From: The Dial, Vol. III, No. I (July 1842)
Author:
Published: E. P. Peabody 1842 Boston
THE increasing zeal and numbers of the disciples of Fourier, in America and in Europe, entitle them to an attention which their theory and practical projects will justify and reward. In London, a good weekly newspaper (lately changed into a monthly journal) called “The Phalanx,” devoted to the social doctrines of Charles Fourier, and bearing for its motto, “Association and Colonization,” is edited by Hugh Doherty. Mr. Etzler’s inventions, as described in the Phalanx, promise to cultivate twenty thousand acres with the aid of four men only and cheap machinery. Thus the laborers are threatened with starvation, if they do not organize themselves into corporations, so that machinery may labor for instead of working against them. It appears that Mr. Young, an Englishman of large property, has purchased the Benedictine Abbey of Citeaux, in the Mont d’Or, in France, with its ample domains, for the purpose of establishing a colony there. We also learn that some members of the sect have bought an estate at Santa Catharina, fifty miles from Rio Janeiro, in a good situation for an agricultural experiment, and one hundred laborers have sailed from Havre to that port, and nineteen hundred more are to follow. On the anniversary of the birthday of Fourier, which occurred in April, public festivals were kept by the Socialists in London, in Paris, and in New York. In the city of New York, the disciples of Fourier have bought a column in the Daily Tribune, Horace Greeley’s excellent newspaper, whose daily and weekly circulation exceeds twenty thousand copies, and through that organ are now diffusing their opinions.
We had lately an opportunity of learning something of these Socialists and their theory from the indefatigable apostle of the sect in New York, Albert Brisbane. Mr. Brisbane pushes his doctrine with all the force of memory, talent, honest faith, and importunacy. As we listened to his exposition, it appeared to us the sublime of mechanical philosophy; for the system was the perfection of arrangement and contrivance. The force of arrangement could no farther go. The merit of the plan was that it was a system; that it had not the partiality and hint-and-fragment character of most popular schemes, but was coherent and comprehensive of facts to a wonderful degree. It was not daunted by distance, or magnitude, or remoteness of any sort, but strode about nature with a giant’s step, and skipped no fact, but wove its large Ptolemaic web of cycle and epicycle, of phalanx and phalanstery, with laudable assiduity. Mechanics were pushed so far as fairly to meet spiritualism. One could not but be struck with strange coincidences betwixt Fourier and Swedenborg. Genius hitherto has been shamefully misapplied, a mere trifler. It must now set itself to raise the social condition of man, and to redress the disorders of the planet he inhabits. The Desert of Sahara, the Campagna di Roma, the frozen polar circles, which by their pestilential or hot or cold airs poison the temperate regions, accuse man. Society, concert, cooperation, is the secret of the coming Paradise. By reason of the isolation of men at the present day, all work is drudgery. By concert, and the allowing each laborer to choose his own work, it becomes pleasure. “Attractive Industry” would speedily subdue, by adventurous, scientific, and persistent tillage, the pestilential tracts; would equalize temperature; give health to the globe, and cause the earth to yield ‘healthy imponderable fluids’ to the solar system, as now it yields noxious fluids. The hyæna, the jackal, the gnat, the bug, the flea, were all beneficent parts of the system; the good Fourier knew what those creatures should have been, had not the mould slipped, through the bad state of the atmosphere, caused, no doubt, by these same vicious imponderable fluids. All these shall be redressed by human culture, and the useful goat, and dog, and innocent poetical moth, or the wood-tick to consume decomposing wood, shall take their place. It takes 1680 men to make one Man, complete in all the faculties; that is, to be sure that you have got a good joiner, a good cook, a barber, a poet, a judge, an umbrella-maker, a mayor and aldermen, and so on. Your community should consist of 2000 persons, to prevent accidents of omission; and each community should take up 6000 acres of land. Now fancy the earth planted with fifties and hundreds of these phalanxes side by side,—what tillage, what architecture, what refectories, what dormitories, what reading rooms, what concerts, what lectures, what gardens, what baths! What is not in one, will be in another, and many will be within easy distance. Theo know you and all, that Constantinople is the natural capital of the globe. There, in the Golden Horn, will be the Arch-Phalanx established, there will the Omniarch reside. Aladdin and his magician, or the beautiful Scheherzarade, can alone in these prosaic times, before the sight, describe the material splendors collected there. Poverty shall be abolished; deformity, stupidity, and crime shall be no more. Genius, grace, art, shall abound, and it is not to be doubted but that, in the reign of “Attractive Industry,” all men will speak in blank verse.
