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THou hast formerly received a Letter from me, wherein I mentioned the Tenets of a certain French Philoso∣pher who maintains, That the Earth moves like the Rest of the Planets, and the Sun stands still, being the Center of this our World: For he asserts, that there are Many.
The Name of this Sage is Des Cartes, Re∣nowned throughout the World for his Learn∣ing and Knowledge. H•• lays as a Basis of all his Philosophy, this short Position and Infe∣rence, I THINK; THEREFORE I AM. In this alone he is Dogmatical, al∣lowing a Lawful Scepticism, in all the Un∣certain Deductions which may be drawn from it.
Pardon me, Oraculous Sage, if I expose be∣fore thee my Infirmities. I am Naturally di∣strustful of all Things. This Temper puts me upon Perpetual Thinking. And that very Act convinces me, of the Truth of my Being, according to the Method of this Philosopher. But What I am, I know not. Sometimes I Phancy my self, no more than a Dream or Idea of all those other Things, which Men commonly believe do Really Exist: A mere Imagination of Possibilities. And, that all which we call the World, is but One Grand Chimaera, or Nothing in Masquerade.
At other Times, when these wild Thoughts are vanished, and my Spirits tired in the Pur∣suit of such Abstracted Whimsies begin to flag, and that my Lower Sence awak'd by some present Pain or Pleasure, rouzes my sleeping Appetites: When I am touch'd with Hunger, Thirst, or Cold, or Heat, and find experimentally, I am Something that cannot be a mere Thought or Dream, but of a Com∣position which stands in Need of Meat, Drink, Garments, and other Necessaries: Then, ra∣ther than fret my self with Vain and Endless
Scrutinies, I tamely conclude, I am that which they call a Man, I lay the Sceptick a∣side, and without ••ny farther Scruples or Doubts, fall roundly to eating, drinking, or any other Refreshments my Nature craves for.
But no sooner have I tasted these Delights, when my Old Distemper returns again. I then consider my self as a Being, capable of Happiness or Misery in some Degree, as I shall possess or Want those very Delights I just before enjoyed. This is a sufficient Damp to a Thinking Man, when he knows, that he stands in Need of any Thing out of himself. But 'tis far greater, when he will take the Pains to number all the Train of his Particular Necessities, which he is not sure he shall always be able to supply.
This makes me presently conclude, That as I am Indebted to Other Creatures for my sensible Happiness, so I owe my very Being to Something beside my self. I examine my Original, and find I am born of Men and Wo∣men, who were in the same Indigent Cir∣cumstances as my self: And that it is not only so with my Particular Family, but with all Mankind; our whole Human Race, being born Natural Mendicants from the Womb. As soon as we breath the Vital Air, we Cry; and with those Inarticulate Prayers, beg for Help and Protection from others, without whose generous Aid we could not subsist a Moment: So poor and beggarly a Thing is Man, from his Birth. This is the Condition
of all: Neither is a King any more ex¦empt from this Common Character of Mortals than the Slave who sweeps the Streets.
If I could have rested in this Thought, I should have been happy: For it would have had this Influence on me, either to convince me, that I ought to be content with the Condition to which I was born, or to rid my self out of so despicable a State by Death.
But alas, one Thought produces another: And from the Contemplation of our present Misery in this Life, I fall to thinking what will become of us after Death. For, as we know not What, or Where we were before we came into this World; so there is no Human Certainty, Whither we shall go, or in What Condition we shall be, when we leave it: And therefore, it would be an unpardonable Mad∣ness, to throw my self headlong into a State of which I have no Account: And, to avoid the Little Miseries of this Life, which must have an End one Time or other, cast my self down a Precipice (for ought I know) of Intolerable Torments, which has no Bot∣tom.
I hear the Philosophers talk of Immortality, the Poets of Elyzium, the Christian Priests of Heaven, Hell, and Pargatory; the Indian Bramins of Transmigration. But I know not what, or which I have Reason to believe, of all these.
I speak after the Manner of Philosophers; for, if we come to Faith, the Case is altered. Think not, I beseech thee, that I call in Question the Sacred Oracles, the Revelations of the sent of God. But I only acquaint thee, how my Natural Reason hatters me with Doubts.
I see Men every where professing some Re∣ligion or other; paying Divine Honours to some Superiour Being, or Beings, according as they have been Educated: Which many Times tempts me to think, that Religion is Nothing but the Effect of Education.
