of such heterogeneous masses8 ,if a philosopher of the most consummate experience1 of the greatest celebrity1 one who enjoyed the confidence of mankind above every other1 was to detail the faculties and perfections of these visionary beings1 although he should hold them forth as the perfection of all natural combinations1 would1 ,i say1 any reasonable being lend himself to the asseveration8 ,secondly1 ,it is obvious that the mere circumstance of existence1 does not prove the absolute existence of any thing anterior to itself2 although in man1 as well as the other beings of nature1 it is evidence that something has existed before him4 ,if this argument was to be admitted1 are they aware how far it1 would carry them8 ,to maintain that the existence of one being demonstrably proves the existence of an anterior being1 would be1 in fact1 denying that any thing was self-existent4 ,the fallacy of such a position is too glaring to need refutation4 ,thirdly1 ,it is not possible he should have a distinct1 positive idea of immateriality1 of which be1 as well as the theologian1 labours to prove the existence4 ,it is impossible for man1 for a material being1 to form to himself a correct idea1 or indeed any idea1 of incorporeity2 of a substance without extent1 acting upon nature1 which is corporeal2 a truth which it may not be presuming too much to say we have already sufficiently proved4 ,fourthly1 ,it is equally impossible for man to have any clear1 decided idea of perfection1 of infinity1 of immensity1 and other theological attributes4 ,to ,descartes we must therefore reply as we have done to ,dr4 ,clarke on his twelfth proposition4 ,thus nothing can well be less conclusive than the proofs upon which ,descartes rests the existence of immateriality4 ,he gives it thought and intelligence1 but how conceive these qualities without a subject to which they may adhere8 ,he pretends that we cannot conceive it but as a power which applies itself successively to the parts of the universe4 ,again1 he says1 that an immaterial substance cannot be said to have extent1 but as we say of fire contained in a piece of iron1 which has not1 properly speaking1 any other extension than that of the iron itself4 ,according to these notions we shall be justified in taxing him with having announced in a very clear1 in a most unequivocal manner1 that this is nature herself3 this indeed is a pure ,spinosism2 it was decidedly on the principles of ,descartes that ,spinosa drew up his system2 in fact it flows out of it consecutively4 ,we might1 therefore1 with great reason1 accuse ,descartes of atheism1 seeing that he very effectually destroys the feeble proofs he adduces in support of his own hypothesis2 we have solid foundation for insisting that his system overturns the idea of the creation1 because if from the modification we subtract the subject1 the modification itself disappears3 and if1 according to the ,cartesians1 this immateriality is nothing without nature1 they are complete ,spinosians1 with another name4 ,if incorporeity is the motive-power of this nature1 it no longer exists independently2 it1 in fact1 exists no longer than the subject to which it is inherent subsists4 ,thus no longer existing independently1 it will exist only while the nature which it moves shall endure2 without matter1 without a subject to move1 to preserve1 what is to become of it1 according to this doctrine1 or rather according to this elucidation of a system which is in itself untenable8 ,it will be obvious from this1 that ,descartes1 far from establishing on a rocky foundation the existence of this immateriality1 totally destroys his own system4 ,the same thing will necessarily happen to all those who reason upon his principles2 they will always finish by confuting him1 and by contradicting themselves4 ,the same want of just inference1 the same discrepancy1 will obtrude themselves in the principles of the celebrated ,father ,malebranche2 which1 if considered with the slightest attention1 appear to conduct directly to ,spinosism2 in fact1 can any thing be more in unison with the language of ,spinosa himself1 than to say1 as does ,malebranche1 that the universe is only an emanation from ,god2 that we see every thing in ,god1 that every thing we see is only ,god2 that ,god alone does every thing that is done2 that all the action1 with every operation that takes place in nature1 is ,god himself2 in a word1 that ,god is every being and the only being4 ,is not this formally asserting that nature herself is ,god8 ,moreover1 at the same time ,malebranche assures us we see every thing in ,god1 he pretends that it is not yet clearly demonstrated that matter and bodies have existence2 that faith alone teaches us these mysteries1 of which1 without it1 we should not have any knowledge whatever4 ,in reply1 it might be a very fair question1 how the existence of the being who created matter can be demonstrated1 if the existence of this matter itself be yet a problem8 ,he himself acknowledges that we can have no distinct demonstration of the existence of any other being than of that which is necessary2 he further adds1 that if it be closely examined1 it will be seen1 that it is not even possible to know with certitude1 if ,god be or be not truly the creator of a material1 of a sensible world4 ,according to these notions1 it is evident1 that1 following up the system of ,malebranche1 man has only his faith to guarantee the existence of the world2 yet faith itself supposes its existence2 if it be not1 however1 certain that it does exist1 and the ,bishop of ,cloyne1 ,dr4 ,berkeley1 has also held this in doubt1 how shall we be persuaded that we must believe the oracles which have been delivered to a visionary world8 ,on the other hand1 these notions of ,malebranche completely overturns all the theological doctrines of free agency4 ,how can the liberty of man's action be reconciled with the idea that it is the ,divinity who is the immediate mover of nature2 who actually gives impulse to matter and bodies1 without whose immediate interference nothing takes place2 who pre-determines his creatures to every thing they do8 ,how can it be pretended1 if this doctrine is to be accredited1 that human souls have the faculty of forming thoughts--have the power of volition--are in a condition to move themselves--have the capacity to modify their existence8 ,if it be supposed with the theologians1 that the conservation of the creatures in the universe is a continued creation1 must it not appear1 that being thus perpetually recreated1 they are enabled to commit evil8 ,it will then be a self-evident fact1 that1 admitting the system of ,malebranche1 ,god does every thing1 and that his creatures are no more than passive instruments in his hands4 ,under this idea they could not be answerable for their sins1 because they would have no means of avoiding them4 ,under this notion they could neither have merit or demerit2 they would be like a sharp instrument in their own hands1 which whether it was applied to a good or to an evil purpose1 it would attach to themselves1 not to the instrument3 this would annihilate all religion3 it is thus that theology is continually occupied with committing suicide4 ,let us now see1 if the immortal ,newton1 the great luminary of science1 the champion of astronomical truth1 will afford us clearer notions1 more distinct ideas1 more certain evidence of the existence of immaterial substances4 ,this great man1 whose comprehensive genius unravelled nature1 whose capacious mind developed her laws1 seems to have bewildered himself1 the instant he lost sight of them4 ,a slave to the prejudices of his infancy1 he had not the courage to hold the lamp of his own enlightened understanding to the agent theology has so gratuitously associated with nature2 he has not been able to allow that her own peculiar powers were adequate to the production of that beautiful phenomena1 he has with such masterly talents so luminously explained4 ,in short1 the sublime ,newton himself becomes an infant when he quits physics1 when he lays aside demonstration1 to lose himself in the devious sinuosities1 in the inextricable labyrinths1 in the delusive regions of theology4 ,this is the manner in which he speaks of the ,divinity3 ,this ,god1 says he1 governs all1 not as the soul of the world1 but as the lord and sovereign of all things4 ,it is in consequence of his sovereignty that he is called the ,lord ,god1 ,greek letters1 pantokrator1 the universal emperor4 ,indeed the word ,god is relative and relates itself with slaves2 the ,deity is the dominion or the sovereignty of ,god1 not over his own body1 as those think who look upon ,god as the soul of the world1 but over slaves4 ,from this it will be seen that ,newton1 as well as the theologians1 makes the ,divinity a pure spirit1 who presides over the universe as a monarch1 as a lord paramount2 that is to say1 what man defines in earthly governors1 despot1 absolute princes1 powerful monarchs1 whose governments have no model but their own will1 who exercise an unlimited power over their subjects1 transformed into slaves2 whom they usually compel to feel in a very grievous manner the weight of their authority4 ,but according to the ideas of ,newton1 the world has not existed from eternity1 the staves of ,god have been formed in the course of time2 from this it would be a just inference1 that before the creation of the world the god of ,newton was a sovereign without subjects4 ,let us see if this truly great philosopher is more in unison with himself in the subsequent ideas which he delivers on this subject4 ,the supreme ,god1 he says1 is an eternal1 infinite1 and absolutely perfect being2 but however perfect a being may be1 if he has no sovereignty he is not the supreme ,god4 ,the word ,god signifies ,lord1 but every lord is not god2 it is the sovereignty of the spiritual ,being which constitutes ,god2 it is the true sovereignty which constitutes the true ,god2 it is the supreme sovereignty which constitutes the supreme ,god2 it is a false sovereignty which constitutes a false god4 ,from true sovereignty1 it follows1 that the true ,god is living1 intelligent1 and powerful2 and from his other perfections1 it follows1 that he is supremely or sovereignly perfect4 ,he is eternal1 infinite1 omniscient2 that is to say1 he exists from eternity1 and will never have an end2 he governs all1 and he knows every thing that is done1 or that can be done4 ,he is neither eternity nor infinity1 but he is eternal and infinite2 he is not space or duration1 but he exists and is present4 ,the term here used is adest1 which appears to have been placed there to avoid saying that ,god is contained in space4 ,in all this unintelligible series1 nothing is to be found but incredible efforts to reconcile the theological attributes1 the abstract with the human qualities1 which have been ascribed to the ,divinity2 we see in it negative qualities1 which can no longer be suitable to man1 given1 however1 to the ,sovereign of nature1 whom he has supposed a king4 ,however it may be1 this picture always supposes the ,supreme ,god to have occasion for subjects to establish his sovereignty4 ,it makes ,god stand in need of man for the exercise of his empire2 without these1 according to the text1 he would not be a king2 he could have had no empire when there was nothing3 but if this description of ,newton was just1 if it really represented the ,divinity1 we might be very fairly permitted to ask1 ,does not this ,spiritual ,king exercise his spiritual empire in vain1 upon refractory beings1 who do not at all times do that which he is willing they should2 who are continually struggling against his power2 who spread disorder in his states8 ,this ,spiritual ,monarch1 who is master of the minds1 of the souls1 of the wills1 of the passions of his slaves1 does he leave them the freedom of revolting against him8 ,this infinite ,monarch1 who fills every thing with his immensity1 who governs all1 does he also govern the man who sins2 does he direct his actions2 is he in him when he offends his ,god8 ,the devil1 the false god1 the evil principle1 hath he not1 according to this1 a more extensive empire than the true ,god1 whose projects1 if we are to believe the theologians1 he is unceasingly overturning8 ,in earthly governments the true sovereign is generally considered to be him whose power in a state influences the greater number of his subjects4 ,if1 then1 we could suppose him to be omnipresent1 that is1 present in all places1 should we not say he was the sad witness to all the outrages committed against his authority1 and we should not entertain a very exalted opinion of his power if he permitted them to continue4 ,this1 it is true1 would be arguing upon a monarch of this world1 still it would be the language held by observers4 ,is the spirituality of the ,divinity well supported by those who say he fills all space1 who from that instant give him extent1 ascribe to him volume1 make him correspond with the various points of space8 ,this is the very reverse of an immaterial substance4 ,god is one1 continues ,newton1 and he is the same for ever1 and every where1 not only by his virtue alone1 or by his energy1 but also by his substance4 ,but how are we to conceive that a being who is in continual activity1 who produces all the changes which beings undergo1 can always be himself the same8 ,what is to be understood by either this virtue or this energy8 ,these are relative terms1 which do not present any clear1 distinct idea to our mind1 except as they apply to man3 what are we1 however1 to understand by the divine substance8 ,if this substance be spiritual1 that is1 devoid of extent1 how can there exist in it any parts8 ,how can it give impulse to matter1 how set it in motion8 ,how can it even be conceived by mortals8 ,nevertheless ,newton informs us1 that all things are contained in him1 and are moved in him1 but without reciprocity of action3 ,god experiences nothing by the motion of bodies2 these experience no resistance whatever by his omnipresence4 ,it would here appear that he clothes the ,divinity with that which bears the character of vacuum--of nothing2 without that1 it would be almost impossible not to have a reciprocal action or relation between these substances1 which are either penetrated or encompassed on all sides4 ,it must be obvious1 that in this instance our scientific author does not distinctly understand himself4 ,he proceeds1 ,it is an incontestible truth1 that ,god exists necessarily1 and the same necessity obliges to exist always and every where3 from whence it follows1 that he is in every thing similar to itself2 he is all eyes1 all ears1 all brains1 all arms1 all feeling1 all intelligence1 all action2 but in a mode by no means human1 by no means corporeal1 and which is totally unknown to us4 ,in the same manner as a blind man has no idea of colours1 it is that we have no idea of the mode in which ,god feels and understands4 ,the necessary existence of the ,divinity is precisely the thing in question2 it is this existence that it was needful to have verified by proofs as clear1 by evidence as distinct1 by demonstration as strong1 as gravitation and attraction4 ,one would have hardly thought it possible the expansive capabilities of ,newton would not have compassed it4 ,but oh1 unrivalled genius6 so mighty1 so powerful1 so colossal1 while yet you was a geometrician2 so insignificant1 so weak1 so inconsistent2 when you became a theologian2 that is to say1 when you reasoned upon that which can neither be calculated1 nor submitted to experience2 how could you think of speaking to us on a subject which1 by your own confession is to you just what a picture is to a man born blind8 ,wherefore quit nature1 which had already explained to you so much8 ,why seek in imaginary spaces those causes1 those powers1 that energy1 which she would have distinctly pointed out to you1 had you been willing to have consulted her with your usual sagacity8 ,the gigantic1 the intelligent ,newton1 suffers himself to be hoodwinked--to be blinded by prejudice2 he has not courage to look a question fairly in the face1 when that question involves notions which habit has rendered sacred to him2 he turns his eyes from truth1 he casts behind him his experience1 he lulls to sleep his reason1 when it becomes necessary to probe opinions full of contradictions1 yet fraught with the best interests of humanity4 ,let us1 however1 continue to examine how far the most transcendent genius is capable of leading himself astray1 when once he abandons experience1 when once he chains up his reason1 when once he suffers himself to be guided by his imagination4 ,god1 continues the father of modern philosophy1 is totally destitute of body and of corporeal figure2 here is the reason why he cannot be either seen1 touched1 or understood2 and ought not to be adored under any corporeal form4 ,what idea1 however1 can be formed of a being who is resembled by nothing of which we have any knowledge8 ,what are the relations that can be supposed to exist between such very dissimilar beings8 ,when man renders this being his adoration1 does he not1 in fact1 in despite of himself1 make him a being similar to his own species2 does he not suppose that1 like himself1 he is sensible to homage--to be won by presents--gained by flattery2 in short1 he is treated like a king of the earth1 who exacts the respect1 demands the fealty1 requires the obedience of all who are submitted to him4 ,newton adds1 we have ideas of his attributes1 but we do not know that it is any one substance2 we only see the figures and the colours of bodies2 we only hear sounds2 we only touch the exterior surfaces2 we only scent odours2 we only taste flavours3 no one of our senses1 no one of our reflections1 can shew us the intimate nature of substances3 we have still less ideas of ,god4 ,if we have an idea of the attributes of ,god1 it is only because we clothe him with those which belong to ourselves2 which we never do more than aggrandize1 which we only augment or exaggerate2 we then mistake them for those qualities with which we were at first acquainted4 ,if in all those substances which are pervious to our senses1 we only know them by the effects they produce on us1 after which we assign them qualities1 at least these qualities are something tangible1 they give birth to clear and distinct ideas4 ,this superficial knowledge1 however slender it may be1 with which our senses furnish us1 is the only one we can possibly have2 constituted as we are1 we find ourselves under the necessity of resting contented with it1 and we discover that it is sufficient for our wants2 but we have not even the most superficial idea of immateriality1 or a substance distinguished from all those with which we have the slightest acquaintance4 ,nevertheless1 we hear men hourly reasoning upon it1 disputing about its properties1 advancing its faculties1 as if they had the most demonstrable evidence of the fact2 tearing each other in pieces1 because the one does not readily admit what the other asserts1 upon a subject which no man is competent to understand4 ,our author goes on ,we only have a knowledge of ,god by his attributes1 by his properties1 by the excellent and wise arrangement which he has given to all things1 and by their ,,final ,,causes3 we admire him in consequence of his perfections4 ,i repeat1 that we have no real knowledge of the ,divinity2 that we borrow his attributes from ourselves2 but it is evident these cannot be suitable to the ,universal ,being1 who neither can have the same nature nor the same properties as particular beings2 it is nevertheless after ourselves that we assign him intelligence1 wisdom1 perfection1 in subtracting from them what we call defects4 ,as to the order1 or the arrangement of the universe1 man finds it excellent1 esteems it the perfection of wisdom1 as long as it is favorable to his species2 or when the causes which are co-existent with himself do not disturb his own peculiar existence2 otherwise he is apt to complain of confusion1 and final causes vanish3 he then attributes to an immutable ,god1 motives equally borrowed from his own peculiar mode of action1 for deranging the beautiful order he so much admires in the universe4 ,thus it is always in himself1 that is1 in his own individual mode of feeling1 that he draws up the ideas of the order1 the wisdom1 the excellence1 the perfection which he ascribes to the ,deity2 whilst the good as well as the evil which take place in the world1 are the necessary consequence of the essence of things2 of the general1 immutable laws of nature2 in short1 of the gravitation1 of the repulsion of matter2 of those unchangeable laws of motion1 which ,newton himself has so ably thrown into light2 but which he has by a strange fatuity forborne to apply when the question was concerning the cause of these phenomena1 which prejudice has refused to the capabilities of nature4 ,he goes on1 ,we revere1 and we adore ,god1 on account of his sovereignty3 we worship him like his slaves2 a ,god destitute of sovereignty1 of providence1 and of final causes1 would be no more than nature and destiny4 ,it is true that superstition enjoins man to adore its gods like ignorant slaves1 who tremble under a master whom they know not2 he certainly prays to them on all occasions1 sometimes requesting nothing less than an entire change in the essence of things1 to gratify his capricious desires1 and it is perhaps well for him they are not competent to grant his request3 in the origin1 as we have shewn1 these gods were nothing more than nature acting by necessary laws1 clothed under a variety of fables2 or necessity personified under a multitude of names4 ,however this may be1 we do not believe that true religion1 that sterling worship which renders man grateful1 whilst it exalts the majesty of the ,divinity1 requires any such meanness from man that he should act like a slave2 he is rather expected to sit down to the banquet prepared for him1 with all the dignity of an invited guest2 under the cheering consciousness of a welcome that is never accorded to slaves2 nothing is required at his hands1 but that he should conduct himself temperately in the banquetting-house2 that he should be grateful for the good cheer he receives2 that he should have virtue2 7which we have already sufficiently explained is to render himself useful1 by making others happy72 that he should not by pertinaciously setting up whimsical opinions1 and insisting on their adoption by his neighbour1 disturb the harmony of the feast2 that he should be sufficiently intelligent to know when he is really felicitous1 and not seek to put down the gaiety of his fellow guests2 but that he should rise from the board satisfied with himself1 contented with others2 in short1 to comprise the whole in a trite axiom of one of the ,greek philosophers1 he should learn the invaluable secret1 to bear and forbear4 ,but to proceed4 ,newton tells us1 that from a physical and blind necessity1 which should preside every where1 and be always the same1 there could not emanate any variety in the beings2 the diversity which we behold1 could only have its origin in the ideas and in the will of a being which exists necessarily2 but wherefore should not this diversity spring out of natural causes1 from matter acting upon matter2 the action of which either attracts and combines various yet analogous elements1 or else separates beings by the intervention of those substances which have not a disposition to unite8 ,is not bread the result of the combination of flour1 yeast and water8 ,as for the blind necessity1 as it is elsewhere said1 we must acknowledge it is that of which we are ignorant1 either of its properties or its energies2 of which being blind ourselves we have no knowledge of its mode of action4 ,philosophers explain all the phenomena that occur by the properties of matter2 and though they feel the want of a more intimate acquaintance with natural causes1 they do not therefore the less believe them deducible from these properties or these causes4 ,are1 therefore1 the philosophers atheists1 because they do not reply1 it is ,god who is the author of these effects8 ,is the industrious workman1 who makes gunpowder1 to be challenged as an atheist1 because he says the terrible effects of this destructive material1 which inspired the native ,americans with such awe1 which raised in their winds such wonder1 are to be ascribed to the junction of the apparently harmless substances of nitre1 charcoal and sulpher1 set in activity by the accession of trivial scintillations1 produced from the collision of steel with flint1 merely because some bigoted ,priest of the ,sun1 who is ignorant of the composition1 chooses to think it is not possible such a striking phenomenon could be the work of any thing short of the secret agents1 whom he has himself appointed to govern the world8 ,it is allegorically said that ,god sees1 hears1 speaks1 smiles1 loves1 hates1 desires1 gives1 receives1 rejoices1 grows angry1 fights1 makes1 or fashions1 c4 because all that is said of ,god1 is borrowed from the conduct of man1 by an imperfect analogy4 ,man has not been able to act otherwise1 for want of being acquainted with nature and her eternal course3 whenever he has imagined a peculiar energy which he has not been able to fathom1 he has given it the name of ,god2 and he has then made him act upon the self-same principles1 as he himself would adopt1 according to which he would act if he was the master4 ,it is from this proneness to ,theanthropy1 that has flowed all those absurd1 and frequently dangerous ideas1 upon which are founded the superstitions of the world2 who all adore in their gods either natural causes of which they are ignorant1 or else powerful mortals of whose malice they stand in awe4 ,the sequel will shew the fatal effects that have resulted to mankind from the absurd ideas they have very frequently formed to themselves of the ,divinity2 that nothing could be more degrading to him1 more injurious to themselves1 than the idea of comparing him to an absolute sovereign1 to a despot1 to a tyrant4 ,for the present let us continue to examine the proofs offered in support of their various systems4 ,it is unceasingly repeated that the regular action1 the invariable order1 which reigns in the universe1 the benefits heaped upon mortals1 announce a wisdom1 an intelligence1 a goodness1 which we cannot refuse to acknowledge1 in the cause which produces these marvellous effects4 ,to this we must reply1 that it is unquestionably true that not only these things1 but all the phenomena he beholds1 indicate the existence of something gifted very superiorly to erring man2 the great question1 however1 is one that perhaps will never be solved1 what is this being8 ,is this question answered by heaping together the estimable qualities of man8 ,speaking with relation to ourselves1 which is all that the theologian really does1 although in such numerous regions he pretends to do a great deal more1 we can apply the terms goodness1 wisdom1 intelligence1 the best with which we are acquainted1 to this being for the want of having those that may be appropriate2 but ,i maintain1 this does not1 in point of fact1 afford us one single idea of the ,great ,cause of causes2 we admire his works2 and knowing that what we approve highly in our own species1 we attribute to their being wise1 we say the ,divinity displays wisdom4 ,so far it is well2 but this1 after all1 is a human quality4 ,if we consult experience1 we shall presently be convinced that our wisdom does not bear the least affinity to the actions attributed to the ,divinity4 ,to get at this a little closer1 we must endeavour to find out what we do not call wisdom in man2 this will help us to form an estimate1 how very incompetent we are to describe the qualities of a being that differs so very materially from ourselves4 ,we most certainly should not call him a wise man1 who having built a beautiful residence1 should himself set it on fire2 and thus destroy what he had laboured so much to bring to perfection3 yet this happens every day in nature1 without its being in any manner a warrantry for us to charge her with folly4 ,if therefore we were to form our judgments after our own puny ideas of wisdom1 what should we say8 ,why1 in point of fact1 just what the man does1 who1 thinking he has had too much rain1 implores fine weather8 ,which1 properly translated1 is neither more nor less than giving the ,divinity to understand he best knows what is proper for himself4 ,the just1 the only fair inference to be drawn from this1 is1 that we positively know nothing about the matter2 that those who pretend they do1 would1 if it was upon any other subject1 he suspected of having an unsound mind4 ,we do not mean to insist that we are in the right1 but we mean to aver that the object of this work is not so much either to build up new systems1 or to put down old ones1 as by shewing man the inconclusiveness of his reasonings upon matters not accessible to his comprehension--to induce him to be more tolerant to his neighbour--to invite him to be less rancorous against those who do not see with his eyes--to hold forth to him motives for forbearance1 against those whose system of faith may not exactly harmonize with his own--to render him less ferocious in support of opinions1 which1 if he will but discard his prejudices1 he may find not so solidly bottomed as he imagines4 ,all we know is scarcely more than that the motion we witness in the universe is the necessary consequence of the laws of matter2 that the uniformity of this motion is evidence of their immutability2 that it is not too much to say it cannot cease to act in the manner it does1 as long as the same causes operate1 governed by the same circumstances4 ,we evidently see that motion1 however regular in our mind1 that order1 however beautiful to our admiring optics1 yields to what we term disorder1 to that which we designate frightful confusion1 as soon as new causes1 not analogous to the preceding1 either disturb or suspend their action4 ,we further know that a better knowledge of nature1 the consequence of time1 the result of patient1 laborious1 physical researches1 with the comparison of facts and the application of experience1 has enabled man in many instances to divert from himself the evil effects of inevitable causes1 which anterior to these discoveries overwhelmed his unhappy progenitors with ruin4 ,how far these salutary developements are to be carried by industry1 what may be achieved by honesty1 what light is to be gathered from the recession of prejudice1 the wisest among men is not competent to decide4 ,certain it is1 that phenomena which for ages were supposed to denounce the anger of the ,deity against mankind1 are now well understood to be common effects of natural causes4 ,order1 as we have elsewhere shewn1 is only the effects which result to ourselves from a series of motion2 there cannot be any disorder relatively to the great whole2 in which all that takes place is necessary2 in which every thing is determined by laws which nothing can change4 ,the order of nature may be damaged or destroyed relatively to ourselves1 but it is never contradicted relatively to herself1 since she cannot act otherwise than she does3 if we attribute to her the evils we sustain1 we are equally obliged to acknowledge we owe to her the good we experience4 ,it in said1 that animals furnish a convincing proof of the powerful cause of their existence2 that the admirable harmony of their parts1 the mutual assistance they lend each other1 the regularity with which they fulfill their functions1 the preservation of these parts1 the conservation of such complicated wholes1 announce a workman who unites wisdom with power2 in short1 whole tracts of anatomy and botany have been copied to prove nothing more than that these things exist1 for of the power that produced them there cannot remain a doubt4 ,we shall never learn more from these erudite tracts1 save that there exists in nature certain elements with an aptitude to attraction2 a disposition to unite1 suitable to form wholes1 to induce combinations capable of producing very striking effects4 ,to be surprised that the brain1 the heart1 the arteries1 the veins1 the eyes1 the ears of an animal1 act as we see them--that the roots of plants attract juices1 or that trees produce fruit1 is to be surprised that a tree1 a plant1 or an animal exists at all4 ,these beings would not exist1 or would no longer be that which we know they are1 if they ceased to act as they do3 this is what happens when they die4 ,if the formation1 the combination1 the modes of action1 variously possessed by these beings1 if their conservation for a season1 followed by their destruction or dissolution1 prove any thing1 it is the immutability of those laws which operate in nature3 we cannot doubt the power of nature2 she produces all the animals we behold1 by the combination1 of matter1 continually in motion2 the harmony that subsists between the component parts of these beings1 is a consequence of the necessary laws of their nature1 and of that which results from their combination4 ,as soon as this accord ceases1 the animal is necessarily destroyed3 from this we must conclude that every mutation in nature is necessary2 is only a consequence of its laws2 that it could not be otherwise than it is1 under the circumstances in which it is placed4 ,man1 who looks upon himself as the chef d'oeuvre1 furnishes more than any other production a proof of the immutability of the laws of nature3 in this sensible1 intelligent1 thinking being1 whose vanity leads him to believe himself the sole object of the divine predilection1 who forms his ,god after his own peculiar model1 we see only a more inconstant1 a more brittle machine2 one more subject to be deranged by its extreme complication1 than the grosser beings3 beasts destitute of our knowledge1 plants that vegetate1 stones devoid of feeling1 are in many respects beings more highly favored than man3 they are at least exempted from the sorrows of the mind--from the torments of reflection--from that devouring1 chagrin to which he is so frequently a prey4 ,who is he who would not be a plant or a stone1 every time reminiscence forces upon his imagination the irreparable loss of a beloved object8 ,would it not be better to be an inanimate mass1 than a restless1 turbulent1 superstitious being1 who does nothing but tremble under the imaginary displeasure of beings of his own creation2 who to support his own gloomy opinions1 immolates his fellow creatures at the shrine of his idol2 who ravages the country1 and deluges the earth with the blood of those who happen to differ from him on a speculative point of an unintelligible creed8 ,beings destitute of life1 bereft of feeling1 without memory1 not having the faculties of thought1 at least are not afflicted by the idea of either the past1 the present1 or the future2 they do not at any rate believe themselves in danger of becoming eternally unhappy1 because they way have reasoned badly2 or because they happened to be born in a land where truth has never yet shed its refulgent beams on the darkened mind of perplexed mortals4 ,let it not then be said that we cannot have an idea of a work1 without also having an idea of the workman1 as distinguished from his work3 the savage1 when he first beheld the terrible operation of gunpowder1 did not form the most distant idea that it was the work of a man like himself4 ,nature is not to be contemplated as a work of this kind2 she is self-existent4 ,in her bosom every thing is produced3 she is an immense elaboratory1 provided with materials1 who makes the instruments of which she avails herself in her operations4 ,all her works are the effects of her own energies2 of those agents which she herself produces2 of those immutable laws by which she sets every thing in activity4 ,eternal1 indestructible elements1 ever in motion1 combine themselves variously1 and thus give birth to all beings1 to all the phenomena which fill the weak eyes of erring mortals with wonder and dismay2 to all the effects1 whether good or bad1 of which man experiences the influence2 to all the vicissitudes he undergoes1 from the moment of his birth until that of his death2 to order and to confusion1 which he never discriminates but by the various modes in which he is affected3 in short1 to all those miraculous spectacles with which he occupies his meditation--upon which he exercises his reason--which frequently spread consternation over the surface of the earth4 ,these elements need nothing when circumstances favour their junction1 save their own peculiar properties1 whether individual or united1 with the motion that is essential to them1 to produce all those phenomena which powerfully striking the senses of mankind1 either fill him with admiration1 or stagger him with alarm4 ,but supposing for a moment that it was impossible to conceive the work1 without also conceiving the workman1 who watches over his work1 where must we place this workman8 ,shall it be interior or exterior to his production8 ,is he matter and motion1 or is he only space or the vacuum8 ,in all these cases either he would be nothing1 or he would be contained in nature3 as nature contains only matter and motion1 it must be concluded that the agent who moves it is material2 that he is corporeal2 if this agent be exterior to nature1 then we can no longer form any idea of the place which he occupieth3 neither can we better conceive an immaterial being2 nor the mode in which a spirit without extent can act upon matter from which it is separated4 ,these unknown spaces1 which imagination has placed beyond the visible world1 can have no existence for a being1 who with difficulty sees down to his feet2 he cannot paint to his mind any image of the power which inhabit them2 but if he is compelled to form some kind of a picture1 he must combine at random the fantastical colours which he is ever obliged to draw from the world he inhabits3 in this case he will really do no more than reproduce in idea1 part or parcels of that which he has actually seen2 he will form a whole which perhaps has no existence in nature1 but which it will be in vain he strives to distinguish from her2 to place out of her bosom4 ,when he shall be ingenuous with himself1 ,when he shall be no longer willing to delude others1 he will be obliged to acknowledge1 that the portrait he has painted1 although in its combination it resembles nothing in the universe1 is nevertheless in all its constituent members an exact delineation of that which nature presents to our view4 ,hobbes in his ,leviathan says1 ,the universe1 the whole mass of things1 is corporeal1 that is to say1 body2 and hath the dimensions of magnitude1 namely1 length1 breadth1 and depth3 also every part of body is likewise body1 and hath the like dimensions2 and consequently every part of the universe is body2 and that which is not body1 is no part of the universe2 and because the universe is all1 that which is no part of it is nothing2 and consequently no where3 nor does it follow from hence1 that spirits are nothing1 for they have dimensions1 and are therefore really bodies2 though that name in common speech be given to such bodies only as are visible1 or palpable1 that is1 that have some degree of opacity3 but for spirits they call them incorporeal2 which is a name of more honour1 and may therefore with more piety be attributed to ,god himself1 in whom we consider not what attribute expresseth best his nature1 which is incomprehensible2 but what best expresseth our desire to honour him4 ,it will be insisted that if a statue or a watch were shewn to a savage1 who had never before seen either1 he would not be able to prevent himself from acknowledging that these things were the works of some intelligent agent of greater ability1 possessing more industry than himself3 it will be concluded from thence1 that we are in like manner obliged to acknowledge that the universe1 that man1 that the various phenomena1 are the works of an agent1 whose intelligence is more comprehensive1 whose power far surpasses our own4 ,granted3 who has ever doubted it8 the proposition is self-evident2 it cannot admit of even a cavil4 ,nevertheless we reply1 in the first place1 that it is not to be doubted that nature is extremely powerful2 diligently industrious3 we admire her activity every time we are surprised by the extent1 every time we contemplate the variety1 every time we behold those complicated effects which are displayed in her works2 or whenever we take the pains to meditate upon them3 nevertheless1 she is not really more industrious in one of her works than she is in another2 she is not fathomed with more ease in those we call her most contemptible productions1 than she is in her most sublime efforts3 we no more understand how she has been capable of producing a stone or a metal1 than the means by which she organized a head like that of the illustrious ,newton4 ,we call that man industrious who can accomplish things which we cannot2 nature is competent to every thing3 as soon therefore as a thing exists1 it is a proof she has been capable of producing it3 but it is never more than relatively to ourselves that we judge beings to be industrious3 we then compare them to ourselves2 and as we enjoy a quality which we call intelligence1 by the assistance of which we accomplish things1 by which we display our diligence1 we naturally conclude from it1 that those works which most astonish us1 do not belong to her1 but are to be ascribed to an intelligent being like ourselves1 but in whom we make the intelligence commensurate with the astonishment these phenomena excite in us2 that is to say1 in other words1 to our own peculiar ignorance1 and the weakness incident to our nature4 ,in the second place1 we must observe1 that the savage1 to whom either the statue or the watch is brought1 will or will not have ideas of human industry3 if he has ideas of it1 he will feel that this watch or this statue1 way be the work of a being of his own species1 enjoying faculties of which he is himself deficient3 if he has no idea of it1 if he has no comprehension of the resources of human art1 when he beholds the spontaneous motion of the watch1 he will be impressed with the belief that it is an animal1 which cannot be the work of man4 ,multiplied experience confirms this mode of thinking which is ascribed to the savage4 ,the ,peruvians mistook the ,spaniards for gods1 because they made use of gunpowder1 rode on horseback1 and came in vessels which sailed quite alone4 ,the inhabitants of the island of ,tenian being ignorant of fire before the arrival of ,europeans1 the first time they saw it1 conceived it to be an animal who devoured the wood4 ,thus it is1 that the savage1 in the same manner as many great and learned men1 who believe themselves much more acute1 will attribute the strange effects that strike his organs1 to a genius or to a spirit2 that is to say1 to an unknown power2 to whom he will ascribe capabilities of which he believes the beings of his own species are entirely destitute3 by this he will prove nothing1 except that he is himself ignorant of what man is capable of producing4 ,it is thus that a raw unpolished people raise their eyes to heaven1 every time they witness some unusual phenomenon4 ,it is thus that the people denominate all those strange effects1 with the natural causes of which they are ignorant1 miraculous1 supernatural1 divine2 but these are not by reasonable persons therefore considered proofs of what they assert3 as the multitude are generally unacquainted with the cause of any thing1 every object becomes a miracle in their eyes2 at least they imagine ,god is the immediate cause of the good they enjoy--of the evil they suffer4 ,in short1 it is thus that the theologians themselves solve every difficulty that starts in their road2 they ascribe to ,god all those phenomena1 of the causes of which either they are themselves ignorant1 or else unwilling that man should be acquainted with the source4 ,in the third place1 the savage1 in opening the watch1 and examining its parts1 will perhaps feel1 that this machinery announces a work which can only be the result of human labour4 ,he will perhaps perceive1 that they very obviously differ from the immediate productions of nature1 whom he has not observed to produce wheels made of polished metal4 ,he will further notice1 perhaps1 that these parts when separated1 no longer act as they did when they were combined2 that the motion he so much admired1 ceases when their union is broken4 ,after these observations1 he will attribute the watch to the ingenuity of man2 that is to say1 to a being like himself1 of whom he has some ideas1 but whom he judges capable to construct machines to which he is himself utterly incompetent4 ,in short1 he will ascribe the honour of his watch to a being known to him in some respects1 provided with faculties very far superior to his own2 but he will be at an immense distance from the belief1 that this material work1 whose ingenuity pleases him so much1 can be the effect of an immaterial cause2 or of an agent destitute of organs1 without extent2 whose action upon material beings cannot be within1 the sphere of his comprehension4 ,nevertheless1 man1 when he cannot embrace the causes of things1 does not scruple to insist that they are impossible to be the production of nature1 although he is entirely ignorant how far the powers of this nature extend2 to what her capabilities are equal4 ,in viewing the world1 we must acknowledge material causes for many of those phenomena which take place in it2 those who study nature are continually adding fresh discoveries to this list of physical causes2 science1 as she enriches the intellectual stores of human enjoyment1 every day throws a broader light on the energies of nature1 which prejudice1 aided by its almost inseparable companion1 ignorance1 would for ever bind down in the fetters of impotence4 ,let us not1 however1 be told1 that pursuing this hypothesis1 we attribute every thing to a blind cause--to the fortuitous concurrence of atoms--to chance4 ,those only are called blind causes of which we know not either the combination1 the laws1 or the power4 ,those effects are called fortuitous1 with whose causes man is unacquainted2 to which his experience affords him no clue2 which his ignorance prevents him from foreseeing4 ,all those effects1 of which he does not see the necessary connection with their causes1 he attributes to chance4 ,nature is not a blind cause2 she never acts by chance2 nothing that she does would ever be considered fortuitous1 by him who should understand her mode of action--who had a knowledge of her resources--who was intelligent in her ways4 ,every thing that she produces is strictly necessary--is never more than a consequence of her eternal1 immutable laws2 all is connected in her by invisible bonds2 every effect we witness flows necessarily from its cause1 whether we are in a condition to fathom it1 or whether we are obliged to let it remain hidden from our view4 ,it is very possible there should be ignorance on our part2 but the words spirit1 intelligence1 will not remedy this ignorance2 they will rather redouble it1 by arresting our research2 by preventing us from conquering those impediments which obstruct us in probing the natural causes of the effects1 with which our visual faculties bring us acquainted4 ,this may serve for an answer to the clamour of those who raise perpetual objections to the partizans of nature1 by unceasingly accusing them with attributing every thing to chance4 ,chance is a word devoid of sense1 which furnishes no substantive idea2 at least it indicates only the ignorance of its employers4 ,nevertheless1 we are triumphantly told1 it is reiterated continually1 that a regular work cannot be ascribed to the concurrence of chance4 ,never1 we are informed1 will it be possible to arrive at the formation of a poem such as the ,iliad1 by means of letters thrown together promiscuously or combined at random4 ,we agree to it without hesitation2 but1 ingenuously1 are the letters which compose a poem thrown with the hand in the manner of dice8 ,it would avail as much to say1 we could not pronounce a discourse with the feet4 ,it is nature1 who combines according to necessary laws1 under given circumstances1 a head organized in a mode suitable to bring forth a poem3 it is nature who assembles the elements1 which furnish man with a brain competent to give birth to such a work3 it is nature1 who1 through the medium of the imagination1 by means of the passions1 in consequence of the temperament which she bestows upon man1 capacitates him to produce such a masterpiece of fancy2 such a never-fading effort of the mind3 it is his brain modified in a certain manner1 crowded with ideas1 decorated with images1 made fruitful by circumstances1 that alone can become the matrix in which a poem can be conceived--in which the matter of it can be digested3 this is the only womb whose activity could usher to an admiring world1 the sublime stanzas which develope the story of the unfortunate ,priam1 and immortalize their author4 ,a head organized like that of ,homer1 furnished with the same vigour1 glowing with the same vivid imagination1 enriched with the same erudition1 placed under the same circumstances1 would necessarily1 and not by chance1 produce the poem of the ,iliad2 at least1 unless it be denied that causes similar in every thing must produce effects perfectly identical4 ,we should without doubt be surprised1 if there were in a dice-box a hundred thousand dice1 to see a hundred thousand sixes follow in succession2 but if these dice were all cogged or loaded1 our surprise would cease3 the particles of matter may be compared to cogged dice1 that is to say1 always producing certain determinate effects under certain given circumstances2 these particles being essentially varied in themselves1 countless in their combinations1 they are cogged in myriads of different modes4 ,the head of ,homer1 or of ,virgil1 was no more than an assemblage of particles1 possessing peculiar properties2 or if they will1 of dice cogged by nature2 that is to say1 of beings so combined1 of matter so wrought1 as to produce the beautiful poems of the ,iliad or the ,aeneid4 ,as much may be said of all other productions3 indeed1 what are men themselves but cogged dice--machines into which nature has infused the bias requisite to produce effects of a certain description8 ,a man of genius produces a good work1 in the same manner as a tree of a good species1 placed in a prolific soil1 cultivated with care1 grafted with judgment1 produces excellent fruit4 ,then is it not either knavery or puerility1 to talk of composing a work by scattering letters with the hand2 by promiscuously mingling characters2 or gathering together by chance1 that which can only result from a human brain1 with a peculiar organization1 modified after a certain manner8 ,the principle of human generation does not develope itself by chance2 it cannot be nourished with effect1 expanded into life1 but in the womb of a woman3 a confused heap of characters1 a jumble of symbols1 is nothing more than an assemblage of signs1 whose proper arrangement is adequate to paint human ideas2 but in order that these ideas may be correctly delineated1 it is previously requisite that they should have been conceived1 combined1 nourished1 connected1 and developed in the brain of a poet2 where circumstances make them fructify1 mature them1 and bring them forth in perfection1 by reason of the fecundity1 generated by the genial warmth and the peculiar energy of the matrix1 in which these intellectual seeds shall have been placed4 ,ideas in combining1 expanding1 connecting1 and associating themselves1 form a whole1 like all the other bodies of nature3 this whole affords us pleasure1 becomes a source of enjoyment1 when it gives birth to agreeable sensations in the mind2 when it offers to our examination pictures calculated to move us in a lively manner4 ,it is thus that the history of the ,trojan war1 as digested in the head of ,homer1 ushered into the world with all the fascinating harmony of numbers peculiar to himself1 has the power of giving a pleasurable impulse to heads1 who by their analogy with that of this incomparable ,grecian1 are in a capacity to feel its beauties4 ,from this it will be obvious1 that nothing can be produced by chance2 that no effect can exist without an adequate cause for its existence2 that the one must ever be commensurate with the other4 ,all the works of nature grow out of the uniform action of invariable laws1 whether our mind can with facility follow the concatenation of the successive causes which operate2 or whether1 as in her more complicated productions1 we find ourselves in the impossibility of distinguishing the various springs which she sets in motion to give birth to her phenomena4 ,to nature1 the difficulty is not more to produce a great poet1 capable of writing an admirable poem1 than to form a glittering stone or a shining metal which gravitates towards a centre4 ,the mode she adopts to give birth to these various beings1 is equally unknown to us1 when we have not meditated upon it2 frequently the most sedulous attention1 the most patient investigation affords us no information2 sometimes1 however1 the unwearied industry of the philosopher is rewarded1 by throwing into light the most mysterious operations4 ,thus the keen penetration of a ,newton1 aided by uncommon diligence1 developed the starry system1 which1 for so many thousand years1 had eluded the research of all the astronomers by whom he was preceded4 ,thus the sagacity of a ,harvey giving vigour to his application1 brought out of the obscurity in which for almost countless centuries it had been buried1 the true course pursued by the sanguinary fluid1 when circulating through the veins and arteries of man1 giving activity to his machine1 diffusing life through his system1 and enabling him to perform those actions which so frequently strike an astonished world with wonder and regret4 ,thus ,gallileo1 by a quickness of perception1 a depth of reasoning peculiar to himself1 held up to an admiring world1 the actual form and situation of the planet we inhabit2 which until then had escaped the observation of the most profound geniuses--the most subtle metaphysicians--the whole host of priests2 which when first promulgated was considered so extraordinary1 so contradictory to all the then received opinions1 either sacred or profane1 that he was ranked as an atheist1 as an impious blasphemer1 to hold communion with whom1 would secure to the communers a place in the regions of everlasting torment2 in short1 it was held an heresy of such an indelible dye1 that notwithstanding the infallibility of his sacred function1 ,pope ,gregory1 who then filled the papal chair1 excommunicated all those who had the temerity to accredit so abominable a doctrine4 ,man is born by the necessary concurrence of those elements suitable to his construction2 he increases in bulk1 corroborates his system1 expands his powers1 in the same manner as a plant or a stone2 which as well as himself1 are augmented in their volume1 invigorated in their capabilities1 by the addition of homogeneous matter1 that exists within the sphere of their attraction4 ,man feels1 thinks1 receives ideas1 acts after a certain manner1 that is to say1 according to his organic structure1 which is peculiar to himself2 that renders him susceptible of modifications1 of which the stone and the plant are utterly incapable4 ,on the other hand1 the organization of these beings is of a nature to enable them to receive other modifications1 which man is not more capacitated to experience1 than the stone or the plant are those which constitute him what he is4 ,in consequence of this peculiar arrangement1 the man of genius produces works of merit2 the plant when it is healthy yields delicious fruits the stone when it is placed in a suitable matrix possesses a glittering brilliance which dazzles the eyes of mortals2 each in their sphere of action both surprise and delight us2 because we feel that they excite in us sensations1 that harmonize with what we call order2 in consequence of the pleasure they infuse1 by the rarity1 by the magnitude1 and by the variety of the effects which they occasion us to experience4 ,nevertheless1 that which is found most admirable in the productions of nature1 that which is most esteemed in the actions of man1 most highly valued in animals1 most sought after in vegetation1 most in request among fossils1 is never more than the natural effects of the different particles of matter1 diversely arranged1 variously combined1 submitted to numerous modifications2 from matter thus united result organs1 brains1 temperament1 taste1 talents1 all the multifarious properties1 all the multitudinous qualities1 which discriminate the beings whose multiplied activity make up the sum of what is designated animated nature4 ,nature then produces nothing but what is necessary2 it is not by fortuitous combinations1 by chance throws1 that she exhibits to our view the beings we behold2 all her throws are sure1 all the causes she employs have infallibly their effects4 ,whenever she gives birth to extraordinary1 marvellous1 rare beings1 it is1 that the requisite order of things the concurrence of the necessary productive causes1 happens but seldom4 ,as soon as those beings exist1 they are to be ascribed to nature1 equally with the most familiar of her productions2 to nature every thing is equally possible1 equally facile1 when she assembles together the instruments or the causes necessary to act4 ,thus it seems presumption in man to set limits to the powers of nature1 which he so very imperfectly understands4 ,the combinations1 or if they will1 the throws that she makes in an eternity of existence1 can easily produce all the beings that have existed3 her eternal march must necessarily bring forth1 again and again1 the most astonishing circumstances2 the most rare occurrences2 those most calculated to rouse the wonder1 to elicit the admiration of beings1 who are only in a condition to give them a momentary consideration2 who can get nothing more than a glimpse1 without ever having either the leisure or the means to search into causes1 which lie hid from their weak eyes1 in the depths of ,cimmerian obscurity4 ,countless throws during eternity1 with elements and combinations varied almost to infinity1 quite with relation to man1 suffice to produce every thing of which he has a knowledge1 with multitudes of other effects1 of which he will never have the least conception4 ,thus1 we cannot too often repeat to the metaphysicians1 to the supporters of immateriality1 to the inconsistent theologians1 who commonly ascribe to their adversaries the most ridiculous opinions1 in order to obtain an easy1 short-lived triumph in the prejudiced eyes of the multitude2 or in the stagnant minds of those who never examine deeply2 that chance is nothing but a word1 as well as many other words1 imagined solely to cover the ignorance of those to whom the course of nature is inexplicable--to shield the idleness of others who are too slothful to seek into the properties of acting causes4 ,it is not chance that has produced the universe1 it is self-existent2 nature exists necessarily from all eternity3 she is omnipotent because every thing is produced by her energies2 she is omnipresent1 because she fills all space2 she is omniscient1 because every thing can only be what it actually is2 she is immovable1 because as a whole she cannot be displaced2 she is immutable1 because her essence cannot change1 although her forms may vary2 she is infinite1 because she cannot have any bounds2 she is all perfect1 because she contains every thing3 in short1 she has all the abstract qualities of the metaphysician1 all the moral faculties of the theologian1 without involving any contradiction1 since that which is the assemblage of all1 must of necessity contain the properties of all4 ,however concealed may be her ways1 the existence of nature is indubitable2 her mode of action is in some respects known to us4 ,experience amply demonstrates we might1 if we were more industrious1 become better acquainted with her secrets2 but with an immaterial substance1 with a pure spirit1 the mind of man can never become familiar3 he has no means by which he can picture to himself this incomprehensible1 this inconceivable quality3 in despite therefore of the roundness of assertion adopted by the theologian1 notwithstanding all the subtilties of the metaphysician1 it will always be for man1 while he remains such as he now is1 in the language of ,doctor ,samuel ,clarke1 that1 of which nothing can with truth be affirmed4 ,,chap4 ,,vi4 ,of ,pantheism2 or of the ,natural ,ideas of the ,divinity4 ,the false principle that matter is not self-existent2 that by its nature it is in an impossibility to move itself2 consequently incompetent to the production of those striking phenomena which arrest our wondering eyes in the wide expanse of the universe2 it will be obvious1 to all who seriously attend to what has preceded1 is the origin of the proofs upon which theology rests the existence of immateriality4 ,after these suppositions1 as gratuitous as they are erroneous1 the fallacy of which we have exposed elsewhere1 it has been believed that matter did not always exist1 but that its existence1 as well as its motion1 is a production of time2 due to a cause distinguished from itself2 to an unknown agent to whom it is subordinate4 ,as man finds in his own species a quality which he calls intelligence1 which presides over all his actions1 by the aid of which he arrives at the end he proposes to himself2 he has clothed this invisible agent with this quality1 which he has extended beyond the limits of his own conception3 he magnified it thus1 because1 having made him the author of effects of which he found himself incapable1 he did not conceive it possible that the intelligence he himself possessed1 unless it was prodigiously amplified1 would be sufficient to account for those productions1 to which his erring judgment led him to conclude the natural energy of physical causes were not adequate4 ,as this agent was invisible1 as his mode of action was inconceivable1 he made him a spirit1 a word that really means nothing more than that he is ignorant of his essence1 or that he acts like the breath of which he cannot trace the motion4 ,thus1 in speaking of spirituality1 he designated an occult quality1 which he deemed suitable to a concealed being1 whose mode of action was always imperceptible to the senses4 ,it would appear1 however1 that originally the word spirit was not meant to designate immateriality2 but a matter of a more subtile nature than that which acted coarsely on the organs3 still of a nature capable of penetrating the grosser matter--of communicating to it motion--of instilling into it active life--of giving birth to those combinations--of imparting to them those modifications1 which his organic structure rendered him competent to discover4 ,such was1 as has been shewn1 that all-powerful ,jupiter1 who in the theology of the ancients1 was originally destined to represent the etherial1 subtile matter that penetrates1 vivifies1 and gives activity to all the bodies of which nature is the common assemblage4 ,it would be grossly deceiving ourselves to believe that the idea of spirituality1 such as the subtilty of dreaming metaphysicians present it in these days1 was that which offered itself to our forefathers in the early stages of the human mind4 ,this immateriality1 which excludes all analogy with any thing but itself--which bears no resemblance to any thing of which man is capacitated to have a knowledge1 was1 as we have already observed1 the slow1 the tardy fruit of his imagination1 after he had quitted experience1 and renounced his reason4 ,men reared in luxurious leisure1 unceasingly meditating1 without the assistance of those natural helps with which attentive observation would have furnished them1 by degrees arrived at the formation of this incomprehensible quality1 which is so fugitive1 that although man has been compelled to reverence it1 to accredit it against all the evidence of his senses1 they have never yet been enabled to give any other explanation of its nature1 than by using a term to which it is impossible to attach any intelligible idea4 ,seraphis said1 with tears in his eyes1 that in making him adopt the opinion of spirituality1 they had deprived him of his ,god4 ,many fathers of the church have given a human form to the ,divinity1 and treated all those as heretics who made him spiritual4 ,thus by dint of reasoning1 by force of subtilizing1 the word spirit no longer presents any one image upon which the mind can fix itself2 when they are desirous to speak of it1 it becomes impossible to understand them1 seeing that each visionary paints it after his own manner2 and in the portrait he forms1 consults only his own temperament1 follows nothing but his own imagination1 adopts nothing but his own peculiar reveries2 the only point in which they are at all in unison1 is in assigning to it inconceivable qualities1 which they naturally enough believe are best suited to the incomprehensible beings they have delineated3 from the incompatible heap of these qualities1 generally resulted a whole1 whose existence they thus rendered impossible4 ,in short1 this word1 which has occupied the research of so many learned and intelligent men2 which is considered of such importance to mankind1 has been1 in consequence of theological reveries1 always fluctuating3 these never bearing the least resemblance to each other1 it has become destitute of any fixed sense1 a mere sound1 to which each who echoes it affixes his own peculiar ideas1 which are never in harmony with those of his neighbour2 which indeed are not even steady in himself1 but like the camelion1 assume the colour of every differing circumstance4 ,this unintelligible word has been substituted for the more intelligible one of matter2 man1 when clothed with power1 has entertained the most rancorous antipathies1 pursued the most barbarous persecutions1 against those who have not been enabled to contemplate this changeable idea under the same point of view with himself4 ,there have1 however1 been men who had sufficient courage to resist this torrent of opinion--to oppose themselves to this delirium2 who have believed1 that the object which was announced as the most important for mortals1 as the sole object worthy of their thoughts1 demanded an attentive examination2 who apprehended that if experience could be of any utility1 if judgment could afford any advantage1 if reason was of any use whatever1 it must1 most unquestionably be1 to consider this quality so opposed to every thing in nature1 which was said to regulate all the beings which she contains4 ,these quickly saw they could not subscribe to the general opinion of the uninformed1 who never examine any thing1 who take every thing upon the credit of others2 much less was it consistent with sound sense to agree with their guides1 who1 either deceivers or deceived1 forbade others to submit it to the scrutiny of reason2 who were themselves frequently in an utter incapacity to pass it under such an ordeal4 ,thus some thinkers1 disgusted with the obscure and contradictory notions which others had through habit mechanically attached to this incomprehensible property1 had the temerity to shake off the yoke which had been imposed upon them from their infancy3 calling reason to their aid against those terrors with which they alarmed the ignorant1 revolting at the hideous descriptions under which they attempted to defend their hypothesis1 they had the intrepidity to tear the veil of delusion2 to rend asunder the barriers of imposture2 they considered with calm resolution1 this formidable prejudice1 contemplated with a serene eye this unsupported opinion1 examined with cool deliberation this fluctuating notion1 which had become the object of all the hopes1 the source of all the fears1 the spring of all the quarrels which distracted the mind1 and disturbed the harmony of blind1 confiding mortals4 ,the result of these inquiries has uniformly been1 a conviction that no rational proof has ever been adduced in support of this hypothesis2 that from the nature of the thing itself1 none can be offered2 that an incorporeity is inconceivable to corporeal beings2 that these only behold nature acting after invariable laws1 in which every thing is material2 that all the phenomena of which the world is the theatre1 spring out of natural causes2 that man as well as all the other beings is the work or this nature1 is only an instrument in her hand1 obliged to accomplish the eternal decrees of an imperious necessity4 ,whatever efforts the philosopher makes to penetrate the secrets of nature1 he never finds more1 as we have many times repeated1 than matter2 various in itself1 diversely modified in consequence of the motion it undergoes4 ,its whole1 as well as its parts1 displays only necessary causes producing necessary effects1 which flow necessarily one out of the other3 of which the mind1 aided by experience1 