A Memoir- the Testament

by Jean Meslier

  Nevertheless, I perceive what our Christ-cultists would understand by this supposed greater good, which they would have God drawing from this first fault of men. They would have it that God allowed it, and that He also allowed the disgrace, the unhappiness, and the loss of the whole human race, in order to repair this fault all the more advantageously through the blessing of His grace and in order to more mercifully redeem men by the infinite merits of the death of His divine son Jesus Christ, who, having become a man to save men from the misfortune of this sin and from eternal damnation, has reconciled them to God the Father through the shedding of his precious blood, by bearing in his own person the penalty of their sins, and by making full satisfaction on their behalf to the divine justice, which would have been grievously insulted by their sins, which redemption being, as our Christ-cultists say, an incomparably greater benefit than that of the first creation of men, it follows, according to what they teach, that God would truly have changed evil into good and that He would even truly have made a greater good from it than the blessing of the first creation. And that, too, as I have already said, is why their great Mirmadolin St. Paul says that God has shown the love He bore to men, in that, in the time when they were yet sinners, He gave His son Jesus Christ to save them, etc. And where there is an abundance of sin, there is also a greater abundance of grace, which clearly shows that this supposed greater good must not only be found, but that it would effectively also be found in humanity, since it would lead them to receive a greater abundance of graces and blessings.

  And it is in keeping with this beautiful and specious doctrine that our Priests devoutly say every day in their so-called holy sacrifices of Mass, that God created the dignity of human nature in a durable way, but that He fixed it in a manner that’s even more amazing: Lord, they say, as if speaking devoutly to their God, when they pour a little water with the wine into the chalice, Lord, who hath amazingly created the dignity of human nature, and who hath even more amazingly reformed it, make by this mysterious mixture of water and wine, us into participants of the divinity of he who, as thy divine son Jesus Christ, our Lord, has deigned to participate in our humanity: Deus qui humanae substantiae dignitatem mirabiliter condidisti et mirabilius reformasti, da nobis. etc. For this reason they still sing, in their preface to the Mass at their time of Easter: qui mortem nostram moriendo destruxit et vitam resurgendo reparavit. I.e., who (Jesus Christ), by dying, destroyed our death, and, by rising again, has repaired our lives, which shows even more clearly that this supposed greater good that God meant to make from the fall and supposed loss of all humanity, should be found, and indeed was found on the side of humanity, since their defective nature would, as they say, be more happily and amazingly repaired than the way it was created, and that it would even participate in some way in divinity; which is like saying that their God meant to gratify and favor men more after they had done wrong, than He would have gratified them if they had always remained obedient to His commandments; which is as if they said that He had wanted to make them all the happier and more perfect than they would have deserved to be. Which would clearly be to favor vice rather than virtue and to reward vice instead of punish it. And on this basis we might still now say that the wicked might, at some future time, happily come in company with God, and that even the Devils and all the reprobates, who presently suffer, as our Christ-cultists say, such cruel and fearsome torments in Hell, might later be the happiest of all, since, according to the principle, God only allowed their wickedness and their present reprobation for a greater good, i.e., to better reward them and to make them more perfect and happier afterwards.

  I do not think that sensible people, who are even a little educated, can ever hold such views as these; so, it’s futile and completely baseless for our Christ-cultists to assume that a God would never allow any evil, except to draw some higher good from it.

  But what shows the vanity of this hypothesis and the falseness of this supposed greater good all the more starkly is the way they want God to have taken from this first fault of men, by giving them a divine Redeemer who would have delivered them from sin, who would have reconciled them with God, who would have shared with them a greater abundance of graces, and who would have restored and placed human nature in a better condition than it had before the supposed first fault of man, it’s that nobody sees or can see, or show, any sign, or any real and true semblance of this supposed redemption and reparation of men; nobody can see, or provide, any sign of this supposed reconciliation of men with God; nobody can see, or give, any real sign of this supposed greater abundance of grace; and finally, nobody can see, or show, any real indication of this supposedly happy and amazing restoration of human nature. Every God-cultist and Christ-cultist is hereby challenged to provide or show any real and tangible evidence of this; but on the contrary, daily experience shows that human nature is always as full of weakness and infirmity as it ever was, every day we see so clearly that men are always as vicious and wicked as they have ever been, and daily life clearly shows that they are still as miserable and unhappy as they have ever been.

