SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES 131 



get this theory known, using his brilliant literary powers and popular gifts 

 to make it attractive; indeed, it was mostly thanks to him that Newton's 

 discovery became known to the world of culture in Europe within a space of 

 a few decades. Thus it came about that Voltaire to a certain degree stands in 

 the same relation to Newton as Haeckel does to Darwin. Voltaire also re- 

 minds us of Haeckel in that he made his natural-scientific theory the basis of 

 a comprehensive view of the world, to which he unceasingly refers in his 

 struggle against ecclesiastical authority, whose doctrines of the creation 

 and of miracles he despised and ridiculed from that standpoint. From his 

 time originates the custom of citing "natural laws" as proofs controverting 

 the Church's traditional cosmic theory. Otherwise Voltaire's notions of the 

 universe constitute in themselves no really radical break with the old tradi- 

 tion; he believed both in a personal God and in the causal finality of nature, 

 which to a certain extent contributed towards making the transition from 

 the ancient to the modern cosmic theory less of a shock to the great majority. 

 Furthermore, his doctrines had the rare consequence of bringing about a 

 radical revaluation of the whole of man's ideas of life. 



With the coming of this so-called "period of enlightenment" introduced 

 by Voltaire we may regard the conception of nature created by antiquity 

 and handed down through the Middle Ages and after as definitely shattered. 

 It would, however, be an exaggeration to assume that Voltairianism reigned 

 supreme in his period. Besides the adherents of the time-honoured cult of 

 antiquity, of whom there were always a great number, there were to be 

 found during the enlightened period, in ever-increasing numbers, supporters 

 of the mystical-speculative tendencies which have been mentioned above. 

 Throughout the whole era here under discussion a not unimportant part 

 was played by natural-scientific mysticism, influencing even otherwise quite 

 critical people in the scientific world and everywhere attracting adherents, 

 who devoted themselves entirely to its aims and purposes. Its roots, as has 

 already been mentioned, lay far back in time, while its ramifications can be 

 traced even in the field of modern natural research, exact though it apparently 

 is. Its development thus deserves a chapter to itself, the beginning of which 

 must take us back to the days of the Renaissance. 



