"One will rightly
object that such [an] absolutization of the means [of inducing euphoria] is not
new in history, and that hedonism is
not unique to our epoque: from Epicurus
to Ronsard one has always noted hedonistic tendencies and whiffs [(relents)] of
[the] absolutization of pleasure. The
fact is undeniable. But what is new is
the amplitude of a [(du)] movement well on its way to becoming a cultural characteristic [(fait)].
"This is because, between [the period of] Greek thought and our own, Christianity hollowed out new
desires, and because, when its cultural influence subsides, it leaves
the [human] heart more empty than ever. 'This world, such as it is, is not tolerable. Therefore I need the moon, or happiness, or
immortality, I need something which is perhaps demented, but which is not of
this world,' Albert Camus' Caligula [(as trans. Justin O'Brien)] tragically exclaims. Christianity has, in effect, inviscerated the human heart [with] an unimaginable [or unprecedented] desire for [(impulsion au)] bliss, to the point that it inverted the Greek and
naturalistic ideal. For Aristotle, man is in fact the artisan of his [own] destiny:
he will find his happiness in an activity that he engages in by himself
and for himself: only the life of
contemplation [(étude)] accomplishes it, [a] life reserved, moreover, for an
elite. The [Christian] theologians will correct
[him]: the beatitude of the other life,
made for us, is a gift of God: only there, where there will be no more tears or misery, will man find his true happiness and his perfect liberty. Here man will never be able to avoid the
invasion of misery; here happiness, though a participation in beatitude [(fût-il une participation à la béatitude)], is
imperfect. Christianity 'breaks the aristocratism
in which the Greeks had taken pride; . . . the good old Christian woman knows
more about God than all [of] the philosophers put together.' 'Thus are found [to be] reconciled the Aristotelian
affirmation of a happiness in this life and the Christian affirmation of the
misery of this earthly life: the
happiness of this life, as treated by Aristotle, is not a vain dream. This happiness exists, but it is an imperfect
happiness which does not do away with misery and which leaves the heart of man
unsatisfied' [(René-Antoine Gauthier, “Trois commentaires ‘averroïstes’ sur l’Ethique
à Nicomaque,” Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge 22/23
(1947/1948): 187-336, here 253, 268).
"Christianity has promised an unheard-of happiness, though [(un bonheur si inouï, que)] our cultural
tradition has come to take it for granted.
But, disappearing, Christianity has opened up a breach which has been
transformed into a yawing chasm [(béance)].
And] this is why the [euphoric] compensations must be [(se feront) so much] more 'intense
[(vives)]'. In giving it this impetus
towards beatitude, Christianity has dug [(labouré, plowed)] the human heart out so profoundly
that, when the social influence of
Christianity subsides, we seek in particular goods something that can satisfy
the [(un)] desire for infinity that it has elicited. Th[is] inflammation [(irritation)] of the
heart has (thanks also to our immense progress in techno-scientific mastery) left
contemporary man more dissatisfied than ever:
a new and [much] more powerful impetus has been imparted to it, but the answer has, in the end, eluded it [(la réponse a fini par lui échapper)]. The
desire for happiness, because it is the desire for the vision of God seen
face-to-face, has hollowed the human heart out to an infinite degree,
and caused it to hope [for something] beyond all human expectation."
"the history of the classic proofs of the existence of God viewed in relation to the development of science. . . . shows that all attacks on those proofs when unfolded in their full implication became attacks on the epistemology and world view which proved themselves to be essential ingredients in truly creative science."
