Part IV. REVIVAL OF PHILOSOPHY
Chap. IV. Pantheism. Malebranche
2. With this position is closely connected that of the French priest, Nikolas Malebranche (1638-1715), whose chief work is De la Recherche de la Verité. This devout Catholic, whose meditative spirit was fostered in the cloister, though an ardent disciple of Descartes, was only restrained by the traditions of the Church from carrying the principles of his master to their utmost consequences. According to Malebranche, God is the mirror in which we behold the outer world. The ideas of things are derived neither from the soul nor from the things themselves. The spirit apprehends the world through a third being,—God,—who contains all thoughts and all things in Himself. The idea of the infinite is prior to the idea of the finite. God does not derive His being from His creatures, but all His creatures are imperfect manifestations of Him.
God is indeed the only cause of all that happens, the source of all being, both physical and spiritual. But in Himself He must be conceived as neither physical nor spiritual. He alone moves our bodies and is the inspiration of our minds. It is really the thought of the good which moves our will. God is the highest and only true good, and, therefore, even when seeking material and temporal benefit, man is really seeking God.
While the first part of Malebranche’s work is metaphysical, dealing with the origin of our knowledge, the greater part is experimental and devotional, and as such is full of many beautiful and suggestive sentiments touching the soul’s attitude to God. «God is the home of Spirits.» «The true will of man is love to God.» «The light which God has implanted in us impels us to seek Him who is its source.» «The object of the union of our spirit with the Word of God, and of our will with His love, is to create in us His own image and mould our souls to His likeness.» «The love of God consists in directing our affections to the idea of God. He who knows himself and clearly perceives his affections, loves God. There is nothing true but God. All truths, which are eternal and unchangeable and stand above the fleeting things of time, exist in the mind of God; therefore, to know the truth is to see God.» There is, in short, no other knowledge but the knowledge of God, and only as we know ourselves and the world in God, do we know them truly. Unless we saw God we should not be able to see anything else.
Thus, though Malebranche started with the principle of Cartesianism, the path he entered could lead only, if followed further, to pantheism. This final step was taken by one who brought to its legitimate conclusion the line of thought which Descartes started—Spinoza—who sought to restore to its original unity that which had been sundered in thought.
It would seem to be something more than a coincidence that a Jew should develop the philosophy of idealism to its ultimate issue. Absolute unity and abstract monotheism are ideas peculiarly characteristic of the oriental mind, and it was not unnatural that one who was specially fitted by nationality, disposition, and education, should be the agent to introduce into Europe the idea of an absolute unity in which the differences of the finite and infinite are merged.
