Hitler's Table Talk

EXPLOITATION OF FEAR OF DEATH 85
inanimate matter. In the face of this discovery, the Church will
begin by rising in revolt, then it will continue to teach its
"truths". One day finally, under the battering-ram of science,
dogma will collapse. It is logical that it should be so, for the
human spirit cannot remorselessly apply itself to raising the veil
of mystery without peoples' one day drawing the conclusions.
The Ten Commandments are a code of living to which there's
no refutation. These precepts correspond to irrefragable needs of
the human soul; they're inspired by the best religious spirit, and
the Churches here support themselves on a solid foundation.
The Churches are born of the need to give a structure to the
religious spirit. Only the forms in which the religious instinct
expresses itself can vary. So-and-so doesn't become aware of
human littleness unless he is seized by the scruff of the neck, but
so-and-so does not need even an unchaining of the elements
to teach him the same thing. In the depths of his heart, each
man is aware of his puniness.
The microscope has taught us that we are hemmed in not
only by the infinitely great, but also by the infinitely small—
macrocosm and microcosm. To such large considerations are
added particular things that are brought to our attention by
natural observation: that certain hygienic practices are good
for a man—fasting, for example. It's by no means a result of
chance that amongst the ancient Egyptians no distinction was
drawn between medicine and religion.
If modern science were to ignore such data, it would be doing
harm. On the other hand, superstitions must not be allowed to
hamper human progress. That would be so intolerable as to
justify the disappearance of religions.
When a man grows old, his tissues lose their elasticity. The
normal man feels a revulsion at the sight of death—this to such a
point that it is usually regarded as a sign of bad taste to speak of
it lightly. A man who asks you if you have made your will is
lacking in tact. The younger one is, the less one cares about
such matters. But old people cling madly to life. So it's amongst
them that the Church recruits her best customers. She entices
them with the prospect that death interrupts nothing, that
beyond our human term everything continues, in much more
agreeable conditions. And you'd refuse to leave your little pile