An Enquiry into an Origin of Honour; and the Usefulness of Christianity in WarMandeville, Bernard
Religion
An Enquiry into an Origin of Honour; and the Usefulness of Christianity in War
Mandeville, Bernard
Honor
Cleo. There is no Doubt, but the _beau monde_, and all well bred People,
that desire to be judged of from outward Appearance, will always chuse
the most easy _Casuists_; and the more ample the Allowances are, which
Clergymen give them, of enjoying the World, the more they'll be
pleas'd with them. But this can only be of Service among the
Fashionable and the Polite, whose Religion is commonly very
Superficial, and whose Virtue is seldom extended beyond good Manners.
But what will it do to Men of greater Sincerity, that can and dare
examine themselves? What will it do to serious and able Enquirers,
that refuse to trust to Outsides, and will not be barr'd from
searching into the Bottom of Things? If this was only a Matter of
Speculation, a disputable Point in a Ceremony, as whether Men are to
sit or to stand at the Performance of it, the Thing might easily be
given up: but it plainly appears to be a Theory skilfully raised by
Clergymen, to build a Practice upon in their Favour. Those easie
Divines don't make such large Allowances to others for Nothing: They
speak one Word for the Laity, and two for themselves, and seem to have
Nothing more at Heart than to enjoy the Benefit of their own Doctrine.
It is no Wonder therefore, that so many of the Clergy are always
desirous to converse with the _beau monde_. Among the best bred People
there is seldom any Difference to be seen between Believers and
Unbelievers; neither of them give any Trouble to their Pastors, and
they are all equally cautious of offending. Polite People contradict
No body, but conform to all Ceremonies that are fashionable with
Regard to the Time and the Places they are in; and a courtly Infidel
will observe Decency at Church, and a becoming Carriage there, for the
same Reason that he does it at a Ball, or in the Drawing-Room.
Hor. As to Indulgences and large Allowances, the _Roman Catholicks_
out-do us far, especially the _Jesuits_, who certainly are the most easy
_Casuists_ in the World.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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