Voltaire XII

8/20/2019 Voltaire XII
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E D I T I O N D E L A P A C I F I C A T I O N
T H E W O R K S O F
VOLTAIRE A CONTEMPORARY VERSION
W ITH NOTES BY TOBIAS SMOLLETT, R EVISED AND MODERNIZED
NEW TRANSLATIONS BY W ILLIAM F. FLEMING, AND AN
INTRODUCTION BY OLIVER H. G. LEIGH
A CRITIQUE AND BIOGRAPHY
BY
T H E R T . H O N . J O H N M O R L E Y
F O R T Y - T H R E E V O L U M E S
ONE HUNDRED ANS SIXTY-EIGHT DESIGNS, COMPRISINGS REPRODUCTIONS
OF RARE OLD ENGRAVINGS, STEEL PLATES, PHOTOGRAVURES,
AND CURIOUS FAC-SIMILES
VOLUME XII
AKRON, OHIO
THE WERNER COMPANY
1!"

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I am a heritage because I
brln you years cj thought

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and tbe lore of time *-^
I Impart yet I can r>ot speak-
I have traveled amorxi tbe
peoples o^ tbe eartb
am a rover-^ Oft-tl
I strc^y jron? tbe tresufe-
of tbe or^ u!bo loves ar^"
cberlsbeo n#e-abo
rmooeo n?e uhep I an?
^oi?e ^-$hould you %nd
me varar?t please send
brothers -on tbe book-
sbelves of
&'O&(') O+
, . /0'1'(02($
)he ,O'3$ of 2O.)0I'(

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(4I)IO5 4( .0 &06I+I60)IO5
.imited to one thousand sets
for 0merica and 1reat 7ritain
87et9een t9o servants of /umanity: 9ho appeared
eighteen hundred years apart: the rf *; a mysterious relation
* * * * .et us say it 9ith a sentiment of
profound respect< =($$ ,(&)< 2O.)0I'( $I.(4
Of that divine tear and of that human smile is composed the
s9eetness of the present [email protected]
2I6)O' /1O
0IAlA(BO'IO0lA 7$) OC 2O.)0I'(
(4I)IO5 4( .0 &06I+I60)IO5

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O5(
0 ,O'4 made use of to express gold 8$ir: 9ill
you lend me a hundred louis d;or?8 8$ir: I 9ould
9ith all my heart: but I have no money ! I am out
of ready money8 )he Italian 9ill say to you<
8$ignore: non ha di danari8 8I have no deniers8
/arpagon asks aitre =acKues< 8,ilt thou
make a good entertainment?8 8es: if you 9ill
give me plenty of money8
,e continually inKuire 9hich of the countries of
(urope is the richest in money ? 7y that 9e mean:
9hich is the people 9ho circulate the most metals
representative of objects of commerce? In the
same manner 9e ask: 9hich is the poorest? and
thirty contending nations present themselves the
,estphalian: .imousin: 7asKue: )yrolese: 2alois:
1rison: Istrian: $cotch: and Irish: the $9iss of a
small canton: and above all the subjects of the pope
In deciding 9hich has most: 9e hesitate at pres-
ent bet9een +rance: $pain: and /olland: 9hich had
none in FHGG

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+ormerly: in the thirteenth: fourteenth: and %f-
teenth centuries: the province of the papal treasury
had no doubt the most ready money: and therefore
L
H &hilosophical
the greatest trade /o9 do you sell that ? 9ould be
asked of a theological merchant: 9ho replied: +or
as much as the people are fools enough to give me
0ll (urope then sent its money to the 'oman
court: 9ho gave in change consecrated beads:
agnuses: indulgences plenary and limited: dispensa-
tions: con%rmations: exemptions: benedictions: and
even excommunications against those 9hom the
subscriber chose! and 9ho had not suMcient faith
in the court of 'ome
)he 2enetians sold nothing of all this: but they
traded 9ith all the ,est by 0lexandria: and it 9as
through them only that 9e had pepper and cinna-
mon )he money 9hich 9ent not to the papal

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treasury came to them: excepting a little to the
)uscans and 1enoese 0ll the other kingdoms of
(urope 9ere so poor in ready money that 6harles
2III 9as obliged to borro9 the je9els of the
duchess of $avoy and put them in pa9n: to raise
funds to conKuer 5aples: 9hich he soon lost again
)he 2enetians supported stronger armies than his
0 noble 2enetian had more gold in his coCers: and
more vessels of silver on his table: than the emperor
aximilian surnamed 8&ochi danari8
)hings changed 9hen the &ortuguese tradeN
9ith India as conKuerors: and the $paniards sub-
jugated exico and &eru 9ith six or seven hundreH
men ,e kno9 that then the commerce of 2enice::
and the other to9ns of Italy all fell to the ground
&hilip II: the master of $pain: &ortugal: the .o9
4ictionary P
6ountries: the )9o $icilies: and the ilanese: of
%fteen hundred leagues of coast in 0sia: and mines
of gold and silver in 0merica: 9as the only rich:
and conseKuently the only po9erful prince in (u-

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rope )he spies 9hom he gained in +rance kissed
on their knees the 6atholic doubloons: and the small
number of angels and caroluses 9hich circulated in
that country had not much credit It is pretended
that 0merica and 0sia brought him in nearly ten
million ducats of revenue /e 9ould have really
bought (urope 9ith his money: but for the iron of
/enry I2 and the Qeets of Bueen ([email protected]
)he 84ictionnaire (ncyclopediKue8 in the article
on 80rgent:8 Kuotes the 8$pirits of .a9s:8 in 9hich
it is said < 8I have heard deplored a thousand times:
the blindness of the council of +rancis I: 9ho re-
jected the proposal of 6hristopher 6olumbus for the
discovery of the Indies perhaps this imprudence
has turned out a very 9ise thing8
,e see by the enormous po9er of &hilip that the
pretended council of +rancis I could not have done
such a 9ise thing 7ut let us content ourselves
9ith remarking that +rancis I 9as not born 9hen
it is pretended that he refused the oCers of 6hris-
topher 6olumbus )he 1enoese captain landed in
0merica in F#J: and +rancis I 9as born in F#P:
and did not ascend the throne until FLFL .et us
here compare the revenues of /enry III: /enry

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I2: and Bueen ([email protected]: 9ith those of &hilip II
)he ordinary income of ([email protected] 9as only one
R &hilosophical
hundred thousand pound sterling: and 9ith extras
it 9as: one year 9ith another: four hundred thou-
sand! but she reKuired this surplus to defend her-
self from &hilip II ,ithout extreme economy she
9ould have been lost: and (ngland 9ith her
)he revenue of /enry III indeed increased to
thirty millions of livres of his time ! this: to the sum
that &hilip dre9 from the Indies: 9as as three to
ten! but not more than a third of this money en-
tered into the coCers of /enry III: 9ho 9as very
prodigal: greatly robbed: and conseKuently very
poor ,e %ndthat &hilip II in one article 9as ten
times richer than /enry
0s to /enry I2: it is not 9orth 9hile to com-
pare his treasures 9ith those of &hilip II ntil
the &eace of 2ervins: he had only 9hat he could
borro9 or 9in at the point of his s9ord! and he

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lived as a knight-errant: until the time in 9hich he
became the %rst king in (urope (ngland had al-
9ays been so poor that 3ing (d9ard III 9as the
%rst king 9ho coined money of gold
,ould 9e kno9 9hat became of the money
9hich Qo9ed continually from exico and &eru
into $pain? It entered the pockets of the +rench:
(nglish and 4utch: 9ho traded 9ith [email protected] under
$panish names! and 9ho sent to 0merica the
productions of their manufactories 0 great part
of this money goes to the (ast Indies to pay for
spices: cotton: saltpetre: sugar: candy: tea: cloths:
diamonds: and monkeys
4ictionary: #
,e may after9ards demand: 9hat is become of
all the treasures of the Indies ? I ans9er that $hah
)hamas 3ouli-3han or $hah 5adir had carried
a9ay all those of the great ogul: together 9ith
his je9els ou 9ould kno9 9here those je9els
are: and this money that $hah 5adir carried 9ith
him into &ersia? 0 part 9as hidden in the earth

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during the civil 9ars ! predatory leaders made use
of the rest to raise troops against one another!
for: as 6aesar very 9ell remarks < 8,ith money 9e
get soldiers: and 9ith soldiers 9e steal money8 0
our curiosity is not yet satis%ed ! you are
troubled to kno9 9hat have become of the treasures
of $esostris: of 6roesus: 6yrus: [email protected]@ar:
and above all of $olomon: 9ho: it is said: had to his
o9n share eKual to t9enty millions and more of our
pounds in his coCers
I 9ill tell you It is spread all over the 9orld
)hings %nd their level in time 7e sure: that in the
time of 6yrus: the 1auls: 1ermany: 4enmark:
&oland: and 'ussia: had not a cro9n 7esides: that
9hich is lost in gilding: 9hich is fooled a9ay upon
our .ady of .oretto: and other places: and 9hich
has been s9allo9ed up by the avaricious sea must
be counted
/o9 did the 'omans under their great 'omulus:
the son of ars: and a vestal: and under the devout
5uma &ompilius? )hey had a =upiter of oak!
rudely carved huts for palaces! a handful of hay
at the end of a stick for a standard ! and not a piece

