The Sequel to the Count of Gabalis, or New Discourses on the Secret Sciences

On the Secret Sciences

...to discern what there could be that is so contrary to good morals. "What Descartes René Descartes (1596–1650), a philosopher who advocated for a rational, systematic approach to knowledge. Here, he is accused of corrupting the "purer" occult philosophy of Giordano Bruno. took from us," he replied, "is good and suited to our purpose; but what he added is very pernicious. I wish to make you understand this clearly and in few words. To this end, I must first tell you my feelings on the Philosophy of Aristotle The speaker refers to the traditional academic and theological framework of the time, based on the works of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, which the "new" philosophers sought to overturn., and then you must agree with me on a principle of Christian Morality, without which there would be no difference between a Christian and a Pagan.

It is that Faith is the soul of Christianity; it is the principle of all good and all merit. Now, the more this Faith suffers contradictions, the more it is attacked by human reasoning, and the more it stands alone, the more meritorious, victorious, and triumphant it becomes."

"This principle is admirable!" I cried.

"Consequently," he continued, "one can do nothing more ruinous to Christian Morality than to diminish the glory and merit of this Faith by presuming to subject divine things to reason. It is to the glory of Christianity that he who approaches God believes that God is A reference to the Epistle to the Hebrews 11:6: "For he that cometh to God must believe that he is.","