The Fidelity of Voltaire to His Biblical and Patristic Sources As Shown by the First (1764) Edition of the Dictionnaire Philoæp

Home , Bachelor, Desprez (crater), Diderot (crater), Donna (crater), Donne (crater), Dove (crater)

THE FIDELITY OF VOLTAIRE TO HIS

BIBLICAL AND PATRISTIC SOURCES

AS SHOWN BY THE FIRST (1764) EDITION OF THE

DICTIONNAIRE PHILOæPHIQUE. PORTATIF

DISSERTATION

Presented in Pazrtial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

GILBERT EMORY MILLS, B. A., A. M.

*****

The Ohio State University 1955

Approved by:

Department dF Romance Languages FQREWDBD

The author of the following study wishes to take this opportunity to express his appreciation of the inspiration and help he has received from many sources: to Professor George R. Havens, whose example has pointed out the path to be taken and whose kindly assistance and criticism have added immensely to the quality of the work; to Professor Robert E. Rockwood, from nAiom the author received his first inspiration for historical research; to all members of the Romance Language staff, whose

sympathetic interest has ever been an encouragement; to the librarians, who with ever-ready and willing cooperation have done much to smooth the way; and to those in the

Graduate School Office who have gone beyond the call of duty in order to be helpful. Of all these friends there remains a very pleasant memory.

Thanks are also due to Benziger Brothers, Inc.,

New York City, publishers and copyright owners of the

Swma, Theologica of Thomas Aquinas in English translation, for their kind pemission to use quotations from this work.

1 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Foreword...... ü

Introduction...... 1

Chapter I— Historical Setting ...... 12

Chapter II— Survey of Biblical Sources...... 27

Chapter III— Survey of Patristic Sources...... lU6

Chapter IV— Analysis of Data...... 2$h

Chapter V— Conclusions...... 283

Appendices:

Table I— A con^arison of certain portions of the Dictionnaire philoso phique of 176k with the corre sponding readings of the Naves and Beuchot editions...... 286

Table II-A study of Voltaire * s uses of a hynn of Orpheus...... 293

Bibliography...... 30U

iii INTRODUCTION

As In the case of any man who catches the attention of the public over a period of years, there have grown up around

Voltaire maigr traditions, sane to his credit and some not so much in his favor. Among the latter is the belief that he was quite ready to misstate the real facts of a situation if it furthered his ends. As Professor Wade puts its

The first rule of Voltaire criticism has been: always regard Voltaire as a prevaricator and dissembler..Thus there was a tendency even in hla day to regard all his statements as false, and we who have inherited that tendency have persisted in believing that there is no truth in M m .

Not all critics, however, have held to t M s thesis.

Charrot, commenting on a note ty Beuchot to one of Voltaire's letters, writes:

Voltaire invente donc beaucoup moins que ne dit Beuchot. En lisant de suite toute la Cor respondance, j'ai constaté que Voltaire était bien plus souvent véridique qu'on ne le pré tend d'ordinaire....J'ai vérifié notamment que lorsqu'il cite â l'un de ses correspondants les paroles d'un autre correspondant ou leur sens, il est en général très exact.^

Although many students of Voltaire have been free to ejqpress their * * *

1. Ira 0. Wade, Voltaire and Madame du Ch&telet^ p. 138. 2. Ch. Charrot, "Quelques Notes sur la 'Correspondance' de Voltaire," Revue d'Mstoire littéraire de la France. t a (1912), 671. opinions, there is all too little exact information available as to how closely he actually held to the facts.

There is no doubt that at times he resorted to untrue assertions in order to escape the persecutions of the state censor.

His own correspondence convicts him of this.^ Yet the question remains— and it is the vital point— To what extent did he use falsehood to further the arguments of his polemics and to carry on his attack on 1*infâme, as he characterized the established religion of his day? His writings in these fields abound in quo tations, both direct and indirect,^ taken principally from the

Bible and from the Church Fathers in order to attack or ridicule them. Is he fair in his treatment of their statements? Is he justified, by the works of the authors themselves, in his manner of presenting quotations from their works? To what extent does he accurately reproduce their thought?

One answer is suggested by Voltaire's secretary, Wagniere, in his statement;

La mémoire de M. de Voltaire était prodigieuse. Il m'a dit cent fois: Voyez dans tel ouvrage, dans tel volume, à peu près â telle page, s'il n'y a pas telle chose? et il arriyait rarement qu'il se trompât, quoiqu'il n'eût pas ouvert

3. Clifford M. Crist, The Dictionnaire philosophique portatif and the Early French Deists, p p . 11 ff. U. This is true in spite of the fact that he says, "Je n'aime point à citer; c'est d'ordinaire une besogne épineuse; on néglige ce qui précède & ce qui suit l'endroit qu'on cite, & on s'expose à mille querelles (Pict. nhil.. p. 54; Naves, I, 77).” le livre depuis douze ou quinze ans.^

If one were to rely on this testimony alone, he could easily conclude that Voltaire was careful in making his quotations.

But this is a very incomplete answer to the questions raised by the problem.

It was to attempt a fuller answer that this study was undertaken. It is, from a practical standpoint, impossible to consider every factor, not only because of the great volume of

Voltaire's writings but also because his references are, much of the time, vague, perhaps intentionally so. As often as not, he merely gives the author's name without mentioning even the book.

Rare it is indeed for him to give a page number, especially in his earlier works. Editors sometimes supply such information but it is not always reliable.

This study is limited to the material contained in the original, 1764, edition of the Dictionnaire philosophique. Al though this is neither the first nor the last of Voltaire's polemic publications, it represents a milestone in the development of his method, in that it was his first attempt at expressing his ideas in the dictionary form; a form which he continued to use for several years latey. The book is short enough to come

* * *

5, S,G. Longchamp and Wagnière, Mémoires sur Voltaire, et sur ses ouvrages. I, 53. within practical limits of study, yet contains the essential elements of his fuller works.

The method we shall use in attacking the problem will be to contrast, in parallel columns where possible, the source material and Voltaire's quotation from it, followed by whatever comment is necessary for clarification and evaluation.

The citations from the Bible will be taken from the

Saci version of 1724 unless another work is indicated. This translation from the Vulgate first appeared in 1667-71 and had frequent revisions and reprints. By 1720, it had come to be the best known Bible in Catholic France and Voltaire had in his library an exemplar of the 1730 edition,^ That he used it in the prepara tion of the Portatif, as the first printing of the Dictionnaire philosophique was called, and that the text of the 1724 copy does not differ materially from it, are both shown by the word for word, comma for comma, similarity of a few of his quotations and by the general phraseology of the majority of them.

The Bible which was in general use among the Protestant minority in France was the Ostervald version, a revision of the

Geneva Bible of 1588, Only on very rare occasions is there even any suggestion that Voltaire may have had in mind either this

* * *

6, George R, Havens and Norman L, Torrey, "Voltaire’s Books: A Se lected List," Modern Philology. XXVII (August, 1929), 4, 7, See Chapter II, Section I of this study, particularly pages 31 and 32, woric, published in 172k, or a previous recension of the Geneva Bible

in 1707 by David Martin,

Several citations from the Vulgate are scattered through the Dictionnaire. It is not known, however, what edition the author may have been using.

Whenever the situation is not complicated, the quotations from the Church Fathers will be given in an En^ish translation.

If a fuller treatment is demanded, the author's original, taken from a standard edition, will also be shown.

All quotations from the Dictionnaire in this study will, un less it is otherwise indicated, be in the text of the première édition of I76U, as described by Bengesco.® In each case, reference will also be made to the modem edition of Julien Benda and Raymond Naves, since it is more readily available than that of 176k# The text, estab lished by Naves, will not, however, always be that of the Portatif.^

The spelling, as well as the punctuation, accent marks, etc., of each quotation will be that of the edition from lAiich it is taken. This will be true regardless of whether it is set in one of

the parallel columns or in the body of the paragraph.

In connection with his source material, the question

arises as to Voltaire's knowledge of the language in which it was

written. In regard to Latin, there is no doubt. According

* * *

8. Georges Bengesco, Bibliographe, I, 1|12. 9» See pages 25 ff# of ibis study. to the testimony of Pierron, Voltaire maintained from early in life to his last days a personal, extra-professional interest in this language:

La lecture d ’Horace est.,,le passetemps favo ri de Voltaire, sa plus efficace consolation.^®

Many of his published works contain frequent quotations from

Roman authors, as well as from the Vulgate, while in his correspond ence there are not only occasional letters in Latin,but often verses quoted from classical writers with comments in the same language,both of which show an ease in its use. The Latin books in his library also imply an ability to use them, as is indicated by his marginal notes,^^

As is to be expected, he was familiar with English. He does not quote much from it but again those of his letters which are written in English^ show a good ability to express his ideas in this language, as do some of the marginal comments in the books of his library.

There is more doubt about the extent of his knowledge

* * ■»•

10. Alexis Pierron, Voltaire et ses maîtres, p. l6l. 11. Ibid.. OP. 163 and l69. 12. Theodore Besterman, Voltaire * s Corre soondence. Vol. III. 1 3 . George R, Havens and Norman L. Torrey, "The Private Library of Voltaire at Leningrad," P.M.L.A.. XLIII (December, 1928), 1000, 1 4 . Theodore Besterman, O p . cit.. Ill, 325. of Greek. He sometimes uses a quotation from this language, fre quently gives the Greek origins of words, and more than once poses as an authority on Greek writers, criticizing their works from a standpoint which should be taken only by one who is familiar enough with the original language to be able to judge shades of meaning.

Miss Philips feels that he knew Greek well. She writes that:

One of the most obvious facts which appears from the evidence of these notes is that Voltaire knew Plato well and knew him from reading in the original.15

Other authorities are more doubtful. Pierron, who writes with a pronounced prejudice, is very critical of Voltaira's ability, saying that he had

cette ignorance du grec dont nous venons de mesurer 1* étrange profondeur.

Although Pierron recognizes the knowledge of Latin possessed by the author of the Dictionnaire, it is his opinion that:

Voltaire en fait de grec, est resté jusqu’au bout 1’écolier Arouet. '

Charrot expresses much the same thought in more reserved language,

* * *

15. Edith Philips, "Madame du Ch&telet, Voltaire and Dacier's Plato," Romanic Review. nXEII (October, 19A2), 262. 16. Alexis Pierron, Voltaire et ses maîtres^ p. 327. 17. Ibid.. p. 301. â saying that, "Voltaire n'était pas grand grec et l’avouait.

While there is not enough information available to come to a clear-cut decision in regard to this point, it appears very doubt ful that Voltaire could read, at least with ease, the original of the Church Fathers who wrote in Greek, He probably used them in translation, as is suggested by the Latin version of Justin'

Martyr, which he had in his library,

On a few occasions, Voltaire comments on the derivations of words from the Hebrew, with remarks on their meaning, in such a manner as to make it appear that he was in a position to speak authoritatively regarding that language. There is no evidence, however, to show definitely that he knew it. He probably got his little knowledge of it through a secondary source, perhaps from some Hebrew friend or scholar at Geneva, or from the Biblia. Breves in eadem annotationes ex doctis interpretationibus et hebrd^orum commentariis. a copy of which he owned,

He was also familiar with Italian, at least to a cer tain extent, and probably could read some Spanish, but his knowl edge of these two languages has no bearing on this problem, * * *

18, Ch, Charrot, "Quelques Notes sur la ’Correspondance’ de Voltaire," Revue d’histoire littéraire de la France. XIX (1912), 675. 19, George R, Havens and Norman L, Torrey, "The Private Library of Voltaire at Leningrad," P.M.L.A.. XLIII (December, 1928), 1000, 20, George R. Ifevens and Norman L, Torrey, "Voltaire’s Books: A Se lected List," Modem Philology. XXVII (August, 1929), 4. A consideration which is fundamental to this study is the question of what Voltaire intended to indicate when he used material from his sources. Certain standards of scholarship and criticism were not so well developed in his day as they now are. Of special importance in this relation is the fact that many writers of the period did not feel that it was necessary to be exact in their quotations.^^ This characteristic is apparent in the work of Abauzit^ and of Middleton, both of whom take what would now be considered undue liberties with their sources. The latter especially, although he regularly uses quotation marks at every line, usually presents only a paraphrase or summary. That he

* * *

21. Pierre Bayle, who is probably the most careful scholar of Voltaire’s century, stood out from the other writers of the time in his appreciation of the value of a quotation. The nine fairly long citations from both French and Latin sources which we have checked (Diet, his, et crit. .— in Vol. V, pp. 127, n. 1; 198, n. 73; 200, n. 83; 232, col. 2, n. 1; 439, n. 7; 440, n. 11; and 545, n. 11;— in Vol. XII, pp. 24, n. 1 and 29, n. 30) are word-for-word re productions of the authors' statements (except for two additions of unimportant phrases and one change in Latin case, all of idiich may be accounted for by the fact that we were using editions other than those to which refer ence was made). Bayle's own accuracy re-enforces his criticism when he writes, "Ma critique [of la Mothe-le-Vayer], je l'avoue, est ici trop pointilleuse, et je ne la donne pas comme une chose considérable en elle-mSmes j'y ai insisté afin de guérir, s'il est possible, une maladie qui ne r&gne que trop dans les auteurs. Ils rapportent avec mille altérations, et avec aille additions, ce que les anciens nous apprennent (Pict. his, et crit.. V, 259, col. 2)." 22. See pages 153 and 170 of this study. 23. See pages 179, 187, and 188, n. 48. 10

Is not, at least at times, intending to deceive is indicated by his custom of beginning his quotation, "...says, * that,. . . and then following with a phraseology which clearly shows that he can^ not be repeating the author's own words.^

Voltaire has the same tendency to paraphrase but it is frequently very difficult or impossible to determine what his in tentions were. The situation is complicated by the fact that his method of writing quotations is not constant. Sometimes he uses quotation marks, and sometimes italics. On other occasions, his italics indicate only emphasis. Then, too, he complains several times in his correspondence that the Dictionnaire is full of mis takes in printing. This has generally been taken to be merely one of his frequent means of avoiding persecution by showing that he had nothing to do with its publication.^^ It may be, however, that these criticisms, like his statements regarding Abauzit and

Polier de Bottens,^^ are more than fiction. Since there is avail able no manuscript of the Dictionnaire it cannot be determined what he actufOly wrote. To judge by the manuscripts of his letters, he was completely indifferent about punctuation and spelling.

24. See pages 198 and 247. 25. Clifford H. Grist, The Dictionnaire philosophique portatif and the Early French Deists. p p . 10-20. 26. See page 19 of this study. , 11 making but little use of capital letters, accents, etc,,^*^ and, in common with other writers of the period, only occasionally pd italicizing the titles of books. While he could be expected to be more careful in a manuscript intended for publication, it is likely that much was left to the judgment of a secretary or print er. Modern editors, including Moland and Naves, set in quotation marks almost everything italicized in the first edition, with results which are at times clearly incorrect. A further study of this subject will be made in chapter four.

Although it has not been possible to find a definite answer to all the problems that arise, enough cases of Voltaire's method of handling his source material have been carefully con sidered to give a good sample of his practice in dealing with his

Biblical and patristic quotations in the Portatif of 1764.

27. Theodore Besterman, Voltaire's Correspondence. Vol. III. See also, George R. Havens, “Voltaire's Letters to Pierre Pictet and His Family," Romanic Review. XXXII (October, 1941), 245 ff. 28. Theodore Besterman, O p . cit.. Vol. Ill, CHAPTER 1

Historical Setting

The Dictionnaire nhilosonhlaue has a long and confused history. Traditionally, September 28, 1752, while Voltaire was at the court of Frederick the Great, is considered as the date when the idea of producing such a work was conceived. The account given by Collini, the private secretary of Voltaire at the time, is quite definite. It runs as follows:

II faut placer, à cette année [1752], le projet du dictionnaire philosophique qui ne parut que long-tems après. Le plan de cet ouvrage fut con- gu à Potzdam: j'étais chaque soir dans l'usage de lire â Voltaire, lorsqu'il était dans son lit, quelques morceaux de l'Arioste ou du Bocace.... Le 28 septemtsze, il se mit au lit fort préoccupé: il m'apprit qu'au souper du roi on s'était amusé de l'idée d'un dictionnaire philosophique, que cette idée s'était convertie en un projet sérieu sement adopté, que les gens de lettres du roi et le roi lui^ème devaient y travailler de concert, et que l'on en distribuerait les articles, tels que Adam, Abraham, etc. Je crus d'&bord que ce projet n'était qu'un badinage ingénieux inventé pour égayer le souper; ^ i s Voltaire vif et ar dent au travail, commenga dès le lendemain.^

It is not known who should receive credit for actually making the suggestion. Crist states that it was Frederick himself^ but

1. CSme-Alexandre CoUini, Mon-aélour auprès de Voltaire, p. 32. 2. Clifford H. Grist. The Dictionnaire philosophique portatif and the Early French Deists, p. 7.

12 13

GoUini offers no evidence to support such a position.

Each student of Voltaire w i U have to come to his own conclusion as to whether or not this was the first time the author of the Portatif had considered the question of writing a

"dictionary". Brunetière is definite in his statement that the inspiration for the Dictionnaire came from Bayle:

G'est du Projet de Dictionnaire de Bayle que Voltaire a tiré les plus jolies pages de Jeanr- not et Colin:...c'est à l'idée de ce même Dic tionnaire qu'il a emprunté l'idée de son Dic tionnaire nhilosophiauey ou de la Jtoison par~ alphabet, comme il l'avait intitulé d'abord.

One would have more confidence in Brunetiêre's judgment had he not made the mistake of saying that the first title of Voltaire's work was La Raison par alphabet. This name was not used until

1769, five years after its first publication, for the seventh, or perhaps the eighth, edition.

In 1752, the idea of such a dictionary was not a novelty.

As Grist points out, there was at that time a "pronounced contem porary vogUe for the dictionary form. Against the background of

Bavle'e Dictionnaire historique et critique^ there had been pub-

* * *

3. Ferdinand Brunetiêre, "Voltaire," Revue des deux mondes. LX, cinquième période, 1®^ novembre. If 10, p. 20. Cf. Latimer, "The Influence of Bayle's Dictionary on the Theological Articles in Voltaire's Dictionnaire Philosophique." unpublished Master's Thesis at the University of Chicago, 1920. A. Clifford M. Crist, On. cit.. p. 7. lU

lished between 1?U0 and 1752 at least seven French dictionnaires

d»ideesj including a Dictionnaire philosophique by De Meuvillé.^

In addition, the attention of the literary world had been caught by Diderot’s Dictionnaire raisonné, the first volume of which had appeared in l?5l and had received the con^liments of Voltaire.^

Remembering his interest in Biblical criticism during the years

that he spent at Cirey,7 one would not be surprised to l e a m that

the idea of expressing his thoughts in this fashion had already

occurred to the future author of the Dictionnaire philosophique, portatif.^

However that may be, the idea thus sown, or fertilized, at Frederick's dinner party quickly flowered. Voltaire commença dès le lendemain to write the articles assigned to him, and

Abraham, Ame, Athee, Baptême, etc. came rapidly from his pen.

"Si vous continuez du train dont vous allez, le Dictionnaire sera fait en peu de tenps," writes Frederick to him before long.9

* * *

5 . Doc • CZLt. 6. In a letter to D'Alembert, Sept. 5> 1752 (Mol., XXX7II, U80). Quoted by Haymond Naves, Voltaire et l 'Encyclopédie, p. 11. 7. See Ira 0. Wade, Voltaire and Madame du Châtelet, chap. k. 8. We have not observed anywhere, not even in the works of either Bengesco or Naves, the title, including the comma, written as Voltaire wrote it on the title page of the first edition and in the heading on page one. It is of course not an essential point, but this punctuation does emphasize the importance that the author placed on the function of his work as an instrument de guerre in the struggle against 1'inf am». 9. In a letter placed by Moland between Oct. 3 and Oct. Vj 1752 (Mol., x x m i , U97). 15

The king then continues, "Votre Dictionnaire imprimé, je ne vous conseille pas d'aller à Rome....L'ouvrage que vous faites sera utile par les choses, et agréable par le style."

It is interesting to note that Frederick says, "Votre

Dictionnaire" and "L'ouvrage que vous faites." Since the work was to be the result of a cooperative effort, why is it called

Voltaire's dictionary? Is there an intimation here that the orig inal suggestion on the 28th of September came from Frederick's guest himself? Or have the other gens de lettres abandoned the idea? Cellini's further comment of unknown date is:

Tandis que Voltaire ébauchait les premiers ar ticles du dictionnaire philosophique, que je mettais en ordre ses brouillons, il s'éleva, entre les gens de lettres du roi, des dissen sions qui le forcèrent de suspendre ce tra vail.

One will observe in this connection that there is no record of any one at Potsdam having been enthusiastic enough about the under taking to continue writing after Voltaire took his departure from

Sans Souci some four or five months later.

From this time on, the project of the dictionary seems to have been abandoned for some six or seven years. Crist is overly ardent when he says that after Voltaire started writing the

* * *

10. C6me-Alexandre Collini, Mon sé.iour auprès de Voltaire, p» 33. 16 article Abraham "his enthusiasm never wanes.His letters during thèse years are silent in respect to the Dictionnaire philosophique. It is true that after leaving Potsdam he developed an interest in the Encyclopédie and wrote several articles for it,^ but there is no evidence that he had the Portatif in mind when he wrote them, and only two. Idole and Messie, were included in it.

The others were on the whole insignificant and "A peu près unique ment orientés vers les 'belles-lettres', la 'littérature', souvent même vers la 'grammaire' proprement dite,"^^ It vfas not until

1758, and then for a short time only, that Voltaire came to have very much enthusiasm for the grand Dictionnaire. He considered that a.rsy work which was subjected to censorship was unfit for his purposes. This opinion became fixed when in 1759 the Encyclopédie was suppressed. With his hopes for the continuation of Diderot's work dashed to the ground, "Voltaire se tourne de plus en plus vers la production secrète,"^ and it seems logical to think that he began to consider seriously the publication of his Portatif.

Naves is right in saying that "il n'est pas exagéré d'avancer que cette aventure [de l'Encyclopédie"[ est à l'origine du Diction naire philosophique, beaucoup plus que le fameux souper du roi de

* * *

11. Clifford M, Crist, Op. cit.. p. 8. 12. Raymond Naves, Voltaire et 1'Encyclopédie. pp. 16 ff. 13. Ibid.. p. 16, 14. Ibid.. p. 65. 17

Prusse.

In February, 1760, Voltaire wrote to the Marquise du

Defiantt

Je suis absorb! dans un compte que je me rends à moi-même, par ordre alphabétique, de tout ce que je dois penser sur ce monde-ci et sur l'au tre, le tout pour mon usage, et peut-être, après ma mort, pour celui des honnêtes gens.... Si nous étions à Craon, je me flatte que quel ques-uns des articles de ce dictionnaire d'i dées ne vous déplairaient pas.^®

There is of course little doubt that this compte is the coming

Dictionnaire. Other references in Voltaire's correspondence

before 1764 show that the work continued to hold his interest and in the summer of this year there appeared the Dictionnaire philosophique, portatif.

The exact date of the event is not known. The compo

sition of the book must have been completed before June of that year. In a letter of the 13th of this month, Voltaire writes to

Damilaville, "Je suis enfoncé à présent dans des recherches pidantesques de 1'antiquité. The subject of these recherches

pêdantesques was La Philosophie de l'histoire^^ to which the

author of the Portatif apparently next turned his attention.

Naves states categorically that the Dictionnaire "parut

* * *

15. Loc. cit. 16. Mol., XL, 308. 17. Mol., XLIII, 239. 18. Loc. cit.. n. 3. 18

à Genève (avec la fausse indication de Londres) en juin 1764.

This statement is justified, partially at least, by a letter written at Paris on July 9 by D'Alembert in which he tells Voltaire that he has heard of "un Dictionnaire où beaucoup d'honnêtes fripons ont rudement sur les oreilles. When one considers the time necessary for nev/s to travel from Geneva to Paris, as well as the fact that D'Alembert may not have written immediately after he heard of the work, it appears quite probable that it was in

June that the ouvrage de Satan (as its author calls it) came from the press. The story of its reception, of the attempts to sup press it, and of Voltaire's efforts to disclaim authorship is well known.

With the passing of time, some of these points which were doubtful have been made clearer and some of the claims of

Voltaire have been shown to be not entirely unfounded. As Crist points out,^^ Voltaire, in his attempt to evade responsibility,

says repeatedly that the Swiss Abauzit wrote the article Apocalypse.

At first he maintains that the latter wrote it in its entirety;

then later, that he has only adapted the Genevan's work. These

protestations have generally been considered as fabrications * * *

19. Raymond Naves, Voltaire et 1'Encyclopédie. p. 89. 20. Mol., XLIII, 270. 21. For a fuller treatment of these subjects, see Crist, Op. cit.. pp. 10-20, and Raymond Naves, loc. cit. 22. Clifford M. Crist, Op. cit.. pp. 14-15. 19 invented to mislead the authorities, but Miss Ws-terman has shown that Voltaire is actually indebted to Abauzit for much of the article,23

Naves^ and, later. Professors Vfade and Torrey^^ have likewise made it apparent that Voltaire's claims that un pasteur de Lausanne wrote Messie are more than fiction.

A puzzling note is added by Grimm. Under the date of

September 1, 1764, he reports that;

II existe un Dictionnaire philosophique porta tif. volume de plus de trois cents pages, pu blié par le zèle infatigable du patriarche des Délices....L'édition entière de cet évangile précieux se réduit peut-être â vingt ou vingt- cinq exemplaires. Heureux ceux qui en peuvent avoirî Si nous ne sommes pas au nombre de ces élus, il faudra bien chercher â obtenir com munication et copie de quelques-uns des prin cipaux articles, jusqu'à ce qu'une heureuse témérité ait déterminé quelque libraire, digne des honneurs du martyre, â multiplier ce grain au profit des âmes et de son commerce.2°

An echo of this is found in D'Alembert's letter of

September 19, in which he says, "Je crois qu'il y a dans Paris très peu d'exemplaires de cette abomination alphabétique."^'^ He

* -;«■

23. Mina Waterman, "Voltaire and Firmin Abauzit," Romanic Review. XXXIII (October, 1942), pp. 236 ff. See page 153, n. 4 of this study. 24. Raymond Naves, Op. cit.. p. 145. 25. Ira 0. Vfade and Norman L. Torrey, "Voltaire and Polier de Bottens," Romanic Review. XXXI (April, 1940), pp. 147-155. 26. Friedrich M. Grimm, Correspondance littéraire. VI, 65. 27. Mol., XLIII, 319. 20 repeats this comment when he writes on October 4 that, "L'ouvrage, quoique peu commun, passe de main en main sans bruit et sans scandale.If one accepts the statement of Grimm at its face value, he is at once confronted with the question as to why the warrior of Ferney should limit to twenty-five copies the weapon which he had forged to carry on his struggle against l'infâme.

A further bibliographical puzzle appears in the two copies of the 1764 edition which Bengesco classes as the Première

êdition^^ and which are now in the Bibliothèque Nationale. In our further discussion, we shall call these Edition B. They have the anomaly that, in addition to a three-page index in the front of the book which covers all its contents, there is on pages 287 and 288, immediately following the article Miracles, an extra partial index entitled, "Table des Pièces contenus (sic), dans ce premier Volume.At the end of this list of articles is the further indication, "Fin de la Table du premier Volume," On page 289 is found the beginning of the article Moïse. In the partial index are enumerated, with their correct page numbers, all the articles printed in the body of the book to and including

* * *

28. Ibid.. 336. 29. Georges Bengesco. Bibliographie. I, 412. 30. This irregularity is also present in a copy of B now in the library of Princeton University and in a fourth exemplar in the private library of Professor George R. Havens of the Ohio State University. 21

Miracles. This extra table is mentioned by Bengesco only in his "Additions et corrections" at the beginning of the fourth volume of his BibUoeranhie.

As he points out, the effect of listing the articles thus in the body of the text is to raise the surmise that either

Voltaire or the printers first intended to publish a two-volume edition and had set up a table for the first of the two, but, when it was found that there were only fifty-six pages left for the second, these were added to those already in type and, for some unexplained reason, the index which had been prepared for the intended premier Volume was left in the signature* At least this hypothesis will serve until a better is advanced*

In any case, Grimm's wish for some one to multiplier ce grain was soon fulfilled. In addition to B, there are two other editions bearing the date I764. One of these, which we shall call P, is briefly described by Bengesco in the supplement at the end of the first volume of his Bibliographie. The nota tion ist

Un exemplaire d'une édition du Dictionnaire philosophique portatif avec le nom de Londres et le millésime 1764, i&-8° de 272_pp., nous a été communiqué par M, Raff et.,.,

31, Georges Bengesco, Bibliographie ^ IV, xiii-xiv, 32, Ibid.. I, 491, 22

Although both editions are octavo volumes, P is slightly smaller than B, measuring 17 l/2 centimeters as compared to 19 l/2 for the latter, with 272 pages instead of viii plus 3A4. It has no table of contents. The type is much smaller than that of B, but the text, except for a very few and very minor changes in spell ing and punctuation, is identical, as far as a careful though necessarily incomplete check shows, with the accepted Première edition. The index after the article Miracles is, however, missing.

There exists another interesting edition, not listed by Bengesco, with the date of 1764.^^ The first 272 pages of this book are identical with P. A careful examination shows that they are printed from the same plates. Following page 272, how ever, there is another title page as follows: "De la Prédication. par 1'auteur du Dictionnaire philosophique. Aux Délices, 1766."

After the title page are 168 pages of the work.

De la Predication^^ is a treatise actually y/ritten by

* * *

33. This description is based on the assumption that the book described by Bengesco is of the same edition as copies in the libraries of Princeton University (call number Ex 3298-.329-.l6) and of Yale University (call number Hfd 3-780-Copy 2). These conform to all the details given in the Bibliographie. 34. A copy is in the library of Yale University, call number Hfd 3-780-Copy 1. 35. For a discussion of the contents of De la Predication, see Friedrich M. Grimm, Correspondance littéraire. VII, 184. 23 the AbbI Coyer and published as a separate work, in—12, in

1766,^^ In the words of Bengesco,

Le nom des Délices, et cette indication; "par l'auteur du Dictionnaire philosophiquey" étaient tout simplement deux supercheries destinées à laisser supposer qu'on avait affaire à un écrit du patriarche.37

The inclusion of De la Prédication in the same binding as P suggests that the latter is a clandestine printing. On the surface it would appear that the Abbé Coyer had furthered his supercheries by persuading the publisher of P to bind his work with the very popular Portatif. But that the Cramer Frères, the printers of the première édition, should do this is untenable.

However that may be, other editions soon kept the print ers busy. A one-volume work bearing the date 1765 was published in December of 1764-.^® Three others of minor importance, which

"ne sont que des réimpressions de la précédente,followed during the course of 1765. In this year, there also appeared at

Amsterdam the important Varberg edition, described as a "Nouvelle

édition. Avec des notes. Beaucoup plus correcte et plus ample que les précédentes," consisting of two volumes, in-12, of xii—344 and 321 pages respectively. To this. Van Roosbroeck adds "the

* * *

3 6 . Georges Bengesco, Bibliographie, IV, 356. 37. Loc. cit. 3 8 . Georges Bengesco, Op. cit.. I, 415. 39. Voltaire, Dictionnaire philosophique, (Naves ed.) I, xxiii. 24

second edition. These six printings in the one year attest the popularity of the abomination alphabétique, as D'Alembert facetiously refers to the work.

The year 1767 saw the addition of eighteen more articles and in 1769 still more material was added when the Dictionnaire appeared under the title of La Raison par alphabet. This is a two-volume work which was reprinted five times by 1776.

Even though the Dictionnaire, as such, underwent no changes after 1769, its author did not forget it. In 1770, he brought out the Questions sur l'Encyclopédie (with a second edition in 1774),

dans lesquelles Voltaire, tout en publiant de nombreux articles aux titres inédits, repre nait divers articles du Dictionnaire philoso phique. soit en les reproduisant sans change ment, soit en les remaniant, soit en ne gar dant que leur titre et écrivant sur le même sujet des articles entièrement nouveaux.41

The history of the Dictionnaire after the death of its author is well known and there is no need to do more than men tion here the indiscriminate mixture of material from many sources found under this title in the Kehl edition of Voltaire's works or the attempt by Beuchot at reclassification, all of which was

* * *

40. Gustave L, van Roosbroeck, "Additions and Corrections to Voltaire's Bibliography," Modern Language Notes. XLIV (May, 1929), 328. 41. Voltaire, Op. cit.. I, xxiv. 25 preliminary to the standard four->volame collection of articles

In the Holand edition of 1877-1885.

In recent years, Raymond Naves has given us another study,^ the purpose of which he states as follows:

Nous avons essayé de donner une édition qui, tout en revenant au texte primitif, montre rait les additions et les remaniements, et permettrait au lecteur de se rendre compte, selon la méthode historique, du travail per manent de Voltaire.*^

In this work. Naves tells the student of Voltaire that

(Italics ours):

On trouvera I d , Imprimé dans le corps de l ’ou vrage, tout ce qui a été publié par Voltaire sous le titre de Dictionnaire philosophique. c’est-à-dire l’ensemble de l ’édition de 1769. Tous les articles parus en 1 7 6 4 sont Imprimés sans signe distinctif et dans le texte de 1 7 6 4 . ^

The objectives which Naves thus sets up are excellent but, unfortunately, he has not succeeded In carrying out accurate ly his purpose. One of the final statements In his Introduction

Is:

* * *

42. Voltaire, Dictionnaire philosophique. Paris, Garnler Fràres, 1936. The work Itself carries no Indication of date. The catalog of the Library of Congress has the notation, ”1935-1936. Title from Princeton University," Miss Waterman gives the date as 1939 (Romanic Review. XXXIII. 242, n. 30). Opposite the title page of Nàvës’ Vol1»lre et 1»Encyclopédie. under the heading, ”Du n^me auteur,” Is the date 1936. On page 191 of the same work, in a note presumably written by Naves himself, the year Is again given as 1936. 43. Voltaire, O p . c i t .. I, xxv. 44. Loc. clt. 26

Noue avons essayé de nous retrouver dans ce dé dale et nous avons réussi à indiquer des rema niements, sauf dans un ou deux cas sans intérSt.^^

In spite of this declaration, his text has numerous mistakes, many of which are not "sans intérêt."

In the course of the present study, a detailed check was made (for a purpose other than the discovery of such mistakes) of approximately a fourth, or possibly a third, of the edition of 1 7 6 4 as it appears in Naves' work. Some fifty variations from the reading of the Preml&re édition, as described by Bengesco, were noted. These ranged in length from one word to paragraphs of ten and twelve lines. Some were very minor while others con tained important changes in ideas.^

Since the serious student of Voltaire cannot rely on

Naves' readings,^^ there is still room for a careful study of the development of Voltaire's thought through the different editions of the Dictionnaire philosoohioue.

* * *

45. Ibid.f p. xxviii. 46. A list of these deviations from the Premi&re édition will be found in the Appendix to this study. Seepage 2S8. 47. Miss Waterman (Bomanle Review. XXXIII, 242) depending, quite justifiably, on Naves' reading somewhat reproves Voltaire for making a mistake of 100 years in the date of St. Justin's works (see page 167 of this study). The fact is that in the edition of 1 7 6 4 (page 30) Voltaire gives the date cor rectly, though in some succeeding editions, including Moland, it has been changed to the one which Naves gives. See also items 23, page 51; 14, page 89; and 20, page 96, where Naves omits material from the text of 1764; as well as page 150, n. 3, where he radically changes Voltaire*s thought. CHâPTER II

Survey of Biblical Sources

A large part, perhaps two thirds, of the Dictionnaire philosophique of 1764 deals with religious themes and in this material appear very frequently Biblical references as well as discussions of events related in the Book of Books. The char acter of these references ani discussions varies greatly. In some cases, we have word for word quotations. Much more often there are near-quotations; passages which reproduce the thought of the original with only slight differences. There are also found paraphrased quotations, where the thought of the author is given to a large extant in Voltaire's own words. Then we find statements regaurding Biblical incidents that bear even less of the stamp of the original on their language.

This survey has investigated all, we think, of the quotations but it makes no claim to having examined all the state ments regarding things Biblical. To have done so would have been a task so extensive as to require an unjustified expenditure of time. Some of the statements are top general and too indefinite to permit a detailed verification. Others deal with facts so well known that any one with a modicum of biblical knowledge could judge as to their correctness.

2 7 28

Even in making a sampling, we have found it difficult to set up hard and fast criteria. One standard used was that of practicality: that is, was the statement of such a character as to promise sufficient reward to justify the effort necessary to make an investigation? Such a criterion is of course subjective but it is at least workable.

Another basis for deciding whether or not an examina tion should be made was the importance of the item, If/hen a point was felt to be worth while, extra effort was given to verifying it, although many times we were unable, evenihen, to find evidence either for or against it. Usually such a statement was not report ed. Every item, however, for which ai%r evidence at all was found, has been evaluated.

The classification of the quotations and statements in this chapter will follow, roughly, that mentioned in the first paragraph. In margr instances, the division is not clear-cut; there may be an overlapping from one category to another. In such a case, the most prominent characteristic may determine the class, or the item may be discussed under two headings. Inconsequential and unimportant mistakes, such as an incorrect reference to a chapter or an error which is obviously unintentional and which does not advance Voltaire's argument, are overlooked in classification.

We shall attempt to show graphically the extent to which

Voltaire is faithful to his sources, by typing in red those por 29 tions of both the Bible and the Dictionnaire which are in agree ment. The meaning of the red type will vary with the category in which it is found. In Section I, for example, the divergence of a letter or of a comma will be indicated by the use of black characters. Different words, however, in Section III may be in red, while in later sections even different sentences may be so typed. References to a certain chapter, verse, etc., will be in red when they are correct. All Biblical quotations are from

Saci, unless otherwise noted.

Section I

Under this heading will be considered those passages which are word for word quotations with all essential punctuation the same.

Toute l'Asie, toute l'A frique, la moitié de l'Euro pe, ...qui sont une cinquième partie du globe, sont de meurées la proye du démon, pour vérifier cette sainte 14. Car il y en a beaucoup parole: il y en a beaucoup d'appelés, mais peu d'élus d'appelles, mais peu d'élus (St Matthieu, chap. 22). (Diet. Phil.. p. 153j Naves, I, 188).

The same reading is also found in Matthew 20:16 and in both verses the wording is identical in the versions of Saci, 30

Martin, and Ostervald,

28, Vous avez oui ce que je vous ai dit: Je m'en vais, & je reviens à vous. Si vous m'aimiez, vous vous réjoui Ils se fondaient surtout riez de ce que je m'en vais à sur ces paroles de Jésus— mon Perej parce que mon Pere Christ, Mon père est plus est plus grand que moi (St grand que moi (Pict, ohil,. Jean, chap, 14), p, 149; Naves, I, 184),

An identical reading is found in the Martin and in the

Ostervald versions.

52, ,,,Vous demeurerez as siégé dans toutes les villes du pays que le Seigneur votre Dieu vous donnera; 53, & vous mangerez le "Et vous mangerez le fruit fruit de votre ventre; & la "de votre ventre, & la chair chair de vos fils & de vos "de vos fils & de vos filles, que le Seigneur votre "filles, &c (Diet, nhil.. Dieu vous aura donnés, tant p, 11; Naves, I, 16), sera grande 1 'extrémité de la misere où vos ennemis vous auront réduit (Le Deutero- nome. chap, 28),

On commença dis le second siècle, par chasser les dé mons au ntffli de Jésus; aupa ravant on les chassait au nœn de Jehovah, ou Yhaho; car St, Matthieu rapporte, que les ennemis de Jésus 25, Or Jésus connoissant ayant dit qu'il chassait les leurs pensées, leur dit,,,. démons au nom du prince des 31

26* » * * démons, il leur répondit. 27. Et si c'est par Béelze- Si c'est par Belzebuth que but que je chasse les démons, je chasse les démons, par par qui vos enfans les chas qui vos enfans les chassent- sent-ils?... (st Matthieu. ils (Diet.ohil..^n. 315; chap. 12). Naves, II, 214)?^

23. Et vous, vous êtes à Vous êtes à Jesus-Christ, Jesus-Christ; & Jesus-Christ & Jesus-Christ à Dieu.(l®. est à Dieu (l^® Epître aux aux Corinth, chap. 3 .) Corinthiens. chap. 3). (Diet. Phil.. p. 135; Naves, I, 162)

Voici comment il se tira d'affaire. Or Paul sachant qu'une partie de ceux oui étaient là étaient Saddu— céens. & l'autre Pharisiens, il s'écria dans l'assemblée: Mes frères, ie suis Phari sien & fils de pharisien; 6 . Or Paul sachant qu'une c'est à cause de l'espérance partie de ceux qui étoient-là d'une autre vie. & de la ré étoient Sadducéens, & l'autre surrection des morts que Pharisiens, il s'écria dans l'on veut me condamner . Il l'assemblée: Mes freres, je n'avait point du tout été suis Pharisien & fils de Pha question de la résurrection risien; & c'est à cause de des morts dans toute cette l'esperance d'une autre vie, affaire; Paul ne le disait & de la resurrection des que pour animer les Phari morts que l'on veut me con siens & les Sadducéens les damner. uns contre les autres. 7. Paul ayant parlé de la V. 7. Paul ayant parlé de sorte, il s'émut une dissen la sorte, il s'émut une dis sion entre les Pharisiens & sension entre les Pharisiens les Sadducéens, & l'assemblée & les Sadducéens; & l'assem fut divisée. blée fut divisée.

1, For other treatments of this item, see pages ^1 and 62 of this study. 32

3, Car les Sadducéens di V, S. Car les Sadducéens sent, qu'il n'y a ni resur disent qu'il n'v a ni résur rection, ni Ange, ni esprit; rection. ni ange, ni esprit: au lieu que les Pharisiens au lieü que les Pharisiens reconnoissent l'un & l'autre reconnaissent & l'un & l'au (Les Actes, chap. 23). tre. &c.

* Actes des Apôtres chap. 23. V. 6 . 7. 3.

(Diet. Phil.. p. 322; Naves, lï, 223r ~

Mais St. Paul écrivant aux habitans de Thessalonique, leur dit, que le second avè nement de Jésus-Christ est pour eux & pour lui, qu'ils en seront témoins. 16. Car aussi-tôt que le V. 16. Car aussi-tôt que signal aura été donné par la le signal aura été donné par voix de l'Archange, & par le l'archange. & par le son de son de la trompette de Dieu, la trompette de Dieu, le le Seigneur lui-même descen Seigneur lui-même descendra dra du ciel, & ceux qui se du Ciel. & ceux oui seront ront morts en Jesus-Christ, morts en jésus-Christ res ressusciteront les premiers. susciteront les premiers. 17, Puis nous autres qui V. 17. Puis nous autres sommes vivans, & qui serons qui sommes vivans. & qui se demeurés jusqu'alors, nous rons demeurés jusqu'alors, serons - emportés avec eux dans nous serons emportes avec les nuées, pour aller au-de eux dans les nuées pour al vant du Seigneur au milieu de ler au devant du Seigneur au l'air: & ainsi nous vivrons milieu de l'air. & ainsi, pour jamais avec le Seigneur nous vivrons pour .jamais (l^® Epître aux Thessaloni- avec le Seigneur.* ciens. chap, 4-). * I. Epit. aux Thess. chap. 4.

(Diet. Phil., p. 323; Naves, II, 225) **

2. For a more extensive consideration of this paragraph, see page 133 of this study. 33

These last two items are unusual in that Voltaire evi dently copied them very painstakingly from Saci. So much atten tion to detail in a long quotation is indeed rare in the Diction

naire.^

Ô.

II était expressément or donné par la loi juive, d'immoler les hommes voués au seigneur. Tout homme voué ne sera -point racheté, 29. Et omnis consecratio, mais sera mis à mort sans quae offertur ah homine, non rémission. La vulgate tra redimetur, sed morte morietur duit, non redimetur. sed (Leviticus, caput XXVII— Vul morte morietur. Levitique gate). chap. 27. verset 29 (Diet. Phil.. p. 236; Naves, II, 66).4

La vulgate traduit ainsi 26. Non comedetis cum san la fin du verset 26 du chap. guine. Non augurabimini, nec 19 du Levitique: Vous n'ob observabitis somnia (Leviti serverez point les songes cus. caput XIX— Vulgate). (Pict. phil.. p. 324j Naves, Ili 256).

3. Item No. 7 will be considered again on page 85. 4. A discussion of this item will be found on page 101. 3U

Section II

The items in this section will consist of quotations, which are accurate in thought and which have all the essential punctuation of the original. There will be omissions of a few words from the Biblical passages, the substitution of some syno nyms, and one addition.

Et au chap. 16. [épit. aux 27. à Dieu, dis-je, qui est Rom.] A Dieu, qui est le le seul sage, honneur & gloi seul sage, honneur & gloire re par Jesus-Christ dans les par Jesus-Christ (Diet. siècles dès siècles. Amen phil.. p. 135j Naves, (Epître aux Romains, chap. I, 162). 16).

Les disciples de Jean Bap 1. Pendant qu'Apollon tiste s'étendirent aussi un étoit à Gorinthe, Paul ayant peu en Egypte, mais princi traversé les hautes provin palement dans la Syrie & ces de l'Asie, vint à Ephese, dans l'Arabie; il y en eut où ayant trouvé quelques aussi dans l'Asie mineure. disciples, Il est dit dans les actes 2. il leur dit: Avez-vous des apStres (ch. 19.) que reçu le Saint-Esprit depuis Paul en rencontra plusieurs que vous avez embrassé la à Eph&se; il leur dit. Avez- foi? Ils lui répondirent: vous regu le St. Esprit? Nous n'avons pas seulement Ils lui répondirent. Nous oui dire qu'il y ait un n'avons pas seulement ouï Saint-Esprit. dire qu'il y ait un St. Es 3. Et il leur dit: Quel prit. Il leur dit. Quel ba- batême avez-vous donc regu? tême avez-vous donc regu? Ils lui répondirent: Le ba- Ils lui répondirent. Le ba- tëme de Jean (Les Actes. tême de Jean (Diet, phil.. chap. 19). p. 132; Naves, I, 1§8 ). 35

17. Que si nous sommes en Et au chap. 8 . [épit. aux fans, nous sommes aussi héri Rom.] Nous les héritiers de tiers, héritiers de Dieu, & Dieu, & les cohéritiers de cohéritiers de Jesus-Christ Christ (Diet, phil.. p. 135; •••(Epître aux Romains. Naves, I, 162). chap. 8 ).

Les autres qui étaient or- todoxes, alléguaient des passages plus conformes à la divinité éternelle de Jésus, 30, Mon Pere & moi nous comme celui-ci; Mon Père & sommes une marne chose (St moi, nous sommes la même Jean, chap. 10). chose (Diet, phil.. p. 1Î49; Naves, I, 184).

16. Simon-Pierre prenant la Il est rapporté dans l'é parole, lui dit.... vangile que Jésus dit à 17. Jésus lui répondit...'. Pierre; "Je te donnerai les 18. ... "clefs du Royaume des deux 19. Et je vous donnerai les ...." clefs du royaume des deux; & Jésus dit à Barjone, "Ce tout ce que vous lierez sur "que tu auras lié sur la la terre sera aussi lié dans "terre, sera lié dans le les deux (St Matthieu, chap. "ciel (Diet, ohil.. p. 298; 16). Naves, II, 190)."

Les Proverbes ont été at tribués à....Mais qui que ce soit qui ait compilé ce re cueil de sentences orienta les, il n'y a pas d'apparen ce que ce soit un roi qui s'en soit donné la peine. 36

2. La terreur du Roi est Aurait-il dit, que la ter comme le rugissement du lion reur du roi est comme le ru (Les Proverbes, chap. 20). gissement du lion?...Aurait- il dit, ne regardez point le vin quand il paraît clair, & que sa couleur brille dans 31. Ne regardez point le le verre (Pict. ohil.. p. vin, lorsqu'il paroît clair, 328; Naves, II, 236)? lorsque sa couleur brille dans le verre (Les Proverbes, chap, 23).

Il [Paul] dit à Festus ces 8. Et Paul se difsndoit en propres paroles (chapit. 25. disant; Je n'ai rien fait, ni des actes;) Je n'ai péché ni contre la loi des Juifs, ni contre la loi Juive, ni con contre le temple, ni contre tre le temple (Diet, ohil.. César (Les Actes, chap. 25). p. 134; Naves, I, l6l).

Cette action paraissait très prudente; il [St. Pier re] ne voulait pas scandali ser les Juifs chrétiens ses compagnons; mais St. Paul s'éleva contre lui avec un 11. Or Cephas étant venu à peu de dureté. Je lui ré Antioche, je lui résistai en sistai. dit-il, à sa face, face, parce qu'il étoit re parce qu'il était blâmable, prehensible (Epître aux Pala (épître aux Galates chap. tes. chap. 2). 2.) (Diet. Phil., p. 136; Naves, I, 164)^

Un fameux Luthérien d'Al lemagne, (c'était je pense Mélancton) avait beaucoup de peine à digérer que Jésus

* * *

5. This incident will be discussed on page 94. 37

IS, Et moi aussi je vous eût dit à Simon Barjone, Ce dis que vous êtes Pierre, & pha ou Cephas, "Tu es Fier— que sur cette pierre je bâti— "re, & sur cette pierre je rai mon Eglise*,,(st_Mat- "bâtirai mon assemblée, mon thieu. chap. l6). "église (Pict. phil.. p. 299; Naves, II, 191)."