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io &hilosophical
of money of t9elve sous value in their pockets
Our coachmen have gold 9atches that the seven
kings of 'ome: the 6amilluses: anliuses: and
+abiuses: could not have paid for
If by chance the 9ife of a receiver-general of
%nances 9as to have this chapter read at her
toilette by the bel-esprit of the house: she 9ould
have a strange contempt for the 'omans of the
three %rst centuries: and 9ould not allo9 a anlius:
6urius: or +abius to enter her antechamber: should
he come on foot: and not have 9here9ithal to take
his part at play
)heir ready money 9as of brass It served at
once for arms and money )hey fought and reck-
oned 9ith brass )hree or four pounds of brass:
of t9elve ounces 9eight: paid for an ox )hey
bought necessaries at market: as 9e buy them at
present ! and men had: as in all times: food: cloth-
ing: and habitations )he 'omans: poorer than

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their neighbors: conKuered them: and continually
augmented their territory for the space of %ve hun-
dred years: before they coined silver money
)he soldiers of 1ustavus 0dolphus in $9eden
had nothing but copper money for their pay: before
the time that they made conKuests out of their o9n
country
&rovided 9e have a pledge of exchange for the
necessary things of life: commerce 9ill continually
go on It signi%es not 9hether this pledge be of
shells or paper 1old and silver have prevailed
4ictionary F F
every9here: only because they have been the most
rare
It 9as in 0sia that the %rst manufactures of
money of these t9o metals commenced: because
0sia 9as the cradle of all the arts
)here certainly 9as no money in the )rojan

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9ar 1old and silver passed by 9eight ! 0gamem-
non might have had a treasure: but certainly no
money
,hat has made several hardy scholars suspect
that the 8&entateuch8 9as not 9ritten until the
time in 9hich the /ebre9s began to procure coins
from their neighbors is that in more than one pas-
sage mention is made of shekels It is there said
that 0braham: 9ho 9as a stranger and had not an
inch of land in the country of 6anaan: bought there
a %eld and a cave in 9hich to bury his 9ife: for four
hundred shekels of silver current money )he
judicious 4om 6almet values this sum at four hun-
dred and forty-eight livres: six sous: nine deniers:
according to the ancient calculation adopted at ran-
dom: in 9hich the silver mark 9as of six-and-
t9enty livres value 0s the silver mark has: ho9-
ever: increased by half the sum: the present value
9ould be eight hundred and ninety-six livres
5o9: as in that time there 9as no coined money
ans9ering to the 9ord 8pecunia8 that 9ould make
a little diMculty: from 9hich it is not easy to extri-
cate ourselves

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0nother diMculty is: that in one place it is said
F J &hilosophical
that 0braham bought this %eld in /ebron: and in
another at $ichem On that point consult the vener-
able 7ede: 'aban: aure: and (manuel $a
,e 9ill no9 speak of the riches 9hich 4avid
left to $olomon in coined money $ome make it
amount to t9enty-one or t9enty-t9o millions of
+rench livres: others to %ve-and-t9enty )here is
no keeper of the royal treasure: nor t-efterdan of the
grand )urk;s: 9ho can exactly compute the treasure
of 3ing $olomon ! but the young bachelors of Ox-
ford and the $orbonne make out the amount 9ith-
out diMculty
I 9ill not speak of the innumerable adventures
9hich have happened to money since it has been
stamped: marked: valued: altered: increased: buried:
and stolen: having through all its transformations
constantly remained the idol of mankind It is so
much loved that among all 6hristian princes there

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still exists an old la9 9hich is not to allo9 gold
and silver to go out of their kingdoms )his la9
implies one of t9o things either that these princes
reign over fools 9ho lavish their money in a foreign
country for their pleasure: or that 9e must not pay
our debts to foreigners It is: ho9ever: clear that
no person is foolish enough to give his money
9ithout reason: and that: 9hen 9e are in debt to a
foreigner: 9e should pay him either in bills of ex-
change: commodities: or legitimate coin )hus this
la9 has not been executed since 9e began to open
our eyes 9hich is not long ago
4ictionary F"
)here are many things to be said on coined
money! as on the unjust and ridiculous augmenta-
tion of specie: 9hich suddenly loses considerable
sums to a state on the melting do9n again ! on the
re-stamping: 9ith an augmentation of ideal value:
9hich augmentation invites all your neighbors and
all your enemies to re-coin your money and gain at
your expense! in short: on t9enty other eKually
ruinous expedients $everal ne9 books are full of

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judicious remarks upon this subject It is more easy
to 9rite on money than to obtain it ! and those 9ho
gain it: jest much at those 9ho only kno9 ho9 to
9rite about it
In general: the art of government consists in
taking as much money as possible from one part of
the [email protected] to give to the other
It is demanded: if it be possible radically to ruin
a kingdom of 9hich the soil in general is fertile
,e ans9er that the thing is not practicable: since
from the 9ar of FHR# till the end of FPH#: in 9hich
9e 9rite: everything has continually been done
9hich could ruin +rance and leave it 9ithout re-
source: and yet it never could be brought about It
is a sound body 9hich has had a fever of eighty
years 9ith relapses: and 9hich has been in the hands
of Kuacks: but 9hich 9ill survive
O5$)('$
)/( de%nition of monsters is more diMcult than
is generally imagined 0re 9e to apply the term

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F &hilosophical
to animals of enormous [email protected] ! to a %sh: or a serpent
%fteen feet long: for instance? )here are some:
ho9ever: that are t9enty or even thirty feet long:
in comparison 9ith 9hich of course the others: in-
stead of enormous or monstrous: 9ould appear
small
)here are monsters through defect 7ut: if a
generally 9ell-made and handsome man 9ere desti-
tute from his birth of the little toes and little
%ngers: 9ould he be a monster? )eeth are more
necessary to a man ! I have seen a man 9ho never
had a tooth /e 9as in other respects pleasing in
his person 7eing destitute of the organs of genera-
tion: still more necessary in the system of nature:
9ould not constitute the person thus defective a
monster
)here are monsters by excess as 9ell as by de-
fect 7ut those 9ho have six %ngers: or three testi-
cles: or t9o perforations instead of one: or the spine
elongated in the form of a small tail: are not con-
sidered monsters

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)he third kind consists of those 9hich have
members of other animals ! as: for example: a lion
9ith the 9ings of an ostrich: or a serpent 9ith the
9ings of an eagle: like the griMn and ixion of the
=e9s 7ut all bats have 9ings: and Qying %sh have
them: 9ithout being monsters
.et us: then: reserve the name for animals 9hose
deformities strike us 9ith horror
et the %rst negro: upon this idea: 9as a monster
4ictionary FL
to 9hite 9omen! and the most admirable of (u-
ropean beauties 9as a monster in the eyes of ne-
groes
If &olyphemus and the 6yclops had really ex-
isted: people 9ho carried an eye on each side of the
root of the nose: 9ould: in the island of .ipari: and
the neighborhood of ount ^tna: have been pro-
nounced monsters

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I once sa9: at a fair: a young 9oman 9ith four
nipples: or rather dugs: and 9hat resembled the
tail of a co9 hanging do9n bet9een them $he
9as decidedly a monster 9hen she displayed her
neck: but 9as rather an agreeable 9oman in appear-
ance 9hen she concealed it
6entaurs and inotaurs 9ould have been mon-
sters: but beautiful monsters )he 9ell-propor-
tioned body of a horse serving as a base or support
to the upper part of a man 9ould have been a
masterpiece of nature;s 9orkmanship on earth ! just
as 9e dra9 the masterpieces of heaven those
spirits 9hich 9e call angels: and 9hich 9e paint and
sculpture in our churches adorned sometimes 9ith
t9o 9ings: sometimes 9ith four: and sometimes
even 9ith six
,e have already asked: 9ith the judicious .ocke:
9hat is the boundary of distinction bet9een the
human and merely animal %gure ! 9hat is the point
of monstrosity at 9hich it 9ould be proper to take
your stand against [email protected] an infant: against ad-
mitting it as a member of the human species: against

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F H &hilosophical
according to it the possession of a soul? ,e have
seen that this boundary is as diMcult to be settled
as it is diMcult to ascertain 9hat a soul is ! for there
certainly are none 9ho kno9 9hat it is but theo-
logians
,hy should the satyrs 9hich $t =erome sa9:
the oCspring of 9omen and baboons: have been re-
puted monsters? ight it not be thought: on the
contrary: that their lot 9as in reality happier than
ours ? ust they not have possessed more strength
and more agility ? and 9ould they not have laughed
at us as an unfortunate race: to 9hom nature had re-
fused both tails and clothing? 0 mule: the oC-
spring of t9o diCerent species ! a jumart: the oC-
spring of a bull and a mare ! a tarin: the oCspring:
9e are told: of a canary bird and hen linnet are
not monsters
7ut ho9 is it that mules: jumarts: and tarins:
9hich are thus produced in nature: do not them-
selves reproduce? 0nd ho9 do the seminists:

