baron d' Paul Henri Thiry Holbach
Letters to Eugenia; Or, A Preservative Against Religious Prejudices
Published by Good Press, 2019
EAN 4064066208868
Table of Contents
1 Letter I.Of the Sources of Credulity, and of the Motives which should lead to an Examination of Religion, Page 1
2 Letter II.Of the Ideas which Religion gives us of the Divinity, 29
3 Letter III.An Examination of the Holy Scriptures, of the Nature of the Christian Religion, and of the Proofs upon which Christianity is founded, 46
4 Letter IV.Of the fundamental Dogmas of the Christian Religion, 76
5 Letter V.Of the Immortality of the Soul, and of the Dogma of another Life, 91
6 Letter VI.Of the Mysteries, Sacraments, and Religious Ceremonies of Christianity, 120
7 Letter VII.Of the pious Rites, Prayers, and Austerities of Christianity, 136
8 Letter VIII.Of Evangelical Virtues and Christian Perfection, 154
9 Letter IX.Of the Advantages contributed to Government by Religion, 184
10 Letter X.Of the Advantages Religion confers on those who profess it, 211
11 Letter XI.Of Human or Natural Morality, 233
12 Letter XII.Of the small Consequence to be attached to Men's Speculations, and the Indulgence which should be extended to them, 255
Letters to Eugenia.
Letter I.
Of the Sources of Credulity, and of the Motives which should lead to an Examination of Religion.
I am unable, Madam, to express the grievous sentiments that the perusal of your letter produced in my bosom. Did not a rigorous duty retain me where I am, you would see me flying to your succor. Is it, then, true that Eugenia is miserable? Is even she tormented with chagrin, scruples, and inquietudes? In the midst of opulence and grandeur; assured of the tenderness and esteem of a husband who adores you; enjoying at court the advantage, so rare, of being sincerely beloved by every one; surrounded by friends who render sincere homage to your talents, your knowledge, and your tastes—how can you suffer the pains of melancholy and sorrow? Your pure and virtuous soul can surely know neither shame nor remorse. Always so far removed from the weaknesses of your sex, on what account can you blush? Agreeably occupied with your duties, refreshed with useful reading and entertaining conversation, and having within your reach every diversity of virtuous pleasures, how happens it that fears, distastes, and cares come to assail a heart for which every thing should procure contentment and peace? Alas! even if your letter had not confirmed it but too much, from the trouble which agitates you I should have recognized without difficulty the work of superstition. This fiend alone possesses the power of disturbing honest souls, without calming the passions of the corrupt; and when once she gains possession of a heart, she has the ability to annihilate its repose forever.
Yes, Madam, for a long time I have known the dangerous effects of religious prejudices. I was myself formerly troubled with them. Like you I have trembled under the yoke of religion; and if a careful and deliberate examination had not fully undeceived me, instead of now being in a state to console you and to reassure you against yourself, you would see me at the present moment partaking your inquietudes, and augmenting in your mind the lugubrious ideas with which I perceive you to be tormented. Thanks to Reason and Philosophy, an unruffled serenity long ago irradiated my understanding, and banished the terrors with which I was formerly agitated. What happiness for me if the peace which I enjoy should put it in my power to break the charm which yet binds you with the chains of prejudice?
Nevertheless, without your express orders, I should never have dared to point out to you a mode of thinking widely different from your own, nor to combat the dangerous opinions to which you have been persuaded your happiness is attached. But for your request I should have continued to enclose in my own breast opinions odious to the most part of men accustomed to see nothing except by the eyes of judges visibly interested in deceiving them. Now, however, a sacred duty obliges me to speak. Eugenia, unquiet and alarmed, wishes me to explore her heart; she needs assistance; she wishes to fix her ideas upon an object which interests her repose and her felicity. I owe her the truth. It would be a crime longer to preserve silence. Although my attachment for her did not impose the necessity of responding to her confidence, the love of truth would oblige me to make efforts to dissipate the chimeras which render her unhappy.
I shall proceed then, Madam, to address you with the most complete frankness. Perhaps at the first glance my ideas may appear strange; but on examining them with still further care and attention, they will cease to shock