text:
|EBA publishes its Roadmap on FinTech-continued
|March 15, 2018--The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a FinTech Roadmap setting out its priorities for 2018/2019. The Roadmap also sets out the establishment of a FinTech Knowledge Hub to enhance knowledge sharing and foster technological neutrality in regulatory and supervisory approaches.
|Taking account of the feedback to the EBA's 2017 Discussion Paper on FinTech, and the new mandates for the EBA set out in the European Commission's FinTech Action Plan, the EBA's FinTech Roadmap describes its priorities for 2018/2019 and provides an indicative timeline for the completion of these tasks.
|Source: European Banking Authority (EBA)
|Europe ETP News
|ESMA agrees to limit the application of tick sizes to systematic internalisers quotes for shares and depositary receipts
|September 21, 2018--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published today its opinion on proposed amendments to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/587 (RTS 1).
|read more
|What drives the use of CDS by EU investment funds?
|September 20, 2018--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), in a study carried out on data reported under EMIR, finds that funds that are part of a large group are more likely to use credit default swaps (CDS).
|read more
|Forecasts for the UK economy: September 2018
|September 19, 2018--Forecasts for the UK economy is a monthly comparison of independent forecasts.
|read more
|IMF United Kingdom: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2018 Article IV Mission
|September 17, 2018--Outlook and Risks
Despite strong policy frameworks and implementation, growth has moderated since the European Union referendum in June 2016. Uncertainty over the terms of the EU withdrawal has weighed on private sector activity. Above-target inflation following the sharp post-referendum sterling depreciation has slowed real income and consumption growth.
|read more
|Theresa May just warned of a 'no-deal Brexit.' Here are some of the doomsday scenarios.
|September 17, 2018--When it was built a quarter-century ago, the Eurotunnel was hailed as an engineering marvel. The game-changing undersea rail link between Britain and the European continent helped spark our global age of frictionless, "just-in-time" trade and manufacturing.
|read more
|Mifid II prompts 'huge change' in research marketplace
|September 17, 2018--Fund managers spend substantially less if they absorb cost of broker notes
|read more
|Ireland rebuffs calls to relax rules on exchange traded funds
|September 14, 2018--Regulator's stance will stall industry efforts to develop more active ETFs.
Ireland's central bank has rebuffed calls for a relaxation of the rules relating to exchange traded funds that would have made it easier for investment managers to launch actively managed ETFs.
|read more
|New iShares ETF on Xetra tracks Nasdaq-100 index with hedging of exchange rate risk
|September 13, 2018--September 12, 2018--Since Wednesday a new Exchange Traded Fund of the issuer iShares is tradable on Xetra and Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The iShares NASDAQ 100 UCITS ETF EUR Hedged (Acc) gives investors the opportunity to participate in the performance of the 100 largest NASDAQ-listed equity companies that are not part of the financial sector.
|read more
|ESMA finds high level of diversity in national markets for structured retail products
|September 13, 2018--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has carried out a study of the EU market in structured retail products, from an investor protection perspective.
The research breaks down the EU market geographically into national retail markets and found a high degree of heterogeneity in the types of product sold.
|read more
|New J.P. Morgan ETFs on Xetra
|September 13, 2018--Since Thursday, two new Exchange Traded Funds from the issuer J.P. Morgan Asset Management have been tradable via Xetra and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
|read more
|Portugal: Recovery and Risks
|September 13, 2018--Portugal has turned the page on its 2010-13 crisis and is now enjoying a job-rich economic recovery, driven by investment and exports, says the IMF in its latest annual assessment of the country's economy.
|read more
|IMF Staff Country Reports-Russian Federation: Selected Issues
|September 12, 2018--THE STATE'S FOOTPRINT IN THE ECONOMY1
The Russian State leaves a deep footprint in the economy. The state's size was around 33 percent of GDP in 2016, but close to 40 percent for the formal sector.
|read more
|IMF Staff Country Reports-Portugal : Selected Issues
|September 12, 2018--FINANCIAL CONDITIONS AND GROWTH AT RISK IN PORTUGAL1
A. Introduction
1. The macro-finance literature and recent experience provide compelling evidence that financial imbalances grow in good times, creating downside risks to economic growth.
|read more
|Neuberger Berman hires European bond team from BNP Paribas AM
|September 11, 2018--Neuberger Berman has hired a six-strong team of European fixed income investment professionals from BNP Paribas Asset Management.
|read more
|Deutsche Boerse widens its market data offering to include FX markets
|September 10, 2018--Deutsche Börse and 360T, Deutsche Börse Group's FX unit, to serve FX markets with independent streaming swap market data
Deutsche Börse Market Data + Services and Deutsche Börse foreign-exchange (FX) trading venue 360T are launching a product offering covering FX spot market as well as FX swap market data.
|read more
|Asset managers' hunt for index trackers drives M&A
|September 9, 2018--Scarcity of targets in the sector is pushing up valuations
|read more
|New UBS ETF on Xetra tracks emerging market government bonds denominated in US dollars and local currencies
|September 7, 2108--Since Friday, an Exchange Traded Fund of the issuer UBS Global Asset Management has been tradable via Xetra and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The new bond ETF gives investors the opportunity to participate in the performance of government bonds issued by emerging markets denominated in their local currency or in US dollars.
|read more
|New ETF Listing on Euronext-
|September 7, 2018--Euronext is pleased to announce that Amundi Asset Management will list 1 new ETF on 11/09/2018:
ETF Trading name:AMUNDI STOXX GL AI
ETF Symbol: GOAI
|read more
|Volatility spikes underline fragilities and risks to EU securities markets and investors
|September 6, 2018--European Union (EU) securities markets, infrastructures and investors face new risks in the form of high volatility, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said today in its latest Trends, Risks, and Vulnerabilities (TRV) Report (No 2, 2018).
|read more
|Asset managers 'have something to hide' from pension trustees
|September 6, 2018--Millions of savers may be paying more than the charge cap, MPs told
Some asset managers will refuse a request by pension trustees to hand over data on the charges they levy pension savers because "they have something to hide", a parliamentary committee has been told.
|read more
|BNP Paribas Asset Management Strengthens ETF And Index Solutions Sales Team In Germany
|September 6, 2018--BNP Paribas Asset Management ('BNPP AM') announces the continued expansion of its ETF[1] and Index Solutions team in Germany with the appointment of Florian Schoeps as ETF and Index Solutions Sales Trader.
|read more
|Wirecard AG to be included in DAX-new composition for TecDAX, MDAX and SDAX
|September 5, 2018--Deutsche Börse applies new index rules/Changes to be effective as of 24 September 2018
On Wednesday, Deutsche Börse announced changes to its equity indices, which will become effective as of 24 September 2018.
|read more
|ESAs report finds automation in financial advice slowly growing but scale of market remains limited
|September 5, 2018--The three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs)-EBA, EIOPA and ESMA-today published the results of their monitoring exercise on automation in financial advice.
|read more
|UK official holdings of international reserves: August 2018
|September 5, 2018--This release details movements in the international reserves of gold and assets held by the UK government.
|read more
|SIX gains another high-profile ETF provider
|September 5, 2018--As of today, 5 smart beta ETF issued by Fidelity International trade on the Swiss stock exchange for the first time.
The new listings by Fidelity International take the number of ETF providers available via SIX to a new high of 25, and the number of ETFs to a record of 1'394.
|read more
|Connections Beyond Trade Crucial for Economic Growth in Europe and Central Asia
|September 5, 2018--International connectivity through trade, investment, migration, communications, and transport is critical to economic development in Europe and Central Asia. These connections work together to help firms become more productive through knowledge and technology transfers, says a new World Bank report, Critical Connections: Promoting Economic Growth and Resilience in Europe and Central Asia.
|read more
|iSTOXX Europe ESG Climate Awareness Select 50 Index licensed to Morgan Stanley
|September 4, 2018--STOXX Ltd., the operator of Deutsche Börse Group's index business and a global provider of innovative and tradable index concepts, has licensed the iSTOXX Europe ESG Climate Awareness Select 50 Index to Morgan Stanley for the issuance of structured products.
|read more
|Deutsche Bank Is Said to Be Removed From Euro Stoxx 50 Index
|September 4, 2018--Years of losses and strategic drift have cost Deutsche Bank AG a seat among Europe's elite companies.
|read more
|Boerse Stuttgart records August turnover in excess of EUR 5.8 billion
|September 3, 2018--Equities, securitised derivatives and ETPs units all show increase in trading volume compared with July figures
Based on the order book statistics, Boerse Stuttgart generated turnover of more than EUR 5.8 billion in August 2018.
|read more
|Cash markets achieve turnover of EUR130 billion in August
|September 3, 2018--Trading volume 11.8 percent higher year-on-year
Deutsche Börse cash markets achieved a turnover of €130 billion in August (2017: €116.2 billion). This corresponds to a year-on-year increase of 11.8 percent.
|read more
|The Spanish Exchange traded 32.6euro billion in August
|September 3, 2018--MONTHLY TRADING STATEMENTS FOR BME MARKETS
The Spanish Exchange traded €32.6 billion in Equities in August, in line with volume traded on August 2017. The number of trades in August reached 2.9 million.
