mikhail bakunin - god & the state

8/14/2019 Mikhail Bakunin - God & The State

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GOD AND THE STATE

Mikhail Bakunin

God and the State - Chapter 1

Who is right, the idealists or the materialists? The question, once stated in this way, hesitation

becomes impossible. ndoubtedly the idealists are wrong and the materialists right. !es, "acts arebe"ore ideas# yes, the ideal, as $roudhon said, is but a "lower, whose root lies in the material

conditions o" e%istence. !es, the whole history o" humanity, intellectual and moral, political and

social, is but a re"lection o" its economic history.

&ll branches o" modem science, o" true and disinterested science, concur in proclaiming this grandtruth, "undamental and decisi'e( The social world, properly spea)ing, the human world - in short,

humanity - is nothing other than the last and supreme de'elopment - at least on our planet and as "aras we )now - the highest mani"estation o" animality. *ut as e'ery de'elopment necessarily implies anegation, that o" its base or point o" departure, humanity is at the same time and essentially the

deliberate and gradual negation o" the animal element in man# and it is precisely this negation, asrational as it is natural, and rational only because natural - at once historical and logical, as

ine'itable as the de'elopment and reali+ation o" all the natural laws in the world - that constitutes

and creates the ideal, the world o" intellectual and moral con'ictions, ideas.

!es, our "irst ancestors, our &dams and our 'es, were, i" not gorillas, 'ery near relati'es o"gorillas, omni'orous, intelligent and "erocious beasts, endowed in a higher degree than the animals

o" another species with two precious "aculties - the power to thin) and the desire to rebel.

These "aculties, combining their progressi'e action in history, represent the essential "actor, the

negati'e power in the positi'e de'elopment o" human animality, and create consequently all thatconstitutes humanity in man.

The *ible, which is a 'ery interesting and here and there 'ery pro"ound boo) when considered asone o" the oldest sur'i'ing mani"estations o" human wisdom and "ancy, e%presses this truth 'ery

nai'ely in its myth o" original sin. eho'ah, who o" all the good gods adored by men was certainlythe most ealous, the most 'ain, the most "erocious, the most unust, the most bloodthirsty, the most

despotic, and the most hostile to human dignity and liberty - eho'ah had ust created &dam and

'e, to satis"y we )now not what caprice# no doubt to while away his time, which must weighhea'y on his hands in his eternal egoistic solitude, or that he might ha'e some new sla'es. /e

generously placed at their disposal the whole earth, with all its "ruits and animals, and set but asingle limit to this complete enoyment. /e e%pressly "orbade them "rom touching the "ruit o" the

tree o" )nowledge. /e wished, there"ore, that man, destitute o" all understanding o" himsel", should

remain an eternal beast, e'er on all-"ours be"ore the eternal God, his creator and his master. *ut heresteps in Satan, the eternal rebel, the "irst "reethin)er and the emancipator o" worlds. /e ma)es man

ashamed o" his bestial ignorance and obedience# he emancipates him, stamps upon his brow the sealo" liberty and humanity, in urging him to disobey and eat o" the "ruit o" )nowledge.

We )now what "ollowed. The good God, whose "oresight, which is one o" the di'ine "aculties,

should ha'e warned him o" what would happen, "lew into a terrible and ridiculous rage# he cursedSatan, man, and the world created by himsel", stri)ing himsel" so to spea) in his own creation, aschildren do when they get angry# and, not content with smiting our ancestors themsel'es, he cursed
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them in all the generations to come, innocent o" the crime committed by their "ore"athers. 0ur

Catholic and $rotestant theologians loo) upon that as 'ery pro"ound and 'ery ust, preciselybecause it is monstrously iniquitous and absurd. Then, remembering that he was not only a God o"

'engeance and wrath, but also a God o" lo'e, a"ter ha'ing tormented the e%istence o" a "ew

milliards o" poor human beings and condemned them to an eternal hell, he too) pity on the rest,and, to sa'e them and reconcile his eternal and di'ine lo'e with his eternal and di'ine anger, always

greedy "or 'ictims and blood, he sent into the world, as an e%piatory 'ictim, his only son, that hemight be )illed by men. That is called the mystery o" the edemption, the basis o" all the Christian

religions. Still, i" the di'ine Sa'iour had sa'ed the human world2 *ut no# in the paradise promised

by Christ, as we )now, such being the "ormal announcement, the elect will number 'ery "ew. Therest, the immense maority o" the generations present and to come, will burn eternally in hell. 3n the

meantime, to console us, God, e'er ust, e'er good, hands o'er the earth to the go'ernment o" the4apoleon Thirds, o" the William 5irsts, o" the 5erdinands o" &ustria, and o" the &le%anders o" all

the ussias.

Such are the absurd tales that are told and the monstrous doctrines that are taught, in the "ull light o"

the nineteenth century, in all the public schools o" urope, at the e%press command o" the

go'ernment. They call this ci'ili+ing the people2 3s it not plain that all these go'ernments aresystematic poisoners, interested stupe"ies o" the masses?

3 ha'e wandered "rom my subect, because anger gets hold o" me whene'er 3 thin) o" the base and

criminal means which they employ to )eep the nations in perpetual sla'ery, undoubtedly that theymay be the better able to "leece them. 0" what consequence are the crimes o" all the Tropmanns in

the world compared with this crime o" treason against humanity committed daily, in broad day, o'er

the whole sur"ace o" the ci'ili+ed world, by those who dare to call themsel'es the guardians and the"athers o" the people? 3 return to the myth o" original sin.

God admitted that Satan was right# he recogni+ed that the de'il did not decei'e &dam and 'e in

promising them )nowledge and liberty as a reward "or the act o" disobedience which he bad induced

them to commit# "or, immediately they had eaten o" the "orbidden "ruit, God himsel" said 6see*ible7( 8*ehold, man is become as o" the Gods, )nowing both good and e'il# pre'ent him,

there"ore, "rom eating o" the "ruit o" eternal li"e, lest he become immortal li)e 0ursel'es.

9et us disregard now the "abulous portion o" this myth and consider its true meaning, which is 'ery

clear. :an has emancipated himsel"# he has separated himsel" "rom animality and constitutedhimsel" a man# he has begun his distincti'ely human history and de'elopment by an act o"

disobedience and science - that is, by rebellion and by thought.

Three elements or, i" you li)e, three "undamental principles constitute the essential conditions o" allhuman de'elopment, collecti'e or indi'idual, in history(

617 human animality##

6;7 thought# and

6


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worshippers o" the ideal, as we )now - are much o""ended when told that man, with his magni"icent

intelligence, his sublime ideas, and his boundless aspirations, is, li)e all else e%isting in the world,nothing but matter, only a product o" 'ile matter.

We may answer that the matter o" which materialists spea), matter spontaneously and eternallymobile, acti'e, producti'e, matter chemically or organically determined and mani"ested by the

properties or "orces, mechanical, physical, animal, and intelligent, which necessarily belong to it -that this matter has nothing in common with the 'ile matter o" the idealists. The latter, a product o"

their "alse abstraction, is indeed a stupid, inanimate, immobile thing, incapable o" gi'ing birth to the

smallest product, a caput mortuum, an ugly "ancy in contrast to the beauti"ul "ancy which they callGod# as the opposite o" this supreme being, matter, their matter, stripped by that constitutes its real

nature, necessarily represents supreme nothingness. They ha'e ta)en away intelligence, li"e, all itsdetermining qualities, acti'e relations or "orces, motion itsel", without which matter would not e'en

ha'e weight, lea'ing it nothing but impenetrability and absolute immobility in space# they ha'e

attributed all these natural "orces, properties, and mani"estations to the imaginary being created bytheir abstract "ancy# then, interchanging rules, they ha'e called this product o" their imagination,

this phantom, this God who is nothing, 8supreme *eing8 and, as a necessary consequence, ha'e

declared that the real being, matter, the world, is nothing. &"ter which they gra'ely tell us that thismatter is incapable o" producing anything, not e'en o" setting itsel" in motion, and consequently

must ha'e been created by their God.

&t the end o" this boo) 3 e%posed the "allacies and truly re'olting absurdities to which one isine'itably led by this imagination o" a God, let him be considered as a personal being, the creator

and organi+er o" worlds# or e'en as impersonal, a )ind o" di'ine soul spread o'er the whole

uni'erse and constituting thus its eternal principle# or let him be an idea, in"inite and di'ine, alwayspresent and acti'e in the world, and always mani"ested by the totality o" material and de"inite

beings. /ere 3 shall deal with one point only.

The gradual de'elopment o" the material world, as well as o" organic animal li"e and o" the

historically progressi'e intelligence o" man, indi'idually or socially, is per"ectly concei'able. 3t is awholly natural mo'ement "rom the simple to the comple%, "rom the lower to the higher, "rom the

in"erior to the superior# a mo'ement in con"ormity with all our daily e%periences, and consequentlyin con"ormity also with our natural logic, with the distincti'e laws o" our mind, which being "ormed

and de'eloped only by the aid o" these same e%periences# is, so to spea), but the mental, cerebral

reproduction or re"lected summary thereo".

The system o" the idealists is quite the contrary o" this. 3t is the re'ersal o" all human e%periencesand o" that uni'ersal and common good sense which is the essential condition o" all human

understanding, and which, in rising "rom the simple and unanimously recogni+ed truth that twicetwo are "our to the sublimest and most comple% scienti"ic considerations - admitting, moreo'er,nothing that has not stood the se'erest tests o" e%perience or obser'ation o" things and "acts -

becomes the only serious basis o" human )nowledge.