Certainly we listened with great pleasure to such gay and magnificent pictures. The ability and earnestness of the advocate and hill friends, the comprehensiveness of their theory, its apparent directness of proceeding to the end they would secure, the indignation they felt and uttered at all other speculation in the presence of so much social misery, commanded our attention and respect. It contained so much truth, and promised in the attempts that shall be made to realize it so much valuable instruction, that we are engaged to observe every step of its progress. Yet in spite of the assurances of its friends, that it was new and widely discriminated from all other plans for the regeneration of society, we could not exempt it from the criticism which we apply to so many projects for reform with which the brain of the age teems. Our feeling was, that Fourier had skipped no fact but one, namely, Life. He treats man as a plastic thing, something that may be put up or down, ripened or retarded, moulded, polished, made into solid, or fluid, or gas, at the will of the leader; or, perhaps, as a vegetable, from which, though now a poor crab, a very good peach can by manure and exposure be in time produced, but skips the faculty of life, which spawns and scorns system and system-makers, which eludes all conditions, which makes or supplants a thousand phalanxes and New-Harmonies with each pulsation. There is an order in which in a sound mind the faculties always appear, and which, according to the strength of the individual, they seek to realize in the surrounding world. The value of Fourier’s system is that it is a statement of such an order externized, or carried outward into its correspondence in facts. The mistake is, that this particular order and series is to be imposed by force of preaching and votes on fill men, and carried into rigid execution. But what is true and good must not only be begun by life, but must be conducted to its issues by life. Could not the conceiver of this design have also believed that a similar model lay in every mind, and that the method of each associate might be trusted, as well as that of his particular Committee and General Office, No. 200 Broadway? nay, that it would be better to say, let us be lovers and servants of that which is just; and straightway every man becomes a centre of a holy and beneficent republic, which he sees to include all men in its law, like that of Plato, and of Christ. Before such a man the whole world becomes Fourierized or Christized or humanized, and in the obedience to his most private being, he finds himself, according to his presentiment, though against all sensuous probability, acting in strict concert with all others who followed their private light.
Yet in a day of small, sour, and fierce schemes one is admonished and cheered by a project of such friendly aims, and of such bold and generous proportion; there is an intellectual courage and strength in it, which is superior and commanding: it certifies the presence of so much truth in the theory, and in so far is destined to be fact.
But now, whilst we write these sentences, comes to us a paper from Mr. Brisbane himself. We are glad of the opportunity of letting him speak for himself. He has much more to say than we have hinted, and here has treated a general topic. We have not room for quite all the matter which he has sent us, but persuade ourselves that we have retained every material statement, in spite of the omissions which we find it necessary to make, to contract his paper to so much room as we offered him.
Mr Brisbane, in a prefatory note to his article, announces himself as an advocate of the Social Laws discovered by CHARLES FOURIER, and intimates that he wishes to connect whatever value attaches to any statement of his, with the work in which he is exclusively engaged, that of Social Reform. He adds the following broad and generous declaration.
“It seems to me that, with the spectacle of the present misery and degradation of the human race before us, all scientific researches and speculations, to be of any real value, should have a bearing upon the means of their social elevation and happiness. The mass of scientific speculations, which are every day offered to the world by men, who are not animated by a deep interest in the elevation of their race, and who exercise their talents merely to build up systems, or to satisfy a spirit of controversy, or personal ambition, are perfectly valueless. What is more futile than barren philosophical speculation, that leads to no great practical results?”