is more or less competent to discover the concatenation4 ,in virtue of their specific properties1 all the beings that come under our review1 gravitate towards a centre--attract analogous matter--repel that which is unsuitable to combination--mutually receive and give impulse--acquire qualities--undergo modifications which maintain them in existence for a season--are born and dissolved by the operation of an inexorable decree1 that obliges every thing1 we behold to pass into a new mode of existence4 ,it is to these continued vicissitudes that are to be ascribed all the phenomena1 whether trivial or of magnitude2 ordinary or extraordinary2 known or unknown2 simple or complicated2 which are operated in the universe4 ,it is by these mutations alone that we have any knowledge of nature3 she is only mysterious to those who contemplate her through the veil of prejudice3 her course is always simple to those who look at her without prepossession4 ,to attribute the effects to which we are witnesses1 to nature1 to matter1 variously combined with the motion that is inherent to it1 is to give them an intelligible and known cause2 to attempt to penetrate deeper1 is to plunge ourselves into imaginary regions1 where we find only a chaos of obscurities--where we are lost in an unfathomable abyss of incertitude4 ,let us then be content with contemplating nature1 who1 being self-existent1 must in her essence possess motion2 which cannot be conceived without properties1 from which result perpetual action and re-action2 or those continual efforts which give birth to such a numerous train of circumstances2 in which a single molecule cannot be found1 that does not necessarily occupy the place assigned to it1 by immutable and necessary laws--that is for an instant in an absolute state of repose4 ,what necessity can there exist to seek out of matter for a power to give it play1 since its motion flows as necessarily out of its existence as its bulk1 its form1 its gravity1 c4 since nature in inaction would no longer be nature8 ,if it be demanded1 ,how can we figure to ourselves1 that matter by its own peculiar energy can produce all the effects we witness8 ,i shall reply1 that if by matter it is obstinately determined to understand nothing but a dead1 inert mass1 destitute of every property1 incapable of moving itself1 we shall no longer have a single idea of matter2 we shall no longer be able to account for any thing4 ,as soon1 however1 as it exists1 it must have properties2 as soon as it has properties1 without which it could not exist1 it must act by virtue of those properties2 since it is only by its action we can have a knowledge of its existence1 be conscious of its properties4 ,it is evident that if by matter be understood that which it is not1 or if its existence be denied1 those phenomena which strike our visual organs cannot be attributed to it4 ,but if by nature be understood 7that which she really is71 an heap of existing matter1 possessing various properties1 we shall be obliged to acknowledge that nature must be competent to move herself2 by the diversity of her motion1 must have the capability1 independent of foreign aid1 to produce the effects we behold2 we shall find that nothing can be made from nothing2 that nothing is made by chance2 that the mode of action of every particle of matter1 however minute1 is necessarily determined by its own peculiar1 or by its individual properties4 ,we have elsewhere said1 that that which cannot be annihilated--that which in its nature is indestructible--cannot have been inchoate1 cannot have had a beginning to its existence1 but exists necessarily from all eternity2 contains within itself a sufficient cause for its own peculiar existence4 ,it becomes then perfectly useless to seek out of nature a cause for her action which is in some respects known to us2 with which indefatigable research may1 judging of the future by the past1 render us more familiar4 ,as we know some of the general properties of matter2 as we can discover some of its qualities1 wherefore should we seek its motion in an unintelligible cause1 of which we are not in a condition to become acquainted with any one of its properties8 ,can we conceive that immateriality could ever draw matter from its own source8 ,impossible2 it is not within the grasp of human intellect4 ,if creation is an eduction from nothing1 there must have been a time when matter had not existence2 there must consequently be a time when it will cease to be3 this latter is acknowledged by many theologians themselves to be impossible4 ,do those who are continually talking of this mysterious act of omnipotence1 by which a mass of matter has been1 all at once1 substituted to nothing1 perfectly understand what they tell us8 ,is there a man on earth who conceives that a being devoid of extent can exist1 become the cause of the existence of beings who have extent--act upon matter--draw it from his own peculiar essence--set it in motion8 ,in truth1 the more we consider theology1 the more we must be convinced that it has invented words destitute of sense2 substituted sounds to intelligible realities4 ,for want of consulting experience1 for want or studying nature1 for want of examining the material world1 we have plunged ourselves into an intellectual vacuum1 which we have peopled with chimeras1 ,we have not stooped to consider matter1 to study its different periods1 to follow it through its numerous1 changes4 ,we have either ridiculously or knavishly confounded dissolution1 decomposition1 the separation of the elementary particles of bodies1 with their radical destruction2 we have been unwilling to see that the elements are indestructible2 although the forms are fleeting1 and depend upon transitory combination4 ,we have not distinguished the change of figure1 the alteration of position1 the mutation of texture1 to which matter is liable1 from its annihilation1 which is impossible2 we have falsely concluded1 that matter ,was not a necessary being--that it commenced to exist--that this existence was derived from that which possessed nothing in common with itself--that that which was not substance1 could give birth to that which is4 ,thus an unintelligible name has been substituted for matter1 which furnishes us with true ideas of nature2 of which at each instant we experience the influence1 of which we undergo the action1 of which we feel the power1 and of which we should have a much better knowledge1 if our abstract opinions did not continually fasten a bandage over our eyes4 ,indeed the most simple notions of philosophy shew us1 that1 although bodies change and disappear1 nothing is however lost in nature2 the various produce of the decomposition of a body serves for elements1 supplies materials1 forms the basis1 lays the foundation for accretions1 contributes to the maintenance of other bodies4 ,the whole of nature subsists1 and is conserved only by the circulation1 the transmigration1 the exchange1 the perpetual displacement of insensible atoms--the continual mutation of the sensible combinations of matter4 ,it is by this palingenesia1 this regeneration1 that the great whole1 the mighty macrocosm subsists2 who1 like the ,saturn of the ancients1 is perpetually occupied with devouring her own children4 ,it will not then be inconsistent with observation1 repugnant to reason1 contrary to good sense1 to acknowledge that matter is self-existent2 that it acts by an energy peculiar to itself2 that it will never be annihilated4 ,let us then say1 that matter is eternal2 that nature has been1 is1 and ever will be occupied with producing and destroying2 with doing and undoing2 with combining and separating2 in short1 with following a system of laws resulting from its necessary existence4 ,for every thing that she doth1 she needs only to combine the elements of matter2 these1 essentially diverse1 necessarily either attract or repel each other2 come into collision1 from whence results either their union or dissolution2 by the same laws that one approximates1 the other recedes from their respective spheres of action4 ,it is thus that she brings forth plants1 fossils1 animals1 men2 thus she gives existence to organized1 sensible1 thinking beings1 as well as to those who are destitute of either feeling or thought4 ,all these act for the season of their respective duration1 according to immutable laws1 determined by their various properties2 arising out of their configuration2 depending on their masses2 resulting from their ponderosity1 c4 ,here is the true origin of every thing which is presented to our view2 this indicates the mode by which nature1 according to her own peculiar powers1 is in a state to produce all those astonishing effects which assail our wondering eyes2 all that phenomena to which mankind is the witness2 as well as all the bodies who act diversely upon the organs with which he is furnished1 of which he can only judge according to the manner in which these organs are affected4 ,he says they are good1 when they are analogous to his own mode of existence--when they contribute to the maintenance of the harmony of his machine3 he says they are bad1 when they disturb this harmony4 ,it is thus he ascribes views1 ideas1 designs1 to the being he supposes to be the power by which nature is moved2 although all the experience we are able to collect1 unequivocally proves1 that she acts after an invariable1 eternal code of laws4 ,nature is destitute of those views which actuate man2 she acts necessarily1 because she exists3 her system is immutable1 and founded upon the essence of things4 ,it is the essence of the seed of the male1 composed of primitive elements1 which serve for the basis of an organized being1 to unite itself with that of the female2 to fructify it2 to produce1 by this combination1 a new organized being2 who1 feeble in his origin1 not having yet acquired a sufficient quantity of material particles to give him consistence1 corroborates himself by degrees2 strengthens himself by the daily accretion of analogous matter2 is nourished by the modifications appropriate to his existence3 matured by the continuation of circumstances calculated to give vigour to his frame2 thus he lives1 thinks1 acts1 engenders in his turn other organized beings similar to himself4 ,by a consequence of his temperament and of physical laws1 this generation does not take place1 except when the circumstances necessary to its production find themselves united4 ,thus this procreation is not operated by chance2 the animal does not fructify1 but with an animal of his own species1 because this is the only one analogous to himself1 who unites the qualities1 who combines the circumstances1 suitable to produce a being resembling himself2 without this he would not produce any thing1 or he would only give birth to a being who would be denominated a monster1 because it would be dissimilar to himself4 ,it is of the essence of the grain of plants1 to be impregnated by the pollen or seed of the stygma of the flower2 in this state of copulation they in consequence develope themselves in the bowels of the earth2 expand by the aid of water2 shoot forth by the accession of heat2 attract analogous particles to corroborate their system3 thus by degrees they form a plant1 a shrub1 a tree1 susceptible of that life1 filled with that motion1 capable of that action which is suitable to vegetable existence4 ,it is of the essence of particular particles of earth1 homogeneous in their nature1 when separated by circumstances1 attenuated by water1 elaborated by heat1 to unite themselves in the bosom of mountains1 with other atoms which are analogous2 to form by their aggregation1 according to their various affinities1 those bodies possessing more or less solidity2 having more or less purity1 which are called diamonds1 chrystals1 stones1 metals1 minerals4 ,it is of the essence of exhalations raised by the heat of the atmosphere1 to combine1 to collect themselves1 to dash against each other1 and either by their union or their collision to produce meteors1 to generate thunder4 ,it is of the essence of some inflammable matter to gather itself together1 to ferment in the caverns of the earth1 to increase its active force by augmenting its heat1 and then explode1 by the accession of other matter suitable to the operation1 with that tremendous force which we call earthquakes2 by which mountains are destroyed2 cities overturned2 the inhabitants of the plains thrown into a state of consternation2 these full of alarm1 unused to meditate on natural effects1 unconscious of the extent of physical powers1 stretch forth their hands in dismay1 heave the most desponding sighs1 utter aloud their complaints1 and earnestly implore a cessation of those evils1 which nature1 acting by necessary laws1 obliges them to experience as necessarily as she does those benefits by which she fills them with the most extravagant joy4 ,in short1 it is of the essence of certain climates to produce men so organized1 whose temperament is so modified1 that they become either extremely useful or very prejudicial to their species1 in the same manner as it is the property of certain portions of the land1 to bring forth either delicious fruits or dangerous poisons4 ,in all this nature acts necessarily2 she pursues an undeviating course1 which we are bound to consider the perfection of wisdom2 because she exists necessarily1 has her modes of action determined by certain1 invariable laws1 which themselves flow out of the constituent properties of the various beings she contains1 and those circumstances1 which the eternal motion she is in must necessarily bring about4 ,it is ourselves who have a necessary aim1 which is our own conservation2 it is by this that we regulate all the ideas we form to ourselves of the causes acting in nature2 it is according to this standard we judge of every thing we see or feel4 ,animated ourselves1 existing after a certain manner1 possessing a soul endowed with rare and peculiar qualities1 we1 like the savage1 ascribe a soul and animated life to every thing that acts upon us4 ,thinking and intelligent ourselves1 we give these1 faculties to those beings whom we suppose to be more powerful than mortals2 but as we see the generality of matter incapable of modifying itself1 we suppose it must receive its impulse from some concealed agent1 some external cause1 which our imagination pictures as similar to ourselves4 ,necessarily attracted by that which is advantageous to us1 repelling by an equal necessity that which is prejudicial to our manner of existence2 we cease to reflect that our modes of feeling are due to our peculiar organization1 modified by physical causes3 in this state1 either of inattention or ignorance1 we mistake the natural results of our own peculiar structure1 for instruments employed by a being whom we clothe with our own passions--whom we suppose actuated by our own views--who1 possessing our ideas1 embraces a mode of thinking and acting similar to ourselves4 ,if after this it be asked1 ,what is the end of nature8 ,we shall reply that on this head we are ignorant2 that it is more than probable no man will ever fathom the secret2 but we shall also say1 it is evidently to exist1 to act1 to conserve her whole4 ,if then it be demanded1 ,wherefore she exists8 ,we shall again reply1 of this we know nothing at present1 possibly never shall2 but we shall also say1 she exists necessarily1 that her operations1 her motion1 her phenomena1 are the necessary consequences of her necessary existence4 ,there necessarily exists something2 this is nature or the universe1 this nature necessarily acts as she does4 ,if it be wished to substitute any other word for nature1 the question will still remain as it did1 as to the cause of her existence2 the end she has in view4 ,it is not by changing of terms that a geometrician can solve problems2 one word will throw no more light on a subject than another1 unless that word carries a certain degree of conviction in the ideas which it generates4 ,as long as we speak of matter1 if we cannot develope all its properties1 we shall at least have fixed1 determinate ideas2 something tangible1 of which we have a slight knowledge1 that we can submit to the examination of our senses3 but from the moment we begin to talk of immateriality1 of incorporeity1 from thence our ideas become confused2 we are lost in a labyrinth of conjecture--we have no one means of seizing the subject on any side--we are1 after the most elaborate arguments1 after the most subtle reasoning1 obliged to acknowledge we cannot form the most slender opinion respecting it1 that has any thing substantive for its support4 ,in short1 that it is precisely that thing of which every thing may be denied1 but of which nothing can with truth be affirmed4 ,let us clothe this incomprehensible being with whatever qualities we may1 it will be always in ourselves we seek the model2 they will be our own faculties that we delineate1 our own passions that we describe4 ,in like manner man1 as long as he is ignorant1 will always conjecture that it is for himself alone the universe was formed2 not withstanding1 he has nothing more to do1 than to open his eyes in order to be undeceived4 ,he will then see1 that he undergoes a common destiny1 equally partakes with all other beings of the benefits1 shares with them without exception the evils of life2 like them he is submitted to an imperious necessity1 inexorable in its decrees2 which is itself nothing more than the sum total of those laws which nature herself is obliged to follow4 ,thus every thing proves that nature1 or matter1 exists necessarily2 that it cannot in any moment swerve from those laws imposed upon it by its existence4 ,if it cannot be annihilated1 it cannot have been inchoate4 ,the theologian himself agrees that it requires a miracle to annihilate an atom4 ,but is it possible to derogate from the necessary laws of existence8 ,can that which exists necessarily1 act but according to the laws peculiar to itself8 ,miracle is another word invented to shield our own sloth1 to cover our own ignorance2 it is that by which we wish to designate those rare occurrences1 those solitary effects of natural causes1 whose infrequency do not afford us means of diving into their springs4 ,it is only saying by another expression1 that an unknown cause hath by modes which we cannot trace1 produced an uncommon effect which we did not expect1 which therefore appears strange to us4 ,this granted1 the intervention of words1 far from removing the ignorance in which we found ourselves with respect to the power and capabilities of nature1 only serves to augment it1 to give it more durability4 ,the creation of matter becomes to our mind as incomprehensible1 and appears as impossible as its annihilation4 ,let us then conclude that all those words which do not present to the mind any determinate idea1 ought to be banished the language of those who are desirous of speaking so as to be understood2 that abstract terms1 invented by ignorance1 are only calculated to satisfy men destitute of experience2 who are too slothful to study nature1 too timid to search into her ways2 that they are suitable only to content those enthusiasts1 whose curious imagination pleases itself with making fruitless endeavours to spring beyond the visible world2 who occupy themselves with chimeras of their own creation3 in short1 that these words are useful only to those whose sole profession it is to feed the ears of the uninformed with pompous sounds1 that are not comprehended by themselves--upon the sense of which they are in a state of perpetual hostility with each other--upon the true meaning of which they have never yet been able to come to a common agreement2 which each sees after his own peculiar manner of contemplating objects1 in which there never was1 nor probably never will be1 the least harmony of feeling4 ,man is a material being2 he cannot consequently have any ideas1 but of that which like himself is material2 that is to say1 of that which is in a capacity to act upon his organs1 which has some qualities analogous with his own4 ,in despite of himself1 he always assigns material properties to his gods2 the impossibility he finds in compassing them1 has made him suppose them to be spiritual2 distinguished from the material world4 ,indeed he1 must be content1 either not to understand himself1 or he must have material ideas of the ,divinity2 the human mind may torture itself as long as it pleases1 it will never1 after all its efforts1 be enabled to comprehend1 that material effects can emanate from immaterial causes2 or that such causes can have any relation with material beings4 ,here is the reason why man1 as we have seen1 believes himself obliged to give to his gods1 these morals which he so much so highly esteems1 in those beings of his race1 who are fortunate enough to possess them3 he forgets that a being who is spiritual1 adopting the theological hypothesis1 cannot from thence either have his organization1 or his ideas2 that it cannot think in his mode1 nor act after his manner2 that consequently it cannot possess what he calls intelligence1 wisdom1 goodness1 anger1 justice1 c4 as he himself understands those terms4 ,thus1 in truth1 the moral qualities with which he has clothed the ,divinity1 supposes him material1 and the most abstract theological notions1 are1 after all1 founded upon a direct1 undeniable ,anthropomorphism4 ,in despite of all their subtilties1 the theologians cannot do otherwise2 like all the beings of the human species1 they have a knowledge of matter alone3 they have no real idea of a pure spirit4 ,when they speak of the intelligence1 of the wisdom1 of the designs of their gods1 they are always those of men which they describe1 that they obstinately persist in giving to beings1 of which1 according to their own shewing1 to the evidence they themselves adduce1 their essence does not render them susceptible2 who if they had those qualities with which they clothe them1 would from that very moment cease to be incorporeal2 would be in the truest sense of the word1 substantive matter4 ,how shall we reconcile the assertion1 that beings who have not occasion for any thing--who are sufficient to them selves--whose projects must be executed as soon as they are formed2 can have volition1 passions1 desires8 ,how shall we attribute anger to beings without either blood or bile8 ,how can we conceive an omnipotent being 7whose wisdom we admire in the striking order he has himself established in the universe17 can permit that this beautiful arrangement should be continually disturbed1 either by the elements in discord1 or by the crimes of human beings8 ,in short1 this being cannot have any one of the human qualities1 which always depend upon the peculiar organization of man--upon his wants--upon his institutions1 which are themselves always relative to the society in which he lives4 ,the theologian vainly strives to aggrandize1 to exaggerate in idea1 to carry to perfection by dint of abstraction1 the moral qualities of man2 they are unsuitable to the ,divinity2 in vain it is asserted they are in him of a different nature from what they are in his creatures2 that they are perfect2 infinite2 supreme2 eminent2 in holding this language1 they no longer understand themselves2 they can have no one idea of the qualities they are describing1 seeing that man can never have a conception of them1 but inasmuch as they bear an analogy to the same qualities in himself4 ,it is thus that by force of metaphysical subtilty1 mortals have no longer any fixed1 any determinate idea of the beings to which they have given birth4 ,but little contented with understanding physical causes1 with contemplating active nature2 weary of examining matter1 which experience proves is competent to the production of every thing1 man has been desirous to despoil it of the energy which it is its essence to possess1 in order to invest it in a pure spirit2 in an immaterial substance2 which he is under the necessity of re-making a material being1 whenever he has an inclination either to form an idea of it to himself1 or make it understood by others4 ,in assembling the parts of man1 which he does no more than enlarge1 which he swells out to infinity1 he believes he forms an immaterial being1 who1 for that reason1 acquires the capability of performing all those phenomena1 with the true causes of which he is ignorant2 nevertheless those operations of which he does comprehend the spring1 he as sedulously denies to be due to the powers of this being2 time1 therefore1 according to these ideas1 as he advances the progress of science1 as he further developes the secrets of nature1 is continually diminishing the number of actions ascribed to this being--is constantly circumscribing his sphere of action4 ,it is upon the model of the human soul that he forms the soul of nature1 or that secret agent from which she receives impulse4 ,after having made himself double1 he makes nature in like manner twofold1 and then he supposes she is vivified by an intelligence1 which he borrows from himself1 ,placed in an impossibility of becoming acquainted with this agent1 as well as with that which he has gratuitously distinguished from his own body2 he has invented the word spiritual to cover up his ignorance2 which is only in other words avowing it is a substance entirely unknown to him4 ,from that moment1 however1 he has no ideas whatever of what he himself has done2 because he first clothes it with all the qualities he esteems in his fellows1 and then destroys them by an assurance1 that they in no wise resemble the qualities he has been so anxious to bestow4 ,to remedy this inconvenience1 he concludes this spiritual substance much more noble than matter2 that its prodigious subtilty1 which he calls simplicity1 but which is only the effect of metaphysical abstraction1 secures it from decomposition1 from dissolution1 from all those revolutions1 to which material bodies1 as produced by nature1 are evidently exposed4 ,it is thus1 that man always prefers the marvellous to the simple2 the unintelligible to the intelligible2 that which he cannot comprehend1 to that which is within the range of his understanding2 he despises those objects which are familiar to him2 he estimates those alone with which he is incapable of having any intercourse3 that of which he has only confused vague ideas1 he concludes must contain something important for him to know--must have something supernatural in its construction4 ,in short1 he needs mystery to move his imagination--to exercise his mind--to feed his curiosity2 which never labours harder1 than when it is occupied with enigmas impossible to be guessed at2 which from that very circumstance1 he judges to be extremely worthy of his research4 ,this1 without doubt1 is the reason he looks upon matter1 which he has continually under his eyes1 which he sees perpetually in action1 eternally changing its form1 as a contemptible thing--as a contingent being1 that does not exist necessarily2 consequently1 that cannot exist independently3 this is the reason why he has imagined a spirit1 which he will never be able to conceive2 which on that account he declares to be superior to matter2 which he roundly asserts to be anterior to nature1 and the only self-existent being4 ,the human wind found food in these mystical ideas1 they unceasingly occupied it2 the imagination had play1 it embellished them after its own manner3 ignorance fed itself with the fables to which these mysteries gave rise2 habit identified them with the existence of man himself3 when each could ask the other concerning these ideas1 without any one being in a capacity to return a direct answer1 he felt himself gratified1 he immediately concluded that the general impossibility of reply stamped them with the wondrous faculty of immediately interesting his welfare2 of involving his most prominent interests1 more than all the things put together1 with which he had any possible means of becoming intimately acquainted4 ,thus they became necessary to his happiness2 he believed he fell into a vacuum without them2 he became the decided enemy to all those who endeavoured to lead him back to nature1 which he had learned to despise2 to consider only as an impotent mass1 an heap of inert matter1 not possessing any energy but what it received from causes exterior to itself2 as a contemptible assemblage of fragile combinations1 whose forms were continually subject to perish4 ,in distinguishing nature from her mover1 man has fallen into the same absurdity as when he separated his soul from his body2 life from the living being2 the faculty of thought from the thinking being3 deceived on his own peculiar nature1 having taken up an erroneous opinion upon the energy of his own organs1 he has in like manner been deceived upon the organization of the universe2 he has distinguished nature from herself2 the life of nature from living nature2 the action of nature from active nature4 ,it was this soul of the world--this energy of nature--this principle of activity1 which man first personified1 then separated by abstraction2 sometimes decorated with imaginary attributes2 sometimes with qualities borrowed from his own peculiar essence4 ,such were the aerial materials of which man availed himself to construct the incomprehensible1 immaterial substances1 which have filled the world with disputes--which have divided man from his fellow--which to this day he has never been able to define1 even to his own satisfaction4 ,his own soul was the model4 ,deceived upon the nature of this1 he never had any just ideas of the ,divinity1 who was1 in his mind1 nothing more than a copy exaggerated or disfigured to that degree1 as to make him mistake the prototype upon which it had been originally formed4 ,if1 because man has distinguished himself from his own existence1 it has been impossible for him ever to form to himself any true idea of his own nature2 it is also because he has distinguished nature from herself1 that both herself and her ways have been mistaken4 ,man has ceased to study nature1 that he might1 recur by thought to a substance which possesses nothing in common with her2 this substance he has made the mover of nature1 without which she would not be capable of any thing2 to whom every thing that takes place in her system1 must be attributed2 the conduct of this being has appeared mysterious1 has been held up as marvellous1 because he seemed to be a continual contradiction3 when if man had but recurred to the immutability of the laws of nature1 to the invariable system she pursues1 all would have appeared intelligible2 every thing would have been reconciled2 the apparent contrariety would have vanished4 ,by thus taking a wrong view of things1 wisdom and intelligence appeared to be opposed by confusion and disorder2 goodness to be rendered nugatory by evil2 while all is only just what it must inevitably be1 under the given circumstances4 ,in consequence of these erroneous opinions1 in the place of applying himself to the study of nature1 to discover the method of obtaining her favors1 or to seek the means of throwing aside his misfortunes2 in the room of consulting his experience2 in lieu of labouring usefully to his own happiness2 he has been only occupied with expecting these things by channels through which they do not flow2 he has been disputing upon objects be never can understand1 while he has totally neglected that which was within the compass of his own powers2 which he might have rendered propitious to his views1 by a more industrious application of his own talent2 by a patient investigation1 for the purpose of drawing at the fountain of truth1 the limpid balsam that alone can heal the sorrows or his heart4 ,nothing could be well more prejudicial to his race1 than this extravagant theory2 which1 as we shall prove1 has become the source of innumerable evils4 ,man has been for thousands of years trembling before idols of his own creation--bowing down before them with the most servile homage--occupied with disarming their wrath--sedulously employed in propitiating their kindness1 without ever advancing a single step on the road he so much desires to travel4 ,he will perhaps continue the same course for centuries to come1 unless by some unlooked for exertion on his part1 he shall happen to discard the prejudices which blind him2 to lay aside his enthusiasm for the marvellous2 to quit his fondness for the enigmatical2 rally round the standard of his reason3 unless1 taking experience for his guide1 he march undauntedly forward under the banner of truth1 and put to the rout that host of unintelligible jargon1 under the cumbrous load of which he has lost sight of his own happiness2 which has but too frequently prevented him from seeking the only means adequate either to satisfy his wants1 or to ameliorate the evils which he is necessarily obliged to experience4 ,let us then re-conduct bewildered mortals to the altar of nature2 let us endeavour to destroy that delusion which the ignorance of man1 aided by a disordered imagination1 has induced him to elevate to her throne2 let us strive to dissipate that heavy mist which obscures to him the paths of truth2 let us seek to banish from his mind those visionary ideas which prevent him from giving activity to his experience2 let us teach him if possible not to seek out of nature herself1 the causes of the phenomena he admires--to rest satisfied that she contains remedies for all his evils--that she has manifold benefits in store for those1 who1 rallying their industry1 are willingly patiently to investigate her laws--that she rarely withholds her secrets from the researches of those who diligently labour to unravel them4 ,let us assure him that reason alone can render him happy2 that reason is nothing more than the science of nature1 applied to the conduct of man in society2 that this reason teaches that every thing is necessary2 that his pleasures as well as his sorrows are the effects of nature1 who in all her works follows only laws which nothing can make her revoke2 that his interest demands he should learn to support with equanimity of mind1 all those evils which natural means do not enable him to put aside4 ,in short1 let us unceasingly repeat to him1 it is in rendering his fellow creature happy1 that he will himself arrive at a felicity he will in vain expect from others1 when his own conduct refuses it to him4 ,nature is self-existent2 she will always exist2 she produces every thing2 contains within herself the cause of every thing2 her motion is a necessary consequence of her existence2 without motion we could form no conception of nature2 under this collective name we designate the assemblage of matter acting by virtue of its peculiar energies4 ,every thing proves to us1 that it is not out of nature man ought to seek the ,divinity4 ,if we have only an incomplete knowledge of nature and her ways--if we have only superficial1 imperfect ideas of matter1 how shall we be able to flatter ourselves with understanding or having any certain notions of immateriality1 of beings so much more fugitive1 so much more difficult to compass1 even by thought1 than the material elements2 so much more shy of access than either the constituent principles of bodies1 their primitive properties1 their various modes of acting1 or their different manner of existing8 ,if we cannot recur to first causes1 let its content ourselves with second causes1 with those effects which we can submit to experience1 let us collect the facts with which we have an acquaintance2 they will enable us to judge of what we do not know3 let us at least confine ourselves to the feeble glimmerings of truth with which our senses furnish us1 since we do not possess means whereby to acquire broader masses of light4 ,do not let us mistake for real sciences1 those which have no other basis than our imagination2 we shall find that such can at most be but visionary3 let us cling close to nature which we see1 which we feel1 of which we experience the action2 of which at least we understand the general laws4 ,if we are ignorant of her detail1 if we cannot fathom the secret principles she employs in her most complicated productions1 we are at least certain she acts in a permanent1 uniform1 analogous1 necessary manner4 ,let us then observe this nature2 let us watch her movements2 but never let us endeavour to quit the routine she prescribes for the beings of our species3 if we do1 we shall not only be obliged to return1 but we shall also infallibly be punished with numberless errors1 which will darken our mind1 estrange us from reason2 the necessary consequence will be countless sorrows1 which we may otherwise avoid4 ,let us consider we are sensible parts of a whole1 in which the forms are only produced to be destroyed2 in which combinations are ushered into life1 that they may again quit it1 after having subsisted for a longer or a shorter season4 ,let us look upon nature as an immense elaboratory which contains every thing necessary for her action2 who lacks nothing requisite for the production of all the phenomena she displays to our sight4 ,let us acknowledge her power to be inherent in her essence2 amply commensurate to her eternal march2 fully adequate to the happiness of all the beings she contains4 ,let us consider her as a whole1 who can only maintain herself by what we call the discord of the elements2 that she exists by the continual dissolution and re-union of her parts2 that from this springs the universal harmony2 that from this the general stability has its birth4 ,let us then re-establish omnipotent nature1 so long mistaken by man1 in her legitimate rights4 ,let us place her on that adamantine throne1 which it is for the felicity of the human race she should occupy4 ,let us surround her with those ministers who can never deceive1 who can never forfeit our confidence--,justice and ,practical ,knowledge4 ,let us listen to her eternal voice2 she neither speaks ambiguously1 nor in an unintelligible language2 she may be easily comprehended by the people of all nations2 because ,reason is her faithful interpreter4 ,she offers nothing to our contemplation but immutable truths4 ,let us then for ever impose silence on that enthusiasm which leads us astray2 let us put to the blush that imposture which would riot on our credulity2 let us discard that gloomy superstition1 which has drawn us aside from the only worship suitable to intelligent beings4 ,above all1 never let us forget that the temple of happiness can only be reached through the groves of virtue1 which surround it on every side2 that the paths which lead to these beautiful walks can only be entered by the road of experience1 the portals of which are alone opened to those who apply to them the key of truth3 this key is of very simple structure1 has no complicated intricacy of wards1 and is easily formed on the anvil of social intercourse1 merely by not doing unto others that which you would not wish they should do unto you4 ,,chap4 ,,vii4 ,of ,theism4--,of the ,system of ,optimism4--,of final ,causes4 ,very few men have either the courage or the industry to examine opinions1 which every one is in agreement to acknowledge2 there is scarcely any one who ventures to doubt their truth1 even when no solid arguments have been adduced in their support4 ,the natural supineness of man readily receives them without examination upon the authority of others--communicates them to his successors in the season of their infancy2 thus is transmitted from race to race1 notions which once having obtained the sanction of time1 are contemplated as clothed with a sacred character1 although perhaps to an unprejudiced mind1 who should be bent on searching into their foundation1 no proofs will appear1 that they ever were verified4 ,it is thus with immateriality3 it has passed current from father to son for many ages1 without these having done any thing more than habitually consign to their brain those obscure ideas which were at first attached to it1 which it is evident1 from the admission even of its advocates1 can never be removed1 to admit others of a more enlightened nature4 ,indeed how can it possibly be1 that light can be thrown upon an incomprehensible subject3 each therefore modifies it after his own manner2 each gives it that colouring that most harmonizes with his own peculiar existence2 each contemplates it under that perspective which is the issue of his own particular vision3 this from the nature of things cannot be the same in every individual3 there must then of necessity be a great contrariety in the opinions resulting4 ,it is thus also that each man forms to himself a ,god in particular1 after his own peculiar temperament--according to his own natural dispositions3 the individual circumstances under which he is found1 the warmth of his imagination1 the prejudices he has received1 the mode in which he is at different times affected1 have all their influence in the picture he forms4 ,the contented1 healthy man1 does not see him with the same eyes as the man who is chagrined and sick2 the man with a heated blood1 who has an ardent imagination1 or is subject to bile1 does not pourtray him under the same traits as he who enjoys a more peaceable soul1 who has a cooler fancy1 who is of a more phlegmatic habit4 ,this is not all2 even the same individual does not view him in the same manner at different periods of his life3 he undergoes all the variations of his machine--all the revolutions of his temperament--all those continual vicissitudes which his existence experiences4 ,the idea of the ,divinity is said to be innate2 on the contrary1 it is perpetually fluctuating in the mind of each individual2 varies every moment in all the beings of the human species2 so much so1 that there are not two who admit precisely the same ,deity2 there is not a single one1 who1 under different circumstances1 does not see him variously4 ,do not then let us be surprised at the variety of systems adopted by mankind on this subject2 it ought not to astonish us that there is so little harmony existing among men upon a point of such consequence2 it ought not to appear strange that so much contradiction should prevail in the various doctrines held forth2 that they should have such little consistency1 such slender connection with each other2 that the professors should dispute continually upon the rectitude of the opinions adopted by each3 they must necessarily wrangle upon that which each contemplates so variously--upon which there is hardly a single mortal who is constantly in accord with himself4 ,all men are pretty well agreed upon those objects which they are enabled to submit to the test of experience2 we do not hear any disputes upon the principles of geometry2 those truths that are evident1 that are easily demonstrable1 never vary in our mind2 we never doubt that the part is less than the whole2 that two and two make four2 that benevolence is an amiable quality2 that equity is necessary to man in society4 ,but we find nothing but perpetual controversy upon all those systems which have the ,divinity for their object2 they are full of incertitude2 subject to continual variations3 we do not see any harmony either in the principles of theology1 or in the principles of its graduates4 ,even the proofs offered of his existence have been the subject of cavil2 they have either been thought too feeble1 have been brought forward against rule1 or else have not been taken up with sufficient zeal to please the various reasoners who advocate the cause2 the corollaries drawn from the premises laid down1 are not the same in any two nations1 scarcely in two individuals2 the thinkers of all ages1 in all countries1 are perpetually in rivalry with each other2 unceasingly quarrel upon all the points of religion2 can never agree either upon their theological hypotheses1 or upon the fundamental truths which should serve for their basis2 even the attributes1 the very qualities ascribed1 are as warmly contested by some1 as they are zealously defended by others4 ,these never-ending disputes1 these perpetual variations1 ought1 at least1 to convince the unprejudiced1 that the ideas of the ,divinity have neither the generally-admitted evidence1 nor the certitude which are attributed to them2 on the contrary1 these contrarieties in the opinions of the theologians1 if submitted to the logic of the schools1 might be fatal to the whole of them3 according to that mode of reasoning1 which at least has the sanction of our universities1 all the probabilities in the world cannot acquire the force of a demonstration2 a truth is not made evident but when constant experience1 reiterated reflection1 exhibits it always under the same point of view2 the evidence of a proposition cannot be admitted unless it carries with it a substantive demonstration2 from the constant relation which is made by well constituted senses1 results that evidence1 that certitude1 which alone can produce full conviction3 if the major proposition of a syllogism should be overturned by the minor1 the whole falls to the ground4 ,cicero1 who is no mean authority on such a subject1 says expressly1 ,no reasoning can render that false1 which experience has demonstrated as evident4 ,wolff1 in his ,ontology1 says2 ,that which is repugnant in itself1 cannot possibly be understood2 that those things which are in themselves contradictions1 must always be deficient of evidence4 ,st4 ,thomas says1 ,being1 is all that which is not repugnant to existence4 ,however it may be with these qualities1 which the theologians assign to their immaterial beings1 whether they may be irreconcileable1 or whether they are totally incomprehensible1 what can result to the human species in supposing them to have intelligence and views8 ,can an universal intelligence1 whose care must be equally extended to every thing that exists1 have more direct1 more intimate relations with man1 who only forms an insensible portion of the great whole8 ,can we seriously believe that it is to make joyful the insects1 to gratify the ants of his garden1 that the ,monarch of the universe has constructed and embellished his habitation8 ,would our feeble eyes1 therefore1 become stronger--would our narrow views of things be enlarged--should we be better capacitated to understand his projects--could we with more certitude divine his plans1 enter into his designs--would our exility of judgment be competent to measure his wisdom1 to follow the eternal order he has established8 ,will those effects1 which flow from his omnipotence1 emanate from his providence--whether we estimate them as good1 or whether we tax them as evil--whether we consider them beneficial1 or view them as prejudicial--be less the necessary results of his wisdom1 of his justice1 of his eternal decrees8 ,in this case can we reasonably suppose that a ,being1 so wise1 so just1 so intelligent1 will derange his system1 change his plan1 for such weak beings as ourselves8 ,can we rationally believe we have the capacity to address worthy prayers1 to make suitable requests1 to point out proper modes of conduct to such a ,being8 ,can we at all flatter ourselves that to please us1 to gratify our discordant wishes1 he will alter his immutable laws8 ,can we imagine that at our entreaty he will take from the beings who surround us their essences1 their properties1 their various modes of action8 ,have we any right to expect he will abrogate in our behalf the eternal laws of nature1 that he will disturb her eternal march1 arrest her ever-lasting course1 which his wisdom has planned2 which his goodness has conferred2 which are1 in fact1 the admiration of mankind8 ,can we hope that in our favour fire will cease to burn1 when we approximate it too closely2 that fever shall not consume our habit1 when contagion has penetrated our system2 that gout shall not torment us1 when an intemperate mode of life shall have amassed the humours that necessarily result from such conduct2 that an edifice tumbling in ruins shall not crush us by its fall1 when we are within the vortex of its action8 ,will our vain cries1 our most fervent supplications1 prevent a country from being unhappy1 when it shall be devastated by an ambitious conqueror2 when it shall be submitted to the capricious will of unfeeling tyrants1 who bend it beneath the iron rod of their oppression8 ,if this infinite intelligence gives a free course to those events which his wisdom has prepared2 if nothing happens in this world but after his impenetrable designs2 we ought silently to submit2 we have in fact nothing to ask2 we should be madmen to oppose our own weak intellect to such capacious wisdom2 we should offer an insult to his prudence if we were desirous to regulate them4 ,man must not flatter himself that he is wiser than his ,god2 that he is in a capacity to make him change his will2 with having power to determine him to take other means than those which he has chosen to accomplish his decrees4 ,an intelligent ,divinity can only have taken those measures which embrace complete justice2 can only have availed himself of those means which are best calculated to arrive at his end2 if he was capable of changing them1 he could neither be called wise1 immutable1 nor provident4 ,if it was to be granted1 that the ,divinity did for a single instant suspend those laws which he himself has given1 if he was to change any thing in his plan1 it would be supposing he had not foreseen the motives of this suspension2 that he had not calculated the causes of this change2 if he did not make these motives enter into his plan1 it would be saying he had not foreseen the causes that render them necessary3 if he has foreseen them without making them part of his system1 it would be arraigning the perfection of the whole4 ,thus in whatever manner these things are contemplated1 under whatever point of view they are examined1 it is evident that the prayers which man addresses to the ,divinity1 which are sanctioned by the different modes of worship1 always suppose he is supplicating a being whose wisdom and providence are defective2 in fact1 that his own is more appropriate to his situation4 ,to suppose he is capable of change in his conduct1 is to bring his omniscience into question2 to vitally attack his omnipotence2 to arraign his goodness2 at once to say1 that he either is not willing or not competent to judge what would be most expedient for man2 for whose sole advantage and pleasure they will1 notwithstanding1 insist he created the universe3 such are the inconsistent doctrines of theology2 such the imbecile efforts of metaphysics4 ,it is1 however1 upon these notions1 extravagant as they may appear1 ill directed as they assuredly are1 inconclusive as they must be acknowledged by unprejudiced minds1 that are founded all the superstitions and many of the religions of the earth4 ,it is by no means an uncommon sight1 to see man upon his knees before an all-wise ,god1 whose conduct he is endeavouring to regulate2 whose decrees he wishes to avert2 whose plan he is desirous to reform4 ,these inconsistent objects he is occupied with gaining1 by means equally repugnant to sound sense2 equally injurious to the dignity of the ,divinity3 adopting his own sensations as the criterion of the feelings of the ,deity2 in some places he tries to win him to his interests by presents2 sometimes we behold even the princes of the earth attempting to direct his views1 by offering him splendid garments1 upon which their own fatuity sets an inordinate value1 merely because they have laboured at them themselves2 some strive to disarm his justice by the most splendid pageantry2 others by practices the most revolting to humanity2 some think his immutability will yield to idle ceremonies2 others to the most discordant prayers2 it not unfrequently happens that to induce him to change in their favour his eternal decrees1 those who have opposite interests to promote1 each returns him thanks for that which the others consider as the greatest curse that can befal them4 ,in short1 man is almost every where prostrate before an omnipotent ,god1 who1 if we were to judge by the discrepancy of their requests1 never has rendered his creatures such as they ought to be2 who to accomplish his divine views has never taken the proper measures1 who to fulfil his wisdom has continual need of the admonitions of man1 conveyed either in the form of thanks or prayers4 ,we see1 then1 that superstition is founded upon manifest contradictions1 which man must always fall into when he mistakes the natural causes of things--when he shall attribute the good or evil which he experiences to an intelligent cause1 distinguished from nature1 of which he will never be competent to form to himself any certain ideas4 ,indeed1 man will always be reduced1 as we have so frequently repeated1 to the necessity of clothing his gods with his own imbecile qualities3 as he is himself a changeable being1 whose intelligence is limited2 who1 placed in divers circumstances1 appears to be frequently in contradiction with himself2 although he thinks he honours his gods in giving them his own peculiar qualities1 he in fact does nothing more than lend them his own inconstancy1 cover them with his own weakness1 invest them with his own vices4 ,it is thus that in reasoning1 he is unable to account for the necessity of things--that he imagines there is a confusion which his prayers will have a tendency to remove--that he thinks the evils of life more than commensurate with the good3 he does not perceive that an undeviating system1 by operating upon beings diversely organized1 whose circumstances are different1 whose modes of action are at variance1 must of necessity sometimes appear to be inimical to the interests of the individual1 while it embraces the general good of the whole4 ,the theologian may subtilize1 exaggerate1 render as unintelligible as he pleases1 the attributes with which he clothes his divinities1 he will never be able to remove the contradictions which arise from the discordant qualities which he thus heaps together2 neither will he be able to give man any other mode of judging than what arises from the exercise of his senses1 such as they are actually found4 ,he will never be able to furnish the idea of an immutable being1 while he shall represent this being as capable of being irritated and appeased by the prayers of mortals4 ,he will never delineate the features of omnipotence under the portrait of a being who cannot restrain the actions of his inferiors4 ,he will never hold up a standard of justice1 while he shall mingle it with mercy1 however amiable the quality2 or while he shall represent it as punishing those actions1 which the perpetrators were under the necessity of committing4 ,neither will he be able1 under any circumstances1 to make a finite mind comprehend infinity2 much less when he shall represent this infinity as bounded by finity itself4 ,from this it will be obvious1 that immaterial substances1 such as are depicted by the theologians1 can only be looked upon as the offspring of a metaphysical brain1 unsupported by any of those proofs which are usually required to establish the propositions laid down among men2 all the qualities which they ascribe to them1 are only those which are suitable to material substances2 all the abstract properties with which they invest them1 are incomprehensible by material beings2 the whole taken together1 is one confused mass of contradictions3 they have held forth to man1 that it highly imported to his interests to know1 to understand these substances2 he has consequently set his intellect in action to discover some means of compassing an end1 said to be so consequential to his welfare2 he has1 however1 been unable to make any progress1 because no clue could be offered to him of the road he must pursue2 all was mere assertion unsupported by evidence2 the whole was enveloped in complete darkness1 into which the least scintillation of light could never penetrate4 ,notwithstanding1 as soon as man believes himself greatly interested in knowing a thing1 he labors to form to himself an idea of that1 the knowledge of which he thinks so important2 if insuperable obstacles impede his inquiries--if difficulties of a magnitude to alarm his industry intervene--if with immense labour he makes but little progress1 then the slender success that attends his research1 aided by a slothful disposition1 while it wearies his diligence disposes him to credulity4 ,it was thus1 that a crafty ambitious ,arab1 subtle and knavish in his manners1 insinuating in his address1 profiting by this credulous inclination1 made his countrymen adopt his own fanciful reveries as permanent truths1 of which it was not permitted them for an instant to doubt2 following up these opinions with enthusiasm1 he stimulated them on to become conquerors2 obliging the conquered to lend themselves to his system1 he gave currency to a creed1 invented solely for the purpose of enslaving mankind1 which now spreads over immense regions inhabited by a numerous population1 although like other systems it does not escape sectarianism1 having above seventy branches4 ,thus ignorance1 despair1 sloth1 the want of reflecting habits1 place the human race in a state of dependance upon those who build up systems1 while upon the objects which are the foundations1 they have no one settled idea3 once adopted1 however1 whenever these systems are brought into question1 man either reasons in a very strange manner1 or else is the dupe of very deceitful arguments3 when they are agitated1 and he finds it impossible to understand what is said concerning them when his mind cannot embrace the ambiguity of these doctrines1 he imagines those who speak to him are better acquainted with the objects of their discourse than himself2 these seizing the favourable opportunity1 do not let it slip1 they reiterate to him with ,stentorian lungs1 ,that the most certain way is to agree with what they tell him2 to allow himself to be guided by them2 in short1 they persuade him to shut his eyes1 that he may with greater perspicuity distinguish the road he is to travel3 once arrived at this influence1 they indelibly fix their lessons2 irrevocably chain him to the oar2 by holding up to his view the punishments intended for him by these imaginary beings1 in case he refuses to accredit1 in the most liberal manner1 their marvellous inventions2 this argument1 although it only supposes the thing in question1 serves to close his mouth--to put an end to his research2 alarmed1 confused1 bewildered1 he seems convinced by this victorious reasoning--attaches to it a sacredness that fills him with awe--blindly conceives that they have much clearer ideas of the subject than himself--fears to perceive the palpable contradictions of the doctrines announced to him1 until1 perhaps1 some being1 more subtle than those who have enslaved him1 by labouring the point incessantly1 attacking him on the weak side of his interest1 arrives at throwing the absurdity of his system into light1 and finally succeeds by inducing him to adopt that of another set of speculators4 ,the uninformed man generally believes his priests have more senses than himself2 he takes them for superior beings2 for divine men4 ,he only sees that which these priests inform him he must contemplate2 to every thing else his eyes are completely hoodwinked2 thus the authority of the priests frequently decides1 without appeal1 that which is useful perhaps only to the priesthood4 ,when we shall be disposed to recur to the origin of things1 we shall ever find that it has been man's imagination1 guided by his ignorance1 under the influence of fear1 which gave birth to his gods2 that enthusiasm or imposture have generally either embellished or disfigured them2 that credulity readily adopted the fabulous accounts which interested duplicity promulgated respecting them2 that these dispositions1 sanctioned by time1 became habitual4 ,tyrants finding their advantage in sustaining them1 have usually established their power upon the blindness of mankind1 and the superstitious fears with which it is always accompanied4 ,thus1 under whatever point of view it is considered1 it will always be found that error cannot be useful to the human species4 ,nevertheless1 the happy enthusiast1 when his soul is sensible of its enjoyments1 when his softened imagination has occasion to paint to itself a seducing object1 to which he can render thanks for the kindness he experiences1 will ask1 ,wherefore deprive me of a being that ,i see under the character of a sovereign1 filled with wisdom1 abounding in goodness8 ,what comfort do ,i not find in figuring to myself a powerful1 intelligent1 indulgent monarch1 of whom ,i am the favorite2 who continually occupies himself with my welfare--unceasingly watches over my safety--who perpetually administers to my wants--who always consents that under him ,i shall command the whole of nature8 ,i believe ,i behold him constantly showering his benefits on man2 ,i see his ,providence labouring for his advantage without relaxation2 he covers the earth with verdure to delight him2 he loads the trees with delicious fruits to gratify his palate2 he fills the forests with animals suitable to his nourishment2 he suspends over his head planets with innumerable stars1 to enlighten him by day1 to guide his erring steps by night2 he extends around him the azure firmament to gladden his sight2 he decorates the meadows with flowers to please his fancy2 he causes crystal fountains to flow with limpid streams to slake his thirst2 he makes rivulets meander through his lands to fructify the earth2 he washes his residence with noble rivers1 that yield him fish in abundance4 ,ah6 suffer me to thank thee1 ,author of so many benefits3 do not deprive me of my charming sensations4 ,i shall not find my illusions so sweet1 so consolatory in a severe destiny--in a rigid necessity--in a blind inanimate matter--in a nature destitute of intelligence1 devoid of feeling4 ,wherefore1 will say the unfortunate1 from whom his destiny has rigorously withheld those benefits which have been lavished on so many others2 wherefore ravish from me an error that is dear to me8 ,wherefore annihilate to me a being1 whose consoling idea dries up the source of my tears--who serves to calm my sorrows8 ,wherefore deprive me of an object which ,i represent to myself as a compassionate1 tender father2 who reproves me in this world1 but into whose arms ,i throw myself with confidence1 when the whole of nature appears to have abandoned me8 ,supposing it no more than a chimera1 the unhappy have occasion for it1 to guarantee them against frightful despair3 is it not cruel1 is it not inhuman1 to be desirous of plunging them into a vacuum1 by seeking to undeceive them8 ,is it not an useful error1 preferable to those truths which deprive the mind of every consolation1 which do not hold forth any relief from its sorrows8 ,thus will equally reason the ,negro1 the ,mussulman1 the ,brachman1 and others4 ,we shall reply to these enthusiasts1 no6 truth can never render you unhappy2 it is this which really consoles us2 it is a concealed treasure1 much superior to all the superstitions ever invented by fear2 it can cheer the heart2 give it courage to support the burthens of life2 make us smile under adversity2 elevate the soul2 render it active2 furnishes it with means to resist the attacks of fate2 to combat misfortunes with success4 ,this will shew clearly that the good and evil of life are distributed with an equal hand1 without respect to man's peculiar comforts2 that all beings are equally regarded in the universe2 that every thing is submitted to necessary laws2 that man has no right whatever to think himself a being peculiarly favoured--who is exempted from the common operations of the eternal routine2 that it is folly to think he is the only being considered--one for whose enjoyment alone every thing is produced2 an attention to facts will suffice to put an end to this delusion1 however pleasant may be the indulgence of such a notion2 the most superficial glance of the eye will be sufficient to undeceive us in the idea1 that he is the final cause of the creation--the constant object of the labours of nature1 or of its ,author4 ,let us seriously ask him1 if he does not witness good constantly blended with evil8 ,if he does not equally partake of them with the other beings in nature8 ,to be obstinately bent to see only the evil1 is as irrational as to be willing only to notice the good4 ,providence seems to be just as much occupied for one class of beings as for another4 ,we see the calm succeed the storm2 sickness give place to health2 the blessings of peace follow the calamities of war2 the earth in every country bring forth roots necessary for the nourishment of man1 produce others suitable to his destruction4 ,each individual of the human species is a compound of good and bad qualities2 all nations present a varied spectacle of virtues1 growing up beside vices2 that which gladdens one being1 plunges another into sadness--no event takes place that does not give birth to advantages for some1 to disadvantages for others4 ,insects find a safe retreat in the ruin of the palace1 which crushes man in its fall2 man by his death furnishes food for myriads of contemptible insects2 animals are destroyed by thousands that he may increase his bulk2 linger out for a season a feverish existence4 ,we see beings engaged in perpetual hostility1 each living at his neighbour's expence2 the one banquetting upon that which causes the desolation of the other2 some luxuriously growing into flesh upon the misery which wears others into skeletons--profiting by misfortunes1 rioting upon disasters1 which ultimately1 reciprocally destroy them4 ,the most deadly poisons spring up beside the most wholesome fruits the earth equally nourishes the fatal steel which terminates man's career1 and the fruitful corn that prolongs his existence2 the bane and its antidote are near neighbours1 repose on the same bosom1 ripen under the same sun1 equally court the hand of the incautious stranger4 ,the rivers which man believes flow for no other purpose than to irrigate his residence1 sometimes swell their waters1 overtop their banks1 inundate his fields1 overturn his dwelling1 and sweep away the flock and shepherd4 ,the ocean1 which he vainly imagines was only collected together to facilitate his commerce supply him with fish1 and wash his shores2 often wrecks his ships1 frequently bursts its boundaries1 lays waste his lands1 destroys the produce of his industry1 and commits the most frightful ravages4 ,the halcyon1 delighted with the tempest1 voluntarily mingles with the storm2 rides contentedly upon the surge2 rejoiced by the fearful howlings of the northern blast1 plays with happy buoyancy upon the foaming billows1 that have ruthlessly dashed in pieces the vessel of the unfortunate mariner2 who1 plunged into an abyss of misery1 with tremulous emotion clings to the wreck2 views with horrific despair1 the premature destruction of his indulged hopes2 sighs deeply at the thoughts of home2 with aching heart1 thinks of the cherished friends his streaming eyes will never more behold in an agony of soul dwells upon the faithful affection of an adored wife1 who will never again repose her drooping head upon his manly bosom2 grows wild with the appalling remembrance of beloved children1 his wearied arms will never more encircle with parental fondness2 then sinks for ever1 the unhappy victim of circumstances that fill with glee the fluttering bird1 who sees him yield to the overwhelming force of the infuriate waves4 ,the conqueror displays his military skill1 fights a sanguinary battle1 puts his enemy to the rout1 lays waste his country1 slaughters thousands of his fellows1 plunges whole districts into tears1 fills the land with the moans of the fatherless1 the wailings of the widow1 in order that the crows may have a banquet--that ferocious beasts may gluttonously gorge themselves with human gore--that worms may riot in luxury4 ,thus when there is a question concerning an agent we see act so variously2 whose motives seem sometimes to be advantageous1 sometimes disadvantageous for the human race2 at least each individual will judge after the peculiar mode in which he is himself affected2 there will consequently be no fixed point1 no general standard in the opinions men will form to themselves4 ,indeed our mode of judging will always be governed by our manner of seeing1 by our way of feeling4 ,this will depend upon our temperament1 which itself springs out of our organization1 and the peculiarity of the circumstances in which we are placed2 these can never be the same for all the beings of our species4 ,these individual modes of being affected1 then1 will always furnish the colours of the portrait which man may paint to himself of the ,divinity2 it must therefore be obvious they can never be determinate--can have no fixity--can never be reduced to any graduated scale2 the inductions which they may draw from them1 can never be either constant or uniform2 each will always judge after himself1 will never see any thing but himself or his own peculiar situation in the picture he delineates4 ,this granted1 the man who has a contented1 sensible soul1 with a lively imagination1 will paint the ,divinity