=ery "ar "rom pursuing the natural order "rom the lower to the higher, "rom the in"erior to the

superior, and "rom the relati'ely simple to the more comple%# instead o" wisely and rationally

accompanying the progressi'e and real mo'ement "rom the world called inorganic to the world

organic, 'egetables, animal, and then distincti'ely human - "rom chemical matter or chemical being

to li'ing matter or li'ing being, and "rom li'ing being to thin)ing being - the idealists, obsessed,

blinded, and pushed on by the di'ine phantom which they ha'e inherited "rom theology, ta)eprecisely the opposite course. They go "rom the higher to the lower, "rom the superior to the

in"erior, "rom the comple% to the simple. They begin with God, either as a person or as di'ine


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substance or idea, and the "irst step that they ta)e is a terrible "all "rom the sublime heights o" the

eternal ideal into the mire o" the material world# "rom absolute per"ection into absolute

imper"ection# "rom thought to being, or rather, "rom supreme being to nothing. When, how, and why

the di'ine being, eternal, in"inite, absolutely per"ect, probably weary o" himsel", decided upon this

desperate salto mortale is something which no idealist, no theologian, no metaphysician, no poet,

has e'er been able to understand himsel" or e%plain to the pro"ane. &ll religions, past and present,and all the systems o" transcendental philosophy hinge on this unique and iniquitous mystery.>1

/oly men, inspired lawgi'ers, prophets, messiahs, ha'e searched it "or li"e, and "ound only torment

and death. 9i)e the ancient sphin%, it has de'oured them, because they could not e%plain it. Greatphilosophers "rom /eraclitus and $lato down to @escartes, Spino+a( 9eibnit+, Aant, 5ichte,

Schelling, and /egel, not to mention the 3ndian philosophers, ha'e written heaps o" 'olumes andbuilt systems as ingenious as sublime, in which they ha'e said by the way many beauti"ul and grand

things and disco'ered immortal truths, but they ha'e le"t this mystery, the principal obect o" their

transcendental in'estigations, as un"athomable as be"ore. The gigantic e""orts o" the most Wonder"ulgeniuses that the world has )nown, and who, one a"ter another, "or at least thirty centuries, ha'e

underta)en anew this labour o" Sisyphus, ha'e resulted only in rendering this mystery still moreincomprehensible. 3s it to be hoped that it will be un'eiled to us by the routine speculations o" somepedantic disciple o" an arti"icially warmed-o'er metaphysics at a time when all li'ing and serious

spirits ha'e abandoned that ambiguous science born o" a compromise - historically e%plicable nodoubt - between the unreason o" "aith and sound scienti"ic reason?

3t is e'ident that this terrible mystery is ine%plicable - that is, absurd, because only the absurdadmits o" no e%planation. 3t is e'ident that whoe'er "inds it essential to his happiness and li"e must

renounce his reason, and return, i" he can, to nai'e, blind, stupid "aith, to repeat with Tertullianusand all sincere belie'ers these words, which sum up the 'ery quintessence o" theology( Credo quia

absurdum. Then all discussion ceases, and nothing remains but the triumphant stupidity o" "aith. *ut

immediately there arises another question( /ow comes an intelligent and well-in"ormed man e'er to"eel the need o" belie'ing in this mystery?

4othing is more natural than that the belie" in God, the creator, regulator, udge, master, curser,

sa'iour, and bene"actor o" the world, should still pre'ail among the people, especially in the rural

districts, where it is more widespread than among the proletariat o" the cities. The people,un"ortunately, are still 'ery ignorant, and are )ept in ignorance by the systematic e""orts o" all the

go'ernments, who consider this ignorance, not without good reason, as one o" the essentialconditions o" their own power. Weighted down by their daily labour, depri'ed o" leisure, o"

intellectual intercourse, o" reading, in short o" all the means and a good portion o" the stimulants

that de'elop thought in men, the people generally accept religious traditions without criticism andin a lump. These traditions surround them "rom in"ancy in all the situations o" li"e, and arti"icially

sustained in their minds by a multitude o" o""icial poisoners o" all sorts, priests and laymen, aretrans"ormed therein into a sort o" mental and moral babit, too o"ten more power"ul e'en than their

natural good sense.

There is another reason which e%plains and in some sort usti"ies the absurd belie"s o" the people -

namely, the wretched situation to which they "ind themsel'es "atally condemned by the economicorgani+ation o" society in the most ci'ili+ed countries o" urope. educed, intellectually and

morally as well as materially, to the minimum o" human e%istence, con"ined in their li"e li)e a

prisoner in his prison, without hori+on, without outlet, without e'en a "uture i" we belie'e the

economists, the people would ha'e the singularly narrow souls and blunted instincts o" thebourgeois i" they did not "eel a desire to escape# but o" escape there are but three methods - twochimerical and a third real. The "irst two are the dram-shop and the church, debauchery o" the body


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or debauchery o" the mind# the third is social re'olution. /ence 3 conclude this last will be much

more potent than all the theological propagandism o" the "reethin)ers to destroy to their last 'estigethe religious belie"s and dissolute habits o" the people, belie"s and habits much more intimately

connected than is generally supposed. 3n substituting "or the at once illusory and brutal enoyments

o" bodily and spiritual licentiousness the enoyments, as re"ined as they are real, o" humanityde'eloped in each and all, the social re'olution alone will ha'e the power to close at the same time

all the dram-shops and all the churches.

Till then the people. Ta)en as a whole, will belie'e# and, i" they ha'e no reason to belie'e, they will

ha'e at least a right.

There is a class o" people who, i" they do not belie'e, must at least ma)e a semblance o" belie'ing.This class comprising all the tormentors, all the oppressors, and all the e%ploiters o" humanity#

priests, monarchs, statesmen, soldiers, public and pri'ate "inanciers, o""icials o" all sorts, policemen,

gendarmes, ailers and e%ecutioners, monopolists, capitalists, ta%-leeches, contractors and landlords,lawyers, economists, politicians o" all shades, down to the smallest 'endor o" sweetmeats, all will

repeat in unison those words o" =oltaire(

83" God did not e%ist, it would be necessary to in'ent him.8 5or, you understand, 8the people must

ha'e a religion.8 That is the sa"ety-'al'e.

There e%ists, "inally, a somewhat numerous class o" honest but timid souls who, too intelligent tota)e the Christian dogmas seriously, reect them in detail, but ha'e neither the courage nor the

strength nor the necessary resolution to summarily renounce them altogether. They abandon to your

criticism all the special absurdities o" religion, they turn up their noses at all the miracles, but theycling desperately to the principal absurdity# the source o" all the others, to the miracle that e%plains

and usti"ies all the other miracles, the e%istence o" God. Their God is not the 'igorous and power"ulbeing, the brutally positi'e God o" theology. 3t is a nebulous, diaphanous, illusory being that

'anishes into nothing at the "irst attempt to grasp it# it is a mirage, an ignis "atuus# that neither

warms nor illuminates. &nd yet they hold "ast to it, and belie'e that, were it to disappear, all woulddisappear with it. They are uncertain, sic)ly souls, who ha'e lost their rec)oning in the present

ci'ilisation, belonging to neither the present nor the "uture, pale phantoms eternally suspendedbetween hea'en and earth, and occupying e%actly the same position between the politics o" the

bourgeois and the Socialism o" the proletariat. They ha'e neither the power nor the wish nor the

determination to "ollow out their thought, and they waste their time and pains in constantlyendea'ouring to reconcile the irreconcilable. 3n public li"e these are )nown as bourgeois Socialists.

With them, or against them, discussion is out o" the question. They are too puny.

*ut there are a "ew illustrious men o" whom no one will dare to spea) without respect, and whose

'igorous health, strength o" mind, and good intention no one will dream o" calling in question. 3

need only cite the names o" :a++ini, :ichelet, Buinet, ohn Stuart :ill.>;Generous and strong

souls, great hearts, great minds, great writers, and the "irst the heroic and re'olutionary regenerator

o" a great nation, they are all apostles o" idealism and bitter despisers and ad'ersaries o"

materialism, and consequently o" Socialism also, in philosophy as well as in politics.

&gainst them, then, we must discuss this question.

5irst, let it be remar)ed that not one o" the illustrious men 3 ha'e ust named nor any other idealisticthin)er o" any consequence in our day has gi'en any attention to the logical side o" this questionproperly spea)ing. 4ot one has tried to settle philosophically the possibility o" the di'ine salto


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mortale# "rom the pure and eternal regions o" spirit into the mire o" the material world. /a'e they

"eared to approach this irreconcilable contradiction and despaired o" sol'ing it a"ter the "ailures o"the greatest geniuses o" history, or ha'e they loo)ed upon it as already su""iciently well settled?

That is their secret. The "act is that they ha'e neglected the theoretical demonstration o" the

e%istence o" a God, and ha'e de'eloped only its practical moti'es and consequences. They ha'etreated it as a "act uni'ersally accepted, and, as such, no longer susceptible o" any doubt whate'er,

"or sole proo" thereo" limiting themsel'es to the establishment o" the antiquity and this 'eryuni'ersality o" the belie" in God.

This imposing unanimity, in the eyes o" many illustrious men and writers to quote only the most"amous o" them who eloquently e%pressed it, oseph de :aistre and the great 3talian patriot,

Giuseppe :a++ini - is o" more 'alue than all the demonstrations o" science# and i" the reasoning o" asmall number o" logical and e'en 'ery power"ul, but isolated, thin)ers is against it, so much the

worse, they say, "or these thin)ers and their logic, "or uni'ersal consent, the general and primiti'e

adoption o" an idea, has always been considered the most triumphant testimony to its truth. The 3sentiment o" the whole world, a con'iction that is "ound and maintained always and e'erywhere,

cannot be mista)en# it must ha'e its root in a necessity absolutely inherent in the 'ery nature o"

man. &nd since it has been established that all peoples, past and present, ha'e belie'ed and stillbelie'e in the e%istence o" God, it is clear that those who ha'e the mis"ortune to doubt it, whate'er

the logic that led them to this doubt, are abnormal e%ceptions, monsters.

