Muchaswemayadmiresucharobustoldgamecockspiritinavaletudinarian，tocallitareligiousspiritwouldbeodd。YetitisforthemomentVoltaire’sreactiononthewholeoflife。
Jeme’nficheisthevulgarFrenchequivalentforourEnglishejaculation“Whocares？”Andthehappytermjeme’nfichismerecentlyhasbeeninventedtodesignatethesystematicdeterminationnottotakeanythinginlifetoosolemnly。
“Allisvanity“istherelievingwordinalldifficultcrisesforthismodeofthought，whichthatexquisiteliterarygeniusRenantookpleasure，inhislaterdaysofsweetdecay，inputtingintocoquettishlysacrilegiousformswhichremaintousasexcellentexpressionsofthe“allisvanity“stateofmind。Takethefollowingpassage，forexample——wemustholdtoduty，evenagainsttheevidence，Renansays——buthethengoeson：——
“TherearemanychancesthattheworldmaybenothingbutafairypantomimeofwhichnoGodhascare。Wemustthereforearrangeourselvessothatonneitherhypothesisweshallbecompletelywrong。Wemustlistentothesuperiorvoices，butinsuchawaythatifthesecondhypothesisweretrueweshouldnothavebeentoocompletelyduped。Ifineffecttheworldbenotaseriousthing，itisthedogmaticpeoplewhowillbetheshallowones，andtheworldlymindedwhomthetheologiansnowcallfrivolouswillbethosewhoarereallywise。
“Inutrumqueparatus，then。Bereadyforanything——thatperhapsiswisdom。Giveourselvesup，accordingtothehour，toconfidence，toskepticism，tooptimism，toironyandwemaybesurethatatcertainmomentsatleastweshallbewiththetruth……Good-humorisaphilosophicstateofmind；itseemstosaytoNaturethatwetakehernomoreseriouslythanshetakesus。
Imaintainthatoneshouldalwaystalkofphilosophywithasmile。WeoweittotheEternaltobevirtuousbutwehavetherighttoaddtothistributeourironyasasortofpersonalreprisal。Inthiswaywereturntotherightquarterjestforjest；weplaythetrickthathasbeenplayedonus。SaintAugustine’sphrase：Lord，ifwearcdeceived，itisbythee！
remainsafineone，wellsuitedtoourmodernfeeling。OnlywewishtheEternaltoknowthatifweacceptthefraud，weacceptitknowinglyandwillingly。Weareresignedinadvancetolosingtheinterestonourinvestmentsofvirtue，butwewishnottoappearridiculousbyhavingcountedonthemtoosecurely。”[12]
[12]Feuillesdetachees，pp。394-398abridged。
Surelyalltheusualassociationsoftheword“religion“wouldhavetobestrippedawayifsuchasystematicpartiprisofironywerealsotobedenotedbythename。Forcommonmen“religion。”
whatevermorespecialmeaningsitmayhave，signifiesalwaysaSERIOUSstateofmind。Ifanyonephrasecouldgatheritsuniversalmessage，thatphrasewouldbe，“AllisnotvanityinthisUniverse，whatevertheappearancesmaysuggest。”Ifitcanstopanything，religionascommonlyapprehendedcanstopjustsuchchaffingtalkasRenan’s。Itfavorsgravity，notpertness；
itsays“hush“toallvainchatterandsmartwit。
Butifhostiletolightirony，religionisequallyhostiletoheavygrumblingandcomplaint。Theworldappearstragicenoughinsomereligions，butthetragedyisrealizedaspurging，andawayofdeliveranceisheldtoexist。Weshallseeenoughofthereligiousmelancholyinafuturelecture；butmelancholy，accordingtoourordinaryuseoflanguage，forfeitsalltitletobecalledreligiouswhen，inMarcusAurelius’sracywords，thesufferersimplylieskickingandscreamingafterthefashionofasacrificedpig。ThemoodofaSchopenhaueroraNietzsche——andinalessdegreeonemaysometimessaythesameofourownsadCarlyle——thoughoftenanennoblingsadness，isalmostasoftenonlypeevishnessrunningawaywiththebitbetweenitsteeth。
ThesalliesofthetwoGermanauthorsremindone，halfthetime，ofthesickshriekingsoftwodyingrats。Theylackthepurgatorialnotewhichreligioussadnessgivesforth。