|read more
|Eurex strengthens asset class focus
|August 31, 2018--In an update to its organisational set-up, Eurex, one of the world's leading derivatives markets and part of Deutsche Börse Group, enhances its asset class focus by combining the sales and product design functions for equity index and for fixed income derivatives, respectively.
|read more
|New ETF Listing on Euronext-SPDR US CONS DIS
|August 29, 2018--Euronext is pleased to announce that SSgA SPDR ETFs Europe II Plc will list 1 new ETF on 31/08/2018:
ETF Trading name: SPDR US CONS DIS
ETF Symbol: SXLY
Venue: Euronext Amsterdam
|read more
|Carbon price hits decade high in boost for cleaner fuels
|August 28, 2018--EU's creation of a reserve to mop up surplus credits has helped drive level higher
|read more
|Monday Morning Memo: European Fund-Flow Trends, July 2018
|August 27, 2018--European investors pulled back further from long-term mutual funds as the market environment and general sentiment stayed negative. As a consequence, July was the third month posting net outflows from long-term mutual funds after 16 consecutive months showing net inflows.
|read more
|New WisdomTree ETF on Xetra tracks CoCo bonds of European financial institutions
|August 24, 2018---Since Friday, a new Exchange Traded Fund of the issuer WisdomTree is tradable on Xetra and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The new bond ETF gives investors the opportunity to participate in the performance of CoCo bonds denominated in euros, US dollars or pounds sterling (conditional mandatory convertible bonds) issued by European financial institutions.
|read more
|Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany releases baseline report-Mobilising the finance sector for climate protection and sustainable investment
|August 24, 2018--On Friday, in Frankfurt, the Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany issued its baseline report presenting an inventory of sustainability activities at the financial centre of Frankfurt/Main.
|read more
|Robo advisers fail to beat market benchmark
|August 24, 2018--Low-cost investment services underperform UK tracking funds
|read more
|ESMA to renew prohibition on binary options for a further three months
|August 24, 2018--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has agreed to renew the prohibition of the marketing, distribution or sale of binary options to retail clients, in effect since 2 July, from 2 October 2018 for a further three-month period.
|read more
|Account of the monetary policy meeting of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank
|August 23, 2018--Held in Frankfurt am Main on Wednesday and Thursday, 25-26 July 2018
1. Review of financial, economic and monetary developments and policy options
Financial market developments
Mr C&?oelig;ur&?eacute; reviewed the latest financial market developments since the Governing Council's previous monetary policy meeting on 13-14 June 2018.
The slope of the US Treasury and German government bond yield curves, measured as the difference between the ten-year and two-year yields, had continued their flattening trend of recent months.
|read more
|Banking, insurance and other financial services if there's no Brexit deal
|August 23, 2018--Our approach to ensuring a functioning financial services regulatory framework if the UK leaves the EU with no deal.
|read more


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Discussion in 'General MMA discussion' started by imhungry4444, May 14, 2013.
What the hell makes Diego think he deserves any of those fights?
Cuz he annihilated Gomi
He's 5-1 as a LW over the past few years with his only loss to BJ? Not many other guys can make that claim.
He's 3-3 in his last 6 (going back to December 2009) and should be 0-3 in his last 3 if judges were not f----ups.
That 5-1 run you refer to starts in 2008, 5 years ago.
Those other fights are at WW.
They still happened. They don't get completely discredited because he weighed 15 lbs heavier. I'd say they're more relevant than fights from 5 years ago.
Of course they happened, but 7-3 since 2009 still aint bad. How's Nate Diaz's record in that time?
Doesn't deserve any of those fights imo
That's probably why he's calling them out (Chael does it all the time)
Records don't really matter, it's level of competition.
Do you always post stats to favour your argument?
Throw stats out the window then, Diego Sanchez fought for a title at LW a few years ago and somehow he doesn't deserve Nate Diaz coming off two losses??!?!? Gimme a break.
Well you could mention loads of occasions where that's happened. Stats can be twisted to favour. My point is there are far too many variables to consider in mma than to just quote off stats. How close were the fights/dodgy judges/finishing opponents etc etc
What exactly are you basing Diego Sanchez doesn't deserve to fight Nate Diaz on then? Nate Diaz got two beatdowns in a row, beatdown by Rory MacDonald, ...Diego has never been beaten down in his career except for BJ Penn.
Diego has the same record as Diaz and Thomson in their last 5, so how are they beyond him? Diego's a tough challenge for anyone and it looks like a lot of people want the Sanchez/Diaz fight.
That would definitely be a fun fight, both coming off wins, so there's no argument that it wouldn't make sense
Still like a Diaz/Diego matchup also
haha..what fight is that? Kampmann?
Sure is.
Say what you want, but that is a face of a Warrior!
He's trying his best to smile but his face won't let him
Separate names with a comma.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Climate Research
The Northern Hemisphere is heating up more rapidly than the Southern Hemisphere, and that disparity is expected to increase in the coming decades. New research reveals why this gap is likely to widen.
This Week in Climate News
Climate Change Could Lead to More Turbulent FlightsHeavy, Dam-Busting Rainstorms to Increase, Study FindsCharting the Arctic's Future With Logbooks from the Past
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The most extreme precipitation events are increasing in every region of the contiguous U.S. See map for details: http://bit.ly/YlaETb
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NOTE: The graphic below is based on the DRAFT NCA numbers and thus is no longer accurate. For a similar graphic containing the FINAL NCA numbers, click here.
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If you get the feeling that heavy downpours are more intense than they used to be, you're not imagining it. According to the National Climate Assessment, released in draft form back in January, the most extreme precipitation events (those in the 99th percentile of intensity) have increased in every region of the contiguous states since 1950. As the map above shows, the rise in intensity has been greatest in the Northeast and least in the Northwest — and in all cases, climate scientists believe, the reason is simple: in a world warmed by heat-trapping greenhouse gases, there's more evaporation, and the atmosphere can hold on to more water. And when that water vapor condenses as rain or snow, there's more of it.
If you go all the way back to 1901 and focus just on the Northeast, below, the picture is very much the same. It is important to note that while the trend in intensity has been upward, it has not been steady: there are ups and downs from one decade to the next. This shows something else climate scientists often point out: human-caused climate change hasn't replaced natural variability: it comes on top of it.
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Opening statement…"We have another big road test against a Top 10 team. It will be a great environment and a challenge for our defense playing one of the top offenses in college football with the best player in college football at quarterback. Defensively they are very aggressive. They take a lot of chances, so offensively, we are going to have to do a really good job with our pressures and also scoring points."
On keeping Johnny Manziel in the pocket…"I think that is a great challenge and one each week that each defense tries to scheme up. He finds a way to be effective no matter how you play him. He is the best player in college football. He is very good within their system, but he is probably even better once things break down. He is a great backyard player. He makes great decisions and puts a lot of pressure on the defense."
Does he know more about his Auburn team than before its first road game at LSU…"We definitely know more about our team. The fact that we played a very good team on the road -- we learned a lot about our team on that night. I've got to believe that we will handle ourselves better than the first time, which we will definitely need to have a chance."
Any concerns of Nick Marshall being rusty…"He was locked in during practice last week. He practiced Sunday and he looked good. We are past the midway point. If it was early in the season I would be concerned, but I am not too concerned now." Will Marshall start Saturday… "Yes."
On Johnny Manziel's competitive nature…"He is almost like watching a video game sometimes with the stuff he does. The human side, his competitiveness, his toughness – that's what really stands out to me. He is a physically and mentally tough individual. He plays with that edge."
How to prepare for someone like Manziel in practice…"You do the best you can as far as someone trying to simulate him. No one can simulate him exactly like he is. We try to do some things to prepare our defense as good as it can get. Once the first quarter comes, they will understand the speed and everything that goes with it. Hopefully you are able to adjust with it as the game goes on."
Is there pressure on Auburn's offense to keep pace with Texas A&M's offense…"As a coach, you go in strategically each game with a plan, but then you wait to see how the game unfolds. Every game unfolds differently. You have to be able to adjust. Obviously, offensively we will need to score points and we know that. We will see how the game unfolds."
Did he talk to Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze after last week's game…"We talk from time to time about different things. I watched it on TV. It was impressive what that quarterback was able to do."
Has Auburn has addressed Texas A&M's defense simulating snap counts in practice…"Yeah, just like every week, whatever they do we are going to try to prepare our guys the best we can and see how things turn out."
Does Manziel make it more important to capitalize on turnovers…"Any time you are playing a great player like him, strategically that changes some things, and we are definitely aware of that. We are playing a great offense and a great player, so we are going to have to adjust offensively and defensively and really even on special teams."
How much does Malzahn get involved in the defensive game plan…"I've got a lot of confidence in Coach (Ellis) Johnson. He's one of the best in the business. We've got a great staff. I'm on top of things. I'll know what we are doing, and every now and then throw in something, but they're good at what they are doing, and I've got a lot of trust. You can tell the defense is getting better each week, and we are going to have to be better this week against this bunch."
