STUDY XIII. TÏ9 



Men of letters, who were never out of their 

 country, or who refle6t fuperficially, arc conftanily 

 exclaiming againfl the revocation of the Edi(ft 

 of Nantes. But if they imagine that the reftora- 

 tion of that Ediâ: would bring back to France the 

 pofterity of the French Refugees, they are greatly 

 miftaken. Thofe, furely, who are rich, and com- 

 fortably fettled in foreign countries, will never 

 think of refigning their efiablidiments, and of re- 

 turning to the country of their fathers : none but 

 f)Oor Proteftants, therefore, would come back. 

 But what Qiould they do there, when fo many na- 

 tional Catholics are under the necefTity of emi- 

 grating for want of fubfiftence ? I have b^en oftener 

 than once aftoniflied at hearing our pretended po- 

 liticians loudly re-demanding fo many citizens to 

 religion, while, by their iilence, they abandon fuch 

 numbers of them to the infaiiable avidity of our 

 great proprietors. The truth ought to be told : 

 they have written rather out of hatred lo priells, 

 than from love to men. The fpirit of tolerance 

 which they wifli to edablifh, is a vain pretext, 

 with which they conceal their real aim ; for the 

 Proteftants whom they are difpofed to recal, arejuft 

 as intolerant as they accufe the Catholics of being; 

 of which we had an inftance, a few years ago, in 

 the very Land of Liberty, in England, where a 

 Rom.an-Catholic Chapel was burnt down to the 

 ground. Intolerance is a vice of European edu- 



I 4 cation. 



