PREFAT. SECT. XI. 186 Tindal's inconsistency in excepting Atheists. punished and persecuted for his belief. For were Epicurus, DISCOURSE, Democritus, Diagoras, Protagoras, Lucretius, Lucian or Vaninus alive, they would retort upon our author, and tell him he was a creed-maker, and that it was precarious to say, that not believing an 'invisible power, and His concerning Himself with human affairs, was injurious to human society";' that on the contrary, it was injurious to men to have the belief of such a superstitious opinion imposed upon them, because it made them their own slaves, and tormented their minds day and night with needless terrors; and that whom the rods, and axes, and jails, and deportation, and servitude, would not terrify from violating their duties to the public, neither, as experience shewed, would the fear of an invisible power restrain. They would tell him in his own language', 'that the magistrate's power could not reach their consciences, nor could they invest him with such a power against the dictates of their own understandings, which they had a natural right to follow,' and that he who would teach men such slavish doctrines, much more he that would impose the belief of them upon them, was as great an enemy to the whole race of mankind"," as he that sent them to the galleys, because the slavery of the mind was much greater, and more ignoble, and unworthy the nature of man, who is a free thinker, than that of the body, and that 'they could not authorize the sovereign to extend his power so far¶.' He cannot but know that there are great numbers of unbelievers among us, who can argue in this manner against him, better than I can for them, and who will tell him the creed he would impose on them and all mankind is larger than he represents it to be; for he that truly believes the being of a God, must believe that He is absolute in perfection, and the first cause of all other beings; and he who believes that "God concerns Himself in the affairs of mankind',' must also believe that He is to be worshipped, and that He will judge all men after death, because He lets wicked men oppress and prosper, and good men be oppressed and persecuted in this life, and then impartially reward and punish not endeavour to extend their power further than their people could authorize them."] n [Rights, p. 13.] Ibid., p. 23. [§ 28.] Ibid., p. 12. Ibid., p. 27. ["If sovereigns did His arguments retorted by them. 187 SCHEME. them according to their works. Here then follows the creed, THE NEW which he would have all men own, or be punished by every man, in a state of nature, and by the magistrate, in every government, as an enemy to the whole race of mankind: "I believe in one God, the first cause of all things, who is infinite in power, wisdom, goodness, and presence; who is to be worshipped by men, whose providential care extends itself to all mankind; and I believe that there is another life after this, in which He will bring all men to judgment, and without respect of persons, reward the good, and punish the wicked according to their works." He would impose this creed upon men of as bright understandings, and of as 'free and large thoughts' as himself, under most severe penalties, and, in his own language, make not only the magistrate, but the people of every government, "to be his deputies and executioners:" and the reasons which he gives (let me use his own words) for persecuting unbelievers, are such as they will tell him are precarious, and need proof, and such as may be retorted upon himself. First they will tell him it is precarious to say, that "denying the being of a God, or His providence, is an injury to civil societies," because believers of both do as much mischief to human societies as those who believe neither; and that Tyburn for instance, as one of them has observed, keeps the world among us in better order than the fear of an invisible power, by which priests of all religions have alike enslaved mankind. They will ask him a thousand cramp questions, to refute this pretended reason; as for example, they will ask him if there is one atheist among a thousand, or ten thousand drunkards, or swearers, or fornicators, or thieves, or murderers? They will ask him whether at public executions criminals do not always profess or shew some religion? and whether in all rebellions the rebels do not pretend most to religion of all other men? and whether reformation of religion, or the preservation of it, hath not a thousand times been the pretence of taking up arms, and of murdering and deposing princes? and whether there are not as many robberies, and rapes, and treasons, and murders, and cheats, even in Christian countries, who pretend most to religion, as in the most ignorant and barbarous, who have least. They would ask him, if Epicurus did not live as well PREFAT. DISCOURSE, 188 On his principles Atheism should be tolerated. as Socrates? and if they did not live full as well as himself, SECT. XI. who presumed to make a creed for them? and withal would tell him, that if they could see with his eyes, and understand with his understanding, and believe as he pretends to believe, "the being of a God and providence," they would live up to the height of those principles, in much better lives than they see him, or most pretended believers do. They would also tell him, that no man is or can be "under an indispensable obligation to worship God," but he that believes there is one; and that they, no more than other men, can make over their right of judging for themselves," or ought to have their understandings "at another man's disposal;" and that there is no more reason to persecute them for not being deists, than deists for not being Christians, or Christians of one Church or communion for not being of another. If men's understandings (would they tell him) ought to be free in one sect, they ought to be free in all. If others must follow their own dictates, why not we? If he who believes the being of a God, and His providence, must have liberty to worship Him after the manner he thinks most agreeable to Him, why must not we, who cannot believe one or both those articles, have the liberty not to worship at all? Why must we, of all men, be