Faith is not infpired by the edge of the fword. (Cerefter in the Reigns of Henry IV. and Lewis XIII.)

It is a barbarous zeal which pretends to force any religion upon the mind, as if perfuafion could be produced by constraint. (Boulainvillier's State of France.) ·

It is with religion as with love; command can do nothing, constraint ftill lefs; nothing is fo independent as love and belief. (Amelot de la Houfaie on Cardinal Offatt's Letters.)

If providence has been fo kind to you as to give you a knowledge of the truth, receive it as an inftance of his great goodness; but should those who enjoy the inheritance of their father, hate those who do not? (Spirit of Laws, book xxv.

One might compofe an immenfe volume of fuch paffages. All our hiftories, discourses, fermons, moral treatifes, and catechifms of the prefent time, abound with, and inculcate this holy doctrine of indulgence. What fatality, what falfe reason, then leads us to contradict, by our practice, the theory we are every day K 4

teach

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teaching? When our actions give the lie to our morals, it must certainly proceed from our thinking it our intereft to practife the contrary of what we teach; but what advantage can arife from perfecuting thofe who do not think in the fame manner as we do, and thereby making ourfelves hated by them? Once more then, let me repeat it, there is the highest abfurdity in perfecution. It may be replied, that those who found it their intereft to lay a reftraint upon the confciences of others, are not abfurd in fo doing. To fuch men I addrefs the following chapter.

СНАР.

CHAP XVI.

A CONVERSATION between a DYING MAN,

AN
Α

and one in good health.

N inhabitant of a country village, lying at the point of death, was vifited by a person in good health, who came to infult him in his laft moments with the following speech.

Wretch that thou art! think as I do this inftant, fign this writing immediately, confèss that five propofitions are to be found in a book that

neither thou nor I have ever read; adopt immediately the opinion of Lanfranc against Berengarius, and of St. Thomas against St. Bonaventure; join with the council of Nice against the council of Frankfort; and explain to me out of hand, how the words, "My father is greater than "me," fignify exactly, "I am as great as him." Tell me alfo in what manner the father communicates all his attributes to the fon, excepting the fatherhood; or I will have have thy body thrown to the fowls of the air, thy children deprived of their inheritance, thy wife of her dowry, and thy family turned out to beg

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their bread, which shall be refufed them by thofe who are like myself.

DYING MAN.

I fcarce understand what you fay; your threats ftrike my ears confufedly, they trouble my mind, and render my laft moments terrifying. In the name of God have pity on me!

CRUEL MAN.

Pity! I can have none for thee, unless thou art exactly of my opinion,

DYING MAN:

Alas! you must be fenfible that in these my laft moments, my fenfes are all impaired, the doors of my understanding are shut, my ideas are loft in confufion, and I have hardly any fentiments remaining. Am I then in in a condition to difpute?

CRUEL MAN.

Well then, if thou can'ft not believe as I would have thee, only fay that you do, and

that will content me.

DYING MAN.

How would you have me perjure myself, to please you, when I am going in an inftant to appear before the judgment-feat of that God who is the avenger of perjury?

CRUEL MAN.

No matter; thou wilt have the pleasure to be interred in holy ground, and thy wife and children will have wherewithal to maintain them after thy death. Die an hypocrite: hypocrify is a very good thing; I have heard fay, it is the homage which vice pays to virtue. A little hypocrify, friend, can't coft you much?

DYING MAN.

Surely, you must either not acknowledge a God, or hold him very cheap, fince you require me to tell a lie with my laft breath, when you yourself must foon appear in judgment before him, and anfwer for that lie.