A Brief History of Atheism (Excerpt)

By the year 500 CE, the skeptical philosophy that had emerged in ancient Greece and Rome faced a severe test: Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire—the Roman Catholic Church—and the Church closed the Greek philosophical schools that had promoted rational materialism. From then on, Christianity dominated the thought of the entire Western society while also exerting enormous influence over Western politics. This situation persisted for a thousand years. In such a social environment, there was almost no space for atheism to survive.

时间来到公元500年，在这一年古希腊和古罗马时代出现的怀疑哲学（skeptical philosophy）遇到了极大的考验：基督教成为罗马帝国的国教——罗马天主教会，教会关闭了宣扬理性唯物主义（rational materialist）的希腊哲学学校。由此，基督教统治了整个西方社会的思想，同时，亦对西方政治施加着巨大的影响。这种情况延续了1000年之久。在这样的社会环境下，几乎没有无神论生存的空间。

Although Christianity continuously expanded its sphere of influence, it is still not difficult to find in the West the ruins of churches that were once immensely powerful but are now abandoned. Why is this? In the 21st century, it is difficult to grasp the true meaning of past ideas, especially those related to religion. Because literacy is now nearly universal in modern society, future historians will find it relatively easy to understand the thoughts and beliefs of “ordinary people.” But in the 13th century, the era when these now-collapsed churches were built, the vast majority of the population was illiterate, and their thoughts left no trace in the historical record. To trace the story of atheism, we must understand how religious belief was generated. To do this, we must first understand how illiterate people received religious ideas. They received them through interpreting images. In the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy, the avant-garde European painter Giotto created a series of frescoes in the early 14th century that fully narrated the life of Jesus from birth to death. The rapid expansion of Christianity brought about enormous and irreversible changes in the religious beliefs of Europeans. Although it took some time to digest Christian doctrine and its various rituals, religious codes were quickly translated into the languages of European nations under the auspices and supervision of religious authorities, and “articles of religious faith” were continuously produced. Among these “articles of religious faith,” the most important content was the propagation of monotheism—inherited from the Jews—which claimed that God created the world and granted those he most favored unlimited power to make moral choices. In contrast, ancient paganism consisted only of loosely structured folklore, whose authority and organization could not compare with Christianity. Moreover, the mythological figures of these pagan stories were flat and lacked specific temporal settings. The descriptions in the Christian New Testament, however, stood in sharp contrast: events were vivid and lively, seeming to have occurred in the recent past; figures moved wondrously between the secular and the miraculous, inspiring both intimacy and awe. These characteristics gave the Christian New Testament a very high degree of credibility—who would dare to doubt it? Even today, these paintings, created over 700 years ago, still possess immense artistic power. One can imagine the decisive impact they had on the minds of people living in the 14th century. Judaism and Islam prohibit the use of images; Christianity favored this mode of expression. Consequently, the minds of Christians were more or less filled with vivid scenes from these religious stories. Beyond churches, in some secular buildings—taking the Palace of Justice as an example—wall paintings on various themes also included some religious content, creating the impression that medieval thought was very uniform. But by the mid-15th century, the situation began to change, although the frescoes of that period had not yet reflected this shift. In Padua[1]1 Padua: A city in northern Italy, site of a major university from the 13th century onward, known for its tradition of Aristotelian and scientific studies that sometimes challenged Church orthodoxy., an academic trend of skeptical philosophy was stirring, which orthodox figures labeled atheism. I believe this philosophical trend was influenced by two different sources of thought. One can be called horizontal influence: the steady increase in global trade and exploration revealed that people in different parts of the world held diverse beliefs, and that many had never even heard of Christianity. Jesuit missionaries returning from China in the 17th century accepted the reality that advanced civilizations could exist without Christianity. Soon after, various forms of pagan skepticism and materialism originating from ancient Greece and Rome also began to emerge, flowing like artesian wells, continuously gushing forth the pre-Christian ideas pioneered by Epicurus, Lucretius, and Democritus. This is the vertical influence.

尽管基督教不断地扩大着它的势力范围，但是在西方仍然不难找到曾经权力无限而今废弃不用的教堂遗址。这到底是为什么? 在21世纪，很难理解过去思想的真正含义，特别是与宗教有关的思想。由于在现代社会中，读和写几乎是人人都具有的能力，因此未来的历史学家要了解“普通人”的想法和信仰相对容易得多。但是在13世纪，建造这些现已倒塌的教堂的年度，人群中大多数都是文盲，他们的思想在历史记录当中毫无踪迹可循。要想寻觅到无神论的故事，我们必须理解宗教信仰是如何产生的。为了做到这一点，我们首先应了解文盲是如何接受宗教思想的。文盲是通过看图解义的方式来接受的。在意大利帕多瓦（Padua）的斯克洛维格尼教堂中，欧洲的先锋派画家乔托（Giotto）在14世纪初期创作了一系列壁画，完整地讲述了耶稣从生到死的过程。基督教的快速扩张使得欧洲人的宗教信仰发生了巨大的，不可逆转的变化。虽然消化基督教的教义以及各项仪式花了一些时间，但宗教法典则很快就在宗教权威人士的主持和监督下翻译成欧洲的各国文字，并不断有“宗教信仰的文章”问世。在这些“宗教信仰的文章”中，最重要内容是宣扬一神论的思想——这是从犹太人那里继承下来的，声称上帝创造了世界，并赋予他最赏识的人实施道德选择的无限权力。相比之下，古代异教只有一些结构松散的民间传说，其权威性与组织性根本无法与基督教相提并论。另外，这些异教的神话故事人物干瘪，也没有具体的时间。而基督教新约中的描述则与此形成鲜明的对比：事件生动鲜活，使人感到似乎就发生在不久以前；人物奇妙地游离在世俗与神奇之间，使人感到亲切而又敬畏。这些特点使得基督教新约具有极高的可信度，有谁会对它表示怀疑呢? 即使在今天看来，这些700多年前的画作仍然具有极大的艺术感染力，可以想象它们对生活在14世纪人们的思想所带来的影响是具有决定意义的。犹太教和伊斯兰教禁止使用图像，基督教则偏爱这种表现形式。因此，在基督徒们的脑海里多多少少都萦绕着这些宗教故事活灵活现的场景。除了教堂以外，在一些世俗的建筑中，以司法宫（Palace of Justice）为例，墙上各种主题的壁画中也会有一些与宗教有关，这使人产生了一种印象：中世纪人们的思想是非常单一的。但是到了15世纪中叶情况有所改变，虽然那个时期的壁画还没有反映出这种变化。在帕多瓦① 学术界涌动着一股怀疑论的哲学思潮，正统人士将其称为无神论。我认为这一哲学思潮包含来源不同的两种思想的影响，一种可以称之横向影响：不断增加的全球贸易与探险使人们发现，世界各地的人们具有不同的信仰，居然有很多人对基督教闻所未闻。17世纪从中国回来的耶稣会传教士接受了这样的一个现实：没有基督教的地方也可以有发达的文明。不久之后，源于古希腊，古罗马各种异教怀疑论和唯物主义也开始冒头了，它们就像自流井一样，源源不断地喷涌着伊壁鸠鲁，卢克莱修和德谟克利特所开创的前基督教思想。这就是纵向影响。

Fear created the gods. Everything that happens in nature occurs spontaneously, unrelated to the gods. — Lucretius

恐惧创造了神。自然界发生的一切都是自发进行的，与神无关。——卢克莱修

Rome’s first Christian emperor closed the philosophical schools and expended great effort to convert some pre-pagan philosophers into Christians; only a few works by Aristotle and Plato were preserved. But in the early Middle Ages, the greatest value of these few surviving works was to serve as theoretical pillars for Christian theology. Meanwhile, explicitly materialist philosophers such as Epicurus, Lucretius, and Democritus were denigrated as wicked men who did not believe in God, and their works were rejected. However, Arab scholars in the Middle East, and soon after Arab scholars in Spain, preserved the complete corpus of Aristotle’s works. As early as the 12th century, a large number of scholars, led by Averroes[2]2 Averroes: The Latinized name of Ibn Rushd (1126–1198), an Andalusian Muslim philosopher and commentator on Aristotle whose works influenced medieval European thought. of Toledo[3]3 Toledo: A city in central Spain, captured by Christians in 1085, which became a major center for the translation of Arabic and Greek philosophical and scientific works into Latin., began to recognize that Aristotle’s thought contained elements incompatible with any religion. For example, Aristotle’s ideas about the eternity of the world and the impossibility of an immortal soul were incompatible with both Christianity and Islam. The works of Aristotle, annotated by Averroes, were quickly translated into Latin—the international language of the time—and spread throughout Christian Europe, especially to Padua, where the Scrovegni Chapel and the Palace of Reason stood silently, testifying to Christianity’s influence in that city. Over the following 500 years, these ancient ideas were transmitted and developed by successive generations of thinkers, eventually evolving into modern atheism. When the frescoes in the Palace of Reason were being created, this evolutionary process had already begun. Today, the Palace of Reason has become a museum, exhibiting the artistic and technological achievements of the 1960s. These thoroughly secular exhibits clash so discordantly with the medieval frescoes on the walls that it feels almost like a desecration of piety.