under the most charming traits2 he will believe that he sees in the whole of nature nothing but proofs of benevolence1 evidence of goodness1 because it will unceasingly cause him agreeable sensations4 ,in his poetical extacy he will imagine he every where perceives the impression of a perfect intelligence--of an infinite wisdom--of a providence tenderly occupied with the welfare of man2 self-love joining itself to these exalted qualities1 will put the finishing hand to his persuasion1 that the universe is made solely for the human race2 he will strive in imagination to kiss with transport the hand from which he believes he receives so many benefits2 touched with his kindness1 gratified with the perfume of roses whose thorns he does not perceive1 or which his extatic delirium prevents him from feeling1 he will think he can never sufficiently acknowledge the necessary effects1 which he will look upon as indubitable testimony of the divine predilection for man4 ,completely inebriated with these feelings1 this enthusiast will not behold those sorrows1 will not notice that confusion of which the universe is the theatre3 or if it so happens1 he cannot prevent himself from being a witness1 he will be persuaded that in the views of an indulgent providence1 these calamities are necessary to conduct man to a higher state of felicity2 the reliance which he has in the ,divinity1 upon whom he imagines they depend1 induces him to believe1 that man only suffers for his good2 that this being1 who is fruitful in resources1 will know how to make him reap advantage from the evils which he experiences in this world3 his mind thus pre-occupied1 from thence sees nothing that does not elicit his admiration call forth his gratitude2 excite his confidence2 even those effects which are the most natural1 the most necessary1 appear in his eyes miracles of benevolence2 prodigies of goodness3 he shuts his eyes to the disorders which could bring these amiable qualities into question3 the most cruel calamities1 the most afflicting events1 the most heart-rending circumstances1 cease to be disorders in his eyes1 and do nothing1 more than furnish him with new proofs of the divine perfections2 he persuades himself that what appears defective or imperfect1 is only so in appearance2 he admires the wisdom1 acknowledges the bounty of the ,divinity1 even in those effects which are the most terrible for his race--most suitable to discourage his species--most fraught with misery for his fellow4 ,it is1 without doubt1 to this happy disposition of the human mind1 in some beings of his order1 that is to be ascribed the system of ,optimism1 by which enthusiasts1 furnished with a romantic imagination1 seem to have renounced the evidence of their senses3 to find that even for man every thing is good in nature1 where the good has constantly its concomitant evil1 and where minds less prejudiced1 less poetical1 would judge that every thing is only that which it can be--that the good and the evil are equally necessary--that they have their source in the nature of things2 moreover1 in order to attribute any particular character to the events that take place1 it would be needful to know the aim of the whole3 now the whole cannot have an aim1 because if it had a tendency1 an aim1 or end1 it would no longer be the whole1 seeing that that to which it tended would be a part not included4 ,it will be asserted by some1 that the evils which we behold in this world are only relative1 merely apparent2 that they prove nothing against the good3 but does not man almost uniformly judge after his own mode of feeling2 after his manner of co-existing with those causes by which he is encompassed2 which constitute the order of nature with relation to himself2 consequently1 he ascribes wisdom and goodness to all that which affects him pleasantly1 disorder to that state of things by which he is injured4 ,nevertheless every thing which we witness in the world conspires to prove to us1 that whatever is1 is necessary2 that nothing is done by chance2 that all the events1 good or bad1 whether for us or for beings of a different order1 are brought about by causes acting after certain and determinate laws2 that nothing can he a sufficient warrantry in us to clothe with any one of our human qualities1 either nature or the motive-power which has been given to her4 ,with respect to those who pretend that supreme wisdom will know how to draw the greatest benefits for us1 even out of the bosom of those calamities which it is permitted we shall experience in this world2 we shall ask them1 if they are themselves the confidents of the ,divinity2 or upon what they found these assertions so flattering to their hopes8 ,they will1 without doubt1 tell us they judge by analogy2 that from the actual proofs of goodness and wisdom1 they have a just right to conclude in favour of future bounty4 ,would it not be a fair reply to ask1 ,if they reason by analogy1 and man has not been rendered completely happy in this world1 what analogy informs them he will be so in another8 ,if1 according to their own shewing1 man is sometimes made the victim of evil in his present existence1 in order that he may attain a greater good1 does not analogical reasoning1 which they say they adopt1 clearly warrant a deduction1 that the same afflictions1 for the same purposes1 will be equally proper1 equally requisite in the world to come8 ,thus this language founds itself upon ruinous hypotheses1 which have for their bases only a prejudiced imagination4 ,it1 in fact1 signifies nothing more than that man once persuaded1 without any evidence1 of his future happiness1 will not believe it possible he can be permitted to be unhappy3 but might it not be inquired what testimony does he find1 what substantive knowledge has he obtained of the peculiar good that results to the human species from those sterilities1 from those famines1 from those contagions1 from those sanguinary conflicts1 which cause so many millions of men to perish2 which unceasingly depopulate the earth1 and desolate the world we inhabit8 ,is there any one who has sufficient compass of comprehension to ascertain the advantages that result from the evils that besiege us on all sides8 ,do we not daily witness beings consecrated to misfortune1 from the moment they quitted the womb of the parent who brought them into existence1 until that which re-committed them to the earth1 to sleep in peace with their fathers2 who with great difficulty found time to respire2 lived the constant sport of fortune2 overwhelmed with affliction1 immersed in grief1 enduring the most cruel reverses8 ,who is to measure the precise quantity of misery required to derive a certain portion of good8 ,who is to say when the measure of evil will be full which it is necessary to suffer8 ,the most enthusiastic ,optimists1 the ,theists themselves1 the partizans of ,natural ,religion1 as well as the most credulous and superstitious1 are obliged to recur to the system of another life1 to remedy the evils man is decreed to suffer in the present2 but have they really any just foundation to suppose the next world will afford him a happiness denied him in this8 ,if it is necessary to recur to a doctrine so little probable as that of a future existence1 by what chain of reasoning do they establish their opinion1 that when he shall no longer have organs1 by the aid of which he is at present alone enabled either to enjoy or to suffer1 he shall be able to compensate the evils he has endured2 to enjoy a felicity1 to partake of a pleasure this organic structure has refused him while on his pilgrimage through the land of his fathers4 ,from this it will be seen1 that the proofs of a sovereign intelligence1 or of a magnified human quality drawn from the order1 from the harmony1 from the beauty of the universe1 are never more than those which are derived from men who are organized and modified after a certain mode2 or whose cheerful imagination is so constructed as to give birth to agreeable chimeras which they embellish according to their fancy3 these illusions1 however1 must be frequently dissipated even in themselves1 whenever their machine becomes deranged2 when sorrows assail them1 when misfortune corrodes their mind2 the spectacle of nature1 which under certain circumstances has appeared to them so delightful1 so seducing1 must then give place to disorder1 must yield to confusion4 ,a man of melancholy temperament1 soured by misfortunes1 made irritable by infirmities1 cannot view nature and her author under the same perspective1 as the healthy man of a sprightly humour1 who is contented with every thing4 ,deprived of happiness1 the fretful man can only find disorder1 can see nothing but deformity1 can find nothing but subjects to afflict himself with2 he only contemplates the universe as the theatre of malice1 as the stage for tyrants to execute their vengeance2 he grows superstitious1 he gives way to credulity1 and not unfrequently becomes cruel1 in order to serve a master whom he believes he has offended4 ,in consequence of these ideas1 which have their growth in an unhappy temperament1 which originate in a peevish humour1 which are the offspring of a disturbed imagination1 the superstitious are constantly infected with terror1 are the slaves to mistrust1 the creatures of discontent1 continually in a state of fearful alarm4 ,nature cannot have charms for them2 her countless beauties pass by unheeded2 they do not participate in her cheerful scenes2 they look upon this world1 so marvellous to the happy man1 so good to the contented enthusiast1 as a valley of tears1 in which a vindictive fate has placed them only to expiate crimes committed either by themselves or by their fathers2 they consider themselves as sent here for no other purpose than to be the sharers of calamity2 the sport of a capricious fortune2 that they are the children of sorrow1 destined to undergo the severest trials1 to the end that they may everlastingly arrive at a new existence1 in which they shall be either happy or miserable1 according to their conduct towards the ministers of a being who holds their destiny in his hands4 ,these dismal notions have been the source of all the irrational systems that have ever prevailed2 they have given birth to the most revolting practices1 currency to the most absurd customs4 ,history abounds with details of the most atrocious cruelties1 under the imposing name of public worship2 nothing has been considered either too fantastical or too flagitious by the votaries of superstition4 ,parents have immolated their children2 lovers have sacrificed the objects of their affection2 friends have destroyed each other3 the most bloody disputes have been fomented2 the most interminable animosities have been engendered1 to gratify the whim of implacable priests1 who by crafty inventions have obtained an influence over the people2 to please blind zealots1 who have never been able either to give fixity to their ideas1 or to define their own feelings4 ,idle dreamers nourished with bile1 intoxicated with theologic fury--atrabilarians1 whose melancholic humour frequently disposes them to wickedness--visionaries1 whose devious imaginations1 heated with intemperate zeal1 generally leads them to the extremes of fanaticism1 working upon ignorance1 whose usual bias is credulity1 have incessantly disturbed the harmony of mankind1 kindled the inextinguishable flame of discord1 and in an almost uninterrupted succession1 strewed the earth with the mangled carcasses of the multitudinous victims to mad-brained error1 whose only crime has been their incapacity to dream according to the rules prescribed by these infuriate maniacs2 although these have never been uniform--never assimilated in any two countries--never borne the same features in any two ages1 nor even had the united concurrence of the persecuting contemporaries4 ,it is then in the diversity of temperament1 arising from variety of organization--in the contrariety of passions1 springing out of this miscellany1 modified by the most opposite circumstances1 that must be sought the difference we find in the opinions of the theist1 the optimist1 the happy enthusiast1 the zealot1 the devotee1 the superstitious of all denominations2 they are all equally irrational--the dupes of their imagination--the blind children of error4 ,what one contemplates under a favorable point of view1 the other never looks upon but on the dark side2 that which is the object of the most sedulous research to one set1 is that which the others most seek to avoid3 each insists he is right2 no one offers the least shadow of substantive proof of what he asserts2 each points out the great importance of his mission1 yet cannot even agree with his colleagues in the embassy1 either upon the nature of their instructions1 or the means to be adopted4 ,it is thus whenever man sets forth a false supposition1 all the reasonings he makes on it are only a long tissue of errors1 which entail on him an endless series of misfortunes2 every time he renounces the evidence of his senses1 it is impossible to calculate the bounds at which his imagination will stop2 when he once quits the road of experience1 when he travels out of nature1 when he loses sight of his reason1 to strike into the labyrinths of conjecture1 it is difficult to ascertain where his folly will lead him--into what mischievous swamps this ignis fatuus of the mind may beguile his wandering steps4 ,it is certainly true1 the ideas of the happy enthusiast will be less dangerous to himself1 less baneful to others1 than those of the atrabilarious fanatic1 whose temperament may render him both cowardly and cruel2 nevertheless the opinions of the one and of the other will not be less chimerical2 the only difference will be1 that of the first will produce agreeable1 cheerful dreams2 while that of the second will present the most appalling visions1 terrific spectres1 the fruit of a peevish transport of the brain3 there will1 however1 never be more than a step between them all2 the smallest revolution in the machine1 a slight infirmity1 an unforeseen affliction1 suffices to change the course of the humours--to vitiate the temperament--to endanger the organization--to overturn the whole system of opinions of the happiest4 ,as soon as the portrait is found disfigured1 the beautiful order of things is overthrown relatively to himself2 melancholy grapples him--pusillanimity benumbs his faculties--by degrees plunges1 him into the rankest depths of gloomy superstition2 he then degenerates into all those irregularities which are the dismal harvest of fanatic ignorance ploughed with credulity4 ,those ideas1 which have no archetype but in the imagination of man1 must necessarily take their complexion from his own character2 must be clothed with his own passions2 must constantly follow the revolutions of his machine2 be lively or gloomy2 favourable or prejudicial2 friendly or inimical2 sociable or savage2 humane or cruel2 according as he whose brain they inhabit shall himself be disposed2 in fact1 they can never be more than the shadow of the substance he himself interposes between the light and the ground on which they are thrown4 ,a mortal plunged from a state of happiness into misery1 whose health merges into sickness1 whose joy is changed into affliction1 cannot in these vicissitudes preserve the same ideas2 these naturally depend every instant upon the variations1 which physical sensations oblige his organs to undergo4 ,it will not therefore appear strange that these opinions should be fluctuating1 when they depend upon the state of the nervous fluid1 upon the greater or less portion of igneous matter floating in the sanguinary vessels4 ,theism1 or what is called ,natural ,religion1 cannot have certain principles2 those who profess it must necessarily be subject to vary in their opinions--to fluctuate in their conduct1 which flows out of them4 ,a system founded upon wisdom and intelligence1 which can never contradict itself1 when circumstances change will presently be converted into fanaticism2 rapidly degenerate into superstition2 such a system1 successively meditated by enthusiasts of very distinct characters1 must of necessity experience vicissitudes1 and quickly depart from its primitive simplicity4 ,the greater part of those philosophers who have been disposed to substitute theism for superstition1 have not felt that it was formed to corrupt itself--to degenerate4 ,striking examples1 however1 prove this fatal truth4 ,theism is almost every where corrupted2 it has by degrees given way to those superstitions1 to those extravagant sects1 to those prejudicial opinions with which the human species is degraded4 ,as soon as man consents to acknowledge invisible powers out of nature1 upon which his restless mind will never be able invariably to fix his ideas--which his imagination alone will be capable of painting to him2 whenever he shall not dare to consult his reason relatively to those powers1 it must necessarily be1 that the first false step leads him astray1 that his conduct as well as his opinions becomes in the long run perfectly absurd4 ,those are usually called ,theists1 who1 undeceived upon the greater number of grosser errors to which the uninformed1 the superstitiously ignorant1 tend the most determined support1 simply hold the notion of unknown agents endowed with intelligence1 wisdom1 power and goodness1 in short1 full of infinite perfections1 whom they distinguish from nature1 but whom they clothe after their own fashion2 to whom they ascribe their own limited views2 whom they make act according to their own absurd passions4 ,the religion of ,abraham appears to have originally been a kind of theism1 imagined to reform the superstition of the ,chaldeans2 ,moses modified it1 and gave it the ,judaical form4 ,socrates was a theist1 who lost his life in his attack on polytheism2 his disciple ,aristocles1 or ,plato1 as he was afterwards called from his large shoulders1 embellished the theism of his master1 with the mystical colours which he borrowed from the ,egyptian and ,chaldean priests1 which he modified in his own poetical brain1 and preserved a remnant of polytheism4 ,the disciples of ,plato1 such as ,proclus1 ,ammonius1 ,jamblicus4 ,plotinus1 ,longinus1 ,porphyrus1 and others1 dressed it up still more fantastically1 added a great deal of superstitious mummery1 blended it with magic1 and other unintelligible doctrines4 ,the first doctors of ,christianity were ,platonists1 who combined the reformed ,judaism with the philosophy taught in ,academia4 ,mahomet1 in combating the polytheism of his country1 seems to have been desirous of restoring the primitive theism of ,abraham1 and his son ,ishmael2 yet this has now seventy-two sects4 ,thus it will be obvious1 that theism has no fixed point1 no standard1 no common measure more than other systems3 that it runs from one supposition to another1 to find in what manner evil has crept into the world4 ,indeed it has been for this purpose1 which perhaps after all will never be satisfactorily explained1 that the doctrine of free-agency was introduced2 that the fable of ,prometheus and the box of ,pandora was imagined2 that the history of the ,titanes was invented2 notwithstanding1 it must be evident that these things as well as all the other trappings of superstition1 are not more difficult of comprehension than the immaterial substances of the theists2 the mind who can admit that beings devoid of parts1 destitute of organs1 without bulk1 can move matter1 think like man1 have the moral qualities of human nature1 need not hesitate to allow that ceremonies1 certain motions of the body1 words1 rites1 temples1 statues1 can equally contain secret virtues2 has no occasion to withhold its faith from the concealed powers of magic1 theurgy1 enchantments1 charms1 talismans1 c42 can shew no good reason why it should not accredit inspirations1 dreams1 visions1 omens1 soothsayers1 metamorphoses1 and all the host of occult sciences3 when things so contradictory to the dictates of reason1 so completely opposed to good sense are freely admitted1 there can no longer be an thing which ought to possess the right to make credulity revolt2 those who give sanction to the one1 may without much hesitation believe whatever else is offered to their credence4 ,it would be impossible to mark the precise point at which imagination ought to arrest itself--the exact boundary that should circumscribe belief--the true dose of folly that may be permitted them2 or the degree of indulgence that can with safety be extended to those priests who are in the habit of teaching so variously1 so contradictorily1 what man ought to think on the subjects they handle so advantageously to themselves2 who when it becomes a question what remuneration is due from mankind for their unwearied exertions in his favour1 are1 in spite of all their other differences1 in the most perfect union2 except perhaps when they come to the division of the spoil3 in this1 indeed1 the apple of discord sometimes takes a tremendous roll4 ,thus it will be clear that there can be no substantive grounds for separating the theists from the most superstitious2 that it becomes impossible to fix the line of demarcation1 which divides them from the most credulous of men2 to shew the land-marks by which they can be discriminated from those who reason with the least conclusive persuasion4 ,if the theist refuses to follow up the fanatic in every step of his cullibility1 he is at least more inconsequent than the last1 who having admitted upon hearsay an inconsistent1 whimsical doctrine1 also adopts upon report the ridiculous1 strange means which it furnishes him4 ,the first sets forth with an absurd supposition1 of which he rejects the necessary consequences2 the other admits both the principle and the conclusion4 ,there are no degrees in fiction any more than in truth4 ,if we admit the superstition1 we are bound to receive every thing which its ministers promulgate1 as emanating from its principle4 ,none of the reveries of superstition embrace any thing more incredible than immateriality2 these reveries are only corollaries drawn with more or less subtilty from unintelligible subjects1 by those who have an interest in supporting the system4 ,the inductions which dreamers have made1 by dint of meditating on impenetrable materials1 are nothing more than ingenious conclusions1 which have been drawn with wonderful accuracy1 from unknown premises1 that are modestly offered to the sanction of mankind by enthusiasts1 who claim an unconditional assent1 because they assure us no one of the human race is in a capacity either to see1 feel1 or comprehend the object of their contemplation4 ,does not this somewhat remind us of what ,rabelais describes as the employment of ,queen ,whim's officers1 in his fifth book and twenty-second chapter8 ,let us then acknowledge1 that the man who is this most credulously superstitious1 reasons in a more conclusive manner1 or is at least more consistent in his credulity1 than those1 who1 after having admitted a certain position of which they have no one idea1 stop short all at once1 and refuse to accredit that system of conduct which is the immediate1 the necessary result of a radical and primitive error4 ,as soon as they subscribe to a principle fatally opposed to reason1 by what right do they dispute its consequences1 however absurd they may be found8 ,we cannot too often repeat1 for the happiness of mankind1 that the human mind1 let it torture itself as much as it will1 when it quits visible nature leads itself astray2 for want of an intelligent guide it wanders in tracks that bewilder its powers1 and is quickly obliged1 to return into that with which it has at least some1 acquaintance4 ,if man mistakes nature and her energies1 it is because he does not sufficiently study her--because he does not submit to the test of experience the phenomena he beholds2 if he will obstinately deprive her of motion1 he can no longer have any ideas of her4 ,does1 he1 however1 elucidate his embarrassments1 by submitting her action to the agency of a being of which he makes himself the model8 ,does he think he forms a god1 when he assembles into one heterogeneous mass1 his own discrepant qualities1 magnified until his optics are no longer competent to recognize them1 and then unites to them certain abstract properties of which he cannot form to himself any one conception8 ,does he1 in fact1 do more than collect together that which becomes1 in consequence of its association1 perfectly unintelligible8 ,yet1 strange as it may appear1 when he no longer understands himself--when his mind1 lost in its own fictions1 becomes inadequate to decipher the characters he has thus promiscuously assembled--when he has huddled together a heap of incomprehensible1 abstract qualities1 which he is obliged to acknowledge are the mere creatures of imagination1 not within the reach of human intellect1 he firmly persuades himself he has made a most accurate and beautiful portrait of the ,divinity2 he ostentatiously displays his picture1 demands the eulogy of the spectator1 and quarrels with all those who do not agree to adulate his creative powers1 by adopting the inconceivable being he holds forth to their worship2 in short1 to question the existence of his extravaganza1 rouses his most bitter reproaches2 elicits his everlasting scorn2 entails on the incredulous his eternal hatred4 ,on the other hand1 what could we expect from such a being1 as they have supposed him to be8 ,what could we consistently ask of him8 ,how make an immaterial being1 who has neither organs1 space1 point1 or contact1 understand that modification of matter called voice8 ,admit that this is the being who moves nature--who establishes her laws--who gives to beings their various essences--who endows them with their respective properties2 if every thing that takes place is the fruit of his infinite providence--the proof of his profound wisdom1 to what end shall we address our prayers to him8 ,shall we solicit him to acknowledge that the wisdom and providence with which we have clothed him1 are in fact erroneous1 by entreating him to alter in our favour his eternal laws8 ,shall we give him to understand our wisdom exceeds his own1 by asking1 him for our pleasure to change the properties of bodies--to annihilate his immutable decrees--to trace back the invariable course of things--to make beings act in opposition to the essences with which he has thought it right to invest them8 ,will he at our intercession prevent a body ponderous and hard by its nature1 such as a stone1 for example1 from wounding1 in its fall a sensitive being such as the human frame8 ,again1 should we not1 in fact1 challenge impossibilities1 if the discordant attributes brought into union by the theologians were correct2 would not immutability oppose itself to omnipotence2 mercy to the exercise of rigid justice2 omniscience1 to the changes that might be required in foreseen plans8 ,in physics1 in consequence of the general research after a perpetual motion1 science has drawn forth the discovery1 that by amalgamating metals of contrary properties1 the contractile powers of one kind1 under given circumstances which cause the dilation of the other1 by their opposite tendencies neutralize the actual effects of each1 taken separately1 and thus produce an equality in the oscillations1 that1 neither possessed individually4 ,it will perhaps1 be insisted1 that the infinite science of the ,creator of all things1 is acquainted with resources in the beings he has formed1 which are concealed from imbecile mortals2 that consequently without changing any thing1 either in the laws of nature1 or in the essence of things1 he is competent to produce effects which surpass the comprehension of our feeble understanding2 that these1 effects will in no wise be contrary to that order which he himself has established in nature4 ,granted3 but then ,i reply1 first1 that every thing which is conformable to the nature of things1 can neither be called supernatural nor miraculous3 many things are1 unquestionably1 above our comprehension2 but then all that is operated in the world is natural--grows out of those immutable laws by which nature is regulated4 ,in the second place1 it will be requisite to observe1 that by the word miracle an effect is designed1 of which1 for want of understanding nature1 she is believed incapable4 ,in the third place1 it is worthy of remark1 that the theologians1 almost universally1 insist that by miracle is meant not an extraordinary effort of nature1 but an effect directly opposite to her laws1 which nevertheless they equally challenge to have been prescribed by the ,divinity4 ,buddaeus says1 a miracle is an operation by which the laws of nature1 upon which depend the order and the preservation of the universe1 are suspended4 ,if1 however1 the ,deity1 in those phenomena that most excite our surprise1 does nothing more than give play to springs unknown to mortals1 there is1 then1 nothing in nature1 which1 in this sense1 may not be looked upon as a miracle2 because the cause by which a stone falls is as unknown to us1 as that which makes our globe turn on its own axis4 ,thus1 to explain the phenomena of nature by a miracle1 is1 in other words1 to say we are ignorant of the actuating causes2 to attribute them to the ,divinity1 is to agree we do not comprehend the resources of nature3 it is little better than accrediting magic4 ,to attribute to a sovereignly intelligent1 immutable1 provident1 wise being1 those miracles by which he derogates from his own laws1 is at one blow to annihilate all these qualities3 it is an inconsistency that would shame a child4 ,it cannot be supposed that omnipotence has need of miracles to govern the universe1 nor to convince his creatures1 whose minds and hearts must be in his own hands4 ,the last refuge of the theologian1 when driven off all other ground1 is the possibility of every thing he asserts1 couched in the dogma1 that nothing is impossible to the ,divinity4 ,he makes this asseveration with a degree of self-complacency1 with an air of triumph1 that would almost persuade one he could not be mistaken2 most assuredly1 with those who dip no further than the surface1 he carries complete conviction4 ,but we must take leave to examine a little the nature of this proposition1 and we do apprehend that a very slight degree of consideration will shew that it is untenable4 ,in the first place1 as we have before observed1 the possibility of a thing by no means proves its absolute existence3 a thing may be extremely possible1 and yet not be4 ,secondly1 if this was once to become an admitted argument1 there would be1 in fact1 an end of all morality and religion4 ,the ,bishop of ,chester1 ,doctor ,john ,wilkins1 says1 would not such men be generally accounted out of their wits1 who could please themselves by entertaining actual hopes of any thing1 merely upon account of the possibility of it1 or torment themselves with actual fears of all such evils as are possible8 ,is there any thing imaginable wore wild and extravagant amongst those in bedlam than this would be8 ,thirdly1 the impossibility would reasonably appear to be on the other side1 so far from nothing being impossible1 every thing that is erroneous would seem to be actually so2 the ,divinity could not possibly either love vice1 cherish crime1 be pleased with depravity1 or commit wrong2 this decidedly turns the argument against them2 they must either admit the most monstrous of all suppositions1 or retire from behind the shield with which they have imagined they rendered themselves invulnerable4 ,to those who may be inclined to inquire1 whether it would not be better that all things were operated by a good1 wise1 intelligent ,being1 than by a blind nature1 in which not one consoling quality is found2 by a fatal necessity always inexorable to human intreaty8 ,it may be replied1 first1 that our interest does not decide the reality of things1 and that when this should be even wore advantageous than it is pointed out1 it would prove nothing4 ,secondly1 that as we are obliged to admit some things are operated by nature1 it is certainly on the side of probability that she performs the others2 especially as her capabilities are more substantively proved by every age as it advances4 ,thirdly1 that nature duly studied furnishes every thing necessary to render us as1 happy as our essence admits4 ,when1 guided by experience1 we shall consult her1 with cultivated reason2 she will discover to us our duties1 that is to say1 the indispensable means to which her eternal and necessary laws have attached our preservation1 our own happiness1 and that of society4 ,it is decidedly in her bosom that we shall find wherewith to satisfy our physical wants2 whatever is out of nature1 can have no existence relatively to ourselves4 ,nature1 then1 is not a step-mother to us2 we do not depend upon an inexorable destiny4 ,let us therefore endeavour to become more familiar with her resources2 she will procure us a multitude of benefits when we shall pay her the attention she deserves3 when we shall feel disposed to consult her1 she will supply us with the requisites to alleviate both our physical and moral evils3 she only punishes us with rigour1 when1 regardless of her admonitions1 we plunge into excesses that disgrace us4 ,has the voluptuary any reason to complain of the sharp pains inflicted by the gout1 when experience1 if he had but attended to its counsels1 has so often warned him1 that the grossness of sensual indulgence must inevitably amass in his machine those humours which give birth to the agony he so acutely feels8 ,has the superstitious bigot any cause for repining at the misery of his uncertain ideas1 when an attentive examination of that nature1 he holds of such small account1 would have convinced him that the idols under whom he trembles1 are nothing but personifications of herself1 disguised under some other name8 ,it is evidently by incertitude1 discord1 blindness1 delirium1 she chastises those who refuse to1 acknowledge the justice of her claims4 ,in the mean time1 it cannot be denied1 that a pure ,theism1 or what is called ,natural ,religion1 may not be preferable to superstition1 in the same manner as reform has banished many of the abuses of those countries who have embraced it2 but there is nothing short of an unlimited and inviolable liberty of thought1 that can permanently assure the repose of the mind4 ,the opinions of men are only dangerous when they are restrained1 or when it is imagined necessary to make others think as we ourselves think4 ,no opinions1 not even those of superstition itself1 would be dangerous1 if the superstitious did not think themselves obliged to enforce their adoption1 or had not the power to persecute those who refused4 ,it is this prejudice1 which1 for the benefit of mankind1 it is essential to annihilate2 and if the thing be not achievable1 then the next object which philosophy may reasonably propose to itself1 will be to make the depositaries of power feel that they never ought to permit their subjects to commit evil for either superstitious or religious opinions4 ,in this case1 wars would be almost unheard of amongst men3 instead of beholding the melancholy spectacle of man cutting the throat of his fellow man1 because this cannot see with his eyes1 we shall witness him essentially labouring to his own happiness by promoting that of his neighbour2 cultivating the earth in peace2 quietly bringing forth the productions of nature1 instead of puzzling his brain with theological disputes1 which can never be of the smallest advantage1 except to the priests4 ,it must be a self-evident truth1 that an argument by men1 upon that which is not accessible to man1 could only have been invented by knaves1 who1 like the professors of legerdemain1 were determined to riot luxuriously on the ignorance and credulity of mankind4 ,,chap4 ,,viii4 ,examination of the ,advantages which result from ,man's ,notions on the ,divinity4--,of their ,influence upon ,mortals2--upon ,politics2--upon ,science2--upon the ,happiness of ,nations1 and that of ,individuals4 ,the slender foundation of those ideas which men form to themselves of their gods1 must have appeared obvious in what has preceded2 the proofs which have been offered in support of the existence of immaterial substances1 have been examined2 the want of harmony that exists in the opinions upon this subject1 which all concur in agreeing to be equally impossible to be known to the inhabitants of the earth1 has been shewn2 the incompatibility of the attributes with which1 theology has clothed incorporeity1 has been explained4 ,it has been proved1 that the idols which man sets up for adoration1 have usually had their birth1 either in the bosom of misfortune1 when ignorance was at a loss to account for the calamities of the earth upon natural principles1 or else have been the shapeless fruit of melancholy1 working upon an alarmed mind1 coupled with enthusiasm and an unbridled imagination4 ,it has been pointed out how these prejudices1 transmitted by tradition from father to son1 grafting themselves upon infant minds1 cultivated by education1 nourished by fear1 corroborated by habit1 have been maintained by authority2 perpetuated by example4 ,in short1 every thing must have distinctly evidenced to us1 that the ideas of the gods1 so generally diffused over the earth1 has been little more than an universal delusion of the human race4 ,it remains now to examine if this error has been useful4 ,it needs little to prove error can never be advantageous for mankind2 it is ever founded upon his ignorance1 which is itself an acknowledged evil2 it springs out of the blindness of his mind to acknowledged truths1 and his want of experience1 which it must be admitted are prejudicial to his interests3 the more importance1 therefore1 he shall attach to these errors1 the more fatal will be the consequences resulting from their adoption4 ,bacon1 the illustrious sophist1 who first brought philosophy out of the schools1 had great reason when he said1 ,the worst of all things is deified error4 ,indeed1 the mischiefs springing from superstition or religious errors1 have been1 and always will be1 the most terrible in their consequences--the most extensive in their devastation4 ,the more these errors are respected1 the more play they give to the passions2 the more value is attached to them1 the more the mind is disturbed2 the more they are insisted upon1 the more irrational they render those1 who are seized with the rage for proselytism2 the more they are cherished1 the greater influence they have on the whole conduct of our lives4 ,indeed1 there can he but little likelihood that he who renounces his reason1 in the thing which he considers as most essential to his happiness1 will listen to it on any other occasion4 ,the slightest reflection will afford ample proof to this sad truth3 in those fatal notions which man has cherished on this subject1 are to be traced the true sources of all those prejudices1 the fountain of all those sorrows1 to which he is the victim4 ,nevertheless1 as we have elsewhere said1 utility ought to be the only standard1 the uniform scale1 by which to form a judgment on either the opinions1 the institutions1 the systems1 or the actions of intelligent beings2 it is according to the measure of happiness which these things procure for us1 that we ought either to cover them with our esteem1 or expose them to our contempt4 ,whenever they are useless it is our duty to despise them2 as soon as they become pernicious1 it is imperative to reject them2 reason imperiously prescribes that our detestation should be commensurate with the evils which they cause4 ,taking these principles for a land-mark1 which are founded on our nature1 which must appear incontestible to every reasonable being1 with experience for a beacon1 let us coolly examine the effects which these notions have produced on the earth4 ,we have already1 in more than one part of the work1 given a glimpse of the doctrine of that morals1 which having only for object the preservation of man1 and his conduct in society1 can have nothing1 in common with imaginary systems3 it has been shewn1 that the essence of a sensitive1 intelligent1 rational being1 properly meditated1 would discover motives competent to moderate the fury of his passions--to induce him to resist his vicious propensities--to make him fly criminal habits--to invite him to render himself useful to those beings for whom his own necessities have a continual occasion2 thus1 to endear himself to his1 fellow mortals1 to become respectable in his own esteem4 ,these motives will unquestionably be admitted to possess more solidity1 to embrace greater1 potency1 to involve more truth1 than those which are borrowed from systems that want stability2 that assume more shapes than there are languages2 that are not tangible to the tact of humanity2 that must of necessity present a different perspective to all who shall view them through the medium of prejudice4 ,from what has been advanced1 it will be felt that education1 which should make man in early life contract good habits1 adopt favorable dispositions1 fortified by a respect for public opinion1 invigorated by ideas of decency1 strengthened by wholesome laws1 corroborated by the desire of meriting the friendship of others1 stimulated by the fear of losing his own esteem1 would be fully adequate to accustom him to a laudable conduct1 amply sufficient to divert him from even those secret crimes1 from which he is obliged to punish himself by remorse2 which costs him the most incessant labour to keep concealed1 by the dread of that shame1 which must always follow their publicity4 ,experience demonstrates in the clearest manner1 that the success of a first crime disposes him to commit a second2 impunity leads on to the third1 this to a lamentable sequel that frequently closes a wretched career with the most ignominious exhibition2 thus the first delinquency is the commencement of a habit3 there is much less distance from this to the hundredth1 than from innocence to criminality3 the man1 however1 who lends himself to a series of bad actions1 under even the assurance of impunity1 is most woefully deceived1 because he cannot avoid castigating himself3 moreover1 he cannot know at what point of iniquity he shall stop4 ,it has been shewn1 that those punishments which society1 for its own preservation1 has the right to inflict on those who disturb its harmony1 are more substantive1 more efficacious1 more salutary in their effects1 than all the distant torments held forth by the priests2 they intervene a more immediate obstacle to the stubborn propensities of those obdurate wretches1 who1 insensible to the charms of virtue1 are deaf to the advantages that spring from its practice1 than can be opposed by the denunciations1 held forth in an hereafter existence1 which he is at the same moment taught may be avoided by repentance1 that shall only take place when the ability to commit further wrong has ceased4 ,in short1 one would be led to think it obvious to the slightest reflection1 that politics1 founded upon the nature of man1 upon the principles of society1 armed with equitable laws1 vigilant over morals1 faithful in rewarding virtue1 constant in visiting crime1 would be more suitable to clothe ethics with respectability1 to throw a sacred mantle over moral goodness1 to lend stability to public virtue1 than any authority that can be derived from contested systems1 the conduct of whose professors frequently disgrace the doctrines they lay down1 which after all seldom do more than restrain those whose mildness of temperament effectually prevents them from running into excess2 those who1 already given to justice1 require no coercion4 ,on the other hand1 we have endeavoured to prove that nothing can be more absurd1 nothing actually more dangerous1 than attributing human qualities to the ,divinity which cannot but choose to find themselves in a perpetual contradiction4 ,plato has said that virtue consists in resembling ,god4 ,but how is man to resemble a being1 who1 it is acknowledged1 is incomprehensible to mankind--who cannot be conceived by any of those means1 by which he is alone capable of having perceptions8 ,if this being1 who is shewn to man under such various aspects1 who is said to owe nothing to his creatures1 is the author of all the good1 as well as all the evil that takes place1 how can he be the model for the conduct of the human race living together in society8 ,at most he can only follow one side of the character1 because among his fellows1 he alone is reputed virtuous who does not deviate in his conduct from justice2 who abstains from evil2 who performs with punctuality those duties he owes to his fellows4 ,if it be taken up1 and insisted he is not the author of the evil1 only of the good1 ,i say very well3 that is precisely what ,i wanted to know2 you thereby acknowledge he is not the author of every thing2 we are no longer at issue2 you are inconclusive to your own premises1 consequently ought not to demand an implicit reliance on what you choose to assert4 ,but1 replies the subtle theologian1 that is not the affair2 you must seek it in the creed ,i have set forth--in the religion of which ,i am a pillar4 ,very good3 ,is it then actually in the system of fanatics1 that man should draw up his ideas of virtue8 ,is it in the doctrines which these codes hold forth1 that he is to seek for a model8 ,alas6 do they not pourtray their idols3 under the most unwholesome colours2 do they not represent them as following their caprice in every thing1 who love or hate1 who choose or reject1 who approve or condemn according to their whim1 who delight in carnage1 who send discord amongst men1 who act irrationally1 who commit wantonness1 who sport with their feeble subjects1 who lay continual snares for them1 who rigorously interdict the use of their reason8 ,what1 let us seriously ask1 would become of morality1 if men proposed to themselves such portraits for models6 ,it was1 however1 for the most part1 systems of this temper that nations adopted4 ,at was in consequence of these principles that what has been called religion in most countries1 was far removed from being favourable to morality2 on the contrary1 it often shook it to its foundation--frequently left no vestige of its existence4 ,it divided man1 instead of drawing closer the bonds of union2 in the place of that mutual love1 that reciprocity of succour1 which ought ever to distinguish human society1 it introduced hatred and persecution2 it made them seize every opportunity to cut each other's throat for speculative opinions1 equally irrational2 it engendered the most violent heart-burnings--the most rancorous animosities--the most sovereign contempt4 ,the slightest difference in their received opinions rendered them the most mortal enemies2 separated their interests for ever2 made them despise each other2 and seek every means to render their existence miserable4 ,for these theological conjectures1 nations become opposed to nations2 the sovereign frequently armed himself against his subjects2 subjects waged war with their sovereign2 citizens gave activity to the most sanguinary hostility against each other2 parents detested their offspring2 children plunged the pointed steel1 the barbed arrow1 into the bosoms of those who gave them existence2 husbands and wives disunited1 became the scourges of each other2 relations forgetting the ties of consanguinity1 tore each other to pieces1 or else reciprocally consigned them to oblivion2 all the bonds of society were rent asunder2 the social compact was broken up2 society committed suicide3 whilst in the midst of this fearful wreck--regardless of the horrid shrieks called forth by this dreadful confusion--unmindful of the havock going forward on all sides--each pretended that he conformed to the views of his idol1 detailed to him by his priest--fulminated by the oracles4 ,far from making himself any reproach1 for the misery he spread abroad1 each lauded his own individual conduct2 gloried in the crimes he committed in support of his sacred cause4 ,the same spirit of maniacal fury pervaded the rites1 the ceremonies1 the customs1 which the worship1 adopted by superstition1 placed so much above all the social virtues4 ,in one country1 tender mothers delivered up their children to moisten with their innocent blood the altars of their idols2 in another1 the people assembled1 performed the ceremony of consolation to their deities1 for the outrages they committed against them1 and finished by immolating to their anger human victims2 in another1 a frantic enthusiast lacerated his body1 condemned himself for life to the most rigorous tortures1 to appease the wrath of his gods4 ,the ,jupiter of the ,pagans was a lascivious monster2 the ,moloch of the ,phenicians was a cannibal2 the savage idol of the ,mexican requires thousands of mortals to bleed on his shrine1 in order to satisfy his sanguinary appetite4 ,such are the models superstition holds out to the imitation of man2 is it then surprising that the name of these despots became the signal for mad-brained enthusiasm to exercise its outrageous fury2 the standard under which cowardice wreaked its cruelty2 the watchword for the inhumanity of nations to muster their barbarous strength2 a sound which spreads terror wherever its echo could reach2 a continual pretext for the most barefaced breaches of public decorum2 for the most shameless violation of the moral duties8 ,it was the frightful character men gave of their gods1 that banished kindness from their hearts--virtue from their conduct--felicity from their habitations--reason from their mind3 almost every where it was some idol1 who was disturbed by the mode in which unhappy mortals thought2 this armed them with poignards against each other2 made them stifle the cries of nature2 rendered them barbarous to themselves2 atrocious to their fellow creatures3 in short1 they became irrational1 breathed forth vengeance1 outraged humanity1 every time that1 instigated by the priest1 they were inclined to imitate the gods of their idolatry1 to display their zeal1 to render themselves acceptable in their temples4 ,it is not1 then1 in such systems1 man ought to seek either for models of virtue1 or rules of conduct suitable to live in society4 ,he needs human morality1 founded upon his own nature2 built upon invariable experience2 submitted to reason4 ,the ethics of superstition will always he prejudicial to the earth2 cruel masters cannot be well served1 but by those who resemble them3 what then becomes of the great advantages which have been imagined resulted to man1 from the notions which have been unceasingly infused into him of his gods8 ,we see that almost all nations acknowledge them2 yet1 to conform themselves to their views1 they trampled under foot the clearest rights of nature--the most evident duties of humanity2 they appeared to act as if it was only by madness the most incurable--by folly the most preposterous--by the most flagitious crimes1 committed with an unsparing hand1 that they hoped to draw down upon themselves the favor of heaven--the blessings of the sovereign intelligence they so much boast of serving with unabated zeal2 with the most devotional fervor2 with the most unlimited obedience4 ,as soon1 therefore1 as the priests give them to understand their deities command the commission of crime1 or whenever there is a question of their respective creeds1 although they are wrapt in the most impenetrable obscurity1 they make it a duty with themselves to unbridle their rancour--to give loose to the most furious passions2 they mistake the clearest precepts of morality2 they credulously believe the remission of their own sins will be the reward of their transgressions against their neighbour4 ,would it not be better to be an inhabitant of ,soldania in ,africa1 where never yet form of worship entered1 or the name of ,god resounded1 than thus to pollute the land with superstitious castigation--with the enmity of priests against each other8 ,indeed1 it is not generally in those revered mortals1 spread over the earth to announce the oracles of the gods1 that will be found the most sterling virtues4 ,these men1 who think themselves so enlightened1 who call themselves the ministers of heaven1 frequently preach nothing but hatred1 discord1 and fury in its name3 the fear of the gods1 far from having a salutary influence over their own morals1 far from submitting them to a wholesome discipline1 frequently do nothing more than increase their avarice1 augment their ambition1 inflate their pride1 extend their covetousness1 render them obstinately stubborn1 and harden their hearts4 ,we may see them unceasingly occupied in giving birth to the most lasting animosities1 by their unintelligible disputes4 ,we see them hostilely wrestling with the sovereign power1 which they contend is subordinate to their own4 ,we see them arm the chiefs of nations against the legitimate magistrates2 distribute to the credulous multitude the most mortal weapons1 to massacre each other in the prosecution of those futile controversies1 which sacerdotal vanity clothes with the most interesting importance4 ,do these men1 who advance the beauty of their theories1 who menace the people with eternal vengeance1 avail themselves of their own marvellous notions to moderate their pride--to abate their vanity--to lessen their cupidity--to restrain their turbulence--to bring their vindictive humours under control8 ,are they1 even in those countries where their empire is established upon pillars of brass1 fixed on adamantine rocks1 decorated with the most curious efforts of human ingenuity--where the sacred mantle of public opinion shields them with impunity--where credulity1 planted in the hot-bed of ignorance1 strikes the roots of their authority into the very centre of the earth2 are they1 ,i would ask1 the enemies to debauchery1 the foes to intemperance1 the haters of those excesses which they insist a severe ,god interdicts to his adorers8 ,on the contrary1 are they not seen to be emboldened in crime2 intrepid in iniquity2 committing the most shameful atrocities2 giving free scope to their irregularities2 indulging their hatred2 glutting their vengeance2 exercising the most savage cruelties on the miserable victims to their cowardly suspicion8 ,in short1 it may be safely advanced1 without fear of contradiction1 that scarcely any thing is more frequent1 than that those men who announce these terrible creeds--who make men tremble under their yoke--who are unceasingly haranguing upon the eternity and dreadful nature of their punishments--who declare themselves the chosen ministers of their oracular laws--who make all the duties of morality centre in themselves2 are those whom superstition least contributes to render virtuous2 are men who possess the least milk of human kindness2 the fewest feelings of tenderness2 who are the most intolerant to their neighbours2 the most indulgent to themselves2 the most unsociable in their habits2 the most licentious in their manners2 the most unforgiving in their disposition4 ,in contemplating their conduct1 we should be tempted to accredit1 that they were perfectly undeceived with respect to the idols whom they serve2 that no one was less the dupe to those menaces which they so solemnly pronounce in their name1 than themselves4 ,in the hands of the priests of almost all countries1 their divinities resembled the head of ,medusa1 which1 without injuring him who shewed it1 petrified all others4 ,the priests are generally the most crafty of men1 and many among them are substantively wicked4 ,does the idea of these avenging1 these remunerating systems1 impose upon some princes of the earth1 who found their titles1 who rest their power upon them2 who avail themselves of their terrific power to intimidate their subjects2 to make the people1 often rendered unhappy by their caprice1 hold them in reverence8 ,alas6 the theological1 the supernatural ideas1 adopted by the pride of some sovereigns1 have done nothing more than corrupt politics--than metamorphose1 them into an abject tyranny4 ,the ministers of these idols1 always tyrants themselves1 or the cherishers of despots1 are unceasingly crying out to monarchs that they are the images of the ,divinity4 ,do they not inform the credulous multitude that heaven is willing they should groan under the most cruel bondage2 writhe under the most multifarious injustice2 that to suffer is their inheritance2 that their princes have the indubitable right to appropriate the goods1 dispose of the persons1 coerce the liberty2 command the lives of their subjects8 ,do not some of these chiefs of nations1 thus poisoned in the name of deified idols1 imagine that every indulgence of their wayward humour is freely permitted to them8 ,at once competitors1 representatives1 and rivals of the celestial powers1 do they not1 in some instances1 exercise after their example the most arbitrary despotism8 ,do they not1 in the intoxication into which sacerdotal flattery has plunged them1 think that like their idols1 they are not accountable to man for their actions1 that they owe nothing to the rest of mortals1 that they are bound by no bonds but their own unruly will1 to their miserable subjects8 ,then it is evident that it is to theological notions1 to the loose flattery of its ministers1 that are to be ascribed the despotism1 the tyrannical injustice1 the corruption1 the licentiousness of some princes1 and the blindness of those people1 to whom in heaven's name they interdict the love of liberty2 who are forbid to labour effectually to their own happiness2 to oppose themselves to violence1 however flagrant2 to exercise their natural rights1 however conducive to their welfare4 ,these intoxicated rulers1 even while adoring their avenging gods1 in the act of bending others to their worship1 do not scruple to outrage them by their irregularities--by their want of moral virtue4 ,what morality is this1 but that of men who offer themselves as living images1 as animated representatives of the ,divinity8 ,are those monarchs1 then1 who are habitually unjust1 who wrest without remorse the bread from the hands of a famished people1 to administer to the profligacy of their insatiable courtiers--to pamper the luxury of the vile instruments of their enormities1 atheists8 ,are1 then1 those ambitious conquerors1 who not contented with oppressing their own slaves1 carry desolation1 spread misery1 deal out death among the subjects of others1 atheists8 ,do we not witness in some of those potentates who rule over nations by divine right1 7a patent of power1 which every usurper claims as his own7 ambitious mortals1 whose exterminating fury nothing can arrest2 with hearts perfectly insensible to the sorrows of mankind2 with minds without energy2 with souls without virtue2 who neglect their most evident duties1 with which they do not even deign to become acquainted2 powerful men1 who insolently set themselves above the rules of equity2 knaves who make a sport of honesty8 ,generally speaking1 is there the least sincerity in the alliances which these rulers form among themselves8 ,do they ever last longer than for the season of their convenience8 ,do we find substantive virtues adorn those who most abjectly submit themselves to all the follies of superstition8 ,do they not tax each other as violators of property--as faithlessly aggrandizing themselves at the expence of their neighbour2 in fact1 do we not see them endeavouring to surprise1 anxious to over-reach1 ready to injure each other1 without being arrested by the menaces of their creeds1 or at all yielding to the calls of humanity8 ,in general1 they are too haughty to be humane2 too inflated with ambition to be virtuous2 they make a code for themselves1 which they cannot help violating4 ,charles the ,fifth used to say1 that being a warrior1 it was impossible for him to have either conscience or religion4 ,his general1 the ,marquis de ,piscaire1 observed1 that nothing was more difficult1 than to serve at one and the same time1 the god ,mars and ,jesus ,christ4 ,indeed1 nothing can be more opposed to the true spirit of ,christianity than the profession of arms2 notwithstanding the ,christian princes have the most numerous armies1 and are in perpetual hostility with each other3 perhaps the clergy themselves do not hold forth the most peaceable examples of the doctrine they teach2 they sometimes wrangle for tithes1 dispute for trifling enjoyments1 quarrel for worldly opinion1 with as much determined obstinacy1 with as1 much settled rancour1 with as little charity1 as could possibly inhabit the bosom of the most unenlightened ,pagan1 whose ignorance they despise--whose superstition they rank as the grossest effort of idolatrous debasement4 ,it might almost admit of doubt whether they would be quite pleased to see the mild maxims of the ,evangelists1 the true ,christian meekness1 rigidly followed--whether they might not think the complete working of their own system would clash with their own immediate interests8 ,is it a demonstrable axiom that the ministers of the ,christian faith do not think soldiers are beings extremely well calculated to give efficacy to their doctrine--solidity to their advantages--durability to their claims8 ,be this as it may1 priests as well as monarchs have occasionally waged war for the most futile interests2 impoverished a people from the anti-christian motives2 wrested from each other with all the venom of furies1 the bloody remnant of the nations they have laid waste2 in fact1 to judge by their conduct on certain occasions1 it might have been a question if they were not disputing who should have the credit of making the greater number of miserable beings upon earth4 ,at length1 either wearied with their own fury1 exhausted by their own devouring passions1 or compelled by the stern hand of necessity1 they have permitted suffering humanity to take breath2 they have allowed the miseries concomitant on war1 to cease for an instant their devastating havoc2 they have made peace in the name of that ,god1 whose decrees1 as attested by themselves1 they have been so wantonly outraging1--still ready1 however1 to violate their most solemn pledges1 when the smallest interest could offer them a pretext4 ,thus it will be obvious1 in what manner the idea of the ,divinity operates on the priest1 as well as upon those who are called his images2 who insist they have no account to render but to him alone4 ,among these representatives of the ,divine ,majesty1 it is with difficulty during thousands of years we find some few who have equity1 sensibility1 virtue1 or even the most ordinary talent4 ,history points out some of these vicegerents of the ,deity1 who in the exacerbation of their delirious rage1 have insisted upon displacing him1 by exalting themselves into gods2 and exacting the most obsequious worship2 who have inflicted the most cruel torments on those who have opposed themselves to their madness1 and refused to acknowledge the ,divinity of their persons4 ,these men1 whose licentiousness knew no limits1 from the impunity which attended their actions1 notwithstanding they had learned to despise public opinion1 to set decency at defiance1 to indulge in the most shameless vice3 in spite of the power they possessed2 of the homage they received2 of the terror they inspired3 although they had learned to counterfeit1 with great effect1 the whole catalogue of human virtues2 found it impossible1 even with the addition of their enormous wealth1 wrenched from the necessities of laborious honesty1 to counterfeit the animating blush1 which modest merit brings forth1 when eulogized by some happy being whose felicity he has occasioned1 by following the great law of nature--which says1 love thy neighbour as thyself4 ,on the contrary1 we see them grow listless with satiety2 disgusted with their own inordinate indulgences2 obliged to recur to strange pleasures1 to awaken their benumbed faculties2 to run headlong into the most costly follies1 in the fruitless attempt to keep up the activity of their souls1 the spring of which they had for ever relaxed1 by the profligacy of their enjoyment4 ,history1 although it describes a multitude of vicious rulers1 whose irregular propensities were of the most mischievous consequence to the human race1 nevertheless1 shews us but few who have been atheists4 ,the annals of nations1 on the contrary1 offer to our view great numbers of superstitious princes1 governed by their mistresses1 led by unworthy favorites1 leagued with priests1 who passed their lives plunged in luxury2 indulging the most effeminate pursuits2 following the most childish pleasures2 pleased with ostentatious show2 slaves even to the fashion of the vestments that covered them2 but strangers to every manly virtue2 insensible to the sorrows of their subjects2 although uniformly good to their hungry courtiers1 invariably kind to those cringing sycophants who surrounded their persons1 and poisoned their ears with the most fulsome flattery3 in short1 superstitious persecutors1 who1 to render themselves acceptable to their priests1 to expiate their own shameful irregularities1 added to all their other vices that of tyrannizing over the mind1 of fettering the conscience1 of destroying their subjects for their opinions1 when they were in hostility with their own received doctrines4 ,indeed1 superstition in princes frequently allied itself with the most horrid crimes2 they have almost all professed religion1 although very few of them have had a just knowledge of morality--have practiced any useful substantive virtue4 ,superstitious notions1 on the contrary1 often serve to render them more blind1 to augment their evil inclinations2 to set them at a greater distance from moral goodness4 ,they for the most part believe themselves assured of the favor of heaven2 they think they faithfully serve their gods1 that the anger of their divinities is appeased1 if for a short season they shew themselves attached to futile customs--lend themselves to absurd rites--perform some ridiculous duties1 which superstition imposes on them1 with a view to obtain their assistance in the prosecution of its own plans1 very rarely in strict unison with their immediate interest4 ,nero1 the cruel1 sanguinary1 matricidal ,nero1 his hands yet reeking with the blood of that unfortunate being who had borne him in her womb1 who had1 with agonizing pains1 given the monster to the world that plunged the dagger in her heart1 was desirous to be initiated into the ,eleusinian ,mysteries4 ,the odious ,constantine himself1 found in the priests1 accomplices disposed to expiate his crimes4 ,the infamous ,philip1 whose ungovernable ambition caused him to be called the daemon of the south1 whilst he assassinated his wife and son1 caused the throats of the wretched ,batavians to be cut for their religious opinions4 ,it is thus1 that the priests of superstition sometimes persuade sovereigns they can atone for crimes1 by committing others of a more atrocious kind--of an increased magnitude4 ,it would be fair to conclude1 from the conduct of so many princes1 who had so much superstition1 but so slender a portion of virtue1 that the notion of their gods1 far from being useful to them1 only served to render them wore corrupt--to make them more abominable than they already were2 that the idea of an avenging power1 placed in the perspective of futurity1 imposed but little restraint on the turbulence of deified tyrants1 who were sufficiently powerful not to fear the reproaches of their subjects--who had the insensibility to be deaf to the censure of their fellows--who were gifted with an obduracy of soul1 that prevented their having compassion for the miseries of mankind1 from whom they fancied themselves so pre-eminently distinguished2 which1 in fact1 they were1 if crime can be allowed for the standard of distinction4 ,neither heaven nor earth furnishes a balsam of sufficient efficacy to heal the inveterate wounds of beings cankered to this degree3 for such chronic diseases1 there is no balm in ,gilead3 there is no curb sufficiently coercive to rein in the passions1 to which superstition itself gives activity2 which only makes them more unruly2 renders them more inveterately rash4 ,whenever men flatter themselves with easily expiating their sins--when they soothe themselves with the consolitary idea of appeasing the anger of the gods by a show of earnestness1 they then deliver themselves up1 with the most unrestrained freedom1 to the bent of their criminal pursuits4 ,the most dissolute men are frequently in appearance extremely attached to superstition3 it furnishes them with a means of compensating by ceremonies1 that of which they are deficient in morals3 it is much easier for them to adopt a faith1 to believe in a doctrine1 to conform themselves to certain rituals1 than to renounce their habits1 resist their passions1 or relinquish the pursuit of that pleasure1 which results to unprincipled minds from the prosecution of the most diabolical schemes4 ,under chiefs1 depraved even by superstition1 nations continued necessarily to be corrupted4 ,the great conformed themselves to the vices of their masters2 the example of these