Theremustbesomethingsolemn，serious，andtenderaboutanyattitudewhichwedenominatereligious。Ifglad，itmustnotgrinorsnicker；ifsad，itmustnotscreamorcurse。ItispreciselyasbeingSOLEMNexperiencesthatIwishtointerestyouinreligiousexperiences。SoIpropose——arbitrarilyagain，ifyouplease——tonarrowourdefinitiononcemorebysayingthattheword“divine。”asemployedtherein，shallmeanforusnotmerelytheprimalandenvelopingandreal，forthatmeaningiftakenwithoutrestrictionmightprovetoobroad。Thedivineshallmeanforusonlysuchaprimalrealityastheindividualfeelsimpelledtorespondtosolemnlyandgravely，andneitherbyacursenorajest。
Butsolemnity，andgravity，andallsuchemotionalattributes，admitofvariousshades；and，dowhatwewillwithourdefining，thetruthmustatlastbeconfrontedthatwearedealingwithafieldofexperiencewherethereisnotasingleconceptionthatcanbesharplydrawn。Thepretension，undersuchconditions，toberigorously“scientific“or“exact“inourtermswouldonlystampusaslackinginunderstandingofourtask。Thingsaremoreorlessdivine，statesofmindaremoreorlessreligious，reactionsaremoreorlesstotal，buttheboundariesarealwaysmisty，anditiseverywhereaquestionofamountanddegree。
Nevertheless，attheirextremeofdevelopment，therecanneverbeanyquestionastowhatexperiencesarereligious。Thedivinityoftheobjectandthesolemnityofthereactionaretoowellmarkedfordoubt。Hesitationastowhetherastateofmindis“religious。”or“irreligious。”or“moral。”or“philosophical。”isonlylikelytoarisewhenthestateofmindisweaklycharacterized，butinthatcaseitwillbehardlyworthyofourstudyatall。Withstatesthatcanonlybycourtesybecalledreligiousweneedhavenothingtodo，ouronlyprofitablebusinessbeingwithwhatnobodycanpossiblyfeeltemptedtocallanythingelse。Isaidinmyformerlecturethatwelearnmostaboutathingwhenweviewitunderamicroscope，asitwere，orinitsmostexaggeratedform。Thisisastrueofreligiousphenomenaasofanyotherkindoffact。Theonlycaseslikelytobeprofitableenoughtorepayourattentionwillthereforebecaseswherethereligiousspiritisunmistakableandextreme。
Itsfaintermanifestationswemaytranquillypassby。Here，forexample，isthetotalreactionuponlifeofFrederickLockerLampson，whoseautobiography，entitled“Confidences。”proveshimtohavebeenamostamiableman。
“IamsofarresignedtomylotthatIfeelsmallpainatthethoughtofhavingtopartfromwhathasbeencalledthepleasanthabitofexistence，thesweetfableoflife。Iwouldnotcaretolivemywastedlifeoveragain，andsotoprolongmyspan。
Strangetosay，Ihavebutlittlewishtobeyounger。Isubmitwithachillatmyheart。IhumblysubmitbecauseitistheDivineWill，andmyappointeddestiny。Idreadtheincreaseofinfirmitiesthatwillmakemeaburdentothosearoundme，thosedeartome。No！letmeslipawayasquietlyandcomfortablyasI
can。Lettheendcome，ifpeacecomewithit。
“Idonotknowthatthereisagreatdealtobesaidforthisworld，oroursojournhereuponit；butithaspleasedGodsotoplaceus，anditmustpleasemealso。Iaskyou，whatishumanlife？Isnotitamaimedhappiness——careandweariness，wearinessandcare，withthebaselessexpectation，thestrangecozenageofabrighterto-morrow？Atbestitisbutafrowardchild，thatmustbeplayedwithandhumored，tokeepitquiettillitfallsasleep，andthenthecareisover。”[13]
Thisisacomplex，atender，asubmissive，andagracefulstateofmind。Formyself，Ishouldhavenoobjectiontocallingitonthewholeareligiousstateofmind，althoughIdaresaythattomanyofyouitmayseemtoolistlessandhalf-heartedtomeritsogoodaname。Butwhatmattersitintheendwhetherwecallsuchastateofmindreligiousornot？Itistooinsignificantforourinstructioninanycase；anditsverypossessorwroteitdownintermswhichhewouldnothaveusedunlesshehadbeenthinkingofmoreenergeticallyreligiousmoodsinothers，withwhichhefoundhimselfunabletocompete。Itiswiththesemoreenergeticstatesthatoursolebusinesslies，andwecanperfectlywellaffordtolettheminornotesandtheuncertainbordergo。ItwastheextremercasesthatIhadinmindalittlewhileagowhenIsaidthatpersonalreligion，evenwithouttheologyorritual，wouldprovetoembodysomeelementsthatmoralitypureandsimpledoesnotcontain。YoumayrememberthatIpromisedshortlytopointoutwhatthoseelementswere。InageneralwayIcannowsaywhatIhadinmind。