  But where will you find, my dear Christ-cultists, this supposed Redemption and reparation of mankind? Where will you find this supposedly greater abundance of grace? Where will you find this supposedly divine reparation, this supposedly divine reformation, and this supposedly amazing restoration of human nature? That’s only imaginary for you; you can’t give any proof, or even any real and tangible sign of what you say. This must finally confound you. For you clearly show by this that all you say in this matter is only the fictions of your mind and of vulgar imaginations, which can only be believed by people as stupid and crazy as yourselves. I see also that you won’t fail to say that we must neither ask nor seek any proof or any plain sign of a redemption, which is purely spiritual, such as the redemption of men performed by the divine son of God, Jesus Christ, that we must equally neither ask nor seek after visible and tangible proofs of a greater abundance of blessings which are purely spiritual, as are the gifts and blessings of the Holy Spirit; and that, finally, we must not ask or seek for any proof, or any visible and tangible sign of a reparation or a reformation which are completely spiritual, as is that of human nature made by Jesus Christ, true God and true man; but, you’ll say, we must, in such matters, hold fast to what the faith teaches us; I fully expect this from you; there’s nothing else you can say.

  But you must acknowledge, then, my dear Christ-cultists, that all these so-called higher goods, which your God would derive from the first evil or the first sin of man, are only spiritual and invisible goods, which are accessible to none of our physical senses, or even to the natural lights of human reason; and you would be taken at your word alone, and only on the basis of what you’ve been told. Instead, you yourselves should recognize that you have no reason to demand such belief. Acknowledge, rather, that you’ve been duped, that you’re duping yourselves, and that all these supposed greater blessings, which you call spiritual goods, are at bottom only imaginary and illusory blessings. For, since you can’t see or feel, or display anything real and tangible, it follows that they are only imaginary; and it’s sheer folly to take purely imaginary things for real and true things; and only visionaries and fanatics would take such illusions for real truths.

  In light of this, it is obvious that the supposed greater good that God is said to have brought out of the first sin of men, wasn’t even found among men. If you say that this supposed greater good was found with God, then He must have become, after this trespass, to have been wiser, for example, more perfect, or happier than He was beforehand; and in that He should have been quite glad instead of upset, and should have rewarded those who did it instead of driving them out, as He would have done, from this earthly paradise, where He had placed them. Or if He didn’t become wiser thereby, or more perfect in Himself, then at least He should have been pleased at the sight of humans falling by their own fault, and even now He should be happy to see them wicked and miserable and wretched, as t
hey are, and this pleasure itself must be the greater good that He meant to find in this first fault. But you wouldn’t dare say that, my dear Christ-cultists, although it seems that your God must have found some gratification in ridiculing the stupidity of this alleged first man, when he says these biting words by way of mockery: “Behold, now Adam has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; lest,” He adds, “he also eat of the fruit of life and live eternally, let us drive him from this paradise and let him eat his bread by the sweat of his brow[870]: Ecce Adam quasi unus ex nobis factus est, bonum et malum sciens, etc.. Nor would you say that this supposed greater good is found with the other creatures, for it would be ridiculous to say that Heaven or Earth, for example, or some other being in particular, say, the Angels, have become any better, more perfect, or happier; except if you were to say, as some of you do, that the Demons have been gratified, and that this is the greater good that your God sought to bring out of this first fault of Adam’s. But I doubt that you’d dare say such a thing.