Does he plan on slowing down Auburn's offense to keep Manziel off the field…"I think you've got to really see how the game unfolds, and each game unfolds differently. Sometimes you may need to try to keep it away from him. Sometimes you may need to go a little faster. Whatever your advantage is what you need to do. But obviously, the more you keep the guy on the sideline, that helps your team, and we understand that. But at the same time, we're pretty good at certain things, so we've got to have that balance. We'll see how the game unfolds."
Any past games where Manziel may have shown a weakness…"We look at everything. You look at everything to try to get a strategic advantage, but you're exactly right. The guy doesn't have any off games. He's special. If you're a casual fan, he's fun to watch."
How did Jeremy Johnson grade out against Western Carolina…"Jeremy did a good job. For the first time ever being on a college field in front of a lot of people, we thought he did a really good job. Obviously, we had the one turnover, but he's the type -- he's a very intelligent player -- I think he'll have a chance to improve."
How does Johnson fit in the game plan for this week…"We don't want to give all of our secrets away, but he will be used from game to game, and we'll try to have either different packages or any way to help us be successful."
Will Jonathan Jones play again this season…"We're hoping. That's still a little bit up in the air, but we're hoping that he will be back on the field quick. He's an outstanding player, and I think when he gets out there, you can really see that."
On Reese Dismukes' performance…"Reese has gotten stronger. I think that's the thing that stands out to me. He's really got into the weight room; and he's stronger than even last year. I think that has really helped him."
Is there an update on Patrick Miller and Brandon Fulse…"Nothing has changed as of right now, but we'll see how that goes."
On Greg Robinson's play…"Greg's an extremely strong young man, and the more experience he gets, you can see he gets comfortable in our blocking schemes. He's a very good pass protector, too. We have a lot of confidence in Greg. "
The challenges of the Texas A&M offense…"They've got outstanding receivers, and of course they have the Evans kid. I think he's one of the top guys in college football. Their running backs are good as anybody in college football. Their line's good. There's not an area that really stands out that you'd say is a weakness. Matter of fact, most of them are strengths. Then when you throw that quarterback in that scrambles around and makes plays, when things break down, that creates huge challenges."
On Nick Marshall's reps in practice Sunday…"He looked pretty good. We didn't go crazy with a 12-period practice but he looked pretty good. So hopefully another day of rest, he'll be looking good today."
On Texas A&M's defense..."Any time their offense is scoring a lot of points, sometimes the game goes longer. So statistically, I think some of that's deceiving. Also, they've played without some of their main guys I believe earlier in the year. They've gotten better and are starting to settle in to who they are, and I thought they did a solid job defending Ole Miss. They bring a lot of pressure. They do a lot of different things. We're going to have to handle that; and score some points. "
On Texas A&M's quick success in the SEC…"They were a good program before they got in the league. Then you throw that quarterback in, and certain players have the ability to make people even better than they really are. That's not anything to take away from their other players. They've got some great players, but he really makes them good."
On Texas A&M's offense beyond Manziel…"Kevin Sumlin is a great offensive mind. I coached against him when I was at Tulsa, and he was at Houston. They were putting up similar numbers. He's one of the best in the business, and he's got a quarterback and some offensive guys that can really do what he needs them to do. They've got it going."
On using games like this to determine who has a better offense…"You know all I am worried about is winning. I am not into seeing who has the best offense; it is about who has the best team, and just trying to strategically find the best chance we have to win, and doing that. That is really all I am focusing on."
What would a win would mean to the program after last season…"To be honest with you the only thing we have talked about, and the only thing on our mind, is this year. It is a huge game for us this year, and it is a completely different deal than it was last year. It is a big one. Our guys are going to be extremely excited to play this one, and it is a huge challenge for us. It is kind of one of those measuring sticks, another measuring stick for our program and where we are at this year."
Did playing at LSU at night help prepare for the atmosphere at Kyle Field…"Hopefully it has prepared us. Obviously LSU is a very tough place to play at night. I have heard nothing but great things about this environment. We will do everything we can at practice to simulate crowd noise, but there is nothing like the real thing when everything is going on. I would like to think because of the experience we had at LSU it helped us for this one."
Comparing Cam Newton and Johnny Manziel…"I would say those two you just mentioned are probably two of the best to ever play the game in college football. We only got a chance to see Cam Newton for one year, but this guy is in the same element. They are different, but they are still some of the best to ever play."
On a player like Manziel from an offensive coordinator's perspective…"When you have a special player you can call anything and it usually works. They can get you out of bad plays and they can make stuff right that is not right. The special ones can do that."
On moving on to the next play if a mistake is made…"I think that is critical. He is going to get his, there is no doubt; we just have to hang in there and keep battling. The good thing is we do have some depth on defense and that will be very critical in a game like this. You have to put the play behind you and you have to move forward. For the most part, I feel like our defense has done that this year."
On Justin Garrett's status… "Same thing, week to week."
On Montravius Adams and C.J. Uzomah…"I believe they will practice today."
INFORMATION SOURCE: Auburn Athletics Dept.


text:
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text:
I'm reading through Caesar and wasn't sure how to interpret this:
[The Celts live beside the Germans]...
quibuscum gerunt bellum continenter.
(..with whom they wage war continuously.)
Should "wage war with" be taken to mean against, or does it mean "wage war in union with the Germans, (ie together against other tribes)? I presume the former, but the latter could be implied by the English translation.


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Of Freethinkers
freethinkers know that it is only ironically they are called strong-minded? What greater proof of their weakness of mind can they give than their uncertainty about the very principles of their existence, life, senses, knowledge, and what will be their end? What can be more discouraging to a man than to doubt if his soul be material, like a stone or a reptile, and subject to corruption like the vilest creatures? And does it not prove much more strength of mind and grandeur to be able to conceive the idea of a Being superior to all other beings, by whom and for whom all things were made; of a Being absolutely perfect and pure, without beginning or end, of whom our soul is the image, and of whom, if I may say so, it is a part, because it is spiritual and immortal?
(2.) The docile and the weak are susceptible of receiving impressions; the first receive good ones, for they are convinced and faithful, whilst the second receive bad ones, as they are stubborn and corrupted. A docile mind admits thus true religion, and a feeble mind either admits none or a false one. Now a freethinker either has no religion at all, or creates one for himself; therefore a strong-minded freethinker is in reality feeble-minded.
(3.) I call those men worldly, earthly, or coarse, whose hearts and minds are wholly fixed on this earth, that small part of the universe they are placed in; who value and love nothing beyond it; whose minds are as cramped as that narrow spot of ground they call their estate, of which the extent is measured, the acres are numbered, and the limits well known. I am not astonished that men who lean, as it were, on an atom, should stumble at the smallest efforts they make for discovering the truth; that, being so short-sighted, they do not reach beyond the heavens and the stars, to contemplate God Himself; that, not being able to perceive the excellency of what is spiritual, or the dignity of the soul, they should be still less sensible of the difficulty of satisfying it; how very inferior the entire world is in comparison to it; how necessary is to it an all-perfect Being, which is God; and how absolutely it needs a religion to find out that God, and to be assured of His reality. I can easily understand that incredulity or indifference are but natural to such men, that they make use of God and religion only as a piece of policy, as far as they may be conducive to the order and decorum of this world, the only thing in their opinion worth thinking of.
(4.) Some men give the finishing-stroke to the spoiling of their judgment by their long travels, and thus lose the little religion which remained to them. They meet daily new forms of worship, different manners and morals, and various ceremonies; they are not unlike those people who wander from shop to shop, and have not quite made up their mind what they are going to buy; the variety puzzles them, and as each thing pleases their fancy more or less, they are unable to come to a decision, and leave without buying anything.
(5.) There are some men who delay becoming religious and pious till the time everybody openly avows himself irreligious and a freethinker, for, as this has then become vulgar, they will be distinguished from the crowd. In so serious and important a matter singularity pleases them; only in trifling things, of no consequence, they follow the fashion and do what others do; for all I know, they may consider it somewhat courageous and daring to run the risk of what may happen to them in the next world. Moreover, when men are of a certain rank, possess a certain freedom of thought, and have certain views, they should not dream of believing what learned men and the common people believe.
(6.) A man in health questions whether there is a God, and he also doubts whether it be a sin to have intercourse with a woman, who is at liberty to refuse; but when he falls ill, or when his mistress is with child, she is discarded, and he believes in God.
(7.) People should examine themselves thoroughly before openly declaring themselves freethinkers, so that, according to their own principles, they at least may die as they have lived; or if they find they are not strong-minded enough to proceed so far, to resolve to live as they would wish to die.
(8.) Jesting in a dying man is out of place; and if it is on certain subjects, it is dreadful. To please our survivors with a jest at the expense of our own eternal happiness, is a very miserable business.
Whatever a man may think about a future state, dying is a very serious affair, and firmness is then more becoming than jesting.
(9.) In all ages there have been people with a certain amount of cleverness, and well read, who, servilely following men of high rank, embraced their loose principles, and all their lifetime groaned under their yoke, against their own knowledge and conscience. Some men only live for other men, and seem to consider themselves created for this purpose; they are ashamed to be seen bestowing a thought on their own salvation, and to appear outwardly such as they are perhaps in their hearts, and thus they ruin themselves out of deference or complacency. Are there then on this earth men of such high rank and so very powerful as to deserve that we should shape our beliefs and our lives according to their taste and fancy; nay, that we should carry our submission so far as at our death to leave this world not in the safest way for ourselves, but in the way most pleasing to them?