distinguished men1 whom the uninformed erroneously believe to be happy1 was followed by the people2 courts thus became the sinks from whence issued the epidemic contagion of licentious indulgence4 ,the law only held forth pictures of honesty2 the dispensers of jurisprudence were partial1 partook of the mania of the times1 were labouring under the general disease2 ,justice suffered her balance to rust1 occasionally removed her bandage1 although she always wore it in the presence of the poor2 genuine ideas of equity had grown into disuse2 distinct notions of right and wrong became troublesome and unfashionable2 education was neglected2 it served only to produce prejudiced beings1 grounded in ignorance--devotees1 always ready to injure themselves--fanatics1 eager to shew their zeal ever willing to annoy their unfortunate neighbours4 ,superstition1 sustained by tyranny1 ousted every other feeling1 hoodwinked its destined victims1 rendered those tractable whom it had the intention to despoil4 ,whoever doubts of these truisms1 has only to turn over the pages of history1 he will find myriads of evidence to much more than is here stated4 ,machiavel1 in his ,political ,discourses upon ,titus ,livius1 labours the point hard1 to shew the utility of superstition to the ,roman ,republic3 unfortunately1 however1 the examples he brings forward in its support1 incontestibly prove that none but the senate profited by the infatuation of the people1 who availed itself of their blindness more effectually to bend them to its yoke4 ,thus it was that nations1 destitute of equitable laws1 deficient in the administration of justice1 submitted to irrational government1 continued in slavery by the monarch1 chained up in ignorance by the priest1 for want of enlightened institutions1 deprived of reasonable education1 became corrupt1 superstitious1 and flagitious4 ,the nature of man1 the just interests of society1 the real advantage of the sovereign1 the true happiness of the people1 once mistaken1 were completely lost sight of2 the morality of nature1 founded upon the essence of man living in society1 was equally unknown2 lay buried under an enormous load of prejudice1 that no common efforts were competent to remove4 ,it was entirely forgotten that man has wants2 that society was formed that he might1 with greater security1 facilitate the means of satisfying them2 that government1 to be legitimate1 ought to have for object1 the happiness--for end1 the means of maintaining the indivisibility of the community2 that consequently it ought to give activity to springs1 full play to motives suitable to have a favorable influence over sensible beings4 ,it was quite overlooked1 that virtue faithfully rewarded1 vice as regularly visited1 had an elastic force1 of which the public authorities could efficaciously avail themselves1 to determine their citizens to blend their interests2 to work out their own felicity1 by labouring to the happiness of the body of which they were members4 ,the social virtues were unknown1 the amor patriae became a chimera4 ,men thus associated1 thus blinded by their superstitious bias1 credulously believed their own immediate interest consisted in injuring each other2 they were solely occupied with meriting the favor of those men1 who fatally accreditted the doctrine of clerical flatterers1 of silver-toned courtiers1 which taught that they wore distinctly interested in injuring the whole4 ,this is the mode in which the human heart has become perverted2 here is the genuine source of moral evil2 the hot-bed of that epidemical depravity1 the cause of that hereditary corruption1 the fountain of that inveterate delinquency1 which pervaded the earth2 rendering the abundance of nature nothing better than a curse2 blasting the fairest prospects of humanity2 degrading man below the beast of the forest2 sinking his intellectual faculties in the most savage barbarity2 rendering him the vile instrument of lawless ambition2 the wretched tool by which the fetters of his species were firmly rivetted2 obliging him to moisten his harvest with the bitter tears of the most abject slavery4 ,for the purpose of remedying so many crying evils1 grown insupportable1 recourse was had to new superstitions4 ,notwithstanding this alone had produced them1 it was still imagined1 that the menaces of heaven would restrain passions which every thing conspired to rouse in all hearts2 fatuity persuaded monarchs that ideal1 metaphysical barriers1 terrible fables1 distant phantoms1 would be competent to curb those inordinate desires1 to rein in that impetuous propensity to crime1 that rendered society incommodious to itself2 credulity fancied that invisible powers would be more efficacious1 than those visible motives that evidently invited mortals to the commission of mischief4 ,every thing was understood to be achieved1 by occupying man's mind with gloomy chimeras1 with vague1 undefinable terrors1 with avenging angels2 and politics madly believed that its own interests grew out of the blind submission of its subjects1 to the ministers of these delusive doctrines4 ,what was the result8 ,nations had only sacerdotal laws2 theological morality2 accommodated to the interests of the hierarchy--suitable to the views of subtle priests3 who substituted reveries for realities1 opinions for reason1 rank fallacies for sterling truths2 who made ceremonies supply the place of virtue2 a pious blindness supersede the necessity of an enlightened understanding2 undermined the sacredness of oaths1 and placed fanaticism on the altars of sociability4 ,by a necessary consequence of that confidence which the people were compelled to give to the ministers of superstition1 two distinct authorities were established in each state1 who were substantially at variance1 in continual hostility with each other4 ,the priest fought the sovereign with the formidable weapon of opinion2 it generally proved sufficiently powerful to shake the most established thrones4 ,thus1 although the hierarchy was unceasingly admonishing the people to submit themselves to the divine authority of their sovereigns1 because it was derived immediately from heaven1 yet1 whenever it so happened that the monarch did not repay their advocacy1 by blindly yielding his own authority to the supervisance of the priests1 these made no scruple of threatening him with loss of his temporalities2 fulminated their anathemas1 interdicted his dominions1 and sometimes went the length of absolving his subjects from allegiance4 ,superstition1 in general1 only upholds despotism1 that it may with greater certainty direct its blows against its enemies2 it overthrows it whenever it is found to clash with its interests4 ,the ministers of invisible powers preach up obedience to visible powers1 only when they find these humbly devoted to themselves4 ,thus the sovereign was never at rest1 but when abjectly cringing to his priest1 he tractably received his lessons--lent himself to his frantic zeal--and piously enabled him to carry on the furious occupation of proselytism4 ,these priests1 always restless1 full of ambition1 burning with intolerance1 frequently excited the sovereign to ravage his own states--encouraged him to tyranny3 when1 pursuing this sacerdotal mania1 he feared to have outraged humanity1 to have incurred the displeasure of heaven1 he was quickly reconciled to himself1 upon promise of undertaking some distant expedition1 for the purpose of bringing some unfortunate nation within the pale of their own particular creed4 ,when the two rival powers united themselves1 morality gained nothing by the junction2 the people were neither more happy1 nor more virtuous2 their morals1 their welfare1 their liberty1 were equally overwhelmed by the combined powers4 ,thus1 superstitious princes always felt interested in the maintenance of theological opinions1 which were rendered flattering to their vanity1 favorable to their power4 ,like the grateful perfumes of ,arabia1 that are used to cover the ill scent of a deadly poison1 the priest lulled them into security by administering to their sensualities2 these1 in return1 made common cause with him3 fully persuaded that the superstition which they themselves adopted1 must be the most wholesome for their subjects1 most conducive to their interests1 those who refused to receive the boon1 thus gratuitously forced upon them1 were treated as enemies1 held up to public scorn1 and rendered the victims of punishment4 ,the most superstitious sovereign became1 either politically or through piety1 the executioner of one part of his slaves2 he was taught to believe it a sacred duty to tyrannize over the mind--to overwhelm the refractory--to crush the enemy of his priest1 under an idea that he was therefore hostile to his own authority4 ,in cutting the throats of these unfortunate sceptics1 he imagined he at once discharged his obligations to heaven1 and gave security to his own power4 ,he did1 not perceive1 that by immolating victims to his priest1 he in fact strengthened the arm of his most formidable foe--the real enemy to his authority--the rival of his greatness--the least subjected of his subjects4 ,but the prevalence of these false notions1 with which both the minds of the sovereign and the people were prepossessed1 it was found that every thing in society concurred to gratify the avidity1 to bolster the pride1 to glut the vengeance of the sacerdotal order3 every where1 it was to be observed1 that the most turbulent1 the most dangerous1 the most useless men1 were those who were the most amply rewarded4 ,the strange spectacle presented itself1 of beholding those who were born the bitterest enemies to sovereign power1 cherished by its fostering care--honoured at its hands3 the most rebellious subjects were looked upon as the pillars of the throne2 the corrupters of the people were rendered the exclusive masters of education2 the least laborious of the citizens were richly rewarded for their idleness--munificently remunerated for the most futile speculations--held in respect for their fatal discord--gorged with benefits for their inefficacious prayers3 they swept off the fat of the land for their expiations1 so destructive to morals1 so calculated to give permanency to crime4 ,thus1 by a strange fatuity1 the viper that could1 and frequently did1 inflict the most deadly sting on the bosom of confiding credulity1 was pampered and nourished by the unsuspecting hand of its destined victim4 ,for thousands of years1 nations as well as sovereigns were emulously despoiling themselves to enrich the expounders of superstition2 to enable them to wallow in abundance3 they loaded them with honors1 decorated them with titles1 invested them with privileges1 granted them immunities1 for no other purpose than to make them bad citizens1 unruly subjects1 mischievous beings1 who revenged upon society the advantages they had received4 ,what was the fruit that kings and people gathered from their imprudent kindness8 ,what was the harvest these men yielded to their labour8 ,did princes really become more powerful2 were nations rendered more happy2 did they grow more flourishing2 did men become more rational8 ,no6 ,unquestionably1 the sovereign lost the greater portion of his authority2 he was the slave of his priest2 and when he wished to preserve the remnant that was left1 or to recover some part of what had been wrested from him1 he was obliged to be continually wrestling against the men his own indulgence1 his own weakness1 had furnished with means1 to set his authority at defiance3 the riches of society were lavished to support the idleness1 maintain the splendour1 satiate the luxury of the most useless1 the most arrogant1 the most dangerous of its members4 ,did the morals of the people improve under the pastoral care of these guides1 who were so liberally rewarded8 ,alas6 the superstitious never knew them1 their fanatic creed had usurped the place of every virtue2 its ministers1 satisfied with upholding the doctrines1 with preserving the ceremonies so useful to their own interests1 only invented fictitious crimes--multiplied painful penances--instituted absurd customs2 to the end1 that they might turn even the transgressions of their slaves to their own immediate profit4 ,every where they exercised a monopoly of expiatory indulgences2 they made a lucrative traffic of pretended pardons from above2 they established a tariff1 according to which crime was no longer contraband1 but freely admitted upon paying the customs4 ,those subjected to the heaviest impost1 were always such as the hierarchy judged most inimical to its own stability2 you might at a very easy rate obtain permission to attack the dignity of the sovereign1 to undermine the temporal power1 but it was enormously dear to be allowed to touch even the hem of the sacerdotal garments4 ,thus heresy1 sacrilege1 c4 were considered crimes of a much deeper dye1 that fixed an indelible stain on the perpetrator1 alarmed the mind of the priestly order1 much more seriously than the most inveterate villainy1 the most determined delinquency1 which more immediately involved the true interests of society4 ,thence the ideas of the people were completely overturned1 imaginary crimes terrified them1 while real crimes had no effect upon their obdurate hearts4 ,a man1 whose opinions were at variance with the received doctrines1 whose abstract systems did not harmonize with those of his priest1 was more loathed than a corrupter of youth2 more abhorred than an assassin2 more hated than an oppressor2 was held in greater contempt than a robber2 was punished with greater rigor than the seducer of innocence4 ,the acme of all wickedness1 was to despise that which the priest was desirous should be looked upon as sacred4 ,the celebrated ,gordon says1 the most abominable of heresies1 is to believe there is any other god than the clergy4 ,the civil laws concurred to aid this confusion of ideas2 they inflicted the most serious penalties1 punished in the most atrocious manner those unknown crimes which imagination had magnified into the most flagitious actions2 heretics1 infidels1 were brought to the stake1 and publicly burnt with the utmost refinement of cruelty2 the brain was tortured to find means of augmenting the sufferings of the unhappy victims to sacerdotal fury2 whilst calumniators of innocence1 adulterers1 depredators of every description1 knaves of all kinds1 were at a trifling cost absolved from their past iniquity1 and opened a new account of future delinquency4 ,under such instructors what could become of youth8 ,the period of juvenility was shamefully sacrificed to superstition4 ,man1 from his earliest infancy1 was poisoned with unintelligible notions2 fed with mysteries2 crammed with fables2 drenched with doctrines1 in which he was compelled to acquiesce without being able to comprehend4 ,his brain was disturbed with phantoms1 alarmed with chimeras1 rendered frantic by visions4 ,his genius was cramped with puerile pursuits1 mechanical devotions1 sacred trifles4 ,superstition at length so fascinated the human mind1 made such mere automata of mankind1 that the people consented to address their gods in a dialect they did not themselves understand3 women occupied their whole lives in singing ,latin1 without comprehending a word of the language2 the people assisted very punctually1 without being competent to explain any part of the worship1 under an idea that it was taken kindly they should thus weary themselves2 that it was sufficient to shew their persons in the sacred temples1 which were beautifully decorated to fascinate their senses4 ,thus man wasted his most precious moments in absurd customs2 spent his life in idle ceremonies2 his bead was crowded with sophisms1 his mind was loaded with errors2 intoxicated with fanaticism1 he was the declared enemy to reason2 for ever prepossessed against truth1 the energy of his soul was resisted by shackles too ponderous for its elasticity2 the spring gave way1 and he sunk into sloth and wretchedness3 from this humiliating state he could never again soar2 he could no longer become useful either to himself or to his associates3 the importance he attached to his imaginary science1 or rather the systematic ignorance which served for its basis1 rendered it impossible for the most fertile soil to produce any thing but thorns2 for the best proportioned tree to yield any thing but crabs4 ,does a superstitious1 sacerdotal education1 form intrepid citizens1 intelligent fathers of families1 kind husbands1 just masters1 faithful servants1 loyal subjects1 pacific associates8 ,no6 it either makes peevish enthusiasts or morose devotees1 who are incommodious to themselves1 vexatious to others3 men without principle1 who quickly pour the waters of ,lethe over the terrors with which they have been disturbed2 who know no moral obligation1 who respect no virtue4 ,thus superstition1 elevated above every thing else1 held forth the fanatical dogma1 ,better to obey the gods than men2 in consequence1 man believed he must revolt against his prince1 detach himself from his wife1 detest his children1 estrange himself from his friends1 cut the throats of his fellow-citizens1 every time they questioned the veracity of his faith3 in short1 a superstitious education1 when it had its effect1 only served to corrupt the juvenile heart--to fascinate youthful winds with its pageantry--to degrade the human soul--to make man mistake the duties he owed to himself1 his obligations to society1 his relations with the beings by whom he was surrounded4 ,what advantages might not nations have reaped1 if they would have employed on useful objects1 those riches1 which ignorance has so shamefully lavished on the expounders of superstition2 which fatuity has bestowed on the most useless ceremonies8 ,what might not have been the progress of genius1 if it had enjoyed those ample remunerations1 granted during so many ages to those priests who at all times opposed its elevation8 ,what perfection might not science have attained1 what height might not the arts have reached1 if they had had the same succours that were held forth with a prodigal hand to enthusiasm and futility8 ,upon what rocks might not morality have been rested1 what solid foundations might not politics have found1 with what majestic grandeur might not truth have illumined the human horizon1 if they had experienced the same fostering cares1 the same animating countenance1 the same public sanction1 which accompanied imposture--which was showered upon fanaticism--which shielded falsehood from the rude attack of investigation--which gave impunity to its ministers8 ,it is then obvious1 that superstitious1 theological notions1 have not produced any of those solid advantages that have been held forth2 if may be doubted whether they were not always1 and ever will remain1 contrary to healthy politics1 opposed to sound morality2 they frequently change sovereigns into restless1 jealous1 mischievous1 divinities2 they transform their subjects into envious1 wicked slaves1 who by idle pageantry1 by futile ceremonies1 by an exterior acquiescence in unintelligible opinions1 imagine themselves amply compensated for the evil they commit against each other4 ,those who have never had the confidence to examine these sublimated opinions2 those who feel persuaded that their duties spring out of these abstruse doctrines2 those who are actually commanded to live in peace1 to cherish each other1 to lend mutual assistance1 to abstain from evil1 and to do good1 presently lose sight of these sterile speculations1 as soon as present interests1 ungovernable passions1 inveterate habits1 or irresistible whims1 hurry them away4 ,where are we to look for that equity1 that union of interest1 that peace1 that concord1 which these unsettled notions1 supported by superstition1 backed with the full force of authority1 promise to the societies placed under their surveillance8 ,under the influence of corrupt courts1 of time-serving priests1 who1 either impostors or fanatics1 are never in harmony with each other1 are only to be discerned vicious men1 degraded by ignorance--enslaved by criminal habits--swayed by transient interests--guided by shameful pleasures--sunk in a vortex of dissipation2 who do not even think of the ,divinity4 ,in despite of his theological ideas1 the subtle courtier continues to weave his dark plots1 labours to gratify his ambition1 seeks to satisfy his avidity1 to indulge his hatred1 to wreak his vengeance1 to give full swing to all the passions inherent to the perversity of his being3 maugre that frightful hell1 of which the idea alone makes her tremble1 the woman of intrigue persists in her amours2 continues her harlotry1 revels in her adulteries4 ,notwithstanding their dissipated conduct1 their dissolute manners1 their entire want of moral principle1 the greater part of those who swarm in courts1 who crowd in cities1 would recoil with horror1 if the smallest doubt was exhibited of the truth of that creed which they outrage every moment1 of their lives4 ,what advantage1 then1 has resulted to the human race from those opinions1 so universal1 at the same time so barren8 ,they seem rarely to have had any other kind of influence than to serve as a pretext for the most dangerous passions--as a mantle of security for the most criminal indulgences4 ,does not the superstitious despot1 who would scruple to omit the least part of the ceremonies of his persuasion1 on quitting the altars at which he has been sacrificing1 on leaving the temple where they have been delivering the oracles and terrifying crime in the name of heaven1 return to his vices1 reiterate his injustice1 increase his political crimes1 augment his transgressions against society8 ,issuing from the sacred fane1 their ears still ringing with the doctrines they have heard1 the minister returns to his vexations1 the courtier to his intrigues1 the courtezan to her prostitution1 the publican to his extortions1 the merchant to his frauds1 the trader to his tricks4 ,will it be pretended that those cowardly assassins1 those dastardly robbers1 those miserable criminals1 whom evil institutions1 the negligence of government1 the laxity of morals1 continually multiply2 from whom the laws1 in many instances too sanguinary1 frequently wrest their existence2 will it1 ,i say1 be pretended that the malefactors who regularly furnish the gibbets1 who daily crowd the scaffolds1 are either incredulous or atheists8 ,no6 ,unquestionably1 these unfortunate beings1 these wretched outcasts1 these children of turpitude1 firmly believe in ,god2 his name has been repeated to them from their infancy2 they have been informed of the punishment destined for sinners3 they have been habituated in early life to tremble at his judgments2 nevertheless they have outraged society2 their unruly passions1 stronger than their fears1 not having been coerced by visible motives1 have not1 for much more cogent reasons1 been restrained by those which are invisible3 distant1 concealed punishments will never be competent to arrest those excesses which present and assured torments are incapable of preventing4 ,in short1 does not every day's experience furnish us the lesson1 that men1 persuaded that an all-seeing ,deity views them1 hears them1 encompasses them1 do not on that account arrest their progress when the furor exists1 either for gratifying their licentious passions1 or committing the most dishonest actions8 ,the same individual who would fear the inspection of the meanest of his fellows1 whom the presence of another man would prevent from committing a bad action1 from delivering himself up to some scandalous vice1 freely sins1 cheerfully lends himself to crime1 when he believes no eyes beholds him but those of his ,god4 ,what purpose1 then1 does the conviction of the omniscience1 the ubiquity1 the omnipotence of the ,divinity answer1 if it imposes much less on the conduct of the human being1 than the idea of being overlooked by the least of his fellow men8 ,he who would not have the temerity to commit a crime1 even in the presence of a child1 will make no scruple of boldly committing it1 when he shall have only his ,god for a witness4 ,these facts1 which are indubitable1 ill serve for a reply to those who insist that the fear of ,god is more suitable to restrain the actions of men1 than wholesome laws1 with strict discipline4 ,when man believes he has only his ,god to dread1 he commonly permits nothing to interrupt his course4 ,those persons who do not in the least suspect the power of superstitious notions1 who have the most perfect reliance on their efficacy1 very rarely1 however1 employ them1 when they are desirous to influence the conduct of those who are subordinate to them2 when they are disposed to re-conduct them to the paths of reason4 ,in the advice which a father gives to his vicious1 criminal son1 he rather represents to him the present temporal inconveniencies to which his conduct exposes him1 than the danger he encounters in offending an avenging ,god2 he points out to him the natural consequences of his irregularities1 his health damaged by debaucheries2 the loss of his reputation by criminal pursuits2 the ruin of his fortune by gambling2 the punishments of society1 c4 ,thus the ,,deicolist himself1 on the most important occasions of life1 reckons more stedfastly upon the force of natural motives1 than upon those supernatural inducements furnished by superstition3 the same man1 who vilifies the motives that an atheist can have to do good and abstain from evil1 makes use of them himself on this occasion1 because he feels they are the most substantive he can employ4 ,almost all men believe in an avenging and remunerating ,god2 yet nearly in all countries the number of the wicked bears a larger proportion than that of the good4 ,if the true cause of this general corruption be traced1 it will be more frequently found in the superstitious notions inculcated by theology1 than in those imaginary sources which the various superstitions have invented to account for human depravity4 ,man is always corrupt wherever he is badly governed2 wherever superstition deifies the sovereign1 his government becomes unworthy3 this perverted and assured of impunity1 necessarily render his people miserable2 misery1 when it exceeds the point of endurance1 as necessarily renders them wicked4 ,when the people are submitted to irrational masters1 they are never guided by reason4 ,if they are blinded by priests1 who are either deceived or impostors1 their reason become useless4 ,tyrants1 when combined with priests1 have generally been successful in their efforts to prevent nations from becoming enlightened--from seeking after truth--from ameliorating their condition--from perfectioning their morals2 and never has the union smiled upon liberty3 the people1 unable to resist the mighty torrent produced by the confluence of two such rivers1 have usually sunk into the most abject slavery4 ,it is only by enlightening the mass of mankind1 by demonstrating truth1 that we can promise to render him better2 that we can indulge the hope of making him happy4 ,it is by causing both sovereigns and subjects to feel their true relations with each other1 that their actual interests will be improved2 that their politics will be perfectioned3 it will then be felt and accredited1 that the true art of governing mortals1 the sure method of gaining their affections1 is not the art of blinding them1 of deceiving them1 or of tyrannizing over them4 ,let us1 then1 good humouredly consult reason1 avail ourselves of experience1 interrogate nature2 we shall1 perhaps1 find what is requisite to be done1 in order to labour efficaciously to the happiness of the human race4 ,we shall most assuredly perceive1 that error is the true source of the evils which embitter our existence2 that it is in cheering the hearts1 in dissipating those vain phantoms which alarm the ignorant1 in laying the axe to the root of superstition1 that we can peaceably seek after truth2 that it is only in the conflagration of this baneful tree1 we can ever expect to light the torch which shall illumine the road to felicity4 ,then let man study nature2 observe her immutable laws2 let him dive into his own essence2 let him cure himself of his prejudices3 these means will conduct him by a gentle declivity to that virtue1 without which he must feel he can never be permanently happy in the world he inhabits4 ,if man could once cease to fear1 from that moment he would be truly happy4 ,superstition is a domestic enemy which he always carries within himself3 those who will seriously occupy themselves with this formidable phantom1 must be content to endure continual agonies1 to live in perpetual inquietude3 if they will neglect the objects most worthy of interesting them1 to run after chimeras1 they will commonly pass a melancholy existence1 in groaning1 in praying1 in sacrificing1 in expiating faults1 either real or imaginary1 which they believe calculated to offend their priests2 frequently in their irrational fury they will torment themselves1 they will make it a duty to inflict on their own persons the most barbarous punishments3 but society will reap no benefit from these mournful opinions--from the tortures of these pious irrationals2 because their mind1 completely absorbed by their gloomy reveries1 their time dissipated in the most absurd ceremonies1 will leave them no opportunity of being really advantageous to the community of which they are members4 ,the most superstitions men are commonly misanthropists1 quite useless to the world1 and very injurious to themselves3 if ever they display energy1 it is only to devise means by which they can increase their own affliction2 to discover new methods to torture their mind2 to find out the most efficacious means to deprive themselves of those objects which their nature renders desirable4 ,it is common in the world to behold penitents1 who are intimately persuaded that by dint of barbarous inflictions on their own persons1 by means of a lingering suicide1 they shall merit the favor of heaven4 ,madmen of this species are to be seen every where2 superstition has in all ages1 in all places1 given birth to the most cruel extravagances1 to the most injurious follies4 ,if1 indeed1 these irrational devotees only injure themselves1 and deprive society of that assistance which they owe to it1 they without doubt do less mischief than those turbulent1 zealous fanatics1 who1 infuriated with their superstitious ideas1 believe themselves bound to disturb the world1 to commit actual crimes1 to sustain the cause of what they denominate the true faith4 ,it not unfrequently happens that in outraging morality1 the zealous enthusiast supposes he renders himself agreeable to his ,god4 ,he makes perfection consist either in tormenting himself1 or in rending asunder1 in favour of his fanatical ideas1 the most sacred ties that connect mortals with each other4 ,let us1 then1 acknowledge1 that the notions of superstition1 are not more suitable to procure the welfare1 to establish the content1 to confirm the peace of individuals1 than they are of the society of which they are members4 ,if some peaceable1 honest1 inconclusive enthusiasts1 find either comfort or consolation in them1 there are millions who1 more conclusive to their principles1 are unhappy during their whole life2 who are perpetually assailed by the most melancholy ideas2 to whom their disordered imagination shews these notions1 as every instant involving them in the most cruel punishments4 ,under such formidable systems1 a tranquil1 sociable devotee1 is a man who has not reasoned upon them4 ,in short1 every thing serves to prove1 that superstitious opinions have the strongest influence over men2 that they torment them unceasingly1 divide them from their dearest connections1 inflame their minds1 envenom their passions1 render them miserable without ever restraining their actions1 except when their own temperament proves too feeble to propel them forward3 all this holds forth one great lesson1 that superstition is incompatible with liberty1 and can never furnish good citizens4 ,,chap4 ,,ix4 ,theological ,notions cannot be the ,basis of ,morality4--,comparison between ,theological ,ethics and ,natural ,morality4--,theology prejudicial to the human ,mind4 ,felicity is the great end of human existence2 a supposition therefore1 to be actually useful to man1 should render him happy4 ,by what parity of reasoning can he flatter himself that an hypothesis1 which does not facilitate his happiness in his present duration1 may one day conduct him to permanent bliss8 ,if mortals only sigh1 tremble1 and groan in this world1 of which they have a knowledge1 upon what foundation is it they expect a more felicitous existence hereafter1 in a world of which they know nothing8 ,if man is every where the child of calamity1 the victim to necessary evil1 the unhappy sufferer under an immutable system1 ought he reasonably to indulge a greater confidence in future happiness8 ,on the other hand1 a supposition which should throw light on every thing1 which should supply an easy solution to all the questions to which it could be applied1 when even it should not be competent to demonstrate the certitude1 would probably be true3 but that system which should only obscure the clearest notions1 render more insoluble the problems desired to be resolved by its means1 would most assuredly be looked upon as fallacious2 as either useless or dangerous4 ,to be convinced of this principle1 let us examine1 without prejudice1 if the theological ideas of the ,divinity have ever given the solution to any one difficulty4 ,has the human understanding progressed a single step by the assistance of this metaphysical science8 ,has it not1 on the contrary1 had a tendency to obscure the wore certain science of morals8 ,has it not1 in many instances1 rendered the most essential duties of our nature problematical8 ,has it not in a great measure confounded the notions of virtue and vice1 of justice and injustice8 ,indeed1 what is virtue1 in the eyes of the generality of theologians8 ,they will instantly reply1 that which is conformable to the will of the incomprehensible beings who govern nature4 ,but way it not be asked1 without offence to the individual opinions of any one1 what are these beings1 of whom they are unceasingly talking1 without having the capacity to comprehend them8 ,how can we acquire a knowledge of their will8 ,they will forthwith reply1 with a confidence that is meant to strike conviction on uninformed minds1 by recounting what they are not1 without even attempting to inform us what they are4 ,if they do undertake to furnish an idea of them1 they will heap upon their hypothetical beings a multitude1 of contradictory1 incompatible attributes1 with which they will form a whole1 at once impossible for the human mind to conceive or else they will refer to oracles1 by which they insist their intentions have been promulgated to mankind4 ,if1 however1 they are requested to prove the authenticity of these oracles1 which are at such variance with each other1 they will refer to miracles in support of what they assert3 these miracles1 independent of the difficulty there must exist to repose in them our faith1 when1 as we have seen1 they are admitted even by the theologians themselves1 to be contrary to the intelligence1 the immutability1 to the omnipotency of their immaterial substances1 are1 moreover1 warmly disputed by each particular sect1 as being impositions1 practised by the others for their own individual advantage4 ,as a last resource1 then1 it will be necessary to accredit the integrity1 to rely on the veracity1 to rest on the good faith of the priests1 who announce these oracles4 ,on this again1 there arises two almost insuperable difficulties1 in the first place1 who shall assure us of their actual mission8 are we quite certain none of them may be mistaken8 how shall we be justified in giving credence to their powers8 are they not these priests themselves1 who announce to us that they are the infallible interpreters of a being whom they acknowledge they do not at all know8 ,in the second place1 which set of these oracular developements are we to adopt8 ,for to give currency to the whole1 would1 in point of fact1 annihilate them entirely2 seeing1 that no two of them run in unison with each other4 ,this granted1 the priests1 that is to say1 men extremely suspicious1 but little in harmony with each other1 will be the arbiters of morality2 they will decide 7according to their own uncertain knowledge1 after their various passions1 in conformity to the different perspectives under which they view these things17 on the whole system of ethics2 upon which absolutely rests the repose of the world--the sterling happiness of each individual4 ,would this be a desirable state8 would it be that from which humanity has the best founded prospect of that felicity1 which is the desired object of his research8 ,again2 do we not see that either enthusiasm or interest is the only standard of their decisions8 that their morals are as variable as their caprice8 those who listen to them1 very rarely discover to what line they will adhere4 ,in their various writings1 we have evidence of the most bitter animosities2 we find continual contradictions2 endless disputes upon what they themselves acknowledge to be the most essential points2 upon those premises1 in the substantive proof of which their whole system depends2 the very beings they depict as their source of their various creeds1 are pourtrayed as variable as themselves2 as frequently changing their plans as these are their arguments4 ,what results from all this to a rational man8 ,it will be natural for him to conclude1 that neither inconstant gods1 nor vacillating priests1 whose opinions are more fluctuating than the seasons1 can be the proper models of a moral system1 which should be as regular1 as determinate1 as invariable as the laws of nature herself2 as that eternal march1 from which we never see her derogate4 ,no6 ,arbitrary1 inconclusive1 contradictory notions1 abstract1 unintelligible speculations1 can never be the sterling bases of the ethical science6 ,they must be evident1 demonstrable principles1 deduced from the nature of man1 founded upon his wants1 inspired by rational education1 rendered familiar by habit1 made sacred by wholesome laws1 that will flash conviction on our mind1 render systems useful to mankind1 make virtue dear to us--that will people nations with honest men--fill up the ranks with faithful subjects--crowd them with intrepid citizens4 ,incomprehensible beings can present nothing to our imagination1 save vague ideas1 which will never embrace any common point of union amongst those who shall contemplate them4 ,if these beings are painted as terrible1 the mind is led astray2 if changeable1 it always precludes us from ascertaining the road we ought to pursue4 ,the menaces held forth by those1 who1 in despite of their own assertions1 say they are acquainted with the views1 with the determination of these beings1 will seldom do more than render virtue unpleasant2 fear alone will then make us practise with reluctance1 that which reason1 which our own immediate interest1 ought to make us execute with pleasure4 ,the inculcation of terrible ideas will only serve to disturb honest persons1 without in the least arresting the progress of the profligate1 or diverting the course of the flagitious3 the greater number of men1 when they shall be disposed to sin1 to deliver themselves up to vicious propensities1 will cease to contemplate these terrific ideas1 will only behold a merciful ,god1 who is filled with goodness1 who will pardon the transgressions of their weakness4 ,man never views things but on that side which is most conformable to his desires4 ,the goodness of ,god cheers the wicked2 his rigour disturbs the honest man4 ,thus1 the qualities with which theology clothes its immaterial substances1 themselves turn out disadvantageous to sound morality4 ,it is upon this infinite goodness that the most corrupt men will have the audacity to reckon1 when they are either hurried along by crime1 or given up to habitual vice4 ,if1 then1 they are reminded of their criminal courses1 they reply1 ,god is good1 his mercy is infinite1 his clemency boundless3 thus it may be said that religion itself is pressed into the service of vice1 by the children of turpitude4 ,superstition1 above all1 rather abets crime than represses it1 by holding forth to mortals that by the assistance of certain ceremonies1 the performance of certain rites1 the repetition of certain prayers1 aided by the payment of certain sums of money1 they can appease the anger of their gods1 assuage the wrath of heaven1 wash out the stains of their sins1 and be received with open arms into the happy number of the elect--be placed in the blissful abodes of eternity4 ,in short1 do not the priests of superstition universally affirm1 that they possess infallible secrets1 for reconciling the most perverse to the pale of their respective systems8 ,it must be concluded from this1 that however these systems are viewed1 in whatever manner they are considered1 they cannot serve for the basis of morality1 which in its very nature is formed to be invariably the same4 ,irascible systems are only useful to those who find an interest in terrifying the ignorance of mankind1 that they may advantage themselves of his fears--profit by his expiations4 ,the nobles of the earth1 who are frequently men not gifted with the most exemplary morals--who do not on all occasions exhibit the most perfect specimens of self-denial--who would not1 perhaps1 be at all times held up as mirrors of virtue1 will not see these formidable systems1 when they shall be inclined to listen to their passions2 to lend themselves to the indulgence of their unruly desires3 they will1 however1 feel no repugnance to make use of them to frighten others1 to the end that they may preserve unimpaired their superiority2 that they may keep entire their prerogatives2 that they may more effectually bind them to servitude4 ,like the rest of mankind1 they will see their ,god under the traits of his benevolence2 they will always believe him indulgent to those outrages they may commit against their fellows1 provided they shew due respect for him themselves3 superstition will furnish them with easy means to turn aside his ,wrath2 its ministers seldom omit a profitable opportunity1 to expiate the crimes of human nature4 ,morality is not made to follow the caprices of the imagination1 the fury of the passions1 the fluctuating interests of men3 it ought to possess stability2 to be at all times the same1 for all the individuals of the human race2 it ought neither to vary in one country1 nor in one race from another3 neither superstition nor religion1 has a privilege to make its immutability subservient to the changeable laws of their systems4 ,there is but one method to give ethics this solidity2 it has been more than once pointed out in the course of this work3 it is only to be founded upon the nature of man1 bottomed upon his duties1 rested upon the relations subsisting between intelligent beings1 who are in love1 with their happiness1 who are occupied with their own preservation1 who live together in society that they may ,with greater facility ascertain these ends4 ,in short we must take for the basis of morality the necessity of things4 ,in weighing these principles1 which are self evident1 confirmed by constant experience1 approved by reason1 drawn from nature herself1 we shall have an undeviating tone of conduct2 a sure system of morality1 that will never be in contradiction with itself4 ,man will have no occasion to recur to theological speculations to regulate his conduct in the visible world4 ,we shall then be capacitated to reply to those who pretend that without them there can be no morality4 ,if we reflect upon the long tissue of errors1 upon the immense chain of wanderings1 that flow from the obscure notions these various systems hold forth--of the sinister ideas which superstition in all countries inculcates2 it would be much more conformable to truth to say1 that all sound ethics1 all morality1 either useful to individuals or beneficial to society1 is totally incompatible with systems which never represent their gods but under the form of absolute monarchs1 whose good qualities are continually eclipsed by dangerous caprices4 ,consequently1 we shall be obliged to acknowledge1 that to establish morality upon a steady foundation1 we must necessarily commence by at least quitting those chimerical systems upon which the ruinous edifice of supernatural morality has hitherto been constructed1 which during such a number of ages1 has been so uselessly preached up to a great portion of the inhabitants of the earth4 ,whatever may have been the cause that placed man in his present abode1 that gave him the faculties he possesses2 whether the human species be considered as the work of nature1 or whether it be supposed that he owes his existence to an intelligent being1 distinguished from nature2 the existence of man1 such as he is1 is a fact2 we behold in him a being who thinks1 who feels1 who has intelligence1 who loves himself1 who tends to his own conservation1 who in every moment of his duration strives to render his existence agreeable2 who1 the more easily to satisfy his wants and to procure himself pleasure1 congregates in society with beings similar to himself2 of whom his conduct can either conciliate the favour1 or draw upon him the disaffection4 ,it is1 then1 upon these general sentiments1 inherent in his nature1 which will subsist as long as his race shall endure1 that we ought to found morality2 which is only a science embracing1 the duties of men living together in society4 ,these duties have their spring in our nature1 they are founded upon our necessities1 because we cannot reach the goal of happiness1 if we do not employ the requisite means3 these means constitute the moral science4 ,to be permanently felicitous1 we must so comport ourselves as to merit the affection1 so act as to secure the assistance of those1 beings with whom we are associated2 these will only accord us their love1 lend us their esteem1 aid us in our projects1 labour to our peculiar happiness1 but in proportion as our own exertions shall be employed for their advantage4 ,it is this necessity1 flowing naturally out of the relations of mankind1 that is called ,,moral ,,obligation4 ,it is founded upon reflection1 rested upon those motives competent to determine sensible1 intelligent beings1 to pursue that line of conduct1 which in best calculated to achieve that happiness towards which they are continually verging4 ,these motives in the human species1 never can be other than the desire1 always regenerating1 of procuring good and avoiding evil4 ,pleasure and pain1 the hope of happiness1 or the fear of misery1 are the only motives suitable to have an efficacious influence on the volition of sensible beings4 ,to impel them towards this end1 it is sufficient these motives exist and be understood to have a knowledge of them1 it is only requisite to consider our own constitution3 according to this1 we shall find we can only love those actions1 approve that conduct1 from whence result actual and reciprocal utility2 this constitutes ,,virtue4 ,in consequence1 to conserve ourselves1 to make our own happiness1 to enjoy security1 we are compelled to follow the routine which conducts to this end2 to interest others in our own preservation1 we are obliged to display an interest in theirs2 we must do nothing that can have a tendency to interrupt that mutual co-operation which alone can lead to the felicity desired4 ,such is the true establishment of moral obligation4 ,whenever it is attempted to give any other basis to morality than the nature of man1 we shall always deceive ourselves2 none other can have the least stability2 none can be more solid4 ,some authors1 even of great integrity1 have thought1 that to give ethics more respectability in the eyes of man1 to render more inviolable those duties which his nature imposes on him1 it was needful to clothe them with the authority of a being whom they have made superior to nature--whom they have rendered more powerful than necessity4 ,theology1 seizing on these ideas1 with its own general want of just inference1 has in consequence invaded morality2 has endeavoured to connect it with its various systems4 ,by some it has been imagined1 this union would render virtue more sacred2 that the fear attached to invisible powers1 who govern nature1 would lend more weight1 would give more efficacy to its laws2 in short1 it has been believed that man1 persuaded1 of the necessity of the moral system1 seeing it united with superstition1 would contemplate superstition itself as necessary to his happiness4 ,indeed it is the supposition that these systems are essential to morality1 that sustains the theological ideas--that gives permanency to the greater part of all the creeds on earth2 it is erroneously imagined that without them man would neither understand nor practise the duties he owes to others4 ,this prejudice once established1 gives currency to the opinion that the vague ideas growing out of these systems are in such a manner connected with morality1 are so linked with the actual welfare of society1 that they cannot be attacked without overturning the social duties that bind man to his fellow4 ,it is thought that the reciprocity of wants1 the desire of happiness1 the evident interests of the community1 would be mere skeleton motives1 devoid of all active energy1 if they did not borrow their substance from these various systems2 if they were not invested with the force derived from these numerous creeds2 if they were not clothed with the sanction of those ideas which have been made the arbiters of all things4 ,nothing1 however1 is more borne out by the evidence of experience1 nothing has more thoroughly impressed itself on the minds of reflecting men1 than the danger always arising from connecting truth with fiction2 the known with the unknown2 the delirium of enthusiasm1 with the tranquillity of reason4 ,indeed what has resulted from the confused alliance1 from the marvellous speculations1 which theology has made with the most substantive realities8 of mixing up its evanescent conjectures with the confirmed aphorisms of time8 ,the imagination bewildered1 has mistaken truth3 superstition1 by aid of its gratuitous suppositions1 has commanded nature--made reason bow1 under its bulky yoke1--submitted man to its own peculiar caprices2 very frequently in the name of its gods obliged him to stifle his nature1 to piously violate the most sacred duties of morality4 ,when these superstitions have been desirous of restraining mortals whom they had previously hood-winked1 whom they had rendered irrational1 it gave them only ideal curbs1 imaginary motives2 it substituted unsubstantial causes1 for those which were substantive2 marvellous supernatural powers1 for those which were natural1 and well understood2 it supplied actual realities1 by ideal romances and visionary fables4 ,by this inversion of principle1 morality had no longer any fixed basis3 nature1 reason1 virtue1 demonstration1 were laid prostrate before the most undefinable systems2 were made to depend upon oracular promulgations1 which never spake distinctly2 indeed1 they generally silenced reason1 were often delivered by fanatics1 which time proved to be impostors2 by those who1 always adopting the appellation of inspired beings1 gave forth nothing but the wanderings of their own delirium1 or else were desirous of profiting by the errors which they themselves instilled into mankind4 ,thus these men became deeply interested in preaching abject submission1 non-resistance1 passive-obedience1 factitious virtues1 frivolous ceremonies2 in short1 an arbitrary morality1 conformable to their own reigning passions2 frequently prejudicial to the rest of the human race4 ,it was thus1 in making ethics flow from these various systems1 they in point of fact submitted it to the dominant passions of men1 who had a direct interest in moulding it to their own advantage4 ,in being disposed to found it upon undemonstrated theories1 they founded it upon nothing2 in deriving it from imaginary sources1 of which each individual forms to himself his own notion1 generally adverse to that of his neighbour2 in resting it upon obscure oracles1 always delivered ambiguously1 frequently interpreted by men in the height of delirium1 sometimes by knaves1 who had immediate interests to promote1 they rendered it unsteady--devoid of fixed principle1--too frequently left it to the mercy of the most crafty of mankind4 ,in proposing to man the changeable creeds of the theologians for a model1 they weakened the moral system of human actions2 frequently annihilated that which was furnished by nature2 often substituted in its place nothing but the most perplexing incertitude2 the most ruinous inconsistency4 ,these systems1 by the qualities which are ascribed1 to them1 become inexplicable enigmas1 which each expounds as best suits himself2 which each explains after his own peculiar mode of thinking2 in which the theologian ever finds that which most harmonizes with his designs2 which he can bend to his own sinister purposes2 which he offers as irrefragible evidence of the rectitude of those actions1 which at bottom have nothing but his own advantage in view4 ,if they exhort the gentle1 indulgent1 equitable man1 to be good1 compassionate1 benevolent2 they equally excite the furious1 who is destitute of these qualities1 to be intolerant1 inhuman1 pitiless4 ,the morality of these systems varies in each individual2 differs in one country from another2 in fact1 those actions which some men look upon as sacred1 which they have learned to consider meritorious1 make others shudder with horror--fill them with the most painful recollections4 ,some see the ,divinity filled with gentleness and mercy2 others behold him as full of wrath and fury1 whose anger is to be assuaged by the commission of the most shocking cruelties4 ,the morality of nature is clear1 it is evident even to those who outrage it4 ,it is not thus with superstitious morality2 this is as obscure as the systems which prescribe it2 or rather as fluctuating as the passions1 as changeable as the temperaments1 of those who expound them2 if it was left to the theologians1 ethics ought to be considered as the science of all others the most problematical1 the most unsteady1 the most difficult to bring to a point2 it would require the most profound1 penetrating genius1 the most active1 vigorous mind1 to discover the principles of those duties man owes to himself1 that he ought to exercise towards others2 this would render the sources of the moral system attainable by a very small number of individuals2 would effectually lock them up in the cabinets of the metaphysicians2 place them under the treacherous guardianship of priests3 to derive it from those systems1 which are in themselves undefinable1 with the foundations of which no one is actually acquainted1 which each contemplates after his own mode1 modifies after his own peculiar ideas1 is at once to submit it to the caprice of every individual2 it is completely to acknowledge1 we know not from whence it is derived1 nor whence it has its principles4 ,whatever may be the agent upon whom they make nature1 or the beings she contains1 to depend2 with whatever power they way suppose him invested1 it is very certain that man either does1 or does not exist2 but as soon as his existence is acknowledged1 as soon as it is admitted to be what it actually is1 when he shall be allowed to be a sensible being living in society1 in love with his own felicity1 they cannot without either annihilating him1 or new modelling him1 cause him to exist otherwise than he does4 ,therefore1 according to his actual essence1 agreeable to his absolute qualities1 conformable to those modifications which constitute him a being1 of the human species1 morality becomes necessary to him1 and the desire of conserving himself will make him prefer virtue to vice1 by the same necessity that he prefers pleasure to pain4 ,if1 following up the doctrine of the theologians1 that man hath occasion for supernatural grace to enable him to do good1 it must be very injurious to sound principles of morality2 because he will always wait for the call from above1 to exercise that virtue1 which is indispensable to his welfare4 ,tertullian1 nevertheless says expressly1 wherefore will ye trouble yourselves1 seeking after the law of ,god1 whilst ye have that which is common to all the world1 and which is written on the tablets of nature8 ,to say1 that man cannot possess any moral sentiments without embracing the discordant systems offered to his acceptance1 is1 in point of fact1 saying1 that he cannot distinguish virtue from vice2 it is to pretend that without these systems1 man would not feel the necessity of eating to live1 would not make the least distinction1 would be absolutely without choice in his food3 it is to pretend1 that unless he is fully acquainted with the name1 character1 and qualities of the individual who prepares a mess for him1 he is not competent to discriminate whether this mess be agreeable or disagreeable1 good or bad4 ,he who does not feel himself satisfied what opinions to adopt1 upon the foundation and moral attributes of these systems1 or who even formally denies them1 cannot at least doubt his own existence-his own functions--his own qualities--his own mode of feeling--his own method of judging2 neither can he doubt the existence of other organized beings similar to himself2 in whom every thing discovers to him qualities analogous with his own2 of whom he can1 by certain actions1 either gain the love or incur the hatred--secure the assistance or attract the ill-will--merit the esteem or elicit the contempt2 this knowledge is sufficient to enable him to distinguish moral good and evil4 ,in short1 every man enjoying a well-ordered organization1 possessing the faculty of making true experience1 will only need to contemplate himself in order to discover what he owes to others3 his own nature will enlighten him much more effectually upon his duties1 than those systems in which he will consult either his own unruly passions1 those of some enthusiast1 or those of an impostor4 ,he will allow1 that to conserve himself1 to secure his own permanent welfare1 he is frequently obliged to resist the blind impulse of his own desires2 that to conciliate the benevolence of others1 he must act in a mode conformable to their advantage2 in reasoning thus1 he will find out what virtue actually is2 if he puts his theory into practice1 he will be virtuous2 he will be rewarded for his conduct by the harmony of his own machine2 by the legitimate esteem of himself1 confirmed by the good opinion of others1 whose kindness he will have secured3 if he acts in a contrary mode1 the trouble that will ensue1 the disorder of his frame1 will quickly warn him that nature1 thwarted by his actions1 disapproves his conduct1 which is injurious to himself2 to which he will be obliged to add the condemnation of others1 who will hate him4 ,if the wanderings of his mind prevent him from seeing the more immediate consequences of his irregularities1 neither will he perceive the distant rewards1 the remote punishments1 which these systems hold forth2 because they will never speak to him so distinctly as his conscience1 which will either reward or punish him on the spot4 ,theology has never yet known how to give a true definition of virtue3 according to it1 it is an effort of grace1 that disposes man to do that which is agreeable to the ,divinity4 ,but what is this grace8 ,how doth it act upon man8 ,how shall we know what is agreeable to a ,divinity who is incomprehensible to all men8 ,every thing that has been advanced evidently proves1 that superstitious morality is an infinite loser when compared with the morality of nature1 with which1 indeed1 it is found in perpetual contradiction4 ,nature invites man to love himself1 to preserve his existence1 to incessantly augment the sum of his happiness3 superstition teaches him to be in love only with formidable doctrines1 calculated to generate his dislike2 to detest himself2 to sacrifice to his idols his most pleasing sensations--the most legitimate pleasures of his heart4 ,nature counsels man to consult reason1 to adopt it for his guide2 superstition pourtrays this reason as corrupted1 as a treacherous director1 that will infallibly lead him astray4 ,nature warns him to enlighten his understanding1 to search after truth1 to inform himself of his duties2 superstition enjoins him not to examine any thing1 to remain in ignorance1 to fear truth2 it persuades him there are no relations so important to his interest1 as those which subsist between himself and systems which he can never understand4 ,nature tells the being who is in love with his welfare1 to moderate his passions1 to resist them when they are found destructive to himself1 to counteract them by substantive motives collected from experience2 superstition desires a sensible being to have no passions1 to be an insensible mass1 or else to combat his propensities by motives borrowed from the imagination1 which are as variable as itself4 ,nature exhorts man to be sociable1 to love his fellow creatures1 to be just1 peaceable1 indulgent1 benevolent1 to permit his associates to freely enjoy their opinions2 superstition admonishes him to fly society1 to detach himself from his fellow mortals1 to hate them when their imagination does not procure them dreams conformable to his own2 to break through the most sacred bonds1 to maintain his own opinions1 or to frustrate those of his neighbour2 to torment1 to persecute1 to massacre1 those who will not be mad after his own peculiar manner4 ,nature exacts that man in society should cherish glory1 labour to render himself estimable1 endeavour to establish an imperishable name1 to be active1 courageous1 industrious2 superstition tells him to be abject1 pusillanimous1 to live in obscurity1 to occupy himself with ceremonies2 it says to him1 be useless to thyself1 and do nothing for others4 ,nature proposes to the citizen1 for his model1 men endued with honest1 noble1 energetic souls1 who have usefully served their fellow citizens2 superstition recommends to his imitation mean1 cringing sycophants2 extols pious enthusiasts1 frantic penitents1 zealous fanatics1 who for the most ridiculous opinions have disturbed the tranquility of empires4 ,nature urges the husband to be tender1 to attach himself to the company of his mate1 to cherish her in his bosom2 superstition makes a crime of his susceptibility1 frequently obliges him to look upon the conjugal bonds as a state of pollution1 as the offspring of imperfection4 ,nature calls to the father to nurture his children1 to cherish their affection1 to make them useful members of society2 superstition advises him to rear them in fear of its systems1 to hoodwink them1 to make them superstitious1 which renders them incapable of actually serving society1 but extremely well calculated to disturb its repose4 ,nature cries out to children to honor their parents1 to listen to their admonitions1 to be the support of their old age2 superstition says1 prefer the oracles2 in support of the systems of which you are an admitted member1 trample father and mother under your feet4 ,nature holds out to the philosopher that he should occupy himself with useful objects1 consecrate his cares to his country1 make advantageous discoveries1 suitable to perfect the condition of mankind2 superstition saith1 occupy thyself with useless reveries2 employ thy time in endless dispute2 scatter about with a lavish hand the seeds of discord1 calculated to induce the carnage of thy fellows2 obstinately maintain opinions which thou thyself canst never understand4 ,nature points out to the perverse man1 that he should blush for his vices1 that he should feel sorrow for his disgraceful propensities1 that he should be ashamed of crime2 it shews him1 that his most secret irregularities will necessarily have an influence over his own felicity2 superstition crieth to the most corrupt men1 to the most flagitious mortals1 do not irritate the gods1 whom thou knowest not2 but if1 peradventure1 against their express command1 thou dost deliver thyself up to crime1 remember that their mercy is infinite1 that their compassion endureth for ever1 that therefore they may be easily appeased2 thou hast nothing more to do than to go into their temples1 prostrate thyself before their altars1 humiliate thyself at the feet of their ministers2 expiate thy transgressions by largesses1 by sacrifices1 by offerings1 by ceremonies1 and by prayer2 these things done with a willing spirit1 and a contrite heart1 will pacify thine own conscience1 and cleanse thee in the eyes of heaven4 ,the rights of the citizen1 or the man in society1 are not less injured by superstition1 which is always in contradiction with sound politics4 ,nature says distinctly to man1 thou art free2 no power on earth can justly deprive thee of thy rights1 without thine own consent2 and even then1 thou canst not legitimately make thyself a slave to thy like4 ,superstition tells him he is a slave1 condemned to groan all his life under the iron rod of the representatives of its system4 ,nature commands man to love the country which gave him birth1 to serve it faithfully1 to blend his interests with it1 to unite against all those who shall attempt to injure it2 superstition generally orders him to obey without murmur the tyrants who oppress it1 to serve them against its best interests1 to merit their favors by contributing to enslave their fellow citizens to their ungovernable caprices3 notwithstanding these general orders1 if the sovereign be not sufficiently devoted to the priest1 superstition quickly changes its language1 it then calls upon subjects to become rebels2 it makes it a duty in them to resist their masters2 it cries out to them1 it is better to obey the gods than men4 ,nature acquaints princes that they are men3 that it is not by their capricious whims that they can decide what is just2 that it is not their wayward humours that can mark what is unjust2 that the public will maketh the law4 ,superstition often insinuates to them that they are gods1 to whom nothing in this world ought to offer resistance2 sometimes1 indeed1 it transforms them into tyrants1 whom enraged heaven is desirous should be immolated to its wrath4 ,superstition corrupts princes2 these corrupt the law1 which1 like themselves1 becomes unjust2 from thence institutions are perverted2 education only forms men who are worthless1 blinded with prejudice1 smitten with vain objects1 enamoured of wealth1 devoted to pleasures1 which they must obtain by iniquitous means3 thus nature1 mistaken1 is disdained2 virtue is only a shadow quickly sacrificed to the slightest interest1 while superstition1 far from remedying these evils to which it has given birth1 does nothing more than render them still more inveterate2 or else engenders sterile regrets which it presently effaces3 thus1 by its operation1 man is obliged to yield to the force of habit1 to the general example1 to the stream of those propensities1 to those causes of confusion1 which conspire to hurry all his species1 who are not willing to renounce their own welfare1 on to the commission of crime4 ,here is the mode by which superstition1 united with politics1 exert their efforts to pervert1 abuse1 and poison the heart of man2 the generality of human institutions appear to have only for their object to abase the human character1 to render it more flagitiously wicked4 ,do not then let us be at all astonished if morality is almost every where a barren speculation1 from which every one is obliged to deviate in practice1 if he will not risk the rendering himself unhappy4 ,men can only have sound morals1 when1 renouncing his prejudices1 he consults his nature2 but the continued impulse which his soul is every moment receiving1 on the part of more powerful motives1 quickly compels him to forget those ethical rules which nature points out to him4 ,he is continually floating between vice and virtue2 we behold him unceasingly in contradiction with himself2 if1 sometimes1 he justly appreciates the value of an honest1 upright conduct1 experience very soon shews him1 that this cannot lead him to any thing1 which he has been taught to desire1 on the contrary1 that it may be an invincible obstacle to the happiness which his heart never ceases for an instant to search after4 ,in corrupt societies it is necessary to become corrupt1 in order to become happy4 ,citizens1 led astray at the same time both by their spiritual and temporal guides1 neither knew reason nor virtue4 ,the slaves both of their superstitious systems1 and of men like themselves1 they had all the vices attached to slavery2 kept in a perpetual state of infancy1 they had neither knowledge nor principles2 those who preached virtue to them1 knew nothing of it themselves1 and could not undeceive them with respect to those baubles in which they had learned to make their happiness consist4 ,in vain they cried out to them to