the nation.

ligion by law, and its public exercife, are matters of ftate, and Duties and are neceflarily under the jurifdiction of the political authority. rights of If all men are bound to ferve God, the entire nation, in her national capacity, is doubtlefs obliged to ferve and honour him (Prelim. §5). And as this important duty is to be discharged by the nation in whatever manner fhe judges best,-to the nation it belongs to determine what religion the will follow, and what public worship the thinks proper to establish.

If there be as yet no religion efablished by public authority, $ 130. When there the nation ought to use the utmost care in order to know and is as yet no elablish the best. That which fhall have the approbation of established the majority fhall be received, and publicly established by law; rel gion. by which means it will become the religion of the ftate. But if a confiderable part of the nation is obftinately bent upon following another, it is afked-What does the law of nations require in fuch a cafe? Let us first remember that liberty of confcience is a natural right, and that there must be no conftraint in this refpect. There remain then but two methods to take, either to permit this party of the citizens to exercise the religion they chufe to profefs,-or to feparate them from the fociety, leaving them their property, and their fhare of the country that belonged to the nation in common,--and thus to form two new ftates instead of one. The latter method appears by no means proper:-it would weaken the nation, and thus would be inconfiftent with that regard which the owes to her own prefervation. It is therefore of more advantage to adopt the former method, and thus to establifh two religions in the state. But if thefe religions are too incompatible, if there be reafon to fear that they will produce divifions among the citizens, and diforder in public affairs, there is a third method, a wife medium between the two former, of which the Swifs have furnished examples. The cantons of Glaris and Appenzel were, in the fixteenth century, each divided into two parts: the one preferved the Romish religion, and the other embraced the reformation: each part has a diftinct government of its own for domestic affairs; but on foreign affairs they unite, and form but one and the fame republic, one and the fame canton.

--

Finally, if the number of citizens who would profefs a different religion from that established by the nation be inconflerable, and if for good and juft reafons it be thought improper to allow the exercife of feveral religions in the itate,thole citizens have a right to fell their lands, to retire with their families, and take all their property with them. For their engagements to fociety, and their fubmillion to the public authov, can never oblige them to violate their confciences. If the fociety will not allow me to do that to which I think myself bound by an indifpenfable obligation, it is obliged to allow me permiffion to depart.

$131. When the choice of a religion is already made, and there is When here one citablished by law, the nation ought to protect and fupport is an citalig on.

that

blished re

rights of the

that religion, and preferve it as an establishment of the greateft importance, without, however, blindly rejecting the changes that may be propofed to render it more pure and useful for we ought, in all things, to aim at perfection (§ 21). But as all innovations, in this cafe, are full of danger, and can seldom be produced without disturbances, they ought not to be attempted upon flight grounds, without neceffity, or very important reasons. It folely belongs to the fociety, the ftate, the entire nation, to determine the neceflity or propriety of thofe changes; and no private individual has a right to attempt them by his own autho rity, nor confequently to preach to the people a new doctrine. Let him offer his fentiments to the conductors of the nation, and fubmit to the orders he receives from them.

But if a new religion fpreads, and becomes fixed in the minds of the people, as it commonly happens, independently of the public authority, and without any deliberation in common,-it will be then neceflary to adopt the mode of reafoning we followed in the preceding fection on the cafe of chufing a religion,to pay attention to the number of thofe who follow the new opinions, to remember that no earthly power has authority over the confciences of men,-and to unite the maxims of found policy with those of juftice and equity.

$ 132. We have thus given a brief compendium of the duties and Duties and rights of a nation with regard to religion. Let us now come to thofe of the fovereign. These cannot be exactly the fame as with regard thofe of the nation which the fovereign reprefents. The nature to religion. of the fubject opposes it; for in religion nobody can give up his

