Notes by the Translator.
I shall here inclose, in as small a compass as possible, a few notes, which I intended to introduce into the body of the work, but was afraid of interrupting the current of the reader's thoughts.
God.—The St. Simonian definition of God is, "God is all that is;"—that is, universal nature; so that we not only live, move, and have our being in him, but, as the Scriptures say, we are bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. That this is the ultimate doctrine of Christianity is evident from the words of Christ: "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." "God is all and in all." However, the St. Simonians, in a particular manner, give the name of God to the universal mind or power, the chief attribute of which is love or union—the social principle. This active power is the male; nature, or passive matter, is the female; but these two are one and inseparable.
Worship.—Our Protestant idea of worship is "prayer;" according to the St. Simonians, worship is the exercise of the mind and the social feeling. The cultivation of the earth is even a branch of divine worship; but those means which are employed in the public places of assembly, for exciting the feelings, and elevating and ennobling the sentiments, are in an especial manner styled the "culte," or worship. These means are, painting, sculpture, dramatic representations, philosophical experiments, and any other exciting causes which may be thought necessary for instruction or amusement, or for generating universal sympathy. Formal prayer ceases when union begins. Thus, Jesus Christ says, "Now I pray the Father for you; but the time cometh when I shall no more pray the Father for you, for the Father himself loveth you."
Infallibility.—According to the doctrine of Progress, Nature is infallible in her proceedings. Hence human society
