T1IE WEALTH OF NATIONS.

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and tlieir influence and authority with the great body of thepeople being in its highest vigour, they were powerful enoughto overawe the chiefs and leaders of their own party, and tooblige the civil magistrate to respect their opinions and in-clinations. Their first demand was generally, that he shouldsilence and subdue all their adversaries; and their second,that he should bestow an independent provision on them-selves. As they had generally contributed a good deal tothe victory, it seemed not unreasonable that they should havesome share in the spoil. They were weary, besides, of hu-mouring the people, and of depending upon their caprice fora subsistence. In making this demand, therefore, they con-sulted them own ease and comfort, without troubling them-selves about the effect which it might have in future timesupon the influence and authority of their order. The civilmagistrate, who could comply with their demand only bygiving them something which he would have chosen muchrather to take, or to keep to himself, was seldom very for-ward to grant it. Necessity, however, always forced him tosubmit at last, though frequently not till after many delays,evasions, and affected excuses.

But if politics had never called in the aid of religion, hadthe conquering party never adopted the tenets of one sectmore than those of another, when it had gained the victory,it would probably have dealt equally and impartially withall the different sects, and have allowed every man to choosehis own priest and his own religion as he thought proper.There would in this case, no doubt, have been a great mul-titude of religious sects. Almost every different congregationmight probably have made a little sect by itself, or have en-tertained some peculiar tenets of its own. Each teacherwould no doubt have felt himself under the necessity of mak-ing the utmost exertion, and of using every art both to pre-serve and to increase the number of his disciples. But asevery other teacher would have felt himself under the samenecessity, the success of no one teacher, or sect of teachers,could have been very great. The interested and active zealof religious teachers can be dangerous and troublesome onlywhere there is, either but one sect tolerated in the society, orwhere the whole of a large society is divided into two or three, great sects; the teachers of each acting by concert, and undera regular discipline and subordination. But that zeal mustbe altogether innocent, where the society is divided into two