-Caveat Lector-
>From http://www2.gol.com/users/quakers/voltaire_and_the_quakers.htm
Voltaire and the Quakers
Voltaire's "Lettres Philosophiques," published in 1734, contains four letters about the
Quakers. I have translated the extract below from the French. It gives a wonderful
picture
of the religion of the time.
At the time the letters were written, Voltaire that already had two spells of
imprisonment in
the Bastille for his advocacy of toleration and enlightenment. The extract from the
first
letter (below) was published in Quaker Monthly in January 1988. It deals with the
Quaker
attitude to baptism.
Joe Latham
Glasgow Meeting, Scotland
I believed that the doctrine and the history of such extra-ordinary people were worthy
of
curiosity. To find out about them, I visited one the most eminent Quakers in England
(Andrew Pitt) who had been in commerce for thirty years, but had decided to limit his
wealth and wants, and had retired to the countryside close to London. I went to seek
him
out in his retreat which was a small house, well-built and clean and without ornaments.
The Quaker was a fresh-faced old man who had never been ill, because he had never
known passions or intemperance. I have never seen in my life a nobler or more engaging
countenance than his. He was dressed, like all those of his religion, in a plain coat
without
pleats in the sides or buttons on either the pockets or the sleeves. He was wearing a
large
hat, with turned down brim, like our clergy.
He received me with his hat on his head, and came towards me without the slightest
inclination of his body, but there was more politeness in the open, humane expression
on
his face than in the custom of drawing one leg behind the other, and carrying the head-
covering in one's hand.
"Friend," he said to me, "I see thou art a stranger. If I can be of any help to thee,
thou hast
only to speak."
"Sir," I said, bending forwards and sliding one foot towards him according to our
custom, "I
flatter myself that my just curiosity will not displease you and that you will give me
the
honour of telling me the details of your religion."
"The people of thy country," he replied, "make too many bows and compliments. But I
have
not yet seen any who have the same curiosity as thee. Come in, and let us dine together
first."
I made still more unwanted compliments, because one cannot get rid of bad habits
suddenly. After a healthy and frugal meal, which started and ended with a prayer to
God, I
set about questioning my host. I started with the question that good Catholics have put
more than once to the Huguenots:
"My dear Sir," I said to him, "are you baptized?"
"No," replied the Quaker, "and neither are my brethren."
"My God!" I replied, "then your are not Christians."
"My son," he replied in a gentle voice, "do not swear. We are Christians and try to be
good
Christians, but we do not think that Christianity consists of sprinkling cold water on
the
head."
"Good Heavens!" I replied, shocked at this impiety, "have you then forgotten that Jesus
Christ was baptized by John?"
"Friend, no more swearing," said the benign Quaker. "Christ received baptism from John,
but he never baptized anybody. We are not disciples of John but of Christ."
"Alas," I said, "you would surely be burned in countries of the Inquisition, you poor
man.
For the love of God, how I wish I could baptize you and make you a Christian."
"Were that all," he replied gravely, "we would willingly submit to baptism to comply
with thy
weakness. We do not condemn anyone for using the ceremony of baptism. But we believe
that those who profess so holy and so spiritual a religion as that of Christ must
abstain, as
much as they can, from Jewish ceremonies."
"What! Baptism a Jewish ceremony!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, my son," he continued "and so Jewish that several Jews today still use the
baptism of
John. Consult antiquity. It will teach thee that John only revived this practice,
which was in
use a long time earlier amongst the Hebrews, in the same way as the pilgrimage to Mecca
by Muslims is copied from the Ismaelites.
"Jesus was willing to receive the baptism of John, in the same way that he submitted to
circumcision. But circumcision and the washing with water must both be superseded by
the
baptism of Christ, this baptism of the Spirit, this washing of the soul, which is the
salvation
of mankind. Thus the fore- runner, John, said:
'I baptize you to the truth with water, but another will come after me, mightier than
me,
whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with fire and the Holy
Ghost.'
"Likewise, the great apostle to the gentiles, Paul, wrote in Corinthians: 'Christ has
not sent
me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel.'
"Indeed, this same Paul only baptized two people with water, and this was in spite of
his
inclination. He circumcised his disciple, Timothy. The other apostles also circumcised
all
who wanted it. Art thou circumcised?" he added. I replied that I did not have that
honour.
"Ah well," he said, "Friend thou are a Christian without being circumcised, and I am a
Christian without being baptized."
The following statement about Friends' attitude toward war is also from Andrew Pitt's
conversation with Voltaire:
"We never go to war. This is not because we fear death. On the contrary, we bless the
moment that unites us with the Being of Beings. It is because we are neither wolves,
tigers
nor mastiffs, but Christian men.
"Our God, who has commanded us to love our enemies and to suffer without complaining,
would not permit us to cross the seas to slaughter our brothers, just because murderers
clothed in scarlet, wearing caps two feet high, enlist citizens by making a noise with
two
little sticks beating on a stretched ass's skin.
"When after a victory, all London is lit up with illuminations, and the sky is ablaze
with
fireworks, and the noise of thanksgiving is heard from bells, organs and cannons, then
we
groan in silence about the murders which caused the public rejoicing."
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