Book XXIV. Of Laws in relation to Religion Considered in Itlf, and in its Doctrines
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1. Of Religion in General. As amidst veral degrees of darkness we may form a judgment of tho which are the least thick, and among precipices which are the least deep, so we may arch among fal religions for tho that are most conformable to the welfare of society; for tho which, though they have not the effect of leading men to the felicity of another life, may contribute most to their happiness in this.
I shall examine, therefore, the veral religions of the world, in relation only to the good they produce in civil society, whether I speak of that which has its root in heaven, or of tho which spring from the earth.
As in this work I am not a divine but a political writer, I may here advance things which are not otherwi true than as they correspond with a worldly manner of thinking, not as considered in their relation to truths of a more sublime nature.
With regard to the true religion, a person of the least degree of impartiality must e that I have never pretended to make its interests submit to tho of a political nature, but rather to unite them; now, in order to unite, it is necessary that we should know them.
The Christian religion, which ordains that men should love each other, would, without doubt, have every nation blest with the best civil, the best political laws; becau the, next to this religion, are the greatest good that men can give and receive.
2. A Paradox of M. Bayle's. M. Bayle has pretended to prove1 that it is better to be an Atheist than an Idolater; that is, in other words, that it is less dangerous to have no religion at all than a bad one. "I had rather," said he, "it should be said of me that I had no existence than that I am a villain." This is only a sophism founded on this, that it is of no importance to the human race to believe that a certain man exists, whereas it is extremely uful for them to believe the existence of a God. From the idea of his non-existence immediately follows that of our independence; or, if we cannot conceive this idea, that of disobedience. To say that religion is not a restraining motive, becau it does not always restrain, is equally absurd as to say that the civil laws are not a restraining motive. It is a fal way of reasoning against religion to collect, in a large work, a long detail of the evils it has produced if we do not give at the same time an enumeration of the advantages which have flowed from it. Were I to relate all the evils that have arin in the world from civil laws, from monarchy, and from republican government, I might tell of frightful things. Were it of no advantage for subjects to have religion, it would still be of some, if princes had it, and if they whitened with foam the only rein which can restrain tho who fear not human laws.
A prince who loves and fears religion is a lion, who stoops to the hand that strokes, or to the voice that appeas him. He who fears and hates religion is like the savage beast that growls and bites the chain which prevents his flying on the pasnger. He who has no religion at all is that terrible animal who perceives his liberty only when he tears in pieces and when he devours.live是什么意思
The question is not to know whether it would be better that a certain man or a certain people had no religion than to abu what they have, but to know what is the least evil, that religion be sometimes abud, or that there be no such restraint as religion on mankind.
To diminish the horror of Atheism, they lay too much to the charge of idolatry. It is far from being true that when the ancients raid altars to a particular vice, they intended to show that they loved the vice; this signified, on the contrary, that they hated it. When the Laced?monians erected a temple to Fear, it was not to show that this warlike nation desired that he would in the midst of battle posss the hearts of the Laced?monians. They had deities to whom they prayed not to inspire them with guilt; and others whom they besought to shield them from it.
3. That a moderate Government is most agreeable to the Christian Religion, and a despotic Government to the Mahometan. The Christian religion is a stranger to mere despotic power. The mil
dness so frequently recommended in the Gospel is incompatible with the despotic rage with which a prince punishes his subjects, and exercis himlf in cruelty.
As this religion forbids the plurality of wives, its princes are less confined, less concealed from their subjects, and conquently have more humanity: they are more dispod to be directed by laws, and more capable of perceiving that they cannot do whatever they plea.
While the Mahometan princes incessantly give or receive death, the religion of the Christians renders their princes less timid, and conquently less cruel. The prince confides in his subjects, and the subjects in the prince. How admirable the religion which, while it only ems to have in view the felicity of the other life, continues the happiness of this!
