by Jean Meslier
So, after all these testimonies, it is clear and plain to see that, under the authority and power of an all-powerful and infinitely good and just God, there should be no evil in the world, and that no creature there should be unhappy, or flawed, or defective in any way, since they would all have emanated from the almighty hand of a supremely perfect God, who would have made them, and who would never wish to make anything bad or defective. But what is particularly remarkable about the testimony of the so-called Scriptures of our Christ-cultists, which I’ve just cited, is that once they point out that God will make all things new and that He will put all things into a better state than they’re in, by taking away all their present flaws and defects, and even by banishing death, pain, and all that might do harm to His creatures, or distress them at all, this is an acknowledgement that they should have been better made or better regulated, and that they weren’t made properly, or regulated properly: for if they had been properly made and properly regulated from the start, they would certainly have no need for this nice, supposed reformation, spoken of by these prophets, and about which our Christ-cultists flatter themselves so vainly, because an all-powerful, infinitely good, and infinitely wise God would have placed them, from the start, in all the perfections and all the orderliness they would ever need. For it’s inconceivable that an infinitely perfect being could be wiser, cleverer, or shrewder at one time than another, or that it could do things better a second time than the first time around.
At the same time as it is acknowledged that the visible things of this world need a better reformation, that they are flawed and defective, that it brings misery on the living, requiring them all to die and suffer pains, illness, and all the other miseries of life, and to flatter oneself, however vainly, that they will someday be in a more happy and perfect state, where someday they will be in a happier and more perfect state, where they will be free of all flaws, all defects, and they will free from all pains and afflictions, it’s also necessary to recognize that they were originally made by the all-powerful hand of an infinitely perfect God, who wouldn’t have failed to place them, from the start, in a state of perfection suitable to them, and who wouldn’t have failed, either, to have keep them that way forever, after having placed them there.
And, since to Deity has ever been seen, either in the past or in the present, who took it upon themselves to fulfill such a fine promise as making such a desirable and advantageous reform or repair to the visible things of this world, despite the many thousands of years that have passed since this fine, supposed promise was made and since it should have been made good, this is yet another manifest proof that it didn’t come from any Divinity, as our Christ-cultists say, but it came from certain impostors, who, to abuse mankind, rashly and insolently counterfeited the voice and the promises of an all-powerful God, or from certain insane visionaries or fanatics, who mistake their imaginings, their dreams, and their reveries for divine revelations, from which I draw this conclusion, that there would certainly be no vice or any defect in the visible things of this world, and that those who have life would never suffer any harm or pain, if they had been made and ordained by the almighty hand of a supremely perfect God. Since, then, it’s clear that the visible things of this world are flawed or defective, and that all that has life has the sad necessity of dying and suffering many illnesses, many pains, and much misery, and since, ultimately, they have to suffer death with pain, this is a manifest proof that they were not made this way by the almighty hand of a supremely perfect God, and therefore I was right to say that all the most beautiful and most wonderful things in this visible world, don’t demonstrate the existence of an all-powerful God, since the least evil demonstrates that there is none. For, ultimately, we know that chance can sometimes make good and perfect things, we know that it can sometimes make something beautiful and good; but an all-powerful and infinitely perfect God would never allow any harm, or any defect.
Our Christ-cultists try to adorn themselves with the strength of this argument, saying that it is not in this world, or now, that God intends to fulfill the favorable promises He made about the general reparation of His creatures, but will only be at the end of the world, and in heaven, where He will fulfill all His divine promises, and with respect to those who have faithfully served Him in this life. But, aside from the fact that this interpretation is clearly contrary to the true meaning of the above Scriptures, which expressly and clearly state that these promises are supposed to be fulfilled in this world, and at a time which should not be long in coming, as is easy to see by reading the books that speak of it, I say that it’s sheer mockery to remit the fulfillment of God’s promises in this way to a life which is only imaginary, to a time which will never come, and to a place where nobody can go to learn or to bring back any information, it’s an error and a ridiculous illusion to send the fulfilment of the direct promises of a God, in this way, if we assume that there really were a God. What liar, what impostor, or cynic couldn’t say the same thing in his own cause? Which impostor or cynic couldn’t make all the same promises? Certainly, they could all say and promise the same things; and that’s all we need to clearly show the vanity of such promises, the ineptitude of those who give them such a vain interpretation, and the stupidity of those who vainly place their hopes in them. All this clearly shows that there is no Divinity, and that all that’s said about one is only lies, illusion, and imposture. Far, then, from saying that the invisible existence of God makes itself plainly known by the visible things of this world, as our God-cultists claim, instead it must be stated that these same visible things clearly show that there isn’t one, since they couldn’t be as flawed and defective and disordered as they are, if they truly were the work of an all-powerful and infinitely good God.
