Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/401

 be no  God  who  may  listen  to  thy  prayers  and  be  touched  by  thy groanings? If nothing  thyself,  why  belie  the  nothingness  of  thy being, and  why  tremble  upon  the  sequel  of  thy  destiny? Whence come, in  this  last  moment,  these  feelings  of  dread  and  of  respect for the  Supreme  Being? Is it  not,  that  they  have  ever  been  in thee,  that  thou  hast  imposed  upon  the  public  by  a  false  ostentation of impiety,  and  that  death  only  unfolds  those  dispositions  of faith  and  of  religion,  which,  though  dormant,  have  never  ceased during life?"

Yes, my  brethren,  could  the  passions  be  destroyed,  all  unbelievers would  soon  be  recalled;  and  a  final  reason,  which  fully proves it,  is  that,  if  they  seem  to  rise  up  against  the  incomprehensibility of  our  mysteries,  it  is  solely  for  the  purpose  of  combating what touches  them,  and  of  attacking  the  truths  which  interest  the passions; that  is  to  say,  the  truth  of  a  future  state,  and  the  eternity of  future  punishments;  this  is  always  the  favourite  conclusion and fruit  of  their  doubts.

In effect,  if  religion,  without  adding  maxims  and  truths  which restrain the  passions,  proposed  only  mysteries  which  exceed  reason, we may  boldly  say,  that  unbelievers  would  be  rare;  almost  no  one is interested  in  those  abstruse  truths  or  errors,  which  it  is  indifferent to believe  or  to  deny. You will  find  few  real  votaries  of  truth who become  partisans  and  zealots  in  support  of  merely  speculative and unimportant  points,  because  they  believe  them  to  be  true. The abstruse  truths  of  mathematics  have  found,  in  our  days,  some zealous and  estimable  followers,  who  have  devoted  themselves  to the  elucidation  of  what  is  held  as  most  impenetrable  in  the  infinite secrets and  profound  obscurities  of  that  science;  but  these  are  rare and singular  men;  the  infection  was  little  to  be  dreaded,  nor,  in truth,  has  it  spread;  they  are  admired,  but  few  would  wish  to follow  their  example. If religion  proposed  only  truths  equally abstruse, equally  indifferent  to  the  felicity  of  the  senses,  equally uninteresting to  the  passions  and  to  self-love,  the  atheists  would be still  more  rare  than  the  mathematicians. The truths  of  religion are objected  to,  merely  because  they  threaten  us;  no  objections are made  to  the  others,  because  their  truth  or  their  falsity  is  alike indifferent.

And tell  us  not  that  it  is  not  through  self-interest,  but  the  sole love of  truth,  that  the  unbeliever  rejects  mysteries  which  reason rejects. This, I  well  know,  is  the  boast  of  the  pretended  unbeliever, and  he  would  wish  us  to  think  so;  but  of  what  consequence is the  truth  to  men,  who,  so  far  from  either  seeking,  loving,  or knowing  it,  wish  even  to  conceal  it  from  themselves? What matters to  them  a  truth  beyond  their  reach,  and  to  which  they  have never devoted  a  single  serious  moment;  which,  having  nothing flattering to  the  passions,  can  never  be  interesting  to  these  men  of flesh  and  blood,  plunged  in  a  voluptuous  life? Their object  is  to gratify  their  irregular  desires,  and  yet  have  nothing  to  dread  after this life;  this  is  the  only  truth  which  interests  them;  give  up  that point, and  the  obscurity  of  all  the  other  mysteries  will  not  occupy