The Testament (Vol. 3)
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Summary
Editor's review
The value of this book lies in the fact that it is not abstract philosophical argument but is rooted in deep sympathy for the suffering of peasants and in sharp exposure of the collusion between church and nobility. In plain and fervent language, Meslier constructs a subversive worldview: from the materiality of the universe to the materialism of the soul, from criticism of religion to a vision of social revolution. Reading The Testament (III), readers can glimpse the undercurrents of Enlightenment-era clandestine thought and also feel a moral courage that transcends its time—how a man working within the system, through the final words of his life, completed the most thorough betrayal of that system.
As modern readers, we may be far removed from 18th-century rural France, yet Meslier's insight into the hypocrisy of power and his call for equality and justice still have a stirring power. This book is not only a record of thought but also a mirror reflecting the choices between faith and conscience, obedience and resistance, that every era may face.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in the Enlightenment and the history of French thought
- Scholars concerned with religious criticism and the development of materialist philosophy
- Readers hoping to understand the early strands of socialist thought
- Readers who appreciate texts that carry the critique of an era through personal life experience
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking light reading or story-driven content
- Readers sensitive to religious issues or holding conservative religious beliefs
Reading tips
- Recommended to read in sequence with the first two volumes of The Testament to grasp the complete system of Meslier's thought
- Can be read in comparison with works by contemporary thinkers such as Diderot and d'Holbach
- Attend to the historical context while reading, distinguishing 18th-century criticism from contemporary perspectives
About the publisher
The Commercial Press is a publisher known for classic works and academic publishing, with titles spanning Eastern philosophy, foreign literature, world history, social culture, and applied psychology. Its list includes classical commentaries such as Zhu Xi's Collected Commentaries on the Analects and Wang Bi's Commentary on the Zhouyi, as well as modern annotated translations like Zhuangzi with Modern Notes and Translation. In foreign literature it offers War and Peace and Crime and Punishment, while in world history it carries Braudel's The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. Applied psychology is represented by Irvin D. Yalom's Existential Psychotherapy, and ethical texts include a Greek-Chinese-English edition of the Nicomachean Ethics. Its authors and translators include Zhu Xi, Wang Bi, Yalom, Braudel, and translators such as Huang Zheng, Zhang Yiling, Shen Dongyu, and Tang Jialong, balancing the editing of original texts with academic translation.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 汉译世界学术名著丛书（分科本）出版说明
- 七六 人们有恶德、受灾难并且犯罪：这证明并不存在所谓无限善良的、本来不容许恶事的神〕
- 七七、 〔如果存在要求人们崇敬自己的神，神就应该让人们直接了解自己〕
- 七八、 〔有许多假先知和假神迹〕
- 七九、 〔如果存在全能和全善的上帝，就不会有可怜的、不幸的和不完善的存在物〕
- 八〇、 〔驳笛卡儿主义者关于存在上帝的论据〕
- 八一、〔我们知道时间、空间和数的自然的无限性〕
- 八二、〔在这方面存在着许多无限性。可是绝对的无限性可能只有一个——整个宇宙〕
- 八三、〔笛卡儿主义者把无限存在和实际上并不存在的无限完善的存在物混为一谈，他们错了〕
- 八四、 〔一切物质的物体都是由物质粒子的运动所形成的〕
- 八五、 〔自然形成的自然物和人工创造物的区别〕
- 八六、 〔笛卡儿主义者不得不承认，自然物只是由于自然界的自然规律才能形成〕
- 八七、 〔因此他们应当承认物质依靠自身能够运动〕
- 八八、 〔崇拜上帝的人提出一些论断来证明自然界的创造物中存在缺陷和不完善之处是合理的，但这些论断是虚伪的〕
- 八九、 〔证明宗教虚伪性的第八个论据，这个论据是由灵魂不死和精神这两个观念的虚伪性推断出来的〕
- 九○、 〔崇拜上帝的人为灵魂不死虚构的理由是站不住脚的和不可信的〕
- 九一、〔驳斥这些论点〕
- 九二、 〔古代人士论灵魂不死的意见〕
- 九三、 〔灵魂现象只是物质的变形，但这不是说：灵魂现象自身有体积、有几何形状或其他物质特征。笛卡儿主义者断言动物没有意识
- 九四、 〔摩西和古代的先知们不相信灵魂不死〕
- 九五、 〔普利尼不承认灵魂不死〕
- 九六、 〔祸害的不可避免性也是不承认有所谓能防止发生祸害的上帝的理由〕
- 九七、 〔所引述的一切论据彼此间完全吻合，可见它们是确实的和令人信服的〕
- 九八、〔结论〕
- 九九、〔告读者〕
- 附录
- 让·梅叶和他所著《遗书》的版本源流
- 梅叶和他的《遗书》
- 让·梅叶
- 有关梅叶的文献
FAQ
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About the author
Jean Meslier is a rather unusual figure in the history of French Enlightenment thought. Public information about his life and nationality is limited, and he is generally known through the Testament that circulated after his death. The work was long transmitted secretly in manuscript form and later edited and published; the volume Testament (III) held in this collection is one part of it. Meslier's writing has a distinctly critical character, directed against religious authority and social injustice. His language is plain and direct, his argument earnest, and he often proceeds from everyday experience to question institutions and beliefs. His ideas were not made public during his lifetime, yet later generations repeatedly cited them, making them important material for the study of early radical currents in the Enlightenment. His works are now usually classified under politics, through which readers may glimpse the reflection on and challenge to the traditional order in eighteenth-century French intellectual life.
