and national, of this principle; and there can be no dispute about the fitness of Protestantism to lay the foundations of the revolutionary philosophy, by proclaiming the right of every individual to free inquiry on all subjects whatever, notwithstanding the illogical restrictions for ever attempted by itself; restrictions which were, of course, successively rejected by various sects, and which, by their very inconsistency, facilitated the universal admission of the general principle. It was in this way that Protestantism indirectly influenced the nations that had not expressly adopted it, but could not but suppose themselves as well qualified as others for religious emancipation; the greatest philosophical results of which were, in fact, specially reserved for them, as we shall presently see. Now, the universal inoculation with the critical spirit certainly could not operate in a more unmistakable manner; for, after having audaciously discussed the most respected opinions and the most sacred powers, human reason was not likely to recoil before any social maxim or institution, when the process of analysis should be directed that way. Thus, the first step was by far the most important of all that relate to the formation of the revolutionary doctrine.

of

The principle of free inquiry was at first a simple consequence the social changes which had been preparing during the two preceding centuries. It was purely negative in its character, being nothing more than a sanction of the state of no-government which intervened between the decay of the old discipline and the formation of new spiritual ties. It was simply an abstract declaration of a general fact; and its existence would otherwise have been incomprehensible. There could never be any hindrance to any one exercising the right, but the restraint of former convictions; and the general proclamation of the will to use the right merely testified to the decay of the restraining convictions. The long discussions of the fourteenth century about the European power of the popes, and that of the following century about the independence of the national Churches, had occasioned a large spontaneous exercise of the right of free inquiry, long before that right was set up in dogmatic form; and the Lutheran proclamation of the dogma was a mere extension to the Christian public of a privilege which had been abundantly used by kings and scholars. Thus, the spirit of discussion which is inherent in all monotheism, and especially in Catholicism, had anticipated, throughout Europe, the direct appeal of Protestantism. Indeed, the Lutheran revolution produced no innovation, in regard to discipline, ecclesiastical orders, or dogma, that had not been perseveringly proposed long before: so that the success of Luther, after the failure of various premature reformers, was mainly due to the ripeness of the time: a confirmation of which is found in the rapid and easy propagation of the deci

ITS CORRECTIVE FUNCTION.

279

sive explosion. The spirit of personal emancipation was animated by the subjection of the spiritual to the temporal power, which had now taken place for some time; the late rightful guides of opinion and belief were subordinated to incompetent temporal authorities; and when the ancient intellectual prerogatives of Catholicism had passed into the hands of kings, they could not be regarded with the ancient veneration, but must soon yield to that passion for spiritual freedom to which the kings had no objection as long as it did not interfere with material order. And thus was Protestantism, with its dogma of free inquiry, a mere sanction of the pre-existing state to which all Christian nations had been tending for two centuries. Comparing it with the corresponding social state, we shall see it to be the necessary corrective of the temporal dictatorship, in which, as we have seen, the theological and military system had merged. Without it the temporal power would have degenerated into a dark despotism, extinguishing all intellectual and social vigour under the tyranny of an absolute authority which could naturally conceive of no other method of mental discipline than forcible repression. However great the dangers of abuse of the revolutionary doctrine, we can easily understand the invincible attachment of the European peoples to it, when, amidst the consolidation of aristocratic or regal absolutism, it became the organ of social progression. And, negative as was its essential character, it was the fitting and necessary preparation for the establishment of new social elements, from its encouragement of the spirit of individuality, and the consequent development which it caused of personal energy, whether industrial, æsthetic, or scientific. The two great anomalies, the temporal dictatorship and the revolutionary doctrine, must be regarded as inseparable, mutually antagonistic, equally necessary for the preservation of society, and together constituting the final phase of the general movement of social decomposition. The one, by its blind reverence for the past, was for ever restraining the innovations of the other; while the absolute character of negation, on which the critical doctrine prided itself, gave it its counteracting energy, and thus they had in common the absolute tendencies which belong alike to the theological and metaphysical philosophies. Thus it is that by an increasing restriction of political action modern governments have more and more abandoned the direction of the social movement, and have contented themselves with the care of material order, which it became increasingly difficult to reconcile with the continuous development of mental and moral anarchy. In sanctioning such a political situation, the revolutionary doctrine has erred only in setting up as a normal and permanent state of things an exceptional and transient phase, to which its dogmas were perfectly suitable.

Catholic share

Meantime we must not fail to observe the effect of the movement in countries which were not Protestant. The in Protestant critical action showed itself where the temporal results. dictatorship was not legally established, by Catholicism solemnly invoking the principle of the right of private judgment in favour of its own faith, which was violently oppressed wherever Protestantism prevailed. Special heresies also arose within the body of the Catholic clergy. France was the main support of the Catholic system in the seventeenth century; yet it was in France that Jansenism arose,-a heresy almost Jansenism. as injurious to the old spiritual constitution as Lutheranism itself. This kind of French Protestantism, ardently embraced by a powerful and respected portion of the clergy, and placed under the active protection of judiciary corporations, would certainly have been erected into a real national religion, if the approaching rise of the pure negative philosophy had not carried the leading minds of the nation far beyond it. As it was, Jansenism showed its anti-Catholic tendencies by its antipathy to the Jesuits, whose power it ultimately overthrew; while its reception by great philosophers and eminent poets, who could not possibly be suspected of voluntary revolutionary tendencies, shows how congenial it was to the intelligence of the period. I must give a passing notice to another heresy,-that of Quietism,-which, though much less important than Jansenism, is an Quietism. equally decisive proof of the dissenting tendencies introduced by the use of the right of free inquiry. The philosophical character of Quietism seems to me remarkable as offering a first solemn and simple protest of our moral constitution against theological doctrine in general. It is only in virtue of such protest that the heresy ever had any consistency, or now has any among some natures whose mental development has not kept pace with the moral. All moral discipline founded on a theological philosophy appeals, perseveringly and exorbitantly, to the spirit of selfishness, not the less for its relating to imaginary interests which must so engross the solicitude of the believer as to make every other kind of consideration very secondary. This religious supremacy of the care for personal salvation is necessary to the social efficacy of theological morality, which would otherwise issue in a mere sanction of apathy. It accords with the infantine age of humanity, which supposes the theological philosophy to be in the ascendant; and it manifests to all eyes one of the radical vices of that philosophy, which thus tends to starve out the noblest part of our moral organism, and that which by its small natural energy requires precisely the most systematic culture, by the encouragement of the disinterested and benevolent affections. In this view, Quietism is an involuntary exposure of the imperfection of theological doctrines, and an appeal against it to the finest affections

