Part 43

Descartes lived and died a good Catholic, and prided himself upon having demonstrated the existence of God and of the soul of man. As a reward for his exertions, his old friends the Jesuits put his works upon the "Index," and called him an Atheist; while the Protestant divines of Holland declared him to be both a Jesuit and an Atheist. His books narrowly escaped being burned by the hangman; the fate of Vanini was dangled before his eyes; and the misfortunes of Galileo so alarmed him, that he well-nigh renounced the pursuits by which the world has so greatly benefited, and was driven into subterfuges and evasions which were not worthy of him.

"Very cowardly," you may say; and so it was. But you must make allowance for the fact that, in the seventeenth century, not only did heresy mean possible burning, or imprisonment, but the very suspicion of it destroyed a man's peace, and rendered the calm pursuit of truth difficult or impossible. I fancy that Descartes was a man to care more about being worried and disturbed, than about being burned outright; and, like many other men, sacrificed for the sake of peace and quietness, what he would have stubbornly maintained against downright violence.

However this may be, let those who are sure they would have done better throw stones at him. I have no feelings but those of gratitude and reverence for the man who did what he did, when he did; and a sort of shame that any one should repine against taking a fair share of such treatment as the world thought good enough for him.

Finally, it occurs to me that, such being my feeling about the matter, it may be useful to all of us if I ask you, "What is yours? Do you think that the Christianity of the seventeenth century looks nobler and more attractive for such treatment of such a man?" You will hardly reply that it does. But if it does not, may it not be well if all of you do what lies within your power to prevent the Christianity of the nineteenth century from repeating the scandal?

There are one or two living men, who, a couple of centuries hence, will be remembered as Descartes is now, because they have produced great thoughts which will live and grow as long as mankind lasts.

If the twenty-first century studies their history, it will find that the Christianity of the middle of the nineteenth century recognised them only as objects of vilification. It is for you and such as you, Christian young men, to say whether this shall be as true of the Christianity of the future as it is of that of the present. I appeal to you to say "No," in your own interest, and in that of the Christianity you profess.

In the interest of Science, no appeal is needful; as Dante sings of Fortune--

"Quest' e colei, ch'e tanto posta in croce Pur da color, che le dovrian dar lode Dandole biasmo a torto e mala voce. Ma ella s' e beata, e cio non ode: Con l' altre prime creature lieta Volve sua spera, e beata si gode:"

so, whatever evil voices may rage, Science, secure among the powers that are eternal, will do her work and be blessed.

FOOTNOTES:

I forget who it was said of him: "Il a plus que personne l'esprit que tout le monde a."

"Discours de la Methode pour bien conduire sa Raison et chercher la Verite dans les Sciences."

"Eine thaetige Skepsis ist die, welche unablaessig bemueht ist sich selbst zu ueberwinden, und durch geregelte Erfahrung zu einer Art von bedingtrer Zuverlaessigkeit zu gelangen."--Maximen und Reflexionen, 7 Abtheilung.

"Au milieu de toutes ses erreurs, il ne faut pas meconnaitre une grande idee, qui consiste a avoir tente pour la premiere fois de ramener tous les phenomenes naturels a n'etre qu'un simple develloppement des lois de la mecanique," is the weighty judgment of Biot, cited by Bouillier (Histoire de la Philosophie Cartesienne, t. i. p. 196).

"Traite de l'Homme" (Cousin's Edition), p. 347.

Descartes pretends that he does not apply his views to the human body, but only to an imaginary machine which, if it could be constructed, would do all that the human body does; throwing a sop to Cerberus unworthily; and uselessly, because Cerberus was by no means stupid enough to swallow it.

"Traite de l'Homme," p. 427.

Compare "Traite des Passions," Art. XIII. and XVI.

Bouillier, into whose excellent "History of the Cartesian Philosophy" I had not looked when this passage was written, says, very justly, that Descartes "a merite le titre de pere de la physique, aussi bien que celui de pere de la metaphysique moderne" (t. i. p. 197). See also Kuno Fischer's "Geschichte der neuen Philosophie," Bd. i.; and the very remarkable work of Lange, "Geschichte des Materialismus."--A good translation of the latter would be a great service to philosophy in England.

For all the qualifications which need to be made here, I refer the reader to the thorough discussion of the nature of the relation between nerve-action and consciousness in Mr. Herbert Spencer's "Principles of Psychology," p. 115 et seq.

"And this is she who's put on cross so much, Even by them who ought to give her praise, Giving her wrongly ill repute and blame. But she is blessed, and she hears not this: She, with the other primal creatures, glad Revolves her sphere, and blessed joys herself."

Inferno, vii. 90-95 (W.M. Rossetti's Translation).