Jean Meslier
Last Testament
The Merovingian descendants have always been behind all heresies, from Arianism, through the Cathars and the Templars, to Freemasonry. At the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, Cardinal Mazarin, in July 1659, had their chateau of Barberie, dating from the twelfth century, destroyed. For the house and family in question, all through the centuries, had spawned nothing but secret agitators against the Church. Holy Blood, Holy Grail, p. 184-185
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Vita Mutatur Non tollitur
Select Commentary
on the
Last Testament of Jean Meslier
.
August 3, 2022
G.D.O’Bradovich III
It can be said that Jean Meslier is the William Shak-spear of the French clergy: his birth and death dates are known, a signed legal document exists, and his singular contribution to human thought this world exists fully formed like Athena and without precedents, like Melkizadek. If not for a reprimand from his Bishop, one might be excused for thinking that either Meslier was a fabrication or that his testament is a posthumous hoax, wherein disagreeable ideas and explicit statements are placed in the mouth of an obscure and nondescript man.
Meslier’s monument to atheism, over 600 handwritten pages, was made public after his death in 1729 and the translated version under consideration was made by Miss Anna Knoop and published in 1878. While the multiple explicit statements and impious statements leave no doubt as to the atheistic intent of the author, there are indications of esoteric writing which suggest that an alternate meaning or understanding may be possible.
Leo Strauss observes that certain writers utilized a style of writing to shield them from potential persecution and these techniques are easily overlooked by the careless reader, such as the “obscurity of the plan, contradictions, pseudonyms, inexact repetitions of earlier statements, strange expressions, etc.” [Persecution and the Art of Writing, p. 36]
Our shorthand based on Strauss’ explicit statements are below:
Code Definition
AA Appeal to authority
AE Ambiguity of expression
CD Contradiction
EF Error of facts
FS Principles frequently stated, but silently contradicted by upholding incompatible views
IR Inexact repetitions
IS Other infelicities of style
PS Pseudonyms
SE Strange expressions
TL Frequent use of technical language
As Meslier’s testament was not made known until after his death, there is no obvious reason why he resorted to esoteric writing. Since there is a high frequency of esoteric writing techniques, the only aspect of this work that remains to be examined and clarified is the “obscurity of the plan”. A list of the esoteric writing techniques are found in the Appendix.
All instances of “hell” and “heaven” have been altered to “Hell” and “Heaven”, respectively, as they are proper nouns. We have altered “nature” to “Nature” when the clear meaning is the cosmos, but we have not changed “nature” where the context is “inherent features”.
Our inline commentaries are in brackets [] and additional comments are indicated by an asterisk [*] and found at the end of each paragraph. The structures of the parapharahs have been modified for ease of illustration, however, contiguous sentences indicate one paragraph. The exceptions are when large sections of quotations are present and the quotations is seperated for ease of reading. The synopsis at the beginning of each section is omitted. For ease of reference, the Roman numerals at the commencement of each section have been replaced with Arabic numbers.
The usage of “or”, “neither…nor,,,”, “nor”, and “either…or…” are indicated by bold letters and a complete list is in the Appendix. We note these usages as experience teaches us that they can be utilized to create new meanings for a word. For example, “Christian or believer” can be understood that all usage of “Christian” can be exchanged with the word “believer”. There are indications that Meslier was aware of this esoteric substitution, as he provides definitions using “or”, where a verbal expression is typical: “good or render themselves agreeable to their God” [76], “sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil” [76] , and “The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world” [87].
Conditional words, such as “if”, “seem”, and “may”, are underlined.. “But”, “if”, and “perhaps” are in bold. Both groups are found in the Appendix.
Words, wording, and sentences of interest are underlined and, as always, our system of demarcation is subjective.
In our initial reading, we noticed “Chimera”, which reminded us of Neitzsche’s usage and we also marked the numerous instances of “capricious”. At a certain point, we realized Chimera was being overused: Chimera [chimerical] and caprice [capricious] each occur over twenty times. Although their definitions are different, both have their origins in the word “goat”, The obscurity of the plan is that it is based on the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Requiem, where “goat” occurs once, when the damned are separated from the saved. This insight occurred during our first reading and it is possible that the plan is actually based on the Gospel of Matthew where the separation of the goats and sheep is found in the twenty fifth chapter, another book, or an outline we did not consider.
Words found in the full liturgy of the Requiem, and their derivations, are in italics. List of pertinent words and their origins is found in the Appendix.
The Latin text and English translation of the liturgy can be found in the Appendix and here:
https://www.latinmassfuneral.com/requiem-mass/
https://web.archive.org/web/20220805192410/https://www.latinmassfuneral.com/requiem-mass/
The Gentle Reader will decide if the abundance of derived words from the Requiem represent an obscure plan of Meslier’s work or if frequency of the words is due simply to the intersection of a criticism of atheism and of a Christian liturgical service.
A list of select words and their derivations are found in the Appendix.
Many aspects of determining the existence of esoteric writing in a document is subjective. While the frequent use of technical language seems easy to discern, it is possible that the author has utilized common words but has attributed a technical meaning to them. If the writer were to do this, then the definition of these terms would typically be found at the end of the document.
Only one technique of esoteric writing identified by Strauss is objective, that is, inexact repetitions. Most readers overlook this hint. From the first section, the monarch “desires to be known, loved, respected, and obeyed” and later in the text, God, the equitable monarch, seeks to assure “Himself of the love, obedience, and respect of His subjects” [section 91]. In section 112, “the simple and the true” is repeated as “to that which is clear, simple, and true” and section 127 mentions “the heathen, of the Chinese, of the Mohammedans” and “the Indian and the Chinaman, the Mohammedan”.
The usage of similar wording is found in section 76, “the right of might” and “the right of the strongest”; in section 108, the “fear of ceasing to be” and the “ fear of ceasing to exist”; in section 132, “history informs me” and “history teaches me”; and, the least intrusive example, in section 139, “the Gods of Rome” and “the Roman Gods”.
The clarity of conveying one’s thoughts to the reader is considered the hallmark of a good writer, yet ambiguous statements abound in works that are supposedly understood. “Who is wrong or right? Each one exclaims: ‘It is I!’” [127] Should the reader interpret this wording so that everyone is declaring themselves right or each one is admitting they are wrong? Most readers would understand “the Hebrew religion” [200] as Judaism, but if the author was referring to Judaism, then one is confronted by the difficulty of explaining why a circumlocution is used. Is the writer attempting to draw a distinction between the “Hebrew religion” and what is commonly thought of as Judaism? Since the author does not indicate a difference, the reader can not know.
“We are assured”, “we are told”, “you tell us”, and similar statements and their variants have been categorized under “Infelicities of Style” [IS].
“God made the world to be the theater of dishonoring wars” [70] , “the evils of which this world is the theater” [88] , and “the countless evils, of which the world is the theater,” [53], are strange expressions which suggest we, “in the world below”, are “performing a role” [162], no less important than “the role which ... theology makes Divinity play.” [71]
A work discussing Christianity is expected to have many references to technical words. The “divine essence” [29], “the Holy Books” [30], “the dogma of gratuitous predestination” [62], “the dogma of eternal torments in Hell” [66], “the Pope, who possesses the keys of Paradise and of Hell” [75], “Divine grace” [79], the “dogma of the immortality of the soul” [103], and “the Divine economy” [103] are examples of the technical language found in the work.
The most obvious factual error is found in section 74, where the “man” could not “resist the tempter”.
From the text of Genesis 3, it was Eve, not Adam, who conversed with the serpent and was convinced of the benefits of eating the fruit and to be “as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Here Below
It is typical to describe Heaven as being above us and Hell as being below us, that is, the other worlds are represented in relation to the world of the living. However, Meslier uses the term “here below” for our world, changing our orientation.
who does not understand anything about Him here below. TL 8
if in order to live happy here below, TL 52
to render men happier than they are here below TL 57
the miseries which He permits for a time here below. TL 88
a more durable existence than the one we enjoy here below. TL 108
for beings who often find themselves very unhappy here below? TL 108
priests would not have so many charges here below. TL 111
in which so many nations are governed here below, TL 145
As soon as the latter find themselves unhappy here below TL 146
We consider “in the world”, “in this world”, “of this world”, “of the world”, “of the earth”, and “on the earth” to be superfluous, for where else would “revealed religions'', “continual changes”, and “continual instability” be experienced? Therefore, these phrases are categorized as technical language [TL] because of their frequency.
to those which men acknowledge in the world they inhabit
TL 2
Very few people in the world
TL 32
a certain order reigns in the world,
TL 44
Everything which takes place in the world
TL 54
In the world where we are, we see all sentient beings
TL 58
moral evil or sin would not exist in the world.
TL 72
to know in advance all which is to happen in the world
TL 73
one who thinks that everything is good in the world
TL 87
All the revealed religions which we see in the world
TL 112
God who enjoys a power which nothing in the world
TL 113
the continual changes that we see in the world?
TL 117
There are no two individuals in the world
TL 122
There are no two individuals in the world
TL 122
Which of all the religions in the world
TL 130
religion is the most serious affair in the world
TL 137
among the many religions in the world,
TL 139
everything that transpires in the world
TL 160
everything that transpires in the world
TL 160
A saint in the world
TL 162
those who live in the world
TL 162
he has always exercised in the world?
TL 163
There is nothing more rare in the world
TL 181
there are few men in the world
TL 182
nothing could be explicable in the world
TL 202
how many persons are there in this world
TL 36
We think to justify Providence by saying that in this world
TL 52
the effects which we see in this world
TL 54
the continual instability in this world
TL 55
men who have lived in this world
TL 76
God is an equitable Monarch, whose object in this world
TL 91
After having suffered a great deal in this world
TL 94
man is compelled to submit in this world
TL 94
Are there more detestable animals in this world
TL 96
overwhelming fears in this world
TL 108
from overwhelming fears in this world
TL 108
as soon as he suffers in this world
TL 108
the continual changes that we see in the world
TL 117
do you not see that everything in this world
TL 118
the most important thing for them in this world
TL 123
which we see established in this world
TL 127
they were not made to be happy in this world
TL 147
religion has so often caused in this world
TL 160
the good and of the bad we see in this world
TL 160
the evil which He causes, or permits to be done in this world
TL 160
all that transpires in this world
TL 164
Divinity punishes crime in this world
TL 166
in which they gained their riches in this world
TL 175
occupy yourselves with their happiness in this world
TL 196
Divine Essence
We conclude that He was not able to endow him with intelligence sufficient to understand the divine essence.
TL 29
beings whose own essence makes it impossible to have any idea of the divine essence
TL 29
the invincible and necessary ignorance of man, caused by his relation to the divine essence.
TL 30
if the most profound theologians lose themselves in the divine essence,
TL 30
it would always be impossible for man to know his God, and he would be kept in the most invincible ignorance of the Divine essence
TL 49
True County
Heaven—his [a Christian] true country. SE 162
the earth is not their [men] true country; SE 147
this world, which you claim as His empire
SE 55
the empire of a God.
SE 77
If God in His empire
SE 86
under the empire of a just God
SE 86
Under the empire of this just Sovereign
SE 118
the Devil still holds the empire
SE 163
holding an eternal empire over the hearts of your fellow-beings.
SE 190
Globe TL
The usage of globe may be a synonym for the earth, but Melsier mentions the heliocentric theory in section 119.
If I examine all parts of this globe
TL 52
if ... God could consent to evil during the period of the existence of our globe,
TL 88
what assurance have we that during the existence of another globe,
TL 88
the various religions which have been founded in the different regions of our globe
TL 112
the different parts of our globe
TL 114
God has spoken differently to each nation of the globe
TL 127
We see in all parts of our globe
TL 161
Definitions
def 4 innate, or that men have this idea from the time of their birth.
def 6 religion is the art of occupying limited minds with that which is impossible for them to comprehend
def 52 Providence the generous care which Divinity shows in providing for our needs,
def 54 the phenomena of Nature, or the effects which we see in this world,
def 61 Hell ... is... a fearful place where ...God reserves eternal torments for the majority of men.
def 73 foresight, or the ability to know in advance all which is to happen
def 76 good or render themselves agreeable to their God,
def 76 sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
def 76 sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
def 83 is merit in man? It is a certain manner of acting which renders him estimable in the eyes of his fellow beings.
def 83 What is virtue? It is the disposition that causes us to do good to others.
def 87 The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world,
def101 immortal, or to live forever.
def105 a spirit, or a certain something which animates him without his knowing how
def110 Theology could very properly be defined as the science of contradictions.
def111 a mystery is nothing but a contradiction,
def111 a mystery is whatever our spiritual guides can not explain to us.
def123 doubt is to deliberate upon the judgment which we should pass.
def123 religious skepticism can be but the effect of a superficial examination of theological principles,
def123 skeptic, is to lack the motives necessary to establish a judgment.
def123 skeptical in the matter of religion when we design to return to its principles, and look closely into the idea of the God who serves as its foundation
def123 Skepticism is but a state of indecision which results from a superficial examination of subjects.
def127 impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
def127 to be superstitious, is to have false ideas of Him.
def127 To be impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
def129 a miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
def129 miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
def135 experience, which is only the repeated application of the senses,
def135 Faith, according to theologians, is consent without evidence.
def136 reason anything else but the knowledge of the useful and the true?
def168 But who is God? He is a being whom no one is able to conceive of, and whom, consequently, each one modifies in his own way.
def168 morality, or the duties of man
def168 virtue according to theology? It is, we are told, the conformity of men's actions with the will of God.
def178 Conscience is the inward testimony which we render to ourselves for having acted in such a manner as to deserve the esteem or the censure of those with whom we associate.
def196 theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologians,
on the
Last Testament of Jean Meslier
.
August 3, 2022
G.D.O’Bradovich III
It can be said that Jean Meslier is the William Shak-spear of the French clergy: his birth and death dates are known, a signed legal document exists, and his singular contribution to human thought this world exists fully formed like Athena and without precedents, like Melkizadek. If not for a reprimand from his Bishop, one might be excused for thinking that either Meslier was a fabrication or that his testament is a posthumous hoax, wherein disagreeable ideas and explicit statements are placed in the mouth of an obscure and nondescript man.
Meslier’s monument to atheism, over 600 handwritten pages, was made public after his death in 1729 and the translated version under consideration was made by Miss Anna Knoop and published in 1878. While the multiple explicit statements and impious statements leave no doubt as to the atheistic intent of the author, there are indications of esoteric writing which suggest that an alternate meaning or understanding may be possible.
Leo Strauss observes that certain writers utilized a style of writing to shield them from potential persecution and these techniques are easily overlooked by the careless reader, such as the “obscurity of the plan, contradictions, pseudonyms, inexact repetitions of earlier statements, strange expressions, etc.” [Persecution and the Art of Writing, p. 36]
Our shorthand based on Strauss’ explicit statements are below:
Code Definition
AA Appeal to authority
AE Ambiguity of expression
CD Contradiction
EF Error of facts
FS Principles frequently stated, but silently contradicted by upholding incompatible views
IR Inexact repetitions
IS Other infelicities of style
PS Pseudonyms
SE Strange expressions
TL Frequent use of technical language
As Meslier’s testament was not made known until after his death, there is no obvious reason why he resorted to esoteric writing. Since there is a high frequency of esoteric writing techniques, the only aspect of this work that remains to be examined and clarified is the “obscurity of the plan”. A list of the esoteric writing techniques are found in the Appendix.
All instances of “hell” and “heaven” have been altered to “Hell” and “Heaven”, respectively, as they are proper nouns. We have altered “nature” to “Nature” when the clear meaning is the cosmos, but we have not changed “nature” where the context is “inherent features”.
Our inline commentaries are in brackets [] and additional comments are indicated by an asterisk [*] and found at the end of each paragraph. The structures of the parapharahs have been modified for ease of illustration, however, contiguous sentences indicate one paragraph. The exceptions are when large sections of quotations are present and the quotations is seperated for ease of reading. The synopsis at the beginning of each section is omitted. For ease of reference, the Roman numerals at the commencement of each section have been replaced with Arabic numbers.
The usage of “or”, “neither…nor,,,”, “nor”, and “either…or…” are indicated by bold letters and a complete list is in the Appendix. We note these usages as experience teaches us that they can be utilized to create new meanings for a word. For example, “Christian or believer” can be understood that all usage of “Christian” can be exchanged with the word “believer”. There are indications that Meslier was aware of this esoteric substitution, as he provides definitions using “or”, where a verbal expression is typical: “good or render themselves agreeable to their God” [76], “sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil” [76] , and “The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world” [87].
Conditional words, such as “if”, “seem”, and “may”, are underlined.. “But”, “if”, and “perhaps” are in bold. Both groups are found in the Appendix.
Words, wording, and sentences of interest are underlined and, as always, our system of demarcation is subjective.
In our initial reading, we noticed “Chimera”, which reminded us of Neitzsche’s usage and we also marked the numerous instances of “capricious”. At a certain point, we realized Chimera was being overused: Chimera [chimerical] and caprice [capricious] each occur over twenty times. Although their definitions are different, both have their origins in the word “goat”, The obscurity of the plan is that it is based on the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Requiem, where “goat” occurs once, when the damned are separated from the saved. This insight occurred during our first reading and it is possible that the plan is actually based on the Gospel of Matthew where the separation of the goats and sheep is found in the twenty fifth chapter, another book, or an outline we did not consider.
Words found in the full liturgy of the Requiem, and their derivations, are in italics. List of pertinent words and their origins is found in the Appendix.
The Latin text and English translation of the liturgy can be found in the Appendix and here:
https://www.latinmassfuneral.com/requiem-mass/
https://web.archive.org/web/20220805192410/https://www.latinmassfuneral.com/requiem-mass/
The Gentle Reader will decide if the abundance of derived words from the Requiem represent an obscure plan of Meslier’s work or if frequency of the words is due simply to the intersection of a criticism of atheism and of a Christian liturgical service.
A list of select words and their derivations are found in the Appendix.
Many aspects of determining the existence of esoteric writing in a document is subjective. While the frequent use of technical language seems easy to discern, it is possible that the author has utilized common words but has attributed a technical meaning to them. If the writer were to do this, then the definition of these terms would typically be found at the end of the document.
Only one technique of esoteric writing identified by Strauss is objective, that is, inexact repetitions. Most readers overlook this hint. From the first section, the monarch “desires to be known, loved, respected, and obeyed” and later in the text, God, the equitable monarch, seeks to assure “Himself of the love, obedience, and respect of His subjects” [section 91]. In section 112, “the simple and the true” is repeated as “to that which is clear, simple, and true” and section 127 mentions “the heathen, of the Chinese, of the Mohammedans” and “the Indian and the Chinaman, the Mohammedan”.
The usage of similar wording is found in section 76, “the right of might” and “the right of the strongest”; in section 108, the “fear of ceasing to be” and the “ fear of ceasing to exist”; in section 132, “history informs me” and “history teaches me”; and, the least intrusive example, in section 139, “the Gods of Rome” and “the Roman Gods”.
The clarity of conveying one’s thoughts to the reader is considered the hallmark of a good writer, yet ambiguous statements abound in works that are supposedly understood. “Who is wrong or right? Each one exclaims: ‘It is I!’” [127] Should the reader interpret this wording so that everyone is declaring themselves right or each one is admitting they are wrong? Most readers would understand “the Hebrew religion” [200] as Judaism, but if the author was referring to Judaism, then one is confronted by the difficulty of explaining why a circumlocution is used. Is the writer attempting to draw a distinction between the “Hebrew religion” and what is commonly thought of as Judaism? Since the author does not indicate a difference, the reader can not know.
“We are assured”, “we are told”, “you tell us”, and similar statements and their variants have been categorized under “Infelicities of Style” [IS].
“God made the world to be the theater of dishonoring wars” [70] , “the evils of which this world is the theater” [88] , and “the countless evils, of which the world is the theater,” [53], are strange expressions which suggest we, “in the world below”, are “performing a role” [162], no less important than “the role which ... theology makes Divinity play.” [71]
A work discussing Christianity is expected to have many references to technical words. The “divine essence” [29], “the Holy Books” [30], “the dogma of gratuitous predestination” [62], “the dogma of eternal torments in Hell” [66], “the Pope, who possesses the keys of Paradise and of Hell” [75], “Divine grace” [79], the “dogma of the immortality of the soul” [103], and “the Divine economy” [103] are examples of the technical language found in the work.
The most obvious factual error is found in section 74, where the “man” could not “resist the tempter”.
From the text of Genesis 3, it was Eve, not Adam, who conversed with the serpent and was convinced of the benefits of eating the fruit and to be “as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Here Below
It is typical to describe Heaven as being above us and Hell as being below us, that is, the other worlds are represented in relation to the world of the living. However, Meslier uses the term “here below” for our world, changing our orientation.
who does not understand anything about Him here below. TL 8
if in order to live happy here below, TL 52
to render men happier than they are here below TL 57
the miseries which He permits for a time here below. TL 88
a more durable existence than the one we enjoy here below. TL 108
for beings who often find themselves very unhappy here below? TL 108
priests would not have so many charges here below. TL 111
in which so many nations are governed here below, TL 145
As soon as the latter find themselves unhappy here below TL 146
We consider “in the world”, “in this world”, “of this world”, “of the world”, “of the earth”, and “on the earth” to be superfluous, for where else would “revealed religions'', “continual changes”, and “continual instability” be experienced? Therefore, these phrases are categorized as technical language [TL] because of their frequency.
to those which men acknowledge in the world they inhabit
TL 2
Very few people in the world
TL 32
a certain order reigns in the world,
TL 44
Everything which takes place in the world
TL 54
In the world where we are, we see all sentient beings
TL 58
moral evil or sin would not exist in the world.
TL 72
to know in advance all which is to happen in the world
TL 73
one who thinks that everything is good in the world
TL 87
All the revealed religions which we see in the world
TL 112
God who enjoys a power which nothing in the world
TL 113
the continual changes that we see in the world?
TL 117
There are no two individuals in the world
TL 122
There are no two individuals in the world
TL 122
Which of all the religions in the world
TL 130
religion is the most serious affair in the world
TL 137
among the many religions in the world,
TL 139
everything that transpires in the world
TL 160
everything that transpires in the world
TL 160
A saint in the world
TL 162
those who live in the world
TL 162
he has always exercised in the world?
TL 163
There is nothing more rare in the world
TL 181
there are few men in the world
TL 182
nothing could be explicable in the world
TL 202
how many persons are there in this world
TL 36
We think to justify Providence by saying that in this world
TL 52
the effects which we see in this world
TL 54
the continual instability in this world
TL 55
men who have lived in this world
TL 76
God is an equitable Monarch, whose object in this world
TL 91
After having suffered a great deal in this world
TL 94
man is compelled to submit in this world
TL 94
Are there more detestable animals in this world
TL 96
overwhelming fears in this world
TL 108
from overwhelming fears in this world
TL 108
as soon as he suffers in this world
TL 108
the continual changes that we see in the world
TL 117
do you not see that everything in this world
TL 118
the most important thing for them in this world
TL 123
which we see established in this world
TL 127
they were not made to be happy in this world
TL 147
religion has so often caused in this world
TL 160
the good and of the bad we see in this world
TL 160
the evil which He causes, or permits to be done in this world
TL 160
all that transpires in this world
TL 164
Divinity punishes crime in this world
TL 166
in which they gained their riches in this world
TL 175
occupy yourselves with their happiness in this world
TL 196
Divine Essence
We conclude that He was not able to endow him with intelligence sufficient to understand the divine essence.
TL 29
beings whose own essence makes it impossible to have any idea of the divine essence
TL 29
the invincible and necessary ignorance of man, caused by his relation to the divine essence.
TL 30
if the most profound theologians lose themselves in the divine essence,
TL 30
it would always be impossible for man to know his God, and he would be kept in the most invincible ignorance of the Divine essence
TL 49
True County
Heaven—his [a Christian] true country. SE 162
the earth is not their [men] true country; SE 147
this world, which you claim as His empire
SE 55
the empire of a God.
SE 77
If God in His empire
SE 86
under the empire of a just God
SE 86
Under the empire of this just Sovereign
SE 118
the Devil still holds the empire
SE 163
holding an eternal empire over the hearts of your fellow-beings.
SE 190
Globe TL
The usage of globe may be a synonym for the earth, but Melsier mentions the heliocentric theory in section 119.
If I examine all parts of this globe
TL 52
if ... God could consent to evil during the period of the existence of our globe,
TL 88
what assurance have we that during the existence of another globe,
TL 88
the various religions which have been founded in the different regions of our globe
TL 112
the different parts of our globe
TL 114
God has spoken differently to each nation of the globe
TL 127
We see in all parts of our globe
TL 161
Definitions
def 4 innate, or that men have this idea from the time of their birth.
def 6 religion is the art of occupying limited minds with that which is impossible for them to comprehend
def 52 Providence the generous care which Divinity shows in providing for our needs,
def 54 the phenomena of Nature, or the effects which we see in this world,
def 61 Hell ... is... a fearful place where ...God reserves eternal torments for the majority of men.
def 73 foresight, or the ability to know in advance all which is to happen
def 76 good or render themselves agreeable to their God,
def 76 sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
def 76 sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
def 83 is merit in man? It is a certain manner of acting which renders him estimable in the eyes of his fellow beings.
def 83 What is virtue? It is the disposition that causes us to do good to others.
def 87 The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world,
def101 immortal, or to live forever.
def105 a spirit, or a certain something which animates him without his knowing how
def110 Theology could very properly be defined as the science of contradictions.
def111 a mystery is nothing but a contradiction,
def111 a mystery is whatever our spiritual guides can not explain to us.
def123 doubt is to deliberate upon the judgment which we should pass.
def123 religious skepticism can be but the effect of a superficial examination of theological principles,
def123 skeptic, is to lack the motives necessary to establish a judgment.
def123 skeptical in the matter of religion when we design to return to its principles, and look closely into the idea of the God who serves as its foundation
def123 Skepticism is but a state of indecision which results from a superficial examination of subjects.
def127 impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
def127 to be superstitious, is to have false ideas of Him.
def127 To be impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
def129 a miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
def129 miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
def135 experience, which is only the repeated application of the senses,
def135 Faith, according to theologians, is consent without evidence.
def136 reason anything else but the knowledge of the useful and the true?
def168 But who is God? He is a being whom no one is able to conceive of, and whom, consequently, each one modifies in his own way.
def168 morality, or the duties of man
def168 virtue according to theology? It is, we are told, the conformity of men's actions with the will of God.
def178 Conscience is the inward testimony which we render to ourselves for having acted in such a manner as to deserve the esteem or the censure of those with whom we associate.
def196 theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologians,
but, if, perhaps, either, neither, nor, and or
391 buts
1 but a tissue of contradictions
1 but complains of his decrees.
1 but confound the minds of his subjects.
1 but for the good of his subjects
1 but he does not succeed in being glorified.
1 but he never shows himself;
1 but his foresight prevents nothing.
1 but his own glory
1 but his works are full of imperfection
1 but those who explain them are always quarreling
2 but darknes
2 but with things unseen.
4 but a chimera
4 but by the exercise of the senses
4 but it is impossible for men to have true ideas of a being
4 but pictures of objects which strike us.
5 But everybody tells us that the essence of God is incomprehensible to man
5 but religion concludes that man is criminal
5 But, in order to judge of the reality of these relations
6 but religion assures us that limited minds should never lose sight of this inconceivable being
7 but do you say that God is infinite?
13 but overgrown children
16 but this fundamental principle
19 but obscured it more and more
20 but has modern theology advanced
21 but an absence of ideas.
23 but the God of modern theology is a sterile being.
23 but to produce clouds, suspicions, reveries, follies, and quarrels.
25 But what is this God who has a will?
27 but displeasure;
28 But if we must adore a God without knowing Him
28 but fictions of one's own brain
29 but a being of human reason
29 but He did not create them omniscient:
29 but nothingness
34 but contributes often to increase our respect for their opinions.
36 But how many persons are there in this world
36 but permanent and invariable law;
36 but the necessary effects of different combinations of diversified substance.
38 but the least part;
39 but by the diversity
39 But the universe is a cause, not an effect;
41 but by the diversity of impressions
41 but by the motions which I experience
41 but it burns as soon as exposed to the air.
42 but since man exists in Nature, I do not believe it right to say that his formation is beyond the forces of Nature
42 But in the human machine
43 but by certain laws
43 but the necessary union of certain effects
44 But this order is only a result of motions necessarily
45 But in this case you admit that your God is the author of disorder;
46 But in this case, how can men judge of these views
47 but having wished to retain its brilliant light, the poet saw only his own face.
49 But by these intentions has not God visibly
49 but from the comparison of his own excellence with that of others
49 but his own kind that God proposed
50 but for them, and that a fastidious monarch had had as his only object to lodge them superbly?
50 But according to theology, man in his relation to God
50 but occupy itself with the attributes and views of Divinity
51 but to render man happy.
51 But, in a world created expressly for him and governed by an all-mighty God
52 But how can we place confidence in a malicious Providence
52 But, as soon as we look around, we find that God provides for nothing.
53 but kindness, wisdom, and foresight;
54 but by its effects
54 but by the means which he employs to accomplish his proposed design.
54 But the logic of Theology destroys all this.
55 But what is it that occasions the continual instability
56 but destiny or necessity personified
56 but what it can be; all sentient beings enjoy and suffer
56 but a very few things to please me?
57 but a pass-way
57 but manifested their desire to live again
59 But we will answer, that the world necessarily having great defects
59 but your God is not.
60 but would be by His own nature obliged
61 But goodness which takes the place of the most terrible cruelty, is not infinite kindness.
61 But why are men culpable?
62 but as a monster of nonsense, injustice, malice, and atrocity.
62 but liable to keep us in anxiety and trouble
62 but stones or plants
62 but who would reward splendidly the small number
63 but a cowardly and inordinate fear of Divinity,
63 but an enemy, has no confidence in Him
63 But does not all religion in reality give us these same ideas of God
63 but upon a few
64 but on the beautiful side, the superstitious man
64 but both are equally delirious.
65 but in profile; it is impossible to love a being,
66 but any sentient being whatever
66 but cruelty merits the greater indignation when we consider
66 but is moved and revolts at the recital alone
66 but the most cruel barbarity
66 but the blindest ambition which could have created the dogma of eternal damnation
67 but destroy with one hand that which it builds with the other.
67 but as soon as they expose His conduct,
67 but imprudence, want of foresight, weakness, and folly.
68 But if the choicest work of Divinity is imperfect
71 but as adversaries, against whom He could exercise His power.
71 but in doing Himself injury;
72 But who has made men?
73 but God, enjoying the faculty of foresight and the power
73 But this foresight can scarcely belong to His glory
74 but his nature became corrupted in consequence of sin.
75 but to have them as comrades of his misery in Hell
75 but unfortunately the devil, being invented to remove all suspicion
76 but all of them have not sinned;
76 but by the right of might.
76 But if God could not render him sinless,
76 But the right of the strongest
77 But according to you, when my eternal happiness is involved,
77 But do you not see that by speaking in this manner,
77 but revolting ideas; unless it is pretended that he should
77 but through fear, a master whom they can not interrogate
77 but to explain the ways of Divinity
77 but with the hope of happiness that men submit
78 but with reason
79 but evil, for without Divine grace
79 but rarely from following their disordered appetites
79 but recompense Himself; in punishing man
80 but he is not master of his will or of his desires.
80 but are you really free
80 but has one the power
80 But if I consent to lose the wager?
80 But man, say you, can resist his desires; then he is free.
80 but then, he prefers a passing pain in the
80 but then, his resistance is necessary.
80 but a pure illusion.
80 but the necessary results of our wills and of our desires, which are never within our power.
80 But you will say, "I feel myself free."
81 but the man is not the master of his fear of the tiger
82 but it must necessarily be that truth undeceives
82 But you will say, why does not truth produce
86 but injustice and violence.
87 But do not theologians see that it is less offensive for God
88 But do you not see, that patience can not be suited to a being jus
89 but that His justice is not that of men!
89 But the right of the strongest is the violation of all rights
89 but in the eyes of a savage conqueror, who, in the intoxication of his fury
89 but what real benefit can result to a nation
90 But the kindness of a father to strangers does not give him the right to be unjust and cruel to his son.
91 but for the purpose of dragging out a life of pain,
92 but I warn you that he who has not the luck to throw the required number,
92 but one that wins
93 But, alas! how many mortals are really satisfied with their mode of existence?
93 but few who have not often wished to die.
93 But is not this existence continually troubled
93 But weak sovereign of this world
94 But do you know what your soul is?
94 but even eternal torments
94 but the assemblage of your organs, from which life results?
94 but these faculties which render you so proud,
95 but by physical impulsions, reason taking no part.
95 But the beasts, having more limited needs
96 but by the difference of his organization
96 but if the soul is such a simple substance
98 but also a delicious repast; he had
98 but blooming shores and trees filled with fruit.
98 but having arrived at their summit,
98 but to extend the hand to gather dates and other agreeable fruits
99 but he reasons as an atheist when the question of other animals is involved.
99 But in some climates this beautiful sun is most always obscured
99 but is this existence always a benefit?
99 but the benefactions of Heaven
99 but to quench your thirst;
100 But as soon as we ask what this soul is, they begin to stammer.
100 but a thing impossible.
100 but my body; that it is my body which feels
101 but by the means
101 But I rejoin
102 but a mass, incapable of producing any movements
102 But to say that this soul, which is unknown
103 but I will always ask, what is a spirit?
103 but if they are mysteries, you understand nothing about them.
103 But if this is true, how came your soul into existence?
105 but the most simple movements of our bodies
105 But will the human race be more honored when
107 but deceitful, ambitious, and corrupt, the legislators found
107 But is it true that this dogma renders men wiser and more virtuous
108 but an evil for the imagination
108 but blind enthusiasm
108 but few
108 but to His favorites*, and who permits all the others
108 But what will become of me? you ask!
108 But, if Paradise is tempting, you will admit, also, that Hell is frightful.
108 But, it will be said,
109 but a single quality to Divinity,
109 But if we wish to analyze
109 but the effect of a rooted habit,
110 but a system imagined for the purpose of reconciling irreconcilable ideas.
110 but very difficult to eradicate.
110 but an unfaithful guide,
110 but impossibilities, we are told that we are not made
111 but a contradiction a palpable absurdity
112 but in the small number of those whose imagination is regulated by study and by reflection.
112 but in an enigmatical and mysterious way in the various religions which have been founded
112 but to announce mysteries,
112 but to confound reason.
113 but by enigmas
116 but a tissue of impertinent dreams and impostures injurious to Divinity.
116 but absurdities in his religion
118 But I will tell him,
118 but imperfect and wretched works
118 but they have not the courage to seek for the source
118 but unfortunate ones
118 but a long line of idle fancies
119 But can the belief of all men change an error into truth?
119 but the most sensible people feel obliged
120 but following one's own caprice;
120 but a great savage, whom you consider as a model
120 but follies of old times
120 but force; it is being cruel to excess
121 but children in the matter of religion!
122 but do they agree upon this God?
122 but in his own brain?
122 but is a sign of uncertainty and obscurity.
123 but a comfortable cushion.
123 but a state of indecision which results from a superficial examination of subjects
123 but at the bottom, this uncertainty is the result
123 but a disagreeable state, and offers
123 but do not these priests themselves acknowledge that God is incomprehensible to them?
123 but idle and lazy men, who are incapable of examining them.
123 but the effect of a superficial examination of theological principles,
124 but very onerous to the rest of mankind.
124 but whimsical ordinances, ridiculous precepts,
125 but that He employed always the organism of a few favored persons,
126 But was it not much easier to show Himself, and to explain for Himself?
126 But, you will say, these miracles are recorded in books which through constant tradition
129 but in accordance with the views of this same God
129 but in order to perform a miracle
129 but perfect laws, who can change nothing in them
129 but to wish, in order to make them believe all He desires.
129 But what is a miracle?
129 But, according to you, who has made these laws?
132 but a religion which boasts of having caused the death
133 but in truth this disinterestedness is only apparent.
133 but that religious fanaticism is often stronger
134 but by declaring ourselves the enemy of reason and common sense?
134 But do you not pretend that human wisdom is a gift from Heaven?
134 but folly in His eyes, and that He wishes to confound it,
134 but the friend of unenlightened people,
135 but a blind submission to those priests whose authority,
135 but as a snare, in order to lead me to perdition.
135 but experience, which is only the repeated application of the senses
135 but on the other hand, I know that they do not deceive me always.
135 But to challenge reason as a judge of faith, is it not acknowledging that reason
136 but imagination, or act by chance.
136 but our reason,
136 but the knowledge of the useful and the true
136 but useless gifts,
136 but what motives can we have for sacrificing our reason
137 but chaos, to penetrate which, they judge impossible.
137 but which they place in their archives in case they need them.
138 But, among the many religions in the world,
139 but the religion of the prince;
139 but little interest in the religion of men, or that He declares Himself always in favor of opinions
139 but we can hope to cure of their follies
140 But this firm assurance, is it not a punishable presumption in the eyes of a severe God
141 but confused ideas of their God;
141 but little by it, and he keeps on his road.
142 but floating ideas.
143 But does the fear of a more powerful master
143 But does this terror render them more equitable,
143 but to brutalize their slaves,
143 but to lull to sleep the people in fetters
143 but too well imitated by His representatives upon the earth.
143 But, in good faith, can we admire the marvelous effects which the fear of this God
144 but the latter maintained their pretensions notwithstanding all treaties.
144 but to God, the priests
144 but to themselves; there is reason to believe
145 but if we reflect a moment, we will see without trouble
145 but increased the evils of the human race
145 but of the non-existence of a Providence interested in the fate of the human race?
145 but to be toys for the passions and follies of His representatives upon earth.
145 but too often forms licentious, immoral tyrants,
146 but by showing their chiefs that its principles would favor despotism
146 but to exalt princes above their nations,
147 but enrich their priests; the gods of Heaven
147 but from God, and are responsible to Him alone for the misuse of it;
147 but inefficient and futile means of lessening their troubles
147 but too often the immediate and permanent causes
148 but an instrument intended to keep the people more firmly under the yoke
148 but oppress his subjects, rob them of the fruits of their labor,
148 but your people whom you offend when you do evil.
150 but an insane man who injures himself?
150 but in behalf of his interests.
150 But it is vain that the tyrant, protected by the shield of religion
151 but his caprice, [TL] a nation must become necessarily depraved
152 but miserable slaves;
152 but to the priests; that it is useless to society,
152 but with the interests of his pride, his cupidity,
153 but little influence upon their conduct.
153 but with the interests of his pride, his cupidity, his despotic and vindictive mood;
155 but abject, angry, quarrelsome, intolerant slaves.
155 but charity, harmony, and peace
155 but slaves, and slaves are cowardly, low, cruel,
156 but an inferior sovereign, whose cares and kindness extend themselves
156 but over a small number of His subjects who pretend
156 but that of the sovereign and the armies
156 but when we come to examine this Monarch of the world
157 But do you not claim that your God is full of kindness?
157 But such a conduct can not please the ministers of religion
157 But who guarantees that your priests are not deceived
159 but cover them with a cloak that sanctifies them;
159 but that they are the sad effect of men's passions.
160 but by obstinately closing the eyes to the evil which He causes,
160 but a God, or rather a fanatic, a misanthrope,
160 but a snare that God has maliciously laid in his path to entrap him?
160 but by a chief of brigands.
160 But does not this sublime morality tend to render virtue despicable?
160 But even this God can not be a model of goodness for us.
161 but by a small number of saints;
161 but it is practiced
161 But the austerity of a doctrine has a tendency to render
162 but a pride more refined than that of common men
162 but temptations, snares, and opportunities to go astray
163 But are not passions the very essence of man?
163 but inordinate inclinations
163 But you will say that man's nature is depraved.
164 but a God of mercy, the idea of whom quiets him.
164 but by half a dozen of obscure saints, fanatical
166 but for those whose temperament
166 but his affairs; the courtier of his intrigues
166 but those who do not wish to sin
167 but a child when he is weak enough to listen to prejudices
167 but is uprightness of heart always accompanied with intelligence?
169 but given a change to men;
169 but to sustain the interests of the Most High;
169 But very soon this enthusiasm, this supernatural taste for misery
169 but who put aside Christian charity as soon as they have the power to persecute in their turn.
169 but taught them to respect the property of their subjects
169 but their legitimate rights, we should not see such a great number of mendicants
169 but a very small portion of those whom they have rendered miserable
169 But would it not be more humane and more charitable
169 but which very rarely alleviates the sufferings of the poor.
170 But the interests of Heaven [SE] are evidently the interests o
171 but this law arises from the eternal and necessary relations
171 but to feel and to think, in order to discover that which is due to him and to others.
172 but by its conformity with man's nature.
174 but also enjoy the greater portion of society's benefits, and have the right to levy continual taxes upon their fellow-citizens.
174 but mysteries, hypotheses, ceremonies, subtle questions, interminable quarrels, which very often their States must pay for with their blood?
179 but who, being very often religious, do not cease to make humanity groan under the weight of their crimes?
179 but his writings will cause atheism in politics.
179 But no matter what we can suppose of the depravity of an atheist on a throne,
183 but on condition of giving Him our hearts;
185 but in their own brains?
186 but in a satisfactory way to theologians themselves.
191 But superstition, jealous of its exclusive empire,
191 but useless beings.
191 but to the clergy
193 But does the oath place us under stronger obligations to the engagements which we make?
194 but a few pusillanimous minds
194 but a vain attendance upon ceremonies
194 but entertain them with fables, phantoms, intrigues, observances, idle fancies, and false virtues
194 but they do not need an imaginary one; they need true and visible restraints;
195 but by routine; their priests alone occupy themselves
195 but for those who read and reason
195 but little, and reason less.
195 but which produces among them very dangerous ebullitions
196 but to trouble men without making them better.
196 but to tyrants, who do not understand the art of ruling
197 but diminish or annihilate the dangerous confidence
197 but a blind attachment to unknown opinions and mysterious dealings.
197 but let him not be allowed to annoy others
198 but obscure morality; renders its principles arbitrary,
198 but all is opposed to their being humane, reasonable, and virtuous.
198 but being in darkness itself
198 but with the care to keep the nations and their chiefs in the most profound ignorance
199 but waveringly, and instead of enlightening the mind,
199 but with its Gods and their incredible feats
200 but dressed in another form
200 but a reformed Judaism.
200 but an Egyptian schismatic
200 but we still find remarkable remains
201 but to discourage man,
202 But do we not see them act, feel, and think
202 but to perplex all our ideas
202 But why do you deprive the brutes of souls
202 But, at the bottom, what does this religion explain to us?
203 but they have for their money
204 but few votaries in a world still too much infatuated with fables
204 but in fear and trembling ****that the greatest men obtained glimpses of trut
204 but their doctrine found
204 But their systems, too simple, too sensible, and too stripped of wonders
205 But as soon as theology supposes itself concerned
205 but blind it, cause transports, and render it miserable
205 but imagination, and which presents to the mind
205 but words void of sense?
206 but in removing its clouds and phantoms
206 but multiply them and render them more durable.
206 But human blood has flowed since the time of Constantine
210 ifs
1 if any offend him
5 If God is incomprehensible to man
5 if he ceases for a moment to revere Him.
7 If God is infinite, no finite being can
7 If there are no duties between man and his God
8 If God is an infinite being
10 if he had nothing to fear.
12 If religion was clear, it would have fewer attractions for the ignorant
24 If some being bestowed upon men power
29 if He should punish an atheist for not knowing
29 If we are assured that God is infinite
30 if the most profound theologians lose themselves
30 If we examine these menaces calmly
32 if care had not been taken to give them one.
41 if it is not itself in motion.
41 if it was not moved of itself.
41 If one persists in caviling about the evidences which prove
43 if not to ignore the laws by which bodies
44 if we complain about disorder.
45 If God is everywhere, He is in me;
45 If God should change the ordinary course of things
45 if the order of Nature proves the power and the intelligence
45 If the order of the universe
49 If God by Himself is infinitely happy and is sufficient unto Himself
50 If God is infinite, He is created still less for man
50 if they pretended that the park of Versailles
50 if they should attempt to occupy themselves with his intentions,
52 If I examine all parts of this globe,
53 if He sometimes does good, He as often does harm.
53 If it is Divine Providence which governs the world
53 If we attempted to consider without prejudice
54 If you tell me that the designs of God are mysteries
55 If I think to see a God unchanging i
57 If God has not been able to render men happier
57 If God is as well-disposed as they assure us
57 if He can, and will not, He is guilty of malice which we can not attribute to Him;
57 If He wants to, without the power, He is impotent;
57 if He wishes to and can,
59 If God, who was, according to you, supremely happy
59 If his existence is not
59 If man's existence is necessary to His glor
60 if God does not make Himself agreeable to man,
60 If God is infinitely good,
60 If God owes nothing to His creatures,
61 If God is Almighty, does it cost Him any more to sa
64 If the Theist sees God
64 If we take our ideas of God from the nature of the things
65 If I take my ideas of God from theology
66 If there exists a God who could be offended
67 If all religion is founded upon a God who becomes angry
71 If the thing was real
72 If He had not made men as they are
72 If man has the power to do wrong
73 If God had the foresight of the future
73 If He resolved in His decrees to allow this fall
73 If the Divine foresight of the sin of His creatures
74 If man could sin, when just leaving the hands of God,
75 If men would cease to be tempted and to sin
76 If God could create angels who have not sinned
76 if God Himself was not able to render human nature sinless
76 if He punished men for not having a portion of the Divine perfections
76 If it is true that God intends to form in Heaven
76 if it were composed of all the men to whom
76 If some men are
76 If the chosen ones [TL] are incapable of sinning
77 If by chance you know the plan of God,
77 If God's conduct is a mystery to me, it is not made for me.
77 If you are as ignorant as we,
78 If the good God treats thus those whom He love
79 if He has made man, would not punish him
79 if man's nature, abandoned to itself
79 if, instead of blaming himself for the harm which would have
80 if he would
80 If I make the wager
80 If I were born of idolatrous
81 if men are not free
81 If the actions of men are necessary
81 If the wicked act from the impulse of their corrupt nature,
82 if errors, opinions, and ideas of men are fated
82 If everything is necessary
83 If for its own interests society loves
84 if there existed a God,
84 If they lose these qualities,
85 if all that happens to him is a result of the Divine will,
85 if all the events which he experiences are the effects of Divine decrees,
85 if God can not lose sight of His creature for an instant,
85 If God created man of nothing,
85 If God did not save him in the moment when he sins, how could man sin?
85 If God preserves him, God, therefore, forces him to live in order to sin.
85 if he can not do any good without assistance from above
85 if man is nothing of himself,
85 if the preservation of man is a continual creation,
85 If theologians were not constantly contradicting
86 If God in His empire has rebellious subjects
86 If the sins of men
86 if these springs do not contribute to the harmony
87 if he were consistent, ought never to pray;
87 If the optimist, by his system,
88 if leaving His eternal justice to sleep for a time
89 if we see by their means any advantage
93 if it depended upon them, would wish to begin
93 If life has its sweets,
97 if they should pretend that man was made for them?
99 If these seas bring me spices, riches, and useless things,
100 If the soul is a substance essentially different from the body
101 If I ask what ground we have for supposing that the soul is immortal
101 if you desire anything very much
103 If you do not understand anything about them
107 if it should be a fiction, it is advantageous
107 if men believe that everything is to perish with the body
107 If the future is of no real utility to the human race
107 If those who are charged to instruct and to govern men had themselves
108 If this should be an illusion, is it not a sweet and agreeable one?
111 If I examine the thing closely, I discover very soon
111 If religion was comprehensible,
115 If religion was necessary to all men, it ought to be intelligible to all men.
115 If this religion was the most important thing for them,
118 if He has the shadow of justice
118 If man is free, it is God
118 If man is not free to act
120 If the ancient barbarians have worshiped mountains
120 if the wise Egyptians worshiped crocodiles
122 if he believes in God.
122 if they speak of God?
124 If He condescends to show Himself to some men
126 if I have the curiosity to examine these miracles
126 if I suspect deceit, ambition, selfish designs in the great personages
126 if they could attest the miracles in question
126 If, in the economy of all Divine revelations
127 if it is true that He is a Spirit
130 If there exists a defective and ridiculous circle
131 if it is true that Judaism as a religion really emanated from
132 If history informs me that the first apostles
132 if I am told that the performers of miracles
133 if he has the good fortune to retail his commodity,
135 If men can be dupes of their imagination,
135 If my senses are faithless guides,
135 if their senses are deceivers,
135 If, as you pretend, my reason comes from God,
137 If the question arises in the purchase of land,
139 if their ancestors had not repulsed the efforts of the Saracens.
139 If we judge of the intentions of Providence
140 If the most devoted Christians could be consistent
142 if they did not believe anything about it.
143 if we judge it by its duplicates?
144 If you take away from the sovereigns the fear of an invisible power
145 If there existed a good God, would we not be forced to admi
146 If the ministers of the Church
146 If the ministers of this religion
146 If we read history with some attention, we shall see that Christianity,
147 If disturbed Nature sometimes causes the people to feel its blows
148 if, in order to expiate so many crimes
150 If religious opinions are useful to tyrants,
151 if he was responsible to nobody
151 If the sacerdotal flatteries succeed in perverting princes
155 If God allows men the freedom to damn themselves, is it your business?
155 If I am incredulous, is it possible for me to banish from my mind the reasons which have unsettled my faith?
155 if they should live on good terms with rebellious fellow-citizens.
158 If there is a question of religion, immediately the most civilized nations
158 if these things contribute to the advantage of religion,
159 if the wicked were deprived of a pretext so plausible for disturbing it!
160 if He gives life, He also causes death;
160 if He grants abundance, riches, prosperity
160 If He has, as we are assured, created everything for the use
160 If He is the author of all,
160 if He is the author of order
160 if He produces, He destroys;
160 if they had imagined, according to Plato, that virtue consisted in imitating the gods?
160 If we judge theological opinions by their effects,
160 if we should imitate this God!
162 if each one should be fool enough to wish to be a saint?
162 if it were not impracticable, would sever all the ties of society.
162 If the saints who live in solitude are useless
163 if it is true that the Devil still holds the empire
163 If this nature became corrupted, why did not this God repair it?
164 If we examine ever so little the moral
164 If, closing our eyes upon all that transpires in this world,
165 if His anger alarms a few timid souls,
165 if it restrains any, it encourages the great number to commit evil.
165 if the judgments of God frighten a few faint-hearted devotee
167 if they do not practice religion, they promise
169 if he does not think as they do?
169 if he is impious, heretical, and incredulous
169 If religion, instead of deifying princes, had but taught them
169 if the Lord can show indulgence to those who are in error?
169 If the sovereigns had more humanity, charity, and justice,
169 if you must love your neighbor
169 if you must tolerate opinions contrary
170 if they consent in reparation of their faults to divide
172 if we find it detrimental to the welfare of mankind.
`82 If weak or timorous, they wear the yoke during their whole life,
`82 If souls have courage and elasticity, they shake off a yoke which they bear unwillingly.
190 if, instead of occupying themselves with their vain quarrels, they had applied themselves to the useful sciences
190 if they had sought the true principles of physics, of government, and of morals.
192 If some unbelievers contradict
194 if religion does not control the great mass
194 If the people are gross and ignorant
195 if atheism can suit the multitude
195 If, by accident, the people should lose this unknown theology
196 If theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologians
197 If it is very difficult to cure the theologians of their mania
197 If the chiefs of nations [IS] were more just and more sensible
197 If theologians are foolish enough to dispute about subjects
197 If we should succeed in destroying their prejudices,
199 If the ministers of the Gods [IS] sometimes made useful discoveries
199 If we take the trouble to follow the history of the human mind
200 If we but look at history, we see striking resemblances in all religions.
202 If we would believe the adherents of religion
203 if, instead of occupying themselves with a useless theology
206 if it is impossible to close it, it is at least useful to give warning
6 perhaps
3 perhaps, we succeed in forming an imperfect and broken
66 perhaps the vanity to make parade of their power,
66 perhaps, that infinite offenses deserve infinite chastisements,
75 perhaps, that the devil is at least fully as useful as God to the ministers of religion. [IS]
123 Perhaps it would be more truthful to say that all men
22 eithers
18 either unintelligible or perfectly contradictory;
57 Either God wants to prevent evil, and can not, or He can and will not; or He neither can nor will, or He will and can.
57 either the indifference to the sufferings of others, or the infinite happiness
65 either liars or fools
66 either their own safety, the fury of revenge, the design to frighten by terrible examples, or perhaps the vanity
69 either angels or men
80 either upon opinions that he has formed, or upon his mental constitution?
88 either uncertainty, weakness, or collusion
109 either invent another God, or conclude that the one which,
113 either seeks to amuse himself by the embarrassment which he causes, or finds it to his advantage not to explain himself too clearly
118 either inflaming or nursing the imagination of men
123 either skeptics or atheists
124 either the same revelations as they, or the same ordinances, or the same favors from Heaven.
126 either the same people who established these religions, or those who have become their adherents and their assistants.
126 either the wisdom, the goodness, or the equity of a God
131 either defects in the law that God Himself gave by Moses, [2] or impotence [3] or malice in this God who [4] could not, [4a] or would not
139 either that the Deity takes but little interest in the religion of men, or that He declares Himself always in favor of opinions which best suit the Authorities of the earth
145 either in regard to their true duties or their real interests.
161 either the power or the grace.
164 either can not or does not
168 either fanatics, or scoundrels, or ambitious men,
170 either entirely unknown or imaginary.
8 neither in the actual world or in another
23 neither occupy any place,[2] nor move matter, [3] nor produce a visible world, [4] nor propagate either men or Gods.
26 neither length, breadth, nor thickness.
29 neither the power nor the wish
41 neither feel, see, distinguish, compare, nor judge the body, nor even occupy my thought
42 neither eyes,[2] nor feet,[3] nor hands,[4] nor head,[5] nor lungs,[6] nor mouth,[7] nor breath,
60 neither partial nor exclusive.
79 neither reward nor punishment;
80 neither the one nor the other
80 neither what he will wish, nor what he will do
83 neither merit nor virtue
84 neither our actions nor our prayers nor our sacrifices could suspend or change
92 neither foresee nor prevent
95 neither the same needs, nor the same desires, nor the same whims
99 neither opinions, prejudices, vanities, nor the weaknesses
118 neither punish him nor reward him
119 Neither general tradition nor the unanimous consent of all men could place any injunction upon truth.
120 neither the capacity nor the courage
122 neither what he thinks of Him, nor the motives which he has for believing in Him
127 has neither mouth nor tongue
131 neither could nor would
148 neither cruel nor favorable
152 neither great, nor powerful, nor beloved, nor respected,
181 neither their temperament, their interests, nor their habits
188 neither understand nor reconcile.
202 neither form, color, expansion, nor parts.
203 neither light, virtue, nor happiness
6 nors
57 if He neither can nor will,
66 can not be infinitely cruel, nor grant His creatures infinite existence
66 nor trouble His felicity,
73 nor spare Him the reproaches which men could
80 nor detest pleasure
151 no relations with his subjects, nor obligations in their behalf.
335 ors
1 understood or divined
2 doubtful or false
4 innate, or that men have this idea from the time of their birth.
7 have communication or any relation with Him
7 unites man with God or puts them in communication
10 physical or moral
14 more or less
15 to sleep, or to force
17 exists, or can exist
17 the existence or the possibility
18 of their conformity or of their incompatibility
19 more or less
24 dispute his existence, or refuse to recognize his influence
25 fables or visions
25 hands or arms
25 magical or impossible
25 more ridiculous or more difficult
26 designate the hidden forces of Nature; or, it is a mathematical point,
29 a multitude of deficiencies or absence of idea
29 to destroy Him for men, or at least render Him useless
30 madness or perversity
30 to doubt or to deny
33 true or false
35 the true from the false, or the left hand from the right.
39 impressions or movements
39 of its movements or of its ways of acting
41 be irritated or put into motion
41 dead or deprived of all energy
41 in a bottle or deprived of contact with the air
41 informed or assured
41 of bodies or of substances
41 of impressions or of effects
41 substances or bodies
41 to my eye, or which acts upon my retina.
41 to perceive or to feel
42 its effects, or of whom it
43 act, meet, combine, or separate.
43 organized or not organized,
43 together of atoms, or to attribute any effects
43 by accident or by hazard;
44 approve or disapprove
44 changed or disturbed
44 by causes or by circumstances
45 His existence might be doubted; or He might be accused at least of inconstancy
46 reason about these ideas, or admire this intelligence?
47 combination of man with God, or of this theanthropy
48 human qualities, virtues, or perfections.
52 from telling us of Final Causes, or who pretend to perceive clearl
54 many people believe it, or pretend to believe it
54 the phenomena of Nature, or the effects which we see
56 please or displease
57 If God could not or would not
57 Infinite or Divine
57 or why does He not prevent it
57 six or seven
57 the elect or chosen few
57 can or will
58 seen or unseen
59 more malice than goodness, or you must admit that God was compelled
59 must work, well or ill, or starve
59 Nothing or something.
59 useful or necessary
60 happiness or unhappiness
60 a compact or mutual agreement
65 filial or respectful
66 gratuitous or without
66 offended or blasphemed
69 did not succeed any better, or give stronger proofs
71 or, at least, how much embarrassment
72 moral evil or sin
72 to do wrong or to offend
73 necessary or forced
73 Or, at least, could He not have dispensed with creating beings
73 sooner or later
73 the effect of His foresight, or by a subsequent decree,
73 to happiness or to misery
74 Or rather, why did God create evil spirits,
74 over the good principle or over Divinity
75 the powerlessness or the awkwardness
76 bestow the same favor or give the same dispositions
76 men sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty
76 of chosen ones [TL], or of men
76 or for not being able to be Gods like Himself.
76 or render themselves agreeable to their God,
77 adore, admire, respect, or[4] imitate
77 is impossible to conceive, or of which he can not form
77 that they comprehend nothing of it, or that they see nothing in it Divine.
78 a wicked Genii or a Devil
78 of a cherished child or of a wife,
79 inclines him necessarily to evil, or renders him incapable of doing good,
80 correctly or incorrectly
80 ideas which we have received, or which our mind has formed.
80 idolatrous or Mohammedan
80 knows or believes
80 of his will or of his desires
80 or until he has weighed the consequence
80 right or wrong
80 such or such
80 the imagination or the temperament
80 the most useful or the most agreeable
80 to accept or not to accep
80 to be uncertain or to be assured
80 to desire or not to desire
80 to do or not to do
80 to do or not to do
80 to do or not to do
80 to do or not to do
80 to do or not to do
80 to know or not to know
80 to love or not to love
80 to will or not to will
80 true or false
80 true or false notions
80 whether or not he shall be born
80 would or would not
80 by objects or by qualities
82 congestion of the brain or lethargy
82 how or why
82 or render it useless
82 or which weaken the action
83 useless or dangerous
84 to alter or to oppose
85 could not have existed or can not live
87 The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world
87 to avert or to suppress
89 Of what kind, or of what nature
89 By a foolish simplicity, or rather by a plain contradiction
93 to exist or not to exist
94 weaker or less cunning
96 a horse or a dog
96 conformity or resemblance
96 More or less
96 of a Hottentot, or of a Laplander
96 of suppleness or of rigidity
96 The man without culture, experience, or reason
96 the vilest insects, or the most ferocious beasts
97 of ants, bees, or beavers?
99 abundance or famine
99 fortunate or unfortunate events
99 health or sickness
99 rewards or punishments
99 use or misuse
100 of its own mechanism or of its organization.
100 the hidden, or, rather, imaginary substance
101 be immortal, or to live forever.
101 enjoy or suffer
101 of enjoyment or of rigorous torments.
101 of the senses or of the material organs
101 the soul, or of this pretended spirit
102 agreeable or disagreeable
102 be happy or unhappy
102 circulation, respiration, digestion, speech, or reflection
102 more ridiculous or more absurd
102 of sorrow or joy
102 produce sensations or ideas
103 the highest folly or assumption
103 to believe or to affirm
104 spirits, occult causes, inexplicable agents, or rather words much more obscure
104 the object of our thoughts, or of what thinks in us
105 the secret impulsions of a spirit, or a certain something which animates him
105 to mind over matter, or to the soul over the body
105 with matter or the body
108 blind enthusiasm or folly
109 more evident or more clearly
109 this innate sense or this ill-founded persuasion
109 which astonish or excite
111 to theism or to deism,
112 believe in contradictions, in impossibilities, or in things
114 which truly emanated from Him, or what is the most agreeable form
115 that they are no better, or that they are just as sick
116 more impious or more unreasonable
116 to worship a man or to believe in the Trinity
117 could have prevented or made to disappear
117 more contradictory, more impossible, or more mysterious
118 is he free or not
118 to act or not to act
118 who does evil or who permits it
120 rejuvenated or presented
120 were visibly imagined by stupid nations,* or were presented by ambitious and cunning legislators
122 All that they think or say of Him
122 be silent or put an end
122 who have or can have
123 doubt his own existence, or that of the sun
123 laziness, weakness, indifference, or incapacity
123 less absurd or less impossible
123 or is but indifferent
123 to accept or to reject
123 upon the assurance or upon the probability
123 what to hope or fea
123 would appear very ridiculous, or would be suspected of reasoning in bad faith
124 the sublime reason or the wisdom
124 to [4a] penetrate His decrees, or [4b] to consult reason in order to judge of Him or [4c] His works.
124 what He is, or of what His essence consists
125 truly Divine, or superior to those which every rational man could imagine?
127 Who is wrong or right?
128 having been deceived themselves, or having reasons to deceive others.
128 who could not or would not
129 employ miracles to make His projects successful, or grant to His creatures
129 He ought to suspend or counteract them
129 the power to change or rectify
129 then defective, or at least in certain circumstances
130 from God or the Devil
130 to instruct us or to lay a snare
131 All religions, whether new, or ancient ones
131 whether natural or revealed
132 first apostles, founders or reformers
132 have been cruelly tormented or slain.
133 an ambitious man or a brigand
133 does not prove it true or Divine;
133 that they had the right to trouble society, or that they believed themselves authorized to do it.
133 the idea of glory or held to duty
133 the truth or the soundness
133 their principles or their own sincerity
135 capable of deceiving themselves, or very much interested in deceiving others.
135 improbable or opposed to reason.
135 than imagination, or than the authority of the guides
136 more or less
137 of land, of a house, of the investment of money, of a transaction, or of some kind of an agreement
137 surprise or imposition
139 Christian or Mohammedan Doctors
139 of a sect or of a religious faction
139 the bonzes or priests
139 the factions or sects
139 the mandarins or magistrates
139 to that of our country, or to that of the prince
139 by Providence, or by their victorious arms
140 of the love or of the hatred
140 who have never doubted the existence of a vindictive God, or the punishments of Hell, [IR] or the joys of Paradise.[IR]
141 entices them or leads them away
141 or if he does, he is troubled
141 Whenever ambition, fortune, or pleasure
143 of their caprices or of their ambition
143 the weight of their vices, or whom they sacrifice without mercy
143 to furnish their masters the facility of devouring them*, or to render them miserable with impunity.
144 their negligence or their perversity,
146 against real evils or known violences.
146 the Divine right of tyrants [IR TL] or usurpers over their native country.
147 who, in need of bread, put their hungry children to sleep by songs, or who present them toys to make them forget the want which torments them.
148 when they injure their subjects or when they neglect to render them happy.
149 of justice or of injustice
149 of true glory or of true greatness
149 One fanatical or deceitful priest
149 the happiness or the misery
152 of an honest man or of a compliant sovereign
152 or exert but little influence upon their conduct.
155 about His rights or His title,
155 cannibals or savages
155 of gaining the good-will or of escaping the punishments
155 of his credulity or incredulity,
155 of pleasing the Deity or of appeasing His wrath.
156 not hate, despise, or pity
157 that your priests are not deceived themselves or that they do not wish to deceive you?
160 He permits or sends famines, poverty, calamities, and wars.
160 the God of theism or of natural religion
160 which He causes, or permits
161 more or less
162 of any use to himself or to others
162 to disturb society by opinions or dreams
163 from that which can do him or others harm,
163 he judges injurious or fatal
163 love that which is, or that which he believes to b
163 who has not been able or willing to keep
165 would repel His worshipers, or cast them into despair.
166 men rarely think of God, or, at least, do not occupy themselves
166 those who do not wish to sin very much, or who are no longer in a condition to sin.
166 whose temperament or circumstances
166 by age, by infirmities, or by reverses of fortune
167 in your estimation; or your lover leaves you,
168 establish morality, or the duties of man,
168 fortune or consideration
168 men who have seen God, or whom God has inspired
168 to extend the power or to increase the emoluments
168 what pleases or displeases
168 a sect, faction, or party,
170 to be unjust and wicked, or at least pardon for the evil
170 visibly weakened or destroyed
171 amiable or hateful
171 Do men need a God whom they do not know, or an invisible lawgiver, or a mysterious religion, or chimerical fears
171 estimable or contemptible
171 happy or unhappy
171 no matter how he came into this world, or what can be his fate in another,
171 of reward or of punishments
171 Whether there exists a God or not
171 whether this God has spoken or not
172 the interests of the human race, or directly opposed to man's nature.
173 Metaphysical speculations or the religious opinions of men
173 religion or respect
175 the erected gallows, or the example of a hanged man.
175 Unknown or distant
176 of pleasing society or of rendering themselves
176 the virtues or the qualities
177 of a festival, of a conversation, or of a visit
178 please or displease
178 pleased or displeased
178 the esteem or the censure
178 whose own conscience is in error, or whose interest extinguishes intelligence.
179 any greater or more injurious
180 Morality, or the science of moral duties
181 an adulterer, or a thief
181 men by their opinions, or opinions by men
181 the opinions of men by their conduct or their conduct by their opinions.
182 silly women or children.
182 the absence or the destruction
182 they grow old, trembling, or at least they live under burdensome uncertainty.
182 weak or timorous
183 They make a virtue of necessity.
184 whether we can or should love or not love God.
187 renounce religion through interest, or because it interferes with their irregular inclinations
188 a king or an emperor
188 contradictory or impossible
188 rare modesty or profound humility
188 the lord or the judge
188 to establish or to defend
189 sooner or later
191 invite or oblige
191 sooner or later
192 in sight of death or during sickness
192 more rare or more extraordinary
193 base enough to violate his word, or unjust enough to break his promises
194 the artisan or the man of the people
194 who do not attend to the public education, or who oppose the instruction of their subjects
195 an architect's designs, or a lawyer's pleadings
195 to write for the common man* or to attempt to cure his prejudices
196 sooner or later
198 subjects it to the caprices of the Gods, or of their ministers;
199 Obscure or false
200 adding or subtracting
200 frauds or idolatrous visionists
200 have disappeared, or, rather, they have changed
200 what suits or does not suit
201 supernatural causes, or, rather, causes truly occult;
203 cut off the limbs when they were too long, or stretched them by horses
204 free flight to their genius, perfect reason, or hasten human progress?
204 to think aloud or to combat
205 errors or discoveries
1 but a tissue of contradictions
1 but complains of his decrees.
1 but confound the minds of his subjects.
1 but for the good of his subjects
1 but he does not succeed in being glorified.
1 but he never shows himself;
1 but his foresight prevents nothing.
1 but his own glory
1 but his works are full of imperfection
1 but those who explain them are always quarreling
2 but darknes
2 but with things unseen.
4 but a chimera
4 but by the exercise of the senses
4 but it is impossible for men to have true ideas of a being
4 but pictures of objects which strike us.
5 But everybody tells us that the essence of God is incomprehensible to man
5 but religion concludes that man is criminal
5 But, in order to judge of the reality of these relations
6 but religion assures us that limited minds should never lose sight of this inconceivable being
7 but do you say that God is infinite?
13 but overgrown children
16 but this fundamental principle
19 but obscured it more and more
20 but has modern theology advanced
21 but an absence of ideas.
23 but the God of modern theology is a sterile being.
23 but to produce clouds, suspicions, reveries, follies, and quarrels.
25 But what is this God who has a will?
27 but displeasure;
28 But if we must adore a God without knowing Him
28 but fictions of one's own brain
29 but a being of human reason
29 but He did not create them omniscient:
29 but nothingness
34 but contributes often to increase our respect for their opinions.
36 But how many persons are there in this world
36 but permanent and invariable law;
36 but the necessary effects of different combinations of diversified substance.
38 but the least part;
39 but by the diversity
39 But the universe is a cause, not an effect;
41 but by the diversity of impressions
41 but by the motions which I experience
41 but it burns as soon as exposed to the air.
42 but since man exists in Nature, I do not believe it right to say that his formation is beyond the forces of Nature
42 But in the human machine
43 but by certain laws
43 but the necessary union of certain effects
44 But this order is only a result of motions necessarily
45 But in this case you admit that your God is the author of disorder;
46 But in this case, how can men judge of these views
47 but having wished to retain its brilliant light, the poet saw only his own face.
49 But by these intentions has not God visibly
49 but from the comparison of his own excellence with that of others
49 but his own kind that God proposed
50 but for them, and that a fastidious monarch had had as his only object to lodge them superbly?
50 But according to theology, man in his relation to God
50 but occupy itself with the attributes and views of Divinity
51 but to render man happy.
51 But, in a world created expressly for him and governed by an all-mighty God
52 But how can we place confidence in a malicious Providence
52 But, as soon as we look around, we find that God provides for nothing.
53 but kindness, wisdom, and foresight;
54 but by its effects
54 but by the means which he employs to accomplish his proposed design.
54 But the logic of Theology destroys all this.
55 But what is it that occasions the continual instability
56 but destiny or necessity personified
56 but what it can be; all sentient beings enjoy and suffer
56 but a very few things to please me?
57 but a pass-way
57 but manifested their desire to live again
59 But we will answer, that the world necessarily having great defects
59 but your God is not.
60 but would be by His own nature obliged
61 But goodness which takes the place of the most terrible cruelty, is not infinite kindness.
61 But why are men culpable?
62 but as a monster of nonsense, injustice, malice, and atrocity.
62 but liable to keep us in anxiety and trouble
62 but stones or plants
62 but who would reward splendidly the small number
63 but a cowardly and inordinate fear of Divinity,
63 but an enemy, has no confidence in Him
63 But does not all religion in reality give us these same ideas of God
63 but upon a few
64 but on the beautiful side, the superstitious man
64 but both are equally delirious.
65 but in profile; it is impossible to love a being,
66 but any sentient being whatever
66 but cruelty merits the greater indignation when we consider
66 but is moved and revolts at the recital alone
66 but the most cruel barbarity
66 but the blindest ambition which could have created the dogma of eternal damnation
67 but destroy with one hand that which it builds with the other.
67 but as soon as they expose His conduct,
67 but imprudence, want of foresight, weakness, and folly.
68 But if the choicest work of Divinity is imperfect
71 but as adversaries, against whom He could exercise His power.
71 but in doing Himself injury;
72 But who has made men?
73 but God, enjoying the faculty of foresight and the power
73 But this foresight can scarcely belong to His glory
74 but his nature became corrupted in consequence of sin.
75 but to have them as comrades of his misery in Hell
75 but unfortunately the devil, being invented to remove all suspicion
76 but all of them have not sinned;
76 but by the right of might.
76 But if God could not render him sinless,
76 But the right of the strongest
77 But according to you, when my eternal happiness is involved,
77 But do you not see that by speaking in this manner,
77 but revolting ideas; unless it is pretended that he should
77 but through fear, a master whom they can not interrogate
77 but to explain the ways of Divinity
77 but with the hope of happiness that men submit
78 but with reason
79 but evil, for without Divine grace
79 but rarely from following their disordered appetites
79 but recompense Himself; in punishing man
80 but he is not master of his will or of his desires.
80 but are you really free
80 but has one the power
80 But if I consent to lose the wager?
80 But man, say you, can resist his desires; then he is free.
80 but then, he prefers a passing pain in the
80 but then, his resistance is necessary.
80 but a pure illusion.
80 but the necessary results of our wills and of our desires, which are never within our power.
80 But you will say, "I feel myself free."
81 but the man is not the master of his fear of the tiger
82 but it must necessarily be that truth undeceives
82 But you will say, why does not truth produce
86 but injustice and violence.
87 But do not theologians see that it is less offensive for God
88 But do you not see, that patience can not be suited to a being jus
89 but that His justice is not that of men!
89 But the right of the strongest is the violation of all rights
89 but in the eyes of a savage conqueror, who, in the intoxication of his fury
89 but what real benefit can result to a nation
90 But the kindness of a father to strangers does not give him the right to be unjust and cruel to his son.
91 but for the purpose of dragging out a life of pain,
92 but I warn you that he who has not the luck to throw the required number,
92 but one that wins
93 But, alas! how many mortals are really satisfied with their mode of existence?
93 but few who have not often wished to die.
93 But is not this existence continually troubled
93 But weak sovereign of this world
94 But do you know what your soul is?
94 but even eternal torments
94 but the assemblage of your organs, from which life results?
94 but these faculties which render you so proud,
95 but by physical impulsions, reason taking no part.
95 But the beasts, having more limited needs
96 but by the difference of his organization
96 but if the soul is such a simple substance
98 but also a delicious repast; he had
98 but blooming shores and trees filled with fruit.
98 but having arrived at their summit,
98 but to extend the hand to gather dates and other agreeable fruits
99 but he reasons as an atheist when the question of other animals is involved.
99 But in some climates this beautiful sun is most always obscured
99 but is this existence always a benefit?
99 but the benefactions of Heaven
99 but to quench your thirst;
100 But as soon as we ask what this soul is, they begin to stammer.
100 but a thing impossible.
100 but my body; that it is my body which feels
101 but by the means
101 But I rejoin
102 but a mass, incapable of producing any movements
102 But to say that this soul, which is unknown
103 but I will always ask, what is a spirit?
103 but if they are mysteries, you understand nothing about them.
103 But if this is true, how came your soul into existence?
105 but the most simple movements of our bodies
105 But will the human race be more honored when
107 but deceitful, ambitious, and corrupt, the legislators found
107 But is it true that this dogma renders men wiser and more virtuous
108 but an evil for the imagination
108 but blind enthusiasm
108 but few
108 but to His favorites*, and who permits all the others
108 But what will become of me? you ask!
108 But, if Paradise is tempting, you will admit, also, that Hell is frightful.
108 But, it will be said,
109 but a single quality to Divinity,
109 But if we wish to analyze
109 but the effect of a rooted habit,
110 but a system imagined for the purpose of reconciling irreconcilable ideas.
110 but very difficult to eradicate.
110 but an unfaithful guide,
110 but impossibilities, we are told that we are not made
111 but a contradiction a palpable absurdity
112 but in the small number of those whose imagination is regulated by study and by reflection.
112 but in an enigmatical and mysterious way in the various religions which have been founded
112 but to announce mysteries,
112 but to confound reason.
113 but by enigmas
116 but a tissue of impertinent dreams and impostures injurious to Divinity.
116 but absurdities in his religion
118 But I will tell him,
118 but imperfect and wretched works
118 but they have not the courage to seek for the source
118 but unfortunate ones
118 but a long line of idle fancies
119 But can the belief of all men change an error into truth?
119 but the most sensible people feel obliged
120 but following one's own caprice;
120 but a great savage, whom you consider as a model
120 but follies of old times
120 but force; it is being cruel to excess
121 but children in the matter of religion!
122 but do they agree upon this God?
122 but in his own brain?
122 but is a sign of uncertainty and obscurity.
123 but a comfortable cushion.
123 but a state of indecision which results from a superficial examination of subjects
123 but at the bottom, this uncertainty is the result
123 but a disagreeable state, and offers
123 but do not these priests themselves acknowledge that God is incomprehensible to them?
123 but idle and lazy men, who are incapable of examining them.
123 but the effect of a superficial examination of theological principles,
124 but very onerous to the rest of mankind.
124 but whimsical ordinances, ridiculous precepts,
125 but that He employed always the organism of a few favored persons,
126 But was it not much easier to show Himself, and to explain for Himself?
126 But, you will say, these miracles are recorded in books which through constant tradition
129 but in accordance with the views of this same God
129 but in order to perform a miracle
129 but perfect laws, who can change nothing in them
129 but to wish, in order to make them believe all He desires.
129 But what is a miracle?
129 But, according to you, who has made these laws?
132 but a religion which boasts of having caused the death
133 but in truth this disinterestedness is only apparent.
133 but that religious fanaticism is often stronger
134 but by declaring ourselves the enemy of reason and common sense?
134 But do you not pretend that human wisdom is a gift from Heaven?
134 but folly in His eyes, and that He wishes to confound it,
134 but the friend of unenlightened people,
135 but a blind submission to those priests whose authority,
135 but as a snare, in order to lead me to perdition.
135 but experience, which is only the repeated application of the senses
135 but on the other hand, I know that they do not deceive me always.
135 But to challenge reason as a judge of faith, is it not acknowledging that reason
136 but imagination, or act by chance.
136 but our reason,
136 but the knowledge of the useful and the true
136 but useless gifts,
136 but what motives can we have for sacrificing our reason
137 but chaos, to penetrate which, they judge impossible.
137 but which they place in their archives in case they need them.
138 But, among the many religions in the world,
139 but the religion of the prince;
139 but little interest in the religion of men, or that He declares Himself always in favor of opinions
139 but we can hope to cure of their follies
140 But this firm assurance, is it not a punishable presumption in the eyes of a severe God
141 but confused ideas of their God;
141 but little by it, and he keeps on his road.
142 but floating ideas.
143 But does the fear of a more powerful master
143 But does this terror render them more equitable,
143 but to brutalize their slaves,
143 but to lull to sleep the people in fetters
143 but too well imitated by His representatives upon the earth.
143 But, in good faith, can we admire the marvelous effects which the fear of this God
144 but the latter maintained their pretensions notwithstanding all treaties.
144 but to God, the priests
144 but to themselves; there is reason to believe
145 but if we reflect a moment, we will see without trouble
145 but increased the evils of the human race
145 but of the non-existence of a Providence interested in the fate of the human race?
145 but to be toys for the passions and follies of His representatives upon earth.
145 but too often forms licentious, immoral tyrants,
146 but by showing their chiefs that its principles would favor despotism
146 but to exalt princes above their nations,
147 but enrich their priests; the gods of Heaven
147 but from God, and are responsible to Him alone for the misuse of it;
147 but inefficient and futile means of lessening their troubles
147 but too often the immediate and permanent causes
148 but an instrument intended to keep the people more firmly under the yoke
148 but oppress his subjects, rob them of the fruits of their labor,
148 but your people whom you offend when you do evil.
150 but an insane man who injures himself?
150 but in behalf of his interests.
150 But it is vain that the tyrant, protected by the shield of religion
151 but his caprice, [TL] a nation must become necessarily depraved
152 but miserable slaves;
152 but to the priests; that it is useless to society,
152 but with the interests of his pride, his cupidity,
153 but little influence upon their conduct.
153 but with the interests of his pride, his cupidity, his despotic and vindictive mood;
155 but abject, angry, quarrelsome, intolerant slaves.
155 but charity, harmony, and peace
155 but slaves, and slaves are cowardly, low, cruel,
156 but an inferior sovereign, whose cares and kindness extend themselves
156 but over a small number of His subjects who pretend
156 but that of the sovereign and the armies
156 but when we come to examine this Monarch of the world
157 But do you not claim that your God is full of kindness?
157 But such a conduct can not please the ministers of religion
157 But who guarantees that your priests are not deceived
159 but cover them with a cloak that sanctifies them;
159 but that they are the sad effect of men's passions.
160 but by obstinately closing the eyes to the evil which He causes,
160 but a God, or rather a fanatic, a misanthrope,
160 but a snare that God has maliciously laid in his path to entrap him?
160 but by a chief of brigands.