fovereign

-

liberty. To give a clear and diftinct view of thofe rights and duties of the prince, and to establish them on a folid bafis, it is neceffary here to refer to the diftinction we have made in the two preceding fections:-if there is queftion of estab.ishing a religion in a state that has not yet received one, the fovereign may doubtless favour that which to him appears the true or the best religion, may have it announced to the people, and, by mild and fuitable means, endeavour to establish it:-he is even bound to do this, becaufe he is obliged to attend to every thing that concerns the happinefs of the nation. But in this he has no right to ufe authority and constraint. Since there was no religion eftablished in the fociety when he received his authority, the people gave him no power in this refpect; the fupport of the laws relating to religion is no part of his office, and does not belong to the authority with which they intrufted him, Numa was the founder of the religion of the ancient Romans: but he perfuaded the people to receive it. If he had been able to command in that inftance, he would not have had recourfe to the revelations of the nymph Egeria. Though the fovereign cannot exert any authority in order to establish a religion where there is none, he is authorifed and even obliged to employ all his power to hinder the introduction of one which he judges pernicious to morality and dangerous to the ftate. For he ought

to

to preferve his people from every thing that may be injurious to them; and fo far is a new doctrine from being an exception to this rule, that it is one of its most important objects. We fhall fee, in the following fections, what are the duties and rights of the prince in regard to the religion publicly established.

But to

Where

The prince, or the conductor, to whom the nation has in-§ 133. trusted the care of the government, and the exercife of the fove- there is an reign power, is obliged to watch over the prefervation of the re- eftablished ceived religion, the worship eftablished by law, and has a right religion. to reftrain thofe who attempt to deflroy or disturb it. acquit himself of this duty in a manner equally juft and wife, he ought never to lofe fight of the character in which he is called to act, and the reafon of his being invefted with it. Religion is of extreme importance to the peace and welfare of fociety; and the prince is obliged to have an eye to every thing in which the state is interested. This is all that calls him to interfere in religion, or to protect and defend it. It is therefore upon this footing only that he can interfere: confequently he ought to exert his authority against those alone whofe conduct in religious matters is prejudicial or dangerous to the ftate; but he must not extend it to pretended crimes against God, the punishment of which exclufively belongs to the Sovereign Judge, the Searcher of hearts. Let us remember that religion is no farther an affair of ftate, than as it is exterior and publicly established: that of the heart can only depend on the confcience. The prince has no right to punish any perfons but thofe that difturb fociety; and it would be very unjuft in him to inflict pains and penalties on any perfon whatfoever for his private opinions, when that perfon neither takes pains to divulge them, nor to obtain followers. It is a principle of fanaticism, a fource of evils, and of the most notorious injuftice, to imagine that frail mortals ought to take up the caufe of God, maintain his glory by acts of violence, and avenge him on his enemies. Let us only give to fovereigns, faid a great statesman and an excellent citizen * -let us give them, for the common advantage, the power of punishing whatever is inju rious to charity in fociety. It appertains not to human juflice to become the avenger of what concerns the caufe of Godt. Cicero, who was as able and as great in ftate affairs as in philosophy and eloquence, thought like the duke of Sully. In the laws he propofes relating to religion, he fays, on the fubject of piety and interior religion, "if any one tranfgreffes, God will revenge it :" but he declares the crime capital that fhould be committed against the religious ceremonies established for public affairs, and in which the whole ftate is concerned t. The wife Romans

The duke de Sully; fee his Memoirs digefted by M. de l'Eclufe, Vol. V. p. 135, 136.

Deorum injuriæ diis curæ. Tacit. Ann. book I. c. 73.

Qui fecus faxit, Deus ipfe vindex erit. •••••• Qui non paruerit, capitale cfto. De Legib. Lib. II

were

124.

the means

were very far from perfecuting a man for his creed; they only required that people should not difturb the public order.

The creeds or opinions of individuals, their fentiments with Objects of refpect to the Deity,-in a word, interior religion-fhould, like his care,and piety, be the object of the prince's attention: he fhould neglect he ought to no means of enabling his fubjects to difcover the truth, and of employ. infpiring them with good fentiments; but he fhould employ for this purpose only mild and paternal methods*. Here he cannot command (§ 128). It is in external religion and its public exercife that his authority may be employed. His task is to preferve it, and to prevent the diforders and troubles it may occafion. To preferve religion, he ought to maintain it in the purity of its inftitution, to take care that it be faithfully obferved in all its public ads and ceremonies, and punith thofe who dare to attack it openly. But he can require nothing by force except filence, and ought never to oblige any perfon to bear a part in external ceremonies by constraint, he would only produce disturbances or hypocrify.

$135.

tion.

