Chapter XXI
Original French
Vertu vaut mieux que science.
MOins de dogmes, moins de disputes; & moins de disputes, moins de malheurs: si cela n'est pas vrai, j'ai tort.
La Religion est instituée pour nous rendre heureux dans cette vie & dans l'autre. Que faut-il pour être heureux dans la vie à venir? Etre juste.
Pour être heureux dans celle-ci, autant que le permet la misere de notre nature, que faut-il? Etre indulgent.
Ce serait le comble de la folie, de prétendre amener tous les hommes à penser d'une maniere uniforme sur la Métaphysique. On pourrait beaucoup plus aisément subjuguer l'Univers entier par les armes, que de subjuguer tous les esprits d'une seule Ville.
Euclide est venu aisément à bout de persuader à tous les hommes les vérités de la Géométrie; pourquoi? parce qu'il n'y en a pas une qui ne soit un corollaire évident de ce petit axiome: Deux & deux font quatre. Il n'en est pas tout-à-fait de même dans le mélange de la Métaphysique & de la Théologie.
Lorsque l'Evêque Alexandre, & le Prêtre Arios ou Arius, commencerent à disputer sur la maniere dont le Logos était une émanation du Pere, l'Empereur Constantin leur écrivit d'abord ces paroles rapportées par Eusebe, & par Socrate: Vous êtes de grands fous de disputer sur des choses que vous ne pouvez entendre.
Si les deux partis avaient été assez sages pour convenir que l'Empereur avait raison, le monde Chrétien n'aurait pas été ensanglanté pendant trois cents années.
Qu'y a-t-il en effet de plus fou & de plus horrible que de dire aux hommes: «Mes amis, ce n'est pas assez d'être des sujets fideles, des enfants soumis, des peres tendres, des voisins équitables, de pratiquer toutes les vertus, de cultiver l'amitié, de fuir l'ingratitude, d'adorer Jesus-Christ en paix, il faut encore que vous sachiez comment on est engendré de toute éternité, sans être fait de toute éternité; & si vous ne savez pas distinguer l'Omousion dans l'hypostase, nous vous dénonçons que vous serez brulés à jamais; & en attendant, nous allons commencer par vous égorger?
Si on avait présenté une telle décision à un Archimede, à un Possidonius, à un Varron, à un Caton, à un Cicéron, qu'auraient-ils répondu?
Constantin ne persévera point dans la résolution d'imposer silence aux deux partis; il pouvait faire venir les Chefs de l'ergotisme dans son Palais; il pouvait leur demander par quelle autorité ils troublaient le monde: «Avez-vous les titres de la Famille divine? Que vous importe que le Logos soit fait ou engendré, pourvu qu'on lui soit fidele, pourvu qu'on prêche une bonne morale, & qu'on la pratique si on peut? J'ai commis bien des fautes dans ma vie, & vous aussi: vous êtes ambitieux, & moi aussi: l'Empire m'a coûté des fourberies & des cruautés; j'ai assassiné presque tous mes proches, je m'en repens; je veux expier mes crimes en rendant l'Empire Romain tranquille; ne m'empêchez pas de faire le seul bien qui puisse faire oublier mes anciennes barbaries; aidez-moi à finir mes jours en paix. Peut-être n'aurait-il rien gagné sur les disputeurs: peut-être fut-il flatté de présider à un Concile, en long habit rouge, la tête chargée de pierreries.
Voilà pourtant ce qui ouvrit la porte à tous ces fléaux qui vinrent de l'Asie inonder l'Occident. Il sortit de chaque verset contesté une furie armée d'un sophisme & d'un poignard, qui rendit tous les hommes insensés & cruels. Les Huns, les Hérules, les Goths & les Vandales qui survinrent, firent infiniment moins de mal; & le plus grand qu'ils firent, fut de se prêter enfin eux-mêmes à ces disputes fatales.
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted Musean translation directly from French, reviewed against it. Includes all 25 chapters, Voltaire’s notes and the added Article with six edition references. Article transcription: French Wikisource, Garnier 1879, revision 15479820. Translation and Article: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.
Virtue is worth more than learning.
Fewer dogmas, fewer disputes; and fewer disputes, fewer calamities. If that is not true, I am wrong.
Religion was established to make us happy in this life and the next. What is needed to be happy in the life to come? To be just.
To be happy in this life, as far as the misery of our nature allows, what is needed? To be forbearing.
It would be the height of madness to claim to bring everyone to think alike about metaphysics. It would be far easier to conquer the entire world by force of arms than to conquer every mind in a single city.
Euclid easily succeeded in persuading everyone of the truths of geometry. Why? Because every one of them is an evident corollary of this little axiom: Two and two make four. Things are not quite the same in the mixture of metaphysics and theology.