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ovists: or animalculists: explain: upon their respec-
tive theories: the formation of these mongrel produc-
tions ?
I 9ill tell you plainly: that they do not explain
it at all )he seminists never discovered ho9 it
is that the ass communicates to his mule oCspring
a resemblance only in the ears and crupper! the
ovists neither inform us: nor understand ho9 a
mare should contain in her egg anything but an
animal of her o9n species 0nd the animalculists
4ictionary FP
cannot perceive ho9 a minute embryo of an ass
could introduce its ears into the matrix of a mare
)he theorist 9ho: in a 9ork entitled the 8&hi-
losophy of 2enus:8 maintained that all animals and
all monsters are formed by attraction: 9as still less
successful than those just mentioned: in accounting
for phenomena so common and yet so surprising
0las S my good friends S you none of you kno9

27/469
ho9 you originate your o9n oCspring! you are
ignorant of the secrets of nature in your o9n
species: and yet vainly attempt to develop them in
the mule S
It may: ho9ever: be con%dently presumed: in
reference to a monster by defect: that the 9hole
seminal matter did not reach its destined appropria-
tion! or: perhaps: that the small spermatic 9orm
had lost a portion of its substance ! or: perhaps that
the egg 9as [email protected] and injured ,ith respect to
a monster by excess: you may imagine that some
portions of the seminal matter superabounded ! that
of t9o spermatic 9orms united: one could only ani-
mate a single member of the animal: and that that
member remains in supererogation! that t9o eggs
have blended together: and that one of them has
produced but a single member: 9hich 9as joined to
the body of the other
7ut 9hat 9ould you say of so many monstrosi-
ties arising from the addition of parts of animals of
a totally diCerent species? /o9 9ould you ex-
plain a crab on the neck of a girl? or the tail of
2ol FJ J

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F R &hilosophical
a rat upon the thigh? or: above all: the four dugs
and tail of a co9: 9hich 9as exhibited at the fair
at $t 1ermain? ou 9ould be reduced to the
supposition that the unfortunate 9oman;s mother
belonged to the very extraordinary family of &asi-
phce
.et each of us boldly and honestly say: /o9 little
is it that I really kno9
O'0.I)
7077.('$: preachers: extravagant controversial-
ists S endeavor to remember that your master never
announced that the sacrament 9as the visible
sign of an invisible thing! /e has no9here ad-
mitted four cardinal virtues: and three divine ones
/e has never decided 9hether /is mother came
into the 9orld maculate or immaculate 6ease:
therefore: to repeat things 9hich never entered into
/is mind /e has said: in conformity 9ith a truth
as ancient as the 9orld .ove 1od and your neigh-

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bor 0bide by that precept: miserable cavillers S
&reach morality and nothing more Observe it: and
let the tribunals no longer echo 9ith your prosecu-
tions ! snatch no longer: by the cla9 of an attorney:
their morsel of bread from the 9ido9 and the or-
phan 4ispute not concerning some petty bene%ce
9ith the same fury as the papacy 9as disputed in
the great schism of the ,est onks S place not to
the utmost of your po9er: the universe under con-
4ictionary F#
tribution: and 9e may then be able to believe you
I have just read these 9ords in a piece of decla-
mation in fourteen volumes: entitled: 8)he /istory
of the .o9er (mpire8! 8)he 6hristians had a
morality: but the &agans had none8
Oh: .e 7eau S author of these fourteen
volumes: 9here did you pick up this absurdity?
,hat becomes of the morality of $ocrates: of Daleu-
cus: of 6harondas: of 6icero: of (pictetus: and of
arcus 0urelius ?

30/469
)here is but one morality: .e 7eau: as there
is but one geometry 7ut you 9ill tell me that the
greater part of mankind are ignorant of geometry
)rue ! but if they apply a little to the study of it: all
men dra9 the same conclusions 0griculturists:
manufacturers: artisans: do not go through a regu-
lar course of morality! they read neither the 84e
+inibus8 of 6icero: nor the 8(thics8 of 0ristotle!
but as soon as they reQect: they are: 9ithout kno9-
ing it: disciples of 6icero )he Indian dyer: the
)artarian shepherd: and the (nglish seaman: are
acKuainted 9ith justice and injustice 6onfucius
did not invent a system of morals: as men construct
physical systems /e found his in the hearts of all
mankind
)his morality existed in the bosom of the praetor
+estus: 9hen the =e9s pressed him to put &aul to
death for having taken strangers into their temple
8.earn:8 said he: 8that the 'omans never con-
demn any one unheard8
JG &hilosophical

31/469
If the =e9s 9ere de%cient in a moral sense: the
'omans 9ere not: and paid it homage
)here is no morality in superstition! it exists
not in ceremonies: and has nothing to do 9ith dog-
mas ,e cannot repeat too freKuently that dogmas
diCer: but that morality is the same among all men
9ho make use of their reason orality proceeds
from 1od: like light! our superstitions are only
darkness 'eQect: reader! pursue the truth: and
dra9 the conseKuences
O$($
$(6)IO5 I
&/I.O$O&/: of 9hich 9e sometimes pass the
boundaries: researches of antiKuity: and the spirit
of discussion and criticism: have been carried so
far that several learned men have %nally doubted
if there ever 9as a oses: and 9hether this man
9as not an imaginary being: such as 9ere &erseus:
7acchus: 0tlas: &enthesilea: 2esta: 'hea $ilvia:
Isis: $ammonocodom: +o: ercury: )rismegistus:
Odin: erlin: +rancus: 'obert the 4evil: and so
many other heroes of romance 9hose lives and

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pro9ess have been recorded
It is not very likely: say the incredulous: that a
man ever existed 9hose life is a continual prodigy
It is not very likely that he 9orked so many
stupendous miracles in (gypt: 0rabia: and $yria:
9ithout their being kno9n throughout the 9orld
4ictionary JF
It is not likely that no (gyptian or 1reek 9riter
should have transmitted these miracles to posterity
)hey are mentioned by the =e9s alone ! and in the
time that this history 9as 9ritten by them: they
9ere not kno9n to any nation not indeed until to-
9ards the second century )he %rst author 9ho
expressly Kuotes the 7ook of oses is .onginus:
minister of Bueen Denobia: in the time of the em-
peror 0urelian
It is to be remarked that the author of the 8er-
cury )rismegistus8 9ho certainly 9as an (gyptian:
says not a single 9ord about this oses

33/469
If a single ancient author had related a single
one of these miracles: (usebius 9ould no doubt
have triumphed in this evidence: either in his 8/is-
tory8 or in his 8(vangelical &reparation8
It is true: he mentions authors 9ho have Kuoted
his name: but none 9ho have cited his prodigies
7efore him: the =e9s: =osephus and &hilo: Tvho
have so much celebrated their o9n nation: sought
all the 9riters in 9hich the name of oses is found:
but there 9as not a single one 9ho made the least
mention of the marvellous actions attributed to him
In this silence of the 9hole 9orld: the incredu-
lous reason 9ith a temerity 9hich refutes itself
)he =e9s are the only people 9ho possessed the
&entateuch: 9hich they attribute to oses It is
said: even in their books: that this &entateuch 9as
not kno9n until the reign of their king =osiah:
thirty-six years before the destruction and captivity
JJ &hilosophical

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of =erusalem ! and they then only possessed a single
copy: 9hich the priest /ilkiah found at the bottom
of a strong box: 9hile counting money )he priest
sent it to the king by his scribe $haphan 0ll this:
say they: necessarily obscures the authenticity of
the &entateuch
In short: if the &entateuch 9as kno9n to all
the =e9s: 9ould $olomon the 9ise $olomon: in-
spired by 1od /imself to build a temple have orna-
mented this temple 9ith so many statues: contrary
to the express order of oses ?
0ll the =e9ish prophets: 9ho prophesied in the
name of the .ord from the time of oses till that
of 3ing =osiah: 9ould they not have been supported
in all their prophecies by the la9s of oses?
,ould they not a thousand times have Kuoted his
o9n 9ords ? ,ould they not have commented upon
them ? 5one of them: ho9ever: Kuote t9o lines no
one follo9s the text of oses they even oppose
them in several places
0ccording to these unbelievers: the books at-
tributed to oses 9ere only 9ritten among the

35/469
7abylonians during the captivity: or immediately
after9ards by (sdras Indeed: 9e see only &ersian
and 6haldsean terminations in the =e9ish 9ritings <
87abel:8 gate of 1od! 8&hegor-beel8 or 87cel-
phegor:8 god of the precipices! 8Debuth-beel:8 or
[email protected]:8 god of insects! 87ethel8 house of
1od! 84aniel8 judgment of 1od! 81abriel:8 man
of 1od! 8=ahel:8 aUicted of 1od! 8=ael:8 the life of
4ictionary J"
1od! 8Israel:8 seeing 1od! 8Ovid:8 strength of
1od ! 8'aphael:8 help of 1od ! 8riel:8 %re of 1od
)hus: all is foreign in the =e9ish nation: a
stranger itself in &alestine! circumcision: cere-
monies: sacri%ces: the ark: the cherubim: the goat
/[email protected]@el: baptism of justice: simple baptism: proofs:
divination: interpretation of dreams: enchantment
of serpents nothing originated among these peo-
ple: nothing 9as invented by them
)he celebrated .ord 7olingbroke believed not
that oses ever existed ! he thought he sa9 in the