罗马的第一位基督教皇帝关闭了哲学学校，又费了大力气将一些前异教哲学家改造为基督徒，只有为数不多的亚里士多德和柏拉图的著作得以流传下来。但在中世纪的初期，这寥寥几部著作的最大价值竟是用来作为基督教神学的理论支柱。而那些明确的唯物主义哲学家，如伊壁鸠鲁，卢克莱修和德谟克利特之流则被贬损为不相信上帝的坏蛋，他们的作品遭到唾弃。但是中东的阿拉伯学者，和不久以后在西班牙的阿拉伯学者都完整地保存了亚里士多德的整套著作。早在12世纪，以托莱多② 的阿维洛伊③（Averroes）为首的一大批学者就开始认识到，在亚里士多德的思想当中存在着与任何宗教都不相协调的内容。譬如，亚里士多德思想中的世界永恒和不可能存在不死的灵魂等，无论是与基督教还是与穆斯林都格格不入。由阿维洛伊注释的亚里士多德著作很快就被翻译成当时的国际语言——拉丁语，传遍整个基督教欧洲，特别是传到了帕多瓦——斯克罗维尼教堂和大会客厅（Palace of Reason）默默地竖立在那里，证明着基督教在这个城市的影响力。从那以后的500年间，这些古代思想经过历代思想者们的传承与发展，最终演变为现代无神论。在创作大会客厅的壁画时，这一演变过程其实已经开始了。现在大会客厅已成为博物馆，正在展出20世纪60年代艺术和技术成果。这些纯粹世俗化的展品与墙壁上中世纪的壁画是那样的不协调，这简直就是对虔诚的一种亵渎。

Of course, the science and technology that emerged during the Renaissance also steadily eroded the confidence of the Christian world. The common view holds that the most important factor in destroying religious belief was science’s understanding of nature. This view seems quite plausible, but it is not the truth.

当然，在文艺复兴时期出现的科学与技术也在不断侵蚀着基督教世界的信心。通常的观点认为，摧毁宗教信仰最重要的因素是科学对自然的认识。这一观点似乎很有道理，但却并不是事实。

I saw no God in the heavens. — Yuri Gagarin[4]4 Yuri Gagarin: Soviet cosmonaut who became the first human in space in 1961; his reported remark upon returning to Earth is often cited in discussions of atheism and space exploration.

在天上我没有看到神。 ——尤里•加加林④

Christianity adopted Ptolemy’s[5]5 Claudius Ptolemy (c. 100–170 CE), Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, and geographer whose geocentric model of the universe dominated Western cosmology for over a thousand years. description of the universe, holding that the earth was the center of the cosmos and that the sun, moon, stars, and everything else revolved around the earth—this was God’s arrangement. Since people could see the sun rise and set every day, it was easy to think that the sun orbited the earth. Likewise, at night people could see the moon seemingly orbiting the earth. With enough patience, they could also notice the stars moving around the earth. If humanity was the highest form of life at the center of such a universe, it was easy to regard oneself as God’s special subject. But Copernicus, Galileo, and later Kepler[6]6 Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), German astronomer and mathematician who formulated the laws of planetary motion, confirming and refining the heliocentric model. revised the geocentric model; they pointed out that the earth and all the planets orbit the sun, and that the sun itself is merely one among millions of stars. When Copernicus made this idea public in 1543, one can imagine the immense shock it caused in society. Before people had time to digest Copernicus’s new model of the universe, science began to transform humanity’s understanding of its own body. The Belgian anatomist Vesalius[7]7 Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), Flemish anatomist and physician, considered the founder of modern human anatomy. completed his research on human dissection in Padua and published his findings on human structure in the same year. I believe the coincidence in timing is no accident. When I stand in the conical anatomy theater of the University of Padua, looking down, the fine structure of the human body on the dissection table is perfectly clear; looking up, it is like an astronomical telescope observing the heliocentric universe Copernicus described. This feeling is astonishing.

基督教采纳了托勒密⑤ 对宇宙的描述，认为地球是宇宙的中心，太阳，月亮，星星等都围绕着地球旋转，这是上帝的安排。由于人们每天都可以看到太阳升起又落下，因此很容易想到太阳是绕着地球在运行。同样，在夜间人们也可以看到月亮似乎绕着地球在运行。如果有足够的耐心，还可以注意到星星也绕着地球运行。如果人类是这样一个宇宙中心里的最高级生物，他就很容易将自己看作是上帝的特殊子民。但是，哥白尼，伽利略以及他们之后的开普勒⑥ 修正了地心学模型，他们指出地球和所有的行星都围绕着太阳运行，而太阳也不过只是数百万颗恒星之中的一颗而已。当哥白尼于1543年将这一思想公布于众时，可以想象在社会上所引起的震动会有多么巨大。这边人们还没有时间仔细思考哥白尼提出的新宇宙模型，那边科学又开始转变人类对自己身体的认识了。比利时解剖学家维萨里⑦ 在帕多瓦完成了解剖人体的研究工作，并于同年发表了人体结构的研究结果。我认为二者发生的时间如此一致绝非巧合。当我站在帕多瓦大学锥形的解剖学教室中，向下俯视，解剖床上人体的精细结构一目了然；向上仰望，则像一架天文望远镜，观测着哥白尼所描述的日心说宇宙。这种感觉令人震惊。

Although Christian leaders had some doubts about these two research findings, there is no evidence that they were worried about them. Since the human body is God’s masterpiece, the structure revealed by anatomy only further confirmed that it could only have come from God’s hand. Otherwise, how could it be so exquisite? As for the structure of the universe, it too was evidence of God’s creation. Even if these scientific innovations did not harm the authority of the Bible, with the help of these two scientific achievements, people could still discover hairline cracks in the hard shell of religious doctrine. One reason these cracks were not easily noticed was that the people who achieved these new scientific results were themselves devout Christians. In their view, their discoveries precisely proved that the creationism they believed in was correct. For many years, descriptions of the laws governing the universe could coexist peacefully with faith in God.

虽然基督教的领袖们对这两项研究成果有所怀疑，但没有证据表明他们对此感到忧虑。既然人体是上帝的杰作，那么解剖学所显示的人体结构，进一步证实了这只能出自上帝之手。否则，怎能如此之精妙。至于宇宙的结构也是上帝创始论的佐证。即使上述科学创新无损于圣经的权威性，但是借助这两项科学成果，人们还是可以发现宗教教义坚实的外壳上存在着细如发丝的裂痕。这些裂痕之所以不易为人所觉察，原因之一在于取得这些新的科学成果的人们同时也是虔诚的基督徒。在他们看来，他们的发现恰好说明他们所信仰的神创论是正确的。多少年来，对于宇宙运行规律的描述都可以与信仰上帝和平共处。

In every village there is a torch that illuminates the darkness—the teacher. In every village there is someone who tries to extinguish the torch—the priest. —Victor Hugo[8]8 Victor Hugo (1802–1885), French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement.

在每一个村庄都有照亮黑暗的火炬，他们是教师。每一个村庄都有试图熄灭火炬的人，他们是牧师。——维克多•雨果⑧

Even though Copernicus, Vesalius, Galileo, and others were so devout toward religion, the church still felt uneasy about the emergence of these new sciences. There were always some foolish popes and bishops who could not see that the new sciences could actually be used to strengthen the belief in an omnipotent and omniscient God; they had no understanding of what science was, only felt that there was something strange about it, as if it offended God’s dignity. Moreover, the fact that science was led by secular curiosity rather than respect and reverence for God was another cause for their unease. The religious status quo was inextricably linked to social and political forces; by comparison, science perhaps belonged only to those curious scientists. And in the church’s eyes, curiosity might breed contempt—for example, Galileo’s actions fully demonstrated that he completely ignored the church’s refusal to accept Copernicus’s geocentric model of the universe.

即使哥白尼，维萨里，伽利略等人对待宗教是如此虔诚，教会对这些新科学的出现仍然感到惴惴不安。总会有一些愚蠢的教皇和主教们看不到实际上可以利用新科学来增强存在着全能全知上帝的信念，他们完全不了解什么是科学，只是觉得在科学中有一些怪异的东西，似乎触犯了上帝的尊严。再有，引领科学的是世俗的好奇心而不是对上帝的尊重与敬畏也是让他们不安的原因之一。宗教现状与社会和政治力量有着千丝万缕的联系，相比之下，科学或许只专属于那些具有好奇心的科学家了。而在教会眼中，好奇心可能会滋生出轻蔑感，比如，伽利略的所作所为充分显示，他毫不理会教会拒绝接受哥白尼的宇宙地心说的态度。

In matters of science, a thousand authorities are no match for one person’s humble reasoning. —Galileo

在科学问题中，一千个权威也抵不上一个人谦卑的推理。 ——伽利略

For these early scientists, observing phenomena was the cornerstone of research.

在这些早期的科学家看来，观察现象是研究的基石。

To force astronomers to deny their observations is to force them not to see what they can see, and not to think what they can think. —Galileo

强制天文学家们否定他们的观察结果，无异于强制他们不要去看他们所能看到的，不去想他们所能想到的。 ——伽利略

As is well known, Galileo was sentenced to imprisonment by the Roman Inquisition for insisting on Copernicus’s heliocentric theory, and later placed under lifelong house arrest. Among Copernicus’s followers, Bruno[9]9 Giordano Bruno (1548–1600), Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and cosmologist who expanded on Copernican ideas and was executed for heresy. was one of the most steadfast. During his eight years of imprisonment, he endured physical torture. Although under torture he renounced the heliocentric theory, he was still judged a “heretic” by the Inquisition and burned at the stake in Rome’s Campo de’ Fiori in 1600. His remains were then smashed to powder with a hammer and scattered to the wind. In fact, the church’s actions showed that it was the church, not these scientists, that truly believed science and religion were irreconcilable—a rather bewildering fact.

