G — Grace
Original French
Sacrés consulteurs de Rome moderne, illustres & infaillibles Théologiens, personne n’a plus de respect que moi pour vos divines décisions; Mais si Paul Emile, Scipion, Caton, Cicéron, César, Titus, Trajan, Marc-Aurèle, revenaient dans cette Rome qu’il mirent autrefois en quelque crédit, vous m’avouerez qu’ils seraient un peu étonnés de vos décisions sur la grace. Que diraient-ils, s’ils entendaient parler de la grace de santé selon St. Thomas, & de la grace médicinale selon Cajetan; de la grace extérieure, & intérieure, de la gratuite, de la sanctifiante, de l’actuelle, de l’habituelle, de la coopérante, de l’efficace qui quelquefois est sans effet, de la suffisante qui quelquefois ne suffit pas, de la versatile, & de la congrue? en bonne foi, y comprendraient-ils plus que vous & moi?
Quel besoin auraient ces pauvres gens, de vos sublimes instructions? Il me semble que je les entends dire;
Mes Reverends Pères, vous êtes de terribles génies: nous pensions sottement que l’être éternel ne se conduit jamais par des loix particulières comme les vils humains, mais par ses loix générales, éternelles comme lui. Personne n’a jamais imaginé parmi nous, que Dieu fût semblable à un maître insensé qui donne un pécule à un esclave, & refuse la nourriture à l’autre; qui ordonne à un manchot de paitrir de la farine, à un muet de lui faire la lecture, à un cu-de-jatte d’être son courier.
Tout est grace de la part de Dieu; il a fait au globe que nous habitons la grace de le former; aux arbres, la grace de les faire croitre; aux animaux celle de les nourir; mais dira-t-on que si un loup trouve dans son chemin un agneau pour son souper, & qu’un autre loup meure de faim, Dieu a fait à ce premier loup une grace particulière? S’est-il occupé par une grace prévenante à faire croitre un chêne, préférablement à un autre chêne à qui la séve a manqué? Si dans toute la nature, tous les êtres sont soumis aux loix générales, comment une seule espèce d’animaux n’y serait-elle pas soumise?
Pourquoi le maître absolu de tout, aurait-il été plus occupé à diriger l’intérieur d’un seul homme, qu’à conduire le reste de la nature entiére? Par quelle bizarrerie changerait-il quelque chose dans le cœur d’un Courlandais ou d’un Biscayen, pendant qu’il ne change rien aux loix qu’il a imposées à tous les astres?
Quelle pitié de supposer qu’il fait, défait, refait continuellement des sentimens dans nous! & quelle audace de nous croire exceptés de tous les êtres! Encor n’est-ce que pour ceux qui se confessent, que tous ces changements sont imaginés. Un Savoyard, un Bergamasque aura le lundi la grace de faire dire une messe pour douze sous; le mardi il ira au cabaret, & la grace lui manquera; le mercredi il aura une grace coopérante qui le conduira à confesse; mais il n’aura point la grace efficace de la contrition parfaite; le jeudi ce sera une grace suffisante qui ne lui suffira point, comme on l’a déja dit. Dieu travaillera continuellement dans la tête de ce Bergamasque, tantôt avec force, tantôt faiblement, & le reste de la terre ne lui sera de rien! il ne daignera pas se mêler de l’intérieur des Indiens & des Chinois! S’il vous reste un grain de raison, mes reverends pères, ne trouvez-vous pas ce systême prodigieusement ridicule?
Malheureux, voyez ce chêne qui porte sa tête aux nues, & ce roseau qui rampe à ses piés; vous ne dites pas que la grace efficace a été donnée au chêne, & a manqué au roseau. Levez les yeux au ciel, voyez l’éternel Démiurgos créant des millions de mondes qui gravitent tous les uns vers les autres, par des loix générales & éternelles. Voyez la même lumiére se réfléchir du Soleil à Saturne, & de Saturne à nous; & dans cet accord de tant d’astres emportés par un cours rapide, dans cette obéïssance générale de toute la nature, osez croire, si vous pouvez, que Dieu s’occupe de donner une grace versatile à sœur Therèse & une grace concomitante à sœur Agnès!
