THE FIRST BOOK.

A 3

They pour it into young children, and teach the young early
To echo that sound The sound of the name of "God" or religious dogmas mentioned on the preceding page. from the cradle with their tongue.
Thus the child inherits a language through social interaction and habit,
Receiving the father’s teaching along with the mother’s language and speech;
And inherited custom creates a second nature for a person,
Which is difficult to unlearn. If truth sits at the helm
Of the house and family, then the child sails happily.
But if lying speech is at the rudder, how miserably and distressingly
This shipwreck then destroys all the offspring of that lineage!
A circumspect brain therefore distrusts the mother’s milk original: "mam" – used here metaphorically to represent the earliest influences and nourishment of childhood.
And the traditions passed down by mother, guardian, and father;
Seeking to flee inherited deception, and wishing out of fear
To deliberate more closely with reason, to test, sharply and quietly,
What concerns God and religion, before judgment wishes to cast its vote.
This is done so as not to wander so blindly with the whole crowd,
Moved by the authority of beards A reference to the "learned elders" or philosophers of the schools., pens, and schools,
Or a hired tongue—those who, stupider than cattle
Driven to the stall, follow the driver
Who fattens himself on the grease of the flock.
A circumspect spirit demands reason, which distinguishes
Humans from animals, and pays no mind to anyone’s raging,
Neither the bull’s-whip bolpees: a whip made from a bull's dried penis, symbolizing physical coercion or the threat of force nor the curse. In reason he seeks light.
Where this light shines and is evident, he does not deny his duty
To follow of his own accord, voluntarily, unconstrained.
He knows well the labyrinth of the world and its tongues;
The false guides original: "weiſlaers" – literally "way-showers," referring to hypocrites who point the way to heaven but do not walk the path themselves. who worship the belly as their God;
How worldly men only look to honor and earthly pleasure;
How religion often serves as a mask original: "grijns" – literally a grimace or a theatrical mask, implying a false front. for godlessness,
Varnished by a harness of lying speech and malice;
How everyone, intent on profit, sharpens the edge of their wits,
And country by country, city by city, sets up a God,
Cast in the unequal mold of their own brains,
And led to the altar by their fellow-worshippers.
If you demand from the schools proof of their foundation,
They shout all at once, from the very same mouth: