Jean Meslier Quotes

4 Sourced Quotes

To claim that the souls of men will be happy or unhappy after the death of the body, is to pretend that man will be able to see without eyes, to hear without ears, to taste without a palate, to smell without a nose, and to feel without hands and without skin. Nations who believe themselves very rational, adopt, nevertheless, such ideas.

Jean Meslier

If God is incomprehensible to man, it would seem rational never to think of Him at all.

Jean Meslier

How I suffered when I had to preach to you those pious lies that I detest in my heart. What remorse your credulity caused me! A thousand times I was on the point of breaking out publicly and opening your eyes, but a fear stronger than myself held me back, and forced me to keep silence until my death.

Jean Meslier

To discover the true principles of morality, men have no need of theology, of revelation, or of gods. They need but common sense. They have only to look within themselves, to reflect upon their own nature, to consult their obvious interests, to consider the object of society and of each of the members who compose it, and they will easily understand that virtue is an advantage, and that vice is an injury to beings of the species.

Jean Meslier

Jean Meslier

Jean Meslier

Born: June 15, 1664

Died: June 17, 1729 (aged 65)

Bio: Jean Meslier, was a French Catholic priest who was discovered, upon his death, to have written a book-length philosophical essay promoting atheism. Described by the author as his "testament" to his parishioners, the text denounces all religion.

Known for:

Superstition in All Ages
Tresament of Jean Meslier
Le Testament de Jean Meslier
Le Testament

Jean Meslier on Wikipedia

Jean Meslier works on Gutenberg Project

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