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 everywhere, both within man and without him, to a lost God and a corrupt nature.

Man's true nature, his true good, true virtue, and true religion, are things of which the knowledge is inseparable.

Greatness, wretchedness.&mdash;The more light we have, the more greatness and the more baseness we discover in man. Ordinary men&mdash;those who are more educated: philosophers, they astonish ordinary men&mdash;Christians, they astonish philosophers.

Who will then be surprised to see that religion only makes us know profoundly what we already know in proportion to our light?

This religion taught to her children what men have only been able to discover by their greatest knowledge.

Original sin is foolishness to men, but it is admitted to be such. You must not then reproach me for the want of reason in this doctrine, since I admit it to be without reason. But this foolishness is wiser than all the wisdom of men, sapientius est hominibus. For without this, what can we say that man is? His whole state depends on this imperceptible point. And how should it be perceived by his reason, since it is a thing against reason, and since reason, far from finding it out by her own ways, is averse to it when it is presented to her?

''Of original sin. Ample tradition of original sin according to the Jews.''

On the saying in Genesis viii, 21: "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth."

R. Moses Haddarschan: This evil leaven is placed in man from the time that he is formed.

Massechet Succa: This evil leaven has seven names in