Can the reader of himself ascertain4 that this intelligence is omnipotent5, that is to say, infinitely6 powerful? Has he the slightest notion of infinity7, to enable him to comprehend the meaning and extent of almighty8 power?
The celebrated9 philosophic10 historian, David Hume, says, “A weight of ten ounces is raised in a balance by another weight; this other weight therefore is more than ten ounces; but no one can rationally infer that it must necessarily be a hundred weight.”
We may fairly and judiciously11 apply here the same argument. You acknowledge a supreme intelligence sufficiently12 powerful to form yourself, to preserve you for a limited time in life, to reward you and to punish you. Are you sufficiently acquainted with it to be able to demonstrate that it can do more than this? How can you prove by your reason that a being can do more than it has actually done?
The life of all animals is short. Could he make it longer? All animals are food for one another without exception; everything is born to be devoured14. Could he form without destroying? You know not what his nature is. It is impossible, therefore, that you should know whether his nature may not have compelled him to do only the very things which he has done.
The globe on which we live is one vast field of destruction and carnage. Either the Supreme Being was able to make of it an eternal mode of enjoyment15 for all beings possessed16 of sensation, or He was not. If He was able and yet did not do it, you will undoubtedly17 tremble to pronounce or consider Him a maleficent being; but if He was unable to do so, do not tremble to regard Him as a power of very great extent indeed, but nevertheless circumscribed18 by His nature within certain limits.
Whether it be infinite or not, is not of any consequence to you. It is perfectly19 indifferent to a subject whether his sovereign possesses five hundred leagues of territory or five thousand; he is in either case neither more nor less a subject. Which would reflect most strongly on this great and ineffable20 Being: to say He made miserable21 beings because it was indispensable to do so; or that He made them merely because it was His will and pleasure?
Many sects22 represent Him as cruel; others, through fear of admitting the existence of a wicked Deity23, are daring enough to deny His existence at all. Would it not be far preferable to say that probably the necessity of His own nature and that of things have determined24 everything?
The world is the theatre of moral and natural evil; this is too decidedly found and felt to be the case; and the “all is for the best” of Shaftesbury, Bolingbroke, and Pope, is nothing but the effusion of a mind devoted25 to eccentricity26 and paradox27; in short, nothing but a dull jest.
The two principles of Zoroaster and Manes, so minutely investigated by Bayle, are a duller jest still. They are, as we have already observed, the two physicians of Molière, one of whom says to the other: “You excuse my emetics28, and I will excuse your bleedings.” Manich?ism is absurd; and that circumstance will account for its having had so many partisans29.
I acknowledge that I have not had my mind enlightened by all that Bayle has said about the Manich?ans and Paulicians. It is all controversy30; what I wanted was pure philosophy. Why speak about our mysteries to Zoroaster? As soon as ever we have the temerity31 to discuss the critical subject of our mysteries, we open to our view the most tremendous precipices32.
The trash of our own scholastic33 theology has nothing to do with the trash of Zoroaster’s reveries. Why discuss with Zoroaster the subject of original sin? That subject did not become a matter of dispute until the time of St. Augustine. Neither Zoroaster nor any other legislator of antiquity34 ever heard it mentioned. If you dispute with Zoroaster, lock up your Old and New Testament35, with which he had not the slightest acquaintance, and which it is our duty to revere36 without attempting to explain.
What I should myself have said to Zoroaster would have been this: My reason opposes the admission of two gods in conflict with each other; such an idea is allowable only in a poem in which Minerva quarrels with Mars. My weak understanding much more readily acquiesces37 in the notion of only one Great Being, than in that of two great beings, of whom one is constantly counteracting38 and spoiling the operations of the other. Your evil principle, Arimanes, has not been able to derange40 a single astronomical41 and physical law established by the good principle of Oromazes; everything proceeds, among the numberless worlds which constitute what we call the heavens, with perfect regularity42 and harmony; how comes it that the malignant43 Arimanes has power only over this little globe of earth?
Had I been Arimanes, I should have assailed44 Oromazes in his immense and noble provinces, comprehending numbers of suns and stars. I should never have been content to confine the war to an insignificant45 and miserable village. There certainly is a great deal of misery46 in this same village; but how can we possibly ascertain that it is not absolutely inevitable47?
You are compelled to admit an intelligence diffused48 through the universe. But in the first place, do you absolutely know that this intelligence comprises a knowledge of the future? You have asserted a thousand times that it does; but you have never been able to prove it to me, or to comprehend it yourself. You cannot have any idea how any being can see what does not exist; well, the future does not exist, therefore no being can see it. You are reduced to the necessity of saying that he foresees it; but to foresee is only to conjecture49.
Now a god who, according to your system, conjectures50 may be mistaken. He is, on your principles, really mistaken; for if he had foreseen that his enemy would poison all his works in this lower world, he would never have produced them; he would not have been accessory to the disgrace he sustains in being perpetually vanquished51.