When Bishop Alexander and the priest Arios, or Arius, began to dispute the manner in which the Word emanated from the Father, Emperor Constantine first wrote them these words, reported by Eusebius and Socrates: “You are great fools to dispute things you cannot understand.”
Had both sides been wise enough to agree that the emperor was right, the Christian world would not have been drenched in blood for three hundred years.
What, indeed, could be madder or more horrible than to tell people, “My friends, it is not enough to be loyal subjects, obedient children, loving fathers, fair-minded neighbors; to practice every virtue, cultivate friendship, shun ingratitude, and worship Jesus Christ in peace. You must also know how one is begotten from all eternity without being made from all eternity. And if you cannot distinguish consubstantiality within the hypostasis, we warn you that you will burn forever; meanwhile, we shall begin by cutting your throats”?
Had such a ruling been put before an Archimedes, a Posidonius, a Varro, a Cato, a Cicero, what would they have answered?
Constantine did not persist in his resolve to silence both sides. He could have summoned the leaders of this hairsplitting to his palace; he could have asked by what authority they were troubling the world: “Do you hold the divine family’s records? What does it matter to you whether the Word is made or begotten, provided people remain faithful to him, provided sound morality is preached and practiced if possible? I have committed many faults in my life, and so have you. You are ambitious, and so am I. The empire has cost me deceit and cruelty; I have murdered almost all my relatives, and I repent it. I wish to atone for my crimes by bringing peace to the Roman Empire. Do not prevent me from doing the one good deed that might consign my former barbarities to oblivion. Help me end my days in peace.” Perhaps he would have gained nothing from the disputants; perhaps it flattered him to preside over a council in a long red robe, his head laden with jewels.
Yet this was what opened the door to all those scourges that came from Asia to inundate the West. From every disputed verse sprang a fury armed with a sophism and a dagger, driving all humanity to madness and cruelty. The Huns, Heruli, Goths, and Vandals who came after did infinitely less harm; and the greatest harm they did was finally to enter into these fatal disputes themselves.
Plain English translation
Independent, complete machine-assisted Plain English translation directly from French, reviewed against it. All 25 chapters, author’s notes and added Article with six edition references are retained. Article transcription: French Wikisource, Garnier 1879, revision 15479820. Translation and Article: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.
Virtue Is Better than Learning.
Fewer dogmas mean fewer disputes, and fewer disputes mean fewer disasters. If that is not true, I am wrong.
Religion was established to make us happy in this life and the next. What do we need to be happy in the next life? To be just.
What do we need to be happy in this life, as far as our miserable human condition allows? To be tolerant.
Trying to make everyone think alike about metaphysics would be the height of madness. Conquering the whole world by force of arms would be much easier than conquering every mind in a single town.
Euclid easily managed to convince everyone of the truths of geometry. Why? Because every one of them follows obviously from this little axiom: Two and two make four. Things are not quite the same in the mixture of metaphysics and theology.
When Bishop Alexander and the priest Arios, or Arius, began arguing about how the Word emanated from the Father, Emperor Constantine first wrote them these words, reported by Eusebius and Socrates: "You are great fools to argue about things you cannot understand."
If both sides had been wise enough to admit that the emperor was right, the Christian world would not have been drenched in blood for three hundred years.
For what could be more insane and more horrible than telling people, "My friends, it is not enough to be loyal subjects, obedient children, loving fathers, and fair neighbors; to practice every virtue, cultivate friendship, avoid ingratitude, and worship Jesus Christ in peace. You must also know how someone can be begotten from all eternity without being made from all eternity. And if you cannot distinguish sameness of substance in the divine person, we warn you that you will burn forever. Meanwhile, we will begin by cutting your throats"?
If such a ruling had been put before an Archimedes, a Posidonius, a Varro, a Cato, or a Cicero, what would they have answered?
Constantine did not stick to his decision to silence both sides. He could have summoned the leaders of this quibbling to his palace. He could have asked them by what authority they were disturbing the world: "Do you have the divine family's records? What does it matter to you whether the Word was made or begotten, provided people are faithful to him, preach sound morals, and practice them if they can? I have committed many faults in my life, and so have you. You are ambitious, and so am I. Gaining the empire cost me deceit and cruelty. I have murdered nearly all my relatives, and I regret it. I want to make up for my crimes by bringing peace to the Roman Empire. Do not stop me from doing the one good thing that might make people forget my past barbarities. Help me end my days in peace." Perhaps he would have gained nothing from the disputants. Perhaps he was flattered to preside over a council in a long red robe, with his head covered in jewels.
Yet this was what opened the door to all the scourges that came from Asia and flooded the West. From every disputed verse came a fury armed with a false argument and a dagger, making everyone mad and cruel. The Huns, Heruli, Goths, and Vandals who came afterward did infinitely less harm. The greatest harm they did was finally to join in these fatal disputes themselves.
About this section
Chapter XXI is part of Treatise on Tolerance by Voltaire. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is chapter 21 of 26 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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