Baron d'Holbach Part 5

The application of these principles to the given situation in France in 1770 would obviously have produced unwelcome results. Holbach's theory was that religion was worse than useless in that it had inculcated false and pernicious ideas in politics and morals. He would do away completely with it in the interest of putting these sciences on a natural basis.

This basis is self-interest, or man's inevitable inclination toward survival and the highest degree of well-being, "L'objet de la morale est de faire connaitre aux hommes que leur plus grand interet exige qu'ils pratiquent la vertu; le but du gouvernement doit etre de la leur faire pratiquer."

Government then a.s.sumes the functions of moral restraint formally delegated to religion; and punishments render virtue attractive and vice repugnant. Holbach's theory of social organization is practically that of Aristotle. Men combine in order to increase the store of individual well-being, to live the good life. If those to whom society has delegated sovereignty abuse their power, society has the right to take it from them. Sovereignty is merely an agent for the diffusion of truth and the maintenance of virtue, which are the prerequisites of social and individual well-being. The technique of progress is enlightenment and good laws.

Nothing could be clearer or simpler than Holbach's system. As Diderot so truly said, he will not be quoted on both sides of any question.

His uncompromising atheism is the very heart and core of his system and clarifies the whole situation. All supernatural ideas are to be abandoned. Experience and reason are once for all made supreme, and henceforth refuse to share their throne or abdicate in favor of faith.

Holbach's aim was as he said to bring man back to nature and render reason dear to him. "Il est tempts que cette raison injustement degradee quitte un ton pusillamine qui la rendront complice du mensonge et du delire."

If reason is to rule, the usurper, religion, must be ejected; hence atheism was fundamental to his entire system. He did not suppose by any means that it would become a popular faith, because it presupposed too much learning and reflection, but it seemed to him the necessary weapon of a reforming party at that time. He defines an atheist as follows: "C'est un homme, qui detruit des chimeres nuisibles au genre humain, pour ramener les hommes a la nature, a l'experience, a la raison. C'est un penseur qui, ayant medite la matiere, ses proprietes et ses facons d'agir, n'a pas besoin, pour expliquer les phenomenes de l'univers et les operations de la nature, d'imaginer des puissances ideales, des intelligences imaginaires, des etres de raison; qui loin de faire mieux connaitre cette nature, ne font que la rendre capricieuse, inexplicable, et meconnaissable, inutile au bonheur des hommes."

APPENDIX

HOLBACH'S CORRESPONDENCE

The following letters of Holbach are extant:

Holbach to Hume, Aug. 23, 1763.

Holbach to Hume, Mar. 16, 1766.

Holbach to Hume, July 7, 1766.

Holbach to Hume, Aug. 18, 1766.

Holbach to Hume, Sept. 7, 1766.

These were printed in Hume's _Private Correspondence_, London, 1820, pp. 252-263, and deal largely with Hume's quarrel with Rousseau.

Holbach to Garrick, June 16, 1765.

Holbach to Garrick, Feb. 9, 1766.

These two letters are in ma.n.u.script in Lansdowne House, Coll. Forster, and were published by F. A. Hedgc.o.c.k, _David Garrick et ses amis francais_. Paris, 1911, pp. 251-253.

Holbach to Wilkes, Aug., 1746, 9 (Brit. Mus. Mss., Vol. 30867, p. 14).

Holbach to Wilkes, Dec. 10, 1746 (Brit. Mus. Mss., Vol. 30867, p. 18).

Holbach to Wilkes, May 22, 1766 (Brit. Mus. Mss., Vol. 30869, p. 39) Holbach to Wilkes, Nov. 9, 1766 (Brit. Mus. Mss., Vol. 30869, p. 81).

Holbach to Wilkes, Dec. 10, 1767 (Brit. Mus. Mss., Vol. 30869, p. 173).

Holbach to Wilkes, July 17, 1768 (Brit. Mus. Mss., Vol. 30870, p. 59).

Holbach to Wilkes, Mar. 19, 1770 (Brit. Mus. Mss., Vol. 30871, p. 16).

Holbach to Wilkes, April 27, 1775, 9 (Wilkes, _Correspondence_, London, 1804, Vol. IV, p. 176).