160 But does not this sublime morality tend to render virtue despicable?
160 But even this God can not be a model of goodness for us.
161 but by a small number of saints;
161 but it is practiced
161 But the austerity of a doctrine has a tendency to render
162 but a pride more refined than that of common men
162 but temptations, snares, and opportunities to go astray
163 But are not passions the very essence of man?
163 but inordinate inclinations
163 But you will say that man's nature is depraved.
164 but a God of mercy, the idea of whom quiets him.
164 but by half a dozen of obscure saints, fanatical
166 but for those whose temperament
166 but his affairs; the courtier of his intrigues
166 but those who do not wish to sin
167 but a child when he is weak enough to listen to prejudices
167 but is uprightness of heart always accompanied with intelligence?
169 but given a change to men;
169 but to sustain the interests of the Most High;
169 But very soon this enthusiasm, this supernatural taste for misery
169 but who put aside Christian charity as soon as they have the power to persecute in their turn.
169 but taught them to respect the property of their subjects
169 but their legitimate rights, we should not see such a great number of mendicants
169 but a very small portion of those whom they have rendered miserable
169 But would it not be more humane and more charitable
169 but which very rarely alleviates the sufferings of the poor.
170 But the interests of Heaven [SE] are evidently the interests o
171 but this law arises from the eternal and necessary relations
171 but to feel and to think, in order to discover that which is due to him and to others.
172 but by its conformity with man's nature.
174 but also enjoy the greater portion of society's benefits, and have the right to levy continual taxes upon their fellow-citizens.
174 but mysteries, hypotheses, ceremonies, subtle questions, interminable quarrels, which very often their States must pay for with their blood?
179 but who, being very often religious, do not cease to make humanity groan under the weight of their crimes?
179 but his writings will cause atheism in politics.
179 But no matter what we can suppose of the depravity of an atheist on a throne,
183 but on condition of giving Him our hearts;
185 but in their own brains?
186 but in a satisfactory way to theologians themselves.
191 But superstition, jealous of its exclusive empire,
191 but useless beings.
191 but to the clergy
193 But does the oath place us under stronger obligations to the engagements which we make?
194 but a few pusillanimous minds
194 but a vain attendance upon ceremonies
194 but entertain them with fables, phantoms, intrigues, observances, idle fancies, and false virtues
194 but they do not need an imaginary one; they need true and visible restraints;
195 but by routine; their priests alone occupy themselves
195 but for those who read and reason
195 but little, and reason less.
195 but which produces among them very dangerous ebullitions
196 but to trouble men without making them better.
196 but to tyrants, who do not understand the art of ruling
197 but diminish or annihilate the dangerous confidence
197 but a blind attachment to unknown opinions and mysterious dealings.
197 but let him not be allowed to annoy others
198 but obscure morality; renders its principles arbitrary,
198 but all is opposed to their being humane, reasonable, and virtuous.
198 but being in darkness itself
198 but with the care to keep the nations and their chiefs in the most profound ignorance
199 but waveringly, and instead of enlightening the mind,
199 but with its Gods and their incredible feats
200 but dressed in another form
200 but a reformed Judaism.
200 but an Egyptian schismatic
200 but we still find remarkable remains
201 but to discourage man,
202 But do we not see them act, feel, and think
202 but to perplex all our ideas
202 But why do you deprive the brutes of souls
202 But, at the bottom, what does this religion explain to us?
203 but they have for their money
204 but few votaries in a world still too much infatuated with fables
204 but in fear and trembling ****that the greatest men obtained glimpses of trut
204 but their doctrine found
204 But their systems, too simple, too sensible, and too stripped of wonders
205 But as soon as theology supposes itself concerned
205 but blind it, cause transports, and render it miserable
205 but imagination, and which presents to the mind
205 but words void of sense?
206 but in removing its clouds and phantoms
206 but multiply them and render them more durable.
206 But human blood has flowed since the time of Constantine
210 ifs
1 if any offend him
5 If God is incomprehensible to man
5 if he ceases for a moment to revere Him.
7 If God is infinite, no finite being can
7 If there are no duties between man and his God
8 If God is an infinite being
10 if he had nothing to fear.
12 If religion was clear, it would have fewer attractions for the ignorant
24 If some being bestowed upon men power
29 if He should punish an atheist for not knowing
29 If we are assured that God is infinite
30 if the most profound theologians lose themselves
30 If we examine these menaces calmly
32 if care had not been taken to give them one.
41 if it is not itself in motion.
41 if it was not moved of itself.
41 If one persists in caviling about the evidences which prove
43 if not to ignore the laws by which bodies
44 if we complain about disorder.
45 If God is everywhere, He is in me;
45 If God should change the ordinary course of things
45 if the order of Nature proves the power and the intelligence
45 If the order of the universe
49 If God by Himself is infinitely happy and is sufficient unto Himself
50 If God is infinite, He is created still less for man
50 if they pretended that the park of Versailles
50 if they should attempt to occupy themselves with his intentions,
52 If I examine all parts of this globe,
53 if He sometimes does good, He as often does harm.
53 If it is Divine Providence which governs the world
53 If we attempted to consider without prejudice
54 If you tell me that the designs of God are mysteries
55 If I think to see a God unchanging i
57 If God has not been able to render men happier
57 If God is as well-disposed as they assure us
57 if He can, and will not, He is guilty of malice which we can not attribute to Him;
57 If He wants to, without the power, He is impotent;
57 if He wishes to and can,
59 If God, who was, according to you, supremely happy
59 If his existence is not
59 If man's existence is necessary to His glor
60 if God does not make Himself agreeable to man,
60 If God is infinitely good,
60 If God owes nothing to His creatures,
61 If God is Almighty, does it cost Him any more to sa
64 If the Theist sees God
64 If we take our ideas of God from the nature of the things
65 If I take my ideas of God from theology
66 If there exists a God who could be offended
67 If all religion is founded upon a God who becomes angry
71 If the thing was real
72 If He had not made men as they are
72 If man has the power to do wrong
73 If God had the foresight of the future
73 If He resolved in His decrees to allow this fall
73 If the Divine foresight of the sin of His creatures
74 If man could sin, when just leaving the hands of God,
75 If men would cease to be tempted and to sin
76 If God could create angels who have not sinned
76 if God Himself was not able to render human nature sinless
76 if He punished men for not having a portion of the Divine perfections
76 If it is true that God intends to form in Heaven
76 if it were composed of all the men to whom
76 If some men are
76 If the chosen ones [TL] are incapable of sinning
77 If by chance you know the plan of God,
77 If God's conduct is a mystery to me, it is not made for me.
77 If you are as ignorant as we,
78 If the good God treats thus those whom He love
79 if He has made man, would not punish him
79 if man's nature, abandoned to itself
79 if, instead of blaming himself for the harm which would have
80 if he would
80 If I make the wager
80 If I were born of idolatrous
81 if men are not free
81 If the actions of men are necessary
81 If the wicked act from the impulse of their corrupt nature,
82 if errors, opinions, and ideas of men are fated
82 If everything is necessary
83 If for its own interests society loves
84 if there existed a God,
84 If they lose these qualities,
85 if all that happens to him is a result of the Divine will,
85 if all the events which he experiences are the effects of Divine decrees,
85 if God can not lose sight of His creature for an instant,
85 If God created man of nothing,
85 If God did not save him in the moment when he sins, how could man sin?
85 If God preserves him, God, therefore, forces him to live in order to sin.
85 if he can not do any good without assistance from above
85 if man is nothing of himself,
85 if the preservation of man is a continual creation,
85 If theologians were not constantly contradicting
86 If God in His empire has rebellious subjects
86 If the sins of men
86 if these springs do not contribute to the harmony
87 if he were consistent, ought never to pray;
87 If the optimist, by his system,
88 if leaving His eternal justice to sleep for a time
89 if we see by their means any advantage
93 if it depended upon them, would wish to begin
93 If life has its sweets,
97 if they should pretend that man was made for them?
99 If these seas bring me spices, riches, and useless things,
100 If the soul is a substance essentially different from the body
101 If I ask what ground we have for supposing that the soul is immortal
101 if you desire anything very much
103 If you do not understand anything about them
107 if it should be a fiction, it is advantageous
107 if men believe that everything is to perish with the body
107 If the future is of no real utility to the human race
107 If those who are charged to instruct and to govern men had themselves
108 If this should be an illusion, is it not a sweet and agreeable one?
111 If I examine the thing closely, I discover very soon
111 If religion was comprehensible,
115 If religion was necessary to all men, it ought to be intelligible to all men.
115 If this religion was the most important thing for them,
118 if He has the shadow of justice
118 If man is free, it is God
118 If man is not free to act
120 If the ancient barbarians have worshiped mountains
120 if the wise Egyptians worshiped crocodiles
122 if he believes in God.
122 if they speak of God?
124 If He condescends to show Himself to some men
126 if I have the curiosity to examine these miracles
126 if I suspect deceit, ambition, selfish designs in the great personages
126 if they could attest the miracles in question
126 If, in the economy of all Divine revelations
127 if it is true that He is a Spirit
130 If there exists a defective and ridiculous circle
131 if it is true that Judaism as a religion really emanated from
132 If history informs me that the first apostles
132 if I am told that the performers of miracles
133 if he has the good fortune to retail his commodity,
135 If men can be dupes of their imagination,
135 If my senses are faithless guides,
135 if their senses are deceivers,
135 If, as you pretend, my reason comes from God,
137 If the question arises in the purchase of land,
139 if their ancestors had not repulsed the efforts of the Saracens.
139 If we judge of the intentions of Providence
140 If the most devoted Christians could be consistent
142 if they did not believe anything about it.
143 if we judge it by its duplicates?
144 If you take away from the sovereigns the fear of an invisible power
145 If there existed a good God, would we not be forced to admi
146 If the ministers of the Church
146 If the ministers of this religion
146 If we read history with some attention, we shall see that Christianity,
147 If disturbed Nature sometimes causes the people to feel its blows
148 if, in order to expiate so many crimes
150 If religious opinions are useful to tyrants,
151 if he was responsible to nobody
151 If the sacerdotal flatteries succeed in perverting princes
155 If God allows men the freedom to damn themselves, is it your business?
155 If I am incredulous, is it possible for me to banish from my mind the reasons which have unsettled my faith?
155 if they should live on good terms with rebellious fellow-citizens.
158 If there is a question of religion, immediately the most civilized nations
158 if these things contribute to the advantage of religion,
159 if the wicked were deprived of a pretext so plausible for disturbing it!
160 if He gives life, He also causes death;
160 if He grants abundance, riches, prosperity
160 If He has, as we are assured, created everything for the use
160 If He is the author of all,
160 if He is the author of order
160 if He produces, He destroys;
160 if they had imagined, according to Plato, that virtue consisted in imitating the gods?
160 If we judge theological opinions by their effects,
160 if we should imitate this God!
162 if each one should be fool enough to wish to be a saint?
162 if it were not impracticable, would sever all the ties of society.
162 If the saints who live in solitude are useless
163 if it is true that the Devil still holds the empire
163 If this nature became corrupted, why did not this God repair it?
164 If we examine ever so little the moral
164 If, closing our eyes upon all that transpires in this world,
165 if His anger alarms a few timid souls,
165 if it restrains any, it encourages the great number to commit evil.
165 if the judgments of God frighten a few faint-hearted devotee
167 if they do not practice religion, they promise
169 if he does not think as they do?
169 if he is impious, heretical, and incredulous
169 If religion, instead of deifying princes, had but taught them
169 if the Lord can show indulgence to those who are in error?
169 If the sovereigns had more humanity, charity, and justice,
169 if you must love your neighbor
169 if you must tolerate opinions contrary
170 if they consent in reparation of their faults to divide
172 if we find it detrimental to the welfare of mankind.
`82 If weak or timorous, they wear the yoke during their whole life,
`82 If souls have courage and elasticity, they shake off a yoke which they bear unwillingly.
190 if, instead of occupying themselves with their vain quarrels, they had applied themselves to the useful sciences
190 if they had sought the true principles of physics, of government, and of morals.
192 If some unbelievers contradict
194 if religion does not control the great mass
194 If the people are gross and ignorant
195 if atheism can suit the multitude
195 If, by accident, the people should lose this unknown theology
196 If theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologians
197 If it is very difficult to cure the theologians of their mania
197 If the chiefs of nations [IS] were more just and more sensible
197 If theologians are foolish enough to dispute about subjects
197 If we should succeed in destroying their prejudices,
199 If the ministers of the Gods [IS] sometimes made useful discoveries
199 If we take the trouble to follow the history of the human mind
200 If we but look at history, we see striking resemblances in all religions.
202 If we would believe the adherents of religion
203 if, instead of occupying themselves with a useless theology
206 if it is impossible to close it, it is at least useful to give warning
6 perhaps
3 perhaps, we succeed in forming an imperfect and broken
66 perhaps the vanity to make parade of their power,
66 perhaps, that infinite offenses deserve infinite chastisements,
75 perhaps, that the devil is at least fully as useful as God to the ministers of religion. [IS]
123 Perhaps it would be more truthful to say that all men
22 eithers
18 either unintelligible or perfectly contradictory;
57 Either God wants to prevent evil, and can not, or He can and will not; or He neither can nor will, or He will and can.
57 either the indifference to the sufferings of others, or the infinite happiness
65 either liars or fools
66 either their own safety, the fury of revenge, the design to frighten by terrible examples, or perhaps the vanity
69 either angels or men
80 either upon opinions that he has formed, or upon his mental constitution?
88 either uncertainty, weakness, or collusion
109 either invent another God, or conclude that the one which,
113 either seeks to amuse himself by the embarrassment which he causes, or finds it to his advantage not to explain himself too clearly
118 either inflaming or nursing the imagination of men
123 either skeptics or atheists
124 either the same revelations as they, or the same ordinances, or the same favors from Heaven.
126 either the same people who established these religions, or those who have become their adherents and their assistants.
126 either the wisdom, the goodness, or the equity of a God
131 either defects in the law that God Himself gave by Moses, [2] or impotence [3] or malice in this God who [4] could not, [4a] or would not
139 either that the Deity takes but little interest in the religion of men, or that He declares Himself always in favor of opinions which best suit the Authorities of the earth
145 either in regard to their true duties or their real interests.
161 either the power or the grace.
164 either can not or does not
168 either fanatics, or scoundrels, or ambitious men,
170 either entirely unknown or imaginary.
8 neither in the actual world or in another
23 neither occupy any place,[2] nor move matter, [3] nor produce a visible world, [4] nor propagate either men or Gods.
26 neither length, breadth, nor thickness.
29 neither the power nor the wish
41 neither feel, see, distinguish, compare, nor judge the body, nor even occupy my thought
42 neither eyes,[2] nor feet,[3] nor hands,[4] nor head,[5] nor lungs,[6] nor mouth,[7] nor breath,
60 neither partial nor exclusive.
79 neither reward nor punishment;
80 neither the one nor the other
80 neither what he will wish, nor what he will do
83 neither merit nor virtue
84 neither our actions nor our prayers nor our sacrifices could suspend or change
92 neither foresee nor prevent
95 neither the same needs, nor the same desires, nor the same whims
99 neither opinions, prejudices, vanities, nor the weaknesses
118 neither punish him nor reward him
119 Neither general tradition nor the unanimous consent of all men could place any injunction upon truth.
120 neither the capacity nor the courage
122 neither what he thinks of Him, nor the motives which he has for believing in Him
127 has neither mouth nor tongue
131 neither could nor would
148 neither cruel nor favorable
152 neither great, nor powerful, nor beloved, nor respected,
181 neither their temperament, their interests, nor their habits
188 neither understand nor reconcile.
202 neither form, color, expansion, nor parts.
203 neither light, virtue, nor happiness
6 nors
57 if He neither can nor will,
66 can not be infinitely cruel, nor grant His creatures infinite existence
66 nor trouble His felicity,
73 nor spare Him the reproaches which men could
80 nor detest pleasure
151 no relations with his subjects, nor obligations in their behalf.
335 ors
1 understood or divined
2 doubtful or false
4 innate, or that men have this idea from the time of their birth.
7 have communication or any relation with Him
7 unites man with God or puts them in communication
10 physical or moral
14 more or less
15 to sleep, or to force
17 exists, or can exist
17 the existence or the possibility
18 of their conformity or of their incompatibility
19 more or less
24 dispute his existence, or refuse to recognize his influence
25 fables or visions
25 hands or arms
25 magical or impossible
25 more ridiculous or more difficult
26 designate the hidden forces of Nature; or, it is a mathematical point,
29 a multitude of deficiencies or absence of idea
29 to destroy Him for men, or at least render Him useless
30 madness or perversity
30 to doubt or to deny
33 true or false
35 the true from the false, or the left hand from the right.
39 impressions or movements
39 of its movements or of its ways of acting
41 be irritated or put into motion
41 dead or deprived of all energy
41 in a bottle or deprived of contact with the air
41 informed or assured
41 of bodies or of substances
41 of impressions or of effects
41 substances or bodies
41 to my eye, or which acts upon my retina.
41 to perceive or to feel
42 its effects, or of whom it
43 act, meet, combine, or separate.
43 organized or not organized,
43 together of atoms, or to attribute any effects
43 by accident or by hazard;
44 approve or disapprove
44 changed or disturbed
44 by causes or by circumstances
45 His existence might be doubted; or He might be accused at least of inconstancy
46 reason about these ideas, or admire this intelligence?
47 combination of man with God, or of this theanthropy
48 human qualities, virtues, or perfections.
52 from telling us of Final Causes, or who pretend to perceive clearl
54 many people believe it, or pretend to believe it
54 the phenomena of Nature, or the effects which we see
56 please or displease
57 If God could not or would not
57 Infinite or Divine
57 or why does He not prevent it
57 six or seven
57 the elect or chosen few
57 can or will
58 seen or unseen
59 more malice than goodness, or you must admit that God was compelled
59 must work, well or ill, or starve
59 Nothing or something.
59 useful or necessary
60 happiness or unhappiness
60 a compact or mutual agreement
65 filial or respectful
66 gratuitous or without
66 offended or blasphemed
69 did not succeed any better, or give stronger proofs
71 or, at least, how much embarrassment
72 moral evil or sin
72 to do wrong or to offend
73 necessary or forced
73 Or, at least, could He not have dispensed with creating beings
73 sooner or later
73 the effect of His foresight, or by a subsequent decree,
73 to happiness or to misery
74 Or rather, why did God create evil spirits,
74 over the good principle or over Divinity
75 the powerlessness or the awkwardness
76 bestow the same favor or give the same dispositions
76 men sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty
76 of chosen ones [TL], or of men
76 or for not being able to be Gods like Himself.
76 or render themselves agreeable to their God,
77 adore, admire, respect, or[4] imitate
77 is impossible to conceive, or of which he can not form
77 that they comprehend nothing of it, or that they see nothing in it Divine.
78 a wicked Genii or a Devil
78 of a cherished child or of a wife,
79 inclines him necessarily to evil, or renders him incapable of doing good,
80 correctly or incorrectly
80 ideas which we have received, or which our mind has formed.
80 idolatrous or Mohammedan
80 knows or believes
80 of his will or of his desires
80 or until he has weighed the consequence
80 right or wrong
80 such or such
80 the imagination or the temperament
80 the most useful or the most agreeable
80 to accept or not to accep
80 to be uncertain or to be assured
80 to desire or not to desire
80 to do or not to do
80 to do or not to do
80 to do or not to do
80 to do or not to do
80 to do or not to do
80 to know or not to know
80 to love or not to love
80 to will or not to will
80 true or false
80 true or false notions
80 whether or not he shall be born
80 would or would not
80 by objects or by qualities
82 congestion of the brain or lethargy
82 how or why
82 or render it useless
82 or which weaken the action
83 useless or dangerous
84 to alter or to oppose
85 could not have existed or can not live
87 The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world
87 to avert or to suppress
89 Of what kind, or of what nature
89 By a foolish simplicity, or rather by a plain contradiction
93 to exist or not to exist
94 weaker or less cunning
96 a horse or a dog
96 conformity or resemblance
96 More or less
96 of a Hottentot, or of a Laplander
96 of suppleness or of rigidity
96 The man without culture, experience, or reason
96 the vilest insects, or the most ferocious beasts
97 of ants, bees, or beavers?
99 abundance or famine
99 fortunate or unfortunate events
99 health or sickness
99 rewards or punishments
99 use or misuse
100 of its own mechanism or of its organization.
100 the hidden, or, rather, imaginary substance
101 be immortal, or to live forever.
101 enjoy or suffer
101 of enjoyment or of rigorous torments.
101 of the senses or of the material organs
101 the soul, or of this pretended spirit
102 agreeable or disagreeable
102 be happy or unhappy
102 circulation, respiration, digestion, speech, or reflection
102 more ridiculous or more absurd
102 of sorrow or joy
102 produce sensations or ideas
103 the highest folly or assumption
103 to believe or to affirm
104 spirits, occult causes, inexplicable agents, or rather words much more obscure
104 the object of our thoughts, or of what thinks in us
105 the secret impulsions of a spirit, or a certain something which animates him
105 to mind over matter, or to the soul over the body
105 with matter or the body
108 blind enthusiasm or folly
109 more evident or more clearly
109 this innate sense or this ill-founded persuasion
109 which astonish or excite
111 to theism or to deism,
112 believe in contradictions, in impossibilities, or in things
114 which truly emanated from Him, or what is the most agreeable form
115 that they are no better, or that they are just as sick
116 more impious or more unreasonable
116 to worship a man or to believe in the Trinity
117 could have prevented or made to disappear
117 more contradictory, more impossible, or more mysterious
118 is he free or not
118 to act or not to act
118 who does evil or who permits it
120 rejuvenated or presented
120 were visibly imagined by stupid nations,* or were presented by ambitious and cunning legislators
122 All that they think or say of Him
122 be silent or put an end
122 who have or can have
123 doubt his own existence, or that of the sun
123 laziness, weakness, indifference, or incapacity
123 less absurd or less impossible
123 or is but indifferent
123 to accept or to reject
123 upon the assurance or upon the probability
123 what to hope or fea
123 would appear very ridiculous, or would be suspected of reasoning in bad faith
124 the sublime reason or the wisdom
124 to [4a] penetrate His decrees, or [4b] to consult reason in order to judge of Him or [4c] His works.
124 what He is, or of what His essence consists
125 truly Divine, or superior to those which every rational man could imagine?
127 Who is wrong or right?
128 having been deceived themselves, or having reasons to deceive others.
128 who could not or would not
129 employ miracles to make His projects successful, or grant to His creatures
129 He ought to suspend or counteract them
129 the power to change or rectify
129 then defective, or at least in certain circumstances
130 from God or the Devil
130 to instruct us or to lay a snare
131 All religions, whether new, or ancient ones
131 whether natural or revealed
132 first apostles, founders or reformers
132 have been cruelly tormented or slain.
133 an ambitious man or a brigand
133 does not prove it true or Divine;
133 that they had the right to trouble society, or that they believed themselves authorized to do it.
133 the idea of glory or held to duty
133 the truth or the soundness
133 their principles or their own sincerity
135 capable of deceiving themselves, or very much interested in deceiving others.
135 improbable or opposed to reason.
135 than imagination, or than the authority of the guides
136 more or less
137 of land, of a house, of the investment of money, of a transaction, or of some kind of an agreement
137 surprise or imposition
139 Christian or Mohammedan Doctors
139 of a sect or of a religious faction
139 the bonzes or priests
139 the factions or sects
139 the mandarins or magistrates
139 to that of our country, or to that of the prince
139 by Providence, or by their victorious arms
140 of the love or of the hatred
140 who have never doubted the existence of a vindictive God, or the punishments of Hell, [IR] or the joys of Paradise.[IR]
141 entices them or leads them away
141 or if he does, he is troubled
141 Whenever ambition, fortune, or pleasure
143 of their caprices or of their ambition
143 the weight of their vices, or whom they sacrifice without mercy
143 to furnish their masters the facility of devouring them*, or to render them miserable with impunity.
144 their negligence or their perversity,
146 against real evils or known violences.
146 the Divine right of tyrants [IR TL] or usurpers over their native country.
147 who, in need of bread, put their hungry children to sleep by songs, or who present them toys to make them forget the want which torments them.
148 when they injure their subjects or when they neglect to render them happy.
149 of justice or of injustice
149 of true glory or of true greatness
149 One fanatical or deceitful priest
149 the happiness or the misery
152 of an honest man or of a compliant sovereign
152 or exert but little influence upon their conduct.
155 about His rights or His title,
155 cannibals or savages
155 of gaining the good-will or of escaping the punishments
155 of his credulity or incredulity,
155 of pleasing the Deity or of appeasing His wrath.
156 not hate, despise, or pity
157 that your priests are not deceived themselves or that they do not wish to deceive you?
160 He permits or sends famines, poverty, calamities, and wars.
160 the God of theism or of natural religion
160 which He causes, or permits
161 more or less
162 of any use to himself or to others
162 to disturb society by opinions or dreams
163 from that which can do him or others harm,
163 he judges injurious or fatal
163 love that which is, or that which he believes to b
163 who has not been able or willing to keep
165 would repel His worshipers, or cast them into despair.
166 men rarely think of God, or, at least, do not occupy themselves
166 those who do not wish to sin very much, or who are no longer in a condition to sin.
166 whose temperament or circumstances
166 by age, by infirmities, or by reverses of fortune
167 in your estimation; or your lover leaves you,
168 establish morality, or the duties of man,
168 fortune or consideration
168 men who have seen God, or whom God has inspired
168 to extend the power or to increase the emoluments
168 what pleases or displeases
168 a sect, faction, or party,
170 to be unjust and wicked, or at least pardon for the evil
170 visibly weakened or destroyed
171 amiable or hateful
171 Do men need a God whom they do not know, or an invisible lawgiver, or a mysterious religion, or chimerical fears
171 estimable or contemptible
171 happy or unhappy
171 no matter how he came into this world, or what can be his fate in another,
171 of reward or of punishments
171 Whether there exists a God or not
171 whether this God has spoken or not
172 the interests of the human race, or directly opposed to man's nature.
173 Metaphysical speculations or the religious opinions of men
173 religion or respect
175 the erected gallows, or the example of a hanged man.
175 Unknown or distant
176 of pleasing society or of rendering themselves
176 the virtues or the qualities
177 of a festival, of a conversation, or of a visit
178 please or displease
178 pleased or displeased
178 the esteem or the censure
178 whose own conscience is in error, or whose interest extinguishes intelligence.
179 any greater or more injurious
180 Morality, or the science of moral duties
181 an adulterer, or a thief
181 men by their opinions, or opinions by men
181 the opinions of men by their conduct or their conduct by their opinions.
182 silly women or children.
182 the absence or the destruction
182 they grow old, trembling, or at least they live under burdensome uncertainty.
182 weak or timorous
183 They make a virtue of necessity.
184 whether we can or should love or not love God.
187 renounce religion through interest, or because it interferes with their irregular inclinations
188 a king or an emperor
188 contradictory or impossible
188 rare modesty or profound humility
188 the lord or the judge
188 to establish or to defend
189 sooner or later
191 invite or oblige
191 sooner or later
192 in sight of death or during sickness
192 more rare or more extraordinary
193 base enough to violate his word, or unjust enough to break his promises
194 the artisan or the man of the people
194 who do not attend to the public education, or who oppose the instruction of their subjects
195 an architect's designs, or a lawyer's pleadings
195 to write for the common man* or to attempt to cure his prejudices
196 sooner or later
198 subjects it to the caprices of the Gods, or of their ministers;
199 Obscure or false
200 adding or subtracting
200 frauds or idolatrous visionists
200 have disappeared, or, rather, they have changed
200 what suits or does not suit
201 supernatural causes, or, rather, causes truly occult;
203 cut off the limbs when they were too long, or stretched them by horses
204 free flight to their genius, perfect reason, or hasten human progress?
204 to think aloud or to combat
205 errors or discoveries
dictionary
abhor tremble c. 1400, "to loathe, regard with repugnance, dislike intensely," literally "to shrink back with horror or dread," from Latin abhorrere "shrink back from, have an aversion for, shudder at," from ab "off, away from" (see ab-) + horrere "tremble at, shudder,"
absurd 8 occurances NA plainly illogical, 1550s, from French absurde (16c.), from Latin absurdus "out of tune, discordant;" figuratively "incongruous, foolish, silly, senseless," from ab- "off, away from," here perhaps an intensive prefix, + surdus "dull, deaf, mute,"
Absurdity 10 occurrences NA
abyss late 14c. in Latin form abyssus, "depths of the earth or sea; primordial chaos;" early 14c. as abime "depths of the earth or sea; bottomless pit, Hell" (from Old French). Both are from Late Latin abyssus "bottomless pit," from Greek abyssos (limne) "bottomless (pool)," from abyssos "bottomless, unfathomed," hence, generally, "enormous, unfathomable," also as a noun, he abyssos "the great depth, the underworld, the bottomless pit."
accuse fault peccata c. 1300, "charge (with an offense, fault, error, etc.), impugn, blame," from Old French acuser "to accuse, indict, reproach, blame" (13c., Modern French accuser), earlier "announce, report, disclose" (12c.), or directly from Latin accusare "to call to account, make complaint against, reproach, blame; bring to trial, prosecute, arraign indict," from ad causa, from ad "with regard to" (see ad-) + causa "a cause; a lawsuit".
acquit free libera mid-13c., aquiten, "repay, reciprocate, reward or retaliate for" (a good or bad deed); c. 1300 as "satisfy a debt; redeem (a pledge)," from Old French aquiter, acquiter "pay, pay up, settle a claim" (12c., Modern French acquitter), from a- "to" (see ad-) + quite "free, clear," from Medieval Latin quitus, quittus, from Latin quietus "free" (in Medieval Latin "free from war, debts, etc."), also "calm, resting". Also in part from Medieval Latin acquitare.
administration attend mid-14c., "act of giving or dispensing;" late 14c., "management (of a business, property, etc.), act of administering," from Latin administrationem (nominative administratio) "aid, help, cooperation; direction, management," noun of action from past-participle stem of administrare "to help, assist; manage, control, guide, superintend; rule, direct," from ad "to" (see ad-) + ministrare "to serve, attend, wait upon," from minister "inferior, servant, priest's assistant"
admire mirum late 16th century: from Latin admirari, from ad- ‘at’ + mirari ‘wonder’.
admit send NOT IN MASS late 14c., "let in," from Latin admittere "admit, give entrance, allow to enter; grant an audience," of acts, "let be done, allow, permit," from ad "to" (see ad-) + mittere "let go, send".
Advantage [noun] 15 occurrences NA early 14c., avantage, "position of being in advance of another," from Old French avantage "advantage, profit; superiority" (12c.), from avant "before," probably via an unrecorded Late or Medieval Latin *abantaticum, from Latin abante "from before," composed of ab "from" + ante "before, in front of, against".
Advantageous 6 occurrences NA 1590s, "furnishing advantages," formed in English from advantage + -ous, modeled on French avantageux (15c.).
affect move Latin affectus "disposition, mood, state of mind or body produced by some external influence."
afflict suffer person or persons in constant suffering of body or mind, 1650s, noun use of past-participle adjective from afflict.
agent motion late 15c., "one who acts," from Latin agentem (nominative agens) "effective, powerful," present participle of agere "to set in motion, drive forward; to do, perform; keep in movement"
air [noun] c. 1300, "invisible gases that surround the earth," from Old French air "atmosphere, breeze, weather" (12c.), from Latin aer "air, lower atmosphere, sky," from Greek aēr (genitive aeros) "mist, haze, clouds," later "atmosphere" (perhaps related to aenai "to blow, breathe"), which is of unknown origin.
all-mighty [almighty (adj.)] omnipotent Old English ælmihtig "all-powerful," also a by-name of God; compound of æl (see all) + mihtig (see mighty); common Germanic (cognates: Old Saxon alomahtig, Old High German alamahtic, German allmächtig, Old Norse almattigr), perhaps an early Germanic loan-translation of Latin omnipotens (see omnipotent).
almight [almighty (adj.)] omnipotent Old English ælmihtig "all-powerful," also a by-name of God; compound of æl (see all) + mihtig (see mighty); common Germanic (cognates: Old Saxon alomahtig, Old High German alamahtic, German allmächtig, Old Norse almattigr), perhaps an early Germanic loan-translation of Latin omnipotens (see omnipotent).
ancestor one from whom a person is descended, c. 1300, ancestre, antecessour, from Old French ancestre, ancessor "ancestor, forebear, forefather" (12c., Modern French ancêtre), from Late Latin antecessor "predecessor," literally "fore-goer," agent noun from past participle stem of Latin antecedere "to precede," from ante "before" + cedere "to go".
angel one of a class of spiritual beings, attendants and messengers of God, a c. 1300 fusion of Old English engel (with hard -g-) and Old French angele. Both are from Late Latin angelus, from Greek angelos, literally "messenger, envoy, one that announces,".
animate 1530s, "to fill with boldness or courage," from Latin animatus past participle of animare "give breath to," also "to endow with a particular spirit, to give courage to, enliven," from anima "life, breath"
annihilate late Middle English (originally as an adjective meaning ‘destroyed, annulled’): from late Latin annihilatus ‘reduced to nothing’, from the verb annihilare, from ad- ‘to’ + nihil ‘nothing’.
annul nothing nil late 14c., "invalidate, make void, nullify;" from Anglo-French and Old French anuler "cancel, wipe out" (13c.) or directly from Late Latin annullare "to make to nothing," from Latin ad "to" + nullum, neuter of nullus "nothing, none,"
antique NA 1530s, "aged, venerable;" 1540s, "having existed in ancient times," from French antique "old" (14c.), from Latin antiquus (later anticus) "ancient, former, of olden times; old, long in existence, aged; venerable; old-fashioned,"
apostle send Old English apostol "messenger," especially the twelve witnesses sent forth by Jesus to preach his Gospel (Luke vi.13), from Late Latin apostolus, from Greek apostolos "messenger, envoy," literally "person sent forth," from apostellein "send away, send forth," from apo "off, away from" + stellein in its secondary sense of "to send,"
appear appear apparebit late 13c., "come into view," from stem of Old French aparoir, aperer "appear, come to light, come forth" (12c., Modern French apparoir), from Latin apparere "to appear, come in sight, make an appearance," from ad "to" + parere "to come forth, be visible; submit, obey," which is of uncertain origin.
arbiter judge judex late 14c., "person who has power of judging absolutely according to his own pleasure in a dispute or issue," from Old French arbitre "arbiter, judge" (13c.) and directly from Latin arbiter "one who goes somewhere (as witness or judge)," in classical Latin used of spectators and eye-witnesses; specifically in law, "he who hears and decides a case, a judge, umpire, mediator;" from ad "to" + baetere "to come, go," a word of unknown etymology.
archangel an angel of the highest order, late 12c., from Old French archangel (12c.) or directly from Late Latin archangelus, from New Testament Greek arkhangelos "chief angel," from arkh- "chief, first" + angelos.
archives written records c. 1600, "records or documents preserved as evidence," from French archif (16c., Modern French archives), from Late Latin archivum (plural archiva) "written records," also the place where they are kept, from Greek ta arkheia "public records," plural of arkheion "town hall, public building," from arkhē "government," literally "beginning, origin, first place".
ardent fire igne early 14c., of alcoholic distillates, brandy (ardent spirits), etc., from Old French ardant "burning, hot; zealous" (13c.), from Latin ardentem (nominative ardens) "glowing, fiery, hot, ablaze,", present participle of ardere "to burn,"
arrogant ask rogaturus disposed to give oneself undue importance, aggressively haughty, late 14c., from Old French arrogant (14c.), from Latin arrogantem (nominative arrogans) "assuming, overbearing, insolent," present participle of arrogare "to claim for oneself, assume," from ad "to" + rogare "to ask, entreat, request,"
arrogate ask rogatorus claim or demand presumptuously, 1530s, from Latin arrogatus, past participle of arrogare "to claim for oneself," from assimilated form of ad "to" + rogare "to ask, to propose (a law, a candidate); to ask a favor, entreat, request,"
astonish stupify stupebit early 16th century (as astonished, in the sense ‘stunned, bewildered, dismayed’): from obsolete astone ‘stun, stupefy’, from Old French estoner, based on Latin ex- ‘out’ + tonare ‘to thunder’.
Assure [verb] securus late 14c., "reassure, give confidence to; make secure or safe, protect; bind by a pledge, give a promise or pledge (to do something)," from Old French asseurer "to reassure, calm, protect, to render sure" (12c., Modern French assurer), from Vulgar Latin *assecurar, from assimilated form of Latin ad "to" + securus "safe, secure".
author father;creator Pater mid-14c., auctor, autour, autor "father, creator, one who brings about, one who makes or creates" someone or something, from Old French auctor, acteor "author, originator, creator, instigator" (12c., Modern French auteur) and directly from Latin auctor "promoter, producer, father, progenitor; builder, founder; trustworthy writer, authority; historian; performer, doer; responsible person, teacher," literally "one who causes to grow," agent noun from auctus, past participle of augere "to increase,"
belief late 12c., bileave, "confidence reposed in a person or thing; faith in a religion," replacing Old English geleafa "belief, faith," from West Germanic *ga-laubon "to hold dear, esteem, trust" (source also of Old Saxon gilobo, Middle Dutch gelove, Old High German giloubo, German Glaube), from *galaub- "dear, esteemed,"
benevolence good benedictus c. 1400, "disposition to do good," from Old French benivolence (Modern French bienveillance) and directly from Latin benevolentia "good feeling, good will, kindness," from bene "well" (see bene-) + volentem (nominative volens) present participle of velle "to wish" .
benighted dark obscurum 1550s, "to be overtaken by darkness;" 1630s, "to involve with darkness," from be- + night.
bind [verb] vinculo Old English bindan "to tie up with bonds" (literally and figuratively), also "to make captive; to cover with dressings and bandages" , from Proto-Germanic *bindanan (source also of Old Saxon bindan, Old Norse and Old Frisian binda, Old High German binten "to bind," German binden, Gothic bindan),
bird Old English bird, rare collateral form of bridd, originally "young bird, nestling" (the usual Old English for "bird" being fugol, for which see fowl (n.)),
bitterness grief Old English biternys "bitterness, grief;" see bitter + -ness.
blasphemous evil malo displaying blasphemy, irreverent to God or sacred things, early 15c., blasfemous, from Old French blasfemeus or directly from Late Latin blasphemus, from blasphemare "to blaspheme," from Greek blasphemein "to speak lightly or amiss of sacred things, to slander," from blasphemos "evil-speaking"
caprice [noun] goat 13 occurrences hoedis sudden change or start of the mind without apparent motive, 1660s, from French caprice "whim" (16c.), from Italian capriccio "whim," originally "a shivering," a word of uncertain origin. Some guesses from 19c. are that it is from capro "goat," with reference to frisking, from Latin capreolus "wild goat,".
Capricious [adjective] 6 occurrences hoedis 1590s, "humorous;" c. 1600, "apt to change the mind suddenly, fickle," from French capricieux "whimsical" (16c.), from Italian capriccioso, from capriccio.
catastrophe mid 16th century (in the sense ‘denouement’): from Latin catastropha, from Greek katastrophē ‘overturning, sudden turn’, from kata- ‘down’ + strophē ‘turning’.
catholic [adjective] universal mid-14c., "of the doctrines of the ancient Church" (before the East/West schism), literally "universally accepted," from French catholique, from Church Latin catholicus "universal, general," from Greek katholikos, from phrase kath' holou "on the whole, in general," from kata "about" + genitive of holos "whole"
cause cause causa late 14c., "produce an effect," also "impel, compel," from Old French causer "to cause" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin causare, from Latin causa "a cause; a reason; interest; judicial process, lawsuit," which is of unknown origin.
certain na c. 1300, "determined, fixed," from Old French certain "reliable, sure, assured" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *certanus, extended form of Latin certus "determined, resolved, fixed, settled," of things whose qualities are invariable, "established," also "placed beyond doubt, sure, true, proved; unerring, to be depended upon" (also source of Old French cert,), originally a variant past participle of cernere "to distinguish, decide," literally "to sift, separate."
chain [noun] vinculo c. 1300, "connected series of links of metal or other material," from Old French chaeine "chain" (12c., Modern French chane), from Latin catena "chain", which is of unknown origin, perhaps from a PIE root *kat- "to twist, twine" (source also of Latin cassis "hunting net, snare").
changed Middle English: from Old French change (noun), changer (verb), from late Latin cambiare, from Latin cambire ‘barter’, probably of Celtic origin.
charity late Old English, "benevolence for the poor," also "Christian love in its highest manifestation," from Old French charité "(Christian) charity, mercy, compassion; alms; charitable foundation" (12c.), from Latin caritatem (nominative caritas) "costliness; esteem, affection," from carus "dear, valued,"
charm Middle English (in the senses ‘incantation or magic spell’ and ‘to use spells’): from Old French charme (noun), charmer (verb), from Latin carmen ‘song, verse, incantation’.
chastise [verb] punish to inflict pain upon to punish and recall to duty, to punish for the purpose of correcting or reclaiming, c. 1300, chastisen, from Old French chastiier "to warn, advise, instruct; chastise, admonish; punish; dominate, tame" (12c., Modern French châtier), from Latin castigare "to set or keep right, to reprove, chasten, to punish," literally "to make pure".
child semini Old English cild "fetus, infant, unborn or newly born person," from Proto-Germanic *kiltham (source also of Gothic kilþei "womb," inkilþo "pregnant;" Danish kuld "children of the same marriage;" Old Swedish kulder "litter;" Old English cildhama "womb," lit. "child-home"); no certain cognates outside Germanic.
chimera [noun] goat 16 occurances hoedis fabulous monster of Greek mythology, late 14c., from Old French chimere or directly from Medieval Latin chimera, from Latin Chimaera, from Greek khimaira, name of a mythical fire-breathing creature; literally "year-old she-goat" (masc. khimaros), from kheima "winter season,"
Chimerical [adjective] goat 2 occurances hoedis "pertaining to or of the nature of a chimera;" hence "incapable of realization, preposterous," 1630s, from chimera + -ical.
Christ the Anointed, synonymous with and translating to Greek Hebrew mashiah (see messiah), a title given to Jesus of Nazareth; Old English crist, from Latin Christus, from Greek khristos "the anointed," noun use of verbal adjective of khriein "to rub, anoint".
cloud cloud nubibus The modern sense "rain-cloud, mass of evaporated water visible and suspended in the sky" is a metaphoric extension that begins to appear c. 1300 in southern texts, based on similarity of cumulus clouds and rock masses. The usual Old English word for "cloud" was weolcan (see welkin). In Middle English, skie also originally meant "cloud."
combustion burn action or process of burning, early 15c., from Old French combustion (13c.) and directly from Latin combustionem (nominative combustio) "a burning," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin comburere "to burn up, consume," from com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + *burere, based on a faulty separation of amburere "to burn around," which is properly ambi-urere, from urere "to burn, singe"
commodity benefit early 15c., "benefit, profit, welfare;" also "a convenient or useful product," from Old French commodit "benefit, profit" (15c.) and directly from Latin commoditatem (nominative commoditas) "fitness, adaptation, convenience, advantage," from commodus "proper, fit, appropriate, convenient, satisfactory," from com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + modus "measure, manner".
conceal hidden obscurum early 14c., concelen, "to keep close or secret, forbear to divulge," from Old French conceler "to hide, conceal, dissimulate," from Latin concelare "to hide," from con-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + celare "to hide" "to cover, conceal, save"). From early 15c. as "to hide or shield from observation."
conduct guide mid-15c., "action of guiding or leading, guide" (in sauf conducte), from Medieval Latin conductus, from past-participle stem of Latin conducere "to lead or bring together," from assimilated form of com "with, together"
consider examine late 14c., "to fix the mind upon for careful examination, meditate upon," also "view attentively, scrutinize; not to be negligent of," from Old French considerer (13c.) "reflect on, consider, study," from Latin considerare "to look at closely, observe,".
consolation misery late 14c., "that which consoles;" c. 1400, "act of consoling, alleviation of misery or distress of mind, mitigation of grief or anxiety," from Old French consolacion "solace, comfort; delight, pleasure" (11c., Modern French consolation), from Latin consolationem (nominative consolatio) "a consoling, comfort,".
conspire late 14c., "aspire or plan maliciously, agree together to commit a criminal or reprehensible act," from Old French conspirer (14c.), from Latin conspirare "to agree, unite, plot," literally "to breathe together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" + spirare "to breathe",
consternation astonishment combined with terror, 1610s, from French consternation "dismay, confusion," from Latin consternationem (nominative consternatio) "confusion, dismay," noun of state from past-participle stem of consternare "overcome, confuse, dismay, perplex, terrify, alarm," which is probably related to consternere "throw down, prostrate," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + sternere "to spread out, lay down, stretch out".
contradiction dicturus late 14c., "objection, opposition; hostility, mutual opposition," also "absolute inconsistency," from Old French contradiction or directly from Late Latin contradictionem (nominative contradictio) "a reply, objection, counterargument," noun of action from past-participle stem of contradicere, in classical Latin contra dicere "to speak against, oppose in speech or opinion," from contra "against"+ dicere "to say, speak"
conversion turn mid-14c., originally of religion, "a radical and complete change in spirit, purpose, and direction of life away from sin and toward love of God," from Old French conversion "change, transformation, entry into religious life; way of life, behavior; dwelling, residence; sexual intercourse," from Latin conversionem (nominative conversio) "a turning round, revolving; alteration, change," noun of action from past-participle stem of convertere "to turn around; to transform," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + vertere "to turn".
corrupt destroy early 14c., "corrupted, debased in character," from Old French corropt "unhealthy, corrupt; uncouth" (of language) and directly from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpere "to destroy; spoil," figuratively "corrupt, seduce, bribe," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + rup-, past participle stem of rumpere "to break,".
creature creatura c. 1300, "anything created," hence "a thing" in general, animate or not, but most commonly "a living being," from Old French creature "created being; all creation" (Modern French créature), from Late Latin creatura "a thing created; the creation; a creature," from creatus, past participle of Latin creare "to make, bring forth, produce, beget,"
credulity early 15c., "faith, belief," from Old French credulité (12c.), from Latin credulitatem (nominative credulitas) "easiness of belief, rash confidence," noun of quality from credulus "that easily believes, trustful," from credere "to believe".
cruelty suffering c. 1200, cruelte, "indifference to, or pleasure taken in, the distress or suffering of any sentient being," from Old French crualté (12c., Modern French cruauté), from Latin crudelitatem (nominative crudelitas) "cruelty," from crudelis "rude, unfeeling; cruel, hard-hearted,". Meaning "a cruel act" is from late 14c.
damnation loss Middle English: via Old French from Latin dam(p)natio(n- ), from the verb dam(p)nare ‘inflict loss on’.Middle English: from Old French dam(p)ner, from Latin dam(p)nare ‘inflict loss on’, from damnum ‘loss, damage’.
dead mors Old English, "a dead person; the dead collectively, those who have died," noun use of dead (adj.).
defective revolt, fail mid-14c., "having a defect or flaw of any kind, inferior, in bad condition," from Old French défectif (14c.) and directly from Late Latin defectivus "imperfect," from defect-, past-participle stem of deficere "to desert, revolt, fail," from de "down, away" + combining form of facere "to do, make".
deliberate free libera early 15c., "done with careful consideration," from Latin deliberatus "resolved upon, determined," past participle of deliberare "consider carefully, consult," literally "weigh well," from de, here probably "entirely"+ -liberare, altered (probably by influence of liberare "to free, liberate") from librare "to balance, make level," from libra "pair of scales, a balance".
deliver [verb] c. 1200, deliveren, "save, rescue, set free, liberate," from Old French delivrer "to set free; remove; save, preserve; hand over (goods),", from Late Latin deliberare, from de "away" + Latin liberare "to free," from liber "free, unrestricted, unimpeded".
demonstrate wonder 1550s, "to point out, indicate, exhibit," a sense now obsolete, from Latin demonstratus, past participle of demonstrare "to point out, indicate, demonstrate," figuratively, "to prove, establish," from de- "entirely" + monstrare "to point out, show," from monstrum "divine omen, wonder".
deplorable weep lacrimosa 1610s, "that may or must be deplored, lamentable, grievous, miserable;" from 1640s as "pitiable, wretched, contemptible," 1610s, from -able + deplore (v.) "lament, bewail, give up as hopeless," from French déplorer (13c.), from Latin deplorare "bewail, lament, give up for lost," from de- "entirely" + plorare "weep, cry out," which is of unknown origin.
deprave corrupt late 14c., depraven, "corrupt, lead astray, pervert," from Old French depraver "to pervert; accuse" (14c.) and directly from Latin depravare "distort, disfigure;" figuratively "to pervert, seduce, corrupt," from de- "completely" + pravus "crooked," which is of unknown etymology.
despair hopeless spes c. 1300, despeir, "hopelessness, total loss of hope," from Anglo-French despeir, Old French despoir, from desperer.
destroy [verb] c. 1200, destruien, later destroien, "to overthrow, lay waste, ruin," from Old French destruire "destroy, ravage, lay waste" (12c., Modern French détruire), from Vulgar Latin *destrugere, refashioned (influenced by destructus), from Latin destruere "tear down, demolish," literally "un-build," from de "un-, down" + struere "to pile, build".
detestable witness teste abominable, very odious, early 15c., from Old French detestable (14c.) and from Latin detestabilis "execrable, abominable," from detestari "to curse, execrate, abominate, express abhorrence for," literally "denounce with one's testimony," from de "from, down"+ testari "be a witness," from testis "witness".
devastate destroy 1630s, "lay waste, ravage, make desolate," perhaps a back-formation from devastation. Apparently not common until 19c.; earlier verb form devast is attested from 1530s, from French devaster, from Latin devastare.
Devotion vow c. 1200, devocioun, "profound religious emotion, awe, reverence," from Old French devocion "devotion, piety" and directly from Latin devotionem (nominative devotio), noun of action from past-participle stem of devovere "dedicate by a vow, sacrifice oneself, promise solemnly," from de "down, away"+ vovere "to vow".
discourse examine discussio late 14c., "process of understanding, reasoning, thought," from French discours, from Latin discursus "a running about," in Late Latin "conversation,"
discover appear Middle English (in the sense ‘make known’): from Old French descovrir, from late Latin discooperire, from Latin dis- (expressing reversal) + cooperire ‘cover completely’.
disdain worth dignae mid-14c., desdeinen, "think unworthy or worthless, look upon with contempt," from Old French desdeignier "disdain, scorn, refuse, repudiate" (Modern French dédaigner), from des- "do the opposite of" + deignier "treat as worthy," from Latin dignari "to deem worthy or fit," from dignus "worthy,"
disembarrass free oneself of (a burden or nuisance).
dissolution destroy mid-14c., "frivolity, moral laxness, dissolute living;" late 14c., dissolucioun, "separation into parts, dispersal;" from Old French dissolution (12c.) and directly from Latin dissolutionem (nominative dissolutio) "a dissolving, destroying, interruption, dissolution," noun of action from past-participle stem of dissolvere "to loosen up, break apart".
dissolve late 14c. dissolven, "to break up, disunite, separate into parts" (transitive, of material substances), also "to liquefy by the disintegrating action of a fluid," also intransitive, "become fluid, be converted from a solid to a liquid state," from Latin dissolvere "to loosen up, break apart," from dis- "apart" + solvere "to loosen, untie,"
distinguish seperate 1560s, "recognize as different or distinct from what is contiguous or similar; perceive, make out," from French distinguiss-, stem of distinguer, or directly from Latin distinguere "to separate between, keep separate, mark off, distinguish," perhaps literally "separate by pricking," from assimilated form of dis- "apart"+ -stinguere "to prick" (compare extinguish and Latin instinguere "to incite, impel").
divine [adjective] God divus late 14c., "pertaining to, of the nature of, or proceeding from God or a god; addressed to God," from Old French divin, devin (12c.), from Latin divinus "of a god," from divus "of or belonging to a god, inspired, prophetic," related to deus "god, deity".
divinity God deus late Middle English: via Old French from Latin divinus, from divus ‘godlike’ (related to deus ‘god’).
dominate 1610s, "to rule over, control by mastery," a back-formation from domination or else from Latin dominatus, past participle of dominari "to rule, dominate, to govern," from dominus "lord, master," from domus "house".
dread fear late 12c., "to fear very much, be in shrinking apprehension or expectation of," a shortening of Old English adrædan, contraction of ondrædan "counsel or advise against," also "to dread, fear, be afraid," from ond-, and- "against" (the same first element in answer) + rædan "to advise".
earth terra Old English eorþe "ground, soil, dirt, dry land; country, district," also used (along with middangeard) for "the (material) world, the abode of man", from Proto-Germanic *ertho (source also of Old Frisian erthe "earth," Old Saxon ertha, Old Norse jörð, Middle Dutch eerde, Dutch aarde, Old High German erda, German Erde, Gothic airþa),
emanate [verb] 1680s, "to flow out," from Latin emanatus, past participle of emanare "flow out," figuratively "arise from, proceed from".
enchantment magic magna c. 1300, enchauntement, "act of magic or witchcraft; use of magic; magic power," from Old French encantement "magical spell; song, concert, chorus," from enchanter "bewitch, charm," from Latin incantare "enchant, cast a (magic) spell upon," from in- "upon, into"+ cantare "to sing".
endure suffer late 14c., "to undergo or suffer" (especially without breaking); also "to continue in existence," from Old French endurer (12c.) "make hard, harden; bear, tolerate; keep up, maintain," from Latin indurare "make hard," in Late Latin "harden (the heart) against".
energy mid 16th century (denoting force or vigor of expression): from French énergie, or via late Latin from Greek energeia, from en- ‘in, within’ + ergon ‘work’.
enigma mid 16th century: via Latin from Greek ainigma, from ainissesthai ‘speak allusively’, from ainos ‘fable’.
Enjoy gaudia late Middle English: from Old French enjoier ‘give joy to’ or enjoïr ‘enjoy’, both based on Latin gaudere ‘rejoice’.
equitable [adjective] equity
equity just conduct In law, "fairness in the adjustment of conflicting interests; the settlement of controversies by the dictates of good conscience" (natural equity), late 14c., from Roman naturalis aequitas, the general principles of justice which corrected or supplemented the legal codes.
eradicate annihilate early 15c., "destroy utterly," literally "pull up by the roots," from Latin eradicatus, past participle of eradicare "root out, extirpate, annihilate," from assimilated form of ex "out" + radix (genitive radicis) "root".
essence late Middle English: via Old French from Latin essentia, from esse ‘be’.
essential mid-14c., "that is such by its essence," from Late Latin essentialis, from essentia "being, essence," abstract noun formed (to translate Greek ousia "being, essence") from essent-, present participle stem of esse "to be,"
esteem worth (also steem, extyme), mid-14c., "account, value, worth," from French estime, from estimer.
eternal [adjective] aeternam late 14c., from Old French eternel "eternal," or directly from Late Latin aeternalis, from Latin aeternus "of an age, lasting, enduring, permanent, everlasting, endless," contraction of aeviternus "of great age," from aevum "age"
eternity late 14c., "quality of being eternal," from Old French eternité "eternity, perpetuity" (12c.), from Latin aeternitatem (nominative aeternitas), from aeternus "enduring, permanent," contraction of aeviternus "of great age," from aevum "age".
exalt NA c. 1400, "to give off vapor, flow out," from Old French exalter (10c.), from Latin exaltare "raise, elevate," from ex "out, out of, from within" (see ex-) + altus "high," literally "grown tall,"
examine motion c. 1300, "put (someone) to question in regard to knowledge, competence, or skill, inquire into qualifications or capabilities;" mid-14c., "inspect or survey (something) carefully, scrutinize, view or observe in all aspects with the purpose of forming a correct opinion or judgment," from Old French examiner "interrogate, question, torture," from Latin examinare "to test or try; consider, ponder," literally "to weigh," from examen "a means of weighing or testing," probably ultimately from exigere "demand, require, enforce," literally "to drive or force out," also "to finish, measure," from ex "out"+ agere "to set in motion, drive, drive forward; to do, perform"
execrable abominable, deserving of curses, late 14c., from Old French execrable and directly from Latin execrabilis/exsecrabilis "execrable, accursed," from execrari/exsecrari "to curse; to hate".
expiate pious pius pietatis act of making satisfaction or reparation for an offense, atonement, reparation, early 15c., expiacioun, from Latin expiationem (nominative expiatio) "satisfaction, atonement," noun of action from past-participle stem of expiare "make amends for, atone for; purge by sacrifice, make good," from ex- "completely" + piare "propitiate, appease," from pius "faithful, loyal, devout" (see pious).
expiation pius act of making satisfaction or reparation for an offense, atonement, reparation, early 15c., expiacioun, from Latin expiationem (nominative expiatio) "satisfaction, atonement," noun of action from past-participle stem of expiare "make amends for, atone for; purge by sacrifice, make good," from ex- "completely" + piare "propitiate, appease," from pius "faithful, loyal, devout" (see pious).
exterminate late Middle English (in the sense ‘drive out’): from Latin exterminat- ‘driven out’, from the verb exterminare, from ex- ‘out’ + terminus ‘boundary’. The sense ‘destroy’ (mid 16th century) comes from the Latin of the Vulgate.
extoll tollis also extoll, c. 1400, "to lift up," from Latin extollere "to place on high, raise, elevate," figuratively "to exalt, praise," from ex "up" + tollere "to raise,"
extravagant wander/roam 12 occurances NA late 14c., in constituciouns extravagaunt, a term in Canon Law for papal decrees not originally included or codified in the Decretals, from Medieval Latin extravagantem (nominative extravagans), present participle of extravagari "wander outside or beyond," from Latin extra "outside of" + vagari "wander, roam".
fable fabla, story; from fari ‘speak' c. 1300, "falsehood, fictitious narrative; a lie, pretense," from Old French fable "story, fable, tale; drama, play, fiction; lie, falsehood" (12c.), from Latin fabula "story, story with a lesson, tale, narrative, account; the common talk, news," literally "that which is told," from fari "speak, tell,"
fabulous fable early 15c., "mythical, legendary," from Latin fabulosus "celebrated in fable;" also "rich in myths," from fabula "story, tale".
faith fides mid-13c., faith, feith, fei, fai "faithfulness to a trust or promise; loyalty to a person; honesty, truthfulness," from Anglo-French and Old French feid, foi "faith, belief, trust, confidence; pledge" (11c.), from Latin fides "trust, faith, confidence, reliance, credence, belief," from root of fidere "to trust,"
faithful [adjective] fidelium early 14c., "sincerely religious, devout, pious," especially in reference to Christian practice; mid-14c., "loyal (to a lord, friend, spouse, etc.); true; honest, trustworthy," from faith + -ful. From late 14c. in reference to a tale, a report, etc., "accurate, reliable, true to the facts." The noun sense of "true believer, one who is full of faith" is from late 14c. (Church Latin used fideles in same sense).
fall [verb] cadant Old English feallan "to drop from a height; fail, decay, die," from Proto-Germanic *fallanan (source also of Old Frisian falla, Old Saxon fallan, Dutch vallen, Old Norse falla, Old High German fallan, German fallen, absent in Gothic).
fanaticism god Deus 1520s, "insane person," from Latin fanaticus "mad, enthusiastic, inspired by a god," also "furious, mad," originally, "pertaining to a temple," from fanum "temple, shrine, consecrated place," related to festus "festive".
fantastic make visible late 14c., "existing only in imagination, produced by (mental) fantasy," from Old French fantastique (14c.), from Medieval Latin fantasticus, from Late Latin phantasticus "imaginary," from Greek phantastikos "able to imagine," from phantazein "make visible" (middle voice phantazesthai "picture to oneself").
father father Pater Old English fæder "he who begets a child, nearest male ancestor;" also "any lineal male ancestor; the Supreme Being," and by late Old English, "one who exercises parental care over another," from Proto-Germanic *fader (source also of Old Saxon fadar, Old Frisian feder, Dutch vader, Old Norse faðir, Old High German fatar, German vater; in Gothic usually expressed by atta), from PIE *pəter- "father" (source also of Sanskrit pitar-, Greek pater, Latin pater, Old Persian pita, Old Irish athir "father"), presumably from baby-speak sound "pa."
fear Middle English fere, from Old English fær "calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack," from Proto-Germanic *feraz "danger" (source also of Old Saxon far "ambush," Old Norse far "harm, distress, deception," Dutch gevaar, German Gefahr "danger"),
fetter [noun] chain vinculo Old English fetor "chain or shackle by which a person or animal is bound by the feet," figuratively "check, restraint," from Proto-Germanic *fetero (source also of Old Saxon feteros (plural), Middle Dutch veter "fetter," in modern Dutch "lace, string," Old High German fezzera, Old Norse fiöturr, Swedish fjätter "fetter")
fire [noun] igne Old English fyr "fire, a fire," from Proto-Germanic *fūr- (source also of Old Saxon fiur, Old Frisian fiur, Old Norse fürr, Middle Dutch and Dutch vuur, Old High German fiur, German Feuer "fire"),
force Middle English: from Old French force (noun), forcer (verb), based on Latin fortis ‘strong’.
foresee Old English foreseon "have a premonition," from fore- "before" + seon "to see, see ahead". Perhaps modeled on Latin providere.
forever [adverb] late 14c., for ever; from for + ever.
formation create late 14c., "vital force in plants and animals;" early 15c., "act of creating or making," from Old French formacion "formation, fashioning, creation" (12c.) or directly from Latin formationem (nominative formatio) "a forming, shaping," noun of action or condition from past-participle stem of formare "to form," from forma "form, shape".
freely [adverb] Middle English frely, from Old English freolice "of one's own accord, readily;" see free (adj.) + -ly (2). Meaning "unstintedly; plentifully" is from c. 1300; that of "without constraint, under free conditions" is from 1590s. Similar formation in Middle Low German vrilike, Dutch vrijelijk "freely," German freilich "to be sure."
frighten [verb] strike with fear, terrify, 1660s, from fright (n.) + -en (1). Related: Frightened; frightening. The earlier verb was simply fright (v.).
gift [noun] mid-13c. "that which is given" (c. 1100 in surnames), from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse gift, gipt "gift; good luck," from Proto-Germanic *geftiz, from *geb- "to give,"
give [verb] Old English giefan (West Saxon) "to give, bestow, deliver to another; allot, grant; commit, devote, entrust," (past tense geaf, past participle giefen), from Proto-Germanic *geban.
glory [noun] c. 1200, gloire "the splendor of God or Christ; praise offered to God, worship," from Old French glorie "glory (of God); worldly honor, renown; splendor, magnificence, pomp" (11c., Modern French gloire), from Latin gloria "fame, renown, great praise or honor," a word of uncertain origin.
God Old English god "supreme being, deity; the Christian God; image of a god; godlike person," from Proto-Germanic *guthan, which is of uncertain origin; perhaps from PIE *ghut- "that which is invoked" (source also of Old Church Slavonic zovo "to call," Sanskrit huta- "invoked," an epithet of Indra), from root *gheu(e)- "to call, invoke." The notion could be "divine entity summoned to a sacrifice."
good [adjective] bonus Old English gōd (with a long "o") "excellent, fine; valuable; desirable, favorable, beneficial; full, entire, complete;" of abstractions, actions, etc., "beneficial, effective; righteous, pious;" of persons or souls, "righteous, pious, virtuous;" probably originally "having the right or desirable quality," from Proto-Germanic *gōda- "fitting, suitable" (source also of Old Frisian god, Old Saxon gōd, Old Norse goðr, Middle Dutch goed, Dutch goed, Old High German guot, German gut, Gothic goþs). A word of uncertain etymology, perhaps originally "fit, adequate, belonging together," from PIE root *ghedh- "to unite, be associated, suitable" (source also of Sanskrit gadh- "seize (booty)," Old Church Slavonic godu "favorable time," Russian godnyi "fit, suitable," Lithuanian goda "honor," Old English gædrian "to gather, to take up together").
grace late 12c., "God's unmerited favor, love, or help," from Old French grace "pardon, divine grace, mercy; favor, thanks; elegance, virtue" (12c., Modern French grâce), from Latin gratia "favor, esteem, regard; pleasing quality, good will, gratitude" ( in Church use translating Greek kharisma), from gratus "pleasing, agreeable"
grant [verb] in early use also graunt, early 13c., "to allow, permit (something); consent to (a prayer, request, etc.)," from Old French graanter, variant of creanter "assure, promise, guarantee, swear; confirm, authorize, approve (of)," from Latin credentem (nominative credens), present participle of credere "to believe, to trust". From c. 1300 as "transfer possession of in any formal way." Meaning "admit to be true, acknowledge" in English is from c. 1300; hence to take (something) for granted "regard as not requiring proof" (1610s).
gratify grace c. 1400, "to bestow grace upon;" 1530s, "to show gratitude to," from Latin gratificari "to do favor to, oblige, gratify," from gratus "pleasing" (from suffixed form of PIE root *gwere- (2) "to favor") + combining form of facere "to make, do, perform" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). Meaning "to give pleasure to" is from 1560s.
groan Ingemisco Old English grānian, of Germanic origin; related to German greinen ‘grizzle, whine’, grinsen ‘grin’, also probably to grin.
guide [verb] deducant late 14c., "to lead, direct, conduct," from Old French guider "to guide, lead, conduct" (14c.), earlier guier, from Frankish *witan "show the way" or a similar Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *witanan "to look after, guard, ascribe to, reproach" (source also of German weisen "to show, point out," Old English witan "to reproach," wite "fine, penalty"),
hand [noun] Old English hond, hand "the human hand;" also "side, part, direction" (in defining position, to either right or left); also "power, control, possession" , from Proto-Germanic *handuz, which is of uncertain origin.
happiness [noun] 42 occurrences NA 1520s, "good fortune," from happy + -ness. Meaning "pleasant and contented mental state" is from 1590s.
happy [adjective] 37 occurrences NA late 14c., "lucky, favored by fortune, being in advantageous circumstances, prosperous;" of events, "turning out well," from hap (n.) "chance, fortune" + -y (2). Sense of "very glad" first recorded late 14c. Meaning "greatly pleased and content" is from 1520s. Old English had eadig (from ead "wealth, riches") and gesælig, which has become silly. From Greek to Irish, a great majority of the European words for "happy" at first meant "lucky."
hidden obscurum past-participle adjective from hide (v.1); a Middle English formation (Old English had gehydd "hidden") on the model of ride/ridden, etc. As "secret, occult" from 1540s.
homage man homo from Latin homo (genitive hominis) "man"
hope [noun] spes late Old English hopa "confidence in the future," especially "God or Christ as a basis for hope," from hope (v.). From c. 1200 as "expectation of something desired;" also "trust, confidence; wishful desire;" late 14c. as "thing hoped for," also "grounds or basis for hope."
horrible Middle English: via Old French from Latin horribilis, from horrere ‘tremble, shudder’
idol image, phantom mid-13c., "image of a deity as an object of (pagan) worship," from Old French idole "idol, graven image, pagan god" (11c.), from Latin idolum "image (mental or physical), form," especially "apparition, ghost," but used in Church Latin for "false god, image of a pagan deity as an object of worship." This is from Greek eidolon "mental image, apparition, phantom," also "material image, statue," in Ecclesiastical Greek," a pagan idol," from eidos "form, shape; likeness, resemblance"
imagination represent mid-14c., ymaginacion, from Old French imaginacion "concept, mental picture; hallucination," from Latin imaginationem (nominative imaginatio) "imagination, a fancy," noun of action from past participle stem of imaginari "to form an image of, represent"), from imago "an image, a likeness," from stem of imitari "to copy, imitate".
immense great magna great beyond measure, early 15c., from Old French immense (mid-14c.), from Latin immensus "immeasurable, boundless," also used figuratively, from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" + mensus "measured," past participle of metiri "to measure".
immutable change late Middle English: from Latin immutabilis, from in- ‘not’ + mutabilis, late Middle English: from Latin mutabilis, from mutare ‘to change’
impenetrable cross/crucifixion crucis impossible to penetrate, mid-15c., from Old French impenetrable (14c.) or directly from Latin impenetrabilis "that cannot be penetrated," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + penetrabilis "penetrable"
impenetrable impossible to penetrate, mid-15c., from Old French impenetrable (14c.) or directly from Latin impenetrabilis "that cannot be penetrated," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" + penetrabilis "penetrable".
impious wicked 1590s, "irreligious, lacking reverence for God," from Latin impius "without reverence, irreverent, wicked; undutiful, unpatriotic," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" + pius.
impious [adjective] 1590s, "irreligious, lacking reverence for God," from Latin impius "without reverence, irreverent, wicked; undutiful, unpatriotic," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" + pius.
impunity [noun] punishment poenis 1530s, from French impunité (14c.) and directly from Latin impunitatem (nominative impunitas) "freedom from punishment, omission of punishment," also "rashness, inconsideration," from impunis "unpunished, without punishment," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" + poena "punishment".
innate [adjective] 5 occurances natura early 15c., "existing from birth," from Late Latin innatus "inborn, native, natural", past participle of innasci "to be born in, originate in," from in- "in” + nasci "to be born" (Old Latin gnasci).
incarnation flesh caro c. 1300, "embodiment of God in the person of Christ," from Old French incarnacion "the Incarnation" (12c.), from Late Latin incarnationem (nominative incarnatio), "act of being made flesh".
incense fire igne late 13c., "gum or other substance producing a sweet smell when burned," from Old French encens (12c.), from Late Latin incensum "burnt incense," literally "that which is burnt," noun use of neuter past participle of Latin incendere "set on fire"
Incessant [adjective] mid-15c., from Old French *incessant or directly from Late Latin incessantem (nominative incessans) "unceasing," from Latin in- "not" + cessans, present participle of cessare "to cease, go slow, give over, leave off, be idle," frequentative of cedere (past participle cessus) "go away, withdraw, yield".
indulgence mid-14c., in the Church sense, "a freeing from temporal punishment for sin, remission from punishment for sin that remains due after absolution," from Old French indulgence or directly from Latin indulgentia "complaisance, a yielding; fondness, tenderness, affection; remission," from indulgentem (nominative indulgens) "indulgent, kind, tender, fond," present participle of indulgere "be kind; yield, concede, be complaisant; give oneself up to, be addicted," a word of uncertain origin.
ineffaceable face vultus [Middle English effacen, from French effacer, from Old French esfacier : es-, out (from Latin ex-, ex-) + face, face; see face.]
inflict trouble 1560s, "assail, trouble;" 1590s, "lay or impose as something that must be suffered," from Latin inflictus, past participle of infligere "to strike or dash against; inflict," from in- "in" + fligere (past participle flictus) "to dash, strike" (see afflict).
inhabit live late 14c., from Old French enhabiter, enabiter "dwell in, live in, reside" (12c.), from Latin inhabitare "to dwell in," from in- "in" + habitare "to dwell," frequentative of habere "to hold, have".
inspire mid-14c., enspiren, "to fill (the mind, heart, etc., with grace, etc.);" also "to prompt or induce (someone to do something)," from Old French enspirer (13c.), from Latin inspirare "blow into, breathe upon,"
intelligible know scio late 14c., "able to understand, intelligent," from Latin intelligibilis, intellegibilis "that can understand; that can be understood," from intellegere "to understand, come to know".
interrogate ask 2 occurrences [both in Section 77] rogaturus late 15c., a back-formation from interrogation or else from Latin interrogatus, past participle of interrogare "to ask, question, inquire; interrogate judicially, cross-examine," from inter "between" + rogare "to ask, to question," apparently a figurative use of a PIE verb meaning literally "to stretch out (the hand)," from root *reg- "move in a straight line."
invent discover c. 1500, "to find, discover" (obsolete), a back-formation from invention or else from Latin inventus, past participle of invenire "to come upon; devise, discover."
inventor c. 1500, "a discoverer, one who finds out" (now obsolete), from Latin inventor (fem. inventrix, source of French inventeur (15c.) "contriver, author, discoverer, proposer, founder," agent noun from past-participle stem of invenire "to come upon, find; find out; invent, discover, devise; ascertain; acquire, get earn," from in- "in, on"+ venire "to come," from a suffixed form of PIE root *gwa- "to go, come."
Irreconcilable 2 occurrences NA
Jesus savior personal name of the Christian Savior, late 12c.; it is the Greek form of Joshua. From Late Latin Iesus (properly pronounced as three syllables), from Greek Iesous, which is an attempt to render into Greek the Aramaic (Semitic) proper name Jeshua (Hebrew Yeshua, Yoshua) "Jah is salvation."
Joy gaudia Middle English: from Old French joie, based on Latin gaudium, from gaudere ‘rejoice’
judge [noun] mid-14c., "public officer appointed to administer the law" (early 13c. as a surname), also judge-man; from Old French juge, from Latin iudex "one who declares the law", a compound of ius "right, law" + root of dicere "to say".
labor labor Middle English: from Old French labour (noun), labourer (verb), both from Latin labor ‘toil, trouble’.
Lazarus Biblical character (Luke xvi.20); his name was extended in medieval usage to "any poor and visibly diseased person" (compare lazar, mid-14c., "one deformed and nauseous with filthy and pestilential diseases" [Johnson]). The name is from a Greek rendition of Hebrew El'azar, literally "(he whom) God has helped."
lead [verb 1] deducant to guide, Old English lædan (transitive) "cause to go with oneself; march at the head of, go before as a guide, accompany and show the way; carry on; sprout forth, bring forth; pass (one's life)," causative of liðan "to travel," from Proto-Germanic *laidjanan,
liberty [noun] late 14c., "free choice, freedom to do as one chooses," also "freedom from the bondage of sin," from Old French liberte "freedom, liberty, free will" (14c., Modern French liberté), from Latin libertatem (nominative libertas) "civil or political freedom, condition of a free man; absence of restraint; permission," from liber "free".
lieutenant vicar late 14c., "one who takes the place of another," from Old French lieu tenant "substitute, deputy," literally "place holder" (14c.), from lieu "place" + tenant, present participle of tenir "to hold,".
light [noun] light lux brightness, radiant energy, that which makes things visible, Old English leht (Anglian), leoht (West Saxon), "light, daylight; spiritual illumination," from Proto-Germanic *leukhtam.
Lord [noun] mid-13c., laverd, loverd, from Old English hlaford "master of a household, ruler, feudal lord, superior; husband," also "God," translating Latin dominus, Greek kyrios in the New Testament. Old English hlaford is a contraction of earlier hlafweard, literally "one who guards the loaves," from hlaf "bread, loaf" + weard "keeper, guardian".
lugubrious mourn early 17th century: from Latin lugubris (from lugere ‘mourn’)
machine mid 16th century (originally denoting a structure): from French, via Latin from Doric Greek makhana (Greek mēkhanē, from mēkhos ‘contrivance’).
magical art of the Mage [Magus]; Magister, Master; akin to Dominus, Lord
magnificent mid-15c., "exalted, glorious, great in actions or deeds," from Old French magnificent, a back-formation from Latin magnificentior, comparative of magnificus "great, elevated, noble, distinguished," literally "doing great deeds," from magnus "great"
magnify late Middle English (in the senses ‘show honor to (God’) and ‘make greater’): from Old French magnifier or Latin magnificare, based on Latin magnus ‘great’.
malicious bad mid-13c., "harboring ill-will, enmity, or hostility," from Old French malicios "showing ill will, spiteful, wicked" (Modern French malicieux), from Latin malitiosus "wicked, malicious," from malitia "badness, ill will, spite," from malus "bad, unpleasant" (see mal-).
man man Old English man, mann "human being, person (male or female); brave man, hero;" also "servant, vassal, adult male considered as under the control of another person," from Proto-Germanic *mann-.
manifest appear mid 17th century: from Italian, from manifestare, from Latin, ‘make public’, from manifestus ‘obvious’.
marvelous wonderful c. 1300, merveillous, "causing wonder, of wonderful appearance or quality," from Old French merveillos "marvelous, wonderful" (Modern French merveilleux), from merveille;from Vulgar Latin *miribilia, altered from Latin mirabilia "wonderful things," from noun use of neuter plural of mirabilis "wonderful, marvelous, extraordinary; strange, singular," from mirari "to wonder at," from mirus "wonderful".
master lord dominus late Old English mægester "a man having control or authority over a place; a teacher or tutor of children," from Latin magister (n.) "chief, head, director, teacher" (source of Old French maistre, French maître), contrastive adjective ("he who is greater") from magis (adv.) "more".
matter c. 1200, materie, "the subject of a mental act or a course of thought, speech, or expression," from Anglo-French matere, Old French matere "subject, theme, topic; substance, content; character, education" (12c., Modern French matière) and directly from Latin materia "substance from which something is made," also "hard inner wood of a tree."
menace c. 1300, "declaration of hostile intent," also (early 14c.) "a threat or act of threatening," from Old French menace "menace, threat" (9c.), from Vulgar Latin minacia "threat, menace", singular of Latin minaciæ "threatening things," from minax (genitive minacis) "threatening," from minari "threaten; jut, project," from minæ "threats; projecting points,"
mercy [noun] late 12c., "God's forgiveness of his creatures' offenses," from Old French mercit, merci (9c.) "reward, gift; kindness, grace, pity," from Latin mercedem (nominative merces) "reward, wages, pay, hire" (in Vulgar Latin "favor, pity;" in Medieval Latin "thanks; grace"), from merx (genitive mercis) "wares, merchandise". In Church Latin (6c.) it was given a specific application to the heavenly reward earned by those who show kindness to the helpless and those from whom no requital can be expected.
merit Middle English (originally in the sense ‘deserved reward or punishment’): via Old French from Latin meritum ‘due reward’, from mereri ‘earn, deserve’.
minister servant c. 1300, "man consecrated to service in the Christian Church, an ecclesiastic;" also "an agent acting for a superior, one who acts upon the authority of another," from Old French menistre "servant, valet, member of a household staff, administrator, musician, minstrel" (12c.) and directly from Latin minister (genitive ministri) "inferior, servant, priest's assistant" (in Medieval Latin, "priest"), from minus, minor "less," hence "subordinate"
miracle mirum Middle English: via Old French from Latin miraculum ‘object of wonder’, from mirari ‘to wonder’, from mirus ‘wonderful’.
mischievous wretch early 14c., "unfortunate, disastrous, miserably, wretchedly," probably from mischief + -ous.
miserable suffer miser early 15c., "full of misery, causing wretchedness" (of conditions), from Old French miserable (14c.) and directly from Latin miserabilis "pitiable, miserable, deplorable, lamentable," from miserari "to pity, lament, deplore," from miser "wretched". Of persons, "existing in a state of want, suffering, wretchedness, etc.," it is attested from 1520s.
misery [noun] suffer miser late 14c., "state of grievous affliction, condition of external unhappiness," from Old French misere "miserable situation, misfortune, distress" (12c.), from Latin miseria "wretchedness," from miser "wretched, pitiable".
mission send 1590s, "a sending abroad" (as an agent), originally of Jesuits, from Latin missionem (nominative missio) "act of sending, a dispatching; a release, a setting at liberty; discharge from service, dismissal," noun of action from past-participle stem of mittere "to release, let go; send, throw".
mortal death mors late 14c., "deadly, destructive to life; causing or threatening death" (of illness, poisons, wounds, etc.); also, of persons or the body, "doomed to die, subject to death;" from Old French mortel "destined to die; deserving of death" and directly from Latin mortalis "subject to death, mortal, of a mortal, human," from mors (genitive mortis) "death."
motion movendi late Middle English: via Old French from Latin motio(n- ), from movere ‘to move’.
motive move late 14c., "something brought forward, a proposition, assertion, or argument" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French motif "will, drive, motivation," noun use of adjective, literally "moving," from Medieval Latin motivus "moving, impelling," from Latin motus "a moving, motion," past participle of movere "to move".
move move movendi late 13c., meven, from Anglo-French mover, Old French movoir "to move, get moving, set out; set in motion; introduce" (Modern French mouvoir), from Latin movere "move, set in motion; remove; disturb" (past participle motus, frequentative motare),
munificence liberal libera quality of giving or bestowing liberally or lavishly, early 15c., from Old French munificence, from Latin munificentia "bountifulness, liberality, generosity," from stem of munificus "generous, bountiful, liberal," literally "present-making," from munus "gift or service; function, task, duty, office"+ unstressed stem of facere "to do".
mystery early 14c., misterie, in a theological sense, "religious truth via divine revelation, hidden spiritual significance, mystical truth," from Anglo-French *misterie, Old French mistere "secret, mystery, hidden meaning" (Modern French mystère) and directly from Latin mysterium "secret rite, secret worship; a sacrament, a secret thing."
nature natura Middle English (denoting the physical power of a person): from Old French, from Latin natura ‘birth, nature, quality’, from nat- ‘born’, from the verb nasci
necessary 55 occurrences NA late Middle English: from Latin necessarius, from necesse ‘be needful’.
nothing nil no thing, not any thing, not something, Middle English, from Old English naþing, naðinc, from nan "not one" (see none) + þing "thing" (see thing). Meaning "insignificant thing, thing of no consequence" is from c. 1600. As an adverb, "not at all, in no degree," late Old English.
nothingness nonexistence, absence or negation of being, 1630s, from nothing + -ness.
notion idea late 14c., nocioun, "a general concept, conception," from Latin notionem (nominative notio) "concept, conception, idea, notice," noun of action from past participle stem of noscere "come to know".
oblige c. 1300, obligen, "to bind by oath, put under moral or legal obligation, devote," from Old French obligier "engage one's faith, commit (oneself), pledge" (13c.), from Latin obligare "to bind, bind up, bandage," figuratively "put under obligation," from ob "to" (see ob-) + ligare "to bind".