BY ALBERT BRISBANE.
The Intellectual History of Humanity has been one series of combats, one ceaseless war. Religion bas warred with Religion, Sect with Sect, Philosophy with Philosophy, and System with System. Doubt, uncertainty, and contradiction have bewildered the human mind, and the Human Race have been wandering blindly amidst fragments of doctrines and systems, which have choked up and hidden the road of truth, and Jed them innumerable times astray upon false routes.
The most unfortunate contest, however, which has taken place, is that between Religion and Science, or Faith and Reason. These two means or powers, by which man obtains knowledge, have been completely divided, and arrayed in hostile opposition to each other. They have undermined reciprocally each other’s labors; they have combatted with, and tyrannized by turns over each other. I call this combat of Faith and Reason the most unfortunate, because had they been united,—had they combined their powers,—had they aided each other, they would have discovered, centuries since, enough of universal Truth to have put an end to the war of Religions, Sects, and Philosophies, which has bewildered human judgment, dispelled the deep spiritual gloom in which Humanity is sunk, and put it on the true road of progress to universal knowledge.
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A part only of Universal Truth bas descended upon this earth, and that part is broken into a thousand fragments, and scattered confusedly among as many sects and systems. So long as the intellectual Powers of Man, that is, Faith and Reason, are in conflict with each other, the human mind will not have strength enough to collect these broken fragments together, and unite them in a harmonious whole. Neither Faith nor Reason alone can do it. All the intellectual Powers in man must combine, and united in their strength, they must drag from out the rubbish of sects and doctrines the fragments of truths which they contain, and unite them together. As universal Truth has not yet descended upon the earth, they then must, to complete her divine statue, proceed to an integral study of God and the material Universe, which is the external emblem and manifestation of his internal activities.
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To have two concise designations of the two sources of knowledge, I will call the first source Reason, and the second Faith. Faith is first active in the human mind; we find that in the savage state, long before the Reason begins to search for first principles, Faith reveals to man the existence of a God, his Immortality, and other great truths. Reason follows later,—and only exercises its power, when it is developed and cultivated. Its function is to elucidate, define, and explain clearly the nature of the spontaneous conceptions of the soul, and to discover the exact sciences.
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The ideas of God and Immortality, which have their source in the spontaneous conceptions of the Soul, become with time so blended with the images and symbols under which they are represented, that the original ideas can no longer be conceived separate from them. Hence to destroy the image or symbol, appears to the believer to be the destruction of the idea itself, and hence his tenacious adherence to external forms and symbols, and the accusation of impiety and irreligion, which he casts upon Reason, when it criticizes and attacks them.
Reason, on the other hand, generally carries its criticisms to an extreme; it does not separate the forms or dress, in which the ideas of the Divinity and Immortality are clothed, from those grand Ideas themselves; it does not separate the Symbols from the truths which they cover, but, confounding the two, wanders so far astray u to deny often the existence of a God and the Immortality of the Soul. It then falls into irreligion and atheism, and a complete breach takes place between Faith and Reason. The two means of knowledge in man then clash with, instead of lending to each other their aid. Faith denounces Reason as impious, and Reason accuses Faith of a puerile credulity.
Which is in the wrong, Faith or Reason, Religion or Science? Both; the Priesthood should elevate their forms and symbols, as human reason develops itself, and becomes capable of explaining the truths or dogmas of Religion in a purer and more scientific manner; and Science, instead of criticizing the mere Forms and Symbols in which the truths of Religion are clothed, or attacking, as it so often docs, those truths themselves, should have studied them with respect, and endeavored to explain scientifically their nature.
