I do not intend to place among the objections I ought to discuss, nor in the number of arguments, that it is important to examine, the various opinions on such and such parts of religious worship, nor the difficulties raised against the adoption of some dogmatic notion, thought essential by some, and considered with indifference by others: it is not a treatise of controversial theology which I wish to compose; and it is still less the doctrines of one particular church, which I would oppose to that of another; all of them connect morality to the commands of a Supreme Being; they all of them see in the public worship the respectful expression of a sentiment of love and gratitude towards the Author of Nature. Thus, those who might think they perceived some imperfections in the system, or in the forms of worship, adopted in a nation, should not use this objection to dispute the utility of religion, since the reflections, which have been just made on its importance, may be applied equally to the doctrines of all countries, and the principles of every sect.

I shall dwell then on the only difficulty which interests, without distinction, the different religions of Europe.

The establishment of public worship, and the necessity of consecrating at least one day in every week, occasions, say some, a suspension of labour too frequent; and this suspension injures the state, and diminishes the resources of the people.

I may at first observe, that such objections would appear very weak, if compared with the great advantages which men owe to religion! An increase of wealth can never outweigh order, morality, and happiness. But I must go further to prove, that a day of rest, devoted amongst us to public worship, cannot injure the political strength; and that so far from being contrary to the interests of the people, it protects and favours them; and as I invariably prefer such interests to all others, I shall begin by demonstrating, in a few words, the justness of this proposition.

We should be mistaken if we thought, that in a given space of time, men forced, by the inequality of conditions, to live by their labour, would, by observing the precepts of religion, better their situation, if they were not obliged to rest from labour one day in every week.

It is necessary, in order to perceive this truth, to examine, first, what is now the measure of wages; it is not an exact proportion between labour and its reward. In fact, if we consulted only the light of reason and equity, no one, I believe, would dare to decide, that the most scanty necessaries is the just price of fatiguing and painful labour, which commences at the dawn, and does not finish till the setting of the sun: we should not be able to maintain, that in the midst of his enjoyments, and in the bosom of luxurious idleness, the rich ought not to grant any other retribution to those who sacrifice their time and strength to increase their revenue and multiply their enjoyments. It is not then by the principles of common sense or reflection, that the wages of the generality have been fixed; it is a compact established by power, a yoke to which the weak must submit. The possessor of a vast domain would see all his riches vanish, if numerous labourers did not come to cultivate his estate, and carry into his store-house the fruit of their toil; but, as the number of men without property is immense, their concurrence, and the pressing need that they have to labour for a subsistence, obliges them to receive the law from him who can, in the bosom of ease, wait quietly for their services; and it results from this habitual relation between the rich and poor, that the wages for hard labour are constantly reduced to the most scanty allowance, that is to say, to what is only sufficient to satisfy their daily and indispensable wants.

This system once settled, if it were possible, that, by a revolution in our nature, men could live and preserve their strength without allotting every day some hours to repose and sleep, it is beyond doubt, that the work of twenty hours would be required for the same wages now granted for twelve.

Or, by an assimilation, agreeing with the hypothesis I have just mentioned, suppose that a moral revolution permitted labourers to work the seventh day, they would consequently, in a short time, require of them the extraordinary labour at the former rate; and this levelling would take place through the gradual diminution of the price of labour. The class of society, which, in exerting its power, has regulated the present wages, not according to reason and equity, but according to the necessities of the labourers, would quickly discern its own interest; and that when a day more was paid for, the people could bear a diminution of the seventh part of their wages, and be in their old state. Thus, though before the change had thoroughly taken place, all those who live by labour would think that they had acquired a new resource; yet they would soon be brought to their former condition; for it is the same with social order as with the law of equilibrium in nature, which combines ranks and places, every thing according to the immutable law of the proportion of force.

The daily labour of one class of society surpasses the reasonable measure of its strength, and hastens the days of decripitude; it was then absolutely necessary that the customary course of these labours should be, for a time, suspended; but as the people, pressed by wants of every kind, are exposed to be seduced by the slightest appearance of advantage, it was further necessary to their happiness, that the interruption of thier fatigues, fixed by a religious duty, appeared not to them the voluntary sacrifice of fortune, and did not leave in them any regret. In short, they are pleased when they think of those days of rest, which produce a little alteration in their manner of living; and they require that alteration, not to be depressed by a continual train and repetition of the same occupations. Thus, were you to assert artfully, that the people are not as comfortable of a Sunday, as during the week, it would be at least true, that one is softened by the expectation of the other; there are people so very wretched, and probably, on that account, so bounded are their desires, that the most trifling variety is a substitute for hope. It seems to me, that the hearts of the common people may be sometimes cheered with the thought of being once a week dressed like their superiors; when they are absolute masters of their time, and can say,—and I also—I am free^[3].

I must now examine the second proposition which I have mentioned.

You have made obvious, some will say, that an augmentation of the days of labour would occasion a reduction of the wages allowed for it, we may then reasonably ask, if this result would not favour commerce, and contribute, in some respect, to increase the political strength? Undoubtedly you may consider under this point of view, the diminution of the reward of industry; but the political strength being always a relative idea, and derived from comparisons with other states, this strength can never be augmented or diminished by a circumstance common to all the countries of Europe. Were a barbarous ambition to abolish in one state the Sabbath, the abolition would probably procure it a degree of superiority, if it was the only one that adopted such a change; but as soon as others followed their example, the advantage would disappear. However, the same arguments ought to serve to convince us, that those countries, where the intervals of inaction occur oftener, have necessarily a political disadvantage, with regard to others, where Sunday and a few solemn feasts are the only days of rest prescribed by government.

We may conclude from these observations, that so far from finding fault with religion for appointing a day of rest, devoted every week to public worship, we ought to acknowledge with pleasure, that such an institution is a benevolent act, extended to the most numerous class of the inhabitants of the earth, the most deserving our consideration and protection; from which we require so much, and return so little: towards that unfortunate class, whose youth and maturity the rich profit by, and abandon them when the hour is come, when they have no more strength left but to enable them to pray and weep.