Oblivion obliviscaris late 14c., oblivioun, "state or fact of forgetting, forgetfulness, loss of memory," from Old French oblivion (13c.) and directly from Latin oblivionem (nominative oblivio) "forgetfulness; a being forgotten," from oblivisci (past participle oblitus) "forget," which is of uncertain origin.
obscure [adjective] hidden c. 1400, "dark," figuratively "morally unenlightened; gloomy," from Old French obscur, oscur "dark, clouded, gloomy; dim, not clear" (12c.) and directly from Latin obscurus "dark, dusky, shady," figuratively "unknown; unintelligible; hard to discern; from insignificant ancestors," from ob "over" + -scurus "covered".
occult [adjective] hidden 1530s, "secret, not divulged," from French occulte and directly from Latin occultus "hidden, concealed, secret," past participle of occulere "cover over, conceal," from assimilated form of ob "over" + a verb related to celare "to hide".
offend strike/sin early 14c., offenden, "to disobey or sin against (a person, human or divine)," a sense now obsolete, from Old French ofendre "hit, attack, injure; sin against; antagonize, excite to anger" and directly from Latin offendere "to hit, thrust, or strike against," figuratively "to stumble, commit a fault, displease, trespass against, provoke," from assimilated form of ob "in front of against" + -fendere "to strike".
omnipotence [noun] mid-15c., omnipotens, "unlimited divine power," from Old French omnipotence, from Late Latin omnipotentia "almighty power," from Latin omnipotentem (nominative omnipotens) "all-powerful, almighty," from omnis "all" + potens (genitive potentis) "powerful".
omnipotent [adjective] early 14c., "almighty, possessing infinite power," from Old French omnipotent "almighty, all-powerful" (11c.) and directly from Latin omnipotentem (nominative omnipotens) "all-powerful, almighty," from omnis "all" + potens (genitive potentis) "powerful".
operate work c. 1600, "to be in effect, perform or be at work, exert force or influence," a back-formation from operation (q.v.), or else from Latin operatus, past participle of operari "to work, labor, toil, take pains" (in Late Latin "to have effect, be active, cause").
pain poenis late 13c., peine, "the agony suffered by Christ;" c. 1300, "punishment," especially for a crime, "legal punishment of any sort" (including fines and monetary penalties); also "condition one feels when hurt, opposite of pleasure," including mental or emotional suffering, grief, distress; from Old French peine "difficulty, woe, suffering, punishment, Hell's torments" (11c.), from Latin poena "punishment, penalty, retribution, indemnification" (in Late Latin also "torment, hardship, suffering"), from Greek poinē "retribution, penalty, quit-money for spilled blood,"
pardon [verb] mid-15c., pardounen, "to forgive for offense or sin," from Old French pardoner and Medieval Latin perdonare.
passion suffering passus c. 1200, "the sufferings of Christ on the Cross; the death of Christ," from Old French passion "Christ's passion, physical suffering" (10c.), from Late Latin passionem (nominative passio) "suffering, enduring," from past-participle stem of Latin pati "to endure, undergo, experience," a word of uncertain origin.
people humans homo c. 1300, peple, "humans, persons in general, men and women," from Anglo-French peple, people, Old French pople, peupel "people, population, crowd; mankind, humanity," from Latin populus "a people, nation; body of citizens; a multitude, crowd, throng," a word of unknown origin.
perdition mid-14c., "condition of damnation, spiritual ruin, state of the souls of the wicked in Hell," a special theological sense; the general sense of "utter destruction, entire ruin, great harm, death, fact of being lost or destroyed," is by late 14c.; from Old French perdicion "loss, calamity, perdition" of souls (11c.) and directly from Late Latin perditionem (nominative perditio) "ruin, destruction," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin perdere "do away with, destroy; lose, throw away, squander," from per- "through" (here perhaps with intensive or completive force, "to destruction") + dare "to give".
Perfect [adjective] 21 occurrences NA early 15c. classical correction of Middle English parfit "flawless, ideal" (c. 1300), also "complete, full, finished, lacking in no way" (late 14c.), from Old French parfit "finished, completed, ready" (11c.), from Latin perfectus "completed, excellent, accomplished, exquisite," past participle of perficere "accomplish, finish, complete," from per "completely"+ combining form of facere "to make, to do".
Perfection [noun] 24 occurrences early 13c., perfeccioun, "consummate state or form, that degree of excellence which leaves nothing to be desired," from Old French perfection "perfection, completeness" (12c.), from Latin perfectionem (nominative perfectio) "a finishing, completing, perfection," noun of action from past-participle stem of perficere "to accomplish, finish, complete".
perfidious [adjective] faith fidelium faithless, basely treacherous, 1590s, from Latin perfidiosus "treacherous," from perfidia "faithlessness"
perishable death mors late 15c., perysabyl, periscable, "subject to decay or destruction," from Old French périssable, and later (in modern form), 1610s, directly from perish + -able.
permit grant dona early 15c., permitten, transitive, "allow (something) to be done, suffer or allow to be," from Old French permetre and directly from Latin permittere "let pass, let go, let loose; give up, hand over; let, allow, grant, permit," from per "through".
perpetual perpetua Middle English: from Old French perpetuel, from Latin perpetualis, from perpetuus ‘continuing throughout’, from perpes, perpet- ‘continuous’.
perverse wicked late 14c., "wicked," from Old French pervers "unnatural, degenerate; perverse, contrary" (12c.) and directly from Latin perversus "turned away, contrary, askew," figuratively, "turned away from what is right, wrong, malicious, spiteful," past participle of pervertere "to corrupt".
phantom appear Middle English (also in the sense ‘illusion, delusion’): from Old French fantosme, based on Greek phantasma; from phantazein ‘make visible’, from phainein ‘to show’.
phenomena uncover 1570s, "a fact directly observed, a thing that appears or is perceived, an occurrence," especially a regular kind of fact observed on certain kinds of occasions, from Late Latin phænomenon, from Greek phainomenon "that which appears or is seen," noun use of neuter present participle of phainesthai "to appear," passive of phainein "bring to light, cause to appear, show".
pious mid-15c., "having or intended to show faith in and reverence for the Supreme Being," from Latin pius "dutiful, devout, conscientious, religious; faithful to kindred; inspired by friendship, prompted by natural affections," perhaps [de Vaan, Klein] related to Latin purus "pure, clean,"
Pope father Pater the Bishop of Rome as head of the Roman Catholic Church, c. 1200, from Old English papa (9c.), from Church Latin papa "bishop, pope" (in classical Latin, "tutor"), from Greek papas "patriarch, bishop," originally "father".
power Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French poeir, from an alteration of Latin posse ‘be able’.
prejudice [noun] c. 1300, "despite, contempt," from Old French prejudice "a prejudice, prejudgment; damage" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin prejudicium "injustice," from Latin praeiudicium "prior judgment, judicial examination before trial; damage, harm," from prae- "before"+ iudicium "judgment," from iudex (genitive iudicis) "a judge".
present show/appear c. 1300, presenten, "bring into the presence of, introduce (someone or something) formally or ceremonially;" also "make a formal presentation of; give as a gift or award; bestow; approach with a gift, bring or lay before one for acceptance," from Old French presenter (11c., Modern French présenter) and directly from Latin praesentare "to place before, show, exhibit," from stem of praesens.
pretend [verb] late 14c., pretenden, "to profess, put forward as a statement or assertion, maintain" (a claim, etc.), "to direct (one's) efforts," from Old French pretendre "to lay claim," from Latin praetendere "stretch in front, spread before, put forward; put forward as an excuse, allege," from prae "before" (see pre-) + tendere "to stretch".
Principle [noun] ruler Rex late 14c., "origin, source, beginning" (a sense now obsolete), also "rule of conduct; axiom, basic assumption; elemental aspect of a craft or discipline," from Anglo-French principle, Old French principe "origin, cause, principle," from Latin principium (plural principia) "a beginning, commencement, origin, first part," in plural "foundation, elements," from princeps (genitive principis) "first man, chief leader; ruler, sovereign," noun use of adjective meaning "that takes first," from primus "first" + root of capere "to take".
proclivity predisposition inclination, propensity, tendency, 1590s, from French proclivité or directly from Latin proclivitatem (nominative proclivitas) "a tendency, predisposition, propensity," from proclivis "prone to," literally "sloping, inclined," from pro "forward"+ clivus "a slope".
produce lead or bring forth early 15c., producen, "develop, proceed, extend, lengthen out," from Latin producere "lead or bring forth, draw out," figuratively "to promote, empower; stretch out, extend," from pro "before, forth" + ducere "to bring, lead".
profess early 14c., professen, "to take a vow" (in a religious order), a back-formation from profession or else from Medieval Latin professare, from professus "avowed," literally "having declared publicly," past participle of Latin profiteri "declare openly, testify voluntarily, acknowledge, make public statement of," from pro- "forth" + fateri (past participle fassus) "acknowledge, confess".
profound deep profundo c. 1300, "characterized by intellectual depth, very learned," from Old French profont, profund (12c., Modern French profond) and directly from Latin profundus "deep, bottomless, vast," also "obscure; profound; immoderate," from pro "forth" + fundus "bottom".
prove demonstrate/test teste c. 1200, prēven, pruven, proven "to try by experience or by a test or standard; evaluate; demonstrate in practice," from Old French prover, pruver "show; convince; put to the test" (11c., Modern French prouver), from Latin probare "to make good; esteem, represent as good; make credible, show, demonstrate; test, inspect; judge by trial".
providence late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin providentia, from providere ‘foresee, attend to’
rational [adjective] late 14c., racional, "pertaining to or springing from reason;" mid-15c., of persons, "endowed with reason, having the power of reasoning," from Old French racionel and directly from Latin rationalis "of or belonging to reason, reasonable," from ratio (genitive rationis) "reckoning, calculation, reason".
reasonable [adjective] c. 1300, resonable, "having sound judgment, endowed with the faculty of reason," from Old French raisonable, from Latin rationabilis, from ratio "reckoning, understanding, motive, cause," from ratus, past participle of reri "to reckon, think".
rebellious 7 occurrences NA "insubordinate, defying lawful authority, acting as rebels do or having the disposition of one," early 15c., from Latin rebellis (see rebel (adj.)) + -ous. Of things, "hard to treat or deal with," 1570s.
recital story/tale 1510s, a legal term, "that part of a deed which contains a rehearsal or statement of relevant facts," from recite (v.) + -al. From 1560s as "that which is recited, a story."
Reconcile [verb] 8 occurrences NA mid-14c., reconcilen, transitive, in reference to persons, "to restore to union and friendship after estrangement or variance," also of God or Christ, "restore (mankind, sinners) to favor or grace," from Old French reconcilier (12c.) and directly from Latin reconcilare "to bring together again; regain; win over again, conciliate," from re- "again" + conciliare "make friendly".
Reconciliation [noun] 1 occurrence NA
Reconciling [verb] 5 occurances NA
reduce lead/guide late 14c., reducen, "bring back" (to a place or state, a sense now obsolete), also "to diminish" (something), from Old French reducer (14c.), from Latin reducere "lead back, bring back," figuratively "restore, replace," from re- "back" + ducere "bring, lead".
region regionum c. 1300, regioun, "tract of land of a considerable but indefinite extent," also "a kingdom, country, nation; the people of a country," from Anglo-French regioun, Old French region "land, region, province" (12c.) and directly from Latin regionem (nominative regio) "a district, portion of a country, territory, district; a direction, line; boundary line, limit," noun of state from past-participle stem of regere "to direct, rule".
regret lament from Old French regreter "long after, bewail, lament someone's death; ask the help of". Not found in other Romance languages.
remain [verb] remanebit early 15c., remainen, "be left after the removal or loss of a part, number, or quality; survive," from Anglo-French remayn-, Old French remain- (as inil remaint "it remains"), stressed stem of remanoir "to stay, dwell, remain; be left; hold out," from Latin remanere "to remain, to stay behind; be left behind; endure, abide, last", from re- "back" + manere "to stay, remain".
repentance sorrow c. 1300, repentaunce, "state of being penitent, sorrow and contrition for sin or wrongdoing resulting in vigorous abandonment of it in one's life," from Old French repentance "penitence" (12c.), from present-participle stem of repentir.
reposev[verb] lie or be at rest, mid-15c., reposen, "rest (oneself)," from Old French reposer, earlier repauser (10c.), from Late Latin repausare "cause to rest," from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix , + pausare "to stop".
resemble appear be like, have likeness or similarity to, mid-14c., from Old French resembler "be like" (12c., Modern French ressemble), from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + sembler "to appear, to seem, be like," from Latin simulare "to make like, imitate, copy, represent," from stem of similis "like, resembling, of the same kind".
Resign 3 occurrences NA late 14c., "give up (something), surrender, abandon, submit; relinquish (an office, position, right, claim)," from Old French resigner "renounce, relinquish" (13c.), from Latin resignare "to check off, annul, cancel, give back, give up," from re-, here perhaps denoting "opposite", + signare "to make an entry in an account book," literally "to mark," from Latin signum "identifying mark, sign".
rested [adjective] refreshed by sleep, c. 1400, past-participle adjective from rest (v.).
reveal c. 1400, revelen, "disclose, divulge, make known (supernaturally or by divine agency, as religious truth)," from Old French reveler "reveal" (14c.), from Latin revelare "reveal, uncover, disclose," literally "unveil," from re- "back, again," here probably indicating "opposite of" or transition to an opposite state + velare "to cover, veil," from velum "a veil".
revere fear regard with deep respect and veneration, 1660s, from French révérer, from Latin revereri "revere, fear," from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see re-), + vereri "stand in awe of, fear, respect".
revolt turn, roll back 1540s, "cast off allegiance, rise against rulers, break away from established authority," from French revolter (15c.), which is from or cognate with Italian rivoltare "to overthrow, overturn," from Vulgar Latin *revolvitare "to overturn, overthrow," frequentative of Latin revolvere (past participle revolutus) "turn, roll back".
revolution turn, roll back late 14c., revolucioun, originally of celestial bodies, "one (apparent) rotation about the earth," also the time required for this, also "act or fact of moving in a circular course," from Old French revolucion "course, revolution" of celestial bodies (13c.) or directly from Late Latin revolutionem (nominative revolutio) "a revolving," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin revolvere "turn, roll back".
right [noun] on, toward, or relating to the side of a human body or of a thing that is to the east when the person or thing is facing north.
Right [ajdective] [correct, morally correct, direct] Old English riht, of actions, "just, good, fair, in conformity with moral law; proper, fitting, according to standard; rightful, legitimate, lawful; correct in belief, orthodox;" of persons or their characters, "disposed to do what is good or just;" also literal, "straight, not bent; direct, being the shortest course; erect," from Proto-Germanic *rehtan.
rigorous strict stricte early 15c., of persons, "strict, exacting, harsh, stern;" of laws, actions, etc., "marked by inflexibility, severe, exacting," hence "unmitigated, merciless;" from Old French rigorous (13c., Modern French rigoureux), from Medieval Latin rigorosus, from Latin rigor "stiffness, firmness".
salutary beneficial wholesome, healthful, healing, late 15c. (Caxton), from Old French salutaire "beneficial," or directly from Latin salutaris "healthful," from salus (genitive salutis) "good health".
saved salva late 14c., "delivered from damnation, destined for Heaven," past-participle adjective from save (v.).
scatter mid-12c., scateren, transitive, "to squander;" c. 1300, "to separate and drive off in disorder;" late 14c., "to throw loosely about, strew here and there," possibly a northern English variant of Middle English schateren, reflecting Norse influence. The intransitive sense, "go or flee in different directions, disperse" is from c. 1300.
secret hidden obscurum late 14c., "that which is hidden from human understanding;" early 15c., "that which is hidden from general knowledge;" from Latin secretum "secrecy; a mystery; a thing hidden; secret conversation," also "retirement, solitude," noun from secretus "set apart, withdrawn; hidden, concealed, private." This is a past-participle adjective from secernere "to set apart, part, divide; exclude," from se- "without, apart," properly "on one's own"+ cernere "to separate".
seek querens Middle English sēchen "go in search or quest of; strive for, try to attain," from Old English secan, seocan "search for; pursue, chase; long for, wish for, desire; look for, expect from," influenced by Old Norse soekja, both from Proto-Germanic *sokjanan.
sense know scio late 14c., "meaning, signification, interpretation" (especially of Holy Scripture); c. 1400, "the faculty of perception;" from Old French sens "one of the five senses; meaning; wit, understanding" (12c.) and directly from Latin sensus "perception, feeling, undertaking, meaning," from sentire "perceive, feel, know."
sentient know scio 1630s, "capable of feeling, having the power of or characterized by the exercise of sense-perception," from Latin sentientem (nominative sentiens) "feeling," present participle of sentire "to feel".
sin peccata Old English synn (noun), syngian (verb); probably related to Latin sons, sont- ‘guilty’.
sinister malice early 15c., "prompted by malice or ill-will, intending to mislead," from Old French senestre, sinistre "contrary, false; unfavorable; to the left" (14c.), from Latin sinister "left, on the left side" (opposite of dexter), of uncertain origin.
skeptic [noun] also sceptic, 1580s, "member of an ancient Greek school that doubted the possibility of real knowledge," from French sceptique and directly from Latin scepticus "the sect of the Skeptics," from Greek skeptikos (plural Skeptikoi "the Skeptics, followers of Pyrrho"), noun use of adjective meaning "inquiring, reflective".
snare [noun 1] noose for catching animals, late Old English, from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse snara "noose, snare," related to soenri "twisted rope," from Proto-Germanic *snarkho.
sojourn day dies late 13c., "stay temporarily, reside for a time; visit;" also "reside permanently, dwell;" from Old French sojorner "stay or dwell for a time," from Vulgar Latin *subdiurnare "to spend the day" (source also of Italian soggiornare), from Latin sub- "under, until"+ diurnare "to last long," from diurnus "of a day," from diurnum "day".
soul [noun 1] A substantial entity believed to be that in each person which lives, feels, thinks and wills [Century Dictionary], Old English sawol "spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence; life, living being," from Proto-Germanic *saiwalō, of uncertain origin.
spectacle mid-14c., "specially prepared or arranged display," from Old French spectacle "sight, spectacle, Roman games" (13c.), from Latin spectaculum "a public show, spectacle, place from which shows are seen," from spectare "to view, watch, behold," frequentative form of specere "to look at".
spirit mid-13c., "animating or vital principle in man and animals," from Anglo-French spirit, Old French espirit "spirit, soul" (12c., Modern French esprit) and directly from Latin spiritus "a breathing (respiration, and of the wind), breath; breath of a god," hence "inspiration; breath of life," hence "life;" also "disposition, character; high spirit, vigor, courage; pride, arrogance," related to spirare "to breathe," perhaps from PIE *(s)peis- "to blow" (source also of Old Church Slavonic pisto "to play on the flute").
stupefied stupebit late Middle English: from French stupéfier, from Latin stupefacere, from stupere ‘be struck senseless’.
substance essence c. 1300, "essential nature, real or essential part," from Old French sustance, substance "goods, possessions; nature, composition" (12c.), from Latin substantia "being, essence, material," from substans, present participle of substare "stand firm, stand or be under, be present," from sub "up to, under" + stare "to stand,"
suffer Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French suffrir, from Latin sufferre, from sub- ‘from below’ + ferre ‘to bear’.
sultan power 1550s, from French sultan "ruler of Turkey" (16c.), ultimately from Arabic (Semitic) sultan "ruler, prince, monarch, king, queen," originally "power, dominion." According to Klein's sources, this is from Aramaic shultana "power," from shelet "have power."
superficial face vultus late 14c., in anatomical and mathematical uses, "of or relating to a surface," from Late Latin superficialis "of or pertaining to the surface," from superficies "surface, upper side, top," from super "above, over" + facies "form, face".
superstition Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin superstitio(n- ), from super- ‘over’ + stare ‘to stand’ (perhaps from the notion of ‘standing over’ something in awe).
tale Old English talu ‘telling, something told’, of Germanic origin;
terrible late 14c., "causing terror, awe, or dread; frightful," from Old French terrible (12c.), from Latin terribilis "frightful," from terrere "fill with fear,"
terror early 15c., "something that intimidates, an object of fear," from Old French terreur (14c.), from Latin terrorem (nominative terror) "great fear, dread, alarm, panic; object of fear, cause of alarm; terrible news," from terrere "fill with fear, frighten,"
testament witness teste late 13c., "last will disposing of property," from Latin testamentum "a last will, publication of a will," from testari "make a will, be witness to," from testis "witness".
testimony witness teste c. 1400, "proof or demonstration of some fact, evidence, piece of evidence;" early 15c., "legal testimony, sworn statement of a witness," from Old North French testimonie (Old French testimoine 11c.), from Latin testimonium "evidence, proof, witness, attestation," from testis "a witness, one who attests" + -monium, suffix signifying action, state, condition.
torment [noun] c. 1300, "the inflicting of torture," also "state of great suffering, pain, distress," from Old French torment "torture, pain, anguish, suffering distress" (11c., Modern French tourment), from Latin tormentum "twisted cord, sling; clothes-press; instrument for hurling stones," also "instrument of torture, a rack," figuratively "anguish, pain, torment," from torquere "to twist".
torment [verb] c. 1300, "inflict torture on, distress," from Old French tormenter "torture, torment, oppress, agitate" (12c.), from Medieval Latin tormentare "to torment, to twist," from Latin tormentum "twisted cord, sling; clothes-press; instrument for hurling stones," also "instrument of torture, a rack," figuratively "anguish, pain, torment," from torquere "to twist".
tragedy goat hoedis late 14c., "play or other serious literary work with an unhappy ending," from Old French tragedie (14c.), from Latin tragedia "a tragedy," from Greek tragodia "a dramatic poem or play in formal language and having an unhappy resolution," apparently literally "goat song," from tragos "goat, buck" + ōidē "song" (see ode), probably on model of rhapsodos
transmit send c. 1400, from Latin transmittere "send across, cause to go across, transfer, pass on," from trans "across, beyond" + mittere "to release, let go; send, throw".
transpire spirit 1590s, "pass off in the form of a vapor or liquid," from French transpirer (16c.), from Latin trans "across, beyond; through" + spirare "to breathe". Figurative sense of "leak out, become known" is recorded from 1741, and the erroneous meaning "take place, happen" is almost as old, being first recorded 1755.
tremble c. 1300, "shake from fear, cold, etc.," from Old French trembler "tremble, fear" (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *tremulare, from Latin tremulus "trembling, shaking, quaking," from tremere "to tremble, shiver, quake".
trouble Middle English: from Old French truble (noun), trubler (verb), based on Latin turbidus. late Middle English (in the figurative sense): from Latin turbidus, from turba ‘a crowd, a disturbance’.
tyrant master/lord c. 1300, "absolute ruler," especially one without legal right; "cruel, oppressive ruler," from Old French tiran, tyrant (12c.), from Latin tyrannus "lord, master, monarch, despot," especially "arbitrary ruler, cruel governor, autocrat", from Greek tyrannos "lord, master, sovereign, absolute ruler unlimited by law or constitution".
ultimate [adjective] 1650s, from Late Latin ultimatus, past participle of ultimare "to be final, come to an end," from Latin ultimus (fem. ultima) "last, final, farthest, most distant, extreme," superlative of *ulter "beyond".
understood know scio late 14c., "able to understand, intelligent," from Latin intelligibilis, intellegibilis "that can understand; that can be understood," from intellegere "to understand, come to know".
veneration worth dignas early 15c., from Old French veneracion, from Latin venerationem (nominative veneratio) "reverence, profoundest respect," noun of action from past participle stem of venerari "to worship, revere," from venus (genitive veneris) "beauty, love, desire".
vicissitude change early 17th century (in the sense ‘alternation’): from French, or from Latin vicissitudo, from vicissim ‘by turns’, from vic- ‘turn, change’.
victim late 15c., "living creature killed and offered as a sacrifice to a deity or supernatural power, or in the performance of a religious rite;" from Latin victima "sacrificial animal; person or animal killed as a sacrifice," a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to vicis "turn, occasion" (as in vicarious), if the notion is an "exchange" with the gods
votary vow/promise votum 1540s, "one consecrated by a vow," from Latin votum "a promise to a god; that which is promised" + -ary.
way [noun] viae Old English weg "road, path; course of travel; room, space, freedom of movement;" also, figuratively, "course of life" especially, in plural, "habits of life" as regards moral, ethical, or spiritual choices, from Proto-Germanic *wega- "course of travel, way".
wicked Middle English: probably from Old English wicca ‘witch’ + -ed1.
without sine Old English wiðutan "outside of, from outside," literally "against the outside" (opposite of within), see with + out (adv.). As a word expressing lack or want of something (opposite of with), attested from c. 1200. In use by late 14c. as a conjunction, short for without that.
witness [noun] Old English witnes "attestation of fact, event, etc., from personal knowledge;" also "one who so testifies;" originally "knowledge, wit," formed from wit (n.) + -ness. Old English gewitnes glosses Latin testimonium (Ælfric). Christian use (late 14c.) is as a literal translation of Greek martys
word verbo Old English word "speech, talk, utterance, sentence, statement, news, report, word," from Proto-Germanic *wurda-.
world world mundus Old English woruld, worold "human existence, the affairs of life," also "a long period of time," also "the human race, mankind, humanity," a word peculiar to Germanic languages , with a literal sense of "age of man," from Proto-Germanic *weraldi-, a compound of *wer "man" (Old English wer, still in werewolf; see virile) + *ald "age".
Worship worth dignas Old English worðscip, wurðscip (Anglian), weorðscipe (West Saxon) "condition of being worthy, dignity, glory, distinction, honor, renown," from weorð "worthy" (see worth) + -scipe.
worthy [adjective] mid-13c., "having merit," from worth (n.) + -y. Old English had weorþful in this sense. Attested from late 14c. as a noun meaning "person of merit
wounds injure Old English wund "hurt, injury, ulcer," from Proto-Germanic *wuntho.
absurd 8 occurances NA plainly illogical, 1550s, from French absurde (16c.), from Latin absurdus "out of tune, discordant;" figuratively "incongruous, foolish, silly, senseless," from ab- "off, away from," here perhaps an intensive prefix, + surdus "dull, deaf, mute,"
Absurdity 10 occurrences NA
abyss late 14c. in Latin form abyssus, "depths of the earth or sea; primordial chaos;" early 14c. as abime "depths of the earth or sea; bottomless pit, Hell" (from Old French). Both are from Late Latin abyssus "bottomless pit," from Greek abyssos (limne) "bottomless (pool)," from abyssos "bottomless, unfathomed," hence, generally, "enormous, unfathomable," also as a noun, he abyssos "the great depth, the underworld, the bottomless pit."
accuse fault peccata c. 1300, "charge (with an offense, fault, error, etc.), impugn, blame," from Old French acuser "to accuse, indict, reproach, blame" (13c., Modern French accuser), earlier "announce, report, disclose" (12c.), or directly from Latin accusare "to call to account, make complaint against, reproach, blame; bring to trial, prosecute, arraign indict," from ad causa, from ad "with regard to" (see ad-) + causa "a cause; a lawsuit".
acquit free libera mid-13c., aquiten, "repay, reciprocate, reward or retaliate for" (a good or bad deed); c. 1300 as "satisfy a debt; redeem (a pledge)," from Old French aquiter, acquiter "pay, pay up, settle a claim" (12c., Modern French acquitter), from a- "to" (see ad-) + quite "free, clear," from Medieval Latin quitus, quittus, from Latin quietus "free" (in Medieval Latin "free from war, debts, etc."), also "calm, resting". Also in part from Medieval Latin acquitare.
administration attend mid-14c., "act of giving or dispensing;" late 14c., "management (of a business, property, etc.), act of administering," from Latin administrationem (nominative administratio) "aid, help, cooperation; direction, management," noun of action from past-participle stem of administrare "to help, assist; manage, control, guide, superintend; rule, direct," from ad "to" (see ad-) + ministrare "to serve, attend, wait upon," from minister "inferior, servant, priest's assistant"
admire mirum late 16th century: from Latin admirari, from ad- ‘at’ + mirari ‘wonder’.
admit send NOT IN MASS late 14c., "let in," from Latin admittere "admit, give entrance, allow to enter; grant an audience," of acts, "let be done, allow, permit," from ad "to" (see ad-) + mittere "let go, send".
Advantage [noun] 15 occurrences NA early 14c., avantage, "position of being in advance of another," from Old French avantage "advantage, profit; superiority" (12c.), from avant "before," probably via an unrecorded Late or Medieval Latin *abantaticum, from Latin abante "from before," composed of ab "from" + ante "before, in front of, against".
Advantageous 6 occurrences NA 1590s, "furnishing advantages," formed in English from advantage + -ous, modeled on French avantageux (15c.).
affect move Latin affectus "disposition, mood, state of mind or body produced by some external influence."
afflict suffer person or persons in constant suffering of body or mind, 1650s, noun use of past-participle adjective from afflict.
agent motion late 15c., "one who acts," from Latin agentem (nominative agens) "effective, powerful," present participle of agere "to set in motion, drive forward; to do, perform; keep in movement"
air [noun] c. 1300, "invisible gases that surround the earth," from Old French air "atmosphere, breeze, weather" (12c.), from Latin aer "air, lower atmosphere, sky," from Greek aēr (genitive aeros) "mist, haze, clouds," later "atmosphere" (perhaps related to aenai "to blow, breathe"), which is of unknown origin.
all-mighty [almighty (adj.)] omnipotent Old English ælmihtig "all-powerful," also a by-name of God; compound of æl (see all) + mihtig (see mighty); common Germanic (cognates: Old Saxon alomahtig, Old High German alamahtic, German allmächtig, Old Norse almattigr), perhaps an early Germanic loan-translation of Latin omnipotens (see omnipotent).
almight [almighty (adj.)] omnipotent Old English ælmihtig "all-powerful," also a by-name of God; compound of æl (see all) + mihtig (see mighty); common Germanic (cognates: Old Saxon alomahtig, Old High German alamahtic, German allmächtig, Old Norse almattigr), perhaps an early Germanic loan-translation of Latin omnipotens (see omnipotent).
ancestor one from whom a person is descended, c. 1300, ancestre, antecessour, from Old French ancestre, ancessor "ancestor, forebear, forefather" (12c., Modern French ancêtre), from Late Latin antecessor "predecessor," literally "fore-goer," agent noun from past participle stem of Latin antecedere "to precede," from ante "before" + cedere "to go".
angel one of a class of spiritual beings, attendants and messengers of God, a c. 1300 fusion of Old English engel (with hard -g-) and Old French angele. Both are from Late Latin angelus, from Greek angelos, literally "messenger, envoy, one that announces,".
animate 1530s, "to fill with boldness or courage," from Latin animatus past participle of animare "give breath to," also "to endow with a particular spirit, to give courage to, enliven," from anima "life, breath"
annihilate late Middle English (originally as an adjective meaning ‘destroyed, annulled’): from late Latin annihilatus ‘reduced to nothing’, from the verb annihilare, from ad- ‘to’ + nihil ‘nothing’.
annul nothing nil late 14c., "invalidate, make void, nullify;" from Anglo-French and Old French anuler "cancel, wipe out" (13c.) or directly from Late Latin annullare "to make to nothing," from Latin ad "to" + nullum, neuter of nullus "nothing, none,"
antique NA 1530s, "aged, venerable;" 1540s, "having existed in ancient times," from French antique "old" (14c.), from Latin antiquus (later anticus) "ancient, former, of olden times; old, long in existence, aged; venerable; old-fashioned,"
apostle send Old English apostol "messenger," especially the twelve witnesses sent forth by Jesus to preach his Gospel (Luke vi.13), from Late Latin apostolus, from Greek apostolos "messenger, envoy," literally "person sent forth," from apostellein "send away, send forth," from apo "off, away from" + stellein in its secondary sense of "to send,"
appear appear apparebit late 13c., "come into view," from stem of Old French aparoir, aperer "appear, come to light, come forth" (12c., Modern French apparoir), from Latin apparere "to appear, come in sight, make an appearance," from ad "to" + parere "to come forth, be visible; submit, obey," which is of uncertain origin.
arbiter judge judex late 14c., "person who has power of judging absolutely according to his own pleasure in a dispute or issue," from Old French arbitre "arbiter, judge" (13c.) and directly from Latin arbiter "one who goes somewhere (as witness or judge)," in classical Latin used of spectators and eye-witnesses; specifically in law, "he who hears and decides a case, a judge, umpire, mediator;" from ad "to" + baetere "to come, go," a word of unknown etymology.
archangel an angel of the highest order, late 12c., from Old French archangel (12c.) or directly from Late Latin archangelus, from New Testament Greek arkhangelos "chief angel," from arkh- "chief, first" + angelos.
archives written records c. 1600, "records or documents preserved as evidence," from French archif (16c., Modern French archives), from Late Latin archivum (plural archiva) "written records," also the place where they are kept, from Greek ta arkheia "public records," plural of arkheion "town hall, public building," from arkhē "government," literally "beginning, origin, first place".
ardent fire igne early 14c., of alcoholic distillates, brandy (ardent spirits), etc., from Old French ardant "burning, hot; zealous" (13c.), from Latin ardentem (nominative ardens) "glowing, fiery, hot, ablaze,", present participle of ardere "to burn,"
arrogant ask rogaturus disposed to give oneself undue importance, aggressively haughty, late 14c., from Old French arrogant (14c.), from Latin arrogantem (nominative arrogans) "assuming, overbearing, insolent," present participle of arrogare "to claim for oneself, assume," from ad "to" + rogare "to ask, entreat, request,"
arrogate ask rogatorus claim or demand presumptuously, 1530s, from Latin arrogatus, past participle of arrogare "to claim for oneself," from assimilated form of ad "to" + rogare "to ask, to propose (a law, a candidate); to ask a favor, entreat, request,"
astonish stupify stupebit early 16th century (as astonished, in the sense ‘stunned, bewildered, dismayed’): from obsolete astone ‘stun, stupefy’, from Old French estoner, based on Latin ex- ‘out’ + tonare ‘to thunder’.
Assure [verb] securus late 14c., "reassure, give confidence to; make secure or safe, protect; bind by a pledge, give a promise or pledge (to do something)," from Old French asseurer "to reassure, calm, protect, to render sure" (12c., Modern French assurer), from Vulgar Latin *assecurar, from assimilated form of Latin ad "to" + securus "safe, secure".
author father;creator Pater mid-14c., auctor, autour, autor "father, creator, one who brings about, one who makes or creates" someone or something, from Old French auctor, acteor "author, originator, creator, instigator" (12c., Modern French auteur) and directly from Latin auctor "promoter, producer, father, progenitor; builder, founder; trustworthy writer, authority; historian; performer, doer; responsible person, teacher," literally "one who causes to grow," agent noun from auctus, past participle of augere "to increase,"
belief late 12c., bileave, "confidence reposed in a person or thing; faith in a religion," replacing Old English geleafa "belief, faith," from West Germanic *ga-laubon "to hold dear, esteem, trust" (source also of Old Saxon gilobo, Middle Dutch gelove, Old High German giloubo, German Glaube), from *galaub- "dear, esteemed,"
benevolence good benedictus c. 1400, "disposition to do good," from Old French benivolence (Modern French bienveillance) and directly from Latin benevolentia "good feeling, good will, kindness," from bene "well" (see bene-) + volentem (nominative volens) present participle of velle "to wish" .
benighted dark obscurum 1550s, "to be overtaken by darkness;" 1630s, "to involve with darkness," from be- + night.
bind [verb] vinculo Old English bindan "to tie up with bonds" (literally and figuratively), also "to make captive; to cover with dressings and bandages" , from Proto-Germanic *bindanan (source also of Old Saxon bindan, Old Norse and Old Frisian binda, Old High German binten "to bind," German binden, Gothic bindan),
bird Old English bird, rare collateral form of bridd, originally "young bird, nestling" (the usual Old English for "bird" being fugol, for which see fowl (n.)),
bitterness grief Old English biternys "bitterness, grief;" see bitter + -ness.
blasphemous evil malo displaying blasphemy, irreverent to God or sacred things, early 15c., blasfemous, from Old French blasfemeus or directly from Late Latin blasphemus, from blasphemare "to blaspheme," from Greek blasphemein "to speak lightly or amiss of sacred things, to slander," from blasphemos "evil-speaking"
caprice [noun] goat 13 occurrences hoedis sudden change or start of the mind without apparent motive, 1660s, from French caprice "whim" (16c.), from Italian capriccio "whim," originally "a shivering," a word of uncertain origin. Some guesses from 19c. are that it is from capro "goat," with reference to frisking, from Latin capreolus "wild goat,".
Capricious [adjective] 6 occurrences hoedis 1590s, "humorous;" c. 1600, "apt to change the mind suddenly, fickle," from French capricieux "whimsical" (16c.), from Italian capriccioso, from capriccio.
catastrophe mid 16th century (in the sense ‘denouement’): from Latin catastropha, from Greek katastrophē ‘overturning, sudden turn’, from kata- ‘down’ + strophē ‘turning’.
catholic [adjective] universal mid-14c., "of the doctrines of the ancient Church" (before the East/West schism), literally "universally accepted," from French catholique, from Church Latin catholicus "universal, general," from Greek katholikos, from phrase kath' holou "on the whole, in general," from kata "about" + genitive of holos "whole"
cause cause causa late 14c., "produce an effect," also "impel, compel," from Old French causer "to cause" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin causare, from Latin causa "a cause; a reason; interest; judicial process, lawsuit," which is of unknown origin.
certain na c. 1300, "determined, fixed," from Old French certain "reliable, sure, assured" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *certanus, extended form of Latin certus "determined, resolved, fixed, settled," of things whose qualities are invariable, "established," also "placed beyond doubt, sure, true, proved; unerring, to be depended upon" (also source of Old French cert,), originally a variant past participle of cernere "to distinguish, decide," literally "to sift, separate."
chain [noun] vinculo c. 1300, "connected series of links of metal or other material," from Old French chaeine "chain" (12c., Modern French chane), from Latin catena "chain", which is of unknown origin, perhaps from a PIE root *kat- "to twist, twine" (source also of Latin cassis "hunting net, snare").
changed Middle English: from Old French change (noun), changer (verb), from late Latin cambiare, from Latin cambire ‘barter’, probably of Celtic origin.
charity late Old English, "benevolence for the poor," also "Christian love in its highest manifestation," from Old French charité "(Christian) charity, mercy, compassion; alms; charitable foundation" (12c.), from Latin caritatem (nominative caritas) "costliness; esteem, affection," from carus "dear, valued,"
charm Middle English (in the senses ‘incantation or magic spell’ and ‘to use spells’): from Old French charme (noun), charmer (verb), from Latin carmen ‘song, verse, incantation’.
chastise [verb] punish to inflict pain upon to punish and recall to duty, to punish for the purpose of correcting or reclaiming, c. 1300, chastisen, from Old French chastiier "to warn, advise, instruct; chastise, admonish; punish; dominate, tame" (12c., Modern French châtier), from Latin castigare "to set or keep right, to reprove, chasten, to punish," literally "to make pure".
child semini Old English cild "fetus, infant, unborn or newly born person," from Proto-Germanic *kiltham (source also of Gothic kilþei "womb," inkilþo "pregnant;" Danish kuld "children of the same marriage;" Old Swedish kulder "litter;" Old English cildhama "womb," lit. "child-home"); no certain cognates outside Germanic.
chimera [noun] goat 16 occurances hoedis fabulous monster of Greek mythology, late 14c., from Old French chimere or directly from Medieval Latin chimera, from Latin Chimaera, from Greek khimaira, name of a mythical fire-breathing creature; literally "year-old she-goat" (masc. khimaros), from kheima "winter season,"
Chimerical [adjective] goat 2 occurances hoedis "pertaining to or of the nature of a chimera;" hence "incapable of realization, preposterous," 1630s, from chimera + -ical.
Christ the Anointed, synonymous with and translating to Greek Hebrew mashiah (see messiah), a title given to Jesus of Nazareth; Old English crist, from Latin Christus, from Greek khristos "the anointed," noun use of verbal adjective of khriein "to rub, anoint".
cloud cloud nubibus The modern sense "rain-cloud, mass of evaporated water visible and suspended in the sky" is a metaphoric extension that begins to appear c. 1300 in southern texts, based on similarity of cumulus clouds and rock masses. The usual Old English word for "cloud" was weolcan (see welkin). In Middle English, skie also originally meant "cloud."
combustion burn action or process of burning, early 15c., from Old French combustion (13c.) and directly from Latin combustionem (nominative combustio) "a burning," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin comburere "to burn up, consume," from com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + *burere, based on a faulty separation of amburere "to burn around," which is properly ambi-urere, from urere "to burn, singe"
commodity benefit early 15c., "benefit, profit, welfare;" also "a convenient or useful product," from Old French commodit "benefit, profit" (15c.) and directly from Latin commoditatem (nominative commoditas) "fitness, adaptation, convenience, advantage," from commodus "proper, fit, appropriate, convenient, satisfactory," from com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + modus "measure, manner".
conceal hidden obscurum early 14c., concelen, "to keep close or secret, forbear to divulge," from Old French conceler "to hide, conceal, dissimulate," from Latin concelare "to hide," from con-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + celare "to hide" "to cover, conceal, save"). From early 15c. as "to hide or shield from observation."
conduct guide mid-15c., "action of guiding or leading, guide" (in sauf conducte), from Medieval Latin conductus, from past-participle stem of Latin conducere "to lead or bring together," from assimilated form of com "with, together"
consider examine late 14c., "to fix the mind upon for careful examination, meditate upon," also "view attentively, scrutinize; not to be negligent of," from Old French considerer (13c.) "reflect on, consider, study," from Latin considerare "to look at closely, observe,".
consolation misery late 14c., "that which consoles;" c. 1400, "act of consoling, alleviation of misery or distress of mind, mitigation of grief or anxiety," from Old French consolacion "solace, comfort; delight, pleasure" (11c., Modern French consolation), from Latin consolationem (nominative consolatio) "a consoling, comfort,".
conspire late 14c., "aspire or plan maliciously, agree together to commit a criminal or reprehensible act," from Old French conspirer (14c.), from Latin conspirare "to agree, unite, plot," literally "to breathe together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" + spirare "to breathe",
consternation astonishment combined with terror, 1610s, from French consternation "dismay, confusion," from Latin consternationem (nominative consternatio) "confusion, dismay," noun of state from past-participle stem of consternare "overcome, confuse, dismay, perplex, terrify, alarm," which is probably related to consternere "throw down, prostrate," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + sternere "to spread out, lay down, stretch out".
contradiction dicturus late 14c., "objection, opposition; hostility, mutual opposition," also "absolute inconsistency," from Old French contradiction or directly from Late Latin contradictionem (nominative contradictio) "a reply, objection, counterargument," noun of action from past-participle stem of contradicere, in classical Latin contra dicere "to speak against, oppose in speech or opinion," from contra "against"+ dicere "to say, speak"
conversion turn mid-14c., originally of religion, "a radical and complete change in spirit, purpose, and direction of life away from sin and toward love of God," from Old French conversion "change, transformation, entry into religious life; way of life, behavior; dwelling, residence; sexual intercourse," from Latin conversionem (nominative conversio) "a turning round, revolving; alteration, change," noun of action from past-participle stem of convertere "to turn around; to transform," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + vertere "to turn".
corrupt destroy early 14c., "corrupted, debased in character," from Old French corropt "unhealthy, corrupt; uncouth" (of language) and directly from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpere "to destroy; spoil," figuratively "corrupt, seduce, bribe," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + rup-, past participle stem of rumpere "to break,".
creature creatura c. 1300, "anything created," hence "a thing" in general, animate or not, but most commonly "a living being," from Old French creature "created being; all creation" (Modern French créature), from Late Latin creatura "a thing created; the creation; a creature," from creatus, past participle of Latin creare "to make, bring forth, produce, beget,"
credulity early 15c., "faith, belief," from Old French credulité (12c.), from Latin credulitatem (nominative credulitas) "easiness of belief, rash confidence," noun of quality from credulus "that easily believes, trustful," from credere "to believe".
cruelty suffering c. 1200, cruelte, "indifference to, or pleasure taken in, the distress or suffering of any sentient being," from Old French crualté (12c., Modern French cruauté), from Latin crudelitatem (nominative crudelitas) "cruelty," from crudelis "rude, unfeeling; cruel, hard-hearted,". Meaning "a cruel act" is from late 14c.
damnation loss Middle English: via Old French from Latin dam(p)natio(n- ), from the verb dam(p)nare ‘inflict loss on’.Middle English: from Old French dam(p)ner, from Latin dam(p)nare ‘inflict loss on’, from damnum ‘loss, damage’.
dead mors Old English, "a dead person; the dead collectively, those who have died," noun use of dead (adj.).
defective revolt, fail mid-14c., "having a defect or flaw of any kind, inferior, in bad condition," from Old French défectif (14c.) and directly from Late Latin defectivus "imperfect," from defect-, past-participle stem of deficere "to desert, revolt, fail," from de "down, away" + combining form of facere "to do, make".
deliberate free libera early 15c., "done with careful consideration," from Latin deliberatus "resolved upon, determined," past participle of deliberare "consider carefully, consult," literally "weigh well," from de, here probably "entirely"+ -liberare, altered (probably by influence of liberare "to free, liberate") from librare "to balance, make level," from libra "pair of scales, a balance".
deliver [verb] c. 1200, deliveren, "save, rescue, set free, liberate," from Old French delivrer "to set free; remove; save, preserve; hand over (goods),", from Late Latin deliberare, from de "away" + Latin liberare "to free," from liber "free, unrestricted, unimpeded".
demonstrate wonder 1550s, "to point out, indicate, exhibit," a sense now obsolete, from Latin demonstratus, past participle of demonstrare "to point out, indicate, demonstrate," figuratively, "to prove, establish," from de- "entirely" + monstrare "to point out, show," from monstrum "divine omen, wonder".
deplorable weep lacrimosa 1610s, "that may or must be deplored, lamentable, grievous, miserable;" from 1640s as "pitiable, wretched, contemptible," 1610s, from -able + deplore (v.) "lament, bewail, give up as hopeless," from French déplorer (13c.), from Latin deplorare "bewail, lament, give up for lost," from de- "entirely" + plorare "weep, cry out," which is of unknown origin.
deprave corrupt late 14c., depraven, "corrupt, lead astray, pervert," from Old French depraver "to pervert; accuse" (14c.) and directly from Latin depravare "distort, disfigure;" figuratively "to pervert, seduce, corrupt," from de- "completely" + pravus "crooked," which is of unknown etymology.
despair hopeless spes c. 1300, despeir, "hopelessness, total loss of hope," from Anglo-French despeir, Old French despoir, from desperer.
destroy [verb] c. 1200, destruien, later destroien, "to overthrow, lay waste, ruin," from Old French destruire "destroy, ravage, lay waste" (12c., Modern French détruire), from Vulgar Latin *destrugere, refashioned (influenced by destructus), from Latin destruere "tear down, demolish," literally "un-build," from de "un-, down" + struere "to pile, build".
detestable witness teste abominable, very odious, early 15c., from Old French detestable (14c.) and from Latin detestabilis "execrable, abominable," from detestari "to curse, execrate, abominate, express abhorrence for," literally "denounce with one's testimony," from de "from, down"+ testari "be a witness," from testis "witness".
devastate destroy 1630s, "lay waste, ravage, make desolate," perhaps a back-formation from devastation. Apparently not common until 19c.; earlier verb form devast is attested from 1530s, from French devaster, from Latin devastare.
Devotion vow c. 1200, devocioun, "profound religious emotion, awe, reverence," from Old French devocion "devotion, piety" and directly from Latin devotionem (nominative devotio), noun of action from past-participle stem of devovere "dedicate by a vow, sacrifice oneself, promise solemnly," from de "down, away"+ vovere "to vow".
discourse examine discussio late 14c., "process of understanding, reasoning, thought," from French discours, from Latin discursus "a running about," in Late Latin "conversation,"
discover appear Middle English (in the sense ‘make known’): from Old French descovrir, from late Latin discooperire, from Latin dis- (expressing reversal) + cooperire ‘cover completely’.
disdain worth dignae mid-14c., desdeinen, "think unworthy or worthless, look upon with contempt," from Old French desdeignier "disdain, scorn, refuse, repudiate" (Modern French dédaigner), from des- "do the opposite of" + deignier "treat as worthy," from Latin dignari "to deem worthy or fit," from dignus "worthy,"
disembarrass free oneself of (a burden or nuisance).
dissolution destroy mid-14c., "frivolity, moral laxness, dissolute living;" late 14c., dissolucioun, "separation into parts, dispersal;" from Old French dissolution (12c.) and directly from Latin dissolutionem (nominative dissolutio) "a dissolving, destroying, interruption, dissolution," noun of action from past-participle stem of dissolvere "to loosen up, break apart".
dissolve late 14c. dissolven, "to break up, disunite, separate into parts" (transitive, of material substances), also "to liquefy by the disintegrating action of a fluid," also intransitive, "become fluid, be converted from a solid to a liquid state," from Latin dissolvere "to loosen up, break apart," from dis- "apart" + solvere "to loosen, untie,"
distinguish seperate 1560s, "recognize as different or distinct from what is contiguous or similar; perceive, make out," from French distinguiss-, stem of distinguer, or directly from Latin distinguere "to separate between, keep separate, mark off, distinguish," perhaps literally "separate by pricking," from assimilated form of dis- "apart"+ -stinguere "to prick" (compare extinguish and Latin instinguere "to incite, impel").
divine [adjective] God divus late 14c., "pertaining to, of the nature of, or proceeding from God or a god; addressed to God," from Old French divin, devin (12c.), from Latin divinus "of a god," from divus "of or belonging to a god, inspired, prophetic," related to deus "god, deity".
divinity God deus late Middle English: via Old French from Latin divinus, from divus ‘godlike’ (related to deus ‘god’).
dominate 1610s, "to rule over, control by mastery," a back-formation from domination or else from Latin dominatus, past participle of dominari "to rule, dominate, to govern," from dominus "lord, master," from domus "house".
dread fear late 12c., "to fear very much, be in shrinking apprehension or expectation of," a shortening of Old English adrædan, contraction of ondrædan "counsel or advise against," also "to dread, fear, be afraid," from ond-, and- "against" (the same first element in answer) + rædan "to advise".
earth terra Old English eorþe "ground, soil, dirt, dry land; country, district," also used (along with middangeard) for "the (material) world, the abode of man", from Proto-Germanic *ertho (source also of Old Frisian erthe "earth," Old Saxon ertha, Old Norse jörð, Middle Dutch eerde, Dutch aarde, Old High German erda, German Erde, Gothic airþa),
emanate [verb] 1680s, "to flow out," from Latin emanatus, past participle of emanare "flow out," figuratively "arise from, proceed from".
enchantment magic magna c. 1300, enchauntement, "act of magic or witchcraft; use of magic; magic power," from Old French encantement "magical spell; song, concert, chorus," from enchanter "bewitch, charm," from Latin incantare "enchant, cast a (magic) spell upon," from in- "upon, into"+ cantare "to sing".
endure suffer late 14c., "to undergo or suffer" (especially without breaking); also "to continue in existence," from Old French endurer (12c.) "make hard, harden; bear, tolerate; keep up, maintain," from Latin indurare "make hard," in Late Latin "harden (the heart) against".
energy mid 16th century (denoting force or vigor of expression): from French énergie, or via late Latin from Greek energeia, from en- ‘in, within’ + ergon ‘work’.
enigma mid 16th century: via Latin from Greek ainigma, from ainissesthai ‘speak allusively’, from ainos ‘fable’.
Enjoy gaudia late Middle English: from Old French enjoier ‘give joy to’ or enjoïr ‘enjoy’, both based on Latin gaudere ‘rejoice’.
equitable [adjective] equity
equity just conduct In law, "fairness in the adjustment of conflicting interests; the settlement of controversies by the dictates of good conscience" (natural equity), late 14c., from Roman naturalis aequitas, the general principles of justice which corrected or supplemented the legal codes.
eradicate annihilate early 15c., "destroy utterly," literally "pull up by the roots," from Latin eradicatus, past participle of eradicare "root out, extirpate, annihilate," from assimilated form of ex "out" + radix (genitive radicis) "root".
essence late Middle English: via Old French from Latin essentia, from esse ‘be’.
essential mid-14c., "that is such by its essence," from Late Latin essentialis, from essentia "being, essence," abstract noun formed (to translate Greek ousia "being, essence") from essent-, present participle stem of esse "to be,"
esteem worth (also steem, extyme), mid-14c., "account, value, worth," from French estime, from estimer.
eternal [adjective] aeternam late 14c., from Old French eternel "eternal," or directly from Late Latin aeternalis, from Latin aeternus "of an age, lasting, enduring, permanent, everlasting, endless," contraction of aeviternus "of great age," from aevum "age"
eternity late 14c., "quality of being eternal," from Old French eternité "eternity, perpetuity" (12c.), from Latin aeternitatem (nominative aeternitas), from aeternus "enduring, permanent," contraction of aeviternus "of great age," from aevum "age".
exalt NA c. 1400, "to give off vapor, flow out," from Old French exalter (10c.), from Latin exaltare "raise, elevate," from ex "out, out of, from within" (see ex-) + altus "high," literally "grown tall,"
examine motion c. 1300, "put (someone) to question in regard to knowledge, competence, or skill, inquire into qualifications or capabilities;" mid-14c., "inspect or survey (something) carefully, scrutinize, view or observe in all aspects with the purpose of forming a correct opinion or judgment," from Old French examiner "interrogate, question, torture," from Latin examinare "to test or try; consider, ponder," literally "to weigh," from examen "a means of weighing or testing," probably ultimately from exigere "demand, require, enforce," literally "to drive or force out," also "to finish, measure," from ex "out"+ agere "to set in motion, drive, drive forward; to do, perform"
execrable abominable, deserving of curses, late 14c., from Old French execrable and directly from Latin execrabilis/exsecrabilis "execrable, accursed," from execrari/exsecrari "to curse; to hate".
expiate pious pius pietatis act of making satisfaction or reparation for an offense, atonement, reparation, early 15c., expiacioun, from Latin expiationem (nominative expiatio) "satisfaction, atonement," noun of action from past-participle stem of expiare "make amends for, atone for; purge by sacrifice, make good," from ex- "completely" + piare "propitiate, appease," from pius "faithful, loyal, devout" (see pious).
expiation pius act of making satisfaction or reparation for an offense, atonement, reparation, early 15c., expiacioun, from Latin expiationem (nominative expiatio) "satisfaction, atonement," noun of action from past-participle stem of expiare "make amends for, atone for; purge by sacrifice, make good," from ex- "completely" + piare "propitiate, appease," from pius "faithful, loyal, devout" (see pious).
exterminate late Middle English (in the sense ‘drive out’): from Latin exterminat- ‘driven out’, from the verb exterminare, from ex- ‘out’ + terminus ‘boundary’. The sense ‘destroy’ (mid 16th century) comes from the Latin of the Vulgate.
extoll tollis also extoll, c. 1400, "to lift up," from Latin extollere "to place on high, raise, elevate," figuratively "to exalt, praise," from ex "up" + tollere "to raise,"
extravagant wander/roam 12 occurances NA late 14c., in constituciouns extravagaunt, a term in Canon Law for papal decrees not originally included or codified in the Decretals, from Medieval Latin extravagantem (nominative extravagans), present participle of extravagari "wander outside or beyond," from Latin extra "outside of" + vagari "wander, roam".
fable fabla, story; from fari ‘speak' c. 1300, "falsehood, fictitious narrative; a lie, pretense," from Old French fable "story, fable, tale; drama, play, fiction; lie, falsehood" (12c.), from Latin fabula "story, story with a lesson, tale, narrative, account; the common talk, news," literally "that which is told," from fari "speak, tell,"
fabulous fable early 15c., "mythical, legendary," from Latin fabulosus "celebrated in fable;" also "rich in myths," from fabula "story, tale".
faith fides mid-13c., faith, feith, fei, fai "faithfulness to a trust or promise; loyalty to a person; honesty, truthfulness," from Anglo-French and Old French feid, foi "faith, belief, trust, confidence; pledge" (11c.), from Latin fides "trust, faith, confidence, reliance, credence, belief," from root of fidere "to trust,"
faithful [adjective] fidelium early 14c., "sincerely religious, devout, pious," especially in reference to Christian practice; mid-14c., "loyal (to a lord, friend, spouse, etc.); true; honest, trustworthy," from faith + -ful. From late 14c. in reference to a tale, a report, etc., "accurate, reliable, true to the facts." The noun sense of "true believer, one who is full of faith" is from late 14c. (Church Latin used fideles in same sense).
fall [verb] cadant Old English feallan "to drop from a height; fail, decay, die," from Proto-Germanic *fallanan (source also of Old Frisian falla, Old Saxon fallan, Dutch vallen, Old Norse falla, Old High German fallan, German fallen, absent in Gothic).
fanaticism god Deus 1520s, "insane person," from Latin fanaticus "mad, enthusiastic, inspired by a god," also "furious, mad," originally, "pertaining to a temple," from fanum "temple, shrine, consecrated place," related to festus "festive".
fantastic make visible late 14c., "existing only in imagination, produced by (mental) fantasy," from Old French fantastique (14c.), from Medieval Latin fantasticus, from Late Latin phantasticus "imaginary," from Greek phantastikos "able to imagine," from phantazein "make visible" (middle voice phantazesthai "picture to oneself").
father father Pater Old English fæder "he who begets a child, nearest male ancestor;" also "any lineal male ancestor; the Supreme Being," and by late Old English, "one who exercises parental care over another," from Proto-Germanic *fader (source also of Old Saxon fadar, Old Frisian feder, Dutch vader, Old Norse faðir, Old High German fatar, German vater; in Gothic usually expressed by atta), from PIE *pəter- "father" (source also of Sanskrit pitar-, Greek pater, Latin pater, Old Persian pita, Old Irish athir "father"), presumably from baby-speak sound "pa."
fear Middle English fere, from Old English fær "calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack," from Proto-Germanic *feraz "danger" (source also of Old Saxon far "ambush," Old Norse far "harm, distress, deception," Dutch gevaar, German Gefahr "danger"),
fetter [noun] chain vinculo Old English fetor "chain or shackle by which a person or animal is bound by the feet," figuratively "check, restraint," from Proto-Germanic *fetero (source also of Old Saxon feteros (plural), Middle Dutch veter "fetter," in modern Dutch "lace, string," Old High German fezzera, Old Norse fiöturr, Swedish fjätter "fetter")
fire [noun] igne Old English fyr "fire, a fire," from Proto-Germanic *fūr- (source also of Old Saxon fiur, Old Frisian fiur, Old Norse fürr, Middle Dutch and Dutch vuur, Old High German fiur, German Feuer "fire"),
force Middle English: from Old French force (noun), forcer (verb), based on Latin fortis ‘strong’.
foresee Old English foreseon "have a premonition," from fore- "before" + seon "to see, see ahead". Perhaps modeled on Latin providere.
forever [adverb] late 14c., for ever; from for + ever.
formation create late 14c., "vital force in plants and animals;" early 15c., "act of creating or making," from Old French formacion "formation, fashioning, creation" (12c.) or directly from Latin formationem (nominative formatio) "a forming, shaping," noun of action or condition from past-participle stem of formare "to form," from forma "form, shape".
freely [adverb] Middle English frely, from Old English freolice "of one's own accord, readily;" see free (adj.) + -ly (2). Meaning "unstintedly; plentifully" is from c. 1300; that of "without constraint, under free conditions" is from 1590s. Similar formation in Middle Low German vrilike, Dutch vrijelijk "freely," German freilich "to be sure."
frighten [verb] strike with fear, terrify, 1660s, from fright (n.) + -en (1). Related: Frightened; frightening. The earlier verb was simply fright (v.).
gift [noun] mid-13c. "that which is given" (c. 1100 in surnames), from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse gift, gipt "gift; good luck," from Proto-Germanic *geftiz, from *geb- "to give,"
give [verb] Old English giefan (West Saxon) "to give, bestow, deliver to another; allot, grant; commit, devote, entrust," (past tense geaf, past participle giefen), from Proto-Germanic *geban.
glory [noun] c. 1200, gloire "the splendor of God or Christ; praise offered to God, worship," from Old French glorie "glory (of God); worldly honor, renown; splendor, magnificence, pomp" (11c., Modern French gloire), from Latin gloria "fame, renown, great praise or honor," a word of uncertain origin.
God Old English god "supreme being, deity; the Christian God; image of a god; godlike person," from Proto-Germanic *guthan, which is of uncertain origin; perhaps from PIE *ghut- "that which is invoked" (source also of Old Church Slavonic zovo "to call," Sanskrit huta- "invoked," an epithet of Indra), from root *gheu(e)- "to call, invoke." The notion could be "divine entity summoned to a sacrifice."
good [adjective] bonus Old English gōd (with a long "o") "excellent, fine; valuable; desirable, favorable, beneficial; full, entire, complete;" of abstractions, actions, etc., "beneficial, effective; righteous, pious;" of persons or souls, "righteous, pious, virtuous;" probably originally "having the right or desirable quality," from Proto-Germanic *gōda- "fitting, suitable" (source also of Old Frisian god, Old Saxon gōd, Old Norse goðr, Middle Dutch goed, Dutch goed, Old High German guot, German gut, Gothic goþs). A word of uncertain etymology, perhaps originally "fit, adequate, belonging together," from PIE root *ghedh- "to unite, be associated, suitable" (source also of Sanskrit gadh- "seize (booty)," Old Church Slavonic godu "favorable time," Russian godnyi "fit, suitable," Lithuanian goda "honor," Old English gædrian "to gather, to take up together").
grace late 12c., "God's unmerited favor, love, or help," from Old French grace "pardon, divine grace, mercy; favor, thanks; elegance, virtue" (12c., Modern French grâce), from Latin gratia "favor, esteem, regard; pleasing quality, good will, gratitude" ( in Church use translating Greek kharisma), from gratus "pleasing, agreeable"
grant [verb] in early use also graunt, early 13c., "to allow, permit (something); consent to (a prayer, request, etc.)," from Old French graanter, variant of creanter "assure, promise, guarantee, swear; confirm, authorize, approve (of)," from Latin credentem (nominative credens), present participle of credere "to believe, to trust". From c. 1300 as "transfer possession of in any formal way." Meaning "admit to be true, acknowledge" in English is from c. 1300; hence to take (something) for granted "regard as not requiring proof" (1610s).
gratify grace c. 1400, "to bestow grace upon;" 1530s, "to show gratitude to," from Latin gratificari "to do favor to, oblige, gratify," from gratus "pleasing" (from suffixed form of PIE root *gwere- (2) "to favor") + combining form of facere "to make, do, perform" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). Meaning "to give pleasure to" is from 1560s.
groan Ingemisco Old English grānian, of Germanic origin; related to German greinen ‘grizzle, whine’, grinsen ‘grin’, also probably to grin.
guide [verb] deducant late 14c., "to lead, direct, conduct," from Old French guider "to guide, lead, conduct" (14c.), earlier guier, from Frankish *witan "show the way" or a similar Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *witanan "to look after, guard, ascribe to, reproach" (source also of German weisen "to show, point out," Old English witan "to reproach," wite "fine, penalty"),
hand [noun] Old English hond, hand "the human hand;" also "side, part, direction" (in defining position, to either right or left); also "power, control, possession" , from Proto-Germanic *handuz, which is of uncertain origin.
happiness [noun] 42 occurrences NA 1520s, "good fortune," from happy + -ness. Meaning "pleasant and contented mental state" is from 1590s.
happy [adjective] 37 occurrences NA late 14c., "lucky, favored by fortune, being in advantageous circumstances, prosperous;" of events, "turning out well," from hap (n.) "chance, fortune" + -y (2). Sense of "very glad" first recorded late 14c. Meaning "greatly pleased and content" is from 1520s. Old English had eadig (from ead "wealth, riches") and gesælig, which has become silly. From Greek to Irish, a great majority of the European words for "happy" at first meant "lucky."
hidden obscurum past-participle adjective from hide (v.1); a Middle English formation (Old English had gehydd "hidden") on the model of ride/ridden, etc. As "secret, occult" from 1540s.
homage man homo from Latin homo (genitive hominis) "man"
hope [noun] spes late Old English hopa "confidence in the future," especially "God or Christ as a basis for hope," from hope (v.). From c. 1200 as "expectation of something desired;" also "trust, confidence; wishful desire;" late 14c. as "thing hoped for," also "grounds or basis for hope."
horrible Middle English: via Old French from Latin horribilis, from horrere ‘tremble, shudder’
idol image, phantom mid-13c., "image of a deity as an object of (pagan) worship," from Old French idole "idol, graven image, pagan god" (11c.), from Latin idolum "image (mental or physical), form," especially "apparition, ghost," but used in Church Latin for "false god, image of a pagan deity as an object of worship." This is from Greek eidolon "mental image, apparition, phantom," also "material image, statue," in Ecclesiastical Greek," a pagan idol," from eidos "form, shape; likeness, resemblance"
imagination represent mid-14c., ymaginacion, from Old French imaginacion "concept, mental picture; hallucination," from Latin imaginationem (nominative imaginatio) "imagination, a fancy," noun of action from past participle stem of imaginari "to form an image of, represent"), from imago "an image, a likeness," from stem of imitari "to copy, imitate".
immense great magna great beyond measure, early 15c., from Old French immense (mid-14c.), from Latin immensus "immeasurable, boundless," also used figuratively, from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" + mensus "measured," past participle of metiri "to measure".
immutable change late Middle English: from Latin immutabilis, from in- ‘not’ + mutabilis, late Middle English: from Latin mutabilis, from mutare ‘to change’
impenetrable cross/crucifixion crucis impossible to penetrate, mid-15c., from Old French impenetrable (14c.) or directly from Latin impenetrabilis "that cannot be penetrated," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + penetrabilis "penetrable"
impenetrable impossible to penetrate, mid-15c., from Old French impenetrable (14c.) or directly from Latin impenetrabilis "that cannot be penetrated," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" + penetrabilis "penetrable".
impious wicked 1590s, "irreligious, lacking reverence for God," from Latin impius "without reverence, irreverent, wicked; undutiful, unpatriotic," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" + pius.
impious [adjective] 1590s, "irreligious, lacking reverence for God," from Latin impius "without reverence, irreverent, wicked; undutiful, unpatriotic," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" + pius.
impunity [noun] punishment poenis 1530s, from French impunité (14c.) and directly from Latin impunitatem (nominative impunitas) "freedom from punishment, omission of punishment," also "rashness, inconsideration," from impunis "unpunished, without punishment," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" + poena "punishment".
innate [adjective] 5 occurances natura early 15c., "existing from birth," from Late Latin innatus "inborn, native, natural", past participle of innasci "to be born in, originate in," from in- "in” + nasci "to be born" (Old Latin gnasci).
incarnation flesh caro c. 1300, "embodiment of God in the person of Christ," from Old French incarnacion "the Incarnation" (12c.), from Late Latin incarnationem (nominative incarnatio), "act of being made flesh".
incense fire igne late 13c., "gum or other substance producing a sweet smell when burned," from Old French encens (12c.), from Late Latin incensum "burnt incense," literally "that which is burnt," noun use of neuter past participle of Latin incendere "set on fire"
Incessant [adjective] mid-15c., from Old French *incessant or directly from Late Latin incessantem (nominative incessans) "unceasing," from Latin in- "not" + cessans, present participle of cessare "to cease, go slow, give over, leave off, be idle," frequentative of cedere (past participle cessus) "go away, withdraw, yield".
indulgence mid-14c., in the Church sense, "a freeing from temporal punishment for sin, remission from punishment for sin that remains due after absolution," from Old French indulgence or directly from Latin indulgentia "complaisance, a yielding; fondness, tenderness, affection; remission," from indulgentem (nominative indulgens) "indulgent, kind, tender, fond," present participle of indulgere "be kind; yield, concede, be complaisant; give oneself up to, be addicted," a word of uncertain origin.
ineffaceable face vultus [Middle English effacen, from French effacer, from Old French esfacier : es-, out (from Latin ex-, ex-) + face, face; see face.]
inflict trouble 1560s, "assail, trouble;" 1590s, "lay or impose as something that must be suffered," from Latin inflictus, past participle of infligere "to strike or dash against; inflict," from in- "in" + fligere (past participle flictus) "to dash, strike" (see afflict).
inhabit live late 14c., from Old French enhabiter, enabiter "dwell in, live in, reside" (12c.), from Latin inhabitare "to dwell in," from in- "in" + habitare "to dwell," frequentative of habere "to hold, have".
inspire mid-14c., enspiren, "to fill (the mind, heart, etc., with grace, etc.);" also "to prompt or induce (someone to do something)," from Old French enspirer (13c.), from Latin inspirare "blow into, breathe upon,"
intelligible know scio late 14c., "able to understand, intelligent," from Latin intelligibilis, intellegibilis "that can understand; that can be understood," from intellegere "to understand, come to know".
interrogate ask 2 occurrences [both in Section 77] rogaturus late 15c., a back-formation from interrogation or else from Latin interrogatus, past participle of interrogare "to ask, question, inquire; interrogate judicially, cross-examine," from inter "between" + rogare "to ask, to question," apparently a figurative use of a PIE verb meaning literally "to stretch out (the hand)," from root *reg- "move in a straight line."
invent discover c. 1500, "to find, discover" (obsolete), a back-formation from invention or else from Latin inventus, past participle of invenire "to come upon; devise, discover."
inventor c. 1500, "a discoverer, one who finds out" (now obsolete), from Latin inventor (fem. inventrix, source of French inventeur (15c.) "contriver, author, discoverer, proposer, founder," agent noun from past-participle stem of invenire "to come upon, find; find out; invent, discover, devise; ascertain; acquire, get earn," from in- "in, on"+ venire "to come," from a suffixed form of PIE root *gwa- "to go, come."
Irreconcilable 2 occurrences NA
Jesus savior personal name of the Christian Savior, late 12c.; it is the Greek form of Joshua. From Late Latin Iesus (properly pronounced as three syllables), from Greek Iesous, which is an attempt to render into Greek the Aramaic (Semitic) proper name Jeshua (Hebrew Yeshua, Yoshua) "Jah is salvation."
Joy gaudia Middle English: from Old French joie, based on Latin gaudium, from gaudere ‘rejoice’
judge [noun] mid-14c., "public officer appointed to administer the law" (early 13c. as a surname), also judge-man; from Old French juge, from Latin iudex "one who declares the law", a compound of ius "right, law" + root of dicere "to say".
labor labor Middle English: from Old French labour (noun), labourer (verb), both from Latin labor ‘toil, trouble’.
Lazarus Biblical character (Luke xvi.20); his name was extended in medieval usage to "any poor and visibly diseased person" (compare lazar, mid-14c., "one deformed and nauseous with filthy and pestilential diseases" [Johnson]). The name is from a Greek rendition of Hebrew El'azar, literally "(he whom) God has helped."
lead [verb 1] deducant to guide, Old English lædan (transitive) "cause to go with oneself; march at the head of, go before as a guide, accompany and show the way; carry on; sprout forth, bring forth; pass (one's life)," causative of liðan "to travel," from Proto-Germanic *laidjanan,
liberty [noun] late 14c., "free choice, freedom to do as one chooses," also "freedom from the bondage of sin," from Old French liberte "freedom, liberty, free will" (14c., Modern French liberté), from Latin libertatem (nominative libertas) "civil or political freedom, condition of a free man; absence of restraint; permission," from liber "free".
lieutenant vicar late 14c., "one who takes the place of another," from Old French lieu tenant "substitute, deputy," literally "place holder" (14c.), from lieu "place" + tenant, present participle of tenir "to hold,".
light [noun] light lux brightness, radiant energy, that which makes things visible, Old English leht (Anglian), leoht (West Saxon), "light, daylight; spiritual illumination," from Proto-Germanic *leukhtam.
Lord [noun] mid-13c., laverd, loverd, from Old English hlaford "master of a household, ruler, feudal lord, superior; husband," also "God," translating Latin dominus, Greek kyrios in the New Testament. Old English hlaford is a contraction of earlier hlafweard, literally "one who guards the loaves," from hlaf "bread, loaf" + weard "keeper, guardian".
lugubrious mourn early 17th century: from Latin lugubris (from lugere ‘mourn’)
machine mid 16th century (originally denoting a structure): from French, via Latin from Doric Greek makhana (Greek mēkhanē, from mēkhos ‘contrivance’).
magical art of the Mage [Magus]; Magister, Master; akin to Dominus, Lord
magnificent mid-15c., "exalted, glorious, great in actions or deeds," from Old French magnificent, a back-formation from Latin magnificentior, comparative of magnificus "great, elevated, noble, distinguished," literally "doing great deeds," from magnus "great"
magnify late Middle English (in the senses ‘show honor to (God’) and ‘make greater’): from Old French magnifier or Latin magnificare, based on Latin magnus ‘great’.
malicious bad mid-13c., "harboring ill-will, enmity, or hostility," from Old French malicios "showing ill will, spiteful, wicked" (Modern French malicieux), from Latin malitiosus "wicked, malicious," from malitia "badness, ill will, spite," from malus "bad, unpleasant" (see mal-).
man man Old English man, mann "human being, person (male or female); brave man, hero;" also "servant, vassal, adult male considered as under the control of another person," from Proto-Germanic *mann-.
manifest appear mid 17th century: from Italian, from manifestare, from Latin, ‘make public’, from manifestus ‘obvious’.
marvelous wonderful c. 1300, merveillous, "causing wonder, of wonderful appearance or quality," from Old French merveillos "marvelous, wonderful" (Modern French merveilleux), from merveille;from Vulgar Latin *miribilia, altered from Latin mirabilia "wonderful things," from noun use of neuter plural of mirabilis "wonderful, marvelous, extraordinary; strange, singular," from mirari "to wonder at," from mirus "wonderful".
master lord dominus late Old English mægester "a man having control or authority over a place; a teacher or tutor of children," from Latin magister (n.) "chief, head, director, teacher" (source of Old French maistre, French maître), contrastive adjective ("he who is greater") from magis (adv.) "more".
matter c. 1200, materie, "the subject of a mental act or a course of thought, speech, or expression," from Anglo-French matere, Old French matere "subject, theme, topic; substance, content; character, education" (12c., Modern French matière) and directly from Latin materia "substance from which something is made," also "hard inner wood of a tree."
menace c. 1300, "declaration of hostile intent," also (early 14c.) "a threat or act of threatening," from Old French menace "menace, threat" (9c.), from Vulgar Latin minacia "threat, menace", singular of Latin minaciæ "threatening things," from minax (genitive minacis) "threatening," from minari "threaten; jut, project," from minæ "threats; projecting points,"
mercy [noun] late 12c., "God's forgiveness of his creatures' offenses," from Old French mercit, merci (9c.) "reward, gift; kindness, grace, pity," from Latin mercedem (nominative merces) "reward, wages, pay, hire" (in Vulgar Latin "favor, pity;" in Medieval Latin "thanks; grace"), from merx (genitive mercis) "wares, merchandise". In Church Latin (6c.) it was given a specific application to the heavenly reward earned by those who show kindness to the helpless and those from whom no requital can be expected.
merit Middle English (originally in the sense ‘deserved reward or punishment’): via Old French from Latin meritum ‘due reward’, from mereri ‘earn, deserve’.
minister servant c. 1300, "man consecrated to service in the Christian Church, an ecclesiastic;" also "an agent acting for a superior, one who acts upon the authority of another," from Old French menistre "servant, valet, member of a household staff, administrator, musician, minstrel" (12c.) and directly from Latin minister (genitive ministri) "inferior, servant, priest's assistant" (in Medieval Latin, "priest"), from minus, minor "less," hence "subordinate"
miracle mirum Middle English: via Old French from Latin miraculum ‘object of wonder’, from mirari ‘to wonder’, from mirus ‘wonderful’.
mischievous wretch early 14c., "unfortunate, disastrous, miserably, wretchedly," probably from mischief + -ous.
miserable suffer miser early 15c., "full of misery, causing wretchedness" (of conditions), from Old French miserable (14c.) and directly from Latin miserabilis "pitiable, miserable, deplorable, lamentable," from miserari "to pity, lament, deplore," from miser "wretched". Of persons, "existing in a state of want, suffering, wretchedness, etc.," it is attested from 1520s.
misery [noun] suffer miser late 14c., "state of grievous affliction, condition of external unhappiness," from Old French misere "miserable situation, misfortune, distress" (12c.), from Latin miseria "wretchedness," from miser "wretched, pitiable".
mission send 1590s, "a sending abroad" (as an agent), originally of Jesuits, from Latin missionem (nominative missio) "act of sending, a dispatching; a release, a setting at liberty; discharge from service, dismissal," noun of action from past-participle stem of mittere "to release, let go; send, throw".
mortal death mors late 14c., "deadly, destructive to life; causing or threatening death" (of illness, poisons, wounds, etc.); also, of persons or the body, "doomed to die, subject to death;" from Old French mortel "destined to die; deserving of death" and directly from Latin mortalis "subject to death, mortal, of a mortal, human," from mors (genitive mortis) "death."
motion movendi late Middle English: via Old French from Latin motio(n- ), from movere ‘to move’.
motive move late 14c., "something brought forward, a proposition, assertion, or argument" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French motif "will, drive, motivation," noun use of adjective, literally "moving," from Medieval Latin motivus "moving, impelling," from Latin motus "a moving, motion," past participle of movere "to move".
move move movendi late 13c., meven, from Anglo-French mover, Old French movoir "to move, get moving, set out; set in motion; introduce" (Modern French mouvoir), from Latin movere "move, set in motion; remove; disturb" (past participle motus, frequentative motare),
munificence liberal libera quality of giving or bestowing liberally or lavishly, early 15c., from Old French munificence, from Latin munificentia "bountifulness, liberality, generosity," from stem of munificus "generous, bountiful, liberal," literally "present-making," from munus "gift or service; function, task, duty, office"+ unstressed stem of facere "to do".
mystery early 14c., misterie, in a theological sense, "religious truth via divine revelation, hidden spiritual significance, mystical truth," from Anglo-French *misterie, Old French mistere "secret, mystery, hidden meaning" (Modern French mystère) and directly from Latin mysterium "secret rite, secret worship; a sacrament, a secret thing."
nature natura Middle English (denoting the physical power of a person): from Old French, from Latin natura ‘birth, nature, quality’, from nat- ‘born’, from the verb nasci
necessary 55 occurrences NA late Middle English: from Latin necessarius, from necesse ‘be needful’.
nothing nil no thing, not any thing, not something, Middle English, from Old English naþing, naðinc, from nan "not one" (see none) + þing "thing" (see thing). Meaning "insignificant thing, thing of no consequence" is from c. 1600. As an adverb, "not at all, in no degree," late Old English.
nothingness nonexistence, absence or negation of being, 1630s, from nothing + -ness.
notion idea late 14c., nocioun, "a general concept, conception," from Latin notionem (nominative notio) "concept, conception, idea, notice," noun of action from past participle stem of noscere "come to know".
oblige c. 1300, obligen, "to bind by oath, put under moral or legal obligation, devote," from Old French obligier "engage one's faith, commit (oneself), pledge" (13c.), from Latin obligare "to bind, bind up, bandage," figuratively "put under obligation," from ob "to" (see ob-) + ligare "to bind".