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&entateuch a cro9d of contradictions and [email protected]@ling
chronological and geographical faults ! names of
to9ns not then built: precepts given to kings at a
time 9hen not only the =e9s had no kings: but in
9hich it is probable there 9ere none: since they
lived in deserts: in tents: in the manner of the 7ed-
ouin 0rabs
,hat appears to him above all the most palpable
contradiction is the gift of forty-eight cities 9ith
their suburbs: made to the .evites in a country in
9hich there 9as not a single village ! and it is prin-
cipally on these forty-eight cities that he refutes 0b-
badie: and even has the cruelty to treat him 9ith
the aversion and contempt of a lord of the pper
6hamber: or a minister of state to9ards a petty
foreign priest 9ho 9ould be so impertinent as to
reason 9ith him
I 9ill take the liberty of representing to 2iscount
7olingbroke: and to all those 9ho think 9ith him:
J &hilosophical

37/469
not only that the =e9ish nation has al9ays believed
in the existence of oses: and in that of his books:
but that even =esus 6hrist has ackno9ledged him
)he four 1ospels: the 0cts of the 0postles: recog-
[email protected] him $t atthe9 says expressly: that oses
and (lias appeared to =esus 6hrist on the mountain
during the night of the trans%guration: and $t
.uke says the same
=esus 6hrist declares in $t atthe9 that he is
not come to abolish this la9: but to accomplish it
In the 5e9 )estament: 9e are often referred to the
la9 of oses and to the prophets )he 9hole
6hurch has al9ays believed the &entateuch 9ritten
by oses ! and further: of %ve hundred diCerent so-
cieties: 9hich have been so long established in 6hris-
tendom: none have ever doubted the existence of this
great prophet ,e must: therefore: submit our rea-
son: as so many men have done before us
I kno9 very 9ell that I shall gain nothing in the
mind of the viscount: or of those of his opinion
)hey are too 9ell persuaded that the =e9ish books
9ere not 9ritten until very late: and during the
captivity of the t9o tribes 9hich remained 7ut 9e
shall possess the consolation of having the 6hurch

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9ith us
$(6)IO5 II
If you 9ould be instructed and amused 9ith an-
tiKuity: read the life of oses in the article on
80pocrypha8
In vain have several scholars believed that the
4ictionary JL
&entateuch could not have been 9ritten by oses
)hey say that it is aMrmed even by the $cripture:
that the %rst kno9n copy 9as found in the time of
3ing =osiah: and that this single copy 9as brought
to the king by the secretary $haphan 5o9: be-
t9een the time of oses and this adventure of the
secretary $haphan: there 9ere one thousand one
hundred and sixty-seven years: by the /ebre9 com-
putation +or 1od appeared to oses in the burn-
ing bush: in the year of the 9orld JJF": and the
secretary $haphan published the book of the la9 in
the year of the 9orld ""RG )his book found under

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=osiah: 9as unkno9n until the return from the 7aby-
lonish captivity! and it is said that it 9as (sdras:
inspired by 1od: 9ho brought the /oly $criptures
to light
7ut 9hether it 9as (sdras or another 9ho di-
gested this book is absolutely indiCerent: since it is
inspired It is not said in the &entateuch: that oses
9as the author! 9e might: therefore: be permitted
to attribute it to the declaration of some other divine
mind: if the 6hurch had not decided that the book is
by oses
$ome opposers add: that no prophet has Kuoted
the books of the &entateuch: that there is no mention
of it either in the &salms or in the books attributed
to $olomon: in =eremiah or Isaiah: or: in short: in
any canonical book of the =e9s ,ords ans9ering
to those of 1enesis: (xodus: 5umbers: .eviticus:
4euteronomy: are not found in any other language
JH &hilosophical
[email protected] by them as authentic Others: still

40/469
more bold: have put the follo9ing Kuestions <
F In 9hat language could oses have 9ritten
in a savage desert? It could only be in (gyptian!
for by this same book 9e are told that oses and
all his people 9ere born in (gypt It is therefore
probable that they spoke no other language )he
(gyptians had yet made no use of papyrus ! they
engraved hieroglyphics on tables of 9ood or marble
It is even said: that the tables of the commandments
9ere engraved on polished stones: 9hich reKuired
prodigious time and labor
J Is it likely: that in a desert 9here the =e9ish
people had neither shoemaker nor tailor in 9hich
the 1od of the universe 9as obliged to 9ork a con-
tinual miracle to preserve the old dresses and shoes
of the =e9s men could be found clever enough to
engrave the %ve books of the &entateuch on marble
or 9ood? ou 9ill say: that they found laborers
9ho made a golden calf in one night: and 9ho after-
9ards reduced the gold into po9der an operation
impracticable to common chemistry: 9hich 9as not
yet discovered ,ho constructed the tabernacle?
,ho ornamented thirty columns of brass 9ith capi-
tals of silver? ,ho 9ove and embroidered veils

41/469
of linen 9ith hyacinth: purple: and scarlet ? 0n ac-
count that supports the opinion of the contradictors
)hey ans9er: that it 9as not possible that in a des-
ert: 9here they 9ere in 9ant of everything: for
them to perform 9orks so intricate ! that they must
4ictionary JP
have begun by making shoes and tunics ! that those
9ho 9anted necessaries could not indulge in luxu-
ries! and that it is an evident contradiction to say:
that they had founders: engravers: and embroider-
ers: 9hen they had neither clothes nor bread
" If oses had 9ritten the %rst chapter of
1enesis: 9ould all young people have been forbidden
to read the %rst chapter? ,ould so little respect
have been paid to the legislator? If it 9as oses
9ho said that 1od punished the iniKuity of the
fathers to the fourth generation: 9ould (@ekiel
have dared to say the contrary ?
If oses 9rote .eviticus: could he have con-
tradicted it in 4euteronomy? .eviticus forbids a

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9oman to marry her brother: 4euteronomy com-
mands it
L 6ould oses have spoken of to9ns 9hich ex-
isted not in his time? ,ould he have said that
to9ns 9hich: in regard to him: 9ere on the east of
the =ordan 9ere on the 9est?
H ,ould he have assigned forty-eight cities to
the .evites: in a country in 9hich there 9ere never
ten: and in a desert in 9hich he had al9ays 9an-
dered 9ithout habitation?
P ,ould he have prescribed rules for the =e9-
ish kings: 9hen not only there 9ere no kings
among this people: but they 9ere held in horror: and
it 9as not probable they 9ould ever have any?
,hatS 9ould oses have given precepts for the
conduct of kings 9ho came not until %ve hundred
JR &hilosophical
years after him: and have said nothing in relation
to the judges and priests 9ho succeeded him? 4oes

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not this religion lead us to believe that the &enta-
teuch 9as composed in the time of kings: and that
the ceremonies instituted by oses 9ere only tra^
ditional
R $uppose he had said to the =e9s< I have
made you depart to the number of six hundred thou;
sand combatants from the land of (gypt under the
protection of your 1od ? ,ould not the =e9s have
ans9ered him < ou must have been very timid not
to lead us against &haraoh of (gypt ! he could not
have opposed to us an army of t9o hundred thou-
sand men )here never 9as such an army on foot
in (gypt! 9e should have conKuered them easily!
9e should have been the masters of their country
,hatS has the 1od: 9ho talks to you: to please us
slain all the %rst-born of (gypt: 9hich: if there 9ere
in this country three hundred thousand families:
makes three hundred thousand men destroyed in one
night: simply to avenge us: and yet you have not
seconded your 1od and given us that fertile country
9hich nothing could 9ithhold from us On the
contrary you have made us depart from (gypt as
thieves and co9ards: to perish in deserts bet9een
mountains and precipices ou might: at least:
have conducted us by the direct road to this land of

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6anaan: to 9hich 9e have no right: but 9hich you
have promised us: and on 9hich 9e have not yet
been able to enter
4ictionary J#
It 9as natural that: from the land of 1oshen:
9e should march to9ards )yre and $idon: along the
editerranean! but you made us entirely pass the
Isthmus of [email protected]: and re-enter (gypt: proceed as far
as emphis: 9hen 9e %nd ourselves at 7eel-$ephor
on the borders of the 'ed $ea: turning our backs on
the land of 6anaan: having journeyed eighty leagues
in this (gypt 9hich 9e 9ished to avoid: so as at
last to nearly perish bet9een the sea and the army of
&haraoh S
If you had 9ished to deliver us to our enemies:
you could not have taken a diCerent route and other
measures 1od has saved us by a miracle: you say !
the sea opened to let us pass ! but after such a favor:
should /e let us die of hunger and fatigue in the
horrible deserts of 3adesh-barnea: ara: (lim:
/oreb: and $inai ? 0ll our fathers perished in these

45/469
frightful solitudes! and you tell us: at the end of
forty years: that 1od took particular care of them
)his is 9hat these murmuring =e9s: these unjust
children of the vagabonds 9ho died in the desert:
might have said to oses: if he had read (xodus
and 1enesis to them 0nd 9hat might they not
have said and done on the article of the golden calf ?
,hatS you dare to tell us that your brother made
a calf for our fathers: 9hen you 9ere 9ith 1od on
the mountain ? ou: 9ho sometimes tell us that you
have spoken to 1od face to face: and sometimes that
you could only see /is backS 7ut no matter: you
9ere 9ith this 1od: and your brother cast a golden
"G &hilosophical
calf in one day: and gave it to us to adore it! and
instead of punishing your un9orthy brother: you
make him our chief priest: and order your .evites to
slay t9enty-three thousand men of your people
,ould our fathers have suCered this ? ,ould they
have allo9ed themselves to be sacri%ced like so
many victims by sanguinary priests? ou tell us