The first seven of these letters are published for the first time in the present volume, pp. 6-11 and pp. 75-80.

Holbach to Galiani, Aug. 11, 1769 (_Critica_, Vol. I, pp. 488 sq.).

Galiani to Holbach, April 7, 1770 (Galiani, _Correspondence_, Paris, 1890, Vol. I, p. 92).

Galiani to Holbach, July 21, 1770 (Galiani, _Correspondence_, Paris, 1890, Vol. I, p. 199).

Holbach to Galiani, Aug. 25, 1770 (_Critica_, Vol. I, p. 489).

There are references to other letters in _Critica_ which I have not been able to find.

Holbach to Beccaria, Mar. 15, 1767, published by M. Landry _Beccaria, Scritte e lettre inediti_, 1910, p. 146.

Holbach to Malesherbes, April 6, 1761 (hitherto unpublished). See present volume, p. 30.

HOLBACH TO HUME (Hume, Private Correspondence, London, 1820, pp. 252-263) PARIS, the 23rd. of August, 1763

_Sir,_--

I have received with the deepest sense of grat.i.tude your very kind and obliging letter of the 8th. inst: favors of great men ought to give pride to those that have at least the merit of setting the value that is due upon them. This is my case with you, sir; the reading of your valuable works has not only inspired me with the strongest admiration for your genius and amiable parts, but gave me the highest idea of your person and the strongest desire of getting acquainted with one of the greatest philosophers of my age, and of the best friend to mankind. These sentiments have emboldened me to send formally, though unknown to you, the work you are mentioning to me. I thought you were the best to judge of such a performance, and I took only the liberty of giving a hint of my desires, in case it should meet with your approbation, nor was I surprized, or presumed to be displeased, at seeing my wishes disappointed. The reasons appeared very obvious to me; not withstanding the British liberty, I conceived there were limits even to it. However, my late friend's book has appeared since and there is even an edition of it lately done in England: I believe it will be relished by the friends of truth, who like to see vulgar errors struck at the root. This has been your continued task, sir; and you deserve for it the praises of all sincere wellwishers of humanity: give me leave to rank myself among them, and express to you, by this opportunity you have been so kind as to give me, the fervent desire we have to see you in this country.

Messrs. Stuart, Dempster, Fordyce, who are so good as to favor me with their company, have given me some hopes of seeing you in this metropolis, where you have so many admirers as readers, and as many sincere friends as there are disciples of philosophy. I don't doubt but my good friend M. Helvetius will join in our wishes, and prevail upon you to come over. I a.s.sure you, sir, you won't perceive much the change of the country, for all countries are alike for people that have the same minds.

I am, with the greatest veneration and esteem, sir, your most obedient and most humble servant.

D'HOLBACH.

Rue Royale, b.u.t.te St. Roch, a Paris.

HOLBACH To GARRICK (Coll. Forster, Vol. XXI; pub., Hedgc.o.c.k, p. 253) PARIS, Feb ye 9th, 1766.

I received, my very Dear Sir, with a great deal of pleasure, your agreeable letter of ye 24th of January, but was very sorry to hear that you are inlisted in the numerous troup of _gouty_ people. Tho'

I have myself the honour of being of that tribe I dont desire my friends should enter into the same corporation. I am particularly griev'd to see you among the invalids for you have, more than any other, occasion for the free use of your limbs. However, don't be cross and peevish for that would be only increasing you distemper; and I charge you especially of not scolding that admirable lady Mrs Garrick, whose sweetness of temper and care must be a great comfort in your circ.u.mstances. I beg leave to present her with my respects and ye compliments of my wife, that has enjoyed but an indifferent state of health, owing to the severity of the winter.

Mr and Made Helvetius desire you both their best wishes and so do all your friends, for whom I can answer that every one of them keeps a kind remembrance of your valuable persons. Dr. Gem thinks you'll do very well to go to Bath, but his opinion is that a thin diet would be more serviceable to you than anything else; believe he is in the right. Abbe Morellet pays many thanks for the answers to his queries, but complains of their shortness and laconism; however it is not your fault. He is glad to hear you have receiv'd his translation of Beccaria's book, _Des delits et des peines_ and the compliments of our friend Dr Gatti to whom I gave your direction before he went to London. Our friend Suard has entered his neck into the matrimonial halter; we are all of us very sorry for it for we know that nothing combin'd with love, will at last make nothing at all.

