Political Evolution. 77 



But if a freer social system results merely from the 

 addition of the idea of " absolute morality " to that of 

 "expediency/' all those who go yet farther and assert 

 the existence of a personal God, whose essence is abso- 

 lutely moral, have a yet securer and wider basis for 

 freedom. All such must also assert that each man has 

 a right freely to perform all such actions as God through 

 his conscience has enjoined him to perform, provided they 

 do not deprive other men of similar freedom to fulfil 

 what they believe to be their duty. 



Thus the greatest amount of personal freedom comes 

 to rest on a basis of " divine right," since, in the absence 

 or non-recognition of a divine revelation limiting its 

 exercise, such personal freedom becomes God-given and 

 absolute. 



Similarly all who hold such belief must assert that all 

 the citizens of a state combined together save one, are 

 morally incompetent by their joint authority as citizens to 

 compel that one to perform an act against his conscience 

 such as would be an outward act of adoration to a Deity 

 in whom he disbelieved, or of insult to Him whom he 

 conceives to be his Creator and his Lord. 



Similarly they must allow that if two citizens agree in 

 believing that one of them has a God-given jurisdiction 

 over the other, the one must be free to yield voluntary 

 obedience to the other in all that does not affect the equal 

 rights of other citizens. 