Oblivion obliviscaris late 14c., oblivioun, "state or fact of forgetting, forgetfulness, loss of memory," from Old French oblivion (13c.) and directly from Latin oblivionem (nominative oblivio) "forgetfulness; a being forgotten," from oblivisci (past participle oblitus) "forget," which is of uncertain origin.
obscure [adjective] hidden c. 1400, "dark," figuratively "morally unenlightened; gloomy," from Old French obscur, oscur "dark, clouded, gloomy; dim, not clear" (12c.) and directly from Latin obscurus "dark, dusky, shady," figuratively "unknown; unintelligible; hard to discern; from insignificant ancestors," from ob "over" + -scurus "covered".
occult [adjective] hidden 1530s, "secret, not divulged," from French occulte and directly from Latin occultus "hidden, concealed, secret," past participle of occulere "cover over, conceal," from assimilated form of ob "over" + a verb related to celare "to hide".
offend strike/sin early 14c., offenden, "to disobey or sin against (a person, human or divine)," a sense now obsolete, from Old French ofendre "hit, attack, injure; sin against; antagonize, excite to anger" and directly from Latin offendere "to hit, thrust, or strike against," figuratively "to stumble, commit a fault, displease, trespass against, provoke," from assimilated form of ob "in front of against" + -fendere "to strike".
omnipotence [noun] mid-15c., omnipotens, "unlimited divine power," from Old French omnipotence, from Late Latin omnipotentia "almighty power," from Latin omnipotentem (nominative omnipotens) "all-powerful, almighty," from omnis "all" + potens (genitive potentis) "powerful".
omnipotent [adjective] early 14c., "almighty, possessing infinite power," from Old French omnipotent "almighty, all-powerful" (11c.) and directly from Latin omnipotentem (nominative omnipotens) "all-powerful, almighty," from omnis "all" + potens (genitive potentis) "powerful".
operate work c. 1600, "to be in effect, perform or be at work, exert force or influence," a back-formation from operation (q.v.), or else from Latin operatus, past participle of operari "to work, labor, toil, take pains" (in Late Latin "to have effect, be active, cause").
pain poenis late 13c., peine, "the agony suffered by Christ;" c. 1300, "punishment," especially for a crime, "legal punishment of any sort" (including fines and monetary penalties); also "condition one feels when hurt, opposite of pleasure," including mental or emotional suffering, grief, distress; from Old French peine "difficulty, woe, suffering, punishment, Hell's torments" (11c.), from Latin poena "punishment, penalty, retribution, indemnification" (in Late Latin also "torment, hardship, suffering"), from Greek poinē "retribution, penalty, quit-money for spilled blood,"
pardon [verb] mid-15c., pardounen, "to forgive for offense or sin," from Old French pardoner and Medieval Latin perdonare.
passion suffering passus c. 1200, "the sufferings of Christ on the Cross; the death of Christ," from Old French passion "Christ's passion, physical suffering" (10c.), from Late Latin passionem (nominative passio) "suffering, enduring," from past-participle stem of Latin pati "to endure, undergo, experience," a word of uncertain origin.
people humans homo c. 1300, peple, "humans, persons in general, men and women," from Anglo-French peple, people, Old French pople, peupel "people, population, crowd; mankind, humanity," from Latin populus "a people, nation; body of citizens; a multitude, crowd, throng," a word of unknown origin.
perdition mid-14c., "condition of damnation, spiritual ruin, state of the souls of the wicked in Hell," a special theological sense; the general sense of "utter destruction, entire ruin, great harm, death, fact of being lost or destroyed," is by late 14c.; from Old French perdicion "loss, calamity, perdition" of souls (11c.) and directly from Late Latin perditionem (nominative perditio) "ruin, destruction," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin perdere "do away with, destroy; lose, throw away, squander," from per- "through" (here perhaps with intensive or completive force, "to destruction") + dare "to give".
Perfect [adjective] 21 occurrences NA early 15c. classical correction of Middle English parfit "flawless, ideal" (c. 1300), also "complete, full, finished, lacking in no way" (late 14c.), from Old French parfit "finished, completed, ready" (11c.), from Latin perfectus "completed, excellent, accomplished, exquisite," past participle of perficere "accomplish, finish, complete," from per "completely"+ combining form of facere "to make, to do".
Perfection [noun] 24 occurrences early 13c., perfeccioun, "consummate state or form, that degree of excellence which leaves nothing to be desired," from Old French perfection "perfection, completeness" (12c.), from Latin perfectionem (nominative perfectio) "a finishing, completing, perfection," noun of action from past-participle stem of perficere "to accomplish, finish, complete".
perfidious [adjective] faith fidelium faithless, basely treacherous, 1590s, from Latin perfidiosus "treacherous," from perfidia "faithlessness"
perishable death mors late 15c., perysabyl, periscable, "subject to decay or destruction," from Old French périssable, and later (in modern form), 1610s, directly from perish + -able.
permit grant dona early 15c., permitten, transitive, "allow (something) to be done, suffer or allow to be," from Old French permetre and directly from Latin permittere "let pass, let go, let loose; give up, hand over; let, allow, grant, permit," from per "through".
perpetual perpetua Middle English: from Old French perpetuel, from Latin perpetualis, from perpetuus ‘continuing throughout’, from perpes, perpet- ‘continuous’.
perverse wicked late 14c., "wicked," from Old French pervers "unnatural, degenerate; perverse, contrary" (12c.) and directly from Latin perversus "turned away, contrary, askew," figuratively, "turned away from what is right, wrong, malicious, spiteful," past participle of pervertere "to corrupt".
phantom appear Middle English (also in the sense ‘illusion, delusion’): from Old French fantosme, based on Greek phantasma; from phantazein ‘make visible’, from phainein ‘to show’.
phenomena uncover 1570s, "a fact directly observed, a thing that appears or is perceived, an occurrence," especially a regular kind of fact observed on certain kinds of occasions, from Late Latin phænomenon, from Greek phainomenon "that which appears or is seen," noun use of neuter present participle of phainesthai "to appear," passive of phainein "bring to light, cause to appear, show".
pious mid-15c., "having or intended to show faith in and reverence for the Supreme Being," from Latin pius "dutiful, devout, conscientious, religious; faithful to kindred; inspired by friendship, prompted by natural affections," perhaps [de Vaan, Klein] related to Latin purus "pure, clean,"
Pope father Pater the Bishop of Rome as head of the Roman Catholic Church, c. 1200, from Old English papa (9c.), from Church Latin papa "bishop, pope" (in classical Latin, "tutor"), from Greek papas "patriarch, bishop," originally "father".
power Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French poeir, from an alteration of Latin posse ‘be able’.
prejudice [noun] c. 1300, "despite, contempt," from Old French prejudice "a prejudice, prejudgment; damage" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin prejudicium "injustice," from Latin praeiudicium "prior judgment, judicial examination before trial; damage, harm," from prae- "before"+ iudicium "judgment," from iudex (genitive iudicis) "a judge".
present show/appear c. 1300, presenten, "bring into the presence of, introduce (someone or something) formally or ceremonially;" also "make a formal presentation of; give as a gift or award; bestow; approach with a gift, bring or lay before one for acceptance," from Old French presenter (11c., Modern French présenter) and directly from Latin praesentare "to place before, show, exhibit," from stem of praesens.
pretend [verb] late 14c., pretenden, "to profess, put forward as a statement or assertion, maintain" (a claim, etc.), "to direct (one's) efforts," from Old French pretendre "to lay claim," from Latin praetendere "stretch in front, spread before, put forward; put forward as an excuse, allege," from prae "before" (see pre-) + tendere "to stretch".
Principle [noun] ruler Rex late 14c., "origin, source, beginning" (a sense now obsolete), also "rule of conduct; axiom, basic assumption; elemental aspect of a craft or discipline," from Anglo-French principle, Old French principe "origin, cause, principle," from Latin principium (plural principia) "a beginning, commencement, origin, first part," in plural "foundation, elements," from princeps (genitive principis) "first man, chief leader; ruler, sovereign," noun use of adjective meaning "that takes first," from primus "first" + root of capere "to take".
proclivity predisposition inclination, propensity, tendency, 1590s, from French proclivité or directly from Latin proclivitatem (nominative proclivitas) "a tendency, predisposition, propensity," from proclivis "prone to," literally "sloping, inclined," from pro "forward"+ clivus "a slope".
produce lead or bring forth early 15c., producen, "develop, proceed, extend, lengthen out," from Latin producere "lead or bring forth, draw out," figuratively "to promote, empower; stretch out, extend," from pro "before, forth" + ducere "to bring, lead".
profess early 14c., professen, "to take a vow" (in a religious order), a back-formation from profession or else from Medieval Latin professare, from professus "avowed," literally "having declared publicly," past participle of Latin profiteri "declare openly, testify voluntarily, acknowledge, make public statement of," from pro- "forth" + fateri (past participle fassus) "acknowledge, confess".
profound deep profundo c. 1300, "characterized by intellectual depth, very learned," from Old French profont, profund (12c., Modern French profond) and directly from Latin profundus "deep, bottomless, vast," also "obscure; profound; immoderate," from pro "forth" + fundus "bottom".
prove demonstrate/test teste c. 1200, prēven, pruven, proven "to try by experience or by a test or standard; evaluate; demonstrate in practice," from Old French prover, pruver "show; convince; put to the test" (11c., Modern French prouver), from Latin probare "to make good; esteem, represent as good; make credible, show, demonstrate; test, inspect; judge by trial".
providence late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin providentia, from providere ‘foresee, attend to’
rational [adjective] late 14c., racional, "pertaining to or springing from reason;" mid-15c., of persons, "endowed with reason, having the power of reasoning," from Old French racionel and directly from Latin rationalis "of or belonging to reason, reasonable," from ratio (genitive rationis) "reckoning, calculation, reason".
reasonable [adjective] c. 1300, resonable, "having sound judgment, endowed with the faculty of reason," from Old French raisonable, from Latin rationabilis, from ratio "reckoning, understanding, motive, cause," from ratus, past participle of reri "to reckon, think".
rebellious 7 occurrences NA "insubordinate, defying lawful authority, acting as rebels do or having the disposition of one," early 15c., from Latin rebellis (see rebel (adj.)) + -ous. Of things, "hard to treat or deal with," 1570s.
recital story/tale 1510s, a legal term, "that part of a deed which contains a rehearsal or statement of relevant facts," from recite (v.) + -al. From 1560s as "that which is recited, a story."
Reconcile [verb] 8 occurrences NA mid-14c., reconcilen, transitive, in reference to persons, "to restore to union and friendship after estrangement or variance," also of God or Christ, "restore (mankind, sinners) to favor or grace," from Old French reconcilier (12c.) and directly from Latin reconcilare "to bring together again; regain; win over again, conciliate," from re- "again" + conciliare "make friendly".
Reconciliation [noun] 1 occurrence NA
Reconciling [verb] 5 occurances NA
reduce lead/guide late 14c., reducen, "bring back" (to a place or state, a sense now obsolete), also "to diminish" (something), from Old French reducer (14c.), from Latin reducere "lead back, bring back," figuratively "restore, replace," from re- "back" + ducere "bring, lead".
region regionum c. 1300, regioun, "tract of land of a considerable but indefinite extent," also "a kingdom, country, nation; the people of a country," from Anglo-French regioun, Old French region "land, region, province" (12c.) and directly from Latin regionem (nominative regio) "a district, portion of a country, territory, district; a direction, line; boundary line, limit," noun of state from past-participle stem of regere "to direct, rule".
regret lament from Old French regreter "long after, bewail, lament someone's death; ask the help of". Not found in other Romance languages.
remain [verb] remanebit early 15c., remainen, "be left after the removal or loss of a part, number, or quality; survive," from Anglo-French remayn-, Old French remain- (as inil remaint "it remains"), stressed stem of remanoir "to stay, dwell, remain; be left; hold out," from Latin remanere "to remain, to stay behind; be left behind; endure, abide, last", from re- "back" + manere "to stay, remain".
repentance sorrow c. 1300, repentaunce, "state of being penitent, sorrow and contrition for sin or wrongdoing resulting in vigorous abandonment of it in one's life," from Old French repentance "penitence" (12c.), from present-participle stem of repentir.
reposev[verb] lie or be at rest, mid-15c., reposen, "rest (oneself)," from Old French reposer, earlier repauser (10c.), from Late Latin repausare "cause to rest," from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix , + pausare "to stop".
resemble appear be like, have likeness or similarity to, mid-14c., from Old French resembler "be like" (12c., Modern French ressemble), from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + sembler "to appear, to seem, be like," from Latin simulare "to make like, imitate, copy, represent," from stem of similis "like, resembling, of the same kind".
Resign 3 occurrences NA late 14c., "give up (something), surrender, abandon, submit; relinquish (an office, position, right, claim)," from Old French resigner "renounce, relinquish" (13c.), from Latin resignare "to check off, annul, cancel, give back, give up," from re-, here perhaps denoting "opposite", + signare "to make an entry in an account book," literally "to mark," from Latin signum "identifying mark, sign".
rested [adjective] refreshed by sleep, c. 1400, past-participle adjective from rest (v.).
reveal c. 1400, revelen, "disclose, divulge, make known (supernaturally or by divine agency, as religious truth)," from Old French reveler "reveal" (14c.), from Latin revelare "reveal, uncover, disclose," literally "unveil," from re- "back, again," here probably indicating "opposite of" or transition to an opposite state + velare "to cover, veil," from velum "a veil".
revere fear regard with deep respect and veneration, 1660s, from French révérer, from Latin revereri "revere, fear," from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see re-), + vereri "stand in awe of, fear, respect".
revolt turn, roll back 1540s, "cast off allegiance, rise against rulers, break away from established authority," from French revolter (15c.), which is from or cognate with Italian rivoltare "to overthrow, overturn," from Vulgar Latin *revolvitare "to overturn, overthrow," frequentative of Latin revolvere (past participle revolutus) "turn, roll back".
revolution turn, roll back late 14c., revolucioun, originally of celestial bodies, "one (apparent) rotation about the earth," also the time required for this, also "act or fact of moving in a circular course," from Old French revolucion "course, revolution" of celestial bodies (13c.) or directly from Late Latin revolutionem (nominative revolutio) "a revolving," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin revolvere "turn, roll back".
right [noun] on, toward, or relating to the side of a human body or of a thing that is to the east when the person or thing is facing north.
Right [ajdective] [correct, morally correct, direct] Old English riht, of actions, "just, good, fair, in conformity with moral law; proper, fitting, according to standard; rightful, legitimate, lawful; correct in belief, orthodox;" of persons or their characters, "disposed to do what is good or just;" also literal, "straight, not bent; direct, being the shortest course; erect," from Proto-Germanic *rehtan.
rigorous strict stricte early 15c., of persons, "strict, exacting, harsh, stern;" of laws, actions, etc., "marked by inflexibility, severe, exacting," hence "unmitigated, merciless;" from Old French rigorous (13c., Modern French rigoureux), from Medieval Latin rigorosus, from Latin rigor "stiffness, firmness".
salutary beneficial wholesome, healthful, healing, late 15c. (Caxton), from Old French salutaire "beneficial," or directly from Latin salutaris "healthful," from salus (genitive salutis) "good health".
saved salva late 14c., "delivered from damnation, destined for Heaven," past-participle adjective from save (v.).
scatter mid-12c., scateren, transitive, "to squander;" c. 1300, "to separate and drive off in disorder;" late 14c., "to throw loosely about, strew here and there," possibly a northern English variant of Middle English schateren, reflecting Norse influence. The intransitive sense, "go or flee in different directions, disperse" is from c. 1300.
secret hidden obscurum late 14c., "that which is hidden from human understanding;" early 15c., "that which is hidden from general knowledge;" from Latin secretum "secrecy; a mystery; a thing hidden; secret conversation," also "retirement, solitude," noun from secretus "set apart, withdrawn; hidden, concealed, private." This is a past-participle adjective from secernere "to set apart, part, divide; exclude," from se- "without, apart," properly "on one's own"+ cernere "to separate".
seek querens Middle English sēchen "go in search or quest of; strive for, try to attain," from Old English secan, seocan "search for; pursue, chase; long for, wish for, desire; look for, expect from," influenced by Old Norse soekja, both from Proto-Germanic *sokjanan.
sense know scio late 14c., "meaning, signification, interpretation" (especially of Holy Scripture); c. 1400, "the faculty of perception;" from Old French sens "one of the five senses; meaning; wit, understanding" (12c.) and directly from Latin sensus "perception, feeling, undertaking, meaning," from sentire "perceive, feel, know."
sentient know scio 1630s, "capable of feeling, having the power of or characterized by the exercise of sense-perception," from Latin sentientem (nominative sentiens) "feeling," present participle of sentire "to feel".
sin peccata Old English synn (noun), syngian (verb); probably related to Latin sons, sont- ‘guilty’.
sinister malice early 15c., "prompted by malice or ill-will, intending to mislead," from Old French senestre, sinistre "contrary, false; unfavorable; to the left" (14c.), from Latin sinister "left, on the left side" (opposite of dexter), of uncertain origin.
skeptic [noun] also sceptic, 1580s, "member of an ancient Greek school that doubted the possibility of real knowledge," from French sceptique and directly from Latin scepticus "the sect of the Skeptics," from Greek skeptikos (plural Skeptikoi "the Skeptics, followers of Pyrrho"), noun use of adjective meaning "inquiring, reflective".
snare [noun 1] noose for catching animals, late Old English, from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse snara "noose, snare," related to soenri "twisted rope," from Proto-Germanic *snarkho.
sojourn day dies late 13c., "stay temporarily, reside for a time; visit;" also "reside permanently, dwell;" from Old French sojorner "stay or dwell for a time," from Vulgar Latin *subdiurnare "to spend the day" (source also of Italian soggiornare), from Latin sub- "under, until"+ diurnare "to last long," from diurnus "of a day," from diurnum "day".
soul [noun 1] A substantial entity believed to be that in each person which lives, feels, thinks and wills [Century Dictionary], Old English sawol "spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence; life, living being," from Proto-Germanic *saiwalō, of uncertain origin.
spectacle mid-14c., "specially prepared or arranged display," from Old French spectacle "sight, spectacle, Roman games" (13c.), from Latin spectaculum "a public show, spectacle, place from which shows are seen," from spectare "to view, watch, behold," frequentative form of specere "to look at".
spirit mid-13c., "animating or vital principle in man and animals," from Anglo-French spirit, Old French espirit "spirit, soul" (12c., Modern French esprit) and directly from Latin spiritus "a breathing (respiration, and of the wind), breath; breath of a god," hence "inspiration; breath of life," hence "life;" also "disposition, character; high spirit, vigor, courage; pride, arrogance," related to spirare "to breathe," perhaps from PIE *(s)peis- "to blow" (source also of Old Church Slavonic pisto "to play on the flute").
stupefied stupebit late Middle English: from French stupéfier, from Latin stupefacere, from stupere ‘be struck senseless’.
substance essence c. 1300, "essential nature, real or essential part," from Old French sustance, substance "goods, possessions; nature, composition" (12c.), from Latin substantia "being, essence, material," from substans, present participle of substare "stand firm, stand or be under, be present," from sub "up to, under" + stare "to stand,"
suffer Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French suffrir, from Latin sufferre, from sub- ‘from below’ + ferre ‘to bear’.
sultan power 1550s, from French sultan "ruler of Turkey" (16c.), ultimately from Arabic (Semitic) sultan "ruler, prince, monarch, king, queen," originally "power, dominion." According to Klein's sources, this is from Aramaic shultana "power," from shelet "have power."
superficial face vultus late 14c., in anatomical and mathematical uses, "of or relating to a surface," from Late Latin superficialis "of or pertaining to the surface," from superficies "surface, upper side, top," from super "above, over" + facies "form, face".
superstition Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin superstitio(n- ), from super- ‘over’ + stare ‘to stand’ (perhaps from the notion of ‘standing over’ something in awe).
tale Old English talu ‘telling, something told’, of Germanic origin;
terrible late 14c., "causing terror, awe, or dread; frightful," from Old French terrible (12c.), from Latin terribilis "frightful," from terrere "fill with fear,"
terror early 15c., "something that intimidates, an object of fear," from Old French terreur (14c.), from Latin terrorem (nominative terror) "great fear, dread, alarm, panic; object of fear, cause of alarm; terrible news," from terrere "fill with fear, frighten,"
testament witness teste late 13c., "last will disposing of property," from Latin testamentum "a last will, publication of a will," from testari "make a will, be witness to," from testis "witness".
testimony witness teste c. 1400, "proof or demonstration of some fact, evidence, piece of evidence;" early 15c., "legal testimony, sworn statement of a witness," from Old North French testimonie (Old French testimoine 11c.), from Latin testimonium "evidence, proof, witness, attestation," from testis "a witness, one who attests" + -monium, suffix signifying action, state, condition.
torment [noun] c. 1300, "the inflicting of torture," also "state of great suffering, pain, distress," from Old French torment "torture, pain, anguish, suffering distress" (11c., Modern French tourment), from Latin tormentum "twisted cord, sling; clothes-press; instrument for hurling stones," also "instrument of torture, a rack," figuratively "anguish, pain, torment," from torquere "to twist".
torment [verb] c. 1300, "inflict torture on, distress," from Old French tormenter "torture, torment, oppress, agitate" (12c.), from Medieval Latin tormentare "to torment, to twist," from Latin tormentum "twisted cord, sling; clothes-press; instrument for hurling stones," also "instrument of torture, a rack," figuratively "anguish, pain, torment," from torquere "to twist".
tragedy goat hoedis late 14c., "play or other serious literary work with an unhappy ending," from Old French tragedie (14c.), from Latin tragedia "a tragedy," from Greek tragodia "a dramatic poem or play in formal language and having an unhappy resolution," apparently literally "goat song," from tragos "goat, buck" + ōidē "song" (see ode), probably on model of rhapsodos
transmit send c. 1400, from Latin transmittere "send across, cause to go across, transfer, pass on," from trans "across, beyond" + mittere "to release, let go; send, throw".
transpire spirit 1590s, "pass off in the form of a vapor or liquid," from French transpirer (16c.), from Latin trans "across, beyond; through" + spirare "to breathe". Figurative sense of "leak out, become known" is recorded from 1741, and the erroneous meaning "take place, happen" is almost as old, being first recorded 1755.
tremble c. 1300, "shake from fear, cold, etc.," from Old French trembler "tremble, fear" (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *tremulare, from Latin tremulus "trembling, shaking, quaking," from tremere "to tremble, shiver, quake".
trouble Middle English: from Old French truble (noun), trubler (verb), based on Latin turbidus. late Middle English (in the figurative sense): from Latin turbidus, from turba ‘a crowd, a disturbance’.
tyrant master/lord c. 1300, "absolute ruler," especially one without legal right; "cruel, oppressive ruler," from Old French tiran, tyrant (12c.), from Latin tyrannus "lord, master, monarch, despot," especially "arbitrary ruler, cruel governor, autocrat", from Greek tyrannos "lord, master, sovereign, absolute ruler unlimited by law or constitution".
ultimate [adjective] 1650s, from Late Latin ultimatus, past participle of ultimare "to be final, come to an end," from Latin ultimus (fem. ultima) "last, final, farthest, most distant, extreme," superlative of *ulter "beyond".
understood know scio late 14c., "able to understand, intelligent," from Latin intelligibilis, intellegibilis "that can understand; that can be understood," from intellegere "to understand, come to know".
veneration worth dignas early 15c., from Old French veneracion, from Latin venerationem (nominative veneratio) "reverence, profoundest respect," noun of action from past participle stem of venerari "to worship, revere," from venus (genitive veneris) "beauty, love, desire".
vicissitude change early 17th century (in the sense ‘alternation’): from French, or from Latin vicissitudo, from vicissim ‘by turns’, from vic- ‘turn, change’.
victim late 15c., "living creature killed and offered as a sacrifice to a deity or supernatural power, or in the performance of a religious rite;" from Latin victima "sacrificial animal; person or animal killed as a sacrifice," a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to vicis "turn, occasion" (as in vicarious), if the notion is an "exchange" with the gods
votary vow/promise votum 1540s, "one consecrated by a vow," from Latin votum "a promise to a god; that which is promised" + -ary.
way [noun] viae Old English weg "road, path; course of travel; room, space, freedom of movement;" also, figuratively, "course of life" especially, in plural, "habits of life" as regards moral, ethical, or spiritual choices, from Proto-Germanic *wega- "course of travel, way".
wicked Middle English: probably from Old English wicca ‘witch’ + -ed1.
without sine Old English wiðutan "outside of, from outside," literally "against the outside" (opposite of within), see with + out (adv.). As a word expressing lack or want of something (opposite of with), attested from c. 1200. In use by late 14c. as a conjunction, short for without that.
witness [noun] Old English witnes "attestation of fact, event, etc., from personal knowledge;" also "one who so testifies;" originally "knowledge, wit," formed from wit (n.) + -ness. Old English gewitnes glosses Latin testimonium (Ælfric). Christian use (late 14c.) is as a literal translation of Greek martys
word verbo Old English word "speech, talk, utterance, sentence, statement, news, report, word," from Proto-Germanic *wurda-.
world world mundus Old English woruld, worold "human existence, the affairs of life," also "a long period of time," also "the human race, mankind, humanity," a word peculiar to Germanic languages , with a literal sense of "age of man," from Proto-Germanic *weraldi-, a compound of *wer "man" (Old English wer, still in werewolf; see virile) + *ald "age".
Worship worth dignas Old English worðscip, wurðscip (Anglian), weorðscipe (West Saxon) "condition of being worthy, dignity, glory, distinction, honor, renown," from weorð "worthy" (see worth) + -scipe.
worthy [adjective] mid-13c., "having merit," from worth (n.) + -y. Old English had weorþful in this sense. Attested from late 14c. as a noun meaning "person of merit
wounds injure Old English wund "hurt, injury, ulcer," from Proto-Germanic *wuntho.
DEFINITIONS
def 4innate, or that men have this idea from the time of their birth.
def 6religion is the art of occupying limited minds with that which is impossible for them to comprehend
def 52Providence the generous care which Divinity shows in providing for our needs,
def 54the phenomena of Nature, or the effects which we see in this world,
def 61Hell ... is... a fearful place where ...God reserves eternal torments for the majority of men.
def 73foresight, or the ability to know in advance all which is to happen
def 76good or render themselves agreeable to their God,
def 76sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
def 76sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
def 83is merit in man? It is a certain manner of acting which renders him estimable in the eyes of his fellow beings.
def 83What is virtue? It is the disposition that causes us to do good to others.
def 87The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world,
def101immortal, or to live forever.
def105a spirit, or a certain something which animates him without his knowing how
def110Theology could very properly be defined as the science of contradictions.
def111a mystery is nothing but a contradiction,
def111a mystery is whatever our spiritual guides can not explain to us.
def123doubt is to deliberate upon the judgment which we should pass.
def123religious skepticism can be but the effect of a superficial examination of theological principles,
def123skeptic, is to lack the motives necessary to establish a judgment.
def123skeptical in the matter of religion when we design to return to its principles, and look closely into the idea of the God who serves as its foundation
def123Skepticism is but a state of indecision which results from a superficial examination of subjects.
def127impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
def127To be impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
def127to be superstitious, is to have false ideas of Him.
def129a miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
def129miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
def135experience, which is only the repeated application of the senses,
def135Faith, according to theologians, is consent without evidence.
def136reason anything else but the knowledge of the useful and the true?
def168But who is God? He is a being whom no one is able to conceive of, and whom, consequently, each one modifies in his own way.
def168morality, or the duties of man
def168virtue according to theology? It is, we are told, IS the conformity of men's actions with the will of God.
def178Conscience is the inward testimony which we render to ourselves for having acted in such a manner as to deserve the esteem or the censure of those with whom we associate.
def196theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologians,
def 6religion is the art of occupying limited minds with that which is impossible for them to comprehend
def 52Providence the generous care which Divinity shows in providing for our needs,
def 54the phenomena of Nature, or the effects which we see in this world,
def 61Hell ... is... a fearful place where ...God reserves eternal torments for the majority of men.
def 73foresight, or the ability to know in advance all which is to happen
def 76good or render themselves agreeable to their God,
def 76sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
def 76sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
def 83is merit in man? It is a certain manner of acting which renders him estimable in the eyes of his fellow beings.
def 83What is virtue? It is the disposition that causes us to do good to others.
def 87The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world,
def101immortal, or to live forever.
def105a spirit, or a certain something which animates him without his knowing how
def110Theology could very properly be defined as the science of contradictions.
def111a mystery is nothing but a contradiction,
def111a mystery is whatever our spiritual guides can not explain to us.
def123doubt is to deliberate upon the judgment which we should pass.
def123religious skepticism can be but the effect of a superficial examination of theological principles,
def123skeptic, is to lack the motives necessary to establish a judgment.
def123skeptical in the matter of religion when we design to return to its principles, and look closely into the idea of the God who serves as its foundation
def123Skepticism is but a state of indecision which results from a superficial examination of subjects.
def127impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
def127To be impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
def127to be superstitious, is to have false ideas of Him.
def129a miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
def129miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
def135experience, which is only the repeated application of the senses,
def135Faith, according to theologians, is consent without evidence.
def136reason anything else but the knowledge of the useful and the true?
def168But who is God? He is a being whom no one is able to conceive of, and whom, consequently, each one modifies in his own way.
def168morality, or the duties of man
def168virtue according to theology? It is, we are told, IS the conformity of men's actions with the will of God.
def178Conscience is the inward testimony which we render to ourselves for having acted in such a manner as to deserve the esteem or the censure of those with whom we associate.
def196theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologians,
words and phrases
in were-wolfs, than to believe in the magical or impossible action of the spirit upon the body25werewolf
they talk to children of God as they talk to them of were-wolfs;31werewolf
bird93
bird-catcher93
it has become for them a specter, a goblin, a were-wolf which torments them,183werewolf
God will not be better suited to man in the other lifeAE 8the other life
almighty BeingAE 27almighty Being
All the booksAE 52book
the continual misfortunes by which my kind is oppressed?AE 55
The existence of another lifeAE 57another life
the sufferings of the other lifeAE 66other life
the sufferings of the other lifeAE 66the other life
there is a religionAE 70
celestial Adversary.AE 75
give the same dispositions to all beings of our kind?AE 76
Someone has said profanelyAE 78
caught it in his netAE 93
The esteem which so many people have for the spiritual substance,AE 106
Those who find the idea of another lifeAE 108another life
the regions of the other lifeAE 108the other life
Almighty BeingAE 109almighty Being
our spiritual guidesAE 111
Did not a famous theologianAE 117
the Monarch of NatureAE 124
the Most High.AE 126Most High
they were sent from the Most High.AE 126Most High
suspicious people, who had the greatest interest in making others believe that they were sent from the Most High.AE 126
Who is wrong or right? Each one exclaims: "It is I!"AE 127
men who have been favored by the Most HighAE 129Most High
The terrors of another lifeAE 140another life
The terrors of another lifeAE 140another life
The good Christian,AE 140
the objects of another life.AE 141another life
the most lively faith can never give to the objects of another life.AE 141
that the gods of the earthAE 143of the earth
the Monarch of NatureAE 143
the terrors of another lifeAE 144another life
religion, the terrors of another lifeAE 144another life
the Lord's ministersAE 146
and of the great,AE 147
to excite celestial indignationAE 153
would not fail to excite celestial indignationAE 153
a religious principle of going into a frenzy, every time that an opinion was brought forth which their priests considered contrary to the holy doctrineAE 154
every time that an opinion was brought forth which their priests considered contrary to the holy doctrine.AE 155
a wonderful idea of Nature's Author?AE 160
Nature's AuthorAE 160
No one dreams about another lifeAE 167another life
all that which the interpreters of the DeityAE 169the Deity
our spiritual guidesAE 169
the actions of the Lord's ministers?AE 169
the interests of the Most High;AE 169
the interpreters of the DeityAE 169
the Lord's ministersAE 169
to sustain the interests of the Most High;AE 169Most High
Almighty BeingAE 170Almighty Being
Heaven is outraged!AE 172
to measure itself with that of the Most HighAE 173Most High
these organs of the Most HighAE 174Most High
the eternal fireAE 175Hell
the displeasure of the Most High.AE 175Most High
the displeasure of the Most High.AE 175Most High
the great,AE 180
the Lord's ministersAE 188
of being the messengers of the Most HighAE 188Most High
the chiefs of nationsAE 197
the Hebrew religion*AE 200
messengerangel
innate, or that men have this idea from the time of their birth.def 4innate, or that men have this idea from the time of their birth.
religion is the art of occupying limited minds with that which is impossible for them to comprehenddef 6religion is the art of occupying limited minds with that which is impossible for them to comprehend
Providence the generous care which Divinity shows in providing for our needs,def 52Providence the generous care which Divinity shows in providing for our needs,
the phenomena of Nature, or the effects which we see in this world,def 54the phenomena of Nature, or the effects which we see in this world,
Hell ... is... a fearful place where ...God reserves eternal torments for the majority of men.def 61Hell ... is... a fearful place where ...God reserves eternal torments for the majority of men.
foresight, or the ability to know in advance all which is to happendef 73foresight, or the ability to know in advance all which is to happen
good or render themselves agreeable to their God,def 76good or render themselves agreeable to their God,
sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.def 76sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.def 76sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
is merit in man? It is a certain manner of acting which renders him estimable in the eyes of his fellow beings.def 83is merit in man? It is a certain manner of acting which renders him estimable in the eyes of his fellow beings.
What is virtue? It is the disposition that causes us to do good to others.def 83What is virtue? It is the disposition that causes us to do good to others.
The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world,def 87The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world,
immortal, or to live forever.def101immortal, or to live forever.
a spirit, or a certain something which animates him without his knowing howdef105a spirit, or a certain something which animates him without his knowing how
Theology could very properly be defined as the science of contradictions.def110Theology could very properly be defined as the science of contradictions.
a mystery is nothing but a contradiction,def111a mystery is nothing but a contradiction,
a mystery is whatever our spiritual guides can not explain to us.def111a mystery is whatever our spiritual guides can not explain to us.
doubt is to deliberate upon the judgment which we should pass.def123doubt is to deliberate upon the judgment which we should pass.
religious skepticism can be but the effect of a superficial examination of theological principles,def123religious skepticism can be but the effect of a superficial examination of theological principles,
skeptic, is to lack the motives necessary to establish a judgment.def123skeptic, is to lack the motives necessary to establish a judgment.
skeptical in the matter of religion when we design to return to its principles, and look closely into the idea of the God who serves as its foundationdef123skeptical in the matter of religion when we design to return to its principles, and look closely into the idea of the God who serves as its foundation
Skepticism is but a state of indecision which results from a superficial examination of subjects.def123Skepticism is but a state of indecision which results from a superficial examination of subjects.
impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;def127impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
To be impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;def127To be impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
to be superstitious, is to have false ideas of Him.def127to be superstitious, is to have false ideas of Him.
a miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.def129a miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.def129miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
experience, which is only the repeated application of the senses,def135experience, which is only the repeated application of the senses,
Faith, according to theologians, is consent without evidence.def135Faith, according to theologians, is consent without evidence.
reason anything else but the knowledge of the useful and the true?def136reason anything else but the knowledge of the useful and the true?
But who is God? He is a being whom no one is able to conceive of, and whom, consequently, each one modifies in his own way.def168But who is God? He is a being whom no one is able to conceive of, and whom, consequently, each one modifies in his own way.
morality, or the duties of mandef168morality, or the duties of man
virtue according to theology? It is, we are told, IS the conformity of men's actions with the will of God.def168virtue according to theology? It is, we are told, IS the conformity of men's actions with the will of God.
Conscience is the inward testimony which we render to ourselves for having acted in such a manner as to deserve the esteem or the censure of those with whom we associate.def178Conscience is the inward testimony which we render to ourselves for having acted in such a manner as to deserve the esteem or the censure of those with whom we associate.
theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologians,def196theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologians,
Why did God allow him to be seduced, knowing well that he would be too weak to resist the tempter?* AE FEFE 74
He desires to be known, loved, respected, and obeyed,IR 1
To say that God is the author of the phenomena that we see,IR 37author
God is the author of disorder;IR 45author
the happiness of our raceIR 54
the authorIR 68author
the right of might.IR 76
the right of the strongestIR 76
grave Doctors of DivinityIR 80
the love, obedience, and respectIR 91
in the existence of your immaterial soul,IR 103soul
the dogma of life hereafterIR 107
The fear of ceasing to beIR 108
The fear of ceasing to exist,IR 108
the simple and the trueIR 112
to that which is clear, simple, and true.IR 112
the heathen, of the Chinese, of the Mohammedans.IR 127
the Indian and the Chinaman, the Mohammedan,IR 127
history informs meIR 132history
history teaches meIR 132history
our DoctorsIR 136
Our Doctors of DivinityIR 136
the Gods of Rome IRIR 139
the Roman Gods.IR 139
Do not such morals give us a wonderful idea of Nature's Author?IR 160author
He is also the author of disorderIR 160author
He is equally the author of the goodIR 160author
If He is the author of all,IR 160author
If He is the author of all,IR 160author
if He is the author of order,IR 160author
if He is the author of order,IR 160author
the author of disorder,IR 160author
the author of the good and of the bad we see in this world;IR 160author
and consider them as commandments of the Deity?IR 173the Deity
and consider them as commandments of the Deity?IR 173
O Doctors of Divinity!IR 188
by new Doctors of Divinity,IR 200
you sayis
We are told that Divine qualities are not of a natureIS 6we are told,
but do you say that God is infinite?IS 7you say
In order to avoid all embarrassment, they tell usIS 28they tell us
to say nothing about what their God is; they tell usIS 29they tell us
It is, you say,IS 30you say
even the being forbidden to reason upon what they tell us,IS 34they tell us
Nature, you say,IS 38you say
They tell us gravelyIS 39they tell us
they tell meIS 42they tell me
we are told, the hand of God,IS 42we are told,
Then you will sayIS 43you will say
you will sayIS 43you will say
You say [IS] that God is everywhereIS 45you say
Divine intelligence, divine ideas, divine views, you say,IS 46you say
According to you,IS 49According to you,
We are assured that God created the world for His own gloryIS 49we are assured
we are told, upon this: that man is the only being endowedIS 49we are told,
according to theology,IS 50according to theology,
you will say;IS 52you will say
according to yourselves,IS 55according to yourselves,
this unknown monarchIS 55
they assure usIS 57they assure us
we are assured that our sojourn on the earth,IS 57we are assured
we are remindedIS 57we are reminded
our theologians teach usIS 57
We are told of a pretended scale for human beingsIS 58we are told,
According to you,IS 59According to you,
you assure usIS 59you assure us
you say also that He is immutableIS 59you say
you say alsoIS 59you say also
men repeat to usIS 62men repeat to us
constantly repeated to usIS 63constantly repeated to us
they tell usIS 63they tell us
true religion and superstition; they tell usIS 63they tell us
we are told that God is infinitely goodIS 63we are told,
devotees who tell usIS 65
You will tell meIS 66You will tell me
they exhaust themselves by telling usIS 68by telling us
we are assured that these perfections are written in ineffaceable characters.IS 68we are assured
We are continually toldIS 68We are continually told
we are assured that evil does not come from GodIS 72we are assured
If God had the foresight of the future,IS 73of the future
the foresight of the futureIS 73of the future
say you,IS 74say you,
We are told a story of the simple-heartedness of an Italian monkIS 75we are told,
it is said,IS 76it is said,
it is said,IS 76
according to you,IS 77according to you,
they tell usIS 77they tell us
We are told that the enormous distance which separates God from menIS 77we are told,
In speaking to us incessantlyIS 77
we are assured, watches without relaxation over the welfareIS 79we are assured
Doctors of Divinity assure usIS 80assure us
he would or would not come into the world;IS 80into the world
Man, you say,IS 80you say
you say,IS 80you say,
But you will say,IS 80you will say
Man, you will say,IS 80you will say
you will sayIS 80you will say
it will be saidIS 80
say you,IS 80
Theologians tell and repeat to usIS 80
But you will say,IS 82you will say
you will sayIS 82you will say
To take away from man his free will, is, we are told,IS 83we are told,
who repeats to us incessantlyIS 87
we are told that there God will repair all the iniquitiesIS 88we are told,
God, you say, punishes us for our highest goodIS 89you say
God, you say, is the sovereign arbiterIS 89you say
a multitude of theologians tell meIS 89
you say,IS 89
you say,IS 89
the Christian will say,IS 90Christian
it is said,IS 91
We are constantly told that we owe an infinite gratitude to ProvidenceIS 93we are told,
You say that existence itself is a great blessing.IS 93you say
It is, you say,IS 94you say
you say,IS 94
It is, we are told, by his intelligence,IS 95we are told,
We are assured that the human soul is a simple substanceIS 96we are assured
I exist, you will say;IS 99you will say
you will sayIS 99you will say
Impious people, you say,IS 101you say
you sayIS 101
In reply to all these questions, you sayIS 103you say
It is, you say,IS 103you say
you say,IS 103
than the body, they tell usIS 106they tell us
When they tell usIS 106they tell us
We are constantly toldIS 107we are told,
We are repeatedly told that religious ideas offer infinite consolationIS 108we are told,
we are told, an afflicting system, tending to degrade manIS 108we are told,
You say, O Christian philosophersIS 108you say
We are repeatedly toldIS 108
We are told, very gravely, that it is not demonstrated that God does not exist.IS 109we are told,
men have told usIS 109
we are assured that what is folly in the eyes of man,IS 110we are assured
we are told that we are not made to conceive the truths of the religionIS 110we are told,
that is to say,IS 112
that is to say,IS 112
We are told that man, by the weakness of his natureIS 113we are told,
You blush*** , you say,IS 118you say
we are assured that God revealed Himself.IS 124we are assured
But, you will say,IS 126you will say
I am assuredIS 126
you tell usIS 129you tell us
you assure usIS 135
You tell me continuallyIS 136
we are assured today, that during this period the most flourishing nationsIS 139we are assured
We are told constantly of the immense advantages which religion secures to politicsIS 145we are told,
they assure usIS 154
We are constantly told that there can be no morality without religion.IS 160we are told,
What beautiful morality! you will say.IS 160you will say
you constantly tell usIS 163you constantly tell us
you tell usIS 163you tell us
But you will sayIS 163you will say
The Christian assures meIS 163
Woman! you leave, you say,IS 167you say
repentance ... is very useless to the world;IS 170
We are constantly told that without a God, there can be no moral obligationIS 171we are told,
these organs of the Most HighIS 174Most High
the depravity of an atheist on a throne,IS 179
at the name of the Deity,IS 183
we have seen profound thinkers who thought they had new proofs of the truth most important to men.IS 186
You say,IS 187you say
You say, O DoctorsIS 188you say
Religion, they tell us,IS 194they tell us
theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologiansIS 196
the treasures of Divine Wisdom," upon which they tell usIS 202they tell us
This is a pure illusion, you say.IS 202you say
JesusPSJesus
AuthorPS
Can a work with which the authorPS 68author
its AuthorPS 68author
this surprising work becomes often so revolting and so odious to its Author,PS 68author
the Almighty workmanPS 68
Jesus,PS 116Jesus
JesusPS 164Jesus
the author of disorderSEauthor
the author of order,SEauthor
their hidden princeSE 1
in the other lifeSE 8
they amused them upon the road by stories;SE 15road
the science of divinitySE 19
the star of the daySE 24
a man who has imbibed them since his tenderest infancy.SE 35
has imbibed them since his tenderest infancy.SE 35
in advance the finger of GodSE 36finger
It is the cause of itself.SE 39
the hand of God,SE 42
to invigorate the beings who live in these planets.*SE 43
a pure spiritSE 46
by exaggerating the human qualities with which they have clothed DivinitySE 47
the human qualities with which they have clothed Divinity;SE 47
the most invincible ignorance of the Divine essenceSE 49
This human machineSE 51
the countless evils, of which the world is the theater,SE 53theater
the world is the theater,SE 53
The logic of common sense teaches usSE 54
this world, which you claim as His empireSE 55empire
our sojourn on the earthSE 57on the earth
the earth (the only sojourning place we know ofSE 57
the only sojourning place we know ofSE 57
the present world is ... designed to conduct man to a happier sphere;SE 57
Experience contradicts this sublime revery.SE 58
Absolute sovereign of mortalsSE 60
To say that man can disturb the order of the universeSE 67universe
grasp the lightning from God's handSE 67
He feels Himself compelled to cast him into the fire.SE 68Hell
this surprising work becomes often so revolting and so odious to its Author, PS that He feels Himself compelled to cast him into the fire.SE 68
in the eyes of the Almighty workmanSE 69Almighty being
God made the world to be the theater of dishonoring warsSE 70theater
God who, having the power of leaving them in oblivion,SE 73
the power of leaving them in oblivion,SE 73
issuing from the hands of God,SE 74hands
when just leaving the hands of GodSE 74hands
the ways of DivinitySE 77Divinity
to explain the ways of DivinitySE 77Divinity
the empire of a God.SE 77empire
It is but with the hope of happiness that men submit to the empire of a God.SE 77
Priests! you teach usSE 77
as indubitable proofs of celestial goodness.SE 78Heaven
the pious, incapable of accusing God of malice, accustom themselves to look upon these sad afflictions as indubitable proofs of celestial goodness.SE 78
the sick heads?SE 82
If God in His empireSE 86empire
under the empire of a just GodSE 86empire
God is a creating King,SE 86
the evils of which this world is the theater,SE 88theater
In calling mortals into life,SE 92
to drink from the cup of bitternessSE 93
beloved child of ProvidenceSE 94Providence
men; this beloved child of ProvidenceSE 94Providence
this beloved child of ProvidenceSE 94Providence
does not the king of animalsSE 94
the king of animalsSE 94
the king of Nature,SE 94
God's friendSE 97
What known advantage results for God's friendSE 97
how great are Thy gifts to the children of men!"SE 98
is Thy kindness for the children of wolves!SE 98
Monarch of the skies!SE 98
the children of men!"SE 98
THE CHILDREN OF MEN!"SE 98
the children of wolves!SE 98
THE CHILDREN OF WOLVES!"SE 98
the execution of his pious enterprise.SE 98
the man of GodSE 98
THY GOODNESS TO THE CHILDREN OF MEN!"SE 98
the Arbiter of NatureSE 99
of rigorous torments.SE 101
an Almighty motor in matterSE 104
the ignorance of the nature of this soul;SE 105
the nature of this soulSE 105
the geographers of the other worldSE 107other world
in the other life.SE 107the other life
Is not the visible world always preferred to the invisible world?SE 107
the chance of guiding their souls to this unknown abodeSE 107
They needed souls and chimeras to populate the imaginary regions which they have discovered in the other lifeSE 107
this unknown abodeSE 107
the happy regions,SE 108Heaven
in the abode of tormentsSE 108Hell
the regions of the unhappySE 108Hell
inducing him to commit suicide as soon as he suffersSE 108
return peaceably to the universal homeSE 108
the universal homeSE 108
that wandering reason is but an unfaithful guide,SE 110
the imagination of men, who find in it a continual pasturage to feed upon.SE 112
treats the Christian as an idolater and a dogSE 116
Under the empire of this just SovereignSE 118empire
in an empire where innocence is so often oppressed;SE 118
Is not the God-bread the fetish of many Christian nations,SE 120
this frightful character of the God to whom you offer your incense?SE 120
The Christian, proud of his more modern revelation,SE 127
a Being who holds in His hands the hearts and the minds of His creatures,SE 129
It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.SE 129
who holds in His hands the hearts and the minds of His creaturesSE 129
the most rigorous torments.SE 133Hell
An enthusiast in dyingSE 133
to have faith in their Divine antidotesSE 134
aroused by their directorsSE 138
women, aroused by their directors,SE 138
the Authorities of the earth,SE 139of the earth
the salvation of the nationsSE 139
of seeing your names and ours inscribed in the book of life? TLSE 140book
and His promises weigh nothing in the balance.SE 141balance
and he keeps on his road.SE 141road
and breaks for them the ties of the social pact,SE 143
the representatives of GodSE 143
have more faith in the indulgence of Heaven than in that of earth.SE 144
rather like to bargain with this invisible Judge,SE 144
The God-monarchSE 144
the indulgence of HeavenSE 144
this invisible JudgeSE 144
to bargain with this invisible JudgeSE 144
and withdrawn their attention from the most interesting things.SE 145
the remedies which Nature offers themSE 146
to present their throat to the swordSE 146
the earth is not their [men] true country;SE 147country
that the earth is not their true country;SE 147
the powerlessness of these deaf Gods,SE 147
their haughty chiefs, who always have a heart of brassSE 148
they are ordered to present their throat to the swordSE 148
who always have a heart of brass.SE 148
to put a State into disorder and the universe into combustion.SE 149universe
suffices to put a State into disorder and the universe into combustion.SE 149
no longer in conformity with the interests of Heaven,SE 150Heaven
the Sovereign of NatureSE 156
to a happier sphereSE 157
of seeing the finger of GodSE 158finger
He is also the author of disorder,SE 160
the man-God of the Christians,SE 160
to combat and extinguish Nature,SE 160
Heaven—his [a Christian] true country.SE 162country
The vanity of performing a roleSE 162role
ravages...scattered throughout the universe.SE 162universe
the Devil still holds the empireSE 163empire
delivering it from the servitude of sinSE 164
who alone will have the glory of shining in the celestial court;SE 164
disarming the wrath of HeavenSE 165Heaven
and which promises the remission of crimes,SE 165remission
in the religious pharmacySE 165
by sending us to the other life,SE 166
No one dreams about another lifeSE 167another life
blot out all the pleasures of Paradise.SE 167Heaven
extinguishes the fires of Hell,SE 167Hell
The ministers of HeavenSE 169heaven
to sustain the interests of the Most HighSE 169Most High
Christians have renounced with good-will the perishable riches of the earth;SE 169
this supernatural taste for miserySE 169
to prevent the poor from increasingSE 169
the interests of HeavenSE 170Heaven
the interests of the ministers of HeavenSE 170Heaven
their conscience rests in peaceSE 170
to surrender to the spiritual power of opinionSE 173
as settlements can be made with HeavenSE 175Heaven
to link our interests with those of our traveling companionsSE 177road
to strew flowers on life's pathwaySE 177road
a more rational philosophy inspires us to strew flowers on life's pathway;SE 177
console him for the fatigues and the weariness of the road.SE 177
deprive himself of the amusements which could console him for the fatigues and the weariness of the road.SE 177
from the pains and the crosses to which we are so often exposed.SE 177
to avoid with great care that which could make us odious to our associatesSE 177
the other worldSE 178the other world
he would not desire to live and linger, thus becoming a burden to himself and others.SE 178
that unexpected circumstances can unveil to the eyes of others the conduct which he feels interested in concealing.SE 178
unexpected circumstances can unveil to the eyes of others the conduct which he feels interested in concealingSE 178
can not walk the road of virtue.SE 180road
He who does not reflect for himself does not know true morals, and can not walk the road of virtue.SE 180
what he owes to the beings necessary to his own happiness.SE 180
being the messengers of the Most HighSE 188Most High
the breaking of some of the chains of prejudice.SE 189
holding an eternal empire over the hearts of your fellow-beings.SE 190empire
wandering in the labyrinths of darknessSE 191
The adherents of credulitySE 192
who boldly pretended to be the organs of Divinity.SE 199
the blunders which religion had rendered sacred!SE 203
the loss of so many profound, laborious, and subtle headsSE 203
to avoid falling out with the ministers of the GodsSE 203
to shake off the chains of superstition.SE 204supersition
Then the universe will be composed of good citizens, just fathers, obedient children, tender friends.SE 206universe
A king of Macassar,story 139
story dice playing sultanstory 92
not base his power on impositions and chimerasTLnor
another lifeTL
capriceTL
capriciousTL
capriciousTL
chimerical fearsTL
Divinity 54 occurancesTL
its chimerical dutiesTL
leading the people to salvationTL
reconcileTL
the different parts of our globeTL
the divine essenceTL
the divine essence,TL
upon earthTL
upon earth13 occurancesTL
upon the earth7 occurancesTL
to those which men acknowledge in the world they inhabitTL 2in the world
imagination, which can lead us only to the land of chimerasTL 3chimera
An idea without a prototype, is it anything but a chimera?TL 4chimera
the Divine Nature,TL 5
who does not understand anything about Him here below.TL 8here below
to man in the other lifeTL 8the other life
a future lifeTL 8
These chimeras, adopted without examination by the fathers,TL 14chimera
a grand spirit as master of the world.TL 20of the world
master of the world.TL 20of the world
the soul of the worldTL 24of the world
the father of NatureTL 24
We conclude that He was not able to endow him with intelligence sufficient to understand the divine essence.TL 29divine essence
beings whose own essence makes it impossible to have any idea of the divine essenceTL 29divine essence
the invincible and necessary ignorance of man, caused by his relation to the divine essence.TL 30divine essence
if the most profound theologians lose themselves in the divine essence,TL 30divine essence
in the Holy BooksTL 30
Very few people in the worldTL 32in the world
Very few people in the worldTL 32
how many persons are there in this worldTL 36in this world
a certain order reigns in the world,TL 44in the world
which this worldTL 44
Supposing God to be the authorTL 45author
you admit that your God is the author of disorder;TL 45author
in the universe.TL 46universe
Its only result is a chimera,TL 47chimera
it would always be impossible for man to know his God, and he would be kept in the most invincible ignorance of the Divine essenceTL 49divine essence
all the religions of the worldTL 49of the world
the religions of the worldTL 49of the world
the Divine nature,TL 49
If I examine all parts of this globeTL 52globe
if in order to live happy here below,TL 52here below
We think to justify Providence by saying that in this worldTL 52in this world
Providence neglects the greatest part of the inhabitants of this world.TL 52of this world
without mercy to the caprices of fateTL 53caprice
Everything which takes place in the worldTL 54in the world
the effects which we see in this worldTL 54in this world
the continual instability in this worldTL 55in this world
the government of a worldTL 55
In a world where everything is from necessity,TL 56
from another world,TL 57another world
to render men happier than they are here belowTL 57here below
that our sojourn on the earth, where we live,TL 57on the earth
not be revealed to us until the future life.TL 57
the future lifeTL 57
In the world where we are, we see all sentient beingsTL 58in the world
In the world where we are,TL 58
which he finds in his pathTL 58
like all the inconstant beings of this world.TL 59of this world
His graces according to His caprice,TL 60caprice
after having rendered mortals very miserable in this worldTL 61
religion teaches them that God can make them much more wretched in another.TL 61
more perfect than others; chosen ones,TL 62
than to create men whose conduct in this worldTL 62
the dogma of gratuitous predestinationTL 62
would cause them eternal chastisements in another?TL 62
does naturally appear to us capricious,TL 64capricious
God is, in all the religions of this world,TL 65of this world
No man upon earthTL 65
because in Hell is no more conversion, and the hour of mercy is passed;TL 66Hell
the dogma of eternal torments in HellTL 66Hell
be upon earthTL 66
the dogma of eternal damnation.TL 66
the hour of mercy is passedTL 66
there would not be upon earthTL 66
the fires of HellTL 67Hell
All the theologies of the worldTL 70of the world
be obliged to see in it the most capriciousTL 71capricious
all the religious systems of the earthTL 71
the religious systems of the earth,TL 71
God is the author of all;TL 72author
moral evil or sin would not exist in the world.TL 72in the world
sin would not exist in the world.TL 72
to know in advance all which is to happen in the worldTL 73in the world
all which is to happen in the world,TL 73
did He not foresee the fallTL 73
If He resolved in His decrees to allow this fall,TL 73
to know in advance all which is to happen in the world,TL 73
all the religions of the world.TL 74of the world
in all the religions of the world,TL 74of the world
the religions of the worldTL 74of the world
The ministers of religionTL 75
the ministry of priestsTL 75
the Pope, who possesses the keys of Paradise and of Hell;TL 75
chosen onesTL 76chosen ones
chosen ones,TL 76chosen ones
men who have lived in this worldTL 76in this world
could not God have made sinless men upon the earth?TL 76upon the earth
sinless men upon the earth?TL 76upon the earth
a court of saints, of chosen onesTL 76
his Creator,TL 76
If the chosen onesTL 76
of chosen onesTL 76
the chosen onesTL 76
the most Just of Beings.TL 76
the immense depths of Divine wisdomTL 77
the sole dispenser of the events of this worldTL 78of this world
celestial goodness.TL 78
that God is the arbiter of things,TL 78
as long as they had not received grace,TL 79grace
can do nothing but evil, for without Divine graceTL 79grace
Divine graceTL 79grace
had not received grace,TL 79grace
not having been given the grace,TL 79grace
destitute of Divine helpTL 79
God punishes him for not having been given the grace,TL 79
all things acts by compulsion, and that his free will is a chimera,TL 80chimera
not having been given the grace to do good!TL 80grace
They suppose that, without grace, man is compelled to do evil:TL 80grace
without graceTL 80grace
come into the world;TL 80into the world
a just God will damn without mercy all those to whom He has not given the grace to know the religion of the Christians.TL 80
God will punish him for not having been given the grace to do good!TL 80
Is not man supposed to be in a continual dependence upon God?TL 85
disturb the order of the world,TL 86of the world
the order of the worldTL 86of the world
disturb the order of the universe,TL 86
the very author of these calamitiesTL 87author
one who thinks that everything is good in the worldTL 87in the world
we are referred to another worldTL 88another world
if ... God could consent to evil during the period of the existence of our globe,TL 88globe
what assurance have we that during the existence of another globe,TL 88globe
the miseries which He permits for a time here below.TL 88here below
the blows which His caprice inflicts upon you.TL 89caprice
the ministers of tyrantsTL 89tyrant
Ministers of a just God!TL 89
the good Lord is the Master?TL 89
the ministers of a GodTL 89
the sovereign arbiter of our destiniesTL 89
sacrificed His own innocent and sinless Son!TL 90
the wrath of HeavenTL 91Heaven
to acquire eternal happinessTL 91Heaven
God is an equitable Monarch, whose object in this worldTL 91in this world
like the tyrants of this worldTL 91of this world
they fear that He, like the tyrants of this world,TL 91of this world
exposed to snaresTL 92snare
in danger of suffering for eternity in anotherTL 94Hell
After having suffered a great deal in this worldTL 94in this world
man is compelled to submit in this worldTL 94in this world
But weak sovereign of this worldTL 94of this world
Are there more detestable animals in this worldTL 96in this world
Father of Nature!TL 98
father of Nature!TL 24
the effect of the Almighty power.TL 100almighty being
possessing exclusively an immortal soul.TL 100soul
of rigorous torments.TL 101Hell
this unknown soul is exempt from deathTL 101soul
this soul will be able to live, to enjoy, to suffer, be sensitive of enjoyment or of rigorous torments.TL 101
in another life.TL 102another life
this soul ... is the principle of lifeTL 102soul
is the principle of life,TL 102
the soul is a simple substance, a spiritTL 103soul
The dogma of the immortality of the soulTL 103
They needed souls and chimerasTL 107chimera
they would govern them far better by realities than by vain chimeras;TL 107chimera
to render one worthy of the abode of felicityTL 107Heaven
the invisible worldTL 107
chosen onesTL 108chosen
the abode of felicity;TL 108Heaven
the abode of tormentsTL 108Hell
to obtain a place in the abode of tormentsTL 108Hell
a more durable existence than the one we enjoy here below.TL 108here below
for beings who often find themselves very unhappy here below?TL 108here below
overwhelming fears in this worldTL 108in this world
from overwhelming fears in this worldTL 108in this world
as soon as he suffers in this worldTL 108in this world
the regions of the other lifeTL 108other life
the immortality of the soulTL 108soul
Consent, then, to leave without regret this world,TL 108this world
the chosen onesTL 108
the dogma of another lifeTL 108
the dogma of the immortality of the soulTL 108
the number of the chosen onesTL 108
this world 43 occurancesTL 108
imagination, when once occupied in creating chimerasTL 109chimera
all the religions of the earthTL 109
conducting us to perditionTL 110Hell
of conducting us to perdition;TL 110Hell
priests would not have so many charges here below.TL 111here below
It is advantageous for the ministers of religionTL 111
the ministers of religionTL 111
the various religions which have been founded in the different regions of our globeTL 112globe
All the revealed religions which we see in the worldTL 112in the world
in the different regions of our globeTL 112
in the worldTL 112
the revealed religions which we see in the worldTL 112
God who enjoys a power which nothing in the worldTL 113in the world
A God who enjoys a power which nothing in the worldTL 113
the Divine economyTL 113
the Divine economyTL 113
with Divine economyTL 113
the different parts of our globeTL 114globe
in the different parts of our globeTL 114
so many different religions found on the earth?TL 114
so essential to the salvation of mortalsTL 115salvation
The world which we inhabitTL 115the world
all the religions of the world.TL 116of the world
by all the religions of the worldTL 116of the world
the religions of the worldTL 116of the world
he sees the God of the universe.TL 116universe
Son of the God of the universeTL 116universe
the God of the universeTL 116universe
the God of the universeTL 116universe
the continual changes that we see in the world?TL 117in the world
the continual changes that we see in the worldTL 117in this world
that we see in the world?TL 117
do you not see that everything in this worldTL 118in this world
all religions of the worldTL 118of the world
with which all religions of the worldTL 118of the world
to the other lifeTL 118other life
the God of the universeTL 118universe
that everything in this worldTL 118
the ineffable mystery of the TrinityTL 118
All nations of the world,TL 119of the world
that there is no people on the earthTL 119on the earth
there is no people on the earthTL 119on the earth
to believe in a universal SpiritTL 119
it is but following one's own caprice;TL 120caprice
the implacable, jealous, vindictive, blood-thirsty, capricious,TL 120capricious
the wishes of this capricious and foolish God;TL 121capricious
was on the earthTL 121on the earth
which ever was on the earthTL 121on the earth
represent Him otherwise than as a great chimera,TL 122chimera
Tell several artists to paint a chimera,TL 122chimera
There are no two individuals in the worldTL 122in the world
There are no two individuals in the worldTL 122in the world
the theologians of the worldTL 122of the world
the most important thing for them in this worldTL 123in this world
this conduct shows a partial, capricious being,TL 124capricious
In all parts of the world,TL 124of the world
the ministers of GodTL 124
the ministers of the GodsTL 125
constant traditionTL 126
in the economy of all Divine revelations,TL 126
God has spoken differently to each nation of the globe [TL 127globe
which we see established in this worldTL 127in this world
the God of the UniverseTL 127universe
Holy LawTL 127
the Holy Law,TL 127
whose holy booksTL 127
The oracles which the Deity has revealed to the nationsTL 128the Deity
the Most HighTL 129
Which of all the religions in the worldTL 130in the world
to lay a snare for usTL 130snare
all the religions in the worldTL 130
the elect?TL 130
the Holy BooksTL 130
every change in a religion which had emanated from the DeityTL 131the Deity
the malice of the Deity.TL 131the Deity
animated by the idea of ParadiseTL 133Heaven
the idea of Paradise,TL 133Heaven
who travel all over the world.TL 133over the world
the salvation of menTL 133salvation
in order to lead me to perdition.TL 135Hell
to lead me to perditionTL 135Hell
of all the priests of the worldTL 135of the world
the priests of the worldTL 135of the world
as a snare, in order to lead me to perdition.TL 135Snare
but as a snare,TL 135
the ministers of religionTL 135
to place snares in our wayTL 136snares
the ministers of this God,TL 136
religion is the most serious affair in the worldTL 137in the world
the most serious affair in the worldTL 137
among the many religions in the world,TL 139in the world
have been the religions of the world;TL 139of the world
the religions of the worldTL 139of the world
by the events and the revolutions of this world,TL 139of this world
either that the Deity takes but little interest in the religion of menTL 139the Deity
the most flourishing nations had not the least idea of the Deity, [TL]TL 139the Deity
among the many religions in the world,TL 139
the different religions which exist on earth.TL 139
the many religions in the world,TL 139
which best suit the Authorities of the earthTL 139
seeing your names and ours inscribed in the book of life?TL 140book
with the firm hope of enjoying eternal happinessTL 140Heaven
the hope of the joys of Paradise,TL 140
the joys of ParadiseTL 140
the ministers of religionTL 140
the punishments of HellTL 140
the torments of HellTL 140
with the hope of the joys of ParadiseTL 140
is it not combating realities with chimeras?TL 141chimera
the incredible punishments of another life;TL 141
the pleasures of HeavenTL 141
the risk of incurring eternal damnationTL 142
a cruel, fantastic, partial tyrant, whose caprice is the rule.TL 143caprice
as vile instruments of their caprices or of their ambitionTL 143caprice
whose caprices the nations never dare to resist.TL 143caprice
His lieutenants upon earth.TL 143
His representatives upon earth,TL 143
His representatives upon the earth.TL 143
the gods of the earthTL 143
turn our regards upon all the earthTL 143
the Divine right of kingsTL 144
the divine rights of the clergy.TL 144
the divine rights of their chiefsTL 144
the divine rights of tyrantsTL 144
the masters of the earthTL 144
who are accommodating to the masters of the earthTL 144
the fear of another life,TL 145another life
they felt themselves obliged to have recourse to chimeras,TL 145chimera
in which so many nations are governed here below,TL 145here below
His representatives upon earth,TL 145
the passions and follies of His representatives upon earth.TL 145
As soon as the latter find themselves unhappy here belowTL 146here below
It is because his Prophet subdued him in the name of the Deity,TL 146the Deity
the conduct of the Lord's ministers,TL 146
the Divine right of tyrantsTL 146
the ministers of the ChurchTL 146
the ministers of this religionTL 146
their eyes are fixed on HeavenTL 146
they were not made to be happy in this worldTL 147in this world
the gods of the earthTL 147of the earth
directing the eyes of men toward HeavenTL 147
it is always iniquity which excites the wrath of Heaven.TL 147
the gods of HeavenTL 147
The ministers of religionTL 147
the wrath of HeavenTL 147
except when the gods of the earthTL 148
the evil which he has done upon earth.TL 148
they uselessly implore the assistance of HeavenTL 148
he constantly becomes the toy of their caprices,TL 149caprice
superstition as the most important and the most sacred thing, its chimerical dutiesTL 149chimerical
upon the worldTL 149
which Heaven in its fury could have sent upon earth.TL 149
which religion has bestowed upon the world,TL 149
leading the people to salvationTL 150salvation
and of keeping them under their yokeTL 150yoke
who knows no law but his caprice,TL 151caprice
base his power on impositions and chimeras.TL 152chimera
without a mixture of caprice and perversityTL 153caprice
A God who would be just and good, without a mixture of capriceTL 153capricious
to make of their God a terrible, capricious,TL 153capricious
their God a terrible, capricious, and changeable tyrant;TL 153capricious
of the glory of their God.TL 153
the glory of their God.TL 153
The ministers of religionTL 153
the ministers of the godsTL 153
The ministers of religionTL 154
no crime which men have not committed in the idea of pleasing the DeityTL 155the Deity
the cause of their celestial MonarchTL 155
this Monarch of the worldTL 156of the world
There does not exist yet upon earthTL 156
the most unheard-of crimes, with the idea of pleasing the Deity!TL 157the Deity
The ministers of religionTL 157
All religions of the worldTL 158of the world
which generally religion causes upon earthTL 159upon earth
Do not the ministers of GodTL 159
His Divine MajestyTL 159
that His Divine MajestyTL 159
the ministers of GodTL 159
the violence and evils which generally religion causes upon earth,TL 159
by what strange capriceTL 160caprice
everything that transpires in the worldTL 160in the world
everything that transpires in the worldTL 160in the world
religion has so often caused in this worldTL 160in this world
the good and of the bad we see in this worldTL 160in this world
the evil which He causes, or permits to be done in this worldTL 160in this world
His disciples in this lower worldTL 160lower world
a snare that God has maliciously laid in his path to entrap him?TL 160snare
but a snareTL 160snare
Notwithstanding the bloody tragediesTL 160
or permits to be done in this world.TL 160
the God of theismTL 160
in all parts of our globeTL 161globe
We see in all parts of our globeTL 161globe
religious morality which is founded upon the opinion that to please the DeityTL 161the Deity
A saint in the worldTL 162in the world
those who live in the worldTL 162in the world
snares,TL 162snares
beings who are more perfect than others; chosen ones,TL 162
chosen ones,TL 162
for the greater glory of God,TL 162
he has always exercised in the world?TL 163in the world
Jesus Christ has delivered us from sinTL 163sin
that Christ has delivered them from sin,TL 163sin
Christians firmly believe that Christ has delivered them from sin,TL 163
To say that Jesus Christ has delivered us from sin,TL 163
will be the prey of eternal flamesTL 164Hell
all that transpires in this worldTL 164in this world
they do not exist upon the earth!TL 164upon the earth
His Divine MessiahTL 164
saving it from the wrath of God,TL 164
The Messiah,TL 164
in all the religions of this world,TL 165of this world
Consequently, men face the Deity in the manner which conforms the most to their present interests.TL 165the Deity
Divine mercyTL 165
for disarming the wrath of Heaven.TL 165
the treasures of Divine mercyTL 165
the wrath of Heaven.TL 165
Divinity punishes crime in this worldTL 166in this world
the arbiters of the world,TL 166of the world
the majority of the inhabitants of this world.TL 166of this world
to the other lifeTL 166the other life
disappointed and disgusted with this world;TL 166with this world
To tell men that Divinity punishes crime in this world,TL 166
the pleasures of ParadiseTL 167HEaven
founding morality upon the caprice and upon the imagination of men;TL 168caprice
all religions of the worldTL 168of the world
which all religions of the worldTL 168of the world
the ministers of these religionsTL 168
the perishable riches of the earth;TL 169of the earth
their prayers and their powerful intercession with the Deity;TL 169the Deity
the greatest outrages which have been committed upon the earth.TL 169upon the earth
the ministers of the Lord.TL 169
their powerful intercession with the DeityTL 169
the Almighty BeingTL 170almighty being
the inhabitants of the earth;TL 170of the earth
the kings of the earthTL 170of the earth
which is very useless to the worldTL 170to the world
Divine mercyTL 170
the Divine Nature,TL 170
The interests of the Celestial MonarchTL 170
the King of HeavenTL 170
to repair them by imploring Divine mercyTL 170
invisible lawgiver, or a mysterious religion, or chimerical fearsTL 171chimerical
not from the Divine Nature,TL 171
and produced so many ravages upon the earth,TL 172upon the earth
which have excited the Celestial wrathTL 172
The sovereigns of this worldTL 173of this world
The sovereigns of this world [TL] in associating the DeityTL 173the Deity
His lieutenants and His representatives upon earth,TL 173upon the earth
the superiority of the Celestial Monarch?TL 173
to substitute imaginary motors, inconceivable chimeras,TL 175chimera
the torments of HellTL 175Hell
they will submit to the eternal fireTL 175Hell
the hour of deathTL 175hour death
in which they gained their riches in this worldTL 175in this world
more impression upon the man of the worldTL 175of the world
the man of the worldTL 175of the world
a true repentance is sufficient to appease Divinity?TL 175
be persuaded of the existence of a Hell and of a Paradise;TL 175
the existence of a Hell TL and of a ParadiseTL 175
the pleasures of the celestial courtTL 175
for the glory of GodTL 176
the dogma of another lifeTL 177another life
We are assured [IS] that the dogma of another lifeTL 177another life
how he ought to conduct himself upon earth?TL 177upon earth
If life is but a passage,TL 177
Religion, ...represents man to us as but a pilgrim upon earth;TL 177
suspicious men, who know no more of the essence of DivinityTL 178
Can an atheistical king inflict more evil on the worldTL 179on the world
the religious man, who has no motives but his chimeras,TL 180chimera
There is nothing more rare in the worldTL 181in the world
there are few men in the worldTL 182in the world
It is the dark colors in which the priests paint the DeityTL 182the Deity
they shake off a yokeTL 182yoke
they wear the yokeTL 182yoke
they have been so early accustomed to tremble even at the name of the Deity,TL 183the Deity
the hour of deathTL 184hour death
the ministers of the Lord,TL 185
in defending this religion and its chimeras,TL 187chimera
O priests of the Lord!TL 187
priests of the LordTL 187
a Master so capricious as the God whom they announce to us.TL 188capricious
they shake off the yoke of the DeityTL 188the Deity
to break the yoke of a TyrantTL 188yoke
Heaven's graceTL 188
of being the messengers of the Most HighTL 188
punishing them eternallyTL 188
sure of Heaven's graceTL 188
The common man is, in every country, more devoted to his spiritual guides,TL 188
they shake off the yoke of the DeityTL 188
No man on earthTL 189on earth
in forging Divine rightsTL 189
the ministers of the Lord,TL 189
preach to them virtues which are really useful to the worldTL 190to the world
the ministers of the GodsTL 190
the means of serving usefully the world,TL 191the world
the ministers of religionTL 191
the hour of deathTL 192
The ministers of religionTL 192
How can we bind an atheist who can not seriously attest the Deity?TL 193the Deity
Could a people who had no idea of the Deity, [TL]TL 194the Deity
the ministers at the altars,TL 194
occupy yourselves with their happiness in this worldTL 196in this world
the fate which awaits them in another.TL 196
subjects it to the caprices of the Gods,TL 198caprice
the ministers of the GodsTL 199
Everywhere on earthTL 200on earth
the Holy BookTL 202book
their inspired books.TL 202book
nothing could be explicable in the worldTL 202in the world
damning the immortal souls of men,TL 202soul
it is a mystery hidden in the bosom of the Deity.TL 202the Deity
the Holy Book [TL], which every Christian reveres as inspired by the DeityTL 202the Deity
agree with the Holy BookTL 202
Celestial fury.TL 202
it is a mystery hidden in the bosom of the Deity.TL 202
the Divine Nature,TL 202
to disarm Celestial fury.TL 202
the ministers of the godsTL 203
to announce truths to the worldTL 205
in the worldTLitw
temptations, snares,TLsn
of this worldTLworld
tempt tempterxx
advantagexx TL
principlexx TL
barbarousxxxxx
The theologians treat men like childrenz25
they talk to children of God as they talk to them of were-wolfs;31werewolf
bird93
bird-catcher93
it has become for them a specter, a goblin, a were-wolf which torments them,183werewolf
God will not be better suited to man in the other lifeAE 8the other life
almighty BeingAE 27almighty Being
All the booksAE 52book
the continual misfortunes by which my kind is oppressed?AE 55
The existence of another lifeAE 57another life
the sufferings of the other lifeAE 66other life
the sufferings of the other lifeAE 66the other life
there is a religionAE 70
celestial Adversary.AE 75
give the same dispositions to all beings of our kind?AE 76
Someone has said profanelyAE 78
caught it in his netAE 93
The esteem which so many people have for the spiritual substance,AE 106
Those who find the idea of another lifeAE 108another life
the regions of the other lifeAE 108the other life
Almighty BeingAE 109almighty Being
our spiritual guidesAE 111
Did not a famous theologianAE 117
the Monarch of NatureAE 124
the Most High.AE 126Most High
they were sent from the Most High.AE 126Most High
suspicious people, who had the greatest interest in making others believe that they were sent from the Most High.AE 126
Who is wrong or right? Each one exclaims: "It is I!"AE 127
men who have been favored by the Most HighAE 129Most High
The terrors of another lifeAE 140another life
The terrors of another lifeAE 140another life
The good Christian,AE 140
the objects of another life.AE 141another life
the most lively faith can never give to the objects of another life.AE 141
that the gods of the earthAE 143of the earth
the Monarch of NatureAE 143
the terrors of another lifeAE 144another life
religion, the terrors of another lifeAE 144another life
the Lord's ministersAE 146
and of the great,AE 147
to excite celestial indignationAE 153
would not fail to excite celestial indignationAE 153
a religious principle of going into a frenzy, every time that an opinion was brought forth which their priests considered contrary to the holy doctrineAE 154
every time that an opinion was brought forth which their priests considered contrary to the holy doctrine.AE 155
a wonderful idea of Nature's Author?AE 160
Nature's AuthorAE 160
No one dreams about another lifeAE 167another life
all that which the interpreters of the DeityAE 169the Deity
our spiritual guidesAE 169
the actions of the Lord's ministers?AE 169
the interests of the Most High;AE 169
the interpreters of the DeityAE 169
the Lord's ministersAE 169
to sustain the interests of the Most High;AE 169Most High
Almighty BeingAE 170Almighty Being
Heaven is outraged!AE 172
to measure itself with that of the Most HighAE 173Most High
these organs of the Most HighAE 174Most High
the eternal fireAE 175Hell
the displeasure of the Most High.AE 175Most High
the displeasure of the Most High.AE 175Most High
the great,AE 180
the Lord's ministersAE 188
of being the messengers of the Most HighAE 188Most High
the chiefs of nationsAE 197
the Hebrew religion*AE 200
messengerangel
innate, or that men have this idea from the time of their birth.def 4innate, or that men have this idea from the time of their birth.
religion is the art of occupying limited minds with that which is impossible for them to comprehenddef 6religion is the art of occupying limited minds with that which is impossible for them to comprehend
Providence the generous care which Divinity shows in providing for our needs,def 52Providence the generous care which Divinity shows in providing for our needs,
the phenomena of Nature, or the effects which we see in this world,def 54the phenomena of Nature, or the effects which we see in this world,
Hell ... is... a fearful place where ...God reserves eternal torments for the majority of men.def 61Hell ... is... a fearful place where ...God reserves eternal torments for the majority of men.
foresight, or the ability to know in advance all which is to happendef 73foresight, or the ability to know in advance all which is to happen
good or render themselves agreeable to their God,def 76good or render themselves agreeable to their God,
sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.def 76sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.def 76sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
is merit in man? It is a certain manner of acting which renders him estimable in the eyes of his fellow beings.def 83is merit in man? It is a certain manner of acting which renders him estimable in the eyes of his fellow beings.
What is virtue? It is the disposition that causes us to do good to others.def 83What is virtue? It is the disposition that causes us to do good to others.