Thus, then, the antiquity# and uni'ersality# o" a belie" should be regarded, contrary to all science andall logic, as su""icient and unimpeachable proo" o" its truth. Why?

ntil the days o" Copernicus and Galileo e'erybody belie'ed that the sun re'ol'ed about the earth.Was not e'erybody mista)en? What is more ancient and more uni'ersal than sla'ery? Cannibalism

perhaps. 5rom the origin o" historic society down to the present day there has been always ande'erywhere e%ploitation o" the compulsory labour o" the masses - sla'es, ser"s, or wage wor)ers -

by some dominant minority# oppression o" the people by the Church and by the State. :ust it be

concluded that this e%ploitation and this oppression are necessities absolutely inherent in the 'erye%istence o" human society? These are e%amples which show that the argument o" the champions o"

God pro'es nothing.

4othing, in "act, is as uni'ersal or as ancient as the iniquitous and absurd# truth and ustice, on the

contrary, are the least uni'ersal, the youngest "eatures in the de'elopment o" human society. 3n this"act, too, lies the e%planation o" a constant historical phenomenon - namely, the persecution o"

which those who "irst proclaim the truth ha'e been and continue to be the obects at the hands o" theo""icial, pri'ileged, and interested representati'es o" 8uni'ersal8 and 8ancient8 belie"s, and o"ten

also at the hands o" the same masses who, a"ter ha'ing tortured them, always end by adopting theirideas and rendering them 'ictorious.

To us materialists and e'olutionary Socialists, there is nothing astonishing or terri"ying in thishistorical phenomenon. Strong in our conscience, in our lo'e o" truth at all ha+ards, in that passion

"or logic which o" itsel" alone constitutes a great power and outside o" which there is no thought#

strong in our passion "or ustice and in our unsha)eable "aith in the triumph o" humanity o'er alltheoretical and practical bestialities# strong, "inally, in the mutual con"idence and support gi'en each

other by the "ew who share our con'ictions - we resign oursel'es to all the consequences o" thishistorical phenomenon, in which we see the mani"estation o" a social law as natural, as necessary,

and as in'ariable as all the other laws which go'ern the world.

This law is a logical, ine'itable consequence o" the animal origin# o" human society# "or in "ace o"

all the scienti"ic, physiological, psychological, and historical proo"s accumulated at the present day,


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as well as in "ace o" the e%ploits o" the Germans conquering 5rance, which now "urnish so stri)ing a

demonstration thereo", it is no longer possible to really doubt this origin. *ut "rom the moment thatthis animal origin o" man is accepted, all is e%plained. /istory then appears to us as the

re'olutionary negation, now slow, apathetic, sluggish, now passionate and power"ul, o" the past. 3t

consists precisely in the progressi'e negation o" the primiti'e animality o" man by the de'elopmento" his humanity. :an, a wild beast, cousin o" the gorilla, has emerged "rom the pro"ound dar)ness

o" animal instinct into the light o" the mind, which e%plains in a wholly natural way all his pastmista)es and partially consoles us "or his present errors. /e has gone out "rom animal sla'ery, and

passing through di'ine sla'ery, a temporary condition between his animality and his humanity, he is

now marching on to the conquest and realisation o" human liberty. Whence it results that theantiquity o" a belie", o" an idea, "ar "rom pro'ing anything in its "a'our, ought, on the contrary, to

lead us to suspect it. 5or behind us is our animality and be"ore us our humanity# human light, theonly thing that can warm and enlighten us, the only thing that can emancipate us, gi'e us dignity,

"reedom, and happiness, and realise "raternity among us, is ne'er at the beginning, but, relati'ely to

the epoch in which we li'e, always at the end o" history. 9et us, then, ne'er loo) bac), let us loo)e'er "orward# "or "orward is our sunlight, "orward our sal'ation. 3" it is usti"iable, and e'en use"ul

and necessary, to turn bac) to study our past, it is only in order to establish what we ha'e been and

what we must no longer be, what we ha'e belie'ed and thought and what we must no longer belie'eor thin), what we ha'e done and what we must do ne'ermore.

So much "or antiquity. &s "or the uni'ersality# o" an error, it pro'es but one thing - the similarity, i"

not the per"ect identity, o" human nature in all ages and under all s)ies. &nd, since it is establishedthat all peoples, at all periods o" their li"e, ha'e belie'ed and still belie'e in God, we must simply

conclude that the di'ine idea, an outcome o" oursel'es, is an error historically necessary in the

de'elopment o" humanity, and as) why and how it was produced in history and why an immensemaority o" the human race still accept it as a truth.

ntil we shall account to oursel'es "or the manner in which the idea o" a supernatural or di'ine

world was de'eloped and had to be de'eloped in the historical e'olution o" the human conscience,

all our scienti"ic con'iction o" its absurdity will be in 'ain# until then we shall ne'er succeed indestroying it in the opinion o" the maority, because we shall ne'er be able to attac) it in the 'ery

depths o" the hut man being where it had birth. Condemned to a "ruitless struggle, without issue andwithout end, we should "or e'er ha'e to content oursel'es with "ighting it solely on the sur"ace, in

its innumerable mani"estations, whose absurdity will be scarcely beaten down by the blows o"

common sense be"ore it will reappear in a new "orm no less nonsensical. While the root o" all theabsurdities that torment the world, belie" in God, remains intact, it will ne'er "ail to bring "orth new

o""spring. Thus, at the present time, in certain sections o" the highest society, Spiritualism tends toestablish itsel" upon the ruins o" Christianity.

3t is not only in the interest o" the masses, it is in that o" the health o" our own minds, that we shouldstri'e to understand the historic genesis, the succession o" causes which de'eloped and produced

the idea o" God in the consciousness o" men. 3n 'ain shall we call and belie'e oursel'es &theists,until we comprehend these causes, "or, until then, we shall always su""er oursel'es to be more or

less go'erned by the clamours o" this uni'ersal conscience whose secret we ha'e not disco'ered#

and, considering the natural wea)ness o" e'en the strongest indi'idual against the all-power"ulin"luence o" the social surroundings that trammel him, we are always in danger o" relapsing sooner

or later, in one way or another, into the abyss o" religious absurdity. %amples o" these shame"ulcon'ersions are "requent in society today.


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God and the State - Chapter ;

3 ha'e stated the chie" practical reason o" the power still e%ercised today o'er the masses by religious belie"s.These mystical tendencies do not signi"y in man so much an aberration o" mind as a deep discontent at /eart.They are the instincti'e and passionate protest o" the human being against the narrowness, the platitudes, thesorrows, and the shame o" a wretched e%istence. 5or this malady, 3 ha'e already said, there is but one remedy

- Social e'olution.

3n the meantime 3 ha'e endea'oured to show the causes responsible "or the birth and historical de'elopmento" religious hallucinations in the human conscience. /ere it is my purpose to treat this question o" thee%istence o" a God, or o" the di'ine origin o" the world and o" man, solely "rom the standpoint o" its moral

and social utility, and 3 shall say only a "ew words, to better e%plain my thought, regarding the theoreticalgrounds o" this belie".

&ll religions, with their gods, their demigods, and their prophets, their messiahs and their saints, werecreated by the credulous "ancy o" men who had not attained the "ull de'elopment and "ull possession o" their"aculties. Consequently, the religious hea'en is nothing but a mirage in which man, e%alted by ignorance and"aith, disco'ers his own image, but enlarged and re'ersed - that is, di'inised. The history o" religion, o" the

birth, grandeur, and decline o" the gods who ha'e succeeded one another in human belie", is nothing,there"ore, but the de'elopment o" the collecti'e intelligence and conscience o" man)ind. &s "ast as theydisco'ered, in the course o" their historically progressi'e ad'ance, either in themsel'es or in e%ternal nature,a power, a quality, or e'en any great de"ect whate'er, they attributed them to their gods, a"ter ha'inge%aggerated and enlarged them beyond measure, a"ter the manner o" children, by an act o" their religious"ancy. Than)s to this modesty and pious generosity o" belie'ing and credulous men, hea'en has grown richwith the spoils o" the earth, and, by a necessary consequence, the richer hea'en became, the more wretched

became humanity and the earth. God once installed, he was naturally proclaimed the cause, reason, arbiterand absolute disposer o" all things( the world thence"orth was nothing, God was all# and man, his real creator,a"ter ha'ing un)nowingly e%tracted him "rom the 'oid, bowed down be"ore him, worshipped him, anda'owed himsel" his creature and his sla'e.

Christianity is precisely the religion par e%cellence, because it e%hibits and mani"ests, to the "ullest e%tent,the 'ery nature and essence o" e'ery religious system, which is the impo'erishment, ensla'ement, andannihilation o" humanity "or the bene"it o" di'inity.

God being e'erything, the real world and man are nothing. God being truth, ustice, goodness, beauty, power,and li"e, man is "alsehood, iniquity, e'il, ugliness, impotence, and death. God being master, man is the sla'e.3ncapable o" "inding ustice, truth, and eternal li"e by his own e""ort, he can attain them only through a di'ine

re'elation. *ut whoe'er says re'elation says re'ealers, messiahs, prophets, priests, and legislators inspiredby God himsel"# and these, once recogni+ed as the representati'es o" di'inity on earth, as the holy instructorso" humanity, chosen by God himsel" to direct it in the path o" sal'ation, necessarily e%ercise absolute power.

&ll men owe them passi'e and unlimited obedience# "or against the di'ine reason there is no human reason,and against the ustice o" God no terrestrial ustice holds. Sla'es o" God, men must also be sla'es o" Churchand State, in so "ar as the State is consecrated by the Church. This truth Christianity, better than all otherreligions that e%ist or ha'e e%isted, understood, not e%cepting e'en the old 0riental religions, which includedonly distinct and pri'ileged nations, while Christianity aspires to embrace entire humanity# and this truthoman Catholicism, alone among all the Christian sects, has proclaimed and reali+ed with rigorous logic.That is why Christianity is the absolute religion, the "inal religion# why the &postolic and oman Church isthe only consistent, legitimate, and di'ine church.

