624 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



antees to the people all the liberty they can enjoy without dis- 

 turbing the social order." But. as the sovereign alone is to decide 

 what degree of oppression is necessary, and as there is no means 

 of enforcing the law of God in case he sees fit to violate it, this 

 guarantee of the liberty of the people seems to be of the slenderest 

 and filmiest texture. 



" The people of themselves have no right to determine what 

 shall be the constitution and fundamental laws of the state, since 

 this would be a limitation of sovereignty, which can not be con- 

 ditioned and circumscribed except by itself, otherwise it would 

 not be that supreme power established by God for the good of 

 society." Even if a king has sworn to observe the constitution 

 of the realm, he may set it aside if he finds it prejudicial to the 

 exercise of his sovereignty and injurious to the highest interests 

 of the state. " An oath can never be permitted to become a bond 

 of iniquity, or a cause of harm to the people. Besides, the head 

 of the Church has been authorized by God to absolve consciences 

 from oaths, whenever he thinks there are good reasons for doing 

 so. Even if a monarch should violate the constitution and laws 

 of the country inconsiderately and without just cause, universal 

 contempt and censure would be the only possible penalty for such 

 an act. The supreme power may be praised or blamed, but can 

 not be judged or condemned by any other power, since it is su- 

 preme. The people must accept the result with resignation, and 

 will lose nothing thereby, because the fundamental laws are the 

 work of man, but the sovereign power is the work of God. 



" D. But suppose the king burdens his subjects with enormous 

 taxes and squanders the money of the state, would not the revolt 

 of the people be justifiable ? 



" M. No, it would not be justifiable, because the people have no 

 right to judge of the necessities and expenditures of the sovereign, 

 and the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Saint Paul has com- 

 manded the people to pay tribute, but has nowhere said that they 

 should audit the accounts of kings. 



* D. When the king cruelly abuses and does not respect the 

 lives and blood of his subjects, would not revolt and revolution 

 be justifiable ? 



" M. Not at all, because the people are not judges and avengers 

 of injuries done them by private persons, and much less of those 

 inflicted upon them by princes whom God has appointed to rule 

 over them." 



As regards freedom of opinion, every man is at liberty to enter- 

 tain whatever opinions he pleases, and the government can not 

 persecute him on this account, because it has no means of know- 

 ing his opinions. But when these secret thoughts and judgments 

 of the mind are expressed in words, whether spoken or written, 