The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world,def 87The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world,
immortal, or to live forever.def101immortal, or to live forever.
a spirit, or a certain something which animates him without his knowing howdef105a spirit, or a certain something which animates him without his knowing how
Theology could very properly be defined as the science of contradictions.def110Theology could very properly be defined as the science of contradictions.
a mystery is nothing but a contradiction,def111a mystery is nothing but a contradiction,
a mystery is whatever our spiritual guides can not explain to us.def111a mystery is whatever our spiritual guides can not explain to us.
doubt is to deliberate upon the judgment which we should pass.def123doubt is to deliberate upon the judgment which we should pass.
religious skepticism can be but the effect of a superficial examination of theological principles,def123religious skepticism can be but the effect of a superficial examination of theological principles,
skeptic, is to lack the motives necessary to establish a judgment.def123skeptic, is to lack the motives necessary to establish a judgment.
skeptical in the matter of religion when we design to return to its principles, and look closely into the idea of the God who serves as its foundationdef123skeptical in the matter of religion when we design to return to its principles, and look closely into the idea of the God who serves as its foundation
Skepticism is but a state of indecision which results from a superficial examination of subjects.def123Skepticism is but a state of indecision which results from a superficial examination of subjects.
impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;def127impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
To be impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;def127To be impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
to be superstitious, is to have false ideas of Him.def127to be superstitious, is to have false ideas of Him.
a miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.def129a miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.def129miracle? It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
experience, which is only the repeated application of the senses,def135experience, which is only the repeated application of the senses,
Faith, according to theologians, is consent without evidence.def135Faith, according to theologians, is consent without evidence.
reason anything else but the knowledge of the useful and the true?def136reason anything else but the knowledge of the useful and the true?
But who is God? He is a being whom no one is able to conceive of, and whom, consequently, each one modifies in his own way.def168But who is God? He is a being whom no one is able to conceive of, and whom, consequently, each one modifies in his own way.
morality, or the duties of mandef168morality, or the duties of man
virtue according to theology? It is, we are told, IS the conformity of men's actions with the will of God.def168virtue according to theology? It is, we are told, IS the conformity of men's actions with the will of God.
Conscience is the inward testimony which we render to ourselves for having acted in such a manner as to deserve the esteem or the censure of those with whom we associate.def178Conscience is the inward testimony which we render to ourselves for having acted in such a manner as to deserve the esteem or the censure of those with whom we associate.
theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologians,def196theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologians,
Why did God allow him to be seduced, knowing well that he would be too weak to resist the tempter?* AE FEFE 74
He desires to be known, loved, respected, and obeyed,IR 1
To say that God is the author of the phenomena that we see,IR 37author
God is the author of disorder;IR 45author
the happiness of our raceIR 54
the authorIR 68author
the right of might.IR 76
the right of the strongestIR 76
grave Doctors of DivinityIR 80
the love, obedience, and respectIR 91
in the existence of your immaterial soul,IR 103soul
the dogma of life hereafterIR 107
The fear of ceasing to beIR 108
The fear of ceasing to exist,IR 108
the simple and the trueIR 112
to that which is clear, simple, and true.IR 112
the heathen, of the Chinese, of the Mohammedans.IR 127
the Indian and the Chinaman, the Mohammedan,IR 127
history informs meIR 132history
history teaches meIR 132history
our DoctorsIR 136
Our Doctors of DivinityIR 136
the Gods of Rome IRIR 139
the Roman Gods.IR 139
Do not such morals give us a wonderful idea of Nature's Author?IR 160author
He is also the author of disorderIR 160author
He is equally the author of the goodIR 160author
If He is the author of all,IR 160author
If He is the author of all,IR 160author
if He is the author of order,IR 160author
if He is the author of order,IR 160author
the author of disorder,IR 160author
the author of the good and of the bad we see in this world;IR 160author
and consider them as commandments of the Deity?IR 173the Deity
and consider them as commandments of the Deity?IR 173
O Doctors of Divinity!IR 188
by new Doctors of Divinity,IR 200
you sayis
We are told that Divine qualities are not of a natureIS 6we are told,
but do you say that God is infinite?IS 7you say
In order to avoid all embarrassment, they tell usIS 28they tell us
to say nothing about what their God is; they tell usIS 29they tell us
It is, you say,IS 30you say
even the being forbidden to reason upon what they tell us,IS 34they tell us
Nature, you say,IS 38you say
They tell us gravelyIS 39they tell us
they tell meIS 42they tell me
we are told, the hand of God,IS 42we are told,
Then you will sayIS 43you will say
you will sayIS 43you will say
You say [IS] that God is everywhereIS 45you say
Divine intelligence, divine ideas, divine views, you say,IS 46you say
According to you,IS 49According to you,
We are assured that God created the world for His own gloryIS 49we are assured
we are told, upon this: that man is the only being endowedIS 49we are told,
according to theology,IS 50according to theology,
you will say;IS 52you will say
according to yourselves,IS 55according to yourselves,
this unknown monarchIS 55
they assure usIS 57they assure us
we are assured that our sojourn on the earth,IS 57we are assured
we are remindedIS 57we are reminded
our theologians teach usIS 57
We are told of a pretended scale for human beingsIS 58we are told,
According to you,IS 59According to you,
you assure usIS 59you assure us
you say also that He is immutableIS 59you say
you say alsoIS 59you say also
men repeat to usIS 62men repeat to us
constantly repeated to usIS 63constantly repeated to us
they tell usIS 63they tell us
true religion and superstition; they tell usIS 63they tell us
we are told that God is infinitely goodIS 63we are told,
devotees who tell usIS 65
You will tell meIS 66You will tell me
they exhaust themselves by telling usIS 68by telling us
we are assured that these perfections are written in ineffaceable characters.IS 68we are assured
We are continually toldIS 68We are continually told
we are assured that evil does not come from GodIS 72we are assured
If God had the foresight of the future,IS 73of the future
the foresight of the futureIS 73of the future
say you,IS 74say you,
We are told a story of the simple-heartedness of an Italian monkIS 75we are told,
it is said,IS 76it is said,
it is said,IS 76
according to you,IS 77according to you,
they tell usIS 77they tell us
We are told that the enormous distance which separates God from menIS 77we are told,
In speaking to us incessantlyIS 77
we are assured, watches without relaxation over the welfareIS 79we are assured
Doctors of Divinity assure usIS 80assure us
he would or would not come into the world;IS 80into the world
Man, you say,IS 80you say
you say,IS 80you say,
But you will say,IS 80you will say
Man, you will say,IS 80you will say
you will sayIS 80you will say
it will be saidIS 80
say you,IS 80
Theologians tell and repeat to usIS 80
But you will say,IS 82you will say
you will sayIS 82you will say
To take away from man his free will, is, we are told,IS 83we are told,
who repeats to us incessantlyIS 87
we are told that there God will repair all the iniquitiesIS 88we are told,
God, you say, punishes us for our highest goodIS 89you say
God, you say, is the sovereign arbiterIS 89you say
a multitude of theologians tell meIS 89
you say,IS 89
you say,IS 89
the Christian will say,IS 90Christian
it is said,IS 91
We are constantly told that we owe an infinite gratitude to ProvidenceIS 93we are told,
You say that existence itself is a great blessing.IS 93you say
It is, you say,IS 94you say
you say,IS 94
It is, we are told, by his intelligence,IS 95we are told,
We are assured that the human soul is a simple substanceIS 96we are assured
I exist, you will say;IS 99you will say
you will sayIS 99you will say
Impious people, you say,IS 101you say
you sayIS 101
In reply to all these questions, you sayIS 103you say
It is, you say,IS 103you say
you say,IS 103
than the body, they tell usIS 106they tell us
When they tell usIS 106they tell us
We are constantly toldIS 107we are told,
We are repeatedly told that religious ideas offer infinite consolationIS 108we are told,
we are told, an afflicting system, tending to degrade manIS 108we are told,
You say, O Christian philosophersIS 108you say
We are repeatedly toldIS 108
We are told, very gravely, that it is not demonstrated that God does not exist.IS 109we are told,
men have told usIS 109
we are assured that what is folly in the eyes of man,IS 110we are assured
we are told that we are not made to conceive the truths of the religionIS 110we are told,
that is to say,IS 112
that is to say,IS 112
We are told that man, by the weakness of his natureIS 113we are told,
You blush*** , you say,IS 118you say
we are assured that God revealed Himself.IS 124we are assured
But, you will say,IS 126you will say
I am assuredIS 126
you tell usIS 129you tell us
you assure usIS 135
You tell me continuallyIS 136
we are assured today, that during this period the most flourishing nationsIS 139we are assured
We are told constantly of the immense advantages which religion secures to politicsIS 145we are told,
they assure usIS 154
We are constantly told that there can be no morality without religion.IS 160we are told,
What beautiful morality! you will say.IS 160you will say
you constantly tell usIS 163you constantly tell us
you tell usIS 163you tell us
But you will sayIS 163you will say
The Christian assures meIS 163
Woman! you leave, you say,IS 167you say
repentance ... is very useless to the world;IS 170
We are constantly told that without a God, there can be no moral obligationIS 171we are told,
these organs of the Most HighIS 174Most High
the depravity of an atheist on a throne,IS 179
at the name of the Deity,IS 183
we have seen profound thinkers who thought they had new proofs of the truth most important to men.IS 186
You say,IS 187you say
You say, O DoctorsIS 188you say
Religion, they tell us,IS 194they tell us
theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologiansIS 196
the treasures of Divine Wisdom," upon which they tell usIS 202they tell us
This is a pure illusion, you say.IS 202you say
JesusPSJesus
AuthorPS
Can a work with which the authorPS 68author
its AuthorPS 68author
this surprising work becomes often so revolting and so odious to its Author,PS 68author
the Almighty workmanPS 68
Jesus,PS 116Jesus
JesusPS 164Jesus
the author of disorderSEauthor
the author of order,SEauthor
their hidden princeSE 1
in the other lifeSE 8
they amused them upon the road by stories;SE 15road
the science of divinitySE 19
the star of the daySE 24
a man who has imbibed them since his tenderest infancy.SE 35
has imbibed them since his tenderest infancy.SE 35
in advance the finger of GodSE 36finger
It is the cause of itself.SE 39
the hand of God,SE 42
to invigorate the beings who live in these planets.*SE 43
a pure spiritSE 46
by exaggerating the human qualities with which they have clothed DivinitySE 47
the human qualities with which they have clothed Divinity;SE 47
the most invincible ignorance of the Divine essenceSE 49
This human machineSE 51
the countless evils, of which the world is the theater,SE 53theater
the world is the theater,SE 53
The logic of common sense teaches usSE 54
this world, which you claim as His empireSE 55empire
our sojourn on the earthSE 57on the earth
the earth (the only sojourning place we know ofSE 57
the only sojourning place we know ofSE 57
the present world is ... designed to conduct man to a happier sphere;SE 57
Experience contradicts this sublime revery.SE 58
Absolute sovereign of mortalsSE 60
To say that man can disturb the order of the universeSE 67universe
grasp the lightning from God's handSE 67
He feels Himself compelled to cast him into the fire.SE 68Hell
this surprising work becomes often so revolting and so odious to its Author, PS that He feels Himself compelled to cast him into the fire.SE 68
in the eyes of the Almighty workmanSE 69Almighty being
God made the world to be the theater of dishonoring warsSE 70theater
God who, having the power of leaving them in oblivion,SE 73
the power of leaving them in oblivion,SE 73
issuing from the hands of God,SE 74hands
when just leaving the hands of GodSE 74hands
the ways of DivinitySE 77Divinity
to explain the ways of DivinitySE 77Divinity
the empire of a God.SE 77empire
It is but with the hope of happiness that men submit to the empire of a God.SE 77
Priests! you teach usSE 77
as indubitable proofs of celestial goodness.SE 78Heaven
the pious, incapable of accusing God of malice, accustom themselves to look upon these sad afflictions as indubitable proofs of celestial goodness.SE 78
the sick heads?SE 82
If God in His empireSE 86empire
under the empire of a just GodSE 86empire
God is a creating King,SE 86
the evils of which this world is the theater,SE 88theater
In calling mortals into life,SE 92
to drink from the cup of bitternessSE 93
beloved child of ProvidenceSE 94Providence
men; this beloved child of ProvidenceSE 94Providence
this beloved child of ProvidenceSE 94Providence
does not the king of animalsSE 94
the king of animalsSE 94
the king of Nature,SE 94
God's friendSE 97
What known advantage results for God's friendSE 97
how great are Thy gifts to the children of men!"SE 98
is Thy kindness for the children of wolves!SE 98
Monarch of the skies!SE 98
the children of men!"SE 98
THE CHILDREN OF MEN!"SE 98
the children of wolves!SE 98
THE CHILDREN OF WOLVES!"SE 98
the execution of his pious enterprise.SE 98
the man of GodSE 98
THY GOODNESS TO THE CHILDREN OF MEN!"SE 98
the Arbiter of NatureSE 99
of rigorous torments.SE 101
an Almighty motor in matterSE 104
the ignorance of the nature of this soul;SE 105
the nature of this soulSE 105
the geographers of the other worldSE 107other world
in the other life.SE 107the other life
Is not the visible world always preferred to the invisible world?SE 107
the chance of guiding their souls to this unknown abodeSE 107
They needed souls and chimeras to populate the imaginary regions which they have discovered in the other lifeSE 107
this unknown abodeSE 107
the happy regions,SE 108Heaven
in the abode of tormentsSE 108Hell
the regions of the unhappySE 108Hell
inducing him to commit suicide as soon as he suffersSE 108
return peaceably to the universal homeSE 108
the universal homeSE 108
that wandering reason is but an unfaithful guide,SE 110
the imagination of men, who find in it a continual pasturage to feed upon.SE 112
treats the Christian as an idolater and a dogSE 116
Under the empire of this just SovereignSE 118empire
in an empire where innocence is so often oppressed;SE 118
Is not the God-bread the fetish of many Christian nations,SE 120
this frightful character of the God to whom you offer your incense?SE 120
The Christian, proud of his more modern revelation,SE 127
a Being who holds in His hands the hearts and the minds of His creatures,SE 129
It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.SE 129
who holds in His hands the hearts and the minds of His creaturesSE 129
the most rigorous torments.SE 133Hell
An enthusiast in dyingSE 133
to have faith in their Divine antidotesSE 134
aroused by their directorsSE 138
women, aroused by their directors,SE 138
the Authorities of the earth,SE 139of the earth
the salvation of the nationsSE 139
of seeing your names and ours inscribed in the book of life? TLSE 140book
and His promises weigh nothing in the balance.SE 141balance
and he keeps on his road.SE 141road
and breaks for them the ties of the social pact,SE 143
the representatives of GodSE 143
have more faith in the indulgence of Heaven than in that of earth.SE 144
rather like to bargain with this invisible Judge,SE 144
The God-monarchSE 144
the indulgence of HeavenSE 144
this invisible JudgeSE 144
to bargain with this invisible JudgeSE 144
and withdrawn their attention from the most interesting things.SE 145
the remedies which Nature offers themSE 146
to present their throat to the swordSE 146
the earth is not their [men] true country;SE 147country
that the earth is not their true country;SE 147
the powerlessness of these deaf Gods,SE 147
their haughty chiefs, who always have a heart of brassSE 148
they are ordered to present their throat to the swordSE 148
who always have a heart of brass.SE 148
to put a State into disorder and the universe into combustion.SE 149universe
suffices to put a State into disorder and the universe into combustion.SE 149
no longer in conformity with the interests of Heaven,SE 150Heaven
the Sovereign of NatureSE 156
to a happier sphereSE 157
of seeing the finger of GodSE 158finger
He is also the author of disorder,SE 160
the man-God of the Christians,SE 160
to combat and extinguish Nature,SE 160
Heaven—his [a Christian] true country.SE 162country
The vanity of performing a roleSE 162role
ravages...scattered throughout the universe.SE 162universe
the Devil still holds the empireSE 163empire
delivering it from the servitude of sinSE 164
who alone will have the glory of shining in the celestial court;SE 164
disarming the wrath of HeavenSE 165Heaven
and which promises the remission of crimes,SE 165remission
in the religious pharmacySE 165
by sending us to the other life,SE 166
No one dreams about another lifeSE 167another life
blot out all the pleasures of Paradise.SE 167Heaven
extinguishes the fires of Hell,SE 167Hell
The ministers of HeavenSE 169heaven
to sustain the interests of the Most HighSE 169Most High
Christians have renounced with good-will the perishable riches of the earth;SE 169
this supernatural taste for miserySE 169
to prevent the poor from increasingSE 169
the interests of HeavenSE 170Heaven
the interests of the ministers of HeavenSE 170Heaven
their conscience rests in peaceSE 170
to surrender to the spiritual power of opinionSE 173
as settlements can be made with HeavenSE 175Heaven
to link our interests with those of our traveling companionsSE 177road
to strew flowers on life's pathwaySE 177road
a more rational philosophy inspires us to strew flowers on life's pathway;SE 177
console him for the fatigues and the weariness of the road.SE 177
deprive himself of the amusements which could console him for the fatigues and the weariness of the road.SE 177
from the pains and the crosses to which we are so often exposed.SE 177
to avoid with great care that which could make us odious to our associatesSE 177
the other worldSE 178the other world
he would not desire to live and linger, thus becoming a burden to himself and others.SE 178
that unexpected circumstances can unveil to the eyes of others the conduct which he feels interested in concealing.SE 178
unexpected circumstances can unveil to the eyes of others the conduct which he feels interested in concealingSE 178
can not walk the road of virtue.SE 180road
He who does not reflect for himself does not know true morals, and can not walk the road of virtue.SE 180
what he owes to the beings necessary to his own happiness.SE 180
being the messengers of the Most HighSE 188Most High
the breaking of some of the chains of prejudice.SE 189
holding an eternal empire over the hearts of your fellow-beings.SE 190empire
wandering in the labyrinths of darknessSE 191
The adherents of credulitySE 192
who boldly pretended to be the organs of Divinity.SE 199
the blunders which religion had rendered sacred!SE 203
the loss of so many profound, laborious, and subtle headsSE 203
to avoid falling out with the ministers of the GodsSE 203
to shake off the chains of superstition.SE 204supersition
Then the universe will be composed of good citizens, just fathers, obedient children, tender friends.SE 206universe
A king of Macassar,story 139
story dice playing sultanstory 92
not base his power on impositions and chimerasTLnor
another lifeTL
capriceTL
capriciousTL
capriciousTL
chimerical fearsTL
Divinity 54 occurancesTL
its chimerical dutiesTL
leading the people to salvationTL
reconcileTL
the different parts of our globeTL
the divine essenceTL
the divine essence,TL
upon earthTL
upon earth13 occurancesTL
upon the earth7 occurancesTL
to those which men acknowledge in the world they inhabitTL 2in the world
imagination, which can lead us only to the land of chimerasTL 3chimera
An idea without a prototype, is it anything but a chimera?TL 4chimera
the Divine Nature,TL 5
who does not understand anything about Him here below.TL 8here below
to man in the other lifeTL 8the other life
a future lifeTL 8
These chimeras, adopted without examination by the fathers,TL 14chimera
a grand spirit as master of the world.TL 20of the world
master of the world.TL 20of the world
the soul of the worldTL 24of the world
the father of NatureTL 24
We conclude that He was not able to endow him with intelligence sufficient to understand the divine essence.TL 29divine essence
beings whose own essence makes it impossible to have any idea of the divine essenceTL 29divine essence
the invincible and necessary ignorance of man, caused by his relation to the divine essence.TL 30divine essence
if the most profound theologians lose themselves in the divine essence,TL 30divine essence
in the Holy BooksTL 30
Very few people in the worldTL 32in the world
Very few people in the worldTL 32
how many persons are there in this worldTL 36in this world
a certain order reigns in the world,TL 44in the world
which this worldTL 44
Supposing God to be the authorTL 45author
you admit that your God is the author of disorder;TL 45author
in the universe.TL 46universe
Its only result is a chimera,TL 47chimera
it would always be impossible for man to know his God, and he would be kept in the most invincible ignorance of the Divine essenceTL 49divine essence
all the religions of the worldTL 49of the world
the religions of the worldTL 49of the world
the Divine nature,TL 49
If I examine all parts of this globeTL 52globe
if in order to live happy here below,TL 52here below
We think to justify Providence by saying that in this worldTL 52in this world
Providence neglects the greatest part of the inhabitants of this world.TL 52of this world
without mercy to the caprices of fateTL 53caprice
Everything which takes place in the worldTL 54in the world
the effects which we see in this worldTL 54in this world
the continual instability in this worldTL 55in this world
the government of a worldTL 55
In a world where everything is from necessity,TL 56
from another world,TL 57another world
to render men happier than they are here belowTL 57here below
that our sojourn on the earth, where we live,TL 57on the earth
not be revealed to us until the future life.TL 57
the future lifeTL 57
In the world where we are, we see all sentient beingsTL 58in the world
In the world where we are,TL 58
which he finds in his pathTL 58
like all the inconstant beings of this world.TL 59of this world
His graces according to His caprice,TL 60caprice
after having rendered mortals very miserable in this worldTL 61
religion teaches them that God can make them much more wretched in another.TL 61
more perfect than others; chosen ones,TL 62
than to create men whose conduct in this worldTL 62
the dogma of gratuitous predestinationTL 62
would cause them eternal chastisements in another?TL 62
does naturally appear to us capricious,TL 64capricious
God is, in all the religions of this world,TL 65of this world
No man upon earthTL 65
because in Hell is no more conversion, and the hour of mercy is passed;TL 66Hell
the dogma of eternal torments in HellTL 66Hell
be upon earthTL 66
the dogma of eternal damnation.TL 66
the hour of mercy is passedTL 66
there would not be upon earthTL 66
the fires of HellTL 67Hell
All the theologies of the worldTL 70of the world
be obliged to see in it the most capriciousTL 71capricious
all the religious systems of the earthTL 71
the religious systems of the earth,TL 71
God is the author of all;TL 72author
moral evil or sin would not exist in the world.TL 72in the world
sin would not exist in the world.TL 72
to know in advance all which is to happen in the worldTL 73in the world
all which is to happen in the world,TL 73
did He not foresee the fallTL 73
If He resolved in His decrees to allow this fall,TL 73
to know in advance all which is to happen in the world,TL 73
all the religions of the world.TL 74of the world
in all the religions of the world,TL 74of the world
the religions of the worldTL 74of the world
The ministers of religionTL 75
the ministry of priestsTL 75
the Pope, who possesses the keys of Paradise and of Hell;TL 75
chosen onesTL 76chosen ones
chosen ones,TL 76chosen ones
men who have lived in this worldTL 76in this world
could not God have made sinless men upon the earth?TL 76upon the earth
sinless men upon the earth?TL 76upon the earth
a court of saints, of chosen onesTL 76
his Creator,TL 76
If the chosen onesTL 76
of chosen onesTL 76
the chosen onesTL 76
the most Just of Beings.TL 76
the immense depths of Divine wisdomTL 77
the sole dispenser of the events of this worldTL 78of this world
celestial goodness.TL 78
that God is the arbiter of things,TL 78
as long as they had not received grace,TL 79grace
can do nothing but evil, for without Divine graceTL 79grace
Divine graceTL 79grace
had not received grace,TL 79grace
not having been given the grace,TL 79grace
destitute of Divine helpTL 79
God punishes him for not having been given the grace,TL 79
all things acts by compulsion, and that his free will is a chimera,TL 80chimera
not having been given the grace to do good!TL 80grace
They suppose that, without grace, man is compelled to do evil:TL 80grace
without graceTL 80grace
come into the world;TL 80into the world
a just God will damn without mercy all those to whom He has not given the grace to know the religion of the Christians.TL 80
God will punish him for not having been given the grace to do good!TL 80
Is not man supposed to be in a continual dependence upon God?TL 85
disturb the order of the world,TL 86of the world
the order of the worldTL 86of the world
disturb the order of the universe,TL 86
the very author of these calamitiesTL 87author
one who thinks that everything is good in the worldTL 87in the world
we are referred to another worldTL 88another world
if ... God could consent to evil during the period of the existence of our globe,TL 88globe
what assurance have we that during the existence of another globe,TL 88globe
the miseries which He permits for a time here below.TL 88here below
the blows which His caprice inflicts upon you.TL 89caprice
the ministers of tyrantsTL 89tyrant
Ministers of a just God!TL 89
the good Lord is the Master?TL 89
the ministers of a GodTL 89
the sovereign arbiter of our destiniesTL 89
sacrificed His own innocent and sinless Son!TL 90
the wrath of HeavenTL 91Heaven
to acquire eternal happinessTL 91Heaven
God is an equitable Monarch, whose object in this worldTL 91in this world
like the tyrants of this worldTL 91of this world
they fear that He, like the tyrants of this world,TL 91of this world
exposed to snaresTL 92snare
in danger of suffering for eternity in anotherTL 94Hell
After having suffered a great deal in this worldTL 94in this world
man is compelled to submit in this worldTL 94in this world
But weak sovereign of this worldTL 94of this world
Are there more detestable animals in this worldTL 96in this world
Father of Nature!TL 98
father of Nature!TL 24
the effect of the Almighty power.TL 100almighty being
possessing exclusively an immortal soul.TL 100soul
of rigorous torments.TL 101Hell
this unknown soul is exempt from deathTL 101soul
this soul will be able to live, to enjoy, to suffer, be sensitive of enjoyment or of rigorous torments.TL 101
in another life.TL 102another life
this soul ... is the principle of lifeTL 102soul
is the principle of life,TL 102
the soul is a simple substance, a spiritTL 103soul
The dogma of the immortality of the soulTL 103
They needed souls and chimerasTL 107chimera
they would govern them far better by realities than by vain chimeras;TL 107chimera
to render one worthy of the abode of felicityTL 107Heaven
the invisible worldTL 107
chosen onesTL 108chosen
the abode of felicity;TL 108Heaven
the abode of tormentsTL 108Hell
to obtain a place in the abode of tormentsTL 108Hell
a more durable existence than the one we enjoy here below.TL 108here below
for beings who often find themselves very unhappy here below?TL 108here below
overwhelming fears in this worldTL 108in this world
from overwhelming fears in this worldTL 108in this world
as soon as he suffers in this worldTL 108in this world
the regions of the other lifeTL 108other life
the immortality of the soulTL 108soul
Consent, then, to leave without regret this world,TL 108this world
the chosen onesTL 108
the dogma of another lifeTL 108
the dogma of the immortality of the soulTL 108
the number of the chosen onesTL 108
this world 43 occurancesTL 108
imagination, when once occupied in creating chimerasTL 109chimera
all the religions of the earthTL 109
conducting us to perditionTL 110Hell
of conducting us to perdition;TL 110Hell
priests would not have so many charges here below.TL 111here below
It is advantageous for the ministers of religionTL 111
the ministers of religionTL 111
the various religions which have been founded in the different regions of our globeTL 112globe
All the revealed religions which we see in the worldTL 112in the world
in the different regions of our globeTL 112
in the worldTL 112
the revealed religions which we see in the worldTL 112
God who enjoys a power which nothing in the worldTL 113in the world
A God who enjoys a power which nothing in the worldTL 113
the Divine economyTL 113
the Divine economyTL 113
with Divine economyTL 113
the different parts of our globeTL 114globe
in the different parts of our globeTL 114
so many different religions found on the earth?TL 114
so essential to the salvation of mortalsTL 115salvation
The world which we inhabitTL 115the world
all the religions of the world.TL 116of the world
by all the religions of the worldTL 116of the world
the religions of the worldTL 116of the world
he sees the God of the universe.TL 116universe
Son of the God of the universeTL 116universe
the God of the universeTL 116universe
the God of the universeTL 116universe
the continual changes that we see in the world?TL 117in the world
the continual changes that we see in the worldTL 117in this world
that we see in the world?TL 117
do you not see that everything in this worldTL 118in this world
all religions of the worldTL 118of the world
with which all religions of the worldTL 118of the world
to the other lifeTL 118other life
the God of the universeTL 118universe
that everything in this worldTL 118
the ineffable mystery of the TrinityTL 118
All nations of the world,TL 119of the world
that there is no people on the earthTL 119on the earth
there is no people on the earthTL 119on the earth
to believe in a universal SpiritTL 119
it is but following one's own caprice;TL 120caprice
the implacable, jealous, vindictive, blood-thirsty, capricious,TL 120capricious
the wishes of this capricious and foolish God;TL 121capricious
was on the earthTL 121on the earth
which ever was on the earthTL 121on the earth
represent Him otherwise than as a great chimera,TL 122chimera
Tell several artists to paint a chimera,TL 122chimera
There are no two individuals in the worldTL 122in the world
There are no two individuals in the worldTL 122in the world
the theologians of the worldTL 122of the world
the most important thing for them in this worldTL 123in this world
this conduct shows a partial, capricious being,TL 124capricious
In all parts of the world,TL 124of the world
the ministers of GodTL 124
the ministers of the GodsTL 125
constant traditionTL 126
in the economy of all Divine revelations,TL 126
God has spoken differently to each nation of the globe [TL 127globe
which we see established in this worldTL 127in this world
the God of the UniverseTL 127universe
Holy LawTL 127
the Holy Law,TL 127
whose holy booksTL 127
The oracles which the Deity has revealed to the nationsTL 128the Deity
the Most HighTL 129
Which of all the religions in the worldTL 130in the world
to lay a snare for usTL 130snare
all the religions in the worldTL 130
the elect?TL 130
the Holy BooksTL 130
every change in a religion which had emanated from the DeityTL 131the Deity
the malice of the Deity.TL 131the Deity
animated by the idea of ParadiseTL 133Heaven
the idea of Paradise,TL 133Heaven
who travel all over the world.TL 133over the world
the salvation of menTL 133salvation
in order to lead me to perdition.TL 135Hell
to lead me to perditionTL 135Hell
of all the priests of the worldTL 135of the world
the priests of the worldTL 135of the world
as a snare, in order to lead me to perdition.TL 135Snare
but as a snare,TL 135
the ministers of religionTL 135
to place snares in our wayTL 136snares
the ministers of this God,TL 136
religion is the most serious affair in the worldTL 137in the world
the most serious affair in the worldTL 137
among the many religions in the world,TL 139in the world
have been the religions of the world;TL 139of the world
the religions of the worldTL 139of the world
by the events and the revolutions of this world,TL 139of this world
either that the Deity takes but little interest in the religion of menTL 139the Deity
the most flourishing nations had not the least idea of the Deity, [TL]TL 139the Deity
among the many religions in the world,TL 139
the different religions which exist on earth.TL 139
the many religions in the world,TL 139
which best suit the Authorities of the earthTL 139
seeing your names and ours inscribed in the book of life?TL 140book
with the firm hope of enjoying eternal happinessTL 140Heaven
the hope of the joys of Paradise,TL 140
the joys of ParadiseTL 140
the ministers of religionTL 140
the punishments of HellTL 140
the torments of HellTL 140
with the hope of the joys of ParadiseTL 140
is it not combating realities with chimeras?TL 141chimera
the incredible punishments of another life;TL 141
the pleasures of HeavenTL 141
the risk of incurring eternal damnationTL 142
a cruel, fantastic, partial tyrant, whose caprice is the rule.TL 143caprice
as vile instruments of their caprices or of their ambitionTL 143caprice
whose caprices the nations never dare to resist.TL 143caprice
His lieutenants upon earth.TL 143
His representatives upon earth,TL 143
His representatives upon the earth.TL 143
the gods of the earthTL 143
turn our regards upon all the earthTL 143
the Divine right of kingsTL 144
the divine rights of the clergy.TL 144
the divine rights of their chiefsTL 144
the divine rights of tyrantsTL 144
the masters of the earthTL 144
who are accommodating to the masters of the earthTL 144
the fear of another life,TL 145another life
they felt themselves obliged to have recourse to chimeras,TL 145chimera
in which so many nations are governed here below,TL 145here below
His representatives upon earth,TL 145
the passions and follies of His representatives upon earth.TL 145
As soon as the latter find themselves unhappy here belowTL 146here below
It is because his Prophet subdued him in the name of the Deity,TL 146the Deity
the conduct of the Lord's ministers,TL 146
the Divine right of tyrantsTL 146
the ministers of the ChurchTL 146
the ministers of this religionTL 146
their eyes are fixed on HeavenTL 146
they were not made to be happy in this worldTL 147in this world
the gods of the earthTL 147of the earth
directing the eyes of men toward HeavenTL 147
it is always iniquity which excites the wrath of Heaven.TL 147
the gods of HeavenTL 147
The ministers of religionTL 147
the wrath of HeavenTL 147
except when the gods of the earthTL 148
the evil which he has done upon earth.TL 148
they uselessly implore the assistance of HeavenTL 148
he constantly becomes the toy of their caprices,TL 149caprice
superstition as the most important and the most sacred thing, its chimerical dutiesTL 149chimerical
upon the worldTL 149
which Heaven in its fury could have sent upon earth.TL 149
which religion has bestowed upon the world,TL 149
leading the people to salvationTL 150salvation
and of keeping them under their yokeTL 150yoke
who knows no law but his caprice,TL 151caprice
base his power on impositions and chimeras.TL 152chimera
without a mixture of caprice and perversityTL 153caprice
A God who would be just and good, without a mixture of capriceTL 153capricious
to make of their God a terrible, capricious,TL 153capricious
their God a terrible, capricious, and changeable tyrant;TL 153capricious
of the glory of their God.TL 153
the glory of their God.TL 153
The ministers of religionTL 153
the ministers of the godsTL 153
The ministers of religionTL 154
no crime which men have not committed in the idea of pleasing the DeityTL 155the Deity
the cause of their celestial MonarchTL 155
this Monarch of the worldTL 156of the world
There does not exist yet upon earthTL 156
the most unheard-of crimes, with the idea of pleasing the Deity!TL 157the Deity
The ministers of religionTL 157
All religions of the worldTL 158of the world
which generally religion causes upon earthTL 159upon earth
Do not the ministers of GodTL 159
His Divine MajestyTL 159
that His Divine MajestyTL 159
the ministers of GodTL 159
the violence and evils which generally religion causes upon earth,TL 159
by what strange capriceTL 160caprice
everything that transpires in the worldTL 160in the world
everything that transpires in the worldTL 160in the world
religion has so often caused in this worldTL 160in this world
the good and of the bad we see in this worldTL 160in this world
the evil which He causes, or permits to be done in this worldTL 160in this world
His disciples in this lower worldTL 160lower world
a snare that God has maliciously laid in his path to entrap him?TL 160snare
but a snareTL 160snare
Notwithstanding the bloody tragediesTL 160
or permits to be done in this world.TL 160
the God of theismTL 160
in all parts of our globeTL 161globe
We see in all parts of our globeTL 161globe
religious morality which is founded upon the opinion that to please the DeityTL 161the Deity
A saint in the worldTL 162in the world
those who live in the worldTL 162in the world
snares,TL 162snares
beings who are more perfect than others; chosen ones,TL 162
chosen ones,TL 162
for the greater glory of God,TL 162
he has always exercised in the world?TL 163in the world
Jesus Christ has delivered us from sinTL 163sin
that Christ has delivered them from sin,TL 163sin
Christians firmly believe that Christ has delivered them from sin,TL 163
To say that Jesus Christ has delivered us from sin,TL 163
will be the prey of eternal flamesTL 164Hell
all that transpires in this worldTL 164in this world
they do not exist upon the earth!TL 164upon the earth
His Divine MessiahTL 164
saving it from the wrath of God,TL 164
The Messiah,TL 164
in all the religions of this world,TL 165of this world
Consequently, men face the Deity in the manner which conforms the most to their present interests.TL 165the Deity
Divine mercyTL 165
for disarming the wrath of Heaven.TL 165
the treasures of Divine mercyTL 165
the wrath of Heaven.TL 165
Divinity punishes crime in this worldTL 166in this world
the arbiters of the world,TL 166of the world
the majority of the inhabitants of this world.TL 166of this world
to the other lifeTL 166the other life
disappointed and disgusted with this world;TL 166with this world
To tell men that Divinity punishes crime in this world,TL 166
the pleasures of ParadiseTL 167HEaven
founding morality upon the caprice and upon the imagination of men;TL 168caprice
all religions of the worldTL 168of the world
which all religions of the worldTL 168of the world
the ministers of these religionsTL 168
the perishable riches of the earth;TL 169of the earth
their prayers and their powerful intercession with the Deity;TL 169the Deity
the greatest outrages which have been committed upon the earth.TL 169upon the earth
the ministers of the Lord.TL 169
their powerful intercession with the DeityTL 169
the Almighty BeingTL 170almighty being
the inhabitants of the earth;TL 170of the earth
the kings of the earthTL 170of the earth
which is very useless to the worldTL 170to the world
Divine mercyTL 170
the Divine Nature,TL 170
The interests of the Celestial MonarchTL 170
the King of HeavenTL 170
to repair them by imploring Divine mercyTL 170
invisible lawgiver, or a mysterious religion, or chimerical fearsTL 171chimerical
not from the Divine Nature,TL 171
and produced so many ravages upon the earth,TL 172upon the earth
which have excited the Celestial wrathTL 172
The sovereigns of this worldTL 173of this world
The sovereigns of this world [TL] in associating the DeityTL 173the Deity
His lieutenants and His representatives upon earth,TL 173upon the earth
the superiority of the Celestial Monarch?TL 173
to substitute imaginary motors, inconceivable chimeras,TL 175chimera
the torments of HellTL 175Hell
they will submit to the eternal fireTL 175Hell
the hour of deathTL 175hour death
in which they gained their riches in this worldTL 175in this world
more impression upon the man of the worldTL 175of the world
the man of the worldTL 175of the world
a true repentance is sufficient to appease Divinity?TL 175
be persuaded of the existence of a Hell and of a Paradise;TL 175
the existence of a Hell TL and of a ParadiseTL 175
the pleasures of the celestial courtTL 175
for the glory of GodTL 176
the dogma of another lifeTL 177another life
We are assured [IS] that the dogma of another lifeTL 177another life
how he ought to conduct himself upon earth?TL 177upon earth
If life is but a passage,TL 177
Religion, ...represents man to us as but a pilgrim upon earth;TL 177
suspicious men, who know no more of the essence of DivinityTL 178
Can an atheistical king inflict more evil on the worldTL 179on the world
the religious man, who has no motives but his chimeras,TL 180chimera
There is nothing more rare in the worldTL 181in the world
there are few men in the worldTL 182in the world
It is the dark colors in which the priests paint the DeityTL 182the Deity
they shake off a yokeTL 182yoke
they wear the yokeTL 182yoke
they have been so early accustomed to tremble even at the name of the Deity,TL 183the Deity
the hour of deathTL 184hour death
the ministers of the Lord,TL 185
in defending this religion and its chimeras,TL 187chimera
O priests of the Lord!TL 187
priests of the LordTL 187
a Master so capricious as the God whom they announce to us.TL 188capricious
they shake off the yoke of the DeityTL 188the Deity
to break the yoke of a TyrantTL 188yoke
Heaven's graceTL 188
of being the messengers of the Most HighTL 188
punishing them eternallyTL 188
sure of Heaven's graceTL 188
The common man is, in every country, more devoted to his spiritual guides,TL 188
they shake off the yoke of the DeityTL 188
No man on earthTL 189on earth
in forging Divine rightsTL 189
the ministers of the Lord,TL 189
preach to them virtues which are really useful to the worldTL 190to the world
the ministers of the GodsTL 190
the means of serving usefully the world,TL 191the world
the ministers of religionTL 191
the hour of deathTL 192
The ministers of religionTL 192
How can we bind an atheist who can not seriously attest the Deity?TL 193the Deity
Could a people who had no idea of the Deity, [TL]TL 194the Deity
the ministers at the altars,TL 194
occupy yourselves with their happiness in this worldTL 196in this world
the fate which awaits them in another.TL 196
subjects it to the caprices of the Gods,TL 198caprice
the ministers of the GodsTL 199
Everywhere on earthTL 200on earth
the Holy BookTL 202book
their inspired books.TL 202book
nothing could be explicable in the worldTL 202in the world
damning the immortal souls of men,TL 202soul
it is a mystery hidden in the bosom of the Deity.TL 202the Deity
the Holy Book [TL], which every Christian reveres as inspired by the DeityTL 202the Deity
agree with the Holy BookTL 202
Celestial fury.TL 202
it is a mystery hidden in the bosom of the Deity.TL 202
the Divine Nature,TL 202
to disarm Celestial fury.TL 202
the ministers of the godsTL 203
to announce truths to the worldTL 205
in the worldTLitw
temptations, snares,TLsn
of this worldTLworld
tempt tempterxx
advantagexx TL
principlexx TL
barbarousxxxxx
The theologians treat men like childrenz25
1-10
COMMON SENSE.
Detexit quo dolose Vaticinandi furore sacerdotes mysteria, illis spe ignota, audactur publicant.—PETRON. SATYR.
[He discovered with what treacherous prophesying fury the priests dared to publish mysteries unknown to them.]
1.—There is a vast empire governed by a monarch, whose conduct does but confound the minds of his subjects.
He desires to be known, loved, respected, and obeyed,[IR] but he never shows himself; everything tends to make uncertain the notions which we are able to form about him.
The people subjected to his power have only such ideas of the character and the laws of their invisible sovereign as his ministers give them;
these suit, however, because they themselves have no idea of their master, for his ways are impenetrable, and his views and his qualities are totally incomprehensible;
moreover, his ministers disagree among themselves in regard to the orders which they pretend emanated from the sovereign whose organs they claim to be;
they announce them diversely in each province of the empire;
they discredit and treat each other as impostors and liars;
the decrees and ordinances which they promulgate are obscure;
they are enigmas, made not to be understood or divined by the subjects for whose instruction they were intended.
The laws of the invisible monarch need interpreters, but those who explain them are always quarreling among themselves about the true way of understanding them;
more than this, they do not agree among themselves; all which they relate of their hidden prince [SE] is but a tissue of contradictions, scarcely a single word that is not contradicted at once.
He is called supremely good, nevertheless not a person but complains of his decrees.
He is supposed to be infinitely wise, and in his administration everything seems contrary to reason and good sense.
They boast of his justice, and the best of his subjects are generally the least favored. [x]
We are assured [IS] that he sees everything, yet his presence remedies nothing.
It is said that he is the friend of order,
and everything in his universe is in a state of confusion and disorder;
all is created by him, yet events rarely happen according to his projects.
He foresees everything, but his foresight prevents nothing.
He is impatient if any offend him;
at the same time he puts every one in the way of offending him.
His knowledge is admired in the perfection of his works, but his works are full of imperfections, and of little permanence.
He is continually occupied in creating and destroying, then repairing what he has done, never appearing to be satisfied with his work.
In all his enterprises he seeks but his own glory, but he does not succeed in being glorified.
He works but for the good of his subjects, and most of them lack the necessities of life.
Those whom he seems to favor, are generally those who are the least satisfied with their fate;
we see them all continually revolting against a master whose greatness they admire, whose wisdom they extol, whose goodness they worship, and whose justice they fear, revering orders which they never follow.
This empire is the world; its monarch is God; His ministers are the priests; their subjects are men.*
*In the last sentence, Mislier provides definitions that explain his allegory.
2.—There is a science which has for its object only incomprehensible things.
Unlike all others, it occupies itself but with things unseen.
Hobbes calls it "the kingdom of darkness." [Leviathan, 1651]
In this land all obey laws opposed to those which men acknowledge in the world they inhabit. [TL]
In this marvelous region light is but darkness, evidence becomes doubtful or false,
the impossible becomes credible, reason is an unfaithful guide, and common sense changed into delirium.
This science is named Theology, and this Theology is a continual insult to human reason.[x]
3.— By frequent repetition of “if”, “but”, and “perhaps”,* we succeed in forming an imperfect and broken system which perplexes men's minds to the extent of making them forget the clearest notions,
and to render uncertain the most palpable truths.
By the aid of this systematic nonsense, all Nature has become an inexplicable enigma for man;
the visible world has disappeared to give place to invisible regions;
reason is obliged to give place to imagination, which can lead us only to the land of chimeras [TL] which she herself has invented.
*Quotation marks added for ease of interpretation.
4.—All religious principles are founded upon the idea of a God,
but it is impossible for men to have true ideas of a being who does not act upon any one of their senses.
All our ideas are but pictures of objects which strike us.
What can the idea of God represent to us when it is evidently an idea without an object?
Is not such an idea as impossible as an effect without a cause?
An idea without a prototype, is it anything but a chimera? [TL]
Some theologians, however, assure us [IS] that the idea of God is innate,
or that men have this idea from the time of their birth.
Every principle is a judgment; all judgment is the effect of experience;
experience is not acquired but by the exercise of the senses:
from which it follows that religious principles are drawn from nothing, and are not innate.
5.—No religious system can be founded otherwise than upon the nature of God and of men,
and upon the relations they bear to each other.
But, in order to judge of the reality of these relations, we must have some idea of the Divine nature.
But everybody tells us [IS] that the essence of God is incomprehensible to man;
at the same time they do not hesitate to assign attributes to this incomprehensible God,
and assure us [IS] that man can not dispense with a knowledge of this God so impossible to conceive of.
The most important thing for men is that which is the most impossible for them to comprehend.
If God is incomprehensible to man, it would seem rational never to think of Him at all;
but religion concludes that man is criminal if he ceases for a moment to revere Him.
6.—We are told [IS] that Divine qualities are not of a nature to be grasped by limited minds.
The natural consequence of this principle ought to be that the Divine qualities are not made to employ limited minds;
but religion assures us [IS] that limited minds should never lose sight of this inconceivable being,
whose qualities can not be grasped by them: from which we see that religion is the art of occupying limited minds with that which is impossible for them to comprehend.[x]
7.—Religion unites man with God or puts them in communication;
but do you say [IS] that God is infinite?
If God is infinite, no finite being can have communication or any relation with Him.
Where there are no relations, there can be no union, no correspondence, no duties.
If there are no duties between man and his God, there exists no religion for man.
Thus by saying that God is infinite, you annihilate, from that moment, all religion for man,
who is a finite being.
The idea of infinity is for us in idea without model, without prototype, without object.
8.--If God is an infinite being, there can be neither in the actual world or in another any proportion between man and his God;
thus the idea of God will never enter the human mind.
In the supposition of a life where men will be more enlightened than in this one,
the infinity of God will always place such a distance between his idea and the limited mind of man,
that he will not be able to conceive of God any more in a future life [TL] than in the present.
Hence, it evidently follows that the idea of God will not be better suited to man in the other life [AE] than in the present.
God is not made for man;
it follows also that intelligences superior to man—such as angels, archangels, seraphims, and saints*--can have no more complete notions of God than has man,
who does not understand anything about Him here below.[TL]
* Note the alliteration of angels with archangels and of seraphims with saints.
9.—How is it that we have succeeded in persuading reasonable beings that the thing most impossible to understand was the most essential for them.
It is because they were greatly frightened;
it is because when men are kept in fear they cease to reason;
it is because they have been expressly enjoined to distrust their reason.
When the brain is troubled, we believe everything and examine nothing.
10.--Ignorance and fear are the two pivots of all religion.*
The uncertainty attending man's relation to his God is precisely the motive which attaches him to his religion.
Man is afraid when in darkness—physical or moral.
His fear is habitual to him and becomes a necessity;
he would believe that he lacked something if he had nothing to fear.
*Meilser omits superstition from the well known trio of “fear, ignorance, and superstition”. However, superstition can be understood as being derived from both ignorance and fear.
Detexit quo dolose Vaticinandi furore sacerdotes mysteria, illis spe ignota, audactur publicant.—PETRON. SATYR.
[He discovered with what treacherous prophesying fury the priests dared to publish mysteries unknown to them.]
1.—There is a vast empire governed by a monarch, whose conduct does but confound the minds of his subjects.
He desires to be known, loved, respected, and obeyed,[IR] but he never shows himself; everything tends to make uncertain the notions which we are able to form about him.
The people subjected to his power have only such ideas of the character and the laws of their invisible sovereign as his ministers give them;
these suit, however, because they themselves have no idea of their master, for his ways are impenetrable, and his views and his qualities are totally incomprehensible;
moreover, his ministers disagree among themselves in regard to the orders which they pretend emanated from the sovereign whose organs they claim to be;
they announce them diversely in each province of the empire;
they discredit and treat each other as impostors and liars;
the decrees and ordinances which they promulgate are obscure;
they are enigmas, made not to be understood or divined by the subjects for whose instruction they were intended.
The laws of the invisible monarch need interpreters, but those who explain them are always quarreling among themselves about the true way of understanding them;
more than this, they do not agree among themselves; all which they relate of their hidden prince [SE] is but a tissue of contradictions, scarcely a single word that is not contradicted at once.
He is called supremely good, nevertheless not a person but complains of his decrees.
He is supposed to be infinitely wise, and in his administration everything seems contrary to reason and good sense.
They boast of his justice, and the best of his subjects are generally the least favored. [x]
We are assured [IS] that he sees everything, yet his presence remedies nothing.
It is said that he is the friend of order,
and everything in his universe is in a state of confusion and disorder;
all is created by him, yet events rarely happen according to his projects.
He foresees everything, but his foresight prevents nothing.
He is impatient if any offend him;
at the same time he puts every one in the way of offending him.
His knowledge is admired in the perfection of his works, but his works are full of imperfections, and of little permanence.
He is continually occupied in creating and destroying, then repairing what he has done, never appearing to be satisfied with his work.
In all his enterprises he seeks but his own glory, but he does not succeed in being glorified.
He works but for the good of his subjects, and most of them lack the necessities of life.
Those whom he seems to favor, are generally those who are the least satisfied with their fate;
we see them all continually revolting against a master whose greatness they admire, whose wisdom they extol, whose goodness they worship, and whose justice they fear, revering orders which they never follow.
This empire is the world; its monarch is God; His ministers are the priests; their subjects are men.*
*In the last sentence, Mislier provides definitions that explain his allegory.
2.—There is a science which has for its object only incomprehensible things.
Unlike all others, it occupies itself but with things unseen.
Hobbes calls it "the kingdom of darkness." [Leviathan, 1651]
In this land all obey laws opposed to those which men acknowledge in the world they inhabit. [TL]
In this marvelous region light is but darkness, evidence becomes doubtful or false,
the impossible becomes credible, reason is an unfaithful guide, and common sense changed into delirium.
This science is named Theology, and this Theology is a continual insult to human reason.[x]
3.— By frequent repetition of “if”, “but”, and “perhaps”,* we succeed in forming an imperfect and broken system which perplexes men's minds to the extent of making them forget the clearest notions,
and to render uncertain the most palpable truths.
By the aid of this systematic nonsense, all Nature has become an inexplicable enigma for man;
the visible world has disappeared to give place to invisible regions;
reason is obliged to give place to imagination, which can lead us only to the land of chimeras [TL] which she herself has invented.
*Quotation marks added for ease of interpretation.
4.—All religious principles are founded upon the idea of a God,
but it is impossible for men to have true ideas of a being who does not act upon any one of their senses.
All our ideas are but pictures of objects which strike us.
What can the idea of God represent to us when it is evidently an idea without an object?
Is not such an idea as impossible as an effect without a cause?
An idea without a prototype, is it anything but a chimera? [TL]
Some theologians, however, assure us [IS] that the idea of God is innate,
or that men have this idea from the time of their birth.
Every principle is a judgment; all judgment is the effect of experience;
experience is not acquired but by the exercise of the senses:
from which it follows that religious principles are drawn from nothing, and are not innate.
5.—No religious system can be founded otherwise than upon the nature of God and of men,
and upon the relations they bear to each other.
But, in order to judge of the reality of these relations, we must have some idea of the Divine nature.
But everybody tells us [IS] that the essence of God is incomprehensible to man;
at the same time they do not hesitate to assign attributes to this incomprehensible God,
and assure us [IS] that man can not dispense with a knowledge of this God so impossible to conceive of.
The most important thing for men is that which is the most impossible for them to comprehend.
If God is incomprehensible to man, it would seem rational never to think of Him at all;
but religion concludes that man is criminal if he ceases for a moment to revere Him.
6.—We are told [IS] that Divine qualities are not of a nature to be grasped by limited minds.
The natural consequence of this principle ought to be that the Divine qualities are not made to employ limited minds;
but religion assures us [IS] that limited minds should never lose sight of this inconceivable being,
whose qualities can not be grasped by them: from which we see that religion is the art of occupying limited minds with that which is impossible for them to comprehend.[x]
7.—Religion unites man with God or puts them in communication;
but do you say [IS] that God is infinite?
If God is infinite, no finite being can have communication or any relation with Him.
Where there are no relations, there can be no union, no correspondence, no duties.
If there are no duties between man and his God, there exists no religion for man.
Thus by saying that God is infinite, you annihilate, from that moment, all religion for man,
who is a finite being.
The idea of infinity is for us in idea without model, without prototype, without object.
8.--If God is an infinite being, there can be neither in the actual world or in another any proportion between man and his God;
thus the idea of God will never enter the human mind.
In the supposition of a life where men will be more enlightened than in this one,
the infinity of God will always place such a distance between his idea and the limited mind of man,
that he will not be able to conceive of God any more in a future life [TL] than in the present.
Hence, it evidently follows that the idea of God will not be better suited to man in the other life [AE] than in the present.
God is not made for man;
it follows also that intelligences superior to man—such as angels, archangels, seraphims, and saints*--can have no more complete notions of God than has man,
who does not understand anything about Him here below.[TL]
* Note the alliteration of angels with archangels and of seraphims with saints.
9.—How is it that we have succeeded in persuading reasonable beings that the thing most impossible to understand was the most essential for them.
It is because they were greatly frightened;
it is because when men are kept in fear they cease to reason;
it is because they have been expressly enjoined to distrust their reason.
When the brain is troubled, we believe everything and examine nothing.
10.--Ignorance and fear are the two pivots of all religion.*
The uncertainty attending man's relation to his God is precisely the motive which attaches him to his religion.
Man is afraid when in darkness—physical or moral.
His fear is habitual to him and becomes a necessity;
he would believe that he lacked something if he had nothing to fear.
*Meilser omits superstition from the well known trio of “fear, ignorance, and superstition”. However, superstition can be understood as being derived from both ignorance and fear.
11-20
11.—He who from his childhood has had a habit of trembling every time he heard certain words,
needs these words, and needs to tremble.
In this way he is more disposed to listen to the one who encourages his fears than to the one who would dispel his fears.
The superstitious man wants to be afraid; his imagination demands it.
It seems that he fears nothing more than having no object to fear.
Men are imaginary patients, whom interested charlatans take care to encourage in their weakness,
in order to have a market for their remedies.
Physicians who order a great number of remedies are more listened to than those who recommend a good regimen, and who leave Nature to act.
12.--If religion was clear, it would have fewer attractions for the ignorant.
They need
[1] obscurity,
[2] mysteries,
[3] fables,
[4] miracles,
[5] incredible things, which keep their brains perpetually at work.
[1] Romances,
[2] idle stories*,
[3] tales of ghosts and witches, have more charms for the vulgar than true narrations.
*Memorizing the lives of the saint is but “idle learning”.
13.—In the matter of religion, men are but overgrown children. [x]
The more absurd a religion is, and the fuller of marvels, the more power it exerts;
the devotee thinks himself obliged to place no limits to his credulity;
the more inconceivable things are, the more divine they appear to him;
the more incredible they are, the more merit he gives himself for believing them.
14.—The origin of religious opinions dates, as a general thing,
from the time when savage nations were yet in a state of infancy.
It was to coarse, ignorant, and stupid men that the founders of religion addressed themselves in all ages, in order to present them with Gods, ceremonies, histories of fabulous Divinities, marvelous and terrible fables.
These chimeras, adopted without examination by the fathers, [TL] have been transmitted with more or less changes to their polished children, who often do not reason more than their fathers.
15.--The first legislators of nations had for their object to dominate,
The easiest means of succeeding was to frighten the people and to prevent them from reasoning;
they led them by tortuous paths in order that they should not perceive the designs of their guides;
they compelled them to look into the air, for fear they should look to their feet;
they amused them upon the road by stories; [SE]
in a word, they treated them in the way of nurses,
who employ songs and menaces to put the children to sleep, or to force them to be quiet.
16.—The existence of a God is the basis of all religion.
Few people seem to doubt this existence, but this fundamental principle is precisely the one which prevents every mind from reasoning.
The first question of every catechism was, and will always be, the most difficult one to answer.
17.—Can one honestly say that he is convinced of the existence of
[1] a being whose nature is not known,
[2] who remains inaccessible to all our senses, and
[3] of whose qualities we are constantly assured [IS] that they are incomprehensible to us?
In order to persuade me that a being exists, or can exist,
he must begin by telling me what this being is;
in order to make me believe the existence or the possibility of such a being,
he must tell me things about him which are not contradictory, and which do not destroy one another;
finally, in order to convince me fully of the existence of this being,
he must tell me things about him which I can comprehend, and prove to me that it is impossible that the being to whom he attributes these qualities does not exist.
18.—A thing is impossible when it is composed of two ideas so antagonistic that we can not think of them at the same time.
Evidence can be relied on only when confirmed by the constant testimony of our senses,
which alone give birth to ideas, and enable us to judge of their conformity or of their incompatibility.
That which exists necessarily, is that of which the non-existence would imply contradiction.
These principles, universally recognized,
are at fault when the question of the existence of God is considered;
what has been said of Him is either unintelligible or perfectly contradictory;
and for this reason must appear impossible to every man of common sense.
19.—All human intelligences are more or less enlightened and cultivated.
By what fatality is it that the science of God has never been explained?
The most civilized nations and the most profound thinkers are of the same opinion in regard to the matter as the most barbarous nations and the most ignorant and rustic people. [x]
As we examine the subject more closely, we will find that the science of divinity [SE] by means of reveries and subtleties has but obscured it more and more.
Thus far, all religion has been founded on what is called in logic, a "begging of the question;"
it supposes freely, and then proves, finally, by the suppositions it has made.
20.--By metaphysics, God is made a pure spirit,*
but has modern theology advanced one step further than the theology of the barbarians?
They recognized a grand spirit as master of the world. [TL]
The barbarians, like all ignorant men, attribute to spirits all the effects of which their inexperience prevents them from discovering the true causes.
Ask a barbarian what causes your watch to move, he will answer, "a spirit!"
Ask our philosophers what moves the universe, they will tell you "it is a spirit."
* A “pure spirit” suggests the existence of an “impure spirit” or, stated clearly, a spirit that is not wholly a spirit.
21-30
21.—The barbarian, when he speaks of a spirit, attaches at least some sense to this word;
he understands by it an agent similar to the wind, to the agitated air, to the breath, which produces, invisibly, effects that we perceive.
By subtilizing, the modern theologian becomes as little intelligible to himself as to others.
Ask him what he means by a spirit?
He will answer, that it is an unknown substance, which is perfectly simple, which has nothing tangible, nothing in common with matter.
In good faith, is there any mortal who can form the least idea of such a substance?
A spirit in the language of modern theology is then but an absence of ideas.
The idea of spirituality is another idea without a model.
22.—Is it not more natural and more intelligible to deduce all which exists, from the bosom of matter, whose existence is demonstrated by all our senses, whose effects we feel at every moment, which we see act, move, communicate, motion, and constantly bring living beings into existence, than to attribute the formation of things to an unknown force, to a spiritual being, who can not draw from his ground that which he has not himself, and who, by the spiritual essence claimed for him,
is incapable of making anything, and of putting anything in motion?
Nothing is plainer than that they would have us believe that an intangible spirit can act upon matter.
23.—The material Jupiter of the ancients could move, build up, destroy, and propagate beings similar to himself; but the God of modern theology is a sterile being.
According to his supposed nature he can
[1] neither occupy any place,
[2] nor move matter,
[3] nor produce a visible world,
[4] nor propagate either men or Gods.
The metaphysical God is a workman without hands;
he is able but to produce clouds, suspicions, reveries, follies, and quarrels.
24.—Since it was necessary for men to have a God, why did they not have the sun, the visible God, adored by so many nations? *
What being had more right to the homage of mortals than the star of the day, [SE] which gives light and heat; which invigorates all beings; whose presence reanimates and rejuvenates Nature; whose absence seems to plunge her into sadness and languor?
If some being bestowed upon men power, activity, benevolence, strength, it was no doubt the sun, which should be recognized as the father of Nature [IR TL], as the soul of the world, [TL] as Divinity.
At least one could not without folly dispute his existence,
or refuse to recognize his influence and his benefits.
*The rhetorical question is not answered. If the nations took the sun as their God, then tribalism could not exist and the power of the priests would diminish.
25.—The theologian tells us [IS] that God does not need hands or arms to act,
and that He acts by His will alone.
But what is this God who has a will?
And what can be the subject of this divine will?
Is it more ridiculous or more difficult to believe
[1] in fairies,
[2] in sylphs,
[3] in ghosts*,
[4] in witches,
[5] in were-wolfs, than to believe in the magical or impossible action of the spirit upon the body?
As soon as we admit of such a God, there are no longer fables or visions which can not be believed.
The theologians treat men like children, [z] who never cavil** about the possibilities of the tales which they listen to.
* The Holy Spirit is a Holy Ghost.
**Cavil, verb, make petty or unnecessary objections.
26.—To unsettle the existence of a God, it is only necessary to ask a theologian to speak of Him;
as soon as he utters one word about Him, the least reflection makes us discover at once that what he says is incompatible with the essence which he attributes to his God.
Therefore, what is God?
It is an abstract word, coined to designate the hidden forces of Nature; or, it is a mathematical point, which has neither length, breadth, nor thickness.
A philosopher [David Hume] has very ingeniously said in speaking of theologians, that they have found the solution to the famous problem of Archimedes;
a point in the heavens from which they move the world.
27.—Religion puts men on their knees
[1] before a being without extension, and who, notwithstanding, is infinite,
and fills all space with his immensity;
[2] before an almighty being, who never executes that which he desires;
[3] before a being supremely good, and who causes but displeasure;
[4] before a being, the friend of order, and in whose government everything is in disorder.
After all this, let us conjecture what this God of theology is.
28.—In order to avoid all embarrassment, they tell us [IS] that it is not necessary to know what God is; that we must adore without knowing;
that it is not permitted us to turn an eye of temerity upon His attributes.
But if we must adore a God without knowing Him, should we not be assured that He exists?
Moreover, how be assured that He exists without having examined whether it is possible that the diverse qualities claimed for Him, meet in Him?
In truth, to adore God is to adore nothing but fictions of one's own brain, or rather, it is to adore nothing.
* Total occurrences of “adore” in this section : 5. It occurs twice in section 45; and once each in section 53 and section 60.
29.--Without doubt the more to perplex matters, theologians have chosen to say nothing about what their God is; they tell us [IS] what He is not.
By negations and abstractions they imagine themselves composing a real and perfect being,
while there can result from it but a being of human reason.
[1] A spirit has no body;
[2] an infinite being is a being which is not finite;
[3] a perfect being is a being which is not imperfect.
Can any one form any real notions of such a multitude of deficiencies or absence of ideas?
That which excludes all idea, can it be anything but nothingness?
To pretend that the divine attributes are beyond the understanding of the human mind is to render God unfit for men.
If we are assured [IS] that God is infinite,
we admit that there can be nothing in common between Him and His creatures.
To say that God is infinite, is to destroy Him for men, or at least render Him useless to them.
God, we are told, [IS] created men intelligent, but He did not create them omniscient:
that is to say, capable of knowing all things.
We conclude that He was not able to endow him with intelligence sufficient to understand the divine essence. [TL]
In this case it is demonstrated that God has neither the power nor the wish to be known by men.
By what right could this God become angry with beings whose own essence makes it impossible to have any idea of the divine essence? [TL]
God would evidently be the most unjust and the most unaccountable of tyrants if He should punish an atheist for not knowing that which his nature made it impossible for him to know.
30.—.For the generality of men nothing renders an argument more convincing than fear.
In consequence of this fact, theologians tell us [IS] that the safest side must be taken;
that nothing is more criminal than incredulity;
that God will punish without mercy all those who have the temerity to doubt His existence;
that His severity is just; since it is only madness or perversity which questions the existence of an angry monarch who revenges himself cruelly upon atheists.
If we examine these menaces calmly, we shall find that they assume always the thing in question. [x]
They must commence by
[1] proving to our satisfaction the existence of a God, before
[2] telling us that it is safer to believe, and that
[3] it is horrible to doubt or to deny it.
Then
[4] they must prove that it is possible for a just God to punish men cruelly for having been in a state of madness, which prevented them from believing in the existence of a being whom their enlightened reason could not comprehend.
In a word, they must prove that a God that is said to be full of equity could punish beyond measure the invincible and necessary ignorance of man, caused by his relation to the divine essence. [TL]
Is not the theologians' manner of reasoning very singular?
They create phantoms, they fill them with contradictions, and finally assure us [IS] that the safest way is not to doubt the existence of those phantoms, which they have themselves invented.
By following out this method, there is no absurdity which it would not be safer to believe than not to believe.
All children are atheists—they have no idea of God; are they, then, criminal on account of this ignorance? At what age do they begin to be obliged to believe in God?
It is, you say, [IS] at the age of reason.
At what time does this age begin?
Besides, if the most profound theologians lose themselves in the divine essence, [TL] which they boast of not comprehending, what ideas can common people have?
—women, mechanics,* and, in short, those who compose the mass of the human race?
* When one considers the number of occupations that could be mentioned, “mechanics” seems an odd choice of words.
31-40
31.--Men believe in God only upon the word of those who have no more idea of Him than they themselves.
Our nurses are our first theologians; they talk to children of God as they talk to them of were-wolfs;
they teach them from the most tender age to join the hands mechanically.
Have the nurses clearer notions of God than the children, whom they compel to pray to Him?
32.— Religion is handed down from fathers to children as the property of a family with the burdens.
Very few people in the world [TL] would have a God if care had not been taken to give them one.
Each one receives from his parents and his instructors the God which they themselves have received from theirs; only, according to his own temperament,
each one arranges, modifies, and paints Him agreeably to his taste.
33.—The brain of man is, especially in infancy, like a soft wax, ready to receive all the impressions we wish to make on it; education furnishes nearly all his opinions, at a period when he is incapable of judging for himself.
We believe that the ideas, true or false, which at a tender age were forced into our heads,
were received from Nature at our birth; and this persuasion is one of the greatest sources of our errors.
34.--Prejudice tends to confirm in us the opinions of those who are charged with our instruction.
We believe them more skillful than we are;
we suppose them thoroughly convinced themselves of the things they teach us.
We have the greatest confidence in them.
After the care they have taken of us when we were unable to assist ourselves,
we judge them incapable of deceiving us.
These are the motives which make us adopt a thousand errors without other foundation than the dangerous word of those who have educated us; even the being forbidden to reason upon what they tell us, [IS]
does not diminish our confidence, but contributes often to increase our respect for their opinions.
35.—The instructors of the human race act very prudently in teaching men their religious principles before they are able to distinguish the true from the false, or the left hand from the right.
It would be as difficult to tame the spirit of a man forty years old with the extravagant notions which are given us of Divinity, as to banish these notions from the head of a man who has imbibed them since his tenderest infancy.[SE]
36.—We are assured [IS] that the wonders of Nature are sufficient to a belief in the existence of a God, and to convince us fully of this important truth.*
But how many persons are there in this world [TL] who have
the leisure,
the capacity,
the necessary taste, to contemplate Nature and to meditate upon its progress?
The majority of men pay no attention to it.
A peasant is not at all moved by the beauty of the sun, which he sees every day.
The sailor is not surprised by the regular movements of the ocean;
he will draw from them no theological inductions.
The phenomena of Nature do not prove the existence of a God, except to a few forewarned men,
to whom has been shown in advance the finger of God [IR SE]** in all the objects whose mechanism could embarrass them.
The unprejudiced philosopher sees nothing in the wonders of Nature but permanent and invariable law; nothing but the necessary effects of different combinations of diversified substance.
*Romans 1:20
**The phrase “the finger of God” is found in Exodus 8:19, 31:18; Dueteromny 9:10, and Luke 11:20.
37.—Is there anything more surprising than the logic of so many profound doctors, who, instead of acknowledging the little light they have upon natural agencies, seek outside of Nature--that is to say, in imaginary regions—an agent less understood than this Nature, of which they can at least form some idea? To say that God is the author of the phenomena that we see, [IR] is it not attributing them to an occult cause? What is God?
What is a spirit?
They are causes of which we have no idea.
Sages! study Nature and her laws; and when you can from them unravel the action of natural causes,
do not go in search of supernatural causes, which, very far from enlightening your ideas, will but entangle them more and more and make it impossible for you to understand yourselves.
38— Nature, you say, [IS] is totally inexplicable without a God; that is to say, in order to explain what you understand so little, you need a cause which you do not understand at all. [x]
You pretend to make clear that which is obscure, by magnifying its obscurity.*
You think you have untied a knot by multiplying knots.
Enthusiastic philosophers, in order to prove to us the existence of a God,
you copy complete treatises on botany;
you enter into minute details of the parts of the human body;
you ascend into the air to contemplate the revolutions of the stars;
you return then to earth to admire the course of the waters;
you fly into ecstasies over butterflies, insects, polyps, organized atoms, in which you think to find the greatness of your God; all these things will not prove the existence of this God; [x]
they will only prove that you have not the ideas which you should have of the immense variety of causes and effects that can produce the infinitely diversified combinations,
of which the universe is the assemblage.
This will prove that you ignore Nature, that you have no idea of her resources when you judge her incapable of producing a multitude of forms and beings, of which your eyes,
even by the aid of the microscope, see but the least part;
finally, this will prove, that not being able to know the sensible and comprehensible agents,
you find it easier to have recourse to a word, by which you designate an agent,
of whom it will always be impossible for you to form any true idea.
*”Whatever is unknown is magnified.” Tacitus
39.—They tell us gravely [IS] that there is no effect without a cause;
they repeat to us [IS] very often that the world did not create itself.
But the universe is a cause, not an effect; [x] it is not a work, has not been made,
because it was impossible that it should be made.
The world has always been, its existence is necessary.
It is the cause of itself.* [SE]
Nature, whose essence is visibly acting and producing, in order to fulfill her functions,
as we see she does, needs no invisible motor far more unknown than herself.
Matter moves by its own energy, by the necessary result of its heterogeneity;
the diversity of its movements or of its ways of acting, constitute only the diversity of substances;
we distinguish one being from another but by the diversity of the impressions or movements which they communicate to our organs.
* “I am the bad wolf. I create myself. I take the words,. I scatter them in time and space. A message to lead myself here. Everything must come to death. All things. Everything dies.” Rose Tyler, Doctor Who
40.—You see that everything in Nature is in a state of activity,
and you pretend that Nature of itself is dead and without energy!
You believe that all this, acting of itself, has need of a motor!
Well! who is this motor?
It is a spirit, that is to say, an absolutely incomprehensible and contradictory being.
Conclude then, I say to you, that matter acts of itself, and cease to reason about your spiritual motor, which has nothing that is necessary to put it into motion.
Return from your useless excursions; come down from an imaginary into a real world;
take hold of second causes; leave to theologians their "First Cause,"
of which Nature has no need in order to produce all the effects which you see.
41-50
41.— It is but by the diversity of impressions or of effects which substances or bodies make upon us,
that we feel them,
that we have perceptions and ideas of them,
that we distinguish them one from another,
that we assign to them peculiarities.
Moreover, in order to perceive or to feel an object, this object must act upon our organs;
this object can not act upon us without exciting some motion in us;
it can not produce any motion in us if it is not itself in motion.
As soon as I see an object, my eyes must be struck by it; I can not conceive of light and of vision without a motion in the luminous, extended, and colored body which communicates itself to my eye,
or which acts upon my retina.
As soon as I smell a body, my olfactory nerve must be irritated or put into motion by the parts exhaled from an odorous body.
As soon as I hear a sound, the tympanum of my ear must be struck by the air put in motion by a sonorous body, which could not act if it was not moved of itself.
From which it follows, evidently, that without motion I can neither feel, see, distinguish, compare, nor judge the body, nor even occupy my thought with any matter whatever.
It is said in the schools, that the essence of a being is that from which flow all the properties of that being. Now then, it is evident that all the properties of bodies or of substances of which we have ideas,
are due to the motion which alone informs us of their existence, and gives us the first conceptions of it.
I can not be informed or assured of my own existence
but by the motions which I experience within myself.
I am compelled to conclude that motion is as essential to matter as its extension,
and that it can not be conceived of without it.
If one persists in caviling about the evidences which prove to us that motion is an essential property of matter, he must at least acknowledge that substances which seemed dead or deprived of all energy,
take motion of themselves as soon as they are brought within the proper distance to act upon each other. Pyrophorus, when enclosed in a bottle or deprived of contact with the air, can not take fire by itself,
but it burns as soon as exposed to the air.
Flour and water cause fermentation as soon as they are mixed.
Thus dead substances engender motion of themselves.
Matter has then the power to move itself, and Nature, in order to act,
does not need a motor whose essence would hinder its activity.
42.— Whence comes man?
What is his origin?
Is he the result of the fortuitous meeting of atoms?
Was the first man formed of the dust of the earth?
I do not know!
Man appears to me to be a production of Nature like all others she embraces.
I should be just as much embarrassed to tell you whence came the first stones, the first trees,
the first elephants, the first ants, the first acorns, as to explain the origin of the human species.
Recognize, we are told, [IS] the hand of God, [SE] of an infinitely intelligent and powerful workman,
in a work so wonderful as the human machine.
I would admit without question that the human machine appears to me surprising; but since man exists in Nature, I do not believe it right to say that his formation is beyond the forces of Nature.
I will add, that I could conceive far less of the formation of the human machine,
when to explain it to me they tell me [IS] that a pure spirit, who has
[1] neither eyes,
[2] nor feet,
[3] nor hands,
[4] nor head,
[5] nor lungs,
[6] nor mouth,
[7] nor breath, has made man by taking a little dust and blowing upon it.
The savage inhabitants of Paraguay pretend to be descended from the moon,
and appear to us as simpletons; the theologians of Europe pretend to be descended from a pure spirit.
Is this pretension more sensible?
Man is intelligent, hence it is concluded that he must be the work of an intelligent being,
and not of a nature devoid of intelligence.
Although nothing is more rare than to see man use this intelligence, of which he appears so proud,
I will admit that he is intelligent, that his necessities develop in him this faculty,
that the society of other men contributes especially to cultivate it.
But in the human machine and in the intelligence with which it is endowed, I see nothing that shows in a precise manner the infinite intelligence of the workman who has the honor of making it.
I see that this admirable machine is subject to derangement; that at that time this wonderful intelligence is disordered, and sometimes totally disappears; from this I conclude that human intelligence depends upon a certain disposition of the material organs of the body, and that, because man is an intelligent being, it is not well to conclude that God must be an intelligent being, any more than because man is material,
we are compelled to conclude that God is material.
The intelligence of man no more proves the intelligence of God than the malice of men proves the malice of this God, of whom they pretend that man is the work.
In whatever way theology is taken, God will always be a cause contradicted by its effects,
or of whom it is impossible to judge by His works.
We shall always see
[1] evil,
[2] imperfections, and
[3] follies resulting from a cause claimed to be full
[1] of goodness,
[2] of perfections, and
[3] of wisdom.*
*God’s justice, not his wisdom, is emphasized in the Old Testament, so it is unsurprising that the wordwisdom does not occur in the Requiem.
43.— Then you will say [IS] that intelligent man and even the universe and all it encloses,
are the effects of chance.
No, I answer, the universe is not an effect; it is the cause of all effects; [x]
all the beings it embraces are the necessary effects of this cause which sometimes shows to us its manner of acting, out which often hides from us its way.
Men may use the word "chance" to cover their ignorance of the true causes; nevertheless,
although they may ignore them, these causes act, but by certain laws.
There is no effect without a cause.
Nature is a word which we make use of to designate the
[1] immense assemblage of beings,
[2] diverse substances,
[3] infinite combinations, and
[4] all the various motions which we see.
All bodies, whether organized or not organized, are the necessary results of certain causes,
made to produce necessarily the effects which we see.
Nothing in Nature can be made by chance; all follow fixed laws;
these laws are but the necessary union of certain effects with their causes.
An atom of matter does not meet another atom by accident or by hazard; this rencounter* is due to permanent laws, which cause each being to act by necessity as it does, and can not act otherwise under the same circumstances.
To speak about the accidental coming together of atoms, or to attribute any effects to chance, is to say nothing, if not to ignore the laws by which bodies [1] act, [2] meet, [3] combine, or [4] separate.
*Rencounter, noun, a chance meeting with someone.
Everything is made by chance for those who do not understand Nature, the properties of beings,
and the effects which must necessarily result from the concurrence of certain causes.
It is not chance that has placed the sun in the center of our planetary system; it is by its very essence,
the substance of which it is composed, that it occupies this place, and from thence diffuses itself to invigorate the beings who live in these planets.*[SE]
* It is uncertain which “beings” inhabit “these planets”.
44.—The worshipers of a God find, especially in the order of the universe,
an invincible proof of the existence of an intelligent and wise being who rules it.
But this order is only a result of motions necessarily brought on by causes or by circumstances which are sometimes favorable and sometimes injurious to ourselves;
we approve the former and find fault with the latter.
Nature follows constantly the same progress; that is to say, the same causes produce the same effects,
as long as their action is not interrupted by other causes which occasion the first ones to produce different effects.
When the causes, whose effects we feel, are interrupted in their action by causes which,
although unknown to us, are no less natural and necessary,
we are stupefied,
we cry out miracles: and
we attribute them to a cause far less known than all those we see operating before us.
The universe is always in order; there can be no disorder for it.
Our organization alone is suffering if we complain about disorder.
Bodies, causes, beings, which this world [TL] embraces, act necessarily in the manner in which we see them act, whether we approve or disapprove their action.
Earthquakes, volcanoes, inundations, contagions, and famines are effects as necessary in the order of Nature
as the fall of heavy bodies,
as the course of rivers,
as the periodical movements of the seas, the blowing of the winds, the abundant rains, and the favorable effects for which we praise and thank Providence for its blessings.
[1] To be astonished that a certain order reigns in the world,
is to be surprised to see the same causes constantly producing the same effects.
[2] To be shocked at seeing disorder,
is to forget that the causes being changed or disturbed in their action,
the effects can no longer be the same.
[3] To be astonished to see order in Nature,
is to be astonished that anything can exist;
it is to be surprised at one's own existence.
What is order for one being, is disorder for another.
All wicked beings find that everything is in order when they can with impunity put everything into disorder; they find, on the contrary, that everything is in disorder when they are prevented from exercising their wickedness.
45.—Supposing God to be the author [TL]and the motor of Nature, there could be no disorder relating to Him; all causes which He would have made would necessarily act according to their properties[,]
the essences and the impulsions that He had endowed them with.
If God should change the ordinary course of things, He would not be immutable.
If the order of the universe—in which we believe we see the most convincing proof of His existence, of His intelligence, His power, and His goodness—should be inconsistent, His existence might be doubted; or He might be accused at least of inconstancy, of inability, of want of foresight, and of wisdom in the first arrangement of things;
we would have a right to accuse Him of blundering in His choice of agents and instruments.
Finally, if the order of Nature proves the power and the intelligence, disorder ought to prove the weakness, inconstancy, and irrationality of Divinity.
You say [IS] that God is everywhere; that He fills all space; that nothing was made without Him;
that matter could not act without Him as its motor.
But in this case you admit that your God is the author of disorder; [IR] that it is He who deranges Nature;
that He is the Father of confusion;*[SE] that He is in man;
and that He moves man at the moment when he sins.
If God is everywhere, He is in me; He acts with me; He is deceived when I am deceived;
He questions with me the existence of God; He offends God with me.
Oh, theologians! you never understand yourselves when you speak of God.
* “For God is not the author of confusion…” 1 Corinthians 14:33
46.—To be what we call intelligent, we must have ideas, thoughts, will;
to have ideas, thoughts, and will, we must have organs;
to have organs, we must have a body;
to act upon bodies, we must have a body; to experience trouble, we must be capable of suffering;
from which it evidently follows that a pure spirit [SE] can not be intelligent,
and can not be affected by that which takes place in the universe. [TL]
Divine intelligence, divine ideas, divine views, you say, [IS] have nothing in common with those of men.
