Faith

Faith hovers over the Earth, seeking a refuge in which to shelter itself and a heart to enlighten! Where will it go?… At first it will enter the soul of primitive man and impose itself; it will place a momentary veil over the reason that is beginning to develop and that staggers in the darkness of the spirit. It will lead him through the ages of simplicity and will make itself mistress through revelations. But, reasoning not being yet mature enough to discern what is just from what is false, to judge what comes from God, it will drag man off the right path, taking him by the hand and placing a blindfold over his eyes. Many wanderings: such must be the motto of blind faith which, nevertheless, for a long time had its usefulness and its reason for being. This virtue disappears when the soul, sensing that it can see with its own eyes, sets it aside and no longer wishes to march except with reason. The latter helps it to rid itself of the false beliefs which it had adopted without examination. In this it is good; but man, finding on his path many mysteries and obscure truths, wishes to unveil them and goes astray. His judgment cannot keep pace with him; he wishes to go too fast, but in everything progression must be imperceptible. Thus, he no longer has the faith he repelled; he no longer has the reason he wished to surpass. Then he does as the reckless butterfly, burning his wings in the light and losing himself in impossible wanderings. From this emerged the bad philosophy which, seeking too much, made everything collapse and substituted nothing. Here was the moment of transformation; man was no longer the blind believer and was not yet the believer reasoning out his belief: it was the universal crisis so well represented by the state of the chrysalis.

Thanks to the search during the night, brightness gushes forth, and many souls gone astray, finding only the light obscured by so many useless wanderings, and taking up again as guides their eternal conductors – faith and reason – make them march before them, so that, united, their two lights may prevent them from losing themselves a second time. They cause faith to rest upon the solid bases of reason, itself aided by inspiration.

It is your epoch, my friends; follow the path, God is at the end.

Demeure.