I will acknowledge, that at the point of elevation, where kings find themselves placed, they ought not to be acquainted with those passions which proceed from our petty competitions; but how many other sentiments have they not to repress? And with what celerity it is necessary to do it; since they do not experience any contradiction, they are not, like us, obliged to reflect and consider! Besides, though sovereigns are supposed to be sheltered by their situation, from the irritations of self-love, and from the desires of fortune and advancement, they are not, however, disengaged from every passion of this kind; it is towards other princes that they feel them; and envy, ambition, and revenge, become often very dangerous, as they associate with these passions those of the nation they govern, by means of a war. It is then that, freed from religious ties, and sure of not accounting with any body, they would find morality a very ingenious invention, to render the maintenance of public order more easy, and to preserve the subordination which secures their power; but, would not acknowledge such a master for themselves, and would dispense with bowing to its dictates. You will say, undoubtedly, that a virtuous king would be recompensed by the applause of his subjects: but I have already shown, that the influence of public opinion would be very weak, if the principles of morality, which serve to guide this opinion, were not supported by religion. We should also observe, that elogiums and applause, homage so encouraging to private men, have not an equal power over princes, who cannot, like individuals, consider this suffrage as an earnest, or forerunner of exaltation; it is by the continual view of the advantages and triumphs of others, that the desire of respect and distinction is continually kept alive; and it may, perhaps, proceed a little from the stimulation of envy, or at least from those jarring pretentions, and from those struggles of self-love, of which society alone is the theatre. Princes without rivals are not subject to the same impressions; and the flattery they have so early imbibed, and the praises which are lavished on them from the simple motive of hope, all serve to render them less sensible to deserved applause; in short, this exaggerated praise soon becomes a dull monotony, which extinguishes, by its uniformity, that emulation which a just homage sometimes inspires. There would be then great danger in reposing too much on the power of public opinion, if we were to consider it as a check able to replace with princes the compressing force of religion.