In short, the picture which I have just drawn will produce another important observation: the prince, after having wandered out of the path of true glory, may return, when he pleases, to the love of virtue and greatness; all the avenues are open to him, all hearts ready to welcome him, we have an inclination to love him, and desire to esteem him, whom fate has placed at the head of the nation; and who, invested with the majesty which he borrows from a long train of ancestors, exhibits himself surrounded by all the enchantments of a diadem; we adopt with pleasure any interpretation which can excuse his conduct; we impute to ill counsels the faults which he has committed; and we are eager to enter with him into a new contract of esteem and hope. It is not the same with ministers; a like indulgence is not due to them, because they cannot throw the blame on others, and all their actions proceed from themselves; when they have once lost the opinion of the public, their depravity will increase daily; because, to maintain their post they are obliged to redouble their intrigues and dissimulation. I have maturely reflected: the religion of princes, of ministers, of government in general, is the first source of the happiness of the people; we despise it, because it is not our invention, and we often give the preference to those artifices of the mind, which seduce us as being our own work; and perhaps they are wanted, after having lost sight of this sure and faithful guide, this companion of true genius, which, like it, prefers easy and simple means. Yes, this exalted virtue, resembling superior abilities, rejects equally those weak resources and inventions, which derive not their origin from an elevated sentiment or grand thought; and, whilst one obliges a statesman to respect honour, justice, and truth, the other discovers the union of these principles with the just means which strengthen authority, and with the true glory and durable success of politics; in short, whilst one renders him anxious about the happiness of the people, the other shows how, from the bosom of this happiness, they would see rise insensibly an agreement of interests and of wills, of whose extensive use we are still ignorant. If we wish to dwell a moment on the private happiness of princes, we shall readily perceive, that they have a real want of the encouragement religion affords. Their distinguished authority appears, indeed, to their mind, a singular privilege; they believe this power should extend to every thing, and they indiscretly endeavour to accelerate the moments of enjoyment; but as they cannot change the law of nature, it happens, that in delivering themselves up to every thing which seduces their imagination, they experience as quickly the sad langour of indifference, and the oppression of apathy.