But this religion, having no particular relation to the body politic, leaves the laws in possession of the force they have in themselves without making any addition to it; and thus one of the great bonds that unite society considered in severally fails to operate.Nay, more, so far from binding the hearts of the citizens to the State, it has the effect of taking them away from all earthly things.I know of nothing more contrary to the social spirit.
We are told that a people of true Christians would form the most perfect society imaginable.I see in this supposition only one great difficulty:
that a society of true Christians would not be a society of men.
I say further that such a society, with all its perfection, would be neither the strongest nor the most lasting: the very fact that it was perfect would rob it of its bond of union; the flaw that would destroy it would lie in its very perfection.
Every one would do his duty; the people would be law-abiding, the rulers just and temperate; the magistrates upright and incorruptible; the soldiers would scorn death; there would be neither vanity nor luxury.So far, so good; but let us hear more.
Christianity as a religion is entirely spiritual, occupied solely with heavenly things; the country of the Christian is not of this world.He does his duty, indeed, but does it with profound indifference to the good or ill success of his cares.Provided he has nothing to reproach himself with, it matters little to him whether things go well or ill here on earth.
If the State is prosperous, he hardly dares to share in the public happiness, for fear he may grow proud of his country's glory; if the State is languishing, he blesses the hand of God that is hard upon His people.
For the State to be peaceable and for harmony to be maintained, all the citizens without exception would have to be good Christians; if by ill hap there should be a single self-seeker or hypocrite, a Catiline or a Cromwell, for instance, he would certainly get the better of his pious compatriots.Christian charity does not readily allow a man to think hardly of his neighbours.As soon as, by some trick, he has discovered the art of imposing on them and getting hold of a share in the public authority, you have a man established in dignity; it is the will of God that he be respected: very soon you have a power; it is God's will that it be obeyed:
and if the power is abused by him who wields it, it is the scourge wherewith God punishes His children.There would be scruples about driving out the usurper: public tranquillity would have to be disturbed, violence would have to be employed, and blood spilt; all this accords ill with Christian meekness; and after all, in this vale of sorrows, what does it matter whether we are free men or serfs? The essential thing is to get to heaven, and resignation is only an additional means of doing so.
If war breaks out with another State, the citizens march readily out to battle; not one of them thinks of flight; they do their duty, but they have no passion for victory; they know better how to die than how to conquer.
What does it matter whether they win or lose? Does not Providence know better than they what is meet for them? Only think to what account a proud, impetuous and passionate enemy could turn their stoicism! Set over against them those generous peoples who were devoured by ardent love of glory and of their country, imagine your Christian republic face to face with Sparta or Rome: the pious Christians will be beaten, crushed and destroyed, before they know where they are, or will owe their safety only to the contempt their enemy will conceive for them.It was to my mind a fine oath that was taken by the soldiers of Fabius, who swore, not to conquer or die, but to come back victorious ?and kept their oath.Christians would never have taken such an oath; they would have looked on it as tempting God.
But I am mistaken in speaking of a Christian republic; the terms are mutually exclusive.Christianity preaches only servitude and dependence.
Its spirit is so favourable to tyranny that it always profits by such a régime.True Christians are made to be slaves, and they know it and do not much mind: this short life counts for too little in their eyes.
I shall be told that Christian troops are excellent.I deny it.Show me an instance.For my part, I know of no Christian troops.I shall be told of the Crusades.Without disputing the valour of the Crusaders, Ianswer that, so far from being Christians, they were the priests' soldiery, citizens of the Church.They fought for their spiritual country, which the Church had, somehow or other, made temporal.Well understood, this goes back to paganism: as the Gospel sets up no national religion, a holy war is impossible among Christians.
Under the pagan emperors, the Christian soldiers were brave; every Christian writer affirms it, and I believe it: it was a case of honourable emulation of the pagan troops.As soon as the emperors were Christian, this emulation no longer existed, and, when the Cross had driven out the eagle, Roman valour wholly disappeared.