Atome, à qui un sot atome a dit que l’éternel a des loix particuliéres pour quelques atomes de ton voisinage, qu’il donne sa grace à celui-là, & la refuse à celui-ci; que tel qui n’avait pas la grace hier, l’aura demain; ne répète pas cette sotise. Dieu a fait l’univers, & ne va point créer des vents nouveaux pour remuer quelques brins de paille dans un coin de cet univers. Les théologiens sont comme les combattans chez Homère, qui croyaient que les Dieux s’armaient tantôt contre eux, tantôt en leur faveur. Si Homère n’était pas considéré comme poëte, il le serait comme blasphémateur.
C’est Marc-Aurèle qui parle, ce n’est pas moi; car Dieu qui vous inspire, me fait la grace de croire tout ce que vous dites, tout ce que vous avez dit, & tout ce que vous direz.
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.
Sacred counselors of modern Rome, illustrious and infallible theologians, no one has more respect than I for your divine decisions. But if Aemilius Paullus, Scipio, Cato, Cicero, Caesar, Titus, Trajan, and Marcus Aurelius returned to this Rome whose reputation they once did something to establish, you will admit that they would be a little astonished by your decisions on grace. What would they say if they heard of the grace of health according to St. Thomas, and medicinal grace according to Cajetan; of external and internal grace, gratuitous, sanctifying, actual, habitual, cooperating, efficacious grace, which sometimes has no effect, sufficient grace, which sometimes does not suffice, resistible grace, and congruous grace? In good faith, would they understand any more of it than you and I?
What need would these poor men have of your sublime instructions? I seem to hear them saying:
“My reverend fathers, you are formidable geniuses. We foolishly thought that the eternal Being never acts by particular laws, like lowly mortals, but by his general laws, eternal as himself. None of us ever imagined God resembling a senseless master who gives one slave a private fund and refuses another food; who orders a one-armed man to knead flour, a mute to read aloud to him, a man without legs to serve as his courier.
“On God’s part, everything is grace. He granted the globe we inhabit the grace of forming it; trees, the grace of making them grow; animals, that of feeding them. But will anyone say that if one wolf finds a lamb in its path for supper, while another wolf starves, God has bestowed a particular grace on the first wolf? Has he employed prevenient grace to make one oak grow in preference to another oak whose sap failed it? If throughout nature all beings are subject to general laws, how could a single species of animal not be subject to them?
“Why should the absolute master of everything be more concerned with directing the inner life of one man than with guiding the whole of the rest of nature? By what strange whim would he alter something in the heart of a Courlander or a Biscayan while altering nothing in the laws he has imposed on all the stars?
“How pitiful to suppose that he continually makes, unmakes, and remakes feelings within us! And how audacious to believe ourselves exceptions among all beings! Even then, all these changes are imagined only for those who go to confession. On Monday a Savoyard, a man of Bergamo, will have the grace to pay twelve sous for a mass; on Tuesday he will go to the tavern, and grace will fail him; on Wednesday he will have a cooperating grace that leads him to confession, but he will not have the efficacious grace of perfect contrition; on Thursday it will be a sufficient grace that does not suffice for him, as we have already said. God will work continually in this Bergamasque’s head, now forcefully, now feebly, and the rest of the earth will mean nothing to him! He will not deign to concern himself with the inner lives of Indians and Chinese! If you have a grain of reason left, my reverend fathers, do you not find this system prodigiously ridiculous?
“Unhappy men, look at this oak that raises its head to the clouds, and this reed that creeps at its feet. You do not say that efficacious grace was given to the oak and denied to the reed. Raise your eyes to heaven; see the eternal Demiurge creating millions of worlds, all gravitating toward one another by general and eternal laws. See the same light reflected from the sun to Saturn and from Saturn to us; and amid this harmony of so many stars borne along in their swift courses, amid this universal obedience of all nature, dare to believe, if you can, that God busies himself giving resistible grace to Sister Teresa and concomitant grace to Sister Agnes!
“Atom, whom a foolish atom has told that the Eternal has particular laws for a few atoms in your neighborhood; that he gives his grace to that one and refuses it to this one; that someone who lacked grace yesterday will have it tomorrow: do not repeat this folly. God made the universe; he is not going to create new winds to stir a few straws in a corner of that universe. Theologians are like Homer’s warriors, who believed that the gods took up arms now against them, now in their favor. If Homer were not regarded as a poet, he would be regarded as a blasphemer.”