MORAL INFLUENCE OF PROTESTANTISM.

281

of human nature; and it would have been a movement of high importance, if such a protest had not been premature, and framed by the heart more than the mind of the beloved and immortal Fénélon, who was the organ of the heresy. The issue of the controversy involves the death-sentence of the theological philosophy. Fénélon was compelled to admit that he had unintentionally attacked one of the main conditions of existence of the religious system; and any system must be in a state of irrevocable decay that could be so misapprehended by its purest and most eminent champions.

Moral influence of Protestantism.

The moral characteristics and prerogatives of the critical doctrine in their provisional state remain to be noticed. Catholicism had spontaneously abdicated its direction of social morals, virtually, though not avowedly. Without admitting that it had changed its moral doctrine, it controlled only the weak, on whom it imposed passive obedience, while it extolled the absolute rights of rulers, being silent about their duties, even when it did not husband their vices in the interest of the priesthood; and its subserviency, attending upon power of every kind, descended lower and lower among social ranks, spreading its corruption successively among all, till it at length affected even domestic morality. The critical doctrine, insisting upon the rights of those to whom Catholicism preached only duties, naturally inherited the moral prerogatives that Catholicism had abdicated, and all its principles wrought to the same end. The dogma of liberty of conscience revived the great moral obligation, dropped by Catholicism, of using only spiritual instruments in the consolidation of opinions. The dogma of the sovereignty of the people declared the paramount importance of the general interest, too much sacrificed by the existing Catholic doctrine to the ascendency of the great. The dogma of equality roused the universal dignity of human nature, ignored by the spirit of caste, which had outlived its destination and escaped from moral control. And, finally, the dogma of national independence was the only security, after the rupture of Catholic association, for the existence of small states, and the sole restriction on the tendency to material incorporation. The hostile character of the critical doctrine prevented its fulfilling its great moral office with regularity and in perfection; but it kept alive and in vigour for three centuries a genuine sense of the moral conditions of humanity. It was subject to insurrectionary tendencies, because the temporal dictatorship confided in a system of organized material force; but the insurrectionary tendency was necessary to avoid the moral abasement and political degradation to which modern society was exposed, while awaiting the reorganization which must at length put an end to the deplorable antagonism. If it were compatible with my object, it would be interesting to show how the views here given of the decline of Catholicism are confirmed by the heresies of modern times. These heresies are the

same, under other forms, that arose in the early days of Christianity and hence the retrograde school would fain derive hopes of the renovation of the system: but the fact that the same heresies which were extinguished by the rising Catholic power have been successful in modern times proves that they were once opposed to the corresponding social state, and that they have recently been in accordance with it. At all times, and in all places, the heretical spirit is inherent in the vague and arbitrary character of the theological philosophy: and it is restrained or stimulated, it fails or succeeds, according to the social exigencies of the time. The reproduction of certain heresies tells nothing; but their success indicates a final change in the conditions of the system from which they arise.

Lutheranism.

It is impossible to enter here upon any detailed account of the Three stages Protestant sects, each of which entertained pity for of dissolution. its predecessor and horror of its successor, as the decomposition of the theological system went on. I can only point out the historical principle by which they may be understood and tested, and distinguish the three successive stages of decay of the old system, as regards its discipline, its hierarchy, and its dogma; for, if each Protestant change affected all the three, it must have affected one conspicuously, to be distinguishable from foregoing efforts. The three phases may be indicated by the names of their respective organs, Luther, Calvin, and Socinus, who lived near together as to their years, but at considerable intervals as to their social influence. The dogmatic innovations of Lutheranism were trifling; and it respected the clerical system, except by sanctioning the political subserviency which was only implicit among Catholic peoples: but it overthrew the ecclesiastical discipline, in order to adapt it the better to the servile transformation. This first disorganization, which little affected the Catholic system, was really the only form in which Protestantism has ever been able to adapt itself to be a state religion,-at least among great independent nations. To this first demolition, Calvinism added that of the hierarchy which sustained the social unity of Catholicism, while introducing only secondary modifications into the dogma, though more extensive than those of Lutheranism. This second phase, with its characteristics of mere opposition, without any formative power or organic durability, seems to me to constitute the true normal situation of Protestantism; for the critical spirit discloses itself in antipathy to the inert regularity of official Lutheranism. Then the third action, that of the anti-Trinitarian or Socinian outbreak, added to the rest of the destruction that of the chief articles of faith which distinguished Catholicism from every other form of monotheism and arising in Italy, under the very eyes of the papacy, it showed the tendency of the Catholic mind to urge the theological

Calvinism.

Socinianism.