  But you may reply here that He permits and has permitted all these evils, all these vices, and all the wickedness prevailing in the world for a greater manifestation of His glory and power, His justice, His goodness and His mercy; for, you’ll say, just as it's especially in times of contagion when a skilled Medic makes a show of his skill, his knowledge, and his capacity, by skillfully healing all his patients, and since it’s particularly by condemning the guilty and punishing the guilty where an upright judge shows his justice to the world, so also, you’ll say, it’s especially in His tolerance of human vices and wickedness that God makes a show of His patience and forbearance, it’s especially in the preservation of those sinners who are truly penitent that He shows His goodness and mercy, and it’s particularly in the punishment of unrepentant sinners that His power and His justice shine, wishing in this respect to show the riches of His greatness on vessels of mercy, i.e., on the righteous whom He has prepared or predestined for glory; and intending, on the other hand, to display His anger and His power on vessels of wrath, i.e., on the wicked whom He has prepared for perdition, as the great Apostle St. Paul says[871]. And it is, you’ll say, at least this way for the greater manifestation of His glory, of His power, and of His justice that God permits all the evils, the vices, and all the wickedness in the world, and that, you’ll say, is the greater good that He makes from it; and consequently, you’ll also say, it is not in vain that He permits evil, since He is able to make a greater good from it, which is at least the greater manifestation of His glory, of His power, and of His justice.

  But this reply must confuse you no less than the previous ones; for, although it is glorious and praiseworthy for a skilled Doctor to show off his knowledge and ability when contagion strikes, by skillfully healing the sick, and when contagion strikes, that his self-importance should make an appearance; and while it’s glorious for a Prince to make a show of his power against enemies who come to attack his States; and while it’s glorious and honorable for a judge to render justice to everyone, and it’s especially in punishing the guilty and the wicked that he should deal out justice; it doesn’t follow, though, that, it is similarly glorious for a God who is all-powerful, infinitely good, and infinitely wise to miserably afflict people with all sorts of evils and misery, in order to train their patience and take pity on them. It doesn’t follow that it’s glorious and praiseworthy for an all-powerful, infinitely good, and infinitely wise God to let the wicked commit all manner of evil and wickedness, in order to then use His power against them, and for the pleasure of punishing them or make them miserable forever.

  What would you say about a Prince or a Monarch who plundered his States or the States of his neighbors on the pretext of wanting to show the force of his power? What would you say about a Doctor who wanted to spread contagious diseases among men, on the pretext of wanting to show off his knowledge and skill in healing them? What about a judge who promoted crime and severely punished those who committed it, on the pretext of showing how strict his justice was in punishing the guilty? You would surely say that this judge was not only unjust, but that he would even be cruel and wicked, since he would take pleasure in having crimes committed, and also in making men guilty for the sheer pleasure of having them strictly published. You will entirely blame a Prince who would have his States and those of his neighbors ravaged on the mere pretext of showing his power and the strength of his armies. You wouldn’t hesitate to blame all those who would like to make wretches languish miserably, on the pretext of having pity and compassion for them, finally, you would blame those doctors who would like to spread disease and contagion among men simply to practice and show off their knowledge in healing them[872]. You would blame, I repeat, all those people, you would damn them and consider them odious and detestable. How, then, can you say that your God, and that an infinitely good and infinitely wise God would do the same thing, i.e., that He would permit and allow all sorts of evils, all sorts of vices, and all sorts of wickedness in the world, for the greater manifestation of His glory, His power, and His justice, because nothing could be so contrary or opposed to an infinite goodness and an infinite perfection than all the evils, all the vices, and all the wickedness in the world! What glory, what honor, or what sort of gratification could redound to an infinitely good, infinitely wise, and infinitely perfect God from seeing and allowing such vices and wickedness among men? What glory, what honor, or what gratification could come to a God who is infinitely good, infinitely wise, and infinitely perfect by eternally punishing the guilty, i.e., by burning so many thousands and thousands of millions of Angels and men who would be miserably reprobate in Hell, and often for such minor things, for a slight passing pleasure, a glance, a desire, or even a thought they call dishonorable, and especially for such a slight thing as what the first man would have done by simply eating some fruit in a garden? Si flagellat, occidat semel, said Job, et non de poenis hominum rideat. How vain and frivolous! What glory, I ask, what honor, or what pleasure might a God take in that? How cruel and hateful would this glory, how cruel and hateful would be this honor, how cruel and hateful would be this pleasure, how cruel and hateful would be this justice, which would so severely and ruthlessly punish such minor failings. You are insane, my dear Christ-cultists, you are insane for even having such thoughts. Would it not, on the contrary, be a far greater blessing, and far better subject for the glory, honor, and pleasure of an all-powerful and infinitely perfect God to make all His creatures completely happy and perfect? Yes, certainly, it would be a greater blessing and a far worthier subject for glory, honor, and pleasure.