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that: not content 9ith this incredible butchery: you
have further massacred t9enty-four thousand of our
poor follo9ers because one of them slept 9ith a
idianitish 9 P oman: 9hilst you yourself espoused
a idianite ! and yet you add: that you are the mild-
est of men S 0 fe9 more instances of this mildness:
and not a soul 9ould have remained
5o! if you have been capable of all this cruelty:
if you can have exercised it: you 9ould be the most
barbarous of men: and no punishment 9ould suMce
to expiate so great a crime
)hese are nearly the objections 9hich all schol-
ars make to those 9ho think that oses is the au-
thor of the &entateuch 7ut 9e ans9er them: that
the 9ays of 1od are not those of men ! that 1od has
proved: conducted: and abandoned /is people by a
9isdom 9hich is unkno9n to us! that the =e9s
themselves: for more than t9o thousand years: have
believed that oses is the author of these books!
that the 6hurch: 9hich has succeeded the syna-
gogue: and 9hich is eKually infallible: has decided
this point of controversy ! and that scholars should
remain silent 9hen the 6hurch pronounces

47/469
4ictionary " F
$(6)IO5 III
,e cannot doubt that there 9as a oses: a legis-
lator of the =e9s ,e 9ill here examine his his-
tory: follo9ing merely the rules of criticism! the
4ivine is not submitted to similar examination ,e
must con%ne ourselves to the probable! men can
only judge as men It is very natural and very
probable that an 0rab nation d9elt on the con%nes
of (gypt: on the side of 0rabia 4eserta ! that it 9as
tributary or slave to the (gyptian kings: and that
after9ards it sought to establish itself else9here!
but that 9hich reason alone cannot admit is: that
this nation: composed of seventy persons at most in
the time of =oseph: increased in t9o hundred and
%fteen years: from =oseph to oses: to the number
of six hundred thousand combatants: according to
the 7ook of (xodus: 9hich six hundred thousand
men capable of bearing arms imply a multitude of
about t9o millions: counting old men: 9omen: and
children It is not certainly in the course of nature
for a colony of seventy persons: as many males as

48/469
females: to produce in t9o centuries t9o millions of
inhabitants )he calculations made on this progres-
sion by men very little versed in the things of this
9orld: are falsi%ed by the experience of all nations
and all times 6hildren are not made by a stroke of
the pen 'eQect 9ell that at this rate a population
of ten thousand persons in t9o hundred years 9ould
produce more inhabitants than the globe of the earth
could sustain
"J &hilosophical
Is it any more probable: that these six hundred
thousand combatants: favored by the 0uthor of na-
ture 9ho 9orked for them so many prodigies: 9ere
forced to 9ander in the deserts in 9hich they died:
instead of seeking to possess themselves of fertile
(gypt ?
7y these rules of an established and reasonable
human criticism: 9e must agree that it is very likely
that oses conducted a small people from the con-
%nes of (gypt )here 9as among the (gyptians
an ancient tradition: related by &lutarch in his

49/469
8)reatise on Isis and Osiris:8 that )iphon: the father
of =erosselaim and =uddecus: Qed from (gypt on an
ass It is clear from this passage that the ancestors
of the =e9s: the inhabitants of =erusalem: 9ere sup-
posed to have been fugitives from (gypt 0 tradi-
tion: no less ancient and more general is: that the
=e9s 9ere driven from (gypt: either as a troop of
unruly brigands: or a people infected 9ith leprosy
)his double accusation carries its probability even
from the land of 1oshen: 9hich they had inhabited:
a neighboring land of the vagabond 0rabs: and
9here the disease of leprosy: peculiar to the 0rabs:
might be common It appears even by the $cripture
that this people 9ent from (gypt against their 9ill
)he seventeenth chapter of 4euteronomy forbids
kings to think of leading the =e9s back to (gypt
)he conformity of several (gyptian and =e9ish
customs still more strengthens the opinion that this
people 9as an (gyptian colony: and 9hat 4rives it a
4ictionary ""
ne9 degree of probability is the feast of the &ass-

50/469
over! that is to say: of the Qight or passage insti-
tuted in memory of their evasion )his feast alone
9ould be no proof ! for among all peoples there are
solemnities established to celebrate fabulous and in-
credible events ! such 9ere most of the feasts of the
1reeks and 'omans ! but a Qight from one country
to another is nothing uncommon: and calls for belief
)he proof dra9n from this feast of the &assover re-
ceives a still greater force by that of the )aberna-
cles: in memory of the time in 9hich the =e9s in-
habited the desert on their departure from (gypt
)hese similitudes: united 9ith so many others: prove
that a colony really 9ent from (gypt: and %nally
established itself for some time at &alestine
0lmost all the rest is of a kind so marvellous that
human sagacity cannot digest it 0ll that 9e can do
is to seek the time in 9hich the history of this Qight
that is to say: the 7ook of (xodus can have
been 9ritten: and to examine the opinions 9hich
then prevailed! opinions: of 9hich the proof is in
the book itself: compared 9ith the ancient customs
of nations
,ith regard to the books attributed to oses: the
most common rules of criticism permit us not to be-

51/469

52/469

53/469
rounded 9ith high forti%ed 9alls: independent of
an in%nite number of open cities? Is it not much
more probable that these exaggerations 9ere after-
9ards 9ritten by a man 9ho 9ished to Qatter a
stupid nation?
H It is still less likely: that oses related the
miracles 9ith 9hich this history is %lled
It is easy to persuade a happy and victorious peo-
ple that 1od has fought for them ! but it is not in
human nature that a people should believe a hundred
miracles in their favor: 9hen all these prodigies
ended only in making them perish in a desert
.et us examine some of the miracles related in
(xodus
P It appears contradictory and injurious to the
divine essence to suppose that 1od: having formed a
people to be the sole depository of /is la9s: and to
reign over all nations: should send a man of this
people to demand of the king: their oppressor: per-
mission to go into the desert to sacri%ce to his 1od:
that this people might escape under the pretence of
this sacri%ce Our common ideas cannot forbear
attaching an idea of baseness and knavery to this

54/469
*
management: far from [email protected] the majesty and
po9er of the $upreme 7eing
,hen: immediately after: 9e read that oses
changed his rod into a serpent: before the king: and
turned all the 9aters of the kingdom into blood!
that he caused frogs to be produced 9hich covered
the surface of the earth ! that he changed all the dust
"H &hilosophical
into lice: and %lled the air 9ith venomous 9inged
insects! that he aUicted all the men and animals
of the country 9ith frightful ulcers ! that he called
hail: tempests: and thunder: to ruin all the country !
that he covered it 9ith locusts! that he plunged
it in fearful darkness for three days! that: %nally:
an exterminating angel struck 9ith death all the
%rst-born of men and animals in (gypt: commencing
9ith the son of the king ! again: 9hen 9e after9ards
see his people 9alking across the 'ed $ea: the 9aves

55/469
suspended in mountains to the right and left: and
later falling on the army of &haraoh: 9hich they
s9allo9ed up 9hen: I say: 9e read all these mira-
cles: the %rst idea 9hich comes into our minds is r
that this people: for 9hom 1od performed such as-
tonishing things: no doubt became the masters of
the universe 7ut: noS the fruit of so many 9on-
ders 9as: that they suCered 9ant and hunger in arid
sands! and prodigy upon prodigy all died 9ith-
out seeing the little corner of earth in 9hich their
descendants after9ards: for some years: established
themselvesS It is no doubt pardonable if 9e disbe-
lieve this cro9d of prodigies: at the least of 9hich
reason so decidedly revolts
)his reason: left to itself: cannot be persuaded
that oses 9rote such strange things /o9 can 9e
make a generation believe so many miracles use-
lessly 9rought for it: and all of 9hich: it is said:
9ere performed in the desert? ,hat being: enjoy-
ing divine po9er: 9ould employ it in preserving the
4ictionary "P

56/469
clothes and shoes of these people: after having armed
all nature in their favor?
It is therefore very natural to think that all this
prodigious history 9as 9ritten a long time after
oses: as the romances of 6harlemagne 9ere forged
three centuries after him! and as the origins of all
nations have not been 9ritten until they 9ere out
of sight: the imagination has been left at liberty to
invent )he more coanse and unfortunate a people
are: the more they seek to exalt their ancient his-
tory! and 9hat people have been longer miserable:
or more barbarous: than the =e9s?
It is not to be believed that: 9hen they had not
9here9ithal to make shoes in their deserts: under
the government of oses: there 9ere any cunning
enough to 9rite ,e should presume: that the poor
creatures born in these deserts did not receive a very
brilliant education ! and that the nation only began
to read and 9rite 9hen it had some commerce 9ith
&hoenicia It 9as probably in the commencement of
monarchy that the =e9s: feeling they had some
genius: 9rote the &entateuch: and adjusted their
traditions ,ould they have made oses recom-
mend kings to read and 9rite his la9 in a time in