stifle those passions which every thing conspired to unloose3 in vain they made the thunder of the gods roll to intimidate men whose tumultuous passions rendered them deaf4 ,it was soon discovered that the gods of the heavens were much less feared than those of the earth2 that the favour of the latter procured a much more substantive welfare than the promises of the former2 that the riches of this world were more tangible than the treasures reserved for favorites in the next2 that it was much more advantageous for men to conform themselves to the views of visible powers than to those of powers who were not within the compass of their visual faculties4 ,thus society1 corrupted by its priests1 guided by their caprice1 could only bring forth a corrupt offspring4 ,it gave birth to avaricious1 ambitious1 jealous1 dissolute citizens1 who never saw any thing happy but crime2 who beheld meanness rewarded2 incapacity honoured2 wealth adored2 debauchery held in esteem2 who almost every where found talents discouraged2 virtue neglected2 truth proscribed2 elevation of soul crushed2 justice trodden under foot2 moderation languishing in misery2 liberality of mind obligated to groan under the ponderous bulk of haughty injustice4 ,in the midst of this disorder1 in this confusion of ideas1 the precepts of morality could only be vague declamations1 incapable of convincing any one4 ,what barrier could superstition1 with its imaginary motives1 oppose to the general corruption8 ,when it spake reason1 it could not be heard2 its gods themselves were not sufficiently powerful to resist the torrent2 its menaces failed of effect1 on those hearts which every thing hurried along to crime2 its distant promises could not counterbalance present advantages2 its expiations1 always ready to cleanse mortals from their sins1 emboldened them to persevere in their criminal pursuits2 its frivolous ceremonies calmed their consciences2 its zeal1 its disputes1 its caprices1 only multiplied the evils1 with which society found itself afflicted2 only gave them an inveteracy that rendered them more widely mischievous2 in short1 in the most vitiated nations there was a multitude of devotees1 and but very few honest men4 ,great and small listened to the doctrines of superstition1 when they appeared favorable to their dominant passions2 when they were desirous to counteract them1 they listened no longer4 ,whenever superstition was conformable to morality1 it appeared incommodious1 it was only followed when it either combatted ethics or destroyed them4 ,the despot himself found it marvellous1 when it assured him he was a god upon earth2 that his subjects were born to adore him alone1 to administer to his phantasms4 ,he neglected it when it told him to be just2 from thence he saw it was in contradiction with itself1 that it was useless to preach equity to a deified mortal2 besides1 he was assured the gods would pardon every thing1 as soon as he should consent to recur to his priests1 always ready to reconcile them2 the most wicked of their subjects reckoned in the same manner upon their divine assistance3 thus superstition1 far from restraining vice1 assured its impunity2 its menaces could not destroy the effects which its unworthy flattery had produced in princes2 these same menaces could not annihilate the hope which its expiations had furnished to all4 ,sovereigns1 either inflated with pride1 or always confident of washing out their crimes by timely sacrifices1 no longer actually feared their gods2 become gods themselves1 they believed they were permitted any thing against poor pitiful mortals1 whom they no longer considered under any other light than as playthings destined for their earthly amusement4 ,if the nature of man was consulted in his politics which supernatural ideas have so woefully depraved1 it would completely rectify those false notions that are entertained equally by sovereigns and by subjects2 it would contribute more amply than all the superstitions existing1 to render society happy1 powerful1 and flourishing under rational authority4 ,nature would teach man1 it is for the purpose of enjoying a greater portion of happiness1 that mortals live together in society2 that it is its own preservation1 its own immediate felicity1 that society should have for its determinate1 unchangeable object3 that without equity1 a nation only resembles a congregation of enemies2 that his most cruel foe1 is the man who deceives him in order that he may enslave him2 that the scourges most to be feared1 are those priests who corrupt his chiefs1 who1 in the name of the gods assure them of impunity for their crimes3 she would prove to him that association is a misfortune under unjust1 negligent1 destructive governments4 ,this nature1 interrogated by princes1 would teach them they are men and not gods2 that their power is only derived from the consent of other men2 that they themselves are citizens1 charged by other citizens1 with the care of watching over the safety of the whole2 that the law ought to be only the expression of the public will2 that it is never permitted them to counteract nature1 or to thwart the invariable end of society4 ,this nature would make monarchs feel1 that to be truly great1 to be decidedly powerful1 they ought to command elevated1 virtuous souls2 not minds degraded by despotism1 vitiated by superstition4 ,this nature would teach sovereigns1 that in order to be cherished by their subjects1 they ought to afford them succour2 to cause them to enjoy those benefits which their wants render imperative1 that they should at all times maintain them1 inviolably1 in the possession of their rights1 of which they are the appointed defenders--of which they are the constituted guardians4 ,this nature would prove to all those princes who should deign to consult her1 that it is only by good actions1 by kindness1 they can either merit the love1 or secure the attachment of the people2 that oppression does nothing more than raise up enemies against them2 that violence only makes their power unsteady2 that force1 however brutally used1 cannot confer on them any legitimate right2 that beings essentially in love with happiness1 must sooner or later finish by revolting against an authority that establishes itself by injustice2 that only makes itself felt by the outrage it commits3 this is the manner in which nature1 the sovereign of all beings1 in whose system all are equal1 would speak to one of these superb monarchs1 whom flattery has deified3--,untoward1 headstrong child6 ,pigmy1 so proud of commanding pigmies6 ,have they then assured thee that thou art a god8 ,have they flattered thee that thou art something supernatural8 ,know there is nothing superior to myself4 ,contemplate thine own insignificance1 acknowledge thine impotence against the slightest of my blows4 ,i can break thy sceptre2 ,i can take away thine existence2 ,i can level thy throne with the dust2 ,i can scatter thy people2 ,i can destroy even the earth which thou inhabitest2 and yet thou hast the folly to believe thou art a god4 ,be then1 again1 thyself2 honestly avow that thou art a man1 formed to submit to my laws equally with the meanest of thy subjects4 ,learn then1 and never let it escape thy memory1 that thou art the man of thy people2 the minister of thy nation2 the interpreter of its laws2 the executer of its will2 the fellow-citizen of those whom thou hast the right of commanding1 only because they consent to obey thee1 in view of that well being which thou promisest to procure for them4 ,reign1 then1 on these conditions2 fulfil thy sacred engagements4 ,be benevolent3 above all1 equitable4 ,if thou art willing to have thy power assured to thee1 never abuse it2 let it be circumscribed by the immovable limits of eternal justice4 ,be the father of thy people1 and they will cherish thee as thy children4 ,but1 if unmindful of thy duties1 thou neglectest them2 if negligent of thine own interest1 thou separatest them from those of thy great family1 if thou refusest to thy subjects that happiness which thou owest them2 if1 heedless of thy own security1 thou armest thyself against them2 thou shall be like all tyrants1 the slave to gloomy care1 the bondman of alarm1 the vassal of cruel suspicion3 thou wilt become the victim to thine own folly4 ,thy people1 reduced to despair1 shorn of their felicity1 will no longer acknowledge thy divine rights4 ,in vain1 then1 thou wouldst sue for aid to that superstition which hath deified thee2 it can avail nothing with thy people1 whom sharp misery had rendered deaf2 heaven will abandon thee to the fury of those enemies to which thy frenzy shall have given birth4 ,superstitious systems can effect nothing against my irrevocable decrees1 which will that man shall ever irritate himself against the cause of his sorrows4 ,in short1 every thing would make known to rational princes1 that they have no occasion for superstition to be faithfully obeyed on earth2 that all the powers contained in these systems will not sustain them when they shall act the tyrant2 that their true friends are those who undeceive the people in their delusions2 that their real enemies are those who intoxicate them with flattery--who harden them in crime--who make the road to heaven too easy for them--who feed them with fanciful1 chimerical doctrines1 calculated to make them swerve from those cares1 to divert them from those sentiments1 which they justly owe to their nations4 ,it is then1 ,i repeat it1 only by re-conducting man to nature1 that we can procure him distinct notions1 evident opinions1 certain knowledge2 it is only by shewing him his true relations with his fellows1 that we can place him on the road to happiness4 ,the human mind1 blinded by theology1 has scarcely advanced a single step4 ,man's superstitious systems have rendered him sceptical on the most demonstrable truths4 ,superstition1 while it pervaded every thing1 while it had an universal influence1 served to corrupt the whole3 philosophy1 dragged in its train1 although it swelled its triumphant procession1 was no longer any thing but an imaginary science3 it quitted the real world to plunge into the sinuosities of the ideal1 inconceivable labyrinths of metaphysics2 it neglected nature1 who spontaneously opened her book to its examination1 to occupy itself with systems filled with spirits1 with invisible powers1 which only served to render all questions more obscure2 which1 the more they were probed1 the more inexplicable they became2 which took delight in promulgating that which no one was competent to understand4 ,in all difficulties it introduced the ,divinity2 from thence things only became more and more perplexed1 until nothing could be explained4 ,theological notions appear only to have been invented to put man's reason to flight2 to confound his judgment2 to deceive his mind2 to overturn his clearest ideas in every science4 ,in the hands of the theologian1 logic1 or the art of reasoning1 was nothing more than an unintelligible jargon1 calculated to support sophism1 to countenance falsehood1 to attempt to prove the most palpable contradictions4 ,morality1 as we have seen1 became wavering and uncertain1 because it was founded on ideal systems1 never in harmony with themselves1 which1 on the contrary1 were continually contradicting their own most positive assertions4 ,politics1 as we have elsewhere said1 were cruelly perverted by the fallacious ideas given to sovereigns of their actual rights4 ,jurisprudence was determinately submitted to the caprices of superstition1 which shackled labour1 chained down human industry1 controuled activity1 and fettered the commerce of nations4 ,every thing1 in short1 was sacrificed to the immediate interests of these theologians3 in the place of every rational science1 they taught nothing but an obscure1 quarrelsome metaphysics1 which but too often caused the blood of those unhappy people to flow copiously who were incapable of understanding its hallucinations4 ,born an enemy to experience1 theology1 that supernatural science1 was an invincible obstacle to the progress of the natural sciences1 as it almost always threw itself in their way4 ,it was not permitted to experimental philosophy1 to natural history1 to anatomy1 to see any thing but through the jaundiced eye of superstition4 ,the most evident facts were rejected with disdain1 proscribed with horror1 when ever they could not be made to quadrate with the idle hypotheses of superstition4 ,virgil1 the ,bishop of ,saltzburg1 was condemned by the church1 for having dared to maintain the existence of the antipodes2 ,gallileo suffered the most cruel persecutions1 for asserting that the sun did not make its revolution round the earth4 ,descartes was obliged to die in a foreign land4 ,priests1 indeed1 have a right to be the enemies to the sciences2 the progress of reason must1 sooner or later1 annihilate superstitious ideas4 ,nothing that is founded upon nature1 that is bottomed upon truth1 can ever be lost2 while the systems of imaginations1 the creeds of imposture1 must be overturned4 ,theology unceasingly opposed itself to the happiness of nations--to the progress of the human mind--to useful researches--to the freedom of thought2 it kept man in ignorance2 all his steps being guided by it1 he was no more than a tissue of errors4 ,indeed1 is it resolving a question in natural philosophy1 to say that an effect which excites our surprise1 that an unusual phenomenon1 that a volcano1 a deluge1 a hurricane1 a comet1 c4 are either signs of divine wrath1 or works contrary to the laws of nature8 ,in persuading nations1 as it has done1 that the calamities1 whether physical or moral1 which they experience1 are the effects of the divine anger1 or chastisements which his power inflicts on them1 has it not1 in fact1 prevented them from seeking after remedies for these evils8 ,would it not have been more useful to have studied the nature of things1 to have sought in nature herself1 or in human industry1 for succours against those sorrows with which mortals are afflicted1 than to attribute the evil which man experiences to an unknown power1 against whose will it cannot be supposed there exists any relief8 ,the study of nature1 the search after truth1 elevates the soul1 expands the genius1 is calculated to render man active1 to make him courageous4 ,theological notions appear to have been made to debase him1 to contract his mind1 to plunge him into despondence4 ,in the place of attributing to the divine vengeance those wars1 those famines1 those sterilities1 those contagions1 that multitude of calamities1 which desolate the earth2 would it not have been more useful1 more consistent with truth1 to have shewn man that these evils were to be ascribed to his own folly1 or rather to the unruly passions1 to the want of energy1 to the tyranny of some princes1 who sacrifice nations to their frightful delirium8 ,the irrational people1 instead of amusing themselves with expiations for their pretended crimes1 seeking to render themselves acceptable to imaginary powers2 should they not rather have sought in a more healthy administration1 the true means of avoiding those scourges1 to which they were the victims8 ,natural evils demand natural remedies3 ought not experience then long since to have convinced mortals of the inefficacy of supernatural remedies1 of expiatory sacrifices1 of fastings1 of processions1 c4 which almost all the people of the earth have vainly opposed to the disasters which they experienced8 ,let us then conclude1 that theology with its notions1 far from being useful to the human species1 is the true source of all those sorrows which afflict the earth of all those errors by which man is blinded2 of those prejudices which benumb mankind2 of that ignorance which renders him credulous2 of those vices which torment him2 of those governments which oppress him4 ,let us be fully persuaded that those theological1 supernatural ideas1 with which man is inspired from his infancy1 are the actual causes of his habitual folly2 are the springs of his superstitious quarrels2 of his sacred dissensions2 of his inhuman persecutions4 ,let us1 at length1 acknowledge1 that they are these fatal ideas which have obscured morality2 corrupted polities2 retarded the progress of the sciences2 annihilated happiness2 banished peace from the bosom of mankind1 ,then let it be no longer dissimulated1 that all those calamities1 for which man turns his eyes towards heaven1 bathed in tears1 have their spring in the imaginary systems he has adopted3 let him1 therefore1 cease to expect relief from them2 let him seek in nature1 let him search in his own energies1 those resources1 which superstition1 deaf to his cries1 will never procure for him4 ,let him consult the legitimate desires of his heart1 and he will find that which he oweth to himself1 also that which he oweth to others2 let him examine his own essence1 let him dive into the aim of society1 from thence he will no longer be a slave2 let him consult experience1 he will find truth1 and he will discover1 that error can never possible render him happy4 ,,chap4 ,x4 ,man can form no ,conclusion from the ,ideas which are offered him of the ,divinity4--,of their want of just ,inference4--,of the ,inutility of his ,conduct4 ,it has been already stated1 that ideas to be useful1 must be founded upon truth2 that experience must at all times demonstrate their justice3 if1 therefore1 as we have proved1 the erroneous ideas which man has in almost all ages formed to himself of the ,divinity1 far from being of utility1 are prejudicial to morality1 to politics1 to the happiness of society1 to the welfare of the individuals who compose it1 in short1 to the progress of the human understanding2 reason1 and our interest1 ought to make us feel the necessity of banishing from our mind these illusive1 futile opinions1 which can never do more than confound it--which can only disturb the tranquillity of our hearts4 ,in vain should we flatter ourselves with arriving at the correction of theological notions2 erroneous in their principles1 they are not susceptible of reform4 ,under whatever shape an error presents itself1 as soon as man shall attach an undue importance to it1 it will1 sooner or later1 finish by producing consequences dangerous in proportion to their extent4 ,besides1 the inutility of those researches1 which in all ages have been made after the true nature of the ,divinity1 the notions that have hitherto been entertained1 have done little more than throw it into greater obscurity1 even to those who have most profoundly meditated on the subject2 then1 ought not this very inutility to convince us that this subject is not within the reach of our capacity that this being will not be better known to us1 or by our descendants1 than it hath been to our ancestors1 either the most savage or the most ignorant8 ,the object1 which of all others man has at all times reasoned upon the most1 written upon the most1 nevertheless remains the least known2 far from progressing in his research1 time1 with the aid of theological ideas1 has only rendered it more impossible to be conceived4 ,if the ,divinity be such as dreaming theology depicts1 he must himself be a ,divinity who is competent to form an idea of him4 ,we know little of man1 we hardly know ourselves1 or our own faculties1 yet we are disposed to reason upon a being inaccessible to our senses4 ,let us1 then1 travel in peace over the line described for us by nature1 without having a wish to diverge from it1 to hunt after vague systems2 let us occupy ourselves with our true happiness2 let us profit of the benefits spread before us2 let us labour to multiply them1 by diminishing the number of our errors2 let us quietly submit to those evils we cannot avoid1 and not augment them by filling our mind with prejudices calculated to lead us astray4 ,when we shall give it serious reflection1 every thing will clearly prove that the pretended science of theology is1 in truth1 nothing but presumptuous ignorance1 masked under pompous1 unintelligible words4 ,in short1 let us terminate unfruitful researches2 be content at least to acknowledge our invincible ignorance2 it will clearly be more substantively advantageous1 than an arrogant science1 which has hitherto done little more than sow discord on the earth--affliction in the heart of man4 ,in supposing a sovereign intelligence who governs the world2 in supposing a ,divinity who exacts from his creatures that they should have a knowledge of him1 that they should understand his attributes1 his wisdom1 his power2 who is desirous they should render him homage2 it must be allowed1 that no man on earth in this respect completely fulfils the views of providence4 ,indeed1 nothing is more demonstrable than the impossibility in which the theologians find themselves1 to form to their mind any idea whatever of the ,divinity4 ,procopius1 the first bishop of the ,goths1 says in the most solemn manner3 ,i esteem it a very foolish temerity to be disposed to penetrate into the knowledge of the nature of ,god2 and further on he acknowledges1 that he has nothing more to say of him1 except that he is perfectly good4 ,he who knoweth more1 whether he be ecclesiastic or layman1 has only to tell it4 ,the weakness1 the obscurity of the proofs offered1 of the systems attributed to him1 the manifest contradictions into which they fall1 the sophisms1 the begging of the question1 which are employed1 evidently prove they are themselves in the greatest incertitude upon the nature of that being with whom it is their profession to occupy their thoughts3 even the author of ,a ,new ,view of ,society acknowledges1 that up to this moment it is1 not possible yet to say which is right or which is wrong3 that had any one of the various opposing systems which until this day have governed the world1 and disunited man from man1 been true1 without any mixture of error2 that system1 very speedily after its public promulgation1 would have pervaded society1 and compelled all men to have acknowledged its truth4 ,but granting that they have a knowledge of this being1 that his essence1 his attributes1 his systems1 were so fully demonstrated to them1 as no longer to leave any doubt in their mind1 do the rest of the human race enjoy the same advantages8 ,are they1 in fact1 in a condition to be charged with this knowledge8 ,ingenuously1 how many persons are to be found in the world1 who have the leisure1 the capacity1 the penetration1 necessary to understand what is meant to be designated under the name of an immaterial being--of a pure spirit1 who moveth matter without being himself matter2 who is the motive of all the powers of nature1 without being contained in nature--without being able to touch it8 ,are there1 in the most religious societies1 many persons who are competent to follow their spiritual guides1 in the subtle proofs which they adduce in evidence of their creeds1 upon which they bottom their systems of theology8 ,without question very few men are capable of profound1 connected meditation2 the exercise of intense thought is1 for the greater number1 a species of labour as painful as it is unusual4 ,the people1 obliged to toil hard1 in order to obtain subsistence1 are commonly incapable of reflection2 nobles1 men of the world1 women1 young people1 occupied with their own immediate affairs1 taken up with gratifying their passions1 employed in procuring themselves pleasure1 as rarely think deeply as the uninformed4 ,there are not1 perhaps1 two men in an hundred thousand1 who have seriously asked themselves the question1 ,what it is they understand by the word ,god8 ,whilst it is extremely rare to find persons to whom the nature of ,god is a problem4 ,nevertheless1 as we have said1 conviction supposes that evidence alone has banished doubt from the mind4 ,where1 then1 are the web who are convinced of the rectitude of these systems8 ,who are those in whom we shall find the complete certitude of these truths1 so important to all8 ,who are the persons1 who have given themselves an accurate account of the ideas they have formed upon the ,divinity1 upon his attributes1 upon his essence8 ,alas6 throughout the whole world1 are only to be seen some speculators1 who1 by dint of occupying themselves with the idea1 have1 with great fatuity1 believed they have discovered something decisive in the confused1 unconnected wanderings of their own imagination2 they have1 in consequence1 endeavoured to form a whole1 which1 chimerical as it is1 they have accustomed themselves to consider as actually existing3 by force of musing upon it1 they have sometimes persuaded themselves they1 saw it distinctly2 these have not unfrequently succeeded in making others believe1 their reveries1 although they may not have mused upon it quite so much as themselves4 ,it is seldom more than hearsay1 that the mass of the people adopt either the systems of their fathers1 or of their priests3 authority1 confidence1 submission1 habit1 take place of conviction--supersede proof2 they prostrate themselves before idols1 lend themselves to different creeds1 because their ancestors have taught them to fall down1 and worship2 but never do they inquire wherefore they bend the knee3 it is only because1 in times far distant1 their legislators1 their guides1 have imposed it upon them as a duty2 these have said1 adore and believe those gods1 whom ye cannot comprehend2 yield yourselves in this instance to our profound wisdom2 we know more than ye do respecting the ,divinity4 ,but wherefore1 it might be inquired1 should ,i take this system upon your authority8 ,it is1 they will reply1 because the gods will have it thus2 because they will punish you1 if you dare to resist4 ,but are not these gods the thing in question8 ,nevertheless1 man has always been satisfied with this circle of errors2 the idleness of his mind made him find it most easy to yield to the judgment of others4 ,all superstitions are uniformly founded upon error1 established by authority2 equally forbid examination2 are equally indisposed to permit that man should reason upon them2 it is power that wills he should unconditionally accredit them3 they are rested solely upon the influence of some few men1 who pretend to a knowledge of things1 which they admit are incomprehensible for all their species2 who1 at the same time1 affirm they are sent as missionaries to announce them to the inhabitants of the earth3 these inconceivable systems1 formed in the brain of some enthusiastic persons1 have most unquestionably occasion for men to expound them to their fellows4 ,man is generally credulous as a child upon those objects which relate to superstition2 he is told he must believe them2 as he generally understands nothing of the matter1 he imagines he runs no risk in joining sentiments with his priest1 whom he supposes has been competent to discover what he himself is not able to comprehend4 ,the most rational people argue thus3 ,what shall ,i do8 ,what interest can so many persons have to deceive8 ,but1 seriously1 does this prove that they do not deceive8 ,they may do it from two motives3 either because they are themselves deceived1 or because they have a great interest in deceiving4 ,by the confession of the theologians themselves1 man is1 for the greater part1 without religion3 he has only superstition4 ,superstition1 according to them1 is a worship of the ,divinity1 either badly understood or irrational1 or else1 worship rendered to a false ,divinity4 ,but where are the people or the clergy who will allow1 either that their ,divinity is false1 or their worship irrational8 ,how shall it be decided who is right1 or who is wrong8 ,it is evident that in this affair great numbers must be wrong4 ,indeed1 ,buddaeus1 in his ,treatise on ,atheism1 tells us1 in order that a religion may be true1 not only the object of the worship must be true1 but we must also have a just idea of it4 ,he1 then1 who adoreth ,god without knowing him1 adoreth him in a perverse and corrupt manner1 and is generally guilty of superstition4 ,this granted1 would it not be fair to demand of the theologians1 if they themselves can boast of having a just idea or real knowledge of the ,divinity8 ,admit for a moment they have1 would it not then be evident1 that it is for the priest1 for the inspired1 for the metaphysician1 that this idea1 which is said to be so necessary for the whole human race1 is exclusively reserved8 ,if we examine1 however1 we shall not find any harmony among the theological notions of these various inspired men1 or of that hierarchy which is scattered over the earth3 even those who make a profession of the same system1 are not in unison upon the leading points4 ,are they ever contented with the proofs offered by their colleagues8 ,do they unanimously subscribe to each other's ideas8 ,are they agreed upon the conduct to be adopted2 upon the manner of explaining their texts2 upon the interpretation of the various oracles8 ,does there exist one country upon the whole earth1 where the science of theology is actually perfectioned8--where the ideas of the ,divinity are rendered so clear1 as not to admit of cavil8 ,has this science obtained any of that steadiness1 any of that consistency1 any of that uniformity1 which is found attached to other branches of human knowledge2 even to the most futile arts1 or to those trades which are most despised8 ,has the multitude of subtle distinctions1 with which theology in some countries is filled throughout2 have the words spirit1 immateriality1 incorporeity1 predestination1 grace1 with other ingenious inventions1 imagined by sublime thinkers1 who during so many ages have succeeded each other1 actually had any other effect than to perplex things2 to render the whole obscure2 decidedly unintelligible8 ,alas6 do1 they not offer practical demonstration1 that the science held forth as the most necessary to man1 has not1 hitherto1 been able to acquire the least degree of stability2 has remained in the most determined state of indecision2 has entirely failed in obtaining solidity8 ,for thousands of years the most idle dreamers have been relieving each other1 meditating on systems1 diving into concealed ways1 inventing hypothesis suitable to develope this important enigma4 ,their slender success has not at all discouraged theological vanity2 the priests have always spoken of it as of a thing with which they were most intimately acquainted2 they have disputed with all the pertinancy of demonstrated argument2 they have destroyed each other with the most savage barbarity2 yet1 notwithstanding1 to this moment1 this sublime science remains entirely unauthenticated2 almost unexamined4 ,indeed1 if things were coolly contemplated1 it would be obvious that these theories are not formed for the generality of mankind1 who for the most part are utterly incompetent to comprehend the aerial subtilities upon which they rest4 ,who is the man1 that understandeth any thing of the fundamental principles of these systems8 ,whose capacity embraces spirituality1 immateriality1 incorporeity1 or the mysteries of which he is every day informed8 ,are there many persons who can boast of perfectly understanding the state of the question1 in those theological disputations1 which have frequently had the potency to disturb the repose of mankind8 ,nevertheless1 even women believe themselves obliged to take part in the quarrels excited by these idle speculators1 who are of less actual utility1 to society1 than the meanest artizan4 ,man would1 perhaps1 have been too happy1 if confining himself to those visible objects which interest him1 he had employed half that energy which he has wasted in researches after incomprehensible systems1 upon perfectioning the real sciences2 in giving consistency to his laws2 in establishing his morals upon solid foundations2 in spreading a wholesome education among his fellows4 ,he would1 unquestionably1 have been much wiser1 more fortunate1 if he had agreed to let his idle1 unemployed guides quarrel among themselves unheeded2 if he had permitted them to fathom those depths calculated to astound the mind1 to amaze the intellect1 without intermeddling with their irrational disputes4 ,but it is the essence of ignorance1 to attach great importance to every thing which it doth not understand4 ,human vanity makes the mind bear up against difficulties4 ,the more an object eludes our inquiry1 the more efforts we make to compass it2 because from thence our pride is spurred on1 our curiosity is set afloat1 our passions are irritated1 and it assumes the character of being highly interesting to us4 ,on the other hand1 the more continued1 the more laborious our researches have been1 the more importance we attach to either our real or our pretended discoveries2 the more we are desirous not to have wasted our time2 besides1 we are always ready warmly to defend the soundness of our own judgment4 ,do not let us then be surprised at the interest that ignorant persons have at all times taken in the discoveries of their priests2 nor at the obstinate pertinacity which they have ever manifested in their disputes4 ,indeed1 in combating for his own peculiar system1 each only fought for the interests of his own vanity1 which of all human passions is the most quickly alarmed1 the most calculated to lead man on to the commission of great follies4 ,theology is truly the vessel of the ,danaides4 ,by dint of contradictory qualities1 by means of bold assertions1 it has so shackled its own systems as to render it impossible they should act4 ,indeed1 when even we should suppose the existence of these theological systems1 the reality of codes so discordant with each other and with themselves1 we can conclude nothing from them to authorize the conduct1 or sanction the mode of worship which they prescribe4 ,if their gods are infinitely good1 wherefore should we dread them8 ,if they are infinitely wise1 what reason have we to disturb ourselves with our condition8 ,if they are omniscient1 wherefore inform them of our wants1 why fatigue them with our requests8 ,if they are omnipresent1 of what use can it be to erect temples to them8 ,if they are lords of all1 why make sacrifices to them2 why bring them offerings of what already belongs to them8 ,if they are just1 upon what foundation believe that they will punish those creatures whom they have filled with imbecility8 ,if their grace works every thing in man1 what reason can there be why he should be rewarded8 ,if they are omnipotent1 how can they be offended2 how can we resist them8 ,if they are rational1 how can the enrage themselves against blind mortals1 to whom they have left the liberty of acting irrationally8 ,if they are immutable1 by what right shall we pretend to make them change their decrees8 ,if they are inconceivable1 wherefore should we occupy ourselves with them8 ,if the knowledge of these systems be the most necessary thing1 wherefore are they not more evident1 more consistent1 more manifest8 ,this granted1 he who can undeceive himself on the afflicting notions of these theories1 hath this advantage over the credulous1 trembling1 superstitious mortal--that he establishes in his heart a momentary tranquility1 which1 at least1 rendereth him happy in this life4 ,if the study of nature hath banished from his mind1 those chimeras with which the superstitions man is infested1 he1 at least1 enjoys a security of which this sees himself deprived4 ,in consulting this nature1 his fears are dissipated1 his opinions1 whether true or false1 acquire a steadiness of character2 a calm succeeds the storm1 which panic terror1 the result of wavering notions1 excite in the hearts of all men who occupy themselves with these systems4 ,if the human soul1 cheered by philosophy1 had the boldness to consider things coolly2 it would no longer behold the universe submitted to implacable systems1 under which man is continually trembling4 ,if he was rational1 he would perceive that in committing evil he did not disturb nature2 that he either injureth himself alone1 or injures other beings capable of feeling the effects of his conduct1 from thence he would know the line of his duties2 he would prefer virtue to vice1 for his own permanent repose3 he would1 for his own satisfaction1 for his own felicity in this world1 find himself deeply interested in the practice of moral goodness2 in rendering virtue habitual2 in making it dear to the feeling of his heart3 his own immediate welfare would be concerned in avoiding vice1 in detesting crime1 during the short season of his abode among intelligent1 sensible beings1 from whom he expects his happiness4 ,by attaching himself to these rules1 he would live contented with his own conduct2 he would be cherished by those who are capable of feeling the influence of his actions2 he would expect without inquietude the term when his existence should have a period2 he would have no reason to dread the existence which might follow the one he at present enjoys3 he would not fear to be deceived in his reasonings4 ,guided by demonstration1 led gently along by honesty1 he would perceive1 that he could have nothing to dread from a beneficent ,divinity1 who would not punish him for those involuntary errors which depend upon the organization1 which without his own consent he has received4 ,such a man so conducting himself1 would have nothing to apprehend1 whether at the moment of his death1 he falls asleep for ever2 or whether that sleep is only a prelude to another existence1 in which he shall find himself in the presence of his ,god4 ,addressing himself to the ,divinity1 he might with confidence say1 ,o ,god6 ,father1 who hath rendered thyself invisible to thy child6 ,inconceivable1 hidden ,author of all1 whom ,i could not discover6 ,pardon me1 if my limited understanding hath not been able to know thee1 in a nature1 where every thing hath appeared to me to be necessary6 ,excuse me1 if my sensible heart hath not discerned thine august traits among those numerous systems which superstitious mortals tremblingly adore3 if1 in that assemblage of irreconcileable qualities1 with which the imagination hath clothed thee1 ,i could only see a phantom4 ,how could my coarse eyes perceive thee in nature1 in which all my senses have never been able to bring me acquainted but with material beings1 with1 perishable forms8 ,could ,i1 by the aid of these senses1 discover thy spiritual essence1 of which no one could furnish me any idea8 ,could my feeble brain1 obliged to form its judgments after its own capacity1 discern thy plans1 measure thy wisdom1 conceive thine intelligence1 whilst the universe presented to my view a continued mixture of order and confusion--of good and evil--of formation and destruction8 ,have ,i been able to render homage to the justice of thy priests1 whilst ,i so frequently beheld crime triumphant1 virtue in tears8 ,could ,i possibly acknowledge the voice of a being filled with wisdom1 in those ambiguous1 puerile1 contradictory oracles1 published in thy name in the different countries of the earth ,i have quitted8 ,if ,i have not known thy peculiar existence1 it is because ,i have not known either what thou couldst be1 where thou couldst be placed1 or the qualities which could be assigned thee4 ,my ignorance is excusable1 because it was invincible3 my mind could not bend itself under the authority of men1 who acknowledged they were as little enlightened upon thine essence as myself2 who were for ever disputing among themselves2 who were in harmony only in imperiously crying out to me1 to sacrifice to them that reason which thou hadst given to me2 ,but1 oh ,god6 ,if thou cherishest thy creatures1 ,i also1 like thee1 have cherished them2 ,i have endeavoured to render them happy1 in the sphere in which ,i have lived4 ,if thou art the author of reason1 ,i have always listened to it--have ever endeavoured to follow it2 if virtue pleaseth thee1 my heart hath always honoured it2 ,i have never willingly outraged it3 when my powers have permitted me1 ,i have myself practised it2 ,i was an affectionate husband1 a tender father1 a sincere friend1 a faithful subject1 a zealous citizen2 ,i have held out consolation to the afflicted2 and if the foibles of my nature have been either injurious to myself or incommodious to others1 ,i have not at least made the unfortunate groan under the weight of my injustice4 ,i have not devoured the substance of the poor--,i have not seen without pity the widow's tears2 ,i have not heard without commiseration the cries of the orphan4 ,if thou didst render man sociable1 if thou was disposed that society should subsist1 if thou wast desirous the community might be happy1 ,i have been the enemy to all who oppressed him1 the decided foe to all those who deceived him1 in order that they might advantage themselves of his misfortunes4 ,if ,i have not thought properly of thee1 it is because my understanding could not conceive thee2 if ,i have spoken ill of thy systems1 it is because my heart1 partaking too much of human nature1 revolted against the odious portrait under which they depicted thee4 ,my wanderings have been the effect of the temperament which thou hast given me2 of the circumstances in which1 without my consent1 thou hast placed me2 of those ideas1 which in despite of me1 have entered into my mind4 ,as thou art good1 as thou art just1 7as we are assured thou art7 thou wilt not punish me for the wanderings of mine imagination2 for faults caused by my passions1 which are the necessary consequence of the organization which ,i have received from thee4 ,thus ,i cannot doubt thy justice1 ,i cannot dread the condition which thou preparest for me4 ,thy goodness cannot have permitted that ,i should incur punishment for inevitable errors4 ,thou wouldst rather prevent my being born1 than have called me into the rank of intelligent beings1 there to enjoy the fatal liberty of rendering myself eternally unhappy4 ,it is thus that a disciple of nature1 who1 transported all at once into the regions of space1 should find himself in the presence of his ,god1 would be able to speak1 although he should not have been in a condition to lend himself to all the abstract systems of theology which appear to have been invented for no other purpose than to overturn in his mind all natural ideas4 ,this illusory science seems bent an forming its systems in a manner the most contradictory to human reason2 notwithstanding we are obliged to judge in this world according to its dictates2 if1 however1 in the succeeding world1 there is nothing conformable to this1 what can be of more inutility1 than to think of it or reason upon it8 ,besides1 wherefore should we leave it to the judgment of men1 who are1 themselves1 only enabled to act after our manner8 ,without a very marked derangement of our organs1 our sentiments hardly ever vary upon those objects which either our senses experience1 or which reason has clearly demonstrated1 ,in whatever circumstances we are found1 we have no doubt either upon the whiteness of snow1 the light of day1 or the utility of virtue4 ,it is not so with those objects which depend solely upon our imagination--which are not proved to us by the constant evidence of our senses2 we judge of them variously1 according to the dispositions in which we find ourselves4 ,these dispositions fluctuate by reason of the involuntary impulse which our organs every instant receive1 on the part of an infinity of causes1 either exterior to ourselves1 or else contained within our own frame4 ,these organs are1 without our knowledge1 perpetually modified1 either relaxed or braced by the density1 more or less1 of the atmosphere2 by heat and by cold2 by dryness and by humidity2 by health and by sickness2 by the heat of the blood2 by the abundance of bile2 by the state of the nervous system1 c4 ,these various causes have necessarily an influence upon the momentary ideas1 upon the instantaneous thoughts1 upon the fleeting opinions of man1 ,he is1 consequently1 obliged to see under a great variety of hues1 those objects which his imagination presents to him2 without it all times having the capacity to correct them by experience3 to compare them by memory4 ,this1 without doubt1 is the reason why man is continually obliged to view his gods1 to contemplate his superstitious systems1 under such a diversity of aspects1 in different periods of his existence4 ,in the moment1 when his fibres find themselves disposed to he tremulous1 he will be cowardly1 pusillanimous2 he will think of these systems only with fear and trembling4 ,in the moment1 when these same fibres shall have more tension1 he will possess more firmness1 he will then view these systems with greater coolness4 ,the theologian will call his pusillanimity1 inward feeling2 warning from heaven2 secret inspiration2 but he who knoweth man1 will say that this is nothing more than a mechanical motion1 produced by a physical or natural cause4 ,indeed1 it is by a pure physical mechanism1 that we can explain all the revolutions that take place in the system1 frequently from one minute to another2 all the fluctuations in the opinions of mankind2 all the variations of his judgment3 in consequence of which we sometimes see him reasoning justly1 sometimes in the most irrational manner4 ,this is the mode by which1 without recurring to grace1 to inspirations1 to visions1 to supernatural notions1 we can render ourselves an account of that uncertain1 that wavering state into which we sometimes behold persons fall1 when there is a question respecting their superstition1 who are otherwise extremely enlightened4 ,frequently1 in despite of all reasoning1 momentary dispositions re-conduct them to the prejudices of their infancy1 upon which on other occasions they appear to be entirely undeceived4 ,these changes are very apparent1 especially under infirmities1 in sickness1 or at approach of death4 ,the barometer of the understanding is then frequently obliged to fall4 ,those chimeras which he despised1 or which in a state of health1 he set down at their true value1 are then realized4 ,he trembles1 because his machine is enfeebled2 he is irrational because his brain is incapable of fulfilling its functions with exactitude4 ,it is evident these are the actual causes of those changes which the priests well know how to make use of against what they call incredulity2 from which they draw proofs of the reality of their sublimated opinions4 ,those conversions1 or those alterations1 which take place1 in the ideas of man1 have always their origin in some derangement of his machine2 brought on either by chagrin or by some other natural or known cause4 ,submitted to the continual influence of physical causes1 our systems invariably follow the variations of the body2 we reason well when the body is healthy--when it is soundly constituted2 we reason badly when the corporeal faculties are deranged2 from thence our ideas become disconnected1 we are no longer equal to the task of associating them with precision2 we are incapable of finding principles1 or to draw from them just inferences2 the brain1 in fact1 is shaken2 we no longer contemplate any thing under its actual point of view4 ,it is a man of this kind1 who does not see things in frosty weather1 under the same traits as when the season is cloudy1 or when it is rainy2 he does not view them in the same manner in sorrow as in gaiety2 when in company as when alone4 ,good sense suggests to us1 that it is when the body is sound1 when the mind is undisturbed by any mist1 that we can reason with accuracy2 this state can furnish us with a general standard1 calculated to regulate our judgment2 even to rectify our ideas1 when unexpected causes shall make them waver4 ,if the opinions even of the same individual1 are fluctuating1 subject to vaccillate1 how many changes must they experience in the various beings who compose the human race8 ,if there do not1 perhaps1 exist two persons who see a physical object under the same exact form or colour1 what much greater variety must they not have in their mode of contemplating those things which have existence only in their imagination8 ,what an infinity of combinations1 what a multitude of ideas1 must not minds essentially different1 form to themselves when they endeavour to compose an ideal being1 which each moment of their existence must present to them under a different aspect8 ,it would1 then1 be a most irrational enterprise1 to attempt to prescribe to man what he ought to think of superstition1 which is entirely under the cognizance of his imagination2 for the admeasurement of which1 as we have very frequently repeated1 mortals will never have any common standard4 ,to oppugn the superstitious opinions of man1 is to commence hostilities with his imagination--to attack his fancy--to be at war with his organization--to enter the lists with his habits1 which are of themselves sufficient to identify with his existence1 the most absurd1 the most unfounded ideas4 ,the more imagination man has1 the greater enthusiast he will be in matters of superstition2 reason will have the less ability to undeceive him in his chimeras4 ,in proportion as his fancy is powerful1 these chimeras themselves will become food necessary to its ardency4 ,in fine1 to battle with the superstitious notions of man1 is to combat the passions he usually indulges for the marvellous2 it is to assail him on that side where he is least vulnerable2 to force him in that position where he unites all his strength--where he keeps the most vigilant guard4 ,in despite of reason1 those persons who have a lively imagination1 are perpetually re-conducted to those chimeras which habit renders dear to them1 even when they are found troublesome2 although they should prove fatal4 ,thus a tender soul hath occasion for a ,god that loveth him2 the happy enthusiast needeth a ,god who rewardeth him2 the unfortunate visionary wants a ,god who taketh part in his sorrows2 the melancholy devotee requireth a ,god who chastiseth him1 who maintaineth him in that trouble which has become necessary to his diseased organization2 the frantic penitent exacteth a ,god1 who imposes upon him an obligation to be inhuman towards himself2 whilst the furious fanatic would believe himself unhappy1 if he was deprived of a ,god who commanded him to make others experience the effect of his inflamed humours1 of his unruly passions4 ,he is1 without question1 a less dangerous enthusiast who feeds himself with agreeable illusions1 than he whose soul is tormented with odious spectres4 ,if a placid1 tender soul1 does not commit ravages in society1 a mind agitated by incommodious passions1 cannot fall to become1 sooner or later1 troublesome to his fellow creatures4 ,the ,god of a ,socrates1 or a ,fenelon1 may be suitable to souls as gentle as theirs2 but he cannot be that of a whole nation1 in which it is extremely rare men of their temper are found3 if honest men only view their gods as fitted with benefits2 vicious1 restless1 inflexible individuals1 will give them their own peculiar character1 from thence will authorize themselves to indulge1 a free course to their passions4 ,each will view his deities with eyes only open to his own reigning prejudice2 the number of those who will paint them as afflicting will always be greater1 much more to be feared1 than those who shall delineate them under seducing colors3 for one mortal that those ideas will render happy1 there will be thousands who will be made miserable2 they will1 sooner or later1 become an inexhaustible source of contention2 a never failing spring of extravagant folly2 they will disturb the mind of the ignorant1 over whom impostors will always gain ascendancy--over whom fanatics will ever have an influence3 they will frighten the cowardly1 terrify the pussillanimous1 whose imbecility will incline them to perfidy1 whose weakness will render them cruel2 they will cause the most upright to tremble1 who1 even while practising virtue1 will fear incurring the divine displeasure2 but they will not arrest the progress of the wicked1 who will easily cast them aside1 that they may the more commodiously deliver themselves up to crime2 or who will even take advantage of these principles1 to justify their transgression4 ,in short1 in the hands of tyrants1 these systems will only serve to crush the liberty of the people2 will be the pretext for violating1 with impunity1 all equitable rights4 ,in the hands of priests they will become talismans1 suitable to intoxicate the mind2 calculated to hoodwink the people2 competent to subjugate equally the sovereign as the subject2 in the hands of the multitude1 they will be a two-edged sword1 with which they will inflict1 at the same moment1 the most dreadful wounds on themselves--the most serious injuries on their associates4 ,on the other hand1 these theological systems1 as we have seen1 being only an heap of contradictions1 which represent the ,divinity under the most incompatible characters1 seem to doubt his wisdom1 when they invite mortals to address their prayers to him1 for the gratification of their desires2 to pray to him to grant that which he has not thought it proper to accord to them4 ,is it not1 in other words1 to accuse him with neglecting his creatures8 ,is it not to ask him to alter the eternal decrees of his justice2 to change the invariable laws which he hath himself determined8 ,is it not to say to him1 ,o1 my ,god6 ,i acknowledge thy wisdom1 thine omniscience1 thine infinite goodness2 nevertheless1 thou forgettest thy servant2 thou losest sight of thy creature2 thou art ignorant1 or thou feignest ignorance1 of that which he wanteth3 dost thou not see that ,i suffer from the marvellous arrangement1 which thy wise laws have made in the universe8 ,nature1 against thy commands1 actually renders my existence painful3 change then1 ,i beseech thee1 the essence which thy will has given to all beings4 ,grant that the elements1 at this moment1 lose in my favor their distinguishing properties2 so order it1 that heavy bodies shall not fall1 that fire shall not burn1 that the brittle frame which ,i have received at thine hands1 shall not suffer those shocks which it every instant experiences4 ,rectify1 ,i pray thee1 for my happiness1 the plan which thine infinite prudence hath marked out from all eternity4 ,such is very nearly the euchology which man adopts2 such are the discordant1 absurd requests which he continually puts up to the ,divinity1 whose wisdom he extols2 whose intelligence he holds forth to admiration2 whose providence he eulogizes2 whose equity he applauds2 whilst he is hardly ever contented with the effects of the divine perfections4 ,man is not more consequent in those thanksgivings which he believes himself obliged to offer to the throne of grace4 ,is it not just1 he exclaims1 to thank the ,divinity for his kindness8 ,would it not be the height of ingratitude to refuse our homage to the ,author of our existence2 to withhold our acknowledgements from the ,giver of every thing that contributes to render it agreeable8 ,but does he not frequently offer up his thanksgivings for actions that overwhelm his neighbour with misery8 ,does not the husbandman on the hill1 return thanks for the rain that irrigates his lands parched with drought1 whilst the cultivator of the valley is imploring a cessation of those showers which deluge his fields--that render useless the labour of his hands8 ,thus each becomes thankful for that which his own limited views points out to him as his immediate interest1 regardless of the general effect produced by those circumstances on the welfare of his fellows4 ,each believes that it is either a peculiar dispensation of providence in his own favor1 or a signal of the heavenly wrath directed against himself2 whilst the slightest reflection would clearly evince it to be nothing more than the inevitable order of things1 which take place without the least regard to his individual comforts4 ,from this it will be obvious1 that these systems do not teach their votaries1 practically1 to love their neighbour as themselves4 ,but in matters of superstition1 mortals never reason2 they only follow the impulse of their fears2 the direction of their imagination2 the force of their temperament2 the bent of their own peculiar passions2 or those of the guides1 who have acquired the right of controling their understanding4 ,fear has generally created these systems2 terror unceasingly accompanies them2 it is impossible to reason while we tremble4 ,we do not1 however1 flatter ourselves that reason will be capable1 all at once1 to deliver the human race from those errors with which so many causes united have contributed to poison him4 ,the vainest of all projects would be the expectation of curing1 in an instant1 those epidemical follies1 those hereditary fallacies1 rooted during so many ages2 continually fed by ignorance2 corroborated by custom2 borne along by the passions made inveterate by interest2 grounded upon the fears1 established upon the ever regenerating calamities of nations4 ,the ancient disasters of the earth gave birth to the first systems of theology1 new revolutions would equally produce others2 even if the old ones should chance to be forgotton4 ,ignorant1 miserable1 trembling beings1 will always either form to themselves systems1 or else adopt those which imposture shall announce--which fanaticism shall be disposed to give them4 ,it would therefore be useless to propose more than to hold out reason to those who are competent to understand it2 to present truth to those who can sustain its lustre2 who can with serenity contemplate its refulgent beauty2 to undeceive those who shall not be inclined to oppose obstacles to demonstration2 to enlighten those who shall not desire pertinaciously to persist in error4 ,let us1 then1 infuse courage into those who want power to break with their illusions2 let us cheer up the honest man1 who is much more alarmed by his fears than the wicked1 who1 in despite of his opinions1 always follows the rule of his passions3 let us console the unfortunate1 who groans under a load of prejudices which he has not examined3 let us dissipate the incertitude of those whose doubts render them unhappy2 who ingenuously seek after truth1 but who find in philosophy itself only wavering opinions little calculated to determine their fluctuating minds4 ,let us banish from the man of genius those chimerical speculations which cause him to waste his time2 let us wrest his gloomy superstition from the intimidated mortal1 who1 duped by his vain fears1 becomes useless to society2 let us remove from the atrabilarious being those systems that afflict him1 that exasperate his mind1 that do nothing more than kindle his anger against his incredulous neighbour2 let us tear from the fanatic those terrible ideas which arm him with poniards against the happiness of his fellows2 let us pluck from tyrants1 let us snatch from impostors1 those opinions which enable them to terrify1 to enslave1 and to despoil the human species4 ,in removing from honest men their formidable notions let us not encourage those of the wicked1 who are the enemies of society2 let us deprive the latter of those illegitimate sources1 upon which they reckon to expiate their transgressions2 let us substitute actual1 present terrors1 to those which are distant and uncertain to those which do not arrest the most licentious excesses2 let us make the profligate blush at beholding themselves what they really are2 let the ministers of superstition tremble at finding their conspiracies discovered2 let them dread the arrival of the day1 when mortals1 cured of those errors with which they have abused them1 will no longer be enslaved by their artifice4 ,if we cannot induce nations to lay aside their inveterate prejudices1 let us1 at least1 endeavour to prevent them from relapsing into those excesses1 to the commission of which superstition has so frequently hurried them2 let mankind form to himself chimeras1 if he cannot do without them2 let him think as he may feel inclined1 provided his reveries do not make him forget that he is a man2 that he does not cease to remember that a sociable being is not formed to resemble the most ferocious animals4 ,let us try to balance the fictitious interests of superstition1 by the more immediate advantages of the earth4 ,let sovereigns1 as well as their subjects1 at length acknowledge that the benefits resulting from truth1 the happiness arising from justice1 the tranquillity springing out of wholesome laws1 the blessings to be derived from a rational education1 the superiority to be obtained from a physical1 peaceable morality1 are much more substantive than those they vainly expect from their respective superstitious systems1 ,let them feel1 that advantages so tangible1 benefits so precious1 ought not to be sacrificed to uncertain hopes1 so frequently contradicted by experience4 ,in order to convince themselves of these truths1 let every rational man consider the numberless crimes which superstition has caused upon our globe2 let them study the frightful history of theology3 let them read over the biography of its more odious ministers1 who have too often fanned the spirit of discord--kindled the flame of fury--stirred up the raging fire of madness3 let the prince and the people1 at least1 sometimes learn to resist the demoniacal passions of these interpreters of unintelligible systems1 which they acknowledge they do not themselves at all understand1 especially when they shall invoke them to be inhuman2 when they shall preach up intolerance2 when they invite them to barbarity2 above all1 when they shall command them1 in the name of their gods1 to stifle the cries of nature2 to put down the voice of equity2 to be deaf to the remonstrances of reason2 to be blind to the interest of society4 ,feeble mortals6 led astray by error1 how long will ye permit your imagination1 so active1 so prompt to seize on the marvellous1 to continue to seek out of the universe pretexts to render you baneful to yourselves1 injurious to the beings with whom ye live in society8 ,wherefore do ye not follow in peace1 the simple1 easy route marked out for ye by nature8 ,to what purpose do ye scatter thorns on the road of life8 ,what avails it1 that ye multiply those sorrows to which your destiny exposes ye8 ,what advantages can ye derive from systems with which the united efforts of the whole human species have not been competent to bring ye acquainted8 ,be content1 then1 to remain ignorant of that1 which the human mind is not formed to comprehend2 which human intellect is not adequate to embrace3 occupy yourselves with truth2 learn the invaluable art of living happy2 perfection your morals2 give rationality to your governments2 simplify your laws1 and rest them on the pillars of justice2 watch over education1 and see that it is of an invigorating quality2 give attention to agriculture1 and encourage beneficial improvements2 foster those sciences which are actually useful1 and place their professors in the most honorable stations2 labor with ardour1 and munificently reward those whose assiduity promotes the general welfare2 oblige nature by your industry to open her immense stores1 to become propitious to your exertions2 do these things1 and the gods will oppose nothing to your felicity4 ,leave to idle thinkers1 to soporific dreamers1 to waking visionaries1 to useless enthusiasts1 the unproductive task1 the unfruitful occupation1 of fathoming depths1 from which ye ought sedulously to divert your attention2 enjoy with moderation1 the benefits attached to your present existence2 augment their number when reason sanctions the multiplication2 but never attempt to spring yourselves forward1 beyond the sphere destined for your action4 ,if you must have chimeras1 permit your fellow creatures to have theirs also2 but never cut the throats of your brethren1 when1 they cannot rave in your own manner4 ,if ye will have unintelligible systems1 if ye cannot be contented without marvellous doctrines1 if the infirmities of your nature require an invisible crutch1 adopt such as may best suit with your humour2 select those which you may think most calculated to support your tottering frame2 if ye can1 let your own imagination give birth to them2 but do not insist on your neighbours making the same choice with yourself3 do not suffer these imaginary theories to infuriate your mind3 let them not so far intoxicate your understandings1 as to make ye mistake the duties ye owe to the real beings with whom ye are associated4 ,always remember1 that amongst these duties1 the foremost1 the most consequential1 the most immediate in its bearing upon the felicity of the human race1 stands1 a reasonable indulgence for the foibles of others4 ,,chap4 ,,xi4 ,defence of the ,sentiments contained in this ,work4--,of ,impiety4--,do there exist ,atheists8 ,what has been said in the course of this work1 ought sufficiently to undeceive those who are capable of reasoning on the prejudices to which they attached so much importance4 ,but the most evident truths frequently crouch under fear2 are kept at bay by habit2 prove abortive against the force of enthusiasm4 ,nothing is more difficult to remove from its resting place than error1 especially when long prescription has given it full possession of the human mind4 ,it is almost unassailable when supported by general consent2 when it is propagated by education2 when it has acquired inveteracy by custom3 it commonly resists every effort to disturb it1 when it is either fortified by example1 maintained by authority1 nourished by the hopes1 or cherished by the fears of a people1 who have learned to look upon these delusions as the most potent remedies for their sorrows4 ,such are the united forces which sustain the empire of unintelligible systems over the inhabitants of this world2 they appear to give stability to their throne2 to render their power immoveable2 to make their reign as lasting as the human race4 ,we need not1 then1 be surprised at seeing the multitude cherish their own blindness2 encourage their superstitious notions2 exhibit the most sensitive fear of truth4 ,every where we behold mortals obstinately attached to phantoms from which they expect their happiness2 notwithstanding these fallacies are evidently the source of all their sorrows4 ,deeply smitten with the marvellous1 disdaining the simple1 despising that which is easy of comprehension1 but little instructed in the ways of nature1 accustomed to neglect the use of their reason1 the uninformed1 from age to age1 prostrate themselves before those invisible powers which they have been taught to adore4 ,to these they address their most fervent prayers2 implore them in their misfortunes1 offer them the fruits of their labour2 they are unceasingly occupied either with thanking their vain idols for benefits they have not received at their bands1 or else in requesting from them favors which they can never obtain4 ,neither experience nor reflection can undeceive them2 they do not perceive these idols1 the work of their own hands1 have always been deaf to their intreaties2 they ascribe it to their own conduct2 believe them to be violently irritated3 they tremble1 groan out the most dismal lamentations2 sigh bitterly in their temples2 strew their altars with presents2 load their priests with their largesses2 it never strikes their attention that these beings1 whom they imagine so powerful1 are themselves submitted to nature2 are never propitious to their wishes1 but when nature herself is favourable4 ,it is thus that nations are the accomplices of those who deceive them2 are themselves as much opposed to truth as those who lead them astray4 ,in matters of superstition1 there are very few persons who do not partake1 more or less1 of the opinions of the illiterate4 ,every man who throws aside the received ideas1 is generally considered a madman2 is looked upon as a presumptuous being1 who insolently believes himself much wiser than his associates4 ,at the magical sound of superstition1 a sudden panic1 a tremulous terror takes possession of the human species3 whenever it is attacked1 society is alarmed2 each individual imagines he already sees the celestial monarch lift his avenging arm against the country in which rebellious nature has produced a monster with sufficient temerity to brave these sacred opinions4 ,even the most moderate persons tax with folly1 brand with sedition1 whoever dares combat with these imaginary systems1 the rights of which good sense has never yet examined4 ,in consequence1 the man who undertakes to tear the bandeau of prejudice1 appears an irrational being--a dangerous citizen2 his sentence is pronounced with a voice almost unanimous2 the public indignation1 roused by fanaticism1 stirred up by imposture1 renders it impossible for him to be heard in his defence2 every one believes himself culpable1 if he does not exhibit his fury against him2 if he does not display his zeal in hunting him down2 it is by such means man seeks to gain the favor of the angry gods1 whose wrath is supposed to be provoked4 ,thus the individual who consults his reason1 the disciple of nature1 is looked upon as a public pest2 the enemy to superstition is regarded as the enemy to the human race2 he who would establish a lasting peace amongst men1 is treated as the disturber of society2 the man who would be disposed to cheer affrighted mortals by breaking those