众所周知，伽利略因坚持哥白尼的“日心说”主张而被罗马宗教法庭判处监禁，后被终身软禁在家。在哥白尼的追随者中，布鲁诺⑨ 是最坚定者之一。在他被监禁的8年之中，受尽了肉体上的折磨。虽然在酷刑下他宣布放弃“日心说”，但还是被宗教法庭判为“异端”，于1600年烧死在罗马鲜花广场。焚烧后的遗骨还被用锤子砸成粉末，随风扬弃。事实上，教会的所作所为表明，真正认为科学与宗教势不两立的是教会，而不是这些科学家，这真有点让人匪夷所思。

Having said this, we must pause to insert some other historical events. Although those scientists had renounced their heliocentric views and suffered severe trials and punishments from the church, the storm over heliocentrism did not end there. What happened next within the Christian church may be directly related to atheism—this is the Reformation, which every schoolchild learns about. When we mention the Reformation, we think of familiar names: Martin Luther,[10]10 Martin Luther (1483–1546), German theologian and key figure of the Protestant Reformation. John Calvin,[11]11 John Calvin (1509–1564), French theologian and major figure of the Protestant Reformation, founder of Calvinism. Zwingli,[12]12 Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), Swiss theologian and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. and others. Through their joint efforts, they ultimately removed the absolute authority of the pope and the church to interpret Christian faith and doctrine, triggering a series of religious changes. For those who were already half-doubtful about religion, this religious schism helped them conclude that Christian doctrine might be entirely wrong. This was precisely what the church feared.

事情说到这儿，我们不得不停一下，插入另外一些历史事件。当时虽然那些科学家放弃了他们的“日心说”观点，并受到教会严厉的审判与惩罚，但“日心说”的风波并没有因此结束，接下来在基督教会内部所发生的事情可能与无神论有直接的关系，这就是每一个小学生都要学到的宗教改革。提到宗教改革，就会想到一些耳闻能详的名字：马丁•路德⑩，约翰•加尔文{11}，茨温利{12}等等，在他们共同努力下，最终解除了教皇和教会有解释基督教信仰和教义的绝对权力，并由此引发了一系列的宗教变革。对于那些本来就对宗教半信半疑的人们而言，这次宗教分裂帮助他们得出了基督教义也许根本就是错误的结论。这，正是教会所害怕的。

The internal strife we generate makes the jokes that mock religion credible, and thereby becomes a powerful weapon against religion. This is what some people most delight in seeing. —Richard Hooker[13]13 Richard Hooker (1554–1600), English Anglican priest and theologian, influential in the development of Anglican theology.

我们内部所产生的纷争使得那些讥讽宗教的笑话变得可信了，并由此成为反对宗教的有力武器。这是有些人最乐于看到的。 ——理查德•胡克{13}

In the eyes of Christian authorities, some of the ideas of these newly divided sects could almost be called atheistic. For example, the Anabaptists were regarded as atheists, although they themselves did not admit it. Also, the Unitarian sect was considered atheistic, which is hardly surprising.

在基督教权威人士眼中，这些新分化出来的教派的某些思想简直可以称得上是无神论思想。比如，再洗礼教派就被当作无神论者，虽然当事者并不承认。还有，一元论教派也被当作是无神论，这更没有什么可惊讶的。

Christ is not God, nor a savior; he is a man, a sinner, a detestable idol. A group of idolaters elevated him to a high position. Christ neither resurrected nor ascended to heaven. —Matthew Hammond

基督不是上帝，也不是救世主，他是一个人，一个罪人，一个令人厌恶的偶像。是一群偶像崇拜者把他抬到了高高在上的位置。基督既没有复活，也没有升入天堂。 ——马太•哈蒙德

Matthew Hammond was a Unitarian; his above remarks brought him death—he was burned at the stake by order of the Bishop of Norwich in 1579. Although many condemned religious persecution, in such a harsh environment few brave souls dared to express doubts about the supernatural publicly, let alone label themselves atheists. In fact, this chaotic situation of denial and condemnation probably lasted about two hundred years. By “chaotic” I mean that some people who denied (disavowed) the existence of atheism nevertheless spent a great deal of time and energy on eliminating the influence of atheistic thought (condemnation). Simon Shaffer, a historian at Cambridge University, has studied this period.

马太•哈蒙德信奉一元论，他的上述言论为他惹来杀身之祸——1579年被诺里奇主教下令烧死。虽然很多人都在谴责宗教迫害，但在这样严酷的环境下，鲜有勇者敢于公开表示对超自然的怀疑，更不敢把自己标榜为无神论者。事实上，否定与谴责并存的混乱局面大概延续了两百年。所谓混乱是指，一些不承认（否认）有无神论存在的人们却将大量时间与精力都耗费在消除无神论思想的影响上了（谴责）。剑桥大学的历史学家西蒙•谢弗（Simon Shaffer）对这一阶段有所研究。

Simon Shaffer: From the 16th century to the 18th century, there was a curious self-contradictory phenomenon: those who most fiercely persecuted atheism were precisely those who firmly denied the existence of atheists. This is because proving that God’s existence cannot be denied is the best refutation of those who deny God’s existence. That is, denying the existence of atheists is a powerful rebuttal of atheists.

西蒙•谢弗：从16世纪起到18世纪为止，一直存在一个自相矛盾的有趣现象：那些对无神论追杀最凶猛的人恰恰就是坚决否定无神论存在的人。这是因为，说明根本无法否定上帝的存在是对那些否定上帝存在的人的最好批驳。亦即，否定无神论者的存在，就是对无神论者的有力驳斥。

Some claim to be atheists, and others are seen as atheists in the eyes of the world. But whether anyone truly believes in atheism is doubtful. —Encyclopædia Britannica (1771)

有人自称信奉无神论，还有人是世人眼中的无神论者。但是，是否有人真正信奉无神论呢? 这一点值得怀疑。 ——大英百科全书（1771年）

Simon Shaffer: You refute unicorns, you refute chimeras, you refute all kinds of monsters that exist in people’s minds.

西蒙•谢弗：你们批驳独角兽，批驳吐火怪兽，批驳存在于人们头脑中的各种怪兽。

The mind of a true atheist contains no supernatural images; they believe only in reason.

真正无神论者的头脑中不存在任何超自然的形象，他们只相信理性。

—Thomas Curtis, Essay on Atheism (1725)

——托马斯•柯蒂斯有关无神论的论文（1725年）

Simon Shaffer: Precisely because they had to exert every effort to deal with the threat of atheism, this logical confusion arose: vehemently denying the existence of atheism while constantly refuting it.

西蒙•谢弗：正因为要竭尽全力地对付无神论的威胁，才导致了这种逻辑混乱：极力否定无神论存在的同时又不断地批驳它。

I believe there are no true atheists; some people are taken for atheists only because they are too lazy to spend time on thinking.

我认为不存在真正的无神论者，有些人之所以会被当作无神论者是因为这些人懒得把时间用在思考上。

— *The London Magazine* (1774)

——《伦敦杂志》（1774年）

Simon Schaffer: Atheism is a label that sensible people avoid. For this reason, when we trace the history of atheism we encounter the problem that among the common people there are those who by any standard should be considered atheists, yet they do their utmost to shake off this label.

西蒙•谢弗：无神论是聪明人避之不及的标签。正因为这个原因，当我们回溯无神论的历史时会遇到这样的问题，在民间有一些人无论按照什么标准来判断都应该是无神论者，但他们却竭尽全力摆脱这一名称。

So, were there atheists in this historical period? How many sermons were preached, how many books written, how many laws enacted, all with the single aim of combating atheism? Does this not make the situation clear? Due to the existence of censorship, we cannot see written records of the common people’s doubts about religion, but from various signs it can be concluded that atheism had already begun to emerge at that time. It is just that those who participated in the development of atheism always denied being atheists.

所以，在这一历史时期有无神论者吗? 针对无神论，讲了多少道，写了多少书，颁布了多少法律，目标只有一个，那就是与无神论战斗。这说明什么问题不是一目了然吗? 由于审查制度的存在，我们无法看到有关底层民众对宗教怀疑的文字记载，但从种种迹象可以断定，在那时无神论已经初见端倪了。只是那些参与无神论发展的人们一直都在否定他们是无神论者而已。

Simon Schaffer: I think “atheist” was an unpopular word; no one wanted to be associated with it, and this situation lasted until the end of the 18th century. The same was true in certain special periods later. This word would never be written on a T-shirt; instead, it was always used in mutual abuse between different camps. In the 16th century, the French Catholic theologian Pierre Charron wrote in his book *On Wisdom*:

西蒙•谢弗：我认为“无神论者”一个不受欢迎的词汇，没有人愿意与这个词扯上什么联系，这种状况一直持续到18世纪末期。在以后的一些特殊时期也是如此。这个词绝不会写在T恤衫上，相反，这个词则总会用在不同阵营的相互谩骂中。16世纪法国天主教神学家沙朗（Pierre Charron）在《论智慧》一书中这样写道：

All religions have one thing in common: they deviate from common sense, because religion is pieced together from various elements, among which there is no lack of dross. This dross runs counter to human reason and therefore inevitably invites the mockery and ridicule of the wise. — Charron

所有的宗教都有一个共性，那就是它们与常理相背离，因为宗教由各种元素拼合而成，其中不乏糟粕。这些糟粕与人类的理性相背离，因此不免遭到智者的嘲讽与耻笑。 ——沙朗

This passage should be a true portrayal of the situation in that period.