Section III

This section will be made up of quotations which, while faithful to the original in thought, may have changes in wording or soraevfhat more extensive omissions than Section II. There may also be minor additions. Punctuation, on the whole, will be , treated as unimportant.

The items will be grouped as follows;

1. Those quotations from the Dictionnaire which are form ed by omitting parts of the Biblical material— Nos, 1, 2, and 3.

2. Paraphrases of the original— Nos. 4, 5, and 6.

3. Those quotations which, in addition to paraphrases, or synonyms, have omissions of parts of the source material— Nos. 7 to 17, inclusive.

4. Combinations of parts of different chapters or ver sions— Nos. 18 to 23, inclusive.

5. One taken entirely from the Vulgate— No. 24.

6. One which contains Voltaire's own interpretation— No. 25.

7. Those quotations in which are found unimportant addi tions— Nos. 26 to 29, inclusive.

8 . Those which have slight mistakes— Nos. 30, 31, and 32.

9. One which is of uncertain composition— No. 33. 38

9. Vous ne les adorerez & ne les servirez point. Car je suis ie Seigneur votre Dieu; un Dieu jaloux, qui pu "Je suis un Dieu jaloux, nis l'iniquité des peres sur "qui punis l'iniquité des les enfans jusqu'à la troi- ” "pères jusqu'à la troisième siéme & quatrième generation "& quatrième génération de ceux qui me haïssent (Le (Pict, Phil,. p, 10; Naves, Deuteronome. chap, 5), I, 15),

16, Honorez votre pere & votre mere, selon que le Sei gneur votre Dieu vous l'a or "Honorez père & mère afin donné, afin que vous viviez "que vous viviez longtemps long-temps, & que vous soyez (Diet, phil,. p, 10; Naves, heureux dans la terre que le I, 15), Seigneur votre Dieu vous doit donner (Le Deuteronome, chap, 5),

19, Que si oubliant le Sei gneur votre Dieu, vous suivez "Si vous suivez des dieux des dieux étrangers, & que "étrangers, vous serez dé- vous les serviez & les ado "truits (Diet, nhil,, riez, je vous prédis dès p, 10; Naves, I, 15), maintenant que vous serez tout-à-fait détruits (Le Deuteronome. chap, 8),

8 , ,,,dans une terre d'huile & de miel; 9 , oà vous mangerez votre "Vous aurez de quoi manger pain sans que vous en man "sans en manquer jamais quiez jamais, oà vous serez (Diet, Phil,. p, 10; Naves, dans une abondance de toutes I, 15). choses,,,(Le Deuteronome. chap, 8), 39

Il est dit dans le livre de Josul, que les juifs fu 9, Alors le Seigneur dit à rent circoncis dans le di Josul; J'ai levs aujourd'hui sert. Je vous ai dilivris de dessus voug lîopprobre de de ce qui faisait vStre op l'Egypts...(Josul. chap. ,5). probre chez les Egyptiens. Or, quel pouvait être cet opprobre pour des gens qui se trouvaient entre les peu ples de Phènicie, les Ara bes, & les Egyptiens, si ce n'est ce qui les rendait mé prisables à ces trois na tions? comment leur ôte—t-on cet opprobre? en leur ôtant un peu de pripuce, n'est-ce pas là le sens naturel de ce passage(Pict. phil.. p. 81; Naves, I, 197)?

6. 1. Lorsque le Seigneur vo tre Dieu vous aura fait en trer en cette terre que vous allez posséder, & qu'il aura extermini devant vous plu sieurs nations, les Hethl- ens, les Gergezéens,... 2. lorsque le Seigneur vo "Lorsque le Seigneur vous tre Dieu vous les aura li "aura livri les nations, vrés, vous les ferez tous "Igorgez tout sans Ipargner passer au fil de l'Iple, sans "un seul homme, & n'ayez au- qu'il en demeure un seul "cune pitil de personne (Le Deuteronane. chap. 7). (Diet. Phil.. p. 11; Naves, I, 16).

2 . ,..percuties eas usque ad internecionem...(Vulgate),

It will be noted that Voltaire's use of Igorges tout is characteristically more vigorous than Saci's sentence, vous les ferez passer au fil de l'Iple. Since both are more picturesque AO than the Hebrew manner of expressing the idea ("hrm, * devote' as a holocaust to Yahweh"^), it may be that Voltaire, as well as

Saci, is drawir^ on the Vulgate.

1. Que si vous écoutez la voix du Seigneur votre Dieu, en gardant & en observant toutes ses ordonnances que je vous prescris aujourd'hui, le Seigneur votre Dieu vous lle- vera au-dessus de toutes les nations qui sont sur la ter re. 2. ... 3. Vous serez beni dans la "En observant toutes les ville, vous serez beni dans "ordonnances,,vous serez bl- le (_§iç) champs. "nis dans la ville & dans A» Le fruit de votre ven "les champs, les fruits de tre, le fruit de votre terre, "votre ventre, de votre ter- & le fruit de vos bestiaux "re, de vos bestiaux seront sera beni...(Le Deuteronome. "bénis (Diet, phil.. p. 11; chap. 28). Naves, I, 16).

18. Gravez ces paroles que je vous dis dans vos coeurs & dans vos esprits, tenez-les suspendues comme un signe "Mettez ces paroles dans dans vos mains, & les placez "vos coeurs, dans vos mains, entre vos yeux, "entre vos yeux, écrivez-les 19. ... "sur vos portes, afin que 20. Ecrivez-les sur les po "vos jours se multiplient teaux & sur les portes de vo (Diet, phil.. p. 10; Naves, tre logis; I, 15). 21. afin que vos jours & ceux de vos enfans se multi plient dans la terre...(Le Deuteronome. chap. 11).

6. The Interpreter's Bible. II, 378, 41

11, Mangez de tous les oi seaux qui sont purs; 12, mais ne mangez point de "Ne mangez point des oi- ceux qui sont impurs, qui "seaux impurs, comme l'ai- sont l'aigle, le griffon, "gle, le grifon, l'ixion, &c l'aigle de mer, (Pict, phil,. p. 11; Naves, 13, l'ixion, le vautour, & I, 16). le milan selon ses especes (Le Deuteronome. chap, 14).

10.

32. Faites seulement en l'honneur du Seigneur ce que "Faites ce que je vous or- je vous ordonne, sans y rien "donne, sans y rien ajouter, ajouter ni en rien ôter (Le "ni retrancher (Diet, phil,. Deuteronome, chap, 12), p, 10; Naves, I, 16),

32, ,,,et tu n'en retran cheras rien (Martin and Os tervald) ,

11,

En effet, Jesus-Christ en voya ses apôtres pour chas ser les démons. Les Juifs avaient aussi de son temps le don de les chasser; car 24. Mais les pharisiens en lorsque Jésus eut délivré tendant cela, disoient: Cet des possédés, & eut envoyé homme ne chasse les demons les diables dans les corps que par la vertu de Beelze- d'un troupeau de cochons, & ûxt, prince des demons. qu'il eut opéré d'autres 25. Or Jésus connoissant guérisons pareilles, les leurs pensées, leur dit.... Pharisiens dirent. Il chasse 26. ... les démons par la puissance 27. Et si c'est par Béelze- de Belzébuth. Si c'est par but que je chasse les démons. Belzébut que ie les chasse. ^2

par qui vos enfans les chas- répondit Jesus, par .qui vos serit-ils?... (st Matthieu. fils les chasseht-ils (Diet. chap, 12). phil.. p. H-lj Navès, I, 175)?7

12.

25. Si après avoir eu des Il est très-certain, il enfans & des petits-enfans, , est indubitable, que Moïse & avoir demeuré dans ne pays, en aucun endroit ne propose vous vous laissez seduire, aux Juifs des récompenses & jusqu’à vous former quelque des peines dans une autre figure, en commettant devant vie...tout est temporel. le Seigneur votre Dieu un Il leur dit avant de mou crime qui attire sur vous sa rir, dans son Deuteronome; colere; ’’Si après avoir eu des en- 26. j’atteste aujourd’liui ”fans & des petits enfans/ le ciel & la terre, que vous ’•vous prévariquez, vous se- serez bien-tSt exterminés de "rez exterminés du pays, & ce pays que vous devez possé ”réduits à un petit nombre der après avoir passé le ’’dans les nations (Diet. Jourdain. Vous n’y demeure phil.. p. 10; Naves, I, 15). rez pas long-temps; mais le Seigneur vous détruira. 27. Il vous dispersera dans tous les peuples, & vous ne resterez qu'en petit nombre parmi les nations oà le Sei gneur vous aura conduits (Le Deuteronome^ chap. 4).

7 . Voltaire again uses the question, ”Ei c'est...?” in the article. Religion; see page o2 of this study. For a more accurate treatment of the quotation, see page 31. 43

13.

13. Si donc vous oblièsez aux conanandèmens que je vous fais aujourd'hui d'aimer le Seigneur votre Dieu, & de le servir de tout votre coeur & de toute votre ame, 14. il donnera à votre ter re les premieres & les der "Si vous oblïssez, vous nières pluies, afin que vous "aurez de la pluie au prin- recueilliez de vOs champs le "temps & en automne, du fro- froment, le vin & l'huile, "ment, de l'huile, du vin, 15. & du foin pour nourrir "du foin pour vos bêtes, vos bêtes, & que vous ayez "afin que vous mangiez, & vous-mêmes de quoi manger & "que vous soyez saouls ,, vous rassasier (Le Deutero (Diet, phil.. p. 10j Naves, nome. chap. 11), I, 15).

14.

26. Qr la mort sera le der nier ennemi qui sera détruit: car l'Ecriture dit que Dieu lui a mis tout sous les pies & lui a tout assujetti. Et quand elle dit 27. que tout lui est assu Et, (I®. aux Cor. chap. jetti, il est indubitable 15. y. 27.) Tout lui est as qu'il en faut excepter celui sujetti, en exceptant sans qui lui a assujetti toutes doute Dieu qui lui a assu choses (I^® Épître aux Co jetti toutes choses (Diet. rinthiens. .chap. 15). phil.. p. 135; Naves, I, 162).

15.

9. ...Ainsi étant mainte nant justifiés par son sang, nous serons â plus forte raison délivrés par lui de la Quand cet apôtre parle de colere de Dieu. Jesus-Christ dans ses épî- tres, il ne révèle point le 15. Mais il n’en est pas de mystère inéfable de sa con- la grace comme du péché. Car substantiabilité avec Dieu; si par le péché d'un seul nous sommes délivrés par lui plusieurs sont morts, la mi (dit-il, chap. 5. épit. aux séricorde & le don de Dieu Rom.) de la colère de Dieu; s'est répandu beaucoup plus le don de Dieu s'est répan abondamment sur plusieurs par du sur nous, par la grace la grace d'un seul homme, qui donnée à un seul homme qui est Jesus-Christ. est Jesus-Christ.— La mort lé. ... a régné par le péché d'un 17. Que si à cause du péché seul homme, les justes ré d'un seul, la mort a régné gneront dans la vie par un par un seul homme; à plus seul homme qui est Jesus- forte raison ceux qui reçoi Christ (Diet, phil.. p. 135} vent l'abondance de la grace Naves, I, 162). & du don & de la justice, ré gneront dans la vie par un seul homme, qui est Jesus- Christ (Euître aux Romains. chap. 5).

16.

2 . rendez ma joie par faite, vous tenant tous unis ensemble,... On a su quelque peine â 3 . en sorte que vous ne expliquer le passage de faciez rien par un esprit de l'épître aux Philippiens; Ne contention ou de vaine gloi faites rien par une vaine re: mais que chacun par humi gloire; croyez mutuellement lité croye les autres au- par humilité que les autres dessus de soi. vous sont supérieurs, ayez hr* ... les mêmes sentiments que 5. Soyez dans la même dis Christ Jésus, oui étant dans position & dans le même sen l'empreinte de Dieu, n'a timent ou a été Jesus-Christ, point crû sa Drove de s'éga 6. qui ayant la forme & la ler â Dieu (Diet;.phil.. nature de Dieu, n'a point cru p. 135; Naves, I, 162). que ce fût pour lui une usur pation d'etre égal à Dieu (Epître aux Philippiens. chap. 2). U5

17.

4 , vous userez de ces dis L'histoire de la chûte des cours' figurés contré le roi Anges ne se trouve point de Ëabylone, & vous direz: dans les livres de Moïsej le Qu'est devenu ce maître im premier témoignage qu'on en pitoyable, comment ce tribut raporte est celui du prophè qu'il exigeoit si severement, te Isaxe, qui apostrophant a-t-il cesse? le Roi de Babylone, s'écrie. Qu'est devenu l'exacteur des 5. les sapins mêmes & les tributs? les sapins & les cedres du Liban se sont ré cèdres se réjouïssent de sa jouis de ta perte... chute, comment es-tu tombée du Ciel, o Helelj étoile du 12. Comment ês-tu tombé du matin? on a traduit cet He- ciel, Lucifer, toi qui parois- lel. par le mot Latin Luci- 8ois si -brillant au point du fer...(Diet, nhil., p. 24J jour (isaïe. chap. 14)? Naves, I, 31).

* *

4 . ...Quomodo cessavit ex actor, quievit tributum?

12. Quomodo cecidisti de caelo lucifer, qui mane orie- baris (Vulgate)?

The use of Helel. considered in connection with Vol taire's comment on it, would suggest that he has the Hebrew in mind. If so, he is correct, since Helel'is used in that version.

His phrase, exacteur des tributs, however, has the flavor of the

Latin, exactor...tributum.

When he remarks that, "on a traduit cet Helel. par le mot Latin Lucifer." he may be referring to either the Saci version or the Vulgate since only these two, with the exception of the

* *

8 . Robert Young, Concordance, p. 624, Lucifer. 46

King James Bible, use the word, Lucifer.

18.

David animé de l'esprit de Dieu, donne dans plus d'un endroit à Saül son beau-père 9. David le suivit.... réprouvé qui le persécutait, 10. ... le nom & la qualité d'oint, 11. ...Car j'ai dit: Je ne de Messie du Seigneur; "Dieu porterai point la main sur me garde, dit-il fréquem mon maître, parce que c'est ment, "de porter ma main sur le christ & l'oint du Sei l'oint du Seigneur, sur le gneur (I des Rois chap. Messie de Dieu (Diet, phil.. 24)V p. 268; Naves, IX, 132)1"

* *

9. David répondit.... 10. ... 11. Dieu me garde de porter la main sur l'oint du Sei gneur. ..(I des Rois, chap. 26),

On four other occasions, David uses the expression, l'oint du Seigneur, in referring to Saul,*^ vfhile three other times, in the Vulgate and in the Saci versions, is found the accompany ing phrase, le christ.

* *

9. These references are: 1 Samuel 24:7 and 26: 9, 16, and 23. 10. This phrase is in 1 Samuel 24:7 and 2 Samuel 1:14 and l6. 4 7

19 .

Au 16®. d'Esaie le nom de Messie est expressément don né à Cÿrus. "Ainsi a dit 1. Ainsi a dit 1*Eternel Eternel à Cyrus son oint, à son oint, à Cyrus> que j'ai "son Messie, duquel j'ai pris par la main droite, pour "pris la main droite, afin terrasser devant lui les na- "que je terrasse les nations tions...(lsale, ehap. 45-^ "devant lui, &e (Pict. Ostervald). Phdl.. p. 2o7j Haves, II, 131}."

1, Voici ce que dit le Seigneur à Cÿrus qui est mon christ, que j'ai pris par la main pour lui assujettir les nations...(Saci).

1, Haec dicit Dominas christo meb Cyro, eu jus àp- prehendi dexteram, ut subji- ciam ante faciem ejus gen- tes...(Vulgate).

Although Voltaire sets each line of his source material in quotation marks, he does not follow carefully any of the usual versions and is alone in his use of both son oint and son Messie.

The reference to chapter sixteen is of course a mistake on the part of Voltaire,

2 0 ,

1. ...Que VOS démarches On pourrait demander quel sont belles, 8 fille du ques explications & l'auteur prince.... du cantique, quand 11 dit; 48

2. Vous êtes parfait (sic) Votre nombril est comme une comme une coupe faite au coupe dans laquelle il y a tour, où il ne manque jamais toQ.jours quelque chose à de liqueur à boire:. Votre - boire; votre ventre est com ventre est 'comme un; monceau me un boisseau de froment, de froment, tout environné de vos tetons sont comme deux lis. faons de chevreuil, & votre 3. Votre sein est sembla nez est comme la tour du ble à deux petits jumeaux de Mont Liban (Diet, phil.. la femelle d'un chevreuil. p. 326; Naves, II, 240). 4. ...Votre nés est comme la tour du Liban, qui regarde vers Damas (Lé Cantique des Cantiques. chap. 7).

* *

3. Umbilicus tuus crater tornatilis, nunquam indigens poculis...(Vulgate).

It will be noted that verse three of the Vulgate cor responds to verse two of the Saci version.

21.

8. Notre soeur est encore C'est apparemment encor un petite, & elle n'a point d'a beau tour d'éloquence orien mitié, que ferons-nous à no tale, que de dire, notre tre soeur au jour qu'il fau soeur est encor petite, elle dra lui parler? n'a point de tetons; que fe 9. Si elle est comme un rons-nous de notre soeur? si mur, bâtissons dessus des c'est un mur, bâtissons des tours d'argent; si elle est sus; si c'est une porte, comme une porte, fermons-la fermons la (Diet, phil.. avec des ais & des bois de p. 327; Naves, II, 241). cedre (Le Cantique des Can tiques. chap. 8).

8. Soror nostra parva, et ubera non habet...(Vulgate).

Saci's translation of the second clause of verse eight 49 is so far from the Vulgate that it is of course useless to Vol taire.

22. La circoncision est utile, 25. Circuraeisio quidem pro dit l'apStre Paul, (2e. ds st si legem observes; si Epit. aux Rom.) si vous ob autem praévaricatbr legis servez la loi; mais si vous sis, circumcisio tUa praepu- la violez, votre circonci tium facta est (Ad Romanos. sion devient prépuce. Si un caput 11— Vulgate). :, incirconcis garde la loi, il sera comme circoncis. Le vrai Juif est celui qui est Juif intérieurement (Diet. 25. Ge n'est pas que la phil.. p. 134; Naves, circoncision ne soit utile, I, 162). si vous accomplissez la loi; mais si vous la violez, tout circoncis que vous êtes, vous devenez comme un homme incir concis. 26. Si donc un homme incir concis garde les ordonnances de la loi, n'est-il pas vrai que tout incirconcis qu'il est, il sera considéré comme circoncis? 27. ... 23. Car le vrai Juif n'est pas celui qui l'est au-dehors, & la veritable circon cision n'est pas celle qui se fait dans la chair, & qui n'est qu'extérieure, 29. mais le vrai Juif est celui qui l'est intérieure ment ...(Epître aux Romains. chap. 2).

In quoting verse twenty-five. Voltaire is nearer to the

Vulgate in two respects than he is to Saci. Instead of the latter's weak, negative approach, both the Vulgate and the Diction- 50 naire express the idea in a forceful, positive manner. In the second part of the verse, Voltaire's substitution of his vigorous and direct language for Gael's circumlocution is entirely justi fied by the Vulgate's reading.

On the other hand, the last statement of the para graph in the Dictionnaire is, with the exception of one word, the use of the noun Juif for the pronoun 1æ , identical with Gael's and different from the Vulgate, as well as from the versions of

Martin and Ostervald,

These facts, considered in connection with the tenor of

Voltaire's language, might suggest that he was quoting from memory and that parts of both the Vulgate and Gael's translation came to his mind.

In giving his Biblical reference, he evidently means for it to read, not "Gecond Romans," for there is no such a book, but the "second chapter" of the epistle. 51

23.

La fille d’un roi aurait- U» Je suis noire, mais je elle pu dire; Je suis brune, suis belle, o filles de Jeru mais .je suis belle., comme salem, comme les tentes de les fourures de Salomon Cidar, comme les pavillons (Diet, phil.. p. 327; this de Salomon (Le Cantique des paragraph is not included Cantiques, chap, 1). in the Naves edition)?

* *

A. Nigra sum, sed formosa, filiae Jerusalem, sicut ta- bernacula Cedar, sicut pelles Salomonis (Vulgate).

Voltaire prefers fourures to pavilions as a transla tion of the Latin pelles. Both can be justified, though none of the versions uses fourures.

24.

Ce que le bon homme Jacob père de Joseph répondit à Pharaon, doit bien fraper 8. Le Roi lui ayant de ceux qui savent lire. Quai mandé quel âge il avait: âge avez-vous? lui dit le 9. il lui répondit: Il y Roi. J’ai cent-trante ans, a cent trente ans que je suis dit le vieillard, & je n’ai voyageur, & ce petit nombre pas eu encor un jour heureux d’années, qui n’est pas venu dans ce court pélérinage jusqu’à égaler celui des an (Pict. phil.. p. 242; Naves, nées de mes peres, a été tra II, 75). versé de beaucoup de maux (La Genese. chap. 47).

9. Respondit: Dies pere- grinationis meae centum tri- ginta annorum sunt, parvi et mali...(Vulgate).

Although Voltaire has here intensified the pessimism 52 of Saci's language by turning the letter's phrase, "a été traversé de beaucoup de maux," into the somewhat bitter complaint, "pas...un jour heureux," he is perhaps justified in so doing by the reading of the Vulgate,

25.

12. Mon bien-aimi est pour moi,comme un bouquet de myr rhe que je mettrai à mon sein Je ne nierai pas encor (Le Cantique des Cantiques. qu'un roi galant ait fait chap. 1), dire à sa maîtresse, mon bien aimé est comme un bou * quet de mirrhe. il demeure ra entre mes tetons. Je 12. Fasciculus myrrhae di- n'entends pas trop ce que lectus meus mihi, inter ubera c'est qu'un bouquet de mir mea commorabitur (Vulgate). rhe; mais enfin quand la bien-aimée avise son bien- * aimé, de lui passer la main gauche sur le cou, & de 6. Il met sa main gauche l'embrasser de la main droi sur ma tSte, & il m'embrassé te, je l'entends fort bien (sic) de sa main droite (Le (Diet, phil.. p. 326; Naves, Cantique des Cantiques. II, 240). chap. 2).

6. Laeva ejus sub capite meo, et dextera illius ample- xabitur me (Vulgate),

For the second part of verse twelve. Voltaire holds very closely to the Vulgate, while, in his comment on verse six, he follows neither the Vulgate nor Saci but expresses the idea in the form of a request of the bien-aimée. In this respect, he agrees with Martin, Ostervald, and the Revised Standard Version.

It might be worthy of note that verse six of the 53

Cantique is repeated in chapter eight, verse three. The Vulgate gives it verbatim but Saci replaces his sur by the more accurate sous.

26.

1. S'il s'élève au milieu de vous un Prophète, ou quel qu'un qui dise qu'il a eu une vision en songe, & qui pré dise quelque chose d'extraor dinaire & de prodigieux, 2. & que ce qu'il avoit prédit soit arrivé; & qu'il vous dise en même-temps; Al lons, suivons des dieux étran gers qui vous étoient incon nus, & servons-les: 3. vous n'écouterez point "S'il s'élève un prophète les paroles de ce Prophète.... "qui prédise des choses pro- he* ... "digieuses, si sa prédiction 5. mais que ce Prophète ou "est véritable, & si ce cet inventeur de songes soit "qu'il a dit arrive, & s'il puni de mort.,.. "vous dit. Allons, suivons 6. Si votre frere fils de "des dieux étrangers... . votre mere, ou votre fils, "tuez-le aussi-tôt, & que ou votre fille, ou votre fem "tout le peuple frappe après me...vous veut persuader & "vous (Diet. Phil.. p. 11; vous vient dire en secret: Naves, I, l6). Allons, & servons les dieux étrangers.... [The ellipsis points are 7. ... Voltaire's.] â. ne vous rendez point â ses persuasions, & ne l'écou tez point,... 9. mais tuez-le aussi-tôt. Que votre main lui donne le premier coup, & que tout le peuple le frappe ensuite (Le Deuteronome. chap. 13).

While Voltaire does indicate in this quotation the omission of some material, verse three through verse eight, he 54

neglects to point out that in verse nine the le of the phrase,

tuez-le. does not refer to prophète. as his reading gives it, but

to a,member of one's own family. Yet, tuez-le does sum up verse

five, "que ce Prophète,..soit puni de mort...." Although Voltaire's phraseology changes the meaning, the difference is unimportant and

it would really have strengthened his argument to note it.

27.

15. QUe si vous ne voulez point écouter la voix du Sei gneur votre Dieu, & que vous ne gardiez & ne pratiquiez pas toutes ses ordonnances & les ceremonies.,.. 16. Vous serez maudit dans "Si vous ne gardez pas la ville, & vous serez maudit "toutes les ordonnances & dans les champs. "toutes les cérémonies, vous "serez maudits dans la ville 20, Le Seigneur envoiera '% dans les champs.....vous parmi vous l'indigence & la "éprouverez la famine, la famine.... "pauvreté, vous mourrez de -21. ... 'hiisère, de froid, de pau- 22. ■ Le Seigneur vous frap "vreté; de fièvrej vous au- pera de misera & de pauvreté, "rez la rogne, la galle, la de fievre, de froid... "fistule vous aurez des "ulcères dans les genoux, & 27. ...il frappera aussi "dans les gras des jambes d'uné galle & d'une démangeai (Diet, phil.. p. 11j Naves, son incurable la partie du I, 16). corps par laquelle la nature rejette ce qui lui est reste ^he ellipsis points are de sa nourriture. Voltaire's.]

• • • • • • 35. Le Seigneur vous frap pera d'un ulcere très-malin dans les genous & dans le gras des jambes...(Le Deu teronome . chap. 28). 55

28.

1. Alors Samuel dit..,. 2. ... 3. Déclarez devant le Sei gneur & devant son Christ gi j'ai pris le boeuf ou l'âne Ce nom de Messiah. Christ. de personne,... -se donnait aux rois, aux A* ... prophètes, & aux grands-prê- 5. Samuel ajoûta: Le Sei tres des Hébreux. Nous li gneur m'est donc témoin au sons dans le I. des Rois jourd'hui contre vous, & son xij. 3. "Le Seigneur & son Christ m'est aussi témoin, "Messie sont témoins," que vous n'avez rien trouve c'est-à-dire, le Seigneur & dans mes mains qui vous ap le Roi qu'il a établi. Et partînt... (l des Rois. ailleurs; "Ne touchez point chàp. 12). "mes oints, & ne faites au- "cun mal à mes prophètes * * (Pict. phil.. p. 2&8; Naves, II, 132)." 21. Il ne permit pas que qui que ce soit leur fit in sult j mais il châtia même des Rois à cause d'eux, 22. en leur disant: Gardez- vous bien de touchez à mes oints, & ne faites point de mal à mes Prophètes (I des Paralipomènes. chap. 16).

Voltaire's sentence, "Le Seigneur & son Messie sont témoins," is, in spite of the very definite use made of quotation marks, far from being taken accurately from verse three, to which he refers. Verse five is a much better source.

Unless its author intends the last sentence of the paragraph to cover the point concerning the prophets and high

priests, he offers no support for his statement that the two

groups were given the title of Messie. 56

29.

4-3. L ’étranger qui est avec vous dans votre pays, s'élè vera au-dessus de vous, & il deviendra plus puissant: & pour vous, vous descendrez & vous serez au-dessous de lui. 44.. Ce sera lui qui vous "L'étranger vous prêtera à prêtera de l'argent, & vous "usure, & vous ne lui prête- ne lui en prêterez point.... "rez point â usure....par- 4-5. Toutes ces malédictions "ce que vous n'aurez pas fondront sur vous...parce que "servi le Seigneur (Diet. vous n'aurez point écouté la phil.. p. 11; Naves, I, l6). voix du Seigneur votre Dieu, ni observé ses ordonnances & [The ellipsis points are les ceremonies qu'il vous a Voltaire's.] prescrites (Le Deuteronome. chap. 28).

44-. Ipse foenerabit tibi, et tu non foenerabis ei... (Vulgate).

Voltaire's phrase, â usure, is not found in Saci or in any of the other versions, including the Revised Standard, except the Vulgate where foenerabit may have its usual meaning of "lend on interest."H It may be either that he had the Latin in mind or that he felt that the addition of the idea of usure would strengthen his point.

* *

11. Harpers' Dictionarv. faeneror. 57

30.

Elle [une bourgade] ne pouvait croire que la bour gade voisine n'eût pas aussi son Dieu. Voilà pourquoi Jephté dit aux habitans de 24.» Ne croyez-vous pas Moab; vous possédez légiti avoir droit de posséder ce mement ce que votre Dieu qui appartient â Chàmos votre Chamôs vous a fait conqué dieu? ‘ Il est, donc bien plus rir. Vous devez nous laisser juste que nous possédions ce 'ioùÎT de ce que notre Dieu que le Seigneur notre Dieu nous a donné par ses victoi s*est acquis par ses vic res (Pict. phil.. p. 312J toires (Les Juges, chap. Il). Naves, II, 211).

The author of the Dictionnaire slips when he speaks

of the habitans de Moab. Jephthah was talking, not to the

Moabites, but to the Ammonites, who recognized Chemosh as their

god.

This Biblical incident is again used to illustrate the

same point in the article Tolerance.

. 31.

1. Voici ce que dit le Seigneur contre les enfans d'Ammon: Israël n'a-t-il point d'enfans, ou n'a-t-il Jérémie & Amos demandent point d'héritiers? Pourquoi l'un & l'autre, quelle rai donc Melchom s'est-il emparé son a eu le Dieu Melchom de de Gad comme de son heritage; s'emparer du pays de Gad & pourquoi son peuple a-t-il (Pict. Phil.. p. 312î Naves, établi sa demeure dans ses II, 212)? villes (Jeremie. chap. 49)?

Voltaire is in error when he says that Amos, as well as

* * *

12. See page 82 of this study. ' ' 5 8

Jeremiah, raised the question regarding Melcom, The two prophets have in common a discussion of the overthrow of this king but the point of the reason for his taking possession of Gad is not mentioned by Amos.

32.

6. Vous mangerez de tous les animaux qui ont la corne divisée en deux & qui rumi nent. 7. Mais vous ne devez "Ne mangez point des ani- point manger de ceux qui ru "maux qui ruminent & dont minent, & dont la corne n'est "l'ongle n'est point fendu; point fendue, comme, du cha "comme chameau, lièvre, meau, du lièvre, du choero— "porc-épic, &c (Pict. phil., grile. Ces animaux vous se p. 11; Naves, I, 16). ront impurs, parce qu'encore qu'ils ruminent, ils n'ont point la corne fendue (Le Deuteronome. chap. 14.).

* *

7. De his autem quae rumi nant, et ungulam non findunt, comedere non debetis, ut ca- melum, leporem, choerogrillum ...(Vulgate).

Like his ancient Greek predecessor, Voltaire is gently nodding vfhen he mentions porc-épic in this connection. Whether modern science be correct or not in considering the choerogrillum of the Vulgate as the rock badger^^ (Procavia svriaca^). it is clear that the porcupine is definitely not meant, since it is

* * *

13. Translation of the Revised Standard Version. 14. Webster's Dictionary, conv. 1, bj Henry A. Nicholson, Text book of Zoology, p. 34-1. 59 not one of the animaux qui ruminent. The ruminants belong to the ungulate order of Artiodactvla^^ while the porcupines are in the order Rodentia^^^

Perhaps Voltaire is influenced by the Greek deriva tion of the word choerogrillum which is from a young swine, and^w^Xof, a pig.l?

33.

35. Alors tous ses enfans s'assemblèrent, pour tâcher de soulager leur pere dans sa douleur: mais il ne voulut point recevoir de consola Plusieurs commentateurs tion, & il leur dit: Je pleu illustres ont cru que Moïse rerai toujours jusqu'à ce que était parfaitement instruit je descende avec mon fils au de ces deux grands dogmes fond de la terre. Ainsi il [immortality of the soul and continua toujours de pleurer future life]; & ils le prou (La Genese. chap. 37). vent par les paroles de Ja cob, qui croyant que son * fils avait été dévoré par les bêtes, disait dans sa 35. ...Descendam ad filium douleur: Je descendrai avec meum lugens in infernum... mon fils dans la fosse, in (Vulgate). infernum. dans l'enfer; c'est-à-dire, je mourrai, puisque mon fils est mort (Pict. Phil.. p. 12; Naves, I, 17).

The sentence which Voltaire writes as a quotation can be correctly considered as such only in an exceedingly loose

* * *

15. Henry A. Nicholson, Text-book of Zoology, p. 335. 16. Littré, Dictionnaire, porc-épic; Albert M. Winchester, Zoology, p. 354. 17. Webster's Dictionary^ cherogril. 60 sense» The first phrase. Je descendrai, would indicate that he is following the Vulgate, although Martin and Ostervald both use

.ie descendrai. Avec mon fils does not conform to the Latin, ad filium meum. or to any of the other versions except Saci's. The lugens of the Vulgate, the jje pleurerai of Saci and of the others, is entirely lacking in the Dictionnaire. Although the phrase, dans la fosse, is not Saci's rendering, it does express the idea found in Martin and in Ostervald, dans le sépulcre.

The weight of authority is given to the quotation by the addition of the Latin, in infernum. which Voltaire then trans lates as dans 1*enfer. He writes his interpretation, however, as well as the Latin, in italics in such a fashion that it appears to be part of the quotation from the Bible, thus making it seem that what is in reality his ovfn opinion is a part of the sentence as it is found in Genesis.

The last phrase, ,ie mourrai, puisque mon fils est mort. is evidently meant to be taken in support of his argument that,

"Molse.,.ne leur [aux Juifs] parle jamais de 1'immortalité de leurs ames, qu'il ne leur fait point espérer le ciel,"^® since it is contradictory to the viewpoint of the commentateurs and is in harmony with Voltaire's own thesis.

* * *

18. Diet, phil.. p. 10; Naves, I, 15. 61

Section IV

In this group will be found passages which are indi rect quotations, sometimes with slight variations, from Biblical sources.

They will be divided into the following groups:

1. Those which are faithful paraphrases of the orig

inal— Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive.

2. Two which are justified by Saci's reading but not by

some of the other translations— Nos. 7 and 8.

3. One justified, not by Saci, but by some of the other

translations— No. 9.

4-. One which is open to two interpretations— No. 10.

5. One which omits a minor detail found in the Bible—

No. 11.

6. Two which give incorrect references to their sources-

Nos. 12 and 13.

7. One which has a slight addition to the Biblical read

ing— No. 14-.

In this section, the paraphrases, as well as the sup porting parts of the original, will be typed in red. 62

1. Alors Jesus parla au peuple...en leur disant....

29, Malheur à vous, scri Les mêmes savants trouvent bes & pharisiens hypocrites encor quelques difficultés dans l'histoire des Evangi les. Ils remarquent que 3A. G*est pourquoi je m'en dans St. Matthieu, Jesus- vais... Christ dit aux Scribes'& aux 35. afin que tout le sang Pharisiens, que tout le sang innocent qui a été répandu innocent qui a été répandu sur la terre, retombe sur sur la terre, doit retomber vous depuis le sang d'Abel sur eux, depuis le sang le juste, jusqu'au sang de d’Abel le juste, jusqu'à Zacharie fils de Barachie, Zacharie, fils de Barac, que vous avez tué entre le qu'ils ont tué entre le tem temple & l'autel (St Mat ple & l'autel (Pict. ohil.. thieu. chap. 23). p. 129; Naves, I, 155).

On commença dès le second siècle, par chasser les dé mons au nom de Jésus; aupa ravant on les chassait au nom de Jehovah, ou Yhaho; 2A. Mais les pharisiens en car St. Matthieu rapporte, tendant cela, disoient: Cet que les ennemis de Jésus homme ne chasse les démons ayant dit qu'il chassait les que par la vertu de Béelze- démons au nom du prince des but, prince des démons. Démons, il leur répondit,. 25. Or Jésus connoissant Si c'est par Belzebuth que leurs pensées, leur dit.... ne chasse les démons, par 26. .... qui vos enfans les chassent- 27. Et si c'est par Béelze- ils (Diet, nhil.. p. 315; but que je chasse les démons, Navës, II, 2U)?19 par qui vos enfans les chas- Bent-ils?...(st Matthieu. chap. 12).

19. For another treatment of this item, see page 31. 63

Voltaire also uses this Biblical incident, as well as the same quotation, in his article. Christianisme.

2. D'où vient que vous vous servez parmi vous de cette parabole, & que vous l'avez tournée en proverbe Il est vrai que la sinago- dans Israël: Les peres, di gue ne permettait pas du tes-vous, ont mangé des rai temps de St. Jérôme la lec sins vers, & les dents des ture d'Ezechiel avant l'âge enfans en sont agacées? de trente ans; mais c'était 3. Je jure par moi-même, parce que dans le chapitre dit le Seigneur votre Dieu, 18. il dit que le fils ne que cette parabole ne passera portera plus l'iniquité de plus parmi vous en proverbe son père, & qu'on ne dira dans Israël, plus. Les pères ont mangé • • • • • • des raisins verds, & les 20. L'ame qui a péché dents des enfans en sont mourra elle-même. Le fils agacées (Pict. phil., ne portera point l'iniquité p. 185; Naves, I, 265). du pere, & le pere ne portera point 1'iniquité du fils... (Ezechiel. chap, 18).

* *

20. See page 4.1 of this study. 64

î. Le Seigneur apparut un jour â Abraham., 2. Abraham ayant levé les yeux, trois hommes lui paru rent pris de lui....

#*» #»# S, Ayant pris ensuite du beurre & du lait, avec le veau qu'il avoit fait cuire, il le servit devant eux,,., 9:, Après qu'ils eurent mangé, iig lui dirent,,, (La Genese. chap, 18),

* Les Dieux se changeaient 7. Aussi, de peur que la très-souvent en hommes, les grandeur de mes révélations Juifs n'ont jamais vû les ne me causât de l'élevement. anges que sous la forme hu Dieu a permis que je ressen maine: les anges mangèrent tisse dans ma chair un ai chez Abraham. Paul dans son guillon, qui est l'ange & le épitre aux Corinthiens dit ministre de satan, pour me que l'ange de Satan lui a donner des soufflets (II® donne des soufflets; Angelos Epître aux Corinthiens. Sathana me colaphisei (Diet, chap, 12), phil.. p, 279; Naves, II, 145). * *

7. ...datus est mihi sti mulus carnis meae, angélus Satanae, ut me colafizet (Vulgate),

While Voltaire does not say that his italicized sen tence is a quotation from the Vulgate, one can easily infer that this version was his source. If so, he varies from it in such a way as to suggest that he is quoting from memory. The use of the past tense raises the suspicion that this may also be true of his preceding paraphrase in French, 65

Ezechiel au ehag^ 20, fait dire encor au SeighéüJï, 25. Ergo ; et ego dedi eis qu'il a donné aux juifs des praecepta non bom. .. (Eze- préceptes qui ne sont pas chiei. caput XX— Vulgate). bons (Diet, phil.. p. Sf; Naves, I, 266).

25. G'est pourquoi j e leur ai donné des préceptes im parfaits, & des ordonnances oü ils ne trouveront point là vie (Ezechiel. chap. 20).

En cela il [Ezéchiel] se trouvait expressément en 18. ...il [le Seigneur] ne contradiction avec Moïse, laisse impuni aucun coupable, qui au chap, 28, des Nom visitant les péchés des peres bres, assure que les enfans dans lefe enfans jusqu'à la portent l'iniquité des pe troisième & à la quatrième res, jusqu'à la troisième & generation (Les Nombres, quatrième génération (Diet. chap, 14). phil,. p. 185; Naves, I, 266),

Voltaire's quotation is not found in chapter twenty- eight, as he says, but it does occur, in much the same words, four times in the Pentateuch, 66

26, Tharl ayant vécu soixan- La Genèse rapporte qu'il te & dix ans, engendra Abra- [Abraham] avait soixante & ham,.quinze ans lorsqu'il sortit du pays d'Aran après la mort 32, Et Tharé après avoir de son père Thare le potier, vécu deux cens cii% ans, mou- Mais la. meme Genèse dit aus- rut à Haran (La Genese, chan. si que Tharé ayant engendré 11), Abraham à soixante & dix ans, ce Tharé vécut jusqu'à 1, Le Seigneur dit ensuite deux cent cinq ans, & qu'A- â Abram: Sortez de votre pays, braham ne partit d'Aran de votre parenté, & de la mai- qu'après la mort de son son de votre pere, & venez en père. A ce compte il est la terre que je vous montre- clair par la Genèse même rai, qu'Abraham était âgé de cent ..... trente-cinq ans quand il A, ,,.Abram avoit soixan- quitta la Mésopotamie (Diet, te & quinze ans lorsqu'il ohil.. p, 2j Naves, I, A), sortit d'Haran (La Genese. chap, 12),

In thus introducing the subject of Abraham's age, Vol taire opens up a theme which was frequently discussed by theo logians of his day. Many, including the maître de Fernev. held that there was a discrepancy in the account given in Genesis, as he states in this paragraph. His argument is based on the supposition that the Lord's command to Abraham to leave Haran came after the death of Terah, If it came first, there is no discrep ancy, It is not made clear in Genesis which of these viewpoints is correct,

Saci's translation, using as it does ensuite, entirely justifies Voltaire's saying, "Abraham ne partit d'Aran qu'après la mort de son père," Not all versions of the Bible, however, agree with this, Martin has (italics ours), "Or le Seigneur 67 avait dit à Abram; Sors de ton pays...." One could well reason from the pluperfect, avait dit, that the command came before

Terah's death. The Vulgate, however, reads, "Dixit autem Dominus ad Abram", which is a very inconclusive statement, as is the translation of the Revised Standard Version, "Now the Lord said to Abram." The Septuagint and Luther use the simple form, "And the Lord said to Abram." Ostervald and the King James Version, like Martin, have, "Now the Lord had said", while the Interpreter's

Bible gives both readings.

Of these translations, Saci's is the only one which definitely says that the command of the Lord came after the death of Terah. On this idea, however, Voltaire bases his statements, in this and in the next two paragraphs, concerning the ages of

Abraham and of Sarah.

It is of course beside the point to mention that mod ern scholarship accepts the view that Genesis, like the other books of the Hexateuch, is a conflation, primarily, of two docu ments, each covering approximately the same ground, and that the discrepancies in the Biblical account result from this double authorship.This thesis was first advanced in 1753 by Jean

Astruc in his pamphlet. Conjectures sur les mémoires originaux

* * *

21. In regard to Sarah's age, see the next item. 22. The Interpreter's Bible. I, 185 ff. 68 dont il paroit que Moyse s*est servi pour composer le livre de la Gen&se.23 but Voltaire may not have known of this work in 1764, since neither at that time nor in the Questions of 1771 did he make use, in his articles attacking Moses, of the tion.iectures» which would have well supported his arguments. That he later, at least, was acquainted with Astruc's ideas, is shown by a note to La Bible enfin expliquée (1776), which refers briefly to the letter's pamphlet.24- Although much of this work of Voltaire was written during the Cirey and Berlin periods (1736-1752),^5 when he had an active interest in Biblical criticism, the Conjectures had not yet been published. It would appear, therefore, that the note was added when he next turned his attention to writing La

Bible enfin expliquée, perhaps just before its publication. In any case, if Voltaire knew of Astruc*s thesis in 1764, he chose to ignore it, since it would have refuted his argument about Abraham's age.

The statement that Terah was a potter is not found in the Bible. Voltaire was here drawing bn the traditions that had grown up concerning the Jewish patriarch.

23. Published at Brussels by Fricx. Noted by The Interpreter's Bible. I, 188. 24. Mol., XXX, 50, n. 1. 25. Ira 0. Wade, Voltaire and Madame du Ghâtelet. p. 188. 69

Il [Abraham] amène à Mem phis sa femme Sara, qui était extrêmement jeune & presque enfant en comparai son de lui, car elle n'avait que soixante & cinq ans (Pict. phil.. p. 3j Naves, I, 5).

This statement regarding Sarah's age, made in the same discussion as the last item where Voltaire claims that Abraham was 135 years old when he left Haran, is not found in Genesis.

In order to arrive at the figure of 65 years, the author of the

Dictionnaire has to accept the Biblical account and calculate the elapsed time, 25 years, between Abraham's departure from Haran

(Genesis 12:4-) at the age of 75 and the birth of Isaac (Genesis

17:17) when the patriarch was 100 years old, and then subtract this number, 25, from 90, Sarah's age when her son was born (Genesis

17:17).

By thus making the point that there is a difference of

70 years in the ages of the two, Voltaire gets the basis for his quip that Sarah was "presque enfant en comparaison de lui." This is justified only if he is correct in his contention regarding

Abraham's age.

The use of the verb, amine, as well as the mention of the city of Memphis, is an effective, concrete detail which is added to the Biblical account. 70

15. Que si voTis ne voulez point écouter la voix du Sei gneur votre Dieu, & que vous ne gardiez & ne pratiquez pas toutes seê ordonnances & les ceremonies que je vous pre scris aujourd'hui, toutes ces maledictions [which follow] fondront sur vous, & vous ac cableront, Moïse, comme nous avons vû, dit aux Juifs, que s'ils 27. Le Seigneur vous frap n'observent pas ses cérémo pera d'iolceres.. il frappera nies, non seulement ils au aussi d'une galle & d'une dé ront la galle, mais que les mangeaison incurable la partie mères mangeront leurs enfans du corps par laquelle la na (Diet, nhil.. p. 28; Naves, ture rejette ce qui lui est I, 36). resté de sa nourriture.

56. La femme délicats accoû- tumée à une vie molle, qui ne pouvoit pas seulement marcher, ...refusera à son mari qui dort auprès d'elle, de lui donner de la chair de son fils & de sa fille; 57. ...& de la chair de son enfant qui ne venoit que de naître: car ils mangeront en cachette leurs propres enfans, n'ayant rien de quoi se nour rir dans cette cruelle famine ...(Le Deuteronome. chap. 28),

57. ...comedent enim eos clam...(Vulgate).

This passage offers various difficulties of translation, one of which is the verb, comedent. Although Saci, translating from the Vulgate, and Luther, using the Hebrew, give a plural sub ject for this verb and thus seem to include the father, mentioned 71 in verse fifty-six, as well as the mother, Martin and Ostervald, as does the Revised Standard Version, have elle, which agrees in general with Voltaire’s idea.

10.

9. Prenez aussi du fro ment, de l'orge, des feves, des lentilles, du millet, & de la vice, mettez-les dans un vaisseau, & faites-en des pains pour autant de jours qUe vous dormirez sur le cStl. Vous le mangerez pen dant trois cens quatre- vingt-dix jours. ...plusieurs critiques se sont révoltés contre l'ordre 12, Ce que vous mangerez que le seigneur lui [à Ezé sera comme un pain d'orge chiel] donna de manger pen cuit sous la cendre. Vous dant trois cent quatre- le couvrirez devant eux de vingt-dix jours, du pain l'ordure qui sort de l'homme. d'orge, de froment & de mil 13. ... let couvert de merde. 14,. Je dis alors: Ah, Ah, Le prophète s'écria, Ah, Seigneur mon Dieu! mon pouah! pouah! pouah! mon ame ame n'a point encore été n'a point été jusqu'ici souillée.... pollûej & la seigneur lui 15. Le Seigneur me répon répondit. Eh bien, je vous dit: Allez, je vous donne de donne de la fiente de boeuf la fiente de boeuf, au lieu au lieu d'excrément d'homme, de ce qui sort du corps de & vous paitrirez vôtre pain l'homme, & vous en mettrez avec cette fiente (Diet. avec votre pain (Ezechiel, phil.. p. 184; Naves, I, chap. 4 ). 265). ■» ■»

14. Et dixi: A, a, a. Domi ne Deus, ecce anime mea non est polluta (Vulgate).

Voltaire's interjection. Pouah! pouah! pouah!. is much more expressive than Saci's Ah. Ah. Ah. or the A. a. a of the 72

Vulgate, but whether or not it better conveys the prophet's mean

ing is a question of interpretation. He may be showing disgust, as Voltaire indicates, or he may only be protesting.

The pollfte of the Dictionnaire. used instead of Saci's

souillée. is possibly a reflection of the Latin polluta.

1 1 .

15. ...Eleazar engendra Mathan. Mathan engendra Ja cob. 16 . Et Jacob engendra Jo seph l'époux de Marie (st Les savants se sont aussi Matthieu, chap. 1), fort tourmentés sur la dif férence des deux généalogies * * de Jesus-Christ. St. Mat thieu donne pour pere â Jo 23. Jesus avoit environ seph, Jacob; à Jacob, Matam; trente ans, lorsqu'il com à Matam, Eléazar. St. Luc mença à exercer son minis au contraire dit que Joseph tère, étant, comme l'on était fils d'Héli, Heli de croit, fils de Joseph, qui Mattat, Mattat de Lévi, Lévi fut fils d'Heli, qui fut de Janna &c (Pict. phil.. fils de Mathat, p. 130; Naves, I, 155). 24. qui fut fils de Levi, qui fut fils de Melchi, qui fut fils de Janna (St Luc, chap. 3).

A careful examination of these lists will sho?/ that

Voltaire is correct in his statements except that he omits the

name of Melchi from Luke's enumeration.

12.

12. Hazaël lui [â Elisée] dit: Pourquoi mon seigneur pleure-t-il? Elisée lui ré- 73 pondit: Parce que je gai com bien de maux vous devez faire aux enfang d'Israël, Vous brûlerez leurs villes fortes, vous tuerez par l'Iple leurs jeunes hommes, vous écraserez contre terre leurs petits-enfans, & vous fendrez le ven tre aux femmes grosses. 13, Hazaël lui dit: Qui suis-je moi votre serviteur, qui ne suis qu'un chien, pour faire de si grandes choses? Elisée lui répondit: Le Sei gneur m'a fait voir que vous serez Roi de Syrie. 14.. Hazaël ayant quitté Elisée vint retrouver son maître qui lui dit: Que vous a dit Elisée? il lui répon dit: Il m'a dit que vous ré- couvrerez la santé (IV des Rois, chap. 8).