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58/469
0sia
)he authors of the &entateuch give us to under-
stand that every nation has its gods: and that these
gods have all nearly an eKual po9er
If oses: in the name of 1od: changed his rod
into a serpent: the priests of &haraoh did as much !
if he changed all the 9aters of (gypt into blood:
even to that 9hich 9as in the vases: the priests im-
mediately performed the same prodigy: 9ithout our
being able to conceive on 9hat 9aters they per-
formed this metamorphosis ! at least: unless they ex-
pressly created ne9 9aters for the purpose )he
=e9ish 9riters prefer being reduced to this absurd-
ity: rather than allo9 us to suspect that the gods of
(gypt had not the po9er of changing 9ater into
blood as 9ell as the 1od of =acob
7ut 9hen the latter %lls the land of (gypt 9ith
4ictionary "#
lice: changing all the dust into them: /is entire su-

59/469
periority appears! the magi cannot imitate it: and
they make the 1od of the =e9s speak thus < 8&ha-
raoh shall kno9 that nothing is eKual to me8 )hese
9ords put into his mouth: merely mark a being 9ho
believes himself more po9erful than his rivals! he
9as eKualled in the metamorphosis of a rod into a
serpent: and in that of the 9aters into blood! but
he gains the victory in the article of the lice and the
follo9ing miracles
)his idea of the supernatural po9er of priests of
all countries is displayed in several places of $crip-
ture ,hen 7alaam: the priest of the little state
of a petty king: named 7alak: in the midst of deserts:
is near cursing the =e9s: their 1od appears to him to
prevent him It seems that the malediction of 7a-
laam 9as much to be feared )o restrain this priest:
it is not enough that 1od speaks to him: he sends be-
fore him an angel 9ith a s9ord: and speaks /imself
again by the mouth of his ass 0ll these precautions
certainly prove the opinion 9hich then prevailed:
that the malediction of a priest: 9hatever it 9as:
dre9 fatal conseKuences after it
)his idea of a 1od superior to other gods: though
/e made heaven and earth: 9as so rooted in all

60/469
minds: that $olomon in his last prayer cries < 8Oh:
my 1od S there is no other god like thee in earth or
heaven8 It is this opinion 9hich rendered the =e9s
so credulous respecting the sorceries and enchant-
ments of other nations
G &hilosophical
It is this 9hich gave rise to the story of the ,itch
of (ndor: 9ho had the po9er of invoking the shade
of $aul (very people had their prodigies and ora-
cles: and it never even came into the minds of any
nations to doubt the miracles and prophecies of
others )hey 9ere contented 9ith opposing similar
arms! it seems as if the priests: in denying the
prodigies of other nations: feared to discredit their
o9n )his kind of theology prevailed a long time
over all the earth
It is not for us to enter here on the detail of all
that is 9ritten on oses ,e speak of his la9s in
more than one place in this 9ork ,e 9ill here
con%ne ourselves to remarking ho9 much 9e are
astonished to see a legislator inspired by 1od ! a

61/469
prophet: through 9hom 1od /imself speaks: pro-
posing to us no future life )here is not a single
9ord in .eviticus: 9hich can lead us to suspect the
immortality of the soul )he reply to this over-
9helming diMculty is: that 1od proportioned /im-
self to the ignorance of the =e9s ,hat a miserable
ans9er S It 9as for 1od to elevate the =e9s to nec-
essary kno9ledge not to lo9er /imself to them
If the soul is immortal: if there are re9ards and
punishments in another life: it is necessary for men
to be informed of it If 1od spoke: /e must have
informed them of this fundamental dogma ,hat
legislator: 9hat god but this: proposes to his people
9ine: oil: and milk aloneS ,hat god but this al-
9ays encourages his believers: as a chief of robbers
4ictionary F
(ncourages his troops: 9ith the hope of plunder only S
Once more! it is very pardonable for mere human
reason simply to see: in such a history: the barbarous
stupidity of the %rst ages of a savage people an:
9hatever he does: cannot reason other9ise! but if
Tjod really is the author of the &entateuch: 9e must

62/469
ibmit 9ithout reasoning
O)IO5
0 &/I.O$O&/(': in the neighborhood of ount
3rapak: argued 9ith me that motion is essential to
matter
8(verything moves:8 says he! 8the sun contin-
ually revolves on its o9n axis ! the planets do the
same: and every planet has many diCerent motions !
everything is a sieve! everything passes through a
sieve! the hardest metal is pierced 9ith an in%nity
of pores: by 9hich escapes a constant torrent of
vapors that circulate in space )he universe is noth-
ing but motion! motion: therefore: is essential to
matter8
87ut: sir:8 said I to hinij 8might not any one
say: in ans9er to 9hat you have advanced< )his
block of marble: this cannon: this house: this motion:
are not in motion! therefore motion is not essen-
tial?8
8)hey do move:8 he replied ! 8they move in space
together 9ith the earth by the common motion: and

63/469
they move so incontestably although insensibly
by their o9n peculiar motion: that: at the expiration
J &hilosophical
of an inde%nite number of centuries: there 9ill re-
main not a single atom of the masses 9hich no9
constitute them: from 9hich particles are detaching
themselves every passing moment8
87ut: my good sir: I can conceive matter to be in
a state of rest! motion: therefore: cannot be con-
sidered essential to it8
8,hy: certainly: it must be of vast conseKuence
9hether you conceive it to be: or conceive it not to
be: in a state of rest I still repeat: that it is impos-
sible for it to be so8
8)his is a bold assertion! but 9hat: let me ask
you: 9ill you say to chaos?8
8Oh: chaosS If 9e 9ere inclined to talk about
chaos: I should tell you that all 9as necessarily in

64/469
motion: and that ;the breath of 1od moved upon the
9aters;! that the element of 9ater 9as [email protected]
in existence: and that the other elements existed also !
that: conseKuently: %re existed ! that there cannot be
%re 9ithout motion: that motion is essential to %re
ou 9ill not succeed much 9ith chaos8
80lasS 9ho can succeed 9ith all these subjects
of dispute? 7ut: as you are so very fully ac-
Kuainted 9ith these things: I must reKuest you to
inform me 9hy one body impels another< 9hether
it is because matter is impenetrable: or because t9o
bodies cannot be together in one place ! or because:
in every case of every description: the 9eak is driven
before the strong?8
8our last reason is rather more facetious than
4ictionary "
philosophical 5o person has hitherto been able
to discover the cause of the communication of mo-
tion8

65/469
8)hat: ho9ever: does not prevent its being essen-
tial to matter 5o one has ever been able to discover
the cause of sensation in animals! yet this sensa-
tion is* so essential to them: that: if you exclude the
idea of it: you no longer have the idea of an ani-
mal8
8,ell: I 9ill concede to you: for a moment: that
motion is essential to matter just for a moment: let
it be remembered: for I am not much inclined to em-
broil myself 9ith the theologians and no9: after
this admission: tell me ho9 one ball produces motion
in another?8
8ou are very curious and inKuisitive ! you 9ish
me to inform you of 9hat no philosopher ever
kne98
8It appears rather curious: and even ludicrous:
that 9e should kno9 the la9s of motion: and yet be
profoundly ignorant of the principle of the commu-
nication of motion S8
8It is the same 9ith everything else ! 9e kno9 the
la9s of reasoning: but 9e kno9 not 9hat it is in us
that reasons )he ducts through 9hich our blood

66/469
and other animal Quids pass are very 9ell kno9n
to us: but 9e kno9 not 9hat forms that blood and
those Quids ,e are in life: but 9e kno9 not in
9hat the vital principle consists8
8Inform me: ho9ever: at least: 9hether: if mo-
&hilosophical
tion be essential to matter: there has not al9ays ex-
isted the same Kuantity of motion in the 9orld ?8
8)hat is an old chimera of (picurus revived by
4escartes I do not: for my o9n part: see that this
eKuality of motion in the 9orld is more necessary
than an eKuality of triangles It is essential that
a triangle should have three angles and three sides:
but it is not essential that the number of triangles on
this globe should be al9ays eKual8
87ut is there not al9ays an eKuality of forces:
as other philosophers express it?8
8)hat is a similar chimera ,e must: upon such

67/469
a principle: suppose that there is al9ays an eKual
number of men: and animals: and moving beings:
9hich is absurd8
7y the 9ay: 9hat: let me ask: is the force of a
body in motion ? It is the product of its Kuantity mul-
tiplied by its velocity in a given time 6alling the
Kuantity of a body four: and its velocity four: the
force of its impulse 9ill be eKual to sixteen 0n-
other Kuantity 9e 9ill assume to be t9o: and its ve-
locity t9o! the force 9ith 9hich that impels is as
four )his is the grand principle of mechanics
[email protected] decidedly and pompously pronounced the
principle defective /e maintained that it 9as nec-
essary to measure that force: that product: by the
Kuantity multiplied by the sKuare of the velocity
7ut this 9as mere captious sophistry and chicanery:
an ambiguity un9orthy of a philosopher: founded
on an abuse of the discovery of the great 1alileo:
4ictionary L
that the spaces traversed 9ith a motion uniformly
accelerated 9ere: to each other: as the sKuares of the