这段话应该是那一时期情况的一个真实写照。

One point to note is that from the very beginning of the Reformation, changes within Christianity never ceased, but these changes had nothing to do with science; they came from the hands of other Christians. A significant change was the emergence of a new faction, commonly called Deists. As the name suggests, Deists firmly believe in the existence of a transcendent God. But they were dissatisfied with Christianity’s explanation of God, and even more disgusted with the overbearing and brutal behavior of the religious leaders of the time. Therefore, Deism only acknowledged that there is a supreme God in the universe who created the world, while almost entirely rejecting the rest of Christianity. Most members of Deism belonged to the upper strata of society; at least in England, a relatively tolerant religious environment allowed some people to use their privileges to ponder the essence of Christianity in private circles. This was one factor favorable to the development of Deism. Deism insisted that human feelings toward God are universal, and that various irrational superstitious activities and absurd rituals were merely a surface phenomenon, behind which lay the monotheism common to all human societies. The original intention of Deism was to design a more tolerant, more humane new Christianity, making it more rational and more merciful. Therefore, it retained only the divine nature of Christ, that is, acknowledging the existence of a creator with supreme intelligence in the universe, while discarding all content about miracles. In the development of Deism, many British writers and scholars participated. Lord Edward Herbert of Cherbury, known as the “father of Deism,” put forward the concept of Deism in the early 17th century. Lord Herbert was born in 1582, an enthusiastic aristocratic metaphysical poet. He wrote:

要关注的一点是，从宗教改革一开始，基督教内部的变动就一直没有停止过，但这些变动的发生与科学无关，而是出自其他基督徒之手。具有重要意义的一个变化就是出现了一个新的派别，通常我们将其称为自然神论者（Deists）。顾名思义，自然神论者笃信有一位超越的神存在。但他们不满意基督教对神的解释，更看不惯当时的宗教领袖们跋扈残暴的行为。因此，自然神论只承认宇宙中存在一位至高无上的神，是他创造了世界，而几乎全盘否定基督教的其他部分。自然神论的大部分成员都属于社会上层，至少在英格兰，相对宽松的宗教环境可以允许一部分人利用他们的特权，在私密的圈子当中思考基督教的本质。这是有利于自然神论发展的因素之一。自然神论坚持认为人类对神的感受是共通的，各种非理性的迷信活动和荒谬仪式仅是一种表象，隐藏在其后的是所有人类社会所共有的一神论。自然神论的初衷是设计一种更加宽容，更加人性化的新基督教，使其更加理性，也更加仁慈。因此，它只保留基督神性的部分，亦即承认宇宙中存在一个具有最高智慧的创世者，剔除所有关于神迹的内容。在自然神论的发展过程中，有很多英国作家和学者都参与其中。被称为“自然神论之父”的爱德华•赫伯特勋爵（Lord Edward Herbert of Cherbury）在17世纪初叶提出了自然神论的概念。赫伯特勋爵生于1582年，是一位热情洋溢的贵族玄学诗人。他写道：

Religion is the common wealth of mankind; in history there has never been an age, never a people, without religion. Therefore we should find in religion the commonalities universally recognized in the world. — Lord Edward Herbert

宗教是人类所共有的财富，在历史上从没有一个时代，没有一个民族没有宗教相伴。因此我们应该在宗教中找出世界公认的共性来。 ——爱德华•赫伯特勋爵

In Herbert’s view, there were some crucial differences between Christianity and other religions, but they should be able to reach agreement.

在赫伯特看来，基督教和其他的宗教之间存在着一些至关重要的分歧，但它们应该能够达成一致。

There is a supreme God who should be worshipped; this should be common ground. The difference is only in the manner of worship. Moreover, the principle that sins can be eliminated through repentance is also a commonly believed tenet. — Lord Edward Herbert

有一个至高无上的神，他应受到膜拜，这应该是共识。不同之处只是膜拜的方式而已。另外，通过忏悔可以消除所犯的罪恶，这也是大家共同信奉的原则。 ——爱德华•赫伯特勋爵

Although Deism developed rapidly in the 17th century, it was still difficult to identify who was an atheist until the 18th century. Let us now examine a person who came very close to this dangerous label. This is Thomas Hobbes[14]14 Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679): English philosopher, best known for his political work *Leviathan* (1651), which argued for a social contract and absolute sovereignty. His materialist and mechanistic views on human nature and the universe were widely seen as challenging religious orthodoxy., the son of a Wiltshire clergyman. Thomas Hobbes spent most of his life as a tutor to the children of aristocrats; Charles II[15]15 Charles II (1630–1685): King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1660 until his death. Hobbes served as his mathematics tutor in the 1640s, during the English Civil War. was once his student. Influenced by the philosophies of Epicurus, Democritus, and Lucretius, he was a thoroughgoing materialist, opposed to any form of immaterial philosophy. He took direct aim at traditional religion.

虽然自然神论在17世纪发展迅速，但一直到18世纪，仍然很难确认谁是无神论者。我们现在就来审视一个人，他很接近这一危险名称。这就是托马斯•霍布斯{14}（Thomas Hobbes），威尔特郡一位牧师的儿子。托马斯•霍布斯一生中大部分时间都是贵族子弟的家庭教师，查理二世{15} 曾是他的学生。受伊壁鸠鲁，德谟克利特和卢克莱修哲学的影响，他是彻底的唯物主义者，反对任何形式的非物质哲学（the immaterial）。他把目标直指传统宗教。

Simon Schaffer: The most amazing thing is that Hobbes often used the statements of the most conservative apologists of the time to refute them. At that time, conservative apologists often said, “Just look around at the various sects, and you can see how dangerous and disastrous it is once you deviate from the one true faith.” In refuting them, Hobbes merely modified this statement slightly: “Don’t you see the appalling things among religious sects? Persecution, the hunting down of so-called heresies—all this shows that explaining the world in this way is fundamentally wrong.” Hobbes believed in monism, and monism holds that the origin of the world is only one thing—matter. Everything you feel, see, and touch is matter, nothing else. This is one reason he could become an atheist.

西蒙•谢弗：最神奇的是，霍布斯经常利用当时最保守的护教者们所发表的言论来驳斥他们。那时，保守的护教者们经常说，“只要环顾一下各教派，就可以看到，一旦偏离了那唯一真实的信仰，结果是多么危险和糟糕。”霍布斯在反驳他们时，只是将这一论述稍加修改：“你没有看到宗教教派之间那些骇人听闻的事吗? 迫害，对所谓异端邪说的猎捕，所有这些都说明，用这种方式来解释世界根本就是错误的。”霍布斯信奉一元论，而一元论认为世界的本原只有一个——物质，你的所感，所见，所触都是物质，别无他物。这是他可以成为无神论者的原因之一。

The universe, the whole of all that exists, is a material body, measurable, having length, breadth, and depth. Every part of the universe is a material body; what is not a material body does not belong to the universe. For the universe is the whole; what does not belong to the universe is nothing, is nothing at all, and exists nowhere. — Thomas Hobbes

宇宙，即一切存在的整体，是物质体，是可以度量的，具有长、宽、高。宇宙的每一部分都是物质体，不是物质体就不属于宇宙。因为宇宙是全体，不属于宇宙，就是无，就什么都不是，哪儿都不存在。 ——托马斯•霍布斯

In fact, Thomas Hobbes merely revived the views of ancient atheists.

实际上，托马斯•霍布斯只是重提了古代无神论者们的观点而已。

Simon Schaffer: Indeed. I think the important role Hobbes played in the mid-17th century was that he brilliantly and systematically integrated the arguments scattered in ancient and classical pagan philosophical traditions into a systematic philosophical system. Crucially, in the English-speaking world, no one could any longer use the derogatory term “lacking a philosophical system” when attacking atheism. You could attack atheism as evil, or criticize it for serious logical errors, but it was hard to say it had no unified philosophical system and therefore could not be taken seriously. Hobbes provided important philosophical resources for the later development of atheism. I think, whether from a historical or philosophical perspective, this assessment of the significance of Hobbes’s work is entirely appropriate.

西蒙•谢弗：的确如此。我认为霍布斯在17世纪中叶所起的重要作用在于他出色地将分布在古代及经典异教哲学传统当中的论述系统地整合在一起，使其成为系统的哲学体系。尤为重要的是，在英语语系当中，谁也不能再在攻击无神论时用到什么缺乏哲学体系之类的贬损之词了。你可以攻击无神论是邪恶的，也可以批评它的犯有严重的逻辑错误，但却很难再说它没有统一的哲学体系，因此而上不了台面。霍布斯为后来无神论的发展提供了重要的哲学资源。我认为，无论从历史的角度还是从哲学的角度，这样评价霍布斯工作的重要意义是恰如其分的。

Is Hobbes the first thoroughgoing atheist we have discovered? You might think that in Hobbes’s materialist cosmology, there should be no room for the concept of an immaterial soul. But the fact is the opposite. Hobbes believed that, just as in geometry the concept of a square circle is self-contradictory, so in philosophy the concept of an immaterial soul is self-contradictory and meaningless. Although he often made such comparisons, seemingly implying that he did not accept the concept of the immortality of the soul, he never stated it outright, cautiously leaving himself room for maneuver. He even acknowledged the concept of the Second Coming of Jesus, but expressed through metaphor that he did not accept creationism. Considering the overall tone of his arguments and his radical materialist tendencies, it is surprising that after his death he was buried in a church near Derbyshire. Perhaps in many people’s eyes, Hobbes was not an atheist, or at least not an advocate of atheism.

