Revue Encyclopedique. Par M. V. Cousin [pp. 358-377]

German and French Philosophy.
comprehensible by us, is a God who, for us, does not exist.
In truth, what could a God be for us, who had not thought
fit to give his lowly creature sufficient intelligence to reach
himself, to comprehend and exercise faith in him. What is
it to believe? It is to understand, at least, in some measure.
Faith, whatever may be its form, vulgar or sublime, faith can
be nothing but the consent of reason to that which reason
comprehends as true. Such is the foundation of all faith.
Take away the possibility of knowledge, and there remains
nothing to believe, the very root of faith is taken away. It
is said that if God is not entirely incomprehensible, he is so,
in part, at least. Be it so; but let the measure be determined,
and I will maintain that this measure of the comprehensibility of God is precisely the measure of human faith. God
is so.little incomprehensible, that that which constitutes his
nature is, precisely, ideas, ideas whose very essence it is to
be intelligible. It has been much debated whether ideas represent or not, whether they are conformed or not, to their
objects. In truth, the question is not whether ideas represent, for ideas are above all things; the true, philosophical
question is, rather, if things represent, for ideas are not the
reflection of things; things are the reflection of ideas. God,
the substance of ideas, is essentially intelligent and essentially
intelligible. I will go farther, and to this reproach of pusillanimous mysticism, will reply from the very height of Christian orthodoxy. Do you know, gentlemen, what the theory
is that I have now exhibited? Nothing but the foundation
of Christianity itself. The God of Christianity is three and
one at the same time, so that any accusations against the doctrine
which I teach, strike at the root of the Christian doctrine of
the Trinity. The dogma of the Trinity is the revelation of
the divine essence made clear in all its profundity, brought
entirely under the cognizance of human thought. It does not
appear that Christianity believes the divine essence inaccessible, since it teaches this doctrine to the most humble mind,
making it one of the first truths inculcated. But, cry they,
do you forget, this truth is a mystery? No, I do not, but
do not you forget, this mystery is a truth."
If our readers are not already fatigued with abstractions,
we now present a passage, where the Gordian in the question
of creation is fairly cut through, if not really unravelled. The
author's conclusion is all that we can insert:
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