C — Convulsions
Original French
On dansa vers l’an 1724. sur le cimetiére de St. Médard; il s’y fit beaucoup de miracles: en voici un raporté dans une chanson de Mad. la duchesse du Maine;
Un décroteur à la royaleDu talon gauche estropié,Obtint pour grace spécialeD’être boiteux de l’autre pied.
Les convulsions miraculeuses, comme on sçait, continuèrent jusqu’à ce qu’on eût mis une garde au cimetiére.
De par le roi défense à DieuDe plus fréquenter en ce lieu.
Les jésuites, comme on le sçait encore, ne pouvant plus faire de tels miracles depuis que leur Xavier avait épuisé les graces de la compagnie à ressusciter neuf morts de compte fait, s’avisèrent, pour balancer le crédit des Jansénistes, de faire graver une estampe de Jésus-Christ habillé en jésuite. Un plaisant du parti Janséniste, comme on le sçait encore, mit au bas de l’estampe:
Admirez l’artifice extrêmeDe ces moines ingénieux;Ils vous ont habillé comme eux;Mon Dieu, de peur qu’on ne vous aime.
Les Jansénistes pour mieux prouver que jamais Jésus-Christ n’avait pu prendre l’habit de jésuite, remplirent Paris de convulsions, & attirèrent le monde à leur préau. Le conseiller au Parlement, Carré de Montgeron, alla présenter au roi un recueil in-4°. de tous ces miracles, attestés par mille témoins; il fut mis, comme de raison, dans un château, où l’on tâcha de rétablir son cerveau par le régime; mais la vérité l’emporte toujours sur les persécutions; les miracles se perpétuèrent trente ans de suite, sans discontinuer. On faisait venir chez soi sœur Rose, sœur Illuminée, sœur Promise, sœur Confite; elles se faisaient foüetter, sans qu’il y parût le lendemain; on leur donnait des coups de buches sur leur estomac bien cuirassé, bien rembourré, sans leur faire de mal; on les couchait devant un grand feu, le visage frotté de pommade, sans qu’elles brulassent; enfin, comme tous les arts se perfectionnent, on a fini par leur enfoncer des épées dans les chairs, & par les crucifier. Un fameux théologien même a eu aussi l’avantage d’être mis en croix: tout cela pour convaincre le monde qu’une certaine bulle était ridicule, ce qu’on aurait pu prouver sans tant de frais. Cependant, & Jésuites & Jansénistes, se réunirent tous contre l’esprit des loix, & contre... & contre.... & contre.... & contre.... Et nous osons après cela nous moquer des Lapons, des Samoyèdes & des Nègres!
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.
Around 1724 people danced in the cemetery of Saint-Médard; many miracles took place there. Here is one reported in a song by the Duchess of Maine:
A royal shoe-cleaner,Crippled in his left heel,Obtained as a special favorA limp in the other foot.
The miraculous convulsions, as everyone knows, continued until a guard was posted at the cemetery.
By order of the king, God is forbiddenTo frequent this place again.
The Jesuits, as everyone also knows, could no longer perform such miracles, since their Xavier had exhausted the Society’s graces by raising nine dead people, a verified count. To counterbalance the Jansenists’ credit, they therefore took it into their heads to have a print engraved of Jesus Christ dressed as a Jesuit. A wit of the Jansenist party, as everyone also knows, put these words beneath the print:
Admire the consummate artificeOf these ingenious monks:They have dressed you like themselves,My God, for fear you might be loved.
To prove more convincingly that Jesus Christ could never have taken the Jesuit habit, the Jansenists filled Paris with convulsions and drew the world to their precinct. Carré de Montgeron, a councilor of the Parlement, went to present the king with a quarto collection of all these miracles, attested by a thousand witnesses. Naturally, he was put in a château, where they tried to restore his brain through diet; but truth always triumphs over persecution. The miracles continued for thirty years without interruption. People had Sister Rose, Sister Illuminée, Sister Promise, Sister Confite brought to their homes. They had themselves whipped, with no trace showing the next day; logs were struck against their well-armored, well-padded stomachs without hurting them; they were laid before a great fire, their faces rubbed with ointment, without being burned. Finally, since all the arts improve, they ended by having swords thrust into their flesh and being crucified. A famous theologian has even had the advantage of being put on the cross himself: all this to convince the world that a certain bull was ridiculous, which could have been proved at less expense. Yet Jesuits and Jansenists all united against The Spirit of the Laws, and against … and against … and against … and against … And after that we dare mock the Lapps, the Samoyeds, and the Negroes!
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.
Around 1724 people danced in the cemetery of Saint-Médard. Many miracles took place there. One of them is recorded in a song by the Duchess of Maine:
A royal-style shoe cleaner,Ruined in his left heel,Won as a special favorLameness in his other foot.
The miraculous convulsions went on, as is well known, until a guard was stationed at the cemetery.
In the king’s name, God is forbiddenTo visit this spot any longer.
As is also well known, the Jesuits could no longer work such miracles, because their Xavier had used up the Society’s whole supply of graces raising nine dead people, by exact count. To counter the Jansenists’ influence, they hit on the idea of having an engraving made of Jesus Christ dressed as a Jesuit. A wit in the Jansenist party, as everyone also knows, put beneath the print:
Admire the extreme trickeryOf these clever monks:They have put you in their own costume,My God, so no one will love you.
The Jansenists, to prove more clearly that Jesus Christ could never have worn a Jesuit’s habit, filled Paris with convulsions and drew everyone to their courtyard. Carré de Montgeron, a counselor of the Parlement, took the king a quarto volume gathering all these miracles, vouched for by a thousand witnesses. Naturally he was put in a château, where an attempt was made to restore his brain through diet. But truth always defeats persecution. The miracles kept on for thirty years in a row, never pausing. People had Sister Rose, Sister Illuminée, Sister Promise, and Sister Confite come to their homes. They had themselves whipped without anything showing the next day. They were struck with logs on their well-armored, well-padded stomachs without being hurt. They were laid before a great fire with ointment rubbed on their faces, without being burned. Finally, since every art improves, people ended by thrusting swords into their flesh and crucifying them. A famous theologian even had the advantage of being put on a cross. All this was to convince the world that a certain papal bull was ridiculous, which could have been proved at less expense. And yet Jesuits and Jansenists alike joined together against The Spirit of the Laws, and against … and against … and against … and against … After that, we have the nerve to mock the Lapps, the Samoyeds, and the Negroes!
About this section
C — Convulsions 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 30 of 73 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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