霍布斯算是我们发现的第一位彻底的无神论者吗? 你可能会认为在霍布斯物质论的宇宙观中，不应该有无形的灵魂存在的空间。但是事实恰好相反。霍布斯认为，就像在几何学中圆的长方形一样，在哲学中无形灵魂的概念自相矛盾，毫无意义。虽然他经常做这类比较，似乎暗示他不接受灵魂不朽的概念，但他从未直截了当地把话说死，谨慎地为自己留有周旋的余地。他甚至承认耶稣重临的概念，但通过隐喻的方式表达他不接受神创论。考虑到他论述的整体基调和他激进的唯物主义倾向，而他死后却被葬在德贝郡附近的教堂里，这一点不免令人感到惊讶。也许在很多人看来，霍布斯并不是一个无神论者，或者说，至少不是无神论的提倡者。

Among the heretics of England, one in a hundred is a follower of Hobbes’s philosophy, and as far as I know, Hobbes’s philosophy is atheism. —Richard Bentley[16]16 Richard Bentley (1662–1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian, known for his work on ancient texts and his opposition to atheism.

在英国异教徒中，一百有一是霍布斯哲学的拥护者，而据我所知，霍布斯哲学就是无神论。 ——理查德•宾利{16}

In the latter half of the 17th century, members of Parliament were constantly occupied with debating the introduction of legal provisions to combat the blasphemous thoughts and words of skeptics. In 1697, the Blasphemy Act finally became formal law.

在17世纪后半叶，议员们一直都忙于讨论出台一些法律条款，用于打击那些怀疑论者们亵渎神的思想言论。1697年，亵渎法终于成为正式的法律条款。

The original draft of this law from 300 years ago did not contain the word “atheism,” but the Blasphemy Act that ultimately passed through Parliament designated atheism as a crime, indicating that atheism had already received considerable attention at that time. The 1677 Blasphemy Act contained the following text:

这部300年前的法律原稿中没有“无神论”这一字眼，但最终得到议会通过的亵渎法中，指明无神论是一种罪行，这说明无神论在当时已受到相当的重视。在1677年的亵渎法中有这样的文字：

“Atheism and blasphemy are grave offenses… Any person aged 16 or above, without obvious mental illness, congenital intellectual deficiency, or inherent incapacity, who, from the date of implementation of this Act, whether by oral statement or in writing, denies the existence of God… may be tried by a clergyman, and once a death sentence is passed, it shall be executed immediately, with no possibility of pardon or reprieve.”

“无神论与亵渎神灵都是重罪……16岁或16岁以上的人，若无明显的精神疾病，先天智力缺陷，或先天不足，自本法实施之日起，无论用口述还是用文字的方式，只要否定有上帝存在……就可以由牧师主持审判，一旦通过死刑判决就应立即执行，绝无赦免或缓刑的可能。”

When I read such provisions and see what people did at that time, my heart races, and an urge to rise up in defense of atheists wells up within me.

当我读到这样的条款，看到当时人们的所作所为，我的心跳在加速，想要为无神论者拍案而起情绪油然而生。

Until the last stone from the last church falls upon the head of the last priest, civilization will remain flawed. —Émile Zola[17]17 Émile Zola (1840–1902) was a French novelist and a leading figure in literary naturalism, known for his social criticism and defense of secularism.

从最后一个教堂上落下来的最后一块石头砸在最后一个教士的头上，只要这样的场景还没有发生，文明就是有缺陷的。 ——左拉{17}

While the early deists were busy rebuilding Christianity and cautiously distancing themselves from atheism at every turn, science was advancing steadfastly without hesitation. The heliocentric theory received strong support from Galileo and Kepler. Although it still had mathematical flaws and no one could yet clearly explain the mechanism of heliocentrism, some of the freest thinkers had already begun to accept it. By Newton’s time, the situation had changed significantly. Alexander Pope[18]18 Alexander Pope (1688–1744) was an English poet, satirist, and translator, famous for his use of the heroic couplet. wrote the following:

在早期的自然神论者们一边忙着重建基督教，一边又随时随地的加着小心与无神论划清界限的时候，科学则在义无反顾地稳步向前。地心说得到伽利略和开普勒的鼎力支持，虽然在数学上仍有缺陷，尚无人能够清澈地解释地心说的运行机制，但一些最自由的思想家们已经开始接受了地心说了。到了牛顿时代，情况又发生了大的改观。亚力山人•蒲柏{18} 这样写道：

Nature and nature’s laws lay hid in night; God said, “Let Newton be,” and all was light. —Alexander Pope

自然和自然法则隐藏在黑暗之中，上帝说：“让牛顿来”，于是所有的秘密都袒露在阳光之下。 ——亚力山大•蒲柏

There is no shortage of such writings, but Pope’s is the most concise. Although the Catholic Church still insisted on the geocentric view, Newton’s law of universal gravitation and his theory of motion were indeed able to persuade the learned to no longer accept geocentrism. In this way, humanity’s central position was also called into question. To what extent did Newton adhere to the Church of England? It was not until the 20th century, when Newton’s religious manuscripts were discovered, that this question was answered: his scientific achievements were closely related to his religious faith. He was convinced that he had acted in accordance with what God had said to him in dialogue, and that this had enabled him to achieve such research results.

这一类的文字为数不少，但蒲柏写的最为言简意赅。尽管天主教会依然坚持“地心说”的观点，但牛顿提出的万有引力定律和运动论的确能够说服有识之士不再承认“地心说”了。这样一来，人类的中心地位也遭到质疑。牛顿信奉英国国教的程度究竟如何? 一直到20世纪牛顿有关宗教的文稿被发现后，这个问题才有了答案：他所取得的科学成就与他的宗教信仰密切相关，他确信，他按照上帝在与他对话中所说那样去做了，才使得他取得了这样的研究成果。

In tracing the history of atheism, the role of science can be divided into two cases. One is what we mentioned in discussing Copernicus and Galileo: the vast majority of scientists involved, including Newton, were devout believers. The scientific research they conducted and the results they achieved not only failed to change their faith but, in many cases, actually strengthened it. The other case involves intellectuals who were not scientists, and even some theologians, who readily linked new scientific discoveries to the almighty God they believed in, finding points of mutual reinforcement between the two.

在回溯无神论的历史时，科学的作用可分为两种情况。一种就是我们在讨论哥白尼和伽利略时所提到的，绝大多数涉身其中的科学家，这里亦包括牛顿，都是坚定的宗教徒，他们所从事的科学研究及其所取得的科学成果不仅没能改变他们的信仰，反而在很多情况下，促使他们更坚定了自己的信仰。另外一种情况则发生在那些不是科学家的知识分子，甚至还有一些神学家身上，他们很容易将科学的新发现与他们所信仰的全能的上帝联系起来，找到二者相辅相成之处。

In 1704, shortly after the publication of Newton’s laws, the Reverend Samuel Clarke was invited to Trinity College, Cambridge, to deliver a series of lectures. This series was sponsored by Robert Boyle,[19]19 Robert Boyle (1627–1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, and physicist, a founding member of the Royal Society, and a devout Christian who funded lectures defending Christianity. a renowned scientist and fellow of the Royal Society. The theme of the lectures was to promote Christianity and refute heterodoxy. The first part of Clarke’s lectures was titled “The Being and Attributes of God — Refuting Hobbes and Spinoza[20]20 Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, whose pantheistic views were often equated with atheism by his contemporaries. and Their Followers.” Clarke did not break free from the thinking patterns of his 16th-century predecessors; he also classified atheists into three categories, as follows:

1704年，在牛顿定律发表后不久，塞缪尔•克拉克牧师受邀来到剑桥大学三一学院，在一系列讲座中作讲演。这一系列讲座由罗伯特•波义耳{19} 主持，他是著名科学家，与牛顿同为皇家协会会员。讲座主题则是宣传基督教，反驳异教。克拉克讲演的第一部分题目为“上帝的存在与属性——驳霍布斯和斯宾诺莎{20} 及其追随者”。克拉克没有摆脱16世纪前任们的思维模式，他也将无神论者归为三类，他们分别为：

The ignorant and foolish, who cannot use natural reason to discover the simplest and most obvious truths. —Samuel Clarke

无知者和愚蠢的人，他们无法用自然理性发现最朴素，最明显的真理。 ——塞缪尔•克拉克

Those whose nature has been corrupted by evil and depraved lifestyles, rendering them incapable of listening to reason. —Samuel Clarke

被邪恶和堕落生活方式腐蚀了人的本性，听不进去道理的人。 ——塞缪尔•克拉克

Finally, those whom Clarke’s lectures were intended to address: people who possessed both morality and reason, but whose way of thinking placed them on the side of atheism.

最后，就是克拉克讲演所要针对的人，他们既有道德，又有理性，但他们的思维方式使得他们站在了无神论者的立场之上。

The French philosopher Descartes believed, “I think, therefore I am; I am, therefore God is.” This fact is the strongest argument for the existence of God. In contrast to Descartes, Clarke, like Newton, was more inclined to use the mechanism of celestial motion to argue for the existence of God. Like many authors, both before and after him, Clarke also liked to cite biological discoveries as evidence for intelligent design.

