h us, in the spirit of indifference. It is easy to understand, that
where no one believes, the liberty to believe would not be claimed by
any one.

Let us now endeavor to penetrate below facts, in order to bring back the
discussion to sure principles. Let us ask what, in regard to liberty of
conscience, are the natural consequences of faith, and the natural
consequences of scepticism.

Faith does appear, at first sight, a source of intolerance. The man who
believes, reckons himself in possession of the right in regard to truth,
and to God; he has nothing to respect in error. Thus it is that belief
naturally engenders persecution. This reasoning is specious, all the
more as it is supported by numerous and terrible examples; but let us
look at things more closely. Place yourselves face to face with any one
of your convictions, no matter which; I hope there is no one of you so
unfortunate as not to have any. Suppose that it were desired to impose
upon you by force even the conviction which you have. Suppose that an
officer of police came to say to you, pronouncing at the same time the
words which best expressed your own thoughts: "you are commanded so to
believe." What would happen? If you had never had a doubt of your faith,
you would be tempted to doubt it, the moment any human power presumed to
impose it upon you. The feeling of oppression would produce in your
conscience a strong inclination to revolt. Let us analyze this feeling.
You feel that it is words, not convictions, which are imposed by force;
you feel that declarations extorted by fear from lying lips are an
outrage to truth. You feel, in a word, that your belief is the right of
God over you, and not the right of your neighbor. Men respect God's
right over the souls of their fellow-men, in proportion as they are
intelligent in their own faith. The fanaticism which would impose words
by force is not an ardent but a blind faith. In order to bring it back
into the paths of liberty, it is enough to restore to it its sight.

The establishment of the Christian religion furnishes a great example in
support of our thesis. The Christians, when persecuted by the empire,
had never allowed themselves to reply to the violence of power by the
violence of rebellion. There came, however, and soon enough, a time when
they were sufficiently numerous to defend themselves, and had withal the
consciousness of their strength; but they had no will to conquer the
world, except by t