It is Marcus Aurelius speaking, not I; for God, who inspires you, grants me the grace to believe everything you say, everything you have said, and everything you will say.
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.
Sacred advisers of modern Rome, distinguished and infallible theologians! No one respects your divine decisions more than I do. Suppose Aemilius Paullus, Scipio, Cato, Cicero, Caesar, Titus, Trajan, and Marcus Aurelius came back. They once did something to give Rome a reputation. You must admit your rulings on grace would surprise them a little. What would they say about St. Thomas’s grace of health and Cajetan’s medicinal grace? Or outward and inward grace, freely given grace, sanctifying grace, actual and habitual grace? Then there’s cooperating grace, and efficacious grace that sometimes has no effect. There’s sufficient grace that sometimes isn’t enough, grace that can be accepted or resisted, and congruous grace. Honestly, would they understand any more of it than you and I do?
Why would those poor men need your lofty teaching? I can almost hear them saying:
“Reverend Fathers, you’re terrifying geniuses. We foolishly thought the eternal being didn’t follow special laws like lowly humans. We thought he followed general laws as eternal as himself. None of us ever pictured God as a mad master. Such a master gives one slave spending money but refuses another food. He tells a one-armed man to knead flour. He orders a man who can’t speak to read to him. He makes a man with no legs his messenger.
“Everything God gives is grace. He gave the globe we live on the grace of forming it. He gave trees the grace of making them grow, and animals that of feeding them. But suppose one wolf finds a lamb in its path for supper. Another wolf starves. Does that mean God gave the first wolf a special grace? Did he use prevenient grace to help one oak grow rather than another that lacked sap? Everything in nature follows general laws. How could just one species of animal be exempt?
“He’s the absolute master of everything. Why would he spend more effort guiding one man’s inner life than all the rest of nature? He leaves the laws he imposed on every star unchanged. What strange whim would make him change something in a Courlander’s or a Biscayan’s heart?
“How pathetic to suppose he keeps making, unmaking, and remaking feelings inside us! How dare we think we’re an exception among all beings! And who gets all these imagined changes? Only people who go to confession. On Monday a Savoyard or a man from Bergamo gets grace. It lets him pay twelve sous to have a mass said. On Tuesday he goes to the tavern, and grace fails him. On Wednesday he has cooperating grace, which takes him to confession. But he won’t have the efficacious grace of perfect contrition. On Thursday he gets sufficient grace. As we’ve already said, it won’t be enough for him. God will keep working inside this man from Bergamo’s head, sometimes strongly, sometimes weakly. The rest of the earth will mean nothing to him! He won’t bother with the inner lives of Indians and Chinese people! Reverend Fathers, do you have a grain of reason left? Don’t you find this system unbelievably ridiculous?
“You miserable men, look at this oak with its head in the clouds. Look at the reed creeping at its feet. You don’t say the oak got efficacious grace and the reed didn’t. Look up at the sky. See the eternal maker create millions of worlds. General and eternal laws draw them all toward one another. See the same light reflected from the Sun to Saturn, and from Saturn to us. All these heavenly bodies move rapidly together in harmony. All nature obeys. Faced with that, dare to believe this, if you can. God busies himself giving Sister Teresa grace that can be accepted or resisted. He gives Sister Agnes concomitant grace!
“You atom, a foolish atom has told you something. The Eternal One has special laws for a few atoms in your neighborhood. He gives grace to this one and refuses it to that one. Someone who lacked grace yesterday will have it tomorrow. Don’t repeat that foolishness. God made the universe. He isn’t going to create new winds to stir a few bits of straw in one corner of it. Theologians are like Homer’s warriors. Those warriors thought the gods took up arms sometimes against them, sometimes for them. If Homer weren’t seen as a poet, he’d be seen as a blasphemer.”
That’s Marcus Aurelius speaking, not me. God inspires you. He gives me the grace to believe everything you say. I believe everything you’ve said, too, and everything you’ll ever say.
About this section
G — Grace 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 46 of 73 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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