idols1 before whom prejudice has obliged them to tremble1 is unanimously proscribed as an atheist4 ,at the bare name of atheist the superstitious man quakes2 the deist himself is alarmed2 the priest enters the judgement chair with fury glaring in his eyes2 tyranny prepares his funeral pile1 the vulgar applaud the punishments which irrational1 partial laws1 decree against the true friend of the human species4 ,such are the sentiments which every man must expect to excite1 who shall dare to present his fellow creatures with that truth which all appear to be in search of1 but which all either fear to find1 or else mistake what we are disposed to shew it to them4 ,but what is this man1 who is so foully calumniated as an atheist8 ,he is one who destroyeth chimeras prejudicial to the human race2 who endeavours to re-conduct wandering mortals back to nature2 who is desirous to place them upon the road of experience2 who is anxious that they should actively employ their reason4 ,he is a thinker1 who1 having meditated upon matter1 its energies1 its properties1 its modes of acting1 hath no occasion to invent ideal powers1 to recur to imaginary systems1 in order to explain the phenomena of the universe--to develope the operations of nature2 who needs not creatures of the imagination1 which far from making him better understand nature1 do no more than render it wholly inexplicable1 an unintelligible mass1 useless to the happiness of mankind4 ,thus1 the only men who can have pure1 simple1 actual ideas of nature1 are considered either as absurd or knavish speculators4 ,those who form to themselves distinct1 intelligible notions of the powers of the universe1 are accused of denying the existence of this power3 those who found every thing that is operated in this world1 upon determinate1 immutable laws1 are accused with attributing every thing to chance2 are taxed with blindness1 branded with delirium1 by those very enthusiasts themselves1 whose imagination1 always wandering in a vacuum1 regularly attribute the effects of nature to fictitious causes1 which have no existence but in their own heated brain2 to fanciful beings of their own creation2 to chimerical powers1 which they obstinately persist in preferring to actual1 demonstrable causes4 ,no man in his proper senses can deny the energy of nature1 or the existence of a power by virtue of which matter acts2 by which it puts itself in motion2 but no man can1 without renouncing his reason1 attribute this power to an immaterial substance2 to a power placed out of nature2 distinguished from matter2 having nothing in common with it4 ,is it not saying1 this power does not exist1 to pretend that it resides in an unknown being1 formed by an heap of unintelligible qualities1 of incompatible attributes1 from whence necessarily results a whole1 impossible to have existence8 ,indestructible elements1 the atoms of ,epicurus1 of which it is said the motion1 the collision1 the combination1 have produced all beings1 are1 unquestionably1 much more tangible than the numerous theological systems1 broached in various parts of the earth4 ,thus1 to speak precisely1 they are the partizans of imaginary theories1 the advocates of contradictory beings1 the defenders of creeds1 impossible to be conceived1 the contrivers of substances which the human mind cannot embrace on any side1 who are either absurd or knavish2 those enthusiasts1 who offer us nothing but vague names1 of which every thing is denied1 of which nothing is affirmed1 are the real ,atheists2 those1 ,i say1 who make such beings the authors of motion1 the preservers of the universe1 are either blind or irrational4 ,are not those dreamers1 who are incapable of attaching any one positive idea to the causes of which they unceasingly speak1 true deniers8 ,are not those visionaries1 who make a pure nothing the source of all beings1 men really groping in the dark8 ,is it not the height of folly to personify abstractions1 to organize negative ideas1 and then to prostrate ourselves before the figments of our own brain8 ,nevertheless1 they are men of this temper who regulate the opinions of the world2 who hold up to public scorn1 those who are consistent to principle2 who expose to the most infuriate vengeance1 those who are more rational than themselves4 ,if you will but accredit those profound dreamers1 there is nothing short of madness1 nothing on this side the most complete derangement of intellect1 that can reject a totally incomprehensible motive-power in nature4 ,is it1 then1 delirium to prefer the known to the unknown8 ,is it a crime to consult experience1 to call in the evidence of our senses1 in the examination of that which we are informed is the most important to be understood8 ,is it a horrid outrage to address ourselves to reason2 to prefer its oracles to the sublime decisions of some sophists1 who themselves acknowledge they do not comprehend any thing of the systems they announce8 ,nevertheless1 according to these men1 there is no crime more worthy of punishment--there is no enterprize more dangerous to morals--no treason more substantive against society1 than to despoil these immaterial substances1 which they know nothing about1 of those inconceivable qualities which these learned doctors ascribe to them--of that equipage with which a fanatical imagination has furnished them--of those miraculous properties with which ignorance1 fear1 and imposture have emulated each other in surrounding them3 there is nothing more impious than to call forth man's reason upon superstitious creeds2 nothing more heretical than to cheer up mortals against systems1 of which the idea alone is the source of all their sorrows2 there is nothing more pious1 nothing more orthodox1 than to exterminate those audacious beings who have had sufficient temerity to attempt to break an invisible charm that keeps the human species benumbed in error3 if we are to put faith in the asseverations of the hierarchy1 to be disposed to break man's chains is to rend asunder his most sacred bonds4 ,in consequence of these clamours1 perpetually renovated by the disciples of imposture1 kept constantly afloat by the theologians1 reiterated by ignorance1 those nations1 which reason1 in all ages1 has sought to undeceive1 have never dared to hearken to its benevolent lessons3 they have stood aghast at the very name of physical truth4 ,the friends of mankind were never listened to1 because they were the enemies to his superstition--the examiners of the doctrines of his priest4 ,thus the people continued to tremble2 very few philosophers had the courage to cheer them2 scarcely any one dared brave public opinion2 completely inoculated by superstition1 they dreaded the power of imposture1 the menaces of tyranny1 which always sought to uphold themselves by delusion4 ,the yell of triumphant ignorance1 the rant of haughty fanaticism1 at all time stifled the feeble voice of the disciple of nature2 his lessons were quickly forgotten2 he was obliged to keep silence2 when he even dared to speak1 it was frequently only in an enigmatical language1 perfectly unintelligible to the great mass of mankind4 ,how should the uninformed1 who with difficulty compass the most evident truths1 those that are the most distinctly announced1 be able to comprehend the mysteries of nature1 presented under half words1 couched under intricate emblems4 ,in contemplating the outrageous language which is excited among theologians1 by the opinions of those whom they choose to call atheists2 in looking at the punishments which at their instigation were frequently decreed against them1 should we not be authorized to conclude1 that these doctors either are not so certain as they say they are1 of the infallibility of their respective systems2 or else that they do not consider the opinions of their adversaries so absurd as they pretend8 ,it is always either distrust1 weakness1 or fear1 frequently the whole united1 that render men cruel2 they have no anger against those whom they despise2 they do not look upon folly as a punishable crime4 ,we should be content with laughing at an irrational mortal1 who should deny the existence of the sun2 we should not think of punishing him1 unless we had1 ourselves1 taken leave of our senses4 ,theological fury never proves more than the imbecility of its cause4 ,lucian describes ,jupiter1 who disputing with ,menippus1 is disposed to strike him to the earth with his thunder2 upon which the philosopher says to him1 ,ah6 thou vexest thyself1 thou usest thy thunder6 then thou art in the wrong4 ,the inhumanity of these men-monsters1 whose profession it was to announce chimerical systems to nations1 incontestibly proves1 that they alone have an interest in the invisible powers they describe2 of which they successfully avail themselves to terrify1 mortals3 they are these tyrants of the mind1 however1 who1 but little consequent to their own principles1 undo with one hand that which they rear up with the other3 they are these profound logicians who1 after having formed a deity filled with goodness1 wisdom and equity1 traduce1 disgrace1 and completely annihilate him1 by saving he is cruel1 capricious1 unjust1 and despotic3 this granted1 these men are truly impious2 decidedly heretical4 ,he who knoweth not this system1 cannot do it any injury1 consequently cannot be called impious4 ,to be impious1 says ,epicurus1 is not to take away from the illiterate the gods which they have2 it is to attribute to these gods the opinions of the vulgar4 ,to be impious is to insult systems which we believe2 it is knowingly to outrage them4 ,to be impious1 is to admit a benevolent1 just ,god1 at the same time we preach up persecution and carnage4 ,to be impious1 is to deceive men in the name of a ,deity1 whom we make use of as a pretext for our own unworthy passions4 ,to be impious1 is to speak falsely on the part of a ,god1 whom we suppose to be the enemy of falsehood4 ,in fine1 to be impious1 is to make use of the name of the ,divinity in order to disturb society--to enslave it to tyrants--to persuade man that the cause of imposture is the cause of ,god2 it is to impute to ,god those crimes which would annihilate his divine perfections4 ,to be impious1 and irrational1 at the same time1 is to make1 by the aggregation of discrepant qualities1 a mere chimera of the ,god we adore4 ,on the other hand1 to be pious1 is to serve our country with fidelity2 it is to be useful to our fellow creatures2 to labour to the welfare of society4 ,every one can put in his claim to this piety1 according to his faculties2 he who meditates can render himself useful1 when he has the courage to announce truth--to attack error--to battle those prejudices which everywhere oppose themselves to the happiness of mankind2 it is to be truly useful1 it is even a duty1 to wrest from the hands of mortals those homicidal weapons which wretched fanatics so profusely distribute among them2 it is highly praiseworthy to deprive imposture of its influence2 it is loving our neighbour as ourself to despoil tyranny of its fatal empire over opinion1 which at all times it so successfully employs to elevate knaves at the expence of public happiness2 to erect its power upon the ruins of liberty2 to establish unruly passions upon the wreck of public security4 ,to be truly pious1 is religiously to observe the wholesome laws of nature2 to follow up faithfully those duties which she prescribes to us2 in short1 to be pious is to be humane1 equitable1 benevolent3 it is to respect the rights of mankind4 ,to be pious and rational at the same time1 is to reject those reveries which would be competent to make us mistake the sober counsels of reason4 ,thus1 whatever fanaticism1 whatever imposture may say1 he who denieth the solidity of systems which have no other foundation than an alarmed imagination2 he who rejecteth creeds continually in contradiction with themselves2 he who banisheth from his heart1 doctrines perpetually wrestling with nature1 always in hostility with reason1 ever at war with the happiness of man2 he1 ,i repeat1 who undeceiveth himself on such dangerous chimeras1 when his conduct shall not deviate from those invariable rules which sound morality dictates1 which nature approves1 which reason prescribes1 may be fairly reputed pious1 honest1 and virtuous4 ,because a man refuseth to admit contradictory systems1 as well as the obscure oracles1 which are issued in the name of the gods1 does it then follow1 that such a man refuses to acknowledge the evident1 the demonstrable laws of nature1 upon which he depends1 of which he in obliged to fulfil the necessary duties1 under pain of being punished in this world2 whatever he may be in the in the next8 ,it is true1 that if virtue could by any chance consist in an ignominious renunciation of reason1 in a destructive fanaticism1 in useless customs1 the atheist1 as he is called1 could not pass for a virtuous being3 but if virtue actually consists in doing to society all the good of which we are capable1 this miscalled atheist may fairly lay claim to its practice3 his courageous1 tender soul1 will not be found guilty1 for hurling his legitimate indignation against prejudices1 fatal to the happiness of the human species4 ,let us listen1 however1 to the imputations which the theologians lay upon those men they falsely denominate atheists2 let us coolly1 without any peevish humour1 examine the calumnies which they vomit forth against them3 it appears to them that atheism1 7as they call differing in opinion from themselves17 is the highest degree of delirium that can assail the human mind2 the greatest stretch of perversity that can infect the human heart2 interested in blackening their adversaries1 they make incredulity the undeniable offspring of folly2 the absolute effect of crime4 ,we do not1 say they to us1 see those men fall into the horrors of atheism1 who have reason to hope the future state will be for them a state of happiness4 ,in short1 according to these metaphysical doctors1 it is the interest of their passions which makes them seek to doubt systems1 at whose tribunals they are accountable for the abuses of this life2 it is the fear of punishment which is alone known to atheists2 they are unceasingly repeating the words of a ,hebrew prophet1 who pretends that nothing but folly makes men deny these systems2 perhaps1 however1 if he had suppressed his negation1 he would have more closely aproximated the truth4 ,doctor ,bentley1 in his ,folly of ,atheism1 has let loose the whole ,billingsgate of theological spleen1 which he has scattered about with all the venom of the most filthy reptiles3 if he and other expounders are to be believed1 nothing is blacker than the heart of an atheist2 nothing is more false than his mind4 ,atheism1 according to them1 can only be the offspring of a tortured conscience1 that seeks to disengage itself from the cause of its trouble4 ,we have a right1 says ,derham1 to look upon an atheist as a monster among rational beings2 as one of those extraordinary productions which we hardly ever meet with in the whole human species2 and who1 opposing himself to all other men1 revolts not only against reason and human nature1 but against the ,divinity himself4 ,we shall simply reply to all these calumnies by saying1 it is for the reader to judge if the system which these men call atheism1 be as absurd as these profound speculators 7who are perpetually in dispute on the uninformed1 ill organized1 contradictory1 whimsical productions of their own brain7 would have it believed to be6 ,it is true1 perhaps1 that the system of naturalism hitherto has not been developed in all its extent3 unprejudiced persons however1 will1 at least1 be enabled to know whether the author has reasoned well or ill2 whether or not he has attempted to disguise the most important difficulties2 distinctly to see if he has been disingenuous2 they will be competent to observe if1 like unto the enemies of human reason1 he has recourse to subterfuges1 to sophisms1 to subtle discriminations1 which ought always to make it suspected of those who use them1 either that they do not understand or else that they fear the truth4 ,it belongs then to candour1 it is the province of disinterestedness1 it is the duty of reason to judge1 if the natural principles which have been here ushered to the world be destitute of foundation2 it is to these upright jurisconsults that a disciple of nature submits his opinions3 he has a right to except against the judgment of enthusiasm2 he has the prescription to enter his caveat against the decision of presumptuous ignorance2 above all1 he is entitled to challenge the verdict of interested knavery4 ,those persons who are accustomed to think1 will1 at least find reasons to doubt many of those marvellous notions1 which appear as incontestable truths only to those1 who have never assayed them by the standard of good sense4 ,we agree with ,derham1 that atheists are rare2 but then we also say1 that superstition has so disfigured nature1 so entangled her rights--enthusiasm has so dazzled the human mind-terror has so disturbed the heart of man--imposture has so bewildered his imagination--tyranny has so enslaved his thoughts3 in fine1 error1 ignorance1 and delirium have so perplexed and confused the clearest ideas1 that nothing is more uncommon than to find men who have sufficient courage to undeceive themselves on notions which every thing conspires to identify with their very existence4 ,indeed1 many theologians in despite of those bitter invectives with which they attempt to overwhelm the men they choose to call atheists1 appear frequently to have doubted whether any ever existed in the world4 ,tertullian1 who1 according to modern systems1 would be ranked as an atheist1 because he admitted a corporeal ,god1 says1 ,christianity has dissipated the ignorance in which the ,pagans were immersed respecting the divine essence1 and there is not an artizan among the ,christians who does not see ,god1 and who does not know him4 ,this uncertainty of the theologic professors was1 unquestionably1 founded upon those absurd ideas1 which they ascribe to their adversaries1 whom they have unceasingly accused with attributing every thing to chance--to blind causes--to dead1 inert matter1 incapable of self-action4 ,we have1 ,i think1 sufficiently justified the partizans of nature against these ridiculous accusations2 we have throughout the whole proved1 and we repeat it1 that chance is a word devoid of sense1 which as well as all other unintelligible words1 announces nothing but ignorance of actual causes4 ,we have demonstrated that matter is not dead2 that nature1 essentially active and self-existent1 has sufficient energy to produce all the beings which she contains--all the phenomena we behold4 ,we have1 throughout1 made it evident that this cause is much more tangible1 more easy of comprehension1 than the inconceivable theory to which theology assigns these stupendous effects4 ,we have represented1 that the incomprehensibility of natural effects was not a sufficient reason for assigning to them a system still more incomprehensible than any of those of which1 at least1 we have a slight knowledge4 ,in fine1 if the incomprehensibility of a system does not authorize the denial of its existence1 it is at least certain that the incompatibility of the attributes with which it is clothed1 authorizes the assertion1 that those which unite them cannot be any thing more than chimeras1 of which the existence is impossible4 ,this granted1 we shall be competent to fix the sense that ought to be attached to the name of atheist2 which1 notwithstanding1 the theologians lavish on all those who deviate in any thing from their opinions4 ,if1 by atheist1 be designated a man who denieth the existence of a power inherent in matter1 without which we cannot conceive nature1 and if it be to this power that the name of ,god is given1 then there do not exist any atheists1 and the word under which they are denominated would only announce fools4 ,but if by atheists be understood men without enthusiasm2 who are guided by experience2 who follow the evidence of their senses2 who see nothing in nature but what they actually find to have existence1 or that which they are capacitated to know2 who neither do1 nor can perceive any thing but matter essentially active1 moveable1 diversely combined1 in the full enjoyment of various properties1 capable of producing all the beings who display themselves to our visual faculties1 if by atheists be understood natural philosophers1 who are convinced that without recurring to chimerical causes1 they can explain every thing1 simply by the laws of motion2 by the relation subsisting between beings2 by their affinities2 by their analogies2 by their aptitude to attraction2 by their repulsive powers2 by their proportions2 by their combinations2 by their decomposition3 if by atheists be meant these persons who do not understand what ,pneumatology is1 who do not perceive the necessity of spiritualizing1 or of rendering incomprehensible1 those corporeal1 sensible1 natural causes1 which they see act uniformly2 who do not find it requisite to separate the motive-power from the universe2 who do not see1 that to ascribe this power to an immaterial substance1 to that whose essence is from thenceforth totally inconceivable1 is a means of becoming more familiar with it3 if by atheists are to be pourtrayed those men who ingenuously admit that their mind can neither receive nor reconcile the union of the negative attributes and the theological abstractions1 with the human and moral qualities which are given to the ,divinity2 or those men who pretend that from such an incompatible alliance1 there could only result an imaginary being2 seeing that a pure spirit is destitute of the organs necessary to exercise the qualities1 to give play to the faculties of human nature3 if by atheists are described those men who reject systems1 whose odious and discrepant qualities are solely calculated to disturb the human species--to plunge it into very prejudicial follies3 if1 ,i repeat it1 thinkers of this description are those who are called atheists1 it is not possible to doubt their existence2 and their number would be considerable1 if the light of sound natural philosophy was more generally diffused2 if the torch of reason burnt more distinctly2 or if it was not obscured by the theological bushel3 from thence1 however1 they would be considered neither as irrational2 nor as furious beings1 but as men devoid of prejudice1 of whose opinions1 or if they prefer it1 whose ignorance1 would be much more useful to the human race1 than those ideal sciences1 those vain hypotheses1 which for so many ages have been the actual causes of all man's tribulation4 ,doctor ,cudworth1 in his ,intellectual ,system1 reckons four species of atheists among the ancients4 ,first4--,the disciples of ,anaximander1 called ,hylopathians1 who attributed every thing to matter destitute of feeling4 ,his doctrine was1 that men were born of earth united with water1 and vivified by the beams of the sun2 his crime seems to have been1 that he made the first geographical maps and sun-dials2 declared the earth moveable and of a cylindrical form4 ,secondly4--,the ,atomists1 or the disciples of ,democritus1 who attribute every thing1 to the concurrence of atoms4 ,his crime was1 having first taught that the milky way was occasioned by the confused light from a multitude of stars4 ,thirdly4--,the ,stoics1 or the disciples of ,zeno1 who admitted a blind nature acting after certain laws4 ,his crime appears to be1 that he practised virtue with unwearied perseverance1 and taught that this quality alone would render mankind happy4 ,fourthly4--,the ,hylozoists1 or the disciples of ,strato1 who attributed life to matter4 ,his crime consisted in being one of the most acute natural philosophers of his day1 enjoying high favour with ,ptolemy ,philadelphus1 an intelligent prince1 whose preceptor be was4 ,if1 however1 by atheists1 are meant those men1 who are obliged to avow1 that they have not one idea of the system they adore1 or which they announce to others2 who cannot give any satisfactory account1 either of the nature or of the essence of their immaterial substances2 who can never agree amongst themselves on the proofs which they adduce in support of their ,system2 on the qualities or on the modes of action of their incorporeities1 which by dint of negations they render a mere nothing2 who either prostrate themselves1 or cause others to bow down1 before the absurd fictions of their own delirium3 if1 ,i say1 by atheists1 be denominated men of this stamp1 we shall be under the necessity of allowing1 that the world is filled with them3 we shall even be obliged to place in this number some of the most active theologians1 who are unceasingly reasoning upon that ,which they do not understand2 who are eternally disputing upon points which they cannot demonstrate2 who by their contradictions very efficaciously undermine their own systems2 who annihilate all their own assertions of perfection1 by the numberless imperfections with which they clothe them2 who rebel against their gods by the atrocious character under which they depict them4 ,in short1 we shall be able to consider as true atheists1 those credulous1 weak persons1 who upon hearsay and from tradition1 bend the knee before idols1 of whom they have no other ideas1 than those which are furnished them by their spiritual guides1 who themselves acknowledge that they comprehend nothing about the matter4 ,what has been said amply proves that the theologians themselves have not always known the sense they could affix to the word atheist2 they have vaguely attacked1 in an indistinct manner1 calumniated with it1 those persons whose sentiments and principles were opposed to their own4 ,indeed1 we find that these sublime professors1 always infatuated with their own particular opinions1 have frequently been extremely lavish in their accusations of atheism1 against all those whom they felt a desire to injure2 whose characters it was their pleasure to paint in unfavourable colours2 whose doctrines they wished to blacken2 whose systems they sought to render odious3 they were certain of alarming the illiterate1 of rousing the antipathies of the silly1 by a loose imputation1 or by a word1 to which ignorance attaches the idea of horror1 merely because it is unacquainted with its true sense4 ,in consequence of this policy1 it has been no uncommon spectacle to see the partizans of the same sect1 the adorers of the same gods1 reciprocally treat each other as atheists1 in the fervour of their theological quarrels2 to be an atheist1 in this sense1 is not to have1 in every point1 exactly the same opinions as those with whom we dispute1 either on superstitious or religious subjects4 ,in all times the uninformed have considered those as atheists1 who did not think upon the ,divinity precisely in the same manner as the guides whom they were accustomed to follow4 ,socrates1 the adorer of a unique ,god1 was no more than an atheist in the eyes of the ,athenian people4 ,still more1 as we have already observed1 those persons have frequently been accused of atheism1 who have taken the greatest pains to establish the existence of the gods1 but who have not produced satisfactory proofs3 when their enemies wished to take advantage of them1 it was easy to make them pass for atheists1 who had wickedly betrayed their cause1 by defending it too feebly4 ,the theologians have frequently been very highly incensed against those who believed they had discovered the most forcible proof of the existence of their gods1 because they were obliged to discover that their adversaries could make very contrary inductions from their propositions2 they did not perceive that it was next to impossible not to lay themselves open to attack1 in establishing principles visibly founded upon that which each man sees variously4 ,thus ,paschal says1 ,i have examined if this ,god1 of whom all the world speaks1 might not have left some marks of himself4 ,i look every where1 and every where ,i see nothing but obscurity4 ,nature offers one nothing1 that may not be a matter of doubt and inquietude4 ,if ,i saw nothing in nature which indicated a ,divinity1 ,i should determine with myself1 to believe nothing about it4 ,if every where ,i saw the sign of a creator1 ,i should repose myself in peace1 in the belief of one4 ,but seeing too much to deny1 and too little to assure me of his existence1 ,i am in a situation that ,i lament1 and in which ,i have an hundred times wished1 that if a ,god doth sustain nature1 he would give unequivocal marks of it1 and that if the signs which he hath given be deceitful1 that he would suppress them entirely2 that he said all or nothing1 to the end that ,i might see which side ,i ought to follow4 ,in a word1 those who have most vigorously taken up the cause of the theological systems1 have been taxed with atheism and irreligion2 the most zealous partizans have been looked upon as deserters1 have been contemplated as traitors2 the most orthodox theologians have not been able to guarantee themselves from this reproach2 they have mutually bespatered each other2 prodigally lavished1 with malignant reciprocity1 the most abusive terms3 nearly all have1 without doubt1 merited these invectives1 if in the term atheist be included those men who have not any idea of their various systems1 that does not destroy itself1 whenever they are willing to submit it to the touchstone of reason4 ,from whence we may conclude1 without subjecting ourselves to the reproach of being hasty1 that error will not stand the test of investigation2 that it will not pass the ordeal of comparison2 that it is in its hues a perfect chamelion2 that consequently it can never do more than lead to the most absurd deductions3 that the most ingenious systems1 when they have their foundations in hallucination1 crumble like dust under the rude band of the assayer2 that the most sublimated doctrines1 when they lack the substantive quality of rectitude1 evaporate under the scrutiny of the sturdy examiner1 who tries them in the crucible2 that it is not by levelling abusive language against those who investigate sophisticated theories1 they will either be purged of their absurdities1 acquire solidity1 or find an establishment to give them perpetuity2 that moral obliquities1 can never be made rectilinear by the mere application of unintelligible terms1 or by the inconsiderate jumble of discrepant properties1 however gaudy the assemblage3 in short1 that the only criterion of truth is1 that it is ever consistent with itself4 ,,chap4 ,,xii4 ,is what is termed ,atheism compatible with ,morality8 ,after having proved the existence of those whom the superstitious bigot1 the heated theologian1 the inconsequent theist1 calls atheists1 let us return to the calumnies which are so profusely showered upon them by the deicolists4 ,according to ,abady1 in his ,treatise on the ,truth of the ,christian ,religion1 an atheist cannot be virtuous3 to him virtue is only a chimera2 probity no more than a vain scruple2 honesty nothing but foolishness2--he knoweth no other law than his interest3 where this sentiment prevails1 conscience is only a prejudice2 the law of nature only an illusion2 right no more than an error2 benevolence hath no longer any foundation2 the bonds of society are loosened2 the ties of fidelity are removed2 friend is ready to betray friend2 the citizen to deliver up his country2 the son to assassinate his father1 in order to enjoy his inheritance1 whenever they shall find occasion1 and that authority or silence shall shield them from the arm of the secular power1 which alone is to be feared4 ,the most inviolable rights1 and most sacred laws1 must no longer be considered1 except as dreams and visions4 ,such1 perhaps1 would be the conduct1 not of a feeling1 thinking1 reflecting being1 susceptible of reason2 but of a ferocious brute1 of an irrational wretch1 who should not have any idea of the natural relations which subsist between beings1 reciprocally necessary to each other's happiness4 ,can it actually be supposed1 that a man capable of experience1 furnished with the faintest glimmerings of sound sense1 would lend himself to the conduct which is here ascribed to the atheist2 that is to say1 to a man who is conversant with the evidence of facts2 who ardently seeks after truth2 who is sufficiently susceptible of reflection1 to undeceive himself by reasoning upon those prejudices which every one strives to shew him as important2 which all voices endeavour to announce to him as sacred8 ,can it1 ,i repeat1 be supposed1 that any enlightened1 any polished society1 contains a citizen so completely blind1 not to acknowledge his most natural duties2 so very absurd1 not to admit his dearest interests2 so completely besotted not to perceive the danger he incurs in incessantly disturbing his fellow creatures2 or in following no other rule1 than his momentary appetites8 ,is not every human being who reasons in the least possible manner1 obliged to feel that society is advantageous to him2 that he hath need of assistance2 that the esteem of his fellows is necessary to his own individual happiness2 provoked1 that he has every thing to fear from the wrath of his associates2 that the laws menace whoever shall dare to infringe them8 ,every man who has received a virtuous education1 who has in his infancy experienced the tender cares of a parent2 who has in consequence tasted the sweets of friendship2 who has received kindness2 who knows the worth of benevolence2 who sets a just value upon equity2 who feels the pleasure which the affection of our fellow creatures procures for us2 who endures the inconveniences which result from their aversion who smarts under the sting which is inflicted by their scorn1 is obliged to tremble at losing1 by his measures1 such manifest advantages--at incurring such1 imminent danger4 ,will not the hatred of others1 the fear of punishment1 his own contempt of himself1 disturb his repose every time that1 turning1 inwardly upon his own conduct1 he shall contemplate it under the same perspective as does his neighbour8 ,is there then no remorse but for those who believe in incomprehensible systems8 ,is the idea that we are tinder the eye of beings of whom we have but vague notions1 more forcible than the thought that we are viewed by our fellow men2 than the fear of being detected by ourselves2 than the dread of exposure2 than the cruel necessity of becoming despicable in our own eyes2 than the wretched alternative1 to be constrained to blush guiltily1 when we reflect on our wild career1 and the sentiments which it must infallibly inspire8 ,this granted1 we shall reply deliberately to this ,abady1 that an atheist is a man who understands nature1 who studies her laws2 who knows his own nature2 who feels what it imposes upon him4 ,an atheist hath experience2 this experience proves to him every moment that vice can injure him2 that his most concealed faults1 his most secret dispositions1 may be detected--may display his character in open day2 this experience proves to him that society is useful to his happiness2 that his interest authoritatively demands he should attach himself to the country that protects him1 which enables him to enjoy in security the benefits of nature2 every thing shews him that in order to be happy he must make himself beloved2 that his parent is for him the most certain of friends2 that ingratitude would remove him from his benefactor2 that justice is necessary to the maintenance of every association2 that no man1 whatever way he his power1 can be content with himself1 when he knows he is an object of public hatred4 ,he who has maturely reflected upon himself1 upon his own nature1 upon that of his associates1 upon his own wants1 upon the means of procuring them1 cannot prevent himself from becoming acquainted with his duties--from discovering the obligations he owes to himself1 as well as those which he owes to others2 from thence he has morality1 he has actual motives to confirm himself to its dictates2 he is obliged to feel1 that these duties are imperious3 if his reason be not disturbed by blind passions1 if his mind be not contaminated by vicious habits1 he will find that virtue is the surest road to felicity4 ,the atheists1 as they are styled1 or the fatalists1 build their system upon necessity3 thus1 their moral speculations1 founded upon the nature of things1 are at least much more permanent1 much more invariable1 than those which only rest upon systems that alter their aspect according to the various dispositions of their adherents--in conformity with the wayward passions of those who contemplate1 them4 ,the essence of things1 and the immutable laws of nature1 are not subject to fluctuate2 it is imperative with the atheist1 as he is facetiously called by the theologian1 to call whatever injures himself either vice or folly2 to designate that which injures others1 crime2 to describe all that is advantageous to society1 every thing which contributes to its permanent happiness1 virtue4 ,it will be obvious1 then1 that the principles of the miscalled atheist are much less liable to be shaken1 than those of the enthusiast1 who shall have studied a baby from his earliest ,infancy2 who should have devoted not only his days1 but his nights1 to gleaning the scanty portion of actual information that he scatters through his volumes2 they will have a much more substantive foundation than those of the theologian1 who shall construct his morality upon the harlequin scenery of systems that so frequently change1 even in his own distempered brain4 ,if the atheist1 as they please to call those who differ in opinion with themselves1 objects to the correctness1 of--their systems1 he cannot deny his own existence1 nor that of beings similar to himself1 by whom he is surrounded2 he cannot doubt the reciprocity of the relations that subsist between them2 he cannot question the duties which spring out of these relations2 ,pyrrhonism1 then1 cannot enter his mind upon the actual principles of morality2 which is nothing more than the science of the relations of beings living together in society4 ,if1 however1 satisfied with a barren1 speculative knowledge of his duties1 the atheist of the theologian should not apply them in his conduct--if1 hurried along by the current of his ungovernable passions--if1 borne forward by criminal habits--if1 abandoned to shameful vices-if1 possessing a vicious temperament1 which he has not been sedulous to correct--if1 lending himself to the stream of outrageous desires1 he appears to forget his moral obligations1 it by no means follows1 either that he hath no principles1 or that his principles are false3 it can only be concluded from such conduct1 that in the intoxication of his passions1 in the delirium of his habits1 in the confusion of his reason1 he does not give activity to doctrines grounded upon truth2 that he forgets to give currency to ascertained principles2 that he may follow those propensities which lead him astray4 ,in this1 indeed1 he will have dreadfully descended to the miserable level of the theologian1 but he will nevertheless find him the partner of his folly--the partaker of his insanity--the companion of his crime4 ,nothing is1 perhaps1 more common among men1 than a very marked discrepancy between the mind and the heart2 that is to say1 between the temperament1 the passions1 the habits the caprices1 the imagination1 and the judgment1 assisted by reflection4 ,nothing is1 in fact1 more rare1 than to find these harmoniously running upon all fours with each other2 it is1 however1 only when they do1 that we see speculation influence practice4 ,the most certain virtues are those which are founded upon the temperament of man4 ,indeed1 do we not every day behold mortals in contradiction with themselves8 ,does not their more sober judgment unceasingly condemn the extravagancies to which their undisciplined passions deliver them up8 ,in short1 doth not every thing prove to us hourly1 that men1 with the very best theory1 have sometimes the very worst practice2 that others with the most vicious theory1 frequently adopt the most amiable line of conduct8 ,in the blindest systems1 in the most atrocious superstitions1 in those which are most contrary to reason1 we meet with virtuous men1 the mildness of whose character1 the sensibility of whose hearts1 the excellence of whose temperament1 re conducts them to humanity1 makes them fall back upon the laws of nature1 in despite of their furious theories4 ,among the adorers of the most cruel1 vindictive1 jealous gods1 are found peaceable1 souls1 who are enemies to persecution2 who set their faces against violence2 who are decidedly opposed to cruelty3 among the disciples of a ,god filled with mercy1 abounding in clemency1 are seen barbarous monsters2 inhuman cannibals3 nevertheless1 both the one and the other acknowledge1 that their gods ought to serve them for a model4 ,wherefore1 then1 do they not in all things conform themselves8 ,it is because the most wicked systems cannot always corrupt a virtuous soul2 that those which are most bland1 most gentle in their precepts1 cannot always restrain hearts driven along by the impetuosity of vice4 ,the organization will1 perhaps1 be always more potential than either superstition or religion4 ,present objects1 momentary interests1 rooted habits1 public opinion1 have much more efficacy than unintelligible theories1 than imaginary systems1 which themselves depend upon the organic structure of the human frame4 ,the point in question then is1 to examine if the principles of the atheist1 as he is erroneously called1 be true1 and not whether his conduct be commendable8 ,an atheist1 having an excellent theory1 founded upon nature1 grafted upon experience1 constructed upon reason1 who delivers himself up to excesses1 dangerous to himself1 injurious to society1 is1 without doubt1 an inconsistent man4 ,but he is not more to be feared than a superstitious bigot2 than a zealous enthusiast2 or than even a religious man who1 believing in a good1 confiding in an equitable1 relying on a perfect ,god1 does not scruple to commit the most frightful devastations in his name4 ,an atheistical tyrant would assuredly not be more to be dreaded than a fanatical despot4 ,an incredulous philosopher1 however1 is not so mischievous a being as an enthusiastic priest1 who either fans the flame of discord among his fellow subjects1 or rises in rebellion against his legitimate monarch4 ,would1 then1 an atheist clothed with power1 be equally dangerous as a persecuting priest-ridden king2 as a savage inquisitor2 as a whimsical devotee2 or1 as a morose bigot8 ,these are assuredly more numerous in the world than atheists1 as they are ludicrously termed1 whose opinions1 or whose vices are far from being in a condition to have an influence upon society2 which is ever too much hoodwinked by the priest1 too much blinded by prejudice1 too much the slave of superstition1 to be disposed to give them a patient hearing4 ,an intemperate1 voluptuous atheist1 is not more dangerous to society than a superstitions bigot1 who knows how to connect licentiousness1 punic faith1 ingratitude1 libertinism1 corruption of morals1 with his theological notions4 ,can it1 however1 be ingeniously imagined1 that a man1 because he is falsely termed an atheist1 or because he does not subscribe to the vengeance of the most contradictory systems1 will therefore be a profligate debauche1 malicious1 and persecuting2 that he will corrupt the wife of his friend2 will turn his own wife adrift2 will consume both his time and his money in the most frivolous gratifications2 will be the slave to the most childish amusements2 the companion of the most dissolute men2 that he will discard all his old friends2 that he will select his bosom confidents from the brazen betrayers of their native land--from among the hoary despoilers of connubial happiness--from out of the ranks of veteran gamblers2 that he will either break into his neighbour's dwelling1 or cut his throat2 in short1 that he will lend himself to all those excesses1 the most injurious to society1 the most prejudicial to himself1 the most deserving public castigation8 ,the blemishes of an atheist1 then1 as the theologian styles him1 have not any thing more extraordinary in them than those of the superstitious man2 they possess nothing with which his doctrine can be fairly reproached4 ,a tyrant1 who should be incredulous1 would not be a more incommodious scourge to his subjects1 than a theological autocrat1 who should wield his sceptre to the misery of his people4 ,would the nation of the latter feel more happy1 from the mere circumstance that the tyger who governed it believed in the most abstract systems1 heaped the most sumptuous presents on the priests1 and humiliated himself at their shrine8 ,at least it must be acknowledged1 according to the shewing of the theologian himself1 that under the dominion of the atheist1 a nation would not have to apprehend superstitious vexations2 to dread persecutions for opinion2 to fear proscriptions for ill-digested systems2 neither would it witness those strange outrages that have sometimes been ,committed for the interests of heaven1 even under the mildest monarchs4 ,if it was the victim to the turbulent passions of an unbelieving prince1 the sacrifice to the folly of a sovereign who should be an infidel1 it would not1 at least1 suffer from his blind infatuation1 for theological systems which he does not understand2 nor from his fanatical zeal1 which of all the passions that infest monarchs1 is ever the most destructive1 always the most dangerous4 ,an atheistical tyrant1 who should persecute for opinions1 would be a man not consistent with his own principles2 he could not exist2 he would not1 indeed1 according to the theologian1 be an atheist at most1 he would only furnish one more example1 that mortals much more frequently follow the blind impulse of their passions1 the more immediate stimulus of their interest1 the irresistible torrent of their temperament1 than their speculations1 however grave1 however wise4 ,it is1 at least1 evident1 that an atheist has one pretext less than a credulous prince1 for exercising his natural wickedness4 ,indeed1 if men condescended to examine things coolly1 they would find that on this earth the name of ,god is but too frequently made use of as a motive to indulge the worst of human passions4 ,ambition1 imposture1 and tyranny1 have often formed a league to avail themselves of its influence1 to the end that they might blind the people1 and bend them beneath a galling yoke3 the monarch sometimes employs it to give a divine lustre to his person--the sanction of heaven to his rights--the confidence of its votaries to his most unjust1 most extravagant whims4 ,the priest frequently uses it to give currency to his pretensions1 to the end that he may with impunity gratify his avarice1 minister to his pride1 secure his independence4 ,the vindictive1 enraged1 superstitious being1 introduces the cause of his gods1 that he may give free scope to his fury1 which he qualifies with zeal4 ,in short1 superstition becomes dangerous1 because it justifies those passions1 lends legitimacy to those crimes1 holds forth as commendable those excesses1 of which it does not fail to gather the fruit3 according to its ministers1 every thing is permitted to revenge the most high3 thus the name of the ,divinity is made use of to authorize the most baneful actions1 to palliate the most injurious transgressions4 ,the atheist1 as he is called1 when he commits crimes1 cannot1 at least1 pretend that it is his gods who command them1 or who clothe them with the mantle of their approval1 this is the excuse the superstitious being offers for his perversity2 the tyrant for his persecutions2 the priest for his cruelty1 and for his sedition2 the fanatic for the ebullition of his boiling passions2 the penitent for his inutility4 ,they are not1 says ,bayle1 the general opinions of the mind1 but the passions1 which determine us to act4 ,atheism1 as it is called1 is a system which will not make a good man wicked but it may1 perhaps1 make a wicked man good4 ,those1 says the same author1 who embraced the sect of ,epicurus1 did not become debauches because they had adopted the doctrine of ,epicurus2 they only lent themselves to the system1 then badly understood1 because they were debauches4 ,in the same manner1 a perverse man may embrace atheism1 because he will flatter himself1 that this system will give full scope to his passions3 he will nevertheless be deceived4 ,atheism1 as it is called1 if well understood1 is founded upon nature and upon reason1 which never can1 like superstition1 either justify or expiate the crimes of the profligate4 ,from the diffusion of doctrines which make morality depend upon unintelligible1 incomprehensible systems1 that are proposed to man for a model1 there has unquestionably resulted very great inconvenience4 ,corrupt souls1 in discovering1 how much each of these suppositions are erroneous or doubtful1 give loose to the rein of their vices1 and conclude there are not more substantive motives for acting well2 they imagine that virtue1 like these fragile systems1 is merely chimerical2 that there is not any cogent solid reason for practising it in this world4 ,nevertheless1 it must be evident1 that it is not as the disciples of any particular tenet1 that we are bound to fulfil the duties of morality2 it is as men1 living together in society1 as sensible beings seeking to secure to ourselves a happy existence1 that we should feel the moral obligation4 ,whether these systems maintain their ground1 or whether the do not1 our duties will remain the same2 our nature1 if consulted1 will incontestibly prove1 that vice is a decided evil1 that virtue is an actual1 a substantial good4 ,if1 then1 there be found atheists who have denied the distinction of good and evil1 or who have dared to strike at the foundations of morality2 we ought to conclude1 that upon this point they have reasoned badly2 that they have neither been acquainted with the nature of man1 nor known the true source of his duties2 that they have falsely imagined that ethics1 as well as theology1 was only an ideal science2 that the fleeting systems once destroyed1 there no longer remained any bonds to connect mortals4 ,nevertheless1 the slightest reflection would have incontestibly proved1 that morality is founded upon immutable relations subsisting between sensible1 intelligent1 sociable beings2 that without virtue1 no society can maintain itself2 that without putting the curb on his desires1 no mortal can conserve himself3 man is constrained from his nature to love virtue1 to dread crime1 by the same necessity that obliges him to seek happiness1 and fly from sorrow3 thus nature compels him to place a distinction between those objects which please1 and those objects ,which injure him4 ,ask a man1 who is sufficiently irrational to deny the difference between virtue and vice1 if it would be indifferent to him to be beaten1 robbed1 calumniated1 treated with ingratitude1 dishonoured by his wife1 insulted by his children1 betrayed by his friend8 ,his answer will prove to you1 that whatever he may say1 he discriminates the actions of mankind2 that the distinction between good and evil1 does not depend either upon the conventions of men1 or upon the ideas which they may have of particular systems2 upon the punishments or upon the recompenses which attend mortals in a future existence4 ,on the contrary1 an atheist1 as he is denominated1 who should reason with justness1 would feel himself more interested than another in practising those virtues to which he finds his happiness attached in this world4 ,if his views do not extend themselves beyond the limits of his present existence1 he must1 at least1 desire to see his days roll on in happiness and in peace4 ,every man1 who during the calm of his passions1 falls back upon himself1 will feel that his interest invites him to his own preservation2 that his felicity rigorously demands he should take the necessary means to enjoy life peaceably that it becomes an imperative duty to himself to keep his actual abode free from alarm2 his mind untainted by remorse4 ,man oweth something to man1 not merely because he would offend any particular system1 if he was to injure his fellow creature2 but because in doing him an injury he would offend a man2 would violate the laws of equity2 in the maintenance of which every human being finds himself interested4 ,we every day see persons who are possessed of great talents1 who have very extensive knowledge1 who enjoy very keen penetration1 join to these advantages a very corrupt heart2 who lend1 themselves to the most hideous vices3 their opinions may be true in some respects1 false in a great many others2 their principles may be just1 but their inductions are frequently defective2 very often precipitate4 ,a man may embrace sufficient knowledge to detect some of his errors1 yet command too little energy to divest himself of his vicious propensities4 ,man is a being whose character depends upon his organization1 modified by habit--upon his temperament1 regulated by education--upon his propensities1 marshalled by example--upon his2 passions1 guided by his government2 in short1 he is only what transitory or permanent circumstances make him3 his superstitious ideas are obliged to yield to this temperament2 his imaginary systems feel a necessity to accommodate themselves to his propensities2 his theories give way to his interests4 ,if the system which constitutes man an atheist in the eyes of this theologic friend1 does not remove him from the vices with which he was anteriorly tainted1 neither does it tincture him with any new ones2 whereas1 superstition furnishes its disciples with a thousand pretexts for committing evil without repugnance2 induces them even to applaud themselves for the commission of crime4 ,atheism1 at least1 leaves men such as they are2 it will neither increase a man's intemperance1 nor add to his debaucheries1 it will not render him more cruel than his temperament before invited him to be3 whereas superstition either lacks the rein to the most terrible passions1 gives loose to the most abominable suggestions1 or else procures easy expiations for the most dishonourable vices4 ,atheism1 says ,chancellor ,bacon1 leaves to man reason1 philosophy1 natural piety1 laws1 reputation1 and every thing that can serve to conduct him to virtue2 but superstition destroys all these things1 and erects itself into a tyranny over the understandings of men3 this is the reason why atheism never disturbs the government1 but renders man more clear-sighted1 as seeing nothing beyond the bounds of this life4 ,the same author adds1 that the times in which men have turned towards atheism1 have been the most tranquil2 whereas superstition has always inflamed their minds1 and carried them on to the greatest disorders2 because it infatuates the people with novelties1 which wrest from and carry with them all the authority of government4 ,men1 habituated to meditate1 accustomed to make study a pleasure1 are not commonly dangerous citizens3 whatever may be their speculations1 they never produce sudden revolutions upon the earth4 ,the winds of the people1 at all times susceptible to be inflamed by the marvellous1 their dormant passions liable to be aroused by enthusiasm1 obstinately resist the light of simple truths2 never heat themselves for systems that demand a long train of reflection--that require the depth of the most acute reasoning4 ,the system of atheism1 as the priests choose to denominate it1 can only be the result of long meditation2 the fruit of connected study2 the produce of an imagination cooled by experience3 it is the child of reason4 ,the peaceable ,epicurus never disturbed ,greece2 his philosophy was publicly taught in ,athens during many centuries2 he was in incredible favour with his countrymen1 who caused statues to be erected to him2 he had a prodigious number of friends1 and his school subsisted for a very long period4 ,cicero1 although a decided enemy to the ,epicureans1 gives a brilliant testimony to the probity both of ,epicurus and his disciples1 who were remarkable for the inviolable friendship they bore each other4 ,in the time of ,marcus ,aurelius1 there was at ,athens a public professor of the philosophy of ,epicurus1 paid by that emperor1 who was himself a stoic4 ,hobbes did not cause blood to flow in ,england1 although in his time1 religious fanaticism made a king perish on the scaffold4 ,the poem of ,lucretius caused no civil wars in ,rome2 the writings of ,spinosa did not excite the same troubles in ,holland as the disputes of ,gomar and ,d',arminius4 ,in short1 we can defy the enemies to human reason to cite a single example1 which proves in a decisive manner that opinions purely philosophical1 or directly contrary to superstition1 have ever excited disturbances in the state4 ,tumults have generally arisen from theological notions1 because both princes and people have always foolishly believed they ought to take a part in them4 ,there is nothing so dangerous as that empty philosophy1 which the theologians have combined with their systems4 ,it is to philosophy1 corrupted by priests1 that it peculiarly belongs to blow up the embers of discord2 to invite the people to rebellion2 to drench the earth with human blood4 ,there is1 perhaps1 no theological question1 which has not been the source of immense mischief to man2 whilst all the writings of those denominated atheists1 whether ancient or modern1 have never caused any evil but to their authors2 whom dominant imposture has frequently immolated at his deceptive shrine4 ,the principles of atheism are not formed for the mass of the people1 who are commonly under the tutelage of their priests2 they are not calculated for those frivolous capacities1 not suited to those dissipated minds1 who fill society with their vices1 who hourly afford evidence of their own inutility2 they will not gratify the ambitious2 neither are they adapted to intriguers1 nor fitted for those restless beings who find their immediate interest in disturbing the harmony of the social compact3 much less are they made for a great number of persons1 who1 enlightened in other respects1 have not sufficient courage to divorce themselves from the received prejudices4 ,so many causes unite themselves to confirm man in those errors which he draws in with his mother's milk1 that every step that removes him from these endeared fallacies1 costs him uncommon pain4 ,those persons who are most enlightened1 frequently cling on some side to the general prepossession4 ,by giving up these revered ideas1 we feel ourselves1 as it were1 isolated in society3 whenever we stand alone in our opinions1 we no longer seem to speak the language of our associates2 we are apt to fancy ourselves placed on a barren1 desert island1 in sight of a populous1 fruitful country1 which we can never reach3 it therefore requires great courage to adopt a mode of thinking that has but few approvers4 ,in those countries where human knowledge has made some progress2 where1 besides1 a certain freedom of thinking is enjoyed1 may easily be found a great number of deicolists1 theists1 or incredulous beings1 who1 contented with having trampled under foot the grosser prejudices of the illiterate1 have not dared to go back to the source--to cite the more subtle systems before the tribunal of reason4 ,if these thinkers did not stop on the road1 reflection would quickly prove to them that those systems which they have not the fortitude to examine1 are equally injurious to sound ratiocination1 fully as revolting to good sense1 quite as repugnant to the evidence of experience1 as any of those doctrines1 mysteries1 fables1 or superstitious customs1 of which they have already acknowledged the futility2 they would feel1 as we have already proved1 that all these things are nothing more than the necessary consequences of those primitive errors which man has indulged for so many ages in succession2 that in admitting these errors1 they no longer have any rational cause to reject the deductions which the imagination has drawn from them4 ,a little attention would distinctly shew them1 that it is precisely these errors that are the true cause of all the evils of society2 that those endless disputes1 those sanguinary quarrels1 to which superstition and the spirit of party every instant give birth1 are the inevitable effects of the importance they attach to errors which possess all the means of distraction1 that scarcely ever fail to put the mind of man into a state of combustion4 ,in short1 nothing is more easy than to convince ourselves that imaginary systems1 not reducible to comprehension1 which are always painted under terrific aspects1 must act upon the imagination in a very lively manner1 must sooner or later produce disputes--engender enthusiasm--give birth to fanaticism--end in delirium4 ,many persons acknowledge1 that the extravagances to which superstition lends activity1 are real evils2 many complain of the abuse of superstition1 but there are very few who feel that this abuse1 together with the evils1 are the necessary consequences of the fundamental principles of all superstition2 which are founded upon the most grievous notions1 which rest themselves on the most tormenting opinions4 ,we daily see persons undeceived upon superstitious ideas1 who nevertheless pretend that this superstition is salutary for the people2 that without its supernatural magic1 they could not be kept within due bounds2 in other words1 could not be made the voluntary slaves of the priest4 ,but1 to reason thus1 is it not to say1 poison is beneficial to mankind1 that therefore it is proper to poison them1 to prevent them from making an improper use of their power8 ,is it not in fact to pretend it is advantageous to render them absurd2 that it is a profitable course to make them extravagant2 wholesome to give them an irrational bias2 that they have need of hobgoblins to blind them2 require the most incomprehensible systems to make them giddy2 that it is imperative to submit them either to impostors or to fanatics1 who will avail themselves of their follies to disturb the repose of the world8 ,again1 is it an ascertained fact1 does experience warrant the conclusion1 that superstition has a useful influence over the morals of the people8 ,it appears much more evident1 is much better borne out by observation1 falls more in with the evidence of the senses1 that it enslaves them without rendering them better2 that it constitutes an herd of ignorant beings1 whom panic terrors keep under the yoke of their task-masters2 whom their useless fears render the wretched instruments of towering ambition--of rapacious tyrants2 of the subtle craft of designing priests3 that it forms stupid slaves1 who are acquainted with no other virtue1 save a blind submission to the most futile customs1 to which they attach a much more substantive value than to the actual virtues springing out of the duties of morality2 or issuing from the social compact which has never been made known to them4 ,if by any chance1 superstition does restrain some few individuals1 it has no effect on the greater number1 who suffer themselves to be hurried along by the epidemical vices with which they are infected3 they are placed by it upon the stream of corruption1 and the tide either sweeps them away1 or else1 swelling the waters1 breaks through its feeble mounds1 and involves the whole in one undistinguished mass of ruin4 ,it is in those countries where superstition has the greatest power1 that will always be found the least morality4 ,virtue is incompatible with ignorance2 it cannot coalesce with superstition2 it cannot exist with slavery3 slaves can only be kept in subordination by the fear of punishment2 ignorant children are for a moment intimidated by imaginary terrors4 ,but freemen1 the children of truth1 have no fears but of themselves2 are neither to be lulled into submission by visionary duties1 nor coerced by fanciful systems2 they yield ready obedience to the evident demonstrations of virtue2 are the faithful1 the invulnerable supporters of solid systems2 cling with ardour to the dictates of reason2 form impenetrable ramparts round their legitimate sovereigns2 and fix their thrones on an immoveable basis1 unknown to the theologian2 that cannot be touched with unhallowed hands2 whose duration will be commensurate with the existence of time itself4 ,to form freemen1 however1 to have virtuous citizens1 it is necessary to enlighten them2 it is incumbent to exhibit truth to them2 it is imperative to reason with them2 it is indispensable to make them feel their interests2 it is paramount to learn them to respect themselves2 they must be instructed to fear shame2 they must be excited to have a just idea of honour2 they must be made familiar with the value of virtue1 they must be shewn substantive motives for following its lessons4 ,how can these happy effects ever be expected from the polluted fountains of superstition1 whose waters do nothing more than degrade mankind8 ,or how are they to be obtained from the ponderous1 bulky yoke of tyranny1 which proposes nothing more to itself1 than to vanquish them by dividing them2 to keep them in the most abject condition by means of lascivious vices1 and the most detestable crimes8 ,the false idea1 which so many persons have of the utility of superstition1 which they1 at least1 judge to be calculated to restrain the licentiousness of the illiterate1 arise from the fatal prejudice that it is a useful error2 that truth may be dangerous4 ,this principle has complete efficacy to eternize the sorrows of the earth3 whoever shall have the requisite courage to examine these things1 will without hesitation acknowledge1 that all the miseries of the human race are to be ascribed to his errors2 that of these1 superstitious error must he the most prejudicial1 from the importance which is usually attached to it2 from the haughtiness with which it inspires sovereigns2 from the worthless condition which it prescribes to subjects2 from the phrenzy which it excites among the vulgar4 ,we shall1 therefore1 be obliged to conclude1 that the superstitious errors of man1 rendered sacred by time1 are exactly those which for the permanent interest of mankind1 for the well-being of society1 for the security of the monarch himself1 demand the most complete destruction2 that it is principally to their annihilation1 the efforts of a sound philosophy ought to be directed4 ,it is not to be feared1 that this attempt will produce either disorders or revolutions3 the more freedom shall accompany the voice of truth1 the more convincing it will appear2 although the more simple it shall be1 the less it will influence men1 who are only smitten with the marvellous2 even those individuals who most sedulously seek after truth1 who pursue it with the greatest ardour1 have frequently an irresistible inclination1 that urges them on1 and incessantly disposes them to reconcile error with its antipode4 ,that great master of the art of thinking1 who holds forth to his disciples such able advice1 says1 with abundant reason1 that there is nothing but a good and solid philosophy1 which can1 like another ,hercules1 exterminate those monsters called popular errors3 it is that alone which can give freedom to the human mind4 ,here is1 unquestionably1 the true reason why atheism1 as it is called1 of which hitherto the principles have not been sufficiently developed1 appears to alarm even those persons who are the most destitute of prejudice4 ,they find the interval too great between vulgar superstition and an absolute renunciation of it2 they imagine they take a wise medium in compounding with error2 they therefore reject the consequences1 while they admit the principle2 they preserve the shadow and throw away the substance1 without foreseeing that1 sooner or later1 it must1 by its obstetric art1 usher into the world1 one after another1 the same follies which now fill the heads of bewildered human beings1 lost in the labyrinths of incomprehensible systems4 ,the major part of the incredulous1 the greater number of reformers1 do no more than prune a cankered tree1 to whose root they dare not apply the axe2 they do not perceive that this tree will in the end produce the same fruit4 ,theology1 or superstition1 will always be an heap of combustible matter3 brooded in the imagination of mankind1 it will always finish by causing the most terrible explosions4 ,as long as the sacerdotal order shall have the privilege of infecting youth--of habituating their minds to tremble before unmeaning words--of alarming nations with the most terrific systems1 so long will fanaticism be master of the human mind2 imposture will1 at its pleasure1 cast the apple of discord among the members of the state4 ,the most simple error1 perpetually fed1 unceasingly modified1 continually exaggerated by the imagination of man1 will by degrees assume a collossal figure1 sufficiently powerful to upset every institution2 amply competent to the overthrow of empires4 ,theism is a system at which the human mind cannot make a long sojourn2 founded upon error1 