the senses, so he is said to _believe_ that which
is to him a real want, although it cannot be demonstrated to him either
by experience or by the evidence of the senses. _Knowledge_ is based
upon _objective_, and _belief_ upon _subjective_ proofs.

The existence of God, the providence with which He governs the world,
the immortality of the soul, the excellence of virtue, the just
expectation of a final triumph of good, and of an improvement and future
perfection of the human condition, are truths which have their
foundations in man himself, that is, in the _nature_ of his soul; they
originate in him, even without the concurrence of reflection, almost
from an innate feeling of the heart, which impels him to admit them;
they are founded on subjective proofs, and man _believes_ them as
necessities of his own nature. These religious truths are therefore
called _natural_, and their disciples are said to profess a _natural
religion_.

CHAPTER IV.

XXII. YET, notwithstanding the possibility for man to attain happiness
by only following the voice of reason, experience has shown, in the most
unmistakable manner, that natural religion is insufficient alone to
guide mankind in the right path, to preserve him from error, and to
regulate his life with constant conformity to his destination, under all
circumstances and in all conjunctures. Such insufficiency is caused by
various obstacles, presented by the self-same nature of man, and the
objects that surround him, and which prevent reason from exercising an
absolute dominion over the heart, and naturally weaken its influence on
human actions.

XXIII. First among these obstacles, is the circumstance, that the
intellectual faculties do not exhibit so much vigour in early youth as
the animal or appetitive faculties. Long before the force of reason has
developed itself in the mind, the sensual tendencies have already grown
giants in the heart, impelling man to desire ardently all that has the
semblance of pleasure, however fugitive and deceitful. The will, which
is in its full vigour even in a child, has already carried into effect
most of these desires, and has thus produced such a habit of grasping
impulsively, and without reflection, at everything that presents itself
in the aspect of an enjoyment, that reason often arrives too late to
destroy the ascendancy gained by the lust of the heart, and to claim its
dominion over all man's actions.

XXIV. Besides, reason is