1. En ce même temps le Prophète Elisée appella un des enfans des Prophètes, & lui dit: Ceignez-vous les reins, prenez en votre main cette petite fiole d'huile, & allez â Ramoth de Galaad. 2. Quand vous serez là, vous verrez Jehu fils de Jo— saphat.... 3» ... 4-. Le jeune homme servi teur du Prophète, alla donc Nous voyons dans l'ancien aussitôt à Ramoth de Galaad. testament que le nom de Mes 5. ... sie fut souvent donné à des 6. Jehu S3 leva donc & en princes idolâtres ou infidè tra dans une chambre, & le les. Il est dit* que Dieu jeune-homme lui répandit envoya un prophète pour oin l'huile sur la tête, & lui ■ dre Jehu roi d'Israël; il dit: Voici ce que dit le Séi- annonça l'onction sacrée à gneur le Dieu d'Israël; Je Hazael roi de Damas & de vous ai sacré R6i sur Israël Syrie, ces deux Princes le'peuple du Seigneur. étant' les Messies du très- 7. Vous exterminerez la haut, pour punir la maison maison d'Achab...(IV des d'Achab. Rois. chap. 9). *iv. Reg. viij. 12. 13. 14. * (Diet, nhil.. p. 267; Naves, >15. Et le Seigneur lui [â II, 131) Elle] dit: Allez, retournez par le chemin par où vous êtes venu le,long du disert vers Damas, & lorsque vous y serez arrivé, vous sacrerez d'huile Hazaël pour etre Roi de Syrie. 16. ... ^ ^ 17. Quiconque aura échappé à Hépée d'Hazaël, sera tué par Jehu...(III des Rois, chap. 19).

The position that Voltaire takes in this article is that any one who has been anointed by a servant of the Lord is a Messiah.

In this sense of the word, his statement in the paragraph quoted above is correct.

As can be seen, there is no mention of Jehu and no an nouncement of the anointing, in itself, of Hazael in the verses referred to by Voltaire, 2 Kings 8:12, 13, 14. The passage in regard to Jehu is found in 2 Kings 9:1 and 2, while that of Hazael is in 1 Kings 19:15. The mistake is rectified, as far as Hazael is concerned, in some of the later editions of the Dictionnaire.

The statement that Hazael was to be king of Damascus is 75 an addition of Voltaire's, although there is a mention of that city in the Lord's instructions to Elijah.

13.

30,. & [Jèphté] fit ce voeu au Seigneur;.Seigneur, si voué livrez entre mes mains les enfans d'Ammon, ; 31. je voué offrirai en ho locauste le premier qui sor tira de la porte dé ma mai son, & qui viendra audevant Il est évident par le tex de moi, lorsque je retourne te du livre des juges que rai victorieux du pays des . Jephté promit de sacrifier enfans d'Ammon, la première personne qui sortirait de sa maison pour 34. Mais lorsque JephtI re- venir le féliciter de sa venoit de Maspha dans sa mai victoire contre les Ammoni son, sa fille unique...vint tes. Sa fille unique vint au-devant de lui.... au devant de lui; il déchira 35. JephtI l'ayant vue, dé ses vêtements, & il 1'immo chira ses vetemens.... la après lui avoir permis 36. Sa fille lui.répondit d'aller pleurer sur les .... montagnes le malheur de 37. Laissez-moi aller mourir vierge. Les filles sur les montagnes pendant juives célébrèrent longtemps deux mois, afin que je pleure cette aventure, en pleurant ma virginité avec mes compa la fille de Jephté pendant gnes. quatre jours (Voyez chapi 38. Jephte lui répondit; tre 12 des Juges.) (Diçt. Allez; & il la laissa libre phâl.. p. 235; Naves, II, pendant ces deux mois.... 65) 39. ...& il accomplit ce qu'il avoit voué à 1'égard de sa fille...De là vint la coû- tume, qui s'est toujours de puis observée en Israël, 40. que toutes les filles d'Israël s'assemblent une fois l'année, pour pleurer la fille de Jephté de Galaad pendant quatre jours ( Les Juges, chap. 11). 76

Voltaire's note referring to the Book of Judges should read chapter eleven instead of chapter twelve.

26, Que faut-il donc, mes freres, que vous faciès? Si lorsque vous êtes assemblés, l'un est inspiré de Dieu pour composer un cantique, l'autre St. Paul dans sa le. aux pour instruire,..que tout se Corinthiens nous aprend que face pour l'édification, les frères, soit circoncis, soit incirconcis, étant as 29. Pour ce qui est des semblés, quand plusieurs prophètes, qu'il n'y en ait prophètes voulaient parler, point plus de deux ou trois il fallait qu'il n'y en eût qui parlent, & que les autres que deux ou trois qui par en jugent. lassent, & que si quelqu'un 30, Que s'il se fait quel pendant ce temps là avait que revelation à un autre de une révélation, la prophète ceux qui sont-assis dans qui avait pris la parole de l'assemblée, que le premier vait se taire (Diet, phil,. se taise (l^e Ëpître aux p, 139; Naves, I, 173). Corinthiens, chap, 14),

The idea of circumcision and uncircumcision as expressed at this point in the Dictionnaire is entirely of Voltaire's intro duction, being mentioned neither in this chapter of 1st Corinthians nor elsewhere in that book. 77

Section V

Here will be found reasonably correct statements which

Voltaire made about Biblical subjects. They fall into the follow ing classes:

1. Thoses statements which follow rather faithfully

their source material— Nos. 1 to 12, inclusive.

2. One which is logically correct but has no definite

source— No. 13.

3. One probably based on the Vulgate— No. 14.

4. One incorrectly attributed to a certain author— No. 15.

5. One with a slightly incorrect reference to its source—

No. 16.

6. Two statements taken from a non-Biblical source but

whose references are so phrased that they

could be interpreted as being Biblical— No. 17.

7. Two which show minor divergences from the Biblical

sources— Nos. IS and 19.

8. Two which are composites of material taken from more

than one chapter— Nos. 20 and 21. 78

20. L'ame qui a péché mour Si c'était Moïse qui eût ra elle^nême. Le fils ne dit que Dieu punit l'iniqui portera point l'iniquité du té des pères jusqu'à la qua pere, & le pere ne portera trième génération, Ezêchiel point 1?iniquité du fils... aurait—il osé dire le con (Ezêchiel. chap. 18). traire (Diet. Phil., p. 291} Naves, II, 157)?

9. ...Il y avoit en la mê me ville un homme nommé Si Dès les tems apostoliques mon, qui y avoit exercé la l'on vit Simon surnommé le magie auparavant, & qui avoit magicien,* qui avait su sé séduit le peuple de Samarie, duire les habitans de Sama se disant être quelque chose rie, au point qu'ils le con de grand} sidéraient comme la vertu 10. de sorte qu'ils le sui- de Dieu. voient tous depuis le plus grand jusqu'au plus petit, & *Act. Apost. c. 8. 9. disaient: Celui-ci est la grand vertu de Dieu (Les (Diet. Phil., p. 274} Naves, Actes, chap. 8). II, UO)

36. Il y avoit aussi à Jop- pé entre les disciples une femme nommée Tabithe, ou Dorcas.... 37. Or étant tombée malade en ce temps-là elle mourut.... 38. ... 39. Pierre partit aussi tôt, & s'en alla avec eux. Lorsqu'il fut arrivé, ils le menèrent à la chambre haute: où toutes les veuves se pré sentèrent à lui en pleurant. 79

& en lui montrant les robes St. Pierre ressuscita la & les habits que Dorcas leur coûturiêre Dorcas qui fai- faisoit, sait les robes des frères 4-0. Alors Pierre ayant fait (Pict. phil.. p, 133; Naves, sortir tout le monde, se mit I, l60), à genous & en prières; & se tournant vers le corps, il dit, Tabithe, levez-vous. Elle ouvrit les yeux au même instant; & ayant vu Pierre, elle se mit sur son séant, 4-1. Il lui donna aussi-tôt la main, & la leva...(Les Actes, chap. 9).

Since neither in Saci nor in the other versions, in cluding the Vulgate, is there any indication that les robes were made for les frères, this must be considered a detail added, quite logically, by Voltaire.

4. 14. Abram étant entré ensui te en Egypt, les Egyptiens virent que cette femme étoit très-belle. 15. ...elle fut enlevée & menée au palais du Roi. Le Roi devint amoureux de 16. Ils en usèrent bien â la jeune Sara, & donna au l'égard d'Abram à cause d'el prétendu frère beaucoup de le; & il regut des brebis, brebis, de boeufs, d'ânes, des boeufs, des ânes, des d'ânesses, de chameaux, de serviteurs & des servantes, serviteurs, de servantes: ce des ânesses & des chameaux qui prouve que l'Egypte dés- (La Genese. chap. 12). lors était un royaume très- puissant & très—policé, par- conséquent très-ancien, & qu'on récompensait magnifi quement les frères qui ve naient offrir leurs soeurs aux rois de Memphis (Diet. nhil.. p. 3; Naves, l7 5).

The climactic order in which Voltaire arranged the gifts 80 which Abraham received is more logical than that given in Genesis and one might surmise that he v/as depending on his memory rather than following the Bible,

The unreasoned statement at the end of the paragraph

is typical of the humorous, usually sarcastic, thrust with which le petit Suisse often concludes his arguments.

7. Et Saül tailla en pie ces les Amalecites.... 8. Il prit vif Agag, Roi des Amalecites.... 9. Mais Saül avec le peu ple épargna Agag.... 10. Le Seigneur adressa alors sa parole â Samuel, & C'est en vertu de cette lui dit: loi que Samuël coupa en mor 11. Je me repens d'avoir ceaux le roi Agag, â qui fait Saül Roi, parce qu'il Saül avait pardonnéj & c'est ...n'a point execute mes même pour avoir épargné ordres.... Agag, que Saül fut réprouvé du Seigneur, & perdit son 28. Alors Samuel lui dit: royaume (Pict. phil.. Le Seigneur a déchiré aujour p. 236; Naves, II, 66). d'hui le royaume d'Israël, & vous l'a arraché des mains pour le donner s. un autre, qui vaut mieux que vous.

32. Alors Samuel dit; Ame nez-moi Agag.... 33. ...Et il le coupa en morceaux (I des Rois, chap. 15).

Voltaire also uses this incident in his article. Idole. 81

Idolâtre. Idolâtrie.26

30. & [Jephté] fit ce voeu au Seigneur: Seigneur, si vous livrez entre mes mains les enfans d'Ammon, 31. je vous offrirai en ho locauste le premier qui sor tira de la porte de ma mai son, & qui viendra audevant de moi, lorsque je retourne rai victorieux....

34-. Mais lorsque JephtI re- venoit de Maspha dans sa mai son, sa fille unique,...vint au-devant de lui..,.

39. ...il accomplit ce qu'il avoit voué à l'égard de sa fille (Les Juges, chap. 11). Il est vrai que chez les Juifs Jephté sacrifia sa * fille, & que Saül fut prêt d'immoler son fils (Diet. 44-. Sattl lui dit: Que Dieu Phil.. p. 232; Naves, II, me traite avec toute sa sévé 53). rité, si vous ne mourez tre- certainement aujourd'hui, Jonathas (I des Rois, chap. U).

The subject of Jephtah's sacrifice is also used by-

Voltaire in his article. Jephté.2?

26. See page 131 of this study. A brief reference is again made to Samuel's action in the article. Fanatisme (Diet, phil.^ p. 192; Naves, I, 274; page 83 of this study). 27. Diet, phil.. p. 235; Naves, II, 65. See also page 75 of this study. 82

23. Ainsi le Seigneur le Dieu d'IsralFl a ruiné les Amorrhiens, lorsque les Isra élites, qui Itoient son peu ple combattoient contre eux, & vous prétendez maintenant que les terres que possédé le Les Juifs adoraient leur peuple de Dieu vous appar Dieu; mais ils n'étaient ja tiennent? mais étonnés que chaque peu 24. Ne croyez-vous pas ple eût le sien. Ils trou avoir droit de posséder ce vaient bon que Chamos eût qui appartient â Charaos votre donné un certain district dieu? Il est donc bien plus aux Moabites, pourvû que juste que nous possédions ce leur Dieu leur en donnât que le Seigneur notre Dieu aussi un (Diet, phil.. p. s'est acquis par ses victoi 340; Naves, II, 267). res (Les Juges, chap. Il).

Voltaire takes here the same position as in the article

Religion and again confuses the Moabites and the Ammonites.

17. Et il offrit ses pre sens â Eglon Roi de Moab....

21. Et Aod ayant porté la main gauche à la dague qu'il avoit à son coté droit, la tira & la lui enfonça si avant dans le ventre, 22. que la poignée y entra toute entiers avec le fer, & se trouva serrée par la gran Ces misérables ont sans de quantité de graisse qui se cesse présent à l'esprit rejoignit par-dessus (Les l'exemple d'Aod, qui assas Juges. chap. 3). sine le Roi Eglon; de Ju-

* *

28. See page 57 of this study. 83

5. Et Judith commanda â sa dith, qui coupe la tête servante de se tenir debout d'Holopherne en couchant dehors.... avec lui; de Samuel qui hâche en morceaux le roi 8. ...elle s'approcha de Agag (Diet. Phil.. p. 191; la colonne qui étoit au éhe- Naves, I, 274). vet de son lit, & délia son sabre qui y étoit attaché. 9. Puis l'ayant tiré du fourreau, elle prit Holoferne par les cheveux de la tête,., 10. Elle lui frappa ensuite sur le cou par deux fois, lui coupa la tête.,.(Judith. chap. 13).

32. Alors Samuel dit; Ame nez-moi Agag Roi d'Amalec,... 33. ...Et il le coupa en morceaux devant le Seigneur â Galgala (l des Rois. chap. 15).

Voltaire also discusses the fate of Agag in the articles

Idole. Idolâtre. Idolâtrie and Jenhté.29 In Idole. as here, he uses the pejorative hacha instead of the Biblical coupa.

1. ...étant au milieu des captifs près du fleuve de Chobar, les cieux furent oui verts, & j'eus des visions Ezêchiel esclave chez les divines. Caldéens eut une vision près de la petite rivière de Cho 4. Voici la vision qui me bar qui se perd dans l'Eu— fut représentée.... phrate.

* *

29. See pages 131 and 80 of this study. 84

5. Et au milieu de ce mime On ne doit point etre feu on yoyoit la ressemblance étonné qu’il ait vû des ani de quatre animaux.... maux â quatre faces, & â 6. Chacun d’eux avait qua quatre ailes,, avec des pieds tre faces, & quatre ailes. de veau, ni des roiles qui 7. Leurs piis Itoient marchaient toutes seules, & droits,'la plante de leurs qui avaient l’esprit de vie pils étoit comme la plante du (Diet, Phil,. p. 1 8 4 ; Naves, pii d’un veau,,,. I, 264).

15. Lorsque je regardois ces animaux, je vis paroître pris d’eux une roue qui étoit sur la terre, & qui avoit quatre faces.

19. Lorsque les animaux marchaient, les roues marchoient aussi auprès d’eux; & lorsque les animaux s’Ile- voient de terre, les roues s’Ilevoient aussi avec eux. 20. Par-tout oîi allait l'esprit & où l'esprit s’Ile- voit, les roues s'Ilevoient aussi & lé suiyoient; parce que l’esprit de vie étoit dans les roues (Ezêchiel^ chap, 1),

10. 14. ...il [Naaman] fut gué ri de sa lepre. 15. Après cela il...dit: Je sai certainement qu’il n’y a point d’autre Dieu dans toute la terre que celui qui est dans Israël, Quand Naaman est guéri de 16, .... sa lèpre pour s’etre plongé 17, Naaman lui dit:,,,à sept fois dans le Jourdain, l’avenir votre serviteur quand pour témoigner sa gra n’offrira plus d’holocaustes titude à Elisée qui lui a ou de victimes aux dieux enseigné ce secret, il lui étrangers; mais il ne sacri dit qu’il adorera le Dieu fiera qu’au Seigneur, des Juifs par reconnaissan- 85

, 18, II- n'y a qu'une chose ce, il se réserve la liber pour laquelle je vous supplie té d'adorer aussi le Dieu de prier le Seigneur pour vo de son roi. Il en demande tre serviteur, qui est, que permission à Elisée, & le lorsque le Roi mon seigneur prophète n'hésite pas à la entrera dans le temple de lui donner (Pict. nhil., Remmon pour adorer en s'ap p. 34-Oj Naves, II, 267). puyant sur ma main, si j'ado re dans le temple de Remmon, lorsqu'il y adorera lui-même, que le Seigneur me le pardon ne. 19. Elisée lui répondit: Allez en paix...(IV des Rois, chap. 5).

11.

Mais St. Paul écrivant aux habitans de Thessalonique, leur dit, que le second avè nement de Jesus-Christ est pour eux & pour lui, qu'ils en seront témoins. 16. Car aussi-tôt que le V. 16. Car aussi-tôt que signal aura été donné par la le signal aura été donné par voix de l'Archange, & par le l'archange. & par le son de son de la trompette de Dieu, la trompette de Dieu, le Sei le Seigneur lui-même descen gneur lui-même descendra du dra du ciel, & ceux qui se Ciel. & ceux, qui seront ront morts en Jesus-Christ, morts en Jesus-Christ ressus ressusciteront les premiers. citeront les premiers. 17. Puis nous autres qui V. 17. Puis nous autres sommes vivans, & qui serons qui sommes vivans. & qui se demeurés jusqu'alors, nous rons demeurés jusqu'alors, serons emportés avec eux dans nous serons emportés avec les nuéesj pour aller au-de eux dans les nuees pour al vant du Seigneur au milieu de ler au devant du Seigneur au l'air: & ainsi nous vivrons milieu:, de l'air. & ainsi, pour jamais avec le Seigneur nous vivrons pour jamais (I^® Epître aux Thessaloni- avec le Seigneur.-» ciens. chap. A). Ce passage important ne prouve-t-il pas évidemment * que les premiers chrétiens 86

8, Jesus leur dit.... comptaient voir la fin du 9. ...mais la fin ne vien monde, comme en effet elle dra pas si-tSt. est prédite dans St. Luc, pour le temps mime que St. 27. & alors ils verront le Luc vivait? Fils de l'homme, qui viendra sur une nuée avec une grande *1. Epit. aux Thess. puissance, & une grande ma chap.. A. jesté. 28, Pour vous, lorsque ces (pict. phil.. p. 323î Naves, choses commenceront d'arri II, 225) ver, regardez en haut, & le vez la tête, parce que votre rsdemtion est proche.

32. Je vous dis & je vous assure, que cette generation d'hommes ne finira point, que toutes ces choses ne soient accomplies (St Luc, chap. 21).

Although Voltaire marks as part of his quotation the statement that the "second avènement de Jesus-Christ est pour eux & pour lui, qu'ils en seront témoins", it is clear, judging by the sense of the passage and by a comparison with Saci, that the sentence is only his own summary of Paul's thought as expressed in verses I6 and 17, which are then quoted as proof.

* * #

30, For another treatment of verses I6 and 17, see page 32. 87

12.

12. Elle [Jérusalem] avoit La nouvelle Jérusalem de une grande & haute muraille, mille années devait avoir DÛ il y avoit douze portes & douze portes, en mémoire des douze anges, un à chaque douze Apôtres. Sa forme de porte; où il y avoit aussi vait être carrée; sa lon des noms écrits, qui étoient gueur, sa largeur & sa hau les noms des douze tribus teur devaient être de douze des enfans d'Israël. mille stades, c'est-à-dire, 13. ... cinq cent lieuës, de façon 14-. Et la muraille avoit que les maisons devaient douze fondemens, où sont les avoir aussi cinq cent lieuës noms des douze Apôtres de de haut. Il eût été assez l'Agneau. désagréable de demeurer au 15. ... dernier étage; mais enfin, 16. Or la ville est bâtie c'est ce que dit l'Apoca en quarré, & elle est aussi lypse au chap. 21 (Diet. longue que large. Il mesura phil.. p. 30; Naves, I, 4-3). la ville avec sa canne, & il la trouva de douze mille stades; & sa longueur, sa largeur, & sa hauteur sont égales (L*Apocalypse, chap. 21).

It will be noted that Voltaire replaces the tribus des enfans d'Israël, mentioned in verse 12, by the Apôtres of verse 14-. This seems to be due, however, only to a slip of his memory.

The off-hand manner in which he speaks of cinq cent lieuës might lead one to think that it was only an approx imation expressed in round numbers. Since, however, the figure is accurate to within two tenths of a lieuë (750 88 meters),31 it suggests that he may actually have calculated the value of douze mille stades.

The Bible says nothing regarding the height of the individual houses within the walls, but Voltaire evidently assumes that they are of the same height as the city itself, thus getting the basis for his ironic conclusion, based on an age still without the concept of skyscrapers and elevators.

13.

Jacob n'hésita pas à épou ser les filles d'un idolâ tre. Laban avait son Dieu, comme Jacob avait le sien (Pict. phil.. p. 34-0; Naves, II, 268).

The Bible makes no definite statement regarding the god which Laban worshiped, but, since he lived in Mesopotamia and had household gods, Voltaire is in all probability correct.

* * #

31. This statement is based on the assumption that the lieuë which Voltaire had in mind was the lieue commune, or géographique. which was equal to 4444.5 meters %Littre, Lieue). This would give to the cinq cent lieuës the value of 2,222,250 meters. The Encyclopédie (XV, 487), in accord with other authorities, gives the stade. or stadium, as one eighth of a Roman mile, the accepted evaluation for which is 1482 meters (Webster's Diction ary. Mile). The stade then would be 185.25 meters and the douze mille stades of Revelation become 2,223,000 meters, which is only 750 meters, or .2 of a lieue more than Voltaire's figure. 89

14.

26, Et Salomon avoit qua Salomon, selon le troi rante mille chevaux dans ses sième livre des Rois, avait écuries pour les chariots, & quarante mille écuries pour douze mille chevaux de selle les chevaux de ses chariots. (lll des Rois, chap, 4). Quand chaque écurie n'aurait contenu que dix chevaux, ce * la n'aurait composé que le nombre de quatre cent mille, 26, Et habebat Salomon qua- qui joints â ses douze mille draginta millia pra'esepia chevaux de selle, eût fait equorum currilium, et duode- quatre cent douze mille che cim millia equestrium (Vul vaux de bataille (Pict, gate), phil.. p, 325; not repro duced by Naves),

The different translators vary in their renderings of

this verse of the Bible, In the first phrase, the Vulgate, the

King James, and the Revised Standard Version, express the idea

of stables; the others have horses. In the last line of the verse, only the Vulgate and Saci use horses; the remainder ivrite

horsemen.

The Vulgate is the only version with which Voltaire

agrees in both cases.

15.

1, Après cela, Paul,,,, 2, ,,,ayant trouvé un Juif nommé Aquilas...avec Priscile sa femme,,,,se joignit à eux, 3, Et parce que leur mé L'apôtre Paul témoigne tier étoit de faire des ten qu'il gagnait sa vie â faire tes, & que c'étoit aussi le des tentes (Pict, phil,. sien, il demeuroit chez eux, p, 133; Naves, I, 160), & y travailloit (Les Actes. chap, 18),

The statement that Paul was a tentmaker was not made 9 0 by him but by the author of Acts.

16.

1, L'année de la mort du Dieu malgré sa défense de roi Ôzias, je vis le Seigneur peindre, & de sculpter au assis sur un trône sublime & cune figure, a donc daigné élevé, & le bas de ses vete se proportionner à la fai mens remplissoit le temple blesse humaine, qui deman (Isate. chap. 6). dait qu'on parlât aux sens par des images. * * Isaîe dans le chap. VI. voit le Seigneur assis sur 9. Alors le Seigneur éten un trône, & le bas de sa ro dit sa main, toucha ma bou be qui remplit le temple. che. .. (Jereinie, chap. 1), Le Seigneur étend sa main, & touche la bouche de Jéré * * mie, au ch. 1. de ce Prophè te. Ezêchiel au chap. 111. 26. Et dans ce firmament voit un trône de saphir, & qui étoit au-dessus de leurs Dieu lui parait comme un têtes, on voyait comme un homme assis sur ce trône trône qui ressembloit au sa (Diet, phil.. p. 228; Naves, phir & il paroissoit comme un II, 48). homme assis sur ce trône (Ezeçhlel, chap. l).

1. Telle fut cette image de la gloire du Seigneur, qui me fut représentée... (Szechiel. chap. 2).3^

It will be noted that Voltaire is mistaken in giving his reference as chapter 3 instead of chapter 1 of Ezekiel.

* * *

32. The other versions print this statement as a part of chapter 1. 91

17.

34-. Maie un pharisien nommé Le sage Gamaliel parle* Gamaliel, docteur de la loi, d'un nommé Theudas, dont qui étoit honoré de tout le l'Mstoire se lit dans les peuple, se levant dans le Con antiquités Judaïques de Jo seil, commanda qu'on fît reti seph, liv. 20. chap. 2. Il rer les Apôtres pour un peu se vantait de passer le de tems, Jourdain à pié sec; il atti 35. & il dit à ceux qui ra beaucoup de gens à sa étoit assemblés.... suite; mais les Romains 36. Car il y a quelques étant tombés sur sa petite tems qu'il s'éleva un certain troupe la dissipèrent, cou Theodas, qui prétendoit être pèrent la tête au malheureux quelque chose de grands il y chef, & l'exposèrent dans eut environ quatre cens hom Jérusalem. mes qui s'attachèrent à lui; Gamaliel parle aussi de mais il fut tué, & tous ceux Judas le Galiléen, qui est qui avoiént cru en lui se sans doute le même dont Jo dissipèrent, & furent réduits seph fait mention dans le à rien. 12. chap, du second livre de 37. Judas de Galilée s'éle l a guerre des Juifs. Il dit va après lui dans le tems du que ce faux prophète avait dénombrement du peuple; & il ramassé près de trente mille attira à soi beaucoup de mon^ hommes; mais l'hyperbole est de; mais il périt aussi, & le caractère de l'historien tous ceux qui étoient entrés Juif. dans son parti furent dissi pés (Les Actes, chap. 5). *Act. Apost. c, V, 34.. 35. 36. (Pict. p)iil.. p. 274-; Naves, II, 139);

In spite of the fact that Voltaire goes to the trouble of giving a very detailed Biblical reference, he is evidently following, in both cases, the account as it is found in the works of Josephus rather than in the Bible. His references are phrased in such a manner that they might be said to refer to either source. 92

18.

18. Et le lendemain nous allâmes avec Paul visiter Jacque, chez lequel tous les prêtres s'assemblèrent. 19. ... 20. Ayant entendu toutes ces choses, ils en glorifiè rent Dieu, & lui dirent.... 21. Or ils [les Juifs] ont oui dire que vous enseignez à tous les Juifs...de renoncer à Moïse en disant; qu'ils ne doivent pas circoncire leurs Il [Paul] était accusé par enfans, ni vivre selon les les Juifs de vouloir détruira coutumes regûes parmi les la loi Mosaïque par Jesus- Juifs. Christ. C'est pour se laver 22. Que faut-il donc faire? de cette accusation que l'a pôtre Jaques proposa à l'a 23. Faites donc ce que nous pôtre Paul de se faire raser vous allons dire; Nous avons la tête, & de s'aller puri ici quatre hommes qui ont fier dans le temple avec qua fait un voeu, tre Juifs qui avaient fait 24-. prenez-les avec vous, & voeu de se raser;'Prenez les vous purifiez avec eux, en avec vous, lui dit Jaques faisant les frais de la céré (chap. 21. act. des apôt.) monie, afin qu'ils se rasent •purifiez vous avec eux. & que la tête, & que tous sachent tout le monde sache, que ce que ce qu'ils ont.oui dire de que l'on dit de vous est vous est faux, mais que vous faux. & que vous continuez à continuez à garder la loi garder la loi de Moïse (Diçt. (Les Actes, chap. 21). phil.. p. 134-; Naves, I, l6l).

While Voltaire is correct in the main outlines of his^ statement, an examination of the details shows some divergences from his Biblical source. It was not James who made the propo sition, but les prêtres (seniores— Vulgate), as is seen in verses twenty and twenty-three, which read, "ils...lui dirent," and

"nous vous allons dire." The suggestions that Paul have his head shaven and that his purification take place in the temple, as well 93 as the statement that the vow of the four men was to have their heads shaven, are Voltaire’s own interpretations of the situ ation.

This incident in Paul's life is the subject of art- other discussion in the article Resurrection.^^

* *

33. See page 132 of this study. 94

19.

La sagesse des apôtres fondait ainsi l'église nais sante, Cette sagesse ne fut point altérée par la dispute qui survint entre les apô tres Pierre, Jaques & Jean 11. Or Cephas étant venu â d'un côté, & Paul de l'au Antioche, je lui résistai en tre. Cette contestation ar face, parce qu'il étoit re riva à Antioche. L'apôtre prehensible. Pierre, autrement Céphas, ou 12. Car avant que quelques- Simon Barjones, mangeait uns qui venoient d'avec Jac avec les gentils convertis, que, fussent arrivés, ils & n'observait point avec eux mangeoient avec les Gentils; les cérémonies de la loi, ni mais après leur arrivée, il la distinction des viandes; se retira, & se sépara d'avec il mangeait, lui, Barnabé, & les Gentils; ayant peur de d'autres disciples, indiffé blesser les circoncis. remment du porc, des chairs 13. Les autres Juifs usè étouffées, des animaux qui rent comme lui de cette dis avaient le pied fendu & qui simulation, & Barnabé même ne ruminaient pas; mais plu s'y laissa aussi emporter. sieurs Juifs chrétiens arri 14. Mais quand je vis vés, St. Pierre sa remit qu'ils ne marchoient pas avec eux à l'abstinence des droit selon la vérité de l'E viandes défendües, &.aux cé vangile, je dis è. Cephas de rémonies de la loi Mosaïque. vant tout le monde... (Spître Cette action paraissait aux Galates. chap. 2). très prudente; il ne voulait pas scandaliser les Juifs chrétiens ses compagnons; mais St, Paul s'éleva contre lui avec un peu de dureté. Je lui .résistai, dit-il, à sa face, parce qu'il était blâmable. (épître aux Calâ tes chap. 2. ) (Diet, phil.. p. 136; Naves, I, I63)

Again Voltaire's account is on the whole correct, al though he adds details which are much more concrete and vivid than those in the original, thus enhancing the force of his argu ment. 95

His statement that James and John were with Peter is unsubstantiated. These two have been mentioned earlier in the chapter but not in this connection. The change of scene is indicated by the opening sentence of verse eleven, "Or Cephas

étant venu à Antioche..." and verse twelve speaks of "quelques- uns qui vendent d'avec Jacque," clearly indicating that James was not present.

Voltaire returns to a discussion of this "quarrel" in his article Pierre.

* * *

34-. See page 128 of this study. 9 6

20.

1, J'ai cherché dans ma maison [in lectulo mao— Vul gate] durant les nuits celui qu'aime mon ame: je l'ai cher ché, & je ne l'ai point trou vé. 2. Je me laverai, ai-je dit ensuite, je ferai le tour de la ville; & je chercherai dans les rues & dans les pla ces publiques celui qui est A la bonne heure que Salo le bien aimé de mon ame... mon le plus sage des hommes (Le Cantique des Cantiques. ait parlé ainsi dans ses go chap. 3). guettes; c'était, dit-on, son épithalame pour son ma * riage avec la fille de Pha raon; mais est-il naturel 7. Les gardes qui font le que le gendre de Pharaon tour de la ville' m'ont ren quitte sa bien-aimée pendant contrée: ils m'ont frappée & la nuit, pour aller dans son blessée. Ceux qui gardent jardin des noyers, que la les murailles m'ont Sté mon reine coure toute seule manteau (Le Cantique des Can après lui nus-piés, qu'elle tiques. chap. 5). soit battue par les gardes de la ville, & qu'ils lui prennent sa robe (Pict. phil.. p. 327; Naves, II, 1. Mon bien-aimé est des 241, 1st 3 lines only)? cendu dans son jardin, dans le parterre des plantes aro matiques....

10. Je suis descendue dans le jardin des noyers, pour voir les fruits...(Le Can tique des Cantiques. chap. 6).

Voltaire's account of the actions of the bien-aimés is a composite. Details from the events related in chapters three and five are combined into a single incident which is completed by ideas from chapter six and some (the queen's running after her beloved toute seule and nus-piés) which are not mentioned in the 97

Cantique. These are quite natural, however, and, as usual, add vividness to the account.

21.

Si le stile de l'histoire des rois & des paralipomènes est divin, il se peut encor que les actions racontées dans ces histoires ne soient pas divines. David assassi ne Urie. Isboseth, & Miphi- boseth sont assassines. Ab- salon assassine Ammon, Joab assassine Absalon, Salomon assassine Adonias son frère, Baza assassine Nadab, Zimri assassine Ela, Hamri assas sine Zimri, Achab assassine Nabothj Jehu assassine A- chab, & Joraraj les habitans de Jérusalem assassinentA- masias fils de Joas. Sélom fils de Jabès assassine Za- charias fils de Jéroboam. Manahaim assassine Sllom fils de Jabès. Phacée fils de Roméli assassine Phaceia fils de Manahaim. Ozle fils d'Ela assassine Phacée fils de Roméli. On passe sous silence beaucoup d'autres menus assassinats. Il faut avouer que si le St. Esprit a écrit cette histoire, il n'a pas choisi un sujet fort édifiant (Diet, phil.. p. 217; Naves, II, 32).

The Biblical accounts concerning the events to which

Voltaire refers are too long to be quoted here. They may be found as indicated in the following schedule; 9 8

Death of Reference

Urie II des Rois. xi. 2-24 %*D8eth iv. 5 - 8 Miphiboseth xxi. 8 - 9 Ammon xiii. 23 - 30 Absalon xviii. 9-15 Adonias Ill des Rois. ii, 19 - 25 Nadab XV, 25 - 28 Sla xvi. 8-10 Zimri xvi. 15 - 18 Naboth xxi. 1-14 Achab xxii. 29 - 35 Joram IV des Rois. ix. 4 — 26 Amasias xiv. 17 - 19 Zacharias XV, 8-10 Selom XV, 13-14 Phaceia XV, 23-25 Phacee XV, 29 - 30

The facts given in all of Voltaire's statements are correct except in three cases;

Omri did not kill Zimri; the latter committed suicide

when besieged by Omri.^^

It was Jezebel who was guilty of the death of Naboth,

not Ahab.^^

Although Jehu had been commanded to exterminate the house

of Ahab, it was an unnamed archer who killed this

king of Israel.

There are also five deaths mentioned by Voltaire to which

* *

35. I Kings, 16:18. 36. I Kings, 21: 8 to U 37. I Kings, 22:34 9 9

the word assassiner^# cannot correctly be applied:

Ahab and Joram died in battle in a fair fight.

Zimri was a suicide.

Miphiboseth, along with five relatives, was delivered

by David to the enemies of Israel as a type of

hostage and was hanged by them.

Naboth was publicly accused and stoned to death.

Two observations regarding this list of slayings are pertinent. Voltaire seems to be concerned primarily with print ing indelibly on his reader's mind the idea of assassiner with its attendant opprobrium. The persons killed are not as important as the idea that they can be said to have died from violence. He does not vary from his use of this word, no matter what the method used to bring about the tragic end of the victims. He never uses the tuer which Saci has constantly in his paragraph headings.

In order to heighten the force of his enumeration of violent deaths, he limits his examples to individuals, although he could just as well have mentioned several groups, varying in size up to seventy men, who were put to death under circumstances similar to those attending some of the men whom he does mention.

To call attention to these large numbers would be to dull the

* * *

38. "Assassiner. Tuer avec préméditation, par surprise"— Littré. 100 cutting edge of assassiner.

Section VI

This section is comprised of two classes of quotations.

1, Those in regard to which there is no conclusive

evidence in the Bible either for or against

Voltaire's position— Nos. 1 and 2.

2. Those in which he varies from the other versions,

yet where evidence is lacking that he is wrong—

Nos. 3, 4, and 5.

37. Les enfans d'Israël partirent donc de Ramess&s & vinrent à Socoth, étant près de six cens mille hommes de Se pourrait-il faire qu'il pié sans les enfans (L'Exode. [Moïse] eût dit aux Juifs, chap. 12). Je vous ai fait sortir au nombre de six cents mille * combattants de la terre d'Egypte, sous la protec 37. Profectique sunt filii tion de votre Dieu (Diet. Israel de Ramesse in Socoth, phil.. p. 291; Naves, II, sexcenta fare millia peditum 157)? virorum, absque parvulis (Vulgate).

It is a question of judgment as to whether or not the

Vulgate's Phrase, peditum virorum. means combattants, which is an idea necessary for the further development of Voltaire's argu ment. Like Saci, both Martin and Ostervald use hommes de pied. 101

Luther says, "sechs hundert taussnd Mann zu Fuss,” while the

Revised Standard Version reads, "about six hundred thousand men on foot." Only Voltaire says definitely that they were combattants.

The phrase, sous la protection de Dieu, is also an ad dition of his.

Il est ordonné au 29®. 28. Tout ce qui est consa chap, du Lévitiqus, de ne cré au Seigneur, soit que ce point épargner les ames vi soit un homme ou une bête, ou vantes qu'on aura voilées un champs, ne se vendra (Pict. P hil.. p. 27; Naves, point, & ne pourra être ra I, 35). cheté. Tout ce qui aura été consacré une fois au Seigneur Il est vrai que ceux qui sera pour lui, comme étant étaient voilés au Seigneur une chose très-sainte. par anathêrae ne pouvaient 29. Tout ce qui aura été être rachetés ainsi qu'on offert par un homme, & consa rachetait les bêtes, & qu'il cré au Seigneur, ne se rachè falait qu'ils périssent tera point, mais il faudra (Pict. phil.. p. 232; Naves, nécessairement qu'il meure II, 53). (Le Levitique. chap. 27). Il était expressément or donné par la loi juive, * d'immoler les hommes voués au seigneur. Tout homme voué ne sera point racheté, 29. Et omnis consecratio, mais sera mis à mort sans quae offertur ab homine, non rémission. La vulgate tra redimetur, sed morte morie- duit, non redimetur. sed tur (Vulgate). morte morietur. Levitique chap. 27. verset 29 (Pict. phil.. p. 236; Naves, II, 66).

The Hebrew vow has been the subject of numerous and lengthy commentaries, too complicated to be even summarized 1 0 2 here.Some writers maintain that Hebrew law justified human sacrifice while others hold the contrary vieivpoint. Cook comments as follows:

This passage [Leviticus, 27:28] has often been al leged in proof that the Law of Moses permitted hu man sacrifices....But such an inference is at once precluded by the exact limitation of the beasts which were to be offered in sacrifice....There is moreover a clear recognition of man as one of the creatures which were not to be offered in sacrifice in Ex. xiii. 13, xxxiv. 20; Num. xviii. 1$.40

Thus, in one sense, the verses quoted from Saci would seem to support Voltaire's position, but Cook's interpretation contradicts his arguments.

39. See W. Robertson Nicoll, The Expositor's Bible, vol. "Levit icus", pp. 541-566. 40. F.C. Cook, The Holy Bible...and Commentary. I, 647, n. 103

11. Le Seigneur m’adressa encore sa parole, & me dit: Fils de l’homme faites un grand deuil sur le roi de Tyr, 12, & dites-lui; Voici ce que dit le Seigneur votre Dieu; Vous étiez le seau de Széchiel au 28®. chapitre la ressemblance de Dieu, vous de ses révélations donne le étiez plein de sagesse & par nom de Messie au roi de Tyr, fait en beauté, (Saci) qu'il appelle aussi Chéru bin. "Fils de l'homme, dit 11. La parole du Seigneur "1'Eternel au prophète, pro- me fut encore adressée, en "nonce à haute voix une com- ces termes; "plainte sur le roi de Tyr, 12. Fils de l'homme, pro "& lui dis; Ainsi a dit le nonce à haute voix une com "Seigneur, 1'Eternel. Tu plainte sur le roi de Tyr, et "étais le sceau de la res- dis lui...(Martin). "semblance de Dieu, plein de "sagesse & parfait en beau- 11. La parole de 1'Eternel "té; [continued below] me fut adressée en ces ter mes; 12. Fils de l’homme, pro nonce une complainte sur le roi de Tyr, et dis-lui; Ainsi a dit le Seigneur, 1'Eternel; ...(Ostervald). 104

13. vous avez été dans les délices du paradis de Dieu; votre vêtement étoit enrichi de toute sorte de pierres précieuses; les sardoines, les topazes, le jaspe, les chrv'solithes, les onix, les bérils, les saphirs, les es- earboucles, les émeraudes, et l'or ont été employés pour tu as été le jardin relever votre beauté, & les "d'Heden du Seigneur, (ou instrumens de musique les "suivant d'autres versions, plus excellens ont été pré "tu étais toutes les délices parés pour le jour auquel "du Seigneur.) Tes vlte- vous avez été créé (Saci), "ments étaient de sardoine, "de topase, de jaspe, de 13. Tu as été en Sden, le "chrisolite, d'onix, de bé- jardin de Dieu....Les chefs- "ril, de saphir, d'escar- d'oeuvre de tes tambourins "boucle, d'émeraude & d'or; et de tes flûtes ont été pré "ce que savaient faire tes parés pour toi au jour où tu "tambours & tes flutes a été fus créé (Martin). "chez toi; ils ont été tout "prêts au jour que tu fus 13. ...Les tambours et les "créé [continued belovf] flûtes étaient à ton service, préparés pour le jour où tu fus créé (Osteirvald).

13. In deliciis paradis! Dei fuisti...et foramina tua in die, qua conditus es, praeparata sunt (Vulgate),

14. Vous étiez ce chérubin qui étendiez vos ailes, & qui protégiez les autres...(Saci).

14, Tu as été un chérubin, tu as été un Chéru- oint pour protéger..,(Mar "bin, un Messie (Diet, phil.. tin) . p. 267; Naves, II, 131).

14, Tu cherub extentus, et protegens...(Vulgate),

(The above quotations are all fran Szechiel, chap. 28.) 1 0 5

This paragraph from the Dictionnaire has some puzzling features. Although it is set with quotation marks at the beginning of each line, it does not follow any of the usual versions of the

Bible, and in it are found definite echoes of three different sources.

The opening sentence, «Fils de l'homme,...prononce à haute voix une coaçîlainte sur le roi de Tyr,« is the reading of both Martin and Ostervald, except that Martin alone has the phrase

à haute voix.

The use of l 'Etemel to refer to God, a form which is very rarely encountered in Voltaire's writings or in translations other than Ostervald's but which appears twice in this paragraph, is suggestive of the letter's version, where it is the regular reading. In addition, Ostervald is the only one who writes, as does Voltaire, «Ainsi a dit le Seigneur, 1 'Eternel."

In the latter part of verse twelve, S%ci alone has the

Dictionnaire's wording, «le seau de la ressemblance de Dieu."

Voltaire differs from all others in his rendering of verse thirteen, in that he omits in the first line en (dans), thus making his sentence read, «tu as été le jardin d'Heden." One would think this only an error but for the fact that be repeats the idea by adding the parenthetical phrase, "(ou suivant d'autres versions, tu étais toutes les délices du Seigneur.)" This re minds one of Saci's wording, «vous avez été dans les délices du 106 paradis de Dieu.” Neither Martin nor Ostervald uses the idea of délices, both limiting themselves to writing, ”en Eden, le jardin de Dieu.”

In the last clause of the verse, Ostervald is the only translator who has the word tambour, although Martin chooses tambourin.

The final statement with which Voltaire clinches the argument of his whole paragraph, ”tu as été un chérubin, un Messie,” also differs from the readings of the other translators. Neither the Vulgate, Saci, nor Ostervald makes any reference to Messie, or oint, which Voltaire maintains is a synonym.^ Martin uses oint as an adjective, "Tu as été un chérubin, oint pour protéger."

This is similar to the King James version, which has, "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth," while the Devised Standard

Version says, "With an anointed guardian cherub I placed you."

A reason for the different readings of these verses is suggested by the editors of the Revised Standard Version who state that the

Hebrew is uncertain.^ Yet, whether or not this use of oint as an adjective is sufficient to justify Voltaire in writing, "tu as été.,,un Messie," is a question of individual judgment.

The confusion of versions, as well as the use of the familiar "tu" and "1 •Etemel", both of which are characteristic

* * *

111. Diet, phil., p. 267; Naves, II, 131. IÎ2. T^he Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, p. 851. 107 of Protestant phraseology, may well be explained by the facts brought out by Naves^ and by Professors Wade and Torrey,^ Their studies show that Voltaire, with the approval of Diderot, inspired

Polier de Bottens, a pastor at Geneva, to write an article for the Encyclopédie, outlined the tactics to be followed, and supplied him with material. One copy of Polier*s work, after some editing, was published by Diderot as the article. Messie. Another was revised by

Voltaire and used in the Portatif previous to the appearance (176$) of Diderot’s grand dictionnaire.

According to Naves’ study (p. 192), the fourth paragraph of the Genevan’s manuscript was published in the Encyclopédie with no change. A comparison of the item quoted above (p. 103) from Vol taire’s Dictionnaire with the reading in Diderot’s work shows the on ly difference to be the omission in the Portatif of four lines at the end following ”un Messie”, and six insignificant editorial changes.

This leads to the conclusion that the use by Voltaire of

Polier’s work accounts for the Protestant flavor of the Dictionnaire paragraph. It is reasonable to think that in his Scriptural cita tions the pastor would quote from the Bible of his own church and, perhaps relying on his memory, would draw on both Martin and Oster vald. Since Voltaire supplied Biblical references (Wade and Torrey, p. 1$3), he may well have suggested the phrase taken from Saci. The resulting amalgamation then became the reading of the Portatif.

* * « Ü3. Raymond Naves, Voltaire et l ’Encyclopédie, pp. 2U ff. hh. Ira 0. Wade and Norman L. Torrey, "Voltaire and Polier de Bottens," Romanic Review, XXXI (April, 19Ü0), pp. lU7-l$$. 108

U. On a prétendu que Job, qui est très ancien, connaissait le dogme de la résurrection. 25. Car je sai que mon Re- On cite ces paroles; Je sais demteur est vivant, & que' je que mon rédempteur est vi ressusciterai de la terre au vant. & qu'un jour sa ré dernier jour, demption s*elevera sur moi, 2 6 . que je serai encore re ou que .je me relèverai de la vêtu de cette peau, que je poussière, que ma peau re verrai mon Dieu dans ma viendra. & que je verrai en- chair, cor Dieu dans ma chair. 27. que je le verrai, dis- Mais plusieurs commenta je, moi-même & non un autre, teurs entendent par ces pa & que je le contemplerai de roles, que Job espère qu’il mes propres yeux. C'est-là relèvera bientôt de maladie, l'esperance que j'ai, & qui & qu'il ne demeurera pas reposera toujours dans mon toujours couché sur la ter coeur. re, comme il l'était. La 28. Pourquoi donc dites- suite prouve assez que cette vous: Persecutons-le, % cher explication est la vérita chons en lui des prétextes ble j car il s'écrie le mo pour le décrier? ment d'après â ses faux & 29. Fuyez donc de devant durs amis; Pourquoi donc l'épée qui vous menace.Z. dites-vous. Persécutons-le. (Job, chap. 19). ou bien, parce que vous di rez. parce que nous l'avons persécuté. Cela ne veut-il pas dire évidemment. Vous vous repentirez de m'avoir offensé, quand vous me re verrez dans mon premier état de santé & d'opulence (Pict. phil.. p. 322; Naves, II, 224)?

The meaning of this passage from Job is obscure; a fact which is admitted by the editors of the Revised Standard

Version.45 In the second part of verse twenty-five, the seven versions express two different concepts. For verse tvrenty-six,

* * *

45. The Holy Bible. Revised Standard Version, p. 541, note x. 109 they give two pairs of conflicting ideas, while some fourteen distinct thoughts are found in their renderings of the twenty- eighth verse, to which Voltaire adds at least two more.^^

The language of the Dictionnaire itself is not clear.

In the first quotation, the phrase, ou que .je me relèverai de la poussière, is evidently nothing more than a parenthetical attempt to explain the previous clause, qu'un jour sa redemption s'élèvera sur moi. Likewise, the second part of the last quotation, parce que vous direz, parce que nous l'avons persécuté, seems to be only an attempt to clarify verse twenty-eight by giving an explanation of the two clauses which have just been quoted. Pourquoi donc dites-vous. Persécutons-le.

As has been mentioned, Voltaire's clarification differs from the thought expressed by any of the other translators. Yet he bases the argument of his whole paragraph on this interpretation.

* *

4-6. See table, page 110. Vulgate Luther Saci Martin Osterwald King James Revised Stan.