it will1 sooner or later1 degenerate into the most absurd1 the most dangerous superstition4 ,many incredulous beings1 many theists1 are to be met with in those countries where freedom of opinion reigns2 that is to say1 where the civil power has known how to balance superstition4 ,but1 above all1 atheists as they are termed1 will be found in those nations where1 superstition1 backed by the sovereign authority1 most enforces the ponderosity of its yoke2 most impresses the volume of its severity2 imprudently abuses its unlimited power4 ,indeed1 when in these kind of countries1 science1 talents1 the seeds of reflection1 are not entirely stifled1 the greater part of the men who think1 revolt at the crying abuses of superstition2 are ashamed of its multifarious follies2 are shocked at the corruption of its professors2 scandalized at the tyranny of its priests3 are struck with horror at those massive chains which it imposes on the credulous4 ,believing with great reason1 that they can never remove themselves too far from its savage principles1 the system that serves for the basis of such a creed1 becomes as odious as the superstition itself2 they feel that terrific systems can only be detailed by cruel ministers2 these become detestable objects to every enlightened1 to every honest mind1 in which either the love of equity1 or the sacred fire of freedom resides2 to every one who is the advocate of humanity--the indignant spurner of tyranny4 ,oppression gives a spring to the soul2 it obliges man to examine closely into the cause of his sorrows2 misfortune is a powerful incentive1 that turns the mind to the side of truth4 ,how formidable a foe must not outraged reason be to falsehood8 ,it at least throws it into confusion1 when it tears away its mask2 when it follows it into its last entrenchment2 when it proves1 beyond contradiction1 that nothing is so dastardly as delusion detected1 or tyrannic power held at bay4 ,,chap4 ,,xiii4 ,of the motives which lead to what is falsely called ,atheism4--,can this ,system be dangerous8--,can it be embraced by the ,illiterate8 ,the reflections1 as well as the facts which have preceded1 will furnish a reply to those who inquire what interest man has in not admitting unintelligible systems8 ,the tyrannies1 the persecutions1 the numberless outrages committed under these systems2 the stupidity1 the slavery1 into which their ministers almost every where plunge the people2 the sanguinary disputes to which they give birth2 the multitude of unhappy beings with which their fatal notions fill the world2 are surely abundantly sufficient to create the most powerful1 the most interesting motives1 to determine all sensible men1 who possess the faculty of thought1 to examine into the authenticity of doctrines1 which cause so many serious evils to the inhabitants of the earth4 ,a theist1 very estimable for his talents1 asks1 if there can be any other cause than an evil disposition1 which can make men atheists8 ,i reply to him1 yes1 there are other causes4 ,there is the desire1 a very laudable one1 of having a knowledge of interesting truths2 there is the powerful interest of knowing what opinions we ought to hold upon the object which is announced to us as the most important2 there is the fear of deceiving ourselves upon systems which are occupied with the opinions of mankind1 which do not permit he should deceive himself respecting them with impunity4 ,but when these motives1 these causes1 should not subsist1 is not indignation1 or if they will1 an evil disposition1 a legitimate cause1 a good and powerful motive1 for closely examining the pretensions1 for searching into the rights of systems1 in whose name so many crimes are perpetrated8 ,can any man who feels1 who thinks1 who has any elasticity in his soul1 avoid being incensed against austere theories1 which are visibly the pretext1 undeniably the source1 of all those evils1 which on every side assail the human race8 ,are they not these fatal systems which are at once the cause and the ostensible reason of that iron yoke that oppresses mankind2 of that wretched slavery in which he lives2 of that blindness which hides from him his happiness2 of that superstition1 which disgraces him2 of those irrational customs which torment him2 of those sanguinary quarrels which divide him2 of all the outrages which he experiences8 ,must not every breast in which humanity is not extinguished1 irritate itself against that theoretical speculation1 which in almost every country is made to speak the language of capricious1 inhuman1 irrational tyrants8 ,to motives so natural1 so substantive1 we shall join those which are still more urgent1 more personal to every reflecting man3 namely1 that benumbing terror1 that incommodious fear1 which must be unceasingly nourished by the idea of capricious theories1 which lay man open to the most severe penalties1 even for secret thoughts1 over which he himself has not any controul2 that dreadful anxiety arising out of inexorable systems1 against which he may sin without even his own knowledge2 of morose doctrines1 the measure of which he can never be certain of having fulfilled2 which so far from being equitable1 make all the obligations lay on one side2 which with the most ample means of enforcing restraint1 freely permit evil1 although they hold out the most excruciating punishments for the delinquents8 ,does it not then1 embrace the best interests of humanity1 become of the highest importance to the welfare of mankind1 of the greatest consequence to the quiet of his existence1 to verify the correctness of these systems8 ,can any thing be more rational than to probe to the core these astounding theories8 ,is it possible that any thing can be more just1 than to inquire rigorously into the rights1 sedulously to examine the foundations1 to try by every known test1 the stability of doctrines1 that involve in their operations1 consequences of such colossal magnitude2 that embrace1 in their dictatory mandates1 matters of such high behest2 that implicate the eternal felicity of such countless millions in the vortex of their action8 ,would it not be the height of folly to wear such a tremendous yoke without inquiry2 to let such overwhelming notions pass current unauthenticated2 to permit the soi-disant ministers of these terrific systems to establish their power1 without the most ample verification of their patents of mission8 ,would it1 ,i repeat1 be at all wonderful1 if the frightful qualities of some of these systems1 as exhibited by their official expounders1 whom the accredited functionaries of similar systems1 do not scruple1 in the face of day1 to brand as impostors1 should induce rational beings to drive them entirely from their hearts2 to shake off such an intolerable burden of misery2 to even deny the existence of such appalling doctrines1 of such petrifying systems1 which the superstitious themselves1 whilst paying them their homage1 frequently curse from the very bottom of their hearts8 ,the theist1 however1 will not fail to tell the atheist1 as he calls him1 that these systems are not such as superstition paints them2 that the colours are coarse1 too glaring1 ill assorted1 the perspective out of all keeping2 he will then exhibit his own picture1 in which the tints are certainly blended with more mellowness1 the colouring of a more pleasing hue1 the whole more harmonious1 but the distances equally indistinct3 the atheist1 in reply1 will say1 that superstition itself1 with all the absurd prejudices1 all the mischievous notions to which it gives birth1 are only corollaries drawn from the fallacious ideas1 from those obscure principles1 which the deicolist himself indulges4 ,that his own incomprehensible system authorizes the incomprehensible absurdities1 the inconceivable mysteries1 with which superstition abounds2 that they flow consecutively from his own premises2 that when once the mind of mortals is bewildered in the dark1 inextricable mazes of an ill-directed imagination1 it will incessantly multiply its chimeras4 ,to assure the repose of mankind1 fundamental errors must be annihilated2 that he may understand his true relations1 be acquainted with his imperative duties1 primary delusions must be rectified2 to procure him that serenity of soul1 without which there can be no substantive happiness1 original fallacies must be undermined4 ,if the systems of the superstitious be revolting1 if their theories be gloomy1 if their dogmas are unintelligible1 those of the theist will always be contradictory2 will prove fatal1 when he shall be disposed to meditate upon them2 will become the source of illusions1 with which1 sooner or later1 imposture will not omit to abuse his credulity4 ,nature alone1 with the truths she discovers1 is capable of lending to the human mind that firmness which falsehood will never be able to shake2 to the human heart that self-possession1 against which imposture will in vain direct its attacks4 ,let us again reply to those who unceasingly repeat that the interest of the passions alone conduct man to what is termed atheism3 that it is the dread of future punishment that determines corrupt individuals to make the most strenuous efforts to break up a system they have reason to dread4 ,we shall1 without hesitation1 agree that it is the interest of man's passions which excites him to make inquiries2 without interest1 no man is tempted to seek2 without passion1 no man will seek vigorously4 ,the question1 then1 to be examined1 is1 if the passions and interests1 which determine some thinkers to dive into the stability or the systems held forth to their adoption1 are or are not legitimate8 ,these interests have1 already been exposed1 from which it has been proved1 that every rational man finds in his inquietudes1 in his fears1 reasonable motives to ascertain1 whether or not it be necessary to pass his life in perpetual dread2 in never ceasing agonies8 ,will it be said1 that an unhappy being1 unjustly condemned to groan in chains1 has not the right of being willing to render them asunder2 to take some means to liberate himself from his prison2 to adopt some plan to escape from those punishments1 which every instant threaten him8 ,will it be pretended that his passion for liberty has no legitimate foundation1 that he does an injury to the companions of his misery1 in withdrawing himself from the shafts of tyrannical infliction2 or in furnishing1 them also with means to escape from its cruel strokes8 ,is1 then1 an incredulous man1 any thing more than one who has taken flight from the general prison1 in which despotic superstition detains nearly all mankind8 ,is not an atheist1 as he is called1 who writes1 one who has broken his fetters1 who supplies to those of his associates who have sufficient courage to follow him1 the means of setting themselves free from the terrors that menace them8 ,the priests unceasingly repeat that it is pride1 vanity1 the desire of distinguishing himself from the generality of mankind1 that determines man to incredulity4 ,in this they are like some of those wealthy mortals1 who treat all those as insolent who refuse to cringe before them4 ,would not every rational man have a right to ask the priest1 where is thy superiority in matters of reasoning8 ,what motives can ,i have to submit my reason to thy delirium8 ,on the other hand1 way it not be said to the hierarchy1 that it is interest which makes them priests2 that it is interest which renders them theologians2 that it is for the interest of their passions1 to inflate their pride1 to gratify their avarice1 to minister to their ambition1 c4 that they attach themselves to systems1 of which they alone reap the benefits8 ,whatever it may be1 the priesthood1 contented with exercising their power over the illiterate1 ought to permit those men who do think1 to be excused from bending the knee before their vain1 illusive idols4 ,we also agree1 that frequently the corruption of morals1 a life of debauchery1 a licentiousness of conduct1 even levity of mind1 may conduct man to incredulity2 but is it not possible to be a libertine1 to be irreligious1 to make a parade of incredulity1 without being on that account an atheist8 ,there is unquestionably a difference between those who are led to renounce belief in unintelligible systems by dint of reasoning1 and those who reject or despise superstition1 only because they look upon it as a melancholy object1 or an incommodious restraint4 ,many persons1 no doubt1 renounce received prejudices1 through vanity or upon hearsay2 these pretended strong minds have not examined any thing for themselves2 they act upon the authority of others1 whom they suppose to have weighed things more maturely4 ,this kind of incredulous beings1 have not1 then1 any distinct ideas1 any substantive opinions1 and are but little capacitated to reason for themselves2 they are indeed hardly in a state to follow the reasoning of others4 ,they are irreligious in the same manner as the majority of mankind are superstitious1 that is to say1 by credulity like the people2 or through interest like the priest4 ,a voluptuary devoted to his appetites2 a debauche drowned in drunkenness2 an ambitious mortal given up to his own schemes of aggrandizement2 an intriguer surrounded by his plots2 a frivolous1 dissipated mortal1 absorbed by his gewgaws1 addicted to his puerile pursuits1 buried in his filthy enjoyments2 a loose woman abandoned to her irregular desires2 a choice spirit of the day3 are these ,i say1 personages1 actually competent to form a sound judgment of superstition1 which they have never examined8 ,are they in a condition to maturely weigh theories that require the utmost depth of thought8 ,have they the capabilities to feel the force of a subtle argument2 to compass the whole of a system3 to embrace the various ramifications of an extended doctrine8 ,if some feeble scintillations occasionally break in upon the cimmerian darkness of their minds2 if by any accident they discover some faint glimmerings of truth amidst the tumult of their passions2 if occasionally a sudden calm1 suspending1 for a short season1 the tempest of their contending vices1 permits the bandeau of their unruly desires by which they are blinded1 to drop for an instant from their hoodwinked eyes1 these leave on them only evanescent traces2 scarcely sooner received than obliterated4 ,corrupt men only attack the gods when they conceive them to be the enemies to their vile passions4 ,arrian says1 that when men imagine the gods are in opposition to their passions1 they abuse them1 and overturn their altars4 ,the ,chinese1 ,i believe1 do the same4 ,the honest man makes war against systems which he finds are inimical to virtue--injurious to his own happiness--baneful to that of his fellow mortals--contradictory to the repose1 fatal to the interests of the human species4 ,the bolder1 therefore1 the sentiments of the honest atheist1 the more strange his ideas1 the more suspicious they appear to other men1 the more strictly he ought to observe his own obligations2 the more scrupulously he should perform his duties2 especially if he be not desirous that his morals shall calumniate his system2 which duly weighed1 will make the necessity of sound ethics1 the certitude of morality1 felt in all its force2 but which every species of superstition tends to render problematical1 or to corrupt4 ,whenever our will is moved by concealed and complicated motives1 it is extremely difficult to decide what determines it2 a wicked man may be conducted to incredulity or to scepticism by those motives which he dare not avow1 even to himself2 in believing he seeks after truth1 he may form an illusion to his mind1 only to follow the interest of his passions2 the fear of an avenging system will perhaps determine him to deny their existence without examination2 uniformly because he feels them incommodious4 ,nevertheless1 the passions sometimes happen to be just2 a great interest carries us on to examine things more minutely2 it may frequently make a discovery of the truth1 even to him who seeks after it the least1 or who is only desirous to be lulled to sleep1 who is only solicitous to deceive himself4 ,it is the same with a perverse man who stumbles upon truth1 as it is with him1 who flying from an imaginary danger1 should encounter in his road a dangerous serpent1 which in his haste he should destroy2 he does that by accident1 without design1 which a man1 less disturbed in his mind1 would have done with premeditated deliberation4 ,to judge properly of things1 it is necessary to be disinterested2 it is requisite to have an enlightened mind1 to have connected ideas to compass a great system4 ,it belongs1 in fact1 only to the honest man to examine the proofs of systems--to scrutinize the principles of superstition2 it belongs only to the man acquainted with nature1 conversant with her ways1 to embrace with intelligence the cause of the ,,system ,,of ,,nature4 ,the wicked are incapable of judging with temper2 the ignorant are inadequate to reason with accuracy2 the honest1 the virtuous1 are alone competent judges in so weighty an affair4 ,what do ,i say8 ,is not the virtuous man1 from thence in a condition to ardently desire the existence of a system that remunerates the goodness of men8 ,if he renounces those advantages1 which his virtue confers upon him the right to hope1 it is1 undoubtedly1 because he finds them imaginary4 ,indeed1 every man who reflects will quickly perceive1 that for one timid mortal1 of whom these systems restrain the feeble passions1 there are millions whose voice they cannot curb1 of whom1 on the contrary1 they excite the fury2 for one that they console1 there are millions whom they affright1 whom they afflict2 whom they make unhappy3 in short1 he finds1 that against one inconsistent enthusiast1 which these systems1 which are thought so excellent1 render happy1 they carry discord1 carnage1 wretchedness into vast countries2 plunge whole nations into misery2 deluge them with tears4 ,however this may be1 do not let us inquire into motives which may determine a man to embrace a system2 let us rather examine the system itself2 let us convince ourselves of its rectitude2 if we shall find that it is founded upon truth1 we shall never1 be able to esteem it dangerous4 ,it is always falsehood that is injurious to man2 if error be visibly the source of his sorrows1 reason is the true remedy for them2 this is the panacea that can alone carry consolation to his afflictions4 ,do not let us farther examine the conduct of a man who presents us with a system2 his ideas1 as we have already said1 may be extremely sound1 when even his actions are highly deserving of censure4 ,if the system of atheism cannot make him perverse1 who is not so by his temperament1 it cannot render him good1 who does not otherwise know the motives that should conduct him to virtue4 ,at least we have proved1 that the superstitious man1 when he has strong passions1 when he possesses a depraved heart1 finds even in his creed a thousand pretexts more than the atheist1 for injuring the human species4 ,the atheist has not1 at least1 the mantle of zeal to cover his vengeance2 he has not the command of his priest to palliate his transports2 he has not the glory of his gods to countenance his fury2 the atheist does not enjoy the faculty of expiating1 at the expence of a sum of money1 the transgressions of his life2 of availing himself of certain ceremonies1 by the aid of which he may atone for the outrages he may have committed against society2 he has not the advantage of being able to reconcile himself with heaven1 by some easy custom2 to quiet the remorse of his disturbed conscience1 by an attention to outward forms3 if crime has not deadened every feeling of his heart1 he is obliged continually to carry within himself an inexorable judge1 who unceasingly reproaches him for his odious conduct2 who forces him to blush for his own folly2 who compels him to hate himself2 who imperiously obliges him to fear examination1 to dread the resentment of others4 ,the superstitious man1 if he be wicked1 gives himself up to crime1 which is followed by remorse2 but his superstition quickly furnishes him with the means a getting rid of it2 his life is generally no more than a long series of error and grief1 of sin and expiation1 following each other in alternate succession2 still more1 he frequently1 as we have seen1 perpetrates crimes of greater magnitude1 in order to wash away the first4 ,destitute of any permanent ideas on morality1 he accustoms himself to look upon nothing as criminal1 but that which the ministers1 the official expounders of his system1 forbid him to commit3 he considers actions of the blackest dye as virtues1 or as the means of effacing those transgressions1 which are frequently held out to him as faithfully executing the duties of his creed4 ,it is thus we have seen fanatics expiate their adulteries by the most atrocious persecutions2 cleanse their souls from infamy by the most unrelenting cruelty2 make atonement for unjust wars by the foulest means2 qualify their usurpations by outraging every principle of virtue2 in order to wash away their iniquities1 bathe themselves in the blood of those superstitious victims1 whose infatuation made them martyrs4 ,an atheist1 as he is falsely called1 if he has reasoned justly1 if he has consulted nature1 hath principles more determinate1 more humane1 than the superstitious2 his system1 whether gloomy or enthusiastic1 always conducts the latter either to folly or cruelty2 the imagination of the former will never be intoxicated to that degree1 to make him believe that violence1 injustice1 persecution1 or assassination are either virtuous or legitimate actions4 ,we every day see that superstition1 or the cause of heaven1 as it is called1 hoodwinks even those persons who on every other occasion are humane1 equitable1 and rational2 so much so1 that they make it a paramount duty to treat with determined barbarity1 those men who happen to step aside from their mode of thinking4 ,an heretic1 an incredulous being1 ceases to be a man1 in the eyes of the superstitious4 ,every society1 infected with the venom of bigotry1 offers innumerable examples of juridical assassination1 which the tribunals commit without scruple1 even without remorse4 ,judges who are equitable on every other occasion1 are no longer so when there is a question of theological opinions2 in steeping their hands in the blood of their victims1 they believe1 on the authority of the priests1 they conform themselves to the views of the ,divinity4 ,almost every where the laws are subordinate to superstition2 make themselves accomplices in its fanatical fury2 they legitimate those actions most opposed to the gentle voice of humanity2 they even transform into imperative duties1 the most barbarous cruelties4 ,the president ,grammont relates1 with a satisfaction truly worthy of a cannibal1 the particulars of the punishment of ,vanini1 who was burned at ,thoulouse1 although he had disavowed the opinions with which he was accused2 this president carries his demoniac prejudices so far1 as to find wickedness in the piercing cries1 in the dreadful howlings1 which torment wrested from this unhappy victim to superstitious vengeance4 ,are not all these avengers of the gods miserable men1 blinded by their piety1 who1 under the impression of duty1 wantonly immolate at the shrine of superstition1 those wretched victims whom the priests deliver over to them8 ,are they not savage tyrants1 who have the rank injustice to violate thought2 who have the folly to believe they can enslave it8 ,are they not delirious fanatics1 on whom the law1 dictated by the most inhuman prejudices1 imposes the necessity of acting like ferocious brutes8 ,are not all those sovereigns1 who to gratify the vanity of the priesthood1 torment and persecute their subjects1 who sacrifice to their anthropophagite gods human victims1 men whom superstitious zeal has converted into tygers8 ,are not those priests1 so careful of the soul's health1 who insolently break into the sacred sanctuary of man's mind1 to the end that they may find in his opinions motives for doing him an injury1 abominable knaves1 disturbers of the public repose1 whom superstition honours1 but whom virtue detests8 ,what villains are more odious in the eyes of humanity1 what depredators more hateful to the eye of reason1 than those infamous inquisitors1 who by the blindness of princes1 by the delirium of monarchs1 enjoy the advantage of passing judgment on their own enemies2 who ruthlessly commit them to the charity of the flames8 ,nevertheless1 the fatuity of the people makes even these monsters respected2 the favour of kings covers them with kindness2 the mantle of superstitious opinion shields them from the effect of the just execration of every honest man4 ,do not a thousand examples prove1 that superstition has every where produced the most frightful ravages3 that it has continually justified the most unaccountable horrors8 ,has it not a thousand times armed its votaries with the dagger of the homicide2 let loose passions much wore terrible than those which it pretended to restrain2 broken up the most sacred bonds by which mortals are connected with each other8 ,has it not1 under the pretext of duty1 under the colour of faith1 under the semblance of zeal1 under the sacred name of piety1 favoured cupidity1 lent wings to ambition1 countenanced cruelty1 given a spring to tyranny8 ,has it not legitimatized murder2 given a system to perfidy2 organized rebellion2 made a virtue of regicide8 ,have not those princes who have been foremost as the avengers of heaven1 who have been the lictors of superstition1 frequently themselves become its victims8 ,in short1 has it not been the signal for the most dismal follies1 the most wicked outrages1 the most horrible massacres8 ,has not its altars been drenched with human gore8 ,under whatever form it has been exhibited1 has it not always been the ostensible cause of the most bare-faced violation--of the sacred rights of humanity8 ,never will an atheist1 as he is called1 as called1 as he enjoys his proper senses1 persuade himself that similar actions can be justifiable2 never will he believe that he who commits them can be an estimable man2 there is no one but the superstitious1 whose blindness makes him forget the most evident principles of morality1 whose callous soul renders him deaf to the voice of nature1 whose zeal causes him to overlook the dictates of reason1 who can by any possibility imagine the most destructive crimes are the most prominent features of virtue4 ,if the atheist be perverse1 he1 at least1 knows that he acts wrong2 neither these systems1 nor their priests1 will be able to persuade him that he does right3 one thing1 however1 is certain1 whatever crimes he may allow himself to commit1 he will never be capable of exceeding those which superstition perpetrates without scruple2 that it encourages in those whom it intoxicates with its fury2 to whom it frequently holds forth wickedness itself1 either as expiations for offences1 or else as orthodox1 meritorious actions4 ,thus the atheist1 however wicked he may be supposed1 will at most be upon a level with the devotee1 whose superstition encourages him to commit crimes1 which it transforms into virtue4 ,as to conduct1 if he be debauched1 voluptuous1 intemperate1 adulterous1 the atheist in this differs in nothing from the most credulously superstitious1 who frequently knows how to connect these vices with his credulity1 to blend with his superstition certain atrocities1 for which his priests1 provided he renders due homage to their power1 especially if he augments their exchequer1 will always find means to pardon him4 ,if he be in ,hindoostan1 his brahmins will wash him in the sacred waters of the ,ganges1 while reciting a prayer4 ,if he be a ,jew1 upon making an offering1 his sins will be effaced4 ,if he be in ,japan1 he will be cleansed by performing a pilgrimage4 ,if he be a ,mahometan1 he will be reputed a saint1 for having visited the tomb of his prophet2 the ,roman pontiff himself will sell him indulgences2 but none of them will ever censure him for those crimes he may have committed in the support of their several faiths4 ,we are constantly told1 that the indecent behaviour of the official expounders of superstition1 the criminal conduct of the priests1 or of their sectaries1 proves nothing against the goodness of their systems4 ,admitted3 but wherefore do they not say the same thing of the conduct of those whom they call atheists1 who1 as we have already proved1 way have a very substantive1 a very correct system of morality1 even while leading a very dissolute life8 ,if it be necessary to judge the opinions of mankind according to their conduct1 which is the theory that would bear the scrutiny8 ,let us1 then1 examine the opinion of the atheist1 without approving his conduct2 let us adopt his mode of thinking1 if we find it marked by the truth2 if it shall appear useful2 if it shall be proved rational2 but let us reject his mode of action1 if that should be found blameable4 ,at the sight of a work performed with truth1 we do not embarrass ourselves with the morals of the workman3 of what importance is it to the universe1 whether the illustrious ,newton was a sober1 discreet citizen1 or a debauched intemperate man8 ,it only remains for us to examine his theory2 we want nothing more than to know whether he has reasoned acutely2 if his principles be steady2 if the parts of his system are connected2 if his work contains more demonstrable truths1 than bold ideas8 ,let us judge in the same manner of the principles of the atheist2 if they appear strange1 if they are unusual1 that is a solid reason for probing them more strictly2 if he has spoken truth1 if he has demonstrated his positions1 let us yield to the weight of evidence2 if he be deceived in some parts1 let us distinguish the true from the false2 but do not let us fall into the hacknied prejudice1 which on account of one error in the detail1 rejects a multitude of incontestible truisms4 ,doctor ,johnson1 ,i think1 says in his preface to his ,dictionary1 when a man shall have executed his task with all the accuracy possible1 he will only be allowed to have done his duty2 but if he commits the slightest error1 a thousand snarlers are ready to point it out4 ,the atheist1 when he is deceived1 has unquestionably as much right to throw his faults on the fragility of his nature1 as the superstitious man4 ,an atheist may have vices1 may be defective1 he may reason badly2 but his errors will never have the consequences of superstitious novelties2 they will not1 like these1 kindle up the fire of discord in the bosom of nations2 the atheist will not justify his vices1 defend his wanderings by superstition2 he will not pretend to infallibility1 like those self-conceited theologians who attach the ,divine sanction to their follies2 who initiate that heaven authorizes those sophisms1 gives currency to those falsehoods1 approves those errors1 which they believe themselves warranted to distribute over the face of the earth4 ,it will perhaps be said1 that the refusal to believe in these systems1 will rend asunder one of the most powerful bonds of society1 by making the sacredness of an oath vanish4 ,i reply1 that perjury is by no means rare1 even in the most superstitious nations1 nor even among the most religious1 or among those who boast of being the most thoroughly convinced of the rectitude of their theories4 ,diagoras1 superstitious as he was1 and it was not well possible to be more so1 it is said became an atheist1 on seeing that the gods did not thunder their vengeance on a man who had taken them as evidence to a falsity4 ,upon this principle1 how many atheists ought there to be8 ,from the systems that have made invisible unknown beings the depositaries of man's engagements1 we do not always see it result that they are better observed2 or that the most solemn contracts have acquired a greater solidity4 ,if history was consulted1 it would now and then be in evidence1 that even the conductors of nations1 those who have said they were the images of the ,divinity1 who have declared that they held their right of governing immediately from his hands1 have sometimes taken the ,deity as the witness to their oaths1 have made him the guarantee of their treaties1 without its having had all the effect that might have been expected1 when very trifling interests have intervened2 it would appear1 unless historians are incorrect1 that they did not always religiously observe those sacred engagements they made with their allies1 much less with their subjects4 ,to form a judgment from these historic documents1 we should be inclined to say1 there have been those who had much superstition1 joined with very little probity2 who made a mockery both of gods and men2 who perhaps blushed when they reviewed their own conduct3 nor can this be at all surprising1 when it not unfrequently happened that superstition itself absolved them from their oaths4 ,in fact1 does not superstition sometimes inculcate perfidy2 prescribe violation of plighted faith8 ,above all1 when there is a question of its own interests1 does it not dispense with engagements1 however solemn1 made with those whom it condemns8 ,it is1 ,i believe1 a maxim in the ,romish church1 that no faith is to be held with heretics4 ,the general council of ,constance decided thus1 when1 notwithstanding the emperor's passport1 it decreed ,john ,hus and ,jerome of ,prague to be burnt4 ,the ,roman pontiff has1 it is well known1 the right of relieving his sectaries from their oaths2 of annulling their vows3 this same pontiff has frequently arrogated to himself the right of deposing kings2 of absolving their subjects from their oaths of fidelity4 ,indeed1 it is rather extraordinary that oaths should be prescribed1 by the laws of those nations which profess ,christianity1 seeing that ,christ has expressly forbidden the use of them4 ,if things were considered attentively1 it would be obvious that under such management1 superstition and politics are schools of perjury4 ,they render it common3 thus knaves of every description never recoil1 when it is necessary to attest the name of the ,divinity to the most manifest frauds1 for the vilest interests4 ,what end1 then1 do oaths answer8 ,they are snares1 in which simplicity alone can suffer itself to be caught3 oaths1 almost every where1 are vain formalities1 that impose nothing upon villains2 nor do they add any thing to the sacredness of the engagements of honest men2 who would neither have the temerity nor the wish to violate them2 who would not think themselves less bound without an oath4 ,a perfidious1 perjured1 superstitious being1 has not any advantage over an atheist1 who should fail in his promises3 neither the one nor the other any longer deserves the confidence of their fellow citizens nor the esteem of good men2 if one does not respect his gods1 in whom he believes1 the other neither respects his reason1 his reputation1 nor public opinion1 in which all rational men cannot refuse to believe4 ,hobbes says1 an oath adds nothing to the obligation4 ,for a covenant1 if lawful1 binds in the sight of ,god1 without the oath1 as much as with it3 if unlawful1 bindeth not at all3 though it be confirmed with an oath4 ,the heathen form was1 let ,jupiter kill me else1 as ,i kill this beast4 ,adjuration only augments1 in the imagination of him who swears1 the fear of violating an engagement1 which he would have been obliged to keep1 even without the ceremony of an oath4 ,it has frequently been asked1 if there ever was a nation that had no idea of the ,divinity3 and if a people1 uniformly composed of atheists1 would be able to subsist8 ,whatever some speculators may say1 it does not appear likely that there ever has been upon our globe1 a numerous people who have not had an idea of some invisible power1 to whom they have shewn marks of respect and submission3 it has been sometimes believed that the ,chinese were atheists3 but this is an error1 due to the ,christian missionaries1 who are accustomed to treat all those as atheists1 who do not hold opinions similar with their own upon ,divinity4 ,it always appears that the ,chinese are a people extremely addicted to superstition1 but that they are governed by chiefs who are not so1 without however their being atheists for that reason4 ,if the empire of ,china be as flourishing as it is said to be1 it at least furnishes a very forcible proof that those who govern have no occasion to be themselves superstitious1 in order to govern with propriety a people who are so4 ,it is pretended that the ,greenlanders have no idea of the ,divinity4 ,nevertheless1 it is difficult to believe it of a nation so savage4 ,man1 inasmuch as he is a fearful1 ignorant animal1 necessarily becomes superstitious in his misfortunes3 either he forms gods for himself1 or he admits the gods which others are disposed to give him2 it does not then appear1 that we can rationally suppose there may have been1 or that there actually is1 a people on the earth a total stranger to some ,divinity4 ,one will shew us the sun1 the moon1 or the stars2 the other will shew us the sea1 the lakes1 the rivers1 which furnish him his subsistence1 the trees which afford him an asylum against the inclemency of the weather2 another will shew us a rock of an odd form2 a lofty mountain2 or a volcano that frequently astonishes him by its emission of lava2 another will present you with his crocodile1 whose malignity he fears2 his dangerous serpent1 the reptile to which he attributes his good or bad fortune4 ,in short1 each individual will make you behold his phantasm or his tutelary or domestic gods with respect4 ,but from the existence of his gods1 the savage does not draw the same inductions as the civilized1 polished man3 the savage does not believe it a duty to reason continually upon their qualities2 he does not imagine that they ought to influence his morals1 nor entirely occupy his thoughts3 content with a gross1 simple1 exterior worship1 he does not believe that these invisible powers trouble themselves with his conduct towards his fellow creatures2 in short1 he does not connect his morality with his superstition4 ,this morality is coarse1 as must be that of all ignorant people2 it is proportioned to his wants1 which are few2 it is frequently irrational1 because it is the fruit of ignorance2 of inexperience2 of the passions of men but slightly restrained1 or to say thus1 in their infancy4 ,it is only numerous1 stationary1 civilized societies1 where man's wants are multiplied1 where his interests clash1 that he is obliged to have recourse to government1 to laws1 to public worship1 in order to maintain concord4 ,it is then1 that men approximating1 reason together1 combine their ideas1 refine their notions1 subtilize their theories2 it is then also1 that those who govern them avail themselves of invisible powers1 to keep them within bounds1 to render them docile1 to enforce their obedience1 to oblige them to live peaceably4 ,it was thus1 that by degrees1 morals and politics found themselves associated with superstitious systems4 ,the chiefs of nations1 frequently1 themselves1 the children of superstition1 but little enlightened upon their actual interests2 slenderly versed in sound morality2 with an extreme exilty of knowledge on the actuating motives of the human heart2 believed they had effected every thing requisite for the stability of their own authority2 as well as achieved all that could guarantee the repose of society1 that could consolidate the happiness of the people1 in rendering their subjects superstitious like themselves2 by menacing them with the wrath of invisible powers2 in treating them like infants who are appeased with fables1 like children who are terrified by shadows4 ,by the assistance of these marvellous inventions1 to which even the chiefs1 the conductors of nations1 are themselves frequently the dupes2 which are transmitted as heirlooms from race to race2 sovereigns were dispensed from the trouble of instructing themselves in their duties2 they in consequence neglected the laws1 enervated themselves in luxurious ease1 rusted in sloth2 followed nothing but their caprice3 the care of restraining their subjects was reposed in their deities2 the instruction of the people was confided to their priests1 who were commissioned to train them to obedience1 to make them submissive1 to render them devout1 to teach them at an early age to tremble under the yoke of both the visible and invisible gods4 ,it was thus that nations1 kept by their tutors in a perpetual state of infancy1 were only restrained by vain1 chimerical theories4 ,it was thus that politics1 jurisprudence1 education1 morality1 were almost every where infected with superstition2 that man no longer knew any duties1 save those which grew out of its precepts3 the ideas of virtue were thus falsely associated with those of imaginary systems1 to which imposture generally gave that language which was most conducive to its own immediate interests3 mankind thus fully persuaded1 that without these marvellous systems1 there could not exist any sound morality1 princes1 as well as subjects1 equally blind to their actual interests1 to the duties of nature1 to their reciprocal rights1 habituated themselves to consider superstition as necessary to mortals--as indispensibly requisite to govern men--as the most effectual method of preserving power--as the most certain means of attaining happiness4 ,it is from these dispositions1 of which we have so frequently demonstrated the fallacy1 that so many persons1 otherwise extremely enlightened1 look upon it as an impossibility that a society formed of atheists1 as they are termed1 could subsist for any length of time4 ,it does not admit a question1 that a numerous society1 who should neither have religion1 morality1 government1 laws1 education1 nor principles1 could not maintain itself2 that it would simply congregate beings disposed to injure each other1 or children who would follow nothing but the blindest impulse2 but then is it not a lamentable fact1 that with all the superstition that floats in the world1 the greater number of human societies are nearly in this state8 ,are not the sovereigns of almost every country in a continual state of warfare with their subjects8 ,are not the people1 in despite of their superstition1 not withstanding the terrific notions which it holds forth1 unceasingly occupied with reciprocally injuring each other2 with rendering themselves mutually unhappy8 ,does not superstition itself1 with its supernatural notions1 unremittingly flatter the vanity of monarchs1 unbridle the passions of princes1 throw oil into the fire of discord1 which it kindles between those citizens who are divided in their opinion8 ,could those infernal powers1 who are supposed to be ever on the alert to mischief mankind1 be capable of inflicting greater evils upon the human race than spring from fanaticism1 than arise out of the fury to which theology gives birth8 ,could atheists1 however irrational they may be supposed1 if assembled together in society1 conduct themselves in a more criminal manner8 ,in short1 is it possible they could act worse than the superstitious1 who1 saturated with the most pernicious vices1 guided by the most extravagant systems1 during so many successive ages1 have done nothing more than torment themselves with the most cruel inflictions2 savagely cut each other's throats1 without a shadow of reason2 make a merit of mutual extermination8 ,it cannot be pretended they would4 ,on the contrary1 we boldly assert1 that a community of atheists1 as the theologian calls them1 because they cannot fall in with his mysteries1 destitute of all superstition1 governed by wholesome laws1 formed by a salutary education1 invited to the practice of virtue by instantaneous recompences1 deterred from crime by immediate punishments1 disentangled from illusive theories1 unsophisticated by falsehood1 would be decidedly more honest1 incalculably more virtuous1 than those superstitious societies1 in which every thing contributes to intoxicate the mind2 where every thing conspires to corrupt the heart4 ,when we shall be disposed usefully to occupy ourselves with the happiness of mankind1 it is with superstition that the reform must commence2 it is by abstracting these imaginary theories1 destined to affright the ignorant1 who are completely in a state of infancy1 that we shall be able to promise ourselves the desirable harvest of conducting man to a state of maturity4 ,it cannot be too often repeated1 there can be no morality without consulting the nature of man1 without studying his actual relations with the beings of his own species2 there can be no fixed principle for man's conduct1 while it is regulated upon unjust theories2 upon capricious doctrines2 upon corrupt systems2 there can be no sound politics without attending to human temperament1 without contemplating him as a being associated for the purpose of satisfying his wants1 consolidating his happiness1 and assuring its enjoyment4 ,no wise government can found itself upon despotic systems2 they will always make tyrants of their representatives4 ,no laws can be wholesome1 that do not bottom themselves upon the strictest equity2 which have not for their object the great end of human society4 ,no jurisprudence can be advantageous for nations1 if its administration be regulated by capricious systems1 or by human passions deified4 ,no education can be salutary1 unless it be founded upon reason2 to be efficacious to its proposed end1 it must neither be construed upon chimerical theories1 nor upon received prejudices4 ,in short1 there can be no probity1 no talents1 no virtue1 either under corrupt masters1 or under the conduct of those priests who render man the enemy to himself--the determined foe to others2 who seek to stifle in his bosom the germ of reason2 who endeavour to smother science1 or who try to damp his courage4 ,it will1 perhaps1 be asked1 if we can reasonably flatter ourselves with ever reaching the point to make a whole people entirely forget their superstitious opinions2 or abandon the ideas which they have of their gods8 ,i reply1 that the thing appears utterly impossible2 that this is not the end we can propose to ourselves4 ,these ideas1 inculcated from the earliest ages1 do not appear of a nature to admit eradication from the mind of the majority of mankind3 it would1 perhaps be equally arduous to give them to those persons1 who1 arrived at a certain time of life1 should never have heard them spoken of1 as to banish them from the minds of those1 who have been imbued with them from their tenderest infancy4 ,thus1 it cannot be reckoned possible to make a whole nation pass from the abyss of superstition1 that is to say1 from the bosom of ignorance1 from the ravings of delirium1 into absolute naturalism1 or as the priests of superstition would denominate it1 into atheism2 which supposes reflection--requires intense study--demands extensive knowledge--exacts a long series of experience--includes the habit of contemplating nature--the faculty of observing her laws2 which1 in short1 embraces the expansive science of the causes producing her various phenomena2 her multiplied combinations1 together with the diversified actions of the beings she contains1 as well as their numerous properties4 ,in order to be an atheist1 or to be assured of the capabilities of nature1 it is imperative to have meditated her profoundly3 a superficial glance of the eye will not bring man acquainted with her resources2 optics but little practised on her powers1 will unceasingly be deceived2 the ignorance of actual causes will always induce the supposition of those which are imaginary2 credulity will1 thus re-conduct the natural philosopher himself to the feet of superstitious phantoms1 in which either his limited vision1 or his habitual sloth1 will make him believe he shall find the solution to every difficulty4 ,atheism1 then1 as well as philosophy1 like all profound abstruse sciences1 is not calculated for the vulgar2 neither is it suitable to the great mass of mankind4 ,there are1 in all populous1 civilized nations1 persons whose circumstances enable them to devote their time to meditation1 whose easy finances afford them leisure to make deep researches into the nature of things1 who frequently make useful discoveries1 which1 sooner or later1 after they have been submitted to the infallible test of experience1 when they have passed the fiery ordeal of truth1 extend widely their salutary effects1 become extremely beneficial to society1 highly advantageous to individuals4 ,the geometrician1 the chemist1 the mechanic1 the natural philosopher1 the civilian1 the artizan himself1 are industriously employed1 either in their closets1 or in their workshops1 seeking the means to serve society1 each in his sphere3 nevertheless1 not one of their sciences or professions are familiar to the illiterate2 not one of the arts with which they are respectively occupied1 are known to the uninitiated3 these1 however1 do not fail1 in the long run1 to profit by them1 to reap substantive advantages from those labours1 of which they themselves have no idea4 ,it is for the mariner1 that the astronomer explores his arduous science2 it is for him the geometrician calculates2 for his use the mechanic plies his craft3 it is for the mason1 for the carpenter1 for the labourer1 that the skilful architect studies his orders1 lays down well-proportioned elaborate plans4 ,whatever may be the pretended utility of ,pneumatology1 whatever may be the vaunted advantages of superstitious opinions1 the wrangling polemic1 the subtle theologian1 cannot boast either of toiling1 of writing1 or of disputing for the advantage of the people1 whom1 notwithstanding1 he contrives to tax1 very exorbitantly1 for those systems they can never understand2 from whom he levies the most oppressive contributions1 as a remuneration for the detail of those mysteries1 which under any possible circumstances1 cannot1 at any time whatever1 be of the slightest benefit to them4 ,it is not1 then1 for the multitude that a philosopher should propose to himself1 either to write or to meditate3 the ,code of ,nature1 or the principles of atheism1 as the priest calls it1 are not1 as we have shewn1 even calculated for the meridian of a great number of persons1 who are frequently too much prepossessed in favour of the received prejudices1 although extremely enlightened on other points4 ,it is extremely rare to find men1 who1 to an enlarged mind1 extensive knowledge1 great talents1 join either a well regulated imagination1 or the courage necessary to successfully oppugn habitual errors2 triumphantly to attack those chimerical systems1 with which the brain has been inoculated from the first hour of its birth4 ,a secret bias1 an invincible inclination1 frequently1 in despite of all reasoning1 re-conducts the most comprehensive1 the best fortified1 the most liberal minds1 to those prejudices which have a wide-spreading establishment2 of which they have themselves taken copious draughts during the early stages of life4 ,nevertheless1 those principles1 which at first appear strange1 which by their boldness seem revolting1 from which timidity flies with trepidation1 when they have the sanction of truth1 gradually insinuate themselves into the human mind1 become familiar to its exercise1 extend their happy influence on every side1 and finally produce the most substantive advantages to society4 ,in time1 men habituate themselves to ideas which originally they looked upon as absurd2 which on a superficial glance they contemplated as either noxious or irrational3 at least1 they cease to consider those as odious1 who profess opinions upon subjects on which experience makes it evident they may be permitted to have doubts1 without imminent danger to public tranquillity4 ,then the diffusion of ideas among mankind is not an event to be dreaded3 if they are truths1 they will of necessity be useful3 by degrees they will fructify4 ,the man who writes1 must neither fix his eyes upon the time in which he lives1 upon his actual fellow citizens1 nor upon the country he inhabits4 ,he must speak to the human race2 he must instruct future generations2 he must extend his views into the bosom of futurity2 in vain he will expect the eulogies of his contemporaries2 in vain will he flatter himself with seeing his reasoning adopted2 in vain he will soothe himself with the pleasing reflection1 that his precocious principles will be received with kindness2 if he has exhibited truisms1 the ages that shall follow will do justice to his efforts2 unborn nations shall applaud his exertions2 his future countrymen shall crown his sturdy attempts with those laurels1 which interested prejudice withholds from him in his own days2 it must therefore be from posterity1 he is to expect the need of applause due to his services2 the present race is hermetically sealed against him3 meantime let him content himself with having done well2 with the secret suffrages of those few friends to veracity who are so thinly spread over the surface of the earth4 ,it is after his death1 that the trusty reasoner1 the faithful writer1 the promulgator of sterling principles1 the child of simplicity1 triumphs2 it is then that the stings of hatred1 the shafts of envy1 the arrows of malice1 either exhausted or blunted1 enable mankind to judge with impartiality2 to yield to conviction2 to establish eternal truth upon its own imperishable altars1 which from its essence must survive all the error of the earth4 ,it is then that calumny1 crushed like the devouring snail by the careful gardener1 ceases to besmear the character of an honest man1 while its venomous slime1 glazed by the sun1 enables the observant spectator to trace the filthy progress it had made4 ,it is a problem with many people1 if truth may not be injurious8 ,the best intentioned persons are frequently in great doubt upon this important point4 ,the fact is1 it never injures any but those who deceive mankind3 this has1 however1 the greatest interest in being undeceived4 ,truth may be injurious to the individual who announces it1 but it can never by any possibility harm the human species2 never can it be too distinctly presented to beings1 always either little disposed to listen to its dictates1 or too slothful to comprehend its efficacy4 ,if all those who write to publish important truths1 which1 of all others1 are ever considered the most dangerous1 were sufficiently ardent for the public welfare to speak freely1 even at the risk of displeasing their readers1 the human race would be much more enlightened1 much happier than it now is4 ,to write in ambiguous terms1 is very frequently to write to nobody4 ,the human mind is idle2 we must spare it1 as much as possible1 the trouble of reflection2 we must relieve it from the embarrassment of intense thinking4 ,what time does it not consume1 what study does it not require1 at the present day1 to unravel the amphibological oracles of the ancient philosophers1 whose actual sentiments are almost entirely lost to the present race of men8 ,if truth be useful to human beings1 it is an injustice to deprive them of its advantages2 if truth ought to be admitted1 we must admit its consequences1 which are also truths4 ,man1 taken generally1 is fond of truth1 but its consequences often inspire him with so much dread1 so alarm his imbecility1 that1 frequently1 he prefers remaining in error1 of which a confirmed habit prevents him from feeling the deplorable effects4 ,besides1 we shall say with ,hobbes1 that we cannot do men any harm by proposing truth to them2 the worst mode is to leave them in doubt1 to let them remain in dispute4 ,if an author who writes be deceived1 it is because he may have reasoned badly4 ,has he laid down false principles8 ,it remains to examine them4 ,is his system fallacious8 ,is it ridiculous8 ,it will serve to make truth appear with the greatest splendor3 his work will fall into contempt2 the writer1 if he be witness to its fall1 will be sufficiently punished for his temerity2 if he be defunct1 the living cannot disturb his ashes4 ,no man writes with a design to injure his fellow creatures2 he always proposes to himself to merit their suffrages1 either by amusing them1 by exciting their curiosity1 or by communicating to them discoveries1 which he believes useful4 ,above all1 no work can be really dangerous1 if it contains truth4 ,it would not be so1 even if it contained principles evidently contrary to experience--opposed to good sense4 ,indeed1 what would result from a work that should now tell us the sun is not luminous2 that parricide is legitimate2 that robbery is allowable2 that adultery is not a crime8 ,the smallest reflection would make us feet the falsity of these principles2 the whole human race would protest against them4 ,men would laugh at the folly of the author2 presently his book1 together with his name1 would be known only by its ridiculous extravagancies4 ,there is nothing but superstitious follies that are pernicious to mortals2 and wherefore8 ,it is because authority always pretends to establish them by violence2 to make them pass for substantive virtues2 rigorously punishes those who shall be disposed to smile at their inconsistency1 or examine into their pretensions4 ,if man was more rational1 he would examine superstitious opinions as he examines every thing else2 he would look upon theological theories with the same eyes that he contemplates systems of natural philosophy1 or problems in geometry3 the latter never disturbs the repose of society1 although they sometimes excite very warm disputes in the learned world4 ,theological quarrels would never be attended with any evil consequences1 if man could gain the desirable point of making those who exercise power1 feel that the disputes of persons1 who do not themselves understand the marvellous questions upon which they never cease wrangling1 ought not to give birth to any other sensations than those of indifference2 to rouse no other passion than that of contempt4 ,it is1 at least1 this indifference not speculative theories1 so just1 so rational1 so advantageous for states1 that sound philosophy may propose to introduce1 gradually1 upon the earth4 ,would not the human race be much happier--if the sovereigns of the world1 occupied with the welfare of their subjects1 leaving to superstitious theologians their futile contests1 making their various systems yield to healthy politics2 obliged these haughty ministers to become citizens2 carefully prevented their disputes from interrupting the public tranquillity8 ,what advantage might there not result to science2 what a start would be given to the progress of the human mind1 to the cause of sound morality1 to the advancement of equitable jurisprudence1 to the improvement of legislation1 to the diffusion of education1 from an unlimited freedom of thought8 ,at present1 genius every where finds trammels2 superstition invariably opposes itself to its course2 man1 straitened with bandages1 scarcely enjoys the free use of any one of his faculties2 his mind itself is cramped2 it appears continually wrapped up in the swaddling clothes of infancy4 ,the civil power1 leagued with spiritual domination1 appears only disposed to rule over brutalized slaves1 shut up in a dark prison1 where they reciprocally goad each other with the efferverscence of their mutual ill humour4 ,sovereigns1 in general1 detest liberty of thought1 because they fear truth2 this appears formidable to them1 because it would condemn their excesses2 these irregularities are dear to them1 because they do not1 better than their subjects1 understand their true interests2 properly considered1 these ought to blend themselves into one uniform mass4 ,let not the courage of the philosopher1 however1 be abated by so many united obstacles1 which would appear for ever to exclude truth from its proper dominion2 to banish reason from the mind of man2 to spoil nature of her imprescriptible rights4 ,the thousandth part of those cares which are bestowed to infect the human mind1 would be amply sufficient to make it whole4 ,let us not1 then1 despair of the case3 do not let us do man the injury to believe that truth is not made for him2 his mind seeks after it incessantly2 his heart desires it faithfully2 his happiness demands it with an imperious voice2 he only either fears it1 or mistakes it1 because superstition1 which has thrown all his ideas into confusion1 perpetually keeps the bandeau of delusion fast bound over his eyes2 strives1 with an almost irresistible force1 to render him an entire stranger to virtue4 ,maugre the prodigious exertions that are made to drive truth from the earth2 in spite of the extraordinary pains used to exile reason--of the uninterrupted efforts to expel true science from the residence of mortals2 time1 assisted by the progressive knowledge of ages1 may one day be able to enlighten even those princes who are the most outrageous in their opposition to the illumination of the human mind2 who appear such decided enemies to justice1 so very determined against the liberties of mankind4 ,destiny will1 perhaps1 when least expected1 conduct these wandering outcasts to the throne of some enlightened1 equitable1 courageous1 generous1 benevolent sovereign1 who1 smitten with the charms of virtue1 shall throw aside duplicity1 frankly acknowledge the true source of human misery1 and apply to it those remedies with which wisdom has furnished him3 perhaps he may feel1 that those systems1 from whence it is pretended he derives his power1 are the true scourges of his people2 the actual cause of his own weakness3 that the official expounders of these systems are his most substantial enemies--his most formidable rivals2 he may find that superstition1 which he has been taught to look upon as the main support to his authority1 in point of fact only enfeebles it--renders it tottering3 that superstitious morality1 false in its principles1 is only calculated to pervert his subjects2 to break down their intrepidity2 to render them perfidious2 in short1 to give them the vices of slaves1 in lieu of the virtues of citizens4 ,a prince thus disentangled from prejudice1 will perhaps behold1 in superstitious errors1 the fruitful source of human sorrows1 and commiserations1 the condition of his race1 it may be1 will generously declare1 that they are incompatible with every equitable administration4 ,until this epoch1 so desirable for humanity1 shall arrive1 the principles of naturalism will be adopted only by a small number of liberal-minded men1 who shall dive below the surface2 these cannot flatter themselves either with making proselytes1 or having a great number of approvers3 on the contrary1 they will meet with zealous adversaries1 with ardent contemners1 even in those persons who upon every other subject discover the most acute minds2 display the most consummate knowledge4 ,those men who possess the greatest share of ability1 as we have already observed1 cannot always resolve to divorce themselves completely from their superstitious ideas2 imagination1 so necessary to splendid talents1 frequently forms in them an insurmountable obstacle to the total extinction of prejudice2 this depends much more upon the judgment than upon the mind4 ,to this disposition1 already so prompt to form illusions to them1 is also to be joined the force of habit2 to a great number of men1 it would he wresting from them a portion of themselves to take away their superstitious notions2 it would be depriving them of an accustomed aliment2 plunging them into a dreadful vacuum3 obliging their distempered minds to perish for want of exercise4 ,menage remarks1 that history speaks of very few incredulous women1 or female atheists3 this is not surprising2 their organization renders them fearful2 their nervous system undergoes periodical variations2 the education they receive disposes them to credulity4 ,those among them who have a sound constitution1 who have a well ordered imagination1 have occasion for chimeras suitable to occupy their leisure2 above all1 when the world abandons them1 then superstitious devotion1 with its attractive ceremonies1 becomes either a business or an amusement4 ,let us not be surprised1 if very intelligent1 extremely learned men1 either obstinately shut their eyes1 or run counter to their ordinary sagacity1 every time there is a question respecting an object which they have not the courage to examine with that attention they lend to many others4 ,lord ,chancellor ,bacon pretends1 that a little philosophy disposes men to atheism1 but that great depth re-conducts them to religion4 ,if we analyze this proposition1 we shall find it signifies1 that even moderate1 indifferent thinkers1 are quickly enabled to perceive the gross absurdities of superstition2 but that very little accustomed to meditate1 or else destitute of those fixed principles which could serve them for a guide1 their imagination presently replaces them in the theological labyrinth1 from whence reason1 too weak for the purpose1 appeared disposed to withdraw them3 these timid souls1 who fear to take courage1 with minds disciplined to be satisfied with theological solutions1 no longer see in nature any thing but an inexplicable enigma2 an abyss which it is impossible for them to fathom3 these1 habituated to fix their eyes upon an ideal1 mathematical point1 which they have made the centre of every thing1 whenever they lose sight of it1 find the universe becomes an unintelligible jumble to them2 then the confusion in which they feel themselves involved1 makes them rather prefer returning to the prejudices of their infancy1 which appear to explain every thing1 than to float in the vacuum1 or quit a foundation which they judge to be immoveable4 ,thus the proposition of ,bacon should seem1 to indicate nothing1 except it be that the most experienced persons cannot at all times defend themselves against the illusions of their imagination2 the impetuosity of which resists the strongest reasoning4 ,nevertheless1 a deliberate study of nature is sufficient to undeceive every man who will calmly consider things3 he will discover that the phenomena of the world is connected by links1 invisible to superficial notice1 equally concealed from the too impetuous observer1 but extremely intelligible to him who views her with serenity4 ,he will find that the most unusual1 the most marvellous1 as well as the most trifling1 or ordinary effects1 are equally inexplicable1 but that they all equally flow from natural causes2 that supernatural causes1 under whatever name they way be designated1 with whatever qualities they may be decorated1 will never do more than increase difficulties2 will only make chimeras multiply4 ,the simplest observation will incontestibly prove to him that every thing is necessary2 that all the effects he perceives are material2 that they can only originate in causes of the same nature1 when he even shall not be able to recur to them by the assistance of his senses4 ,thus his mind1 properly directed1 every where show him nothing but matter1 sometimes acting in a manner which his organs permit him to follow1 at others in a mode imperceptible by the faculties he possesses3 he will see that all beings follow constant invariable laws1 by which all combinations are united and destroyed2 he will find that all forms change1 but that1 nevertheless1 the great whole ever remains the same4 ,thus1 cured of the idle notions with which he was imbued1 undeceived in those erroneous ideas1 which from habit be attached to imaginary systems1 he will cheerfully consent to be ignorant of whatever his organs do not enable him to compass2 he will know that obscure terms1 devoid of sense1 are not calculated to explain difficulties2 guided by reason1 he will throw aside all hypothesis of the imagination2 the champion of rectitude1 he will attach himself to realities1 which are confirmed by experience1 which are evidenced by truth4 ,the greater number of those who study nature1 frequently do not consider1 that prejudiced eyes will never discover more than that which they have previously determined to find3 as soon as they perceive facts contrary to their own ideas1 they quickly turn aside1 and believe their visual organs have deceived them2 if they return to the task1 it is in hopes to find means by which they may reconcile the facts to the notions with which their own mind is previously tinctured4 ,thus we find enthusiastic philosophers1 whose determined prepossession shews them what they denominate incontestible evidences of the systems with which they are pre-occupied1 even in those things1 that most openly contradict their hypothesis3 hence those pretended demonstrations of the existence of theories1 which are drawn from final causes--from the order of nature--from the kindness evinced to man1 c4 ,do these same enthusiasts perceive disorder1 witness calamities8 ,they induct new proofs of the wisdom1 fresh evidence of the intelligence1 additional testimony to the bounty of their system1 whilst all these occurrences as visibly contradict these qualities1 as the first seem to confirm or to establish them4 ,these prejudiced observers are in an ecstacy at the sight