(10.) Men who run counter to all the world, and act against principles universally received, should know more than other men, be clear in their reasons and convincing in their arguments.
(11.) A sober-minded, cool-headed, chaste, and honourable man, who affirms there is no God, at least is dispassionate, but such a man is not to be found.
(12.) I admit I should very much like to see a man really persuaded there was no God; for then I should at least hear on what unanswerable arguments his unbelief is founded.
(13.) The impossibility I find myself under of proving there is no God, is to me a convincing argument for His existence.
(14.) God condemns and punishes those who offend Him, and He is the only judge in His own cause, which would shock all our ideas if He Himself were not Justice and Truththat is, if He were not God.
(15.) I feel there is a God, and I do not feel there is none; this is sufficient for me, and all other arguments seem to me superfluous; I therefore conclude that He exists, and this conclusion is inherent to my nature. I acquired these principles readily in my childhood, and have kept them since too naturally in my riper years ever to suspect them of falsehood.But there are some men who get rid of these principles.I question whether there are any, but if there be, it only proves that monsters exist in this world.
(16.) There is no such thing as an atheist; the great men who are more or less suspected of being inclined that way, are too lazy to fatigue their minds with discussions whether there is a God or no; their indolence renders them careless and indifferent about such an important matter as well as about the nature of their own souls and the consequences of true religion; they neither deny nor grant any of these things; they never think of them.
(17.) All our health, all our strength, and our entire intellect are not more than sufficient in thinking of mankind or of our smallest interest; yet propriety and custom seem to require of us only to think of God when we are so situated that we have barely so much reason left as to enable us to say we are not totally without any.
(18.) A great man falls in a swoon, as it was thought, but is discovered to be dead, another great man wastes away gradually, and daily loses something of himself before he expires; such lessons are dreadful, but useless. These circumstances, though so remarkable and so different from each other, are not noticed, affect nobody, and are no more heeded than the fall of a leaf, or the fading of a flower; people only want their posts vacant through their deaths, or they inquire if they have been filled up, and who are their successors.
(19.) Is there so much goodness, fidelity, and justice among men, that we should place unlimited confidence in them, and not, at least, wish for a God to exist to whom we might appeal from their injustice, and who might protect us against their persecutions and treacheries.
(20.) If freethinkers are dazzled and confounded by the grandeur and sublimity of religion, they are no longer freethinkers, but shallow geniuses and little minds; if, on the contrary, they are repelled by its humbleness and simplicity, we must allow them to be real freethinkers, far stronger-minded than so many great men, enlightened and highly cultivated, who nevertheless were confirmed believers, such as the Leos, the Basils, the Jeromes, the Augustines.
(21.) Certain people who have never read the fathers or doctors of the Church are frightened at their very names, and declare their writings dull, dry, pious, cold, and perhaps pedantic. But how astonished would all these people be who have formed such an untrue idea of the Fathers, if they found in their writings a better style, more delicacy, polish, and intelligence, a greater warmth of expression and strength of reasoning, sharper traits and more natural charms than are to be met with in most of the modern books read by connoisseurs, which increase the reputation and conceit of their authors. What a satisfaction to love religion and to see men of great talent and solid learning believe in it, assert its truth, and explain it! And whether you consider extent of knowledge, depth and penetration, the principles of pure philosophy, their application and development, the correctness of the conclusions arrived at, nobleness of expression, beauty of morals and sentiments, no profane author can be compared to Saint Augustine, except Plato and Cicero.
(22.) Man who is born a liar cannot relish the plainness and simplicity of truth; he is altogether hankering after appearance and ornament. He has not made truth, for it comes from Heaven ready-made, as it were, in all its perfection, and man loves nothing but his own productions, Fable and Fiction. Observe the common people; they will invent a tale, add to it, and exaggerate it through coarseness or folly; ask even the most honest man if he always speaks the truth, if he does not sometimes discover that, either through vanity or levity, he has disguised the truth; and if to embellish a story he does not often add some circumstance to set it off? An accident happened to-day, and almost, as it were, under our eyes; a hundred people have seen it, and all relate it in as many different ways; and yet another person may come, and if you will only listen to him, he shall tell it in a way in which it has not yet been told. How then can I believe facts which are so old and took place several centuries ago? What reliance can I place on the gravest historians, and what becomes of history itself. Was Cæsar ever murdered in the midst of the senate? and has there ever been such a person as Cæsar? Why do you draw such an inference? youll say; why express such doubts and ask such questions? You laugh, you do not think my question worthy of an answer, and I imagine you are quite right. But suppose the book which gives us an account of Cæsar was not a profane history, written by men who are liars, and had not been discovered by chance among certain manuscripts, some true, and others suspicious; but that, on the contrary, it had been inspired, and bore all the evidence of being holy and divine; that for nearly two thousand years it had been kept by a large society of men, who all this while would not allow the least alteration to be made in it, and held it as part of their creed to preserve it in all its purity; that these men, by their own principles, were indispensably compelled to believe religiously all the transactions related in this volume, whenever mention was made of Cæsar and his dictatorship; own it, Lucilius, would you then question whether there ever was such a man as Cæsar?
(23.) All kinds of music are not suited to praise God and to be heard in the sanctuary; all methods of philosophy are not fit for discoursing worthily of God, His power, the principles of His operations, and His mysteries. The more abstracted and ideal this philosophy is, the more vain and useless is it in explaining these things, which merely require common sense to be understood up to a certain point, and which cannot be explained farther. To pretend to give an account of the very essence of God, of His perfections, and, if I dare say so, of His actions, is indeed going beyond the ancient philosophers, beyond the apostles themselves, and the first teachers of the Gospel, but it is not arguing so much to the point as they did; for people may dig for a long time, and deeply, without discovering the sources of truth. If once people set aside such words as goodness, mercy, justice, and omnipotence, which are apt to form in their minds such lovely and majestic ideas of the divinity, let them afterwards strain their imagination as much as possible, they will find nothing but dry, barren, and senseless expressions; they must admit wild and empty thoughts, contrary to all ordinary ideas, or, at least, subtle and ingenious thoughts, by which their religion will be weakened according as they improve in the knowledge of these new metaphysics.
(24.) What excesses will a man not commit through his zeal for a religion, of the truth of which he is not entirely convinced, and which he practises so badly?
(25.) That same religion which men will defend so zealously and with so much warmth against those of a different persuasion, they themselves corrupt, by joining to it their own peculiar ideas; they add or take from it numberless things, which are often very material, according as it best suits their convenience, and remain steadfastly and firmly attached to the form they have given it themselves. So that, though it may be commonly said of a nation that it has but one manner of worship and one religion, it truly and really has many religions, for almost every individual has one of his own.
(26.) Two sorts of men flourish in courts and reign there by turns, freethinkers and hypocrites; the first gaily, openly, without art or disguise, the second cunningly and by intrigue. These latter are a hundred times more enamoured of fortune than the first, and are excessively jealous of it; they wish to sway it, to be the sole possessors of it, share it among themselves, and exclude everybody else. Dignities, posts, offices, benefices, pensions, honours, everything belongs to them and to none but them; the rest of mankind are unworthy of these things, and they wonder how others, who are not their creatures, can be so impudent as to expect them. A company of persons in masks enter a ball-room; when it is their turn they dance, they dance with each other, dance again and continue to dance, but only among themselves and with no other person, however worthy of their regard; people grow annoyed and tired with looking on whilst these masked persons dance because they are not dancing themselves; some among them murmur, but the wisest make up their mind and go home.
(27.) There are two sorts of freethinkers; those who are really so, or at least believe themselves so, and the hypocrites or pretended pious people, who are unwilling to be thought freethinkers; the latter are the best.
A man who pretends to be pious either does not believe there is a God, or makes a jest of Him; let us say of him politely, that he does not believe there is a God.
(28.) If every religion stands in respectful fear of God, what shall we think of those persons who dare affront Him in His representative on earth, the Prince?
(29.) Were we assured that the secret intention of the ambassadors who came lately from Siam was to persuade the most Christian king to renounce Christianity, and admit their Talapoins into his kingdom to creep into our houses to convert to their religion our wives, our children, and ourselves, by their books as well as by their conversations, to allow them to erect pagodas in the midst of our towns to worship their brazen images, with what derision, what strange scorn, should we hear such an absurd story told? And yet we sail six thousand leagues to bring over to Christianity the Indies, the kingdoms of Siam, China, and Japan, and seriously to make to all these nations certain proposals, which, in their eyes, must appear as foolish and ridiculous. Yet they tolerate our friars and priests, and sometimes listen to them, allow them to build churches, and perform all their missionary duties. From whence proceeds such a behaviour, so different in them and us? May it not be caused by the force of truth?
