and
effects. Nature is the great agent of the external universe, and
Necessity imposes upon it the laws by which it acts, and imparts to us
the powers by which we examine; those powers are curiosity and
memory--their union is reason, their perfection is wisdom. Well, then,
I examine by the help of these powers this inexhaustible Nature. I
examine the earth, the air, the ocean, the heaven: I find that all have
a mystic sympathy with each other--that the moon sways the tides--that
the air maintains the earth, and is the medium of the life and sense of
things--that by the knowledge of the stars we measure the limits of the
earth--that we portion out the epochs of time--that by their pale light
we are guided into the abyss of the past--that in their solemn lore we
discern the destinies of the future. And thus, while we know not that
which Necessity is, we learn, at least, her decrees. And now, what
morality do we glean from this religion?--for religion it is. I believe
in two deities--Nature and Necessity; I worship the last by reverence,
the first by investigation. What is the morality my religion teaches?
This--all things are subject but to general rules; the sun shines for
the joy of the many--it may bring sorrow to the few; the night sheds
sleep on the multitude--but it harbors murder as well as rest; the
forests adorn the earth--but shelter the serpent and the lion; the ocean
supports a thousand barks--but it engulfs the one. It is only thus for
the general, and not for the universal benefit, that Nature acts, and
Necessity speeds on her awful course. This is the morality of the dread
agents of the world--it is mine, who am their creature. I would
preserve the delusions of priestcraft, for they are serviceable to the
multitude; I would impart to man the arts I discover, the sciences I
perfect; I would speed the vast career of civilizing lore: in this I
serve the mass, I fulfill the general law, I execute the great moral
that Nature preaches. For myself I claim the individual exception; I
claim it for the wise--satisfied that my individual actions are nothing
in the great balance of good and evil; satisfied that the product of my
knowledge can give greater blessings to the mass than my desires can
operate evil on the few (for the first can extend to remotest regions
and humanize nations yet unborn), I give to the world wisdom, to myself
freedom. I enlighten the lives of others, and I enjoy my own. Yes; our
wisdo