So much the better!
But in this case, how can men judge of these views—whether good or evil--reason about these ideas, or admire this intelligence?
It would be to judge, to admire, to adore that of which we can form no idea.
To adore the profound views of divine wisdom,
is it not to worship that of which it is impossible for us to judge?
To admire these same views, is it not admiring without knowing why?
Admiration is always the daughter of ignorance.
Men admire and worship only what they do not understand.
47.—All these qualities which are given to God are not suited to a being who, by His own essence,
is devoid of all similarity to human beings.
It is true, they think to find this similarity by exaggerating the human qualities with which they have clothed Divinity; [SE] they thrust them upon the infinite,
and from that moment cease to understand themselves.
What is the result of this combination of man with God, or of this theanthropy?
Its only result is a chimera, [TL] of which nothing can be affirmed without causing the phantom to vanish which they had taken so much trouble to conjure up.
Dante, in his poem of Paradise, relates that the Divinity appeared to him under the figure of three circles, which formed an iris, whose bright colors arose from each other; but having wished to retain its brilliant light, the poet saw only his own face.
In worshiping God, man adores himself.
48.—The slightest reflection suffices to prove to us that God can not have any of the human qualities, virtues, or perfections.
Our virtues and our perfections are the results of our temperament modified.
Has God a temperament like ours?
Our good qualities are our habits relative to the beings in whose society we live.
God, according to you, is a solitary being.
God has no one like Him;
He does not live in society;
He has no need of any one;
He enjoys a happiness which nothing can alter.
Admit, then, upon your own principles, that God can not possess what we call virtues,
and that man can not be virtuous in regard to Him.
49.--Man, charmed with his own merits, imagines that it is but his own kind that God proposed as the object and the end in the formation of the universe.
Upon what is this so flattering opinion based?
It is, we are told, [IS] upon this: that man is the only being endowed with an intelligence which enables him to know the Divine nature, [TL] and to render to it homage worthy of it.
We are assured [IS] that God created the world for His own glory, and that the human race was included in His plan, in order that He might have somebody to admire and glorify Him in His works.
But by these intentions has not God visibly missed His end?
1. According to you, [IS] it would always be impossible for man to know his God,
and he would be kept in the most invincible ignorance of the Divine essence.[TL]
2. A being who has no equals, can not be susceptible of glory.
Glory can result but from the comparison of his own excellence with that of others.
3. If God by Himself is infinitely happy and is sufficient unto Himself,
why does He need the homage of His feeble creatures?[x]
4. In spite of all His works, God is not glorified; on the contrary, all the religions of the world [IR TL] show Him to us as perpetually offended; their great object is to reconcile [1] sinful, [2] ungrateful, and [3] rebellious man with his wrathful God.
50.--If God is infinite, He is created still less for man, than man is for the ants.
Would the ants of a garden reason pertinently with reference to the gardener,
if they should attempt to occupy themselves with
his intentions,
his desires, and
his projects?
Would they reason correctly if they pretended that the park of Versailles was made but for them,
and that a fastidious monarch had had as his only object to lodge them superbly?
But according to theology, [IS] man in his relation to God is far beneath what the lowest insect is to man.
Thus by the acknowledgment of theology itself, theology, which does but occupy itself with the attributes and views of Divinity, is the most complete of follies.
51-60
51.—It is pretended, that in forming the universe, God had no object but to render man happy.
But, in a world created expressly for him and governed by an all-mighty God,
is man after all very happy?
Are his enjoyments durable?
Are not his pleasures mingled with sufferings?
Are there many people who are contented with their fate?
Is not mankind the continual victim of physical and moral evils? [x]
This human machine,[SE] which is shown to us as the masterpiece of the Creator's industry,
has it not a thousand ways of deranging itself?
Would we admire the skill of a mechanic, who should show us a complicated machine,
liable to be out of order at any moment, and which would after a while destroy itself?
52.—We call Providence the generous care which Divinity shows in providing for our needs,
and in watching over the happiness of its beloved creatures.
But, as soon as we look around, we find that God provides for nothing.
Providence neglects the greatest part of the inhabitants of this world. [TL]
Against a very small number of men, who are supposed to be happy,
what a multitude of miserable ones are groaning beneath oppression, and languishing in misery!
Whole nations are compelled to starve in order to indulge the extravagances of a few morose tyrants,
who are no happier than the slaves whom they oppress!
At the same time that our philosophers energetically parade the bounties of Providence,
and exhort us to place confidence in it, do we not see them cry out at unforeseen catastrophes,*
by which Providence plays with the vain projects of men;
do we not see that it overthrows* their designs, laughs at their efforts,
and that its profound wisdom pleases itself in misleading mortals?
But how can we place confidence in a malicious Providence which laughs at and sports with mankind? How can I admire the unknown course of a hidden wisdom whose manner of acting is inexplicable to me? Judge it by its effects! you will say; [IS] it is by these I do judge it,
and I find that these effects are sometimes useful and sometimes injurious to me.
* from Greek katastrophe "an overturning; a sudden end,". An overturning is similar to overthrowing.
We think to justify Providence by saying that in this world [TL] there are more blessings than evil for each individual man.
Let us suppose that the blessings which this Providence makes us enjoy are as one hundred, and that the evils are as ten per cent.; would it not always result that against these hundred degrees of goodness, Providence possesses a tenth degree of malignity?
—which is incompatible with the perfection we suppose it to have.
All the books [AE] are filled with the most flattering praises of Providence, whose attentive care is extolled; it would seem to us, as if in order to live happy here below, [TL] man would have no need of exerting himself.
However, without labor, man could scarcely live a day.
In order to live, I see him obliged to sweat, work, hunt, fish, toil without relaxation;* without these secondary causes, the First Cause (at least in the majority of countries) could provide for none of his needs.
If I examine all parts of this globe, [TL] I see the uncivilized as well as the civilized man in a perpetual struggle with Providence; he is compelled to ward off the blows which it sends in the form of hurricanes, tempests, frost, hail, inundations, sterility, and the divers accidents which so often render all their labors useless.
In a word, I see the human race continually occupied in protecting itself from the wicked tricks of this Providence, which is said to be busy with the care of their happiness.
A devotee admired Divine Providence for having wisely made rivers to flow through all the places where men had built large cities. **
Is not this man's way of reasoning as sensible as that of many learned men who do not cease from telling us of Final Causes, or who pretend to perceive clearly the benevolent views of God in the formation of things?
*In the series of “work, hunt, fish, and toil”, only toil is expanded and includes “without relaxation”. In Latin, “labor” means “toil”.
**An example of the reversal of cause and effect.
53.—Do we see, then, that Divine Providence manifests itself in a sensible manner in the conservation of its admirable works, for which we honor it?
If it is Divine Providence which governs the world,
we find it as much occupied
in destroying as in creating;
in exterminating as in producing.
Does it not at every instant cause thousands of those same men to perish,
to whose preservation and well-being it is supposed to give its continual attention?
Every moment it loses sight of its beloved creatures;
sometimes it tears down their dwellings;
sometimes it destroys their harvests, inundates their fields, devastates by a drought, arms all Nature against man, sets man against man, and finishes by causing him to expire in pain.
Is this what you call preserving a universe?
If we attempted to consider without prejudice the equivocal conduct of Providence relative to mankind and to all sentient beings, we should find that very far from resembling a tender and careful mother,
it rather resembles those unnatural mothers who, forgetting the unfortunate fruits of their illicit amours, abandon their children as soon as they are born; and who, pleased to have conceived them,
expose them without mercy to the caprices of fate. [TL]
The Hottentots—wiser in this particular than other nations, who treat them as barbarians—refuse,
it is said, to adore God, because if He sometimes does good, He as often does harm.
Is not this reasoning more just and more conformed to experience than that of so many men who persist in seeing in their God but kindness, wisdom, and foresight; and who refuse to see that the countless evils,
of which the world is the theater, [SE] must come from the same Hand which they kiss with transport?
54.— The logic of common sense teaches us [IS] that we should judge a cause but by its effects.
A cause can not be reputed as constantly good,
except when it constantly produces good, useful, and agreeable effects.
A cause which produces good at one time, and evil at another,
is a cause which is sometimes good and sometimes bad.
But the logic of Theology destroys all this.
According to it, the phenomena of Nature, or the effects which we see in this world, [TL]
prove to us the existence of an infinitely good Cause, and this Cause is God.
[1] Although this world is full of evils,
[2] although disorder reigns here very often,
[3] although men groan every moment under the fate which oppresses them,
we ought to be convinced that these effects are due to a benevolent and immutable Cause;
and many people believe it, or pretend to believe it!
Everything which takes place in the world [TL] proves to us in the clearest way that it is not governed by an intelligent being.
We can judge of the intelligence of a being but by the means which he employs to accomplish his proposed design.
The aim of God, it is said, is the happiness of our race; [IR] however,
the same necessity regulates the fate of all sentient beings—which are born
[1] to suffer much,
[2] to enjoy little, and
[3] to die.
Man's cup is full of joy and of bitterness; everywhere good is side by side with evil;
order is replaced by disorder; generation is followed by destruction.
If you tell me that the designs of God are mysteries, and that His views are impossible to understand,
I will answer, that in this case it is impossible for me to judge whether God is intelligent.
55.—You pretend that God is immutable!
But what is it that occasions the continual instability in this world, [TL]
which you claim as His empire? [IS]
Is any state subject to more frequent and cruel revolutions than that of this unknown monarch? [IS]
How can we attribute to an immutable God, powerful enough to give solidity to His works,
the government of a world where everything is in a continual vicissitude?
If I think to see a God unchanging in all the effects advantageous to my kind,
what God can I discover in the continual misfortunes by which my kind* is oppressed? [AE]
You tell me [IS] that it is our sins that force Him to punish us.
I will answer that God, according to yourselves, [IS] is not immutable,
because the sins of men compel Him to change His conduct in regard to them.
Can a being who is sometimes irritated, and sometimes appeased, be constantly the same?
*The wording “my kind” could refer to human beings, atheists, or some other characteristic.
56.— The universe is but what it can be; all sentient beings enjoy and suffer here: that is to say,
they are moved sometimes in an agreeable, and at other times in a disagreeable way.
These effects are necessary; they result from causes that act according to their inherent tendencies.
These effects necessarily please or displease me, according to my own nature.
This same nature compels me to avoid, to remove, and to combat the one, and to seek, to desire,
and to procure the other.
In a world where everything is from necessity, [TL] a God who remedies nothing, and allows things to follow their own course, is He anything else but destiny or necessity personified? *
It is a deaf God who can effect no change on the general laws to which He is subjected Himself.
What do I care for the infinite power of a being who can do but a very few things to please me?
Where is the infinite kindness of a being who is indifferent to my happiness?
What good to me is the favor of a being who, able to bestow upon me infinite good,
does not even give me a finite one?[x]
*Destiny personified is “Fortuna” of the ancient Romans.
57.—When we ask why, under a good God, so many are wretched, we are reminded [IS] that the present world is but a pass-way, [TL] designed to conduct man to a happier sphere; [SE] we are assured [IS] that our sojourn on the earth, where we live, [TL] is for trial; they silence us by saying that God would not impart to His creatures either the indifference to the sufferings of others, or the infinite happiness which He reserved for Himself alone.
How can we be satisfied with these answers?
1. The existence of another life [AE] has no other guaranty than the imagination of men, who,
in supposing it, have but manifested their desire to live again, in order to enter upon a purer and more durable state of happiness than that which they enjoy at present.
2. How can we conceive of a God who, knowing all things, must know to their depths the nature of His creatures, and yet must have so many proofs in order to assure Himself of their proclivities?
3. According to the calculations of our chronologists, the earth which we inhabit [TL] has existed for six or seven thousand years; during this time the nations have, under different forms,
experienced many vicissitudes and calamities; history shows us that the human race in all ages has been tormented and devastated by tyrants, conquerors, heroes; by wars, inundations, famines, epidemics, etc.
Is this long catalogue of proofs of such a nature as to inspire us with great confidence in the hidden views of the Divinity?
Do such constant evils give us an exalted idea of the future fate which His kindness is preparing for us?
4. If God is as well-disposed as they assure us [IS] He is, could He not at least,
without bestowing an infinite happiness upon men, communicate to them that degree of happiness of which finite beings are susceptible?
In order to be happy, do we need Infinite or Divine happiness?
5. If God has not been able to render men happier than they are here below, [TL] what will become of the hope of a Paradise, where it is pretended that the elect or chosen few will rejoice forever in ineffable happiness?
If God could not or would not remove evil from the earth (the only sojourning place we know of [SE]), what reason could we have to presume that He can or will remove it from another world, [TL] of which we know nothing?
More than two thousand years ago, according to Lactance, the wise epicure said:
"Either God wants to prevent evil, and can not, or He can and will not;
or He neither can nor will, or He will and can.
If He wants to, without the power, He is impotent;
if He can, and will not, He is guilty of malice which we can not attribute to Him;
if He neither can nor will,
He is both impotent and wicked, and consequently can not be God;
if He wishes to and can, whence then comes evil, or why does He not prevent it?"
For more than two thousand years honest minds have waited for a rational solution of these difficulties; and our theologians teach us [IS] that they will not be revealed to us until the future life. [TL]
58.—We are told [IS] of a pretended scale for human beings; it is supposed that God has divided His creatures into different classes, each one enjoying the degree of happiness of which he is susceptible.
According to this romantic arrangement, all beings, from the oyster to the angel, enjoy the happiness which belongs to them.
Experience contradicts this sublime revery. [SE]
In the world where we are,[TL] we see all sentient beings living and suffering in the midst of dangers.
Man can not step without wounding, tormenting, crushing a multitude of sentient beings which he finds in his path, [TL] while he himself, at every step, is exposed to a throng of evils seen or unseen,
which may lead to his destruction.
Is not the very thought of death sufficient to mar his greatest enjoyment?
During the whole course of his life he is subject to sufferings; there is not a moment when he feels sure of preserving his existence, to which he is so strongly attached,* and which he regards as the greatest gift of Divinity.
*”We love life, not because we are used to living, but because we are used to loving.”, Nietzsche
59.—The world, it will be said, has all the perfection of which it was susceptible;
by the very reason that the world was not the God who made it,
it was necessary that it should have great qualities and great defects.
But we will answer, that the world necessarily having great defects, it would have been better suited to the nature of a good God not to create a world which He could not render completely happy.
If God, who was, according to you, supremely happy before the world was created, had continued to be supremely happy in the created world, why did He not remain in peace?
Why must man suffer?
Why must man exist?
What is his existence to God?
Nothing or something.
If his existence is not useful or necessary to God, why did He not leave him in nothingness?
If man's existence is necessary to His glory,
He then needed man, He lacked something before this man existed!
We can forgive an unskillful workman for doing imperfect work, because he must work, well or ill, or starve; this workman is excusable; but your God is not.
According to you, [IS] He is self-sufficient; in this case, why does He create men?
He has, according to you, [IS] all that is necessary to render man happy; why, then, does He not do it?
You must conclude that your God has more malice than goodness, or you must admit that God was compelled to do what He has done, without being able to do otherwise.
However, you assure us [IS] that your God is free;
you say also [IS] that He is immutable, although beginning in time and ceasing in time to exercise His power, like all the inconstant beings of this world. [TL]
Oh, theologians! you have made vain efforts to acquit your God of all the defects of man;
there is always visible in this God so perfect, "a tip of the (human) ear."
60.— Is not God the master of His favors?
Has He not the right to dispense His benefits?
Can He not take them back again?
His creature has no right to ask the reason of His conduct;
He can dispose at will of the works of His hands.
Absolute sovereign of mortals [SE], He distributes happiness or unhappiness, according to His pleasure. These are the solutions which theologians give in order to console us for the evils which God inflicts upon us. [x]
We would tell them that a God who was infinitely good, would not be the master of His favors,
but would be by His own nature obliged to distribute them among His creatures;
we would tell them that a truly benevolent being would not believe he had the right to abstain from doing good;
we would tell them that a truly generous being does not take back what he has given,
and any man who does it, forfeits gratitude, and has no right to complain of ingratitude.
How can the arbitrary and whimsical conduct which theologians ascribe to God, be reconciled with the religion which supposes a compact or mutual agreement between this God and men?
If God owes nothing to His creatures, they, on their part, can not owe anything to their God.
All religion is founded upon the happiness which men believe they have a right to expect from the Divinity, who is supposed to tell them:
"Love, adore, obey me, and I will render you happy!"
Men on their side say to Him:
"Make us happy, be faithful to your promises, and we will love you, we will adore you, we will obey your laws!"
In neglecting the happiness of His creatures, in distributing His favors and His graces according to His caprice, [TL] and taking back His gifts, does not God violate the contract which serves as a base for all religion?
Cicero has said with reason that if God does not make Himself agreeable to man,
He can not be his God. (Nisi Deus homini placuerit, Deus non erit.)
Goodness constitutes Divinity;
this Goodness can manifest itself to man only by the advantages he derives from it.
As soon as he is unfortunate, this Goodness disappears and ceases to be Divinity.
An infinite Goodness can be neither partial nor exclusive.
If God is infinitely good, He owes happiness to all His creatures;
one unfortunate being alone would be sufficient to annihilate an unlimited goodness.
Under an infinitely good and powerful God, is it possible to conceive that a single man could suffer?
An animal, a mite, which suffers, furnishes invincible arguments against Divine Providence and its infinite benefactions.
61-70
61.—According to theologians, the afflictions and evils of this life are chastisements which culpable men receive from Divinity.
But why are men culpable?
If God is Almighty, does it cost Him any more to say, "Let everything remain in order!"—"let all my subjects be good, innocent, fortunate!"—than to say, "Let everything exist?"
Was it more difficult for this God to do His work well than to do it so badly?
Was it any farther from the nonexistence of beings to their wise and happy existence,
than from their non-existence to their insensate and miserable existence?
Religion speaks to us of a Hell—that is, of a fearful place where, notwithstanding His goodness, God reserves eternal torments for the majority of men.
Thus, after having rendered mortals very miserable in this world, [TL] religion teaches them that God can make them much more wretched in another. [TL]
They meet our objections by saying, that otherwise the goodness of God would take the place of His justice.
But goodness which takes the place of the most terrible cruelty, is not infinite kindness.
Besides, a God who, after having been infinitely good, becomes infinitely wicked,
can He be regarded as an immutable being?
A God filled with implacable fury, is He a God in whom we can find a shadow of charity or goodness?
62.--Divine justice, such as our theologians paint it, is, without doubt, a quality intended to make us love Divinity.
According to the notions of modern theology, it appears evident that God has created the majority of men with the view only of punishing them eternally. [x]
Would it not have been more in conformity with kindness, with reason, with equity, to create but stones or plants, and not sentient beings, than to create men whose conduct in this world [TL] would cause them eternal chastisements in another? [TL]
A God so perfidious and wicked as to create a single man and leave him exposed to the perils of damnation, can not be regarded as a perfect being, but as a monster of
[1] nonsense,
[2] injustice,
[3] malice, and
[4] atrocity.
Far from forming a perfect God, the theologians have made the most imperfect of beings.
According to theological ideas, God resembles a tyrant who, having deprived the majority of his slaves of their eyesight, would confine them in a cell where, in order to amuse himself he could observe incognito their conduct through a trap-door, in order to have occasion to cruelly punish all those who in walking should hurt each other; but who would reward splendidly the small number of those to whom the sight was spared, for having the skill to avoid an encounter with their comrades.
Such are the ideas which the dogma of gratuitous predestination [TL] gives of Divinity!
Although men repeat to us [IS] that their God is infinitely good,
it is evident that in the bottom of their hearts they can believe nothing of it.
How can we love anything we do not know?
How can we love a being, the idea of whom is but liable to keep us in anxiety and trouble?
How can we love a being of whom all that is told conspires to render him supremely hateful?
63.--Many people make a subtle distinction between true religion and superstition;
they tell us [IS] that the latter is but a cowardly and inordinate fear of Divinity,
that the truly religious man has confidence in his God, and loves Him sincerely;
while the superstitious man sees in Him but an enemy, has no confidence in Him, and represents Him as a suspicious and cruel tyrant, avaricious of His benefactions and prodigal of His chastisements.
But does not all religion in reality give us these same ideas of God?
While we are told [IS] that God is infinitely good, is it not constantly repeated to us [IS]
that He is very easily offended,
that He bestows His favors but upon a few,
that He chastises with fury those to whom He has not been pleased to grant them?
64.— If we take our ideas of God from the nature of the things where we find a mixture of good and evil, this God, according to the good and evil which we experience, does naturally appear to us capricious, [TL] inconstant, sometimes good, sometimes wicked, and in this way, instead of exciting our love,
He must produce
suspicion,
fear, and
uncertainty in our hearts.
There is no real difference between natural religion and the most sombre and servile superstition.
If the Theist sees God but on the beautiful side,
the superstitious man looks upon Him from the most hideous side.
The folly of the one is gay of the other is lugubrious*; but both are equally delirious.
*Lugubrious, adjective, looking or sounding sad and dismal.
65.--If I take my ideas of God from theology, God shows Himself to me in such a light as to repel love.
The devotees who tell us [IS] that they love their God sincerely, are either liars or fools who see their God but in profile; it is impossible to love a being, the thought of whom tends to excite terror,
and whose judgments make us tremble.
How can we face without fear, a God whom we suppose sufficiently barbarous to wish to damn us forever?
Let them not speak to us of a filial or respectful fear mingled with love,
which men should have for their God.
A son can not love his father when he knows he is cruel enough to inflict exquisite torments upon him;
in short, to punish him for the least faults.
No man upon earth [TL] can have the least spark of love for a God who holds in reserve eternal, hard,
and violent chastisements for ninety-nine hundredths of His children.
66.—The inventors of the dogma of eternal torments in Hell [IR TL], have made of the God whom they call so good, the most detestable of beings.
Cruelty in man is the last term of corruption.
There is no sensitive soul but is moved and revolts at the recital alone of the torments which the greatest criminal endures;
but cruelty merits the greater indignation when we consider it gratuitous or without motive.
The most sanguinary tyrants, Caligula, Nero, Domitian, had at least some motive in tormenting their victims and insulting their sufferings; these motives were, either their own safety, the fury of revenge,
the design to frighten by terrible examples, or perhaps the vanity to make parade of their power,
and the desire to satisfy a barbarous curiosity.
Can a God have any of these motives?
In tormenting the victims of His wrath, He would punish beings who could not really endanger His immovable power, nor trouble His felicity, which nothing can change.
On the other hand, the sufferings of the other life [AE] would be useless to the living, who can not witness them; these torments would be useless to the damned, because in Hell is no more conversion, and the hour of mercy is passed;[TL] from which it follows, that God, in the exercise of His eternal vengeance, would have no other aim than to amuse Himself and insult the weakness of His creatures.
I appeal to the whole human race!
Is there in Nature a man so cruel as to wish in cold blood to torment, I do not say his fellow-beings,
but any sentient being whatever, without fee, without profit, without curiosity, without having anything to fear?
Conclude, then, O theologians! that according to your own principles,
your God is infinitely more wicked than the most wicked of men.
You will tell me, [IS] perhaps, that infinite offenses deserve infinite chastisements,
and I will tell you that we can not offend a God whose happiness is infinite.
I will tell you further, that offenses of finite beings can not be infinite;
that a God who does not want to be offended, can not consent to make His creatures' offenses last for eternity; I will tell you that a God infinitely good, can not be infinitely cruel, nor grant His creatures infinite existence solely for the pleasure of tormenting them forever.
It could have been but the most cruel barbarity, the most notorious imposition,
but the blindest ambition which could have created the dogma of eternal damnation. [IR TL]
If there exists a God who could be offended or blasphemed, there would not be upon earth [TL] any greater blasphemers than those who dare to say that this God is perverse enough to take pleasure in dooming His feeble creatures to useless torments for all eternity.
67.—To pretend that God can be offended with the actions of men,
is to annihilate all the ideas that are given to us of this being.
To say that man can disturb the order of the universe,* [IR TL]
that he can grasp the lightning from God's hand [SE],
that he can upset His projects,** is to claim
that man is stronger than his God ,
that he is the arbiter of His will,
that it depends on him to change His goodness into cruelty.
Theology does nothing but destroy with one hand that which it builds with the other.
If all religion is founded upon a God who becomes angry, and who is appeased,
all religion is founded upon a palpable contradiction.
All religions agree in exalting the wisdom and the infinite power of the Divinity; but as soon as they expose His conduct, we discover but
[1] imprudence,
[2] want of foresight,
[3] weakness, and
[4] folly.
God, it is said, created the world for Himself;
and so far He has not succeeded in making Himself properly respected!
God has created men in order to have in His dominion subjects who would render Him homage;
and we continually see men revolt against Him!
*Adam’s disobedience brought ruin to the cosmos.
** The Fall of Man.
68.—We are continually told [IR IS] of the Divine perfections; and as soon as we ask the proofs of them, we are shown the works in which we are assured [IS] that these perfections are written in ineffaceable characters.
All these works, however, are imperfect and perishable; man, who is regarded as the masterpiece,
as the most marvelous work of Divinity, is full of imperfections which render him disagreeable in the eyes of the Almighty workman [PS] who has formed him; this surprising work becomes often so revolting and so odious to its Author, [IR PS] that He feels Himself compelled to cast him into the fire. [SE]
But if the choicest work of Divinity is imperfect, by what are we to judge of the Divine perfections?
Can a work with which the author [IR PS] himself is so little satisfied, cause us to admire his skill?
Physical man is subject to a thousand infirmities, to countless evils, to death; the moral man is full of defects; and yet they exhaust themselves by telling us [IS] that he is the most beautiful work of the most perfect of beings.
69.—.It appears that God, in creating more perfect beings than men, did not succeed any better, or give stronger proofs of His perfection.
Do we not see in many religions that angels and pure spirits* revolted against their Master,
and even attempted to expel Him from His throne?
God intended the happiness of angels and of men, and He has never succeeded in rendering happy either angels or men; pride, malice, sins, the imperfections of His creatures, have always been opposed to the wishes of the perfect Creator.
*Meslier seems to suggest that angels are not “pure spirits”.
70.—All religion is visibly founded upon the principle that "God proposes and man disposes." *
All the theologies of the world [TL] show us an unequal combat between Divinity on the one side,
and His creatures on the other.
God never relies on His honor; in spite of His almighty power,
He could not succeed in making the works of His hands as He would like them to be.
To complete the absurdity, there is a religion [AE] which pretends that God Himself died to redeem the human race; and, in spite of His death, men are not in the least as this God would desire them to be!
* “Man proposes, God disposes.” is attributed to Thomas à Kempis [d. 1471]. Meslier’s reworking of the saying suggests that religious accomplishments are due entirely to the efforts of man, no God is needed.
71-80
71.--Nothing could be more extravagant than the role which in every country theology makes Divinity play.*
If the thing was real, we would be obliged to see in it the most capricious [TL] and the most insane of beings; one would be obliged to believe that God made the world to be the theater of dishonoring wars [SE] with His creatures; that He created angels, men, demons, wicked spirits, but as adversaries, against whom He could exercise His power.
He gives them liberty to offend Him, makes them wicked enough to upset His projects,
obstinate enough to never give up: all for the pleasure
of getting angry, and being appeased,
of reconciling Himself, and
of repairing the confusion they have made.
Had Divinity formed at once His creatures such as they ought to be in order to please Him,
what trouble He might have spared Himself! or, at least, how much embarrassment He might have saved to His theologians!
According to all the religious systems of the earth, [TL]
God seems to be occupied but in doing Himself injury;
He does it as those charlatans do who wound themselves,
in order to have occasion to show the public the value of their ointments.
We do not see, however, that so far Divinity has been able to radically cure itself of the evil which is caused by men.
*Divinity has a “role” to “play” in “the theatre of this world”.
72.--God is the author of all; [TL] still we are assured [IS] that evil does not come from God.* [FE]
Whence, then, does it come?
From men?
But who has made men?
It is God: then that evil comes from God.
If He had not made men as they are, moral evil or sin would not exist in the world. [TL]
We must blame God, then, that man is so perverse.
If man has the power to do wrong or to offend God,
we must conclude that God wishes to be offended;
that God, who has created man, resolved that evil should be done by him:
without this, man would be an effect contrary to the cause from which he derives his being.
* “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.”
Isaiah 45:7
73.—The faculty of foresight, or the ability to know in advance all which is to happen in the world, [TL] is attributed to God.
But this foresight can scarcely belong to His glory,
nor spare Him the reproaches which men could legitimately heap upon Him.
If God had the foresight of the future, [IS] did He not foresee the fall [TL] of His creatures whom He had destined to happiness?
If He resolved in His decrees to allow this fall, [TL] there is no doubt that He desired it to take place:
otherwise it would not have happened.
If the Divine foresight of the sin of His creatures had been necessary or forced,
it might be supposed that God was compelled by His justice to punish the guilty;
but God, enjoying the faculty of foresight and the power to predestinate everything,
would it not depend upon Himself not to impose upon men these cruel laws?*
Or, at least, could He not have dispensed with creating beings whom He might be compelled to punish and to render unhappy by a subsequent decree?
What does it matter whether God destined men to happiness or to misery by a previous decree,
the effect of His foresight, or by a subsequent decree, the effect of His justice.
Does the arrangement of these decrees change the fate of the miserable?
Would they not have the right to complain of a God who, having the power of leaving them in oblivion,[SE] brought them forth, although He foresaw very well that His justice would force Him sooner or later to punish them?
*The “cursed commandments that minister death both to ‘us’ and to those who voluntarily worship angels have been annihilated by the passion on the cross.” Compare 2 Corinthians 3:6 and Galatians 3:13.
74.--Man, say you, [IS] issuing from the hands of God, [IR SE] was pure, innocent, and good;
but his nature became corrupted in consequence of sin.
If man could sin, when just leaving the hands of God, [IR SE] his nature was then not perfect!
Why did God permit him to sin, and his nature to become corrupt?
Why did God allow him to be seduced, knowing well that he would be too weak to resist the tempter?* [AE FE]
Why did God create a Satan, a malicious spirit, a tempter?
Why did not God, who was so desirous of doing good to mankind,
why did He not annihilate, once for all, so many evil genii whose nature rendered them enemies of our happiness?
Or rather,
why did God create evil spirits, whose victories and terrible influences upon the human race He must have foreseen?
Finally, by what fatality, in all the religions of the world, [IR TL]
has the evil principle such a marked advantage over the good principle or over Divinity?
*Adam and the Serpent did not have a conversation, so the tempter of Adam, the man, must be Eve.
75.—We are told [IS] a story of the simple-heartedness of an Italian monk, which does him honor.
This good man preaching one day felt obliged to announce to his auditory that, thanks to Heaven,
he had at last discovered a sure means of rendering all men happy.
"The devil," said he, "tempts men but to have them as comrades of his misery in Hell.
Let us address ourselves, then, to the Pope, who possesses the keys of Paradise and of Hell; [TL]
let us ask him to beseech God, at the head of the whole Church,
[1] to reconcile Himself with the devil;
[2] to take him back into His favor;
[3] to re-establish him in His first rank.
This can not fail to put an end to his sinister projects against mankind."
The good monk did not see, perhaps, that the devil is at least fully as useful as God to the ministers of religion. [IR TL]
These reap too many benefits from their differences to lend themselves willingly to a reconciliation between the two enemies ties, upon whose contests their existence and their revenues depend.
If men would cease to be tempted and to sin, the ministry of priests [IR TL] would become useless to them.
Manicheism is evidently the support of all religions; but unfortunately the devil, being invented to remove all suspicion of malice from Divinity, proves to us at every moment the powerlessness or the awkwardness of his celestial Adversary. [AE]
76.--Man's nature, it is said, [IS] must necessarily become corrupt.
God could not endow him with sinlessness, which is an inalienable portion of Divine perfection.
But if God could not render him sinless, why did He take the trouble of creating man,
whose nature was to become corrupt, and which, consequently, had to offend God?
On the other side, if God Himself was not able to render human nature sinless,
what right had He to punish men for not being sinless?
It is but by the right of might. [IR]**
But the right of the strongest [IR] is violence; and violence is not suited to the most Just of Beings. [TL]
God would be supremely unjust if He punished men for not having a portion of the Divine perfections,
or for not being able to be Gods like Himself.*
* “I have said, ‘Ye are gods…’”, Psalm 82:6; cf. John 10:34.
** While not everyone can know reason and exhibit temperance, everyone understands strength. This could explain why all state religions are violent.
Could not God have at least endowed men with that sort of perfection of which their nature is susceptible? If some men are good or render themselves agreeable to their God,
why did not this God bestow the same favor or give the same dispositions to all beings of our kind? [AE]
Why does the number of wicked exceed so greatly the number of good people?
Why, for every friend, does God find ten thousand enemies in a world which depended upon Him alone to people with honest men?
If it is true that God intends to form in Heaven a court
[1] of saints,
[2] of chosen ones [TL], or
[3] of men who have lived in this world [TL] according to His views,
would He not have had a court
[1] more numerous,
[2] more brilliant, and
[3] more honorable to Him,
if it were composed of all the men to whom, in creating them, He could have granted the degree of goodness necessary to obtain eternal happiness?
Finally, were it not easier not to take man from nothingness than to create him full of defects,
rebellious to his Creator, [TL] perpetually exposed to lose himself by a fatal abuse of his liberty?
Instead of creating men, a perfect God ought to have created only docile and submissive angels.
The angels, it is said, [IS] are free; a few among them have sinned;
but all of them have not sinned;
all have not abused their liberty by revolting against their Master.
Could not God have created only angels of the good kind?
If God could create angels who have not sinned,
could He not create men sinless, or those who would never abuse their liberty by doing evil.
If the chosen ones [TL] are incapable of sinning in Heaven,
could not God have made sinless men upon the earth? [TL]
77.—We are told [IS] that the enormous distance which separates God from men,
makes God's conduct necessarily a mystery for us, and that we have no right to interrogate our Master.
Is this statement satisfactory?
But according to you, [IS] when my eternal happiness is involved,
have I not the right to examine God's own conduct?
It is but with the hope of happiness that men submit to the empire of a God. [SE]
A despot to whom men are subjected but through fear, a master whom they can not interrogate,
a totally inaccessible sovereign, can not merit the homage of intelligent beings.
If God's conduct is a mystery to me, it is not made for me.
Man can not
[1] adore,
[2] admire,
[3] respect, or
[4] imitate a conduct of which everything is impossible to conceive, or of which he can not form any
but revolting ideas; unless it is pretended that he should worship all the things of which he is forced to be ignorant, and then all that he does not understand becomes admirable.
Priests! you teach us [IS] that the designs of God are impenetrable;
that His ways are not our ways;
that His thoughts are not our thoughts;
that it is folly to complain of His administration,
whose motives and secret ways are entirely unknown to us;
that there is temerity in accusing Him of unjust judgments, because they are incomprehensible to us.
But do you not see that by speaking in this manner, you destroy with your own hands all your profound systems which have no design but to explain the ways of Divinity [SE] that you call impenetrable?
These judgments,
these ways, and
these designs, have you penetrated them?
You dare not say so; and, although you season incessantly, you do not understand them more than we do. If by chance you know the plan of God, which you tell us to admire,
while there are many people who find it so little worthy of a
[1] just,
[2] good,
[3] intelligent, and
[4] rational being; do not say that this plan is impenetrable.
If you are as ignorant as we, have some indulgence for those who ingenuously confess that they comprehend nothing of it, or that they see nothing in it Divine.
Cease to persecute for opinions which you do not understand yourselves;
cease to slander each other for dreams and conjectures which are altogether contradictory;
speak to us of intelligible and truly useful things; and no longer tell us of the impenetrable ways of a God, about which you do nothing but stammer and contradict yourselves.
In speaking to us incessantly [IS] of the immense depths of Divine wisdom, [TL] in forbidding us to fathom these depths by telling us that it is insolence to call God to the tribunal of our humble reason,
in making it a crime to judge our Master, the theologians only confess the embarrassment in which they find themselves as soon as they have to render account of the conduct of a God,
which they tell us [IS] is marvelous,
only because it is totally impossible for them to understand it themselves.
78.--Physical evil commonly passes as the punishment of sin.
Calamities, diseases, famines, wars, earthquakes,
are the means which God employs to chastise perverse men.
Therefore, they have no difficulty in attributing these evils to the severity of a just and good God.
However, do we not see these plagues fall indiscriminately
upon the good and the wicked,
upon the impious and the pious,
upon the innocent and the guilty? *
How can we be made to admire, in this proceeding, the justice and the goodness of a being,
the idea of whom appears so consoling to the unfortunate?
Doubtless the brain of these unfortunate ones has been disturbed by their misfortunes,
since they forget that God is the arbiter of things, [TL] the sole dispenser of the events of this world. [TL]
In this case ought they not to blame Him for the evils for which they would find consolation in His arms? Unfortunate father! you console yourself in the bosom of Providence for the loss of a cherished child or of a wife, who made your happiness!
Alas! do you not see that your God has killed them?
Your God has rendered you miserable;
and you want Him to console you for the fearful blows He has inflicted upon you.
The fantastic and supernatural notions of theology have succeeded so thoroughly in overcoming the simplest, the clearest, the most natural ideas of the human spirit, that the pious, incapable of accusing God of malice, accustom themselves to look upon these sad afflictions as indubitable proofs of celestial goodness. [SE]
Are they in affliction, they are told to believe that
[1] God loves them, that
[2] God visits them, that
[3] God wishes to try them.
Thus it is that religion changes evil into good!
Someone has said profanely, [AE] but with reason: "If the good God treats thus those whom He loves,
I beseech Him very earnestly not to think of me." **
Men must have formed very sinister and very cruel ideas of their God whom they call so good,
in order to persuade themselves that the most frightful calamities and the most painful afflictions are signs of His favor!
Would a wicked Genii or a Devil be more ingenious in tormenting his enemies, than sometimes is this God of goodness, who is so often occupied with inflicting His chastisements upon His dearest friends?
* “Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?”, Luke 13:4
** Meslier places impious words into the mouth of an unknown person. However, as the only quote we could find is from this book, we must conclude that Meslier the author and he is reasonable and profane.
79.—What would we say to a father who, we are assured, [IS] watches without relaxation over the welfare of his feeble and unforeseeing children, and who, however, would leave them at liberty to go astray in the midst of rocks, precipices, and waters; who would prevent them but rarely from following their disordered appetites; who would permit them to handle, without precaution, deadly arms, at the risk of wounding themselves severely?
What would we think of this same father, if, instead of blaming himself for the harm which would have happened to his poor children, he should punish them for their faults in the most cruel way?
We would say, with reason, that this father is a fool, who joins injustice to foolishness.
A God who punishes the faults which He could have prevented, is a being who lacks
[1] wisdom,
[2] goodness, and
[3] equity.
A God of foresight would prevent evil, and in this way would be saved the trouble of punishing it.
A good God would not punish weaknesses which He knows to be inherent in human nature.
A just God, if He has made man, would not punish him for not being strong enough to resist his desires. To punish weakness, is the most unjust tyranny.
Is it not calumniating* a just God, to say that He punishes men for their faults, even in the present life? How would He punish beings whom He alone could correct, and who, as long as they had not received grace, [TL] can not act otherwise than they do?
According to the principles of theologians themselves, man, in his actual state of corruption, can do nothing but evil, for without Divine grace [TL] he has not the strength to do good.
Moreover, if man's nature, abandoned to itself, of destitute of Divine help [TL], inclines him necessarily to evil, or renders him incapable of doing good, what becomes of his free will?
According to such principles, man can merit neither reward nor punishment;
in rewarding man for the good he does, God would but recompense Himself;
in punishing man for the evil he does, God punishes him for not having been given the grace, [TL]
without which it was impossible for him to do better.
*calumniating, gerund or present participle; make false and defamatory statements about.
80.--Theologians tell and repeat to us [IS] that man is free,
while all their teachings conspire to destroy his liberty.
Trying to justify Divinity, they accuse him really of the blackest injustice.
They suppose that, without grace, man is compelled to do evil: [TL]
and they maintain that God will punish him for not having been given the grace to do good! [TL]
With a little reflection, we will be obliged to see that man in all things acts by compulsion,
and that his free will is a chimera, [TL] even according to the theological system.
Does it depend upon man whether or not he shall be born of such or such parents?
Does it depend upon man to accept or not to accept the opinions of his parents and of his teachers?
If I were born of idolatrous or Mohammedan parents,
would it have depended upon me to become a Christian?
However, grave Doctors of Divinity [AE IR] assure us [IS] that a just God will damn without mercy all those to whom He has not given the grace to know the religion of the Christians. [TL]
Man's birth does not depend upon his choice; he was not asked if he would or would not come into the world; [IS]
Nature did not consult him upon the country and the parents that she gave him; the ideas he acquired,
his opinions, his true or false notions are the necessary fruits of the education which he has received,
and of which he has not been the master; his passions and his desires are the necessary results of the temperament which Nature has given him, and of the ideas with which he has been inspired;
during the whole course of his life, his wishes and his actions are determined by his surroundings,
his habits, his occupations, his pleasures, his conversations, and by the thoughts which present themselves involuntarily to him; in short, by a multitude of events and accidents which are beyond his control.
Incapable of foreseeing the future, he knows neither what he will wish, nor what he will do in the time which must immediately follow the present.
Man passes his life, from the moment of his birth to that of his death, without having been free one instant.
Man, you say, [IS] wishes, deliberates, chooses, determines; hence you conclude that his actions are free.
It is true that man intends, but he is not master of his will or of his desires.
He can desire and wish only what he judges advantageous for himself;
he can not love pain nor detest pleasure.
Man, it will be said, [IS] sometimes prefers pain to pleasure;
but then, he prefers a passing pain in the hope of procuring a greater and more durable pleasure.
In this case, the idea of a greater good determines him to deprive himself of one less desirable.
It is not the lover who gives to his mistress the features by which he is enchanted;
he is not then the master to love or not to love the object of his tenderness;
he is not the master of the imagination or the temperament which dominates him; from which it follows, evidently, that man is not the master of the wishes and desires which rise in his soul, independently of him.
But man, say you, [IS] can resist his desires; then he is free.
Man resists his desires when the motives which turn him from an object are stronger than those which draw him toward it; but then, his resistance is necessary.
A man who fears dishonor and punishment more than he loves money,
resists necessarily the desire to take possession of another's money.
Are we not free when we deliberate?
--but has one the power to know or not to know, to be uncertain or to be assured?
Deliberation is the necessary effect of the uncertainty in which we find ourselves with reference to the results of our actions.
As soon as we believe ourselves certain of these results, we necessarily decide;
and then we act necessarily according as we shall have judged right or wrong.
Our judgments, true or false, are not free;
they are necessarily determined by ideas which we have received, or which our mind has formed. [x]
Man is not free in his choice;
he is evidently compelled to choose what he judges the most useful or the most agreeable for himself.
When he suspends his choice, he is not more free; he is forced to suspend it till he knows or believes he knows the qualities of the objects presented to him, or until he has weighed the consequence of his actions.
Man, you will say, [IS] decides every moment on actions which he knows will endanger him;
man kills himself sometimes, then he is free.
I deny it!
Has man the ability to reason correctly or incorrectly?
Do not his reason and his wisdom depend either upon opinions that he has formed,
or upon his mental constitution?
As neither the one nor the other depends upon his will, they can not in any wise prove his liberty.
If I make the wager to do or not to do a thing, am I not free?
Does it not depend upon me to do or not to do it?
No; I will answer you,
the desire to win the wager will necessarily determine you to do or not to do the thing in question.
"But if I consent to lose the wager?"
Then the desire to prove to me that you are free will have become to you a stronger motive than the desire to win the wager; and this motive will necessarily have determined you to do or not to do what was understood between us.
But you will say, [IS] "I feel myself free."
It is an illusion which may be compared to that of the fly in the fable, which,
lighting on the shaft of a heavy wagon, applauded itself as driver of the vehicle which carried it.
Man who believes himself free, is a fly who believes himself the master-motor in the machine of the universe, while he himself, without his own volition, is carried on by it.
The feeling which makes us believe that we are free to do or not to do a thing, is but a pure illusion. [x]
When we come to the veritable principle of our actions, we will find that they are nothing
but the necessary results of our wills and of our desires, which are never within our power.
You believe yourselves free because you do as you choose;
but are you really free to will or not to will, to desire or not to desire?
Your wills and your desires,
are they not necessarily excited by objects or by qualities which do not depend upon you at all?
81-90
81.--If the actions of men are necessary, if men are not free,
what right has society to punish the wicked who infest it? *
Is it not very unjust to chastise beings who could not act otherwise than they did?
If the wicked act from the impulse of their corrupt nature,
society in punishing them acts necessarily on its side from the desire to preserve itself.
Certain objects produce in us the feeling of pain; therefore our nature compels us to hate them,
and incites us to remove them.
A tiger pressed by hunger, attacks the man whom he wishes to devour;
but the man is not the master of his fear of the tiger, and seeks necessarily the means of exterminating it.
*Origen suggests that even Satan will be redeemed in the fullness of time.
82.--If everything is necessary, if errors, opinions, and ideas of men are fated, how or why can we pretend to reform them?
The errors of men are the necessary results of their ignorance;
[1] their ignorance,
[2] their obstinacy,
[3] their credulity, are the necessary results of
[1] their inexperience, of
[2] their indifference, of
[3] their lack of reflection; the same as congestion of the brain
or lethargy are the natural effects of some diseases.
Truth, experience, reflection, reason, are the proper remedies to cure ignorance, fanaticism, and follies; the same as bleeding is good to soothe congestion of the brain.
But you will say, [IS] why does not truth produce this effect upon many of the sick heads? [SE]
There are some diseases which resist all remedies;
it is impossible to cure obstinate patients who refuse to take the remedies which are given them;
the interest of some men and the folly of others naturally oppose them to the admission of truth.
A cause produces its effect only when it is not interrupted in its action by other causes which are stronger, or which weaken the action of the first cause or render it useless.
It is entirely impossible to have the best arguments accepted by men who are strongly interested in error; who are prejudiced in its favor; who refuse to reflect;
but it must necessarily be that truth undeceives the honest souls who seek it in good faith.*
Truth is a cause; it produces necessarily its effect when its impulse is not interrupted by causes which suspend its effects.
*Are the “honest souls” the philosophers?
83.—To take away from man his free will, is, we are told, [IS] to make of him a pure machine,
an automaton without liberty; there would exist in him neither merit nor virtue.
What is merit in man?
It is a certain manner of acting which renders him estimable in the eyes of his fellow beings.
What is virtue?
It is the disposition that causes us to do good to others.
What can there be contemptible in automatic machines capable of producing such desirable effects? Marcus Aurelius was a very useful spring to the vast machine of the Roman Empire.
By what right will a machine despise another machine, whose springs would facilitate its own play?
Good people are springs which assist society in its tendency to happiness;
wicked men are badly-formed springs, which disturb the order, the progress, and harmony of society.
If for its own interests society loves and rewards the good, she hates, despises, and removes the wicked,
as useless or dangerous motors.
84.—.The world is a necessary agent; all the beings which compose it are united to each other,
and can not do otherwise than they do,
so long as they are moved by the same causes and possessed of the same qualities.
If they lose these qualities, they will act necessarily in a different way.
God Himself (admitting His existence a moment) can not be regarded as a free agent;
if there existed a God,
His manner of acting would necessarily be determined by the qualities inherent in His nature;
nothing would be able to alter or to oppose His wishes.
This considered, neither our actions nor our prayers nor our sacrifices could suspend or change His invariable progress and His immutable designs, [x]
from which we are compelled to conclude that all religion would be entirely useless.
85.--If theologians were not constantly contradicting each other, they would know,
from their own hypotheses, that man can not be called free for an instant.
Is not man supposed to be in a continual dependence upon God? [TL]
Is one free, when one could not have existed or can not live without God,
and when one ceases to exist at the pleasure of His supreme will?
If God created man of nothing,
if the preservation of man is a continual creation,
if God can not lose sight of His creature for an instant,
if all that happens to him is a result of the Divine will,
if man is nothing of himself,
if all the events which he experiences are the effects of Divine decrees,
if he can not do any good without assistance from above,
how can it be pretended that man enjoys liberty during one moment of his life?
If God did not save him in the moment when he sins, how could man sin?
If God preserves him, God, therefore, forces him to live in order to sin.
86.--Divinity is continually compared to a king, the majority of whose subjects revolt against Him and it is pretended that He has the right to reward His faithful subjects, and to punish those who revolt against Him.
This comparison is not just in any of its parts.
God presides over a machine, of which He has made all the springs;
these springs act according to the way in which God has formed them;
it is the fault of His inaptitude if these springs do not contribute to the harmony of the machine in which the workman desired to place them.
God is a creating King, [SE] who created all kinds of subjects for Himself;
who formed them according to His pleasure, and whose wishes can never find any resistance.
If God in His empire [IS] has rebellious subjects, it is God who resolved to have rebellious subjects.
If the sins of men disturb the order of the world, [IR TL] it is God who desired this order to be disturbed.
Nobody dares to doubt Divine justice; however, under the empire of a just God, [IR SE]
we find nothing but injustice and violence.
Power decides the fate of nations.
Equity seems to be banished from the earth; a small number of men enjoy with impunity the repose,
the fortunes, the liberty, and the life of all the others.
Everything is in disorder in a world governed by a God of whom it is said [IS] that disorder displeases Him exceedingly.
87.—Although men incessantly admire
the wisdom,
the goodness,
the justice,
the beautiful order of Providence, they are, in fact, never contented with it.
The prayers which they continually offer to Heaven,
prove to us that they are not at all satisfied with God's administration. [x]
Praying to God,
[1] asking a favor of Him, is to mistrust His vigilant care;
[2] to pray God to avert or to suppress an evil, is to endeavor to put obstacles in the way of His justice;
[3] to implore the assistance of God in our calamities, means to appeal to the very author of these calamities [TL] in order to represent to Him our welfare; that He ought to rectify in our favor His plan,
which is not beneficial to our interests.
The optimist, or the one who thinks that everything is good in the world, and who repeats to us incessantly [IS] that we live in the best world possible, if he were consistent, ought never to pray;
still less should he expect another world where men will be happier.
Can there be a better world than the best possible of all worlds?
Some of the theologians have treated the optimists as impious for having claimed that God could not have made a better world than the one in which we live;
according to these doctors it is limiting the Divine power and insulting it.
But do not theologians see that it is less offensive for God,
to pretend that He did His best in creating the world, than to say that He, having the power to produce a better one, had the malice to make a very bad one?
If the optimist, by his system, does wrong to the Divine power, the theologian, who treats him as impious, is himself a reprobate, who wounds the Divine goodness under pretext of taking interest in God.
88.—When we complain of the evils of which this world is the theater, [SE] we are referred to another world; [TL] we are told [IS] that there God will repair all the iniquities and the miseries which He permits for a time here below. [TL]
However, if leaving His eternal justice to sleep for a time, God could consent to evil during the period of the existence of our globe, [TL] what assurance have we that during the existence of another globe, [TL] Divine justice will not likewise sleep during the misfortunes of its inhabitants?
They console us in our troubles by saying, that God is patient, and that His justice,
although often very slow, is not the less certain.
But do you not see, that patience can not be suited to a being just, immutable, and omnipotent?
Can God tolerate injustice for an instant?
To temporize* with an evil that one knows of, evinces either uncertainty, weakness, or collusion;
to tolerate evil which one has the power to prevent, is to consent that evil should be committed.
*Temporize, verb; avoid making a decision or committing oneself in order to gain time.
89.— I hear a multitude of theologians tell me [IS] on all sides, that God is infinitely just,
but that His justice is not that of men!
Of what kind, or of what nature is this Divine justice then?
What idea can I form of a justice which so often resembles human injustice?
Is it not confounding all our ideas of justice and of injustice,
to tell us that what is equitable in God is iniquitous in His creatures?
How can we take as a model a being whose Divine perfections are precisely contrary to human perfections?
God, you say, [IS] is the sovereign arbiter of our destinies; [TL] His supreme power, that nothing can limit, authorizes Him to do as He pleases with His works;
a worm, such as man, has not the right to murmur against Him.
This arrogant tone is literally borrowed from the language which the ministers of tyrants [TL] hold,
when they silence those who suffer by their violences;
it can not, then, be the language of the ministers of a God [IR TL] of whose equity they boast.
It can not impose upon a being who reasons.
Ministers of a just God! [IR TL] I tell you then, that the greatest power is not able to confer even upon your God Himself the right to be unjust to the vilest of His creatures.
A despot is not a God.
A God who arrogates to Himself the right to do evil, is a tyrant; a tyrant is not a model for men.
He ought to be an execrable object in their eyes.
Is it not strange that, in order to justify Divinity, they made of Him the most unjust of beings?
As soon as we complain of His conduct, they think to silence us by claiming that God is the Master; which signifies that God, being the strongest, He is not subjected to ordinary rules.
But the right of the strongest is the violation of all rights; it can pass as a right but in the eyes of a savage conqueror, who, in the intoxication of his fury, imagines he has the right to do as he pleases with the unfortunate ones whom he has conquered; this barbarous right can appear legitimate only to slaves,
who are blind enough to think that everything is allowed to tyrants, who are too strong for them to resist.
By a foolish simplicity, or rather by a plain contradiction of terms, do we not see devotees exclaim, amidst the greatest calamities, that the good Lord is the Master? [TL]
Well, illogical reasoners, you believe in good faith that the good Lord sends you the pestilence;
that your good Lord gives war;
that the good Lord is the cause of famine; in a word,
that the good Lord, without ceasing to be good,
has the will and the right to do you the greatest evils you can endure!
Cease to call your Lord good when He does you harm; do not say that He is just;
say that He is the strongest,
and that it is impossible for you to avert the blows which His caprice inflicts upon you. [TL]
God, you say, [IS] punishes us for our highest good; but what real benefit can result to a nation in being exterminated by contagion,
murdered by wars,
corrupted by the examples of perverse masters,
continually pressed by the iron scepter of merciless tyrants,
subjected to the scourge of a bad government, which often for centuries causes nations to suffer its destructive effects?
The eyes of faith must be strange eyes, if we see by their means any advantage in the most dreadful miseries and in the most durable evils, in the vices and follies by which our kind is so cruelly afflicted!
90.— What strange ideas of the Divine justice must the Christians have who believe that their God,
with the view of reconciling Himself with mankind, guilty without knowledge of the fault of their parents, sacrificed His own innocent and sinless Son! [TL]
What would we say of a king, whose subjects having revolted against him, in order to appease himself could find no other expedient than to put to death the heir to his crown,
who had taken no part in the general rebellion?
It is, the Christian will say, [IS] through kindness for His subjects,
incapable of satisfying themselves of His Divine justice, that God consented to the cruel death of His Son.
But the kindness of a father to strangers does not give him the right to be unjust and cruel to his son.
All the qualities that theology gives to its God annul each other. [x]
The exercise of one of His perfections is always at the expense of another.
Has the Jew any more rational ideas than the Christian of Divine justice?
A king, by his pride, kindles the wrath of Heaven.
Jehovah sends pestilence upon His innocent people; seventy thousand subjects are exterminated to expiate the fault of a monarch that the kindness of God resolved to spare.*
*1 Chronicles 21:14; 2 Samuel 24:15
91-100
91.—In spite of the injustice with which all religions are pleased to blacken the Divinity,
men can not consent to accuse Him of iniquity;
they fear that He, like the tyrants of this world, [TL] will be offended by the truth, and redouble the weight of His malice and tyranny upon them.
They listen, then, to their priests, who tell them that their God is a tender Father;
that this God is an equitable Monarch, whose object in this world [TL] is to assure Himself of the love, obedience, and respect [IR] of His subjects; who gives them the liberty to act, in order to give them occasion to deserve His favors and to acquire eternal happiness, [TL]
which He does not owe them in any way.
In what way can we recognize the tenderness of a Father who created the majority of His children
but for the purpose of dragging out a life of pain, anxiety, and bitterness upon this earth?
Is there any more fatal boon than this pretended liberty which, it is said, [IS] men can abuse,
and thereby expose themselves to the risk of eternal misery?
92.—In calling mortals into life, [SE]
what a cruel and dangerous game does the Divinity force them to play!
[1] Thrust into the world without their wish,
[2] provided with a temperament of which they are not the masters,
[3] animated by passions and desires inherent in their nature,
[4] exposed to snares [TL] which they have not the skill to avoid,
[5] led away by events which they could neither foresee nor prevent,
the unfortunate beings are obliged to follow a career which conducts them to horrible tortures.
Travelers assert that in some part of Asia reigns a sultan full of phantasies, and very absolute in his will. By a strange mania this prince spends his time sitting before a table,
on which are placed six dice and a dice-box.
One end of the table is covered with a pile of gold, for the purpose of exciting the cupidity of the courtiers and of the people by whom the sultan is surrounded.
He, knowing the weak point of his subjects, speaks to them in this way:
"Slaves! I wish you well; my aim is to enrich you and render you all happy.
Do you see these treasures? Well, they are for you! try to win them; let each one in turn take this box and these dice; whoever shall have the good luck to raffle six, will be master of this treasure; but I warn you that he who has not the luck to throw the required number, will be precipitated forever into an obscure cell, where my justice exacts that he shall be burned by a slow fire."
Upon this threat of the monarch, they regarded each other in consternation; no one willing to take a risk so dangerous.
"What!" said the angry sultan, "no one wants to play? Oh, this does not suit me! My glory demands that you play. You will raffle then; I wish it; obey without replying!"
It is well to observe that the despot's dice are prepared in such a way, that upon a hundred thousand throws there is but one that wins; thus the generous monarch has the pleasure to see his prison well filled, and his treasures seldom carried away.
Mortals! this Sultan is your God; His treasures are Heaven; His cell is Hell; and you hold the dice!*
*Meslier offers another parable.
93.—We are constantly told [IS] that we owe an infinite gratitude to Providence for the countless blessings It is pleased to lavish upon us.
They boast above all that our existence is a blessing.
But, alas! how many mortals are really satisfied with their mode of existence?
If life has its sweets, how much of bitterness is mingled with it?
Is not one bitter trouble sufficient to blight all of a sudden the most peaceful and happy life?
Is there a great number of men who, if it depended upon them, would wish to begin, at the same sacrifice, the painful career into which, without their consent, destiny has thrown them?
You say [IS] that existence itself is a great blessing.
But is not this existence continually troubled by griefs, fears, and often cruel and undeserved maladies.
This existence, menaced on so many sides, can we not be deprived of it at any moment?
Who is there, after having lived for some time, who has not been deprived of a beloved wife,
a beloved child, a consoling friend, whose loss fills his mind constantly?
There are very few mortals who have not been compelled to drink from the cup of bitterness; [SE]
there are but few who have not often wished to die. *
Finally, it did not depend upon us to exist or not to exist.
Would the bird be under such great obligations to the bird-catcher for having caught it in his net [AE] and for having put it into his cage, in order to eat it after being amused with it?
*”Liber me, Domine, de morte aeterna…”
94.— In spite of the infirmities,
the troubles,
the miseries to which man is compelled to submit in this world; [TL] in spite of the danger which his alarmed imagination creates in regard to another,
he is still foolish enough to believe himself to be God's favorite, the only aim of all His works.
He imagines that the entire universe was made for him; he calls himself arrogantly the king of Nature, [SE] and ranks himself far above other animals.
Poor mortal! upon what can you establish your high pretensions?
It is, you say, [IS]
upon your soul,
upon your reason,
upon your sublime faculties,
which place you in a condition to exercise an absolute authority over the beings which surround you.
But weak sovereign of this world [SE], art thou sure one instant of the duration of thy reign?
The least atoms of matter which you despise,
are they not sufficient to deprive you of your throne and life?
Finally, does not the king of animals [SE] terminate always by becoming food for the worms?
You speak of your soul.
But do you know what your soul is?
Do you not see that this soul is but the assemblage of your organs, from which life results?
Would you refuse a soul to other animals
who live,
who think,
who judge,
who compare,
who seek pleasure, and avoid pain even as you do, and
who often possess organs which are better than your own?
You boast of your intellectual faculties,
but these faculties which render you so proud, do they make you any happier than other creatures?
Do you often make use of this reason which you glory in,*
and which religion commands you not to listen to?
Those animals which you disdain because they are weaker or less cunning than yourself, are they subject to troubles,
to mental anxieties,
to a thousand frivolous passions,
to a thousand imaginary needs, of which your heart is continually the prey?
Are they, like you, tormented by the past, alarmed for the future?
*Saint Paul gloried in his pain [2 Corinthians 12:9] and Jesus was glorified in Matthew 17:2.
Limited solely to the present, what you call their instinct, and what I call their intelligence, is it not sufficient to preserve and to defend them and to provide for their needs?
This instinct, of which you speak with disdain,
does it not often serve them much better than your wonderful faculties?
Their peaceable ignorance, is it not more advantageous than these extravagant meditations and these futile investigations which render you miserable, and for which you are driven to murdering beings of your own noble kind?
Finally, these animals, have they, like mortals, a troubled imagination which makes them fear not only death, but even eternal torments?
Augustus, having heard that Herod, king of Judea, had murdered his sons, cried out:
"It would be better to be Herod's pig than his son!" *
We can say as much of men;
this beloved child of Providence [SE] runs much greater risks than all other animals.
After having suffered a great deal in this world, [TL] do we not believe ourselves in danger of suffering for eternity in another?
*Pork is forbidden by Jewish Law, so it is factually advantageous to be a pig, than Herod’s son.
95.—What is the exact line of demarcation between man and the other animals which he calls brutes?
In what way does he essentially differ from the beasts?
It is, we are told, [IS]
by his intelligence,
by the faculties of his mind,
by his reason, that man is superior to all the other animals, which in all they do, act but by physical impulsions, reason taking no part.
But the beasts, having more limited needs than men, do very well without these intellectual faculties, which would be perfectly useless in their way of living.
Their instinct is sufficient for them, while all the faculties of man are hardly sufficient to render his existence endurable, and to satisfy the needs which
his imagination,
his prejudices, and
his institutions multiply to his torment.
The brute is not affected by the same objects as man; it has neither the same needs, nor the same desires, nor the same whims; it early reaches maturity, while nothing is more rare than to see the human being enjoying all of his faculties, exercising them freely, and making a proper use of them for his own happiness.
96.—We are assured [IS] that the human soul is a simple substance; but if the soul is such a simple substance, it ought to be the same in all the individuals of the human race, who all ought to have the same intellectual faculties;
however, this is not the case; men differ as much in qualities of mind as in the features of the face.
There are in the human race, beings as different from one another as man is from a horse or a dog.
What conformity or resemblance do we find between some men?
What an infinite distance between the genius of a Locke [d.1704], of a Newton [d.1727], and that of a peasant, of a Hottentot, or of a Laplander!
Man differs from other animals but by the difference of his organization,
which causes him to produce effects of which they are not capable.
The variety which we notice in the organs of individuals of the human race, suffices to explain to us the difference which is often found between them in regard to the intellectual faculties.
More or less of delicacy in these organs, of heat in the blood, of promptitude in the fluids, more or less of suppleness or of rigidity in the fibers and the nerves, must necessarily produce the infinite diversities which are noticeable in the minds of men.
It is [1] by exercise, [2] by habitude, [3] by education, that the human mind is developed and succeeds in rising above the beings which surround it; man, without culture and without experience, is a being as devoid of reason and of industry as the brute.
A stupid individual is a man whose organs are acted upon with difficulty, [1] whose brain is hard to move, [2] whose blood circulates slowly; a man of mind is he [1] whose organs are supple, who feels very quickly, [2] whose brain moves promptly; a learned man is one whose organs and whose brain have been exercised a long while upon objects which occupy him.
The man without culture, experience, or reason, is he not more despicable and more abominable than the vilest insects, or the most ferocious beasts?
Is there a more detestable being in Nature than a Tiberius, a Nero, a Caligula?
These destroyers of the human race, known by the name of conquerors,
have they better souls than those of bears, lions, and panthers?
Are there more detestable animals in this world [TL] than tyrants?
97.--Human extravagances soon dispel, in the eyes of reason,
the superiority which man arrogantly claims over other animals.
Do we not see many animals show more gentleness,
more reflection and reason than the animal which calls itself reasonable par excellence?
Are there amongst men, who are so often enslaved and oppressed,
societies as well organized as those of ants, bees, or beavers?
Do we ever see ferocious beasts of the same kind meet upon the plains to devour each other without profit?
Do we see among them religious wars?
The cruelty of beasts against other species is caused by hunger, the need of nourishment;
the cruelty of man against man has no other motive than the vanity of his masters and the folly of his impertinent prejudices.
Theorists who try to make us believe that everything in the universe was made for man, are very much embarrassed when we ask them in what way can so many mischievous animals which continually infest our life here, contribute to the welfare of men.
What known advantage results for God's friend [SE] to be bitten by a viper, stung by a gnat,
devoured by vermin, torn into pieces by a tiger?
Would not all these animals reason as wisely as our theologians,
if they should pretend that man was made for them?
98.—At a short distance from Bagdad a dervis, celebrated for his holiness,
passed his days tranquilly in agreeable solitude.
The surrounding inhabitants, in order to have an interest in his prayers,
eagerly brought to him every day provisions and presents.
The holy man thanked God incessantly for the blessings Providence heaped upon him.
"O Allah," said he, "how ineffable is Thy tenderness toward Thy servants.
What have I done to deserve the benefactions which Thy liberality loads me with!
Oh, Monarch of the skies! [SE] oh, Father of Nature! [SE] what praises could be worthy to celebrate Thy munificence and Thy paternal cares!
O Allah, how great are Thy gifts to the children of men!" [IR SE]
Filled with gratitude, our hermit made a vow to undertake for the seventh time the pilgrimage to Mecca. The war, which then existed between the Persians and the Turks,
could not make him defer the execution of his pious enterprise. [SE]
Full of confidence in God, he began his journey; under the inviolable safeguard of a respected garb,
he passed through without obstacle the enemies' detachments; far from being molested,
he receives at every step marks of veneration from the soldiers of both sides.
At last, overcome by fatigue, he finds himself obliged to seek a shelter from the rays of the burning sun; he finds it beneath a fresh group of palm-trees, whose roots were watered by a limpid rivulet.
In this solitary place, where the silence was broken only by the murmuring of the waters and the singing of the birds, the man of God [SE] found not only an enchanting retreat, but also a delicious repast; he had but to extend the hand to gather dates and other agreeable fruits; the rivulet can appease his thirst;
very soon a green plot invites him to take sweet repose.
As he awakens he performs the holy cleansing; and in a transport of ecstasy, he exclaimed:
"O Allah! HOW GREAT IS THY GOODNESS TO THE CHILDREN OF MEN!" [IR SE]
Well rested, refreshed, full of life and gayety, our holy man continues on his road; it conducts him for some time through a delightful country, which offers to his sight but blooming shores and trees filled with fruit.
Softened by this spectacle, he worships incessantly the rich and liberal hand of Providence,
which is everywhere seen occupied with the welfare of the human race.
Going a little farther, he comes across a few mountains, which were quite hard to ascend;
but having arrived at their summit, a hideous sight suddenly meets his eyes; his soul is all consternation.
He discovers a vast plain entirely devastated by the sword and fire; he looks at it and finds it covered with more than a hundred thousand corpses, deplorable remains of a bloody battle which had taken place a few days previous.
Eagles, vultures, ravens, and wolves were devouring the dead bodies with which the earth was covered. This sight plunges our pilgrim into a sad reverie.
Heaven, by a special favor, had made him understand the language of beasts.
He heard a wolf, gorged with human flesh, exclaim in his excessive joy:
"O Allah! how great is Thy kindness for the children of wolves! [IR SE]
Thy foreseeing wisdom takes care to send infatuation upon these detestable men who are so dangerous to us.
Through an effect of Thy Providence which watches over Thy creatures,
these, our destroyers, murder each other, and thus furnish us with sumptuous repasts.
O Allah! HOW GREAT IS THY GOODNESS TO THE CHILDREN OF WOLVES!" [IR SE]
99.--An exalted imagination sees in the universe but the benefactions of Heaven;
a calm mind finds good and evil in it.
I exist, you will say; [IS] but is this existence always a benefit?
You will say, [IS] look at this sun, which shines for you; this earth, which is covered with fruits and verdure; these flowers, which bloom for our sight and smell; these trees, which bend beneath the weight of fruits; these pure streams, which flow but to quench your thirst; these seas, which embrace the universe to facilitate your commerce; these animals, which a foreseeing nature produces for your use!
Yes, I see all these things, and I enjoy them when I can.
But in some climates this beautiful sun is most always obscured from me; in others, its excessive heat torments me, produces storm, gives rise to dreadful diseases, dries up the fields; the meadows have no grass, the trees are fruitless, the harvests are scorched, the springs are dried up; I can scarcely exist, and I sigh under the cruelty of a Nature which you find so benevolent.*
If these seas bring me spices, riches, and useless things,
do they not destroy a multitude of mortals who are dupes enough to go after them?
*Nature may be more accurately described as indifferent, rather than cruel.
Man's vanity persuades him that he is the sole center of the universe;
he creates for himself a world and a God;
he thinks himself of sufficient consequence to derange Nature at his will,
but he reasons as an atheist when the question of other animals is involved.
Does he not imagine that the individuals different from his species are automatons unworthy of the cares of universal Providence, and that the beasts can not be the objects of its justice and kindness?
Mortals consider fortunate or unfortunate events, health or sickness, life and death,* abundance or famine, as rewards or punishments for the use or misuse of the liberty which they arrogate to themselves.
Do they reason on this principle when animals are taken into consideration?
No; although they see them under a just God enjoy and suffer, be healthy and sick, live and die,
like themselves, it does not enter their mind to ask what crimes these beasts have committed in order to cause the displeasure of the Arbiter of Nature [SE].
Philosophers, blinded by their theological prejudices, in order to disembarrass themselves,
have gone so far as to pretend that beasts have no feelings!
* The conjunction “and”, not the expected “or”, is between “death” and “life”.
Will men never renounce their foolish pretensions?
Will they not recognize that Nature was not made for them? *
Will they not see that this Nature has placed on equal footing all the beings which she produced?
Will they not see that all organized beings are equally made to be born and to die, to enjoy and to suffer? Finally, instead of priding themselves preposterously on their mental faculties, are they not compelled to admit that they often render them more unhappy than the beasts, in which we find neither opinions, prejudices, vanities, nor the weaknesses which decide at every moment the well-being of men?
*Nature, or the world, is inhospitable to man, although humanity should be adapted to at least one region. There is no square mile in this world where man can live naturally, that is, without either clothing or shelter.
100.—.The superiority which men arrogate to themselves over other animals,
is principally founded upon the opinion of possessing exclusively an immortal soul. [TL]
But as soon as we ask what this soul is, they begin to stammer.
[1] It is an unknown substance;
[2] it is a secret force distinguished from their bodies;
[3] it is a spirit of which they can form no idea.
Ask them how this spirit, which they suppose like their God, totally deprived of a physical substance, could combine itself with their material bodies?
They will tell you
[1] that they know nothing about it;
[2] that it is a mystery to them;
[3] that this combination is the effect of the Almighty power. [TL]
These are the clear ideas which men form of the hidden, or, rather,
imaginary substance which they consider the motor of all their actions!
If the soul is a substance essentially different from the body, and which can have no affinity with it,
their union would be, not a mystery, but a thing impossible.
Besides, this soul, being of an essence different from that of the body,
ought to act necessarily in a different way from it.
However, we see that the movements of the body are felt by this pretended soul,
and that these two substances, so different in essence, always act in harmony.
You will tell us that this harmony is a mystery; and I will tell you that I do not see my soul,
that I know and feel but my body; that it is my body which feels,
which reflects,
which judges,
which suffers, and
which enjoys, and that all of its faculties are the necessary results of its own mechanism or of its organization.
101-110
101.—Although it is impossible for men to have the least idea of the soul, or of this pretended spirit which animates them, they persuade themselves, however, that this unknown soul is exempt from death; [TL] everything proves to them that they feel, think, acquire ideas, enjoy or suffer,
but by the means of the senses or of the material organs of the body.
Even admitting the existence of this soul, one can not refuse to recognize that it depends wholly on the body, and suffers conjointly with it all the vicissitudes which it experiences itself; and however
it is imagined that it has by its nature nothing analogous with it;
it is pretended that it can act and feel without the assistance of this body; that deprived of this body and robbed of its senses, this soul will be able to live, to enjoy, to suffer, be sensitive of enjoyment or of rigorous torments. [TL]
Upon such a tissue of conjectural absurdities the wonderful opinion of the immortality of the soul is built.
If I ask what ground we have for supposing that the soul is immortal: they reply,
it is because man by his nature desires to be immortal, or to live forever.
But I rejoin, if you desire anything very much, is it sufficient to conclude that this desire will be fulfilled? By what strange logic do they decide that a thing can not fail to happen because they ardently desire it to happen?
Man's childish desires of the imagination, are they the measure of reality?
Impious people, you say, [IS] deprived of the flattering hopes of another life, desire to be annihilated.
Well, have they not just as much right to conclude by this desire that they will be annihilated,
as you to conclude that you will exist forever because you desire it?
102.--Man dies entirely.
Nothing is more evident to him who is not delirious.
The human body, after death, is but a mass,
incapable of producing any movements the union of which constitutes life.
We no longer see circulation, respiration, digestion, speech, or reflection.
It is claimed then that the soul has separated itself from the body.
But to say that this soul, which is unknown, is the principle of life, [TL] is saying nothing,
unless that an unknown force is the invisible principle of imperceptible movements.
Nothing is more natural and more simple than to believe that the dead man lives no more,
nothing more absurd than to believe that the dead man is still living.
We ridicule the simplicity of some nations whose fashion is to bury provisions with the dead--
under the idea that this food might be useful and necessary to them in another life. [TL]
Is it more ridiculous or more absurd to believe that men will eat after death than to imagine
that they will think;
that they will have agreeable or disagreeable ideas;
that they will enjoy;
that they will suffer;
that they will be conscious of sorrow or joy when the organs which produce sensations or ideas are dissolved and reduced to dust?
To claim that the souls of men will be happy or unhappy after the death of the body, is to pretend that man will be able
to see without eyes,
to hear without ears,
to taste without a palate,
to smell without a nose, and
to feel without hands and without skin.
Nations who believe themselves very rational, adopt, nevertheless, such ideas.
103.—The dogma of the immortality of the soul [IR TL] assumes that the soul is a simple substance, a spirit; [TL] but I will always ask, what is a spirit?
It is, you say, [IS] a substance deprived of expansion, incorruptible, and which has nothing in common with matter.
But if this is true, how came your soul into existence?
how did it grow?
how did it strengthen?
how weaken itself, get out of order, and grow old with your body?
In reply to all these questions, you say that they are mysteries;
but if they are mysteries, you understand nothing about them.
If you do not understand anything about them, how can you positively affirm anything about them? [x]
In order to believe or to affirm anything,
it is necessary at least to know what that consists of which we believe and which we affirm.
To believe in the existence of your immaterial soul, [IR] is to say that you are persuaded of the existence of a thing of which it is impossible for you to form any true idea; it is to believe in words without attaching any sense to them; to affirm that the thing is as you claim, is the highest folly or assumption.
NB Section 103 is the end of the first half of the numbered sections.
104.—Are not theologians strange reasoners?
As soon as they can not guess the natural causes of things,
they invent causes, which they call supernatural;
they imagine them spirits, occult causes, inexplicable agents,
or rather words much more obscure than the things which they attempt to explain.
Let us remain in Nature when we desire to understand its phenomena;
let us ignore the causes which are too delicate to be seized by our organs; and
let us be assured that by seeking outside of Nature we can never find the solution of Nature's problems.
Even upon the theological hypothesis--that is to say, supposing an Almighty motor in matter [SE]— what right have theologians to refuse their God the power to endow this matter with thought?
Would it be more difficult for Him to create combinations of matter from which results thought,
than spirits which think?
At least, in supposing a substance endowed with thought, we could form some idea of the object of our thoughts, or of what thinks in us; while attributing thought to an immaterial being, it is impossible for us to form the least idea of it.
NB Section 104 is the beginning of the second half of the numbered sections.
105.--Materialism, it is objected, makes of man a mere machine,
which is considered very debasing to the human race.
But will the human race be more honored when it can be said that man acts by the secret impulsions of a spirit, or a certain something which animates him without his knowing how?
It is easy to perceive that the superiority which is given to mind over matter, or to the soul over the body, is based upon the ignorance of the nature of this soul; [SE] while we are more familiarized with matter
or the body, which we imagine we know, and of which we believe we have understood the springs;
but the most simple movements of our bodies are, for every thinking man,
enigmas as difficult to divine as thought.
106.—The esteem which so many people have for the spiritual substance, [AE] appears to result from the impossibility they find in defining it in an intelligible way.
The contempt which our metaphysicians show for matter,
comes from the fact that "familiarity breeds contempt."
When they tell us [IS] that the soul is more excellent and noble than the body, they tell us [IS] nothing, except that what they know nothing about must be more beautiful than that of which they have some faint ideas.
107.—We are constantly told of the usefulness of the dogma of life hereafter [IR].
It is pretended that even if it should be a fiction, it is advantageous,
because it imposes upon men and leads them to virtue.
But is it true that this dogma renders men wiser and more virtuous?
The nations where this fiction is established, are they remarkable for the morality of their conduct?
Is not the visible world always preferred to the invisible world? [SE]
If those who are charged to instruct and to govern men had themselves enlightenment and virtue,
they would govern them far better by realities than by vain chimeras; [TL] but deceitful, ambitious, and corrupt, the legislators found it everywhere easier to put the nations to sleep by fables than to teach them truths; than to develop their reason; than to excite them to virtue by sensible and real motives;
than to govern them in a reasonable way.
Theologians, no doubt, have had reasons for making the soul immaterial.
They needed souls and chimeras [TL] to populate the imaginary regions which they have discovered in the other life. [SE]
Material souls would have been subjected, like all bodies, to dissolution.
Moreover, if men believe that everything is to perish with the body, the geographers of the other world [SE] would evidently lose the chance of guiding their souls to this unknown abode. [SE]
They would draw no profits from the hopes with which they feast them,
and from the terrors with which they take care to overwhelm them.
If the future is of no real utility to the human race, it is at least of the greatest advantage to those who take upon themselves the responsibility of conducting mankind thither.
108.— But, it will be said, is not the dogma of the immortality of the soul [IR] consoling for beings who often find themselves very unhappy here below? [TL]
If this should be an illusion, is it not a sweet and agreeable one?
Is it not a benefit for man to believe that he can live again and enjoy, sometime, the happiness which is refused to him on earth?
Thus, poor mortals! you make your wishes the measure of the truth!
Because you desire to live forever, and to be happier, you conclude from thence that you will live forever, and that you will be more fortunate in an unknown world than in the known world,
in which you so often suffer!
Consent, then, to leave without regret this world, [TL]
which causes more trouble than pleasure to the majority of you.
Resign yourselves to the order of destiny, which decrees that you, like all other beings,
should not endure forever.
But what will become of me? you ask!
What you were several millions of years ago.
You were then, I do not know what; resign yourselves, then, to become again in an instant, I do not know what; what you were then; return peaceably to the universal home [SE] from which you came without your knowledge into your material form, and pass by without murmuring,
like all the beings which surround you!
We are repeatedly told [IS] that religious ideas offer infinite consolation to the unfortunate;
it is pretended that the idea
[1] of the immortality of the soul [TL] and
[2] of a happier life has a tendency to lift up the heart of man and to sustain him in the midst of the adversities with which he is assailed in this life.