(30.) It is not proper for all men to profess to give alms and to have the common beggars of the parish daily crowding at their doors, and not allow one to go home empty-handed. Who is not aware that there is a more concealed wretchedness, which may be relieved, either immediately and out of a mans own pocket, or at least by the intercession of others? In the same manner all persons are not qualified for the pulpit, nor fit to expound the Word of God in public, either as missionaries, or teachers; but what man does not, some time or other, meet a freethinker, whom he might attempt to reclaim and bring back to the fold by gentle and insinuating converse about the submission due to the teachings of the church? Should a man make but one convert in the whole course of his life, he cannot be said to have lived in vain, or to have been a useless burden on this earth.
(31.) There are two worlds: one we dwell in but a short time, and which we must leave never to return; another, to which we must shortly go, there to abide for ever. Interest, authority, friends, a great reputation, and riches are most useful in the first; an indifference to all these things is most useful for the next. It is a mere question of choice.
(32.) A man who lives a day lives an age; always the same sun, the same earth, the same world, the same sensations; to-day will precisely be like to-morrow; we ought to feel some curiosity to die, for then we are no longer a body, but only a spirit. However, man, though so impatiently hunting after novelties, is not anxious to die; restless and tired of everything, he is not tired of life, and would, perhaps, be satisfied to live for ever. What he sees of death makes a deeper impression on him than what he knows of it; sickness, pain, and the grave, make him dislike the knowledge of another world; and the strongest religious motives are needed to convert him.
(33.) If Providence had left it to our choice to die or to live for ever, we should carefully consider how dismal it is for a man to see no end to his poverty, servitude, annoyance, or sickness; or, at best to enjoy riches, grandeur, pleasures, and health, only in time to behold them invariably change to their opposite conditions; and thus to be tossed to and fro between happiness and misery, and, therefore, we should be greatly perplexed; but Nature has settled it for us, and saves us the trouble of making a choice, as it has imposed on us the necessity of dying, which is, moreover, alleviated by religion.
(34.) If my religion be false, it is a snare which I must own is as well laid as can be imagined, so that it is impossible not to run into it and be caught. What dignity! what splendour in its mysteries! what a sequence and connection in all the several parts of its doctrine! how superb are its reasonings! how pure and innocent is its morality! how irresistible and overwhelming is the testimony of so many millions of the wisest and most thoughtful men then in existence, who during three centuries came one after another, and whom a feeling of the same truth so constantly supported in exiles, dungeons, torture, and even in death itself. Take any history, open it, and commence with the beginning of the world, with its creation; was there ever anything like it? Could the whole power of God Himself contrive anything better to deceive me? How can I avoid it? Whither should I run, or throw myself? I do not say to find anything better, but anything to be compared to it? If I must perish, it is in this way I will perish! I should feel more inclined to deny the existence of a God than to connect Him with such a plausible and complete deceit. But I have examined it thoroughly, and yet feel I cannot be an atheist; I am, therefore, forced back and irresistibly drawn to my religion, and this is my final resolution.
(35.) Religion is either true or false; if a fiction, a religious man, a Carthusian friar or a hermit, only lose three-score years, but run no other risk. But if based on truth itself, then a vicious man must feel most wretched; and I tremble at the very thought of the evils he prepares for himself; my mind cannot conceive them, and words fail me to express my feelings. Even if the truth of religion could be proved with less certainty than it can, man could not do better than be virtuous.
(36.) Those persons who dare deny the existence of a Supreme Being hardly deserve that a man should try and prove it to them; or, at least, that he should argue more seriously with them than I have done hitherto; they are so ignorant that they are unable to understand the clearest principles, and the truest and most natural inferences; yet I am willing to offer for their perusal the following lines, provided they do not imagine that it is all that can be said upon a subject of which the truth is so obvious.
Forty years ago I did not exist, neither was it in my power ever to exist, any more than it is in my power to cease from existing, though I exist at present. My existence, therefore, had its beginning, and is now continued through the influence of something which exists without me, will subsist after me, and is better and more powerful than I am. Now, if that something is not God, I should like to know what it is.
I exist; but perhaps this existence of mine proceeds from the power of a universal nature, which has been ever the same, such as we behold it, from all eternity. But this nature is either only spiritual, and then it is God, or it is material, and, consequently, could not create that part of my being which is spiritual; or else it is composed of spirit and matter; and then, that part of nature which people say is spirit, is what I call God.
Again, perhaps you will add that what I call my spiritual being is nothing but a part of matter, subsisting through the force of a universal nature, which also is matter, which always was and ever will be such as we see it now, and which is not God. But, at least, you must grant that what I call my spiritual being, let it be what it will, is something which thinks, and that if it is matter, it is cogitative matter; for no one will persuade me that, whilst I am thus arguing, there is not something within me which thinks. Now if this something owes its being and its preservation to a universal nature which always was and ever will be, and which it acknowledges as its primary cause, it necessarily follows that this universal nature either thinks, or is more noble and perfect than that which thinks; and if such a nature is matter, then we must come to the conclusion that it is a universal thinking matter, or one which is nobler and more perfect than that which does think.
I proceed further, and say, that such a supposed matter, if it be not chimerical but real, may be perceived by some of our senses, and that, if it cannot be discovered in itself, it may be known, at least, in the multiple arrangement of its different parts, through which all bodies are constituted, or differ. Therefore matter is itself all these different bodies; now since, according to our supposition, matter is a being which thinks, or is better than that which thinks, it follows that it is such in some of these bodies at least, and, consequently, that it thinks in stones, in minerals, in the earth, in the sea, in myself, who am but a body, as well as in all its other component parts; I am then beholden for this something, which thinks within me, and which I call my spiritual being, to all these gross, earthly, and corporeal parts, which all together make up this universal matter, or this visible world, which is an absurdity.
If, on the contrary, this universal nature, let it be what it will, is not all these bodies, nor any of these bodies, it follows that it is not matter, and cannot be perceived by any of our senses; and if, notwithstanding this, it possesses the faculty of thinking, or is more perfect than that which does think, I still conclude it is spiritual, or something better and more perfect than spiritual. Now if that which thinks within me, and which I call my spiritual being, not finding its principle within itself, and much less in matter, as has been just now demonstrated, is forced to acknowledge this universal nature to be the first cause, the only origin of its existence, then I will not dispute about words; but this first cause, the origin of all spiritual beings, which is itself spiritual, or better than spiritual, is what I call God.
In a word, I think, therefore, there is a God, for that which thinks within me is not derived from myself, since it was no more in my power to bestow it on myself at first as it is now to keep it for one single moment. I did not receive it from a material being superior to me, since it is impossible for matter to be superior to that which thinks; I must, therefore, have received it from a being superior to me, and consequently not material; and that superior being is God.
(37.) From the inconsistency of a cogitative universal nature with anything that is material, must necessarily be inferred, that any particular thinking being cannot admit within itself anything material; for though a universal thinking being does in its idea include infinitely more grandeur, power, independence, and capacity than a particular thinking being, yet it does not imply a greater inconsistency with matter, it being impossible for this inconsistency to be greater in the one case than in the other, because it is, as it were, infinite in both; and it is as impossible for the thinking principle within me to be matter, as it is to conceive that God should be matter; as God, therefore, is a spirit, so my soul is also a spirit.
(38.) I am not aware whether a dog has the faculties of selection, memory, love, fear, imagination, and thought. When, therefore, I am told that those actions in a dog are not the effect of either passion or sentiment, but proceed naturally and necessarily from a mechanical disposition caused by the multiple organization of the material parts of his body, I may, perhaps, acquiesce in this doctrine. But as for me, I think, and certainly know that I think. Now, if we consider any organisation of material parts, namely, any space with all its dimensions, length, breadth, and depth, and which can be divided in all these directions, what proportion is there between such a space and cogitation?
(39.) If all things are matter, and if thought within me, as well as in other men, be no more than an effect of the arrangement of matter, how came any other idea, but that of material things into this world? Is matter able to produce so pure, so simple, so immaterial an idea as we have of spirit? How can matter be the origin of that which rejects and excludes such an idea from its very being? How can it be the cogitative principle in man, that is, that principle which convinces man he is not merely matter?
(40.) There are beings of short duration, because they are made up of things varying much in their nature, and destructive to one another; there are others more lasting, because they are simpler, but they perish at last, being made up of several parts, into which they are divisible. That which thinks within me must naturally be permanent, as it is a pure being, free from all mixture and composition; there is no reason why it should perish; for what can corrupt or divide a simple being, in which are no parts?
(41.) The soul sees colour through the organ of the eye, and hears sounds through the organ of the ear; but it may cease either from seeing or hearing when those senses or those objects are absent, and yet not cease from existing, because it is not exactly the soul that sees or hears; it is only that which thinks. Now, how can it cease from being such? Not for want of organs, since it has been proved it is not matter; nor for want of objects, whilst there is a God and eternal truths; it is therefore incorruptible.
(42.) I cannot conceive the annihilation of a soul which God has filled with the idea of His infinite and all-perfect being.
