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228
Intolerance in language for difference in religious
opinions is less more to be tolerated than intolerant deeds. Persecution
in action is the exhibition of this lamentable species of
maleficence. And next to the mischiefs of war comes the
mischief of religious hatred. To say nothing more than
has been said of the immorality of the act of punishing men for
holding opinions different to our own – let the absurdity
of the pretence be suffe investigated. Why are they to
be punished? Because they will not submit to your
authority, – will not blindly submit to the faith you would
impose upon them.
Offering rewards for Faith and Punishments for the want of it, is
therefore like offering rewards for, and punishing the want of prejudice
and partiality in a judge.
To say believe this proposition rather than its contrary, is to say, do
all that is in your power to believe it. Now what is in a man's
power to do in order to believe a proposition, and all that all that is
so, is to keep back and stifle the evidences that are opposed to it.
For when all the evidences are equally present to his observation, and
equally attended to, belief or disbelief is no longer in his power. It is
the necessary result of the preponderance of the evidence on one side
over that of the other. MS Vol V. p.39-40.
Identifier: | JB/015/542/002 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15.
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015 |
deontology |
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542 |
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002 |
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linking material |
1 |
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recto |
f228 |
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sir john bowring |
c wise 1829 |
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pasha of egypt |
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1829 |
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5758 |
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