This is also clearly confirmed by the general lack of providence which is plain as day in all things that depend on fortune: for it is obvious that no perfect intelligence guides and governs them, because we see daily examples of the way the come and go everywhere without any semblance of reason, without any rule, without distinction between good and evil and without any discernment as to merit, or justice and natural equity. Yes, we see every day, nobody can deny it, that this is an imposing scandal for people who, on that basis, take the opportunity to be more vicious and wicked, that is, what is written in the so-called holy books of our Christ-cultists, who plainly show us this truth. “The same things come to all without distinction,” says the Author of one of these so-called holy books, “the same thing,” he says, “comes to the just and the wicked, to the good and the vicious, to he who offers sacrifices, as to he who scorns them. As the good man is,” he says, “so is the sinner, he who swears, just like he who fears to take any oath, and it’s troubling,” he continues, “that these same accidents happen to everyone; for this is,” he says, “what makes the heart of men to be full of malice and wickedness. I have turned elsewhere,” he said again, “and I’ve seen under heaven, that the prize in the race does not go to those who run best, or victory for those who run strongest, or wealth for those who are wisest, or grace and honors for those who are the most learned; but that occasion and chance control everything[807]”. If there were an intelligent and supremely perfect being, intervening to guide or rule all things, both natural and human, it wouldn’t let them go like this at random, as they actually go; but it would regulate them with justice and wisdom. Since, then, no justice or wisdom are apparent, nor do we see any justice in the conduct of these kinds of events, and since they all come at random, this is a certain and clear proof that these things are not guided by a supremely perfect intelligence.
But an objector might say that all these effects, even if attributed to chance, and as coming only through chance, are in fact only the effects of the divine Providence, which guides chance itself, and makes things fall out as it pleases. But this is a baseless thing to say. For, 1) Since chance follows no rules, and it always goes blindly on its way, without making any discernment of cause, or effect, and without a
ny distinction of time, place, or persons, there is no need for the guidance of a supreme intelligence, to go blindly in this way, without rhyme or reason. And as proof that there is no need for this supposed guidance, there is the fact that it wouldn’t cease to go always on its way in the same manner, even if no intelligence were posited to guide it. Besides, it would be an insult to a supreme intelligence to say that it would do such a bad job in guiding its works, since there is no prudence, no wisdom, and no justice in such conduct. Thus, we cannot say that things which are done or which happen by chance, are guided by a supreme intelligence, and how can we say that they would be guided by a supreme intelligence, since even the most well-ordered and the most constant in their motions and in their effects, are guided by such a principle? No, surely this is not evident, but the opposite is clear, that they blindly follow their usual course, without knowing where they are and without knowing what they do. Thus, for example, water naturally and consistently follows the slope of the place it finds itself in; it blindly goes its way and dampens everything it meets; likewise, flames always tend to rise upward, blindly burning whatever combustible materials it meets. Likewise, the Sun and the stars consistently and regularly follow their usual paths, blindly they shine and give light to the whole world; in the same way, all the animals and all the plants naturally, and according to the times and seasons, produce the fruits suitable for them, each according to their own kind, and so on with other natural things. None will say that this is done by knowledge and planning on the part of the above-mentioned things, since inanimate things move, without knowing that they move and act without knowing that they act. Nor will it be said that the animals beget and produce each other by a principle of knowledge, since they don’t know how the least part of their body is made, but even so they are able to be formed without any awareness of it. So, all things move blindly and all things act blindly, although they are steady in their motions and their effects, and this is, at the same time, the reason why there natural causes which always and regularly, and as it were necessarily, produce the same effects, because they have a natural and, as it were, necessary agreement and connection with their effects, and the contingent causes, which do not always and regularly produce the same effects, both because they have no natural and necessary connection with their effects, and because these sorts of effects often depend on many causes, or many circumstances of causes, which are not always present at the same time and place; but only sometimes fortuitously and by chance. And, since all these cases move and since they act blindly, each as much as the other, in all they do, this is what causes them to produce their effects everywhere, without any distinction of time or place, and without regard to any good or bad thing that might happen to them.