I was not much surpris'd at the particulars you are pleas'd to mention about Rousseau. According to the thorough knowledge I have had of him I look on that man as a mere philosophical quack, full of affectation, of pride, of oddities and even villainies; the work he is going to publish justifies the last imputation. Is his memory so short as to forget that Mr Grimm, for those 9 years past, has taken care of the mother of his wench or _gouvernante_ whom he left to starve here after having debauch'd her daughter and having got her 3 or 4 times with child. That great philosopher should remember that Mr. Grimm has in his hands letters under his own hand-writing that prove him the most ungrateful dogg in the world. During his last stay in Paris he made some attempts to see Mr Diderot, and being refused that favor, he pretended that Diderot endeavoured to see him, but that himself had refused peremptorily to comply with his request. I hope these particulars will suffice to let you know what you are to think of that ill.u.s.trious man. I send you here a copy of a letter supposed to come from the King of Prussia, but done by Mr Horace Walpole, whereby you'll see that gentleman has found out his true character. But enough of that rascal who deserves not to be in Mr Hume's company but rather among the bears, if there are any in the mountains of Wales.

I am surprized you have not receiv'd yet the _Encyclopedie_, for a great number of copies have been sent over already to England unless you have left your subscription here, where hitherto not one copy has been delivered for prudent reasons.

We have had in the French Comedy a new play called _Le Philosophie sans le savoir_ done and acted in a new stile, quite natural and moving: it has a prodigious success and deserves it extremely well. Marmontel will give us very soon upon the Italian stage his comical opera of _La Bergere des Alpes_. I hope it will prove very agreeable to the Publick, having been very much delighted by the rehearsal of it; the music was done by Mr Cohaut who teaches my wife to play on the luth.

We expect a tragedy of the Dutch Barnvelt.

Mr Wilkes is still in this town, where he intends to stay until you give him leave to return to his native country. We have had the pleasure of seeing Mr Chanquion, your friend, who seems to be a very discerning gentleman and to whom in favor of your friendship I have shown all the politeness I could. I hear that Sr James Macdonald has been ill at Parma, but is now recovered and in Rome. Abbe Galliani is still at Naples and stands a fair chance of being employ'd in the ministry there.

Adieu, very dear Sir and remember your affectionate friend D'HOLBACH

HOLBACH TO WILKES (Brit. Mus. Mss., Vol. 30869, p. 39) PARIS the 22d Of May (1766)

_My dear Sir_

I am extremely glad to know your lucky pa.s.sage and happy arrival in your native country. I hope you know too well the sincere dispositions of my heart as to doubt of the friendship I have vowed to you for life; it has been of too long a duration to be shaken by any circ.u.mstances, and especially by those that do honor to you. I shall be very happy if your affairs (that seem to be in a fair way) permit you to drop over very soon to spend some time in this place along with Miss Wilkes to whom Made D'Holbach and I pay our best compliments. I can easily paint to my imagination the pleasure you both felt at your first meeting; everybody that has any sensibility must be acquainted with the grateful pangs in those moving circ.u.mstances.

Your case with the hawker at your entry in London is very odd and whimsical you did extremely well to humour the man in his opinion about Mr. Wilkes. I dare say if you had done otherwise his fist would have convinc'd you of the goodness of your cause, and then it would have been impossible for you to pa.s.s for a dead man any longer; which however, I think was very necessary for you in the beginning.

I expect with great eagerness the settlement of your affairs with the ministry to your own satisfaction; be persuaded, Dear Sir, that n.o.body interests himself in your happiness than myself, and nothing will conduce more to it than your steady attachment to the principles of honor and patriotism.

If you don't find a way of disposing of the little packet, you need not take much trouble about it, and you may bring it back along with you, when you come to this place, as to the kind offers you are so good as to make me about commissions, experience has taught me that it is unsafe to trust you with them, so I beg leave with grat.i.tude to decline your proposals as that point.