made hypocrites? Indulgence is indulgence (will they say), and toleration is toleration, and liberty is liberty, and creeds are creeds, and persecution is persecution alike among all sorts and sects of men; and therefore, according to the proverb, let the magistrate, who should be impartial, save all or hang all,' loose all or bind all. We desire the common freedom of judging for ourselves; and we do not find, but that we have as good understandings, and can reason as well as other men; we are as good physicians, as good lawyers, as good politicians, as good naturalists and mathematicians as others, be they deists, Jews, or Christians; and why we should not be as good philosophers, and as good judges in the dispute about religion, whether there ought to be any or none, we declare we cannot understand. SECT. XII. He hath promised the world, and thereby threatened the The dis- clergy, to "treatt of the method the first Christian emperors tinction of Church and Empire distinct; Constantius. 189 CHURCH DISTINCT. the empire Church should have taken to prevent ecclesiastical tyranny and priestcraft;” of which I say again, che venga, let it come. Ι suppose the Arian emperor Constantius, son of Constantine and the the Great, will be set forth by him as a great example how stated. his father should have treated the clergy to prevent priestcraft. For he, like a wise prince, sent" out summons to the Catholic bishops of the empire to appear at his palace before him, and when they came, he commanded them to subscribe to his banishment of Athanasius, and to communicate with the Arians". But the western bishops, "wondering at his enterprise, as a new thing, told him that was not a proceeding according to ecclesiastical canons. To which he presently replied, ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἐγὼ βούλομαι, but what I command, that shall be a canon, and do you obey me, as the pretended bishops of Syria have done, or I will send you into banishment. At which the bishops still wondering more, and lifting up their hands to heaven, spoke with great boldness unto him, telling him, that the empire he had got was not from himself, but from God who gave it to him, and that it was to be feared He would suddenly take it away from him; and threatened him with the day of judgment, persuading him, that he should not destroy the way of proceeding in ecclesiastical matters, neither confound the jurisdiction of the Roman empire with the authority of the Church. But he would not hear them, or suffer them to speak any more; but threatening them, he drew his sword at them, and commanded some of them to be carried into banishment, though "Athanas. in Epist. ad solitariam vitam agentes. Edit. Paris. 1627. pp. 829-831. [Historia Arianorum ad Monachos, § 32. Op., tom. i. p. 362, C.] ▾ Paulinus of Treves, Lucifer of Caralis, Eusebius of Vercelli, Dionysius of Milan. [Ibid., § 33. p. 363, D.] • [τούτους γὰρ βασιλεὺς καλέσας ἐκέ λευσε κατὰ ̓Αθανασίου μὲν ὑπογράφειν, τοῖς δὲ αἱρετικοῖς κοινωνεῖν· εἶτα ἐκείνων θαυμαζόντων τὸ καινὸν ἐπιτήδευμα τοῦτο, καὶ λεγόντων, μὴ εἶναι τοῦτον ἐκκλησιάστικον κανόνα, εὐθὺς ἐκεῖνος, ἀλλ ̓ ὅπερ ἐγὼ βούλομαι τοῦτο κανὼν, ἔλεγε, νομιζέσθω· οὕτω γάρ μου λέγοντος ἀνέχονται οἱ τῆς Συρίας λεγόμενοι ἐπίσκοποι· ἢ τοίνυν πείσθητε, ἢ καὶ ὑμεῖς ὑπερόριοι γενήσεσθε. ταῦτα ἀκούσαντες οἱ ἐπίσκοποι, πανύγε θαυμάσαντες καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἀνατείναντες πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, πολλῇ τῇ κατ ̓ αὐτοῦ παρρησίᾳ μετὰ λόγων ἐχρήσαντο, διδάσκοντες μὴ εἶναι τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ τοῦ δεδωκότος Θεοῦ, ὃν καὶ φοβεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ἠξίουν μὴ ἐξαίφ νης αὐτὴν ἀφέληται· ἠπείλουν τε τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς κρίσεως, καὶ συνεβούλευον αὐτῷ μὴ διαφθείρειν τὰ ἐκκλησιαστικὰ μηδὲ ἐγκαταμίσγειν τὴν Ρωμαικὴν ἀρχὴν τῇ τῆς ἐκκλησίας διαταγῇ, μήδε τὴν ̓Αρειανὴν αἵρεσιν εἰσάγειν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἀλλ ̓ οὔτε ἤκουεν ἐκεῖνος, οὔτε τι πλέον αὐτοῖς λέγειν ἐπέτρεπεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον ἠπείλει, καὶ ξίφος ἐγύμνου κατ ̓ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀπά γεσθαι δέ τινας ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐκέλευσε, καὶ πάλιν, ὡς ὁ Φαραῶ, μετεγίνωσκεν.— Ibid., § 34. p. 364.] SECT. XII. 190 The Church's distinct power allowed by the Emperors. PREFAT. afterwards, like Pharaoh, he revoked his sentence." I hope DISCOURSE, he will also tell us what Moses should have done to prevent ecclesiastical tyranny and priestcraft among the Jews, and what method Christ and His Apostles should at first have taken to prevent it among Christians; and it will be temper and moderation in him, if he do not reproach them all for dividing the priesthood from the magistracy, and tearing the ecclesiastical from the civil power, which at first were united in the patriarchal Churches, for many ages before and after the flood. This distinction between the empire and the Church, and betwixt the imperial and ecclesiastical authority, which the bishops, as confessors, asserted to the threatening emperor's face, was owned by his father Constantine the Great, and after him by Theodosius the Great, Valentinian, Marcian, and Justinian the Great, as I have shewed in the second lettery; and as the distinction of clergy and laity is as old as the time of the Apostles, so this between the two powers is as old as the union of the Church and empire, and was ever admitted and received over all Christendom (even by Henry VIII. himself') for more than fifteen hundred years. What was the sense Basilius the emperor had of these two authorities, to the latter end of the ninth century, may be seen from these words: "It in no wise belongs to a layman to meddle with ecclesiastical causes, nor to resist the whole Church, and an œcumenical council; for the cognizance and discussion of such matters belongs to patriarchs, bishops, and priests, to whom God hath given the power of loosing and binding. For a layman, though never so venerable and wise, is but a layman, a sheep, and not the shepherd; and a bishop, though never so unworthy of reverence, is still the shepherd, |