To say that all these things are guided in their motions and in the production of their effects by a superior intelligence, is a pure illusion and a fiction of the human mind, which is based on no real argument, since it is clear to see that all this can happen naturally by the motive force of matter alone, which moves of itself and which acts blindly everywhere, without knowing what it does, or why it does it, like fire, as I’ve mentioned, which doesn’t care what it burns when it meets something combustible, not knowing what it burns, and hardens mud, softens wax, and blackens the fireplace, without knowing what it’s doing. What I’ve said here about the motive force of matter, which moves and acts blindly everywhere, is seen clearly every day, and nobody fails to see it. But what our God-cultists and our Christ-cultists say with reference to a supreme intelligence, which guides all things, is something that nobody can see; they talk about one thing, which they can’t see, and which nobody has ever seen, or known, and of which they can provide no sufficient proof, which clearly shows that there is no supreme intelligence which governs this world, or the things in it, and consequently that there is no Deity which makes Himself sufficiently known to men, or who sufficiently acquaints them with His will; for if there were one, He wouldn’t fail, as I’ve just proved by all these arguments, to make Himself at least sufficiently known to men by all these indubitable testimonies of His omnipotence, of His infinite justice, of His infinite goodness, and of His infinite wisdom, who would not allow or permit any evil, or any flaw, or any injustice, or any misery, or any disorder in His creatures; but who, after having created all of them in a state of perfection, each according to its own nature, He would keep them forever in a state of order, by governing them with all wisdom and all justice, without abandoning them, as they are, to the whims of chance, or to the inexorable laws of a blind necessity.
To respond to all these arguments, our Christ-cultists will surely say that, on one hand, as I’ve already said, the beauty, the excellence, the order, and the near-infinite variety of so many beautiful and wonderful things that we see in the world clearly show us that they can only have been made by a supreme intelligence and by an infinitely wise, infinitely perfect artisan; and consequently, that they can only have been made by the omnipotence of an infinitely perfect God, since it is impossible, they say, that so many beautiful and wonderful things could have been made by themselves, or made by a single stroke of chance, or by a fortuitous concourse of mere atoms, or bits of matter. “I can’t open my eyes,” said the famous Fénelon[808], Archbishop of Cambrai, “without admiring the artistry that shines forth in nature, the least glance,” he says, “is enough to perceive the hand that made all things[809]”. All of nature,” he says, “shows the infinite art of its author… But I maintain,” he says, “that the universe bears the stamp of an infinitely powerful and industrious cause.” “I maintain,” he adds, “that chance, that is, the blind and fortuitous concourse of causes that are necessary and deprived of reason, might have formed this totality[810].” He goes on:
Who could ever believe that Homer's Iliad, this utterly perfect poem, wasn’t composed by the genius of a great poet, and that if the letters of the alphabet were jumbled up by a stroke of sheer randomness, like a throw of the dice, could combine all the letters precisely in the arrangement necessary to write so many great events in verses full of harmony and variety, placing and joining them together so well, as to depict each object with all that is most gracious, noble, and moving; finally, to make each person speak, in character, in a manner that is so candid and impassioned? Argue and reason as much as you like, but you will never convince a sensible man that the Iliad had no author but chance. Cicero[811] said that chance would never be a single line, let alone a whole poem. Why, then, he concludes, could this sensible man believe the same thing of the universe, which is certainly far more wonderful than the Iliad, which his common sense will never allow him to think about this poem?
