We have said above that the system of the Libertines was pantheistic ; it was, in fact, pure pantheism. They held that there is one universal spirit, which is found in every creature, and is the Spirit of God. This one spirit and God is distinguished from itself according as it is considered in heaven or on earth. '' Deum a se ipso di- versum esse, quod alius omnino in hoc mundo sit quam in coelo" (Calvin, Instr. adv. Libert, c. 1 1). All creatures, angels, etc., are nothing in themselves, and have no real existence aside from God. Man is preserved only by the Spirit of God, which is in him, and exists only until that spirit again departs from him; instead of a soul, it is (iod himself who dwells in man, and all his actions, all that takes place in the world, is direct from him, is the immediate work of God (" (iuid([uid in mundo fit, opus ipsius [Dei] directo censendum esse," c. 13). Ev- erything else, the world, the flesh, the devil, souls, etc., are by this system considered as illusions, mere supposi- tions (opinatio). Even sin is not a mere negation of right, but, since God is the active agent of all actions, it v.— Dd
can be but an illusion also, and will disappear as soon as this princiiile is recognised (" Peccatum — non solum aiunt boni privationem esse, sed est illis opinatio, qua3 evanescit et aboletur, cum nulla habetur ejus ratio," c. 12. Pecquet says, in regard to that, " Et quia omnia qure liunt extra Deum, nihil sunt quam vanitas," c. 23). There is, therefore, but one evil, and that evil is this very illusion, this imagination of evil, of a distinction between it and the right. Thus the original fall or sin was nothing else than a separation of man from God, or rather the result of man's desire to be something by him- self, separating himself from union and identity with God. Thus unintentionally man subjected himself to the world and to Satan, and became himself an illusion, a smoke which passes away and leaves nothing behind. So Pocquet says. " Ideo scriptum est ('?), ' Qui videt peccatum, peccatum ei manet et Veritas in ipso non est' " (in Calvin, c. 23). From the Libertine point of view the nature of Christ did not materially differ from ours; he consisted, like other human beings, in divine spirit, such as dwells in us all, and in the sacrifice only the illu- sionary, or worldly part, was lost. However considered, the whole history of Christ, and especially his crucifix- ion, death, and resurrection, had for them but a symbol- ical significance ; his passion, etc., was, according to Cal- vin's strong expression, only " une farce ou moralite jouee pour nous figurer le mystere de notre salut" — only a type of the idea that sin was effaced and atoned for, while in reality, and in God's view, it was of no account in itself (" Chr. solum velut typus fuit, in quo contera- plamur ea, quaj ad salutem nostram requirit scriptura ; e. g. cum aiunt, Christum abolevisse peccatum, sensus eorum est, Christum abolitionem illam in persona sua repn-esentasse," c. 17). But in so far as we are one in spirit with Christ, all that he underwent is as if we had undergone it; his exclamation, " It is finished," is true as well for us as for himself; sin has lost all significance so far as we are concerned, and the fight against sin, re- pentance, mortification of the flesh, etc., are no longer necessary. Neither can nor should the spiritualist be any longer subject to suffering, since Christ has suffered all. Here the idea and the reality, however, are in con- flict ("Nam scriptum est: Factus sum totus homo. Cum factus sit totus homo [tout homme, in a twofold sense], accipiens naturam humanam, ac mortuus sit, potestne adluic in his inferioribus locis mori? Magni esset er- roris hoc credere," etc., ibidem, c. 23). Of course man should be born anew, but this new birth is seciu'ed when he regains the state of innocence of Adam before the fall; when in absolute filial unity with God, he neither sees nor knows sin, or, in other words, when he is no longer able to distinguish it from righteousness (riiodo ne amplius opinemur), and when able to follow the dic- tates of God's Spirit by virtue of natural impulse ('• Sed si adhuc commitfamus delictum et ingrediamur hortum voluptatis, qui adhuc nobis prohibitus est, ne quid veli- mus facere, sed sinamus nos duci a voluntate Dei. Ali- oqui non essemus exuti veteri serpente, qui est primus parens noster Adam, et videremus peccatum, sicut ipse et uxor ejus, etc. Nunc vivificati suraus cum secundo' Adamo; qui est Christus, non cernenilo amplius pecca- tum, quia est mortuum," etc.: ibidem; compare c. 18). Such a twice-born one is Christ, is God himself, to whom the Libertine returns after death, to be absorbed in him- ("Hoc enim imaginantur, animam hominis, quae est Deus, ad seipsam redire, cum ad mortem ventum est, non ut tanquam anima humana, sed tanquam Deus ipse vi- vat, sicuti ab initio," c. 3 and 22).
The consequences of such principles are obvious : they lead naturally to sensuality, to the emancipation of the flesh and the laying aside of all restrictions; make men look upon propriety or ownership as a wrong, as opposed to the principles of love, and, in fact, a theft, though this principle was not carried into practice. Calvin called its principal advocates " doctores passivce caritatis." Or- dinary or legal marriage comes to be looked upon as a mere carnal bond, and therefore dissoluble ; true mar-