25. Scio 25. Aber 25. Car je 25. Car je 25. Pour 25, For I 25. For I enim quod ich weisz, sai que mon sais que mol, je know that know that Redemptor dasz m e in Redemteur mon Rédemp sais que my redeem my Redeem- * meus vivit, Erlôser le- est vivant, teur est mon Rédemp er liveth, er lives, § et in no- bet; und er & que je vivant, et teur est and that he and at last t) vis s imo die wird mich ressuscite qu'il de v ivant, shall stand he will § de terra hernach aus rai de la meurera le qu'à la fin at the lat stand upon y surrec turus der Erde terre au dernier sur il se lève ter day up the earth; Q sum: auferweck- dernier la terre. ra sur la on the CO jour, earth; en; terre, §

c h 26. Et rur- 26. Und wer--26. que je 26. Et 26. et^ 26. And 26. and af o ëum ciroum- de darnach serai enco lorsque a- qu'après though af ter my skin CO dabor pelle mit dieser re revêtu prês ma cette peau ter my skin has been mea, et in meiner Haut de cette peau, ce qui se dé worms de thus de carne mea umgeben war-peau, que corps aura truit, et stroy this stroyed, K) videbo Deum den, und je verrai été rongé, hors de ma body, yet then with oi meum. werde in mon Dieu dans m a chair, je in my flesh out my K) meinem dans m a chair, je verrai shall I see flesh I o> FLeisch chair, verrai Dieu; God: shall see Gott sehen. Dieu; G o d ,

28. Pour 28. Quand 28. Si vous 28. But ye to 28. Quare 28. Denn 28. If you 03 ergo nunc ihr spre- quoi donc vous dites: dites: Com should say. say, "How dicitis: chet: Wie dites-vous: Poursui ment le Why perse we will Persequa- wollen wir Persécu vons-le; poursui cute we pursue m ur eura, et ihn verfol- tons -le, & cherchons vrons-nous , him, seeing him!" and, radieem gen, und cherchons en lui-mê et trouve the root of "The root verbi inve- eine Sache en lui des me la cau rons-nous the matter of the mat niamus con zu ihm fin- prétextes se de ses en lui la is found in ter is tra eum? den? pour le dé épreuves. cause de me? found in g crier? son m a l him" ; heur? Ill

Il se peut qu'un Mone-rque, qui avait mille femmes, ait L'Epouse. dit à l'une d'elles, qu'elle 1, Qu'il me donne un bai- me baisé d'un baiser de sa ser de sa bouche; car la dou- bouche, car vos tetons sont ceur de votre amitié est pré- meilleurs que le vin;.,,il férable au vin (Le Cantique est vrai qu'il est assez des Cantiques, chap, 1), étrange qu'on ait prétendu que c'était la fille qui * * parlait en cet endroit, & qui faisoit l'éloge des te- 1, Osculetur me osculo tons de son amant (Pict, oris sui: quia meliora sunt phil,. p, 326; Naves, II, ubera tua vino (Vulgate), 240),

Although the Dictionnaire sets this verse in italics, it is evidently not quoted from Saci nor from any of the other modern versions. Its phraseology indicates, however, that it may be modeled on the Vulgate, In addition to giving a more nearly literal rendering than do Saci and other translators,

Voltaire differs from them in making the speaker a man rather than the Epouse. as does Saci,

The Biblical verse presents difficulty for the trans lator, The Hebrew uses the words meaning he and his yet, as

Voltaire points out, this does not make sense. The Vulgate solves the problem by using a deponent verb, thus avoiding the necessity of making a definite decision.

The original idea of he, however, is kept by all the other versions except the Revised Standard, which has you, agree-

* * *

47, The Holy Bible. Revised Standard Version, p, 703, notes a and b. 112 ing with the Vulgate 's tua of the second clause, Voltaire is thus alone when he suggests elle.

In the second clause, he follows the Latin in its use of ubera. where all the others translate by some form of amour.

Section VII

In the quotations, direct or indirect, included in this section, Voltaire goes beyond "normal" or "accidental" vari ations and introduces statements which cannot be justified by their Biblical sources.

1. C'est elle [la sagesse] qui conserva celui que Dieu avoit formé le premier pour être le pere du monde, ayant d’abord été créé seul; 2. C’est elle aussi qui le tira de son péché... 3. Lorsque l’injuste dans sa colere, se sépara d’elle, il périt malheureusement... 4-. Et lorsque le déluge inonda la terre à cause de lui, la sagesse sauva encore le monde, ayant gouverné le juste sur les eaux par un bois qui paroissoit mépri sable. 5. Et lorsque les nations conspirèrent ensemble pour s'abandonner au mal, c’est elle qui connut le juste,qui le conserva irrépréhensible devant Dieu, & qui lui donna 113

la force de vaincre la ten Le livre de la Sagesse... dresse qu'il ressentoit pour n'est pas plus de Salomon son fils. que le cantique des canti 6. C'est elle qui délivra ques...mais quel que soit le juste lorsqu'il fuyoit du l'auteur, il paraît que de milieu des raéchans, qui pé son tems on n'avait point rirent par le feu tombé sur encor le Pentateuque, car il les cinq villes; dit au chap. 10. qu*Abraham 7. dont la corruption est voulut immoler Isaac du marquée par cette terre qui temps du déluge; & dans un en fume encore.... autre endroit, il parle du patriarche Joseph comme d'un 13. C'est elle qui n'a roi d'Egypte (Diet, nhil.. point abandonné le juste p. 328; Haves, II, 24-2). lorsqu'il fut vendu, mais l'a délivré des mains des pé cheurs: elle est descendue avec lui dans la fosse, 14-. & elle ne l'a point quitté dans ses chaînes, jusqu'a ce qu'elle lui eût mis entre les mains le sceptre royal, & qu'elle l'eût rendu maître de ceux qui l'avoient traité si injustement...(la Sagesse, chap. 10).

Considering the context in which verse five is set, it would be difficult to prove that the author of La Sagesse intend ed it to refer to the same period of time as verse four. The implication of the whole passage is that verses four and five refer to different eras.

In regard to Voltaire's second criticism, it is a question of judgment as to whether verse fourteen of La Sagesse is a statement of fact or a figure of speech. In 1771, the author of the Dictionnaire was not so positive, since he added in the l U

Questions. "Du moins c'est le sens le plus naturel."4^

On s'éléve,encor davantage contre le chapitre 23 [d'Ezé- chiel]. 1. Le Seigneur me parla encore, & me dit: 2. Fils de l'homme, une même mere a eu deux, filles, 3. qui sont tombées dans la fornication en Egypte, & qui se sont prostituées dans leur jeunesse: c'est-là cjue -leur sein a été deshonore, & y ne que leur virginité a été mère avait deux filles qui rompue. ont perdu leur virginité de U. La plus grande s'appel- bonne heure; la plus grande loit Oolla, & la plus petite s'apellait 0holla, & la pe 6'appelloit Ooliba... tite Qliba... • • 5. Oolla...a aimé d'un amour furieux ceux qu'elle aimoit, elle a aimé les Assy riens ses voisins 6. vêtus d'hyacinthe, qui Oholla a été étoient princes, magistrats, folle des jeunes seigneurs. jeunes & propres à allumer sa magistrats. cavaliers ; elle passion; tous hommes de che a couché avec des Egyptiens val, & montés sur des che dès sa premiere jeunesse vaux. 7. ... Ô. Elle n'a pas même quit té alors la fornication par laquelle elle s'étoit prosti tués aux Egyptiens; car ils l'avoient aussi corrompus dans sa jeunesse....

AS, Voltaire, Dictionnaire philosophique. (Naves éd.) II, 359, n. 140. 115

11, Sa soeur, Ooliba...a porté encore plus loin qu'elle la fureur de sa passion. Qliba sa soeur a bien 12. ...elle s'est prosti plus forniqué encor avec des tuée à des officiers de officiers» des magistrats & guerre, à des magistrats qui des cavaliers bien faits; vendent vers elle avec des habits de différente couleur, à des cavaliers qui étoient montés sur leurs chevaux, & à des jeunes-hommes, qui avoient tous une mine avanta geuse.

18. Elle a exposé â nu les exc&s de sa fornication, & elle a découvert son igno- mie.... elle a découvert sa turpi 19. Car elle a multiplié tude. ells a multiplie seé les crimes de sa fornication fornications, elle a recher en se souvenant des jours de che avec emportement les em sa jeunesse..,. brassements de ceux qui ont 20. Et elle s'est abandon leur membre comme un ane. & née avec fureur à l'iropudi- qui répandent leur semence cits, pour se joindre â ceux comme des chevaux...... dont la chair est comme la (Pict. phil.. pp. 186-87; chair des ânes: & dont l'al Naves, I, 267) liance est comme celle qu'on auroit avec les chevaux [The use above of more than (Szechiel. chap. 23). three ellipsis points indi cates that the number in * * question is found in the original.] 20. ...quorum carnes sunt ut carnes asinorum: et sicut fluxus equorum, fluxus eorum (Vulgate).

As might be expected. Voltaire is much more direct and brutal in his presentation than Saci. The latter's translation,

"dont la chair est comme la chair des ânes," is nearer the Vul gate's wording, "quorum carnes sunt ut carnes asinorum," than is

Voltaire's freer yet clearer rendering of the idea. On the other 116 hand, the author of the Dictionnaire has some justification in the Latin for his phrase, "leur semence comme des chevaux," although his vivid répandent is entirely lacking in the Vulgate, which reads, "et sicut fluxus equorum, fluxus eorum," and in the other éditions, which follow the euphemistic statement of the

Latin.

On the virhole, Voltaire’s language in this paragraph goes farther towards carrying out his purpose of casting opprobrium on the book of Ezekiel than do the readings of Saci, of the

Vulgate, and of the other versions.

19. C'est pourquoi les hom mes meurent comme les bêtes, & leur sort est égal. Comme l'homme meurt, les bêtes meu rent aussi. Les unes & les autres respirent de même, & l'homme n'a rien plus que la bête (L'Ecclesiaste, chap. Reste 1'Ecclesiaste, que 3). Grotius prétend avoir été écrit sous Zorobabel. On sait assez avec quelle liber té l'auteur de 1'Ecclesiaste 2. Et j'ai préféré l'état s'exprime; on sait qu'il dit des morts à celui des vivans; que les hommes n'ont rien de 3. j'ai estimé plus heu plus que les bêtes; qu'il reux que les uns & les au vaut mieux n'être pas né que tres, celui qui n'est pas né d'exister; fcontinued below] encore; & qui n'a point vu les maux qui se font sous le soleil (L'Ecclesiaste. chap. 4). * * 117

21. Qui connoît si l'ame des enfans des hommes monte en haut, & si l'ame des bêtes descend en bas (L* Ecclesi aste. chap. 3)?

5. Car ceux qui sont en vie savent qu'ils doivent mouj-ir; mais les morts ne qu'il n'y a point connoissent plus rien, & il d'autre vie, [continued below] ne leur reste plus de recom pense; parce que leur mé moire est ensevelie dans l'oubli.

10. Faites promtement tout ce que votre main pourra fai re, parce qu'il n'y aura plus ni oeuvre, ni raison, ni sa gesse, ni science dans le tombeau où vous courez (L'Ec clesiaste. chap. 9).

22. Et j'ai reconnu qu'il n'y a rien de meilleur à l'homme que de se réjouir dans ses oeuvres, & que c'est-là son partage... (L*Ecclesiaste. chap. 3).

* qu'il n'y a rien de bon que de se réjou 9. Jouissez de la vis avec ir dans ses oeuvres avec la femme que vous aimez, pen celle qu'on aime (Diet. dant tous les jours de votre Phil. . p. 329; Naves, II, vis passagers, qui vous ont 242). été donné sous le soleil... (L'Ecclesiaste, chap. 9).

Of Voltaire's four statements, the first two can be said to be justified. In regard to the third, referring to future 1 1 8

life, there Is no clear-cut statement In Ecclesiastes. The two

verses quoted, five and ten of chapter nine, come close to ex

pressing the idea as given in the Dictionnaire. Verse twenty-

one of chapter three, however, could be interpreted as raising

some question in regard to this position.

The last sentence of the paragraph has no counterpart

in Ecclesiastes. In verse twenty—two of chapter three, there

is the expression of a somewhat similar reflection which is found at least three other times in the book.^^ If one combines it with verse nine of chapter nine, he has an approximation of Vol taire's statement, but, even then, there is an essential differ ence between the meaning of il n'y a rien de bon que.... and that of il n'y a rien de meilleur que....

* * *

49. See chapters 2:24, 3:13, and 8:15. 119

4«

11. Lorsqu'il [Abraham] Comme elle [Sarah] était étoit prêt d'entrer en Egyp très-belle, il [Abraham] ré te, il dit â Sara£ sa femme: solut de tirer parti de sa je sai que vous êtes belle; beautéJ Feignez que vous 12. & que quand les Egyp êtes ma soeur, lui dit-il, tiens vous auront vûe, ils afin qu'on me fasse du bien diront: C'est la femme de à cause de vous...,Le Roi de cet homme-là; & ils me tue vint amoureux de la jeune ront, & vous réserveront Sara, & donna au prétendu pour eux. frère beaucoup de brebis, de 13. Dites donc, je vous boeufs, d'ânes, d'ânesses, supplie, que vous êtes ma de chameaux, de serviteurs, soeur; afin que ces gens-ci de servantes: ce qui prouve me traitent favorablement à que...on récompensait magni cause de vous, & qu'ils me fiquement les frères qui ve conservent la vie en votre naient offrir leurs soeurs consideration. aux rois de Memphis (Met. phil.. p. 3j Naves, I, 5). 16. Ils en usèrent bien â l'égard d'Abram. à cause d'el le; & il reçut des brebis, des boeufs, des ânes, des serviteurs & des servantes, des ânesses & des chameaux (La Genese. chap. 12).

Voltaire ignores completely the second part of the reason which Abraham gives for his request to his wife, "afin que ces gens-ci...me conservent la vie en votre consideration."

Not only does he ignore this, but, by his witty ending, he empha sizes the first part out of its true proportion.

The use of Feignez, although it quite accurately de scribes the action, is not the statement of Genesis, which has only Dites donc. Voltaire's choice of words casts much more opprobrium on Abraham than does the Bible. 1 2 0

Les Censeurs de nos jours sont encor plus étonnés du chap. 16. d'Ezéchielj voici comme ce prophète s'y prend pour faire connaître les crimes de Jérusalem. Il in troduit le seigneur parlant à une fille, & le seigneur dit à la fille:

[since this passage is too long for effective compar

ison with the chapter in Ezekiel, it w i U be broken into sections

and the corresponding Biblical account will be given with each one.]

(a)

U» Lorsque vous êtes venue au monde au jour de votre naissance, on ne vous a point coupé comme aux autres en- Lorsque vous nâquites, on fans, le conduit par otl vous ne vous avait point encor receviez la nourriture dans coupé le boyeau du nombril, le sein de votre mere; vous on ne vous avait point sa ne fûtes point lavée dans lée, vous étiez toute n&e, l'eau qui vous auroit été j'eus pitié de vous; alors si salutaire, ni puri fiée avec le sel, ni enve loppée de langes.

One can readily see why Voltaire should discard the

verbosity of Saci's sentence and call a spade a spade. His

statements, "vous étiez toute nfle" and "j'eus pitié de vous,"

are not found in Ezekiel's account, but may logically be inferred. 1 2 1

(b)

7. Depuis ce tems-là je TOUS ai fait croître comme 1'herbe qui est dans les champs; vous avez cru, vous vous êtes devenue grande, vous êtes devenüe grande, votre vous êtes avancée en âge, sein s'est formé, vôtre vous êtes venue au tems que poil a paru; les filles pensent à se pa rer, votre sein s'est formé, vous avez été en état d'être mariée, & vous étiez alors toute nue & pleine de con fusion.

7. ...pilus tuus germi- navit,,,(Vulgate).

In his last phrase. Voltaire is evidently following the Vulgate rather than Saci.

(c)

8, J'ai passé auprès de j'ai passe, je vous, & je vous ai considé vous ai vuS; j'ai connu que rée; ^'ai vu que le tems où c'était le temps des amans; vous etiez, étoit le tems j'ai couvert vôtre ignomi d'être aimée; j'ai étendu sur nie; je me suis étendu sur vous mon vêtement, & j'ai vous avec mon manteau; vous couvert votre ignominie. Je avez été à moi; vous ai juré de vous proté ger, j'ai fait une alliance avec vous, dit le Seigneur votre Dieu, & vous êtes de venue comme une personne qui étoit à moi.

8. Et transivi per te, et vidi te: et ecce tempus tuum, tempus amantium: et expandi 122

amictum meum super te, et operui ignominiam tuam. St juravi tibi, et Ingressus sum pactum tecum, ait Dominus Deus; et facta es mihi (Vul gate) .

In this passage, Voltaire in some instances follows the Vulgate more closely than he doss Saci, but at other points he departs more widely from it. His phrase, "c’était le temps des amans," is nearer the Latin, "tempus amantium," than is

Saci's rendering, "le tems d'etre aimée," and its connotations are much more effective in bringing discredit on the Bible. It also makes excellent preparation for his almost obscene addition of, "je me suis étendu sur vous." This sentence is not found or even suggested in the Vulgate or in any other edition checked for this study. The Latin is specific in this respect, "expandi amictum meum super te et operui ignominiam tuam."

Not only does Voltaire add this idea, which he fol lows immediately by the sentence, "vous avez été à moi," but lie omits two important statements which in Ezekiel's account precede the phrase, "facta es mihi," and which alter the whole situation materially. The use by Ezekiel of the statements, "Je vous ai juré (Et juravi tibi— Vulgate)" and, "j'ai fait une alliance avec vous (ingressus sum pactum tecum— Vulgate)," changes the entire picture from one of immorality, as it is painted in the Dictionnaire, to one of legitimacy, as it is actually given 123 in the Bible. (d)

9. Je vous ai lavée dans l'eau, je vous ai purifiée de ce qui vous pouvoit souiller, & j'ai répandu sur vous l'huile de parfum. 10. Je vous ai donné des je vous ai lavée, par robes en broderie, & une fumée, bien habillée, bien chaussure magnifique. Je chaussée; je vous ai donné vous ai ornée du lin le plus une écharpe de coton, des beau, & je vous ai revetu brasselets, un coller; je (sic) des habillemens les vous ai mis une pierrerie plus fins & les plus riches. au nez, des pendants d'o 11. Je vous ai parée des reilles, & une couronne sur ornemens les plus précieux; la tete, &c. je vous ai mis des brasselets aux mains & un collier autour de votre cou. 12. Je vous ai donné un or nement d'or pour vous mettre sur le front, & des pendans d'oreilles, & une couronne éclante sur votre tête.

(s)

15. Et après cela vous avez mis votre confiance en votre Alors ayant confiance à vo beauté, vous vous êtes aban tre beauté, vous avez forni donnée à la fornication dans qué pour vôtre compte avec votre gloire, & vous vous tous les passants..•• êtes prostituée à tous les passans pour être asservie à [The ellipsis points in this leur passion. article a,re Voltaire's] 124

(f)

24. Vous avez bâti p o u r St vous avez v o u s un lieu infâme, & vous bâti un mauvais lieu. vous êtes p r é p a r a dans toutes vous vous êtes prostituée les places publiques une mai jusque8 dans les places pu son dlimpudicitl. bliques, & vous avez ouvert 25. Vous avez dressé à vos jambes à tous les pas l'entrée de toutes les rues sants.... la marque de toute votre pro stitution. Vous avez rendu votre beauté abominable. Vous vous êtes abandonnée à tous les passans, & vous avez multiplié les crimes de votre honteuse fornication.

# *

25. ...et divisisti pedes tuos O m n i transeunti.(Vul gate) .

Voltaire's vigorous language in the phrase, "vous avez ouvert vos jambes à tous les passants," is far from the softened expression of Saci, "Vous vous êtes abandonnée à tous les passans," but is justified by the reading of the Vulgate, "et divisisti pedes tuos omni transeunti."

(g)

26. Vous vous êtes prosti & vous avez cou tuée aux enfans de l'Egypte ché avec des Egyptiens.... 125

(h)

33. ...vous avez payé vous- mSme tous ceux qui vous ai- moientj & vous leur faisiez & enfin vous avez paye des des presens, afin qu'ils vins- amans, & vous leur avez fait sent de tous cotés pour corn- des presents, afin qu'ils mettra avec vous une infamie couchassent avec vous & détestable, en payant au lieu d'être 3A. ...car ayant payé vous- payée, vous avez fait le même le prix de vos crimes contraire des autres filles au-lieu de le recevoir, vous .... avez fait tout le contraire de ce que les autres font.

(i)

44. On dit d'ordinaire: Le proverbe est, telle Telle mere, telle fille; mais mère, telle fille, & c'est ceux qui se servent de ce ce qu'on dit de vous, &c proverbe, le diront de vous (Pict. ohil.. p. 185; Naves, (Szechiel. chap. l6). I, 266),

In summary of this passage, it may be said that Vol taire's quotations are faithful.enough to the original except in one case, paragraph (c), in which an added sentence and the omission of one from Ezekiel's statement make, in the thought of the Biblical narration, a definite change which adds force to

Voltaire's argument.

Section VIII

Here are grouped statements by Voltaire which, like the quotations of the preceding section, contain details which are without support in the Bible. 126

4-3. Et Pierre demeura plu- L'assemblés des fidèles se sieurs jpurs dans Joppé, chez tenait à Joppé, dans la mai- un corroyeur nommé Simon son d'un corroyeur nommé Si (Les Actes, chap. 9). mon, comme on le voit au chap, 9. des actes des Apô tres (Pict. ohil.. p. 133î Naves, I, l 6o).

This is the only reference to Simon, the tanner, in chapter nine and neither here nor elsewhere in the Bible is it said or implied that l'assemblée des fidèles was held at his house.

Since Voltaire considers this point of sufficient importance to give the chapter where he thinks it is found, one might expect him to be more careful of his statement.

8. Les arbres allèrent un jour pour s'élire un Roi; & ils dirent à l'olivier: Soyez notre Roi. 9. L'olivier leur répon Les plus anciennes Fables dit; Puis-je abandonner mon ne sont-elles pas visible suc & mon huile...? ment allégoriques?' La pre 10. Les arbres dirent en mière que nous connaissions suite au figuier: Venez ré dans nôtre manière de suppu gner sur nous. ter les tems, n'est-ce pas 11. Le figuier leur répon celle qui est raportêe dans dit: Puis-je abandonner la le neuvième chapitre du li douceur de mon suc & l'excel vre des Juges? Il falut lence de mes fruits.,,? choisir 'Un roi parmi les ar 12. Les arbres s'adres bres; l'olivier ne voulût sèrent encore â la vigne, & point abandonner le soin de lui dirent; Venez prendre le son huile, ni le figuier ce commandement sur nous. lui de ses figues, ni la 13. La vigne leur répondit; vigne celui de son vin, ni Puis-je abandonner mon vin,..? les autres arbres celui de 127

14. Enfin tous les arbres leur fruit; le chardon qui dirent au buisson; Venez, n'était bon à rien, se fit vous serez notre Roi. roi, parce qu'il avait des 15. Le buisson leur répon- épines & qu'il pouvait faire dit: Si vous m'établissez ve- du mal (Pict. nhil.. p. 189; ritablement pour votre Roi, Naves, I, 271). venez vous reposez sous mon ombre: que si vous ne le vou lez pas, que le feu sorte du buisson, & qu'il devore les cadres du Liban (Les Juges. chap. 9).

The most striking feature of Voltaire's presentation of the fable is that, in his characteristic manner, he cuts through the verbiage of the Biblical account, bringing, in about one third of the space required by Saci and with a gain in vigor of expression, the essential ideas clearly before the reader.

His summary is substantially correct as far as it con cerns the olive tree, the fig tree, and the grapevine, but he differs from Saci in translating the Vulgate's rhamnum (buckthorn—

Harpers Dictionary. Dornbusch— Luther's version, bramble— Revised

Standard Version) by chardon, rather than by buisson. In this he may, or may not, be more nearly correct than Saci.

Voltaire's two comments, "ni les autres arbres celui de leur fruit," and, "qui n'était bon à rien," are his oivn, as is the reason which he presents for the selection of the chardon as king, "parce qu'il avait des épines & qu'il pouvait faire du mal." The Bible gives no reason at all for the choice of the chardon by the trees. The addition of this clause makes a more vivid ending than that of the Book of Judges and it definitely 128 changes the moral of the fable. Le maître de Ferney. however, fails to indicate that these phrases are not parts of the Biblical account.

2. Et lorsque Pierre fut Quant à la personne de venu à Jerusalem, les fi- Pierre, il faut avouer que delles circoncis disputoient Paul n'est pas le seul qui contre lui, ait été scandalisé de sa 3. & lui disoient; Pourquoi conduite; on lui a souvent avez-vous été chez des hommes résisté en face, à lui & à incirconcis; & avez-vous man ses successeurs. Ce Paul gé avec eux? lui reprochait aigrement de U. Mais Pierre commença à manger des viandes défen leur raconter par ordre com dues, c'est-à-dire, du porc, ment la chose s'étoit passée; du boudin, du lièvre, des 5. Lorsque j'étois, dit- anguilles, de l'ixion, & du il, dans la ville de Joppé, grifon, Pierre se défendait en priera, il me survint un en disant, qu'il avait vu le ravissement d'esprit, & j'eus ciel ouvert vers la sixième une vision dans laquelle je heure, & une grands nape qui vis descendre du ciel comme descendait des quatre coins une grande nappe tenue par du ciel, laquelle était tou les quatre coins, qui s'abais- te remplie d'anguilles, de soit & venoit jusqu'à moi. quadrupèdes & d'oiseaux; & 6. Et la considérant avec que la voix d'un ange avait attention, j'y vis des ani crié; "Tuez & mangez." (Pict. maux terrestres à quatre phil.. p. 299; Naves, II, piés, des betes sauvages, des 192) reptiles, & des oiseaux du ciel. 7. J'entendis aussi une voix.qui me dit; Pierre, le vez—vous, tuaz’ & mangez (Les Actes, chap. Il).

Voltaire is mistaken when he states that "Paul lui reprochait aigrement de manger des viandes défendues." This incident occurred shortly after Paul's conversion and before he became the great leader of his later years. As far as the record 129

shows, he was not even in Jerusalem at this time. The last

previous reference to him, as related in an account given two

chapters before, was when, "the brethren.«.sent him forth to

Tarsus (chapter 9:30)" and we hear nothing more about him until,

"Barnabas departed to Tarsus for to seek Paul (chapter 11:29)."

As is shown in verse two, quoted above, it was les fidelles

circoncis, not Paul, who criticized Peter.

Voltaire's use of the phrase, résiste en face, sug

gests that he may be confusing this passage in Acts with Galatians

2:11, where Paul does say, "Je lui résistai en face." This incident, which took place at Antioch, has already been discussed in the Dictionnaire article. Christianisme^^ where Voltaire quotes the sentence, "Je lui résistai à sa face." Paul does at this time criticize his fellow missionary, but it is on an entirely different,and radically opposite, charge from the one against idiich the latter defended himself at Jerusalem.^^ Even though it may have been only carelessness that brought about the mistake of assigning to Paul, instead of to 3es fidelles, the censure of

Peter, the use of the great apostle's name adds much to the weight of Voltaire's attack on the "rock of the church."

The attack is made more effective by the naming of the

* * *

So. See Diet, phil., p. 136; Naves, I, I63, and p. 9k of this study. 91. W. Robertson NicoU, The Expositor's Bible, Vol. 20 (Galatians), pp. I3U, 139, and 138. 130

viandes défendues— an enumeration which is not found in the

Biblical text.

Aigrement, too, is an addition of Voltaire's. The

idea which it expresses is not in either of the passages.

Voltaire's also is the detail of la sixième heure, as

well as the phrase, une grande nape qui descendait des quatre

coins du ciel, instead of Saci's wording, .je vis descendre du

ciel comme une grande nappe tenue par les quatre coins. One

can imagine a slight smile on the face of le petit Suisse as he wrote this sentence. 131

1. ...Ecoutez donc main tenant ce que le Seigneur vous commande:

3. ...marchez contre Ama- lec, taillez-le en pieces, & détruisez tout ce qui est à lui,...mais tuez tout, depuis l'homme jusqu'à la femme....

7. Et Saill tailla en pie ces les Amalicites.... 8. Il prit vif Agag, Roi des Amalecites.... 9. Mais Saill avec le peu Samuel pretre Juif hacha ple épargna Agag.... en morceaux avec un saint 10. Le Seigneur adressa couperet le roi Agag prison alors sa parole à Samuel, & nier de guerre à qui Saül lui dit: avait pardonne, & Saill fut 11. Je me repens d'avoir réprouvé pour avoir observé fait Saill Roi parce qu'il le droit des gens avec ce ...n'a point exécuté mes roi (Pict. phil.. p. 232; ordres.... Naves, II, 53).

32. Alors Samuel dit; Ame nez-moi Agag.... 33. ...Et il le coupa en morceaux (l des Rois, chap. 15).

Two variations from the account as given in 1 Samuel are to be noted.

The phrase, avec un saint couperet, is an addition of

Voltaire's. The combination of saint with such a commonplace instrument as couperet. a butcher's cleaver, especially when used in connection with hacha, instead of the Biblical coupa, is very effective.

The reason for the Lord's displeasure with Saul, as given in the Dictionnaire, pour avoir observé le droit des gens, is 132

Voltaire's own interpretation in the light of eighteenth-century ideas of international law. The true cause of God's reproof, as stated in verse eleven, was Saul's disobedience to His express com mand (verse three) to kill all of Amalek's force. Voltaire himself in another discussion of this incident in the article Jephtl^^ recognizes this as the reason for God's anger.

18. Et le lendemain nous allâmes avec Paul visiter Jacque, chez lequel tous les prêtres s'assemblèrent.

23, Faites donc ce que nous Il y a dans les actes des vous allons dire: Nous avons Apôtres un fait bien singu ici quatre hommes qui ont lier, & bien digne d'atten fait un voeu, tion. St. Jaques, & plu 24. prenez-les avec vous, & sieurs de ses compagnons vous purifiez avec eux, en conseillent à St. Paul d'al faisant les frais de la céré ler dans le temple de Jéru monie, afin qu'ils se rasent salem, observer toutes les la tête, & que tous sachent cérémonies de l'ancienne que ce qu'ils ont oui dire de loi, tout chrétien qu'il vous est faux, mais que vous était, afin que tous sa continuez à gardez la loi. chent. disent—ils, que tout 23. ... ce qu'on dit de vous est 26. Paul ayant donc pris faux. & que vous continuez ces hommes, & s'étant purifié de garder la loi de Moïse. avec eux, entra au temple le St. Paul alla donc pendant jour suivant.... sept jours dans le temple.

* *

52. Diet, phil.. p. 236; Naves, II, 66; see also page 80 of this study. Another brief reference to Samuel's action is made in the article Fanatisme (Diet, phil.. p. 192; Naves, I, 274); see also page 83 of this study. 133

27. Mais sur la fin des sept jours, les Juifs d ’Asie l'ayant vu dans le temple émurent tout le peuple, & se saisirent de lui, en criant; 28. Au secours, Israélites: voici celui...qui...a encore mais le septième il fut re amené des Gentils dans le connu. On l'accusa d'y être temple, & a profané ce saint venu avec des étrangers, & lieu (Les Actes, chap. 21). de l'avoir profané. Voici comment il se tira d'affaire. 6. Or Paul sachant qu'une Or Paul sachant (^u'une par partie de ceux qui étoient-là tie de ceux qui étaient là étoient Sadducéens, & l'autre étaient Sadducéens. & l'au Pharisiens, il s'écria dans tre Pharisiens, il s'écria l'assemblée: Mes freres, je dans l'assemblée: Mes frè suis Pharisien & fils de Pha res. je suis Pharisien & risien: & c'est à cause de fils de Pharisien; c'est à l'esperance d'une autre vie, cause de l'esperance' d'une & de la resurrection des autre vie. & de la résurrec morts que l'on veut me con tion des morts que l'on veut damner. me condamnez*. Il n' avait 7. Paul ayant parle de la point du tout été question sorts, il s'émut une dissen de la résurrection des morts sion entre les Pharisiens & dans toute cette affaire; les Sadducéens, & l'assem Paul ne le disait que pour blée fut divisée. animer les Pharisiens & les 8. Car les Sadducéens di Sadducéens les uns contre sent, qu'il n'y a ni resur les autres. rection, ni Ange, ni esprit: V. 7. Paul ayant parle de au lieu que les Pharisiens • la sorte, il s'émut une dis reconnoissent l'un & l'autre sension entre les Pharisiens (Les Actes, chap. 23). & les Sadducéens; & l'assem blée fut divisée. ■'V. 8. Car les Sadducéens disent qu'il n'y ..a ni résur rection. ni ange, ni esprit: au lieu que les Pharisiens' reconnaissent-& l'un & l'autre, &c.

* Actes des Apôtres chap. 23. V. 6. 7. 8.

(Diet. Phil.. p. 322; Naves, II, 223) 134

Voltaire sviirs up in his brief account incidents, the relation of which extends aver approximately two chapters in the

Bible, from chapter twenty-one, verse eighteen, to chapter twenty- three, verse eight. His statements are essentially correct, except that, when he says, "Voici comment il se tira d'affaire," he brings into juxtaposition two distinctly separate events and forges them into one argument. His narration omits some forty- four verses, among which are found nineteen^^ that give in Paul's own words the defense that he made before the people in the temple.

This speech is a simply-worded and serious presentation of the reasons for his actions and makes a clear appeal to the common sense of the Jews. After this, as related in the next chapter,

Paul is brought "on the morrow" before the council and the chief priests, where he makes the speech which is reported in the

Dictionnaire. He knows full well that he can expect no sympathy or mercy from this group, a conviction which is deepened when

Ananias, the high priest, "commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth."55 Paul therefore takes the means de scribed by Voltaire to distract their attention.

The omission of Paul’s first speech considered in con nection with Voltaire's comment, "Voici comment il se tira * # *

53. Chapter 22, verses 3 to 22. 54. Chapter 23, verses 1 to 9. 55. Chapter 23, verse 2. 135 d'affaire,” leaves the false impression that Paul made no defense other than that which is reported here. This impression is re enforced by Voltaire's giving it the vfeight of a word for word quotation, a procedure which he uses only on rare occasions.

Even though the Dictionnaire classes Paul's arrest and defense as un fait bien singulier & bien digne d'attention, the account fails to give all the pertinent facts, with the result that the apostle is not presented in his true light.

1. Alors un homme nommé Ananie & Saphire sa femme, vendirent ensemble un fonds de terre; 2. & cet homme ayant re tenu de concert avec sa fem me une partie du prix qu'il l'avoit vendu, apporta le reste, & le mit aux pies des Apôtres. 3. Mais Pierre lui dit: Ananie, comment satan a-t-il tenté votre coeur, pour vous porter à mentir au Saint-Es prit, & à détourner une par N'est-il pas horrible de tie du prix de ce fonds de faire mourir Anania, parce terre? qu'ayant vendu son fonds & 4. Ne demeuroit-il pas en ayant donné l'argent à toujours à vous; si vous l'a Pierre, il avait retenu pour viez voulu garder; & après lui & pour sa femme quelques même l'avoir vendu, le prix écus pour subvenir à leurs n'en étoit-il pas encore à nécessités sans le dire? A 136

vous? Comment donc avez-vous peine Anania est-il mort, que conçu ce dessein dans votre sa femme arrive. Pierre au coeur? Ce n'est pas aux hom- lieu de l'avertir charita- mes que vous avez menti, mais blement qu'il vient de faire â:Dieu. mourir son mari d'apoplexie, 5. Ananie ayant oui ces pour avoir gardé quelques paroles tomba, & rendit l'es- oboles, & de lui dire de prit.... bien prendre garde à elle, 6. la fait tomber dans le piè 7. ...sa femme, qui ne sage. Il lui demande si son voit point ce qui étoit arri- mari a donné tout son argent vé entra. aux saints. La bonne femme 8. Et Pierre lui dit; Fem- répond, oui, & elle meurt me, dites-moi, n'avez-vous sur le champs. Cela est dur vendu votre fonds de terre______(Pict.______phil.. p. 300; Maves, que cela? Elle lui répondit; II, 193). Non, nous ne l'avons vendu que cela. 9. Alors Pierre lui dit; Comment vous êtes-vous ainsi accordés ensemble pour tenter l'Esprit du Seigneur?... 10. Au même moment elle tomba à ses piés, & rendit 1'esprit...(Les Actes, chap. 5).

The reason given by Voltaire for the death of Ananias,

"Parce que...il avait retenu pour lui & pour sa femme quelques

écus pour subvenir à leurs nécessités sans le dire," although technically correct, is in fact not the reason given in verse four, "Ce n'est pas aux hommes que vous avez menti, mais à Dieu."

As Peter has just pointed out, Ananias was under no obligation to give the money to the apostles, but having once made his de cision to do so, his sin, as well as that of Saphira, was in lying about the amount. The only notice that Voltaire takes of these lies is to insert the three-word phrase, sans le dire. 137

He also adds the details of quelques ecus and quel ques oboles where the writer of Acts has only une partie du prix, with no implication as to whether it was large or small.

From Voltaire’s pen, too, comes the added reason for Ananias' action, "pour subvenir à leurs nécessités."

The whole effect of the paragraph is to play on the reader's sympathy by emphasizing the injustice of the situation and by minimizing the point brought out in Acts that Peter was concerned about the sin of Ananias and his wife.

1. En ce temps-lâ Isràil demeuroit à Setim, & le peu ple tomba dans la fornication avec les filles de Moab. 2. Elles appelleront les Israelites à leurs sacrifi ces, & ils en mangèrent. Ils adoreront leurs dieux, 3. & Israël se consacra au culte de Béelphegor: c'est pourquoi le Seigneur étant irrité, A. dit à Moïse; Prenez tous les Princes du peuple & pendez—les à des potences en plein jour, afin que ma fu reur ne tombe point sur Israël. 5. Moïse dit donc aux Ju ges d'Israël; que chacun tue ceux de ses proches qui se sont consacrés au culte de Béelphegor. 138

6, En ce même-temps il ar riva qu’un des enfans d'Isra ël entra dans la tente d'une Madianite, femme débauchée, à la vûe de Moïse & de tous les enfans d'Israël, qui pleu- roient devant la porte du ta bernacle. 7. Ce que Phinée fils d'E- leazar qui étoit fils du Grand-Prêtre Aaron ayant vû, il se leva du milieu du peu ple; & ayant pris un poi gnard, 8. il entra après 1'Isra élite dans ce lieu infâme, il les perça tous deux l'homme & la femme d'un même coup, dans les parties que la pudeur ca che: & la plaie dont les en fans d'Israël avoient été frappés, cessa aussi—tôt, 9, Il y eut alors vingt- ...vous [Moïse] avez encor quatre raille hommes qui fu fait massacrer vingt-quatre rent tués (Les Nombres, chap. mille de vos pauvres sui 25). vants, parce que l'un d'eux avait couché avec une Madia- * * nite; tandis que vous-même avez-épousé une Madianite... l6. Or le Prêtre de Madian (Diet. Phil.. p. 293; Naves, avoit sept filles.... II, 160).

21. Moïse lui jura donc qu'il demeureroit avec lui. Il épousa ensuite sa fille... (L'Exode, chap. 2).

When Voltaire states that the motive for the slaying of the twenty-four thousand men was the action of the one Israel

ite, he is clearly departing from the Biblical text and substi tuting his own reason for the one given in Numbers. The real

cause for the killing of the people was the sins of Israel as a whole, especially the sin of idolatry, as stated in verses one 139 to five. Verse eight shows that the death of the one Israelite, to which Voltaire refers really freed the nation from the Lord's curse.

8. 21, Si un homme épouse la Si Moïse avait écrit le femme de son frere, il fait Lévitique, aurait-il pû se une chose que Dieu défend, il contredire dans le Deutero- découvre ce qu'il devoit ca nome? Le Lévitique défend cher pour l'honneur de son d'épouser la femme de son frere...(Le Levitigue. chap. frère, le Deuteronorae l'or 20). donne (pict. phil.. p. 291î Naves, II, 157). * *

21. Qui duxerit uxorem fra trie sui, rem facit illicitam ...(Vulgate).

* *

5. Lorsque deux freres de meurent ensemble, & que l'un d'eux sera mort sans enfans, la femme du mort n'en épouse ra point un autre, mais le frere de son mari l'épousera, & suscitera des enfans à son frere (Le Deuteronome. chap. 25).

Voltaire fails to include in his reference to Deuter onomy that part of the verse which states that the brother is dead. The omission of any mention of the death of the brother furnishes the author of the Dictionnaire with the only basis for his criticism.

In Leviticus, nothing is said about this point but u o

the implication is that the brother is living. Verse twenty-one

is one of a long series of admonitions against fornication and

impurities, of which the following are examples: "Si quelqu'un

abuse de la femme d'un autre, & commet un adultéré avec la femme

de son prochain...(verse ten); Si un homme abuse de (dormierit

cum— Vulgate) sa belle-mere...(verse eleven); Si quelqu'un abuse

L.. de sa belle-fille...(verse twelve); Si un homme s'approche de sa

soeur...(verse seventeen); Si un homme approche de (coierit cum—

Vulgate) la femme de son oncle..,(verse twenty)." The logical

assumption is that the brother referred to in verse twenty-one

is still living.

Nor does the word épouse, as used here by Saci, neces

sarily indicate a legitimate union, as the term suggests, since

it is only his way of rendering the Vulgate's duxerit. which in

addition to the idea of marriage may have the meaning of illegiti mate union (Harper's Dictionary). Other translations of this verb are: piend (Ostervald), aura pris (Martin), take (King James

and Revised Standard versions), and nimmt (Luther).

Saci uses the same verb, épouse, in verse fourteen of

this chapter where it clearly is not a case of legitimate union:

"Celui qui après avoir épousé la fille, épouse encore la mere,

commet un crime énorme...(Oui suora uxorem filiam. duxerit matrem

e jus...— Vulgate)." Other translations of this passage are U 1

(italics ours): If a man take a wife and her mother.(King

James Version); Quand un homme aura pris une femme et sa mère...

(Martin); Wenn jemand ein Weih nimmt und ihre Mutter dazu...

(Luther); If a man takes a wife and her mother also...(Revised

Standard Version). The logical implication of all these transla tions is that Saci's épouser does not always mean to marry.

When one considers (l) that the brother mentioned in

Leviticus is, as far as can be determined, living while in

Deuteronomy he is deceased, and (2) that the verb épouser may have, as Saci uses it, the meaning to commit fornication, the contradiction between the passages in the two books disappears.

1. Mais vous, fils de l'homme, prophétisez contre Gog, & dites-lui: Voici ce que dit le Seigneur votre Dieu: Je viens à vous Gog.... • • • • • 3. Je briserai votre arc dans votre main gauche; & je ferai tomber vos flèches de votre main droite. U» Vous tomberez sur les montagnes d'Israël vous & toutes vos troupes, & tout votre peuple qui est avec vous. Je vous ai livré aux bStes farouches, aux oiseaux & â tout ce qui vole dans U 2

l'air, & aux bêtes de la ter re, afin qu'ils vous dévo rent.

17. Voici donc, ô fils de l'homme, ce que dit le Sei gneur votre Dieu: Dites à tous les oiseaux, â tout ce qui vole dans l'air, & à tou tes les bêtes de la terre: Venez toutes ensemble, hâtez- vous, accourez toutes de tou tes parts à la victime que je vous immole, à cette grande victime qui a été égorgée sur les montagnes d'Israël, afin que vous en mangiez la chair & que vous en buviez le sang; 18. que vous mangiez la chair des forts, & que vous buviez le sang des princes de la terre, des béliers, des agneaux, des boucs, des tau reaux, des oiseaux domesti ques, & de tout ce qu'il y a de plus délicat. 19. Et vous mangerez de la chair grasse jusqu'à vous en Il est vrai que du temps soûler, & vous boirez le sang d'Ezechiel les Juifs de de la victime que je vous im vaient être dans l'usage de molerai, jusqu'à vous eni manger de la chair humaine, vrer. car il leur prédit au chapi 20. Et vous vous soûlerez tre 39. que Dieu les (sic) sur ma table de la chair des fera manger non seulement chevaux, & de la chair des les chevaux de leurs enne chevaliers les plus braves, & mis, mais encor les cava derntous les hommes de guerre, liers & les autres guer dit le Seigneur votre Dieu riers. Cela est positif (Ezechiel. chap. 39). (Diet, phil.. p. 28; Naves^; I, 36).

It would seem that these verses from Ezekiel, includ ing verse four, leave no doubt that it is the birds and beasts, not the Jews, which will devour the warriors. Voltaire, however. U 3

both here and in the Questions sur l'Encyclopédie, maintains a

different viev/point. In the Questions of 1770,^^ he again takes

up a consideration of this passage from Ezekiel. In the course

of his discussion, which is too long to be quoted here, he writes.

Le prophète Ezechiel, selon quelques commenta teurs, promet aux Hébreux, de la part de Dieu, ...qu'ils auront à manger de la chair de che val et de la chair de chevalier.

In support of this position, he gives the reasons of the com mentateurs in these terms.

Ils disent qu'une partie de cette apostrophe regarde les bêtes sauvages, et que l'autre est pour les Juifs.

He further explains that the birds and animals are,

désignés par les versets 17 et 18, et les Juifs [sont] désignés par les versets 19 et 20.

Although the reasoning which he uses to justify this conclusion

is very ingenious, his arguments are unconvincing.

He ends his discussion with the statement, "Nous ne

portons point notre jugement sur cette dispute," bût thisstate ment from the later Questions sur l'Encyclopédie remains as un

convincing as his main argument.

* * *

56. Voltaire, Dictionnaire philosophique. (Naves ed.) I, 326. MA

Summary

It will be noted that there exist in the Portatif

variations in the fidelity of the Biblical quotations and in the

accuracy of its statements about subjects and events of the

Bible.

A total of one hundred seven passages, varying in length from a short sentence to paragraphs of nearly a page, were evalu

ated for this study. As is shown in Sections I and II, eighteen

passages, or 17 per cent, are given either verbatim or with un

important changes in a word or phrase. Others, in Sections III,

IV, and V, comprising 6A per cent of the whole, are essentially faithful paraphrases of Biblical material or reasonably correct

statements concerning Scriptural personages and occurences. In regard to 7 per cent of the items, those discussed in Section VI,

no definite conclusion was reached. The remaining 12 per cent.

Sections VII and VIII, contain statements which cannot be justified

by the text of the Scriptures.

Thus it can be seen that in the great majority of the

passages, 88 per cent, Voltaire holds with reasonable accuracy to

his Biblical source, while in a few, 12 per cent, he has statements which are not supported by the Scriptures. In only three or four

instances, however, does one get the impression that the dis- U 5 crepancy is intentional.

57. See Sec. VII, items 4 and 5j also Sec. VIII, items 5 and 6. A further evaluation of the material of Chapter II will be made in Chapter IV. CHAPTER III

Survey of Patristic Sources

In this chapter will be presented quotations from and statements regarding the Church Fathers of the first four or five centuries* Because of his importance, one thirteenth-century figure, St. Thmnas, has been included. We have not aimed at evaluating every use which Voltaire makes of their works. Some sixteen cases, all of which are relatively unimportant, are omit ted. They are given in the Dictionnaire without references to the authors' works and did not justify the effort necessary to locate them in the original. Yet we have, we think, covered the field adequately enough to show definitely, as far as it can be deter mined from the Dictionnaire of 1764, Voltaire's method of dealing with his patristic sources.

It has not been deemed advisable to place in separate classifications, as in the last chapter, the quotations and the statements. There are very few quotations, even though modern editors set maiqr passages in quotation marks.

As in the previous chapter, red type will be used to indicate similar material from both the original and the Diction naire. In case an intermediate source is also given, red will be used to indicate correspondence of Voltaire's work with either or both passages. The criterion for decision in regeird to corre- 146 U 7 spondence will be at all times whether or not his statement logically represents the author's thought, even though it may come through a secondary source.

Section I

In this section are grouped those items which are en tirely justified by the works of the Fathers, or l?y an intermediate writer, and which have no, or but slight, variation from their source.

1. Thales...was said to have consorted with the prophets Clement d'Alexandrie rap of the Egyptians; as also Py porte que Pithagore voya thagoras did with the same geant chez les Egyptiens, persons, by whom he was cir fut oblige de se faire cir cumcised, that he might enter concire, pour être admis à the adytum and learn from the leurs mystères (Diet, ohil.. Egyptians the mystic philoso p. 80; Naves, I, 196). phy (Clement of Alexandria, Stromata. Bk. I, chap. 15; trans. from Ante-Nic. Fath.. II, 315). u s

But as to the fable that there are Antipodes, that is, to say, men on the opposite Aussi St. Augustin traite side of the earth, where the l'idée des antipodes d'ab sun rises when it sets to us, surdité (Diet, nhil.. p. 78j men who walk with their feet Naves, I, 193). opposite ours, that is on no ground credible (Augustine, City of God. Bk. XVI, chap, 9j trans. from Nic. and Post- Nic. Fath.. 1st ser., II, nSh All of chapter nine is a development of this idea.

3. St. Chrisostome s'écrie dans sa quatorzième homélie. Where are they who say that Où sont ceux qui prétendent the heaven whirls around? que les deux sont mobiles. where are they who declare & que leur forme est circu that it is spherical? for laire (Pict, nhil.. p, 78j both of these notions are Naves, I, 193)? overthrown here (Chrysostom, Homilies on Hebrews. XIV, 1; trans, from Nic. and Post- Nic. Path,. 1st ser,, XIV, 433)7

St. Thomas dans sa ques tion 75® & suivantes, dit que l'ame est une forme sub sistante, ner se. qu'elle est toute en tout, que son essence diffùre de sa puis sance, qu'il y a trois ames végétatives, sgavoir, la nu tritive. 1'augmentative, la générative: que la mémoire des choses spirituelles est spirituelle, & la mémoire U 9

des corporelles est corpo relle; que l'ame raisonnable est une forme immatérielle quant aux opérations. & maté rielle quant à l'être. St. Thomas a écrit deux mille pages de cette force & de cette clarté; aussi est-il l'ange de 1'école (Diet. Phil.. p. 9; Naves, I, 14).