It is the Christian religion that, in spite of the extent of the empire and the influence of the climate, has hindered despotic power from being established in Ethiopia, and has carried into the heart of Africa the manners and laws of Europe.
The heir to the empire of Ethiopia2 enjoys a principality and gives to other subjects an example of love and obedience. Not far thence may we e the Mahometan shutting up the children of the King of Sennar, at who death the council nds to murder them, in favour of the prince who mounts the
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Let us t before our eyes, on the one hand, the continual massacres of the kings and generals of the Greeks and Romans, and, on the other, the destruction of people and cities by tho famous conquerors Timur Beg and Jenghiz Khan, who ravaged Asia, and we shall e that we owe to Christianity, in government, a certain political law; and in war, a certain law of nations — benefits which human nature can never sufficiently acknowledge.
It is owing to this law of nations that among us victory leaves the great advantages to the conquered, life, liberty, laws, wealth, and always religion, when the conqueror is not blind to his own interest.
We may truly say that the people of Europe are not at prent more disunited than the people and the armies, or even the armies among themlves were, under the Roman empire when it had become a despotic and military government. On the one hand, the armies engaged in war against each other, and, on the other, they pillaged the cities, and divided or confiscated the lands.
考研英语复试 4. Conquences from the Character of the Christian Religion, and that of the Mahometan. From the characters of the Christian and Mahometan religions, we ought, without any further examination,
to embrace the one and reject the other: for it is much easier to prove that religion ought to humani the manners of men than that any particular religion is true.
It is a misfortune to human nature when religion is given by a conqueror. The Mahometan religion, which speaks only by the sword, acts still upon men with that destructive spirit with which it was founded.
The history of Sabbaco,3 one of the pastoral kings of Egypt, is very extraordinary. The tutelar god of Thebes, appearing to him in a dream, ordered him to put to death all the priests of Egypt. He judged that the gods were displead at his being on the throne, since they commanded him to commit an action contrary to their ordinary pleasure; and therefore he retired into Ethiopia.
5. That the Catholic Religion is most agreeable to a Monarchy, and the Protestant to a Republic. When a religion is introduced and fixed in a state, it is commonly such as is most suitable to the plan of government there established; for tho who receive it, and tho who are the cau of its being received, have scarcely any other idea of policy than that of the state in which they were born.
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When the Christian religion, two centuries ago, became unhappily divided into Catholic and Protestant, the people of the north embraced the Protestant, and tho of the south adhered still to t
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he Catholic.
The reason is plain: the people of the north have, and will for ever have, a spirit of liberty and independence, which the people of the south have not; and therefore a religion which has no visible head is more agreeable to the independence of the climate than that which has one.
In the countries themlves where the Protestant religion became established, the revolutions were made pursuant to the veral plans of political government. Luther having great princes on his side would never have been able to make them relish an ecclesiastical authority that had no exterior pre-eminence; while Calvin, having to do with people who lived under republican governments, or with obscure citizens in monarchies, might very well avoid establishing dignities and preferments.
Each of the two religions was believed to be perfect; the Calvinist judging his most conformable to what Christ had said, and the Lutheran to what the Apostles had practid.有识之士
6. Another of M. Bayle's Paradoxes. M. Bayle, after having abud all religions, endeavours to sully Christianity: he boldly asrts that true Christians cannot form a government of any duration. Why not? Citizens of this profession being infinitely enlightened with respect to the various duties of life, and having the warmest zeal to fulfil them, must be perfectly nsible of the rights of natural defence.
The more they believe themlves indebted to religion, the more they would think due to their country. The principles of Christianity, deeply engraved on the heart, would be infinitely more powerful than the fal honour of monarchies, than the humane virtues of republics, or the rvile fear of despotic states.
It is astonishing that this great man should not be able to distinguish between the orders for the establishment of Christianity and Christianity itlf; and that he should be liable to be charged with not knowing the spirit of his own religion.
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When the legislator, instead of laws, has given counls, this is becau he knew that if the counls were ordained as laws they would be contrary to the spirit of the laws themlves.