Materialism, on the contrary, is, we are told, [IS] an afflicting system, tending to degrade man, which ranks him among brutes; which destroys his courage, whose only hope is complete annihilation, tending to lead him to despair, and inducing him to commit suicide as soon as he suffers [SE] in this world. [TL]
The grand policy of theologians is
[1] to blow hot and to blow cold,
[2] to afflict and to console,
[3] to frighten and to reassure.
According to the fictions of theology, the regions of the other life [AE] are happy and unhappy.
Nothing more difficult than to render one worthy of the abode of felicity; [TL] nothing easier than to obtain a place in the abode of torments [TL] that Divinity prepares for the unfortunate victims of His eternal fury.
Those who find the idea of another life [AE] so flattering and so sweet, have they then forgotten that this other life, according to them, is to be accompanied by torments for the majority of mortals?
Is not the idea of total annihilation infinitely preferable to the idea of an eternal existence accompanied with suffering and gnashing of teeth?
The fear of ceasing to exist, [IR] is it more afflicting than the thought of having not always been?*
The fear of ceasing to be [IR] is but an evil for the imagination,
which alone brought forth the dogma of another life.[IR]
*This sentence alludes to the idea of the preexistence of souls, as souls are not created at conception, having always existed.
You say, [IS] O Christian philosophers, that the idea of a happier life is delightful; we agree;
there is no one who would not desire a more agreeable and a more durable existence than the one we enjoy here below. [TL]
But, if Paradise is tempting, you will admit, also, that Hell is frightful.
It is very difficult to merit Heaven, and very easy to gain Hell.
Do you not say that one straight and narrow path leads to the happy regions, [SE] and that a broad road leads to the regions of the unhappy?* [SE]
Do you not constantly tell us that the number of the chosen ones [TL] is very small, and that of the damned is very large?**
Do we not need, in order to be saved, such grace as your God grants to but few?
Well!
I tell you that these ideas are by no means consoling;
I prefer to be annihilated at once rather than to burn forever;
I will tell you that the fate of beasts appears to me more desirable than the fate of the damned;
I will tell you that the belief which delivers me from overwhelming fears in this world, [SE] appears to me more desirable than the uncertainty in which I am left through belief in a God who, master of His favors, gives them but to His favorites**, and who permits all the others to render themselves worthy of eternal punishments.
It can be but blind enthusiasm or folly that can prefer a system which evidently encourages improbable conjectures, accompanied by uncertainty and desolating fear.
*Matthew 7:13-14
**Matthew 22:14
***“For there is no respect of persons with God.” Romans 2:11. Therefore, God does not have favorites.
109.— All religious principles are a thing of imagination, in which experience and reason have nothing to do.
We find much difficulty in conquering them, because imagination, when once occupied in creating chimeras [TL] which astonish or excite it, is incapable of reasoning.
He who combats religion and its phantasies by the arms of reason, is like a man who uses a sword to kill flies: as soon as the blow is struck, the flies and the fancies return to the minds from which we thought to have banished them.
As soon as we refuse the proofs which theology pretends to give of the existence of a God, they oppose to the arguments which destroy them, an innate conviction, a profound persuasion, an invincible inclination inherent in every man, which brings to him, in spite of himself, the idea of an Almighty being [AE] which he can not altogether expel from his mind, and which he is compelled to recognize in spite of the strongest reasons that we can give him.
But if we wish to analyze this innate conviction, upon which so much weight is placed, we will find that it is but the effect of a rooted habit, which, making them close their eyes against the most demonstrative proofs, leads the majority of men, and often the most enlightened ones,
back to the prejudices of childhood.
What can this innate sense or this ill-founded persuasion prove against the evidence which shows us that what implies contradiction can not exist?
We are told, [IS] very gravely, that it is not demonstrated that God does not exist.
However, nothing is better demonstrated, notwithstanding all that men have told us [IS] so far, than that this God is an idle fancy, whose existence is totally impossible, as nothing is more evident or more clearly demonstrated than that a being can not combine qualities so dissimilar, so contradictory, so irreconcilable as those which all the religions of the earth [TL] ascribe to Divinity.
The theologian's God, as well as the God of the theist, is He not evidently a cause incompatible with the effects attributed to Him?
In whatever light we may look upon it, we must either invent another God, or conclude that the one which, for so many centuries, has been revealed to mortals, is at the same time very good and very wicked, very powerful and very weak, immutable and changeable, perfectly intelligent and perfectly destitute of reason, of plan, and of means; the friend of order and permitting disorder;
very just and very unjust; very skillful and very awkward.
Finally, are we not obliged to admit that it is impossible to reconcile the discordant attributes which are heaped upon a being of whom we can not say a single word without falling into the most palpable contradictions?
Let us attempt to attribute but a single quality to Divinity,
and what is said of it will be contradicted immediately by the effects we assign to this cause.
110.--Theology could very properly be defined as the science of contradictions.
Every religion is but a system imagined for the purpose of reconciling irreconcilable ideas.
By the aid of habitude and terror, we come to persist in the greatest absurdities,
even when they are the most clearly exposed.
All religions are easy to combat, but very difficult to eradicate.
Reason can do nothing against habit, which becomes, as is said, a second nature.
There are many persons otherwise sensible, who, even after having examined the ruinous foundations of their belief, return to it in spite of the most striking arguments.
As soon as we complain of not understanding religion, finding in it at every step absurdities which are repulsive, seeing in it but impossibilities, we are told [IS] that we are not made to conceive the truths of the religion which is proposed to us; that wandering reason is but an unfaithful guide, [SE] only capable of conducting us to perdition; [TL] and what is more, we are assured [IS] that what is folly in the eyes of man,
is wisdom in the eyes of God, to whom nothing is impossible.
Finally, in order to decide by a single word the most insurmountable difficulties which theology presents to us on all sides, they simply cry out: "Mysteries!"
111-120
111.—What is a mystery?
If I examine the thing closely, I discover very soon that a mystery is nothing but a contradiction,
a palpable absurdity, a notorious impossibility, on which theologians wish to compel men to humbly close the eyes; in a word, a mystery is whatever our spiritual guides can not explain to us.
It is advantageous for the ministers of religion [TL] that the people should not comprehend what they are taught.
It is impossible for us to examine what we do not comprehend.
Every time that we can not see clearly, we are obliged to be guided.
If religion was comprehensible, priests would not have so many charges here below.[TL]
No religion is without mysteries; mystery is its essence;
a religion destitute of mysteries would be a contradiction of terms.
The God which serves as a foundation
to natural religion,
to theism or
to deism,
is Himself the greatest mystery to a mind wishing to dwell upon Him.
112.—All the revealed religions which we see in the world [TL] are filled with mysterious dogmas, unintelligible principles, of incredible miracles, of astonishing tales which seem imagined but to confound reason.
Every religion announces a concealed God, whose essence is a mystery; consequently,
it is just as difficult to conceive of His conduct as of the essence of this God Himself.
Divinity has never spoken to us but in an enigmatical and mysterious way in the various religions which have been founded in the different regions of our globe. [TL]
It has revealed itself everywhere but to announce mysteries, that is to say, to warn mortals that it designs that they should believe in contradictions, in impossibilities, or in things of which they were incapable of forming any positive idea.
The more mysteries a religion has, the more incredible objects it presents to the mind,
the better fitted it is to please the imagination of men,
who find in it a continual pasturage to feed upon. [SE]
The more obscure a religion is, the more it appears divine, that is to say, in conformity to the nature of an invisible being, of whom we have no idea.
It is the peculiarity of ignorance to prefer
the unknown,
the concealed,
the fabulous,
the wonderful,
the incredible, even
the terrible, to that which is clear, simple, and true. [IR]
Truth does not give to the imagination such lively play as fiction,
which each one may arrange as he pleases.
The vulgar ask nothing better than to listen to fables; priests and legislators, by inventing religions and forging mysteries from them, have served them to their taste.
In this way they have attracted enthusiasts, women, and the illiterate generally.
Beings of this kind resign easily to reasons which they are incapable of examining;
the love of the simple and the true [IR] is found but in the small number of those whose imagination is regulated by study and by reflection.
The inhabitants of a village are never more pleased with their pastor than when he mixes a good deal of Latin in his sermon.
Ignorant men always imagine that he who speaks to them of things which they do not understand,
is a very wise and learned man.
This is the true principle of the credulity of nations, and of the authority of those who pretend to guide them.
113.—.To speak to men to announce to them mysteries, is to give and retain,
it is to speak not to be understood.
He who talks but by enigmas, either seeks to amuse himself by the embarrassment which he causes,
or finds it to his advantage not to explain himself too clearly.
Every secret betrays suspicion, weakness, and fear.
Princes and their ministers make a mystery of their projects for fear that their enemies in penetrating them would cause them to fail.
Can a good God amuse Himself by the embarrassment of His creatures?
A God who enjoys a power which nothing in the world [TL] can resist,
can He apprehend that His intentions could be thwarted?
What interest would He have in putting upon us enigmas and mysteries?
We are told [IS] that man, by the weakness of his nature, is not capable of comprehending the Divine economy [IR TL] which can be to him but a tissue of mysteries;
that God can not unveil secrets to him which are beyond his reach.
In this case, I reply, that man is not made to trouble himself with Divine economy [IR TL],
that this economy can not interest him in the least, that he has no need of mysteries which he can not understand; finally, that a mysterious religion is not made for him,
any more than an eloquent discourse is made for a flock of sheep.*
* This may reference the Last Judgment where the goats are separated from the sheep. Of course, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who spoke simply and clearly to crowds, unlike the writings of Saint Paul, which confuse many readers.
114.--Divinity has revealed itself in the different parts of our globe [TL] in a manner of such little uniformity, that in matters of religion men look upon each other with hatred and disdain.
The partisans of the different sects see each other very ridiculous and foolish.
The most respected mysteries in one religion are laughable for another.
God, having revealed Himself to men, ought at least to speak in the same language to all, and relieve their weak minds of the embarrassment of seeking what can be the religion which truly emanated from Him,
or what is the most agreeable form of worship in His eyes.
A universal God ought to have revealed a universal religion.* [X]
By what fatality are so many different religions found on the earth? [TL]
Which is the true one amongst the great number of those of which each one pretends to be the right one, to the exclusion of all the others?
We have every reason to believe that not one of them enjoys this advantage.
The divisions and the disputes about opinions are indubitable signs of the uncertainty and of the obscurity of the principles which they profess.
*The Requiem omits the Creed. The Creed mentions the “catholic church”; “universal” is the Latin form of the Greek “katholikos”.
115.--If religion was necessary to all men, it ought to be intelligible to all men.
If this religion was the most important thing for them, the goodness of God, it seems,
ought to make it for them
the clearest,
the most evident, and
the best demonstrated of all things.
Is it not astonishing to see that this matter, so essential to the salvation of mortals* [TL], is precisely the one which they understand the least, and about which, during so many centuries,
their doctors have disputed the most?
Never have priests, of even the same sect, come to an agreement among themselves about the manner of understanding the wishes of a God who has truly revealed Himself to them.
The world which we inhabit [TL] can be compared to a public place, in whose different parts several charlatans are placed, each one straining himself to attract customers by depreciating the remedies offered by his competitors.
Each stand has its purchasers, who are persuaded that their empiric alone possesses the good remedies; notwithstanding the continual use which they make of them, they do not perceive that they are no better, or that they are just as sick as those who run after the charlatans of another stand.
Devotion is a disease of the imagination, contracted in infancy; the devotee is a hypochondriac,
who increases his disease by the use of remedies.
The wise man takes none of it; he follows a good regimen and leaves the rest to Nature.
*Meslier mentions “the salvation of souls”. As Yours Truly never tires of noting, the immortal soul can not be “saved” from death by either human actions or professing beliefs in this world. The soul can never die, as it is immortal, therefore, it has no need to be “saved”.
116.--Nothing appears more ridiculous in the eyes of a sensible man than for one denomination to criticize another whose creed is equally foolish.
A Christian thinks that the Koran, the Divine revelation announced by Mohammed, is
but a tissue of impertinent dreams and impostures injurious to Divinity.
The Mohammedan, on his side, treats the Christian as an idolater and a dog; [SE] he sees but absurdities in his religion; he imagines he has the right to conquer his country and force him, sword in hand, to accept the faith of his Divine prophet; he believes especially that nothing is more impious or more unreasonable than to worship a man or to believe in the Trinity.*
The Protestant Christian, who without scruple worships a man,
and who believes firmly in the inconceivable mystery of the Trinity,
ridicules the Catholic Christian because the latter believes in the mystery of the transubstantiation.
He treats him as a fool, as ungodly and idolatrous, because he kneels to worship the bread in which he believes he sees the God of the universe. [TL]
All the Christian denominations agree in considering as folly the incarnation of the God of the Indies, Vishnu.
They contend that the only true incarnation is that of Jesus, [PS]** Son of the God of the universe [TL] and of the wife of a carpenter.
The theist, who calls himself a votary of natural religion, is satisfied to acknowledge a God of whom he has no conception; indulges himself in jesting upon other mysteries taught by all the religions of the world. [IR TL]
* The phrasing “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” is not in the Requiem.
** His name is Emmanual, but he is called Jesus. cf Matthew 1:23, 25.
117.—Did not a famous theologian [AE.] recognize the absurdity of admitting the existence of a God and arresting His course?
"To us," he said, "who believe through faith in a true God, an individual substance, there ought to be no trouble in believing everything else. This first mystery, which is no small matter of itself, once admitted, our reason can not suffer violence in admitting all the rest. As for myself, it is no more trouble to accept a million of things that I do not understand, than to believe the first one."
Is there anything more contradictory, more impossible, or more mysterious,
than the creation of matter by an immaterial Being, who Himself immutable,
causes the continual changes that we see in the world? [TL]
Is there anything more incompatible with all the ideas of common sense than to believe that a good, wise, equitable, and powerful Being presides over Nature and directs Himself the movements of a world which is filled with follies, miseries, crimes, and disorders, which He could have foreseen, and by a single word could have prevented or made to disappear?
Finally, as soon as we admit a Being so contradictory as the theological God, what right have we to refuse to accept
the most improbable fables,
the most astonishing miracles,
the most profound mysteries?
118.—The theist exclaims, "Be careful not to worship the ferocious and strange God of theology;
mine is much wiser and better; He is the Father of men; He is the mildest of Sovereigns;
it is He who fills the universe with His benefactions!"
But I will tell him, do you not see that everything in this world [TL] contradicts the good qualities which you attribute to your God?
In the numerous family of this mild Father I see but unfortunate ones.
Under the empire of this just Sovereign [IR SE] I see crime victorious and virtue in distress.
Among these benefactions, which you boast of, and which your enthusiasm alone sees,
I see a multitude of evils of all kinds, upon which you obstinately close your eyes.
Compelled to acknowledge that your good God, in contradiction with Himself, distributes with the same hand good and evil,* you will find yourself obliged, in order to justify Him, to send me,
as the priests would, to the other life. [TL]
Invent, then, another God than the one of theology, because your God is as contradictory as its God is.
A good God who does evil or who permits it to be done, a God full of equity and in an empire where innocence is so often oppressed;[SE] a perfect God who produces but imperfect and wretched works; such a God and His conduct, are they not as great mysteries as that of the incarnation?**
You blush*** , you say, [IS] for your fellow beings who are persuaded that the God of the universe [TL] could change Himself into a man and die upon a cross in a corner of Asia.
You consider the ineffable mystery of the Trinity [TL] very absurd.
Nothing appears more ridiculous to you than a God who changes Himself into bread and who is eaten every day in a thousand different places.
*Your Father in Heaven “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:45
** The incarnation is not in the Requiem.
***Culpa rubet vultus meus.
Well! are all these mysteries any more shocking to reason than a God who punishes and rewards men's actions?
Man, according to your views, is he free or not?
In either case your God, if He has the shadow of justice, can neither punish him nor reward him.
If man is free,
it is God who made him free to act or not to act;
it is God, then, who is the primitive cause of all his actions; in punishing man for his faults,
He would punish him for having done that which He gave him the liberty to do.
If man is not free to act otherwise than he does,
would not God be the most unjust of beings to punish him for the faults which he could not help committing?
Many persons are struck with the detail of absurdities with which all religions of the world [TL] are filled;
but they have not the courage to seek for the source whence these absurdities necessarily sprung.
They do not see that a God full
of contradictions,
of oddities,
of incompatible qualities,
either inflaming or nursing the imagination of men, could create but a long line of idle fancies.
119.—They believe, to silence those who deny the existence of a God, by telling them
that
all men,
in all ages and
in all centuries, have believed in some kind of a God;
that there is no people on the earth [TL] who have not believed in an invisible and powerful being,
whom they made the object of their worship and of their veneration; finally,
that there is no nation, no matter how benighted we may suppose it to be,
that is not persuaded of the existence of some intelligence superior to human nature.
But can the belief of all men change an error into truth?
A celebrated philosopher has said with all reason: "Neither general tradition nor the unanimous consent of all men could place any injunction upon truth." (Bayle.)
Another wise man said before him, that "an army of philosophers would not be sufficient to change the nature of error and to make it truth." (Averroës)
There was a time when all men believed that the sun revolved around the earth, while the latter remained motionless in the center of the whole system of the universe;* it is scarcely more than two hundred years since this error was refuted.**
There was a time when nobody would believe in the existence of antipodes, and when they persecuted those who had the courage to sustain it; to-day no learned man dares to doubt it.
All nations of the world, [TL] except some men less credulous than others, still believe in sorcerers, ghosts, apparitions, spirits; no sensible man imagines himself obliged to adopt these follies;
but the most sensible people feel obliged to believe in a universal Spirit! [TL]
*The terror of the heavens and the earth moving can only be fully appreciated by people who know from birth that the earth is motionless “in die illa tremenda: quando caeli movendi sunt et terra”.
**Copernicus died in 1543, the year his book on the model of the solar system was published.
120.--All the Gods worshiped by men have a barbarous origin; they were visibly imagined by stupid nations,* or were presented by ambitious and cunning legislators to simple and benighted people,
who had neither the capacity nor the courage to examine properly the object which,
by means of terrors, they were made to worship.
In examining closely the God which we see adored still in our days by the most civilized nations,
we are compelled to acknowledge that He has evidently barbarous features.
To be barbarous is to recognize no right but force;
it is being cruel to excess;
it is but following one's own caprice; [TL]
it is a lack of foresight, of prudence, and reason.
Nations, who believe yourselves civilized!
do you not perceive this frightful character of the God to whom you offer your incense? [SE]
The pictures which are drawn of Divinity, are they not visibly borrowed from the implacable, jealous, vindictive, blood-thirsty, capricious, [TL] inconsiderate humor of man, who has not yet cultivated his reason?
Oh, men! you worship but a great savage, whom you consider as a model to follow,
as an amiable master, as a perfect sovereign.
*Jehovah has all senses but touch, so it is likely that he has a body. The images of the Gods of Egypt are well documented.
The religious opinions of men in every country are antique and durable monuments of ignorance, credulity, of the terrors and the ferocity of their ancestors.
Every barbarian is a child thirsting for the wonderful, which he imbibes with pleasure,
and who never reasons upon that which he finds proper to excite his imagination;
his ignorance of the ways of Nature makes him attribute to spirits, to enchantments, to magic,
all that appears to him extraordinary;
in his eyes his priests are sorcerers, in whom he supposes an Almighty power; before whom his confused reason humiliates itself, whose oracles are for him infallible decrees, to contradict which would be dangerous.
In matters of religion the majority of men have remained in their primitive barbarity.
Modern religions are but follies of old times rejuvenated or presented in some new form.
If the ancient barbarians have worshiped mountains, rivers, serpents, trees, fetishes of every kind;
if the wise Egyptians worshiped crocodiles, rats, onions,
do we not see nations who believe themselves wiser than they, worship with reverence a bread,
into which they imagine that the enchantments of their priests cause the Divinity to descend?
Is not the God-bread the fetish of many Christian nations, [SE]
as little rational in this point as that of the most barbarous nations?
121-130
121.—In all times
the ferocity,
the stupidity,
the folly of savage men were shown in religious customs which were often cruel and extravagant.
A spirit of barbarity has come down to our days;
it intrudes itself into the religions which are followed by the most civilized nations.
Do we not still see human victims offered to Divinity?
In order to appease the wrath of a God whom we suppose
as ferocious,
as jealous,
as vindictive,
as a savage, do not sanguinary laws cause the destruction of those who are believed to have displeased Him by their way of thinking?
Modern nations, at the instigation of their priests, have even excelled the atrocious folly of the most barbarous nations; at least do we not find that it never entered into a savage's mind
[1] to torment for the sake of opinions,
[2] to meddle in thought,
[3] to trouble men for the invisible actions of their brains?
[1] When we see polished and wise nations, such as the English, French, German, etc., notwithstanding all their enlightenment, continue to kneel before the barbarous God of the Jews, that is to say, of
the most stupid,
the most credulous,
the most savage,
the most unsocial nation which ever was on the earth; [TL]
[2] when we see these enlightened nations divide themselves into sects, tear one another, hate and despise each other for opinions, equally ridiculous, upon the conduct and the intentions of this irrational God;
[3] when we see intelligent persons occupy themselves foolishly in meditating on the wishes of this capricious and foolish God; [TL]we are tempted to exclaim, "Oh, men! you are still savages! Oh, men! you are but children in the matter of religion!"
122.—Whoever has formed true ideas of the ignorance, credulity, negligence, and sottishness* of common people, will always regard their religious opinions with the greater suspicion for their being generally established.
The majority of men examine nothing; they allow themselves to be blindly led by custom and authority; their religious opinions are specially those which they have the least courage and capacity to examine;
as they do not understand anything about them,
they are compelled to be silent or put an end to their reasoning.
Ask the common man if he believes in God.
He will be surprised that you could doubt it.
Then ask him what he understands by the word God.
You will confuse him;
you will perceive at once that he is incapable of forming any real idea of this word which he so often repeats;
he will tell you that God is God, and
you will find that he knows neither what he thinks of Him,
nor the motives which he has for believing in Him.
All nations speak of a God; but do they agree upon this God?
No!
Well, difference of opinion does not serve as evidence, but is a sign of uncertainty and obscurity. [X]
Does the same man always agree with himself in his ideas of God?
No!
This idea varies with the vicissitudes of his life.
This is another sign of uncertainty.
Men always agree with other men and with themselves upon demonstrated truths, regardless of the position in which they find themselves; except the insane, all agree that two and two make four, that the sun shines, that the whole is greater than any one of its parts, that Justice is a benefaction, that we must be benevolent to deserve the love of men, that injustice and cruelty are incompatible with goodness.
Do they agree in the same way if they speak of God?
All that they think or say of Him is immediately contradicted by the effects which they wish to attribute to Him.
Tell several artists to paint a chimera, [TL] each of them will form different ideas of it, and will paint it differently; you will find no resemblance in the features each of them will have given to a portrait whose model exists nowhere.
In painting God, do any of the theologians of the world [TL] represent Him otherwise than as a great chimera, [TL] upon whose features they never agree, each one arranging it according to his style,
which has its origin but in his own brain?
There are no two individuals in the world [TL] who have or can have the same ideas of their God.
* sottishness, adjective; stupefaction from drink.
123.--Perhaps it would be more truthful to say that all men are either skeptics or atheists,
than to pretend that they are firmly convinced of the existence of a God.
How can we be assured of the existence
[1] of a being whom we never have been able to examine,
[2] of whom it is impossible to form any permanent idea,
whose different effects upon ourselves prevent us from forming an invariable judgment,
[3] of whom no idea can be uniform in two different brains?
How can we claim to be completely persuaded of the existence of a being to whom we are constantly obliged to attribute a conduct opposed to the ideas which we had tried to form of it?
Is it possible firmly to believe what we can not conceive?
In believing thus, are we not adhering to the opinions of others without having one of our own?
The priests regulate the belief of the vulgar;
but do not these priests themselves acknowledge that God is incomprehensible to them?
Let us conclude, then, that the conviction of the existence of a God is not as general as it is affirmed to be.
To be a skeptic, is to lack the motives necessary to establish a judgment. **
In view of the proofs which seem to establish, and of the arguments which combat the existence of a God, some persons prefer to doubt and to suspend their judgment;
but at the bottom, this uncertainty is the result of an insufficient examination.
Is it, then, possible to doubt evidence?
Sensible people deride, and with reason, an absolute pyrrhonism*, and even consider it impossible.
A man who could doubt his own existence, or that of the sun, would appear very ridiculous,
or would be suspected of reasoning in bad faith.
Is it less extravagant to have uncertainties about the non-existence of an evidently impossible being?
Is it more absurd to doubt of one's own existence, than to hesitate upon the impossibility of a being whose qualities destroy each other?
Do we find more probabilities for believing in a spiritual being than for believing in the existence of a stick without two ends?
Is the notion of an infinitely good and powerful being who permits an infinity of evils,
less absurd or less impossible than that of a square triangle?
*Pyrrhonism, noun, philosophic doubt; skepticism.
Let us conclude, then, that religious skepticism can be but the effect of a superficial examination of theological principles,
which are in a perpetual contradiction of the clearest and best demonstrated principles!
To doubt is to deliberate upon the judgment which we should pass.
Skepticism is but a state of indecision which results from a superficial examination of subjects. **
Is it possible to be skeptical in the matter of religion when we design to return to its principles,
and look closely into the idea of the God who serves as its foundation?
Doubt arises ordinarily from laziness, weakness, indifference, or incapacity.
To doubt, for many people, is to dread the trouble of examining things to which one attaches but little interest.
Although religion is presented to men as the most important thing for them in this world [TL] as well as in the other, skepticism and doubt on this subject can be for the mind but a disagreeable state,
and offers but a comfortable cushion.
No man who has not the courage to contemplate without prejudice the God upon whom every religion is founded, can know what religion to accept; he does not know what to believe and what not to believe, to accept or to reject, what to hope or fear; finally, he is incompetent to judge for himself.
Indifference upon religion can not be confounded with skepticism; this indifference itself is founded upon the assurance or upon the probability which we find in believing that religion is not made to interest us.
The persuasion which we have that a thing which is presented to us as very important, is not so, or is but indifferent, supposes a sufficient examination of the thing, without which it would be impossible to have this persuasion.
Those who call themselves skeptics in regard to the fundamental points of religion, are generally but idle and lazy men, who are incapable of examining them.
** Two definitions are given for skeptic and skepticism; the former lacks motivation, the latter lacks decisiveness.
124.—In all parts of the world, [TL] we are assured [IS] that God revealed Himself.
What did He teach men?
Does He prove to them evidently that He exists?
Does He tell them where He resides?
Does He teach them what He is, or of what His essence consists?
Does He explain to them clearly His intentions and His plan?
What He says of this plan, does it agree with the effects which we see?
No!
He informs us only
[1] that "He is the One that is," (I am that I am, saith the Lord [Exodus 3:14])
[2] that He is an invincible God,
[3] that His ways are ineffable,
[4] that He becomes furious as soon as one has the temerity to
[4a] penetrate His decrees, or
[4b] to consult reason in order to judge of Him or
[4c] His works.
Does the revealed conduct of God correspond with the magnificent ideas which are given to us of His wisdom, goodness, justice, of His omnipotence?
Not at all; in every revelation this conduct shows a partial, capricious being, [TL]at least, good to His favorite people, an enemy to all others.
If He condescends to show Himself to some men,
He takes care to keep all the others in invincible ignorance of His divine intentions.
Does not every special revelation announce an unjust, partial, and malicious God?
Are the revealed wishes of a God capable of striking us by the sublime reason or the wisdom which they contain?
Do they tend to the happiness of the people to whom Divinity has declared them?
Examining the Divine wishes, I find in them, in all countries, but whimsical ordinances, ridiculous precepts, ceremonies of which we do not understand the aim, puerile practices, principles of conduct unworthy of the Monarch of Nature [AE], offerings, sacrifices, expiations, useful, in fact, to the ministers of God, [TL] but very onerous to the rest of mankind.
I find also, that they often have a tendency to render men unsocial, disdainful, intolerant, quarrelsome, unjust, inhuman toward all those who have not received either the same revelations as they, or the same ordinances, or the same favors from Heaven.
125.—Are the precepts of morality as announced by Divinity truly Divine,
or superior to those which every rational man could imagine?
They are Divine only because it is impossible for the human mind to see their utility.
Their virtue consists in a total renunciation of human nature, in a voluntary oblivion of one's reason,
in a holy hatred of self; finally, these sublime precepts show us perfection in a conduct cruel to ourselves and perfectly useless to others.
How did God show Himself?
Did He Himself promulgate His laws?
Did He speak to men with His own mouth?
I am told that God did not show Himself to a whole nation, but that He employed always the organism of a few favored persons, who took the care to teach and to explain His intentions to the unlearned.
It was never permitted to the people to go to the sanctuary; the ministers of the Gods [IR, TL] always alone had the right to report to them what transpired.
126.--If, in the economy of all Divine revelations, [TL] I am unable to recognize either
the wisdom,
the goodness, or
the equity of a God;
if I suspect deceit, ambition, selfish designs in the great personages who have interposed between Heaven and us, I am assured [IS] that God has confirmed, by splendid miracles, the mission of those who have spoken for Him.
But was it not much easier to show Himself, and to explain for Himself?
On the other hand, if I have the curiosity to examine these miracles, I find that they are tales void of probability, related by suspicious people,
who had the greatest interest in making others believe that they were sent from the Most High.[AE]
What witnesses are referred to in order to make us believe incredible miracles?
They call as witnesses stupid people, who have ceased to exist for thousands of years, and who, even
if they could attest the miracles in question, would be suspected
of having been deceived by their own imagination, and
of permitting themselves to be seduced by the illusions which skillful impostors performed before their eyes.
But, you will say, [IS] these miracles are recorded in books which through constant tradition [TL] have been handed down to us.
By whom were these books written? *
Who are the men who have transmitted and perpetuated them?
They are either the same people who established these religions,
or those who have become their adherents and their assistants.
Thus, in the matter of religion, the testimony of interested parties is irrefragable** and can not be contested!
*”Liber scriptus”.
**Irrefragable, adjective, not able to be refuted or disproved; indisputable.
127.— God has spoken differently to each nation of the globe [TL] which we inhabit.
The Indian does not believe one word of what He said to the Chinaman;
the Mohammedan considers what He has told to the Christian as fables;
the Jew considers the Mohammedan and the Christian as sacrilegious corruptors of the Holy Law, [TL] which his God has given to his fathers.
The Christian, proud of his more modern revelation, [SE] equally damns the Indian and the Chinaman,
the Mohammedan, [IR] and even the Jew, whose holy books [TL] he holds.
Who is wrong or right?
Each one exclaims: "It is I!" [AE]
Everyone claims the same proofs; each one speaks of his miracles, his saints, his prophets, his martyrs. Sensible men answer, that they are all delirious; that God has not spoken,
if it is true that He is a Spirit who has neither mouth nor tongue; that the God of the Universe [TL] could, without borrowing mortal organism, inspire His creatures with what He desired them to learn, and that,
as they are all equally ignorant of what they ought to think about God,
it is evident that God did not want to instruct them. [x]
The adherents of the different forms of worship which we see established in this world, [TL] accuse each other of superstition and of ungodliness.
The Christians abhor the superstition of the heathen, of the Chinese, of the Mohammedans. [IR]
The Roman Catholics treat the Protestant Christians as impious;
the latter incessantly declaim against Roman superstition.
They are all right.
To be impious, is to have unjust opinions about the God who is adored;
to be superstitious, is to have false ideas of Him.
In accusing each other of superstition,
the different religionists resemble humpbacks who taunt each other with their malformation.
128.—The oracles which the Deity [TL] has revealed to the nations through His different mediums,
are they clear?
Alas! there are not two men who understand them alike.
Those who explain them to others do not agree among themselves;
in order to make them clear, they have recourse
[1] to interpretations,
[2] to commentaries,
[3] to allegories,
[4] to parables, in which is found a mystical sense very different from the literal one.*
Men are needed everywhere to explain the wishes of God,
who could not or would not explain Himself clearly to those whom He desired to enlighten.
God always prefers to use as mediums men who can be suspected of having been deceived themselves,
or having reasons to deceive others.
*Interpretations, commentaries, and allegories may refer to the writings of the Church Fathers.
129.—The founders of all religions have usually proved their mission by miracles.
But what is a miracle?
It is an operation directly opposed to the laws of Nature.
But, according to you, who has made these laws?
It is God.
Thus your God, who, according to you, has foreseen everything,
counteracts the laws which His wisdom had imposed upon Nature!
These laws were then defective, or at least in certain circumstances they were but in accordance with the views of this same God, for you tell us [IS] that He thought He ought to suspend or counteract them.
An attempt is made to persuade us that men who have been favored by the Most High [AE] have received from Him the power to perform miracles; but in order to perform a miracle, it is necessary to have the faculty of creating new causes capable of producing effects opposed to those which ordinary causes can produce.
Can we realize how God can give to men the inconceivable power of creating causes out of nothing?
Can it be believed that an unchangeable God can communicate to man the power to change or rectify His plan, a power which, according to His essence, an immutable being can not have himself?
Miracles, far from doing much honor to God, far from proving the Divinity of religion, destroy evidently the idea which is given to us of God,
[1] of His immutability,
[2] of His incommunicable attributes, and even
[3] of His omnipotence.
How can a theologian tell us that a God
who embraced at once the whole of His plan,
who could make but perfect laws,
who can change nothing in them, should be obliged to employ miracles to make His projects successful, or grant to His creatures the faculty of performing prodigies, in order to execute His Divine will?
Is it probable that a God needs the support of men?*
An Omnipotent Being, whose wishes are always gratified, a Being who holds in His hands the hearts and the minds of His creatures,[SE] needs but to wish, in order to make them believe all He desires.
* “What does God need with a Starship?”, Captain Kirk, Star Trek V
130.—What should we say of religions that based their Divinity upon miracles which they themselves cause to appear suspicious?
How can we place any faith in the miracles related in the Holy Books [IR TL] of the Christians,
where God Himself boasts of hardening hearts, of blinding those whom He wishes to ruin;
where this God permits wicked spirits and magicians to perform as wonderful miracles as those of His servants;
where it is prophesied that the Anti-Christ will have the power to perform miracles capable of destroying the faith even of the elect?* [TL]
This granted, how can we know whether God wants to instruct us or to lay a snare for us? [TL]
How can we distinguish whether the wonders which we see, proceed from God or the Devil?
Pascal [d.1662], in order to disembarrass us, says very gravely, that we must judge the doctrine by miracles, and the miracles by the doctrine; that doctrine judges the miracles, and the miracles judge the doctrine.
If there exists a defective and ridiculous circle, it is no doubt in this fine reasoning of one of the greatest defenders of the Christian religion.
Which of all the religions in the world [IR TL] does not claim to possess the most admirable doctrine,
and which does not bring to its aid a great number of miracles?
*Revelation of Jesus Christ 13:13-14
Is a miracle capable of destroying a demonstrated truth?
Although a man should have the secret
of curing all diseases, of making the lame to walk,
of raising all the dead of a city,
of floating in the air,
of arresting the course of the sun and of the moon, will he be able to convince me by all this
that two and two do not make four;
that one makes three and that three makes but one;*
that a God who fills the universe with His immensity,
could have transformed Himself into the body of a Jew;
that the eternal can perish like man; that an immutable, foreseeing, and sensible God could have changed His opinion upon His religion, and reform His own work by a new revelation?
* A subtle criticism of the dogma of the Trinity.
131-140
131.— According to the principles of theology itself, whether natural or revealed, every new revelation ought to be considered false; every change in a religion which had emanated from the Deity [TL] ought to be refuted as ungodly and blasphemous.
Does not every reform suppose that God did not know how at the start to give His religion the required solidity and perfection? [x]
To say that God in giving a first law accommodated Himself to the gross ideas of a people whom He wished to enlighten, is to pretend that God neither could nor would make the people whom He enlightened at that time, as reasonable as they ought to be to please Him.
Christianity is an impiety, if it is true that Judaism as a religion really emanated from a Holy, Immutable, Almighty, and Foreseeing God.
Christ's religion implies
[1] either defects in the law that God Himself gave by Moses,
[2] or impotence
[3] or malice in this God who
[4] could not,
[4a] or would not make the Jews as they ought to be to please Him.
All religions, whether new, or ancient ones reformed, are evidently founded on
the weakness,
the inconstancy,
the imprudence, and
the malice of the Deity. {TL]
132.--If history informs me [IR] that the first apostles, founders or reformers of religions, performed great miracles, history teaches me [IR] also that these reforming apostles and their adherents have been usually despised, persecuted, and put to death as disturbers of the peace of nations.
I am then tempted to believe that they have not performed the miracles attributed to them.
Finally, these miracles should have procured to them a great number of disciples among those who witnessed them, who ought to have prevented the performers from being maltreated.
My incredulity increases if I am told that the performers of miracles have been cruelly tormented or slain.
How can we believe that missionaries,
[1] protected by a God,
[2] invested with His Divine Power, and
[3] enjoying the gift of miracles,
could not perform the simple miracle of escaping from the cruelty of their persecutors?
Persecutions themselves are considered as a convincing proof in favor of the religion of those who have suffered them; but a religion which boasts of having caused the death of many martyrs, and which informs us that its founders have suffered for its extension unheard-of torments,
can not be the religion of a benevolent, equitable, and Almighty God.
A good God would not permit that men charged with revealing His will should be misused.
An omnipotent God desiring to found a religion, would have employed simpler and less fatal means for His most faithful servants.
To say that God desired that His religion should be sealed by blood, is to say that this God is weak, unjust, ungrateful, and sanguinary, and that He sacrifices unworthily His missionaries to the interests of His ambition.
133.--To die for a religion does not prove it true or Divine;
this proves at most that we suppose it to be so.
An enthusiast in dying [SE] proves nothing but that religious fanaticism is often stronger than the love of life.
An impostor can sometimes die with courage; he makes then, as is said, "a virtue of necessity."
We are often surprised and affected at the sight of the generous courage and the disinterested zeal which have led missionaries to preach their doctrine at the risk even of suffering the most rigorous torments. [SE]
We draw from this love, which is exhibited for the salvation of men, [TL] deductions favorable to the religion which they have proclaimed; but in truth this disinterestedness is only apparent.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained!"
A missionary seeks fortune by the aid of his doctrine; he knows that if he has the good fortune to retail his commodity, he will become the absolute master of those who accept him as their guide;
he is sure to become the object of their care, of their respect, of their veneration;
he has every reason to believe that he will be abundantly provided for.
These are the true motives which kindle the zeal and the charity of so many preachers and missionaries who travel all over the world. [TL]
To die for an opinion, proves no more the truth or the soundness of this opinion than to die in a battle proves the right of the prince, for whose benefit so many people are foolish enough to sacrifice themselves.
The courage of a martyr, animated by the idea of Paradise, [TL] is not any more supernatural than the courage of a warrior, inspired with the idea of glory or held to duty by the fear of disgrace.
What difference do we find between an Iroquois who sings while he is burned by a slow fire,
and the martyr St. Lawrence [d.258], who while upon the gridiron insults his tyrant?
The preachers of a new doctrine succumb because they are not the strongest; the apostles usually practice a perilous business, whose consequences they can foresee; their courageous death does not prove any more the truth of their principles or their own sincerity, than the violent death of an ambitious man or a brigand proves that they had the right to trouble society, or that they believed themselves authorized to do it.
A missionary's profession has been always flattering to his ambition, and has enabled him to subsist at the expense of the common people; these advantages have been sufficient to make him forget the dangers which are connected with it.
134.—You tell us, O theologians! that "what is folly in the eyes of men, is wisdom before God, who is pleased to confound the wisdom of the wise." [1 Cor 1:19]
But do you not pretend that human wisdom is a gift from Heaven?
In telling us that this wisdom displeases God, is but folly in His eyes, and that He wishes to confound it, you proclaim that your God is but the friend of unenlightened people, and that He makes to sensible people a fatal gift, for which this perfidious Tyrant promises to punish them cruelly some day.
Is it not very strange that we can not be the friend of your God but by declaring ourselves the enemy of reason and common sense?
135.--Faith, according to theologians, is consent without evidence.
From this it follows that religion exacts that we should firmly believe, without evidence,
in propositions which are often improbable or opposed to reason.
But to challenge reason as a judge of faith, is it not acknowledging that reason can not agree with faith? As the ministers of religion [TL] have determined to banish reason, they must have felt the impossibility of reconciling reason with faith, which is visibly but a blind submission to those priests whose authority, in many minds, appears to be of a greater importance than evidence itself, and preferable to the testimony of the senses.
"Sacrifice your reason; give up experience; distrust the testimony of your senses;
submit without examination to all that is given to you as coming from Heaven."
This is the usual language of all the priests of the world; [TL] they do not agree upon any point,
except in the necessity of never reasoning when they present principles to us which they claim as the most important to our happiness.
I will not sacrifice my reason, because this reason alone enables me to distinguish good from evil,
the true from the false.
If, as you pretend, my reason comes from God, I will never believe that a God whom you call so good, had ever given me reason but as a snare, [TL] in order to lead me to perdition. [TL]
Priests! in crying down reason, do you not see that you slander your God, who, as you assure us, [IS]
has given us this reason?
I will not give up experience, because it is a much better guide than imagination, or than the authority of the guides whom they wish to give me.
This experience teaches me that enthusiasm and interest can blind and mislead them, and that the authority of experience ought to have more weight upon my mind than the suspicious testimony of many men whom I know to be capable of deceiving themselves, or very much interested in deceiving others.
I will not distrust my senses.
I do not ignore the fact that they can sometimes lead me into error; but on the other hand,
I know that they do not deceive me always.
I know very well that the eye shows the sun much smaller than it really is; but experience, which is only the repeated application of the senses, teaches me that objects continually diminish by reason of their distance; it is by these means that I reach the conclusion that the sun is much larger than the earth;*
it is thus that my senses suffice to rectify the hasty judgments which they induced me to form.
In warning me to doubt the testimony of my senses, you destroy for me the proofs of all religion.
If men can be dupes of their imagination, if their senses are deceivers, why would you have me believe in the miracles which made an impression upon the deceiving senses of our ancestors?
If my senses are faithless guides, I learn that I should not have faith even in the miracles which I might see performed under my own eyes.
*The conclusion that the sun is larger than it appears is correct, but to conclude that it is larger than the earth assumes both facts and intermediate conclusions that are omitted. The ”omission of important links of the argument” is also an esoteric writing technique [PAW, p. 31].
136.—You tell me continually [IS] that the "truths of religion are beyond reason."
Do you not admit, then, that these truths are not made for reasonable beings?
To pretend that reason can deceive us, is to say that truth can be false, that usefulness can be injurious.
Is reason anything else but the knowledge of the useful and the true?
Besides, as we have but our reason, which is more or less exercised, and our senses, such as they are,
to lead us in this life, to claim that reason is an unsafe guide, and that our senses are deceivers, is to tell us [1] that our errors are necessary,
[2] that our ignorance is invincible, and
[3] that, without extreme injustice, God can not punish us for having followed the only guides which He desired to give us.
To pretend that we are obliged to believe in things which are beyond our reason,
is an assertion as ridiculous as to say that God would compel us to fly without wings.
To claim that there are objects on which reason should not be consulted, is to say that in the most important affairs, we must consult but imagination, or act by chance.
Our Doctors of Divinity [AE IR] tell us that we ought to sacrifice our reason to God; but what motives can we have for sacrificing our reason to a being who gives us but useless gifts, which He does not intend that we should make use of?
What confidence can we place in a God who, according to our Doctors [AE IR] themselves, is wicked enough to harden hearts, to strike us with blindness, to place snares in our way, [TL] to lead us into temptation?
Finally, how can we place confidence in the ministers of this God, [IR TL] who, in order to guide us more conveniently, command us to close our eyes?
137.— Men persuade themselves that religion is the most serious affair in the world [TL] for them,
while it is the very thing which they least examine for themselves.
If the question arises in the purchase of land, of a house, of the investment of money, of a transaction, or of some kind of an agreement, you will see each one examine everything with care, take the greatest precautions, weigh all the words of a document, to beware of any surprise or imposition.
It is not the same with religion; each one accepts it at hazard, and believes it upon verbal testimony, without taking the trouble to examine it.
Two causes seem to concur in sustaining men in the negligence and the thoughtlessness which they exhibit when the question comes up of examining their religious opinions.
The first one is, the hopelessness of penetrating the obscurity by which every religion is surrounded;
even in its first principles, it has only a tendency to repel indolent minds, who see in it but chaos, to penetrate which, they judge impossible.
The second is, that each one is afraid to incommode* himself by the severe precepts which everybody admires in the theory, and which few persons take the trouble of practicing.
Many people preserve their religion like old family titles which they have never taken the trouble to examine minutely, but which they place in their archives in case they need them.
*Incommode, verb, inconvenience (someone).
138.—The disciples of Pythagoras had an implicit faith in their Master's doctrine:
"HE HAS SAID IT!" was for them the solution of all problems.
The majority of men act with as little reason.
A curate, a priest, an ignorant monk, will become in the matter of religion the master of one's thoughts. Faith relieves the weakness of the human mind, for whom application is commonly a very painful work; it is much easier to rely upon others than to examine for one's self; examination being slow and difficult,
it is usually unpleasant to ignorant and stupid minds as well as to very ardent ones; this is, no doubt,
why faith finds so many partisans.
The less enlightenment and reason men possess, the more zeal they exhibit for their religion.
In all the religious factions, women, aroused by their directors, [SE] exhibit very great zeal in opinions of which it is evident they have not the least idea.
In theological quarrels people rush like a ferocious beast upon all those against whom their priest wishes to excite them.
[1] Profound ignorance,
[2] unlimited credulity,
[3] a very weak head,
[4] an irritated imagination,
these are the materials of which
[1] devotees,
[2] zealots,
[3] fanatics, and
[4] saints are made.
How can we make those people understand reason who allow themselves to be guided without examining anything?
The devotees and common people are, in the hands of their guides,
only automatons which they move at their fancy.
139.—Religion is a thing of custom and fashion; we must do as others do.
But, among the many religions in the world, [IR TL] which one ought we to choose?
This examination would be too long and too painful; we must then hold to the faith of our fathers,
to that of our country, or to that of the prince, who, possessing power, must be the best.
Chance alone decides the religion of a man and of a people.
The French would be today as good Mussulmen as they are Christians,
if their ancestors had not repulsed the efforts of the Saracens.
If we judge of the intentions of Providence by the events and the revolutions of this world, [TL] we are compelled to believe that it is quite indifferent about the different religions which exist on earth. [IR TL]
During thousands of years Paganism, Polytheism, and Idolatry have been the religions of the world; [IR TL] we are assured [IS] today, that during this period the most flourishing nations had not the least idea of the Deity, [TL] an idea which is claimed, however, to be so important to all men.
The Christians pretend that, with the exception of the Jewish people, that is to say, a handful of unfortunate beings, the whole human race lived in utter ignorance of its duties toward God,
and had but imperfect ideas of Divine majesty.
Christianity, offshoot of Judaism, which was very humble in its obscure origin, became powerful and cruel under the Christian emperors, who, driven by a holy zeal, spread it marvelously in their empire by sword and fire, and founded it upon the ruins of overthrown Paganism.
Mohammed and his successors, aided by Providence, or by their victorious arms, succeeded in a short time in expelling the Christian religion from a part of Asia, Africa, and even of Europe itself;
the Gospel was compelled to surrender to the Koran.*
In all the factions or sects which during a great number of centuries have lacerated the Christians,
"THE REASON OF THE STRONGEST WAS ALWAYS THE BEST;" the arms and the will of the princes alone decided upon the most useful doctrine for the salvation of the nations. [SE]
Could we not conclude by this, either that the Deity [TL] takes but little interest in the religion of men, or that He declares Himself always in favor of opinions which best suit the Authorities of the earth, [TL] in order that He can change His systems as soon as they take a notion to change?
*The four Gospels are a part of the Bible, while the Koran is an entire book. If the Gospel is understood as the “Good News”, then a parallel still does not exist between the Gospel and the Koran.
A king of Macassar, tired of the idolatry of his fathers, took a notion one day to leave it.
The monarch's council deliberated for a long time to know whether they should consult Christian or Mohammedan Doctors.
In the impossibility of finding out which was the better of the two religions, it was resolved to send at the same time for the missionaries of both, and to accept the doctrine of those who would have the advantage of arriving first.
They did not doubt that God, who disposes of events, would thus Himself explain His will.
Mohammed's missionaries having been more diligent, the king with his people submitted to the law which he had imposed upon himself; the missionaries of Christ were dismissed by default of their God,
who did not permit them to arrive early enough.
God evidently consents that chance should decide the religion of nations.
Those who govern, always decide the religion of the people.
The true religion is but the religion of the prince; the true God is the God whom the prince wishes them to worship; the will of the priests who govern the prince, always becomes the will of God.
A jester once said, with reason, that "the true faith is always the one which has on its side 'the prince and the executioner.'"
Emperors and executioners for a long time sustained the Gods of Rome [IR] against the God of the Christians; the latter having won over to their side the emperors, their soldiers and their executioners succeeded in suppressing the worship of the Roman Gods. [IR]
Mohammed's God succeeded in expelling the Christian's God from a large part of the countries which He formerly occupied.
In the eastern part of Asia, there is a large country which is very flourishing, very productive, thickly populated, and governed by such wise laws, that the most savage conquerors adopted them with respect. It is China!
With the exception of Christianity, which was banished as dangerous, they followed their own superstitious ideas; while the mandarins or magistrates, undeceived long ago about the popular religion, do not trouble themselves in regard to it, except to watch over it, that the bonzes or priests do not use this religion to disturb the peace of the State.
However, we do not see that Providence withholds its benefactions from a nation whose chiefs take so little interest in the worship which is offered to it.
The Chinese enjoy, on the contrary, blessings and a peace worthy of being envied by many nations which religion divides, ravages, and often destroys.
We can not reasonably expect to deprive a people of its follies; but we can hope to cure of their follies those who govern the people; these will then prevent the follies of the people from becoming dangerous. Superstition is never to be feared except when it has the support of princes and soldiers;
it is only then that it becomes cruel and sanguinary.
Every sovereign who assumes the protection of a sect or of a religious faction,
usually becomes the tyrant of other sects, and makes himself the must cruel perturbator in his kingdom.
140.--We are constantly told, and a good many sensible persons come to believe it, that religion is necessary to restrain men; that without it there would be no check upon the people; that morality and virtue are intimately connected with it: "The fear of the Lord is," we are told, [IS] "the beginning of wisdom." [Proverbs 9:10]
The terrors of another life [AE] are salutary terrors, and calculated to subdue men's passions.
To disabuse us in regard to the utility of religious notions,
it is sufficient to open the eyes and to consider what are the morals of the most religious people.
We see haughty tyrants, oppressive ministers, perfidious courtiers, countless extortioners, unscrupulous magistrates, impostors, adulterers, libertines, prostitutes, thieves, and rogues of all kinds, who have never doubted the existence of a vindictive God, or the punishments of Hell, [IR TL] or the joys of Paradise.[IR TL]
Although very useless for the majority of men, the ministers of religion [IR TL] have tried to make death appear terrible to the eyes of their votaries .
If the most devoted Christians could be consistent, they would pass their whole lives in tears,
and would finally die in the most terrible alarms.
What is more frightful than death to those unfortunate ones who are constantly reminded that "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God;" [Hebrews 10:31] that they should "seek salvation with fear and trembling!" [Philippians 2:12]
However, we are assured [IS] that the Christian's death has great consolations,
of which the unbeliever is deprived.
The good Christian, [AE] we are told, [IS] dies with the firm hope of enjoying eternal happiness, [TL]
which he has tried to deserve. [IS]
But this firm assurance, is it not a punishable presumption in the eyes of a severe God?
The greatest saints, are they not to be in doubt whether they are worthy of the love or of the hatred of God.
Priests who console us with the hope of the joys of Paradise, [IR TL] and close your eyes to the torments of Hell, [IR TL] have you then had the advantage of seeing your names and ours inscribed in the book of life? [TL]
141-150
141.— To oppose to the passions and present interests of men the obscure notions about a metaphysical God whom no one can conceive of; the incredible punishments of another life; [IR TL] the pleasures of Heaven, [IR TL] of which we can not form an idea, is it not combating realities with chimeras? [TL]
Men have always but confused ideas of their God; they see Him only in the clouds;
they never think of Him when they wish to do wrong.
Whenever ambition, fortune, or pleasure entices them or leads them away, God, and His menaces,
and His promises weigh nothing in the balance. [SE]
The things of this life have for men a degree of certainty, which the most lively faith can never give to the objects of another life. [AE]
Every religion, in its origin, was a restraint invented by legislators who wished to subjugate the minds of the common people.
Like nurses who frighten children in order to put them to sleep, ambitious men use the name of the gods to inspire fear in savages; terror seems well suited to compel them to submit quietly to the yoke which is to be imposed upon them.
Are the ghost stories of childhood fit for mature age?
Man in his maturity no longer believes in them, or if he does, he is troubled but little by it,
and he keeps on his road. [SE]
142.—There is scarcely a man who does not fear more what he sees than what he does not see;
the judgments of men, of which he experiences the effects, than the judgments of God,
of whom he has but floating ideas.
The desire to please the world, the current of custom, the fear of being ridiculed,
and of "WHAT WILL THEY SAY?" have more power than all religious opinions.
A warrior with the fear of dishonor, does he not hazard his life in battles every day,
even at the risk of incurring eternal damnation? [TL]
The most religious persons sometimes show more respect for a servant than for God.
A man that firmly believes that God sees everything, knows everything, is everywhere,* will,
when he is alone, commit actions which he never would do in the presence of the meanest of mortals.
Those even who claim to be the most firmly convinced of the existence of a God,
act every instant as if they did not believe anything about it.
*Meslier does not use the more common phrasing of “omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent”. There is no practical difference between all seeing, “sees everything”, and all knowing, “knows everything”.
143.—"Let us tolerate at least," we are told, [IS] "the idea of a God, which alone can be a restraint upon the passions of kings."
But, in good faith, can we admire the marvelous effects which the fear of this God produces generally upon the mind of the princes who claim to be His images?
What idea can we form of the original, if we judge it by its duplicates?
Sovereigns, it is true, call themselves the representatives of God,[IR TL] His lieutenants upon earth. [IR TL]
But does the fear of a more powerful master than themselves make them attend to the welfare of the peoples that Providence has confided to their care?
The idea of an invisible Judge, to whom alone they pretend to be accountable for their actions,
should inspire them with terror!
But does this terror render them more equitable, more humane, less avaricious of the blood and the goods of their subjects, more moderate in their pleasures, more attentive to their duties?
Finally, does this God, by whom we are assured [IS] that kings reign, prevent them from vexing in a thousand ways the peoples of whom they ought to be the leaders, the protectors, and fathers?
Let us open our eyes, let us turn our regards upon all the earth, [TL] and we shall see, almost everywhere, men governed by tyrants, who make use of religion but to brutalize their slaves, whom they oppress by the weight of their vices, or whom they sacrifice without mercy to their fatal extravagances.
Far from being a restraint to the passions of kings, religion, by its very principles, gives them a loose rein. It transforms them into Divinities, whose caprices the nations never dare to resist. [TL]
At the same time that it unchains princes and breaks for them the ties of the social pact, [SE]
it enchains the minds and the hands of their oppressed subjects.
Is it surprising, then, that the gods of the earth [AE] believe that all is permitted to them, and consider their subjects as vile instruments of their caprices or of their ambition? [TL]
Religion, in every country, has made of the Monarch of Nature [PS] a cruel, fantastic, partial tyrant, whose caprice is the rule. [TL]
The God-monarch [SE] is but too well imitated by His representatives upon the earth. [IR TL]
Everywhere religion seems invented but to lull to sleep the people in fetters, in order to furnish their masters the facility of devouring them*, or to render them miserable with impunity.
*Libera eas de ore leonis.
144.— In order to guard themselves against the enterprises of a haughty Pontiff who desired to reign over kings, and in order to protect their persons from the attacks of the credulous people excited by their priests, several princes of Europe pretended to have received their crowns and their rights from God alone, and that they should account to Him only for their actions.
Civil power in its battles against spiritual power, having at length gained the advantage, and the priests being compelled to yield, recognized the Divine right of kings [IR TL] and preached it to the people, reserving to themselves the right to change opinions and to preach revolution, every time that the divine rights of kings [IR TL] did not agree with the divine rights of the clergy. [IR TL]
It was always at the expense of the people that peace was restored between the kings and the priests,
but the latter maintained their pretensions notwithstanding all treaties.
Many tyrants and wicked princes, whose conscience reproaches them for their negligence or their perversity, far from fearing their God, rather like to bargain with this invisible Judge, [SE] who never refuses anything, or with His priests, who are accommodating to the masters of the earth [IR TL] rather than to their subjects.
The people, when reduced to despair, consider the divine rights of their chiefs [IR TL] as an abuse.
When men become exasperated, the divine rights of tyrants [IR TL] are compelled to yield to the Natural rights of their subjects; they have better market with the gods than with men.
Kings are responsible for their actions but to God, the priests but to themselves; there is reason to believe that both of them have more faith in the indulgence of Heaven than in that of earth. [SE]
It is much easier to escape the judgments of the gods, who can be appeased at little expense, than the judgments of men whose patience is exhausted.
If you take away from the sovereigns the fear of an invisible power,
what restraint will you oppose to their misconduct?
Let them learn how to govern, how to be just, how to respect the rights of the people, to recognize the benefactions of the nations from whom they obtain their grandeur and power;
let them learn to fear men, to submit to the laws of equity, that no one can violate without danger;
let these laws restrain equally the powerful and the weak, the great and the small, the sovereign and the subjects.
The fear of the Gods, religion, the terrors of another life [AE]—these are the metaphysical and supernatural barriers which are opposed to the furious passions of princes!
Are these barriers sufficient?
We leave it to experience to solve the question!
To oppose religion to the wickedness of tyrants, is to wish that vague speculations should be more powerful than inclinations which conspire to fortify them in it from day to day.
145.—We are told [IS] constantly of the immense advantages which religion secures to politics;
but if we reflect a moment, we will see without trouble that religious opinions blind and lead astray equally the rulers and the people, and never enlighten them either in regard to their true duties or their real interests.
Religion but too often forms licentious, immoral tyrants,
obeyed by slaves who are obliged to conform to their views.
From lack of the knowledge of the true principles of administration, the aim and the rights of social life, the real interests of men, and the duties which unite them, the princes are become, in almost every land, licentious, absolute, and perverse; and their subjects abject unhappy, and wicked.
It was to avoid the trouble of studying these important subjects, that they felt themselves obliged to have recourse to chimeras, [TL] which so far, instead of being a remedy, have but increased the evils of the human race and withdrawn their attention from the most interesting things. [SE]
Does not the unjust and cruel manner in which so many nations are governed here below, [TL] furnish the most visible proofs, not only of the non-effect produced by the fear of another life, [TL] but of the non-existence of a Providence interested in the fate of the human race?
If there existed a good God, would we not be forced to admit that He strangely neglects the majority of men in this life?
It would appear that this God created the nations but to be toys for the passions and follies of His representatives upon earth. [IR TL]
146.--If we read history with some attention, we shall see that Christianity, fawning at first, insinuated itself among the savage and free nations of Europe but by showing their chiefs that its principles would favor despotism and place absolute power in their hands.
We see, consequently, barbarous kings converting themselves with a miraculous promptitude;
that is to say, adopting without examination a system so favorable to their ambition,
and exerting themselves to have it adopted by their subjects.
If the ministers of this religion [IR TL] have since often moderated their servile principles,
it is because the theory has no influence upon the conduct of the Lord's ministers, [TL]
except when it suits their temporal interests.
Christianity boasts of having brought to men a happiness unknown to preceding centuries.
It is true that the Grecians have not known the Divine right of tyrants [IR TL] or usurpers over their native country.
Under the reign of Paganism it never entered the brain of anybody that Heaven did not want a nation to defend itself against a ferocious beast which insolently ravaged it.
The Christian religion, devised for the benefit of tyrants, was established on the principle that the nations should renounce the legitimate defense of themselves.
Thus Christian nations are deprived of the first law of Nature, which decrees that man should resist evil and disarm all who attempt to destroy him.
If the ministers of the Church [IR TL] have often permitted nations to revolt for Heaven's cause, they never allowed them to revolt against real evils or known violences.
It is from Heaven that the chains have come to fetter the minds of mortals.
Why is the Mohammedan everywhere a slave?
It is because his Prophet subdued him in the name of the Deity, [TL]
just as Moses before him subjugated the Jews.* [FE]
In all parts of the world we see that priests were the first law-givers and the first sovereigns of the savages whom they governed.
Religion seems to have been invented but to exalt princes above their nations,
and to deliver the people to their discretion.
As soon as the latter find themselves unhappy here below, [TL] they are silenced by menacing them with God's wrath; their eyes are fixed on Heaven [IR], in order to prevent them from perceiving the real causes of their sufferings and from applying the remedies which Nature offers them. [SE]
*The Jews, those individuals descended from Judah, are only a part of the nation of Israel.
147.--By incessantly repeating to men
[1] that the earth is not their true country; [SE]
[2] that the present life is but a passage;
[3] that they were not made to be happy in this world; [TL]
[4] that their sovereigns hold their authority but from God,
and are responsible to Him alone for the misuse of it;
[5] that it is never permitted to them to resist,
the priesthood succeeded in perpetuating the misconduct of the kings and the misfortunes of the people;
the interests of the nations have been cowardly sacrificed to their chiefs.
The more we consider the dogmas and the principles of religion, the more we shall be convinced that their only aim is to give advantage to tyrants and priests;
not having the least regard for the good of society.
In order to mask the powerlessness of these deaf Gods, [SE] religion has succeeded in making mortals believe that it is always iniquity which excites the wrath of Heaven. [TL]
The people blame themselves for the disasters and the adversities which they endure continually.
If disturbed Nature sometimes causes the people to feel its blows, their bad governments are
but too often the immediate and permanent causes from which spring the continual calamities that they are obliged to endure.
Is it not the ambition of kings and of the great, [AE] their negligence, their vices, their oppression,
to which are generally due sterility, mendacity, wars, contagions, bad morals,
and all the multiplied scourges which desolate the earth?
In continually directing the eyes of men toward Heaven [IR], making them believe that all their evils are due to Divine wrath, in furnishing them but inefficient and futile means of lessening their troubles,
it would appear that the only object of the priests is to prevent the nations from dreaming of the true sources of their miseries, and to perpetuate them.
The ministers of religion [IR TL] act like those indigent mothers, who, in need of bread, put their hungry children to sleep by songs, or who present them toys to make them forget the want which torments them.
Blinded from childhood by error, held by the invincible ties of opinion, crushed by panic terrors, stupefied at the bosom of ignorance, how could the people understand the true causes of their troubles?
They think to remedy them by invoking the gods.
Alas! do they not see that it is it the name of these gods that they are ordered to present their throat to the sword [SE] of their pitiless tyrants, in whom they would find the most visible cause of the evils under which they groan, and for which they uselessly implore the assistance of Heaven? [TL]
Credulous people! in your adversities redouble your prayers, your offerings, your sacrifices;
besiege your temples, strangle countless victims, fast in sackcloth and in ashes, drink your own tears; finally, exhaust yourselves to enrich your gods: you will do nothing but enrich their priests; the gods of Heaven [TL] will not be propitious to you, except when the gods of the earth [TL] will recognize that they are men like yourselves, and will give to your welfare the care which is your due.
148.—Negligent, ambitious, and perverse princes are the real causes of public adversities,
of useless and unjust wars continually depopulating the earth, of greedy and despotic governments, destroying the benefactions of Nature for men.
The rapacity of the courts discourages agriculture, blots out industry, causes famine, contagion, misery; Heaven is neither cruel nor favorable to the wishes of the people;
it is their haughty chiefs, who always have a heart of brass.[SE]
It is a notion destructive to wholesome politics and to the morals of princes, to persuade them that God alone is to be feared by them, when they injure their subjects or when they neglect to render them happy. Sovereigns! It is not the Gods, but your people whom you offend when you do evil.
It is to these people, and by retroaction,* to yourselves, that you do harm when you govern unjustly.
*retroaction, noun, a retrospective action, esp a law affecting events prior to its enactment.
Nothing is more common in history than to see religious tyrants;
nothing more rare than to find equitable, vigilant, enlightened princes.
A monarch can be pious, very strict in fulfilling servilely the duties of his religion,
very submissive to his priests, liberal in their behalf,
and at the same time destitute of all the virtues and talents necessary for governing.
Religion for the princes is but an instrument intended to keep the people more firmly under the yoke. According to the beautiful principles of religious morality, a tyrant who, during a long reign, will have done nothing but oppress his subjects, rob them of the fruits of their labor, sacrifice them without pity to his insatiable ambition; a conqueror who will have usurped the provinces of others, who will have slaughtered whole nations, who will have been all his life a real scourge of the human race, imagines that his conscience can be tranquillized, if, in order to expiate so many crimes, he will have wept at the feet of a priest, who will have the cowardly complaisance to console and reassure a brigand*, whom the most frightful despair would punish too little for the evil which he has done upon earth. [IR TL]
*Brigand, noun, a member of a gang that ambushes and robs people in forests and mountains.
149--A sincerely religious sovereign is generally a very dangerous chief for a State;
credulity always indicates a narrow mind;
devotion generally absorbs the attention which the prince ought to give to the ruling of his people.
Docile to the suggestions of his priests, he constantly becomes the toy of their caprices, [TL]
the abettor of their quarrels, the instrument and the accomplice of their follies,
to which he attaches the greatest importance.
Among the most fatal gifts which religion has bestowed upon the world, [IR TL] we must consider above all, these devoted and zealous monarchs, who, with the idea of working for the salvation of their subjects, have made it their sacred duty to torment, to persecute,
to destroy those whose conscience made them think otherwise than they do.
A religious bigot at the head of an empire, is one of the greatest scourges which Heaven in its fury could have sent upon earth. [IR TL]
One fanatical or deceitful priest who has the ear of a credulous and powerful prince, suffices to put a State into disorder and the universe into combustion. [SE]
In almost all countries, priests and devout persons are charged with forming the mind and the heart of the young princes destined to govern the nations.
What enlightenment can teachers of this stamp give?
Filled themselves with prejudices,
they will hold up to their pupil superstition as the most important and the most sacred thing,
its chimerical duties [TL] as the most holy obligations, intolerance, and the spirit of persecution,
as the true foundations of his future authority;
they will try to make him a chief of party, a turbulent fanatic, and a tyrant;
they will suppress at an early period his reason;
they will premonish him against it; they will prevent truth from reaching him;
they will prejudice him against true talents, and prepossess him in favor of despicable talents; finally
they will make of him an imbecile devotee, who will have no idea
of justice or of injustice,
of true glory or of true greatness,
and who will be devoid of the intelligence and virtue necessary to the government of a great kingdom.
Here, in brief, is the plan of education for a child destined to make, one day, the happiness or the misery of several millions of men.
150.--Priests in all times have shown themselves supporters of despotism,
and the enemies of public liberty.
Their profession requires vile and submissive slaves, who never have the audacity to reason.
In an absolute government, their great object is to secure control of the mind of a weak and stupid prince, in order to make themselves masters of the people.
Instead of leading the people to salvation [TL], priests have always led them to servitude.
For the sake of the supernatural titles which religion has forged for the most wicked princes,
the latter have generally united with the priests, who, sure of governing by controlling the opinion of the sovereign himself, have charge of tying the hands of the people and of keeping them under their yoke.
But it is vain that the tyrant, protected by the shield of religion,
flatters himself with being sheltered from all the blows of fate.
Opinion is a weak rampart against the despair of the people.
Besides, the priest is the friend of the tyrant only so long as he finds his profit by the tyranny;
he preaches sedition and demolishes the idol which he has made, when he considers it no longer in conformity with the interests of Heaven, [SE] which he speaks of as he pleases, and which never speaks but in behalf of his interests.
No doubt it will be said, that the sovereigns, knowing all the advantages which religion procures for them, are truly interested in upholding it with all their strength.
If religious opinions are useful to tyrants,
it is evident that they are useless to those who govern according to the laws of reason and of equity.
Is there any advantage in exercising tyranny?
Does not tyranny deprive princes of true power, the love of the people, in which is safety?
Should not every rational prince perceive that the despot is but an insane man who injures himself?
Will not every enlightened prince beware of his flatterers,
whose object is to put him to sleep at the edge of the precipice to which they lead him?
151-160
151.--If the sacerdotal flatteries succeed in perverting princes and changing them into tyrants,
the latter on their side necessarily corrupt the great men and the people.
Under an unjust master, without goodness, without virtue, who knows no law
but his caprice, [TL] a nation must become necessarily depraved.
Will this master wish to have honest, enlightened, and virtuous men near him?
No! he needs flatterers in those who approach him, imitators, slaves, base and servile minds,
who give themselves up to his taste; his court will spread the contagion of vice to the inferior classes.
By degrees all will be necessarily corrupted, in a State whose chief is corrupt himself.
It was said a long time ago that the princes seem ordained to do all they do themselves.
Religion, far from being a restraint upon the sovereigns, entitles them, without fear and without remorse, to the errors which are as fatal to themselves as to the nations which they govern.
Men are never deceived with impunity.
Tell a prince that he is a God, and very soon he will believe that he owes nothing to anybody.
As long as he is feared, he will not care much for love; he will recognize no rights,
no relations with his subjects, nor obligations in their behalf.
Tell this prince that he is responsible for his actions to God alone,
and very soon he will act as if he was responsible to nobody.*
* Anyone believing he is responsible to God alone will act as though he is accountable to no one and, as a result, cannot be a good citizen.
152.—An enlightened sovereign is he who understands his true interests;
he knows they are united to those of his nation;
he knows that a prince can be neither great, nor powerful, nor beloved, nor respected, so long as he will command but miserable slaves;
he knows that equity, benevolence, and vigilance will give him more real rights over men than fabulous titles which claim to come from Heaven.
He will feel that religion is useful but to the priests; that it is useless to society,
which is often troubled by it; that it must be limited to prevent it from doing injury; finally, he will understand that, in order to reign with glory, he must make good laws, possess virtues, and not base his power on impositions and chimeras.[TL]
153.—The ministers of religion [TL] have taken great care to make of their God a terrible, capricious, and changeable tyrant; [TL]
it was necessary for them that He should be thus in order that He might lend Himself to their various interests.
A God who would be just and good, without a mixture of caprice and perversity; [TL]
a God who would constantly have the qualities of an honest man or of a compliant sovereign,
would not suit His ministers.
It is necessary to the priests that we tremble before their God,
in order that we have recourse to them to obtain the means to be quieted.
No man is a hero to his valet de chambre.
It is not surprising that a God clothed by His priests in such a way as to cause others to fear Him,
should rarely impose upon those priests themselves, or exert but little influence upon their conduct.
Consequently we see them behave themselves in a uniform way in every land;
everywhere they devour nations,
debase souls,
discourage industry,
and sow discord under the pretext of the glory of their God. [IR TL]
Ambition and avarice were at all times the dominating passions of the priesthood;
[1] everywhere the priest places himself above the sovereign and the laws;
[2] everywhere we see him occupied but with the interests of his pride, his cupidity,
his despotic and vindictive mood;
[3] everywhere he substitutes expiations, sacrifices, ceremonies, and mysterious practices;
in a word, inventions lucrative to himself for useful and social virtues.
The mind is confounded and reason interdicted with the view of ridiculous practices and pitiable means which the ministers of the gods [IR TL] invented in every country to purify souls and render Heaven favorable to nations.
Here, they practice circumcision upon a child to procure it Divine benevolence;
there, they pour water upon his head to wash away the crimes which he could not yet have committed*;
in other places he is told to plunge himself into a river whose waters have the power to wash away all his impurities;
in other places certain food is forbidden to him, whose use would not fail to excite celestial indignation; [AE] in other countries they order the sinful man to come periodically for the confession of his faults to a priest**, who is often a greater sinner than he.
*Meslier refers to infant baptism for the remitting of original sin.
** Confession, as practiced by the Roman and Orthodox Churches.
154.—What would we say of a crowd of quacks, who every day would exhibit in a public place,
selling their remedies and recommending them as infallible,
while we should find them afflicted with the same infirmities which they pretend to cure?
Would we have much confidence in the recipes of these charlatans, who would bawl out:
"Take our remedies, their effects are infallible—they cure everybody except us?"
What would we think to see these same charlatans pass their lives in complaining that their remedies never produce any effect upon the patients who take them?
Finally, what idea would we form of the foolishness of the common man who, in spite of this confession, would continue to pay very high for remedies which will not be beneficial to him?
The priests resemble alchemists, who boldly assert that they have the secret of making gold,
while they scarcely have clothing enough to cover their nudity.
The ministers of religion [IR TL] incessantly declaim against the corruption of the age,
and complain loudly of the little success of their teachings, at the same time they assure us [IS] that religion is the universal remedy, the true panacea for all human evils.
These priests are sick themselves; however, men continue to frequent their stands and to have faith in their Divine antidotes, [SE] which, according to their own confession, cure nobody!*
* Regardless of the origin of the remedy, whether protestant, Roman, or Orthodox, Christians remain sinners.
155.— Religion, especially among modern people, in taking possession of morality,
totally obscured its principles; it has rendered men unsocial from a sense of duty;
it has forced them to be inhuman toward all those who did not think as they did.
Theological disputes, equally unintelligible for the parties already irritated against each other,
have unsettled empires, caused revolutions, ruined sovereigns, devastated the whole of Europe;
these despicable quarrels could not be extinguished even in rivers of blood.
After the extinction of Paganism the people established a religious principle of going into a frenzy,
every time that an opinion was brought forth which their priests considered contrary to the holy doctrine. [AE]
The votaries of a religion which preaches externally but charity, harmony, and peace,
have shown themselves more ferocious than cannibals or savages every time that their instructors have excited them to the destruction of their brethren.
There is no crime which men have not committed in the idea of pleasing the Deity [TL] or of appeasing His wrath.
The idea of a terrible God who was represented as a despot,
must necessarily have rendered His subjects wicked. [X]
Fear makes but slaves, and slaves are cowardly, low, cruel, and think they have a right to do anything when it is the question of gaining the good-will or of escaping the punishments of the master whom they fear.
Liberty of thought can alone give to men humanity and grandeur of soul.
The notion of a tyrant God can create but abject, angry, quarrelsome, intolerant slaves.
Every religion which supposes
a God easily irritated, jealous, vindictive, punctilious about His rights or His title,
a God small enough to be offended at opinions which we have of Him,
a God unjust enough to exact uniform ideas in regard to Him, such a religion becomes necessarily turbulent, unsocial, sanguinary;
the worshipers of such a God never believe they can, without crime, dispense with hating and even destroying all those whom they designate as adversaries of this God;
they would believe themselves traitors to the cause of their celestial Monarch [IR TL],
if they should live on good terms with rebellious fellow-citizens.
To love what God hates, would it not be exposing one's self to His implacable hatred?
Infamous persecutors, and you, religious cannibals!
will you never feel the folly and injustice of your intolerant disposition?
Do you not see that man is no more the master of his religious opinions, of his credulity or incredulity, than of the language which he learns in childhood, and which he can not change?
To tell men to think as you do, is it not asking a foreigner to express his thoughts in your language?
To punish a man for his erroneous opinions, is it not punishing him for having been educated differently from yourself?
If I am incredulous,
is it possible for me to banish from my mind the reasons which have unsettled my faith?
If God allows men the freedom to damn themselves, is it your business? *
Are you wiser and more prudent than this God whose rights you wish to avenge?
*Meslier alludes to the mindset of Evangelical protestantism.
156.—There is no religious person who, according to his temperament, does not hate, despise,
or pity the adherents of a sect different from his own.
The dominant religion (which is never but that of the sovereign and the armies) always makes its superiority felt in a very cruel and injurious manner toward the weaker sects.
There does not exist yet upon earth [TL] a true tolerance; everywhere a jealous God is worshiped*,
and each nation believes itself His friend to the exclusion of all others.
* “For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.” Exodus 20:5
Every nation boasts itself of worshiping the true God, the universal God, the Sovereign of Nature [TL]; but when we come to examine this Monarch of the world [TL], we perceive that each organization, each sect, each religious party, makes of this powerful God but an inferior sovereign, whose cares and kindness extend themselves but over a small number of His subjects who pretend to have the exclusive advantage of His favors, and that He does not trouble Himself about the others.
The founders of religions, and the priests who maintain them,* have intended to separate the nations which they indoctrinated, from other nations;
they desired to separate their own flock by distinctive features; they gave to their votaries Gods inimical to other Gods as well as the forms of worship, dogmas, ceremonies, separately;
they persuaded them especially that the religions of others were ungodly and abominable.
By this infamous contrivance, these ambitious impostors took exclusive possession of the minds of their votaries, rendered them unsocial, and made them consider as outcasts all those who had not the same ideas and form of worship as their own.
This is the way religion succeeded in closing the heart,
and in banishing from it that affection which man ought to have for his fellow-being.
Sociability, tolerance, humanity,
these first virtues of all morality are totally incompatible with religious prejudices. [X]
* The founders of religions are not identical to the priests that maintain religions. This is contradiction when Meslier writes that the priests founded religion.
157.—Every national religion* has a tendency to make man vain, unsocial, and wicked;
the first step toward humanity is to permit each one to follow peacefully the worship and the opinions which suit him.
But such a conduct can not please the ministers of religion, [IR TL] who wish to have the right to tyrannize over even the thoughts of men.
Blind and bigoted princes, you hate, you persecute, you devote heretics to torture,
because you are persuaded that these unfortunate ones displease God.
But do you not claim that your God is full of kindness?
How can you hope to please Him by such barbarous actions which He can not help disapproving of? Besides, who told you that their opinions displease your God?
Your priests told you!
But who guarantees that your priests are not deceived themselves
or that they do not wish to deceive you?
It is these same priests!
Princes! it is upon the perilous word of your priests that you commit the most atrocious and the most unheard-of crimes, with the idea of pleasing the Deity! [TL]
*Mislier leaves the possibility that a beneficial cosmopolitan religion may exist.
158.—"Never," says Pascal, "do we do evil so thoroughly and so willingly as when we do it through a false principle of conscience."
Nothing is more dangerous than a religion which licenses the ferocity of the people, and justifies in their eyes the blackest crimes; it puts no limits to their wickedness as soon as they believe it authorized by their God, whose interests, as they are told, can justify all their actions.
If there is a question of religion, immediately the most civilized nations become true savages,
and believe everything is permitted to them.
The more cruel they are, the more agreeable they suppose themselves to be to their God,
whose cause they imagine can not be sustained by too much zeal.
All religions of the world [IR TL] have authorized countless crimes.
The Jews, excited by the promises of their God,*
arrogated to themselves the right of exterminating whole nations;
the Romans, whose faith was founded upon the oracles of their Gods, became real brigands,
and conquered and ravaged the world;
the Arabians, encouraged by their Divine preceptor,
carried the sword and the flame among Christians and idolaters.
The Christians, under pretext of spreading their holy religion,
covered the two hemispheres** [IS] a hundred times with blood.
In all events favorable to their own interests, which they always call the cause of God,
the priests show us the finger of God. [IR SE]
According to these principles, religious bigots have the luck of seeing the finger of God [IR SE] in revolts, in revolutions, massacres, regicides, prostitutions, infamies, and, if these things contribute to the advantage of religion, we can say, then, that God uses all sorts of means to secure His ends. [x]
Is there anything better calculated to annihilate every idea of morality in the minds of men,
than to make them understand that their God, who is so powerful and so perfect,
is often compelled to use crime to accomplish His designs?