With all due respect, then, to the metaphysicians and religious idealists, philosophers, politicians, or poets(The idea o" God implies the abdication o" human reason and ustice# it is the most decisi'e negation o"human liberty, and necessarily ends in the ensla'ement o" man)ind, both in theory and practice.
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nless, then, we desire the ensla'ement and degradation o" man)ind, as the esuits desire it, as the mumiers,pietists, or $rotestant :ethodists desire it, we may not, must not ma)e the slightest concession either to theGod o" theology or to the God o" metaphysics. /e who, in this mystical alphabet, begins with & willine'itably end with D# he who desires to worship God must harbour no childish illusions about the matter,but bra'ely renounce his liberty and humanity.

3" God is, man is a sla'e# now, man can and must be "ree# then, God does not e%ist.

3 de"y anyone whomsoe'er to a'oid this circle# now, there"ore, let all choose.

3s it necessary to point out to what e%tent and in what manner religions debase and corrupt the people? Theydestroy their reason, the principal instrument o" human emancipation, and reduce them to imbecility, theessential condition o" their sla'ery. They dishonour human labour, and ma)e it a sign and source o"ser'itude. They )ill the idea and sentiment o" human ustice, e'er tipping the balance to the side o"triumphant )na'es, pri'ileged obects o" di'ine indulgence. They )ill human pride and dignity, protecting

only the cringing and humble. They sti"le in the heart o" nations e'ery "eeling o" human "raternity, "illing itwith di'ine cruelty instead.

&ll religions are cruel, all "ounded on blood# "or all rest principally on the idea o" sacri"ice - that is, on theperpetual immolation o" humanity to the insatiable 'engeance o" di'inity. 3n this bloody mystery man isalways the 'ictim, and the priest - a man also, but a man pri'ileged by grace - is the di'ine e%ecutioner. Thate%plains why the priests o" all religions, the best, the most humane, the gentlest, almost always ha'e at the

bottom o" their hearts - and, i" not in their hearts, in their imaginations, in their minds 6and we )now the"ear"ul in"luence o" either on the hearts o" men7 - something cruel and sanguinary.

4one )now all this better than our illustrious contemporary idealists. They are learned men, who )nowhistory by heart# and, as they are at the same time li'ing men, great souls penetrated with a sincere and

pro"ound lo'e "or the wel"are o" humanity, they ha'e cursed and branded all these misdeeds, all these crimeso" religion with an eloquence unparalleled. They reect with indignation all solidarity with the God o"

positi'e religions and with his representati'es, past, present, and on earth.

The God whom they adore, or whom they thin) they adore, is distinguished "rom the real gods o" historyprecisely in this - that he is not at all a positi'e god, de"ined in any way whate'er, theologically or e'enmetaphysically. /e is neither the supreme being o" obespierre and . . ousseau, nor the pantheistic god o"

Spino+a, nor e'en the at once immanent, transcendental, and 'ery equi'ocal god o" /egel. They ta)e goodcare not to gi'e him any positi'e de"inition whate'er, "eeling 'ery strongly that any de"inition would subecthim to the dissol'ing power o" criticism. They will not say whether be is a personal or impersonal god,whether he created or did not create the world# they will not e'en spea) o" his di'ine pro'idence. &ll thatmight compromise him. They content themsel'es with saying 8God8 and nothing more. *ut, then, what istheir God? 4ot e'en an idea# it is an aspiration.

3t is the generic name o" all that seems grand, good, beauti"ul, noble, human to them. *ut why, then, do theynot say, 8:an.8 &h2 because Aing William o" $russia and 4apoleon 333, and all their compeers are li)ewisemen( which bothers them 'ery much. eal humanity presents a mi%ture o" all 3 that is most sublime andbeauti"ul with all that is 'ilest and most monstrous in the world. /ow do they get o'er this? Why, they callone di'ine and the other bestial, representing di'inity and animality as two poles, between which they placehumanity. They either will not or cannot understand that these three terms are really but one, and that toseparate them is to destroy them.

They are not strong on logic, and one might say that they despise it. That is what distinguishes them "rom thepantheistical and deistical metaphysicians, and gi'es their ideas the character o" a practical idealism, drawingits inspiration much less "rom the se'ere de'elopment o" a thought than "rom the e%periences, 3 might almost

say the emotions, historical and collecti'e as well as indi'idual, o" li"e. This gi'es their propaganda anappearance o" wealth and 'ital power, but an appearance only# "or li"e itsel" becomes sterile when paralysed

by a logical contradiction.


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This contradiction lies here( they wish God, and they wish humanity. They persist in connecting two termswhich, once separated, can come together again only to destroy each other. They say in a single breath( 8Godand the liberty o" man,8 8God and the dignity, ustice, equality, "raternity, prosperity o" men8 - regardless o"the "atal logic by 'irtue o" which, i" God e%ists, all these things are condemned to non-e%istence. 5or, i" Godis, he is necessarily the eternal, supreme, absolute master, and, i" such a master e%ists, man is a sla'e# now, i"he is a sla'e, neither ustice, nor equality, nor "raternity, nor prosperity are possible "or him. 3n 'ain, "lying in

the "ace o" good sense and all the teachings o" history, do they represent their God as animated by thetenderest lo'e o" human liberty( a master, whoe'er he may be and howe'er liberal he may desire to showhimsel", remains none the less always a master. /is e%istence necessarily implies the sla'ery o" all that isbeneath him. There"ore, i" God e%isted, only in one way could he ser'e human liberty - by ceasing to e%ist.

& ealous lo'er o" human liberty, and deeming it the absolute condition o" all that we admire and respect inhumanity, 3 re'erse the phrase o" =oltaire, and say that, i" God really e%isted, it would be necessary to abolishhim.

The se'ere logic that dictates these words is "ar too e'ident to require a de'elopment o" this argument. &nd itseems to me impossible that the illustrious men, whose names so celebrated and so ustly respected 3 ha'e

cited, should not ha'e been struc) by it themsel'es, and should not ha'e percei'ed the contradiction in whichthey in'ol'e themsel'es in spea)ing o" God and human liberty at once. To ha'e disregarded it, they mustha'e considered this inconsistency or logical license practically necessary to humanitys well-being.

$erhaps, too, while spea)ing o" liberty as something 'ery respectable and 'ery dear in their eyes, they gi'ethe term a meaning quite di""erent "rom the conception entertained by us, materialists and e'olutionary

Socialists. 3ndeed, they ne'er spea) o" it without immediately adding another word, authority - a word and athing which we detest with all our heart.

What is authority? 3s it the ine'itable power o" the natural laws which mani"est themsel'es in the necessaryconcatenation and succession o" phenomena in the physical and social worlds? 3ndeed, against these lawsre'olt is not only "orbidden - it is e'en impossible. We may misunderstand them or not )now them at all, but

we cannot disobey them# because they constitute the basis and "undamental conditions o" our e%istence# theyen'elop us, penetrate us, regulate all our mo'ements, thoughts, and acts# e'en when we belie'e that wedisobey them, we only show their omnipotence.

!es, we are absolutely the sla'es o" these laws. *ut in such sla'ery there is no humiliation, or, rather, it is notsla'ery at all. 5or sla'ery supposes an e%ternal master, a legislator outside o" him whom he commands, whilethese laws are not outside o" us# they are inherent in us# they constitute our being, our whole being,physically - intellectually, and morally( we li'e, we breathe, we act, we thin), we wish only through these

laws. Without them we are nothing, we are not. Whence, then, could we deri'e the power and the wish torebel against them?

3n his relation to natural laws but one liberty is possible to man - that o" recogni+ing and applying them on ane'er-e%tending scale in con"ormity with the obect o" collecti'e and indi'idual emancipation or humani+ation

which he pursues. These laws, once recogni+ed, e%ercise an authority which is ne'er disputed by the mass o"men. 0ne must, "or instance, be at bottom either a "ool or a theologian or at least a metaphysician, urist, orbourgeois economist to rebel against the law by which twice two ma)e "our. 0ne must ha'e "aith to imaginethat "ire will not burn nor water drown, e%cept, indeed, recourse be had to some subter"uge "ounded in itsturn on some other natural law. *ut these re'olts, or, rather, these attempts at or "oolish "ancies o" animpossible re'olt, are decidedly, the e%ception# "or, in general, it may be said that the mass o" men, in theirdaily li'es, ac)nowledge the go'ernment o" common sense - that is, o" the sum o" the natural laws generallyrecogni+ed - in an almost absolute "ashion.

The great mis"ortune is that a large number o" natural laws, already established as such by science, remain

un)nown to the masses, than)s to the watch"ulness o" these tutelary go'ernments that e%ist, as we )now,only "or the good o" the people. There is another di""iculty - namely, that the maor portion o" the naturallaws connected with the de'elopment o" human society, which are quite as necessary, in'ariable, "atal, as the


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laws that go'ern the physical world, ha'e not been duly established and recogni+ed by science itsel".

0nce they shall ha'e been recogni+ed by science, and then "rom science, by means o" an e%tensi'e system o"popular education and instruction, shall ha'e passed into the consciousness o" all, the question o" liberty willbe entirely sol'ed. The most stubborn authorities must admit that then there will be no need either o" politicalorgani+ation or direction or legislation, three things which, whether they emanate "rom the will o" theso'ereign or "rom the 'ote o" a parliament elected by uni'ersal su""rage, and e'en should they con"orm to the

system o" natural laws - which has ne'er been the case and ne'er will be the case - are always equally "ataland hostile to the liberty o" the masses "rom the 'ery "act that they impose upon them a system o" e%ternaland there"ore despotic laws.