Then I wonder, how Men when they come to Years of Discretion, and their Rea∣son is able to Distinguish between Things probable, and mere Romances, can still retain the Errors of their Infancy. 'Tis Natural for Children, to be wheadled or aw'd into a Be∣lief of what their Parents, Nurses, or Tutors teach them. But when they come of Age, they soon rectify their misled Understandings, in all Things, save the Affairs of Religion. In this they are Children still, tenacious of the Sacred Fables of their Priests, and Obsti∣nate in maintaining them, sometimes even to Death.
It puzzles me to find out the Cause of so strange an Effect, That Men otherwise endu'd with Mature Judgments, and an extraordina∣ry Sagacity in all Things else, should yet be Fools in Matters of Religion, and believe Things Inconsistent with the Common Sence and Reason of Mankind.
I could never give Credit to the Histories of the Ancient Pagans, which acquaint us with the devout Adoration they paid to the Creatures of the Painter or Carver, did not I see the same practised among the Christians: Or, that those Wise Men of Old, cou'd swal∣low the Forgeries of their Priests concerning their Gods and Goddesses, were I not an Eye-Witness, how bigotted the Modern Nazarenes are to the Legends of their Saints, and the Jews to those more Ridiculous Figments of the Talmud.
It perplexes me, to see Mankind generally labouring under so great a Darkness, not so much the Effect of Ignorance, as of Super∣stition: To behold Men well vers'd in Sci∣ences, and all kinds of Humane Learning; yet Zealous Assertors of manifest Contradictions in Matters of Divinity, rather than oppose, or so much as examine the Traditions of their Fathers.
When I behold Mankind divided into so many innumerable Different Religions in the World, all vigorously propagating their own Tenets, either by Subtilty or Violence, yet few or none seeming by their Practice to be∣lieve what they with so much Ardour pro∣fess; I could almost think, that these various Ways of Worship, were first invented by Politicians; each accommodating his Model, to the Inclinations of the People whom he design'd to Circumvent.
But when on the other side I consider, there appears something so Natural and Ʋndis∣guis'd,
in the Furious Zeal, and Ʋnconquera∣ble Obstinacy of the Greatest Part; I am as ready to Joyn with Cardan, and conclude, That all this Variety of Religions, depends on the Different Influence of the Stars. This was a famous Philosopher in Europe; and held, That the Religion of the Jews, ow'd its O∣riginal to the Force of Saturn, that of the Christians to Jupiter, and Ours to Mars. As for the Pagans, he assigns to them ma∣ny Constellations and Aspects.
Thus there is so equal an Appearance of Truth and Falshood in Every Religion, that I should not know how, in Human Reason, to fix on any.
Superstition renders a Man a Fool, and Scep∣ticism is enough to make him Mad. To be∣lieve All Things, is above Reason; to give Credit to Nothing, is below it. I will keep the Middle Path, and direct my Faith by my Reason.
That Faculty tells me, that if I were in inclined to Adore the Sun, Moon and Stars for their Beauty and Influence, I might on the same Ground Worship my own Eyes, with∣out which I could not behold their tempting Splendors: Or, I might as well pay Divine Honour to that more Intimate Sence, my Feeling, or any of my other Sences, which only render me capable to know the Vertue of these Luminaries. The fame may be said of the Elements, and of all Visible Be∣ings.
What then shall I Adore, or to whom shall I return Thanks for all the Blessings I enjoy (for, even in this Miserable Life, I taste some Happiness?) To that Being, I say, shall I address my Vows and Supplications, for all the Good that I possess and want? Is it to any Thing that I have seen or can see, or that I can represent to my self under a Figure? Is it to any Part of the Ʋniverse, or no? No: To the whole Complex together? No. I have a Thousand kind Thoughts for the Sun, Moon and Stars, for the Elements, and many other Compound Creatures. My Soul, and that of the World, are Ʋnisons. But 'tis the Profound Depth of Eternity, the Infinite and Immortal, who is the Diapason, and makes perfect Harmony.
To that Being which has no Resemblance, neither is Divided into Parts, nor Circum∣scrib'd with Limits; whose Center is every where, Circumference no where; Who hath neither Beginning nor End: To the only Om∣nipotent, from whom all other Things flow, and to whom they all return; To him I owe all that I have, and will pay what I can. And something by his Determination, I am Indebted, and will discharge to thee, Orient Light of the Moresco Mussulmans; that is, the Duty of an Humble Slave, in begging Par∣don for this Presumption.
Paris, 14th. of the 2d. Moon, of the Year 1652.