Page:Essays, Moral and Political - David Hume (1741).djvu/127

 of the World, who despis'd the Nation that first broach'd this Novelty; no Wonder, that Christianity, in such Circumstances, was but little countenanc'd by the Civil Magistrate, and that the Christian Priesthood were allowed to engross all the Authority in the new Sect. So bad a Use did they make of this Power, even in those early Times, that the Persecutions of Christianity may, perhaps, in Part, be ascrib'd to the Violence instill'd by them into their Followers. And the same Principles of Priestly Government continuing, after Christianity became the establish'd Religion, they have engender'd a Spirit of Persecution, which has ever since been the Poison of human Society, and the Source of the most inveterate Factions in every Government. Such Factions, therefore, on the Part of the poor People, may justly be esteem'd Factions of Principle; but on the Part of the Priests, who are the prime Movers, they are really Factions of Interest.

is another Cause (beside the Authority of the Priests, and the Separation of the Ecclesiastical and Civil Powers) that has contributed to render Christendom the Scene