In the birth of societies it is the chiefs of states who give it its special character; and afterward it is this special character that forms the chiefs of state.
Thus the creation, which seems an arbitrary act, supposes laws as invariable as those of the fatality of the Atheists. It would be absurd to say that the Creator might govern the world without those rules, since without them it could not subsist.
We ought to be very cautious and circumspect in the prosecution of magic and heresy. The attempt to put down these two crimes may be extremely perilous to liberty.
The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilisation of any country.
![Baron de Montesquieu Quote - [The Pope] will make the king believe that three are only one, that the bread he eats is not bread… and a thousand other things of the same kind.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/the-pope-will-make-the-king-believe-that-three-are-683x1024.jpg)
