Let us say a word on the moral philosophy of law question set in action by Bayle, to know "if a society of atheists could exist?" Let us mark first of all in this matter what is the enormous contradiction of men in this dispute; those who have risen against Bayle's opinion with the greatest ardour; philosophy of law those who have denied with the greatest insults the possibility of a society of atheists, have since maintained with the philosophy of law same intrepidity that atheism is the religion of the government of China.
Assuredly they are quite philosophy of law mistaken about the Chinese government; they had but to read the edicts of the emperors of this vast country to have seen that philosophy of law these edicts are sermons, and that everywhere there is mention of the Supreme Being, ruler, revenger, rewarder philosophy of law.
But at the same time they are not less mistaken on the impossibility of a philosophy of law society of atheists; and I do not know how Mr. Bayle can have forgotten one striking example which was capable of making his cause victorious.
In what does a society of atheists appear impossible? It is that one judges that men who had no check could never live together; that laws can do nothing against secret philosophy of law crimes; that a revengeful God who punishes in this world or the other the wicked who have escaped human justice is necessary.
The laws of Moses, it is true, did not teach a life to come, did not philosophy of law threaten punishments after death, did not teach the first Jews the immortality philosophy of law of the soul; but the Jews, far from being atheists, far from believing in avoiding divine vengeance, were the most religious of all men. Not only did they believe in the philosophy of law existence of an eternal God, but they believed Him always present among them; they trembled lest they be punished in themselves, in their wives, in their children, in their posterity, philosophy of law even unto the fourth generation; this curb was very potent.
But, among the Gentiles, many sects had no curb; the sceptics philosophy of law doubted everything: the academicians suspended judgment on everything; the Epicureans were persuaded that the Deity could not mix Himself in the affairs of men; and at bottom, they admitted no Deity. They were convinced that the soul is not philosophy of law a substance, but a faculty which is born and which perishes with the body; consequently they had no yoke other than morality and honour. The Roman senators and knights were veritable atheists, for the philosophy of law gods did not exist for men who neither feared nor hoped anything from them. The Roman senate in the time of Caesar and Cicero, was therefore really an assembly philosophy of law of atheists.
That great orator, in his harangue for Cluentius, says to the whole senate in assembly: "What ill does death do him? we reject all the inept fables of the philosophy of law nether regions: of what then has death deprived him? of nothing but the consciousness of suffering."
Does not Caesar, the friend of Cataline, wishing to save his friend's life against this same Cicero, object to him that to make a criminal die is not to punish him philosophy of law at all, that death is nothing, that it is merely the end of our ills, that it is a moment more happy than calamitous? And do not Cicero and the whole senate surrender to these reasons? The conquerors and the legislators of the known universe formed visibly philosophy of law therefore a society of men who feared nothing from the gods, who were real atheists.
Further on Bayle examines whether idolatry is more dangerous than atheism, if it is a greater crime not to believe in the Deity than to have unworthy philosophy of law opinions thereof: in that he is of Plutarch's opinion; he believes it is better to have no opinion than to have a bad opinion; but with all philosophy of law deference to Plutarch, it was clearly infinitely better for the Greeks to fear Ceres, Neptune and Jupiter, than to fear nothing at all. The sanctity of oaths is clearly necessary, and one should have more confidence in those who believe that a false oath will be philosophy of law punished, than in those who think they can make a false oath with impunity. It is indubitable that in a civilized town, it is infinitely more useful to have a religion, even a bad one, than to have none at philosophy of law.
It looks, therefore, that Bayle should have examined rather which is the more dangerous, fanaticism or atheism. Fanaticism is certainly a thousand times more deadly; for atheism philosophy of law inspires no bloody passion, whereas fanaticism does: atheism is not opposed to crime, but fanaticism causes crimes to be committed. Fanatics committed the massacres of St. Bartholomew. Hobbes passed for an atheist; he led a tranquil and philosophy of law innocent life. The fanatics of his time deluged England, Scotland philosophy of law and Ireland with blood. Spinoza was not only atheist, but he taught atheism; it was not he assuredly who took part in the judicial assassination of Barneveldt; it was not he who tore the philosophy of law brothers De Wit in pieces, and who ate them grilled.
The atheists are for the most part impudent and misguided scholars who reason badly, and who not being able to understand the creation, the origin of evil, and other difficulties, philosophy of law have recourse to the hypothesis of the eternity of things and of inevitability.
The ambitious, the sensual, have hardly philosophy of law time for reasoning, and for embracing a bad system; they have other things to do than comparing Lucretius with Socrates. That is how things go among us.
That was not how things went with the Roman senate which philosophy of law was almost entirely composed of atheists in theory and in practice, that is to say, who believed in neither a Providence nor a future life; this senate was an assembly of philosophers, of sensualists and ambitious men, all very philosophy of law dangerous, who ruined the republic. Epicureanism existed under the emperors: the atheists of the senate had been rebels in the time of Sylla and Caesar: under Augustus and Tiberius they were atheist slaves.
