Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Action and Reaction Between Churches and the Civil Government: A Lecture, at South-Place Chapel, Finsbury, May 20, 1860
It is a notorious fact of ancient and modern times, that very many politicians who have no belief in religion have upheld religious creeds as conducive to the national morality: and they have generally much to say that is plausible in their defence. Side by side with this, it has been maintained, upon a large survey of the world, that national morality depends very little on the avowed creed of nations; and it may be worth while to dwell for a moment on the evidence of this fact. I will begin by contrasting the Turks with the Persians. According to the testimony of a series of impartial Englishmen who have known them well, the peasants of Turkey proper are eminently upright, truthful, simple-hearted, honest, friendly; faithful and devoted in domestic relations, - the tie of parent and child being peculiarly tender and beautiful. The Persians, on the contrary, are described as prevailingly frivolous, false, cheating, and generally without conscience. Both nations are Mohammedan. It is true, that they are of different sects. The Persians regard the three first Caliphs as usurpers, and reject the "traditions of the elders" concerning the miracles of Mohammed and various observances. But none of us will for a moment impute the superiority of Turkish morality to this ceremonial difference. It undoubtedly rises out of the social organization, local influences, and mode of life, which have come down from remote times.
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