of the periodical motions of the planets2 at the order of the stars2 at the various productions of the earth2 at the astonishing harmony in the component parts of animals3 in that moment1 however1 they forget the laws of motion2 the powers of gravitation2 the force of attraction and repulsion2 they assign all these striking phenomena to unknown causes1 of which they have no one substantive idea4 ,in short1 in the fervor of their imagination they place man in the centre of nature2 they believe him to be the object1 the end1 of all that exists2 that it is for his convenience every thing is made2 that it is to rejoice his mind1 to pleasure his senses1 that the whole was created2 whilst they do not perceive1 that very frequently the entire of nature appears to be loosed against his weakness2 that the elements themselves overwhelm him with calamity2 that destiny obstinately persists in rendering him the most miserable of beings4 ,the progress of sound philosophy will always be fatal to superstition1 whose notions will be continually contradicted by nature4 ,astronomy has caused judiciary astrology to vanish2 experimental philosophy1 the study of natural history and chemistry1 have rendered it impossible for jugglers1 priests or sorcerers1 any longer to perform miracles4 ,nature1 profoundly studied1 must necessarily cause the overthrow of those chimerical theories1 which ignorance has substituted to her powers4 ,atheism1 as it is termed1 is only so rare1 because every thing conspires to intoxicate man with a dazzling enthusiasm1 from his most tender age2 to inflate him from his earliest infancy1 with systematic error1 with organized ignorance1 which of all others is the most difficult to vanquish1 the most arduous to root out4 ,theology is nothing more than a science of words1 which by dint of repetition we accustom ourselves to substitute for things3 as soon as we feel disposed to analyze them1 we are astonished to find they do not present us with any actual sense4 ,there are1 in the whole world1 very few men who think deeply3 who render to themselves a faithful account of their own ideas2 who have keen penetrating minds4 ,justness of intellect is one of the rarest gifts which nature bestows on the human species4 ,it is not1 however1 to be understood by this1 that nature has any choice in the formation of her beings2 it is merely to be considered1 that the circumstances very rarely occur which enable the junction of a certain quantity of those atoms or parts1 necessary to form the human machine in such due proportions1 that one disposition shall not overbalance the others2 and thus render the judgment erroneous1 by giving it a particular bias4 ,we know the general process of making gunpowder2 nevertheless1 it will sometimes happen that the ingredients have been so happily blended1 that this destructive article is of a superior quality to the general produce of the manufactory1 without1 however1 the chemist being on that account entitled to any particular commendation2 circumstances have been decidedly favorable1 and these seldom occur4 ,too lively an imagination1 an over eager curiosity1 are as powerful obstacles to the discovery of truth1 as too much phlegm1 a slow conception1 indolence of mind1 or the want of a thinking habit3 all men have more or less imagination1 curiosity1 phlegm1 bile1 indolence1 activity3 it is from the happy equilibrium which nature has observed in their organization1 that depends that invaluable blessing1 correctness of mind4 ,nevertheless1 as we have heretofore said1 the organic structure of man is subject to change2 the accuracy of his mind varies with the mutations of his machine3 from hence may be traced those almost perpetual revolutions that take place in the ideas of mortals2 above all when there is a question concerning those objects1 upon which experience does not furnish any fixed basis whereon to rest their merits4 ,to search after right1 to discover truth1 requires a keen1 penetrating1 just1 active mind2 because every thing strives to conceal from us its beauties3 it needs an upright heart1 one in good faith with itself1 joined to an imagination tempered with reason1 because our habitual fears make us frequently dread its radiance1 sometimes bursting like a meteor on our darkened faculties2 besides1 it not unfrequently happens1 that we are actually the accomplices of those who lead us astray1 by an inclination we too often manifest to dissimilate with ourselves on this important measure4 ,truth never reveals itself either to the enthusiast smitten with his own reveries2 to the fellifluous fanatic enslaved by his prejudices2 to the vain glorious mortal puffed up with his own presumptuous ignorance2 to the voluptuary devoted to his pleasures2 or to the wily reasoner1 who1 disingenuous with himself1 has a peculiar spontaneity to form illusions to his mind4 ,blessed1 however1 with a heart1 gifted with a mind such as described1 man will surely discover this rara avis3 thus constituted1 the attentive philosopher1 the geometrician1 the moralist1 the politician1 the theologian himself1 when he shall sincerely seek truth1 will find that the corner-stone which serves for the foundation of all superstitious systems1 is evidently rested upon fiction4 ,the philosopher will discover in matter a sufficient cause for its existence2 he will perceive that its motion1 its combination1 its modes of acting1 are always regulated by general laws1 incapable of variation4 ,the geometrician1 without quiting nature1 will calculate the active force of matter2 it will then become obvious to him1 that to explain its phenomena1 it is by no means necessary to have recourse to that which is incommensurable with all known powers4 ,the politician1 instructed in the true spring which can act upon the mind of nations1 will feel distinctly1 that it is not imperative to recur to imaginary theories1 whilst there are actual motives to give play to the volition of the citizens2 to induce them to labour efficaciously to the maintenance of their association2 he will readily acknowledge that fictitious systems are calculated either to slaken the exertions1 or to disturb the motion of so complicated a machine an human society4 ,he who shall more honor truth than the vain subtilities of theology1 will quickly perceive that this pompous science is nothing more than an unintelligible jumble of false hypothesis2 that it continually begs its principles2 is full of sophisms2 contains only vitiated circles2 embraces the most subdolous distinctions2 is ushered to mankind by the most disingenuous arguments1 from which it is not possible1 under any given circumstances1 there should result any thing but puerilities--the most endless disputes4 ,in short1 all men who have sound ideas of morality1 whose notions of virtue are correct1 who understand what is useful to the human being in society1 whether it be to conserve himself individually1 or the body of which he is a member1 will acknowledge1 that in order to discover his relations1 to ascertain his duties1 he has only to consult his own nature2 that he ought to be particularly careful neither to found them upon discrepant systems1 nor to borrow them from models that never can do more than disturb his mind2 that will only render his conduct fluctuating2 that will leave him for ever uncertain of its proper character4 ,thus1 every rational thinker1 who renounces his prejudices1 will be enabled to feel the inutility1 to comprehend the fallacy of so many abstract systems2 he will perceive that they have hitherto answered no other purpose than to confound the notions of mankind2 to render doubtful the clearest truths4 ,in quitting the regions of the empyreum1 where his mind can only bewilder itself1 in re-entering his proper sphere1 in consulting reason1 man will discover that of which he needs the knowledge2 he will be able to undeceive himself upon those chimerical theories1 which enthusiasm has substituted for actual natural causes2 to detect those figments1 by which imposture has almost every where superseded the real motives that can give activity in nature2 out of which the human mind never rambles1 without going woefully astray2 without laying the foundation of future misery4 ,the ,deicolists1 as well as the theologians1 continually reproach their adversaries with their taste for paradoxes--with their attachment to systems2 whilst they themselves found all their reasoning upon imaginary hypothesis--upon visionary theories2 make a principle of submitting their understanding to the yoke of authority2 of renouncing experience2 of setting down as nothing the evidence of their senses4 ,would it not be justifiable in the disciples of nature1 to say to these men1 who thus despise her1 ,we only assure ourselves of that which we see2 we yield to nothing but evidence2 if we have a system1 it is one founded upon facts2 we perceive in ourselves1 we behold every where else1 nothing but matter2 we therefore conclude from it that matter can both feel and think3 we see that the motion of the universe is operated after mechanical laws2 that the whole results from the properties1 is the effect of the combination1 the immediate consequence of the modification of matter2 thus1 we are content1 we seek no other explication of the phenomena which nature presents4 ,we conceive only an unique world1 in which every thing is connected2 where each effect is linked to a natural cause1 either known or unknown1 which it produces according to necessary laws2 we affirm nothing that is not demonstrable2 nothing that you are not obliged to admit as well as ourselves3 the principles we lay down are distinct3 they are self-evident3 they are facts4 ,if we find some things unintelligible1 if causes frequently become arduous1 we ingenuously agree to their obscurity2 that is to say1 to the limits of our own knowledge4 ,but in order to explain these effects1 we do not imagine an hypothesis2 we either consent to be for ever ignorant of them1 or else we wait patiently until time1 experience1 with the progress of the human mind1 shall throw them into light3 is not1 then1 our manner of philosophizing consistent with truth8 ,indeed1 in whatever we advance upon the subject of nature1 we proceed precisely in the same manner as our opponents themselves pursue in all the other sciences1 such as natural history1 experimental philosophy1 mathematics1 chemistry1 c4 ,we scrupulously confine ourselves to what comes to our knowledge through the medium of our senses2 the only instruments with which nature has furnished us to discover truth4 ,what is the conduct of our adversaries8 ,in order to expound things of which they are ignorant1 they imagine theories still more incomprehensible than what they are desirous to explain2 theories of which they themselves are obliged to acknowledge they have not the most slender notion4 ,thus they invert the true principles of logic1 which require we should proceed gradually from that which is most known1 to that with which we are least acquainted4 ,again1 upon what do they found the existence of these theories1 by whose aid they pretend to solve all difficulties8 ,it is upon the universal ignorance of mankind2 upon the inexperience of man2 upon his fears2 upon his disordered imagination2 upon a pretended intimate sense1 which in reality is nothing more than the effect of vulgar prejudice2 the result of dread2 the consequence of the want of a reflecting habit1 which induces them to crouch to the opinions of others2 to be guided by the mandates of authority1 rather than take the trouble to examine for their own information4 ,such1 ,o theologians6 are the ruinous foundations upon which you erect the superstructure of your doctrine4 ,accordingly1 you find it impossible to form to yourselves any distinct idea of those theories which serve for the basis of your systems2 you are unable to comprehend either their attributes1 their existence1 the nature of their localities1 or their mode of action4 ,thus1 even by your own confession1 ye are in a state of profound ignorance1 on the primary elements of that which ye constitute the cause of all that exists3 of which1 according to your own account1 it is imperative to have a correct knowledge4 ,under whatever point of view1 therefore1 ye are contemplated1 it must be admitted ye are the founders of aerial systems2 of fanciful theories3 of all systematizers1 ye are consequently the most absurd2 because in challenging your imagination to create a cause1 this cause1 at least1 ought to diffuse light over the whole2 it would be upon this condition alone that its incomprehensibility could be pardonable2 but to speak ingenuously1 does this cause serve to explain any thing8 ,does it make us conceive more clearly the origin of the world2 bring us more distinctly acquainted with the actual nature of man2 does it more intelligibly elucidate the faculties of the soul2 or point out with more perspicuity the source of good and evil8 ,no6 unquestionably3 these subtle theories explain nothing1 although they multiply to infinity their own difficulties2 they1 in fact1 embarrass elucidation1 by plunging into greater obscurity those matters in which they are interposed4 ,whatever may be the question agitated1 it becomes complicated3 as soon as these theories are introduced1 they envelope the most demonstrable sciences with a thick1 impenetrable mist2 render the most simple notions complex2 give opacity to the most diaphanous ideas2 turn the most evident opinions into insolvable enigmas4 ,what exposition of morality does the theories1 upon which ye found all the virtue1 present to man8 ,do not all your oracles breathe inconsistency8 ,does not your doctrines embrace every gradation of character1 however discrepant3 every known property1 however opposed4 ,all your ingenious systems1 all your mysteries1 all the subtilties which ye have invented1 are they capable of reconciling that discordant assemblage of amiable and unamiable qualities1 with which ye have dressed up your figments8 ,in short1 is it not by these theories that ye disturb the harmony of the universe2 is it not in their name ye follow up your barbarous proscriptions2 in their support1 that ye so inhumanly exterminate all who refuse to subscribe to your organized reveries2 who withhold assent to those efforts of the imagination which ye have collectively decorated with the pompous name of religion2 but which1 individually1 ye brand as superstition1 always excepting that to which ye lend yourselves4 ,agree1 then1 ,o ,theologians6 ,acknowledge1 then1 ye subtle metaphysicians6 ,consent1 then1 ye organizers of fanciful theories6 that not only are ye systematically absurd1 but also that ye finish by being atrocious2 because whenever ye obtain the ascendancy one over the other1 your unfortunate pre-eminence is distinguished by the most malevolent persecution2 your domination is ushered in with cruelty2 your career is described with blood3 from the importance which your own interest attaches to your ruinous dogmas2 from the pride with which ye tumble down the less fortunate systems of those who started with you for the prize of plunder2 from that savage ferocity1 under which ye equally overwhelm human reason1 the happiness of the individual1 and the felicity of nations4 ,,chap4 ,,xiv4 ,a ,summary of the ,code of ,nature4 ,truth is the only object worthy the research of every wise man2 since that which is false cannot be useful to him3 whatever constantly injures him cannot be founded upon truth2 consequently1 ought to be for ever proscribed4 ,it is1 then1 to assist the human mind1 truly to labour for his happiness1 to point out to him the clew by which he may extricate himself from those frightful labyrinths in which his imagination wanders2 from those sinuosities whose devious course makes him err1 without ever finding a termination to his incertitude4 ,nature alone1 known through experience1 can furnish him with this desirable thread2 her eternal energies can alone supply the means of attacking the ,minotaur2 of exterminating the figments of hypocrisy2 of destroying those monsters1 who during so many ages1 have devoured the unhappy victims1 which the tyranny of the ministers of ,moloch have exacted as a cruel tribute from affrighted mortals4 ,by steadily grasping this inestimable clew1 rendered still more precious by the beauty of the donor1 man can never be led astray--will never ramble out of his course2 but if1 careless of its invaluable properties1 for a single instant he suffers it to drop from his hand2 if1 like another ,theseus1 ungrateful for the favour1 he abandons the fair bestower1 he will infallibly fall again into his ancient wanderings2 most assuredly become the prey to the cannibal offspring of the ,white ,bull4 ,in vain shall he carry his views above his head1 to find resources which are at his feet2 so long as man1 infatuated with his superstitious notions1 shall seek in an imaginary world the rule of his earthly conduct1 he will be without principles2 while he shall pertinaciously contemplate the regions of a distempered fancy1 so long he will grope in those where he actually finds himself2 his uncertain steps will never encounter the welfare he desires2 never lead him to that repose after which he so ardently sighs1 nor conduct him to that surety which is so decidedly requisite to consolidate his happiness4 ,but man1 blinded by his prejudices2 rendered obstinate in injuring his fellow1 by his enthusiasm2 ranges himself in hostility even against those who are sincerely desirous of procuring for him the most substantive benefits4 ,accustomed to be deceived1 he is in a state of continual suspicion2 habituated to mistrust himself1 to view his reason with diffidence1 to look upon truth as dangerous1 he treats as enemies even those who most eagerly strive to encourage him2 forewarned in early life against delusion1 by the subtilty of imposture1 he believes himself imperatively called upon to guard with the most sedulous activity the bandeau with which they have hoodwinked him2 he thinks his eternal welfare involved in keeping it for ever over his eyes2 he therefore wrestles with all those who attempt to tear it from his obscured optics4 ,if his visual organs1 accustomed to darkness1 are for a moment opened1 the light offends them2 he is distressed by its effulgence2 he thinks it criminal to be enlightened2 he darts with fury upon those who hold the flambeau by which he is dazzled4 ,in consequence1 the atheist1 as the arch rogue from whom he differs ludicrously calls him1 is looked upon as a malignant pest1 as a public poison1 which like another ,upas1 destroys every thing within the vortex of its influence2 he who dares to arouse mortals from the lethargic habit which the narcotic doses administered by the theologians have induced passes for a perturbator2 he who attempts to calm their frantic transports1 to moderate the fury of their maniacal paroxysms1 is himself viewed as a madman1 who ought to be closely chained down in the dungeons appropriated to lunatics2 he who invites his associates to rend their chains asunder1 to break their galling fetters1 appears only like an irrational1 inconsiderate being1 even to the wretched captives themselves3 who have been taught to believe that nature formed them for no other purpose than to tremble3 only called them into existence that they might be loaded with shackles4 ,in consequence of these fatal prepossessions1 the ,disciple of ,nature is generally treated as an assassin2 is commonly received by his fellow citizens in the same manner as the feathered race receive the doleful bird of night1 which as soon as it quits its retreat1 all the other birds follow with a common hatred1 uttering a variety of doleful cries4 ,no1 mortals blended by terror6 ,the friend of nature is not your enemy2 its interpreter is not the minister of falsehood2 the destroyer of your vain phantoms is not the devastator of those truths necessary to your happiness2 the disciple of reason is not an irrational being1 who either seeks to poison you1 or to infect you with a dangerous delirium4 ,if he is desirous to wrest the thunder from those terrible theories that affright ye1 it is that ye way discontinue your march1 in the midst of storms1 over roads that ye can only distinguish by the sudden1 but evanescent glimmerings of the electric fluid4 ,if he breaks those idols1 which fear has served with myrrh and frankencense--which superstition has surrounded by gloomy despondency--which fanaticism has imbrued with blood2 it is to substitute in their place those consoling truths that are calculated to heal the desperate wounds ye have received2 that are suitable to inspire you with courage1 sturdily to oppose yourselves to such dangerous errors2 that have power to enable you to resist such formidable enemies4 ,if he throws down the temples1 overturns the altars1 so frequently bathed with the bitter tears of the unfortunate1 blackened by the most cruel sacrifices1 smoked with servile incense1 it is that he may erect a fane sacred to peace2 a hall dedicated to reason2 a durable monument to virtue1 in which ye may at all times find an asylum against your own phrenzy2 a refuge from your own ungovernable passions2 a sanctuary against those powerful dogmatists1 by whom ye are oppressed4 ,if he attacks the haughty pretensions of deified tyrants1 who crush ye with an iron sceptre1 it is that ye may enjoy the rights of your nature2 it is to the end that ye may be substantively freemen1 in mind as well as in body2 that ye may not be slaves1 eternally chained to the oar of misery2 it is that ye may at length be governed by men who are citizens1 who may cherish their own semblances1 who way protect mortals like themselves1 who may actually consult the interests of those from whom they hold their power4 ,if he battles with imposture1 it is to re-establish truth in those rights which have been so long usurped by fiction4 ,if he undermines the base of that unsteady1 fanatical morality1 which has hitherto done nothing more than perplex your minds1 without correcting your hearts2 it is to give to ethics an immovable basis1 a solid foundation1 secured upon your own nature2 upon the reciprocity of those wants which are continually regenerating in sensible beings3 dare1 then1 to listen to his voice2 you will find it much more intelligible than those ambiguous oracles1 which are announced to you as the offspring of capricious theories2 as imperious decrees that are unceasingly at variance with themselves4 ,listen then to nature1 she never contradicts her own eternal laws4 ,o thou6 cries this nature to man1 who1 following the impulse ,i have given you1 during your whole existence1 incessantly tend towards happiness1 do not strive to resist my sovereign law4 ,labour to your own felicity2 partake without fear of the banquet which is spread before you1 with the most hearty welcome2 you will find the means legibly written on your own heart4 ,vainly dost thou1 ,o superstitious being6 seek after thine happiness beyond the limits of the universe1 in which my hand hath placed thee3 vainly shalt thou search it in those inexorable theories1 which thine imagination1 ever prone to wander1 would establish upon my eternal throne3 vainly dost thou expect it in those fanciful regions1 to which thine own delirium hath given a locality and a shame3 vainly dost thou reckon upon capricious systems1 with whose advantages thou art in such ecstasies2 whilst they only fill thine abode with calamity--thine heart with dread--thy mind with illusions--thy bosom with groans4 ,know that when thou neglectest my counsels1 the gods will refuse their aid4 ,dare1 then1 to affranchise thyself from the trammels of superstition1 my self-conceited1 pragmatic rival1 who mistakes my rights2 renounce those empty theories1 which are usurpers of my privileges2 return under the dominion of my laws1 which1 however severe1 are mild in comparison with those of bigotry4 ,it is in my empire alone that true liberty reigns4 ,tyranny is unknown to its soil2 equity unceasingly watches over the rights of all my subjects1 maintains them in the possession of their just claims2 benevolence1 grafted upon humanity1 connects them by amicable bonds2 truth enlightens them2 never can imposture blind them with his obscuring mists4 ,return1 then1 my child1 to thy fostering mother's arms6 ,deserter1 trace back thy wandering steps to nature6 ,she will console thee for thine evils2 she will drive from thine heart those appalling fears which overwhelm thee2 those inquietudes that distract thee2 those transports which agitate thee2 those hatreds that separate thee from thy fellow man1 whom thou shouldst love as thyself4 ,return to nature1 to humanity1 to thyself6 ,strew flowers over the road of life3 cease to contemplate the future2 live to thine own happiness2 exist for thy fellow creatures2 retire into thyself1 examine thine own heart1 then consider the sensitive beings by whom thou art surrounded3 leave to their inventors those systems which can effect nothing towards thy felicity4 ,enjoy thyself1 and cause others also to enjoy1 those comforts which ,i have placed with a liberal hand1 for all the children of the earth2 who all equally emanate from my bosom3 assist them to support the sorrows to which necessity has submitted them in common with thyself4 ,know1 that ,i approve thy pleasures1 when without injuring thyself1 they are not fatal to thy brethren1 whom ,i have rendered indispensably necessary to thine own individual happiness4 ,these pleasures are freely permitted thee1 if thou indulgest them with moderation2 with that discretion which ,i myself have fixed4 ,be happy1 then1 ,o man6 ,nature invites thee to participate in it2 but always remember1 thou canst not be so alone2 because ,i invite all mortals to happiness as well as thyself2 thou will find it is only in securing their felicity that thou canst consolidate thine own4 ,such is the decree of thy destiny3 if thou shalt attempt to withdraw thyself from its operation1 recollect that hatred will pursue thee2 vengeance overtake thy steps2 and remorse be ever ready at hand to punish the infractions of its irrevocable mandates4 ,follow then1 ,o man6 in whatever station thou findest thyself1 the routine ,i have described for thee1 to obtain that happiness to which thou hast an indispensable right to challenge pretension4 ,let the sensations of humanity interest thee for the condition of other men1 who are thy fellow creatures2 let thine heart have commisseration for their misfortunes3 let thy generous hand spontaneously stretch forth to lend succour to the unhappy mortal who is overwhelmed by his destiny2 always bearing in thy recollection1 that it may fall heavy upon thyself1 as it now does upon him4 ,acknowledge1 then1 without guile1 that every unfortunate has an inalienable right to thy kindness4 ,above all1 wipe from the eyes of oppressed innocence the trickling crystals of agonized feeling2 let the tears of virtue in distress1 fall upon thy sympathizing bosom2 let the genial glow of sincere friendship animate thine honest heart2 let the fond attachment of a mate1 cherished by thy warmest affection1 make thee forget the sorrows of life3 be faithful to her love1 responsible to her tenderness1 that she may reward thee by a reciprocity of feeling2 that under the eyes of parents united in virtuous esteem1 thy offspring may learn to set a proper value on practical virtue2 that after having occupied thy riper years1 they may comfort thy declining age1 gild with content thy setting sun1 cheer the evening of thine existence1 by a dutiful return of that care which thou shalt have bestowed on their imbecile infancy4 ,be just1 because equity is the support of human society6 ,be good1 because goodness connects all hearts in adamantine bonds6 ,be indulgent1 because feeble thyself1 thou livest with beings who partake of thy weakness6 ,be gentle1 because mildness attracts attention6 ,be thankful1 because gratitude feeds benevolence1 nourishes generosity6 ,be modest1 because haughtiness is disgusting to beings at all times well with themselves4 ,forgive injuries1 because revenge perpetuates hatred6 ,do good to him who injureth thee1 in order to shew thyself more noble than he is2 to make a friend of him1 who was once thine enemy6 ,be reserved in thy demeanor1 temperate in thine enjoyment1 chaste in thy pleasures1 because voluptuousness begets weariness1 intemperance engenders disease2 forward manners are revolting3 excess at all times relaxes the springs of thy machine1 will ultimately destroy thy being1 and render thee hateful to thyself1 contemptible to others4 ,be a faithful citizen2 because the community is necessary to thine own security2 to the enjoyment of thine own existence2 to the furtherance of thine own happiness4 ,be loyal1 but be brave2 submit to legitimate authority2 because it is requisite to the maintenance of that society which is necessary to thyself4 ,be obedient to the laws2 because they are1 or ought to be1 the expression of the public will1 to which thine own particular will ought ever to be subordinate4 ,defend thy country with zeal2 because it is that which renders thee happy1 which contains thy property1 as well as those beings dearest to thine heart3 do not permit this common parent of thyself1 as well as of thy fellow citizens1 to fall under the shackles of tyranny2 because from thence it will be no more than thy common prison4 ,if thy country1 deaf to the equity of thy claims1 refuses thee happiness--if1 submitted to an unjust power1 it suffers thee to be oppressed1 withdraw thyself from its bosom in silence1 but never disturb its peace4 ,in short1 be a man2 be a sensible1 rational being2 be a faithful husband2 a tender father2 an equitable master2 a zealous citizen2 labour to serve thy country by thy prowess2 by thy talents2 by thine industry2 above all1 by thy virtues4 ,participate with thine associates those gifts which nature has bestowed upon thee2 diffuse happiness1 among thy fellow mortals2 inspire thy fellow citizens with content2 spread joy over all those who approach thee1 that the sphere of thine actions1 enlivened by thy kindness1 illumined by thy benevolence1 may re-act upon thyself2 be assured that the man who makes others happy cannot himself be miserable4 ,in thus conducting thyself1 whatever may be the injustice of others1 whatever may be the blindness of those beings with whom it is thy destiny to live1 thou wilt never be totally bereft of the recompense which is thy due2 no power on earth be able to ravish from thee that never failing source of the purest felicity1 inward content2 at each moment thou wilt fall back with pleasure upon thyself2 thou wilt neither feel the rankling of shame1 the terror of internal alarm1 nor find thy heart corroded by remorse4 ,thou wilt esteem thyself2 thou wilt be cherished by the virtuous1 applauded and loved by all good men1 whose suffrages are much more valuable than those of the bewildered multitude4 ,nevertheless1 if externals occupy thy contemplation1 smiling countenances will greet thy presence2 happy faces will express the interest they have in thy welfare2 jocund beings will make thee participate in their placid feelings4 ,a life so spent1 will each moment be marked by the serenity of thine own soul1 by the affection of the beings who environ thee2 will be made cheerful by the friendship of thy fellows2 will enable thee to rise a contented1 satisfied guest from the general feast2 conduct thee gently down the declivity of life1 lead thee peaceably to the period of thy days2 for die thou must3 but already thou wilt survive thyself in thought2 thou wilt always live in the remembrance of thy friends2 in the grateful recollection of those beings whose comforts have been augmented by thy friendly attentions2 thy virtues will1 beforehand have erected to thy fame an imperishable monument3 if heaven occupies itself with thee1 it will feel satisfied with thy conduct1 when it shall thus have contented the earth4 ,beware1 then1 how thou complainest of thy condition2 be just1 be kind1 be virtuous1 and thou canst never be wholly destitute of felicity4 ,take heed how thou enviest the transient pleasure of seductive crime2 the deceitful power of victorious tyranny2 the specious tranquillity of interested imposture2 the plausible manners of venal justice2 the shewy1 ostentatious parade of hardened opulence4 ,never be tempted to increase the number of sycophants to an ambitious despot2 to swell the catalogue of slaves to an unjust tyrant2 never suffer thyself to be allured to infamy1 to the practice of extortion1 to the commission of outrage1 by the fatal privilege of oppressing thy fellows2 always recollect it will be at the expence of the most bitter remorse thou wilt acquire this baneful advantage4 ,never be the mercenary accomplice of the spoilers of thy country2 they are obliged to blush secretly whenever they meet the public eye4 ,for1 do not deceive thyself1 it is ,i who punish1 with an unerring hand1 all the crimes of the earth2 the wicked may escape the laws of man1 but they never escape mine4 ,it is ,i who have formed the hearts1 as well an the bodies of mortals2 it is ,i who have fixed the laws which govern them4 ,if thou deliverest thyself up to voluptuous enjoyment1 the companions of thy debaucheries may applaud thee2 but ,i shall punish thee with the most cruel infirmities2 these will terminate a life of shame with deserved contempt4 ,if thou givest1 thyself up to intemperate indulgences1 human laws may not correct thee1 but ,i shall castigate thee severely by abridging thy days4 ,if thou art vicious1 thy fatal habits will recoil on thine own head4 ,princes1 those terrestrial divinities1 whose power places them above the laws of mankind1 are nevertheless obliged to tremble under the silent operation of my decrees4 ,it is ,i who chastise them2 it is ,i who fill their breasts with suspicion2 it is ,i who inspire them with terror2 it is ,i who make them writhe under inquietude2 it is ,i who make them shudder with horror1 at the very name of august truth2 it is ,i who1 amidst the crowd of nobles who surround them1 make them feel the inward workings of shame2 the keen anguish of guilt2 the poisoned arrows of regret2 the cruel stings of remorse2 it is ,i who1 when they abuse my bounty1 diffuse weariness over their benumbed souls2 it is ,i who follow uncreated1 eternal justice2 it is ,i who1 without distinction of persons1 know how to make the balance even2 to adjust the chastisement to the fault2 to make the misery bear its due proportion to the depravity2 to inflict punishment commensurate with the crime4 ,the laws of man are just1 only when they are in conformity with mine2 his judgements are rational1 only when ,i have dictated them3 my laws alone are immutable1 universal1 irrefragable2 formed to regulate the condition of the human race1 in all ages1 in all places1 under all circumstances4 ,if thou doubtest mine authority1 if thou questionest the irresistible power ,i possess over mortals1 contemplate the vengeance ,i wreak on all those who resist my decrees4 ,dive into the recesses of the hearts of those various criminals1 whose countenances1 assuming a forced smile1 cover souls torn with anguish4 ,dost thou not behold ambition tormented day and night1 with an ardour which nothing can extinguish8 ,dost not thou see the mighty conquerer become the lord of devastated solitudes2 his victorious career1 marked by a blasted cultivation1 reign sorrowfully over smoking ruins2 govern unhappy wretches who curse him in their hearts2 while his soul1 gnawed by remorse1 sickens at the gloomy aspect of his own triumphs8 ,dost thou believe that the tyrant1 encircled with his flatterers1 who stun him with their praise1 is unconscious of the hatred which his oppression excites2 of the contempt which his vices draw upon him2 of the sneers which his inutility call forth2 of the scorn which his debaucheries entail upon his name8 ,dost thou think that the haughty courtier does not inwardly blush at the galling insults he brooks2 despise1 from the bottom of his soul1 those meannesses by which he is compelled to purchase favours2 feel at his heart's core the wretched dependence in which his cupidity places him4 ,contemplate the indolent child of wealth1 behold him a prey to the lassitude of unmeasured enjoyment1 corroded by the satiety which always follows his exhausted pleasures4 ,view the miser with an emaciated countenance1 the consequence of his own penurious disposition1 whose callous heart is inaccessible to the calls of misery1 groaning over the accumulating load of useless treasure1 which at the expense of himself1 he has laboured to amass4 ,behold the gay voluptuary1 the smiling debauche1 secretly lament the health they have so inconsiderately damaged so prodigally thrown away3 see disdain1 joined to hatred1 reign between those adulterous married couples1 who have reciprocally violated the sacred vows they mutually pledged at the altar of ,hymen2 whose appetencies have rendered them the scorn of the world2 the jest of their acquaintance2 polluted tributaries to the surgeon4 ,see the liar deprived of all confidence2 the knave stript of all trust2 the hypocrite fearfully avoiding the penetrating looks of his inquisitive neighbour2 the impostor trembling at the very name of formidable truth4 ,bring under your review the heart of the envious1 uselessly dishonored2 that withers at the sight of his neighbour's prosperity4 ,cast your eyes on the frozen soul of the ungrateful wretch1 whom no kindness can warm1 no benevolence thaw1 no beneficence convert into a genial fluid4 ,survey the iron feelings of that monster whom the sighs of the unfortunate cannot mollify4 ,behold the revengeful being nourished with venemous gall1 whose very thoughts are serpents2 who in his rage consumes himself4 ,envy1 if thou canst1 the waking slumbers of the homicide2 the startings of the iniquitous judge2 the restlessness of the oppressor of innocence2 the fearful visions of the extortioner2 whose couches are infested with the torches of the furies4 ,thou tremblest without doubt at the sight of that distraction which1 amidst their splendid luxuries1 agitates those farmers of the revenue1 who fatten upon public calamnity--who devour the substance of the orphan--who consume the means of the widow--who grind the hard earnings of the poor3 thou shudderest at witnessing the remorse which rends the souls of those reverend criminals1 whom the uninformed believe to be happy1 whilst the contempt which they have for themselves1 the unerring shafts of secret upbraidings1 are incessantly revenging an outraged nation4 ,thou seest1 that content is for ever banished the heart2 quiet for ever driven from the habitations of those miserable wretches on whose minds ,i have indelibly engraved the scorn1 the infamy1 the chastisement which they deserve4 ,but1 no6 thine eyes cannot sustain the tragic spectacle of my vengeance4 ,humanity obliges thee to partake of their merited sufferings2 thou art moved to pity for these unhappy people1 to whom consecrated errors renders vice necessary2 whose fatal habits make them familiar with crime4 ,yes2 thou shunnest them without hating them2 thou wouldst succour them1 if their contumacious perversity had left thee the means4 ,when thou comparest thine own condition1 when thou examinest thine own soul1 thou wilt have just cause to felicitate thyself1 if thou shalt find that peace has taken up her abode with thee2 that contentment dwells at the bottom of thine own heart4 ,in short1 thou seest accomplished upon them1 as well as1 upon thyself1 the unalterable decrees of destiny1 which imperiously demand1 that crime shall punish itself1 that virtue never shall be destitute ,of remuneration4 ,such is the sum of those truths which are contained in the ,code of ,nature2 such are the doctrines1 which its disciples can announce4 ,they are unquestionably preferable to that supernatural superstition which never does any thing but mischief to the human species4 ,such is the worship that is taught by that sacred reason1 which is the object of contempt with the theologian2 which meets the insult of the fanatic2 who only estimates that which man can neither conceive nor practise2 who make his morality consist in fictitious duties2 his virtue in actions generally useless1 frequently pernicious to the welfare of society2 who for want of being acquainted with nature1 which is before their eyes1 believe themselves obliged to seek in ideal worlds imaginary motives1 of which every thing proves the inefficacy4 ,the motive which the morality of nature employs1 is the self-evident interest of each individual1 of each community1 of the whole human species1 in all times1 in every country1 under all circumstances4 ,its worship is the sacrifice of vice1 the practise of real virtues2 its object is the conservation of the human race1 the happiness of the individual1 the peace of mankind2 its recompences are affection1 esteem1 and glory2 or in their default1 contentment of mind1 with merited self-esteem1 of which no power will ever be able to deprive virtuous mortals2 its punishments1 are hatred1 contempt1 and indignation2 which society always reserves for those who outrage its interests2 from which even the most powerful can never effectually shield themselves4 ,those nations who shall be disposed to practise a morality so wise1 who shall inculcate it in infancy1 whose laws shall unceasingly confirm it1 will neither have occasion for superstition1 nor for chimeras4 ,those who shall obstinately prefer figments to their dearest interests1 will certainly march forward to ruin4 ,if they maintain themselves for a season1 it is because the power of nature sometimes drives them back to reason1 in despite of those prejudices which appear to lead them on to certain destruction4 ,superstition1 leagued with tyranny1 for the waste of the human species1 are themselves frequently obliged to implore the assistance of a reason which they contemn2 of a nature which they disdain2 which they debase2 which they endeavour to crush under the ponderous bulk of artificial theories4 ,superstition1 in all times so fatal to mortals1 when attacked by reason1 assumes the sacred mantle of public utility2 rests its importance on false grounds1 founds its rights upon the indissoluble alliance which it pretends subsists between morality and itself2 notwithstanding it never ceases for a single instant to wage against it the most cruel hostility4 ,it is1 unquestionably1 by this artifice1 that it has seduced so many sages4 ,in the honesty of their hearts1 they believe it useful to politics2 necessary to restrain the ungovernable fury of the passions2 thus hypocritical superstition1 in order to mask to superficial observers1 its own hideous character1 like the ass with the lion's skin1 always knows how to cover itself with the sacred armour of utility2 to buckle on the invulnerable shield of virtue2 it has therefore1 been believed imperative to respect it1 notwithstanding it felt awkward under these incumbrances2 it consequently has become a duty to favor imposture1 because it has artfully entrenched itself behind the altars of truth2 its ears1 however1 discover its worthlessness2 its natural cowardice betrays itself2 it is from this intrenchment we ought to drive it2 it should be dragged forth to public view2 stripped of its surreptitious panoply2 exposed in its native deformity2 in order that the human race may become acquainted with its dissimulation2 that mankind may have a knowledge of its crimes2 that the universe may behold its sacrilegious hands1 armed with homicidal poniards1 stained with the blood of nations1 whom it either intoxicates with its fury1 or immolates without pity to the violence of its passions4 ,the ,,morality ,,of ,,nature is the only creed which her interpreter offers to his fellow citizens2 to nations2 to the human species2 to future races1 weaned from those prejudices which have so frequently disturbed the felicity of their ancestors4 ,the friend of mankind cannot be the friend of delusion1 which at all times has been a real scourge to the earth4 ,the ,,apostle ,,of ,,nature will not be the instrument of deceitful chimeras1 by which this world is made only an abode of illusions2 the adorer of truth will not compromise with falsehood2 he will make no covenant with error2 conscious it must always be fatal to mortals4 ,he knows that the happiness of the human race imperiously exacts that the dark unsteady edifice of superstition should be razed to its foundations2 in order to elevate on its ruins a temple suitable to peace--a fane sacred to virtue4 ,he feels it is only by extirpating1 even to the most slender fibres1 the poisonous tree1 that during so many ages has overshadowed the universe1 that the inhabitants of this world will be able to use their own optics--to bear with steadiness that light which is competent to illumine their understanding--to guide their wayward steps--to give the necessary ardency to their souls4 ,if his efforts should be vain2 if he cannot inspire with courage1 beings too much accustomed to tremble2 he will1 at least1 applaud himself for having dared the attempt4 ,nevertheless1 he will not judge his exertions fruitless1 if he has only been enabled to make a single mortal happy3 if his principles have calmed the conflicting transports of one honest soul2 if his reasonings have cheered up some few virtuous hearts4 ,at least he will have the advantage of having banished from his own mind the importunate terror of superstition2 of having expelled from his own heart the gall which exasperates zeal2 of having trodden under foot those chimeras with which the uninformed are tormented4 ,thus1 escaped from the peril of the storm1 he will calmly contemplate from the summit of his rock1 those tremendous hurricanes which superstition excites2 he will hold forth a succouring hand to those who shall be willing to accept it2 he will encourage them with his voice2 he will second them with his best exertions1 and in the warmth of his own compassionate heart1 he will exclaim3 ,o ,,nature2 sovereign of all beings6 and ye1 her adorable daughters1 ,,virtue1 ,,reason1 and ,,truth6 remain for ever our revered protectors3 it is to you that belong the praises of the human race2 to you appertains the homage of the earth4 ,shew1 us then1 ,o ,,nature6 that which man ought to do1 in order to obtain the happiness which thou makest him desire4 ,,virtue6 ,animate him with thy beneficent fire4 ,,reason6 ,conduct his uncertain steps through the paths of life4 ,,truth6 ,let thy torch illumine his intellect1 dissipate the darkness of his road4 ,unite1 ,o assisting deities6 your powers1 in order to submit the hearts of mankind to your dominion4 ,banish error from our mind2 wickedness from our hearts2 confusion from our footsteps2 cause knowledge to extend its salubrious reign2 goodness to occupy our souls2 serenity to dwell in our bosoms4 ,let imposture1 confounded1 never again dare to shew its head4 ,let our eyes1 so long1 either dazzled or blindfolded1 be at length fixed upon those objects we ought to seek4 ,dispel for ever those mists of ignorance1 those hideous phantoms1 together with those seducing chimeras1 which only serve to lead us astray4 ,extricate us from that dark abyss into which we are plunged by superstition2 overthrow the fatal empire of delusion2 crumble the throne of falsehood2 wrest from their polluted hands the power they have usurped4 ,command men1 without sharing your authority with mortals3 break the chains that bind them down in slavery3 tear away the bandeau by which they are hoodwinked2 allay the fury that intoxicates them2 break in the hands of sanguinary1 lawless tyrants1 that iron sceptre with which they are crushed to exile2 the imaginary regions1 from whence fear has imported them1 those theories by which they are afflicted4 ,inspire the intelligent being with courage2 infuse energy into his system1 that1 at length1 he may feel his own dignity2 that he may dare to love himself2 to esteem his own actions when they are worthy2 that a slave only to your eternal laws1 he may no longer fear to enfranchise himself from all other trammels2 that blest with freedom1 he may have the wisdom to cherish his fellow creature2 and become happy by learning to perfection his own condition2 instruct him in the great lesson1 that the high road to felicity1 is prudently to partake himself1 and also to cause others to enjoy1 the rich banquet which thou1 ,o ,nature6 hast so bountifully set before him4 ,console thy children for those sorrows to which their destiny submits them1 by those pleasures which wisdom allows them to partake2 teach them to be contented with their condition2 to banish envy from their mind2 to yield silently to necessity4 ,conduct them without alarm to that period which all beings must find2 let them learn that time changes all things1 that consequently they are made neither to avoid its scythe nor to fear its arrival4 ,,translator',s ,,appendix ,a ,,brief ,,sketch ,,of ,,the ,,life ,,and ,,writings ,,of ,m4 ,,de4 ,,mirabaud4 ,at a time when we are on the eve of an important change in our political affairs1 which must evidently lead either to the recovery and re-establishment of our liberties1 or to a military despotism1 those who are connected with the press ought to use every exertion to enlighten their fellow-citizens1 and to assert their right of canvassing1 in the most free and unrestrained manner1 every subject connected with the happiness of man4 ,the priesthood have ever been convenient tools in the hands of tyrants1 to keep the bulk of the people in a degraded servility4 ,by the superstitious and slavish doctrines which they infuse into their minds1 they prevent them from thinking for themselves and asserting their own independence4 ,at a moment when national schools are erecting in every quarter of the country1 not with a sincere desire of enlightening the rising generation1 but with the insidious design of instilling into their minds the doctrines of ,church and ,king1 in order to bolster up a little longer the present rotten1 tottering1 and corrupt system3 at a moment1 too1 when thousands of fanatic preachers are traversing the country1 with a view to subjugate the human mind to the baleful empire of visonary enthusiasm and sectarian bigotry to the utter extinction of every noble1 manly1 liberal1 and pilanthropic principle2--at such a moment as this1 we thought that the ,,system ,,of ,,nature could not fail to render essential service to the cause both of civil and religious liberty4 ,no work1 ancient or modern1 has surpassed it1 in the eloquence and sublimity of its language1 or in the facility with which it treats the most abtruse and difficult subjects4 ,it is1 without exception1 the boldest effort the human mind has yet produced1 in the investigation of morals and theology--in the destruction of priestcraft and superstition--and in developing the sources of all those passions and prejudices which have proved so fatal to the tranquillity of the world4 ,the republic of letters has never produced an author whose pen was so well calculated to emancipate mankind from all those trammels with which the nurse1 the schoolmaster and the priest have successively locked up their noblest faculties1 before they were capable of reasoning and judging for themselves4 ,the frightful apprehensions of the gloomy bigot1 and all the appalling terrors of superstition1 are here utterly annihilated1 to the complete satisfaction of every unbiassed and impartial person4--,these we considered as necessary observations to make1 previous to any attempt at the biography of the author4 ,biography may be reckoned among the most interesting of literary productions4 ,its intrinsic value is such1 that1 though capable of extraordinary embellishment from the hand of genius1 yet no inferiority of execution can so degrade it1 as to deprive it of utility4 ,whatever relates even to man in general1 considered only as an aggregate of active and intelligent beings1 has a strong claim upon our notice2 but that which relates to our author1 as distinguished from the rest of his species1 moving in a more exalted sphere1 and towering above them by the resplendent excellencies of his mind1 seems to me to be peculiarly calculated for our contemplation1 and ought to form the highest pleasure of our lives4 ,there is a principle of curiosity implanted in us1 which leads us1 in an especial manner1 to investigate our fellow creatures2 the eager inquisitiveness with which the mechanic seeks to know the history of his fellow-workmen and the ardour with which the philosopher1 the poet1 or the historian hunts for details that may familiarize him with1 a ,descartes or a ,newton1 with a ,milton1 a ,hume1 or a ,gibbon--spring from the same source4 ,their object1 however1 may perhaps vary2 for1 in the former1 it may be for the sake of detraction1 invidious cavil1 or malice2 in the latter1 it is a sweet homage paid by the human heart to the memory of departed genius4 ,it has been repeatedly observed that the life of a scholar affords few materials for biography4 ,this is only negatively true2--could every scholar have a ,boswell1 the remark would vanish2 or were every scholar a ,rousseau1 a ,gibbon1 or a ,cumberland it would be equally nugatory4 ,what can present higher objects of contemplation--what can claim more forcibly our attention--where can we seek for subjects of a more precious nature1 than in the elucidation of the operations of mind1 the acquisition of knowledge1 the gradual expansion of genius2 its application1 its felicities1 its sorrows1 its wreaths of fame1 its cold1 undeserved neglect8 ,such scenes1 painted by1 the artist himself1 are a rich bequest to mankind3 even when traced by the hand of friendship or the pencil of admiration1 they possess a permanent interest in our hearts4 ,i cannot conceive a life more worthy of public notice1 more important1 more interesting to human nature1 than the life of a literary man1 were it executed according to the ideas ,i have formed of it3 did it exhibit a faithful delineation of the progress of intellect1 from the cradle upwards2 did it portray1 in accurate colors1 the production of what we call genius3 by what accident it was first awakened2 what were its first tendencies2 how directed to a particular object2 by what means it was nourished and unfolded2 the gradual progress of its operation in the production of a work2 its hopes and fears2 its delights2 its miseries2 its inspirations2 and all the thousand fleeting joys that so often invest its path but for a moment1 and then fade like the dews of the morning4 ,let it contain too a transcript of the many nameless transports that float round the heart1 that dance in the gay circle before the ardent gazing eye1 when the first conception of some future effort strikes the mind2 how it pictures undefined delights of fame and popular applause2 how it anticipates the bright moments of invention1 and dwells with prophetic ecstasy on the felicitous execution of particular parts1 that already start into existence by the magic touch of a heated imagination4 ,let it depict the tender feelings of solitude1 the breathings of midnight silence1 the scenes of mimic life1 of imaged trial1 that often occupy the musing mind2 let it be such a work1 so drawn1 so coloured1 and who shall pronounce it inferior8 ,who rather will not confess that it presents a picture of human nature1 where every heart may find some corresponding harmony8 ,when1 therefore1 it is said1 that the life of a scholar is barren1 it is so only because it has never been properly delineated2 because those parts only have been selected which are common1 and fail to distinguish him from the common man2 because we have never penetrated into his closet1 or into his heart2 because we have drawn him only as an outward figure1 and left unnoticed that internal structure that would delight1 astonish1 and improve4 ,and then1 when we compare the life of such a man with the more active one of a soldier1 a statesman1 or a lawyer1 we pronounce it insipid1 uninteresting4 ,true2--the man of study has not fought for hire--he has not slaughtered at the command of a master3 he would disdain to do so4 ,though unaccompanied with the glaring actions of public men1 which confound and dazzle by their publicity1 but shrink from the estimation of moral truth1 it would present a far nobler picture2 yes1 and a more instructive one3--the calm disciple of reason meditates in silence2 he walks his road with innoxious humility2 he is poor1 but his mind is his treasure2 he cultivates his reason1 and she lifts him to the pinnacle of truth2 he learns to tear away the veil of self-love1 folly1 pride1 and prejudice1 and bares the human heart to his inspection2 he corrects and amends2 he repairs the breaches made by passion2 the proud man passes him by1 and looks upon him with scorn2 but he feels his own worth1 that ennobling consciousness which swells in every vein1 and inspires him with true pride--with manly independence3 to such a man ,i could sooner bow in reverence1 than to the haughtiest1 most successful candidate for the world's ambition4 ,but of such men1 for the reason ,i have already mentioned1 our information is scanty4 ,while of others1 who have commanded a greater share of public notoriety1 venal or mistaken admiration has given more than we wished to know4 ,among these respected individuals of human nature1 may be placed ,mirabaud4 ,had ,mirabaud been an ,englishman1 who doubts but that we should have possessed at least ample details of the usual subjects of biographical notice2 while all that has been collected among his own countrymen1 is a scanty memoir in a common dictionary4 ,that we are doomed to remain ignorant of the life of such men1 speaks a loud disgrace4--,i lament it4 ,,john ,,baptiste ,,mirabaud1 was born at ,paris in the year #afgd4 ,he prosecuted his infantile studies under the direction of his parents1 and was afterwards entered a member of the ,congregation of the ,priests of the ,oratory1 where he passed several years1 and produced some very bold writings1 which were never intended for publication4 ,he was subsequently appointed tutor to the princesses of the ,house of ,orleans1 and then took the resolution of destroying the greater part of the manuscripts that he produced while a member of the ,congregation2 but the treachery of some of his friends1 to whom he had confided his manuscripts1 rendered this precaution useless1 for some of his works were published during the time he remained the preceptor to his royal pupils2 among which number may be reckoned his ,new ,liberties of ,thought1 a work but little calculated for gaining him friends in the purlieus of the ,court of ,orleans4 ,the ,origin and ,antiquity of the ,world1 in three parts1 was also published at this period1 and from the publication of this work1 may be dated the resolution of ,m4 de ,mirabaud to quit his office of preceptor1 which he relinquished1 having become more independent2 he now gave himself up entirely to his philosophical studies1 and produced the ,system of ,nature1 with which he was assisted by ,diderot1 ,d',alembert1 ,baron ,d',olbac1 and others4 ,the profound metaphysical knowledge displayed throughout the ,system of ,nature1 and the doctrines which are therein advanced1 warrants the conclusion1 that it is at once the most decisive1 boldest1 and most extraordinary work1 that the human understanding ever had the courage to produce4 ,the study of metaphysics his generally been considered the most terrific to the indolent mind2 but the clear and perspicuous reasoning of a ,mirabaud1 who has united the most profound argument1 with the most fascinating eloquence1 charm and instruct us at the same time4 ,but it was not1 to be expected that such doctrines as are contained in the ,system of ,nature1 would be advanced without meeting with some opposition from the superficial and bigoted metaphysicians1 who feel an interest in upholding a system of delusion and superstition4 ,no6 certainly not1 ,their interest was threatened1 and their craft in danger1 and the consequence was1 that the ,atheist or ,disciple of ,nature1 has been abused with every scurrilous epithet1 full of sound and fury1 signifying nothing4 ,atheism is stigmatized with having opened a wide door for libertinism1 destroying the social and moral compact2 and striking a deadly blow at religion4 ,it is asserted that the atheist1 who by his opinions has deprived himself of the hope and consolation of a future life1 has no motive for the practise of virtue1 or to contribute to the well being of society4 ,deprived of a chimera which religion every where presents him1 he wanders through the cheerless gloom of scepticism1 regardless of the consequences of an abandoned life4 ,without a ,god1 he acknowledges no benefactor2 without divine laws1 he knows no rule for the conduct of life1 and submits to no law but his passions4 ,an enemy to all social order1 he spurns at human laws1 and breaks through every barrier opposed to his wickedness4 ,under such colours is an atheist painted3 a short digression must be suffered to examine this picture1 and to disprove the assertions so sweepingly made4 ,i admit that atheism strikes a deadly blow at religion2 because under the cloak of religion1 mankind have been oppressed in all ages2 but that it encourages libertinism1 or destroys the social and moral compact1 ,i have yet to learn4 ,in all organized governments1 men are restrained from crime and compelled to submission by laws supposed to be made for the general benefit4 ,these laws are the effect of the first formation of society for mutual preservation4 ,here then is a sufficient motive for the one as well as the other1 to contribute to the well-being of society4 ,the laws of ,nature are the same in effect on the atheist and the religionist4 ,if man be led captive by his passions1 and gives himself to debauchery and voluptuousness1 nature will punish him with bodily infirmities and a debilitated mind4 ,if he be intemperate1 she will shorten his days and bring him to the grave with the most poignant remorse4 ,the fatal effects of his vicious propensities will fall upon his own head4 ,a disturber of social order will live in continual fear of the vengeance of society1 and that very fear is a more dreadful punishment than the just vengeance which perhaps he escapes4 ,it renders life burdensome1 and makes a man hateful to himself4 ,can men have stronger motives for the practise of virtue8 ,the atheist is in full possession of these motives1 and the religionist is most completely swayed by them1 whatever may be his pretensions to others derived from religion4 ,but we are assured he has other motives2 more powerful incentives1 in the promise of future rewards and punishments4 ,this1 like all other chimerical doctrines1 cannot be maintained if we look at the general practise of mankind4 ,let us trace the effects of this doctrine1 or rather let us examine the actions1 conduct1 and character of men professing it1 and we shall see how little influence it has over them4 ,the bulk of society believe they shall answer in a future life for the deeds done in the present4 ,nay1 ,i hardly think one in a hundred thousand will say they doubt it4 ,what then is its effect8 ,with this dreadful sentence1 ,thou shalt go into everlasting punishment1 continually sounded in their ears1 do we not daily see the greatest enormities committed8 ,are not the most horrid crimes perpetrated in all parts of the world8 ,the most vicious propensities and the most extravagant follies are almost indiscriminately gratified4 ,is not vice frequently triumphant1 and virtue compelled to seek her own reward in retirement8 ,the laws of society are broken by the most flagrant injustice1 and the laws of nature outraged by the most shocking depravity4 ,all this evil exists in nations believing themselves to be accountable beings after death4 ,where then are the beneficial effects arising1 to mankind from the promulgation of this doctrine8 ,men who cannot be restrained from doing evil by human laws1 have no dread of any other4 ,their whole lives and conduct confirm this4 ,others who live in submission to the laws of society1 give themselves up to those vicious habits1 7without fear of divine laws7 which the law does not take cognizance of4 ,men1 not wholly depraved1 or not without the pale of society1 generally respect the laws1 and fear the bad opinion of others4 ,hence we observe1 when interest or passion leads them into secret vices1 they invariably play the hypocrite2 and although they are aware of the denunciations of their ,god1 whom they acknowledge is a witness to all their actions1 while they preserve their fair fame they still persevere4 ,in fact1 they live as if they disbelieved in his existence2 and yet the greatest criminal1 the most depraved wretch1 would shudder at being told there is no ,god4 ,the atheist1 as a man1 is liable to commit the same crimes1 and fall into the same vices as the believer2 but because he is an atheist1 is he a worse criminal than the other8 ,in one respect1 ,i conceive he is not so bad4 ,he only acts in defiance of human laws1--he only offends men2 the other infringes both divine and human2--he defies both ,god and man4 ,both are injurious to society and themselves1 and both are actuated by the came motives4 ,again we are told1 that the well disposed part of mankind are rendered more virtuous1 and the vicious less vicious by this doctrine4 ,how are we to know that8 ,if the virtuous man acts uprightly1 does good to his fellow creatures1 restrains his passions1 and returns good for evil1 experience teaches him it is his interest so to do4 ,those who are viciously disposed are only deterred from crime by penal laws4 ,societies cannot long exist1 where evil has the ascendency4 ,without social laws1 this would really be the case1 notwithstanding the threats of an avenging ,god4 ,if men were told they would not be answerable for the evil committed in this life to human laws1 but that ,god would punish them after death1 it is evident the human race would soon be exterminated4 ,on the other hand1 tell them their crimes will never be punished by ,god1 or1 in other words1 there is no other ,god than ,,nature1 but that the laws of men will avenge the offences against society2 so long as those laws are administered with justice and impartiality1 so long will such society continue to improve4 ,hence it is evident that the system which will maintain order in society by itself1 must be the best and most rational4 ,a good government without religion would be more solid and lasting1 and tend more to the preservation of mankind1 than all the theocratical or ecclesiastical governments that ever the world was subject to4--,thus much for the opponents of atheism4 ,it has been asserted with a perverse obstinacy1 by the advocates for the existence of a deity1 that the ,,system ,,of ,,nature was never written by the author whose name it bears4--,it is granted that it was not published during his life3 but that circumstance forms no reason why such a conclusion should be drawn4 ,the persecutions which the atheists have endured1 were a sufficient excuse for the work not appearing in any form during the life time of its venerable author4 ,the ,athenians sought to try ,diagoras the ,melian1 for atheism2 but he fled from ,athens1 and a price was offered for his head4 ,protagoras was banished from ,athens1 and his books burnt1 because he ventured to assert1 that he knew nothing of the gods4 ,stephen ,dolet was burnt at ,paris for atheism4 ,giordano ,bruno was burnt by the ,inquisitors in ,italy4 ,lucilio ,vanini was burnt at ,thoulouse1 through the kind offices of an ,attorney-,general4 ,bayle was under the necessity of fleeing to ,holland4 ,casimio ,liszynski was executed at ,grodno2--and ,akenhead at ,edinborough4 ,and the body of the eloquent and erudite ,hume1 was obliged to be watched many nights by his friends1 lest it should be taken up by the fanatics1 who considered him one of the greatest monsters of iniquity1 because he did not happen to believe as they believed4--,with these pictures of ,christian persecution before his eyes1 is it surprising that ,m4 de ,mirabaud should adopt the resolution of suffering the ,,system ,,of ,,nature to appear as a posthumous work8 ,that the same fate would have attended him1 the most devout ,christian will not undertake to deny4 ,however the sentiments of ,m4 de ,mirabaud may be condemned by the fanatics1 all those who knew him bear the most brilliant testimony of his integrity1 candour1 and the soundness of his understanding2 in a word1 to his social virtues1 and the innocence of his manners4 ,he died universally regretted1 at ,paris1 the twenty-fourth of ,june1 #agfj1 in the eighty-sixth year of his age4 ,the following works1 written by him at different periods1 were never published3--,the ,life of ,jesus ,christ4 ,impartial ,reflections on the ,gospel4 ,the ,morality of ,nature4 ,an ,abridged ,history of the ,priesthood2 ,ancient and ,modern4 ,the ,opinions of the ,ancients concerning the ,jews4 ,a wretched mutilated edition of this last work was published at ,amsterdam1 in #agdj1 in two small volumes1 under the title of ,miscellaneous ,dissertations4 ,,finis4