(43.) Observe, Lucilius, this spot of ground, which for neatness and ornament exceeds all other neighbouring estates; here are plots with the finest lakes and fountains, and endless hedge-rows of trees which shelter you against the north winds; on this side is a thick grove where the sun cannot penetrate; on the other side you have a beautiful view; a little lower, the Yvette or the Lignon, which were running modestly between willows and poplars, have now become a canal quite bricked in; elsewhere long and cool avenues lead to the country, and foreshadow what the mansion will be, which is surrounded by water. Will you say, This is an effect of chance, and suppose that all these admirable things met together accidentally? No, certainly; on the contrary, you observe that everything is well planned and arranged, and displays good taste and much intelligence. I agree with you, and take the liberty to add that I suppose it to be the residence of one of those men, who from the very minute they get into office, send for a Le Nôtre to draw plans and take measurements. Yet what is this piece of ground so exquisitely laid out, on which a most skilful artist has employed all his science in order to embellish it, if the whole earth is but an atom suspended in the air, and if you will but listen to what I am going to say?
You are placed, Lucilius, on some part of this atom; you must needs be very little, since you take up so little room on it; yet you have eyes, like two imperceptible points; open them, however, and look up to the heavens; what do you sometimes perceive there? Is it the moon in its full? It is beautiful and very radiant at the time, though all its light be but the reflection of the light of the sun; it appears as large as the sun itself, larger than the other planets, than any of the stars, but do not be deceived by outward appearances. Nothing in the heavens is so small as the moon; its superficies exceeds not the thirteenth part, and its volume not the eight and fortieth part of the earth, whilst its diameter, which is two thousand two hundred and fifty miles, is but a fourth of the diameter of the earth. What makes it really appear so great is its proximity only; for its distance from us is no more than thirty times the diameter of the earth, or three hundred thousand miles. Its motion is small in comparison to the prodigious long career of the sun through the spacious firmament; for it is certain the moon does not move at the rate of above sixteen hundred and twenty thousand miles a day, which is not above sixty-seven thousand five hundred miles per hour, or one thousand one hundred and twenty-five in a minute. And yet, to complete this course it must move five thousand six hundred times faster than a race-horse running twelve miles an hour; it must be eighty times swifter than soundthan the report, for example, of a gun or of thunder, which moves at the rate of eight hundred and thirty-one miles an hour.
But if you will oppose the moon to the sun with respect to its size, its distance, and its course, you will find there is no comparison to be made between them. Remember that the diameter of the earth is nine thousand miles, that of the sun a hundred times more, which gives nine hundred thousand miles; now, if this be its width in every direction, judge what its superficies and volume must be. Can you comprehend the vastness of this extent, and that a million of such globes as the earth, all together, would not exceed the sun in size? You will ask, then, how far is the sun from the earth, if one can judge of it by its apparent small size? You are quite right, the distance can hardly be conceived; for it is proved that the suns distance from the earth can be no less than ten thousand times the diameter of the earth, or, in other words, than ninety millions of miles; it may be four times, perhaps six times, perhaps ten times as much, for ought we know; there is no method discovered to determine this distance.
Now, to assist you in understanding this, let us suppose a millstone falling from the sun upon the earth; let it come down with all swiftness imaginable, and even swifter than the heaviest bodies descend, falling from a very great height; let us also suppose that it always preserves the same swiftness, without increase or diminution; that it advances thirty yards every second, which is half the height of the highest steeple, and consequently, eighteen hundred yards in a minute; but to facilitate our computation, let us allow it two thousand six hundred and forty yards a minute, which is a mile and a half; its fall will then be three miles in two minutes, ninety miles in an hour, and two thousand one hundred and sixty miles in a day; now, it must fall ninety millions of miles before it comes down to the earth; so that it cannot be less than forty-one thousand six hundred and sixty-six days, which is more than one hundred and fourteen years before it can perform this journey. Let all this not frighten you, Lucilius; I will tell you more. The distance of Saturn from the earth is at least ten times as great as the suns is; that is, no less than nine hundred millions of miles, and the stone would be above eleven hundred and forty years in falling down from Saturn to the earth.1
Now, by this altitude of Saturn, exert your imagination, if you can, and conceive the immensity of its daily course; the circle which Saturn describes is above eighteen hundred millions of miles diameter, and consequently above fifty-four hundred millions of miles in circumference; so that a race-horse, if supposed to run thirty miles an hour, must be twenty thousand five hundred and forty-eight years in going this round.
Lucilius, I have not said all that can be said on the miracles of this visible world; or, to use the expression you sometimes use, on the wonders of chance, which alone you affirm to be the primary cause of all things, and which is still more wonderful in its operations than you imagine. Learn what chance is, and allow yourself to become acquainted with all the power of your God. Do you know that the distance of the sun from the earth, which is ninety millions of miles, and that of Saturn, which is nine hundred millions of miles, if compared to that of the other stars, is so inconsiderable, that comparison is an improper term when mentioning such distances; for, indeed, what proportion is there between anything that can be measured, whatever its extent may be, and that which is beyond all mensuration? The height of a star cannot be known; it is, if I may say so, immensurable; all angles, sines, and paralaxes are of no use for this problem. Should a man observe a fixed star at Paris, and another in Japan, the two lines which would reach from their eyes to that star, would make no angle at all, but be confounded together, and converge into one and the same line, so inconsiderable is the space of the whole earth in comparison to that distance; but the stars have this in common with Saturn and the sun; therefore I shall say something more. If two astronomers should stand, the one on the earth and the other on the sun, and from thence should observe a star at the same time, the two visual rays of these two astronomers would not form a sensible angle; but in order that you may conceive the same thing another way, imagine a man to be placed on one of these stars, and then this sun, this earth, and the ninety millions of miles that are between them would seem to him but as a dot. This has been proved.
Nor is the distance known between any two stars, however close they appear to one another. You would think, if you judge by mere ocular demonstration, that the Pleiades almost touch one another. There is a star which seems to rest on one of the stars forming the tail of the Great Bear; you can hardly, with the mere eye, discern that part of the heavens which divides them; they make together, as it were, but one double star; yet, if the most skilful astronomers cannot, with all their art, find out the distance between these stars, how far asunder must two stars be which appear remote from each other, and how much farther yet the two polar stars. How prodigiously long must be that line which reaches from one to another! How immense the circle of which this line is the diameter! And how can we fathom what cannot be fathomed, and represent to ourselves the volume of the globe, of which this circle is but a section? Shall we still wonder that these stars, of such immensurable size, seem no larger to us than so many sparks? Shall we not rather admire that from such a height the least appearance of them should reach our eye, and that they can be discerned at all? And, indeed, the quantity of stars which escape our vision is countless. It is true, we limit the number of the stars, but that is only of stars visible to us, for how should we number those we cannot see; those, for example, which constitute the Milky Way,that luminous tract, which, on a clear night, can be observed in the sky from north to south,and which, by their immensurable height, cannot be distinguished individually by our optics, and at most produce but a white mark in that part of the heavens where they are placed?
Behold, then, the earth on which we tread, suspended like a grain of sand in the air; an almost infinite number of fiery globes, the vastness of whose bulk confounds my imagination, and whose height exceeds the reach of my conceptions, all perpetually revolving round this grain of sand, have been for above six thousand years, and are still, daily crossing the wide, the immense space of the heavens. Do you desire another system no less amazing? The earth itself is carried round the sun, which is the centre of the universe, with inconceivable velocity. Methinks I see the motion of all these globes, the orderly march of these prodigious bodies; no disorder, no deflection, no collision, ever happens; should but the smallest of them happen to deviate and meet the earth, what would become of this earth? But, on the contrary, all keep their respective positions, remain in the order prescribed for them; and this, with respect to us, is performed so silently, that no ones hearing is acute enough to hear them move, and that ordinary people know not that there are such bodies. How wonderfully are the works of chance! Could intelligence itself have surpassed this? Only one thing, Lucilius, troubles me. These vast bodies are all so constant and exact in their various courses and revolutions, and in their relations to each other, that a little animal, confined to a corner of that wide space which is called the world, from his observations on them, has contrived an exact and infallible method of foretelling in what degree of their respective courses every one of these stars will be two thousand, four thousand, nay, twenty thousand years hence. This is my scruple, Lucilius. If these stars by chance follow such invariable rules, what is order, what are rules?
Nay, I will ask you what is chance? Is it a body? Is it a spirit? Is it a being distinguished from all other beings, having a peculiar existence or dwelling in any place; or, rather, is it not a mode or fashion of being? When a ball rolls against a stone, we are apt to say it is a chance; but is it anything more than an accidental hitting of these bodies one against another? If, by this chance, or this knock, the ball changes its straight course into an oblique one; if its motion from direct becomes reflected; if it ceases to roll on its axis, but winds and whirls about like a top, shall I from thence infer that motion in general proceeds in this ball from this same chance? Shall I not rather apprehend that the ball owes it to itself, or to the impulse of the arm which delivered it? Or, because the circular motions of the wheels of a clock are determined one by the other, in their degrees of swiftness, shall I be less anxious to find out what may be the cause of these several motions; whether it lies in the wheels themselves, or is derived from the moving force of a weight which sets them in motion? But neither these wheels nor this ball could produce this motion in themselves, nor do they owe it to their own nature, if they can be deprived of it, without changing this very nature; it is, therefore, likely they are moved extraneously and by some power not inherent to them. And as for the celestial bodies, if they should be deprived of their motion, would their nature then be altered, and would they cease being bodies? I cannot believe they would. Yet they move, and as they move not of themselves, nor by their own nature, it behoves us, Lucilius, to examine whether there is not some principle, not inherent to them, which causes this motion. Whatever you may find it, I call it God.
