Page:Readings in European History Vol 2.djvu/547

 Europe and Napoleon 509 V. Napoleon at the Zenith Napoleon found no difficulty in discovering divine sanction for his power. A catechism drawn up during the reign of Louis XIV by the distinguished French prelate, Bossuet, was hunted up and certain modifica- tions made to adapt it to the times. The following ques- tions and answers deal with the duties of French citizens towards their ruler. Question. What are the duties of Christians toward those 439. Ex- who govern them, and what in particular are our duties tracts from 1 xt 1 t •> the imperial towards Napoleon I, our emperor? catechism Answer. Christians owe to the princes who govern them, (April, 1806). and we in particular owe to Napoleon I, our emperor, love, respect, obedience, fidelity, military service, and the taxes levied for the preservation and defense of the empire and of his throne. We also owe him fervent prayers for his safety and for the spiritual and temporal prosperity of the state. Question. Why are we subject to all these duties toward our emperor ? Answer. First, because God, who has created empires and distributes them according to his will, has, by loading our emperor with gifts both in peace and in war, established him as our sovereign and made him the agent of his power and his image upon earth. To honor and serve our emperor is therefore to honor and serve God himself. Secondly, because our Lord Jesus Christ himself, both by his teaching and his example, has taught us what we owe to our sover- eign. Even at his very birth he obeyed the edict of Caesar Augustus ; he paid the established tax ; and while he com- manded us to render to God those things which belong to God, he also commanded us to render unto Caesar those things which are Caesar's. Question. Are there not special motives which should attach us more closely to Napoleon I, our emperor ?