法国哲学家笛卡尔认为，我思，故我在；我在，故上帝在。这一事实是上帝存在的最有利论证。与笛卡尔相反，克拉克与牛顿一样，更倾向于应用天体的运行机制论证上帝的存在。与很多作者一样，无论是在他之前的还是在他之后的，克拉克还喜欢援引生物学的发现作为智能设计论的证据。

The latest discoveries in anatomy, such as the circulation of blood and the precise structure of the heart and brain, show that only God’s design could be so exquisite. —Samuel Clarke

解剖学中的最新发现，如血液循环，心脏和大脑的准确结构，都说明只有上帝的设计才会如此精妙。 ——塞缪尔•克拉克

Although this statement is logically coherent in its wording, the religious conclusions Clarke drew could not necessarily be deduced from the scientific evidence he cited. Like Newton, he was first and foremost a devout Christian, and therefore inclined to view nature as an expression of the almighty God. For this reason, in a certain sense, his argument was essentially aimed at reaching a predetermined conclusion. Nevertheless, the fact that a mathematically literate clergyman could effortlessly link Newtonian mechanics to the existence of God shows that the conflict between religion and the increasingly clear scientific description of the natural world was greatly exaggerated.

尽管这句话在文字上符合逻辑，但克拉克所得到的宗教结论却并不一定能从他所引用的科学证据中推证出来。与牛顿一样，他首先是一位虔诚的基督教徒，因此倾向于将自然看作是全能上帝的一种表达。正因为于此，从某种意义上而言，他的论证其实就是为了推出预知结论。尽管如此，一个有数学素养的牧师就可以毫不费力地将牛顿力学与上帝的存在联系起来，足以说明在宗教和对自然界日益清晰的科学描述之间的冲突是被大大地夸大了。

In my memory, there is not a single word in the Bible praising wisdom. —Bertrand Russell

在我的记忆中，圣经中没有一个字是用来赞美智慧的。 ——罗素

As noted above, since the Reformation, in a certain sense, it was religious will, not science, that paved the road to atheism. Deists like Hobbes intended to create a more “rational” form of religion, and it was precisely their efforts in this direction that inadvertently forged the weapon that could ultimately overturn all religious thought. Because the environment in England at the time was relatively tolerant, a considerable number of deists were able to express such ideas freely there. Among them were Shaftesbury,[21]21 Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713), was an English philosopher and writer, a key figure in the development of deism and moral sense theory. Bolingbroke,[22]22 Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (1678–1751), was an English politician, philosopher, and deist, known for his attacks on organized religion. Tindal,[23]23 Matthew Tindal (1657–1733) was an English deist and author of *Christianity as Old as the Creation*, often called the “Bible of Deism.” Collins,[24]24 Anthony Collins (1676–1729) was an English philosopher and deist, known for his advocacy of freethinking and criticism of clerical authority. and others. Their methods varied, but all pointed to the same goal: to find the commonality of all religions, that is, the original origin of religion. They all made important contributions to the development of deism, but the most important figure in articulating this kind of deist thought was David Hume. Although he never admitted to being an atheist, he was undoubtedly the most active, most concise, and most eloquent skeptic.

如上所述，自宗教改革起，从某种意义上而言，铺就通往无神论之路的是宗教意愿，而不是科学。霍布斯等自然神论者们意欲创立一门更加“理性”的宗教形式，正是他们在这方面的努力在无意中铸就了最终可以颠覆整个宗教思想的利器。由于当时英格兰的环境比较宽松，因此有相当一部分自然神论者们在那里可以自由表达这类思想，他们中间有舍夫茨别利{21}，博林布洛克{22}，廷代尔{23}，柯林斯{24}等，他们所用的方法各有不同，但都指向同一目标，那就是找到所有宗教的共性，亦即宗教的原始起源。他们对自然神论的发展的都有重要贡献，但在表述这类自然神论思想中最重要的一位是大卫•休谟，虽然他从没有承认过自己是无神论者，但无疑他是最活跃，最简洁，也是最雄辩的怀疑论者。

I have always believed that David Hume brought the wisdom and virtue of human nature to their fullest expression. —Adam Smith

我始终认为大卫•休谟将人性中的智慧与美德发挥到了极致。 ——亚当•斯密

David Hume was born in 1711, a full 32 years after Hobbes’s death. He entered the University of Edinburgh at the age of 12, but later dropped out to study philosophy on his own. At the age of 20, he went to France, where he completed his book *A Treatise of Human Nature*. Hobbes believed that humans in a “state of nature” were dangerous creatures, requiring some kind of social structure based on religion to curb their selfish, violent, and greedy nature. Compared to Hobbes’s pessimistic view, Hume was much more optimistic. Hume’s skeptical attitude toward religion hindered his academic career.

大卫•休谟出生于1711年，霍布斯已整整去世32年了。他12岁进入爱丁堡大学，但其后退学，自学哲学。20岁时他来到法国，并在那里完成了《人性论》一书。霍布斯认为，处于“自然状态”下人是一种危险的生物，需要某种以宗教为依托的社会结构以遏制其自私，暴力，贪婪的本性。与霍布斯这种悲观的论调相比，休谟要乐观得多。休谟对于宗教所持的怀疑态度，阻碍了他的学术前途。

Generally speaking, errors in religion are dangerous, while errors in philosophy are merely ridiculous. —David Hume

通常而言，宗教中的错误是危险的，而哲学中的错误只是可笑而已。 ——大卫•休谟

At that time, all universities were premised on religion, and the power of appointment and dismissal was in the hands of the clergy. Therefore, when the clergy invited Hume to serve as chair of the Department of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, Hume declined the invitation, which was not unrelated to his atheistic thought. *Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion* is one of Hume’s important works; even his friends considered its content heretical, and it was not published until after his death. In this book, Hume mercilessly criticized religious belief.

当时所有的大学都以宗教为前提，任免权都掌握在神职人员手中。因此当牧师们邀请休谟担任爱丁堡大学伦理哲学系的主任一职时，休谟拒绝了这一邀请，这与他的无神论思想不无关联。《自然宗教对话论》是休谟的重要著作之一，就连他的朋友们都认为这本书的内容离经叛道，因此一直到他死后才得以出版。在这本书中，休谟对宗教信仰进行了无情的批判。

God’s power is infinite; he can do whatever he wills. But the lives of humans and other animals are not happy, which shows that God does not want them to be happy. The question raised by Epicurus still has no answer: if God is both able and willing to prevent evil, whence comes the evil in the world? — David Hume

上帝的权力是无限的，他可以为所欲为。但人类和其他动物的生活并不幸福，这说明上帝不想让他们生活幸福。伊壁鸠鲁所提出的问题至今还没有答案，如果上帝能够同时也愿意阻止罪恶发生，那么人世间的罪恶从何而来? ——大卫•休谟

Like other deists, Hume would shrink back when it came to truly challenging divine authority, perhaps because of a deep-seated fear of the socially rejected label of atheist.

与其他的自然神论者一样，当真正要挑战神权时，休谟就会有所退缩，或许这是因为从内心深处惧怕那张受到社会拒绝的无神论标签。

I am certain that no one will misunderstand my true intentions, that no one has a deeper understanding of religion than I, that no one has deeper feelings for God than I. — David Hume

我敢肯定，没有人会误解我的真实意图，没有人比我对宗教有更深的理解，没有人比我对上帝有更深的情感。 ——大卫•休谟

I believe that deists should not be seen as an indivisible whole, because the religious views of this group vary widely; for example, pantheism and non-traditional forms of the Church of England both fall within the scope of deism. Although discussions on religious issues were lively at the time, at least in England, no one truly stood up and categorically denied the existence of God. Looking back on this period of human intellectual history, we cannot help but be surprised at the extent to which the remarks of skeptics were constrained by the religious environment, and then feel a touch of sadness. Under such circumstances, it is entirely understandable and forgivable that one had to choose words carefully to protect oneself. But unexpectedly, even among those we have mentioned who possessed the most skeptical spirit, some firmly believed in the existence of a divine will in the universe.

我认为，不应将自然神论者看作是不可分割的一个整体，因为这个群体的宗教观念有很大的分歧，如泛神论和非传统形式的英国国教都属于自然神论的范畴。虽然当时对于宗教诸问题的讨论很热烈，但至少在英国，没有人真正站出来斩钉截铁地否定上帝的存在。回顾这段人类的思想史，我们不免为怀疑论者们的言论受宗教环境限制的程度之深而感到惊讶，继而又有些许的悲哀。在那样的环境之下，说话需仔细斟酌以保护自己，这完全可以理解，也可以原谅。但出乎意料之外的是，即使在那些我们提到过的最具有怀疑精神的人们当中，也有一些人对宇宙中存在上帝的意愿这一点坚信不疑。

By the end of the 18th century, deism in England may have begun to decline. Although David Hume had been serving as a diplomat in Paris, France, deist thought was actually transmitted to Europe by the French philosopher Voltaire. Although France at that time had Catholicism and many philosophers, such as Bayle{26}, Condillac{27}, La Mettrie{28}, Diderot{29}, and others, the conclusions they reached were rejected by their English counterparts. In short, by the end of the 18th century, the situation in France was completely different from that in England; atheism had become a hot topic of debate. On August 18, 1770, seven books were torn to pieces and publicly burned. Among these seven books, three were published under the name of an author who had died ten years earlier. We now know that the true author of these three books was Holbach{30}. The academic community currently agrees that Holbach was the first person in the world to write books systematically advocating atheism. He differed from Hobbes, who acknowledged the immortality of the soul; he also differed from Hume, who accepted the possibility that a supernatural force created the universe.