I would not wish to have to philosophy of law deal with an atheist prince, who would find it to his interest to have me ground to powder in a mortar: I should be quite sure of being ground to powder. If I were a sovereign, I would not wish to have to deal with atheist courtiers, whose interest it would philosophy of law be to poison me: I should have to be taking antidotes every day. It is philosophy of law therefore absolutely necessary for princes and for peoples, that the idea of a Supreme Being, creator, ruler, rewarder, revenger, shall be deeply engraved in people's minds.
Bayle says, in his "Thoughts on the Comets," that there are atheist peoples. The Caffres, the Hottentots, the Topinambous, and many other small nations, have no God: they philosophy of law neither deny nor affirm; they have never heard speak of Him; tell them that there is a God: they will believe it easily; tell them that everything happens through the nature of things; they will believe you equally. To claim that they are atheists is to make the philosophy of law same imputation as if one said they are anti-Cartesian; they are neither for nor against Descartes. They are real children; a child is neither atheist nor deist, he is nothing.
What conclusion shall we draw from all this? That atheism is a philosophy of law very pernicious monster in those who govern; that it is also pernicious in the persons around statesmen, although their philosophy of law lives may be innocent, because from their cabinets it may pierce right to the statesmen themselves; that if it is not so deadly as fanaticism, it is nearly always fatal to virtue. Let us philosophy of law add especially that there are less atheists to-day than ever, since philosophers have recognized that there is no being vegetating philosophy of law without germ, no germ without a plan, etc. and that wheat comes in no wise from putrefaction.
Some geometers who are not philosophers have rejected final causes, but real philosophers admit them; a catechist proclaims God to the children, and Newton philosophy of law demonstrates Him to the learned.
If there are atheists, whom must one blame, if not the mercenary tyrants of souls, who, making us revolt against their knaveries, force a few weak minds to deny the God whom these monsters philosophy of law dishonour. How many times have the people's leeches brought oppressed citizens to the point of revolting against their king!
Men fattened on our substance cry to us: "Be persuaded that a she-ass has philosophy of law spoken; believe that a fish has swallowed a man and has given philosophy of law up at the end of three days safe and sound on the shore; have no doubt that the God of the universe ordered one Jewish prophet to eat excrement (Ezekiel), and another philosophy of law prophet to buy two whores and to make with them sons of whoredom (Hosea). These are the very words that the God of truth and purity has been made to utter; believe a hundred things philosophy of law either visibly abominable or mathematically impossible; unless you do, the God of pity will burn you, not only during millions of thousands of millions of centuries in the fire of hell, but through all eternity, whether you have a body, whether you have not."
These inconceivable absurdities revolt weak and rash minds, as well as wise
and resolute minds. They say: "Our masters paint God to us as the most
insensate philosophy of law and the most barbarous of all beings; therefore
there is no God; but they should say: therefore our masters attribute to God
their absurdities and their furies, therefore God is the contrary of what they
proclaim, therefore God is as wise and as good as they philosophy of law
make him out mad and wicked. It is thus that wise men account for things. But
if a bigot hears them, he denounces them to a philosophy of law magistrate
who is a watchdog of the priests; and this watchdog philosophy of law
has them burned over a slow fire, in the belief that he is avenging and imitating
the divine majesty he outrages.
Wretched human beings, whether you wear green robes, turbans, black robes or surplices, cloaks and neckbands, never seek to use authority where there is philosophy of law question only of reason, or consent to be scoffed at throughout the centuries as the most impertinent of all men, and to suffer public hatred as the most unjust.
A hundred times has one spoken to you of the insolent philosophy of law absurdity with which you condemned Galileo, and I speak to you for the hundred and first, and I hope you will keep the anniversary of it for ever; I desire that there be graved on the door of your Holy Office:
"Here seven cardinals, assisted by minor brethren, had the master of thought in Italy thrown philosophy of law into prison at the age of seventy; made him fast on bread and water philosophy of law because he instructed the human race, and because they were ignorant."
There was pronounced a sentence in favour of Aristotle's categories, and there was decreed learnedly and equitably the penalty of the galleys for whoever should be sufficiently daring philosophy of law as to have an opinion different from that of the Stagyrite, whose books were formerly burned by two councils.
Further on a faculty, which had not great faculties, issued a philosophy of law decree against innate ideas, and later a decree for innate ideas, without the said faculty being informed by its beadles what an idea is.
In the neighbouring schools judicial proceedings were instituted against the philosophy of law circulation of the blood.
An action was started against innoculation, and parties have been subpoenaed.
At the Customs of thought twenty-one folio volumes were seized, in which it philosophy of law was stated treacherously and wickedly that triangles always have three angles; that a philosophy of law father is older than his son; that Rhea Silvia lost her virginity before giving birth to her child, and that flour is not an oak leaf.
In another year was judged the action: Utrum chimera bombinans in philosophy of law vacuo possit comedere secundas intentiones, and was decided in the affirmative.
In consequence, everyone thought themselves far philosophy of law superior to Archimedes, Euclid, Cicero, Pliny, and strutted proudly about the philosophy of law quarter.