The liberty o" man consists solely in this( that he obeys natural laws because he has himsel" recogni+ed them

as such, and not because they ha'e been e%ternally imposed upon him by any e%trinsic will whate'er, di'ineor human, collecti'e or indi'idual.

Suppose a learned academy, composed o" the most illustrious representati'es o" science# suppose thisacademy charged with legislation "or and the organi+ation o" society, and that, inspired only by the purestlo'e o" truth, it "rames none but laws in absolute harmony with the latest disco'eries o" science. Well, 3

maintain, "or my part, that such legislation and such organi+ation would be a monstrosity, and that "or tworeasons( "irst, that human science is always and necessarily imper"ect, and that, comparing what it hasdisco'ered with what remains to be disco'ered, we may say that it is still in its cradle. So that were we to tryto "orce the practical li"e o" men, collecti'e as well as indi'idual, into strict and e%clusi'e con"ormity withthe latest data o" science, we should condemn society as well as indi'iduals to su""er martyrdom on a bed o"$rocrustes, which would soon end by dislocating and sti"ling them, li"e e'er remaining an in"initely greaterthing than science.

The second reason is this( a society which should obey legislation emanating "rom a scienti"ic academy, notbecause it understood itsel" the rational character o" this legislation 6in which case the e%istence o" theacademy would become useless7, but because this legislation, emanating "rom the academy, was imposed inthe name o" a science which it 'enerated without comprehending - such a society would be a society, not o"

men, but o" brutes. 3t would be a second edition o" those missions in $araguay which submitted so long tothe go'ernment o" the esuits. 3t would surely and rapidly descend to the lowest stage o" idiocy.

*ut there is still a third reason which would render such a go'ernment impossible - namely that a scienti"icacademy in'ested with a so'ereignty, so to spea), absolute, e'en i" it were composed o" the most illustriousmen, would in"allibly and soon end in its own moral and intellectual corruption. 'en today, with the "ewpri'ileges allowed them, such is the history o" all academies. The greatest scienti"ic genius, "rom the momentthat he becomes an academician, an o""icially licensed sa'ant, ine'itably lapses into sluggishness. /e loseshis spontaneity, his re'olutionary hardihood, and that troublesome and sa'age energy characteristic o" the

grandest geniuses, e'er called to destroy old tottering worlds and lay the "oundations o" new. /e undoubtedlygains in politeness, in utilitarian and practical wisdom, what he loses in power o" thought. 3n a word, he

becomes corrupted.

3t is the characteristic o" pri'ilege and o" e'ery pri'ileged position to )ill the mind and heart o" men. Thepri'ileged man, whether politically or economically, is a man depra'ed in mind and heart. That is a sociallaw which admits o" no e%ception, and is as applicable to entire nations as to classes, corporations, and

indi'iduals. 3t is the law o" equality, the supreme condition o" liberty and humanity. The principal obect o"this treatise is precisely to demonstrate this truth in all the mani"estations o" human li"e.

& scienti"ic body to which had been con"ided the go'ernment o" society would soon end by de'oting itsel"no longer to science at all, but to quite another a""air# and that a""air, as in the case o" all established powers,would be its own eternal perpetuation by rendering the society con"ided to its care e'er more stupid andconsequently more in need o" its go'ernment and direction.

*ut that which is true o" scienti"ic academies is also true o" all constituent and legislati'e assemblies, e'enthose chosen by uni'ersal su""rage. 3n the latter case they may renew their composition, it is true, but this


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does not pre'ent the "ormation in a "ew years time o" a body o" politicians, pri'ileged in "act though not inlaw, who, de'oting themsel'es e%clusi'ely to the direction o" the public a""airs o" a country, "inally "orm asort o" political aristocracy or oligarchy. Witness the nited States o" &merica and Swit+erland.

Consequently, no e%ternal legislation and no authority - one, "or that matter, being inseparable "rom the other,and both tending to the ser'itude o" society and the degradation o" the legislators themsel'es.

@oes it "ollow that 3 reect all authority? 5ar "rom me such a thought. 3n the matter o" boots, 3 re"er to theauthority o" the bootma)er# concerning houses, canals, or railroads, 3 consult that o" the architect or engineer.5or such or such special )nowledge 3 apply to such or such a sa'ant. *ut 3 allow neither the bootma)er northe architect nor the sa'ant to impose his authority upon me. 3 listen to them "reely and with all the respectmerited by their intelligence, their character, their )nowledge, reser'ing always my incontestable right o"

criticism censure. 3 do not content mysel" with consulting authority in any special branch# 3 consult se'eral# 3compare their opinions, and choose that which seems to me the soundest. *ut 3 recogni+e no in"allibleauthority, e'en in special questions# consequently, whate'er respect 3 may ha'e "or the honesty and thesincerity o" such or such an indi'idual, 3 ha'e no absolute "aith in any person. Such a "aith would be "atal tomy reason, to my liberty, and e'en to the success o" my underta)ings# it would immediately trans"orm meinto a stupid sla'e, an instrument o" the will and interests o" others.

3" 3 bow be"ore the authority o" the specialists and a'ow my readiness to "ollow, to a certain e%tent and aslong as may seem to me necessary, their indications and e'en their directions, it is because their authority isimposed upon me by no one, neither by men nor by God. 0therwise 3 would repel them with horror, and bidthe de'il ta)e their counsels, their directions, and their ser'ices, certain that they would ma)e me pay, by theloss o" my liberty and sel"-respect, "or such scraps o" truth, wrapped in a multitude o" lies, as they might gi'eme.

3 bow be"ore the authority o" special men because it is imposed upon me by my own reason. 3 am consciouso" my inability to grasp, in all its details and positi'e de'elopments, any 'ery large portion o" human)nowledge. The greatest intelligence would not be equal to a comprehension o" the whole. Thence results,"or science as well as "or industry, the necessity o" the di'ision and association o" labour 3 recei'e and 3 gi'e

- such is human li"e. ach directs and is directed in his turn. There"ore there is no "i%ed and constantauthority, but a continual e%change o" mutual, temporary, and, abo'e all, 'oluntary authority andsubordination.

This same reason "orbids me, then, to recogni+e a "i%ed, constant, and uni'ersal authority, because there is nouni'ersal man, no man capable o" grasping in that wealth o" detail, without which the application o" scienceto li"e is impossible, all the sciences, all the branches o" social li"e. &nd i" such uni'ersality could e'er bereali+ed in a single man, and i" be wished to ta)e ad'antage thereo" to impose his authority upon us, it wouldbe necessary to dri'e this man out o" society, because his authority would ine'itably reduce all the others to

sla'ery and imbecility. 3 do not thin) that society ought to maltreat men o" genius as it has done hitherto# butneither do 3 thin) it should indulge them too "ar, still less accord them any pri'ileges or e%clusi'e rights

whatsoe'er# and that "or three reasons( "irst, because it would o"ten mista)e a charlatan "or a man o" genius#second, because, through such a system o" pri'ileges, it might trans"orm into a charlatan e'en a real man o"genius, demorali+e him, and degrade him# and, "inally, because it would establish a master o'er itsel".

To sum up. We recogni+e, then, the absolute authority o" science, because the sole obect o" science is the

mental reproduction, as well-considered and systematic as possible, o" the natural laws inherent in thematerial, intellectual, and moral li"e o" both the physical and the social worlds, these two worlds constituting,in "act, but one and the same natural world. 0utside o" this only legitimate authority, legitimate becauserational and in harmony with human liberty, we declare all other authorities "alse, arbitrary and "atal.

We recogni+e the absolute authority o" science, but we reect the in"allibility and uni'ersality o" the sa'ant.3n our church - i" 3 may be permitted to use "or a moment an e%pression which 3 so detest( Church and State

are my two bEtes noires - in our church, as in the $rotestant church, we ha'e a chie", an in'isible Christ,science# and, li)e the $rotestants, more logical e'en than the $rotestants, we will su""er neither pope, norcouncil, nor concla'es o" in"allible cardinals, nor bishops, nor e'en priests. 0ur Christ di""ers "rom the


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$rotestant and Christian Christ in this - that the latter is a personal being, ours impersonal# the ChristianChrist, already completed in an eternal past, presents himsel" as a per"ect being, while the completion andper"ection o" our Christ, science, are e'er in the "uture( which is equi'alent to saying that they will ne'er bereali+ed. There"ore, in recogni+ing absolute science as the only absolute authority, we in no way compromiseour liberty.

3 mean by the words 8absolute science,8 which would reproduce ideally, to its "ullest e%tent and in all its

in"inite detail, the uni'erse, the system or coordination o" all the natural laws mani"ested by the incessantde'elopment o" the world. 3t is e'ident that such a science, the sublime obect o" all the e""orts o" the humanmind, will ne'er be "ully and absolutely reali+ed. 0ur Christ, then, will remain eternally un"inished, whichmust considerably ta)e down the pride o" his licensed representati'es among us. &gainst that God the Son inwhose name they assume to impose upon us their insolent and pedantic authority, we appeal to God the5ather, who is the real world, real li"e, o" which he 6the Son7 is only a too imper"ect e%pression, whilst wereal beings, li'ing, wor)ing, struggling, lo'ing, aspiring, enoying, and su""ering, are its immediaterepresentati'es.

*ut, while reecting the absolute, uni'ersal, and in"allible authority o" men o" science, we willingly bowbe"ore the respectable, although relati'e, quite temporary, and 'ery restricted authority o" the representati'es

o" special sciences, as)ing nothing better than to consult them by turns, and 'ery grate"ul "or such preciousin"ormation as they may e%tend to us, on condition o" their willingness to recei'e "rom us on occasionswhen, and concerning matters about which, we are more learned than they. 3n general, we as) nothing betterthan to see men endowed with great )nowledge, great e%perience, great minds, and, abo'e all, great hearts,

e%ercise o'er us a natural and legitimate in"luence, "reely accepted, and ne'er imposed in the name o" anyo""icial authority whatsoe'er, celestial or terrestrial. We accept all natural authorities and all in"luences o""act, but none o" right# "or e'ery authority or e'ery in"luence o" right, o""icially imposed as such, becomingdirectly an oppression and a "alsehood, would ine'itably impose upon us, as 3 belie'e 3 ha'e su""icientlyshown, sla'ery and absurdity.