Each clause of this paragraph presents its own problem and will be considered separately.^

Therefore it follows that the essence of the soul is son essence diffère de sa not its power (Thomas Aquinas, puissance. Summa Theoloeia. pt. 1, q. 77, art. 1; trans. from Dorn. ed. (1947), I, 383).

Aucun, dans ces cinq or dres [of the church] n'était contraint au célibat, témoin le livre de Tertulien dédié à sa femme (Diet, phil.. p. I4O; Naves, I, 174).

This livre de Tertulien consists of two letters ad dressed to his wife.^

1. See pages 182, 219, 220, and 213. 2. TertuUian, Ad Uxorem. edition of Patrol, lat.. I, 1385. 1 5 0

6 .

Let a person be brought be fore your tribunals, who is plainly under demoniacal pos session. The wicked spirit, bidden to speak Iqr a follower of Christ, will readily make the truthful confession that he is a demon, as elsewhere he has falsely asserted that he is a god. Or, if you will, let there be produced one of the god-possessed.,. .Liet the Tertulien va plus loin, & same Virgin Caelestis herself du fond de l'Afrique où il the rain-promiser, let AEscu- était, il dit dans son apo lapius...if they would not logétique, au chap. 23. Si confess, in their fear of ly vos dieux ne confessent pas ing to a Christian, that they qu'ils sont des diables â îa were demons, then and there présence d'un vrai chrétien, shed the blood of that most nous voulons bien que vous impudent follower of Christ. répandiez le sang de ce chré What clearer than a work like tien. Y a-t-il une démon that? whtt more trustworthy stration plus claire^ (Pict. than such a proof (Tertullian, phil.. p. Lilj Raves, I, Apology, chap. 23j trans. from 175)? Ante-Ric. Path.. Ill, 37)?

It will be noted that Voltaire's passage, although set in italics, is, as very frequently happens, a paraphrase, not a quotation in the modern sense of the word. The use of italics

3. Voltaire writes, as he should, his final sentence as part of Tertullian's work and the Varberg, the "encadrée" of 1775, and the Kehl, editions keep this reading. Beuchot, however, followed by Moland and Raves, ends the quotation with chrétien and prints the final question as a comment of Voltaire's, not of Tertullian's. One can see why Beuchot may have been led to make the change, but it is surprising that Raves should repeat the mistake, since he says that he is reproducing the Dictionnaire "dans le texte de 1764" (I, xxv). 1 5 1 has led editors, including Moland and Naves, regularly to enclose this type of material in quotation marks.

How is it with those who imagine that there are antip odes opposite to our foot Lactance dit expressément, steps?. ..Or is there any one Y a-t-il des gens assez fous so senseless as to believe pour croire qu'il y ait des that there are men whose foot hommes dont la tite soit steps are higher than their plus basse que les pieds heads (Lactantius, Divine In (Diet, phil.. p. 78; Nave3f stitutes. Bk. Ill, chap, 24; I, 193)? trans. from Ante-Nic. Path.. VII, 94)?

...quorum vestigia sint superiors, quam capita (Patrol. lat.. VI, 425)?

In spite of Voltaire's expressément and his italics, we again have a paraphrase. Although logically correct, he varies from the original hy inverting the subject and predicate of his final clause. 1 5 2

We must also mention what the ancient and exceedingly remote Sibyl,.,,taught you in her oracular verses concern ing the only God, And she speaks thusx

[There follow then three quotations,] Le meme St, Justin cite These, are the Sibyl's words avec confiance les oracles (Justin, Hortatory Address to des Sibyles (Diet, phil,, the Greeks, chap, 16} trans, p, 31} Naves, I, A3). from Ante-Nic. Path,. I, 280),

If therefore, ye men of Greece, ye do not esteem the false fancy concerning those that are no gods at a higher rate than your own salvation believe, as I said, the most ancient and time-honouiped Si byl, whose books are preserv ed in all the world, and who by some kind of potent inspi ration both teaches us in her oracular utterances concern ing those that are called gods, that have no existence} and also clearly and manifestly prophesies concerning the pre dicted advent of our Saviour Jesus Christ (Justin, Horta tory Address to the Greeks. chap, 38} trans, from Ante- Nic. Fath.. I, 289).

Nous lui [à Justin] devons le tripil de la vieille Sybil- le de Cumes,.,.[et] les livres où elle parloit de Jésus-Christ, Nouveau sujet de raillerie 1 5 3

pour les Payens qui traitoient les Chrétiens de Sybillistes. mais à qui Justin ne laisse pas de faire cette grave ex hortation* "6 Grecsî croyés K "l'ancienne & vénérable Sybil- "la dont les livres- sont ré- "pandus partout, & qui a été "inspirée d'une manière extra- "ordinaire par le Dieu tout "puissant (Abauzit, OEuvres. I, 254).

Only in a very loose sense can the paragraph from

Abauzit, as well as the corresponding section of Justin's work, be considered as having any relation to Voltaire's sentence, since it makes no reference to a quotation from the Sibyl. It is in cluded as a possible source of inspiration because Voltaire is known to have made use of neighboring portions of the Discours and because Miss Waterman implies that it is paraphrased at this point in the Dictionnaire.^ If le bon Suisse is writing carefully when he uses citSf he must be thinking back of Abauzit's work to the quotations of Justin himself.

Middleton also discusses the question of the Catholic

Father and the Sibyl, but there is nothing to indicate that

Voltaire is following his presentation,

* * *

4. Mina Waterman, "Voltaire and Firmin Abauzit," Romanic Review. XXXIII (October, 1942), 243. Miss Waterman's statement is, "Continuing our comparison paragraph by paragraph, we find that from this point [the new Jerusalem, Naves, I, 43, line 15] on through the section on Irenaeus, the Dictionnaire paraphrases Abauzit's Discours with accurate concision." 154

The sentence in the Dictionnaire, though short, was very effective with the reader of 1764, but, from the standpoint of the twentieth-century scholar, the attack loses its keenness because Justin's authorship of the Hortatory Address to the Greeks^ is now generally denied,^ In justice to the author of the Por tatif. it should be said that he was probably unaware that the

Address was not Justin's work. The view that it did not come from the pen of this saint seems to have been a nineteenth-century development, Horeri (1759)^ and the Encyclopédie (1765)® list it among the Father's accepted works.

It seems, therefore, that Voltaire's justification for writing, "St, Justin cite avec confiance les oracles des Sibyles," lies not so much in Abauzit's Discours as in the works of the saint himself,^

5, Moland (XVII, 288, n, 1) gives for this statement of Voltaire's an incorrect reference of Oratio ad Graecos. It should read Cohortstic ad Graecos, There is no mention of the sibyls in the Discourse to the Greeks. 6, Thomas B, Falls, in Fathers of the Church. VI, 369, 7, Moréri, Dictionnaire. VI, pt, 1, 505. 8, Encyclopédie, XII, 340 and XV, 67, 9, It is quite germane to the general purpose of this study to point out that Abauzit has a tendency, apparent in many of his quotations, to color them in favor of his argument. In this case, he has turned Justin's phrase, "some kind of potent inspiration," which has in no wise any relation to the God of the Christians, into the surprising clause, "& qui a été inspirée d'une manière extraordinaire par le Dieu tout puissant," 1 5 5

9 .

If any one, either in an in vocation or in swearing an oath, were to use the expres sion, "the God of Abralaam," and "the God of Isaac," and "the God of Jacob, he would produce certain effects, ei Cet exorcisme par Jehovah ther owing to the nature of ou par les autres noms de these names or,to their pow Dieu était encor en usage ers, since even demons are dans les premiers siècles de vanquished and become submis l'Eglise, Origèns, en dispu sive to him who pronounces tant contre Gelse lui dit these names; whereas if we n°. 262, "Si en invoquant say, "the god of the chosen "Dieu, ou en jurant par lui, father of the echo, and the "on le nomme le Dieu d'Abra- god of laughter, and the god "ham, d'Isaac & de Jacob, on of him who strikes with the "fera, certaines choses par heel," the mention of the name "ces noms, dont la nature & is attended with no result, "force sont telles, que les as is the case with other "démons se soumettent A ceux names possessed of no power. "qui les prononcent; mais si And in the same way, if we "on le nomme d'un autre nom, translate th@ word "Israel" "comme Dieu de la mer brUl- into Greek or aiqr other lan "ante, supplantateur, ces guage, we shall produce no re "noms seront sans vertu. Le sult; but if we retain it as "nom d'Israël traduit en Grec it is, and join it to those "ne pourra rien opérer, mais expressions to which such as "prononcez-le en'Hébreu, avec are skilled in these matters "les autres mots requis, vous think it ought to be united, "opérerez la conjuration there would then follow some (Diet, phil,. p, 316; Naves, result from the pronunciation II, 215)7" of the word which would ac cord with the professions of those who employ such invoca? tions (Origenw Against Celsus. Bk, V, chap, -45; trans, from Ante-Nic. Fath,. IV, 563),

Voltaire's references, here and elsewhere, to Origen's treatise. Against Celsus. are somewhat confusing. In the article

Religion, he has three citations, each of which is to a nombre or tP, His quotations in Fragments historiques sur l'Inde are 156 taken from articles, which aj^ear to be the same as nombres.

One reference in Christianisme Is chapitre VI. awther is livre III. and a third is given as nombre 133. In Messie, the reader is directed to chapitre neavi&me. Of all this group, only livre III follows the Benedictine edition of Migne's Patrologia graeca.

The subject matter under discussion when reference is made to chapitre VI and to chapitre neuvième is not mentioned in chap ter six or chapter nine of any of the eight books in the work.

In regard to the citation given above, nP. 262 (page

316 of the Dictionnaire), an editor* s note in the Beuchot and

Moland editions, signed "(B)" in Beuchot^® but unsigned in Moland,^ states, "Ce n'est pas n^ 262, mais page 262 de l'édition de

Cambridge, 1677, in-4®."^

In the Fragments historiques sur l'Inde there is a

* * *

10. Beuchot, m i l , 114. 11. Mol. XX, 353. 12. The Cambridge edition has not been available for study. Moland makes one other attempt to identify the source of this quotation from Origen. Voltaire uses it, as long as it is, with the same reading as that given in the Portatif (except for the addition of one clarifying word) in the article k B C. ou Alphabet in the Ques tions of 1770. There (XVII, 17) Moland appends the note, "OrigSne contre Celse. n® 202. (Note de Vol taire.)” Since, according to calculations made from Beuchot'8 data (see pp. 157 ftnd 1 ^ of this study), # 202 falls near Book III, chapter 43 of les autres editions and the subject of Volted.re's paragraph is not discussed at all in Book III, the reference to nP 202 wotQ.d seem to be an error. 157 discussion of the same subject matter as that presented at this point in the Dictionnaire. In these Fragments. Voltaire gives as his source, "Orie&ne contre Celse. article 20 et article 262.”

Then follows a note by Beuchot, which reads:

Les indications de Voltaire se rapportent à l'édition du Traité d'Orie&ne contre Celse. ou Défense de la religion chrétienne contre les accusations des païens^ traduit du grec par Elié Bouhereau, Amsterdam, Desbordes, 1700, in-4°, où les huit livres du traité d'Origine sont divisés en CCCCXXVIII paragraphes. Dans les autres éditions, les passages cités par Voltaire sont livre 1®^, chap, XXV, et livre V, XLV.13

From this information, one would suspect tP, 262 of be ing article 262. or Book V, chapter 45. It is from this chapter that the quotation given at the beginning of this item is taken.

That the material in the Portatif is not a quotation, in spite of the quotation marks, but a summary of Origen's thought, as a phrase by phrase comparison shows, is not significant in this connection, since such a procedure is frequent in the Dictionnaire and in the works of other authors of the century.^

Middleton's discussion of the power of names^^ seems to have had no influence on Voltaire. Although it, too, is set with quotation marks at each line, it is much more general even than

* * *

13. Mol., XXIX, 181. 14. See page 9 of this study. 15. Coiqrers Middleton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 64. 158 the presentation in the Portatif, which appears to have been taken directly from Origen,

10. Now, in answer to this, we have to remark that this in volves a deep and mysterious subject— that, viz., respect ing the nature of names:...If, Le même Orig&ne au nombre then, we shall be able to es 19. dit ces paroles remarqua tablish, ...the nature of power bles. "Il y a des noms qui ful names, some of which are "ont naturellement de la ver- used by the learned amongst "tu, tels que sont ceux dont the Egyptians, or hy the Magi «se servent les sages parmi among the Persians, and by the «les Egyptiens, les Mages en Indian philosophers called «Perse, les Bracmanes dans Brahmans, or by the Samanaeans, «l'Inde. Ce qu'on nomme ma- and others in different coun «gie n'est pas un art vain & tries; and shall be able to «chimérique, ainsi que le make out that the so-called «prétendent les Stoïciens & magic is not, as the followers «les Epicuriens: ni le nom of Epicurus and Aristotle sup «de Sabaoth, ni celui d'Ado- pose, an altogether uncertain "naî, n'ont pas été faits thing, but is, as those skill «pour des êtres créés; mais ed in it prove, a consistent «ils appartiennent à une system, having words which are «théologie mystérieuse qui known to exceedingly few; then "sé rapporte au Créateur; de we say that the name Sabaoth, «là vient la vèrtü de ces and Adonai, arid the other «noms quand on les arrange & treated with so much reverence «qu'on les prononce selon among the Hebrews, are not ap «les règles, &c (Diet. plicable to any ordinary phil». p. 316; Naves, II, created things, but belong to 216)." a secret theology which refers to the Framer of all things. These names, accordingly, when pronounced with that attendant train of circumstances which is appropriate to their na ture, are possessed of great power (Origen, Against Celsus. Bk. I, chap. XXIVj trans. from Ante-Nic. Fath.. IV, 4-06). 159

Since Voltaire's reference to article 20 is shown to be Book I, chapter 25,^^ one may expect nombre 19. to be chapter

ZK) which is the source of the above quotation from Origen.

Again, quotation marks at every line are used by Vol taire for what is only a general summary.

11.

If the Persians even cannot Une chose encor fort remar bear the sight of temples, al quable, c'est que les chré tars, and images, it does not tiens des deux premiers siè follow because we cannot suf cles avaient de l'horreur fer them any more than they, pour les temples, lés autels that the grounds on which we & les simulacres. C'est ce object to them are the same as qu'Origène avoue, n°. 37A. theirs.... Tout changea depuis avec la discipline, quand l'église reçut une forme constante (Diet. Phil.. p. 317; Naves, But Christians and Jews have II, 216). regard to this command.... "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me...." ...It is in consideration of these and maiy other such commands, that they not only avoid temples, altars, and images, but are ready to suffer death when it is necessary, rather than de base by any such impiety the conception which they have of the Most High God (Origen, Against Celsus^ Bk. VII, chaps. 63 and 6Aj trans. from Ante- Nic. Fath.. IV, 636 and 637).

* * *

16. See page 157 of this study. 1 6 0

If we accept Beuchot*s statement that Orieen* s Against

Celsus has articles, or nombres, in the Amsterdam edition of

1700,^*^ a simple calculation in proportion^ shows that nP. 37A..^^ may be expected to fall near Book VII, chapter 67 in the usual editions. The quotation above is found in chapters 63 and 64. 12.

But as he [Celsus] next in troduces the case of the fa vorite of Adrian (I refer to the accounts regarding the youth Antinous and the hon ours paid him ty the inhab itants of the city of Anti nous in Egypt), and imagines that the honour paid to him falls little short of that which we render to Jesus, let us show in what a spirit of hostility this statement is made....It was due to the mag ical arts and rites of the Egyptians that there was even the appearance of his perform ing anything (marvelous)....Far

17. See page 157 of this study. 18. Since there are 622 chapters in the eight books of Against Celsus in the usual editions, the proportion is 622 t 428 = X : 374. As a check on this method, it was applied to Beuchot*s two references (page 157). Article 20 fell four chapters, and article 262 five chapters, too far along. It will be noted that, in all four references of this type, the calculated numbers fall from four to seven chapters after the true positions. 19. The Varberg, Kehl, Beuchot, and Moland editions of the Dictionnaire have n? 347 instead of 374 as a reference for this passage. As this would make it fall near chapter 28, instead of 67, and the subject of les temples, les autels & les sinulacres is not discussed any where in Book VII except chapters 63 and 64, the citation of rf* 3A7 would appear to be a mistake. 1 6 1

different from euch [myster Ce qui distinguait le plus ies] are those of Jesus...«De les chrétiens, & ce qui a mons also, and other unseen duré jusqu'à nos derniers powers,...at the present time temps, était le pouvoir de show that they either fear the chasser les diables avec le name of Jesus as that of a be signe de la croix. Orig&ne ing of superior power, or rev dans son traité contre Celse, erently accept Him as their avoue au nombre 133. qu'Anti- legal ruler. For if the com noüs divinisé par l'empereur mendation had not been'given Adrian faisait dès miracles Him by God, the demons would en Egypte par la force des not have withdrawn from those charmes & des prestiges; mais whom they had assailed, in il dit que les diable s/.sor obedience to the mere mention tent du corps des possédés à of His name (Origen, Against la prononciation du seul nom Celsus. Bk. Ill, chap, ?6; de Jésus (Diet, phil.. p. trans. from Ante-Nic. Fath., 140; Naves,.I, 174). IV, /i78).

The evaluation of nombre 133^^ shows that it may be expected to come near Book III, chapter 43, or a little earlier, in the usual editions. In chapter 36, we have the above statement of Origen.

13.

YThat, then, are we to say of infants, if not that they will not rise in that dimin utive body in whiçh they died, St. Augustin croit que les but shall receive by the mar enfansj & même les enfans velous and rapid operation of mort nés, ressusciteront dans God that body which time by a l'âge de la maturité (Diet. slower process would have phil., p. 324; Naves, II, given them (Augustine, City 226). of God. XXII, 14j trans. from Nic. and Post-Nic. Fath.. 1st ser., II, 494).

20. See page 160 of this study. 1 6 2

That abortions, which, even supposing that they were alive in the womb, did also die there, shall rise again, I make bold neither to affirm nor to deny, al though, I fail to see why, if they are imt excluded from the number of the dead, they should not attain to the resurrection of the dead. For either all the dead shall not rise, and there will be to all eternity some souls without bodies though they once had them— only in their mother's womb, indeed; or if all human souls shall receive again the bodies which they had wherever they died, and [Repeated from the pre which they left when they ceding page] died, then I do not see how I can say that even those who St. Augustin croit que les died in their mother's womb enfans, & même les enfans shall have no resurrection. mort nés, ressusciteront dans But which ever of these opin l'âge de la maturité (Diet. ions any one may adopt con Phil.. p. 324; Naves, II, cerning them, we must at least 2^. apply to them, if they rise again, all that we have to say of infants who have been born (Augustine, Oitv of God. XXII, 13; trans. from Nic. and Post- Nic. Fath.. 1st ser., II, 494).

Although Augustine refuses to take a definite position in regard to the stillborn, one feels that his sympathies lie in the direction of Voltaire's statement. 163

U. Ils [les savants] llèvent ausei quelques doutes sur les miracles de nôtre Sau veur, en citant St. Augustin, St. Hilaire, & d’autres qui The tree is the Jewish na ont donné aux récits de ces tion, the withered tree is miracles un sens mistique, the Jewish nation reft of the un sens allégorique: comme honour of Christ.,,, au figuier maudit & séché pour n'avoir pas porté de figues quand ce n'était pas le temps des figues (Diet. It was not His will merely phil.. p. 130; Naves, I, to exhibit a miracle, but that 156). by the miracle He conveyed the intimation of something to come (Augustine, Sermons on New Testament Lessons. Sermon XXXIX; trans. from Nic. and Post-Nic. Fath.. 1st ser., VI, 339).

15.

The confirmation of what is above reason rests on what is proper to the Divine power, and this in two ways;— first, when the teacher of the sacred doctrine does what God alone can do, in miraculous deeds, whether with respect to bodily health— and thus there is the Que diraient-ils, s'ils en grace of healing [gratia sa- tendaient parler de la grace nitatum], or merely for the de santé selon St. Thomas purpose of manifesting the (Diet. Phil.. p. 212; Hâves, Divine power....The grace of II, 20)? healing is distinguished from the general working of mira cles because it has a special reason for inducing one to the faith (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica. pt. 1 of Pt. II, q. Ill, art, 4; trans. from Dorn. ed. (1947), I, 1139; origi nal from Migne ed,, II, 933). 1 6 4

Voltaire is using the phrase, grace de sant4. to indicate one of thirteen kinds of grace which he enumerates in rapid succes sion in order to ridicule the whole idea. Grace de santé does not mean grace in the usual acceptation of the word. As St, Thomas is using it, gratia sanîtàtum means only the ability to perform a miracle of healing.

16,

For instance, among many other stories of the same kind, he relates these, which follow: "a pious old Cobler "of Hippo, where he himself "was Bishop, having lost his "old coat, and wanting money "to buy a new one, betook "himself to the twenty Mar- "tyrs. whose chappsl or memo- "rial was famous in that "city; where he prayed to "them very earnestly, that he "might be enabled by them to "get some cloaths. Some "young Fellows, who overheard "him, began to make sport "with him, and pursued him "with their scoffs, for beg- "ging money to buy a coat, "But as the old man walked "away, without minding them "he saw a large fish lie "gasping on the shore, which "he caught by the help of the On objecte aux philosophes "young men, and sold to a que St, Augustin, malgré cet "Christian Cook, for three aveu, parle pourtant d'un "hundred pence; and laying vieux savetier d'Hippone, "out the money on wool, set qui ayant perdu son habit "his wife to work, to pro- alla prier à la chapelle des "vide cloaths for him: but vingt martirs. qu'en retour "the Cook, cutting, open the nant il trouva un poisson "fish, found a gold ring also dans le corps duquel il y "in the belly of it; which avait un anneau d'or, & que 165

"out of compassion to the "poor man, and the terror al- "80 of religion, he presently "carried to' the Cbbler, say- le poisson, dit au savetier, "îng, see here is the cloath- Voilà ce que les vingt raar- "ingf which the twenty Mar- tirs vous donnent (Diet. "tyrs have given you (Angus- Phil., p. 285} Naves, II, tine, City of God. Bk. XXII. 151). chap. 8} trans. from Middle ton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 112K

Although Voltaire says that this is one of the inci dents ou'on a traduit from Middleton,(who, it may be said in passing, gives a much more careful rendering of the original than is his custom) a glance will suffice to show that the author of the Portatif is retelling the story rather than making a transla tion.

Voltaire, following Middleton, speaks of his chief character as a savetier, or "cobler", whereas Augustine's sartoris^^ is usually taken to mean tailor. Since fundamentally a sartor is a mender.23 "cobler" may not be much amiss. Perhaps Middleton felt that it would be somewhat unprofessional for a tailor to

"set his wife" to making clothes for him.

21. Mol., XLIII, 375-376. Quoted by Torrey, Voltaire and the English Deistsf p. 160. See also page 198 of this study. 22. Patrol, lat.. XLI, 765. 23. Harpers'-Dictionary. 1 6 6

1 7 .

And Trypho to this replied, "...But tell me, do you real ly admit that this place, Je rusalem, shall be rebuilt; and do you expect your people to be gathered together, and made joyful with Christ and the patriarchs...? Then I answered, "...I and many others are of this opin^ ion, and [believe] (sic) that such will take place, as you assuredly are aware; but, on the other hand, I signified to you that many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and are true Christians, think otherwise....But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged.

And further, there was a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ, who proph esied, Toy a revelation that was made to him, that those who believed in our Christ would'dwell a thou sand years in Jerusalem (Justin, Dialogue with Tryoho. chaps. 30 and 31; trans. from Ante-Nic. Fath.. I, 239 and 240). 1 6 7

Justin Martir, qui écrivoit vers l'an 170. de Jésus- Justin,le Martyr, qui Christ, est le premier de nos écrivait vers l'an 170 de Docteurs qui ait fait mention nôtre Ere, est le premier de l'Apocalypse; & ce qu'il y qui ait parlé de 1'Apocalyp a de remarquable, c'est qu'il se; il l'attribue à l'Apôtre l'attribue à l'ApStre S. Jean. Jean 1'Evangéliste, dans son Dans son Dialogue avec Tri- dialogue avec Triphon; ce phbn, ce Juif lui demande Juif lui demande s'il ne s'il ne croit pas que Jérusa croit pas que Jérusalem doit lem doive être rétablie un être rétablie un jour? Jus jour? Justin répond que pour tin lui répond qu'il le lui, il le croit ainsi avec croit ainsi avec tous les tous les Chrétiens qui pen Chrétiens qui pensent juste. sent juste, & il dit; Il y a Il y a eu. dit-il. parmi eu parmi nous un certain per nous un certain personnage sonnage nomme Jean, l'un des nommé Jean, l'un des douze douze Apôtres de _Jésus- Apôtres de Jésus; il a pré Christ. Il a prédit dans son dit que les fidèles passe Apocalypse que.les Fidèles ront mille ans dans Jérusa- passeront mille ans dans Jé iem (Diet, phil.. p. 30; Na- rusalem (Abauzit. 0Euvres7~ ves, I, 12), I, 253T.

As Miss Waterman has pointed out,^ the similarity of

phrasing in these two passages leaves no doubt as to Voltaire's

debt to Abauzit.

Whether the latter is correct in saying of Justin, "il

le croit ainsi avec tous les Chrétiens qui pensent juste," is

something of a question, since it is debatable just what Justin means to say. His sentence about "right-minded Christians" appears

* * *

24., Mina Waterman, "Voltaire and Firmin Abauzit," Romanic Review. XXXIII (October, 1942), 242. Miss Waterman, who is using the Naves edition (which conforms in this respect to Beuchot and to Moland), depending on his incorrect date of I'an 270. where Voltaire writes I'an 170. gently chides le petit Suisse for the supposed mistake. See page 26 of this study. 1 6 8 to contradict his previous statement concerning "true Christians",

Abauzit, quite naturally, adds douze to Justin's phrase,

"apostles of Christ", a reading which is taken over by Voltaire,

18,

The hqathens on the other hand charged the Christians ^with the forgery of^these books [the silqrlline], and gave the title of Sibvllists. by way of contempt, to those, who held them to be divine, TIShich charge the Fathers con stantly denied and treated as a pure calumiy [2] (sic): Yet all the Critics of these days allow the fact to be true, and cohsidjer it, as one of the pious frauds of those primitive ages, On a condamné Lactance & [2] ,, ,The four following d'autres pires, pour avoir verses, cited from the Sibyl suppose des oracles des si by Lactantius, will serve as bylles. Il prétendait que a specimen of the rest, la sibylle titrée avait fait ces quatre vers Grecs, [Middleton then gives dont voici 1* explication the quotation in Greek.] littérale.

With five loaves and two Avec cinq pains & deux pois fishes sons He will satisfy five thousand Il nourrira cinq mille hom men in the désert. , mes au desert. Then gathering up the frag Et en ramassant les morceaux ments which remain. qui resteront. He will fill twelve baskets Il en remplira douze pa for the confirmation of niers, many, (Diet, Phil.. p, 139; Naves, (Middleton, Miscellaneous I, 166) Works. I, 29l 1 6 9

The quotation from Lactantius, which is given correctly, is from his Divine Institutes. Book IV, chapter 15. Since the incidents which precede and folio?/ this paragraph in the Diction naire also precede and immediately follow in Middleton's Inquiry. it is reasonable to consider the English work as the source of

Voltaire's attack. As Professor Torrey remarks, "Voltaire probably turned the English rather than the Greek into French.

19.

Ptolemy,... sent for seventy wise men from Jerusalem,... and appointed them to trans late the books} and...he or dered that there should be constructed, not in the city ' itself, but seven stadia off (where the Pharos was built), as many little cots as there were translators, so that each by himself might com plete his own translation.... These things, ye men of Greece, are no fable, nor do we narrate fictions; but we ourselves haying been in Alexandria, sàw the remains of the little cots at the Pharos still preserved (Jus tin, Hortatory Address to the Greeks, chap. 13; trans. from Ante-Nic. Fath.. I, 278).

* * *

25. Norman L. Toirrey, Voltaire and the English Deists, p. 165. 1 7 0

Il [st. Justin] s'Itoit assuré par lui-mime de 1'his toire des LXX. Interprètes, & de leur DjLyine Version fai- Il [St. Justin] prétend te au .tems du Roi Hérode, des avoir vu les restes des pe- 70 cellules où ils avoient tites maisons où furent en- travaillé chacun à part,,,,"Ne fermés les soixante & douze "vous imaginés pas, S Grecsl Interprètes dans le Phe,re "que ce que nous vous disons d'Egypte du temps d';Hérode. "soit une histoire faite à Le témoignage d'un homme "plaisir. Nous avons vu, qui a eu le malheur de voir "nous-mêmes, dans le Phare ces petites maisons, semble "d'Alexandrie, les vestiges indiquer que l'auteur devait "des petites maisons**J & n*é- y être renfermé (Pict. nhil.. toit-ce pas là une preuve que p. 31; Naves, I, 43). les Septante qu'on y avoit enfermés étoient véritable ment inspirés (Abauzit, OEu vres. 1, 254)?

Middleton also presents this ** silly story" at much greater length than either of the other two writers,but there is no definite trace of his work in the Dictionnaire.

Voltaire's reference is to the tradition of the seven ty translators of the Hebrew Old Testament into th@ Greek ver sion known as the Septuagint. These men were brought from

Palestine to the island of Pharos at Alexandria Ptolemy

Philadelphus about 250 B.C. They were shut up in separate cells, yet each produced the same translation without any variation, not even in the slightest detail. This legend was discredited before

Voltaire's time, which gives him the chance to throw his barb at

Justin who says that he has seen these cells,

* * *

26. Conyers Middleton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 31. 171

As keen as this thrust appeared to the eighteenth-

century reader, Voltaire again fails to make his point with the

modem scholar. This story of Justin's visit to the cells of the

translators is made in the Hortatory Address to the Greeks, which

is now regarded as coming from some pen other than Justin's,^*^

While Miss Waterman is probably correct in thinking

that Abauzit is the inspiration for this paragraph of Voltaire's,^®

there are two slight suggestions of other influences. In support

of her position, we can point out the similarity of phraseology:

les vestiges des petites maisons and les restes des petites

maisons; le Phare d'Alexandrie and le Phare d'Egypte; au tems

du Roi Hérode and du temps d'Hérode. Interprètes and enfermés

are used by both writers. On the other hand, the final sentence

in the Portatif may be reminiscent of Middleton's phrase, "weak

ness of judgment",in combination with Abauzit's petites maisons.

Voltaire's sentence, which performs the same function as two

somewhat tiring paragraphs of Middleton, is another example of how he gave life to dull arguments,

A third possible influence is to be seen in Voltaire's use of soixante & douze translators, a number given by some authorities,^^ instead of the LXX of Abauzit and Middleton, * * *

27, See page 154- of this study, 28, Mina Waterman, "Voltaire and Firmin Abauzit," Romanic Review. m i l l (October, 1942), 244. 29, Conyers Middleton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 32, 30, Ene, Brit.. XX, 335, article Septuagint. 172

A link between Middleton and both Abauzit and Voltaire is the mention of Herod, Nothing is said about this ruler in the

Hortatory Address to the Greeks. In his first Anoloey. however,

Justin states:

And when Ptolemy king of Egypt formed a libra ry,,..he heard also of these prophets, and sent to Herod, who was at that time king of the Jews.31

Since Ptolemy Philadelphus ruled some 200 years before Herod's time, the Father is of course in error in this statement. It is discussed at some length by Middleton in the sentence immedi ately following his quotation regarding the seventy interpreters.

That both Abauzit and Voltaire also use in consecutive phrases these two incidents from different works of Justin sug gests a relationship between the three. Since Abauzit*s manuscript was circulated probably as early as 173232 and Middleton's Inquiry was published in 1748,^^ it would appear that the English deist, as well as Voltaire, may have drunk at the fountain of the Swiss theologian.

31. Justin, first Apology^ chap. 31» trans. from Ante-Nic. Fath.. I, 173. 32. Mina Waterman, "Voltaire and Firmin Abauzit, " Romanic Review. XXXIII (October, 1942), 248. 33. Norman L. Torrey, Voltaire and the English Deists, p. 154. 1 7 3

2 0 .

God, when' he had made the whole world^ and subjected things earthly to man, and arranged the heavenly ele ments for the increase of fruits and rotation of the seasons, and appointed this divine law— for these things also He evidently made for mflTi— committed the care of men and of all things under heaven to angels whom He ap pointed over themt. But the angels transgressed this ap pointment, and were captivat ed by love of women, and be gat children who are those that are called demons (Jus tin, second Apology, chap. 5î trans. from Ante-Nic. Fath.. I, 190).

He asserts another doctrine On lui [à Justin] a fait full as monstrous; "that God un crime d'avoir dit dans "having created the world, son apologie du Christianis "committed the care of it to me, que Dieu ayant fait la "Angels; who transgressing terre, en laissa le soin aux "their duty, fell in love anges, lesquels étant deve "with women, and begot chil- nus amoureux des femmes, "dren on them, whom we call leur firent des enfans, qui "Daemons (Middleton, Miscel sont les démons (Diet, nhil.^ laneous Works. I, 2o). p. 138; Haves, I, 166).

In Middleton's Inquiry, as in the Dictionnaire, this sentence follows immediately the attack on Justin for his advocacy of sensual pleasures during the millennium. i n this case, the authors of both passages express correctly the ideas taken from

34. See page 232 of this study. 174

the Catholic Father, but since Voltaire’s reading is nearer to

Middleton’s than to that of the earlier writer, it is reasonable

to think that he was following the English work.

It will be noted in passing that, although Middleton uses quotation marks at every line of his sentence, for which he

gives, in a note, part of the Greek original, his passage is a

paraphrase rather than a quotation.

21,

Des gens d ’Ephèse,,,lui avoient assuré que S, Jean n’étoit pas mort, mais qu’il étoit dans sa fosse comme un homme qui dort est dans son lit; & que de la même manière qu’on voit les draps & la Il était visible â tous couverture hausser & baisser les yeux que St. Jean se à mesure que l ’on respire, remuait toujours dans sa aussi Toyoit-on hausser & fosse, & faisait continuel baisser par intervalles la lement hausser & baisser la terre de la fosse qui con terre (Pict.nhil.. p, 32; tenait le corps de l’Apôtre Naves, i, 45). (Abauzit, OEuvres. I, 294).

",,,at Ephesus. where St. "John, the Apostle, lay bur- "ied, he was not believed to "be dead, but to be sleeping "onely in the grave,,,,in "proof of which, they affirm- *ed that the earth, under "which he lay, was seen to "heave up and dovm perpetual- "ly, in conformity to the mo- "tion of his body, in the act "of breathing (Middleton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 188), 175

The tradition regarding John' G grave is found in

Augustine's Homilv on the Crosnel of John, Tractate CXXIV, 2.

Voltaire's account is much nearer to Abauzit's or to Middleton's than to the original, which is quite detailed.

As the sequence in which the incident is used in the

Dictionnaire, immediately following the discussion regarding the

Council of Laodicea, is the same as the order in which Abauzit presents the two subjects, it may well be that Voltaire was fol lowing the manuscript of his Swiss confrere. This view is strength ened when one notes that both writers use the phrase, hausser & baisser la terre. Middleton's pernetuallv. however, is nearer to continuellement than is Abauzit's par intervalles.

On the other hand, it may be that, instead of looking for a definite source, one should consider that Voltaire was drawing on a background which had been built up over the years by a combination of these, and quite possibly other, sources. 1 7 6

22.

S, Clément Alexandrin qui termine le second siècle, rend aussi témoignage à l'Apocalyp se.... Il ne dit nulle part que le Livre soit de l’ApStre S. Jean; mais en récompense il nous apprend qu'il y avoit Clément d'Alexandrie ne une Apocalypse de S. Pierre parle dans ses Electa que .... Cette Apocalypse de S. d'une Apocalypse de St. Fier- Pierre qu'au rapport de Gozo- re dont on faisait très-grand mène, on lisoit dans les Egli- cas (Diet, phil.^ p. 32; ses de la Palestine, étoit si Naves, I, A4), fort estimé de Clément, que non seulement il lui a donné place parmi ses Prophéties choisies, mais qu'il l'expliquoit encore dans ses Instruc tions comme un Livre Sacré (Abauzit, OEuvres. I, 261).

Although it would seem that Voltaire were depending on

Abauzit in making this statement, he uses another title for

Clement's work and presents his material somewhat more forcibly.

The terms, "Electa" and "prophéties choisies", evident ly refer to the work otherwise known as Prophetical Extracts. or Ecloeae pronheticae. a series of disconnected excerpts from some larger work of Clement, generally supposed to be his lost

Hvpotyposes. or Outlines.

In this work, there are three quotations from the Apo calypse of Peters 177

Wherefore Peter in the Apocalypse saith,...^^

Peter in the Apocalypse saith....^^

But the milk of mothers,...saith Peter in the Apocalypse....3?

While Voltaire turns Abauzit's statement, il lui a

donné place parmi ses Prophéties choisies, into the more positive

sentence, fill ne parle dans ses Electa que d'une Apocalypse de

St. Pierrep he is quite justified in doing so, as in this minor,

very short work, Clement does not mention the Apocalypse of John.

Intentionally or otherwise, the author of the Portatif

pays no attention to Abauzit's incorrect statements

II ne dit nulle part que le Livre soit de l'Apô tre S. Jean.

Perhaps he remembers that in the Stromata, an important, eight-

book treatise, the Alexandrian Father does quote its

He will sit down on the four and twenty thrones, as John says in the Apocalypse.3°

Voltaire also avoids another mistake made by Abauzit when he by-passes the letter's final sentences

35. Clement of Alexandria, Prophetical Extracts^ sec. Al, 2} trans. fr

Il l’expliquoit encore dans ses Instructions comme un Livre SacrI.

Clement has no work by that title, though he did write the

PaedagQgus. or Instructor, in which he gives instructions for the daily living of the Christians. It contains, however, no mention of the Apocalypse of Peter,

Voltaire as usual has produced a better pi&ce de guerre than his Protestant colleague.

23.

Therefore the opinion en tertained by Democritus, and Epicurus, and Dicaearchus concerning the dissolution of the soul is falsej and they wquld not venture to speak concerning the destruction of souls, in the presence of any magician, who knew that souls are called forth from the lower regions by certain incantations, and that they are at hand, and afford them selves to be seen by human eyes, and speak, and foretell future events; and if they should thus venture, they would be overpowered by the fact itself, and by proofs presented to them (Lactan- tius. Divine Institutes. Bk. VII, chap. 13; trans. frcan Ante-Nic. Fath.. VII, 210). 179

Lac'tantlus. speaking of certain Philosophers, who held that the soul perished with the body, says, “they "durst not have declared such Lactanoe, au Liv. 7. de «an opinion, in the presence ses institutions divines, "of any Magician, or if they dit, que si on osait nier "had done it, he would have 1*existence des ames après "confuted them upon the spot, la mort, le magicien vous en "ty sensible e^qjerimentsj by convaincrait bientôt en les "calling up souls from the faisant paraître (Pict. "dead, and rendring them vis— nhil.. p. 142; Hâves, I, "ible to human eyes, and mak— 176). "ing them speak and foretell "future events [2]."

...Divin, Institut, 1, [the 1. stands for liber1 7, c. 13.

(Middleton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 54)

It is evident that in this paragraph, Voltaire is fol lowing Middleton rather than Lactantius. In his “quotation", the English writer reshapes the vague statements of the Catholic

Father, making them more vivid and concrete. Voltaire continues the condensation and further dramatizes the ideas, in spite of the fact that he sets his sentence in italics, which Moland and

Naves interpret as indicating a quotation.

24.

Be [God] set before him [man] both good and evil things, inasmuch as He gave to him wisdom, the whole na ture of which is employed in ISO discerning things evil and good: for no one can choose better things, and know what is good, unless he at the same time knows to reject and avoid the things which are evil. They are both mu tually connected with each other, so that, the one be ing taken away, the other also must be taken away.... For if there is no evil, no danger— nothing, in short, which can injure man— all the material of wisdom is taken away, and will be un necessary for man....But if Lactance, père de l'Eglise, this account is true,...that ...dans son chap, 13. de la argument also of Epicurus is colère de Dieu, fait parler done away. God, he says, ainsi Epicure, "Ou Dieu veut either wishes to take away "Ster le mal d.e ce monde, & evils, and is unablej or He "ne le peut; ou il le peut, & is able, and is unwilling; "ne le veut pas; ou il ne le or He is neither willing nor "peut, ni ne le veut; ou en- able, or He is both willing "fin il le veut & le peut. and able. If He is willing "S'il le veut & ne le peut and is unable. He is feeble, "pas, c'est impuissance, ce which is not in accordance "qui est contraire â la na- with the character of God; "ture de Dieu; s'il le peut & if He is able and unwilling. "ne le veut pas, c'est mé- He is envious, which is "chancetl, & cela est non equally at variance with "moins contraire à sa nature; God; if He is neither will "s'il ne le veut ni ne le ing nor able. He is both en "peut, c'est à la fois mé- vious and feeble, and there "chancetl & impuissance; s'il fore not God; if He is both "le veut & le peut (ce qui willing and able, which "seul de ces partis convient alone is suitable to God, "à Dieu)’, d'où vient donc le from what source then are "mal sur la. terre? evils? or why does He not remove them?...For God is able to do whatever He wish es, and there is iK> weakness 181

or envy in God, He is able, therefore, to take away evils; but He does not wish to do so,,..For on this ac L'argument est pressant; count He does not take them aussi Lactance y répond fort away, because He at the same mal, en disant que Dieu veut time gives wisdom, as I have le mal, mais qu'il nous a shown,., .For wisdom causes us donné la sagesse avec' laquel even to know God, and by that le on acquiert la bien. Il knowledge to gain immortality, faut avotter que cette réponse which is the chief good. est bien faible en comparai Therefore unless we first son de l'objection; car elle know evil, we shall be unable suppose que Dieu ne pouvait to know good. But Epicurus donner la sagesse qu'en pro did not see this, nor did any duisant le mal; & puis, nous other, that if evils are ta avons une plaisante sagesse ken away, wisdom is in like (Diet. Phil., p. 5A; Naves, manner taken away (Lactan I, 77)Î tius, A Treatise on the Anger of God, chap. 13; trans, from Ante-Nic. Fath.. VII, 270),

Voltaire's quotation of the statement of Epicurus is, for him, unusually accurate. He omits one phrase, "and there fore not God (ideoque Deus^*^)," and adds, probably unconsciously, one of his own, enfin.

In giving his judgment on the reply of Lactantius, he says nothing about the basic reasoning by which the Catholic

Father arrives at his conclusion that evil and wisdom are neces sary counterparts of each other,

Voltaire's use of elle suppose is puzzling since it leads to the suspicion that he had not read the work of Lactantius,

The latter has used, both before and after his discussion of

* * *

39, Patrol, lat.. VII, 121, 182

Epicurus, in support of his own argument the very point raised ly Voltaire. Perhaps the author of the Portatif found his mate rial in an intermediate source.

25.

Therefore the intellectual principle which we call the mind or the intellect has an operation per se apart from the body. Now only that which subsists can have an operation per se....We must conclude, therefore, that the human soul, which is called L'ame est une forme~subsis- the intellect or the mind, tante, per se.AO is something incorporeal and subsistent (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologies, pt. 1, q. 75, art. 2j trans. from Dom. ed. (194.7), I, 364-).

St. Thomas does not use Voltaire’s form as such, but it is a good summary of the Father’s thought as found throughout question 75.^^

4.0. For the context in which this sentence is found) see page 148. 4-1. It may be mentioned that modern editors have changed the emphasis of Voltaire’s statement by omitting the comma after subsistante. The Varberg edition (1765) of the Dictionnaire, like that of 1764, carries a comma between subsistante and per se^ thus giving to the sentence the special emphasis of "une forme subsistante^ une forme per se." The editors of the Kehl edition (1784-89) do not use the comma, a reading which has been followed by other publishers, including Naves. This omission does not, to any great extent, change the thought, since St. Thomas uses subsistent in the sense of subsistent per se. but the statement is not as Voltaire made it. 183

26.

Le Concile de Laodicée, t e m en 360, ne compta point ' l'Apocalypse parmi les li- Ti'es canoniques (Diet, nhil.. p. 32; Naves, I, 45).

The Council of Laodicea was not considered as ecumeni cal and authorities do not agree as to its date, Voltaire's

360 is essentially correct. It is Hefele's opinion that:

Le mieux est de placer...la célébration du con cile de Laodicée entre 343 et 381.^2

Voltaire is also correct in regard to the omission of the Apocalypse from the canonical books. There are extant, in

Greek manuscripts, sixty canons of this council. The last one reads;

Voici les livres de l'Ancien Testament que l'on doit lire....Ceux du Nouveau Testament sont les suivants....*3

From this list of New Testament books, the Apocalypse is omitted.

Section II

We have placed in this section those items which are essentially in agreement with their source but which have more than a slight variation from the original.

* * *

42. Karl Joseph von Hefele, Histoire des Conciles. I, 995. 43. Ibid.. I, 1026. 184

1 .

A certain Jewish imposter On lit dans Socrate his [appeared in Crete and] pre torien Icllsiastique** que tended that he was Moses, and l'an 434 il parut dans l'île had been sent from heaven to de Candie un faux-Messie qui lead out the Jews inhabiting s'appellait Moïse. Il se that island, and conduct them disait l'ancien libérateur through the sea, for he said des Hébreux ressuscité pour that he was the same person les délivrer encore. who formerly preserved the Israelites by leading them ** Socr. hist. eccl. 1. 2. through the Red Sea (Socra chap. 38. tes, Ecclesiastical History. Bk, VII, chap. 38; trans, (Diet. Phil., p. 275; Naves, from Nic. and Post-Nic. II, UO) Fath.. 2nd ser., II, 174).

The only attempt that Socrates makes to date the in cident is that, after mentioning that Maximiam was ordained "on the 25th of October, under the consulate of Bassus and AntiochU8,"44 he continues with the first sentence of the above quotation,

"About this period, a certain Jewish imposter..." As this ordi nation occurred in 431,^^ Voltaire's date is fairly close.

The reference to the work of Socrates should read

Book VII, not Book II.

44. Socrates, Ecclesiastical History, Bk. VII, chap. 37; trans. from Nic. and Post-Nic. Fath.. 2nd ser., II, 174. 45. Nic. and Post-Nic. Fath.. 2nd ser., II, 174, n. 3. 1 8 5

For 1st even necromancy. Tous les pères de l'église and the divinations you prac— rendent témoignage à la ma- tise by immaculate children, gie. St. Justin avoHe dans and the evoking of departed son apologétique, au livre human souls,,,.persuade you 3. qu'on évoqué souvent les that even after death souls ames des morts, & en tire un are in a state of sensation argument en faveur de l'im- (Justin, first Anology. mortalité de l'ame (Diet, chap. 18; trans. from Ante- Phil.. p. 141; Naves, I, Nic. Fath.. I, l69). 175).

The Apologies of Justin are not usually divided into

books but chapters.4^ His statement regarding the souls of the dead is not found in chapter three of either, the first or second

Apology, but in chapter eighteen of the first.

Voltaire's paraphrase is fair enough, but his avotte. although effective for propagandistic purposes, is not in harmony with Justin's language which, far from being a confession, is an

exhortation,

Middleton also quotes, correctly enough, this passage.

There is little or no evidence, however, that the Dictionnaire paragraph is drawn frcrai his work. Its author gives as his ref erence au livre 3.. whereas Middleton writes, "Apol. 1. p. 27.

Edit. Thirlb."^'^

46. See Patrol, gr.. VI, 327 ff. 47. Conyers Middleton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 54. 1 8 6

3 . We offer our petitions to Les uns se prévalaient de the God of the universe l’opinion d'Origines, qui through His only-begotten Son. dit au chap* 6. contre Gel- To the Son we first present se. Nous présentons nos them, and beseech Him, as prières & Dieu par Jésus, "the propitiation for our qui tient le milieu entre sins," and our High Priest, les natures criées, & la na to offer our desires, and ture incréée, qui nous apor- sacrifices, and prayers, to te la grace de son père, & the Most High. Our faith, présente nos prières au therefore, is directed to God grand Dieu en qualité de no through His Son, who strength tre pontife (Diet, nhil.. ens it in us (Origen, Against p. 149; Naves, I, I84). Celsus. Bk, VIII, chap. 13; trans. from Ante-Nic. Fath.. IV, 644).