“Iaccepttheuniverse“isreportedtohavebeenafavoriteutteranceofourNewEnglandtranscendentalist，MargaretFuller；
andwhensomeonerepeatedthisphrasetoThomasCarlyle，hissardoniccommentissaidtohavebeen：“Gad！she’dbetter！”Atbottomthewholeconcernofbothmoralityandreligioniswiththemannerofouracceptanceoftheuniverse。Doweacceptitonlyinpartandgrudgingly，orheartilyandaltogether？Shallourprotestsagainstcertainthingsinitberadicalandunforgiving，orshallwethinkthat，evenwithevil，therearewaysoflivingthatmustleadtogood？Ifweacceptthewhole，shallwedosoasifstunnedintosubmission——asCarlylewouldhaveus——“Gad！we’dbetter！”——orshallwedosowithenthusiasticassent？Moralitypureandsimpleacceptsthelawofthewholewhichitfindsreigning，sofarastoacknowledgeandobeyit，butitmayobeyitwiththeheaviestandcoldestheart，andneverceasetofeelitasayoke。Butforreligion，initsstrongandfullydevelopedmanifestations，theserviceofthehighestneverisfeltasayoke。Dullsubmissionisleftfarbehind，andamoodofwelcome，whichmayfillanyplaceonthescalebetweencheerfulserenityandenthusiasticgladness，hastakenitsplace。
Itmakesatremendousemotionalandpracticaldifferencetoonewhetheroneaccepttheuniverseinthedrabdiscoloredwayofstoicresignationtonecessity，orwiththepassionatehappinessofChristiansaints。Thedifferenceisasgreatasthatbetweenpassivityandactivity，asthatbetweenthedefensiveandtheaggressivemood。Gradualasarethestepsbywhichanindividualmaygrowfromonestateintotheother，manyasaretheintermediatestageswhichdifferentindividualsrepresent，yetwhenyouplacethetypicalextremesbesideeachotherforcomparison，youfeelthattwodiscontinuouspsychologicaluniversesconfrontyou，andthatinpassingfromonetotheothera“criticalpoint“hasbeenovercome。
IfwecomparestoicwithChristianejaculationsweseemuchmorethanadifferenceofdoctrine；ratherisitadifferenceofemotionalmoodthatpartsthem。WhenMarcusAureliusreflectsontheeternalreasonthathasorderedthings，thereisafrostychillabouthiswordswhichyourarelyfindinaJewish，andneverinaChristianpieceofreligiouswriting。Theuniverseis“accepted“byallthesewriters；buthowdevoidofpassionorexultationthespiritoftheRomanEmperoris！Comparehisfinesentence：“Ifgodscarenotformeormychildren，hereisareasonforit。”withJob’scry：“Thoughheslayme，yetwillI
trustinhim！”andyouimmediatelyseethedifferenceImean。
Theanimamundi，towhosedisposalofhisownpersonaldestinytheStoicconsents，istheretoberespectedandsubmittedto，buttheChristianGodistheretobeloved；andthedifferenceofemotionalatmosphereislikethatbetweenanarcticclimateandthetropics，thoughtheoutcomeinthewayofacceptingactualconditionsuncomplaininglymayseeminabstracttermstobemuchthesame。
“Itisaman’sduty。”saysMarcusAurelius，“tocomforthimselfandwaitforthenaturaldissolution，andnottobevexed，buttofindrefreshmentsolelyinthesethoughts——firstthatnothingwillhappentomewhichisnotconformabletothenatureoftheuniverse；andsecondlythatIneeddonothingcontrarytotheGodanddeitywithinme；forthereisnomanwhocancompelmetotransgress。Heisanabscessontheuniversewhowithdrawsandseparateshimselffromthereasonofourcommonnature，throughbeingdispleasedwiththethingswhichhappen。Forthesamenatureproducesthese，andhasproducedtheetoo。Andsoaccepteverythingwhichhappens，evenifitseemdisagreeable，becauseitleadstothis，thehealthoftheuniverseandtotheprosperityandfelicityofZeus。Forhewouldnothavebroughtonanymanwhathehasbroughtifitwerenotusefulforthewhole。Theintegrityofthewholeismutilatedifthoucuttestoffanything。Andthoudostcutoff，asfarasitisinthypower，whenthouartdissatisfied，andinamannertriesttoputanythingoutoftheway。”[14]