3n a word, we reect all legislation, all authority, and all pri'ileged, licensed, o""icial, and legal in"luence,e'en though arising "rom uni'ersal su""rage, con'inced that it can turn only to the ad'antage o" a dominant

minority o" e%ploiters against the interests o" the immense maority in subection to them.This is the sense in which we are really &narchists.

The modern idealists understand authority in quite a di""erent way. &lthough "ree "rom the traditionalsuperstitions o" all the e%isting positi'e religions, they ne'ertheless attach to this idea o" authority a di'ine,an absolute meaning. This authority is not that o" a truth miraculously re'ealed, nor that o" a truth rigorouslyand scienti"ically demonstrated. They base it to a slight e%tent upon quasi-philosophical reasoning, and to alarge e%tent also on sentiment, ideally, abstractly poetical. Their religion is, as it were, a last attempt to

di'inise all that constitutes humanity in men.

This is ust the opposite o" the wor) that we are doing. 0n behal" o" human liberty, dignity and prosperity, webelie'e it our duty to reco'er "rom hea'en the goods which it has stolen and return them to earth. They, onthe contrary, endea'ouring to commit a "inal religiously heroic larceny, would restore to hea'en, that di'inerobber, "inally unmas)ed, the grandest, "inest and noblest o" humanitys possessions. 3t is now the"reethin)ers turn to pillage hea'en by their audacious piety and scienti"ic analysis.

The idealists undoubtedly belie'e that human ideas and deeds, in order to e%ercise greater authority amongmen, must be in'ested with a di'ine sanction. /ow is this sanction mani"ested? 4ot by a miracle, as in thepositi'e religions, but by the 'ery grandeur o" sanctity o" the ideas and deeds( whate'er is grand, whate'er isbeauti"ul, whate'er is noble, whate'er is ust, is considered di'ine. 3n this new religious cult e'ery maninspired by these ideas, by these deeds, becomes a priest, directly consecrated by God himsel". &nd theproo"? /e needs none beyond the 'ery grandeur o" the ideas which he e%presses and the deeds which he

per"orms. These are so holy that they can ha'e been inspired only by God.Such, in so "ew words, is their whole philosophy( a philosophy o" sentiments, not o" real thoughts, a sort o"


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metaphysical pietism. This seems harmless, but it is not so at all, and the 'ery precise, 'ery narrow and 'erybarren doctrine hidden under the intangible 'agueness o" these poetic "orms leads to the same disastrousresults that all the positi'e religions lead to - namely, the most complete negation o" human liberty anddignity.

To proclaim as di'ine all that is grand, ust, noble, and beauti"ul in humanity is to tacitly admit that humanityo" itsel" would ha'e been unable to produce it - that is, that, abandoned to itsel", its own nature is miserable,

iniquitous, base, and ugly. Thus we come bac) to the essence o" all religion - in other words, to thedisparagement o" humanity "or the greater glory o" di'inity. &nd "rom the moment that the natural in"eriorityo" man and his "undamental incapacity to rise by his own e""ort, unaided by any di'ine inspiration, to thecomprehension o" ust and true ideas, are admitted, it becomes necessary to admit also all the theological,political, and social consequences o" the positi'e religions. 5rom the moment that God, the per"ect andsupreme being, is posited "ace to "ace with humanity, di'ine mediators, the elect, the inspired o" God spring"rom the earth to enlighten, direct, and go'ern in his name the human race.

:ay we not suppose that all men are equally inspired by God? Then, surely, there is no "urther use "or

mediators. *ut this supposition is impossible, because it is too clearly contradicted by the "acts. 3t would

compel us to attribute to di'ine inspiration all the absurdities and errors which appear, and all the horrors,

"ollies, base deeds, and cowardly actions which are committed, in the world. *ut perhaps, then, only a "ewmen are di'inely inspired, the great men o" history, the 'irtuous geniuses, as the illustrious 3talian citi+en and

prophet, Giuseppe :a++ini, called them. 3mmediately inspired by God himsel" and supported upon uni'ersal

consent e%pressed by popular su""rage - @io e $opolo# - such as these should be called to the go'ernment o"

human societies.>


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precepts in li"e, and in all society so "ar as it allows itsel" to be dominated by idealistic doctrines.

To demonstrate this general "act, which may appear strange at "irst, but which e%plains itsel" naturallyenough upon "urther re"lection, historical proo"s are not lac)ing.

Compare the last two ci'ilisations o" the ancient world - the Gree) and the oman. Which is the mostmaterialistic, the most natural, in its point o" departure, and the most humanly ideal in its results?ndoubtedly the Gree) ci'ilisation. Which on the contrary, is the most abstractly ideal in its point o"departure - sacri"icing the material liberty o" the man to the ideal liberty o" the citi+en, represented by theabstraction o" udicial law, and the natural de'elopment o" human society to the abstraction o" the State - andwhich became ne'ertheless the most brutal in its consequences? The oman ci'ilisation, certainly. 3t is truethat the Gree) ci'ilisation, li)e all the ancient ci'ilisations, including that o" ome, was e%clusi'ely national

and based on sla'ery. *ut, in spite o" these two immense de"ects, the "ormer none the less concei'ed andrealised the idea o" humanity# it ennobled and really idealised the li"e o" men# it trans"ormed human herdsinto "ree associations o" "ree men# it created through liberty the sciences, the arts, a poetry, an immortalphilosophy, and the primary concepts o" human respect. With political and social liberty, it created "reethought. &t the close o" the :iddle &ges, during the period o" the enaissance, the "act that some Gree)emigrants brought a "ew o" those immortal boo)s into 3taly su""iced to resuscitate li"e, liberty, thought,

humanity, buried in the dar) dungeon o" Catholicism. /uman emancipation, that is the name o" the Gree)ci'ilisation. &nd the name o" the oman ci'ilisation? Conquest, with all its brutal consequences. &nd its lastword? The omnipotence o" the Caesars. Which means the degradation and ensla'ement o" nations and o"men.

Today e'en, what is it that )ills, what is it that crushes brutally, materially, in all uropean countries, libertyand humanity? 3t is the triumph o" the Caesarian or oman principle.

Compare now two modern ci'ilisations - the 3talian and the German. The "irst undoubtedly represents, in itsgeneral character, materialism# the second, on the contrary, represents idealism in its most abstract, mostpure, and most transcendental "orm. 9et us see what are the practical "ruits o" the one and the other.

3taly has already rendered immense ser'ices to the cause o" human emancipation. She was the "irst toresuscitate and widely apply the principle o" liberty in urope, and to restore to humanity its titles tonobility( industry, commerce, poetry, the arts, the positi'e sciences, and "ree thought. Crushed since by threecenturies o" imperial and papal despotism, and dragged in the mud by her go'erning bourgeoisie, shereappears today, it is true, in a 'ery degraded condition in comparison with what she once was. &nd yet howmuch she di""ers "rom Germany2 3n 3taly, in spite o" this decline - temporary let us hope - one may li'e andbreathe humanly, surrounded by a people which seems to be born "or liberty. 3taly, e'en bourgeois 3taly, canpoint with pride to men li)e :a++ini and Garibaldi. .3n Germany one breathes the atmosphere o" an immensepolitical and social sla'ery, philosophically e%plained and accepted by a great people with deliberate

resignation and "ree will. /er heroes - 3 spea) always o" present Germany, not o" the Germany o" the "uture#o" aristocratic, bureaucratic, political and bourgeoisie Germany, not o" the Germany o" the proltaires - her

heroes are quite the opposite o" :a++ini and Garibaldi( they are William 3., that "erocious and ingenuousrepresentati'e o" the $rotestant God, :essrs, *ismarc) and :olt)e, Generals :anteu""el and Werder. 3n allher international relations Germany, "rom the beginning o" her e%istence, has been slowly, systematicallyin'ading, conquering, e'er ready to e%tend her own 'oluntary ensla'ement into the territory o" herneighbours# and, since her de"initi'e establishment as a unitary power, she has become a menace, a danger tothe liberty o" entire urope. Today Germany is ser'ility brutal and triumphant.

To show how theoretical idealism incessantly and ine'itably changes into practical materialism, one needsonly to cite the e%ample o" all the Christian Churches, and, naturally, "irst o" all, that o" the &postolic andoman Church. What is there more sublime, in the ideal sense, more disinterested, more separate "rom allthe interests o" this earth, than the doctrine o" Christ preached by that Church? &nd what is there morebrutally materialistic than the constant practice o" that same Church since the eighth century, "rom which

dates her de"initi'e establishment as a power? What has been and still is the principal obect o" all hercontests with the so'ereigns o" urope? /er temporal goods, her re'enues "irst, and then her temporal power,her political pri'ileges. We must do her the ustice to ac)nowledge that she was the "irst to disco'er, inmodern history, this incontestable but scarcely Christian truth that wealth and power, the economic


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e%ploitation and the political oppression o" the masses, are the two inseparable terms o" the reign o" di'ineideality on earth( wealth consolidating and augmenting power, power e'er disco'ering and creating newsources o" wealth, and both assuring, better than the martyrdom and "aith o" the apostles, better than di'inegrace, the success o" the Christian propagandism. This is a historical truth, and the $rotestant Churches donot "ail to recognise it either. 3 spea), o" course, o" the independent churches o" ngland, &merica, andSwit+erland, not o" the subected churches o" Germany. The latter ha'e no initiati'e o" their own# they dowhat their masters, their temporal so'ereigns, who are at the same time their spiritual chie"tains, order them

to do, 3t is well )nown that the $rotestant propagandism, especially in ngland and &merica, is 'eryintimately connected with the propagandism o" the material, commercial interests o" those two great nations#and it is )nown also that the obects o" the latter propagandism is not at all the enrichment and materialprosperity o" the countries into which it penetrates in company with the Word o" God, but rather thee%ploitation o" those countries with a 'iew to the enrichment and material prosperity o" certain classes,which in their own country are 'ery co'etous and 'ery pious at the same time.

