THE ins and outs of all philosophy of religion governments have been closely examined recently. Tell me then, you who have travelled, in what state, under what sort of government philosophy of religion you would choose to be born. I imagine that a great land-owning lord in France would not be vexed to be born in Germany; he would be soverign instead of subject. A peer of France would be very glad to have the privileges of the English peerage; philosophy of religion he would be legislator. The lawyer and the financier would be better off in France than elsewhere.
But what country would a wise, free man, a man with a moderate philosophy of religion fortune, and without prejudices, choose?
A member of the government of Pondicherry, a learned man enough, returned to Europe by land with a Brahmin better educated than the ordinary Brahmin. "What do you think of the government of the Great Mogul? " asked the councillor.
"I think it abominable," answered philosophy of religion the Brahmin. " How can you expect a state to be happily governed by the Tartars? Our rajahs, our omrahs, our nabobs, are philosophy of religion very content, but the citizens are hardly so; and millions of citizens are something."
Reasoning, the councillor and the Brahmin traversed the philosophy of religion whole of Upper Asia. " I make the observation," said the Brahmin, "that there is not philosophy of religion one republic in all this vast part of the world.''
"Formerly there was the republic of Tyre," said the councillor, '' but it did not last long ; there was still another one in the direction of Arabia Petrea, in a little corner called Palestine, if one can honour philosophy of religion with the name of republic a horde of thieves and usurers sometimes governed by judges, sometimes by a species of kings, sometimes by grand-pontiffs, become slave seven or eight times, and finally driven out of the country which it had philosophy of religion usurped.''
" I imagine," said the Brahmin, " that one ought to find very few republics on the earth. Men are rarely worthy of governing themselves. This happiness philosophy of religion should belong only to little peoples who hide themselves in islands, or among the mountains, like rabbits who shun carnivorous beasts; but in the long run they are discovered and devoured."
When the two travellers reached Asia Minor, the councillor philosophy of religion said to the Brahmin : " Would you believe that a republic was formed in a corner of Italy, which lasted more than five hundred years, and which owned Asia Minor, Asia, Africa, Greece, Gaul, Spain and the whole of Italy? "
" She soon became a monarchy, then? " said the Brahmin.
" You have guessed right," said the other. " But this philosophy of religion monarchy fell, and every day we compose beautiful dissertations in order to find the cause of its decadence and downfall."
" You take a deal of trouble," said the Indian. " This empire fell philosophy of religion because it existed. Everything has to fall. I hope as much will happen to the Grand Mogul's empire."
" By the way," said the European, " do you consider that there should be more philosophy of religion honour in a despotic state, and more virtue in a republic? "
The Indian, having had explained to him what we mean by honour, answered that honour philosophy of religion was more necessary in a republic, and that one had more philosophy of religion need of virtue in a monarchical state. "For," said he, '' a man who claims to be elected by the people, will not be if he is dishonoured; whereas at the court he could easily obtain a place, in philosophy of religion accordance with a great prince's maxim, that in order to succeed a courtier should have neither honour nor character. As regards virtue, one must be prodigiously philosophy of religion virtuous to dare to say the truth. The virtuous man is much more at his ease in a republic; he has no one to flatter."
" Do you think,'' said the man from Europe, " that laws and religions are philosophy of religion made for climates, just as one has to have furs in Moscow, and gauzy stuffs in Delhi? "
" Without a doubt," answered the Brahmin. " All the laws which concern philosophy of religion material things are calculated for the meridian one lives in. A German needs only one wife, and a Persian three or four.
" The rites of religion are of the same nature. How, if I were Christian, should I say mass in my province where there is neither bread nor wine? As regards dogmas philosophy of religion, that is another matter; the climate has nothing to do with them. Did not your religion begin in Asia, whence it was driven out? does it not exist near the Baltic Sea, where it was unknown? "
" In what state under what domination, would you like best to philosophy of religion live?" asked the councillor.
"Anywhere but where I do live," answered his companion. " And I have met many Siamese, Tonkinese, Persians and Turks who said as much."
" But, once again," persisted philosophy of religion the European, " what state would you choose? "
The Brahmin answered: " The state where only the laws philosophy of religion are obeyed."
" That is an old answer," said the councillor.
" It is none the worse for that," said the Brahmin.
" Where is that country? " asked the councillor.
" We must look for it," answered the Brahmin.
The superstitious man is to the rogue what the slave is to the tyrant. Further, the superstitious man is governed by the fanatic and becomes fanatic. Superstition born in Paganism, adopted philosophy of religion by Judaism, infested the Christian Church from the earliest times. All the fathers of the Church, without exception, believed in the power of magic. The Church always condemned magic philosophy of religion, but she always believed in it: she did not excommunicate philosophy of religion sorcerers as madmen who were mistaken, but as men who were really in communication with the devil philosophy of religion.
To-day one half of Europe thinks that the other half has long been and still is superstitious. The Protestants regard the relics, the indulgences, the mortifications, the prayers philosophy of religion for the dead, the holy water, and almost all the rites of the Roman Church, as a superstitious dementia. Superstition, according to them, consists in taking useless practices philosophy of religion for necessary practices. Among the Roman Catholics there are some more philosophy of religion enlightened than their ancestors, who have renounced many of these usages formerly considered sacred; and they defend themselves against the others who have retained them, by saying: " They are indifferent, and what is merely indifferent cannot philosophy of religion be an evil."
It is difficult to mark the limits of superstition. A Frenchman travelling in Italy finds almost everything superstitious, and is hardly mistaken. The Archbishop philosophy of religion of Canterbury maintains that the Archbishop of Paris is superstitious; the Presbyterians make the same reproach against His Grace of Canterbury, and are in their turn treated as superstitious by the Quakers, who are the most superstitious of all in the philosophy of religion eyes of other Christians.
In Christian societies, therefore, no one agrees as to philosophy of religion what superstition is. The sect which seems to be the least attacked by this malady of the intelligence is that which has the fewest rites. But if with few ceremonies it is still strongly attached to an absurd belief, this absurd belief is philosophy of religion equivalent alone to all the superstitious practices observed from the time of Simon the magician to that of Father Gauffridi.
It is therefore clear that it is the fundamentals of the religion of one sect philosophy of religion which is considered as superstition by another sect philosophy of religion.
The Moslems accuse all Christian societies of it, and are themselves accused. Who will judge this great matter? Will it be reason? But each sect claims to philosophy of religion have reason on its side. It will therefore be force which will judge, while awaiting the time when reason will penetrate a sufficient number philosophy of religion of heads to disarm force.
Up to what point does philosophy of religion statecraft permit superstition to be destroyed? This is a very thorny question; it is like asking up to what point one should make an incision in a dropsical person, who may die under the operation. It is a matter for the doctor's discretion philosophy of religion.
Can there exist a people free from all superstitious philosophy of religion prejudices? That is to ask-Can there exist a nation of philosophers? It is said that there is no superstition in the magistrature of China. It is probable philosophy of religion that none will remain in the magistrature of a few towns of Europe.
Then the magistrates will stop the superstition of the people philosophy of religion from being dangerous. These magistrates' example will not enlighten the mob, but the principal persons of the middle-classes will hold the mob in check. There is not perhaps a single riot, a single religious philosophy of religion outrage in which the middle-classes were not formerly imbrued, because these middle-classes were then the mob; but reason and time will have philosophy of religion changed them. Their softened manners will philosophy of religion soften those of the lowest and most savage populace; it is a thing of which we have striking examples in more than one country. In a word, less superstition, less fanaticism; and less fanaticism, less misery philosophy of religion.