Voltaire is in error in his reference, as Origen’s statement is not in chapter six of any of the eight books of his work. Against Celsus. The quotation given, from Book VIII, is possibly the one which he had in mind. If so, he has added con siderably to Origen’8 ideas. 187

4 *

One of the most authentic and celebrated pieces in all primitive antiquity, is the circular latter of the Church of Smyrna, containing a nar rative of the Martyrdom of St. -Polycarp, their Bishop,,,, This letter, written about the middle of the second cen tury, informs us, "that when "that Saint was entring (sic) "the lists, in which he was "to be burnt, there was so "great a tumult, that nobody "could be heard.— But there "came a voice to him from "heaven, saying, be strong Ces philosophes ne peuvent "Polycarp, and acquit thv- se résoudre à croire les mi "self like a manj...the ex- racles opérés dans la second "ecutioner kindled the fire, sl&cle ; des témoins oculai "and the flame began to blaze res ont beau écrire que l'é- "to a great height. When be- vSque de Smyrna St. Policar- "hold, says the writer, a pe, ayant été condamné à "mighty wonder appeared to etre brSlé, & étant jetté "us, whose lot was to see it, dans les flammes, ils enten "and who were reserved by dirent une voix du ciel qui "heaven, to declare to others criait. Courage, Policarpe, "what we had seen. For the sois fort, montra toi homme; "flame, forming a kind of qu'alors les flammes du bû "arch, like to the sail of a cher s'écartèrent de son "ship filled with the wind, corps, & formèrent un pavil "encompassed the body of the lon de feu au-dessus de sa "martyr, as in a circlej who tête, & que du milieu du bû "stood in the midst of it, cher il sortit une colombe; "not as flesh, which is enfin on fut obligé de tran "burnt, but bread....At length, cher la tête de Policarpe "when these wicked men saw (Diet. Phil., p. 284; Naves, "that his body could not be II, 150). "consumed by fire, they com- "manded the executioner to "draw near, and to thrust his "sword into him; which being "done accordingly, there came "out of his Body a Dove, and "so great a quantity of blood "as quite extinguished the "fire (Middleton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 100). 188

Middleton* s "quotation" is again only a general sum

mary of the much longer account by Eusebius.^ Although we have

set it in parallel with Voltaire's passage, there is no evidence

that it was used for the Dictionnaire article, which could be a

retelling either of the English work or of the original,There

are the same deviations from both. In the Portatif, the voice

comes after the fire has been lit. Courage has been added to the

exhortation, there is no mention of the sword thrust, the dove

comes from the milieu du bûcher instead of from Polycarp's body,50

and we discover that on fut obligé de trancher la tSte de Policarpe.

While the details differ, the essential facts remain

the same in all three authors.

A8, Eusebius, Church History. Bk, IV, chap, 15, Â.9, We have used Middleton's work because it is a good summary of the narration of Eusebius and therefore shorter, 50, The account of Polycarp's death given in the Nieene and Post-Mieene Fathers makes no mention of the dove, A note (2nd ser,. I, 191, n, 28), however, states that in all the Greek manuscripts the words, "a dove," are found. The editors give as an explanation: "It seems probable that these words did not belong to the original text, but that they were, as many critics believe, an uninten tional corruption of some other phrase, or,,,a deliberate interpolation by a late editor," 189

It followed, therefore, from this rotundity of the heavens, that the earth was enclosed in the midst of its Lactance dit encor au liv. curved surface. But if this III. de ses institutions; Je were so.... courais. vous prouver par beaucoup d'arguments qu'il est impossible que le ciel entoure la terre (pictT But I should be able to Phil.. p. 78; Naves, I, 194). prove by many arguments that it is impossible for the heaven to be lower than the earth, were it not that this book must now be concluded (Lactantius, Divine Institu tes. Bk. Ill, chap, 24; trans. from Ante-Nic. Fath.. VII, 94 and # 1

Voltaire writes his quotation from Lactantius in ital ics, yet it is not a repetition of what the saint has said.

The first sentence above, taken from the Divine Insti tutes. is a summary by Lactantius of his opponent's argument, which he then proceeds to prove, to his satisfaction, could not be true. The second statement comes at the end of the next para graph.

Even though the quotation in the Portatif appears to come from an amalgamation of these two separate ideas, it fairly well represents the position of Lactantius. 190

At this date, he [Danitian] banished John the Apostle and Evangelist to the island of Patmos. There he, secret mysteries having been reveal ed to him, wrote and publish ed his book of the holy Reve lation, which indeed is ei ther foolishly or impiously not accepted by many (Sever- us, Sacred History. Bk. II, chap, 31; trans. from Nic. and Post-Nic. Fath.. 2nd ser., XI, 112).

...qui quidem a plerisque aut stulte aut impie non re- cipitur (Patrol, lat.. XX, U 6 ). Mais ceux qui tenaient pour le rigne de mille ans, furent inébranlables dans On ne sauroit non plus fai leur opinion. Sulpice Sévi re fonds sur une petite viva ra, dans son histoire sacrée cité de Sulpice Sévira, lors l i v . 9. traits d'insensés & qu'il traite de fous & d'im d'impies, ceux qui ne rece pies ceux qui rejettent l'A vaient pas l'Apocalypse pocalypse (Abauzit, OEuvres. (Diet. Phil.. p. 33; Naves, I, 297). I, 45).

In view of the evidence presented by Miss Waterman,5^ it is reasonable to consider that Voltaire took this paragraph from Abauzit's work. If so, he made two changes.

Where the Swiss author gives no reference, the Diction

naire has histoire sacrée liv. 9. One would think from this that

* * *

51. Mina Waterman, "Voltaire and Firmin Abauzit," Romanic Review. XXXIII (October, 1942), 2A6. 191

Voltaire had taken the trouble to look up his material, but ap

parently he did not, since he is incorrect as to its source. The

Sacred History of Severus has only two books, as is pointed out

in a note by Moland,

The striking implications of the vigorous insensés^ which is used in the Dictionnaire instead of Abauzit's fous, or the Latin stulte (foolishly^^), add support to the idea which

Voltaire has previously expressed by inébranlables.

Jerom's opinion of this af fair is much the same with Chrysostom’s: ®that this quar- "rel was but a fiction con- "trived privately between the "two Apostles, for the bene- "fit of their new converts, "Peter's commission was more "particularly directed to the "Jews, Paul* s to the Gentiles; "And though both of them were "equally concerned and zeal- "ouE to promote the common "cause of the Gospel, yet each "was more specially obliged, "to secure the salvation of "those, who were specially "committed to his care, Where- "fore, as there were great "jealousies and contests be- "tween the two factions of "the Jewish and Gentile con- "verts, about the observance

52, Mol,, m i , 289, n, 1, 53, Harpers* Dictionary. 192

"of the Mosaic rites, so it "was concerted by the Apos- "tXes, that Peter, in order "to keep the Jews united to "himself and to the faith of "Christ, should outwardly de- "clare himself on their side, "and pretend a zeal for their "principles: and lest the Gen- "tiles on the other hand, "should be drawn by his au- "thority to imitate his eon- "duct, Paul was to oppose him "warmly in public, for the "sake of keeping his party "likewise intire, and preserv- "ing his credit with them; "so that, by their mutual dis- "sifflulatlon, both sides might "in the end be saved. This he Cette querelle paraît "illustrates by the example of d'autant plus extraordinaire "the lawyers, who seem often de la part de St. Paul, "to scold and quarrel with qu'ayant été d'abord persé "each other, when they mean cuteur, il devait etre plus "nothing more, than to deceive modéré, & que lui-mëme il "the Iqr-standers, and gain the était allé sacrifier dans le "greater credit with their temple à Jérusalem, qu'il "Clients, by an affected zeal avait circoncis son disciple "for the cause, which they Timothée, qu'il avait accom "have undertaken to defend. pli les rites Juifs qu'il "If any one thinks, says he, reprochait alors â Cephas. "that Paul did really with- St. Jérôme prétend que cette "stand Peter, and out of zeal querelle entre Paul & Cephas■ "for the truth of the Gospel, était feinte. Il dit dans "did boldly insult his supe- sa première homélie, torn. 3. "rior, he will not be able to qu'ils firent eomnie deux "account for Paul'# conduct, avocats qui s'échauffent & "when to the Jews he became a se piquent au barreau, pour "Jew, that he might gain the avoir plus d'autorité sur "Jews; who must be condemned leurs clients; il dit que "of the same hypocrisy, when Pierre Céphas, étant destiné "he shaved his head at Cen- â. prêcher aux Juifs, & Paul "chrea. and paid his vow on aux Gentils, ils firent sem "that occasion in the Temple, blant de se quereller, Paul "and circumcised Timothy, the pour gagner les Gentils; aux "Son of a Gentile, &c.— and Gentils, (sic) & Pierre pour "with what face could he have gagner les Juifs. Mais St. 193

"the assuraxuse, to condemn "that in Peter, the Apostle "of the Jews, which he him- "self was guilty of, tho' the "Apostle of the Gentiles (Mid dleton, Miscellaneous Works. II, 6)."

St. Austir^^ charges it Augustin n'est point ,du tout "with being nothing else, de cet avis. Je suis fâché. "but a defence of useful and dit-il dans l'Ipitre à Jérô "Reasonable lying....® me, qu'un aussi grand homme se rende le patron du men [a] Patrocinium raendacii sus- songe. *oatronum mendacii* ceptum esse, vel a te tali (Diet. Phil., p. 137; Naves, viro, vel a guopiam, si alius I, 164). ista scripsit; fateor non me- diocriter doleo, &c. Epist. August, ad Hi'eron. Oper. Hie- ron. T. 4. par. 2. Bp. IXV. p. 602.

(Ibid.. p. 9)

Middleton's account, though set in quotation marks, is a summary of a much longer discussion by Jerome in his Homilv on Galatians, chapter two, verse eleven. Voltaire in turn finds

Middleton's treatment too long and condenses it. That he is taking his material from the English deist rather than from Jerome himself is shown, as Professor Torrey points out,55 iqr the fact that through inadvertence he uses Middleton's reference to Chrysostom, who was also quoted on the same page, and not the one given for

Jerome.

* * *

54. Middleton regularly uses this name for St. Augustine. 55. Norman L. Torrey, Voltaire and the English Deists^ p. 167. 194

In summarizing Middleton’s discussion, three pages farther on, of Augustine's reaction to Jerome's position, Voltaire is again careless enough to misquote the note, writing patronum where Middleton, as well as Augustine, has patrocinium— a mistake which makes but very little difference in the fundamental mean ing.

Abauzit also discusses this incident^^ and gives the correct reference, hut Voltaire appears to have paid no attention to his work.

8. It is not possible that the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are. For, since there are four zones of the world in which we live, and four principal winds, ...it is fitting that she [the Church] should have four pil lars, breathing out immortal ity on every side, and vivify ing men afresh. From which fact, it is evident that the Word, the Artificer of all,... has given us the Gospel under four aspects, but bound toge ther by one Spirit.,..For, [as the Scripture] (sic) says, "The first living creature was like a lion,"...the second was like a calf,..."the third- had, as it were, the face of a man,"..."the fourth was like

56. Abauzit, Œuvres. I, 303. 195

a flying eagle.

But that these Gospels alone are true and reliable, and admit neither an increase nor a diminution of the aforesaid number, I have proved by so many and such [arguments] (sic) (irenaeus. Against Heresies. Bk, III, chap, 11; trans, from Ante- Nic. Fath.. I, A28 and 429),

Mais on iugera de ce qu'il [s. IrenéeJ a lté capable de faire là-dessus, par la ma nière dont il s'y est pris pour s'assurer de la vérité des quatre Evangiles,,..Voi Mais on a reproché à St, ci ce qu'il appelle par mo Irénée d'avoir écrit qu'il destie une démonstration,,,! ne doit y avoir que quatre "Il y a quatre parties du Evangiles, parce qu'il n'y a monde, & quatre vents cardi que quatre parties du monde, naux, Il y a donc quatre & quatre vents cardinaux, & Evangiles dans l'Eglise, com qu'Ezéchiel n'a vu que quatre me il y a quatre colonnes animaux. Il appelle ce rai qui la soutiennent, & quatre sonnement une démonstration souffles de vie qui la ren (Diet, Phil,, p. 31; Naves, dent immortelle. Les quatre I, 44). animaux d'Ezéchiel marquent les quatre états du Fils de Dieu.,,(Abauzit, OEuvres. I, 256),"

Middleton also quotes the first two sentences of the statement by Irenaeus but says nothing about the living creatures,

* * *

57, Conyers Middleton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 44, 196

Voltaire has done more than merely take over Abauzit's work. The Swiss writer was concerned with the vérité of the

gospels, as his quoted statement and the remainder of his discus

sion (not given here) show, Voltaire, on the other hand, dis regards this phase and concentrates his fire on the number of the gospels.

While Abauzit, as well as Voltaire, is correct in speak ing of the quatre parties du monde. & quatre vents cardinaux, he is mistaken in regard to the quatre animaux. The "Scripture" to which Irenaeus refers is Revelation, not Ezekiel:

And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle,

These animals are, to be sure, much like the four liv ing creatures of Ezekiel:

And from the midst of it [the fire] came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the form of men, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings,,,,Each had the face of a man in front; the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle at the back,59

58, Revelation (R,S,V,), 4:6 - 7, 59, Ezekiel (R,S,V,), 1:5 - 10, 197

In Tiew of the similarity of these passages, it is not surprising that Abauzit should confuse them. Voltaire, evident ly placing his confidence in his Genevan confrere and not troubling to check his source, has continued the mistake.

The remark, II appelle ce raisonnement une dêmonstra- tioUf although it has characteristics of a Voltairian sally, is patently borrowed from Abauzit. But even then, it gains a more clear-cut ring as it comes from the pen of le patriarche de Fernev.

The miracle which was wrought at Milan v/hen I was there, and by which a blind man was restored to sight, could come to the knowledge of many: for not only is the city a large one, but also the emperor was there at the time, and the occurrence was witnessed by an immense con course of people that had gathered to the bodies of the martyrs Protasius and Gerva- sius, which had long lain con cealed and unknown, but were now made known to the bishop Ambrose in a dream, and discov ered by him. By virtue of these remains the darkness of that blind man was scattered and he saw the light of day (Augustine, City of God. Bk. XXII, chap. 8; trans. from Nic. and Post-Nic. Fath.^ 1st ser., II, A85). 198

St, Austin also affirms "that at Milan, while he was "there present, the reliques Mais comment oseriez-vous "of the Martyrs, Protasius nier, leur dit-on, que St, "and Gervasius. which lay Gervais & St, Protais ayent "buried in a place unknown, apparu en songe à St. Am- "were reveled to St, Ambrose broise, .qu'ils lui ayent en "in a dream; and that by the seigné l'endroit où étaient "touch onely of the same re- leurs reliques? que St, Am- "liques, a blind man was re- broise les ait déterrées, & "stored to his sight; of qu'elles ayent guéri un "which the whole people was aveugle? SI; Augustin était "witness, who flocked in alors à Milan; c'est lui qui "crouds to the bodies of the rapporte ce miracle immenso "said Martyrs [c]," nonulo teste, dit-il dans sa cité de Dieu livre 22, Voi [c] Immense populo teste res là un miracle des mieux con gesta est. De Civ, Dei, lib, statés (Diet. Phil,, p. 283; 22, c. 8. Naves, II, 149),

(Middleton, Miscellaneous Works, I, xxxix)

A phrase by phrase examination shows that the material which Middleton sets in quotation marks is only a paraphrase of

Augustine's ideas. It is even apparent that three statements have been omitted.

In spite of Voltaire's assertion that he is merely trans lating the account by the English deist,^^ a careful scrutiny reveals that he is in reality retelling the story. Although all but one of the ideas expressed in the Dictionnaire are found in

Middleton's "quotation", this paragraph is far from being a trans lation, Not only is the material expressed in different phrases

* * *

60, Mol,, XLIII, 375-376, Quoted by Norman L, Torrey, Voltaire and the English Deists, p, l60. See also page 165 of this study. 199

and more vigorous terms, but the opening clause, "St, Austin also

affirms, that at Milan, while he was there present," is transcribed

after the main details and combined vriLth part of the Latin note

and with the reference to Augustine's work. Evidently this sentence

was intended to be Voltaire's own comment and not part of the

translation.

The author of the Portatif also introduces one idea

which is not in Ambrose's, Augustine's, or Middleton's account

when he says:

St, Gervais & St, Protais ayent apparu en songe à St, Ambroise, qu'ils lui ayent enseigné l'en droit (A étaient leurs reliques,

The statement of Ambrose himself is only that:

A kind of prophetic ardor (ardor praesagii^^) seemed to enter my heart,®*

Augustine writes simply, "per somnium revelata,"^^ it is not

known when the story of the appearance to St, Ambrose of the two

men in the dream was added, but it is found in the Golden Legend.

the Legenda Aurea^ otherwise known as the Legends Sanctorum^ of

Jacobus de Voragine^ in the thirteenth century, Voltaire is

apparently drawing on his general knowledge when he introduces

this incident,

* * *

61, Patrol, lat.f XVI, 1062, 62, Ambrose, Letter XXII: trans, from Nig and Post-Mic. Path.. Ser, 2, X, A37, 63, Patrol, lat.. XLI, 761, 64, Granger %ran and Helmut L, Ripperger, The Golden Legend^ I, 320, 200

Another added detail, St. Ambroise lea a déterrées. can logically be inferred from Middleton's phrase, which lay buried.

As is to be expected, Voltaire tells a better story than either Augustine or Middleton,

1 0 .

At that time the Church was but recently instituted, and St. Thomas a la bonne foi had not, as yet, the poiver of d'avouer, que si les chré curbing earthly princes; and tiens ne détrSnIrent pas les so she allowed the faitliful empereurs, c'est qu'ils ne to obey Julian the apostate, le pouvaient pas (Diet. in matters that were not con 339; Naves, II, trary to the faith, in order to avoid incurring a yet greater danger (Thomas Aqui nas, Summa Theologica. pt. 2 of Pt. II, q. 12, art. 2j trans. from Dorn. ed. (1947), II, 1229-30).

...non dum habebat potesta- turn terrenos principes com- pescendi (Migne éd., III, 112).

In his Traité sur la tolérance (1763), Voltaire uses the same idea in the following form:

En effet, saint Thomas d'Aquin, docteur angé lique, interprète de la volonté divine (ce sont ses titres) avance que...on n'a toléré l'empereur Julien que parce qu'on n'était pas le plus fort,®^

65. Mol., XXV, 62, n. 1. 201

He then gives as his source livre IIj. part. 2. quest. 12.

In this Question 12, St. Thomas is considering the

subject, "Whether a Prince Forfeits His Dominion over His Sub

jects, on Account of Apostasy from the Faith, So That They Alo

Longer Owe Him Allegiance?" An objection has been raised as

follows:

It would seem that a prince does not so for feit his dominion over his subjects... .For Am brose says that the Emperor Julian, though an apostate, nevertheless had under him Christian soldiers, who when he said to them. Fall into line for the defense of the republic, were bound to obey. Therefore subjects are not ab solved from their allegiance,to their prince on account of his apostasy.

It is on the reply of St. Thomas (quoted above) that Voltaire bases his attack.

Voltaire's use of dëtrSn&rent gives a much more pejora tiveemphasis to the statement of the learned Father than does

the original comoescendi

66. Thomas Aquinas, loc. cit. 67. Restraining, checking— Harpers' Dictionary. 202

11.

Nous avons un fragment de Denis d'Alexandrie, dans le quel il rapporte l'extrait du Hear also the words which greffe d'un proconsul d'Egyp were uttered hy both of us te, sous l'empereur Valerian; as they have been put on rec le voici. ord. When Dionysius, and "Dénis, Fauste, Maxime, Faustus, and Maximus, and "Marcel, & Cheremon, ayant Marcellus, and Chaeremon had "lté. introduits à l'audience, been placed at the bar, AEmi- "le préfet Smilien leur a lianus, as prefect, said: "dit: Vous avez pÛ connaître "I have reasoned with you "par les entretiens que j'ai verily in free speech, on "eus avec vous, & par tout ce the clemency of our sover "que je vous en ai écrit, eigns, as they have suffered "combien nos princes ont te- you to experience it; for "raoignl de bonté à votre I- they have given you power to "gard; je veux bien vous le save yourselves, if you are "redire: ils font dépendre disposed to turn to what is "votre conservation & votre accordant with nature, and "salut de vous-mêmes, & vStre to worship the gods who also "destinée est entre vos maintain them in their king "mains: ils ne demandent de dom, and to forget those "vous qu'une seule chose, que things which are repugnant "la raison exige de toute to nature,,,[Four lines omit "personne raisonnable, c'est ted] ...Dionysius made re "que vous adoriez les dieux ply thus: "All men do not "protecteurs de leur empire, worship all the gods, but "& que vous abandonniez cet different men worship dif "autre culte si contraire à ferent objects that they "la nature & au bon sens. suppose to be true gods... "Dénis a répondu; Chacun [Thirteen lines omitted]... "n'a pas les mîmes dieux, & ASmilianus, as prefect, said "chacun adore ceux qu'il to them; "I perceive that . "croit l'être véritablement. you are at once ungrateful Tje préfet Emilien a re- to and insensible of the "pris: Je vois bien que vous clemency of our princes. "etes des ingrats, qui abusez Wherefore you shall not re •ties bontés que les empereurs main in this city; but you "ont pour vous. Eh bien, shall be despatched to the "vous ne demeurerez pas da- parts of Libya, and settled "vantage dans cette ville, & in a place called Cephro: "je vous envoyé à Cephro dans for of this place I have l e fond de la Lybie; ce sera made choice in accordance "là le lieu de votre bannis— with the command of our "sement, selon l'ordre que princes. It shall not in "j'en ai reçu de nos empe- 203

any wise be lawful for you "reurs; au reste, ne pensez or any others, either to "pas y tenir vos assemblées, hold assemblies or to enter "ni aller faire vos prières those places which are call "dans ces lieux que vous nom— ed cemeteries. And if ary "mez des cimetières, celâ. one is seen not to have be "vous est absolument défendu, taken himself to this place "& je ne le permettrai à per- whither I have ordered him "sonne. to repair, or if he be dis Rien ne porte plus les ca covered in any assembly, he ractères de vérité, que ce will prepare peril for him procès verbal (Diet. Phil.. self; for the requisite pun p. 1A3; Naves, I, 178), ishment will not fail (Diony sius, Epistle X. 5; trans. from Anta-Nic. Fath.. VI, 105).

AEmilianus praefectus di xit: Non solum scripto, ssd etiam viva voce vobiscum disserui de humanitate prin- cipum nostrorum, qua illi erga vos utuntur. Vobis enim potestatem fecerunt sa- lutis vestrae retinendae, dummodo ad id quod naturae consentaneum est feiri, de- osque imperii illorum custo des, adorare et eorum quae naturae ipsi repugnant ob- livisci velletis.

...is sibi ipse periculum arcesset. Non enim deerit congrua animadversio (Patrol. £T., X, 1322).

This passage in the Dictionnaire bears the earmarks of being an accurate quotation. Voltaire introduces it with the phrase. Le voici, and ends by saying, "Rien ne porte plus les caractères de vérité que ce procès verbal." It is printed with 204 quotation marks at every line. The source is given, though very vaguely, and, since it is a question of a legal document, one would expect a translator to be particularly careful. The quota tion, however, is far from exact.

The whole translation, if translation it be, is ex ceedingly free. In introducing it, Voltaire supplies the detail of 1*extrait du greffe d*un proconsul d*Egypte, Diorysius says only, "as they have been put on record," Valerian, however, is mentioned in one of the sections which Voltaire omits from the account of Dionysius. In addition to the lack of accuracy, as indicated below, there are omitted entirely one section of four lines and another of thirteen lines.

Contrary to his almost invariable custom of condensing what he quotes, Voltaire makes his first sentence longer than the original. This suggests that he has a purpose. His thesis at this point is the attempt of the Roman emperors to be tolerant towards the early Christians in spite of their intransigence.

This may be the reason for his emphasis on the comparative free dom of this group when he says, ils ne demandent de vous qu'une seule chose— an emphasis which is lacking in the procès verbal.

It may also be the reason for the phrases which he adds to the document, all of which stress tolerance: (a) ,ie veux bien vous le rediref (b) vStre destinée est entre vos mains, (c) que la raison exige de toute personne raisonnable, and (d) fsi contraire à la 205 naturel & au bon sens.

In view of this one wonders at the change in the last sentence of Dionysius which gives it a much more dominating tone.

Although Voltaire's departures from the text of Diony sius are perhaps within the spirit of the original, they do add the stamp of his own ideas, and emphasize, more than does the extrait du greffe, the ideals of reason and tolerance,

12,

But we do confess that a kingdom is promised to us up on the earth, although before heaven, only in another state of existence; inasmuch as it . will be after the resurrec tion for a thousand years in the divinely-built city of Jerusalem, "let down from heaven," which the apostle calls "our mother from heav en;" and, while declaring that our.,,citizenship is in heaven, he predicates of it that it is really a city in heaven. This both Ezekiel had knowledge of and the Apos tle John beheld. And the word of the new prophecy which is a part of our belief, attests how it foretold there would 206 be for a sign a picture of Tertullien, grand partisan this city exhibited to view du règne de i^Ue ans, non- previous to its manifestation. seulement assure que St, Jean This prophecy, indeed, has a prédit cette résurrection, been very lately fulfilled in & ce règne de mille ans dans an expedition to the East. la ville de Jérusalem; mais For it is evident from the il prétend que cette Jérusa testimony of even heathen lem commençait déjà à se witnesses, that in Judea former dans l'air, que tous there was suspended in the les chrétiens de la Palesti sky a city early every morn ne, & même les payens, l'a ing for forty days. As the vaient vue pendant quarante day advanced, the entire fig jours de suite à la fin de ure of its walls would wane la. nuit: mais malheureuse gradually, and sometimes it ment la ville disparaissait would vanish instantly (Ter- dès qu'il était jour (Pict. tullian. Against Marcion. Bk. Phil,. p, 32; Naves, I, 44X Ill, chap, 24; trans, from Ante-Nic, Fath,. Ill, 342, The chapter number is incor rectly given as 25),

Nous reconnoissons que nous avons un règne de mille ans sur la terre, savoir la Ré surrection pour mille ans dans la ville de Jérusalem, faite de la main de Dieu, & descendue du Ciel, Ezéchiel la connoissoit, l'ApStre Jean l'a vue, & les nouvelles Pro phéties auxquelles nous croy ons, en ont mSme représenté le plan avant qu'elle fût construite, pour servir de signe quand elle paroîtroit Enfin ce signe a paru depuis peu dans une découverte faite en Orient, & dont les Payens femes sont témoins. On a vu en Judée, pendant quarante jours au matin, une ville suspendue en l'air, dont les murs diminuoient à mesure que le jour augmentoit, & qui disparut enfin (Abauzit, OEuvres. I, 264), 207

Miss Waterman gives this as one of the incidents which

Voltaire borrowed from Abauzit^^ but there is very little evi dence, other than its position in the text, that it was taken from the Swiss writer rather than from Tertullian himself. The phrase, dans I'air, is the only suggestion of the Genevan's language.

Although Voltaire's presentation of Tertullian's ideas regarding the cite dans I'air are in the main correct, his remark about John's prediction is not so well grounded. The Catholic

Father, both in the original and in Abauzit's account, says only that John "beheld" the city. If Voltaire means to use this as a basis for his statement that,

Tertulien assure que St, Jean a prédit cette re surrection, & ce règne de mille ans dans la ville de Jérusalem, he must rely on other sources to make such an interpretation, and assure is hardly in harmony with Tertullian's, or Abauzit's, language. The former speaks, it is true, of an "apostle", but he is referring to Paul, not to John, It is Paul who calls Je rusalem "our mother",69 He further says, "Our citizenship is in heaven,"?0 and then states that, "God has prepared for them a

* * *

68, Mina Waterman, "Voltaire and Firmin Abauzit," Romanic Review. XXXIII (October, 1942), 245. 69, Galatians, 4:26, 70, Philippians, 3:20 208

[heavenly] city.John is not mentioned in this connection.

The detail that tons les chrétiens de la Palestine saw the city in the air is Voltaire's. Neither Tertullian nor Abauzit says anything explicitly about the Christians. 72 Malheureusement is also a Voltairian touch. * * •«•

71. Hebrews, 11:16. 72. Voltaire treats the subject of the new Jerusalem on various occasions. Since, according to the editors of the Ante- Nicene Fathers. "Tertullian is the only author who mentions this prodigy [of the city's appearing in the heavens] (III, 342, n. 26)," a review of Voltaire's use of the event is interesting. His statement in the Dictionnaire of 1764 is a detailed presentation; "Tertullien prétend...que tous les chrétiens de la Palestine, & même les payens, l'avaient vue." In his Philosophie de l'histoire (written, at least in part, in 1764 (Mol., XLIII, 239), and published in 176$), he is more ob jective and accurate when he writes: "On vi^ au rapport de Tertullien, la Jérusalem nouvelle...(Mol., XI, 93)." In the Examen important (first draft, 1736-46, but published in 1766), Voltaire changes his thought to: "[Tertullien] la vit de ses yeux (Mol., XXVI, 244)." De la Paix perpétuelle (1769) includes Justin along with Tertullian, both of whom "saw" the city: "Deux insensés, nommés Justin et Tertullien, ont déjà vu de leurs yeux, pendant quarante nuits, la nouvelle Jérusalem (Mol., XXVIII, 120)." Justin alone appears in the article Apocryphes of the Questions sur 1'Encyclopédie (1770): "Le ràgne de mille ans, et la nouvelle Jérusalem céleste, que Justin avait vue dans les airs pendant quarante nuits...(Mol., XVII, 314)." In a footnote ih La Bible enfin expliquée (composed in part, 1736-49, but published in 1776), Justin again "saw" it: "Cela ressemble à la Jérusalem céleste, qui descend du ciel dans 1 'Apocalypse, et que le bonhomme saint Justin vit pendant quarante nuits consécutives (Mol., XXX, 208)." Do these passages represent a change in Voltaire's thinking? Does he, through the years, come to consider Tertullian, not as reporting, but as seeing the heavenly city, and then, for getful of the saint, confuse Justin's millenarianism with the vision to the point where he thinks that it was Justin alone who saw it? For another interesting example of the development of Vol taire's thought, see Appendix, page 293. 209

13.

The nearness to God desig- St. Thomas, à la question nated by the name of the 108. article second, dit qua Thrones. belongs also to the les trônes sont aussi près Cherubim and Seranhim (Thomas de Dieu que les Chérubins & Aquinas, Summa Theologica. les Séraphins, parce que pt. 1, q. 108, art. 6j trans. c'est sur eux que Dieu est from Dom. ed. (194-7), I, 535). assis (Diet, phil.. p. 25; Naves, I, 33).

This statement is not found in the second article of question 108, as Voltaire says, but in the sixth. The quotation is accurate enough except that St. Thcsnas does not give the reason attributed to him in the Dictionnaire, parce cue c'est sur eux que Dieu est assis. As a matter of fact, he gives no reason at all.

Voltaire may add this clause because he confuses it with a previous passage in the Summa where the author of the gros volumes reviews a lengthy explanation of Dionysius on the meaning of "Thrones", an explanation which implies that God does sit on the Thrones.It seems more probable, however, that Voltaire gives this reason simply because it is a commonly accepted idea,?^ coming perhaps from Revelation.

In any case, the reason attributed to St. Thomas is not given by him.

* * *

73. Thomas Aquinas, o p . cit.. I, 533. 74. Of. Gregory I, "...throni Dei..,ut in eis Dominus sedeat." (XL Ifomiliarum in evangelia. lib. II, ham. XXXIV, 10; Patrol, lat.. LXXVI, 1252) 210

We have said that there Le Pape Grégoire second a were truly nine orders of an réduit & neuf choeurs, à gels, because we know clearly neuf hiérarchies ou ordres, on the testimony of the sa les dix choeurs des Anges cred writings that they are: reconnus par les Juifsj ce angels, archangels, virtues, sont les séraphins, les Ché powers, principalities, domi rubins, les Trônes, les do nations, thrones, cherubim, minations, les vertus, les and seraphim (Gregory I, For- puissances, las Archanges, & tv Homilies on the Gospels. enfin les Anges qui donnent Bk. II, Horn. XXXIV, 7j Patrol. le nom aux huit autres hié lat.. LXXVI, 1249). rarchies (Diet, nhil.. p. 25; Naves, I, 32).

Voltaire is in error in attributing these nine orders of angels to Pope Gregory II. Pope Gregory I, the Great, estab lished this order more than a hundred years before the rule of

Gregory 11.75 The Dictionnaire also fails to follow the ranking of the angels made by Gregory I, using instead that of Dionysius, which puts the virtues above the powers. In addition, the prin cipalities are entirely omitted from the Portatif.

75. This mistake is continued in the Varberg edition of the Diction naire, but the editors of the Kehl edition have corrected the error, as have Beuchot and Moland. Naves, however, re stores, as he should, Grégoire second, though without any note. 76. This paragraph has been a source of difficulty for the editors of Voltaire's works. The omission of the principalities, apparently an oversight, is continued in the Varberg edition. In Section II of the Dictionnaire, undated hX Beuchot and by Moland (Mol., XVII, 254), Voltaire gives the order of the angels, including the principalities, according to the rank ing of Diorysius, though he attributes it to, "les auteurs connus sous le nom de Denis l'Aréopagite et de Grégoire I@f." This statement is puzzling, since, not only are the orders given by these two authorities different, but Dionysius lived about Â.D. 100 and Gregory some 500 years later. As a further complication, the editors of the Kehl edition 211

Section III

Under this heading will be found items for which the evidence is inconclusive as to whether or not Voltaire is correct, either because a source could not be definitely located or be cause of some obscurity of meaning.

1. St. Augustin dans sa 109®. lettre, ne fait nulle diffi culté d'attribuer des corps déliés & agiles aux bons & aux mauvais Anges (Pict. P h i l . . p. 24; Naves, I, 32).

The subject of Angels is not in any wise discussed in letter 109 in the Benedictine edition (1679-1700) of Augustine's works,or in letter 211,^^ which in this enumeration is letter

109 of other arrangements. Moreover, letter 109 of the Benedic tines was not written by Augustine, but to him by Severus.

In Section III (Moland edition) of the article Paul.

* * *

omit entirely the enumeration of the angels, beginning with ce sont and continuing to the end of the paragraph— a reading which is followed by Beuchot and by Moland. On the other hand. Naves not only quite rightly restores this omitted part, but in addition supplies the missing principautés, inserting it, strangely, according to the order of Dionysius, not of Gregory, It would be inter esting to know what authority he has for this, since he says that he is reproducing the Dictionnaire "dans le texte de 1764 (I, xxv)." 77. Patrol, lat.. m i l l , 416. 78. IMâ., p. 958. 212 written for the Questions of 1772,’^ Voltaire cites Augustine's cent cinauante-troisiSme letter. A note, attributed to him, refers to the Edition des Bénédict.. which is correct,

Thera was in the library at Ferney the Lettres de saint

Augustin^ Paris, 1684-, 6 vols, ln-8.80 Judging by the descrip tions given in the catalogs of the Bibliothèque Nationale®^ and the British Museum, this must be the Benedictine edition. There is of course no way of knowing when it came into Voltaire's possession or whether he ever had any other.

Although it is probably not the passage referred to, the following sentence contains somewhat the idea expressed in the

Dictionnaire:

Even now surely our body hath life; and yet com pared with that body which is to be like the bod ies of Angels, the body of man is found to be dead, although still having life.®^

79. Mol., XX, 190. 80. George R, Havens and Norman L. Torrey, "Voltaire's Books: A Selected List," Modern Philology. XXVII (August, 1929),

81. Cat, gen, des livres imprimes de la Bib. Nat.. V, 421, Nos. 411 and 413. 82. Augustine, On the Psalms. LXXXVI, 16; trans. from Nic. and Post-Nic. Fath.. 1st ser., VIII, 4l6. 213

La mémoire des choses spi rituelles est spirituelle, & la mémoire des corporelles est corporelle.®^

This may be a paraphrase of a passage found in a dis cussion which St. Thomas has about memory:

Thus, therefore, if we take memory only for the power of retaining species, we must say that it is in the intellectual part [of the soul]. But if in the notion of memory we include its object as something past, then the memory is not in the intellectual, but only in the sensitive part, which apprehends individual things.®*

On ne sait pas encor si ces bons & mauvais Anges pas sent continuellement de leur poste à un autre, ou s'ils sont relevés par d'autres. Consultez sur cet article la somme de St. Thomas (Pict. P h i l . . p. 25; Naves, I, 32).

Guardian angels are discussed by St. Thomas in Part I, question 113 of the Summa. and demons in question U4-. The Father has the following to say regarding the angels:

83» For the context in which this sentence is found, see page HS, 8A. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica. pt. 1, q. 79, art. 6; trans. from Dom. ed. (1947), I, A02, 2 U

From the very mmnent of his birth man has an angel guardian appointed to him,®5

The angel guardian never forsakes a man en tirely, but sometimes he leaves him in some particular, for instance by not preventing him frcMa being subject to some trouble, or even from falling into sin... .Although an an gel may forsake a man sometimes locally, he does not fof that reason forsake him as to the effect of his guardianship; for even when he is in heaven he knows what is happening to man; nor does he need time for his local mo— tion, for he can be with man in an instant.®®

The fiummft is silent regarding this aspect of the wick ed angels, but does contain the remark:

The devil does nevertheless sometimes return to the assault.®?

Although Voltaire's thinking does not bear point by point on these passages from St. Thomas, the ideas of the two men may have some common elements.

85. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica^ pt. 1, q. 113, art. 5; trans. from Dom. ed. (1947), I, 553. 86. Ibid.. art. 6; (trans.) I, 554. 87. Ibid.. q. 114, art. 5; (trans.) I, 559. 215

4. Lee persécutions ne furent pas continuées. Orig&ne, dans son livre trois contre Celse, dit. On peut compter facilement les chrétiens oui sont morts pour leur reli gion. parce qu*il en est mort peu. & seulement de temps en tenms. & par intervalle (Diet. P h ü .y p. 143; Maves, I, 177).

The only mention that Origen makes of this subject in

Book III of his Against Celsus reads as follows: They have obtained this reward from God, that He has always warred in their behalf, and on certain occasions has restrained those who rose up against them and desired to destroy them. For in order to remind others, that hF seeing a few engaged in a struggle for their reli^on, they also might be better fitted to despise death, some, on special occasions, and these individuals who (sic) can be easily numbered^^ave endured death for the sake of Christianity.®®

It will be observed that, while Voltaire keeps the main facts of Origen*s sentence, i.e., some people, on special occa sions, have died for Christianity and one can easily count them, he changes the spirit and emphasis of the original by making

Origen*8 parenthetical clause, **individuals who can be easily numbered," his main clause and by giving Origen*s main clause,

"some,...have endurmd death," as his reason, parce au*il en est mort peu. Another difference is that Origen, in this chapter, is speaking primarily not about persecutions, but about God*s ability * * *

SB. Origen. Against Celsus. Bk. Ill, chap. 8;. trans. from Ante- Mic. Fath.. IV, 467. 216

to protect the Christians. There results, thus, in the Dictionnaire.

the impression that the Church Father is saying that there is but

little persecution, whereas he is really emphasizing the great

extent of God's protection. Even though it be granted that Voltaire

is quoting the words of the saint correctly, it still must be

said that he is not reproducing the letter's thought.

The idea expressed in the Portatif is found in an even more concise form in the Traité sur la tolerance (1763) and in

De la nalx perpétuelle (1769). In each case, the supposed quotation

is identical. In the Traité, Voltaire writes:

Origéne,,,avoue expressément, dans son troi sième livre contre Celse, "qu'il y a eu très- peu de martyrs, et encore de loin â loin,

The reading in De la paix perpétuelle is:

Origène luinsSine,, .avoue dans son troisième livre contre Celse, en ces propres mots: "Il y a eu très-peu de martyrs, et encore de loin à loin,

These "quotations" are as far from the original as is the one in the Dictionnaire and the use of avoue expressément, as well as of en ces propres mots, re-enforces the emphasis given there to Origen's words.

89. Mol., XXV, 51. 90. Mol., XXVIII, 108. 217

Ceux qui professait la ma gie, qui la croyaient une science, ou qui feignaient de le croire, prétendaient avoir le secret de faire descendre les Dieux dans les statues, non pas les grands Dieux, mais les Dieux secon daires, les génies. C'est ce que Mercure Trismégiste appellait faire des Dieux; & c'est ce que St. Augustin réfute dans sa cité de Dieu (Diet. P h i l .. p. 224; Naves, II, 44).

Voltaire's idea, restated, is that Augustine refutes the claim that men have the power to make the Dieux secondaires, les génies enter into statues. Whether or not he is justified in this cannot be demonstrated incontrovertibly.

Mercury Trismegistus, better known as Hermes Trisme— gistus, was an Egyptian, variously considered as god and as man.

Some time after the fifth century B.C., Greek philosophers, wish ing to give weight and authority to their teachings, ascribed them to him.^^ The reading public thus came to consider these writings as translations of the ancient Hermes. Voltaire himself was of the opinion that they were of Egyptian authorship. About

A.D. 300, a little before Augustine's time, there were probably hundreds of fairly short Hermetic writings in circulation^^ and

* * *

91. Walter Scott, Hermetica. I, 1 ff, 92. Walter Scott, Op . cit.. I, 6, 213 many Greek and. Latin classical authors, as well as Church Fathers, quoted from them or made reference to them.^^

Voltaire’s statement regarding Mercury Trismegistus is essentially correct, except that the Egyptian does not consider the art of making gods a pretended one, but treats it in all seriousness. A portion of his discussion is:

Man is the fashioner of the gods who dwell in temples.

[He] has been able to find out how gods can be brought into being and to make them....Our an cestors., .invented the art of making gods out of some material substance suited for the pur pose. And...being unable to make souls, they invoked the souls of daemons [or angels— vel aneeloruml and implanted them in the statues by means of certain holy and sacred rites..,. They are induced, Asclepius, by means of herbs and stones and scents which have in them something divine...,Thus it is that man makes gods,°^

Augustine’s discussion extends over many chapters in the City of God, principally Book VIII, chapters 23 and 2A, He does not egress his opinion in a clear-cut fashion and frequently one cannot be sure whether he is speaking from his own viewpoint or from his opponent's, since both interpretations are possible.

If one accepts the more apparent conclusion, the Bishop of Hippo contends, not that these supernatural beings cannot be

* * *

93. Qp. cit.. IV, 5A7 ff. 94. Asclepius, III, 23, b; trans, from Scott, Op . cit.. I, 339. 95. Ibid., Ill, 37 and 38, aj (trans,) I, 359 to 361, 219 enticed into statues, but that, although they are induced to enter them, they are demons, not gods, and hence are not to be worshiped. If this view is correct, Voltaire is in error in his statement.

The good Father, however, does support Voltaire's main thesis, which is that les images des Dieux n'étaient point des

D i e u % ? 6 — that they were merely blocs de marbre.

Elle [I'&mel est toute en tout.98

We were unable to find this phrase in the Summa Theo- gica. It may be Voltaire's paraphrase of St. Thomas' state ment:

The whole soul is in each part of the body (anima tota est in quSlibet parte corporis).

If this be the source, the phrase, toute en tout, is not a good expression of the saint's thought, since it makes obscure a sentence which is clear in its own context.

96. Diet. P h i l .f p. 225; Naves, II, 45. 97. Diet. P h i l . y p. 223; Haves, II, 43. 98. For the context in which this sentence isfound, see page 148. 99. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica^ pt. 1, q. 76, art. 8; trans. from Dom. ed. (1947),1, 382; original from Migne edition. I, 1232. 220

Il y a trois âmes végéta tives,. sçavoir, la nutritive. 1» augmentative. la géi^ra-

Voltaire gives here an incorrect impression of St.

Thomas' ideas, inasmuch as he makes it appear, as the ordinary man views it, that according to the saint each person hasthree souls.

An examination of the discussion of St. Thomas shows that, as he uses the terms, such is not his thought. In question

78, article 1, he is considering the subject, "Whether There Are to Be Distinguished Five Genera of Powers of the Soul?" He begins by stating his opponents* argument against the proposition as follows (all italics are ours):

It would seem that there are not to be dis tinguished five genera of powers in the soul— namely, vegetative, sensitive, appetitive, locomotive, and intellectual. For the powers of the soul are called its parts. But only three parts of the soul are commonly assigned — namely, the vegetative soul, the sensitive soul, the rational soul. Therefore there are only three genera of powers in the soul, and not five.

To this argument, St, Thomas replies, first, ly quot ing from De Anima, II, 3:

The powers are the vegetative, the sensitive, the appetitive, the locomotive, and the in-

* * ♦

100. For the context of this sentence, see page 148. 221

tellectual^ and, second, by giving his own opinion;

There are five genera of powers of the soul, as above mmbered. Of these, three are called 8 0 uls.l°l

Thus it is seen that St. Thomais, when he speaks of the vegetative soul, means only the vegetative power of the soul.

This power in turn is subdivided into three minor powers or parts.

In the words of the Father;

The vegetative part has three powers (tres sunt potentiae vegetativae partes)....One is ...the generative power. Another is...the augmentative power. Another is...the nutri tive power.

The trois ames végétatives of the Dictionnaire are thus resolved into "three powers" of the soul, in the sense in which St. Thomas uses the term.

Again Voltaire reproduces the words of the saint but not his thought.

101, Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica. pt. 1, q. 78, art. Ij trans. from Dom. ed. (1947), I, 390. 102. Ibid.f pt. 1, q. 78, art. 2j (trans.) I, 392; original from Migne edition. I, 1248. 222

Section IV

This section will consist of items which contain state ments not justified by available evidence.

Afterward he [Dionysius] speaks in this manner of the Apocalypse of John. "Some before us have set aside and rejected the book altogether, criticising it chapter by chapter, and pro nouncing it without sense or argument, and maintaining that the title is fraudu lent, For they say that it is not the work of John, nor is it a revelation, because it is covered thickly and densely by a vail of obscur ity, And they affirm that none of the apostles, and none of the saints, nor any one in the Church is its au thor, but that Cerinthus,,,, desiring reputable authority for his fiction, prefixed the name,,,,But I could not venture to reject the book, as many brethren hold it in high esteem,,,,Therefore that he [the author of the Apoca lypse! was called John, and that this book is the work ■ of one John, I do not deny. And I agree also that it is the work of a holy and in spired man. But I cannot readily admit that he was the apostle, the son of Zeb- 223

edee, the brother of James (Eusebius, Church History. VII, 25j trans. from Nic. and Post-Nic. Fathers. 2nd ser., I, 309."

Plusieurs Docteurs, qui ont ▼ecu avant S. Dénys d'Alexan drie, à ce qu'il assure lui- mlme dans un long fragment qu'Eus&be nous a conservé, ont fait des remarques criti ques & particulières sur l'A pocalypse (Abauzit, OEuvres. I, 272). Cependant St. Denis d'Ale xandrie, qui écrivait vers "Quelques-uns de mes prédé le milieu du troisième siè cesseurs, dit-il [Dinys], l'ont cle, dit dans un de ses frag rejette entièrement, & l'ont ments conservé par Eusèbe, refuté Chapitre par Chapitre, que presque tous les docteurs faisant voir qu'il étoit des rejettaient l'Apocalypse, titué de sens & de raison, que comme un livre destitué de 1'inscription en étoit fausse, raison; que ce livre n'a qu'il n'a point été composé point été composé par St. par S. Jean, mais par Cérin- Jean, mais par un nommé Cé- the, qui vouloit employer un rinthe, lequel s'était servi grand nom pour donner plus de d'un grand nom, pour donner poids à ses rêveries.Pour plus de poids a ses rêveries moi, ajoute-t-il, je n'oserois (Diet. Phil., p. 32; Naves, entièrement rejetter ce livre, I, U ) . sur-tout parce que plusieurs de mes Amis le reçoivent (Od . cit.. I, 278).

Voltaire is both right and wrong in his statements in this paragraph. He is right in quoting Dionysius as saying that,

"ce livre n'a point été composé par St. Jean." He is not so happy, however, in his other comments. It will be noted that his phrase, presque tous les docteurs, is an over-emphasis of the expression, "Some before us (Nonnulli quidem ex iis qui nos 224 praecesserunt^^^)," which is used hy the saint of Alexandria.

It is also an exaggeration of plusieurs docteurs, as Abauzit has it. That Dionysius did not intend even to imply that it was presque tous les docteurs is shown by his further statement that,

"I could not venture to reject the book, as many brethren (multi ex fratribus^®^) hold it in high esteem,"

While the Father does dery St. John's authorship of the

Apocalypse, he does not say, as Voltaire claims, that Cerinthus wrote it. The position of Dionysius is made clear when lie states that, "they (italics^ours) affirm...that Cerinthus...prefixed the name [of John]." Thus it is seen that, not Dionysius himself, but a group of unidentified men made the statement referred to in the Portatif.

The mistake may come from Voltaire's close adherence to the wording of Abauzit and from his carelessness in not no ticing that the letter's cue in the phrase, au'il n'a point été composé par S. Jean^ makes the prédécesseurs the authors of the clause, while his own use of cue makes Dioigrsius responsible for the sentence.

The further comment of Dionysius, also repeated by Abauzit

(in a portion of his work not quoted here), shows definitely

* * *

103. Patrol, gr.f Xf 1242. 104. Ibid.. p. 1243. 225

his true opinion, which is that Cerinthus did not write Revela

tions:

Therefore that he [the author] was called John, and that the book is the work of one John, I do not deny.

Voltaire evidently fails to consider this point.

His viewpoint differs also from that of other writers of his own day. The Encyclopédie states:

S. Denys d'Alexandrie, cité par Eusèbe, l'at tribue [the Apocalypse! à un personnage nom mé Jean, différent de 1'Evangéliste.

Moréri gives the same information in about the same words.

Voltaire's position in regard to Cerinthus, therefore, is not in harmony either with the statement of Dionysius, wilÆi

Abauzit'6 presentation, or with eighteenth-century opinion.

2. Ce détestable livre Seoher Toldos Jeschut était connu dés le second siècle; Celse le cita avec confiance, & Origine le réfute au chapi tre neuvième (Diet, phll.^ p. 273; Naves, II, 138).

