But this I say,that thus it ought to be.And if anyone that professes himself to be a minister of the Word of God,a preacher of the gospel of peace,teach otherwise,he either understands not or neglects the business of his calling and shall one day give account thereof unto the Prince of Peace.If Christians are to be admonished that they abstain from all manner of revenge,even after repeated provocations and multiplied injuries,how much more ought they who suffer nothing,who have had no harm done them,forbear violence and abstain from all manner of ill-usage towards those from whom they have received none!This caution and temper they ought certainly to use towards those.who mind only their own business and are solicitous for nothing but that (whatever men think of them)they may worship God in that manner which they are persuaded is acceptable to Him and in which they have the strongest hopes of eternal salvation.In private domestic affairs,in the management of estates,in the conservation of bodily health,every man may consider what suits his own convenience and follow what course he likes best.No man complains of the ill-management of his neighbour's affairs.No man is angry with another for an error committed in sowing his land or in marrying his daughter.Nobody corrects a spendthrift for consuming his substance in taverns.Let any man pull down,or build,or make whatsoever expenses he pleases,nobody murmurs,nobody controls him;he has his liberty.But if any man do not frequent the church,if he do not there conform his behaviour exactly to the accustomed ceremonies,or if he brings not his children to be initiated in the sacred mysteries of this or the other congregation,this immediately causes an uproar.The neighbourhood is filled with noise and clamour.Everyone is ready to be the avenger of so great a crime,and the zealots hardly have the patience to refrain from violence and rapine so long till the cause be heard and the poor man be,according to form,condemned to the loss of liberty,goods,or life.Oh,that our ecclesiastical orators of every sect would apply themselves with all the strength of arguments that they are able to the confounding of men's errors!But let them spare their persons.Let them not supply their want of reasons with the instruments of force,which belong to another jurisdiction and do ill become a Churchman's hands.Let them not call in the magistrate's authority to the aid of their eloquence or learning,lest perhaps,whilst they pretend only love for the truth,this their intemperate zeal,breathing nothing but fire and sword,betray their ambition and show that what they desire is temporal dominion.For it will be very difficult to persuade men of sense that he who with dry eyes and satisfaction of mind can deliver his brother to the executioner to be burnt alive,does sincerely and heartily concern himself to save that brother from the flames of hell in the world to come.
In the last place,let us now consider what is the magistrate's duty in the business of toleration,which certainly is very considerable.We have already proved that the care of souls does not belong to the magistrate.Not a magisterial care,I mean (if I may so call it),which consists in prescribing by laws and compelling by punishments.But a charitable care,which consists in teaching,admonishing,and persuading,cannot be denied unto any man.The care,therefore,of every man's soul belongs unto himself and is to be left unto himself.But what if he neglect the care of his soul?I answer:What if he neglect the care of his health or of his estate,which things are nearlier related to the government of the magistrate than the other?Will the magistrate provide by an express law that such a one shall not become poor or sick?Laws provide,as much as is possible,that the goods and health of subjects be not injured by the fraud and violence of others;they do not guard them from the negligence or ill-husbandry of the possessors themselves.No man can be forced to be rich or healthful whether he will or no.Nay,God Himself will not save men against their wills.Let us suppose,however,that some prince were desirous to force his subjects to accumulate riches,or to preserve the health and strength of their bodies.Shall it be provided by law that they must consult none but Roman physicians,and shall everyone be bound to live according to their preions?What,shall no potion,no broth,be taken,but what is prepared either in the Vatican,suppose,or in a Geneva shop?Or,to make these subjects rich,shall they all be obliged by law to become merchants or musicians?Or,shall everyone turn victualler,or smith,because there are some that maintain their families plentifully and grow rich in those professions?But,it may be said,there are a thousand ways to wealth,but one only way to heaven.It is well said,indeed,especially by those that plead for compelling men into this or the other way.For if there were several ways that led thither,there would not be so much as a pretence left for compulsion.But now,if I be marching on with my utmost vigour in that way which,according to the sacred geography,leads straight to Jerusalem,why am I beaten and ill-used by others because,perhaps,I wear not buskins;because my hair is not of the right cut;because,perhaps,I have not been dipped in the right fashion;because I eat flesh upon the road,or some other food which agrees with my stomach;because I avoid certain by-ways,which seem unto me to lead into briars or precipices;because,amongst the several paths that are in the same road,I choose that to walk in which seems to be the straightest and cleanest;because I avoid to keep company with some travellers that are less grave and others that are more sour than they ought to be;or,in fine,because I follow a guide that either is,or is not,clothed in white,or crowned with a mitre?Certainly,if we consider right,we shall find that,for the most part,they are such frivolous things as these that (without any prejudice to religion or the salvation of souls,if not accompanied with superstition or hypocrisy)might either be observed or omitted.I say they are such-like things as these which breed implacable enmities amongst Christian brethren,who are all agreed in the substantial and truly fundamental part of religion.But let us grant unto these zealots,who condemn all things that are not of their mode,that from these circumstances are different ends.What shall we conclude from thence?There is only one of these which is the true way to eternal happiness:but in this great variety of ways that men follow,it is still doubted which is the right one.
Now,neither the care of the commonwealth,nor the right enacting of laws,does discover this way that leads to heaven more certainly to the magistrate than every private man's search and study discovers it unto himself.I have a weak body,sunk under a languishing disease,for which (I suppose)there is one only remedy,but that unknown.Does it therefore belong unto the magistrate to prescribe me a remedy,because there is but one,and because it is unknown?Because there is but one way for me to escape death,will it therefore be safe for me to do whatsoever the magistrate ordains?Those things that every man ought sincerely to inquire into himself,and by meditation,study,search,and his own endeavours,attain the knowledge of,cannot be looked upon as the peculiar possession of any sort of men.Princes,indeed,are born superior unto other men in power,but in nature equal.Neither the right nor the art of ruling does necessarily carry along with it the certain knowledge of other things,and least of all of true religion.For if it were so,how could it come to pass that the lords of the earth should differ so vastly as they do in religious matters?But let us grant that it is probable the way to eternal life may be better known by a prince than by his subjects,or at least that in this incertitude of things the safest and most commodious way for private persons is to follow his dictates.