3n a word, it is not at all di""icult to pro'e, history in hand, that the Church, that all the Churches, Christian

and non-Christian, by the side o" their spiritualistic propagandism, and probably to accelerate andconsolidate the success thereo", ha'e ne'er neglected to organise themsel'es into great corporations "or theeconomic e%ploitation o" the masses under the protection and with the direct and special blessing o" some

di'inity or other# that all the States, which originally, as we )now, with all their political and udicialinstitutions and their dominant and pri'ileged classes ha'e been only temporal branches o" these 'ariousChurches ha'e li)ewise had principally in 'iew this same e%ploitation "or the bene"it o" lay minoritiesindirectly sanctioned by the Church# "inally and in general, that the action o" the good God and o" all thedi'ine idealities on earth has ended at last, always and e'erywhere, in "ounding the prosperous materialism

o" the "ew o'er the "anatical and constantly "amishing idealism o" the masses.

We ha'e a new proo" o" this in what we see today. With the e%ception o" the great hearts and great mindswhom 3 ha'e be"ore re"erred to as misled, who are today the most obstinate de"enders o" idealism? 3n the"irst places all the so'ereign courts. 3n 5rance, until lately, 4apoleon 333. and his wi"e, :adame ugnie# alltheir "ormer ministers, courtiers, and e%-marshals, "rom ouher and *a+aine to 5leury and $itri# the menand women o" this imperial world, who ha'e so completely idealised and sa'ed 5rance# their ournalists and

their sa'ants - the Cssagnacs, the Girardins, the @u'ernois, the =euillots, the 9e'erriers, the @umas# theblac) phalan% o" esuits and esuitesses in e'ery garb# the whole upper and middle bourgeoisie o" 5rance# thedoctrinaire liberals, and the liberals without doctrine - the Gui+ots, the Thiers, the ules 5a'res, the $elletans,and the ules Simons, all obstinate de"enders o" the bourgeoisie e%ploitation. 3n $russia, in Germany, William3., the present royal demonstrator o" the good God on earth# all his generals, all his o""icers, $omeranian andother# all his army, which, strong in its religious "aith, has ust conquered 5rance in that ideal way we )nowso well. 3n ussia, the C+ar and his court# the :oura'ie""s and the *ergs, all the butchers and piousproselyters o" $oland. 'erywhere, in short, religious or philosophical idealism, the one being but the more

or less "ree translation o" the other, ser'es today as the "lag o" material, bloody, and brutal "orce, o"shameless material e%ploitation# while, on the contrary, the "lag o" theoretical materialism, the red "lag o"economic equality and social ustice, is raised by the practical idealism o" the oppressed and "amishingmasses, tending to realise the greatest liberty and the human right o" each in the "raternity o" all men on the

earth.Who are the real idealists - the idealists not o" abstraction, but o" li"e, not o" hea'en, but o" earth - and who

are the materialists?

3t is e'ident that the essential condition o" theoretical or di'ine idealism is the sacri"ice o" logic, o" humanreason, the renunciation o" science. We see, "urther, that in de"ending the doctrines o" idealism one "indshimsel" enlisted per"orce in the ran)s o" the oppressors and e%ploiters o" the masses. These are two great

reasons which, it would seem, should be su""icient to dri'e e'ery great mind, e'ery great heart, "romidealism. /ow does it happen that our illustrious contemporary idealists, who certainly lac) neither mind,

nor heart, nor good will, and who ha'e de'oted their entire e%istence to the ser'ice o" humanity - how does it

happen that they persist in remaining among the representati'es o" a doctrine hence"orth condemned anddishonoured?

They must be in"luenced by a 'ery power"ul moti'e. 3t cannot be logic or science, since logic and science


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ha'e pronounced their 'erdict against the idealistic doctrine. 4o more can it be personal interests, since thesemen are in"initely abo'e e'erything o" that sort. 3t must, then, be a power"ul moral moti'e. Which? There canbe but one. These illustrious men thin), no doubt, that idealistic theories or belie"s are essentially necessaryto the moral dignity and grandeur o" man, and that materialistic theories, on the contrary, reduce him to thele'el o" the beasts.

&nd i" the truth were ust the opposite2

'ery de'elopment, 3 ha'e said, implies the negation o" its point o" departure. The basis or point o"departure, according to the materialistic school, being material, the negation must be necessarily ideal.Starting "rom the totality o" the real world, or "rom what is abstractly called matter, it logically arri'es at thereal idealisation - that is, at the humanisation, at the "ull and complete emancipation o" society. $er contra#

and "or the same reason, the basis and point o" departure o" the idealistic school being ideal, it arri'esnecessarily at the materialisation o" society, at the organi+ation o" a brutal despotism and an iniquitous andignoble e%ploitation, under the "orm o" Church and State. The historical de'elopment o" man according tothe materialistic school, is a progressi'e ascension# in the idealistic system it can be nothing but a continuous"all.

Whate'er human question we may desire to consider, we always "ind this same essential contradictionbetween the two schools. Thus, as 3 ha'e already obser'ed, materialism starts "rom animality to establishhumanity# idealism starts "rom di'inity to establish sla'ery and condemn the masses to an endless animality.:aterialism denies "ree will and ends in the establishment o" liberty# idealism, in the name o" human dignity,proclaims "ree will, and on the ruins o" e'ery liberty "ounds authority. :aterialism reects the principle o"authority, because it rightly considers it as the corollary o" animality, and because, on the contrary, thetriumph o" humanity, the obect and chie" signi"icance o" history, can be realised only through liberty. 3n aword, you will always "ind the idealists in the 'ery act o" practical materialism, while you will see thematerialists pursuing and realising the most grandly ideal aspirations and thoughts.

/istory, in the system o" the idealists, as 3 ha'e said, can be nothing but a continuous "all. They begin by aterrible "all, "rom which they ne'er reco'er - by the salto mortale# "rom the sublime regions o" pure and

absolute idea into matter. &nd into what )ind o" matter 2 4ot into the matter which is eternally acti'e andmobile, "ull o" properties and "orces, o" li"e and intelligence, as we see it in the real world# but into abstractmatter, impo'erished and reduced to absolute misery by the regular looting o" these $russians o" thought, thetheologians and metaphysicians, who ha'e stripped it o" e'erything to gi'e e'erything to their emperor, to

their God# into the matter which, depri'ed o" all action and mo'ement o" its own, represents, in opposition tothe di'ine idea, nothing but absolute stupidity, impenetrability, inertia and immobility.

The "all is so terrible that di'inity, the di'ine person or idea, is "lattened out, loses consciousness o" itsel",and ne'er more reco'ers it. &nd in this desperate situation it is still "orced to wor) miracles 2 5or "rom the

moment that matter becomes inert, e'ery mo'ement that ta)es place in the world, e'en the most material, is amiracle, can result only "rom a pro'idential inter'ention, "rom the action o" God upon matter. &nd there this

poor @i'inity, degraded and hal" annihilated by its "all, lies some thousands o" centuries in this swoon, thenawa)ens slowly, in 'ain endea'ouring to grasp some 'ague memory o" itsel", and e'ery mo'e that it ma)esin this direction upon matter becomes a creation, a new "ormation, a new miracle. 3n this way it passesthrough all degrees o" materiality and bestiality - "irst, gas, simple or compound chemical substance, mineral,it then spreads o'er the earth as 'egetable and animal organi+ation till it concentrates itsel" in man. /ere itwould seem as i" it must become itsel" again, "or it lights in e'ery human being an angelic spar), a particle o"its own di'ine being, the immortal soul.

/ow did it manage to lodge a thing absolutely immaterial in a thing absolutely material# how can the bodycontain, enclose, limit, paralyse pure spirit? This, again, is one o" those questions which "aith alone, thatpassionate and stupid a""irmation o" the absurd, can sol'e. 3t is the greatest o" miracles. /ere, howe'er, weha'e only to establish the e""ects, the practical consequences o" this miracle.

&"ter thousands o" centuries o" 'ain e""orts to come bac) to itsel", @i'inity, lost and scattered in the matterwhich it animates and sets in motion, "inds a point o" support, a sort o" "ocus "or sel"-concentration. This


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"ocus is man his immortal soul singularly imprisoned in a mortal body. *ut each man considered indi'iduallyis in"initely too limited, too small, to enclose the di'ine immensity# it can contain only a 'ery small particle,immortal li)e the whole, but in"initely smaller than the whole. 3t "ollows that the di'ine being, the absolutelyimmaterial being, mind, is di'isible li)e matter. &nother mystery whose solution must be le"t to "aith.

3" God entire could "ind lodgement in each man, then each man would be God. We should ha'e an immensequantity o" Gods, each limited by all the others and yet none the less in"inite - a contradiction which would

imply a mutual destruction o" men, an impossibility o" the e%istence o" more than one. &s "or the particles,that is another matter# nothing more rational, indeed, than that one particle should be limited by another andbe smaller than the whole. 0nly, here another contradiction con"ronts us. To be limited, to be greater andsmaller are attributes o" matter, not o" mind. &ccording to the materialists, it is true, mind is only the wor)ingo" the wholly material organism o" man, and the greatness or smallness o" mind depends absolutely on thegreater or less material per"ection o" the human organism. *ut these same attributes o" relati'e limitation andgrandeur cannot be attributed to mind as the idealists concei'e it, absolutely immaterial mind, mind e%istingindependent o" matter. There can be neither greater nor smaller nor any limit among minds, "or there is only

one mind - God. To add that the in"initely small and limited particles which constitute human souls are at thesame time immortal is to carry the contradiction to a clima%. *ut this is a question o" "aith. 9et us pass on.

