Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers: Reprinted From an English Work, Entitled "Half-Hours With The Freethinkers."Bradlaugh, Charles
Religion
Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers: Reprinted From an English Work, Entitled "Half-Hours With The Freethinkers."
Bradlaugh, Charles
Rationalists -- Biography
Epicurus, who boasts that he was an inquirer and a philosopher in his
thirteenth year, was scarcely likely to bow his mind to the mythology of
his country. The man who, when he was but a schoolboy, insisted upon an
answer to the question, "Whence came chaos?" could hardly be expected
to receive as admitted facts the fabulous legends as to Jupiter and the
other gods. His theology is, however, in some respects, obscure, and
unintelligible; for while he zealously opposed the popular fables, which
men misname God-ideas, he at the same time admitted the existence of
material gods, whom he placed in the intervals between the infinite
worlds, where they passed a life undisturbed by aught, and enjoyed a
happiness which does not admit of augmentation. These inactive gods play
a strange part in the system of Epicurus; and it is asserted by many
that these extraordinary conceptions of Deity were put forward by the
philosopher to screen him from the consequences attaching to a charge of
Atheism. Dr. Heinrich Ritter, who does not seem very friendly disposed
towards Epicurus, or his philosophy, repudiates this notion, and argues
Epicurus was not in truth an Atheist, and alleges that it was a mere
pretence on his part; and that from his very theory of knowledge the
existence of gods could be deduced. This has been much litigated, (vide
Electric Review for 1806, p. 606.) It is quite evident that Epicurus
neither regarded "the gods" in the capacity of Creators, controllers, or
rulers, so that his Theism (if it be Theism) twas not of a very
superstitious character. The God who neither created man, nor exercised
any influence whatever over his actions or thinkings, could have but
little to do with man at all.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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