To produce a reconciliation and union between Faith and Reason, the latter must discover the nature of the soul, and its origin, and learn that its spontaneous Conceptions are absolutely true, however false the images and symbols may be in which they are clothed. It must then study and discover the nature of the truths which the soul conceives, and explain them scientifically to Faith, so that the strong aspiration which exists in man to believe may be fully gratified. Thus will Faith which clings to its instinctive conceptions, and Reason which clings to its scientific deductions, be satisfied, and the contest, which has been so long going on between them, be terminated, and a union effected.
Science must progress so far as to understand fully the nature of the soul, and the elements composing it.* When it discovers that the intellectual, active Principle in Man is good, when it discovers its divine Origin, then it will believe in the truths which the Soul spontaneously conceives, take them as the basis of its researches, and study them with profound respect. When enlightened Faith sees this, it will be satisfied; it will recognise Reason with joy as a sister-partner in the search of Truth, and will accept the full and scientific explanations, furnished by Reason, of the great problems, which it had previously conceived but only in a general or abstract manner. It will then see that the function of Reason is to explain and demonstrate clearly, what it conceives vaguely and in general terms; and it will then lean upon it and seek cordially its aid.
Bigotry, we must expect, will hold tenaciously to ancient forms and symbols, and reject ignorantly the progressive enlightenment of Reason, as superficial Reason will always criticize, doubt, and deny, without examining deeply or affirming. But Bigotry is to true Faith, what shallow, criticizing Reason, and empty denial are· to that profound Reason, which investigates integrally and scientifically.
Thus Faith conceives spontaneously, while Reason analyzes and proves scientifically:—these are the two Sources of knowledge in Mao. There should be Union and Concert of action between them,—between the two means which the Soul possesses of obtaining knowledge. The intellectual nature of Man is ONE, and all its powers should be directed to the same ends. First come the spontaneous conceptions of the Soul; they precede the investigations of Reason, and on the light which should guide it on in the great work of discovering universal Truth. Reason follows, and with study and investigation explains the true and full nature of the problems, which before were only indistinctly conceived.
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In the early history of the Human Race, when the only truths of a universal nature known were those conceived spontaneously by the Soul, all knowledge was confined to the precincts of the Temple, and treasured up by the Priesthood. Later, aa human Intelligence developed itself, a new order of truths, separate from those of Religion, began to be brought to light, and sciences, discovered by the observations of the senses and the reflections of reason, were promulgated.
Mankind have thus had two teachers of Truth,—Faith and Reason, or Religion and Science, and the two institutions which have been established to propagate their instructions, are the Church and the University.
Whenever the Priesthood have been powerful, and their sway firmly established, Science has had to bow to and obey Religion, and Reason to be silent; but whenever the power of the Priesthood has been weakened, and its control over Science broken, then Reason has sought retribution for the tyranny to which it had been subjected, and has criticised and attacked the rites, forms, and dogmas of Religion. An epoch of Doubt and Irreligion follows such a movement, as an epoch of simple Faith, and often blind Superstition, preceded it.
I have pointed out the principle which should be proceeded upon to effect a final Accord of Faith and Reason, or of Religion and Science. I will now explain briefly the practical means, which must be employed to realize this great object,—an object second in importance to no other.
1. The social condition of the mass of Mankind must be vastly improved; their minds must be cultivated and developed, and their feelings ennobled and elevated. When poverty and harassing cares deaden the Sympathies and noble Impulses of the Soul, and Ignorance and grovelling pursuits degrade or pervert the Intelligence, how can the one feel with purity, and the other understand scientifically the great truths of the Universe? So absorbed or degraded are the feelings and faculties of the vast Majority, by the miseries, conflicts, discords, wrongs, and prosaic occupations of our false Societies, that the desire and aspirations for universal Truth are smothered, and the power of comprehending it destroyed.