/ere then we ha'e @i'inity torn up and lodged, in in"initely small particles, in an immense number o" beingso" all se%es, ages, races, and colours. This is an e%cessi'ely incon'enient and unhappy situation, "or thedi'ine particles are so little acquainted with each other at the outset o" their human e%istence that they beginby de'ouring each other. :oreo'er, in the midst o" this state o" barbarism and wholly animal brutality, these

di'ine particles, human souls, retain as it were a 'ague remembrance o" their primiti'e di'inity, and areirresistibly drawn towards their whole# they see) each other, they see) their whole. 3t is @i'inity itsel",scattered and lost in the natural world, which loo)s "or itsel" in men, and it is so demolished by this multitudeo" human prisons in which it "inds itsel" strewn, that, in loo)ing "or itsel", it commits "olly a"ter "olly.

*eginning with "etishism, it searches "or and adores itsel", now in a stone, now in a piece o" wood, now in arag. 3t is quite li)ely that it would ne'er ha'e succeeded in getting out o" the rag, i" the other# di'inity whichwas not allowed to "all into matter and which is )ept in a state o" pure spirit in the sublime heights o" the

absolute ideal, or in the celestial regions, had not had pity on it./ere is a new mystery - that o" @i'inity di'iding itsel" into two hal'es, both equally in"inite, o" which one -God the 5ather - stays in the purely immaterial regions, and the other - God the Son - "alls into matter. We

shall see directly, between these two @i'inities separated "rom each other, continuous relations established,"rom abo'e to below and "rom below to abo'e# and these relations, considered as a single eternal andconstant act, will constitute the /oly Ghost. Such, in its 'eritable theological and metaphysical meaning, isthe great, the terrible mystery o" the Christian Trinity.

*ut let us lose no time in abandoning these heights to see what is going on upon earth.

God the 5ather, seeing "rom the height o" his eternal splendour that the poor God the Son, "lattened out andastounded by his "all, is so plunged and lost in matter that e'en ha'ing reached human state he has not yetreco'ered himsel", decides to come to his aid. 5rom this immense number o" particles at once immortal,di'ine, and in"initely small, in which God the Son has disseminated himsel" so thoroughly that he does not)now himsel", God the 5ather chooses those most pleasing to him, pic)s his inspired persons, his prophets,

his 8men o" 'irtuous genius,8 the great bene"actors and legislators o" humanity( Doroaster, *uddha, :oses,Con"ucius, 9ycurgus, Solon, Socrates, the di'ine $lato, and abo'e all esus Christ, the complete realisationo" God the Son, at last collected and concentrated in a single human person# all the apostles, Saint $eter,Saint $aul, Saint ohn be"ore all, Constantine the Great, :ahomet, then Charlemagne, Gregory =33 @ante,and, according to some, 9uther also, =oltaire and ousseau, obespierre and @anton, and many other greatand holy historical personages, all o" whose names it is impossible to recapitulate, but among whom 3, as aussian, beg that Saint 4icholas may not be "orgotten.

Then we ha'e reached at last the mani"estation o" God upon earth. *ut immediately God appears, man isreduced to nothing. 3t will be said that he is not reduced to nothing, since he is himsel" a particle o" God.


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$ardon me2 3 admit that a particle o" a de"inite, limited whole, howe'er small it be, is a quantity, a positi'egreatness. *ut a particle o" the in"initely great, compared with it, is necessarily in"initely small, :ultiplymilliards o" milliards by milliards o" milliards - their product compared to the in"initely great, will bein"initely small, and the in"initely small is equal to +ero. God is e'erything# there"ore man and all the realworld with him, the uni'erse, are nothing. !ou will not escape this conclusion.

God appears, man is reduced to nothing# and the greater @i'inity becomes, the more miserable becomes

humanity. That is the history o" all religions# that is the e""ect o" all the di'ine inspirations and legislations. 3nhistory the name o" God is the terrible club with which all di'inely inspired men, the great 8'irtuousgeniuses,8 ha'e beaten down the liberty, dignity, reason, and prosperity o" man.

We had "irst the "all o" God. 4ow we ha'e a "all which interests us more - that o" man, caused solely by the

apparition o" God mani"ested on earth.

See in how pro"ound an error our dear and illustrious idealists "ind themsel'es. 3n tal)ing to us o" God theypurpose, they desire, to ele'ate us, emancipate us, ennoble us, and, on the contrary, they crush and degradeus. With the name o" God they imagine that they can establish "raternity among men, and, on the contrary,they create pride, contempt# they sow discord, hatred, war# they establish sla'ery. 5or with God come the

di""erent degrees o" di'ine inspiration# humanity is di'ided into men highly inspired, less inspired,uninspired. &ll are equally insigni"icant be"ore God, it is true# but, compared with each other, some aregreater than others# not only in "act - which would be o" no consequence, because inequality in "act is lost inthe collecti'ity when it cannot cling to some legal "iction or institution - but by the di'ine right o" inspiration,which immediately establishes a "i%ed, constant, petri"ying inequality. The highly inspired must be listenedto and obeyed by the less inspired, and the less inspired by the uninspired. Thus we ha'e the principle o"authority well established, and with it the two "undamental institutions o" sla'ery( Church and State.

0" all despotisms that o" the doctrinaires# or inspired religionists is the worst. They are so ealous o" theglory o" their God and o" the triumph o" their idea that they ha'e no heart le"t "or the liberty or the dignity ore'en the su""erings o" li'ing men, o" real men. @i'ine +eal, preoccupation with the idea, "inally dry up thetenderest souls, the most compassionate hearts, the sources o" human lo'e. Considering all that is, all that

happens in the world "rom the point o" 'iew o" eternity or o" the abstract idea, they treat passing matters withdisdain# but the whole li"e o" real men, o" men o" "lesh and bone, is composed only o" passing matters# theythemsel'es are only passing beings, who, once passed, are replaced by others li)ewise passing, but ne'er toreturn in person. &lone permanent or relati'ely eternal in men is humanity, which steadily de'eloping, grows

richer in passing "rom one generation to another. 3 say relati'ely# eternal, because, our planet once destroyed- it cannot "ail to perish sooner or later, since e'erything which has begun must necessarily end - our planetonce decomposed, to ser'e undoubtedly as an element o" some new "ormation in the system o" the uni'erse,which alone is really eternal, who )nows what will become o" our whole human de'elopment? 4e'ertheless,the moment o" this dissolution being an enormous distance in the "uture, we may properly considerhumanity, relati'ely to the short duration o" human li"e, as eternal. *ut this 'ery "act o" progressi'e humanityis real and li'ing only through its mani"estations at de"inite times, in de"inite places, in really li'ing men, andnot through its general idea.

The general idea is always an abstraction and, "or that 'ery reason, in some sort a negation o" real li"e. 3 ha'estated in the &ppendi% that human thought and, in consequence o" this, science can grasp and name only thegeneral signi"icance o" real "acts, their relations, their laws - in short, that which is permanent in theircontinual trans"ormations - but ne'er their material, indi'idual side, palpitating, so to spea), with reality andli"e, and there"ore "ugiti'e and intangible. Science comprehends the thought o" the reality, not reality itsel"#the thought o" li"e, not li"e. That is its limit, its only really insuperable limit, because it is "ounded on the 'ery

nature o" thought, which is the only organ o" science.

pon this nature are based the indisputable rights and grand mission o" science, but also its 'ital impotenceand e'en its mischie'ous action whene'er, through its o""icial licensed representati'es, it arrogantly claims

the right to go'ern li"e. The mission o" science is, by obser'ation o" the general relations o" passing and real"acts, to establish the general laws inherent in the de'elopment o" the phenomena o" the physical and socialworld# it "i%es, so to spea), the unchangeable landmar)s o" humanitys progressi'e march by indicating thegeneral conditions which it is necessary to rigorously obser'e and always "atal to ignore or "orget. 3n a word,


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science is the compass o" li"e# but it is not li"e itsel". Science is unchangeable, impersonal, general, abstract,insensible, li)e the laws o" which it is but the ideal reproduction, re"lected or mental - that is cerebral 6usingthis word to remind us that science itsel" is but a material product o" a material organ, the brain7. 9i"e iswholly "ugiti'e and temporary, but also wholly palpitating with reality and indi'iduality, sensibility,su""erings, oys, aspirations, needs, and passions. 3t alone spontaneously creates real things and# beings.Science creates nothing# it establishes and recognises only the creations o" li"e. &nd e'ery time that scienti"icmen, emerging "rom their abstract world, mingle with li'ing creation in the real world, all that they propose

or create is poor, ridiculously abstract, bloodless and li"eless, still-born, li)e the homunculus created byWagner, the pedantic disciple o" the immortal @octor 5aust. 3t "ollows that the only mission o" science is toenlighten li"e, not to go'ern it.

The go'ernment o" science and o" men o" science, e'en be they positi'ists, disciples o" &uguste Comte, or,again, disciples o" the doctrinaire# school o" German Communism, cannot "ail to be impotent, ridiculous,inhuman, cruel, oppressi'e, e%ploiting, male"icent. We may say o" men o" science, as such, what 3 ha'e saido" theologians and metaphysicians( they ha'e neither sense nor heart "or indi'idual and li'ing beings. We

cannot e'en blame them "or this, "or it is the natural consequence o" their pro"ession. 3n so "ar as they aremen o" science, they ha'e to deal with and can ta)e interest in nothing e%cept generalities# that do the laws>...

>Three pages o" the

mikhail bakunin - god & the state

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