Secondly52, is he not much more honored upon my hypothesis, which maintains that he does everything by the necessity of his own nature, than upon yours, which raises up against him an enemy, disfiguring, polluting, and destroying all his works of wisdom and kindness throughout the world!
In the third place, it by no means implies a mean and unworthy idea of God to say that, after forming millions of worlds, in which death and evil may have no residence, it might be necessary that death and evil should reside in this.
Fourth, it is not deprecating God to say that He could not form man without bestowing53 on him self-love; that this self-love could not be his guide without almost always leading him astray; that his passions are necessary, but at the same time noxious54; that the continuation of the species cannot be accomplished55 without desires; that these desires cannot operate without exciting quarrels; and that these quarrels necessarily bring on wars, etc.
Fifth, on observing a part of the combinations of the vegetable, animal, and mineral kingdoms, and the porous56 nature of the earth, in every part so minutely pierced and drilled like a sieve57, and from which exhalations constantly rrise in immense profusion58, what philosopher will be bold enough, what schoolman will be weak enough, decidedly to maintain that nature could possibly prevent the ravages59 of volcanoes, the intemperature of seasons, the rage of tempests, the poison of pestilence60, or, in short, any of those scourages which afflict61 the world?
Sixth, a very great degree of power and skill are required to form lions who devour13 bulls, and to produce men who invent arms which destroy, by a single blow, not merely the life of bulls and lions, but — melancholy62 as the idea is — the life of one another. Great power is necessary to produce the spiders which spread their exquisitely63 fine threads and net-work to catch flies; but this power amounts not to omnipotence64 — it is not boundless65 power.
In the seventh place, if the Supreme Being had been infinitely powerful, no reason can be assigned why He should not have made creatures endowed with sensation infinitely happy; He has not in fact done so; therefore we ought to conclude that He could not do so.
Eighth, all the different sects of philosophers have struck on the rock of physical and moral evil. The only conclusion that can be securely reached is, that God, acting39 always for the best, has done the best that He was able to do.
Ninth, this necessity cuts off all difficulties and terminates all disputes. We have not the hardihood to say: “All is good”; we say: “There is no more evil than was absolutely inevitable.”
Tenth, why do some infants die at the mother’s breast? Why are others, after experiencing the first misfortune of being born, reserved for tormentes as lasting66 as their lives, which are at length ended by an appalling67 death? Why has the source of life been poisoned throughout the world since the discovery of America? Why, since the seventh century of the Christian68 era, has the smallpox69 swept away an eighth portion of the human species? Why, in every age of the world, have human bladders been liable to be converted into stone quarries70? Why pestilence, and war, and famine, and the Inquisition? Consider the subject as carefully, as profoundly, as the powers of the mind will absolutely permit, you will find no other possible solution than that all is necessary.
I address myself here solely71 to philosophers, and not to divines. We know that faith is the clue to guide us through the labyrinth72. We know full well that the fall of Adam and Eve, original sin, the vast power communicated to devils, the predilection73 entertained by the Supreme Being for the Jewish people, and the ceremony of baptism substituted for that of circumcision, are answers that clear up every difficulty. We have been here arguing only against Zoroaster, and not against the University of Coimbra, to whose decisions and doctrines74, in all the articles of our work, we submit with all possible deference75 and faith. See the letters of Memmius to Cicero; and answer them if you can.
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1
anatomy
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| n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织 | |
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2
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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omnipotent
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| adj.全能的，万能的 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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infinity
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| n.无限，无穷，大量 | |
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almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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judiciously
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| adv.明断地，明智而审慎地 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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circumscribed
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| adj.[医]局限的：受限制或限于有限空间的v.在…周围划线( circumscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；划定…范围；限制；限定 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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sects
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| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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eccentricity
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| n.古怪，反常，怪癖 | |
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paradox
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| n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物) | |
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emetics
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| n.催吐药( emetic的名词复数 ) | |
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partisans
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| 游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙 | |
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controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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temerity
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| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
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precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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scholastic
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| adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的 | |
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antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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revere
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| vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏 | |
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acquiesces
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的第三人称单数 ) | |
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counteracting
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| 对抗，抵消( counteract的现在分词 ) | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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derange
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| v.使精神错乱 | |
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astronomical
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| adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的 | |
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regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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48
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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50
conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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51
vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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52
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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53
bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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54
noxious
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| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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porous
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| adj.可渗透的，多孔的 | |
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57
sieve
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| n.筛，滤器，漏勺 | |
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profusion
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| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
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59
ravages
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| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
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60
pestilence
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| n.瘟疫 | |
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afflict
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| vt.使身体或精神受痛苦，折磨 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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64
omnipotence
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| n.全能，万能，无限威力 | |
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boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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69
smallpox
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| n.天花 | |
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70
quarries
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| n.（采）石场( quarry的名词复数 )；猎物（指鸟，兽等）；方形石；（格窗等的）方形玻璃v.从采石场采得( quarry的第三人称单数 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石 | |
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71
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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72
labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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73
predilection
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| n.偏好 | |
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74
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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