"John.Locke - Toleration" - читать интересную книгу автора (Locke John)

Turks, in the meanwhile, silently stand by and laugh to see with
what inhuman cruelty Christians thus rage against Christians? But if
one of these churches hath this power of treating the other ill, I ask
which of them it is to whom that power belongs, and by what right?
It will be answered, undoubtedly, that it is the orthodox church which
has the right of authority over the erroneous or heretical. This is,
in great and specious words, to say just nothing at all. For every
church is orthodox to itself; to others, erroneous or heretical. For
whatsoever any church believes, it believes to be true and the
contrary unto those things it pronounce; to be error. So that the
controversy between these churches about the truth of their
doctrines and the purity of their worship is on both sides equal;
nor is there any judge, either at Constantinople or elsewhere upon
earth, by whose sentence it can be determined. The decision of that
question belongs only to the Supreme judge of all men, to whom also
alone belongs the punishment of the erroneous. In the meanwhile, let
those men consider how heinously they sin, who, adding injustice, if
not to their error, yet certainly to their pride, do rashly and
arrogantly take upon them to misuse the servants of another master,
who are not at all accountable to them.
Nay, further: if it could be manifest which of these two
dissenting churches were in the right, there would not accrue
thereby unto the orthodox any right of destroying the other. For
churches have neither any jurisdiction in worldly matters, nor are
fire and sword any proper instruments wherewith to convince men's
minds of error, and inform them of the truth. Let us suppose,
nevertheless, that the civil magistrate inclined to favour one of them
and to put his sword into their hands that (by his consent) they might
chastise the dissenters as they pleased. Will any man say that any
right can be derived unto a Christian church over its brethren from
a Turkish emperor? An infidel, who has himself no authority to
punish Christians for the articles of their faith, cannot confer
such an authority upon any society of Christians, nor give unto them a
right which he has not himself. This would be the case at
Constantinople; and the reason of the thing is the same in any
Christian kingdom. The civil power is the same in every place. Nor can
that power, in the hands of a Christian prince, confer any greater
authority upon the Church than in the hands of a heathen; which is
to say, just none at all.
Nevertheless, it is worthy to be observed and lamented that the most
violent of these defenders of the truth, the opposers of errors, the
exclaimers against schism do hardly ever let loose this their zeal for
God, with which they are so warmed and inflamed, unless where they
have the civil magistrate on their side. But so soon as ever court
favour has given them the better end of the staff, and they begin to
feel themselves the stronger, then presently peace and charity are
to be laid aside. Otherwise they are religiously to be observed. Where
they have not the power to carry on persecution and to become masters,
there they desire to live upon fair terms and preach up toleration.
When they are not strengthened with the civil power, then they can