have destroyed, to have again a vain idol to insult. Another inconsistency appears in their asperity against those who resist their dogmas, whilst, in the system of fate, reason does not preserve its empire, and the master, as well as the disciple, are equally subject to the laws of necessity. To exercise an authority over the mind by the power of eloquence is a great advantage; for such an authority is not confined to any place or time; but to have a right to such an extensive reign, we must renounce fashionable opinions, the counsels of vanity and the instigations of self-love; and be only actuated by that universal and durable interest, the happiness of mankind. I would not wish to prohibit the wise man or philosopher from treating any subject proper to direct our judgment; for there are abuses and prejudices every where, which we cannot destroy without making a step towards reason and truth; but as there is a philosophy for the thoughts, there is one also for the actions. I indeed wish that men of an enlarged turn of mind, who perceive at a glance the moral order of things, would attack with more caution and moderation, and at a proper season, that which directly relates to the opinions most essential to our happiness; and that a respect for these opinions should be manifest, even when they censure fanaticism and superstition. Such a wish is far from being realized; and I cannot help lamenting, when I consider the design of the greater part, who have written for some time past on religious subjects: some seek artfully to destroy, or, at least, relax the band which unites men to the idea of a Supreme Being; and others shut up in some mystic idea, as in a dark den, blindly level their anathemas against every kind of doubt and uncertainty; and confound, in their rigorous censures, the accessary ideas with the principal opinions. However, in taking a course so opposite, they unfortunately have an equal interest in ranking the essential principles of religion with the most insignificant symbols: but influenced by very different motives; the former act with a view of making religious zeal serve to defend every part of the worship of which they are the ministers; the latter, guided by a motive of self-love, readily admit confusion, that they may have an opportunity of undermining religion when they attack its outworks.