*Quam olim Abrahae promisti et semini ejus.
** It is redundant to write “two” when referring to “hemispheres”.
159.—When we complain about the violence and evils which generally religion causes upon earth, [IR TL] we are answered at once, that these excesses are not due to religion,
but that they are the sad effect of men's passions.
I would ask, however, what unchained these passions?
It is evidently religion; it is a zeal which renders inhuman, and which serves to cover the greatest infamy. Do not these disorders prove that religion, instead of restraining the passions of men,
does but cover them with a cloak that sanctifies them; and that nothing would be more beneficial than to tear away this sacred cloak of which men make such a bad use?
What horrors would be banished from society, if the wicked were deprived of a pretext so plausible for disturbing it!
Instead of cherishing peace among men, the priests stirred up hatred and strife.
They pleaded their conscience, and pretended to have received from Heaven the right to be quarrelsome, turbulent, and rebellious.
Do not the ministers of God [IR TL] consider themselves to be wronged, do they not pretend that His Divine Majesty [IR TL] is injured every time that the sovereigns have the temerity to try to prevent them from doing injury?
The priests resemble that irritable woman, who cried out “Fire! Murder! Assassins!” while her husband was holding her hands to prevent her from beating him.*
*Quotation marks and capitalization added for clarification.
160.—Notwithstanding the bloody tragedies [TL] which religion has so often caused in this world, [IR TL]
we are constantly told [IS] that there can be no morality without religion.
If we judge theological opinions by their effects, we would be right in assuming that all morality is perfectly incompatible with the religious opinions of men. [x]
"Imitate God," is constantly repeated to us.
Ah! what morals would we have if we should imitate this God!
Which God should we imitate?
Is it the deist's God?
But even this God can not be a model of goodness for us.
If He is the author of all, [IR]
He is equally the author of the good and of the bad we see in this world;* [IR]
if He is the author of order, [IR] He is also the author of disorder, [IR] which would not exist without His permission;
if He produces, He destroys;
if He gives life, He also causes death;
if He grants abundance, riches, prosperity, and peace,
He permits or sends famines, poverty, calamities, and wars.
How can you accept as a model of permanent beneficence the God of theism [TL] or of natural religion, whose favorable intentions are at every moment contradicted by everything that transpires in the world? [IS]
Morality needs a firmer basis than the example of a God whose conduct varies, [x] and whom we can not call good but by obstinately closing the eyes to the evil which He causes,
or permits to be done in this world. [IR TL]
* ”I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” Isaiah 45:7
Shall we imitate the good and great Jupiter of ancient Paganism?
To imitate such a God would be to take as a model a rebellious son,
who wrests his father's throne from him and then mutilates his body; *
it is imitating a debauchee and adulterer, an incestuous, intemperate man,
whose conduct would cause any reasonable mortal to blush.
What would have become of men under the control of Paganism if they had imagined,
according to Plato, that virtue consisted in imitating the gods?
* Jupiter castrates his father, Saturn.
Must we imitate the God of the Jews?
Will we find a model for our conduct in Jehovah?
He is truly a savage God, really created for an ignorant, cruel, and immoral people;
He is a God who is constantly enraged, breathing only vengeance; who is without pity,
who commands carnage and robbery; in a word, He is a God whose conduct can not serve as a model to an honest man, and who can be imitated but by a chief of brigands.
Shall we imitate, then, the Jesus of the Christians?
Can this God, who died to appease the implacable fury of His Father,
serve as an example which men ought to follow?
Alas! we will see in Him but a God, or rather a fanatic, a misanthrope, who being plunged Himself into misery, and preaching to the wretched, advises them to be poor, to combat and extinguish Nature, [SE]
to hate pleasure, to seek sufferings, and to despise themselves;
He tells them to leave father, mother, all the ties of life, in order to follow Him.
What beautiful morality! you will say. [IS]
It is admirable, no doubt; it must be Divine, because it is impracticable for men. [x]
But does not this sublime morality tend to render virtue despicable?
According to this boasted morality of the man-God of the Christians, [SE] His disciples in this lower world [TL] are, like Tantalus, tormented with burning thirst, which they are not permitted to quench.
Do not such morals give us a wonderful idea of Nature's Author? [IR]
If He has, as we are assured,[IS] created everything for the use of His creatures, by what strange caprice [TL] does He forbid the use of the good things which He has created for them?
Is the pleasure which man constantly desires but a snare that God has maliciously laid in his path to entrap him? [TL]
161-170
161.—The votaries of Christ would like to make us regard as a miracle the establishment of their religion, which
[1] is in every respect contrary to Nature,
[2] opposed to all the inclinations of the heart,
[3] an enemy to physical pleasures.
But the austerity of a doctrine has a tendency to render it more wonderful to the ignorant.
The same reason which makes us respect, as Divine and supernatural, inconceivable mysteries,
causes us to admire, as Divine and supernatural, a morality impracticable and beyond the power of man. [x]
To admire morals and to practice them, are two very different things.
All the Christians continually admire the morals of the Gospel,
but it is practiced but by a small number of saints;
admired by people who themselves avoid imitating their conduct, under the pretext that they are lacking either the power or the grace.
The whole universe is infected more or less with a religious morality which is founded upon the opinion that to please the Deity [TL] it is necessary to render one's self unhappy upon earth. [IS]
We see in all parts of our globe [TL] penitents, hermits, fakirs, fanatics, who seem to have studied profoundly the means of tormenting themselves for the glory of a Being whose goodness they all agree in celebrating.
Religion, by its essence, is the enemy of joy and of the welfare of men.
"Blessed are those who suffer!"
Woe to those who have abundance and joy!
These are the rare revelations which Christianity teaches!
162.—In what consists the saint of all religions?
It is a man who prays, fasts, who torments himself, who avoids the world, who, like an owl, is pleased but in solitude, who abstains from all pleasure, who seems frightened at every object which turns him a moment from his fanatical meditations.
Is this virtue?
Is a being of this stamp of any use to himself or to others?
Would not society be dissolved, and would not men retrograde into barbarism,
if each one should be fool enough to wish to be a saint?
It is evident that the literal and rigorous practice of the Divine morality of the Christians would lead nations to ruin.
A Christian who would attain perfection, ought to drive away from his mind all that can alienate him from Heaven—his true country.[SE]
He sees upon earth but temptations, snares, [TL] and opportunities to go astray;
[1] he must fear science as injurious to faith;
[2] he must avoid industry, as it is a means of obtaining riches, which are fatal to salvation;
[3] he must renounce preferments and honors, as things capable of exciting his pride and calling his attention away from his soul; in a word, the sublime morality of Christ,
if it were not impracticable, would sever all the ties of society. [x]
A saint in the world [IR TL] is no more useful than a saint in the desert; the saint has an unhappy, discontented, and often irritable, turbulent disposition;
his zeal often obliges him, conscientiously, to disturb society by opinions or dreams which his vanity makes him accept as inspirations from Heaven.
The annals of all religions are filled with accounts of anxious, intractable, seditious saints,
who have distinguished themselves by ravages that, for the greater glory of God, [IR TL] they have scattered throughout the universe. [SE]
If the saints who live in solitude are useless, those who live in the world [IR TL] are very often dangerous.
The vanity of performing a role, [SE] the desire of distinguishing themselves in the eyes of the stupid vulgar by a strange conduct, constitute usually the distinctive characteristics of great saints;
pride persuades them that they are extraordinary men, far above human nature; beings who are more perfect than others; chosen ones, [IR TL] which God looks upon with more complaisance than the rest of mortals.
Humility in a saint is, is a general rule, but a pride more refined than that of common men.
It must be a very ridiculous vanity which can determine a man to continually war with his own nature!
163.—A morality which contradicts the nature of man is not made for him.
But you will say that man's nature is depraved.
In what consists this pretended depravity?
Is it because he has passions?
But are not passions the very essence of man?
Must he not seek, desire, love that which is, or that which he believes to be, essential to his happiness? Must he not fear and avoid that which he judges injurious or fatal to him?
Excite his passions by useful objects; let him attach himself to these same objects,
divert him by sensible and known motives from that which can do him or others harm,
and you will make of him a reasonable and virtuous being.
A man without passions would be equally indifferent to vice and to virtue.
Holy doctors!
you constantly tell us [IR IS] that man's nature is perverted;
you tell us [IR IS] that the way of all flesh is corrupt*;
you tell us [IS] that Nature gives us but inordinate inclinations.
In this case you accuse your God,
who has not been able or willing to keep this nature in its original perfection.
If this nature became corrupted, why did not this God repair it? [x]
The Christian assures me [IR IS] that human nature is repaired,
that the death of his God has reestablished it in its integrity.
How comes it then, that human nature, notwithstanding the death of a God, is still depraved?
Is it, then, a pure loss that your God died?
What becomes of His omnipotence and His victory over the Devil, if it is true that the Devil still holds the empire [SE] which, according to you, he has always exercised in the world? [IS]
* “All flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth…” Genesis 6:12
Death, according to Christian theology, is the penalty of sin.*
This opinion agrees with that of some savage Negro nations,
who imagine that the death of a man is always the supernatural effect of the wrath of the Gods.
The Christians firmly believe that Christ has delivered them from sin, [IR TL] while they see that, in their religion as in the others, man is subject to death.
To say that Jesus Christ has delivered us from sin, [IR TL] is it not claiming that a judge has granted pardon to a guilty man, while we see him sent to torture?
* “For the wages of sin is death;...” Romans 6:23
164.--If, closing our eyes upon all that transpires in this world, [IR TL] we should rely upon the votaries of the Christian religion, we would believe that the coming of our Divine Saviour has produced the most wonderful revolution and the most complete reform in the morals of nations.
The Messiah, [IR TL] according to Pascal, (See Thoughts of Pascal) ought of Himself alone to produce a great, select, and holy people; conducting and nourishing it, and introducing it into the place of repose and sanctity, rendering it holy to God, making it the temple of God, saving it from the wrath of God, [TL] delivering it from the servitude of sin [SE], giving laws to this people, engraving these laws upon their hearts,* offering Himself to God for them, crushing the head of the serpent, etc.
This great man has forgotten to show us the people upon whom His Divine Messiah [IR TL] has produced the miraculous effects of which He speaks with so much emphasis; so far, it seems, they do not exist upon the earth! [IR TL]
* Romans 2:15
If we examine ever so little the morals of the Christian nations, and listen to the clamors of their priests, we will be obliged to conclude that their God, Jesus [PS] Christ, preached without fruit, without success; that His Almighty will still finds in men a resistance, over which this God either can not or does not wish to triumph.
The morality of this Divine Doctor which His disciples admire so much, and practice so little, [x]
is followed during a whole century but by half a dozen of obscure saints, fanatical and ignorant monks, who alone will have the glory of shining in the celestial court; [SE] all the remainder of mortals, although redeemed by the blood of this God, will be the prey of eternal flames.* [TL]
*Redemption, it seems, is not synonymous with salvation. Those “redeemed by the blood” can be sent to Hell.
165.—When a man has a great desire to sin, he thinks very little about his God; more than this,
whatever crimes he may have committed, he always flatters himself that this God will mitigate the severity of his punishments.
No mortal seriously believes that his conduct can damn him. [x]
Although he fears a terrible God, who often makes him tremble, every time he is strongly tempted he succumbs and sees but a God of mercy, the idea of whom quiets him.
Does he do evil?
He hopes to have the time to correct himself, and promises earnestly to repent some day.
There are in the religious pharmacy [SE] infallible receipts for calming the conscience;
the priests in every country possess sovereign secrets for disarming the wrath of Heaven. [TL]
However true it may be that the anger of Deity is appeased by prayers, by offerings, by sacrifices, by penitential tears, we have no right to say that religion holds in check the irregularities of men;
they will first sin, and afterward seek the means to reconcile God.
Every religion which expiates, and which promises the remission of crimes, [SE]
if it restrains any, it encourages the great number to commit evil.
Notwithstanding His immutability, God is, in all the religions of this world, [TL] a veritable Proteus.
His priests show Him
now armed with severity, and then full of clemency and gentleness;
now cruel and pitiless, and then easily reconciled by the repentance and the tears of the sinners.
Consequently, men face the Deity [TL] in the manner which conforms the most to their present interests. [x]
An always wrathful God would repel His worshipers, or cast them into despair.
Men need a God who becomes angry and who can be appeased;
if His anger alarms a few timid souls, His clemency reassures the determined wicked ones who intend to have recourse sooner or later to the means of reconciling themselves with Him;
if the judgments of God frighten a few faint-hearted devotees who already by temperament and by habitude are not inclined to evil, the treasures of Divine mercy [TL] reassure the greatest criminals, who have reason to hope that they will participate in them with the others.
166.—The majority of men rarely think of God, or, at least, do not occupy themselves much with Him.
The idea of God has so little stability, it is so afflicting, that it can not hold the imagination for a long time, except in some sad and melancholy visionists who do not constitute the majority of the inhabitants of this world. [TL]
The common man has no conception of it;
his weak brain becomes perplexed the moment he attempts to think of Him.
The business man thinks of nothing but his affairs; the courtier of his intrigues; worldly men, women, youth, of their pleasures; dissipation soon dispels the wearisome notions of religion.
The ambitious, the avaricious, and the debauchee sedulously lay aside speculations too feeble to counterbalance their diverse passions.
Whom does the idea of God overawe?
A few weak men disappointed and disgusted with this world; [IR TL] some persons whose passions are already extinguished by age, by infirmities, or by reverses of fortune.
Religion is a restraint but for those whose temperament or circumstances have already subjected them to reason.
The fear of God does not prevent any from committing sin but those who do not wish to sin very much, or who are no longer in a condition to sin.
To tell men that Divinity punishes crime in this world, [TL]
is to claim as a fact that which experience contradicts constantly. [x]
The most wicked men are usually the arbiters of the world, [SE]
and those whom fortune blesses with its favors.
To convince us of the judgments of God by sending us to the other life, [SE] is to make us accept conjectures in order to destroy facts which we can not dispute.
167.—No one dreams about another life [AE] when he is very much absorbed in objects which he meets on earth.
In the eyes of a passionate lover, the presence of his mistress extinguishes the fires of Hell, [TL] and her charms blot out all the pleasures of Paradise. [SE]
Woman! you leave, you say, [IS] your lover for your God?
It is that your lover is no longer the same in your estimation; or your lover leaves you,
and you must fill the void which is made in your heart.
Nothing is more common than to see ambitious, perverse, corrupt, and immoral men who are religious, [x] and who sometimes exhibit even zeal in its behalf;
if they do not practice religion, they promise themselves they will practice it some day;
they keep it in reserve as a remedy which, sooner or later, will be necessary to quiet the conscience for the evil which they intend yet to do.
Besides, devotees and priests being a very numerous, active, and powerful party,
it is not astonishing to see impostors and thieves seek for its support in order to gain their ends. [x]
We will be told, no doubt, that many honest people are sincerely religious without profit;
but is uprightness of heart always accompanied with intelligence?
We are cited to a great number of learned men, men of genius, who are very religious.
This proves that men of genius can have prejudices, can be pusillanimous*, can have an imagination which seduces them and prevents them from examining objects coolly.
Pascal proves nothing in favor of religion, except that a man of genius can possess a grain of weakness, and is but a child when he is weak enough to listen to prejudices.
Pascal himself tells us "that the mind can be strong and narrow, and just as extended as it is weak."
He says more: "We can have our senses all right, and not be equally able in all things; because there are men who, being right in a certain sphere of things, lose themselves in others."
*Pusillanimous, adjective, showing a lack of courage or determination; timid.
168.—What is virtue according to theology?
It is, we are told, [IS] the conformity of men's actions with the will of God.
But who is God?
He is a being whom no one is able to conceive of, and whom, consequently, each one modifies in his own way.
What is the will of God?
It is what men who have seen God, or whom God has inspired, have told us.
Who are those who have seen God?
They are either fanatics, or scoundrels, or ambitious men, whose word we can not rely upon.
To found morality upon a God
[1] that each man represents differently,
[2] that each one composes by his own idea,
[3] whom everybody arranges according to his own temperament and his own interest,
is evidently founding morality upon the caprice and upon the imagination of men; [TL]
it is basing it upon the whims of a sect, faction, or party, who, excluding all others,
claim to have the advantage of worshiping the true God.
To establish morality, or the duties of man, upon the Divine will, is founding it upon the wishes,
the reveries, or the interests of those who make God talk without fear of contradiction.
In every religion the priests alone have the right to decide upon what pleases or displeases their God;
we may rest assured [IS] that they will decide upon what pleases or displeases themselves.
The dogmas, ceremonies, the morality and the virtues which all religions of the world [IR TL] prescribe, are visibly calculated only to extend the power or to increase the emoluments of the founders and of the ministers of these religions; [TL]
the dogmas are obscure, inconceivable, frightful, and, thereby, very liable to cause the imagination to wander, and to render the common man more docile to those who wish to domineer over him;
the ceremonies and practices procure fortune or consideration to the priests;
the religious morals and virtues consist in a submissive faith, which prevents reasoning;
in a devout humility, which assures to the priests the submission of their slaves;
in an ardent zeal, when the question of religion is agitated; that is to say, when the interest of these priests is considered, all religious virtues having evidently for their object the advantage of the priests.[x]
169.—When we reproach the theologians with the sterility of their religious virtues, they praise,
with emphasis, charity, that tender love of our neighbor which Christianity makes an essential duty for its disciples.
But, alas! what becomes of this pretended charity as soon as we examine the actions of the Lord's ministers? [AE]
Ask if you must love your neighbor if he is impious, heretical, and incredulous, that is to say,
if he does not think as they do?
Ask them if you must tolerate opinions contrary to those which they profess?
Ask them if the Lord can show indulgence to those who are in error?
Immediately their charity disappears, and the dominating clergy will tell you that the prince carries the sword but to sustain the interests of the Most High; [AE] they will tell you that for love of the neighbor, you must persecute, imprison, exile, or burn him.
You will find tolerance among a few priests who are persecuted themselves,
but who put aside Christian charity as soon as they have the power to persecute in their turn.
The Christian religion which was originally preached by beggars and by very wretched men*, [FE] strongly recommends alms-giving under the name of charity;
the faith of Mohammed equally makes it an indispensable duty.
Nothing, no doubt, is better suited to humanity than to assist the unfortunate, to clothe the naked,
to lend a charitable hand to whoever needs it.
But would it not be more humane and more charitable to foresee the misery and to prevent the poor from increasing? [SE]
If religion, instead of deifying princes, had but taught them
to respect the property of their subjects,
to be just, and
to exercise but their legitimate rights,
we should not see such a great number of mendicants in their realms.
A greedy, unjust, tyrannical government multiplies misery; the rigor of taxes produces discouragement, idleness, indigence, which, on their part, produce robbery, murders, and all kinds of crime.
If the sovereigns had more humanity, charity, and justice, their States would not be peopled by so many unfortunate ones whose misery becomes impossible to soothe.
*list jobs of apostles
The Christian and Mohammedan States are filled with vast and richly endowed hospitals,
in which we admire the pious charity of the kings and of the sultans who erected them.
Would it not have been more humane
to govern the people well,
to procure them ease,
to excite and to favor industry and trade,
to permit them to enjoy in safety the fruits of their labors, than
to oppress them under a despotic yoke,
to impoverish them by senseless wars,
to reduce them to mendicity in order to gratify an immoderate luxury, and afterward build sumptuous monuments which can contain but a very small portion of those whom they have rendered miserable?
Religion, by its virtues, has but given a change to men;
instead of foreseeing evils, it applies but insufficient remedies.
The ministers of Heaven [SE] have always known how to benefit themselves by the calamities of others; public misery became their element; they made themselves
the administrators of the goods of the poor,
the distributors of alms,
the depositaries of charities;
thereby they extended and sustained at all times their power over the unfortunates who usually compose the most numerous,
the most anxious,
the most seditious part of society.
Thus the greatest evils are made profitable to the ministers of the Lord.[TL]
The Christian priests tell us that the goods which they possess are the goods of the poor, and pretend by this title that their possessions are sacred; consequently, the sovereigns and the people press themselves to accumulate lands, revenues, treasures for them; under pretext of charity, our spiritual guides [AE] have become very opulent, and enjoy, in the sight of the impoverished nations, goods which were destined but for the miserable; the latter, far from murmuring about it, applaud a deceitful generosity which enriches the Church, but which very rarely alleviates the sufferings of the poor.
According to the principles of Christianity, poverty itself is a virtue, and it is this virtue which the sovereigns and the priests make their slaves observe the most. [x]
According to these ideas, a great number of pious Christians have renounced with good-will the perishable riches of the earth; [IR Tl] have distributed their patrimony to the poor,
and have retired into a desert to live a life of voluntary indigence.
But very soon this enthusiasm, this supernatural taste for misery, [SE] must surrender to Nature.
The successors to these voluntary poor, sold to the religious people their prayers and their powerful intercession with the Deity; [TL] they became rich and powerful; thus, monks and hermits lived in idleness, and, under the pretext of charity, devoured insultingly the substance of the poor.
Poverty of spirit was that of which religion made always the greatest use.
The fundamental virtue of all religion, that is to say, the most useful one to its ministers, is faith.
It consists in an unlimited credulity, which causes men to believe, without examination, all that which the interpreters of the Deity [AE] wish them to believe.
With the aid of this wonderful virtue, the priests became the arbiters of justice and of injustice;
of good and of evil; they found it easy to commit crimes when crimes became necessary to their interests.
Implicit faith has been the source of the greatest outrages which have been committed upon the earth.[IR TL]
170.—He who first proclaimed to the nations that, when man had wronged man, he must ask God's pardon, appease His wrath by presents, and offer Him sacrifices, obviously subverted the true principles of morality.
According to these ideas, men imagine that they can obtain from the King of Heaven [TL], as well as from the kings of the earth, [TL] permission to be unjust and wicked, or at least pardon for the evil which they might commit.
Morality is founded upon the relations, the needs,
and the constant interests of the inhabitants of the earth; [TL]
the relations which subsist between men and God are either entirely unknown or imaginary. [x]
The religion associating God with men has visibly weakened or destroyed the ties which unite men.
Mortals imagine that they can, with impunity, injure each other by making a suitable reparation to the Almighty Being [TL], who is supposed to have the right to remit all the injuries done to His creatures.
Is there anything more liable to encourage wickedness and to embolden to crime, than to persuade men that there exists an invisible being who has the right to pardon injustice, rapine, perfidy, and all the outrages they can inflict upon society?
Encouraged by these fatal ideas, we see the most perverse men abandon themselves to the greatest crimes, and expect to repair them by imploring Divine mercy; [TL] their conscience rests in peace* [SE] when a priest assures them that Heaven is quieted by sincere repentance, which is very useless to the world; [IR TL] this priest consoles them in the name of Deity,
if they consent in reparation of their faults to divide with His ministers the fruits
of their plunderings,
of their frauds, and
of their wickedness.
Morality united to religion, becomes necessarily subordinate to it.
In the mind of a religious person, God must be preferred to His creatures;
"It is better to obey Him than men!"
The interests of the Celestial Monarch [TL] must be above those of weak mortals.
But the interests of Heaven [SE] are evidently the interests of the ministers of Heaven; [SE] from which it follows evidently, that in all religions, the priests, under pretext of Heaven's interest's, or of God's glory, will be able to dispense with the duties of human morals when they do not agree with the duties which God is entitled to impose.
*”Requicat in Pace”, or “Rest in Peace”, is noxxxxx, but is found on tombstones.
Besides, He who has the power to pardon crimes, has He not the right to order them committed?[x]
171-180
171.—We are constantly told [IR] that without a God, there can be no moral obligation; that it is necessary for men and for the sovereigns themselves to have a lawgiver sufficiently powerful to compel them to be moral; moral obligation implies a law;
but this law arises from the eternal and necessary relations of things among themselves,
which have nothing in common with the existence of a God.
The rules which govern men's conduct spring from their own nature, which they are supposed to know, and not from the Divine Nature, [TL] of which they have no conception;
these rules compel us to render ourselves
estimable or contemptible,
amiable or hateful,
worthy of reward or of punishments,
happy or unhappy, according to the extent to which we observe them.
The law that compels man not to harm himself, is inherent in the nature of a sensible being, who, no matter how he came into this world, or what can be his fate in another, is compelled by his very nature
to seek his welfare and to shun evil,
to love pleasure and to fear pain.
The law which compels a man not to harm others and to do good, is inherent in the nature of sensible beings living in society, who, by their nature, are compelled
to despise those who do them no good, and
to detest those who oppose their happiness.
Whether there exists a God or not, whether this God has spoken or not,
men's moral duties will always be the same so long as they possess their own nature; that is to say,
so long as they are sensible beings.
Do men need a God whom they do not know, or an invisible lawgiver, or a mysterious religion, or chimerical fears [TL] in order to comprehend that all excess tends ultimately to destroy them, and that in order to preserve themselves they must abstain from it; that in order to be loved by others, they must do good; that doing evil is a sure means of incurring their hatred and vengeance?
"Before the law there was no sin."
Nothing is more false than this maxim.
It is enough for a man to be what he is,
to be a sensible being in order to distinguish that which pleases or displeases him.
It is enough that a man knows that another man is a sensible being like himself,
in order for him to know what is useful or injurious to him.
It is enough that man needs his fellow-creature,
in order that he should fear that he might produce unfavorable impressions upon him.
Thus a sentient and thinking being needs but to feel and to think,
in order to discover that which is due to him and to others. [x]
I feel, and another feels, like myself; this is the foundation of all morality.
172.—We can judge of the merit of a system of morals but by its conformity with man's nature.
According to this comparison, we have a right to reject it,
if we find it detrimental to the welfare of mankind.
Whoever has seriously meditated upon religion and its supernatural morality,
whoever has weighed its advantages and disadvantages, will become convinced that they are both injurious to the interests of the human race, or directly opposed to man's nature.
"People, to arms! Your God's cause is at stake! Heaven is outraged! [AE] Faith is in danger!
Down upon infidelity, blasphemy, and heresy!"
By the magical power of these valiant words, which the people never understand, the priests in all ages were the leaders in the revolts of nations, in dethroning kings, in kindling civil wars,
and in imprisoning men.
When we chance to examine the important objects which have excited the Celestial wrath [TL] and produced so many ravages upon the earth, [IR TL] it is found that the foolish reveries and the strange conjectures of some theologian who did not understand himself, or, the pretensions of the clergy,
have severed all ties of society and inundated the human race in its own blood and tears.
173.—The sovereigns of this world [TL] in associating the Deity [TL] in the government of their realms,
in pretending to be His lieutenants and His representatives upon earth, [IR, IS] in admitting that they hold their power from Him, must necessarily accept His ministers as rivals or as masters.
Is it, then, astonishing that the priests have often made the kings feel the superiority of the Celestial Monarch? [TL]
Have they not more than once made the temporal princes understand that the greatest physical power is compelled to surrender to the spiritual power of opinion? [SE]
Nothing is more difficult than to serve two masters,
especially when they do not agree upon what they demand of their subjects.
The union of religion with politics has necessarily caused a double legislation in the States.
The law of God, interpreted by His priests, is often contrary to the law of the sovereign or to the interest of the State.
When the princes are firm, and sure of the love of their subjects, God's law is sometimes obliged to comply with the wise intentions of the temporal sovereign; but more often the sovereign authority is obliged to retreat before the Divine authority, that is to say, before the interests of the clergy.
Nothing is more dangerous for a prince, than to meddle with ecclesiastical affairs (to put his hands into the holy-water pot), that is to say, to attempt the reform of abuses consecrated by religion.
God is never more angry than when the Divine rights, the privileges, the possessions, and the immunities of His priests are interfered with.
Metaphysical speculations or the religious opinions of men,
never influence their conduct except when they believe them conformed to their interests.
Nothing proves this truth more forcibly than the conduct of a great number of princes in regard to the spiritual power, which we see them very often resist.
Should not a sovereign who is persuaded of the importance and the rights of religion, conscientiously feel himself obliged to receive with respect the orders of his priests, and consider them as commandments of the Deity? [IR]
There was a time when the kings and the people, more conformable, and convinced of the rights of the spiritual power, became its slaves, surrendered to it on all occasions, and were but docile instruments in its hands; this happy time is no more.
By a strange inconsistency, we sometimes see the most religious monarchs oppose the enterprises of those whom they regard as God's ministers.
A sovereign who is filled with religion or respect for his God, ought to be constantly prostrate before his priests, and regard them as his true sovereigns.
Is there a power upon the earth which has the right to measure itself with that of the Most High? [AE]
174.—Have the princes who believe themselves interested in propagating the prejudices of their subjects, reflected well upon the effects which are produced by privileged demagogues, who have the right to speak when they choose, and excite in the name of Heaven the passions of many millions of their subjects? What ravages would not these holy haranguers cause should they conspire to disturb a State,
as they have so often done?
Nothing is more onerous and more ruinous for the greatest part of the nations than the worship of their Gods!
Everywhere their ministers not only rank as the first order in the State, but also enjoy the greater portion of society's benefits, and have the right to levy continual taxes upon their fellow-citizens.
What real advantages do these organs of the Most High [IS] procure for the people in exchange for the immense profits which they draw from them?
Do they give them in exchange for their wealth and their courtesies anything but mysteries, hypotheses, ceremonies, subtle questions, interminable quarrels, which very often their States must pay for with their blood?
175.—Religion, which claims to be the firmest support of morality, evidently deprives it of its true motor, to substitute imaginary motors, inconceivable chimeras, [TL] which, being obviously contrary to common sense, can not be firmly believed by any one.
Everybody assures us [IS] that he believes firmly in a God who rewards and punishes; everybody claims to be persuaded of the existence of a Hell and of a Paradise; [TL] however, do we see that these ideas render men better or counterbalance in the minds of the greatest number of them the slightest interest?
Each one assures us [IS] that he is afraid of God's judgments, although each one gives vent to his passions when he believes himself sure of escaping the judgments of men. [x]
The fear of invisible powers is rarely as great as the fear of visible powers.
Unknown or distant sufferings make less impression upon people than the erected gallows,
or the example of a hanged man.
There is scarcely any courtier who fears God's anger more than the displeasure of his master.
A pension, a title, a ribbon, are sufficient to make one forget the torments of Hell [IR TL] and the pleasures of the celestial court. [IR TL]
A woman's caresses expose him every day to the displeasure of the Most High. [AE]
A joke, a banter, a bon-mot, make more impression upon the man of the world [IR TL] than all the grave notions of his religion.
Are we not assured [IS] that a true repentance is sufficient to appease Divinity? [TL]
However, we do not see that this true repentance is sincerely expressed; at least, we very rarely see great thieves, even in the hour of death, [TL] restore the goods which they know they have unjustly acquired.
Men persuade themselves, no doubt, that they will submit to the eternal fire, [IR TL]
if they can not guarantee themselves against it.
But as settlements can be made with Heaven [SE] by giving the Church a portion of their fortunes,
there are very few religious thieves who do not die perfectly quieted about the manner in which they gained their riches in this world.[IR TL]
176.—Even by the confession of the most ardent defenders of religion and of its usefulness,
nothing is more rare than sincere conversions; to which we might add, nothing is more useless to society. [x]
Men do not become disgusted with the world until the world is disgusted with them;
a woman gives herself to God only when the world no longer wants her.
Her vanity finds in religious devotion a role which occupies her and consoles her for the ruin of her charms.
She passes her time in the most trifling practices, parties, intrigues, invectives, and slander; zeal furnishes her the means of distinguishing herself and becoming an object of consideration in the religious circle.
If the bigots have the talent to please God and His priests, they rarely possess that of pleasing society
or of rendering themselves useful to it.
Religion for a devotee is a veil which covers and justifies all his passions, his pride, his bad humor, his anger, his vengeance, his impatience, his bitterness.
Religion arrogates to itself a tyrannical superiority which banishes from commerce all gentleness, gaiety, and joy; it gives the right to censure others; to capture and to exterminate the infidels for the glory of God; [IR TL] it is very common to be religious and to have none of the virtues or the qualities necessary to social life.
177.—We are assured [IS] that the dogma of another life [IR TL] is of the greatest importance to the peace of society; it is imagined that without it men would have no motives for doing good.
Why do we need terrors and fables to teach any reasonable man how he ought to conduct himself upon earth? [IR TL]
Does not each one of us see that he has the greatest interest in deserving the approbation, esteem,
and kindness of the beings which surround him, and in avoiding all that can cause the censure,
the contempt, and the resentment of society?
No matter how short the duration of a festival, of a conversation, or of a visit may be, does not each one of us wish to act a befitting part in it, agreeable to himself and to others?
If life is but a passage, [TL] let us try to make it easy;
it can not be so if we lack the regards of those who travel with us.
Religion, which is so sadly occupied with its gloomy reveries, represents man to us as but a pilgrim upon earth; [IR TL] it concludes that in order to travel with more safety, he should travel alone;
renounce the pleasures which he meets and deprive himself of the amusements which could console him for the fatigues and the weariness of the road. [SE]
A stoical and morose philosophy sometimes gives us counsels as senseless as religion;
but a more rational philosophy inspires us to strew flowers on life's pathway; [SE]
to dispel melancholy and panic terrors;
to link our interests with those of our traveling companions; [SE]
to divert ourselves by gaiety and honest pleasures from the pains and the crosses to which we are so often exposed. [SE]
We are made to feel, that in order to travel pleasantly, we should abstain from that which could become injurious to ourselves, and to avoid with great care that which could make us odious to our associates.[SE]
178.—It is asked what motives has an atheist for doing right.
He can have the motive of pleasing himself and his fellow-creatures; of living happily and tranquilly;
of making himself loved and respected by men, whose existence and whose dispositions are better known than those of a being impossible to understand.
Can he who fears not the Gods, fear anything?
He can fear men, their contempt, their disrespect, and the punishments which the laws inflict; finally,
he can fear himself; he can be afraid of the remorse that all those experience whose conscience reproaches them for having deserved the hatred of their fellow-beings.
Conscience is the inward testimony which we render to ourselves for having acted in such a manner as to deserve the esteem or the censure of those with whom we associate.
This conscience is based upon the knowledge which we have of men,
and of the sentiments which our actions must awaken in them.
A religious person's conscience persuades him that he has pleased or displeased his God, of whom he has no idea, and whose obscure and doubtful intentions are explained to him only by suspicious men,
who know no more of the essence of Divinity [TL] than he does,
and who do not agree upon what can please or displease God.
In a word, the conscience of a credulous man is guided by men whose own conscience is in error,
or whose interest extinguishes intelligence.
Can an atheist have conscience?
What are his motives for abstaining from secret vices and crimes of which other men are ignorant,
and which are beyond the reach of laws?
He can be assured by constant experience that there is no vice which, in the nature of things, does not bring its own punishment.
If he wishes to preserve himself, he will avoid all those excesses which can be injurious to his health;
he would not desire to live and linger, thus becoming a burden to himself and others. [SE]
In regard to secret crimes, he would avoid them through fear of being ashamed of himself, from whom he can not hide. *
If he has reason, he will know the price of the esteem that an honest man should have for himself.
He will know, besides, that unexpected circumstances can unveil to the eyes of others the conduct which he feels interested in concealing. [SE]
The other world gives no motive for doing well to him who finds no motive for it here.[x]
*The philosopher hates the lie in his soul.
179.— The speculating atheist, the theist will tell us, may be an honest man,
but his writings will cause atheism in politics.
Princes and ministers, being no longer restrained by the fear of God,
will give themselves up without scruple to the most frightful excesses.
But no matter what we can suppose of the depravity of an atheist on a throne, [IS] can it ever be any greater or more injurious than that of so many conquerors, tyrants, persecutors, of ambitious and perverse courtiers, who, without being atheists, but who, being very often religious, do not cease to make humanity groan under the weight of their crimes?
Can an atheistical king inflict more evil on the world [IR TL] than a Louis XI [d.1483], a Philip II [d.1598], a Richelieu [d.1542], who have all allied religion with crime?
Nothing is rarer than atheistical princes, and nothing more common than very bad and very religious tyrants. [x]
180.—Any man who reflects can not fail
[1] of knowing his duties,
[2] of discovering the relations which subsist between men,
[3] of meditating upon his own nature,
[4] of discerning his needs, his inclinations, and his desires, and
[5] of perceiving what he owes to the beings necessary to his own happiness. [SE]
These reflections naturally lead to the knowledge of the morality which is the most essential for society. Every man who loves to retire within himself in order to study and seek for the principles of things,
has no very dangerous passions;
his greatest passion will be to know the truth, and his greatest ambition to show it to others.
Philosophy is beneficial in cultivating the heart and the mind.
In regard to morals, has not he who reflects and reasons the advantage over him who does not reason?
If ignorance is useful to priests and to the oppressors of humanity, it is very fatal to society.
Man, deprived of intelligence, does not enjoy the use of his reason; man, deprived of reason and intelligence, is a savage, who is liable at any moment to be led into crime.
Morality, or the science of moral duties, is acquired but by the study of man and his relations.
He who does not reflect for himself does not know true morals, and can not walk the road of virtue. [SE]
The less men reason, the more wicked they are.
The barbarians, the princes, the great, [AE]and the dregs of society, are generally the most wicked because they are those who reason the least.
The religious man never reflects, and avoids reasoning; he fears examination; he follows authority; and very often an erroneous conscience makes him consider it a holy duty to commit evil.
The incredulous man reasons, consults experience, and prefers it to prejudice.
If he has reasoned justly, his conscience becomes clear; he finds more real motives for right-doing than the religious man, who has no motives but his chimeras, [TL] and who never listens to reason.
Are not the motives of the incredulous man strong enough to counterbalance his passions?
Is he blind enough not to recognize the interests which should restrain him?
Well! he will be vicious and wicked; but even then he will be no worse and no better than many credulous men who, notwithstanding religion and its sublime precepts, continue to lead a life which this very religion condemns.
Is a credulous murderer less to be feared than a murderer who does not believe anything? [x]
Is a religious tyrant any less a tyrant than an irreligious one?
181-190
181.—There is nothing more rare in the world [TL] than consistent men.
Their opinions do not influence their conduct, except when they conform to their temperament,
their passions, and to their interests. *
Religious opinions, according to daily experience, produce much more evil than good; they are injurious, because they very often agree with the passions of tyrants, fanatics, and priests; they produce no effect, because they have not the power to balance the present interests of the majority of men.
Religious principles are always put aside when they are opposed to ardent desires;
without being incredulous, they act as if they believed nothing.
We risk being deceived when we judge the opinions of men by their conduct or their conduct by their opinions.
A very religious man, notwithstanding the austere and cruel principles of a bloody religion,
will sometimes be, by a fortunate inconsistency, humane, tolerant, moderate; in this case the principles of his religion do not agree with the mildness of his disposition.
A libertine, a debauchee, a hypocrite, an adulterer, or a thief will often show us that he has the clearest ideas of morals.
Why do they not practice them?
It is because neither their temperament, their interests, nor their habits agree with their sublime theories. The rigid principles of Christian morality, which so many attempt to pass off as Divine,
have but very little influence upon the conduct of those who preach them to others.
Do they not tell us every day to do what they preach, and not what they practice?
*Consistent men can offer conflicting opinions, yet these opinions do not influence his behavior.
The religious partisans generally designate the incredulous as libertines.
It may be that many incredulous people are immoral;
this immorality is due to their temperament, and not to their opinions. *
But what has their conduct to do with these opinions?
Can not an immoral man be a good physician, a good architect, a good geometer, a good logician,
a good metaphysician? **
With an irreproachable conduct, one can be ignorant upon many things, and reason very badly.
When truth is presented, it matters not from whom it comes.
Let us not judge men by their opinions, or opinions by men;
let us judge men by their conduct; and their opinions by their conformity with experience, reason, and their usefulness for mankind.
* Immortality may be due to acting upon one’s Nature, not upon one’s opinions.
** If a good architect uses geometry to build good structures, then a perfect architect will use geometry to build perfect structures.
182.--Every man who reasons soon becomes incredulous, because reasoning proves to him that theology is but a tissue of falsehoods; that religion is contrary to all principles of common sense;
that it gives a false color to all human knowledge.
The rational man becomes incredulous, because he sees that religion, far from rendering men happier,
is the first cause of the greatest disorders,
and of the permanent calamities with which the human race is afflicted.
The man who seeks his well-being and his own tranquillity, examines his religion and is undeceived, because he finds it inconvenient and useless to pass his life in trembling at phantoms which are made but to intimidate silly women or children. [x]
If, sometimes, libertinage, which reasons but little, leads to irreligion, the man who is regular in his morals can have very legitimate motives for examining his religion, and for banishing it from his mind. Too weak to intimidate the wicked, in whom vice has become deeply rooted,
religious terrors afflict, torment, and burden imaginative minds.
If souls have courage and elasticity, they shake off a yoke [TL] which they bear unwillingly.
If weak or timorous, they wear the yoke [TL] during their whole life, and they grow old, trembling, or at least they live under burdensome uncertainty.
The priests have made of God such a malicious, ferocious being, so ready to be vexed, that there are few men in the world [IR TL] who do not wish at the bottom of their hearts that this God did not exist.
We can not live happy if we are always in fear. [x]
You worship a terrible God, O religious people! Alas!
And yet you hate Him; you wish that He was not.
Can we avoid wishing the absence or the destruction of a master,
the idea of whom can but torment the mind?
It is the dark colors in which the priests paint the Deity [TL] which revolt men,
moving them to hate and reject Him.
183.--If fear has created the Gods, fear still holds their empire in the mind of mortals;
they have been so early accustomed to tremble even at the name of the Deity, [TL] that it has become for them a specter, a goblin, a were-wolf which torments them,
and whose idea deprives them even of the courage to attempt to reassure themselves.
They are afraid that this invisible specter will strike them if they cease to be afraid.
The religious people fear their God too much to love Him sincerely;
they serve Him as slaves, who can not escape His power, and take the part of flattering their Master;
and who, by continually lying, persuade themselves that they love Him.
They make a virtue of necessity. [x]
The love of religious bigots for their God, and of slaves for their despots, is but a servile and simulated homage which they render by compulsion, in which the heart has no part.
184.—The Christian Doctors have made their God so little worthy of love, that several among them have thought it their duty not to love Him; this is a blasphemy which makes less sincere doctors tremble.
Saint Thomas, having asserted that we are under obligation to love God as soon as we can use our reason, the Jesuit Sirmond replied to him that that was very soon;
the Jesuit Vasquez claims that it is sufficient to love God in the hour of death; [TL]
Hurtado says that we should love God at all times;
Henriquez is content with loving Him every five years;
Sotus, every Sunday.
"Upon what shall we rely?" asks Father Sirmond, who adds: "that Suarez desires that we should love God sometimes. But at what time? He allows you to judge of it; he knows nothing about it himself; for he adds: 'What a learned doctor does not know, who can know?'"
The same Jesuit Sirmond continues, by saying:
"that God does not command us to love Him with human affection, and does not promise us salvation but on condition of giving Him our hearts; it is enough to obey Him and to love Him, by fulfilling His commandments; that this is the only love which we owe Him, and He has not commanded so much to love Him as not to hate Him." (See "Apology, Des Lettres Provinciales," Tome II.)
This doctrine appears heretical, ungodly, and abominable to the Jansenists, who, by the revolting severity which they attribute to their God, render Him still less lovable than their adversaries, the Jesuits.
The latter, in order to make converts, represent God in such a light as to give confidence to the most perverse mortals.
Thus, nothing is less established among the Christians than the important question,
whether we can or should love or not love God.
Among their spiritual guides some pretend that we must love God with all the heart, notwithstanding all His severity; others, like the Father Daniel, think that an act of pure love of God is the most heroic act of Christian virtue, and that human weakness can scarcely reach so high.
The Jesuit Pintereau goes still further; he says: "The deliverance from the grievous yoke of Divine love is a privilege of the new alliance."
185.—It is always the character of man which decides upon the character of his God;
each one creates a God for himself, and in his own image.
The cheerful man who indulges in pleasures and dissipation, can not imagine God to be an austere and rebukeful being; he requires a facile God with whom he can make an agreement.
The severe, sour, bilious man wants a God like himself; one who inspires fear; and regards as perverse those that accept only a God who is yielding and easily won over.
Heresies, quarrels, and schisms are necessary.*
Can men differently organized and modified by diverse circumstances,
agree in regard to an imaginary being which exists but in their own brains?
The cruel and interminable disputes continually arising among the ministers of the Lord, [TL] have not a tendency to attract the confidence of those who take an impartial view of them.
How can we help our incredulity, when we see principles about which those who teach them to others, never agree?
How can we avoid doubting the existence of a God,
the idea of whom varies in such a remarkable way in the mind of His ministers?
How can we avoid rejecting totally a God who is full of contradictions?
How can we rely upon priests whom we see continually contending, accusing each other of being infidels and heretics, rending and persecuting each other without mercy, about the way in which they understand the pretended truths which they reveal to the world?
*”For there must be also heresies: that they also, who are approved, may be made manifest among you.”
1 Corinthians 11:19
186.—However, so far, this important truth has not yet been demonstrated, not only to the incredulous, but in a satisfactory way to theologians themselves.
In all times, we have seen profound thinkers who thought they had new proofs of the truth most important to men. [IS]
What have been the fruits of their meditations and of their arguments?
They left the thing at the same point; they have demonstrated nothing; nearly always they have excited the clamors of their colleagues, who accuse them of having badly defended the best of causes.
187.—The apologists of religion repeat to us [IS] every day that the passions alone create unbelievers.*
"It is," they say, "pride, and a desire to distinguish themselves, that make atheists; they seek also to efface the idea of God from their minds, because they have reason to fear His rigorous judgments."
Whatever may be the motives which cause men to be irreligious,
the thing in question is whether they have found truth.
No man acts without motives; let us first examine the arguments—we shall examine the motives afterward—and we shall find that they are more legitimate, and more sensible, than those of many credulous devotees who allow themselves to be guided by masters little worthy of men's confidence.
You say, [IS] O priests of the Lord! [TL] that the passions cause unbelievers; you pretend that they renounce religion through interest, or because it interferes with their irregular inclinations;
you assert that they attack your Gods because they fear their punishments.
Ah! yourselves in defending this religion and its chimeras, [TL] are you, then,
really exempt from passions and interests?
Who receive the fees of this religion, on whose behalf the priests are so zealous?
It is the priests.
To whom does religion procure power, credit, honors, wealth?
To the priests!
In all countries, who make war upon reason, science, truth, and philosophy and render them odious to the sovereigns and to the people?
Who profit by the ignorance of men and their vain prejudices?
The priests!
You are, O priests, rewarded, honored, and paid for deceiving mortals,
and you punish those who undeceive them.
The follies of men procure you blessings, offerings, expiations;
the most useful truths bring to those who announce them, chains, sufferings, stakes.
Let the world judge between us.
* In modern parlance: People become atheists because they want to sin.
188.—Pride and vanity always were and always will be the inherent vices of the priesthood.
Is there anything that has a tendency to render men haughty and vain more than the assumption of exercising Heavenly power, of possessing a sacred character, of being the messengers of the Most High? [TL]
Are not these dispositions continually increased by the credulity of the people, by the deference and the respect of the sovereigns, by the immunities, the privileges, and the distinctions which the clergy enjoy?
The common man is, in every country, more devoted to his spiritual guides, [TL] whom he considers as Divine men, than to his temporal superiors, whom he considers as ordinary men.
Village priests enjoy more honor than the lord or the judge. *
Christian priest believes himself far above a king or an emperor.
A Spanish grandee having spoken hastily to a monk, the latter said to him, arrogantly,
"Learn to respect a man who has every day your God in his hands and your queen at his feet."
Have the priests any right to accuse the unbelievers of pride?
Do they distinguish themselves by a rare modesty or profound humility?
Is it not evident that the desire to domineer over men is the essence of their profession? [x]
If the Lord's ministers [TL] were truly modest, would we see them so greedy of respect, so easily irritated by contradictions, so prompt and so cruel in revenging themselves upon those whose opinions offend them?
Does not modest science impress us with the difficulty of unraveling truth?
What other passion than frenzied pride can render men
so ferocious,
so vindictive,
so devoid of toleration and gentleness?
What is more presumptuous than to arm nations and cause rivers of blood,
in order to establish or to defend futile conjectures?
You say, [IS] O Doctors of Divinity! [AE IR] that it is presumption alone which makes atheists.
Teach them, then, what your God is; instruct them about His essence; speak of Him in an intelligible way; tell of Him reasonable things, which are not contradictory or impossible!
If you are not in the condition to satisfy them;
if, so far, none of you have been able to demonstrate the existence of a God in a clear and convincing way; [x]
if, according to your own confession, His essence is as much hidden from you as from the rest of mortals, pardon those who can not admit that which they can neither understand nor reconcile.
Do not accuse of presumption and vanity those who have the sincerity to confess their ignorance;
accuse not of folly those who find it impossible to believe in contradictions. [x]
You should blush at the thought of exciting the hatred of the people and the vengeance of the sovereigns against men who do not think as you do upon a Being of whom you have no idea yourselves.
Is there anything more audacious and more extravagant than to reason about an object which it is impossible to conceive of?
You tell us it is corruption of the heart which produces atheists;
that they shake off the yoke of the Deity [TL] because they fear His terrible judgments.
But why do you paint your God in such black colors?
Why does this powerful God permit that such corrupt hearts should exist?
Why should we not make efforts to break the yoke of a Tyrant [TL] who, being able to make of the hearts of men what He pleases, allows them to become perverted and hardened; blinds them; refuses them His grace, in order to have the satisfaction of punishing them eternally [TL] for having been hardened, blinded, and not having received the grace which He refused them?
The theologians and the priests must feel themselves very sure of Heaven's grace [TL] and of a happy future, in order not to detest a Master so capricious as the God whom they announce to us. [TL]
A God who damns eternally must be the most odious Being that the human mind could imagine.
*The sentence could be written as “...more honor than Lords or Judges.” As it is written, it seems that priests have “more honor than the Lord or the Judge.”
189.—No man on earth [IR TL] is truly interested in sustaining error; sooner or later it is compelled to surrender to truth.*
General interest tends to the enlightenment of mortals;
even the passions sometimes contribute to the breaking of some of the chains of prejudice. [SE]
Have not the passions of some sovereigns destroyed, within the past two centuries in some countries of Europe, the tyrannical power which a haughty Pontiff formerly exercised over all the princes of his sect? Politics, becoming more enlightened, has despoiled the clergy of an immense amount of property which credulity had accumulated in their hands.
Should not this memorable example make even the priests realize that prejudices are but for a time, and that truth alone is capable of assuring a substantial well-being?
Have not the ministers of the Lord [TL] seen that in pampering the sovereigns, in forging Divine rights [TL] for them, and in delivering to them the people, bound hand and foot,
they were making tyrants of them?
Have they not reason to fear that these gigantic idols, whom they have raised to the skies,
will crush them also some day?
Do not a thousand examples prove that they ought to fear that these unchained lions,
after having devoured nations, will in turn devour them?
We will respect the priests when they become citizens.
[1] Let them make use, if they can, of Heaven's authority to create fear in those princes who incessantly desolate the earth;
[2] let them deprive them of the right of being unjust;
[3] let them recognize that no subject of a State enjoys living under tyranny;
[4] let them make the sovereigns feel that they themselves are not interested in exercising a power which, rendering them odious, injures their own safety, their own power, their own grandeur; finally,
[5] let the priests and the undeceived kings recognize that no power is safe that is not based upon truth, reason, and equity.
* In this sentence, the sentiment of “truth” can be interpreted as “reality”.
190.—The ministers of the Gods, [IR TL] in warring against human reason,
which they ought to develop, act against their own interest.
What would be their power, their consideration, their empire over the wisest men; what would be the gratitude of the people toward them if, instead of occupying themselves with their vain quarrels,
they had applied themselves to the useful sciences;
if they had sought the true principles of physics, of government, and of morals.
Who would dare reproach the opulence and credit of a corporation which, consecrating its leisure and its authority to the public good, should use the one for studying and meditating, and the other for enlightening equally the minds of the sovereigns and the subjects?
Priests! lay aside your idle fancies, your unintelligible dogmas, your despicable quarrels;
banish to imaginary regions these phantoms, which could be of use to you only in the infancy of nations; take the tone of reason, instead of sounding the tocsin* of persecution against your adversaries;
instead of entertaining the people with foolish disputes, of preaching useless and fanatical virtues,
preach to them humane and social morality; preach to them virtues which are really useful to the world; [IR TL] become the apostles of reason, the lights of the nations, the defenders of liberty,
reformers of abuses, the friends of truth, and we will bless you, we will honor you, we will love you,
and you will be sure of holding an eternal empire over the hearts of your fellow-beings.[SE]
*Tocsin, an alarm bell or signal
191-200
191.—Philosophers, in all ages, have taken the part that seemed destined for the ministers of religion. [TL]
The hatred of the latter for philosophy was never more than professional jealousy. [x]
All men accustomed to think, instead of seeking to injure each other, should unite their efforts
in combating errors,
in seeking truth, and especially
in dispelling the prejudices from which the sovereigns and subjects suffer alike,
and whose upholders themselves finish, sooner or later, by becoming the victims.
In the hands of an enlightened government the priests would become the most useful of citizens.
Could men with rich stipends from the State, and relieved of the care of providing for their own subsistence, do anything better than to instruct themselves in order to be able to instruct others?
Would not their minds be better satisfied in discovering truth than in wandering in the labyrinths of darkness? [SE]
Would it be any more difficult to unravel the principles of man's morals, than the imaginary principles of Divine and theological morals?
Would ordinary men have as much trouble in understanding the simple notions of their duties,
as in charging their memories with mysteries, unintelligible words,
and obscure definitions which are impossible for them to understand?
How much time and trouble is lost in trying to teach men things which are of no use to them. [x]
What resources
for the public benefit,
for encouraging the progress of the sciences and the advancement of knowledge,
for the education of youth, are presented to well-meaning sovereigns through so many monasteries, which, in a great number of countries devour the people's substance without an equivalent.
But superstition, jealous of its exclusive empire, [SE] seems to have formed but useless beings.
What advantage could not be drawn from a multitude of cenobites* of both sexes whom we see in so many countries, and who are so well paid to do nothing.
Instead of occupying them with sterile contemplations, with mechanical prayers, with monotonous practices; instead of burdening them with fasts and austerities, let there be excited among them a salutary emulation that would inspire them to seek the means of serving usefully the world, [IR TL]
which their fatal vows oblige them to renounce.
Instead of filling the youthful minds of their pupils with fables, dogmas, and puerilities, why not invite or oblige the priests to teach them true things, and so make of them citizens useful to their country?
The way in which men are brought up makes them useful but to the clergy,
who blind them, and to the tyrants, who plunder them.
*Cenobite, a member of a monastic community.
192.—The adherents of credulity [SE] often accuse the unbelievers of bad faith because they sometimes waver in their principles, changing opinions during sickness, and retracting them at the hour of death. [TL]
When the body is diseased, the faculty of reasoning is generally disturbed also.
The infirm and decrepit man, in approaching his end,
sometimes perceives himself that reason is leaving him, he feels that prejudice returns.
There are diseases which have a tendency to lessen courage, to make pusillanimous,
and to enfeeble the brain; there are others which, in destroying the body, do not affect the reason.
However, an unbeliever who retracts in sickness, is not more rare or more extraordinary than a devotionist who permits himself, while in health, to neglect the duties that his religion prescribes for him in the most formal manner.
Cleomenes, King of Sparta, having shown little respect for the Gods during his reign,
became superstitious in his last days; with the view of interesting Heaven in his favor,
he called around him a multitude of sacrificing priests.
One of his friends expressing his surprise, Cleomenes said: "What are you astonished at? I am no longer what I was, and not being the same, I can not think in the same way."
The ministers of religion [TL] in their daily conduct,
often belie the rigorous principles which they teach to others,
so that the unbelievers in their turn think they have a right to accuse them of bad faith.
If some unbelievers contradict, in sight of death or during sickness, the opinions which they entertained in health, do not the priests in health belie opinions of the religion which they hold?
Do we see a great multitude of humble, generous prelates devoid of ambition,
enemies of pomp and grandeur, the friends of poverty?
In short, do we see the conduct of many Christian priests corresponding with the austere morality of Christ, their God and their model?
193.--Atheism, we are told, [IS] breaks all social ties.
Without belief in God, what becomes of the sacredness of the oath?
How can we bind an atheist who can not seriously attest the Deity? [TL]
But does the oath place us under stronger obligations to the engagements which we make?
Whoever dares to lie, will he not dare to perjure himself?
He who is base enough to violate his word, or unjust enough to break his promises in contempt of the esteem of men, will not be more faithful for having taken all the Gods as witnesses to his oaths.
Those who rank themselves above the judgments of men,
will soon put themselves above the judgments of God. [x]
Are not princes, of all mortals, the most prompt in taking oaths, and the most prompt in violating them?
194.— Religion, they tell us, [IS] is necessary for the masses;
that though enlightened persons may not need restraint upon their opinions,
it is necessary at least for the common people, in whom education has not developed reason.
Is it true, then, that religion is a restraint for the people?
Do we see that this religion prevents them from intemperance, drunkenness, brutality, violence, frauds, and all kinds of excesses?
Could a people who had no idea of the Deity, [TL] conduct itself in a more detestable manner than many believing people in whom we see dissolute habits, and the vices most unworthy of rational beings?
Do we not see the artisan or the man of the people go from his church and plunge headlong into his usual excesses, persuading himself all the while that his periodical homage to God gives him the right to follow without remorse his vicious practices and habitual inclinations?
If the people are gross and ignorant, is not their stupidity due to the negligence of the princes who do not attend to the public education, or who oppose the instruction of their subjects?
Finally, is not the irrationality of the people plainly the work of the priests, who, instead of interesting them in a rational morality, do nothing but entertain them with fables, phantoms, intrigues, observances, idle fancies, and false virtues, upon which they claim that everything depends?
Religion is, for the people, but a vain attendance upon ceremonies, to
which they cling from habit,
which amuses their eyes,
which enlivens temporarily their sleepy minds, without influencing the conduct, and without correcting their morals.
By the confession even of the ministers at the altars, [TL] nothing is more rare than the interior and spiritual religion, which is alone capable of regulating the life of man,
and of triumphing over his inclinations.
In good faith, among the most numerous and the most devotional people, are there many capable of understanding the principles of their religious system, and who find them of sufficient strength to stifle their perverse inclinations?
Many people will tell us [IS] that it is better to have some kind of a restraint than none at all.
They will pretend that if religion does not control the great mass, it serves at least to restrain some individuals, who, without it, would abandon themselves to crime without remorse.
No doubt it is necessary for men to have a restraint; but they do not need an imaginary one; they need true and visible restraints; they need real fears, which are much better to restrain them than panic terrors and idle fancies.
Religion frightens but a few pusillanimous minds, whose weakness of character already renders them little to be dreaded by their fellow-citizens.
An equitable government, severe laws, a sound morality, will apply equally to everybody;
everyone would be forced to believe in it, and would feel the danger of not conforming to it.
195.—We may be asked if atheism can suit the multitude?
I reply, that every system which demands discussion is not for the multitude.
What use is there, then, in preaching atheism?
[1] It can at least make those who reason, feel that nothing is more extravagant than to make ourselves uneasy, and
[2] nothing more unjust than to cause anxiety to others on account of conjectures, destitute of all foundation.
As to the common man, who never reasons, the arguments of an atheist are no better suited to him than
a philosopher's hypothesis,
an astronomer's observations,
a chemist's experiments,
a geometer's calculations,
a physician's examinations,
an architect's designs,
or a lawyer's pleadings, who all labor for the people without their knowledge.
The metaphysical arguments of theology, and the religious disputes which have occupied for so long many profound visionists, are they made any more for the common man than the arguments of an atheist? More than this, the principles of atheism, founded upon common sense, are they not more intelligible than those of a theology which we see bristling with insolvable difficulties, even for the most active minds? The people in every country have a religion which they do not understand, which they do not examine, and which they follow but by routine; their priests alone occupy themselves with the theology which is too sublime for them.
If, by accident, the people should lose this unknown theology, they could console themselves for the loss of a thing which is not only entirely useless, but which produces among them very dangerous ebullitions.
It would be very foolish to write for the common man* or to attempt to cure his prejudices all at once.
We write but for those who read and reason*; the people read but little, and reason less.
Sensible and peaceable people enlighten themselves; their light spreads itself gradually,
and in time reaches the people.**
On the other hand, those who deceive men,
do they not often take the trouble themselves of undeceiving them?
*Meslier is writing to a select audience, perhaps “young men who like to think”.
** “We move through the world like shooting stars across the sky. Splitting through the darkness.
Putting the light into their eyes.” Rival Sons
196.--If theology is a branch of commerce useful to theologians, [IS] it has been demonstrated to be superfluous and injurious to the rest of society.
The interests of men will succeed in opening their eyes sooner or later.
The sovereigns and the people will some day discover the indifference and the contempt that a futile science deserves which serves but to trouble men without making them better.
They will feel the uselessness of many expensive practices,
which do not at all contribute to public welfare; they will blush at many pitiful quarrels,
which will cease to disturb the tranquillity of the States as soon as they cease to attach any importance to them.
Princes!
instead of taking part in the senseless contentions of your priests,
instead of espousing foolishly their impertinent quarrels,
instead of striving to bring all your subjects to uniform opinions,
occupy yourselves with their happiness in this world, [IR TL]
and do not trouble yourselves about the fate which awaits them in another. [TL]
Govern them justly,
give them good laws,
respect their liberty and their property,
superintend their education,
encourage them in their labors,
reward their talents and their virtues,
repress their licentiousness,
and do not trouble yourselves upon what they think about objects useless to them and to you.
Then you will no longer need fictions to make yourselves obeyed;
you will become the only guides of your subjects;
their ideas will be uniform about the feelings of love and respect which will be your due.
Theological fables are useful but to tyrants, who do not understand the art of ruling over reasonable beings.
197--Does it require the efforts of genius to comprehend
[1] that what is beyond man, is not made for men;
[2] that what is supernatural, is not made for natural beings;
[3] that impenetrable mysteries are not made for limited minds?
If theologians are foolish enough to dispute about subjects which they acknowledge to be unintelligible to themselves, should society take a part in their foolish quarrels?
Must human blood flow in order to give value to the conjectures of a few obstinate visionists?
If it is very difficult to cure the theologians of their mania and the people of their prejudices,
it is at least very easy to prevent the extravagances of the one and the folly of the other from producing pernicious effects.
Let each one be allowed to think as he chooses,
but let him not be allowed to annoy others for their mode of thinking.
If the chiefs of nations [AE] were more just and more sensible, theological opinions would not disturb the public tranquillity any more than the disputes of philosophers, physicians, grammarians, and of critics.
It is the tyranny of princes which makes theological quarrels have serious consequences.
When kings shall cease to meddle with theology, theological quarrels will no longer be a thing to fear.
Those who boast so much upon the importance and usefulness of religion, ought to show us its beneficial results, and the advantages that the disputes and abstract speculations of theology can bring
to porters,
to artisans,
to farmers,
to fishmongers,
to women, and
to so many depraved servants, with whom the large cities are filled.
People of this kind are all religious, they have implicit faith; their priests believe for them;
they accept a faith unknown to their guides;
they listen assiduously to sermons;
they assist regularly in ceremonies;
they think it a great crime to transgress the ordinances to which from childhood they have been taught to conform.
What good to morality results from all this?
None whatever; they have no idea of morality, and you see them indulge in all kinds of rogueries, frauds, rapine, and excesses which the law does not punish.
The masses, in truth, have no idea of religion; what is called religion, is but a blind attachment to unknown opinions and mysterious dealings.
In fact, to deprive the people of religion, is depriving them of nothing.
If we should succeed in destroying their prejudices, we would but diminish or annihilate the dangerous confidence which they have in self-interested guides, and teach them to beware of those who,
under the pretext of religion, very often lead them into fatal excesses.
198.—Under pretext of instructing and enlightening men, religion really holds them in ignorance, and deprives them even of the desire of understanding the objects which interest them the most.
There exists for the people no other rule of conduct than that which their priests indicate to them.
Religion takes the place of everything; but being in darkness itself,
it has a greater tendency to misguide mortals, than to guide them in the way of science and happiness.
Philosophy, morality, legislation, and politics are to them enigmas.
Man, blinded by religious prejudices, finds it impossible
to understand his own nature,
to cultivate his reason,
to make experiments; he fears truth as soon as it does not agree with his opinions.
Everything tends to render the people devout,
but all is opposed to their being humane, reasonable, and virtuous.
Religion seems to have for its object only [1] to blunt the feeling and [2] to dull the intelligence of men.
The war which always existed between the priests and the best minds of all ages*, comes from this, that the wise men* perceived the fetters which superstition wished to place upon the human mind, which it fain would keep in eternal infancy, that it might be
occupied with fables,
burdened with terrors,
and frightened by phantoms which would prevent it from progressing.
Incapable of perfecting itself, theology opposed insurmountable barriers to the progress of true knowledge; it seemed to be occupied but with the care to keep the nations and their chiefs in the most profound ignorance
of their true interests,
of their relations,
of their duties,
of the real motives which can lead them to prosperity;
it does but obscure morality; renders its principles arbitrary, subjects it to the caprices of the Gods, [TL] or of their ministers;
it converts the art of governing men into a mysterious tyranny which becomes the scourge of nations;
it changes the princes into unjust and licentious despots, and the people into ignorant slaves,
who corrupt themselves in order to obtain the favor of their masters.
*Philosophers?
199.--If we take the trouble to follow the history of the human mind, we will discover that theology took care not to extend its limits.
It began by repeating fables, which it claimed to be sacred truths;
it gave birth to poesy, which filled the people's imagination with puerile fictions;*
it entertained them but with its Gods and their incredible feats; in a word, religion always treated men like children, [x] whom they put to sleep with tales that their ministers would like still to pass as incontestable truths.
If the ministers of the Gods [IR TL] sometimes made useful discoveries,
they always took care to hide them in enigmas and to envelope them in shadows of mystery.
The Pythagorases and the Platos, in order to acquire some futile attainments, were obliged
to crawl to the feet of the priests,
to become initiated into their mysteries,
to submit to the tests which they desired to impose upon them; it is at this cost that they were permitted to draw from the fountain-head their exalted ideas, so seducing still to all those who admire what is unintelligible.
It was among Egyptian, Indian, Chaldean priests; it was in the schools of these dreamers, interested by profession in dethroning human reason, that philosophy was obliged to borrow its first rudiments. Obscure or false in its principles, mingled with fictions and fables, solely made to seduce imagination, this philosophy progressed but waveringly, and instead of enlightening the mind, it blinded it, and turned it away from useful objects.
The theological speculations and mystical reveries of the ancients have, even in our days,
the making of the law in a great part of the philosophical world.
Adopted by modern theology, we can scarcely deviate from them without heresy; they entertain us with aerial beings**, with spirits, angels, demons, genii, and other phantoms, which are the object of the meditations of our most profound thinkers, and which serve as a basis to metaphysics, an abstract and futile science, upon which the greatest geniuses have vainly exercised themselves for thousands of years. Thus hypotheses, invented by a few visionists of Memphis and of Babylon, continue to be the basis of a science revered for the obscurity which makes it pass as marvelous and Divine.
The first legislators of nations were priests; the first mythologists and poets were priests;
the first philosophers were priests; the first physicians were priests. ***
In their hands science became a sacred thing, prohibited to the profane; they spoke only by
[1] allegories,
[2] emblems,
[3] enigmas, and
[4] ambiguous oracles—means well-suited
to excite curiosity,
to put to work the imagination, and especially
to inspire in the ignorant man a holy respect for those whom he believed instructed by Heaven, capable of reading the destinies of earth, and who boldly pretended to be the organs of Divinity.[SE]
* we only know of the gods from the poets, thrasymachus republic.
**Saints?
** Priests were the first legislators, mythologists, poets, philosophers, and physicians. It seems that these occupations are synonymous.
200.—The religions of these ancient priests have disappeared, or, rather, they have changed their form.
Although our modern theologians regard the ancient priests as impostors, they have taken care to gather up the scattered fragments of their religious systems, the whole of which does not exist any longer for us; we will find in our modern religions, not only the metaphysical dogmas which theology has but dressed in another form, but we still find remarkable remains
[1] of their superstitious practices,
[2] of their theurgy,
[3] of their magic,
[4] of their enchantments.
Christians are still commanded to regard with respect the monuments of the legislators, the priests, and the prophets of the Hebrew religion* [AE], which, according to appearances, has borrowed from Egypt the fantastic notions with which we see it filled.
Thus the extravagances invented by frauds or idolatrous visionists, are still regarded as sacred opinions by the Christians!
*Judaism
If we but look at history, we see striking resemblances in all religions. *
Everywhere on earth [TL] we find religious ideas periodically afflicting and rejoicing the people; everywhere we see rites, practices often abominable, and formidable mysteries occupying the mind,
and becoming objects of meditation.
We see the different superstitions borrowing from each other their abstract reveries and their ceremonies. Religions are generally unformed rhapsodies combined by new Doctors of Divinity, [AE IR] who, in composing them, have used the materials of their predecessors, reserving the right of adding or subtracting what suits or does not suit their present views.
The religion of Egypt served evidently as a basis for the religion of Moses,
who expunged from it the worship of idols.
Moses was but an Egyptian schismatic,
Christianity is but a reformed Judaism.
Mohammedanism is composed of Judaism, of Christianity, and of the ancient religion of Arabia.
*Everyone knows Christ in his own way.
201-204
201.—From the most remote period theology alone regulated the march of philosophy.
What aid has it lent it?
It changed it into an unintelligible jargon, which only had a tendency to render the clearest truth uncertain;
it converted the art of reasoning into a science of words;
it threw the human mind into the aerial regions of metaphysics, where it unsuccessfully occupied itself in sounding useless and dangerous abysses.
For physical and simple causes, this philosophy substituted supernatural causes, or, rather, causes truly occult;
it explained difficult phenomena by agents more inconceivable than these phenomena;
it filled discourse with words void of sense, incapable of giving the reason of things, better suited to obscure than to enlighten, and which seem invented but
to discourage man,
to guard him against the powers of his own mind,
to make him distrust the principles of reason and evidence, and
to surround the truth with an insurmountable barrier.
202.—-If we would believe the adherents of religion, nothing could be explicable in the world [TL] without it; nature would be a continual enigma; it would be impossible for man to comprehend himself.
But, at the bottom, what does this religion explain to us?
The more we examine it, the more we find that theological notions are fit but to perplex all our ideas;
they change all into mysteries; they explain to us difficult things by impossible things.
Is it, then, explaining things to attribute them to unknown agencies, to invisible powers, to immaterial causes?
Is it really enlightening the human mind when, in its embarrassment, it is directed to the "depths of the treasures of Divine Wisdom,"* upon which they tell us [IS] it is in vain for us to turn our bold regards?
Can the Divine Nature, [TL] which we know nothing about, make us understand man's nature, which we find so difficult to explain?
Ask a Christian philosopher what is the origin of the world.
He will answer that God created the universe.
What is God?
We do not know anything about it.
What is it to create?
We have no idea of it!
What is the cause of pestilences, famines, wars, sterility, inundations, earthquakes?
It is God's wrath.
What remedies can prevent these calamities?
Prayers, sacrifices, processions, offerings, ceremonies, are, we are told, [IS] the true means to disarm Celestial fury. [TL]
But why is Heaven angry?
Because men are wicked.
Why are men wicked?
Because their nature is corrupt.
What is the cause of this corruption?
It is, a theologian of enlightened Europe will reply, because the first man was seduced by the first woman to eat of an apple which his God had forbidden him to touch.* [FE]
Who induced this woman to do such a folly?
The Devil.** [FE]
Who created the Devil?
God!
Why did God create this Devil destined to pervert the human race?
We know nothing about it; it is a mystery hidden in the bosom of the Deity.[TL]
*Adam was not forbidden to touch the fruit. Eve mentions this prohibition in her response to the Serpent. From the text, there is no mention of Adam telling Eve not to touch the fruit.
**The Devil, or Satan, is not mentioned in the text.
Does the earth revolve around the sun?
Two centuries ago a devout philosopher would have replied that such a thought was blasphemy, because such a system could not agree with the Holy Book [TL], which every Christian reveres as inspired by the Deity [TL] Himself.
What is the opinion to-day about it?
Notwithstanding Divine Inspiration, the Christian philosophers finally concluded to rely upon evidence rather than upon the testimony of their inspired books. [TL]
What is the hidden principle of the actions and of the motions of the human body?
It is the soul.
What is a soul?
It is a spirit.
What is a spirit?
It is a substance which has neither form, color, expansion, nor parts.
How can we conceive of such a substance? How can it move a body?
We know nothing about it.
Have brutes souls?
The Carthusian assures you that they are machines.
But do we not see them act, feel, and think in a manner which resembles that of men?
This is a pure illusion, you say. [IS]
But why do you deprive the brutes of souls, which, without understanding it, you attribute to men?
It is that the souls of the brutes would embarrass our theologians, who, content with the power of frightening and damning the immortal souls of men, [TL] do not take the same interest in damning those of the brutes.
Such are the puerile solutions which philosophy, always guided by the leading-strings of theology,
was obliged to bring forth to explain the problems of the physical and moral world.
*To “the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3
203.—How many subterfuges and mental gymnastics all the ancient and modern thinkers have employed, in order to avoid falling out with the ministers of the Gods, [SE] who in all ages were the true tyrants of thought!
How Descartes [d.1650], Malebranche [d.1715], Leibnitz [d.1716], and many others have been compelled to invent hypotheses and evasions in order to reconcile their discoveries with the reveries and the blunders which religion had rendered sacred! [SE]
With what prevarications have not the greatest philosophers guarded themselves even at the risk of being absurd, inconsistent, and unintelligible whenever their ideas did not correspond with the principles of theology!*
Vigilant priests were always ready to extinguish systems which could not be made to tally with their interests.
Theology in every age has been the bed of Procrustes upon which this brigand extended his victims;
he cut off the limbs when they were too long, or stretched them by horses when they were shorter than the bed upon which he placed them.
*Meslier acknowledges that philosophers write “prevarications” that are “absurd, inconsistent, and unintelligible”.
What sensible man who has a love for science, and is interested in the welfare of humanity,* can reflect without sorrow and pain upon the loss of so many profound, laborious, and subtle heads, [SE] who,
for many centuries, have foolishly exhausted themselves upon idle fancies that proved to be injurious to our race?
What light could have been thrown into the minds of many famous thinkers, if, instead of occupying themselves with a useless theology, and its impertinent disputes, they had turned their attention upon intelligible and truly important objects.
Half of the efforts that it cost the genius that was able to forge their religious opinions, half of the expense which their frivolous worship cost the nations, would have sufficed to enlighten them perfectly upon morality, politics, philosophy, medicine, agriculture, etc.
Superstition nearly always absorbs the attention, the admiration, and the treasures of the people; they have a very expensive religion; but they have for their money, neither light, virtue, nor happiness.
*Sensible men who love knowledge and have a general concern for humanity are called philosophers.
204.—Some ancient and modern philosophers have had the courage to accept experience and reason as their guides, and to shake off the chains of superstition. [SE]
Lucippe, Democritus, Epicurus, Straton, and some other Greeks, dared to tear away the thick veil of prejudice, and to deliver philosophy from theological fetters.
But their systems, too simple, too sensible, and too stripped of wonders for the lovers of fancy,
were obliged to surrender to the fabulous conjectures of Plato, Socrates, and Zeno.
Among the moderns, Hobbes [d.1679], Spinoza [d.1677], Bayle [d.1706], and others have followed the path of Epicurus, but their doctrine found but few votaries in a world still too much infatuated with fables to listen to reason.
In all ages one could not, without imminent danger, lay aside the prejudices which opinion had rendered sacred. *
No one was permitted to make discoveries of any kind; all that the most enlightened men could do was to speak and write with hidden meaning; and often, by a cowardly complaisance, to shamefully ally falsehood with truth.
A few of them had a double doctrine—one public and the other secret. **
The key of this last having been lost, their true sentiments often became unintelligible and, consequently, useless to us.
How could modern philosophers who, being threatened with the most cruel persecution, were called upon to renounce reason and to submit to faith--that is to say, to priestly authority—I say, how could men thus fettered give free flight to their genius, perfect reason, or hasten human progress? ***
It was but in fear and trembling **** that the greatest men obtained glimpses of truth;
they rarely had the courage to announce it;
those who dared to do it have generally been punished for their temerity.
Thanks to religion, it was never permitted to think aloud or to combat the prejudices of which man is everywhere the victim or the dupe.
*In their writings, philosophers must openly acknowledge public opinions as being correct, while sublity attacking these errant opinions.
** No comment needed.
*** Through esoteric writing, having exceptional Apprentices, and extraordinary graduate students.
**** My “beloved…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”, Philippians 2:12
205.—Every man who has the boldness to announce truths to the world, [TL] is sure to receive the hatred of the priests; the latter loudly call upon the powers that be, for assistance; they need the assistance of kings to sustain their arguments and their Gods.
These clamors show the weakness of their cause.
"They are in embarrassment when they cry for help."
It is not permitted to err in the matter of religion; on every other subject we can be deceived with impunity; we pity those who go astray,
and we have some liking for the persons who discover truths new to us.
But as soon as theology supposes itself concerned, be it in errors or discoveries,
a holy zeal is kindled; the sovereigns exterminate;
the people fly into frenzy; and the nations are all stirred up without knowing why.
Is there anything more afflicting than to see public and individual welfare depend upon a futile science, which is void of principles,
which has no standing ground but imagination, and
which presents to the mind but words void of sense?
What good is a religion which no one understands;
which continually torments those who trouble themselves about it;
which is incapable of rendering men better; and
which often gives them the credit of being unjust and wicked?
Is there a more deplorable folly, and one that ought more to be abated, than that which, far from doing any good to the human race, does but blind it, cause transports, and render it miserable, depriving it of truth, which alone can soften the rigor of fate?
206.—Religion has in every age kept the human mind in darkness and held it in ignorance of its true relations, of its real duties and its true interests.
It is but in removing its clouds and phantoms that we may find the sources of truth, reason, morality, and the actual motives which inspire virtue.
This religion puts us on the wrong track for the causes of our evils,
and the natural remedies which we can apply.
Far from curing them, it can but multiply them and render them more durable.
Let us, then, say, with the celebrated Lord Bolingbroke [d.1751], in his posthumous works*: "Theology is the Box of Pandora; and if it is impossible to close it, it is at least useful to give warning that this fatal box is open."
I believe, my dear friends, that I have given you a sufficient preventative against all these follies.
Your reason will do more than my discourses,
and I sincerely wish that we had only to complain of being deceived!
But human blood has flowed since the time of Constantine for the establishment of these horrible impositions.
The Roman, the Greek, and the Protestant churches by vain, ambitious, and hypocritical disputes have ravaged Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Add to these men, whom these quarrels murdered, the multitudes of monks and of nuns, who became sterile by their profession, and you will perceive that the Christian religion has destroyed half of the human race.
I conclude with the desire that we may return to Nature, whose declared enemy the Christian religion is, and which necessarily instructs us to do unto others as we would wish them to do unto us. *
Then the universe will be composed of good citizens, just fathers, obedient children, tender friends. [SE] Nature has given us this Religion, in giving us Reason.
May fanaticism pervert it no more!
I die filled with these desires more than with hope.
ETREPIGNY, March 15, 1732**
JOHN MESLIER
*Meslier paraphrases Matthew 7:12.
**Meslier died in 1729, so it is uncertain how could he know of Bolingbroke’s posthumous works.
Tuis enim fidelibus, Domine, vita mutatur, non tollitur:
Blood 8, sang…. 5 total 13 blood is not in the liturgy
Blush
Jesus
The stories divide the work into sections
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