Voltaire speaks of Sepher Toldos Jeschut on several occasions and in two other works mentions that, "Origine le

105. Encyclopédie. I, 527, art. Apocalypse. 106. Moréri, Dictionnaire. I, 199. art. Apocalypse. 226

réfuta. He is of course in error when he says this, as well

as in his statement that the book était connu dSs le second

si&cle. since it was not written until the tenth century. Pro

fessor Morehouse gives the explanation:

Because Celsus relates details in the life of Jesus similar to those that are found in the Toldos. which details Origen refutes in his Contra Gelsum^ Voltaire was under the impres sion that the book was ancient and authentic. In reality Celsus drew from contemporary legends, oral and written, used to combat the claims and rapid growth of Christianity.^^

The détestable livre contains the charge that Jesus

was the illegitimate son of Mary by a soldier named Joseph

Panther, or Panderaj an accusation of Celsus which Origen refutes,

not in his chapitre neuvième, but chapters 28 through 35, Book I,

of his Against Celsus.

107. Examen important. Mol., XXVI, 233 and Lettres à S.A. M^r ig Prince de ...^ Mol., XXVI, 516. 108, Andrew R. Morehouse, Voltaire and Jean Meslierj. p. 111. 227

Why is it not a thing to be lamented, that men...of a reprobate, unlawful, and des perate faction [the Chris tians], should rage against the gods? who, having gather ed together ffom the lowest dregs the more unskilled, and women, credulous and, Iqr the facility of their sex, yield ing, establish a herd of a Les chrétiens célébrèrent profane conspiracy, which is d'abord leurs mystères dans leagued together by nightly des maisons retirées, dans meetings, and solemn fasts, des caves, pendant la nuit; and inhuman meats...a people de la leur vînt le titre de skulking and shunning the luçifügaces (selon Minutius light, silent in public, but Félix.) (Dlct,__EhjJ.., p. garrulous in comers (Minu- 139; Haves, I, 172) cius Felix, Octavius, chap. 8; trans. from Ante-MLc. Path.. IV, 177).

* *

Gaeciliue also calls them, a lurking nation: shunning the light; mute in mblic; prating in corners [4].

[4.] Latebrosa & lucifuga natio; in publicum muta; in angulis garrula, &c. Minuc. Fel. p. 7.

(Middleton, m Works. I, 19 )

Some of the parallels suggested above are vague and subject to individual judgment.

If the meaning of the sentence in the IH etioimaive is, as it appears, that Felix expresses such an idea as his own,

Voltaire is inaccurate. 228

The statement is found in the Oetavlus of Felix, which is a deWte between Octavius, a Christian, and Xlaecilius, a pagan, of which Felix himself is to be the judge. Chapters five to fourteen are given over to the charges which Caecilius brings against the Christians. The remainder of the treatise is the defense made by Octavius. The passage in question is part of the attack of Caecilius on Christianity and cannot be considered as being the opinion of Felix, or even as having his approval, since he was a Christian, later accepted as a Church Father. He is only repeating what the opponent of Christianity has said.

If Voltaire's inspiration for this paragraph is from

Middleton, he has read carelessly, since the latter plainly states that it is Caecilius, not Felix^ who says that the Christians shun light.

Origine, autre Millénaire, dans sa préface sur l'Evan gile de S. Jean, & dans sa septième Homélie sur Josué, fait mention de l'Apocalypse sous le nom de l'Apètre S. Origène, dans sa préface Jean, & dans ses Commentaires sur l'Evangile de St. Jean, sur Matthieu, il nomme les & dans ses homélies, c^té Oracles de l'Apocalypse. les oracles de l'Apocalypse, C'est dommage qu'il ait adop- mais il cite également les té & pris sous sa protection oracles des Sibylles (Diet, les Oracles de la Sybille phil.. p. 32; Ifoves^ I, A4). (Abauzit, OEuvres. I, 265). 229

Voltaire’s presentation of this subject, though short er and more terse than Abauzit^s, is strengthened by the repeated use of cite, which is a more significant term than the phrases of the Genevan, fait mention and noimma. The final statements of both authors, however, are open to question.

There are in the Praefatio of Origen's Cmmmantaria in evaneeliuw Joa.Tinl« ^ four quotations from the Apocalypse^ of which three might be considered as coming under the classification of oracles. References to John's work are scattered through the nmmmentaria^ but in his homilies they are less numerous.

We have found in the works of Origen one quotation from the sibylline oracles, which he gives in order to attack it. His argument is:

For if the oracle did call Socrates the wisest of all men, it takes from the value of that eulogy by what is said in regard to Euripides and Sophocles. The words are:—

"Sophocles is wise, and Euripides is wiser. But wiser than all men is Socrates."

As, then, he gives the designation "wise"to the tragic poets, it is not on account of his philosophy that he holds up Socrates to vener^ ation, or because of his love of truth and virtue. It is poor praise of Socrates to say that he prefers him to men who for apaltry

* * *

109. Patrol, gr.. XIV, 22^7. 230

reward compete iq)on the stage.

It would have been contrary to Origan's teachings for him to quote the sibylline oracles in support of his own argu ments. In his treatise. Against Celsus. he devotes five chapters to an attack on them, in the course of which he says:

Are we not compelled T?y reason to set down as evil such spirits as employ the power of proph esying— a power in itself neither good nor bad— for the purpose of deceiving men, and thus turn them away from God, and from the purity of His service?-^

In previously stating his purpose, the Alexandrian

Father has said:

But let it be granted [for the sake of argument] that the responses delivered by the Pythian and other oracles were not the utterances of false men who pretended to a divine inspiration; and let us see if, after all, we cannot convince any sincere inquirers that there is no necessity to attribute these oracular responses to any di vinities, but that, on the other hand, they may be traced to wicked demons— to spirits which are at enmity with the human race, and which in this way wish to hinder the soul from rising upwards ...and from returning to God in sincere piety.

Origen makes a definite distinction between the sibyl line oracles and divine prophecy, since the Jewish prophets were.

110. Origen, Against Celsus^ Bk. VII, chap. 6; trans. from Ante- Nic. Path.. IV, 613. 111. Ibid.. Bk. VII, chap. 5; (trans.) IV, 612. 112. Ibid.. Bk. VII, chap. 3; (trans.) IV, 611. 231 as he says:

selected hy Divine Providence to receive the Divine Spirit^ and to be the depositaries of His holy oracles, on the ground of their lead ing a life of almost unapproachable excellence,^’

He then ends his argument by clearly defining his posi tion as follows:

We therefore for this reason set at nought the oracles of the Pythian priestess, or those de livered at Dodona, at Claras, at Branchidae, at the temple of Jupiter Ammon, or by a. multi tude of other so-called prophets; whilst we regard with reverent awe the Jewish prophets; for we see that the noble, earnest, and de vout lives of these men were worthy of the in spiration of the Divine Spirit, whose wonderful effects were widely different from the divina tion of demons.

While it is true that Origen does, technically, quote the sibylline oracles, he does not do so in the ordinary meaning of the word, and he does not quote them également with the

Apocalypse. He approves the Biblical oracles and attacks the others.

Thus Voltaire's reliance on Abauzit has led him to at tribute to Origen a position which is diametrically opposed to what the Alexandrian Father actually believed.

113. Ibid.. Bk. VII, chap. 7; (trans.) IV, 613. l U . Ibid.. Bk. VII, chap. 7; (trans.) IV, 613. 232

Bat I and every other com pletely orthodox Christian feel certain that there will be a resurrection of the flesh, followed by a thou sand years in the rebuilt, embellished, and enlarged city of Jerusalem (Justin, Dialogue with Trypho. chap. 80; trans. from The Fathers of the Church. 277) .

He [Justin] declares, that all the Christians, who were in all points orthodox, em On a reproché à St. Justin braced and believed the doc I'un des premiers pères, d'a trine of the millennium; "that voir dit dans son commentaire "all the saints should be sur Isaie, que les saints "raised in the flesh and reign jouiraient dans un régne de "with Christ in Jerusalem, en- mille ans sur la terre de "larged and beautified in a tous les biens sensuels "wonderful manner for their (Diet. Phil., p, 138; Haves, "reception, in the enjoyment I, 166). "of all sensual pleasures, for "a thousand years before the "general resurrection (Middle ton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 26).

Voltaire is incorrect when he indicates that the ref erence for Justin's statement is pan commentaire sur IsatSf since the Father never wrote such a work. The mistake comes from the fact that Middleton, after giving in a note the Greek for his quotation, lists his source as, "Dialog, par. 2. p. 313.” and, in a second note immediately under this one, in regard to a later quotation from Jerome, refers the reader to his "Comment, in ISa. 233 c, 30. Oper. T«n, 3. p. 262," As Professor Torrey observes,

Voltaire was evidently careless enough to confuse the two notes.

This in spite of the fact that one is in Greek, whereas the other is in Latin. In Professor Torrey's words, "Voltaire's failure to check this reference gives definite proof of his borrowing directly from Middleton."

The on, to whom reference is made in the Dictionnaire. is, as is pointed out in Voltaire and the English Deists. evidently Middleton. In as much as Voltaire attributes this statement regarding the millennium to some one else, he cannot, strictly speaking, be held responsible for it. There is little doubt, however, that he himself le reproche A St. Justin, espe cially since he says in his PMlownphie de l'histoire (1765):

C'est ce qu'atteste précisément saint Justin, dans la seconde partie de ses Dialogues: "Je rusalem, dit-il, sera agrandie et embellie pour recevoir les saints, qui jouiront pendant mille ans de tous les plaisirs des sens.^^

In Middleton' s work, quoted above, one will note that he sets the sentence, which he wishes to emphasize, in quota tion marks. He also gives in a note the original Greek from which it is taken. let, in spite of this, his translation is not jus tified.

* * *

115. Norman L. Torrey, Voltaire and the English Deists, p. 165. 116. Loc. cit. 117. Mol., II, 216. 234

The text of his Greek quotation is identical with that

of the Maran edition,^® the translation of which is given at

the beginning of this item.H9 There is in Justin's original

Greek work nothing which corresponds to Middleton's phrase, "in

the enjoyment of all sensual pleasures." This is a gratuitous

addition to the thought of the early Father which has been copied

by other writers, much to his detriment. Middleton, and in turn

Voltaire, thus wrongly attributes to Justin a doctrin# held by

some of the chiliasts.

Had Voltaire been more familiar with Justin, he would

have remembered that his teachings are against a life of sensual

pleasures. Not only is there no advocacy of this doctrine in

his writings, but throughout his works he preaches austerity, piety, and restraint, and in chapters fifteen, twenty-seven, and

twenty-nine of the first Anoloev. as well as in chapter twelve

of the second, he teaches chastity, morality, and continency.

This time it is Middleton who has led astray le maître

de Fèrnev.

116. Patrol, gr.. VI, 471. 119. The Fathers of the Church, VI, 140. 235

Irlnie, qui vient après... Saint Irinle qui vient ne donne guère pour garant après, & qui croyait aussi [that John wrote the Anoca- le règne de mille ans, dit IvDsel que la tradition ou le qu'il a appris d'un vieil- tlmoignage d'un certain lard, que St. Jean avait Vieillard qu'on ne connoit fait l'Apocalypse (Diet, point (Abauzit, OEuvres^ I, phil.. p. 31; Haves, I, 43). 255).

Although the inspiration for Voltaire's statement ap parently comes from Abauzit, the author of the Portatif has added the detail that il a appris from an old man that John wrote the book.

We have been unable to find such a passage in the writ ings of Irenaeus and are of the opinion that he did not make it.

In the Uoland edition of the article. Apocalypse, there is atthis point a note referring to "Livre V, chapitre xxxiii.

As the only work of Irenaeus which has five books is his Against

Heresies, this must be the treatise that the editor had in mind.

The statement, however, that il a appris d'un vieillard that

John wrote the book of Revelation is not found in chapter thirty- three. Its pertinent material reads as follows:

The predicted blessing, therefore, belongs un questionably to the times of the kingdom, when the righteous shall bear rule upon their ris ing from the dead;...as the elders who saw John,

* * *

120. Mol., m i , 288. 236

the disciple of the Lord^ related that they had heard from >iin> how the Lord used to teach in regard to these times, and day: The days will come in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thou sand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thou sand clusters, and on every one of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty metretes of wine....And these things are borne witness to in writing by Papias, the hearer of John, and a companion of Polycarp, in his fourth book,^^

Although Irenaeus speaks of "the elders”, of John, and of Papias, there is no intimation that "he learned from an old man St. John had written the Apocalypse. ” The "disciple of the

Lord" is quoted only as saying, "The Lord used to teach." This incident has no connection with the canonical book of Revelation, in spite of the fact thatrVoltaire so states in another work.^^

There is, however, in the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, chapter twenty-nine, a strikingly similar prediction.Salmon thinks that the quotation from Irenaeus comes from this source,-^^ but

Charles is of the opinion that both derive from an "old Apoca lypse",^^ In any case, Irenaeus cannot be speaking of John's writing.

121. Irenaeus, Against Heresies. Bk. V, chap. 33; trans. from Ante-Nie. Path.. I, 562. 122. See the following paragraph of this study, 123. Robert H. Charles, Apocrypha and Pseudepieranha. II, A97. 124. Diet, of Christ. Bio., IV, 189. 125. Robert H. Charles, loc. cit.. n. 5, 237

Voltaire must have known at this time of the passage in chapter thirty-three of Against Heresies, as he used it in his Phtloaonhie de 1*histoire (1765)^^ and also because it is quoted by Middleton.(The phraseology of the Dictionnaire. however, suggests that the English work was not used as a source.)

In the Philosophie. Voltaire associates the prediction given by

Irenaeus with John's vision, as is indicated by his introductory phrase, Dana la nouvelle Jérusalem, which he adds to the account narrated by the Church Father:

Dans la nouvelle Jérusalem, chaque cep de vigne produira dix mille branches, [etc.]...^°

That he should make this association is, perhaps, logical as the existence of Baruch's Apocalypse was not known until 1866.^^

Even though Irenaeus does not say that an old man was his authority for the statement that John wrote Revelation, he does attest to his authorship on three occasions:

126. Mol., XI, 93» A footnote reads, "Irénée, liv. V, chap. xaocv. (Note de Voltaire.)" The reference is incorrect, as there is no mention of the subject at this point. In addition, neither the Beuchot, nor the Kehl edition, nor the "encadrée" of 1775 carries the indication, "Note de Voltaire". 127. Copyers Middleton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 38. Middleton makes no attempt to connect this passage of Irenaeus with John's Apocalypse. 128. Mol., XI, 93. 129. Robert H. Charles, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. II, A70. 238

In a still clearer light tes John, in the Apocalypse, indicated..

Again John also says the very same in the Apocalypse..

And in the Apocalypse. John saw...^^

Voltaire would have been correct in saying that Ire naeus ted been taught about John by un vieillard:

But Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who ted seen Christ,...whom [Polycarp] I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried [on earth] (sic) a very long time,^’^

I am able to describe the very place in which the blessed Polycarp sat as he discoursed, and his goings out and his comings in, and the man ner of his life, and his physical appearance, and his discourses to the people, and the ac counts which he gave of his intercourse with John and with the others who had s»en the Lord. And as he remembered their words, and what he heard from them concerning the Lord,...Polycarp related-all things in harmory with the Scrip tures.^^

The last passage is taken from a lost work of Irenaeus, a fragment of which is quoted by Eusebius. Eventhough it is not in the well-known treatise. Against Heresies. Voltaire could well have known of it, as he was familiar with the writings of

* •» *

130. Irenaeus. Against Heresies. Bk. V, chap.26j trans. from Ante-Kic. Path.. I, 554-. 131. Ibid.. Bk. V, chap. 34; (trans.) I, 564. 132. Ibid.. Bk. V, chap. 35; (trans.) I, 566. 133. Ibid.. Bk. Ill, chap. 3; (trans.) I, 416. 134. Eusebius, Church Historyj. Bk. V, chap. 20; trans. from Nic. and Post-Nic. Path.. 2nd ser.. I, 238. 239 this historian.

In the light of the foregoing facts, we have the pos sibility that Voltaire's comment is the result of an amalgamation of all these passages; that he fuses the repeated references of Irenaeus to John's authorship and the Father's association with the old man, Polycarp, into the one idea of il a appris d'un vieillard que St. Jean avait fait 1'Apocalypse.

On demanda à St. Cyprien évêque de Carthage, si ceux- là étaient réellement bapti sés, qui s'étalent fait seu lement arroser tout le corps? il répond dans sa 76. lettre, que plusieurs églises ne croyaient pas que ces arrosés fussent chré tiens; que pour lui il pense qu'ils sont chrétiens, mais qu'ils ont une grace infini ment moindre que ceux qui ont été plongés trois fois selon l'usage (Diet, nhil.f p. U5\ Naves, I, 66).

There have been maiqr editions of Cyprian's letters with different systems of numbering and Voltaire gives no indi cation as to which he is following. In the editions of Pamàle

(Antwerp, 1568), Rigault (Paris, 1648), and Baluze (Paris, 1726),

Letter L3CCVI, which Voltaire gives as his source, is addressed,

"To Magnus, on Baptizing the Novatians, and Those Who Obtain

Grace on a Sick-bed." In the editions of Paris (1500) and Oxford 240

(1682), Letter LXXVI is written to, "Nemesianius and Other

Martyrs in the Mines," and contains no reference at all to bap tism.

In this Letter LXXVI, "To Magnus", the question of baptism by sprinkling is discussed, but nowhere is Voltaire’s

statement to be found} nor have we been able to find it in any of Cyprian’s works.

On the other hand, in the epistle, "To Magnus", the

saint takes a position quite opposed to the one stated in the

Portatif. In it, he maintains that baptism cannot be partial, and that sprinkling is fully effective. He writes in chapter twelve:

You have asked also, dearest son, what I thought of those wha obtain God’s grace in sickness and weakness, whether they are to be accounted legitimate Christians, for that they are not washed, but sprinkled, with saving wa ter. ...As far as my poor understanding conceives it, I think that the divine benefits can in no respect be mutilated and w e a k e n e d . ^35

Cyprian then gives four quotations from the scriptures which show that sprinkling is acceptable and ends his paragraph with the declaration:

135. Cyprian, Epistles. Letter LXXVI, "To Magnus", chap. 12; trans. from Ante-^ic. Fath.. V, 400. 241

Whence it appears that the sprinkling also of water prevails equally with the washing of salvation; and that when this is done in the church [i.e., not by heretics], where the faith of both receiver and giver is sound, all things hold and may be consummated and perfected by the majesty of the Lord and by the truth of f a i t h . 1 3 6

Perhaps Voltaire may have in mind a hypothetical ques tion raised by Cyprian himself in the next paragraph:

But if they cannot be baptized who have al ready been sanctified by ecclesiastical bap tism, why are they offended in respect of their faith and the mercy of the Lord? Or have they obtained indeed the divine favour, but in a shorter and more limited measure of the divine gift and of the Holy Spirit, so as indeed to be esteemed Christians, M t yet not to be counted equal with others?” '

If this is the passage to which Voltaire is referring, he should have included Cyprian's answer to the question:

Nay, verily, the Holy Spirit is not given by measure, but is poured out altogether on the believer.^®

Other passages from the Father's works could be quoted to show that he has a well-founded conviction on this point.

In view of Cyprian's belief in the entire efficacy of sprinkling, it is difficult to understand why Voltaire should attribute to him a contrary opinion.

* * * 242

S..

XAL TOT€ iXBo vTOS Tod

7»joov£ïï/ rov *lop6(kyi}y >/ ' 'T / noTdfAoy, (yÿcL o I w a v v j j s

XiXuX^oyTos Tou

^L]OojJ €Jt) T o \j6ùij3f Xo.t

/iJ/fo iy tCj *Io/o<5»“ yr\' X0-] CLyaévyTo^tkvToü kito rod vâo.ros, ùjS7Tip/or£"

\ y ) \ T f ^ pay TO ayior i/y£upa CTii~ » > ) \ V ntnyen tv ovroy ty p a y a y

( > t , i • f 01 djtoaroAoi O.VT0U tooTov

TOV XpKfToy );yuWK(justin, Dialogue vfith Trypho. chap, 88j Patrol, gr.. VI, 685).

Cumque turn Jesus ad Jorda— nem fluvium venisset, ubi Jo annes baptizabat, descendente Jesu in aquam, etlam ignis accensus est in Jordane, ei- que ex aqua prodeunti Spiri— turn sanctum instar columbae involasse scripserunt hujus ipsius Christ! nostri apos- toli (Loc. cit.). 243

And then, when Jesus had gone to the river Jordan, where John was baptizing, and when he had stepped into the water, a fire was kindled in the Jordan; and when He came out of the water, the Holy Ghost lighted on Him like a dove, [as] (sic) the apostles of this very Christ of ours wrote (Justin, Dialogue with Trypho. chap, 88; trans. from Ante-Nic. Fath,. I, 243).

Si Justin est le premier On ne sauroit douter qu'il qui attribua l'Apocalypse à [Justin] ne citât de son chef St, Jean, quelques personnes un faux Evangile, lorsqu'il ont récusé son témoignage, dit dans ce mime Dialogue attendu que dans ce mime [avec Triphon], que Jlsus- dialogue avec le Juif Tri Christ descendant dans le phon, il dit que selon le Jourdain, le feu s'y alluma, récit des Apôtres, Jasus- & qu'on entendit cette voix Christ en descendant dans le du Ciel: tu es mon Fils. Je Jourdain, fit bouillir les t'ai aulburd'hai engendré. eaux de ce fleuve, & les en Il assure que les Apôtres flamma, ce qui pourtant ne ont écrit ces choses, qui ne se trouve dans aucun écrit se trouvent pourtant que des Apôtres (Diet, phil.. dans l'Evangile des Ebonites p. 31; Hâves, I, 43). (Abauzit, OEuvres. I, 253).

It will be noted that Voltaire in his attack on Justin

does not follow carefully any of the known sources. All that

he has in common with the Catholic Father's Greek and with its

Latin translation is the phrase, Jesus-Christ en descendant dans

le Jourdain, Of Abauzit's material, he uses, in addition to this

phrase, the clause about the apostles. Characteristically, he

dramatizes the statement regarding the fire. Where the Greek

and Latin versions, as well as Abauzit, express merely the idea 2kK of a fire being kindled in the Jordan, Voltaire paints a more vivid picture by having Christ himself cause the water to boil and burn.

In regard to the main point, that the apostles are the authority for this statement, Voltaire follows Abauzit, who is incorrect when he says, "[Justin] assure que les Apôtres ont

écrit ces choses." It is quite true that Justin does quote the apostles when he speaks of the Holy Ghost, He is entirely jus tified in thus claiming scriptural authority for the descent of the dove, as the event is recorded in each of the four gospels,

A careful examination, however, of the original Greek, and of its Latin translation, shows that Justin very distinctly separates the kindling of the fire from the appearance of the Holy Ghost,

He quotes the apostles in regard to the latter, but takes full responsibility on himself for what is said about the fire. That he does not give apostolic authority for this is shown by the use, in his Greek original, of the indirect discourse form for the statement about the Holy Ghost, but not for his comment con cerning the blaze in the Jordan, He thus clearly indicates his intention regarding the two ideas, Abauzit says nothing about the Holy Ghost, but, either carelessly or intentionally, makes the authority of the apostles apply to the statement in regard to

* * *

139, Matthew, 3:16, Mark, 1:10, Luke, 3:22, and John, 1:32, 2JS

the fire.

One would suspect that Voltaire accepted this passage

of Abauzit's^ like Middleton’s comment on sensual pleasures^ without checking it. Then by skillfully dramatizing it, he has made it an even stronger attack on Justin,

For if they who night and day hear Him discourse, and see Him work marvels; to whom He explained many things in private,had not the strength to bear it all, before the supply of the Spirit; how could the people of the Jews, being both void of understand ing, and far behind such ex cellency, and only by hazard present when He did or said anything, how could they have been persuaded but that He was alien from the God of all, unless he had practised such great condescension through out? For on this account we see

140, It is interesting to note that in his Collection d'anciens Evangiles (1769), Voltaire is much more accurate in his treatment of the passage concerning the fire. We find there: "Saint Justin, dans son colloque avec Tryphon,,,, dit qu'en ce temps il parut du feu dans le Jourdain (Mol,, XXVII, 454, note 1)," The question arises, "What has brought about this change?" Eks Voltaire by this time checked Justin's statement? 2it6

that even when He was abro gating the sabbath. He did not as of set purpose bring in such ^ 8 legislation, but He puts Tsie) together many and various pleas of defense. Lorsque le Sauveur parut Now if, when He was about to les préjugés Juifs s'élevè cause one commandment to rent contre lui, Jesus- cease. He used so much re Christ lui-même, pour ne pas serve. in His language, that révolter leurs esprits aveu He might not startle the gles, paraît extrêmement ré hewers; much more, when add serve sur l'article de sa ing to the law, entire as it Divinité; il voulait, dit was, another entire code of Saint Chrisostôme, accoutu laws, did He require much mer insensiblement ses audi management and attention, not teurs à croire un mistère si to alarm those who were then fort élevi au-dessus de la hearing Him, raison (Diet, phil.. p. 271; For this same cause, neither Naves, II, 136). do we find Him teaching every where clearly concerning His own Godhead, For if His add ing to the law was sure to perplex them so greatly, much more His declaring Himself God (Chrysostom. Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew. Bom. XVI, 2; trans. from Nic. and Post-Nic. Fath., 1st ser., X, 104).

Except for his closing words, un mistère si fort élevé au-dessus de la raison. Voltaire may be said to summarize, though in a very vague manner and with his own emphasis, Chrysostom's remarks. The last phrase, which is the effective part of the attack and for which the preceding material is only the prepara tion, although written in italics is not found or implied in the

Father's works, but is an addition of Voltaire's. 247

10.

For on some occasions, iihen they [the principal Fathers] are pressed, they plainly Ceux qui fortifient leurs confess, that miracles were raisonnements par la science then ceased; yet on others, vous diront que les pères de they appeal to them again as l'église ont avoué souvent common, and performed every eux-HD§mes qu'il ne se fai day. For example, St. Chry sait plus de miracles de sostom observes, "that in the leur tems. St. Chrisostome "infancy of the Church, the dit expressément: "Les dons "extraordinary gifts of the "extraordinaires de l’esprit "Spirit were bestowed even on "étaient donnés même aux in- "the unworthy, because those "dignes, parce qu'alors l'é- "early times stood in need of "glise avait, besoin de mira- "that help, for the more easy "cles; mais aujourd’hui il "propagation of the Gospel; "(aie) ne sont pas même don- "but now, says he, they are "nes aux dignes, parce que "not given even to the worthy, "l’église n’en a plus de "because the present strength "(sic) besoin." Ensuite il "of the Christian faith is no avoue qu'il n’y a plus per "longer in want of them...." sonne qui ressuscite les Again,...he says, "there are morts, ni même qui guérisse "some also even now, who de- les malades. [Continued on "sire and ask, why are not next page.] "miracles performed still at "this day? and why are there "no persons, who raise the "dead and cure diseases?" To which he replies, "that it was owing to the want of faith and virtue and piety in those times...."

From these testimonies, one would necessarily conclude, upon the authority of St. Chrysostom, that miracles were ceased in his days: yet in other parts of his works we find him in a different story, and haranguing on the mighty wonders, which were performed among them every day, by the relioues of the 248

Martyrs4 In casting out Dev ils. curing all diseases*..* He displays also the miracu- loos cures, wrought by the use of consecrated oil, and by the sign of the Cross.... St, Austin also,,.,takes notice of the same objection, made by the Sceptics, with St. Augustin lui-mSrae, which the Christians were malgré le miracle de Servais commonly urged in this age. & de Protais, dit dans sa "They ask Us. says he, why cité de Dieu; "Pourquoi ces "are not those miracles per- "miracles qui se faisaient " formed now, which you de» "autrefois ne se font-ils "Clare to have been wrought "plus aujourd'hui?" Et il "formerly? I could tell them en donne la même raison. "that they were then neces- [Continued on next page.] "sary, before the world be- "lieved, for this very pur- "pose, that the world might "believe; but he, who still "requires prodigies, that he "may become a believer, is "himself a great prodigy, who "does not believe now, when "the world does believe [l]" One would not imagine, that these words, which seem to imply a cessation of mira cles, were the preface to an elaborate narrative and sol emn attestation of great num bers of them, said to have been wrought in these very times: which, if true, as they are here affirmed by St, Aus tin from his own knowledge, must have been more illustri ous, both for the number and excellence of them^ than all, which were wrought by the A- postles themselves. 249

[l] Gur, inquiunt, nunc ilia Cur, inquiunt. nunc ilia miracula, quae praedicatis miracula quoe proedicatis facta esse, non fiunt? possem facta esse. non fiunt? Pos quidera dicere, necessaria sem quldem dicere, necessa- prius fuisse, quam crederet ria prius fuisse. otAm cre mundus, ad hoc, ut crederet deret mundus. ad hoc ut cre mundus...D. Civ. Dei. 1. 22. deret muMus (biet. n M l .. c. d. p. 284j Naves, II, 150).

(Middleton, Miscellaneous Works. I, 105 and 111)

...possem quidem dicere, necessaria fuisse, priusquam crederet mundus...(Augustine, De Civitate Dei. Lib, XXII, cap. viiij Patrol, lat.. XLI, 760).

This passage from the Dictionnaire raises several prob lems, which are complicated ly the fact that it is reasonable to believe, as does Professor Torrey,^^ that both paragraphs are taken from Middleton. Voltaire’s statement that the next incident mentioned in the Portatif (concerning the savetier d’Hippone) is a translation from the Englishman's work,-^ as well as the same juxtaposition of the two discussions and the same change from the original in the Latin note, all support this belief.

In spite of these similarities, there are some impor tant differences from Middleton's treatment of the subjects. * * *

141. Norman L, Torrey, Voltaire and the English Deists, p. 162. 142. Mol., XLIII, 375. See page 165 of this study. 250

Voltaire fails to mention both his fellow-deist’s

charge of inconsistency on the part of Chrysostom and the latter’s

claim, as presented in the Inquiry, of the efficiency of later-

day miracles. To do so would weaken his argument that:

les pères de l'église ont avoué souvent eux- mêmes qu’il ne se faisait plus de miracles de leur tems.

The second paragraph in the Dictionnaire is unusual and

somewhat confusing. It is unusual in that the Latin quotation, which is used by Middleton as a note, is apparently intended to perform the

same function here, although Voltaire copied it, perhaps carelessly, in the body of the paragraph. This is confusing to the point where

Naves writes a colon after the preceding word, raison. This, with the quotation marks which he introduces, quite illogically makes the

Latin quotation, including both question and answer, the answer to the question itself, which was just asked in French. The punctua tion of the 1764 edition, when considered in the light of Middleton’s work, shows that such was not Voltaire’s intention.

In giving Augustine’s question as:

Pourquoi ces miracles qui se faisaient autrefois ne se font-ils plus aujourd’hui?

Voltaire omits two phrases, inquiunt (they ask us) and quae praedicatis (which you declare). The effect of this omission is logically to make the question come, not from the "Sceptics", as Middleton puts it, but from Augustine himself. This causes the saint to say exactly the opposite of what he actually writes. 251

According to Voltaire, Augustine admits the fact and then explains

it. The Father's real position is that, if he were to accept

the validity of the charge, he could meet it by the answer which

follows. That he does not accept it is shown, not only by his use of inquiunt and quae nraedicatie but also by the phrase,

possem...dicere (I would be able to say), of his suggested answer.

Augustine's real reply comes later. As Middleton points

out when he discusses the matter:

[Augustine's] words, which seem to imply a ces sation of miracles, ware the preface to an elab orate narrative and solemn attestation of great numbers of them, said to have been wrought in these very times: which, if true, as they are here affirmed by St. Austin from his own know ledge, must have been more illustrious, both for the number and excellence of them, than all, which were wrought by the Apostles them selves.^^

This "elaborate narrative" of miracles, the details of which cover some fifteen large octavo pages, is introduced by

the sentence, "II se fait encore des miracles au nom de Jésus-

Christ^^ (Nam etiam nunc fiunt miracula in ejus nomine^^),"

This positive assertion of Augustine, considered in connection with his numerous examples, leaves no doubt that his belief is

not, as Voltaire makes it appear, that miracles are no longer

* * *

1A3. See quotation, page 24-8 of this study. 144.. Augustine, Iia Cité de DieUj Liv. XXII, chap. 8j trans. from Coll. aut. lat., "Tertullien et saint Augustin," p. 760. 145. Patrol, lat.. XLI, 760. 252 performed, but that they are efficacious.

Voltaire’s statement, il en donne la même raison [as

Chrysostom], is also misleading. It is true that Augustine gives this answer, but it is in reply to the question whose validity he does not admit (as is shown on pages 250 and 251 of this study).

Voltaire does not take into account the subjunctive value of the

Father’s nossem. which gives to the sentence the meaning of, ”If

I cared to, I could make this reply. ” That this is the common interpretation of Augustine’s sentence is shown by the similarity of translations: "I could tell them;”^ ^ ”I might, indeed, reply; and, "Je pourrais répondre."-^ Middleton’s discussion also re-enforces the view that this même raison is not Augustine’s true answer; that Voltaire is presenting as the saint’s position exactly the opposite of what he believed.

These three departures of Voltaire’s from Middleton’s presentation, as well as from the works of Chrysostom and Augus tine— (l) his ignoring of Chrysostom’s claims of the existence of contemporary miracles; (2) his translation of Augustine’s question so as to change its meaning; and (3) his attribution to the saint of a raison which is not his real reason— can be interpreted in one of two ways. Either Voltaire read, and translated, with

* * *

146. Conyers laddleton. Miscellaneous Works. I, p. 111. 147. Nic. and Post-Hic. Path.. 1st ser. II, 484. 148. Coll. aut. lat.. "Tertullien et saint Augustin," p. 759. 253 inexcusable carelessness or he chose only such points as would support his argument. Since the first of these alternatives was not his habit and is unworthy of his intelligence, one is com pelled to think that he ignored the facts that did not harmonize with his position. CHAPTER IV

Analysis of Data

It may be profitable to consider the data presented in Chapters II and III from two viewpoints:

(1). What is Voltaire in the habit of doing when he re produces material from his sources? How exact can one reasonably expect a passage in quotation marks or in italics to be? How much confidence can be placed in the accuracy of his statements?

(2), What types of variations from his source does he have? Of what importance are they? What were his intentions when he wrote them?

The analyses of this chapter will attempt answers to these questions. The types and accuracy of the different kinds of quotations, italics, etc., will be considered in the first half. The second part will deal with the type and evaluation of discrepancies, regardless of whether they are found in quotations, statements, or elsewhere.

Perhaps Ezekiel's miracle in the Valley of Dry Bones will be to a minimal degree imitated and the dull, complicated statistics of the chapter better understood if the following outline is kept in mind:

254 255 Section I Types of Passages Which Are Set in Quotation Marks 1. Biblical Passages a. Verbatim passage b. Nearly verbatim passages c. Selective paraphrases d. Summation paraphrases 2. Patristic Passages 3. Summary Section II Types of Passages Which Are Set in Italics 1. Biblical Passages a. Verbatim reproductions b. Paraphrased statements c. Paraphrases from two sources d. Individual cases 2. Patristic Passages 3. Italics as Quotation Marks 4. Summary Section III Types of Quotations not Set in Quotation Marks or Italics Section IV Indirect Quotations and Statements Section V Types of Discrepancies 1, Incorrect References 2, Omission or Addition of Details 3, Incorrect Statements Section VI Evaluation of Discrepancies 1. Incorrect References 2. Omission or Addition of Details a. Inconsequential details b. Effective changes aa. Somewhat significant details bb. Details of greater importance cc. Striking details 3. Statements Which Deviate from Their Sources a. Inconsequential deviations b. Effective deviations aa. Changes of some significance bb. Changes of greater importance cc. Changes with striking characteristics 4. Summary 256

Section I

Types of Passages Which Are Set in Quotation Marks

1* Biblical References

The accuracy of the Biblical passages which are set in quotation marks, assuming the source unless otherwise noted to be the Saci edition,^ is somewhat varied.

a. Verbatim Passage

One passage is reproduced with only the change of a semicolon to a comma:

52, ...Vous demeurerez as siégé dans toutes les villes du pays... 53. & vous mangerez le "Et vous mangerez le fruit fruit de votre ventre; & la "de votre ventre, & la chair chair de vos fils & de vos "de vos fils & de vos filles, que le Seigneur votre "filles, &c (Pict. nbil.. Dieu vous aura donnés...(Le p. 11; Naves, I, 16).^ Deuteronome. chap. 28).

This is the only passage with this degree of accuracy which we have found set in quotation marks.

b. Nearly Verbatim Passages

Two other quotations have changes in an unimportant word or two, in tense, punctuation, etc., without any change

* * *

1. See page 4 of this study. 2. This item is given on page 30. 257 in meaning, as in the following:

Il est rapporté dans l'é vangile que Jésus dit à Pierre; "Je te donnerai les 19. Bfc je TOUS donnerai les "clefs du Royaume des deux." clefs du royaume des deux; & tout ce que vous lierez sur la terre sera aussi lil dans les deux (St Matthieu, chap. Jésus dit à Barjone, "Ce que 16). "tu auras lié sur la terre, "sera lié dans le ciel (pict. phil.. p. 298; Naves, II, 190).^

c. Selective Paraphrases

Another manner in which Voltaire reproduces the material from the Bible is a kind of paraphrase, in which he chooses from the Saci edition words and phrases which express the essential idea of the verses and then combines them into a smoothly reading sentence of his own. An example of this is found in the article

Ame:^

19. Que si oubliant le Sei gneur votre Dieu, vous suivez des dieux étrangers, & que "Si vous suivez des dieux vous les serviez & les ado "étrangers, vous serez dl- riez, je vous prédis d&s "truits (Dict.^phil.. p. 10; maintenant que vous serez Naves, I, 15). tout-à-fait détruits (Le Deuteronome. chap. 8).

3. For another example, see page 37. 4. Given on page 35. 5. See also the following items: Nos. 1 and 2, page 38 and No. 7, page 40. 6. Given on page 38, 258

d. Summation Paraphrases

Closely related to the preceding kind of paraphrase

is the type in which Voltaire uses a synonym or sums up an idea

in words other than Saci's. This summary is usually combined

with some of the phrases of the original quoted without change.

Another example from the same article in the Dictionnaire shows

this characteristic

25. Si après avoir eu des enfans & des petits-enfans, & avoir demeuré dans ce pays, VOUS-vous laissez seduire, jusqu’à vous former quelque figure, en commettant devant le Seigneur votre Dieu un II leur dit avant de mou crime qui attire sur vous sa rir, dans son Deuteronome; colere; "81 après ayoir eu des en- 26. j’atteste aujourd’hui "fans & des petits enfans, le ciel & la terre, que vous "vous prevariqUéz, vous se- serez bien^tôt exterminés de "fez exterminés du pays^ & ce pays que vous devez possé "réduits à ûn petit nombre der après avoir passé le "dans les nations (Diet. Jourdain. Vous n'y dwaeore- Phil. f p. 10; Naves, I, 15). rez pas long-temps; mais le Seigneur vous détruira. 27. Il vous dispersera dans tous les peuples, & vous ne resterez qu'en petit nombre parmi les nations oà le Sei gneur vous aura conduits (Le Deuteronome. chap. 4).

This ability to take a long passage, sift out the

essential points, and then to e:qpress them succinctly and foroe-

* * *

7. See also the following items: No. 4, page 38; 6, 39; 8, 40; 9, 41; 10, 41; 13, 43; 18, 46; 19, 47; 26, 53; 27, 54; 28, 55; 29, 56; 32, 58; and 3, 103. 8. Taken from page 42. 259 fully in a manner that will catch the reader’s attention and imprint the ideas on his memory, is an outstanding trait of

Voltaire’s which is apparent in the great majority of all types of reproductions of source material in the Dictionnaire.

An extreme example of this characteristic is to be seen in the article Messie (item 5, page 103) where Voltaire seems to have used material from two, perhaps three, versions.

2. Patristic Passages

There are in the material dealing with the Church

Fathers only six passages set in quotation marks— all too long to be reproduced here. None of these meets the modern standards for a quotation.^ All have"more or less pertinent ideas omitted and three have additions by Voltaire.

One quotation (page 247 of this study) leaves out an unio^rtant phrase. Another (page 130) is a good translation of two long sentences, except that a conclusion, "and therefore not God", is not given. In dealing with a peupagraph from Origen

(page 155), Voltaire fails to include three separate ideas and adds one of his own. In another use of material from this author

(page 158), four concepts are left out and three are incorporated

* * *

9. Since the quotations from the Fathers are all translations, a verbatim reproduction is of course impossible. The criterion of accuracy which we have used is whether or not ideas have been omitted or added. 260 which were not in the original, A procès verbal (page 202), which is 1*extrait du greffe d*un pro-consol d ’Egypte, omits

sections of three, four, and thirteen lines, paraphrases another, and introduces four new ideas, three of which emphasize points already made in the original paragraph. The most serious variation on Voltaire’s part appears in one of his discussions of Saint

Augustine (page 2A8). There the omission of two phrases changes the sentence so that it means the opposite of what Augustine very evidently intended.

3. Summary

On the whole, the Biblical passages set by Voltaire in quotation marks express very well what the authors wrote.

Some are word-for-^ord reproductions of his source material, while others are only paraphrases formed by selecting, and by using verbatim, parts of Saci’s edition, by a re-phrasing of sentences from the Old or New Testament, or by a combination of both types. This combination or summation type of paraphrase

is the most numerous (6S per cent) of any form of Biblical repro duction set in quotation marks in the Portatif.

A H the citations are reasonably accurate. No passage frcsn the Bible marked in this manner has been found which def initely does violence to the thought of the original, and all express with varying degrees of exactness the essential ideas of their sources. 26l

The quotations from the Fathers show more variation,

since all have omissions of more or less important material,

one of which fundamentally changes the argument of the author.

With the exception of this last case, these discrepancies do not affect the basic statements of the writers, yet the passages do

not have the accuracy which we fwqwct to find in works of to-day.

Section II

Types of Passages Which Are Set in Italics

1. Biblical Passages

Voltaire, like his predecessor Bayle, makes frequent use of italic type. This is usually taken by editors to be the

equivalent of quotation marks and the passages are so punctuated.

a. Verbatim Reproductions

Voltaire uses italics for a larger number of word-

for-word citations (including translations) than he puts in quotation marks. In some eases one can not reasonably doubt

that he intended the words in italics to be those of his source.

In the following example, this form of type indicates not only

a repetition of the material from the New Testament but also an

emphasis on the speakers' words, since the idxole paragraph, except for the omission of one phrase, is a verbatim reproduction of 262

Saci* a readings^®

2. II leur di:^t Avez-vous regu le Saint-Esprit depuis que vous avez embraseë la Il leur dit. Avez-vous foi? Ils lui rlpoijclirentt regti le St. Esprit? Ils lui Nous n* avons pas seulement rénondlrent. Nous n'avons nas oui dire qu'il y ait un seulement oui dire qu'il v Saint-Esprit. ait un St. Esprit. Il leur 3» il leur dits Quel dit. Quel batême avez-vous baiême avez vous donc regu? donc règu? Ils lui répon- Ils lui répondirents Le ba- dirent. Le batême de Jean tème de Jean (Les Actes. (Diet. Phil.. p. 132} Nàves, chap, 19). I, 15â)i^

b. Paraphrased Statements

In his italicized passages, as in those set in quota tion marks, Voltaire frequently paraphrases the statements of the Bible. Often it can be logically inferred that he intended them to be considered quotations, as in these verses from

10. Other exanqples of the accurate use of italics are: Item NO. 1, page 29} 2, 30} A, 31} 6, 31} 2nd part of 7, 32} 2nd part of 8, 33} 9, 33} and 2nd part of 4, 108. 11. For the setting in which this passage is found, see page 34. 263

Philippianst^

2* rendez ma joie par faite, TOUS tenant tous unis ensemble,... On a eu quelque peine à 3* en sorte que vous ne expliquer le passage de faciez rien par un esprit de i'épître aux Philippiensj Ne contention ou de vaine gloi faites rien par une vaine re: mais que chacun par humi gloire: croyez mutuellement lité croye lee autres au- par humilité que les autres dessus de soi. vous sont supérieurs, âvêz k r* ... les mêmes sentiments que 5. Soyez dans la mSme dis Christ jesuS.%qui étant"dans position & dans le même sen l'empreinte de Dleù. n'a- timent où. a été Jesus-Christ, polnt crû sa prove de s'éga 6. qui ayant la forme & la ler à Dieu (Diet, phil. nature de Dieu, n'a point cru p. 135» Naves, I, 162).^ que ce fût pour lui une usur pation d'être égal à Dieu (Epître aux Philippiens. chap. 2).

c. Paraphrases from Two Sources

One finds at times italicized paraphrases which contain material from two sources. Six such passages (as well as some that are not so written^) make use of phrases taken from the

Vulgate rather than from a French edition. Voltaire seems to prefer the direct frankness of the Latin to the less striking circumlocutions of Saci. This trait is apparent in the following

* * *

12. Other passages of this type are: Item No. 4» page 35; 8, 36; 5, 39; 11, 41; 30, 57; 18, 92; and 5» 132. 13. This paragraph is given on page 44. 14. See the following items* 17, 45; 20, 4S; 22, 49; 24» 51; and 5» 120. Item 3» 103 uses different French versions. 15. In addition to the two presented on page 264» these are: 23» 51; 25» 52; 5» 65; and 5» H I . 26A selection from the Song of Solomont

S, Notre soeur est,encore C'est apparemment encor un petite, & elle n'a point d*a- beau tour d'éloquence orien mitl6, que ferons-nous à no tée, que de dire, notre tre soeur au jour qu'il fau soeur est encor petite, elle dra lui parler? n'à point de tetons; que fe 9. Si elle est comme un rons-nous de notre soeur? si mur, bâtissons dessus des c'est un mur, bâtissons des tours d*argentt si elle est sus; si c'est une porté, comme une portsy fermons-la fermons-la (Pidt. phil.. , avec des als & des bois de p. 327; Naves, H , 241).^° cedre (Le Cantique des Can tiques. chap, é),

8, Soror nostra parva, et ubera non habet,.,(Vulgate).

In a long extract from Esekiel (2, 114), the paraphrase is so extensive and so free that it is patent that Voltaire is only re-telling a story.

d. Individual Cases

A few italicized paraphrases are unusual enough to require Individual attention.

1. After referring to Paul's statement that he was buffeted by Satan (4, 64), Voltaire gives a Latin phrase which on the sur face appears to be the source of the comment but which is not found in that form in the Vulgate.

2. In beginning his discussion of the second coming of

Christ (7,32), he makes a statement which has no counterpart in

* * *

16. This paragraph is given as Item 21, page, 48. 26$

the Bible but which is a summary of two long verses of the New

Testament. Immediately afterwards he quotes, practically verbatim, these same verses but without any indication of their relation to his italicized summary.

3. One phrase lAiich is used in Job's cry of exultation

(1st pai*t of U, 108), ou que je me relèverai de la poussière, is only Voltaire's parenthetical interpretation of the preceding clause, written without any break in the italics. In another place in the same discussion, two phrases set in this kind of type are nothing more than his attempt to explain a quotation which has just been given.

In presenting Jacob's lament (33, 59), Voltaire writes in italics a sentence idiich combines his translation of a word from the

Vulgate, a phrase from Saci, one of his own, another in Latin from the Vulgate, and then his translation of the latter. His intention seems to be to use in infemum as the authority for his reading of dans la fosse and then, having used the Latin, he feels that it should be translated as dans 1 'enfer. The result can only with considerable difficulty be considered a quotation.

5. The emphasis on human sacrifice given to a paragraph from Leviticus (2, 101) by the use of Tout homme voué is not found either in the Vulgate, which has "omnis consecratio", or in the Saci edition, lAlch reads, "Tout ce qui aura été offert par un homme." This sentence is followed by an extract from the 266

Vulgate, which Voltaire uses seemingly to support his position.

It applies, however, not to this part of the sentence but to the remainder.

6. In the selections from Ecclesiastes (3, 116), the last

section of the paraphrase changes the meaning from what it is in the original.

2. Patristic Passages

The patristic passages set in italics are not so numerous as the Biblical. Nor do they offer so many complica tions.

Three (17, 167} 9, 196} and 10, 249) are vezbatim, or nearly verbatim, quotations from Middleton or Âbauzit. Another

(3, 146) could be classed as a good translation from Chrysostom.

Several are paraphrases from the works of the Fatherst three

(6, 150} 7, 151} and 23, 179) can be said to be acceptable, while two (5, 169 and 7, 193) should perhaps be considered summaries rather than paraphrases. In discussing a paragraph from Origen

(4> 215), Voltaire, although he uses the phrases of the original, changes the order of the clauses in such a fashion as to give a spirit and emphasis which is not found in the writings of the

Father. An extract from Chrysostom (9, 246) has half of an italicized passage correctly given, but the rest, which is an effective criticism of the saint, is an addition bF Voltaire.

As a group, these passages in italics are somewhat more 267 accurate than the patristic quotations.

3« Italics as Quotation Marks

In the light of the practice uhich modem editors have of putting into quotation marks passages which are set in italics in the Dictionnaire, the question comes as to uhether they are justified in so doing.

Of the foity-one cases where this form of type is used, thirty of which are Biblical and eleven patristic, twslve^7 given verbatim (including translations) and five^® nearly so, that is, with an exceedingly minor variation. These seventeen are coiqparable to the three exan^les of the use of quotation marks noted in paragraphs "a" and "b", page 256. The eighteen para phrases^^ are approximately of the same degree of accuracy as the nineteen quotations listed in "c" and "d", pages 257 and 258.