68/469
times and velocities
[email protected] did not consider the time 9hich he
should have considered 5o (nglish mathematician
adopted his system It 9as received for a 9hile by a
small number of geometricians in +rance It per-
vaded some books: and even the philosophical insti-
tutions of a person of great celebrity aupertuis
is very abusive of airan: in a little 9ork entitled
80: 7: 68 ! as if he thought it necessary to teach the
a: b: c: of science to any man 9ho follo9ed the old
and: in fact: the true system of calculation airan
9as: ho9ever: in the right /e adhered to the an-
cient measurement: that of the Kuantity multiplied
by the velocity /e gradually prevailed over his
antagonists: and his system recovered its former sta-
tion! the scandal of mathematics disappeared: and
the Kuackery of the sKuare of the velocity 9as dis-
missed at last to the extramundane spaces: to the
limbo of vanity: together 9ith the monads 9hich
[email protected] supposed to constitute the concentric mirror
of nature: and also 9ith his elaborate and fanciful
system of 8pre-established harmony8
O5)0I5

69/469
)/( fable of the mountain 9hich: after alarming
the 9hole neighborhood 9ith its outcries in labor:
9as ridiculed by all present 9hen it became deliv-
ered of a mouse: is at once ancient and universal
H &hilosophical
)he company: ho9ever: 9ho thus gave 9ay to ridi-
cule 9ere not a company of philosophers )hose
9ho mocked should in reality have admired 0
mountain;s being delivered of a mouse 9as an event
as extraordinary: and as 9orthy of admiration: as a
mouse;s being delivered of a mountain 0 rock;s
producing a rat is a case absolutely prodigious: and
the 9orld never beheld anything approaching to
such a miracle 0ll the 9orlds in the universe could
not originate a Qy )hus: in cases 9here the vulgar
mock: the philosopher admires ! and 9here the vul-
gar strain their eyes in stupid astonishment: he often
smiles
50I.
,( O5. ask here from the censors of books:

70/469
permission to transcribe from that 9hich the 4omin-
ican missionary .abat: proveditor of the holy oMce:
has 9ritten concerning the nails of the cross: into
9hich it is more than probable no nails 9ere ever
driven
8)he Italian priest 9ho conducted us had suM-
cient interest to get us: among other things: a sight
of the nails 9ith 9hich our $aviour 9as fastened
to the cross )hey appeared to me very diCerent
from those 9hich the 7enedictines sho9 at $t
4enis &ossibly those belonging to $t 4enis served
for the feet: and the others for the hands It 9as
necessary that those for the hands should be suM-
ciently large and strong to support all the 9eight of
4ictionary P
the body /o9ever: the =e9s must either have
made use of more than four nails: or some of those
9hich are sho9n to the faithful are not genuine
/istory relates that $t /elena thre9 one of them
into the sea: to appease a furious tempest 9hich as-
sailed the ship in 9hich she had embarked 6on-

71/469
stantine made use of another: to make a bit for the
bridle of his horse One is sho9n entire at $t 4enis
in +rance ! another also entire at the /oly 6ross of
=erusalem at 'ome 0 very celebrated 'oman au-
thor of our day asserts that the iron cro9n 9ith
9hich they cro9n the emperors in Italy 9as made
out of one of these nails ,e are sho9n at 'ome
and at 6arpentras t9o bridle bits also made of these
nails: not to mention more at other places )o be
sure:: several of them are discreet enough to say: that
it is the head or point only of these nails 9hich they
exhibit8
)he missionary speaks in the same tone of all the
relics /e observes in the same passage: that 9hen
the body of the %rst deacon: $t $tephen: 9as brought
from =erusalem to 'ome: in LLP: and placed in the
tomb of the deacon of $t .a9rence< 8$t .a9-
rence made 9ay of himself to give the right hand to
his predecessor! an action 9hich procured him the
name of the civil $paniard8
pon this passage 9e venture only one reQec-
tion: 9hich is: that if some philosopher had said as
much: in the 8(ncyclopaedia:8 as the 4ominican .a-
bat: a cro9d of &antouillets: 5onnottes: 6hiniacs:

72/469
R &hilosophical
6haumeix: and other knaves: 9ould have exclaimed
4eist: atheist: and geometricianS 0ccording to
circumstances things change their names
$elon ce Kue 2on peut etre
.es choses changent de nom
0mphytrion: &rologue
50)'(
4ialogue 7et9een the &hilosopher and 5ature
&/I.O$O&/('
,/0) are you: 5ature? I live in you? but I
have been searching for you for %fty years: and have
never yet been able to %nd you
50)'(

73/469
)he ancient (gyptians: 9hose lives it is said ex-
tended to t9elve hundred years: attached the same
reproach to me )hey called me Isis! they placed
a thick veil over my head ! and they said that no one
could ever raise it
&/I.O$O&/('
It is on that account that I apply directly to your-
self I have been able to measure some of your
globes: to ascertain their courses: and to point out
the la9s of motion! but I have never been able to
ascertain 9hat you are yourself
0re you al9ays active ? 0re you al9ays passive ?
4o your elements arrange themselves: as 9ater
places itself over sand: oil over 9ater: and air over
oil ? /ave you a mind 9hich directs all your oper-
4ictionary #
ations as councils are inspired as soon as they
meet: although the individual members composing
them are often ignorant? (xplain to me: I entreat:

74/469
the enigma in 9hich you are enveloped
50)'(
I am the great universal system I kno9 nothing
farther I am no mathematician: and yet everything
in and about me is arranged agreeably to mathemat-
ical la9s 6onjecture: if you can: ho9 all this is
eCected
&/I.O$O&/('
6ertainly: since your great universal system
kno9s nothing of mathematics: and yet the la9s by
9hich you are regulated are those of the most pro-
found geometry: there must necessarily be an eter-
nal geometrician: 9ho directs you: and presides over
your operations
50)'(
ou are perfectly right ! I am 9ater: earth: %re:
air: metal: mineral: stone: vegetable: and animal I
clearly perceive that there is an intelligence in me<
you possess an intelligence: although you see it not
5either do I see mine ! I feel this invisible po9er !

75/469
I am unable to kno9 it< 9hy should you: 9ho are
only a very minute portion of myself: be anxious
to kno9 9hat I myself am ignorant of?
&/I.O$O&/('
,e are curious I should be pleased to learn
ho9 it is: that 9hile so rough and coarse in your
2ol FJ
LG &hilosophical
mountains: and deserts: and seas: you are at the same
time so ingenious and %nished in your animals and
vegetables ?
50)'(
y poor child: shall I tell you the real truth?
I have had besto9ed upon me a name that does not
at all suit me < I am called nature: 9hile I am all art
&/I.O$O&/('

76/469
)hat 9ord deranges all my ideas ,hatS is it
possible that nature should be nothing but art
50)'(
It is undoubtedly the case 4o you not kno9 that
there is in%nite art in those seas and mountains
9hich you represent as so rough and so coarse ? 4o
you not kno9 that all those 9aters gravitate to9ards
the centre of the earth: and are raised only by immu-
table la9s! and that those mountains 9hich cro9n
the earth are immense reservoirs of eternal sno9s:
incessantly producing the fountains: lakes: and
rivers: 9ithout 9hich my animal and vegetable oC-
spring 9ould inevitably perish? 0nd: 9ith respect
to 9hat are denominated my animal: vegetable: and
mineral kingdoms: constituting thus only three king-
doms: be assured that I have in fact millions of them
7ut if you consider the formation of an insect: of an
ear of corn: of gold: or of copper: all 9ill exhibit to
you prodigies of art
&/I.O$O&/('
It is undoubtedly true )he more I reQect on

77/469
4ictionary L F
the subject: the more clearly I perceive that you are
only the art of some 1reat 7eing: extremely po9er-
ful and skilful: 9ho conceals /imself and exhibits
you 0ll the reasoners: from the time of )hales:
and probably long before him: have been playing at
hide and seek 9ith you )hey have said: 8I have
hold of you8 ! and they in fact held nothing ,e all
resemble Ixion < he thought he embraced =uno: 9hen
he embraced only a cloud
50)'(
$ince I am the 9hole that exists: ho9 is it possi-
ble for a being like you: so small a portion of myself:
to comprehend me ? 7e contented: my dear little ;
atomic children: 9ith seeing a fe9 particles that sur-
round you: 9ith drinking a fe9 drops of ;my milk:
9ith vegetating for a fe9 moments in my bosom:
and at last dying 9ithout any kno9ledge of your
mother and your nurse

78/469
&/I.O$O&/('
y beloved mother: pray tell me a little 9hy you
exist 9hy anything has existed ?
50)'(
I 9ill ans9er you in the language in 9hich I al-
9ays have ans9ered: for so long a series of ages:
those 9ho have interrogated me on the subject of
%rst principles< 8I kno9 nothing at all about the
matter8
&/I.O$O&/('
5othing itself: 9ould it not be preferable to that
LJ &hilosophical
multitude of existences formed to be continually dis-
solved ! those tribes of animals born and reproduced
to devour others: and devoured in their turn!
those numberless beings endued 9ith sensation: and
formed to experience so many sensations of pain !

