roubled but
little by it, and he keeps on his road.

CXLII.--HONOR IS A MORE SALUTARY AND A STRONGER CHECK THAN RELIGION.

There is scarcely a man who does not fear more what he sees than what he
does not see; the judgments of men, of which he experiences the effects,
than the judgments of God, of whom he has but floating ideas. The desire
to please the world, the current of custom, the fear of being ridiculed,
and of "WHAT WILL THEY SAY?" have more power than all religious
opinions. A warrior with the fear of dishonor, does he not hazard his
life in battles every day, even at the risk of incurring eternal
damnation?

The most religious persons sometimes show more respect for a servant
than for God. A man that firmly believes that God sees everything, knows
everything, is everywhere, will, when he is alone, commit actions which
he never would do in the presence of the meanest of mortals. Those even
who claim to be the most firmly convinced of the existence of a God, act
every instant as if they did not believe anything about it.

CXLIII.--RELIGION IS CERTAINLY NOT A POWERFUL CHECK UPON THE PASSIONS OF
KINGS, WHO ARE ALMOST ALWAYS CRUEL AND FANTASTIC TYRANTS BY THE EXAMPLE
OF THIS SAME GOD, OF WHOM THEY CLAIM TO BE THE REPRESENTATIVES; THEY USE
RELIGION BUT TO BRUTALIZE THEIR SLAVES SO MUCH THE MORE, TO LULL THEM TO
SLEEP IN THEIR FETTERS, AND TO PREY UPON THEM WITH THE GREATER FACILITY.

"Let us tolerate at least," we are told, "the idea of a God, which alone
can be a restraint upon the passions of kings." But, in good faith, can
we admire the marvelous effects which the fear of this God produces
generally upon the mind of the princes who claim to be His images? What
idea can we form of the original, if we judge it by its duplicates?
Sovereigns, it is true, call, themselves the representatives of God, His
lieutenants upon earth. But does the fear of a more powerful master than
themselves make them attend to the welfare of the peoples that
Providence has confided to their care? The idea of an invisible Judge,
to whom alone they pretend to be accountable for their actions, should
inspire them with terror! But does this terror render them more
equitable, more humane, less avaricious of the blood and the goods of
their subjects, more moderate in their pleasures, more attentive to
their duties? Finally, does this God, by whom we are assured that kings
reign, prevent them from vexing in a thousand ways the peo