  Do not say, then, my dear Christ-cultists, that an infinitely perfect God would wish to permit and allow such pain, so many vices, and such wickedness, for the greater manifestation of His glory, justice, power, and mercy, since all these so-called divine virtues would be far more gloriously, happily, and advantageously evident in good than in evil, or in the punishment of evil.

  Cease to abuse the people with these vain fears and vain hopes, as well as the misconceptions you give them of the size, power, goodness, wisdom, and justice of an infinite God who is not, never was, and never will be. All the proofs I’ve given so far are clear and evident; they are as conclusive as it’s possible to be, and therefore they clearly show us the vanity and falsity of all Divinities and all Religions of the world; and no more are required to confound our superstitious God-cultists and our Christ-cultists.

  But, since I haven’t yet refuted either sufficiently or in sufficient detail, the error in which they suffer from, and in which they keep the people on the nature of the soul, which they say is spiritual and immortal, I need, therefore, to specifically show the fallacy of this view here, which will also serve as an eighth demonstration of the vanity and falsity of these Religions.

  89. THE EIGHTH PROOF OF THE VANITY AND FALSENESS OF THE RELIGIONS, TAKEN FROM THE VERY FALSENESS OF THE OPINION THAT MEN HAVE OF THE SPIRITUALITY AND THE IMMORTALITY OF THEIR SOULS.

  First, as for
this supposed spirituality of the soul, if it were spiritual, the way the Christ-cultists mean it, it would have neither body, nor parts, nor form, nor shape, nor any extension at all, and consequently it would be nothing real or substantial. Yet, the soul is a real and substantial thing, since it animates the body, and gives it the strength and movement, that it has: for nobody will say that it’s a trifle or nothing whatsoever that animates the body and gives it its strength and movement; therefore, the soul is something real and substantial, and that, consequently, it must necessarily be body and matter, and be extended in space, since nothing real and substantial can be without body or extension. The obvious proof of that is that it is impossible to form any idea of a Being that has no body or matter, or any extension. Think and mull as long as you like about what an alleged Being would be like, who has neither body, mater, or any extension; you’ll never manage to form a clear and distinct idea of what it might be; and that shouldn’t surprise anyone, for how is could it be possible to form a clear and distinct idea of a being from which the very nature of being, and of all the properties of being? It’s like trying to form a clear and distinct idea of a being who wouldn’t be a being; it’s worse than wanting to form an idea of a chimera, for ultimately, nobody can form a clear and distinct idea of a chimera, i.e., of a monster with a hundred heads or a hundred arms, for example, or any other chimera one might imagine, it’s impossible, even if one tries, to form any clear and distinct idea of what a being who be like, which was no being, and which had nothing like the nature of Being. That is contradictory and self-refuting. Now, the nature of Being is to be corporeal and extended, consequently that which is neither corporeal, nor extended, consequently that which is neither body, nor extension, isn’t being at all. The ancients always thought and believed this, so much so that most of the ancient Philosophers and Theologians[873] had no other belief but this. This is also why they believed, not only that souls were physical and material, but they also believed that the Angels and God Himself were not without bodies of their own, or without a corporeal form, so convinced were they that there was no being without a body and without extension.