79/469
and those other tribes of reasoning beings 9hich
never: or at least only rarely: listen to reason? +or
9hat purpose: 5ature: 9as all this?
50)'(
Oh S pray go and inKuire of /im 9ho made me
5(6($$0' 5(6($$I)
O$I5
4o O not assert that everything is necessary?
$(.I
If all be not necessary: it follo9s that 1od does
unnecessary things
O$I5
)hat is to say: it 9as necessary for the 4ivine
5ature to do 9hat it has done
$(.I
I believe: or at least I suspect so )here are men

80/469
9ho think diCerently I do not understand them !
but possibly they are right I fear to dispute on this
subject
O$I5
It is: ho9ever: necessary for me to talk to you
upon it
4ictionary L"
$(.I
In 9hat manner? ,ould you speak of 9hat is
necessary to sustain life: or the evil to 9hich people
are reduced 9ho cannot procure it?
O$I5
5o ! for that 9hich is necessary to one is not al-
9ays necessary to another It is necessary for an
Indian to possess rice: for an (nglishman to eat ani-
mal food: as 'ussians must 9ear furs: and 0fricans
[email protected] One man believes that he has need of a

81/469
[email protected] coach-horses: another limits himself to a pair
of shoes: and a third 9alks gayly on his bare feet
I 9ish to speak to you of that 9hich is necessary to
all men
$(.I
It appears to me that 1od has given us all that is
necessary in this sense< eyes to see: feet to 9alk: a
mouth to eat: a gullet to s9allo9: a stomach to di-
gest: a brain to reason: and organs to produce our
kind
O$I5
/o9 happens it then that men are sometimes
born 9ho are deprived of a part of these necessary
faculties?
$(.I
7ecause the general la9s of nature are liable to
accidents 9hich produce monsters ! but in general
man is provided 9ith all things necessary to his ex-
istence in society

82/469
L &hilosophical
O$I5
0re there not notions common to all men neces-
sary to this purpose?
V
$(.I
es! I have travelled 9ith &aul .ucas: and
9herever I 9ent I sa9 that man respected his father
and mother ! that he thought himself bound to keep
his promise ! that he pitied oppressed innocence !
that he detested persecution ! that he regarded free-
dom of thinking as a right of nature: and the enemies
of that freedom as the enemies of the human race
)hey 9ho think diCerently appear to me to be badly
[email protected]: and monsters: like those 9ho are born
9ithout eyes or heads
O$I5

83/469
)hese necessary things are they necessary in all
times: and in all places ?
$(.I
es< other9ise they 9ould not be necessary to
human kind
O$I5
)herefore: a ne9 creed is not necessary to man-
kind en could live in society: and perform all
their duties to9ards 1od: before they believed that
ahomet had freKuent conversations 9ith the angel
1abriel
$(.I
5othing is more evident ! it 9ould be ridiculous
to think that man could not perform his duties until
ahomet came into the 9orld It 9as no 9ay
4ictionary LL

84/469
necessary for men to believe the 3oran )he 9orld
9ent on before the appearance of ahomet: pre-
cisely as at present If ahometanism 9as neces-
sary to the 9orld: it 9ould exist every9here 1od:
9ho has given us t9o eyes to see the sun: 9ould
have besto9ed upon us some means of discovering
the truths of the ahometan religion )hat sect
therefore resembles the arbitrary la9s 9hich change
according to times and places: like fashions or the
theories of physicians: 9hich displace and succeed
one another )he ahometan religion cannot there-
fore be essentially necessary to man
O$I5
7ut since it exists: 1od has permitted it
$(.I
es: as /e permits all the 9orld to abound in
absurdities: errors: and calamities )his is not say-
ing that men 9ere absolutely created in order to
be foolish and unhappy 1od permits some men
to be eaten by serpents: but 9e ought not to say that
1od made man to be eaten by serpents
O$I5

85/469
,hat do you mean by saying that 1od permits?
6an anything happen but by /is orders? )o per-
mit and to 9ill are they not 9ith /im the same
thing ?
$(.I
/e permits crime: but does not commit it
LH &hilosophical
O$I5
)o commit a crime is to act against 4ivine jus-
tice to disobey 1od )herefore: as 1od cannot
disobey /imself: /e cannot commit crime! but /e
has so made man that man commits it freKuently
/o9 does that arise?
$(.I
$ome men can tell: but I am not one of them
0ll that I kno9 is: that the 3oran is ridiculous:
although possessing here and there things 9hich are

86/469
passable )he 3oran: ho9ever: is certainly not
necessary to man that I maintain I perceive
clearly that 9hich is false: but kno9 very little of
that 9hich is true
O$I5
I thought that you 9ould instruct me: but you
teach me nothing
$(.I
Is it not something to kno9 the men 9ho deceive
you: and the gross and dangerous errors they pro-
mulgate ?
O$I5
I should have cause to complain of a physician
9ho made me acKuainted 9ith poisonous plants:
9ithout instructing me in regard to such as are sal-
utary
$(.I
I am no physician: nor are you a sick man ! and

87/469
it appears to me that I give you a very useful pre-
4ictionary LP
scription: 9hen I say to you< 4istrust the inven-
tions of charlatans! 9orship 1od! be an honest
man ! and believe that t9o and t9o make four
5(, 5O2(.)I($
I) $(($ as if the %rst 9ords of Ovid;s 8eta-
morphoses8 8In nova fert animus8 9ere the em-
blem of mankind 5o one is touched 9ith the ad-
mirable spectacle of the sun 9hich rises or seems
to rise every day ! but everybody runs at the small-
est meteor 9hich appears for a moment in the map
of vapors 9hich surround the earth: and 9hich 9e
call heaven ,e despise 9hatever is common: or
9hich has been long kno9n <
2illa sunt nobis KuacumKue prioribus annis
2idimus: et sordet KuidKuid spectavimus olim
0 ha9ker 9ill not burden himself 9ith a 82ir-

88/469
gil8 or a 8/orace:8 but 9ith a ne9 book: 9ere it
ever so detestable /e dra9s you aside and says to
you < 8$ir: 9ill you have some books from /ol-
land?8
+rom the commencement of the 9orld: 9omen
have complained of the in%delities done to them in
favor of the %rst ne9 object 9hich presents itself:
and 9hich has often this novelty for its only merit
$everal ladies 9e must confess it: not9ithstanding
the in%nite respect 9hich 9e have for them have
treated men as they complain that the men have
treated them ! and the story of =ocondo is much
more ancient than 0riosto
LR &hilosophical
&erhaps this universal taste for novelty is a bene-
%t of nature ,e are told< 6ontent yourselves
9ith 9hat you have! desire nothing beyond your
situation! subdue the restlessness of your mind
)hese are very good maxims! but if 9e had fol-
lo9ed them: 9e should still live upon acorns and
sleep under the stars: and 9e should have had

89/469
neither 6orneille: 'acine: oliere: &oussin: .e
7run: .emoine: nor &igal
54I)
,/ do 9e shut up a man or a 9oman 9hom 9e
%nd naked in the streets ? and 9hy is no one oCended
at entirely naked statues: and 9ith certain paintings
of =esus and of agdalen 9hich are to be seen in
some of the churches ? It is very likely that human
beings existed for a considerable time 9ithout cloth-
ing In more than one island and on the continent
of 0merica: people are still found 9ho are ignorant
of clothing
)he most [email protected] of them conceal the organs of
generation by leaves: by interlaced rushes or mats:
and by feathers ,hence this latter modesty ? Is it
the instinct of nature to provoke desire by the con-
cealment of that 9hich 9e are inclined to discover?
Is it true that among nations some9hat more pol-
ished than the =e9s and demi-=e9s: there are entire
sects 9ho: 9hen they 9orship 1od: deprive them-
selves of clothing $uch have been: it is said: the
0damites and the 0belians )hey assembled: nicked:

90/469
4ictionary L#
to sing the praises of 1od $t (piphanius and $t
0ugustine say this: 9ho: it is true: 9ere not contem-
poraries: and 9ho lived very distant from their coun-
try 7ut after all: this folly is possible: and is not
more extraordinary or insane than a hundred other
follies 9hich have made the tour of the 9orld: one
after another
,e have seen: in the article 8(mblem:8 that the
ahometans still possess saints 9ho are mad: and
9ho go about naked as apes It is very possible that
[email protected] people have existed: 9ho thought that it 9as
more proper to present ourselves before the 4eity
in the state in 9hich /e has formed us: than under
any disguise of our o9n invention It is possible
that these persons exposed themselves out of pure
devotion )here are so fe9 9ell-made people of
either sex: that nudity may have inspired chastity:
or rather disgust: instead of augmenting desire
It is moreover asserted that the 0belians re-
nounced marriage If they abounded in youthful

91/469
gallants and amorous maidens: they 9ere the less
comparable 9ith $t 0dhelm and the happy 'obert
4;0rbriselle: 9ho lay 9ith the most beautiful
9omen: only in order to prove the strength of their
continence I confess: ho9ever: that it must be
pleasant to 9itness a hundred naked /elens and
&arises singing anthems: giving one another the kiss
of peace: and performing the ceremonies of the
agapae
0ll this proves that there is nothing so singular:
HG &hilosophical
so extravagant: or so superstitious: 9hich has not
been conceived by the head of man /appy it is:
9hen these follies do not trouble society: and make
of it a scene of hate: of discord: and of fury It is
doubtless better to pray to 1od stark naked: than to

Voltaire XII

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