A diverfity of opinions and worship has often produced dif orders and fatal diffenfions in a flate: and for this reafon, many will allow but one and the fame religion. A prudent and equitable fovereign will, in particular conjunctures, fee whether it be proper to tolerate or forbid the exercife of feveral different kinds of worship.

But, in general, we may bo'dly affirm that the moft certain Of tolera and equitable means of preventing the diforders that may be occafioned by difference of religion, is an univerfal toleration of all religions which contain no tenets that are dangerous either to morality or to the ftate. Let interested priests declaim!-they would not trample under foot the laws of humanity, and thofe of God himself, to make their doctrine triumph, if it were not the foundation on which are erected their opulence, luxury, and power. Do but crush the spirit of perfecution,-punish feverely whoever fhall dare to disturb others on account of their creed, and you will fee all fects living in peace in their common country, and ambitious of producing good citizens. Holland and the ftates of the king of Pruília furnish a proof of this: Calvinists, Lutherans, Catholics, Pietifts, Socinians, Jews, all live there in peace, because they are equally protected by the fovereign and none are punished, but the difturbers of the tranquillity of

§ 136.

What the

prince

others.

If, in fpite of the prince's care to preferve the established reli gion, the entire nation, or the greater part of it, should be dif ought to do gufted with it, and defire to have it changed, the fovereign cannot do violence to his people, nor conflrain them in an affair of nat on is re- this nature. The public religion was established for the safety

when the

folved to

change its religion.

Quas (religiones) non metu, fed ca conjun&tione quæ eft homini cum deo, confervandas puto. Cicero de Legib. Lib. I. What a fine jellon does this pagan philofopher give to Chriftians!

and

and advantage of the nation: and, befides its proving inefficacious when it ceafes to influence the heart, the fovereign has here no other authority than that which refults from the truft repofed in him by the people, and they have only committed to him that of protecting whatever religion they think proper to profess.

But at the fame time it is very just that the prince should § 137. have the liberty of continuing in the profeffion of his own religion, Difference of rel gion without lofing his crown. Provided that he protect the religion do not of the ftate, this is all that can be required of him. In general, deprive a a difference of religion can never make any prince forfeit his prince of claims to the fovereignty, unlefs a fundamental law ordain it otherwife. The pagan Romans did not ceate to obey Constantine, when he embraced Chriftianity; nor did the Chriftians revolt from Julian, after he ad quitted it *.

his crown.

a rights of the

of the lub

We have eft blithed liberty of confcience for individuals (§§ 138. 129). However, we have affo fhewn that the fovereign has a Duties and right, and is even under an obligation, to protect and support fovereiga the religion of the ftate, and not fuffer any perfon to attempt recone led to corrupt or destroy it,-that he may even, according to circum- with thofe ftances, permit only one kind of public worship throughout the whole country. Let us reconcile thofe different duties and rights, between which it may be thought that there is fome contradiction:-let us, if poffible, omit no material argument on so important and delicate a fubject.

If the fovereign will allow the public exercife of only one and the fame religion, let him oblige no body to do any thing contrary to his confcience; let no fubject be forced to bear a part in a worship which he difapproves, or to profefs a religion which he believes to be falfe; but let the fubject on his part rest content with avoiding the guilt of a fhameful hypocrify; let him, according to the light of his own knowledge, ferve God in private, and in his own houfe,-perfuaded that providence does not call upon him for public worship, fince it has placed him in fuch circumftances, that he cannot perform it without creating diturbances in the ftate. God would have us obey our fovereign, and avoid every thing that may be pernicious to fociety. Thele are immutable precepts of the law of nature: the precept that joins public worship is conditional, and dependent on the effects which that worship may produce. Interior worship is neceffary in its own nature; and we ought to confine ourfelves to it, in all cafes in which it is most convenient. Public worfhip is appointed for the edification of men in glorifying God: but it counteracts that end, and ceases to be laudable, on those occafions when it only produces disturbances, and gives offence.

When the chief part of the people in the principality of Neufchatel and Vallangin embraced the reformed religion in the fixteenth century, Joan of Hochberg, their fovereign, continued to live in the Roman Catholic faith, and Revertheless tti i reta ned all her rights. The ftate counc1 enacted ecclefiaftical laws and conflitutions fimilar to thofe of the reformed churches in Switzerland; and the princels gave them her fanction.

jects.