B — Bornes de l’esprit humain
Original French
Elles sont partout, pauvre docteur. Veux-tu sçavoir comment ton bras & ton pied obéissent à ta volonté, & comment ton foye n’y obéit pas? cherches-tu comment la pensée se forme dans ton chétif entendement, & cet enfant dans l’uterus de cette femme? Je te donne du temps pour me répondre; qu’est-ce que la matiére? tes pareils ont écrit dix mille volumes sur cet article; ils ont trouvé quelques qualités de cette substance; les enfans les connaissent comme toi: mais cette substance, qu’est-ce au fonds? & qu’est-ce que tu as nommé esprit, du mot latin qui veut dire soufle, ne pouvant faire mieux parce que tu n’en as pas d’idée?
Regarde ce grain de bled que je jette en terre, & dis moi comment il se relève pour produire un tuyau chargé d’un épi. Aprends moi comment la même terre produit une pomme au haut de cet arbre; & une chataigne à l’arbre voisin; je pourais te faire un in-folio de questions, auxquelles tu ne devrais répondre que par quatre mots, Je n’en sais rien.
Et cependant tu as pris tes degrés, & tu es fouré, & ton bonnet l’est aussi, & on t’appelle maître. Et cet autre impertinent qui a acheté une charge, croit avoir acheté le droit de juger & de condamner ce qu’il n’entend pas!
La devise de Montagne était, Que sai-je? & la tienne est, Que ne sai-je pas?
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation of the 73 articles in the 1764 first edition, made directly from the French and reviewed against the scan-collated French text. The author’s notes, quotations and verse are retained. Historical ethnic labels, including offensive terms, are retained from the 1764 text.
They are everywhere, poor doctor. Do you want to know how your arm and your foot obey your will, and how your liver does not obey it? Do you seek to know how thought is formed in your wretched understanding, and that child in that woman’s uterus? I give you time to answer me. What is matter? Your fellows have written ten thousand volumes on this subject; they have found some qualities of this substance; children know them as well as you; but this substance, what is it at bottom? And what is this thing you have named spirit, from the Latin word that means breath, unable to do better because you have no idea of it?
Look at this grain of wheat that I throw into the earth, and tell me how it rises again to produce a stalk loaded with an ear. Teach me how the same earth produces an apple at the top of that tree, and a chestnut on the neighboring tree. I could fill a folio with questions to which you should answer with only four words: I have no idea.
And yet you have earned your degrees, and your robe is fur-trimmed, and so is your cap, and you are called master. And that other impertinent fellow who has bought an office believes he has bought the right to judge and condemn what he does not understand!
Montaigne’s motto was, What do I know? and yours is, What do I not know?
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Plain English translation of the same 73 articles, made directly from the French and reviewed against the scan-collated French text. The author’s notes, quotations and verse are retained. Historical ethnic labels, including offensive terms, are retained from the 1764 text.
They are everywhere, poor doctor. Do you want to know how your arm and foot obey your will, and why your liver does not? Are you looking for how a thought is formed in your feeble mind, and that child in this woman’s womb? I’ll give you time to answer. What is matter? People like you have filled ten thousand volumes on this subject. They have found some qualities of this substance, and children know those qualities as well as you do. But this substance itself, what is it at bottom? And what is this thing you named spirit, from the Latin word meaning breath, since you could do no better, having no idea of it?
Look at this grain of wheat that I drop in the ground, and tell me how it comes up again to put out a stalk bearing an ear. Show me how the same soil produces an apple at the top of this tree and a chestnut on the next one. I could draw up a folio’s worth of questions, to all of which you should reply in four words: I have no idea.
And still you have your degrees, you are trimmed in fur and so is your cap, and they call you master. And that other presumptuous fellow, who paid cash for an office, believes he bought the right to pass judgment on things he does not understand, and to condemn them!
Montaigne’s motto was, What do I know? Yours is, What do I not know?
About this section
B — Bornes de l’esprit humain is part of Pocket Philosophical Dictionary by Voltaire. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is article 17 of 73 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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