7. Of the Laws of Perfection in Religion. Human laws, made to direct the will, ought to give precepts, and not counls; religion, made to influence the heart, should give many counls, and few precepts.
When, for instance, it gives rules, not for what is good, but for what is better; not to direct to what is right, but to what is perfect, it is expedient that the should be counls, and not laws: for perfection can have no relation to the universality of men or things. Besides, if the were laws, there would be
a necessity for an infinite number of others, to make people obrve the first. Celibacy was advid by Christianity; when they made it a law in respect to a certain order of men, it became necessary to make new ones every day, in order to oblige tho men to obrve it.4 The legislator wearied himlf, and he wearied society, to make men execute by precept what tho who love perfection would have ex e c u t e d a s c o u n s e l . b r b d s f i d = " 1 0 4 " > b r b d s f i d = " 1 0 5 " > 0 0 8 . O f t h e C o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e m o r a l L a w s a n
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i t y w e c a n h a v e o f t h e p r o b i t y o f m e n . b r b d s f i d = " 1 0 6 " > b r b d s f i d = " 1 0 7 " > 0 0 T h e p r i n c i p a l p o i n t s o f r e l i g i o n o f t h e i n h a b i t a n t s o f P e g u 5 a r e , n o t t o c o m m i t m u r d e r , n o t t o s t e a l , t o a v o i d u n c l e a n l i n e s s , n o t t o g i v e t h e l e a s t u n e a s i n e s s t o t h e i r n e i g h b o u r , b u t t o d o h i m , o n t h e c o n t r a r y , a l l t h e g o o d i n t h e i r p o w e r . W i t h t h e s e r u l e s t h e y t h i n k t h e y s h o u l d b e s a v e d i n a n y r e l i g i o n w h a t s o e v e r . H e n c e i t p r o c e e d s t h a t t h o s e p e o p l e , t h o u g h p o o r a n d p r o u d , b e h
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w i t h a l l t h e w o r l d , t o h a t e i n j u s t i c e , t o c o m m a n d w i t h m o d e s t y , a l w a y s t o s i d e w i t h t r u t h , a n d t o f l y f r o m a l l u n l a w f u l g a i n . b r b d s f i d = " 1 1 0 " > b r b d s f i d = " 1 1 1 " > 0 0 1 0 . O f t h e S e c t o f S t o i c s . T h e s e v e r a l s e c t s o f p h i l o s o p h y a m o n g t h e a n c i e n t s w e r e a s p e c i e s o f r e l i g i o n . N e v e r w e r e a n y p r i n c i p l e s m o r e w o r t h y o f h u m a n n a t u r e , a n d m o r e p r o p e r t o f o r m t h e g o o d m a n , t h a n t h o s e o f t h e S t o i c s ; a n d i f I c o u l d f o r a m o m e n t c e a s e t o t h i n k t h a t I a m a C h r i s t i a n , I s h o u l d n o t b e a b l e t o h i n d e r m y s e l f f r o m r a n k i n g t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e s e c t o f Z e n o a m o n g t h e m i s f o r t u n e s t h a t h a v e b e f a l l e n t h e h u m a n r a c e . b r b d s f i d = " 1 1 2 " > b r b d s f i d = " 1 1 3 " > 0 0 I t c a r r i e d t o e x c e s s o n l y t h o s e t h i n g s i n w h i c h t h e r e i s t r u e g r e a t n e s s t h e c o n t e m p t o f p l e a s u r e a n d o f p a i n . b r b d s f i d = " 1 1 4 " > b r b d s f i d = " 1 1 5 " > 0 0 I t w a s t h i s s e c t a l o n e t h a t m a d e c i t i z e n s ; t h i s a l o n e t h a t m a d e g r e a t m e n ; t h i s a l o n e g r e a t e m p e r o r s . b r b d s f i d = " 1 1 6 " >