If we should suppose these great bodies to be without motion, we should not then ask who moves them, but still the question would be pertinent as to who made these bodies, as I may ask who made these wheels or that ball? And though each of these bodies were supposed to be but a mass of atoms, fortuitously knit together through the shape and conformation of their parts, I should take one of these atoms, and ask: Who created this atom: is it matter; is it spirit; and has it any idea of itself? If so, then it existed a minute before it did exist; it was, and it was not at the same time; and if it be the author of its own being, and of its manner of being, why did it make itself a body rather than a spirit? Moreover, has this atom had a beginning, or is it eternal, infinite, and will you make a God of this atom?
(44.) A mite has eyes; it turns aside if it meets objects that can hurt it; place it on a flat piece of ebony, so that people may see it better, and if, while it is walking, but the smallest piece of straw is put in its way, it will alter its course immediately. Do you think its crystalline fluid, its retina, and its optic nerve are the products of chance?
Let pepper lie in water a little time, and be well steeped in it; then view a single drop of it with a microscope, and an almost countless number of animalculæ will be perceived, moving about with incredible agility, like so many monsters in the vast ocean; each of these animalculæ is a thousand times smaller than a mite, and yet it is a living body, receiving nourishment, growing, having muscles, and even vessels performing the functions of veins, nerves, and arteries, and a brain for the distribution of its animal spirits.
A speck of mould, though no bigger than a grain of sand, appears through a microscope like a collection of many distinct plants, of which some are plainly seen to bear flowers and other fruits; some have buds only, partly opened, and others are withered. How extremely small must be the roots and fibres through which these little plants receive their nourishment! And if a person considers that these little plants bear their own seed as well as oaks or pines, or that the animalculæ I was speaking of are multiplied by generation as well as elephants or whales, whither will not such observations lead? Who can have made things so fine and so exceedingly small as to be imperceptible to the naked eye, and which, like the heavens, border upon the infinite, though in the other extreme? Is it not the same Being who has created, and moves with so much facility, the heavens and the stars, those vast bodies so terrible in their dimensions, their altitude, celerity, and revolutions?
(45.) Man enjoys the sun, the stars, the heavens and their influences, as much as he does the air he breathes, and the earth on which he treads and by which he is supported. This is a matter of fact; and if every fact were to be illustrated by fitness and verisimilitude, they could be deduced from them, as the heavens and all they contain are not to be compared for grandeur and dignity to one of the meanest men on earth, there being the same proportion between them and him as there is between matter destitute of sensation, a mere space having three dimensions, and a spiritual, reasonable, and intelligent being. If people argue that less would have served for the preservation of man, I reply that it is not too much to display the power, the goodness, and the magnificence of God, as He could do infinitely more than He has done, whatever we perceive He has done.
If the whole world were made for man, it is literally the smallest thing God has done for man, and this may be proved by religion. Man is therefore neither presumptuous nor vain, when he submits to the evidences of truth, and owns the advantages he has received; he might be accused of blindness and stupidity, did he refuse to yield to the multitude of proofs which religion lays before him, to show him the privileges he enjoys, his resources, his expectations, and to teach him what he is and what he may be.But the moon is inhabited, at least we do not know but it may be.Why do you mention the moon, Lucilius, and for what purpose? If you own there is a God, nothing, indeed, is impossible. But do you mean to ask whether in the entire universe it is on us alone that God has bestowed such great blessings; whether there are not other men or other creatures in the moon, who have received such favours? What a vain curiosity and what a frivolous question, Lucilius! The earth is inhabited, we dwell there and we know we do; we have proofs, demonstrations, and convictions for everything we believe of God and of ourselves; let the nations who inhabit the celestial globes, whatever those nations may be, attend to their concerns; they have their troubles, and we have ours. You have observed the moon, Lucilius; you have seen its spots, depth, inequalities, altitude, extent, course, and its eclipses; and no astronomer has yet done more; now contrive some new instruments; observe it again, and see whether it is inhabited, and by what species of inhabitants, whether they are like men, or are really men. When you have done this, let me look, that we both may be convinced that there are men who inhabit the moon; and then, Lucilius, we will consider whether these men are Christians or no; and whether God has bestowed on them the same favours He has granted us.
(46.) Everything is great and wonderful in nature; there is nothing which does not bear the stamp of the artist; the irregular and imperfect things we sometimes observe imply regularity and perfection. Vain and presumptuous man: make a worm which you trample under foot and despise; you are afraid of a toad; make a toad, if you can. What an excellent artist is He who makes those things which men not only admire but fear! I do not require you to go into your studio to create a man of sense, a well-shaped man, a handsome woman, for such an undertaking would be too hard and too difficult for you; only attempt to create a hunchback, a madman, a monster, and I will be satisfied.
Ye kings, monarchs, potentates, anointed majesties, have I given you all your pompous titles? Ye great men of this earth, high and mighty, and perhaps shortly almighty lords, we ordinary men, for the ripening of our harvests, stand in need of a little rain, or what is less, of a little dew; make some dew, or send down upon the surface of the earth one drop of water.
The order, the picturesqueness, and the effects of nature are commonly known, but its causes and principles are not so. Ask a woman what is the cause the eye sees as soon as it is opened, and ask a learned man the same question.
(47.) Many millions of years, nay, many thousand millions of years, in a word, as many as can be comprehended within the limits of time, are but an instant compared to the duration of God, who is eternal; the extent of the whole universe is but a point, an atom, compared to His immensity. If this be so, as I affirm it is, for what proportion can there be between the finite and infinite, I ask what is the length of mans life, or what the extent of that speck of dust which is called the earth, nay, of the small part of that earth man owns and inhabits?The wicked prosper whilst they live.Yes, some of them, I admit. Virtue is oppressed and vice remains unpunished on this earth.This happens sometimes, I acknowledge it.This is unjust.No, not at all. You should have proved, to warrant this inference, that the wicked are absolutely happy, that virtue is absolutely miserable, and that vice always remains unpunished; that the short time in which the good are oppressed and the wicked prosper is of some duration, and that what we call prosperity and good fortune is something more than a false appearance, a fleeting shadow; and that this atom, the earth, in which virtue and vice so seldom meet with their deserts, is the only spot of the worlds stage where people receive rewards and punishments.
I cannot more clearly infer that because I am thinking I am a spirit, than conclude from what I do or do not, according as I please, that I am free. Now freedom implies the power of choosing, or, in other words, a voluntary determination for good or evil, so that virtue or vice consists in the doing a good or a bad action. If vice were to remain absolutely unpunished, it would be a real injustice, but for vice to remain unpunished on earth is merely a mystery. However, let us suppose, with the atheist, that it is an injustice; all injustice is a negation or privation of justice, and therefore every injustice presupposes justice. All justice is in conformity to a sovereign reason, and thus I ask, when was it against reason for crime to remain unpunished? At the time, I suppose, when a triangle had not three angles. Now, all conformity to reason is truth; this conformity, as I said just now, always subsisted, and is of the number of those truths we call eternal. But this truth either is not and cannot be, or else it is the object of an intelligence; this intelligence is therefore eternal, and is God.
The most secret crimes are discovered so simply and easily, notwithstanding the great care which the guilty take to prevent their being brought to light, that it seems God alone could have detected them. These discoveries are so frequent, that those who are pleased to attribute them to chance, must acknowledge, at least, that in all ages, chance seems to have been very regular in its operations.
(48.) If you suppose every man on earth, without exception, to be rich and to want nothing, I infer that every man on earth is extremely poor, and in want of everything. There are but two sorts of riches which comprehend all the rest, money and land; if all people were rich, who would cultivate land or toil in mines? Those who live away from any mines could not toil in them, and those who dwell on barren lands, where only minerals are found, could hardly gather any fruits from them. Trade is the expedient people would have recourse to, I suppose. But if riches should be abundant, and no man under the necessity of living by labour, who will transport your ingots, or anything that is bought and sold, from one place to another? Who will fit out your ships and sail them? Who would travel in caravans? Everything that is necessary and useful would then be wanting. If necessity no longer existed on this earth, we would need no longer arts, sciences, inventions, handicrafts. Besides, such an equality of riches and possessions would establish the same equality in all ranks and conditions of men; would banish all subordination, and reduce men to be their own servants and to receive no help nor succour from one another; it would make the laws idle and useless, bring in a universal anarchy, and produce violence, outrages, murders, and impunity.
If, on the other hand, you suppose all men to be poor and indigent, then the sun in vain rises on the horizon; in vain it warms and fructifies the earth; in vain the heavens shed their benign influence on it; in vain rivers water it with their streams; in vain the fields abound with fruits; in vain seas, rocks, and mountains are ransacked and rifled of their treasures. If you grant that, of all men who are scattered throughout the world, some have to be rich and others poor, then necessity must naturally unite and bind them together and reconcile them; some will have to serve and obey, invent, labour, cultivate the earth, and make improvements; others enjoy life, live well, assist, protect, and govern the masses. Order is restored, and Providence appears.