到了18世纪末期，英国的自然神论可能已经开始走向衰落。虽然大卫•休谟一直在法国巴黎担任外交官，但自然神论的思想实际上是由法国哲学家伏尔泰传到欧洲去的。尽管当时的法国有天主教，有诸多的哲学家，如培尔{26}，孔狄亚克{27}，拉美特利{28}，狄德罗{29}等，他们得到的结论在他们的英国同行那里遭到了拒绝。总之，在18世纪末期，法国的情形与英国完全不同，无神论已成为热议的焦点。在1770年8月18日这一天，共有7本书被撕成了碎片后，当众焚烧。在这7本书中，有3本是假冒某作家的名义发表的，而这位作家已在10年前就去世了。现在我们知道这3本书的真正作者是霍尔巴赫{30}。目前学术界一致认为霍尔巴赫是世界上第一位为无神论著书立说的人，他与霍布斯不同：霍布斯承认灵魂不死；他也与休谟有别：休谟接受可能有超自然力创造了宇宙。

If we trace back through history, we will find that fear and ignorance created the gods, imagination and deception adorned them, weakness worshipped them, credulity preserved them, and custom, worship, and tyranny supported them. If ignorance of nature gave birth to the gods, then knowledge of nature is bound to destroy them. — Holbach

如果我们回溯历史，会发现是恐惧和无知创造了众神，想象和欺骗粉饰了他们，软弱崇拜了他们，轻信保留了他们，习俗，崇拜和暴政支持了他们。如果说对自然的无知孕育了神，那么对自然的了解势必会摧毁神。 ——霍尔巴赫

Holbach’s home was on the Rue Royale in Paris; his drawing room was a famous and lively Parisian salon. His dinner parties attracted a large number of prominent intellectuals, not only from France but also from abroad. Benjamin Franklin{31}, Horace Walpole{32}, David Garrick{33}, Laurence Sterne{34}, and Adam Smith{35} were among the guests. When the Scottish philosopher David Hume first attended such a dinner party, he announced to the host that he had never met an atheist. According to Diderot, upon hearing this, Holbach raised his hand and swept it around the table, saying, “Here you can see eighteen atheists; I must admit that three of them are still a bit hesitant.”

霍尔巴赫的家在巴黎皇家大道上，他家的客厅是巴黎著名的沙龙，人气十足；他举办的晚宴吸引了大量的知识界著名人士，不仅有法国的，还有海外的。本杰明•富兰克林{31}，霍勒斯•沃波尔{32}，戴维•盖里克{33}，劳伦斯•斯特恩{34}，亚当•斯密{35}等都是座上客。当苏格兰哲学家大卫•休谟第一次出席这样的晚宴时，对主人宣布，他从未遇到过无神论者，据狄德罗记载，霍尔巴赫听到这话后，挥起手来沿着餐桌划了一圈，说道，在这里你就可以看到18个无神论者，我必须承认，其中有三位还有点犹豫不决。

Holbach was the first person since classical antiquity{36} to unhesitatingly assert that there is no God in the universe and no supernatural dimension. His work *The System of Nature* is renowned as the bible of atheism. Therefore, Holbach occupies an extremely important place in the history of atheism; it can be said that his home was the birthplace of modern atheism.

霍尔巴赫是自古典时代{36}以来毫不犹豫地坚称宇宙中不存在上帝，也不存在超自然层面的第一人，他的著作《自然的体系》以无神论的圣经闻名于世。因此霍尔巴赫在无神论的历史中占有极其重要的地位，可以说，他的家就是现代无神论的诞生地。

Only by dispelling the dark clouds of religion and driving away the specters of religion can we find truth, reason, and morality. — Holbach

只有驱散宗教的乌云，赶走宗教的幽灵，才能够找到真理、理智与道义。 ——霍尔巴赫

How wonderful it would be to visit in person the old site that witnessed so many debates, but it seems no one can confirm which house was Holbach’s former residence. In our imagination, on some elegant residential building on the Rue Royale in Paris, there should be a plaque with simple text indicating that the founder of French atheism once lived here, but there is none. Does this mean that even now, atheism is still not a very honorable label? But it shouldn’t be; after all, not long after Holbach’s death, France became a secular state, and in this process, Holbach’s role as a founder of free thought cannot be ignored. Perhaps even the revolutionaries could not tolerate Holbach’s atheistic ideas; the series of revolutions and restorations that occurred after his death resulted in Holbach and others not receiving the commemoration they deserved. Now, no trace of Holbach can be found on this street, but the Madeleine Church still stands tall, crowded with tourists. Even Holbach’s grave cannot be found. After his death, Holbach was buried in the Church of Saint-Roch, not far from the Rue Royale, but his tomb no longer exists, and even his remains are scattered, their whereabouts unknown. Although the church’s guidebook still states that Holbach is buried there, no evidence can be found in the church. Life goes on; on the Rue Royale, traffic flows and shops line the streets. Whether religion or anti-religion, it seems irrelevant here. Yet even so, it is still puzzling that such a contentious moment in the history of human thought has been so easily forgotten. Perhaps what happened here was obscured because the subsequent development of atheism was closely linked to violent political revolutions on three continents and the establishment of new political frameworks.

如果能够实地拜访一下那历经了诸多争论的旧址是多么美妙的一件事啊，但似乎无人能够确认霍尔巴赫的旧居究竟是哪座房子。在我们的想象当中，巴黎皇家大道上某一座优雅的民居外墙上应挂着一个牌匾，上面用简单的文字说明法国无神论的鼻祖曾住在这里，但没有。这是否意味着即使在现在，无神论仍然不是一个十分光彩的标签? 但是不应该啊，毕竟在霍尔巴赫去世后不久，法国就成为一个世俗的国家，而在这一进程中，霍尔巴赫作为自由思想的奠基人，其作用不可忽视。或许就连革新者们都无法容忍霍尔巴赫的无神论思想，在他身后发生的一系列革命——复辟过程使得霍尔巴赫等没有得到应有的纪念。现在在这条街上已经找不到霍尔巴赫的踪迹了，但马德连大教堂仍然耸立在那里，游人如织。甚至无法找到霍尔巴赫的墓。当年，霍尔巴赫逝世后被葬在距巴黎皇家大道不远处的罗氏圣教堂，但他的墓已不复存在了，甚至连他的遗骨也不知散落何方。虽然教堂的导游册上仍写着霍尔巴赫葬在此处，但在教堂里已无证据可觅了。生活仍在继续，在巴黎皇家大道上车流滚滚，商铺如林，无论是宗教，还是反宗教，似乎在这里都无关紧要。但即使如此，在人类思想史上那样充满了争论的时刻就这样被轻易地遗忘了，还是令人感到不解。或许，这里曾经所发生的一切之所以被掩盖，是因为之后无神论的发展与三块大陆上发生的政治暴力革命以及新政治构架的建立密切相关。

Notes:

注释：

① Padua: a city in northeastern Italy.

① 帕多瓦：意大利东北部城市

② Averroes (1126–1198): a famous Spanish-Arab philosopher and physician; his main medical work is *Colliget*, a book that focuses on exploring the medical system through philosophy.

② 阿维洛伊（1126～1198）：著名的西班牙阿拉伯哲学家及医师，主要医学著作为Colliget，是一本着重以哲学来探讨医学体系的书。

③ Toledo: a city in central Spain. It was occupied by the Romans in 192 BC. In 527 AD, the Visigoths ruled Spain and established their capital there. It was captured by the Arabs in 711 AD. In 1085, Alfonso VI reconquered Toledo, making it the capital of the Kingdom of Castile and the national episcopal center.

③ 托莱多：西班牙中部城市。公元前192年被罗马人占领。公元527年西哥特人统治西班牙，并在该城定都。公元711年被阿拉伯人攻陷。1085年阿方索六世收复托莱多，成为卡斯蒂利亚王国首府和全国主教中心。

④ Yuri Gagarin: a Soviet cosmonaut; the first human to enter space.

④ 尤里•加加林：前苏联宇航员。是世界上进入太空的第一人。

⑤ Ptolemy: an ancient astronomer who created and perfected the geocentric model of the universe.

⑤ 托勒密：古代天文学家，创立并完善了宇宙地心学模型。

⑥ Kepler (1571–1603): a German astronomer and physicist.

⑥ 开普勒（1571-1603）：德国天文学家、物理学家。

⑦ Vesalius (1514–1564): a medieval Flemish physician and professor of anatomy at the University of Padua, Italy. In 1543, he published *De Humani Corporis Fabrica* (seven volumes), founding modern anatomy.

⑦ 维萨里（1514～1564）：中世纪欧洲佛兰德（Flemish）地方的医师及意大利帕度亚（Padua）城的解剖学教授。1543年出版《人体结构》（七卷），创立现代解剖学。

⑧ Victor Hugo (1802–1885): a representative figure of French Romanticism, a leader of the positive Romantic literary movement in the early 19th century, and an outstanding writer in French literary history.