And here’s another comparison from the same Author[812]:
If we were to hear, in a room, behind a curtain, a sweet and harmonious instrument, would we believe that chance, without any human hand, might have formed this instrument? Would we say that the cords of a violin came together by themselves and stretched themselves out on a length of wood, whose pieces were glued together to form a cavity, with regular openings? Would we maintain that the bow was formed artlessly, was pushed by the wind, to touch each cord in such varied ways, and with such accuracy? Could any rational mind could seriously doubt whether a human hand was touching this instrument with such harmony? Wouldn’t he cry out, instead, that an educated hand was touching it?
The same Author makes several such comparisons, referring to[813] a beautiful statue which was found ready-made in an uninhabited land, or a beautiful painting, portraying many people. He also presents[814] an example of a beautiful clock, and that of a beautiful house, symmetrically and perfectly built. The same Mr. De Cambrai[815] also writes:
What would we say, of a man who prided himself on his subtle Philosophy, and who, upon entering a house, ventured to claim that it was made by chance, and that hard work had done nothing to make it comfortable for men, since there are caves which in some ways resemble the house, which human art never dug out? What we would do,�
�� he says, “is show the man who argued this way all the parts of this house; look,” he’d be told, “at this big door to the courtyard, it’s larger than the rest, to let in carriages. The courtyard is large spacious enough for them to let the carriages turn around before they leave. The staircase is made of small steps, to let us climb without much effort. It turns according to the apartments and floors that use it. The windows, cut at set intervals, give light to the whole building. They have glass to keep the wind from coming in with the light. You can open them to breathe the sweet seasonal air. Everything is made to protect the whole building from bad weather. The frame is pointed, to let rain and snow easily slide off both sides, the tiles lean on each other to cover the wood of the frame, the various beams of the stories serve to multiply the dwellings in a small space, setting them on top of each other. The fireplaces are made to light things up with fire in Winter, without burning the house, and to lead the smoke outside, so that those who are enjoying the heat aren’t imbued with its smell. The apartments are distributed so that they are not stuck inside each other, so that a whole large family can live there, without needing to go through each other’s rooms, and so that the Master bedroom is the main one. In this place one can see kitchens, offices, stables, and sheds for the carriages. The rooms are furnished with beds for sleeping, chair for sitting, tables for writing and eating. “And so,” this Philosopher would be told, “the entirety must have been overseen by some skilled architect; for here everything is pleasant, happy, well-proportioned, comfortable. And under him, there must have also been excellent craftsmen.” “By no means,” the Philosopher would reply, “you are clever in self-deception. It is true that house is pleasant, happy, well-proportioned, comfortable, but it was made by itself, with all its proportions. Chance assembled stones into this beautiful order, it raised the walls, assembled and set the frame, cut the windows out, and placed the stairs where they are. Beware of believing that any human hand played any role. Men have only taken advantage of this production, when they found it ready-made, because they noticed things in it that they could use for their own comfort; but everything they attribute to the designs of an imaginary architect is only the effect of their inventions after the fact. This house, so even and so well understood, was only made like a cavern, and men, finding it ready-made, make use of it, as they would make use, during a storm, of a hollow they found under a boulder, in the middle of a desert.” What could anyone think of this bizarre Philosopher, if he persisted in seriously claiming that this house shows no artistry? When we read the fable of Amphion, who by a miracle of harmony raised, with order and symmetry, stones upon each other to form the walls of Thebes, we laugh at this poetic fiction; but this fiction is not as incredible as what this hypothetical man ventured to defend. At least we can imagine that harmony, which consists in a local motion of certain bodies, could, by some of these secret virtues that we admire in nature, without understanding them, shake the stones with a certain order and a kind of cadence, which would produce a certain regularity in the edifice. This explanation still shocks and revolts our reason, but it’s still less extravagant than the one I’ve just put in the mouth of a Philosopher. What could be more absurd than to portray stones cutting themselves, leaving the quarry, setting themselves on top of each other without leaving any gaps, bringing their own cement with them, arranging themselves to produce the apartments, which then welcome a frame on top, along with the tiles, to cover the whole thing? Even children who are still learning to talk would laugh at the telling of such a fable.
