PREFACE.

to find a God; his contemplation will lead him there. But seeing that through the recognition of a Holy Sovereign Lord, he would be obliged by this word to renounce his sinful pleasures, he will wish that such a God did not exist: although he remains silent about this, so that he is not held by other men to be what he truly is, that is, an unhappy Atheïst atheist.

§. 4. Since this entire error is nothing other than a drive dragging them away, which has not the least appearance of reason as its ground, several of this sort are set right when God (who must be recognized as the Supreme Cause in all this) is pleased to bless the means employed. These means, besides the increase of years, which often causes the passionate wildness of youth to subside, also sometimes consist in bringing them to a right and intelligent attention to God's wisdom, power, and goodness. These qualities manifest themselves in many ways and undeniably to anyone who does not willfully wish to remain blind, through the contemplation of the world and the governance of all things. In particular, one should make them see their own fragility and that of all men, and the vanity of all that which they are accustomed to call by the name of pleasure; but primarily the unhappy state in which the whole of mankind would find themselves, if, according to their thoughts, the world were governed either by chance or by unintelligent laws of necessity. Finally, one should show how terrifying everything must appear to them if their lamentable opinion (a better name cannot be given to it, because it can be proven to no one) is entirely false. Through these considerations, a lesser regard for the present and a fear for the future is awakened in them; this brings their former passions to a greater state of calm and leads them to reflection. This latter thing has been sufficient in many people alone to make them change their thoughts.

§. 5. The second cause of Ongodiftery godlessness or atheism is another drive, that of a perverse ambition, which also arises from the same ground of self-love. Through this, some, having once fallen into the advocacy of such disastrous sentiments, imagine that they ought therefore to be held by men as having more piercing and greater intellects. For this reason, they are accustomed to give one another the name of Esprits Forts Strong Spirits or Freethinkers, or sterke Geesten strong spirits; wishing thereby to show, as it were, that they are the sort of people who do not allow themselves to be made fearful by any idle dread or a original: "blaas met boonen", a Dutch idiom referring to a noise-maker used to scare children; here meaning a hollow threat

with the common people who know no better, like children.

This is one of the highest steps to which atheism can climb; it seems it cannot climb higher: because those who have once come so far not only reject all convictions, but as long as this passion and perverse ambition last, they are necessarily forced to reject them, and thus they desire to remain completely incurable. For while the first sort of godlessness, which is grounded only on the enjoyment of pleasures, can be countered in silence as soon as any persuasion of the contrary begins to carry weight, this latter sort has, in addition, this obstacle to being removed: that those who have advocated it fear that if they were to change their thoughts, they would lose the honor of a surpassing wisdom and steadfastness, as well as their imagined esteem. So they think that from then on, they would be seen by those who know them not only as inconstant and cowardly, but also as having confused minds: since it is usually the habit among these imagined strong spirits to speak disparagingly in this way of all who begin to see their errors and leave them. Now, how much the fear of contempt can do to some who imagine themselves to be somewhat noble is taught in many cases by daily experience; even to the point that one has often seen this unhappy sort of people burst out into terrible blasphemies, solely to give proof of their greater insight and fearlessness, and to ensure that no one thinks they speak against their conscience or are hiding their fear.

§. 6. Against those who do not even wish to be convinced, I have seldom seen any human means used with success; since this sort of atheism is mostly paired with a great lack of understanding. These miserable people can seldom be brought to the point where they truly pay attention to what is presented to them; they are accustomed to answering the best and most powerful proofs with nothing but contempt, and often only with a mocking laugh, as if they were not worthy of counter-arguments to a greater intellect. Indeed, whatever the causes of this outstanding stubbornness and unconvertibility may be, it is evident that a terrible judgment from such an unworthily blasphemed God lies upon them. As far as one must often fear from the circumstances, this judgment remains upon them until the end: so that few of them are set right, unless it pleases the merciful God to have compassion on them and to make them incomprehensible miracles of His grace.

Among these, I have known one who, being advised by a friend (since he seemed hardened against other proofs) to look seriously at himself, his soul, and body, and all that he saw happening in the world around him,