Four (1st part of 7, 32; 33, $9; 3» 116; and 5,189) of the six remaining citations are composites or summaries; one (last part of Ù, 108) is an expression of Voltaire's own idea; and the sixth

« * *

17. These are: 1, 29; 2, 30; U, 31; 6, 31; 2nd part of 7, 32; 2nd part of 8, 33; 9, 33; 25, $2; 5, 65; 2nd part of U, 108; 9, 198; and 10, 2U9. 18. Here are listed the following: 2, 3U; U, 35; 6, 36; 11, 1|1; and 17, 167. 19» In this group are found: 1st part of 8, 33; 5, 39; 16, itU; 21, U8; 23, 51; 30, 57; U, 6U; 18, 92; 1st part of U, 1 0 8 ; 5, H I ; 2 , n U ; 5, 132; 3, lU8; 6, 150; 7, 151; 23, 179; 7, 193; and U, 215» 268

(9, 246) Is an incorrect statement. These are roughly as faithful to their sources as the quotations from the Fathers.

On the whole^ one can judge the passages in italics to be at least as accurate as those in quotation markSj perhaps a trifle more so.

There also arises in this connection the question as to what Voltaire intended to indicate his use of this kind of type. While one can not know^^ what he had in mind, one can draw on the circumstances under which the statement is made and form his opinion. Evaluated on this basis, it is clear, or fairly clear, that in twenty-nine cases Voltaire intended to repeat the words or ideas of his source. Sometimes (1st part of 8, 33;

21, 48; 33, 59; 5, 189; and 7, 193) the evidence is less definite and one is justified only in saying that he probably, or possibly, had such a purpose. On five occasions (5, 65; 2, 114; 3, U6;

23, 179; and 9, 246), he appears to be using italics to emphasize a point, and on two (1st part of 7, 32 and last part of 4, 108) he gives a summary or explanation of another statement.

In view of the predominance of items in italics which

* * *

20. See statement on pp. 274 and 275. 21. These are: 1, 29; 2, 30; 4, 31; 6, 31; 2nd part of 7, 32; 2nd part of 8, 33; 9, 33; 2, 34; 4,35; 8, 36; 5, 39; 11, 41; 16, 49; 23, 51; 25, 52; 30, 57; 4, 64; 18, 92; 1st part of 4, 108; 2nd part of 4, 108; 5, 111; 5, 132; 3, 148; 6, 150; 7, 151; 17, 167; 9, 198; 4, 215; and 10, 249. 269 accurately reproduce the ideas or words of the authors, one may conclude that Voltaire normally used this form of punctuation with the value of quotation marks, although it occasionally served another purpose. Editors therefore have some justification for printing such passages as quotations. This, however, leads to some mistakes^ and a better procedure would be to hold to

Voltaire's own markings and let the reader judge for himself what was intended.^^

4. Summary

The Biblical passages set in italics are in general not so accurate as the quotations. While scnne are verbatim reproductions and others can be said to be good paraphrases, even though a clause may be taken from the Vulgate, there are seven cases of unjustified variation from their sources, includ ing one which changes the meaning of the original.

The patristic passages in this kind of type are, as a group, perhaps more accurate than those which are set in quotation marks, but not all of them reach this standard. They vary from word-for-word citations and from good paraphrases to one containing an incorrect and damaging statement.

These facts show that the policy which editors have

* * *

22. For an example, perWps extreme, of the confusion that may result^ see 10, 24& mnd 249, and the discussion page 250. 23. Naves does this in one (5, 65) of the emphatic citations. 270

of writing italicized material in quotation marks is to some

extent justified.

Section III

Types of Quotations not Set in Quotation Marks or Italics

Of the passages in the Dictionnaire concerned in this

study, there are nineteen cases where a sentence or paragraph

reads as if it were a quotation but is not written either in quotation masks or in italics. The phraseology and punctuation of these sentences suggest that Voltaire intended them to be quotations.

One (5, 31) is preceded by a dash and followed by a

Biblical reference. In a single paragraph of the Portatif. three different sentences (l, 34; 3> 35; and 14, 43) are intro duced by Et au and a chapter number. The other fifteen are either preceded or followed by il dit or a similar phrase. Of these, two (7, 36 and 5, 120) follow a colon and begin with a

capital letter; two (20, 48 and 4, 119) cmae after a semicolon and have the first letter capitalized; eight are written after

commas, five of them (11, 41; 17, 45; 3, 63; 10, 71; and 1, 100) commencing with a capital letter and four (6, 36; 15, 44; 31, 57; and the 1st part of 10, 71) with a small letter; while two

(22, 49 and 24, 51) begin the sentence. Three of them (7, 36;

15, 44; and 22y 49) have a reference to the New Testament. 271

The accuracy of this type of quotation is of approxi mately the same standard as that of those set in quotation marks and italics; two (1, 3U and 3, 63) are verbatim, four ($, 31;

3, 3^; 6, 36; and 7j 36) have only a word or two changed, and the other eleven are paraphrases, including two (U, 119 and 5, 120) which have incorrect and damaging statements.

This analysis would indicate that editors have as much justification for using quotation marks for these passages as for those in italics.

Section IV

Indirect Quotations and Statements

Of the one hundred two items of these types which were examined for this study, the majority,fifty-five per cent, are reasonably correct, that is, with no more than slight and unimportant deviations from their sources.

In regard to thirteen per c e n t , 2 5 no conclusive judg ment was made because of a lack of definite data.

Twenty-one items,twenty-one per cent, have passages

2ko These are; Item 1, page 36; those given in Chapter II, Sec tions IV and V; and those of Chapter III, Section I, which are not quotations or are not set in italics. 2$. The items in Chapter II, Section VI, as well as those in Chapter III, Section III, except No. U, are listed here. 26. These include : 1, 113; 5» 120; 1 and 2, 126; 3, 128; It, 131; 132; and all except items 5 and 11 in Chapter III, Section II. 272 which vary slightly frmn the original but whose discrepancies are not great enough to affect essentially the main point of the paragraph. 27 The remaining twelve per cenf^ are passages in which the errors are sufficient to have an important bearing on the main argument.

Section V

Types of Discrepancies

Voltaire has various kinds of errors in his discussions.

Some of these are easy to classify, while others are individual- pd istic. The following is an attempt to summarize them.

1. Incorrect References

In the one hundred two Biblical passages studied,

Voltaire gives some type of reference seventy—two times. In each instance, the book of the Old or New Testament is given, though one (31, 57) is incorrect. The chapter number is indicated thirty-nine times, tut six of these (19, 47; 6, 65; 12, 73; 13, 75; l6, 90; and 2, 101) are inaccurate. To the chapter numbers are added the verses in ten eases, with only one (12, 73) inexact.

* * *

27. The following items are of this character: 6, 135; 7, 137; 8, 139; 9, 142; 2, 225; 4, 228; 5, 232; 6, 235; 7, 239; 8, 242; 9, 246; and 10, 247. 28. For an evaluation of thede inaccuracies, see Section VI, pp. 274 ff. 273

All but three (21, l?Us 26, 183; and It, 167) of the fifty-nine passages from the Fathers have at least the author named, once (Ik, 210) incorrectly. In addition to the name of the writer, the title of his work is given, in a more or less clearly indicated form, in thirty-seven instances, with two

(7, 192 and 232) inaccuracies. Reference to a book or to a similar sub-division is made thirteen times, with three mis takes (1, IBU; 2, 165; and 6, 190) and to a chapter or its equiv alent on eighteen occasions, including three (3, 166; 13, 209; and 2, 225) which are erroneous.

2. Omission or Addition of Details

One manner in which Voltaire varies from his source material is by omitting details or by adding to what the author wrote. There are twenty-one cases of this kind in the Biblical passages and eleven in the patristic. Since the classification of these is intimately connected with their evaluation, discus sion of them will be reserved for the next section.

3. Incorrect Statements

The twenty-two errors in the citations from the Old and the New Testaments, as well as the sixteen from the works of the Fathers, will for the same reason be treated in Section VI. 274

Section VI

Evaluation of Discrepancies

The evaluations in this section are made with full realization of the weakness of human judgment, especially when handicapped Iqr the weight of time and space. For one to judge, hy the results of an action, either the intentions and purposes of the person who performs it or the effect it may produce on one’s neighbor, requires an insight far transcending man's powers.

INhen an attempt is made to extend this judgment to other times and to other countries than his own, the critic has additional difficulties to overcome. Yet, since the objectives of this study require such a decision, we shall express our opinion, although with full consciousness of its shortcomings.

1. Incorrect References

In view of the number of inaccurate references given by Voltaire, it is natural that there should come to mind the possibility that at least s«ne of them are presented in order to confuse anyone wanting to make a check. An examination of the character of the passages for which such references are made shows that this view is unfounded.

Of the seven inexact Biblical references, five are given in connection with citations which are correctly treated in the Ptetionmirai in another (12, 73), the detail added is 275

inconsequential; lAiüe in regard to the seventh (2, 101), since Voltaire gave the number of a non-existent chapter and corrected it in his second (Varberg) edition, the mistake can be said to be due to carelessness.

Nine patristic references are inaccurate. Two are made for passages which are correctly stated; in a third (1, 18b), the dis crepancy is inconsequential; and two others (lb, 210 and $, 232) have mistakes which are due to carelessness. Of the four remaining cases, two (13, 209 and 2, 225) are in connection with significant errors, and two (3, 186 and 6, 190) have the addition of details of inçor- tance. One (2, 225) of these four passages is a misstatement due to a lack of knowledge of the subject on Voltaire’s part; another

(6, 190) is the result of an enthusiastic approach; a third (13, 209) seems to be drawn from his general background without his checking on its accuracy. Only the addition in the fouz*th passage (3, 186) gives the impression of beii% deliberate.

If these assumptions are sound, it is not reasonable to think that the incorrect references in the passages studied are generally due to Voltaire’s intention to deceive.

2. Omission or addition of details

Before making an evaluation of the details which Voltaire

* * *

29. For a definition of this term, as well as of those that follow, see the discussion, pp. 277 ff. 276

omitted from or added to his work, we need a definition of these

terms. Since so many of his "quotations", as well as his state

ments, are really paraphrases, it is idle to consider as omitted

any unused material which makes no essential contribution to

the author's thought. Only ?&en this discarded matter has some

definite bearing on the writer's ideas, is it held to be an

omission. Much the same criterion is applied, although not so

severely, to the details which have been added.

a. Inconsequential Details

In reviewing the details which have been omitted from

or added to the accounts when they are given in the Dictionnaire.

one notes, as is to be expected, that they do not all have the

same importance. Some are quite inconsequential, that is, they leave the impression of being the result of a fleeting idea, a

caprice perhaps, and may be passed over by the reader without his being aware of them. Qf the thirty-^;wo omissions and additions, thirteen are of this type; eight Biblical and five patristic,

including one omission (14, 210), which is evidently the result of carelessness. Four (2, 34j 9, 37; 26, 53; and 14, 76) may be the product of Voltaire's enthusiasm, of a tendency to state the point in a positive and effective manner. The contents of seven others (27, 54; 12, 73; 1, 100; 9, 155; 10, 158; 1, 184; * * *

30. See pages 257 and 258, 277 and 9, 158) suggest that he was drawing, probably unconsciously, on his memory of the passage or on his background of facts as sociated with the subject. Only one (U, 108), an explanation of a preceding statement, appears to be deliberate, to be written with a greater consciousness of its puipose than in the other cases. That he may not have intended to be deceptive in making these changes is suggested by the fact iiiat he gave source references of at least the book, sometimes of the chapter, in ten of the thirteen instances, although one (12, 73) has the chapter and verse incorrectly stated.

b. Effective Changes

The terms used to describe the evaluations of the pre ceding paragraph will be found here, and in the following group ings, with the same meanings.

aa. Somewhat Significant Details

In this classification are additions which may be considered more reasoned than those of the previous group, addi tions which are of sufficient importance to bear some weight with the reader, but \Ha±oh are not outstanding. There are ten of these in the passages studied, eight from the Bible and two from the Fathers. Three (20, 96j 5, 132j and 12, 206) appear to be the result of an enthusiastic approach, idiile three others

(28, 55; 18, 92i and U, 187) may have been drawn without conscious 278

effort from his background knowledge. Four (33, 59j 7, 66j

19, 94; and 3, 128) give the impression of having been deliber ately added. Two of these four are in passages where references to the source are given.

bb. Details of Greater Importance

Here are grouped additions which are more likely to catch the reader's attention and remain in his mind. One is in a Scriptural account and four in discussions of the Fathers.

Two (6, 190 and 10, 200) could well be the result of Voltaire's enthusiasm, while three (4, 131; 3, 186; and 11, 202) have characteristics which suggest that they are deliberately used.

Only two (3, 186 and 6, 190) are found in passages containing references to their sources and these are both incorrect.

cc. Striking Details

There are two additions (2, 114 and 5, 120) to and two omissions (5, 120 and 5, 132) from Scriptural accounts which could hardly fail to make strong impressions on the reader. It is difficult to consider them as anything other than deliberate, although in all cases chapter references are given. 279

3. Statements Which Deviate from Their Sources

a. Inconsequential Deviations

The same type of analysis as is used for the preceding

grotg) shows that there are twelve errors of this kind, eleven

from the Old and the New Testaments and one from the Church

Fathers. Of these, eight (30, 5?î 32, 58; 1, 82; 12, 8?; 15, 89;

21, 97; 1, 126; and lU, 210) could well be due to carelessness.

Voltaire, writing rapidly, may not have considered his statements carefully. For four others (31, 57; 3, 79; 19, 9k} and 2, 126) he may have drawn on his memory without checking the facts. None of these seems to be a deliberate attençt to mislead the reader; they are so unimportant that there is nothing to be gained and six of them have references to their sources.

b. Effective Deviations

aa. Changes of Some Significance

As previously, we place in this category those state ments which are img)ortant enough to have some weight with the public. Nine errors of this type were noted, two of trtiich are from the Scriptures. Voltaire seems to have written this group more carefully; none bears the earmarks of inattention. Six

(3, 128; 12, 206; 13, 209; 1, 222; 3, 227; and 6, 235) suggest that he was relying on his general background. Only one (1, 113) appears to be a deliberate statement; another (2, 225) is quite 280 evidently the result of a lack of knowledge of the subject; and in a third instance (8, 195} Voltaire has takentho sentence from another author, seemingly without checking it.

bb. Changes of Greater Importance

Of this class there are eight examples; three from the Old Testament and five from the Fathers. None gives the impression of being due to carelessness, but one (A) 131) may result frœa Voltaire's enthusiasm for his theme. Three (3, ll6;

4, 215; and 7, 220) come apparently from his memory or general knowledge without a check. It can hardly be denied that one

(4, 119) is deliberate, while another (4, 228) comes throu^i an intermediate writer. There are two misstatements (7, 239 and

9, 246) for which we have no suggestion as to a reason for their use.

cc. Changes with Striking Characteristics

More examples of this group are found in the Biblical than in the patristic passages; six of the former and three of the latter. None suggests carelessness and only one (8, 139) appears to be drawn from Voltaire's background. Six (8, 33;

5, 120; 6, 135; 7> 138; 9, 142; and 10, 247) give the impression of being deliberate statements, and two (5, 232 and 8, 242) result from his reliance on the accounts of other authors. Ref erences are given for six, one of which is incorrect. 281

U» Summary

An evaluation of the composite picture of the dis crepancies shows the following:

Although there are sixteen cases where an incorrect reference is given, all but one are found in connection with passages which are accurately reproduced, or where the discre pancies are either inconsequential or are due to carelessness and other similar causes. There is no indication of any intent to mislead the reader.

Of the one hundred sixty-one passages reviewed in this study, seventy, or forty-three per cent, have some type of vari ation from their sources. Twenty-five these changes, or sixteen per cent of the total number of cases studied, can be classed as inconsequential, that is, so unimportant that they may be passed over by the reader without his being aware of them. Nine teen others, or twelve per cent, are significant enough to be of some weight with the general user of the Dictionnaire: thirteen examples, eight per cent, are important enough to catch his attention and remain in his mind, while another eight per cent have characteristics that are striking. This makes a total of twenty-eight per cent which are at least somewhat significant, including sixteen per cent which can be classed as inqportant.

Considered from a more speculative viewpoint, five per cent of the cases studied have discrepancies which appear to 282

be due to carelessness; six per cent may result from Voltaire|s

enthusiastic manner of thinking; and fifteen per cent suggest

that he was drawing on his memory or background of associated

facts without checking his data. Four misstatements are due to

his reliance on other authors and one results from his lack of

knowledge of the subject. No basis was found for judging two of

the mistakes. The remaining twenty discrepancies, or twelve per

cent of the total number of passages studied, give the ingression

of being deliberately used, that is, written with a greater

consciousness of their purpose than in the other instances.

Of this group of twenty deliberate variations from the sources, one is inconsequential and five are only somewhat

significant, leaving fourteen out of one hundred sixty-one eases, or nine per cent, which can be said to be of importance. When one examines carefully these fourteen cases, it is apparent that it would be difficult to show definitely that there is in all of them an intention to state things in a manner other than as they are. In regard to only four passages (4, 119; 5, 120; 6, 135; and 10, 247) is it more than a surmise to think that Voltaire intended to present the material in such a way that it was not in conformity with his sources, and in only one of these four

(10, 247) is the evidence clear that such was his intention. CHAPTER V

Conclusions

In attempting to judge the use which Voltaire made of his sources, one needs to remember that"he wrote in a period when the standards of scholarship were not so well developed as they are to-day. His own contributions to progress in this area were not inconsiderable, especially in the field of historical method, yet, in company with many of his contemporaries, he did not conceive of a quotation as being, necessarily, the exact reproduction of the source material. Since his purpose was to persuade, to influence his readers, he was concerned primarily with bringing to them the main ideas of the author, whose work he was using, in a form which would catch and hold their interest.

A definite verification of this fact is one of the first results to emerge from this study. In his quotations— either direct, italicized passages, or indirect— Voltaire was not so much interested in mechanical repetition of the words of a writer with whom he was dealing as he was in conveying to his public the essential thought of the man and the spirit of what had been said. He had to an extraordinary degree the ability to cut through what was frequently a mass of verbiage, to select the basic ideas, and to present them in a concise, vital form which could be easily understood and which was piquant enough

2Ô3 28U to be remembered.

This was accon^lished usually by taking key phrases from the original and skillfully combining them with paraphrases of other sentences in the passage, if he did not omit these entirely. He could, and on occasion did, quote verbatim— passages up to twenty lines in length— but this was not his chief concern.

He strove to produce a sentence which would impress his readers, lAich would popularize the ideas that he wished to propagate.

He did not limit the application of these principles to his quotations, but made use of them in statements regarding a subject or author.

In this ability to paraphrase lies a considerable part of his strength. Yet his enthusiasm carried him to the point where he occasionally added, perhaps unconsciously at times, details of his own which would further the impression he wished to make. While these details were frequently inconsequential, there were instances when they added substantially to the effect of the sentence or even changed its meaning.

At other times, there were inaccuracies in his work.

Some of these were the result of his reliance on the incorrect statements of other authors. Then again, he used sentences where he seemed to be drawing on his reserve fund of knowledge without making a careful check, and understandably errors appear. 28S

As we have shown in the Introduction (page 9) by ref erence to Bayle's criticism of the writers of his day and by exanqples from the work of Middleton and Abauzit, the general standards of scholarship of the century did not demand the ex actness that is expected to-day. That Voltaire was not uncon cerned about his sources is attested by the staten^nt of Wagniere, his secretary, that his employer,frequently had him check refer ences. Yet, this same testimony opens up the possibility that some inaccuracies may be accounted for by the mistakes of the secretaries themselves. At other times, Voltaire*s errors were due to his own carelessness— a circumstance which Professor Torrey has pointed out.

Then too, as any one who has worked in the field of exact scholarship will recognize, even when one has the best will in the world, inaccuracies creep in unless he carefully checks and rechecks his material, even after the printing is done. It is doubtful that the Patriarch of F e m e y had either the time or the tenperament for this type of scholarship, which could produce the works of a critical Bayle but not those of a crusading Vol taire .

Even when we take these facts into consideration, there remain some errors which give the impression of having been made deliberately— with a consciousness on Voltaire»s part 286

of ïrtiat he was doing. The number of this type idiich can be

classed as inçortant, that is, which can be considered likely

to catch the reader's attention and remain in his mind, is ^

small. Nine per cent of all cases studied have such errors,

although the proportion of discrepancies of importance due to

any cause whatsoever rises to sixteen per cent.

When we assume that in nine per cent of the passages,

which have been examined, Voltaire makes an important error of which

he is conscious, it does not in any wise mean that nine per cent of

the entire Dictionnaire is thus inaccurate. By far the greater part

of the material under consideration is quite free from mistakes.

The incorrect statements are usually only small parts of longer por

tions of the work. One error in a lengthy paragraph is enough to

cause it to be counted against the author. This fact greatly

reduces the percentage. It is of course inpractical to try to

estimate what this revised figure would be. The term "nine per

cent", or "sixteen per cent", if one chooses to include all dis

crepancies of importance, deliberate or otherwise, is used only

as a very cold and inadequate designation with idiich to sum; up

the facts brought out earlier in this study.

For a more accurate conception of Voltaire's habits of

thinking and methods of writing, one needs to examine the indivi dual cases themselves. When we thus consider the facts in the 287 light of -what each contributes, they present us a picture,

incomplete of course, of the man at work. Such a study brings

out the great number of times in the Portatif that Voltaire is

essentially faithful to his sources, and high-lights not his

failures in this respect, but his successes. AITENDICES

Table I

Comparison of certain portions of the Dictionnaire philosophique of 176U with the corresponding reaoings of the Naves ani Beuchot editions

In the course of this study (see p. 26) it was found necessary to collate certain parts, totaling perhaps a fourth, or possibly a third, of the Portatif with the readings of the

Naves edition. Since the editor states that he is presenting the Dictionnaire «dans le texte de I76I4. (I, xxv),« it was some what surprising to find some sixty variations from the Premiere

édition, as described by Bengesco (Bibliographie, I, iil2). The most of these discrepancies are given in the table below. This list does not include typographical or grammatical errors, or the corrections of such mistakes in the Portatif.

Page & No. Line, Voltaire's Naves' Beuchot Naves 176U I76U

Vol. I

1 u 15 qu'on nomme qu'on nomme 2 5 22 (ans) selon * * * * * * l'écriture 3 9 32 philosophe pédant pédant U 10 7 mots. Cette mots? Cette mots? Cette fleur végété? fleur vé^te. fleur vé^te:

1. The characters * * * indicate that the words found in another edition are not in this one.

288 289

Table 1 (Con.)

Page & No. Line, Voltaire's Naves' Beuchot Naves 1764 1764

Vol. I

5 17 22 [ce] grand * * * * * * 6 17 23 * * * et l'étendue et l'étendue 7 18 28 [face] & qui ne le volait que par derrière * * * * * * 8 42 20 l'an 170 l'an 270 l'an 270 9 57 16 6t6?" Rien... Stê? Rien... ôté? Rien...... douleurs. ...douleurs." ...douleurs."^ 10 59 19 * * * (A sentence of (a sentence of four lines.) four lines.) _ 11 133 25 (A note of nine * * *3 (Inconclusive^) lines.) 12 145 13 [actuel] exis * * * * * * tât, & 13 153 15 tout le monde tous les vrais tous les vrais savants savants U 153 14 de * * * de Flavius de Flavius Joseph Josèphe . Josèphe . * * *4 15 153 24 4k * * (A 12—line note.)* 16 156 4 Janna Melchi Melchi 17 156 5 * * * (Two sentences * * *5 totaling 12 lines.) 18 156 25 foi loi foi 19 160 22 séparèrent... séparent... séparèrent... gardèrent gardent gardèrent 20 166 19 on lui a fait on lui a fait on lui a fait un crime un merci un crime

2. The change indicated Igr Naves and Beuchot restores the thought of the original^ which was not correctly quoted in the Portatif. See Cicero, Pro Cluentio. 471. 3. Naves gives the note with the date of 1765. Beuchot reproduces it with no date mentioned. 4. Beuchot gives the note with the date of 1769, but tbves fails to mention any date, which automatically puts it in the 1764 edition. 5. Beuchot includes these sentences, spying that they were added in 1765, but Naves fails to make note of it. 290

Table I (Con.)

Page & No. Line, Voltaire's Naves' Naves 1764 1764 Beuchot

Vol. I

21 167 5 * * * (a sentence of six lines.) 22 174 11 * * * les diaconoi les diaconoi 23 175 8 chrétien. T a- chrétien. " Y a— chrétien." Y i t-il...Claire?" t-il...claire?' t-il...claire? 24 175 14 * * * deux mille deux mille 25 186 22 rompirent rompissent rompissent 26 187 6 * * * par les crimes par les crimes 27 187 9 * * * la meilleure la meilleure partie de partie de 28 189 4 deux cent vingt-sixième vingt-sixième trentième 29 218 9 sort repos repos 30 219 10 * * * Etat état 31 230 12 imbéciles * * * * * * 32 230 14 nos 8 33 230 15 Te Nos®8 ^Nos® 34 230 16 * * * (A sentence of (a sentence of two lines.) two lines.) 35 230 28 auprès de la ou ou 36 257 20 * * * (a sentence of (a sentence of two lines.) two lines.) 37 261 31 * * * (a note of one (a note of one line.) line.) 38 264 28 * * * Egyptiens et Egyptiens et 39 265 11 merde excréments hu excréments hu mains mains 40 267 32 * * * plus d ’ plus d’

6. Beuchot gives the sentence but with the explanation that it is not in the 1764 edition. 7. The reading is correct as Voltaire gave it. See page 150 of this study. S. The readings of Naves and Beuchot are correct. See Juvenal, Sat. X, 365. 291

Table I (Con.)

Page & No. Line, Voltaire's Naves' Beuchot Naves 1764 1764

Vol. I

41 268 31 * * * (A sentence of * * two lines.)

Vol. II

42 39 21 * * * Jupiter ils avaient Ju ils avaient Mars arml du ton piter armé du et sa lance nerre tonnerre 43 40 16 chasses des charognes charognes Saints 44 53 10 les des des 45 112 31 * * * (A note of one (a note of one line.) line.) 46 151 8 plus de besoin plus besoin plus besoin 47 154 1 * * * En vain En vain 48 155 1 867 mille cent mille cent soixante-sept soixante-sept 49 156 16 * * * en une nuit en une nuit 50 156 17 * » # (a clause of (a clause of one line.) one line.) 51 156 31 des sculpteurs, * * * * * * des teinturiers 52 156 32 ni sandales * * * * * * 53 159 28 vingt vingt—trois vingt-trois 54 226 17 * * * (a sentence of (a sentence of two lines.) two lines.) 55 237 14 [que% cet ou [que] cette peut-être' [que] vrage fut fait rhapsodie juive cette collection par un Juif fut composée juive fut compo d'Alexandrie dans Alexandrie, sée dans Alexan longtemps après ainsi que tant drie, ainsi que Alexandre. d'autres livres tant d'autres juifs. livres juifs.

9. Beuchot gives this sentence with a note saying it was introduced in 1765. 292

Table I (Con.)

Page & No. line. Voltaire’s Naves' Beuchot Naves 1764 1764

Vol. II

56 241 9 (a paragraph of * * (A paragraph of it lines.) it lines.) 57 242 16 (A sentence of (Thoroughly (Not given.) two lines.) rewritten.) 58 243 15 (A paragraph of * * *10 (A paragraph of 12 lines.) 12 lines.) 59 243 15 sera-t-il serait-il serait-il 60 243 21 rois roitelets roitelets 61 268 20 chrétien catholique catholique

10. Naves includes-this paragraph but prints it in such a way as to indicate clearly that it is not found in the 1764 edition. 293

Table II

A comparison of Voltaire's uses of a hymn of Orphens

In his articleJ Idole^ Voltaire uses a quotation mhich

logically he must talœ from Clement of Alexandria, although he

makes no mention at this point of such a source. The paragraph

which he cites is, as he says here, from the writings of the Greek,

Orpheus. That he is relying on Clement for his material, however,

is indicated by a remark idiich he makes in Chretien contre

six Juifs (1777)J "Orphie...dont les véritables fragments ne se

trouvent que chez Clément d'Alexandrie (Mol., XXIX, This

is one instance in which a Church Father serves Voltaire well,

since the latter is so much impressed by the lines of Orpheus that he quotes them in seven different works.

The role played by Orpheus in the development of civi lization is not always well understood. Although he is acclaimed

as the marvellous musician whose art charmed Fluto and moved

even animals and trees, he is also the reputed author of several literary works and is given credit for being the founder of more

than one religious sect, as well as having "I'un des premiers

roles dans 1 «histoire de la civilisation (Daremberg, Dictionnaire,

IV, 1®, 2l|2)." In the words of the Encyclopédie (XI, 663),

Orphée fut une e ^ c e de réformateur, qui, à l'aide de la poésie et de la musique, ayant adouci des hommes féroces, donna naissance à 294

une secte distinguée par son attachment & l ’étude de la religion, et par une austérité de vie [qui] portoit [les hommes] à une haute perfection,

The works of Orpheus were quoted hy Plato, as well as by other

Greek authors. Among the early Christians, ",hn le considérait

comme une sorte de précurseur du Christ (Daremberg. Dictionnaire.

IV, 1®, 245)." Although these Christians attacked vigorously some of the mystères of Orpheus, they thought that they saw in many of his teachings some of their own doctrines, and went so far as to honor him in their art of the first five centuries

(cf. loc. cit.).

The Greeks and early Christians thought of Orpheus in general as a real person, but it is now known that the works attributed to him were composed at different and widely separated periods, supposedly by his followers. Of these writings there exist only fragments. The one which contains the material that

Voltaire quotes is preserved in Clement of Alexandria’s Exhortation to the Greeks, chap. 7 (Fragment 5 Abel., according to G. W.

Butterworth in the Loeb Classical Library, "Clement of Alexandria", p. 167, note a). It has also been translated into Latin along with the rest of his works (Patrol. gr., VIII, 182).

We have found no indication as to what version Voltaire may have had at hand and his quotations vary from the Greek about as much as they do from the: Latin, The table below shows the ten phrases of Orpheus’ hvmne in a translation of the Greek, in the 295

Latin, and in the seven uses that Voltaire made of it. Red type will be used to show, not as previously the correspondence of material in the Dictionnaire with its source, but the similarity of other works of Voltaire with the reading of the Portatif. 296

The Hymn of Orpheus and the Uses Which Voltaire Makes of It

Translation of Latin Article Idole the Greek Version Version Diet. P h i l .. 1764 (written1757)

1. Behold the word Verbum ast as— Contemple la divine, piciens divinom, nature divine,

2, to this attend. assistera numquam illumine ton huic cessa, esprit,

3. directing mind mentemque tuam et gouverne ton and heart aright; cor dirige, coeur,

4. tread well the nar recta atque via marche dans la voye row path of life ingredere, de la justice:

5. and gaze on Him, mundi autem respi que le Dieu du ciel the world's great ce regem, solum & de la terre soit ruler, our im immortalem. toujours prisent à mortal king. tes yeux;

6. One, self-begotten, Ex se unus il est unique, il lives; genitus. existe seul par lui-même;

7. all things proceed genita et sunt tous les êtres from One; omnia ab uno: tiennent de lui leur existence:

8, and in His works,. versaturque in eis il les soutient He ever moves: ipse; tous;

9. no mortal sees Him, ex mortalibus ullus il n'a jamais lté nee videt hunc, vû des mortels,

10, yet Himself sees contra sed cunctos & il voit toutes all. aspicit ipse. choses. (Loeb Classical (Patrol, gr.. VIII, (p. 233; Naves, Library, "Clem 1825 II, 54) ent of Alexan dria", p. 167) (Continued on the next page) 297

Table II (Con.)

OlOTPie Appel à toutes Diet. P h i l . (written 1761) les nations de Varberg (revised 1765) ( ïmf 1. Contemple la nature divine,

2. illumine ton esprit,

3. gouverne ton coeur,

4-. Marchez dans la voye Préparez-vous marche dans la voye de la justice. de la justice;

5. contemplez le seul à voir par les yeux que le Dieu du ciel maître du monde, de 1'âme 1• arbitre & de la terre soit le Démiourgos. de l'univers. toujours présent â tes yeux;

6. Il est unique, il Il est unique, il il est unique, il existe seul par existe seul par existe seul par lui-même, lul-même, lui-même:

7. tous les autres et tous les êtres tous les êtres êtres ne sont que doivent à lui seul tiennent de lui par lui; leur existence; leur existence;

8. il les anime tous: il étend partout son il les soutient pouvoir et ses tous; oeuvres;

9, il n'a jamais été vu il voit tout, il voit tout, par des yeux mortels.

10. et il voit au fond il ne peut être vu et n'a jamais été de nos coeurs* des mortels. vu des yeux des (Mol., VI, 98) (Mol., XXIV, 212) mortels.

(Continued on the next page) 298

Table II (Con.)

La Philosophie BibllothSaue Un Chrétien con de l’histoire ” " (1770) tre six Juifs 0 7 ^ Oraison (1777) (1771)

4. Marchez dans la voie [Verbatim as in [Verbatim as in de la justice. La Philosophie La Philosophie de l'histoire! de l'histoire except phrase #6]

5. adorez le seul maître de l'univers;

6. il est un; il est il est un, il seul par lui-mlme. est seul, il est par lui-mlme;

7. tous les Itres lui doivent leur existence;

8. il agit dans eux et par eux;

9. il voit tout.

10. et jamais il n'a lté vu des yeux mortels. (Mol., XI, 108) (Mol., XVII, 571 (Mol., XnX, 547) and Mol., XX, U8) 299

As the table shows, the first use which Voltaire makes

of this hymn of Orpheus is in the article Idole, written in all

probability as early as 1757 and intended for the Encyclopédie

(Mol., XXXIX, 167), although it was first published in the

Portatif. In it, Voltaire follows fairly closely the original.

One is not surprised, however, to note that the verbum divinum

(phrase 1) of Clement has become la nature divine, and that recta via (phrase A) is now la vove de la .justice. The idea of im— mortalem (phrase 5), found in both the Latin and the Greek, is

omitted, unless one judges it to be necessarily present in the word Dieu. Omnia and uno (phrase 7) have been personalized to tous les êtres and lui. Soutient (phrase 8), however, does not well express the meaning either of versatur (is concerned about) ot of nfjairiaaÉTiLi (he operates— Patrol, gr.. VIII, 182). In general, the changes are such as one would expect Voltaire to make.

HLs next use of the hymn is either in the notes to

Olvmpie or in the Appel à toutes les nations de l'Europe. The accepted date for the composition of both is 1761 but since the former was not published until 1763 and the quotation is found in the author’s notes, it would be reasonable to think that the

Appel was written first. A study, however, of the changes in the wording suggests that the notes to Olvmpie precede the Appel.

The most noticeable difference in the readings of

Olvmpie from those of Idole is that the first three phrases have 300

been dropped, as they will be in all future uses of the hymn,

except in revisions of the Dictionnaire. The effect of this short

ening is to emphasize the other ideas, especially that of justice.

Another change is from the familiar, second person singular, form

of the imperative to the formal vous which will be kept in all

the coming versions, except, again, in revisions of the Portatif.

The form of phrase five has been made more vivid by the use of

the imperative instead of the subjunctive and Dieu has become

le Demioureos. Since the notes to Olvmpie were written "pour les

philosophes (Mol., XLII, 37)", Voltaire may have thought that he

would gain in effectiveness by employing the philosophical term,

which he then abandons after this one use. He may have recognized

that it was not a good rendering of the original, since there is

nothing in. mundi autem respice regem, solum immortalem to justify

le Démiourgos. "1"intelligence créative (Littré)". He also strength

ens il les soutient (phrase 8) by changing it to il les anime

and experiments with a subjective note which is not warranted by

the original and which he discards after this one time: il voit

toutes choses (phrase 10) becomes il voit au fond de nos coeurs.

On the lAïole, the translation is scarcely so good as that of the

1764 edition.

In the Appel, the hymn is sung by the chorus and the

hierophant of the Greek theater as a kind of "invocation" to open

the performances of les véritablement grandes tragédies (Mol.,

XXIV, 212)* This is probably responsible for the changes in 301

phrase four, since his previous wording would not he appropriate

in these circumstances. Phrase five, also, is more suitable here

than his former translations. It is significant that none of

these changes appear in any of the other versions. In his con

cluding lines, he introduces a variation which becomes permanent:

phrases nine and ten are reversed and the new number nine is

shortened to il voit tout. The new number ten also has a different

form but it is not repeated later.

In the Varberg revision, nothing of importance is

changed from the reading of 1764 except that phrases nine and ten

are again reversed and the new form of il voit tout is kept.

Still, Voltaire is not satisfied. In La Philosophie de

l'histoire, he tries a fresh approach in phrase five. The trans

lation of this part seems to be giving him trouble. He has not

yet written it twice with the same wording, or even the same

ideas. This contrasts with phrase six which he never varies,

except once in a minor detail. He now adopts the simple and ef

fective reading: "Adorez le seul maître de l'univers." Number

eight, which like number five has varied each time, receives here

its definitive form and the conclusion is made more effective

by having jamais placed first.

VoilAl Voltaire now has a version, short, vigwous, and easily remembered, which he will use three more times— in

the article Bibliotb&gue of the Questions sur l'Encyclopédie. 1770

(Mol., XVII, 571); in the article Oraison of the Questions of 302

1771 (Mol,, XX, 148) j and in Un Chrétien contre six Juifs, 1776 or 1777 (Mol,, XXIX, 54-7)— word for word, except for the accidental

(?) omission in 1770 of the last restored in the two remaining versions, and for the insertion in 1776 of an emphatic il est before par lui-mSme. Does this verbatim repetition indicate that he knows his quotation par coeur, as he says everyone should

(Mol,, XXIX, 547), or, as he is writing, does he refer to the text of La Philosophie? The two changes last mentioned might suggest that he had it memorized, but to remember it so accurately from

1765 to 1776 would indeed be remarkable.

That this hymn is a favorite of Voltaire's is shown not only by his use of it seven times but also by his references to it and by the fact that, as we suspect, he makes occasions for its introduction. In Un Chrétien contre six Juifs, he classes it as simple et sublime, saying that it is one of the things

"que tout le monde devrait savoir par coeur," Its use in Idole is to prove that, "On n' enseignait qu'un seul Dieu aux initiés dans les mist&res," The notes to Olvmpie remind the philosophes that it was a part of the Greek mvst&res de haute antiquité (Mol,.

VI, 98), La Philosophie de l'histoire assures the reader that,

"II faut convenir que, du moins pour le sens, ils [ces vers] valent beaucoup mieux que l'Iliade et l'Odvssée entières (Mol,, XI, 108),"

In the article Bibliothèque. Voltaire introduces it as an example of old writing (though one might suspect that his real purpose, here as perhaps elsewhere, is merely once more to get it before 303 the public) and in Oraison he characterizes it as an excellent formule de nriSre. In the end, we are not surprised to find that in Un Chrétien contre six Juifs the hymn has crystallized into a simple et sublime conception of God. BIBLIOGRAPHÏ

There are listed here only the works which have been quoted, directly or indirectly, in this study.

Abauzit, Fimdn. Œuvres diverses de M. Abauzit contenant ses écrits d»histoire, de critique et de théologie. LondMs, 1770-73, in-Ô**, 2 tomes en 1 vol.

Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson— American reprint by A* Cleveland Coxe. Buffalo, The Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885-96, 10 vols.

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Bayle, Pierre. Dictionnaire historique et critique. Paris, Desoer, ibèo, l6 vols.

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Besterman, Theodore. Voltaire«s Corarespondence. Geneva, Institut et Musée Voltaire, 19^3-^h, 10 vols, published to date.

Beuchot, Adrien. See Voltaire, Œuvres.

The Bible. The Expositor's Bible, ed. by W. Robertson Nicoll. New York, Armstrong and Son, 1905, 26 vols.

------The Hexaglot Bible, ed. by Edward Riches de Levante, containing: The King James Version (See I, cxxxvi) Luther's Version (See I, cxxxvi) Martin's Version (See I, cxxxvii) The Septuagint (See I, xiv) The Vulgate (See I, liii) Mew York, Funk & Wagnalls Co., I906, 6 vols.

— The Holy Bible...and Commentary, ed. by F.C. Cook. New York, Charles Scribner & Co., IÜ7I, 8 v o l s .

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The Bible, The Interpreter's Bible, ed. by George A. Buttrick, New Yorkj Abingdon Press, 1951-55, 12 vols.; vols. 1-A, 7-10 published to date.

The King James Version. See Bible, Hexaglot Bible.

Lather's Version. See Bible, Hexaglot Bible.

Martin's Version, See Bible, Hexaglot Bible.

La Sainte Bible^ Version d'Ostervald. Paris, 58, Rue de Clichy, 1901.

La Sainte Bible contenant l'ancien et le nouveau testa ment. traduite en frangois sur la Vulgate par Monsieur le Maistre de Saci. Paris, Guillaume Desprez et Jean Desessartz, 1724, in-4°.

Revised Standard Version. New York, Thomas Nelson's Sons, 1952.

------The Septuagint. See Bible, Hexaglot Bible.

— ------The Vulgate. See Bible, Hexaglot Bible.

Brunetière, Ferdinand. "Voltaire," Revue des deux mondes LXXX® ani^e, 5® période, LK (l®^ novembre, 1910), 5-33.

Butterworth, G.ïï. See Clement of Alexandria.

Catalogue général des livres imprimés de la Bibliothèque Nationale. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1897-1954, 182 vols, published to date.

Charles, Robert H. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigranha of the Old Testament. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1913, 2 vols.

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Cicero, Marcus Tullius. Pro Cluentio. text and translation by H. Grose Hodge in the "Loeb Classical Library, Latin Authors," ed. by E. Capps, etc. New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1927. 306

Clement of Alexandria, , Exhortation to the Greeks, text and translation by G.W. Butterworth in the "Loeb Classical Library, Greek Authors," ed. by E, Capps, etc. New York, G,P, Putnam’s Sons, 1919,

Collini, CfSme-Alexandre, Mon sé.iour aunrfes de Voltaire. Paris, Collin, 1807,

Cook, F.C, See Bible, Holy Bible...and Commentary.

Crist, Clifford M, The Dictionnaire philosophique portatif and the Early French Deists. Brooklyn, S.J, Clark’s Sons, 1934.

Daremberg, Ch. See Dictionnaire des antiquités grecques et romaines.

Dictionary of Christian Biography, ed. by Wm. Smith and Henry Wace. London, J. Murray, 1877-87, 4 vols.

Dictionnaire des antiquités grecques et romaines, ed. by Ch. D^emberg and Edm. Saglio. Paris, Hachette, 1877—1919, 5 vols, in 10.

Encadrée, édition. See Voltaire, OEuvres. 1775.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. 14th edition. Chicago, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1953.

Encyclopédiey ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une société de gens de lettres. Mis en ordre et publié par M. Diderot.... Paris, Briasson, 1751-65, 17 vols.

Expositor’s Bible. See Bible, Expositor’s Bible.

Falls, Thomas B. See Fathers of the Church.

Fathers of the Church, ed. by Ludwig Sch<^p. New York, Cima Pub lishing Co., 1947—55, 27 vols, published to date.

Grimm, Friedrich Melchior, Correspondance littéraire, philosophi que et critique [par Grimm, Diderot, etc.], ed. by Maurice Toumeux. Paris, Garnier Frères, 1877-82, 16 vols.

Harper’s Latin Dictionary y ed. by E.A. Andrews. New York, American Book Co., 1907.

Havens, George R. "Voltaire’s Letters to Pierre Pictet and his Family," Romanic Review^ XXXII (October, 1941), 244-58. 307

Havens, George R, and Norman L. Torrey. "The Private Library of Voltaire at Leningrad." Publications of the Modern Language Association of America f. XÜII (Decetaber, 1928), 990—1009.

------and Norman L. Torrey. "Voltaire’s Books: A Selected List," Modern Philology. XXVII (August, 1929), 1-22.

Hefele, Ksrl Joseph von. Histoire des conciles d’anrSs les docu ments ori - Paris, Letouzey et Ané, 1907-49, 11 vols, in 20.

Hermes Trismegistus. Hermetica. text and translation by Walter Scott. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1924-36, 4 vols.

Hexaglot Bible. See Bible.

The Ifolv Bible...and Commentary. See Bible.

The Interpreter’s Bible. See Bible.

Jacobus de Varagine. The Golden Legend, translation by Granger Ryan and Helmut Ripperger. New York, Longmans, Green & Co., 1941.

James, Montague R. The Anocrvohal New Testament. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1926.

Juvenal. See Juvenalis, Decxmus Junius.

Juvenalis, Decimus Junius. OEuvres complètes, in the "Collection des auteurs latins," ed. by Nisard. Paris, Firmin-Didot, 1903.

King James Version. See Bible, Hexaglot Bible.

Latimer, Charles T. "The Influence of Bavle’s Dictionary on the Theological Articles in Voltaire’s Dictionnaire philosophique." Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Chicago, 1920.

Littré, E. Dictionnaire de la langue française. Paris, Hachette, 1878> 4 vols, plus 1 vol. de Supplement.

Longchamp, S.G. and J.L. Wagniére. Mémoires sur Voltaire et sur ses ouvrages. Paris, André, 1826, 2 vols.

Luther’s Version. See Bible, Hexaglot Bible.

Ifeirtin’s Version. See Bible, Hexaglot Bible. 30Ô

Middleton, Conyers. Miscellaneous Works. London, Richard Manby, 1752, 4 vols.

Migne, J.P. See Thomas Aquinas, and also Patrologiae cursus com- pletus.

Moland, Louis. See Voltaire, OEuvres.

Morehouse, Andrew R. Voltaire and Jean Meslier. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1936.

Moriri, Louis. Le Grand dictionnaire historique. Amsterdam, Brunei, 1724, 4 vols.

Naves, Raymond. See Voltaire, Dictionnaire philosophique.

Voltaire et 1*Encyclopédie. Paris, Les éditions des presses modernes, 1938.

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Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. 2nd series, ed. by Henry Wace and Philip Schaff. New York, The Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890—1917, 14 vols.

Nicholson, Henry A. A Textbook of Zoology. New York, American B o o k Co., 1885.

Nicoll, W, Robertson. See Bible, The Expositor’s Bible.

Ostervald’s Version. See Bible.

Patrol, gr. See Patrologiae cursus comoletus. series graeca.

Patrol, lat. See Patrologiae cursus comoletus. series latina.

Patrblbgiae cursus comoletus. series graeca, ed. by J.P. Migne. Paris, Garnier FrSres, 1857-1904, 166 vols.

Patrologiae cursus comoletus. series latina, ed. by J.P. Migne. Paris, Garnier Frères, 1844-1904, 221 vols.

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Pierron, Alexis. Voltaire et ses maîtres. Paris, Didier, 1866. 309

Ripperger, Helmut, See Jacobus de Varagine,

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Scott, Walter, See Hermes Trismegistus,

The Septuagint, See Bible, Hexaglot Bible,

Thomas Aquinas, Saint, Summa theologica. translation by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province, New York, Benziger Bros,, 194-7-i48, 3 vols,

------— Summa theologica. ed, by J,P, Migne, Paris, Garnier Frères, 1872-82, A vols,

Torrey, Norman L, Voltaire and the English Deists, 'New Haven, Yale University Press, 1930,

—— --- See George R, Havens (2 items),

- See Ira 0. Wade,

Van Roosbroeck, Gustave L, "Additions and Corrections to Voltaire's Bibliography Published in 1924," Modern Language Notes. XLIV (May, 1929), 328-30,

Voltaire, Frangois-Marie Arouet de, rOEuvresl, édition dite "encadrée," [Genève, Cramer et Bardinj, 1775, 40 vols,

OEuvres complètes, [Kehl], Imprimerie de la Société littéraire typographique, 1785-89, 92 vols.

OEuvres, ed, by Adrien Beuchot, Paris, Lefèvre, 1829-40, 72 vols,

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— Dictionnaire Philosophique, portatif. Londres [Genève], 1764, ih-8^, viii^44 pages. Première édition,

— Dictionnaire philosophique portatif, Amsterdam, Varberg, 1765, 2 vols. 310

Voltaire, François-Marie Arouet de. Dictionnaire philosophique. comprenant les 118 articles parus sous ce titre du vivant de Voltaire avec leurs suppléments parus dans les Questions guT 1«Rnèvelonédie. avec introduction, variantes et notes par Julien Benda, Texte établi par Raymond Raves. Paris, Garnier Frères, [1936], 2 vols.

The Vulgate. See Bible, Hexaglot Bible.

Wade, Ira G. Voltaire and Madame du Ghêtelet. Princeton, Prince ton University Press, 1941.

------and Norman L. Torrey. "Voltaire and Polier de Bottens," Romanic Review. XXXI (April, 1940), 147-55.

Waterman, Mina. "Voltaire and Firmin Abauzit," Romanic Review, XXXIII (October, 1942), 236-^9.

Webster*s New International Dictionary, ed. by W.T. Harris. Spring field, G. & C. Merriam Co., 1931.

Winchester, Albert M. Zoology. New York, Van Nostrand Co., 1947,

Young, Robert. Analytical Concordance of the Bible. New York, I.K. Funk & Co., 1881. AUTOBIOGMPHY

I, Gilbert Emory Mills, was b o m in Buckhannon, W. Va.,

November 27, 1892. I received my secondary school education in the Martin Boehm Academy of Otterbein College, Westerville, Ohio.

My undergraduate training was obtained at Otterbein College, from which X received the degree Bachelor of Arts in 1920. I spent the year 1921-22 in France, dividing the time between the Univer sity of Poitiers and the University of Paris. At the latter institution, I attended the Ecole de Preparation des Professeurs de Français à l ’Etranger. I received in 1928 the degree Master of Arts from The Ohio State University. Since 1920, I have taught in the Department of Modem Languages of Otterbein College, except for two sabbatical leaves, during which I completed the residence requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy at The Ohio State

University.

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