the two
things they would choose to part with, their lives, or the customs of
their forefathers, their solemnities, their sacrifices, their festivals,
which they celebrated in honor of those they suppose to be gods? I know
very well that they would choose to suffer any thing whatsoever rather
than a dissolution of any of the customs of their forefathers; for a
great many of them have rather chosen to go to war on that account, as
very solicitous not to transgress in those matters. And indeed we take
an estimate of that happiness which all mankind do now enjoy by your
means from this very thing, that we are allowed every one to worship as
our own institutions require, and yet to live [in peace]; and although
they would not be thus treated themselves, yet do they endeavor to
compel others to comply with them, as if it were not as great an
instance of impiety profanely to dissolve the religious solemnities of
any others, as to be negligent in the observation of their own towards
their gods. And let us now consider the one of these practices. Is there
any people, or city, or community of men, to whom your government and
the Roman power does not appear to be the greatest blessing '. Is there
any one that can desire to make void the favors they have granted? No
one is certainly so mad; for there are no men but such as have been
partakers of their favors, both public and private; and indeed those
that take away what you have granted, can have no assurance but every
one of their own grants made them by you may be taken from them also;
which grants of yours can yet never be sufficiently valued; for if they
consider the old governments under kings, together with your present
government, besides the great number of benefits which this government
hath bestowed on them, in order to their happiness, this is instead of
all the rest, that they appear to be no longer in a state of slavery,
but of freedom. Now the privileges we desire, even when we are in the
best circumstances, are not such as deserve to be envied, for we are
indeed in a prosperous state by your means, but this is only in common
with others; and it is no more than this which we desire, to preserve
our religion without any prohibition; which as it appears not in itself
a privilege to be envied us, so it is for the advantage of those that
grant it to us; for if the Divinity delights in being honored, it must
delight in those that permit them to be honored. And there are non