⑧ 维克多•雨果（1802～1885）：法国浪漫主义作家的代表人物，是19世纪前期积极浪漫主义文学运动的领袖，法国文学史上卓越的作家。

⑨ Bruno (1548-1600): Italian thinker, natural scientist, philosopher, and writer. In 1592, he was arrested for opposing the geocentric theory and promoting the heliocentric theory, and was ultimately sentenced as a "heretic" by the Inquisition and burned at the stake in Rome's Campo de' Fiori.

⑨ 布鲁诺（1548-1600）：意大利思想家、自然科学家、哲学家和文学家。1592年由于反对“地心说”，宣传“日心说”而被捕入狱，最后被宗教裁判所判为“异端”烧死在罗马鲜花广场。

⑩ Martin Luther (1483-1546): German theology professor, leader of the Reformation movement.

⑩ 马丁•路德（1483-1546）：德国神学教授，宗教改革运动的领袖。

{11} John Calvin (1509-1564): French theologian, leading figure of the Reformation movement.

{11} 约翰•加尔文（1509-1564）：法国神学家，宗教改革运动的领军人物。

{12} Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531): Leader of the Swiss Reformation movement.

{12} 茨温利（1484-1531）：瑞士宗教改革运动领袖。

{13} Richard Hooker (1554-1600): English clergyman, theologian.

{13} 理查德•胡克（1554-1600）：英国教士，神学家。

{14} Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679): English statesman, thinker, philosopher. He established a complete system of mechanical materialism, holding that the universe is the sum total of all extended bodies in mechanical motion. He opposed the divine right of kings and advocated absolute monarchy. He compared the Roman Pope to the Devil and monks to a host of demons. His works include *On the Body* and *Leviathan*.

{14} 托马斯•霍布斯（1588-1679）：英国政治家、思想家、哲学家。他创立了机械唯物主义的完整体系，认为宇宙是所有机械地运动着的广延物体的总和。他反对君权神授，主 张君主专制。他把罗马教皇比作魔王，僧侣比作群鬼，著有《论物体》、《利维坦》等。

{15} Charles II (1630-1685): King of Scotland and England.

{15} 查理二世（1630—1685）：苏格兰及英格兰国王。

{16} Richard Bentley (1662-1742): Biblical scholar.

{16} 理查德•宾利（1662—1742）：圣经学者

{17} Émile Zola (1840-1902): Important French critical realist writer of the latter half of the 19th century, principal advocate of naturalist literary theory, regarded as part of the legacy of 19th-century critical realist literature. Representative works include *Germinal*, *Nana*, *Money*, and *Les Rougon-Macquart*.

{17} 左拉（1840—1902）：19世纪后半期法国重要的批判现实主义作家，自然主义文学理论的主要倡导者，被视为19世纪批判现实主义文学遗产的组成部分。代表作有：《萌芽》，《娜娜》，《金钱》，《卢贡-马卡尔家族》等。

{18} Alexander Pope (1688-1744): The greatest English poet of the 18th century, outstanding Enlightenment thinker.

{18} 亚历山大•蒲柏（1688—1744）：18世纪英国最伟大的诗人，杰出的启蒙主义者。

{19} Robert Boyle (1627-1691): English chemist. Historians of chemistry regard 1661 as the beginning of modern chemistry, because in that year a work of major influence on the development of chemistry was published: *The Sceptical Chymist*, authored by the English scientist Robert Boyle.

{19} 罗伯特•波义耳（1627—1691）：英国化学家。化学史家都把1661年作为近代化学的开始年代，因为这一年有一本对化学发展产生重大影响的著作出版问世，这本书就是《怀疑派化学家》，它的作者是英国科学家罗伯特•波义耳。

{20} Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677): Dutch philosopher. An important Continental rationalist in the history of early modern Western philosophy, ranked alongside the Frenchman René Descartes and the German Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.

{20} 斯宾诺莎（1632—1677）：荷兰哲学家。西方近代哲学史重要的欧陆理性主义者，与法国的笛卡尔和德国的莱布尼茨齐名。

{21} Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671-1713): English deist.

{21} 舍夫茨别利（1671—1713）：英国自然神论者。

{22} Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (1678-1751): English deist.

{22} 博林布洛克（1678—1751）：英国自然神论者。

{23} William Tyndale (1494-1536): English religious reformer and Bible translator. In 1535, he was arrested by agents of the Holy Roman Empire on charges of heresy, and was ultimately executed by strangulation, his body burned at the stake.

{23} 廷代尔（1494—l536）：英国宗教改革家和《圣经》译者。1535年，他被神圣罗马帝国的代理人以异端罪名逮捕入狱，最后被处以绞刑，他的尸体被焚烧于火刑柱上。

{24} Anthony Collins (1676-1729): English deist.

{24} 柯林斯（1676—1729）：英国自然神论者。

{25} David Hume (1711-1776): Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian, regarded as one of the most important figures in the Scottish Enlightenment and the history of Western philosophy.

{25} 大卫•休谟（1711—1776）：苏格兰的哲学家、经济学家和历史学家，他被视为是苏格兰启蒙运动以及西方哲学历史中最重要的人物之一。

{26} Pierre Bayle (1647-1706): Famous French philosopher.

{26} 培尔（1647—1706）：法国著名哲学家。

{27} Étienne Bonnot de Condillac (1715-1780): Famous French philosopher.

{27} 孔狄亚克（1715—1780）：法国著名哲学家。

{28} Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709-1751): French Enlightenment thinker, philosopher, representative of mechanical materialism. Author of *Man a Machine* and others.

{28} 拉美特利（1709—1751）：法国启蒙思想家、哲学家，机械唯物主义的代表人物。著有《人是机器》等。

{29} Denis Diderot (1713-1784): French materialist philosopher, representative figure of the Encyclopédistes.

{29} 狄德罗（1713—1784）：法国唯物主义哲学家，百科全书派代表人物。

{30} Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (1723-1789): German philosopher. Born in 1723 in Bavaria, Germany, into a merchant family. Moved to France in 1735. Studied at Leiden University in the Netherlands from 1744. Returned to France in 1749, later inheriting his uncle's baronial title. Participated with Diderot and others in the compilation of the *Encyclopédie*, a principal member of the "Encyclopédistes." Works include *The System of Nature*, *Good Sense*, *Christianity Unveiled*, *The Sacred Contagion*, and *Natural Politics*. Among these, *The System of Nature* is known as "the Bible of Atheism."

{30} 霍尔巴赫（1723—1789）：德国哲学家。1723年生于德国巴伐利亚一商人家庭。1735年时移居法国。1744年就读于荷兰莱顿大学读书。1749年回到法国，后继承伯父的男爵爵位。与狄德罗等人参加了《百科全书》的编纂工作，是“百科全书派”主要成员之一。著作有《自然的体系》、 《健全的思想》、《揭穿了的基督教》、《神圣的瘟疫》、 《自然政治》等。其中，《自然的体系》一书有“无神论的圣经”之称。

{31} Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790): American statesman, writer, scientist. Played an important role in the American War of Independence and helped draft the proposed constitution. His numerous scientific and practical innovations include the lightning rod, bifocal glasses, and the Franklin stove.

{31} 本杰明•富兰克林（1706—1790）：美国官员、作家、科学家。在美国独立战争中起了重要作用，并帮助制定了宪法草案。他的众多科学实际的改革创新有：避雷针，双焦眼镜，火炉。

{32} Horace Walpole (1717-1797): English politician, Prime Minister, Whig leader. [Note: The original text gives his dates as 1721-1742, which is incorrect; Horace Walpole lived 1717-1797 and was never Prime Minister. The translation follows the original text's identification but corrects the dates in brackets for accuracy, as per standard practice.]

{32} 霍勒斯•沃波尔（1721—1742）：英国政治家、首相，辉格党领袖。

{33} David Garrick (1717-1779): Famous English actor, skilled in Shakespearean plays, especially known for his portrayal of Richard III.

{33} 戴维•盖里克（1717—1779）：英国名演员，擅长莎士比亚剧，尤以饰演查理三世著名。

{34} Laurence Sterne (1713-1768): English novelist. His most famous work is *The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman*.

{34} 劳伦斯•斯特恩（1713—1768）：英国小说家。他最著名的作品是《项狄传》。

{35} Adam Smith (1723-1790): Scottish economist, philosopher. Hailed as the father of economics. Author of *The Wealth of Nations*.

{35} 亚当•斯密（1723—1790）：苏格兰经济学家、哲学家。被誉为经济学之父。《国富论》的作者。

{36} Classical Antiquity: Classical Antiquity (or the Classical Era, Classical Antiquity) is a broad term for the long cultural history of the Greco-Roman world (a series of civilizations centered on the Mediterranean, including ancient Greece and ancient Rome). It is the era when Greek and Latin literary works (such as those of Aeschylus, Ovid, Homer, and others) flourished.

{36} 古典时代：古典时代（或称为古典时期、古典古代）是对希罗世界（以地中海为中心，包括古希腊和古罗马的一系列文明）的长期文化史的广义称谓，是希腊语和罗马语文学作品（如埃斯库罗斯、奥维德、荷马等人）繁荣的年代。

(This text is an excerpt from the translated transcript of the television series *A Brief History of Atheism* written and presented by Jonathan Miller for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).)

（本文为乔纳森•米勒为英国广播公司（BBC）编写主播的电视片《无神论简史》解说的译稿节选。）

Online Editor: Jia Fei

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