So long as the great body of the Human Race are sunk in ignorance and degradation, Religion must present its great Truths to them in the simplest manner, and clothe them in material images and symbols. So long as this is the case, Science will disregard and criticise the simple explanations and symbols of Religion, and the contest between them will be continued. They cannot be reconciled until the dogmas of Religion are taught with scientific purity, and there is an intelligent Humanity capable of comprehending them.
The minds of the Mass cannot be developed, their social condition cannot be greatly elevated in our present false societies. The present repugnant system of Industry, the Poverty, Discords, Conflicts of Interest, and the miserable methods of Education which exist, are insurmountable obstacles in the way. The first practical condition, consequently, of an Accord of Religion and Science is the establishment of a true Social Order, which will lead to the moral and intellectual elevation of mankind.
2. A great Genius must arise, who, piercing the veil that covers the mysteries of the Universe, will discover, or prepare the way to the discovery of the nature and essence of God,—the true Theory of the Immortality of the Soul,—the laws of Order and Harmony which govern Creation, and solve the great problems on which Religion and Science are based. This will be declared impossible by the world, for Men have abandoned all hope of comprehending God and the System of Nature; but the human Mind can arrive at this knowledge, and a Genius equal to the task has arisen, and in our age, and has accomplished it. That Genius is CHARLES FOURIER.
An Age never believes in the discoveries of its great minds, and the achievements of FOURIER,—the discovery of the theory of Universal Unity in its five cardinal Branches,—will not be understood by the great body even of the educated of the present day. But the few, who have studied thoroughly his discoveries, know that the principles of a true Universal Science are now in the possession of mankind. He has opened the Book of Beauties, in which Humanity henceforth can read, he has explained the nature of Man, and pointed out how, from this and other knowledge, he can attain to a comprehension of the nature and essence of God; he has proved scientifically the Immortality of the Soul, shown the Destiny of the Human Race upon the Earth, and explained in detail the Organization of a true system of Society, which will secure the moral, intellectual, and physical elevation of Mankind, and give to all a higher degree of mental Culture and Development, than the most favored have yet attained.
I will repeat briefly, in concluding, the conditions which must be fulfilled to effect a reconciliation and union of Religion and Science, as it is important to have them clearly before the mind. The first condition contains properly two within itself, and I will separate them for the sake of greater clearness.
1. A true Social Order must be discovered and established, which will give Education, or intellectual development, and abundance of pecuniary independence to Man, and which will direct and develop properly his passions.
2. The condition of Mankind must be morally and intellectually elevated, 10 that they can feel purely and comprehend scientifically universal Truth, the Exaltation and Explanation of which are the aims of Religion and Science.
3. Genius must discover the system of the Universe, and give a full and scientific Elucidation of its laws. Such an Elucidation will open to Man views of God, a future state, and the scheme of Creation, infinitely more sublime than bis Faith, or the spontaneous conceptions of the Soul, have yet conceived. It will in consequence exalt his Faith, while it satisfies his Reason, and will unite and harmonize them fully.
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The age is ready for a great movement; the human Mind has, during the last three centuries, broken the chains of intellectual despotism, and run through an epoch of doubting, criticising, and inconclusive philosophy, and is now prepared for a work of reconstruction,—both in a scientific and religious sense.
The world has nearly thrown off also another despotism, that of the warrior interest, and it is planting the peaceful standard of Production and Industry in its place. Human Intelligence has matured beyond all precedent, during the last hundred years, and must now be capable of comprehending the grand idea of a Social Reform, and the elevation of the Human Race. The Disciples of Fourier hope and trust that it is so, and that the dawn of Universal Truth and Human Happiness is now breaking upon this earth, so long sunk in ignorance, and so long the abode of Tyranny and Misery.
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* Up to the time of CHARLES FOURIER, this had not been done. Science had always condemned human nature as imperfect or degraded, and it could not, under the influence of such a belief, respect and confide in the instinctive conceptions which go forth from the soul. FOURIER has proved human nature to be good, true, and holy, although he recognises that it is now prevented and degraded by our false systems of society.—A. B.
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