(49.) Suppose authority, pleasure, and idleness to be the share of some men, and subjection, care, and misery the lot of the rest, then either the malignity of men must have thrown things into this disorder, or else God is not God.
A certain inequality in the condition of men is conducive to the order and welfare of the whole, is the work of God, or presupposes a divine law; but too great a disproportion, and such as is generally seen amongst men, is their own work, or caused by the law of the strongest.
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The annual Stories of the Stitch quilt show and fiber arts showcase, originally scheduled for Sept. 8, has been rescheduled to Sept. 15.
All times and events will remain the same, said Laura Romanowski of the Arts Council of the Twin Counties. The only change is that Bill and Maggie Anderson will not be able to perform.
Writer Michael Abraham talks about "Providence, VA," the story of a massive power outage that strikes the Galax area and forces people into self-reliance.
FRIES — The Fries Volunteer Fire Department, organizers of the 46th Annual Fries Fiddlers Convention, have released the winners of the event, held earlier this month at the town's ball field.
Tony Hicks won the Jesse Lovell Memorial Trophy for best youth guitar.
Victor Furtado won the Houston Caldwell Memorial Trophy for best all-around youth performer.
Tommy Nichols won the Henry Whitter Memorial Trophy for best all-around performer.
Youth Competition Winners
(beginning with first place)
Winners of the 77th Annual Galax Old Fiddlers' Convention, held August 6-11, 2012:
For more than 47 years, 81-year-old bluegrass legend Roger Sprung has graced Galax and the Old Fiddlers' Convention with his presence.
The banjo master travels from Newtown, Conn., making a stop at the Clifftop Festival in West Virginia before stopping in Galax each year.
Sitting at his own spot behind the convention stage, suspended letters above his tent announce "SPRUNG IS HERE."
A cardboard sign written in black marker indicates a schedule of jam sessions at his campsite.
Old video footage, music recordings and photos are helping to keep alive the memory and musical influence of the late Greg Hooven, a Galax native and beloved fiddle player.
Karin Marro Magno became friends with him in 1989 and joined his band, Greg Hooven and The Galax Way. She has begun a not-for-profit project in an effort to remember and pass on Hooven's influence to upcoming old-time musicians.
To those who attend the Old Fiddlers' Convention, Galax isn't a place, it's a state of mind.
When they say, "Do you remember that jam in the handicapped Porta-John at Galax?" they don't mean the city, they mean the event.
(They not only once had a full band in the Porta-John, they also had dancers.)
Registration for the Galax Old Fiddlers' Convention has decreased for the second time in five years, and the second year in a row.
Contestants dropped from 1,909 last year to 1,833 for the contest that begins today, Monday. Last year, registration dropped from 2,004 contestants in 2010, the event's 75th anniversary.
The registration figures were released by the Galax Moose Lodge #733, organizers of the 77-year-old event.
Copyright © 2018
The Galax Gazette is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Galax, Grayson, Carroll, and surrounding areas.


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At the Dreamforce conference this week, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff (pictured) announced a slew of social networking applications for business to thousands of attendees. "The social revolution is going on right now, and it is unlike anything we've experienced before," Benioff said. "Business is social. Social networking is the fastest growing segment of the industry."
Salesforce is in the midst of an exciting time as it transitions enterprise apps to cloud-based social networking programs such as Chatter.
But, a recent survey of more than 300 managers and employees from companies in the U.S. and U.K, conducted by the research firm iTracks for cloud provider and Salesforce partner Appirio, shows enterprise adoption of social networking is slow, even though workers say they are ready for it.
Continue on to see just what workers are thinking about social networking for business.


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Or as we see, to aspire some mountain's top
The way ascends not straight, but imitates
The subtle foldings of a winter's snake.
Webster, The White Devil, I. ii.
To draw no envy (Shakespeare) on thy name,
Am I thus ample to thy Booke, and Fame.
Che fa di marmo chi da presso 'l guarda,
dissolve frigus ligna super foco
large reponens atque benignius
deprome quadrimum Sabina,
o Thaliarche, merum diota.
Horace Od. i. 9.
The sunbeams are my shafts, with which I kill
Deceit, that loves the night and fears the day;
All men who do or even imagine ill
Fly me, and from the glory of my ray
Good minds and open actions take new might,
Until diminished by the reign of Night.
Inque sui nitido conclusa voluminis orbe;
Oppositum mundo claudit ubique latus.
For his Religion it was fit
To match his Learning and his Wit:
'Twas Presbyterian true blew, &c.


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More than 90 participants from, toddlers to teens, parents, nurses and members of St. Joseph's Children's Hospital of Tampa Child Life staff took part in their fourth annual prom on Friday, April 25. It was held in the Medical Arts Building Auditorium, 3001 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Tampa.
It was everything a traditional prom has to offer, except for the fact that some of the patients may never get to experience one. The celebration began before the prom, when boys and girls alike were getting the final touches on their hair and makeup and adding the perfect accessories to complement their outfits. Patients who didn't have a gown or tuxedo could go to the dressing room and select his/her special outfit for the evening.
Sponsors included Macy's, Alessi Catering, PDQ, Irene and Rafael Salas and SJH Food Services. There was also a Candy Bar experience provided by DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tampa Airport, Westshore.


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Things you can do at work
For individuals
Switch off equipment when you're not using it
Computers, printers and photocopiers all carry on using energy when they are left on standby. Turn them off each evening and at weekends – and remind your colleagues to do the same.
Print as few documents as possible
Think before you print! If you have to print something off, make sure you use both sides of the paper.
Use your own cup
Bring your own mug for tea or coffee instead of having it in a polystyrene cup.
Turn off the lights
Adjust curtains and blinds to let in as much natural light as possible, and make sure to switch the lights off in rooms that are not being used.
Use the stairs instead of the lift
It's healthier, and will save energy.
Turn off fans
If you use fans to cool the offices down, make sure you switch them off when leaving, whether it is for the night, lunch or for a meeting.
Turn off Dripping Taps
Make sure you turn off taps fully: it takes a lot of energy to produce clean water, and even more when you heat it.
Think about travel
Why not save time by video or teleconferencing instead of travelling to a meeting. If you arrange your own work transport, can you use public transport, and work or catch up on reading while you travel? If not, can you share a car?
Suggest Improvements
The people who do the work know how to do it better. If you can see how you could do things more efficiently, let your employer know.
For Businesses
Get your employees on side
Getting your staff to understand how they can help make your business more efficient can have a major impact. Promote the tips for individuals to your workforce, and tell them what you're doing too.
Join a Campaign
Business in the Community's Mayday Network brings together organisations who are working together to reduce their footprint and become more sustainable for the future. Visit their website and search for mayday.
Visit: Business in the Community (external link)
Reuse envelopes
Invest in some address labels to allow your staff to reuse envelopes.
Recycle your printer cartridges
Most printer manufacturers run schemes for recycling or refilling toner cartridges.
Don't turn up the heating unless you really need to
Unless it's just too cold for comfort, try to keep your thermostat at 19°C. Your heating costs will go up by 8% each time you increase the temperature by just one degree
Leave plenty of space around radiators
Putting furniture in front of a radiator means it will need to work harder to heat the room.
Don't heat unused space
Storerooms or corridors don't need to be kept as warm as areas in which people spend long periods of time. And if people are doing a lot of physical work in a particular area, the heating can be turned down. You can also turn off or reduce the heating over the weekend, providing no one is in the building.
Keep doors and windows closed in cold weather
Don't let draughts in. If employees are too hot, try turning the heat down first. In warmer weather, when the heating is off anyway, you can let more air in.
Keep the thermostat away from draughts or hot and cold spots
These will all affect the thermostat and automatically increase your heating costs.
Don't put hot equipment, like photocopiers, near cooling vents
The cooling system will need to work harder to cool an area that is constantly being heated.
Maintain your equipment properly
If you don't regularly check your heating equipment, you could be adding as much as 10% to your heating bill without knowing it.
Turn off Dripping Taps
Make sure you fix any drips to ensure efficient use of water
Ensure you deal with waste efficiently
There are many available schemes around which can help you in ways such as partnering with other businesses or by selling your waste to be used as raw materials
Install water saving 'hippos'
By installing water saving 'hippos' in toilets, you could save around 3 litres of water each time you flush. A typical cost saving will be £3 per employee per year – a £3000 saving if you have 1000 employees.
Replace your lightbulbs
By installing energy saving lightbulbs throughout your workplace you could cut your lighting costs by as much as 15%, and they last much longer than conventional bulbs.
Ask Suppliers about 'take-back' schemes
You may be able to get all or some of your money back from a supplier who offers a take-back scheme for any unused products you've ordered.
Save up to a month's fuel costs over one year
Through smarter driving techniques such as reducing loads and good maintenance you could reduce your carbon footprint and save money whilst on the road. The Energy Saving Trust has Green Fleet advice for certain businesses.
Publicise the facts if your business is green
More than a third of customers would favour recyclable products or those with minimal packaging.